Chapter 30: Betrayal

—-Nymphadora Tonks POV—-

The night before…

Tonk's stood nervously in the office of Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head Auror for the British branch. She hadn't seen him since she was first made into an Auror years ago. Her orders usually came by owl, and not from Scrimgeour directly—he was too busy to be bothered by an Auror of her rank. But since she had been stationed at Hogwarts, her orders usually came from Dumbledore, unless otherwise instructed. So the fact that Scrimgeour had called to meet with her in person was very nerve wracking, and very odd.

Scrimgeour entered the room like a diving hawk, making Tonks jump. He swept past her and went around his desk, before turning to face her. He had sharp, cold eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles and walked with an odd grace even though he had a limp. There was an immediate impression of cold toughness that made Tonks very nervous.

"Let's not waste time." Scrimgeour said in a low voice. "Everything I tell you will be held to confidentiality standards of the highest regard, do you understand?"

A bead of sweat broke out on her forehead. "Yes, sir."

"You have heard of Senna Severus Snape." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, sir."

"I have received word," Scrimgeour paused. "That she has come to realize her parentage."

"Sir?" Tonks wasn't sure what he meant. She was actually happy for Senna, she knew she had been looking for her parents—whoever that may be.

But Scrimgeour kept talking, "That's why I called you here. Because of your Metamorphmagus abilities, your stealth ranking is the highest in the department. I need you to do a special job for me, and Albus Dumbledore is to hear nothing of this, do you understand?"

Tonks wanted to ask him what he meant and why, but her throat was clogged, and all she could do was nod.

His voice was low and fast. "I need you to follow her, watch her every move. I don't care if she's in the dorm or in the bathroom. You are not to let her out of her sight." Scrimgeour paused, his cold eyes bored into hers. His face was very pale, scarred, and wrinkled. "Albus doesn't seem to be at all concerned," his mouth fell and his expression became that of disapproval, "He thinks she hasn't proved to be a problem so far. He is much too relaxed. I am not going to wait until the security of our country is compromised. Watch her, if there is anything suspicious, anything at all, you are to report directly to me." He stared at her for a moment. "Do you understand your orders?"

"Yes…" Tonks managed to croak. Her head was spinning. What was the big deal about Senna?

"Good." Scrimgeour began to move out of his office. "You are dismissed."

"Sir?" Tonks scrambled to get the words out, "Why is her parentage something of concern?"

Scrimgeour stopped and turned towards her. His eyes took in her nervous face for a moment before speaking, "She is a problem, like Struan Tobias Riddle."

Tonks blinked, not understanding. She had never heard the Dark Prince's full name before.

"How so?" Tonks' voice was small. Was there something she was missing? Something she was already supposed to know?

"Because…" His face was grave, "She is Voldemort's child too." Scrimgeour told her.

—-Senna Snape's POV—-

Back to the present…

During dinner, Senna sat at the other end of the Slytherin's table, as far as possible from Viola. Senna was still muttering angrily to herself as she ate. She didn't taste the food, or even know what she was eating. It didn't matter. Everything would taste bitter to her tonight. As if her mood radiated from her, no one dared to speak to her, not that people normally chatted with her anyways.

As soon as her stomach felt uncomfortably full, she stood and walked towards the doors of the Great Hall. Since dinner was not officially over, the male Auror posted at this door held a hand up to stop her. "Where are you going, miss?"

"Back to the Brownwell dorm. I am not feeling well." Senna lied.

The male Auror took her in for a moment, and then looked at the other Auror also posted at the Great Hall entrance. The other Auror nodded at him.

"Alright then." He said in a gruff voice. "I'll escort you back."

Senna looked up at the two Aurors, their faces were blank. But she got the feeling that there was something passing between them. This was definitely odd. The Aurors who guarded the Great Hall have never stopped her from entering or exiting the Great Hall as she pleased. Senna was immediately suspicious. Struan was right, she couldn't trust anyone. Not Moody, not Viola, and especially not these strange Aurors.

Several response options passed through her brain. Ranging from 'Fuck off' to 'I don't need a babysitter'. But she decided to take a different approach, the cooperative one. She was in a foul mood, and she had to force her lips into a fake smile, "Great, thank you."

