Chapter Eleven

Alex Gets Intrigued

Mandria tossed and turned for some time before she finally sat up in bed, grumpily looking at the flickering lantern that kept flashing light in her eyes. Sighing in annoyance, she pushed herself up and slipped over to the table Alex was sitting at.

"What in the world are you doing? Isn't it a bit late to be worrying about your History homework now?" Mandria hissed.

"It's not homework. I'm looking over the book I borrowed," Alex explained, gesturing for Mandria to keep her voice down. "If I finish it before the week's over, I can return it while I'm feeding Rasputin and Father will be none the wiser for who had it. Besides, I can finish History during Transfiguration tomorrow."

"If McGonagall catches you doing that, you're going to wish you were doing it now," Mandria said. "I had my assignment done ages ago. Besides, what makes you think Snape won't know who put it back?"

"I think I've finally figured out what's significant about the passage he was reading," Alex said, ignoring the question and handing her a recent copy of the Daily Prophet. "Every time someone has been murdered, they've died using a particular suffocating spell, the Life Deprivation Curse."

"Right, I remember that. So what?"

"I found this on the next page from where it was book-marked. I think it was what he was looking for," Alex said, leaning closer to the light.

"The Shadow Hag. Like the water hags known to inhabit lakes and streams, the Shadow Hag is often thought to have been descended from a group of Sidhe priestesses that were banished from Tir Na Nog for trying to overthrow the Seelie Court. Although most hags prefer the safety of murky waters, the Shadow Hag wanders mostly within dense forests and bogs, only appearing on moonless or fog covered nights. Just as the Water Hags suffocate their victims by drowning, Shadow Hags also prefer suffocating their victims. It is thought that over time the land-dwelling hag have developed a magical ability which allows them to inhale the breath out of anyone careless enough to stand before them."

"Even if there is still such a creature, which I honestly hope there isn't, I'm not sure what that would have to do with the murders. I mean, I think one of them was done in a misty bog sort of place from what the paper said, but the others weren't. They happened in buildings," Mandria said.

"True, but see, a lot of spells and curses we use now were modeled after powers the Fae had. In fact, it's really amazing how much we've copied from other creatures, like banshees and sprites and the like. I bet that the spell the murderer used was modeled after this one, and that the connection to its origin might be important in finding out who the murderer is," Alex said.

"One hardly needs to know the history of a spell to learn how to cast it," Mandria said dismissively, sitting back on her bed. "And does the book say anything about these Hags having any affinity for diamonds?"

"Well, no, not that I've read so far," Alex admitted with a sigh, bringing the lantern beside her own bed and sitting down on it, marking her place. "Maybe the murderer is using it, hoping the Fae get blamed for it or something."

"Honestly, Alex. Even with as many new faeries that have been reported since the Seal was opened, they've kept to themselves. Why would anyone want to blame them for anything?"

"I'm still working on that one," Alex said, finally turning the light out.

"Alex, I just don't get you sometimes at all," Mandria yawned, gratefully laying back down herself. "You're so brilliant, and yet you spend more time reading things not related to schoolwork than you do your studies. You know, if you actually applied yourself, you'd probably be head of the class."

"Oh, but schoolwork is so boring. What's the good in learning magic if you can't have adventure to go along with it?" Alex asked.

Mandria decided that the best answer was to draw her blanket over her head and pretend to be asleep.

It was late afternoon, and Jennifer couldn't be more thankful for her conference time to be finally over. She hurried as quickly as she could towards her office, still having one more class left before the end of the day. She was only slightly surprised that Severus was there waiting for her, poking at one of the potions she had simmering. Leaving the door slightly ajar to alert her when her class came in, she walked over to him.

"This isn't going to work, you know," Severus said grimly.

"What do you mean it's not going to work? How can it fail with all of us guarding it like we are?" Jennifer asked with irritation. "And in the school, no less."

"I was referring to the potion, actually. The temperature is too low for maximum viscosity," Severus said evenly.

"I had it turned down because I was gone," Jennifer said defensively, trying not to sound irritated. "But that's beside the point. I don't go around sticking my nose in your Defense experiments, do I?"

"In point of fact you do. Constantly." Severus said challengingly. Jennifer ignored him, turning up the burner. "How was guard duty?" he asked evenly when she didn't respond.

"I used the time to get my tests done for next week. Amazing what one can do with conference time when one actually uses it for what it's meant for," Jennifer grinned wryly. "Besides, it kept my mind off of where I was. Do you think it's going to work? The security I mean?"

"Difficult to say," Severus said. "After all, we have no idea yet who or what we are dealing with, and that puts us at a distinct disadvantage."

"I still think we'd be better off trying to find out who's working against the murderer. There must be some way we can entice them to come forward," Jennifer sighed.

