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 – I know, this is very late again. I was going to post yesterday, but then I realised the next chapter was getting too long and I want to end it at one particular point. This one was a little short, though, so I decided to pick a scene out of chapter 20 and add it at the end. The end of this chapter sounds a little odd now, but hey, it's an extra scene. You're not going to complain about that, are you?
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Chapter 19: The Weasley Guillotine
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"So, do you think you'll win next week?" Theodore asked Ginny between two slices of bacon.
He'd adjusted surprisingly well to having breakfast with two Gryffindors at the table.
"I certainly hope so." Ginny replied. "Hufflepuff is strong this year, though. It looks like it will be a good game."
"Everybody's talking about Quidditch." Neville complained. Wherever I go I hear 'The Hufflepuff team this, Harry's broom that'."
"Aren't you interested in the game then?" Severus asked reaching for another slice of toast.
"Well, of course I hope that Gryffindor wins, but I'm no Quidditch expert and know nothing about brooms." Neville sighed. "I just feel left out when there's no other topic for weeks. Even Seamus-watching has become hopeless since he noticed. He always manages to give me the slip."
"Want to play a chess tournament after dinner?" Severus suggested. "Draco will probably be out to watch the Gryffindor team's training, but I'm sure I can convince Theodore and Susan to play, maybe even Argus, if he has the time."
"Argus?" Neville asked confused. Just when he'd thought he knew most of the Slytherins.
"Argus Filch, the caretaker." Severus explained. "He's a decent player as long as he doesn't get distracted by Peeves."
"You're on first name basis with the caretaker?" Neville gasped.
"It's better than having a war with him." Severus shrugged. "He takes care of my raven and most of my detentions, after all."
Neville shook his head at that. "Chess with Filch. Well, it sure beats two hours of studying with Hermione. I'm in. Where do we play?"
"We usually use the set in our common room." Theodore commented.
"You'd let me into your common room?" Neville stared wide eyed.
"That might cause trouble." Severus agreed. "Maybe we'd better bring a chess set down here. It'll be more quiet, too. Remus hosts a very popular discussion group in the common room in the evenings. It doesn't start right after dinner, but will probably overlap with our tournament."
"Do either of you own a set?" Theodore asked.
Silence.
"No." Severus finally admitted. "Argus might, or maybe Remus. I know Albus does, but he usually plays with McGonagall on Wednesday evenings."
"Ron has one, and so does Harry." Neville reported. "And they're going to watch the Quidditch training, so they won't need them. I'm sure they'll lend me one as long as I don't say who I'm intending to play with."
The Slytherins laughed.
"What if they ask you?" Gregory wanted to know.
"Um . . . Filch?" Neville suggested. "Or maybe we could invite some Ravenclaw as well."
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"Harry guessed who I'm playing with right away." Neville confided at the beginning of Potions class. "He's lending us his set anyway."
"This is going to be big." Severus grinned back at him. "The entire Hufflepuff chess club is coming, a whole bunch of Slytherin fifth year girls and three Ravenclaws. We've also been able to arrange for four more chess sets and there might be even more players since we've sent out an open invitation."
Neville grinned. "Poor Ron. He'll have to decide between chess and Quidditch. His two favourite pastimes."
"He won't get much of a choice." Harry commented. "If he misses one more practise, he's off the team."
"Has he been that sloppy about his training, or is your captain so strict?" Draco asked.
"Neither. He missed too many practises because he was in detention." Harry frowned. "And I can't play for him, because of the flying ban. Your dear Daddy is sabotaging our team wherever he can."
"He isn't my dear Daddy." Draco hissed. "He's my father."
"What's the difference?" Harry asked puzzled.
"Respect." Draco stated. "But you foolish Gryffindors don't even have an idea what that is, do you?"
"That's too few mandrake slices again, Harry." Severus cut in before Harry could answer. "You need at least five more."
Harry grumbled something about snobbish, evil bastards, but went to get another mandrake for cutting anyway.
"Do you realise that if you help him too much his potion is going to stink up the whole class again?" Neville commented.
"No it won't." Severus shook his head. "That was just one of my pranks. Without it his icicles shouldn't smell at all."
"I wonder what would happen, if we added a gummy bear to his potion." Draco mused.
"The classroom would turn into a strawberry ice cave." Severus declared without hesitation.
"Cool." Neville grinned. "Lets do it."
"No, the original icicles took two days to clean out and that was only a small corner." Severus reminded them. "Where would we have Potions in the meantime? The old classroom still isn't repaired and Dumbledore will never allow Lucius to teach upstairs."
"So you're just going to lead Harry through the steps to recreate his potion?" Neville asked disappointed.
"Yes." Severus nodded. "As long as it doesn't interfere with our own project."
"Boring." commented Neville.
"We could sabotage Weasley's potion." Draco suggested.
"And get him detention so he'll miss the training?" Severus asked. "The Gryffindors would never forgive us. Try Seamus' potion instead. It's a poison so it might cause Lucius to panic again. That ought to be fun."
Five minutes later Seamus' cauldron exploded in a shower of rainbow colours that even left pretty glowing spots on everything they touched.
"Nice work, Draco." Severus commented. "Very artistic, but not quite good in the panic causing department."
Indeed Lucius had only raised an eyebrow and returned to his grading after a quick: "That'll be a minus today, Mr. Finnigan."
Seamus rarely ended up with a detention in Potions. For some reason Lucius seemed to actually like him. Maybe it had something to do with his interest in dark potions, or maybe the reason was something more sinister.
Thanks to Severus' guidance and suggestion to try adding five fly wings, rather than one, Harry finally managed to reconstruct his strawberry icicle potion and they all left class with their pockets stuffed full of delicious blue icicles.
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At dinner the excited whispering was louder than ever. Almost everybody that normally didn't join the chatter about Quidditch was talking about chess. Ron Weasley looked positively angry. Lucius had as usual given him another detention and he was going to miss both chess and Quidditch. The Gryffindors were probably already discussing possible new keepers.
At the end of the meal Harry waved Ginny over to where the rest of the Quidditch team was huddled together and when she came back she looked almost depressed.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked. "Did they kick you off the team?"
"No, no, with Harry banned I'm their only option as seeker, so they really can't, but Ron's off and with Andy Alcott already standing in for me as chaser we're left with the choice between Hendric First and Nelly Hayward for keeper. We're trying them both out at today's training."
"Pick Nelly." Severus advised at once. "You might as well play without a keeper as using Hendric the last."
"Have you ever even seen either of them play?" Ginny asked him surprised.
"No." admitted Severus. "But I have seen him brew a potion, set up his cauldron, clean his table. I've even seen him take over a minute to close a door. I cannot imagine him ever catching a quaffle."
"Well, I can't imagine Nelly, the nerd, on a broomstick." frowned Ginny. "Maybe we really should play without a keeper."
"Before you do that, just pick the fattest Gryffindor you can find and place him right in front of the center hoop." Estella advised. "That will at least block one hoop entirely."
Ginny buried her face in her hands. "I knew I shouldn't have asked you guys for advise."
Soon dinner was over and the Quidditch fans left for the pitch. On the Slytherin table a long row of chess sets was set up and excited students milled about. Mr. Filch appeared with an empty wastepaper basket and parchment, ink and a quill.
"Alright." he announced. "Everybody who wants to participate in the tournament, write your name on a piece of parchment and throw it into the basket. Then we'll ask one of the non-participants to draw the first pairings."
To Neville's surprise finding a non-participant turned out the hardest part of that. Dumbledore finally called on Mally to do the job. He also had to conjure three more chess sets so the players wouldn't have to wait.
Neville's first opponent was Eileen McDarren a first year Gryffindor. She turned out to be a terrible player, but fun to talk to. She didn't mind losing much either.
"I'll probably be last." she admitted. "But I just had to participate. This is so much fun."
Eileen didn't have to stop playing either. In the interest of better chances for everybody Dumbledore suggested that each winner should get a point and then people with the same number of points should be matched against each other.
Neville's next opponent was Susan Bones whom he just barely managed to beat. Then he lost his third game against Larissa Errold, a Ravenclaw seventh year, but won against Curtis Marston from Slytherin.
After the fourth round Dumbledore announced the end of today's game, though.
"There are only fifteen minutes left until curfew." he reminded the participants. "And we are nowhere near determining a winner."
Even Hermione, who had just lost to Professor Flitwick looked disappointed at that.
"So I say: Lets play the next four rounds tomorrow." Dumbledore finished and suddenly Hermione was beaming happily again. "Oh, and one house point for every point you earned in the tournament today."
Neville quickly packed up Harry's chess set feeling quite happy with himself. Three house points were an excellent result for him. He rarely got any at all.
On the way back to the common room he met Harry, who'd apparently just come in from the Quidditch pitch.
"Hi, Neville." he seemed a little depressed. "How was chess?"
"Great." Neville beamed. "I managed to win us three house points."
"By playing chess?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Yes, we got a point for each victory."
"Since when can Severus give out house points?" Harry asked with a slight snort.
"Not Severus, Dumbledore. The whole point system was his idea in the first place. I think Hermione has three as well. She lost to Flitwick." Neville reported hoping that would cheer Harry up. Quidditch always left him a little sad since he couldn't play anymore, but house points made everybody happy.
"Flitwick played in the Slytherin chess tournament?" Harry still didn't believe a thing.
"I think it's now the Hogwarts chess tournament." Neville decided. "And Dumbledore, Lupin and McGonagall played too, even Filch did. Only the Bloody Baron wasn't allowed, because he arrived too late. He gave some of the Slytherins tips, though."
"The two candidates for the keeper position are abysmal." Harry suddenly switched topic.
"I know." Neville nodded. "Severus and Ginny didn't think much of them when they heard the names. Severus said you should pick Nelly."
