"What a giftless bastard!" -- Tchaikovsky on Brahms 1886

"Glamoury" comes from J.L. Matthews' fabulous Slytherin Rising Series; I can't recommend it highly enough.

Thank you to those who have reviewed. You are lovely people!

Chapter 36: The Shrieking Shack

"What in HELL is he DOING?"

Pansy Parkinson was not pleased. (Editor's note: the previous sentence has been nominated for the highly esteemed Understatement of the Year Award™.)

Neville rolled his eyes back and stuffed his wand into his pocket. The day was not going smoothly.

Their small group had been meeting regularly since they'd discovered Harry's regular trips to Gringott's, and they'd made some significant progress in their magical abilities over the past month. Working with brilliant Ravenclaws and an ambitious Slytherin meant that Neville found himself suddenly faced with the sort of intensive one on one training he rarely received from Hogwarts' busy faculty. It also meant that, when he performed a spell poorly, he had to face Pansy's wrath.

—It must be a Slytherin thing…— he mused, reflecting on the uncanny similarities between Ms. Parkinson and Professor Snape.

"WHY did you let him perform that incantation? Are you NUTS?" Pansy, receiving no quick answer from Neville, had swung about to question Kate.

Kate Cirrus either had incredible emotional control or she was self-prescribing Valium. At any rate, her voice remained even as she calmly discussed the previous spell with Pansy.

"I believe his technique is actually quite good—"

"GOOD! He nearly splinched us all into next week!"

"—it's merely his voice commands that require some practice."

"He can practice on YOU all he wants, but he's not getting that thing," here, Pansy made a pointed gesture to the wand sticking out of Neville's pocket, "NEAR me. He could KILL someone!"

"Down, girl!" Mandy had a grin on her face, possibly because she was on the verge of making a naughty joke about boys and their wands.

"Don't you patronize me…" Pansy shot a dark glare at the Ravenclaw, who met her eyes unafraid. The two of them stared at each other for a long few seconds…until they started giggling. Though Pansy would never admit it to anyone from her own house lest they take untoward advantage of the knowledge, she rather enjoyed it when people were brave enough to stand up to her. Perhaps because it happened so rarely. Also, she and Mandy had been working intently on developing the Ravenclaw's ability to transform into an Animagus, and Pansy was pleased with their progress. She was fond of successful alliances. Which meant that, at the moment, she was not fond of Neville.

The boy sighed. "Look, Pansy. It's nearly break. Kate and I will be together for a lot of it since her mother has agreed to visit for Yule. I'll practice then, and I'll get it down. I promise." He stood up a little straighter and bit his lip, as though he was reworking the spell in his mind. Even two weeks ago, he might not have had the gumption to confront Pansy—he was learning a lot, these days.

Pansy arched her eyebrow, but kept her thoughts regarding the likely success of his endeavors to herself.

"You've got to admit it's a little tricky, trying to apparate as a group," Padma began diplomatically.

"But it's necessary." Pansy was curt.

"Agreed. But perhaps we could work with Kate's Guidance Charm more? I think having a distinct signal to follow makes performing the spell a bit easier."

"What, are we going to drop it off in Gringott's and hope it alerts us when the Boy Wonder and his friends start getting into trouble?"

"Sure, sounds great," Mandy matched Pansy's sarcasm. "But in the meantime, you have to admit that following a concerted path of magic as a lead makes it much simpler to keep a group of our size together. Not to mention, it circumvents the problem of ending up scattered in various places throughout Gringott's underground vaults, unable to contact each other."

Kate, in her free time, had discovered that binding a carefully crafted spell to an ordinary object could cause it to send out a magical homing signal. By seeking the energy current in the area one intended to apparate towards, it became possible to be much more specific and direct in the process. It also prevented unfortunate incidences of splinching between the two places, as the magic in the homing signal could be drawn on and used to guide the witch or wizard through the transition more certainly.

"I still don't see why we can't apparate to my vault," Pansy grumbled.

"It's not central enough," Kate began to explain, again. "If we don't end up near the middle, we minimize our chances of finding Harry once we get in."

"Which is why I think we need to find a way to use the homing signal," Padma pointed out.

"Why don't I give it to one of them to carry when we catch them slipping out together? Then we could end up exactly where they are," suggested Neville.

His idea was greeted with silence of the considering type.

"Do you think it's possible to ensure they don't suspect you're up to something? And that they'll carry it with them?" Kate looked hopeful.

"I'm sure I can convince them if you'd be willing to charm something smallish." Neville closed his eyes, working out a plan.

