I managed to find the locket, replacing it with a replica. It was in a display case, cordoned off. I'd been told to be wary of what was in it, the dark detection spells apparently didn't like the entire cabinet. I ignored all but Slytherin's locket. I would probably replace it once I got rid of the Horcrux within. At the moment I just needed to get it back to where my basilisk fangs were.

The night of New Year's Eve we returned to the castle, mostly so Harry could be with his friends for the celebration. I hopped through the floo after Harry and Sirius both went through, dark tendrils of magic poking at me from the Horcrux. I ignored it best I could, knowing that there was little else I could do.

I was able to leave my bag in Sirius' office while we were at the feast. We had cut things a little close in leaving his place. I spent most of New Years dinner being shifty, I'll admit. I was nervous and jumpy, wishing I had left the locket with the rest of my things. I just didn't want a house elf to stumble on it or something like that. It stayed in my pocket for all of the feast, I knew better than to wear it. After we ate I was drafted to patrol and make sure the students weren't hanging around. My mood was descending rapidly, and the students seemed to realize this. They got out of my way quickly, retreating to their common rooms before I could catch them in the halls. I heard several students murmuring around a corner, but they were gone the moment I got there.

Once back in my quarters I showed it to the Doctor, not bothering to unpack, or take off my outer robes. This particular Horcrux had proved in the novels that it was insidiously dangerous. The whispers into your mind were what made it so treacherous. With my wand in my right hand and fang in my left, I turned and glanced up at the Doctor, nodding solemnly. He hissed, looking thrilled to be taking part in the horcruxes destruction.

The locket clicked open, smoke spewing forth faster than I had assumed it would. I expected something much like a boggart, with my fears surging towards me. But it was just smoke. It reached for me, and I stabbed downwards, feeling the surge of smoke tingling as it touched my arms. It was very anti-climatic. The smoke dissipated almost immediately, the dark magic fading away to near nothing. I stared down at it.

"...Is that it? Like, seriously?"

The Doctor shrugged,

"Unlike with the trio it never had time to really examine your psyche. You never wore it, therefore it never had a chance to get inside your head. Not to mention your mental defenses are more than a bit stronger than those of 17 year olds."
"...sounds legit, I guess."

I opened a drawer in my desk and shoved it in, closing the drawer quickly. I stared at my desk and the basilisk fang before sighing.

"Well, this year is looking interesting already."
I bid the Doctor good night before falling into bed.

The next few days I stayed in my room, practicing my animagus transformation and planning how to break into Gringotts.

I couldn't exactly do what the trio had, I didn't have an invisibility cloak, accomplices, a goblin, or access to Bellatrix Lestrange. So I was either going to have to get creative, or go about things a completely different way. Perhaps I should just fall back on my plan B. It would solve the Harry Horcrux issue, the getting the cup issue, the 'Voldie might find his shit missing and flip a gasket' issue...but it would take time, be stupidly difficult, and might not work.

I was glaring at my half assed plans for Gringotts when I finally gave in, putting my pen down and looking up at the Doctor. He was fiddling with something or another that had been laying around in his frame when he was painted. I cleared my throat and he looked up at me after a few seconds,

"Doctor, did you ever get around to reading those Eragon books I recommended?"
"Of course I did, went to 2038 and saw the reboot movie series. So, much better than the original, ugh, the things they did to that poor plotline."

"I know, right? They just took it and-I'm getting off topic. Do you remember in the one book, the spell to invoke empathy? To make someone realize what exactly they had done to the people they had hurt?...we need one of those."

"...come again, Mara? I do believe that's a different sort of magic."

I huffed,

"I'm aware that the Ancient Language and this latin stuff are completely different but essentially the same sorts of feats are possible! Listen, the only way to unmake a horcrux without damaging the vessel, the only way to gather all existing pieces together into one convenient place, is remorse. Tom Marvolo Riddle was conceived under love potion, he has never felt as a normal human being should. We give that to him and he has the emotional maturity of a toddler who can be easily guided towards certain conclusions and feelings. We force him to feel, and once he feels we convince him to regret."