They had reached the common room by now and were beginning to climb the stairs to the boys' dormitories.
"Oh, so now Severus picks the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" Harry reached the dorm first and threw open the door.
He raced on towards his bed.
"Hey wait!" Neville called before Harry could throw himself onto the bed and close the curtains as was his habit when he came in disappointed after Quidditch. "Your chess set."
He held the box out to Harry who grabbed it and dropped it onto the bed.
"You can tell Severus . . ."
The moment the chess set touched the blanket there was a sudden clang and a huge blade slammed down cutting the mattress in half. The bed frame stopped it before it could fully reach the ground.
Harry and Neville stood and stared at the damage. Harry's mouth opened and closed a few times.
"Seamus." Neville finally managed to say. "It must be Seamus."
"But, but I'm sure I saw him at the pitch."
"But who else could set a trap inside our dorm? None of our other dorm mates would do something like that. Are you sure he was there the whole time?" Neville slowly sank onto his own bed. His legs just didn't want to support him anymore.
"It doesn't have to be a dorm mate." Harry swallowed, but the lump in his throat didn't disappear. "Anyone who can get past the Fat Lady can get in here."
He sank onto the bed beside Neville. "If you hadn't given me that chess set at that very moment..."
They stared at the broken bed in silence for a few more moments until the door opened and Dean walked in.
"What. . ." Dean began, but stopped as his eyes fell onto the bed and blade. His eyes widened. "A guillotine?"
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About an hour later all of Gryffindor knew. Students were shoving and pushing to get a peek through the door of the sixth year boys' dormitory where Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Flitwick were examining the newest attack site.
"This definitely doesn't include any severing charms." Dumbledore said eying the results of his detection spell. "In fact it looks like quite advanced magic was used to build this trap."
"Advanced and old." Flitwick agreed. "The parts were fashioned especially to be used as a trap as well. This took quite some time and planning just to design. Then it had to be built and the charms used on it are specially adapted. There was a highly complicated combination of a potion and charm on the blade which was removed before the trap was set, by the way. I can't determine what the purpose of that spell was, but it indicates that the purpose of the whole construction was not originally the one it was used for."
"So our traitor is a highly advanced wizard after all." McGonagall concluded.
"But why all those simple traps up until now, if he was working on this all the time?" Dumbledre asked slowly circling the contraption.
"I don't think this is the work of the traitor." Flitwick answered. "It's just too different from what we've seen so far. He bought or stole this from someone else and adapted it for his purpose by removing whatever magic was on the blade. The only spell here that I would attribute to the traitor himself is the one that triggered the trap."
Dumbledore nodded. "That one is identical to the one used in the first attack while I haven't seen the rest of them before."
"They are mostly small variations of charms we are all familiar with." Flitwick confirmed. "Whoever built this thought every detail of the production through. In fact I doubt this was the first of its kind. A lot of experimentation and experience probably went into its production."
"You think they're mass produced then?" McGonagall asked with slight alarm.
"It looks that way." Flitwick sighed.
"But what is their usual purpose?" Dumbledore asked. "You say the magic removed from the blade was the most complicated part of the design, so it is only reasonable to assume that it is the heart piece of the entire construction. Is there any way to determine what exactly it was or what it would have done, if it hadn't been removed?"
"The traces are much too weak to tell such details." Flitwick answered sadly. "The spell must have been very resistant to leave traces at all, though."
"Is there any way to . . ." Dumbledore started, but was interrupted by a gasp from the direction of the door.
"But that looks just like . . ."
Dumbledore turned and picked out the speaker from the crowd of curious onlookers. "Yes, Ms Weasley? What does it look like?"
Ginny blushed. "Nothing, Professor Dumbledore. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you."
"Oh, no no." Dumbledore assured her. "By all means tell us what this reminds you of. It might give us a clue."
"Well, it looks like one of Fred and George's jokes. They had one on display at their booth during the last Hogsmeade weekend, but it is their newest trick and still very expensive, so they didn't actually sell any." Ginny explained.
"A joke from the prank shop, I see." Dumbledore nodded. "And what exactly does that joke do?"
"Well, it's a guillotine and it does exactly what a guillotine is supposed to do." Ginny shrugged. "Only the blade turns insubstantial the moment it touches you, so it just glides through your body like a ghost. I tried it. It's fun and perfectly safe."
Dumbledore and Flitwick exchanged a look.
"It would be only logical for the spell that turns the blade insubstantial to be on the blade itself." Flitwick commented. "I believe we should contact the Weasley twins right away and ask them to have a look at this. We need to know whether this is one of their contraptions and if so, how many of them they have sold."
"But Fred and George's guillotine is absolutely safe." Ginny argued.
"As long as whatever magic turns the blade insubstantial is working." Dumbledore agreed. "On this one the magic on the blade was removed. If this can be done the design might not be safe to sell after all."
"You mean they'll have to withdraw them from the market?" Ginny looked devastated. "They were so expensive to develop."
"Maybe not entirely." Flitwick tried to console her. "It should be possible to add an extra safety precaution that makes it impossible for the blade to fall, if it's magic is tempered with."
"We'll seal off this room." Dumbledore decided. "The traitor might want to try and remove the evidence before the Weasleys see it. Add another bed to each of the other boys' dorms for the inhabitants. They are not allowed to get anything from this room."
"But my homework essays are in there!" Ron Weasley protested.
"My pyjamas!" added Harry.
"My hairbrush." Dean said a little sheepishly.
"My anti allergy potion." Neville said softly.
"You have my permission to hand your homework in late, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore twinkled happily. "Mr. Potter, you can borrow pyjamas in the hospital wing. I'm sure someone will let you use his hairbrush if you ask, Mr, Thomas."
"And Neville's allergy potion?" Ron demanded.
"Do you have to take that daily, Mr. Longbottom?"
Neville nodded.
"In that case try to get some at the hospital wing. If there is none available there, Professor McGonagall will get yours from the dorm for you."
To make sure that nobody could enter the dorm without her permission Minerva McGonagall locked and warded the door with her most advanced warding spell. Flitwick might have been able to do better, but then Minerva might have been unable to take it down again, if she did have to get Neville's potion.
"I just don't understand how the traitor got into the common room." she said once she was done. "The Fat Lady has been almost overcautious ever since the affair with Sirius Black. There have been several incidents when she refused to admit a first year, because she didn't recognise his face. I have to confirm in person that the children are indeed Gryffindors before she will let such students in."
"Maybe a Gryffindor let him in." Dumbledore suggested. "He might have pretended to visit a friend."
So their next stop was in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"No." the picture shook her head. "No students from other houses passed me today. I do not admit them easily and very few Gryffindors have invited friends from other houses since those horrible attacks started. I am absolutely sure. No one got past me."
"Then," Dumbledore said gravely. "We will have to assume that our traitor is a Gryffindor."
Shocked looks and gasps all around.
"But, but that can't be." McGonagall protested weakly.
"Like Severus always said, Minerva: It only takes one." Dumbledore reminded her. "We have occasionally seen a Gryffindor go dark before. I guess we are dealing with one of those rare exceptions once again."
The Gryffindors didn't sleep well that night.
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"You were right, Alice." Neville greeted the Slytherin sixth years when they came down to breakfast the next morning. "It's Seamus."
"How do you know?" Severus asked him sharply. "Are you absolutely sure?"
Neville nodded. "He struck in our dorm yesterday evening."
Severus listened closely as Neville told the story of the newest attack.
"That's no proof." he said finally. "It means the traitor is most likely a Gryffindor, but it might just as easily have been someone from a different dorm. All he had to do was make sure the dorm was empty when he went in to set his trap."
"But who else would it be?" Neville said. "It must be Seamus."
"He certainly is our top suspect now, but we need proof." Severus decided. "The dorm is locked, you say?"
"Yes, until the Weasley twins confirm whether the trap is theirs or not." Neville nodded.
"I want to take a look inside Seamus' trunk." Severus announced.
"What?!" Neville yelped. "It's locked and warded. You can't get in."
"I can." Severus said calmly. "I've had a lot of practise breaking into the trunks of my dorm mates. I doubt Seamus has much better wards than them."
"The ward that McGonagall set on the door is extremely strong." Neville hedged.
"I know. That's why I want to wait until the door is opened again." Severus agreed. "I'll need you to let Draco and me into Gryffindor and show us to Seamus' bed then. Can you do that for us, Neville?"
Neville gulped. This wasn't just any prank.
"What if we get caught?"
"We will have to make sure that we don't." Severus said. "Maybe skip class. I can get the schedules and find out when no Gryffindors have a study hour."
"Do it during the Quidditch game." suggested Estella. "We can cover for you, if somebody misses you and all the Gryffindors will be watching the game."
"Why do you two get to go?" Theodore pouted a little. "I'm the leader of this operation."
"And a good leader knows to use the best man for each job." Severus told him. "I'm the best at breaking in and Draco has the most experience working with me. In fact we also have the most experience working with Neville. We are the most effective team for the mission."
Theodore frowned, but nodded. "So what do we do until then?"
"Keep watching Seamus as closely as possible." said Neville.
"Try to identify other suspicious Gryffindors." suggested Estella. "If you're already inside you might as well search any other suspects as well."
Severus nodded. "We'll get the schedules, you try to find out which Gryffindors have contacts with suspected death eaters or at least dark wizards. Then we can check what classes they had during the other attacks."
"You'll have to ask the teachers to make sure." Juliana said a little nervously.
"I'll put on my most charming puppy look, then." Severus grinned. "The worst they can do is refuse to answer and send me away."
