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 – We are nearing the end, people. Soon we will know who the traitor is.
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Chapter 20: Inside Gryffindor Tower
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Severus caught Susan on the way back to the common room after breakfast. As usual she was quite willing to do anything for him in return for DADA homework. Potions homework no longer was worth anything. After all, all Lucius ever asked for were a few lines on anything remotely related to the topic. Juliana had actually managed to get a plus for copying a paragraph from a make up advise column once.
"I'm not sure about the first time." Susan reported. "We didn't really connect it with the attack until a while later and weren't really bothered by it then. The second was during Potions and the class was in chaos. Dennis Creevey's potion had exploded and the room was a mess. Manny students especially Gryffindors had been splattered with potion and everyone was busy trying to dry off or clean their belongings. Dennis was cooling is hand at the sink, so we kept running to the bathroom for water. I was lucky enough to sit far away from the Gryffindors so the potion hadn't reached my desk. That left me free to wash Lyra and Odessa's desk while Odessa was washing the potion off Lyra's face."
Severus paled. "Her face!"
"It was nothing." Susan assured him. "Only a small drop on her cheek and other than be a little hot it didn't do anything."
"And just what did Lucius do about it?" Severus sighed trying not to think about what could have happened.
"Well, he gave Dennis a minus and called him an idiotic mudblood." Susan sounded a little doubtful.
Severus swallowed the first three comments that came to his mind and decided to slightly change the topic. "So Dennis was at the sink the whole time. Do you remember what other Gryffindors were actually hurt and didn't go to the hospital wing?"
Susan closed her eyes trying to picture the scene. "Dinah Rossburry. She blocked the first sink in the bathroom. Then there was Marty Mells next to her. He'd been working with Dennis and was probably the most seriously hurt aside from Dennis himself. Juno Cornstet used the third sink to wash the potion out of her sleeve, but I don't think she was actually hurt. She returned to the classroom before the class was cancelled. I remember she was trying to stop the spilled potion on the floor from spreading when the announcement came."
"Dinah and Marty were still in the bathroom at that time?" Severus asked.
"Yes, they were still in there when I passed it on the way back to the common room."
"Do you remember any of the other Gryffindors?" Severus pushed. "Sally Arden? Alina Urrig? Nelly Hayward?"
"Alina was shrieking about her book bag the whole time." Susan grinned. "It unfortunately lay right in the middle of the biggest puddle on the floor. She eventually managed to wash the potion out of most of her belongings, but all the books and parchment were ruined. The potion turned out to be quite sticky when it dried. I don't remember Nelly or Sally, but Carla took the cauldrons off the fire and Claudette collected the surviving ingredients. Alex cleaned Dennis' table, Monty was with Dennis most of the time. Did I miss anybody?"
"Luke Denninger, Rudolph Rash and Killian Grayburn." Severus listed without hesitation.
Susan shrugged. "Sorry, I don't remember. I will ask my classmates, though."
Severus nodded. "Do you take Ancient Runes?"
"Yes?"
"What Gryffindors were in class during the fourth incident then? Do you remember?"
"Of course." Susan beamed proudly. "Nelly and Juno were sitting right in front of me, then Rudolph and Marty next to them and Luke sat with Justin from Hufflepuff."
Severus nodded again. "That leaves Sally Arden and Killian Grayburn without an alibi. When you ask your classmates about that Potions class remember to pay special attention to those two. And try asking about the first incident as well. Maybe somebody remembers something."
When Severus returned to his dorm he only added the name Sally Arden to his 'official' list, though. He'd ask McGonagall about Killian Grayburn, but he doubted she'd have forgotten to mention his absence. And while he was at it, he could also start investigating the third years.
Luckily he didn't have a class to go to, so this was the ideal time to catch one of the teachers he needed to talk to. He only had to make up his mind which one. He had Charms, Herbology and DADA today anyway, which meant that catching Flitwick, Sprout and Remus wouldn't be a problem. That left McGonagall and Pince.
McGonagall was the less pleasant and he needed Pince to confirm the alibis of the seventh years, who were naturally more suspicious than the third years, but there was the additional matter of Killian Grayburn.
In the end it was a look at the timetables that decided him. Pince had the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw sixth years right now and Severus didn't want Harry and friends to overhear their conversation. Who knew what they might get up to, if they had part of Severus' suspects list. It was bad enough that they were investigating Seamus on their own.
McGonagall on the other hand would have the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff fifth years. That meant Severus even had a chance to find Draco there, who'd gone off to talk to Ginny. Meeting Draco meant not to have to face McGonagall all alone, which Severus tended to avoid. The Transfigurations teacher hadn't really been unpleasant to him in class lately, but Severus still considered her the scariest teacher he knew. Yes, including Lockhart, though that was a difficult choice. McGonagall knew what she was doing after all, so the risk of suffering a fatal accident in her class was minimal. Lockhart on the other hand was capable of accidentally killing someone with a lumus spell. Then again Lockhart was easily outsmarted.
Or maybe it was just that Severus had never had to suffer being taught by Lockhart. Teaching alongside him had been bad enough.
Unfortunately Draco wasn't there when Severus arrived outside the Transfigurations classroom. Neither was McGonagall. The fifth years were standing outside in the corridor making it quite obvious that the door was still locked.
Ginny waved at him from a group of girls standing a little in the back and Severus walked over to join them. It was, predictably, a group of Hufflepuffs. The Gryffindor girls were right in front of the door and completely ignoring the Hufflepuffs.
"Good news, Severus." Ginny smiled. "Nala has a very good friend in third year that she will introduce me to at lunch."
Nala nodded happily. "You'll like Hannah. She's such a sweet girl. Everybody loves her. If she doesn't remember your answers, she'll know somebody who will."
"Hannah Hayhall?" Severus asked and Nala nodded again. "Muggle born, isn't she? Excellent. A Muggle born has no reason to cover for the traitor."
And she had excellent memory, too, Severus remembered. Hannah was a tiny dark haired girl whose interests seemed to be everything that wasn't studying, but she still had good grades most of the time thanks to her ability to reproduce almost anything she heard in class. If only she'd been a little more interested in her grades, she could have made an excellent Ravenclaw, or else have proven the cliché of the stupid Hufflepuffs wrong once and for all.
"You really think any Hufflepuff would?" Olivia Mason stared at him wide eyed.
"Professor McGonagall, too, was completely convinced that her house was firmly on Potter's side." Severus told her. "And now we have proof that the traitor is a Gryffindor."
"Harry's parents were betrayed by one of their fellow Gryffindors, too." Ginny added. "You can never tell just by somebody's house."
The Hufflepuffs cast cautious glances over at the Gryffindors. Colin Creevey tried to answer with a reassuring smile, but Doris Meyer who stood nearest to him just inched a little closer to her group and looked nervous.
"That one is cleared, you know." Severus remarked. "He has an alibi for three of the attacks, is Muggle born and almost worships Potter."
"He was there when Harry's broom was cut." Katarina Orloff argued. "And he stalks him with that camera."
"He's one of our beaters." Ginny returned. "I'm part of the Quidditch team, too, and you're not suspecting me, are you?"
"You're not a stalker." Katarina insisted. "Colin is weird, I tell you."
"He's Muggle born and a little excitable." Severus shrugged. "He'll get over the culture shock in time."
"Do you think it's one of our year?" Olivia asked nervously.
"I bet it must be a boy." Doris said. "How would a girl get into the boys' dorms?"
"Just walk in when nobody's there?" Severus suggested.
"But the stair posts wouldn't let her through." Doris protested.
"Stair posts?" Severus asked.
"Oh, you mean when the stairs turn into a slide?" Ginny exclaimed. "But that only happens when a boy tries to get into the girls' dorms. Girls can enter the boys' dorms just fine."
"No, when the banister closes to block the stairs." Nala insisted. "And it definitely happens on both stairs."
"Nothing happens when you enter the boys' dorms." Ginny repeated. "I've been up there."
"You have?" The Hufflepuffs stared wide eyed.
Ginny blushed. "My brothers showed me their dorms when I first arrived here and I also went to see the scene of the last attack. Nothing at all happened."
"Then Gryffindor has different safeguards than Hufflepuff?" Olivia wondered. "But why?"
"How about Slytherin?" Nala asked Severus. "Do your stairs close, or do they form a slide?"
"Neither." Severus said. "They don't do anything. I've been in the girls' dorms and have seen girls in the boys' dorms."
"Strange." Nala decided. "We'll have to ask a Ravenclaw about that."
Severus however had a bigger problem to think over. How could he search the female suspects' trunks, if there was an enchantment keeping boys from entering their dorms? Could he teach Ginny how to pick locks? But the wards on the traitor's trunk would probably be very advanced and if they really were going to use the Quidditch game as their cover, Ginny would have to be on the pitch. There was no chance that a missing chaser would be overlooked.
Maybe Estella? The girl was very clever and quiet enough that her absence might go unnoticed. Then again she wasn't that skilful when working with her hands. Millicent had all the subtlety of a battering ram and Pansy's absence definitely would attract attention. That left Juliana and Alice. He'd have to start practising with both of them and see which one showed more aptitude.
Or would the stairs let an adult in? He was still a teacher at this school. If he changed back into his adult form, he might have a chance to get through. One more question he had to ask McGonagall.
The Transfigurations teacher arrived late and sent her students hurrying into the classroom with her stern look. Apparently whatever had kept her from starting her lesson on time hadn't been pleasant and she was in a particularly unpleasant mood. The look she cast at Severus wasn't exactly welcoming. Severus considered turning tail and trying Professor Pince after all, but he just had to know about the stairs.
He looked down at the little hedgehog in his arms. Just why hadn't he thought to leave his pet behind when he'd decided to talk to McGonagall?
Greenie blinked his little dark green eyes at him and inquired: "Sniff?"
Severus decided to take that as encouragement. He slipped into the classroom after the students and waited next to McGonagall's desk as she handed out twigs to turn into lizards. Oh, how well he remembered that disastrous lesson!
"Mr. Snape!" McGonagall only noticed when she turned around to return to her desk. "Are you volunteering to repeat this lesson?"
Several Gryffindors snickered. Obviously his Gryffondor classmates had been telling tales.
"Actually, I need to talk to you." Severus said. "Maybe you have a few minutes once the class starts practising?"
"Don't you have a class of your own to be in?" McGonagall demanded.
"I've got a study hour." Severus explained. "And the problem is rather urgent. It's because of Potter, you see."
"Harry?" McGonagall nodded to show that she'd caught the hint. "I thought it was Ron and Seamus that were always teasing you about your Transfigurations accidents?"
"Same difference." Severus declared pouting a little. "They behave like they're the greatest just because they can turn a stick into a lizard and I can't, but not a single one of them can brew a pepper-up potion without supervision."
"And you can?" Mariah Farson smirked at him from her seat in the first row.
"I could do it blindfolded." Severus hissed. "And you'd better watch your twig. It's grown legs."
Mariah squeaked and quickly recaptured her escaping twig before it could run over the edge of the desk, a very real danger for a creature that had neither eyes nor a sense of balance.
"Very well." McGonagall gave in. "Why don't you wait for me in my office while I explain the exercise to my overeager students." With a flick of her wand she turned the legs of Mariah's twig back back into ordinary unmoving wood.
