Chapter Ten: Hostage
"And let me crawl inside your veins
I'll build a wall, give you a ball and chain
It's not like me to be so mean
You're all I wanted
Just let me hold you like a hostage"
Elowyn's P.O.V.
My friends were terrible at hiding things.
Well, to everyone else they could be good at hiding their adventures, or sneaky behavior of breaking school rules like I'd heard all about through the year of knowing them. After spending so much time with the three Gryffindors, there wasn't much they couldn't keep to themselves. Such as Ron's obvious feelings for Hermione that he likes to play off, and how Hermione has similar feelings towards him. Their consistent fighting was strange to me if they had those types of emotions towards each other. George and I only fought when it was playful, or childish enough to know the difference, but I guess it was better understood between them than anyone on the outside looking in.
Harry hid a lot about himself from others, which only added to the rumors around him. He could be reserved strangely, paying no mind to those around him just to get through the day. At least that's how it was after his name was pulled from the Goblet of Fire. Just before the Second Task, he made me realize he wasn't the type to outright explain that he needed help; that he was the one to suffer his burdens alone and he would wait till the last possible moment to try and save his ass.
Not to mention the very puppy-like crush he had on Cho Chang, but that was about as clear as Veritaserum.
My friends were allowed to have secrets, and they were allowed to have their lives, but what they weren't allowed to do was put me on the back burner if they were up to something interesting, or fun. The way I see it they'd be ignoring the advantage of having a friend like me around, and it would be an exciting adventure to look back on! Whatever their reasons I doubted it would excuse why I feel like they don't think I'm worthy enough to be told about it. Which, at the moment, they seemed to think that I wouldn't notice how they tried to ditch me at Honeydukes to run off. Little did they know that just because I acted like it was fine that the three of them needed to "go somewhere to check something out" and that I would comply for the opportunity to pass.
Did they know my nosy ass at all?
Once they left, I waited about five minutes before leaving the sweets shop and searched for them, catching the bushy and curly mane of Hermione and pursuing them. I had kept low and used anything or anyone to trail behind them, keeping my distance as best as I could without losing them. It wasn't as bitterly cold as it had been through the winter, but March was becoming drier and yet the cold persisted. Wrapping my emerald and silver scarf tighter around my neck to hide my face a bit better I thought about how it was rather exciting to be sleuthing around; I almost felt like a spy that was getting closer to her objective and completing a fascinating mission.
It was starting to get harder to find a place to hide when they finally started to walk up the cobblestone paths toward the outskirts of the village. I took my chance to finally confront them, running to catch up to the three. Ron was the first to notice me, probably from the advancing steps, and nudged Harry before pointing at me. He and Hermione turned to the direction their ginger-haired friend was motioning to and turned around for all three of them to stare at me in shock. Once I caught up to them, I was panting, adjusting my scarf so it didn't smother me, but the cold air only burned my lungs and throat.
"Elly! What are you doing?" Ron exclaimed for the three.
"You… all… suck!" I managed to get out between breaths before straightening up, trying to ease my breathing. "You're up to… something aren't you?"
"I told you we should've let her come!" Hermione seethed at Harry who looked conflicted with the situation at hand. He sighed and looked uncomfortable trying to figure out his next words. He shook his head and stepped forward to me.
"Look, Elowyn, I'm sorry but we have something important to do—"
"Yeah, yeah, something important, and I can't be a part of it! You guys always end up getting into cool shit and I want in on it."
"Cool shite? We've been nearly killed with all that cool shite we told you about!" Ron countered looking flabbergasted at the words I just used to describe what was, albeit dangerous and deadly, adventures.
I sighed and folded my arms before looking at all three of them unconvinced. The eye contact wasn't as awkward or strange as it used to be when I looked at them. "Don't you think you could use another intellectual to help you? Me and Hermione are practically geniuses!" I came to stand by the girl and put my hands on my hips, lifting my chin in an attempt to stand my ground. "Besides, maybe if you had someone like me around, your chances of survival would double enough for you not to worry about an untimely death!"
"She has a point," Hermione added matter-of-factly and also put her hands on her hips, matching my stance perfectly. I couldn't help but return her smile. She must've explained something similar to the boys because the look they gave each other held a defeated miffiness in the air. Harry shifted his weight and opened his coat up a bit more, giving the sight of a very stuffed bag of what looked like food, and a few bottles mashed into it.
"Blimey, I don't think she's gonna stop, Harry." Ron kept his eyes on his friend who sighed deeply once more. Even with his apparent frustrations, he knew me better.
'He should've known me better enough to just bring me along.' I corrected myself.
"And you seemed to have packed quite a bit of snacks in there to enjoy later, so it's only logical for me to partake in this!"
Harry opened his mouth to speak before his eyes caught sight of something on the ground that caused him to look wide-eyed, and after the sound of a bark, I whirled around in the direction he was observing to see the scruffiest, dirtiest, most matted, and the largest black dog I had ever seen. He looked right at me and barked once more a bit sharper, the matted fur seemed to stand on its backside while looking at the three companions. I tilted my head to him, something odd about the behavior of directing his attention to my friends and clearly showing an apprehension to me wasn't normal for any dog I had encountered. However, I've never shied away from an animal and liked to think of myself as some sort of whisperer to creatures, so instinctually I lowered myself to hold out my hand.
"It's alright, buddy, I'm not gonna hurt you." I soothed and watched as the dog stood still for a moment, his large dark eyes kept flickering behind me directly where Harry was at before he hesitantly stepped forward to sniff my hand, the fur around his mouth and nose tickled my palm. Something in the dog perked up as he stepped closer to smell my clothes, his tail starting to wag in a lively manner before hopping up onto my bent knee and sniffing all around my face. He was quite the friendly and curious dog, regardless of his enormous size. Giggling I started to pet the dog and scratch his neck with both of my hands. "See, nothing to worry about, puppers!"
The dog jumped down and barked enthusiastically, tongue hanging out as his ears perked up as he walked around the other three, looking at them as if to convey some sort of message. The idea of it was silly enough for me to giggle again.
"I think that's a sign of approval, Harry." Hermione stated softly. Although the statement was a bit strange for her to say considering I was just thinking the same, I dismissed it as I turned back to the three behind me and resumed my hands-on-hips stance.
"Alright…" Harry said with a mixture of defeat and acceptance of the situation that went fantastically my way. "Let's go then," Harry said. "But when we get there Elly just… don't freak out." The dog that had lingered around us had given a half-hearted bark before whining. I looked down at him and petted him once more to provide some comfort for our lack of attention.
I rolled my eyes, mostly out of irritation at them thinking I couldn't handle myself, but since that was watered down by the affectionate nickname I've picked up, I added a soft smile when I looked at him "I promise I won't freak out, but let's go and hurry to… wherever!" I spoke.
