Disclaimer: The characters and the world in the story belong to J.K. Rowling. I am not earning any profit from it.

Note: I have been a fanfiction reader for quite a lot of years before I gave this fic a shot, so if you see any ideas seeping in that I do not openly acknowledge, just let me know and I will add the credits. I have read too many to keep a track of them but I will try my best.

1) The idea of totems belongs to Catsarecool who is writing A Marauder's plan .

2) The basic idea of dimension travel comes from Hollow Thunder, Vital Lightning by Aariya07. You will see quite a few similarities in the first couple of chapters but it diverges after that.

3) Harry was born a girl as Juniper Anastasia Potter. Everything is as it is in canon except for her romances. This is not because I don't read slash or like it. You will see a lot of them in my favorites but because I don't think that I could do justice to that genre and because I want to do this. If you do not like such fics, do not read. Please do not flame. I will welcome criticisms, I know I am not perfect, just don't meaninglessly bash me for nothing.

4) THE RATING OF THE FIC HAS BEEN CHANGED TO 'M' because of slightly more graphic descriptions of Violence. It is mostly a safety measure and does not contain anything triggering yet. Future updates will carry warnings of triggers, if any emerge in the course of the story.


For your references

"Talk"

"Parseltongue"


Previously

Evelyn meets Lux and Nyx and discovers that Tom and Cordelia refer to themselves as Mummy and Daddy. Walburga now tolerates Eve's presence. Tom gets attacked numerous times by Carrow and is thwarted each time by Cordelia until he manages to trick him with a fake Gringotts' missive that had bubotuber pus and Poison ivy. Tom gets second degree burns on his fingers which are healed over the weekend. Cordelia stays with him and handles mundane tasks like feeding him or lifting things for him. Cordelia plans her vengeance against Carrow. She puts a weak poison in his alcohol supply that would result in suffering of three days and then a deep thirst so that he keeps drinking. She nicks all his hangover potion suppy and just leaves one bottle filled with 'Black Luck', a potion that has the opposite function of felix felicis and does exactly what its name says, inflict a very bad luck on the drinker. Tom discovers that Cordelia got even with Carrow and does not mind at all. A hilarious conversation with Jormy occurs. Tom confesses a little bit of his feelings to Cordelia and some details of how Hogwarts was before she came.


AUTHOR NOTE: This chapter sees introduction of several new characters. Refer to an amended directory of characters on the Author profile in case of confusions.


Chapter 30

Black Luck

Cordelia's POV

She and Tom had made a point of remaining notably visible on Thursday. They had a late night on Wednesday with their making out and had been tempted to go and take naps in between class breaks but Cordelia had told Tom that things would occur and they should be placed somewhere where many people, specifically renowned heirs, could vouch for their presence.

So, they had attended all classes, attended all meals in great hall and had encouraged Alphard's noisemaking subtly to remain visible.

After classes, the easiest way to remain seen had been to be in the library where everyone would be. Even though the court was yet to address the showcase, people had presumably started researching already.

So, that is where both of them were, with additional people.

Tom was working his way through another Slytherin journal, while Cordelia coached Charlie and Edmund Bones on the exact wand movement of the Reducto curse and the arithmancy that had gone in its crafting. Merrythought appreciated interdisciplinary approach to Defence and both of them really wanted to get a good essay grade and Charlie had been familiar with Cordelia's research into spell crafting.

Dorea was doing her Herbology work, Lucretia and Titania were finishing up a Charms essay, Sebastian and Walburga were discussing the finer points of breeding magical owls for a class project, Burke and Tiberius Odgen were discussing a recent Wizangamot session; Evelyn and Mary Abbot had convinced Amara Tufts to sit with them at the 'Court' table and the three witches were having a serious conversation about the history of gobstones with the Gobstone Club president Eileen Prince.

Albeit Cordelia had not had much opportunity to converse much with Eileen Prince in the first term (because Prince was a recluse), she had managed to coax the witch to join their circle even if Prince preferred to remain silent. She and Evelyn tempered each other with their quiet tendencies.

They also had other similarities, especially that of being the only daughter of a rich, noble line despite the lack of a magical linage on Evelyn's family tree.

"I wonder what is keeping Abraxas." Cordelia mused in a whisper.

"Even Alphard and Zabini were supposed to be here for help with their potions assignments. I don't have time to spare if they are going to be this tardy!" Dorea huffed.

"Calm down, Dorea. I dare say that Alphard and Anastius are mighty afraid of you and would not be this tardy in absence of a pressing reason. However, if they are, just stick them up with for a lesson about preciousness of time with Lia. It worked like magic with Flint when he insisted on impeaching on Burke's time a tad bit recklessly." Tom said absent-mindedly as he swiftly noted down something from the ancient journal into his personal ledger.

"Oh, even saying magic is an understatement. It turned Flint into a polite and nervous first year as he asked for assistance in his…" Burke trailed off in search for a respectable word that captured what he wanted to say and he finally settled on one with a spark in his eyes, "endeavors."

"That is a fine word for a request to cheat off your assignments." Charles Potter scoffed to general sniggering and laughter.

"You Gryffindors, you literally blurb out anything, don't you?" Burke shook his head in mock condescension, "We are more careful with our choice of words in Slytherin."

"Talk about yourself, the hack who made sure Flint did not flunk everything." Cordelia said in a mocking tone with a cheshire grin, rather carelessly as she went back to drawing an arithmancy based diagram of the wand movement that Charlie and Bones could copy.

"Or the glorious gentleman who enabled Flint's incapability to think anything original beyond Quidditch!" Tom added with a smirk, momentarily looking up from his work.

"Oh! You two are terrible." It was Dorea who admonished.

"Blame your cousin, her influence runs rather deep." Tom immediately shifted the accountability to Cordelia as something else captured his interest in the journal.

"And that tells you why he is the Lord of Slytherin." Edmund Bones smiled, shaking his head.

"Are you really willing to incur Cordelia's wrath to avoid Dorea's mild whatever? Dorea can be stern but Corrie is scarier." Charles exclaimed in confusion and surprise as Dorea rolled her eyes.

"What are you talking about Charlie? I complimented Lia." Tom shrugged, and then went back to his journal.

Everybody exchanged looks until Cordelia chimed in, "Being terrible is a compliment, and the fact that I corrupted the proper and unyielding Tom, there are no kinder words." She gave a mocking demure look to illustrate her 'properness'.

"You are incorrigible." Burke said with an uncharacteristic reprimanding look to Cordelia, which made her flutter her eyelashes back at him.

"You are just stroking her ego, Herbert. She takes pride in being the opposite of well behaved." Tom pointed out astutely as he gave a fond, amused look to Cordelia.

"No, I just interpret being well behaved differently." Cordelia said thoughtfully, but carelessly added, "But I am very sure that everyone is going to disagree with my interpretation."

Tom, Burke, Sebastian, Charlie and Bones snorted. Odgen, Dorea and Titania were smiling ear to ear. Lucretia, Tufts and Abbot dissolved into giggles. Prince had an amused look about her face and she also wore a rarely seen smile. Evelyn's eyes were a little popped as she considered me. What was surprising was Walburga's light chuckle.

"And this witch will teach Alphard and Zabini the value of time." Sebastian noted with amusement. He did not register the warning shaking heads of Dorea, Charles and Burke. Tom gave Sebastian a look that said 'you have no clue'.

All amusement faded away from Cordelia's face as her face transformed into an indecipherable mask and she considered Sebastian, "Just because I am a free spirit does not mean that I do not comprehend the necessity of basic consideration and respect to others."

"I did not mean to offend." Sebastian offered with a wince.

"None taken." Cordelia replied easily and then offered a fake smile to everybody "But if anyone has a spat with Ian and wants to deliver him a sound thrashing and lecture about anything, consider employing my services. I shall do it free of cost gladly. It does not even have to be a real issue, and then we will see if he doubts my disciplining capability. And if you can, pass the word on. The more, the merrier!"

"I should tell you that your mother's temper is a cute bunny in comparison to her." Walburga offered Sebastian with fake pity. Callidora's Black's temper was a legend.

"True that." Lucretia shook her head as she probably remembered.

The color of Sebastian's face left.

"I cannot believe you forgot how she disciplined Dumbledore. Alphard and Zabini are mere ants in front of him." Edmund Bones pointed out.

