"It's quiet this morning." Eleanor spoke up, bringing Severus's attention away from his cereal to eye their surroundings.
It had been quiet, more than usual.
There was the normal amount of students who sat and ate breakfast in the Great Hall, but somehow it seemed almost empty by the lack of conversations happening.
Eleanor bit the inside to her cheek to stop her from immediately frowning.
Something wasn't right.
"It must be one of those mornings..." Confessed Severus, thinking that everyone had just been tired. That is until he caught sight of an empty chair at the high table.
It was odd, Slughorn always ate breakfast. Usually he would be talking someone's ear off about how excellent his slug club meetings were going.
Now Severus definitely knew that something had been up.
It was almost instant when Severus's narrowed gaze lead to the gryffindor table.
It made sense, of course Potter and his friends weren't there.
Immediately after, Eleanor noticed the same thing as she tensed up in her seat.
"They're missing." She muttered under her breath
"It's okay." Severus's hushed tone was loud enough for only Eleanor to hear. "I'm sure they just got themselves caught up in something irrelevant." He took a long sip of his coffee before he called at the gryffindor table, "Longbottom!"
The boy's head shot up instantly from his breakfast to see Professor Snape beckoning him over to where he was sitting.
"Oh no." Neville whimpers to himself as he got up quickly to walk over to the high table.
His eyes looked back and forth between Professor Snape and Adler. There was comfort in Eleanor's eyes which let him know he wasn't in trouble.
It relaxed him.
"Yes?" Neville asked trying his best not to sound anxious standing in front of Snape.
But before Severus could open his mouth Eleanor was the one to ask as she leaned over the table a bit, "Hello, Neville. Do you happen to know where Harry and his friends are?"
"Uh, yeah. I believe they're at the hospital wing. At least that's where Hermione had told me where she was going this morning." Neville watched as Snape and Adler gave eachother a look.
Eleanor was nearly running down the corridor to make it to the hospital wing. Severus kept up with her pace easily as they approached the entrance.
"What happened?" Severus's voice nearly made everyone in the hospital wing jump in suprise.
Out of anyone who would be seeing Ron, Snape was the last person anyone had been expecting.
But it all made sense when Eleanor appeared from behind him with a worried expression.
She looked over to see Harry, Hermione, Ginny and surprisingly enough Fred and George standing over a bed which layed out Ron who was slumbering peacefully with a wet cloth over his head.
"Look who it is, If it isn't my favourite professor and everyone's least favourite professor." Fred spoke boldly now that he knew he couldn't get a detention for saying it.
Severus shot the young man a glare, pointing almost threateningly at Fred, "Knock it off."
The grin that was once worn on Fred's face had dropped completely, but George however, found it very amusing.
Eleanor ignored the bickering and asked Severus's question again, "What happened?"
"Well," Hermione began to answer seeing that Harry wasn't going to respond as he was too busy glaring at Snape. "Slughorn gave him mead and... he didn't know it had been poisoned."
Severus's eyes fell to the floor as he clenched his jaw. He placed his hands on both sides of his waist, he had an idea of what might have happened.
Eleanor stared at him.
"Harry saved his life." Ginny announces mostly to Eleanor, "He shoved a bezoar down his throat. It was very heroic..."
While Eleanor glanced happily to her blush faced nephew, Severus's eyes met Harry's own.
He almost wanted to ask where he learned to do that since he definitely knew the boy didn't learn it from him, but the smile on Eleanor's face brought him to a halt.
"Excuse me?! Only six visitors allowed per patient!" Madam Pomfrey walked in seeing more people standing at Ron's bedside. "There's a sign-"
Severus silenced her as he simply gave her a hand gesture telling her to stop. "Just- give me a moment."
Madam Pomfrey stood there with her arms crossed over another. "Very well then. " She mutters out before she turned on her heal to leave.
The room went quiet.
"I need to go take care of some things anyway." Severus mentions as he began to walk out without another word, but Eleanor followed behind.
They made it just outside the hospital wing before she asked in a hushed tone, "What's going on?"
"What do you mean?" His head turned back to her as he kept walking further away from the door so nobody can hear them.
