Hey I need to apologize up front for butchering the Irish accent. If anyone can put the words in a truly Irish accent I would be most appreciative. I have never heard a real Irish accent and am going off of what I remember from two years ago, back when we had TV and mom watched Ballykissangel on PBS. I am sorry to all Irish folk everywhere!
I have to say something vaguely disclaimer-ish so I don't get sued….I mean nothing of a copyright infringement sort of thing by using the brand names or trade marked/copyrighted materials that are mentioned within this chapter, or any of the previous chapters.
Ok the House Points go as follows:
Gryffindor-260 Points-; Frogfoot receives 10 points for the extra credit work of helping me edit the chapter; DnD4Ever receives 10 Points and the hope that she isn't too disappointed
Slytherin-310 Points- Chay receives 10 Points for listening to my blithering about the Oath that Severa took and how difficult it was to write; Mic receives 10 Points and a pointy stick…to use in nudging Riv into finishing the next chap in her story
Ravenclaw-20 Points- Slaysia Enid Valrov (or The WindexWarriors) receives Ten Points for shameless flattery…or a clever plan to wring chapters from the heart of a happy authoress…
Huffelpuff- 10 Points if you reviewed and I didn't count you tell me, or review this chapter and get some points for your House.
No real warnings, some language of an uncouth manner, but nothing past a PG-13 rating.
And lastly! I have a website, there is a link on my Author page, it has character bios and lots of insider type info about my fic. Check it out if you want to know what the heck these people are all about. The site is going to be under constant, minor construction as I get new pics or decide to disclose more info. J
Chapter 29:
It was late Friday evening and most of the students in the halls were returning from studying in the library or fooling about on the lawns before curfew.
"Starch," the male was almost growling. "It was nothing, just drop it. It's dead, nothing valuable was broken, end of story."
They stood on a landing of a staircase being ignored by the few who were trying to pass. Both were angry but for very different reasons and at very different people.
"I find it a bit difficult to take you seriously, when you eye is swelling shut," Starch snapped back. Anxiety building because of the tension he was receiving from the male. 'He's lying to me, or about to. What could be pushing him to…' He suddenly remembered one very nasty topic the male had always lied to him about. "You need money?"
"In an unbelievably un-Snape-like action the male tossed his head with an exaggerated rolling of his eyes, turned away, and continued quickstepping up the stairs.
'Oh, no, my friend! We are not going back down this path again.' Starch moved to follow him, when a voice from the bottom of the stairs called to the retreating figure.
"Severus?" Albus had raised his voice and everyone on the stairs turned to gape at him. Everyone except the dark silhouette he was addressing. He peered through his half-moon glasses and inwardly winced at the slight tensing of thin shoulders and resigned droop of a greasy black head.
Starch paused on the stairs, shifting his focus to obscure the Headmaster as well as the two of them. The Students quickly lost interest and began to mill about on their way to their respective Houses again.
Taking a short breath the male regained his composure almost instantly and rose onto the toes of one foot to spin on the step. On his toes still he jogged back down ignoring the idiot stares of the students around him.
It was a golden opportunity that he couldn't pass up. Starch dashed behind the Headmaster, with preternatural speed, and spoke softly in his ear. "He holds his hands up a little and his elbows in, runs on his toes, when he really pulls for speed his back flexes a little." He was forcing the Wizard to acknowledge physical traits that the he had probably never allowed himself to observe before.
The male made the turn from the final landing to the stairs above them. He was unaware of Starch's machinations and really hadn't noticed that they were even talking. His whole focus was on calming himself enough to keep from awakening him.
Starch could feel the old Wizard's focus move to the male, and he continued making his point, this time on an historical level. "You have no idea how wrong this thing you created is. You have nothing to compare him to, you never saw a Garom from before The Great Purging. I did," He emphasized the words, pushing the significance of them both as they applied to the Headmaster and to himself. "Infinitely more than they could have ever dreamed…and so much less. And in exchange for his blind devotion, all he ever wanted was your love." In a barely audible whisper he made his final cut. "But for that he had to turn to a Vampire without a Clan, because you were too afraid." Starch had heard the Wizard's pulse react to his statements, even if the fool chose to pretend nothing of importance had been said.
