Blackeyed Girl

Ok ok, sorry! I know I am totally dragging my feet here, but hey at least a new chapter! This is all stalling a bit drama-wise but this is just the calm before the storm and the storm will start next chapter I think! I will try to get on with it as soon as possible it is really just other exciting work and social life getting in the way at the moment but I will keep updating and I hope it will all get a bit more fluent with the updates… thanks for sticking with the story!! And let me know what you think of this chapter!



Particular thanks to Maryssa. She even rewrote entire lines for me in a much smarter way than the ones I had as my writing is being a bit rubbish at the moment. So thanks to the Super-Beta!



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Chapter 24

The Usual Suspect



That evening after dinner Eleanor was on the way down to the dungeons. She had decided not to dress up. If Draco was just playing a prank on her she did not want to feel too silly. She was nervous and wondering just why Draco would ask her to this party. Did he really think he was doing something nice? Was she walking into a trap? She tried reminding herself why she even trusted him. She remembered all the reasons for not trusting and more so, not liking him but somehow they did not change the fact that she did like the idea of seeing him, of being invited to a party with him. She could not explain it and Luna had made a fair point. If this were some sort of trap by a bully she would get through it quickly and forget about it, but if she did not go she would never know.



She was near the common room now, and she did not have a problem finding the entrance. She could hear music out of one of the many corridors of the dungeons. And the closer she got the more students she passed hanging out in the corridors, perhaps because the common room had gotten too crowded or too loud to talk. Most students ignored her, but some looked her up and down with raised eyebrows and suspicion in their faces as she passed. There were only few Slytherin students who would not recognize their Head of House\'s ward. Most of them would not dare to bully her because they did not want to get in trouble with Snape. Yet they clearly considered her appearance in the dungeons after hours disruptive. She tried to ignore their looks of suspicion and followed the sound of music. Then she could see the entrance to the common room. Two students holding hands just stumbled out. Eleanor walked towards them.



“Hi”, she said shyly. The girl looked her up and down

“What do you want?”



“I... I\'m looking for Draco Malfoy... actually.”



“Glad you could make it”, said a voice behind her. She turned around and there was Draco smirking at her. She only looked back at him, partly waiting for some insult or some kind of humiliation but it never came.



“So...” she shrugged and looked around vaguely noticing some people were still staring. Draco stepped towards her and put his hand on her shoulder.



“Everybody, this is Eleanor Prince. She\'s my guest tonight.”



“Slytherin girls are not good enough for you anymore?” asked a sour faced girl crossing her arms.

“No, just you aren\'t”, said Draco and some others whistled. He turned back to Eleanor, “Let’s get you a drink.”



“Alcohol?” asked Eleanor in alarm as Draco pulled her into the common room. Draco laughed miserably: “Unfortunately not. Snape has protective spells all over the room and the dorms. No kind of alcohol would make it past the door without setting off alarms. Dear old Snape, how he trusts us.”



Eleanor could not help but smirk and said quietly: “He knows what Slytherins are like.”

Draco turned around to her poker-faced: “Are you saying you can\'t trust them?” Eleanor was perplex by the sudden confrontation and only blinked silently but then Draco smirked again and turned away to grab two butter bears. He put one in her hand as they moved over to an empty sofa by a window that gave a foggy view into the dark green lake. Eleanor fixed her eyes on it in awe.

Draco used the moment to watch her.



“I wasn\'t sure if you would turn up.” he said. She looked back at him.

“Why wouldn\'t I?” she asked, acting dumb.



“Well... for lots of reasons. ...What reason made you come?”



Eleanor only looked at him for a moment before she said: “I wanted to see if you were serious about your invitation or not.”



Draco snorted and remained silent.



“Why did you invite me?”



Draco shrugged: “I like hanging out with you.”