"I saw that look on your face! You have an idea of what's happening at least—"
Suddenly she felt his large hands hold her shoulders, guiding her around to face him so his back was turned towards the entrance of the hospital wing, "Listen, all I know there's some sort of connection with the necklace that poisoned Katie Bell and the mead. I'm going to try to figure out where all of this is coming from."
"How will you do that?"
He released his soft grip on her shoulders, "I figured I'd start with Slughorn, ask him how he got the mead and work my way up."
Although, Severus already knew who he was needing to talk to.
"I'll come with."
Severus hesitantly opened his mouth before he managed to speak, "It's alright. Just look after the kid and I'll let you know what's going on. Besides, I'm sure they need you more than ever right now."
He hated lying to her.
The excuse that escaped his mouth tasted bitter.
Eleanor was doubtful that the kids needed her around, but nodded in response.
"Okay, I'll see you later?" Severus asks her to make sure she was okay with the plan.
"Of course." She smiles up at him softly
Severus looked over her face with a soft glance, his hand reached past her cheek to gently brush a loose hair strand behind her ear.
"That's been bugging me all morning." He mumbled jokingly and the genuine smile he was looking for appeared on her lips.
Her smile was contagious.
Even though they confessed their love for eachother the night prior, Severus wasn't exactly sure where they stood.
He didn't want to rush her into anything, but didn't want to avoid what she wanted.
In Eleanor's mind they were just happy to be around eachother. They didn't have a label for what they were, they were just happy.
It's all they knew and needed to be right now.
Severus grinned from ear to ear before he bent down to softly kiss the top of her head. "I'll be back." He whispered in her ear before he began to walk down the empty corridor.
The Slytherin common room had been abandoned.
For once, Draco felt at peace to finally allow himself to breathe without Blaise or Pansy being around him constantly asking where he's been.
He layed on the sofa that faced the grand fireplace which roared with flames.
The boy had been so tired. He was nearly mesmerized by the sound of crackling wood that he could instantly fall asleep if he allowed himself too.
"Get up." Professor Snape's voice made Draco jump as the tall man entered the common room before he enchanted the passage way to lock behind him.
Even with a password nobody would be able to come in.
"I didn't mean to do it!" Malfoy sat up as Severus Snape neared where Draco was sitting.
"Oh? So, you're completely aware of what's going on? Good, I was afraid I was going to have to fill you in on all the details while you sit there lie and say you don't know what I'm talking about when you do. I appreciate the honesty." Severus spoke carelessly.
"Alright!" Draco raised his voice in defense, "I screwed up!"
"Damn right you screwed up! Isn't this twice now?!" Severus scolds, "You say you're fine doing this alone and you nearly kill not just one, but two students!"
Draco let out a scoff, "It's not my fault that oaf gave Weasley a drink."
"No," Severus shook his head, "But it is your fault for giving that oaf the bottle to begin with, which resulted in the situation that caused all of this." He explained as if it wasn't simple enough.
There were pricks of tears that threatened to fall from the boys eyes. "Who else would you have rather it be delivered by Professor? Would you have liked me to ask Adler—"
That was enough to struck a nerve.
"Hey!" Severus's eyes went dark, "I've already told you that she stays out of this!"
"THEN WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!" Draco practically cried out, "I'm not responsible for any of this because it wasn't supposed to happen! It wasn't part of the plan! My father told me that I was the one to finish the job and it doesn't matter if I want to do it or not! I don't have a choice!" The boy broke out into tears.
It was all so overwhelming for him. He knew he was in the wrong and it was his fault for what happened to Bell and Weasley. Not that he cared about their safety much, but it still effected him.
Everything that he was doing wrong was going to be reported that the deed hadn't been done correctly.
He needed the help and guidance Snape was trying to offer him, but his father depended on him to do everything himself.
Draco was going to follow his father's footsteps.
Even if it wasn't what he wanted.
Severus had no choice, but to empathize with the kid.
Malfoy had no idea what he was doing or getting himself into. He was just following orders.
Severus walked over to the sofa chair that was beside Draco and took a seat.
"You do realise that you'll never be like your father, right?" He questioned, "In fact, you're nothing like him." Severus shakes his head with a scoff as he watched the boy narrow his eyes up at him. "Do you want to know the reason why? It's because you're just a kid who has too much heart for the job and it's not necessarily a bad thing to have."
