Armilla II

Chapter 8

"Ah, impending doom," Severus muttered, handing me Morag's cage before reaching out for the serpent-shaped doorknocker. He rapped sharply and then stood back, a look of distaste evident on his face as he took in the dirty exterior of the Georgian terraced house.

I hadn't been to Grimmauld Place in over six months, and Sirius Black had been alive then. It was a little disturbing to return to the house of a dead man whom my brother had loathed. As it was, it seemed we would be living here for a while.

Severus had been in a particularly ill-tempered mood at breakfast and, having anticipated this, I had kept my own conversation to a minimum. I was predicting many irritable moods in the forthcoming weeks from him and so it would not do to add to his stress by appearing grossly unhappy at Grimmauld Place. He had, after all, gone to the trouble of buying me a violin to learn while I was there.

The door gave a series of clicks before creaking open. Severus pushed the door further open.

"Go in quietly," he whispered, gesturing for me to enter. "It will not do to upset Black's mother."

Black's mother? Wasn't she dead? Tonks had mentioned going into the hall quietly we I had come with her the first time. I had never found out why.

I walked in slowly, noting how dark the house seemed. Even Father's house at Snape Manor had more light than this. Apart from the peeling wall paper and the threadbare rug, the hall seemed quite clean.

As Severus closed the door quietly behind him, my eyes fell on a heavy curtain that didn't seem to be concealing a window.

"What's that?" I whispered, nodding towards it.

"The portrait of the late Mrs Black," he murmured. "You would do well to remember that unless you want to be subjected to the old hag's rather vociferous rants on blood traitors you will keep all noise to a minimum."

I nodded, feeling so at ease.

I heard the sound of rushing footsteps coming from the kitchen stairs and a moment later Mrs Weasley came into view. She was wearing an apron and carried a spatula in one hand. She looked a little ruffled, but her smile was genuine.

"Professor Snape, Armilla," she said pleasantly. "Did you have a safe journey?"

"Indeed," Severus answered, inclining his head. "I trust Potter is already here?"

Mrs Weasley's smile faltered for a moment. "Yes, he is," she said, her smile now seeming more forced. "He's in the kitchen with Remus."

Severus' eyes narrowed. "Lupin's here? How simply wonderful."

Mrs Weasley pursed her lips. "He's not staying, Severus. He came to see Harry with the intention of speaking to him before you arrived." She clutched at her apron, looking a little flustered. "Harry has not...ah...taken well to this idea."

Severus smirked. "Well let me go assure him that this little holiday delights both Armilla and myself to no end."

Mrs Weasley frowned. "This will be difficult for him, Severus, you must understand that."

Severus sneered. "As long as he remembers his place, hopefully the difficulties in teaching him won't be too numerous. There will be no one to coddle him here."

Mrs Weasley scowled now. "He has just lost his godfather, Severus," she whispered in a deadly tone. "You may not have liked Sirius, but he meant a lot to Harry. Perhaps you will keep that in mind in the forthcoming weeks."

Severus folded his arms, his glare rivalling that of the short woman in front of him. "If my services include consoling a grieving Potter then perhaps I should beseech the Headmaster to postpone this visit until Potter is ready to do what is expected of him."

Mrs Weasley opened her mouth to retort, but seemed to think better of it. She sighed. "Well, Dumbledore seems to think this is necessary," she said at last.

"As does Nymphadora, Shacklebolt and many others, including Lupin," Severus replied, looking bored. "Are we to stand here discussing this, Molly, or shall I show myself down to the kitchen?"

Mrs Weasley pursed her lips once more, turned on her heal and walked purposely towards the kitchen stairs.

"Leave Morag here," Severus muttered, looking irritated.

I put down the cage, glad that Morag was sleeping for the sake of not disturbing Mrs Black. I was glad to have woken that morning to find Morag sleeping; it was easier to travel with a sleeping owl. Morag was not going to be happy when she woke and found that she was in a different place; a place where Aeolus, her owl friend, was not present.

I followed Severus down to the kitchen, trying to push away any feelings of apprehension. The conversation with Mrs Weasley had not been a good start.