About five minutes later Professor McGonagall finally sat down at the desk in her office.
"That ought to give us about ten minutes until they start getting loud or crying for help." she estimated. "What did you want to know, then?"
"Killian Grayburn." Severus stated.
"Killian? What about him?" McGonagall asked surprised.
"I have a witness who confirms almost all fourth years' alibis, but she doesn't remember whether Killian was in Potions during the second incident." Severus told her matter-of-factly. "She also doesn't remember the Transfigurations lesson before the first incident. According to my list only Sally Arden and Rudolph Rash don't have an alibi through that, but I'd like you to confirm Killian's presence during the entire lesson."
"Of course, if Killian had left class at any time, I would have said so." McGonagall looked slightly affronted.
"Good, then I don't have to add him to my suspects list." Severus nodded. "And the third years that missed the lesson or left class during the fourth incident?"
"Caius Rude and Miles Miller." McGonagall confirmed. "I thought Albus already told you that?"
"He did, but I'm checking all of Gryffindor house once again after the latest attack. We have been concentrating on Slytherin too much and I'm worried that something might have slipped by us."
"We placed a spy in the wrong house." McGonagall sighed. "We should have tried to transform Albus rather than you. With a little trickery his absence wouldn't even have been noticed."
"Albus wouldn't necessarily make a good spy. He'd probably spend his time sneaking into Honeydukes and playing Quidditch and forget half his suspects list all the time." Severus shrugged. "I have one more problem, though. Ms Weasley says that the stairs to the Gryffindor girls' dormitories won't let a boy pass."
"That's correct." McGonagall confirmed. "They are enspelled to throw them off in order to prevent 'mischief'."
"Would they let me pass in my adult form?"
"What?"
"I need to take a look into my main suspects' trunks." Severus explained. "I won't steal anything and the trunks will look untouched afterwards, but I need to check for any hints of dark arts activities. My list includes several girls."
"You want me to let you into Gryffindor house? The students will want to know why. You're Slytherin, you. . ."
"I've already arranged all that. You needn't know about it. I wasn't aware of the spell on the stairs at the time, though. All I need from you is the information whether I can pass those stairs. Otherwise I will have to find a female lock picking expert somewhere in this school and I only have a week."
"We can have the trunks searched like Remus did with his third years." McGonagall suggested. "Just tell me which students you need."
"That will attract attention. The traitor will be warned as soon as you open the first trunk and unless he happens to be the first you search, he will have time to remove the evidence."
"I don't like this." McGonagall admitted. "It's a break of privacy."
"I searched almost all of Slytherin house like that and aside from Maximius Mattels I doubt anybody noticed it."
"Maximius Mattels?"
"His trap poisoned me. I didn't have time to reset it, if I wanted to get to the hospital wing in time. I assume he noticed that."
"Poisoned?" McGonagall looked a little green. "You have students that use poison on their trunks?"
"I do." Severus answered calmly. "I suppose your students' locks won't be that tricky, will they?"
"No, doubtlessly not." McGonagall declared. "I don't know how the spell will react to you, though. I don't even know who originally cast it. It does admit the head of Gryffindor, of course, and Albus can pass it as well, but then he once was head of Gryffindor. I don't know whether it will admit another teacher."
"Know any good and trustworthy lock picks?"
"Fred and George Weasley." McGonagall answered immediately. "I believe Ginny has some skill at it as well, though she's never been a prankster."
"Unfortunately Ginny will not be available at the time I'm planning to sneak into Gryffindor." Severus sighed. "I'll probably have to train someone to do the job."
"How about Ms Granger, then?" McGonagall suggested. "She's a prefect and absolutely trustworthy."
"But doesn't have the right skills. Lock picking is tricky. You need concentration, patience, a strong feeling for magic and excellent fine motoric skills. A steady hand and good hearing are basic requirements as well."
"In that case I'd recommend Heathcliff Haley, if you didn't need a girl."
"Heathcliff Haley?" Severus asked surprised. That certainly wasn't somebody he'd have considered.
"First year Gryffindor." McGonagall explained. "He has the extraordinary talent to overhear anything you don't want him to, the unique skill to direct itching powder into Sandy Mortimer's robes while sitting two rows behind her and never looking up from his pincushion, the ability to concentrate so well on his excuses that you never catch him contradicting himself and the patience to tear a five rolls long essay into ant sized pieces despite the constant loud protests of its writer."
"Charming." Severus commented. "How do we know that he isn't the traitor?"
"He's Muggle raised. Can't tell the difference between swishing and flicking his wand. Filius is actually beginning to doubt his intelligence, but I assure you that he's quite clever. I can't see how he'd perform a severing charm, though."
"Oh well. I'd better start looking for my lock pick then." Severus decided. "Thank you for your time. Professor."
"Just a moment Severus!" McGonagall called him back. "At least tell me which ones of my students you intend to search."
"So far Seamus Finnigan, Quintus Palmer, Vestalia Flemming, Ulric Keaton, Ambrosia Melter and Sally Arden." Severus listed. "I haven't completed my investigations of the first, third and seventh years, yet, so they're not on the list and I might still take some of them off, if I get any further information on them."
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After informing Alice and Juliana of the change in plans Severus slept through another History of Magic lesson, something or other about the classification of dangerous creatures. Severus bet Hagrid could have explained it in under five minutes and kept his students' attention while doing it.
While both he and Draco failed to catch Professor Pince before lunch Ginny had no problem finding the Hufflepuffs. When the boys arrived in the great hall she was already sitting at the Hufflepuff table smiling and chatting happily.
Severus used that time to explain the stair problem to Theodore and the rest. Neville's eyes became very wide as he listened to the resulting discussion.
"You're suspecting the girls as well?" he asked finally.
"Of course." Severus nodded. "They can get into the boys' dorms too, after all."
Ginny came over right after they'd finished the meal and reported the results of her talk with little Hannah.
"Hannah doesn't take Muggle Studies." she explained. "I guess that was to be expected since we knew that she's Muggle born. She'll ask one of her friends who do take it for a list of the Gryffindors in the class, though. The Transfigurations class during the fourth incident gives an alibi to most third years anyway. Only Caius Rude and Miles Miller remain and Hannah knows that Miles takes Care for Magical Creatures."
"So he can't take Muggle Studies at the same time." Severus agreed. "Caius Rude doesn't seem to be the type to take Muggle Studies either, so we can probably place both of them on our list already."
The Slytherins' first afternoon class was Herbology with the Ravenclaws. Severus was now partnered with Miranda Deering, which was even less pleasant than working with Eric Farran. Puberty didn't do that girl particularly good, Severus decided.
Miranda had a problem making up her mind. She'd start potting a plant, then undo it, stuff it into a different pot, undo it again and chose the first one after all. Then she'd place it on a shelf, take it down again and put it on a different shelf . . . And all of that while talking non-stop.
Even the most stoic students were known to be driven into yelling and throwing pots by prolonged partnership with Miranda Deering. The third time Miranda re-potted a re-potted plant Severus succeeded in driving her into tears. Lisa Turpin had the misfortune to be assigned to accompany her to the hospital wing for some "calming potion . . . er . . . I mean nerve calming potion, of course."
Professor Sprout's hasty correction didn't stop the class from bursting into laughter. In fact Severus saw nothing of course about it. Calming potion would be just the right thing for Miranda and the entire class knew it, he was sure.
After that incident nobody was surprised when Severus and Draco remained behind after the lesson saying they needed to talk to Sprout. The Ravenclaws probably assumed he meant to ask when she would finally reassign partners again.
"As far as I remember they were all in glasshouse one the entire time." Sprout said when asked about the Gryffindor first years before the first incident. "Except . . . I did send two of them to get more pots from the shed. Heathcliff and Kevin, I think. They seemed to take very long to return at first, but after I saw what they did to the shed and its surroundings, I don't know how they managed to do it in such a short time."
"You think it was Haley and Mallister?" Severus asked. "Just how sure are you?"
"Not entirely. It might have been Heathcliff Haley and Charles Bowler. I'm sure about Haley, but I didn't know the class that well back then. If I had, I'd have picked two Hufflepuffs. The Gryffindors of that year are a disaster. They're running completely wild. Minerva seems to be able to control them as long as she keeps them in her sight, but the moment she turns around they pick right up where they left off."
Severus and Draco exchanged a look. They'd both heard the Slytherin first years' complaints about the Gryffindors and had noticed them as a noisy crowd during meals, but hadn't thought much of it. Hearing a teacher complain about them like this put the Gryffindor first years into a new perspective.
Maybe there was one capable of performing a severing charm in that group after all?
"We don't really know them at all." Severus admitted. "Can you tell us a little about the individual members of the class?"
Outside the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins were collecting in a big crowd. Draco waved a greeting at Ginny and the Slytherins.
Professor Sprout opened the door and stuck out her head. "Just continue with the projects you were working on last lesson. I have to arrange a detention with these two pranksters here and might take a while."
She closed the door again and smiled at Severus. "Don't worry, they're reliable. They haven't gotten up to any mischief in class ever since Ulric Keaton was almost devoured by the flesh eating ferns last year. Some of them still refuse to enter that greenhouse. So what would you like to know about the Gryffinpack?"
"Just who they are and what particular problems there are with each of them." Severus shrugged. "Anything that seems unusual. Professor McGonagall already told me about Haley, but what of the rest?"
"Well, there's the already mentioned Kevin Mallister." Sprout sighed. "He's probably the worst, in my opinion. Likes to make fun of others, makes jokes at their expense and enjoys it most when he knows he's hurt someone's feelings. His usual partner in crime is Charles Bowler who prefers the more hands on version of bullying. The boy is absolutely ruthless and rude, but unlike Mallister he doesn't seem to actually enjoy hurting people. He probably doesn't realise when he's going too far. Then we have Salvatore Antonelli whose special talent is charming himself out of trouble. He's an excellent liar. In fact I doubt whether he even knows how to tell the truth at all. He seems to prefer lying."
"Nice combination." Draco commented. "And that's just the boys?"
"Oh, not even all of them." Sprout sighed again. "We still have Hugh Arver. He usually leaves his classmates alone, but likes to challenge authority. The prefects are afraid of him and Argus has had to resort to physically restraining him on several occasions. Rumour has it that Remus only manages to control him, because he threatened to bite him. I don't even want to know what Lucius does with him."
"Probably nothing." Draco declared. "He rarely asks us to do anything anyway."
"Bet that I could solve that problem for you?" Severus grinned.
"No thumbscrews. And no whipping or crucioing either." Sprout reminded him. "Well, then we have the girls. Darla Johnson never pays attention and refuses to take anything seriously. Sometimes she doesn't even show up for detention, because she has 'something more interesting to do'. Yes, that's a verbatim quote. Eileen McDarren likes to pick on anyone smaller than her. Her special hobby is making people cry. From what I've seen her favourite target is Missy Clay, but according to Minerva what she does to Missy is nothing compared to how she treats Sandy Mortimer. Lemona Daring is aggressive and lazy. I've tried everything I could think of to motivate her, but she refuses to cooperate. Sometimes I think she's making things difficult for me deliberately. Christa Charter throws temper tantrums and refuses to partner anyone other than Eileen. If she is put together with Eileen however that usually means at least one of my students will be crying and bleeding before the end of class. On her own Eileen is trouble, in combination with Christa she's dangerous. The last member of the class is Cornelia North, who'd probably be completely unproblematic, if she had ended up in any other house. She seems to originally have been a normal, healthy, girl, maybe a bit small for her age. That unfortunately has made her a target for all the bullies in her class and since she is in the same house and has all her classes with them there is no escape for her. She's afraid of her classmates, isolated and thoroughly unhappy. As a result she hates Hogwarts and everything that has anything to do with it."
