The students started to flood in through the doors and two men rolled out of the abruptly green fire. Within a matter of seconds the common room was fully defended and the adults had arrived, with all exits covered and no possible entrance and exit.
"Lower years stand to. Seventh years, sixth years take the doors. No Romani, Emerald you stay here and hold onto the boys." One of the men who rolled out of the fire ordered. He turned to the head of Slytherin as he finished a complex manipulation of the house wards.
"Anyone specifically medical/healer trained and curse breakers remain in the common room. Seventh years guard the doors; sixth years take the younger years back to dormitories. Secure them and remain with them. Nothing should be able to enter or leave until I lift the wards, but we must be prepared. Move!" Severus voice rose towards the end of his statement and those not required fled the room.
Aside from the seventh years only three remained and set to work to heal the four. After nearly half an hour they had successfully flushed their systems of basilisk poison or Ginevra's case of sapping potion and the Imperious curse. Upon success the two girls came round and the interrogation began.
"I think Ryll we will start with what caused you to turn Evra?" Severus asked
"It was the only way I could think of to break the bond Riddle had forced on her. It was either that I kill them both. As it is she has gained more than she has lost, for she is now the first daughter of Avalon and is immortal without blood thirst and sun fear." Ryll spoke reluctantly, her eyes watching the younger girl carefully. Evra hugged her gently.
"Evra what were you doing in the Chamber?"
"I was being possessed and drained of my life by Riddle. Damn it I really need to learn to break the Imperious curse and strangle Lucius Malfoy." Ryll looked into her childe's eyes and swore as she realised Evra had taken refuge in her vampiric detachment. Wincing, Ryll carefully broke the block and allowed her to cry. One of the seventh year Mediwitches removed a vial of sleeping potion from her robes and forced Evra to drink it. Judging Ryll's mental state carefully, he asked his last question.
"Will you allow me to view what happened either in a pensieve or by Legilmancy?"
"Pensieve. I can't sleep and remember this." With a wave of her hand an ornate pensieve appeared and she dragged a matted lump of memory forth and placed in the bowl, and then lying back on her couch fell asleep.
Severus summoned Arabelle to watch over his house and plunged into the pensieve and watched as the nightmarish evening unfolded. The only humour was Ryll's threatening of the Powers That Be, though that let him understand how to sort Vius and Dray out.
Emerging from the trance he invoked the father and god father bonds and forced enough of his magic down them that they transformed from human to phoenix and back again, this time at a more normal age.