It took quite some time to walk through and up the mountainside of the unknown location we were headed. I tried to get it out of them what exactly we were up to, but they seemed unsure how to explain it before Hermione finally gave me a straight answer.
"We're meeting a friend to talk about some information we can't find anywhere else." As vague as that was, I couldn't help but feel the adventure was more anti-climactic than I first perceived. I let the subject drop and continued to follow them, the strange dog seemed to be leading us as he headed to the front of our little group, and I thought that was quite adorable that he was walking with us. I assumed that maybe the animal had an owner, and he was just quite intelligent to herd his friends to meet up with him.
'Maybe we can bring him to the school and make him a mascot or something if that isn't the case.' I thought to myself with ideas of bathing him, dressing him up in the house colors every week, and how I would sneak him some of the food from the kitchen. Aurora would be thrilled to have a little companion around since she kept pining after taking one of the creatures Hagrid taught about. She didn't have her sights set on the Skrewts though; that had been probably the first creature she decided to stay away from. Maeve would surely put up a fight about him. She wasn't very much a dog person, didn't hate them, but she's always been akin to the feline creatures. Dumbledore seems like a dog person, so maybe he would bend to my charms and allow it, and what would she say if her boss allowed him?
It was a good thirty minutes or so through the winding, steep, stoney path before I saw the dog had turned back to us. As we all caught up to where he now stood the dog then went through the narrow fissure. Harry stepped forward to squeeze through first.
"Wait… we're meeting your friend here?" I asked as Ron followed next when Hermione spoke in a low tone.
"Remember, just relax. They needed an inconspicuous place to meet is all." She reassured me with a hand on my shoulder. Blinking I looked back and nodded before making my way through the fissure. What kind of person were we about to meet if they needed to stow away in the mountainside?
It was a small cave structure that was dimly lit from the outside. Letting my eyes adjust I noticed Harry and Ron standing in front of a great beast that was lying in the far back. It was white and peppered with grey and black spots throughout its body. The beast's wings were folded to create more room for itself inside of the cave, it had the body and size of a horse, but its bird face gave way that this was a Hippogriff in the flesh! I probably would've been more impressed and fascinated with it, but my eyes were taking in the man before me. There was no more dog in sight, but a rather tall man who was stretching for a moment. His ratty and disheveled dark grey robes looked poorly made and reminiscent of a uniform. He had dark, curly yet crazed hair, and his facial hair looked unkempt. I noticed the tattoos that ran along his arms and chest where his robes exposed him. Now I had a clue as to why the others told me not to freak out.
I knew my wide-eyed stare of confusion, mistrust, and hesitation couldn't go amiss as I felt the eyes of my friends linger on me, the man before me stopped stretching while sighing and giving as much of a friendly smile as he could to the three around him that he extended to me. It seemed my presence may have dampened this group's private meeting, only adding awkwardness and putting everyone on guard about how I'd react.
"Wh-who… and the hippogriff?… I… where's th-the dog?" I stammered out, unable to figure out what to focus on first.
"Elowyn," Harry spoke up, forgetting the funny little nickname in favor of a proper introduction, while grabbing a seat next to the disheveled man. He looked up at me while looking back at the man before returning his gaze to me. "This is my Godfather… Sirius Black."
I squinted at Harry as the name rattled around my head as if grabbing to pull from file cases of a memory I didn't care about, or thought I'd never need to know about. It wasn't then that I remembered the way Maeve had spat the name out only a year ago in such vile disgust like it was poison in her mouth. It was Sirius Black, a mass murderer who terrorized England and the Scottish Isles that was reported in the muggle and magical world news. Maeve and Aurora had only spoken briefly about the man, it seemed like a sore subject that I didn't want to push further on. They only told me that I wouldn't be left out of their sights while we remained in London. That year of homeschooling was peaceful and boring, and where I was kept on a short leash because of the man in front of me I had a strange, and abysmally small, grudge against him.
Now that he was here in the flesh, I wasn't sure what to say or do. The fact that Harry was introducing him as his Godfather was incredulous all on its own, but to pair it up with the fact that his Godfather was probably one of the most wanted criminals the London Ministry of Magic was currently looking for was a ballsy move. Ripping off the band-aid, as I've heard, was a direct way that I guess suited situations like this. The others didn't seem phased by his presence, and the more I stared the more I could notice his shifting and worried wrinkles on his forehead.
"I'm the, uh, puppers you mentioned, actually." He stated while trying to keep the situation as light as possible, offering a humorous chuckle to me as well.
Minus dog and add man equals some magic involved. Transfiguration? Possibly, but I thought about the idea for a moment before something came to light I had only heard of before. "An… an Animagus?" I questioned while taking my eyes off the man to look between my friends. Their apprehensive confirmation only amazed me with the news. Granted, the idea of a serial killer was terrifying, but I had a sneaking suspicion something wasn't as it seemed if it involved my three friends. They weren't stupid (especially when Hermione and I accompanied them around) but even then, this could've been dangerous. How well did they know him? How could he prove his involvement in Harry's life? I'd have to investigate further in private to understand this better. I exhaled a shaky breath while swallowing to try and gather myself. "So… Forgive me, but I'm under the impression that you… well, you're…"
"I'd be a fool to think you wouldn't have an idea of what they've said about me, but I can assure you it's nothing but a farce," Sirius answered my ramblings, and though it was hard to see his eyes I could see the contours of his expression that were nearly pleading for me to not object to his statement. It wasn't like someone who was begging me to believe a lie, more so the expression of needing someone to understand his truth. "Harry, do you have the food?" He asked quickly while looking at my friend. It felt awkward for me to keep standing so I decided to just take a seat next to Hermione and Ron. Harry had pulled out a sack of the assorted foods, and bottles to drink from, and gave it to the man, who was quick to dive into the sack.
'If he's on the run then he must be having a hard time finding supplies to survive with… guess that explains the food.' I thought to myself. Regardless of what I had just thought I couldn't stop the emotion of pity rumbling around my chest at his situation.
"He's my Godfather, Elowyn," Harry repeated. "I only just found out last year."
"I had a different idea of a reunion, but I can't say it's not a relief that he knows who I truly am now," Sirius spoke up once again after taking a drink from one of the bottles that Harry had also handed him. "I hope I don't cause you any more alarm, but I noticed a familiar scent on your person earlier. That wouldn't happen to be the same perfume of one Maeve Thorne, would it?"
This was all a lot to take in, but I wasn't sure what else was more bizarre; the serial killer, but not serial killer, in front of me, the incredible hippogriff in the background nipping at his feathers, the connection of Sirius Black to Harry Potter or the fact that Dog-Sirius was able to identify my adoptive mother's scent.
