Armilla

Chapter 60

By Sunday, Snape had determined that Morag would not suffer any permanent damage. I was relieved beyond words, and though Snape didn't say as much, I believed his relief was equal to mine. He did joke though that he'd like to have Morag around for a bit longer so he could get his money's worth - I knew Morag hadn't come cheaply.

The major difference in Morag was that she was sleeping a great deal. She would only be awake for about two to three hours at a time before she was tired out. Snape put this down to her body needing a lot of rest because of the hold the poison had taken on her. He was certain that, in time, she would sleep less and resume the sleeping pattern she had had before "the incident". It was fortunate that she had not suffered any nerve damage, as Snape had predicted that she might.

There was also another small problem in regards to eating. Morag wasn't likely to forget what she had been through anytime soon, and as a result, she had become extremely wary about eating. The first time I tried to feed her after I had taken her back into my room, she had absolutely refused. There was no longer any Morgan's food in the room, but Morag had just seemed to associate eating with sickness. In the end, Snape, through his abrupt, albeit harsh manner, had coaxed Morag into eating. There had been a glaring match between the two, and of course, Snape had come off triumphant. Since then, it had been taking a lot longer to feed Morag, as either Snape or I had to watch her to make sure that she was eating.

To bring a positive out of an extremely dire situation, Snape and Morag had been brought closer in my opinion, or at least Morag no longer seemed to feel a sense of hostility towards Snape. Snape, as usual, reacted to her with indifference, but there were not as many harsh remarks.

Apparently there was some sort of investigation underway, but so far, neither Snape nor I knew many details. As far as we knew, Dumbledore had gotten into contact with certain Aurors. The whole thing was to be completely hushed up, and, at Dumbledore's request, both Snape and I weren't to have any part in the investigation in case it played into the hands of whoever was responsible.

Before we had visited Mother that afternoon, Snape had warned me not to mention what had happened. And so we had passed a couple of hours in her presence, saying nothing of the poison that could have killed the two of us. I knew if we had died, Mother would have certainly been released from her ring, and the bracelet on my wrist would have vanished seeing as I had no one to pass it on to.

"Do you think it will take them long?" I asked, as Snape and I sat down on the sofa in the sitting room on Sunday night. We had just finished practising my shield charm. I was immensely pleased to have only fallen down twice in the last half hour. All the other times I had not only managed to block Snape's hex, but I had also been able to cast my own.

Admittedly, due to my concentration on keeping the shield in place to block Snape's hexes, my own hexes lacked power and were nothing short of feeble. But as Snape had said before, I could work on that once I was confident in blocking and delivering hexes at the same time.

"My instincts tell me it might," he replied, conjuring up some tea. "Being an extremely private investigation, whoever is involved will have to explore without being detected and that can be extremely time consuming."

"Would they have to obliviate everyone they interview then?" I asked, watching Snape pour the tea. I noticed with an inward sigh that he hadn't conjured any sugar. I used to have sugar in my tea when I had lived with Merle, but now Snape insisted that I could do without it.

"I suppose it depends on who it is they're interviewing," he answered, handing me a steaming cup. "They'll have to cover their tracks no matter where they go."

We were both silent for a moment as we drank our tea. Though we should have been discussing improving my shield charm, I was too preoccupied with finding out who the culprit was.

"I don't think they would have started the investigation at the Morgan's company," I said thoughtfully.

Snape stared at me, his look calculating. "May I ask why?"

"It would make things too broad," I said slowly, staring down at my tea. "Morgan's is a big company. They would have to interview a lot of people wouldn't they? You said yourself that there are few people up to making that poison. It would be more beneficial to interview them and find out their connections. And if that doesn't take them anywhere, they should look into where the uncommon ingredients can be found and investigate the merchant." I looked back at Snape as I finished. "All very quietly of course."

Snape nodded approvingly. "I agree. That is the course of action I would take if Dumbledore would permit me to take part in the investigation."

I was silent as Snape continued to drink his tea. Underneath, I still had a gnawing feeling about the whole situation. True, Snape had saved the day and had prevented the three of us from dying, but whoever had put us in that situation was on the loose out there. And what was more, we didn't know who the poison had been intended for.

It was easy to think that the intended victim was Snape, since he had a vast range of dangerous connections and was in a position in the Dark Lord's circle that was envied by other followers.

