Disclaimer: I own Aweina and the phrase "Dumbledore's Army, Doofus Amigos!" You steal Aweina, she'll hex you into oblivion, you steal the phrase, both of us will curse you into oblivion, though in my case I'll curse you into next Tuesday. WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I AM EVIL!
Well, not really…
Muse responsible: Rrissa!
To Shahanna: Well, the thing is, there tend to be multiple pages in one report, so Aweina's a bit stuck. Glad you're loving it!
Aweina's thoughts and "-0o0-" will denote the beginning and end of a dream or flashback.
"You've caught me," said Aweina, swiveling an eye back to face her teacher, "And I caught the tripwire, you behind the door, and the Stinging Hex on the cap of this bottle."
This custom-of Alastor setting up minor traps for the Aurors he had trained-had begun long ago, when first the group had met. Aweina still remembered that day with much amusement…
-0o0-
They had edged into the room cautiously, looking at each other, then around for their mentor. Suddenly, Lucy was caught by the ankle and held high in the air, upside-down…Aweina was hit with a Body-Bind and fell over, while Wesley and Paul fell victim to Tickling Charms…Kali's predicament was perhaps the most amusing, as her upper body froze and her legs began jerking around in a strange parody of the Muggle Riverdance…
And Alastor had strolled out of the shadows, eyed them, and said, "You're going to need a lot of work."
-0o0-
Alastor nodded and took the butterbeer, removing the hex as Aweina locked the door, removed the tripwire, and untied the scarf around her eyes. Brushing her hair into place absently, Aweina slipped the scarf into her pocket and sat down near the fire, enjoying the touch of air on skin that rarely felt it. She took the butterbeer back from Alastor and popped the cap, raising the bottle to her mentor.
"Happy birthday," said the other Auror as he raised his own hip flask. Both of them sipped.
"I noticed your new scarf," said Alastor, after a moment, rolling his eye towards Aweina's pocket. "Snitches, is it?"
"I let my birthday slip to Potter a while ago, and he and the rest of the special Defense class threw a party," replied Aweina, laughing, "There's a striped one, one color-shifting one, the one in my pocket, a few other crazily printed things, and one in a decent shade of Ravenclaw blue."
Alastor chuckled for a moment or two. "Oh, yes, and one of them was a Weasley's Wizard Wheezes card-there was just more and more material until their younger sister unhexed it for me," said Aweina, with another laugh.
"Sounds just like them," said Alastor, "They're doing well. I wouldn't be surprised if they outsell Zonko's, at least by catalog."
"Well, they don't have a branch here," replied Aweina, smiling, "But it's only a matter of time, I believe."
"How's the job?" said Alastor, after a few moments of silence. He leaned back in his chair, his normal eye on Aweina's face while the other spun lazily.
"Most of them are doing fairly well," Aweina replied, "A few of the new ones I'm having older students tutor, but most of them are progressing nicely. That…woman last year didn't help them at all. And of course, the older students' Defense career has gaping holes in it-hardly any of them knew anything about alternative shielding spells, for instance."
"And the…special group?" inquired Alastor.
"It's a good thing I'm not recruiting for the Aurors at this time!" laughed Aweina, "They'd be snapped up in minutes. I'm working with them on team dueling-they seem only to have been taught singular defense, which is well and good, but-" Aweina dropped into an imitation of Alastor's gravelly voice-"'Either you stand and fight together, or you'll fall one by one!'"
"And in addition to not being able to whistle, you can't do very good imitations," retorted Alastor, dryly. Aweina shrugged.
"Anyway, I can't teach them some spells at the moment, because most of them just aren't ready, but I'm doing what I can," she finished.
Alastor remained quiet for several moments, then said, slowly, "If you can…give Potter extra tutoring. One-on-one, like I did with you. He's a very promising lad."
Something in his tone made Aweina swivel both eyes to look at her mentor. "There's news," she said, flatly. It wasn't a question.
"Nothing overt," said Alastor, leaning forward and dropping his voice. Aweina checked for eavesdroppers and leaned forward as well. "But…there's stirrings. Rumors. Things are rather tense. Most of our…suspects…are nervous."
"It's the calm before a storm," muttered Aweina, slowly, after a few moments of thought, "When you're not sure that anything's wrong, but there's enough suspicion to put your back up…"
"You've got that right."
"Last year, Potter was receiving lessons in Occlumency," said Aweina, after a few moments, "I remember I got to headquarters not long after the row between Severus and…and Sirius. Remus filled me in on what he could. Too bad I wasn't much good at it. Occlumency, I mean."
"You're better than you think you are," said Alastor, sitting up and taking a drink from his flask. Aweina blinked in slight surprise-compliments from Alastor were rare.
"Well, I'm not half as good as Dumbledore. Or even Severus," she said after a moment, "I can block, but I'm not that good at lying. Duplicity's not my strong point."
"None of the Aquilas are good at lying," Alastor pointed out, "Your entire family is almost painfully honest."
"I'm not sure whether that's a compliment," Aweina replied, wryly. "Is there anything I need to be briefed on?"
