Realm of the Mind

He entered the classroom in his usual dramatic fashion. He made his way to the blackboard and began to teach. He made it halfway through the lecture before sensing something was off. His eyes glanced over the room. It wasn't unusual that a couple students weren't paying attention but this time a majority of the class seemed to have their head in the clouds. What really bothered him that YOU weren't paying attention. You were usually the first to answer his questions when nobody else expressed such interested. It was extremely odd that half of the lecture was over and you did not participate a single time.

In all honestly, your mind couldn't help but wander. Being among the older members of Dumbledore's army was an extreme responsibility. There was too much that had to be done. Because you were a 7th year, you were in charge of teaching the underclassmen the advanced spells they have not learned yet. You had to try to think of the easiest and safest way to teach them, whilst not getting caught. Last meeting, you were teaching the students about the Stupefy spell when one student accidentally casted it on you. This caused you to take a nasty tumble, earning yourself a nasty gash on your wrist and much pain. You were currently thinking of the easiest way to teach Levicorpus to them without having a repeat of the last session when a voice pulled you from your thoughts.

"Ms. (Y/L/N), would you happen to know the answer?" Snape drew out in his monotoned voice.

You weren't paying attention. He must have known. Rather than admitting to that, you simply stated "No, I'm sorry."

 You heard your professor exhale. "Pay attention next time."

Snape concluded lecture and you all prepared to start making the potion. All of your classmates began pulling out the largest cauldron they could find under their tables. You grabbed the massive cauldron that resided under your desk and winced as you lifted it to the table top. You gripped your injured wrist in an attempt to soothe it.

This did not go unnoticed by Snape. Something was going on with you and he was determined to find out what it was. Not that he cared… did he care? If he did, he would never admit it. He got up and made his way over to you.

 "Having trouble Ms. (Y/L/N)?" He asked as he observed you opening a series of mason jars, keeping your arms as close to your body as possible and covering your hands with the sleeves of your robes.

You struggled with the mason jar in your hands but you eventually managed to open it. "No, everything is fine." You replied as you looked at him with a fake smile plastered on your face.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I hope you are aware that it would be significantly easier if you rolled up your sleeves."

You felt a warmth begin spread across your cheeks. You turned your attention back to the potion, trying not to look at your professor who was now staring at you. "I'm quite alright like this, thank you." 

Severus remained there for a few moments more before returning to his desk. He pretended to read from his book as he peered over the top of it, watching you. You were struggling as you tried to make your potion with your sleeves pulled over your hands. You looked ridiculous but it was better than getting in trouble.

Somehow, you managed to complete the potion. You sighed in relief. You had a DA meeting that night and you were hoping you had time to go back to your dorm and rest before it. You picked up your cauldron and went to pour its content in a vial when one of the handles slipped. The contents spilled all over your robes. 

"SHIT" you cursed. Your fellow classmates rushed to your aid. They pulled your outer robe off, leaving you in your short sleeved uniform shirt, uniform skirt, tie and bandage that was wrapped around your wrist and stained with dry blood. You moved your hand behind your back in an attempt to hide it as Snape rushed over to you from his desk. He put his hand on the small of your back.

"Everybody out…. NOW." he barked.

Everyone quickly fled the room as you were being led to the stock room. Snape rifled through the shelves and pulled the lid off of a very big jar. He scooped out its content with his hand and began to rub the substance all over your arms. You watched your potion stained skin restore back to its normal color. Snape worked his way down your arms until he reached the bandage.

"Care to explain?" he asked, his voice slightly laced sarcasm as he tried to hide his concern.

You pulled your arm out of his grip. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

He gave in, letting his concern for you show. "(Y/N), as much as I respect your privacy, I demand to know what's been going on. You are withdrawn from class, you almost seriously hurt yourself in my class and you show up with this?" He said as he grabbed your hand and pulled it up so your wrist was eye level with you. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Did you do this intentionally?"

 You snapped back at him. "No! No.For Merlin's sake. No."

He released your hand. "Please… tell me what has been going on. I do not want you to get in trouble or hurt."

You rubbed your wrist and started at the floor. "I can't talk about it." you almost whispered. You trusted Snape but you knew he was close with Umbridge. You can not let word get out about Dumbledore's army. The consequences would be far more painful than the gash on your wrist.

Snape sighed deeply. "Fine. I won't pry, just promise me it's something that won't get you in trouble."

Silence 

"Just don't get caught." he grumbled as he left you alone in the stock room.

You let out a breath you didn't even know you were holding in. It was getting late and you were supposed to meet in the Room of Requirements that night. You knew it wouldn't be easy to sneak out past curfew but desperate times call for desperate measures. You made your way back to your dormitory and busied yourself with homework until the time came.

You snuck out of your common room with no issues. The person in the portrait was fast asleep. You were the last (Y/H/N) apart of Dumbledore's Army to leave your common room. This was done intentionally so you could ensure all of the (Y/H/N)s younger than you in Dumbledore's army would make out safely. You tip toed throughout the halls, trying your best not to wake any of the sleeping figures in the portraits.

 Almost half way to the room of requirements, you heard a distinct purring far behind you. Mrs. Norris must have sensed someone sneaking around and was now on your tail (no pun intended). You increased your pace so that you were basically sprinting on your toes. You turned a corner when you slammed into a solid mass, sending you tumbling backward onto the ground.

 You look up to see the potions professor, his face being illuminated by the tip of his wand.   

"What are you doing out of bed?" he asked slightly panicked.

