Blackeyed Girl

Chapter 10

Friendship required





As soon as Eleanor was able to walk Hogwarts corridors again and returned to her classes she almost wished she could turn around and go back to her lonely bed in Snape’s laboratory. Again and again she felt the eyes of the other students on her. People whispered when she walked by. Apparently the word had spread that she had been bitten by a vampire and it did not make the other students feel more comfortable in her presents. During Charms a boy Eleanor had never noticed before leaned over and tried to pinch her arm. When she pulled away he jumped and apologised, saying he only wanted to see if she was cold. Ginny punched the boy and cost Gryffindor quite a few house points.



Eleanor was most uncomfortable with the attention she got. Did this mean that any chance of being considered a normal, friendly girl was gone?



Ginny argued that what Eleanor was experiencing was nothing, considering what had happened. Most people kept their distance and they left it at staring and whispering behind her back. Ginny thought this was due to the fact that everyone knew by now that Eleanor was Professor Snape’s ward and nobody wanted trouble with him.



At the end of the second day Ginny leaned over to her in the library and whispered:



“Three words! You. Us. Party! Tonight!”



“That is four words”, said Eleanor with a frown, not registering what Ginny had said.



“7 o\'clock in the Room of Requirement. Luna knows how to find it.” With that Ginny was about to get up and leave but Eleanor held her back.



“Wait... what?”



“What, what?”



“Party? What party? And what does the room require?” Eleanor looked helplessly confused.



Ginny returned her confused glare for a moment then inhaled deeply to explain again:



“We are giving a Welcome Back party for you in the Room of Requirement tonight. The Room requires nothing. Don\'t worry about it. Luna will take you to it. Relax and don\'t tell anyone about it.”



Eleanor looked uncertain: “I haven\'t been to a party before.”



“About time then.”



“But...”



“Don\'t argue with me. You need this to clear Snape out of your system. You have been with him for days, you need help!”



“But a party?! Who is going to be there?... And did you check with our Heads of House? Is it okay with them?”



“Ellie!” Ginny laughed, “Don\'t panic! I did not invite you to some kind of mad rave. It\'s just going to be your friends. Luna, Harry, Neville, the others and me. Harry still has some apologising to do!”



“You can\'t be serious! I can\'t go to a party with Harry right under my guardian\'s nose!”



Ginny rolled her eyes: “That is why we meet in the Room of Requirement. Snape can\'t find it. No one will know we are there and no one can find us.”



“So you did not ask Professor Flitwick and McGonagle for permission.”



Ginny only raised a challenging eyebrow and glared at Eleanor then she said with another deep intake of breath: “Ellie, it\'s fine. Pull that stick out of your butt, please!”



Eleanor stepped a little step back looking upset. Ginny\'s expression softened.



“I\'m sorry. Look”, she stepped closer to her and took her hand reassuringly, “It is entirely save. And on top of that Harry has the Marauder\'s Map. We are like double save. And we are not doing anything dangerous or against school rules anyway. We just want to hang out and have some fun. We just can\'t do it in our common rooms cause we are from different houses. The Room of Requirement is meant for stuff like this. And we all go back to our common rooms before curfew. So it\'s fine! The only rule we are breaking is not even a rule; it is only Snape\'s idiotic hatred for Harry, which is all terribly unfair to begin with. And like I said, we are entirely save from him in that room.”



Eleanor shook her head: “I don\'t want to lie to him.”



“And you don\'t have to. He will never know about this. And do you remember? You don\'t have a choice! You cannot do everything right with that git, no matter if you try or not. Now, are you really meaning to cancel your little Welcome Back hang-out with your friends because of Snape?”



Eleanor shook her head. Ginny smiled: “Well then I\'ll see you and Luna at seven.” She winked at her and skipped away.



