Hello all! Did you miss me?

...no?

Anyway, it's good to be back. As usual I adored all your reviews and feedback. You know you're awesome; you don't need me to tell you that.

So...now the truth is out...well, some of it anyway. They still haven't cracked the case of Tom Riddle. Not fully.

Must be killing some of you how slow it's taking them to figure it out, huh? *evil laugh*

On with the show!

If Someone Cared Enough

Chapter Seventy: The More the Merrier, Right?

Everyone sat around the far table in the most secluded part of the library. The tension in the air was palpable, as thick and cloying as rancid milk. No one said a word, simply staring dumbfounded into space, letting Nesme's unpleasant news sink in.

Finally, Severus broke the silence.

"So," he began, "Things may have become more complicated."

Simone snorted, "An understatement, wouldn't you say?"

Severus glared, "What do you want me to say? That we're all royally fucked?"

"You'd at least be being honest if you did," Simone drawled.

"We have to tell Dumbledore," Lily interjected, "I know we were against his involvement before, but a Basilisk may be a bit more than the seven of us can handle."

This brought forth a round of protests.

"Evans, do you have any idea what the Headmaster would do if he found out that thing was in the school?" Simone asked.

"He'd shut Hogwarts down," Davis stated, "If not him than the board of Governors would as soon as they caught wind of it. Who knows when this place would reopen?"

"That's if they were allowed to reopen at all," Thea added, "I doubt many parents of muggleborn children would want their kids attending a school quite literally founded on a blood purist's mission to wipe out all muggleborns. Plenty of purebloods would be afraid to send their children here too because of how dangerous it would be."

Severus rolled his eyes.

"You're all acting on the assumption Dumbledore would even care about the dangers enough to report or act on it," he drawled, "Need I remind you of the various ways Dumbledore has willfully put students in danger? Let's review: there's the Werewolf he allows to attend school—the student themselves admittedly harmless but so poorly guarded on a full moon he could be released by a simpleton…and has for that matter…on a number of occasions."

Nesme leaned over to Davis, "He's talking about Remus, right?"

"Shh," Davis hushed in a panic, before remembering they had a spell in place to hide their conversation, "How'd you know that?"

Nesme shrugged, "He has Astronomy with me; missed every class that falls on a full moon."

Severus pressed on, ticking off on his fingers, "Then Dumbledore had a murderous, violent tree placed on the school grounds to conceal said werewolf, which could very well be more dangerous than the creature he's using it to protect students from. Is that irony or just carelessness?"

"It's at least incredibly stupid," Simone offered.

"Anyway," Severus continued, "There's the fact the school is bordered by a rather dangerous, and wild range of forest, which we now know contains at least one, if not more, Acromantula—thank you, Hagrid. The lake's infested with Grindylows that could drown you in a heartbeat. And even if you survived that, the mermaids are territorial enough that they might kill you on impulse before realizing you're a harmless student."

"Not to mention Dumbledore let a student who attempted to murder you with a werewolf get off relatively Scott-free," Simone finished.

Severus glared at the table, "Yes…as if I could forget that little indiscretion. We must also remember that Dumbledore supposedly already suspected Riddle's guilt and Hagrid's innocence. Yet he allowed school to continue knowing Riddle would walk it's halls for another year or so as the potential murderer of Myrtle. Doesn't sound like he prioritized safety then, did it?"

"You put it that way and it does sound rather bad," Nesme admitted.

Severus gave Nesme a 'you think?' look, "The point is we don't know if Dumbledore would take this threat seriously and even if he did, the end result could be us all losing the one place we all truly feel like we belong; Hogwarts."

"It's like a second home," Nesme murmured sadly.

Everyone else nodded solemnly.

"There's always the fact that Dumbledore has no reason to believe us at all," Severus went on, "We'd probably come off as a bunch of overly dramatic teenagers making up stories. To be honest, the only way to really convince any teacher that we're serious about the Basilisk—let alone explain why we were even looking into information on the Chamber to begin with—would be to reveal the diary and diadem, which we've all agreed time and time again is a terrible idea."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Mary asked with genuine concern, "I can't say I'm too keen on living in a castle with a monster under it…especially if I'm one of the people it would likely target for my heritage."

