Author's Notes
So, I know this chapter is days early, but I'm sending my baby (aka my laptop) to the doctor tomorrow and may not have it back in time for Saturday's posting.
So my misfortune is fortune for all of you :D
Enjoy this early posting of
Harry Potter, the Valerian, and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Chapter Twelve: Tests and Results
Yoko continues to investigate Harry's Firebolt as the Valerians begin to test the animals of the Tower in search of the traitor from Ebony's warning. A death ends any attempt at reconciliation between Ron and Hermione.
Classes resumed and it was immediately clear to anyone in the Tower that something had happened between the group and Hermione.
Crookshanks remained in the Tower - though none of the Valerians were happy about it, overruled as they were by McGonagall – and Scabbers was limited to the boy's Third Year dorm.
Arcana had warned the professor and Hermione both, that if the cat breached that sanctity, whether it went after Scabbers or not, he'd kill it and leave the corpse on Hermione's bed for the girl to find.
Ron, livid at the fact that Crookshanks was allowed to remain at the castle, despite the fear he induced in his own pet, and the toll it was taking on Scabbers' health, was even less fond of Hermione now than he had been before – which said a lot – and kept a large degree of space between them at any time, an entire room if possible, and wasn't speaking to her.
Harry, realizing that the only thing that had prevented McGonagall from taking his Firebolt and possibly never returning it, was the fact that Yoko had already gotten to it, had likewise been ignoring Hermione since Christmas.
Even the Valerians had pulled away from her.
They were still polite, still helped her with her homework, but it was clear that there was a level of distance between them and the girl that hadn't been there before.
For Tarana, it was all in the name.
As the only other female in the group, Tarana had a unique bond with Hermione, and more often than not used her given name, even when upset with her. Now, as classes began to start up again, she was far more formal in her speech with the teen.
Upon their return to the castle with the rest of those that left for the holidays, Fallen and Draco were downright nasty with her, one far more blatantly than the other.
For the most part, Draco hid his distaste of muggles and muggle-borns very well, something he'd needed to do early on to adapt into Gryffindor, a House full of both.
His relationship with Hermione had been downright horrid in their First Year and had steadily grown to be a more accepting one, more on Hermione's part than on Draco's, as the girl simply learned not to take what the pureblood said too seriously, not that anyone would know that looking at the two of them now.
Blaise and Draco were the only two who had grown up - and in Blaise's case, raised - by their guardians and they both were more familiar with the intricacies of interacting with the Collective.
For Hermione to attempt to bypass the Queen of Valeria over a cat, did something to Draco's opinion of her and he made it known immediately.
He was, as they headed into their second week back into term, pointedly not giving Hermione the silent treatment.
Blaise and Neville, who weren't necessarily pleased with the way Hermione had gone about things, remained with her while the other three began to pull away, too upset to try and fix their friendship, and the Valerians, taking their cue from the Crown, made no move to aid the growing fracture in repairing itself.
Neville had commented one evening, as he and Blaise picked up some of the feathers from Horus' last molting from the floor of the common room – a task that Neville enjoyed doing, as he was experimenting in making quills out of them – that though the Valerians had fixed whatever had broken them apart earlier in the year, it was becoming clearer that Hermione's cat was driving a serious wedge between their friends.
XX
For the Valerians, so long as Crookshanks didn't try and kill Scabbers in their line of sight, the problem growing between their charges just wasn't nearly as important as their other job – ensuring that the children under their care didn't get caught in the crossfire of the Ministry's hunt for Sirius Black and the Valerians' ever-expanding shield to prevent it.
There was one thing, however, that the Collective was still struggling with: the identity of Ebony's traitor.
To that end, Arcana and Tarana called the Collective and their most trusted collaborators to the Astronomy Tower, where the sheer chill of the January air would prevent any of the students from attempting to eavesdrop on them.
Unfortunately for Remus and Severus, it meant that they needed to bundle up because though Tarana's fire beat back the immediate frost, it didn't save them entirely.
Severus, who didn't much want to be in close contact with Remus or Ivory at all, made it clear that the fact that he was freezing to attend this 'meeting' wasn't making him any happier about the prospect.
"Buck up, snake," Ivory sneered, though anything more he'd intended to say was silenced by a blade of wind coming down millimeters from his nose, forcing him to jerk his head back.
"Enough, Ivory," Arcana said sharply. "There's enough going on right now and we don't need you making his welcome here questioned."
The cold expression in the leopard's eyes said that he very much questioned the presence of the potions master, but he fell silent.
Severus was flanked by Yoko and Fallen, which, despite his tension with the wolf, he allowed because both Valerians were radiating heat in a way that made the top of the tower seem slightly warmer.
Remus, infuriatingly, appeared less bothered by the cold weather, likely due to his affliction.
