Squib Summer
a Harry Potter fan-fic
by Ozma and Jelsemium
a sequel to Squib Caretaker
Chapter Seven: Rights, Wrongs and a Promise Kept
All recognizable characters copyrighted by J.K. Rowling.
The less recognizable ones might be under your bed.
Use a flashlight next time you look, they're having a hard time reading
the story.
The Headmaster and I watched helplessly as Harry Potter struggled in the
grip of a nightmare. He thrashed and twisted on the hospital bed as if
trying to escape. Dumbledore moved to his side and tried to still him.
"Easy, Harry, lie still. It's over now. You're safe now," Dumbledore's
litany was falling on deaf ears.
Potter arched his back and pushed desperately away from Dumbledore's
grasp, all the while maintaining an eerie silence.
The reason for the silence soon became apparent. Potter had his lower
lip between his teeth and was biting down so hard that the blood flowed
freely.
"Harry, wake up! Ennervate!"
The last finally worked. Potter took a shuddering gasp and opened his
eyes. Dumbledore laid his hand on Potter's shoulder, but the boy jerked
away and curled into a ball.
"'msorrysorrysorryIllbequiet," mumbled Potter.
"Harry, it's me," the Headmaster said quietly. "You're in St. Mungo's
Hospital. You're safe. Relax. It's over." But he did not offer to touch
the boy until Potter rolled over on his back and actually focused on
him.
"Professor?" he managed weakly. "Was I screaming then? Did I wake
everybody up?" He seemed more worried about having disturbed people than
his lacerated lip.
"No, Harry," Dumbledore said calmly. "In fact, you seem to have injured
yourself in your attempts to not scream." Slowly, as if treating a
wounded animal, Dumbledore lifted his handkerchief to Potter's face and
dabbed at the blood.
"Argus, if you would be so kind as to summon the nurse?"
Quickly, I moved to obey.
The nurse bustled in and exclaimed over the boy's bleeding lip. She gave
us a reproachful look as she whipped out her medi-wand and pulled a
bottle of cleansing potion from somewhere.
"Here, child, let me have a look. Goodness, what happened?" she added
with another dark look at the Headmaster and me.
"Bad dream," Potter whispered.
"I can't blame you, you've had a nasty day." After cleaning the boy up
and shooting one last suspicious look at us the nurse bustled out again.
I snorted.
"Hufflepuffs can get very protective of their charges," Dumbledore said,
mildly.
"Harry," he added, "do you feel up to telling us more about the creature
that attacked you? Anything that would help us find her?"
"She's dead," Potter said flatly. He swallowed and touched his lower lip
as if just realizing he'd been injured. "Voldemort... was mad because I..."
he swallowed again.
Dumbledore was silent for several minutes. "I see. Well, then, there is
no reason to disturb your rest any longer."
Potter continued as if the Headmaster hadn't spoken. "He was unraveling
her... she didn't look so human once her skin was removed, the bones were
all wrong..." His eyes were wide and had started losing their focus.
"Harry, would you like a potion for dreamless sleep?" Dumbledore asked.
He rested his hand lightly on Potter's shoulder.
Potter didn't seem to hear him. "She was screaming so loud... I thought if
I screamed that Voldemort would hear me, but maybe he wouldn't have over
her... Even when she began to fall apart, she kept screaming... Then... then
he thanked her. Voldemort thanked the Grey Woman. Said he'd been wanting
to try that spell. Said he modified an old curse especially..." Potter
drew his legs up and rested his forehead against his knees. "Especially
for... For... mmm...." His voice trailed off and his breathing grew raspy.
I hurried out to fetch the nurse back again.
*******
Shortly afterwards, the medi-wizard on duty realized that I hadn't been
looked at yet. He bustled me off to have my wounds attended to. His was
a face that I recalled from his days at Hogwarts. Yet another
Hufflepuff. After checking me over, he frowned a bit and insisted that I
stay overnight `just in case.' Since he had no objection to Mrs. Norris
remaining with me, I submitted quietly.
Cleaned up, bandaged and clad in a dark blue hospital robe, I was
sitting up in bed with Mrs. Norris purring on my knee when the
Headmaster found us. His weary face and his grave expression alarmed me.
"Sir? Is Potter...?"
"He's asleep, Argus. A sleep without dreams."
"I suppose you'll be taking him back to the Castle, then?" I said,
gruffly. "When he's recovered a bit, I mean. Plenty of empty rooms
there. Or he can stay in Hagrid's cabin. Hagrid wouldn't mind at all.
You know he wouldn't."
"Argus."
Trying to ignore the answer I could hear behind the sadness in
Dumbledore's voice I plowed on, doggedly. "Well, all right, then. If he
can't come to the Castle, he's got friends who're always glad to take
him in. Ron Weasley's family..."
"Argus," Dumbledore said in a tone so sorrowful and firm that I couldn't
ignore it.
