Goldenfire: This ones for you!!!! You have renewed my faith in humanity
and therefore are rewarded with Order of Merlin Second Class and a trunkful
of chocolate frogs. Thank you.
Chapter Twelve
"Professor! Professor!" Genevieve heard a panicked voice deep within her sub-conscious and had difficulty rousing. "Professor Carrington!" The voice sounded familiar. "Genevieve!" A hand touched her shoulder, burning like a hot iron. The pain gave cause to awaken and a pale face slowly came into focus. "Thank goodness, Professor." Draco Malfoy tugged on Genevieve's arm but it wouldn't move, nor could she get any part of her body to obey commands.
"What happened?" Genevieve was trying to remember why she was laying on a damp forest floor.
"The Dark Lord went berserk. He cursed everyone around him, but you stopped it."
"Oh, I remember now. Is it still Christmas?"
"Yes, but barely." No sunlight leaked through the canopy of trees so it must be night, but what time she could not tell.
"Professor, what are we going to do?" Draco swallowed what was left of his pride to ask such a question.
"We shouldn't be far from Hogwarts. I remember seeing it just over the trees on my broom."
"I don't have my wand, so I can't get you there."
"You don't need a wand, remember." Draco was nervous. He'd been the worst in the class when it came to wandless magic under calm circumstances, let alone what he had just experienced. No matter how many times he tried to focus and perform the levitating charm the image of You-Know-Who, with his blazing red eyes, pointing a wand at him kept interfering. He couldn't do it.
"Calm down Draco, here is what you are going to do." Even prostrate on the ground Genevieve could command respect. "Reach into my bag, is there a coin still spinning there?"
"Yes."
"Grab it. Take my broom and get that coin to Dumbledore then come back with help."
"But, you'll be alone."
"Don't think about that, just focus on your goal. Oh, and Draco," she added before he left.
"Yes, professor."
"Mark yourself a path, so you don't forget where I am."
"Alright."
Malfoy picked up a sharp rock and set off scrapping arrows in the bark of the trees every so often to create something he could follow back to her location. All the while an unbidden internal struggle flared.
'Is my father really dead?'
'Most probably'
'But why did he have to die. He was just standing there'
'The Dark Lord'
'But my father was faithful to the Dark Lord, as were the other men there. Why would he kill his own supporters?'
'You know the answer to that.'
'No, I don't. We did everything He commanded of us. I even dropped the issue when He told me not to worry about what Potter said about the muggle- born thing. He told me to learn and I learned. He told me to report and I did. What is my thanks, He kills my father. It's like he doesn't even care what happens to the people who support him.'
'See, you knew.'
'What?'
'Why the Dark Lord killed your father and all those men.he did not care.'
'Not even about the people who put him in power?"
'Correct. You would have been dead to.'
'That's right. Why aren't I? Oh, I remember, that Carrington creature got in the way. Why did she do that?'
'Maybe because she cares what happens to you.'
'Oh.'
Draco felt even more motivated to get to the castle and picked up the pace, still marking the trees as he went.
*********************
"Professor Dumbledore, may I have a word with you." Madam Pomphrey asked, pulling him away from the group surrounding Harry's hospital bed. He had calmed down but hadn't woken up since the incident in the Great Hall. Sirius, Remus, and Rebecca continued discussing in quiet tones what could have happened.
"What is it Poppy?" Dumbledore asked once they were secure in her office.
"Bad news. I've been through almost every book in my arsenal and can not find anything that will wake him. I can't even be sure what happened to him."
"My best guess is that Voldemort is behind this somehow. But my talismans tell me that he is not on the grounds. I've already notified my contacts and they are at high alert. We won't know more until Harry wakes up, which I suspect he will only do when he's ready."
Dumbledore joined the impromptu planning meeting that had evolved around the foot of Harry's bed which now included McGonagall and Snape. With no real information to go on, even hours later they came to the same conclusion as Dumbledore, just have wait until Harry woke up. But they wouldn't have to.
A voice echoed through the expansive halls and ricocheted into the hospital wing.