"That makes sense why you didn't stop us then, Sirius." Hermione thought out loud, nodding at his words.
"Y-Yeah… I mix hers and my other mom's perfume sometimes. Like they're both with me… H-How do you know her?" I pushed out while giving him a befuddled look. The question seemed to perk him up at the chance to explain how he knew Maeve. Just what other surprises could today bring?
"We attended Hogwarts together, actually, and went steady for a bit there." He seemed quite proud of that shown through his grin. He looked to the side as if replaying memories that I was now very curious to witness, to at least understand. "She's still a tigress of a woman, even in letters."
I narrowed my eyes at him, unsure that I heard correctly. "Are you saying that you and Maeve were… together? And what do you mean by letters?"
Sirius must've caught my tone because he shrugged while looking at Harry who also shrugged. He seemed to look at Harry for some reassurance toward my suspicious questioning, but when Harry wasn't able to provide anything, Sirius looked back at me and answered.
"Dumbledore was able to secure a connection for us to exchange letters, mainly for Harry's concern. Since he's our responsibility and all. I could only imagine her reaction to finding everything out." Sirius said. There was a tentative way he spoke, but it was masked by trying to explain it as plainly as possible.
"You're all going to have to catch me up at some point," I said with a flat tone, looking between my friends. It turns out they were able to keep quite a bit of information from me.
"I can only imagine how she must've been like our age," Ron mumbled, the light pink in his face was barely noticeable if I hadn't concentrated on his words, which only caused me to roll my eyes. It was no surprise that my classmates took notice of Maeve and Aurora's womanly charms, but it was weird to hear it vocally spoken about. Especially considering that most of them, even Ron, were aiming too high to be noticed any differently by the adults.
"I do have to say I was a little surprised to hear she had a child." Sirius commented while clearing his throat, shifting weight from where he sat, and he took another bite. I caught the air of jealousy in his tone and decided it was clear there was something still there in terms of feelings for my mother.
Sirius black was by no means an ugly man, but for however long he had been in prison it took a considerable toll on him. I could see he could've been attractive, and if he were to clean up and have the proper rest and nutrition needed, he might even bounce back and retain what good looks I'm sure were there. I decided to throw him a bone (figuratively) at my relation to Maeve, but it was more so to correct him. I was never ashamed of my adoption because I was never treated like we weren't related. The bond I have with my mothers was unbreakable, even by blood.
"I'm not actually related to her, you know." I clarified, speaking while raising my neck to observe his reaction as he looked up at me. "I'm adopted, they're my guardians."
"Oh!" Sirius said while acting as nonchalant as he could but did little to hide the surprising elation. "Well… that's also something I didn't expect from her, either. You must've been the most unique child out of the bunch, hm?" I could see the playful glint in his eyes that somehow brought out a younger look to him. I scoffed and folded my arms.
"Of course I was!" I let a playful smile spread across my face as the others chuckled at our banter.
"How is she?" Sirius asked after a moment of silence, looking down as he asked. "I haven't heard from her in some time." He explained before finally setting his sights between all of us.
"No offense, Elly, but the woman has been completely mental!" Ron spoke up first, earning narrowed eyes from both me and Hermione that he must've missed. "She didn't look like she was doing well for a while, and the class was becoming a little scary with the chance of sneezing and catching a detention. Then, all of a sudden, she's back to normal and way more relaxed! Bloody hard to keep up with her…"
"Really?" Sirius seemed fixated on Ron's version of events, I could even point out the concern from his eyes and the way his brow knitted together. While Ron wasn't completely wrong, I still felt like he was being a bit biased.
I sighed while folding my arms. "Like I've told you a million times; she was going through a hard time, and yeah sure, some of the students were punished a bit too harshly, but a lot of them kept trying to confirm that stupid Skeeter article–"
"So were you! It doesn't help that those two actually showed up together at the Yule Ball!" Ron countered.
"Professor Thorne has said it time and time again they're just friends, Ronald! Just because you're easily convinced by Rita Skeeter's gossip doesn't mean everything is subject to be true!" Hermione was quick to defend.
I looked to Sirius who seemed to have a contemplative look on his face as the two Gryffindors went back and forth for a moment. He looked as if he wanted to ask something, debating on how to word it or even consider asking it at all. I tilted my head to the side trying to read his face before looking to Harry who also looked my way. We shared a curious but lost-for-words stare before we looked back to Sirius who shook his head. "Can you tell her to get back to me, soon? I wish I could see her, although in this state…" Sirius looked down at his person before looking up but never meeting our eyes. I could see the shame in those bright eyes as he shook his head again.
"Don't worry," I said, feeling sorry once again for the man in front of me. "I'll tell her, and who knows, maybe I can tell her she needs to try and see you. I'm sure if you've known her for so long she'd want to… maybe scold you to try and take better care of yourself." I tried to be as playful as possible with how unsure how to approach him. Maeve had her nurturing side but most of the time it came off as a lecture.
My attempt at humor seemed to work as he chuckled under his breath. "I thank you for that," He nodded and strived for a smile. "But I'm afraid right now it's dangerous for me to be even doing this, and I think until I can find a more permanent place it's best if she doesn't see me for the time being."
The subject moved on thanks to Sirius. There was a lot to cover in the amount of time we had left together. The more interesting information about the subject of Death Eaters, and what Sirius was able to tell us about them. Harry relaying his missing wand during the Quidditch World Cup could've been stolen by Sirius' theory, the rise and fall of Barty Crouch Jr. from his esteemed reputation to being uncovered by Karkaroff, and how Barty Crouch Sr. had mercilessly sentenced him to Azkaban where Sirius recalled his time there only momentarily.
What was surprising the most to me was Severus Snape's involvement with a gang of Slytherins from their youth that all turned out to become Death Eaters, but according to Sirius never became one himself. It didn't mean a lot though considering a lot of them weren't caught, but he figured Snape was smart enough not to get caught in any trouble.
I let that piece of information ruminate around while trying to pay a bit of attention to what they were saying. Did Maeve know about Snape's questionable past? Surely, she'd know more if they used to be friends, right? Maeve wasn't dumb or careless by any means, but I wondered if she could be blinded to the truths.
Who was to say it was true that Snape was connected to these cult members, anyway? Yet I couldn't shake my suspicions that there must be something more to our Potions Master than we all knew.
)))(((
Maeve's P.O.V.
"You have 20 minutes to finish this short little test, so I expect you all to be able to answer all of them."