"Thank you both," Tarana said, sitting taller beside Arcana than Severus had seen her all year, "for taking the time to join us because I'm afraid we're going to need your assistance going forward." She glanced at Fallen beside Severus. "I'm sure, Severus, that Fallen mentioned Ivory's confrontation with Ebony after Sirius attempted to break into Gryffindor Tower on Halloween?"
Severus inclined his head.
"We have managed, with discreet assistance in no small part to you, Professor, deduced that there is no student in Gryffindor Tower that could have a link to Voldemort or the Death Eaters, and none are in any position to try and strike against us or our charges. That phase of the investigation has, unfortunately, gone dead." Arcana informed him.
Severus glanced at the 'wolf beside him. "How did your conversation with Lucius go?"
Fallen's eyes narrowed with frustration. "Nowhere," he muttered. "I'd hoped that he could open up an avenue of investigation to prove one way or the other that Ebony's warning was a valid one or even to give information to our investigation into the Potter's betrayal," the General glanced at the Queen, "which, I've found out, is the first of its ilk. No one has attempted to find out what happened that night, instead basing it on the information brought to light by the confrontation between Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black in London."
"Information that pretty clearly points Sirius to be the one who James and Lily chose as their Secret Keeper and betrayed them," Remus pointed out.
Fallen nodded. "I hadn't much care of what happened outside the Manor between my charge and his master-of-the-time, but while Lucius claims that the Dark Lord did have someone inside Dumbledore's inner circle, he couldn't tell me if it was someone who was likewise inside the Potter's inner circle."
"But a meeting like that would never have happened without members of the Dark Lord's own inner circle," Severus told them. "And though I wasn't present for them-"
"And neither was Lucius," Fallen added.
"They were there," Severus continued. "Fallen's given me a list of names to match against my own knowledge and I could only add one or two to it, but we ran into a problem as we read it over."
Arcana blinked. "A problem?"
"More than a third of the list is dead," Fallen informed him grimly. "All but one was outside the country, so it wasn't a well-known fact, but given the rapid succession, almost literally one after the other, news began to make their way into the ears of others of – ah- similar mindsets."
"I don't suppose there was any evidence?"
Ivory's smile was mirthless, and he met Fallen's gaze knowingly. "None," he said, without hesitation. "And I'm willing to bet there were no known causes for their deaths either."
Fallen dipped his head in acknowledgment. "Reports to the families put their deaths down to dementor attacks, but Lucius managed to get his hands on a couple of the reports for those that had been shipped back here for burial and the notes don't add up."
"For one," Yoko drawled, "they were dead. Only someone with a weak heart could be killed by a dementor, and even then, the death would be attributed to that heart condition, not to the dementor they had no proof was ever there."
Tarana sighed. "So, Ebony got to them, even outside of the country…."
"Likely to hide any evidence of Sirius having gone to the Dark Lord," Fallen told her.
Tarana's lip curled. "And do you have proof of that accusation, General?"
Fallen waved a paw to encompass the evidence he'd just laid before her.
"Speculation on circumstantial evidence," Tarana countered sharply. "Bring me concrete evidence or keep your opinion between you and Arcana."
"Given what we know of Sirius," Remus said, glancing down at Ivory, "there's another theory for their deaths at Ebony's hands."
"Vengeance," Severus said, looking like the very idea of agreeing with Remus and Ivory was appalling to him.
"Sirius grew up with a lot of the witches and wizards who would, eventually, grow to be very loyal and fanatical Death Eaters," Ivory said. "He would have knowledge of family properties, especially those outside the country, where some of those people would likely go to ground if their actions drove them out of England."
"And considering Black has been detained and unable to enact his own revenge for the death of Potter, it would make sense for him to turn to the only asset he still had free and available to him," Severus added.
"Especially since no one knew where Harry had been taken," Tarana pointed out. "And to search for him, without knowing if I was still around to protect him or not, would have painted a target on him for anyone still loyal to the Dark Lord."
Arcana's brow furrowed, but the thought he was chasing eluded him as Tarana turned to Yoko.
"Have you had any luck with the Firebolt?" she asked, though she appeared doubtful, less because she thought the task beyond him, but because there was nothing to find.
"I'm still working through it, but nothing so far," the fox sighed, shifting. "I've been talking with Rolanda and all the spells I've identified appear to be ones used frequently by broom-makers."
Despite the good news, neither Yoko nor Fallen appeared pleased with the ongoing verdict.
"Have any of you thought of what Black and the Shade's target is if it isn't Harry?" Severus asked, tucking his hands further into the sleeves of his cloak to hide the fine shivers going through them.
"It brings us back to our original topic," Arcana sighed. "Ebony's mysterious 'coward' is the only other target Sirius could have in the Tower and we don't have any definitive proof that such a person exists beyond Ebony's warning."
Tarana got to her paws and paced for a moment, something clearly weighing on her.
"The Sneakoscope," she murmured thoughtfully.
"The one Ronald gave Harry?" Arcana asked.