"Gryffindors tend to miss obvious things." Dorea shrugged helplessly.

"Hey…" Charlie looked at her in hurt and outrage.

"You have no idea." Cordelia intoned as the rest of non-Gryffindors nodded in affirmative as they probably recalled various things and incidents.

"Is this a gang up on Gryffindor day?" Sebastian asked weakly, "If it is, I would like the opportunity of hiring a shield?"

"Who would you hire?" Tom asked, not looking up from his journal.

"Who would agree to get hired against Corrie?" Dorea corrected.

"I was trying to not give away the advantage Dorea" Tom said in mock hurt, "It would have been quite entertaining to see him squabble about, trying to get somebody to champion for him before realizing that nothing is wrong with him; people are just terrified of the Black Heiress."

"I would not be surprised if she becomes the boggart of somebody." Odgen mused.

"The best would be when years down the line, they use the legends of the Black heiress to convince children to go to bed early." Walburga pointed out in a bland tone with humor in her eyes.

"Are you scared now, 'Ian'?' Titania mocked him with a grin.

Sebastian opened his mouth and closed it again.

"Scared of what?" Abraxas' tired voice filled their ears before the table could burst into a loud, raucous laughter.

"Perhaps the librarian? She is…" Orion just shook his head as he, Alphard, Anastius, Pierce Nott, Luther Pritchard, Winston Travers and Marvin Jugson joined Abraxas from the behind. Their sight immediately distracted people from the joke.

'Ms. Hopkirk got an urgent missive from the Headmaster that made her leave. A Staff meeting of sorts…" Ogden supplied, "So we have been using that to full advantage but that is beside the point."

"What kept you?" Cordelia asked, her alert eyes already taking in the haggard looking appearance of all her housemates and cousins.

"Well…" Pritchard began to say and at the same time Nott said, "Don't ask".

"That horrible?" Tom mused, "Did Slughorn rope you into volunteering to plan the decorations for his Spring Equinox party?"

"How did you guess?" Zabini gave him an incredulous look.

"Seriously, that is like a month away." Titania said in a similar tone, only the target of her incredulousness differed.

"He was looking for scapegoats even in the class. Tom and I scurried off before he could nab us." Cordelia shrugged.

"That is not the only thing." Abraxas said seriously over all the fun that was being aimed at Slughorn.

His serious expression quieted down the table immediately.

"You know the reason for the emergency staff meeting?" Cordelia presumed.

"Quite intimately." Abraxas agreed at the same time as Travers who muttered, "I wished I did not."

"Settle down…" Dorea said as she and Charles waved their wands to bring and rearrange more chairs around the desk. Meanwhile, Tom waved a wand to erect a privacy bubble blocking any sound, as Cordelia casted a Muffliato as an additional measure to keep away prying ears.

"So, all of us did get roped in by Slughorn for the decorations because we were all in the common room but when we were in office discussing the stuff, female Parkinson entered and hysterically made a commotion about an accident and we all just rushed." Abraxas told but he trailed off…

"I am surprised you don't know Dorea, you do have classes with Carrow." Winston Travers noted.

"If you mean the way the buffoon managed to charm his Corn-ears to breathe fire like dragons on his face instead of making them waltz, then it was totally the fault of his drunken haze." Charles rolled his eyes.

"Garrison is making you waltz them?" Sebastian looked amused.

"Preparation for the showcase, Dumbledore had us transfiguring hay into pretty laces, did you forget already? Moving on..." Walburga dismissed his amusement in her impatience as she looked eager for more news and firmly looked at the new arrivals.

"Carrow did look more drunk than normal today. He had a stagger in his step and his speech was slurred when he greeted his cousin Noah." Bones mused.

"His intake has gone up since the conception of the Hogwarts court. Slughorn wrote him an ultimatum about his attendance yesterday, which is why he even made to the classes today. As he was not included in Hogwarts court, he has been raging on by drinking more and missing tons of classes because of that." Nott simply supplied.

"Which is stupid because the biggest reason for not including him in the court was that he cannot stay away from his thrice damned flask. We cannot have a perpetually inebriated courtier. What kind of example does that set?" Cordelia scoffed as Tom nodded to show his agreement.

"Nobody blames you or Lord Slytherin, believe me." Luther Pritchard offered with a twitch of his lips and added, "I would not hold high hopes for Dorea knowing something Winston, because I too had classes with Carrow till the end and I was caught off-guard too."

"But he managed to burn his face?" Tom raised his brows, "Even for a drunkard that is…"

"Another level of idiocy." Marvin Jugson completed firmly.

"Even Frobisher did not get himself into that kind of accident in his entire stint at Hogwarts, and his family's interest in pyro techniques is quite notorious." Odgen mused.

'Well, Garrison is rather equipped with handling charms accidents and was able to fix and prevent damage even though Carrow kept accusing him of dangerous teaching." Charles Potter said and shook his head.

"That is not the only incompetent thing Carrow did today. We had Binns today. The maximum amount of danger in that class is of being bored to death." Dorea proclaimed indignantly and table went into a round of laughter and smiles and Dorea allowed herself a smile before continuing, "And he managed to get his notes, his face and his books tattered by charming birds. Xavier Lovegood was trying to study the flight patterns of the 'Goldcrest' birds by conjuring them. They are positively harmless and non-violent and were trilling throughout the class. Nobody minded because watching them was more entertaining than Binns' lecture. Carrow was presumably getting irritated by the chirping noise because he was nursing a hangover. Carrow attempted to vanish them, at least I think so, and for some reason yelled Opungo and charmed the birds to somehow attack himself. Lovegood attempted to help him but Pucey shoved him out of the way and tried to vanish the birds and his and Carrow's second spell met and resulted in a blast. Everyone else had thankfully already taken cover because the birds grew carnivorous teeth, turned into some tiny monsters and ended up biting them all over…."

"Including some rather delicate parts…" Pritchard helpfully added.

"Julia, his betrothed, was in hysterics but Luther and I managed to vanish the birds and then Carrow had the gall to snap at us." Dorea informed.

"So we left them to the kind mercy of the cold floor." Pritchard added with a roll of his eyes.

"Tough luck, Underhill was at St. Mungo's today. They could have used your healing." Cordelia snorted.

"Carrow understandably twitched all through the last class of Herbology which Parkinson had trouble understanding because he had bunked history of magic. His injuries and drunken haze (because he kept on drinking from the flask) made him very inattentive. Unfortunately, we were in Greenhouse 3 today. Instead of listening to Tofty's instructions of staying away from a designated area, he did the opposite and ventured near the magical line. A venomous tentacula was nearby and Carrow managed to get hit with several of their darts. Tofty thankfully keeps the antidote at hand and rescued him. The lesson continued but Carrow still kept drinking and had a bout of nausea and started puking near the Mandrakes who grossed out at the stink despite being buried in mud and started screaming, unearthing some mud. Tofty created a sound shield and ushered the rest of us to leave which everyone including Parkinson listened to." Luther told the story with great leisure and enjoyment.

"So, no, there is no other 'accident' that I know of. Carrow was stupid enough to drink more than….and then he paid the price by causing that ruckus. Tofty likely got the mandrakes under control and Carrow ended up unconscious and will end up getting detention and …he really deserves a detention at the very least." Dorea huffed.

"But that is not the only thing that happened, Dorea. We missed the best show." Luther said regrettably.

Luther Pritchard did not get on with Carrow and Parkinson who rubbed their seats in wizangamot against him so Cordelia was not very shocked at his obvious bemusement at the turn of events.

When everyone stared in wonder, Abraxas began telling, "So, as it happened, the screams of Mandrakes did manage to make Carrow unconscious. Thankfully, he did not die because Tofty was fast enough to pour mud where it had dislodged and the mandrakes, despite being fully grown could not shriek fully. Unfortunately, Carrow had been vomiting when he passed out. So, Tofty was afraid that he might choke on his own vomit. Tofty quickly cast a rennervate and cast a spell that sprouted out all the vomit to prevent any of it from slipping further into his lungs. After the disgusting turn of events because vomit also came out from his nose and even from his ears…" Abraxas trailed off as everyone got disgusted and confused looks.

Tom looked at Cordelia, who was apprenticing in Healing under Madam Underhill, for an explanation.

