—————A—————

"A word," her father said, and she nodded, rising from the Gryffindor table to follow him out. They stood just outside the doors, away from view, and he gently cupped her face in his hands, raising her head ever so slightly. "Who did this to you?"

"A Death Eater," she replied. "On the train."

"And how did you earn this?"

"Called him stupid."

He stared at her for the longest time, expressionless, a dark glint to his eye. "Good," he said with a smug little smirk. "In front of whom?"

Aurora shrugged, chewing her lip a moment as she thought about it. "It was in the corridor, but I guess mostly Gryffindors, probably some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. I can't be sure, to be honest. I was mostly trying to avoid eye contact."

"Probably for the best. Be wary, those who saw you may start to question what's going on here. In reality, I would prefer it."

"What about—?"

"Leave them to me," he cautioned, glancing over her shoulder.

"Is one already starting trouble, Headmaster?" an irritating female voice asked, and Aurora looked over her shoulder to see the two Death Eater professors watching them with sadistic glee, caressing their wands. "Shall we assist in her punishment?"

"Lay a finger on her and I will demonstrate a spell on you that I created when I was her age. One that impressed the Dark Lord with the amount of blood shed by a single casting." He then turned to Aurora. "I will deal with the fool who hurt you, and I will ensure they suffer."

"Thank you, father," Aurora said with an affected voice, bowing her head. "May I retire, now? I'm exhausted from the journey, and I believe I should ward my bed this evening."

"You may," he said with a tilt of his head.

For good measure, she turned to the Death Eaters. "Professors."

She was a little way past when she heard the wizard ask, "Shouldn't she show you more respect? And us, for that matter. Bit insolent, she is."

"My daughter may address you however she pleases, the fact that she showed you any respect is her own choice. The same will go with my son, and if I hear from either of them that you've caused them any sort of distress, I will have you removed from this school and our Lord's favor so fast, you'd wonder if you'd ever had it in the first place. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Headmaster," they said in unison.

She bowed her head to the Fat Lady, who eyed her warily but let her in. Aurora didn't wait for anyone to show up, she simply went up to the dormitory to her bed. Sitting on the pillow was a jar of bruise salve, and she smiled before picking it up and carefully applying it to her face.

Ginny came up not long after, as did Romilda and the other girls. She was pierced by Romilda's cold stare that spoke of retribution. But Ginny waved her wand at her bed and it doubled in size.

"If you think I'm letting you sleep alone tonight, you're out of your mind," Ginny asserted. "Can't trust they won't hex you in your sleep."

"I was going to put up wards."

"Yeah, good idea, let's do that, too."

"You trust that bitch?" Romilda sneered. "A murderer's daughter?"

"Were you there?" Ginny asked. "Did you see him do it?" There was only silence. "Well then, guess we don't know what really happened."

Aurora wasn't sure it was a good idea for Ginny to so obviously side with her, but she wasn't going to argue against the added safety measure. They climbed into bed, and despite what Aurora had told her father, she wasn't tired, not really. Her mind was racing, wondering if she was playing the game right, if it was possible to appear on one side when it mattered, yet let her true allegiance show to everyone else. She only had to play this game for another two months, but it was a dangerous one, and she was terrified of losing.

—————H—————

Hermione, disguised as Helga, would watch her students entering the classroom with tremors, the same tremors Severus had after a night of punishment with the Dark Lord. Hogwarts with the Carrows as professors was turning into a horror.

"Your hands are not steady," she would say in her spell-made accent, then hand over a bottle of Severus' special cure.

And those were just from lessons, since anyone the Carrows determined needed detention would simply be used for demonstration. As long as blood wasn't spilled, they figured they could get away with it. It made her sick.

She herself had sent over a dozen students to detention over things she wouldn't normally consider an infraction. But this was supposed to be the beginning of a regime, and there was no knowing peoples' allegiances. Simply talking during lessons often landed a student with a note in hand, requiring a visit to the Headmaster.

Hagrid was nearly always busy in the evenings, watching over students in the Forbidden Forest as he tended to the animals or harvested potions ingredients. She'd quickly earned more stock than she would ever use, but it kept them away from the Carrows.

