Thick Smoke

Differences

On the way back, she couldn't help but think about Sirius' last comment. A Slytherin at the core—what was that supposed to mean?

She was already in the hall, and sunrise was still far away, so she had enough time to sneak in and sleep for a few hours. Unfortunately, she got entangled in her own thoughts and forgot to check whether the corridors were clear. She was startled by a sudden ball of light shining directly into her face.

"As expected."

Snape's voice came first, cold and clipped. His face followed, grim and pale. He grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her along.

"What are you doing? Let me go."

She squirmed, easily breaking free, yet the man was bigger than her and caught her again.

"I told him you would only bring chaos to Hogwarts, and look what followed. A serial killer broke into the school," he spat venomously. "Did you meet him?" he asked, most probably referring to Sirius. "Did you?" he repeated, pulling her harshly.

"What does that have to do with you?" she asked, annoyed.

For a second, Snape seemed worried, but it was only brief.

"What do you even know?" she added with a roll of her eyes.

He dragged Eliza to the Headmaster, who didn't seem surprised to see them barge into his office.

"What is wrong, Severus?" the elder asked, though his eyes were already fixed on the young girl.

Eliza frowned when she noticed the little, almost unnoticeable grin on the Headmaster's face. It looked as though he had foreseen her breakout.

"I found Mol—" he stopped before correcting himself, "Black roaming the halls after midnight while a serial killer is on the loose," Severus said with obvious contempt. She hadn't done anything deserving of such hatred and wasn't even sure why he disliked her so much, considering she was actually a good student in his class.

"Is that so," Dumbledore trailed bemusedly. "I'm sure she will repent for her misbehavior and won't cause trouble again, correct?"

He addressed her, and Eliza's head nodded automatically.

"Now, Severus, please let me have a word with Eliza. Alone."

Severus scowled before leaving the room. It was amazing how relieved she felt the moment he was gone.

"Do not worry about Professor Snape," Dumbledore began, getting up from his seat and walking slowly around the desk toward her. "He will take care of today's Defense Against the Dark Arts class. I'm sure you only wanted to make sure your godfather was safe and didn't harm anyone, especially himself." He smiled kindly and continued, "But, Eliza, no one can find out you have any connection to Remus or Sirius Black. We don't want to create even more rumors now, do we?"

"No, sir," she mumbled, clasping her hands in front of her. "How come Professor Snape knows about me?" she asked, remembering how much spite Snape had put into her name.

"Professor Snape knew both Sirius and Ophelia. He was... entangled in the various troubles Ophelia got them into," Dumbledore explained as vaguely as possible, confusing Eliza even more. "Have you met Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, lowering his voice to a whisper.

Eliza nodded, a smile forming on her lips. She was truly happy that she had met her father.

"Is he alright?" Dumbledore continued, and she nodded again. "Sirius has always been a troublemaker, even when he was a student. Although I cannot say for sure whether it was him who caused the trouble, or James," he added bemusedly. "Your father is a very loyal friend."