Armilla II

Chapter 4

It had been a few days since Narcissa and Draco Malfoy had come for lunch, and thankfully no more visits had been requested by the Malfoys or any other Death Eater family. I had assured my brother that I would play the necessary role when it came to such gatherings, but I loathed the pressure that came with it. I marvelled at the amount of pressure Severus dealt with as a double agent.

I was quite pleased to go downstairs to eat on Thursday night, knowing that Severus would be there; he had been out the last few nights, either on Death Eater related business or for Order meetings. I hadn't said as much, but I had been missing him. As much as I liked Docky's company, I liked knowing Severus was nearby. With all the pressure Severus was under, I wasn't about to admit that I was feeling a little lonely.

Severus was just sitting down at the table when I entered the room. He looked nearly as tired as he had been the other afternoon when the Malfoys had left. No doubt he was glad to be home. He didn't see me smile to myself in happiness that I could actually eat with him tonight.

He offered me a small smile in greeting when he noticed my presence. "I just got back from Hogwarts," he said, as I sat down in my place.

"Were you seeing Dumbledore?" I asked, watching him pour red wine into his goblet.

He shook his head. "No, Flitwick and I were reviewing the security wards around Hogwarts. Dumbledore has been engaged for much of the afternoon, but I expect him here in the next half hour. We have a few things to discuss this evening."

"Oh," I said, hiding the disappointment I felt from showing on my face. I had been hoping to spend time with him that evening. As it was, I knew Order business had to come first. I wasn't selfish enough to complain about having barely seen my brother in the past few days. It wasn't his choice either.

"I don't anticipate anything coming up in the next few days," he went on, picking up his knife and fork. He looked over at me. "Hopefully I will have no need to go out. I would like for us to work on your mental shield if you're up for it."

I nodded. "I'd like to." We had spent months and months developing my defence and duelling skills during the school year. We had duelled a few times since coming home, but Severus hadn't had the time to properly devote time to expanding the mental shield I had developed.

I had used the Occlumency-based mental shield it to great effect recently when I had duelled with Father. It had managed to throw off Father's first two attacks of the Cruciatus curse, leading Severus to believe that the shield was much stronger than we had anticipated. It had crumbled completely the third time; the memory of experiencing the Cruciatus curse was not something I was likely to forget. Severus was hoping that we could strengthen the shield even more to throw off extremely strong hexes. I wasn't sure just how we were going to practise such a thing; I knew he wasn't about to use Unforgivables on me.

He nodded. "Good, we can make a start on that tomorrow. Perhaps on the weekend we can bury Mother's ring."

Again I nodded. He still hadn't shown me the place on the grounds where he wanted to bury the ring. It was going to be a completely separate place to the cemetery on the grounds. Severus wanted to bury the ring in a place Mother had loved.

"On an entirely different note," he went on, suddenly frowning down at his dinner, probably just noticing that Docky had cut the carrot into star shapes, "provided that next week does not bring significant interruptions, would you like to have Miss Turpin and Mr Boot over here for an afternoon?"

The thrill I felt at these words was astronomical. I hadn't seen my friends since I had waved them goodbye on the last day of school. I was missing them terribly. When Merle had been alive, I had seen them quite often during the holidays.

"I take it from your smile that you support the idea," he said.

"I do, very much," I said, smiling back at him. "Are you sure it won't be too much trouble?"

He shook his head. "I would not have offered otherwise," he said dryly. "I will arrange matters so they can arrive here undetected."

"Undetected?" I asked, feeling a little worried, "Do you mean the house is being watched?"

"The wards around our grounds are far too strong to allow anyone to watch the house," he replied, glaring at his carrots as if in a moral dilemma about whether to eat them or not. "All the same, some Death Eaters make it their mission to delve into the business of other followers. I have had no indication that my movements are being watched, but I'd rather remain vigilant all the same."

