Disclaimer - All JKR's, nothing mine! Except for a few characters I added.
Disclaimer 2 - Draco drawing dragons belongs to PikaCheeka. Sorry I forgot to mention that in the first chapter of MNS. I sort of adopted the idea subconsciously.
Disclaimer 3 - Severus' raven belongs to J. L. Matthews. I just borrowed him because he's such a perfect pet for Sevi and promise to return him unharmed.
The catar however are all mine and I love them so please don't use without asking me first.
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A/N - Phew, what a week! I'm totally exhausted right now, but here's the new chapter, for once right on time again. I had to change the link for the Russian translation of MNS in case any of you notice and wonder. Dyna reposted it and consequently got a new story ID.
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Chapter 16: Questions
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Nicodemus was sitting at lunch eating his soup and listening to the eager chatter of his annoying housemates. How he had ended up in Hufflepuff he really couldn't say. He hated Hufflepuffs.
In fact, Nicodemus hated people. They were noisy and pushy and always had expectations. For example they expected him to 'socialise'. Meaning that he was supposed to stand and sit around all day and jabber nonsense at other people who would jabber other nonsense back at him, that he was supposed to attend parties with loud music and hop around like a madman with other completely drunk and noisy people. He was also expected to drink alcohol and eat sweets at these things. Nicodemus hated alcohol and sweets. He much preferred to stay sober and eat spicy food.
Even worse were the daily events in the Hufflepuff common room. Like the story telling sessions for example. He was expected to come down to the overly full common room, possibly sit on the floor, if there were no seats left, and listen to stupid stories his fellow Hufflepuffs thought up or read out from their favourite books, or even to tell or read a story himself. Against the inevitable boredom he could bring something to draw, paint, knit, stitch or sew.
Then there were the music evenings when he couldn't even get any peace in his dorm thanks to the loud playing and singing in the common room.
Right now they were disrupting his meal with wild theories about the latest attack. So the traitor was a sixth year, was he? And an animagus, too? He could turn into a yeti?
If so, why the hell hadn't he done that in the first place, eaten that idiot Potter alive and stopped being a bother?
Of course Nicodemus didn't tell anyone what he thought about their theories. Why bother? If he brought a new argument into the discussion, it would only incite more debate, which meant more noise.
As soon as he'd have finished his meal he'd go up to his favourite spot in the back corner of the library. It was a little too dark to read comfortably, so hardly anyone ever came there except for the people who were looking for a book from that section and those hardly stayed long.
Professor Sprout was heading over to them from the head table. Nicodemus had long ago given up any hope that she might want to silence the chatter. She was probably just going to hand back some essay or ask for volunteers to help her with some plant again. Sometimes she even joined the chatterers.
"Nico?"
Oh yes, and she had that annoying habit of giving them all nicknames.
"Yes, Professor?"
Whatever could she want?
"The headmaster would like to see you in his office after lunch." she informed him.
"What? What did I do?" Nicodemus yelped.
Was he about to be expelled? But for what? Looking grumpy? That wasn't a crime, was it?
"Oh, just some question about that armour that fell on poor Harry." Sprout explained.
"The armour attack? But I don't know anything about that. I wasn't even on that floor at all that afternoon."
"I'm sure the headmaster has a good reason." Professor Sprout declared. "He'll no doubt explain when you see him."
Nicodemus sighed. "I guess so. Thank you Professor."
Was he under suspicion now? But he had an air tight alibi. He'd been in DADA and had gone down to Potions from there. He hadn't even come near the Transfigurations corridor one floor above the DADA classroom.
Still he felt terribly nervous as he waited outside the headmaster's office. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to come here before Dumbledore had left the great hall?
What if the headmaster didn't believe him? Maybe that glove that he'd misplaced three weeks ago had been found in the Transfigurations corridor and the headmaster now thought him the traitor?
What would his parents say, if he got expelled?
There, the headmaster finally arrived.
"Ah Mr. Hanson." Dumbledore twinkled. "Gummy bear. Come on in."
Nicodemus blinked back at him stupidly. Gummy bear? What the hell did Dumbledore mean by gummy bear?
It took him a moment to decide that the remark had probably not been meant for him in the first place, but then he hastened after the headmaster.
"Take a seat." Dumbledore invited him when they reached his office. "Lemon drop?"
"No, thank you." Nicodemus declined. He hated sweets.
Now if Dumbledore had offered him a pepperoni . . . But of course there were no pepperonis anywhere around.
"Professor Sprout said you wanted to see me about the armour attack?" he asked. "I don't know anything about it. I went to DADA class straight from the great hall that day and then down to Potions from there."
"Professor Malfoy has informed me that you arrived in Potions class early, in fact. He claims that you were there before his other class left, even." Dumbledore stated.
"Yes, they were still packing up when I came in." Nicodemus confirmed.
"And Professor Lupin claims that nobody left his class early." the headmaster continued. "It takes about five minutes to walk from the DADA classroom to the current Potions classroom at a leisurely pace, maybe a bit less, if you walk fast. I don't think you could have been that early, if you really attended DADA, hm?"
"Oh, but I did!" Nicodemus exclaimed. "Professor Lupin took attendance. Just ask him. He checked my name on the list."
"Then how did you get to Potions so soon?"
"I ran." Nicodemus admitted. "I ran the whole way from DADA to Potions. Just ask Ines Ivory. I remember she made some comment about me being out of breath when I burst into the class."
Dumbledore thought for a moment. "So Ms Ivory saw you. What was she doing when you burst in?"
"She was . . ." What had Ines been doing? Oh right! "She was by the sink. Washing out her cauldron, I think."
"Who else do you remember seeing? Where were those people? What were they doing?"
At first Nicodemus was confused by the question, but then he realised that Dumbledore probably intended to ask Ines and perhaps some of the others the same question and compare their stories. When they matched, he would have to believe him.
"Professor Malfoy was at his desk. He looked up from whatever he was writing and smiled at me." What had the rest of the students been doing, though? Who was supposed to be in that class. "Linda Lost was behind Ines waiting to use the sink as well. . . . I think Sebastian Highflyer was with that group as well. Roland Hinks was washing his worktable and some Gryffindor was trying to grab the sponge away from him. I don't know the names of the Gryffindors in that class."
"That's okay." Dumbledore nodded. "Just tell me what you know."
"Lionel Fitter was packing his bag." Nicodemus continued. "And Pat Footer was picking up some spilled ingredients somewhere in the back. Rosalind Monk and Lisa-Beth Holster were talking and Martina Horace was laughing, probably about something Catherine Cree had said. At least Cath was sorting out her ingredients next to her."
"What about the Gryffindors? Anyone you recognised?" Dumbledore prompted.
"The two from the Quititch team. Bell and Spinet, I think. They were at the desk right next to the door. Then there were two more girls behind them that were apparently looking for some misplaced object. One boy was trying to reparo a half melted cauldron and there was one more girl talking to a boy who still sat in front of his cauldron. Then next to him there was a boy who seemed to have problems telling his ingredients apart."
Nicodemus looked to Dumbledore expectantly, but the headmaster remained silent. "That's all, Sir."
"Hm." Dumbledore commented. "Interesting. There should have been two more Gryffindor boys, but I suppose you could have forgotten seeing two people you don't know."
Nicodemus stared at the headmaster. Why ever was that important? He'd given him quite a good description of the scene, hadn't he? He was actually surprised how much he'd remembered.
"So why did you run to class, if you weren't even late?" the headmaster asked suddenly.
"I was eager to get there, because I like Potions." Nicodemus answered hastily.
Dumbledore twinkled at him.
"I wanted to ask Professor Malfoy a question." he amended.
"So what question was that, that it was so important it couldn't wait the few minutes it would have taken you to walk to class?" the headmaster was still twinkling knowingly.
Curse him. How was he able to recognise a lie like that?
"It was . . . I just didn't want anybody to know I'd asked him that, so I was hoping to get there before my classmates and talk to him privately." Nicodemus hedged. "It's a little embarrassing."
"But then you could have waited until after classes." Dumbledore commented. "I hear a lot of students seek Professor Malfoy out privately outside of class hours."
Nicodemus sighed and accepted that he'd apparently have to tell the truth. "Alright so it had nothing to do with Professor Malfoy or Potions class at all. I'd had a disagreement with some older students during lunch break and they were still very angry at me. I was afraid they might attack me during the break, so I wanted to be in class before they could find me."
Unfortunately that seemed to attract Dumbledore's interest. He regarded Nicodemus with a more earnest look than the boy had ever before seen on him.
"You were afraid of those other students?" he asked finally.
"They're older than me and there were three of them. I was alone." Nicodemus pointed out.
"Who are those students?" Dumbledore demanded.
"Look, we cleared that up between us. They never really meant to attack me or anything like that. They're actually quite nice and I usually get along with them fine. I just overreacted to that argument." he grinned sheepishly. "I'm not particularly good at understanding people's intentions."
"I understand, but I would still like to know their names." Dumbledore insisted.
Nicodemus sighed again. He hated snitching on potentially dangerous people.
"They're Slytherins. That's why I overreacted, I guess. The bad reputation of the house, you know."
"Who?" Dumbledore reminded him gently.
"Stephan LaCroix, Lionel Bardon and that other seventh year on their team, Davids. I don't know his first name. I usually just talk with Stephan and Lionel. I just feared they'd bring Davids along, if they wanted to teach me a lesson."
