Squib Puppet
a Harry Potter fan-fic
by Ozma
a sequel to "A Squib's Proper Place"
Chapter 8: Love and Secrets
Everything in this story really belongs to J.K. Rowling



Draco Malfoy, even paler than usual, sat on the bed next to mine.

"All right," the boy said, wearily, as he looked from Poppy to
Professor Snape, to me.

"Perhaps someone *has* Modified my memory!"

The admission was a painful one for the proud boy to make. It had
been Snape, more than anyone, who'd managed to convince Draco of the
Memory Charm's existence. The boy's trust in Severus carried more weight
even than his belief in the evidence presented by my "Squib-Tricks."

Poppy Pomfrey was seated in the chair between Draco's bed and
mine. She had cast a Diagnostic Spell on the boy. I could feel the
gentle flow of magic from the medi-witch to her patient.

Professor Snape stood near Draco, looming over the boy like a
concerned shadow.

I was sitting up in bed, propped against the pillows. Mrs. Norris
was curled up on my lap and the kittens were cavorting about on the
blankets.

"I don't know who did it," Draco continued, sounding both
frightened and defiant. "How could I know, when whoever it was made me
forget?"

Severus frowned. "Tell us everything that you can remember about
the night you went into the Forest."

Draco also frowned, looking troubled. For a moment he seemed about
to protest. But then he obeyed Professor Snape.

"I'd received an owl from my father that morning," he began. "At
breakfast. He'd been ill," the boy paused, to explain to Poppy. "For
weeks. I'd been worried."

"Father wrote that he wanted me to meet him in the Forest. At
midnight." Draco said, watching our faces.

Poppy's expression remained calm and non-judgmental. I said
nothing, my eyes downcast, as I held Mrs. Norris. And Professor Snape
appeared no more stern than usual.

"Continue," Severus prompted Draco.

"I-I went out to meet him. We talked for a little while. He was
fine." A smile flickered briefly across Draco's thin face.

"There were just the two of you?" Severus asked, quietly.

Draco nodded.

Then he frowned again. I felt his eyes lingering on me.

"No, sir..." he whispered. "Filch... Mr. Filch... he'd followed
me. He wanted me to go back to the Castle with him."

"What was Mr. Filch doing while you were speaking to your father?"
Severus asked.

Draco shook his head. "I-I think that h-he must have caught me
after Father and I had already said our good-byes."

His voice softened still further. "I don't recall him being there
while my father and I were talking."

Troubled, the boy asked, "Why don't you ask Mr. Filch, sir? Can't
he tell you?"

"His memory of the evening in question has also been Modified,
Draco," Severus replied, tonelessly.

"Oh. I see," Draco murmured, biting his lip. He looked as if a
heavy burden had settled on his thin shoulders.

After a moment, Draco continued, hesitantly. "Professor? Do you
think that there's a connection...? I mean, between something that
happened in the F-Forest that night and Mr. Filch's ...illness?"

"Yes," Severus said, as his dark fathomless eyes locked with
Draco's shadowed grey ones.

"I have suspicions. But no proof. Mr. Filch is unable to speak
about what happened to him."

Draco gave me a look of mingled pity and distress.

"I see," he murmured once more. His hands were clenched nervously.

"Sir...?" Draco said, looking entreatingly at Severus. "Please,
believe me. I have told you everything that I can."

After a few moments, he stared down at his clenched hands. "May I
go back down to breakfast?"

Severus shook his head. "Both Madam Pomfrey and I feel it would be
best for you to rest here, today."

"You may not have known that the Memory Charm was there, Draco.
But it has been affecting you," Poppy said.

I felt her gently terminate the Diagnostic spell.

"You've been feeling very tired. Not eating well. Not sleeping
well."

These were statements, not questions.

Draco did not bother to deny anything that Poppy had said. The
evidence was all too plain to anyone who took a good, hard look at him.

Trying not to sound afraid, the boy looked at me again.

"What will happen to me?" he asked her, "Am I going to become very
ill? Like Mr. Filch?"

