A/n; Happy Bonfire Night everyone! Double whammy of chapters coming up here for you all! As a side note - I have set up a blog for this story, so everyone can keep up on how the writing process is going and when to expect chapters , and maybe occasional spoilers. The link is http : / / anezkasova. blogspot. com. - Obviously, remove the spaces. Check it out. Cheers, BEG1
Thursdays always started well for Anezka. Tuesdays and Thursdays started with Herbology, and that was something worth getting out of bed for in her opinion. It was the only class she was ever early for, no matter how long it took her to wake up and leave the dorms. The first Thursday in November was no different. She crawled out of bed, made a half hearted attempt at dressing and then went straight to the greenhouses, only stopping in the great hall for a cup of coffee and a piece of toast.
She stood underneath the glass building's awning, in an effort to stay out of the morning rain, alternating her consumption between food, drink and cigarette for a moment before going in, and couldn't help but be amused by the conversation that she was overhearing from the other side of the structure.
"Mum said she wouldn't send me any. Said she was afraid I'd blow myself up and that even magic can't fix you when you are blown to smithereens."
"Yeah, the ones I ordered got nicked by Filch just about as soon as they got delivered." A second voice replied after the first.
"Well, this is just horrible. Tomorrow is Guy Fawkes day and we have NO fireworks." The first boy moaned. "It's going to be as dull as last year. Sometimes, it sucks going to Hogwarts."
Anezka quickly dropped her cigarette into a puddle and rounded the corner. Two boys, clearly brothers, stood there, shocked to see anyone outside so early. She didn't recognize them. One was a second year Ravenclaw, the other was a little Hufflepuff firstie. "Can I help?"
"Help? With what?" The older boy tried to look innocent.
"Help with blowing shit up. I promise, my rates are reasonable."
Break couldn't come fast enough after Herbology. Usually she hated when the bell rang. She'd much rather be playing in dirt then be almost anywhere else, but today was not one of those days. Even Professor Sprout had commented on her lack of attention. But now she had fifteen minutes to herself until History, and really, she could keep working through history, as she usually used that as a time to nap anyway. She had made a deal with those brothers – who also had a flock of other muggle-born friends who wanted to celebrate their favourite holiday – that if they could split the cost of the supplies she would use, she could make enough explosives that they would have been able to actually blow up parliament, should the fancy take them. However, the first problem she faced was the fact that she wasn't sure what all she would need.
As Professor Binns droned on and on about the Giants Civil War of 1322, she scribbled furiously in a spiral bound notebook, a list of ingredients and different combinations. She worked this way through lunch as well, and the Argent twins were starting to get concerned. Clearly she was unwell, as she never put this much effort into anything.
Before the meal had ended she had finished, and wrote down what her total costs would be. But she now had a second problem – where was she going to get some of the ingredients on such short notice.
The afternoon wore on, filled with the mind numbing dullness of a Muggle Studies dedicated to the Gunpowder Rebellion, and the frustrating tedium of Ancient Runes and the evening after classes wasn't much better.
Her fingers itched to start her brewing. The recipe she had set up for herself was perfect and she spent the entire evening sorting through her trunk of supplies. Everything was there – Blasting Mushroom Caps, Dragon Flint, Powdered Firebeetle Shells . . . everything except Ashwinder Eggs.
Despite their being classified as extremely dangerous, and being subject to strict trading regulations, Anezka found them to be terribly useful things, and in her new experiment's case, absolutely vital. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to bring any with her when she came to school. Luckily she knew where she could get her hands on them.
It was well past midnight when she finally made her move. She gathered up her glass bottles and vials, some filled with various liquids and powders and plants, others completely empty and carefully packed them into the largest cauldron that she had. With slightly less care she threw some addition equipment into her knapsack, earning her a ferocious squeak.
"Sorry Harold." She hadn't seen her pet in a few days, as he often liked going on excursions on his own, but he often came back to sleep in her bag. He had his own little pocket and he had made it quite cosy with various pieces of lint, paper and a bit of torn sock for a pillow. She opened the bag wider to look at his small, pointy face. "You coming along tonight?" He grunted in response and she took that to mean yes, and retrieved him from the sack and sat him on the floor as she finished packing.