"Benjamin." Dumbledore supplied.
"What?" Nicodemus asked. "Erm ... I mean: I beg your pardon?"
Dumbledore twinkled happily and smiled at him. "Mr. Davids' first name is Benjamin."
"Oh." was all Nicodemus could think of to say.
"Thank you for clearing that up, Mr. Hanson." Dumbledore smiled. "You may return to your classes now. I'm afraid I've kept you here too long already."
"Thank you, headmaster." Nicodemus answered hastily and hurried out before Dumbledore could change his mind.
He only hoped that this talk wouldn't have any consequences for him later.
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Draco received the call to his father's office from a nervous first year after the end of the last lesson of the day. He and Severus had been just about to head for the headmaster's office hoping to catch Dumbledore alone so they could exchange information about the latest incident. The lack of knowledge about the various classes' whereabouts was driving Severus up the walls.
Thus Draco was feeling rather grumpy when he arrived in the old larder.
"You wanted to see me, father?"
Lucius was sitting at his desk, feet crossed on the table top reading his paper. Draco assumed that was an improvement as he apparently hadn't read it in class, yet. Maybe he was learning how to be a teacher after all.
Under the table fifth year Colin Creevey was scrubbing the floor alongside the slightly battered looking Tilly. Draco wondered how many kicks the house elf had received before Lucius had removed his feet onto the desk and let her work.
"Indeed." Lucius confirmed and the look he sent his son clearly told him that this was not good news. "Creevey!"
"Yes, Sir?" Colin asked cautiously. Apparently he too had noticed that Lucius wasn't in a good mood.
"The elf can finish in here. Go help Mallister with the classroom floor." Lucius ordered.
Colin shot Draco a look. "Yes, Sir."
The Gryffindor almost ran out the door. Draco had no idea who Mallister was, but probably a younger student, since he was familiar with the names of most of the older ones. Perhaps Colin saw this as a chance to get out of scrubbing and order Mallister about for a bit.
Remembering Ron's detentions Draco couldn't quite begrudge Colin that chance. He must have been cursing his luck to have been granted the elf's help, but forced to remain under Lucius' eyes all the time.
"I happen to have had a talk with the werewolf today. Claudo." Lucius announced and a quick wave of his wand caused the door to slam shut behind the Grffindor boy. "And he happened to mention that he is very discontented with your performance in his class lately."
"I am the only student who hadn't had any experience with setting wards before." Draco tried to explain. "Even the Hufflepuff mudbloods knew some to protect plants. I suppose Sprout must have taught them. The rest learned them from their parents of course. I had some catching up to do, but most of my wards work as well as those of the rest of the class by now."
That last statement was a lie, but Draco hoped Lupin hadn't been that specific about his failures. He was able to cast all the wards they had learned in class, after all, though they wee usually weaker than those of most of the Hufflepuffs and some of them took him several attempts.
"Setting wards is one of the few things Hufflepuffs do well." he continued. His father's face darkened. That had apparently been the wrong thing to say. "I'll be showing them all up once we start taking down wards. I bet none of them have had as excellent lessons in that as you gave me."
"Hufflepuffs." Lucius accused. "My own son fails at something any damn puffing Huff can do. There is nothing a Hufflepuff does well, Draco. They are stupid, slow near Squibs. How often have I told you that I expect you to have the top grades in all your classes? When I was your age I did my best. I was by far the best student in DADA and we had that with the Ravenclaws, not the stupid Hufflepuffs."
'Your luck that it wasn't Gryffindor.' Draco thought, but wisely enough kept that to himself. He knew who in his father's year had had the best results in DADA both at the OWLs and the NEWTs. It wasn't a good idea to mention that name in front of his father, though.
"I honoured the family name, but you keep shaming us with your unwillingness to put in even the slightest effort." Lucius ranted on. "I'm only glad your mother has been spared the news of this latest shame. Tutoring lessons. Tutoring!"
Draco cringed and stared at the floor. Down there Tilly was scrubbing and occasionally patting his shoes comfortingly. So now his father's battered house elf was feeling sorry for him?
No, she wasn't his father's elf, he reminded himself. She was a proud Hogwarts elf and his and Severus' fellow agent bravely sticking around Lucius in the hopes of uncovering the traitor's identity and plans. She was only taking all this abuse in order to help protect Hogwarts and its students.
He winked down at her when she looked up at him. 'It's okay, little one. If you can take it, so can I.' After all he was used to his father's rants. He'd been hearing them ever since he'd started school.
"A mudblood and a girl at that." Lucius had apparently reached the topic of Hermione Granger beating Draco in several subjects every year. "That little bushy haired nuisance ..."
Ah, so her looks didn't please him either. Draco wondered whether that had anything to do with her offering him advice on how to run his classes. Draco suppressed a sigh and let it all wash over him. Once his father was done he could leave. Tilly could not.
At least Lucius had remembered to kick out the Gryffindor, not that it would help much. After all Ron had overheard the last scolding. All of Gryffindor probably knew already.
Draco had to forcefully remind himself, that Lucius was just being a good father. Of course the Gryffindors heard the same from their own fathers all the time. He should pity the ones that didn't for their uncaring fathers, not envy them. Still he wished it were already over.
He wondered what Severus might have learned from the headmaster. Would he remember to ask after the fifth years' electives? And where had the seventh years been during the latest attack? Had Professor McGonagall found out anything about those mysterious transfiguration spells?
"Are you even listening to me?" Lucius thundered.
"Yes, Father. Of course, Father." He could only hope that Lucius wouldn't ask him to repeat whatever he'd just said.
"Well, don't just stand there like some gibbering idiot. Don't you have anything to say for yourself? Speak up!"
Ups, now he was on dangerous ground. Silence would only enrage his father, but so would answering.
"I already told you, everybody else was prepared. I had no idea wards could be so hard."
"Don't talk back to me. I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses." Lucius hissed.
'Then why did you ask for them?' Draco thought, but remained silent. 'Make up your mind.'
"Hard! Wards hard." Lucius mocked. "Wards are just about the easiest spells there are."
'Right,' thought Draco. 'As long as you don't consider anything you learn up to OWL level a spell.'
"Any last Hufflepuff can do a simple protection ward in his sleep." Lucius continued.
'I noticed.' Draco thought. 'Only you never taught me one.'
"Yes Draco, Hufflepuffs. Even the slowest Hufflepuff finds it easy. Only my worthless son finds it too hard."
And thus it went on and on and on. It was dinnertime by the time Lucius finally allowed Draco to leave.
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"Mr. Hanson gave me a description of where every Hufflepuff was when he entered Potions class that day." Albus informed Severus. "If he was telling the truth, they were all in class. If he wasn't, he's a really good liar."
Severus nodded. He'd taken the chance to transform back into his adult body while he was in the headmaster's office. They should have ample warning before anyone came in thanks to the headmaster's gargoyle and the moving stairs that led up to the office.
"Did you ask him about the Gryffindors?"
"Of course." Albus declared. "He could name only Ms. Bell and Ms Spinet however. Mr. Hanson doesn't seem to know many students outside of his own year and house."
"He isn't a very socially inclined person." Severus agreed. "Usually keeps to himself."
"He did describe the Gryffindos' activities to me, though and mentioned three more girls."
"So the Gryffindor girls are all accounted for." Severus nodded. "Good. What about the boys?"
"Unfortunately Mr. Hanson remembers only three, but agrees that he might just not remember the two missing ones." Albus sighed. "Unfortunately we don't know whom we're missing."
Severus thought for a moment. "What did he tell you about the ones he saw?"
"Only that one was still sitting in front of his cauldron while everybody else was already cleaning up..."
"Hendric the Last." Severus diagnosed with a touch of amusement. "Mr. First is always the last to do anything."
Albus shot him a surprised look. "You think you can identify the students by their activities?"
"Maybe." Severus conceded. "I know their usual behaviour in Potions class. If Hanson described anything typical, I should be able to recognise the student."
"The next Gryffindor boy was 'apparently having troubles telling his ingredients apart'." Albus prompted.
"Blind Louis." Severus didn't disappoint him. "You probably know him as Mr Harringer. He might be in need of even stronger glasses."
Albus twinkled at him looking pleased. "And the last one was trying to reparo a partially melted cauldron."
"Zachary Melter." Severus grinned.
Albus looked at him expectantly.
"What? The boy doesn't need a nickname. His last name serves that purpose more than well enough."
"Well, I guess so." the headmaster admitted. "That leaves Mr. Alcott and Mr. Barnes."
"Who both have an alibi for the first incident." Severus reported after a glance at his suspects list. "If anyone that leaves Alcott. He had Divination. I doubt Barnes could have managed to sneak out of Arithmancy unreported."
"Victoria is rather hard to trick." Albus confirmed. "Sybil however. . ."
"There is still the possibility Melter convinced somebody else to reparo his cauldron." Severus suggested. "Though I doubt it. His classmates all know it's a hopeless endeavour."
"On to the new attack then." Albus decided. "Here's the list of alibis. Lucius' comments might prove interesting to you. You know him better than I. Oh and we traced the furunculus and stupefys to a fight between the Summers sisters. There was no disorientation spell used in that one, though, which makes it look rather odd."