The male stopped two steps above the Headmaster, who was looking a little paler and steadying himself with one hand on the newel post. "Master?"
The Exotic caught the questioning note in the way the title was pronounced, and doubted that Dumbledore had heard it at all. When the male glanced at him, over Albus' shoulder, the blue eyes conveyed a warning to remain silent. 'He's protecting me? He must believe the Headmaster is upset to have me here…oh, little one, always the White Knight.'
"Starch isn't a threat to the students, sir. I'm not talking about it again."
Albus took another steadying breath and released his hold on the post. "No, I am not here to discuss your, friend. I was actually looking for Severa. Do you know where she is? I have been trying to speak with her for several days."
"She took detention tonight." The male's voice expressed none of what he felt. Instead he asked, "If you were so interested in seeing her you could have left a message with Benefit. When I am not here she usually is. You do remember the small Dragon like creature I keep, don't you?"
As a Vampire Starch, technically, had no need to breathe, but his chest contracted in a silent and unnecessary gasp anyway. The pain through their link was intense and focused around a single thought. 'He feels like he is being replaced, by her… How can I fix this when Dumbledore refuses to even try telling a hawk from a handsaw?'
"Yes, of course, Alastor mentioned that she had acquired one as well. I suppose I should leave a message with hers then."
Starch caught a sympathetic echo of it through their link, another stab of rejection into an already mangled psyche and he couldn't control his tongue. For the second time that night he snapped at the old man. "If there was a point, Headmaster, I suggest you find it soon. I am tiring of obscuring this conversation from the minds of the kiddies."
He noticed that the male interrupted before Albus could react to his comment. Protecting him again.
"Her Paramorph, Merit, is too young to be separated from her for long. He needs to feed often and still spends most of his time fused to her skin. If you want to reach her I suggest you leave a message with Benefit or wait a few weeks until Merit is stronger. Good evening Master." The male waited a three count before turning to jog up the stairs, again on his toes.
"Couldn't even bring yourself to notice he's been in a fight," Starch snarled under his breath to the Headmaster. "Coward." He spat the word and darted up the stairs, slowing when he came even with the male.
"Thanks," the male said with a glance at the Exotic to his left. "For obscuring that, I…just, thanks."
"I was already obscuring our conversation." The male gave him another quick look, he shrugged in return. "You don't need all of them," his hand swept out to include everyone they had passed on their way up from the dungeons, "to hear and remember us fighting." With a weak grin he bumped against the male with his shoulder. "Now, tell me what happened in your office, or I'll black your other eye."
"I incurred another debt, if I'm right and it belonged to Lupin. If I'm wrong then I have enough money to make my expenses for the month." The male continued at a slightly faster than walking pace once they reached the top of the staircase.
"So, if you can't make expenses this month…what's your plan?" He knew the plan, they both knew it. Neither wanted to make it real by saying it aloud, but the male really had only one source for large amounts of quick Galleons.
Starch easily kept up while looking around at the paintings that looked back at him. He shook his head, Wizarding tastes in art made no sense to him. They were passing a large and confused looking cow. "Who would want an interactive painting of a cow?" he whispered. The cow flicked its ear and dismissed Starch, finding a patch of clover more interesting.
"An Exotic?! Who let it in here, and why is it unfettered?!"
The shout brought Starch and the male to a halt before a, nearly life-size, painting of a medieval woman clad in white and gold.
The kneeling Wizard knight, who had on several pieces of Adamantite plate armor, broke off pledging his undying devotion, stood and drew his sword. "Begone villian! Or I shall take exception to my vows of peace toward all, er, creatures." The awkward amendment was due to his catching sight of the male Garom beside the insolent Exotic.
