Chapter 6 - In The Shrieking Shack
"Look at that, would you." James was pointing down the stairs at the fleeting vision of Snape floating at the end of Muriel's wand. He was about to follow when he felt Peter tugging at his robes.
"James, it's Padfoot, hurry!" James and Peter ran to the other side of the hall. Remus was already bending over Sirius, who had only just opened his eyes. He groaned.
"I'm going to have to learn when she's serious and when she's not," he said, flashing his friends a weak grin. "She warned me to get out of her way." He shook his head ruefully, but stopped quickly. He'd hit the wall pretty hard and moving was making his head hurt. Sirius stood up with a little help from Remus, and they all headed back to the common room. Sirius was doing his best to talk them out of searching for Muriel and Snape. "Prongs, if she blasted me imagine what she'd do to YOU!"
They helped him back to the dormitory and he pled exhaustion, which wasn't exactly true. He waited until they all went back to the common room, and pulled his broomstick out from under his bed. A moment later he shot out of the window, and just in time, too. He watched as Snape, barely a shadow so far below him, prodded the knot of the whomping willow and disappeared down the tunnel.
Muriel was pacing an upstairs bedroom when Severus arrived with his cauldron full of ingredients. Neither of them spoke as he prepared the potion. Severus was thankful for her silence. He needed to prepare himself. They both knew what it would take to break the memory charm.
The potion took just over 2 hours to complete. They sat, still and silent on either side of the cauldron. Like veritaserum, this potion was entirely clear. It shouldn't be hard to exchange one for another. Muriel was excellent with switching spells. He looked up at her, and was surprised to see that tears were slipping silently down her face. He reached out and wiped her face. "Don't get that in the potion, you'll mess it all up," he whispered gently. It was time. He extinguished the fire under the cauldron and poured the potion into three separate vials. "That'll give you 6 hours." He spoke confidently now, trying to show some strength, not just so he could get through the next task, but so she could as well. "Ready?" he asked.
Muriel shook her head, but got up anyway. She watched silently as Severus pulled an armchair around to face her, tears still streaming down her face. 'This is going to be worse for her than me,' he thought. 'Then you'd best not complain!' The answer came from inside his head, but it sounded so much like Muriel that he almost laughed. Muriel raised her wand to do the one thing she'd promised herself she'd never do again. "Crucio," she whispered.
Sirius sat silently on the first landing until he heard a dull thud, and what sounded like a chair being pushed forcefully against a wall. He crept cautiously up the remaining stairs. The door was open and light was streaming out of it, so he stuck his head around the doorframe. Muriel was standing over Snape, who was writhing on the ground, his face contorted with pain, though he made no sound.
Without thinking, he ran forward and snatched the wand from her hand. Severus gasped and stopped moving abruptly, and Muriel pushed him roughly away. "What do you think you're doing?" he said, still gripping her wand. She didn't answer, but knelt down to Severus.
"Can you remember the interrogation at all? What did you tell them, Sev?"
"It wasn't enough," he rasped, taking her hand and letting her help him back into the chair. Muriel swore under her breath.
"Accio wand," she said. Sirius was so shocked that it barely registered that she'd done wandless magic. He just opened his hand when it returned to her. For the first time, she looked at him. "Were you followed?" she asked roughly. He shook his head. "Go back downstairs and make sure no one comes up here, do you understand?" Her eyes were hard, in spite of her tears.
"I can't let you do this, Mur. I know he's a slimy git, but - " Sirius had raised his wand, but she cut him off.
"Don't be a fool. I could knock you out before you knew you'd come here and have a memory charm on you before you hit the floor." Sirius felt like he'd been slapped.
"It has to happen, Black," Severus said, startling them both. "It was my idea in the first place." Sirius lowered his wand. It wasn't like him to back down from a fight, or listen to reason, but if she was this upset, then something important must hinge on this.
'He's been hit with a memory charm and we have to get through it, now either stand guard or step out of the way." With her jaw set in a determined scowl she turned away from him to face Severus again. "You're sure you remember nothing?" Severus didn't move.