Tarana nodded, though she didn't stop her pacing to look at him. "It went off on Christmas and Harry mentioned something the following day when he rearranged the trunk to put everything back to before he'd knocked it over." She tilted her head. "It was still shrieking. At the time, he and I were the only two in the Tower, with three exceptions. Crookshanks, Scabbers, and Horus."
Fallen frowned. "Harry made a comment?" he asked, suspiciously.
Tarana hummed, turning to look at him. "He asked me if the Sneakoscope might be picking up on Crookshanks' desire to eat Scabbers. Since the device doesn't pick up on instinct, only deception, I hadn't thought it much beyond a comment made of irritation surrounding the circumstances."
Severus blinked slowly. "Animagi?"
Tarana smiled grimly, turning to look at Remus. "In a controlled situation, would you be able to tell an Animagus apart from a natural animal or should I read Minerva into the situation?"
"We can do you one better," Remus said, glancing at Severus. "Though the transformation changes their shape, it doesn't change the blood. The DNA. If we can get a clean sample of their blood and test it, we can tell which, if any, of them are animagi."
"Start with Crookshanks," Yoko said, surprising the others.
"Crookshanks?"
"It doesn't hunt," Yoko explained. "Don't you remember the rabbit?"
Tarana frowned.
Lavender Brown had brought her new rabbit to Hogwarts, supposedly because it wouldn't be mauled to death like her previous one, and it had escaped its cage three days ago and had led many students on a merry chase through the common room until it had been caught.
Yoko clearly saw that the others were remembering the incident. "Almost twenty minutes that rabbit was hopping around the common room and Crookshanks sat on the top of the bookshelf and didn't so much as blink at it."
Fallen frowned. "He didn't go after the mice that escaped the Defense corridor either," he said, thoughtfully. "Mrs. Norris has been the sole hunter for most of the castle, though that could easily be put down to the fact that Crookshanks simply doesn't have the same access that she does."
"So why then," Remus asked, rubbing his hands together, "is Ron's rat the only target?"
"How long has Scabbers been part of the Weasley family?" Fallen asked, having never really cared about the information before.
"Fourteen, fifteen years, I think," Arcana replied. "I only know that it was Percival's cat before it was Ronald's."
"That's rather long-lived, for a rat," Severus pointed out.
"My advice is to focus on Crookshanks and Scabbers," Remus said, crossing his arms. "They seem to be the two at the heart of the problems in the Tower right now. Maybe one of them knows something about the other that the rest of us don't."
Tarana tilted her head. "You have a theory?"
Remus shook his head. "It's impossible," he told her. "I'll share it only after the blood tests come back for Scabbers and Crookshanks to avoid pushing us in the wrong direction."
Ivory tilted his head in his partner's direction. 'You think he somehow survived?' he asked skeptically.
Remus didn't answer, which didn't surprise Ivory in the slightest.
"I assume, Lupin, you can handle a needle and a syringe just fine and don't need my assistance on the matter?" Severus asked, moving for the door.
Remus was torn out of his musing. "Ah, Severus! If you have a moment, I'd like to ask you for a favor!" he called, following the other professor into the castle.
Ivory hesitated only long enough to bow to Tarana and Arcana before following.
XX
Harry, for his part, had nearly forgotten about the plans between himself and Remus to teach him how to defend against the dementors and was surprised to receive an owl from the man asking if that upcoming Thursday worked for him.
Ron frowned at the note. "Aren't we going to see him tomorrow in class?" he asked.
Draco snorted quietly, causing the redhead to round on him, growling. "Know something the rest of us don't?" Ron asked.
Draco tilted his head smugly. "I imagine there's a lot I know about that the rest of you don't," he said. "In regards to Lupin, however, I'm not currently inclined to share. Wouldn't want to ruin a good thing."
Ron growled as Draco walked away, Fallen at his heels.
"Doesn't know shit," he muttered darkly under his breath.
Harry glanced down at Tarana, frowning.
'I imagine Ron's not quite as unaffected by the division between you and your friends as he lets on,' Tarana told him.
Harry's lip curled in distaste. "Maybe if she hadn't put her big nose where it wasn't wanted, she wouldn't be getting the silent treatment from more than half of us." He muttered.
'But that's my problem, Harry, not yours,' Tarana pointed out. 'While I appreciate the show of loyalty, it wasn't you she offended.'
"I know that," Harry said, tightening the strap on his bag as he waved to the rest of his friends, heading toward his Magical Art class. "I just…I guess I sort of understand why she went to McGonagall about that stupid cat, but why did she go and rat about the Firebolt?"
'For the same reason McGonagall felt the need to question me about it,' Tarana told him. 'She wants to keep you safe but believes that the soft spot I have for Sirius and Ebony is creating a blind spot for me.'
Harry scoffed.