Then there was their relationship. Helga would be summoned regularly to the Headmaster's office in front of the staff, with a leering look and a caress across her shoulders. But their evenings were often spent in silence, holding each other on the sofa.

"Are you still against Aurora leaving now?" he had asked her the night before.

"No. No, I'm not."

She watched her son now, wishing there was somewhere she could send him, knowing that she wouldn't. If she sent him to France or ran with him to America, he'd be safe. But how could she put the safety of one child over the other? Aurora may very well be nearly of age, but she was still her child, and she feared what could happen.

Leo was only half-focused on his brew, glancing to his left. He did his stirs, added his lacewing flies, set his rod down, then raised his hand.

"Mr. Snape," she said, and nearly the entire class shot their heads up.

"Professor Nikola. I might be mistaken but... but I think that Hufflepuff student has a broken wrist," he said, pointing to a young man who paled at being singled out.

Hermione hadn't seen it before and she cursed herself for not being more observant. But sure enough, the student had been trying to hide his hand, and if she remembered correctly, he was left-handed. He'd been working exclusively with his right.

She narrowed her eyes at the Hufflepuff. "Mr. Smith, why did you come to my class if you are injured?"

He swallowed. "Pr-pr-professor Carrow told me I had to. I wasn't supposed to say anything." He swallowed again, his voice shaking. "Please don't tell the Headmaster."

"That is exactly what I intend to do. Now," she said, removing her wand from a Glamoured sheath in her bun and cast a stasis charm over all the cauldrons. "The rest of you, report to the study hall in the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall will ensure you do not cause trouble. Are there any further injuries?" she asked, eyes narrowing, darting over each of them. When no one spoke up, she nodded once. "Mr. Snape, kindly escort your peers to the Great Hall."

Leo nodded, took his wand from his sleeve as he grabbed his bag, and then, very conspicuously, cast a shielding charm on himself.

"Mr. Smith," she said as the students were nearly out the door. "Come with me."

She turned sharply, heading out without looking back.

Portraits, students, and ghosts all watched them as she led the boy up to the Headmaster's office. When she arrived at the gargoyle, she glanced around to see if there was anyone in the hallway. She spotted Alecto down the hall, smiling gleefully at the sight of them. No hope of whispering the password, not with the way she was stalking toward them.

"In need of punishment, is he?" Alecto asked.

Hermione turned toward her. "What business is it of yours?"

"I am the Deputy Head—"

"Psh," Hermione sneered. "You are nothing. Teacher of Muggle Studies. It is simple, Muggles lack magic, makes them weaker. You cannot expand on simple knowledge."

"Muggles are filthy animals that need to be put in their place," Alecto countered.

Hermione shrugged. "They will know their place soon enough."

The gargoyle stepped aside and Severus' looming presence took its place. He had his arms and robes crossed in front of him, and Hermione was almost certain Alecto swooned.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked in a bored tone.

"Mistress Nikola was bringing that brat to see you. But she's said some interesting things while we waited for you, Headmaster. Things that make me think she is not loyal to our cause."

"Has she now?" he asked, arching his brow. "And what makes you say that?"

Alecto puffed up, grinning maliciously at Helga before turning to Severus. "She thought there was nothing more to teach the children about Muggles. That we know all we need. That—"

"I'm fairly certain, Alecto, that if you were to conjure an actual thought, let alone an intelligent one, your head would implode. The fact that a Potions Mistress, one that has had an extensive education, has an opinion, one that I think was more related to your usefulness here than the cause, is of no real concern. Now, she has clearly come for a reason. Do you not have somewhere else you need to be?"

"I believe, Headmaster, that I should be—"

"You do not get to decide where you should be, Professor Carrow!" he snapped, and the Hufflepuff boy jumped and jostled his wrist, making him turn momentarily green with the pain. "Be gone!"

Alecto's pig-like nose flared for a moment before she sauntered away, chin abnormally high.

"I hope she falls down the stairs," Hermione said, and Mr. Smith gave a strange little yelp.

"Indeed, but we cannot be so lucky. Come," he said, leading them upstairs. Once they were inside, Mr. Smith in a chair, clutching his arm to his chest, and Severus and Hermione stood, he asked, "What has brought you here?"