I nodded. That made sense. I was elated at the thought of seeing my friends. I knew that Lisa had just arrived home from her trip to New Zealand. Terry would be overjoyed to have a chance to get away from cleaning his gran's attic.

"Thankyou," I said sincerely, returning to my dinner.

He raised an eyebrow. "Don't thank me, Armilla. As happy as you are at the thought of seeing them, I know you need to see them."

Before I could question what he was implying, Docky bounced into the room. He came to a halt at Severus' side and bowed. "Master Severus, Professor Dumbledore has just arrived and is waiting in the drawing room."

"Much earlier than I had expected," Severus muttered. He looked down at Docky. "Tell the Headmaster I shall see him directly."

Docky bowed again and sped out of the room.

Severus sighed, putting his knife and fork down on his plate, which still held a significant amount of his meal. "I apologise, Armilla," he said, standing up. "I will come up to say goodnight later." He squeezed my shoulder as he passed. "Make sure you finish your meal."

I turned slightly and watched him leave the room, his black robes billowing out behind him. I pushed back the dejected feeling I had from his sudden absence. He couldn't help it after all.

I finished my dinner and then helped Docky clean up in the kitchen. I was rewarded with a slice of Docky's specialty Jaffa cake. I went upstairs, feeling in reasonably good spirits, especially since I could have my friends over next week. I couldn't wait to see them.

I entered my bedroom to find that Morag had returned. I had let her out earlier in the afternoon to explore the grounds on the condition that she was not to bring back any unsightly souvenirs. She was currently sitting on top of the piano, her feathers a ghastly shade of pink.

"You know I prefer white," I commented, passing her as I went into the bathroom. She responded with a series of good spirited hoots, hopping about on the piano. I showered and then settled on my bed to read over the essays I had completed that afternoon. Severus was still giving me homework. If I had been having a more eventful summer I would have complained, but as it was, I found completing them passed the time. The essay topics weren't pointless subjects either; Severus had been giving me topics that were either relevant to the defensive magic we regularly practised or to the upcoming sixth year curriculum.

As I read over the first essay, Morag seemed content to hop about on the piano, hooting softly. However, when I moved onto the second essay, she began to get louder and fluttered her wings as she moved.

"There's new food and water in your cage, you know," I said without looking up, "it's open."

As I continued to read, the incessant hooting became ridiculously loud. Annoyed, I finally looked up to see that Morag was now an even darker shade of pink. She wasn't looking at me though; she was staring at the open window.

I jumped as I saw that Morag and I weren't alone. A very large greyish owl was sitting on the window sill, watching Morag through small black eyes. It didn't make a single sound and it sat rigidly still; if it wasn't for the blinking of the eyes every now it could have passed off as a stuffed toy.

The owl didn't have any mail tied to either of its legs; trepidation crept up in me as I watched it. Morag hooting at it was not a good sign; perhaps she recognised it as an intruder.

I didn't really want to disturb Severus until I was sure, especially seeing as he was with Dumbledore.

"Docky!" I called.

Docky appeared in front of me with a pop. "You called Docky, Miss Armilla?"

"Yes," I answered, looking back towards the owl, who had not taken its eyes of Morag.
Morag continued to hoot. I gestured towards the owl. "Do you recognise that owl Docky? If it's a visitor, it doesn't seem to have anything."

Docky turned to look in the direction I was pointing. "Hello, Aeolus," he said simply. He turned back to me. "Aeolus lives here, Miss Armilla."

I frowned. "How long has he lived here?"

Docky stared up at the ceiling, clearly thinking hard. "Docky is guessing about fifteen years, Miss Armilla."

"Why hasn't Severus mentioned him?" I asked, very curious to know that there was another owl in residence.

Docky didn't seem to think that Aeolus' presence was anything important. "Perhaps Master Severus hasn't thought to mention him. Docky only sees Aeolus every now and then, and Master Severus rarely sees him at all."

"Does Aeolus belong to Severus?" I questioned, trying to solve the mystery that was this owl.

