Chapter 7 ~ New Developments
The members of the Order of the Phoenix headed for the kitchen, and Sirius was surprised to see Fred and George Weasley as well. Molly wasn't going to like that. Muriel and Sirius joined them, just as Dumbledore himself arrived in haste to begin. It was several hours before any classes would start at Hogwarts, so most of the teachers were present. The only exception was Professor Snape.
The atmosphere was tense as Dumbledore explained the situation. "After Saturday night's excursion, Severus was not permitted to return. It appears that Lord Voldemort feels that the time has come for Severus to declare his loyalty openly. As you know, he has been working for several months now to bring us information about Voldemort's movements. Part of that work requires answering the call of the dark mark when he feels it. That is the only way to keep from arousing suspicion. He was, therefore, required to go, and was only able to report briefly to me, earlier this morning." No one spoke as Dumbledore paused to take a drink of the water Molly had brought to the table. Remus was staring openly and worriedly at Muriel as she sat beside Sirius, her eyes focused on the table.
"Although he has not been able to give me any details of what Voldemort's plan is, we do know that Severus' part will take place in the heart of London, which puts him in a very accessible location. The time frame was a bit sketchy, but it appears that Severus will have to be gone quite some time. We'll need to appear surprised by this, and it will have to take us a few weeks, I think, to come up with a new Potions master. Also, after he misses his first and second classes today, I will be notifying the Ministry of Magic of his disappearance, so that they will join in the hunt. It will be important not to let the Minister jump to any conclusions." At this, Dumbledore looked over the top of his glasses at Arthur Weasley and Kingsley. "We do not want to appear as if we have ANY advance information. We will, however, need to be scouring London for any sign of what's happening. Even without details, we should be able to have someone on hand when the trouble begins."
At this point, different sections of London and times were assigned to each member of the Order. Sirius was a little put out when he was not given anything to do in the first batch of assignments, but Dumbledore was able to calm him instantly. "Sirius, you can't work during that shift because I'm counting on you to be the new Potions master."
The meeting broke up, and to Muriel's great relief, the rest of the Order of the Phoenix disappeared. Sirius followed Dumbledore and the other Professors back to Hogwarts to check on Harry and give him the latest news without Molly Weasley's interference. The aurors headed off to their office in the ministry, Kingsley pausing to give her a hug and whisper that he was glad she'd returned. The Weasley twins cajoled Molly into a trip to see their joke shop. Lastly, Remus turned to her and smiled apologetically.
"Hope we didn't interrupt you too soon," he said slyly.
"Oh shut it, Remus," Mur said wearily.
"I guess we did then, sorry."
Mur shook her head. Remus had always been quick to apologize. "It's not your fault. If I had any of your fabled Gryffindor courage I would have said something at the beginning of the conversation, not waited until dawn. It was just so nice to talk to him for a while – "
Remus smiled knowingly. It was only a matter of time. "Look, I need to run a quick errand. I'll be back in a few minutes, alright?" She nodded as he bounded out the door, as energetic as he'd ever been. The order of things had been reestablished for him, she knew, when Sirius returned. The slanted world had been righted again. But then why did everything seem to be going wrong?
Suppressing what she knew would be an overly dramatic sigh, she got herself a glass of water and headed upstairs. She was glad, now, that she'd asked Dumbledore to cancel two weeks worth of Defense Against the Dark Arts classes instead of just one. She'd found Wormtail much more quickly than she could have hoped, and now she had some time to just enjoy being back.
It'd been years since she'd indulged in anything like a nice bath, and now that she was finally alone, she thought it would do her good. With a twinge, she remembered an evening spent in the Prefect's bathroom, plotting with Lily.
She pushed open the door to her room hesitantly. She hadn't been back to it yet, since last night she'd been talking and the night before she'd slept at Deesia Manor. The house elves had been so pleased to see her, and she'd enjoyed hearing Lupso chatter excitedly about what little had happened since she'd been gone. She'd invited him to come and work at Black Manor instead, and he'd been glad to accept, disappearing with her trunk while she took some time to walk down to the lake and reminisce.
Remus had fixed everything but the mirror, which was fine with her. Lupso had obviously rearranged the room to match what she'd been accustomed to as a child. She smiled and waved her wand, changing it back to the way it had been during her stay. House elves had been frowned upon in America. It would be nice to have Lupso around again.