We followed Mrs Weasley in to find Harry sitting down at the table, while Lupin was standing on the other side, his arms folded, looking very drawn. This tiredness may have not only been due to Order work, if Harry's face and body language was anything to go by. Harry was slouching in his seat, arms also crossed, looking moodily at the table. I guessed that whatever conversation had just transpired between them had not gone well.

Lupin turned at the sound of our footsteps. "Good morning, Severus," he said, nodding at my brother. He smiled at me. "Hello, Armilla."

"Hello," I replied, not sure what to call him. I had been used to calling him Professor Lupin. He had been the best Defence against the Dark Arts teacher I'd ever had, apart from my brother's private sessions, of course.

He smiled. "Don't call me Professor. You may call me Remus."

I nodded and Severus frowned at him. "Wishing Potter a fond farewell, Lupin?"

Lupin looked unfazed. "In a manner of speaking." He looked back at Harry, who was still staring at the table. "I was just assuring him that that he's not being...erm...left here."

"Feeling abandoned, Potter?" Severus sneered.

Harry looked up, but not at my brother. Instead, he sent a furious glare at Lupin, who in turn merely shook his head. Harry had yet to acknowledge our presence in the room and I didn't think it would occur any time soon.

"Perhaps I should show you where you will be staying," said Mrs Weasley from the doorway. "You might like to deposit your belongings in your rooms."

"Yes." Severus turned and gestured for Mrs Weasley to lead the way. Her face was red and she looked far from pleased. She clearly didn't think this was a good idea.

I collected Morag, who was still sleeping, in the hall and then we followed Mrs Weasley up the stairs to the first floor.

"Armilla, you'll be staying in the room Ginny and Hermione use," said Mrs Weasley, opening the door. The room was just as I remembered it when I had stayed there for the day back in January. Hermione had come in to talk, shortly followed by Ginny, Harry and Ron. It was a long, narrow room with two floor length windows at the far end. There were three beds with old-fashioned eiderdowns on them.

I placed Morag's cage down as Severus withdrew my shrunken trunk from his pocket and returned it to its original size.

"There are several guest bedrooms, Severus," said Mrs Weasley, as we turned back to face her. "There is another one on this floor down the hall, a spare on the floor above next to Harry's room, and another on the floor above that, but the twins occupied that one and I cannot assure you that it is free of their joke products."

"The one on this floor should suffice," he replied, nodding for her to lead the way once more. I could tell that he was keen for her to be gone. As nice as Mrs Weasley was, she wasn't the sort of person whom Severus would want to spend excessive time with.

We returned to the kitchen minutes later, having deposited all our things in our rooms, to find Harry now standing next to Lupin.

"Well then," said Mrs Weasley, bustling over to them, "it is high time I left. Things to see to at home." She pulled Harry into a tight hug, which he looked very self-conscious about returning. "We'll see you, soon dear," she said upon releasing him. "You'll come to us on your birthday. I've told Professor Dumbledore that I will brook no argument on that subject."

Harry gave a small nod, turning a little red. Personally, I was surprised that Severus was not sneering at the scene; it was the sort that he would normally scoff at, even though he could be affectionate when he knew no one was watching. As it was, he was gazing around the kitchen instead with an indifferent expression.

"Don't hesitate to contact me, Severus, if there's anything needed," said Mrs Weasley, walking towards the door.

"Of course, Molly," he replied, ever so politely. He turned to Lupin to say something, but suddenly clutched his left arm instead.

Mrs Weasley and Lupin both froze, anxious expressions on their faces. Even Harry broke his gaze away from the table, watching Severus closely. I felt a pang in my chest; we had scarcely been there ten minutes and Severus had already been called. Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

"Go, Severus," said Lupin quietly. "I don't have fixed plans this morning. I'll stay with Armilla and Harry."

Severus frowned, clearly not liking this idea, but he nodded in agreement. He turned to me. "You'll be alright?"

I nodded, feeling all the eyes in the room upon us.

"Are you sure it's alright, Remus?" asked Mrs Weasley. "I did need to get back, but I can stay if you have anything pressing-"

"It's fine, Molly," he said. "I'm sure we'll find things to do."

Mrs Weasley nodded, said her goodbyes and then took her leave.

