Author's Notes: We see that Mira can be quite manipulative if it suits
her. Snape is about to get yanked completely out of his comfort zone and
he will not like it one bit. Dumbledore seems to have faith in the scheme
that Mira has cooked up though.
Disclaimer: Nothing recognized from the books or movies belongs to me.
Chapter 20: Adventure beckons.
Professor Snape looked at Mira with a shocked and disconcerted look on his face. Trying to process what she had just said.
"Why did you lie to me Mira? When I asked you about the artifact?"
She gave his hand a squeeze and looked up at him. "Because I didn't know what your interest in it was. I didn't know what you wanted it for. I'm so sorry for lying to you, but I had to know that you wouldn't try and obtain it and exploit it."
Dumbledore twined his fingers together and rested his chin on them, deep in thought. He looked down at Mira.
"Mira, you must be very convinced that this artifact has tremendous potential to do harm if you resisted the Cruciatus curse in order to conceal its whereabouts."
"Headmaster, it has limitless potential for either good or evil."
"How does it work? What exactly does it do?"
"It allows magic to be undone."
Snape moved forward in his chair.
"What do you mean by undone Mira?"
"I mean that it allows the user to undo or nullify any magical act: Reverse a spell, or curse. Void a charm or ward. Render a potion useless."
"Any magical act? Even major curses? Even the unforgiveable curses?"
"Even the killing curse if used within the first hour after death."
"My God Mira. No wonder Voldemort has been searching for it for so many years. He could finally have the upper hand with a thing like that."
"Precisely. That's why I knew I couldn't admit to knowing where it was or even what it was. I knew that he would be unstoppable with it."
"How does it work Mira?"
"Aaah. There's a catch. It has some very significant limitations. It's called the Inner Eye of Isis. It's an ancient moonstone. It was carved and enchanted thousands of years ago, by people who had magic beyond our comprehension. The legend says that it was worn by ancient priestesses during important rituals. It draws its power from both the moon and the aura of a woman. Because of how it gets its power, it can only be used by a witch, and only used once every twenty-eight days, after a full cycle of the moon has passed. But it works by allowing the witch wearing it to focus her aura, and amplify her magical energy through the pull of the moon, and perform an act similar to time reversal. I've used it once, to test its powers. It works."
"How did you come to own it Mira, and where is it now?"
"When my parents were killed, I inherited their store, and stayed on in New Orleans for some time. I was clearing out my parents' belongings when I came across my mother's diary. I picked it up to pack it away, and an envelope with my name on it fell from between the pages. It said that if I found this letter, that it was time for me to claim my birthright. There was a little map of an old plantation house that had once belonged to a member of my family. There was something important hidden in the attic. And my mother meant for me to have it after her death. I went to the plantation, which is being used as a bed and breakfast inn these days, and retrieved the artifact. It was a jeweled pendant in a velvet pouch. A scroll in the pouch explained what it was, how it worked, and that it had been passed down from generation to generation of women in our family for centuries. It was to be left to me instead of Suzette because our parents felt that somebody not so heavily invested in the magical world would be less inclined to use it, for good or evil. I realized just how powerful it was, and what kind of potential it had, and I returned it immediately to its hiding place and told no one about it."
"Mira, tell me where it is, and I will go retrieve it and bring it back to England so that it can be used to fight Voldmort and his followers."
"No Severus. If anybody brings it back to England, it'll be me."
"Don't be foolish Mira. This is dangerous business. If you're intercepted, they'll kill you for it."
"Maybe it should remain where it is then."
Snape stood back up and ran his hands through his hair. "MIRA! Be reasonable!" He snapped.
"No, YOU be reasonable! Have you ever been to muggle America? Do you know how to navigate a large muggle city? Do you know how to walk the thin line between magic and muggle and know who is who when many pretend to be the opposite?"
"For Merlin's sake Mira. Just tell me where it is, and I will go and get it!"