"But, Headmaster, you can't really mean to send him back to those...
those...!"
The look in Dumbledore's eyes was adamant. "He is Protected when he is
with them. Knowing your talents as I do, I am quite sure that it's not
necessary for me to explain further."
Of course he knew all about the spell that surrounded Potter when the
boy was with his blood-kin. I supposed that he was probably the one
who'd cast the spell in the first place.
"Protected, yes," I cried plaintively, "from every possible horror,
except for THEM!"
"Sometimes, one's choices are only between what is `bad' and what is
`worse,'" the Headmaster said, heavily. "Arrangements are being made. If
all goes well then Harry will be able to visit with the Weasleys later
in the summer."
Dumbledore put his hand on my shoulder. "Harry is safe now, Argus. He
will recover. You and Mrs. Norris were there for him when you were
needed."
"Well, he saved me as much as the other way around," I said. "He's a
good boy, really. At heart, I mean. Don't tell him I said so. On second
thought, Headmaster, do tell him. He needs to be told such things.
Merlin knows, he probably never hears anything good about himself from
those..." my voice trailed off. I sighed.
"It's not FAIR..." I said, unashamed of the tears in my eyes. How I wished
that Minerva was here. Perhaps she could have helped me to think of a
way to change his mind. In my mind I began composing a letter to her.
The Headmaster handed me a handkerchief. I wiped my eyes and blew my
nose.
"I'm sorry for what I called that Dursley woman, Headmaster," I said,
miserably. "If only for the boy's sake, considering that he has to stay
with her. It was partly her doing that I was able to break the
Devourer's hold on Potter. I shouldn't have told her that she was a
contemptible cow."
"I believe your exact words were 'contemptible, miserly, stingy and
shallow-minded cow'," Dumbledore corrected me, mildly. He gave me a wry
smile. "Don't fret, Argus. Under the circumstances, your lapse of
control was perfectly understandable."
I sighed.
"Where are the Muggles now?" I asked Dumbledore.
"They've headed for home. I offered to call the Knight bus for them when
I first contacted them, but they preferred to use their own
transportation. They will not be eager to make the trip again, and I
confess, I'm not inclined to force the issue. There are too many ways to
intercept Muggle transportation. When Harry is well, I shall bring him
back to them, myself. Don't fear too much for Harry, Argus. I hear that
their neighborhood is home to all sorts of interesting strays."
"Cats?" I murmured, hopefully.
"Yes. And dogs as well."
Presumably, he meant a specific tabby cat and a particular large black
dog. Black and Minerva might not be Harry Potter's blood kin. But his
godfather and his Head of House were his family too.
Reassured on that score, I leaned forward to stroke Mrs. Norris. All the
tension hadn't left me. It was very likely that this next subject was
going to make for another uncomfortable chat, but I had a promise to
keep.
"Headmaster...?" I murmured, "There's something else. Potter and I... we
talked. And the boy said... he told me that he..."
Taking a deep breath, I blurted out, "Sir, did you know that he has an..."
my voice softened to a whisper, "Invisibility Cloak?"
The Headmaster smiled at me again. His eyes were sad, grave and fond all
at once. "Why yes, Argus."
"You KNEW?" I gasped.
He nodded.
Shocked, I faltered, "Headmaster... sir... I was sure that you didn't know!
No matter what poor Severus thought...! I told him that you wouldn't... you
couldn't possibly... Oh, sir, Potter's only a boy!" My voice cracked.
"Look at all the trouble he gets into without even really meaning to...!
Sir, why haven't you taken that dangerous thing away from him?"
"Argus," the Headmaster's voice was solemn, "the cloak is another form
of protection. I do have reasons for leaving it in his hands. It would
be wisest for me not to speak of a number of those reasons. However, I
may mention a few...
"These are things you know already," he said, when I looked at him wide-
eyed. "A powerful Stone was not used for a Dark purpose. An innocent
little girl was not killed by an evil memory. A dear friend, unjustly
punished for opening the Chamber of Secrets, has had his name cleared at
last. A young man, wrongly accused and imprisoned for murder, kept body
and soul together."
He looked at me over his half-moon spectacles. "Another dear friend,
caught in a web of dark magic, was prevented from falling to his doom."
Yes, thanks to Potter's intrepid nocturnal wanderings, the Stone had
been kept out of the Dark Lord's hands, sweet Ginny was safe and well,
Hagrid was finally exonerated of all blame for the death of Moaning
Myrtle, brave Sirius had kept his soul, and, yes, I was neither dead nor
Lucius Malfoy's puppet.
But still, I was troubled.
"Sir, we're supposed to keep him SAFE!" I cried, plaintively. "Allowing
him to keep that cloak is worse than irresponsible! No student should
have such a thing! It's just plain WRONG. How can we protect him if we
can't even see what he's up to?"
