The girls weren't in the bedroom, so I pulled up the curtain of my bed and finally had a chance to sob. For the first time in years. The pain and resentment of what had happened to Sirius and Ella was tearing me apart. When I fell asleep, I didn't notice.
I woke up an hour before dinner. It was like sand had been poured into my eyes. Daphne was in the bedroom, staring intently out the window.
Fortunately, she didn't comment on my appearance. I snuck into the bathroom.
When I came out, she was still staring out the window.
- What's out there? - I walked over to her.
- The mermaids are hunting the grindylows, - she said without looking away from the view, - five of them are stabbed already.
Just to prove her point, one of the mermaids jabbed her spear through a tiny grindylow.
- It's so... peaceful picture, - I grimaced, - and then they ask why the slytherins are so angry. There's so much violence everywhere.
Daphne chuckled.
- Are you going to dinner? - she got up.
- Yes, - I nodded.
The disgraceful breakdown of a well-bred aristocrat wasn' mentioned to me, even Weasley kept quiet.
I pretended it hadn't happened, and did things that had nothing to do with Sirius. For example, I was working on my Intellect and Occlumency Shield, which was a lot harder than I thought it would be.
I also looked in the kitchen and picked out the toppings for the cake and snacks. Hetty was thrilled. I wish we had an elf like that! All Kreacher does is itching about me being unacceptably soft as a member of the Black House and what a poor my grandmother was, having such a dumb granddaughter. I supposed the old masochist wanted me to kick him, but I couldn't afford it.
- Did you find the place? - I caught the boys the night before Thursday.
All four of them turned their heads.
- Fred and George said about one room, - Ron said with a frown, - but when we went to check it out, it was an office filled with junk and dust.
- Maybe that's exactly what we need, - I shrugged, - clean up a little.
- It's unrealistic, - Potter shook his head, - it'd take a month. I mean, if we knew any spells, it'd be alright, but manually... We'll never make it.
- I'm not a houseboy! - Draco cocked his nose.
Neville grinned, embarrassed but in agreement with the others.
- I see, - I sighed, wondering what to do, - which once again proves a well-known axiom.
- What axiom? - Draco snapped. He was always memorizing my remarks and inserting them into conversations with other people, enhancing his authority.
- If you want it done well, do it yourself, - I said thoughtfully, - Potter and Draco and I are going to reconnoiter after dinner. Ron and Neville are strenuously distracting Hermione.
- How? - Weasley asked, frowning.
- Tell her you don't understand how to brew a cure for boils, - suggested Draco.
- And it would do you some good to listen to her, - Potter snickered, - because you really don't understand it.
We all laughed, Ron included.
I wondered if I should show the freshmen the Room of Requirement, or not. On the one hand, it's very convenient, on the other hand, it's very dangerous. They're not stupid at all; they'd quickly figure out the advantages. Especially the sly Draco, the clever Hermione, and Potter, who's still a dark horse.
I remembered a couple of fics where the new characters got into the Room of Requirement on the first day. I didn't remember what happened next, though. Maybe they beat Voldemort/Dumbledore in one fell swoop and became Lords of Magic. By the way, there's no such title in this world. No, there were just Lords and Ladies, but there's definitely no such thing as Lord of Magic. I should have found the Ravenclaw Diadem, stashed it in my inventory, and taken it out of Hogwarts, but I was too scared to go near the thing. I wondered what effect it might have on me. In fact, that's why I wasn't looking for the Slytherin Locket at our house.
If I decided to show the Room of Requirement, how would I explain how I knew about it? Blaming it on Regulus wouldn't work. Draco's not Morris, he was allowed to come to Grimmauld. He could catch uncle and make him talk. Especially if he knew Regulus was a treasure trove of useful information.
I needed an alibi. And then it hit me. Potter had been told about the room by an elf! Was it possible that if I talked to Hetty, she could tell me about it? The elves knew about it, even Dobby, who had been working here for a week, could find out.
I headed resolutely toward the kitchen.
Hetty didn't tell me about the Room of Requirement, but when she heard that there was a cabinet somewhere filled with junk, she was horrified and promised to clear it out by tomorrow. She even explained how to call her. I cheered up. It's a little early for us to be in the Room of Requirement, after all.