She went into the bathroom that connected her room to the unused one next door and set her water on the counter. With a flick of her wrist, she started the water running. Then she began opening drawers and cupboards. It wasn't long before she found the scented oils Mrs. Black had provided for her all those years ago. There had been several choices when she'd first arrived, but after her first bath all had disappeared except the Rice Flower scented one she'd chosen.
She was surprised to see that a new bottle of it had been placed there, and she took it out, looking at it carefully before something clicked in her mind. Kreature. He had been instructed to obey her as if she were family. He must know she was in the house.
She snapped her fingers, a sudden look of fury twisting her features. Remus had told her of Kreature's hand in last term's disaster, and it wasn't the sort of thing a house elf should just get away with. The water behind her turned off. She turned to see that Lupso had appeared and stopped the tub from overflowing. Kreature was no where to be seen.
"Bring me the house elf, Kreature," she instructed Lupso quietly. He looked terrified, and she was glad. If he was going to work for the Order of the Phoenix, he needed to learn that you don't conspire against them.
When the elves reappeared, they found her sitting thoughtfully on the edge of the tub. Kreature bowed pitiably and began whimpering. Apparently Lupso had warned him of what to expect.
"Kreature, bring me the heads of your ancestors," she demanded. The foul being's eyes widened worriedly. This hadn't been their fault. Surely she wouldn't really –
"NOW!" she barked, her fury renewed with his delay. Lupso cringed as Kreature disappeared and reappeared, the mounted heads hovering behind him.
"Cast them into the fireplace," she said quietly. There was no emotion in her voice. Kreature did as he was told. "Do you understand that you betrayed the last living member of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black?" Kreature nodded again, beginning to shake, as Lupso looked on. Suddenly, however, there was no pity in his gaze. Good elves don't betray their masters. Obviously Kreature deserved whatever his mistress had in store for him.
Together the three watched the shriveled heads burn. Then Muriel turned back to the elves. "It is time for you to join them. Because he lived, I will grace you with the beheading spell, rather than burning your body whole."
"Mistress is kind, she is! Kreature is grateful!" he exclaimed pitifully. With a soft word, Kreature began to float. Then, suddenly, his lower body disappeared and his neck squeezed closed. She watched as the light drained from his eyes. Then she banished the head toward the fire.
She watched in silence as it, too, was consumed. "Lupso?" she inquired sharply. "You are not to speak of this. You will obey each member of the Order of the Phoenix. You will not, however, take it upon yourself to leave this building or contact anyone outside of it unless Sirius Black or myself specifically instruct you to do so."
"Yes, Mistress Deesia."
"Now leave me." An instant later, he was gone, and she was sliding gratefully into the water of the old, ceramic tub. She summoned the bath oil and let the scent take her back to another time, remembering long- passed dueling and kisses by the lake.
How long she soaked, she didn't know, but she DID notice that Lupso had charmed the water to remain hot. He always was the best house elf. She grinned, noticing her drink, which she'd left by the sink. She raised her wand and muttered the summoning spell, but the wand slipped from her soapy grasp, causing the glass to shatter on the cold, tile floor.
She swore once, then looked around. Her wand had rolled to a stop under the toilet, and she couldn't get to it without cutting her feet on the glass shards that now covered the floor. She swore again.
"MOONY!" she hollered, hoping he'd come back by now. She heard steps on the stairs. "MOONY? Can you help me with this?" She sank below the bubbles as the door swung open to reveal a very startled Sirius Black. Her eyes widened involuntarily.
She hesitatingly explained what she'd done as a slow and unnerving smirk crept over his face. He was still angry, that much she could tell, about her obvious concern for Severus during the meeting. But that emotion seemed to melt away as the humor of the situation occurred to him. Here was the infamous Muriel Deesia, stuck in a bathtub through her own ineptitude. She smiled warily up at him.
"Please?" she asked. Still smirking, he repaired the glass and set it back on the counter by the sink. Then he knelt down to retrieve her wand and placed it on the side of the tub. He met her eyes as she thanked him.
Something shifted in his mind again. All traces of his anger vanished, and Muriel felt something that she'd not felt in fifteen years. Almost, she didn't recognize it. But there it was, as though his eyes were pushing it into her head. Could he really still love her, after all she'd done? She bit her lip, not able to look away.