Dumbledore reached over and stroked Mrs. Norris, who purred softly under
his hands. "Visible or not, the boy isn't without resources. He's a
brave child, and a clever one. And he has many friends who will come to
him at need."
"But it's not FAIR," I cried. "Not to Potter. Not t-to anyone!"
"No," the Headmaster agreed with me, gently. "It is not fair." He
sighed. "And you may tell Severus that I admitted as much to you. You
will probably see him again before I do...
"It may be that I have made an ill choice, Argus. If it should turn out
that I have chosen wrongly I promise you that will say so to Severus
myself. If I am able."
When Dumbledore spoke those words a chill went through me.
"Sir...?" I whispered. It was a frightened plea for reassurance. In that
moment he looked and sounded so old that I felt like a child beside him.
Dumbledore managed a smile.
"The Sphinx has just told me a most amusing riddle..." he murmured,
closing the subject. "Would you like to hear it?"
To Be Continued
Authors' Notes:
emma: Thank you!! The `acid tones' belonged to Filch. I had considered another conversation between Filch and Dudley, but didn't want it to happen when they were both upset. -Ozma
emma --Filch is in charge of Acidic Responses in the absence of Prof. Snape. ;-) ** You'd like to see the Dursleys deal with the magical hospital? Hmmm... I'm sensing a plot bunny here... -- Jelsemium
Alan Sauer: Thank you for your very kind words on this story, and on the
Squib stories as a whole! The reviews aren't time-stamped, but I believe
you when you speak of staying up too late. Like you, I do most of my
reading and writing when I should be asleep. But reading and writing are
so much more FUN! (Tom Dietz's David Sullivan novels!! I really like
those too!) -Ozma
Alan Sauer -- Yes, Ozma's stories are wonderfully addictive, aren't they? She's made me sympathize with Argus Filch, something I never thought I'd do. She may get me to like Snape in time. (Between her and Rabbit and Jinx, I'm finding I dislike him less than I did.) ** I'm not familiar with Tom Deitz' David Sullivan books or Spearfinger, but I think I'll look for these. Glad you like my style! I hope you like my other stories! -- Jelsemium
shadowycat: Thank you!! I think that any witch or wizard is capabable of
unfocused wandless magic, since all normal wizarding children show signs
of being magical before they actually get their wands at the age of
eleven. I'm less sure about a general ability to do focused wandless
magic, such as specific spells. I'd guess that it takes a lot of power
and control to do that.
The Grey Devourer underestimated a lot of people, including Voldemort.
-Ozma
shadowycat -- I expect that all witches/wizards can do wandless magic. It's just a matter of how much they can focus (and how desperately they NEED to focus.) I also expect that Harry can do a lot more than the average wizard. I think Lily's sacrifice was only part of why he survived Voldemort's attack. ** Thanks! I think the Grey Stalker figured that once Voldemort had Harry, he wouldn't notice that Harry was drained of magic and brain damaged. (Which is what I figure happens when she really gets going. The poison wasn't going to help matters, either.) ** And, yes, she is an idiot. ** I love the image of the Sphinx bowling. (Which was Ozma's idea, by the way.) Thanks, I agree, Ozma and I work well together. We've discussed story ideas before, this is the first one that actually got posted. -Jelsemium
Alla: Thank you!! We'd never bite anyone's head off, it just wouldn't be
nice! I think it bothers Sirius that Snape is taking out his feelings
toward himself and James on poor Harry. I feel that a part of Snape
regresses down to Harry's age in the poor kid's presence. Suddenly,
Severus is a gawky teenager again in the presence of someone who looks
just like his popular nemesis. I find it less easy to understand Snape's
treatment of Neville. -Ozma
Alla -- I would never, EVER bite the head off one of my reviewers! I hope I have better manners than that! (And I hope my debate about Snape hasn't come across as being rude!) ** I agree, I can understand Snape's hatred of Sirius. Do wish he'd give the other characters a break. Yes, even himself. ** Thanks, I'm glad you like the idea that Dumbledore asked the Sphinx to help with the last task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. -Jelsemium
AET: Thank you!! Maybe Rowling will eventually let us see more of
Snape's feelings. Harry's perspective has been deepening as the books
progress, and maybe Harry and Snape will eventually come to understand
each other better. That's what I'm hoping for. -Ozma
AET -- Yes, a drawback of the one person POV is that we'll never really know what the other characters think. (On the other hand, can you imagine how big Goblet of Fire would have been if it had been from multiple points of view?) ** I do hope we find out more about Snape's relationship with the Potters. ** Thanks for the kind words on our story! ** Hypatia was a woman mathematician in ancient Egypt. The last librarian of the famous Library of Alexandria, no less. It's a name I like to give to intellectual minor characters. -Jelsemium
Spark-Chick: Thank you!! OUCH! Wasn't the pain distracting during your
