So I'm slightly late - it's been a busy weekend so far - and I'm currently working on chapter 31. I want to comment that we are rapidly approaching the end of the first year and I'm completely shocked by this. Anyway, please enjoy!
Chapter 29: Suspicions
Professor Snape was standing there, his black eyes glittering at them. His gaze hard as he eyed the three Gryffindors before he found Meissa and Daphne standing a little bit away from them. His eyebrow quirking up slightly at the sight of his two snakelings in the presence of three lions.
"Good afternoon," he said smoothly, eyeing the group. Meissa tilted her head and he noted the look on her face - she wanted to say something to him later. Yet none said anything to him in return to his greeting. "You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he continued.
"We were -," Harry began before he fell quiet.
"You want to be more careful," the Potion Master drawls, prompting Meissa to arch an eyebrow at him. What was he up to? "Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?"
Meissa watched as Harry flushed - that was a bit too sore of a spot for anyone to hit. The trio tuned to head out but Meissa and Daphne made no move to leave, deciding they should speak with their Head of House.
"Be warned, Potter," Snape called to them, "Any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you." With that he gestured for his snakelings to follow him and left the trio to their musings.
Wordlessly Meissa followed along with Daphne by her side until they were out of the Gryffindors' hearing range.
"Dare I ask why you were in the company of the lions?" Snape drawls as he looked at his goddaughter and her friend.
"Would you believe me if I said we're friends?" Meissa questioned idly, her eyes glinting with suppressed amusement. The Potion master arched an eyebrow at her. "I didn't think so," she grinned.
"What trouble are you getting into?"
"Mm… I think trouble has already been invited into Hogwarts," Meissa remarks idly. "Considering what's hidden on the third floor."
He looked at her, eyes narrowed. "When did you find out about that?" He didn't bother asking how she found out - he knew that she wasn't one to give up her secrets if it wasn't life threatening.
"Honestly," Daphne spoke up for the first time, "I think Professor Dumbledore telling everyone that a place is off limits only makes it that much more attractive."
"You went looking?!"
"Nope," Meissa tilted her head as she looked at her godfather. "It was a late night mishap earlier in the year." He eyed her sternly but she refused to back down.
"How much do you know?"
"Enough to know that someone is after it. Although, I'm curious as to how Professor Dumbledore could think he could protect something that valuable in a school full of students. I mean - the youngest are eleven and he stored that thing here?"
He frowns at her, her words bothering him for some reason but he couldn't figure out what. "I know you. You wouldn't mention this unless you have a point." He was thinking rapidly, trying to figure out what was bothering him while at the same time thinking about where she was going with this particular line of thought.
"You're right, I do have a point. Professor Dumbledore isn't here and according to Potter and Draco there was something in the forest, something desperate enough to drink the blood of a slain unicorn."
His frown worsen as he considered what she was saying. "I haven't heard about the unicorns…"
"Whatever is desperate enough to kill a unicorn and drink it's blood is desperate enough to go through whatever defenses you have set up." Meissa's eyes were dark as she stared up at her godfather. "Desperate and clearly capable of murder to reach it's end goal."
Which meant that everyone in the castle was in danger. Snape could recognize this and had to wonder who taught his goddaughter to think like this. A part of him recognized that she had always thought like this, ever since she was old enough to appreciate a game of chess. Still… with everything that happened when Meissa was eight he knew that part of her personality was a result of that time.
There was a large part of him that regretted what had happened, he felt like he failed her as a godfather.
"Who else knows about the third floor?" he finally asks, mentally pushing the memories and thoughts back into their proper pools. He can dwell on them later when he's alone in his chambers.
He watched as his goddaughter shared a look with Greengrass before she crossed her arms. "Your least favorite Gryffindors."
"Potter knows?!" Snape pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking about all the ways Potter would botch this up with his recklessness.
Meissa frowns at him. "I don't know what's your problem against Potter but for now he has not done anything to you." She looks at him sternly. "He has not earned this… anger you have towards him."
"I do not know what you are speaking of."
She gave him a look that told him she didn't believe that. "Don't make me say this more than once," she spoke in an even tone, ignoring the uncomfortable look on her friend's face, "Whatever you have against Potter, I want to drop it or at least treat him civilly."
He glares at her in warning. "Are you telling me what to do?" His tone held a warning for her to tread lightly.
She just gave him a look that spoke of how serious she was in regard to this matter. "Is that all, Professor Snape?"
He looks at her for another moment before he dismissed the two of them with a single warning: "Stay out of trouble."
The finger wave he got from his goddaughter told him just what he needed to know about what she would do.
He needed to find Minerva.