After some discussion they decided to add Heathcliff Haley, Charles Bowler and Kevin Mallister to he list of suspects. One of them had an alibi, but since they weren't sure which one, it seemed best to keep an eye on all three of them. By that time the fourth lesson of the day was almost over and Professor Flitwick wasn't very happy when they arrived with a hastily scribbled note signed by Sprout, but quite obviously written by Draco.
Being late gave them an excuse to stay after class to talk to the teacher, though.
"You're questioning all the teachers about the Gryffindors' alibis again?" Flitwick asked a little surprised when they explained their wishes. "It's still Vestalia Flemming, Quintus Palmer and Selina Mandrake. All the rest were in class."
"We just want to be sure." Severus confirmed. "Our own second years think Holly Sanders, Matt Simmons and Gordon Dorrge are very suspicious as well."
Flitwick shook his head. "I'm sure all three were in class the whole time. Mr Dorrge and Mr Simmons are inattentive and sometimes disruptive and Ms Sanders' behaviour isn't the best either, but they could not have set the trap."
Theodore actually looked surprised when they showed up for DADA on time.
"There wasn't much to discuss with Flitwick." Draco whispered into his ear. "He just confirmed what Gregory found out from the second years."
"So all we need now are the seventh years?" Theodore asked a little too loudly.
Some of the Hufflepuffs looked over at them curiously.
"I want to ask Remus about the second years as well." Severus decided. "Maybe he knows something that will clear one of them. We have too many suspects to search already. Unless the game is unusually long we'll be caught before we can complete the mission."
"You're planning to get caught?" Theodore yelped drawing even more attention.
"Not with our hands in an open trunk, I hope." Severus answered. "But I doubt we'll get out of Gryffindor house unnoticed. There's no way you can warn us when the game ends, so the best we can hope is to pretend that we're visiting Neville. Our agent in the girls' dorms will be the one most at risk, because she has no excuse to be in there. It would be best, if she could complete her mission fast, then join us in the boys' dorms, before the first Gryffindors arrive. If they find our whole group in Neville's dorm, that will be least suspicious."
"The common room would be better." Draco commented.
"But our first warning will be the moment somebody enters the common room. That person would notice, if we all ran down from the dorms then. Better to pretend Neville was just showing us his dorm when they arrived."
Remus cleared his throat and gave them a reproachful look. It was surprising how easily one could bring a horde of Slytherins to attention once one had their respect.
"As promised, today I'm going to tell you how to defend yourselves against demons." he announced. "I will explain about methods to banish them as well as ways to ward them off. Ways to actually hurt a demon will not be part of this lesson, as I intend to start teaching you some of the spells I'm about to tell you of next week. Hurting a demon usually requires a great amount of power, more than an average witch or wizard should invest into a single spell. Some of you might not be able to release that much power at once at all, others would completely drain their reserves and not be able to cast another spell for several minutes afterwards. Even the strongest of you would be considerably weakened. It is generally not advisable to put too much energy into a single spell, but especially risky in a defensive situation. You can never be sure that your spell will have the desired effect, or that the first attacker is indeed the only danger present. A second attack that catches you weakened from the first spell could mean your death."
Several Hufflepuffs paled.
"Therefore I am going to show you the most energy efficient ways to defend yourselves rather than the most spectacular. A banished demon might not have suffered any harm, but it is definitely out of the battle for good. A ward will not harm it either, but will protect you against a possible second demon as well as the first."
"Will you tell us how to hurt demons, if we ask outside of class?" Blaise asked eagerly.
"We can talk about the theory in our discussion group, but I will not teach the actual spells."
"Oh, please, Professor." begged Theodore.
"I can not teach you something I never learned myself, Mr. Zabini." Remus sighed. "I never had a teacher for that. You could perhaps ask Severus about it. I believe his father was quite an expert on demons and probably knew such spells. Maybe he taught him one or two."
Severus nodded. "They are borderline dark arts, though, and can be quite unpleasant for the caster as well. My father actually summoned demons to study them and therefore needed to actually control them. For simple defense he too recommended banishment. It is the fastest, easiest and most lasting method."
"Banishing spells first then." Remus announced.
The lesson was quite interesting and Draco completely forgot about their suspects list over it. Luckily Severus remembered, though Remus once again just confirmed the names Vestalia Flemming and Quintus Palmer.
A visit in the library early the next morning to see Professor Pince resulted in Eudora Scattering added to the list as the final suspect.
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Severus and his group milled about the Quidditch stands early before the game started. This way people would remember seeing them if somebody wondered where they were later on. Hopefully they'd just assume they'd disappeared somewhere among the crowd.
They had picked Juliana to sneak into the girls' dorms. Alice was just too nervous when working under pressure. In Severus' opinion Juliana wasn't particularly suited either, though. She just wasn't fast enough, but thanks to Hufflepuff's excellent team and Harry's banishment from flying the game promised to be long. That should give her all the time she needed to break into four trunks. Then again how long would it take her to find the right ones? Ginny had drawn them a plan of the girls dorms, but except for Ambrosia's she'd been unable to mark the suspects' beds.
As the first players flew onto the pitch the three secret agents snuck back into the castle to meet Neville outside the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Slytherins, Neville?" the painting complained right away. "You know that is not advisable."
"Oh, come on." Neville rolled his eyes at her. "You yourself are the witness that proved that the traitor is a Gryffindor. My friends are only here to help."
The Fat Lady frowned, but let them through. Juliana slipped through the hole first and stopped abruptly almost causing Draco to crash into her.
"What's wrong?" Severus asked from behind.
Juliana hastily stepped aside to let the rest of the group in. "It's . . . erm . . . very . . . red."
Indeed it was. Very red and very golden.
"A little overly ostentatious." Draco decided. Clearly a phrase his father had drilled into him. "And red, yes."
"Well, it would be." Severus stated. "But it does look uncomfortable. Red's just too vibrant to decorate a whole room in."
Neville shrugged. "I don't mind. I guess you get used to it after a while. I sort of like our common room."
"Sniff!" commented Greenie and snuggled into a fold of Severus' robes.
"Even the hedgehog thinks it's ugly." Juliana grinned.
"Well, we don't have to look at it." Severus declared. "We didn't come for a sightseeing tour. Lets get to work."
Juliana nodded and hurried up the girls' stairs. She'd head for the seventh years' dorm first. Most likely Eudora Scattering's trunk would be hardest to open and if she did get caught in the act, they'd agreed that it was best, if it happened in the second years' dorm. The second years were less likely to know spells Juliana couldn't counter.
Severus and Draco followed Neville up to his own dorm.
"I want to start with Seamus." Severus decided as they climbed up the stairs. "He is the most suspect. Draco, you can take our three first years. If one of them has anything on his trunk that won't open after the second alohomora, get me."
"I can crack a lock at least as well as Juliana." Draco protested.
"I know that, but a fist year shouldn't know any locking spells that resist alohomora. If one of them is that advanced, I want to see what's in his trunk."
"The first years' dorm is right through that door." Neville pointed. "Heathcliff and Kevin have the first two beds. I don't know about Charles."
"Thanks." Draco smiled at him. "I'll find him. Most first years have their name on their trunks anyway."
He opened the door.
"Severus?"
"Yes?"
"The beds are red, too."
"Oh. Well, it's their house colour."
"How can anyone sleep in a red bed?"
"Sniff!" Greenie seemed to be waking up. Maybe he'd smelled something edible?
"I suppose they have no other choice and you don't see it in the dark."
The sixth years' dorm wasn't any different. Five very red beds stood in a room with way too much gold decoration. At least that was Severus' opinion. Neville didn't seem to mind, but then Neville had been living here for years.
"There, that's Seamus' bed." Neville blushed a little. "The room's a bit messy, but I couldn't quite tell them to clean up because I'm expecting visitors. They left in a bit of a hurry anyway. Didn't want to miss the start of the game, but Dean couldn't resist sleeping in."
Severus knelt in front of the trunk and started to examine the lock. It didn't look or feel unusual in any way. Either the spells on it were very well disguised, or Seamus didn't expect anyone to try to break in.
"Won't they be suspicious, because you didn't go with them?"
"Hardly." Neville sat down on his own bed to watch. "They tend to overlook me and know I'm not particularly into Quidditch. If they remember me and bother to wonder where I am, they'll probably assume I'm watching the game with you guys."
A revealing spell didn't bring any results either.
"Alohomora?" Severus tried and the trunk sprang open. "This is just too easy."
"Why? You told Draco to get you, if a trunk didn't respond to alohomora."
"A first year's trunk." Severus reminded him. "A first year is not supposed to know an advanced locking spell, or a severing charm. If we find one that knows one, there's a chance he knows the other as well. Seamus however is a sixth year and our main suspect. He's supposed to know all sorts of advanced charms and to have things to hide."
Seamus' trunk was even messier than his bed, which meant that Severus didn't have to be careful about putting things back exactly. He checked the titles of some books, sniffed cautiously at some potion ingredients, leafed through a photo album and finally found some letters from Seamus' parents. Separate letters with separate return addresses.
"His parents are getting a divorce?"
"What?" Neville jumped up. "He never said!"
"Well, that would explain his behaviour. I've often seen similar reactions to divorces in Slytherins, at least."
"Have you found nothing suspicious at all?"
"Some of the books are in the grey zone and the ingredients aren't necessarily the proper equipment for a student, but nothing outright dark or illegal. He clearly has an interest in the dark arts, but as long as it's only for curiosity's sake there's nothing wrong with that. Where would we find DADA teachers, if it were illegal to study the subject?"
"So we try one of our other suspects?"
"Ulric Keaton." Severus decided. "He's the oldest of the remaining suspects."
On their way to the fifth years' dorm Severus stuck his head through the open door of the first years' dorm. "Found anything, Draco?"
"Stuffed animals." Draco sighed obviously annoyed. "Chocolate frog cards, gobstones, exploding snap cards, colouring books, plastic toys, even a picture book. What does an eleven year old want with a book titled Micky Goes to the Zoo?"
"Anything suspicious, I mean?" Severus clarified.
"You don't think Micky is suspicious?" Draco grinned. "Hey, where's Greenie?"
"Neville has him." Severus shrugged. "You know what kind of suspicious I mean."
"No, nothing of that kind. Even their stuffed animals are mostly light colours."
"Okay, we'll be in the fifth year dorm next. Meet us there when you're done here."
Ulric kindly had a name plaque on his trunk which opened to a light alohomora and a little tap against the Muggle style padlock. The smell inside almost made Severus wish it hadn't, though.
"Ew, why doesn't he hand his old socks to the house elves for cleaning?" Neville asked and covered his nose with the hand that wasn't holding Greenie.
"Maybe the smell is his protection against spies like us?" Severus suggested.
