Armilla II

Chapter 9

I was very glad to go to bed that night; though I was not really contributing to the unbelievable tension in the house, enduring time with Severus and Harry in the same room was mentally exhausting. If I was drained, I had no doubt that both Severus and Harry needed to go to bed very early. As it was, I had cringed when I had the sound of voices on the floor above me. Severus was probably in Harry's room, testing Harry's Occlumency progress before he went to sleep.

As I got into bed I heard a muffled, but unmistakably angry outburst that seemed to come from Harry. I held my breath, waiting for the sound of Severus giving a cutting response. After a many seconds of waiting, I let my breath out again. I couldn't hear anything. Either Severus had ignored him or was just quietly speaking to him. Severus generally only snapped and spoke loudly when he lost his temper. I wondered what had happened that afternoon when Harry had shown him disrespect; it had clearly been effective because Harry had flushed and stopped glaring when Severus had brought it up at dinner.

I turned out the light, trying to focus on something else instead. Thinking about the two headstrong wizards upstairs seemed to fuel my nerves. I thought about using Occlumency while I was with them in an effort to suppress the effects of the emotionally charged atmosphere that they created between them. The problem was, Severus generally knew when I was occluding and he hated me doing it in front of them. It wouldn't make him feel any better if he knew that being in the same room as he and Harry made me resort to Occlumency.

I knew it wouldn't bother me so much at school; I had seen my brother taunt many a student over the years, including myself. I had seen him target Harry for humiliation and hadn't really thought a lot about it besides the customary compassion that most non-Slytherin students felt towards students targeted by Professor Snape.

I was only feeling affected by their relationship of mutual loathing now because I was the only other person in the house. Seeing as we had only endured one day, I would have to learn to control the anxiety I felt about the situation. I hoped that after Severus' severe lecture following Harry's fit of temper after dinner, Harry would approach the situation with a different attitude.

At the moment I thought it was too much to hope that Severus might be a little understanding, seeing as he had so many justified reasons for being annoyed with Harry's behaviour. I had personally agreed with what Severus had said to Harry. Harry's resentment of the situation was utterly babyish in light of the bigger picture. There were more important things at hand. Harry had seemed to be affected by Severus' words; the tears in his eyes that he had tried to hide were evidence of that.

At the same time, I did feel a little sorry for Harry. He knew, of course, that the Order was dealing with major issues, but that didn't mean he felt comforted and secure with the situation he was currently in, especially seeing as he had just lost his godfather. Though I thought his behaviour was a little childish, I knew in many ways that I was no better; I felt incredibly anxious every time Severus went out; the only time I felt secure and happy was when my brother was close by.

I closed my eyes, letting out a sigh. Severus had told me that these feelings weren't juvenile, but I still thought my attachment to his presence showed an alarming sense of insecurity and childishness on my part. I was not proud of it, but at least it helped me to feel some compassion for Harry. He was in a situation where he felt insecure.

I had nearly drifted off when I heard my door open. I opened my eyes as I heard movement in the room. The dim light from the hall silhouetted my brother's shape. As he had done earlier, he waved his wand to prevent eavesdropping.

"Ready to go home yet?" he asked, sitting down on the bed opposite mine. I could see his face more clearly now. The customary frown was firmly in place.

"No," I said pleasantly. "I am enjoying myself far too much."

He raised an eyebrow. "Very convincing."

I smiled. "I think we'll be here for a while."

"That's an understatement, Armilla," he said grimly. He sighed. "You didn't keep at studying this evening, did you? You did far too much this afternoon."

"Just a bit," I said honestly. "I also spent a while replying to Hermione's letter."

He shook his head slightly. "Well, there's time well spent." He was against my friendship with Hermione, though our communication, even at school, was only occasional. She was more of an 'in the classroom' friend. Severus thought my friendship with her could lead to friendships with Hermione's friends, which he was strictly against. Seeing as I had no particular interest in pursuing firm friendships with either Harry or Ron Weasley, I saw no problem.

I ignored the sarcastic undercurrent to his tone. "It was," I said evenly. "I like Hermione."

"Let's not get into that," he said, standing up. "I don't have the energy for it tonight."

