A/N: last week I drew a pic of our three heroes: Dan, Gilda and Norbert. I've sent it to some people, if you're interested, then tell me, I'll send it to you too :)
Have you seen the cover of the OotP book? I think both the British and the American version suck. The British version has nothing else but a phoenix and some flames on it, not one single wizard. So it tells us absolutely nothing. The American version doesn't tell much either, and it's extremely dark: the whole cover is navy blue, even Harry has a bluish hue and he looks about 30 years old! As though he had aged 15 years during the summer. Eerie, I'm telling you. He's sitting among some candles, holding a wand and some doors are to be seen in the background. That's all. Allegedly Marie Grand Pré (the artist who drew all the American covers) has already read the book and drew the cover based on the impressions she got from it. I think it means that the book will be very, very, very dark! *shudders*
This chapter is dedicated to Lioness-07863, because she wrote the 1500th review for this fic.
Chapter 22
The day of surprises
Draco Malfoy was sitting in a cosy armchair in the manager's office of his bank, perusing a report made by his employees. He could be really satisfied – the report showed that the bank was absolutely profitable and the Malfoy family was getting richer and richer by the second. The bank not only managed to entice more than the half of Gringotts' clientele, but had also built connections with several foreign wizarding banks, managing to offer them better interest rates for loans and credits than Gringotts that was struggling with a serious financial crisis.
So, all in all, Draco could have been a satisfied and happy man. Still, he wasn't. His fears of potential goblin attacks hadn't ceased, although no goblins had been seen around his bank since January. He had made precautions in case the goblins changed their minds about the apparent friendliness policy they were exercising towards Malfoy & Malfoy. He had cast several fire and explosion preventing charms on both his bank and home, and even at Gabrielle's house (though Gabrielle didn't find it necessary, given that the goblins had no idea about their secret marriage and there were no documents about it, either.)
Draco's thoughts drifted away from the report he was holding, to the little florist's shop round the corner. What could Gabie be doing right now? Was she thinking of him at all? He hoped she was, because he was thinking of her all the time. "Damn," he breathed and slapped the roll of parchment onto his desk. *I'm sure she doesn't even think of me.* he fumed. *Fleur's returned and Gabie must be having fun chatting with her sister. I'm sure she hasn't yet given me a thought today.* Come to think of it, it was quite possible that young Miss Delacour – correction, young Mrs Malfoy – hadn't thought of her husband that day too much, given that it was just eight o'clock in the morning. Probably she hadn't even woken up.
Draco cursed himself for not being able to keep his mind off her. Ever since they got married – that was exactly three months ago – he had felt he'd go crazy if he couldn't touch her… yet he couldn't touch her. She kept repeating that she only married him to help him out in need, but their marriage would end next January, without them ever having slept together.
The young wizard rubbed his eyes – he hadn't got too much sleep last night – if truth be told he hadn't got much sleep for months. And the reason was Gabrielle. Gabrielle, Gabrielle, Gabrielle... always Gabrielle! He irritably slapped the table and conjured himself a coffee – he badly needed something to keep him awake after those troubled dreams he had had. Oh, those dreams… he grabbed the report again, trying to get his mind off a certain part-veela and sink into the wonderful world of figures, but instead of the figures of credits and liabilities he only saw the figure of Miss Delacour. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate hard on the image of professor Snape in Neville's grandma's outfit, but Snape's image got again and again replaced by the gently swaying image of a dancing Gabrielle. She had appeared like that in his dreams – dancing, laughing and beckoning to him, then slowly starting to strip… "More coffee," Draco muttered, conjuring another cup of dark liquid, and whispered Deminuo, too. It was ridiculous, he thought, that he had started to need to use this charm again. It was long ago when he was a teenage boy with wet dreams and embarrassing awakenings, but those dreams had returned along with the terrible need for fulfilment… damn that veela, she refused to satisfy that need!
Draco started sipping his second coffee, unleashing his imagination.
"Hey, Draco, catch me!" Gabrielle squealed and flung herself onto his neck, sticking her lips to his.
"Mmmm… that feels good…" he mumbled.
"What?" came a very ungabriellish voice.
Draco opened his eyes to see Albus Dumbledore peering down at him.
"Er… sorry. I must have fallen asleep," young Malfoy apologised with a flushed expression. Dumbledore found it rather amusing, since he hadn't seen Draco turning pink while he had been at Hogwarts. He had always been so deadly pale.
"No, problem, Mr Malfoy, everyone needs a bit of a lie-in," the headmaster smiled. "May I sit down?"
"Oh, of course," Draco pointed at a chair facing his desk. "I'm being so impolite. Sorry, sir. I suppose I'm a bit…"
"Tired?"
"Exactly," the young bank-manager nodded. "So, professor, what can Malfoy & Malfoy do for you? We have special offers – if you open an account within a month, you'll get credit with very favourable interest rates."
"No, thank you, Draco, it's not Malfoy & Malfoy I need, but your help… um, I hope you don't mind if I call you Draco, do you?"
"Well, of course, not, sir. So, what can I help you with?"
"I'd like to ask you about your father."
"What do you want to know about him?"
"I'd like to know where he is at the moment."
Draco shrugged. "Somewhere on a Ministry of Magic mission, as far as I know. Why?"
"I have to talk to him. At all costs," replied Dumbledore.
"You scare me, professor. Why is it so important for you to talk to my father? Has he done something… illegal?"
"No… at least I hope not. But he might know the answers for my questions."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I really have no idea where he is at the moment. I haven't been in touch with him ever since he left the country."
"I see. Then perhaps you could help me."
"Me?"
"Yes. You might know something."
"About what?" frowned the bank-manager.
"About Tatyana Fiodrovna."
"Tatyana? You mean that crazy Russian chick who stripped Potter of his powers?"
"Yes, her."
"Well, of course I know about her – she died. Got buried at Azgard."
"No, she didn't."
"Didn't what? Didn't die or didn't get buried?" Malfoy blinked. "I don't understand. Father told me that he personally buried her in Azgard's garden."
"At least that's what he told you," Albus assessed. "But it seems that he had lied."
"What do you mean?" Draco frowned.
"I happened to visit our friend, Aaron, at Azgard. He told me that he and his wife were planning to turn the castle into a museum and they wanted some fountains into the garden, so they got it dug up. A rock, signalling the resting place of Tatyana Fiodrovna, happened to be in the way of the architect wizards. So they opened the tomb to relocate her bones, and they found no skeleton. Not even the remains of a coffin. Nothing at all."
"You mean… she didn't die?" Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "But… Aaron had told us that she had been lethally injured by a sword… she must have died."
"Oh, yes, everyone thinks so," the headmaster responded. "But no one – not even Aaron - had seen her dead. Your father was the last one to see her before 'getting buried'. He told everyone that he had buried her in the garden, but he could as well have lied. I'm sorry to say this, but it is very possible that your father had lied and Miss Fiodrovna is still alive, given that I don't think Lucius would have taken her dead body with him – what would he have used it for?"
"But what would he have used a living Tatyana for?" Draco countered.
"Good point. I have no idea," shrugged Albus. "Perhaps Miss Fiodrovna got a bit better and pleaded with your father to let her live and escape."
"Not much of a chance. Father isn't exactly the charitable type. I mean… he has given lots of money to St. Mungo and several orphanages, but… he did it to appear as an honourable gentleman. I can't see why he'd help a woman who couldn't give him anything in return. But… he might have buried her together with her wand, believing her to be dead. Then the chick woke up in the middle of the night, realised that she was in a coffin four feet under the surface, so she just magicked herself out."
"As I have told you, there was no coffin found in the tomb," Dumbledore reminded him.
"Then… I don't know. Maybe she climbed out of the tomb and destroyed the coffin," Draco shuddered slightly. "I think I have read too many horror stories in my childhood. Or… when exactly did Aaron tell you this?"
"Yesterday. Why?"
"It was April Fool's Day yesterday, headmaster."
"I know. And I happened to ask Aaron whether it was just a joke, and he told me that he had no idea that there was an April Fool's Day at all. I suspect that this custom of tricking each other on 1st April only came into fashion after Aaron had been frozen. So, I'd like to find Tatyana if she's really alive, because I have a reason to believe that it could be her who's been doing all this stuff to poor Harry."
