Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, things, and ideas (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings. Mordecai and Elisabeth are mine.
Chapter 28: The search for truth.
Minerva sat in Dumbledore's office, trying to make sense of his organizing system, or lack of one. She was surprised to hear someone coming since most of the students had already left. Mordecai and Elisabeth came into view. "Do you two need something?"
Mordecai noticed how haggard and unwell she seemed. He decided to give her a hug and so did Elisabeth. "Don't give up on him just yet, Professor McGonagall," Elisabeth stated.
She sat down in a chair and invited them to do the same. "Whatever are you talking about?"
"Professor Snape didn't do it," Mordecai told his mother.
"But Mr. Potter-"
He handed her the flask. "It's polyjuice made so that the person taking it will look like him."
She studied the flask for a moment. "And how did you deduce that?" Minerva inquired.
"Well I tried it on myself, but-"
She cut him off. "You what? Mordecai Cyrus Maddock, I would have thought that you had learned your lesson after the last time not to use yourself! Especially after your father…" she realized her slip of the tongue and slapped her hand over her mouth.
"It's alright mum, I know. I figured out that Professor Snape is my father when I looked in the mirror after taking the polyjuice. What I would like to know is how you two ended up in a relationship since he was a student while you were a teacher," the young man questioned.
Minerva took a deep breath. "It did not start out that way at all. In his fifth year, Severus had an altercation with a few Gryffindor boys who took a prank too far. I realized that he had no one on his side and decided to keep an eye out for him. But during that time I was ill with Benford's Disease. Your father, with his quick mind for potions, found the cure. We played chess and were friends until somewhere in his seventh year. Then he decided that he wanted a more intimate relationship. I had to push him away because it was not a time for such things and it would have been highly unethical. He was terribly hurt and we did not speak for two years. During that time he became involved in some incredibly dark situations that have continued to plague him to this day. Then he found me again and we discussed other options for him. We reconciled…" she trailed off, deciding no to go into too much detail. Mordecai noticed that she was blushing slightly. "You came along a while later and the rest you can guess."
"He was a deatheater, wasn't he?" Mordecai asked quietly.
His mother sighed and nodded. "But he deeply regretted it."
"We need to find more proof so that we can prove his innocence," Elisabeth added.
"Mum, do you believe us?" Mordecai questioned.
He and Minerva locked stares and she sat in thought for a moment. Oh how I want to believe you. "I would like to see him innocent as well as you would, but things aren't that simple. This will be difficult to prove…" she trailed off, recalling the odd scene she had noticed at the window. "I was looking out of the window and I thought I saw him emerge from the forest, but then I saw Mr. Potter chase him off coming from the direction of the castle."
"Is Harry still here?" Elisabeth inquired.
"He might be. What do you suggest?" Minerva wondered.
"We could ask him if he saw Professor Snape do something that would be associated with someone else. I heard that when Barty Crouch Jr. was impersonating Moody, he did this odd thing with his mouth that Moody would not have done," Elisabeth clarified.
Harry was still at the castle and they met in Minerva's usual office. She put a hand on his shoulder as he entered, noticing how worn he looked. "Mr. Potter, I need to ask you about what you saw and heard in the Astronomy tower," Minerva explained.
He looked to his right and saw Mordecai and Elisabeth. "What are you two doing here?" he inquired.
Knowing that Harry and Voldemort occasionally shared minds, Mordecai answered carefully. "We are all here looking for answers."
Harry looked directly at Mordecai with scrutiny, noticing that the Ravenclaw was actually taller than himself. Something in the eyes produced an involuntary glare from Harry. Mordecai raised his eyebrow. "What?" he probed. Harry simply shook his head and faced Minerva again.
"You know what happened; I watched Snape kill Dumbledore!"
"Mr. Potter, what did Professor Snape and the Headmaster say to each other?" Minerva questioned patiently.
Harry shoved his hands into his pockets and paced the room. "Snape said a lot of crap about Dumbledore finally getting what he deserved. If only I could have just killed him! The only thing strange was what Dumbledore said to him, 'You weren't supposed to be here. Why have you come? The betrayal you have caused was your fault, not mine or his.' And then he said 'please' and Snape murdered him! But he was talking to him as if he had expected someone else to be there to do the same thing."