"And fighting it is out," Davis said, "I don't think DADA has prepared any of us for taking on something like that."

"We may not have to worry about that," Nesme revealed, pulling out a library book from her bag, "I got this on loan for the week. According to Most Macabre Monstrosities, Herpo the Foul discovered that one could induce hibernation of a Basilisk using Parseltongue. It can sleep for centuries at a time. With Riddle being gone from school, I doubt there are any parselmouths left to awaken it, hence why no attacks have occurred since Myrtle died; he probably put the Basilisk to sleep and resealed the chamber to cover his tracks."

"And without a means to open the chamber, it's not like the beast is going to come up here even if it does wake up," Severus said with consideration, "Then the best course of action is this: we continue looking for ways to destroy the diadem—and the diary for that matter. Once both those items have been dealt with, then we can reveal what we know about the chamber and let the professional handle it."

"So then," Nesme began hesitantly, "The school will be closed?"

Simone patted her shoulder, "I honestly don't think it will come to that. It's a worst case scenario sure, but I mean come on, the school stay open after Myrtle died, didn't it. If they get rid of the bloody snake, Dumbledore probably could tote his usual 'there's no place safer than Hogwarts' speech and win over all the skeptics."

Davis smirked, "The benefit of stopping Grindelwald is everyone thinking the sun shines out of Dumbledore's ass."

"There's an image I didn't need," Simone groused, prompting a laugh from everyone else.

"You do realize what this means, though, don't you?" Severus said, sobering quickly, "If the Chamber was said to open for the Heir of Syltherin and Riddle opened the chamber…then he is a descendant of Salazar himself."

"That's all rather ominous, but it changes little right?" Mary asked, "I mean, we already knew he was dangerous, what difference does it make to know he was related to a muggle hating bigot?"

"It means," Severus said, leveling a meaningful look at everyone around the table, "That we may be messing with a wizard far more formidable than we thought. The descendants of the Founders are said to carry far more magical prowess than the average witch or wizard. Whether that's a rumor or not remains to be seen, but I advise we do not take the risk. If he is the Heir of Slytherin, than looking further into his maternal family should shed some light on the subject."

"About the Gaunts," Davis interjected, "Nesme and I did a little research on Riddle's file. It lists his mum and father's names, but the mailing address for where Riddle was residing when sent his Hogwarts letter isn't the home address for either of them. Further research into Tom Senior's death in Little Hangleton revealed that a family of pariahs known by the surname Gaunt lived relatively nearby. But the address Tom Riddle was living at when he received his letter…"

Severus gestured for him to continue, "Well?"

"It's an orphanage," Davis stated, "For Muggles. Wool's Orphanage in London, to be exact. Nowhere near the Yorkshire area either of his folks lived in."

"Merope's date of death is the same year as Riddle's birth," Nesme helpfully supplied, "So Tom would have not only had no knowledge of magic, he wouldn't know a thing about his family history."

"Which begs the question of how he realized he was related to Salazar," Severus muttered.

Simone sighed, "It's a shame Morfin died in prison. It would make things a whole lot easier if we knew whether he ever met his nephew."

"Sim, your father works in law," Thea pointed out, "If Morfin was arrested for the death of Tom Senior and his family, then as a wizard, Morfin's case would be filed with the ministry. Do you think your dad could take a look at it?"

"Hey yeah," Simone perked up, "I could tell him it was for a school project. He can't give me any actual details of the case, of course, but he probably could dredge up any tidbits about the Gaunts that would seems peculiar."

"That, and if they were known for claiming to be descended from Salazar Slytherin," Lily added with a grin.

Severus frowned, "I'm not sure you could accomplish that raising some sort of suspicion. The Gaunts are apparently a very obscure magical family given have little we've found out about them. You're dad would surely question what sort of 'school project' you could possibly be doing that involved them."

"That's true," Simone agreed, rubbing her chin, "I guess I'll just ask Minks to read the file for me." She sat back with a satisfied smile.

"Sim, seriously?" Thea sighed.

Simone shrugged, "What, there's nothing wrong with exploiting loopholes. Technically, Minks has access to files as an assistant to my father. Technically speaking, there isn't any rule specifically set saying she can only access filed of cases my father has overseen."