"The other Professor Carrow broke his wrist and told him to suffer with it. Your son pointed it out to me."

"Five points to Ravenclaw," Severus said with a nod, then turned to the boy. He softened just a bit in that moment, and Hermione watched the young man go from terrified to confused as Severus knelt before him. "Mistress Nikola, kindly summon Madam Pomfrey." He then made sure Mr. Smith was looking at him. "We are going to repair your wrist, Mr. Smith, but you will still need to wear a sling. You are not to tell anyone it's repaired, understood? Not. A. Word."

Hermione went to the Floo, calling for Poppy to come through to heal the boy.

Hell, utter hell. Where else would medical attention be done in secrecy? Where else would a young man need to pretend to have a broken bone when he didn't? Only ten days in, and already Hogwarts was an unsafe place where the students clearly didn't know who to trust.

—————L—————

It wasn't so bad for him. He kept his head down, kept his mouth shut, and went through the motions as needed. He missed Jane terribly, especially when there was no one for him to stand next to at his Potions station. He wasn't supposed to be trusted, given who his father was, but it didn't really matter. He was always more than willing to point out to a safe professor that a student was trembling, cut, bruised....

But a broken wrist was new.

A broken wrist was awful. And it was impossible for him to let it slide.

He sat with the Slytherins during study hall for the sixth and seventh years. When he explained to Professor McGonagall why Professor 'Nikola' had sent them there, she merely nodded and told them to work quietly.

"What was it this time?" Theo asked once the commotion had passed.

"Ben Smith had his wrist broken. I didn't think the magic lashes were that hard, I was going to say he cut himself, but the bruising...."

"Carrow broke a bone?" Daphne asked, eyes wide with shock, a sneer on her lips. "Sadistic bastard! Smith is a pureblood, too. There's no excuse."

"He didn't want to practice on the half-bloods," Leo said quietly. "I didn't either, but... I didn't get in trouble."

"It's the name," Theo explained. "It's pretty much the same reason I can get away with not doing anything. I already proved myself." He rolled his eyes and shook his head, scanning the room, stopping as they focused on someone.

Leo followed his gaze to Aurora and her friends. "My sister is off limits."

Theo snorted. "I'm not interested in Malfoy's beard."

"His what?" Leo asked, though he was ignored.

"I need Longbottom," Theo stated.

"Wrong tree, mate," Blaise said without looking up from his work.

"Don't need him like that. Had a thought, want to run it by him. Though, your sister might be helpful. And the Weasley girl."

"What are you planning?" Blaise asked carefully.

Theo stared at Neville Longbottom. "Nothing no one hasn't done before."

—————A—————

She sang the enchantment over Ginny's shaking arm, the poor thing pale and green all at once. It hadn't been Sectumsempra , but it was awfully close. All because Ginny said that a jinx was considered Dark, therefore everyone had dabbled in the Dark Arts. Professor Carrow did not take that well.

"No offense," Ginny rasped, her voice hoarse and quiet, "but I'm going to be glad when you're gone."

Aurora laughed mirthlessly. "I imagine. But who'll fix you up when I do?"

"You shouldn't need to fix her as it is!" Neville said, pacing wildly behind them. They were tucked in an abandoned classroom with Luna, hiding after dinner. "Those lunatics are running around, doing whatever they please—"

"Dad's trying," she replied as she finished the enchantment, Ginny's gash sealing the last little bit, her tremors fading.

"Snape isn't doing anything!" Neville snapped back. "He's up in his tower, only showing up for meals—"

"He sent you to Hagrid for detention," Ginny growled as fiercely as she could. "Seamus was sent to McGonagall when Hagrid was too overwhelmed. I heard some Hufflepuffs were scrubbing cauldrons with Nikola. As long as Snape doles out the punishment, no one gets hurt."

"He oversaw our Defense class yesterday," Luna added. "Professor Carrow wasn't nearly as awful with the headmaster watching."

"Don't call him that," Neville demanded, jabbing a finger in her direction.

