Lucius Malfoy is deeply concerned for the welfare of his betrothed. Someone is dead—and Hermione could still be in grave danger. Meanwhile, clues and riddles are being scattered throughout Hogwarts, and apparently targeting Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. The problem is that Severus' concern for Hermione may run deeper than he realizes. Can he figure out the clues before another student or Hermione dies?
Murder, Magic, Mayhem, and Madness
October Continues
Severus kept to the shadows as Mr. Finch-Fletchley and Hermione concluded their rounds, still unaware that he followed them. Well, at least boy was unaware; Hermione kept looking over her shoulder as if seeking his presence in the shadows. Severus knew that his Disillusion Charm was impenetrable, he'd used it much too often as a spy to doubt it, and the Muting Charm on his boots made his passage silent. Still, each time Hermione looked back over her shoulder, her gaze seemed to stop on him regardless, as if she could sense him.
"Seems that things have quieted down," Mr. Finch-Fletchley whispered to Hermione. She turned her attention to him, and he continued, "I mean, there haven't been any more incidents of that bloody mud."
Severus watched as Hermione nodded while peering into a recessed doorway. "Thankfully," she replied softly.
"So, you think that the one who was doing it has given up?" the boy asked as Hermione uttered a revealing charm. Severus felt the tingle of her spell and saw the annoyed smirk on her face as two voices exclaimed in surprise.
Hermione swished her wand and the tip glowed green. "Two Slytherins out after curfew. I suggest you drop the Disillusionment and return to your dorm rooms." A faint cursing came from the doorway as Hermione moved to the center of the corridor. A moment later, two sixth-year Slytherins came out, Miss Alexandry, blushing profusely although looking as haughty as ever, and Mr. Calderon, glaring at Hermione angrily, both still adjusting their robes.
Severus quietly deducted the fifteen points each from Slytherin as they passed him, knowing that Hermione would indicate that Slytherin should be deducted the thirty points in her report.
"It seems to have stopped, but you never know," Hermione stated. "It may just be that whoever was responsible for the mud felt that they weren't making their point or didn't get the reaction they wanted. They may have given up, or worse, they may be considering using another tactic. I'm more afraid that things might escalate." Mr. Finch-Fletchley inhaled sharply, asking her if she believed it, and Hermione shrugged. "Keep in mind that the person responsible was never caught, and the Headmaster hasn't lowered the restrictions nor has he dismissed the Aurors. Until that happens, we had best be on the lookout for anything suspicious."
In the shadows, Severus smirked, not surprised that Hermione was so perceptive. They continued on their rounds, checking doorways and ensuring that the classrooms on the corridor were indeed as empty as they appeared to be. At the end of the corridor, Hermione stopped and retraced her steps standing in front of the suit of armor that faced the stairs. She withdrew a wadded sheet of parchment from one the gauntlets, which was holding a broadsword. She carefully flattened out the page and carried it closer to a wall sconce.
"It's a poem," she stated. Mr. Finch-Fletchley leaned forward, so Hermione began reading it aloud.
Never ahead, ever behind,
Yet flying swiftly past;
For a child I last forever,
For adults I'm gone too fast.
Never regained, always remembered
Destined to cometh to an end
Yet shall be repined.
The boy shook his head. "It's not just a poem—it's a riddle." Hermione looked up at him and he shrugged. "I went out with Mandy for a while; she loved riddles."
Hermione repeated the riddle slowly, then turned back to him and he shrugged. "Birthdays, Christmas… hols…" he suggested as possible guesses.
"No, I don't think so…" she said, her voice trailing away. "It says 'never ahead,' but I suppose it could be… I mean, if it's a birthday you're never the same age twice."
Severus scoffed at them and ended his Disillusion Charm.
Hermione's eyes became wide as her lip slipped out from under her front teeth, and her puzzled frown widened into a huge smile. "Childhood! 'For a child I last forever, for adults I'm gone too fast'—your childhood… cometh to the end." Her face fell, and for a moment Severus thought it was because she'd spotted him as he walked up to the pair.
"How do you mean?" Mr. Finch-Fletchley asked. "Is it another threat?"
"Could be—I dunno," she mumbled staring intently at the writing, then looking up, unfocused on nothing. "The end of childhood—no, childhood ending!"