I stood in front of my classroom and scanned the faces of my students before instructing them they may begin. The sounds of papers rustling and quills hitting and scratching out answers could be heard among the silence. The class was set up with desks and chairs the way it had been when we first arrived at Hogwarts, and on the rarer days of using their intellect and proving what they've learned they would move to their designated spots. For the last bit of this class all I needed to do was walk around, make sure no one was attempting to test out a new way of cheating their way to success, and answer any questions I could if a student needed help.
My classroom decorum had resumed to what it once was. I could almost physically feel the tension that had dissipated from my students over the last two weeks. I was able to have actual conversations again, and I took this time to play around more with my appearance to make up for the weeks I let myself go. I was happier to know that things were back to what they used to be, but with an added twist that had practically revived me of my old self.
I did my best to remain present for any in the class, and to contain my expressions, but I couldn't deny myself slipping into my safe space within my mind. It seemed like they all were preoccupied with their test enough to where I could conjure pleasurable daydreams. Eleven days had passed since that sublime kiss from that enigmatic man. Granted, I wasn't able to see him as much as I wanted to, but I didn't waste a moment when I was able to hide away from him. It was very few and far between when we were able to sneak away, and most of the time it took convincing to rip him away from his work. I say it took some convincing, but with a few whispered words, and light touches here and there, he would predictably bend to my whim. I had to admit I was being a horrible influence, but he didn't complain too much about that.
"How am I going to get any work done… If you keep bewitching me, Selini?"
Remembering the sound of his slow drawl, the silky tone that wrapped around my being had a hint of stepping on dangerous ground with him, but I could hear it for he truly meant: "tempt me more" in other words.
I lifted a hand to stifle the prideful grin that wanted to be shown. Due to our schedules, our time together was limited. It was a fun game we've turned our secret rendezvous meetings into. On the surface, to our students, fellow staff, and my little family, we'd begun to interact as we used to but hardly spoke to each other as we had been. Occasionally we'd end up sitting next to each other in the Great Hall, exchanging a greeting within the halls, but nothing was more fun than having a public spat that would make our next private time more thrilling.
Walking around the classroom I remembered the very latest time spent together. I did have every intention of confronting him about his treatment of Harry during their last potions class where he mercilessly mocked him and Hermione for reading the latest issue of the Witch Weekly from that inept woman Rita Skeeter. Granted my anger was real and it wasn't some opportunity to get him alone, but it seemed to falter after having a round of heated words with him. It had led to heavy kissing and hard petting before we realized we had to leave due to the next class coming. This called for me to make a dramatic exit filled with low-holding threats and a fake fuming attitude.
I had to suppress a giggle as a student had raised their hand.
A few more students had raised their hands, and Aurora joined in making our rounds to each one. It seemed the last few questions were confusing them, which was fair considering I had worded the questions differently from the way I would normally state it to them.
After the twenty minutes were up it was just a moment after collecting the papers with a wave of my hand that the bell had rung to dismiss the students. When they all filtered through the door, a mixture of chatter about how they thought they did well (or not) I sighed and looked at the stack of papers now neatly assembled in the middle of it.
"Oh! Eustace Fawley forgot one of his bags!" Aurora exclaimed while groaning in pity for the forgetful boy. She looked up at me as she grabbed the bag. "I'll try and go find him before he's too far away."
I nodded and watched as she swept away through the doors. This was an excellent opportunity to continue reminiscing along with getting some type of work done. If I don't zone out completely, that was.
"I really can get lost in my head sometimes…." I thought out loud before pulling my chair out until I heard the sound of my door opening. Expecting Aurora I looked up to see the figure of Severus Snape walking through. He turned as he closed the door and slowly turned his gaze toward me. I offered a cunning smile as my gaze softened at his presence before looking down and fiddling with the pieces of paper from the assignments.
"To what do I owe this surprise?" The purr of amusement lingered upon my words as he sauntered his way to me, hands in his pockets and coming to stand before me with what I can only describe as his version of leisure. Though it wasn't the same straight, tense stature, I could see it was remarkably less tense. He gave me a smirk as he raised an eyebrow, his eyes relaxed on their stare.
"I believe I remembered telling you that you owe me for lost time, Miss Thorne." The smooth baritone voice explained as if it were an ordinary talk between colleagues, the hidden undertone of something more implied sent hot and cold shivers down my body. Though I preferred to hear my name from him, the way he addressed me with playful dominance had stirred something inside of me, nonetheless.
I lowered my lids and bit my lip, extending out my hand for him to take and lead him to my office door. "We can't leave a debt unpaid, no matter the number of times I pay my dues, yes?" I teased him as I dropped his hand and turned to him with my back against the door. I reached behind me to grab the handle, keeping my eyes on him as I slowly cracked it open.
He dropped his smirk but the mirth within his eyes didn't leave. "Yes… we might just have to add… interest, even." His advances toward me as we stepped into the office room felt like some animal cornering its prey with his slow steps and eyes centered solely on me. The excitement of the chase was pounding in my chest as I waited for the moment when he'd strike. That same hunger I had seen in him had glazed over his ebony eyes that pierced through me. Once he stepped through the threshold, I pushed the door closed, and though no words or show of wand waving the sound of the door clicked to lock, and the presence of magic had consumed the door once and twice. It must've been the usual concealment charms he'd place over his office door during our visits.
Not a moment too soon did those strong and familiar hands grab me around my waist before pulling me close. I lifted my arms to wrap around his neck and leaned into the kiss that charged me, rejuvenated, and electrified me all at once.
I felt him push me back, but his kiss still held to my lips, and I understood to allow him to navigate me back me back into my desk, lifting me with no pause or issue onto the flat surface. A small squeak of surprise escaped my mouth but was covered against his lips. I moved my hands to run through his soft locks of hair before they ventured downward to the buttons of his tunic just around his neck. I fumbled with them before the white collar of his undershirt was revealed, and I hastily moved to lay kisses upon the exposed skin. A pleasurable shutter with a sigh was his best attempt to contain himself.
'Even in the middle of this, he will reserve himself.' I thought with a breathy snicker before lightly biting the sensitive flesh. I could feel his body tense from the bold move, but it melted him into my hands after he realized I wasn't going to do anything too drastic.
That was a conversation for a different, more adventurous, time.
His hands started to venture over my body like they had before, connecting to the electricity within my core before he had made the bold move of sliding his left hand down to cup under my leg and lifting it to open myself up to him in a more exposed fashion. The long, black, flowing skirt that draped over my lower half did its job to cover me, but as his graceful, steady, and intimate hand slid up my leg it started to expose my leg had tickled just like his hand. The sensation caused me to tremble, a craving in my lower abdomen and yearning beyond what we've experienced together, showing through a moan that forced itself out between our kiss. His right hand pulled me back from his lips and locked me in his stare. The look of questioning if he should go farther, the urge to do so regardless to satiate a selfish hunger that I was more than willing to give, and the glimmer of gentle craving of me and my body.