Once everything was in order, she made a quick and silent dash to the abandoned dungeon that Onyx had used all those weeks before to tutor her in Charms. It was quiet and secluded and the temperature was cool, which was always nice for a brewing room. Taking a few more moments to set up her mixing cauldrons and mortar and pestle sets, she finally felt it was late enough to start the dangerous part of the night. "Alright, lock and load, Hedgehog." She spoke to the spiky critter at her feet, as she took out two bottles, one larger one that she shoved into the front pocket of her bag and a smaller one that got tucked down the front of her blouse. Before she left, she drew her fingers through some mud that was encrusted on the dungeon's wall and smeared it across her cheeks, like she was some sort of action film commando, making sure the excess on her fingers darkened Harold's small white face.
Her feet were bare, this time not because she had lost her shoes, but because she knew the value of silence in covert operations. She ducked quickly from doorway, to shadowy corner, wand drawn and held it gun-like, between both hands and held high, by her face.
She reached the potion's supply closet without incident, and a simple alohamora worked to open the door. "Really, Snapykins, can't do any better then that?" She muttered as she pushed the heavy oak door slowly, to prevent any audible creaks or groans from the hinges. Creating a light with her wand she looked up and down the shelves, trying to find what she was looking for. Clearly, he thought that an unusual organization and his illegible handwriting would be enough to deter theft.
The Ashwinder eggs were easy enough to spot though, once she reached the right shelf. A perma-frost charm had been cast on them and a layer of frost glazed the wide mouthed glass jar that contained them. Pulling out the small bottle, she quickly filled it with ten of the small, grey, oblong eggs. She winced a little as the now frigid bottle was replaced in the side of her bra strap, and she couldn't help but shiver as she moved on to filling the larger bottle.
As soon as that one was half full, she replaced the original bottle exactly as it had been on the shelf, and made sure no other sign of her entry remained.
She and Harold started their path back in the same manner, edging along walls and avoiding open corridors, all the while, humming a catchy, spy-like sounding tune.
Just as she was making the last turn before her dungeon hidey-hole, a snide voice pierced the dark. "If you think humming the 'Mission; Impossible' theme music makes you inconspicuous, you are very much mistaken."
Dumbledore was wearing a bright purple paisley dressing gown over his favourite pair of sheep-adorned flannel pyjamas, when he finally made an appearance in his office. He paused, looking at the two figures waiting for him. 'If only Severus and Miss Sova could see themselves as I do,' Albus thought to himself, hiding a chuckle that neither would appreciate. They both wore a similar petulant expression, and held themselves much the same way with their arms crossed in front of them, but with their shoulders back, as if they were squaring up to fight. Both refused to look at the other.
"I am sorry to disturb you so late in the night, Headmaster. I would not have done so if it was not of the utmost importance."
"I dare say. It's not like you, Severus, to wake me from my dreams for a curfew breaker."
A low growl prefaced Snape's words. "It is far worse then a curfew malfeasance. There is a little matter of the theft of potion ingredients."
"ALLEGED theft of potion ingredients." Anezka finally spoke, and sounded quite offended. "I've already said a million times, they are mine."
Her professor scoffed. "If that is the case then there is just the little matter of you transporting a class three controlled ingredient without proper trade certification."
Anezka's grey eyes rolled. "Are you deaf? I got these at home in Romania! They aren't as strictly controlled there."
"Do you really expect me to believe that? What kind of fool do you take me for?"
Dumbledore let them bicker amongst themselves for a moment while he yawned, but finally, he intervened. "Please, now, both of you. There is no reason why we can't handle this sensibly." He summoned some tea from the kitchens and started pouring three cups. "Please, Professor, state you complaint."
"I want this . . . . miscreant, expelled."
Dumbledore handed Snape the china teacup. "I had gathered that, but I must know why."
"I was patrolling the hallways and found her running amok in the corridors hours past curfew. As if that wasn't inadmissible enough for her, upon asking Miss Sova to turn out her pockets, I found this!" He held up the large glass bottle, half filled with the eggs. "At least twenty Ashwinder Eggs, no doubt taken from my own stores."
Before Anezka could angrily protest, a cup of tea was shoved into her hands. "Could you please relate your side of the story, Miss Sova?"
"Sure. I was out . . . . going to the . . . .uh, the loo . . ."
"There are bathrooms in your dormitory!" Snape bellowed.
Her face held the same angry cast that his did. "I'm scared of those toilets, what's it too you?"
"Scared? Of the TOILETS? This is a strange phobia to develop three months into term."
"Please, Severus, let her finish." Dumbledore hushed the younger man. "Please, Miss Sova, continue."
