I'm in California, and we're in total lockdown. Times are difficult, but I am happy to have a job (for now). Hope you all (my readers) are doing ok with the world being upside down and everything. It would be nice to have some more human interaction. Please leave a review if you can. PM me if you catch a grammatical error that I didn't. :)

Enjoy,

xxsorenxx

Chapter 18

"My sister," he continued, his voice now soft. "Her name was Elena. She asked me to do it."

"Why?" She stood there. Senna's stomach felt icy. Her palms were cold and clammy.

"You were in grave danger. They would've killed you."

Her stomach coiled into an icy spring. A trickle of fear went down her spine. Was it possible that those who wanted her dead were still searching for her? "Who?"

Snape's head shook and then his face re-composed itself. It was now back to its blank, unreadable stare.

"Who wanted me dead?" Senna repeated.

"You weren't supposed to be born." He said in a quiet voice. "It inconvenienced the whole plan."

Senna wasn't sure why this felt like needles piercing the walls of her heart. It was obvious she was unwanted. Wanted children don't end up in impoverished catholic orphanages. She thought she had come to terms with this fact. Yet, the needles painfully ripped through her heart.

"What plan?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me." She snapped.

But Snape had already begun to turn away from her. Senna closed the distance between them. She wasn't done with him yet.

Snape grimaced and pulled away. "You weren't planned, and Elena couldn't take care of you."

"And where is Elena now?" Her mother's name felt weird on her tongue.

"Azkaban." Snape said. There was a flash of remorse on his face, but it quickly disappeared. "She was found guilty of working with the dark lord."

There was a moment of silence. Senna wasn't sure how she felt. "Sh—she was a death eater?"

Snape nodded.

Senna took a deep breath. It made sense. She heard rumors that Snape was a former death eater. It shouldn't be surprising that Elena was too. She was descended from death eaters. Maybe she did belong in Slytherin.

"And my father was too?" She asked in a defeated voice.

His hand twitched. There was a pause. "Yes." He said in a monotone voice.

"Do you know who he was?"

Another pause.

"No." He said quietly.

Senna couldn't tell if he was being truthful. His occulmency was flawless. But something told her that Snape knew more than he let on. But she no longer had the energy to push him. She was the child of an imprisoned death eater. And her biological uncle wanted nothing to do with her. That was all.

Senna took a deep breath. "Thank you." She turned to leave.

"Wait." Snape called.

Senna stopped in her tracks and looked at him. His face was impossibly pale, but that was his usual color.

"Nevermind. Go."

Senna's hand twitched towards the old cloak. It was a knee jerk reaction after carrying it with her for sixteen years. It was the cloak that linked her to her past. She stared at it for a moment. But did she need it now that she found the missing link? No. It was time to let go. What good would it do to hang on to the hope of a family? It would never be what she wanted. She put down her hand, leaving the worn cloak on his desk.

Senna paused at the door. "Who wanted me dead?"

Snape didn't answer. His face was turned away from her.

When he didn't answer, she continued, "Are they still out there? Those who want me dead?"

Snape remained silent. This irritated her. She was about to make a snide comment, when Snape finally spoke.

"Yes." He said.

Senna gulped. "Who?"

Snape shook his head, "I don't know, who exactly," Senna sensed this may not be the whole truth, but she continued to listen. "But if you know what's good for you, you'll stay low and avoid drawing attention to yourself."

Senna scoffed. "There are wizards that want me dead, apparently, and you think keeping quiet will do a damn thing?"

"It will." Snape hissed through a clenched jaw. "Stop getting into petty fights with Richmond. Her mother is one of the council members for the Minister of Magic. Her father works for the department of Law Enforcement at the Ministry." Senna opened her mouth, but Snape continued speaking. "The rumors being spread are causing people to inquire about you. The tournament taking place here will be an international event. People from all over the world are going to be funneling through our campus, there is not a worse time for you—of all people—to be here. Instead of laying low you are getting involved in fights, spreading rumors, instilling fear into your peers—"

"I haven't done any of those!" Her face was hot from the injustice of his accusations. "How is it my fault everyone is scared of me? I never started those stupid rumors like being the spawn of evil, or a mind reader, a soul sucker—"

"It doesn't matter," Snape took a step forward. Senna stumbled backwards. "Either way the damage is being done. I can help you, but you have to stop with the attention seeking behavior. If you want to stay safe, lay low and stop causing trouble!" And then he closed the office door in front of her.

Senna wandered the dungeon hall in a daze. Her head was pounding painfully. Though the information she received was unexpected, she wasn't surprised. She figured as much, being the unwanted, accidental child of two criminals. Yet it left an awful sensation in her chest, it made her want to escape, be anywhere but here.

A patrolling Auror stopped Senna as she walked. "What are you doing in the halls at this time?" He asked her.

"I'm going back to my dorm. I had detention with Professor Snape." She handed him the detention slip. He took a quick look at it and then handed it back to her.