"Professor Dumbledore! Dumbledore!" Quick footsteps ran every which way and the throng went to meet them.
"Draco, what are you doing here?" Remus asked when he saw him. Draco's hair carried no hint that it had been sleekly combed back this morning and his robes and face were grimy and torn. He reeked of sweat and filth and had trouble breathing.
"It's Professor Carrington. She's been hurt by You-Know-Who and is in the forest." He leaned over to catch his breath with the intention of sitting on the floor but Sirius grabbed him by the lapel and raised him face to face.
"Where is she? Is she still in danger?"
"I marked a path with arrows on the trees so we can find her. She's far enough from You-Know-Who that she should be safe." Snape nearly hexed Sirius for man-handling his favorite pupil like that. Once he had removed Draco and was standing nearer to Dumbledore he asked for more details.
"It was horrible. The Dark Lord was just fine, I mean his usual self I guess and then out of nowhere he starts cursing everything. Not just small stuff either, full blown dark magic, unforgivables. He tortured or killed anything that moved. I watched as he murdered my father." Draco shuttered. His pride made it difficult to explain how he had been spared and even more so when he couldn't perform the charm to levitate Genevieve to bring her back. This part reminded him of the delivery he was asked to make.
"Professor Carrington told me to give you this Professor." Dumbledore accepted the coin graciously then turned to Sirius.
"As much as you may want to go searching for her now may I suggest waiting a few hours for daylight so that young Mr. Malfoy may have a chance to rest and the path will be easier to follow." Sirius nearly yelled in protest before the headmaster added.
"Genevieve is friends with many forest creatures who are no doubt tending to her at this very moment. She will be fine, but you may not be in that forest at night." Sirius agreed, but not without sufficiently sulking and demanding to stay in the infirmary next to Harry. Everyone else dispersed to their chambers to go to sleep except for Dumbledore who spend the rest of the night listening to what the coin had to say.
***********************
Sirius leapt out of bed when the sun crested over the mountains spilling sunlight into the infirmary. Harry still lay unconscious though restful in the next bed. He hurried to awaken Remus, then Rebecca. He had expected he'd have to awaken Snape in order to retrieve Draco from the Slytherin common room but was pleasantly surprised to find the young Slytherin by the front door, polishing his broomstick, ready to go.
Draco's scratches in the trees were an invaluable tool leading them straight to the place Genevieve had last been. Though they could not see her through a mass of animals. Centaurs, fairies, wolves and even Unicorns dashed around at a frenzied pace. It was the fairies that first noticed the new arrivals on the scene, alerting three wolves who stepped forward to growl before the head Centaur spoke to them.
"I command you to leave here at once, humans." The Centaur spat the last word like an insult.
"Great, twice in one year I have to talk my way past death threats to get to her." Sirius muttered under his breath. Remembering his Care of Magical Creatures lessons from when he was at school he bowed and spoke reverently to the majestic beast.
"My name is Sirius Black. The woman I love was reported to be around here. Have you seen her?" The centaur carefully considered the wizard before answering.
"Here is none a human would seek or dare to love, because only Creatures are present." Sirius proceeded with caution.
"She is a creature and a woman. A boggart by the name of Genevieve."
"And you, Human, love this creature?" The idea seemed to intrigue the massive beast.
"I do."
"And does she love you."
"She has told me she does."
"The forest creatures will accept this." The Centaurs hooves backed away and he motioned for the others to do the same. Where there was once a cacophony of fir and flesh, now only one body remained. Genevieve's traveling cloak covered her like a blanket. She was curled up so tightly her knees nearly touched her face and her arms hung haphazardly from her body. Most concerning of all was her translucent flesh through which the forest floor could be seen. Sirius kneeled next to her body careful not to touch it.
"Genevieve, Dear, can you hear me?" Genevieve's flesh became more solid in response though she did not stir. "I have come to take you back to the castle, don't worry. Everything will be ok." He magicked up a stretcher and caused it to hover next to his wand. He mounted his broom and flew ever so slowly and carefully away from the watchful animals, to the Hogwarts infirmary.