My breath hitched as my hand pulled him close by grasping the fabric around his collar, I returned his answer in my eyes with an unfulfilled appetite for his touch that I hadn't expressed till this point. Whatever he wanted to do, however, he wanted, I was becoming more and more engrossed with needing to experience it. When his lower body took up the space between my legs I could feel the tightened bulge in his pants, the belt just above my lower stomach. Our panting was all that was heard as we leaned in to finish our kiss that felt like a resounding solution to what was in question, his hands traveling quicker up my thigh, cupping my hip and fiddling to grab the side of my underwear before the startling sound of the door clanging against the lock jolted fear through my chest. We both pulled away and snapped our sights to the door as we quickly removed ourselves from our positions in a hasty fashion.
"Who the hell…?" I heard Aurora's voice and upon my horror-stricken realization, I had completely forgotten that she was expected back at some point!
"That blasted woman!" Severus snarled while reaching to adjust the buttons to fasten them correctly into place.
"Shit, she can't hear us, right?" My voice shakes between a whisper and mumble with straightening my skirt out and fixing my tousled hair. I knew very well that no one outside of the charms could hear or know what was happening, but I couldn't stifle the panic rising. I checked his lips to notice the smear of the light-colored gloss was upon them, taking the moment to motion to his lips as he wiped away the makeup before giving me a look, I could only acquit to the kind he'd give to rowdy children making a fuss he was displeased with. The action would've normally made me chuckle but the idea of being walked in on at the moment was too mind-consuming.
"She won't be able to undo any–"
A glow of hot pink energy glowed around encircled the doorknob, fighting against the restraints of Severus's magic.
'Damn her impatience!' I thought before trying to rid myself of my nerves. After a deep shaky breath to settle myself, I double-checked our persons, noticing him do the same, to make sure we were both looking relatively normal. Now the only thing left to do was to act like it and convince her nothing was out of the ordinary for Aurora.
With the same inactive movement when he cast his spells, I watched as the magic of the spells dispersed and the lock clicked once more before the door swung open with nothing forcing it shut. The bang of the wood smacking the stone walls revealed the hot pink energy radiating from Aurora's hand the same way her shock and confusion did with the scene in front of her. The wide, doe eyes of Aurora Ramsey flickered between the two of us as she took tentative steps within the room, the glow dissipating from her hands as her eyebrows ran together.
"Hey!" I said while clearing my throat, leaning on my desk to feign something casual while smiling. "Welcome back!"
She nodded and straightened up, looking Severus up and down as he gave her his proficient blank stare before looking back at me. "Yeah, it took a minute for sure, but Fawley is…" Her eyes had spotted something behind me and zoomed in on it. I looked to where she was and noticed papers and one of my pictures had been scattered about.
'I didn't even notice that!' A spike of surprise hit me as I impulsively waved my hand to allow the objects to settle back into what they were before looking up at Aurora, constructing my face to look completely unphased.
"Just… knocked them over by accident…" I explained while shrugging giving another small, tight lip smile.
"Yeah… yeah." Aurora slowly nodded before looking back to Severus who looked as comfortable as sitting on broken glass and nails before nodding to him and looking back to me. "I think I forgot… the… the thing I would help Sinistra with, bye!" She said while waving, nervously laughing, and quickly grabbing the door by the frame and closing it on her way out.
Out of sight I exhaled with relief and let my face fall, scrunching my expression in defeat and feeling foolish of how that went. I heard the sigh of Severus and watched how rubbed his face and grumbled something under his breath I didn't catch before he spoke up.
"I ought to catch up to obliviate what she just saw, you know." He moved to lean on the desk, not facing me as if out of shame.
"She didn't technically see anything, Severus." My words may have been to ease him but it was also partially to allow myself the idea of peace from the situation. "She doesn't know we're talking to each other outside of our job."
"I may have my opinions on Ramsey's aggressively annoying behavior, but she's no fool, Selini." He retorted, his sight still refusing to look at me.
Was he ashamed of us? Surely not after the way he was so proud about being seen with me at the Yule Ball, but the suspicion of how he was acting kept tugging me in a different direction. Of course, this was our little secret; an exciting way to keep this between us, and yet his reaction to nearly (or probably) being caught spiked a bit of insecurity within me.
I walked toward him to put a hand on his shoulder looking into his eyes as he turned to me with a hardened look. "If there's anything I've been able to learn without a doubt, it's that Aurora is trustworthy, Severus… is that what you're worried about?" I asked tentatively.
He held eye contact with me as I spoke but said nothing when I was finished. He must've sensed some worry in my face and lessened his disgruntled look before turning to me fully and exhaling deeply from his nose, putting a finger and thumb under my chin to lift my head to view him completely. "I trust you… and your judgment." He started before letting his hand drop as he gave me a more serious look, the line between his brows deepened with something more taxing on his mind than his face was showing. "But we cannot risk something like that again, Selini…"
I tried to read his face to get an understanding. This was much more than just mixing up our affairs within the school, much more than I was led to believe under assumption. Granted, his stating that 'it would be best to keep this between us' sounded enthralling the way that he put it, but as I looked more to try to understand why risking being caught was so stressful to him, I wasn't able to pinpoint or think of the reason. "...why, if you don't mind me asking." I held his gaze.
His chest rose as he sniffed at the question, holding his breath before the gradual release and compression of his chest. Contemplating the question for a moment Severus looked away when he replied. "Being associated with someone like me doesn't come without a price. I will not allow you to pay for that." His words seemed absolute, as if it were so simple to understand.
I shook my head lightly because I still didn't understand what he meant before looking down as his words rolled over my mind. Severus had a past that I couldn't deny would've put the wrong kind of idea over his character, but could that put a target on his back for the rest of his life? He had been vindicated by Dumbledore, and his judgment may not have been perfect but was characteristically wise. I had only heard so much about the Death Eaters and their allegiance to the Dark Lord, but if he is no longer associated with them then how can this truly impact him now, or even me?
The silence that consumed both of us was so heavy that it was becoming too noticeable. I wasn't sure what to say to him because I wasn't sure what price he was even referring to nor did I understand his immediate panic. The sound of him clearing his throat brought me out of my daze, and upon looking up at him it seemed like the professor persona of Severus had returned.
"I'll see you at dinner tonight, Selini." He simply stated, looking at me with a fixed expression. His eyes were deceiving him, or maybe he needed me to see the concern in them before he left, but he didn't wait for my reply as he walked with his straightened posture to the door, closing it behind him I was left with thoughts that only further confused me.