"Great," Pansy was decisive. "That means we can go directly to wherever they are, instead of relying on the 'follow the screams' method we were planning on using. I'm game. Padma, do you feel ready to do some damage?"

Padma Patil cracked her wrists and stretched. "I could be persuaded," she agreed. Easily the best dueler in the group, she'd spent many hours practicing with Professor Kentaro. This had earned knowing snickers from most of the upper class girls and a few of the less discrete professors. In truth, she had little interest in the man, aside from what he had to teach her about defensive magic. She was still seeing Fred Weasley, much to the surprise of people who didn't know her well. It was easy to look at the elegant, graceful young woman and miss the daredevil glint in her eye. Fred had his hands full, and from all accounts he was loving every minute of it.

"And no Glamours this time…" muttered Pansy, as she squared off against her opponent.

"Ah, ruin my fun?" Padma pouted.

"I still think it's shady to use them they way you do…"

"That's ripe, from a Slyth." Padma smiled sweetly at Pansy as the other girl muttered a string of profanity under her breath.

Neville backed out of their way. He had been relieved once he'd found out that Padma could throw an effective Glamour and that she'd taught Kate the rudimentary principles behind it. At least it partially explained why he was so easily convinced by his classmate and girlfriend. That was his story, and he intended to stick to it.

Kate touched her hand to his shoulder. "Want to head back? It's probably better if we don't return to the castle in a group."

He nodded his assent. As entertaining as it was to watch the dueling, it wasn't his strong point and he dreaded practicing with Pansy. Besides, the shack was small and neither of the girls cared much for protecting innocent bystanders when they got into the heat of a good match.

When they re-entered Hogwarts, there was a sort of generalized pandemonium that had nothing to do with the impending vacation. Students were moving quickly through the hallways in a state of bustling confusion. Most seemed headed to the library.

"What's going on?" Kate asked one of her housemates, as she and Neville joined hands to avoid being separated in the stampede.

"There's been another attack. Pince is going to allow them to broadcast it from the library's Transducer."

"That thing still works?" The Transducer, a magically hybridized 1970s television, had been a gift from the Weasley family to Hogwarts many years ago. Black and white and slightly unpredictable, it was one of the few Muggle items in the library's History Collection. The fact that it was capable of pulling in the occasional football game made it popular among some of the students when Madame Pince wasn't paying close attention to the wing in which it sat. There were some rumours that indicated the librarian just happened to be fond of Muggle football.

Neville was concerned. "Why would we need to watch it on the Transducer? What can they show us that we couldn't just read in the press?"

"Don't know; but we're going to find out!" Kate's housemate pushed his way through the crowd, moving quickly.

"I don't like this…" Kate looked concerned, and Neville pulled her closer. All around them, students were chattering excitedly, predicting the news they'd hear. Everyone was certain it must be a particularly spectacular attack to warrant this sort of attention from the Headmaster.

The library was packed tight with young witches and wizards, as well as many of the faculty. Professor Sprout had some of the younger Hufflepuffs in her lap and was trying to comfort them. Professor Hansen was leaning against the circulation desk, looking as though she was about to be sick. Neville pressed towards her.

"Professor?"

"Hi, Neville."

"What's going on?"

"Can you see the screen?" Saira Hansen looked older than her students had seen her before.

Neville and Kate both turned in the direction she had gestured. From where they were, they couldn't hear what the news broadcaster was saying, but they could see images of burning buildings that seemed to be part of some sort of factory. Plumes of smoke formed a dark cloud in the sky.

"Sonorus…" Kate sent the spell, hoping to get more of an explanation.

The broadcaster's voice cut in near their ears:

—agree it's absolutely shocking. The plant was shut down in '92 due to a leaking valve. Officials contend there were several intensive clean up efforts held at the plant, rendering it safe and inoperable. There is no indication as to how or why this reactor caught fire in what is quickly becoming the greatest catastrophe of the year.

Staff and students stared, dumfounded, at the footage of the nuclear power plant.

Neighboring cities are being evacuated as quickly as possible, but officials estimate over 100,000 people may have been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. Currently, the death toll is at 206 and rising.

"Kate, do you see that?" There was a high pitched edge to Neville's voice.

"Oh, gods…" The girl's face blanched.

Professor Hansen squinted her eyes at the smoke weaving in and out of focus over the burning building. There was a pattern there, and flashes of light. Her eyes widened as she recognized the sinister outline of a skull.

"It's the Dark Mark," a man's voice growled the explanation in her ear.