The Auror followed her in awkward silence through the now dark corridors. They passed the candle lit halls, moving portraits, and empty classrooms in complete silence. Senna kept glancing at him through the corner of her eye, and he did the same every once in a while.

When they got to the courtyard with the hot air balloon, the Auror watched her go in.

She headed straight to the shower to try and wash away her misery.

When she came out, her hair dripping wet, she saw the common area had a handful of girls who had decided to skip dessert in favor of studying . They looked up at her, she heard their frightened thoughts, and they quickly looked back at their study materials. That was a good idea, she'll need to study to keep up her grades.

Senna reached under her bed to find her transfiguration book, when she noticed an old leather book she did not recognise—at first. "Oh!" Senna said to herself. She had completely forgotten the old brick of a book that Price Struan had somehow left her. Before extracting the old book, Senna looked over her shoulder. A set of curious blue eyes were staring at her from a chair. She quickly looked back down.

She got a strange feeling from this girl. This Brownwell girl's name was Wendy, and not someone Senna had really talked to before. She was quiet, and kept to herself.

To be on the safe side, Senna left the leather book under her bed and pulled out her transfiguration textbook instead.

And then Senna realized what was odd about the girl. She didn't hear anything from her. Her mind was too quiet. As far as she knew, there wasn't a single student among the Brownwell crowd that had fully mastered occlumency. And now there was a student with a silent mind, right here in her dorm.

That was suspicious. Especially with all the weird things going on. The Death Eater break in, the odd letter and book finding its way to Senna's cot, the odd behavior of Professor Moody… She could not afford to let her guard down.

Senna took her book and went over to sit next to the blonde girl, Wendy. Wendy did not move. She simply read her textbook. Her thoughts were still silent.

Senna opened her own textbook and started pretending she was studying. She was actually formulating a plan.

Senna turned a page, and then turned to Wendy. "Hey Celeste?"

"Yes?" The blonde looked up at her.

"Do you have an extra quill? I think I left mine in class."

The blonde looked around her for a moment, "No, sorry… I didn't bring mine with me either."

"It's ok." Senna paused. That was all the confirmation she needed.

"Oh, one more thing Celeste…" Senna looked over at her again, who met her gaze once more. "Did you forget?"

Her blue eyes were confused, "Forget what?"

Senna smiled sweetly at her, and set her transfiguration book on her lap. "That your name isn't Celeste." she said in a quiet and matter-of-fact way.

The blonde's eyes widened.

Senna spoke again. "So who are you really? Because you are for sure, not Wendy Altson."

Fake Wendy stood up, snapping her book shut. "Enough of this. I'm going to bed."

Senna didn't have her wand. She didn't have a pocket for it in her lacey black nightgown, so it was sitting on her nightstand. But she had to do something.

Wandless magic was difficult to perform, and even more difficult to control. It could have unexpected or volatile results if not done correctly. But Senna had found that her ability to control wandless magic had expanded immensely since she got to Hogwarts. However, trying a charm as complex as the Revelio Charm to see who she really was, could have disastrous results.

"Wait!" Senna grabbed Wendy's thin arm, who yanked out of her grip almost immediately. There was no way this was Wendy. Whoever this was, they were much stronger than the small girl from Brownwell.

By now, the other girls in the common area had looked up at the commotion. Fake Wendy stormed off. Senna went after her, and decided to chance the complex charm. After all, it could be a Death Eater, endangering the whole school.

Instead of using the incantation based in latin, revelio—to unveil, she used an incantation in parseltongue. She snapped her wrist once, but nothing happened to the fake Wendy. She cursed to herself, and immediately tried again, this time saying the parseltongue incantation out loud, though she knew parseltongue was a taboo and feared language, and would earn her more trouble, but it worked. Wendy's small frame grew taller, blonde hair shrunk back into her head, to reveal short chestnut color hair, pale skin darkened to a slight tan, and the sleepwear had become much tighter on the taller and more muscular frame.

The lean, muscular yet feminine frame was very familiar. The full hips, square shoulders, and toned legs were much more mature than the build of a teenager.

