Chapter 17 Embarrassment

The feast was an amusing affair for the marauders. Muriel's little stunt kept them from musing too much on the fact that Dumbledore had never announced the usual Halloween ball. The speculation was that the Headmaster had overheard Professor Kettleburn asking Professor McGonagal to go with him, and cancelled the whole affair as a result.

She hadn't told them who had impersonated Sirius, but they had a pretty shrewd idea, and went about in the rest of their classes telling everyone that Aurora had been caught making out with someone and it would be obvious by dinner who it was.

The teachers watched in disapproving silence as the Great Hall, Gryffindors and Slytherins alike, erupted into fits of laughter when Severus and Aurora arrived, still manacled together, and made their way toward Muriel. Mur could feel the heat of her Professors' eyes on the back of her neck. She felt a little bad for Aurora, who looked thoroughly dejected. It was Severus who threw a sack of galleons on the table in front of her. She banished them back toward his chest and he caught them with his only free hand. "I don't want your money." Her voice was so quiet and cold that even in the now silent hall, no one but the marauders, sitting nearest to her, could hear.

She waved her wand at their extended wrists and the manacles disappeared. She held Aurora's wand out to her without a word. The girl was crying, but Muriel made no move to comfort her. The pain she had wanted to cause Muriel would have been far worse. Aurora snatched the wand and ran out of the hall, several of her friends getting up to follow her. They turned at the door however, to see how this would play out. Almost everyone had heard about the shouting match Severus and Muriel had at the end of last year. Even the teachers waited silently.

Severus had his most dangerous expression firmly stamped on his face. Muriel kept her face serene, but didn't move an inch. No matter how angry he was, he wouldn't ever be able to intimidate her. She knew him to well. He turned suddenly on his heel and stalked away from her. She quickly cast a switching spell, exchanging the content of her pocket for the empty flask that had been in his. Then she hit him with the spell she'd created on the train, and again, he paused, blinking, before continuing to his table doggedly.

Slowly, normal conversation resumed in the hall as Severus went to sit down, taking his wand out of his pocket, then thrusting it hastily back when he saw Muriel watching him. The marauders were chatting excitedly about Muriel's supreme embarrassment of Snape. It seemed they were quite proud of her, but she only felt like she was a great prat. She was looking silently at her food, trying to decide why he would have done such a thing, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Come with me, Miss Deesia." It was Professor Warrington, Head of Ravenclaw House and Potions Master. As he led her out of the hall, she saw Severus being led out as well. She guessed that wherever they were going, they were about to meet up with Aurora and the entire tale would have to be told. She started deciding what to tell them.

They sat in the Headmaster's office, facing his desk. Their Heads of House stood behind Professor Dumbledore and they were all looking rather grim. Muriel couldn't understand why. No one had been hurt, after all. The professors where all accomplished in Occlumency, and she knew there was no use trying to read them. But she did notice that Warrington appeared more upset than the others, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. Severus must have swiped that potion - he hadn't had a month's notice in which to make it. Perhaps they knew what he'd done.

Dumbledore looked over his glasses at the three students in front of him. Severus and Muriel had caused more than their fair share of trouble over the last 6 years, but Aurora had never so much as lost house points. He was at a loss as to what could have brought this on. The girl was obviously terrified, and would probably not do well under interrogation. Instead he turned to Severus. His face was hard and defiant. Dumbledore sighed. He would only get lies from the boy if he asked him about this. That left Muriel Deesia.

"Miss Deesia, I can't imagine what prompted you to humiliate your classmates in this fashion, and I require a full explanation of what happened." He sounded extremely disappointed, though Muriel knew that his expectations for her had never been that high.

"Yes, Professor." She cast a nasty glance at Severus, but winked at him with the eye away from the headmaster. His eyes widened a bit as she turned back with her lips pressed into a thin line. "I caught Severus kissing Aurora in an empty classroom and I got jealous. They were so DISTRACTED that they didn't have time to defend themselves before I took their wands. Then I manacled them together to teach them a lesson." She mentioned neither the bet, nor the poly juice potion that would get the others in trouble. Aurora, who had been looking guiltily at the floor, looked up suddenly, her eyes wide. She caught the look Severus was giving her, however, and nodded her support when prompted.

"Is this correct?" Dumbledore asked, looking from Aurora to Severus. He also nodded shamefacedly at the floor. "Well, then Miss Deesia, I am afraid that 20 points will be taken from Ravenclaw for your particular brand of temper. You will also be serving detention with Professor Warrington next Tuesday." She nodded silently.

"But Headmaster, my storeroom was certainly raided by someone, and I suspect -" Professor Warrington stopped abruptly as Dumbledore held up a hand.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Reginald." He looked hard at each of the students. "You may go. I suggest you skip the rest of the feast. Food will be sent to your dormitories." They nodded and made their way back down the stairs. They walked together because there was no way to avoid it, and when they got to the Hufflepuff corridor, Aurora hesitated, then turned to Muriel.

"Thanks for not getting me in trouble in there. If they'd heard about the bet, I'd be in detention too. I'm awfully sorry, I really had no idea that you and Sirius were so close. I was just jealous because he turned me down when I asked him to that stupid dance last year." Aurora waited for Muriel to respond, but the stony-faced brunette only nodded, then turned away to continue down the hall, Severus following.

Muriel made her way back to Ravenclaw tower, aware that Severus was still shuffling behind her, though his thoughts and emotions were veiled as always. When she reached the portrait hole, she paused to give him a chance to say something. When he said nothing, she took out her wand and cast the spell again. She watched him blink twice, then whispered the password and made her way up to her room as the tears began to fall.

Severus stood outside the portrait, blinking slowly. Each time he closed his eyes the words became a bit fainter, but he could still make them out. Written in searing blue on the insides of his eyelids were the words, "You're welcome." His lips quirked upward slightly. Yes, she'd kept him out of trouble again. He could hardly believe his plan had failed so miserably. All he'd wanted was to get her away from Black. He couldn't date her himself, not yet, but if she were only unattached he knew he could get her back as soon as it was safe again. He shook his head. Maybe he should just tell her.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a burning sensation on his left arm, and grimaced. Each time he thought of giving in and talking to her this pain seemed to spring up to remind him. He was in too deep now, and he couldn't take her with him. He gritted his teeth and headed outside. He had to get off Hogwarts' grounds before he could apparate to meet his father and the others. It was going to be a very long night.