With the first week of May, Rose Potter again found herself meeting with her head of house. The summons had surprised her, as it was too early for the usual end-of-term consultation. Her year had not even been told to start picking their electives, so the meeting could not be about that decision, either. She had been given no detentions, had gained more points for her house than she had lost, and her grades had to be near the top of her class for the second year in a row.
So why did Professor Snape need to speak with her?
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Rose knocked on the office door. "Come," said the voice of the Potions Master. Entering the office, Rose was surprised to see Professor McGonagall's stern features watching her as she entered. The Transfiguration professor was pleasant to her, if a little distant, and Rose could not recall any issues in that class that would require a conference with her head of house.
"Please have a seat, Miss Potter," said Snape, indicating a chair across his desk. McGonagall took the adjacent seat. Saying nothing, Rose took her place and looked at Snape. He considered her for a moment, as if judging her before a word had been spoken. When he spoke, his tone had softened a little - the change was subtle, but he was the professor she probably had the most interaction with over the past two years, and his mannerisms were obvious once you got to know them.
He had not found what he was looking for in her demeanor - and was pleased by that fact. Despite herself, Rose allowed herself to relax just a bit.
"There was an incident earlier this afternoon, Miss Potter. The Deputy Headmistress would like to ask you a few questions." Rose looked to Professor McGonagall, saying nothing.
After a moment, McGonagall decided that Rose's silence was all the consent she'd get, and sighed. "Miss Potter," she began. "When was the last time you spoke to Cassius Warrington?"
That's not the question I expected, she thought. "I can't recall the last conversation I had with him, Professor. I've probably greeted him in passing on occasion, surely, but I couldn't say exactly when."
"I see," said McGonagall. "And what about Percy Weasley?"
That's an unlikely pair. "Valentine's Day, Professor. In the Hospital Wing."
McGonagall and Snape looked at each other. Snape picked up the questioning. "So, to be clear, you did not encourage those two boys to attack anyone in Gryffindor?" He looked at her intently, as if emphasizing his point. "Anyone at all?"
Aha, she thought. "I can't say that I have, Professor." She turned to McGonagall. "What exactly happened, if I may ask?"
She scowled. "Jeffrey Burke, a gryffindor sixth year, claims that Mister Warrington attacked him in the corridor near the Potions classroom. When Mister Weasley heard the commotion, he stunned his housemate rather than Mister Warrington. One of his yearmates, Mister Samno, attempted to help, but he was stunned and bound as well."
Rose shared another look with Snape. "Would I be correct if I said that Kenneth Stein was there as well?"
"What makes you say that?" asked McGonagall, her tone growing annoyed.
"Because, Professor, the three gryffindors we suspected of attacking Astoria Greengrass were Burke, Samno, and Stein." Rose kept her voice even, but her thoughts were racing. Percy and Cassius were both involved, which means…. "Let me guess, Professor. Percy Weasley says that he broke up a fight between those three and Mister Warrington. And they, in turn, claim that he was told to attack them by a certain slytherin. Am I getting it right?"
McGonagall sighed. "That is fairly accurate, yes, Miss Potter."
"And this attack took place where, exactly?"
"Near the Potions classroom." answered Snape.
"I see," replied Rose. "The same place were Astoria was attacked, is that right?"
"It is," said McGonagall. "I fail to see what that has to do with anything."
Rose smiled at her. "If you had witnesses, I doubt you'd be here speaking to me. Which tells me that you just have the accounts of those involved."
"I've never had reason to question my lions about their behavior, Miss Potter." McGonagall said in a huff.
"No, I'm not aware of any proven accusations against those three," Rose said, her emphasis on the word proven causing McGonagall to frown. "Nor has there been any complaint about Mister Warrington, is that accurate, Professor Snape?"
"Miss Potter is correct, Minerva," replied Snape.
"Which means," continued Rose, "we need to interview the witness."
"Miss Potter," snapped McGonagall. "Did I not make myself clear? There are no other witnesses."