"If you can, insult Severus in the next few days-he needs a row about now to 'confirm' himself, and you-well, you're an Auror," said Alastor, "On the side of 'saintly Potter,' as he puts it. Albus will let you know when the next meeting is."
Alastor stood and stretched, slowly. Aweina fished the scarf from her pocket and held it in her hand, ready to tie it around her eyes again…but at the moment, she didn't really want to. "Shall we associate with the students, or are you leaving?" she said.
"I've been pulled back to train more Aurors," said Alastor, sighing. "Half of them are too terrified of me to do anything, and the other half think my reputation is three times the size it should be."
Aweina smiled. "Well, you'll whip them into shape soon enough. You did for us, after all."
"I'll have to," said Alastor, "Happy birthday."
The Auror vanished with a whip-crack. Aweina smiled to herself-the brief meeting was all too typical of her mentor-and tied the scarf around her eyes. Settling it, she picked up her butterbeer, unhexed the doorknob so her skin wouldn't turn green-the last of Alastor's traps-and went into the bar.
There were students there, chattering happily as they drank butterbeer. Aweina shook her head at a wave from Potter and saw Severus through the door.
Moments later, he walked into the Three Broomsticks.
Might as well stage the fight now, thought Aweina, rolling an eye around the room, There's Slytherins in the corner…all right.
Filling her voice with scorn, Aweina said to Severus as he walked towards the bar, right past her, "Not enough to influence the students against me, and now you're polluting this bar?"
Severus stopped in his tracks, startled, and whirled around to face Aweina. Aweina scratched her right ear-a general Order hand-sign, used mostly to indicate that the Order was involved in whatever was happening. Severus's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed in recognition. "For your information, Aquila," he spat, "I've been drinking here for more than ten years. If anything, you're the interloper."
Aweina was filled with admiration for Severus-he was indeed a superb actor. There was just the right amount of venom in his voice to make her think it was real as the students hushed.
She set down her mostly-finished butterbeer on the bar, firmly. "Interloper, am I?" Aweina said, deliberately, "I see the Snape arrogance right on cue."
"Arrogant, am I?" snarled Severus, "When an Aquila battles with me, then I'll be arrogant."
For a moment, Aweina was completely, utterly bewildered-it seemed the most inane comeback ever to have existed. Then she realized her fellow Order member was dragging in the Snape/Aquila feud-it hadn't flared up for years, but neither family particularly liked the other even now. Aweina rose to her family's pride and drew herself up to her full height-admittedly, more than six inches shorter than Severus, but nevertheless somewhat impressive if you were sitting down, as the watching students were.
"You dare?" she hissed, clenching her fists. "You dare insult the Eagle with your sniveling, squirming snake?"
It rather fit that both the Snape and Slytherin sigil were snakes, and that the Ravenclaw and Aquila sigils were eagles. There was a double-attack there for anyone to see-first, a slur on Severus's family, second on his Hogwarts house.
"You call us sniveling?" said Snape, his voice rising. "When the Eagle's feathers are dragging in the mud, associating with Muggles?"
The silence in the bar was tense. Every student Aweina could see-and that was all of them-was on the edge of their seats, listening for all they were worth.
"Oh, I forgot! You're too high-and-mighty to even speak with those on friendly terms with Muggles!" shouted Aweina, allowing her voice to rise as if with anger to add authenticity. "Your noses so high in the air that you can't even smell your own stink! You-all of you-positively reek with snobbery and stiff-neckedness!"
Aweina realized that "neckedness" wasn't a word, per se, a split second after she had said it, and hoped people would ignore it. No one seemed to have noticed it, and Aweina focused both eyes on Severus.
His fists were clenched, knuckles white, and his eyes were so narrowed Aweina was amazed he could still see. "Draw, Aquila," he spat at last, "If you have the courage."
Aweina very nearly applauded as she turned and left the bar. "On brooms, Aquila," Severus said as she reached the threshold, "Unless the Eagle is too cowardly to fly, now"
Aweina took her broom from the rack, nodding inwardly at Severus's sense. He had chosen the brooms so spectators would be less able to see…therefore, the highly-trained Auror and former Death Eater would be able to hold back their full strength.
Aweina stalked outside, wishing absently that she hadn't worn the scarf with Snitches today. It seemed rather incongruous with the fight they were staging.
Severus left the bar with his own broom in hand, talking quietly to Malfoy, whose face was tight with anger. At last, Draco nodded, and Severus stood several feet from Aweina.
He nodded tightly, and both mounted their brooms. They flew upwards, keeping a careful distance from each other, until they reached about two hundred feet. To the students, both would be black blobs…this was a problem.
Severus solved it by taking out his handkerchief and muttering a spell, Transfiguring it until it was a banner with the Snape crest upon it. He tied it to the handle of his broomstick.
Aweina followed suit with her own, making the Aquila crest of a mantling red eagle on a field of blue, with four red lilies surrounding it and tying it to her broom. The banners fluttered in the light breeze.
"I'm assuming this is like a 'training session,'" said Severus. Aweina nodded and turned her broom, turning to face Severus again when she was twenty feet away. The Auror drew her wand. "We'll give them a show, but don't use anything…special," she replied, hoping he could hear.
