Ebb and Flow

Hogwarts, Late May 1994

***

...I hope you enjoy this dress, Auntie. I thought of you as I made this dress, and I thought you should be the first to have one of my designs. After all, you were the one that would humor me by standing still for hours as I perfected my craft. I do believe this makes up for about a third of all the pin sticks in the bum. I so wished you could have come to my show--it was a fantastic success. I'll be in all the best Wizarding shops in New York, and by fall, I hope to have my clothes in New Orleans, Chicago, and Salem. I'm not sure London and the rest of Wizarding Europe are ready for my designs, however. Could you imagine McGonagall or Gran wearing one of my designs? I'll have to design something more matronly. You, however, are not allowed to look matronly. I know what those cold winters and long school days can do to a bright young professor like yourself. How are you supposed to attract a handsome young wizard dressed like McGonagall?

All my love,

Your Afina

"I don't dress like McGonagall," she muttered as she finished the last line. Althea scanned the bottom of the letter and realized there was more.

PS. Yes, you do dress like McGonagall. Now try the dress on!

Althea frowned as she folded the letter. I don't wear tartans, she thought, slipping the letter back into the envelope. I don't dress like McGonagall either. I'm a schoolteacher, not a member of a bloody rock group, she thought, opening the package. Upon opening the package and gazing at Afina's work, she had to admit that Afina was an exceptional clothing designer. Althea was worried when Afina confided in her during her last year at Hogwarts that she wanted to pursue fashion design instead of a traditional Wizarding career as she had planned. However, Afina quickly excelled at her Wizarding fashion fellowship in Paris, studying under some of the most prominent Wizarding fashion houses in the world. She left Paris a year ago to pursue a designing career in New York--the emerging center of Wizarding fashion. Althea's fingertips gently stroked the soft purple fabric as she admired Afina's use of texture and embroidery.

"Afina, this is fantastic," she breathed, holding up the dress to admire it further. "But where's the rest of it?" she asked, frowning.

I don't think this is something I could wear at Hogwarts, but I could definitely wear this in London or when I visit her next, she thought, placing the dress on her desk. After closing the thick curtains to her office windows, she unbuttoned her robes and slipped on the dress Afina designed. Enlarging the mirror she had in her drawer, she examined herself. It's not as short as I thought--it's just a few inches above the knee, but still, she thought, watching the fabric swirl around her legs, I wonder if I should be wearing something this short. Suddenly, Althea began to laugh--she was thirty-three, not seventy-three. Oh, but am I too matronly to wear this dress, she thought, looking at her robes lying on her office floor. When had she started to dress so old? Sitting on the edge of her desk, she remembered when there was a time she would never have worn something so old. I'll make a special trip to London to buy a new wardrobe, she thought, taking a picture frame from her desk.

"Oh, Afina, I don't believe Gran approved of that tongue piercing," she murmured, as Afina--sitting next to a smiling and laughing Althea--stuck out her tongue for the camera. "She wouldn't stop screaming after Lily and I had our ears pierced."

She was always more lenient with you than with me, she thought as Afina wiggled the stud with her bottom teeth. I had one E in Potions and I was severely reprimanded for being a stupid girl, but you receive four E's and you're congratulated for a job well-done.... It must be her old age. Whether it was her old age, Althea truly did not know, but Gran had treated Afina differently from Althea. During her time at Hogwarts, with no pleading or screaming, Afina was permitted to go on skiing holidays in Canada over Christmas; whereas, Althea was never allowed to spend more than a week away and was chaperoned at all times. Of course, unlike Afina, Althea never missed an opportunity to sneak away or evade her chaperones--her chaperones who understood the importance of a young girl and her adventures.

