Chapter Twenty-Two

Search Parties

Mugs still in hand, Alex, Aurelius, Andrew, and Alicia gathered around the table with Zoë and Zack, watching with almost vacant expressions as Jennifer left them there.

"When you're done with those drinks, would you mind going upstairs for a bit? I still have these reports that have to get sent back to the States by morning," Anna said.

"Sure, Mom," Zack said, nodding for them to follow him up the back stairs, drinks still in hand.

"What's she working on this time? Another serial killer case?" Aurelius asked with interest.

"Serial rapist, but Dad won't let her talk about her work in front of us any more. Zack gets nightmares," Zoe said.

"I do not."

"Do too."

"Besides, I think the real reason is because they're afraid we might get ideas and become serial killers ourselves for attention or something," Zack said.

"I only tried that once, but then Mom didn't seem too concerned about me killing bugs," Zoë said.

"She called the exterminator, didn't she?" Zack smirked.

"Don't you two ever take anything seriously?" Aurelius complained.

"Of course, Rel, that's why we're going up to my room in the attic," Zack said. "We won't be heard up there. Alicia, do you have your things with you?"

"Only my sketchbook. Unless you happened to bring the kit I left at Aunt Anna's last summer." Alicia said hopefully.

"He forgot it. I brought it," Zoë butted in.

"It doesn't matter, we got it. So now's the perfect time to locate that cup," Zack said.

"Maybe we ought to locate the princess instead," Alex put in. "I mean, what if the adults don't get to her in time?"

"Nearly everyone we know is out looking for her," Zack said. "No one is looking for that cup, and I dare say it's just as important, if not more so."

"Not as important as a human life," Andrew said.

"And what about the Fomorians? The remainder of their whole race is at stake," Zack pointed out.

"Right," Alex sighed. "The cup then."

"Are we going to have enough time?" Alicia wondered, accepting the kit when they got into the attic.

"Let's see, Father just took off with Sirius and Mum took off on her own… I'd say that's good for at least an evening," Andrew said.

"In fact, it sounds as if we'll end up spending the night," Aurelius agreed.

"Good, then you cover for us. Make an appearance now and again downstairs so no one will worry that we're too quiet and come looking," Zack suggested.

"I can make some raids to the ice box," Andrew volunteered. "No one will suspect that."

"That's for certain," Aurelius agreed.

"I've almost got it, I think," Alicia said, glancing at her work. "A bit rushed, I hope it's not too crude. We just need to let the paint dry to tacky before trying it."

"Wait a minute, how are we going to get back if Alicia doesn't go with us all the way?" Zoë asked.

"We'll just find a friendly painting to help keep tabs on you," Alicia said, waving it away. "I'll sketch a rough picture of them and they can let me know when you're ready to come back."

"And I thought our talents worked weird," Zack said with a smirk. But Alicia only smiled at him.

"I don't know. In some ways, I think she's the normal one in the family," Alex said.

"Well, it certainly isn't you," Aurelius put in and got a tongue stuck out at him for his efforts.

"All right, time to go if we're going," Alicia said.

Unlike Alicia's siblings, Zack and Zoë had not been on quite as many adventures in art, and were still quite excited to be going, fascinated with the walk through the endless colors and momentary black patches as Alicia took them closer and closer to their goal. Finally Alicia paused as the edge of a frame appeared in front of them, stepping aside as the other two hopped out and looked around. The painting was a landscape, it seemed, of a cornfield beside a train station.

"No doubt about it," Zack said after leaning much too liberally over the railing of the staircase landing they were standing on. "This is definitely Hogwarts."

Zoë peered off the landing as well and whether the cause was the dozen moving staircases below her or the smell of the fresh wood polish on the railing, she felt as if she were going to be a bit ill.

"This doesn't look like any school I've ever been in," Zoë said, sinking to the step.

"'Course not. I bet all British private schools look like this, though," Zack said, glancing back at Alicia.

"Any friendly paintings about?" Alicia asked.

"Well, you heard her. Which one of you is friendly?" Zack asked the wall of paintings. Several of them started talking at once.

"Perhaps I can help?" a painting nearby said, his slightly higher voice setting it apart for the others.