The Doctor thought it over, not daring to hope just yet.

"At this moment, however, Voldemort is vulnerable and in that wraith like state. Wouldn't putting him together again sort of...improve him? He would be...not insane, and perfectly free to either conquer as he was or create new horcruxes and hide them where we'll never expect to find them."

"...this is true." I sighed, running my hands through my hair. "We should at least figure it out to have on hand. If we're ever staring him in the face then we should have the option available."
He agreed and set to work, going at it from a scientific angle of what would be required for that, while I searched restlessly for the magical one. Hopefully we would be able to meet in the middle.

My 'cure' was on hold for the moment, kind of. There was a batch of stuff brewing in my bathroom, the latest prototype. I had a vial of blood on my desk, waiting for the cure to be tested on it. Remus had mailed it to me a few days ago. He was trying not to get his hopes up, but Sirius apparently wasn't having it. The man was convinced I'd have it in the bag shortly. While that was flattering it was also stressful. It became more than 'improving society', 'helping the downtrodden', and 'sticking it to those ministry bastards'. It was also the tiniest bit of 'impress Sirius'. The time away from him was not doing me good, like I had assumed. Imagination was not my friend.

When classes started I was once again thin and pale. I'd also lost a bit of muscle mass because of my forced solitude. So not only was I not eating properly, I wasn't going on my runs like I should. I made a mental note to make time for those no matter what as I trudged into the Great Hall for breakfast. I was back to my double layers of clothing, destroying a horcrux that tickled you with malicious dark magic fingers wasn't good for my condition. So it was a rather pissed off Mara that was clutching coffee when Sirius settled down beside me.
"Where have you been? I haven't seen you since last year!"

I rolled my eyes at the weak joke, not having the energy to elbow him for it.

"I've been in exile working on things."

"Hmm...perhaps you should work on things outside, you look like you could use some sun."

I raised an eyebrow and pointed upwards.

"Canine, it is snowing."

He huffed,

"Don't go back to calling me that, and a little snow won't hurt you."

I poured my third cup of coffee for the day,

"Actually I think it might. I have enough issues with cold, thank you."

I took that cup to go, waving a goodbye to the rest of the staff before heading to my classroom. Seconds after my first class started there was a small explosion from the hall and I just knew my day was going to be hell.

After the Slytherin girl was finished tearing her now ex-boyfriend a new one class was able to continue, though not without a fair share of gossip floating around the room. The kids were tough to control the entire day, still missing the break and excited for the upcoming challenge. I ended up slumped over on the table at dinner that evening, complaining to Minerva.

"I'm too old for thiiiiiiis."

She huffed,

"You are not old, you're simply a bit ill at the moment. I just don't understand how your condition was aggravated again, no one used dark magic around you, I'm assuming?"
Sirius turned pale, putting his tea down slowly.

"Our London house practically breathes dark magic, Mara I'm so sorry I should have thought before I forced you to go with us!"

I waved a hand without looking, forehead still connected to the table.

"Don't worry about it, it isn't your fault. I'll be fine again in no time."
He remained unconvinced. He was back to following me around, this time looking like a kicked puppy. It was a convenient explanation for why I was ill, and even a little bit true, but I still felt bad for making him feel guilty.

I figured out that I could change into my animagus form and the cold would die down a bit. I guess it was similar in principle to how Sirius could sneak past Dementors as a dog. So I took cat naps, or wolf naps as it were, during the day in order to get some sleep. I was wary of sleeping that way through the entire night, I had read that it was possible for those new to the transformation to get stuck in their animal forms if they remained in them for too long.