"Actually," said Lupin suddenly, looking thoughtful. "The library is in complete disarray. I suspect Kreacher has been rummaging through it searching for more of Mrs Black's heirlooms. Perhaps Armilla and Harry will help me return it in a reasonably orderly state."

"How terribly riveting," Severus sneered, looking bored. "I trust that you'll monitor what books are being exposed, Lupin. With the Blacks being an old family I would expect that there are some books upstairs that are not quite appropriate."

Lupin smiled mildly. "I applied a filtering charm long ago, Severus. All restricted books are already out of reach."

I wondered if Severus was mainly referring to the books being inappropriate for Harry. After all, I had been exposed to books on dark curses with pictures that had made my skin crawl. But then, that was to show me what some spells were capable of. Maybe he didn't trust Harry not to be reckless with new spells he knew little about.

Severus nodded curtly. "Very well. I shouldn't be too long."

Lupin nodded. "We'll see you soon."

Severus turned back to me and as our eyes met I felt a lump in my throat. I didn't want him to go. He didn't hold his gaze for too long and he wasn't about to say anything else in front of an audience, but I still felt a little comforted by his look.

As he walked towards the door, Lupin turned his attention to Harry, who was watching Severus and I with fixed scrutiny. "Coming upstairs, Harry?"

Harry gave a tiny shake of his head. "No," he said quietly.

Lupin sighed, looking a little annoyed. "Harry-"

"Do not pressure the boy, Lupin," Severus interrupted, turning around in the doorway. "If Potter prefers to act like a stubborn two-year-old, let him get it out of his system now." He looked coldly at Harry, who was glaring daggers back at him. "But be assured Potter, that this attitude will not be tolerated when I return."

Harry continued to glare at him, but said nothing. Severus looked completely unaffected by this. He looked at me once more before sweeping out of the room, his black robes billowing out behind him. As his footsteps died away, I suddenly felt a huge sense of loss. Merlin, I was such a baby.

"Well then," said Lupin, walking to the door. "We'll go up to the library." He turned around and looked at Harry, his expression unusually stern. "Should you decide to join us, Harry, you know where we'll be."

Harry nodded, looking torn between a desire to just come upstairs to the library with us or sit crossly in the kitchen. It seemed he was determined to do the latter. I had never realised just how stubborn Harry could be; but then, I didn't know him all that well.

I followed Lupin out the door and up the kitchen stairs. As we headed up the main stairs to the first floor, we met a very old house elf wearing a filthy pillowcase coming down them. He reminded me very much of Jiffy, Father's wretched house elf. He paused as he saw Lupin.

"Filthy half-breed in my mistress' house," he said in a crackly voice. "Oh, what would Mistress say, Kreacher wonders."

Lupin passed him. "Beautiful day, Kreacher," he said pleasantly.

Kreacher gave him a look of deep loathing. "Kreacher pretends not to hear the filthy half-breed speaking." His eyes then fell upon me and they widened. "And there is the pureblood the blood-traitor Weasley woman spoke of. Kreacher knows better. Miss Narcissa spoke to Kreacher of the Noble House of Snape, oh yes." He stepped right back on the stairs and as I passed him he bowed deeply.

"Hello Kreacher," I said awkwardly.

Kreacher looked thrilled. "The heiress of the Noble House of Snape does Kreacher proud in speaking to him." He turned and disappeared down the stairs.

I kept walking, now feeling distinctly uncomfortable to hear this in front of Lupin. When I reached him at the top of the stairs he simply smiled. "It seems you have a fan," he said mildly.

"For no good reason," I said simply.

He laughed. "I see you resist the influence of certain pureblood families you no doubt come into contact with now."

"Keeping them at arm's length can be difficult," I admitted, thinking of all the pureblood families who were at Father's dinner party the year before. They were all eager to show off their sons to Father as potential good, pureblood husbands for me.

"I imagine so."

We went up another flight of stairs and I followed Lupin down the hall and into a very large room. The library was certainly far from orderly. There were books all over the many shelves that lined the walls, but many were sticking out, clearly shoved back in without any care. There was a round table with four chairs in the middle of the room. It was covered completely with towers of books. The armchairs in the room were also occupied by books and old newspapers. Clearly, Kreacher aside, no one cared much for this room.