"Ear, nose and throat are connected. The Eustachian tube connects the ear to throat and is usually used for maintaining ear pressure. The tube does get infected in case of throat and nose infections. So in cases of flushing out lungs magically, the flushed substance can possibly use that tube to excrete itself out apart from the mouth and nasal pathways; at least theoretically; but I have not heard of a possible case where it has actually occurred apart from this. He must have had tons of alcohol poisoning and a lot of vomit in his system for that to occur because magic must have felt the need to force a way. The tube is very delicate, thin thing and this entire debacle likely burst his ear drums too and infected his ear tract." Cordelia explained with a wince but without the disgust apparent in everyone's faces.

She was less grossed about bodily fluids including vomit because of her training in healing. Simply put, you could not afford to be squeamish if you were expected to treat it. But even she could sympathize with the pain that the debacle would result in.

"I did not know that but I will take your word for it." Abraxas said in acknowledgment and moved ahead with the story, "The putrid smell, likely because of the presence of vomit in his nose, kept him puking and utterly nauseated. His ear drums did indeed burst and even his balance went wonky because of extra liquid in his ears and he was disoriented and agonized but Tofty is not a slouch and managed to stabilize him temporarily, so Carrow was not in danger of dying and in relatively less pain and discomfort.

"It took Tofty some time to do that because he is not a healer but after a temporary relief and stabilization, he instructed Carrow to lie down there while he used the nearest fireplace to call Madam Underhill back from the hospital because Carrow needed more medical help. He was wary of moving him because of his delicate condition." Abraxas took over from where she had left and swiftly informed all the facts.

"That was gruesome." Walburga shuddered and pinched her nose, "Vomit from your ears and nose…"

"We have not told you the worst part yet." Pritchard interrupted her reaction sardonically.

"Get it over with; I still can't shake my eyes, imagining that…." Anastius shuddered.

"What more could have happened for it to be worse? Is he alive?" Bones wondered in an exclamation.

Abraxas again began filling them in, "The venomous tentacula was trying to break free from the petrifying spell of Tofty, Carrow saw that, got scared and made a run for it, only to realize that he had left his wand inside the greenhouse. Now, normally he is a coward but it was the question of his wand and his pride got in way so he went back inside for it after realizing that the tentacula was feigning being free by twitching, only to find his wand tangled in the vanes of a plant. He stupidly tried to dislodge it, not registering that he was battling for grip against a fully grown, humongous Devil's snare, so while the snare wrapped itself around Carrow's torso through his arms, it also managed to break his wand into two and toss it to the nearest flower bed which had Chinese chomping cabbages which easily shredded the broken wand.

"The destruction of his wand was just the icing of the cake because the snare pulled Carrow into the warded area of the Greenhouse where Tofty and his apprentice were working on a project that involved experimental breeding of plants under an approved Grant of Herbology Guild and Hogwarts board of Governers. Apparently, the shriek of mandrakes can weaken wards in a certain temperature and pressure and the greenhouse somehow had that rare anomalous condition today, so the wards were weakened and just a tug from Devil's snare managed to break the ward and take Carrow there. Hewl and Tofty together concluded that when they investigated because the ward was not tempered externally.

"The warded area had a Fanged Germanium cross bred with a Snargaluff and so the snargaluff pods had tiny vicious germanium flowers instead of their pus and they managed to bite off two of Carrow's fingers, apart from giving him multiple bleeding wounds all over the body. Since he had no wand and had a devil's snare around him, he was defenseless against them." Abraxas told swiftly.

"Now, at the other end, Julia got worried about Carrow when he did not appear in the common room, so she tracked down Perseus with the help of Aimee and asked for his help in search. Pucey was held away because Julia was upset at him for the fanged birds' incident." Orion supplied.

"So while Julia and Aimee checked out the Hospital wing or the staffroom or Tofty's office, Perseus took the route to Greenhouse where the 6th years of Slytherin and Ravenclaw had left Carrow. He arrived in nick of time and saw his friend's finger being chomped away and after casting a rather strong incendio tria along with a summoning spell, he managed to separate Carrow from the plants, and both made a run for it before the plants could attack again…"

"He lost his fingers…"Sebastian's eyes had popped out as he whispered in horror.

"They might be able to attach them if the fingers were preserved timely." Cordelia swiftly gave a questioning, concerned look.

Abraxas shook his head in pity.

"Tofty was busy instructing ghosts to look for you Corrie because he was unable to get to Madam Underhill. Then he did get in touch with her and they convinced another healer to come aboard. But for another healer to come through, they had to make an auror report because Carrow endangered others with his reckless drinking and they also had to rule out suicide as a motive. So, he got delayed and never reached the greenhouse, and Carrow never went back after…" Orion supplied the actual information

"I don't blame him entirely for that, it was a frightening situation." Titania pointed out, "But Carrow is a craven, even for a Slytherin."

"We have not covered the worst part yet." Pierce Nott said quietly.

"What more could have happened; the devil's snare would have broken bones and his fingers were cut off and likely eaten by a plant?" It was Charles who had wide eyes and was looking at the new arrivals incredulously. Though, his expression was mimicked by the rest of the table including Tom and her.

"Carrow did not go back for the fingers because he did not have the ability to go…' Alphard began saying, but his voice trembled.

"Affy…" Cordelia said in concern at the fear in his eyes.

"Carrow, in his run, after running a distance realized the agony is his leg. His right shin bone, which had cracked presumably from the hold of Devil's snare as Charlie pointed out, broke into two pieces under the pressure and weight from the fast running; rupturing his muscle, flesh and skin as the bone poked out. He likely had broken ribs and broken arms too. He fell down in a heap. His cries of pain and Parkinson's urgent yelling likely served as a beacon for Julia and Aimee.

"But they had not arrived even after a couple of minutes, so Parkinson tried to help Carrow by putting a splint and/or stretcher. He is not particularly clear because he was a little drunk too and panicked as well, but his panic and the almost torrential rain outside was a bad mix. Just as he was casting the spell, his steps staggered, he slipped on the wet ground and fell. His spell had a surprised yelp in between and he completely botched the wand movement and the wand was still aimed at Carrow."

"Don't tell me. That would have…" Tom's eyes were wide.

"Been a catastrophe." Ogden completed with a deathly and serious calm.

"And a catastrophe it was." Abraxas nodded with a wince and informed them gravely, "Parkinson's botched spell managed to vanish every bone in Carrow's body. Every single bone….And he fell on top of Carrow too, dislodging organs from their places and causing internal tears of several organs and muscles and tissues…"

"That is grotesque… and horrible." Cordelia blinked her eyes in disbelief as her face gave away her confusion regarding what would be an appropriate reaction. Her stance was mirrored by most of the room, only others had right bit of fear, pity and disgust laced in their expressions.

"Parkinson's horrified screams got Julia and Aimee there and their collective conundrum caught the attention of Tofty, the additional healer and Underhill who were on their way the Greenhouse 3. But the situation was beyond them as well because the healer's specialty was poisons and even Underhill, she was just too shocked….So Aimee called Slughorn, Julia went to the staffroom as the three elders tried to stabilize him. That is how we got there. The verdict was that anything they did could potentially harm him, any magical transport would…" Abraxas trailed off.

"I can only wonder…even moving me with a magical coma could have harmed me. He does not have any bones, his circulatory and nervous system could….I do not think that even if the ghosts had managed to find me..." Cordelia blabbered.

"Underhill immediately shot down Dumbledore when he suggested getting you because she did not want you to see the scene. It was a situation beyond the skill of several experienced healers; you would not have been able to do much except feel traumatized. Even we were not supposed to see anything. We did catch glimpses as Professors tried to block the view but Julia's and Aimee's cries as well as Parkinson's dazed and guilty blabbering filled in a lot of blanks. And well, Nott managed to cajole Slughorn into telling us the whole story. Dumbledore used Leglimancy to extract the details from Carrow's mind at the healer's behest and told the entire summary of events to the Professors. " Abraxas immediately put her at ease while giving away more information.

"So, the ultimate verdict was that he needed St. Mungo's even at the cost of more damage so they used a strong body binding spell and sticking charm to bind him securely onto a hospital bed, made that bed into a portkey and took him to the hospital. This entire debacle is strictly 'need to know' though and Lord Carrow has requested discretion and the aurors have complied. But you know Slughorn…" Nott supplied and shrugged.

