The Unsolved Riddle.

Didn't See That Coming.

Professor Trelawney's hand, clutching onto her latest empty bottle of sherry, looked ready to let go. Her wand was barely held properly and the shawls that were always lopsided had slid even further, most were practically touching the floor and the rest scraped along the floor as she swayed. "You didn't see this coming?" Had Eliana not been so furious with Professor Umbridge, she would have appreciated the comment. It was after all, what she herself had thought many times.

Any form of appreciation from the comment soon left Eliana as she watched the horrible toad smile at the situation, Dolores Umbridge took joy in firing Professor Trelawney and even as the crazy woman with magnifiers for glasses sank to the floor, Umbridge smiled with genuine joy at the moment. "You are embarrassing us." The remark was the last straw for Eliana as she glanced at the twins and she knew that no matter what happened, she would help them harass Umbridge until she left, it was their last hope. Lavender and Parvati had taken to crying and Eliana caught sight of it on the other side of the Entrance Hall, a wave of hopelessness waved over her as she saw the excitement of her Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Before the feeling could grow any deeper, Professor McGonagall emerged and offered Professor Trelawney a tartan handkerchief and proudly patted the woman on the back in comfort. Her words of comfort took Eliana by surprise. McGonagall assured Trelawney that she would not have to leave Hogwarts. Soon that smug satisfaction was in Eliana's heart as she watched Dumbledore inform Umbridge that she had no control of who lived where.

Eventually, the Entrance Hall cleared with chatter as Umbridge was almost certainly left to squalor in her corner. Eliana had the misfortune of passing Professor Snape as she moved towards a hall she often found empty and his sneer, to his great surprise, was returned. "Miss Abaza, what do you think you are doing?" Eliana stopped walking and had to hide the disgust that had built up since Christmas.

"Walking, Professor. I want to find somewhere quiet to read and seeing as Professor Umbridge has just created a spectacle of herself back there, silence isn't going to be easy to come by." The remark was left to hang in the air and as Professor Flitwick walked through, Eliana smiled and waved at him.

"Miss Abaza, you have just lost Ravenclaw 20 points for your cheek. If I had the time I would give you detention considering your actions from class earlier." Snape hadn't missed her change in demeanour since Christmas, usually, when he would insult her she would try and put a positive spin on it, she would smile the day away but her cheerfulness seemed to have faded and fallen into the abyss when it came to him.

"Well then, Professor, I must be off. Good day." Deep down, Eliana was still insistent upon him liking her, despite what she knew about his history with the killing curse, it was something deep down that burnt her up. The one person she had never managed to elicit even a complacent smirk from.

Just as Eliana began to walk again, Snape had already made his way to the end of the corridor with surprising speed as he heaved open the front doors and walked through the grounds. On the other hand, Eliana had managed to find her way to the quiet alcove that few students glanced at more than once, often students didn't even realise that it existed. A small seat was tucked away and her limbs were hooked under her as the words filled her mind, a smile filled her face as she read the awkward exchange between two characters from the story.

"Miss Abaza, what are you doing, hiding in corners when your exams are so close?" Eliana jumped and crushed her ankle slightly as she landed again.

"Oh! Uh, sorry, Professor, I have a headache so I thought I would find a quiet place to read." Rage bubbled through Eliana but it was all suffocated as she forced herself to be polite, Umbridge wasn't the type of person that she wanted to annoy. Especially as her right pocket held a fake galleon, threatening to warm itself any moment to show that another Dumbledore's Army meeting was organised, her Patronus had just taken form, a unicorn of all creatures.