Eleanor observed him. She remembered all to clearly that he did not always enjoy her company and she was about to point this out but then remembered just how much she had hated him when he scared Molly and she decided that times had changed. Suddenly the music got turned off and it was abruptly silent. Both Draco and Eleanor looked up. Professor Snape had just entered the common room, his hands crossed behind his back. Everyone had almost frozen in motion and stared back at him. Snape looked around:



“I have to ask you”, he said in what Eleanor noticed to be a very controlled voice, “to keep it down a little.” his eyes slowly continued to scan the room and then stopped spotting a group of younger boys sitting in a corner, “and I believe I sent 1st and 2nd years to bed. Millar, Cornforth and Blyton see me tomorrow after your potions class for details on your detentions.”

The boys cringed and with a quiet “Yes Sir” hurried up the stairs to their dorm. Snape continued to scan the room as he made another step towards the middle, clearly having decided that it might be worth to have a closer inspection. Then he spotted Draco and Eleanor by the window.



“Miss Prince, how unexpected. Have you changed house?”



“No, Sir. Draco invited me”, Eleanor said bravely.



“Did he now?” Snape said his black eyes slowly shifting to Draco, “how very nice of him. Mr. Malfoy, I trust you to drop Miss Prince off at my office no later than 9:30pm. Good night to you all, and like I said... keep it down.” Snape looked around at them all once more and then turned around and left. Eleanor and Draco exchanged looks as the music came back on, a little more quiet than before and people slowly defrosted.



“9:30...that git... that gives us hardly more than 2 hours.” Eleanor shrugged:

“I am surprised he let me stay at all.”



Draco sighed: “I guess so... well, I was gonna do this later but since we only have so little time...”



He leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth. Eleanor jumped in surprise.



Draco pulled back: “Sorry! Sorry... didn\'t mean to freak you out... Just wanted to kiss you for ages...” it was awkwardly silent for a moment as Eleanor was struggling to figure out how to react, then Draco went on: “Hey you wanna come up to my dorm?”



Eleanor frowned: “I... I don\'t think...”



“Hey, I am just kidding! -Don\'t your dorms have wards on them?”



“...only the girls dormitories.”



“Huh, ...looks like every other house is allowed to have fun but us!” now suddenly Eleanor pressed her lips on his and silenced him. Draco smirked as though in victory.



“You like me, don’t you?"



Eleanor shook her head: “Just wanted to make you shut up.”



They smiled at each other.



Meantime Snape had returned to his office. He was going to do some late night work while waiting for Eleanor to return. He wanted to make sure she got to bed on her own at a reasonable time and unharmed. That was why he had wanted Draco to bring her here. Suddenly, just as he had settled down there was a knock on the door.



“Come in!”



Dumbledore entered. Snape looked up in surprise. Dumbledore did not often come to visit him in his office. Usually they would meet somewhere in the castle or in Dumbledore’s office instead.

“Good evening, Severus”, he said



“Is something the matter?” Snape asked agitated.



“Yes, how is Eleanor?”



“She is enjoying herself with Draco Malfoy”, Snape answered sinisterly.



“Good, good…” said Dumbledore obviously preoccupied.



“What’s wrong?” asked Snape again and rose from his chair.



Dumbledore raised a calming hand: “No need to panic, Severus, however I am slightly worried. I looked into possibilities as to why your ward\'s memory might be blocked.”



“Yes?”



“I still am not sure what exactly it is that is blocking us out of her mind but I have reason to believe that the memory modification that was done to her might be threatening her health. I have looked into several similar curses that have been placed on people in a similar manner and they all turned out to be harmful to the person at some point.”



“At what point?”



“Well, that varies. There seems to be some sort of trigger that starts dismantling the curse, which actually works protectively. And that trigger can be anything.”



Snape immediately remembered Trewlany’s words. He considered a moment, then he said:

“I believe, Professor Trewlany might have made… another prediction.”



“Voldemort?”



Snape cringed at the name: “No, Eleanor.”



Dumbledore stepped closer: “Why didn’t you tell me?”



“I thought…. I hoped it meant nothing.”



“What did she say?”



“She wasn’t being clear…”



“Severus?”