"Meaning she isn't breaking any rule by snooping in the other files around his office for 'organizational' purposes," Severus mused.

Simone nodded, "And as long as I explain the severity of the situation to Minks, she'll be willing to help me."

"By deceiving your father and keeping secrets," Lily said, "Aren't you worried she'll punish herself for that?"

"That's why I will have a punishment already lined up," Simone said sneakily, "She may only have one and a half cupcakes after dinner instead of two. Because of my love of sweets, Minks believes that in my mind, that is a dire punishment. So she'll do it and suffer very little, while satisfying her need to reprimand herself."

"Still haven't weened her out of scolding herself, huh?" Davis asked.

Simone sighed, "I swear if I could go back in time and find whoever first started the whole House Elf thing, I'd wring their neck. It's like ingrained into all of those poor little things."

"Back to the matter at hand," Severus interrupted, before Simone could go on a rant about the unfairness of unpaid house elves again, "If you honestly think that plan will work, Serapeum, by all means, try it. In the meantime, the rest of us will have to continue researching on our own. Understood?"

Lily and Mary nodded.

"Got it," said Davis.

"More homework," Nesme whined, slumping down in her seat.

Severus waved his wand, dispersing their silencing spell.

"Don't be too eager, Nesme," he said sarcastically, "There's nothing wrong with a little extra credit."

"What's this about extra credit?" Remus asked, sitting down.

"There's a Basilisk under the school," Nesme said with a grumpy pout.

Remus blinked, "Beg pardon."

One could probably hear a pin drop in the dead silence that descended over the table.

"Nesme," Severus hissed, casting Muffliato once more, "What the ever loving hell?!"

Nesme shrugged, "What? I thought he was part of our group now."

"Our study group," Severus snapped, glowering down at the girl, "Whatever made you think we were going to tell a former Marauder about any of this? For Merlin's sake, why don't you just tell him all our secrets?"

"Just to be clear, you're being sarcastic with that last part, right?" Nesme asked warily.

"Of course I'm being sarcastic!" Severus nearly roared, causing Nesme to shrink into her chair, "You can't just go around telling people everything."

"But I didn't," Nesme defended hotly, "I haven't told a sold. I just thought, since we've incorporated Remus into everything else, someone might have let him in on this by now."

"Excuse me," Lupin butt in, waving his hand to gather everyone's attention, "But what is this about secrets and why in heaven's name does it include a Basilisk."

Mary sighed, "Listen, Remus, if we tell you this, you have to promise to keep it secret."

"We shouldn't be telling him anything," Insisted Severus, "I thought we agreed we didn't need too many people in the know."

Remus looked back and forth between Mary and Severus, "Is this why you guys have all been hiding in the girl's loo? So you have been up to something?"

"You would see it that way, wouldn't you?" Severus sneered, "Despite the absurd and unfounded suspicions of your former cohorts, our dealings are far from nefarious, despite what Potter would have everyone believe."

He turned back to the group, "He isn't a part of this matter. I see no reason to include him just to make him feel welcome. This isn't primary school; we have bigger things to worry about than someone feeling left out."

"Yes, but Remus could be helpful," Thea reasoned, "After all, he's got that map now that his friends used to follow people all over the school. It could help us find the chamber."

Simone scoffed, "You would take his side. And don't mention the chamber; we haven't decided to share anything with him yet."

"But would it really be so bad to include him?" Davis asked while Simone and Thea glared at each other, "As a prefect, he can gain access to information from places we can't. The library's restricted section is open to him and Lily more readily than us. Plus, he's so unassuming; no professor would be suspicious of him snooping around."

"Still right here, guys," Lupin reminded everyone awkwardly.

"Are you all forgetting that his former friends are still hoping to make amends," Severus asked in exasperation, "Last thing we need is to share vital information with him while those dunces are dogging his every step—and yes, Lupin, pun intended with the dog quip!"

Lupin cringed at the mention of Sirius's animagus form.

"Severus, Remus is very smart," Mary coaxed gently, "It would be helpful to have another analytical mind working on this."

Severus turned to Mary in dismay, "Now you're for this too?"

Mary looked away, ashamed, "I'm just saying that we need all the brain power we can get."