Tonks. It was Tonks.

Tonks looked down at her arms in disbelief, and then turned around to face Senna. Senna simply stared for a moment. Senna was surprised in more ways than one. She had never seen the real Tonks, or at least the Tonk's that wasn't modified by her own metamorphmagus abilities. Instead of wild colors, her hair was a soft, wavy chestnut. Her facial features were softer, nose not as pointed, jawline a little rounder. Her eyes were also chestnut in color. It was a beautiful color. But there was something very different about her eyes. They were cold—ice cold. And now that she took a closer look, her face held the expression if she were looking at a very annoying rodent.

"You have a lot of nerve to raise your wand at me." Tonks told her, in a sharp voice that sliced her heart in two.

"Actually, I didn't." Senna raised her unarmed hands for Tonks to see.

"Nice try." Tonks spat, her face a serious scowl that was very uncharacteristic of her.

Something was very wrong. Senna's heart dropped into her stomach, where it stayed. Never had she spoken to Senna this way. It was like she was speaking to vermin.

Never.

"Why were you following me?" Senna tried to hide the pieces of her hurting heart behind an angry mask.

"Who said I was following you? You know Aurors are stationed here." Her voice was cold and annoyed.

The girls in the Brownwell dorm began to stand up and shuffle towards the other end. They were uncomfortable.

"But they aren't sneaking around pretending to be students."

"And how do you know that?" Tonks marched forward, until Senna stumbled backwards to avoid her.

Senna's heart was racing, her mind reeling. She had never seen Tonks so aggressive before. Something must have happened.

"Seriously," Senna pleaded, "What's going on?"

Tonks quickly grabbed her arm, and spun her around, grabbed her other arm to pin them behind her back.

It was not that she was too fast for Senna, but she was very much caught off guard. She would've never, even once, anticipate that Tonks would attack her this way. Because she was Tonks for crying out loud.

Tonks pulled her arms back, hard enough that the air left Senna's lungs with a whooshing sound when she collided with Tonks' chest. Tonks whispered in her ear. "The only thing going on is that we seem to have a student that attacked an Auror in the line of duty." She told Senna in a spiteful voice. "So you'll need to come with me."

Senna was so numb, she barely noticed the cold November air stinging her bare arms. At least Senna had her shoes on.

"Put this on." Tonks threw her Brownwell blazer at her. She didn't even remember Tonks picking it up. She donned the blazer obediently.

"Let's go." Tonks ordered. She pulled Senna's arm behind her back again, and led her through the dark campus lawn.

She didn't know what to say to her. What could she say to her? It seemed surreal to her that her two current 'friends'—if she could even call them that—had gotten complete personality transplants.

She felt like she was drowning in a cold and unfamiliar sea, and she didn't know which way was up. Senna stumbled through the grass.

When they got to the entrance to the castle, there was another Auror guarding it. He eyed the both of them warily. "What is going on here?" He asked, perplexed.

"I don't have permission to say, Proudfoot. Sorry."

The one called Proudfoot looked between Tonks and Senna, an eyebrow raised. But nonetheless, he stood aside and let them pass into the castle.

Tonks led Senna through the dimly lit corridors. They took a left, and then went up one of the staircases. She wasn't sure where they were now. She hadn't been to this side of the castle.

"I didn't attack you, and you know it." Senna said quietly. Her voice sounded pathetic, even to herself.

Tonks did not respond.

So Senna questioned her again. "So what is this really about?"

Again, no response.

Tonks forced her to take another left down a darker and narrower corridor.

They stopped at a door. Tonks kicked it open and shoved her inside the dark room. Tonks took her wand out and pointed it at the candle, but Senna acted faster. With a wave of her hand, she set all the candles ablaze. But instead of a normal flame, it was an unusually tall and blue flame. The candle wax, though enchanted to be everlasting, melted under the intense heat. The blue light was even more eerie than the red. Tonks narrowed her eyes at Senna, probably thinking the unusual flame was an act of aggression. But Senna felt too numb to be angry.

"Sit." Tonks pointed to the chair in the center of the room. Now that it was lit, she could see a mirror on one side of the room. What an odd room this was.