Severus nodded, and whirled his wand at Aweina. The air rippled as a curse flew at her, but she blocked it with a shouted incantation. Not pausing, the Defense teacher fired two Stinging Hexes back at him.
Curses and counter-curses flew, mostly jets of light-more to impress than actually harm-but occasionally they would fire larger, more serious spells at each other. Nothing the other would not be able to block, but even so…
Aweina whirled her broom away from a Body-Bind and rolled in the air to avoid a more powerful version of the same spell Severus fired. One of her eyes detected a figure on another broom, flying several dozen feet below the duelers-just over the students' heads.
"Stop!" boomed a voice, as Dumbledore pulled his broom up. "Get yourselves down here immediately."
Both of the two sullenly descended, halting their fired spells. Aweina and Severus landed several feet from each other, holding their brooms so their family crests were obvious. Aweina rolled an eye to look at Severus-his expression was positively murderous. Thanks to the scarf, Aweina had little need to manufacture an expression, but she still managed to school her face into something approaching anger.
"I have not seen such disgraceful behavior from two of my staff in my entire career," said Professor Dumbledore, the sparkle gone from his eyes, "Getting into a duel in public, in front of students, no less-all over a petty feud you should have abandoned years ago."
Looking back at the students, Dumbledore waved a hand at them. Slowly, they dispersed. "We will continue this conversation in my office," he finished, and Disapparated.
Both Aweina and Severus followed suit, appearing just outside the gates of Hogwarts. A few minutes walking saw them sitting in Dumbledore's office.
None spoke as Albus put his broom away and sat down behind his desk. He looked at the two professors over his steepled hands…
And stood again, beaming. "Brilliant!" he said, all the sparkle returning to his eyes, "I couldn't have staged it better on my own! I could hardly keep from laughing!"
"You're a good actor, sir," began Aweina, awkwardly.
"Not half as good as you two were a few minutes ago! Oh, the rumors will be flying that Severus is on bad terms with the Aurors! But who started it?"
"I did," said Aweina, "I spoke to Alastor today, and he told me to stage a fight as soon as possible."
"I must confess, for the first few minutes I had no idea what was happening," said Severus, reluctantly, as Albus turned his head to look at him. "But this will improve my…credibility…considerably."
"Of course it will," said Albus, eyes twinkling, "You and the Auror professor, on the bare edge of breaking into insults and duels…if you can act tense around each other, sit as far away from each other as possible and avoid each other in the halls-that sort of thing-it would help even more. You have to keep up appearances for the students, of course."
"But what will our punishment be?" said Aweina, a tone in her voice making it obvious that the "punishment" was no such thing.
"Oh, nothing-" said Albus, flapping a hand impatiently-"But if you can act tense and angry for the next few days in class, maybe mutter insults when you pass each other, it would help. Severus, what will you tell the Dark Lord?"
"The Auror is a despicable piece of vermin," said Severus, "As pure-blooded as the Aquilas are, they are hardly better than the Weasleys-even the Potters-for associating with Muggles and Mudbloods. I refuse to associate with the woman."
"We'll work on that," mused Dumbledore, "Good. And Aweina?"
She shrugged. "I'll act tense-next time in the Three Broomsticks, maybe I'll get Alastor to come and I'll rant about Severus in the students' hearing. Something like that."
"Good," said Dumbledore, "And somehow appropriate…Alastor did tip you off. Very well, consider yourselves scolded. Kindly return to your duties."
Aweina nodded to Albus and turned, taking her handkerchief off the broom and Transfiguring it back to normal.
There were no students to impede her on the way to her quarters, and Aweina put her broom away. Grabbing a piece of parchment, she began a letter to Moody.
Dear Alastor,
I absolutely, positively, cannot stand Severus Snape. He had the nerve to imply that I was an interloper, and to insult my family when his own are little better than the snake on their crest! As well, he insulted my House, which was the last straw. We dueled on broomsticks-it was a draw, but I would have won if Albus Dumbledore had not cut into our little…discussion. I admit I probably should not have let my temper get the better of me in front of the students, but he insulted my family and my House, so I defended my honor accordingly. I don't know if I'm going to be able to bear having him as my colleague, but Albus told us we had to "get along." On the other hand, I fear my broom-dueling skills could use some work. Even now, you're the best coach I know of-perhaps you could give me some pointers some weekend-not this one, I'm busy-and we could go out for drinks afterward.
Yours, Aweina Aquila.
Aweina looked over the letter, scanning it for any sign that it was a coded message-which it was. Confident that to an outsider, it would appear simply as an old feud erupting again-as well as telling Alastor everything he needed to know about the fight, and that she would like to talk with him-she folded it and sealed it. I sound like a pompous arsehole, she thought, wryly, But it's convincing. I think. If anyone spots a loop in it, though, it'll be Alastor…and I'll get an earful.
Writing Alastor Moody's name on the outside, Aweina walked to the Owlery and sent Persephone into the night.
Good chapter? I liked it! It was muchly fun to write. Moody is bloody awesome! Anyway…reviews are loved! –unsubtle hint-
Toodles!
Fireblade K'Chona