Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, things, and ideas (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings. Mordecai and Elisabeth are mine.
Chapter 17: What lies beneath.
At the Slytherin/Gryffindor Quidditch match Mordecai and Elisabeth sat next to each other, watching the game with interest. A breeze began to blow as the players mounted their brooms and Elisabeth's hair came out of its ponytail, blowing the waist-length blonde hair into his face. He sighed and picked up the hair band that had fallen onto the floor. Using his wand, he put it back around her hair.
She turned and raised an eyebrow as she noticed him examining the end of her reestablished ponytail out of his way. "What on earth are you doing?" she asked with a smirk.
"Your hair has a mind of its own and attacked me when the hair band came off," he told her plainly.
"Oh, sorry. I suppose I was too caught up in the game to notice," she stated.
He decided that it was time they returned their attention to the game. "You also have split ends," he commented. She snorted and shook her head, turning her attention back to the game as a bludger began to have a mind of its own.
Elisabeth leaned over the side as she watched the case with interest. As the bludger neared their box, Mordecai protectively pulled her back from the edge. She faced him and crossed her arms. "I was only trying to get a better look."
"And you might have been hit by that thing," he countered.
"I suppose you're right," she acquiesced, "but I- duck!" she exclaimed as she grabbed Mordecai by the collar of his robes and pulled him down. Flying pieces of someone's broken broom flew over their heads.
The two looked around and sighed with relief as they reclaimed their seats. "I wonder if most of their Quidditch matches are like this," she inquired, sitting closer to him.
"I hope not," he remarked as he looked back at the field.
With the excitement from the runaway bludger at the Quidditch match, Gryffindor's victory was that much more important. The school had an uneasy feeling and everyone was slightly on edge. To Minerva, it felt as though they were all holding their breaths, waiting uneasily for something to happen.
Dumbledore caught her by the elbow after an evening meal. She jumped, but then breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that it was only him. "Albus, is there some reason that you decided to imitated Peeves and startle me?"
"My dear, I apologize. I had no intention of unnerving you. I only wish to discuss the school's current situation with my Deputy," he responded.
She nodded and the two walked down the quiet hallway. "The Board of Governors is being pressured by someone into thinking that I am the reason that the school no longer seems safe."
Minerva placed a supportive hand on his arm. "Albus, that's ridiculous. Without you here to protect the school, the danger would be even greater."
"If they do suspend me, I am leaving you and Severus in charge," he relayed.
Sighing, she faced him. "Alright then, if it does come to your being dismissed, then Severus and I will see to the protection of the school. Frankly I don't trust Lockhart."
"All will set itself right in time, my dear," he mentioned as he stopped in front of the door to her quarters. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight Albus," she replied as they parted company for the evening.
A few weeks later Minerva entered the staff room to retrieve her favourite grading quill to find Severus sitting in a chair drinking tea with a stack of his own papers to grade. "What are you doing here?" she inquired.
He sighed and lowered the paper so that they could face each other. "That idiot Lockhart let pixies loose in his classroom and a few escaped, making their way to the dungeon to wreak havoc on my office. The last time I checked, anyone could use the staff room. Am I not a staff member?" he asked sardonically.
She smirked and put her hands up. "I was simply asking a question. At least I refrained from…," she paused as she noticed his bemused expression. I do enjoy seeing another expression on his face aside from that scowl. I wish he would smile more often. "What, may I ask, is so funny?"
Taking a gulp of his tea, he faced her. "Speaking of Lockhart, it isn't every day that I get to knock him flat on his back. He started a dueling club and wanted to begin the demonstrations by challenging me. I cannot begin to express how satisfying it was to finally face him without the threat of penalization. If only I could have done that to Eygore, everyone's lives would have been better off."
In spite of herself she laughed. "That would have been entertaining to see. I do apologize for not realizing sooner what a terrible teacher he was."
"At least your abilities of observation seem to have improved over the years," he said sardonically.
He has a point. She scowled at him, but with only irritation. "Honestly, I sincerely hope that we are never asked to rate our colleagues. You would give every staff member the low score that they would unanimously give you."
"You say that as if I am the only one who is strict and critical," he paused for the retort to sink in. "But we have another matter in question: Lockhart allowed Potter and Malfoy to duel and Malfoy caused a cobra to appear. Potter stopped it by talking to it."
Minerva's eyes widened. "Which means that he could be a parslemouth."
"It'll be one more way for that brat to cause mischief," Severus said acidly.
"Oh honestly, leave the poor boy alone!" she protested.
He scoffed. "That 'poor boy' is the carbon copy of his father, sent here to torment me!"
She rolled he eyes and shook her head. "You flatter yourself if you think that James Potter could return from the dead just to come back and torture you."
He snickered at her comment. "Minerva, why don't you have a seat and stay for a cup of tea?"
Something had changed between them and the sense of fondness in their banter had returned. "I won't stay long, but I suppose a quick cup of tea will suffice."
When she was seated next to him sipping her tea, he watched her. "Whether you say so or not, you have a way of keeping me in line. What would I do without you around to put me in my place?"
