Chapter Twenty-Nine

Out of the Frying Pannage

Alicia wiped off her brow as she stared at the question on basic wards, wondering if she was ever going to survive the Defense test in front of her. Next to the office sat the bird dubbed Descartes by its reluctant new owner, plucking at its feathers and making very irritating metal scraping sounds in the process. Sighing softly, she got back to the test, resisting the urge to doodle to help her think. The last time she had done that, the entire thing ended up in the waste bin, and Alicia couldn't afford another bad mark like that.

"Quiet," Snape warned when Morfinn sneezed beside her, squinting at the boy who had glanced up with a look of apology before turning back to his test.

Just as Alicia regained her concentration and turned to the last page of the test, a sudden flutter drew her eyes up to Dodger who had just flown in the window and dropped a bright red envelope in the center of Snape's desk. Alicia couldn't help but stare at it wide-eyed. They had gotten an occasional Howler from their mother when they did something particularly outrageous at the Weasley's, but Alicia never ever remembered her father ever getting one before. Snape stared at it a moment until realization sunk in then strode quickly into his office, closing the door behind him.

A moment later, indiscernible shouting could be heard from within, followed by the loud protests of the bird, drowning out the words the entire class had been straining to hear. Zoë quick restrained Zack who had made a move as if to get up and listen by the door. Then, as silence took hold again and Descartes settled back down, Snape stormed back out, frowning when he saw they were looking in his direction.

"Are you all finished?" Snape snapped, the class hurriedly turning back to their papers. "You will be if I see any more wandering eyes," he warned, taking his seat again and scratching a quick note. Glancing at Descartes thoughtfully, he shook his head before calling Dodger over and handing him the note. "Black Mansion," he murmured before letting it go.

"I think he's starting to soften up," Zack told Alicia as they walked out of the classroom. "Most other times, he'd have taken our test papers for looking up right then and there without giving us a warning."

"Who do you suppose had enough gall to send Snape a Howler?" Morfinn asked. "Have your parents got the Ministry mad at them again?"

"Hard to have the Ministry mad at you when there's no Minister," Zoë pointed out.

"It must have been Dad. After all, he did send a letter to him right after," Zack said.

"But all he sent was a normal letter," Alicia said. "If they had been fighting, I'm sure Snape would have sent a Howler right back, probably with an extra dose of explosives for interrupting his class. No, I bet it was my grandfather. Snape is supposed to be finding him somewhere to live, and grandfather… well, he's not a patient man, no matter what obstacles they're running into. Grandfather only understands one thing; results."

"Poor Snape," Morfinn said, shaking his head. Zack and Alicia stared at him. "Well, think about it. He gets stuck spending the last weeks before school in jail… then they take his house away… then that bird comes and wrecks his class and carries off his familiar… his adopted son doesn't know if his shop is going to survive from month to month… your older brother decides to hit his rebellion stage at an abnormally early age… and to top it all off, he gets saddled with a dangerous creature he doesn't want and your grandfather holds him personally responsible for the fact that he's not out of prison yet. No wonder he's such a pain in the rear," he finished, taking a clean handkerchief out of his boot and blowing his nose.

Zoë and Zack snickered, but Alicia grew extremely quiet. It had always been easy to tell when her mother was upset about anything and why, and just as easy to think of ways to cheer her up again. Alex and Andrew were the same way, Alicia realized. But although her father didn't seem to brood the way Aurelius did, they both had a way of not showing what was going on in their minds, trudging on through whatever lay in their way with grim determination. Just as he had done last year, when their mother's fate was unknown and after when her recovery was uncertain… perhaps he had looked tired and drawn, but never did he betray what he must have been going through.

Caprica Dusthorn listened intently to Alicia as the girl told her about what had happened. Alicia sat curled up against a trophy cabinet with a sketchpad on her lap, barely even touching it.

"Well, I can't say that Morfinn doesn't have a point," Caprica said, "although there's no reason for you to feel guilty about it. None of what has happened was your fault in any way."

"If only the paintings hadn't gotten sealed up! Perhaps I would have been able to find Rasputin for him at least! I should have thought of looking when I was at Hogsmeade," Alicia said.

"If you start gallivanting through random paintings looking for missing familiars, Alicia, you're bound to get into nothing but trouble," Caprica said in a gentle yet firm tone. Alicia looked at her thoughtfully.