Dumbledore stepped forward and placed a hand on Snape's shoulder. "Calm down Severus. I think I have a compromise. Mira? Would you be willing to take Severus with you to retrieve the artifact? He's quite a powerful and accomplished wizard, and I would trust him with my life. He'll do everything he can to keep you safe."
She looked up at Snape, then back at Dumbledore.
"Okay. We go together to bring it back. But I carry it back, because it belongs to me. I get to decide who will use it and how it will be used for the first time here in England. Once Voldemort is defeated, it returns to me and I put it back into hiding. Is that a deal?"
Snape gave Dumbledore a pleading look. The older man looked at the woman leaning against the pillows.
"Severus certainly was right about you my dear. You are much more the witch than you appear to be at first glance. It's a deal. Take him with you for protection, retrieve the artifact, return with it to England, and you can choose who will carry it and how it will be first used."
"When do we leave?"
"Poppy says you still need some rest. You may leave tomorrow. In the meanwhile, I would like for you and Professor Snape to come up with a plan in case you run into trouble. And you need to brief him regarding what he will encounter in the muggle world. I'm afraid his forays outside of the wizarding community have been brief and few in number."
Dumbledore left the two to discuss their upcoming mission. Snape was quite angry with Mira for manipulating and monopolizing the mission to suit her specifications. He still believed that it was much too dangerous for her, and he could quickly retrieve the artifact without being intercepted.
"I'm sorry Severus. I trust you, and I trust in your magical abilities. But you don't know my home like I do, and you would be vulnerable in such a foreign place. The artifact is very well hidden, and one cannot just apparate in and fetch it. It will time to get to it."
"Mira, this is against my better judgment. I nearly lost you in that alleyway, and I don't want to let you out of the safety of this castle."
"It's okay. I understand the risks. But whatever happens, I want to be there with you, and face it along side you. I don't want to be left behind."
"Mira, you don't know what you're saying. You know very little about me, and I simply am not worth such a risk of your life."
"Then thank the fates that fortune has looked upon you with favor."
She pulled him down towards her, and kissed him softly on the lips.
"As Madame Pomfrey said. I need my rest. My mind is made up, I'm going with you. I'd argue with you more, but I'm afraid I need to go to sleep now."
He started to argue back, then decided against it, turned and took his leave from the hospital wing.
Professor Snape returned to his potions lab, and unlocked the cabinet where he kept his most potent and exotic potions. He sorted through them, removing several small vials, and then locked the cabinet and performed the magical security charm on it. He did the same with his personal potions stash in his chambers. One by one, he fitted the crystal vials into long thin boxes meant to hold and protect them during transport. He gathered together things he might need on the mission, and packed them in the pockets of his robe.
He had a light supper in his quarters and sat in front of the fireplace, worrying about all that could go wrong on this mission, and why on Earth Dumbledore had ever agreed to allow Mira to call the shots. He was also quite worried about the fact that Mira's home in New Orleans was in a predominately muggle district, and she kept a virtually all muggle house. He had never spent more than a brief amount of time outside of the magical world, and he was quite apprehensive about venturing so far away from what was familiar and comfortable to him, especially in a foreign country.
Mira awoke the next morning, got herself ready, and waited for Snape and Dumbledore to send for her in the infirmary. A house elf arrived in the hospital ward at a quarter past ten in the morning and led Mira to Dumbledore's office where he and Snape were waiting for her. Dumbledore had some items for her to take on the journey. A silver matchbox portkey, identical to the one given to Snape. The headmaster explained that if she found herself in deep trouble, and unable to escape, she could reach into her pocket, and squeeze the matchbox tightly in her palm, and be instantly transported back to Hogwarts. If they wound up in a situation where Snape was hurt or otherwise incapacitated, Mira could do as he had done the night he rescued her from the alleyway, and press the matchbox between their palms, and they would both be transported back to the school. Mira thanked him for the portkey and placed it in her pocket. He also gave her what appeared to be a tiny sneakascope on a chain to be worn around her neck. He explained that it would vibrate if somebody nearby intended to do her harm.
After a few brief words, Dumbledore asked how they were going to make the journey to New Orleans.