Afina must have been a true joy compared to me, she thought, placing the picture frame on her desk. No, she never did half of the things I did...like lying to Gran about Sirius's identity or sneaking Sirius up to my bedroom or running away with Sirius. Much to her mortification--with a smirk--Sirius had introduced himself to her Gran as Stephen Potter, the summer before their seventh year. Surprisingly, Gran did not see through the ruse and approved of Stephen Potter. She thought him to be an appropriate young man for her granddaughter, much to the amusement of Sirius and Althea. The ruse lasted until Althea's seventeenth birthday, when Sirius attempted to persuade her to run away with him and confronted Gran about her awful treatment of Althea. Gran hexed Sirius out of the house, and threatened him with death if he ever returned. Sirius, always willing to take up a challenge, visited Althea one night during Easter Holiday of her seventh year. Refusing to wait until he left Hogwarts, Sirius bought a motorbike with the help of Remus--who helped with the monetary transaction. Somehow, he had figured out the specific charms to allow the motorbike flight, and had flown the motorbike up to her window one night over Easter Holiday. The hum of the motorbike's engine woke Althea from her sleep, and as he was attempting to coax her to fly away with him, a livid Gran entered Althea's bedroom. Immediately, Gran shouted for Althea to get away from the window; however, caught up in the moment, her reckless devotion, and copious amounts of adrenaline coursing through her veins, Althea refused, and in her nightgown, she climbed through the window onto the back of Sirius's motorbike. As they flew away, she looked back to see Gran's head out the window shouting at her. She spent the rest of Easter Holiday in Sirius's flat when she should have been studying for her N.E.W.T.s.

"No, I don't think it was a matter of leniency," she murmured, rubbing her forehead. "How we didn't get ourselves killed--"

A knock on her door broke her from her thoughts.

"Just a moment," she said loudly as she stooped to pick up her robes.

Hurriedly she folded them and placed them behind her desk. Smoothing out her dress and tugging at the skirt to improve its length, she slowly opened the door.

"Remus," she sighed, smiling with relief, "come in."

"I hope I'm not bothering you," he replied as he entered her office.

"Oh no, no," she replied quickly, closing the door behind them. She motioned with her hand for Remus to sit on her sofa. "I was trying on the dress Afina designed for me," she explained, sitting next to him. "So, what brings you here?"

Remus raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. "Is that the dress Afina designed?" he asked, pointing to Althea.

Althea nodded.

"Well," he said, motioning for her to stand, "let me see her work."

Althea shook her head. "Oh no, really...it's so short--"

"Come on, let me see," he encouraged, smiling.

Althea rolled her eyes and sighed disappointedly. "Really, it's very short," she said as she stood.

She bit her lip as Remus inspected the dress.

"It's not terribly hideous though...but what do you think?"

"Turn round," he replied, motioning with his index finger for her to spin.

Althea sighed once more. "Remus, is this necessary?" she asked as she turned.

Remus disregarded her question. "Afina designed this? Amazing," he murmured, rubbing his chin.

Althea tugged at the skirt to lengthen it, but failed. "I do look a bit ridiculous," she commented and bit her bottom lip.

Remus shook his head. "No, not all," he murmured, staring at her legs.

Althea crossed her legs in an attempt to hide their paleness.

"No, it's how you should look."

Althea smiled at his compliment. "Not like a schoolteacher," she replied as she sat next to him. "I don't think I ever wore something so short."

Remus laughed, which startled her. "Yes, you did and this is not short by any means. You wore skirts shorter than this all the time," he explained, leaning back on the sofa.

"Why would you remember how short I wore my skirts?" she asked wryly, raising an eyebrow.

"You know, I wasn't always a stuffy schoolteacher," he replied as Althea sat next to him. "I was a teenage boy once."

"Really," she replied breathlessly and started to snicker as Remus frowned.

"As I was saying, I was a teenage boy once and I do remember a particular Gryffindor girl the same year as myself who wore her skirts very short--"

"Not Lily," she interrupted, "Lily was a good girl."

Remus nodded. "No, this girl was very naughty," he explained, brushing stray hairs away from his face. "In fact, her skirts were so short a few boys would crowd round the table behind her to catch a glimpse of her knickers as she reached for a book on the other side of the table or on a very high shelf," he continued with a small smile.

"And who would these boys be?" she asked, mockingly narrowing her eyes.

Remus screwed his eyes up as if in deep deliberation. "I believe there were four of them and the same year and House as her," he answered thoughtfully.

"Oh, poor Jane--having you four looking at her knickers," she replied with mock ruefulness, shaking her head.

"Like we'd want to look at Jane's knickers," he remarked quickly. "It was you, of course," he added, frowning slightly. "I thought you'd know that."

Althea smiled proudly. "I did, that's why I had so many outrageous kinds," she replied and winked. "I figured it out when I'd bend over and there would be a gasp, or a snicker, or my favorite 'Not my bloody rib, Peter! I can see she's wearing the ones with the unicorns today,'" she added and Remus laughed.

