Aurora found that going back to classes after the events at the night of the Yule Ball was rather strange.
Suddenly, she was faced with the reality that not only had she shared a bottle of bourbon with one of her professors, she had also told him things she would probably never had told him under different circumstances.
She'd even showed him her tattoo for Merlin's sake!
Aurora wanted to blame the alcohol. But then again, she'd drunk more heavily on numerous other occasions, and it had never resulted in the kind of behaviour she'd displayed during the Yule Ball. Not to mention that this was Severus bloody Snape she'd spilled the tea to. She wouldn't be surprised if the taciturn professor would use the information he'd learned from her and use it in his accusatory judgements he so enjoyed to throw her way when they were arguing.
It worried her. No, it preoccupied her greatly. Aurora found she couldn't bring herself to go to breakfast the next morning, despite Fred and George's insistence. They saw she was in a better mood than the previous night, but still they couldn't talk her into joining them in the Great Hall that morning. It became apparent pretty soon that that someone had spiked the punch the previous night, and many a student was still nursing a hangover, so Aurora was most definitely not the only one skipping breakfast. She could only imagine as to who would have done such a thing as spiking the punch... that last thought was rather sarcastic as the twins had been in excellent spirits that very morning and didn't seem to be suffering from any hangover whatsoever.
Luckily for her, it was now that time in the academic year students got time off for the Winter Holidays, so Aurora had no classes to worry about. She was however cautious, and a bit concerned about the next time she would have to face Severus. What would he say? How would he act towards her now? Was there a chance that he would behave more civil towards her now that the two of them had finally had a chance to have a proper talk?
Her question was answered that very same day.
Around lunch her stomach won out against her better judgement and forced Aurora to go get some food. The grumbling and growling of her insides reminded her of the fact that no matter how stubborn she was, she still needed sustenance. However, she wasn't in the mood for company, finding herself in a rather pensive state of mind, so instead of heading to the Great Hall and join the others for lunch, she snuck out of the common room and made her way down to the kitchens.
Fred and George had indicated her how to get there, and Aurora was more than familiar with the House Elves that scurried about as she asked them politely if they could get her something to eat. The elves were more than happy to oblige and prepared her a simple lunch consisting of several sandwiches. As Aurora made her way through the hallways with her bounty in hand, she wondered what would happen next.
After all, she had been to school only a couple of months, and yet it felt like forever. It was strange, how isolated one could feel even among so many people. Hogwarts had several hundred students, and with the Triwizard Tournament that number had only increased. And yet, Aurora had been feeling quite isolated, out of reach from the rest of the world and her routine everyday life from before she had started attending the wizarding school. The drastic changes in her lifestyle had left her grappling for stability, unable to connect with the student life at Hogwarts like she had hoped. Maybe it was the fact that technically everything came easily to her, which in turn meant that she had nothing to truly worry about like grades and exams. Or maybe it was because, on a more basic level, she was different than everybody else. She knew how cliched that must have sounded if she had tried to put it into words, but Aurora felt that having so many aspects of her life that differed so greatly from that of the others, it brought a sense of discomfort and ever present unease to her life as a sixth-year student.
Even though she'd befriended the Weasley twins and got along marvellously with Lee, and even a few girls such as Katie and Angelina, she still felt somewhat distanced from them, as if there was a space between them that she couldn't quite bridge. There'd always be things she'd need to keep to herself, things she wouldn't be able to say. Not to mention any sort of personal life she'd had before this whole academic stint had pretty much grinded to a screeching halt. She felt bereft, not having her usual network of news and information to let her know about the comings and goings in the wizarding world. She needed information. Aurora realized she wanted to know all that had happened in the wizarding world while she'd been incommunicado, and she needed to find out what she had been missing while she had spent her time going to classes and attending lectures in subjects she didn't feel she had much use for. Reading the newspaper just didn't quite cover it. It was time to gather some intel on what was really going on out there in the world. Aurora would send word to her contacts at the Ministry and inquire with some sources about the current situation. She had been updated on a regular basis before going to Hogwarts, but somehow being here had affected the information flow in a rather negative manner.
With the decision made, Aurora felt a lot better, and after finishing her meal she figured she'd head off in search of her Godfather. After all, she needed the Headmaster's permission if she wanted to leave the school premises. Starting towards Albus's office, she rounded the corner, only to run into Albus himself. And he wasn't alone. Karma truly had a funny sense of humour, for Dumbledore was engrossed in conversation with no other than Snape.
"Ah Aurora! Just the person I wished to see" Albus said cheerfully as be beckoned for her to come closer.
"Albus" Aurora greeted cautiously "Professor Snape"
"As I was telling Severus, I would like for you to resume your private potion classes once the Christmas Holidays are over" Albus said as he looked from his goddaughter to Severus.
"And I already told you that it is no longer necessary. Miss Beauchanan has served her detentions, and I no longer require her assistance" Snape said with an icy voice.
Aurora's head snapped up and her jaw tensed at his cold tone. Seriously?! He was just going to ignore her now?! She fought to keep her cool, but on the inside, she was fuming. She wasn't sure what she'd expected after their encounter during the night of the Yule Ball, but certainly not this. Usually, when one had a somewhat deeper or profound conversation with another human being, that tended to make the other person more approachable, or likeable. Now, she found the taciturn Potions Professor had gone back to his old tricks and was pretending to ignore her existence yet again. By Merlin, that man was insufferable!
"Yes, I understood that the first two times you said so, Severus" responded Albus quietly "However, I am the Headmaster here at Hogwarts, and I can't have students just dropping out of a certain class and then just return to it after nearly two months without any explanation or consequences of sorts"
"But-" Aurora started to complain, narrowing her eyes at Snape, who was giving her a blank look.