It certainly wasn't an inviting room. The library at home was two-storey and had large windows and everything was neat and methodical, as Severus liked it. This room seemed quite dark as it didn't allow any morning sun in. The peeling, silvery grey wallpaper, coupled with the old, dark green carpet could certainly not be deemed aesthetically pleasing in my view. My mind was swept with a wave of embarrassment as a voice in my own head accused me of snobbery. "Sod off," I retorted in my mind. Merlin, I was already playing mind games with myself.

"As you can see, I wasn't joking," said Lupin, looking around the room.

"No," I murmured, walking towards the nearest table. I glanced at a few of the titles. Raphael's Redemption, Great Goblin Riots of the 14^th Century, and How to Tame a House Elf.

"With a few good spells, hopefully this won't take too long," he said, picking up a book called Beware! Dangerous Magical Creatures. He turned back to me. "Don't feel you have to oblige me and help, Armilla," he said quietly. "I was actually trying to get Harry out of the kitchen. I suppose suggesting tidying up the library wasn't the best idea."

I nodded. "Has he been sitting there all morning?"

He nodded grimly, taking out his wand and summoning a group of books off a shelf. "I don't envy your position," he said, glancing over the titles. He waved his wand again and they flew back to the shelf, neatly arranging themselves alphabetically. "I suppose you've been sentenced to the role of innocent bystander for a while."

I smiled, taking out my wand to summon some books as well. "You mean this won't be a tension-free holiday?" I asked sardonically.

He laughed, looking over the titles of the books I had summoned. "I just hope this whole event will provide good results."

I wondered if he meant good results for the Order or good results in improving Harry's reckless temperament. Maybe he meant both.

We spent the next half hour summoning books and magically sending them back to their proper shelves. Lupin taught me a couple of useful ordering spells.

"Severus is very private about his relationship with you," Lupin said quietly, sitting down at the table when we'd finished. He took out his wand and warded it against eavesdroppers. After all, Harry could be anywhere in the house.

I joined him at the table, wondering where he was going with this conversation.

"That's exactly how I expect him to be," he went on, looking seriously at me. "Of course there are the nosier Order members who have their questions, but," he smiled, "I expect you would know how well your brother can bring an abrupt end to conversations he has no wish to discuss."

I nodded. I certainly did.

"I assume that wherever you are in your relationship with Severus," he said slowly, "it was not extremely easy to get there."

I said nothing. I did agree, of course. In the early days I had found it very difficult learning to see Professor Snape, Head of Slytherin as Severus, my older brother and guardian.

"What I'm getting at," he continued, "is that you would appreciate what it was like to be on the other side. You occupied the position of just another Ravenclaw student in Severus' eyes for over four years. You know what it was like to deal with Severus as a teacher only."

Slowly, I nodded. When I had been just another student, I had never had a favourable opinion of my Potions teacher. He had intimidated me to no end.

Lupin paused, looking thoughtful, clearly thinking carefully about how to express himself. "Therefore you would understand the discomfort Harry must be feeling at the moment to have to spend time with this particular teacher in Sirius' house." There was an emptiness to his eyes when he mentioned his old friend's name.

"Their animosity is well known," I said quietly.

He nodded. "Harry's resentment is still strong at the moment. I am hoping that in time, he will come to see the benefit of this."

"I wouldn't expect that any time soon," I said, thinking of Harry's attitude earlier in the kitchen.

Again, he nodded, a sad frown on his face. "I would not ask you to befriend Harry," he said softly. "I am very aware that such a thing is dangerous for you and Severus." He gave a dry laugh. "Actually, if You-Know-Who ceased to exist, I am sure Severus would still have strong feelings against you talking to Harry. Even so," he paused to meet my eye, "even so, I am just asking you to be aware of Harry being a little...vulnerable. He's still grieving and his anger means he's more likely to be a little reckless and temperamental. I don't know what influence you may have over your brother, but perhaps you can be the calm during the several storms I expect to pass through this house."

Oh. Lupin thought I might be able to pass on my rational explanation for Harry's behaviour for every time he and Severus quarrelled.

"I don't think I have that much influence," I said honestly. I could say more, but I respected my relationship with my brother too much. I knew he wouldn't appreciate me discussing this topic with Lupin, though Lupin's intentions were good.