"You are sure that there are no other indications of a second fight?"
"Quite sure unless it was a fistfight with only that one spell cast." Albus confirmed. "We have come up with two possible theories why the traitor might have cast both the disorientation spell and the counter."
"So?"
"Yes, number one is that he didn't know that the spell couldn't be traced and took it off Harry after the armour had fallen. The second says that he accidentally hit a friend or ally that he didn't want to endanger."
"I doubt that our traitor has many of those." Severus commented. "Anything else?"
"It wouldn't hurt to look into the transfigurations both in the Transfigurations corridor and in front of Hagrid's hut." Albus suggested.
Severus frowned. "I very much doubt I could find anything there that you and Professor McGonagall haven't."
"You might hear something, though. About that or the colour changing charm."
"Did you consider that it might just have been a girl adjusting her make up?" Severus remarked. "She might have decided that the shade of her lips just wasn't right for the occasion or that her nail polish didn't go well with the eye shadow."
"I know that the colour changing charm probably isn't important." Albus admitted. "But the transfigurations might be. Just keep your ears open."
Severus nodded. "One more thing. I need to know the fifth years' electives."
"All of them?"
"Care for Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies at least."
Albus obediently got out the book of students again. "We'll be late for dinner."
"I'm sure there'll be enough food left and we can always visit the kitchen later.'
"Gryffindor first?" Albus twinkled. "Or would you prefer Slytherin?"
"Ravenclaw." Severus stated calmly. "They are the most likely to pass the Transfigurations corridor after a study hour."
"Very well, then, Ravenclaw." the headmaster announced. "Mr. Ahles, Ursus takes Muggle Studies and Arithmancy."
"Not Care for Magical Creatures?" Severus asked. "How disappointing."
"Why should he?" Albus asked confused.
"Well, with a name like Ursus," Severus grinned. "Hagrid would love him."
Albus laughed. "Hagrid's Latin is rather sketchy, though. Ms Downs, Dunja, Divination and Ancient Runes. There's your first study hour candidate. Then we have Ms. Dorris, Sheila, with Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes and Mr. Farman, Jens, the same."
"Muggle Studies seems surprisingly popular with that year." Severus remarked.
"Many of the Ravenclaws aren't very inclined towards outdoors work." Albus stated with a light shrug. "And a lot of Hufflepuffs are afraid of Hagrid's class. The Slytherins' refusal to take Muggle Studies evens that out again, though. Ms Gale, Bianca takes Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."
"Now that sounds more like Ravenclaw to me."
"Ms Hutchings, Minx, Care for Magical Creatures and Arithmancy." the headmaster continued.
"Well, that'll definitely make Hagrid happy."
"Ms Lovegood, Luna, Care for Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. We're probably lucky this one didn't choose Divination." Albus commented. "Who knows what Sybil might have put her up to. Mr. Norris, Raphael, Care for Magical creatures and Arithmancy, Mr. Pelt, Christopher, Care for Magical Creatures and Divination and Mr. Svenson, Lars, Muggle Studies and Arithmancy."
"So Dunja Downs and Bianca Gale are the only ones who actually had a study hour?" Severus sighed. "Not exactly my top suspects."
"But that's good news, isn't it?" Albus asked. "It keeps your number of suspects down. What house would you like to do next?"
"Slytherin." Severus decided.
"Let me see." Albus turned a page. "Ah yes, Ms Ardley, Calpurnia, Care for Magical Creatures and Arithmancy, a rather typical Slytherin combination. Then we have Ms Crowsand, Paula, Care for Magical Creatures and Arithmancy as well."
"I wasn't suspecting Paula anyway." Severus sighed.
"Mr Elvers, Nicholas, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. There's a suspect."
"For murder of death eaters, perhaps." Severus snorted. "The boy was orphaned by death eaters. One of the last attacks before Voldemort's fall. He's looking for revenge, not to join up."
"Well, then how about Mr. Mattels Hieronymus, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes as well?"
"Better, but he seems to have an alibi for the second incident." Severus sighed. "Who else?"
"Ms McKinnon, Laurissa, Care for Magical Creatures and Arithmancy and Ms Morrel, Lupa , Care for Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes."
"Another one to make Hagrid happy." Severus remarked. "And he's probably the only teacher that's happy with Lupa. Shortest attention span I've ever seen in anyone including Greenie."
"Her grades aren't that bad." Albus commented.
"She's intelligent." Severus explained. "Very intelligent. If she could just sit still and study for half an hour, she'd be one of our top students."
"Another abused child?" Albus asked sadly.
"Probably." sighed Severus. "You know, under Muggle law we could do something about it."
"The ministry knows what they're doing."
"Of course." The sarcasm in Severus' voice was hard to miss.
He had seen the ministry fail too often and how should it be effective against abuse, if only the abused child, once of age, or a parent could report it?
"Next?" he asked Albus trying to distract himself.
"Mr. Perkins, Marvin, Care for Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes, Mr. Renard, Remy, Care for Magical Creatures and Arithmancy, Ms Soerens, Nike, Care for Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes and Mr. Syrer, Patrick, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Do we really have to do Gryffindor and Hufflepuff as well?" Albus was getting hungry.
"Either that, or you give me a list later." Severus threatened.
"Oh Mally is makes list!" a squeaky voice announced from somewhere behind Albus. "Mally is needs somethings to do for Sirs."
The house elf had apparently been stoking the fire. She was one of the youngest elves in the service of Hogwarts and known to be troublesome.
Not that Mally wasn't eager to serve. She was a very sweet elf and loved to work, but she was unfortunately very accident prone. Her original assignment had been to the kitchen staff, but she had soon been banned from there due to the fact that her cooking just wasn't edible. She just couldn't dose spices properly and tended to confuse sugar and salt. After being forced to throw away five entire chocolate cakes due to their strong salty taste the kitchen elves had unanimously declared that she had to be reassigned.
Thus Mally had ended up with the cleaning crew that worked directly under Argus Filch. She had eagerly applied herself to the scrubbing of floors and walls, but kept accidentally spilling her buckets. After the third time the caretaker had slipped in one of her puddles she had been forbidden from working with water entirely which reduced her duties to stoking fires and collecting dirty laundry.
"Mally is makes, yes?"
Albus twinkled at her amusedly. "Do you know how to write?"
"Yes, Mally is knows how to writes." the elf nodded eagerly. "Mally is makes, yes?"
"Very good." Albus nodded. "Then take some parchment and . . ." he hesitated. "A pencil." he decided then. "And copy this list and the one on the next page. When you're done put the list next to Severus' bed in the Slytherin dorms, but don't be seen and do not tell anyone about this job."
"Yes Sir!" Mally squeaked happily. "Mally is not tells anyone. Mally is good elf."
"Of course you are." Albus smiled at her and Mally beamed with pride.
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Draco looked grumpy when Severus finally arrived in the great hall.
"Where were you?" he demanded right away.
"I'll tell you later." Severus answered with a pointed look towards their curious classmates. "It's a long story and I want your opinion on some of the things I found out. Right now I'm too hungry."
"Sniff!" Greenie agreed struggling in his grip in an attempt to get to the food.
The soup was already getting cold, Severus discovered as soon as he'd served the hedgehog. Still, it would be a very hungry night, if he didn't eat.
"So, how did your talk with your father go?" he asked Draco to distract himself.
"He found out about our tutoring lessons." Draco growled.
"Well, we knew he would." Severus commented.
"He says wards are easy." Draco sighed.
"They are." Gregory agreed. "Lupin says I'm getting avenge grades for them. My best results ever."
"Because your mother taught you some when you were small." Draco pouted. "My father only taught me how to take them down."
"Have any of you seen Neville, yet?" Severus interjected before Draco's bad mood could have consequences for Gregory.
"No, I think he's still in the hospital wing." Draco answered nodding towards the empty place at the Gryffindor table. "Potter's fine, though. He's only limping slightly anymore. I can't believe his luck sometimes."
"Yes, it's almost like he's immortal or something." Pansy frowned.
"Speaking of Potter and his assassin." Theodore spoke up suddenly.
The others stared at him in surprise. He'd been brooding all afternoon giving only monosyllable answers, if he reacted to them at all and had been moving around the food on his plate more than actually eating. Nobody had expected him to start talking again this suddenly.
"He may perhaps be immortal, but we're not." Theodore continued unbothered by the surprised looks. "I have been thinking about that 'traitor' as everybody calls him and I think it's time somebody stopped him."
"Aren't you the one who told me you want him to get Potter first?" Severus reminded him.
"Yes, but that was before I thought it over." Theodore insisted. "You weren't there today, Severus. That yeti could have torn any one of us to pieces. That traitor doesn't care who else he endangers besides Potter and it's only a matter of time until some innocent bystander gets hurt or killed. I don't want to be that one, but since the traitor is most likely in our class, I'm especially at risk."
Theodore looked at his classmates, most of whom didn't meet his eyes.
"He's not." Severus said into the uncomfortable silence.
"How do you know?" Estella asked nervously playing with her fork. "How can you be so sure?"
"Simple." Severus grinned. "You, Blaise, Gregory, Vincent, Theodore and Juliana were in Arithmancy with me when Potter's broom was cut. Since you can't have been in two places at once and I know nobody left that class, none of you could have done it. Draco, Pansy and Millicent were with me when that armour fell. We were still around the corner and you can't cast a severing charm through walls, aside from the fact that we couldn't see where Potter was at that moment either."