Tonks looked at the candles once more. "I didn't know you were adept at wandless magic." She said coolly.

Senna took a seat and looked up at her. "There was a time in my life where I didn't have a wand to rely on to keep myself alive." Senna was satisfied that she was able to make herself sound just as cold and uninterested. Senna stared at Tonks' face, aching to make the stone cold expression break.

If Tonks was going to play this game, then so was she. "Not that spoiled brats coddled by their parents would understand." Senna eyed Tonks, subtly indicating she was one of those so-called 'brats'.

But Tonks did not react. Damn.

"I want you to explain this," Tonks pulled something out of her pocket, and tossed it onto the table.

It was the missing parchment. The shock of it made Senna's composure break. "You…" Senna said, but simply could not come up with the words to say. The numbness was suddenly replaced with hurt, and then anger. It pulsed through her veins like hot metal. Tonks took the parchment. But… why?

"This parchment is bewitched, linked to a second parchment." She said with perfect, professional composure.

She bent over the table and met Senna's angry eyes with her own. "Explain how you got this."

Senna laughed then, making Tonks lean back, confused.

How could she have been so stupid? Why was she shocked that Tonks had another side to her? She was an Auror after all, and her only job was to catch dark wizards.

She had chosen her duty over Senna on many occasions, she should have known she would choose her duty over Senna now. Over the trust they built, over the attraction they both felt, over all she felt for her.

She was an Auror and this was her job. That was all.

"You were right." Senna mumbled miserably to herself. And then she laughed again.

"What was that?" Tonks leaned closer to the table.

The anger, the betrayal, and hurt swam through her like knives cutting up her insides. The realization of her own stupidity made her feel so much shame. Right now, she was a stupid child that actually beleieved she had a friend, or maybe something more.

Senna's mind went back to the scenes from the orphanage. She was a child again, the same one that everyone distrusted and hated. The one that foolishly believed it would be okay to trust someone. Because somehow, it would be different this time.

But the shame and hurt very suddenly slipped away. It retreated to a place deep inside her, and was replaced by a deep numbness. She didn't feel anything at all now.

This numbness was familiar. She had retreated to this numbness before, in a previous life, a life where Senna couldn't explain to the nuns how she did the strange things she did, and they thought it best to beat the demon out of her. But what they didn't know, was they were the ones who created it.

Tonks waited for her to stop laughing. "What does it say?"

Senna cocked her head to the side, watching Tonks with mild entertainment now. "Read it for yourself. You can read, can't you?"

Senna caught Tonks' nose twitch in irritation. Her eyes widened, surprised by Senna's suddenly different demeanor. Senna smiled a sweet smile.

"I can't read parseltongue."

"Oh, that's too bad." Senna smirked.

Tonks glanced at the mirror glass on the wall, and then back at Senna. Senna followed her gaze.

"I'm going to give you one chance to tell me what this says." Tonks jammed her finger towards the parchment.

"What for? You won't believe me anyways." In the short time they were there, the blue flames had nearly melted all the way through the wax column. Tonks noticed this and tried to put out the blue flame… But she couldn't. Senna continued. "What a waste isn't it? All that time you invested into getting me to trust you. You had me fooled. Great job."

Tonks, who was waving her wand at the stubborn blue flame, turned to her then, her eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar, as if she were just slapped.

"I didn't—" But she stopped herself, placing her hand over her mouth. She had recomposed herself, her cold mask in place. "What does the parchment say? I will know if you're lying."

Senna looked at her curiously. "Right."

Tonks then pointed to the desk between them, which had a little wooden stand holding a glass orb. "This tells me if you're lying." Tonks explained, and then tapped it with her wand. A clear glow entered the orb.

"Now tell me."

"That's neat." Senna leaned towards the orb with curiosity. The numbness had a way of making serious and painful situations kind of fun. "Mind if I test it?"

"Just answer the question, Snape."

Senna ignored her, and thought of the most reaction-provoking statement to test the lie-detector orb with. "Kissing you is not like kissing girls my age." Senna watched the orb turn a pale green.