"We don't need to get into it," I said quietly. "We've been over it before."

He glared at me. Maybe I had been a little too forthright. Merle had always told me that I was too blunt. I had thought that I was growing out of the habit...actually, with Severus for a brother, perhaps I was growing back into it.

"Goodnight, Armilla," he said a little stiffly, clearly miffed. He turned to leave before I could reply, but was held back when I caught his hand.

"Yes?" he said curtly, narrowing his eyes at me.

I let go of him and held my arms up expectantly. "Goodnight, Severus," I said softly.

He took the hint, but not before sending me another glare. Merlin, he was crabby. He leaned down and kissed me goodnight.

"Goodnight, dearest," he said mockingly, straightening up. "Pleasant dreams."

"Goodnight, Severus."

o o o o o o o o o o

Breakfast the next morning started off as a rather subdued affair. Severus sat reading The Daily Prophet, his hand gripping his cup of coffee, while Harry ate quietly, seemingly content to ignore the presence of anyone else in the room. He looked just as pale and tired as he had the day before.

Though the two weren't arguing, I didn't find the silence at all peaceful. On the contrary; I was starting to wish that Severus would abandon his paper in favour of lecturing or dealing out instructions.

As it was, the only sounds came from the rustling of the newspaper and the clinking of cutlery against plates as Harry and I ate our breakfast.

I was almost relieved when Kreacher wandered into the room. The elf seriously needed a good washing. He sent Harry a look of pure loathing as he approached; Harry merely looked indifferently back at him.

"Harry Potter, sir," Kreacher said, sounding as if he was tasting something foul in his throat.

"Yes?" said Harry, not looking at him.

"Professor Flitwick is in the entrance hall, sir. Shall Kreacher show Professor Flitwick down to the kitchen?"

Harry frowned, looking puzzled. "Professor Flitwick?"

"Yes, Potter, Professor Flitwick," said Severus, finally putting his paper aside. He looked over at Kreacher. "Yes, you may show Professor Flitwick down to the kitchen."

Kreacher looked from Severus to Harry, clearly waiting for Harry to confirm this. As much as Kreacher didn't like Harry, he still had to obey his master.

"Yeah, I suppose," said Harry, waving a hand aside.

"Eloquent, as always," Severus sneered, picking up his cup.

Wisely, Harry chose to ignore him.

Kreacher bowed, glared at Harry once more and then made his way out of the room.

Harry turned to Severus. "Why is Professor Flitwick here?" he asked.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon, Potter?"

Harry pursed his lips before trying again. "Why is Professor Flitwick here, sir?"

"He is here to teach Armilla, Potter." Severus took a drink of his coffee and offered no more information.

Harry looked over at me. "What's he teaching you?"

I looked over at Severus, not sure whether I could tell Harry or not. There was already an agreement in place that anything that went on during our time at Grimmauld Place was not to be repeated at school or anywhere else. Harry had already sworn allegiance on this matter to Dumbledore. It was in his best interests too.

Severus merely looked back at me, his face expressionless.

"The violin," I said finally.

Harry frowned. "The violin? He's giving you music lessons?" He gave me a strange look.

"That's the idea," I said evenly.

Harry shook his head, looking over at Severus. "You lecture me on wasting time when there are bigger issues at hand and yet you approve of her," he gestured at me, "receiving violin lessons from another Order member?"

"I believe the young lady sitting across from you has a name, Potter," said Severus smoothly, "and I would appreciate you using it." He stood up from the table. "Also, do refrain from gesturing at Armilla. I find it trite and disrespectful." He gave Harry a meaningful look.

It seemed that an unspoken message was communicated to Harry through Severus' last word. Harry stared at Severus, his bright green eyes unblinking, before turning back to me. "Sorry," he said quietly.

I nodded, feeling very uncomfortable. I could handle my own tiffs.

The tension in the room was interrupted by the arrival of Kreacher and Flitwick.

"Hello all!" the little man said brightly. "Lovely day outside."

"Good to know," said Severus dryly.

Flitwick turned to me, smiling. "Good morning, Armilla. Violin lessons, eh? Sure you don't want to join to school band?"

"No," I said immediately, positively scandalised at such a suggestion. The idea of it scared me out of my wits.

