Chapter 26
She's Gone...
The next morning Cleo, Curania, and A'lira were summoned to Dumbledore's office after breakfast. They stood in front of the Griffin statue for a few minutes trying to figure out the password then it opened by itself. Reluctantly they climbed the spiral staircase to the door to Dumbledore's office. Inside were their parents, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Jason and Rosalind, and Dumbledore, of course.
"Come in, Mademoiselles Black." Dumbledore greeted, summoning three chairs. "Sit." They obeyed immediately, still confused.
"Where's Mêlée?" Cleo asked, a little worried.
"That is why you are here, Miss black." It was Snape that spoke. The girls stared at him then back at their parents.
"What happened?" A'lira inquired.
"Your sister, it seems, has taken off." Dumbledore explained.
"What!" All three of the sister exclaimed.
"It seems that she has taken an offer up to visit with the Malfoy family for the holidays." Snape stated.
"While your sister is eighteen and a legal adult and can make her own decisions she failed to inform anyone of her intentions. Professor Snape overheard a conversation that a couple of portraits were having outside the Slytherin common room." Professor McGonagall looked really worried even though Mêlée wasn't even in her house.
"Honestly, what's the problem? She's old enough to take care of herself. Besides Lucius Malfoy is in Azakban. He can't hurt her." Curania stated.
"True, but Miss Black, Voldemort is very interested in you and your sisters. If he can get his hands on one of you, it could mean the end of the world. Even though there is Potter, Voldemort knows that you are friends of Potter and may decide to use you to get to him or Dumbledore." Snape explained.
"But what are we suppose to do?" Katherine asked, her voice full of tears. Chris reached over and took his wife's hand in his, calming her somewhat.
"There is not much that we can do." Jason replied.
"Then why are we here!" Cleo shouted, rising quickly from her chair, whirling around to face him. "What was the point in bringing us here if you are going to just tell us 'Your sister has run away and there's nothing anyone can do about it!'"
"She will be back in less than two weeks. When she returns we need to keep a close eye on her and Malfoy. And until then we need to be prepared for anything. If anything more unusual than normal happens report it to myself, Professor Snape or Professor McGonagall." Dumbledore explained then dismissed them.
Everyone went absently through each day for a week and despite the alternating drenching rain and blowing snow it was a rather uneventful week. There wasn't much to do since almost everyone had left for the holidays. Christmas came and went with the exchange of gifts all around. Cleo, Curania, and A'lira received a couple books from their parents and Hermione, some candy and odd things from Fred and George's store from Harry and Ron. Curania disappeared for a couple hours Christmas afternoon and returned to the Great Hall with Julian. A stunning sapphire and diamond necklace hung around her neck. Her sisters and friends jokingly picked fun at her for the rest of the day.
Despite the general melancholy mood that seemed to settle over everyone, all went well. As the end of the week drew close tension began to build as everyone anticipated Mêlée's return. She just showed up that morning as if nothing had happened. It was Saturday and everyone had gathered in the Great Hall for breakfast when she just walked in and sat down to eat. Curania and A'lira had to visibly and forcibly hold Cleo back from plummeting her sister.
Mêlée was silent for most of the next couple of days. She only spoke when spoken to or when absolutely necessary. She gave no or little inclination to her experience in the Malfoy's household and this worried everyone at Hogwarts. Slowly students began returning from their holiday vacations and the Slytherins seemed to be the first to arrive.
Dumbledore called all of the professors, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Cleo, Curania, and A'lira to his office about three days before the end of the winter holidays. "I have gathered you all here because I have some reason to believe that there will be some sort of attack on Hogwarts itself before the end of the Holidays. We need to be prepared to defend ourselves and the younger students."
"Sir, shouldn't Mêlée be here as well. She should be in on this as well." A'lira stated.
"I do not like to think of it, my dear, but..." Dumbledore was cut off.
"Your sister has had an audience with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He has persuaded her to help him in this attack." Snape spat.
Cleo jumped to her feet. "You lie! Mêlée would never..."