"Very well." He said. "Go straight back, no detours."

She nodded, and continued on her path. But the last thing she wanted to do was to return to that dorm. A sense of dread filled her. She wasn't in the mood to deal with the fearful glares of her peers. It was so unfair. No one talked about how she tutored the Hufflepuffs in Charms. No one talked about her perfect grades and test scores. Everyone only focused on the bad things. Everything was always her fault. She couldn't stand it. Senna's insides were roaring for release.

No, she wasn't going back to the dorm. She didn't know where she was going, but it was going to be far, far away. She broke into a jog.

"Ouch, Fred, that was my foot." Someone exclaimed.

Senna halted to a stop and pressed her back against the wall. Those voices were familiar.

"Why don't you yell that a little louder so that filch can hear us smuggling sweets?" Geroge whispered, "Go on."

"Aye, that tunnel is getting smaller and smaller every year."

One of the twins scoffed. "You're starting to look like a troll, if I say so myself."

"That must've been your reflection, because you sure smell like one."

"Dissendium." One of the twins said, and it was accompanied by the sounds of something sliding against concrete.

"Is the coast clear?" One whispered.

"Errr... no. We've got a little lady watching us behind that wall."

Senna froze. How on earth did they know she was standing there?

"Dammit George, You were supposed to check the map before." The voices grew louder as they approached her.

Senna drew her wand as the two brawny redheaded twins appeared around the corner.

"Woah woah," They lifted their unarmed hands into the air, eyeing Senna's wand. They both wore amused grins. "We're not gonna pick a fight with you. "It's two against one, against our honor code." He winked. "Unless you're in Slytherin."

Senna scoffed. "I don't care how many Weasley clones there are, it wouldn't be a problem."

"Probably not, we saw you get the wand outta Mad-Eye's hand."

"Ooooo right," One of them waved his arms in mock fear. "Spare me, oh great one."

She rolled her eyes and put away her wand. She could hear their wildly annoying thoughts, and knew they weren't planning on silencing her.

She peered around the corner. There were solid stone walls, and a lone statue of an ugly humpback woman. "Where did you two come from?"

The twins smirked at the same time. "Listen here," Fred put his arm around her shoulders and put her between them. She cringed when she felt his hot breath against her ear. "It's a little secret of ours. Can you keep a secret?"

Senna was genuinely curious. "Yes."

Their grins grew wider. "There is a secret passage into HoneyDukes, right there." Fred pointed to the humpbacked lady.

Senna's heart did a flip. An unguarded passage out of the school. This was exactly what she needed. The universe must be on her side—just this once.

"Where?" Senna eyed the statue.

"Listen, you have to say the passcode. Dissendium. It'll open up. Then follow the tunnel, and you find yourself in the cellar of Honeydukes."

"Really? And no one knows about this? Even in times like these?"

Fred held a finger to his lips. "Shh. Nope, just us, I think."

Senna smiled.

"But you have to make sure no one sees you using it." George said.

Senna nodded. "Not a problem."

"And if you say a word about us knowing about this tunnel…" Fred and George looked at each other with smug smiles, then winked.

The redhead released her and then quietly tiptoed down the hall.

Senna's heart pounded in excitement as she approached the hunchback statue. She looked over her shoulder. The dim halls were silent. "Dissendium." She whispered. The statue moved, grinding against the stone floor. She descended down a cramped staircase. Once she was on the last step, the statue moved back into its original position, leaving her in complete darkness. She pulled out her wand, "Lumos!". The passage was dark and damp. And small. She had to duck her head to move through it. She walked for what seemed like forever. Her neck was starting to hurt from the poor posture. She came to an old looking set of stairs. She put out her wand and began to climb.

She lifted the trap door and found herself in a dreary, dark storage room. She crouched and waited, listening for any sign of others. But the silence dragged on. She was very much alone.

Senna raised her wand to the padlock on the inside. Alohomora, Senna said in her mind. The clock went undone. She quietly closed the door behind her, and was met by the cold October breeze. The city was sleeping. Everything was dark and quiet. But Senna knew that not everyone was asleep. There were aurors patrolling the town, which could only mean that Death Eaters could be present as well.

Senna tapped herself on the head with her wand, muttering the Disillusionment cham. Then she crossed her arms against the cold wind, and darted silently across the empty, dark street. She kept checking over her shoulder, watching for both Aurors or others.

She took in a deep breath of the cold air, and let it out with a sigh of relief. This is what temporary freedom felt like. It was exhilarating. A small part of her mind reminded her what Snape said… I can help you, but you have to stop with the attention seeking behavior. If you want to stay safe, lay low and stop causing trouble! She knew this was the opposite of laying low and avoiding trouble. If she got caught now, the consequences would be colossal.

But Snape didn't understand, no one did. The feeling of being strangled by your own despair. The feeling of claws ripping through your chest. She would rather choose death, than to sit in those feelings, alone, in her dorm room.

And so she continued to move through the town, mildly curious to what she might find.

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