Docky shook his head. "Docky doesn't think so, Miss Armilla. Aeolus was Emiliana McGonagall's owl."

I stared at Docky. Emiliana McGonagall? She had been Mother's best friend and had been her Secret Keeper when Mother had fled from Father whilst pregnant with me. Emiliana had been killed in Hogsmeade shortly after Mother's death. Mother had been in hiding in a muggle area when she had died. There had been a muggle massacre in the street we had lived in.

"Why would Emiliana McGonagall's owl be here?" I asked. "Surely it would have been given to her sister?"

Docky shook his head. "Aeolus came straight here after Emiliana died," he explained, "and he refused to leave, not even to deliver a message. Severus knew it was Miss McGonagall's owl and called Minerva McGonagall here to retrieve him, but he was too content to stay here. In the end they agreed to let the owl remain on the grounds. He never comes inside. I leave food in one of the greenhouses for him and he lives on that."

"I wonder why he came straight here after she died," I said absently, staring at Aeolus. He certainly looked quite old. His gaze was still firmly fixed on Morag.

"Perhaps to communicate something to Master Severus?" Docky suggested, now watching Aeolus as well.

I frowned. I had asked Severus long ago, before we had known that we were related, what he knew of Emiliana McGonagall. Her name had been coming up in my dreams. He hadn't mentioned that he had her owl at home. I supposed though, that such information would have been entirely irrelevant at the time. Severus had been irritable enough that I had dared to ask him for information. I smiled to myself as I remembered the days before our relationship had revealed itself.

"I suppose he met Morag flying around the grounds this afternoon," I said. I turned to Morag. "Why is he staring at you, Morag? You weren't rude to him, were you?"

Morag cocked her head to one side and let out a small hoot. She looked back at Aeolus and fluttered her wings. He merely blinked in response.

"Docky thinks Aeolus is curious about Morag, Miss Armilla," said Docky, looking up at me.

Morag hooted again and changed back to her normal snowy white. This change finally prompted a response from Aeolus. He hooted and flapped his wings.

Morag took off and soared around the room once before landing on the window sill next to Aeolus. They both looked at each other for a moment before hopping to face the outside. A second later they took off and disappeared into the night.

I ran over to the window. "Morag! Come back!"

"Docky thinks Morag is in love, Miss Armilla," said Docky solemnly, looking very serious.

"Good for her," I huffed, squinting into the darkness for signs of movement. I could only see the branches of trees swaying in the strong winds outside. "She had better come back soon."

"Docky does not think that it likely."

"Thankyou," I muttered. I made my way back to my bed, intending to finish reading over my essay. I smiled grimly to myself over how ridiculous it seemed that Morag was out with a friend whilst I read over homework.

"Goodnight, Miss Armilla," said Docky, bowing very low.

I looked up to give him a smile. "Goodnight Docky. Pleasant dreams."

Instead of disappearing on the spot, Docky walked over to the door and opened it. He was about to close it behind him when I heard angry voices from downstairs. Docky also stopped, looking startled.

I got up and went to the door.

"-Absolutely not, Headmaster! How you could think of such a thing is beyond me..."

"It is the logical choice, Severus. You must see-"

A door slammed closed and the voices became muffled. I looked down at Docky. "Make yourself scarce," I whispered. It seemed that Dumbledore had made a request that had sent Severus off into a temper. Docky nodded, walked down the hall and disappeared down the stairs.

I closed my own door and went back to my essay for the third time. I wondered what Dumbledore had said to make my brother so angry. Usually when Severus was angry, he would speak very quietly and glare venomously at the offender. He only spoke loudly when he lost his temper, which I did not see often.

Nine o'clock came and there was still no sign of Morag. I hadn't heard another sound from downstairs either.

I decided to just go to bed with a book. Chances were that Severus was not going to be in a happy mood when he finally came upstairs and I didn't want to fuel his temper by going to bed later than I should. I would just read until nine-thirty.