quizbowl match? Sirius was mentioned this chapter. When Harry is released from St. Mungo's his godfather will be in the vicinity of Privet Drive to look after him. Snape isn't going to show up, but Harry and Filch are going to talk about him quite a bit next chapter. (Since the two of them tend to disagree where the Potions Master is concerned, the conversation will get a little spirited.) -Ozma
Spark-Chick -- Re: the tooth implant: That sounded very, well, Gryffindor, if you don't mind me saying. How did the Quizbowl go? ** Yes, Grisionn-cradh is Gaelic. (YES! Somebody asked!) I got it from a Gaelic-English dictionary and it roughly translates to: 'Grey Torment'. ** Glad you liked Dumbledore and Hypatia being friends. As mentioned earlier, the only reason I could come up with for the Sphinx being in the maze was that Dumbledore had reason to trust her with the students. -Jelsemium
Ariana Deralte: Thank you!! Oooh, I want a chain-wielding Filch action
figure! I'd settle for any sort of Filch action figure. He could come
with a little Mrs. Norris and a lamp! Yes, that was Filch who told
Petunia off. -Ozma
Ariana Deralte -- Chain wielding Filch, I'll take one! Yes, not only could the Harpy understand Mrs. Norris, but Nagini could, too. (Which is why she said that Mrs. Norris' guess about her name was wrong. I'd tell you what Mrs. Norris said, but it wasn't printable.) ** Harry just meant that the Sphinx was with them. A Hufflepuff would understand, they usually get along with the Gryffindors. (Actually, Stan was going more by the 'It's okay" part of Harry's statement.)
-Jelsemium
Andrea13: Thank you!! I'm glad that you got to see the chapter! The site
does seem to act oddly when new chapters first go up. (Sometimes you can
find the new chapter pretty quickly, sometimes you can't find it even
after the story summary has been updated to include it.)
Yes, Harry really pushed himself to make sure that he got Filch and Mrs.
Norris to safety. Poor boy, he's seen enough death.
What did Filch say to Petunia in those acid tones? "The boy's alive,
which makes you far luckier than you realize, you contemptible, miserly,
stingy, shallow-minded cow!" -Ozma
Andrea13 -- Hope you liked Filch's comment to Petunia. I think Vernon was mostly ignored, which probably bothered him more than anything anyone could have said. Vernon likes to think he's very important in the scheme of things. -Jelsemium
Saphron: Thank you!! The Harpy's motives are still mysterious. She
certainly knows of Dumbledore and may share common goals with him,
though she's not a formal ally. She was flirting with Argus because she
finds his surly nature appealing. Yes, the Sphinx is a very cool lady!
(She's Jelsemium's!) -Ozma
Saphron -- Thanks for the kind words! Ozma did most of the Harpy stuff. I'll let her decide if the Harpy was flirting. (Personally, I'd love to see the Harpy show up again. Hint) -Jelsemium
Aeryn Alexander: Thank you!! I completely agree with you about Dudley.
Poor kid. -Ozma
Aeryn Alexander -- Thanks! Glad you like the story. I suppose the difference in tone you notice comes from adding my style to Ozma's. Glad you like it! ** I could learn to like Dudley. As he is now, he's like the bullies from my childhood, but most of them outgrew that stage. Dudley might possibly outgrow his. ** Thanks for the compliments on the disclaimers. I thought of one, then just kept adding them. ** The Sphinx is mostly mine, thanks! I liked her, too. Now I've got to think of an excuse to bring her back... -Jelsemium
Miriam: Thank you!! Yes, there was no reason for either Filch or Hypatia
to understand why Stan would refer to Harry as 'Neville.' It's fun to
mess with the characters' heads. -Ozma
Miriam -- Thanks! When we were writing the part with the little horrors slashing at Harry, it occurred to me that the loose clothing would be very useful here. ** YES! Exactly why I put the line about the Sphinx being a Gryffindor. You're very good at reading between the lions! (sorry, couldn't resist.) ** Yes, there are some things that Squib was not meant to know. (And Sphinx, for that matter.) The Neville reference is one of them. ** No, 'acidic' is really not Dumbledore's style. -Jelsemium
Persephone Kore: Thank you!! Yes, Jelsemium did a wonderful job with Hypatia, didn't she? -Ozma
Persephone Kore -- *Grin* Thanks for the kind words. Poor Harry wanted to say that the Sphinx was on their side and she was with Dumbledore, but the 'She's a Gryffindor' line came out. ** I thought I needed to lighten up the Sphinx a tad, getting her all confused was my way of giving her a 'soft side.' -Jelsemium
A. Lee: Thank you!! Yes, the Grey Devourer did not choose her "allies"
wisely. -Ozma
A. Lee -- Thanks for the review! Yep, the Sphinx was with Dumbledore all along. BAD choice for the Greyling, but then, just because she was sentient doesn't mean she was SMART! The banshee was probably the only true neutral of the bunch. The Harpy isn't really with Dumbledore, she's connected another way. -Jelsemium
a Harry Potter fan-fic
by Ozma and Jelsemium
a sequel to Squib Caretaker
Chapter Seven: Rights, Wrongs and a Promise Kept
All recognizable characters copyrighted by J.K. Rowling.