**********************
As soon as the reconnaissance party had returned to the castle and Genevieve was in the caring, though ineffectual, hands of Madam Pomfrey Dumbledore played for them the relevant parts of the coin recording. When finished the Headmaster remained quiet, staring into the shocked faces of all the adults in the room, whose only notable absence was Veronica. Sirius, seemed the most shocked, but was first to engage his vocal chords.
"Tell me, why wasn't she sorted into Gryffindor?" Dumbledore shook his head and laughed,
"Yes, one would think that someone capable of taunting Voldemort would be so sorted."
"I can't believe she did that." Rebecca muttered over and over again.
"It's a wonder she isn't dead." Professor McGonagall solemnly intoned then changed her concern to the purpose of the mission. "Did she hear anything about the Traveler's Watch?"
"She probably didn't, but the coin did." Dumbledore flipped the coin again, this time near the ceiling. He levitated himself to meet it at eye level then pushed it with his hand across the room to skip ahead. The room waited, hearing only the chirping of crickets and occasional buzz of Genevieve's fly wings, until a bone chilling voice could just barely be heard.
"Avery" it hissed "I trust all is in order for tomorrows attack."
"Yes, Master. May I be permitted to ask a question."
"I'm a feeling generous this evening. You may."
"If. Once this plan has become victorious will there still be a need for the arrangements in May."
"Ah Scott. Your father would be proud with your ability to think ahead." The Dark Lord praised. "It depends entirely on the ministry and if their plans remain constant." Voldemort's laughed a low hiss to conclude the conversation. Buzzing wings and cricket chirps were again the only sound until Dumbledore grabbed the coin and landed softly on the floor.
"Trelawney was right?" Snape coughed, as though the words insulted his intelligence.
**********************
Two days of silence pervaded the castle. Harry and Genevieve were still interned in their separate states of unconsciousness under Madam Pomfrey's watchful eye. Draco had gone home for his father's funeral and the teachers worked side by side in the library for a way to stop Voldemort now that they had a dead line.
Professor McGonagall was in especially poor spirits as she leafed through decaying scrolls in her search. Now she remembered what it was like to be a student having studied too hard with eyes that glazed over. She looked out the window to watch the snow flurries for a moment before returning to her task. It was difficult work because in addition to reading what was on each page, the frail parchment had to be handled with care or else it would crumble to dust.
Meticulously unrolling the next few inches led to a startling discovery. The language changed from Olde English to one she didn't recognize. It was written in swirling patterns around pictures of plants and animals. It was beautiful to look at even if she could not decipher the language. She cast a few protective spells on it to stabilize the fragile paper before studying it closer. In the lower right hand corner was a life size drawing of the Traveler's watch.
Excitement flooded her veins and she let out a "whoopee" of delight. Snape, Sirius and several Aurors rushed to her side.
"What happened?" asked Sirius.
"I think this is just the clue we've been looking for." She found several blank rolls of parchment and asked Professor Flitwick to initiate a copy quill charm before leaving to find Dumbledore.
***************************
The aged Headmaster was found in the darkened infirmary where he had been summoned by the nurse. He held up a hand to quiet Professor McGonagall before she broke the spell of silence, then pointed to Harry's bed. Harry was peacefully sleeping cradled in Genevieve's arms. She caressed his hair and murmured words of comfort while rocking him gently.
McGonagall was most surprised because it appeared Genevieve was also sleeping. Dumbledore motioned for her to leave before he answered her inquiring look.
"Poppy tells me that Harry was having another nightmare, but before she got out of her office Genevieve instinctively cared for him without waking herself."
"She is a remarkable creature. And so loyal you would think she had served Harry all her life."
"Very much so. Loyalty has been bred into her blood. It's hard to tell where duty ends and choice begins, although I know she genuinely cares for the boy. But I don't believe that is why you came up here Minerva."
"Indeed. Our search has proven fruitful at last. I have found a scroll that references the watch, but no one seems able to place the language. We were hoping you would have some insight."
"I'll take a look, lead the way."