"Yes, Sirius and I would purposefully move certain books to the top shelves so we could see you reach for them," he explained and it was Althea's turn to laugh. "He had a great fondness for hoisting you into the air by your ankle."

"I remember," she mused. "I'd use a Sticking Charm on my skirts, but they never worked."

"Because Sirius would remove the charm and then perform the spell," he explained. "We were surprised to know how many different pairs of knickers you had--I don't think we saw you wear the same pair twice."

"Did you have your favorites?" she asked, resting her head against the back of the sofa.

Remus nodded, looking ahead of him. "Oh yes, I liked the ones with the butterflies that would fly about, but Sirius enjoyed the ones that showed the night sky and sparkled," he admitted, his lips twitching to form a slight smile. "You helped him study for his Astronomy O.W.L.," he added, submitting to his smile.

"Did I?"

"Yeah, it was the only time he actually studied for an Astronomy exam," he explained, turning his head to face her, "he credited you with his is O. He gasped when he realized where Canis Major would be."

Althea laughed quietly. "It must have been an awful day when McGonagall forced me to uncharm my skirt," she replied and Remus nodded. "She didn't care if it was the style; it was an institution of learning and witches just didn't wear their skirts that short."

"It was an awful day, but by then Sirius would have killed us if we even mentioned your knickers," he said and sighed. "He was the jealous sort."

Althea sensed a slight bitterness in his voice. "Anyway, what is with this fixation with me?" she asked, changing the subject. "Didn't you entertain yourselves with other girls at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, but you're the only girl worth remembering," he quipped and winked. "Of course, our seventh-years, we did a survey of the entire female seventh-years to find the loveliest girl of Hogwarts. We polled all the seventh-year boys--Slytherin excluded, of course--to determine the loveliest girl."

"'Slytherin excluded,'" she laughed quietly. "I remember...I was voted Best Bottom and Best Legs," she added fondly as Remus developed a puzzled look on his face. "Oh yeah, we knew all about the survey. We had a copy. Let's see, there was Best Tits--that went to Lorraine Rolf.... Then Best Smile--Charlotte Marshall won that.... Lily won Best Eyes--she hated that because she wondered what was wrong with the rest of her.... Patricia West was Best Laugh--of course, she won because she'd laugh at anything.... Most Like to Snog--I wanted that one, but that went to Ursula Rigg...she also won Loveliest Girl," she explained, naming the winners and categories off her fingers. "I was very proud of my Best Bottom and Best Legs, but I really wanted Most Like to Snog."

"We weren't allowed to put you in the Most Like to Snog category," he said with a smile. "Sirius threatened a night in St. Mungo's for anyone who did."

Althea laughed uneasily. "The berk," she muttered and sighed. "Well, I don't think Hogwarts is as fun as it used to be."

"No, it's not like how it used to be," he began with a hint of sadness, "we had more liberties then."

It was probably because Dumbledore knew so many of us would die, she thought, smoothing out her skirt. He wanted us to have our fun before we had to witness the horror Voldemort and his followers could inflict.

"Yes, we did," she agreed, fiddling with the silver and emerald embroidery on the hem of her skirt. "The horrible influence of Muggle culture...the backlash had to occur sometime."

Remus smiled to himself. "Yes, the horrible influence. You know, you could be singly responsible for the backlash," he teased, folding his arms.

"How so?"

"Oh, with your short skirts and your rock and roll music--shameful to dignified Wizarding society--"

"Don't even start," she interrupted, narrowing her eyes in a mock attempt to scold him. "I wasn't the only student influenced by Muggle culture. Young Wizarding teenagers rebelled against their parents by listening to Muggle music all the time. It was almost a rite of passage for a wizard or witch to go through a Muggle rebellious phase--"

Suddenly, Remus grabbed her shoulders. "Stop sounding like a schoolteacher!" he demanded laughingly, shaking her slightly.

"You're absolutely right," she sighed, frowning. "I've become what I've always feared...a younger version of my aunt."

"No, you're not," he said dismissively, shaking his head. "I'll stop you before I'd let that happen," he added and winked. "You need a holiday--that's all."

Althea closed her eyes and smiled. She needed to leave Hogwarts and travel--to recuperate from the grading and the lecturing.