The less recognizable ones might be under your bed.
Use a flashlight next time you look, they're having a hard time reading
the story.
The Headmaster and I watched helplessly as Harry Potter struggled in the
grip of a nightmare. He thrashed and twisted on the hospital bed as if
trying to escape. Dumbledore moved to his side and tried to still him.
"Easy, Harry, lie still. It's over now. You're safe now," Dumbledore's
litany was falling on deaf ears.
Potter arched his back and pushed desperately away from Dumbledore's
grasp, all the while maintaining an eerie silence.
The reason for the silence soon became apparent. Potter had his lower
lip between his teeth and was biting down so hard that the blood flowed
freely.
"Harry, wake up! Ennervate!"
The last finally worked. Potter took a shuddering gasp and opened his
eyes. Dumbledore laid his hand on Potter's shoulder, but the boy jerked
away and curled into a ball.
"'msorrysorrysorryIllbequiet," mumbled Potter.
"Harry, it's me," the Headmaster said quietly. "You're in St. Mungo's
Hospital. You're safe. Relax. It's over." But he did not offer to touch
the boy until Potter rolled over on his back and actually focused on
him.
"Professor?" he managed weakly. "Was I screaming then? Did I wake
everybody up?" He seemed more worried about having disturbed people than
his lacerated lip.
"No, Harry," Dumbledore said calmly. "In fact, you seem to have injured
yourself in your attempts to not scream." Slowly, as if treating a
wounded animal, Dumbledore lifted his handkerchief to Potter's face and
dabbed at the blood.
"Argus, if you would be so kind as to summon the nurse?"
Quickly, I moved to obey.
The nurse bustled in and exclaimed over the boy's bleeding lip. She gave
us a reproachful look as she whipped out her medi-wand and pulled a
bottle of cleansing potion from somewhere.
"Here, child, let me have a look. Goodness, what happened?" she added
with another dark look at the Headmaster and me.
"Bad dream," Potter whispered.
"I can't blame you, you've had a nasty day." After cleaning the boy up
and shooting one last suspicious look at us the nurse bustled out again.
I snorted.
"Hufflepuffs can get very protective of their charges," Dumbledore said,
mildly.
"Harry," he added, "do you feel up to telling us more about the creature
that attacked you? Anything that would help us find her?"
"She's dead," Potter said flatly. He swallowed and touched his lower lip
as if just realizing he'd been injured. "Voldemort... was mad because I..."
he swallowed again.
Dumbledore was silent for several minutes. "I see. Well, then, there is
no reason to disturb your rest any longer."
Potter continued as if the Headmaster hadn't spoken. "He was unraveling
her... she didn't look so human once her skin was removed, the bones were
all wrong..." His eyes were wide and had started losing their focus.
"Harry, would you like a potion for dreamless sleep?" Dumbledore asked.
He rested his hand lightly on Potter's shoulder.
Potter didn't seem to hear him. "She was screaming so loud... I thought if
I screamed that Voldemort would hear me, but maybe he wouldn't have over
her... Even when she began to fall apart, she kept screaming... Then... then
he thanked her. Voldemort thanked the Grey Woman. Said he'd been wanting
to try that spell. Said he modified an old curse especially..." Potter
drew his legs up and rested his forehead against his knees. "Especially
for... For... mmm...." His voice trailed off and his breathing grew raspy.
I hurried out to fetch the nurse back again.
*******
Shortly afterwards, the medi-wizard on duty realized that I hadn't been
looked at yet. He bustled me off to have my wounds attended to. His was
a face that I recalled from his days at Hogwarts. Yet another
Hufflepuff. After checking me over, he frowned a bit and insisted that I
stay overnight `just in case.' Since he had no objection to Mrs. Norris
remaining with me, I submitted quietly.
Cleaned up, bandaged and clad in a dark blue hospital robe, I was
sitting up in bed with Mrs. Norris purring on my knee when the
Headmaster found us. His weary face and his grave expression alarmed me.
"Sir? Is Potter...?"
"He's asleep, Argus. A sleep without dreams."
"I suppose you'll be taking him back to the Castle, then?" I said,
gruffly. "When he's recovered a bit, I mean. Plenty of empty rooms
there. Or he can stay in Hagrid's cabin. Hagrid wouldn't mind at all.
You know he wouldn't."
"Argus."
Trying to ignore the answer I could hear behind the sadness in
Dumbledore's voice I plowed on, doggedly. "Well, all right, then. If he
can't come to the Castle, he's got friends who're always glad to take
him in. Ron Weasley's family..."
"Argus," Dumbledore said in a tone so sorrowful and firm that I couldn't
ignore it.
