16. Far From Refuge

Isadora passed through the rest of the summer holidays in a fog. The weather was some of the best seen in years, which would usually have cheered her greatly, but not this summer. Every day was spent cooped in her bedroom, hidden under the blankets, her curtains enchanted to remain sealed against the encroaching sunlight. The only time she ventured a glance outside was when it was raining; she relished in the thought of the world enduring her sufferings with her. She rarely left her room, and when she did, it was merely to use the bathroom or to fetch something to eat from the kitchen. Other than an occasional glimpse by her parents, the only person who ever saw her with any frequency was Severus. She would Apparate, without warning, into his tiny London flat, and sit quietly while he worked.

It came as quite a shock when her father entered her bedroom one morning and sat on the bed next to her. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and whispered, "I've taken the liberty of purchasing your school materials from Diagon Alley, and have packed them all in your trunk to be taken to King's Cross tomorrow."

Slowly, Isadora rolled over so she was facing Zachary. She knew her eyes were red and puffy – they had been that way for weeks. "Tomorrow?" she croaked, her voice so rarely used nowadays.

Zachary looked alarmed as he asked, "You realize you begin your seventh year tomorrow, don't you?"

She shook her head and sat up, staring blankly at him. "I hadn't realized…" She couldn't finish the sentence.

"We know, Isadora."

Heat rose in her cheeks as she looked at her father, scared of the thought of her parents knowing what had befallen her the day she had taken her Apparition test. "How?" she whispered.

A smile appeared on Zachary's face as he stroked his daughter's hair. "You haven't left this room for ages, and when you do you barely speak a word. Your mother wrote to Mrs. Black weeks ago, demanding to know what had happened to Regulus. When his mother replied that he had disappeared, leaving nothing but a callous note as to why he had left, your mother and I could only assume that he had left you as well," he explained in a soft voice. "I wrote to Severus as well, but he only gave me a vague inclination as to what had happened."

Isadora was surprised to hear that her father had taken the trouble of writing to Severus, and even more so that the young man had kept her confidences so well. "You – you don't know where he has gone, do you? Regulus, I mean," she asked desperately.

Her father shook her head. "Nobody has seen him. His mother said that several books were missing from their library, most of which were written on the Dark Arts. She assumes he has left to join the Dark Lord, but none of us have seen him at any gatherings." There was a sadness in his eyes, a longing to help reassure his daughter that eventually things would be alright.

Isadora knew better than to ask if she was required to return to Hogwarts. She knew that in the long run, going back to school would take her mind off of her heartbreak, and eventually the pain would begin to subside as she surrounded herself with other students and preparations to take her N.E.W.T.'s. With some encouragement from her father, she soon rose from bed and slowly began packing for another year.

Seventh year began as any other year at Hogwarts. The Sorting Hat sang of foes growing ever greater, and pressed once again for the unification of all houses against the evil that constantly threatened to tear the world apart. Class schedules were handed out; the seventh years were thrilled to find that they had quite a few free periods, but they all knew that quite quickly those periods would become tedious as they tried to constantly keep up with the towering stacks of homework which would be piled upon them as the year progressed.

Upon departing from their Derbyshire home, Isadora learned that while her father was sympathetic towards her break-up with Regulus, her mother was not so inclined. Adelaide barely spoke a word to Isadora as she prepared to Apparate to King's Cross. It appeared her mother blamed Isadora for not being able to convince Regulus to stay with her, and no amount of arguing with Zachary would persuade her otherwise. The cold goodbye lit a fire in Isadora, a determination to prove her mother wrong in every other aspect, if she could not prove her wrong in her interpretation of Regulus' hasty departure.

The one thing Isadora had been looking forward to more than anything else was her continued Potions lessons with Severus. She had forgotten that he was not able to keep teaching her, as neither of them had the free time to spare, and was disappointed to hear that they would not have Friday nights to talk over a simmering cauldron. Thankfully, Severus knew how desperately Isadora needed someone to talk to about her situation, and allowed her to spend free periods with him.