"No, child," Poppy said, gently, her hand on his shoulder.

"You will no longer be trying to fight something unknown. You're
strong, Draco. There are spells and potions that will help you rest and
recover your strength. We can start you on them at once."

Her comforting words were meant as much for Severus, as they were
for Draco.

Some of the strain started to leave Snape's body. But the Potions
Master grew tense again at Draco's next question.

"Will I start to remember ...things?"

"I can't be sure," Poppy told him. "Perhaps, perhaps not. If you
do, it will help you a great deal to be able to talk to someone."

"You may always come and speak to me about it," Severus said.

"Yes, sir." Draco's voice was barely audible.

"You will need to take things a bit easy for a while," Poppy told
him.

"What about Quidditch?" Draco asked, anxiously.

"We'll see..." Severus said. "It depends on how well you manage to
follow Madam Pomfrey's instructions."

Sighing, Draco obediently drank a mild sleeping potion as he
followed Poppy and Severus to the front ward.

*******

Poppy had just changed my pain-killing potion. The new one was
milder and did not work as well.

All the while that Severus and Poppy had been speaking with Draco,
my discomfort had been steadily increasing.

Poppy returned from settling Draco into bed, to find me in
considerable pain.

"It can't be helped," Poppy told me, sympathetically. "The
stronger potions can be addicting, if taken for too long. Where does it
hurt? Your back?"

"Yes..." I gasped.

Most of my other assorted injuries were healing well, but my back
ached constantly. At some point during my misadventures I'd managed to
wrench it rather badly.

I let go of Mrs. Norris, who seemed relieved, as I'd been
clutching her very tightly. Poppy used a gentle levitation spell to turn
me onto my stomach. Using heating charms and warm compresses on my back,
she gave me a sleeping potion for good measure. I felt the cats settling
all around me as I dozed off.

*******

Some time later, half-awakened by another backache, I heard
Winky's small, squeaky voice.

"Argus Filch is resting! Draco Malfoy should be resting too. Sir
should not be disturbing Argus Filch."

I felt the elf adjusting a fresh compress across my back.

"I'm not going to bother him. Poor old man." Draco sounded weary
and desolate.

My lingering pain and their quiet voices fought the effects of the
sleeping potion I'd been given. Caught halfway between slumber and
wakefulness, I listened to the boy and the elf.

"Draco Malfoy is having bad dreams? Sir is wanting Madam Poppy?"
Winky asked..

"N-No. I'm perfectly fine."

"If sir is forgiving Winky for saying so, sir is looking very
troubled. "

"It's none of your..." the boy snapped, then he broke off with a
sigh.

"I mean ...it is not your concern," he said coolly, if a bit more
politely. "It's a matter between wizards. Not any business for a house-
elf."

"Winky is understanding, sir. Winky is not meaning to be bad."

"You're not bad, Winky. You're a very good house-elf. Not like
some others I could mention," Draco said.

"Winky...?" he continued, after a few moments' silence. "Good
house-elves keep secrets, don't they?"

"Oh, yes, sir. Good house-elves is keeping master's silences and
secrets, for forever and always."

"You only keep secrets for your master? Only for Dumbledore?"
Draco asked, plaintively.

"Yes, sir," Winky said, very softly.

"Oh. I see. Because you have no choice, I suppose."

"Tis part of being a house-elf, Draco Malfoy."

The boy sighed, desolate.

"Sir is keeping a secret?" Winky asked the boy, timidly.

"What do you mean by that? I'm a wizard, not a house-elf!" Draco
snapped.

"Secrets is kept, by both wizards and house-elves, for many
reasons, sir. Even house-elves is knowing of secrets kept for love.
Those secrets can be very heavy ones indeed."

The elf's voice was filled with sorrow.

I heard the soft sound of Draco weeping.

"Oh! Poor sir mustn't cry! Winky is getting Madam Poppy."

"NO!" The boy choked out. It sounded more like a desperate plea
than an order.

"Don't go! Don't get anyone. Just stay here with me."

Then, for a time I heard only the boy's forlorn crying and the
house-elf's comforting murmurs.