Tarana's tail lashed. "Don't," she warned him evenly, "dismiss the fact that they care for you. I disagree with how they went about it, but I am happy that they care for you enough to try."
Harry was seriously confused by the comment because he couldn't imagine any other reason that Tarana would have distanced herself from Hermione otherwise.
XX
All too soon, Harry was slipping into his Defense classroom, nearly bumping into Severus as he departed.
"Evening, Professor," he greeted, looking between the two men cautiously.
Severus inclined his head but departed without a word to either of them.
Harry frowned.
"Don't worry too much. Severus was simply assisting me in finding the tool we'll be using to deal with the fact that, even if I could, I wouldn't risk bringing a real dementor into the castle." Remus told him. "I think the fact that he helped at all says a great deal about his feelings toward you, Harry."
Harry shrugged, not giving him an explanation, and put his hands into his pockets, rocking on his heels.
Remus didn't appear offended by the teen's lack of answer, instead gesturing for him to precede him out the door. "We're going to use the History of Magic classroom," he told him. "It's large enough for our purposes."
Remus flicked his wand toward a large trunk by his desk and it levitated, following the two out of the room.
"I suppose you've never heard of the Patronus Charm before today, Harry?" Remus asked as they walked.
Harry shook his head. "Is that what you used on the train?"
"A butchered form of it, yes," Remus hedged. "A Patronus is a magical shield, living in a sense, that stands as a barrier between you and a dementor. It's created by focusing on a happy memory and is made of and sustained on that happiness. Because it's made only of happy thoughts and emotions, it can't feel despair and is safe from the effects of a dementor."
Harry's brow furrowed as he tried to follow the explanation.
"I mentioned before, Harry, that this spell is well beyond what you should be learning in your Third Year and I don't want you to be upset if you don't get it on our first couple of lessons. It will likely take some practice."
"I don't want to feel this way anymore," Harry told him, resolute. "I'm useless around a dementor. I don't want to be a burden."
"You're never a burden to the people who care about you, Harry," Remus said, though it sounded like he was quoting someone else and his eyes were distant when Harry looked up, curious.
The professor shook his head, dismissing whatever thoughts had plagued him.
"Shall we?" he asked, opening the door to Binns' classroom and waiting for Harry to step through.
XX
The idea of focusing on a happy occasion and speaking a word seemed simple in theory, and Harry even had, what he'd felt, were two powerfully happy memories to choose from, both of them revolving around Tarana's arrival – once in the hut on the rock where he first met her, and again in the Chamber when he found out she was alive.
Each time he focused on those memories, however, the dementor also drew forward the negative aspects of those memories – watching Arcana murder Tarana on the front lawn and the revelation that Tarana had been alive for months and hadn't thought to inform anyone at Hogwarts.
His frustration was obvious by the time Remus called a halt to the practice.
"Keep in mind," Remus reminded him. "This is at least a Seventh Year spell and there are graduates and Ministry wizards who can't cast this spell. For your age and experience, you've done very well for a first lesson."
Harry gave him a wane smile, pale and sweating after the last try.
Remus frowned at him in growing concern and Harry could see him weighing whether he should call Ivory to search for Tarana or not.
"I'm alright," Harry assured him. "I just…it's the first time I've heard my dad."
Remus jerked as though Harry had hit him. "James?"
Harry swallowed and nodded. "I…he was telling my mum to run, I think. To take me and run. It was like…it sounded like he was really far away."
Harry could easily imagine his father standing firm to protect him and his mother, stretching his bond uselessly to try and recall Tarana from where, by her own admission, she was too many miles away to help.
Remus turned away quickly – to hide his own emotional reaction to the revelation, Harry was sure – and fiddled with the latches on the trunk.
"I'm sorry," Harry murmured, staring down at the large bar of chocolate Remus had handed him as he declared they were done for the night.
Remus looked at him over his shoulder and smiled wearily. "Don't be," he said. "The time I spent with your father was some of the best of my life. Losing him has felt like losing a limb and while I miss him, I wouldn't trade the time I did have with him for anything. If anything, I feel worse. I had that time with him. You didn't."
An awkward silence fell between the two of them and Harry turned his full attention to the chocolate in his hand.
"Are you and Professor Snape getting along better?" He asked after he finished it.
"It's a…work in progress," the professor sighed. "Though it's honestly more like a means to an end. He and I are simply working in close concert with one another to help the Valerians. We don't necessarily need to get along to do that and I don't believe that Severus is all that interested in forgiving me for what we put him through when we were in school together."
"Good," Harry said, resolutely and Remus blinked, startled.
For a moment he'd forgotten that he wasn't talking to James and had, in fact, confided in a child.
"From what I know about it, the Marauders hadn't just been pranksters," Harry said, avoiding looking at the Defense professor. "They were bullies and that means you were really cruel to Professor Snape for seven years. It shouldn't be swept under the rug and he should make you earn his forgiveness."