"Well then, what do you suppose I should do?" Alicia asked.

"Ask someone who might have remembered seeing him," Caprica said with an enigmatic smile.

Alicia lay awake in bed that night for some time trying to figure out what Caprica meant. Suddenly it dawned on her, making it even harder for her to go to sleep. But night air had softened, and the sound of a drizzling dripping rain finally lulled her into a light slumber, somehow still managing to get up the next morning at an early hour.

In fact, being Saturday, quite a few of her fellow dorm mates were still in bed when she got dressed and hurried out of the common room. She slipped out of the corridor near the hospital wing and down towards the Great Hall, rather surprised to see a large group of professors, including her own parents, as they came out of the staff room bundled in cloaks and coats.

Jennifer and Severus both paused, the first with a curious expression and the second with a suspicious one while McGonagall, Brittle, Scribe, and Sprout merely wished her good morning.

"And just what are you doing up this early on a Saturday?" Severus asked, squinting.

"I was hungry," Alicia said. Her father stared dubiously at her. "All right, I was worried about the Defense test. I don't suppose the scores are posted?"

"Since when did you start worrying about tests of any kind that didn't involve canvas?" Severus frowned.

"Severus, I'm sure that whatever it is that Alicia is up to, Professor Weasley can handle it," Dumbledore said as he passed by them with an unusually wide brimmed rain hat. "Please excuse us, Alicia. School business in London, you know. Why don't you find somewhere dry to curl up with a hot drink and a book? I know that's what I'd be doing today if I could," he added, continuing to walk towards the doors with the other teachers following behind.

"And that had better be all you do," Severus said.

"Besides homework," Jennifer added, before heading after Dumbledore.

"I don't suppose you would tell me if you were up to anything ot not, even if you were?" Hermione said with an unusually amused tone in her voice as she watched Alicia from beside the staff room door.

"Actually, I was just going up to talk to Professor Ravenclaw about something relating to his field. If that's all right?" Alicia asked.

"Of course it's all right," Hermione said with a slight smile. "Which makes me wonder all the more why you didn't want to tell your parents that."

Giggling nervously, Alicia shrugged, very aware of the Charms professor's steady eyes upon her as she walked further down the corridor.

Even with all the shortcuts, it seemed to take forever to get to the North Tower. She took the stairs by two until she began to tire, finally huffing and puffing when she reached the top. The door to the classroom was open; rather curious considering it was a Saturday. Slowly Alicia walked in and glanced around. She had never been in there before, only seeing it for the first time as represented in Andrew's model. Candles had been spaced throughout, and seemingly blank scrolls were carefully hung around the room. As she closed in on one, she saw a glimmer and the ghostwriting sprang into view in wispy letters that read: The truest answers lie within. Curiously, she gazed at the next one to see what wisdom it had to impart, when she noticed an open curtain revealing what appeared to be a small sitting room. Inside was a small table with a steaming tea service and a tray of breakfast pastries and scones carefully laid out. Feeling a bit as if she were trespassing, Alicia turned to leave to find the ghost of Icarus Ravenclaw standing in her path, looking at her with a concerned expression.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to interrupt. I mean, obviously you're expecting someone," Alicia said.

"Oh yes," Icarus said with amusement. "Although I didn't expect you to leave so soon. Won't you sit down?"

"You were expecting me?" Alicia said curiously.

"Oh, yes. I remembered remembering that you were coming," Icarus said. "I suppose that sounds confusing, doesn't it?" Alicia nodded. "Well, I don't remember new future things anymore, of course. That was a physical ability, and ghosts, as you know, are relatively static. But back when I was alive, new memories of the future were formed all of the time, and I had a great deal of them about you and your mother, perhaps more than any of the others. Won't you sit down? Pardon if I have my tea over here; you know what ghost eating habits are like. Best if I keep away," he said with a soft chuckle.

"So if you remember me, and this tea, then you knew before you died that you would become a ghost?" Alicia asked. Icarus looked a bit uncomfortable.

"I knew that I would be eternally condemned for my actions, yes," he said quietly. "But at the time I felt as if I had no other choice. I'm still uncertain if I actually had a choice or not…" his face grew strange for a moment, both horrible and sad. "Well, obviously it's too late to change it now, and I promised Dumbledore when I took the job that I would do my best not to dwell on it. So tell me, what brings you here today, Miss Snape?"

