Chapter Four
The Invasion
Author's Notes: Cecelle, of course, you are right. MS Word just doesn't pick up such things. Thanks to Jorjor, emma and Masked Phantom.
Severus Snape's already-thin lips curled into an expression of deepest disdain as sundry Order members stepped out of the fireplace into the great hall at regular intervals.
"Your face might freeze like that, you know," said Nymphadora Tonks cheerfully as she handed Snape her cloak. To his chagrin, her mood was not at all dampened by the fact that she had nearly cleft open her skull on the carved marble Gorgon's head in the centre of the mantlepiece as she arrived. Oblivious to his displeasure, Tonks practically skipped off toward Dumbledore and soon engaged the elderly headmaster in a conversation peppered on both sides with giggles and snorts. Snape, his mood blacker than the family from which the Metamorphmagus was descended, moved towards the centre of the room, where he hung Tonks' cloak on the marble statue along side those of the other guests.
Jeeves the house elf was occupied in preparing luncheon for the group, and as he was the lone domestic servant, it fell to Snape to gather the outer garments of his arrivals. The statue seemed to suit his purposes well – its outstretched arms practically cried out to be used as a coat rack. If such a space-consuming object were to remain in his possession, Snape mused, it might as well make itself useful. After all, its original purpose, like most of the trinkets in his late grandmother's collection, was not obvious.
At this moment, Jeeves the much-maligned house elf, appeared to announce that the luncheon repast awaited them in the dining room. Dumbledore, clapping his hands in satisfaction, led the way. How the Hogwarts headmaster knew where the dining room was located was a mystery even to Severus Snape. As he seated himself in one of the high-backed Gothic chairs around a heavy oak table, Snape looked around in satisfaction that he was at least spared the invasion of the Red-Headed League and their attendant idiots, Potter and Granger. Minerva McGonagall, who had somehow managed to seat herself beside him, must have notes his gaze, for she crisply remarked,
"The Weasleys won't be joining us, Severus. They're keeping Remus and Harry company in London this Christmas."
"It's a wonder you don't have other plans for the holidays," Snape replied under his breath to no one in particular.
"This is loads better than being at the Christmas party at the Ministry," exclaimed Tonks, whose turkey sandwich was dripping cranberry sauce into her lap. "The Minister is always having too much punch and making ridiculous speeches. And last year, Percy Weasley tried to kiss me under the mistletoe! That was a laugh… Oh, bugger!" she cried, noticing the stain on her robes.
"Scourgify!" Minerva sighed, pointing her wand across the table.
"Thanks!" smiled Tonks as she brushed her faded tangerine hair away from her face. Minerva blandly smiled back.
Dumbledore, sensing a break in the general conversation, stood up and cleared his throat slightly. "First, I mist thank Severus for being such a gracious host, in spite of his recent bereavement. The sandwiches were truly delicious." A smattering of half-hearted, but polite applause followed this somewhat facetious statement. The turkey sandwiches had actually been very dry. Dumbledore continued, "As you may have noticed, Duslain is filled with magicval objects, whose purposes are not immediately obvious. After consulting with me, Severus had decided that it would be prudent to examine these objects and to dispose of them appropriately, so that they do not fall into the wrong hands. It may be, that in the course of our investigation, we may stumble across something that may assist the work of the Order. If this should happen, we must take care not to damage the object or our limbs." Dumbledore paused for dramatic effect and waited for a giggle to acknowledge his pun. None was forthcoming, so he carried on. "We should break into groups and arrange the objects according to categories. If you are unsure as to the function of and object, leave it to another group.
"What will we do with the ones we don't need?" inquired Hestia Jones.
"Severus has already had some interest from Borgin and Burkes, but I think you will agree with me that one cannot be too careful in dealing with such an establishment," General murmurs of assent were heard among the group until Tonks piped up.
"What if we were to booby-trap some of them and give them to people like Malfoy?"
"A very intriguing suggestion, Miss Tonks," said Dumbledore, "but we may not have sufficient time and resources to carry it through."
"And most of it might be rubbish," opined Kingsley Shacklebolt in his deep bass.
"We can let Mundungus Fletcher get rid of it," suggested the ever-practical Minerva, who was of a similar opinion as Molly Weasley when it came to Dung's 'business dealings'.
Once the laughter that followed this subsided, Dumbledore brought the group to order once again. "That is a cunning plan, Minerva, quite worthy of a Slytherin. We must certainly give it further consideration. But now, I think it is time for us to commence our work."
Groups were assigned, and Snape found himself in the great hall with Tonks and Daedalus Diggle. Dumbledore, to no one's surprise, assigned himself the role of roving supervisor.
Tonks did not prove to be quite the liability Snape had expected. Her experience in the Black family home meant that she was familiar with some of the more exotic magical artifacts, such as a tray of poisonous butterflies from South America. Snape put that aside, hoping to investigate the function of the poison later in his potions research.
Hours later, when they had lined up useful items on one side of the great hall, harmless trinkets on the other, and inidentifiable objects down the middle, Dumbledore appeared, followed by the others. Clapping his hands, he conjured a circle of squashy armchairs and had Severus order tea and biscuits from Jeeves. Minerva served the tea, pouring it out of what was evidently an ancient, soot-blackened teapot into terracotta cups. Tonks, who finished her tea first, was the first to notice that the hot liquid had caused a rather rude image to appear at the bottom of the cup. Much amusement ensued as Order members exchanged teacups to see the various designs. Even Minerva McGonagall, who had at first blushed to the roots of her severely knotted hair, shared in the general hilarity. Once the images faded, the group grew silent and sated.
Hestia Jones was the first to speak again. "Did you find out what the statue is for, Severus?" she asked, nodding toward the sculpture which continued to stand in the middle of the hall.
"No," grimaced Snape, whose back began to stiffen from sitting in the plush, squat armchair for too long.
"I think she's rather beautiful," said Tonks dreamily, although what was so beautiful about a hunk of marble draped with half-a-dozen travelling cloaks, Snape was at a loss to understand.
"My grandmother would fuss about it all the time. She talked to it as if it was alive and could hear her," he snorted.
"Perhaps it could," mused Dumbledore. "The stone was warm when I occasioned to touch it earlier."
"There was a grimoire upstairs," said Minerva.
"Mayvbe the statue is a golem," breathed Emmeline Vance.
"Or maybe Aggripina Snape was a senile old witch who didn't know better than to talk to inanimate objects," snapped the Potions master. The vehemence of his reply meant that there was no more speculation, though members of the Order stole curious glances at the makeshift coat rack as the tea was cleared.