Eleanor walked away with mixed feelings. She was excited about the idea to meet all her friends again, and to attend a party, which was held for her. But she was nervous. She did not like to have to do things behind her guardian\'s back. She didn\'t understand why everyone else seemed to be so untroubled by doing forbidden things. Didn’t they mind the consequences? But when she thought about it, what could happen to them? They had loving parents. They did not have to fear. What did a bit of trouble mean from them? It would be forgotten instantly thanks to the unconditional love of a parent. And how bad could it be to loose some house points or get detention. As long as it was not bad enough to be expelled and how severe did the school rules have to be disregarded to justify expulsion? Then she remembered they did not even do anything forbidden by the school. It was only forbidden by him, her guardian. And that was what it was all about for her. She could not quite grasp it but she felt it was entirely different than disobeying a parent. Parents know their children and parents love their children. They always forgive they just have to. Snape didn\'t love her like a daughter, why would he? He didn\'t even know her for very long and after all she did not love him like a father either, she did not love him at all. He was still a stranger. So she must still be a stranger to him too. Why would you forgive a stranger anything? She remembered vividly how disappointed he was for what she had done with the vampire. It almost had seemed personal and it had felt like something was crushed beyond repair. Now, she realised things seemed to be okay again between them. After what he had said to her the first night in his lab she had never thought he would look at her again without that disgust in his face, but he had. That day they made the potion together... it had a lasting effect on her, the softness in his voice and the shear fact that he had taken the time to teach her how to do it. What they had had that day was very precious to her and she did not want to endanger it. Besides, she could still hear what he said to her when he had warned her about Harry Potter. He said he would expel her from Hogwarts. Even if he could not get her expelled for spending time with another student she was well aware that he could take her out of Hogwarts whenever he wanted. And what then? But what was the point in staying away from her friends in order to not be expelled when that was the most important thing about being at the school?

She breathed deeply. It was just about being careful and not being caught. And from what Ginny said, this was a lot more secure than meeting in the village. And that had worked after all, if it had not been for her Vampire incident. After a lot of thinking during History of Magic Eleanor decided to look forward to the party.



A few hours later Luna and Eleanor got ready for the party in their dormitory. Luna was wearing a bright blue, knee long buskly skirt and a wide yellow shirt, gathered loosely around her waist with a belt. Her red radish earrings dangled in her long blond loose hair. She sucked on a lollipop, sitting on the bed and observing Eleanor who was putting on her oxfords.



“I like your dress”, she said admiringly the plain black dress with the white collar and cuffs as though she had never seen it on Eleanor before, it was however the only dress she had, and the only thing she wore during the day if she was not wearing her uniform. Some kids had started making fun of her because of it, but it had not become as bad as Ginny and the others thought it might get. They assumed the others where holding themselves back again because she was Snape\'s ward.



Eleanor looked at her questioning.



“It is very convent-girl. Very prude. I like it. Can I borrow it some time?”



“Well, but then I have nothing else to wear.” Eleanor said.



“But you can wear some of my stuff!” Luna said excitedly. Eleanor had feared she would suggest that. As much as she liked Luna her style was so much different from her own. She could not imagine wearing those bright colours. She liked them on Luna, on herself however she would have thought them to be ridiculous.



“I couldn\'t pull it off the way you do.” she said diplomatically.



“Yeah... maybe not”, Luna said with a sigh then her eyes widened as she had an idea. She jumped of the bed. Eleanor looked after her with a worried expression. Luna started digging deep in her trunk. Then she hurried back over to Eleanor.



“I have just the thing for you! I don\'t really wear it. It keeps away the nargles, you see, but I already have something for that so you can have this.



Eleanor struggled to see, but Luna was too fast and excitedly pinned something to her dress. When Luna stepped back she saw that it was a big rusty brooch. She turned to gaze at it in the mirror. It looked old and dented but she liked it.



“Thank you, Luna”, she said sincerely and Luna smiled.



Luna took Eleanor to the corridor in which the Room of Requirement was hidden. They walked past it once, they turned and walked back down, then the large door revealed itself. Eleanor\'s eyes widened. Luna took her hand and pulled her inside quickly so no one would see.



“Hey!” Ginny waved lazily at them from a sofa. Everyone else was already there, Hermione, Neville, Ron and Harry. Eleanor looked around. They were in a large room with high ceilings. Three sofa\'s stood around a fireplace. Eleanor and Luna sat down on the sofa with the others while Ginny dived between the sofas to reveal a few bottles of butter bear and handed them around. Now Eleanor noticed there was music playing somewhere as well in the background. She looked around insecurely. Harry spotted her unease and got up to sit beside her.



“How are you? Feeling better?” he asked.