Starch's temper was very short on two subjects, his best friend, and his own blood. Before he could respond though the male suddenly had a hand around the knight's throat.
A strangled cry of "Merlin!" was all the knight could manage before fainting dead away. With another sudden motion the male released the unconscious figure and withdrew his hand from the painting.
The noble Witch shakily dropped to her knees beside her protector, not taking her eyes off the ripples radiating out from the place where the male's hand had passed through their painting.
The male waited, his unwavering glare promising doom, until the ripples had settled. Then, pulling his lips back to flash his teeth, he made a false lunge at the maiden. Without a sound she fainted, collapsing onto the grass beside her suitor.
The male continued down the hall.
An oddly inappropriate urge to laugh took hold of Starch. Carefully he reached out one hand to touch the canvas; it gave until he could feel the stones of the wall behind it. Starch jerked back from the painting and suppressed a giggle, 'He is getting stronger…' Quickly he dashed after the male.
The male had made his way to another staircase; this one spiraled up through what seemed to be a tower.
"Where are you going, and how many more staircases are there until we get there?" Starch asked in mock annoyance. The painting could wait; the male wouldn't be able to tell him anything about it anyway. 'And because of the charms it would no doubt trigger, I can't tell him about the significance of it either.'
"Hogwarts seems to be giving me time to calm down from all of, that. This is the tower where the Defence against Dark Arts is taught. I should have the position, but he insisted on hiring the Were Wolf. Again." The male glanced at Starch. "If you would rather, you are more than welcome to return to the dungeon."
Starch acknowledged the offer only by ignoring it. "What are you going to do if you can't meet expenses?"
Reaching the classroom door they entered and found Lupin still correcting essays at his desk. The windows were open and the cool wind played with the scrolls without paperweights, and Lupin's warm, grey-brown, hair.
Starch hung back near the door while the male swept in and spooked the professor into splattering ink on his desk top. 'He doesn't even do it on purpose most of the time.' He smiled slightly. Which nearly undid his resolve to not laugh over the painting incident, even if it was laughing with joy, the male still wouldn't understand. 'Gotta remember he doesn't even realize he needs to get better. He doesn't realize getting better is an option.'
"Snape what is with yo—Oh," Remus looked up and realized his mistake in mid snap. "It's you. What do you want?"
The male stared hard into Lupin's eyes for a moment. "I want Tala to be happy, for now I will accept an answer as to whether or not you are missing a Red Cap."
Remus' whole attitude changed at the use of the Were Coyote's name, he flushed a telling shade of red and sat up straighter while beginning to seriously fiddle with the edge of a random scroll.
"What do you mean, you want Tala happy, I –uh wait, what about my Red Cap?" Lupin's poor mind was jumping from a Snape encounter, to realizing it was the male, to the woman he hoped to make his mate, to his newly arrived creature for the demonstration next week, and his poor mind was still back at trying to react to the male and not Snape.
"So it was your Red Cap?" The male tipped his head down a little so that he looked through the hair that fell in his face.
Starch felt the male gave a motionless wince at the thought of the potential deficit in his monthly allowance. 'He's in over his head. What will it take this time to get him to take my money?'
"I uh, yes." Remus tried to pull himself together. "What about my Red Cap, how do you even know I got it? It was scheduled to be delivered over the weekend."
"How much did it cost?"
"Two thousand seventeen Galleons, but I didn't buy it, it was a loan…Why?"
"I killed it."
Starch's eyes went wide. 'Well, that explains the blood…and his eye. Wonder who hid it in his office, and how long they'll survive.'
Remus' mind went blank. "You killed it."
"I will replace it by Monday," the male stated.
Watching the exchange between the Were and the Garom he had a sudden inspiration. 'So he'll be planning to go out tonight. If I can survive his wrath until we reach the dungeons…I can pull this off.'