The amicable smile faded from Rose's face. "Are you absolutely certain, Deputy Headmistress?"
oOoOoOoOo
It was a short walk to the corridor near the Potions classroom. Professor McGonagall seemed ready to object when Rose began leading the two professors toward the scene of the crime, before she remembered that this was not the first attack in this location. Professor Snape, meanwhile, found himself recalling a conversation he had had with the headmaster about the lack of portraits in the dungeons - and how Rose had commented on that same fact not long after the beginning of the term.
Rose came to a stop between two blank sections of wall, in an otherwise empty stretch of corridor. Turning, she gave the professors a pleasant smile. "Is this the place, Professor McGonagall?"
"It is." Minerva replied, simply.
"Good," said Rose, with a nod. Stepping closer to the wall, she waved her wand and cast a Finite Incantatem. The stone wall shimmered, before fading to reveal a portrait. Inside the frame, an old wizard sat in a comfortable chair, reading a book. When he noticed that he was revealed, he stood up and brushed his robes off.
"Good morning, Rose," said the portrait.
"Hello, Professor," she replied. "Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, may I present Professor Basil Forsnac, Headmaster of Hogwarts from 1827 to 1841."
Snape gave the portrait a nod of acknowledgement. McGonagall looked from the portrait to the slytherin. "Miss Potter, do you mean to tell me that you removed one of the Headmasters' portraits from Professor Dumbledore's office?"
Rose found herself annoyed at the near-accusation, but kept her voice calm. "No, Professor. You see, Headmaster Frosnac taught a course on enchanting, and one of his specialities was the charms work that went into enchanting portraits and linking frames together. As a means of honoring him, his seventh years and several alumni got together and crafted about a dozen frames for their old mentor." She gestured at the portrait. "The Headmaster here probably has the most frames of any single portrait in the castle."
"Quite right, Miss Potter," said Professor Frosnac, amicably. "So when I was asked to allow one of my frames to be moved, and why, I could hardly say no." He gave the professors a gentle smile, one that reminded Minerva of the current Headmaster. "It was a welcome change of pace, as it happened."
McGonagall stared at the portrait, processing this turn of events. Professor Snape looked at Rose, before addressing the portrait. "You saw the attack this afternoon, then?" he asked.
The smile faded from Frosnac's face. "Yes."
"You summoned Poppy," said Minerva, quietly, almost to herself. Frosnac heard her, and nodded.
"Aye, I did." He gestured at the mirror that dominated one side of the painting. "I did not want to leave this frame, since my task was to watch over the corridor. But with the linked mirror, I was able to pass the word along to a portrait of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor that hangs in the matron's office. It was she who summoned help."
Rose watched as the two professors shared another look. Then Professor Snape turned to the portrait, but he did not have to ask the question on each of their minds. The Headmaster was already crossing the room, walking with a cane. They watched as the old wizard tapped the mirror, which began to display the portrait's view of the events of that afternoon.
Once the mirror faded, Professor McGonagall found the eyes of both slytherins focused on her. With a sigh, she nodded to the portrait. "Thank you, Professor Frosnac." Then, she turned to Rose. "Thirty points to Slytherin for your foresight, Miss Potter."
"Thank you, Professor," was her reply.
"I shall go speak to the Headmaster, Severus." McGonagall said to Snape, who nodded in acknowledgement. He said nothing about her earlier comments about Cassius Warrington and his involvement in the attack - for it was clear now that the prefect's involvement was that of a victim.
Rose watched the Deputy Headmistress walk down the corridor, hopefully to deal with her lions. If this doesn't work, she thought, Flint and the others will take matters into their own hands. She wasn't prepared for that, not when things had actually calmed down in the castle. As the others had pointed out, however, she was only a second year. Her options were limited.
It was something Spellforged had told her, long ago, that gave her this idea. He had said that the Goblins rarely acted on their own initiative, preferring to keep their own counsel and maintain their neutrality. Those wizards who had the most success in dealing with the Goblins were the ones who ensured that the option they wanted the Goblins to follow was the one that promised the most profit.
Rose considered it quite a Slytherin idea. If she couldn't get justice for Astoria, then she could at least make it easy for others to do it on her behalf. Now, of course, she just needed to trust in the integrity of the Deputy Headmistress that she would do what was necessary. Only time would tell, there.
Fortunately, Rose had other options as well. After collecting her bag from Professor Snape's office, she made her way to the Owlery.
oOoOoOoOo
At dinner, the students were surprised to learn that Gryffindor had lost three hundred points in one afternoon.