"You would simply do what you have always done, terrify the students and annoy the staff. But without me you would become more of a tyrant, hiding in the dungeons, than you are now," she joked.
"A tyrant that hides in the dungeons? I believe you owe me a chess game for that," he challenged.
"What are you doing next Thursday evening?" she asked.
He smiled and set his empty cup down on the end table. "Rebuilding some old bridges, it would seem."
On Thursday after the evening meal he knocked on the door to her quarters. She opened the door and led him to the coffee table and the chessboard. A teapot whistled as she scurried over to the kitchen to remove it from the stove and finish preparing tea for them.
Severus watched her with curiosity. "It would seem that Fiona is not the only one who cooks the muggle way."
Minerva smiled back. "I happened to like freshly made tea opposed to conjured tea. When it is conjured something is lost in the flavor."
She returned with two steaming cups of jasmine tea and noticed that he had taken the black side as usual. "Tell me Severus, do you ever tire of playing the side that moves second?"
His response echoed hers. "Tell me Minerva, do you ever tire of playing the side that moves before calculating? You see, while the white side moves first, the black side calculates reactions to the white side's moves, setting up a series of counterattacks."
Taking a sip of her tea, she moved a pawn and began the game. "It sounds then that the perfect chess army is one that can move ahead with calculation as well."
For the next half of the game, the two constructed their silent strategies and the game progressed quietly, each one loss in his and her own thoughts. "They'll close the school if we don't figure out what is causing all the trouble, won't they?" Severus finally asked.
Minerva sighed and made her next move. "Dumbledore could be suspended and he told me that if that occurs, you and I are in charge. There has to be something here that we are not seeing."
"I think the fact is that there is more here going on than we are seeing," he added as he moved is knight.
She countered his move with her bishop. "Are you implying that the students have kept things from us?"
He snorted. "You sound surprised. Whatever is going on, you can bet that Potter and his friends are up to their necks in it," he stated as he captured a rook. "By the way, why are we not playing Wizard's Chess?"
"I tried to find the box, but I seem to have misplaced it. I believe it is still somewhere in my office. Why do you assume that Mr. Potter has any idea as to what is going on?" she inquired as she placed him in check.
"My dear Professor McGonagall, experience has taught me that where there is something strange afoot, a Potter will not be far," he conveyed sardonically, moving his bishop to save his king.
She smirked and shook her head. "Though I still think you are too harsh on that boy, I will say that I've noticed his tendency to accidentally end up in the thick of trouble. And I have you in checkmate."
He looked at the board and then back to her. "Blasted woman, in the first chess game I have played in nearly ten years, you have to royally beat me," he said with sarcasm and a wry smile.
"You were too distracted with Mr. Potter to pay adequate attention," she teased as she put the game away.
"You just have better luck with pieces that are not enchanted," he countered.
She chuckled as they walked toward the door. "Why don't you help me find my other board so that I can prove you wrong at our next game?"
He knew it was an invitation of sorts and he decided to take it. I have missed being near her. The two headed toward her office, checking the halls for anything suspicious. Once inside the office, he went to what he thought was the most logical place: her bottom desk drawer. He raised an eyebrow when he removed the very box they had come to retrieve.
"Minerva, why didn't you look right where it always was?" he questioned.
Her response surprised him. "Perhaps I thought you should be the one to find it." She took a step closer to him and smiled.
He took a step back and looked away from her. Why am I fighting this? Because there is no end to the dangers that keep us distant. Perhaps in time, but not now. "Minerva, you know why we have been distant. It isn't-"
"Don't give me another lecture on safety. I don't know if it will ever be safe, but know that at the very least we should be friends instead of mere colleagues," she interjected.
They stood almost nose to nose and he realized that if he did not leave soon, it would be difficult for them to even be friends. "I should go."
She nodded and stepped back. "Before you go, would you join me for another chess game some time? I'll use the Wizard's Chess set," she offered. He nodded and walked her back to her rooms. Before leaving he told her goodnight and kissed her hand. When she went to sleep that night, her dreams were filled with him as well as their son.
Between their classes and studying in the library, Mordecai and Elisabeth had been attempting to solve the puzzle of what had caused the petrifying. He had just drifted off to sleep when a sudden weight bouncing on his bed caused him to gasp and sit up immediately. He grabbed his wand and let the end of it glow so that he could face the intruder. The person sighed and tried to move his wand away.
"Do you mind? Shining that thing directly at my eyes is quite annoying," the other person whispered.
Mordecai sighed with a mixture of relief and irritation when he realized who the intruder was. "Lisa, what are you doing here? Does it mean nothing to you that this is the boys' dormitory? It's good that my roommates are sound sleepers or you would be in a great deal of trouble."
She smirked and grabbed his hand, pulling him out of bed. "Cyrus, I think I know what is in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk in the common room."
I suppose this is the only way that I will get back to sleep, he thought as he reluctantly followed her. She led him to sit down in front of the fireplace and then picked up the conversation. "Whatever is responsible for these attacks would have to either be invisible or moving through the school using some sort of passageway network."
"Does Hogwarts even have such a network?"
She nodded. "Yes, but it is not what you might be thinking. Hogwarts has a network of pipes."