)))(((
It was like our conversation didn't even happen once dinner had come around.
We recited our casual greeting to one another, and while we weren't on opposite sides of the table, we kept a two-chair distance; me, Aurora, and Sinistra between Severus. It didn't feel like animosity, or truly anything wrong, but for me, it was a battlefield within my brain. On one hand, I could logically (and rather dramatically) explain that in a life-threatening situation, Severus didn't want to attract the wrong crowd (whatever that means) as to not have anyone use me against him as a weak spot and vulnerability, nor did he want to have me associated in a way that would impact my future. I could understand these reasonings, even if the second reasoning only filtered the other side of the battle; was I the weak spot for him? I kept going back and forth on that one faulty logical point.
'He had been pining for me for so long, I can't imagine I didn't have some effect on him.'
'But, even if I know he's a private man, does he not think of me capable of handling my own?'
'He's seen me handle my own, sure, but then he'd understand that the secrecy isn't needed.
'But he's known how these Death Eater followers really are… Maybe he really is protecting me.'
'But protecting me from what, exactly?'
The last question lingered more than the others. I did my best to participate with Aurora and Sinistra who seemed extra smitten with each other ever since the Yule Ball, but seemed to also be careful with their affections and conversations. It was adorable to watch them knowing their secret, but even then, I could understand why they were forthcoming with their romance. Their worries, though valid as they were, paled in comparison to Severus's perspective.
'Severus may not know it but for all the people that could've almost walked in on us, it's better that it was Aurora.' I thought before excusing myself from dinner not a moment later. Aurora didn't seem to notice my shift in behavior and mentally patted myself on the back for my concealment.
As I got up to leave, I didn't look for Severus as I left the High Table. I didn't want anyone to notice the public display, nor did I want to want to see him at the moment. The questions that led to the self-conscious ideas about myself, and the fraught thoughts involving Severus were too much for me to handle any chance of starting up rumors again. As I walked quickly through the Slytherins and Gryffindors I looked for my adoptive daughter and Godson. I noticed that Elowyn was able to eat more comfortably at her house-assigned table, and that was in large part due to her surrounding herself with three of her classmates. Granted, Elowyn didn't like a majority of her housemates and seemed to have a lot of trouble from Pansy Parkinsons "pestering presence", but the achievement of finding like-minded Slytherins was a big step for her in my opinion. I had pride in my house for many different reasons than I knew my fellow snakes did, but at least it seemed that only a few could live up to her standard of open-mindedness. Elowyn was able to have casual conversations with Tracey Davis, who tried her best to exude any energy abilities during the first two weeks within my class, but her efforts were in vain, and eventually had to drop my class.
I wondered if perhaps Tracey thought she could find a way around her lack of abilities by warming up to Elowyn but knowing her I doubted she missed that possibility. The Davis girl looked like Elowyn's opposite when they sat together; strawberry blonde hair, grey-eyed and rather ordinary looking. The only thing that made her stand out was her long black lashes and the little beauty mark she had just above her lip, like the Muggle actress I had only seen a few times in the Muggle movies before.
Regardless of a very stereotypical Slytherin pairing, the two girls were able to have a rather civil relationship beyond the classroom. I remember Elowyn saying it was just to keep a somewhat good footing in Slytherin, even if she wasn't the most accepted among them. The other two were the Montgomery sisters, Clara and Natalie.
Clara was a year older than her sister and couldn't be completely different in their appearances, and personalities. Bubbly, loud, and could carry a conversation between her and the silent Bloody Baron. One looked like Sunrays colored her hair, while the other had hair as dark as midnight, and quiet as they came. Natalie was within the same year as Elowyn, and the two seemed to have a bit more in common with each other. I remember seeing Elowyn and Natalie seeming to have an awkward, and short, conversation with Hermione before the quiet girl hurried away from them. While those two girls took to liking Elowyn a bit more in my opinion, I still wasn't sure what to think about the trio she took to. My child's Slytherin side was showing in the way she was attempting to network.
Elowyn didn't notice me walk past her as she whispered something into Natalie's ear, the pale makeup, pitch-black eyeliner, and shadow highlighted her azure eyes that glimmered with mischievousness. Whatever was said it earned Elowyn a grin and giggle as both girls seemed to find enjoyment in their hushed chatter.
I turned to look for Harry, and searching among the Gryffindor it wasn't hard to find the unruly black hair and sour-apple green eyes that seemed to already be looking at me. I gave him a funny look and wave just as he spoke something to Ron before getting up and walking toward the entrance of the Great Hall. I had a funny feeling about the odd behavior and decided to follow him outside to the foyer.
After stepping out and rounding the corner to the set of stairs heading to the staircases I noticed Harry there, fiddling with his hands before he looked up at me. I could see his apprehension as he took a deep breath before speaking. "I was hoping I could talk to you about something."
He had lowered his voice a bit more as a few Gryffindors had exited the hall and walked past us. I tilted my head trying to read more on him, but the only thing I could determine was nervousness.
"Is everything alright?" I asked while motioning up the stairs and leading the way to a more private location. I was roughly aware of an unoccupied classroom we could use that was a flight of stairs away.
"Yeah, yeah everything's fine." He remarked but his tone wasn't convincing. I raised an eyebrow at his words just as we turned off to a corridor. "It's just… kind of private." He added quickly.
I nodded before motioning to the door of the classroom that I hoped was empty, flicking it open with my magic to allow him to walk through before I followed. Thankfully, I picked the right one as we stepped through the dusty room, a few desks with chairs still laying about. I closed the door and locked it before turning around and folding my arms. "Important, you say… Is this… girl trouble? I'd hope you'd be careful with that Harry–"
"No!" He quickly stopped me with his hands held up. The look of an appalled teenager was rather amusing, but at least he didn't seem to have as much anxiety as he did before. I smirked while chuckling.
"Okay, I believe you," I answered and noticed that his shoulders had relaxed slightly at my playful demeanor. "What's on your mind?"
"Well, first… Elowyn thinks you're going to be kind of miffed, so… just know everything went fine!" His nervous air was seeping out of him even more now. I narrowed my eyes at his words and tilted my head as a hundred different things started to run through my mind, not helping to lessen my previous concerned emotions that seemed more valid now.
"It might best to just tell me before deciding that."
"Okay, okay I'll just come out with it." He sighed as he looked down for a second before looking back up at me sheepishly. "Me, Hermione, and Ron went to meet Sirius yesterday." His words were a bit rushed, but I understood them perfectly. I blinked and let my jaw drop.
"Harry, what do you mean you met him? He should be miles away from this place!" I kept my voice low even though the deserted room had no one able to pry. He winced and went to scratch the back of his head at the potential scolding he was about to receive.
