A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a really long time (understatement, I know) but I've been really busy with school and haven't had much time at all to write. Exams are starting soon so I probably won't be able to write until they're done. But please stay with me. Back to the Story:
Chapter 13: Innocence
Brenna walked into Professor McGonagall's classroom once the Marauders (or three of them, at least) had left after class and closed the door behind her.
"Hello, Brenna," McGonagall greeted looking up from the papers on her desk.
"Hello Professor, I presume you know why I'm here?"
"Yes, the note," McGonagall waved her wand and one of the chairs from the classroom was levitated to the front of the desk, she then gestured for Brenna to sit. "So, this new information…?" She trailed off uncertainly hoping that whatever it was it wasn't something horrendous. Brenna seemed to understand this though her face remained neutral.
"Cyrus has informed me that the Slytherins have become increasingly aggressive, particularly to Gryffindors, which is due to both house rivalry and aggravation from the Marauders. It is his opinion that it is only a matter of time before they pull something, most likely on a Muggleborn since it fits with the Pureblood mentality. They are getting tired of the Marauders, Gryffindor filth to them, showing them up and it is probable that unless something is done to quell the rising anger, Muggleborns will end up in Mungo's. From what I have observed, I find his assessment of the mental state of Slytherin house accurate.
"Hogwarts' security is incredibly difficult to breach as is trafficking dark objects to students once they are in the school. The school is also easily fortified with extra personnel and protective charms. Hogsmeade, however, is the weak spot in terms of security. It's large, populated, and its defence is over all negligible. There are many opportunities for students to make contact with dangerous people and objects. The perimeter will be difficult secure and monitor making our job unbelievingly difficult. That being said, nothing is impossible for us, we'll simply need more than 2 defenders especially due to the rising tension. I would recommend an increase of personnel for the Hogsmeade trip, a search of every student before and after, and keeping the Marauders from furthering the Slytherins' rage." Brenna spoke with an even voice like she was reading a notice rather than updating McGonagall on potentially criminal behaviour.
It was odd, the normalcy with which she spoke about the risks and dangers. But then, McGonagall knew that Brenna and her brother had been exposed to the war when they were young, Brenna in particular learned quickly about the dangers of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. In fact the war became reality for them when they were only 11. While most children were just beginning Hogwarts and concerned with making friends, the twins were dealing with the effects of Voldemort's hate and preparing to fight in the war.
"I can arrange with Professor Dumbledore to search students with detectors. Is it possible to increase your security numbers?" McGonagall responded after a few moments of processing the information.
"Yes, I can send a message to the rest of my Order unit but no more than the 5 of us or it will be too obvious. We like subtlety in the public eye, but having detectors are a good idea it will be a warning to the more deviant students."
"I agree, however, concerning the Marauders, I'm afraid I do not know how to control their behaviour, they do not listen. Did you have anything in mind?"
"Fear…I may have scared them a bit before class, which would be why they were so quiet, I assume that they didn't tell you after class, they seem far too…Gryffindor. But since they are so Gryffindor, fear won't work for long. So I would suggest severely limiting their free time by keeping them in detention until the trip." For a moment, McGonagall thought she might be joking with her second suggestion but the pure seriousness of her voice and straight face contradicted that theory.
"Detention?" McGonagall parroted receiving a nod from Brenna. "You want me to put them in detention for an entire week?" She offered Brenna raised eyebrows unsure of what to make of the suggestion.
"Yes, they've had week long detentions before have they not? It wouldn't be completely unheard of; the only thing that would be different is that the detentions would be incredibly long. No one would question it either, since they are the Marauders, and during the day I'm sure I can think of ways to keep them too busy to prank Slytherins."
"Brenna, they've not broken any rules. I can't put them in detention if they haven't done anything wrong." McGonagall pointed out.
"Minor details" Brenna answered simply. When McGonagall still looked unconvinced she continued, "Well, what if you had sufficient reason to keep them in detention? What if they came late to class or were caught out after curfew? Then, detention would be warranted." She said, her words carefully chosen to suggest that she would have a role in ensuring the Marauders got detention but not saying anything outright.
"Professor, I understand that you are hesitant about putting the Marauders in detention even though things that happen might not be their fault, but if they pull a prank because they had time to plan one and as retaliation the Slytherins are able to get a hold of some dark objects, then the entire school is vulnerable. The security of this school is my responsibility and I will not have a dead Muggleborn on my hands. I will, however, arrange for four boys to have detention. I know you're thinking that it's not fair, but this war isn't fair, Professor, and a dead student is not something I can live with."