I pulled out the copy of Winnie the Pooh that Matilda had given me for my birthday. I was just up to the part when Pooh was finding a birthday present for Eeyore when I heard muffled voices in the entrance hall. Dumbledore must have been leaving.

Another ten minutes went by before I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I put my book down as there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Severus came in, his face expressionless. He stopped at the foot of my bed and folded his arms. "There has been a change of plan," he said shortly.

I was silent, waiting for him to elaborate.

"It appears that the Headmaster," he said the name with as much venom in his voice as possible, "thinks it would be wise to begin teaching Potter Occlumency again."

Oh dear...

"As such," he went on, his expressionless face suddenly changing to one of suppressed fury, "I have once again been forced into the happy task of teaching the little wretch."

"Over the holidays?" I asked.

He nodded, his expression most ill-tempered.

"A couple of times a week or something?" I wondered where Severus would go to teach him. Headquarters?

He sighed, suddenly looking troubled. He came over and sat near me on the bed. "The Headmaster means for Potter to spend time training with me. Intense training...with no distractions."

I stared at him. "Oh."

"Oh indeed," he muttered. "Dumbledore believes that without the distraction of his friends or school activities, Potter will be able to focus on learning Occlumency and some other defensive magic."

"For how long?" I asked.

"Eternity, as I see it," he replied, his lip curling with malice. "Potter is to be told that he may return to The Burrow after he has conquered what I see fit to teach him. Working under such terms may encourage him to discipline himself."

"Return?" I repeated. "Where exactly are you going to teach him?"

"Headquarters," he answered, sneering slightly. "Dumbledore suggested that Potter come here for the duration, but I would not have it. I will not have a Potter in my home."

"So you'll just go there everyday to teach him then?" I asked, hiding my disappointment at the prospect of even less time to spend with my brother.

He shook his head. "We're temporarily relocating to Grimmauld Place. Potter will be my responsibility for the time I have to teach him. At the moment, no other adult is staying there. The Headmaster sees no problem in taking you with me."

I stared at him. We were going to live at Grimmauld place, possibly for the rest of the summer? Harry's deceased godfather's home? Oh, this did not bode well at all...I had better prepare myself for an irritable Harry, forced to share his godfather's home with his most hated teacher, and an incensed brother, forced to spend his summer teaching his most detested student in the home of one of his enemies. What a lovely little holiday this was going to be...

"I know what you're thinking," said Severus, narrowing his eyes.

"Do you?" I knew he hadn't used Occlumency on me, but then just about anyone would have had the same thoughts when presented with such information.

He nodded. "And I am no happier about it than you are." He sighed, looking weary once more. "I am sorry," he said quietly. "I am afraid this means that you cannot have your friends here next week. We are to leave for Grimmauld Place in a few days."

"That's alright," I said. It was perfectly understandable and I didn't want him to feel guilty. "Dumbledore..." I stopped, feeling like I would be disrespectful saying what I thought.

Severus looked closely at me, his black eyes piercing mine. "Dumbledore what?" he asked quietly.

I considered him for a moment, before deciding to go ahead and express my feelings. "Expects a lot from you," I said softly. "Too much."

He stood up and turned away. "There is much to repay," he shortly. "The fact that I feel overworked shouldn't even come into the equation."

I would have asked why not, but I knew I had already ventured into dangerous territory. I didn't know what made Severus turn to the Light and I didn't think I would ever know. What was important was the fact that he had made the decision to work for the Order and the good of the wizarding world.

"If there's only going to be the three of us there, what will happen when you get called?" I asked. I thought that was a real concern. He didn't go for weeks on end without seeing the Dark Lord.

"Something else the Headmaster has already considered," he said dismissively, sitting down on my bed again. "Many of the Order members will be on a roster requiring them to be on call in case I am called."

"Oh." I didn't know many members of the Order very well. I supposed Harry might know some of them a little better.

Severus suddenly sneered. "Though I have told Dumbledore that I will need to pre-approve the people he sees fit to stay with you and Potter in my absence. I will not have Mundungus Fletcher be responsible for you."