Neither Cassius Warrington nor Percy Weasley were in the great hall, nor could Rose see any of the other Weasleys. As she looked down the Gryffindor table, she saw that the three attackers were absent as well, which she took as a good sign. She did not think to much about the fact that Daphne and Astoria were missing from the Slytherin table. If everything was going as intended, they would be there before too long.
Tracey saw the knowing look on Rose's face, and leaned over to her. "What happened?" she asked. Millicent Bulstrode, sitting on Tracey's other side, tried very hard not to be obvious about listening in.
Rose took a sip of her pumpkin juice before answering. "If I'm right, at this moment our three favorite lions are having a meeting with their parents and Professor McGonagall." She shrugged innocently, causing Tracey to roll her eyes. "It seems that they took it on themselves to attack two prefects in the potions corridor."
Tracey's eyes grew wide. "Did the portrait see them?"
Rose grinned. "He saw everything."
Tracey returned the grin. Had they not been in the great hall, she may have pumped her fist in triumph - for the idea of disillusioning a portrait had been hers. Daphne and Hermione had been the ones to choose the portrait, and Rose talked it into helping, but the initial idea started with Tracey.
Shortly before dinner ended, Rose saw Daphne leading her sister to the Slytherin table. Astoria split off to go sit with her friends, while Daphne seated herself across from Tracey and Rose. Daphne's expression seemed more solemn than Rose had expected.
Daphne did not wait for the inevitable question. "Kenneth Stein has been expelled," she said, quietly. "The other two are on probation for the rest of their time at Hogwarts."
Rose and Tracey shared a look. While both had hoped for expulsions, they had figured that detentions and points would be the most the Headmaster would do. The staff's hands-off approach to bullying could be said to have been part of the cause of the attack in the first place, after all. The diary, through Ginny, had played off of that atmosphere of mistrust, wielding the legend of Slytherin's beast to great effect.
Astoria had seen the results of that mistrust first hand. It was enough to make Rose hate the house divide even more.
"Why only Stein, I wonder?" asked Tracey.
"He talked himself into it, actually," replied Daphne. "Father summoned their parents when the three were accused earlier today, and he attended the meeting on behalf of the board of governors. Burke's father and Samno's mother both came close to pulling their sons out of the school, and encouraged the Headmaster to do whatever he had to do. McGonagall was shocked, once she realized that the parents were supporting the staff and not their sons."
"It makes sense," said Rose, thoughtfully. "They're caught, they lied about it, they're guilty. Best option is to trust in the Headmaster's well-known soft spot for second chances."
Daphne nodded. "I don't think they looked at it that way, since we are talking about gryffindors and all. But the result is the same."
"And Stein?"
"Stein was adamant that the gryffindors had to defend themselves." Daphne shook her head, amazed that the boy had even tried to justify the attacks. "He said that if the teachers weren't going to protect the students, then they would."
"Protect them from what?" asked Tracey.
Daphne looked up. "From Slytherin."
"It's worse than I thought," Rose said. "I expected them to be using the petrifications as cover to bully slytherins, but he actually told the Headmaster that we were the problem?" She, too, shook her head in amazement. "Did they mention that the petrifications stopped months ago?"
"Father did, when none of the professors made that point." Daphne shrugged. "The response was 'Until next time.' Then the Headmaster asked him what he would do then. Stein looked Dumbledore in the eye and said 'We'll do what we have to.' He was expelled on the spot."
"Serves him right," said Tracey, returning to her dinner. "Nutter."
"He's not a nutter," said Millicent, causing the other three girls to look at her.
"Why not?" asked Tracey.
Millicent looked uncomfortable at the attention, but met their looks nonetheless. "I mean, if three slytherins had beaten up a Gryffindor first year, what would have happened? They would have torn the dungeons apart looking for evidence, right?" She looked at Rose. "And think if that had happened after Malfoy's little stunt on Halloween? It would have been war."
"They got away with it the first time," Daphne said quietly. "They thought they would again."
Millicent nodded. "They sent a first year to the hospital wing for a week, and nothing happened at school." She gave Daphne a thoughtful look. "I heard your father spoke with their parents?"