"How? Question anyone who is known to have enchanted diamonds? Let's start with you, then. Where did you acquire the ring that you're wearing?"

"Now, Severus, you know perfectly well that our Dragonheart rings have nothing to do with this case."

"Where did you get it?" he asked insistently.

"From you, of course," Jennifer humored him.

"And where did I get it? No peeking," Severus said, covering her eyes so she couldn't read him. Jennifer attempted to move it but his hand remained firm, and she sighed.

"Other than the fact I know Dumbledore helped you get them, I haven't the foggiest idea."

"Therein lies the problem," Severus said, removing his hand. "One usually remembers where they've acquired something, but how many know every item's true history? How many hands might each diamond have passed through since the event that we're looking for? And if we do cross the correct event, how will we recognize it for the one we're looking for?"

"All right, so we can't find out who it is that route… at least not easily. But we also can't just sit here and wait for the next murder to happen," Jennifer said, glancing out at the gathering students. "It's nearly time, I suppose we should get back to work."

"We'll discuss what other options we have tonight after sparring. I don't have guard duty until tomorrow," Severus said.

"Sparring starts tonight? I'd completely forgotten," Jennifer groaned. "And here I was hoping to spend a relaxing evening in our rooms."

"Oh, were you?" Severus said, gazing at her attentively. "Well, it doesn't have to be all that late, being the first meeting. Orienting the new students and perhaps a few demos," Severus said, taking a step closer, his voice nearly down to a whisper. "Perhaps I ought to take out the other cloak and we could do a bit of… exploring? We haven't done that in awhile."

"Honestly, Severus! With all we have to do," Jennifer whispered with exasperation, trying to get around him and to her class.

"That never stopped us before," Severus said, a mischievous twitch on his sinister smile.

"Besides, why do we need to take all these chances for? Is staying in so tedious as all that now?" Jennifer asked him, her whisper turning harsh. Severus blinked at her.

"What in the world has gotten into you? I was under the impression that you liked…" Suddenly a loud clanging noise brought their attention back to the Potion Lab, where Rose had inadvertently knocked over all of the equipment that she had been trying so hard to set up without a sound.

Platt sniggered outright, while several of the other Slytherins were trying very hard to hide their laughter.

"Sorry, Professor Craw," Rose said, slowly getting up to pick up her equipment.

"Aren't you going to get on her for that?" Severus asked.

"For what?" Jennifer asked at him curiously.

"Getting out of her seat without permission," Severus said evenly.

"Honestly, Professor Snape!" Jennifer said, rolling her eyes at him and walked towards the front of the class, reminding the Slytherin students to face forward before searching through her desk for the appropriate class notes.

Severus watched her speculatively for a moment before gliding towards the door, making sure he passed through the row of desks where Rose sat.

"Be glad that sort of thing didn't happen in my class," he said, making sure his voice was low enough that his wife hadn't heard. Several of the Slytherins started to chuckle again, stopping only after Jennifer fixed a stern gaze in their direction.

Severus went upstairs at a leisurely pace, content to let his seventh year class wait as he went into his office. They were all in their places and silent with their hands idle and books closed. His eyes still dared them to try anything out of hand as he passed them on the way through. It only took him a moment to retrieve the tests from the office shelf, but as he turned to head back into the classroom, he suddenly froze and looked around again.

Something was wrong. Someone had been in there. His eyes darted about the room until they landed on the bookshelf. With a rapid movement his hand reached out and grabbed the old book he had borrowed, staring at it with surprise. It was, in fact, in the very place he kept it. It had been categorized properly. He squinted at it, and then began to study the surrounding area when he heard a crunching noise from behind his desk. Taking out his wand he crept around the other side only to find himself pointing his wand at his familiar. Rasputin's head was laying most contentedly over his food dish chomping at something quite noisily, the crusty lid of his glass eye drooping in satisfaction.

"There you are. What are you eating? Who's been in my office?" Severus hissed at him.

"A mouse. No one," Rasputin replied.

"Then where did you get the mouse?"

"I caught it myself."

"Why you fork-tongued overgrown lizard! Even if mice were stupid enough to come in here anymore, which they're not, there's no way you could have gotten your patch back on properly without help. How dare you lie to me after all these years? I could have left you in that barn to die, but I didn't. And this is how you repay me?" Severus snapped.

"You don't feed me enough," Rasputin said simply, turning to crawl under the desk.

"If I fed you any more, you'd soon be too big to keep in the office. I can hardly work in here as it is without tripping…" Severus paused and squinted at his familiar. "It was Alexandria, wasn't it? She was in the Slytherin stands that day," he said. He nodded as if confirming his own suspicions. "And then she bribed you during that incident in my classroom. Admit it, you're covering for her!"