"You never know," he said quietly. He suddenly smiled. "Best of luck to you."

I smiled back. "I think we'll all need it."

o o o o o o o o o

When Severus returned an hour later, I was in my room unpacking. Morag woken twenty minutes ago and was hooting forlornly from her cage. She clearly wasn't impressed with her new surroundings.

"Hopefully we'll get at least a couple of weeks at home before we go back to school," I told her. "This won't be for the rest of the summer. Dumbledore wouldn't do that to Severus."

She gave a muffled hoot and turned the other way. Severus was right at times. She really could be snooty when things didn't go her way. She wasn't the most easygoing of pets. Severus was still doing his best to knock the conceitedness out of her.

Severus came in just as I was closing my empty trunk. He closed the door and, just as Lupin had done earlier, warded the room against eavesdroppers.

"I think I'll be casting that charm frequently over the next few weeks," he said, sitting on one of the beds. He looked around. "I presume you've unpacked?"

"Yes," I said, standing up. "Morag's less than pleased."

He looked over at Morag, who met his gaze unflinchingly. "My deepest sympathies to you," he said dryly.

She blinked at him, hooted and then turned away.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, sitting on the bed opposite him. I was worried about how the Dark Lord would take this new development.

He nodded. "It was purely coincidence that I was called this morning."

"Oh." I felt much better hearing that.

"In regards to this visit," he went on, "I need to assure you of a couple of things. The Dark Lord experienced something less than satisfactory to him when he invaded Potter's mind at the ministry last month. He will not be invading Potter's mind again. He is not aware that we are staying at Headquarters and there are charms on our home to deter visitors."

"Is it still necessary to teach Harry Occlumency when the Dark Lord no longer invades his mind?" I asked, surprised that Severus was actually giving me a little bit of information.

"Absolutely," he replied. "Occlumency is a useful skill to possess and it is not only against the Dark Lord that one might require it;" he paused to give me a knowing look, "as you very well know."

I nodded. I had used it the whole time I had been at Father's house, and I had been particularly paranoid about using it at his dinner party.

"The reason I've told you this," he went on, his face very serious, "is that this is to be something strictly kept to Order business. When you return to school, the impression you will give people is that you were home for the duration of the summer. Potter has already been told that his story will be that he went from his relatives' home to the Weasley residence."

"Alright," I said, nodding.

"Well, then," he said, standing up. "I think it's high time we had lunch. Kreacher was preparing something when I was downstairs."

"Is Lupin still here?" I asked.

He shook his head. "While I was speaking with Kreacher, he went up so say his goodbyes to Potter. He has since left."

"Harry had left the kitchen then?"

He rolled his eyes. "I believe he is now wallowing in self pity in his bedroom."

Lupin's words from earlier suddenly echoed in my mind. "I understand the importance of this," I said slowly, "But this must be hard for him, Severus."

He stared back at me stonily, clearly not having anticipated this. "He will have to overcome what grievances he is experiencing," he said finally, his black eyes fixed on mine. His tone wasn't unkind, but they held no warmth either. "Potter must realise that he is not the only one who has suffered loss at the hands of the Dark Lord. Many others have experienced great hardship and will continue to do so. If Potter could only entertain that thought then perhaps he would strive to consider consequences before he acts. Potter fails to think that the Order was in existence long before he was. The fact that the Dark Lord has decided that Potter has a key role in this war does not mean that others do not have roles as well. Many are putting their lives on the line at great personal cost."

"I know," I said quietly, feeling uncomfortable. "You're right. I know that. I just meant that..." I lost my train of thought as I looked into his dark eyes. I had come to love those dark eyes. My point about Harry became lost as I focused instead on how much it would hurt if I could never look in those eyes again. Severus' role in the war did certainly come at great personal cost. He had made it perfectly clear a while back, though, that he felt he owed the Order all the work he did. I didn't agree, but then, I knew little of Severus' life in the years after graduating.

He reached out and ran his hand down my cheek. "I know what you meant," he said softly. "But I would prefer it if you left Potter to me. You may be the same age, but Potter is a very different child. As such, he will require different tactics. It is the long term that we are all concerned about, not the petty bursts of anger he may have now."