"You killed it?"
"Would you like an apology?" He sneered.
Lupin jumped to his feet, "You killed it?!"
"Don't hyperventilate Lupin," the male snarled, head still down. "I'll get you a brand new creature for your little show and tell. I have a gig tonight and—"
"You and Tala are invited, of course," Starch suddenly leapt in. Two pair of eyes blinked at him while he leaned against the doorframe. "Oh come on," he smiled and spread innocent hands. "It's Friday night and you are off for the weekend Lupin. Plus you and Tala have been secluded for too long, your friends want to see you sometimes too. Come on, we'll all have fun."
"All?" The male's voice was a little higher than normal. "Starch, what are you doing?"
He opened his mouth, it was more a threat than an actual attempt to reply. The male cut him off, just as he had hoped.
"No, I don't care what you are doing."
"What are you planning to do?" Starch refused to drop the question even as he allowed himself to be forcibly prodded down the stairs. He had learned to keep people off balance from the best, and in his distracted state of mind the male was playing the wrong side of his own game.
"A gig." The male had them down the stairs faster than it had taken to climb up. "We're playing at the BatCave and I need to get there on time, or Bish will replace me." With a smirk he ruefully added, "And I suddenly need the money."
He sharply pulled away from the male's hold on his arm. "He wouldn't realize it was time to start the show, let alone realize you were late, and no way will one gig make you that kind of yellow."
"You're angry?"
The male's confusion made it worse. "You just lied to me! What the hell do you want me to feel? Grateful that you're sparing me the mental image of you bitching for the money you owe Lupin?!"
The male shrugged and ducked his head as he swung from the airy main corridor, down into the clammy well of the dungeon stairs.
Starch followed him right into the Potions classroom. He gave the female a nod of greeting and waited for the male to finish intimidating Potter and Weasley.
The teens stood to the side of the Potions Masters' desk and were awaiting the final verdict on their work. It had taken more than one detention, of their two weeks worth, to complete the copying of the manuscripts they had been given.
The female looked up as Starch and the male entered. "It would appear that they have completed the assignment you set for them." She handed the scrolls to the male.
He glanced over then briefly. "Very well, Misters Potter and Weasley. You are dismissed for this night." The male immediately entered their office and closed the door.
Starch had to jump out of the way as the boys rushed out before 'Snape' could think up something new. He wandered closer to the large old desk at the front of the room. "Did you know about the Red Cap?" The female looked puzzled, but gave an affirmative shake to her head. He smiled in a reassuring way. "You don't have duties tonight, do you? He's going to perform tonight and I'm trying to get us all there to see him. I can take Black, but it would be easier if you took the rest of them."
"Sweet bleeding! You are not getting her involved in this too are you?!" The male jerked the office door open to glare at the Exotic.
Starch had had the presence of mind to beat it out of the Potions Classroom immediately after inviting the female. He could clearly hear the male's shout from the hidden corridor he was hurrying down, but he tried very hard not to react.
A sharp knock on a particular set of stones in the wall brought the hot brown eyes and sunny smile of Tala before his eyes.
"Starch," she was happy to see him, but also knew he rarely socialized just for the fun of it. Some instincts were too hard to completely overcome, and he was mostly Vampire.
"Tala, lovely, we're going out tonight so dress down. He's got a concert or something going and I think we should all go." Starch waited impatiently. 'If she agrees, the other Were won't stay back. At that point all I need to do is figure out a way to get the Human to come.'
"Where is this—Remus!" Tala stepped fully into the hall and reached out one hand to beckon the man closer. "Remus, do you know anything about going out tonight?" She smiled sweetly, as though it had been entirely his idea.
Making his exit before anyone could realize they had agree to something, Starch backed down the hall. With a smile he held his hands out, palms up. "He's performing in Soho, we're leaving in the half hour."