"What stuff?" Draco knitted his blonde eyebrows.
"Well, making him drink a potion that made him fall out with Professor Lupin. They haven't reconciled ever since Halloween. Then… the fire."
"The fire?" Draco breathed. "What are you talking about? That attack was directed at me! The goblins were mad and…"
The old wizard waved to shut up the younger one. "You are wrong, young Malfoy. The journalists wrote that the goblins had mistaken Harry's house for yours. But the journalists aren't known for their objectiveness, are they? Things got hushed up. The truth is that the Potter house was the real target, but whoever did it, they wanted it to look like as though the goblins had done it. The resemblance between your house and Harry's only helped them."
"Now wait a minute!" Malfoy cut in. "You mean that my life, my bank and my house haven't been in danger at all? That I have made all the precautions in vain? That I have been living in fear for three months in vain?" at the end he was practically shouting.
"Calm down, Draco, will you?" Albus held up his hand to hush him. "Calm down and listen to me. It was Mad Eye's idea to show the whole case as though you had been the target. And I agreed with him. I'm sorry that we have left you in uncertainty for months, but we didn't want to tell anyone the truth. Especially not Harry. I ask you to remain silent about this."
"All right," the bank-manager nodded. "I won't tell anyone," in thought he added: *Especially not Gabrielle. If she gets to know that I'm not in danger, she'll become only more resolute that there's no need for us to stay together.* "But... professor… do you think that if Tatyana Fiodrova is alive, then she's the one who set Potter's house on fire? I mean... why would she? Potter never hurt her, did he?"
"Oh, not directly," Dumbledore shook his head. "But as we know, Miss Fiodrovna was a bit… crazy. We don't know what her addled mind could make her think of Harry Potter who had not only got young again, but also got his powers back, while her lover had died and her plan hadn't succeeded. Of course I'm not sure that there is a connection between the tragedy-series in the Potter family and Tatyana's missing body, but we cannot rule out the possibility."
"Hell, I wouldn't be in Potter's place," Draco said. "I never liked him, but… now I feel sorry for him. It cannot be a pleasant feeling to have a mad zombie following you around… Oh, just a question, sir. If it is Tatyana who's doing all this, then why… why did Professor Snape also get attacked? That woman never knew Snape, did she?"
"No, she definitely didn't," Albus replied. "The two cases might be separate… but they might be connected. I don't know. All I know is that I'd like to ask you about your father. Did he… behave strangely after you came home from Azgard?"
"Strangely?" Draco pondered. "Just as strangely as ever. I don't think I could tell you anything about that, professor. I didn't notice anything strange after the Azgard adventure. And even if he did behave strangely, I wasn't there to know – you know that I had moved to Devilsmoor Manor after graduation and I barely visited my parents at home. I'm sorry. I wish I could help."
"I think you could help."
"How?"
"We know that Lucius is out of reach at the moment, but his elves surely aren't. You know that the elves always know what is going on in a house. You could go and question the elves about Lucius' actions after he returned from Azgard. I'm sure that the elves won't refuse to reply to you – you're also a Malfoy."
"All right, I'll try," Draco said. "I'll go to Malfoy Manor as soon as I have a bit of time, I promise."
"Thank you, Draco. That would be a great help."
* * * * *
As Albus was walking back from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts, two squealing voices caught his ear:
"Professor Dumbledore, sir!"
He turned around to see Dobby and Dinky standing at the gate of the Potter house.
"Ah, good morning to you both," the headmaster greeted them with a smile.
"Good morning to you, too, professor, sir!" beamed Dobby and Dinky nodded her agreement. "Could Dobby talk to you, sir?"
"Well, of course. What would you like to talk to me about?"
"Er…" the male house-elf turned slightly pink (Dinky was already ruby-red). "Dobby does not know whether Professor Dumbledore knows, but Dobby is in love with Harry Potter's elf, Dinky."
"I know that, Dobby," Albus smiled. "But… I thought that you were no more in Harry's employment, Dinky."
"Dinky wasn't, for a while, professor," the female elf said. "But he took Dinky back. Harry Potter is not vindictive, sir. He is very generous and kind-hearted. Dinky pleaded with him and Harry Potter let Dinky come back."
"Yes, professor, and I love her," the house-elf put an arm around his girlfriend. "I love her and I'd like to marry her. So… Dinky and I thought that… perhaps you would be so kind and marry us? I remember that you married three couples at Harry Potter's wedding because you had been allowed by the Ministry to do so, so… would you do us the honour, sir?"
"Of course I would, Dobby!" Albus replied. "When are you planning to get married?"
"The sooner the better," Dinky blushed, resting her hand on her slightly bulging belly.
"Oh, I see," the headmaster grinned knowingly. "And where would you like to have the ceremony?"
"Master Harry said he'd let us marry in his house," Dobby said. "We do not want a big party, sir, just the Potter family, and of course Miss Hermione and Mr Ron. After the wedding I will be living with the Potters. Master Harry said he'd gladly pay for my work as well, I just had to promise him to be more careful in the future."
"More careful?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.
"Well…" the male elf looked at his shoes, "you know, Dobby and Dinky weren't paying attention to the house when it caught fire. But we promised master Harry to be better elves in the future. I hope Professor Dumbledore will not miss Dobby's work too much in the castle."
"I believe Hogwarts has just enough elves. I'm sure you'll be very happy in Harry's house, Dobby."
"Dobby thinks the same, sir!" the elf clasped his hands gleefully. "Is Professor Dumbledore available for the wedding-ceremony on next Saturday?"
"Saturday, Saturday… I think I haven't planned anything for that day yet. I'll gladly perform the ceremony for you."
* * * * *
"Minnieeeee…"
"What?" Minerva asked, not even looking up from a test she was correcting.
"Minnie, talk to me, please!"
"Let me concentrate on this or I'll never finish it!" she snapped.
"Can I help with it?"
"No, Aberforth, you can't. All you know about Transfiguration is how to turn a goat into a woman."
"But you have to admit that it must have been quite a good little piece of Transfiguration if my dear brother couldn't notice the ruse!"
"Oh, yeah, it must have been perfect!" she snorted. "Just as perfect as yesterday's little deception, eh?"
"You know what your problem is, Minnie?"
"No," she said, directing her attention back to the sheet of paper.
"Your problem is that you don't have a sense of humour. Neither does Albus."
"I could debate that. Albus has a great sense of humour. What he has can be called a sense of humour, while what you have can only be called stupidity."
"Oh, c'mon, dear, don't say that you disliked my little joke yesterday that much!" Aberforth sighed.
"Why?" she looked up suddenly, her beady little eyes gleaming with fury. "Should I have felt happy that Albus thought I let you knock me up at my age? Do you have any idea how ridiculous I felt? And poor Albus! He was just as embarrassed as me! What do you think would have happened if anyone else besides Albus and I had got to know about my alleged pregnancy? The whole school would be laughing at me!"
"But… that's the function of April Fool's Day – to make us laugh!" her husband said. "Besides, people wouldn't have only laughed at you, but at me, too. And I wouldn't have minded at all."
"You should have," she grunted. "How can you be such a clown even at your age? How can you lie that you are going to be a father when you are going to have your second great-grandchild any time now? I thought you have grown up… at least a bit, Aby," she sighed, her anger disappearing to be replaced by disappointment.
"Dear…" the old wizard knelt down before her, taking her hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you or Albus. I just… couldn't resist the temptation when he asked how you were feeling. I wasn't planning this, but… when he asked me that question, I got a sudden idea, and… couldn't restrain myself. I know that this is why my first wife left me: I was too much of a clown for her to bear," he heaved a huge sigh, his features very stern. "I tried and tried to change, Minnie, I tried to change not to lose you as well, but… old habits die hard, and an old personality cannot be changed. But… if there are charms or potions to turn me more serious, then I'd gladly subject myself to them if you want… I don't want to lose you."