"Of course, Lord Carrow has requested 'discretion'; it was his heir's stupid drinking problem…" Walburga said nastily, not even feeling the need to finish her sentence.

"And if the word got out…"Jugson pointed out ominously. Bones nodded in concurrence.

"Wait, are they checking his room?" It was Dorea who asked.

"I presume so. Hogwarts has pressed charges against him for endangerment of life, property and a few others, so DMLE is involved and is investigating. That is where Hewl and Tofty's statement about wards came in. Lord Carrow's only saving grace would be silencing the situation and paying the fines in lieu of whatever has occurred. I am not sure if Albert will be expelled because the only school rules he technically broke is drinking." Travers shrugged.

"He won't be expelled. Expulsion lies in the hand of headmaster and Dippet is too big a coward to do it, especially while incurring the wrath of a Head of an Ancient and Noble house. Board of Governors can step in under exceptional circumstances and while none of the heads serving as governors are going to look kindly upon Carrow's deeds, I think we all know very well that Noble houses do not make a move against each other unless under extenuating circumstances. An Heir drinking a lot is frowned upon but is ultimately going to be dismissed as folly of youth.

"There is also the case that Carrow is likely to be in hospital for a long time, probably the entire term. He will live but the healing process is going to be long, difficult, tedious and will likely rely on trial and error. Re-growing bones is painful and takes time and considering that his entire skeletal system has vanished, it would take a great deal of time to grow bones and ensure that they do not poke internal organs while getting attached to appropriate nerves, veins and arteries and cover the appropriate organs as the growth goes along. Most of the times when we need to regrow bones; we have some sense of what goes where because other bones are present as a reference. This would be a quite uncharted territory.

"On top of it, they will also have to ensure that the nerve connections survive that long because they die when left unused, and prevent internal bleeding, and substitute something for his bone marrow which is an important part of immune system and blood production. He would also likely need a lot of exercise and practice to get back into a working body if it even goes back to normal. It would be like learning every movement again. The pain and discomfort that would accompany each step is punishment enough, leaving aside the ridicule and shame he would face once the word of his incompetence goes out because there are bound to be stories.

"Also, considering that Lord Carrow would supply the school with a lot of gold through fines and donations, I don't see them expelling him. The school can always use more funds; a drunk, incompetent student is a small price to pay. It is not a huge leap to think that Lord Carrow would also 'donate' funds to Ministry so they are going to sweep it under rug too, considering the only one truly harmed was Carrow and the school, which filed the complaint will be satisfied with the funds too. The only factor I am not sure about is Dumbledore. He has a penchant against Slytherin but he also indelibly believes in second chances. But as he is not the headmaster, his opinion counts for a lot less. Even though he usually can influence Dippet's decision to a great extent, it won't work if he goes against the Board of Governors. So, there is no hope for advocacy of expulsion from him as well." Cordelia voiced out, quickly pointing out the possible outcome.

"Could not have put it better." Ogden agreed with a shrug of his shoulder. The rest of them shared looks of contemplation. Tufts and Abbot looked positively horrified and pale. Evelyn's lips were pressed in a painful, pondering manner. The Slytherins and the heirs also knew better than to give away their emotions too openly and mimicked Evelyn's neutral pondering stance.

"Why were you interested in his room?" Sebastian looked curiously at Dorea, referring to her earlier question.

"Well, Julia and Carrow are betrothed since the fourth year. It is considered inappropriate in her family for her to venture into his room after 6 in evening unsupervised and well, one day Carrow was sitting in library and asked her to fetch something from his room in the yester October. The nearest and the most amenable person in common room was dear old me, so she convinced me to accompany her to his room. Let us just say that if the present state of his room is anything like what I saw nearly four months ago, the aurors would gather a lot of incriminating evidence." Dorea informed with a dark look.

"Does he know that you have been in his room?' Cordelia's sharp eyes looked at her.

"No, and I don't plan to testify, so the House of Carrow can…" Dorea refrained from completing the curse.

"Why wouldn't you testify?" It was Tufts who spoke, her face filled with curiosity and confusion. She came from a humble muggle background unlike Evelyn, so the high politics did not probably make sense to her as intuitively as it did to Evelyn.

"Well, the politics of noble houses is very complicated. Usually, they stick together. If they disagree with a venture, they would still ignore its existence rather than report it or protest it. In fact, if you do the two things, you are seen as consorting with the outsiders and that does not gain you friends and you are likely to be ridiculed and ostracized in the noble house equations. Charlie, forgive me, if I use the example of your grandfather and the Evermonde family?" Cordelia gave him a questioning look and Charles nodded with an eager grin as if the incident amused him.

"So, during the first world war, magical britian was faring under better circumstances. We enjoyed good relations with every nation. The then Minister of magic, Minister Evermonde felt that it was prudent to steer clear from the muggle war to preserve the interests of magical Britain and preserve the statue of secrecy. She had a list of reasons and everything." Cordelia talked to the muggleborn gently and apologetically added, "Most noble houses do not care much for the welfare of muggles so her decision could have glossed over and nobody would have cared."

"But grandfather disagreed and protested publically in the Wizangamot." Charlie said quite proudly, earning amused and patronizing looks from Slytherins and a gentle chuckle from the puffs.

"He did. While the decision was not overhauled, a lot of people actively and openly broke the magical law and aided the muggles in several ways including our grandmother Melania. She donated a lot of food and clothing. The sentiment echoed through most magical houses was that British muggles should triumph over the Axis muggles. Wizards fought on several fronts posing as muggles. The current senior undersecretary to Minister Spencer-Moon is one such person, Theseus Scamander. He is also the elder brother of Newton Scamander, the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The effort was largely ignored by the department of magical law enforcement and in fact, such stints later earned such magical citizens the coveted title of 'war heroes'." Cordelia enjoyed regaling the piece of history to her, "But that is beside the point, my apologies for going off track." Cordelia smiled sheepishly at her realization as Abraxas shook his head at her fondly.

"But basically Evermonde is an ancient and Noble house, just like Potters and while Blacks and other noble families disagreed with the decision of Minister Evermonde, they did not engage with it publically while dismissing it privately. But the house of Potter did engage and protest the movement publically." Dorea informed Amara.

"And because of that, the Potters were left out of the list of the sacred pureblood families in a pureblood directory even though; they are very much an ancient pureblood family. It was the talk of the town." Walburga said wryly.

"And the talk of the town was a right bit of hogwash from Slytherins, because the directory also left out Evermonde family, which has traditionally been Slytherin. Slytherins protect their own; it is almost a house motto. But coming back to Evermonde family and their fate, as it happened that when the family got into bureaucracy, that is, a ministry role, it failed to recognize the superiority of opinions of the noble houses which had been in favor of helping the muggles. Evermondes paid a price for it all the same. So, yes, it is all for one and one for all in the nobility, unless you do not conform to the ideals." Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"So, yes, it is not a wise idea to report the contents of Carrow's room unless he breaks the honor code of the noble houses or unless the DMLE detains you for keeping information from them which is unlikely to happen in case of a member of an ancient and noble house." Bones informed Tufts kindly.

"And of course, no one 'conveniently' really knows what the honor code actually says, so we just make up the interpretation as we go." It was Pierce Nott who pointed that out.

"While Carrow's 'laudable' adventures and shenanigans tonight will gain him a lot of flak in the internal politics of noble houses, like missing sending Carrows invitations for prestigious events and gatherings, ignoring invitations from Carrows, breaking business deals, gossiping, doing deals that harm them etc. etc, the noble houses are advised not to take the 'feud' outside of the nobility. So, not giving public statements, testifying and the like is expected." Sebastian put in his two shoes.

"I will not be surprised if Lord Avery is not looking to break the contract between Julia and Heir Carrow by the end of this." Charles Potter added.

"Good luck with that. Julia is positively smitten with him." Titania shrugged carelessly and then blinked as if she could not comprehend the reason for the smitten state.

"Smitten is a weak word." Walburga shook her head.

"Look at us, Gossip mongers…" Alphard chuckled.

'Talk about yourself, Alphard. We all are merely having enlightened conversation about political decisions and implications of certain unsettling events." It was Tom who shot down Alphard unapologetically with a smirk. He had not contributed to the political analysis but Cordelia was very sure that he had followed every word and gesture carefully. Tom was very observant like that.