Everyone was giving the Gryffindors odd looks by the end of breakfast. People started avoiding them in the halls and inching away from them during class. Suspicious looks followed them wherever they went. Wherever possible the Hufflepuffs tried to stay closer to the Ravenclaws whenever there were Gryffindors around, and the Ravenclaws shifted closer to the Slytherins.
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That evening Draco and Severus lay on Draco's bed and quite openly discussed the Gryffindor alibis.
"So the first years had Herbology before the first and during the fourth attack." Draco summed up, History during the second and a study hour during the third."
"They couldn't have set the first trap, if they were really in Herbology and they aren't old enough to know severing charms." Severus commented. "Sneaking out on Binns is too easy, though. We'll have to ask Sprout about their alibis.'
"But she can give them two alibis, if she answers you." Theodore threw in. "That's good."
"No, she can't. You can see Hagrid's hut from the greenhouses." Draco argued.
"They can't do the spell." Severus interrupted. "That's their best alibi. The second years had Charms, a study hour, History and DADA. Flitwick and Remus are both very reliable and I'm sure I can get at least Remus to answer me."
"It would be really suspicious, if one student had missed both classes." Theodore agreed.
"And they have both with Slytherin." Blaise commented to everyone's surprise. "We can just ask our own second years to confirm their alibis, if the teachers won't answer."
"So I'll try to talk to the teachers, and you question the second years?" Severus asked.
"Let Gregory talk to the children." Theodore suggested. "He knows them better."
"Agreed." Severus nodded. "Third year then. Study hour, Care for Magical Creatures or Muggle Studies, Latin and Transfigurations. Muggle Studies and Transfigurations are the only ones that actually qualify as alibis."
"That's a problem." Theodore sighed. "We probably don't have a third year in Muggle Studies and none of us can charm McGonagall."
Vincent looked up from his exploding snap game with Gregory. "Can't Neville or Ginny ask her?"
"I doubt she'll give away anything." Draco said. "You know what she's like. Our best chance is probably, if Ginny or Neville has a friend in that class."
"What if that friend just happens to be the traitor, though?" Severus asked. "We can't rely on the information."
"Who do they have Transfiguration with?" Blaise demanded.
"Hufflepuff." Severus reported.
"Ginny knows a lot of Hufflepuffs." Draco suggested. "I'm sure she could find a third year for us."
"Fourth year: Transfigurations with Slytherin." Severus continued. "I'll have a talk with Susan. Potions. We can't rely on Professor Malfoy, but it's with Slytherin again. Transfigurations again, but that's no alibi for the attack in the Transfigurations corridor. And finally Ancient Runes. I'll have to check whether Susan takes that."
"We already asked Ginny about fifth year." Draco threw in. She says only Ambrosia Melter and Ulric Keaton don't have an alibi."
"Okay, then those two go onto our suspects list. I just hope Neville can find out where Melter sleeps without looking suspicious." Theodore decided. "What about our own year? They shouldn't have an alibi for any of the attacks as they're always with Harry."
"Not quite. Neville, Hermione and Dean were in Arithmancy during the second attack, and Parvati should have been in Muggle Studies during the fourth." Severus shook his head. "I don't consider any of them suspicious, though. We know them all. Seamus remains the only likely suspect."
"That leaves only seventh year then." Draco grabbed the list from Severus. "Arithmancy/Divination, study hour, Potions and Latin."
"How good are you with Pince?" Theodore asked Severus.
"Good enough, I think." Severus smirked. "She owes me for . . . something."
"Really, Pince?" Blaise sounded impressed. "What did you do?"
The whole group stared at Severus expectantly.
"Nothing I'd want the whole school to know."
"Oh." Gregory said a little disappointedly.
"You . . ." Theodore's eyes went wide. "You ratted out the third years?"
Severus sighed. Theodore was too clever by far. "They were dealing with dangers they didn't understand. Some of the books in the restricted section can be extremely shocking to little girls and . . ." he hesitated. "I knew about the drugs. Those are deadly. Mentioning the books to Pince looked like a good way to save their lives without getting involved with our drug ring."
"You knew about the ring that early on as well?" Theodore gasped.
"I could give you a list of Stephan's customers." Severus grinned. "Without proof of course, but I've been watching them for a while now."
"So why did you tell on the girls and not the rest?"
"I don't want a war with Stephan. He's too powerful and I can't keep leading the teachers to them by coincidence without them getting suspicious. Most of my suspected addicts aren't Slytherins and those that are, are mostly older than the girls."
"Who?" Vincent asked suddenly curious.
"What would you do with that list?" Severus asked him.
"Nothing."
"Then you don't need one."
"What are you doing with it?" Blaise challenged.
"Currently I'm planning to cross reference it with our suspects list." Severus answered calmly. "Besides that it makes good blackmail material, should I ever need something from one of them."
"Devious." grinned Theodore.
"No, cunning." returned Severus.
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About at that same time the Weasley twins arrived at the school. They had closed their shop early today so they could both take a look at the guillotine. The development of the trick had been very expensive for them and once this story got to the Daily Prophet it could ruin their business entirely.
The headmaster himself met them in the entrance hall and led them to Gryffindor tower. A curious crowd assembled behind them as they crossed the common room and walked up the stairs to the boys' dorms. Most of the faces were familiar to Fred and George. Only the first years were strangers.
Fred looked around for their brother and sister, but neither seemed to be there. He recognised the nervous faces of Seamus Finningan and Neville Longbottom, though, whom he knew to be friends of Ron. This had to be terrible for all the sixth year boys.
"This is Harry's dorm." Dumbledore said unnecessarily.
Neither Fred nor George reminded him that they were quite familiar with the inside of Gryffindor house. They had bigger worries right now.
Dumbledore undid the complicated ward on the door and let them in.
The room was messy. Clearly nobody had taken the time to make the beds or put away all the objects the inhabitants had had lying around. Fred forcefully had to tear his eyes away from a crumpled piece of parchment on Ron's nightstand to look at what was left of Harry's bed.
George was a little more courageous. He stepped closer and pulled back the curtain revealing the actual structure of the guillotine. It looked familiar. Too familiar for Fred's peace of mind.
As quietly as possible he stepped next to his brother and hesitatingly slid his hands over the wooden frame. There were the tiny rings to fix it to whatever structure was used to hold it upright.
"It was even set up exactly according to our instruction sheet." he whispered not even wondering why he felt the need for quiet.
"What do you think?" George asked just as softly. "First or second batch."
Fred checked the top of the construction. "Second. See, we made this slit a little wider in the later productions. If it were of the first batch, it would be thinner."
"We had occasional problems with the blade getting stuck at that point." George explained to the headmaster. "So Fred adapted the design a little."
"We didn't sell that many of the second batch, yet, though." Fred remarked. "Did any of them go to Hogwarts students?"
"One actually went to Hogwarts directly." George reported. "The customer was one Stephanie Farmer. Never heard of her before that, I'm afraid."
"Neither have I." Dumbledore answered with a touch of surprise.
"Nor I." confirmed McGonagall who'd been standing quietly in the back. "And I do know the names of all students I teach. There is no Stephanie Farmer."
Fred hadn't even noticed her arrival, but she must have been there for a while. He was busy examining the blade, though, which might account for his distraction. At first he'd assumed that the blade had been exchanged for an untreated one, but this proved to be untrue. This was their blade. It had exactly the same form and feel. Somebody had managed to break it's spells.
"There were safety spells on the blade." he reported. "This shouldn't have been possible."
"I detected traces of a strong charm that seemed to have been combined with a potion." Dumbledore agreed. "It was impossible to tell what exactly it was, though. The traitor seems to have removed it without problems."
"We'll have to recall them." George sighed. "We cannot risk leaving them out there, if they can be tempered with so easily."
"We never did think to protect them against intentional sabotage." Fred explained. "Only against malfunctions of the spells. We will have to develop additional safety spells that stop any attempts to take off the original safety spells."
"And those spells will have to be designed so they can only be countered by us."
"It should be possible, though." Dumbledore encouraged them. "And such signature spells will not only improve the safety, but also protect your products against copying. Once the spells are developed you will be able to use them on other products as well."
"The recall will cost us, though." George commented.
"Not as much as a ministry investigation." Fred reminded him. "As soon as this gets out the Daily Prophet will start accusing us and demanding a recall anyway. By announcing it before we're asked to we present ourselves as responsible businessmen who found an unexpected flaw in their product rather than irresponsible money makers who didn't care to make sure their product was safe in the first place."
"We'll have to return the money." George sighed again. "And business will probably slow down considerably for a while."
"It's only one relatively new product." Fred argued. "We can guarantee that all our older products are absolutely safe, even announce that the recall is a standard part of safety first policy."
"What safety first policy?" George asked his twin wide eyed.
"The one that is going to be a mayor part of our advertising from now on." Fred declared already beginning to cheer up. "It will convince our customers that they are buying quality products. In the long run it might even enable us to sell our jokes at a slightly higher price than our rivals."
"In that case I suggest you take the guillotine back to your production site for close examination by the experts. Maybe you will be able to determine how exactly the spell was lifted." Dumbledore suggested. "I will inform the ministry and the Daily Prophet that I granted your request to keep it and trust that you will supply the ministry with a complete report of your company's findings."
Fred smiled. That would look good in the Prophet and also meant that no picture of the guillotine could be published.
"Thank you headmaster." he nodded. "That will indeed aid our efforts to improve our products' safety greatly."
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No matter what his dorm mates thought about it, Gregory liked spending time with their youngest house mates. He supposed he just liked children. Maybe he should marry early and have a big family. About Weasley size. Draco would probably not approve, but then Draco was Draco and didn't like children and Gregory was Gregory who loved children.
The children for their part liked Gregory, too. Sometimes they even asked him for advise, though they rarely followed his suggestions. Gregory didn't mind. He knew he wasn't a particularly good problem solver and if the little ones were better served with a different solution, that was fine with him. He only felt bad about it, if whatever other path the child chose didn't work out and the little one got into more trouble.
