A few minutes later, Snape briskly walked into the kitchen. No one was around, which he thanked Merlin. There was no way he could face any of the Weasleys this early in the morning. He'd surely kill one of them accidentally. He walked over to the opened cupboard and pulled out his familiar black coffee cup before quickly spelling some coffee into his cup. The rich dark liquid slid down his esophagus rather swiftly as he took a long gulp. Overall, he felt like crap. Of course, that could have been from either his amazing evening with a sadistic wizard or spending the rest of that night taking care of the Boy-Who-Drank. Sighing heavily, he sat down at the table. In a rare show, he allowed his head to hit the table with a loud thump. He made no sound for a few minutes. Instead, he remained with his head against the heavy oak table in utter silence and solitude.

Nearly two hours later, a soft touch to his shoulder woke Snape up. His head snapped up before he glanced around. He hadn't meant to fall asleep. His eyes quickly darted towards the person who had caught him. He silently hoped it wasn't a Weasley. If it were, he'd never live it down.

"They'll be coming down soon for breakfast," Sinistra quietly spoke as her eyes met his.

Snape didn't respond. Instead, his eyes narrowed on the dark nasty bruise on the side of her face. It looked as if she had slammed against a very large tree at high impact. Without realizing that his hand was moving, he gently turned her face so he could see the bruise better. He winced in sympathy. He knew she had to be in excruciating pain. As he moved a part of her outer robes back to inspect her neck, she remained perfectly still and silent. The dark bruise trailed down even further before it disappeared underneath her shirt. His dark eyes quickly darted towards hers.

"Explain," Snape said through clenched teeth. He knew without a doubt that there were probably more injuries scattered about her slender pale body.

"What's to explain?" Sinistra snapped back. She was shooting daggers at him now. "After all, you're a smart man. What do you think happened, Snape?"

"Someone assaulted you," Snape stated flatly. She remained deadpanned. "You did not have these lovely marks last night when you came to me. Therefore, you received them afterwards. It was not I who made those marks on you, which means you went on another mission last night." Her lips thinned even more. His eyes narrowed on her peculiar reaction. She seemed like she wanted to yell at him, but he couldn't understand why she would. Anyone with half a brain could see that someone had physically assaulted her. Logically speaking, his conjecture made the most sense.

"You know I went on a mission last night," Sinistra quietly snarled. "You had to heal me, remember?" She then angrily shook her head before whirling around. "Bastard," she muttered under her breath. "I should've known."

"Forgive me," Snape responded sarcastically, "but just what should you have known?" He winced slightly when Sinistra whirled around. That sudden movement had to have hurt her. Her eyes were black as coals as she glared at him.

"You honestly don't know?" Sinistra growled.

"I believe I have already stated that I do not, Sinistra," Snape replied through clenched teeth. She was really starting to anger him. He couldn't understand why she didn't just answer his damn question. He knew from experience that victims of physical assault usually avoided the question, but she was taking the avoidance to a new level. Closing his eyes to escape his temper, he drew in a breath. He then reopened his eyes and glanced back at her. Perhaps he should switch tactics since this attempt was failing horribly. "It is not a sign of weakness—"

"What do you know about weakness?" Sinistra snarled. "You escape everything with your little Occlumency. I bet you even did that after your lovely and pathetic—"

"Redirect your anger to someone else. I did not harm you," Snape interrupted.

"Keep believing your own lies, Snape." Sinistra then whirled around again before storming out of the kitchen. The door slammed shut behind her.

As soon as the sound echoed back to him, Snape saw a brief flash of a memory from the previous night. His eyes widened as he saw himself fling his arm towards Sinistra. He now knew what had happened. He had unleashed a bit of powerful, uncontrolled magic at her. He had done that to her.

"Forgive me, Aurora," Snape whispered as he stared at the closed door. "What have I done?"