"But, Headmaster, you can't really mean to send him back to those...
those...!"
The look in Dumbledore's eyes was adamant. "He is Protected when he is
with them. Knowing your talents as I do, I am quite sure that it's not
necessary for me to explain further."
Of course he knew all about the spell that surrounded Potter when the
boy was with his blood-kin. I supposed that he was probably the one
who'd cast the spell in the first place.
"Protected, yes," I cried plaintively, "from every possible horror,
except for THEM!"
"Sometimes, one's choices are only between what is `bad' and what is
`worse,'" the Headmaster said, heavily. "Arrangements are being made. If
all goes well then Harry will be able to visit with the Weasleys later
in the summer."
Dumbledore put his hand on my shoulder. "Harry is safe now, Argus. He
will recover. You and Mrs. Norris were there for him when you were
needed."
"Well, he saved me as much as the other way around," I said. "He's a
good boy, really. At heart, I mean. Don't tell him I said so. On second
thought, Headmaster, do tell him. He needs to be told such things.
Merlin knows, he probably never hears anything good about himself from
those..." my voice trailed off. I sighed.
"It's not FAIR..." I said, unashamed of the tears in my eyes. How I wished
that Minerva was here. Perhaps she could have helped me to think of a
way to change his mind. In my mind I began composing a letter to her.
The Headmaster handed me a handkerchief. I wiped my eyes and blew my
nose.
"I'm sorry for what I called that Dursley woman, Headmaster," I said,
miserably. "If only for the boy's sake, considering that he has to stay
with her. It was partly her doing that I was able to break the
Devourer's hold on Potter. I shouldn't have told her that she was a
contemptible cow."
"I believe your exact words were 'contemptible, miserly, stingy and
shallow-minded cow'," Dumbledore corrected me, mildly. He gave me a wry
smile. "Don't fret, Argus. Under the circumstances, your lapse of
control was perfectly understandable."
I sighed.
"Where are the Muggles now?" I asked Dumbledore.
"They've headed for home. I offered to call the Knight bus for them when
I first contacted them, but they preferred to use their own
transportation. They will not be eager to make the trip again, and I
confess, I'm not inclined to force the issue. There are too many ways to
intercept Muggle transportation. When Harry is well, I shall bring him
back to them, myself. Don't fear too much for Harry, Argus. I hear that
their neighborhood is home to all sorts of interesting strays."
"Cats?" I murmured, hopefully.
"Yes. And dogs as well."
Presumably, he meant a specific tabby cat and a particular large black
dog. Black and Minerva might not be Harry Potter's blood kin. But his
godfather and his Head of House were his family too.
Reassured on that score, I leaned forward to stroke Mrs. Norris. All the
tension hadn't left me. It was very likely that this next subject was
going to make for another uncomfortable chat, but I had a promise to
keep.
"Headmaster...?" I murmured, "There's something else. Potter and I... we
talked. And the boy said... he told me that he..."
Taking a deep breath, I blurted out, "Sir, did you know that he has an..."
my voice softened to a whisper, "Invisibility Cloak?"
The Headmaster smiled at me again. His eyes were sad, grave and fond all
at once. "Why yes, Argus."
"You KNEW?" I gasped.
He nodded.
Shocked, I faltered, "Headmaster... sir... I was sure that you didn't know!
No matter what poor Severus thought...! I told him that you wouldn't... you
couldn't possibly... Oh, sir, Potter's only a boy!" My voice cracked.
"Look at all the trouble he gets into without even really meaning to...!
Sir, why haven't you taken that dangerous thing away from him?"
"Argus," the Headmaster's voice was solemn, "the cloak is another form
of protection. I do have reasons for leaving it in his hands. It would
be wisest for me not to speak of a number of those reasons. However, I
may mention a few...
"These are things you know already," he said, when I looked at him wide-
eyed. "A powerful Stone was not used for a Dark purpose. An innocent
little girl was not killed by an evil memory. A dear friend, unjustly
punished for opening the Chamber of Secrets, has had his name cleared at
last. A young man, wrongly accused and imprisoned for murder, kept body
and soul together."
He looked at me over his half-moon spectacles. "Another dear friend,
caught in a web of dark magic, was prevented from falling to his doom."
Yes, thanks to Potter's intrepid nocturnal wanderings, the Stone had
been kept out of the Dark Lord's hands, sweet Ginny was safe and well,
Hagrid was finally exonerated of all blame for the death of Moaning
Myrtle, brave Sirius had kept his soul, and, yes, I was neither dead nor
Lucius Malfoy's puppet.
But still, I was troubled.
"Sir, we're supposed to keep him SAFE!" I cried, plaintively. "Allowing
him to keep that cloak is worse than irresponsible! No student should
have such a thing! It's just plain WRONG. How can we protect him if we
can't even see what he's up to?"
