The Dividing Line

"The Dividing Line"

October 31, 1981

The annual Hogwarts Halloween party was a subdued affair. As with many school functions of late there was a moment of silence to remember someone who recently died. With the recent murders, and it seemed everyone knew someone who was among the casualties, few were able to make a show enthusiasm for a celebration. Even the Slytherins, who were generally more upbeat than the other houses seemed distracted of late. The more charitable attributed this to concern about their families amid the violence, the less kindly to fears that with the capture of two more DeathEaters their family members would be implicated.

Illiana Kempton left the party early to finish her Charms homework in the library and to escape the gloomy atmosphere. Homework usually helped keep her mind from recent events and she wanted to escape the gnawing fear that something terrible might happen to her family or friends.

At the next table a tiny girl with a mop of russet hair, who could only be a first year, was crying hard enough to make her shoulders shake. Illiana debated going over to console her, but the girl in question moved slightly revealing a touch of green and silver at her collar. A Slytherin.

Illiana settled for a question before proceeding. Not all Slytherins actually support You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters, she reminded herself. "Are you all right?"

The girl raised her face to Illiana, her gaze falling to Illiana's blue and bronze striped tie. Her lips trembled as she spoke as though she were uncertain how her words would be received. "My brother died a year ago today."

Illiana clicked her tongue sympathetically. "DeathEaters killed him?"

The girl shook her head miserably. Her grey eyes were red from crying. "Some people act as though I ought to be happy he died. He killed other people and it was his own fault for resisting arrest, but he was my big brother. He always protected me. He loved me and always reminded to owl me." There was a load of bitterness in her voice.

Something her friend Sabrina once said rolled around in the older girl's mind for a moment. Even Hitler was kind to kids and dogs. "Its not your fault." Illiana said softly. For the first time she considered what it must be like for the families of the DeathEaters. Whether or not they supported their relatives' actions, the magical community painted them with the same brush. She squirmed a bit knowing that she had thrown Death Eater connections in the face of more than one Slytherin. How many of those, she now wondered, were proud of their dead and how many stayed awake at night trying to balance their love for the dead with revulsion for the horrible things they had done.

More of Sabrina's words echoed in her mind. Love the sinner, hate the sin.

The younger girl mustered a weak smile. "Not everyone thinks like you. They think I'm just like Evan and that even though he's dead they can punish him by hurting me..."

"Don't your house mates do anything to help you?"

The girl laughed bitterly. "Which ones? Those who think I ought to be proud of him or the ones who see me as tainted?"

Illiana considered this; it certainly fit with what she had observed about Slytherin. "If you ever want to talk, just owl me. My name is Illiana Kempton."

The girl nodded, an oddly formal gesture, before she supplied her own name. "Edana Rosier."

Illiana had a vague recollection of an Evan Rosier, a Beater for Slytherin, killed by Aurors about a year ago. She remembered him as a tall and thin wizard with the same red-brown hair and fair skin as his sister. Actually it was only due to Edana - and the familial resemblance - that she remembered even that much of him.

"I had better get going." Edana said suddenly, glancing at her watch. "Thank you."

Illiana smiled. "You're welcome."

Edana picked up her book and disappeared around a corner. Illiana watched her go, and then returned to her abandoned books. It wasn't easy to shift her attention back to homework, but she was eventually able to do so.

After another hour she was certain that her homework was perfection and trudged back off to the Ravenclaw Common room.

"Look who has finally decided to grace us with her presence." Sabrina McKnight commented as Illiana settled into an overstuffed armchair by the fire. "Where were you? We missed you at the party."

"Library." Illiana held up her Charms textbook as evidence.

Sabrina shook her head. "If you don't make Head Girl, I'll stand on the table at breakfast and sing 'I'm a Little Teapot'. In Latin."

"Is that a promise?" Illiana teased. "If it is, I might just ease up on my studies."

Sabrina snorted in disbelief. "You? Ease up? Never! Cows will fly first."

"I believe that can be accomplished..."

"There speaks the classic overachiever!"

Illiana stared at the fire. "Given any thought to what you'll do after school, assuming they let you finish with your awful Potions mark." Sabrina was somewhat squeamish about some of the ingredients used in their potions. When they used eye of newt she sighed over the newts that sacrificed their eyes for the potion.