Mordecai and Elisabeth were thinking along similar lines. We may have what we need with this. Dumbledore knew that it wasn't really Professor Snape. "Harry, if you'd be willing to take lessons from someone a year younger than you, I would be willing to help you with your Occlumency," Mordecai offered.
It would be nice to have my mind to myself again. "I agree, but Hermione, Ron, and I will be leaving soon to find the Horcruxes."
"Can you apparate?" Mordecai inquired and Harry nodded. "We shall meet once a week at different locations."
"How are you so certain about things?" Harry asked him.
He glanced at Elisabeth and Minerva before responding. "Because sometimes there are things that need to be done."
When Harry had left Elisabeth faced Mordecai. "Are you sure about all this? And why didn't we just tell him what we suspect?"
"Because until he can control what comes into his mind, You-Know-Who can know everything that he sees and hears," Mordecai explained.
"I suppose that leaves us to our own investigations this summer," she pointed out.
He shook his head. "I will write to you, but it's time that you went to see your family. I will straighten out my meetings with Harry and tell my relatives where I am going." He then kissed her softly.
Both turned around suddenly at hearing Minerva clear her throat. "I seem to have been forgotten. Mordecai, you are not conduction some investigation by yourself. We will all do this together. However, since you two are planning on maintaining a correspondence, you might want these," she said as she reached into a drawer and pulled out two stacks of white paper wrapped in plastic with seals bearing the Gemini sign.
"Mum, we have paper," Mordecai stated.
"But this is mood paper. You hold this item here," she paused and pointed at the seal. "A student years ago gave me several stacks of these," she told them, proceeding to explain how mood paper worked.
Mordecai kept a correspondence using the mood paper. As he taught Harry Occlumency, Harry seemed to have less trouble with it because he was not working with someone he despised. Though something about Mordecai looked familiar to Harry, he did not figure out what it was.
Minerva spent her summer between Fiona's cottage and Grimmauld Place for Order business. While she was there during the early part of July, she had opened her window to pull in a light afternoon breeze when a tiny owl invited itself inside. Minerva smiled broadly and petted the little bird. It flew off as soon as she unrolled the message from its leg. So he still has his mood paper, she thought as she watched a message appear slowly.
Dear Aphrodite,
I do not know if you will believe me, or trust me again for that matter. I did not kill him. I was hit on the back of the head and regained consciousness after everything had happened. If you will allow me, I will send you information about what is happening. He is planning an attack at Hogsmeade, hoping to stop Potter before he finds any more Horcruxes.
Forgive me for not being able to do more,
Your Black Knight
She gasped and tried to figure out a way to tell the rest of the order. Then an idea occurred to her. Knowing that Draco Malfoy had switched sides and would already be acting as a spy of sorts, she would simply tell the others that the message was from him. She raced down to the kitchen where the others sat, drinking tea.
"Someone has news," Lupin remarked, glancing over at her.
"I have received a message from Mr. Malfoy who, as you all know, is now working for our side. The deatheaters are planning to attach Hogsmeade to try to stop Harry Potter," she conveyed.
The Order members rallied and were able to catch the deatheaters at Hogsmeade before any damage was done, even capturing one of them as a prisoner. The other deatheaters all fled, meeting back at the cemetery again. Voldemort crossed his deathly pale arms in front of him and glared at everyone.
"I cannot believe that all of you let them ambush us," he paused to issue a few torturing curses to some of them. "It was as if they knew what we would be doing! And if that isn't bad enough, someone's finally taught the Boy-Who-Lived Occlumency!" he vexed.
Though Severus was among those hit with torturing curses that night, he was able to smile inwardly because he knew that only one other person could have taught Occlumency to Harry. Well Mordecai, I think you know exactly how much you have helped the right side. I only hope that you don't get too caught up in this mess, he thought to himself.
When the new school term began, Minerva had a few introductions to make at the Welcoming Feast. "I am pleased to introduce your new Transfiguration teacher, Fiona Maddock, and Remus Lupin is returning to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts," she mentioned.
Elisabeth looked over at Mordecai and grinned. "Now I finally get to meet this aunt you are always talking about."
"I'm certain she will like you," he stated as he took a bite of his dinner.
He caught up to Fiona after the feast before proceeding to Ravenclaw tower, with Elisabeth following him. "Aunt Fiona, you didn't tell me that you would be doing this. How did mum talk you into it?"