Knocking on Black's door Starch could just make out Remus reminding Tala that they had heard the male perform at the Halloween Ball. 'If that's what they're expecting,' Starch laughed to himself. 'They are in for an interesting night.' He knocked again, this time he heard Sirius approaching the door.
"What do you wa—" Black jerked back.
"Obviously, not who you were expecting." Starch couldn't help showing his teeth a little as he smiled. "No matter, we're all going to Soho, I was given the task of getting you there and we're leaving in twenty minutes."
"I don't want to go." Sirius tried to close the door, Starch put his hand out to stop it. Sirius crossed his arms over his chest. "Why should I?"
Starch straightened his shoulders. 'He chose his Mark well. This one's wounds go deeper than I thought. There probably won't be any disparity in their healing.' Starch lost all of his playful air of a moment before. It somehow seemed more proper to deal with Black as he would the male. "Two reasons, because you're going crazy shut up in here, and all your little friends are coming. Be ready or I'll choose what you wear." He removed his hand from the door and headed for his own rooms. Last of all, he needed to tell Lenore about the evening's happenings.
He entered his own sitting room as though it were seeded with landmines. "Lenore, hon? Have you had your coffee yet? I made another decision without discussing it first…"
~
In a port-booth at the end of a litter strewn street in Muggle London, Sirius Black waited for the world to stop spinning so fast. Sirius had dressed in a casual black jacket and slacks with a dark brown turtleneck that matched the shade of his eyes. Compared to the costumes of the others, his outfit was bland enough to be a protest.
"You going to be ok?" Starch ventured. Black hadn't been especially happy with him, but then neither was the male right now. 'At least Lenore isn't angry.' He shrugged to himself. 'One out of three isn't too bad.'
The female led her motley looking crew down the sidewalk to the port-booth where Starch had asked her to meet him. As they approached, Starch cast a critical eye over them.
Lenore wore a simple black sheathe dress, but over it flowed a voluminous second layer, made up of torn fishnet material.
The two Weres walked hand in hand. Tala had apparently been to Soho before, there was really only one club in Soho that was worth the visiting, and she had dressed appropriately. She wore a tight, long sleeved, fishnet shirt under a short, tight black shirt and baggy black pants with odd straps and buckles that swung and flashed as she moved. While Lupin was wearing a similarly loose pair of hardware accented, black pants with a simple black tee shirt which read ~~~why bother?~~~.
The female halted before Starch, awaiting a signal from him. She had on her usual low cut, tight-as-body-paint, black jeans and abdomen flashing black shirt, with a dark green duster jacket, and the boots collar and fingerless gloves from her Garom uniform. Her outfit had been influenced by her only source of information as to what would be appropriate, the male.
With a nod at the disgruntled man, Starch passed responsibility for Black to the female. He took Lenore's arm, and led them all down a side street toward the source of a nearly tactilely thumping bass.
@---'---,-----------------
The male cast another worried look at the act currently performing on the stage, and continued to weave his way through the crowd toward the last place he had spotted his lead guitarist.
"Bish," he called. The dark haired young man was heavily distracted by a woman in leather and silk, and didn't hear him. "Bish." The male's voice was carrying through the noise of the crowd and the band, but he was still being ignored.
The male placed both hands on the small, round table in front of the oblivious man, and leaned forward. "Bishi!"
The band's lead singer, and lead guitarist, nearly fell out of his chair. "Oi! Side Strike! What ya yellin' about?"
The male looked down for a moment to keep from ripping into someone. With forced calm, he grit the words between his teeth, "Who the frig is responsible for scheduling us as the closing act for a Sidhe?"
"What?" A sharp jerk of his dark head and Bish was faced with the midsection of the woman who had been his focus a moment ago. "Hey move." He ignored her offended glare and took in the blonde singer crooning away on stage. "Oh, shite. Not him."