"Well, I'm not going to play professional Quidditch, that's for sure." Sabrina sighed deeply. "I really don't know, though I have given thought to studying dragons abroad."

Illiana considered this. Sabrina was Muggle-born and if accepted at the dragon reservation, she would be far away from the DeathEaters. "Sounds like a good option for you. I think I'd like to go into the Ministry or maybe open a small shop."

Just then the current Head Girl, Rosalind Prosser came into the Common Room trailed by Mark Putnam, the Quidditch team Seeker and Captain, who was rumoured to be her boyfriend though neither would confirm or deny anything. Sabrina elbowed Illiana and nodded at the distinctly flushed looks worn by both seventh years.

"They left the party early too. Together." Sabrina whispered.

Rosalind must have heard Sabrina or guessed what she was saying as she shot the fourth year a very dirty look. Knowing just how hot the Head Girl's anger could burn, Sabrina promptly made a strategic retreat to her dormitory. Illiana followed her a few minutes later. She was usually in bed long before this hour and there were classes to attend in the morning. The last thing she needed was detention for falling asleep in class.

Illiana was dreaming, a strange dream in which she were being chased by a pair of her own socks, but when she was awaked by the sound of someone shouting at five thirty-seven the next morning. The dream quickly faded from her memory as she pulled her pillow over her head.

"Could someone please tell that lunatic to quiet down!" Someone said.

Footsteps moved past their door and Illiana caught a glimpse of Rosalind with a pink dressing gown thrown over her nightclothes, looking ready to murder the offending party.

A few minutes later, it was Rosalind shouting.

"Everyone get up! Classes have been cancelled!" the Head Girl yelled. She ran up and down the stairs, sticking her head into each dormitory and shouting out the news.

"Then let us sleep if we don't have to get up!" Sabrina muttered into her pillow. Then she sat up and rubbed her eyes. ."What... classes cancelled?"

"You-Know-Who has been defeated! Professor Flitwick himself told me."

That announcement got the attention of those who had not fallen back asleep while Rosalind went to investigate.

Within minutes, it seemed the entirety of Ravenclaw House had piled into the Common Room and was pestering Rosalind with questions. Mark climbed onto a table and spot sparks from his wand until everyone quieted down. Then he helped Rosalind onto the table.

"Your eager audience awaits you, m'lady," Mark said with a gallant bow.

"Thank you." She informed her boyfriend before facing the crowd. "You-Know-Who was defeated last night. The details are spare, but it's true. I heard it from Professor Flitwick; that was him and Professor Sinestra shouting by the way. He also told me that classes have been cancelled in honour of the occasion and there is to be a feast later in the day to celebrate..." here Rosalind's enthusiastic grin faltered a little. "A feast to celebrate his downfall, but also to remember those who died a few hours ago in Godric's Hollow."

Those who had friends and relatives in Godric's Hollow were worried.

The next few hours passed with much speculation about what happened. Finally someone, a second year Chaser, managed to obtain an early copy of the mornings Prophet. The headlines screamed (literally) HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED DEFEATED! The paper's owner found her copy in danger of being read to tatters before Mark grabbed it and resumed his place on the tabletop to read to article aloud to the Common Room.

"...and Harry Potter reportedly survived the Killing Curse with nothing worse than a great slash cross his forehead in the shape of a bolt of lightning. Within hours of the attack, authorities took the child into protective custody. It is believed that he will be sent to live with Muggle relations of his late mother." Mark finished.

"A baby defeated the worst dark wizard ever known?" Sabrina asked incredulously, breaking the silence that descended upon the Ravenclaws as they mentally digested the news.

Rosalind took the paper from Mark and flipped through it, a thoughtful expression on her face. "If the attacks took place late last night, the Prophet must only just have been able to put this article in the morning edition. Once the dust settles, we'll know more about the hows and whys." She then returned the paper to its owner and thanked her.

At breakfast, the entire school was so busy discussing last night's events that hardly anyone remembered to eat. Only the Slytherins appeared anxious.

Illiana tried to catch a glimpse of Edana, but the younger girl was small and hard to catch amid a sea of identical black robes. Finally, she caught sight a familiar head of russet hair and met her eyes. Edana smiled at her and after checking to make sure her housemates were not watching gave her a jaunty wave. Illiana wanted to go over a hug her, but knew better than to do anything like that in front of the other Slytherins. Maybe she'd get an opportunity later in the day.