"Very good, Miss Granger," Severus said smoothly, startling the boy, but Hermione simply turned quickly, her expression telling Severus that she was glad to see him. "However, it is a possible threat unless we can determine the true intent of the riddle. Now, please give it to me."
"How do we do that, sir?" Hermione asked earnestly.
Severus scowled at her. "First, it is not up to you to determine the intent of the riddle or to deduce who wrote it. Secondly, I have no need of your meddling. Please hand it over." Flushing, she handed him the parchment. "Now, I suggest that you both return to your dorm rooms for the night."
"Sir, we just found it, on the suit of armor," she tried to explain before he held up his hand.
"I know where you found it, Miss Granger; I was coming down the corridor when you did."
Though her expression said she was slightly crushed, Hermione nodded, and then started to walk away. She stopped and turned to face him. "I think a girl wrote it."
He inhaled slowly, trying to maintain his patience with her. "Pray tell how you deduced that?"
"The script has swirls a boy wouldn't make, the dots on the 'i's are curved—not dots or slants, and the ink is the type preferred by girls not boys—iridescent not flat." She shrugged. "It's just a hunch." Severus scowled as he considered what she'd said. "Well, good night, Professor."
"Yes, good night, Professor Snape," the boy added politely albeit nervously.
"Good night, Miss Granger, Mr. Finch-Fletchley," he intoned automatically to both, deep in thought, and watched them both hurry off. The riddle could be innocent enough, discarded by some student and just left on the suit of armor. Severus would speak to the house-elves to check the other suits around the castle and report any and all similar pieces of parchment to him. Severus shook his head. Great! Now I have to pay attention to the trash as well.
~oo0oo~
Severus hurried down to the Entrance Hall the next morning and quickly followed the most direct routes to both the Hufflepuff common room and then the Gryffindor common room, finally relaxing when he didn't see any defacement of the school walls. He considered walking to the Ravenclaw tower, but as it was nearly breakfast time, changed his mind. Filius was most likely doing the same as he was, checking the main corridors for any more messages on the walls.
So far, the house-elves hadn't found any more pieces of parchment on the suits of armor, although now every suit gleamed brightly in the torchlights from being polished nearly every night. He would have to speak to the matriarch of the elves in regards to the extra duties that they had taken on themselves. Polishing the suits every night hadn't been what he'd asked of them when he'd said to check them, and he didn't want the elves overtaxed with extra work.
There hadn't been any further incidents in the prefect bath either, for which Severus was grateful. He was proud that the Slytherin prefects had been the first to return to the bath, unafraid of going there as a group and smirked that it had been the Ravenclaws who'd returned to use the facilities before the Gryffindors had. But the Hufflepuffs were still keeping away, which was understandable considering it was one of their own that'd drowned.
Madam Pince had been to Severus' office the night before to complain about the defacement of a very old tome. Three pages had been torn from the book, and she'd told him in dulcet tones that she was uncertain if they could be replaced. Severus had signed the request for the borrowing of a copy of the book from Beauxbatons, telling her that Hagrid would be pleased to take her letter to Madame Maxime. Mr. Rolfe brought Hagrid a Portkey from the Ministry that would transport him to the school and back, and Severus granted him leave for an extended weekend.
No sooner had the owls arrived at breakfast than Hermione turned in her seat as if trying to locate someone, a worried expression crossing her face when her eyes momentarily locked onto his. Severus scanned the room carefully keeping Hermione in his range of view and saw nothing untoward, but clearly something was making Hermione uncomfortable. Almost as soon as Severus was dismissing it as having misread the girl's expression, Hermione grabbed some sausages and a croissant, and quickly left the hall. Severus watched her leave wondering what the girl was up to and realized she was most likely heading to the library.
Back in his office, Severus couldn't shake the feeling that something had bothered Hermione at breakfast. He tried to concentrate on the reports of his Heads of Houses when the tintinnabulation from the bell on his desk announced that someone wanted to see him who didn't know the current password. He touched his wand to the bell, welcoming the distraction.
Hermione entered his office brandishing a page, which had apparently been ripped out of the old tome. "I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but I found this in the library. It was left on the floor near a windowsill in the potions section. There is a poem written on it in the same ink as the slip of parchment I found in the corridor."