"You don't know?" Alicia said with surprise.

"Do you remember details of everything that you've ever remembered before?" he asked with a smile. Alicia blushed slightly. "Actually, I see us having several conversations at different ages. But this, I think, is the first. Still, would you kindly refresh my memory?"

"I came to ask you about Rasputin, father's monitor basilisk," Alicia said. "Would you happen to remember if he's still alive?"

"Oh this conversation! Caprica sent you!" Icarus said, suddenly pleased.

"You know Professor Dusthorn's awake?" Alicia said nervously.

"I do now. You didn't wake her, did you?" he asked anxiously.

"She told me she woke herself up," Alicia said, still wondering if she actually had or not.

"I see," Icarus nodded solemnly. "Well, we'll just keep with that story for now, although I wouldn't be spreading it to others. Have a biscuit," he offered, gesturing her to the plate beside her. "I should have guessed that it wouldn't be long after you arrived that she would poke her nose into things again. I suppose Bedivere is awake as well?"

"She woke him up," Alicia said quickly.

"Now that I believe," Icarus said with amusement. "I wonder if Janus knows. We were all good friends once… did you know that? Janus, Caprica, Bedivere and I. But that was so very long ago," he sighed softly, looking depressed.

"Sir? About Rasputin?" Alicia said cautiously.

"Hm? Oh, yes, the lizard," Icarus said. "I seem to recall something about your mother and father both having two familiars… one they would take with them, and one they left behind. What they were I'm not sure. The only memories I have after my death were glimpses of things to come of my own ancestors, you see."

"Can you see before you were born too, in the same way?" Alicia asked curiously.

"Well, a little, but not much," Icarus admitted. "According to Merlin, it's amazing that I remembered as far ahead as I did. That, for good or ill, was my father's doing," he mumbled staring into his moldy cup. "He was obsessed with making sure that the future of this school would turn out the way he wanted it to be… that, admittedly, was my fault. For I had made the mistake of telling him of my prediction that many of the things he had set in motion would threaten to destroy this school a thousand years into the future."

"Voldemort," Alicia said, Icarus nodding slowly.

"Yes, and that I shall forever regret. And I shall forever regret what followed, for all eternity," Icarus said.

"But it did turn out all right in the end, didn't it?" Alicia said.

"Did it?" Icarus said thoughtfully. "Well, yes, but I'm not quite so sure it's all over, you know. Slytherin's influence over his house is still strong. Not that he didn't have some good qualities as well. I've seen the best of him in students such as Danny… I just wish that there were some way to separate that good from the bad… but I suppose that will never happen," Icarus admitted. "Anyhow, after that incident up until my dying day then after, I have been very cautious to keep what I know to myself for the most part, although on rare occasions I have stepped in. And I try to instill within all the students I teach a sense of responsibility too… and some skepticism. It's hardly a perfect science, after all. Of course, if someone warns a person not to cross a certain street at a certain time and there are several other options, why chance it?" he winked.

After Alicia finished her tea and thanked the strangely moody ghost who seemed to have fallen into a depression again, she hurried down the stairs, her mind turning as to what to do next. It was as she was passing the library when she finally made up her mind, peering in to see Andrew and Halbert inside. Andrew was patiently helping Halbert with their Transfiguration homework. She glanced nervously at Librarian Boulderdash who was sitting at his desk nearby, but was apparently too absorbed in a book entitled Fix-it Yourself Structural Charms to be paying attention to anything else.

"Where's Alex and Aurelius?" Alicia asked.

"Poor Alex is out in this nasty weather at Quidditch practice. I haven't seen Aurelius at all. Should I look?" Andrew asked thoughtfully.

"No, you'll do," she said sitting down and leaning over the table. "I need to go to Hogsmeade. It's important. Can you cover for me?"

"No reason to bother, really. Our parents are out of the school for the day," Andrew pointed out.

"I know, but better safe than sorry."

"Then you had better make sure you don't run into Corey, either. Why do you need to go to Hogsmeade, anyhow?" Andrew asked.

"Because I'm not so sure that Rasputin is dead," Alicia said. Andrew sighed.

"Alicia, we've been through this before. Stymphalians can take on anything short of a dragon. There's no way that he could have survived. Even if he had, it's been months now. He would have been back."