Due to his good connections with the first and second years Gregory also knew how worried they were about that traitor thing. He thought it quite inconsiderate of the traitor to scare the poor little things like that. Children were supposed to be protected. That was why his mother had always cast those protection wards on him when he was that small, after all.
It had been a little shocking to him to find out that some of his classmates had never had protective wards to keep them safe. When he'd said so to Vincent his friend had thought it over for a day and then explained that it was logical that Muggle borns didn't know such wards. Their Muggle parents were unable to cast them after all. Vincent had also said that not all mothers used the same wards. That was understandable once Gregory saw how many different wards Professor Lupin knew. Parents just had to pick the ones they liked best.
What wasn't understandable was that Draco, who definitely wasn't Muggle born, didn't know any wards at all. Gregory knew for a fact that Draco's father was a really great wizard. His own father had told him often enough that Lucius Malfoy was a great man and was to be treated with lots of respect. If Lucius Malfoy liked you, that was very good. Narcissa Malfoy, too, was much more impressive than his humble, plump mother. If his mother could cast protection wards, then neither of the Malfoys could have a problem with that, could they?
So why didn't they protect their only son when he was little? Didn't they realise how important that was? Considering that Gregory could understand why the others thought Professor Malfoy might not want to help them find the traitor.
He sat down at the second years' usual table in the common room and smiled at the few present children in greeting.
"I need a little help from you." he announced.
"Help?" little Elena Wilder asked. "Help with what? We're only second years."
Gregory smiled. They looked up to him, because he was big and strong and they were tiny and weak and needed protection. "I need you to help me find the traitor, so I can protect you and all the other young ones."
Elton Rover looked up from his book on the dark arts at that. "No offence Gregory, but I don't think you can do that. You'd have to be really smart to catch him, or else the teachers would already have done it."
"I have really smart friends who think they can catch him." Gregory explained.
"Who?" sneered Luisa Hunter-Moor. "Vincent Crabbe? He may seem smart to you, but I very much doubt he'd impress Professor Malfoy, or even Lupin."
"Not Vincent." Gregory shook his head. "Vincent and I are just helping. It's Theodore that's looking for the traitor. Theodore and Severus and Draco and Alice and Estella. Severus and Estella are as smart as Hermione Granger. They'll find the traitor."
That silenced the protests. If Severus who co-taught DADA sometimes thought that that team stood a chance, then maybe it did.
"They have already figured out that the traitor is a Gryffindor." Gregory continued. "That's really good news, isn't it?"
Luisa rolled her eyes, but the other two nodded.
"Now Blaise found out that you had class with Gryffindors during two attacks and Theodore said to ask you, if any of them weren't there or behaved suspiciously." Gregory explained.
Luisa snorted, but Elton looked thoughtful.
"Holly Sanders is a little bitch." Elena declared. "She broke my quill."
"That's not suspicious, you idiot." hissed Luisa. "That's bullying and she's always done that. Gregory means whether any of them did something unusual during those classes."
"That would be the Charms lesson before the explosion in the great hall and the DADA class that was broken off last time." Elton concluded. "Quintus Palmer had to go to the hospital wing and he went to the bathroom during that DADA class."
"And Matt Simmons and Gordon Dorrge were whispering all lesson." Elena nodded.
"But they didn't leave class." Luisa almost sang. "They couldn't attack Potter by whispering."
"They could have known something, though." Elton commented. "Vestalia Flemming left class for a while, too. The DADA class, that is. I don't remember about the Charms one."
"She did. And so did Selina Mandrake." Luisa pretended to be bored.
"Selina was in DADA the whole time, though." Elton insisted. "As were the rest of the Gryffindors. It could only have been Vestalia or Quintus."
"But it might be worth questioning Matt and Gordon." Elena insisted. "They might know something."
Gregory nodded earnestly. "I'll tell Draco and Severus. They're making the list of suspects."
"I heard it was that Finnigan boy." Luisa challenged.
"He's the top suspect." Gregory confirmed. "But Severus says there's no proof, yet."
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Thistle – Actually, I needed a password for Albus when I wrote that scene and hadn't planned one ahead of time. I didn't want it to be any overused wizarding sweet, so I picked a Muggle one. Then I realised how odd it would sound to Draco and let him comment. The rest just grew from there. . . . Lucius isn't that high in favour thanks to his little problem with the law at the beginning of this fic and . . . well, as you now know the traitor's a Gryffindor and Luci doesn't like those. The two don't get on so well.
Preppygirl – All of Gryffindor is the suspects list right now. (Smirk!)
Pam Briggs – You think the Weasleys aren't death eaters, because they're poor? Somehow I think they have different reasons. Just because Luci is, doesn't mean all death eaters are rich. . . . Well, our traitor just ruled out the other houses for you.
Bazile – Well, here in Austria it's forbidden to eat or drink anything during class, so that goes for the normal tests and exams as well. (The Matura, our NEWTs, is the only actual end of year exam we have, all others are held during lessons all through the year.) An exception are the tests that last for two or more hours, though, since normally there is a break after each lesson to give you a chance to eat. Therefore you're allowed to eat or drink food that has been on your desk since before the test books were handed out as long as you do it quietly. It usually isn't candy, of course (I think the first one is at age fifteen, so the students would be sensible enough to bring something to actually feed them), but it's not expressly forbidden. Sugar is not considered an advantage. It's just bad for your teeth. (I never heard about 'sugar-high' from anybody that wasn't an American either. Seems a specialty of your culture.) . . . What teacher hands out candy?
Ezmerelda – Well, it looks very odd, if you're only 16. I think he was afraid of the teasing more than actually worried about his looks. . . . Or could he have his sights set on a girl again?
LaraLi – They think that it might be possible that there are two traitors, but Voldemort only spoke of one. Sevi still has a list of all students that don't have an alibi for one particulat attack, but they are working on the assumption that there is only one traitor only keeping the possibility of two in mind.
LindyM – I'm working as fast as I can. Two more chapters to go and I already have part of the next one written.
EriEka127 – Thanks.
Marauder3Moony – Well, he happened to be nosing around when Sevi needed to demonstrate the effects of gummy bears. Wrong place, wrong time, I guess.
JerseyPike – Human kindness? What kind of homework is that? Religion class?
holly – Could be that it influenced me. I took a long time to decide on a title for this fic and the one I returned to in the end was one of the first ideas that I had discarded a while ago. Don't remember where it originally came from, but it's early enough in the SR series that it might have been my source.
Iremione – Theo's chances of catching the traitor himself aren't that good, I'm afraid. But he#s participating in the search and will feel very pleased with himself once he's been caught. . . . I'm not sure about the name Drake. The difference between Severus and Draco is that Severus was a Latin name, Draco was a noun meaning dragon. I've never encountered Draco as a name in any language. (We have the name Severin in German, but the fact that Severus is accepted by German spell check is only due to it being the name of a Roman emperor. They're all in Word's German dictionary.) . . . Yes, Rabdan does sound Moslem. I was going for Indian, but the only Indian boys' name I know is Suki and I've actually met someone named Suki Singh. I didn't want to use the name of an actual person I know. . . . The Gryffindors are indeed beginning to get a bad name in this fic. Not so perfect after all. . . . Yes, Hermione might guess, but maybe she'll be willing to share anyway. She does respect Sevi's intelligence after all. She might guess the reason for Sevi's presence, if she finds out that Dumbledore knew about the traitor before the first attack. From her current point of view, though, Sevi was a child again long before anyone knew about the traitor. . . . Remus is the teacher that's closest to being immune to Sevi's puppy looks. He knows him too well. . . . Neville was also considering his fellow students' fear. Unlike his classmates he already knew the Slytherin/Hufflepuff vote's result and how scared some students from that class were. . . . Maybe, if I can fit it in. (And if I can remember them all!) . . . Sure, go ahead and write it. I'd love to see it, if there will be an English version. It would be really interesting to see. . . . Remus probably will show them a demon next year with no traitor running around. He'll have even more classes to show it to then. . . . Of course I noticed. I wrote it like that. . . . Ah, but was Luci defending Draco, or just his own family's honour? . . . No, Neville once again prevented the worst. . . . Our traitor does not have a time turner, so he isn't in two places at once. . . . Who else would know? . . . Didn't know you had a special love for Seamus. If he isn't the traitor he'll survive. (Actually the traitor will survive as well.) Harry got over being accused of being the heir of Slytherin, too. . . . Rita could get into serious trouble, if she does that, but not being able to write it will probably drive her to tears. . . . No, it's going fast now. Soon you will all know the truth.
Kayla Hemlock – Poor little Neville working for Voldemort after all that death eaters did to his family and what nearly happened to Trevor? . . . Office Space? Whatever is that?
Weasleylover – Actually there are only two chapters left after this one. Still considering whether I'll write an epilogue or not. The last one wasn't that popular and I don't want to hear that nonsense of: 'You can't write an epilogue without a prologue.' again.
Colibi – Thanks. This part probably wasn't, though.
hummer – Well, I suppose this chapter didn't help you make up your mind between those two much. Maybe next time.
futagoakuma-tenshi01 – That one (Last Lion) is actually a failed challenge. I had to write that plot hedgehog out of my head and didn't have time to continue the story even though several reviewers asked me to. Instead I asked them to finish it. Nobody ever tried. (Well, I heard there was an answer in Spanish, but I don't speak that language.)
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A/N: Who do you think will win the chess tournament? Will the Weasley twins discover what was done to their protections? And will Gregory someday get his big family? (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 talks to Minerva, Draco finds a picture book and we find out what happened in one of Lucius' uneventful Potions classes.