~MJB~
"Meissa," Daphne muttered, looking up from the journal she had open in her lap. The raven haired girl had been pacing their dorm room for quite some time now - since they've returned to the Slytherin Common room. "Granger just wrote us a message," she muttered.
"Hold on," the raven haired girl flicked her wrist, her wand sliding into her palm with ease. With a wave of her wand she established a privacy ward around them and made sure to lock the door tight to keep the others out until they were ready. "What did she say?"
"Potter's going to try for the Stone first," Daphne answered, studying the journal. "Weasley and Granger are going with him."
"Of course they are," Meissa groaned, shaking her head. With a grim look on her face she braided her hair back and opened up her trunk. She glanced through the trunk for a moment before she shook her head and closed the trunk. She taps it once with her wand before opening it again - she barely even looked through it before closing it again and tapped it once more. She did this for a grand total of five times before she finally found what she was looking for.
Daphne had been watching this with an amused look on her face, writing to Hermione that Meissa looked like she was getting ready.
"Hermione is saying you shouldn't get in trouble too," Daphne said as she read. "Apparently McGonagall caught Weasley and Potter near the door."
"Somehow I'm not surprised," Meissa remarked as she sets out a robe, a pair of trousers, and a shirt, along with a pair of boots.
"What is all this?"
"I'm being prepared."
"You're being paranoid."
"Hey, they're planning on going through seven defenses just to get the Stone. And we can expect trouble in the form of a Dark Wizard. I'm justified to be paranoid."
Daphne only rolled her eyes at her but diverted her eyes when she saw that Meissa was pulling off her clothes. She couldn't think of a time when the other girl was willing to undress in the presence of another - she could suppose that it was a good indication of how serious she thought the whole situation was if she wasn't willing to waste time going to the loo to change.
As Meissa was changing Daphne decided to question Hermione about the plan. "They're going tonight - they're going to use the cloak."
"The one he got back from Dumbledore?"
"Supposedly." Meissa rolled her eyes at Daphne's comment but didn't say anything in response. "Anyway, they plan on leaving after everyone has gone to sleep."
"Of course," Meissa mutters, tucking the hem of her shirt into her trousers. Daphne couldn't help but notice - after seeing that Meissa was decent once more - that the other girl looked rather imposing clad completely in black. "Alright, do we have a plan?"
"You mean you'll actually listen to other ideas beside going to receive the stone?" Daphne mock gasped, receiving a light glare from the other girl. "Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall knows - why don't we leave this in their hands?"
"I'm not against the idea," Meissa replied as she dug out a vest, shrugging the material on, buttoning it up. "But somehow I doubt Potter will listen to us if we tell him to."
"Okay, so what do you suggest?"
"One of us goes down with him and the other stays back as a back up?"
Daphne looked her friend over. "I take it that it'll be you who goes down with him?" She made a gesture to the outfit her friend was wearing. "I mean - what is all this?"
"Dragon hide trousers, vest, and robes," Meissa pointed to each, "Oh and boots."
"Wow… that had to cost you a lot of money."
"My godfather is a bit paranoid," was Meissa's only response as she slid on the open front robe. "Anyway, you stay here and wait an hour before finding Professor Snape or Professor McGonagall."
"You're leaving now?"
"Yes. It's after supper and it's almost time for light's out." She shuts the curtains around her bed and cast a strong notice-me-not to keep the others from noticing that she's not in bed. "They'll be leaving soon and I need some time to get up to the third floor. If I'm lucky I'll catch them before they enter the room."
"And if you're not?"
"Well… Hagrid did say a bit of music makes Fluffy fall asleep. I should be able to do something."
"You're not exactly reassuring me," Daphne crossed her arms at her friend.
"Sorry. Anyway, I'll be careful."
With a reluctant sigh Daphne nods her head and watched as Meissa twirled her wand around herself, her body quickly blending in with the background. "Do I want to know how you even know that spell?"
"What, I read ahead." It was a bit odd to hear her but not see her.
"That's not even in our textbooks," Daphne retorts.
"You read ahead too?" There was a hint of laughter in Meissa's voice before Daphne felt the privacy wards fall. Once the door opened - and then closed - Daphne knew that her friend was gone.
How was this at all a good idea?
~MJB~
Severus was growing increasingly aggravated as the day went on. Ever since his goddaughter had made her points - about the Stone - he knew that there was something wrong with the picture. But he couldn't figure out what it was - each attempt had his thoughts sliding to another topic, which caused him to realize that someone had placed a notice-me-not charm on the memories. So he meditated.