Flitwick laughed and looked at Severus, who had the faintest of smiles on his face. "You're right, Severus, that was worth it."

I turned around and glared at my brother. Honestly, he had told Flitwick that I was terrified of being asked to join the band. I noticed that Harry was watching this scene with a slightly incredulous expression.

Completely unaffected by my glare, Severus addressed himself to my Head of House. "Thankyou for coming this morning, Filius."

"Not at all, not at all," said Flitwick, putting a hand up. "I find playing music is so beneficial, and it'll be even more so for Armilla, considering that she's already advanced at the piano."

"How can music lessons be beneficial, sir?" Harry asked quietly. I supposed that Harry had never learned to play a musical instrument and therefore held no appreciation for it.

Flitwick considered him for a moment. "Well, Mr Potter," he said finally. "I have been in this world for a very long time and have lived through many hardships in that time. I never regretted learning to play a variety of instruments as a child. Not only do I adore it, Mr Potter, I find relief in it. Music is a means of escape from the real world. It is also a powerful agent in emotional relief." He smiled, "and besides these very good points, music is also highly enjoyable. I highly recommend it to you, Mr Potter."

Though Flitwick hadn't referred to me at all, I now felt extremely self-conscious at the meaning behind his words. As my Head of House, Flitwick knew a little of what I had been through in the past year. I knew Severus wouldn't have mentioned to him that he thought I benefited emotionally from playing, but I was now wondering if it was Flitwick who had recommended it to him.

I hoped that Harry would think that Flitwick was only implying that he should take up playing an instrument. I didn't want Harry to relate Flitwick's words to me. Harry knew very little of my life and I wanted to keep it that way. As it was, Harry didn't even look at Severus or I. He stared back at Professor Flitwick, as if wondering what sort of things he might have gone through to give him such a love for music. Perhaps he would put two and two together later.

Clearly thinking that Flitwick had been forthright enough, Severus went about moving things along.

"Armilla will show you to the library, Filius. I believe the room will be sufficient to your needs."

Flitwick nodded. "Certainly." He turned and nodded to me. "Lead the way."

Without a backwards glance, I got up and led my Head of House out of the room.

"I trust you've been having a good summer with Severus?" Flitwick asked, as we made our way up the stairs.

"Yes," I replied. "I've had a good summer."

"I must say that I was thrilled when Severus agreed to your learning to play a new instrument," he went on. "I understand that Severus is required to be here for Mr Potter's learning, but I was most concerned for your own sake. Being confined to an old house all day, being left alone for hours on end...it cannot be healthy."

"I'm fine," I said honestly. I was fine. My brother always saw to that. Due to the fact that Severus always put up a cold, hard exterior which was very believable, people seemed to think that I would be constantly exposed to that, like they were. It was frustrating at times that I couldn't correct people's preconceived ideas of what life as 'Professor Snape's sister' was like. Most of the students at Hogwarts pitied me.

"Of course, you're fine," Flitwick said lightly. "I would have more to say if I thought you weren't. I like to know that all my Ravenclaws experience safe, happy and hopefully educational summers." He smiled. "I suppose I can make my peace with the fact that one of my brightest Ravenclaws is in the hands of the Head of Slytherin."

I laughed. "I promote Ravenclaw to him all the time, you know. He still doesn't buy it."

He chuckled. "Of course he doesn't. Pomona Sprout and I stay out of the House rivalry between Minerva and Severus. They're excessively competitive with each other."

We made our way up to the library. I had left my violin in there before breakfast.

I gave it to Flitwick to examine. "It's certainly a good one," he murmured, looking closely at it. He looked up at me. "May I?"

I nodded. I hadn't attempted to play it yet.

Flitwick moved it into position and began to play. He played a familiar, classical piece. He closed his eyes as he played, completely lost in the music. The tune was just beautiful. For some reason the image of the Dark Lord in a similar position came to mind and I tried not to smile. I suddenly thought of the Dark Lord conducting an orchestra of Death
Eaters and tried really hard not to laugh. What was wrong with me? This was serious.