You remained there, startled and still on the floor. It wasn't long before you heard high heeled footsteps approaching. Snape's head turned toward direction of the sound and snapped back toward you. "Never mind. You need to get out of here. Now." He whisper-yelled. He bent down to help you up when a pink blob turned the corner and stood behind Snape. 

"My my. What do we have here? Lumos" A nasally voice rang out. The light revealed the owner of the voice. Dolores Umbridge. "It's a good thing Severus was patrolling the hallways tonight. How about the three of us take a trip back to my office?" She turned and lead the way, expecting you both to follow. Severus finished helping you up before turning to follow closely on her heels. You reluctantly followed the both of them.

Once at her office, she had you sit down in the chair across her desk while Snape stood up next to you. She placed her wand down on the table and looked between you and Snape. "So" she broke the silence. "What were you doing out past curfew?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice.

"I left my notebook in the potions classroom and I went to retrieve it." you lied.

"And you went out to get it at this hour? Tsk tsk." she shook her head. She directed her attention toward Snape. "Severus. Would you mind going to the potions room and retrieving some Veritaserum?" she smiled at him.

Although his chest twinged with panic, he maintained his stone cold façade. "I can attest. Ms. (Y/L/N) did leave her notebook in my classroom. She is one of my best, most behaved students. I trust she is telling the truth" Dolores' smile grew although she did not show her teeth. "Is that so?" she asked. She turned her attention to you. "Alrighty then." she reached for her wand and began to fiddle with it "Very well; I do not need the veritaserum to get the truth out of you… Crucio." She pointed her wand at you. You fell off the chair as you felt pain shoot up your back and spread to your extremities. You began to scream as your body convulsed. Knowing she wouldn't stop until you told her the truth, you began to confess. "DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY." You screamed.  "I am a member of Dumbledore's army."

"Expelliarmus" Was all you heard before the pain stopped. You looked up to see Snape, standing in front of you with his wand pointed at Umbridge and Umbridge's wand on the floor. "THAT IS ENOUGH." He barked at her. "You have done enough damage to this school and its students and this…. THIS was the last straw." You clutched your wrist in pain. The Crucio curse caused it to begin bleeding again. 

This is the first time Umbridge ever looked surprised. She regained her composure to reply. "Need I remind you, Severus, that you are a professor under me. I can take action against you if I need. I don't know why you would put your job and reputation on the line for a troublemaker."

Snape kept his wand pointed at her. 

Umbridge stepped closer to you.

"Don't you dare take another step toward her unless you want a taste of the curse you've been using so carelessly." Severus was always a cold, stoic and scary professor but you've never seen him like this. He was threatening and yelling at perhaps the only person scarier than him. You knew it wasn't directed at you but you couldn't help your trembling. 

Umbridge froze in her spot. She fixed her suit. "Well… Severus, I guess the ministry will be hearing about how YOU helped lead a rebellion against me and the ministry in the name of Dumbledore. You will be labeled as a criminal-"

"Stupefy"

She was frozen. Severus turned to you. He looked at you mortified. You were curled up on the floor, shaking like a leaf, clutching your bleeding wrist. He knelt down, carefully putting a hand on your shoulder. He gently rubbed up and down your arm, trying to soothe you. He held your hand with his free one as he tried to help you stand. He flashed a dirty look in Umbridge's direction before leading you out. He took you to his office.

 He sat you down and wrapped you in a blanket. He waved his wand and conjured a tea cup with hot tea as he knelt down in front of you. In complete silence, he unwrapped your wrist, taking a second to stare at the nasty gash. He made his way accio-ed a fresh bandage and rewrapped your wrist. "Are you okay?" He asked in a soft voice.

 Your eyes were on the floor. You nodded ever so slightly. Just as quickly as you felt yourself begin to tremble again, you felt a hand rest on your knee, rubbing small circles.

 "She won't hurt you again. I promise. I won't let her."

 You remained silent and concentrated on counting the floor tiles. A silence rang throughout the room.

 "Why didn't you tell me about the army?" He asked.

You sighed. "You are a professor. I figured you would tell Umbridge and then we would have all been in worse trouble."

He shook his head. "Look at me." you looked up to see…. A man. You're not sure who it was because it couldn't have been your potions professor. This man had a soft expression and glassy eyes. He was so much more gentle than Snape although he looked just like him. "Please, tell me next time. I just want you to be safe." 

You stared at him for a bit until a thought broke through the serenity. "Umbridge." you said as you shot up out of your seat. You felt two hands pull you back down gently.

"Don't worry about her. I will go to the ministry tomorrow morning and let them know what happened tonight. I promise. It will never happen again. We will get her removed from this school and we will get Dumbledore back. Just please… don't do anything that will get you hurt or in trouble."

You nodded your head.

"Spend the night here." He stated.

Your eyes widened as you looked at him, wondering if you misheard him.

He quickly clarified. "My room is attached to the office. It's right through that door.  You can sleep on the bed. I can not have you going back to your room after the events that transpired here tonight."

You blushed at the brief mental image of you waking up cuddling your potions professor. Almost as if he was reading your thoughts (which wouldn't be a surprise due to his Legilimency) he quickly replied "I will sleep on the couch."

You nodded. He opened the door that led to his bedroom. It looked exactly as you expected; A bookshelf filld with books, a desk stacked with papers, no decoration aside a small plant he had growing, and the smell of musty books.

You went to the bed, pulling back the sheets and blanket, climbing in and curling up. You closed your eyes as you pulled the blankets up to your chin.

 "Goodnight (Y/N)." were the last words you heard before your dreams began to take over.