I nodded, surprised that he hadn't become angry over my sympathetic stance towards Harry. Perhaps he had expected that I would feel this way. He knew that though I was far from being friends with Harry, I held no scorn for him either.

"Come," said Severus, walking to the door. "We'll have lunch and then I'll start on Potter's lessons afterwards in the drawing room on the first floor. He turned around as we reached the door. What will you do?"

"I'll start on one of those essays you gave me," I said. "I just need the books from you." Severus had already drawn up numerous research projects and essays to work on while we were at Grimmauld Place. There was no pressure to finish all of them; he had just created a list for me to choose from. I had resigned to the fact that having a teacher for a guardian meant educational holidays. It also meant duelling and learning new magic, so the essays were worth it. Hermione would have loved it.

He nodded. "I'll get them for you after lunch." He took out his wand and took down the charm. "By the way, Professor Flitwick should be by tomorrow morning for your violin lesson. He has a busy day so he should be here straight after breakfast."

"I hope this isn't too inconvenient for him," I said, following him out of the room.

"Not at all. He wouldn't have offered otherwise; anything for a Ravenclaw, Armilla."

I laughed. "I told you we're a wonderful bunch."

He rolled his eyes. "So you keep insisting."

We went downstairs and found the kitchen deserted. The kitchen smelled quite good though, the cause of it being the steaming pot of stew in the middle of the table, which had been set for three. There came a rattling noise in the room off the kitchen.

"Kreacher," Severus called.

The noise stopped and a moment later the old house elf appeared, bowing deeply to Severus. "Kreacher is very happy to have Professor Snape in his home," he said.

"Kreacher, kindly go upstairs and fetch Mr Potter," said Severus, sitting down at the table. "He is expected for lunch."

"Yes, Kreacher is happy to oblige." He bowed again and left the room.

"Having Kreacher around will be interesting," I commented, sitting down next to Severus.

"How so?"

"Since Harry inherited the house then Kreacher is obliged to answer to him. He seems quite happy to do your bidding too though."

He shook his head. "That's only a result of his preconceived ideas of our family."

"It makes things easier though."

"True."

We waited for Harry to make an appearance before serving ourselves. A minute later Kreacher reappeared alone.

"Harry Potter has decided that he will not be eating lunch today," he announced.

Severus cleared his throat. "Kreacher, kindly inform Mr Potter that it is in his best interests to eat lunch and he therefore will come down and eat lunch."

"As you wish." Kreacher left the room again.

Severus sighed. "Do you see my point that Potter is completely different to you, Armilla? Refusing to eat lunch because he's not satisfied with his current situation?" He shook his head. "Merlin help me."

I said nothing. I fervently hoped for Harry's sake that he was going to come downstairs. It would not be good if Severus had to go up and get him, which he no doubt would.

The sound of more than one pair of footsteps on the stairs a few moments later assured me that Harry had decided to come down. I turned to see him come to stand in the doorway, his face flushed and his eyes blazing.

"Nice of you to join us, Potter," said Severus, glancing briefly at him before gesturing to the chair in front of him. "Do be seated."

"I'm not hungry, sir," Harry said quietly. "I just came down to tell you that."

"No," said Severus smoothly, fixing his eyes on Harry, "you came down to eat lunch. No meals will be skipped, hungry or not. Sit, Mr Potter."

"I can decide for myself if I want to eat lunch," Harry said heatedly, looking furious. "We aren't at school-"

"Astute as always, Potter," Severus drawled. "No, we aren't at school. However, as it has already been made clear to you by the Headmaster, you are my responsibility while you are here and you will therefore do as you are told." He raised an eyebrow. "Now, are you going to sit down and eat or continue to perform the role of petulant child which you seem to enjoy?"

Harry sent him a furious glare. He lingered in the doorway a moment longer before finally making his way over to the seat opposite us, his face full of resentment. He sat down heavily in his chair, glaring at the table.

"If it helps, Potter," said Severus, serving the meal onto our plates, "I am as thrilled to be here as you are."

Harry ignored him, but accepted the plate of stew offered to him in my brother's outstretched hand.

"This will pass quickly," Severus continued, "if you decide to be acquiescent and disciplined in your studies."