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 – I know, this is very late again. I was going to post yesterday, but then I realised the next chapter was getting too long and I want to end it at one particular point. This one was a little short, though, so I decided to pick a scene out of chapter 20 and add it at the end. The end of this chapter sounds a little odd now, but hey, it's an extra scene. You're not going to complain about that, are you?
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Chapter 19: The Weasley Guillotine
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"So, do you think you'll win next week?" Theodore asked Ginny between two slices of bacon.
He'd adjusted surprisingly well to having breakfast with two Gryffindors at the table.
"I certainly hope so." Ginny replied. "Hufflepuff is strong this year, though. It looks like it will be a good game."
"Everybody's talking about Quidditch." Neville complained. Wherever I go I hear 'The Hufflepuff team this, Harry's broom that'."
"Aren't you interested in the game then?" Severus asked reaching for another slice of toast.
"Well, of course I hope that Gryffindor wins, but I'm no Quidditch expert and know nothing about brooms." Neville sighed. "I just feel left out when there's no other topic for weeks. Even Seamus-watching has become hopeless since he noticed. He always manages to give me the slip."
"Want to play a chess tournament after dinner?" Severus suggested. "Draco will probably be out to watch the Gryffindor team's training, but I'm sure I can convince Theodore and Susan to play, maybe even Argus, if he has the time."
"Argus?" Neville asked confused. Just when he'd thought he knew most of the Slytherins.
"Argus Filch, the caretaker." Severus explained. "He's a decent player as long as he doesn't get distracted by Peeves."
"You're on first name basis with the caretaker?" Neville gasped.
"It's better than having a war with him." Severus shrugged. "He takes care of my raven and most of my detentions, after all."
Neville shook his head at that. "Chess with Filch. Well, it sure beats two hours of studying with Hermione. I'm in. Where do we play?"
"We usually use the set in our common room." Theodore commented.
"You'd let me into your common room?" Neville stared wide eyed.
"That might cause trouble." Severus agreed. "Maybe we'd better bring a chess set down here. It'll be more quiet, too. Remus hosts a very popular discussion group in the common room in the evenings. It doesn't start right after dinner, but will probably overlap with our tournament."
"Do either of you own a set?" Theodore asked.
Silence.
"No." Severus finally admitted. "Argus might, or maybe Remus. I know Albus does, but he usually plays with McGonagall on Wednesday evenings."
"Ron has one, and so does Harry." Neville reported. "And they're going to watch the Quidditch training, so they won't need them. I'm sure they'll lend me one as long as I don't say who I'm intending to play with."
The Slytherins laughed.
"What if they ask you?" Gregory wanted to know.
"Um . . . Filch?" Neville suggested. "Or maybe we could invite some Ravenclaw as well."
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"Harry guessed who I'm playing with right away." Neville confided at the beginning of Potions class. "He's lending us his set anyway."
"This is going to be big." Severus grinned back at him. "The entire Hufflepuff chess club is coming, a whole bunch of Slytherin fifth year girls and three Ravenclaws. We've also been able to arrange for four more chess sets and there might be even more players since we've sent out an open invitation."
Neville grinned. "Poor Ron. He'll have to decide between chess and Quidditch. His two favourite pastimes."
"He won't get much of a choice." Harry commented. "If he misses one more practise, he's off the team."
"Has he been that sloppy about his training, or is your captain so strict?" Draco asked.
"Neither. He missed too many practises because he was in detention." Harry frowned. "And I can't play for him, because of the flying ban. Your dear Daddy is sabotaging our team wherever he can."
"He isn't my dear Daddy." Draco hissed. "He's my father."
"What's the difference?" Harry asked puzzled.
"Respect." Draco stated. "But you foolish Gryffindors don't even have an idea what that is, do you?"
"That's too few mandrake slices again, Harry." Severus cut in before Harry could answer. "You need at least five more."
Harry grumbled something about snobbish, evil bastards, but went to get another mandrake for cutting anyway.
"Do you realise that if you help him too much his potion is going to stink up the whole class again?" Neville commented.
"No it won't." Severus shook his head. "That was just one of my pranks. Without it his icicles shouldn't smell at all."
"I wonder what would happen, if we added a gummy bear to his potion." Draco mused.
"The classroom would turn into a strawberry ice cave." Severus declared without hesitation.
"Cool." Neville grinned. "Lets do it."
"No, the original icicles took two days to clean out and that was only a small corner." Severus reminded them. "Where would we have Potions in the meantime? The old classroom still isn't repaired and Dumbledore will never allow Lucius to teach upstairs."
"So you're just going to lead Harry through the steps to recreate his potion?" Neville asked disappointed.
"Yes." Severus nodded. "As long as it doesn't interfere with our own project."
"Boring." commented Neville.
"We could sabotage Weasley's potion." Draco suggested.
"And get him detention so he'll miss the training?" Severus asked. "The Gryffindors would never forgive us. Try Seamus' potion instead. It's a poison so it might cause Lucius to panic again. That ought to be fun."
Five minutes later Seamus' cauldron exploded in a shower of rainbow colours that even left pretty glowing spots on everything they touched.
"Nice work, Draco." Severus commented. "Very artistic, but not quite good in the panic causing department."
Indeed Lucius had only raised an eyebrow and returned to his grading after a quick: "That'll be a minus today, Mr. Finnigan."
Seamus rarely ended up with a detention in Potions. For some reason Lucius seemed to actually like him. Maybe it had something to do with his interest in dark potions, or maybe the reason was something more sinister.
Thanks to Severus' guidance and suggestion to try adding five fly wings, rather than one, Harry finally managed to reconstruct his strawberry icicle potion and they all left class with their pockets stuffed full of delicious blue icicles.
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At dinner the excited whispering was louder than ever. Almost everybody that normally didn't join the chatter about Quidditch was talking about chess. Ron Weasley looked positively angry. Lucius had as usual given him another detention and he was going to miss both chess and Quidditch. The Gryffindors were probably already discussing possible new keepers.
At the end of the meal Harry waved Ginny over to where the rest of the Quidditch team was huddled together and when she came back she looked almost depressed.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked. "Did they kick you off the team?"
"No, no, with Harry banned I'm their only option as seeker, so they really can't, but Ron's off and with Andy Alcott already standing in for me as chaser we're left with the choice between Hendric First and Nelly Hayward for keeper. We're trying them both out at today's training."
"Pick Nelly." Severus advised at once. "You might as well play without a keeper as using Hendric the last."
"Have you ever even seen either of them play?" Ginny asked him surprised.
"No." admitted Severus. "But I have seen him brew a potion, set up his cauldron, clean his table. I've even seen him take over a minute to close a door. I cannot imagine him ever catching a quaffle."
"Well, I can't imagine Nelly, the nerd, on a broomstick." frowned Ginny. "Maybe we really should play without a keeper."
"Before you do that, just pick the fattest Gryffindor you can find and place him right in front of the center hoop." Estella advised. "That will at least block one hoop entirely."
Ginny buried her face in her hands. "I knew I shouldn't have asked you guys for advise."
Soon dinner was over and the Quidditch fans left for the pitch. On the Slytherin table a long row of chess sets was set up and excited students milled about. Mr. Filch appeared with an empty wastepaper basket and parchment, ink and a quill.
"Alright." he announced. "Everybody who wants to participate in the tournament, write your name on a piece of parchment and throw it into the basket. Then we'll ask one of the non-participants to draw the first pairings."
To Neville's surprise finding a non-participant turned out the hardest part of that. Dumbledore finally called on Mally to do the job. He also had to conjure three more chess sets so the players wouldn't have to wait.
Neville's first opponent was Eileen McDarren a first year Gryffindor. She turned out to be a terrible player, but fun to talk to. She didn't mind losing much either.
"I'll probably be last." she admitted. "But I just had to participate. This is so much fun."
Eileen didn't have to stop playing either. In the interest of better chances for everybody Dumbledore suggested that each winner should get a point and then people with the same number of points should be matched against each other.
Neville's next opponent was Susan Bones whom he just barely managed to beat. Then he lost his third game against Larissa Errold, a Ravenclaw seventh year, but won against Curtis Marston from Slytherin.
After the fourth round Dumbledore announced the end of today's game, though.
"There are only fifteen minutes left until curfew." he reminded the participants. "And we are nowhere near determining a winner."
Even Hermione, who had just lost to Professor Flitwick looked disappointed at that.
"So I say: Lets play the next four rounds tomorrow." Dumbledore finished and suddenly Hermione was beaming happily again. "Oh, and one house point for every point you earned in the tournament today."
Neville quickly packed up Harry's chess set feeling quite happy with himself. Three house points were an excellent result for him. He rarely got any at all.
On the way back to the common room he met Harry, who'd apparently just come in from the Quidditch pitch.
"Hi, Neville." he seemed a little depressed. "How was chess?"
"Great." Neville beamed. "I managed to win us three house points."
"By playing chess?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Yes, we got a point for each victory."
"Since when can Severus give out house points?" Harry asked with a slight snort.
"Not Severus, Dumbledore. The whole point system was his idea in the first place. I think Hermione has three as well. She lost to Flitwick." Neville reported hoping that would cheer Harry up. Quidditch always left him a little sad since he couldn't play anymore, but house points made everybody happy.
"Flitwick played in the Slytherin chess tournament?" Harry still didn't believe a thing.
"I think it's now the Hogwarts chess tournament." Neville decided. "And Dumbledore, Lupin and McGonagall played too, even Filch did. Only the Bloody Baron wasn't allowed, because he arrived too late. He gave some of the Slytherins tips, though."
"The two candidates for the keeper position are abysmal." Harry suddenly switched topic.
"I know." Neville nodded. "Severus and Ginny didn't think much of them when they heard the names. Severus said you should pick Nelly."
