Chapter Nineteen

Exploring Alternatives

"There will be no excuses, Mr. Donovan!"

"But Mr. Boulderdash! I swear someone must have intentionally done this. I only put the book down for a second at most!" Conner protested.

"For the entire three days that you had the tome, Mr. Donovan?" Boulderdash looked far from amused, his black eyes glittering dangerously from behind a pair of reading glasses. "May I remind you again that every single time you sign a book out of this library, that you take full responsibility over its condition with the understanding that I expect it brought back exactly as it was given out?"

"Yes, sir," Conner sighed. "But it wasn't me."

"Then you should have been more careful not to let anyone else who wasn't you near it," Boulderdash said curtly. "That's twenty points off of Gryffindor, and I'll be writing home to your parents with a bill of damages. Oh, and you will lose total borrowing rights if anything like this happens again, is that clear?"

"Yes, Mr. Boulderdash," Conner said with irritation. His eyes darted over at a table lined with open books where three figures in Slytherin robes were hiding their faces and chuckling. Shaking his head angrily, he stomped out the door. Rose jumped out of his way, shrugging when he didn't answer her greeting.

Seeing that everyone else was giving Boulderdash a wide berth for some reason, Rose decided that now was the time to seize the opportunity and step up to the desk. She cleared her throat slightly when he made his normal gesture waiting for someone to put a book in his hand. He looked up then, studying her for a moment.

"Please tell me you're not here to report damaged library property or periodicals, Miss Bailey."

"Oh, no, Mr. Boulderdash," Rose assured him quickly. "I was hoping that I could talk to you about something I've been studying lately, thinking perhaps you'd be able to give more insight."

"Insight can be gleaned from books, Miss Bailey, by using your mind to get past the words and into the intentions of the authors," Boulderdash said.

"The author's intentions aren't always good though, are they?" Rose said. "For example, how come all the books on the Goblin Revolts in this library are written by wizards?" Suddenly Rose found that she had captured the normally distracted goblin's undivided attention, his dark eyes studying her as if trying to bore their way through to her skull. "Surely there's more to some of this than just names and dates," she continued in a more cautious tone.

"Come into my office," Boulderdash said, gesturing to one of his seventh year aids to take his place at the desk, taking a couple of tomes off the desk with him.

Rose followed behind him completely curious, for she had never been in the Librarian's office before. It was not so neat and tediously categorized and alphabetized as the library itself. Instead, piles and piles of books were haphazardly stacked; some open or upside down with clamps every which way and the smell of gum and wood glue was heavy in the air from all the volumes being at different stages of repair. Boulderdash added the two ink-dripping tomes to his desk and moved another pile of books off of a stool nearby for her to sit on.

"I suppose the current events has helped to pique your interest on this subject, Miss Bailey?" he asked as he sat on his own dusty wooden chair. His height was even with hers when he did so, and Rose couldn't help but imagine that one or two dictionaries or herb encyclopedias were probably right below him.

"Well, I do admit it's brought some questions up about some things that I don't quite understand, and none of these books seem to get into," Rose said.

"Such as?" Boulderdash asked, flipping over a tray, which suddenly had a pitcher and some cups on it. He took a moment to hand her one.

"Well, the wizard books all say that the government established for goblins after the conflicts was a sort of democracy, and yet the way it reads in the paper, it sounds as if the bank board of Gringotts' is in charge," Rose said.

"I could see how that would seem confusing," Boulderdash said with a half smile that revealed some of his razor sharp teeth. "Yes, democracy was tried for a while, but we were mostly tribal before that time… with clans of goblins all looking to different leaders who made most of the decisions. And before that, of course, over a thousand years before, we had a king… much like other societies at the time. But at any rate, a successful democracy needs free people to run it… it doesn't last long run by slaves," Boulderdash chuckled dryly, shaking his head. "It wasn't long before certain officials were bought and paid by the bank to express their views, and as time went on and more and more officials began getting bought out, the majority of goblins became so used to the bank running everything that when a vote came to relinquish power to the board, they didn't fight it. It is true that there were a few 'radicals' here and there who opposed the takeover, but not enough to fight the ever-increasing power of the board, who then took hold of all business involving goblins in the country. Of course, that doesn't mean our government hasn't had its setbacks, namely all of the restrictions placed upon them by the Ministry and Wizard Council to make sure the revolts that occurred would never happen again. Ironic, isn't it, that those same restrictions are responsible for most of the trouble happening now."