*****************************
One look at the scroll and Dumbledore made his way straight back to the infirmary leading a trail of surprised and confused adults.
"Genevieve." He whispered shaking her shoulder gently, so as not to wake Harry.
"Mmmm."
"Genevieve, I need you to look at something in the library."
"Mmmm. What is it?" She stretched before she realized Harry was in her lap then carefully slid out from under him as though he were still a baby. He opened one eye briefly but closed it again when she brushed his hair and hummed softly in his ear. She pulled her bag and cloak over her pajamas and followed out the door.
They were halfway down the staircase by the time Dumbledore finished explaining what McGonagall had found.
"Let's see then." She reviewed the copy of the original for a moment, flipping through the multiples. "How many did you make?" She asked accusingly.
"Five." Flitwick answered.
"Of something this dangerous!" She wadded up three copies and incinerated them in her hand against outcries from the librarian and teachers for starting a fire in the library and arguing that extra copies might be helpful. Genevieve just waited until the complaints diminished and spent the time searching in her bag. She pulled out a bottle of her orange potion and took a drink before retrieving her class box of rare coin disks. Her voice when she continued verged on conspiratorial.
"This parchment was written by a powerful wizard by the name of Yomder, you can tell by the symbol in the upper left hand corner in addition to his habit of hooking the ends of this 'Y' character here. Yomder's skills as a practitioner of Old Magic were unrivaled in his time." She spilled the coins from the box onto the table and compared the pictures on each one to similar notations on the parchment with the audience still at rapt attention.
"We studied this type for years, trying to break the code until we realized we were going about it the hard way. Wizards and witches of the day who wrote coded scrolls such as this usually carried with them a key. a coin disk to be precise that lifts the scrambling layer off the top allowing the bottom to be read more easily. The trick is to find the right coin." As she was explaining this while releasing several candidate coins over the scroll to no effect. Coin after coin fell to the table with a clatter, failing to unlock the secrets. Finally, the smallest coin with a hole in the center resonated over the parchment when it was released.
Ghostlike layers of gibberish rose into the air exposing more intelligible levels beneath. Genevieve studied closely the runes, pictographs and illustrations while the others looked on. With fluency the ancient languages professor would have envied she read through its contents with wide and nervous eyes. She slammed down the coin and sunk into the nearest chair rubbing her forehead.
"What did it say?" Sirius pressed.
"What didn't it say? Yomder apparently made these watches and that explains how it was done. There is no way to stop someone from using it, but it is possible to confound the watch and the one using it, which redirects them to a different place by utilizing 'Blinding Emotions'. When one is inflicted with one of these the watch will not work properly."
"Blinding Emotions?" A voice much younger than any of the professor's queried. Harry was standing beside the stacks clutching his school robes.
"Mr. Potter. What are you doing out of bed?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"I'm not sure why I was in bed." Harry shrugged. "The last thing I remember was Snape swearing he never wanted to see Veronica again." Dumbledore filled Harry in on recent events while Genevieve, shocked, questioned Snape.
"And why is that?"
"She was not what she appeared to be."
"Who is." She asked rhetorically. "But what happened." Snape puffed himself up and gave her a furious stare.
"Did you know she is a vampire?"
"Of course."
"And you didn't bother to tell me?" Snape accused. This set Genevieve off.
"First of all, you selfish single minded git, Veronica is one of the most decent people I know who has never hurt a human. Second of all, I seem to remember you begging her to marry you despite her and my protests during which time you called me a lot of rude names before demanding I bugger off. You were the one who wouldn't wait to get to know her before sweeping her off her feet and down the isle. She loved you too, but now I see it was misplaced affection as you seem to possess no redeeming qualities to make you worthy of so good a Lady."
The air around her crackled as she spoke, punctuating each insult. "Where is she?" Genevieve demanded. Rebecca stepped forward as she was the only one who knew.
"She's been sleeping in our room."
Genevieve herded her coins off the table and back into their box, before running up the stairs to check on her friend. Professor McGonagall, watching her leave the room, turned to speak privately with Dumbledore.