Rasputin merely crept further under the desk until only his long tail was showing. Severus' eyes went back over to the bookshelf in complete bewilderment. If it was Alex, how could she have possibly gotten the book in the correct order, he wondered, glancing at the complex runes on the binding of the ancient book. Frowning at the fact that he couldn't come up with a quick answer to that, Severus locked the book in his desk and left his office, making a note to himself to add a few more security precautions.

It was just after dinner that Rose cornered them again about sparring club. Alex knew that she and Mandria were going to have to make a decision at last, being that sparring club started in half an hour.

"I never get to see either of you, my schedule's too different from yours. And really…well, I just don't get along too well with the other girls my own age," Rose admitted. "They're all interested in boys and things and with the selection we have around here, I couldn't care less. After we do our form exercises, there's simply tons of time when we just wait for our turn on the mat, and that's when we'll have plenty of time to talk without old Mr. Boulderdash breathing down our necks."

Boulderdash, the school's librarian, was a horrendously unfriendly goblin with no humor at all for students talking or even whispering in the library. Rather than face his wrath, the three girls had been reduced to note passing, and had that turned into a very time consuming way to talk, even if it was an ideal place to meet in other respects. Rose often helped them with their Herbology homework, a subject Alex still couldn't seem to get into, and that helped keep both Alex and Mandria's marks up above an acceptable level. Still, the idea of having a goblin-free chat session sounded quite appealing, even in light of the fact that Alex's parents were the club sponsors.

There were quite a number of students there, about sixty or seventy all told, all from different houses and years. Even so, it was hardly a balanced mix of students.

"It's mostly all boys," Mandria hissed, voicing what Alex also noticed. "You didn't warn us about that."

"Well, there are a great number of them I suppose, but we're not the only girls here. Look, there's Lydia over there, and Mary. And there's Tamya from Slytherin, gah, I can't stand her. I hear she's pretty nasty in the ring too, rules or no rules," Rose said, shaking her head disapprovingly. "That reminds me, be very careful if you're put in Snape's ring. He tends to look the other way when a Slytherin pulls something."

Alex couldn't help but to stare at her. It was true at home he sometimes seemed to listen to Aurelius more than her. Of course, Aurelius also had a knack of wording things so that everyone but himself looks to blame. But all-out favoritism? She sighed. Why should it surprise her, after all the things that had happened so far? In fact, she was beginning to wonder if her own father had developed a split personality.

"There's Platt too, but we knew he'd be here, and uh oh… it looks like Conner's here. That's rather odd. He's never been in sparring club before," Rose said.

"Has Gaffney?" Mandria asked, nodding over to where Ted and Stewart were talking with some of the other students. "Maybe Conner's here to show him up after all that you-know-what that happened."

"I hope you're wrong," Rose said, shaking her head as she looked over at her housemates worriedly. "But I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you were right. Conner is so competitive, really. It's a wonder he wasn't a Slytherin."

"I don't think they'd have him," Alex grinned. "And I wouldn't blame them."

There was movement near the door, and students in that direction began to form lines in front of the mirrors that walled the back of the room. Snape walked towards the front, Craw not far behind.

"First timers over here, please," Craw called out, motioning them to join her near the wand rack. Rose waved at them and went to join the lines, while Alex and Mandria joined the group gathering in a circle near the professor. They were mostly first years, but there were several others from other years as well including Conner, who came up on Jennifer's left side. Noticing Alex glance in his direction he winked at her, and she gave him a dirty look before turning to Mandria.

"Honestly, and he's two years older than me. What cheek," Alex said to Mandria.

"I suppose. But he is kind of cute," Mandria admitted. Alex stared at her until the other girl became completely interested in the long list of rules that Craw was giving out.

"After forms, I am going to teach you a basic disarming spell that you'll be able to use today. First and second year students, you should only use the spells we teach you in here in the ring. Third and up have a bit more leeway, but remember, the judge can bench you any time if he or I feel you are out of line, and no Dark spells are allowed at all," Jennifer told them, releasing them to join the back rows.

"How boring can you get? No Dark spells, and only using the ones we learn in class? How are we supposed to do any serious sparring with that?" Alex whispered as they line up in the back row for forms.

"We're not. I think that's the point," Mandria whispered. "I for one feel a lot better knowing nobody can pull anything on us. I didn't join this club to get my face thrown to the mat every week."

Alexandria took her stance and turned her attention to the front where Snape was barking out directions to the others, kicking feet in place and explaining techniques while in the back Craw patiently helped the new students with a more basic routine. Neither of them came anywhere near Alex; but then, neither of them had to. Ever since she and her siblings had been old enough to walk they had been taught these forms as normal exercise. It brought back pleasant memories, for it was one of the few times they spent alone with their father.