"We obviously can't fly, it's just too great of a distance. Same with apparating or via the floo network. The only way to get there quickly is to use a portkey. There's a portkey, but it's at my cousin's house. They wouldn't have taken it with them into hiding; Suzie said many times that she would never return to the United States. But, first off, we have to go to my room in the tailor shop, so that I can get the keys to my home in New Orleans and the keys to the room where the artifact is hidden. Both doors have been charmed so that one must use the keys to gain entry and so that nobody can apparate in or out without a portkey. From the tailor shop, we will travel to my cousin's house via floo network, seal the floo fireplace upon arriving, and use the portkey to travel across the ocean to the courtyard behind my building."
Snape turned to Dumbledore and said: "It'll be tricky, and we have to be fast. I'm certain that Voldemort has spies stationed outside of both the tailor shop and the Treadle house. I flew a quick reconnaissance flight over the village last night, on my broom, and noticed several dark cloaked figures in the area."
"Very well. Mira, your plan sounds very well thought out. Severus, I have complete faith in your ability to get you and Mira safely out of the school and on the way to America. I shan't keep you any longer."
He handed Snape a little pouch of glittery powder, floo sealing powder, and showed them to his floo network fireplace. Snape took a handful of floo powder from an ornately painted urn, and tossed it into the fire. Multicolored flames shot up into the air. He took Mira by the hand and called out: "Treadle Tailor Shop!" They stepped together onto the hearth, and disappeared in a flash of light.
Immediately upon reaching the tailor shop, Snape turned and tossed a handful of the floo sealing powder into the fireplace to prevent anybody from following through in their wake. Mira looked around her in shock. The store had been ransacked.
"Oh No! We've got to hurry; I have to find my keys. You keep an eye open for trouble downstairs."
Mira ran up the stairs to her room. It had been ransacked too, but the wardrobe was intact. She reached in and pressed the secret panel. It slid aside to reveal a small hiding place where there was a set of keys on a thick satin ribbon. She grabbed the keys, stuffed them into her pocket, and started back down the stairs, when two men in white masks apparated into the room behind her. She screamed and called out to Snape: "They're here already! Fire up the floo, we've got to go NOW!" She pulled out her wand, and fired some blocking spells blindly behind her back as she ran down the staircase. She barely made it into the little alcove where the floo fireplace was located when several more masked wizards apparated into the shop. Snape had already activated the floo network, and was waiting with one foot on the hearth, and his hand outstretched towards her.
"Mira, COME ON!"
One of the wizards pointed his wand at them and Snape fired off a disarming curse, and sent the wizard flying backwards, knocking down two other Death Eaters who were coming to assist in the attack. Snape grabbed Mira by the hand and literally yanked her off her feet and into the floo fireplace. Almost instantaneously, they came tumbling out of the fireplace on the ground floor in the Treadle's large house. Snape grabbed a handful of floo blocking powder out of the pouch and tossed it into the fire behind them.
"Come on Mira! Find that portkey, we've got to get out of here!"
Mira stood looking from side to side, put her hand on her forehead, and got her bearings. She took him by the hand. "Come on, it's upstairs!"
They ran up the staircase, as the house was being blasted by curses. "Hurry Mira! The security charms won't last long against an entire group of them!"
Mira fumbled frantically through the linen closet in Susan and Albert's bedchamber.
The front door downstairs exploded in a shower of charred wood. "Mira! I don't mean to alarm you, but they've breached the front door! I've got a blocking charm on the bedroom door, but it won't hold for more than a few seconds once they start in on it!"
"Here, Severus, I've got it, come on!"
Snape ran towards Mira, his wand pointed at the bedroom door, which was starting to smoke and rattle on its hinges.
She held out a strange black metal cylinder to him. "Here, grab hold!"
"What the hell is it?"
"It's a flashlight. You know, a torch?"
Snape looked at her with a puzzled look on his face.
"Oh come on, you know, a torch! You use it to see in the dark! Never mind, just grab onto it!"