"P-Professor Snape has said that I can always speak to him..."
Draco murmured, when he was a little calmer.

"Usually, I can... I've always been able to talk to him. B-but,
not about this. You see, the Professor and my father are angry at each
other." Draco sighed, sounding torn and miserable.

"I want both of them to be proud of me. And I don't want to get in
the middle of a quarrel between them."

"I really don't remember very much about that night at all. But,
I-I can guess at least a small part of the reason why they're angry..."

"My father always insists on servants knowing their place. He can
be very... harsh sometimes."

"The old man likes to be insolent to my father. Though he's very
loyal to the Professor. And the Professor cares about the old man.
There's no shame in that. True loyalty ought to be rewarded..."

The boy's voice trembled. "I really can see the Professor's point.
If anyone ever hurt Crabbe or Goyle so badly, I-I'd be furious. Even if
Vincent and Gregory had been stupid, and probably deserved what they'd
gotten."

"N-Not that Crabbe and Goyle are Squibs, or servants, or anything
like that," the boy continued, hastily, "but they're... well... I do
have to look out for them. They've got far more muscles than brains,
those two..."

"At least they do have the sense to let me do the thinking. They
m-may not always understand my reasons, but they trust me."

Draco's voice was as soft and heartbroken as Winky's. "I've never
really thought about it. How hard it must be to trust like that. To have
faith that something you can't understand must have happened for a good
reason..."

I heard the elf's tiny sobs.

"You ridiculous creature, don't you cry too!" Draco sniffled.

"If Madam Pomfrey comes back now, she'll think that I've been
pulling your ears..."

Winky continued to sob.

"Oh, please, Winky, hush..."

I felt a little annoyed, myself. If I understood Draco correctly,
he thought I was nearly as thick as Crabbe and Goyle! What nerve!

But, my pity for Draco was stronger than my pique. I knew, just as
Winky did, that Draco's heartfelt desire to make both Professor Snape
and Lucius Malfoy proud of him was totally impossible.

Slowly, I'd been trying to fight off the effects of the sleeping
potion. Draco's startled "OOF!" made my eyes snap open in surprise.

I saw the boy and the house-elf both sitting on the empty bed next
to mine.

Winky had flung her tiny arms around Draco's neck. She was bawling
her eyes out.

"I didn't hurt her!" Draco told me. He was patting the elf's back,
awkwardly, looking as if he didn't know what else to do.

I just blinked at him, bleary-eyed.

Winky was clinging to Draco, looking simultaneously fierce and
broken hearted. "Poor boy! Oh, poor, poor boy...!" she wept.

Then, still sobbing, the elf disappeared with a sound like a whip-
crack.

"Don't ask me what *that* was about!" Draco said, defensively. "I
have no idea what I said to upset her that much!"

He brushed at the lingering traces of his own tears. "House-elves
can be very strange, sometimes."


END OF CHAPTER EIGHT





Author's Notes:


Elektra: Thank you!! I have some incomplete ideas for a story that
focuses on Filch and Minerva. I'm waiting for my ideas to become more
coherent.

If Severus and Sirius cooperate, they will interact in the next chapter.

This part of the story is taking place in late Spring, very nearly at
the end of the school term.

Filch's role in Harry's Destiny? I haven't thought that far ahead. The
idea of having a role in Harry's Destiny makes Filch feel quite nervous.
(Though Filch is pleased to have had a role in getting Harry to remember
to wipe his feet when he comes in muddy from Quidditch practice...)

Filch's voice feels the most comfortable for me. Especially after a
really bad day at work. (Today, I had to scrub dripping melted cheese
off a ceiling. I am feeling very Filch-y.) Sometimes I wonder if I could
write from another character's POV or do Third-person. But I haven't had
any ideas really flow for me yet. I'm sure that I wouldn't tackle a
story from Voldemort's POV.

Blue Moon: Thank you!! I haven't read your stories yet, but I intend to
do that as soon as I can. Maybe even before this chapter gets posted...