"Mmm, a holiday," she murmured happily and opened her eyes. "You should come with me," she added and tugged at his robes.

"Oh, I don't know, Althea," he replied uneasily. "It's loads paperwork and hours jockeying at the Registry for the Ministry to authorize for me to leave. I doubt they'd allow it. It is an awful mess to travel anywhere for holiday."

"Shut it, you're coming with me on holiday," she replied shortly, tugging at his sleeve. "It will be loads of fun."

"Loads," he mouthed--a small crease appearing between his eyebrows. "Anyway, I brought this for you to see," he said, reaching into his robe pocket.

Althea frowned at his insistence on changing the subject. The Ministry did make it very difficult for werewolves to travel, but Remus deserved to live as normal a life as possible. If he were worried about money, she would pay for everything...except maybe that bothered Remus. I can be so thoughtless at times, she thought as Remus handed her a scroll of paper.

"What is this?" she asked, unrolling the scroll.

"A paper Prudence wrote.... I thought you'd like to read it," he answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yes I would," she replied, smiling, and eagerly unrolled the scroll.

Her handwriting looks so similar to mine, she thought as read the essay. Thank you, Remus, for allowing me to read her papers. During Remus's tenure as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, he has allowed Althea to glimpse a part of her child's life she thought she would never be able to see. Of course, she was able to watch her daughter from the Head Table at mealtimes, to observe her as they passed in the corridors as both went to their respective classes, or to hear the often, "Well done, Miss Parker," as she walked by the Charms classroom, but none could compare to the ability to touch her daughter. Reading Prudence's essays allowed her to touch her daughter, allowed her to know her daughter's thought process, and allowed her to become closer to her than she ever could.

"Brilliant," she breathed as she continued to read the essay. "Is she still having trouble in your class?" she asked, briefly pausing from reading a sentence.

"Somewhat," he began as Althea started to read again, "however, it's mostly nervousness.... She so wants to prove herself--"

"I don't believe it!" she gasped, tightening her grip on the parchment. "It's a quote from one of my father's books!" she said in humorous surprise. "How did she..." she began, but trailed off, looking to Remus for an explanation.

Remus laughed quietly as he stretched his legs out before him. "I asked her the same question: how did she come by your father's books? She looked very scared when I explained to her those books were advanced for a young age--"

"How could anyone be scared of you?" she laughed, waving her hand dismissively.

"Well, I am an intimidating professor, not to mention I am a werewolf," he explained in a low tone.

Intimidating, she thought with amusement, you're one of the best loved professors at Hogwarts. My students come to my classroom gushing about how wonderful you are, what you let them do, and how much they like you best out of all the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors they've had.

"Oh, I suppose you are then, but please continue with your conversation with Prudence," she replied teasingly, attempting to suppress a smile.

"Thank you," he said as he nodded slightly, suppressing his own smile. "She explained to me she found them in an older section of the library. According to her, there were many books that no one reads, and some of them were very silly, but she liked his book the best--"

"The best?" she interrupted, frowning somewhat. "Did she say why?"

"No, actually," he replied, furrowing his eyebrows. "Althea, she doesn't know the truth about you."

"I know, but that sort of thing is unnerving," she explained and sighed. "I suppose it's from the influence of the Parkers--her love of books, I mean. Edwina is a fantasy novelist and James is a Medieval Literature Professor.... I used that old section in the library for other purposes," she added and smiled weakly.

"I suppose," he began thoughtfully, "but I see so much of you in Prudence."

Althea's stomach sank at the comparison. She frowned as she rolled the parchment. "I try to ignore everything I see," she replied, handing him the rolled parchment. "Everything I see frightens me, but more so when I'm reminded of her father," she continued and sighed sadly. "I remember the first time I heard her laugh--one breakfast--I couldn't finish my meal. It's not as forceful or loud, but it scares me to think others might recognize it. I don't ever want anyone to know who she is," she said, her voice trembling slightly.

I don't care about myself, she thought, rubbing her hands together nervously in her lap. I care for Prudence's happiness. If she is to hear the circumstances, I must say it; however, I'm not as bold as I used to be. To the Wizarding world, Prudence Morrigan had died almost thirteen years ago, and was buried in Northfield cemetery. Althea had made sure of it--an empty grave above which a gravestone that bore Prudence's name and date of birth and death etched in stone. Althea had hoped and had dreaded that her new family would suppress any remainder of her parents' personalities.