"Now," said Flitwick, as he finished his piece. "Let's begin."

o o o o o o o o o o

Flitwick stayed for a little over an hour. We didn't accomplish a great deal in that time, merely the proper way to hold the violin and learning its parts. So far, I didn't regret selecting the violin.

Flitwick showed himself out, not wanting to disturb Severus and Harry down in the drawing room. He gave me every assurance that he would return at the same time in a few days. In the mean time I was to practise.

I went down to the kitchen to have a break. I didn't want to annoy Severus further with not taking breaks and needing headache potions. I got myself some tea and sat down at the kitchen table. Again, I was conscious of the silence. I was used to a lot of silence at home, seeing as Severus was a busy man and was frequently out of the house, but it was different here. I knew Severus was here, but I couldn't go and spend time with him. The boy who hated him back got to spend time with him.

I didn't really begrudge Harry spending time with my brother; he clearly needed the training after all. I supposed my frustration with the situation came down to the fact that Harry didn't like Severus and still got to spend more time with him than I did. See? I was pretty juvenile at times.

I drank my tea as quickly as possible, keen to leave the silence of the kitchen and make myself busy in my bedroom. I returned to my bedroom and took out the essay on poison antidotes I'd been working on the day before. I stared at it for a long time, lost in thought. I didn't know what I actually thought about or even if I thought anything at all. After a while, not realising how long I had been sitting there, but knowing it was long enough, I shook myself out of my reverie and began to work.

Lunch came and went in much the same fashion as breakfast. Harry was silent; Severus was silent and therefore I was silent. It was really one of the best lunches I had been to, including the ones with Father and Madam Rougier, my old governess.

Severus had not asked me about my music lesson, but I hadn't really expected him to. I knew that he would ask when we were alone, which would likely be when he came in to say goodnight. I found myself looking forward to going to bed. Goodness, I was a sad creature. I had gotten over the separation anxiety I had experienced in the days after escaping Father over a month ago, but I was still too attached. No one else my age was this dependent. I would have to keep reminding myself that I was sixteen, not six. I had to start thinking like an adult. It would be such a bother for Severus to have to deal with the problems a six-year-old would have, not a sixteen-year-old.

Having finished my first essay that morning, I selected another homework assignment to work on in the afternoon, after finishing more violin practice. If it was possible for an owl to look amused, Morag certainly looked that way as she watched me practise. It was so good to find an encouraging audience in my owl.

I chose some work that would be a bit different to my essay. It was a Transfiguration research assignment. Severus had left me some good books that would help, but I remembered that there was a very impressive Transfiguration selection of books in the library. Lupin and I had looked at them the day before when we had been reorganising the library. It would be good to have a wider variety of references to use. I had plenty of time after all.

I left my bedroom and wandered up to the library. I noticed that I couldn't hear voices coming from behind the closed drawing room door. I wondered what Severus was teaching Harry.

As I approached the library, I let my mind focus instead on what books I wanted. I didn't want to focus on whatever Severus was teaching Harry. I pushed open the door and met a sight I certainly hadn't expected.

"Concentrate, Potter," said a very familiar, but cold voice. "If you improve your focus, the ring will release you. I am not holding you there."

Harry was standing in the middle of the room, wand in his hand, a frustrated, but incredibly focused look on his face. His sweaty face was scrunched up in concentration that appeared nearly painful to me. What took my notice was the magical glowing circle shape on the floor around him. He was standing in a glowing ring of a faint, greenish colour. It looked nearly transparent. Harry had his eyes shut tightly and he was breathing very heavily. Nothing was hurting him, but it seemed he was finding his situation very difficult. The sight of him this way made my heart skip a beat. I felt very uncomfortable to have walked in on this.

I saw Severus standing on the other side of the room, arms folded, his wand in his hand, but not aiming at anything. He looked a little surprised at my sudden entrance. Harry, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice my presence; he was concentrating too hard.

I wasn't about to stay a moment longer. I felt too awkward standing there in the doorway, watching the pained expression on Harry's face. Had I looked like that when I had learnt Occlumency? I was pretty sure I hadn't, but then, I hadn't learnt any magic with that strange, glowing ring that Harry was standing inside of at the moment.