He sought out the memories related to the stone - which turned out to be a long task - and shifted through them until he found a memory that didn't sit right with him.
It had a shiny appearance to it - something he knew indicated a modified memory. But who would have modified his memory? And when?
The magic behind the memory charm was too powerful for him to break on his own. Even then he knew that memory charms were a dangerous thing to break randomly and unsupervised. He knew from studies made on the topic that a person can become insane when the charms are broken without warning. The sudden influx of suppressed memories often cause the person to struggle coping with the memories. The mind could reject the original memories in favor of the familiar - the modified memories - and in doing so cause some damage.
With the knowledge that his memories are currently off limits for the time being he decided to approach McGonagall, maybe she could help him. There was something about the magic that told him that he was familiar with the person who had cast the spell on him. And that was a very short list in his opinion.
He also kept an eye out for any oddity as he swept through the castle to Minerva's office. Normally he would floo her but he wanted the walk to clear his mind. There was plenty he felt they needed to address before the night's over.
So when he found himself standing before her office's door he took a second to center himself before knocking sharply on her door.
What a sight he must've been, for Minerva to pause after opening the door. But she invited him in once she took note of the look on his face.
"Tea?" she offered, shutting the door behind him.
"No thank you. I bring... troubled news."
"Oh? And what news would that be?" Minerva questions, adopting her Deputy Headmistress persona.
"My students mentioned something to me that has me troubled," Snape starts off in an even tone. "Apparently, we did not factor in idle curiosity when Dumbledore announced that the third floor corridor would be off limits."
Minerva's eyes widened slightly before she frowns at him. "Would these students of yours be Miss Black and Miss Greengrass?"
He arched an eyebrow at her. "I take it that you had a similar conversation with them?"
"They were in the company of three of my students," Minerva remarks drily, thinking about the information the young Black heiress had dropped upon her. It made her uneasy that someone could figure out the traps established by the staff. "Tell me, is she normally so…"
"I assume you're talking about Miss Black." He got the barest of acknowledgement from her. "I believe that the best way to describe her would be to say she is realistic. Unfortunately she had some experience when she was a child that has jaded her to the whole world."
"You've mentioned this before," Minerva remarks, recalling their previous conversation after the fiasco with the stone flesh curse. It had been an informative conversation at the time and she had already made a note to give the young girl more challenging material for her second year since she has proven already to be advanced for her age. "I remember seeing her when she was… how old was she at the time?" Minerva paused as she tried to remember.
"She was five," Severus answers, guessing at what the Scottish woman was trying to recall, "She stayed with me for the school year as Lord Pollux Black has declared."
Minerva shook her head. She could remember the girl - if only just - and she had often been in the company of a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw. She remembered the Hufflepuff - she had been subject to all kinds of harassment after her third year if the Transfiguration Professor remembered right. Her metamorphagy had made her the subject of many requests - typically boys with the occasional girls - that were sexual in nature. The Ravenclaw had actually been one of the few true friends of the Hufflepuff, willing to defend the Hufflepuff from all manners of people regardless of punishments.
She remembered that Meissa had shown up just before Halloween with her Grandfather, Lord Pollux Black, and was given over to Severus Snape. The Hufflepuff had been a Second year, if she remembered right, and the Ravenclaw was a Third year - both too young to be babysitting but had often volunteered to watch after the younger girl.
But she did remember a few things were different then and now. For one, she distinctly remember that the Black Heiress had a shade of brown that had natural red highlights. She hadn't even recognized the girl when she had seen her name on her list - the thick black mane of curls was a stark contrast from the girl she had known nearly six years prior. And she had looked even more like her mother than she had originally.
In fact, the eerie resemblance to her mother is the source of Minerva's discomfort because in many ways she feels she had failed the eldest of the Black sisters. She often wondered if she could have led Bellatrix Black down a better path. That sense of regret is now the leading cause for her to strive and do better with Bellatrix's daughter.
"How did she go from being such a happy child to… being a realistic?" Minerva asks now that she remembered the child from back then.
"It is… not my place to say. If we ever come to a moment when you absolutely need to know then I will tell you then." Minerva frowns at him, thinking, before nodding her head slightly.
She would respect Severus' decision as the girl's godfather.
"What do you suggest we do in regards of the Stone?" she finally asked, returning them to the original topic.
"Is the stone safe for the time being?"
"There is nothing to suggest that the stone is in immediate risk," she answers, frowning as she remembered what Meissa had said. "However… it's troubling to know that Miss Black is fully aware of what had gone into the stone's defense."
Snape looked at her sharply. "She did not mention anything of the like to me. How much do they know?"