Senna looked up and noticed Tonks' horrified expression. "So what does green mean?" Senna asked.

A blush crept into Tonks' cheeks, and she could see the muscles in her neck flex as she clenched her teeth. Her eyes desperately darted to the embedded mirror and then back to the orb.

Then Senna realized what that mirror was… It was a one way glass. They were being watched, by someone.

Whoever it was, Tonks seemed very anxious now.

When Tonks' eyes returned to Senna, there was a desperate plea in them. A twinge of guilt managed to break through the numbness. She tried to push it down. Tonks did not deserve her guilt… she had led Senna by the nose, made her trust and adore her, only to steal her things and displayed them unashamedly. And yet… She still felt guilty. She didn't want to ruin Tonks' career.

"I—I don't know what you're talking about." Tonks tried very hard to sound convincing, but the pitch was higher than before.

The orb turned the color red. When Tonks saw this, her eyes widened again, and her jaw flexed.

The guilt tore at the wall of numbness, but Senna hung on to it. No, she didn't want the protective numberness to leave, she wasn't sure she could get through the night without it. But the guilt won, and numbness slipped away, bringing the room back into sharp focus, as well as the pain of her shame and aching heart.

It was just like Viola and the stupid Prefect badge all over again. She knew they should own up to their actions, all of them, especially the dirty ones… but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"At least, I would imagine that it would be." The orb returned to a pale green as she tried to remain truthful—for Tonks' sake. That much was true, she could imagine that kissing someone who was more experienced would definitely be different.

Tonks let out a stressed breath. "Enough nonsense." Tonks ordered, but it was different now, less confident.

"The message changes every day." Senna told her in a quiet voice.

Tonks' eyes focused on her. The ice in them had melted slightly. She nodded, prompting her to continue.

"The stranger kept asking me… to come home." Senna tried her best to summarize. "I asked him who he was and what he wanted from me... and he said he was my brother. He said I belonged by his side."

Tonks' eyes widened. "And?"

"I told him to fuck off." Senna admitted.

Tonks looked down at the pale green colour shimmering in the orb. And then she looked back up at Senna, the ice melting to an expression of relief.

"Then, he said something rather ironic." Senna spoke, watching Tonks watch her.

"What?"

"He said that I wouldn't have a choice. Because it was only a matter of time before there would be no one left I could turn to. No one I could count on or trust. Because of what I was, I would always be hated, feared, and mistrusted."

Tonks' eyes had gone from chestnut to nearly black. Senna couldn't read the expression in them. This entire time, the orb had remained a soft green color. Senna guessed it meant she passed—it was the truth.

A long moment passed as they stared at each other.

"I should be thanking you." Senna said quietly.

"For what?"

"For proving him right."

Senna suddenly inhaled then, taking the blue flame into her lungs, and into nonexistence. The room was pitch black now, and she heard Tonks scuffle in alarm. "Senna!" She hissed into the darkness.

But Senna had crouched low to the ground, using her keen hearing to avoid Tonks' outstretched arms that were searching for her.

Senna let the numbness dip a part of her mind to her subconscious, which was full of survival tactics. Senna remembered she could move quickly and soundlessly. She darted out of the room, hearing shouts in the distance. Whoever was behind that mirror, had come out to join the search.

Senna moved quickly, running down the corridor at a speed she hadn't used for years. It was like she was nine years old again, moving through the dark streets in search of food, having to move fast enough to avoid guards and perverts.

Senna ended up somewhere in the dark forest. Her inner child almost found it comforting. Being alone outside, cold and lost. Yes, this was a familiar feeling.

Senna could almost laugh again. The start of the year had proved to be promising. She used to have people willing to get to know her, a real friend, and a stupid crush on an attractive and eccentric Auror.

But now, instead of moving forward, it was like she'd regressed half a decade. She was just a misunderstood, unwanted orphan once again. If she had known, she would've never come to Hogwarts.

She sank against a tree, wishing the ground would swallow her whole.

…

Thanks for reading! This release is early because I will be too busy tomorrow to update. And thank you to Angel and xLuluex for leaving me a review, I appreciate the feedback! I am already on ao3 if anyone is on there.