“…Locked inside a girl a secret of a twisted crime! Impossible to erase! Murderous should it be revealed.”



Dumbledore was silent. Then Snape started again: “Do you still think this has nothing to do with what happened at the Malfoy’s New Year Party?”



Dumbledore shook his head vaguely: “Nothing is for sure… But we need to get to the bottom of this. I’m sorry Severus, I have other manners to attend to… Please keep me informed if anything changes regarding Miss Prince.” The headmaster said after a brief glance at a pocket watch. This left Snape staring absent-mindedly at his work, mind buzzing. He did not even realise at first when it knocked on the door at exactly 9:30pm, or even that it was already 9:30. Only when the knocking repeated did he stir and answer.



Draco and Eleanor entered, holding hands. Snape stared at them for a moment, remembering that he had asked Draco to drop Eleanor off at this time.



“You may go, Draco.”, he then said. Draco gave Eleanor a smirk, squeezed her hand once and left. Eleanor looked after him until the door closed behind him again. Then she faced Snape and gave him a soft and rather childish smile. Snape ignored it. He stood up and walked around his desk towards her. He stopped right in front of her and took a long moment to look her up and down.

“You have kissed.” he finally said rather factually. Eleanor blushed

“How do you...”



“Your lips... are swollen.”



Eleanor blushed even more and put her hand to her mouth sub-consciously.



“Anything else?”



Eleanor shook her head violently and then looked up at him when he remained silent. But Snape turned away from her and walked over to a cabinet. He removed a tiny bottle from it and with his wand summoned a goblet of pumpkin juice. Without any explanation he emptied the content from the tiny bottle into the goblet and then held it out to Eleanor. She frowned.



“Do you expect me to drink that, Professor?”



“Why else would I give it to you?”



“You put veritaserum in. You showed me how to make it. I recognise it.”



“So?”



“You can\'t force me to drink that.”



“And why not, Miss Prince?”



“It\'s illegal.”



“And do you believe that that will stop me in forcing you to drink it?”



Eleanor hesitated and then said: “I am telling you the truth. Draco and I kissed but that\'s all. ...I am not stupid you know? You could have a little more trust in me... Professor.”



Snape blinked irritably and then replied: “This is not about Draco Malfoy. I need you to drink this for other reasons then making sure you are not hiding your teenage sins from me.”



Eleanor hesitated and then asked: “What else is veritaserum good for?”



“Drink it.”



Eleanor looked at the goblet and then back at Snape: “I don\'t want to.”



“Are you aware that it would be easy for me to slip veritaserum into your meal any time if I wanted to? You will take it one way or another, however I expect you to drink it willingly.”



“Why would I do that if I know that you don\'t respect my privacy?”



Snape shook with sudden impatience: “You are too young to have privacy! Now drink it!”



Eleanor twitched in response and dropped her eyes to the goblet. She considered and then took it from him and drank. She swallowed fast until the goblet was empty. Then she handed it back to him and said factually: “You are so unfair. I wish I could hate you the way everyone else does.” She dried her lips with the back of her hand and looked back at his face with her deep black eyes. Snape was silent. What she had said had caught him off guard for a moment. But he forced it out of his mind.



“Sit down.” he said, rather softly. Eleanor sat on the chair opposite Snape\'s desk. He remained standing before her. He seemed rather tense as though he was unlocking the greatest secret.

“What happened between Draco and you tonight?”



“We kissed.”



“Nothing else?”



“...I … We might be developing some form of… likeness for each other.”



“Nothing else... sexually happened between you?”



“No.”



He hesitated, then continued: “Are you aware of something blocking your memory from invasion?”



“No.”



“Is there something... a secret... of a crime that you are hiding?”



Eleanor blinked confused: “I don\'t think so.”



Snape tried again: “Has there been a crime in your past that you are keeping a secret about?”



“No.”



Snape sighed in frustration and rubbed his forehead. This had been his last desperate idea to get behind the mystery. They had to find out, Dumbledore had said, but how could they if neither legilimency nor verisaterum would get the secret out of her?