Malfoy tried to protest saying, "It shows weakness—"
"And who told you that? Your father?" Severus cut him off with a slight chuckle knowing that he had been right after Malfoy grew quiet.
"It doesn't make anyone weak." He continued, "A real man doesn't just use his head to make decisions. It takes empathy and maturity. Vulnerability gives into strength, because it leads you to what you want and care for the most. It gives you a reason to fight." He tried to explain.
The boy stared off into the distance as he listened to what Snape had to say.
"What do you fight for?" Malfoy curiously asked.
The look on Severus's was unreadable, but it had been obvious that he was thinking of someone.
"That's private." He grumbled after he came back to reality.
Draco rolled his eyes.
"My point is, is that your Father isn't as much as a badarse as you think he is. He screwed up just as much as you and look where that got him. So, don't hold yourself to a standard that doesn't reach it's own." He continued on, hoping that his advice would at least be acknowledged by the stubborn boy.
Malfoy said nothing in response as he turned his head away from Severus's watchful stare.
"Alright, I'm not done with this conversation, but I'm leaving it off here so you can sit and reflect on your terrible decision making." Severus got up from the chair slowly and began to walk towards the exit of the common room, taking his wand out of his pocket to undo the curse that kept the entrance sealed shut.
"So, What do you suppose I do now?" Draco spoke up before Severus was able to leave.
He turned the boys direction, shrugging as if it were simple.
"Make the right decision." Severus suggested, "And stop giving poisoned objects to people, I mean it, if there's another kid in the hospital wing because of you— I'll be a bigger problem to deal with than whatever the hell you think you're going through. Got it?"
After Draco gave Snape a nod the passage way was immediately shut behind him.
Eleanor made sure to visit Ron every day when she had the chance, but as she exited her classroom during break to make her way towards the hospital wing she got caught in a dilemma.
"I jus' think Aragog would've liked yer' if he had the chance to meet yer." Hagrid stood in the dungeons crying as he stared down at a remorseful Eleanor. "He would'ave loved yer spirit."
It made her sad to see Hagrid so heart broken, even if it was all for a giant spider she hasn't heard about until just now.
"I'm so sorry, Hagrid. I'm sure I would have liked Aragog too." She says as her eyes glanced over to see Severus approaching her.
"There's a funeral for him later' tis' evening. I hope yer end up comin' by." Hagrid wipes away the tears from his face with his sleeve before he walked away to let the other professors know.
"What happened?" Severus asked although he didn't really care.
"His... um, spider died." Eleanor said gently in case Hagrid was able to still hear her, "I was invited to the funeral."
He raised an eyebrow, "For a spider?"
She sighed as she tried to explain. "It wasn't just any spider, it was a giant spider."
"That somehow makes it worse." He stated in his usual monotoned voice.
Eleanor shook her head slightly at his bluntness before she began to walk beside him.
"So, are you actually going to go to the spider funeral?" He questioned, "Because if not we could do something that gives you a good enough excuse not to go."
Eleanor peered up at him shaking her head, "I don't know, I kind of feel bad for him... like I should go." She admitted guiltily. "Why, What excuse did you have planned?"
"Dinner reservations for two."
She blinked up at him in suprise, stopping the both of them from walking any further, "Really?"
"Well, it occurred to me that we've never exactly went on a date." He brought up a good enough reasoning.
Eleanor beamed at him with the same realisation. "We haven't? Have we?"
"So, is that a good enough excuse to miss the spider funeral?" Severus asks hopefully, "If not, I can eat alone and pretend I was stood up by some long distance lover named Lauren and I might get a free pity desert from the waitress. Either way I win."
Eleanor couldn't help, but laugh in amusement. "Alright fine, I'd love to go."
"6pm and I'll be waiting at your door?" He asked
"6pm and I'll meet you by my door." She smiled at him gleefully.
AN: I rewrote this whole chapter 11 times 🙄 also I found some AMAZING spotify playlists you guys made for the story and I'm sharing them on here if that's okay. Let me know if you want me to take it down for privacy reasons !!