Daphne nodded. "Before the three were brought in, Father mentioned that there was evidence linking them to the attack on a slytherin girl in December. Stein's parents scoffed at that, but Burke's father asked why they hadn't heard about this yet, and Father replied that the investigation had still been ongoing." She smiled in spite of the topic. "When they learned that the girl who had been attacked was Astoria, they realized why Lord Greengrass was attending the meeting on behalf of the Governors."
"I wondered why he never made a public move," said Tracey.
"He knew that the evidence wouldn't hold up," said Daphne. "All we knew was that they were the only three who could have done it. But we couldn't prove that they had." She looked at Rose. "Until today."
oOoOoOoOo
Not everyone in Slytherin was happy with what had happened. Marcus Flint, along with most of the quidditch team, had wanted blood. That one had gone so far as to obtain class schedules for the three gryffindors showed exactly how far they were willing to go to satisfy the urge for revenge.
Flint was speaking with his fellow seventh years in the common room when he noticed Rose Potter and her friends sitting near the fireplace. This second year had let the lions get away with beating a slytherin prefect, and all they got was probation. They deserved so much worse, and everyone knew it.
She had humiliated Draco Malfoy for speaking out of turn, and he was in her house! How dare she side with the gryffindors.
Raising his voice, Flint decided to make sure everyone knew who was to blame. "It's lucky for those gryffindors that the Girl-Who-Lived was the one to catch them. They might have gotten into trouble, otherwise." His friends snickered at the comment, but Flint was watching Rose for the reaction he knew had to be coming.
When she ignored him, he stood. He didn't care how famous she was, she was a second year girl, he would make sure she knew her place.
"Did you have to beg Dumbledore to put them on probation?" he asked with a sneer. "I knew you were the Headmaster's pet, but this just proves it!"
That did it. Rose closed her book and set it aside. She did not stand, though Flint saw several fifth years walking over. He forced himself not to grin when they leaned against the stone wall behind her seat, flanking the fireplace. Does she even realize that she's surrounded? He thought to himself.
"What would you have done, Mister Flint?" Rose asked. Despite her quiet tone, everyone in the room heard her. Flint could feel the eyes of his housemates turn to see his response.
He scoffed. "Gryffindors don't understand anything except fists. We would have given those three just as good as they gave us."
"How Slytherin of you," she answered, drily, and Flint was surprised to hear a few laughs at the comment.
"We protect our housemates, Miss Potter," said another seventh year behind Flint.
"As well we should," she said, agreeably. Keeping her eyes on Flint, she shrugged. "So you'd beat them up. What then?"
He tilted his head at her. "Then they'd stop."
She shook her head, almost as if in disappointment. "No, Mister Flint, they would just make sure the next snake they found didn't get up." She stood now, though she did not approach him. "And if three lions beat one of our housemates so badly that they went home early? Or worse, went to Saint Mungo's? What would you do, start killing gryffindors until you stumbled across the attacker?"
Flint's response gave Rose a chill, all the moreso because she was convinced he meant it.
"If we had to."
She nodded, thoughtfully, covering her reaction. "And the professors? What are they doing during all this?"
Flint scoffed again. "Nothing. We have to protect ourselves because they won't."
"Uh huh," Rose said. "So, Gryffindor charges in and beats up Slytherin, and that's what they do, but Slytherin goes and beats up Gryffindor, and that's supposed to be cunning?"
"It's not about that," Flint began.
"It's always about that!" Rose interrupted him, anger in her tone. "You want to win a fight, and that's fine I guess, but there will always be another fight, another attack."
"That's how it's always been," a witch answered her from the back of the room.
"And how well has that worked for us?" Rose replied, stepping forward. "Flint wants to win a fight, I say we need to win all the other fights before they happen."
"Bollocks," said Flint. "How does a little girl win a fight that hasn't happened yet?"
She met his gaze. "The next time a Gryffindor gets it in his head to beat up a snake, he will think about Ken Stein, who got expelled because he told the Headmaster - to his face - that he was protecting his housemates from us." She pointed at Flint. "From people like you, Mister Flint."
"That's not what he said," Flint began, his tone quieter, the bluster gone from his voice.