Remus blinked down at the green-eyed teen now looking up at him with too-old eyes before smiling sadly. "You know Harry, for someone so young, you're remarkably wise on the matter of bullies and bullying."
Harry shrugged and averted his gaze. "Tarana wasn't always around," he admitted. "My cousin used to bully me a lot before I started Hogwarts, but last summer he suddenly started being nice to me. Professor Snape had wiped the memories of him and Uncle Vernon, so it couldn't have been because he remembered Tarana's death, which was the only reason he'd been nice to him the summer she was…gone. I thought he was up to something and every time he did something nice to me, I retorted and was really mean."
The teen looked up at Remus and, for a moment, the man could swear James was looking back at him.
"Then Tarana told me that I was being no better than Dudley was and that he was trying. She said that I didn't need to forgive him for everything he did to me because it was good for him to realize that some things weren't meant to be forgiven and sometimes that forgiveness needed to be worked for, but I didn't have to be a jerk either."
XX
Heading toward February, things looked up for both the ak-esh and Harry.
For Harry, his bi-monthly lessons with Remus were putting him closer and closer, according to Remus anyway, to mastering the Patronus Charm.
For Tarana and Yoko, the release of an article from the Daily Prophet, which quoted the Ministry's 'press conference', proved that they were making great strides in casting doubt on the conviction of Sirius in the eyes of those that had known him.
Fallen had walked into the staff room in search of Severus, who he was still struggling to make amends to, to find McGonagall and Flitwick in the middle of an argument with three other professors regarding the decision to give the dementors permission to give their target the Kiss on sight.
It wasn't the first time that Fallen had heard about the article or the decision, having been made aware of it, likely by design, when Theo invited Draco down one of the rarely used classrooms in the dungeons for an afternoon of chess, away from the prying eyes and ears of the rest of the school.
Theo reported – for there was really no other word to call what he did – on the recent report – also in the Prophet – that Black had been spotted in the village over the holidays.
\/\/\/
"It does make you wonder, doesn't it?" Theo said thoughtfully, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.
"Oh?" Draco asked, skimming the board with his eyes.
"Well, the Headmaster felt that the school was protected enough that he put one of the most sought-after artifacts of our world in the basement, and yet Black still seems to be circling the castle…. Waiting for another chance, maybe?"
Draco tapped his teacup with one finger as he pondered the idea, then glanced at Fallen. "My bet is on the fact that, whatever he's after, it's worth the effort it would take to break past the castle, its wards, the professors, and the Valerians."
Fallen blinked at him. "You boys have doubts?" he asked.
"Just seems like an awful lot of effort for little payout," Draco shrugged.
"Even the Dark Lord, at the height of his power, supposedly didn't dare risk attacking the castle," Theo pointed out. "Why would a lesser wizard try?"
"Even with the aid of a Valerian," Draco added down his link to his guardian, not sure how many people remembered that the Blacks were an Ancient and Noble House.
Fallen didn't reply, though he clearly thought that Draco's summation of Ebony's assistance was downplayed.
"There are any number of reasons, the least of which is that Black is currently not operating of sound mind," Fallen said slowly. "What do you two think?"
Draco rolled his eyes and Theo leaned back in his seat with a sigh, game momentarily abandoned.
"Clearly he's an overachiever," Draco pointed out. "Operating under the assumption that Harry's his target, there are three months out of the year where he's outside the equivalent of a fort, surrounded by muggles, who if the rumors are to be believed – and I don't – he has no problem slaughtering to kill his target. Why wait until he was here, at Hogwarts? He was free and clear a full month before we returned."
Fallen tilted his head, acknowledging his point and looking at Theo.
"Perhaps he didn't have a choice," Theo countered. "It isn't public knowledge where Potter spends his holidays, but you can't not know where he is from September through to June."
Draco shook his head. "Black was friends with Harry's parents and was close to Dumbledore. He has to have had some sort of idea as to where he was going to be placed."
Theo nodded. "Especially if he spoke with the half-breed before going after that other one, Pettigrew. There's no way he couldn't worm out something from the idiot. Look at how he's handling his court proceeding?" the Slytherin sneered.
"Stay on point," Fallen interrupted, keeping the two on task or risk being there for the next several hours as they cycled through everything that pissed them off or they disagreed with.
The 'wolf didn't bother to tell them that the Valerians were under the assumption that Black did know where Harry lived, and had, in fact, been following them the evening they left Surrey.
The thought made him mentally frown, however, because Draco had a point.
Hogwarts was the equivalent of an impregnable fortress in comparison to the Dursleys' home, and they'd been made vulnerable by the fact that they were leaving with Blaise barely standing and Yoko not even conscious.
Why hadn't Black or Ebony made an attempt at Harry then?
"Perhaps he's more familiar with Hogwarts," Draco said, leaning his head back to look up at the ceiling. "He'd have a home-field advantage here that he wouldn't have had in-" he glanced at Fallen. "Where Harry lives," he amended.