Severus knew the windowsill well. It had been his favorite spot in the library to read as a student, and he was well aware that it was Hermione's as well. He narrowed his eyes and held out his hand. Hermione quickly closed the gap between herself and his desk, handing him the parchment. The page looked like it might have been one of the missing pages from the tome Madam Pince had been ranting about earlier. He read the lines written on the page, recognizing the lyrics to the song Scarborough Fair, he'd liked as a kid. Interspaced between the lyrics, much as Simon and Garfunkel had done were the lines of a poem.
Tell her to weave it on unicorn bone
A harvest sown and reaped on the same day
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme...
In an unplowed field, which increases without growing
and dye it with the blood of old stone
Remains whole though it is eaten within and without
if she would be a true love of mine..."
Please don't go to Scarborough Fair
On the side of a hill from the forest of deepest green
Violets, roses, thistles and vines
Watches the grave, a soldier brandishes his wand
Remember me, I am still here
War bellows blazing in scarlet battalions, their soldiers to kill
He once was a true love of mine
And to fight for a cause they've long ago lost
Remember me to one who lived there
The child of the mountain answered the clarion call
He was not a true love of mine
He reread the lines between the verses and cringed inwardly. "Thank you, Her—Miss Granger."
"You know, when we are alone you may call me Hermione," she said softly, looking at him hopefully. The sincerity in her gaze sent a shiver down his spine, and he wanted to come around the desk to see what she'd do if he stood close to her, close enough to touch, but didn't. She shifted, watching him as she awaited his response.
He wanted to—did use her name in his mind frequently, but dared not cross that line lest the act lead to other things he was desperately trying to control around her. "No, Miss Granger, it would be inappropriate." He motioned to the portraits on the wall. "And as you can see, a Headmaster is never alone. Thank you for bringing me this. I will have it looked into right away. You may resume to your studies."
Her hopeful expression fell to one of regret. "Oh, of course, sir. I'll leave you to your work. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, but I knew you'd want that as soon as possible. Oh, I realized you've changed your password. If you'd please, I could let the other Head Prefects know what the new one is, if you'd like me to."
"Leucanthemum vulgare," he answered without looking up.
Hermione practically bounced, and he looked up at her exuberant face with a questioning brow. "The same flower I brought you in the hospital, the marguerite daisy," she stated and he nodded.
"The same," he admitted, remembering now why he'd chosen that one as he quickly added, "and a preferred substitute for the Bellis perennis more commonly used in bruise and wart removal potions."
"I'll remember that. Thank you, sir," she said, grinning.
He watched her leave, sighing heavily as the door closed.
"You know, Headmaster, she's a lovely young woman," Dilys Derwent said from her frame.
"She is a student," Severus replied drolly.
"She's infatuated with you, I dare say, my boy," Dexter Fortescue stated.
"He shouldn't be skirting after the students, anyway," Everard scowled at the portrait across from him.
"Severus, Miss Granger is nineteen, if my memory serves me, and quite the eligible young witch," the portrait of Dumbledore said with his customary twinkle in his eyes. "She is quite smitten with you."
"Enough!" Severus barked. "I know how you all feel about my love life." He ignored a few snorts and several chuckles from the paintings. "She is a student—off limits as set forth by the guidelines of our school charter and our bylaws. I will not skirt about after a student, no matter how exceptional she is."
"I'm just saying that she's not really a student so much as a young lady perusing higher education," Dilys stated. "You just did admit that she's an exceptional young lady of age, and as such, being that she is two years older than most seventh years, she is not technically a…"
"Enough!" Severus said softly, definitely warning the painted witch she'd gone too far.
"A student enrolled in the school," Phineas snarled at the same time, glaring at Dilys. "He has the right of it. Headmasters shouldn't skirt after students!"
"But you do like her, Severus. Surely there is no harm in getting to know the girl better," Dexter added, unperturbed. "She won't be a student forever. You could spend some time with her—get to know the young lady. Possibly lay the groundwork for a relationship with her after her studies… You do make a nice pair."
Severus turned around and glared at the painted wizard in his frame. "Does the word turpentine mean anything to you? Leave off my private affairs with Hermione."
"That's the way of it," Dexter answered with a grin.
Severus decided to go make rounds of the dungeons. There were no paintings in the dungeons.