But what if it hadn't been intended for Snape? The poison had been sent to my owl after all. Did the person know that Morag lived in the dungeons and not in Ravenclaw Tower or the Owlery? If I was the victim, I couldn't get my head around who would be responsible.

My father and the Malfoys were certainly ruled out. Shar was in Azkaban I believed, and I knew that even if he was free, he wouldn't have been able to carry out such a plan because he was a squib. He couldn't have covered his tracks, and he certainly didn't have the money to pay a witch or wizard to do it, seeing as he had attacked me in order to secure Merle's money. I suddenly thought of someone else who could very likely be the culprit.

"Rougier," I said softly to myself.

"I beg your pardon?" said Snape, giving me a suspicious look as he put his cup down.

"Rougier," I repeated. "The governess."

"Ah, yes, the painted old hag," he said dryly. "What about her?"

"She could have done it."

Snape considered this with a hard expression. "If you were the target, you mean?"

I shrugged. "Not just me. She dislikes you too, especially since you threatened her."

Snape looked doubtful. "I don't know. She's hasn't got many redeeming qualities, but I don't believe she has murder in her. I used Occlumency on her the day I met her."

I opened my mouth in surprise. "I didn't know that."

He looked indifferent. "Nor did she actually. I sidled in while she was babbling on about you needing a regimented program to keep you in line."

I knew I shouldn't have been surprised. It was just like Snape to do something like that.

"She's an arrogant, conceited twit," he continued, "but she isn't clever enough to hatch such a scheme."

I nodded. "You're probably right. It would be like one of those 'the butler did it' situations."

He looked slightly amused. "Yes, perhaps we should knock Rougier off the suspects lists on account of the deed seeming too clichéd for a governess."

I smiled as I put my own cup down.

"I never asked you what your friends said about us missing classes last Wednesday," said Snape. "Did they accept it with no questions?"

"Sort of," I replied, thinking back to the previous Thursday morning when I had told my friends that Snape and I had been unwell the day before. "They accepted it. They did ask what sickness we had, but otherwise they didn't say anything at all."

Snape gave a satisfied nod. "Good."

"Though I believe they're suspicious just the same," I went on, meeting his gaze.

"How so?"

"I know them," I said simply. "They wouldn't normally accept such a story without asking more questions. The fact that they didn't ask questions seems to show that they are suspicious. They just knew better than to ask."

"Well reasoned," he said. "And Malfoy?"

"Haven't seen him," I answered, unconcernedly, "except in a few classes, but I don't sit anywhere near him. I was surprised that he hasn't stopped me after a class or something to ask questions."

"I spoke to him on Thursday during a prefect meeting," he said sneeringly. "He had the hide to ask me in front of all the prefects if I was feeling better."

I could see that someone as proud as Snape wouldn't appreciate something like that.

There was a sudden hoot from the entrance to our rooms and a fearsome looking black owl appeared. It soared over to where we sat on the sofa and landed on the armrest next to Snape.

"Father," I said quietly.

"Well, we've expecting this," Snape murmured, "seeing as I wrote to inform him that we were unwell before anyone else could." He untied the folded ivory parchment attached to the owl's leg.

I sat and watched him as he silently read the letter over to himself, his expression becoming more alarming with each line. Finally, he cleared his throat and began to read aloud.

"Dear Severus,

Firstly, I would like to say that I hope my daughter is back in good health, seeing as her wellbeing is also my responsibility."

I shook my head, and Snape paused to cast me a knowing look before looking back at the letter.

"I do find it unusual that both you and Armilla were both suddenly unwell, considering that there is no bout of sickness currently going around the school that I know of."

"Well, that's just ridiculous," Snape snarled. "With the number of students at this school, there is never a time when every one of them is in good health. It is easy to catch something." He shook his head, positively glowering as he continued.

"In any case, I do wonder about the state of Armilla's immune system. Perhaps you should take the time to test it. We do not know exactly how common her lifestyle was with Merle Kemp. Armilla could be susceptible to all kinds of things."

I stared at my brother, fuming. How dare my father write something like that?

"I know," Snape murmured, lightly touching my hand. "And for an intelligent man, he is incorrect. Even if you had been exposed to an environment with a larger variety of people and places, your immune system would most likely be stronger." He kept reading.

"Seeing as exams are coming closer, I do hope you do everything in your power to prevent my daughter from becoming ill again. I would not like an illness to cause poor exam results, and most importantly, a fifteen-year-old pureblood witch who gets sick often is not at all attractive to potential suitors."