It was the painting of the smallest figure Zack had seen besides a House Elf, sitting at a desk with a very rosy expression, his hands folded over his wand while a pen was busy in front of him, apparently dictating something. Engraved upon the frame was the name, Professor Filius Flitwick, Charms Professor.

"Yes, we're looking for something," Zack said. A moment later Alicia appeared in the frame of the painting, slightly startling the professor who stood up on what apparently was a stack of books.

"My goodness, that's quite a gift you have, young lady! But you do look a little young to be a student," Flitwick said. "So do you two, come to think of it."

"Please, sir, it's real important," Alicia said.

"Possibly life or death!" Zack agreed.

"Well, in that case, I'll do everything in my power to help you," Flitwick said.

"Great! Let's go have a look around then," Zoë said.

"Do try to be as quick as possible, and make sure nobody sees you or we're dead for sure," Alicia said. "I'll let the others know it's still in the castle."

"Right," Zack said.

"How about we get out of this stairwell for starters?" Zoë suggested.

"What floor are we on, Professor?" Zack asked.

"The thirteenth, Mr… what is your name again?" Flitwick asked.

"Thanks, Professor," Zack said, dragging his sister into the hall. "A bit too nosy for my liking."

"He was probably just trying to be nice, he's only a painting after all," Zoë said. "What do you suppose is this way?"

"I'm not sure. All I see are more paintings," Zack said, picking a direction.

"Really odd, this hallway is long but not a single door in sight," Zoë agreed.

"Yes, this floor isn't getting us anywhere, let's go up a level."

"Up? Can't we go down?"

"Well, we're closer to the top at this point than the bottom," Zack said.

"I am not going through this entire castle looking for this thing," Zoë said. "Besides, remember they already tried that and all it did was get them into trouble."

"Look, another stairwell back here," Zack pointed out.

"And a normal looking one," Zoë agreed with relief. "I suppose they'd have to have a normal one, I mean, I wouldn't expect students to go on those moving things. Think of the insurance costs!" she said, heading up the steps.

"I wonder where everyone is? Everyone that stayed, I mean."

"Not up here and we should be grateful for that," Zoë said, then paused a moment, feeling slightly disoriented. "When did these stairs start to twist?"

"What?"

"Weren't we on straight normal looking stairs a moment ago?" Zoë asked. Zack looked down at her from over the spiral railing above. "This place reminds me of an overrated funhouse at the 4H fair."

"Let's just keep going. If we don't find anything soon, we'll turn around and let the Snapes do their own dirty work," Zack said, unsure if he liked the castle anymore than his sister did. But as he reached what appeared to be the top of the stairs, he found himself in a large circular room filled with shelves full of gadgets and bookcases and tables of things both ordinary and unidentifiable.

"Woah," Zack said, only to immediately get hushed by his sister, who was staring around the room at all the sleeping paintings. "Now this room has some class," he finished in a lower voice.

"I'm not sure we should be in here," Zoë said, but moved further into the room to peer at an odd pet stand with a curious bowl of ashes underneath.

"The door was open, it can't hurt to take a quick look around before we go," Zack said, peering in a glass case at what appeared to be a pulsing stone egg. "This place has more gadgets in it than Best Buy, and I bet you don't even have to plug any of these in!"

"I highly doubt it," Zoë said dryly, stepping over to the desk. "This must be one of the teacher's offices," she decided, plucking a piece of candy from the smoky crystal dish sitting on the desk.

"I bet that took a lot of thought process out of you considering it's a school, duh," Zack said, making a face at her.

"It looks like they left their journal out, too," Zoë said. "It's even up to date… December twenty-third."

"Cool, go back and see if you can't find Aurelius' grades. Maybe there's something in there we can heckle him about."

"Not right now, come here and read this," Zoë told him, waving him over.

December 23rd.

Things are progressing smoothly here, and in spite of current events, I am confident that the transition without me will be a fairly painless one. Minerva has been tireless in her efforts here, and everything in that respect is going according to plan. I am still debating whether or not to tell them before I leave, but I think perhaps it would be better if they found out on their own.

"Found what out?" Zoë mused, turning back the pages. But none of the other pages seemed legible. In fact, not even the dates themselves were clear.

"Wait a minute, there was more," Zack protested.