Severus opened his mouth to say something to me, but I didn't give him the chance. I was too intent on leaving the site. I turned and hastily left before he could attempt to call me back.

Back in the safety of my bedroom, I closed my door and leaned against it, breathing heavily. I didn't know why I was reacting this way; I hadn't actually witnessed anything traumatic or wrong. Whatever Harry was learning was probably going to be very effective in the long run. Even so, the pained expression on his face kept coming back to my mind.

I had been injured many a time when I had first started to learn duelling with Severus. That had been part of the learning. I had never had more than a couple of scrapes and bruises, and Severus had either healed them himself as soon as we'd finished, or he had supervised as I had healed myself. Though I had received injuries, I had learnt so much defensive magic from Severus. If I hadn't learnt it, I would never have escaped Father's clutches.

I didn't know then why I had reacted to seeing Harry that way. He was probably learning a lot, or would learn a lot if he allowed himself to learn. Maybe it was the fact that if Harry found Severus' style of teaching too emotionally tiring, there would be no one to help him through it. Severus had said the day before that he was not there to help Harry through his emotional grievances.

I believed that I had learnt from him successfully because we had talked a lot about what we were doing and there was an element of care involved; not just care for safety, but a sort of loving care. Harry certainly wasn't about to receive the same level of care from Severus.

I supposed I felt sorry for Harry, not because of what he was learning, but because he was learning such advanced magic alone and in an environment that wasn't stable to him.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in my bedroom, working on my assignment with the books Severus had left. I would seek out the other books when I knew the others wouldn't be in the library. I didn't know why they had been in the library. Harry's lessons had been spent in the drawing room up till then so I had steered clear of that room. I found that I was more content with not knowing what Harry was learning and how he was learning it. Severus had already emphasised to me that Harry and I were very different people, and therefore needed to be taught in different ways.

I went down to dinner that night and as I was going down the kitchen stairs, I heard the voices of Severus and Harry, both already in the kitchen. They were actually talking to each other. It wasn't friendly talk, but they were talking all the same. As I approached the door, their voices became clearer.

"-helpful, Potter. You'll appreciate it when you've conquered it."

"I don't know how to conquer it, sir."

"By focusing, that's how."

"Focusing on what exactly?"

"That's for you to decide. You need to take control of your own magic, Potter. You and you alone are responsible for testing your own magical capabilities. It's not about giving things a couple of attempts. You keep trying different approaches until something works for you. I shouldn't have to point such obvious facts out to you."

It was at this moment that I made my appearance in the room. Harry had his mouth open, ready to retort, but stopped when I came in.

Severus also looked over at me, his face expressionless. "Come sit down, Armilla," he said quietly.

I sat in my usual spot, ready for yet another dinner of utterly riveting silence.

"How was your music lesson?" asked Harry, actually meeting my eye for once. I couldn't tell if he was genuinely interested or was just making conversation to break the silence. I supposed he didn't like the silence either. All the same, I didn't really want to discuss the whole lesson with him. I didn't want to remind Harry of Flitwick's philosophy on music; I didn't want Harry to think that I needed music lessons to in order to provide emotional outlets in my life. I did play for enjoyment, but Severus had other ideas about my music. Perhaps Flitwick did too.

"Fine," I answered.

"How long did Professor Flitwick stay?" Severus asked, apparently also happy to make conversation rather than endure yet another silent meal.

"A little over an hour," I replied, looking down at my meal.

Severus didn't push me for further conversation on the subject. Instead, he addressed himself to Harry. "Potter, tomorrow you're going to devote a couple of hours to written study. I have several topics for you to research and I shall expect you to deliver a full report on your discoveries."

Harry frowned. "Written work? I thought I was here to learn practical magic, not theory."

"As usual, you've been labouring under a delusion," said Severus smoothly.

Harry opened his mouth, his expression showing that an angry retort was in the works, but suddenly he thought better of it and closed his mouth.

"Very good," said Severus. "Was that a little self control I just detected?"

Harry replied by glaring at him.

"Well, well, we must be making progress then, though your verbal responses need some work." Severus smirked at him. "As do your research skills, which you will have the opportunity to practise tomorrow."

"How is written work going to help me?" Harry asked pointedly. "It's not like the Dark Lord can be defeated by waving a good essay in his face."