Relieved smiles spread on several classmates faces. They were beginning to breathe easier.
"That's not the entire class, though." Estella remarked. "You overlooked someone."
Alarmed looks shot towards her, then slowly drifted to Alice Mortimer as the Slytherins realised one by one who was missing from the list.
Alice stared back wide eyed.
"Alice was the one who first suggested it was someone from our class." Draco reminded them. "Why would she want to attract attention to herself, if she's the one who did it?"
"She doesn't have any good death eater connections either." Severus added. "Voldemort wouldn't choose a complete stranger. Most likely the traitor is someone from a family that has been serving him well for a while, the child or grandchild of a trusted servant."
"How do you know the Mortimers haven't been working for him all this time?" Estella challenged.
Severus could have said that he knew all the top death eaters, or just hinted that he had connections, but that would have given away the fact that he still remembered his adult life. If that information got back to Lucius, his cover was blown. He was absolutely sure that the traitor wasn't one of his classmates, but there were lots of other students around to overhear and even someone who wasn't the traitor might report back to Lucius or say the wrong thing to the wrong person unintentionally.
"Draco would know." he stated instead. "He has connections and he says nobody ever mentioned the Mortimers."
"So you think it's a classmate from another house?" Theodore said scanning the ranks of the Ravenclaw sixth years.
"Could be." Severus admitted. "But personally, I suspect LaCroix."
"He wasn't in our Care for Magical Creatures class." Pansy reminded him.
"He had a study hour." Severus stated. "I saw him in the corridors after class had already begun."
"Nicodemus Hanson was called to the headmaster's office today after lunch." Juliana informed them. "I say it's him."
"Hieronymus Mattels." Blaise suggested. "He's been keeping to himself all year. Hardly ever shows up in the common room anymore."
"He spends most of that time with his brother, though." Theodore pointed out. "I say it's Finnigan. He's been behaving oddly in Potions all year. Brewing mind control potion all the time and sucking up to Professor Malfoy."
"A lot of people suck up to teachers and dark potions are interesting." Millicent argued. "But who says Maximius isn't in on it all? He might be assisting Hieronymus with the attacks."
"Not the Gryffindors." Theodore insisted. "They never suck up to Slytherin teachers. It's some sort of honour code of theirs, I think. I still say Finnigan."
"Finnigan." Vincent agreed. "What do you think, Draco?"
Draco blinked at him for a moment, then picked a suspect from their list almost at random. "Gaia Ushton. Or maybe Curtis Marston, or Bran Lewis, Orson or Parker."
"Those are mostly third years, Draco." Blaise sneered.
"Exactly." Draco nodded. "They already know how to do a severing charm, but nothing much more powerful. And severing charms are exactly what the traitor has been using in most of his attacks. Don't you think Finnigan or Hieronymus would have something more effective in their arsenal? Why limit themselves to severing charms? I say our traitor has nothing better, that's why."
"But why would You Know Who trust a third year?" Alice asked. "Wouldn't he prefer someone older? Why didn't he use Draco, for example."
"Because he probably knows I wouldn't do it." Draco declared. "I might not like mudbloods, but I'm not a murderer. I suppose someone would by now have informed him I don't intend to join him."
Gregory looked at him with big eyes. "You don't want to become a death eater?"
"No." Draco answered. "I was thinking Quidditch player or teacher might suit me better."
"Why?" Gregory asked. "Death eaters are cool."
"Death eaters get killed, Gregory." Severus remarked.
"Death eaters fight." Draco said. "And in a fight you see a lot of people get killed. It was hard enough for me to watch as Potter fell off his broom. Today I got really scared when that yeti got loose. It's just not for me."
"I ran away." Blaise stated staring at his plate. "You stayed. If being a death eater is not for you, then what about me?"
"You don't have to become a death eater." Severus suggested. "None of us will think any less of you, if you choose a different path. And nobody can blame you for running away either. We are the cunning ones, remember? It's the Gryffindors that are supposed to be brave."
"And they ran, too." Estella agreed. "Even Weasley, who's supposed to be Potter's best friend."
"I bet Weasley's father isn't expecting him to become a death eater, though." Blaise said dejectedly. "Or an Auror." he added after a moment. "He can just go and work in his brothers' joke shop, or in some dusty ministry office like his father, or play Quidditch with Draco."
"So? Just tell your father no." Draco advised. "Tell him you're not brave enough and would rather just do office work."
Blaise was still staring at his plate, though. "I think I'm not brave enough to do that either." he mumbled.
"Coward." hissed Pansy and Blaise winced.
"And just where were you when we were fighting the yeti?" Estella challenged. "Face it Pansy, you're no hero either. Maybe none of us are."
"Greg's brave." Millicent said. "He stayed."
"Greg stayed, because he's too stupid to know when to be scared." Theodore snorted. "Stupid death eaters are no good to the dark lord either."
"I'm no coward, though." Gregory declared proudly. "I am stupid, but brave."
"That's not real bravery." Juliana protested.
"Yes, it is." Vincent decided. "Or did you think the Gryffindors are any different?"
"Greg isn't a Gryffindor." Millicent informed Vincent. "He's a true Slytherin."
"Nobody said he wasn't, Millicent." Alice told her. "Vincent just said that he's just as brave as the Gryffindors."
Severus almost laughed. Voldemort's agent was actually beginning to unintentionally work against his master. With a little assistance, it was quite likely that a lot of the Slytherins currently in school would rethink their plans of becoming death eaters.
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kateydidnt - He thinks they wouldn't have hired him, if they thought he had contact with Voldemort. Yep, he's just that arrogant.
Thistle - Don't worry, Draco's used to it. He might not like it, but it won't kill, or even surprise, him either.
Pam Briggs - Stephan is a seventh year. Why would he take sixth year Care for Magical Creatures? No, that is not the flaw in Sevi's lists (actually that one was a list in Draco's head). Sevi has been cross referencing several lists for a while (suspects, addicts, Charms students, absences for each of the incidents, seventh years, visitors in Lucius' office . . . ) The thing he missed is connected to one of those. . . . Well, Sevi is the responsible adult in Draco's life as well as his best friend and partner in all sorts of mischief. Luci doesn't quite manage to gain Draco's trust like that. And in a moment of shock and confusion Draco is still very much a child looking for the protection of an adult.
Kate - I think there have to be other wizarding schools. The ministry can't afford to let lots of wizards run around untrained having magical accidents all the time, just because their parents couldn't or wouldn't afford Hogwarts. And what of the poor wizards who don't grow up speaking English, French or whatever language is spoken at Dumstrang? I would not have been able to follow classes held in English at the age of 11, though I'd been learning it for almost 5 years (The first four without being allowed to even see written English, though.) . . . I think those aurors would look very sheepish and get the hell out of there (at least if they attended Hogwarts themselves), but Albus rarely visits. He and Sarah do not get along (and Sevi's the reason, so you can imagine the tensions whenever all three are in the same room together.)
Imakya Gillus - Thanks. Don't worry, I actually have a volunteer working on finding all the errors in MNS right now. (Personally I think having English for my first language would probably have helped to improve it a lot, but since I can't change where I was born, I'll just have to continue doing the best I can with what I have.)
Agrona Taranis - Thanks, but I'm quite sure that I've written better. (No, I'm not really unhappy with the fic. I like my story, but another author could probably have done better with the plot. I'm better when my characters deal with internal problems.)
Ezmerelda - Lucius tutor Draco? Rest assured that the thought never crossed his mind. After all he considers grades to be the result of intelligence and willingness. In his son intelligence must be a given and willingness is achieved by scolding, belittling and threatening. Perhaps punishment might be an option, but tutoring certainly isn't.
EriEka127 - Thanks!
Marauder3Moony - Luci of course did the usual. He isn't that creative with solutions concerning his son's grades. . . . No, you'll have to wait until the end of the fic. I'm not telling. (Else why would anyone still read this?)
Charbonne - Both time turners and invisibility cloaks are rare and expensive objects. The time turners are even closely supervised by the ministry. Our traitor would have a hard time getting his hands on both of them.
Colibi - Well, I'm intending to write more about the gummi bears, but with all the more essential plot hedgehogs snuffling off in all sorts of directions, I might misplace one of the lesser ones easily. (Have to keep my plot together. . . . 'Greenie! Where did the plot hedgehog for the next attack get to? I'll need him in two or three chapters! And where are the ones I need to set the stage for him?!') Sorry, as you can see Greenie's pretty busy managing his family for me. (Did you know plot hedgehogs multiply faster than plot bunnies?)
Linden Winter - No, unfortunately Sevi doesn't have a teddy anymore. It somehow got lost in the war, most likely while Sevi was in Azkaban. Albus couldn't keep track of everything, you know. . . . Imagery? Really? I'm not a visual person, so I tend to chose words for their emotional meanings and am never quite sure what pictures they create in my readers. Glad to hear you like it!
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A/N: Did Nicodemus tell the truth? Why does Sevi expect Hagrid to like certain students? And is Mally up to the assignment Albus gave her? (Guesses about the identity of the traitor as always will be read with great interest, but not answered, yet.) Please R/R.
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Next: Severus gets a library pass from Remus, Draco doesn't think it's much use to look for Professor Rosetta in his office and Lucius has a talk with the traitor.