"No there wasn't," Zoë said defensively, still trying to find something to read on earlier pages.

"Yes there was, look," Zack insisted, forcing the book back open to the first page.

I have received word that Thera has apparently disappeared during a shopping trip to Hogsmeade. This only seems to further confirm my suspicions, as I do not believe that she was taken by any forceful means, but by her own misguidance. I am going to send Sagittari to join the hunt for her in the forest in hopes of finding her safe and sound. Meanwhile, I must consider my duties here, although I don't believe that I will be able to finish them without interruption, as I have two guests in my office who have acquired a keen sense of curiosity from their parents.

Perhaps that same curiosity will inspire them to look behind them now that they have read this.

Zoë finished reading it and looked hard at Zack, who then finished but decided to read that last line one more time before returning the gaze. Slowly in unison they turned around, not really surprised to find Albus Dumbledore standing behind them and looking at them above the rim of his glasses.

"Busted," Zack murmured under his breath.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting. I was doing a bit of packing, not that one needs much for an afternoon tea, but one should be prepared for anything in foreign surroundings," Dumbledore said, gesturing them towards the chairs in front of his desk. "You never know when something unexpected is going to happen."

"Like changing staircases," Zoë muttered, getting a warm smile in return.

"Have another sherbet, Zoë. I am glad to see you both. This is the first time either of you have visited me in my own surroundings, at least not since you were too young to remember it. Although I am rather curious as to why I have the honor of this visit," Dumbledore said.

"How did you even know we were coming?" Zoë asked.

"Well, I didn't until you stepped out of the painting. But when I'm here, I have ways of knowing when someone is in this castle that isn't supposed to be," he said, a twinkle lightening his otherwise stern smile. "And considering a painting was involved, may I then assume you're not here necessarily on your own behalf?"

"We were looking for something," Zack admitted. "Something we probably ought to tell you about."

"If it is in my castle, Zacchius, I would definitely recommend it," Dumbledore agreed.

"Will it get anyone into trouble if we do?" Zoë asked.

"Will it get anyone into trouble if you do not?" Dumbledore asked. Zoë and Zack looked at each other a moment before Zack finally sighed.

"It's the cup everyone's looking for, the one with the Wine of Satyrs in it. It's here," Zack said at last.

"What makes you think so?" Dumbledore asked.

"The Snapes have been getting Alicia to draw it to try and find it, and it kept leading them here," Zoë explained. "But in all sorts of strange places, and never in the same place twice. Something to do with the paintings here, perhaps?"

"Of that I have no idea," Dumbledore admitted. "It is true that the paintings here are special, but since I know of no one with Alicia's talent for art, I could not say the cause."

"Still, it must be in the castle if it keeps leading us here, doesn't it?" Zack said. "In fact, I was the one who suggested we try it now while most everyone was gone, because if it was someone who had left for vacation…"

"You would have most definitely found out who took the cup, or at least, who has the cup," Dumbledore mused. "A very solid idea."

"You do believe us when we say the cup is here?" Zoë asked.

"I have had no reason up until now to doubt Alicia's ability in any way," Dumbledore nodded.

"Do you have it, Professor?" Zack asked daringly.

"No, Zacchius, I do not."

"Sorry, I had to ask."

"Quite all right," Dumbledore smiled at him, opening a drawer to gaze at something. "No, I am not sure where in the castle that cup might be, although I wonder…" he paused then, and it suddenly appeared as if he had forgotten what he was going to say. "There are many worse places that cup could be, and I thank you for bringing it to my attention. Perhaps knowing that it will speed up finding it and we can finally get those Fomorians out of their situation."

"I don't get it, how will the cup help?" Zoë asked. "Does it have some sort of power we don't know about?"

"We really don't know much at all about the power of that cup yet," Dumbledore said, "Except what we've heard from legends. But the wine within it is quite powerful."

"Yes, Aurelius told us about it, it makes one feel heroic, sort of like the Defiance spell, right?" Zack said.

"Yes, quite similar in ways, but much more potent, and probably just as addictive if improperly used," Dumbledore agreed. "But strong enough, perhaps, to break free of a Dementor strengthened Imperius curse, I should think."

"How can that help though, if there's not even enough for one Fomorian?"