They had reached the common room by now and were beginning to climb the stairs to the boys' dormitories.
"Oh, so now Severus picks the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" Harry reached the dorm first and threw open the door.
He raced on towards his bed.
"Hey wait!" Neville called before Harry could throw himself onto the bed and close the curtains as was his habit when he came in disappointed after Quidditch. "Your chess set."
He held the box out to Harry who grabbed it and dropped it onto the bed.
"You can tell Severus . . ."
The moment the chess set touched the blanket there was a sudden clang and a huge blade slammed down cutting the mattress in half. The bed frame stopped it before it could fully reach the ground.
Harry and Neville stood and stared at the damage. Harry's mouth opened and closed a few times.
"Seamus." Neville finally managed to say. "It must be Seamus."
"But, but I'm sure I saw him at the pitch."
"But who else could set a trap inside our dorm? None of our other dorm mates would do something like that. Are you sure he was there the whole time?" Neville slowly sank onto his own bed. His legs just didn't want to support him anymore.
"It doesn't have to be a dorm mate." Harry swallowed, but the lump in his throat didn't disappear. "Anyone who can get past the Fat Lady can get in here."
He sank onto the bed beside Neville. "If you hadn't given me that chess set at that very moment..."
They stared at the broken bed in silence for a few more moments until the door opened and Dean walked in.
"What. . ." Dean began, but stopped as his eyes fell onto the bed and blade. His eyes widened. "A guillotine?"
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About an hour later all of Gryffindor knew. Students were shoving and pushing to get a peek through the door of the sixth year boys' dormitory where Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Flitwick were examining the newest attack site.
"This definitely doesn't include any severing charms." Dumbledore said eying the results of his detection spell. "In fact it looks like quite advanced magic was used to build this trap."
"Advanced and old." Flitwick agreed. "The parts were fashioned especially to be used as a trap as well. This took quite some time and planning just to design. Then it had to be built and the charms used on it are specially adapted. There was a highly complicated combination of a potion and charm on the blade which was removed before the trap was set, by the way. I can't determine what the purpose of that spell was, but it indicates that the purpose of the whole construction was not originally the one it was used for."
"So our traitor is a highly advanced wizard after all." McGonagall concluded.
"But why all those simple traps up until now, if he was working on this all the time?" Dumbledre asked slowly circling the contraption.
"I don't think this is the work of the traitor." Flitwick answered. "It's just too different from what we've seen so far. He bought or stole this from someone else and adapted it for his purpose by removing whatever magic was on the blade. The only spell here that I would attribute to the traitor himself is the one that triggered the trap."
Dumbledore nodded. "That one is identical to the one used in the first attack while I haven't seen the rest of them before."
"They are mostly small variations of charms we are all familiar with." Flitwick confirmed. "Whoever built this thought every detail of the production through. In fact I doubt this was the first of its kind. A lot of experimentation and experience probably went into its production."
"You think they're mass produced then?" McGonagall asked with slight alarm.
"It looks that way." Flitwick sighed.
"But what is their usual purpose?" Dumbledore asked. "You say the magic removed from the blade was the most complicated part of the design, so it is only reasonable to assume that it is the heart piece of the entire construction. Is there any way to determine what exactly it was or what it would have done, if it hadn't been removed?"
"The traces are much too weak to tell such details." Flitwick answered sadly. "The spell must have been very resistant to leave traces at all, though."
"Is there any way to . . ." Dumbledore started, but was interrupted by a gasp from the direction of the door.
"But that looks just like . . ."
Dumbledore turned and picked out the speaker from the crowd of curious onlookers. "Yes, Ms Weasley? What does it look like?"
Ginny blushed. "Nothing, Professor Dumbledore. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you."
"Oh, no no." Dumbledore assured her. "By all means tell us what this reminds you of. It might give us a clue."
"Well, it looks like one of Fred and George's jokes. They had one on display at their booth during the last Hogsmeade weekend, but it is their newest trick and still very expensive, so they didn't actually sell any." Ginny explained.
"A joke from the prank shop, I see." Dumbledore nodded. "And what exactly does that joke do?"
"Well, it's a guillotine and it does exactly what a guillotine is supposed to do." Ginny shrugged. "Only the blade turns insubstantial the moment it touches you, so it just glides through your body like a ghost. I tried it. It's fun and perfectly safe."
Dumbledore and Flitwick exchanged a look.
"It would be only logical for the spell that turns the blade insubstantial to be on the blade itself." Flitwick commented. "I believe we should contact the Weasley twins right away and ask them to have a look at this. We need to know whether this is one of their contraptions and if so, how many of them they have sold."
"But Fred and George's guillotine is absolutely safe." Ginny argued.
"As long as whatever magic turns the blade insubstantial is working." Dumbledore agreed. "On this one the magic on the blade was removed. If this can be done the design might not be safe to sell after all."
"You mean they'll have to withdraw them from the market?" Ginny looked devastated. "They were so expensive to develop."
"Maybe not entirely." Flitwick tried to console her. "It should be possible to add an extra safety precaution that makes it impossible for the blade to fall, if it's magic is tempered with."
"We'll seal off this room." Dumbledore decided. "The traitor might want to try and remove the evidence before the Weasleys see it. Add another bed to each of the other boys' dorms for the inhabitants. They are not allowed to get anything from this room."
"But my homework essays are in there!" Ron Weasley protested.
"My pyjamas!" added Harry.
"My hairbrush." Dean said a little sheepishly.
"My anti allergy potion." Neville said softly.
"You have my permission to hand your homework in late, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore twinkled happily. "Mr. Potter, you can borrow pyjamas in the hospital wing. I'm sure someone will let you use his hairbrush if you ask, Mr, Thomas."
"And Neville's allergy potion?" Ron demanded.
"Do you have to take that daily, Mr. Longbottom?"
Neville nodded.
"In that case try to get some at the hospital wing. If there is none available there, Professor McGonagall will get yours from the dorm for you."
To make sure that nobody could enter the dorm without her permission Minerva McGonagall locked and warded the door with her most advanced warding spell. Flitwick might have been able to do better, but then Minerva might have been unable to take it down again, if she did have to get Neville's potion.
"I just don't understand how the traitor got into the common room." she said once she was done. "The Fat Lady has been almost overcautious ever since the affair with Sirius Black. There have been several incidents when she refused to admit a first year, because she didn't recognise his face. I have to confirm in person that the children are indeed Gryffindors before she will let such students in."
"Maybe a Gryffindor let him in." Dumbledore suggested. "He might have pretended to visit a friend."
So their next stop was in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"No." the picture shook her head. "No students from other houses passed me today. I do not admit them easily and very few Gryffindors have invited friends from other houses since those horrible attacks started. I am absolutely sure. No one got past me."
"Then," Dumbledore said gravely. "We will have to assume that our traitor is a Gryffindor."
Shocked looks and gasps all around.
"But, but that can't be." McGonagall protested weakly.
"Like Severus always said, Minerva: It only takes one." Dumbledore reminded her. "We have occasionally seen a Gryffindor go dark before. I guess we are dealing with one of those rare exceptions once again."
The Gryffindors didn't sleep well that night.
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"You were right, Alice." Neville greeted the Slytherin sixth years when they came down to breakfast the next morning. "It's Seamus."
"How do you know?" Severus asked him sharply. "Are you absolutely sure?"
Neville nodded. "He struck in our dorm yesterday evening."
Severus listened closely as Neville told the story of the newest attack.
"That's no proof." he said finally. "It means the traitor is most likely a Gryffindor, but it might just as easily have been someone from a different dorm. All he had to do was make sure the dorm was empty when he went in to set his trap."
"But who else would it be?" Neville said. "It must be Seamus."
"He certainly is our top suspect now, but we need proof." Severus decided. "The dorm is locked, you say?"
"Yes, until the Weasley twins confirm whether the trap is theirs or not." Neville nodded.
"I want to take a look inside Seamus' trunk." Severus announced.
"What?!" Neville yelped. "It's locked and warded. You can't get in."
"I can." Severus said calmly. "I've had a lot of practise breaking into the trunks of my dorm mates. I doubt Seamus has much better wards than them."
"The ward that McGonagall set on the door is extremely strong." Neville hedged.
"I know. That's why I want to wait until the door is opened again." Severus agreed. "I'll need you to let Draco and me into Gryffindor and show us to Seamus' bed then. Can you do that for us, Neville?"
Neville gulped. This wasn't just any prank.
"What if we get caught?"
"We will have to make sure that we don't." Severus said. "Maybe skip class. I can get the schedules and find out when no Gryffindors have a study hour."
"Do it during the Quidditch game." suggested Estella. "We can cover for you, if somebody misses you and all the Gryffindors will be watching the game."
"Why do you two get to go?" Theodore pouted a little. "I'm the leader of this operation."
"And a good leader knows to use the best man for each job." Severus told him. "I'm the best at breaking in and Draco has the most experience working with me. In fact we also have the most experience working with Neville. We are the most effective team for the mission."
Theodore frowned, but nodded. "So what do we do until then?"
"Keep watching Seamus as closely as possible." said Neville.
"Try to identify other suspicious Gryffindors." suggested Estella. "If you're already inside you might as well search any other suspects as well."
Severus nodded. "We'll get the schedules, you try to find out which Gryffindors have contacts with suspected death eaters or at least dark wizards. Then we can check what classes they had during the other attacks."
"You'll have to ask the teachers to make sure." Juliana said a little nervously.
"I'll put on my most charming puppy look, then." Severus grinned. "The worst they can do is refuse to answer and send me away."