"No, Aberforth," she sniffed, tears brimming her eyes. "I wouldn't ask you to subject yourself to something like that… if you got more serious due to a potion or charm, it… it just wouldn't be you anymore. Believe it or not, I love you. I love you, despite your mistakes. Or… put it this way: together with your mistakes. I will not leave you because who you are or what you are like, but I ask you one thing: you don't need to change, just… think it over before you do something that you think is funny. Just think over what the others would think of it before you act. That's all I ask."
"I'll try, Minnie, I swear," he lifted her right hand to his lips and kissed it. "Thank you."
"Do not thank me, just leave me fifteen minutes of peace – I really need to correct these tests. I promised my students to give it back to them tomorrow."
There was a tap on the window – an owl wanted to be let in.
"Oooooh, Minnie! Owl from my grandson, Aberforth the third!" the old wizard yelled excitedly. "He writes… Aberforth the fourth is born! Yippieee! I'm a great-grandpa again! Look at this wizard photo, isn't he adorable? I think he takes after me!"
"Really cute… just like you," his wife smiled at the newborn's photo. "We'll have to show it to Julie."
"Of course, my little kitten, but now: party!" he jerked Minerva off her seat and danced across the room with her.
"Aberforth!" she panted. "Let me go! I've got to…"
"Correct the tests, I know," he rolled his eyes. "But only after a nice glass of champagne at Madame Rosmerta's. We've got to celebrate this! Come on, dear!"
Before she could protest, he marched her out of their room and out of the castle, towards Hogsmeade.
* * * * *
Wednesday evening Daniel, Gilda and Norbert decided to go back to the chamber of Gryffindor. They applied a tricky immobilising charm on Moaning Myrtle beforehand, so that the ghost wouldn't be able to disturb them.
Ginny was just about to close Honeydukes when they arrived there through the underground tunnel, and they just managed to slip through the door after the last two customers before Ginny put up the 'closed' sign.
Thirty minutes later, they were in the chamber again.
"I wish it could be opened without me having to prick my fingers every time," Dan complained, sucking at his bleeding fingertip as Gilda rushed to the diary lying open on the red marble table.
"So… let's see, where did we stop reading it?" her eyes skimmed the page. "Aha!"
…I ask you – no, beg you – to go on with your life as Godwin Potter – not Godwin Gryffindor. To the world you are a Potter and no one may know that I have ever fathered a child.
I have mentioned before that I have the Sight. It is a very rare gift for men, usually only women possess it, so I suppose I can be regarded as fortunate to have it. I haven't had too many visions, but those few I had have turned reality – for example I have foreseen that my best friend would turn on me and it has happened so. I have foreseen that he would murder me. Yes, my one-time best friend. I am sure that I will die at Salazar's hand. I have also foreseen that Rowena would die and Salazar would remarry. And finally, I have foreseen one more important thing: that my son will be an Imaginer.
You might be wondering what an Imaginer is. Well, Godwin, it is an extremely rare type of wizard who has the ability of making things come true by only imagining them.
Gilda looked up. "Hey, Dan, it reminds me of your Snitch-exploding. And the spiders."
"I have already told you, Gil, it wasn't me," the boy shook his head. "I don't know much about Imaginers," he lied, "but I'd like to get to know more... So, read on."
My mentor, Merlin, knew a lot about Imaginers, since he has travelled all around the world. According to him, there have been only four Imaginers in Europe so far, and another few dozens on other continents. Most of them have allegedly lived in Persia, but this might not be true – we will never know, since there haven't been any Imaginers in the last two centuries. They seem to have died out somehow. No one knows how a wizard becomes an Imaginer, but supposedly it can have different ways to get the powers of Imagining. I don't know how you will become an Imaginer, all that I know is that you'll become one. And I'm very proud of it, my Son.
As it was Persia where most Imaginers turned up, the Persian Imaginers decided to collect the knowledge on their powers and write it down onto stone columns. An Anglo-Saxon witch, who lived for years in the area of the one time Persia, searched for information on the wizarding culture of the ancient Persians. This witch (called Vivian) learnt how to interpret the signs on the Persian columns and decided to write down everything she found on the Imaginers. Later, the columns got destroyed by Barbarian tribes living in that area.
As far as I know, only two copies of Vivian's book exist. One of them is in the possession of her descendants, the other used to be in the possession of Merlin. Merlin, however, entrusted me to take care of the precious book after his death. Now I'm leaving that book to you, Son. You can find it on the highest shelf – I hope it will help you to become a wonderful Imaginer. There are several other books on the shelves as well, I have been collecting them for months – I am sure you will find all of them useful in your future studies.
I must finish my message, dear Son. I wish you all the happiness in life and may you be more successful a wizard than your father has been. Never forget that I'm proud of you and love you.
Your father,
Godric Gryffindor
Barely had Gilda finished reading out the message when Daniel was already standing by the bookshelf, reading the titles of the various books. Suddenly, he yanked one of them off the shelf.
"That's it!" he yelped. "'The Imaginer', by Vivian Vablatsky."
"Is she an ancestor of Cassandra Vablatsky?" Norbert asked.
"Dunno. Might be," Dan shrugged, turning over the pages of the book. Strangely, this was the only book in the small library that wasn't covered with a thick layer of dust. "How cool is it!" he breathed, reading chapter titles like 'How to develop your Imaginer skills' and 'When you think you are a perfect Imaginer, you still have to learn a lot'. He was delighted to have found this book just when he thought he'd run out of syllabus by the end of April. He could develop his skills to perfection and become the greatest Imaginer of all times!
"Hey, a page is missing!" he said, beckoning his friends to himself. "Look, someone's ripped it out!"
"Why would someone want a page of a book like this?" Norbert frowned.
"No idea," Dan shook his head.
"What could have been on that page?" Gilda mused. The last words on the last page before the missing one were: The art of cont.
"The art of what?"
"Possibly the word continued on the next page but it got removed," the girl said. "It could be controversy… or… contempt. Or perhaps contact. Or continuity. It could be about five hundred words."
"It's fishy," Dan furrowed his brow. "Why would someone tear out a page of a book that is so rare? And why not take the whole book if he needed it? Why just one page?"
"Search me," Norbert shrugged. "Anyway, there are lots of other books in here we could look at. For example… here's a book about the ancestors of Godric. Wow, you do have a huge family-tree, Dan! Not even the Malfoys are such an old wizarding family. I feel jealous."
But Dan wasn't listening to him anymore – he seemed to be immersed in his thoughts. "You know…"
"What?"
"I don't think that the Potters ever received Gryffindor's owl telling them about this chamber."
"What makes you think so?" Miss Lockhart asked.
"When Dumbledore told my parents and me about our ancestry, he mentioned that Godwin Potter was an Imaginer, but he said that he didn't have any books to learn how to use his powers, thus he just did it by instinct. Had Godwin known about this chamber, then he would have found Vivian Vablatsky's book and would have learnt from there… don't you think?"
"Possibly," Norbert shrugged. "Maybe the owl sent by Godric died on its way… another bird of prey might have attacked it or something. Does it matter at all?"
"No," Dan shook his head. "I think we should be going back to the school. Astronomy begins in an hour."
The three kids had barely reached the staircase leading up to the Astronomy Tower when Professor Potter called out to them.
"Yes, dad?" Daniel turned around, seeing a rather furious expression on his father's face. "What's the matter?"
"What have you done to Moaning Myrtle?" Harry demanded.
The boy made a politely confused face. "What do you mean?"
"I happened to pass by Myrtle's toilet ten minutes ago and I heard some strange noise coming out. It was nothing like the usual Myrtle-wailing. I got curious and entered. And do you know… do you know what I saw there?"
"No idea at all," Dan fibbed.
"I saw Myrtle being immobilised. She couldn't even open her mouth, just whimpered with her lips stuck together. I have never seen a ghost under the effect of Immobilus and I was really curious who did this to her. After I said Finite Incantatem, her first words were: 'Your son and his two friends! They did it!' So, Daniel, I'm awaiting your explanation," Harry crossed his arms.
"How can you believe Myrtle? She's a freak, dad, you know that! She keeps spying on people in the bathroom and everything… if I were in your place, I wouldn't believe a word of hers."
