Eileen looked around the small living room, marveling at the moving pictures hung all along the walls.

"Your quarters are beautiful Professor Sinistra," she gushed.

The Professor smiled, "Professor? You haven't called me that since the summer. Why so formal?"

"Well, we're now at Hogwarts, and I'm not sure if it's still appropriate for me to call you by your first name!"

"Well, as long as you refrain from doing it in the hallways or in class, I see no harm. And thank you, I'm glad you like my home away from home. I do stay here almost ten months out of the year! Let me know if you have any suggestions about how I can spruce the place up even more."

"No it's perfect. Homey and warm. Just what I imagined your quarters would be." Eileen dunked a biscuit in her tea before continuing, "Why are you all dressed up today?"

Aurora looked down at her royal blue dress robes with gold trimmings. "We have our start-of-the-year Faculty Reception tonight after dinner. There's actually a get-together for all the Professors every month."

"That's cool! Are you friends with a lot of the Professors?"

Aurora took a sip of her tea, considering the question. "Some I talk to regularly because they're close to my age or teach subjects I'm interested in. We have coffee together during free periods in the Faculty Room. Others I never interact with, and there are various reasons for that as well. Most of my friends work elsewhere, and we visit one another mostly during Holidays or weekends."

"That's cool. Will the reception be fun?"

Aurora grinned, "I doubt it. Formal receptions tend to be quite boring, although every so often, one of the professors gets decently sloshed, providing entertainment and gossip for the rest of us."

"Will you share some of the gossip with me?"

"We'll see." The pair exchanged mischievous smiles. "On a different note, how have your classes been so far?"

Eileen smile dimmed, wondering what the Professor knew. "Really great so far! I've had almost all my classes, and I've loved them so far. I really liked Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout!"

"That's wonderful! And Pomona is one of my good friends here at Hogwarts."

"She seems really sweet but strict."

"Well, Herbology can be dangerous if you're not careful. It's similar to Potions. In fact, the subjects are very dependent on one another in some ways. What do you think of Professor Snape so far?"

Eileen glanced at the Professor, trying to gauge her tone and question. After a beat, she finally responded flatly, "You know."

"Know what?"

"That I had detention with him yesterday," Eileen sneered.

Aurora was a little taken aback at the child's tone. "Well yes, there's a list, and you were the only first year, and I recognized your name. But it's only detention. As long as it's not a regular thing, I wouldn't worry about it affecting your progress here at Hogwarts. And having observed Professor Snape from afar, I know he has very high standards."

"He's an arse. I hate him."

"Eileen," chastised Aurora. "He's your Professor, and he deserves to be treated with respect." Pausing, she decided to add, "No matter how you feel about him."

Eileen didn't respond, instead staring at the crumbs on her plate.

"What did he make you do during detention?"

"Write lines."

"That's pretty standard. I'd probably expect that out of most detentions that you have."

Eileen shrugged. Aurora nerves tingled. Despite having only known the child for a few months, the professor had quickly realized that Eileen was only silent when she was uncomfortable or tired.

"Did anything else happen?"

Eileen looked up quickly, searching Aurora's face for something, before looking down and simply shrugging again.

Aurora reached out her hand to brush aside Eileen's side bangs, making the child look up at her. "Eileen, you can talk to me about anything. I'm here to help you! And if any of your professors, including Professor Snape, do something to make you uncomfortable or even if they just annoy you, you can tell me about it! I'm always here to listen to you, as long as you do it respectfully."

"I know Aurora!" Eileen smiled at the thought, "You're my closest friend. I trust you."

"Good." Aurora paused. "So do you want to talk about it?"

A beat of silence passed, but Aurora didn't push. Finally, Eileen spoke in a whisper, "I really don't. At least, not just yet."

Just yet?, Aurora thought to herself. This situation was obviously more than Eileen upset about an unjust detention. Not wanting to push the girl, she responded, "Of course. I want you to know though that I'm here whenever you need it."

Eileen smiled, "I know, I promise I do."

Aurora smiled back, "Okay then! Have another sweet, and tell me about your house and your friends so far!"

As Eileen, slowly regaining her energy, chattered on, Aurora contemplated how she could figure out what was going on.

Maybe she could talk to Severus later tonight? If he showed up. He was one of those professors that often avoided the faculty social get-togethers.

"Eileen! Wake up," Harry whispered. "Eileen?"

"Wha?" Eileen mumbled, blinking her eyes. Looking around, she realized she had fallen asleep in the library. Again.

Trying to feel less groggy, she attempted standing up and stretching her limbs before looking at Harry, who was glancing at the titles of the books she had on the table. Surprised, she rushed to distract him from looking further, exclaiming, "What are you doing here?"