Her pointed nose curled up. "Sorry, I'm not talking while he's still in the room. I refuse to be accused with no proof. It's against my civil liberties."
Just as Snape was about to lose control, Dumbledore dismissed him kindly. "Severus, would you please wait outside?" He motioned towards the door. "I would like the chance to interview Miss Sova in private." Storming out, Snape's grumblings were heard long after his foot-falls had fallen silent. "Please, continue your story."
"So, I had this nightmare about a week ago. There was a toilet gremlin living in the girls' dorm bathroom. And I mean, I knew it was just a dream, but I have a very psycho-somatic bowel and ever since that freaky dream I haven't been able to go in there. Speaking of which, we might want to stop serving trout curry for dinner, pretty sure it had some very interesting effects on my subconscious. At any rate, so I woke up around midnight busting for a pee. . . .
He story trailed off in many directions but Dumbledore listened patiently, and often times amused, to her tale, and in the end he couldn't help himself from smiling. "Well, Miss Sova, a very interesting tale, to say the least. And you are entirely correct, Professor Snape has no real evidence against you, only circumstance."
"So, I'm not getting expelled, right?" She asked, as if she was already certain of the answer.
"No. Not this time. However, you were caught out of bed, very late, so I am afraid you will have to server at least two detentions for that. As for these," He picked up the bottle of eggs, "Whether they be yours or not, I will have to confiscate them, as they are particularly dangerous."
For a moment, Anezka no longer looked like a peevish teenager, but a small child who was upset because her favourite toy was being taken away. "But . . . they aren't dangerous when they are frozen!" Her voice almost held a whine to it.
The headmaster nodded sympathetically. "But should they unfreeze, they may cause a lot of damage." He took the bottle and put it away in a drawer and dismissed the student, and miraculously, she obeyed with little argument or chatter. Just as her hand was on the doorknob to leave the office, Dumbledore called her name. She paused and turned back to look at him. "The other vial, if you don't mind." He held his hand out.
Anezka froze, her expression of confusion perfectly hid the reckless path of defence her mind was taking. "What other vial?" Was the best prevarication she could come up with.
"The one you are hiding somewhere on your person, which is no doubt the reason for the goosebumps you've had this entire time." His blue eyes sparkled with mirth. "It is very clever, and many would not realize what you had done, but alas, I am very old and have been teaching for more years then I care to admit, and this would not be the first time that a student had tried to double bluff me."
"Can't blame a girl for trying, can you?" She grumbled as she returned to the desk and retrieved the chilled glass.
"One more thing, before you go, then." Dumbledore stood and crossed to the perch that his bird slept on. "If you add phoenix ashes to floo powder and mix them in capsule of elfin gelatin, they will act much the same was as Ashwinder eggs when dropped into combustible potions, only they will be less volatile during storage." He scooped up some of the sooty dust that lined the bottom of the perch and placed it into an empty tea cup and handed it to her. "Now, don't you think you had best be off to bed?"
When she passed Snape in the hallway, she seemed almost content, and was carrying a teacup. That was not the expression Snape had wanted to see on her. Hurriedly, he returned to the headmaster's office. "Well?" He asked, without ceremony.
"She is to have two days of detentions for being out past curfew."
"That is all?" Severus scoffed. "Surely you didn't believe that ridiculous story of hers."
"Not entirely, no. But she did bring up the very valid point that you had no evidence against her. Even if you should find out that your stores are lacking, you cannot prove that the ones you found in her possession are the ones that are missing." Dumbledore handed him both the large and the smaller bottle.
"There was a second jar?" Snape asked, tonelessly, angry with himself for having underestimated the girl. "The first one was a decoy in case she got caught . . ."
"Yes, and to think, I employed you to be my spy, yet you can't even outwit a teenaged girl." Dumbledore poked, but his words were lined with a friendly laugh. "Don't loose sleep over it, Severus. I myself would not have even thought to check for an auxiliary supply, if it hadn't been for a young Slytherin some twenty-odd years ago, who desperately wanted to learn how to brew Veritaserum and was caught with Jobberknell feathers in his bag. Oddly enough, he still managed to, due largely in part to a secret pocket on this inside of his school robes."
This quieted Snape for a moment. "That was different. I had actually knew what I was doing."
"Do you really think that she is so incapable that she would burn the school down?" Dumbledore asked, and Snape didn't respond, as he did not like the answer. "On an other topic, do you realize that tomorrow is Bonfire Night