Harry gave his son a scowl. "I know Myrtle's unfortunate liking for peeping at naked prefects, but I know her for a truthful person."
"We're going to be late for Astronomy, sir," Norbert interjected.
"Then I'll talk to Professor Sinistra," Professor Potter said. "So, can you give me an explanation?"
"Why don't you ask Myrtle?" Dan snapped.
"Because she's in no condition to talk. She's shocked and cannot do anything else but cry."
"How unusual of Myrtle, eh?" Norbert grimaced.
"Dad, oh, dad!" came another voice from behind. It was Lily Potter rushing towards them. "I've been looking for you all evening! Dad, I just got to know that Dobby's going to marry Dinky in our house on Saturday! May I come? I know it's not a Hogsmeade weekend, but I'd like to be there, pleeeease!"
While Harry told his daughter off for running around the corridors at such a late hour without a reason (you don't have Astronomy tonight!), Dan and his friends managed to escape.
"I totally love your sister!" Norbert smirked as they hurried upstairs into the tower.
Daniel gave him a questioning look.
"I mean I'm grateful to her," young Malfoy corrected himself. "She helped us escape."
"Now she did. But later your dad will surely come back to this topic," Gilda replied bitterly. "Maybe we shouldn't have immobilised Myrtle. As soon as she gets better, she'll tell your dad about the secret chamber and we'll get expelled for having sneaked out to Hogsmeade again."
"I'm not worried about that," Daniel smiled. He'd just have to imagine Harry forgetting what he was about to ask. For a second, he felt a pang of remorse, thinking that playing with other people's thoughts like that wasn't exactly fair, but in certain cases he just had to do that. He was a twelve-year-old boy, after all, with not much sense of responsibility. All he knew was that having powers that others didn't have was fun, and if he sometimes used them for good purposes (just like when he helped Valentine in Snape's class), then he was entitled to use them a bit for mischief-making as well.
Perhaps this was a wrong philosophy, but he wasn't old enough to philosophise. He just hoped that his father wouldn't tell Dumbledore about Myrtle's case, because he knew that he wouldn't be able to lie to the headmaster. Albus would clearly see through any kind of deception and there was no way he could be imagine-influenced. Too bad.
"I'm sorry, Lily, but I cannot let you come to the wedding," Harry said.
"Why not?"
"Because it is no Hogsmeade weekend."
"But… it's Easter!" she reasoned.
"I know, but students do not leave the castle during the Easter holidays," her father pointed out. "It's a Hogwarts rule."
"Oh, come on, dad, don't tell me that you ever cared for the Hogwarts rules! You broke them more often than any other student!"
"But that was when I was a kid. Now I'm a teacher and I'm supposed to be sticking to the rules."
"Couldn't you just… ask Dumbledore to make an exception?" she pleaded with puppy eyes.
"I'm sorry, Lily, but that would look like as though he was favouring you, just because you're a teacher's daughter. I cannot let anyone think that Albus is unfair."
"Oh, it's not about the headmaster at all, is it?" her hands clenched into fists. "It's about your damn reputation! You know what? Fuck your reputation!"
"Ten points from Gryffindor for insulting a professor. And another ten points will be taken if you don't go up to your dormitory immediately," Harry said resolutely. He had never told off/punished his daughter before, but there was a first time for everything. She seemed to be getting out of hand.
The girl's face turned ruby-red with fury. "You know what, Harry?" she put the emphasis on the 'Harry' part, showing that she didn't feel like calling him dad again, "Now I understand Remus Lupin a hundred percent! I understand why he hates you! You are selfish!"
Professor Potter's eyes narrowed. "Not selfish, just fair. On the other hand, young lady, it was you who told me the other day that you were missing some strictness from me. That you practically longed to be told off to feel that I'm your father. Because you needed me."
"Hah! I don't need a father like you! I hate you, Harry!" she shouted and stormed away.
With a lump in his throat, Harry followed her with his eyes, wondering what got into his daughter.
* * * * *
Saturday was a wonderful spring day with a lot of sunshine and birdsong. In the Muggle world it was Easter, but in the wizarding world so few people celebrated it as a Christian holiday that no one really seemed to care that it was Easter in fact. It seemed that Dobby and Dinky had picked just the right day to get married.
The small ceremony was held in the garden of the Potter house with only a couple of friends attending. The triplets and Lea had been told not to make any trouble or they wouldn't be allowed to attend at all. So, Robert, Richard and Rose were behaving like little angels, though for them it was sheer torture.
"Aren't they cute?" Ginny whispered into Harry's ear as they watched the two elves seal their vows with a kiss. "Weddings are always so beautiful."
"Yeah… but no wedding could be as beautiful as ours was," he smiled back at her. "It was so special and funny with three couples marrying at once… Dudley and Millicent… Hermione and Ron… really, where's Ron? I thought he wouldn't miss Dobby getting married in a brand new maroon suit."
"He had to miss it," Hermione joined them, holding Rupert by the hand. "Wendelin went into labour in the morning and he insisted that he'd stay by her."
"Oh," Harry nodded knowingly. Wendelin was Ron's pet niffler that he had received from Harry for Christmas in his seventh year. It was rumoured that some nifflers had escaped from Aberforth's Care of Magical Creatures class and one of them was supposedly the father of Wendelin's cubs.
Harry's glance met Dumbledore's and strangely, a shiver ran down his spine – the old wizard was looking at him in a rather peculiar way… Harry didn't know this glance. Or did he? Well… perhaps. This glance reminded him a little bit of the one Albus had given him after the third task when he had told him about the whole terrible graveyard adventure. Before Harry could make sure that this stare was the same as that one seventeen years ago, the headmaster looked away, seemingly interested in Dobby caressing Dinky's belly. The young Charms professor shook his head. He must have been imagining things… why would Dumbledore have the reason to look at him like that – with pity and anxiety?
Harry tried not to think of it, so he rather directed his thoughts to his children. He felt a pang of remorse that he didn't let Lily attend the wedding, but he couldn't go on favouring his own daughter, could he? True that he had let his own son keep the Marauder's Map, but it was done in secret, while everyone would have known if he had allowed Lily to leave the castle. He felt worried about his eldest daughter – she was behaving rather strangely lately. She told him that she had never regarded him as a father, she told him that she needed to get dressing-downs from him to feel that she actually had a father, then, when he finally had a reason to tell her off, she said that she hated him and didn't need a father like him. It was… as though it wasn't even Lily. Harry couldn't help but feel concerned about the always so peaceful and nice Lily – the Lily who had never put a toe out of line before. The Lily who had never talked back before… the Lily who now supposedly hated him. He shuddered at the thought of his daughter hating him. Did he deserve her hate at all? Or was it just the usual teenager 'I'm-defying-my-parents'-syndrome? Yes, it definitely had to be it – it had started with Lily dating the Malfoy boy. Really, had she at last told Norbert that she didn't have feelings for him? – Harry mused. He'd have to ask her when she wasn't in the mood for hating him anymore.
Speaking of Malfoys…
A blonde figure appeared at the gate, peering into the garden. Albus Dumbledore must have noticed him at once, because he excused himself from the new couple and hurried off to the gate.
"Well, Draco?" he asked in a hushed voice. "Have you been to Malfoy manor?"
"Yes, sir," the young banker nodded. "And I have rather disturbing news. The house-elves have also disappeared."
The headmaster knitted his silvery eyebrows. "What do you mean? Where are they?"
"No idea, sir. They are supposed to have stayed at Malfoy manor, but they aren't there. I don't think that all of them have left with father and mother… curious."
"Yes, most curious. Well, thank you, Draco."
"You're welcome. And sorry about the bad news."
* * * * *
Viviane and Valentine were sitting by the lake with Lancelot and Kevin.
"Hey, Lily!" Lancelot waved at the girl approaching across the lawn.
"Hello," Lily flopped down onto the grass next to them, looking rather grouchy. "How are you?"
"And how are you?" asked Kevin. "You look terrible. What's eating you?"
"Oh, just the wedding. I wanted to go and Harry didn't let me," the girl sighed. "I'm mad at him. But… I'm also ashamed."
"Ashamed? About what?"