It was all she could do to speak the curse a second time, but she managed it, and held it in place by letting her mind dwell on her father's capture. As if from a distance, she heard Sirius' footsteps pounding down the stairs. By the time he came back up, Muriel was helping Severus back into the chair. They both looked grim, but triumphant.
"It's gone. I can remember everything." Severus raised his head to see that the rest of the marauders had joined Black at the door. "He was followed." Muriel spun quickly. She couldn't stand the look on Sirius' face, but it was nothing to the look of fury that James was giving her. She stunned him without a second thought, and turned back to Severus as Sirius tackled Peter to stop him from interfering.
"There isn't enough time for you to sort it all out and tell me. I've got to get back up there before they suspect." At this, Remus looked up from where he was propping up James.
"They already suspect something. We heard McGonagal talking with an Auror on our way out." Muriel didn't bother to ask if they'd been seen. She had long since known about the invisibility cloak. She turned back to Severus.
"You know what I've got to do, are you ready?" she asked. To the surprise of all, he laughed shortly.
"No. I can't prepare for it in this condition." He closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair as Muriel raised her wand yet again. This time no one moved to stop her.
"Legilimens," she muttered. Then she too closed her eyes. In spite of not being prepared, his usual defenses were still firmly in place, and this was going to take some work. Remus and Sirius exchanged a knowing glance. Peter, still under Sirius' knees, let out a squeak and Sirius let him up. It seemed to take forever for her eyes to open. By the time they did her tears had stopped. She turned to Sirius.
"I have a plan, but I need your help. You have to trust me." She looked into his dark eyes. It was a lot to ask, she knew, after what he'd just witnessed. His emotions were so jumbled that she had no idea what he'd do. Finally he nodded.
"Sirius, what are you doing?" Peter asked shrilly. "You can't possibly - " He never got to finish that sentence, however, because Muriel had rounded on him and her wand was already pointing at his chest.
"Do you have any doubt about what I will do to you if you don't do EXACTLY as I say?" Peter shook his head violently.
"Remus! Stay here and take care of James and Severus. Sev will explain everything when he wakes up. Black, you and I were out taking a walk and we got a little carried away." As she spoke, she mussed her hair just like James always did, and undid an extra button on her blouse. Sirius' eyes widened as she came toward him and pulled his hair gently out of the ponytail he always wore. "Peter!" she said sharply, not bothering to turn toward him. "You sneaked out after us to see where we were going. You will stick to that story or say nothing at all, do you understand?" Her voice was low and dangerous and Peter could do no more than squeak.
"Good. I'll explain on the way. Let's go." They set off down the passageway. True to her word she explained her father's situation. Halfway through the story, she caught Sirius eye, desperately hoping he'd understand as she launched into a recitation of exactly what she planned to tell the ministry. She spoke loudly enough for Peter, who was trailing behind, to hear. "Of course my father isn't a Death Eater at all. I just told that to Sev when we were kids to scare him into being nice to me."
Sirius must have understood because for the first time since she'd stunned James he spoke. "You mentioned that to me once - that you'd told him that." She closed her eyes and hoped he could feel her gratitude. They were just about to the whomping willow when Sirius held her back. Behind them, Peter's shuffling stopped too, just out of sight. He obviously wanted to be as far from Muriel as he could get.
"We should make this convincing, don't you think?" The old twinkle was back in his eyes again. She couldn't believe that he was speaking to her at all after what he'd just seen her do.
"Are you proposing that we - " He cut her off by pushing her gently against the wall of the cave.
"It would hardly support our kissing story if you go back to the castle this unhappy," he whispered, an arrogant smirk twitching his lips upwards. She could feel his hands grasping her waist. His lips were on her neck, and for a moment she almost forgot the situation entirely. She was brought sharply back to the present, however, when he bit her.
"Ow!" she said, pushing him away. "What was that for?" Now she was really angry. Why would he play with her like that?
"Hurt?" he asked calmly. She just glared at him. "Good, then hit me for it." To his surprise, she not only didn't hit him, but she sank to the ground and burst into tears. He looked around helplessly. It was a good plan! He couldn't cheer her up, but he could give McGonagal a good reason why she was so upset. Peter padded up the passageway to see what was the matter and Sirius grabbed him. "Peter, I need you to give me a black eye."