He reached out and grabbed the common muggle object. Mira pulled him close to her, and activated the portkey by switching the light on, just as the Death Eaters came crashing through the doorway into the bedroom.
Disclaimer: Nothing recognized from the books or movies belongs to me.
Chapter 20: Adventure beckons.
Professor Snape looked at Mira with a shocked and disconcerted look on his face. Trying to process what she had just said.
"Why did you lie to me Mira? When I asked you about the artifact?"
She gave his hand a squeeze and looked up at him. "Because I didn't know what your interest in it was. I didn't know what you wanted it for. I'm so sorry for lying to you, but I had to know that you wouldn't try and obtain it and exploit it."
Dumbledore twined his fingers together and rested his chin on them, deep in thought. He looked down at Mira.
"Mira, you must be very convinced that this artifact has tremendous potential to do harm if you resisted the Cruciatus curse in order to conceal its whereabouts."
"Headmaster, it has limitless potential for either good or evil."
"How does it work? What exactly does it do?"
"It allows magic to be undone."
Snape moved forward in his chair.
"What do you mean by undone Mira?"
"I mean that it allows the user to undo or nullify any magical act: Reverse a spell, or curse. Void a charm or ward. Render a potion useless."
"Any magical act? Even major curses? Even the unforgiveable curses?"
"Even the killing curse if used within the first hour after death."
"My God Mira. No wonder Voldemort has been searching for it for so many years. He could finally have the upper hand with a thing like that."
"Precisely. That's why I knew I couldn't admit to knowing where it was or even what it was. I knew that he would be unstoppable with it."
"How does it work Mira?"
"Aaah. There's a catch. It has some very significant limitations. It's called the Inner Eye of Isis. It's an ancient moonstone. It was carved and enchanted thousands of years ago, by people who had magic beyond our comprehension. The legend says that it was worn by ancient priestesses during important rituals. It draws its power from both the moon and the aura of a woman. Because of how it gets its power, it can only be used by a witch, and only used once every twenty-eight days, after a full cycle of the moon has passed. But it works by allowing the witch wearing it to focus her aura, and amplify her magical energy through the pull of the moon, and perform an act similar to time reversal. I've used it once, to test its powers. It works."
"How did you come to own it Mira, and where is it now?"
"When my parents were killed, I inherited their store, and stayed on in New Orleans for some time. I was clearing out my parents' belongings when I came across my mother's diary. I picked it up to pack it away, and an envelope with my name on it fell from between the pages. It said that if I found this letter, that it was time for me to claim my birthright. There was a little map of an old plantation house that had once belonged to a member of my family. There was something important hidden in the attic. And my mother meant for me to have it after her death. I went to the plantation, which is being used as a bed and breakfast inn these days, and retrieved the artifact. It was a jeweled pendant in a velvet pouch. A scroll in the pouch explained what it was, how it worked, and that it had been passed down from generation to generation of women in our family for centuries. It was to be left to me instead of Suzette because our parents felt that somebody not so heavily invested in the magical world would be less inclined to use it, for good or evil. I realized just how powerful it was, and what kind of potential it had, and I returned it immediately to its hiding place and told no one about it."
"Mira, tell me where it is, and I will go retrieve it and bring it back to England so that it can be used to fight Voldmort and his followers."
"No Severus. If anybody brings it back to England, it'll be me."
"Don't be foolish Mira. This is dangerous business. If you're intercepted, they'll kill you for it."
"Maybe it should remain where it is then."
Snape stood back up and ran his hands through his hair. "MIRA! Be reasonable!" He snapped.
"No, YOU be reasonable! Have you ever been to muggle America? Do you know how to navigate a large muggle city? Do you know how to walk the thin line between magic and muggle and know who is who when many pretend to be the opposite?"
"For Merlin's sake Mira. Just tell me where it is, and I will go and get it!"
Dumbledore stepped forward and placed a hand on Snape's shoulder. "Calm down Severus. I think I have a compromise. Mira? Would you be willing to take Severus with you to retrieve the artifact? He's quite a powerful and accomplished wizard, and I would trust him with my life. He'll do everything he can to keep you safe."