"Hurry up." Neville urged him. "Even Greenie can't stand the smell."
"Of course not. His nose is his most important orientation tool. It's much finer than ours." Severus returned. "Whatever is that?"
That consisted of pieces of metal, string and spellotape. Neville stared at it.
"A tangled muddle?" he guessed. "Or a muddled tangle?"
"They seem to be tied together on purpose." Severus disagreed. "Maybe it's a prank utensil?"
"Maybe that is his next trap!" Neville squeaked. "Be careful. It might be poisoned."
"It doesn't even have any sharp edges. If this is supposed to be part of a trap it must be meant to hold something and there's nothing else in here that looks suspicious."
"Then lets take that thing with us and close the trunk." Neville suggested.
"No, he'd know that we searched him, if it's gone." Severus returned the thing to its original position.
"I'm done with the first years." Draco stood in the door. "Nothing interesting at all unless you're interested in a collection of candy wrappers."
"We're done in here as well." Severus reported closing Ulric Keaton's trunk. "We're going on to third year. Can you go back down the stairs until you can see the entrance? Don't go too far, just so you'll see when the portrait opens. Don't wait to know who's coming just come back up and warn us."
"And what do we do then? If we try to run out, they'll see us."
"Then we'll run into Neville's dorm and pretend we've been sitting on his bed for a while."
Caius Rude's trunk was easily identified and Neville found a second labelled trunk, but there was no hint which of the rest belonged to Miles Miller.
"We'll have to open them." Severus decided. "But let me check Rude first."
"I can open them for you, if all it takes is an alohomora." Neville offered.
"Okay, but don't set off any alarms. If something looks odd, leave it for me."
Caius seemed to have a fascination with Ancient Rome. There were books, pictures, even some clumsy drawings of Romans, Roman houses, Roman artifacts. Caius was even writing an essay about the Roman emperors. Severus wondered whether that could get him an extra plus from Binns. Probably not, since Roman Muggles weren't on the Hogwarts curriculum. Poor Caius. All that effort for no reward. Well, maybe he'd find out some things about his namesake Ceasar.
There also was a small photo album that showed Caius' family and their pets and a few pictures of Caius and his friends at Hogwarts. Severus left a magical mirror alone. It would have been interesting to know who answered it, but if that person was indeed a death eater he'd be very curious to know what Severus was doing with Caius' mirror.
"This looks a little more suspicious than the other two, but still nothing near the things I found in Slytherin. None of them are in posession of any truly dark objects."
"I can't open this one." Neville reported. "It has to be Miles' trunk. It's the only one I haven't checked, yet."
"Just a moment." Severus quickly returned the photo album to its place and closed the trunk.
He walked over to the still closed trunk and cast a revealing spell over the lock. Nothing. Apparently there wasn't any spell on it at all.
"What spells have you tried on it and what were the results?"
"Well, I started with alohomora, but the lock just clicked and didn't open. So I tried apero next, then declaudus. Both times there was no result at all. I would have had to put Greenie down to try anything stronger than that and I don't think we want him to run off in here."
"Definitely not." Severus agreed and crouched in front of the lock. He could see the slit, but not where the lock closed.
He ran his hands over the lock, then all around the trunk. He didn't feel any magic anywhere on it. A revealing charm on the whole trunk didn't yield any results either.
Severus sat back on the floor and stared at the offending trunk.
"Sniff?" Greenie questioned struggling in Neville's grip in an attempt to get to Severus.
"Not yet, Greenie. We're not done. I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong with this trunk. There's no reason it should still be closed . . . unless . . ." Severus grabbed a hold over and under the lock and pulled. "Aha!"
He let go and tapped the trunk on the sides with both hands and it sprang open.
"How did you think of that?" Neville stared.
"With experience. Your alohomora spell opened the lock but the trunk itself is so old that it doesn't fit exactly anymore and gets stuck."
The inside was just as disappointing. "Clothes, a chess set, some parchment and reserve bottles of ink."
"That last one is a little too big for an ink bottle." Neville remarked.
Severus lifted the robe that was draped over the bottles a little higher. "You're right. That's another of those Muggle pill bottles."
"Drugs?"
"Maybe. Miles is Muggle born, though, so it could be a prescription from a Muggle healer."
"So what does that mean then?"
"That we didn't find anything suspicious in this trunk. Lets try Quintus Palmer."
They almost collided with Juliana on the way out.
"I did it. " she beamed. "They were much easier to open than the ones we practiced on."
"Excellent." Severus said without stopping. "What did you find?"
"Eudora Scattering has the biggest collection of perfume bottles I've ever seen."
"Maybe not all of it really is perfume." Severus hinted. "Anything dark arts related?"
"Nothing. Books. Erotica to be precise. The kind of things you don't want your parents to catch you with."
"So she reads them in school where they can't see her." Severus nodded and opened the door to the second years' dorm. "The others?"
"Ambrosia Melter hoards sweets like Eudora perfume. I grabbed you a pack of gummy bears. She had six, so I doubt she'll notice."
"I love you, Juliana." Severus commented while quickly scanning the trunks for name tags. "Looks like we'll have to open all of these. Alohomora. What about Sally Arden?"
"Some books on the dark arts. Alohomora. But nothing that actually teaches them. They were mostly on the History of the dark arts. Whose trunk are we looking for?"
"Quintus Palmer." Neville volunteered. "Alohomora."
"Oh, this one belongs to some Peter Starwood." Juliana said a little disappointedly.
"And I just had Gordon Dorge and this one is Matt Simmons'." Severus reported.
"This is it. I found it." Neville announced.
Juliana and Severus started towards the trunk Neville had just opened, but never reached it.
"They're coming!" Draco dashed into the room. "I thought you were in third year?"
"Done." Severus replied curtly and waved them towards the door. "Hurry Neville, close the trunk."
They hastened past the staircase.
"Five hundred to twenty." someone moaned below. "I can't believe Hufflepuff trounced us like that. Hufflepuff!"
"I don't even want to think about what will happen, if we have to play Slytherin without Harry." that one sounded like he was already on the stairs.
Severus pulled the door shut behind them as Neville threw himself onto his bed. Juliana took her cue from him and sat down on the one opposite from him. Severus dropped himself onto the floor between them and Draco sat next to Neville.
"Look innocent." Severus ordered. He picked Greenie out of Neville's arm and put him on the floor in front of him. "Come on, Greenie, explore."
Juliana pulled a plastic bag out of her pocket. "Gummy bear, anyone?"
"Sure." Neville beamed. "Thanks."
Severus hesitated for a moment, but then tried a bear as well.
"We need to talk about something innocent." Neville fidgeted.
Draco looked around for a topic. "Hey, what's that?" He stretched across the floor towards a slightly burned piece of parchment that lay under one of the candles.
"Oh, just some letter Ron was about to burn when thy left for the game." Neville answered as Draco grabbed a hold of the parchment and pulled it in. "When they took off without him he threw it at the candle and dashed after them. I guess he meant for it to burn entirely up there, but it fell past the candle and I had to extinquo it."
"Well, then." Draco smirked as the door opened behind him. "Lets see what Weasley's dear Mummy writes."
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Pam Briggs – The guillotine was purchased via mail order under an assumed name. It could theoretically have been Lucius who bought it. ... Yep, we are getting to the end. ... Still wondering whether I should write that epilogue or not. I think I might make that a poll.
Kate Wisdom – Gee, and I always fell asleep in 'Geography and Study of Economy' (Yep, that is about what the subject is called here.). I never learned a thing about business, but that much is logical, isn't it?
Kinzey – Thanks. That one was my first HP fic and first fic I ever posted. I originally expected it to be done in a single chapter ... I've learned a bit about realistic expectations of length since then, I guess. This one is much closer to the size I planned it for.
EriEka127 – Thanks.
Kage Shijo – Um ... someone pretending to be Percy is trying to murder Harry at Hogwarts while in Voldemort's captivity/in St Mungos/at the burrow? I'm afraid Percy has an alibi for every single attack and if there were two Percys running around there'd still be the small fact that anyone who saw him would know he's supposed to have graduated several years ago.
Keika no Kaiyou – It's the Gryffindors I tell you: Always jumping to conclusions. You have to be really careful what you say around them.
Thistle – Severus? Yes, could be. Flitwick, Remus and Albus are strong opponents, though. ... Fred and George are definitely doing the best they can to help find the traitor. They're really worried about poor little Harry. ... Poor Greg will have to find a wife that wants to give him a big family ... Hm ... Oh, Millicent ...
Preppygirl – Oh, I do hope the dorm is big enough for Seamus to fit in. Actually I hope it's big enough to fit him and all his dorm mates at the same time. Where else would they sleep? ... Well, in order to run a successful business the twins just had to grow up a little.
Marauder3Moony – Soon, very soon you all will know ...
Iremione – Huh? What two evil Slytherins? My Slytherins are all sweet and harmless, Minnerva. It is your Gryffindors that always cause the trouble. ... Of course Neville will defeat the dark lord. Who else could? ... Whether Harry will manage more such delicious sweets, though ... Ginny is his son's girlfriend. Luci would never give her detention and unfortunately that leaves no other Weasleys than Ron in his power to play with. ... Next attack ... well, there will be another attack, but it won't be on Harry. In other words: We're almost done. ... Draco claims he doesn't like children. Maybe he even believes he doesn't like children, but he's still considering becoming a teacher. ... No, no eating in class. No bubblegum either. That is in fact particularly bad. (It's demonstrating rebellious attitude, I think, and then they end up sticking to the furniture all the time ... No, teachers do not like bubblegum. ... Remember Bubbles in RD?) ... Drago doesn't sound so bad, but I think it's Greek, not Latin. ... I don't think Hermione has thought that far. She probably will next chapter, but not up until now. ... Oh, I can't wait to see that idea of yours! ... Life isn't fair. Seamus will live. ... Greenie? How on earth would Greenie cast a severing charm? (Especially when the only time he was close enough was the first attack.) ... Somehow I suspect you'd have guessed by now, even if I hadn't told you who the traitor is long ago. ... Well, at least somebody once told me she'd write an answer to the Last Lion. No, it wasn't you. I don't have any proof that she actually posted it.
Kalieris – Well, who could not love a little green hedgehog? (Aside from mad-women like Trelawney) ... Okay, I was so sure of pot plant that I checked my dictionary which told me you're partially correct. I should have spelled it pot-plant, but that's just as passable as potted plant. (And seriously I don't mind if the did transfigure cannabis plants. I just needed something to shove under their noses and make a mess with.) ... As for Remus, I'd written him as a Slytherin in MNS long before the fifth book came out. Up to then there had been one hint that he might have been a Gryff, but no proof, and I like Remus. I'd put Ginny, Luna and Neville into Slytherin too, if I could.
wellington – You know where I live? Somehow I doubt that. ... I'm updating anyhow, though.
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A/N: Whatever might that weird tangled muddle be? Where did the picture book come from? And who is about to enter that dorm? Please R/R.
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Next: Severus needs to explain the effects a gummy bear has on his magic, Draco is attacked and Lucius has to act fast to save his traitor.
Disclaimer 2 - Draco drawing dragons belongs to PikaCheeka. Sorry I forgot to mention that in the first chapter of MNS. I sort of adopted the idea subconsciously.
