Restoration

Chapter Twelve

Both Potter and Dotson's mental training were similar, as their goal was to stop anyone from messing them with their mind. But what no one knew, aside from Elara, was that she craved to go deep within, to an alternative reality of her's, to gather strength and break the Unbreakable Vow without killing herself in the process.

"What is your mission? To train Dotson on how to set up mental barriers as well?" Professor Snape lifted his brows, having known Albus Dumbledore never jumped into something new head-first.

"Would Potter be able to find his way into her mind, only to observe it?" Dumbledore lifted the Remembrall, which once again turned red, showing that he had forgotten something.

"I suppose," Professor Snape remarked, "but how would that help her?"

"We would tell her that Potter will be her new tutor, but instead of teaching her, he will only be there, making sure she isn't influenced by...someone else," Headmaster Dumbledore concluded.

Once Dumbledore assured Snape that no harm would come to Harry Potter, he agreed on ordering and trusting the sensitive information to the young wizard. Instructing him to vaguely guide Elara in the process of putting up mental barriers, Snape revealed to Harry that Dumbledore suspected her of being a Death Eater.

And as Harry's trust in Dumbledore was indisputable, he agreed to their plan.

***

For the first time in weeks, Elara did not wake up before sunrise. Instead, her heart nearly stopped once Millicent's alarm clock began to scream and run around the room until Daphne angrily kicked at it.

Tracey was the only one who'd heard both Elara and Pansy enter the room very late, in the middle of the night. Noticing there was a too big of a time gap for them to have been somewhere together, she suspected Pansy had been spying on Elara. Tracey also noticed both of the girls woke up late, with dark circles under their eyes. She decided not to risk irritating either by asking any questions or giving any comments about their clearly sleep-deprived state.

It was snowing in The Great Hall, and students could feel the cold enchanted snowflakes melting as soon as they reached their skin. The atmosphere was pleasant and festive, as everyone was looking forward to their annual Winter Break.

Almost everyone.

Distressed Elara quickly emerged from the Slytherin common rooms, hoping to find the two people she had hurt. She pushed past everyone who walked in her way, hissing and swearing towards her way through the hallways. One of the castle ghosts even joked about preparing water buckets as a precaution, as the fiery witch had woken up on the wrong side of her bed. Luckily for the residents, especially the people in the portraits, Elara had forgotten her wand in her chambers.

Instead of turning left, towards the Slytherin table, she walked straight ahead, gliding past the Ravenclaw table. Hopelessly searching for their blonde hair, Elara finally recognized their faces.

"Luna, I am so sorry-," Elara began, as she stood behind her back. Luna briefly turned around for a moment, shaking her head with a disappointed expression on her face.

A couple of heads turned around, observing how a Slytherin girl walked up to the Ravenclaws, expressing how sorry she was. It was an unusual sight, as the two houses were known for being stubborn and overly ambitious.

But Elara did not care. The stares and the whispers didn't bother her, as she pushed away a Ravenclaw boy, who had been sitting next to Luna.

"You have to understand, I didn't have a choice," Elara lowered her voice, knowing their conversation was observed by many.