"But then why hasn't the mother been back?" Alicia asked impatiently. "She came to protect her chick, how come she never came back for it if she was the victor? Descartes had no trouble breaking out of the Menagerie and into Hogwarts, so why hasn't the Mum tried? The sound from the castanets might have driven her away once, but I hardly think that alone would have kept her away."

"She's right about that," Halbert put in. "That is very puzzling. Despite their carnivorous nature, they're very social animals, protective of their young. If she had a way of coming back, she would have."

"All right, you have a point," Andrew agreed, closing his book. "But we're not going to cover for you because we're going with you. Don't forget, it's possible that Ciardoth might be back at any time and she might know what we're up to."

"Why would she care?" Alicia said.

"Because she wants us dead, of course," Andrew said.

"Well, we should be perfectly safe provided we stay in the paintings," Alicia reasoned.

"All the same, if we're going to break the rules, we need to do so responsibly," Andrew said. "We won't be able to take the cellar today. Students wouldn't be expected in Honeydukes. Let's try the route under the tree," he suggested, grabbing his cloak.

"Can we stop to get some pocket money?" Halbert asked brightly.

"This isn't a shopping trip. It's a possible rescue expedition," Alicia scolded him.

"I understand that," Halbert said defensively. "But maybe people won't get so nosy about what we're doing if we're actually buying things."

"The idea is not to be seen at all," Alicia said. "Once we get there, we'll need to find a place we can safely put a painting down to travel through."

"Really? Me too?" Halbert said excitedly.

"Well, we can't just leave you standing about, can we?" Alicia she said with a wink as the three of them stepped out and over to the Whomping Willow. At least the tree seemed to be enjoying the drizzly miserable rain.

With a glance around to make sure no one was watching, the three of them slid into the passage, stopping a moment to admire the model.

"I can't believe we're nearly done!" Halbert said.

"All that's left is miscellaneous furniture," Andrew agreed, playing with the revolving telescope above Dumbledore's Study. "We still need to figure out what to make the potion phials out of."

"Why don't we just miniaturize some real ones?" Alicia said.

"What? And have Mum scolding us that our equipment is missing?" Andrew said.

"We can minimize mine!" Halbert volunteered. "I'll just say I broke them. No one would think twice about that."

Andrew and Alicia grinned knowingly and were about to head up the passage when suddenly they heard a noise behind them and Alex slid down, her hair drenched and looking unusually grumpy.

"What a horrible practice! I thought you all would be down here. But where's Aurelius?"

"We haven't seen him," Andrew shrugged.

"But the Slytherin team were out practicing too, all but him! Xavier told me that he said Aurelius didn't feel up to it, but he wasn't in the hospital wing, so I figured he'd be in here waiting out the rain with you guys," Alex said, glancing at where they were standing as she paused to take a breath. "What are you three doing over there? Are you going somewhere?"

"We're going to look for Rasputin," Andrew said calmly.

"What? Rasputin's alive? Are you sure?" Alex asked with surprise.

"No," Alicia admitted. "But I want to try to look for him again. We only looked around the castle when it happened, you know… that Stymphalian might have flown quite a ways and then dropped him somewhere." Alex looked at her dubiously, shaking her head.

"Besides, it's an excuse to go to Hogsmeade and stock up on candy," Halbert said, getting a dirty look from Alicia.

"Well, I'm game for that," Alex grinned. "Fine, let's go if we're going."

It took an oil spell and several good shoves before the rusty trap door opened, the rain instantly hitting them as they climbed out and over the ruined foundation, the trap door shutting to look like a part of where the floor had been. The hill itself had turned into slushy mud, but Alex had a spell for that; casting it on all of them so they wouldn't leave tracks or get it over their shoes.

"Now where?" Halbert asked.

"We need somewhere quiet and dry that I can leave my Rasputin sketch… somewhere it's not going to be disturbed," Alicia said.

"The bank?" Andrew chuckled.

"And without being seen. Don't forget the bank here doesn't have a vault big enough to hide us in, and we need to jump into the painting," Alicia said. "How about the Three Broomsticks?"

"We'd be recognized in an instant," Andrew said. "And don't you even think of mentioning the Pannage, because I'm not going in there. Why don't we go to Corey?"

"He might tell Mum and Father we left the school," Alex said. "It really stinks not to have a home to go to at a time like this." Andrew and Alicia nodded and sighed in agreement.