I had until February to prepare for the second task, and I wasn't looking forward to it. Not only would students be in danger, but I would have to sit outside in the cold for hours doing absolutely nothing. I would have to act worried while I froze my ass off. When I caught Hermione, Harry, and Ron in the library looking up ways to breathe under water it hit me. Moody wouldn't be sending Dobby or Cedric, or whoever, to help this time, because Moody wasn't here. I mentally cursed, realizing that Neville wouldn't get through the book in time by this point, so instead I slipped it into Hermione's reading pile and waited for the revelation. It didn't take as long as I thought it would. A little bit later Snape's stores were broken into, and too much was moved around for him to tell what was taken. Everyone heard him muttering in the staff room, though no one was stupid enough to get sucked into a conversation over it.

With that done I was better able to focus on all of my projects. I didn't have enough time in the day for all of it, and it made me wish for a time turner. I had the resources and the knowledge, I could always build one of my own, but that would take time that I couldn't use it to get back, so ultimately it wasn't worth it. Hermione's was: one, in use by the girl herself, and two, out of my reach. I doubted that she would allow me to use it if it wasn't a very obvious case of life or death. So instead I ate meals away from the Great Hall, usually while pouring over equations and ancient texts. Even my workout time was spent with research. The room of requirement gave me a small circular track to run and I had a quill that would follow me around and write down whatever I said onto some parchment. I was able to take down notes, theories, or ideas so as not to lose time. Some days I had to walk around the track, running being out of the question. I knew the Doctor was also looking up reasons for why dark magic was affecting me as it did, but all he could tell me was that it was most likely because I was foreign to this dimension, so 'wrong' things even for here would strike as extra 'wrong' to my system.

When the second task rolled around I sat grumpily in the stands, wrapped up in everything possible. I made sure to squish myself in between Sirius, who was 'animagus warm', and Hagrid, who was half-giant warm. Even with that it was worse than fucking freezing and I stared angrily at the surface of the lake while abso-fuckin-lutely nothing happened. Sirius was too worried to think about the cold, staring down at the water, looking like he hoped that by concentrating enough his godson would pop out unharmed at any second. Fleur was caught by the grindylows, after time Krum showed up Hermione, Diggory next, and finally Harry with the last two hostages, just as he was supposed to. Something in me relaxed a bit when things ended as I had hoped. I let Sirius run to Harry's side and tracked down Rita Skeeter, who I could do nothing about. I only had a vague area to work from,and if I couldn't see her in that area then I was doomed. So I scowled internally and watched as Hermione hugged Harry then went back to Krum, knowing that an article about them would be out at some point. I would have to reassure Molly that it was utter trash so she wouldn't jip the girl at Easter like she had in the novels. The last task was scheduled for the 24th of June, but I ignored it. There was no danger coming, Moody was gone, even Winky too, and Harry could handle the maze. I was able to focus more on my projects without worrying about the kid, and I was grateful for my foresight over the summer in making such complete lesson plans.

Students seemed to take note of the days when I refused to move around at all, some were on their best behavior, others thought it meant they could get away with more. I was giving detentions away to Filch more often than I was hosting them myself. Draco Malfoy stayed out of trouble almost completely. His grades in other classes went up, and reports from the Doctors little portait friends about bullying had dropped off to nothing. He showed up in my office more and more to ask questions, though usually they had nothing to do with my class. He asked questions about other classes, about America, about the bits of science that I had mentioned. It was research time lost, but I considered him both worth the effort and a good investment. When I caught myself thinking that last thought I was more than a bit horrified with myself. I was starting to think like I was a politician or a chessmaster and everyone around me was a pawn I could move. Though speaking in chess terms would make things easier it would also be dehumanizing. I should really be more careful or all of this would go to my head.

Come March Skeeters piece came out in Witch Weekly, as well as a small part in the prophet. I saw it at breakfast and lost my mind a little bit, throwing it down viciously onto the table.

"All that fucking effort to keep her away from people and stop her from causing trouble, and she does it anyway. Does she have recording spells everywhere? I have physically tossed her off of the grounds, how does she keep getting back in? How shitty is our security?"

I crossed my arms slightly petulantly, not expecting an answer. But Dumbles surprised me, sighing loudly,

"I quite agree Mara. I believe I shall call a staff meeting this afternoon in order to address the situation."