"Yes, I would say extraordinarily Loyal. Perhaps to a fault." Dumbledore merely nodded in agreement.
Chapter Twelve
"Professor! Professor!" Genevieve heard a panicked voice deep within her sub-conscious and had difficulty rousing. "Professor Carrington!" The voice sounded familiar. "Genevieve!" A hand touched her shoulder, burning like a hot iron. The pain gave cause to awaken and a pale face slowly came into focus. "Thank goodness, Professor." Draco Malfoy tugged on Genevieve's arm but it wouldn't move, nor could she get any part of her body to obey commands.
"What happened?" Genevieve was trying to remember why she was laying on a damp forest floor.
"The Dark Lord went berserk. He cursed everyone around him, but you stopped it."
"Oh, I remember now. Is it still Christmas?"
"Yes, but barely." No sunlight leaked through the canopy of trees so it must be night, but what time she could not tell.
"Professor, what are we going to do?" Draco swallowed what was left of his pride to ask such a question.
"We shouldn't be far from Hogwarts. I remember seeing it just over the trees on my broom."
"I don't have my wand, so I can't get you there."
"You don't need a wand, remember." Draco was nervous. He'd been the worst in the class when it came to wandless magic under calm circumstances, let alone what he had just experienced. No matter how many times he tried to focus and perform the levitating charm the image of You-Know-Who, with his blazing red eyes, pointing a wand at him kept interfering. He couldn't do it.
"Calm down Draco, here is what you are going to do." Even prostrate on the ground Genevieve could command respect. "Reach into my bag, is there a coin still spinning there?"
"Yes."
"Grab it. Take my broom and get that coin to Dumbledore then come back with help."
"But, you'll be alone."
"Don't think about that, just focus on your goal. Oh, and Draco," she added before he left.
"Yes, professor."
"Mark yourself a path, so you don't forget where I am."
"Alright."
Malfoy picked up a sharp rock and set off scrapping arrows in the bark of the trees every so often to create something he could follow back to her location. All the while an unbidden internal struggle flared.
'Is my father really dead?'
'Most probably'
'But why did he have to die. He was just standing there'
'The Dark Lord'
'But my father was faithful to the Dark Lord, as were the other men there. Why would he kill his own supporters?'
'You know the answer to that.'
'No, I don't. We did everything He commanded of us. I even dropped the issue when He told me not to worry about what Potter said about the muggle- born thing. He told me to learn and I learned. He told me to report and I did. What is my thanks, He kills my father. It's like he doesn't even care what happens to the people who support him.'
'See, you knew.'
'What?'
'Why the Dark Lord killed your father and all those men.he did not care.'
'Not even about the people who put him in power?"
'Correct. You would have been dead to.'
'That's right. Why aren't I? Oh, I remember, that Carrington creature got in the way. Why did she do that?'
'Maybe because she cares what happens to you.'
'Oh.'
Draco felt even more motivated to get to the castle and picked up the pace, still marking the trees as he went.
*********************
"Professor Dumbledore, may I have a word with you." Madam Pomphrey asked, pulling him away from the group surrounding Harry's hospital bed. He had calmed down but hadn't woken up since the incident in the Great Hall. Sirius, Remus, and Rebecca continued discussing in quiet tones what could have happened.
"What is it Poppy?" Dumbledore asked once they were secure in her office.
"Bad news. I've been through almost every book in my arsenal and can not find anything that will wake him. I can't even be sure what happened to him."
"My best guess is that Voldemort is behind this somehow. But my talismans tell me that he is not on the grounds. I've already notified my contacts and they are at high alert. We won't know more until Harry wakes up, which I suspect he will only do when he's ready."
Dumbledore joined the impromptu planning meeting that had evolved around the foot of Harry's bed which now included McGonagall and Snape. With no real information to go on, even hours later they came to the same conclusion as Dumbledore, just have wait until Harry woke up. But they wouldn't have to.
A voice echoed through the expansive halls and ricocheted into the hospital wing.
"Professor Dumbledore! Dumbledore!" Quick footsteps ran every which way and the throng went to meet them.