"Well… I was rather rude to him when he said he couldn't allow me to go. I told him terrible things."
"What kinds of terrible things?" inquired Val.
"I told him that I hated him… that I didn't need a father like him… I told him that he was selfish and that I agreed with Remus Lupin about hating him," Lily hid her face into her palms. "I've screwed it up. What if he'll never forgive me?"
"Oh, come on, Lils, he's your dad and he loves you," Viviane said compassionately. "Val and I also irritate our parents all the time, but they always forgive us. That's what parents are good for: loving us and forgiving us whatever we do."
"You can speak easily, you have never told your parents that you hate them, have you?" Miss Potter pouted.
"No, I think not," the twins shook their heads.
"Good for you. I have no idea how to make this up to him," Lily sighed. "I don't hate him, I just… I don't know. When he told me that he didn't want to let me go to the wedding, my mind somehow got veiled by some mist, and I… I had no idea what I was telling him. I was out of my mind for sure, under normal circumstances I would have never told him things like that. And I have no idea what was happening to me… it was the same weeks ago when we talked in the Astronomy Tower. I was rude to him back then, too. I told him things I didn't mean to say… I fear I'm going mad," she touched her temples, as though she was suffering from a serious headache. "But don't mention this to Harry, will you? I don't want him to worry about me."
"Not to worry?" Lancelot frowned. "I would be worried if my daughter went crazy."
"But that's out of question, isn't it, Lance? Your daughter could only be perfect," Val mocked, knowing her cousin's inherited megalomania.
"Really, Lance," Kevin smirked, "what will your daughter be called? Guinevere?"
"Ha-ha," Percy's son wrinkled his nose. "Anyway, how many people were present at the wedding?"
"Well…" Lily shrugged. "As far as I know mum, Harry, Robert, Richie, Rosie, Lea … Dumbledore, Aunt Hermione, Rupert and Sirius."
"And dad?" Valentine raised an eyebrow.
"He wasn't there. I just met Aunt Hermione when she came back from the wedding. She said that Uncle Ron's niffler had gone into labour some hours ago and he was helping her deliver her cubs."
"Ooooh, Wendelin's got babies????" the twins exclaimed. "We've got to see them!"
"You can't. You aren't allowed to leave the school until the end of term. Given that you are only in first year, you cannot even go to Hogsmeade on weekends," Lancelot reminded them in an 'I'm-not-a-school-prefect-yet-but-one-day-I'll-be-one-and-then-I'll-teach-you-to-respect-the-school-rules' tone .
"Hah, stupid restrictions!" Val waved indignantly. "They aren't going to stand in our way, right, Viv?"
Her twin nodded eagerly. "And you'd better keep your big mouth shut, Lance."
Percy's son adjusted his glasses in an 'I'm-damn-important' sort of way. "I should tell on you, you know…" Three wands raised against him at once – the twins' and Kevin's. "…but of course I won't. I'm not a sneak, what did you think of me?!?"
* * * * *
It was almost midnight. Everything was dark in the castle, save the little light given by the torches along the walls. Two figures were creeping along the corridor on their tiptoes, looking around on every corner carefully.
"Do you reckon we can get down to Hogsmeade unnoticed?" whispered one of them.
"Sssshhh!" hushed the other one.
They continued their way downstairs, unnoticed, until…
"Ickle firsties! Peevsie loves ickle firsties!"
"Shut up, Peeves!" said one of the figures.
"Shut up?" the poltergeist yelled. "No way, kiddies! Oi, professors! Two Gryffindors are lurking on the Charms corridor!"
"Damn you, Peeves!" one figure growled.
"Run for it!" the other said and the two students dashed down the corridor, followed by the poltergeist's cheerful cackling.
Somewhere in the building, a door banged open (or was it the noise of Peeves dropping a cupboard down the stairs?).
"This way!" whispered one voice.
"Which way?" asked another – rather cold one.
"Oops."
"Yes, oops, Miss Weasley and Miss Weasley," Professor Snape told the two girls, his teeth practically shining in the semi-darkness. "Before I take another hundred points from Gryffindor, may I ask what you are doing here at such a late hour?"
"We… we just…" Viviane mumbled.
"Just what?" Snape raised a black eyebrow.
"Wanted to see Wendelin's cubs," Valentine blurted out.
"Whose what?" Severus crossed his arms in a menacing way.
"Wendelin is our dad's niffler," Viv said dejectedly, dreading what their fellow Gryffindors would say when they spotted the hourglasses in the morning, seeing that they had at least a hundred (if not two hundred) points less than the previous evening. The first time, when they had gone into the Forbidden Forest, the Gryffindors hadn't blamed the Weasleys, only Daniel and Norbert. This time, however, the twins would surely become public enemy number one in front of their house-mates.
"Niffler?" Snape's features changed from strict and menacing to a bit softer. "Ah, those are really… nice animals. I used to own one when I was a little boy…" he said with a dreamy expression, then suddenly shuddered, as though he realised that he shouldn't be telling his students about his childhood pets. "So, you have been caught out of bed in the middle of the night, which, certainly, entails a punishment."
The two Weasley girls cringed, fearing to hear the words 'Two hundred points from Gryffindor' coming out of Snape's mouth, but those words never came. Instead they heard:
"A detention with Mr. Bradley tomorrow. The whole day. Yes, I know it's Sunday, and yes, I know it's Easter, but you made trouble for yourselves. You will be helping the caretaker from eight o'clock a.m. to eight o'clock p.m., and be grateful that I didn't take points from your house this time," he glanced down at the girls, not understanding why those two beamed at him so happily. "Off to bed now!"
"Yeeees, sir!" Valentine sighed, clutching her robes around her heart.
"He is really not that nasty anymore, is he?" Vivian whispered as they watched the Professor hurry away, his long, deep green robes billowing around him.
"Nasty?" Val sounded downright miffed, as though she had been insulted. "He's perfect."
* * * * *
"Too bad we didn't get to see the baby nifflers," Viv pouted as they trotted downstairs the next morning, heading for the caretaker's room. As they got there, they saw the door standing slightly ajar. Voices were filtering through the gap:
"I don't care that he doesn't like me, it's still his birthday! And every person deserves to get a present for his birthday!"
"I wouldn't say that about Snape," Professor Longbottom's voice replied. "But do as you see fit. Buy him a present. Really, when exactly is his birthday?"
"The 13th April."
"Ah, cool. It will be a Friday. Friday the 13th. Perhaps you should buy him a talisman against bad-luck, he might need it that day."
"Ehm, Mr. Bradley?" Valentine cleared her throat.
"Oh, I didn't see you there, girls," Beryl turned around. "Good morning and happy Easter."
"Happy Easter to you, too, Mr. Bradley and Professor Longbottom," Viviane said.
"Well, what can I do for you?" asked Beryl.
"Professor Snape sent us to help you with your work today. We're in detention."
"Why? What terrible things have you done to earn a detention?" Neville raised an eyebrow.
"We just… wanted to sneak out of the castle to Hogsmeade to see the newborn cubs of our dad's niffler. And Professor Snape caught us."
"Aha," the caretaker nodded knowingly. "It seems that Professor Snape has developed a habit of sending his students to me for detention. Well, girls, I don't think I could give you much work today… it's Easter Sunday and the castle has been cleaned before the holidays started."
"But… we are supposed to help you. We cannot leave without having helped you," Val insisted.
"You know what, girls?" Ms. Bradley said, "You can help me. But not in the castle."
"No?"
"No," Beryl shook her head. "I was going to go down to Hogsmeade and have a look at some newborn nifflers. Do you care to help me in the task?"
Viviane and Valentine's faces lit up. "Of course, Mr. Bradley! Thank you very much!"
* * * * *
After his weekly training session with Dumbledore, Daniel decided to visit the chamber again. He didn't want his friends to come this time, though – he wanted the chamber, and especially the Imaginer book, to himself. He was already afraid that Norbert and Gilda might suspect him to be an Imaginer, but he hoped that it wasn't the case.