“Yes and you?”



“Fine, now listen. I am really sorry okay? I feel... kind of responsible about what happened to you. We should not have let you go like that...”



Eleanor started shacking her head severely: “Can we not talk about that? It was not your fault it was mine alone and you saved me, so thank you. Thank you. And... can we just leave it at that?”



Harry looked a little startled but then he smiled shyly and nodded: “Okay.”



Eleanor looked around the room again clearly not feeling convinced that the room was save.



“Don\'t worry. This place is impossible for Snape to find right now. We used it last year to hide the training of a secret army in. And that almost worked.”



“Almost?!” Eleanor\'s eyes widened in alarm.



“No, don\'t worry! We were only found out cause one in our group was interrogated with veritaserum. That kind of stuff is illegal and it doesn\'t happen at Hogwarts when Dumbledore is in charge. So we\'re fine.”



Eleanor looked at him clearly not convinced.



“Look”, Harry had an idea. He pulled the Marauder\'s Map out of his jumper\'s pocket, tapped it with his wand and it unfolded. Eleanor observed with deep interest as the map became visible.



“Now, even if Snape had a brilliant map like this, which he hasn\'t, he could not find us here. Can you see us anywhere on the map?”



Eleanor looked around for a while passing over all the tiny name labels that moved around on the map like ants. She could not find any of them and eventually shook her head.



“See, the room is not part of this map. The room protects itself. It protects us. It was made to be hidden and to hide things. It is made for stuff like this. And the door you came through is concealed just like before. No one can find the entrance unless they know where to look and what we are doing here. Even if Snape were looking for us knowing we are in here and knowing where the door is it would not open for him. He would have to know a lot more for the door to open.”



Eleanor looked at him and nodded. She was convinced. It still did not make her feel good to have to have a secret from her guardian. But she was no longer worried. She smiled gratefully at him.



Harry\'s eyes dropped to the brooch. He frowned at the rusty object.



“What\'s that?”



“A gift from Luna.”



“Oh”, he said, trying hard to look as though he thought it was nice, but could not bring himself to say it or too look quite convincing.



“Did you find out about Draco Malfoy?” Eleanor asked suddenly



“What?”



“Draco Malfoy, did you find out what he is up to?”



“Oh... no I didn\'t. Why, did you hear anything?”



“No.”



There was an awkward silence. Eleanor suddenly got worried Harry might notice she only asked because she was still slightly interested in that handsome Slytherin she had seen in the library. Of course she realised she could not admit it in front of her friends. Ginny had made clear that he was out of bounce and possibly rightly so, but she could not help being curious if there was anything to Harry\'s suspicion of the boy. Was Draco really up to something bad? Did Snape know anything about it?



Harry also did not seem sure how much of his thoughts he could share with Snape\'s ward. He liked Eleanor, and more importantly Ginny liked her, which made him not question anything about Eleanor. But he and Ron had talked about the new girl when Hermione was not with them and Ron agreed with him that she was a bit strange and that it was like there was some kind of dark debs to her that was not reachable by any of them. He was not sure if he trusted her. He just did not know enough about her. Besides she was Snape\'s family, he knew it was wrong but he could not help wondering if she had inherited something wrong, perhaps just like Snape. They seemed so alike sometimes. She was eerie in a way, and it did bother him deep down just a little bit.



“How did you get through those days all alone in Snape\'s lab?” asked Hermione when she noticed the awkward silence between her and Harry beside her.



“He let me help him make potions. I learned some really amazing stuff.”



Hermione\'s eyes widened: “Wow, I\'m so jealous!”



Harry frowned but didn\'t say anything.



Ron picked up on this and called across the sofas: “Oh nerd attack!” Ginny looked at him angrily and said before Hermione could say anything: “okay, change of subject. Who has not had a decent snog so far this year or for that matter... ever. I know someone, Ronald!”



It was suddenly quiet. Ron looked sauer, Harry and Hermione embarrassed.



Eleanor shrugged and said quietly: “Me neither.” Everyone looked at her. She looked back at them as though on trial, “I just...I have never met anyone I wanted to kiss... except perhaps...”



“Yes, we all would snog a vampire, Ellie”, said Ginny smiling.