"That advantage is shrinking though," Theo pointed out. "The Ministry is lifting the chains on the dementors."
Fallen's attention was whole and immediate. "What?"
Theo looked at him, and then at Draco. "Ah, I forgot you don't get the Prophet."
Draco's lip curled.
Theo knew damn well that they didn't get the Prophet, something he needed to change, somehow or another, because his father didn't want him distracted from his studies.
"The Ministry is lifting the restriction on the dementors in Hogsmeade and around Hogwarts on a limited basis. They're free to deliver the Kiss the moment they sight Black. My father thinks it's because they're afraid of the fact that Black is immune to their normal effects."
Fallen turned sharply for the door.
/\/\/\
The reaction in the common room had been unanimous when Fallen returned and reported Theodore's news to the rest of the Valerians, and that reaction had, apparently, spread out to the Heads of House at Hogwarts, because they were all protesting the decision to Kiss Black.
For the Valerians, at least, their hatred of the Dementor's Kiss predated their current disagreement.
In their eyes, the Kiss removed any part of a witch or wizard that could prove susceptible to punishment, rendering the recipient a vegetable with no purpose or way to fix if you later find out you're wrong.
It was an abominable act and too inhumane to be considered a punishment, even by the most animalistic among them.
XX
With the revelation of the Kiss now being on the table, Yoko tore Crookshanks off his usual perch and wrapped him up not unlike a leafy present.
Arcana took the 'gift' down to Remus, as the others were all occupied with the other tasks that had been given to them.
"Your Majesty," Remus greeted, eyeing the cat with some trepidation.
"Fallen's been assuming that he's an ugly crossbreed of a cat and one of the feline-like creatures, kneazle, perhaps," Arcana told him after the door was firmly closed and the cat was stunned and laid out on the professor's desk.
"Hagrid would be better trained to tell you that," Remus told him, pulling a syringe from his desk drawer, and running his fingers through the fur around Crookshanks' neck. "My knowledge is more about dark creatures than simply magical ones. Given Hagrid's understandable preoccupation, however…."
With inexpert hands, Remus found the vein inserted the needle.
"He is rather large for a cat," Ivory commented, placing his front paws on the desk so he could get a closer look at the cat, he leaned forward, burying his muzzle in the cat's side. "I don't smell any human scent beyond the ones in the Tower," he frowned, however, and pushed deeper for a moment, far enough that Crookshanks, even unconscious, stirred with discomfort.
"What is it?" Arcana asked.
Ivory pulled away with a huff. "I can't quite dig it free," he said, dropping to the floor. "Yoko might have better luck."
Remus dropped the syringe into a cloth bag and tied it off.
For the next twenty minutes, Remus cast as many spells as he could find in the short time the Valerians had given him, that would reveal an Animagus to no effect.
"The only spell left requires at least two castors to perform," Remus said, tiredly. "And it would force him into his human shape. Given the negative reactions to everything else we've tried, however, I think it's rather safe to say that Crookshanks is not our Animagus spy."
Arcana delicately picked the cat up by the scruff. 'Thank you, Remus,' he said. 'I know this is a rough time for you.'
Remus gave him a wane smile. "Helping the Crown and Collective has given me more answers and suspicions than anything else I've done in the last decade, Your Majesty. And given back to me, slowly, a member of my – ah – family that I'd thought completely lost to me." He bowed. "Thank you, King Arcana."
Arcana nodded, before turning and disappearing back to the Tower.
Wouldn't do for Crookshanks to wake before he had delivered it back to the Tower, or for Hermione to return and start looking for her pet.
With his luck, she'd assume he killed it.
XX
Harry returned to the dorm after classes one day in early February, to find Yoko sitting on his trunk, the Firebolt laid out on the end of his bed behind him.
His eyes lit up and he dropped his bag on the floor by the door. "Is it-"
"I am happy to pronounce it jinx free," Yoko told him, watching as the teen dropped onto the edge of his bed and ran his fingers over the stream-lined handle as though searching for imperfections.
After a few minutes, Harry seemed to remember his manners and he looked back up at Yoko, then frowned, tilted his head. "You know, you say happy, but you seem more confused. Is there something else?"
Yoko blinked, startled out of his thoughts, and shook his head. "Nothing you need to worry about," he assured the teen. "I'm working through a few things that I thought I knew more about."
Considering that Tarana had essentially forced Yoko and Fallen to adhere to her theory regarding Sirius Black only a few weeks earlier, he assumed that Yoko's confusion was about the convict and let it go.
Putting the Firebolt back on the bed beside him, Harry leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Yoko. "Thank you," he muttered into the fox's fur.
Yoko tucked his muzzle around Harry's neck. "You're welcome," he replied as the two pulled apart. "You should inform your friends, don't you think?"
Harry's eyes lit up and he grabbed the Firebolt, heading down in search of Draco and Ron.
