Back for yet another rousing chapter, eh folks?
As usual I am floored by the number of follows, favs, and reviews from all you wonderful people. Your questions are lovely, your suggestions helpful and thought provoking, and your praise uplifting.
So we're slowing things down a little bit today with a slightly shorter chapter. Enjoy!
If Someone Cared Enough
Chapter Thirty-Six: Meeting Myrtle
It had been nearly a week since sealing the diadem in the 'Come and Go Room' and Severus was sad to say he was no closer to figuring out how to destroy it. He also had not figured out the answer to the riddle given to him on Halloween. To say it frustrated him would be an understatement.
Severus and his friends wasted no time in beginning their research on the former matter, but came up short. Any book containing knowledge on the diadem itself was despairingly brief and uninformative, instead going on and on about its craftsmanship and the legend of its disappearance. There were no implications of it ever possessing harmful intent or curses being placed on it and researching the concept of an object whispering or luring in victims had yielded only information on average compulsion spells, which weren't dark or malicious enough on their own to give off such an imposing presence as the diadem had.
Severus realized pretty quick that the only possible information to be found was most likely locked up in the restricted section, which required teacher permission to access.
Thea and Simone, while not generally considered troublemakers, would most likely draw Dumbeldore's suspicion if they requested permission, since he seemed to paint most Slytherins with the same brush unless the nearly died in valor fitting of a Gryffindor the way Severus almost did.
Nesme, Lily, and Mary all came off as too bubbly, too good to show an interest in the controversial or dark secrets in the restricted section, so any of them asking for permission would certainly be met with scrutiny.
Davis was the only one who could probably get into the restricted section without any teacher or student batting an eye as most would assume it purely academic in nature with Ravenclaws reputation for scholarly pursuits. He'd accessed the restricted section several times throughout the years for extra credit assignments. Alas, he had already received permission once this term already and Madam Pince had a rule of one allowance in per term unless granted permission by the Headmaster himself.
That left Severus and he knew he definitely couldn't ask. There were too many dark magic books in the restricted section for Severus to ask for access without it coming off as worrisome. While the professors genuinely saw the change for the good in him rumors of his change of heart being just an act still ran rampant enough that a professor may question is interest in accessing the most private section of the library.
And so Severus and his friends were seemingly at a dead end in regards to the diadem and how to eliminate the potential threat it held.
Davis and Thea took several stabs at solving the riddle given to Severus about another hidden item, but so far, they had come up with no more than they already did the day he showed everyone the note.
There was little doubt in anyone's mind that the item the riddle referred to was not the diadem. The riddle spoke of pride and arrogance, most likely the person hiding the item. While Simone was certainly a proud person, the riddle implied the person had revealed the secret out of arrogance, while Simone revealed the diadem because they insisted she should and she feared the diadem enough to want their help.
There was also the matter of the part about 'those who serve unseen' and the whispers they heard. The diadem did whisper to them, but the riddle implied that a servant would show them the location, most likely secretly having heard the keeper of the item discussing it. That was the most anyone could gleam from the note. They had no idea who was the prideful and bragging keeper of the item, what the item was, and who held the knowledge to show it to them. They also had no clue who sent the note, the hidden meaning behind penname "Babbity" eluding them.
Severus growled under his breath, startling a group of first years passing him in the hall and sending them scurrying back the way they came. It irked Severus that he hadn't found the answers yet. The diadem posed a threat to people that Severus could not ignore, primarily because Lily and Mary made up two of those people in danger (he supposed he would be upset should anything happen to his new friends as well). As for the unknown item from the note, it was clear whoever sent the note to him felt whatever was hidden needed to be found as soon as possible and the author of the note feared retribution enough to wish to remain anonymous.
As Severus brooded to himself about the unfairness of a problem too difficult for the likes of him to solve, he spied something very curious up ahead of him.
Remus Lupin quietly walked up to one of the first floor bathrooms, attempting to appear casual as a few straggling students passed him without a glance in his direction. What made his destination so curious was that the bathroom he intended to enter was the girl's bathroom.
Severus silently approached Lupin while his back was turned, the scarred boy about to enter the bathroom, "I would expected such deviant behavior from the likes of Black or even Potter, but you surprise me, Lupin."