Disclaimer 3 - Severus' raven belongs to J. L. Matthews. I just borrowed him because he's such a perfect pet for Sevi and promise to return him unharmed.
The catar however are all mine and I love them so please don't use without asking me first.
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A/N – We are nearing the end, people. Soon we will know who the traitor is.
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Chapter 20: Inside Gryffindor Tower
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Severus caught Susan on the way back to the common room after breakfast. As usual she was quite willing to do anything for him in return for DADA homework. Potions homework no longer was worth anything. After all, all Lucius ever asked for were a few lines on anything remotely related to the topic. Juliana had actually managed to get a plus for copying a paragraph from a make up advise column once.
"I'm not sure about the first time." Susan reported. "We didn't really connect it with the attack until a while later and weren't really bothered by it then. The second was during Potions and the class was in chaos. Dennis Creevey's potion had exploded and the room was a mess. Manny students especially Gryffindors had been splattered with potion and everyone was busy trying to dry off or clean their belongings. Dennis was cooling is hand at the sink, so we kept running to the bathroom for water. I was lucky enough to sit far away from the Gryffindors so the potion hadn't reached my desk. That left me free to wash Lyra and Odessa's desk while Odessa was washing the potion off Lyra's face."
Severus paled. "Her face!"
"It was nothing." Susan assured him. "Only a small drop on her cheek and other than be a little hot it didn't do anything."
"And just what did Lucius do about it?" Severus sighed trying not to think about what could have happened.
"Well, he gave Dennis a minus and called him an idiotic mudblood." Susan sounded a little doubtful.
Severus swallowed the first three comments that came to his mind and decided to slightly change the topic. "So Dennis was at the sink the whole time. Do you remember what other Gryffindors were actually hurt and didn't go to the hospital wing?"
Susan closed her eyes trying to picture the scene. "Dinah Rossburry. She blocked the first sink in the bathroom. Then there was Marty Mells next to her. He'd been working with Dennis and was probably the most seriously hurt aside from Dennis himself. Juno Cornstet used the third sink to wash the potion out of her sleeve, but I don't think she was actually hurt. She returned to the classroom before the class was cancelled. I remember she was trying to stop the spilled potion on the floor from spreading when the announcement came."
"Dinah and Marty were still in the bathroom at that time?" Severus asked.
"Yes, they were still in there when I passed it on the way back to the common room."
"Do you remember any of the other Gryffindors?" Severus pushed. "Sally Arden? Alina Urrig? Nelly Hayward?"
"Alina was shrieking about her book bag the whole time." Susan grinned. "It unfortunately lay right in the middle of the biggest puddle on the floor. She eventually managed to wash the potion out of most of her belongings, but all the books and parchment were ruined. The potion turned out to be quite sticky when it dried. I don't remember Nelly or Sally, but Carla took the cauldrons off the fire and Claudette collected the surviving ingredients. Alex cleaned Dennis' table, Monty was with Dennis most of the time. Did I miss anybody?"
"Luke Denninger, Rudolph Rash and Killian Grayburn." Severus listed without hesitation.
Susan shrugged. "Sorry, I don't remember. I will ask my classmates, though."
Severus nodded. "Do you take Ancient Runes?"
"Yes?"
"What Gryffindors were in class during the fourth incident then? Do you remember?"
"Of course." Susan beamed proudly. "Nelly and Juno were sitting right in front of me, then Rudolph and Marty next to them and Luke sat with Justin from Hufflepuff."
Severus nodded again. "That leaves Sally Arden and Killian Grayburn without an alibi. When you ask your classmates about that Potions class remember to pay special attention to those two. And try asking about the first incident as well. Maybe somebody remembers something."
When Severus returned to his dorm he only added the name Sally Arden to his 'official' list, though. He'd ask McGonagall about Killian Grayburn, but he doubted she'd have forgotten to mention his absence. And while he was at it, he could also start investigating the third years.
Luckily he didn't have a class to go to, so this was the ideal time to catch one of the teachers he needed to talk to. He only had to make up his mind which one. He had Charms, Herbology and DADA today anyway, which meant that catching Flitwick, Sprout and Remus wouldn't be a problem. That left McGonagall and Pince.
McGonagall was the less pleasant and he needed Pince to confirm the alibis of the seventh years, who were naturally more suspicious than the third years, but there was the additional matter of Killian Grayburn.
In the end it was a look at the timetables that decided him. Pince had the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw sixth years right now and Severus didn't want Harry and friends to overhear their conversation. Who knew what they might get up to, if they had part of Severus' suspects list. It was bad enough that they were investigating Seamus on their own.
McGonagall on the other hand would have the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff fifth years. That meant Severus even had a chance to find Draco there, who'd gone off to talk to Ginny. Meeting Draco meant not to have to face McGonagall all alone, which Severus tended to avoid. The Transfigurations teacher hadn't really been unpleasant to him in class lately, but Severus still considered her the scariest teacher he knew. Yes, including Lockhart, though that was a difficult choice. McGonagall knew what she was doing after all, so the risk of suffering a fatal accident in her class was minimal. Lockhart on the other hand was capable of accidentally killing someone with a lumus spell. Then again Lockhart was easily outsmarted.
Or maybe it was just that Severus had never had to suffer being taught by Lockhart. Teaching alongside him had been bad enough.
Unfortunately Draco wasn't there when Severus arrived outside the Transfigurations classroom. Neither was McGonagall. The fifth years were standing outside in the corridor making it quite obvious that the door was still locked.
Ginny waved at him from a group of girls standing a little in the back and Severus walked over to join them. It was, predictably, a group of Hufflepuffs. The Gryffindor girls were right in front of the door and completely ignoring the Hufflepuffs.
"Good news, Severus." Ginny smiled. "Nala has a very good friend in third year that she will introduce me to at lunch."
Nala nodded happily. "You'll like Hannah. She's such a sweet girl. Everybody loves her. If she doesn't remember your answers, she'll know somebody who will."
"Hannah Hayhall?" Severus asked and Nala nodded again. "Muggle born, isn't she? Excellent. A Muggle born has no reason to cover for the traitor."
And she had excellent memory, too, Severus remembered. Hannah was a tiny dark haired girl whose interests seemed to be everything that wasn't studying, but she still had good grades most of the time thanks to her ability to reproduce almost anything she heard in class. If only she'd been a little more interested in her grades, she could have made an excellent Ravenclaw, or else have proven the cliché of the stupid Hufflepuffs wrong once and for all.
"You really think any Hufflepuff would?" Olivia Mason stared at him wide eyed.
"Professor McGonagall, too, was completely convinced that her house was firmly on Potter's side." Severus told her. "And now we have proof that the traitor is a Gryffindor."
"Harry's parents were betrayed by one of their fellow Gryffindors, too." Ginny added. "You can never tell just by somebody's house."
The Hufflepuffs cast cautious glances over at the Gryffindors. Colin Creevey tried to answer with a reassuring smile, but Doris Meyer who stood nearest to him just inched a little closer to her group and looked nervous.
"That one is cleared, you know." Severus remarked. "He has an alibi for three of the attacks, is Muggle born and almost worships Potter."
"He was there when Harry's broom was cut." Katarina Orloff argued. "And he stalks him with that camera."
"He's one of our beaters." Ginny returned. "I'm part of the Quidditch team, too, and you're not suspecting me, are you?"
"You're not a stalker." Katarina insisted. "Colin is weird, I tell you."
"He's Muggle born and a little excitable." Severus shrugged. "He'll get over the culture shock in time."
"Do you think it's one of our year?" Olivia asked nervously.
"I bet it must be a boy." Doris said. "How would a girl get into the boys' dorms?"
"Just walk in when nobody's there?" Severus suggested.
"But the stair posts wouldn't let her through." Doris protested.
"Stair posts?" Severus asked.
"Oh, you mean when the stairs turn into a slide?" Ginny exclaimed. "But that only happens when a boy tries to get into the girls' dorms. Girls can enter the boys' dorms just fine."
"No, when the banister closes to block the stairs." Nala insisted. "And it definitely happens on both stairs."
"Nothing happens when you enter the boys' dorms." Ginny repeated. "I've been up there."
"You have?" The Hufflepuffs stared wide eyed.
Ginny blushed. "My brothers showed me their dorms when I first arrived here and I also went to see the scene of the last attack. Nothing at all happened."
"Then Gryffindor has different safeguards than Hufflepuff?" Olivia wondered. "But why?"
"How about Slytherin?" Nala asked Severus. "Do your stairs close, or do they form a slide?"
"Neither." Severus said. "They don't do anything. I've been in the girls' dorms and have seen girls in the boys' dorms."
"Strange." Nala decided. "We'll have to ask a Ravenclaw about that."
Severus however had a bigger problem to think over. How could he search the female suspects' trunks, if there was an enchantment keeping boys from entering their dorms? Could he teach Ginny how to pick locks? But the wards on the traitor's trunk would probably be very advanced and if they really were going to use the Quidditch game as their cover, Ginny would have to be on the pitch. There was no chance that a missing chaser would be overlooked.
Maybe Estella? The girl was very clever and quiet enough that her absence might go unnoticed. Then again she wasn't that skilful when working with her hands. Millicent had all the subtlety of a battering ram and Pansy's absence definitely would attract attention. That left Juliana and Alice. He'd have to start practising with both of them and see which one showed more aptitude.
Or would the stairs let an adult in? He was still a teacher at this school. If he changed back into his adult form, he might have a chance to get through. One more question he had to ask McGonagall.
The Transfigurations teacher arrived late and sent her students hurrying into the classroom with her stern look. Apparently whatever had kept her from starting her lesson on time hadn't been pleasant and she was in a particularly unpleasant mood. The look she cast at Severus wasn't exactly welcoming. Severus considered turning tail and trying Professor Pince after all, but he just had to know about the stairs.
He looked down at the little hedgehog in his arms. Just why hadn't he thought to leave his pet behind when he'd decided to talk to McGonagall?
Greenie blinked his little dark green eyes at him and inquired: "Sniff?"
Severus decided to take that as encouragement. He slipped into the classroom after the students and waited next to McGonagall's desk as she handed out twigs to turn into lizards. Oh, how well he remembered that disastrous lesson!
"Mr. Snape!" McGonagall only noticed when she turned around to return to her desk. "Are you volunteering to repeat this lesson?"
Several Gryffindors snickered. Obviously his Gryffondor classmates had been telling tales.
"Actually, I need to talk to you." Severus said. "Maybe you have a few minutes once the class starts practising?"
"Don't you have a class of your own to be in?" McGonagall demanded.
"I've got a study hour." Severus explained. "And the problem is rather urgent. It's because of Potter, you see."
"Harry?" McGonagall nodded to show that she'd caught the hint. "I thought it was Ron and Seamus that were always teasing you about your Transfigurations accidents?"
"Same difference." Severus declared pouting a little. "They behave like they're the greatest just because they can turn a stick into a lizard and I can't, but not a single one of them can brew a pepper-up potion without supervision."
"And you can?" Mariah Farson smirked at him from her seat in the first row.
"I could do it blindfolded." Severus hissed. "And you'd better watch your twig. It's grown legs."
Mariah squeaked and quickly recaptured her escaping twig before it could run over the edge of the desk, a very real danger for a creature that had neither eyes nor a sense of balance.