Snape paused, his lip curling as he turned to me. "Perhaps you should fake sickness more often to drive people like Malfoy away." He smirked. "Well then, where's your rage?"

A few months ago I would have jumped up in protest at such a comment. But I really wasn't fazed by this. "You know, it's not really surprising to hear stuff like that now," I said simply.

My brother smiled slightly. "If that's the case, welcome to the family."

"I do not hear from Armilla very often, Severus, only about once or twice a month. I do hope you do not discourage her from writing to me, as I am always happy to receive letters from her, no matter how dull they are."

I laughed at this. I really found it very amusing. As Snape knew very well, I loathed writing to Father. Snape and I sat down once or twice a month together to write a formal letter to Father, informing him of my progress in my studies, and how much time I actually spent studying. I had nothing else to write to him about. I didn't want to discuss my friends, and I didn't think Father would even be interested in my friends, seeing as they weren't the decent Slytherin sort he liked. I couldn't share my thoughts and feelings with him because frankly, I knew he didn't care about me in that way. In all honesty, writing to my father was always a very dull experience, and it was no wonder that my letters were tedious to read as well.

"Honestly, what does he want me to write?" I asked.

Snape, who also looked amused, shook his head. "How am I to know? Your letters resemble the ones I wrote to Father when I was at school. I have no other suggestions. I know what I'd like to write to him, of course, but the repercussions may not be worth it."

"I do hope Armilla is associating with the right mix of students. It pains me to think of the mudbloods she must come into contact with everyday."

I didn't say anything this time. I thought immediately of Hermione. True, I only really talked to Hermione in class these days, but I knew that if we had the chance, we would be closer than we were. I always avoided mentioning this fact to my brother, as I knew he didn't look upon Hermione favourably.

"I hope to hear from Armilla soon. Until then, make sure you look after her properly.

Father"

"Such a delightful letter writer," Snape commented, his tone lace with sarcasm.

"He didn't ask if you were in good health," I pointed out, feeling offended on my brother's behalf.

He raised an eyebrow. "Did you think he would?" he said dryly.

"I...no, I suppose not."

Snape sighed. "Well go and get your quill and some ink and parchment then."

I groaned. "I've got to write to him tonight?"

He nodded curtly. "I would like to get it out of the way now."

I begrudgingly got the things I needed and sat down at the table. Snape came over to join me.

"Alright then," he said, sneering. "Why don't we tell him the dramatic tale of the time you made Miss Parkinson's hex backfire, causing her arm to turn into a flipper?"

I glared at him, though I knew he wasn't being serious. "That wouldn't be well received."

"Ah, perhaps not."

We sat in silence for a very long time, both thinking of more interesting things to write as opposed to my studies.

Finally, I had had enough.

"Why don't I just write to him about my studies?" I offered, looking innocently at Snape.

At first I got no response, as he was just staring at the table, lost in thought. Finally, he looked up, now looking completely unconcerned. "Excellent notion."

And that was that. Father could put up with it for all I cared.

o o o o o o o o o o

A couple of weeks later, Snape and I still had no news of who had sent the poison. Snape had said that the investigation might be a slow process, but I thought it was starting to get ridiculous. Either the Aurors were constantly meeting dead ends, or they were too blasé in their approach.

Upon asking him almost every time I saw him if there was any news, Snape told me that this was a prime opportunity to develop the art of patience, because I lacked a significant amount. I hadn't been happy to hear such a recommendation, and I knew that Snape was just as anxious as I. In fact, I believed the whole thing was really worrying him underneath, especially since whoever it was might try something again.

I had gotten a letter from Father a week after I had sent my utterly boring one. Father had complained that he had nearly dozed off upon reading my letter, and had said that I had better improve or he would be sending topics for me to write about. This had really annoyed me for two reasons, the first being obvious: the topics would be on ridiculous things like the importance of pure blood, why wizards are better and so on. The second one was that, upon writing the last letter, Snape and I had starting competing with each other over who could make up the most boring lines. We still weren't in agreement over who was better.

As it was now April, the fifth years were starting to look increasingly exhausted. The teachers were piling on the homework, expecting us all to find time to study as well. I was feeling the pressure just as much as my friends, even though I had Snape as a tutor on the side. I had to do well to avoid the wrath of my Father, and I felt that pressure deeply. At night I was occluding constantly so I wouldn't lie awake for hours worrying about receiving something less than an Outstanding.

