Severus and the Shadow

Year Two

"I'm worried about you Leticia. You have bags under your eyes and you're losing weight. Are you alright?" her mother, Victoria, asked her the second she set foot in the door for Sunday supper.

"I'm fine mum. This year has just been a little stressful..." Leticia admitted, not wanting to tell her mother about the possible killer on the loose within the walls of Hogwarts.

"I've been hearing some word through the grapevine that students with Muggle lineage are being hurt" Victoria said neutrally, hoping to get some information

It was true. Muggleborns were being targeted. A pure blood wave came hurtling through the school and it was terrifying. No one felt safe. Especially since no one knew what was actually causing the petrifying. Was it a lone student? An outside force? A ghost? There wasn't any way to prepare.

"Yes, they are. But as of right now, it's being controlled" she told her mother cautiously, careful not to let out any school secrets.

"Why you chose to work there I'll never understand. Just remember if it gets too dangerous, you always have us to come home to" Victoria reminded her with a smile.

"I know mum. Thank you" she responded, sitting down at the table where a glass of wine was waiting for her

—————

"There's going to be a dueling club starting, to teach the students how to defend themselves" Severus told her a few days later as they sat in her living room

"Do you think that's a good idea? Right now it feels like they all want to start taking cracks at each other?" she questioned nervously, the mood one flicker away from a forest fire

"They have to learn how to de-escalate. Because right now they just want to give into their emotions. It's not helpful. And I let Lockhart think it was his idea..." Severus told her with a smirk, rubbing his eyes

Lockhart was useless. A buffoon. Coasting through life on lies and puffery. She had no doubt that Dumbledore was allowing these untrained men into the castle for a purpose. To lure out evil. To bring it forward so it could be taken care of. But he was taking a gigantic risk that no innocent students would be harmed.

"How are the mandrakes?" she wondered, finishing up some lesson plans

"They won't be ready for quite some time...We can only hope no students become petrified. Filch is upset enough about his cat and I've been getting nothing but complaints from Lucius all year about unfair treatment to the Slytherins" Severus rambled on, stretching out on her couch in a way that was completely opposite to how he held himself in his class. 

All the responsibility. He was shouldering the brunt of teaching the students Defense lessons, albeit covertly. Lockhart was no use, and although Severus appeared cruel and uncaring, he didn't want any student to be harmed. He needed to teach them how to be properly prepared. A sour knight of sorts.

"I think I'll come to watch the dueling club. I would love to watch Lockhart get his clock cleaned" she muttered

Severus' expression turning from stormy to amused as they sat in silence, both feeling the weight of fear on their shoulders.

—————

She stood at the edge of the crowd, watching as Severus and Lockhart took the platform above the students. Severus wore his concentration like a cloak while Lockhart flounced about.

"Severus is going to massacre him" she whispered excitedly to Professor Sprout who was practically levitating beside her with a look of utter glee on her face.

"Oh I hope so! Teach that smug bastard about giving me advice when he doesn't know root from bud!"

The staff knew Severus would take up for them when the time came. That made her proud.