"It is in the words one chooses." Nott agreed.

"Students will be looking for information in the meeting we scheduled for the showcase." Ogden pointed out, swiftly changing the topic.

'Well, it is too late to cancel it, Lia and I will simply have to address it in a manner that quells the fear." Tom nodded but offered a solution.

'What is there to fear? Carrow is already in the hospital and unless students are going to drink and enter greenhouse three, nothing is going to happen." Anastius pointed out with irritation.

"If fear were always this rational Anastius, then we would have prevented tons of wars and feuds." Cordelia simply said.

"And this is Hogwarts we are talking about, I am sure the grapevine is already talking and we will need to clear all that nonsense up. The stories likely talk about a plant transforming into a werewolf that somehow devoured Carrow, while a troll bashed his pretty head. And the worst part is that people would believe it." Sebastian waved his arms.

"I don't know Sebastian, I am pretty sure that you and Charlie sell the souls of poor, wretched cute little bunnies to the evil Lord of Slytherin and his diabolical sidekick Heiress Black." Cordelia said seriously.

Everyone stared at her before breaking into laughter.

"Now that is one I have not heard of." Travers grinned.

"Who would believe you to be my sidekick?" Tom asked in disbelief and exasperation, "Have they never seen you getting on my case about not drinking enough water?"

"Oh, you did not know. You and I have so far successfully partnered with goblins into entrapping a lot of witches into brothels, and we are also blackmailing and brainwashing tons of people into signing off their gold to us. Renatus is the only poor soul who sees through our reality." Cordelia informed him blandly as she packed up her stuff into her satchel.

"People do not seriously believe that crap." It was the slightly deep voice of Prince who asked that.

"People believe a lot of crap, 'believe' me Prince. Just yesterday, I cleared misconceptions that featured Cordelia as the love child of Adonis and Aphrodite, sent to cure the dread that had saturated Hogwarts." Anastius Zabini raised a brow and then imitated in a high voice, "She is simply too beautiful to be a mortal."

"They did not." Abraxas narrowed his eyes at him.

"Don't fuss Abraxas. I braved worse rumors in Beauxabatons. I was somehow perceived as a siren, a succubus, an incubus, a veela, a vampire, and a she-demon who preyed on the youth and beauty of others on at least one occasion. A child of Venus and Adonis is a compliment in light of those." Cordelia stopped him before he started to defend her.

"They did not." Alphard looked indignant.

"I am not surprised. Nothing fosters rumors more than jealousy and we all know what a prize Cordelia is considered among the pureblood circles. I am sure a veela or two got jealous or even one of those flashy French bints and a few wizards could not stand her advanced magic, so rumors it is." Walburga shrugged as she read something in the book in her arms, single-handedly making the conversation a hundred times more awkward and being blissfully unaware of it.

Nott, Travers, Jugson and even Bones looked guilty. And Cordelia's insides froze at the reminder of how objectified her existence was, even in the heart of a circle of people whom she interacted with on a regular basis.

"Well, she is more than a mere 'prize' and if people can't comprehend that in their puny little brains, then I will be glad to do the honors of enlightening them. I am sure a 'chat' with me will easily fix their deplorable attitude and mindset," It was the absolutely icy and furious voice of Tom that warmed her down to her every pore.

"Well said, Lord Slytherin." It was the quiet voice of Tiberius Ogden that broke the silence that fell around all of them, his eyes discreetly passing over every male who had worn the guilty look.

"Hear, hear." Orion smiled a kind and affectionate smile at her.

"Sebastian and I can flank you when you do that Tom." Charlie easily offered to which Sebastian easily nodded.

"Get in line, Charlie." Abraxas smirked at him.

"You will have to fight me to take the chance of the first curse." Titania shrugged.

"You do that, I am just going to go all muggle and punch that jackass where the sun does not shine." Alphard guffawed, ignoring the scandal on Abbot and Evelyn's face.

"While you do that, I and Pritchard can curse their line with something embarrassing. They can pay the price of reducing her to a prize for centuries." Burke mused as Luther nodded, likely thinking of long term curses from their interesting repertoires.

"I can think of a potion or two that you both could use with the spells." Prince added with a glint.

And just like that, warmth surged through Cordelia. Sure, they were jackasses who would insist on reducing her to an object, but there were also lovable miscreants who would fight for her right to be. The other woman just stared in wonder at the men who had supported her strive, perhaps wondering if their plight could amass this legitimate support too.

Tom found her palm and gave it a reassuring squeeze, as their eyes met, and hers shone in gratefulness and his looked at her in warmth, affection and protection.

If anyone else noted the sheen of her eyes, they ignored it in favor of cribbing about walking all the way to great hall for dinner.


Cordelia's POV

The Professors all missed the dinner likely still continuing the meeting on today's debacle. The Great Hall was alit with rumors, and Abraxas, Orion and Burke had to run interference to dodge the questions that were coming from left, right and center.

Tom and she had quickly finished food and left to prepare for the meeting. While they had the agenda for the showcase planned, the incident with Carrow would likely become the main topic of today's meeting and they needed an action plan to give away sufficient information to quell the queries while not giving away more than necessary facts.

Tiberius Ogden and she had managed to get a quick word with Dippet and the Auror head, Bob Ogden, Tiberius Ogden's uncle. Dippet liked them well enough and Ogden had been too miffed about his inability to take the case public, so he had told them as much as he could. Hufflepuffs always preferred fairness above any 'dealings'. While Tom, Ogden and she had already known pretty much everything courtesy of Abraxas and Nott's silvertongue, they still needed to maintain the façade of going to official sources.

Now, they were waiting in the court rooms to begin the meeting. The court was currently using a set of rooms kept aside from the time Hogwarts stopped teaching fine arts. While they usually conducted the meeting in what used to be the sculpting room, today the meeting had been moved to the dance ballroom because of an anticipated increase in the numbers of attendees. The meeting had been open to all of Hogwarts from the beginning but more people were bound to come now in light of the 'incidents'. The room was bare apart from a raised platform, probably once a very tiny stage for demonstration. It was already clean and maintained because the elves had cleared out the space when Tom and Cordelia had selected a few rooms for court and Knights' use.

Ogden and Tom were discussing something lightly at the side of the platform where she stood as well. Ogden was the head boy while Millicent Bagnold was the head girl for the current year. And she and Tom had ensured good ties with both of them. Of course, Tiberius was a gentleman and a really good soul. Bagnold was very witty and very ambitious and Cordelia reckoned she had probably been one of those hat stalls who had missed Slytherin by a small difference and ended up in Ravenclaw. But she was a very shrewd, mostly fair minded and good ally, albeit Cordelia could do without the mind games the girl liked to play.

While mind games with Tom had been fun, simply because it was Tom; Cordelia did not really enjoy Bagnold's take on them.

Bagnold was lightly engaged in a small talk with Dorea and Titania as the witches discussed the ascendance of Wilhelmina Tuft as the Head of department of International magical cooperation. The woman had a bright career and would probably be one of the prime candidates of leading the Ministry in a few years' time. Theseus Scamander was more of a field guy than politics and Pillwickle loved DMLE too much to leave it even for the topmost seat.

Cordelia was idly playing with one of her loose curled ringlets that had escaped from her ponytail as she wondered if Black luck was still coming in the way as healers attempted healing Carrow. The potion had been very effective, far more effective than Felix Felicis was for good luck and even the trajectory she had anticipated for it. And Carrow's punishment was so ingenious. She could have never been as creative as the entire debacle today. And the whole spectacle was so random and unpredictable. There would be nothing that they would be able to trace. They would not puncture the body to check for poisons because they would be too busy trying to keep the organs in place and by the time they would get to bloodwork, it would already have passed the system. Besides, even if they found traces of the potion, they would not be able to tell what it was. The recipe was too complex, so reverse engineering it was just impossible.

What happened to Carrow was grotesque and horrible. She had not been lying when she said that. However, she had never said that Carrow did not have it coming. She was sure that despite every grievous injury that had occurred, he would live. But he would live in fear, of her and Tom. Cordelia was quite gratified to recall that her list of worries was shorter by one item now.