His hand came up to cradle her cheek, and she closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again to see him leaning toward her.
He could see the beads of water clinging to her eyelashes as they fell against her cheeks, but he paused. After all this time, did she want this? She was moving toward him, and he felt his face go red. Merlin! How old was he now? And he was blushing.
Mur lifted herself out of the water. She saw his eyes flicker to her breasts and back again. His face went red almost instantly. It didn't matter. She could almost reach him. She tilted her head and felt his intake of breath just before their lips met.
"MURIEL? SIRIUS?" A shout outside her bedroom door brought Sirius quickly to his feet. Muriel slid down, the water sloshing noisily as she hid herself from view beneath the bubbles.
"We're in here, Moony," Sirius growled, his eyes still on her. An instant later, he appeared in the doorway.
Remus stopped short at the sight before him and restrained himself from laughing. Merlin only knows what he'd interrupted this time! "Mur, Draco Malfoy is in Dumbledore's office asking for you. He won't talk to the Headmaster at all."
Muriel knew immediately what it must be. "Lucius must have written him something about Sev," she said. She began to remove herself from the tub, forgetting who was with her in her haste. She was reminded swiftly when she felt a wave of fresh anger from Sirius.
It always happened this way. He would get so close, then something would happen with Snape and she'd forget all about him and go running off to help the slimy git. He glared angrily at Remus, who disappeared without another word. Then he turned to go as well.
"Black?" she called after him. For just a minute, he let himself think that maybe –
"Could you hand me that towel before you stomp out of here in a huff?" No, obviously she had completely forgotten what had almost happened. He put on his best smirk, the one he'd saved especially for her back in school, and turned just outside the door.
"Sorry Deesia. You called in your last favor for the glass."
"FINE!" she snapped. Then she stood abruptly, bubbles chasing each other over her thighs and down her legs. He felt his mouth fall open as she stepped out of the tub and came toward him. He almost reached for her.
She felt his anger fade, but didn't care. What right did he have to be angry just because she was worried about her best friend? With a snap of her wrist she removed the towel from the rack next to his head, and with her other hand, she slammed the door in his gaping face.
The members of the Order of the Phoenix headed for the kitchen, and Sirius was surprised to see Fred and George Weasley as well. Molly wasn't going to like that. Muriel and Sirius joined them, just as Dumbledore himself arrived in haste to begin. It was several hours before any classes would start at Hogwarts, so most of the teachers were present. The only exception was Professor Snape.
The atmosphere was tense as Dumbledore explained the situation. "After Saturday night's excursion, Severus was not permitted to return. It appears that Lord Voldemort feels that the time has come for Severus to declare his loyalty openly. As you know, he has been working for several months now to bring us information about Voldemort's movements. Part of that work requires answering the call of the dark mark when he feels it. That is the only way to keep from arousing suspicion. He was, therefore, required to go, and was only able to report briefly to me, earlier this morning." No one spoke as Dumbledore paused to take a drink of the water Molly had brought to the table. Remus was staring openly and worriedly at Muriel as she sat beside Sirius, her eyes focused on the table.
"Although he has not been able to give me any details of what Voldemort's plan is, we do know that Severus' part will take place in the heart of London, which puts him in a very accessible location. The time frame was a bit sketchy, but it appears that Severus will have to be gone quite some time. We'll need to appear surprised by this, and it will have to take us a few weeks, I think, to come up with a new Potions master. Also, after he misses his first and second classes today, I will be notifying the Ministry of Magic of his disappearance, so that they will join in the hunt. It will be important not to let the Minister jump to any conclusions." At this, Dumbledore looked over the top of his glasses at Arthur Weasley and Kingsley. "We do not want to appear as if we have ANY advance information. We will, however, need to be scouring London for any sign of what's happening. Even without details, we should be able to have someone on hand when the trouble begins."
At this point, different sections of London and times were assigned to each member of the Order. Sirius was a little put out when he was not given anything to do in the first batch of assignments, but Dumbledore was able to calm him instantly. "Sirius, you can't work during that shift because I'm counting on you to be the new Potions master."