"Well I agree with Severus," Lily announced.

Everyone looked in shock at Lily, while Severus almost seemed relieved.

"No offense, Remus," Lily assured her friend, "It's not that I don't trust you, but you've got so much on your plate already. What with your condition and then James and Sirius sneaking around your back. We're dealing with a very serious issue here and I would hate to drag you into something so complicated."

"Shouldn't that be my decision?" Lupin asked.

"No," Severus and Simone deadpanned.

"Once again, it isn't anything against you," Lily threw in comfortingly, "It's just that adding more people to the mix would only make more for us to keep track of. Secrets usually only work when they're known by as few people as possible."

"But we need the extra help," Nesme whined.

"No," Severus said, "We don't."

"I say we put it to a vote," Davis suggested.

"Don't bother," Severus growled, "I can see the majority rules here. If you need me, I'll be in my dorm."

He stormed off as fast as he could without inciting Madam Pince's wrath.

"Severus, wait," Mary called after him. She made to follow, only to be held back by Lily.

"Give him time to cool down," she advised, "Trust me, he doesn't reason well when mad."

"Speaking from experience?" Simone inquired, "While you're all filling in your precious Lupin, I'll go pull the broomstick out of Snape's ass."

"Sim," Thea said softly.

Simone gave her a pointed look, "You want to fill him in, go right ahead. I can't stop you." She strode off towards the exit.

"So…" Lupin said after a few moments of silence, "What exactly am I missing here?"

{page break}

Severus was sitting sulkily on his bed when Simone entered.

"Just invite yourself in, why don't you," Severus said sourly.

"Don't mind if I do," Simone replied. She turned to Stebbins, one of Severus's dorm mates.

"Out!" Simone barked angrily, pointing a long, manicured fingernail at the door. Stebbins fled as if a dementor was on his tail, the door closing behind him with a resounding thud.

"Did you come back here to pout," Simone asked, plopping herself down on the end of Severus's bed.

"Did you come in here to bitch?" Severus quipped.

Simone raised her hands in mock surrender, "Ooh, the little snake has fangs today, I see."

Severus turned away from Simone with a scowl, "Save it, Simone. I'm not in the mood for your games."

"No games here," Simone said honestly, "Truthfully I'm just as uneasy about letting Lupin in on the secret as you are. Though, I imagine your reasons are more personal than actual concerns on his trustworthiness."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Severus denied.

Simone raised a disbelieving brow, "Really? So this has nothing to do with him being a former enemy of yours? You're basing your objection to his inclusion entirely on the safety of sharing our secrets with any more people?"

"Yes," Severus insisted.

Simone only stared.

Severus sighed, "Okay, if you're not going to budge until you get what you want out of me, then yes, I don't want him involved because it's him."

"Old grudges die hard," Simone recited.

Severus grimaced, "Don't I know it. Look, he and his friends made my time here miserable. The one place I should have been able to escape all the utter dragonshit that made up my life and they came in and ruined it. Sure he hasn't been actively a part of it in years, but he used to raise his wand just as willingly as them, just as gleefully. And he's a prefect now; all those times he could have intervened, he didn't."

Simone nodded, "Yeah, he did let them run wild."

Severus's scowl deepened, "And for what? The flimsy excuse that he may lose his only friends if he refused to let them have their fun? Are his excuses acceptable while me hanging around my dorm mates for fear of my own safety was somehow inexcusable?"

Severus picked at a loose thread on his bedsheets, "So what if Lupin's changed? It was long overdue. That doesn't mean he suddenly deserves a free pass simply because he feels guilty; he should feel guilty. Why should I have to include him in the first real group of friends I've ever had? This is my group and our mission. When I talk, you all listen to me. You trust me."

"You think we'll end up liking him more than you?" Simone theorized.

"Everyone always does!" Severus snarled, "Why do you think he and his lot have gotten away with so much for so long? Because everyone likes the Marauders. They're the 'good guys', the heroes. People just naturally follow them."

"Well, Lupin's no leader," Simone pointed out, "That's more the other toerags thing. Lupin's just a mopey, sad werewolf," she punched Severus in the arm, "And fuck you and Thea for keeping that from me, by the way. I have a right to know."