I had never met Mundungus; I had only heard Merle's less than satisfactory descriptions of his character.

"So will you be teaching Harry all day, every day?" I asked. I was going to have to pack a lot of books to occupy the lonely hours.

"For much of the day," he replied. "It seems that Nymphadora Tonks convinced the Headmaster that I would be ideal for the job. Dumbledore believes Potter to be reckless, just as I do. Keeping him on a strict timetable and in tight reign may relieve the pressure he arrogantly puts on himself to be responsible for everything."

I nodded. Tonks had clearly been affected by Severus' words on the day we went to see her. I hoped that Tonks would steer clear of Severus at the next Order meeting for her own sake.

"The trouble with Grimmauld Place," he went on, looking troubled again, "as you know, is that it's in a London street and doesn't have the warded grounds of this house. That said, you will have to stay indoors the whole time."

I nodded. "What will I do there?"

"Take some books," he said thoughtfully. "You'll have the work I will set you, of course." He sighed, pushing hair from his face. "I would say you could practise cooking, since you've been enjoying it with Docky, but the house elf who lives there is not as...obliging...as Docky."

"Oh." I had thought about cooking. I had never been much of a cook, but I had done a lot more of it lately when Severus had been away just because Docky was company. I enjoyed cooking more than I thought I would.

"Then again," he continued, sneering, "Kreacher might not treat you as badly as he does other guests to the house because you're a pureblood."

"Sounds like a nice elf," I muttered.

"I am sorry, Armilla," said Severus sincerely.

"It doesn't matter," I said indifferently. "It could be worse."

"Worse?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "We're spending more time with Potter. It doesn't get much worse than that."

I smiled. If he was savouring making sarcastic comments against Harry, he must be alright. After all, he didn't have the malevolent glint in his eye he usually got when he was furious with Harry. He'd had it on the night Harry had ventured into one of his memories. That had effectively ended their Occlumency sessions.

A sudden whooshing noise made us look around. A gust of wind had blown one of my music manuscripts off the piano and onto the floor.

"You shouldn't have the window open on such a windy night," said Severus, taking out his wand to close it.

"Don't close it, Morag is out there somewhere," I said.

He looked around at me, frowning. "Didn't you let her out this afternoon? She should have been back by now."

"She did come back," I replied. "She left again not long ago. It seems she was invited out again."

He narrowed his eyes. "I beg your pardon?"

"She's out with another owl," I said grimly. "Docky told me his name is Aeolus."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Aeolus rarely comes near the house. It isn't possible that a conceited snob like Morag could have drawn him in."

I smiled. "He sat on that window sill for awhile just watching her. She joined him and then they took off...I haven't seen them since."

"Well, their friendship will be short-lived," he said curtly. "Morag will come with us to Grimmauld Place. She should leave Aeolus alone."

"Why?"

He opened his mouth to reply and then closed it again. He looked uncomfortable.

"Docky said Aeolus was Emiliana McGonagall's owl," I said casually, watching him closely.

"That's true," he said, inclining his head.

"And he came here just after Mother and Emiliana died," I went on. Emiliana had taken the ring Mother's spirit had entered upon her death and had taken it to the Secret Wing at Hogwarts. She had intended to make sure I was alright, but her sudden death at the hands of Death Eaters in Hogsmeade had meant the loss of my identity for the next fourteen years. Severus and I had discovered our relationship shortly after I had found Mother's ring.

He nodded. "Also true." He looked reluctant to give more information, but I was persistent.

"Is there something wrong with Aeolus?"

Severus gave me a slightly exasperated look. "Aeolus is a little...delicate," he said slowly. "It was evident that he had been through some trauma when he arrived here. I thought he would die from shock, but he pulled through. He's never been quite normal though. There are a few insecurity issues; he won't leave the grounds and if he flies too far he becomes very disoriented. He's not very friendly, which I can say must be a result of what he has been through. I remember Aeolus being very different before Emiliana's death."