She sighed once more and rested the back of her head against the sofa. "There's only so much the Parkers can suppress, you know," she said, staring at the ceiling. "She has the air of confidence he had, which frightens me most of all. It's not all the time though, but it is there.... I noticed it first in the Great Hall.... The way she enters, surveying it with boredom and then flashing her friends a smile or a wink. How many times did we see Sirius do that exactly?"

"Many times, Althea, but she is not Sirius," he replied calmly, shifting his body toward her.

Althea lifted her head. "I know she's not Sirius, but--"

"Prudence isn't Sirius. She has a definite sense of right and wrong--"

"Didn't Sirius at one point, too?" she interrupted and bit her bottom lip. "I have this horrible dream sometimes," she continued slowly, looking at her thin hands. "Prudence proudly stands in front of me and says she's inherited the best from her mummy and daddy...she says this as she's holding a blood-stained knife. I start to panic and cry...I cry as I strangle my own daughter," she explained and sighed heavily. She opened and closed her hands--a few of her joints popping from the movement. "What you must think of me, sometimes," she murmured, smoothing her skirt.

"Althea," he began quietly, but was interrupted by loud laughter and then someone angrily shouting in the corridor. "What is happening outside?" he asked, frowning.

Althea sighed disappointedly. "I really don't want to hand out detentions today," she replied as she stood along with Remus.

It's not something I enjoy--especially so close to exams, she thought as she entered the corridor. Upon entering the corridor, Althea gasped and steadied herself against Remus as she observed it was Prudence, with her wand drawn, yelling angrily at some Slytherin first-year. Nervously, she continued to observe her daughter as she refused to yield to the other student. She had observed that same look, that same movement, her fifth-year after Sirius was named to the Gryffindor House Team. She knew that in one movement of the wand, that boy would be thrown across the corridor as she had been thrown during a duel with Sirius her fifth year. She's inherited what I've most feared, she thought, swallowing a large breath as Prudence advanced on the young boy.

"What's all this?" Remus asked calmly, but in a loud voice to startle the children.

However, Prudence was not startled and continued to hold her wand directly at the boy's face. "What have we ever done to you?" she asked heatedly, nodding toward her friends who were standing behind her.

"Being Mudbloods," the Slytherin boy replied, reaching into his own pocket in an attempt to find his wand.

Althea watched her daughter's face darken. "Take back what you said, or I swear I'll hex you," she growled, tightening her grip on her wand.

At least she gives him warning, she thought before she intervened.

"Whoa, what's all this?" she asked, placing her hand on Prudence's shoulder.

Prudence's shoulder shuddered slightly as she must have realized professors had arrived. Frowning, Prudence looked up at Althea, which caused Althea to take in an unsteady breath.

"There'll be no hexing today," she added regaining her composure and shaking her head disapprovingly. "So put your wands away, the both of you."

Both students nodded and stuffed their wands in their robe pockets. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Remus shuffled the other students from the corridor.

"Now," she began, looking from one student to the other, "what is the meaning of all this?"

"He took something from me, professor," Prudence said quickly before the other student could speak.

"He took something from you?" she repeated and Prudence nodded.

"Yes, and when I asked for it back he had called us that horrible word," she added and bit her lip.

"Oh, well that is uncalled for, but it's not worth hexing someone over, is it?" she asked, folding her arms. "Now apologize the both of you and be done with it."

Prudence groaned and rolled her eyes. "Sorry," she murmured, kicking her heel against the stone floor.

The Slytherin boy laughed smugly and folded his arms. "Do you think I'm going to apologize to a Mudblood?" he asked and laughed once more.

"You!" Prudence growled, lunging forward; however, Althea was ready to catch her.

"No--there'll--be--no--fighting--today," she forced out as Prudence wiggled underneath her grip. "Just calm down, he's not worth it," she whispered in Prudence's ear.

Breathing heavily, Prudence stopped struggling and Althea reluctantly let go.

"Now, apologize to Miss Parker or I will take points from your House."

"Can't handle a simple squabble Morrigan...or Lupin?" Snape asked and Althea's head jolted backward.

"Your student won't apologize," she replied coolly as both students now looked at Snape, who had arrived without detection. "Severus, please discipline your student," she added, standing closer to Remus, who had joined her side.

