Squib Puppet
a Harry Potter fan-fic
by Ozma
a sequel to "A Squib's Proper Place"
Chapter Two: Sleepwalker



I woke up, gasping, from a nightmare that had left me shaken.
Terrible dreams had plagued me for the past three nights. The details of
the nightmares always faded within moments after I woke. The only thing
that I could remember was someone speaking to me in a smooth, compelling
voice.

My sudden movement had disturbed the nine cats who were sharing my
bed. Rudely awakened, they stared at me reproachfully. Their golden eyes
were bright in the moonlight that shone through my window.

Mrs. Norris purred. The soothing sound helped to calm my racing
heart. Her eight kittens, nearly ready now to leave their mother,
surrounded me inquisitively.

"No, Paladin, I don't want to play. Bastet, stop! That tickles!
Ouch! Azoth, get away from my feet!"

It's hard to remain afraid when one is surrounded by playful
kittens. The indistinct images from my nightmare had already slipped
from my mind.

*******

Early the next morning, I was polishing a suit of armor near the
portrait of the Fat Lady. A soft gasp behind me made me turn round.

"Mr. Filch? Are you all right?"

Callandra Moffitt stood there, her brown eyes worried.

Puzzled, I frowned at her. "Of course I am."

"Are you sure?" the girl asked.

"Yes," I said, gruffly.

I'm very fond of Callandra, but lack of sleep was making me
particularly bad tempered. Her question exasperated me. Didn't the child
think I'd know if I was all right or not?

Neville Longbottom, who stood beside Callandra, looked from one of
us to the other.

"He does seem a bit pale," Neville said, to Callandra. "Do you see
something more than that?"

My exasperation increased. I am also very fond of Neville, but the
two of them were speaking about me as if I was something from their Care
of Magical Creatures class!

Callandra nodded, frowning. "There's something around him.
Something that ...hurts. It's hard to explain."

The girl shivered. "Neville, can't you feel it?"

Neville shook his head. "It must be a Squib-thing," the boy said.

"It is *not* a Squib-thing," I snapped, glowering. "If it was,
then I would be able to feel it too, wouldn't I?"

The two of them exchanged a meaningful glance; the sort of look
that seems to contain an entire converstaion, but they said nothing
aloud.

"Hurry along, now. You'll be late for breakfast. I have work to do
and you're keeping me from it!" I said, testily.

*******

A bit later, Ginny Weasley also asked me if I was all right.

"I'm perfectly fine!" I growled. Then I bit my tongue. I can yell
at almost anyone without regretting it, but snarling at Ginny always
makes me feel dreadful.

"Merlin's Beard, child. I'm sorry. I'm just tired. Have you ever
tried to sleep with nine cats using you for a Quidditch pitch?"

She laughed, which made me feel a bit better. Then she continued
on to breakfast, and I continued polishing.

*******

That night I awakened, shuddering, from another dream. I managed
to hold fast to some memories before they could slip from my mind. There
had been tall trees around me and a powerful Dark Wizard who had held
me, helpless. The smooth, compelling voice had been his.

There had been a boy there, too. He had stood between me and the
Dark one. A boy I'd formerly considered one of the worst brats in the
school...

I had a vague recollection of pale eyes in a thin, haggard face.
No, perhaps the boy had grey eyes?

I sighed. The rest of the dream's details had faded.

At least I'd managed not to disturb the kittens this time. The
little furballs were piled up in a sleep-heap, after a long day spent
creating havoc.

Mrs. Norris slept beside her offspring. As much as she would miss
them, I knew that she was looking forward to seeing them settled, each
one with the witch or wizard of their choice.

I ran my hand gently along her back until I drifted back to sleep.

*******

I woke again before morning, unable to remember if I'd been
dreaming or not.

To my terror, I discovered that I was not in my bed, or even in my
room!

Red-and-gold was at my back. I had just stepped through the
tapestry into the corridor in front of the stone gargoyle. The
especially ugly one that guards the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

Professor Flitwick had placed his Unreachable Charms in and around
the Headmaster's rooms. Had the Door been trying to bring me to
Dumbledore?

What was I doing here, in my nightshirt? I did not remember
summoning red-and-gold. Was I looking for the Headmaster? Why?

Sleepwalking was something that I had never done before. The
thought that I had apparently just sleepwalked through my Door made me
tremble.

What was wrong with me?

Sending red-and-gold away, I stumbled away from the stone gargoyle
and wandered the Castle corridors aimlessly.

I found myself roaming through the echoing Great Hall. The
enchanted starry night sky looked down on empty chairs and empty tables.
After I'd circled the staff table several times, my restless journey
took me out into the entrance hall.

Worn out but too afraid to sleep, I headed down into the dungeons.
The smooth voice haunted me.

At the base of the staircase there's a small shadowy area between
the edge of the stairs and the wall. Creeping in there, I curled up in
the darkness.

Rocking back and forth in misery, I didn't realize that anyone
else was near, until a quiet voice asked,

"Mr. Filch? Are you hurt?"

Gasping in fear, I looked up to see the softly flickering light
from the torches on the stair-well reflecting off a pair of round
glasses.

Harry Potter stood on the stairs, looking down at me.

Where had he come from? I had seen no one. I frowned up at him and
shook my head.

"I'm fine," I whispered, shivering. "Go away, go to bed."

The boy's worried look deepened.