"What do you think the trauma was?" I asked quietly. I had my own idea, but didn't voice it.

"Witnesses say that there was no sign of an owl near Emiliana on the day she died," he said in a low voice, staring ahead at the wall. "Since determining the nature of Mother's death I can only imagine that Aeolus must have been nearby to that muggle street...close enough to be disturbed by what he witnessed."

He stood up again, suddenly looking irritated. "It's something I should have investigated further at the time and I regret that I didn't. We might have known the truth sooner. As it was back then, there were other issues I was dealing with at that time...Mother's death was another blow to what was already a dire situation."

I dared not ask what the other issues were. Severus was very guarded about his past. It was strange to think of what would have happened if Severus had discovered my existence back then. I might not have known Merle. Fate was a strange thing. It was very likely that Severus would not have raised me himself. After all, when he had first found out that I was his sister last October, he had been initially inclined for me to live with another family. Fate was a strange thing.

"There is no point in dwelling on such things," Severus said, striding over to the open window.

"I know," I said simply. "I was just curious."

He turned and gave me a knowing look. "Naturally," he said dryly. He reached forward and closed the window.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow as he turned back to me. "I thought what I did was clear."

"You know what I mean."

"Ah. Well, I have no intentions of allowing you to cater for that's owl's every whim." He strode back to the bed and sat down, looking quite pleased. "Morag knew she had to stay here, but she chose to leave. Now she can pay the consequences."

I smiled. "I hardly think she'll worry too much about having to stay outside with Aeolus."

"Yes, but this is Morag we're talking about," he said, sneering. "The owl who once refused to eat because she didn't approve of the brand change of her food. I daresay she will want to come back inside because she is a snob."

"It's sort of a test then, isn't it? If she likes Aeolus enough, she'll sacrifice her snobbish ways."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Yes, a tragic love story between owls. What are our lives coming to?"

I smiled as I leaned forward to kiss him goodnight. "She'll probably peck at the window in the middle of the night until I open it," I said, lying down.

Severus took out his wand, pointed it at the window and muttered a silencing charm. "You won't hear a thing now," he said lightly, pocketing his wand. "Morag can stay outside for the night. Poor Aeolus...he's been through enough stress and now he has Morag thrust upon him."

"I think he started it," I said thoughtfully. "Don't blame my owl."

Severus extinguished the lights. "Goodnight Armilla."

o o o o o o o o o o

By midday the next day I was very ready to go back to bed. To my delight, Severus had not been required to be anywhere and so we had spent the morning testing the strength of my mental shield. There would not be a great deal of time to spend developing it further since most of Severus' time would be taken up with Harry.

Morag had returned early that morning and I had let her in. She had seemed in very good spirits. Aeolus had not returned with her, but I had a feeling that I would be seeing him again soon.

Severus and I had spent time duelling as normal; Severus had instructed me to keep the shield up, but he had attacked with much stronger spells than I was used to. I had held most of them off, but tiredness and the repeated shock of strong spells trying to penetrate the shield made it fail after a couple of hours. The result had sent me crashing into a pile of cushions. Severus had conjured them as a precaution before we had started.

I staggered as I got up, hastily trying to restore the shield before he attacked again.

"What made it fail this time?" he asked, lowering his wand.

"Tiredness," I answered honestly. "I know it's not a good excuse."

He shook his head. "We haven't been having the regular practice we had at Hogwarts. If it's possible, we'll try and find half an hour each day to keep practising. I want you to keep moving forward with this."

"What about Harry?"

He sneered. "I won't be teaching Potter every minute of the day. He will be assigned written work to do as well, which he can complete in his own time."

I nodded slowly. "We can't fully test how strong I can make the shield without casting the Cruciatus curse though."

He frowned. "I have no intentions of casting it. I can only keep casting strong spells repetitively in the hope that your shield will become stronger in its effort to ward them off." He pocketed his wand.