Charlie caught her eye from across the room and discreetly pulled her attention with his darting eyes to across the room to the entrance from where Julia Avery was entering, along with Aimee Parkinson.

Perseus had been fed a calming draught and Dreamless sleep. She wondered why Julia and Aimee were spared the medical attention; perhaps they were reluctant to take potions from a man in their quest for maintaining propriety; because Slughorn was manning the infirmary till morning while Underhill was at Mungo's.

But she knew why Charlie had pointed them out. The presence of the two witches was a problem. If possible, the meeting got even more delicate. Tom and she will have to be very careful with their choice of words. While none of their plan had involved bashing Carrow or Parkinson, they had thought that they would be able to take diplomatic liberties of a few subtle but well aimed jabs at the competency and decision-making of the two wizards.

But Avery was an injured snake; she would not differentiate between the levels of threats and would just retaliate at any insinuation that portrayed her betrothed in a remotely bad light.

But the thing was that Tom and she could not afford to not warn students of consequences of bad decisions. (Tom did not know how things had occurred and he was wise enough to not question her until they were absolutely sure of privacy. A visit to Chamber of Secrets was in order.) The thing was that everyone thought that today's events were a drunken accident and while Board of Governors might excuse drunkenness as the folly of youth, Cordelia and Tom did not want to be so kind about it. Too many times, rich and well-connected men were pardoned for their catastrophes with a mere slap on their wrist instead of proper disciplinary actions and Tom and her entire manifesto depended on fairness of situations and opportunities for everybody.

Also, they had to separate this incident from the series of accidents against Charlie, her and Tom. Their accidents had been tragic and they wanted them to seen that way, but by clubbing Carrow with them, Carrow would get the benefit of being a martyr and that was unacceptable to both of them. No, Carrow's incident was a well-deserved consequence of his ill choices, his cockiness, and his bull-headedness; and she would make sure that the whole of Hogwarts looked at it that way.

So, by not antagonizing Avery, if they undermined Carrow's mistakes in today's meeting, they would be falling in a trap. But if they publically disowned a known heir for his shenanigans this early in this game of politics while his allies were present, they would be giving their hand away too early.

They would need to tread carefully.

In eight minutes, the door to the rooms will be shut until the meeting ends. The ruling council was very intolerant about unpunctual persons and interruptions. Of course, people were allowed to leave in case of emergencies but the principle was that if you choose to attend a meeting, stick till the end.

Her eyes went over the other female courtiers. From Gryffindor, Jade Marks was a promising muggleborn from Sebastian's year. Penelope Gambol was another addition from the lions. She and Tom had passed over Augusta Fawley as an appropriate courtier, simply because the stiffness of the witch was a little over the top. There were other knights from the house but not a female courtier.

Hufflepuff had Coral Yeats, Abigail Macmillan and Lois Applebee as female courtiers. Helen Podmore had been a possible candidate too but Cordelia had ultimately decided that the girl was too separate from reality to partake in politics. Mary Abbot had too soft a skin to brave a court full of men, so both the latter witches had been roped in other roles with Knights.

Ravenclaw had Trinity Gore, Garnet Ettington and of course, Milicent Bagnold. Cordelia had been tempted to add Vance and Burbage but both the women, though intelligent were a bit timid like Evelyn. They were simply designated knights until they gained more confidence.

Slytherin had been the tough one. It was easily the house with most courtiers, simply because too many politically active and noble houses were a part of it. Choosing women who would not be a part had been tricky. Dorea and Titania were obviously in. So was Prince, simply because of her status as the heiress of a Noble house and there were no factors besmirching her name like the heirs of Carrow, Parkinson or Lestrange. Cordelia herself was a female from Slytherin, so that accounted for one more member of Slytherin than Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff and two more than Gryffindor. If only McGonagall had not turned them down, Cordelia mentally gritted despite having predicted McGonagall's rejection. Cordelia had been tempted to include Virginia Frobisher in place of Minerva, but the girl was a third year and while men from third year were in court, Cordelia had been hesitant to invite women from that year. Not because of Ageism, but simply because she wanted them a little trained before they stepped in the arena of politics. Men were taught the ropes of it from a young age, women not so much. Come next year, Frobisher, Meads and Cole were definitely going to enter the court if not before.

But today, these women courtiers were not the only women present. Walburga and Lucretia were here of course. Apart from that, Greengrass, Avery, Rowle, Bulstrode, Cole, Meads, Umbridge and Parkinson from Slytherin were present. Ravenclaw had Bode, Savage, Evelyn, Lockhart and Wildsmith. Hufflepuff had Abbot, Vector, Edgecombe, Crickerly, Fleet and Thikneese. Gryffindor had Brown, Tufts, Markham, Doge and Fawley. The most problematic were all Slytherins (but her cousins and the two third years) and of course, Fawley might create trouble but Cordelia doubted it. Brown was a gossip monger and could mean trouble but was a bit thick to discern Slytherins pulling the string.

Her eyes met Tom and she received a barely perceptible nod. He had likely gone over the women as well and decided that while there could be trouble, they would be able to handle it. The attendees from men were always predictable, most of them showed up in open meetings and both of them were prepared to handle anything, already used to handling the most able manipulators in Slytherin.

Women were trickier simply because Tom and Cordelia were uncertain about who all were going to show up. Every single absence or presence from women changed the group dynamics because they were usually a smaller group than men and today was not much different.

She and Tom gave a nod to Alphard and Burke, standing by at the gate. Both closed the door and joined the crowd at their signal.

It was a gentle clink of her Heiress ring and Tom's Lord ring in synchronization against a water goblet that Tom conjured, which caught everyone's attention as the crowd adjusted itself and fell quiet. Dorea, Tiberius and Milicent had already left the stage to stand in the near front.

"Greetings of the evening." Tom said and Cordelia simply nodded towards the crowd.

"What exactly are you greeting us with on this evening; merriment or joy?" Avery spat, her eyes bloodshot with crying and rage clear on her face.

"A greeting is simply a greeting Ms. Avery. I had not meant to offend. Despite every circumstance, it does not help if we become rude and forget basic courtesies. I am yet to say anything to insinuate my sadness or my joy." Tom simply replied back. This had been an easy comeback, Cordelia knew that if Avery kept channeling her emotions, it would become too easy to dismiss her logically but she had to consider the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs in the crowd who could be swayed by the emotions, instead of logic.

"I understand that the priorities of student body have shifted since the evening and we have readjusted our agenda as per the events." Cordelia said carefully, "While the rumors abound have likely informed you of the occurrence of events near Greenhouse 3 today, I think the unreliable information could never do the justice to be as factual as the truth. The information is classified. Lord Slytherin, Heir Ogden, Ms. Bagnold and I are already in contact with DMLE and the leadership of the school and are ensuring that a reasonable statement outlining the events briefly is disclosed officially by tomorrow evening. However we understand the anxiety amongst the students and would like to address any concerns you have to the best of available resources and information that we are permitted to give away," Cordelia stared the crowd right in their eyes.

Tom's POV

It was at times like this that Tom wondered just how Evan Rosier had pegged Lia as a Hufflepuff. She was too devious and cunning. If whatever had happened to Carrow was not sufficient evidence….which it was and Tom had exhausted every single strategy she could have used and had come up empty as to how she had managed to stage the series of events that had ended up taking Carrow in a long-term ward. It was too random. Sure, she could have put up a compulsion charm on his flask to ensure drinking but that was an amateur move and Aurors would have been able to tell that right away, so he was sure that she had not put a compulsion. Even if she had used that though, that compulsion did not explain how the ward of greenhouse 3 fell or how Parkinson botched the spell that vanished all the bones. Even if he took a leap and rationalized that Cordelia could have manipulated the ward, as she studied them in depth and because of her father, she could not have ensured that the mandrakes would shriek in that controlled manner. She would not put Dorea in danger like that by unleashing them and she could not have ensured Tofty's reactions.

And of course, Parkinson's botched spell was too random.

And she had not strayed more than a single foot away from him throughout the day. He supposed she could have used the time-turner and her invisibility cloak to great effect but he did not buy that.

Her surprise had been real, even though she was a very capable actor with caliber to fool him.

However, she had also said that she had gotten even with Carrow on the weekend and had not disappeared for more than 20 minutes where he was not sure about her whereabouts since then. The time turner could not go back that back in time and there was no way to travel forward in time yet. Tom was really stumped about how she had managed it. He supposed she would tell him if he asked. He just needed an opportune time to do that and hence, the query would have to wait. Tom had some other plans for tonight.