"Draco, what are you doing here?" Remus asked when he saw him. Draco's hair carried no hint that it had been sleekly combed back this morning and his robes and face were grimy and torn. He reeked of sweat and filth and had trouble breathing.
"It's Professor Carrington. She's been hurt by You-Know-Who and is in the forest." He leaned over to catch his breath with the intention of sitting on the floor but Sirius grabbed him by the lapel and raised him face to face.
"Where is she? Is she still in danger?"
"I marked a path with arrows on the trees so we can find her. She's far enough from You-Know-Who that she should be safe." Snape nearly hexed Sirius for man-handling his favorite pupil like that. Once he had removed Draco and was standing nearer to Dumbledore he asked for more details.
"It was horrible. The Dark Lord was just fine, I mean his usual self I guess and then out of nowhere he starts cursing everything. Not just small stuff either, full blown dark magic, unforgivables. He tortured or killed anything that moved. I watched as he murdered my father." Draco shuttered. His pride made it difficult to explain how he had been spared and even more so when he couldn't perform the charm to levitate Genevieve to bring her back. This part reminded him of the delivery he was asked to make.
"Professor Carrington told me to give you this Professor." Dumbledore accepted the coin graciously then turned to Sirius.
"As much as you may want to go searching for her now may I suggest waiting a few hours for daylight so that young Mr. Malfoy may have a chance to rest and the path will be easier to follow." Sirius nearly yelled in protest before the headmaster added.
"Genevieve is friends with many forest creatures who are no doubt tending to her at this very moment. She will be fine, but you may not be in that forest at night." Sirius agreed, but not without sufficiently sulking and demanding to stay in the infirmary next to Harry. Everyone else dispersed to their chambers to go to sleep except for Dumbledore who spend the rest of the night listening to what the coin had to say.
***********************
Sirius leapt out of bed when the sun crested over the mountains spilling sunlight into the infirmary. Harry still lay unconscious though restful in the next bed. He hurried to awaken Remus, then Rebecca. He had expected he'd have to awaken Snape in order to retrieve Draco from the Slytherin common room but was pleasantly surprised to find the young Slytherin by the front door, polishing his broomstick, ready to go.
Draco's scratches in the trees were an invaluable tool leading them straight to the place Genevieve had last been. Though they could not see her through a mass of animals. Centaurs, fairies, wolves and even Unicorns dashed around at a frenzied pace. It was the fairies that first noticed the new arrivals on the scene, alerting three wolves who stepped forward to growl before the head Centaur spoke to them.
"I command you to leave here at once, humans." The Centaur spat the last word like an insult.
"Great, twice in one year I have to talk my way past death threats to get to her." Sirius muttered under his breath. Remembering his Care of Magical Creatures lessons from when he was at school he bowed and spoke reverently to the majestic beast.
"My name is Sirius Black. The woman I love was reported to be around here. Have you seen her?" The centaur carefully considered the wizard before answering.
"Here is none a human would seek or dare to love, because only Creatures are present." Sirius proceeded with caution.
"She is a creature and a woman. A boggart by the name of Genevieve."
"And you, Human, love this creature?" The idea seemed to intrigue the massive beast.
"I do."
"And does she love you."
"She has told me she does."
"The forest creatures will accept this." The Centaurs hooves backed away and he motioned for the others to do the same. Where there was once a cacophony of fir and flesh, now only one body remained. Genevieve's traveling cloak covered her like a blanket. She was curled up so tightly her knees nearly touched her face and her arms hung haphazardly from her body. Most concerning of all was her translucent flesh through which the forest floor could be seen. Sirius kneeled next to her body careful not to touch it.
"Genevieve, Dear, can you hear me?" Genevieve's flesh became more solid in response though she did not stir. "I have come to take you back to the castle, don't worry. Everything will be ok." He magicked up a stretcher and caused it to hover next to his wand. He mounted his broom and flew ever so slowly and carefully away from the watchful animals, to the Hogwarts infirmary.