"Look, let's go to Pyther's studio. There's a receptionist there during the day, but Pyther's asleep, of course," Alicia said. "If we can find a way to slip into his workroom, I can toss my sketch into the mix. The receptionist wouldn't know the difference, I'm sure, and we'll be long gone before sundown."

"But how are we going to get by the receptionist?" Alex asked.

"Leave that to me," Alicia said, leading them into town. With their hoods pulled up and watching to make sure nobody they knew came near, Alicia led them all to the small studio, slipping in the door just ahead of the others.

A rather withered but pleasant looking old woman gazed at them thoughtfully while their eyes tried to adjust to the strange lighting. Candles set into spherical holders sat below each painting on display in the reception room, but other than that and a four posted candelabra that sat on the desk, the light seemed quite dim; the front windows of the shop were boarded over and covered with black drapes.

"May I help you children?" the woman asked, glancing at the calendar suspiciously.

"Yes, my friend Halbert here would like to make an appointment for a sitting," Alicia said. Halbert stared at her. "It's a surprise present for his parents' anniversary."

"But that's in…" Andrew elbowed him.

"I'm sure that's quite touching sentiment, dear," the woman said thinly, "but Mr. Pyther is one of the most renowned painters in Europe. I'm afraid that even the most modest of sittings would be over your budget."

"That's all right! I have it covered," Alicia said, taking a silver piece of paper out of her pocket and unfolding it. "This is good for one free sitting, I think, of my choice."

"Oh, you're one of Pyther's private students! Miss Snape, I believe?" she said, gazing at her thoughtfully.

"Yes, ma'am. Mr. Pyther bought one of my paintings recently and paid me with this," Alicia said. "But we were afraid that if Halbert met him in the school, someone might tip his parents off, what with most the staff knowing them and all. So can we get an appointment? Something on a weekend?"

"Very well, Miss Snape, I will put you down," she said. "Despite the fact that Mr. Pyther is much too liberal about handing those out. You should have seen how many sittings he ended up doing for free after St. Mungo's blood drive." Alicia held back a chuckle as Halbert came over, a bit more enthusiastic about the whole idea as he gave the receptionist his full name and spelled it for her.

"Would you mind terribly if we looked in the gallery?" Alicia asked. "I haven't been in there in ages myself, and I want to show Halbert some of Mr. Pyther's work before we go."

"You can see quite a bit of it at Hogwarts, Miss Snape," the woman sighed. "Oh, very well! But mind not to touch anything or get anything wet." Thanking her, the four of them headed through a door she pointed at, Alicia grinning at him.

"I have to hand it to you Snapes. You sure are a sneaky bunch," Halbert whispered as they walked into a maze-like hallway filled with paintings intermingled with sconces.

"Have you seen such lovely paintings? He's positively brilliant," Alicia said, staring mesmerized at the painting a full moon rising over the hills beyond Hogsmeade, the sounds of the night calling from the forest, admiring the technique of every paint stroke.

"Not surprising considering he's had almost six hundred years of practice, is it?" Alex said, giving it only a cursory glance. "Where would the workroom be?"

"It would be in the back, probably covered with fabric or something so not to distract from the paintings," Alicia said, tearing herself away and following them.

"Voici… here it is, I think," Halbert said, heading to a set of ivory drapes and peering behind it before pulling it open. Quickly the four of them slipped inside, gazing around a plain white room jumbled with desks, easels, and shelves, except for a comfortable looking corner with a padded white chair with different colored panels behind it. Two panels of fabric much like the one they had came in were on opposing walls, and curiously Halbert looked behind one to find pair of slender doors.

"This one doesn't seem to open," Alex said from the other side of the room, pulling back the curtain to reveal a heavy iron door with no handle.

"This one does," Halbert said as cold, misty air escaped from the moment he opened the ice cabinet. He squinted at the shelves of pouches within in. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I'd say so," Andrew said, peering in. "Fresh blood. Very appetizing."

"Look! I wonder what this painting is of?" Alex said, going over to a velvet-covered canvas.

"Please stop poking about!" Alicia insisted, pulling out a sketch and putting it on a table already scattered with paper. "Come on, we need to get going!" Shrugging, Alex and the others walked over to the desk as Alicia stepped in her sketch of Rasputin and then one by one pulled them in until they were all standing inside. "All right, the quicker we can do this, the less suspicion it'll cause, so stay with me," Alicia said, stepping off the edge of the painting, the others following close behind.