"Aren't you going to yell at me and give me detention?" Potter
asked. Then he frowned, ruefully, looking as if he wanted to kick
himself.

("You will not give him detention," the smooth voice had ordered.)

"No. The matter is ended," I murmured.

Relief flickered across the boy's face, only to be replaced by
concern. "Callandra, Neville and Ginny are worried about you, Mr. Filch.
They think that you're ill."

"I'm just tired..." I murmured.

"You should be asleep in your room then," the boy said.

He came down the stairs and reached towards me, giving me a hand
up.

"Potter!" A voice snarled. It was a smooth voice, even filled with
anger as it was. Trembling, I shrank back into the shadows.

"What do you think you're doing? Out of bed at this hour?"

"Professor Snape!" Harry said.

The boy remained between me and the approaching (Dark?) wizard.

No... Severus wasn't a Dark wizard. I had him confused with
someone else.

Snape was now beside Potter, looming over the boy.

"What have you done to Filch?" The Potions Master demanded, as he
caught sight of me.

"Nothing!" Potter protested. "I was just..."

"He didn't do anything, Professor," I said, struggling to sound
normal. "I was just telling him to go to bed."

"And giving him detention, I trust?" Severus sneered.

"That matter has already been dealt with," I said, nomcommitally,
to the boy's relief.

"Off with you, then, Potter," Severus said, coldly. He glowered at
Harry until the boy had gone up the dungeon stairs, out of sight.

Then he turned back to me, his pale face furious.

"It's bad enough that Potter has the habit of wandering around
after hours! If he's played some miserable prank on you, I hope that
you're not going to allow him to simply get away with it!"

"He was only helping me up!" I said.

"What were you doing on the floor in the first place?" Severus
snarled.

"Nothing..."

I couldn't tell him the truth; that I'd been trying to hide from
the voice in my head. Instead I blurted out the first reasonable
explanation that came to mind.

"I-I must have missed a step. I fell."

The look of concern on his face made me uncomfortable. I plowed
onwards, sticking to the complete truth now. "I'm very tired. I've been
having nightmares. I thought perhaps a walk would help."

Severus's face had darkened at the mention of nightmares. I
suspected that he was no stranger to such things himself.

"Professor, can you make me a Dreamless Sleep Potion? Something a
little stronger than the stuff that you brew for Poppy?"

The desperation in my voice made him sigh.

"I have a potion already made that's a little stronger," Severus
said. "I can give you a single dose. No more than that. It may become
addicting."

"Thank you," I murmured.

"Come," Severus said. "You can bring the potion back to your
room."

*******

Summoning green-and-silver, I went directly from Snape's room to
my own.

Mrs. Norris and her kittens were still curled up together on the
bed. I envied them their peaceful slumber.

Taking a glass tumbler from a shelf, I carefully poured the potion
that Severus had given me into it. Then I put the tumbler down on my
bedside table.

I rinsed out the empty glass vial in my small bathroom, drying it
thoroughly with a washcloth.

Then I reached into my pocket. Feeling like a puppet with strings
inexorably pulled by an unseen, unrelenting master, I took out my
handkerchief. Slowly unfolding it, I regarded what was inside.

Moonlight shone on a few very long, very bright silvery strands of
hair. They were Dumbledore's.

I'd found them caught on his chair in the Great Hall. Unable to
stop myself, moving like a man in a dream, I had picked them up and
taken them with me.

The glass potion vial was a perfect place for the strands of
silvery hair. I replaced the stopper and slipped the vial into my coat
pocket.

Then, numbly, I drank the potion.

I lay down along the edge of the bed where I would not disturb any
of the cats.

As Severus had promised, my sleep was without dreams. I lay
unmoving until long after dawn.

Even the kittens did not wake me.

END OF CHAPTER TWO





Author's Notes:


Saphron: Thank you!!

Pendragon: Thank you!! Here's the next chapter!! Yes, I feel sorry for
Draco too. There really isn't anything that he can do to stop Lucius.

Liz: Thank you!! Writing Filch's interactions with Snape is something
that I particularly like to do.

Sirius couldn't have unlimited access or control over the Doors. Filch
first gained access to the Doors because he was a Squib and their
protective spells couldn't keep him out. But, over the years, all four
of them became "keyed" to him, meaning that he's the only one that can
use them. No one, not even another Squib, could walk through unless he
takes them in.

(The only exceptions would be each Founder's Heir. And even one of the
Heirs would need Filch to take them through their Door once, in order
for the Door to recognize them.)

Though, Sirius will find out in this story what happens when an Animagus
goes through a Door.

Besnaped: Thank you!! Snape is among those who have noticed that
something is wrong with Filch.

Blue Moon: Thank you!! (Begins CPR!!)

UnrepentantReader: Thank you!!

Gramarye: Thank you!!

Darklady: Thank you!!

Ariana Deralte: Thank you!! I hope you had a nice holiday!!

ThePet: Thank you!! I tried to take some time off, but I couldn't manage
it. Plot bunnies were eating my brain.

Rabbit: Thank you!!

Jelsemium: Thank you!! Azoth will like Harry. But, being a proper
Slytherin kitten, he will be clever enough not to reveal this in front
of Snape. Azoth will treat all students with cool disdain in Snape's
presence.

Melodie: Thank you!!

Enfleurage: Thank you!!

Lioness Silence: Thank you!!

Lizard of Fire: Thank you!! Have a nice vacation!!