Peter had rarely failed to do something that Sirius asked of him, and when the situation was explained he did this too. After all, Muriel was already mad at him, and he didn't want to be in a dark cave with TWO people who'd gladly curse him into oblivion.
"Now Mur, you stomp off, and take my broom." He handed it to her. "Go straight up to your dormitory and make a fuss about me giving you that hickey and you hitting me." She was looking at him oddly now, finally comprehending. "I'll sit out by the lake and look guilty, and Peter, you need to get yourself caught by McGonagal and let her cow you into telling her this story." He held out both hands to Muriel and pulled her up. "Good luck," he said, planting a chaste kiss on her lips.
Peter went straight to the castle, giving Muriel just enough time to get in her dormitory window. Professor McGonagal found Sirius, 20 minutes later, sitting by the pond with his head in his hands. He told her Muriel had hit him, and she gave him detention and took him to the hospital wing. His eye was bruised and puffy. She then headed for the Ravenclaw common room. She arrived to find Muriel sitting with several other girls. Some were giggling, but a few were comforting her. She was crying.
"My dear, we've been looking all over for you," she said gently. "Where have you been?" Muriel did her best to act as though she didn't want to tell. She knew a midnight stroll across the grounds on her first night back to school was going to mean another detention. She still had to serve the one from the end of last year!
"I just lost track of time, Professor. I went out for a walk after dinner, I know I shouldn't have, but - " She didn't finish, not wanting to mention Sirius. That would seem too obvious. Professor McGonagal nodded sagely, and invited Muriel to her office, explaining on the way about the Auror who'd come to take her to see her father. Muriel knew this was a lie. She'd been wondering how the ministry was going to get to her, and now she knew. They'd fed McGonagal a line about her father being injured and wanting to see her at St. Mungo's.
Before they reached the office, Muriel said she needed to use the lavatory. She didn't fool herself that they'd wait to question her in the morning. This was too important. She downed the first vial of potion in the bathroom before heading to McGonagal's office and letting the Auror, whose name she knew was Harrington, hand her a port key to take her to the ministry.
"Look at that, would you." James was pointing down the stairs at the fleeting vision of Snape floating at the end of Muriel's wand. He was about to follow when he felt Peter tugging at his robes.
"James, it's Padfoot, hurry!" James and Peter ran to the other side of the hall. Remus was already bending over Sirius, who had only just opened his eyes. He groaned.
"I'm going to have to learn when she's serious and when she's not," he said, flashing his friends a weak grin. "She warned me to get out of her way." He shook his head ruefully, but stopped quickly. He'd hit the wall pretty hard and moving was making his head hurt. Sirius stood up with a little help from Remus, and they all headed back to the common room. Sirius was doing his best to talk them out of searching for Muriel and Snape. "Prongs, if she blasted me imagine what she'd do to YOU!"
They helped him back to the dormitory and he pled exhaustion, which wasn't exactly true. He waited until they all went back to the common room, and pulled his broomstick out from under his bed. A moment later he shot out of the window, and just in time, too. He watched as Snape, barely a shadow so far below him, prodded the knot of the whomping willow and disappeared down the tunnel.
Muriel was pacing an upstairs bedroom when Severus arrived with his cauldron full of ingredients. Neither of them spoke as he prepared the potion. Severus was thankful for her silence. He needed to prepare himself. They both knew what it would take to break the memory charm.
The potion took just over 2 hours to complete. They sat, still and silent on either side of the cauldron. Like veritaserum, this potion was entirely clear. It shouldn't be hard to exchange one for another. Muriel was excellent with switching spells. He looked up at her, and was surprised to see that tears were slipping silently down her face. He reached out and wiped her face. "Don't get that in the potion, you'll mess it all up," he whispered gently. It was time. He extinguished the fire under the cauldron and poured the potion into three separate vials. "That'll give you 6 hours." He spoke confidently now, trying to show some strength, not just so he could get through the next task, but so she could as well. "Ready?" he asked.