"Can't we keep going?" I asked, feeling disappointed.

He shook his head. "We've done more than enough for one morning. You look like you're about to fall down again."

"I'm not," I said crossly, putting my own wand away. I wanted to keep going. If I had not fallen down, we would still be duelling.

"Don't get stroppy, Armilla," he said sternly, narrowing his eyes. "We're not stopping because your shield failed; we're stopping because we've been at it too long."

I nodded, but for some reason I felt annoyed inside. Severus was perfectly right; we had been duelling for ages, and not ten minutes ago I had been hoping that we could have a break. I didn't know why I was suddenly feeling so cross. Maybe I was overtired.

"Come," said Severus, gesturing me to follow. "Our lunch should be on the table by now."

We left the room and made our way to the breakfast room where we normally ate. The dining room table was quite large and Severus didn't like eating in the dining room. Sure enough, Docky had left sandwiches sitting on the table for us.

"I had planned to bury Mother's ring on the weekend," Severus began, after taking a drink of water, "but Potter's sudden dominion over our lives means a change of plan is in order. Would you like to bury it this afternoon?"

The annoyance I was feeling inside was suddenly replaced with another feeling I couldn't really identify. I missed Mother; I wished her ring was still working. I could have secretly taken it to Grimmauld Place so I could have someone to talk to while Severus was teaching Harry.

I nodded. "Alright."

"I still wish to bury it on the section of the grounds that was important to Mother," he went on, picking up a roast beef sandwich. "Is that alright with you?"

"Yes."

"We could fly there and then spend this afternoon practising your flying skills again."

I nodded. "Alright."

"Unless you're too tired from this morning..."

"I'm not tired."

"Mm," he said, his expression clearly showing that he disagreed.

"I'm not," I insisted.

"I heard you the first time," he said, narrowing his eyes.

I felt cross all over again. "And even if I was," I said, "I would want to go flying anyway. It might be the last time this summer."

"Hopefully, it won't be," he said, looking indifferent as he picked up his glass again and took a drink.

His answer made the annoyed feeling rise up inside me. I felt an urge to argue. I wanted to retort that it probably would be, seeing as Harry had failed learning Occlumency, but that answer would not be taken well.

We were silent for a few minutes. I turned my thoughts to the coming week. I shouldn't resent Harry. It was important for him to learn Occlumency and whatever else Severus had to teach him. It wasn't like Harry wanted to. It was ironic that Harry detested spending time with Severus and was being forced to, while I liked spending time with him and was limited.

"I suggest you have a look in the library sometime between now and Sunday so you can pick what to take with you to Grimmauld Place," said Severus, reaching for another sandwich.

"Wouldn't I have to know what essays you're going to set before I can do that?" I asked quietly.

"I meant books for reading pleasure," he said, frowning slightly at he looked at me. "I'll pack the ones you'll need for schoolwork."

"Oh."

"What the matter?" Severus asked flatly, fixing his black eyes on mine.

I looked up at him, surprised. "Nothing."

"Indeed," he said, turning back to his meal.

"Why would there be anything wrong?"

"You're insisting that you're not tired," he said simply. "I have never made being tired an offence. You're very clearly tired and crabby in my opinion and your insistence that you're not either means you're overtired or not willing to share something on your mind."

I stared at him, torn between the truth in his words and the itching feeling I had to snap and tell him that he was wrong.

"There's nothing on my mind," I said quietly, looking down at my plate. "And you know I would tell you if there was."

"I do," he said, inclining his head, "if you could explain it. As it is, I would put off burying Mother's ring this afternoon, but I don't want to risk losing more time."

"There's no need to put it off," I said. "I'm not that tired."

He smirked. "I thought you weren't tired."

I didn't answer. Fine, I was tired.

"We won't stay out long flying," he went on. "You might benefit from being outdoors."

I nodded, biting down the urge to argue again. Merlin, I was crabby.