"What else should she call him?" Aurora sighed. "It's what he is now, whether we like it or not. And no, things aren't perfect, but imagine the sort of hell we'd be living in if one of the other Death Eaters was put in charge. And at least he's not alone here. He has Mum, and Sirius is on the grounds."

"And you really believe 'Nikola' is your mum?" Neville asked warily.

"Neville, shut it," Ginny ordered. "We were there when the plan was made. It's why we know that the black dog wandering the grounds isn't just a random stray."

Neville still scowled, but Aurora could tell he was thinking things over.

Finally! About bloody time , Aurora thought to herself before her wards tingled. Someone was outside the door.

Wand at the ready to Disillusion the others if necessary, Aurora moved to the door and cast a quick revealing charm. Three people outside. Wait, no... four. A firstie? Taking a risk, she lowered her wards without Disillusioning the others and opened the door.

"Aurora." Theo Nott bowed his head in greeting. Daphne Greengrass gave a small wave and Blaise Zabini looked like we wanted to be somewhere else. Leo smirked from behind Theo.

"You brought them here?" she asked her brother.

He grinned. "Theo taught me a spell that helps track family magic and I used it to find you!"

"I looked for you at Gryffindor Tower, but Brown told me that you, Longbottom, and Weasley weren't inside. Then I went to find Lovegood and found Leo instead." He squared his shoulders. "I have business to discuss with Longbottom—and you, if you're interested. Can we come in?"

She could hear the whispered argument behind her between Neville and Ginny: the former wanted to send them away, and the latter demanded they be given a chance. Aurora agreed with Ginny.

"Come in," she accepted, stepping aside to let them pass.

It was funny how there was yet another secret meeting and the Hufflepuffs were left out. Plenty of Gryffindors, Slytherins, and Ravenclaws, but not a single yellow tie.

"We really need to make some Hufflepuff friends," Aurora observed as she sat on a desk.

"They aren't our friends," Neville groused.

"No, we aren't. But I was part of your little club a couple years back, remember? Your little Defense Association," Theo reminded him, leaning against a desk and crossing his arms. Blaise and Daphne stood on either side of him, and Leo wandered over to Luna.

"What of it?" Neville asked, mimicking Theo's posture.

"We should start it again," he replied with a shrug. "Only this time, it's not only to learn how to defend ourselves, it's so we can actually defend ourselves."

"They never point their wands at you," Neville scoffed.

"No, but it's only a matter of time, isn't it?" Daphne countered. "My little sister came into the common room today with a mark on her face because she didn't want to curse a firstie for no reason. Because, according to the Carrows, she wasn't presenting herself as a true member of the pure-blood ranks. Or of wizarding culture."

"Oh, so now that you're being cursed and hexed, you want to take them down?" Neville accused.

Theo snorted. "We aren't stupid enough to think we can. But there are a lot of others who aren't learning proper Defense and have nowhere to go to figure it out or to get away from the people who believe the bullshit."

Neville remained impassive for a few seconds, then feigned surprise. "Oh, you expect me to believe you don't?"

"Neville," Aurora snapped, gesturing to Ginny to stay down when she tried to get up from her chair. Instead, Aurora stood, waiting to see what Neville would say.

He turned to her. "I do actually listen to what you say, you know. I just don't choose to believe your point of view."

"My point of view, is it? Not what actually happened? Bloody hell, Neville, you're so bloody blind to everything. You won't open your eyes and see the way things are. They're Slytherins, that doesn't make them automatically loyal to You-Know-Who. And Gryffindors are not immune to Darkness. So get off that thestral's back you've put yourself on and deal with the fact that maybe sometimes our choices are made for us. Just like my engagement with Draco was made for us and hasn't officially been broken."

She glanced at the Slytherins as they snickered while Neville's sense of superiority fell away to a more ashen, terrified visage.

"You and Draco...."

"Don't get your knickers in a twist."

"Yeah, no, but..." he stuttered, ignoring the jibe. "That means that when... when you and I ...."

"It's not like he didn't do it first with Harry, so I don't think you have to be worried about a duel for my honor." She rolled her eyes.

"All right, ignore those two," Ginny said. "What is it you had in mind with the DA? Might as well talk to me, if you can stomach it, since Rory won't be around come November."