"I know, but he wanted to talk to me about what happened at the Quidditch World Cup, and what I overheard between Professor Snape and Igor Karkaroff!"
I shook my head at him, staring into those bright green eyes while blinking away the strange words that he spoke. It seemed that even though I had tried to put my conflicting feelings once again on the back burner, the fates decided that they were once again stepping in. Was Harry referring to the incident I had heard at the Yule Ball in the courtyard? I didn't see him there, but that didn't mean he didn't happen to wander upon the scene from a different direction. The only thing I remembered from the incident at the Quidditch World Cup was the Death Eater sightings and couldn't fathom how that could involve Harry in the least bit. To also think Sirius would've been so foolish to hide so closely to a village, let alone the one that was located next to Hogwarts, sounded exactly like the carelessness I had known him to do.
"What do you mean by the Quidditch Cup and what have you heard about them?"
Harry then went into his explanation of the events involving the Death Eater attack at the cup, a nail-biting recantation of him and his friends attending the sporting event when those cult members struck. A first-hand retelling was far different than what I remembered being gossiped about and only added to the ominous feeling I had about the situation. I was not made aware till that moment that Harry had to deal with the likes of Barty Crouch Sr. and his accusations of Harry being the one to light the Dark Mark within the sky. It was truly preposterous for him to even suggest it, but the odd incident of his wand missing and being used by a house elf was even more strange.
Harry explained that he felt it tied with the intense conversation that happened between Igor and Severus, but as it turned out it was a separate incident than the one I had witnessed. Igor was becoming more and more erratic with his behavior around Severus from the sound of it. All of this information was swimming around in my mind to the point that a headache was beginning to form. I was trying to understand how this would've tied in, but from the sound of it Igor Karkaroff had associations with the Death Eaters similar to Severus. Harry must've not known the information that I knew, otherwise, why would he be telling me about this?
'He must not know about the connection to the Death Eaters that Severus had…' I realized.
I couldn't look at him anymore and so I lifted from the desk that I had leaned on and paced back and forth in front of him, lost in thought of how to reply.
There was no way I would expose Severus for the transgressions he made, no matter how terrible they could've been. He had redeemed himself, right? Dumbledore himself said he was making up for the past, and I had to believe that. I could see a different light cast on Severus and refused to believe that he would continue dealing with the likes of The Dark Lord or his followers. There was no way that he would take anything that I knew about Severus into consideration; I simply wasn't the person who would be able to make him understand.
"Snape's ran with the wrong crowd before so just be careful Maeve." His apprehensive, but concerning, voice pulled me from my thoughts and made me hyper-aware of my surroundings.
Licking my lips I shook my head to try and scramble together words that would appease him, maybe make him back down or accept them without further investigating Severus. "Severus has become a completely different person, Harry–for the better. He may have gotten mixed up with a few bad folks, but that doesn't make him a Death Eater." I looked at him as I spoke. I watched as he shifted his weight and glanced away from me. "I know you two have a tumultuous relationship, and he doesn't show it for one reason or another, but he's… he's safe, Harry."
Harry's eyes darted back to me as with speculation at what I had said. "Safe?"
I threw my hands out and shrugged. "You don't see it the same way as I do. I've… I've known him for a long time, Harry. He's very much rough around the edges, and trust me no one's immune to that, but there's a part of him not everyone gets to see. That's the Severus I know."
The frustration of being overthrown by my words was visible on his face. "Sirius said it himself; once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater… I trust Dumbledore's decisions, but I can't help but think that Dumbledore might be wrong. Maybe you are too!"
"Harry," I stepped in front of him and grabbed him by his shoulders, looking him dead in the eyes with a pleading expression. The shock of my movements wasn't lost on me, but he didn't flinch or pull away from my grasp. "I am touched you are worried about me… but Severus and I… it's complicated, but I don't want you to worry about me when it comes to him, okay? I can assure you that no matter what I will be safe… and I… I'll keep an eye out on his behavior at the least."
With everything that came into question, I couldn't deny that I would be keener in keeping an eye on Severus, but not in the same way Harry was being led to believe. It was now apparent to me that our little trysts needed to be much more careful; if this fourteen-year-old boy I swore to protect and love as my own found out about us, then those repercussions to my little lie could damage the trust that was there. How can I explain an attraction to someone I had known my whole life to a teenager who was only blinded by his prejudice, albeit fairly understood, but would refuse to see any redeeming qualities in him?
'Perhaps his past did carry a heavier weight than I expected it…' I felt embarrassed by the naive feelings and thoughts that I had earlier.
I didn't like the unsettling feeling of the waves of regret and shame in my stomach as I continued to look at him. I wasn't sure what was going on in his head, but in the moment, I just needed this conversation to stop so I could gather myself.
He nodded as he looked down. I hated to see him so defeated so pulled him into a hug.
'What would Lily think of me?' The ugly words caused me to stare at the ground, giving Harry a reassuring squeeze before speaking.
"Don't you worry about me, little lion," I spoke softly before pulling away. He gave a small smile but even I could see something wasn't sitting right for him. It was sufficient enough for him to accept in the moment, and I was thankful there wasn't a rebuttal.
"Now, go on and finish your dinner, or head back to the common room. I need to get back to grading some papers myself." I dismissed him while letting go of him and taking a step back before offering my well-practiced smile.
Harry nodded before taking a few steps towards the door before he stopped and turned around. "Oh," Harry said reaching into his robes pocket and pulling out a letter to hand it to me. I noticed the familiar wrinkled paper I had received plenty of times before. "Sirius asked if you could get back to him soon." He explained while shrugging once more. "I guess he's been waiting to hear back from you."
Another swirl of guilt hit me as I looked at the letter, a small rueful smile twitching on my lips. "I'm terrible, Harry," I muttered before looking up at him. "I completely forgot to write him back… I let a lot of things slip away from me the last few months." I tried to make the statement as light-hearted as I could, snickering at the end before waving a hand and looking down.
Harry looked a little awkward at this acknowledgment. He gave a small shake of his head before he spoke. "Don't worry about it. I could tell something was wrong… Elly said you weren't doing well." The way he hesitated told me that those may have not been the exact words that the Slytherin girl had said, but regardless I could tell he meant well.
I nodded and looked up at him. "I know you all are close, but I would suggest not letting Elowyn get dragged on your little adventures. I think she has an idea of them being more glorified than dangerous and trust me I was made aware of the things you've gotten into here." I gave him my best stern face as he gave a contrite expression, looking to the side to get away from my scolding. "And you better be careful Harry! I know Sirius is important to you, but you and he could get into insurmountable trouble." I nodded while holding up the letter. "I'm letting him know the same thing, in case he's got any more ideas to drag you into!"