Well, that was easier than I had expected. Still, our meeting didn't go smoothly. There were arguments about how to go about banning her from the grounds, as well as debate over if we really should, or legally could. In the end it was decided to leave it up to the governors if we could ward the grounds against her. I gave up hope right around then, Lucius Malfoy wasn't going to allow us to ban someone who caused Harry Potter this much emotional grief. In the end that's what I had decided the tournament was, a way to cause him grief, to distract him. I couldn't remember if it had ever been explicitly stated that Malfoy Sr. knew about the return of his 'master', so perhaps it was just to annoy him when he was meant to have a year of peace. I had entertained the idea that Malfoy was doing it in order to bring back old, pureblood traditions, but I couldn't find anything linking the tournament with pureblood tradition, so in the end I let it go. This all proved that at least in Cannon Dumbles had done more than we thought to help Harry...what else could the books have missed?

Either way I had too much on my mind to worry about what was going on in Malfoy's head, not when I was already pretty sure he wouldn't do anything to affect the game at this point. My theories swirled in the air around my room, lit up in floating silvery letters. I switched a few around, still sulking from the decision to consult the governors. I was moving around a few strands of wolf DNA when there was a knock at my door. I flicked my wand to charm the door clear on my side, a trick Zoopy had taught me earlier in the month when I couldn't be sure if it was Poppy or Sirius who was bothering me. This time it was Sirius, so I flicked my wand twice more, once to send the door back to normal and again open it a crack.

He pushed through with no hesitation, right up until he saw the floating words. I knew it was possible from the Chamber of Secrets, but putting it into action had taken a bit of work. Now that work payed off, the look of awe on his face was priceless. I shifted the blanket that was wrapped around me, beckoning a few items of business forwards.

"So I've done the calculations for the next trial, seeing as the last one actually did worse than the previous almost-success. I was right that I needed more aconite in the mixture, but I also needed proportionally more Asphodel. Not powdered for once, I want to try fresh-ish leaves. I'm having Neville bring some in to me on Monday morning after he has Herbology."

I gave the recipe a twirl, leaving the letters to dance off back into the maelstrom, turning back to Sirius.

"You know, things would be ten thousand times easier and quicker if we had someone good at potions."

He waved his hand, made a noise low in his throat, not looking away from one of the swear words that he was attempting to catch.

"Don't be silly, you're brilliant at potions."

"Noooo, I'm acceptable. I meant that we should get the help of a potions Master."

A silvery 'fuck' slipped from his fingers as he froze. He didn't turn to look at me.

"Snape. You want to tell Snape about this."
He sounded quiet and calm, so in my head klaxons started going off and warning lights flashed. I tensed a bit, letting my blanket fall as I held my hands up.

"He won't be able to do anything to harm this operation. If anything he'd be the best help of all of us. He'd have plenty of motivation, something like this would make his career. He could leave teaching at any time, which honestly I think is his end goal. It couldn't hurt to-"

"Would it really help?"

My first instinct was to say yes and jump on it. But I spent a second thinking it over. I could potentially go without Snape's help, but honestly, he was a master and I could do a few tricks because of my science background. There was no contest.

"Yes, I think it would."

He sighed, snatching half heartedly at a 'cunt wagon' that I couldn't remember the context of.

"Alright then. See if he will help us. But I won't talk to him."

I scowled, summoning the 'cunt wagon' towards me, as well as its accompanying phrase.

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me. He won't speak with me unless I come crawling to him in the dungeons, and even then…"

The phrase was about Voldemort and finding the horcruxes, I banished it away quickly, remembering now precisely who I had been calling a wagon full of cunt.

I brought forwards my agenda for tomorrow, writing a somber 'speak with Snape' onto a blank slot. I glared over at Sirius, who was back to trying to catch swear words. I snorted, unable to hold the expression.

"Just can't find a flying fuck to give, can you?"

~TimeLordOfPie