Yoko shook his head and jumped down to drag Harry's bag away from the door. "Teenagers," he huffed with affection, before following Harry out of the dorm.
The fox slipped bast the excited hissing of not just Ron and Draco, but every member of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team present in the common room, heading out in search of his own charge.
The deadline for Hagrid's hearing before the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was approaching, and Blaise, Neville, and Hermione had been spending increasing amounts of time in the library.
XX
Sure enough, Yoko found the affectionately named 'Research Trio' tucked away in the back of the library.
"You three don't plan on missing dinner again, do you?" he asked, leaping onto the only free chair at the table and bracing his front paws on the edge, the rest covered in books, notes, and the rough draft of Hagrid's speech for the hearing.
"We're running out of time," Hermione said, sounding more exhausted than she looked, which said a great deal.
Yoko frowned at her but didn't say a word, instead turning his attention to Blaise and Neville.
"Fallen's remained firm," he told them. "He believes that his presence at Hagrid's trial will only make things worse, particularly given that he's threatened the Ministry with war less than a year ago."
Neville frowned, leaning away from his book to turn to the fox beside Hermione. "But his reputation otherwise has to hold some weight, doesn't it?" he asked.
"In some cases," Yoko agreed, "but not with the Wizengamot or any of its ilk. We're not citizens of the wizarding world and, therefore, aren't eligible to testify in any of your courts."
"That's so stupid," Blaise grumbled, not bothering to lift his head. "Squibs are practically third-class citizens, and they can do pretty much anything a wizard can do, provided the wizard isn't an ass about it."
Yoko's lip twitched. "Technically in the eyes of this administration, Squibs are second-class citizens with most magical half-breeds and hybrids falling below them, but I understand your point. To be honest, however, we don't want to be considered citizens of the Wizarding World, because that puts us in a position beneath them and requires that we follow their laws and edicts. As it stands now, we're outside their purview and allowed to, more or less, do as we like."
"I still wish they'd be a bit more supportive," Hermione sniffed. "Hagrid's their friend too, after all."
XX
"Ron," Harry said tentatively, watching Draco flip the Firebolt back and dive for the ground.
Dinner was starting soon and none of their guardians would be impressed if they missed it simply because they were testing out his present.
And despite it being a totally different month, it was just as bitterly cold now as it had been in January and he and Ron were slowly freezing now that they weren't flying.
"Yeah?" Ron asked, teeth chattering slightly.
"Do you think we should make up with Hermione?" Harry asked, watching his reaction carefully. "I mean with the Firebolt she was only trying to help and with all the time she spends in the library she can't really be watching Crookshanks all the time…."
Ron snorted. "Why can't she take freakin' responsibility for it then? It's her bloody cat!"
Draco snorted, hovering over the pitch, and folding his arms on the handle of the Firebolt.
Harry eyed him warily, wondering if he was going to need to fight the blond to get his broom back.
"But she's doing exactly what you are," Draco pointed out.
"I am not-"
"You're taking Scabbers' side," Harry interrupted quickly. "And she's taking her cat's. You can't really blame her for it if you're doing it too, right?"
"And the animals aren't really doing anything wrong," Draco added, "a cat hunts, and Scabbers can't change that he's a rat and the lowest thing on the food chain."
The blond dismounted the Firebolt and eyed it. "I wonder if I can ask father to buy me one of these."
Fallen, who approached with Arcana and Tarana now that everyone'd had their turn with the Firebolt, snorted dismissively. "You'd have a better chance of getting him to move in with the Weasleys," he told his charge.
"Ready to go back in?" Tarana asked. "You should have just enough time to drop that off in the Tower before heading down to dinner."
Harry's grip tightened on his broom and it appeared, for a moment, that he was going to insist on taking it to dinner to prevent it from leaving his sight.
"Best not to," Draco advised. "Do you think Slytherin's noticed you have it yet?"
Harry snorted. "I barely knew I had it," he countered.
Draco tapped his chin. "What are the odds of me getting you on one of the school brooms against Chang and Ravenclaw and saving that for our match against Slytherin."
"I think Oliver will take you off the team and that's if he doesn't bury you in the Forbidden Forest," Harry replied.
Draco still looked like he was considering it as they walked up to the castle.
XX
The trio and their guardians had barely made it through the door before they were nearly run over by Blaise.
The dark-skinned teen bent over, hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath.
"Are you alright?" Draco asked, brow furrowed.
Fallen looked around. "Where's Yoko?"
Blaise straightened, hand holding a stitch in his side, and glanced at the Great Hall, where several students and most of the staff were already gathered for dinner.
"We have a problem," he murmured. "Neville made a list of the passwords Cadogan was planning to use this week because he has such a hard time keeping track of them, but he can't find it now."
Tarana hissed quietly between her teeth. "And the only good thing about that knight is that he constantly changes the passwords, sometimes more than twice a day, so only someone inside Gryffindor could have gotten inside it."