Disclaimer 2 - Draco drawing dragons belongs to PikaCheeka. Sorry I forgot to mention that in the first chapter of MNS. I sort of adopted the idea subconsciously.
Disclaimer 3 - Severus' raven belongs to J. L. Matthews. I just borrowed him because he's such a perfect pet for Sevi and promise to return him unharmed.
The catar however are all mine and I love them so please don't use without asking me first.
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A/N - Phew, what a week! I'm totally exhausted right now, but here's the new chapter, for once right on time again. I had to change the link for the Russian translation of MNS in case any of you notice and wonder. Dyna reposted it and consequently got a new story ID.
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Chapter 16: Questions
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Nicodemus was sitting at lunch eating his soup and listening to the eager chatter of his annoying housemates. How he had ended up in Hufflepuff he really couldn't say. He hated Hufflepuffs.
In fact, Nicodemus hated people. They were noisy and pushy and always had expectations. For example they expected him to 'socialise'. Meaning that he was supposed to stand and sit around all day and jabber nonsense at other people who would jabber other nonsense back at him, that he was supposed to attend parties with loud music and hop around like a madman with other completely drunk and noisy people. He was also expected to drink alcohol and eat sweets at these things. Nicodemus hated alcohol and sweets. He much preferred to stay sober and eat spicy food.
Even worse were the daily events in the Hufflepuff common room. Like the story telling sessions for example. He was expected to come down to the overly full common room, possibly sit on the floor, if there were no seats left, and listen to stupid stories his fellow Hufflepuffs thought up or read out from their favourite books, or even to tell or read a story himself. Against the inevitable boredom he could bring something to draw, paint, knit, stitch or sew.
Then there were the music evenings when he couldn't even get any peace in his dorm thanks to the loud playing and singing in the common room.
Right now they were disrupting his meal with wild theories about the latest attack. So the traitor was a sixth year, was he? And an animagus, too? He could turn into a yeti?
If so, why the hell hadn't he done that in the first place, eaten that idiot Potter alive and stopped being a bother?
Of course Nicodemus didn't tell anyone what he thought about their theories. Why bother? If he brought a new argument into the discussion, it would only incite more debate, which meant more noise.
As soon as he'd have finished his meal he'd go up to his favourite spot in the back corner of the library. It was a little too dark to read comfortably, so hardly anyone ever came there except for the people who were looking for a book from that section and those hardly stayed long.
Professor Sprout was heading over to them from the head table. Nicodemus had long ago given up any hope that she might want to silence the chatter. She was probably just going to hand back some essay or ask for volunteers to help her with some plant again. Sometimes she even joined the chatterers.
"Nico?"
Oh yes, and she had that annoying habit of giving them all nicknames.
"Yes, Professor?"
Whatever could she want?
"The headmaster would like to see you in his office after lunch." she informed him.
"What? What did I do?" Nicodemus yelped.
Was he about to be expelled? But for what? Looking grumpy? That wasn't a crime, was it?
"Oh, just some question about that armour that fell on poor Harry." Sprout explained.
"The armour attack? But I don't know anything about that. I wasn't even on that floor at all that afternoon."
"I'm sure the headmaster has a good reason." Professor Sprout declared. "He'll no doubt explain when you see him."
Nicodemus sighed. "I guess so. Thank you Professor."
Was he under suspicion now? But he had an air tight alibi. He'd been in DADA and had gone down to Potions from there. He hadn't even come near the Transfigurations corridor one floor above the DADA classroom.
Still he felt terribly nervous as he waited outside the headmaster's office. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to come here before Dumbledore had left the great hall?
What if the headmaster didn't believe him? Maybe that glove that he'd misplaced three weeks ago had been found in the Transfigurations corridor and the headmaster now thought him the traitor?
What would his parents say, if he got expelled?
There, the headmaster finally arrived.
"Ah Mr. Hanson." Dumbledore twinkled. "Gummy bear. Come on in."
Nicodemus blinked back at him stupidly. Gummy bear? What the hell did Dumbledore mean by gummy bear?
It took him a moment to decide that the remark had probably not been meant for him in the first place, but then he hastened after the headmaster.
"Take a seat." Dumbledore invited him when they reached his office. "Lemon drop?"
"No, thank you." Nicodemus declined. He hated sweets.
Now if Dumbledore had offered him a pepperoni . . . But of course there were no pepperonis anywhere around.
"Professor Sprout said you wanted to see me about the armour attack?" he asked. "I don't know anything about it. I went to DADA class straight from the great hall that day and then down to Potions from there."
"Professor Malfoy has informed me that you arrived in Potions class early, in fact. He claims that you were there before his other class left, even." Dumbledore stated.
"Yes, they were still packing up when I came in." Nicodemus confirmed.
"And Professor Lupin claims that nobody left his class early." the headmaster continued. "It takes about five minutes to walk from the DADA classroom to the current Potions classroom at a leisurely pace, maybe a bit less, if you walk fast. I don't think you could have been that early, if you really attended DADA, hm?"
"Oh, but I did!" Nicodemus exclaimed. "Professor Lupin took attendance. Just ask him. He checked my name on the list."
"Then how did you get to Potions so soon?"
"I ran." Nicodemus admitted. "I ran the whole way from DADA to Potions. Just ask Ines Ivory. I remember she made some comment about me being out of breath when I burst into the class."
Dumbledore thought for a moment. "So Ms Ivory saw you. What was she doing when you burst in?"
"She was . . ." What had Ines been doing? Oh right! "She was by the sink. Washing out her cauldron, I think."
"Who else do you remember seeing? Where were those people? What were they doing?"
At first Nicodemus was confused by the question, but then he realised that Dumbledore probably intended to ask Ines and perhaps some of the others the same question and compare their stories. When they matched, he would have to believe him.
"Professor Malfoy was at his desk. He looked up from whatever he was writing and smiled at me." What had the rest of the students been doing, though? Who was supposed to be in that class. "Linda Lost was behind Ines waiting to use the sink as well. . . . I think Sebastian Highflyer was with that group as well. Roland Hinks was washing his worktable and some Gryffindor was trying to grab the sponge away from him. I don't know the names of the Gryffindors in that class."
"That's okay." Dumbledore nodded. "Just tell me what you know."
"Lionel Fitter was packing his bag." Nicodemus continued. "And Pat Footer was picking up some spilled ingredients somewhere in the back. Rosalind Monk and Lisa-Beth Holster were talking and Martina Horace was laughing, probably about something Catherine Cree had said. At least Cath was sorting out her ingredients next to her."
"What about the Gryffindors? Anyone you recognised?" Dumbledore prompted.
"The two from the Quititch team. Bell and Spinet, I think. They were at the desk right next to the door. Then there were two more girls behind them that were apparently looking for some misplaced object. One boy was trying to reparo a half melted cauldron and there was one more girl talking to a boy who still sat in front of his cauldron. Then next to him there was a boy who seemed to have problems telling his ingredients apart."
Nicodemus looked to Dumbledore expectantly, but the headmaster remained silent. "That's all, Sir."
"Hm." Dumbledore commented. "Interesting. There should have been two more Gryffindor boys, but I suppose you could have forgotten seeing two people you don't know."
Nicodemus stared at the headmaster. Why ever was that important? He'd given him quite a good description of the scene, hadn't he? He was actually surprised how much he'd remembered.
"So why did you run to class, if you weren't even late?" the headmaster asked suddenly.
"I was eager to get there, because I like Potions." Nicodemus answered hastily.
Dumbledore twinkled at him.
"I wanted to ask Professor Malfoy a question." he amended.
"So what question was that, that it was so important it couldn't wait the few minutes it would have taken you to walk to class?" the headmaster was still twinkling knowingly.
Curse him. How was he able to recognise a lie like that?
"It was . . . I just didn't want anybody to know I'd asked him that, so I was hoping to get there before my classmates and talk to him privately." Nicodemus hedged. "It's a little embarrassing."
"But then you could have waited until after classes." Dumbledore commented. "I hear a lot of students seek Professor Malfoy out privately outside of class hours."
Nicodemus sighed and accepted that he'd apparently have to tell the truth. "Alright so it had nothing to do with Professor Malfoy or Potions class at all. I'd had a disagreement with some older students during lunch break and they were still very angry at me. I was afraid they might attack me during the break, so I wanted to be in class before they could find me."
Unfortunately that seemed to attract Dumbledore's interest. He regarded Nicodemus with a more earnest look than the boy had ever before seen on him.
"You were afraid of those other students?" he asked finally.
"They're older than me and there were three of them. I was alone." Nicodemus pointed out.
"Who are those students?" Dumbledore demanded.
"Look, we cleared that up between us. They never really meant to attack me or anything like that. They're actually quite nice and I usually get along with them fine. I just overreacted to that argument." he grinned sheepishly. "I'm not particularly good at understanding people's intentions."
"I understand, but I would still like to know their names." Dumbledore insisted.
Nicodemus sighed again. He hated snitching on potentially dangerous people.
"They're Slytherins. That's why I overreacted, I guess. The bad reputation of the house, you know."
"Who?" Dumbledore reminded him gently.
"Stephan LaCroix, Lionel Bardon and that other seventh year on their team, Davids. I don't know his first name. I usually just talk with Stephan and Lionel. I just feared they'd bring Davids along, if they wanted to teach me a lesson."