“Did someone manipulate your memory at any point in your life?”



Eleanor hesitated: “No.”



Of course she would say No if she did not remember it, he thought and remained silent a moment, then he remembered something that made him focus again.



“Who gave you the alcohol at the Malfoy\'s New Year party?”



“Mr. Malfoy did.”



“Lucius?” Snape said and his eyes widened.



“Yes.”



Snape stepped a little closer, now more than intrigued: “Did he give you anything else?”



“A kiss.”



“A kiss?!” Snape repeated in outrage.



“Yes.”



“What else did he do to you?!”



“He made me feel funny inside.”



“Funny how?”



“I believe I was aroused. He does make me feel that way.”



Snape leaned back into his desk as though to steady himself. Then he looked back at her again:

“Did he do anything else to you? Did he make you do anything? Did he touch you?”



“No, he asked me to make a wish and he touched me here and here...” she gestured to her neck and her knee.



Snape rolled his eyes and interrupted her: “Did he seduce you? Did you have sex with him?!”



“No.”



“He gave you alcohol and he kissed you? That\'s all? Definitely?”



“Yes.”



Snape stormed from his office without another world leaving the drugged Eleanor behind.



He stormed up to Dumbledore\'s office and banged against the door

“Albus! Albus! You\'re not sleeping are you? Open! I know what happened!”



He heard a lock click and pushed the door open and barged into the office. Dumbledore stepped towards him.



“What is it Severus? Did you speak to Eleanor?”



“It was Lucius! Like I thought all along! At the New Year\'s party!”



“Lucius? You never told me you suspected him.”



“Well I didn\'t... me being a fool who actually thought Lucius would keep his filthy hands off his friends family! That filthy bastard!”



“Severus, calm down, talk to me.”



“It was him! He gave her the alcohol! And he abused her and modified her memory!”



“How did you find this out?”



“It doesn\'t matter! But now we know what the secret is! I have to confront Lucius and find out what exactly he did to her memory so it is not a threat to her anymore... and then I will kill that bastard.”



“Now wait a minute, lets talk about this properly. You’ve known Lucius for many years. He has no secrets from you. You have been close friends for so long. Have you... ever witnessed him doing something like this?”



“Albus! Lucius plays with women like children play with their food! Raping muggles used to be a hobby of his!”



“But Eleanor is not a muggle.”



“Well times have changed, haven\'t they? He does not get away with stuff like that so easily these days. And besides you know very well that he also never made a circle around other women no matter what blood status they were. Merlin knows why he picked my ward, perhaps he just wanted the ultimate forbidden fruit! What does it matter why he did it?!”



“The question is not why, the question is IF. I still am wondering how you found this out?”



“She told me!”



“Eleanor told you that Lucius Malfoy abused her?”



“She told me he gave her the alcohol and that he kissed her and touched her here and here...”



Snape repeated Eleanor\'s gestures violently, “and that he makes her feel aroused!”



Dumbledore blinked, thinking hard as he turned away from Snape and took his seat behind his desk. Snape stared at him, waiting for some kind of response to this outrageous news.



“Where exactly did she tell you that Lucius Malfoy abused her or... altered her memory?”



“Well she wouldn\'t know about that, would she?!”



“True....”



“I need to get her examined, Albus.”



Dumbledore held up a hand and continued to think. Then he said:



“Look, Severus, as hard as this is for you, I need you to keep a clear head. Lucius definitely was in the wrong in the way he treated your ward... even if it was nothing more than some champagne and a kiss. You can’t let this blind you in case there is any more evidence of foul play about. Just because you found AN answer doesn’t make it THE answer. You understand?”



Snape grinded his teeth but Dumbledore continued:

“Keep an eye on Eleanor. Don’t approach Lucius just jet. Leave this with me for a few days.”

Snape sighed.



“And Severus… please do not drug your ward again. I’m afraid I can not tolerate that.”