Scarlett and Callum had started dating over the summer, much to Isadora's chagrin. In her current state of misery, she was unable to accept that anyone could be happy around her. Try as they might, both of her friends could do nothing to bolster Isadora's spirits, and so as the year ran its course, the three friends began to drift apart. Isadora paid the rift little attention. She knew neither of them had been offered positions amongst the ranks of the Death Eaters, and as she had slowly begun to focus more on her initiation into that dark circle, felt their departure from her life a necessary loss.

In her miserable state of mind, Isadora had completely forgotten about her trip to France over the summer, and had missed her opportunity to have another month learning from the wizarding cartographers. Luckily, her father had managed to send a letter alerting the chief cartographer of the sudden change of plan, and had instead requested that Isadora be allowed to write to the firm throughout the school year with any questions she may have on the subject. Because of the money Zachary Starbuck so graciously donated to the firm every year, the cartographers could hardly have said no.

During most of the fall, Isadora had collected the necessary living samples from the Hogwarts grounds to make a seasonal map of the surrounding area, for she knew the grounds themselves to be Unplottable. She sent her finished product to France; a week later, it was sent back with a letter congratulating her on her achievements. Severus reminded her that her chief concern should be with the production of the Muggle-born map she knew Lord Voldemort was going to ask her for, but Isadora could see no way of asking her friends in France how to create such a map without raising suspicions.

Fall quickly passed into winter, which brought along a horrible chill that no amount of fires could ward off. The Slytherin common room was colder than Isadora could ever remember it being. The lake, which could be seen from the windows of the common room and constantly bathed it in an eerie greenish glow, was completely still. None of the creatures living within the lake seemed keen on venturing nearer the surface than necessary – the ice was so thick the Slytherins could just barely see it. Isadora refused to return home for the Christmas holidays; her mother had yet to apologize for blaming her daughter for her heartbreak. She and Severus were one of only a few Slytherins who remained at school for the holidays, enjoying the rare quiet of the common room and the freedom with which they roamed the corridors.

Isadora was shocked to wake up one morning and discover that the ice in the lake had melted. When she passed through the entrance hall on her way to breakfast, she had glanced outside to see that the trees were beginning to blossom, and several students were out in the courtyard enjoying the warmth of a late March sun. After breakfast, the Heads of Houses asked that the seventh years remain behind, and Professor Slughorn began talking to the seventh-year Slytherins about preparation for their N.E.W.T. exams. Several of them, Isadora and Severus included, knew just how important passing their N.E.W.T.'s were – just because the Dark Lord despised all that Dumbledore stood for didn't mean he thought proper schooling was a waste of time. From what the two friends had picked up from their Death Eater parents and friends, Lord Voldemort placed better educated witches and wizards higher up in his ranks.

March faded quickly into April. Rain constantly pounded the castle, making it easier for the seventh years to stay cooped up in the library and the common room, pouring over books and seven years worth of notes in order to prepare for the nastiest examinations they would ever have to take. Towers of books threatened to collapse on their owners when they were disturbed. All of the lower years were effectually banished from the library by the constant hissing and shushing of the seventh years trying desperately to study, and by Madam Pince, who was enjoying the relative quiet of her domain.

Finally, one sunny day in June, the seventh years found themselves pacing the expanse of the courtyard and entrance hall, waiting impatiently to begin taking their N.E.W.T.'s. Barely anyone spoke as the teenagers furiously tried to remember every scrap of information they had ever been taught during their stay at Hogwarts, desperate to pass their tests and finally emerge into the wizarding world as adults. The two weeks of testing seemed to stretch for an eternity, at least while they were waiting to take the tests. Time seem to slip by faster than usual once actually in the exam; Isadora was sure she had completely forgotten several important questions on her Transfiguration written exam, and ended up triple-checking just to make sure.

And then, just like that, graduation day was upon them. A brilliant sun beamed down on the sloping lawn in front of the school, glimmering magnificently off the glass surface of the lake. Proud parents watched as their students marched triumphantly across an enormous stage, to a beaming Albus Dumbledore, who handed each their diploma as if he were the proudest parent in the bunch. The other professors sat behind the headmaster, clapping and crying joyfully as they watched their students accept their degrees. When the last student had returned to their seat, Professor Dumbledore removed his purple spangled hat and motioned for the students to do the same; with one great cheer, a rain of black hats fell over the crowd as the students celebrated their crowning achievement.