Harry blinked at me before sighing and wincing once again. Though his young face had changed throughout my berating, he overall looked like he was on the edge of spilling something.
"Well… I-I tried, actually. I told Hermione and Ron that I didn't think it was a good idea for her to see him because I wasn't sure what she knew or how she would act, but then she figured it out and followed us to see him—"
"Elowyn met Sirius?!" I exclaimed and looked upon my Godson with such shock. I wasn't sure why I was so perplexed and astonished by this, but the idea that Elowyn had run headfirst into something she wasn't supposed namely took over my surprise. My Godson, adoptive daughter, and ex-boyfriend were going to be the death of me before the end of the year. She was so curious and wanted to be a part of the dealings that she'd even ignore her own friend's warning, so how was she going to even listen to me? Harry was startled by my shock and took a step back, stammering out something to try and ease myself.
"W-Well, yeah. It was fine though! She didn't freak out like I thought she would, and she seemed to like him I think." His brows knitted together tightly. I could see that he was unsure of how to advance this conversation and looked as if he wanted to get out of the classroom as fast as possible.
I huffed and rolled my eyes. Of course, she was warming up to him! He probably would only encourage her rebellious nature and write it off as something I would've done in my youth. However bitterly I was convinced that this was somehow a bad idea, there was no way to know that, and regardless they all returned to the castle without something going wrong.
"Just… Never mind, it happened. The warning still stands for you both! I can't have both of my children out here running around and getting caught with a heathen like Sirius." I tried my best to be as playful as possible, but I was still agitated with all five of them.
Harry gave a breathy chuckle and shook his head at me. There was a pause before his face turned a little more solemn and his lip twitched in the corner before speaking. "I think he misses you… said you two were together when you attended Hogwarts and got kind of..." Harry struggled to find the words, but the vocabulary seemed to be lost on him.
"Did he now?" I snorted and raised an eyebrow, folding my arms and studying Harry's face along with his body language to try and sort out what he meant. "Yes… Me and him were together for a short time. It… unfortunately, it wasn't as civil as I had hoped when I broke it off."
The truth of the matter is I didn't care if it was civil at the time. I wanted to hurt his feelings as much as I had been hurting in secret; a foolish way to explain I was projecting my guilt upon him. I didn't want to think about how I treated him that day, mainly because I refused to try and delve into those feelings.
"I guess there's something about a Slytherin and Gryffindor having one of those strange romances that seems to… well, be influential." I snickered as I thought of Elowyn and George and stared back at him. He seemed interested, more curious than fascinated, but said nothing.
"How is he?" I finally asked him while biting my lip. Harry shrugged and seemed unsure of what to say again. I wondered if he wasn't painting the situation the way it happened and if he was skimming the details for my benefit for some reason. Maybe, it wasn't for me, but for Sirius instead.
"He's free from Azkaban, but… he needs a safer place to be. Living as a dog can only do so much good for him. Not to mention if he were caught at all…" Harry answered while unable to finish the obvious statement.
I looked down as I thought of Sirius Black wandering around in his Animagus form, digging through trash bins to feed himself and the treatment he could possibly receive as an animal. Not everyone was a dog person, and I could only imagine he didn't run across a lot of friendly folks with how intimidating his form was. What if they abused him? What if he couldn't find anywhere warm for a night, and how did he survive during this frigid winter? If there was one thing that Sirius and his animal form had in common was the fact, that he didn't do well by himself, and so the weight of understanding his persistence for me to get back to him only felt heavier. Harry may have been right that he was free from imprisonment, but he wasn't living in any better conditions from the way he spoke about him. The thought was too much for me to dwell on anymore as sympathy swelled through my chest, the light prickle of tears threatened to show, causing me to blink them away before Harry could notice. I wondered if somehow there was anything I could do to help him in his situation.
"Maybe, if he's not too preoccupied which most of the time he is, Dumbledore can see what strings he can pull to do just that." I thought out loud, but Harry seemed to take this as a hopeful sign for his Godfather. Dumbledore did have a way of creating the best situation out of a horrible one.
It wasn't long till he left me in the classroom after a brief goodbye, and another reminder to stay out of trouble. The uncomfortable silence returned for the second time today. There was too much to ponder between the well-being of Sirius and the suspicious connections Severus had.
'Just what exactly would Sirius do just to survive out there?'
'Who cares–he could've put himself AND four kids in potential jeopardy by meeting with them in Hogsmeade! Not to mention all the information he just aided them with!'
I huffed as I leaned against the stranded desk, continuing to fight with myself.
'Well, he's doing something, isn't he? He must know just enough to at least answer the questions that hopefully satiate them.'
'As if it would! They've already proven to put their noses into things they don't need to be in! He also painted the worst picture of Severus possible. Now, I've got to figure out the nitty-gritty of Severus's past to try and uncover his alliances!'
I scoffed at my own harsh words because it was something I was going to have to do. I'd have to face Severus and get more information.
'He's not associated with them; I already know this! He's different now with a different mindset; there's no way he has any more involvement!'
'If he was truly separated from them, and had nothing to do with the Death Eaters or Voldemort at all, then why would a known Death Eater be harassing him at all?'
The thought reoccurred a few times over as I started to pick at my nails once more, staring off into space. They had just recovered from the damage I had done and were starting to heal until I started to pick at the cuticle once more. The anxiety that overcame me as the idea that maybe Severus wasn't exactly finished with them washed over my being. How would he have gained such profound trust in one of the most powerful wizards in my lifetime if he wasn't true to his separation? How could he have stayed out of trouble for so long, and avoided prosecution if he still had his hands dirty in the Death Eater society? If that were true, then I understood that the kind of price I'd pay wouldn't just be materialistic in reputation.
But what kind of price would he pay?
A/N: That turned into a much longer chapter than I anticipated LOL Once the muse starts musing then there's nothing much else I can do. I'd like to thank Helia Revelio and trustedpot for taking the time to review! Your feedback truly means so much to me, and I enjoy reading your comments as I post. :D
I decided to throw in my own type of easter egg by giving the Montgomery sisters my character names from another story I've posted. It might not mean much to others, but for me it's just fun and games. I did want to give you ideas of who the characters looked like, so here is a list of the face characters I have in mind for my OC's/Montgomery sisters:
Maeve: Elizabeth Olsen
Elowyn: Jenna Ortega
Aurora: Zoe Saldana
Natalie & Clara: Georgie Henley & Abigail Breslin from Perfect Sisters (specifically lol)
I've even made a spotify playlist for the story, and runs with the songs of the current chapters posted. I update it once I've updated the story so if you're interested just shoot me a message and I'll figure out how to send it to you :)
Much love and thanks,
TJ