Brenna kept eye contact with Minerva the entire time she spoke a determined and serious expression on her face. Brenna's phrasing was such that it was impossible for the older woman to see things any way but the way she did, and by the end Minerva felt reassured that Brenna had given much thought to their current situation. In fact, the reserved Professor was quite certain that Brenna and Cyrus knew exactly what they were doing; they thought things through meticulously and took note of every possible outcome, particularly bad ones.
Nodding her head, Minerva looked away from Brenna's eyes feeling as though she was a guilty student and Brenna was the professor. Minerva hadn't fathomed that the Slytherins might actually kill a student before the younger woman mentioned it. Odd isn't it? Minerva thought to herself, that all the other 5th years and even the 6th years always seem like boys and girls, children really, but Brenna is a woman, an adult.
"I understand, Brenna. Do what needs to be done, I will recommend to the other staff that Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew receive stricter detentions should they misbehave, and I trust that they will, since they show little respect for school rules. I will speak with Professor Dumbledore about the necessary precautions for Hogsmeade, though I do believe he wishes to speak with you and Cyrus himself. Is there anything else, Brenna?"
"Not at the moment, Professor, thank you for your co-operation." Brenna rose from her chair waving her wand once to return it to the desk McGonagall had summoned it from.
"Thank you, Brenna." Minerva said earnestly. She couldn't begin to express how grateful she was that this fifteen year old took her job so seriously. She felt calm at a moment when she was sure she would have been worried had Brenna not been at Hogwarts. And it also made her feel horrible. A fifteen-year-old girl was risking her life to protect the students and staff of Hogwarts. In what world was it moral to allow a teenager to defend adults? Though it was true Brenna had skill and power witches and wizards couldn't even dream of having, she was still young, in her youth; she should be concerned with nail polish and boyfriends, not Death Eaters and war strategies.
Brenna nodded her head once before turning and walking out of the room, heading for her Common Room to grab her trainers and broom for Quidditch Practice. Upon entering Gryffindor tower, Brenna remembered that James and Sirius still had her broom from the trials earlier in the week.
"Hey Sirius, you still have my broom right?" She asked walking over to the couch he was sitting on with James, Remus in the armchair next to them.
"Oh yeah, we left it with ours in the Gryffindor locker room, don't worry it's locked."
"Are you heading down already?" James asked looking up a Quidditch magazine that he was reading.
"Yeah I'm just going to grab my stuff."
"Alright we'll be down soon." Brenna nodded before going up the stairs to the girls' dorms and returning a few minutes later with a black gym bag.
After making her way to the Pitch, Brenna walked into the Gryffindor locker room finding that the captain, Mitchell Wood, was already there.
"You're here early." He commented tying his shoes, already dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.
"Better early than late," Brenna said setting her bag down on the bench. "So what do we do during practices?"
"Today we're just working on simple drills, nothing too difficult or new. The girls' locker rooms are just through there, we haven't had a girl on the team for two years though so I'm not sure what condition it's in or anything, its been locked and McGonagall only gave me the key to it today." Wood stood up and took a key out of his pocket and walked over to the door he had indicated as the girls' locker, Brenna following behind him.
"I guess it's safe to assume that it's never been cleaned in the past 2 years. Know any cleaning charms?" Wood asked as they both peered inside the room which was covered in about an inch of dust and tons of cobwebs.
"It's going to take a lot more than cleaning charms." Brenna pointed out the broken benches, racks and bathroom faucets, her eyes were wide and her lips parted in disbelief. Wood nodded closing and locking the door once again.
"So that's obviously not going to work."
"I'll just change in one of the shower stalls." She said disappearing behind the half-wall that separated the changing area from the showers where she chose a stall and pulled the curtain closed.
"Alright, the rest of the team should be here soon, and I apologize in advance, some of these guys are gits." Wood called just as the door opened and in walked Peter Fleming, David Connors and George O'Malley talking quite loudly. "Speak of the devil…" He muttered as soon as he saw Fleming not meaning for anyone to hear it but obviously Brenna did since he heard her laughing quietly. A couple seconds later and the door opened again revealing James Potter and Sirius Black who walked in like they owned the place.
"Oi, gits, shut up." Wood called over them and the team quieted, taking seats on the benches. "Things are going to be different this year, we've got a girl on the team and you will treat her with respect especially since she's got just as much, if not more, talent than the whole lot of you."
"Damn straight." Brenna commented with a smirk walking out from the section of the locker rooms that held the showers.