Potter and Draco and I met on the fifth floor landing.
- I'm telling you, Harry grumbled, - there's dust as tall as me and a lot of broken chairs and stuff.
The door to the study was open. The boys weren't exaggerating. It would take three or four days of manual labor to clear out all the broken debris.
- You sure? - Draco folded his arms across his chest. - We have nothing to do here.
I tapped the broken wooden table three times.
- Hetty!
The house-elf materialized in front of me, glared, and immediately pressed her hands to her face in horror:
- Mess! Dirt! The house-elves of this floor are lazy! Not working!
- Hetty, calm down, please, - I asked her, - Can the Hogwarts house-elves clean this up?
- Yes, they can, Miss Ada, - she nodded, - Of course they can! The study will be shining tomorrow!
- Thank you, Hetty, - I smiled at her.
Hetty nodded and disappeared with a clap. Then I turned to the boys and saw that Draco was clamping his mouth over Potter's, and he had six-by-nine eyes. Аh! That's the first time he'd ever seen a house-elf!
- Potter, you don't know how to do anything, but you're grabbing for your wand, - Draco shook his head as he let the boy go.
- Who was that? - Harry asked.
- A house-elf, - I answered, - they serve wizards.
- Serve?
- Cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, - Draco began to list.
Potter blinked.
- I've never seen them, - he admitted.
- I don't think they like being stared at, - Malfoy shrugged, then turned to me. - I didn't think the house-elves around here would obey us.
- What makes you think they obey us? - I wondered.
- Well, just now.
- The house-elves hate mess, - I said, - When I told Hetty there was a dirty and dusty study, she asked me to show her. I didn't order her or even ask her to. Don't be silly!
- Oh, - Potter began, and then stopped.
- What? - We looked at him.
- Do you have house-elves at home? - Harry asked.
- We have a lot of house-elves, - Draco shrugged, - I don't even know all their names.
- We have one, - I said, - but there are three in the Main House.
- The Main House? - Potter asked again.
- Lordship Black, - I clarified, - my two great-grandfathers and two great-grandmothers live there. One of them is the Head of House.
I could tell by the look on Potter's face that he was honestly trying to wrap his mind around what I'd said.
- Why don't you live there?
- Why would I? - I snorted. - I like my home. It's kind of gloomy, but I'm used to it.
- I don't like it, - Draco grumbled, - It's dark, and the candles. It's nice and bright at the Manor.
I shrugged. I liked the Addams Family vibe, so what could I do?
Potter was obviously going to ask something else, but Draco interrupted him with words:
- Read Tradition and Magic first, then ask questions. Otherwise I explain it to you, and you still won't understand half of it.
Harry nodded.
Soon we parted ways.
I was looking forward to Hermione's birthday with anticipation. Even my own wasn't that interesting to me. At lunch, we all only pecked at our portions because we'd agreed to meet up afterwards.
The house-elves packed us two baskets of food. And cake!
- We're not going to eat it all, - Draco muttered, looking at the amount of food with horror.
- We'll give it to the gryffs, - I immediately found a solution to the problem, - they're always hungry.
The room we'd chosen was clean. The boys gawked when they saw that there wasn't a speck of dust around. There were only a few tables and chairs.
- Let's sit? - I took matters into my own hands.
- What kind of a room is it? - Hermione looked thoughtfully at the walls with the posters.
- Some kind of abandoned office, - Draco brushed aside.
Neville and Harry set about laying out the food. The prudent house-elves had also given us a tablecloth and utensils. Apparently, this kind of gathering was not new to them.
As expected, Hermione was delighted with the gifts and the little feast.
Once we were full, the conversation lazily flowed around our families and traditions. Hermione, like a real detective, drew out, mostly from the boys, the peculiarities of magical life. Potter listened attentively, too, and asked clarifying questions.
- This is slavery! - Hermione was indignant when she heard Ron mention elves.
I sighed.
- That's how muggleborns are misled, - I commented dolefully, - because someone doesn't know how to explain. The house-elves' life with wizards is not slavery.
- What is it then? - the girl raised her eyebrows.
- Symbiosis, - I said confidently, - and it's mutually beneficial. The house-elves help wizards with their chores, and, in return, they get the wizards' magic, which they need.