"I'll assume this means it wasn't you. Where's Gaff?" The male stood back up and pushed his hands into the pockets of his midnight green duster, pulling the jacket close around himself. 'Too many people and too many levels of threat, with no target to focus on…'
"But we're not his closing act," Bish sounded as though he were trying to draw hope from the fact.
"As wonderful as your voice is," the male leaned in slightly. "You are a poor closing act for the King of the UnderGround. No one can follow a Sidhe, especially not him. We got--"
"Hallo, Side Strike, ye made it!" Gaff bounded up to the table with his particular brand of enthusiasm. "Haven'a seen much o' ye since tha 'alloween fete. 'id 't go down a'roit wi' tha Headmaster?"
The male sharply stepped back from the excited Irishman, 'Too much risk of physical contact!' "Gaff, you do realize we're after a Sidhe…know anything about it?"
"Nah man, Oi swar it!" He held his hands up defensively. "Oi were in contac' wi' tha guy wha' did tha bookin' but he ne'er sai' any thin' abou' 'ny Sidhe."
He was about to accept the plea of innocence, when Gaff's scent took on a shade of guilt and fear. "Gaff," he gave the troubled eyes of the bass guitarist his full attention. "Anything to add?"
"Weell," he winced. "It moit explain why we're getting' paid sa much fer tha show…"
"How much?" Gaff rattled off a figure in Pounds, which he mentally converted to Galleons. "Any one have any debts?" He was trying to quickly calculate how much of the extra money he could put toward the unexpected expense of a captive Red Cap.
Gaff looked away, "Oi've gota bit o' som' thin' but it is'na important."
The male couldn't help but remember the last time he had needed to pay off some of Gaff's debtors. 'That may have been before The Gap,' the male thought despairingly. 'But addictions are addictions for a reason.' "You clean?" He managed to ask the question without sounding like he was accusing the man of anything.
"Ten yars," Gaff met his eyes with such a sudden fire, that he knew there was more to it. "Oi realized I di'na want ye ta come back, an' find me loike tha'. Me debts can wait, if ye need the money."
The male nodded once. He turned and led the way to the greenroom back stage where they would get their costumes on and go over the evenings play list. Bish touched Gaff's shoulder in a gesture of support as they followed him closely.
Several minutes later they had their song list set and the techs knew what to expect.
"Jareth," the male nodded to the singer of the band that had just finished their set.
The spiked blond mane and poet shirt of the Sidhe moved to a breeze that none present could feel. He smiled a perfect smile, revealing just the edges of his pointed teeth. "Side Strike. Nice eye."
The male ignored the comment on his bruise and pulled on his shutters. "Lets go."
Bish and Gaff stopped readjusting the mock Garom harnesses they had pulled on and followed him toward the stage door. Gaff took a last look in the mirror to check his makeup. Like the rest of the band he had black lips, eyeliner, and nails, and like usual he was the last one to get out.
The BatCave still offered Magic free music, only, and they pulled on their headsets and Bish and Gaff plugged in their instruments. The male did a mike check for the internal link he had with Bish and Gaff, then switched to the frequency that would enable him to keep in control of the people at the sound boards and the effects techs.
To the public, Bish was the leader of the band, in reality the male ran everything from their practices to when the fog was started for their performance.
With the lights down they took their relaxed/sleepwalking stances and waited for the music to animate them again.
~
Starch led them through the crowd, and found a booth where they could listen to the music, and be visible enough for the male to find them when he went on break. He made sure that Black was seated closest to the wall.
When the male finally approached Starch nudged Tala and Remus from their bench and the male slid in, across from Black. The Weres weren't put out in the least and took the opportunity to wander into the deeper shadows at the edges of the room.
"You look more like a freak than normal," Black was still pissed.
The male raised one brow and pulled his shutters down to hang around his neck. "Black, did you happen to see the sign at the door?" He waited for Sirius to give some sort of response.
"Yes. I couldn't have missed it actually, with the Vampire making me read it out loud and all." He shot a death glare at Starch, who smiled back.