"Benjamin." Dumbledore supplied.
"What?" Nicodemus asked. "Erm ... I mean: I beg your pardon?"
Dumbledore twinkled happily and smiled at him. "Mr. Davids' first name is Benjamin."
"Oh." was all Nicodemus could think of to say.
"Thank you for clearing that up, Mr. Hanson." Dumbledore smiled. "You may return to your classes now. I'm afraid I've kept you here too long already."
"Thank you, headmaster." Nicodemus answered hastily and hurried out before Dumbledore could change his mind.
He only hoped that this talk wouldn't have any consequences for him later.
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Draco received the call to his father's office from a nervous first year after the end of the last lesson of the day. He and Severus had been just about to head for the headmaster's office hoping to catch Dumbledore alone so they could exchange information about the latest incident. The lack of knowledge about the various classes' whereabouts was driving Severus up the walls.
Thus Draco was feeling rather grumpy when he arrived in the old larder.
"You wanted to see me, father?"
Lucius was sitting at his desk, feet crossed on the table top reading his paper. Draco assumed that was an improvement as he apparently hadn't read it in class, yet. Maybe he was learning how to be a teacher after all.
Under the table fifth year Colin Creevey was scrubbing the floor alongside the slightly battered looking Tilly. Draco wondered how many kicks the house elf had received before Lucius had removed his feet onto the desk and let her work.
"Indeed." Lucius confirmed and the look he sent his son clearly told him that this was not good news. "Creevey!"
"Yes, Sir?" Colin asked cautiously. Apparently he too had noticed that Lucius wasn't in a good mood.
"The elf can finish in here. Go help Mallister with the classroom floor." Lucius ordered.
Colin shot Draco a look. "Yes, Sir."
The Gryffindor almost ran out the door. Draco had no idea who Mallister was, but probably a younger student, since he was familiar with the names of most of the older ones. Perhaps Colin saw this as a chance to get out of scrubbing and order Mallister about for a bit.
Remembering Ron's detentions Draco couldn't quite begrudge Colin that chance. He must have been cursing his luck to have been granted the elf's help, but forced to remain under Lucius' eyes all the time.
"I happen to have had a talk with the werewolf today. Claudo." Lucius announced and a quick wave of his wand caused the door to slam shut behind the Grffindor boy. "And he happened to mention that he is very discontented with your performance in his class lately."
"I am the only student who hadn't had any experience with setting wards before." Draco tried to explain. "Even the Hufflepuff mudbloods knew some to protect plants. I suppose Sprout must have taught them. The rest learned them from their parents of course. I had some catching up to do, but most of my wards work as well as those of the rest of the class by now."
That last statement was a lie, but Draco hoped Lupin hadn't been that specific about his failures. He was able to cast all the wards they had learned in class, after all, though they wee usually weaker than those of most of the Hufflepuffs and some of them took him several attempts.
"Setting wards is one of the few things Hufflepuffs do well." he continued. His father's face darkened. That had apparently been the wrong thing to say. "I'll be showing them all up once we start taking down wards. I bet none of them have had as excellent lessons in that as you gave me."
"Hufflepuffs." Lucius accused. "My own son fails at something any damn puffing Huff can do. There is nothing a Hufflepuff does well, Draco. They are stupid, slow near Squibs. How often have I told you that I expect you to have the top grades in all your classes? When I was your age I did my best. I was by far the best student in DADA and we had that with the Ravenclaws, not the stupid Hufflepuffs."
'Your luck that it wasn't Gryffindor.' Draco thought, but wisely enough kept that to himself. He knew who in his father's year had had the best results in DADA both at the OWLs and the NEWTs. It wasn't a good idea to mention that name in front of his father, though.
"I honoured the family name, but you keep shaming us with your unwillingness to put in even the slightest effort." Lucius ranted on. "I'm only glad your mother has been spared the news of this latest shame. Tutoring lessons. Tutoring!"
Draco cringed and stared at the floor. Down there Tilly was scrubbing and occasionally patting his shoes comfortingly. So now his father's battered house elf was feeling sorry for him?
No, she wasn't his father's elf, he reminded himself. She was a proud Hogwarts elf and his and Severus' fellow agent bravely sticking around Lucius in the hopes of uncovering the traitor's identity and plans. She was only taking all this abuse in order to help protect Hogwarts and its students.
He winked down at her when she looked up at him. 'It's okay, little one. If you can take it, so can I.' After all he was used to his father's rants. He'd been hearing them ever since he'd started school.
"A mudblood and a girl at that." Lucius had apparently reached the topic of Hermione Granger beating Draco in several subjects every year. "That little bushy haired nuisance ..."
Ah, so her looks didn't please him either. Draco wondered whether that had anything to do with her offering him advice on how to run his classes. Draco suppressed a sigh and let it all wash over him. Once his father was done he could leave. Tilly could not.
At least Lucius had remembered to kick out the Gryffindor, not that it would help much. After all Ron had overheard the last scolding. All of Gryffindor probably knew already.
Draco had to forcefully remind himself, that Lucius was just being a good father. Of course the Gryffindors heard the same from their own fathers all the time. He should pity the ones that didn't for their uncaring fathers, not envy them. Still he wished it were already over.
He wondered what Severus might have learned from the headmaster. Would he remember to ask after the fifth years' electives? And where had the seventh years been during the latest attack? Had Professor McGonagall found out anything about those mysterious transfiguration spells?
"Are you even listening to me?" Lucius thundered.
"Yes, Father. Of course, Father." He could only hope that Lucius wouldn't ask him to repeat whatever he'd just said.
"Well, don't just stand there like some gibbering idiot. Don't you have anything to say for yourself? Speak up!"
Ups, now he was on dangerous ground. Silence would only enrage his father, but so would answering.
"I already told you, everybody else was prepared. I had no idea wards could be so hard."
"Don't talk back to me. I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses." Lucius hissed.
'Then why did you ask for them?' Draco thought, but remained silent. 'Make up your mind.'
"Hard! Wards hard." Lucius mocked. "Wards are just about the easiest spells there are."
'Right,' thought Draco. 'As long as you don't consider anything you learn up to OWL level a spell.'
"Any last Hufflepuff can do a simple protection ward in his sleep." Lucius continued.
'I noticed.' Draco thought. 'Only you never taught me one.'
"Yes Draco, Hufflepuffs. Even the slowest Hufflepuff finds it easy. Only my worthless son finds it too hard."
And thus it went on and on and on. It was dinnertime by the time Lucius finally allowed Draco to leave.
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"Mr. Hanson gave me a description of where every Hufflepuff was when he entered Potions class that day." Albus informed Severus. "If he was telling the truth, they were all in class. If he wasn't, he's a really good liar."
Severus nodded. He'd taken the chance to transform back into his adult body while he was in the headmaster's office. They should have ample warning before anyone came in thanks to the headmaster's gargoyle and the moving stairs that led up to the office.
"Did you ask him about the Gryffindors?"
"Of course." Albus declared. "He could name only Ms. Bell and Ms Spinet however. Mr. Hanson doesn't seem to know many students outside of his own year and house."
"He isn't a very socially inclined person." Severus agreed. "Usually keeps to himself."
"He did describe the Gryffindos' activities to me, though and mentioned three more girls."
"So the Gryffindor girls are all accounted for." Severus nodded. "Good. What about the boys?"
"Unfortunately Mr. Hanson remembers only three, but agrees that he might just not remember the two missing ones." Albus sighed. "Unfortunately we don't know whom we're missing."
Severus thought for a moment. "What did he tell you about the ones he saw?"
"Only that one was still sitting in front of his cauldron while everybody else was already cleaning up..."
"Hendric the Last." Severus diagnosed with a touch of amusement. "Mr. First is always the last to do anything."
Albus shot him a surprised look. "You think you can identify the students by their activities?"
"Maybe." Severus conceded. "I know their usual behaviour in Potions class. If Hanson described anything typical, I should be able to recognise the student."
"The next Gryffindor boy was 'apparently having troubles telling his ingredients apart'." Albus prompted.
"Blind Louis." Severus didn't disappoint him. "You probably know him as Mr Harringer. He might be in need of even stronger glasses."
Albus twinkled at him looking pleased. "And the last one was trying to reparo a partially melted cauldron."
"Zachary Melter." Severus grinned.
Albus looked at him expectantly.
"What? The boy doesn't need a nickname. His last name serves that purpose more than well enough."
"Well, I guess so." the headmaster admitted. "That leaves Mr. Alcott and Mr. Barnes."
"Who both have an alibi for the first incident." Severus reported after a glance at his suspects list. "If anyone that leaves Alcott. He had Divination. I doubt Barnes could have managed to sneak out of Arithmancy unreported."
"Victoria is rather hard to trick." Albus confirmed. "Sybil however. . ."
"There is still the possibility Melter convinced somebody else to reparo his cauldron." Severus suggested. "Though I doubt it. His classmates all know it's a hopeless endeavour."
"On to the new attack then." Albus decided. "Here's the list of alibis. Lucius' comments might prove interesting to you. You know him better than I. Oh and we traced the furunculus and stupefys to a fight between the Summers sisters. There was no disorientation spell used in that one, though, which makes it look rather odd."
"You are sure that there are no other indications of a second fight?"