"There'd be a serious problem if someone other than a Gryffindor got their hands on that password," Draco pointed out. "Especially with the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor being on the cusp of violence almost every day."
Personally, Harry thought Draco was exaggerating a bit.
Gryffindor and Slytherin did have a serious rivalry that had, on occasion, spilled over into spells and curses being cast between the Houses, but those times were few and far between and usually only happened in high-stress situations – like the Chamber of Secrets, exams, and when the two met on the Quidditch Pitch.
"Yoko went back to the library to see if we dropped it there," Blaise told them. "I was hoping to get some more eyes to look for it there, and on the way back to the Tower."
"Of course," Harry said, shifting his grip on the Firebolt in his hand.
XX
Blaise, Yoko, Draco, and Fallen stuck around once they arrived at the library and thoroughly searched for the list, just in case it had gotten blown about by someone walking by or got caught on the hand-trolley that Pince used to return used books to the shelves.
Neville, Ron, Harry, and their guardians took the far harder route between the library and the entrance to the Tower.
Hermione was supposed to have been left there to toss the Tower and make sure that it hadn't been forgotten there, just in case.
As they got closer to the Tower, however, Harry had less and less faith in the fact that they were going to find it and wondered just how much trouble Neville was going to be in, even if no one used it to get into the common room.
Neville was clearly thinking the same thing, because his breathing was getting rather funny the closer they got to Cadogan's portrait.
"Well find it, Neville," Ron assured him with far more faith than either of his companions had, given that they both gave him disbelieving looks. "Come on, we've got all these eyes out for it, it's got to turn up somewhere, right?"
Even Ron's optimism fails, however, when they arrive at the Tower.
"I've tossed the common room twice, Neville," Hermione said apologetically. "It's not here."
Ron hit Neville in the shoulder and headed for the stairs. "Come on, mate, we'll check your trunk and around the bed. Maybe you forgot to take it with you when you left for the library."
"But I-"
Harry nudged Hermione, keeping her quiet.
"Another set of eyes can't hurt," Tarana murmured, brushing her head against Hermione's hip, the most contact the panther has had with the girl since Christmas. "Especially since yours are so exhausted. Between your classes and your side project, I don't remember the last time you had a significant amount of sleep. Why don't the rest of us take one more look around with you, just in case."
Hermione's eyes glittered and she nodded. "Alright," she whispered.
'And if you ever go over my head as you did with that Firebolt again, girl, we will have a larger problem. Are we clear?' Tarana asked her.
Hermione nodded again. "Yes, Your Highness," she whispered.
Tarana nodded in return and the group split up to search the common room while Harry went to put his Firebolt away and help Ron and Neville upstairs.
Before he can get far, Blaise and the others are returning, their expressions saying a great deal about the luck they'd had, and Ron nearly pushed him down the few stairs he'd climbed in his bull-rush down to the common room, his bedsheets in hand.
"LOOK!" he screamed, storming toward Hermione who took several horrified steps back from his enraged charge.
Tarana and Yoko stepped forward almost as one, heads low, and growled a low warning.
"LOOK!" he bellowed again, shaking the sheets in Hermione's direction, as the Valerians prevent his advance.
"What the hell is your problem?" Draco snapped, eyeing the redhead like he would a flobberworm.
"SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, shaking the sheet in Draco's direction as that was going to answer his question. "LOOK! SCABBERS!"
"Enough," Arcana snapped sharply, knocking his charge by the knees, and sending him stumbling backward. "Breath and explain yourself, Ronald."
Ron breathed, but it was more like the enraged pants of a bull and didn't appear to be doing anything to calm him down.
Thankfully, now that the sheet in his hand wasn't shaking, the others could get a better look at it and it appeared to be covered in smears of blood, centered around one area of the sheet.
The Valerians exchanged looks.
"We found these on the floor," Neville said from the bottom of the stairs.
Harry grimaced.
In his hands were several tufts of Crookshanks long, ginger hairs.
In a place where the cat wasn't supposed to be.
XX
It took a bit of time before they could calm Ron down enough to make him let go of his sheet so Yoko could get a better look at it and eventually ended up needing to separate him and Hermione, taking the redhead back to his dorm while Hermione cried miserably on the couch in the common room.
'Did you three manage to catch Scabbers before this?' Tarana asked her Kin.
Fallen shook his head from the door. 'We didn't get around to it. He's harder to catch in the enclosed space of the dorm and we needed Yoko's help.'
'There's not enough blood here,' Yoko told everyone from the dorm. 'Scabbers may have been attacked, but he wasn't killed here. We may be able to find him.'
Ron stormed out of the dorm and headed up the stairs to the dorms of the upper years.
The group rallied and made another search of the Tower, this time from top to bottom both in and out of the common room in search of Scabbers, but there was no sign of him.