Dumbledore reached over and stroked Mrs. Norris, who purred softly under
his hands. "Visible or not, the boy isn't without resources. He's a
brave child, and a clever one. And he has many friends who will come to
him at need."
"But it's not FAIR," I cried. "Not to Potter. Not t-to anyone!"
"No," the Headmaster agreed with me, gently. "It is not fair." He
sighed. "And you may tell Severus that I admitted as much to you. You
will probably see him again before I do...
"It may be that I have made an ill choice, Argus. If it should turn out
that I have chosen wrongly I promise you that will say so to Severus
myself. If I am able."
When Dumbledore spoke those words a chill went through me.
"Sir...?" I whispered. It was a frightened plea for reassurance. In that
moment he looked and sounded so old that I felt like a child beside him.
Dumbledore managed a smile.
"The Sphinx has just told me a most amusing riddle..." he murmured,
closing the subject. "Would you like to hear it?"
To Be Continued
Authors' Notes:
emma: Thank you!! The `acid tones' belonged to Filch. I had considered another conversation between Filch and Dudley, but didn't want it to happen when they were both upset. -Ozma
emma --Filch is in charge of Acidic Responses in the absence of Prof. Snape. ;-) ** You'd like to see the Dursleys deal with the magical hospital? Hmmm... I'm sensing a plot bunny here... -- Jelsemium
Alan Sauer: Thank you for your very kind words on this story, and on the
Squib stories as a whole! The reviews aren't time-stamped, but I believe
you when you speak of staying up too late. Like you, I do most of my
reading and writing when I should be asleep. But reading and writing are
so much more FUN! (Tom Dietz's David Sullivan novels!! I really like
those too!) -Ozma
Alan Sauer -- Yes, Ozma's stories are wonderfully addictive, aren't they? She's made me sympathize with Argus Filch, something I never thought I'd do. She may get me to like Snape in time. (Between her and Rabbit and Jinx, I'm finding I dislike him less than I did.) ** I'm not familiar with Tom Deitz' David Sullivan books or Spearfinger, but I think I'll look for these. Glad you like my style! I hope you like my other stories! -- Jelsemium
shadowycat: Thank you!! I think that any witch or wizard is capabable of
unfocused wandless magic, since all normal wizarding children show signs
of being magical before they actually get their wands at the age of
eleven. I'm less sure about a general ability to do focused wandless
magic, such as specific spells. I'd guess that it takes a lot of power
and control to do that.
The Grey Devourer underestimated a lot of people, including Voldemort.
-Ozma
shadowycat -- I expect that all witches/wizards can do wandless magic. It's just a matter of how much they can focus (and how desperately they NEED to focus.) I also expect that Harry can do a lot more than the average wizard. I think Lily's sacrifice was only part of why he survived Voldemort's attack. ** Thanks! I think the Grey Stalker figured that once Voldemort had Harry, he wouldn't notice that Harry was drained of magic and brain damaged. (Which is what I figure happens when she really gets going. The poison wasn't going to help matters, either.) ** And, yes, she is an idiot. ** I love the image of the Sphinx bowling. (Which was Ozma's idea, by the way.) Thanks, I agree, Ozma and I work well together. We've discussed story ideas before, this is the first one that actually got posted. -Jelsemium
Alla: Thank you!! We'd never bite anyone's head off, it just wouldn't be
nice! I think it bothers Sirius that Snape is taking out his feelings
toward himself and James on poor Harry. I feel that a part of Snape
regresses down to Harry's age in the poor kid's presence. Suddenly,
Severus is a gawky teenager again in the presence of someone who looks
just like his popular nemesis. I find it less easy to understand Snape's
treatment of Neville. -Ozma
Alla -- I would never, EVER bite the head off one of my reviewers! I hope I have better manners than that! (And I hope my debate about Snape hasn't come across as being rude!) ** I agree, I can understand Snape's hatred of Sirius. Do wish he'd give the other characters a break. Yes, even himself. ** Thanks, I'm glad you like the idea that Dumbledore asked the Sphinx to help with the last task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. -Jelsemium
AET: Thank you!! Maybe Rowling will eventually let us see more of
Snape's feelings. Harry's perspective has been deepening as the books
progress, and maybe Harry and Snape will eventually come to understand
each other better. That's what I'm hoping for. -Ozma
AET -- Yes, a drawback of the one person POV is that we'll never really know what the other characters think. (On the other hand, can you imagine how big Goblet of Fire would have been if it had been from multiple points of view?) ** I do hope we find out more about Snape's relationship with the Potters. ** Thanks for the kind words on our story! ** Hypatia was a woman mathematician in ancient Egypt. The last librarian of the famous Library of Alexandria, no less. It's a name I like to give to intellectual minor characters. -Jelsemium
