MaH chapter 9 of yr 4: Operation: Borgin and Burkes; Stage One: Abbott
Madam Wryn has been the Hogwarts librarian since 1892, though most of the students liked to make jokes about her being at Hogwarts since it was founded. She was extremely old and looked even older, especially when she fell asleep in her cracked, brown leather armchair. Not even the screaming books in the restricted section could wake her the. They tested it, Eilidh and Lily had, in their first year. Not purposefully, but when Madam Wryn had drifted off they saw an opportunity to get into the otherwise constantly watched, forbidden thus extremely tempting, restricted section. They opened one book, it had screamed an ear-splitting, gut-wrenching scream, and they tucked tails and ran. Madam Wryn was none the wiser. Lily and Eilidh had made a pact to never step foot into the restricted section for the rest of their Hogwarts careers.
There was a rumour going around that Madam Wryn would be retiring at the end of the year. The thought of it being true made Eilidh sad. She didn't know the woman of course, but her experience with librarians on a whole made her have a bit of a soft spot for Madam Wryn. Librarians -normal librarians, were usually cross. Madam Wryn was the exception. Maybe it was because she was almost always fast asleep but she never seemed to care about how much noise they made, or if they opened a window, or how many books they checked out as long as they were returned on time.
Even now, when Madam Wrynn's eyelids were only starting to droop, everyone, with the exception of herself and Josie, was talking amongst themselves. Josie had her nose practically touching a book called The Official O.W.L Study Guide, with ink smudges on her chin and hands. Remus and Peter were off in a corner laughing behind their books, parchment covering their table. She laughed to herself. Sirius had said it was either this or she'd be stuck in the library researching Billywigs and now look where she was: stuck in the library, with a copy of Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them propped up on her knees, pretending to research Billywigs. She had to say she was researching Billywigs though, their venom was used in potions and she had yet to finish that essay.
She wasn't even turned to the right page, Nifflers was where she was at. They were cute, kleptomaniac, platypus looking creatures. There was a short story that Scamander had written along with it that had never failed to make her laugh.
She leant forward, wrote 'venom makes you float' on her parchment because that was about the only thing she knew about Billywigs, and checked on her targets. Persephone Machault was discussing the Goblin war with Mary MacDonald and her dorm mate Emma Fawley.
Snape was whispering with Lily, about what she didn't know. Their books were kept open on the table, their voices were low. He looked angry and defensive. She couldn't see Lily's face but could tell she was tense by the way she held her shoulders. Eilidh wondered if she should interrupt, give Lily an opportunity to bow out gracefully. It was Snape she needed to talk to anyway. She'd rather it wasn't but things were awkward between her and Machault since she had forced her to talk to James and Sirius. She didn't really blame her, it would have been a lot worse between them if it had been the other way around.
Eilidh closed her book, deciding it would be best for both herself and Lily if she interrupted their argument. She was too late though. Lily stood, gather her things, pushed in her chair, and spun around, flicking her hair out behind her. She gave a tight smile as she strode past, noticing that she had been watching. Merlin, she was livid. Eilidh decided to find her after she talked to Snape.
"I'll see you later, Josie," she said. Josie jumped, shocked by the sound of her voice but returned to her studies without reply.
Eilidh made a slow show of returning her book to its proper place, trying to see what Snape was reading. It was a black leather-bound book, its pages mouldy and crinkled. There was a picture painted on it, but she couldn't tell what it was. She stood on her toes and leant forward on the table, pretending to reach for one of the higher shelves. It was a diagram with bloodied knives, bird bones, fire, and gruesomely decapitated snakeheads.
He caught her looking and stuffed the book inside his bag. It didn't matter though, she could spot dark magic from miles away and that stuff was old, sacrificial, dark, dark magic. No wonder Lily was so teed off.
"Hey, Severus, would you mind getting that book down for me? It's just a bit out of reach," Eilidh said innocently, trying to ignore the knot in her stomach. Snape stared at her with a completely demeaning expression on his face, pointed his wand at the book she had indicated and it flew off the shelf and into her hands. "Thanks," she smiled. Snape turned away and continued packing his things. "So, how's it going?"
"Lily left," he answered.
"Ohhh, that's why she's not here," she drawled out, trying not to sound annoyed. "Where'd she go?"
"Guess she went to find that bloke that asked her to the ball," he shrugged, shifting through his parchment.
"That Ravenclaw, right?" Eilidh asked, hoping this would start a conversation.
"She thinks he might actually be in Hufflepuff. No one seems to know him in Ravenclaw," he answered, sounding annoyed.
"No one seems to know him, period. It's a bit odd, don't you think?" she asked. He groaned in response.
"You do know where the Hufflepuff house is, right?" Snape asked, swinging his book bag over his shoulder.
"I do, but I actually wanted to talk to you," Eilidh said, quickly. Snape turned to look at her, his eyes narrow, jaw tight.
"I don't really have the time," Snape said, sliding one foot toward the door.