Harry glared at him. "Are you going to be fair?"

Severus smirked at him. "Is the world you live in fair, Potter?"

Harry closed his mouth, regarding Severus with a calculating look.

"What you can expect, Potter," my brother went on, picking up his spoon, "is high standards and an expectation that you will live up to them."

Harry shook his head, glaring at him once more. "You would make sure that I fail."

"Be careful, Mr Potter," said Severus coldly, his lip curling with disdain. "I will tolerate no disrespect from you."

Harry continued to glare at him, but said no more. We ate our lunch in silence, the only sound coming from Kreacher, who had made his way back into the little room off the kitchen.

It was clearly a bad start, I thought, but then, I hadn't really expected things to start off well. My brother was annoyed about the whole situation and Harry was bitter. The fact that the two loathed each other certainly didn't help. Lupin was right; I was going to play the role of innocent bystander.

o o o o o o o o o

I didn't see Severus or Harry for the rest of the afternoon. After lunch, Harry had resentfully followed my brother upstairs to the drawing room to recommence Occlumency lessons.

I had helped Kreacher clean up after lunch, for which he was very grateful, before going upstairs myself. On my way up the flight of stairs to the second floor, I had heard muffled, angry voices coming from behind the closed drawing room door. This was not going to go well if Harry continued to be incensed about the whole thing, and Severus was not likely to become caring and understanding where Harry was concerned.

I spent the afternoon in my bedroom working on a Potions essay about the rare innovations in poison antidotes. Severus must have left Harry briefly in the drawing room because I found that he had delivered the books I needed to my room.

By the time I went down to dinner that evening, I had a thumping headache and felt much more tired than I should have. Perhaps the day had been more emotionally draining than anything else; living in a house with such tension was no cup of tea and I had endured mere hours of it so far.

Severus was just sitting down at the table when I entered the kitchen.

"How are you?" I asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Thriving," he said dryly, frowning as he looked at me. "You're pale."

"I have a bad headache," I said, sitting down next to him.

"Did you study the entire afternoon?" he asked, looking displeased.

I nodded. "I was on a roll."

He sighed, though there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Armilla, I don't want to have to halt lessons with Potter to make sure you are taking breaks. I would expect you can regulate breaks yourself."

"I can." I really had been on a roll. I was very proud of my essay so far.

"Mm, hence the headache," he said, standing up.

"Where are you going?" I asked, watching him move to the door.

"To get a potion for you," he said simply, leaving the room.

I looked back at the table, suddenly aware of the silence in the room. I had passed Kreacher on the stairs, cleaning the banister.

A few moments later I heard footsteps once more and Harry appeared in the kitchen, looking no calmer than he had at lunchtime. Like he had done before, he lingered in the doorway first, taking in the scene before him before proceeding further into the room. I noticed that he was carrying an envelope and a roll of parchment in his hand.

"Hello," I said, realising that I had not spoken to him all day.

"Hi," he said quietly, not quite meeting my eye. He sat down just as Severus came back into the room, his black robes billowing out behind him.

"Here," said Severus quietly, sitting down and handing me a glass with a small amount of purple liquid. "Drink all of it."

"Thankyou," I said, accepting the glass. I felt Harry's eyes on me as I drank the potion. When I set the glass down on the table, I met his gaze and he quickly looked away. He held out the roll of parchment to Severus.

"Hermione gave me this to pass along to you," he said quietly. "She said something about homework."

I smiled to myself. Severus had set Hermione homework at the end of the school year. Hermione had not known whether to be pleased or offended.

Severus nodded and accepted the parchment, setting it down on the table. "Many thanks," he said with a sneer. "When I have a spare two or three hours I shall indulge myself in Miss Granger's novel length waffling."

Harry glared at him. "What's the point in having her do homework then?"

"Watch your tone, Potter," Severus said darkly, narrowing his eyes.

Harry just shook his head, still glaring at him.

"If you want a repeat of what happened this afternoon when you showed disrespect, Potter," said Severus, positively glowering at him, "then by all means keep going."

Harry's face flushed and his glare suddenly disappeared. I looked from Severus to Harry. What had happened during the afternoon?