The meeting broke up, and to Muriel's great relief, the rest of the Order of the Phoenix disappeared. Sirius followed Dumbledore and the other Professors back to Hogwarts to check on Harry and give him the latest news without Molly Weasley's interference. The aurors headed off to their office in the ministry, Kingsley pausing to give her a hug and whisper that he was glad she'd returned. The Weasley twins cajoled Molly into a trip to see their joke shop. Lastly, Remus turned to her and smiled apologetically.
"Hope we didn't interrupt you too soon," he said slyly.
"Oh shut it, Remus," Mur said wearily.
"I guess we did then, sorry."
Mur shook her head. Remus had always been quick to apologize. "It's not your fault. If I had any of your fabled Gryffindor courage I would have said something at the beginning of the conversation, not waited until dawn. It was just so nice to talk to him for a while – "
Remus smiled knowingly. It was only a matter of time. "Look, I need to run a quick errand. I'll be back in a few minutes, alright?" She nodded as he bounded out the door, as energetic as he'd ever been. The order of things had been reestablished for him, she knew, when Sirius returned. The slanted world had been righted again. But then why did everything seem to be going wrong?
Suppressing what she knew would be an overly dramatic sigh, she got herself a glass of water and headed upstairs. She was glad, now, that she'd asked Dumbledore to cancel two weeks worth of Defense Against the Dark Arts classes instead of just one. She'd found Wormtail much more quickly than she could have hoped, and now she had some time to just enjoy being back.
It'd been years since she'd indulged in anything like a nice bath, and now that she was finally alone, she thought it would do her good. With a twinge, she remembered an evening spent in the Prefect's bathroom, plotting with Lily.
She pushed open the door to her room hesitantly. She hadn't been back to it yet, since last night she'd been talking and the night before she'd slept at Deesia Manor. The house elves had been so pleased to see her, and she'd enjoyed hearing Lupso chatter excitedly about what little had happened since she'd been gone. She'd invited him to come and work at Black Manor instead, and he'd been glad to accept, disappearing with her trunk while she took some time to walk down to the lake and reminisce.
Remus had fixed everything but the mirror, which was fine with her. Lupso had obviously rearranged the room to match what she'd been accustomed to as a child. She smiled and waved her wand, changing it back to the way it had been during her stay. House elves had been frowned upon in America. It would be nice to have Lupso around again.
She went into the bathroom that connected her room to the unused one next door and set her water on the counter. With a flick of her wrist, she started the water running. Then she began opening drawers and cupboards. It wasn't long before she found the scented oils Mrs. Black had provided for her all those years ago. There had been several choices when she'd first arrived, but after her first bath all had disappeared except the Rice Flower scented one she'd chosen.
She was surprised to see that a new bottle of it had been placed there, and she took it out, looking at it carefully before something clicked in her mind. Kreature. He had been instructed to obey her as if she were family. He must know she was in the house.
She snapped her fingers, a sudden look of fury twisting her features. Remus had told her of Kreature's hand in last term's disaster, and it wasn't the sort of thing a house elf should just get away with. The water behind her turned off. She turned to see that Lupso had appeared and stopped the tub from overflowing. Kreature was no where to be seen.
"Bring me the house elf, Kreature," she instructed Lupso quietly. He looked terrified, and she was glad. If he was going to work for the Order of the Phoenix, he needed to learn that you don't conspire against them.
When the elves reappeared, they found her sitting thoughtfully on the edge of the tub. Kreature bowed pitiably and began whimpering. Apparently Lupso had warned him of what to expect.
"Kreature, bring me the heads of your ancestors," she demanded. The foul being's eyes widened worriedly. This hadn't been their fault. Surely she wouldn't really –
"NOW!" she barked, her fury renewed with his delay. Lupso cringed as Kreature disappeared and reappeared, the mounted heads hovering behind him.
"Cast them into the fireplace," she said quietly. There was no emotion in her voice. Kreature did as he was told. "Do you understand that you betrayed the last living member of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black?" Kreature nodded again, beginning to shake, as Lupso looked on. Suddenly, however, there was no pity in his gaze. Good elves don't betray their masters. Obviously Kreature deserved whatever his mistress had in store for him.
Together the three watched the shriveled heads burn. Then Muriel turned back to the elves. "It is time for you to join them. Because he lived, I will grace you with the beheading spell, rather than burning your body whole."