Spark-Chick: Thank you!! OUCH! Wasn't the pain distracting during your
quizbowl match? Sirius was mentioned this chapter. When Harry is released from St. Mungo's his godfather will be in the vicinity of Privet Drive to look after him. Snape isn't going to show up, but Harry and Filch are going to talk about him quite a bit next chapter. (Since the two of them tend to disagree where the Potions Master is concerned, the conversation will get a little spirited.) -Ozma
Spark-Chick -- Re: the tooth implant: That sounded very, well, Gryffindor, if you don't mind me saying. How did the Quizbowl go? ** Yes, Grisionn-cradh is Gaelic. (YES! Somebody asked!) I got it from a Gaelic-English dictionary and it roughly translates to: 'Grey Torment'. ** Glad you liked Dumbledore and Hypatia being friends. As mentioned earlier, the only reason I could come up with for the Sphinx being in the maze was that Dumbledore had reason to trust her with the students. -Jelsemium
Ariana Deralte: Thank you!! Oooh, I want a chain-wielding Filch action
figure! I'd settle for any sort of Filch action figure. He could come
with a little Mrs. Norris and a lamp! Yes, that was Filch who told
Petunia off. -Ozma
Ariana Deralte -- Chain wielding Filch, I'll take one! Yes, not only could the Harpy understand Mrs. Norris, but Nagini could, too. (Which is why she said that Mrs. Norris' guess about her name was wrong. I'd tell you what Mrs. Norris said, but it wasn't printable.) ** Harry just meant that the Sphinx was with them. A Hufflepuff would understand, they usually get along with the Gryffindors. (Actually, Stan was going more by the 'It's okay" part of Harry's statement.)
-Jelsemium
Andrea13: Thank you!! I'm glad that you got to see the chapter! The site
does seem to act oddly when new chapters first go up. (Sometimes you can
find the new chapter pretty quickly, sometimes you can't find it even
after the story summary has been updated to include it.)
Yes, Harry really pushed himself to make sure that he got Filch and Mrs.
Norris to safety. Poor boy, he's seen enough death.
What did Filch say to Petunia in those acid tones? "The boy's alive,
which makes you far luckier than you realize, you contemptible, miserly,
stingy, shallow-minded cow!" -Ozma
Andrea13 -- Hope you liked Filch's comment to Petunia. I think Vernon was mostly ignored, which probably bothered him more than anything anyone could have said. Vernon likes to think he's very important in the scheme of things. -Jelsemium
Saphron: Thank you!! The Harpy's motives are still mysterious. She
certainly knows of Dumbledore and may share common goals with him,
though she's not a formal ally. She was flirting with Argus because she
finds his surly nature appealing. Yes, the Sphinx is a very cool lady!
(She's Jelsemium's!) -Ozma
Saphron -- Thanks for the kind words! Ozma did most of the Harpy stuff. I'll let her decide if the Harpy was flirting. (Personally, I'd love to see the Harpy show up again. Hint) -Jelsemium
Aeryn Alexander: Thank you!! I completely agree with you about Dudley.
Poor kid. -Ozma
Aeryn Alexander -- Thanks! Glad you like the story. I suppose the difference in tone you notice comes from adding my style to Ozma's. Glad you like it! ** I could learn to like Dudley. As he is now, he's like the bullies from my childhood, but most of them outgrew that stage. Dudley might possibly outgrow his. ** Thanks for the compliments on the disclaimers. I thought of one, then just kept adding them. ** The Sphinx is mostly mine, thanks! I liked her, too. Now I've got to think of an excuse to bring her back... -Jelsemium
Miriam: Thank you!! Yes, there was no reason for either Filch or Hypatia
to understand why Stan would refer to Harry as 'Neville.' It's fun to
mess with the characters' heads. -Ozma
Miriam -- Thanks! When we were writing the part with the little horrors slashing at Harry, it occurred to me that the loose clothing would be very useful here. ** YES! Exactly why I put the line about the Sphinx being a Gryffindor. You're very good at reading between the lions! (sorry, couldn't resist.) ** Yes, there are some things that Squib was not meant to know. (And Sphinx, for that matter.) The Neville reference is one of them. ** No, 'acidic' is really not Dumbledore's style. -Jelsemium
Persephone Kore: Thank you!! Yes, Jelsemium did a wonderful job with Hypatia, didn't she? -Ozma
Persephone Kore -- *Grin* Thanks for the kind words. Poor Harry wanted to say that the Sphinx was on their side and she was with Dumbledore, but the 'She's a Gryffindor' line came out. ** I thought I needed to lighten up the Sphinx a tad, getting her all confused was my way of giving her a 'soft side.' -Jelsemium
A. Lee: Thank you!! Yes, the Grey Devourer did not choose her "allies"
wisely. -Ozma
A. Lee -- Thanks for the review! Yep, the Sphinx was with Dumbledore all along. BAD choice for the Greyling, but then, just because she was sentient doesn't mean she was SMART! The banshee was probably the only true neutral of the bunch. The Harpy isn't really with Dumbledore, she's connected another way. -Jelsemium