"Enough to indicate that they know who contributed to the defenses…" McGonagall frowns slightly, trying to recall the details of the earlier conversation. "I'm unsure if Miss Black has any idea of what exactly has gone into the defenses but it is troubling, to say the least." Her lips thin slightly as she thought about the girl's words. "Mr. Potter seems to believe that the stone will be stolen tonight."
"What? Why does he think that?"
She arched an eyebrow at him briefly - it did not escape her notice that the usual hostile tone was strangely absent in the Potion Master's voice. "He seems to believe that You-Know-Who is behind the plot to steal the stone."
"WHAT?!"
McGonagall had expected a reaction like this when she spoke so she was not shocked - too much - by the sudden shout as the wizard leapt to his feet. She stayed seated as she watched the Potion Master pace the office, waiting patiently for him to recompose himself.
"How can they be so sure that it is him?" Snape finally voiced, his frantic pacing slowing. She felt that he had composed himself enough to hear her words now.
"I am unsure of how Mr. Potter is so sure of this but his friends – Miss Black to be more specific - pointed out that Dumbledore's departure is suspicious."
Snape looked at her puzzled. "What do you mean? Meissa only mentioned that he is not here – how is his departure suspicious?"
Minerva frowns slightly as she realized that most of the staff would be unaware of Dumbledore's absence since he only stayed long enough to inform her of his departure. "Headmaster Dumbledore has left on a broom this afternoon after an owl arrived with an urgent message from the Ministry of Magic."
"Urgent?" Snape repeated, "And he left on a broom? A school broom?"
She pauses as she recalled the moment he left and realized that yes, he had left on a school broom. And it was a well known fact among the staff that the school's brooms should have been replaced ages ago.
Thinking about the brooms she wondered about how to get the money to replace the brooms and why the money they receive from tuitions has never been used to improve things around Hogwarts? And she vaguely remembered that some of the parents would occasionally donate money to the school - where have the money gone?
She knew that there was an insane amount of paintings and pictures around Hogwarts - the amount have been steadily added to since Albus Dumbledore became Headmaster. Several ornate things have become a fixture in Hogwarts - she muses to herself - but was she really thinking that he was dipping into the school's funding to pay for all of this?
"I personally witnessed him leaving," Minerva tells him, "He left by broom this afternoon - just ten minutes before Mr. Potter and his friends came searching for him."
"Why would he leave by broom if it was urgent?" Snape asked, the corners of his lips turned down as he pondered this. "He would've been back already if he had floo'd to the Ministry or apparated."
"Your goddaughter made the same point."
He looks at the Scottish woman, troubled by this.
~MJB~
Meissa was grumbling to herself as she stalked through the corridors - it had taken a clever bit of effort and magic to slip out of the common room when she decided that the stragglers were taking too long in heading up to bed.
It was one thing to celebrate the end of the exams and quite another thing to be staying up to an insane time in the night. Luckily a few whispers here and there, suggesting that their Head of House will show up to punish any night owls, got them to retreat to their rooms. Once she was absolutely positive that there was no one around to witness the opening and closing of the entrance she was gone.
Except now she had to deal with the prefect patrols, the few professors roaming the halls, and of course the ghosts. Every time she heard someone approaching she made herself scarce or - in the few occasions when she couldn't get away quick enough - small to avoid detection. As luck would have the professors were often preoccupied with getting through their patrols fast enough to return to bed and the prefects were hardly aware enough to be on the look out for students out of bed. The ghosts - well, she figured they could detect her so she made sure she didn't linger around long enough.
She was nearing the third floor when Peeves zoomed right by her, muttering to himself about not troubling 'Mr. Baron'. It was the strangest thing so far and it made her curious as to what could've happened to garner such a reaction from the poltergeist.
She continued down the corridor to the staircase that would lead her to the third floor. She frowns to herself as she searched the area - wondering where Peeves must've been before he took flight.
Down the stairs?
There was nothing to indicate that Peeves was up to something - he scarcely went anywhere without causing some kind of mischief.
Up the stairs?
She peered up and just barely spotted the partially loosened carpet on the stairs. So he was there? "Odd," she mutters to herself, looking into the direction where she had seen Peeves disappear to. Only the Bloody Baron could get that poltergeist to behave but she doubted that the ghost could move that quickly before she arrived.
While puzzled by this she knew that there were more important things to worry about - like getting to the third floor corridor before Harry and his friends went in without her.
~MJB~
So here we are at the end of the chapter. What do you think will happen next? Let me know in a comment/review!
Also, what do you think our favorite girls should get up to during the summer? If you have any suggestions let me know and I'll make sure to credit you for the idea when it comes around.