Muriel shook her head, but got up anyway. She watched silently as Severus pulled an armchair around to face her, tears still streaming down her face. 'This is going to be worse for her than me,' he thought. 'Then you'd best not complain!' The answer came from inside his head, but it sounded so much like Muriel that he almost laughed. Muriel raised her wand to do the one thing she'd promised herself she'd never do again. "Crucio," she whispered.
Sirius sat silently on the first landing until he heard a dull thud, and what sounded like a chair being pushed forcefully against a wall. He crept cautiously up the remaining stairs. The door was open and light was streaming out of it, so he stuck his head around the doorframe. Muriel was standing over Snape, who was writhing on the ground, his face contorted with pain, though he made no sound.
Without thinking, he ran forward and snatched the wand from her hand. Severus gasped and stopped moving abruptly, and Muriel pushed him roughly away. "What do you think you're doing?" he said, still gripping her wand. She didn't answer, but knelt down to Severus.
"Can you remember the interrogation at all? What did you tell them, Sev?"
"It wasn't enough," he rasped, taking her hand and letting her help him back into the chair. Muriel swore under her breath.
"Accio wand," she said. Sirius was so shocked that it barely registered that she'd done wandless magic. He just opened his hand when it returned to her. For the first time, she looked at him. "Were you followed?" she asked roughly. He shook his head. "Go back downstairs and make sure no one comes up here, do you understand?" Her eyes were hard, in spite of her tears.
"I can't let you do this, Mur. I know he's a slimy git, but - " Sirius had raised his wand, but she cut him off.
"Don't be a fool. I could knock you out before you knew you'd come here and have a memory charm on you before you hit the floor." Sirius felt like he'd been slapped.
"It has to happen, Black," Severus said, startling them both. "It was my idea in the first place." Sirius lowered his wand. It wasn't like him to back down from a fight, or listen to reason, but if she was this upset, then something important must hinge on this.
'He's been hit with a memory charm and we have to get through it, now either stand guard or step out of the way." With her jaw set in a determined scowl she turned away from him to face Severus again. "You're sure you remember nothing?" Severus didn't move.
It was all she could do to speak the curse a second time, but she managed it, and held it in place by letting her mind dwell on her father's capture. As if from a distance, she heard Sirius' footsteps pounding down the stairs. By the time he came back up, Muriel was helping Severus back into the chair. They both looked grim, but triumphant.
"It's gone. I can remember everything." Severus raised his head to see that the rest of the marauders had joined Black at the door. "He was followed." Muriel spun quickly. She couldn't stand the look on Sirius' face, but it was nothing to the look of fury that James was giving her. She stunned him without a second thought, and turned back to Severus as Sirius tackled Peter to stop him from interfering.
"There isn't enough time for you to sort it all out and tell me. I've got to get back up there before they suspect." At this, Remus looked up from where he was propping up James.
"They already suspect something. We heard McGonagal talking with an Auror on our way out." Muriel didn't bother to ask if they'd been seen. She had long since known about the invisibility cloak. She turned back to Severus.
"You know what I've got to do, are you ready?" she asked. To the surprise of all, he laughed shortly.
"No. I can't prepare for it in this condition." He closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair as Muriel raised her wand yet again. This time no one moved to stop her.
"Legilimens," she muttered. Then she too closed her eyes. In spite of not being prepared, his usual defenses were still firmly in place, and this was going to take some work. Remus and Sirius exchanged a knowing glance. Peter, still under Sirius' knees, let out a squeak and Sirius let him up. It seemed to take forever for her eyes to open. By the time they did her tears had stopped. She turned to Sirius.
"I have a plan, but I need your help. You have to trust me." She looked into his dark eyes. It was a lot to ask, she knew, after what he'd just witnessed. His emotions were so jumbled that she had no idea what he'd do. Finally he nodded.
"Sirius, what are you doing?" Peter asked shrilly. "You can't possibly - " He never got to finish that sentence, however, because Muriel had rounded on him and her wand was already pointing at his chest.
"Do you have any doubt about what I will do to you if you don't do EXACTLY as I say?" Peter shook his head violently.