Althea noticed an odd gleam in Snape's eyes, which caused her to frown. What was Snape thinking? He enjoys his authority too much, she thought, eyeing Snape warily.

Snape smiled somewhat, showing the tips of his yellow, uneven teeth. "Ten points from Gryffindor," he said shortly and Prudence huffed.

No, don't do anything stupid, Prudence, she thought as she placed her hand on Prudence's shoulder and shook her head. Prudence bit her lip and reluctantly backed down.

"That was not what I meant," she replied, frowning. "We do not tolerate abhorrent name-calling and disobedience. Miss Parker had apologized for her behavior, but your student refused."

Snape's smile widened as if he had been waiting for this moment to reply, "What? Bla--Parker lunged at Mr. Powell."

The blood quickly drained from Althea's face at Snape's intentional mistake. "Fine," she replied, her voice higher than usual. She cleared her throat before she continued, "Ten points will be deducted from Slytherin as well. Now, please return what you took from Miss Parker and all will be settled."

Althea noticed Prudence's hands start to tremble as Powell spoke, "I was taking the paper to Professor Snape. It's very important that he look at it."

The boy reached into his robes and produced a folded piece of parchment. With a look of triumph directed at Prudence, the boy handed Snape the folded parchment. Quickly, Snape unfolded the parchment, his pallid skin becoming more ashen as he looked at the parchment. What did you do Prudence, Althea thought, watching Snape's lips thin and contort into an awful sneer.

"Look at this," Snape demanded coldly, handing Althea the piece of parchment.

Looking at Prudence, her eyes slowly left her daughter and met the parchment. Althea winced as she read the cartoon and did not know if she should groan or laugh at it. Oh, Prudence, she thought, looking at the caricature of Snape, how could you be so stupid? In the cartoon, Snape, in a green polka dot dress, continuously admired himself in a large mirror in Madam Malkin's shop. As he twirled, a small caption appeared next to him as he lamented that he would much rather wear the aqua dress as it brought out the yellowness of his teeth. Your father would be very proud of this, she thought as she folded the parchment, and unfortunately, I am somewhat proud too.

"So?" Snape sneered as he beady eyes bore into Althea's skin.

Althea looked from the parchment to Prudence, who was looking at Althea with a mixture of fear and hope--hope that Althea would protect her from Snape. Whatever feelings of academic or moral obligation to uphold the rules of Hogwarts she had, she forgot them as her daughter timidly waited for Althea to respond. She would not hesitate to help her daughter and improve her opinion in her daughter's eyes.

Althea frowned thoughtfully as she looked at Snape. "You think she drew this?" she asked, slightly waving the parchment.

"There is no question this was drawn by Parker, Morrigan," he replied with perceptible anger.

Snape opened his mouth to speak again, but Althea swiftly interrupted with the utmost calmness, "This cartoon, it is very clever, but it can't be the work of a twelve-year-old girl--the magic to do such a drawing is advanced." She unfolded the parchment, gazed at the twirling and gushing Snape in the cartoon, and bit her lip as not to laugh. "I think, Severus, she found this somewhere," she explained, looking at Prudence knowingly.

Prudence's eyes immediately registered the understanding of Althea's plan.

"Did you find this somewhere?"

Prudence nodded. "I found it on the floor at the start of Potions," she explained, not taking her eyes away from Althea. "I didn't want the professor to become upset and I decided to throw it away myself, but I wasn't able to as Powell took it from me," she finished and Althea noticed Prudence fighting a smirk developing across her face.

I shouldn't be defending her, she thought as Prudence bit her bottom lip, she'll only learn how to get away with things. How many times would I have pulled a stunt like this--lying to a professor? Sirius probably would have admitted to drawing the picture and that he didn't have the time to finish it.... It's too late to change the plan now, though.

"See, Severus," she began, turning her attention to Snape, "it was all innocence. She wanted to dispose of the cartoon as not to upset you and interrupt the class."

"Innocence," he sneered, his eyes flickering to Prudence. "Coming to the defense of Parker, rather motherly of you, Morrigan."

He smiled as Althea felt her face pale once more.

Taking a deep breath, she felt the color return to her face. "Well, it's settled, then? The children will be on their ways and the cartoon will be destroyed," she said, placing her hands on Prudence's shoulders to direct her away from Snape. "Good day, Severus," she said, over her shoulder as she walked with Prudence.