"How incredibly juvenile you are, Potter," Severus sneered. "You and Weasley make a fine pair. You never stop to consider the undercurrents of what you learn. You rush headfirst into trouble, never stopping to think of what or who you're trampling over."

Harry's eyes flashed. "What's that supposed to mean then?" he said heatedly, glaring daggers at Severus.

Oh dear, here we go again...Perhaps silence was golden after all.

"Simply that you need to stop and think once in awhile, Potter," Severus said icily. "Difficult for your noble Gryffindor mind, I know, but as I've repeatedly told you, you can perfect skills with practising."

Harry continued to glare angrily at my brother, but said nothing.

Severus nodded curtly. "I have noted your lack of an aggravated response as progress, Potter, but I can clearly see the expression on your face." He gave Harry a significant look.

Harry pursed his lips for a moment and then sighed, looking away.

"Miss Granger has an extensive amount of magical knowledge, wouldn't you agree, Potter?" Severus asked, briefly glancing at my silent form before looking back at Harry.

Harry looked warily at Severus. "Of course, she does," he said quietly. "It's not always appreciated though."

Severus smirked. "Forget subtlety, Potter. It's not a talent you possess. The lack of appreciation towards Miss Granger's knowledge on my part extends from a reluctance to be beaten around the head with a regurgitation of textbook quotes."

Harry opened his mouth once again to retort, but quickly closed it again.

"Very good, Potter."

This was really confusing me. What was Severus using against Harry that controlled Harry's outbursts? Did it have something to do with that glowing magical ring?

"Tell me honestly, Potter," Severus went on, "how often do you rely on Miss Granger to fill in the gaps with intricate details on things you and Weasley have naturally overlooked?"

"Not that often," said Harry crossly, looking offended.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Potter?"

"Occasionally," Harry admitted.

"At the very least, I'd say," Severus scoffed.

"Well, there's no point in looking up something myself if Hermione already has the answer," Harry pointed out.

Severus shook his head. "An incredibly lazy attitude, Potter, but one I would expect from you."

Harry glowered at him. "That's not being lazy. Do you tell Armilla to look things up when she asks you a question?"

"That is not your business, Potter," Severus said, looking bored, "suffice it to say that Armilla has the sense to carry out her homework tasks independently. She doesn't rely on a friend to copy information from."

"I don't copy information!" Harry exclaimed indignantly.

"We're moving further away from the point," my brother said calmly, his black eyes fixed on Harry's green ones. "Miss Granger has provided you with help in difficult situations in the past, has she not?"

"Yes," Harry admitted sullenly.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Yes, sir," he said quietly.

"And how, pray tell, did Miss Granger come across such information, Potter?"

Harry sighed. "Either in class or through more research."

Severus sneered. "Well, that's interesting," he said sardonically. "Miss Granger helped you apply knowledge she learned from research."

Harry stared morosely at him.

"How innovative," Severus drawled. "We must alert the Ministry of this new concept."

"Fine, you've made your point," said Harry, looking genuinely annoyed.

"And it took an exceedingly long time," Severus said coldly. "We'll be here for eternity if it takes this long for you to process and understand mundane, fundamental points."

I suppressed my own urge to sigh. Why had the silence bothered me so?

o o o o o o o o o o

Severus went upstairs to the library after dinner with Harry, talking about selecting books that would be appropriate for the work Harry was going to receive.

I practised the violin for an hour before taking a shower. It was only eight-thirty when I was finished, but I found that I was absolutely exhausted. I didn't know why. I wasn't really doing anything to make myself tired this early. If anything, I should have been feeling more rested. If I had been at home, I would have been out flying, duelling with Severus or cooking with Docky. I would have a right to be tired then. Maybe this whole experience was just mentally draining, even though I wasn't the one being trained.

I got into bed and decided to read for a while, waiting for Severus to come in later. He was going to practise Occlumency skills with Harry before Harry went to bed, so I expected him to say goodnight to me after that, as he had done the night before.