"Quite sure unless it was a fistfight with only that one spell cast." Albus confirmed. "We have come up with two possible theories why the traitor might have cast both the disorientation spell and the counter."
"So?"
"Yes, number one is that he didn't know that the spell couldn't be traced and took it off Harry after the armour had fallen. The second says that he accidentally hit a friend or ally that he didn't want to endanger."
"I doubt that our traitor has many of those." Severus commented. "Anything else?"
"It wouldn't hurt to look into the transfigurations both in the Transfigurations corridor and in front of Hagrid's hut." Albus suggested.
Severus frowned. "I very much doubt I could find anything there that you and Professor McGonagall haven't."
"You might hear something, though. About that or the colour changing charm."
"Did you consider that it might just have been a girl adjusting her make up?" Severus remarked. "She might have decided that the shade of her lips just wasn't right for the occasion or that her nail polish didn't go well with the eye shadow."
"I know that the colour changing charm probably isn't important." Albus admitted. "But the transfigurations might be. Just keep your ears open."
Severus nodded. "One more thing. I need to know the fifth years' electives."
"All of them?"
"Care for Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies at least."
Albus obediently got out the book of students again. "We'll be late for dinner."
"I'm sure there'll be enough food left and we can always visit the kitchen later.'
"Gryffindor first?" Albus twinkled. "Or would you prefer Slytherin?"
"Ravenclaw." Severus stated calmly. "They are the most likely to pass the Transfigurations corridor after a study hour."
"Very well, then, Ravenclaw." the headmaster announced. "Mr. Ahles, Ursus takes Muggle Studies and Arithmancy."
"Not Care for Magical Creatures?" Severus asked. "How disappointing."
"Why should he?" Albus asked confused.
"Well, with a name like Ursus," Severus grinned. "Hagrid would love him."
Albus laughed. "Hagrid's Latin is rather sketchy, though. Ms Downs, Dunja, Divination and Ancient Runes. There's your first study hour candidate. Then we have Ms. Dorris, Sheila, with Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes and Mr. Farman, Jens, the same."
"Muggle Studies seems surprisingly popular with that year." Severus remarked.
"Many of the Ravenclaws aren't very inclined towards outdoors work." Albus stated with a light shrug. "And a lot of Hufflepuffs are afraid of Hagrid's class. The Slytherins' refusal to take Muggle Studies evens that out again, though. Ms Gale, Bianca takes Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."
"Now that sounds more like Ravenclaw to me."
"Ms Hutchings, Minx, Care for Magical Creatures and Arithmancy." the headmaster continued.
"Well, that'll definitely make Hagrid happy."
"Ms Lovegood, Luna, Care for Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. We're probably lucky this one didn't choose Divination." Albus commented. "Who knows what Sybil might have put her up to. Mr. Norris, Raphael, Care for Magical creatures and Arithmancy, Mr. Pelt, Christopher, Care for Magical Creatures and Divination and Mr. Svenson, Lars, Muggle Studies and Arithmancy."
"So Dunja Downs and Bianca Gale are the only ones who actually had a study hour?" Severus sighed. "Not exactly my top suspects."
"But that's good news, isn't it?" Albus asked. "It keeps your number of suspects down. What house would you like to do next?"
"Slytherin." Severus decided.
"Let me see." Albus turned a page. "Ah yes, Ms Ardley, Calpurnia, Care for Magical Creatures and Arithmancy, a rather typical Slytherin combination. Then we have Ms Crowsand, Paula, Care for Magical Creatures and Arithmancy as well."
"I wasn't suspecting Paula anyway." Severus sighed.
"Mr Elvers, Nicholas, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. There's a suspect."
"For murder of death eaters, perhaps." Severus snorted. "The boy was orphaned by death eaters. One of the last attacks before Voldemort's fall. He's looking for revenge, not to join up."
"Well, then how about Mr. Mattels Hieronymus, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes as well?"
"Better, but he seems to have an alibi for the second incident." Severus sighed. "Who else?"
"Ms McKinnon, Laurissa, Care for Magical Creatures and Arithmancy and Ms Morrel, Lupa , Care for Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes."
"Another one to make Hagrid happy." Severus remarked. "And he's probably the only teacher that's happy with Lupa. Shortest attention span I've ever seen in anyone including Greenie."
"Her grades aren't that bad." Albus commented.
"She's intelligent." Severus explained. "Very intelligent. If she could just sit still and study for half an hour, she'd be one of our top students."
"Another abused child?" Albus asked sadly.
"Probably." sighed Severus. "You know, under Muggle law we could do something about it."
"The ministry knows what they're doing."
"Of course." The sarcasm in Severus' voice was hard to miss.
He had seen the ministry fail too often and how should it be effective against abuse, if only the abused child, once of age, or a parent could report it?
"Next?" he asked Albus trying to distract himself.
"Mr. Perkins, Marvin, Care for Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes, Mr. Renard, Remy, Care for Magical Creatures and Arithmancy, Ms Soerens, Nike, Care for Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes and Mr. Syrer, Patrick, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Do we really have to do Gryffindor and Hufflepuff as well?" Albus was getting hungry.
"Either that, or you give me a list later." Severus threatened.
"Oh Mally is makes list!" a squeaky voice announced from somewhere behind Albus. "Mally is needs somethings to do for Sirs."
The house elf had apparently been stoking the fire. She was one of the youngest elves in the service of Hogwarts and known to be troublesome.
Not that Mally wasn't eager to serve. She was a very sweet elf and loved to work, but she was unfortunately very accident prone. Her original assignment had been to the kitchen staff, but she had soon been banned from there due to the fact that her cooking just wasn't edible. She just couldn't dose spices properly and tended to confuse sugar and salt. After being forced to throw away five entire chocolate cakes due to their strong salty taste the kitchen elves had unanimously declared that she had to be reassigned.
Thus Mally had ended up with the cleaning crew that worked directly under Argus Filch. She had eagerly applied herself to the scrubbing of floors and walls, but kept accidentally spilling her buckets. After the third time the caretaker had slipped in one of her puddles she had been forbidden from working with water entirely which reduced her duties to stoking fires and collecting dirty laundry.
"Mally is makes, yes?"
Albus twinkled at her amusedly. "Do you know how to write?"
"Yes, Mally is knows how to writes." the elf nodded eagerly. "Mally is makes, yes?"
"Very good." Albus nodded. "Then take some parchment and . . ." he hesitated. "A pencil." he decided then. "And copy this list and the one on the next page. When you're done put the list next to Severus' bed in the Slytherin dorms, but don't be seen and do not tell anyone about this job."
"Yes Sir!" Mally squeaked happily. "Mally is not tells anyone. Mally is good elf."
"Of course you are." Albus smiled at her and Mally beamed with pride.
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Draco looked grumpy when Severus finally arrived in the great hall.
"Where were you?" he demanded right away.
"I'll tell you later." Severus answered with a pointed look towards their curious classmates. "It's a long story and I want your opinion on some of the things I found out. Right now I'm too hungry."
"Sniff!" Greenie agreed struggling in his grip in an attempt to get to the food.
The soup was already getting cold, Severus discovered as soon as he'd served the hedgehog. Still, it would be a very hungry night, if he didn't eat.
"So, how did your talk with your father go?" he asked Draco to distract himself.
"He found out about our tutoring lessons." Draco growled.
"Well, we knew he would." Severus commented.
"He says wards are easy." Draco sighed.
"They are." Gregory agreed. "Lupin says I'm getting avenge grades for them. My best results ever."
"Because your mother taught you some when you were small." Draco pouted. "My father only taught me how to take them down."
"Have any of you seen Neville, yet?" Severus interjected before Draco's bad mood could have consequences for Gregory.
"No, I think he's still in the hospital wing." Draco answered nodding towards the empty place at the Gryffindor table. "Potter's fine, though. He's only limping slightly anymore. I can't believe his luck sometimes."
"Yes, it's almost like he's immortal or something." Pansy frowned.
"Speaking of Potter and his assassin." Theodore spoke up suddenly.
The others stared at him in surprise. He'd been brooding all afternoon giving only monosyllable answers, if he reacted to them at all and had been moving around the food on his plate more than actually eating. Nobody had expected him to start talking again this suddenly.
"He may perhaps be immortal, but we're not." Theodore continued unbothered by the surprised looks. "I have been thinking about that 'traitor' as everybody calls him and I think it's time somebody stopped him."
"Aren't you the one who told me you want him to get Potter first?" Severus reminded him.
"Yes, but that was before I thought it over." Theodore insisted. "You weren't there today, Severus. That yeti could have torn any one of us to pieces. That traitor doesn't care who else he endangers besides Potter and it's only a matter of time until some innocent bystander gets hurt or killed. I don't want to be that one, but since the traitor is most likely in our class, I'm especially at risk."
Theodore looked at his classmates, most of whom didn't meet his eyes.
"He's not." Severus said into the uncomfortable silence.
"How do you know?" Estella asked nervously playing with her fork. "How can you be so sure?"
"Simple." Severus grinned. "You, Blaise, Gregory, Vincent, Theodore and Juliana were in Arithmancy with me when Potter's broom was cut. Since you can't have been in two places at once and I know nobody left that class, none of you could have done it. Draco, Pansy and Millicent were with me when that armour fell. We were still around the corner and you can't cast a severing charm through walls, aside from the fact that we couldn't see where Potter was at that moment either."