Lupin jumped and whirled around, "Snape!'
"Perhaps you're more of a dog than a wolf, hm?" Severus inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"It's not what you think," Remus said hurriedly.
"Oh? Do tell," Severus drawled, leaning against the wall.
Remus looked around them awkwardly, "You probably weren't aware since you're a guy, but no girl uses this bathroom anymore. They haven't for fifty years at least."
"And why it that," Severus asked.
"It's haunted," Remus replied.
Severus leveled Remus with a bland look, "Need I remind you that the school is full of ghosts?"
"Yeah, but aside from the Bloody Baron or Grey Lady, most of them are pleasant to be around," Lupin stated, "Moaning Myrtle…she's sort of hard to put up with for some."
Severus snorted, "Moaning Myrtle?"
"That's what people nicknamed her," Remus said sadly, "It's because she's always crying. That's how I found out about it, in fact. I was walking down this hall in my third year when I heard someone crying—well not exactly crying, more like wailing if I'm being honest—she can be rather loud when she wants to."
"The point, Lupin," Severus interrupted, "Please get to it."
Remus blushed, "Right…so when I went to see what's wrong Myrtle was floating around sobbing. I asked if she was okay and we got to talking. She's lonely, you know; she didn't have many friends when she was alive."
"How did she die?" Severus asked.
Remus shrugged, "I didn't think it polite to ask."
"So you visit her to cheer her up?" Severus guessed.
Remus nodded, "She's never actually very happy, but at least she's less sad when I come around. She used to get bullied a lot before she died and I guess some people still come by to tease her; she didn't exactly pick the moniker 'Moaning Myrtle'. I didn't tell my friends about her because she's very sensitive and I thought—"
"You thought they would only make her feel worse," Severus cut him off, "Yes, I imagine they would be rather unsympathetic to a bullied student, especially one who's no longer human or alive. They'd probably make a game of throwing balls of wadded up toilet paper through her."
Remus cringed, "I don't think they'd go that far, but they would probably say things without thinking." He gestured to the bathroom, "Would you…uh…like to meet her?"
"Why because I'm a victim of bullying as well?" Severus asked sourly.
"No!" Lupin backpedaled, "I just thought….maybe…"
Severus smiled wickedly, "You're too easy, Lupin." He walked passed Remus, "Come on, you might as well introduce me."
The girl's bathroom was indeed as in disuse as Lupin claimed. A fine layer of dust coated nearly every surface with cobwebs taking up residence in high corners and under the sinks. Judging by the filth being bad but not severe, Severus would hazard a guess that the house elves must clean this bathroom once a year and no more than that.
Stalls with doors barely sitting on their hinges framed the sides of the room, water pooling across the floor from a toilet here or there. The large stain glass window on the far side of the room had acquired a rather impressive amount of grim over the years, allowing little natural light to peer through and what small bit of sunlight did get through was cast in a cold gray hue.
The center of the room held a column with sinks circling it, all in various states of brokenness, one even missing part of the faucet and another sink cracked so severely that water would most likely leak out enough to drench the unfortunate user's shoes before it wet their hands.
"Who's come to pick on me now?" came a wobbly voice.
A ghost floated up out of one of the stalls to glare at them.
A squat girl in a school robe, Myrtle was short and on the thicker side. With a noticeable amount of pimples dotting her forehead and nose, her thin lips and oversized glasses did little for her appearance. The pigtails didn't help much either, giving the would be teen a rather childish, immature look to her. While not ugly per say, the perpetual scowl and wibbling lip twisted her features to something less pleasing to the eye and put a person immediately in discomfort in her presence.
For a brief moment, Severus wondered if that was how he came off to others when he refused to smile…
"G'morning, Myrtle," Remus said brightly, "I told you I'd stop by."
Myrtle looked shortly relieved to see a familiar, friendly face. When she turned to Severus, her eyes narrowed.
"You don't usually bring company with you," she told Remus warily.
Remus cast a look at Severus, hesitant, "Oh him? Well you see, he sort of….I thought it would be nice to—"
Severus took over with ease, "A pleasure to meet you, Myrtle. I myself can say that I too have suffered unfair mistreatment by my classmates over things as vain and petty as appearance."