Harry looked at her suspiciously, before announcing, "It's almost time for our flying lesson so I came looking for you."

"Oh," she responded, quickly gathering up her bag and shoving the papers and a couple of the books into her bag. "Thanks for coming to find me! I'm just going to clean this up before heading back over to the pitch. You go ahead without me."

"It's okay; it'll go faster with the two of us."

"Um, I think we can just leave the rest on table." Grabbing Harry's upper arm, she tried to drag him away from the table.

"You're being weird, Eileen. I know this has something to do with Snape and your detention. But if you don't want to talk about it, then that's fine with me. I can still help you clean up."

Eileen looked at Harry gratefully. "Yeah, okay. Thanks."

They quietly worked around each other, stacking the books and carrying them back to where she had originally found them. Eileen had been in the library for the last three hours since lunch, and she still had had no luck with figuring out what potion Snape had used to determine their shared bloodline. Part of the reason she was having such a hard time was because she refused to ask Madam Pince for help.

But Eileen just knew if people found out about her connection to the Professor then she would just end up hating her life here at Hogwarts, and she refused to let that happen. Hogwarts had been so special, so perfect so far. She didn't want to ruin that.

She had thought about the option of just giving up, pretending it had never happened, but for some reason, she couldn't let it go! She needed to know if it was true.

"Come on! We better head out. Ron's waiting outside," Harry whispered.

She nodded, happy that Harry was such a great friend. No matter what happened, at least she had that.

Walking past the library doors, they found Ron leaning against the wall. He smiled at them both, "Excited about our first flying lesson?"

Eileen energetically nodded, smiling back at him.

Harry just shrugged before responding darkly, "Flying with Slytherins? Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."

"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably as they started to walk towards the pitch. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch but I bet that's all talk."

Eileen yawned as they walked to their first flying lesson, still groggy from her nap in the library. "Malfoy doesn't seem that bad. And it's not like you don't talk about how good you are at flying, Ron. You were just telling us yesterday about how you narrowly escaped a hang-glider on your brother's broom"

"It was the best flying experience I ever had," Ron reminisced.

"How can you say that about Malfoy? He's such a smug arse," Harry said at the same time.

"He seems nice enough to me. Anyways, I don't think being nervous or worrying about what other people are saying is going to help your flying skills," Eileen deflected. She saw Hermione at the end of the hall also heading towards the pitch but with her head in a textbook. Not wanting to let Harry ask her why she was defending Malfoy, she caught up to the bookish girl and said, "Hi Hermione!"

"Hi," Hermione responded distractedly, trying to speed through the pages.

Eileen looked at the title before saying carefully, "Herm, I really don't think you can learn how to fly through a book."

Hermione, who had been devouring every book she could find about flying and quidditch, quickly cut off any conversation by responding snappishly, "You don't know that Eileen!"

Eileen sighed as they walked outside. Taking a moment to feel the cool breeze in her hair, she realized that she didn't really care about flying and wasn't nervous; if she wasn't good, then she wasn't good. It was just nice to be finally out of the library.

But on second thought, it would be pretty cool if she could pick it up easily. Drawing up some confidence, she began to stride towards the broomsticks on the grass, hoping today would be a good day.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Severus?"

Severus growled internally at the Headmaster. This entire school year could not be going worse.

"Potter is to play on the quidditch team?"

Albus sighed, as if he knew Severus was going to be bringing this up. "Minerva believes it will do him a lot of good, and he is apparently very talented."

"Talented or not, as Headmaster you cannot allow for this special treatment for the boy-who-lived. How will it look to other parents and students?"

"Exceptions have been made in the past. Harry is not the first first-year we have let on the team, he is just the first in over a hundred years. Apparently his talent deems it necessary.

"Now Severus, please stop growling at me and sit down. Nothing you say will change this decision, and I would hate to waste a pleasant afternoon," Albus stated cheerily.

Severus scowled. "There is nothing pleasant about it. Mr. Malfoy's nose is broken, and I am positive Lucius will be paying me a visit personally to discuss the matter of his broken body as well as to why Potter is being rewarded for his misbehavior. This would never have happened if Potter had been in my house!"

"Now Severus, you can't punish Harry for poor Mister Malfoy's condition. Apparently Harry was impressively catching the snitch in a thirty foot drop, when Miss Eileen Snape punched Mister Malfoy."

"Minerva rewarded Potter's daredevil swoop with a position on the Quidditch team! Lily would be enraged if she was here. She would never have allowed her son to play on the Quidditch team as a first-year. Minerva is taking advantage of her status as his magical guardian to make up for Gryffindor's deplorable team.