"Very well." McGonagall gave in. "Why don't you wait for me in my office while I explain the exercise to my overeager students." With a flick of her wand she turned the legs of Mariah's twig back back into ordinary unmoving wood.
About five minutes later Professor McGonagall finally sat down at the desk in her office.
"That ought to give us about ten minutes until they start getting loud or crying for help." she estimated. "What did you want to know, then?"
"Killian Grayburn." Severus stated.
"Killian? What about him?" McGonagall asked surprised.
"I have a witness who confirms almost all fourth years' alibis, but she doesn't remember whether Killian was in Potions during the second incident." Severus told her matter-of-factly. "She also doesn't remember the Transfigurations lesson before the first incident. According to my list only Sally Arden and Rudolph Rash don't have an alibi through that, but I'd like you to confirm Killian's presence during the entire lesson."
"Of course, if Killian had left class at any time, I would have said so." McGonagall looked slightly affronted.
"Good, then I don't have to add him to my suspects list." Severus nodded. "And the third years that missed the lesson or left class during the fourth incident?"
"Caius Rude and Miles Miller." McGonagall confirmed. "I thought Albus already told you that?"
"He did, but I'm checking all of Gryffindor house once again after the latest attack. We have been concentrating on Slytherin too much and I'm worried that something might have slipped by us."
"We placed a spy in the wrong house." McGonagall sighed. "We should have tried to transform Albus rather than you. With a little trickery his absence wouldn't even have been noticed."
"Albus wouldn't necessarily make a good spy. He'd probably spend his time sneaking into Honeydukes and playing Quidditch and forget half his suspects list all the time." Severus shrugged. "I have one more problem, though. Ms Weasley says that the stairs to the Gryffindor girls' dormitories won't let a boy pass."
"That's correct." McGonagall confirmed. "They are enspelled to throw them off in order to prevent 'mischief'."
"Would they let me pass in my adult form?"
"What?"
"I need to take a look into my main suspects' trunks." Severus explained. "I won't steal anything and the trunks will look untouched afterwards, but I need to check for any hints of dark arts activities. My list includes several girls."
"You want me to let you into Gryffindor house? The students will want to know why. You're Slytherin, you. . ."
"I've already arranged all that. You needn't know about it. I wasn't aware of the spell on the stairs at the time, though. All I need from you is the information whether I can pass those stairs. Otherwise I will have to find a female lock picking expert somewhere in this school and I only have a week."
"We can have the trunks searched like Remus did with his third years." McGonagall suggested. "Just tell me which students you need."
"That will attract attention. The traitor will be warned as soon as you open the first trunk and unless he happens to be the first you search, he will have time to remove the evidence."
"I don't like this." McGonagall admitted. "It's a break of privacy."
"I searched almost all of Slytherin house like that and aside from Maximius Mattels I doubt anybody noticed it."
"Maximius Mattels?"
"His trap poisoned me. I didn't have time to reset it, if I wanted to get to the hospital wing in time. I assume he noticed that."
"Poisoned?" McGonagall looked a little green. "You have students that use poison on their trunks?"
"I do." Severus answered calmly. "I suppose your students' locks won't be that tricky, will they?"
"No, doubtlessly not." McGonagall declared. "I don't know how the spell will react to you, though. I don't even know who originally cast it. It does admit the head of Gryffindor, of course, and Albus can pass it as well, but then he once was head of Gryffindor. I don't know whether it will admit another teacher."
"Know any good and trustworthy lock picks?"
"Fred and George Weasley." McGonagall answered immediately. "I believe Ginny has some skill at it as well, though she's never been a prankster."
"Unfortunately Ginny will not be available at the time I'm planning to sneak into Gryffindor." Severus sighed. "I'll probably have to train someone to do the job."
"How about Ms Granger, then?" McGonagall suggested. "She's a prefect and absolutely trustworthy."
"But doesn't have the right skills. Lock picking is tricky. You need concentration, patience, a strong feeling for magic and excellent fine motoric skills. A steady hand and good hearing are basic requirements as well."
"In that case I'd recommend Heathcliff Haley, if you didn't need a girl."
"Heathcliff Haley?" Severus asked surprised. That certainly wasn't somebody he'd have considered.
"First year Gryffindor." McGonagall explained. "He has the extraordinary talent to overhear anything you don't want him to, the unique skill to direct itching powder into Sandy Mortimer's robes while sitting two rows behind her and never looking up from his pincushion, the ability to concentrate so well on his excuses that you never catch him contradicting himself and the patience to tear a five rolls long essay into ant sized pieces despite the constant loud protests of its writer."
"Charming." Severus commented. "How do we know that he isn't the traitor?"
"He's Muggle raised. Can't tell the difference between swishing and flicking his wand. Filius is actually beginning to doubt his intelligence, but I assure you that he's quite clever. I can't see how he'd perform a severing charm, though."
"Oh well. I'd better start looking for my lock pick then." Severus decided. "Thank you for your time. Professor."
"Just a moment Severus!" McGonagall called him back. "At least tell me which ones of my students you intend to search."
"So far Seamus Finnigan, Quintus Palmer, Vestalia Flemming, Ulric Keaton, Ambrosia Melter and Sally Arden." Severus listed. "I haven't completed my investigations of the first, third and seventh years, yet, so they're not on the list and I might still take some of them off, if I get any further information on them."
-
-
After informing Alice and Juliana of the change in plans Severus slept through another History of Magic lesson, something or other about the classification of dangerous creatures. Severus bet Hagrid could have explained it in under five minutes and kept his students' attention while doing it.
While both he and Draco failed to catch Professor Pince before lunch Ginny had no problem finding the Hufflepuffs. When the boys arrived in the great hall she was already sitting at the Hufflepuff table smiling and chatting happily.
Severus used that time to explain the stair problem to Theodore and the rest. Neville's eyes became very wide as he listened to the resulting discussion.
"You're suspecting the girls as well?" he asked finally.
"Of course." Severus nodded. "They can get into the boys' dorms too, after all."
Ginny came over right after they'd finished the meal and reported the results of her talk with little Hannah.
"Hannah doesn't take Muggle Studies." she explained. "I guess that was to be expected since we knew that she's Muggle born. She'll ask one of her friends who do take it for a list of the Gryffindors in the class, though. The Transfigurations class during the fourth incident gives an alibi to most third years anyway. Only Caius Rude and Miles Miller remain and Hannah knows that Miles takes Care for Magical Creatures."
"So he can't take Muggle Studies at the same time." Severus agreed. "Caius Rude doesn't seem to be the type to take Muggle Studies either, so we can probably place both of them on our list already."
The Slytherins' first afternoon class was Herbology with the Ravenclaws. Severus was now partnered with Miranda Deering, which was even less pleasant than working with Eric Farran. Puberty didn't do that girl particularly good, Severus decided.
Miranda had a problem making up her mind. She'd start potting a plant, then undo it, stuff it into a different pot, undo it again and chose the first one after all. Then she'd place it on a shelf, take it down again and put it on a different shelf . . . And all of that while talking non-stop.
Even the most stoic students were known to be driven into yelling and throwing pots by prolonged partnership with Miranda Deering. The third time Miranda re-potted a re-potted plant Severus succeeded in driving her into tears. Lisa Turpin had the misfortune to be assigned to accompany her to the hospital wing for some "calming potion . . . er . . . I mean nerve calming potion, of course."
Professor Sprout's hasty correction didn't stop the class from bursting into laughter. In fact Severus saw nothing of course about it. Calming potion would be just the right thing for Miranda and the entire class knew it, he was sure.
After that incident nobody was surprised when Severus and Draco remained behind after the lesson saying they needed to talk to Sprout. The Ravenclaws probably assumed he meant to ask when she would finally reassign partners again.
"As far as I remember they were all in glasshouse one the entire time." Sprout said when asked about the Gryffindor first years before the first incident. "Except . . . I did send two of them to get more pots from the shed. Heathcliff and Kevin, I think. They seemed to take very long to return at first, but after I saw what they did to the shed and its surroundings, I don't know how they managed to do it in such a short time."
"You think it was Haley and Mallister?" Severus asked. "Just how sure are you?"
"Not entirely. It might have been Heathcliff Haley and Charles Bowler. I'm sure about Haley, but I didn't know the class that well back then. If I had, I'd have picked two Hufflepuffs. The Gryffindors of that year are a disaster. They're running completely wild. Minerva seems to be able to control them as long as she keeps them in her sight, but the moment she turns around they pick right up where they left off."
Severus and Draco exchanged a look. They'd both heard the Slytherin first years' complaints about the Gryffindors and had noticed them as a noisy crowd during meals, but hadn't thought much of it. Hearing a teacher complain about them like this put the Gryffindor first years into a new perspective.
Maybe there was one capable of performing a severing charm in that group after all?
"We don't really know them at all." Severus admitted. "Can you tell us a little about the individual members of the class?"
Outside the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins were collecting in a big crowd. Draco waved a greeting at Ginny and the Slytherins.
Professor Sprout opened the door and stuck out her head. "Just continue with the projects you were working on last lesson. I have to arrange a detention with these two pranksters here and might take a while."
She closed the door again and smiled at Severus. "Don't worry, they're reliable. They haven't gotten up to any mischief in class ever since Ulric Keaton was almost devoured by the flesh eating ferns last year. Some of them still refuse to enter that greenhouse. So what would you like to know about the Gryffinpack?"
"Just who they are and what particular problems there are with each of them." Severus shrugged. "Anything that seems unusual. Professor McGonagall already told me about Haley, but what of the rest?"
"Well, there's the already mentioned Kevin Mallister." Sprout sighed. "He's probably the worst, in my opinion. Likes to make fun of others, makes jokes at their expense and enjoys it most when he knows he's hurt someone's feelings. His usual partner in crime is Charles Bowler who prefers the more hands on version of bullying. The boy is absolutely ruthless and rude, but unlike Mallister he doesn't seem to actually enjoy hurting people. He probably doesn't realise when he's going too far. Then we have Salvatore Antonelli whose special talent is charming himself out of trouble. He's an excellent liar. In fact I doubt whether he even knows how to tell the truth at all. He seems to prefer lying."
"Nice combination." Draco commented. "And that's just the boys?"
"Oh, not even all of them." Sprout sighed again. "We still have Hugh Arver. He usually leaves his classmates alone, but likes to challenge authority. The prefects are afraid of him and Argus has had to resort to physically restraining him on several occasions. Rumour has it that Remus only manages to control him, because he threatened to bite him. I don't even want to know what Lucius does with him."
"Probably nothing." Draco declared. "He rarely asks us to do anything anyway."
"Bet that I could solve that problem for you?" Severus grinned.