Myrtle eyed Severus suspiciously. She looked him up and down, taking in his large nose and pale skin.
"I suppose you have," she conceded.
Rather than be insulted by this, Severus pushed onward.
"People seem to be under the foolish impression that outside appearances are make up who a person is, what makes them a good person," He sniffed derisively, "As if the 'conventionally pretty' have anything going for them aside from looks. Half of them are complete imbeciles or insufferable to the core."
Seemingly on board now, Myrtle nodded eagerly, "They are, aren't they. Olive Hornby always made fun of my glasses, acting like she was queen bee for being voted the 'nicest eyes' in our class. But you know, she had terrible grades and she was meaner than a wet cat! What's attractive about that?"
"Absolutely nothing," Severus stated, "She sounds abhorrent."
"Ooh, she was," Myrtle said, floating down closer to the boys, "She was a truly dreadful person. I would have haunted her for the rest of her life if the ministry hadn't restricted me to the castle."
"A lack of foresight on their part," Severus said, "Clearly someone that foul could have used a good lesson taught to her."
Myrtle giggled coquettishly.
"I like this friend of your," she told Remus.
Not sure what to make of the exchange, Remus could only nod, "Yeah…he's something, alright."
Myrtle giggled some more, floating lazily about the room.
"Good work winning her over," Remus whispered to Severus, "But you don't need to act so hard."
"Who's acting," Severus whispered back, "I happen to think it entirely unjustified and cruel to mock someone for their looks and anyone who takes pleasure in doing so deserves more than their share of retribution."
Lupin looked away, shame clear on his features, "I am sorry about how we treated you over the years."
"The only actions you can apologize for are you own, Lupin," Severus told him sternly, "I have no use for platitudes from you on their behalf when they offer none of their own and show no signs of regret. You're doing their work for them again, Lupin, just as you always have."
"What do you mean?" Lupin asked.
Severus sighed, "I had been meaning to speak to you alone for some time; I suppose this is as good a chance as any given present company," he gestured to Myrtle floating above their heads, lost in her own reminiscence of haunting her old classmate, if her murmurings were anything to go by.
Severus turned to face Lupin fully, "You can't deny that over the years it has become necessary for you to play a certain role of reason within your little group now and again. More than once you have been forced to clean up their messes or talk them out of something supremely stupid that would no doubt result in more than just detention."
"True…" Remus agreed.
"However, in recent years your promotion to prefect has done little to enforce your authority with them. In fact, I dare say you forsake your responsibilities out of fear of losing their friendship."
Remus grinned sheepishly, "I think we covered this back when you and Lily visited, but yes that's true. So?"
"Lupin, has it ever occurred to you that your so called friends might be aware of this fear and using it to their advantage?" Severus asked bluntly.
Lupin was taken aback, "What?"
"Taking advantage?" Severus reiterated, "Abusing their power over you by using your attachment to them as collateral?"
Lupin frowned, "Listen, I don't know where you got that idea from, Snape, but—"
"I'll tell you where I got it from," Severus interrupted, "from the fact that their 'pranks' and attacks increased threefold the moment you were appointed a prefect."
"That's just a coincidence," Remus said dismissively.
Severus wasn't buying it, "A pretty odd coincidence that the moment you had authority to halt their actions they kicked things up a notch, isn't it?"
"So as they got older their behavior got more troublesome; that's normal for teenage boys," Remus insisted, though even he was beginning to doubt his words.
"Remus," Severus said, using the boy's first name for a change, "When they see other prefects they at least try to hide their actions or make it look convincingly like someone else's fault. With you they do no such thing." He swept a hand out in front of him, "Just right out there in the open, in plain view of you they deliberately break all the rules you agreed to ensure were upheld the moment you took that badge."
Remus looked down at his prefect badge shame flickering across his face.
"They wouldn't knowingly use me," Remus defended weakly, "If they are taking advantage, surely they aren't aware of it."
"Open your eyes, for once," Severus snapped, "You were a kid with no friends and all you have in the world is them and your parents. They know you would do anything for them and they're exploiting it. They manipulate it. They're bullies!"