~oo0oo~
Shawna came into the seventh-year dorm, sat down on Hermione's bed, and gently shook her shoulder until Hermione woke up. "Wa—what, is it," Hermione asked, stretching as she sat up.
"As one of the Head Girls… if I found anything weird… I should come to you, right?" Shawna asked without any of her usual morning exuberance.
Hermione nodded and wiped her eyes, looking at the younger girl with concern. Shawna had apparently just come back from her morning run, as wisps of her strawberry blond hair had escaped her ponytail and her cheeks were flushed, but she was somber and her shoulders were sagging. "What happened? What's wrong—oh, right. You found something. What did you find?"
"This drawing of the Gryffindor lion was tacked up on the common room notice board with a potions knife—right next to the announcement for the first Hogsmeade weekend," Shawna replied, handing Hermione the parchment. "I know it's one of Dean's. I have a few of them in my—but why would it be put up on the board with a knife?"
"That's a very good question." Hermione looked at the drawing. The tear from the knife was in the lion's chest. "It's one of Dean's all right. Let me get dressed. I want you to come with me to the Headmaster's office."
"It's not even five thirty," Shawna said, jumping up as Hermione rolled out of bed. "He'll be asleep."
"Not Severus—Snape," Hermione corrected herself quickly, shaking her head and stretching again. "He'll be up. If not, we'll find an Auror."
As it was, Severus was standing outside his office, talking to the two Aurors and Professor Flitwick. Their conversation stopped as soon as Severus saw Hermione, followed closely by Shawna, as they came around the corner. The men and woman waited patiently until the girls approached. "Sir, Ma'am, Professor, Headmaster," Hermione greeted them in turn. "This was brought to my attention this morning by Shawna Halsey." Shawna nodded shyly to the Headmaster and smiled at Professor Flitwick as Hermione handed Severus the drawing.
Severus took the drawing, apparently not understanding the significance. "It was tacked up on the notice board with a potions knife. Shawna found it when she returned from her run."
"From your run?" Severus asked, turning on the girl. Shawna turned a deep shade of pink. "And where is the knife?"
Shawna apparently couldn't look Severus in the eye. "I left it on the notice board, sir."
"Well, I suggest that you go get it," Severus stated coolly. "Before any other Gryffindors wake up and see a knife sticking out of the notice board—for no apparent reason—and become concerned."
Shawna looked up, met Severus' gaze, and paled. "Oh, my! Y-ess. Oh, so-orry, I'll just..."
"Go," Severus snapped, and Shawna took off as if he'd signaled the start of a race.
"I'll go with her," the female Auror stated as she took off running after Shawna.
"She'll never catch her," the second Auror, an Indian man, stated. "That girl can run. I have to use a broom to follow her." Severus looked at the Auror with quirk of his eyebrow. "Every morning at four, like clockwork, she runs a ten-K around the grounds. Nice stride, that one."
Severus turned to Hermione. "What do you know about this?" he asked, irritability making him sound harsh.
Hermione looked up at Severus, surprised he didn't already know. "She runs every morning, regardless of the weather, and then comes back to stretch…"
"Not the girl—the drawing," he said impatiently.
"Oh, nothing, except what Shawna told me," she replied, blushing at her misunderstanding. "She woke me up and told me about the drawing—that she'd found it on the notice board. I noticed where the knife had been stuck and knew you'd want to see it, considering all the other things I've found lately."
Severus nodded. "Go on back to your dorm room. I'd like to keep this drawing, if you don't mind. Please keep quiet of this. Hopefully, it's nothing, but all the same, I don't want others to get upset over something that could be benign."
Mr. Abhay Khalsa waited until Hermione had turned the corner. "So, do you think that this is a kid's prank or something we should be concerned about?"
Severus turned his attention to the Auror. "If this was a prank for house rivalry, the offending item would not have been posted on the common room notice board, it would have been sent to Mr. Thomas or another team player directly, or posted where the entire school could find it."
"So, you think that this something intentionally planted by a Gryffindor?" Mr. Khalsa asked.
"I don't think a Gryffindor would have done this. I'll inform Professor McGonagall and have her speak to the house prefects. Considering what Miss Granger found previously, I am not going to discount its possible significance," Severus explained, before excusing himself to go and speak to Minerva before breakfast.
