Chapter 24

"In a girl's loo? Are you serious?" demanded James.

"Ever since I was given the name," quipped Sirius.

"Oh Siri! I mean… you aren't joking, are you?"

"Nope. I'm not joking. And Phil says that the loo isn't used by girls because it's haunted by the girl, Myrtle something, who was killed by the basilisk when Riddle let it out."

"Oh, this just gets better," muttered James. "A girl's loo with a girl ghost."

"Well better than a girl's loo with girls coming in and out and making comments about how gross it is to have boys in there, and running shrieking to McGonagall," said Lily.

"Ok, I grant you that point," said James.

Easter would be upon them too soon to do much more than reconnoitre the toilet where poor moaning Myrtle held sway. This was the task of Petunia, Lily and Charity with backup from Narcissa.

Myrtle sobbed in a stall, but knowing that she was a ghost meant that there was not a lot that could be done to help her.

"Perhaps when all the horcruces are destroyed and Riddle is dead she can move on," said Lily, uncomfortable about not comforting someone who was so plainly distraught, but unable to think of a way to comfort someone whose distress was really rather incurable.

"We could maybe ask Severus to seek a way to put her through the veil," said Narcissa. "Then she wouldn't be caught between life and death."

"How would you like it if I talked about you as though you weren't here?" Myrtle loomed suddenly at Narcissa.

"Don't be silly, little girl, adults and near adults always talk about children as though they aren't there," said Narcissa.

This made Myrtle retired to a toilet stall in noisy sobs, causing it to overflow. The female Marauders retreated from the flood. They had seen what they had come to see, a faucet in the shape of a snake. And they were under strict instructions not to try to open it without the rest of the Marauders being there.

Narcissa was also learning Parseltongue from Petunia, and practising it by chatting to Salazar Slytherin. It was one of those things that might come in handy. However, it was to cause her some problems.

The last week of term saw her in Hogsmeade with Fabian, on a tea-time pass.

"I'm hoping the influence of Tom Riddle will be less in Slytherin house now Salazar Slytherin's portrait is restored," she told Fabian. They were having tea in the Three Broomsticks.

"Restored? What was wrong with it?"

"Well Riddle had cursed it not to talk about the information he'd extracted because old Slytherin hates him and wants to warn people against him," said Narcissa. "He's helping me to learn Parseltongue now."

Fabian had been holding her hand, and dropped it as though it had burned him.

"Parseltongue? Narcissa, you stop learning that! It will corrupt you, only dark wizards use Parseltongue!" he cried.

"Don't talk nonsense," said Narcissa. "Salazar Slytherin is not a dark wizard."

"Oh? And what about his hatred of muggleborn?" said Fabian icily.

"He doesn't hate muggleborn."

"Of course he does! Everyone knows that!"

"'Everyone' then believes the lies that Tom Riddle put about, which is why he cursed the portrait."

"You've been possessed by the portrait!" Fabian jumped up. "I see what this is; you were a pure and innocent girl and the powers of darkness have arranged to have you corrupted as soon as I agreed to a betrothal with you, so they could take over a family of light!"

"Fabian, are you run mad?" Narcissa was shocked.

"No, I've regained my senses! And to think I was beginning to love you, too – well, I'm sorry for you, but I'm not having you in my family. The betrothal is off!" and he strode away.

Narcissa was too proud to burst into tears. She sat for a few minutes, and then got up and left the Three Broomsticks to head back towards the school. She was passing the Shrieking Shack when she paused, and changed direction towards it. A quick unlocking charm and she was inside, throwing herself onto the bed the Marauders had set up, sobbing her eyes out.

And shortly, two small arms were around her.

"Narcissa?" Remus' voice was concerned.

She turned, startled.

"Remus?"

"Full moon," he said. "What's wrong?"

Narcissa almost fobbed him off; he was only a little boy not long turned twelve, but something in his eyes told her that his sufferings had made him older in many ways. She sniffed hard, accepted the handkerchief he wordlessly presented to her, and stammered out what had happened.

"What a toerag!" declared Remus, angrily. "Well, he doesn't deserve you. Anyway, he's not a Marauder, so I guess he's not worthy anyway."

Narcissa opened her mouth to point out that most Marauders were much younger than she was, and then recalled that her sister Bellatrix was having to wait for her betrothed husband to leave school.

"Is that a proposal, Remus?" she asked.

Remus went very red.

"I … it could be," he said. "A lot depends on if Mr. Prince makes a proper cure. I say, Peter will be here soon, he's watching with me tonight. You … you might want to wash a bit."

Narcissa nodded.

"Thanks," she said. "You know, I might just stay here, if you and Peter don't mind; I don't especially want to run into Fabian."

Remus considered.

"Then you'd better leave after us, as he does run sometimes, because the creep deserves to worry about you not being in school," he said, in a hard, tight little voice. "And in the morning Peter and I will ask him where you are."

"Hello! What's going on?" Peter arrived. "Oh, Narcissa! Will you help me with my charms prep while Remus is howling at the moon?"

"OY," said Remus. "Fabian Prewett has been a big prick and upset Narcissa and we're going to make him believe tomorrow that he made her run away, to jerk his strings some more."