The truth was, while my marks had steadily been Outstandings since I had been under Snape's tutelage, I was dreading stuffing up when the exams came. I was afraid that after studying so much, I would forget things once I had the exam in front of me. I knew Snape wouldn't kill me if I got an Exceeds Expectations or an Acceptable at the very least, but I feared my father's reaction more than anything else.

So even though I had been sleeping due to occluding, the pressure I was feeling must have made me look tired because Snape was still insisting that I go to bed at nine thirty when I was down in the dungeons, even though I had studying to do. It was a different story when I was in Ravenclaw Tower, studying with my friends. Sometimes we didn't get to bed until after midnight because we were making study notes, but my brother didn't need to know that. I knew he would be far from pleased if he found out.

On the Monday night before the Easter holidays began, I was sitting alone in the common room, working on an Arithmancy essay, feeling a little lonely. I knew I only felt that way because I was tired and fed up with studying, as well the fact that my friends were currently in the Room of Requirement, practising their Patronuses at the DA meeting.

I knew that Snape had finished Harry's Occlumency lesson now, as Harry was obviously at the DA meeting, but I was pretty sure he had a meeting with his seventh year Advanced Potions class tonight. Otherwise, I would have considered going down to the dungeons, just for some company. I had been told repeatedly that I didn't have to stick to the assigned days.

I was just rolling up my finished essay when a group of stricken looking Ravenclaws burst into the room, Lisa and Terry among them. Many people looked up curiously to see what all the commotion was about, but the group seemed to remember something and they gave each other warning looks. They moved into the room, their expressions showing nothing more than forced calm over what I believed was suppressed fear.

Most of them went walked straight to the stairs, and moved slowly up them. Once they were about halfway, I could hear them running. Lisa and Terry sought me out in our usual corner. Terry looked extremely white, and the hand that was not pulling Lisa along was shaking. Lisa was biting her lip, something she always did when she was about to cry.

I said nothing as they slowly sat down at the table, sitting opposite me. I stared from Lisa to Terry. Terry looked like he was about to be sick. Lisa, ashen faced, was still biting her lip. Noticing some people were still staring, I passed my friends a couple of books so they could pretend that they were doing homework until people lost interest in staring.

Lisa and Terry both took the hint, opening the books and turning the pages, obviously not seeing a word on them. I also pretended to be absorbed in a book, though all I could gather from the way they had burst in was that they had just escaped from something. Obviously, seeing that all the people were DA members, something must have happened between the Room of Requirement and Ravenclaw Tower.

They couldn't have been trying to escape being in trouble for being out after curfew, because it was still a couple of minutes to nine.

Finally, when many of the first and second years had retired to bed, and everyone else was either absorbed in conversation or study, I stared fixedly at my friends.

"Well?"

Terry opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"We...we," Lisa began, still looking stricken. She closed her mouth, clearly at a loss for words.

Terry tried again. "We're in deep trouble Mill," he whispered.

Lisa let a tear fall. "We're going to get expelled," she sobbed.

"Shh!" Terry gave her a warning look after staring around the room. No one seemed to have noticed.

"Expelled?" I repeated. I would have said Lisa was overreacting, but it seemed so easy to get expelled from Hogwarts these days.

They both nodded as Terry passed Lisa a tissue.

"We were caught, Mill," Terry whispered.

My heart must have skipped a beat. Caught? Oh no...

"And we're not sure everyone made it back to their common rooms," Lisa said, her voice thick through her tears. "Harry just told us to run and people went everywhere and there were-" she paused to hiccup.

"I saw all these Slytherins everywhere," Terry explained. "And I heard Umbridge's voice."

My heart was pounding in my chest. "The Inquisitorial Squad," I said quietly.

My friends nodded. I had warned them about the Inquisitorial Squad not long after Malfoy had invited me to join.

"How did they know you were there though?" I asked, utterly bewildered.

Terry shrugged.

"Someone must have given us away," said Lisa, wiping her eyes. She suddenly looked furious. "I'd love to know I'll...I'll-"

"Do something stupid?" I suggested. "Don't try and handle it yourself, Lis, you'll only land yourself in more trouble."

She clenched her hands into fists and pounded them on the table.

"Lisa!" Terry hissed, looking around again.

A couple of the fourth years nearby had stopped their conversation to stare at us. Terry suddenly cleared his throat.