Severus rubbed his arm, "You really didn't. How'd you find out anyway?"

Simone snorted, "The bloody idiot actually told me himself during a study session with him and Thea. He mentioned it casually because he assumed I already knew by now."

"So he's a blabbermouth even with his own secrets," Severus groaned, putting his head in his hands, "And they're down there telling him everything."

"Well at least Lily was on your side," Simone said optimistically.

Severus nodded, "Yes, that was unexpected. A part of me worries she is only doing so to win me over."

"I doubt that," Simone said, "Lily typically doesn't have the selflessness to just tell people what they want to hear. She's too opinionated. If she voices a thought, you can be sure it's her own."

"True," Severus conceded.

"You two make up yet?" Simone asked.

"No," Severus said dourly.

"Can't get past your differences, I take it?" Simone queried. She turned her gaze to the framed picture on Severus's nightstand, spelled to be untouchable by his dorm maters. Inside the cherished Christmas gift, a young Severus and Lily frolicked about the school grounds under a tree.

"There's nothing to get past," Severus said firmly, "She said before she understood not all Dark Arts are truly as bad as they seem, just as not all light magic is harmless. Then I start dabbling in it—for our own safety, I might add—and she suddenly goes back on her stance."

"You're doing more than dabbling in it," Simone pointed out, "You're back to working on a spell that nearly decapitated you. I think that's sort of cause for concern."

Severus scoffed, "That's hardly the part she's fixating on. She wants to preach to me about morals because I'm trying to stay one step ahead of our enemies."

"You're poking around in people's heads," Simone stated sternly, "That's far from simple. I mean, how would you feel if—"

Severus cut her off, "Save it; I'm well aware of your feelings on this matter. I don't have to justify myself to you."

Simone pursed her lips, "I wasn't saying you had to. I get why you're doing it. Still, though, if there was a less…questionable way to do it…"

"There is no other way," Severus insisted, standing up to pace the room, "As of now, I have no way of knowing what Lucius has planned for us short of looking into his head. If that's the only option, I'll gladly take it. I honestly felt you of all people would understand."

Simone frowned, "What makes you say that?"

"Because this is war," Severus cried, turning to face her, "You know as well as I do that this is no time to fight fair. You can't always skate through life upholding the moral right. Sometimes your principals must be compromised. No one gets through this squeaky clean."

"And I realize that," Simone replied, "Trust me; I don't expect you to pussyfoot around the issues when people's lives are at stake. I'd do the same in your position."

"Would you, though?" Severus questioned, "For all your bravado, you are infuriatingly insistent on taking the high ground, if only to make yourself look good."

Simone choked out a disbelieving laugh, "What?"

Severus threw his hands up, "All the speeches. The rants, the lectures about right and wrong, fair and foul. You just love to have the moral high ground. Don't tell me you would throw all of that away and actually fight dirty if the occasions called for it."

"Hey I stood up for you," Simone argued, "I told Lily you weren't doing this to be a bad person. I tried to smooth things over between you."

"Oh, why thank you," Severus gushed with much sarcasm, "It warms my heart that you would go to such lengths for me despite it conflicting with your own beliefs."

Simone narrowed her eyes, unimpressed, "Don't give me an attitude. I get why you're doing this."

Severus laughed darkly, "Do you? Because I was under the impression you were quite content to sit on your high horse judging me."

Simone rolled her eyes, "Just because I don't necessarily agree with your tactics, doesn't mean I am judging you. For the record, I support your decision to protect Lily, to protect yourself. I just hope you realize what it is you're doing."

"I understand better than anyone else," Severus snapped, "The question is do you? At this point, I truly doubt you can understand my feelings."

Simone glared at Severus, "And what feelings are those?"

"Powerless!" Severus shouted, "Helplessness. You've lived in your cozy bubble of privilege your whole life, protected by mummy and daddy. For all your talk about the name calling and the racial discrimination, you were still living a life others would kill for, with hardly any worries other than hurt feelings. At the end of the day, you still returned to your safe little bubble, where daddy has the money and influence to make everything go away."

"How dare you belittle me," Simone hissed, "Don't presume to know me or anything about me, Snape."