- It's not mutually beneficial, - Hermione exclaimed, - they can get magic without wizards!
- They can't, - Draco interjected, - they can't draw magic from the world around them, and they can't live on their own. They need magic like air.
- Good comparison, - I agreed, - Exaggerating, pure magic is like carbon dioxide to elves, and wizard magic is oxygen.
- I don't even want to know how you know about carbon dioxide, - Draco muttered. - It's in the book I gave you, Hermione, - Draco added.
The girl nodded.
- And what does the number of elves in a family depend on? - Potter asked.
Everyone looked at him.
- I was just asking around. Neville only has one, the Finnigans have one, Ron's family doesn't have any, and you have a lot. Well, I mean, Draco has a lot and Ada has a few.
From the look on Ron's face, he didn't know the reason. Neville knew, but clearly didn't want to say. Neither did we.
- Did I ask something indecent? - Potter was even embarrassed.
- No, - Neville shook his head, - you just brought up something we don't want to talk about, that's all. The Longbottoms have only one house-elf left, because we can't afford more. If we had more, the house-elf would be... malnourished. There are only four people in House's coven, and two of them are... almost dead. But they are not cut off from the House, so the lion's share of magic goes to them. House's magic senses the sickness and tries to cure it. In vain.
- It's... - Hermione bit her lip.
- My parents, - Longbottom replied stiffly.
Hermione had the tact not to ask what happened to them.
- My father is in Azkaban, - I said reluctantly. - He's in Coven, too, and he's not cut off. The Dementors... well, our situation is pretty much the same.
- And we're all healthy and fed and stuff, - Draco looked uncomfortable, as if it were his fault that he was doing so well.
- What about Ron? - Harry looked at his friend.
Ronald wasn't stupid after all. He got it right when we talked.
- If this is all about Coven, we're not going to have house-elves. We're Blood Traitors. We don't have a Coven, and we can't have one. Well, I mean, we used to, but we're damned now.
- And why is that? - Hermione, naively asked, - Who cursed you?
- I have no idea, - Ron took a sandwich from the table, - I'm sure they'll tell me when I'm older.
Hermione stared at me, waiting for me to enlighten them all.
- I don't know, - I denied, - but I'm pretty sure it's an unsightly and bloody story.
- I think so, too, - Ron agreed.
- Wait a minute, - Hermione interrupted, - Neville, are you in the House Coven?
- No, - Neville shook his head, - I'm not ready yet, and I haven't gone through trials.
- There're trials? - Hermione gasped.
- Every House has its own trials, - said Neville, - I don't even know what kind of test I'm going to have.
- What about you? - Hermione looked at me and Draco.
We shook our heads together.
- I have the same as Longbottom, - Draco nodded toward Neville, - and I don't know about Ada. It's different for girls when they join the House Coven. They go from one Coven to another over time.
- If they get married and go to another family? - Potter asked.
- Yeah, - Malfoy nodded.
- And how do the girls get trials? - I was the only one who could tell.
- They don't, - I muttered, - they just put them in the Coven when the time comes, and that's it!
- What time? - said Potter, trying to keep his voice down.
- A special time, - I cut it off.
Hermione blinked, and her face lit up with understanding. I nodded assenting. The rest of us didn't understand, but it was for the best. It was too personal and embarrassing.
- And I figured out what this office was, by the way, - I announced.
The guys started looking around.
- And what kind of office is this? - Draco asked, perplexed. The posters on the walls gave him nothing.
- Ritualism Cabinet, - I said, - See the lunar calendar? And there's a rune alphabet on that poster over there.
- No wonder it was such a mess, - said Neville, - they haven't taught that subject in thirty years.
- And why is that? - Potter asked. - And what do they teach?
- Rituals, - I shrugged, - They banned it because the Ministry equated ritualism with Dark Magic.
- The Ministry must have had a reason, - Hermione pointed out.
- Nobby Leach is an uneducated mudblood, - Draco spat out, - that's it.
Hermione twitched. Potter blinked. Ron was clearly pissed off. Neville and I looked at each other.
- Draco! - Hermione was indignant, - So this is how you think of muggleborns...
The girl's voice trembled with resentment.
- Did I say anything about you? - Draco shot back at her, - If I had, I wouldn't have spoken to you.
