Restoration

Chapter Twenty-Two

***

Not many nights were passed with silence, which tended to surprise many first-years, which strictly followed the rules of curfew in fear of being expelled. But as they grew older, some learned how to sneak around the castle without being noticed, having studied each of the night-guards and their patterns.

They knew that every time Professor Slughorn was on duty, they would most likely get away with sneaking around, even going so far as to break into other houses. And the rumour that Slughorn was an incredibly anxious person proved to be true, as he flinched every time he heard the smallest noise near him. He truly hated being the night-guard, and older students often found him standing in hallways which had a lot of light.

Whereas students felt comfortable leaving their beds if he was on call, they would absolutely, in no case whatsoever, even think about sneaking around if Professor Snape was on duty. He was known for his inventive punishments and incredible sense of hearing, as he could hear someone walking around even if they were on the other side of the castle.

But even he had a loophole, a soft spot of some sort, for all Slytherins who tried their luck. He never punished them as severely as other houses, mainly because they were the only ones who dared to witness his wrath.

One had to guess what kind of mood Professor McGonagall was in if she was patrolling the grounds. She would either warn them without any sanctions or if she wasn't feeling particularly chipper, shout at them so much that half of Hogwarts would hear it as well - taking off house points while she was at it.

The only ones who successfully managed to crawl around at night, without having ever been caught, were the Weasley twins, and some suspected they had a trick up their sleeve, which they didn't reveal.

And as many times before, Anthony stood at the main doors to Ravenclaw quarters, holding onto the doorknob. He had been thinking back and forth about whether he should just risk it all and visit Elara. He knew he had been too pushy and too controlling, and his anxiety kept him awake at night.

It was the intense urge to protect her, from her past as well as herself, even though he knew she was a very strong witch herself. But he felt...like she had been drifting away from him, lately. As if there were things she was keeping from him, and not only from Harry. In fact, he was convinced she had lied to him, and he wanted to believe it was because she intended to protect him. But the tiny voice inside his head kept repeating the same, cruel word over and over "She's a Death Eater, it's in her nature to lie and fool people."

It took him all of his mental strength to walk away from the doors, back to his bed. He couldn't confide in Luna, as she very clearly saw the good in Elara and would protect her no matter what for some reason. But he was now torn between his thoughts and ideology and the ugly, scary truth - Elara was connected to the Death Eaters. Hell, she was even born into one of the families which were notorious for mastering the Dark Arts.

And the worst thing was the unknown, as Elara never spoke much about it once she showed him what had happened to her. It crossed Anthony's mind that perhaps even Elara didn't know much about her family, and if it were the case, why hadn't she been seeking the answers? Why did the Dotson's raise her instead? Who were her real parents? So many questions left unanswered.

Unlike most nights, this night remained quiet, wrapped in a veil of secrecy. No one sneaked around that night, and no one even stayed up past midnight. Perhaps a sign of better times to come, a calming atmosphere reached every corner of everyone's dreams.

Then the morning came. And the news spread around Hogwarts like wildfire.

***

"Did you hear what happened?!" Vincent jabbered across the Slytherin table, cramming another portion of scrambled eggs on his already overflowing plate.