"Here," said Harry quietly, passing the envelope to me. "It's also from Hermione."

"Thankyou," I said, taking the envelope. I waited for another acerbic remark from Severus and was happy when it didn't come.

We ate dinner in silence, just as we had at lunch. It was almost tolerable to have dinner with Severus and Harry at the same table, especially when they were both being quiet.

"Potter," said Severus, as we finished our dinner, "I want you to spend time this evening practising the occluding tactics I taught you today. I will be by to test your progress before you go to bed."

Harry nodded.

"A verbal answer, if you please."

"Yes, sir," he said quietly, his tone laced with mocking resentment.

"Bedtime, of course, will also be regulated while you are here, Potter," Severus went on, standing up from the table. "You will go to bed no later than nine-thirty."

"Nine-thirty?" Harry exclaimed indignantly. "I don't go to bed at that time during the school year let alone the summer!"

"You are undertaking a draining amount of magical study, Mr Potter," said Severus sternly. "Whatever time you deemed acceptable before will not hold any value now. You need sufficient sleep in order to make proper progress in your course of study. I have no wish to waste extra days here because you are tired." He glared at Harry. "Nine-thirty, Potter, and I will know if you disobey."

Harry sighed and mumbled something incoherent under his breath.

"If you are going to grace us with your speech, Potter," Severus sneered, "Allow yourself to enunciate."

Harry glared at him. "Are you enjoying this power trip, sir?"

Oh God... here we go...

Severus didn't answer him straightaway. He was regarding Harry through narrowed eyes, his expression extremely dangerous. If he had looked at me that way I would have fled the scene. I gave Harry credit that he only faltered slightly. The already high tension in the room seemed to double. I wished I could make myself disappear from the storm about to erupt.

"Go to your room, Potter," said Severus softly, his tone as dangerous as his expression.

"No," said Harry, shaking his head. "I've had enough of this-"

"Go to your room, Potter," Severus repeated, his voice louder. "Or I will make you."

"You can't send me anywhere!" Harry shouted furiously, throwing his fork on to his plate with a loud clatter and standing up.

"If you want to behave like a small, petulant child, Potter, then you will be treated as such," Severus said smoothly, his unruffled composure in complete contrast to Harry's clenched fists and red face. "That said, go to your room and stay there. When you are ready to assume a level of decorum acceptable to your age, we will discuss this further."

"No-" Harry began.

"Potter!" Severus snapped. "Keep in mind that while you are here, you are under my care and my authority. If your small, Gryffindor brain can comprehend that much then I suggest that you do as you're told. You may take your childish complaints up with the Headmaster if he chooses to pay us a visit, though I doubt he will be sympathetic when there are much bigger Order issues at hand-"

"Exactly!" Harry shouted, a reckless gleam in his eyes. "There are! You have no idea what responsibility-"

"Do I not?" Severus retorted furiously, stepping closer to Harry. "Don't you dare speak to me of responsibility, Potter! You may have responsibility, yes, but you won't be trusted to be responsible until you learn what the Headmaster has entrusted me to teach you! Stop wallowing in how unfair your life is. Either step up and do as you're told or sit here and wallow-" Severus paused to sneer at him, "- If that is to be the case, I will contact the Headmaster and inform him that his golden child can't cope with the idea of a few weeks of training and so has decided to throw a tantrum instead. Let the rest of the Order who put their lives on the line to protect him go to hell."

Harry stared at Severus, utterly dumbfounded. He was breathing heavily, his red face growing redder by the second, though I didn't think it was out of anger anymore. I thought he was more distressed than anything else. Severus had been very harsh; he clearly felt no need to sugar-coat anything for anyone.

"I-" Harry began, his expression now turning slightly desperate. His fists were now shaking slightly at his sides. He looked lost, completely out of his element. He was normally never afraid to backchat Severus; the animosity between them had been well known school-wide since our very first week in First year.

"What is it going to be, Potter?" Severus asked, looking indifferently at the very distressed boy in front of him. "Are you going to your room or am I to contact the Headmaster?"

Harry opened his mouth again but no words escaped him. He blinked a couple of times, clearly trying to keep the weakness of tears from his teacher's sight. He closed his mouth, turned and moved quietly out of the room.