But Tom was getting off track. Of course, nobody but him knew that what had occurred to Carrow was planned. Well, apart from Cordelia and Jormy.

But, Rosier could not deny Cordelia's Slytherin tendencies by observing how she addressed the meeting. She carefully mentioned a shift of priorities without acknowledging what the priorities were. She had said the rumors did not do justice to the truth without getting specific about what she thought was the truth. She had conveniently reverted the responsibility of limited information to an unknown factor. She had ensured the crowd that they were already working on it, while mentioning Ogden and Bagnold to give them credit but also to soothe people who took more comfort from school appointed heads as opposed to the Ruling Council. And of course, if they were negotiating with DMLE and leadership of school and they were amenable to release the information tomorrow, then it was very clearly not them who wanted the information hidden.

Tom could go on, but he needed to get back to reading expressions of people rather than analyzing Lia's words. She would ace the meeting; that he knew.

"What happened?" It was Tristan Fawley, the heir to the house of Fawley who asked. He simply sounded curious. He was laidback and could not care less about Slytherins except for what they did in Quidditch field. He was in the court but he was always disinterested. No, this query came at the behest of his elder sister who had likely nudged his curiosity, which meant that Augusta Fawley did not want to directly engage with him and Cordelia. Well, that was one less thing to worry about.

"I am yet to open the court for questions as I am about to give a basic collection of facts that I am allowed to give away, Heir Fawley." Cordelia gave him a kind smile with a nod and then addressed the crowd, "Please exercise patience while Lord Slytherin and I clarify the positions."

"Madam Underhill was unavailable today because she had to accompany a student to Mungo's. We are not at liberty to disclose the details, but the notification appeared on all House boards yesterday night. Slughorn was to be contacted in case of minor infractions and if the situation was a dire emergency, students were asked to contact any Professor who would contact Underhill. In case of not being able to reach a Professor, students were asked to contact the Prefects or the Heads. All of this was detailed in the notice and it was very visible in all common rooms. Another copy was also stuck at the infirmary notice board and all the respective stakeholders were properly notified," Cordelia informed.

There was a strategy to her storytelling. She was highlighting the availability of accessible resources before the actual incident, which would give students less time and material to raise objections to. Because objections could only be planned once they heard their version of events. And by keeping them waiting (because Hogwarts students were not very patient), people would get a little agitated; making mistakes once they got to questioning. And of course, she was giving them details that their questions would center around in advance, why no mediwitch, why no information. Impatient Hogwarts students might be but they were also predictable to the fault, which made this, all the more easier.

"For those that do not know, Professors of Hogwarts hold masteries in various subjects and while they are teaching, they are also encouraged to research. Professors Merrythought, Kettleburn and Tofty have had several research assistants and apprentices in past who work with them. Tofty is currently mentoring his 14th apprentice and his mentorship has never had a fatal accident in record. His work in Herbology ranges from cross-breeding to selective breeding, you can find a list of his publications with the Herbology guild, who has him in a panel of its best herbologists for the last two decades. All the experimental work that he does is restricted to Greenhouse 3. His current particular projects have been granted and cleared unanimously by the board of Governors." Cordelia continued nicely.

"Get to the point." Alfred McLaggen sneered.

"How do you know what my point is and if I am making it or not, Mr. McLaggen?" Cordelia shot back exceedingly calmly.

"Everyone already knows. Carrow was attacked and you can get to that. No need for your flowery Slytherin machinations." Mclaggen snapped back.

Cordelia simply raised her brow delicately at him and easily pursued her lips and clapped her hand before fixing him with a pitiful stare, "I am afraid that is a zero on three, Mr. McLaggen. If everyone already knew, they would not be listening to me patiently." The silent 'unlike you' was very clear and a few sniggers went around at that. "Heir Carrow was not attacked and I would have to request you to not panic fellow students when you obviously do not know the facts." Cordelia was enjoying this thoroughly and she continued leisurely, "If my being courteous and offering complete information is flowery and Slytherin, then I am afraid that you are nearly accusing every responsible parent and upbringing. I am afraid that respectful language is a compulsory part of education from most parents. I don't know if you learned differently so I cannot really comment." She simply shrugged as more laughter went around the room and Mclaggen's face turned red.

Tom had to control his facial muscles really well because he wanted to cackle loudly, especially at Mclaggen's insulted face but it would not do. He needed to maintain a stoic face. But he did not go far ahead and curb the crowd's laughter, because even Ogden was chuckling lightly.

"Now, where was I before you caused this unnecessary delay? Aha, yes the Greenhouse 3 and the plants within it. The experimental area of the Greenhouse is warded and if everyone who has entered it recalls, Prof. Tofty gets almost overzealous in warning us away from it each time we enter it." Most of the people nodded at that, " As it happens, despite the countermeasures, Heir Carrow got badly hurt after his class of Herbology in Greenhouse 3 today… "

"You are enjoying this, aren't' you?" Avery again spat.

"When have I ever expressed interest in sadism?" Cordelia asked rhetorically, as if offended by the insinuation. This one was a slight gamble because Cordelia was not actually denying her interest in sadism; she was merely deflecting the question. But the chances were that people would not notice the little manipulation, simply because Cordelia was that lovable imp that had friends in all houses, frequently volunteered to teach fellow students irrespective of houses, had that adorable smile and spark in her eyes that made her very approachable. People could not associate sadism with that personality. And combined with the offended tone, it would do the trick.

And of course, she was offended. Cordelia was not merely enjoying this, she was ecstatic at the turn of events. To simply characterize it as enjoyment was offensive.

Avery just glared helplessly. Tom doubted that she had the strength to generate a proper comeback or the mental space to do that. Of course, Tom or Cordelia did not point out that her frequent interruptions were rude and disruptive, particularly because they were baseless. People would see this as signs of kindness and understanding from her and Tom towards Avery's grief, while they would dismiss her as an emotionally distraught blab.

"As I was saying, Heir Carrow did suffer from grievous injuries after the 6th year Slytherin-Ravenclaw Herbology class, the details of which cannot be disclosed. Lord Carrow is quite protective of his charge and rightly so. I should also tell you that while the series of injuries he got did begin from the Greenhouse, most of the blame lies with the current weather. Heir Carrow was quite nauseated, presumably feeling under the weather by the efforts he had made to keep himself warm, and in his brain fog, he ended up near the ward line. The ward in the greenhouse also fell in combination with an anomalous weather condition and the incident which caused the most injury to him also occurred on the trail leading from the Greenhouse to the Castle as he and heir Parkinson attempted to return to the castle.

"Prof. Tofty was busy contacting Ms. Underhill for advice of Heir Carrow's sickness when all of this happened. Nobody can compel plants to attack anyone, they simply do not have the sentience for that and it is really natural for certain plants to be vicious and aggressive. So, once the ward fell, the plants attacked the nearest non-plant species. After their escape from Greenhouse, Heir Parkinson and Heir Carrow were at a disadvantage because of the slippery territory and before they realized, the worst had already happened.

"I assure you that Heir Parkinson will be alright by the weekend and Heir Carrow is in very capable hands. There is absolutely no need to panic. Hogwarts remains very safe. I just advise you to remain vigilant in the current weather and to mind your steps. I would also like to highlight that Madam Underhill will be unavailable in the infirmary until the weekend and substitutes will be available throughout the day and night. It will mostly be staff, but where their schedule does not permit them, you will see a few prefects and sometimes, me.

"This has been posted on the House boards as well. So, please do not suffer through your injuries or sickness on your own. I would like to request you to function as a community and ensure that your friends, roommates and fellow students get the attention that they need. We will welcome questions now." Cordelia quickly summarized.

Now this speech was a masterstroke, if Tom could, he would pretend to wipe away tears of pride at his Lia's deviousness. Too bad, his chance was up. He was taking the questions. But he would get to revel in it, as she and he explained the nuances to Alphard later, who was surely going to ask her reasons for showing kindness towards Carrow.

"What makes you qualified to be a substitute?" It was Leroy Smith who asked that with his hideous nasal voice.