Fiona smiled at him and then gave a nod to Elisabeth. "Well lad, the whole thing came as a surprise to me too. But with no wee ones left, I was getting rather bored at the cottage."
Elisabeth tugged on Mordecai's sleeve and he nodded. "Aunt Fiona, I would like you to meet Lisa, my girlfriend," he began.
"Elisabeth Wellington," the young lady said, extending a hand. Fiona shook it and smiled at her.
"So you're the one I'm always hearing about. It is a pleasure to finally meet you," Fiona remarked.
"Likewise," Elisabeth added politely. Introductions being made they headed off in their separate directions.
After the first week of classes, Minerva dropped by Fiona's rooms. The woman opened the door with a broad smile. "Come in, Minerva. I've just made some tea."
Minerva returned the smile and entered. When the two women were seated on the couch, each holding a cup of orange spice tea, Minerva spoke. "How do you like being here so far?"
"Cousin, this is a wonderful place. I was just making a few quizzes while the tea steeped before you came," Fiona replied.
The Headmistress took a sip of her tea. "This is a wonderful recipe, Fiona."
"Aye, and I should thank you for giving me a muggle stove."
Minerva gave her a nod. "You're welcome. By the way, what do you think of Mordecai's girlfriend?"
Fiona drank some of her tea. "I think the little lass is wonderful. She's very bright from what I've seen of her Transfiguration skills. Tell me, you seemed so dejected last summer and I saw very little of you. And then you perked up a bit. What is going on?" her cousin asked with concern.
Minerva set her empty cup down on the coffee table. "Do you remember Severus Snape, the man I used to bring with me?"
"Mordecai's father? Of course I do," Fiona relayed.
"It is a bit difficult to explain, but he was framed in the death of Dumbledore and we thought him to be a traitor. Then I found out otherwise and he has been covertly helping our side. I've already told you too much, but some of it I figured you would want to know," Minerva finished.
Fiona raised an eyebrow. "Cousin, I wish you could tell me more, but I understand. What can I do?"
"Help me to see that Mordecai and his girlfriend maintain their educations and do not let the business of the war interrupt their lives too much," Minerva commented as she stood to leave.
She and Fiona hugged at the door. "Don't forget to take care of yourself as well."
"Thank you, I won't," she said as she left.
As the school year progressed, Severus continued to send messages to Minerva through the little owl. She had just sent a letter to the Order, explaining another possible attack when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in."
Lupin entered and she offered him a chair. "How are your classes?" she asked him.
"Fine, thank you. Everything has been running smoothly enough, but I wanted to ask you about the letters you've been telling the Order about," he began.
She watched him curiously. "I've told you all, they are from-"
"I do not think that Mr. Malfoy would hold correspondence so dutifully. And why should he write to you in particular?" he probed.
"Remus, I can't explain now. Things have taken place that must be solved first," she tried to articulate.
"Is Mr. Maddock being protected at all?" he asked.
She grew pale. "What do you mean?"
"You told me once that you are related to him, and seeing him a few years later, he is also related to Snape. If Snape is his father, he should be protected so that the wrong side never finds out," Lupin recommended.
As he left, she heard something scurry by her office, but was uncertain as to what. An uncomfortable feeling sat in the back of her throat as she closed the door. Too many people suspect things. I hope these matters can be quickly solved. Severus, I wish you were here to talk to. I cannot even write to you to tell you that I believe your innocence. I think it is time though that Mr. Potter was more aware of certain discoveries we have made.
Mordecai and Elisabeth were walking through the hall when he suddenly saw a large rat. Moving quickly, he picked the hideous creature up by its tail. Elisabeth eyed it curiously. "It looks like it has a fake foot. See how it is all silvery?"
He agreed and the rat squirmed. "We should probably take him to someone. I wonder if this is someone's familiar." Suddenly the rat tried to bite him and he dropped it on the ground. The creature hissed at him and scurried away. "Why that little-"
"Cyrus," Elisabeth interrupted. "I don't think that it was someone's familiar. Judging by its attitude, I would say that it was someone's animagus form."
The rat ran to the deatheaters' temporary meeting place at a crypt in the cemetery and transformed back into a human as the meeting progressed. At a pause, he spoke to the dark wizard. "Master, I have some interesting news," Pettigrew mentioned.
(My thanks to Isabelle (), excessivelyperky, artemissan09, Kimmy Malfoy, and Leta McGotor for reviewing :D)