"No thumbscrews. And no whipping or crucioing either." Sprout reminded him. "Well, then we have the girls. Darla Johnson never pays attention and refuses to take anything seriously. Sometimes she doesn't even show up for detention, because she has 'something more interesting to do'. Yes, that's a verbatim quote. Eileen McDarren likes to pick on anyone smaller than her. Her special hobby is making people cry. From what I've seen her favourite target is Missy Clay, but according to Minerva what she does to Missy is nothing compared to how she treats Sandy Mortimer. Lemona Daring is aggressive and lazy. I've tried everything I could think of to motivate her, but she refuses to cooperate. Sometimes I think she's making things difficult for me deliberately. Christa Charter throws temper tantrums and refuses to partner anyone other than Eileen. If she is put together with Eileen however that usually means at least one of my students will be crying and bleeding before the end of class. On her own Eileen is trouble, in combination with Christa she's dangerous. The last member of the class is Cornelia North, who'd probably be completely unproblematic, if she had ended up in any other house. She seems to originally have been a normal, healthy, girl, maybe a bit small for her age. That unfortunately has made her a target for all the bullies in her class and since she is in the same house and has all her classes with them there is no escape for her. She's afraid of her classmates, isolated and thoroughly unhappy. As a result she hates Hogwarts and everything that has anything to do with it."
After some discussion they decided to add Heathcliff Haley, Charles Bowler and Kevin Mallister to he list of suspects. One of them had an alibi, but since they weren't sure which one, it seemed best to keep an eye on all three of them. By that time the fourth lesson of the day was almost over and Professor Flitwick wasn't very happy when they arrived with a hastily scribbled note signed by Sprout, but quite obviously written by Draco.
Being late gave them an excuse to stay after class to talk to the teacher, though.
"You're questioning all the teachers about the Gryffindors' alibis again?" Flitwick asked a little surprised when they explained their wishes. "It's still Vestalia Flemming, Quintus Palmer and Selina Mandrake. All the rest were in class."
"We just want to be sure." Severus confirmed. "Our own second years think Holly Sanders, Matt Simmons and Gordon Dorrge are very suspicious as well."
Flitwick shook his head. "I'm sure all three were in class the whole time. Mr Dorrge and Mr Simmons are inattentive and sometimes disruptive and Ms Sanders' behaviour isn't the best either, but they could not have set the trap."
Theodore actually looked surprised when they showed up for DADA on time.
"There wasn't much to discuss with Flitwick." Draco whispered into his ear. "He just confirmed what Gregory found out from the second years."
"So all we need now are the seventh years?" Theodore asked a little too loudly.
Some of the Hufflepuffs looked over at them curiously.
"I want to ask Remus about the second years as well." Severus decided. "Maybe he knows something that will clear one of them. We have too many suspects to search already. Unless the game is unusually long we'll be caught before we can complete the mission."
"You're planning to get caught?" Theodore yelped drawing even more attention.
"Not with our hands in an open trunk, I hope." Severus answered. "But I doubt we'll get out of Gryffindor house unnoticed. There's no way you can warn us when the game ends, so the best we can hope is to pretend that we're visiting Neville. Our agent in the girls' dorms will be the one most at risk, because she has no excuse to be in there. It would be best, if she could complete her mission fast, then join us in the boys' dorms, before the first Gryffindors arrive. If they find our whole group in Neville's dorm, that will be least suspicious."
"The common room would be better." Draco commented.
"But our first warning will be the moment somebody enters the common room. That person would notice, if we all ran down from the dorms then. Better to pretend Neville was just showing us his dorm when they arrived."
Remus cleared his throat and gave them a reproachful look. It was surprising how easily one could bring a horde of Slytherins to attention once one had their respect.
"As promised, today I'm going to tell you how to defend yourselves against demons." he announced. "I will explain about methods to banish them as well as ways to ward them off. Ways to actually hurt a demon will not be part of this lesson, as I intend to start teaching you some of the spells I'm about to tell you of next week. Hurting a demon usually requires a great amount of power, more than an average witch or wizard should invest into a single spell. Some of you might not be able to release that much power at once at all, others would completely drain their reserves and not be able to cast another spell for several minutes afterwards. Even the strongest of you would be considerably weakened. It is generally not advisable to put too much energy into a single spell, but especially risky in a defensive situation. You can never be sure that your spell will have the desired effect, or that the first attacker is indeed the only danger present. A second attack that catches you weakened from the first spell could mean your death."
Several Hufflepuffs paled.
"Therefore I am going to show you the most energy efficient ways to defend yourselves rather than the most spectacular. A banished demon might not have suffered any harm, but it is definitely out of the battle for good. A ward will not harm it either, but will protect you against a possible second demon as well as the first."
"Will you tell us how to hurt demons, if we ask outside of class?" Blaise asked eagerly.
"We can talk about the theory in our discussion group, but I will not teach the actual spells."
"Oh, please, Professor." begged Theodore.
"I can not teach you something I never learned myself, Mr. Zabini." Remus sighed. "I never had a teacher for that. You could perhaps ask Severus about it. I believe his father was quite an expert on demons and probably knew such spells. Maybe he taught him one or two."
Severus nodded. "They are borderline dark arts, though, and can be quite unpleasant for the caster as well. My father actually summoned demons to study them and therefore needed to actually control them. For simple defense he too recommended banishment. It is the fastest, easiest and most lasting method."
"Banishing spells first then." Remus announced.
The lesson was quite interesting and Draco completely forgot about their suspects list over it. Luckily Severus remembered, though Remus once again just confirmed the names Vestalia Flemming and Quintus Palmer.
A visit in the library early the next morning to see Professor Pince resulted in Eudora Scattering added to the list as the final suspect.
-
-
Severus and his group milled about the Quidditch stands early before the game started. This way people would remember seeing them if somebody wondered where they were later on. Hopefully they'd just assume they'd disappeared somewhere among the crowd.
They had picked Juliana to sneak into the girls' dorms. Alice was just too nervous when working under pressure. In Severus' opinion Juliana wasn't particularly suited either, though. She just wasn't fast enough, but thanks to Hufflepuff's excellent team and Harry's banishment from flying the game promised to be long. That should give her all the time she needed to break into four trunks. Then again how long would it take her to find the right ones? Ginny had drawn them a plan of the girls dorms, but except for Ambrosia's she'd been unable to mark the suspects' beds.
As the first players flew onto the pitch the three secret agents snuck back into the castle to meet Neville outside the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Slytherins, Neville?" the painting complained right away. "You know that is not advisable."
"Oh, come on." Neville rolled his eyes at her. "You yourself are the witness that proved that the traitor is a Gryffindor. My friends are only here to help."
The Fat Lady frowned, but let them through. Juliana slipped through the hole first and stopped abruptly almost causing Draco to crash into her.
"What's wrong?" Severus asked from behind.
Juliana hastily stepped aside to let the rest of the group in. "It's . . . erm . . . very . . . red."
Indeed it was. Very red and very golden.
"A little overly ostentatious." Draco decided. Clearly a phrase his father had drilled into him. "And red, yes."
"Well, it would be." Severus stated. "But it does look uncomfortable. Red's just too vibrant to decorate a whole room in."
Neville shrugged. "I don't mind. I guess you get used to it after a while. I sort of like our common room."
"Sniff!" commented Greenie and snuggled into a fold of Severus' robes.
"Even the hedgehog thinks it's ugly." Juliana grinned.
"Well, we don't have to look at it." Severus declared. "We didn't come for a sightseeing tour. Lets get to work."
Juliana nodded and hurried up the girls' stairs. She'd head for the seventh years' dorm first. Most likely Eudora Scattering's trunk would be hardest to open and if she did get caught in the act, they'd agreed that it was best, if it happened in the second years' dorm. The second years were less likely to know spells Juliana couldn't counter.
Severus and Draco followed Neville up to his own dorm.
"I want to start with Seamus." Severus decided as they climbed up the stairs. "He is the most suspect. Draco, you can take our three first years. If one of them has anything on his trunk that won't open after the second alohomora, get me."
"I can crack a lock at least as well as Juliana." Draco protested.
"I know that, but a fist year shouldn't know any locking spells that resist alohomora. If one of them is that advanced, I want to see what's in his trunk."
"The first years' dorm is right through that door." Neville pointed. "Heathcliff and Kevin have the first two beds. I don't know about Charles."
"Thanks." Draco smiled at him. "I'll find him. Most first years have their name on their trunks anyway."
He opened the door.
"Severus?"
"Yes?"
"The beds are red, too."
"Oh. Well, it's their house colour."
"How can anyone sleep in a red bed?"
"Sniff!" Greenie seemed to be waking up. Maybe he'd smelled something edible?
"I suppose they have no other choice and you don't see it in the dark."
The sixth years' dorm wasn't any different. Five very red beds stood in a room with way too much gold decoration. At least that was Severus' opinion. Neville didn't seem to mind, but then Neville had been living here for years.
"There, that's Seamus' bed." Neville blushed a little. "The room's a bit messy, but I couldn't quite tell them to clean up because I'm expecting visitors. They left in a bit of a hurry anyway. Didn't want to miss the start of the game, but Dean couldn't resist sleeping in."
Severus knelt in front of the trunk and started to examine the lock. It didn't look or feel unusual in any way. Either the spells on it were very well disguised, or Seamus didn't expect anyone to try to break in.
"Won't they be suspicious, because you didn't go with them?"
"Hardly." Neville sat down on his own bed to watch. "They tend to overlook me and know I'm not particularly into Quidditch. If they remember me and bother to wonder where I am, they'll probably assume I'm watching the game with you guys."
A revealing spell didn't bring any results either.
"Alohomora?" Severus tried and the trunk sprang open. "This is just too easy."
"Why? You told Draco to get you, if a trunk didn't respond to alohomora."
"A first year's trunk." Severus reminded him. "A first year is not supposed to know an advanced locking spell, or a severing charm. If we find one that knows one, there's a chance he knows the other as well. Seamus however is a sixth year and our main suspect. He's supposed to know all sorts of advanced charms and to have things to hide."
Seamus' trunk was even messier than his bed, which meant that Severus didn't have to be careful about putting things back exactly. He checked the titles of some books, sniffed cautiously at some potion ingredients, leafed through a photo album and finally found some letters from Seamus' parents. Separate letters with separate return addresses.
"His parents are getting a divorce?"
"What?" Neville jumped up. "He never said!"
"Well, that would explain his behaviour. I've often seen similar reactions to divorces in Slytherins, at least."
"Have you found nothing suspicious at all?"
"Some of the books are in the grey zone and the ingredients aren't necessarily the proper equipment for a student, but nothing outright dark or illegal. He clearly has an interest in the dark arts, but as long as it's only for curiosity's sake there's nothing wrong with that. Where would we find DADA teachers, if it were illegal to study the subject?"
"So we try one of our other suspects?"
"Ulric Keaton." Severus decided. "He's the oldest of the remaining suspects."
On their way to the fifth years' dorm Severus stuck his head through the open door of the first years' dorm. "Found anything, Draco?"
"Stuffed animals." Draco sighed obviously annoyed. "Chocolate frog cards, gobstones, exploding snap cards, colouring books, plastic toys, even a picture book. What does an eleven year old want with a book titled Micky Goes to the Zoo?"
"Anything suspicious, I mean?" Severus clarified.
"You don't think Micky is suspicious?" Draco grinned. "Hey, where's Greenie?"
"Neville has him." Severus shrugged. "You know what kind of suspicious I mean."
"No, nothing of that kind. Even their stuffed animals are mostly light colours."
"Okay, we'll be in the fifth year dorm next. Meet us there when you're done here."
Ulric kindly had a name plaque on his trunk which opened to a light alohomora and a little tap against the Muggle style padlock. The smell inside almost made Severus wish it hadn't, though.