But to Alicia's surprise, it took only a couple of minutes between frames before she found herself stepping in one of the scariest paintings she had ever seen in her life. It was a painting of an old stone cottage standing near the Dark Forest, the tracks into Hogsmeade station off in the distance. But the pleasantness of the picture ended there, for in the foreground was a group of dark robed figures standing below a row of staked pyres, upon them were tied a frightened farmer, his wife, and farm hands.

"What is this? But they can't be doing… they're not going to do it in the painting, are they?" Alex asked, staring in terror at the hooded figure with the torch beside the pyre. Alicia glanced at the inscription to see that the original title of Harvest Moon Massacre of '78 had been scratched out and the title, 'Hogsmeade Trespassers Trial and Execution' had been penciled in.

"No! Stop them!" Halbert said excitedly, Alicia hushing him.

"We can't! It's just a painting!" Alicia said, glancing out of the frame. "Quick!" She grabbed the others as the executioner lit the pyres, pushing them back out of view. Those sitting at the table below took mild interest in the painting as the Muggles began to scream. They were in the Pig's Pannage, Andrew realized, but he never remembered seeing that painting before. The kids huddled protectively around each other, shutting their eyes and trying to block the screaming out of their ears, nearly falling out of the painting to get away from it. Finally the scene ended, and shakily Alicia looked around to see that everything had reset and the farmers standing on unlit pyres once more.

"Let's not stick around for the second show if you don't mind," Alex said in a soft voice.

"I don't understand why the painting took us here," Alicia said, risking another peek out.

"Maybe someone stole him and they happen to be here," Halbert suggested.

"It doesn't work that way. A sketch of someone usually takes me to the closest painting to them, unless they're dead... or had their memories erased," she added ruefully, "Then it takes me to other paintings done of the subject."

"Well, I think it's safe to say Rasputin isn't in this painting," Alex said.

"Look sharp! He's about to light the fires again!" Andrew warned them. Alicia wasn't about to stay in the painting for it to happen again. Grabbing the nearest hand, Alicia jumped out of the frame and into a desert scene. Below it appeared to be a photo of a motley crew of grave robbers. They were standing in front of a pile of cursed gold, showing off their finds.

"'Ere now, 'oo are you, now?" One of the men asked, craning his head up at the painting as the students stepped in. "This is our claim, not yours!"

"Pipe down before you find yourselves sliced down the center," growled a robed figure below them. Alicia realized at once from the gnarled green hands it was a goblin, who had just assumed the photo was talking to him.

"We need to find a painting that's less public or we're not going to get anywhere," Andrew whispered, Alicia nodding in agreement.

"There might be some old prints hanging up in the bathrooms," Alex suggested.

"For some reason, I do not want to see the facilities of this place," Halbert said. "Perhaps we should go back."

"No, not until I find out why the sketch led us here," Alicia said, having them follow her out of the frame and onto the next.

It was the scene of an overgrown cemetery upon an Irish hill, many of the names faded and forgotten. Except for the movement of grey clouds behind them and the grass below, it seemed relatively still, despite the fact that a small bronze plate on the frame declared the painting to be of the Four Horseman.

Alicia stepped out into the painting, moving from stone to stone until she got a good view of the room but was sure she was not seen from the room, motioning the others to take a similar position. They were not in the main room any more but a side room. A small cloaked figure sat at a lone table with a cup of something that looked questionably like tea, staring about nervously as if he sensed he was being watched. She had almost decided to move on and check the next painting, when suddenly Alicia caught the sight of his cuffs as he played with them, recognizing the silver links at once. They were Slytherin crests, of the same type that Aurelius and Andrew had gotten just before Christmas.

Just then another man of much taller stature entered with the barkeep who followed quickly behind with a decanter. The bartender quickly put it down in front of the man before he was impatiently waved out of the room.

"Well?" the man said, Alicia frowning as she tried to place the voice.

"Quite a number of the staff including Dumbledore, McGonagall, and the Snapes are out of the school, most likely all day from what I understand," said the boy. Alicia felt a chill down her back, knowing at once it was her brother. "They've gone to an education meeting and aren't expected back until the evening."

"Where is this meeting?"

"I don't know," Aurelius admitted. "Somewhere in London, I think."