"Is that what needs to happen for all of this to end then? For the Ministry to take away those restrictions?" Rose asked.

"For all of this to end?" Boulderdash repeated with a sardonic smile on his face. "For all of this to end, Miss Bailey, all of wizardkind would have to admit that we are their equals in some shape or form. And despite the respect I have been given since my arrival at this school, I doubt very highly that you or I will see that accomplishment in our lifetimes."


It was the last Hogsmeade trip before the holidays, and Aurelius decided to make the most of the nearly empty school. Professors that never seemed to attend were going this trip; even Boulderdash decided to show his support for the new bank by going.

"We need to make as much headway as possible today," Aurelius said as he and Heph met up with Alex and Mandria at the front stairwell. "Between the four of us, we should be able to cover most of the school."

"Where's your other tail, brother?" Alex asked. Her extreme dislike for Stock showed even in that short question.

"Lunch date with his counselor," Heph said. "I expect he's using it as an excuse to show up at Hogsmeade out of 'pure coincidence.'"

"I wouldn't doubt it," Alex agreed.

"He would only get in the way anyhow. He thinks we're wasting our time looking," Aurelius waved it off. "Let's do what we can to prove him wrong. Mandria, send Misty to look in windows. Nearly every room that's being used will have owl access, and she should be able to spot if something's not right. Now that Mum's out of the way, I'll send Achilles to the dungeons."

"What about us?" Mandria asked.

"We're going to pay a visit to the kitchens, first off, to talk to Mercy's daughter," Aurelius said.

"I should have thought of that!" Alex said. "Brilliant!"

"Who's Mercy?" Heph asked.

"Our head House Elf at home. Her daughter lives here now. I think they would have noticed a half-empty goblet lying around somewhere odd, don't you?" Aurelius said. "I even know a fast way to get there. Follow me," he said, heading down a narrow hallway.

"Aurelius," Heph warned.

"We're only going to the kitchen," Aurelius assured him quickly. Stopping by the pillar of a Selkie, Aurelius pushed a button hidden behind the seahorses' mane and the pillar moved, allowing passage beyond it.

"What is this?" Alex blinked. "Why didn't you tell me you knew the secret passages in this castle?"

"I don't know all of them yet," Aurelius explained. "You wouldn't want half information, would you? This way."

The passage was clean and fairly well kept, except for an occasional spider web now and again. As they approached unlit sconces they quickly flared to life, only to snuff out again as they walked away. Mandria had no head for direction underground, quickly losing all sense of where they were. So she was a bit relieved when Aurelius finally stopped and pushed a brick, which slid to the side and opened an entrance leading into the back of the large walk-in cooler in the kitchen. A yelp of surprise came from behind one of the shelves followed by a crash as several boxes of pumpkin biscuits fell on a House Elf's head.

He was smartly dressed…for a House Elf… except for the single sock he sported all the way up one leg, the other one bare. His large eyes peered out of the pile for a sheer instant before he burst out of the pile, excusing himself over and over again.

"I am terribly, sorry, masters and young witches, I hope I didn't cause a fright!"

"Not at all. Are you all right?" Alex asked, helping him up.

"Yes, thank you, miss… why, you're Miss Snape!" he said after a moment. "Dobby, miss, Head House Elf and paid employee of Hogwarts, miss."

"Paid?" Heph whispered to Aurelius. Aurelius shrugged at him.