"It'll just take a second," Eilidh said, quickly and took the seat Lily once sat in. "See, there's this guy in your house that… well, this is kind of embarrassing. Promise you won't tell anyone," Eilidh demanded, sounding like a giddy school girl.
"I… don't really care," Snape said, taking one more step toward the door.
"Pleeaase, Severus! I'll convince Lily to give up on that Ravenclaw - Hufflepuff guy," Eilidh said, smiling innocently. Snape's cheeks flushed pink.
"I don't really care about that either," snapped Snape as he spun around.
"Alright, you don't care! I get it, but I'm desperate here. I'll do anything," Eilidh said, trying to catch up with him.
"I don't really want anything from you either," Snape said, venomously.
"Okay, but how hard is it to just answer some questions about a bloke in your house? That's all I want!" Eilidh argued, running to keep up with him. He was fast for such a sickly looking boy.
"I don't give a damn about what you want!" Snape yelled, successfully beating her out of the library.
"What if I could get Potter to back off of you?" Eilidh offered. Snape turned around and stopped in front of her so suddenly she almost fell trying to stop herself from running into him.
"I don't need anything from you," Snape snarled, inches from her face. Eilidh's heart raced in her chest, her palms were sweating. Her wand was in easy access, hanging from a holster attached to her belt. She could have her wand in her hand in a second and stupefy him in three. The problem was she knew he was faster.
"Okay, sorry. I was just trying to create a you-scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours scenario," Eilidh said, taking one slow cautious step backwards. Snape glared at her, his eyes wandering over her, sizing her up. She clasped her hands behind her back, away from her wand, delaying her defence by two seconds. She was trying to look non-threatening, hoping Snape's defences would lower. She knew a nonverbal spell that would send him flying backwards, it gave her a spare second but that was all.
"Who the fuck is this bloke?" Snape asked, venomously and refused to meet her eye. His change in attitude startled her. She relaxed her stance.
"Erm, Abbott. He's head boy," she said, softly, eyes wandering over him, studying him. He had turned away from her, his head bowed as if ashamed but his jaw was still tight, and his brow frowned, his arms crossed over his chest. He was still irritable. She still needed to be careful.
"What about him?" he asked, urging her to be quick.
"I just-" she paused, wondering if she should just outright ask who he hangs out with or continue with her original plan. He was suspicious of her, she had to be careful. "Was wondering if he had a girlfriend or something, someone he was taking to the ball?"
He looked up at her, that demeaning expression on his face again. She took a deep breath, begging her pride and temper to not get the better of her.
"He's seeing an older girl, someone who's already graduated," Snape answered.
"Oh, okay. Thanks," she smiled, weakly. He gave her one last look over then turned abruptly and stalked away. She watched him go, her heart still pounding in her chest, her hands trembled. She didn't know how Lily could handle being around him for so long.
"You handled that well," said a quiet hoarse voice from behind. Eilidh jumped and spun around, her adrenaline spiking. It was only Remus, standing with Peter, watching the ordeal from the Library doors. It was a wonder why neither her nor Snape realised they were there. Or maybe that was why he had backed down. "The door wasn't completely closed when he started yelling. Thought we should come see if you needed help."
"I was the one that made him mad in the first place," Eilidh shrugged, feeling exhausted now that her adrenaline had worn off. She walked toward them dragging her feet as she went.
"Yeah, but you also calmed him down pretty quickly. You did good," Remus smiled.
"Thanks," she mumbled.
"Just wait till Sirius finds out you've got a crush on Abbott," Peter grinned.
"That was just my cover story! I had an actual plan," Eilidh told him, irritable though she didn't know why.
"Sure, Nicnevin. We believe you," Peter teased. She couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face.
"So did he tell you anything?" Remus asked. "I mean besides the fact that Abbott's got a girlfriend."
"Er...no but I still have Machault," she answered, feeling guilty for failing to complete her task. "Things are a little weird between us right now, but I think I can get her to talk."
"Okay, well you go ahead and talk to her and Pete and I will get started on plan B, just in case," Remus said, smiling.
Peter looked up from a parchment he held in his hands, apparently startled, and asked; "We have a plan B?"
"Yes, I just thought of it. It honestly should have been Plan A but I didn't know she was talking about Snape," Remus answered. "We will still need you for Plan B, so… just wait for us in the library, we'll come to you," he told Eilidh.
"I'll be here," Eilidh promised.
"The Plan B that should have been Plan A?" Peter question.
"Yes. Peter," Remus answered shortly and led him toward the marble staircase.
Though Eilidh was still frazzled from her episode with Snape and wanted nothing more that to just curl up on her bed with Marlene's kitten and a nicked butterbeer, she had a job to do and God be damned if she should fail to do it. She took a deep breath and marched back into the library with her head held high, feeling immensely more confident now that she had the safety net of Remus's "Plan B."
Machault had not moved from where she had last seen her, sitting with Mary and Emma Fawley. Their topic of conversation had changed from the goblin war to that of the Alum Ball. Leave it to Mary to change the topic from something as unromantic as goblins to what had been voted as the most romantic night of the year (and it hadn't even happened yet.)