"Well don't get into a rage about it, Lisa. If you want to buy a Chudley Canons hat I'll support you, but I'd advise you to think better of it."

Lisa glared at Terry, even as comprehension of what he was trying to do dawned on her face.

"Personally," I added, "I don't think orange is your colour. You should really pick a team with colours that suit you."

Lisa seemed to let out a small growl. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the fourth years resume their conversation.

Lisa glared at me. "It doesn't matter. I can't get into more trouble seeing as I'm going to be expelled. Don't you remember the sign on the wall in the Room of Requirement, Armilla? I signed it. I signed it! And Umbridge will have it to wave around as proof, won't she?"

I stared at her. I really could not think of anything comforting to say. They were as good as expelled. They had both signed under the words Dumbledore's Army. There was nothing they could do.

"I had doubts about joining...why did I do it?" Lisa moaned.

"My parents are going to kill me," Terry muttered, going even paler. "And we haven't even sat for our OWLs yet."

"I sh-should have s-said no like you, Mill," said Lisa, hiccupping again. "Now Terry and I are going to have to leave and you'll be here all alone."

Alone...I suddenly imagined what it would have been like if I had joined the group. I would be expelled too. Would I have still been allowed to live in the castle with Snape, since Dumbledore let Trelawney live in the castle? I didn't want to think about how my father would react to such a disgrace, let alone Snape.

"There's nothing you can do about it tonight," I said slowly. "What's done is done...my only hope is that Dumbledore will find a way around it for you. You can always rely on Dumbledore to act upon a technicality."

"Oh, he won't, he won't," Lisa exclaimed furiously, tears shining in her eyes. "I may as well go and pack." She stood up and stormed off towards the stairs.

Terry and I watched her go in silence. People were staring again. They probably thought we had had a row.

Terry sighed, looking at his shaking hands. "You know, I might go to bed," he murmured. "No point mulling over it all night...best to try and sleep..."

I nodded. "Probably a good idea," I said softly. I felt so bad for the two of them, as well as all the other members who were most likely in similar states to Terry and Lisa right now. I wondered how many the Inquisitorial Squad had caught. I was hit with a sudden rush of hatred towards Draco Malfoy and Umbridge.

After Terry bid me goodnight, I gathered up my books and also headed upstairs. I certainly wouldn't be able to concentrate on any more study tonight.

Except for Lisa, our dorm was empty. Padma Patil, Mandy Brocklehurst and Ruby Parkes were still downstairs.

The curtains around Lisa's bed were closed except for a small gap on the side facing my bed. I could see Lisa, who had changed into her pyjamas, sprawled on her bed, looking desperately lost and forlorn.

She didn't seem to hear me come in. I let her be as I got ready for bed. Saying anything more tonight would only get her more upset.

Just as I was about to get into bed, she spoke. "Armilla?" she said softly, her voice trembling.

I looked over at her, waiting for her to speak, but she said nothing.

I walked the few steps over to her bed and moved the curtains slightly so I could sit down on her bed. Taking her hand in mine and squeezing it a little, I just shook my head slightly as I looked down at her. She sniffed, and then closed her eyes. I could feel her hand shaking in mine.

I sat with her for a long time, and eventually the shaking stopped, though I knew she was still awake.

When the other girls came in at around ten thirty, they looked askance at me, but knew better than to enquire verbally. They quietly got ready for bed, politely ignoring us.

I continued to hold Lisa's hand and it wasn't until after midnight that Lisa finally fell asleep. Her deep breathing, sounding just like the other sleeping girls in the room, told me she had finally tired her worrying mind out.

I very carefully let go of her hand, and tiptoed over to my own bed. I laid down, feeling utterly exhausted, and worried sick for my friends. I knew if I didn't occlude, I would be awake for a lot longer, just thinking about what would happen now. Grateful that I was able to occlude, I put up my mental shield and blocked off all emotion.

o o o o o o o o o o

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of shouts downstairs in the common room. People were calling to one another and I heard footsteps pounding down the stairs. Lisa, also awake, looked at me in alarm.

"I'm going to go and see what's going on," I told her, pulling on a jacket. I followed Mandy and Padma out of the room and down the stairs.

Most of the students in the common room were also still in their pyjamas. They were crowded around the noticeboard, talking loudly to each other.

"He's gone!"

"Gone? What do you mean gone?"