"Miss Black, please calm down. We all are surprised but we need to keep our heads if we are to save ourselves and all the innocent students here at Hogwarts." Dumbledore soothed.
"If we are attacked," Harry spoke up. "How are we supposed to stand a chance?"
"There are secret underground tunnels that run the length of Hogwarts' property and open out again at a secret and safe location." Dumbledore answered.
"But He probably already knows about them!" Ron exclaimed.
"He might, Mr. Weasley, but the tunnels were built by Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff. Very special and very powerful spells were placed on all entrances and several places in between that weed out the evil and let the innocent pass. These tunnels were built in retaliation of Salazar Slytherin's leaving and his Chamber of Secrets. While the tunnels have not been used for several hundreds of years it is rumored that a monster equal to that in the Chamber guards several checkpoints throughout the tunnels." Dumbledore explained.
The teens just stared at him while the professors just nodded. Obviously they had heard the tales while the teenagers had never heard even a whisper before. "That's not in Hogwarts: A History." Hermione whispered.
"Amazing there is something that Know-It-All-Miss-Granger didn't know. Lets put that in Hogwarts: A History." Snape laughed sarcastically.
"Severus, we do not have the time for your snide remarks." Professor Ashkevron snapped. "What we need now is how to prepare for the attack." They spent the next two hours planning strategy and escape routes. Finally as Dumbledore was about to dismiss the rather large group of people, Jason and Rosalind spoke up. "We request four all four sisters to come to one last lesson at eight tomorrow morning." He stated.
"Do you think that wise?" Snape asked. "No one is sure what young Miss Black knows. It may not be a good idea to put anyone in a situation were our knowledge of You-Know-Who's plans might leak out." He reasoned.
"Your concerns are well understood. However, it is not certain that she knows anything. One more lesson that is all I ask." With that he and Rosalind just got up and left without even waiting to hear what anyone else said.
"Well that's that now isn't it." Dumbledore said. "Girls, if you would please inform your sister about the lesson in the morning, I would be grateful. However, please refrain from any mention of this meeting no matter what."
She's Gone...
The next morning Cleo, Curania, and A'lira were summoned to Dumbledore's office after breakfast. They stood in front of the Griffin statue for a few minutes trying to figure out the password then it opened by itself. Reluctantly they climbed the spiral staircase to the door to Dumbledore's office. Inside were their parents, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Jason and Rosalind, and Dumbledore, of course.
"Come in, Mademoiselles Black." Dumbledore greeted, summoning three chairs. "Sit." They obeyed immediately, still confused.
"Where's Mêlée?" Cleo asked, a little worried.
"That is why you are here, Miss black." It was Snape that spoke. The girls stared at him then back at their parents.
"What happened?" A'lira inquired.
"Your sister, it seems, has taken off." Dumbledore explained.
"What!" All three of the sister exclaimed.
"It seems that she has taken an offer up to visit with the Malfoy family for the holidays." Snape stated.
"While your sister is eighteen and a legal adult and can make her own decisions she failed to inform anyone of her intentions. Professor Snape overheard a conversation that a couple of portraits were having outside the Slytherin common room." Professor McGonagall looked really worried even though Mêlée wasn't even in her house.
"Honestly, what's the problem? She's old enough to take care of herself. Besides Lucius Malfoy is in Azakban. He can't hurt her." Curania stated.
"True, but Miss Black, Voldemort is very interested in you and your sisters. If he can get his hands on one of you, it could mean the end of the world. Even though there is Potter, Voldemort knows that you are friends of Potter and may decide to use you to get to him or Dumbledore." Snape explained.
"But what are we suppose to do?" Katherine asked, her voice full of tears. Chris reached over and took his wife's hand in his, calming her somewhat.
"There is not much that we can do." Jason replied.
"Then why are we here!" Cleo shouted, rising quickly from her chair, whirling around to face him. "What was the point in bringing us here if you are going to just tell us 'Your sister has run away and there's nothing anyone can do about it!'"