"All right, Mary? Machault? And erm… Emma right?" Eilidh greeted. She didn't actually know Fawley and thought it'd be more polite to introduce herself. "I'm Eilidh," she said, smiling and shaking the girl's hand.
"Nicnevin right?" Fawley asked in a constricted tone. Eilidh nodded. "I know you."
Eilidh ignored the awkward silence that fell and the fear in Fawley's eyes hidden behind her vacant expression. It was a reaction she had come to expect when meeting those of wizard families. The name Nicnevin had long been tied to werewolves which usually invoked fear in the faint of heart
"We were just talking about the Ball," Mary said, smiling brightly but she turned her body ever so slightly so that Fawley was out of the circle.
"Right, you wanted to get a dress in Hogsmeade," Eilidh said, facing Machault.
"Mmmhmm," was the only response she deemed to give though she had no problem staring at Eilidh with a venomous expression. As previously stated, things were weird between them.
"You should wear something short. It'd make your legs look great!" Eilidh grinned, feeling a little smug. Persephone Machault was easily the tallest girl in their year. It was a fact. Unfortunately for Persephone, she was rather self-conscious about it. That was also a fact widely known because she had hexed a fifth-year boy for calling her a giantess. Eilidh knew it was wrong to use this against her. She couldn't help it. She didn't like Machault in the first place especially when she kept looking at her like she was plotting her murder.
"WOW! Thanks for the advice," she smiled wryly, still not breaking eye contact.
"That's what I was trying to tell her," Mary said. "You'd look gorgeous."
"I'll just see what they have there first. After all its Hogsmeade, not London," Machault said, rolling her eyes and grinning at Mary.
"You know, I think I'm gonna go. Catch you later Seph?" Fawley said, suddenly. Mary had pushed her so far out of the circle her voice startled them.
"Hang on, I'll come with you," Machault said, quickly.
"Actually, Seph, I wanted to ask for your advice on something. Unfortunately, Mary can't help," Eilidh said, keeping her expression pleasant. "And… sorry but it's kinda private," she said when she noticed Fawley was going to wait.
"Anything you wanna say to me you can say in front of her!" Machault declared, icily.
"Fine." Eilidh was only thinking of Machault in the first place. She knew how protective the Slytherins could be about members of their own house. "You remember what we talked about last night with-"
"Yes, I do. No, nothing has changed. No, I'm not planning on changing anything. And if that's all," Machault said, turning quickly to leave, grabbing Fawley by the arm.
"That's not all," Eilidh said, stopping her in her tracks.
Machault sighed deeply and her shoulders slumped. "Em, could you just... wait for me outside?"
"What!?" Emma exclaimed, drawing the attention of several students.
"It'll just take a second," Eilidh said, trying to reassure her. Machault waved a hand to shut her up.
"It's just… kinda embarrassing, what she's talking about," Machault muttered. Fawley looked at all three of them, clearly insulted.
"Alright. I'll be outside," she said and turned to leave. They waited until they heard the library doors close before speaking again.
"What?" Machault asked, through gritted teeth.
"We need to know who Abbott hangs out with. It could be anyone but probably not someone he was seen with today," Eilidh said, speaking quickly, wanting just as much as Machault did for their contact to end.
"I don't know! He hangs out with everyone. He's actually kinda cool," she answered and in response to their strange looks said; "before he got creepy. Take a chill pill."
"There's no one else that might be considered creepy?" Eilidh asked.
"Not that I can think of," Machault shrugged, innocently. Eilidh studied her face, looking for anything that might suggest that she was lying but she couldn't find any. Eilidh sighed. She was disappointed in herself. She wondered what James would say when he found out.
"Okay, thanks. If you remember anything or hear anything more just come and find me," Eilidh requested.
"Yeah, I will. Sorry, I couldn't be more help," Machault said, suddenly gentle.
"No, it's fine. You've already helped a lot," Eilidh smiled to reassure her. Machault nodded and walked away.
"So, you're still working with Potter?" Mary whispered.
"Did you expect me to change my mind?" Eilidh gave her half smile, knowing that Mary was only concerned.
"Kind of. I was hoping you'd go shopping with us," Mary shrugged. Eilidh grinned.
"Maybe they'll be time left over," she said, hopefully. "And remember, as far as Lily knows I'm with my brother the whole time."
"Right. Doing something geeky in the quill shop," Mary laughed.
"Exactly. Thanks, Mary. I've got to go and execute Plan B," Eilidh said, giving Mary a salute and a grin and marched off to wait for Remus and Peter outside the Library doors.
***ravendor42, thank you. I had a feeling something was wrong I just couldn't put my finger on it. This will be fixed asap. XO
***Oh hey, its just me waiting by my computer for your stamp of approval.
sorry if you hated it because of OCs or just this OC in particular but this was kinda necessary if you wanna keep up with operation Borgin and Burkes. Things will go back to the Marauders POV in the next chapter, cross my heart.
Thanks for reading. :D
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Until next time,
XO******