"Heir Smith, Heiress Black is at par with the qualification of a beginner mediwitch. She has training and licensure from the Hôpital magique d'Ingelger in Paris and St. Mungo's in London. The same have been submitted long ago to Ministry of Magic, Britain, the French Ministry, ICW, Medimagical guild and finally Hogwarts. She also has been assisting Madam Underhill since the beginning of the school year on every other weekend, so if you do not put your trust into authentic documents, I request you to turn to student testimonies. She will be the only one who is allowed to actively heal people apart from Professor Slughorn, Tofty, Dumbledore, Merrythought and Garrison. The prefects will merely be handling appropriate and simpler potions. Heiress Black did not need to volunteer herself, but she offered it keeping in mind the school's dire need and will be dedicating a precious amount of time pro bono." Tom replied with great glee. They had been anticipating this question and Tom took great pride in rubbing Cordelia's qualifications in the face of pureblood men who did not see beyond her gender.

"Is Greenhouse 3 secure now?" It was a 2nd year Ravenclaw, Alaric Gamp, heir to the house of Gamp. A first cousin to Dorea, though neither she nor her siblings mentioned Gamps often. His voice was hesitant and scared and while Tom felt no inclination to favor him above anyone else, he had asked a very sensible question.

"God, you are such a pussy Gamp. What if it is not? Are you gonna go cry to Mama?" Mclaggen snorted. Tom sometimes wished annoyance served as a good explanation for sewing someone's mouth shut.

"10 points from Gryffindor for deplorable language and needless bullying." It was the calm voice of Ogden that beat Tom to a fitting reply.

When McLaggen began sputtering, Tom simply said, "Caution is a healthy trait Mr. McLaggen, there is no need to be uncouth and disrespectful when people demonstrate it. 'Heir' Gamp's question is not unwarranted and is quite wise." Tom emphasized Gamp's title to emphasize McLaggen's impudence all the more, "I would like to see you appear so carefree and display this bravado when a loose devil's snare wraps around you. There is a healthy difference in being courageous and being stupid, and I am sure more conversations with wiser and older Gryffindors will enlighten you of the same."

It was a firm nod from Charles, Sebastian, Heir Weasley, Marks and Gambol that sealed the deal as they gave a once over to McLaggen.

"Greenhouse 3 is now secure with additional wards courtesy of Prof. Hewl. However, it is going to be sealed for a period of 2 weeks because it is part of an active DMLE investigation so no one should try to venture near it, even in a misguided spirit of adventure, curiosity or inside scoop." Tom addressed Gamp first, but passed a roving eye all over as he gave the last detail.

"I thought it was an accident. Why the need for DMLE?" Carmichael asked in curiosity.

"DMLE does investigate accidents as well, Mr. Carmichael and this one was rather serious." Tom told him shortly but kindly.

"Is Hogwarts safe though? Too many incidents…" Abigail Macmillan asked with concern.

Tom nodded in acknowledgement to her question and then addressed the general crowd, "I would like to emphasize that today was not a result of nefarious plot. I will not deny that the attacks on Heir Potter, Heiress Black and my person were deliberate. But ultimately, they were also personal and threatening. Today was a series of rather unfortunate events but no threat or deliberate effort can be identified. While the series does seem coincidental, no common link has been found suggesting any sort of orchestration, except that Heir Carrow had an exceptionally unfortunate day. The only people near Heir Carrow were Professor Tofty, who readily submitted himself to an interrogation and whose wand has been thoroughly examined; and Heir Parkinson, Ms. Avery and Ms. Parkinson. Of course, they reached there to help Heir Carrow and also gave statements to DMLE."

Tom's reply was strategic, doing what Cordelia and he had planned in advance, differentiating the attacks but also giving away information about Parkinsons' and Avery's presence. That bit was not confidential as plenty of people had seen them around there but Tom had officially confirmed it.

"Since the attack on Heiress Black and Heir Potter, new security measures have been introduced and they have been working well. The attack on my person was a scare tactic and ultimately a version of a poor, spineless prank. If any real efforts to make me meet the same end as Heir Potter or Black were made, they were not successful. So, our measures are working and Hogwarts remains safe. However, I do recommend vigilance. Do not snoop around in places you are not meant to be in, or touch or handle objects that do not come from known, trusted sources. As it happened, following instructions would not just prevent attacks but also accidents. If you do go around disregarding safety measures, then I am afraid that we may not be able to help you." Tom shrugged.

"Lord Slytherin, if I may, are you saying that heir Carrow did not follow instructions?" Patsy Umbridge batted her eyes at him. Normally, Tom could not stand Umbridge; today though, she was making his and Cordelia's plan easier. But before he could even react, leave respond; a cantankerous voice filled the room.

"How dare you?" Aimee Parkinson looked with rage at him, as did Julia who began using rather crude language.

"How dare you insinuate that Albert got what he deserved because he did not follow instructions?" Avery barked out, her whole body trembling as she gripped her wand tighter.

It was a conundrum as Walburga and Burke reached the witch, disarmed her gently and Walburga yelled at her to calm down her hysterics. Dorea, Titania and Bagnold also tried to reason.

Tom pretended to blink in confusion as he watched the scene unfold. He knew Cordelia was giving the proceeding a composed look, as she pretended to look mildly concerned for the witch.

The witch looked at him in resentment and hate and Tom ignored all the ill will from her and gently said, "I am afraid that I do not understand your anger, Ms. Avery. Albert did venture towards the warded area which we are warned against. Of course, Cordelia already specified that he was feeling ill and dazed. I was merely reiterating the fact that people need to be vigilant and be mindful of instructions especially when they are not at their full capabilities. They would find it harder to fight the danger that they land themselves in and cannot afford such missteps. Why would you think that I was accusing heir Carrow of being negligent? " Tom blinked in confusion again, but gave her a little doubtful look as well.

Color left Julia's face.

Good, she realized that she had played right into his hands and gave away the fact that the events were due to Carrow's negligence. Why would she react so strongly to an innocent suggestion otherwise?

It was not a complete confession, but it had planted seeds. And between the crumbs Cordelia had left in her speech and the seeds he had sown, people would make guesses of the true story. The upper years mostly knew Carrow's drunk habits and some information will leak from that avenue to the younger years as people gossiped in common rooms and all over Hogwarts.

Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin students of 6th year would be regaling the tales of the whole day where Carrow had acted like a nincompoop in Charms and History of Magic and even Herbology, reinforcing that he had the entire debacle coming because of his drinking problem. Because as Cordelia had emphasized, only the things that occurred after the Herbology class were confidential. Other people will merely need to add other observations, how he had missed classes for days, how he looked hungover, disoriented, and had kept drinking from his flask. And of course, Cordelia had given away the fact that Lord Carrow, and not the school or DMLE, was holding the information confidential, illustrating that the only delicate thing about the situation was Carrow's reputation and not Tofty's research or Carrow's safety respectively.

Cordelia's injuries were a secret because DMLE had decreed revealing them dangerous to her safety, not merely because Blacks were overzealous; and Prophet had printed that as a first page headline. He was sure that smart people would connect the dots and pass the information around.

While Charlie, Lia and he will be lauded for braving nefarious plots; Carrow's incompetence, drunkenness and stupidity will become the talk of the school.

Avery and Parkinsons will be helpless. If they protested the version rampant around the school, then they would need to tell the version they thought or knew to be true considering that they were near Carrow. The easiest way to rescue Carrow was to pin the responsibility on someone else. Unfortunately for them, Cordelia's statements and his answers had closed down every avenue where they could pin the responsibility; not the school, not the Professors, not the mediwitch and not any plotting individual or group because the only ones near Carrow were Parkinsons and Avery.

Yes, Carrow was stuck in a nice little trap.


Hello everyone,

I have had a few good days, especially in terms of this story and plotting and writing it. Also, recently the story crossed 500 Reviews and 1000 favs, so I thought it deserved a commemoration. So, I am updating it earlier than my schedule. Hope this was an enjoyable read. Next update will be a month from now, that is near Valentine's day.

This is also a good, solid 13000 words long. I considered partitioning it into two but I liked the length so…. Cheers

And I had to use a lot of my brain and I mean A LOT OF MY BRAIN for most of this chapter because I think I suck at writing politics and coming up with torture is not my usual cuppa. So, I hope you guys appreciate it.

SO, Please leave me reviews, pretty please!