"Who's in charge of the castle right now?"

"Professor Weasley."

"Really?" The man said, and from the tone, Alicia finally recognized the voice as belonging to Lucius Malfoy. "How trusting of Dumbledore to leave his school in the hands of a young upstart mudblood professor in such uncertain times," he tsked. "And such a pity, to leave the school so vulnerable and unprotected."

"You mean against Ciardoth?" Aurelius murmured, Lucius waving him to silence with the wave of a single finger.

"She will undoubtedly want to know of this, of course, and I believe we can use her to our advantage," Lucius said calmly. "If Ciardoth attacks, Weasley will have no choice to defend, and the defenses of the castle itself will all be focused upon her. That will be your chance to go back into Dumbledore's Study and find where he has hidden it."

"But I'm not sure where to even start looking! Did the Hat give you any clues at all?" Aurelius asked.

"The Hat has been annoyingly obstinate, and there's only so much one can do to threaten an animated object," Lucius snarled. "No, perhaps I ask too much for you to attempt to guess where it is. I will come search for it myself."

"You, sir? But how are you going to get in?"

"That you need not be concerned about. When you get the signal, meet me in the second passage to Conspiracies. From there we will go to the study. There you will open the door for me and keep watch while I search for the Sword," Lucius said.

"All right," Aurelius replied with a nod.

"Any word on your grandfather?"

"He is still in Azkaban, sir, until Father finds him a house in the area," Aurelius said.

"I want word the moment that changes," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," Aurelius agreed. A thin smile appeared from under the shadow of Lucius' hood.

"Good. You have done well, Aurelius," he said, patting his arm.

"What of Corey, sir? He's still somehow managed to keep his shop after our last attempt," Aurelius said.

"Patience. I have not forgotten about that little thorn in our sides," Lucius said. "And I do not forget my obligations. Your loyalty and unquestioning obedience will be rewarded."

"And the recreant, sir?" Aurelius asked. "Are we still going to do as we planned with him?"

"The recreant will be yours to deal with at the end, of course," Lucius assured him. "He is a traitor in so many ways, but none so deep as what he did to your family. It is you alone who must bring him to his knees, just as I one day must do the same to my son. No… he does not deserve to be called that anymore. He has defiled his family as his name just as the recreant has done to yours. You are the closest thing I have to a son now."

"Thank you, sir," Aurelius said softly. "It is good to be appreciated for a change."

"So you are, and so you will be," Lucius said. "Go, there is still much to be done today."

Aurelius got up, bowed, and slipped out the door, leaving Lucius sitting there by himself carefully filling his glass from the decanter. Lucius gazed up at the painting thoughtfully, frowning at it a moment. He shrugged it off, knocking gently on the door with his cane. The barkeep appeared again, gazing at him intently.

"If Rummert shows up, Culwch, tell him that something's come up. Tell him I'll meet him at the office and that I'll take care of the contracts myself," Malfoy said.

"Yes, sir," the barkeep said before the two of them walked out of the room.

Behind one of the stones, Alicia sat curled up in a ball, quiet tears running down her face as Alex finally popped into view at the first sign that Halbert and Andrew loosened their grip.

"I can't believe it! I just can't believe it! We should have done something! Stormed in and outted the little bastard! What I'd like to say to Malfoy…"

"Calm down, Alex! There's nothing we could have done that wouldn't have put both us and Aurelius in great danger!" Andrew said. "We'd have been dead for sure!"

"No we wouldn't have. He can't hurt us!"

"He could have hurt Halbert," Andrew pointed out.

"He didn't have a reason to hurt Halbert," Alex argued back.

"I could have given him a reason or two," Halbert said darkly.

"This is a total nightmare," Alicia said miserably, wiping her eyes to no avail. "What are we going to do?"

"Tell your parents, I suppose," Halbert said.

"Our parents? What can they do?" Alex said. "I know what they'd do. They'd go ballistic is what they'd do, and whatever punishment they'd come up with would do nothing but make Aurelius want to wig out that much more. We can't go to them! And we can't go to Dumbledore either," she said, glaring at Andrew.

"Well what do you think we ought to do then, Alex?" Andrew asked. Alex paced around the painting, careful not to scuff the texture as she did so.

"We need to know more about what he's doing, what they're planning, and most important, why he's doing this," Alex decided. "That means, keeping an eye on him, at all times of the day and night."