"Thank you, Professor," she whispered as the two walked by Althea's office door.

Althea stopped and faced Prudence. "I know you drew that cartoon--no, don't interrupt--I know you drew the cartoon and charmed it so Professor Snape would say those things," she explained, looking into Prudence's grey eyes.

Prudence's eyes widened and her mouth contorted in amazement. "How did you know I drew that?" she asked, looking from Althea to the parchment in Althea's hand.

"Never mind," she began, continuing to look into Prudence's eyes. "Just be more careful. You can draw those pictures, but leave them up in your dormitory. The next time I won't be able to help you, right?" she continued and Prudence nodded--her expression transforming to one of guilt. "Please, think before you act...it is not worth a detention with Professor Snape, all right?" she finished and Prudence frowned.

"I will, Professor," she answered ruefully and looked at the parchment in Althea's hand. "I suppose I won't have the cartoon back, then?" she said, pointing to the parchment.

"No," she sighed, shaking her head, "I'm afraid I can't let you have it back. Now, go outside and have some fun."

"Thanks, Professor," she replied and Althea watched as Prudence walked to far end of the corridor and turned out of sight.

Once more, Althea unfolded the parchment and this time she laughed as she gazed at the picture. "Very good likeness, don't you think, Remus?" she remarked as she felt him walk to her side.

Remus peered over her arm and looked at the cartoon. "A remarkable likeness," he replied, his mouth twitching into a smile, "but I doubt she learned her lesson though, Althea."

"I know," she sighed, folding the parchment. She decided she would place the cartoon in a picture frame and keep it in her quarters. "However, I do think she felt a bit guilty.... Anyway, go back to my office?" she asked, smiling.

Before Remus could answer, Snape interrupted--his eyes flashing with anger. "Morrigan," he demanded and Althea turned around.

"Yes, Snape?" she asked sweetly.

"I have a good mind to tell Dumbledore of your relaxation of school rules," he replied and sneered. "When it comes to your lot you do have a soft spot for troublemakers."

"Oh come off it, Snape," she laughed and rolled her eyes. "This cartoon has Weasley all over it."

"It's not Weasley," he replied shortly. "The source is more arrogant."

"Arrogant?" she remarked and laughed. "She apologized for her part, but your student didn't. Come on, Remus, let's leave so he can sulk," she added, eyeing Snape for one last time before walking toward her office door.

"I don't know why you took such offense to Powell calling her a Mudblood," he began and Althea tightened her grip on the door handle. "I believe it is less abhorrent to say Mudblood than the daughter of a murderer."

The muscles of Althea's body constricted and she fought every urge to grab her wand and blast Snape across the corridor. "Both are equally abhorrent," she replied--determined to remain calm, "and lies."

"No, I've watched her this entire year.... Just like her father--arrogant, reckless, a bully," he said with palpable disgust.

"Severus, you know that is not true," Remus implored, resting his hand on Althea's shoulder. "Come on, Althea, let's go into your office," he whispered calmly.

"I can't let him say those things about her," she replied darkly, looking at the door handle--it needed to be polished.

"He is only saying it to upset you," he continued quietly and calmly.

"I know," she snapped, opening her door and took a step.

It's working, too, she thought, clenching her jaw. I want to blast him repeatedly across the corridor.... He must love pain.

"I wonder," Snape began, as Althea took another step into her office, "if she will take after him in other areas."

A chill ran up and down Althea's spine causing her to shiver. "Remus, I can't let that go," she whispered, stopping in her doorway.

"You have to, Althea," he replied, gently coaxing her through the doorway.

Althea briefly resisted, but relented. What good would come of blasting Snape across the corridor? Momentary satisfaction, but he would make life at Hogwarts hell for Prudence. He might even tell her she's adopted, she thought, her arms dropping heavily to at her sides. Remus shut the door behind him and directed Althea toward her sofa. Althea sat and rested her head in her hands. "I think I want to be alone for a while," she whispered, not looking up.

"Right, but if you need anything," he replied soothingly, gently stroking the back of her head.

Althea nodded and listened for Remus to leave and to shut the door. Upon hearing the door close, Althea started to cry violently. I'm so pathetic, she thought, tugging at the roots of her hair. Why must he point out where I fail?