"Mistress is kind, she is! Kreature is grateful!" he exclaimed pitifully. With a soft word, Kreature began to float. Then, suddenly, his lower body disappeared and his neck squeezed closed. She watched as the light drained from his eyes. Then she banished the head toward the fire.
She watched in silence as it, too, was consumed. "Lupso?" she inquired sharply. "You are not to speak of this. You will obey each member of the Order of the Phoenix. You will not, however, take it upon yourself to leave this building or contact anyone outside of it unless Sirius Black or myself specifically instruct you to do so."
"Yes, Mistress Deesia."
"Now leave me." An instant later, he was gone, and she was sliding gratefully into the water of the old, ceramic tub. She summoned the bath oil and let the scent take her back to another time, remembering long- passed dueling and kisses by the lake.
How long she soaked, she didn't know, but she DID notice that Lupso had charmed the water to remain hot. He always was the best house elf. She grinned, noticing her drink, which she'd left by the sink. She raised her wand and muttered the summoning spell, but the wand slipped from her soapy grasp, causing the glass to shatter on the cold, tile floor.
She swore once, then looked around. Her wand had rolled to a stop under the toilet, and she couldn't get to it without cutting her feet on the glass shards that now covered the floor. She swore again.
"MOONY!" she hollered, hoping he'd come back by now. She heard steps on the stairs. "MOONY? Can you help me with this?" She sank below the bubbles as the door swung open to reveal a very startled Sirius Black. Her eyes widened involuntarily.
She hesitatingly explained what she'd done as a slow and unnerving smirk crept over his face. He was still angry, that much she could tell, about her obvious concern for Severus during the meeting. But that emotion seemed to melt away as the humor of the situation occurred to him. Here was the infamous Muriel Deesia, stuck in a bathtub through her own ineptitude. She smiled warily up at him.
"Please?" she asked. Still smirking, he repaired the glass and set it back on the counter by the sink. Then he knelt down to retrieve her wand and placed it on the side of the tub. He met her eyes as she thanked him.
Something shifted in his mind again. All traces of his anger vanished, and Muriel felt something that she'd not felt in fifteen years. Almost, she didn't recognize it. But there it was, as though his eyes were pushing it into her head. Could he really still love her, after all she'd done? She bit her lip, not able to look away.
His hand came up to cradle her cheek, and she closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again to see him leaning toward her.
He could see the beads of water clinging to her eyelashes as they fell against her cheeks, but he paused. After all this time, did she want this? She was moving toward him, and he felt his face go red. Merlin! How old was he now? And he was blushing.
Mur lifted herself out of the water. She saw his eyes flicker to her breasts and back again. His face went red almost instantly. It didn't matter. She could almost reach him. She tilted her head and felt his intake of breath just before their lips met.
"MURIEL? SIRIUS?" A shout outside her bedroom door brought Sirius quickly to his feet. Muriel slid down, the water sloshing noisily as she hid herself from view beneath the bubbles.
"We're in here, Moony," Sirius growled, his eyes still on her. An instant later, he appeared in the doorway.
Remus stopped short at the sight before him and restrained himself from laughing. Merlin only knows what he'd interrupted this time! "Mur, Draco Malfoy is in Dumbledore's office asking for you. He won't talk to the Headmaster at all."
Muriel knew immediately what it must be. "Lucius must have written him something about Sev," she said. She began to remove herself from the tub, forgetting who was with her in her haste. She was reminded swiftly when she felt a wave of fresh anger from Sirius.
It always happened this way. He would get so close, then something would happen with Snape and she'd forget all about him and go running off to help the slimy git. He glared angrily at Remus, who disappeared without another word. Then he turned to go as well.
"Black?" she called after him. For just a minute, he let himself think that maybe –
"Could you hand me that towel before you stomp out of here in a huff?" No, obviously she had completely forgotten what had almost happened. He put on his best smirk, the one he'd saved especially for her back in school, and turned just outside the door.
"Sorry Deesia. You called in your last favor for the glass."
"FINE!" she snapped. Then she stood abruptly, bubbles chasing each other over her thighs and down her legs. He felt his mouth fall open as she stepped out of the tub and came toward him. He almost reached for her.
She felt his anger fade, but didn't care. What right did he have to be angry just because she was worried about her best friend? With a snap of her wrist she removed the towel from the rack next to his head, and with her other hand, she slammed the door in his gaping face.