**********************
As soon as the reconnaissance party had returned to the castle and Genevieve was in the caring, though ineffectual, hands of Madam Pomfrey Dumbledore played for them the relevant parts of the coin recording. When finished the Headmaster remained quiet, staring into the shocked faces of all the adults in the room, whose only notable absence was Veronica. Sirius, seemed the most shocked, but was first to engage his vocal chords.
"Tell me, why wasn't she sorted into Gryffindor?" Dumbledore shook his head and laughed,
"Yes, one would think that someone capable of taunting Voldemort would be so sorted."
"I can't believe she did that." Rebecca muttered over and over again.
"It's a wonder she isn't dead." Professor McGonagall solemnly intoned then changed her concern to the purpose of the mission. "Did she hear anything about the Traveler's Watch?"
"She probably didn't, but the coin did." Dumbledore flipped the coin again, this time near the ceiling. He levitated himself to meet it at eye level then pushed it with his hand across the room to skip ahead. The room waited, hearing only the chirping of crickets and occasional buzz of Genevieve's fly wings, until a bone chilling voice could just barely be heard.
"Avery" it hissed "I trust all is in order for tomorrows attack."
"Yes, Master. May I be permitted to ask a question."
"I'm a feeling generous this evening. You may."
"If. Once this plan has become victorious will there still be a need for the arrangements in May."
"Ah Scott. Your father would be proud with your ability to think ahead." The Dark Lord praised. "It depends entirely on the ministry and if their plans remain constant." Voldemort's laughed a low hiss to conclude the conversation. Buzzing wings and cricket chirps were again the only sound until Dumbledore grabbed the coin and landed softly on the floor.
"Trelawney was right?" Snape coughed, as though the words insulted his intelligence.
**********************
Two days of silence pervaded the castle. Harry and Genevieve were still interned in their separate states of unconsciousness under Madam Pomfrey's watchful eye. Draco had gone home for his father's funeral and the teachers worked side by side in the library for a way to stop Voldemort now that they had a dead line.
Professor McGonagall was in especially poor spirits as she leafed through decaying scrolls in her search. Now she remembered what it was like to be a student having studied too hard with eyes that glazed over. She looked out the window to watch the snow flurries for a moment before returning to her task. It was difficult work because in addition to reading what was on each page, the frail parchment had to be handled with care or else it would crumble to dust.
Meticulously unrolling the next few inches led to a startling discovery. The language changed from Olde English to one she didn't recognize. It was written in swirling patterns around pictures of plants and animals. It was beautiful to look at even if she could not decipher the language. She cast a few protective spells on it to stabilize the fragile paper before studying it closer. In the lower right hand corner was a life size drawing of the Traveler's watch.
Excitement flooded her veins and she let out a "whoopee" of delight. Snape, Sirius and several Aurors rushed to her side.
"What happened?" asked Sirius.
"I think this is just the clue we've been looking for." She found several blank rolls of parchment and asked Professor Flitwick to initiate a copy quill charm before leaving to find Dumbledore.
***************************
The aged Headmaster was found in the darkened infirmary where he had been summoned by the nurse. He held up a hand to quiet Professor McGonagall before she broke the spell of silence, then pointed to Harry's bed. Harry was peacefully sleeping cradled in Genevieve's arms. She caressed his hair and murmured words of comfort while rocking him gently.
McGonagall was most surprised because it appeared Genevieve was also sleeping. Dumbledore motioned for her to leave before he answered her inquiring look.
"Poppy tells me that Harry was having another nightmare, but before she got out of her office Genevieve instinctively cared for him without waking herself."
"She is a remarkable creature. And so loyal you would think she had served Harry all her life."
"Very much so. Loyalty has been bred into her blood. It's hard to tell where duty ends and choice begins, although I know she genuinely cares for the boy. But I don't believe that is why you came up here Minerva."
"Indeed. Our search has proven fruitful at last. I have found a scroll that references the watch, but no one seems able to place the language. We were hoping you would have some insight."
"I'll take a look, lead the way."
*****************************
One look at the scroll and Dumbledore made his way straight back to the infirmary leading a trail of surprised and confused adults.