"And this is my brother, Aurelius, and our friends, Mandria, and Hephaestus."

"You must be hungry! Let me find you something," Dobby offered, glancing around frantically before offering them one of the boxes of biscuits.

"We're just looking for Francie," Aurelius said impatiently. "Is she around?"

"Picking out the menu for lunch, I think, Mr. Snape. She is our head cook, you know, thanks to your mother," Dobby explained, leading them into the kitchen.

"Mum had something to do with her being head cook?" Alex asked curiously.

"It was the only way we could convince Professor Craw to actually eat the food here, Miss Snape." Alex and Aurelius smirked at each other knowingly. "Ah, there she is!"

Francie was a cheerful looking elf wearing little more than a makeshift cooking apron, wrapped around several times and tied smartly around her like a dress. As she turned, her cheerful face brightened immediately, making such a fuss over Alex and Aurelius that they found themselves rather embarrassed, smiling sheepishly at their friends while Francie kept insisting to load them up with freshly made sandwiches on warm bread.

"We're not looking for food, really," Alex protested at last as the industrious elf worked to make more. "We're looking for a cup."

"Oh, dear, Francie is so silly! What would you like to drink, mistress?" Francie said, apologizing profusely.

"Not that sort of cup," Aurelius said impatiently. "This one is a goblet made of gold with grape designs on it and has wine in it, only its half-empty."

"Half-empty?" Francie panicked, popping in and out looking for the cup while Alex tried to calm her down. "I didn't leave any cups half-empty, or half-full either, Master Aurelius!" Suddenly she blinked and stopped to look at them, squinting. "Do your parents know you are drinking wine, sir?"

"What? I'm not drinking anything! We're just looking for a cup like that!" Aurelius snapped.

"It's a magic cup, Francie," Alex said in a calmer voice. "Have you seen anyone with a magic cup made of pure gold?"

"Cups of gold?" Francie said, then suddenly brightened, snapping her fingers. "I know! The Trophy Room!"

"Not those cups!" Alex sighed. Francie frowned.

"Perhaps if you'd be more specific then?" she asked. "I really want to help, mistress, I really do."

"Forget it, this isn't working," Aurelius admitted with frustration. "Thanks anyhow, Francie."

"Thanks for the sandwiches," Alex quickly added as Aurelius stomped towards the pantry. Francie, however, gazed at them with sheer disappointment. Dobby patted her back comfortingly.

"Now where?" Heph sighed. He was beginning to agree with Stock's idea that they weren't going to get anywhere.

"I'm not sure it's anywhere at all if the House Elves don't know," Mandria said, thinking the same thing.

"Well, if the House Elves aren't aware of it, then it must be in a private container somewhere," Aurelius mused. "They wouldn't get into those. At least no respectable House Elves would."

"I think if there was a sneaky House Elf in Hogwarts, the others would have spotted him and reported it to Dumbledore," Alex put in. "I think you can safely rule them out."

"Perhaps it's not in the building at all. Did it ever occur to you your sister could be wrong?" Heph asked. Aurelius and Alex both gave him an icy stare.

"My sister is never wrong," Aurelius said flatly. "Let's go see if Achilles found anything before we check the storage rooms."

"This leads to the dungeons too?" Alex asked brightly. "Does it cut off much time getting to class?"

"A bit from our direction," Aurelius said, earning a dirty look from Heph. "I'm not sure from yours. We can back track a bit towards the hallway nearest your rooms and try it, if you like."

"But our rooms are up several floors, and I haven't seen a set of stairs yet," Mandria said.

"I hear there are one or two in other passage systems," Aurelius said, "but there isn't in this one. By the way, we're on the fifth floor now. If I remember right, it's this way, isn't it?"

"How would I know? I only use these things to get to class," Heph said. "And I'm not sure I trust them."

Aurelius slightly opened a door at a dead end that was covered by a painting, letting the girl's peek outside.

"Amazing, this is near our rooms," Alex said delightedly.