- But you called...
- Not you, - Draco muttered, - About Nobby Leach, I'm not taking back what I said, he deserved it. He's an idiot. There are such idiots even among the purebloods, so I don't discriminate against muggleborns.
- Calm down, - I ordered, - And start eating cake! Seriously, why do we keep getting into topics that we're not supposed to discuss at our age?
Draco slipped the tastiest piece of cake to Hermione, apologizing. Potter snorted at my words. He didn't think he was a child, that's for sure. Neville smiled crookedly. Ron threw up his hands as if to say that he had nothing to do with it.
- Now, - Hermione said, taking her bite of the cake and looking so relieved, - tell me what you were saying about robbing Gringotts.
I almost choked on my breath. That's news to me!
- Nothing, - Potter said, getting another sandwich, - we saw Hagrid's note about the attempted bank robbery. Nothing unusual. Muggles do it all the time. And some of them even succeed.
- We don't! This is Gringotts, - said Ron with a wave of his hand. - No one's ever been able to rob it!
- I think they have, and more than once, - I shook my head. - They just keep quiet so the goblins don't find it. If word gets out anywhere that Gringotts is untrustworthy, the goblins will take a huge financial hit. And goblins are cruel. They'll be looking for the source of their troubles. I wouldn't want to fall into their hands.
- That's what I told them, - Hermione said triumphantly.
Apparently, my opinion ranked higher than Hermione's, because not even Ron questioned my words.
The boys began to form theories about how it was possible to rob Gringotts. Hermione leaned over to me:
- What's in the chest you gave me?
- Girl stuff, - I smiled.
- Makeup? - Hermione wondered.
- And that, too, - I leaned closer, - and magic combs and hairpins and all sorts of cosmetic potions.
- Aren't they harmful? - The girl tensed a little.
- I use them, and I'm alive, - I shrugged, - It's okay as long as you follow the dosage. I'm sure Brown can explain it to you.
- I'm sure Brown can explain, - Hermione grinned grudgingly.
- What's wrong? - I frowned.
- It's just, - Granger made an incomprehensible gesture with her hand, - she's not like you, and she's not like me. She's hard to talk to. And we share a room with her.
- Everyone is different, Hermione, she's just a spoiled favorite daughter, and I can't even judge her because I'm very jealous. If my parents were with me, I'd probably be even worse, - I leaned back in my chair.
- You just haven't seen The Thomas Crown Affair! - Harry exclaimed, - Ada!
- Neither have I, - I muttered. Well, of course I haв, but only the remake, not the original movie.
- I don't know if you've ever seen anything at all, - Potter said, frustrated, having lost his strong ally as me. - They haven't, - Harry nodded toward the boys.
- Cartoons, - I answered easily. And I wasn't lying. We used to get a lot of Disney cartoons at the orphanage. - I liked Sword in the Stone the best, because it was very truthful in the eyes of a five-year-old.
- Truthful? - Potter looked at me puzzled, trying to remember the plot of the cartoon.
- Of course it was! Merlin had a wand, an owl, a robe, just like any decent wizard.
- Right, - Hermione wondered, - how did I not think of that? And the spells he was casting there were quite real, only the words were different. Even the wand movements and everything. How did that happen?
- It happened because the script was written by a squib, - I snorted, - and it's a good cartoon.
- I love 101 Dalmatians, - Hermione said, - it's funny. I even asked my parents for a dog.
- And I love The Jungle Book, - Harry said.
- What the hell are the cartoons all about? - Neville asked.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other and immediately began to explain in two voices what they were. Heavy topics were instantly forgotten. I smiled quietly. The birthday party was a success.
Draco and I were on our way down to the dungeons.
- Did she really never have a birthday party like this? - Draco asked me as if he couldn't believe it, - It's fun! You and I used to do it all the time.
He was so shocked by Hermione's fervent gratitude, who assured us that it was the best birthday she'd ever had.
- It happens, - I said evasively, - you and I have tea parties like this every three days.
- It's nice, - he shrugged, - but it's a shame we have to explain everything to them. Only Longbottom knows anything. - said my cousin.
- The cost of upbringing, - I waved it off. - They're not stupid, they'll catch up.
- It was pretty cool, wasn't it?
- We should do it again.
We grinned