Saira sat in her office with a hand resting heavily on her head. Having Severus Snape explain the origin of the current Muggle Tragedy had been about as much as her nerves could take in one day.

"That's it, Hooch, I don't think I'm cut out for this."

"How would it be any different if you were home?" The Quidditch instructor was almost painfully practical.

"I wouldn't know what was behind this. That Voldemort guy is really evil!"

"Thanks for the report, detective." Sinistra slouched in the chair on Saira's right. "It sucks, I agree. We've got do something." She looked determined.

"What now?" Hooch had a note of concern in her voice, as though she had an inkling of what might be on Sinistra's mind.

"I've talked to Saul. The biggest impediment to the Wizarding World at the moment is the Ministry of Magic. They keep dragging their feet and watching their backs. They're more interested in saving their skins than saving lives. Bunch of rotting cowards is what they are…" She paused, preparing a long string of virulence.

"Belt up, Sinistra. You too, Hansen," Hooch was the calmest of the three. "We can't just go wing-nuts on everyone. The students leave tomorrow and we'll have some time to work things out. Dumbledore is livid," she confided. "I haven't seen him this angry since he found out about the Longbottoms."

"What happened to the Longbottoms?" Saira had never asked Neville why he lived with his grandmother, preferring to respect the boy's privacy. Now, she couldn't resist her curiousity.

"They were driven insane by the Cruciatus Curse; they're both still living, but they don't recognize any of their old friends. Or their son…" Hooch was suddenly subdued; she had been good friends with Frank and Alice.

"It's amazing that they're even alive," Sinistra added. "But then, they were really powerful Aurors and escaped Voldemort more times than I can count."

"Is that why Neville's working on his homeopathy project with Sprout? I was told he's trying to find ways to treat the side effects of that curse." Saira felt her heart go out to the boy.

"It's going to take more than a few pieces of plant to undo all these years of damage," Sinistra was pragmatic. "Everyone has tried their best. Including Dumbledore. What did he say about this attack, Hooch?"

"He just stopped short of blaming it on the Ministry's Most Powerful Man."

"You mean Malfoy?" Sinistra was snide.

"The very one. Blimy git of a bastard, I'd like to—"

"Hooch!" Saira and Sinistra cut her off in unison.

"I still say the whole family is nothing but a devilish bunch of feckers."

"Point noted," Sinistra muttered.

"Even Draco?" asked Saira.

"Well, you let me know if you see any evidence to the contrary." Hooch sighed. "I'd love to be proven wrong."

"That man is asking for it, and I've got quite the gift planned," Sinistra had a very dark, very dangerous look on her face.

"I'm in," Saira volunteered. Hooch didn't look so sure.

"Good. Because I need you to convince a friend of mine to join up," Sinistra smiled at Saira in a way that suggested the witch had some dubious scheme planned.

"Who? And how?" Saira was interested. She wasn't sure that she could be much help in a magical world, but if Sinistra thought otherwise she might just be willing to try.

"A lovely man who has retained some very loyal contacts within the Ministry. Unfortunately, few of them are vocal about their support of him. Fortunately, they all owe him a significant favor following his willingness to resign from Hogwarts only a few years ago."

"Resign?"

"Yes, he saved them quite a scandal. And, while he could have pressed many of them for their open support, he resisted. He should be able to pull the strings we need."

"So what do you need me for?"

"I should have warned you, Hansen; never, ever volunteer for any plan of hers unless you know exactly what she has in mind. And then, get it in writing!" Hooch looked amused.

Saira's eyebrows went up. Sinistra continued, pausing only to make a quick face at Hooch.

"He doesn't like me much because I said some really ignorant things about him a few years ago. I'm sure you can't imagine me speaking out of turn…" Saira bit her lip, trying not to smile. "Well, I've learned a bit since then. But it's going to take some persuading to get him to join us. He feels like an outsider at Hogwarts, mostly because so few of us gave him support when he needed it. I'm willing to support him openly now; most of us are."

"And I'm supposed to convince him of this?"

"Well, in some ways, you're as much of an outsider as he is. At least at Hogwarts. And, he'll probably see that your perception of him has been shaped by us. We're going to do our best to explain him to you, and to send you off to a meeting unbiased and friendly."

"Uhhh…what has he done that would make me biased towards him?"

"It's nothing he's done. It's what has been done to him. And you, Professor Hansen, are needing of male companionship anyways. So what do you say?"

"Say to what?"

"You are going on a Yuletide date with a werewolf."