"This place is not exactly a safe place to be so insolent. You will treat me with more respect or someone will decide that you are trying to prove something to me, and either I punish you…or they get the impression that you are fair game."
"Look just because I got all freaked and cried on your shoulder like a baby, doesn't mean—"
"You will not speak again unless it is to one of our party, or to order a drink. No, tell you what, Starch is ordering your drinks." The male got up and headed to the back stage door.
"Wait," Starch called. He jumped up and hurried to the male's side. "I need to talk to you after the show. Before you do anything else. Ok?"
"Starch…"
"You were attacked by a Red Cap, in your office. They like heights, it wasn't an accident." He knew the male already understood the point he was making. But the idea of what a Red Cap could have done was catching up to him and he was reacting retroactively.
"Starch, so someone put it in my office as an ambush." The male shrugged. "These things happen everywhere."
"No these things do not happen everywhere!" Starch tried to lower his voice to keep from attracting attention. In an urgent whisper he growled, "These things don't happen in…Upland, Indiana. And that's where I'll take you if I have to. Believe me, you've never seen so much corn." 'Did I just threaten him with corn?'
The male stared for a moment. "You would take me to America…to protect me. And you'd take me there, does that mean you'd stay with me?" he asked softly. Then ducked his head turned and made his way toward the back stage door. He was quickly lost from sight in the crowd.
Starch watched him go. 'I would.' He caught an unnecessary breath at the thought. 'I really would go with him. I wonder how I could explain Upland, to Lenore…' He returned to Black.
The female had been watching over the Human, but she quickly moved to the balcony that ringed the dance floor.
Starch forced a smile. "Want a drink?" he offered sweetly.
A few minutes later the music brought people back out to dance in singles or small, loosely defined, groups.
~Buried in my eyes-
Are echoes of the lies-
Told to a child,
Daddy really loves you—Mommy didn't mean it
If you were good you wouldn't be hit
Children are to blame
They create their own pain~
"What is up with them?! Lyrics like that are probably why most of these people are so depressed all the time!" Sirius broke off his tirade to stare at a passing woman with five spikes pierced into her bottom lip.
Starch sipped at his drink before addressing the Human. The thinned down Tiger's blood calmed him enough to bring his fangs back in. "Black, there's a reason why he told you to keep your mouth shut. You're going to get him into a fight if you keep making him look like a fool."
"He's already been in a fight," Sirius pointed out smugly.
Setting his drink down Starch sighed. "He was attacked by a Red Cap earlier this evening. Someone hid it in his office, probably in the hopes that it would be enough of a surprise that he would not have time to defend himself. It's dead, but it got off a few good hits first."
"We haven't got Red Caps just running around the school."
"It was supposed to be part of a demonstration for one of Lupin's classes." Starch explained.
"Why are we really here?"
"Because I need to keep an eye on him, I know he won't leave you unguarded in a place like this…and it makes a good meeting place for a business transaction I need to make." Starch waited to see if the Human would accept his answers, they were honest, but the man was really upset. Furious. And more than a little defensive.
"I'll take a Sprite," Sirius mumbled.
Lenore had been watching silently. She slid one hand into Starch's and, at the pressing of her skin against his, she was able to open a telepathic link between them. 'Let me talk to him,' she offered. 'I can calm him down a little, and maybe get him to see that your friend is concerned for his safety and not trying to treat him like a House Elf. But you know of course, this bad attitude is just a defensive action to protect himself from all that he is facing about his own attack while in prison. He and your friend shared things they would never tell anyone, he is frightened by that intimacy. They both are.'
Starch squeezed her hand and sent a thought of relief and thanks to her. He got up saying he was going to get the soda and left the two to talk. 'I just hope and pray she's able to get him to lay off the passive aggressive attitude for a few hours. Or I won't need to carry out the rest of the plan, we'll get thrown out on our arses if he kills someone over Black.'