Severus took a deep breath, before continuing, "That is why I am here Albus. I believe I should be Potter's magical guardian, not Minerva."

Severus tried to seem confident, even though on the inside he was shaking after having dropped that bombshell. He had been thinking about this decision for sometime. Every student at Hogwarts who was from the muggle world was assigned a guardian in the magical world. Often this guardian was the child's Head of House, and the main duties were simply to communicate with the child's muggle parents. Most muggle students never even realized that their Heads of House had that title, even after they graduated! However, every so often, in the cases of abused, orphaned, and miscellaneous cases, the magical guardian could have more control/influence over the student. Severus believed that in Potter's case, a more protective and stern influence was needed, and he believed he was much more capable than Minerva.

Albus had still not responded, staring at Severus contemplatively.

Severus took a breath before continuing, "Albus, you know of my promise to Lily. I do not believe that I can keep the boy out of harm's way if I cannot keep him accountable. Potter needs boundaries, consequences for his behavior, and a consistent authoritative figure. I do not believe Minerva can provide that for him. She has a soft spot for him, just as she had for Potter Senior."

Albus stared at his Potions professor with full concentration. Severus took a deep breath, wondering what the Headmaster would say. He didn't have to wait long.

"I'll consider your request, Severus."

That was not the agreement he was hoping for, but Severus was grateful it was not a flat rejection. "Is this about Minerva? Because I truly believe that..."

"It isn't about Minerva, Severus. Minerva is not Harry's guardian. I am."

Severus stared at Albus with an impassive face, while shock and disbelief shook his core. "Well then Albus, I guess there is no point to this conversation. I will simply come to you with my concerns over Potter's behavior in the future." Internally, Severus scoffed. Albus would never take his concerns seriously.

"I meant what I said, Severus: I will consider it. I am not dismissing your request"

Severus still didn't believe him, but graciously stated, "Thank you."

"Are there any other students whose magical guardianship you have concerns over?" Albus' eyes twinkled, as if he knew something.

Severus contemplated the question. He had first thought of magical guardianship in terms of Eileen, not Potter. However, since their conversation a week ago, she had not muttered a single word in his class, not to him and not to anyone else either. She was a perfect mute in class, sitting next to Potter and silently glaring at him. Unfortunately, the hate etched on her face made him just realize how many of her features she had inherited from Tobias and he couldn't ignore the nagging feeling he felt about her. He tried not to look at her in class or head in her direction, which had allowed Potter and her to work in peace together. He had considered approaching either Albus or Minerva for her guardianship, but he didn't want to raise suspicious.

After today's events though, he realized that he should've asked for Potter's guardianship over the summer, regardless of his situation with Eileen. The boy obviously had a death wish and he needed closer watching, and perhaps he was the perfect conduit for him to ask for Eileen's guardianship as well.

Albus interrupted Severus's thoughts, "I believe Miss Snape was a central figure in today's events. I hear she has a mean right hook."

"Yes, Draco's nose was gushing blood when I saw him in the infirmary earlier, but he will be fine by dinner."

Severus paused, not sure why he was nervous or what he was going to say exactly, "Speaking of Miss Snape," He hesitated, before continuing "I would also like to ask for her guardianship."

That was not as smooth as he was hoping. Severus took a breath before looking at Albus, trying to glean his reaction. He had been expecting shock, confusion, surprise, perhaps something else.

Instead, all Severus saw was Albus smiling. The old man obviously knew, perhaps had even expected this conversation. Severus couldn't stop himself from asking, "How did you know?"

"Why, my boy, it was obvious to me the moment I saw her. She has much of your spirit! And I couldn't help looking into her background, once I had heard her name. Not a big believer in coincidence am I," chuckled Albus.

"What did you find out?"

Albus's expression changed, "And I would love to grant you her guardianship, but unfortunately it is not mine to give. You must ask her current guardian."

"Yes, I'll speak to Minerva then. I'm just not sure how to bring it up," Severus said more to himself.

"Actually, you'll have to talk to Aurora. She asked me permission for it over the summer, and I gladly granted it to her. Apparently, Aurora and Eileen hit it off over the summer. As to what you should say, I find the truth often works best."

"And then before I knew it, his nose was pouring blood and I couldn't stop smiling! It was awful; I was in shock, and the situation wasn't funny, but I didn't know how to stop my lips," Eileen cried. "I'm a terrible person. And I have another detention!"

"Oh wow. It sounds like you had a hard day. Did you like flying at least?"

"I don't know. I was pretty upset the rest of the day," Eileen said as she took a sip of her tea. "I was better at it than Hermione at least, who seemed like she was on the verge of tears at the end of class."