Everyone was giving the Gryffindors odd looks by the end of breakfast. People started avoiding them in the halls and inching away from them during class. Suspicious looks followed them wherever they went. Wherever possible the Hufflepuffs tried to stay closer to the Ravenclaws whenever there were Gryffindors around, and the Ravenclaws shifted closer to the Slytherins.
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That evening Draco and Severus lay on Draco's bed and quite openly discussed the Gryffindor alibis.
"So the first years had Herbology before the first and during the fourth attack." Draco summed up, History during the second and a study hour during the third."
"They couldn't have set the first trap, if they were really in Herbology and they aren't old enough to know severing charms." Severus commented. "Sneaking out on Binns is too easy, though. We'll have to ask Sprout about their alibis.'
"But she can give them two alibis, if she answers you." Theodore threw in. "That's good."
"No, she can't. You can see Hagrid's hut from the greenhouses." Draco argued.
"They can't do the spell." Severus interrupted. "That's their best alibi. The second years had Charms, a study hour, History and DADA. Flitwick and Remus are both very reliable and I'm sure I can get at least Remus to answer me."
"It would be really suspicious, if one student had missed both classes." Theodore agreed.
"And they have both with Slytherin." Blaise commented to everyone's surprise. "We can just ask our own second years to confirm their alibis, if the teachers won't answer."
"So I'll try to talk to the teachers, and you question the second years?" Severus asked.
"Let Gregory talk to the children." Theodore suggested. "He knows them better."
"Agreed." Severus nodded. "Third year then. Study hour, Care for Magical Creatures or Muggle Studies, Latin and Transfigurations. Muggle Studies and Transfigurations are the only ones that actually qualify as alibis."
"That's a problem." Theodore sighed. "We probably don't have a third year in Muggle Studies and none of us can charm McGonagall."
Vincent looked up from his exploding snap game with Gregory. "Can't Neville or Ginny ask her?"
"I doubt she'll give away anything." Draco said. "You know what she's like. Our best chance is probably, if Ginny or Neville has a friend in that class."
"What if that friend just happens to be the traitor, though?" Severus asked. "We can't rely on the information."
"Who do they have Transfiguration with?" Blaise demanded.
"Hufflepuff." Severus reported.
"Ginny knows a lot of Hufflepuffs." Draco suggested. "I'm sure she could find a third year for us."
"Fourth year: Transfigurations with Slytherin." Severus continued. "I'll have a talk with Susan. Potions. We can't rely on Professor Malfoy, but it's with Slytherin again. Transfigurations again, but that's no alibi for the attack in the Transfigurations corridor. And finally Ancient Runes. I'll have to check whether Susan takes that."
"We already asked Ginny about fifth year." Draco threw in. She says only Ambrosia Melter and Ulric Keaton don't have an alibi."
"Okay, then those two go onto our suspects list. I just hope Neville can find out where Melter sleeps without looking suspicious." Theodore decided. "What about our own year? They shouldn't have an alibi for any of the attacks as they're always with Harry."
"Not quite. Neville, Hermione and Dean were in Arithmancy during the second attack, and Parvati should have been in Muggle Studies during the fourth." Severus shook his head. "I don't consider any of them suspicious, though. We know them all. Seamus remains the only likely suspect."
"That leaves only seventh year then." Draco grabbed the list from Severus. "Arithmancy/Divination, study hour, Potions and Latin."
"How good are you with Pince?" Theodore asked Severus.
"Good enough, I think." Severus smirked. "She owes me for . . . something."
"Really, Pince?" Blaise sounded impressed. "What did you do?"
The whole group stared at Severus expectantly.
"Nothing I'd want the whole school to know."
"Oh." Gregory said a little disappointedly.
"You . . ." Theodore's eyes went wide. "You ratted out the third years?"
Severus sighed. Theodore was too clever by far. "They were dealing with dangers they didn't understand. Some of the books in the restricted section can be extremely shocking to little girls and . . ." he hesitated. "I knew about the drugs. Those are deadly. Mentioning the books to Pince looked like a good way to save their lives without getting involved with our drug ring."
"You knew about the ring that early on as well?" Theodore gasped.
"I could give you a list of Stephan's customers." Severus grinned. "Without proof of course, but I've been watching them for a while now."
"So why did you tell on the girls and not the rest?"
"I don't want a war with Stephan. He's too powerful and I can't keep leading the teachers to them by coincidence without them getting suspicious. Most of my suspected addicts aren't Slytherins and those that are, are mostly older than the girls."
"Who?" Vincent asked suddenly curious.
"What would you do with that list?" Severus asked him.
"Nothing."
"Then you don't need one."
"What are you doing with it?" Blaise challenged.
"Currently I'm planning to cross reference it with our suspects list." Severus answered calmly. "Besides that it makes good blackmail material, should I ever need something from one of them."
"Devious." grinned Theodore.
"No, cunning." returned Severus.
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About at that same time the Weasley twins arrived at the school. They had closed their shop early today so they could both take a look at the guillotine. The development of the trick had been very expensive for them and once this story got to the Daily Prophet it could ruin their business entirely.
The headmaster himself met them in the entrance hall and led them to Gryffindor tower. A curious crowd assembled behind them as they crossed the common room and walked up the stairs to the boys' dorms. Most of the faces were familiar to Fred and George. Only the first years were strangers.
Fred looked around for their brother and sister, but neither seemed to be there. He recognised the nervous faces of Seamus Finningan and Neville Longbottom, though, whom he knew to be friends of Ron. This had to be terrible for all the sixth year boys.
"This is Harry's dorm." Dumbledore said unnecessarily.
Neither Fred nor George reminded him that they were quite familiar with the inside of Gryffindor house. They had bigger worries right now.
Dumbledore undid the complicated ward on the door and let them in.
The room was messy. Clearly nobody had taken the time to make the beds or put away all the objects the inhabitants had had lying around. Fred forcefully had to tear his eyes away from a crumpled piece of parchment on Ron's nightstand to look at what was left of Harry's bed.
George was a little more courageous. He stepped closer and pulled back the curtain revealing the actual structure of the guillotine. It looked familiar. Too familiar for Fred's peace of mind.
As quietly as possible he stepped next to his brother and hesitatingly slid his hands over the wooden frame. There were the tiny rings to fix it to whatever structure was used to hold it upright.
"It was even set up exactly according to our instruction sheet." he whispered not even wondering why he felt the need for quiet.
"What do you think?" George asked just as softly. "First or second batch."
Fred checked the top of the construction. "Second. See, we made this slit a little wider in the later productions. If it were of the first batch, it would be thinner."
"We had occasional problems with the blade getting stuck at that point." George explained to the headmaster. "So Fred adapted the design a little."
"We didn't sell that many of the second batch, yet, though." Fred remarked. "Did any of them go to Hogwarts students?"
"One actually went to Hogwarts directly." George reported. "The customer was one Stephanie Farmer. Never heard of her before that, I'm afraid."
"Neither have I." Dumbledore answered with a touch of surprise.
"Nor I." confirmed McGonagall who'd been standing quietly in the back. "And I do know the names of all students I teach. There is no Stephanie Farmer."
Fred hadn't even noticed her arrival, but she must have been there for a while. He was busy examining the blade, though, which might account for his distraction. At first he'd assumed that the blade had been exchanged for an untreated one, but this proved to be untrue. This was their blade. It had exactly the same form and feel. Somebody had managed to break it's spells.
"There were safety spells on the blade." he reported. "This shouldn't have been possible."
"I detected traces of a strong charm that seemed to have been combined with a potion." Dumbledore agreed. "It was impossible to tell what exactly it was, though. The traitor seems to have removed it without problems."
"We'll have to recall them." George sighed. "We cannot risk leaving them out there, if they can be tempered with so easily."
"We never did think to protect them against intentional sabotage." Fred explained. "Only against malfunctions of the spells. We will have to develop additional safety spells that stop any attempts to take off the original safety spells."
"And those spells will have to be designed so they can only be countered by us."
"It should be possible, though." Dumbledore encouraged them. "And such signature spells will not only improve the safety, but also protect your products against copying. Once the spells are developed you will be able to use them on other products as well."
"The recall will cost us, though." George commented.
"Not as much as a ministry investigation." Fred reminded him. "As soon as this gets out the Daily Prophet will start accusing us and demanding a recall anyway. By announcing it before we're asked to we present ourselves as responsible businessmen who found an unexpected flaw in their product rather than irresponsible money makers who didn't care to make sure their product was safe in the first place."
"We'll have to return the money." George sighed again. "And business will probably slow down considerably for a while."
"It's only one relatively new product." Fred argued. "We can guarantee that all our older products are absolutely safe, even announce that the recall is a standard part of safety first policy."
"What safety first policy?" George asked his twin wide eyed.
"The one that is going to be a mayor part of our advertising from now on." Fred declared already beginning to cheer up. "It will convince our customers that they are buying quality products. In the long run it might even enable us to sell our jokes at a slightly higher price than our rivals."
"In that case I suggest you take the guillotine back to your production site for close examination by the experts. Maybe you will be able to determine how exactly the spell was lifted." Dumbledore suggested. "I will inform the ministry and the Daily Prophet that I granted your request to keep it and trust that you will supply the ministry with a complete report of your company's findings."
Fred smiled. That would look good in the Prophet and also meant that no picture of the guillotine could be published.
"Thank you headmaster." he nodded. "That will indeed aid our efforts to improve our products' safety greatly."
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No matter what his dorm mates thought about it, Gregory liked spending time with their youngest house mates. He supposed he just liked children. Maybe he should marry early and have a big family. About Weasley size. Draco would probably not approve, but then Draco was Draco and didn't like children and Gregory was Gregory who loved children.
The children for their part liked Gregory, too. Sometimes they even asked him for advise, though they rarely followed his suggestions. Gregory didn't mind. He knew he wasn't a particularly good problem solver and if the little ones were better served with a different solution, that was fine with him. He only felt bad about it, if whatever other path the child chose didn't work out and the little one got into more trouble.