"Quite simple, really. You see, Professor Craw…" he paused then as he glanced in the drawer again. "Is on her way up at this very moment. Filius, fetch Alicia please."

"Right away, Professor," Flitwick said from where he was listening near a sleeping woman's side, careful not to wake her as he tiptoed out of the frame.

"Thank you for stopping by, so sorry you must rush off now. I dare think I won't see either of you until I return in the fall," Dumbledore said, walking them over to a tall painting that came down to the edge of the floor. "I would recommend that you try to avoid getting in too far over your head while I'm gone. Then again, perhaps with me out of the way, you both might actually have to turn to your parents now and then as you probably ought to be doing anyhow," he chided them, glancing up to see Alicia looking out of the frame, wide-eyed. "And that goes for you too, young lady. Good night, stay safe. I'll know if you're not. And thank you."

Alicia, feeling rushed by Dumbledore's quick goodbyes drew her cousins back in and disappeared from view just as a knock landed on the double doors, which had apparently closed on their own. Dumbledore paused, watching the painting until Filius himself waved and tiptoed out. Dumbledore went over to the door and opened it by hand.

"My apologies, Severus, I was packing. Please come in, Sirius, Jennifer. My goodness, Sirius, what happened to you? Did you find Thera?"

"We got separated, and I had a close encounter with a Bogwight," Sirius said.

"We didn't get separated. You kept running ahead," Severus snapped. "It's your own fault."

"I can scout faster than you."

"I should have brought a leash."

"Let's not get into that again!" Jennifer protested. "We're just lucky the Bogwight found him and not the princess, she wouldn't have known what to do. I went looking for Sagittari figuring that you would have sent him to search as well and we finally found her not far from the castle side of the forest, wandering in circles and sobbing. She wouldn't talk to either of us, and her face was haunted… she kept thinking of her father and how she failed him somehow."

"Failed him," Dumbledore repeated thoughtfully.

"I don't know, perhaps it has something to do with why she was left like she was in the tomb," Jennifer sighed. "Sagittari has her in his office now. He gave her a potion to restore her body temperature but wants to keep her in observation. To be honest, Albus, I don't think he's convinced that going back with Bill and Heather is a good idea, and I'm not sure I am either. They're gravediggers, not psychologists, and Thera's not doing well, not well at all."

"As her guardian, it is William's call to make," Dumbledore pointed out. "And even he did choose to get her help, where will she go? She could not possibly stay here, and that only leaves St. Mungo's."

"I knew it would come to this," Severus murmured, his face void of color. "I should never have woken her."

"You?" Sirius said, turning to him with obvious surprise. "You woke her? I mean, I had figured it wasn't the river bit, and I can see Jennifer doing it. But you?"

"You merely offered her a choice, Severus," Jennifer said more understandingly. "You didn't make it for her."

"Perhaps it wasn't mine to offer."

"You did only what you had to, Severus," Dumbledore said gently. "And I think this matter is hardly over. There is still a lot we do not know, and there are some things here that do not seem to have much reason to them yet. But there is something I have discovered tonight that perhaps may shed some light on the subject."

"Yes?" Severus prompted.

"It seems that my sources have been able to track the cup to a location," Dumbledore said, seriously. "Apparently, it is somewhere in this castle."

"What?" Jennifer said, glancing at Severus, who was squinting suspiciously. "But Albus, there's no way a student might have gone and taken it, is there? And no one on staff could possibly ever stoop to stealing."

"And what of forcefully acquiring stolen goods when in the wrong hands?" Dumbledore asked. Jennifer blushed noticeably, knowing he was speaking of the Cauldron.

"That was different," Jennifer said quietly.

"I do not accuse anyone in this castle of stealing, Jennifer, I am merely stating what I know to be a fact. And it is also a fact that were I to come out and ask whoever has it to come forward, it would merely disappear again."

"It'll also disappear again if everyone goes around asking nosy questions," Sirius said.

"I think it'll be easier, perhaps, if we find out first why anyone here would have reason to keep it," Dumbledore suggested. "But however it turns out, I'm sure you'll have to tell me when I get back. I daresay with my luck it won't be found until after I'm gone, and then," he said glancing at Severus again, "It'll be for you and Minerva to handle, Severus."