"Remus! Stay here and take care of James and Severus. Sev will explain everything when he wakes up. Black, you and I were out taking a walk and we got a little carried away." As she spoke, she mussed her hair just like James always did, and undid an extra button on her blouse. Sirius' eyes widened as she came toward him and pulled his hair gently out of the ponytail he always wore. "Peter!" she said sharply, not bothering to turn toward him. "You sneaked out after us to see where we were going. You will stick to that story or say nothing at all, do you understand?" Her voice was low and dangerous and Peter could do no more than squeak.
"Good. I'll explain on the way. Let's go." They set off down the passageway. True to her word she explained her father's situation. Halfway through the story, she caught Sirius eye, desperately hoping he'd understand as she launched into a recitation of exactly what she planned to tell the ministry. She spoke loudly enough for Peter, who was trailing behind, to hear. "Of course my father isn't a Death Eater at all. I just told that to Sev when we were kids to scare him into being nice to me."
Sirius must have understood because for the first time since she'd stunned James he spoke. "You mentioned that to me once - that you'd told him that." She closed her eyes and hoped he could feel her gratitude. They were just about to the whomping willow when Sirius held her back. Behind them, Peter's shuffling stopped too, just out of sight. He obviously wanted to be as far from Muriel as he could get.
"We should make this convincing, don't you think?" The old twinkle was back in his eyes again. She couldn't believe that he was speaking to her at all after what he'd just seen her do.
"Are you proposing that we - " He cut her off by pushing her gently against the wall of the cave.
"It would hardly support our kissing story if you go back to the castle this unhappy," he whispered, an arrogant smirk twitching his lips upwards. She could feel his hands grasping her waist. His lips were on her neck, and for a moment she almost forgot the situation entirely. She was brought sharply back to the present, however, when he bit her.
"Ow!" she said, pushing him away. "What was that for?" Now she was really angry. Why would he play with her like that?
"Hurt?" he asked calmly. She just glared at him. "Good, then hit me for it." To his surprise, she not only didn't hit him, but she sank to the ground and burst into tears. He looked around helplessly. It was a good plan! He couldn't cheer her up, but he could give McGonagal a good reason why she was so upset. Peter padded up the passageway to see what was the matter and Sirius grabbed him. "Peter, I need you to give me a black eye."
Peter had rarely failed to do something that Sirius asked of him, and when the situation was explained he did this too. After all, Muriel was already mad at him, and he didn't want to be in a dark cave with TWO people who'd gladly curse him into oblivion.
"Now Mur, you stomp off, and take my broom." He handed it to her. "Go straight up to your dormitory and make a fuss about me giving you that hickey and you hitting me." She was looking at him oddly now, finally comprehending. "I'll sit out by the lake and look guilty, and Peter, you need to get yourself caught by McGonagal and let her cow you into telling her this story." He held out both hands to Muriel and pulled her up. "Good luck," he said, planting a chaste kiss on her lips.
Peter went straight to the castle, giving Muriel just enough time to get in her dormitory window. Professor McGonagal found Sirius, 20 minutes later, sitting by the pond with his head in his hands. He told her Muriel had hit him, and she gave him detention and took him to the hospital wing. His eye was bruised and puffy. She then headed for the Ravenclaw common room. She arrived to find Muriel sitting with several other girls. Some were giggling, but a few were comforting her. She was crying.
"My dear, we've been looking all over for you," she said gently. "Where have you been?" Muriel did her best to act as though she didn't want to tell. She knew a midnight stroll across the grounds on her first night back to school was going to mean another detention. She still had to serve the one from the end of last year!
"I just lost track of time, Professor. I went out for a walk after dinner, I know I shouldn't have, but - " She didn't finish, not wanting to mention Sirius. That would seem too obvious. Professor McGonagal nodded sagely, and invited Muriel to her office, explaining on the way about the Auror who'd come to take her to see her father. Muriel knew this was a lie. She'd been wondering how the ministry was going to get to her, and now she knew. They'd fed McGonagal a line about her father being injured and wanting to see her at St. Mungo's.
Before they reached the office, Muriel said she needed to use the lavatory. She didn't fool herself that they'd wait to question her in the morning. This was too important. She downed the first vial of potion in the bathroom before heading to McGonagal's office and letting the Auror, whose name she knew was Harrington, hand her a port key to take her to the ministry.