At ten past nine, I found myself dozing off. After I read the same page of my book three times without comprehending what I had read, I laid it aside. I wanted to sleep, but I was more intent on waiting for Severus. I laid down, but kept the light on.

o o o o o o o o o o

I opened my eyes with a groan. I really needed to use the bathroom. Why had I had so much water before bed? I reluctantly pushed my covers back and sat up, squinting in the darkness. I didn't want to open my eyes fully because it always took me longer to get back to sleep when I did that. I wondered if Severus was going to come in soon.

I went to the bathroom and came back, noticing that there was complete silence in the house. My foggy mind suddenly became a little clearer when I saw the clock.

2:34am

What? I had only just closed my eyes while I waited for Severus to come in. I sat back down on my bed, feeling disappointed. Severus must have turned the light out. He would have seen no point in waking me.

I sighed. All the same, I wished he had woken me. I missed him. We were living in the same house and I missed him.

Baby, a voice in my head said. I didn't disagree.

I was about to pull the covers back up when I heard a sudden thumping noise. Perhaps Kreacher was redecorating in the middle of the night. I laid back down, content to ignore it when I heard a muffled, moaning sound. That certainly hadn't come from Kreacher.

I got up and padded to the door. Upon opening it, the noise, though still muffled, became louder. It was coming from upstairs. Harry was clearly having bad dreams; either that or he had somehow injured himself.

I lingered in the doorway for a moment, uncertain about what to do. The distressed noise continued and I didn't want to ignore it. It was painful to listen to and besides, there could be something seriously wrong.

I wasn't about to go up there myself; Severus would be far from impressed if I wandered up to Harry's room in the middle of the night, no matter what the reason.

I took a step in the direction of Severus' room, which was just down the hall from mine. I paused, considering the repercussions of this action. I honestly wasn't sure what Severus would do. If I had been distressed, as I had been once before late at night, Severus would have come in to me, as he had done before. But this was Harry Potter, the boy who held the honourable position at the top of Severus' long list of loathed students.

Would he just tell me to ignore Harry and go back to bed? Would he go upstairs to Harry and tell him to stop ruining everyone else's sleep with his incessant attention seeking?

I took a step back, staring up at the ceiling, somehow hoping it would offer guidance. A muffled sob suddenly reached my ears and I took another step back. Severus would not be sympathetic to a crying Harry Potter.

I stood in the hallway, shivering in the cold. The noise stopped and I breathed a sigh of relief. I was about to turn back to my room when I heard the thumping noise again. What was he doing up there? Was he asleep?

I made up my mind and walked the rest of the way down the hall to Severus' room. I reached up and knocked softly on the door. When I heard no response I knocked a little louder.

"Severus?" I called quietly.

I heard movement behind the door this time, and a moment later the door opened to reveal a slightly dishevelled Severus, pulling on a black dressing gown. Understandably, he looked half asleep.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking concerned.

I opened my mouth to answer, but a thump from upstairs followed by a muffled sob answered for me.

Severus looked up, an irritated look forming on his face. "Potter," he said quietly.

"Something's wrong," I said softly.

"Obviously," he replied, looking back down at me. "Why are you up at this time of the night?"

"Bathroom," I said simply. We both looked up at the sound of another thump.

"Well then, we'll see about this," said Severus, coming out into the hallway.

I looked hesitantly at him, wanting to tell him not to make Harry feel bad about whatever was going on upstairs; Lupin's words from the day before about understanding Harry kept echoing in my mind. At the same time, Severus was never in the mood to be told to be nice to Harry. I didn't want to make things worse for myself. He hadn't been happy when I had brought an abrupt end to the Hermione-related conversation the night before.

I didn't know if Severus guessed what I was thinking, but he looked a little more edgy as he looked back at me.

"Go back to bed, Armilla," he said quietly. He turned and walked towards the stairs. "I see you in the morning."

I watched him disappear up the stairs and I didn't know why I suddenly had a lump in my throat. I leaned against the wall, trying to ignore the feeling that I was being babyish yet again. I had no reason to feel like this. He was only going upstairs.

After several minutes of lingering in the hallway, doing nothing but blinking back tears in the darkness, I noticed that the noise from upstairs had stopped. I moved slowly back to my bedroom and crawled into bed. For no reason whatsoever, except for the fact that I was a childish idiot, I cried.