He stared at her incredulously. "What on earth uses pipes?"
"A worm!" she explained enthusiastically.
He looked around and then shushed her. "Not so loud."
"There could be a giant worm in the chamber."
"The thought of a giant worm wandering the castle sounds ridiculous," he added.
"You just wait and I'll prove it," she declared as she stood and sauntered off toward her own room.
He sighed heavily as he headed back to his own bed. She's crazy. I just hope she doesn't hurt herself trying to find the answers. I'll try to talk her out of it later, he resolved.
But Mordecai did not get a 'later.' He passed by Ron, Harry, and Professor McGonagall as was heading toward the library to look for Elisabeth. The Transfiguration Professor stopped him and told Ron and Harry to go on ahead to the infirmary. Then she placed a hand on Mordecai's shoulder.
"Mr. Maddock, Mordecai, you need to come with me," she instructed gently. He nodded and followed silently.
When they arrived in the infirmary he noticed Harry and Ron worrying over a petrified Hermione. Then a familiar figure on another bed caught his eye and he ran over to the bed. Elisabeth lay on the bed, petrified also, with her right hand up as if she had pressed it against a window. He stroked her hair and eyed her with deep concern.
"Lisa, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have talked you out of it. Why on earth do you have to do everything yourself? Lisa, please be alright," he said to his friend.
He jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder. It was only Minerva again. He faced her with such sadness that Minerva had to fight with herself not to take her son in her arms. "Cousin Minerva," he began, calling her what he had growing up, "will she be alright?"
She took a deep breath. "Mordecai, in time she will be, but we are still waiting for the mandrakes to mature. I'm so sorry. Is she a good friend of yours?"
"Yes," was all he could manage. Minerva walked the boy back to his common room and he spent the rest of the day perusing his books, looking for what might have caused his friend to become petrified.
As Minerva walked back to her own quarters, she heard familiar footsteps trotting next to her. She looked to her left and saw Severus. "More students were petrified today, Miss Granger and the little girl who follows Mordecai, Miss Wellington."
Severus frowned. "How did he take the news?"
"Badly. I have a feeling that he will be in the infirmary every day until she is back to herself," the Deputy Headmistress remarked.
"And how are you doing with all this?" he asked her with a deep perceptions.
"I can't say that I am holding up much better. I'm so worried for the students. If the problem isn't solved soon, we will have to close the school," she responded.
He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I seriously doubt that it will come to that."
Dumbledore was suspended, as he had predicted. Mordecai could almost feel the worry that the students now had. He had visited Elisabeth every day for almost a month, hoping that she would simply awaken. As he sat with her, he overheard Harry and Ron as they visited Hermione. The two Gryffindors found a paper in her hand talking about a basilisk. Moving silently as Elisabeth had taught him, Mordecai followed them and noticed that the image on the paper was some sort of snake. You were right, Lisa. In a way it was a giant worm.
He followed the other two as they ran into Professor Lockhart and ended up talking to Moaning Myrtle in the flooded bathroom. As the sink opened up into a dark void of a whole, Mordecai saw the other three head down the hole in search of the basilisk. He would have followed them, but he turned and Myrtle startled him. He slipped on the wed floor and hit his head.
When he came to, he was alone in the evening on the bathroom floor and his head ached. He stood and used a drying spell on his clothing. Then suddenly he remembered why he was alone and headed toward Professor McGonagall's office to tell the Deputy Headmistress what had transpired.
Minerva caught Severus by the elbow just before they entered the Great Hall for the morning meal. "Can you believe that the creature has finally been stopped?" she expressed with relief.
"By Potter, as usual. That boy is making a habit of saving the school from strange perils," he remarked sarcastically. Then he smirked. "At least the infamous Guilderoy Lockhart will not be troubling us for a while. He is one person I am quite glad to be rid of. The only pity is that I never got a second chance to trounce him in a dual."
Minerva shook her head and laughed. "I wish I had seen that. Oh, Mordecai will be quite surprised when those students who were petrified return."
"Ah yes," he said as they passed through the door. "By the way, you owe me a chess game," he reminded as they took their seats.
Mordecai watched the professors and then turned his attention to the door when he heard of the mandrake roots' success. Hermione and the others returned, but he did not see Elisabeth yet. He stood and walked slowly toward the door, waiting. Suddenly a force of something short and blonde nearly knocked him off his feet.
Elisabeth smiled at him, having run directly into him. "Sorry about that. I didn't expect anyone to be guarding the door."
Not paying attention to the reaction he would receive, Mordecai wrapped his arms around her for a moment. The two parted and headed toward the bench to eat. Before that sat he stopped her. "I'm the one who should be sorry. The basilisk was a worm-like creature and should have believed you."
She grinned and sat, grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him onto the bench next to her. "It's alright."
"The next time you tell me that there is a giant worm in the castle, I promise to take you seriously," he remarked as they ate.
As the professors ate, Minerva received a piece of paper that she thought was blank. Then she recognized the mood paper. She chuckled as she read the message that appeared:
We had better keep an eye on those two.
(My thanks to Leta McGotor, excessivelyperky, and Motet for reviewing :D)