~oo0oo~
The morning before the first Hogsmeade weekend, Hermione was startled awake by the tapping on her window. She carefully moved her vases of flowers and let Lucius' hawk owl enter the room with a package wrapped in red paper with a silver chord. She apologized to the owl that she didn't have anything for him, and promised to be extra generous next time he came. He turned with a screech and flew away. Hermione set the small present on her bed, and replaced the flowers before turning to see what Lucius had sent her. The small card under the cord on her present read:
Hermione,
I miss you terribly. This time apart has been so lonely without you here.
I couldn't resist picking this up for you.
To enlarge the package, use a simple Finite Incantatem.
Wear this in remembrance of me. I think this color is divine on you.
Forever yours,
Lucius
Hermione easily ended the spell and opened the box, pulling out a luxurious cashmere sweater, scarf, and gloves in a deep rich green. Hermione chuckled softly, and rubbed her face in the soft knit, amazed at the quality. She loved cashmere. Of all the types of wool, this was her favorite. She heard Amanda stirring and noted that the thin shaft of sunlight was only inches from Ginny's face. Both girls would be awake soon. Hermione folded up her present and placed them lovingly in her trunk. She lifted the box to dispose of it and smiled as she felt something roll across the bottom of the box, making it tip. She pushed the tissues aside and smiled at the bottle of mead. Grinning, Hermione decided to wait to drink Lucius' honeyed-mead that night while she revised. She dressed quickly, then pulled out the books she'd need for lessons and the essays due today, going through them while waiting for her friends to wake.
Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, Hermione found her mind wandering, thinking about the mead in her trunk. At both breakfast and lunch, she had sipped her pumpkin juice, wishing she were sipping the mead instead. By dinner, the urge to drink her mead had grown so that she could hardly wait to go to her room.
Hermione hurried upstairs and extracted her Arithmancy books, the parchment with her equations, and her mead from her trunk, then set her ink and quill on her bedside table. She settled on her bed, opened her book, reviewing the instructions for tri-lineal multi-component equations as she popped the top off the bottle and took a sip of the mead, nearly moaning in pleasure at the taste. The rich flavor filled her mouth, and she closed her eyes as she swallowed. The smooth honeyed flavor with the rich apricot and almond undertones swirled on her tongue and sent a warm trail down her throat to her stomach. With a sigh, Hermione put the bottle between her legs, smiling at the cool feel of the bottle, and dipped her quill to begin the first equation. Half way through the first one, she took another large sip of her mead, feeling the light heady effect of the mead's flavors as she savored the flavor, closing her eyes as she swallowed.
She sat motionless for a moment, enjoying the warmth she felt as the liquor went down her throat, seemingly to send warm shivers down her arms as well. She forced herself to look at the parchment to finish the equation. That one done, she sipped the mead again, lost in the deep satisfying taste, the light heady pleasure of the flavors, and the way it seemed to help her relax. Three sips later she'd finished the third equation and by the fourth, Hermione set her quill aside and leaned back against her headboard.
Still taking small sips, the warm sensation of the mead going down her throat sent shivers down her body, like the soft tender stokes of fingertips, and the light headiness played on her mind like fingers trailing through her hair. The smooth mixture of honey, apricot, and almond seemed to gain a slight warm citrus tone that nearly had a musky yet salty aftertaste. With her eyes closed, Hermione could almost feel Lucius' fingers on her hair and skin, and feel his breath on her neck and chest. A delicious tightening seemed to build in her belly and her arms and legs felt heavy, although she felt aroused and content at the same time. As she reached the end of the bottle, the tingling was like long stroking massages with the warm fire from kisses on her skin. Her legs spread of their own accord, her head rolled back, her heart raced, and she was breathing deeply. The tension in her core was building, growing and spreading through her and with the last gulp of the mead she felt herself melt into a feeling a bliss, enjoying the musky-sweet, salty aftertaste offsetting the honey, apricot, almond, and warm citrus.
October continues ~
~~oooo0oooo~~
Author's Notes:
The riddles for this story come from:
Some have been altered for the story.
Many thanks to my betas, Pookah, CourtneyRochelle, and MadBrilliant for helping me clean up my many mistakes. I really appreciate it more than you can possibly know. I'd be ashamed to show my story to anyone without your invaluable help. And to era1960 for being there when I needed to bounce ideas and have a second opinion, thank you for being a friend.