Just yesterday Albus had told Dan that they had reached the end of his ancestor's diary that gave them details on Godwin Potter's self-Imaginer-tutoring. For a moment, Daniel had played with the thought of telling the headmaster about Vivian Vablatsky's book so that Dumbledore could continue teaching him from it, but after reconsidering it, he had changed his mind. If he had shown the book to the headmaster, then he'd have had to tell where he had found it, and the headmaster would have got to know that he had visited the wishing well again, despite being told not to. So, showing the book would have meant getting expelled. Thus, he had decided to try and exercise on his own. He just had to make up stories for his friends about where he had gone.
For today evening, he had fed Gilda and Norbert a story that he wanted to meet his sister Lily, who – allegedly – wasn't feeling too well. And part of it was true – Lily was really feeling horrible about having treated her father like that but she didn't have the guts to stand in front of Harry and apologise. On the other hand, she was still a bit mad at him for having denied her the chance to see the elven wedding.
Daniel crept through the corridor to Honeydukes, then sneaked through the village to the cave. It was no easy business, given that some people were still strolling on the streets and he didn't want to borrow/steal Norbert's invisibility cloak this time. However, Dan had learned a tricky little illusion-imagining charm with which he could persuade someone that they had seen things that they hadn't, or they didn't see things that they actually saw.
Entering the chamber, some inexplicable feeling swept over the boy – he felt very, very satisfied to have the place and the books just to himself, but he also felt scared and guilty, knowing that he was trespassing.
"Well, I'm here," he whispered to the bare walls, sinking down into a chair in front of the red marble table. "I'm here, Godric. I'm your heir and I'm proud to be here. You know, I was sorted into Slytherin, but that must have been a mistake. I'm sure that the Sorting Hat had a temporary brain damage or something - that's why it put me into Slytherin while I should be in your house. I hope you don't mind if I read your books – I mean, you have left them here for your son to learn from them, but he very possibly never got here. We cannot let all the knowledge stored in here be wasted, can we? I'm also an Imaginer just like your son, so, if you don't mind, I'm going to study from his book. Is that okay?" he looked around, as if waiting for an answer, but the walls didn't reply, and the golden light in the red brackets didn't show him a sign either. "Well, it seems you don't have an objection, do you, Godric? Okay," he reached out for Vivian Vablatsky's book that he had left on the table last time and opened it. "Let the magic begin."
* * * * *
The 13th April came earlier than anyone had expected. It was Professor Snape who awaited it the least. He didn't like Fridays that were the 13th day of the month, and he definitely didn't like his birthdays.
Every year, he got a parcel from his old mother – a parcel usually containing a warm jumper with the script 'Sev' knitted into it. He always wrote his mum a letter thanking her for the wonderful jumpers, but he never wore any of them. His cupboard was already full of fluffy jumpers in all colours of the rainbow, all of them bearing the letters 'Sev'. Oh, yes, for his mum he was still little Sev, or even Sevvie, not to mention Sevviekins. Brrrr… he shuddered whenever he thought of his mother calling him such nicknames in front of other children – utter shame. He remembered that his one time friend, Lucius Malfoy, had laughed for a whole day when he had once heard Mrs. Snape call her son Sevviekins.
This time, Mrs. Snape had sent him a lilac jumper that would have looked wonderful on Gilderoy Lockhart. As he first glanced at his present, Snape felt a strange wave of deja-vu wash over him… he had once seen something of exactly the same colour… a… bra? But… where and when had he seen a lilac brassier? And who was wearing it? He shook his head, trying to clear it of idiotic thoughts, then hastily jotted down a thank-you-note and a couple of 'I'm-doing-fine-nothing-special-happened' lines for his mum (carefully avoiding the topic of his new teeth), and finally hurried off to his first class of the day.
As he entered the dungeon classroom, the children started to murmur, giving him funny glances that Snape didn't notice. He walked up to the blackboard and was just about to start today's lecture when something moved on his desk.
"Huh?" he turned back from the blackboard, spotting a brown package on the table. "What is this?" he asked.
The children didn't answer, so he leaned closer to the package and saw a tiny card on its top.
To Professor Snape,
Happy birthday!
From the Gryffindors and the Slytherins
Severus almost dropped the card. The impossible had happened. He had received a birthday-present from his students.
"What… what is this?" he muttered.
"Well, open the parcel, Professor!" Valentine Weasley suggested.
The Potions Master reached out for the box and it moved again. What the heck could it be? Hopefully not some trick-charmed object that would explode into his face as soon as he opened it… he had to be careful, there were Weasleys sitting in this class, and one of them was a son of Fred and George Weasley…
"Go on, Professor, open it!" Norbert Devilsmoor-Malfoy said encouragingly.
Well, if Malfoy also knew what it was and still encouraged him to open it, then it couldn't be something terrible, could it? But… come to think of it, Norbert was Lucius Malfoy's son and Lucius wasn't exactly on friendly terms with Severus anymore…
Poor Professor Snape was helpless. To do or not to do, that was the question. Open it or not open it?
The box shuddered again and some whimpering little noise came out. Snape's eyes widened. He knew this noise! He had heard it several times in his childhood!
He practically ripped off the wrapping and opened the parcel to see a small, furry black creature in it with a long nose and cute whiskers.
"A niffler!" he breathed, his face full of affection. "Just… just like mine used to be… How…? Why…?" he turned to his students.
"Well, we told you that dad's niffler Wendelin had cubs," Viviane spoke up. "There were too many cubs and Wendelin decided to dispose of one so that she could feed the other five properly. This little one would have died, so we asked dad to let you have it… we told him that you used to have one when you were a little boy and that he'd be in good hands if he was yours. Dad said he couldn't imagine you petting a niffler, but finally he agreed to give this cub to you."
"But… why give me a present at all?" the Professor asked, frowning.
"'Cause it's your birthday, prof," Kevin chimed in.
"Yeah, and the whole class – both us Gryffindors and the Slytherins – decided that you had been rather nice to us recently, so we wanted to surprise you on your birthday," added Lancelot.
"Me? Nice to you?" Severus blinked. "I had no idea," he really hadn't noticed himself being nicer to them than earlier and he also didn't know how the children had got to know about his birthday.
"But it's true, Professor," Daniel said. "You have changed… to the better."
"Well, thank you for your assessment, Mr. Potter," Snape said mockingly, while absentmindedly stroking the small animal.
"What are you going to name him?" Lavinia Flint asked.
Severus looked down at the baby niffler that opened its shiny black eyes and sniffed his fingers. "I'll name him Lucky. It's 13th Friday, so I think the name fits."
Some of the children sniggered as Snape lowered Lucky into the box. "Well, I… I thank you. And now, let's see today's potion!" several groans could be heard – apparently most of the students had expected to go on partying to the end of the class, but they should have known Snape better than to hope for something like that.
* * * * *
The day of surprises hadn't ended yet. After the students left the classroom, Severus stayed in there a bit to get acquainted with Lucky. He fondled the little animal, remembering the niffler he had had in his childhood. This one was even smaller than that one had been when he had got it from his father. But that one must have been at last a month old, while this one was barely a week old.
"Want some milk, eh, Lucky?" he whispered to his pet, conjuring a baby's bottle, offering it to the furry creature. Lucky started to suck it enthusiastically.
"How adorable," a voice spoke up.
Snape looked up to see the caretaker standing in the doorframe.
"May I come in?"
"Of course," he motioned her to enter, though he felt rather annoyed about being interrupted in feeding his niffler. He hadn't let anyone disturb him when attending his first niffler in his childhood, but now he was not only annoyed by the presence of another person, but a bit embarrassed too. He just wasn't the type of man who liked being seen by others when showing affection for someone/something. The problem was that he had shown affection for the caretaker as well, and the sheer memory of them sharing a kiss made him feel utterly embarrassed, if not humbled. "Well, what can I do for you, Mr. Bradley?"
"Don't worry, Professor, I'm not going to ask for more Potions classes," Beryl said with a hint of sarcasm. "I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday," with that she handed him an object wrapped in deep green paper. The package even had a silver ribbon tied around it – the colours of Slytherin.
However, the present in it was nothing slytherinish at all – it turned out to be a…
"Wizard jokes?" Snape read out the title of a book after having peeled off the wrapper.