Due to his good connections with the first and second years Gregory also knew how worried they were about that traitor thing. He thought it quite inconsiderate of the traitor to scare the poor little things like that. Children were supposed to be protected. That was why his mother had always cast those protection wards on him when he was that small, after all.
It had been a little shocking to him to find out that some of his classmates had never had protective wards to keep them safe. When he'd said so to Vincent his friend had thought it over for a day and then explained that it was logical that Muggle borns didn't know such wards. Their Muggle parents were unable to cast them after all. Vincent had also said that not all mothers used the same wards. That was understandable once Gregory saw how many different wards Professor Lupin knew. Parents just had to pick the ones they liked best.
What wasn't understandable was that Draco, who definitely wasn't Muggle born, didn't know any wards at all. Gregory knew for a fact that Draco's father was a really great wizard. His own father had told him often enough that Lucius Malfoy was a great man and was to be treated with lots of respect. If Lucius Malfoy liked you, that was very good. Narcissa Malfoy, too, was much more impressive than his humble, plump mother. If his mother could cast protection wards, then neither of the Malfoys could have a problem with that, could they?
So why didn't they protect their only son when he was little? Didn't they realise how important that was? Considering that Gregory could understand why the others thought Professor Malfoy might not want to help them find the traitor.
He sat down at the second years' usual table in the common room and smiled at the few present children in greeting.
"I need a little help from you." he announced.
"Help?" little Elena Wilder asked. "Help with what? We're only second years."
Gregory smiled. They looked up to him, because he was big and strong and they were tiny and weak and needed protection. "I need you to help me find the traitor, so I can protect you and all the other young ones."
Elton Rover looked up from his book on the dark arts at that. "No offence Gregory, but I don't think you can do that. You'd have to be really smart to catch him, or else the teachers would already have done it."
"I have really smart friends who think they can catch him." Gregory explained.
"Who?" sneered Luisa Hunter-Moor. "Vincent Crabbe? He may seem smart to you, but I very much doubt he'd impress Professor Malfoy, or even Lupin."
"Not Vincent." Gregory shook his head. "Vincent and I are just helping. It's Theodore that's looking for the traitor. Theodore and Severus and Draco and Alice and Estella. Severus and Estella are as smart as Hermione Granger. They'll find the traitor."
That silenced the protests. If Severus who co-taught DADA sometimes thought that that team stood a chance, then maybe it did.
"They have already figured out that the traitor is a Gryffindor." Gregory continued. "That's really good news, isn't it?"
Luisa rolled her eyes, but the other two nodded.
"Now Blaise found out that you had class with Gryffindors during two attacks and Theodore said to ask you, if any of them weren't there or behaved suspiciously." Gregory explained.
Luisa snorted, but Elton looked thoughtful.
"Holly Sanders is a little bitch." Elena declared. "She broke my quill."
"That's not suspicious, you idiot." hissed Luisa. "That's bullying and she's always done that. Gregory means whether any of them did something unusual during those classes."
"That would be the Charms lesson before the explosion in the great hall and the DADA class that was broken off last time." Elton concluded. "Quintus Palmer had to go to the hospital wing and he went to the bathroom during that DADA class."
"And Matt Simmons and Gordon Dorrge were whispering all lesson." Elena nodded.
"But they didn't leave class." Luisa almost sang. "They couldn't attack Potter by whispering."
"They could have known something, though." Elton commented. "Vestalia Flemming left class for a while, too. The DADA class, that is. I don't remember about the Charms one."
"She did. And so did Selina Mandrake." Luisa pretended to be bored.
"Selina was in DADA the whole time, though." Elton insisted. "As were the rest of the Gryffindors. It could only have been Vestalia or Quintus."
"But it might be worth questioning Matt and Gordon." Elena insisted. "They might know something."
Gregory nodded earnestly. "I'll tell Draco and Severus. They're making the list of suspects."
"I heard it was that Finnigan boy." Luisa challenged.
"He's the top suspect." Gregory confirmed. "But Severus says there's no proof, yet."
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Thistle – Actually, I needed a password for Albus when I wrote that scene and hadn't planned one ahead of time. I didn't want it to be any overused wizarding sweet, so I picked a Muggle one. Then I realised how odd it would sound to Draco and let him comment. The rest just grew from there. . . . Lucius isn't that high in favour thanks to his little problem with the law at the beginning of this fic and . . . well, as you now know the traitor's a Gryffindor and Luci doesn't like those. The two don't get on so well.
Preppygirl – All of Gryffindor is the suspects list right now. (Smirk!)
Pam Briggs – You think the Weasleys aren't death eaters, because they're poor? Somehow I think they have different reasons. Just because Luci is, doesn't mean all death eaters are rich. . . . Well, our traitor just ruled out the other houses for you.
Bazile – Well, here in Austria it's forbidden to eat or drink anything during class, so that goes for the normal tests and exams as well. (The Matura, our NEWTs, is the only actual end of year exam we have, all others are held during lessons all through the year.) An exception are the tests that last for two or more hours, though, since normally there is a break after each lesson to give you a chance to eat. Therefore you're allowed to eat or drink food that has been on your desk since before the test books were handed out as long as you do it quietly. It usually isn't candy, of course (I think the first one is at age fifteen, so the students would be sensible enough to bring something to actually feed them), but it's not expressly forbidden. Sugar is not considered an advantage. It's just bad for your teeth. (I never heard about 'sugar-high' from anybody that wasn't an American either. Seems a specialty of your culture.) . . . What teacher hands out candy?
Ezmerelda – Well, it looks very odd, if you're only 16. I think he was afraid of the teasing more than actually worried about his looks. . . . Or could he have his sights set on a girl again?
LaraLi – They think that it might be possible that there are two traitors, but Voldemort only spoke of one. Sevi still has a list of all students that don't have an alibi for one particulat attack, but they are working on the assumption that there is only one traitor only keeping the possibility of two in mind.
LindyM – I'm working as fast as I can. Two more chapters to go and I already have part of the next one written.
EriEka127 – Thanks.
Marauder3Moony – Well, he happened to be nosing around when Sevi needed to demonstrate the effects of gummy bears. Wrong place, wrong time, I guess.
JerseyPike – Human kindness? What kind of homework is that? Religion class?
holly – Could be that it influenced me. I took a long time to decide on a title for this fic and the one I returned to in the end was one of the first ideas that I had discarded a while ago. Don't remember where it originally came from, but it's early enough in the SR series that it might have been my source.
Iremione – Theo's chances of catching the traitor himself aren't that good, I'm afraid. But he#s participating in the search and will feel very pleased with himself once he's been caught. . . . I'm not sure about the name Drake. The difference between Severus and Draco is that Severus was a Latin name, Draco was a noun meaning dragon. I've never encountered Draco as a name in any language. (We have the name Severin in German, but the fact that Severus is accepted by German spell check is only due to it being the name of a Roman emperor. They're all in Word's German dictionary.) . . . Yes, Rabdan does sound Moslem. I was going for Indian, but the only Indian boys' name I know is Suki and I've actually met someone named Suki Singh. I didn't want to use the name of an actual person I know. . . . The Gryffindors are indeed beginning to get a bad name in this fic. Not so perfect after all. . . . Yes, Hermione might guess, but maybe she'll be willing to share anyway. She does respect Sevi's intelligence after all. She might guess the reason for Sevi's presence, if she finds out that Dumbledore knew about the traitor before the first attack. From her current point of view, though, Sevi was a child again long before anyone knew about the traitor. . . . Remus is the teacher that's closest to being immune to Sevi's puppy looks. He knows him too well. . . . Neville was also considering his fellow students' fear. Unlike his classmates he already knew the Slytherin/Hufflepuff vote's result and how scared some students from that class were. . . . Maybe, if I can fit it in. (And if I can remember them all!) . . . Sure, go ahead and write it. I'd love to see it, if there will be an English version. It would be really interesting to see. . . . Remus probably will show them a demon next year with no traitor running around. He'll have even more classes to show it to then. . . . Of course I noticed. I wrote it like that. . . . Ah, but was Luci defending Draco, or just his own family's honour? . . . No, Neville once again prevented the worst. . . . Our traitor does not have a time turner, so he isn't in two places at once. . . . Who else would know? . . . Didn't know you had a special love for Seamus. If he isn't the traitor he'll survive. (Actually the traitor will survive as well.) Harry got over being accused of being the heir of Slytherin, too. . . . Rita could get into serious trouble, if she does that, but not being able to write it will probably drive her to tears. . . . No, it's going fast now. Soon you will all know the truth.
Kayla Hemlock – Poor little Neville working for Voldemort after all that death eaters did to his family and what nearly happened to Trevor? . . . Office Space? Whatever is that?
Weasleylover – Actually there are only two chapters left after this one. Still considering whether I'll write an epilogue or not. The last one wasn't that popular and I don't want to hear that nonsense of: 'You can't write an epilogue without a prologue.' again.
Colibi – Thanks. This part probably wasn't, though.
hummer – Well, I suppose this chapter didn't help you make up your mind between those two much. Maybe next time.
futagoakuma-tenshi01 – That one (Last Lion) is actually a failed challenge. I had to write that plot hedgehog out of my head and didn't have time to continue the story even though several reviewers asked me to. Instead I asked them to finish it. Nobody ever tried. (Well, I heard there was an answer in Spanish, but I don't speak that language.)
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A/N: Who do you think will win the chess tournament? Will the Weasley twins discover what was done to their protections? And will Gregory someday get his big family? (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 talks to Minerva, Draco finds a picture book and we find out what happened in one of Lucius' uneventful Potions classes.