Azkaban

Reunion

The days passed fast. 

Before Amarea knew it, she was helping Draco pack his bags for Hogwarts. The Dark Lord had continued to try and win her affections back over the school break, though he made little progress. Whenever Amarea looked at him, a flash of Sirius' death obscured her vision, and she quickly turned her head in the other direction. 

She had put up many protests towards Albus with his invitation to come back to Hogwarts. Her work as a double agent was far from done. Truthfully, Amarea was terrified at the thought of returning to Hogwarts. Nerves twisted in her stomach as she thought about seeing Harry again. What would he think? At first, she refused, wishing to stay at Malfoy Manor even though it meant putting up with the Dark Lord. A quick vote of the Order buried that decision. 

Grasping the door handle, she opens the teacher's door to the Great Hall. She was well behind the schedule Albus had graciously planned for her, walking in during the middle of his speech. All eyes turned towards her as the door shuts behind the sorceress. She avoids the stares.

"And, with wonderful timing, I am happy to announce that my dear friend, Amarea will be continuing her class on Medieval Magic this school year."

Taking her seat to the left of Severus, Amarea takes note of Albus's words; he avoided mentioning last year's events. She listens to Albus halfheartedly, staring down at the plate in front of her. Severus squeezes her hand gently and Amarea looks over at him, offering a small quirk on her lips. 

"His name, Tom Riddle." Her face drops at Dumbledore's words, her brow furrowing as she starts to listen more intently. "Today, of course, he's known all over the world by another name. Which is why, as I stand looking upon you all tonight, I'm reminded of a sobering fact. Every day, every hour, this very minute, perhaps, dark forces attempt to penetrate this castle's walls. But in the end, their greatest weapon is you. Just something to think about. Now off to bed, pip-pip."

Amarea watches as students start to get up from their seats, practically walking over each other in their attempts to file out the large doors. Dumbledore walks over to her and she looks up at him, raising a brow. "Nice speech," she speaks.

"Well yes, I do try," the man responds. She gives a small nod, and slight pressure on her shoulder lets her know that Severus was retiring for the night. Standing as well, she lets out a heavy sigh, watching the man leave. 

About to speak, Amarea is interrupted. Harry runs up to them, placing one hand on the table to haphazardly keep himself up while the other wraps around Amarea's neck. Getting jerked forward, she slams her hands down on the table, tensing when Harry pushes his face into her shoulder. Her eyes widen before meeting Dumbledore's again and she nods before she and Harry vanish with a crack. 

After a moment, the hardwood flooring of her room meets her feet. Harry takes a step forward, not being divided by a table, closing the space between. They stand in silence for a few moments, Amarea resting a hand on Harry's side, the smell of his cologne filling her senses. Her eyebrows furrow at the movement of his shoulders, and after a second, it dawns on her. She wraps her left arm around his torso, reaching up with her right to rest on his shoulder, and threads her fingers through the hair above the nape of his neck. Amarea makes a quiet shushing noise, rubbing Harry's back as he cries. "Shh, it's alright. You're okay."

He doesn't say anything for a moment until finally, his voice breaks the silence. "Thought I lost you," he croaks out, a muffled sob following. "And Sirius...he's gone..."

"I know, I know...Hey, I'm here, aren't I?"

"They took you," he continues. "And then Sirius, I..."

She shushes him again, squeezing the boy tighter, "I know, Harry. I know."

He pulls away from her, hands still tight around her waist. Amarea watches his bloodshot eyes scan her face, listening intently as he speaks, "I'm never letting you go."

A grin makes its way onto her face. She moves slightly to rest her head on his chest, and Harry buries his face into her hair. "I'm not going anywhere."

---

Days continued to fly by. Amarea resumed her class, and of course had gotten a "welcome-back" prank from Fred, who thought it would be hilarious to set off a stink bomb in the middle of class. When George saw her, he immediately grabbed her, much like Harry did, picking her up off the ground like she weighed nothing. Hermione quickly followed, along with Ron and Ginny. She was met with a bunch of frowns when she refused to answer any questions about getting arrested, saying that it was all handled by Dumbledore. That was all they needed to know. She honestly didn't know much about it — it was a wonder to her how the man pulled the strings he did. 

Quidditch trials had come and gone, along with all the drama that usually followed. Although she wasn't up to date, from what Harry had told her, Ron had made it on the team and was now dating a girl named Lavender Brown. 'They practically snog all day', he had said. He visited Amarea in her room most nights. After she came back, he practically attached himself to her at the hip, ending up being told off whenever he whined about her leaving to 'attend to her business'. 

In the time that she managed to get away from him, she attended meetings at Malfoy Manor or helped Draco rebuild the Vanishing Cabinet. The boy was torn up about his mission and Amarea comforted him however she could, although it did little good. He was constantly reminded of it every day in the Great Hall, Dumbledore sitting at the Great Table. She kept quiet about her Unbreakable Vow, as did Severus. The last thing she wanted to do was give Draco something else to worry about. 

Now, Amarea was at the Weasleys. Harry insisted that she at least stay for a day of the break, and she didn't have it in her to say no. 

"Voldemort has chosen Draco Malfoy for a mission?"

Amarea rested her head in her hands, elbows digging into her thighs as she sat and listened to the conversation. Harry sat to her right, engaging in conversation with Remus, Tonks, and Arthur. "I know it sounds mad," Harry says, pressing his leg against Amarea's. 

"Has it occurred to you, Harry, that Snape was simply pretending to offer Draco help so he could find out what he was up to?"

"That's not what it sounded like."

Tonks speaks up, "Perhaps Harry's right, Remus. I mean to make an Unbreakable Vow, it's..."

Remus moves his hands as he speaks, "It comes down to whether or not you trust Dumbledore's judgment. Dumbledore trusts Snape, therefore I do."

"Dumbledore can make mistakes," Harry insists. 

Amarea shakes her head slightly, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she listens to Remus. "You're blinded by hatred," the man declares, Harry protesting. "Yes, you are. People are disappearing, Harry. Daily. We can only place our trust in a handful of people. If we start fighting amongst ourselves, we're doomed."

Silence follows Remus' declaration, Amarea breaking the silence. "I trust him." Harry looks at her, brow furrowed and hands opened. "I trust him," Amarea repeats, "Snape. You should too."