"First we're on the second floor and then the fifth by merely walking down a corridor? A bit dodgy if you ask me," Mandria said suspiciously.

"All right, now let's see," Aurelius mused, looking back. "I suppose this left corridor here probably cuts back over to the dungeon, don't you think? Perhaps we don't have to go all the way around."

"Let's not find out," Heph said firmly. "Neither of us have been this way and you know it. We'd better backtrack to the ones near the regular classrooms where we know them better, Rel."

"Oh, stop acting like a Hufflepuff ninny. If we don't see anything familiar, we'll just backtrack," Aurelius said.

"It'll only take a moment, Hephaestus!" Alex pleaded. Heph grunted as he looked at her pout and her big black eyes.

"Fine. But after that, I'm done up with these passages for the day," Heph said.

"You're a true hero," Mandria said ruefully.

But as they continued, the passage appeared to become narrower and narrower, to the point where they almost had to turn sideways to continue.

"I know we've never been here before," Heph said after it continued for a bit. "I feel like we're in between two walls."

"Perhaps we are," Alex agreed. "Rel, stop at the next opening so we can see where we're at."

"First try to find us a little wider corridor, will you?" Heph complained again. But it was quite some time before Aurelius finally stopped.

"I think I see a niche, could be a door," Aurelius admitted. Holding up a lantern, Aurelius could barely make out the initials "G.F." chalked above it.

"So open it," Mandria said impatiently.

"Here let me give you a hand," Alex said more supportively as they felt around for a lever or switch. At last Aurelius hit something and a makeshift panel slid away, but it was obvious from the moment they did so that it wasn't going to be big enough for anyone to fit into. The room beyond was quite black, and Aurelius muttered irritably to himself at the bad luck.

But just as he began to reach for the wooden panel again, Alex hushed him, holding his hand back and caused them all to stop and listen.

"Here they are, Pandora, the last of 'em," came the unmistakable voice of Mr. Filch, talking to his cat. There was the sound of paper ripping then, and Aurelius strained to try and hear what Filch was mumbling to himself to no avail. "We'll have a nice fire tonight, won't we?" he cackled. Aurelius and Alex found their hair standing on their necks. "Treat me like dirt, will ya? Think I'm not up to standards, is it?" he asked to seemingly no one, the sound of paper ripping continuing. "I'll show you all, now, won't I? Well, all of what's still livin' anyhow."

Suddenly there was the sound of loud scratching on a wooden door, and Aurelius and Alex jumped back, realizing simultaneously that the panel was a section of the back of a closet… Filch's closet at that, where he kept contraband taken from the students.

"Stop that, Pandora! What's the matter with you? Another rat?" Filch asked. Aurelius and Alex worked quickly to get the panel back closed and backed away, pulling the others farther away before answering their questions.

"What do you suppose was going on in there?" Alex said.

"Filch has been taking out a bunch of magic books from the library lately," Aurelius said. "Sounds almost as if he's taking his squibness out on the books. Bet he's feeding them to the fireplace."

"Wait until Boulderdash finds out about that," Heph smirked.

"Do you suppose we ought to tell Dumbledore?" Alex said worriedly. "I mean, if Filch is acting all odd he ought to know about it."

"And just how do we explain to him how we know he's cracking? Oh, by the way, Professor, we happened to have noticed Filch acting strangely from inside his closet?" Aurelius said dryly. "At least I know where we are now. We should be heading the right way if we're on the second floor again."

"All the same," Alex said insistently, "How can we be sure that Filch isn't a danger to himself or others, the way he's been?"

"Or a danger to us, for that matter," Mandria put in.

"If you ask me, I think he's always been cracked," Heph said. "Come on, Rel, we've had enough 'fun' for one day. Besides, even if your sister was right, there's no guarantee that cup hasn't been moved somewhere else."

"Perhaps you're right," Aurelius said resignedly.