"Lord Greengrass reports otherwise," Rose said. "The other two got probation, and if they get so much as a detention for anything non-academic, they're gone." She turned in her place, looking at the faces of her housemates as they listened. "But Stein couldn't accept that he might have been wrong, because the professors have taught him that he wasn't."
"Until now."
All eyes turned to the entrance to the common room, where a pale Cassius Warrington was standing next to Professor Snape.
oOoOoOoOo
Warrington was leaning on a cane, but otherwise seemed to be mostly recovered. He walked slowly over to the nearest chair, and the room was silent as he made his way. Flint's expression was getting angrier and angrier as he realized what had happened, but Snape's presence caused him to hold his tongue. When Warrington was settled, he spoke to the room.
"Do you want to know why those three lions got caught today, Marcus?" Warrington asked, quietly. "Rose told one of their prefects about her suspicions, and he told the rest of their prefect team. They were watching, and they were waiting, and when those three attacked, it was a Gryffindor prefect standing next to me."
"So what?" spat Flint.
"So, Rose basically forced the professors to do their damn jobs and punish the guilty." He gestured to Rose, who nodded to him. "Instead of getting her own revenge, she forced the professors to do it. All perfectly within the rules, all perfectly legal."
"That's not how we do things," Flint argued.
"And that's the problem, isn't it?" asked Rose. "You wanted to charge in and hurt someone, didn't you? Don't bother answering, we can see it on your face. But here's the thing, Mister Flint - that's how Gryffindor does things. They charge in."
"And how do we do things, then, Miss Slytherin Princess?" Flint's tone caused some grumbling - including from some of the people standing behind him, people he thought supported him.
"Do you need me to explain the word cunning, Mister Flint?" asked Rose with a chuckle. "You've been here seven years, man." She gestured at the room. "Everyone thinks that we're the source of all evil in the school, and you want to go prove them right?"
Flint stood there, staring at her.
The quiet stretched for several moments, before the last person anyone expected to speak stood up.
"When I went to the other houses on Halloween," began a nervous Draco Malfoy. "Two of them had their wands out when I walked in."
Rose looked at him, surprised that he had spoken up.
"All I did was say the first thing that popped into my head," he continued. "And they were prepared for me to attack them." He looked at Flint. "What would they do if you had actually attacked them?"
Flint said nothing.
Snape's voice broke the silence. "An impassioned defense of your house's ideals, Miss Potter. Take ten points for Slytherin." He walked to the middle of the common room, all eyes following him. "I have been informed by the Headmaster that all school rules on bullying and attacks in the corridors will be strictly enforced from this day forward."
"Why weren't they before, sir?" asked a first year.
Snape turned to the boy. "I'm sure I have no idea," was his reply, and his tone made clear that he knew why and didn't want to discuss it - no more than it had already been discussed, at any rate. "My door is open if you have questions about this new policy," and here he looked pointedly at Flint. "But for now, the hour grows late. Off you go."
oOoOoOoOo
"Merlin, this House is exhausting," muttered Rose as she climbed into bed.
Daphne chuckled at the comment. "It's not easy to be the High Priestess of Slytherin, Keeper of the One True Faith of Cunning and Ambition and Assorted Subtleties, is it?"
Daphne laughed even harder when the pillow struck her from across the room.
A/N: Welcome back. My beta, Mrs. Gunnarsson, has been switching jobs and working as hard as she can to handle her business. So this story went on a bit of an unplanned hiatus, which I know frustrated quite a few of you. She is as much a cowriter as a beta, save for the fact that I'm the one typing things out. So, all of that is to say that we're going to ease back into things here as we gear up for Year Three.
For the olds, you may recognize Burke and Samno as the assassins from the 1991 classic Star Trek VI. Kenneth and Stein were both cricketers, I believe - the name has no other significance, save that I can confirm at least one famous British person was named Stein at some point.
We're at the end of Year Two, and a fun-filled summer awaits. Updates will remain sporadic for a while yet, as we get back into things. You may also enjoy Who Dares Wins, my other major ongoing story.
I may not have responded to every review, or even to most of them - but they are read, and welcomed, and cherished. Thank you.
Feedback, as always, is welcome.