We ate in silence for the rest of the meal. I became lost in my thoughts once more and Severus seemed much the same. He only spoke again when we were getting up from the table.

"Have you been playing the piano recently?" His voice had a stern air about it, which surprised me.

I shook my head. "No."

He folded his arms, looking less than pleased. "Why not?"

"I haven't wanted to," I said simply. I had always loved playing the piano, but it was something I very rarely did now. I had only started playing it again in the last eight months after a long period of not playing at all. Merle's horrible neighbour Shar had turned me off it. Severus seemed to think that playing the piano was a good way to release suppressed emotions. The thought of that made me feel awkward about playing.

"I think you should," he said firmly.

"There's no reason to," I pointed out.

He sighed. "You might just enjoy it," he said, passing me to walk out of the room. As I watched him disappear from sight, a lump formed in my throat...and I didn't know why.

I walked out of the room, intending to take my brother's advice. There were conflicting emotions inside me; the crabby voice was telling me not to play, while the more positive one said that Severus was probably right and I was just feeling emotional because I knew I wasn't likely to spend much more time alone with him before we went back to school. That must be it.

The doorbell rang as I walked down the corridor, swallowing the growing lump in my throat. I reached the entrance hall and found Severus standing there, looking in the direction of the corridor leading to the front door. I could hear Docky's voice.

"Docky is pleased to see Professor Dumbledore, sir."

Docky came into the entrance hall, closely followed by the headmaster, wearing robes of deep purple with little silver stars on the hems. He looked less spirited than usual, though that could have been put down to the weight of the Order work he was involved in. I suddenly felt guilty for being forlorn over seeing less of my brother.

"Ah, Severus, Armilla," he said, inclining his head. "I am sorry to intrude upon you again, seeing as I was only here yesterday."

"Not at all," said Severus, his face expressionless. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"I have news," said Dumbledore. "I think it would be best to sit down so we can discuss it."

Severus turned to me. "Armilla, perhaps you should take me up on that advice whilst I speak with the Headmaster."

I nodded, turning towards the stairs.

"Actually, I think Armilla should join us, Severus," said Dumbledore, his own expressionless face giving nothing away.

I paused. Severus was looking dubiously at Dumbledore. "Headmaster, I do not-"

"It is not Order related business, Severus," Dumbledore interrupted. He held an arm up in the direction of the drawing room. "Shall we?"

Severus nodded curtly, looking less than impressed. He then turned to Docky. "Docky, please bring some of the Elf Made wine and something for Armilla to the drawing room."

Docky bowed and disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

I followed Severus and Dumbledore into the drawing room.

"I presume you have informed Armilla about your impending relocation?" Dumbledore asked Severus, as we sat down. I sat with my brother on the sofa while Dumbledore settled himself in an armchair near Severus.

Severus nodded. "I have."

Dumbledore looked at me, his blue eyes piercing mine. "I am sorry to have your holidays disrupted like this, Armilla," he said sincerely. "I am sure you understand that it is a necessity."

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

Dumbledore leaned back and the sleeve of his robes moved to reveal a blackened, shrivelled hand. It looked like it had been horribly burned. I realised I had been staring and looked away, but Dumbledore had noticed.

"Nothing to worry about, Armilla," he said kindly, shaking the sleeve to cover his hand once more. "I've grown rather used to it. The timely action of your dear brother stopped it spreading too rapidly. I daresay Severus hasn't mentioned this to you?"

"No, sir," I said quietly.

"I did not think to mention it," said Severus quietly.

"Understandable," said Dumbledore, inclining his head as Docky appeared with the drinks. After he had left, Severus spoke.

"What is this news, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore put his goblet down, looking grave. "You mentioned burying Hazel's ring recently, Severus."

Severus nodded. "We were planning on doing it this afternoon."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I would cancel that."

Severus put his own glass down now. "The reason being?" he said, his eyes narrowing.

Dumbledore looked at me for a moment before turning his eyes back to my brother. "Your mother's body has been discovered."