She looked up at Snape, then back at Dumbledore.
"Okay. We go together to bring it back. But I carry it back, because it belongs to me. I get to decide who will use it and how it will be used for the first time here in England. Once Voldemort is defeated, it returns to me and I put it back into hiding. Is that a deal?"
Snape gave Dumbledore a pleading look. The older man looked at the woman leaning against the pillows.
"Severus certainly was right about you my dear. You are much more the witch than you appear to be at first glance. It's a deal. Take him with you for protection, retrieve the artifact, return with it to England, and you can choose who will carry it and how it will be first used."
"When do we leave?"
"Poppy says you still need some rest. You may leave tomorrow. In the meanwhile, I would like for you and Professor Snape to come up with a plan in case you run into trouble. And you need to brief him regarding what he will encounter in the muggle world. I'm afraid his forays outside of the wizarding community have been brief and few in number."
Dumbledore left the two to discuss their upcoming mission. Snape was quite angry with Mira for manipulating and monopolizing the mission to suit her specifications. He still believed that it was much too dangerous for her, and he could quickly retrieve the artifact without being intercepted.
"I'm sorry Severus. I trust you, and I trust in your magical abilities. But you don't know my home like I do, and you would be vulnerable in such a foreign place. The artifact is very well hidden, and one cannot just apparate in and fetch it. It will time to get to it."
"Mira, this is against my better judgment. I nearly lost you in that alleyway, and I don't want to let you out of the safety of this castle."
"It's okay. I understand the risks. But whatever happens, I want to be there with you, and face it along side you. I don't want to be left behind."
"Mira, you don't know what you're saying. You know very little about me, and I simply am not worth such a risk of your life."
"Then thank the fates that fortune has looked upon you with favor."
She pulled him down towards her, and kissed him softly on the lips.
"As Madame Pomfrey said. I need my rest. My mind is made up, I'm going with you. I'd argue with you more, but I'm afraid I need to go to sleep now."
He started to argue back, then decided against it, turned and took his leave from the hospital wing.
Professor Snape returned to his potions lab, and unlocked the cabinet where he kept his most potent and exotic potions. He sorted through them, removing several small vials, and then locked the cabinet and performed the magical security charm on it. He did the same with his personal potions stash in his chambers. One by one, he fitted the crystal vials into long thin boxes meant to hold and protect them during transport. He gathered together things he might need on the mission, and packed them in the pockets of his robe.
He had a light supper in his quarters and sat in front of the fireplace, worrying about all that could go wrong on this mission, and why on Earth Dumbledore had ever agreed to allow Mira to call the shots. He was also quite worried about the fact that Mira's home in New Orleans was in a predominately muggle district, and she kept a virtually all muggle house. He had never spent more than a brief amount of time outside of the magical world, and he was quite apprehensive about venturing so far away from what was familiar and comfortable to him, especially in a foreign country.
Mira awoke the next morning, got herself ready, and waited for Snape and Dumbledore to send for her in the infirmary. A house elf arrived in the hospital ward at a quarter past ten in the morning and led Mira to Dumbledore's office where he and Snape were waiting for her. Dumbledore had some items for her to take on the journey. A silver matchbox portkey, identical to the one given to Snape. The headmaster explained that if she found herself in deep trouble, and unable to escape, she could reach into her pocket, and squeeze the matchbox tightly in her palm, and be instantly transported back to Hogwarts. If they wound up in a situation where Snape was hurt or otherwise incapacitated, Mira could do as he had done the night he rescued her from the alleyway, and press the matchbox between their palms, and they would both be transported back to the school. Mira thanked him for the portkey and placed it in her pocket. He also gave her what appeared to be a tiny sneakascope on a chain to be worn around her neck. He explained that it would vibrate if somebody nearby intended to do her harm.
After a few brief words, Dumbledore asked how they were going to make the journey to New Orleans.