"Bullies?" Myrtle rejoined the conversation. With a scowl she glided down to them, hovering a foot off the floor, "What's this about bullies?"
"Lupin's friends like to pick on others for fun," Severus explained, "The only reason Remus here isn't a target for his tired appearance and shabby clothes is because he's useful to them."
"That's not the reason," Remus said angrily, "They befriended me during our first year here, before they were bullying anyone."
"Except me," Severus pointed out.
Remus's cheeks flushed in embarrassment, "Yes…but you were a special case for James."
"You're friends with bullies, Remus," Myrtle asked disappointedly, "You like watching them pick on people?"
Remus raised his hands up, "No, that's not it at all—"
"You sit back and let them hurt other's feelings," Myrtle cut off, advancing on Remus, rising higher off the ground to tower over him, "You let them get away with it—all while having that pinned to your chest?!" she jabbed a stubby finger through Remus's badge, going through his chest as the boy shuddered.
"I thought you were someone who could understand me," Myrtle sniffled, turning away from Remus and floating off towards the stalls, "Considering your…ailment…"
"Myrtle…" Remus sighed.
"But it turns out you were just coming to laugh at poor, ugly Moaning Myrtle."
"I try to stop them, Myrtle," Remus insisted, "honestly, I do. But they don't listen to me."
"A likely story," Myrtle sniffed.
Remus looked at Severus pleadingly, but the boy only shrugged his shoulders.
"It's like talking to a wall," Remus continued, "I tell them all the time that their actions are mean spirited and cruel, but they've always got some excuse. They've repeated them so many times they believe their fiction over reality at this point."
Myrtle looked over her shoulder at Remus, distrustful eyes puffy and red.
Remus sighed, "They think they're the heroes of some epic story; righting wrongs, fighting evil, but they're just three cocky teenagers taking cheap shots at people when their backs are turned and calling that a win. I don't know how to get through to them. But I swear, I have been trying," he turned to Severus, "I told them to leave you alone this year, didn't I."
"Indeed you have," Severus replied, "However, there have been some occurrences here and there when you weren't around for which the perpetrators aren't accounted for." He walked around the room casually, "A sticking charm on the pages of some of my books, a tripping jinx as I'm leaving a classroom you've already exited…"
Remus frowned heavily, "Then I'll look into it. I meant what I said; I want us to be on good terms this year, Snape. I told my friends I would report them straight to Dumbledore myself if they did anything they shouldn't."
"And that's all very well and good, but you'd need to catch them first," Severus stated.
Remus's shoulders drooped, "So you do think they're doing things behind my back."
"I guarantee it," was Severus's reply, "You don't honestly think they snuck into Slughorn's party just to douse some random girl in punch, do you?"
Remus sighed, "So you heard about that?"
"The whole school heard about it come morning," Severus said dryly, "It's pretty obvious they thought she was someone else. I don't think Potter even knows that girl's name."
"I made them promise," Remus said fretfully.
"The thing about promise is that friendship doesn't guarantee they won't be broken," Severus said, shifting uncomfortably, "Sometimes they can be broken because you assume you know better than your friend and think….that they'll see your side of things in the end." He thought about all the stupid times he told himself and Lily that associating with Avery and his ilk would have a good conclusion in the end; that he would find happiness following them.
"I'll keep a closer eye on James and the others," Remus offered, choosing not to comment on the far off look in Severus's eye, "I know how to find where they are at any time—I won't say what it is," he added after the curious look he received from Severus.
"I'm well aware of Potter's invisibility cloak," Severus informed Lupin, "Mary happened to catch a pair of disembodied hands coming through the portrait hole one evening, carrying an armful of muffins."
Remus blanched, 'I told James not to let Peter borrow the cloak without accompanying him.'
"Yeah the cloak," Remus said evasively, "Cat's out of the bag on that, huh?"
"Indeed," Severus said, observing Remus shrewdly, "Or perhaps you have some other trick up your sleeve? Don't tell me you can turn into a rat too?"
Remus looked up, alarm painting his features, "You know about that?!"