"I can get the paintings in the castle to help," Alicia said softly.

"I can follow him after class hours," Andrew offered.

"All right, and I'll see if I can't bribe Achilles and some of the other familiars to help keep an eye on him too," Alex said.

"I can help you, Alex. I have quite a few animals that are friendly to me, maybe if you're a friend of mine and all, they'll pitch in," Halbert suggested. Alex nodded to him and gazed over at Alicia for a moment. She sat down beside her and hugged her as her sister started to cry all over again.

"He's never wanted to do anything but to protect us, ever. He was our secret keeper," Alicia said trembling. "It was the four of us against everyone, and now we're all alone!"

"No we're not," Andrew said firmly, kneeling beside them. "Look, Aurelius is still family, and nothing can change that. And whether Aurelius likes it or not, he's still stuck with us, and I am definitely going to stick to him like glue, I promise."

Alicia nodded slowly and got up, slowly leading them back towards the studio, wanting nothing more at that point than to get her sketch and find her way back to school and close off the world for awhile.

The drizzle turned into a downpour by the time they got to the trap door, and the rain beating down on them was icy cold. A roll of thunder sounded in the distance as Andrew pulled the trap tight and Alex called up a light to lead the way back to the castle. They walked silently for a while, no one having any idea what to say.

"What time is it?" Halbert asked at last as they neared the Hogwart's end of the tunnel.

"Just after the lunch hour, I think," Andrew said. "Why don't I run to the kitchen and get us some sandwiches? Then we can stay down here, eat, and talk things out."

"But we can't!" Alex said. "Malfoy's on his way here to try and get into Dumbledore's office! Someone has to stop him!"

"What do you suppose he meant by second passage to conspiracy?" Alicia asked.

"I'm not sure, but it sounded like Aurelius knew what it meant," Halbert said. Suddenly Andrew stopped short and his friend bumped into him, staring at him in annoyance. "What?"

"That," Andrew said, pointing in front of them. At the very end of the tunnel, the rickety table stood completely empty.

"The model!" Alex shouted. "But that's impossible. It was just here!"

"Aurelius must have done it," Halbert said. "He's the only other person who knew about it."

"No, Zoë, Zack, Mandria, and Rose know too. But what reason would any of them have to take it?" Alex asked. "But then, what would Aurelius do with it?"

"Give it to Malfoy, perhaps?" Halbert asked.

"No, that's just it. He couldn't have taken it. He's with Malfoy, and he left before we did," Alicia said.

"Well in any case, I need to go get the others. They need to know about all of this," Alex said. "Andrew, go see if Aurelius is back, and if not, wait for him at the One-Eyed Witch, I'm quite sure that's the passage he'll use."

"Fine. Then what?" Andrew asked as Alex paced, turning back around and pointing at Alicia.

"Go to the spiral staircase. When Aurelius comes out to stand guard, yank him out of there. Andrew, you wait until you see them go in, and then go tell Weasley you saw Malfoy so she can catch him. Then we sit for a family meeting whether Aurelius likes it or not."

"I don't know, Alex, maybe we shouldn't intervene just yet," Andrew advised. "I mean, we don't know exactly how deep our brother is in. What if he's being threatened in some way? If we pull him out, Malfoy would probably think that he was the one that told Weasley, since he'd have no reason to think that anyone else could possibly know about it," Andrew said.

"He has a point," Halbert mused.

"Well, it isn't like Malfoy could harm Aurelius," Alex pointed out.

"I think I'm in doubt of that one, Alex," Andrew replied solemnly. "There are plenty of ways of threatening someone without harming them physically."

"I hate this! I hate this whole thing," Alicia exclaimed. "I need to get to the Trophy Room!"

"Again with the Trophy Room?" Halbert asked curiously as she scrambled up the slope. "What is this fascination with the Trophy Room?"

But as she got to the top, she suddenly screamed and slid back down, kicking Halbert painfully until all of them came tumbling back down to the bottom.

"Don't! We can't go that way, she's out there!" Alicia screamed.

"She? She who?" Alex asked.

"Ciardoth!" Alicia said. "She's fighting the Whomping Willow! I think she knows we're down here!"

"So she has the model!" Alex said. "This is really bad!"

"Come on, there's not a moment to lose," Andrew said, leading them back the other way.