"I dunno - there, take a look."

"Oh, God not another decree."

I groaned as I heard whoever it was say that.

I saw Terry pushing his way back through the crowd. He stopped when he spotted me.

"Dumbledore's gone, Mill," he said, looking uncomfortable.

"How do you know?"

He gestured towards the noticeboard. "Umbridge put up a new decree. She's become Headmistress overnight. Dumbledore couldn't possibly still be here."

My head buzzing slightly, I pushed my way through the crowd so I could see the wretched new decree for myself.

BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC

Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced

Albus Dumbledore as Head of HogwartsSchool of

Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The above is in accordance with Educational Decree

Number Twenty-eight.

Signed: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic

"No," I said softly, scarcely believing my eyes. "No..."

News travelled like wildfire that morning. Dumbledore had certainly gone - and apparently no one knew where! The story went that the night before, Harry, along with several other people, had witnessed Dumbledore's disappearance in his office.

"Apparently he overcame Fudge, Umbridge, two Aurors, and that idiot Percy Weasley," said Terry, coming to join Lisa and I at breakfast, after talking to a couple of other DA members in the know.

"With Dumbledore's power that wouldn't be hard," I reasoned, looking over at Lisa.

She had been very quiet during breakfast, as if waiting for Umbridge to pounce on her to tell her to pack her bags. Besides having gotten her breakfast for her (which she hadn't eaten anyway), I didn't know what to say to her.

But Terry did.

"We won't be getting expelled, Lis," he said quietly, reaching out to take her hand.

Her head jerked up. "What? How do you know?" she said quickly.

"I just found out that Dumbledore took full responsibility for what happened," he whispered. "All I know is that he insisted that the whole idea of a group rising against the ministry was his idea, and that's why the group was called Dumbledore's Army. He said he invited all the students on the list, so no students are getting expelled."

Lisa let out a shuddering breath and put her head in her hands.

"Thank God," I murmured, pushing my plate of half eaten breakfast away. "But what's the school going to be like now with Umbridge running it?"

Terry let out a laugh, his own way of dealing with the relief of not getting expelled.

"Shambles I suppose, considering the rest of the staff hate her as well. You know, Dumbledore's office has sealed itself against her and refuses to allow her access!"

I would have laughed too, but I was suddenly hit with a terrible thought. I hoped Snape would still be able to get into the office in some way. Mother's ring was in there!

"Mill?' said Terry, staring at me. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I said distractedly, turning to search for my brother's face up at the staff table.

If his face was anything to go by, he seemed to be in a foul mood. It was no wonder really, considering the Headmaster was gone. Snape was sitting next to McGonagall, deep in conversation with her, his face becoming stonier by the second. I suddenly wasn't looking forward to double Potions with him that morning.

"So, do you want to know who the traitor was?" Terry asked airily, pouring milk into his coffee.

Lisa looked up. "Yes," she said heatedly.

Terry shook his head. "It was a Ravenclaw."

I opened my mouth in horror. It was a Ravenclaw? One of our own had given them away?

"Marietta Edgecombe," Terry whispered.

Lisa and I said nothing. We just stared at Terry, letting the information gained already that morning sink in.

"She is currently in the hospital wing," Terry went on, "with awful purple pustules clustered together on her nose and cheeks, spelling out the word sneak in capital letters."

Yuck. She certainly deserved it though, in my opinion at least.

Lisa let out a dry laugh. "Good," she said harshly. "I hope it doesn't wear off."

"Well you might just be in luck," he said, smiling at her. "So far no one's been able to fix it. A great bit of jinxing on Hermione Granger's part. She had certainly planned an obvious way of knowing if someone gave the group away."

I smiled. I felt a rush of gratitude to Hermione. As mean it was, I was thrilled to bits that Marietta had those pustules on her face.

"It's a shame Dumbledore's gone though," I said quietly. "How many more decrees is Umbridge going to put through now that she's Headmistress?"

Lisa shrugged. "I don't want to think about it. It's too awful."

Terry looked thoughtful. "You might get the inside gossip from Snape, Mill." He glanced up at the staff table. "Though I'd try when he's in a better mood. He looks like he's about to hex someone."

o o o o o o o o o o

Terry and I had both come to the right conclusion about Snape's mood, and I knew every student who had double Potions that morning must have come out feeling lucky to have survived.