"She will be back in less than two weeks. When she returns we need to keep a close eye on her and Malfoy. And until then we need to be prepared for anything. If anything more unusual than normal happens report it to myself, Professor Snape or Professor McGonagall." Dumbledore explained then dismissed them.
Everyone went absently through each day for a week and despite the alternating drenching rain and blowing snow it was a rather uneventful week. There wasn't much to do since almost everyone had left for the holidays. Christmas came and went with the exchange of gifts all around. Cleo, Curania, and A'lira received a couple books from their parents and Hermione, some candy and odd things from Fred and George's store from Harry and Ron. Curania disappeared for a couple hours Christmas afternoon and returned to the Great Hall with Julian. A stunning sapphire and diamond necklace hung around her neck. Her sisters and friends jokingly picked fun at her for the rest of the day.
Despite the general melancholy mood that seemed to settle over everyone, all went well. As the end of the week drew close tension began to build as everyone anticipated Mêlée's return. She just showed up that morning as if nothing had happened. It was Saturday and everyone had gathered in the Great Hall for breakfast when she just walked in and sat down to eat. Curania and A'lira had to visibly and forcibly hold Cleo back from plummeting her sister.
Mêlée was silent for most of the next couple of days. She only spoke when spoken to or when absolutely necessary. She gave no or little inclination to her experience in the Malfoy's household and this worried everyone at Hogwarts. Slowly students began returning from their holiday vacations and the Slytherins seemed to be the first to arrive.
Dumbledore called all of the professors, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Cleo, Curania, and A'lira to his office about three days before the end of the winter holidays. "I have gathered you all here because I have some reason to believe that there will be some sort of attack on Hogwarts itself before the end of the Holidays. We need to be prepared to defend ourselves and the younger students."
"Sir, shouldn't Mêlée be here as well. She should be in on this as well." A'lira stated.
"I do not like to think of it, my dear, but..." Dumbledore was cut off.
"Your sister has had an audience with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He has persuaded her to help him in this attack." Snape spat.
Cleo jumped to her feet. "You lie! Mêlée would never..."
"Miss Black, please calm down. We all are surprised but we need to keep our heads if we are to save ourselves and all the innocent students here at Hogwarts." Dumbledore soothed.
"If we are attacked," Harry spoke up. "How are we supposed to stand a chance?"
"There are secret underground tunnels that run the length of Hogwarts' property and open out again at a secret and safe location." Dumbledore answered.
"But He probably already knows about them!" Ron exclaimed.
"He might, Mr. Weasley, but the tunnels were built by Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff. Very special and very powerful spells were placed on all entrances and several places in between that weed out the evil and let the innocent pass. These tunnels were built in retaliation of Salazar Slytherin's leaving and his Chamber of Secrets. While the tunnels have not been used for several hundreds of years it is rumored that a monster equal to that in the Chamber guards several checkpoints throughout the tunnels." Dumbledore explained.
The teens just stared at him while the professors just nodded. Obviously they had heard the tales while the teenagers had never heard even a whisper before. "That's not in Hogwarts: A History." Hermione whispered.
"Amazing there is something that Know-It-All-Miss-Granger didn't know. Lets put that in Hogwarts: A History." Snape laughed sarcastically.
"Severus, we do not have the time for your snide remarks." Professor Ashkevron snapped. "What we need now is how to prepare for the attack." They spent the next two hours planning strategy and escape routes. Finally as Dumbledore was about to dismiss the rather large group of people, Jason and Rosalind spoke up. "We request four all four sisters to come to one last lesson at eight tomorrow morning." He stated.
"Do you think that wise?" Snape asked. "No one is sure what young Miss Black knows. It may not be a good idea to put anyone in a situation were our knowledge of You-Know-Who's plans might leak out." He reasoned.
"Your concerns are well understood. However, it is not certain that she knows anything. One more lesson that is all I ask." With that he and Rosalind just got up and left without even waiting to hear what anyone else said.
"Well that's that now isn't it." Dumbledore said. "Girls, if you would please inform your sister about the lesson in the morning, I would be grateful. However, please refrain from any mention of this meeting no matter what."