"Yeah," Beryl shrugged. "You remember that we shared some jokes with each other back in September?"
Of course he remembered! How could he not remember? But, back in September, things had been totally different. They hadn't slept together back then. He hadn't kissed Bradley back then. He hadn't been in love with Bradley back then. Or had he? When he thought it over, he had to admit that he had no idea when he had fallen in love with the caretaker. Perhaps he had started to like Bert when Bert first came into his class and told him that he had made a mistake. No one had dared tell him that he had made a mistake before… but Bradley did. No one before had dared shout at him and blame him for things again and again – but Bradley did.
Damn Bradley!
"Well… thank you. I'm definitely going to read it," Severus said. "Perhaps I'm going to get to know at last the end of Albus' joke in which the troll, the hag and the leprechaun all go into a bar…"
"What?" Beryl raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing. Long story."
"I don't mind long stories," she said, reaching out to stroke the niffler that Snape had put down onto the table before opening his present.
"Mr. Bradley… how did you know about my birthday?"
"Well, you told me when it was," she shrugged. "Before we went to the Shrieking Shack."
"Oh," he nodded. "I didn't remember."
"I suppose there are lots of things you don't remember, Professor," she whispered, her warm brown eyes boring deeply into his black ones. He gulped, wanting to move away from her, but his body didn't want to comply. She was drawing him to herself like a magnet, and before he could realise what was happening, he was holding her in his arms, his lips plastered to hers. She responded to his touch, practically melted into his embrace, her fingers getting tangled in his black locks. He couldn't breathe properly, but he didn't even want to – all he wanted was to explore her tonsils with his tongue as much as he could, and to his great satisfaction it seemed to be her desire, too. His whole body was on fire, his hands caressing her back, slipping lower and lower to her waist and hips… and that was when he broke away, gasping for breath.
Bert/Beryl felt Snape stiffen and the first thought that came to her mind was that he must be feeling disgusted by her closeness and was just about to send her away. However, she didn't want to wait for him to shout 'get out of here!', so she whispered a 'sorry' and stormed out.
Snape was shaken out of his trance when hearing the door of the dungeon classroom bang shut.
"Impossible…" he mumbled. "It can't be…"
Or could it?
Putting Lucky into his pocket (niffler cubs liked being stored in human's pockets), Severus sneaked out of the dungeon, following Bradley. He had to get to know the truth… he had to!
Fortunately, the caretaker didn't notice him, just grabbed a mop and went upstairs.
Wonderful. Just what Snape needed – Bradley was away from his room.
He wasn't going to do anything illegal if he inspected the caretaker's room, was he?
The door of Bradley's room was closed in the Muggle way, but for a wizard it was no problem to open it.
Snape looked around to make sure that no one could see him and entered.
The room looked rather tidy. It was the same Filch had used, but it had gone through a lot of change: the air didn't smell of fish, the walls were painted a more cheerful colour, the table was decked with a Muggle embroidered tablecloth and there was also a vase full of flowers. Filch hadn't liked flowers.
*What am I doing here?* Severus asked himself, but couldn't fight down his curiosity. With swift strides, he walked up to the wardrobe and opened it. There wasn't much to be seen: black robes, dark jumpers and dark pairs of trousers. Absolutely normal. *What was I hoping to find here?* the Potions Master thought. *Perhaps I was just imagining things… yes, I must have been!*
He was about to leave when he spotted a chest of drawers. He pulled open the drawer at the top, only to find books and Muggle ballpoint pens in it. When he pulled open the next one, he caught a glimpse of a photo… it was a wizard picture, because it was moving. To Snape's utter disgust it was Neville Longbottom with a woman and a small child waving from the photo. Why was the caretaker hiding pictures of Longbottom in his chest of drawers? Snape's worst nightmare seemed to have been proven: Bradley was in love with Neville.
Severus dropped the picture back into the drawer as though it had burnt him. It was only then that he realised what the photo had been lying on: a stack of underwear.
Snape gulped and picked up something lacy and lilac. It was a panty, and there was a matching… bra.
Panties and bras?
Then he realised that he had seen these things before… somewhere… some time… a picture flashed into his mind: a picture of a body leaning over his, wearing nothing but this lilac panty and brassier. The body leant over him, two gentle hands caressing his bare chest, fiery lips showering his neck with kisses, his own hands encircling a very thin waist while round hips pressed to his loins… that waist! Those hips! That was what had shocked him in the dungeon classroom – that Bert Bradley had a tiny waist and round hips like a female.
He slapped his forehead. Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! How could he be so stupid? How could he have not realised that this person – this deceitful, irritating, yet sweet person – was a woman? Her eyes, her lips, even her voice were that of a female… maybe she had tried to use a bit lower voice to sound like a man, but… she was a woman. Severus let out a relieved sigh.
*I'm not gay!* he felt like shouting. He hadn't felt so happy in his whole life. He wasn't gay, he was heterosexual, he was absolutely normal!
Normal? Falling in love with a Muggle? A Muggle who had deceived him for months? A Muggle who had dared take him for a fool like that?
"Damn you, Bradley!" he hissed, stuffing the knickers back into the drawer. "Damn you for having deceived me! Damn you for having driven me crazy! Damn you for… having made me fall for you!"
Oh yes, he had fallen for her. More than he could express with words. But…
The feeling of relief disappeared as quickly as it had swept over him.
He loved her. But she loved another. Neville Longbottom.
A/N: I'm going to post the first chapter of the goat-story on next Monday or Tuesday, so keep a look-out for it! :)
Colibi: yes, Daniel will tell someone about the chamber.
VegaKeep: you wrote: "So I guess the question is how did Sally whack Gryffy? Gangland? Fly by Wanding?" – I fear I have no idea what you were talking about. Was this review intended for another story just submitted it for me by mistake? Please, enlighten me!
2Coolio: cuuuuuuuute? Hm…
Altec: glad you liked the April Fool's Day joke :) Don't worry, McGonagall just has the flu, she'll be all right (she was alright already in this chapter). About Tatyana… don't be sure, I tend to create so intricately interwoven plotlines that they might even contain her somewhere. Hehe, yes, I was kind of kidding with making Val fall for Snape ;)
weirdo_without_a_clue: one just cannot write Gilderoy NOT in character, it's extremely easy to write him, I think he's the easiest character to write. You had a good hunch about the Imaginer book, are you related to Trelawney?
No Longer a Lone Wolf: thanks :) Be prepared, because the upcoming cliffies will be much worse than the one in chapter 21.
C-chan: hehe, so Aberforth that great prankster managed to deceive you :D I must admit that I felt some kind of a temptation to really make Minerva pregnant, but I thought it'd be way too ridiculous. Yes, the PoA movie without Quidditch will be stupid, because there'll be no reason for Sirius to send Harry the Firebolt.
Notebook Girl: I'm glad you're catching up on the fic! And you're clever to guess that Bert's a girl after chapter 17 :D
Black Ice: I can't really tell the difference between 'a made up person shock' and 'a real person shock' (the reason is my lack of English knowledge I this respect). But the shock will be terrible, rest assured. Glad you liked the April Fool's joke, you're not the only one who believed it :)
Tap Dancing Widow: no idea who Oliver's wife is… let's say he married someone from his own year or a year younger… dunno. It's not important for the fic, his wife won't make an appearance at all.
SparkleCharm: I was rotfl when I read 'how could Dan kiss Myrtle? Wouldn't his head go through hers?' LOL. Well, they were kissing in the water, and in water ghosts are a bit solid, so his head didn't go through hers ;) I don't think wizards use air-conditioners, but ask Rowling, perhaps they do.
Elfangor19: nice to see you again! Glad you liked the Albus-Aberforth part. I hope you'll like the goat story as well.
Beauty in Disguise: no, your theory on Ginny's miscarriage isn't all right. But it's an interesting theory nevertheless.
Katrina: LOL, many others believed Aberforth's joke, too! Not much to wait till the goat fic :D Rooooon? Wow, that's an interesting theory again.
Lavendar Brown: possum? Isn't that a small furry animal?