“Me neither”, said Luna loftily and then added, “well except for Neville.”



Neville turned bright red and everyone goggled at him.



“Alright... okay”, said Ron, pleased the focus was on someone other than him, “how come we don\'t know anything about your secret ...thing.”



“It\'s not a thing”, said Neville quietly, “it was last year after the Ministry.... just kind of happened...” he trailed away and looked at Luna for help. Luna smiled and nodded reminiscently.



“Ooookay.... glad we talked about this... what ever it was.”



“Who else in school isn\'t getting any, besides Ron?”, Ginny interrupted him again and Ron looked sauer again.



It was quiet. Ginny shrugged: “Well Snape can\'t be getting any, considering his foul temper. Thank goodness Christmas break is coming soon and I am off those damn detentions...”



“Looks like he has it in for your more then for me this term. How did you manage that?”, asked Harry.



Ginny waved his question away: “I just told him what I thought of him and his stupid issues he has with you and Ellie hanging out. Someone had to tell him.”



“Of course Snape isn\'t getting any. Can you imagine a woman who would fancy that git?”, argued Ron.



Eleanor looked up, contemplating if she should say anything, then she went: “I\'m not so sure.” Everyone looked at her.



“Not sure about what?”, asked Ginny.



“I think... Snape has got a girlfriend.... or something like that.”



Everyone goggled at her.



“A girlfriend?!”, cried Ron, as though it was a very obscene idea.



Eleanor shrugged: “A woman from the village. She came by the other day and stayed over night.” She thought she better kept the details to herself.



“What was she like?” asked Hermione curiously.



Eleanor shrugged again: “Short, young... interesting looking.”



“Oh come off it. How young and interesting can she be if she can\'t get anyone but Snape.”



“Perhaps she likes him, Ron”, snapped Hermione. Ron snorted.



“Yeah, liking Snape, for what?”



Hermione struggled for an answer.



“I got the impression she likes him more then he likes her... but I\'m not sure. ...It was a little weird”, Eleanor explained.



“Weird how?” asked Harry seriously.



Eleanor shrugged. She did not feel comfortable to tell them what she had seen. It was his business, his privacy. She even wished, she had not seen them at all. Not the last time and certainly not the first time.



“Now I\'m depressed”, sighed Ron.



“Hard to accept that you are more repulsive than Snape, is it?” commented Ginny with an evil grin.



“That\'s enough Gin”, Hermione stepped in, “Have another butter beer, Ron, you are almost out.” She reached Ron a bottle and the conversation continued. Harry and Ginny told Eleanor about Quidditch, which she knew nothing about. She did not find it very interesting at all but she enjoyed being spoken to. Hermione then discussed the making of veritaserum with her and was thrilled to hear what tips Snape had given her. The evening continued and eventually, just when everyone had gotten cosy and snuggled into the sofas Hermione reminded them of curfew coming up. Eleanor\'s heart sank a little. She had forgotten everything around her as she enjoyed being with the others, and feeling to be part of something. But there was no way around it. The evening had to find an end. As they all walked towards the door Eleanor held Harry back.



“Thank you... I just wanted to say it... thank you.”



Harry shrugged: “What for? This was Ginny\'s idea really.”



“Not only tonight. Thanks for saving my life. Thanks for... you know... noticing me.” Harry blushed and frowned as he looked away awkwardly:



“No problem. ...I\'ll see you around okay?”



“Wait!” Eleanor spoke so loud that everyone turned around to look at her.



“Can we.... do you think we can do this more often?”



The others exchanged looks. Luna jumped on the spot and clapped her hands: “Oh it will be just like the DA, just without all the fighting!”



“What\'s the DA?”, asked Eleanor puzzled.



“Long story”, said Ginny.



“We will tell you about it next time”, said Harry and smiled, “How about next Wednesday?”



Eleanor smiled. They all nodded and silently agreed. Then, in stages they left the room.



During the next three weeks they managed to meet regularly in the Room of Requirement. Eleanor felt happy. Life was almost the way she had always envisioned it. Then one evening, just before curfew she and Luna were on their way back from the Room of Requirement when just before the entrance to their dormitory they saw a figure leaning against the entrance. The figure moved away from the door and turned towards them as they approached. It was Snape.