"Genevieve." He whispered shaking her shoulder gently, so as not to wake Harry.
"Mmmm."
"Genevieve, I need you to look at something in the library."
"Mmmm. What is it?" She stretched before she realized Harry was in her lap then carefully slid out from under him as though he were still a baby. He opened one eye briefly but closed it again when she brushed his hair and hummed softly in his ear. She pulled her bag and cloak over her pajamas and followed out the door.
They were halfway down the staircase by the time Dumbledore finished explaining what McGonagall had found.
"Let's see then." She reviewed the copy of the original for a moment, flipping through the multiples. "How many did you make?" She asked accusingly.
"Five." Flitwick answered.
"Of something this dangerous!" She wadded up three copies and incinerated them in her hand against outcries from the librarian and teachers for starting a fire in the library and arguing that extra copies might be helpful. Genevieve just waited until the complaints diminished and spent the time searching in her bag. She pulled out a bottle of her orange potion and took a drink before retrieving her class box of rare coin disks. Her voice when she continued verged on conspiratorial.
"This parchment was written by a powerful wizard by the name of Yomder, you can tell by the symbol in the upper left hand corner in addition to his habit of hooking the ends of this 'Y' character here. Yomder's skills as a practitioner of Old Magic were unrivaled in his time." She spilled the coins from the box onto the table and compared the pictures on each one to similar notations on the parchment with the audience still at rapt attention.
"We studied this type for years, trying to break the code until we realized we were going about it the hard way. Wizards and witches of the day who wrote coded scrolls such as this usually carried with them a key. a coin disk to be precise that lifts the scrambling layer off the top allowing the bottom to be read more easily. The trick is to find the right coin." As she was explaining this while releasing several candidate coins over the scroll to no effect. Coin after coin fell to the table with a clatter, failing to unlock the secrets. Finally, the smallest coin with a hole in the center resonated over the parchment when it was released.
Ghostlike layers of gibberish rose into the air exposing more intelligible levels beneath. Genevieve studied closely the runes, pictographs and illustrations while the others looked on. With fluency the ancient languages professor would have envied she read through its contents with wide and nervous eyes. She slammed down the coin and sunk into the nearest chair rubbing her forehead.
"What did it say?" Sirius pressed.
"What didn't it say? Yomder apparently made these watches and that explains how it was done. There is no way to stop someone from using it, but it is possible to confound the watch and the one using it, which redirects them to a different place by utilizing 'Blinding Emotions'. When one is inflicted with one of these the watch will not work properly."
"Blinding Emotions?" A voice much younger than any of the professor's queried. Harry was standing beside the stacks clutching his school robes.
"Mr. Potter. What are you doing out of bed?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"I'm not sure why I was in bed." Harry shrugged. "The last thing I remember was Snape swearing he never wanted to see Veronica again." Dumbledore filled Harry in on recent events while Genevieve, shocked, questioned Snape.
"And why is that?"
"She was not what she appeared to be."
"Who is." She asked rhetorically. "But what happened." Snape puffed himself up and gave her a furious stare.
"Did you know she is a vampire?"
"Of course."
"And you didn't bother to tell me?" Snape accused. This set Genevieve off.
"First of all, you selfish single minded git, Veronica is one of the most decent people I know who has never hurt a human. Second of all, I seem to remember you begging her to marry you despite her and my protests during which time you called me a lot of rude names before demanding I bugger off. You were the one who wouldn't wait to get to know her before sweeping her off her feet and down the isle. She loved you too, but now I see it was misplaced affection as you seem to possess no redeeming qualities to make you worthy of so good a Lady."
The air around her crackled as she spoke, punctuating each insult. "Where is she?" Genevieve demanded. Rebecca stepped forward as she was the only one who knew.
"She's been sleeping in our room."
Genevieve herded her coins off the table and back into their box, before running up the stairs to check on her friend. Professor McGonagall, watching her leave the room, turned to speak privately with Dumbledore.
"Yes, I would say extraordinarily Loyal. Perhaps to a fault." Dumbledore merely nodded in agreement.