"Ew, why doesn't he hand his old socks to the house elves for cleaning?" Neville asked and covered his nose with the hand that wasn't holding Greenie.
"Maybe the smell is his protection against spies like us?" Severus suggested.
"Hurry up." Neville urged him. "Even Greenie can't stand the smell."
"Of course not. His nose is his most important orientation tool. It's much finer than ours." Severus returned. "Whatever is that?"
That consisted of pieces of metal, string and spellotape. Neville stared at it.
"A tangled muddle?" he guessed. "Or a muddled tangle?"
"They seem to be tied together on purpose." Severus disagreed. "Maybe it's a prank utensil?"
"Maybe that is his next trap!" Neville squeaked. "Be careful. It might be poisoned."
"It doesn't even have any sharp edges. If this is supposed to be part of a trap it must be meant to hold something and there's nothing else in here that looks suspicious."
"Then lets take that thing with us and close the trunk." Neville suggested.
"No, he'd know that we searched him, if it's gone." Severus returned the thing to its original position.
"I'm done with the first years." Draco stood in the door. "Nothing interesting at all unless you're interested in a collection of candy wrappers."
"We're done in here as well." Severus reported closing Ulric Keaton's trunk. "We're going on to third year. Can you go back down the stairs until you can see the entrance? Don't go too far, just so you'll see when the portrait opens. Don't wait to know who's coming just come back up and warn us."
"And what do we do then? If we try to run out, they'll see us."
"Then we'll run into Neville's dorm and pretend we've been sitting on his bed for a while."
Caius Rude's trunk was easily identified and Neville found a second labelled trunk, but there was no hint which of the rest belonged to Miles Miller.
"We'll have to open them." Severus decided. "But let me check Rude first."
"I can open them for you, if all it takes is an alohomora." Neville offered.
"Okay, but don't set off any alarms. If something looks odd, leave it for me."
Caius seemed to have a fascination with Ancient Rome. There were books, pictures, even some clumsy drawings of Romans, Roman houses, Roman artifacts. Caius was even writing an essay about the Roman emperors. Severus wondered whether that could get him an extra plus from Binns. Probably not, since Roman Muggles weren't on the Hogwarts curriculum. Poor Caius. All that effort for no reward. Well, maybe he'd find out some things about his namesake Ceasar.
There also was a small photo album that showed Caius' family and their pets and a few pictures of Caius and his friends at Hogwarts. Severus left a magical mirror alone. It would have been interesting to know who answered it, but if that person was indeed a death eater he'd be very curious to know what Severus was doing with Caius' mirror.
"This looks a little more suspicious than the other two, but still nothing near the things I found in Slytherin. None of them are in posession of any truly dark objects."
"I can't open this one." Neville reported. "It has to be Miles' trunk. It's the only one I haven't checked, yet."
"Just a moment." Severus quickly returned the photo album to its place and closed the trunk.
He walked over to the still closed trunk and cast a revealing spell over the lock. Nothing. Apparently there wasn't any spell on it at all.
"What spells have you tried on it and what were the results?"
"Well, I started with alohomora, but the lock just clicked and didn't open. So I tried apero next, then declaudus. Both times there was no result at all. I would have had to put Greenie down to try anything stronger than that and I don't think we want him to run off in here."
"Definitely not." Severus agreed and crouched in front of the lock. He could see the slit, but not where the lock closed.
He ran his hands over the lock, then all around the trunk. He didn't feel any magic anywhere on it. A revealing charm on the whole trunk didn't yield any results either.
Severus sat back on the floor and stared at the offending trunk.
"Sniff?" Greenie questioned struggling in Neville's grip in an attempt to get to Severus.
"Not yet, Greenie. We're not done. I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong with this trunk. There's no reason it should still be closed . . . unless . . ." Severus grabbed a hold over and under the lock and pulled. "Aha!"
He let go and tapped the trunk on the sides with both hands and it sprang open.
"How did you think of that?" Neville stared.
"With experience. Your alohomora spell opened the lock but the trunk itself is so old that it doesn't fit exactly anymore and gets stuck."
The inside was just as disappointing. "Clothes, a chess set, some parchment and reserve bottles of ink."
"That last one is a little too big for an ink bottle." Neville remarked.
Severus lifted the robe that was draped over the bottles a little higher. "You're right. That's another of those Muggle pill bottles."
"Drugs?"
"Maybe. Miles is Muggle born, though, so it could be a prescription from a Muggle healer."
"So what does that mean then?"
"That we didn't find anything suspicious in this trunk. Lets try Quintus Palmer."
They almost collided with Juliana on the way out.
"I did it. " she beamed. "They were much easier to open than the ones we practiced on."
"Excellent." Severus said without stopping. "What did you find?"
"Eudora Scattering has the biggest collection of perfume bottles I've ever seen."
"Maybe not all of it really is perfume." Severus hinted. "Anything dark arts related?"
"Nothing. Books. Erotica to be precise. The kind of things you don't want your parents to catch you with."
"So she reads them in school where they can't see her." Severus nodded and opened the door to the second years' dorm. "The others?"
"Ambrosia Melter hoards sweets like Eudora perfume. I grabbed you a pack of gummy bears. She had six, so I doubt she'll notice."
"I love you, Juliana." Severus commented while quickly scanning the trunks for name tags. "Looks like we'll have to open all of these. Alohomora. What about Sally Arden?"
"Some books on the dark arts. Alohomora. But nothing that actually teaches them. They were mostly on the History of the dark arts. Whose trunk are we looking for?"
"Quintus Palmer." Neville volunteered. "Alohomora."
"Oh, this one belongs to some Peter Starwood." Juliana said a little disappointedly.
"And I just had Gordon Dorge and this one is Matt Simmons'." Severus reported.
"This is it. I found it." Neville announced.
Juliana and Severus started towards the trunk Neville had just opened, but never reached it.
"They're coming!" Draco dashed into the room. "I thought you were in third year?"
"Done." Severus replied curtly and waved them towards the door. "Hurry Neville, close the trunk."
They hastened past the staircase.
"Five hundred to twenty." someone moaned below. "I can't believe Hufflepuff trounced us like that. Hufflepuff!"
"I don't even want to think about what will happen, if we have to play Slytherin without Harry." that one sounded like he was already on the stairs.
Severus pulled the door shut behind them as Neville threw himself onto his bed. Juliana took her cue from him and sat down on the one opposite from him. Severus dropped himself onto the floor between them and Draco sat next to Neville.
"Look innocent." Severus ordered. He picked Greenie out of Neville's arm and put him on the floor in front of him. "Come on, Greenie, explore."
Juliana pulled a plastic bag out of her pocket. "Gummy bear, anyone?"
"Sure." Neville beamed. "Thanks."
Severus hesitated for a moment, but then tried a bear as well.
"We need to talk about something innocent." Neville fidgeted.
Draco looked around for a topic. "Hey, what's that?" He stretched across the floor towards a slightly burned piece of parchment that lay under one of the candles.
"Oh, just some letter Ron was about to burn when thy left for the game." Neville answered as Draco grabbed a hold of the parchment and pulled it in. "When they took off without him he threw it at the candle and dashed after them. I guess he meant for it to burn entirely up there, but it fell past the candle and I had to extinquo it."
"Well, then." Draco smirked as the door opened behind him. "Lets see what Weasley's dear Mummy writes."
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Pam Briggs – The guillotine was purchased via mail order under an assumed name. It could theoretically have been Lucius who bought it. ... Yep, we are getting to the end. ... Still wondering whether I should write that epilogue or not. I think I might make that a poll.
Kate Wisdom – Gee, and I always fell asleep in 'Geography and Study of Economy' (Yep, that is about what the subject is called here.). I never learned a thing about business, but that much is logical, isn't it?
Kinzey – Thanks. That one was my first HP fic and first fic I ever posted. I originally expected it to be done in a single chapter ... I've learned a bit about realistic expectations of length since then, I guess. This one is much closer to the size I planned it for.
EriEka127 – Thanks.
Kage Shijo – Um ... someone pretending to be Percy is trying to murder Harry at Hogwarts while in Voldemort's captivity/in St Mungos/at the burrow? I'm afraid Percy has an alibi for every single attack and if there were two Percys running around there'd still be the small fact that anyone who saw him would know he's supposed to have graduated several years ago.
Keika no Kaiyou – It's the Gryffindors I tell you: Always jumping to conclusions. You have to be really careful what you say around them.
Thistle – Severus? Yes, could be. Flitwick, Remus and Albus are strong opponents, though. ... Fred and George are definitely doing the best they can to help find the traitor. They're really worried about poor little Harry. ... Poor Greg will have to find a wife that wants to give him a big family ... Hm ... Oh, Millicent ...
Preppygirl – Oh, I do hope the dorm is big enough for Seamus to fit in. Actually I hope it's big enough to fit him and all his dorm mates at the same time. Where else would they sleep? ... Well, in order to run a successful business the twins just had to grow up a little.
Marauder3Moony – Soon, very soon you all will know ...
Iremione – Huh? What two evil Slytherins? My Slytherins are all sweet and harmless, Minnerva. It is your Gryffindors that always cause the trouble. ... Of course Neville will defeat the dark lord. Who else could? ... Whether Harry will manage more such delicious sweets, though ... Ginny is his son's girlfriend. Luci would never give her detention and unfortunately that leaves no other Weasleys than Ron in his power to play with. ... Next attack ... well, there will be another attack, but it won't be on Harry. In other words: We're almost done. ... Draco claims he doesn't like children. Maybe he even believes he doesn't like children, but he's still considering becoming a teacher. ... No, no eating in class. No bubblegum either. That is in fact particularly bad. (It's demonstrating rebellious attitude, I think, and then they end up sticking to the furniture all the time ... No, teachers do not like bubblegum. ... Remember Bubbles in RD?) ... Drago doesn't sound so bad, but I think it's Greek, not Latin. ... I don't think Hermione has thought that far. She probably will next chapter, but not up until now. ... Oh, I can't wait to see that idea of yours! ... Life isn't fair. Seamus will live. ... Greenie? How on earth would Greenie cast a severing charm? (Especially when the only time he was close enough was the first attack.) ... Somehow I suspect you'd have guessed by now, even if I hadn't told you who the traitor is long ago. ... Well, at least somebody once told me she'd write an answer to the Last Lion. No, it wasn't you. I don't have any proof that she actually posted it.
Kalieris – Well, who could not love a little green hedgehog? (Aside from mad-women like Trelawney) ... Okay, I was so sure of pot plant that I checked my dictionary which told me you're partially correct. I should have spelled it pot-plant, but that's just as passable as potted plant. (And seriously I don't mind if the did transfigure cannabis plants. I just needed something to shove under their noses and make a mess with.) ... As for Remus, I'd written him as a Slytherin in MNS long before the fifth book came out. Up to then there had been one hint that he might have been a Gryff, but no proof, and I like Remus. I'd put Ginny, Luna and Neville into Slytherin too, if I could.
wellington – You know where I live? Somehow I doubt that. ... I'm updating anyhow, though.
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A/N: Whatever might that weird tangled muddle be? Where did the picture book come from? And who is about to enter that dorm? Please R/R.
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Next: Severus needs to explain the effects a gummy bear has on his magic, Draco is attacked and Lucius has to act fast to save his traitor.