"No problem," Alex said, sounding neither tired nor in the least bit resigned. "I'll just have Alicia check again. At least then if it's somewhere else, maybe it'll be easier to find, and if not, we know we're on the right track."

"You'd be better off if it weren't, because there's no way we're going to find it like this, not without a solid lead," Heph insisted. "Or at least a motive."

"What about trying to start this conflict with the goblins?" Alex suggested.

"From what the papers are saying, it didn't need all that much help," Heph said. "Besides, who in this school do you know has any reason to hate goblins?"

"I can think of one," Alex said, glancing at Aurelius.

"Let's go find Achilles," Aurelius said, heading further down the corridor. "Then I'll deal with him."

"With who?" Mandria asked, but either her question was ignored or simply not heard as the other students peered down a four way passage.

"I recognize this passage now," Heph said, sounding somewhat relieved. "We're by the regular classrooms, near Defense. I say, Rel, wouldn't it just be faster to hop down the stairs than it would be to take the corridors from here?"

"We run less of a chance of bumping into anyone in here, though," Aurelius said. Alex tugged hard on Aurelius' sleeve. "What is it?" he snapped irritably, turning to see what she was looking at. He froze when he realized that someone had been standing behind them… a tall shadowed figure leaning against the side of the corridor with his arms folded as if casually waiting for one of them to turn around. It was unmistakably Severus Snape.

Heph muttered something even Aurelius wouldn't repeat.

"Looking for something?" Severus asked.

"We were just taking a constitutional," Alex improvised, while the other three winced, groaned, and looked away.

"A constitutional? Under the castle?" Severus said in such an emotionless tone that all of them had little doubt how much trouble they were in.

"Well, I mean, we can't go outside, can we, since you told Aurelius he had to stay in, so we thought we'd do a bit of exploring, isn't that right, Aurelius?" Alex said quickly, nodding at Aurelius.

"I'm sorry, sir, I've never met her before in my life," Aurelius said, glaring at his sister. "We're merely looking for Achilles. He's wandered off again."

"Really?" Severus said. "And why, might I ask, do you suppose he's been 'wandering' off so much lately?" Aurelius didn't miss the dangerous change in his father's voice; it reminded him of a serpent just before it struck its unlucky victim.

"Probably because I sent him to," Aurelius answered flatly, getting a wide-eyed stare from Alex. "He already knows, Alex. Do you think he'd be here rather than Hogsmeade if he didn't?"

"Yes, I think it is safe to say that this foolhardy expedition of yours has officially come to an end. Whatever the reason is that you think the cup is here, it is as full of holes as your heads are. The fact that you would blatantly attempt to check faculty offices for it is completely unacceptable! I warned you not to cross the line, Mr. Snape, and you have most decidedly done so this time. Not only is the whereabouts of that cup none of your business in the first place, but the idea that the cup is here is unfathomable. Do you not think that if it were here that we would have found it by now?" Severus snapped.

"Maybe," Aurelius shrugged. "If you did, you wouldn't tell us, and I highly doubt you'd have turned it in, which means it'd still be here. On the other hand, maybe it's just because all of you are too busy with your heads up your arses with your own problems that you couldn't find anything past the ends of your noses, no matter how prominent they are."

For a moment, Alex thought for sure her father was going to backhand him. Instead, he grabbed him by the collar and shoved him ahead with a very disturbing growl, barking at the other three to follow behind.

"March. Straight to the dungeons, all four of you! We're going to wait in Craw's office until she arrives."

"No!" Alex and Aurelius shouted, completely horrified. Heph glanced at Mandria in bewilderment, but Mandria looked unusually somber.

"It's hardly my decision. You've gotten two Ravenclaws involved this time, Mr. Snape," Severus said, his eyes flashing as he gave him another forceful nudge down the corridor. "And I have a feeling that there will definitely be some parental involvement this time!"

"There goes my holiday," Heph muttered, getting a swift agreement from Mandria. But the two of them couldn't help but feel a bit sorrier for the other two.