Her chance came during the feast that night. Never in all Illiana's time at Hogwarts had she seen a feast quite like this one. Illiana had never seen Head Girl Rosalind so happy and animated before. Even the Professors celebrated just as much as their students did. McGonagall and Dumbledore, however, appeared tired and distracted, as did Hagrid, who looked as though he had been crying. A young man, who appeared as though he had only left school a few years before, went up to Dumbledore and spoke to him quite urgently, drawing the attention of the majority of students. This allowed Illiana to pull Edana off down the hall and into an empty classroom.

Edana was sporting what promised to be an extraordinary example of a black eye, but aside from that, she appeared very happy. It wasn't the same sort of happiness that swept through Ravenclaw tower - a euphoria born from feeling the weight of worry ease. No, Illiana decided, Edana's joy was sheer relief at the end of the tug of war the young girl had found herself in the middle of. The pro-DeathEater faction in Slytherin would huddle together and be more concerned with themselves than the loyalties of one student. Out of a desire to unite their house - for Slytherins knew better than any that a house divided against itself was destined to fall - the opposition would be forgiving. Edana would be able to have friends among her own house again. The light was back in sight.

"What happened to your eye?" Illiana asked, concerned.

Edana shrugged. "Slytherin lost a lot of points this morning. Professor Snape was not in a very good mood - but then he is never in a good mood. He stormed into our common room and took off points for the noise. Geoffrey Butler complained that he had just knocked us out of first place and that made him take off even more. After Snape left everyone was furious with Geoffrey. I was standing near him and got this by accident. Geoffrey is in the hospital wing with two black eyes, a cracked rib and some really interesting hex marks. We lost even more points for that."

Illiana was about to comment when they heard footsteps outside the door accompanied by voices. One belonged to McGonagall and the other to Snape.

"Sirius Black?" Snape was saying. There was an odd note of confirmation in his voice, as though he finally had proof of something he had long suspected.

"Yes," said McGonagall wearily. "He betrayed them, and now Pettigrew and several Muggles are dead as well."

"Foolish man," snarled Snape. "What did he think he was doing confronting Black like that?"

"Grief can do strange things to people," McGongall reminded him. "Dumbledore tells me that they said Black... they said he laughed as they took him away. Of all the people to go over to the other side, I never would have considered Sirius Black! He seemed to be the very antithesis of his family..."

Snape made a noise that Illiana supposed he meant to be comforting. "Blood will tell, I suppose. At least we know who was providing the information on the Potters to Voldemort."

"Yes..."

The two professors must have turned a corner because their voices abruptly became harder to hear and the two students could no longer make out individual words.

"I guess we ought to be getting back to the feast." Edana said awkwardly.

"I guess so, but my offer still stands. If you ever want to talk just owl me." Illiana said.

Edana smiled. "Thanks."

The two girls went into the hall. Edana surprised Illiana with a brief hug before going back to the feast.

"There you are!" Sabrina said. "Why did you leave and who was that? Too short to be Alan."

Illiana knew what Sabrina would say if she knew exactly what house Edana was in. "A friend," Illiana said then hastily continued on another topic. "Snape and McGonagall just came by and you won't believe what they said! Sirius Black - you remember him, don't you?"

Sabrina nodded.

She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial tone. "He was a DeathEater"

Sabrina gasped and clasped her hand to her mouth. "No..."

"Yes!"

"We've got to tell Rosalind before anyone else does," Sabrina said hurriedly, then seeing Illiana's bewildered look she offered an explanation. "She and Black used to date. I think she still cares for him." Sabrina pulled on her friend's arm and began to lead her down the hallway.

"Rosalind and Black?" There was a pairing she would never have considered.

Sabrina nodded. "It was back in our first year. They dated most of the year... a record for him"

Illiana closed her eyes. Rosalind did not give her affections easily and was the sort of girl who managed to remain friends with her former boyfriends. DeathEaters had killed Rosalind's parents and she would not take this well. Moreover, just when it seemed that the end was in sight...

Will the pain the DeathEaters cause never end, she wondered wearily thinking of all their victims - even the ones who thought of DeathEaters as friends and family.