Alexander Phoenix: the b's in Norbert's speech were intended: Norbert had a serious head cold and when you have a cold, you utter b's instead of m's. Try and pinch your nose and talk, you'll see that all m's will sound b's, just like when you have a cold :)
Lupin's Angel: Tatyana being Angel? Wow… you have a very vivid imagination. Tatyana as Liu sounds funny, too. I never said gold and red were wrong. At least I like the colour gold. I'm not exactly fond of red, but gold is nice.
King Jasbon: Natasha and Anor? No, not likely. May I ask a silly question I have been wondering for a while? Are you a boy or a girl? I though you might be a boy, 'cause you call yourself king, not queen, LOL.
Lioness-07863: was it a quick enough update?
PheonixFire: you've got another interesting theory there… it's fun to see how weird theories people make up… I love them, and it shows that you all have very vivid imaginations :) The Gryffindor's chamber is a background thingie, but things will definitely happen around it. No, Dan giving Val the formula wasn't bad at all. Snape will find out about the baby in chapter 26. You'll get Harry fluff in chapter 26, too.
Mistri: I hated that bitch, too, but she's a cool bitch at least… hehe, I can't help, I created her ;)
goldenstar555: haha, it seems so that almost everyone got deceived by Aberforth! Well done, Aby! :D
Princess Ginny: you'll find out what happened to the tomb in chapter 29.
Mage: Tatyana hitting on Dan? No, holy Snitch, no, I'm a crazy author, but not THAT crazy!
tyleet: there'll be H/G action in chapters 26, 28, 29 and 30. Please, be patient until then :)
Indigo Ziona: yeah, Faria was the old prisoner. I have seen some episodes of Blackadder, but I don't remember the one you mentioned.
maureen: no, the last cliffie wasn't that really evil, but much more evil ones are to come *wicked grin*. No, no tons of chapters left, only 9.
Bucky: yes, the only person missing from the list is the giant squid, since Albus and Ron have also been added lately ;) Did you refer to Tatyana by 'whatshername'?
X-Tow-Naga: no, Snape had nothing to do with Tatyana's death, those two never even met. Aaron and Desideria couldn't teleport Tatyana to them for a very peculiar reason that I'm not revealing right now. Snape has just found out that the caretaker is a female, but he doesn't know about the pregnancy yet.
seashell: you'll see how the mean lady is involved, in chapter… 29. I agree with your statement about 'Saddam and there is no good or evil'… yeah.
sabby: Aaron's brother was called Anor. And don't worry, there IS a point, trust me to put all pieces of the puzzle into place.
BigDaddy753: yes, Harry will definitely find out about the chamber and Snape will find out about becoming a daddy soon.
starheart20: you wrote: "what will happen, will happen we just have to try to live our lives in the mean time'. This reminded me a lot of: "what's comin' will come, an' we'll meet it when it does". Yay for Hagrid.
Wizzabee: Tatyana won't interfere with the contest, but still weird things will happen at the contest.
Punky Poet: no, Tatyana's 'resurrection' has nothing to do with Gryffindor's chamber at all. Snape will find out about the baby in chapter 26.
SiriDragon: happy belated birthday!
Houou: no, life isn't boring. I wish it could be more boring sometimes, especially these days.
candycaneOgram: well, things will happen to Dan's powers for sure… but can't tell you more about it yet. Lily isn't likely to die. You wrote: "I don't really understand how Harry could be the target because we haven't seen him lately." Well, just think of Tom Riddle's dad and grandparents: we have NEVER seen them, and yet they were Tom's target and they got killed. So, this way Harry could easily be the target, and believe me, he is. Harry doesn't know about Gryffindor's chamber – yet. In word document (Times New Roman, size 12) the whole story is 400 pages long, exactly twice as long as TGSiHH.
jasper: you wrote: "next chapter should be the one when Snape finds out about Beryl." Well, you got it :D Yes, you'll see more of Norb and Lily.
Inken: hehe… most people can't stand Myrtle at all, and not only in my story, but in the canon as well. I like Myrtle, but deliberately wrote her this obnoxious. I don't think Ron will find out about Val being in love with Snape… he'd die on the spot, the poor fellow. I usually write poems in the garden of our weekend house, but sometimes even at my bed before falling asleep (and then I'm angry in the morning when I don't remember all the lines I had made up, LOL). You asked where I wrote that particular poem. What about playing a bit of guess-where? You could come up with some weird places (think of really weird places!) and I'll say yes or no – we could play in emails as well ;) A Valentine to your socks? Haha… that must have been really funny.
Phoenix_Kiss02: well, old McGonagall isn't really pregnant, you know, it was just Aberforth's April Fool's Day's joke.
xaebhal: thank you, though you're exaggerating a bit ;) Dan and Gilda will get together in chapter 30. Sev has just got to know that Bert is a woman. For the Sorting Hat… can't tell you yet, wait till chapter 28 to find out.
AmandaPanda: I don't understand the pro-war people at all.
Lana Riddle: the last cliffie wasn't even THAT evil… much worse ones are to come :D
Ash Black: I'll try and thanks.
Prongs: I never hated Snape. At first I didn't like him, but I've grown to like him lately. Well, there was a bit of Harry in this chapter, so you can't complain :)
heavenly182angel: freaky? Glad to hear :D I'm happy you liked the ancient legend.
Lady Schezar: well, I'm kind of a comedy writer, but sometimes I can write very serious stuff as well, just wait it out, there'll be chapters in this fic that will be so serious and dark that you won't feel like smiling at all. Glad you like lil Norbie. I like him, too :)
Autumn Dreams: and most of the surprises are yet to come.
Sean Mulligan: I hate the war. I'm afraid of it. I fear that somehow even my country will get involved. I don't want terrorist to come here and start to explode things :( And of course I feel sorry for the innocent people of Iraq who never had anything to do with weapons but are still dying in this war. It's unfair.
Inigma: yes, through HP you can make lots of friends :)
Any last requests: hehe, that one with the snow was funny. Here in Hungary we have a joke in connection with that: "it's snowing!" everyone looks out the window "Not there, on the other side of the building!" LOL.
ruffled owl: er… where was a "Luke I am your father" thing? I didn't think that Godric's message to his son was a bit like Darth and Luke… oh well. You think Aberforth was a bit evil? Then just wait for the goat story (coming in about a week!)
Katie Bell: yes, she's supposed to be dead.
Hermione We@sley: what do you mean by 'you missed a little of what was going on at Hogsmeade'?
Kamatazi Yumi: I'm glad I can make your mood better :D No, I haven't heard the Ode to Harry Potter but I've read its text and it's really funny :)
CloverWeave: no, no old body *shudders at the mere thought*. But you have a vivid imagination, that's for sure. No, why would I get sick of you? I never get sick of reading the reviews I get (there's only one exception: if I get nasty flames). Liu won't fall in love with Dan. About Lily… can't tell you yet. Snape has just found out about Beryl :) Glad you liked my Racoon Bite story as well – you don't have to wait too long for the goat one, it'll come in about a week (I'm planning to put up its first chapter on 1st April – it will have three chapters).
Red Ridding Hood: you're not the only one I managed to fool with Minerva's "pregnancy" ;) Can't tell you more about Tatyana yet, sorry.
Makayla P.: I hope your mum is doing better now :) Well, of course I wouldn't write a gay Snape, would I? There are just enough gay Snapes out there in thousands of HP fanfics, I wanted him to remain hetero.
dipstick: no, there was a different reason for Ginny's miscarriage. Aberforth? Hm. You're the second reader to accuse him. But I can't tell whether it's him or not, wait it out :)
Mage: you got the update :D
Adler: thank you very much. I don't really remember when I apologised for my writing… perhaps for the first and the second story I did, but I don't think I did for the third… did I? Well, I'm happy that you like it the way it is :D
apple-pie: Snape will find out about the baby in chapter 26. Dan and Gilda will get together in chapter 30. The enemy is… *Agi slaps her hands over her mouth* not telling yet! About Tatyana… wait it out, you'll find out in chapter 29.
Amaranta: I'm glad you think I'm impredictable. For the first story I was accused of being predictable, so I'm very happy that now I'm not predictable anymore :)