Relieved smiles spread on several classmates faces. They were beginning to breathe easier.
"That's not the entire class, though." Estella remarked. "You overlooked someone."
Alarmed looks shot towards her, then slowly drifted to Alice Mortimer as the Slytherins realised one by one who was missing from the list.
Alice stared back wide eyed.
"Alice was the one who first suggested it was someone from our class." Draco reminded them. "Why would she want to attract attention to herself, if she's the one who did it?"
"She doesn't have any good death eater connections either." Severus added. "Voldemort wouldn't choose a complete stranger. Most likely the traitor is someone from a family that has been serving him well for a while, the child or grandchild of a trusted servant."
"How do you know the Mortimers haven't been working for him all this time?" Estella challenged.
Severus could have said that he knew all the top death eaters, or just hinted that he had connections, but that would have given away the fact that he still remembered his adult life. If that information got back to Lucius, his cover was blown. He was absolutely sure that the traitor wasn't one of his classmates, but there were lots of other students around to overhear and even someone who wasn't the traitor might report back to Lucius or say the wrong thing to the wrong person unintentionally.
"Draco would know." he stated instead. "He has connections and he says nobody ever mentioned the Mortimers."
"So you think it's a classmate from another house?" Theodore said scanning the ranks of the Ravenclaw sixth years.
"Could be." Severus admitted. "But personally, I suspect LaCroix."
"He wasn't in our Care for Magical Creatures class." Pansy reminded him.
"He had a study hour." Severus stated. "I saw him in the corridors after class had already begun."
"Nicodemus Hanson was called to the headmaster's office today after lunch." Juliana informed them. "I say it's him."
"Hieronymus Mattels." Blaise suggested. "He's been keeping to himself all year. Hardly ever shows up in the common room anymore."
"He spends most of that time with his brother, though." Theodore pointed out. "I say it's Finnigan. He's been behaving oddly in Potions all year. Brewing mind control potion all the time and sucking up to Professor Malfoy."
"A lot of people suck up to teachers and dark potions are interesting." Millicent argued. "But who says Maximius isn't in on it all? He might be assisting Hieronymus with the attacks."
"Not the Gryffindors." Theodore insisted. "They never suck up to Slytherin teachers. It's some sort of honour code of theirs, I think. I still say Finnigan."
"Finnigan." Vincent agreed. "What do you think, Draco?"
Draco blinked at him for a moment, then picked a suspect from their list almost at random. "Gaia Ushton. Or maybe Curtis Marston, or Bran Lewis, Orson or Parker."
"Those are mostly third years, Draco." Blaise sneered.
"Exactly." Draco nodded. "They already know how to do a severing charm, but nothing much more powerful. And severing charms are exactly what the traitor has been using in most of his attacks. Don't you think Finnigan or Hieronymus would have something more effective in their arsenal? Why limit themselves to severing charms? I say our traitor has nothing better, that's why."
"But why would You Know Who trust a third year?" Alice asked. "Wouldn't he prefer someone older? Why didn't he use Draco, for example."
"Because he probably knows I wouldn't do it." Draco declared. "I might not like mudbloods, but I'm not a murderer. I suppose someone would by now have informed him I don't intend to join him."
Gregory looked at him with big eyes. "You don't want to become a death eater?"
"No." Draco answered. "I was thinking Quidditch player or teacher might suit me better."
"Why?" Gregory asked. "Death eaters are cool."
"Death eaters get killed, Gregory." Severus remarked.
"Death eaters fight." Draco said. "And in a fight you see a lot of people get killed. It was hard enough for me to watch as Potter fell off his broom. Today I got really scared when that yeti got loose. It's just not for me."
"I ran away." Blaise stated staring at his plate. "You stayed. If being a death eater is not for you, then what about me?"
"You don't have to become a death eater." Severus suggested. "None of us will think any less of you, if you choose a different path. And nobody can blame you for running away either. We are the cunning ones, remember? It's the Gryffindors that are supposed to be brave."
"And they ran, too." Estella agreed. "Even Weasley, who's supposed to be Potter's best friend."
"I bet Weasley's father isn't expecting him to become a death eater, though." Blaise said dejectedly. "Or an Auror." he added after a moment. "He can just go and work in his brothers' joke shop, or in some dusty ministry office like his father, or play Quidditch with Draco."
"So? Just tell your father no." Draco advised. "Tell him you're not brave enough and would rather just do office work."
Blaise was still staring at his plate, though. "I think I'm not brave enough to do that either." he mumbled.
"Coward." hissed Pansy and Blaise winced.
"And just where were you when we were fighting the yeti?" Estella challenged. "Face it Pansy, you're no hero either. Maybe none of us are."
"Greg's brave." Millicent said. "He stayed."
"Greg stayed, because he's too stupid to know when to be scared." Theodore snorted. "Stupid death eaters are no good to the dark lord either."
"I'm no coward, though." Gregory declared proudly. "I am stupid, but brave."
"That's not real bravery." Juliana protested.
"Yes, it is." Vincent decided. "Or did you think the Gryffindors are any different?"
"Greg isn't a Gryffindor." Millicent informed Vincent. "He's a true Slytherin."
"Nobody said he wasn't, Millicent." Alice told her. "Vincent just said that he's just as brave as the Gryffindors."
Severus almost laughed. Voldemort's agent was actually beginning to unintentionally work against his master. With a little assistance, it was quite likely that a lot of the Slytherins currently in school would rethink their plans of becoming death eaters.
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kateydidnt - He thinks they wouldn't have hired him, if they thought he had contact with Voldemort. Yep, he's just that arrogant.
Thistle - Don't worry, Draco's used to it. He might not like it, but it won't kill, or even surprise, him either.
Pam Briggs - Stephan is a seventh year. Why would he take sixth year Care for Magical Creatures? No, that is not the flaw in Sevi's lists (actually that one was a list in Draco's head). Sevi has been cross referencing several lists for a while (suspects, addicts, Charms students, absences for each of the incidents, seventh years, visitors in Lucius' office . . . ) The thing he missed is connected to one of those. . . . Well, Sevi is the responsible adult in Draco's life as well as his best friend and partner in all sorts of mischief. Luci doesn't quite manage to gain Draco's trust like that. And in a moment of shock and confusion Draco is still very much a child looking for the protection of an adult.
Kate - I think there have to be other wizarding schools. The ministry can't afford to let lots of wizards run around untrained having magical accidents all the time, just because their parents couldn't or wouldn't afford Hogwarts. And what of the poor wizards who don't grow up speaking English, French or whatever language is spoken at Dumstrang? I would not have been able to follow classes held in English at the age of 11, though I'd been learning it for almost 5 years (The first four without being allowed to even see written English, though.) . . . I think those aurors would look very sheepish and get the hell out of there (at least if they attended Hogwarts themselves), but Albus rarely visits. He and Sarah do not get along (and Sevi's the reason, so you can imagine the tensions whenever all three are in the same room together.)
Imakya Gillus - Thanks. Don't worry, I actually have a volunteer working on finding all the errors in MNS right now. (Personally I think having English for my first language would probably have helped to improve it a lot, but since I can't change where I was born, I'll just have to continue doing the best I can with what I have.)
Agrona Taranis - Thanks, but I'm quite sure that I've written better. (No, I'm not really unhappy with the fic. I like my story, but another author could probably have done better with the plot. I'm better when my characters deal with internal problems.)
Ezmerelda - Lucius tutor Draco? Rest assured that the thought never crossed his mind. After all he considers grades to be the result of intelligence and willingness. In his son intelligence must be a given and willingness is achieved by scolding, belittling and threatening. Perhaps punishment might be an option, but tutoring certainly isn't.
EriEka127 - Thanks!
Marauder3Moony - Luci of course did the usual. He isn't that creative with solutions concerning his son's grades. . . . No, you'll have to wait until the end of the fic. I'm not telling. (Else why would anyone still read this?)
Charbonne - Both time turners and invisibility cloaks are rare and expensive objects. The time turners are even closely supervised by the ministry. Our traitor would have a hard time getting his hands on both of them.
Colibi - Well, I'm intending to write more about the gummi bears, but with all the more essential plot hedgehogs snuffling off in all sorts of directions, I might misplace one of the lesser ones easily. (Have to keep my plot together. . . . 'Greenie! Where did the plot hedgehog for the next attack get to? I'll need him in two or three chapters! And where are the ones I need to set the stage for him?!') Sorry, as you can see Greenie's pretty busy managing his family for me. (Did you know plot hedgehogs multiply faster than plot bunnies?)
Linden Winter - No, unfortunately Sevi doesn't have a teddy anymore. It somehow got lost in the war, most likely while Sevi was in Azkaban. Albus couldn't keep track of everything, you know. . . . Imagery? Really? I'm not a visual person, so I tend to chose words for their emotional meanings and am never quite sure what pictures they create in my readers. Glad to hear you like it!
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A/N: Did Nicodemus tell the truth? Why does Sevi expect Hagrid to like certain students? And is Mally up to the assignment Albus gave her? (Guesses about the identity of the traitor as always will be read with great interest, but not answered, yet.) Please R/R.
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Next: Severus gets a library pass from Remus, Draco doesn't think it's much use to look for Professor Rosetta in his office and Lucius has a talk with the traitor.