"Why? I'm sure she wasn't the only Muggle Born having a hard time."

"Oh, you don't know Hermione very well, but she hates not being good at something. I think she feels like she has to prove that she belongs here."

"Why don't you bring her to tea next time?" Aurora Sinistra asked. "I'd love to meet her and your other friends, too!"

"Okay!" Eileen exclaimed. "They would love to come! I've been telling them about our weekly teas. It's one of my favorite parts of the week!"

"Mine too!" Aurora smiled. "What's your least favorite part of the week, or have you maintained this level of exuberance for everything at Hogwarts?"

Eileen scowled. "I still hate Potions. But I think I'm doing okay in the class. The material is interesting."

"You haven't had any more detentions with Professor Snape?"

"No. I never talk in class and I always go over the lesson before class so I don't need help. I think I've made it almost impossible for me to get in trouble."

"Or to have to interact with Professor Snape. Why are you still avoiding him?" Aurora paused, recalling their conversation the week before when Eileen had fallen quiet in her description of how much she liked Hogwarts as soon as the topic of Potions had arisen. Ever since, Aurora had been waiting to restart the conversation, in hopes of understanding why Eileen felt the way that she did. "I think it's time you told me what happened last week in detention?"

Eileen stared at the Professor in front of her, wondering what to say. Aurora was the closest adult confidante that she had had for years. Yet, she didn't know how to explain the situation. Eileen had tried wrapping her head around the information she had learned last week, and she had found the potion Professor Snape had brewed in the textbook Genealogy Potions when she visited the library. She was contemplating brewing it herself, but her first-year potion making abilities were lacking. And until she could confirm and duplicate the results, Eileen didn't want to bring up the situation to anyone in case other people found out and the situation became even more of a reality.

Thinking it all over, Eileen, finally, whispered quietly, "I don't know how to explain it, but I think I'd still rather not talk about it."

Aurora contemplated this silently, before reaching out her hand to embrace Eileen's palm and gently rub her thumb across the surface of the distressed child's skin. "Sweetie, we don't have to talk about it now, but I want you to know that I am always here for you. I can tell that you're still upset about your interaction with Professor Snape even though the detention was ages ago. I want to help you. But I can only do that if you talk to me."

"I know. I think I need more time. I'm not even sure if it matters." Would anything even change if she could prove that Professor Snape was telling the truth? "Can we just talk about other things right now?"

"Alright, but this conversation isn't over," Aurora stated gently. "Now, let me pour you some more tea, while you tell me a little bit more about what you've explored so far at Hogwarts!"

The professor sat back, listening to Eileen chatter, but she was internally still concerned. As more time passed, however, she lightened up.

The two continued to happily converse, until a knock was heard on Aurora's door. Eileen checked the time, before exclaiming, "I've been here for almost two hours! I should probably go."

Aurora nodded in agreement, "Okay, pack up your stuff. Feel free to take some sweets with you. I'll just go check who's at the door."

Heading towards the front of her quarters, Aurora checked out her features in the mirror hanging in her hallway. Fixing her bun, she took pleasure in the fact that she had had quite a pleasant Friday, grading papers in the morning before having an enjoyable tea with Eileen.

The crisp knock broke through her thoughts, this time more impatient than the last. She hurriedly pulled open the door, not taking the time to check who it was.

"Aurora," Severus stated. "May I borrow a few minutes of your time?"

She stared at Severus, shocked, but trying to school her features into a more pleasant expression, or at least one that wasn't annoyed at his sudden presence in her home.

"Severus, what a surprise." Moving outside, Aurora left the door only half-open, not willing to invite him in just yet. "How may I help you?"

"I have an important matter that I was hoping to discuss with you before dinner. May I come in?"

Considering her options, Aurora began, "I have company right now, but I could head down to your quarters in

"Aurora?" Eileen called from inside, almost at the door.

Aurora felt the door open behind her. Turning, she said, "Eileen. Professor Snape has something important to discuss with me."

Severus looked shocked to see the student there, but managed to nod out a quick greeting, "Ei-Miss Snape."

Ignoring him, Eileen instead looked at both professors with grave suspicion before responding, "Alright, I was just heading back to Gryffindor. I took some biscuits with me."

"Great! I'll see you soon," Aurora replied, gently side-hugging the child who awkwardly returned it.

"Bye Professor Sinistra," resorting to the formality in her confusion, before heading down the hall.

The two Professors watched Eileen until she turned the corner, before looking at each other.

The silence continued for a few moments until Aurora finally asked, "How can I help you Severus?"

"I need to talk to you about Eileen Snape and your current magical guardianship over her."

Still suspicious, she gestured the Professor inside to her quarters. "Alright, let's talk."