"I won't have it, Aurora. I have academic standards and rules at school to maintain, and you're no exception. You'll do as I say, and that will be the end of it" Dumbledore stated calmly, in a tone that allowed no discussion.
She knew arguing was pointless, so Aurora just nodded. She wasn't happy with being blindsided like this by her Godfather, however. Moreover, she didn't like being commandeered around, which was exactly what this felt like. She wasn't used to it, and she'd be damned if she just quietly went along with all this. Resigning herself to what would probably turn into more heated arguments and nasty fights, she silently prayed that maybe, just maybe, Severus would just remain civil with her after our shared conversation.
"I'd like to note that I do no appreciate being railroaded in such a fashion, Albus" she grumbled in discontent.
Severus himself wasn't quite sure why he was being so objectionable towards Aurora returning to his classroom. Perhaps it was his discomfort with actually having engaged in conversation with her in a manner that wasn't entirely appropriate for a student and teacher. Or perhaps it was the fact that they'd both consumed a considerable amount of alcohol and he was reluctant to get anything he might have said thrown in his face in the argument that would surely ensue if he resumed teaching Aurora. After all, they couldn't spend more than a couple of minutes in each other's company without reverting to arguing and fighting. Such seemed to be their way.
Realizing there was nothing to be done about the situation, Snape just nodded, before stalking off, his signature black cloak bellowing behind him.
"Albus" Aurora stopped him before he could also walk away "I wanted to ask you something"
"Nothing regarding Professor Snape, I hope?" Dumbledore said with an amused smirk.
Aurora couldn't help the slight blush that crept onto her cheeks in indignation.
"No, nothing like that" she muttered in annoyance "I wanted to ask you for a day off"
"A day off?" asked Albus incredulously "A day off from what?"
"All this" she said, waving her hand around in a wide circle as to indicate everything "This whole 'school' thing.... I need some time for myself. To go back to the normal world for a day. Talk to some of my contacts, get some information, get a few personal affairs on order...."
Albus nodded.
"That seems reasonable. Why don't you go sometime next week? That way you'll have some time to organize things. Classes start on two weeks, so do it before that. Oh, and if you go, would you please apparate from Hogsmeade? It's always such a mess to organize a hearth being connected to the floo network...." he said, smiling as Aurora nodded in approval.
Now in a much better mood she headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room, feeling better than she had in a long time....
It was two days later, as she was having breakfast with Fred and George, that Aurora received a letter.
The owl that brought it was a deep chocolate brown, and its golden eyes assessed her carefully as she retrieved the letter tied to its paw. Recognizing the handwriting on the envelope Aurora smiled to herself and opened the letter from her parents.
The blank parchment that stared back at her had Aurora frowning at the letter. Then a thought occurred to me, and shea leaned in to press her lips against the paper.
Immediately, letters and sentences started becoming visible on the initially blank page. Why would her parents enchant the letter to only reveal its contents to her? Aurora shook her head, instead focusing on the words written on the parchment.
~ Dearest Aurora,
Albus has kept your father and I updated on your wellbeing. We are both happy that you are settling in well with the school life and such. We know it must be difficult to remain at School but given the circumstances it is the safest place for you right now.
Your father tells me you will probably just grumble at that and roll your eyes, but I know that you understand that we are just trying to keep you safe. Despite everything. I know you are strong and cautious by nature, and that you are quite capable to take care of yourself, but we are your parents, and we can't help being protective of you. You'll always be our little girl, no matter how long has passed since you stopped behaving as such.....~
Aurora smiled at her mother's words. They knew her so well. Even now, all she wanted was to return to her old life, completely confident in her ability to keep herself safe. She didn't need Albus, or to attend Hogwarts for that matter. And she could leave if she truly wanted to. But given the circumstances it was better just to listen to her parents and wait until this whole thing blew over. They were her parents, after all, and despite being quite independent, Aurora could do this for them, if it made them feel better. Sighing she continued to read the letter.....
~ I'm writing you this letter to inform you of the current situation. Your father believes it is safer if he and I were to.... leave, for a little bit. Go into hiding, if you will. Nothing quite as dramatic as that but giving the recent happenings and latest tidings we received, we believe it is best if we proceed cautiously from now on.
As you very well know, circumstances transpired to complicate things for us, for our family. It has forced us to act rather quickly, precipitating happenings we didn't expect to incur for some time. We now have to speed up certain preparations, get some affairs in order, and will therefore be unavailable for the next month or two.
Don't worry, it isn't as dangerous or mysterious as it sounds! We just have to be careful as to the things we say when we communicate through such a mundane thing as letters.
Anyways, your father tells me to inform you of how terribly he misses our Sunday-night dinners, and to remind you that we love you very much. We'll owl you once we've returned from our travels.
One final warning, Aurora, we want you to be extremely careful. The Triwizard Tournament, the events at the Quidditch World Cup.... those are just a few of the many things that are raising quite a lot of suspicion amongst those who are of a more knowledgeable nature. Nothing is what it seems, and there is no such thing as coincidences. So, watch out, remain ever so vigilant, and beware of the dangers that lie ahead.
Love, your parents.
Perrie & Nick~
Putting down the letter Aurora frowned. This was disconcerting in more ways than one. Her parents unexpectedly leaving to 'put some affairs in order'? Strange and worrisome tidings? What in Merlin's name was going on?!
Her mind whirling with questions Aurora decided that the trip she had been planning was now essential and needed to happen. Soon. She would go the very next day and see what she could find out. She had an inkling that it wasn't going to be anything nice. Like a sickening gut feeling that told you when disaster was going to strike, her intuition was telling her that bad things were happening.
And she was going to find out exactly what.