"We obviously can't fly, it's just too great of a distance. Same with apparating or via the floo network. The only way to get there quickly is to use a portkey. There's a portkey, but it's at my cousin's house. They wouldn't have taken it with them into hiding; Suzie said many times that she would never return to the United States. But, first off, we have to go to my room in the tailor shop, so that I can get the keys to my home in New Orleans and the keys to the room where the artifact is hidden. Both doors have been charmed so that one must use the keys to gain entry and so that nobody can apparate in or out without a portkey. From the tailor shop, we will travel to my cousin's house via floo network, seal the floo fireplace upon arriving, and use the portkey to travel across the ocean to the courtyard behind my building."
Snape turned to Dumbledore and said: "It'll be tricky, and we have to be fast. I'm certain that Voldemort has spies stationed outside of both the tailor shop and the Treadle house. I flew a quick reconnaissance flight over the village last night, on my broom, and noticed several dark cloaked figures in the area."
"Very well. Mira, your plan sounds very well thought out. Severus, I have complete faith in your ability to get you and Mira safely out of the school and on the way to America. I shan't keep you any longer."
He handed Snape a little pouch of glittery powder, floo sealing powder, and showed them to his floo network fireplace. Snape took a handful of floo powder from an ornately painted urn, and tossed it into the fire. Multicolored flames shot up into the air. He took Mira by the hand and called out: "Treadle Tailor Shop!" They stepped together onto the hearth, and disappeared in a flash of light.
Immediately upon reaching the tailor shop, Snape turned and tossed a handful of the floo sealing powder into the fireplace to prevent anybody from following through in their wake. Mira looked around her in shock. The store had been ransacked.
"Oh No! We've got to hurry; I have to find my keys. You keep an eye open for trouble downstairs."
Mira ran up the stairs to her room. It had been ransacked too, but the wardrobe was intact. She reached in and pressed the secret panel. It slid aside to reveal a small hiding place where there was a set of keys on a thick satin ribbon. She grabbed the keys, stuffed them into her pocket, and started back down the stairs, when two men in white masks apparated into the room behind her. She screamed and called out to Snape: "They're here already! Fire up the floo, we've got to go NOW!" She pulled out her wand, and fired some blocking spells blindly behind her back as she ran down the staircase. She barely made it into the little alcove where the floo fireplace was located when several more masked wizards apparated into the shop. Snape had already activated the floo network, and was waiting with one foot on the hearth, and his hand outstretched towards her.
"Mira, COME ON!"
One of the wizards pointed his wand at them and Snape fired off a disarming curse, and sent the wizard flying backwards, knocking down two other Death Eaters who were coming to assist in the attack. Snape grabbed Mira by the hand and literally yanked her off her feet and into the floo fireplace. Almost instantaneously, they came tumbling out of the fireplace on the ground floor in the Treadle's large house. Snape grabbed a handful of floo blocking powder out of the pouch and tossed it into the fire behind them.
"Come on Mira! Find that portkey, we've got to get out of here!"
Mira stood looking from side to side, put her hand on her forehead, and got her bearings. She took him by the hand. "Come on, it's upstairs!"
They ran up the staircase, as the house was being blasted by curses. "Hurry Mira! The security charms won't last long against an entire group of them!"
Mira fumbled frantically through the linen closet in Susan and Albert's bedchamber.
The front door downstairs exploded in a shower of charred wood. "Mira! I don't mean to alarm you, but they've breached the front door! I've got a blocking charm on the bedroom door, but it won't hold for more than a few seconds once they start in on it!"
"Here, Severus, I've got it, come on!"
Snape ran towards Mira, his wand pointed at the bedroom door, which was starting to smoke and rattle on its hinges.
She held out a strange black metal cylinder to him. "Here, grab hold!"
"What the hell is it?"
"It's a flashlight. You know, a torch?"
Snape looked at her with a puzzled look on his face.
"Oh come on, you know, a torch! You use it to see in the dark! Never mind, just grab onto it!"
He reached out and grabbed the common muggle object. Mira pulled him close to her, and activated the portkey by switching the light on, just as the Death Eaters came crashing through the doorway into the bedroom.