"Calm down, Lupin," Severus drawled, "It was harder to figure out than your furry little secret. I doubt anyone else has even the slightest idea."
Remus breathed a sigh of relief, "So no one else knows?"
"As far as I am aware of," Severus answered, "I take it you don't possess this little ability?"
Remus shook his head, "No, it was all James and Sirius' idea to transform to help me ride out the full moon each month. I told them it was a stupid idea."
"Monumentally so," Severus agreed.
"So how did you find out?" Remus asked worriedly.
"Honestly, pure dumb luck," Severus openly admitted, "I was mulling over Black's near obsessive fascination with our most recent transfiguration lessons."
"Animagus transformations," Remus recalled.
Severus nodded, "Quite. Well I started giving some serious thought to why he was so giddy over the matter when he wouldn't be allowed to take the tests and register until after he graduated here. Then it occurred to me that he seemed more…smug than excited."
"I can see how that would have piqued your interests," Remus mused.
"Very much so," Severus agreed, "And so it was strange to me that he would feel proud of something he had yet to do…unless of course he already had done it. And well, from all my research on werewolves it wasn't hard to recall that they only attack humans but remain docile around animals and so…you can guess how my thinking fell into place after that."
"You haven't gone to Dumbledore though," Remus pointed out, surprised, "I would have thought that would be the first thing you'd do."
"And it should be," Severus responded, "But what good is useful information if I give it away so easily and render it no longer useful to me?"
"So blackmail," Remus surmised with a grimace.
"Not at all," Severus replied, "It just so happens that keeping my knowledge under wraps benefits me."
"How so?" Remus asked curiously.
"From what I've gathered, Pettigrew's a rat, yes?" Severus asked.
Remus nodded.
"Clearly he's a choice candidate for gathering information for Potter, yes?" Severus mused, "The sort who can spy on me and overhear my discussions, especially one's with Lily. If I let Potter know I know, he would only come up with new means of spying on me that I am unaware of. By keeping that I know a secret, I provide myself with a means of counteracting such spying, and Potter won't think to come up with any new tricks."
"Makes sense," Remus conceded, "So you won't tell Dumbledore?"
"As of now, no," Severus informed him, "But if there is ever a repeat of the 'Lake incident', it won't be Dumbledore I tell, but the Ministry itself."
"Duly noted," Remus said nervously, "I'll keep them in check. If anything they owe it to me to make this a peaceful year."
"I still say they're taking advantage of you," Severus stated.
"Me too," Myrtle added.
Remus huffed, "And I say they don't. But I'll take your words into consideration and make sure they don't try to push my buttons."
"I suppose that is the best I can expect from you," Severus said before turning to their ghostly companion, "Now Myrtle, do tell me more about this haunting you doled out to your former bully. I may need the ideas for my afterlife someday…"
A few of you have wondered how Severus would use the secret of the Marauders being animaguses. I had to give that some serious thought.
Severus is a very cautious person, one who tends to think out his decisions if he has time to think ahead (one of the reasons I think he lashes out and makes mistakes if he is cornered with no time to plan). He measures out his risk factors and what can go right and go wrong. In other words, he is calculating, especially when it comes to adversaries.
Ousting James and the others to a professor, while satisfying, would only provide momentary joy for him. Sure they would be punished in some manner (though knowing Dumbledore, the punishment would not be the required jail time of illegal animaguses, or even expulsion) but it would not only provide the Marauders with another grudge against him, but he also loses the upper hand. Right now, Severus has insider knowledge on how they are able to spy on others (Peter's form being very useful) and move about the castle and forest without arising suspicion. As Severus does not know about the map, he views these animal forms and the cloak as their key methods to sneak around unnoticed and look for ways to cause him trouble. In his mind, if they are found out and realize he knows, they will just come up with a new, unknown way to cause mischief.
By keeping things secret, Severus has the upper hand in knowing to keep an eye out for them, while letting them think he is unaware so they won't develop a new method of spying on him.
By not going to a professor, Severus is also providing himself with a fail safe to making sure Remus keeps his promise to crack down on his friends. Remus knows he knows and will want to ensure Severus feels no need to get revenge by running to a teacher. Manipulative, yes, but this is Severus we're talking about.
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