"I know enough," Severus said hotly, "What you went through is insignificant to what's happening around you now. For once in your life, the Great, unflappable Simone is out of her depth and it scares you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Simone growled.

"Thea!" Severus bit out, "She's well on her way to marry what can only be described as a madman and for all your wealth and privilege, you're powerless to do anything about it. It gnaws at you, doesn't it? Knowing that she is headed for hell on earth and you can't do a damn thing about it. The Great Simone doesn't have the answers for once."

Simone clenched her fists, "You take that back."

Severus sneered, "Why? Does it offend you to hear the truth? For all the times you had to be right, all the times you've preached down to us, telling us how to solve our problems like we were simpletons, here you can't even save your best friend."

"Shut up, Snape!" Simone barked.

"Make me!" Severus challenged, "You're not all knowing. You don't have all the answers, and that scares you. Yet you want to sit there and judge me for my choices. At least I'm actually doing something. Lily needs me and I'm doing all in my power to protect her while you can't do a damn thing!"

"What is wrong with you?!" Simone snarled, "I didn't come up here to fight, so don't be an ass."

Severus bit out a laugh, "So I'm an ass if I tell you what you don't want to hear? Admit it: you've searched for loopholes and quick fixes to this mess the 'right way' and you've got nothing. There is no good way to save Thea, not one that allows you to keep your principals. The question is, will you act to help her or will you let her marry that bastard and live in misery just to keep your pristine moral compass intact?!"

He never saw the fist coming. One minute Severus was standing in the middle of the room and the next he was on the floor, splayed out by the nightstand, a red mark blossoming across his cheek.

Simone stood over him, rage still burning in her eyes for a split second before it faded and was rapidly replaced by shock.

"I…" Simone began in mortification, slapping a hand to her mouth. Shame spread across her face. "I-I'm sorr—"

She turned on her heel and threw the door open, running from the room.

"Sim?" came Thea's voice, having returned from the library, "Sim, what's wrong? Sim!"

The slamming of the common room door echoed loudly.

"Severus?" Thea called, cautiously poking her head into the boy's room. Her eyes searched the room before finally landing on him.

"Severus!" she cried in horror, rushing forward. She dropped to her knees besides him, cupping his cheek carefully, "What happened?"

"Nothing," Severus replied, wincing.

"This isn't nothing," Thea insisted, cradling Severus's face in her hands, "I passed Simone in the common room. Did…did she do this?"

"No," Severus lied, not sure why he did it, "I was testing modifications on Sectumsempra and it ricocheted. I'm just glad it didn't cut me. I have no idea what Simone's problem is."

Thea didn't look very convinced, but for some reason Severus couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. He wasn't sure if he felt proud or ashamed that he managed to undo Simone's well put upon composure.

He knew he'd been pushing, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. After all he'd been through, he was sick of people pretending to understand him and yet question his choices. None of them were in his shoes, but everyone wanted to weigh on on how he should live his life, Simone in particular. She always had to have the last word; because she thought she was always in the right.

Severus was never one to back down. In the face of challenge or opposition, Severus tended to fight back, as underhandedly as possible. Having spent his life being beaten on by people bigger than him physically or outnumbered, more often than not his words were his best weapon, derailing focus and catching other's off guard. It's worked a number of times on Potter. It had mixed results with his father, but most days, Severus would just relish the reaction he got out of the most hated man in his universe.

So he pushed. He pushed, he pushed, and somehow, he managed to undo all her hard work over the years. He tore down her unshakable demeanor and brought back out the volatile, impulsive child she had locked away out of shame back in her first year. It would be satisfying if her reaction in the aftermath hadn't been so unsettling.

Severus swallowed. The look of absolute horror on Simone's face put a gnawing feeling in his stomach that felt very much like guilt.

Everyone has their breaking point, guys. Simone's not immune to that fact.

For all the experiences and perspectives Simone has had the liberty to go through and provide, she still lived within one bubble of privileged; wealth. Most of her problems with discrimination can hurt emotionally, devalue her even, but can never truly harm her in a physical way or endanger her. Money has the power to shield her from much of the worst of society and humanity. So being put in a position where she can't solve a problem, where someone she cares for can be hurt, that rattles her. What rattles her more is the knowledge that someone else is aware of that powerlessness.

Review friends!