Snape didn't look at me as my friends and I passed him in the doorway after he had opened the door to the classroom. That didn't really put me off; he often didn't look at me when I passed him into the classroom. He was always too busy looking for other students to dock points from.

Before the lesson had gotten to the halfway mark, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had lost a combined total of fifty-five points and Snape had handed out no fewer than five detentions.

His alarming behaviour really worried me, especially since he still hadn't made eye contact with me at all. It felt as if I wasn't there in the room with him. He generally made eye contact with me at least once.

The closest he got to me was when he started berating Lisa for making her potion two shades lighter than it should have been.

"It clearly states to add shredded roots, Miss Turpin," he spat, making Lisa recoil. "You must have chopped at least two of them for the potion to be that colour."

I thought that was really unfair. Maybe one or two of the roots Lisa had used hadn't been in the best condition, but I knew she hadn't chopped them. Her potion was nearly perfect.

"She didn't chop the roots, sir," Terry said quietly. "There must have been a couple of dud ones added."

I could have kicked Terry for jumping to Lisa's defence. Coming up against Snape in a mood like this would not come off well.

Sure enough, Snape rounded on him. "Ten points from Ravenclaw, Boot,' he snarled. 'I did not ask for your input."

He turned and swept away to bully Susan Bones.

I snuck a glance at Terry and Lisa. Both looked shell-shocked. Snape had tormented them many times over the years, but this was the first time in months that he had put a considerable effort into it.

o o o o o o o o o o

At morning break, we gathered in the courtyard, in want of some fresh air.

"If I were you, Mill," said Lisa quietly, "I would think up some excuse to get out of staying at Snape's tonight. He's on the warpath."

Normally I would have laughed it off, but right now I couldn't. The truth was, I was a little concerned. Even after packing up and picking up my bag to leave, Snape hadn't looked at me. He had very conveniently busied himself at his desk and hadn't looked up at all. I wondered if I was just being paranoid because Snape was being awful to everyone else.

Terry nodded. "Yeah, I'd go over there as late as possible tonight, Milly."

I wished I could. I would have preferred to talk to him when he was in a more rational mood. But Snape and I always went over my homework on Tuesday nights, and I always had dinner down there with him. I generally just went down to the dungeons after classes for the whole school had ended. I had two free periods in the afternoon, which I often spent in Ravenclaw Tower.

Plans were changed though, when I went up to my dorm after lunch. Alone in the room, I took my chocolate frog card out, as I often did during the day when I was alone. I was a little relieved to see the wizard waving to me to indicate a message.

Make sure you are down here by the time classes have ended today

That was it. No explanation. If I didn't occlude, I would be a nervous wreck by the time classes ended.

I picked up my bag again and headed down to the dungeons, thinking that I would just go there early and get as much work done as I could before Snape came home.

On the way to the dungeons, I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing bright lights. But they were there. Fireworks! I had to dodge a Catherine Wheel at the foot of the stairs leading down to the dungeons. I could think of two people I would name responsible for this. Umbridge must be having a lovely time trying to rid the castle of them. I would have to express my admiration to the Weasley twins the next time I saw them.

o o o o o o o o o o

I worked steadily through the afternoon, managing to get through my Potions essay (a particularly nasty one which seemed to match Snape's mood that day) and my Charms essay. Luckily, Snape had plenty of books that allowed me to do a good job on my Potions homework.

When the time came for classes to end, my heart started to pound. I strengthened my mental shield to block out my nerves, and it seemed to slow to the proper rate again.

I had just closed Morag's cage after coaxing her to eat and was sitting down at my desk again when I heard Snape come in. I could hear his footsteps coming closer and closer and I guessed that he was heading straight for my room.

Sure enough, a moment later he was standing in the doorway, still looking like he was in a foul mood.

He positively glowered at me.

"I've been waiting to have a word with you all day," he said, his voice hard.

I didn't answer. I figured it was best to be silent.

He walked further into the room and sat in the armchair next to my bed. For that I was grateful. He could be all the more intimidating when he was angry and towering over me.

For a few moments, he just gazed at me, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"I daresay you know of the events of last night?" he asked quietly, his eyes never leaving mine.

Slowly, I nodded.

"Yes?" he said harshly.

"Yes," I answered evenly, completely at a loss for what was coming.

"And so you would be aware of a certain list of names written under the words Dumbledore's Army?"

"Yes," I said again, occluding harder than ever. I didn't care that Snape didn't like me doing it in front of him.