Jelsemium: Thank you!! "Squib Debt" is an excellent title. Now, all I
need is a story to go with it!

Filch doesn't realize that Harry wanders around because of nightmares.
If he knew, he would be sympathetic, but he'd still feel that Harry
would be safer staying in the Gryffindor room instead of roaming the
corridors. (That mindset comes with the old grouch's job description...
he can't help it.)

Hagrid was knitting a large, ugly, but very warm and soft blanket for
Fluffy. I had an idea about where Fluffy is now. He lives in the
Forbidden Forest, in a comfortable cave. Hagrid and Fang visit him there
every day. (That's where Hagrid and Fang went in "A Squib's Proper
Place" after Hagrid brought Sirius to the Castle.)

Yes, you're right... it was the powerful Memory Charm that damaged
Bertha Jorkins' mind, not Voldemort's torture when he removed the Charm.
However, I'm still proceeding under the assumption that strong Memory
Charms are very dangerous to remove and bad reactions to them, such as
the one that Draco is having, are usually best treated in ways other
than removal.

Draco knows (though he won't admit it out loud) that his father must
have been the one who Obliviated him. He remembers something else about
that night, which he won't tell anyone. (He was going to tell Winky,
until she said that she only keeps secrets for Dumbledore.) He remembers
Filch screaming. Draco knows that the Caretaker suffered because he was
doing his job and trying to protect him.

CAT scan!! Oh, that's GREAT!!!

I really can't wait for the COS movie... not to mention the next book!

RowanRhys: Thank you!! If asked, both Filch and McGonagall would say
that they were "very good friends."

Pendragon: Thank you!! Usually, I don't mind thunderstorms, except when
they make the power flicker, which keeps me off the computer so I can't
write...

I figure that no one must be able to prove that Lucius is a Dark Wizard.
He covers his tracks very well. Dumbledore doesn't attack Lucius openly
because he can't offer proof without betraying Snape. And, yes, the
Ministry is pig-headed.

Gramarye: Thank you!! Filch is never going to be casual about students
roaming the corridors at night. It's just not in him.

If pressed, Minerva might say that Argus is "a very dear friend." Filch,
if he heard this, would become flustered, embarrassed and tongue-tied.

(Filch: "Dear?" Oh, my. I wouldn't want her to think that I'm too
forward...

Hagrid: Don't yeh mean "BACKWARD," yeh git?)

Alchemine: Thank you!! Yes, all the way back in "The Squib and the Death
Eaters" Mrs. Norris was Filch's only visitor. He has come a long way.

Yes, Filch told Snape that Draco tried to protect him to comfort the
Potions Master.

I think that small, subtle "nudges" against Draco's sense of honor and
responsibility might be more effective at getting him to turn away from
the Dark than a full scale "frontal assault" would be.

Besnaped: Thank you!!

Ariana Deralte: Thank you!! I also pictured Severus as a detective in
Chapter 7. The Tombs in Orkney sound so cool!

Demeter: Thank you!! Another character who has reasons to fear for Draco
added her bit this chapter. Like you, I am hoping that Rowling will show
other dimensions in the Slytherin students. I really hope she's leading
up to that... Dumbledore did say, in the first book, that people are
free to choose what they are.

At least until Draco decides one way or the other in the actual books,
I'm going to try to show him as being capable of choosing the Light.

Emma: Thank you!!

Lizard of Fire: Thank you!! Yes, ff.net's been acting weird lately. I've
been having trouble logging on sometimes. And sometimes, I can't even
get onto the site.

Enfleurage: Thank you!!

Rabbit and Jinx: Thank you!! And Thank you!! Severus doesn't know about
the Transfigured hair, it's not common knowledge. Neither is the fact
that Filch was Cursed into nearly betraying Dumbledore.

Minerva is one of the few people who was told the whole story because
Hermione needed to ask her a question.

(Hermione asked Sirius the same question and he didn't know the answer.
Minerva didn't know the answer either, but she can't wait to find out.
Eventually, Severus will be the one who knows the answer, and Minerva
and Sirius will ask him. Both question and answer will be revealed
eventually.)