"Ok," said Peter equably, looking hopefully at Narcissa.

"Yes, I'll help," said Narcissa. "Thanks, for letting me stay."

She was curious to see the extent of Remus' change as well; the power of runes seemed to be considerable, and she was wishing it had been an elective she had taken.

"I could run back and let the others know that you are all right and get them to start quizzing Prewett," said Peter. "'Cos if Remus starts changing before I'm back, he'll have you."

Remus nodded.

"Good idea," he said.

He did indeed change before Peter returned, and grinned shakily at Narcissa. Peter burst back in, full of indignation.

"That prat Prewett has only been warning us Gryffindor Marauders to drop our friendship with a dark witch!" he said, indignantly.

"I hope the girls didn't reveal that they are naturally Parselmouths?" Narcissa looked scared.

"Nah, Severus told him he should maybe go and tell the headmaster that he was a dark wizard, as Dumbeldore has also learned Parseltongue, and sanctioned Sev learning it as part of his ancient runes study, and when he wasn't inclined to believe him, Sev accused him of being a bully and demanded that he go see the head, and I asked 'and what have you done to Narcissa? Have you hexed her?' and he said he didn't know where she was or care, and McGonagall came in, to ask what the row was about, and I told her I thought Prewett had murdered you, Narcissa, because he'd gone mad and was bullying us over ancient rune studies. So he's up to his neck in it, because McGonagall carted him and Sev off to the head's office."

"Nice stirring," said Remus in his thickened, wolfie voice.

"I … no I'm not sorry for him, he wouldn't listen to rational explanations," said Narcissa.

"And if I can get a proper cure, I'll treat you better," said Remus.

OoOoOo

"So let me get this straight," said Dumbledore. "Narcissa Black told you she was learning Parseltongue so that she could help remove a curse on her house founder's portrait, and you as good as accused her of being Voldemort?"

"Well, Parselmouths are all dark wizards, we know that!" said Fabian, stubbornly.

"Mr. Prewett, Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth," said Dumbledore.

"Yes, and that proves it; he wants to murder all muggles and muggleborn," said Fabian.

"What insane notion is this?" demanded McGonagall. "Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor were the best of friends. You might as well say that Gryffindor was a dark wizard."

"Well wasn't he betrayed by Slytherin?"

"Mr. Prewett," said Dumbledore, "You've been listening to fairy tales. You might, however, wish to note that we do not have a house called Rabbit House for Babbity Rabbit and her cackling stump. It had not come to my notice until recently that the reason for the recent … problems … inside Slytherin House were not entirely due to the followers of Voldemort per se, but by the silencing of the portrait of Salazar Slytherin by Voldemort during his school years, so that nobody could counter the lies about muggleborn that Voldemort wished to promulgate. It is a prejudice held by many old families, alas, and he chose to make it one of his, ah, campaign issues. Probably because of being half-blood himself. It required Parseltongue to remove the curse as Voldemort was too arrogant to realise that what he acquired by inheritance could also be learned by others."

"But it corrupts anyone who uses it!" insisted Fabian.

"And I asked him if he thought you were a dark wizard, sir!" burst out Severus, "As you said you had learned it too!"

Dumbledore opened his mouth to say that he had not actually admitted it, and closed it again. If Tiberius' grandson was set upon by Prewett and his friends for being open about learning the language, Dumbledore preferred not to think what Tiberius might do.

"I learned it to counter Voldemort, as it seems Miss Black has done," said the Headmaster. "It is not inherently corrupting, Mr. Prewett; it is a language. Why, you might as well say that learning French will turn your socks to camembert cheese! I fear you owe Miss Black an apology. And … where is she?"

"I left her in the Three Broomsticks," said Fabian, sulkily. "I … of course I don't think you are a dark wizard sir, but …."

"There is no 'but' about it, Mr. Prewett," said Dumbeldore, sternly. "I will check if she has returned to Slytherin House, and if she is not, I will go myself to the Three Broomsticks. Really, my boy, I should have thought at your age, and as a prefect too, you would have had more sense than to believe such childish nonsense, and moreover to leave a witch of tender years unescorted in the village! It was on the understanding that you were more adult than that, that an evening pass was issued to you. Miss Black is a minor, and you are not."

Fabian flushed a dull red.

"And if anything has happened to Cissy, I'm going to hex you so hard you'll never stop your toenails calling you names as you walk!" said Severus, furiously, having been taken to the head's office before learning from Peter what had happened.

"A colourful sort of curse," murmured the headmaster. "Mr. Prince, I pray you will leave any discipline of Mr. Prewett to me. Mr. Prewett, I trust you will not be bullying Mr. Prince for his interest in runes which has led to him studying Parseltongue?"

"I … if it has your sanction, sir, it … there would be no reason to take issue with him," said Prewett.

"Fabian, he is twelve years old; there would be no reason for you, an adult, to take issue with him in any case, but to tell another, wiser adult if you had any concerns," said McGonagall. "You have made me very ashamed of you."

"Go back to Gryffindor House and you will speak no more on this subject," said Dumbledore. "I will consider what to do, depending on how Miss Black is faring."

Fabian gulped.

"Yes, sir," he said, and retired abashed.