He continued to just stare at me, as if waiting for me to say something. When I didn't, he continued.

"Am I mistaken in claiming that Mr. Boot and Miss Turpin had signed that list?"

"No."

He nodded curtly. "And how long has each of them been members of this...group...from the beginning?"

I was starting to feel very unsettled now. I wished Snape would just get straight to the point. "Terry was from the beginning. Lisa joined shortly after Christmas."

Again, he gave a curt nod. "Then am I to understand that you knew of the group, who the members were, where they met and what they were doing?"

"Yes," I said quietly.

"Ah." He sat back, still watching me closely. "Were you asked to join?"

I nodded. "Yes."

His black eyes were glittering. "And what was the basis of your decision?"

I was certainly confident in my answer. "I never even considered joining. It held no advantage to me, and besides that, I thought it was too risky."

He narrowed his eyes. "Well, there's some merit there then. I'm glad you showed some sense in that regard."

I stared at him, starting to feel annoyed myself. "You're implying that I haven't shown sense in another way."

He glared at me. "Indeed I am."

I said nothing.

"I am sure you are not delighted to have Umbridge as Headmistress, Armilla. I believe these events could have been prevented. Dumbledore would still be Headmaster today."

I occluded to suppress my anger. "You think I should have told you about it?" I said, being careful to keep my voice even.

"I do," he snapped. "Straightaway. If another teacher had caught the group, then the consequences wouldn't have been so serious because Umbridge wouldn't have been informed. In this case, the worst possible people were involved and Dumbledore had to sacrifice his position as Headmaster to save Potter and everyone else from being expelled." He stopped, looking absolutely livid.

I was furious. "I can't control what everyone else does," I said heatedly. "I chose not to have any part in it and I didn't. I'm not connected to this at all because I chose not to be."

"You're missing the point," he said harshly. "If I had known about this then I could have told Dumbledore what they were doing and he could have handled it quietly."

It was all I could do to suppress all sorts of wild emotions. "You think this is all my fault? Everything that's happened is my fault?"

"I am not saying it is your fault and you would do well to remember that," he snapped. "I am merely pointing out that this could have been prevented if I had known. It is Potter's fault for being so arrogant as to presume he could get away with running such a group."

"Have you seen Marietta Edgecombe's face?" I asked suddenly.

He glowered at me. "No, and I couldn't care less about her face. A childish jinx will wear off eventually, but who knows how long we'll have to put up with Umbridge."

"No one's been able to cure her," I pressed on, not caring whether Snape cared or not. "Who knows how long she'll have to put up with that? It doesn't do much for her character, does it, giving a whole group of people away? I'm sure Father wouldn't have appreciated hearing from Lucius Malfoy that I had Sneak etched on my face, even if you didn't care."

Snape glared at me. "Don't you speak to me like that."

I didn't care now. I was so angry. "It would have made an even better name for the family, you know, doing what people who joined the group predicted, me giving them away."

He narrowed his eyes. "They thought you were going to give them away? Why?"

"Because I'm a Snape," I said shortly. "Apparently they thought I wasn't to be trusted for that reason. People had their reservations about asking me to join the group because they believed I would only give them away for my own benefit."

He sneered. "Well that's their problem, Armilla. You would have done the right thing."

"I would rather have seen them get expelled than be named a traitor by them," I said, trying to stop my voice from shaking.

He sighed, as if willing himself to have patience. "I could have gotten rid of the Sneak mark if it had been etched on your face."

"That's not the point!" I exclaimed. "I would still be a traitor. They were all coming to view me as being in the same league as Malfoy at that time anyway because I had to be nice to him."

Comprehension dawned on Snape's face. "Is this around the same time that you thought you were dark?" he asked quietly.

Slowly, I nodded.

"I didn't want to be branded something I wasn't," I said. "Traitors never lose their title."

He stared sternly at me, but said nothing.

"I don't regret not telling you," I said quietly. "I'm not a Sneak, and I never will be."

He continued to watch me closely, but I said nothing more, and nor did he.

After a moment, he got up and walked to the door. With his hand on the door handle, he turned around.

"You can stop occluding now," he said, his eyes narrowed.

I stared up at him, still saying nothing. I was so furious with him.

He turned and closed the door with a snap behind him.

As his footsteps faded away, I took the guard down properly.

To say that I had to reach for a couple of tissues would be an understatement.