She had immediately brought her focus in on him as they started the first movement, smoothly imitating every move and tuning out the harsh criticisms, knowing they were not aimed at her. In that instant she had become unaware of anything but her own moves and the instruction, which oddly enough didn't seem so harsh anymore although Snape's tones were anything but languid.

It wasn't until after they broke up to learn their spells and start the first matches that Alex realized that quite a number of the students had been watching her instead of paying attention to what they were supposed to be doing.

"I take it you've sparred before," Mandria said, giving her the same curious look that the others had.

"Nope, never," Alex said cheerfully, "Done forms all my life, though."

After a few waves of the new spell with their practice wands, the girls were finally released to the benches. Rose picked the farthest corner from the rings to wait, and the two other girls hurried over.

"So Alex, were you able to return the you-know-what?" Rose asked after they were settled.

"Without a hitch. I don't think he even knew I was there," Alex said. "It proved worth the risk, being as I did find out that the curse being used was based on faerie magic."

"She thinks," Mandria added, earning a dirty look from Alex. "Well, it's not like you have proof of it, is it?"

"Well, there's no doubt that something odd is going on about this case," Rose said seriously, "and whatever it is, it definitely has more to do with this school than just your parents, Alex. What with Auror Potter being here and all."

"Here? As in the country?" Alex asked excitedly.

"Here as in the school itself. Didn't you know? I saw him myself heading somewhere with McGonagall just before dinner," Rose said.

"Nobody told me a thing!" Alex said, slightly hurt that he hadn't stopped by to say hello. "What's he here in the school for?"

"Nobody knows, at least none of the students I've talked to," Rose said. "I was hoping maybe you did."

"I wonder if he's still in the castle," Alex said. "If he was with McGonagall, maybe he was going up to see Dumbledore or something."

"I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking," Mandria said. "First off, we're already signed up for matches, and I dare think your parents would miss us if we left now. Besides, it's no good trying to find anyone in this castle. He could be anywhere."

"Well maybe, but I bet he leaves by the main gate," Alex said, glancing over at the sparring rings. "Mum said we were only going to have five minute rounds tonight. Let's try to get out of here as soon as we can. If we're lucky, we can still catch him."

"Snape and Jeffers!" Severus barked out, and from his impatient tone, Alex realized it wasn't the first time her name had been called.

"Be right back," she said. She hurried towards the rack to grab her real wand and ran over.

"She's up against a Slytherin student and in the Snape ring? This is not going to be pretty," Rose said grimly.

"We had better get over there," Mandria said.

"Surely he'll be easier on her, though, considering," Rose said hopefully.

"You've haven't seen how he treats her in Defense class," Mandria said back as they tried to find a spot not crowded with curious student spectators.

"Another minute and I'd have given the match to Jeffers by default. Are you here to spar or gossip?" Snape snapped at her as she stepped into the ring.

"Sorry, sir," Alex muttered, nodding to Arnold Jeffers. She had known him from her class at Stafford, not that she particularly ever cared for him. He spent too much talking about his father the lawyer, when she had heard her parents say his father was actually a bit of a wash up.

"Now bow, take three paces, cast the spells you were taught, and try not to embarrass me," Severus said in a bored tone. Alex was not quite sure if he was talking to Jeffers, her, or both of them with that remark, but she had little time to think about it as they bowed and paced to their places.

In one fluid movement as Severus counted to three, Alex turned and took an offensive stance with her wand pointed at Jeffers, and before he could even attempt to get his own wand in position, called out the spell she had learned.

"Expelliarmus!" she said. A flash of intense focus and determination flashed in her eyes as the spell burst forth like lightning and into Arnold, causing the boy to be flung back into the surprised crowd. His wand flew up into the air, spinning a moment, before coming down to land at her feet. Giving him only a cursory look to make sure he was all right, Alex picked up the wand and stepped out of the ring, handing to her quickly recovering father. "All done," Alex said, walking back to her friends. She had completely missed the triumphant smirk that appeared on Snape's face a moment later.

"See? That didn't take long," Alex said, ignoring the gaping looks her two friends were giving her. "Now all I need to do is wait for you two."

"Alex," Rose said slowly, glancing at Mandria. "I'm not sure what you're expecting, but I dare say neither one of us are going to be able to get out that quickly."

"Just remember when you go up there that every minute spent means less of a chance we're going to be able to meet up with my godfather," Alex said. Just then there was a loud rumble from the students watching the other ring, and the three of them looked over curiously.

"I said bench, Mr. Platt! And if you argue with me one more time, I'll make sure you stay benched next week too," Craw said sternly, loud enough to be heard above the crowd. "Here, let me help you up, Gaffney."

"I think I just got an idea on how we can get out of here quicker," Rose grinned at Mandria.