She was wearing tight black shorts that ended at her mid-thigh and showed off her long, model like legs, and a charcoal grey long sleeved top that hugged her body perfectly. Her long black hair was pulled into a high braided pony tail and she had her bag hanging on one of her shoulders as she walked over to the group of boys that were all checking her out. Sirius motioned for Brenna to sit next to him, which she did, him being the only person she really knew on the team.
"Right as I was saying, you're all on this team for a reason, and despite what people might say that reason is to win and that's what we're going to do. We've got two new players on the team, for those of you who didn't put two and two together, this Brenna Templar, our Seeker, and this is David Connors, one of our chasers. Introduce yourselves and get yourselves ready." Wood said before walking out of the locker rooms presumably to get the equipment.
"He didn't give the 'we're-here-to-win-not-have-fun-that's-what-losers-say' speech, strange." James commented grinning at Brenna and Sirius.
"Yeah, well I'm sure he'll make up for it; you'll get to hear it soon, I'm sure." Sirius said mimicking James' grin. Brenna smiled at the two boys, laughing softly at the boys' comments. "Come on, we're supposed to introduce you to the rest team."
The three of them stood and walked over to the other members of the team who were introducing themselves to David Connors.
"Hey, I'm George O'Malley." He wasn't much shorter than Sirius and James and he had chocolate brown short hair. He was quite good looking, nothing compared to Sirius, but still. George stuck out his hand for her to shake which she obliged.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Brenna." She said with a small smile that made George's cheeks tinge pink. "So are you a 5th year then?" She asked making polite conversation. Cyrus would be so proud. She thought to herself.
"Um…n-no, fourth, I, uh, play beater." George managed to stutter out, glancing at her form momentarily. Sirius and James, who had moved to introduce themselves to the other new player returned to Brenna's side. Sirius moving closer to her than was probably necessary clearly telling George to 'back off'.
"Hi, I'm, uh, David C-Connors." David had light blond-brown hair and was a couple inches shorter than George and looked a bit younger. Brenna shook his hand with the same polite smile.
"I'm Brenna. Are you a fourth year like George?" David nodded swallowing visibly obviously nervous under her gaze.
"Aw, ickle fourth years terrified of the new girl?" Peter Fleming taunted causing the two boys to flush, Brenna turned to look at the boy, annoyed. "What d' ya say? Hogsmeade next weekend, Brenna?" He asked flashing her a smile that had the complete opposite of the intended effect on her.
"Really Fleming? You think I'd go to Hogsmeade with someone who just insulted team members? Way to show loyalty." She replied scoffing and rolling her eyes, before muttering under her breath, "K chortoo, mudak" which translates from Russian to 'go to hell, asshole'. "See you lot on the Pitch." She flashed a smile before turning and walking out of the change rooms.
"Ooh, rejected." Sirius smirked at Fleming as the 5 boys stood watching the door where she had disappeared.
"Shut up, Black, like you could do any better." Sirius looked as though he were about to respond, and knowing him it would've been some ridiculous wager concerning Brenna that wouldn't have gone over well, with Brenna or her brother. Seeing this coming, James spoke up first.
"Anyone know what she said? Or better yet, what language she said it in?" The boys paused a moment each contemplating the words she had spoken.
"Sounded like Russian to me." George said with a shrug before walking back over to his things to get ready for practice, the other boys following suit.
:.:.:
After practice that, as Wood promised, was very basic and not terribly exerting at all, the boys headed back into the changing rooms while Brenna hung back a bit.
"Something bothering you, Brenna?" Wood asked as he walked up to her carrying the case of Quidditch balls.
"No, just thinking is all." She replied glancing sideways at the older boy before returning her gaze to the Hogwarts grounds.
"Oh? Did the boys treat you alright?" He asked concerned that members of the team were making the new seeker uncomfortable.
"Yes they were nice, that's not what I'm thinking about. Your team is as welcoming and understanding as can be expected from teenage boys."
"Oh, okay well, let me know if there's anything I can do for you then." Brenna nodded once and as Mitchell walked toward the changing rooms she made no move to follow, simply looking around her at the forest, castle and lake, eyes finally coming to rest on the path that led down to the school gates and Hogsmeade.
Brenna's eyes narrowed slightly as she searched the darkening night. She was feeling uneasy, and as anyone that knew her would tell you, that was not a good thing.
"Brenna, you're still out here?" Sirius' voice called as he walked over to her, James at his side. Brenna yanked her gaze from the path to look at him.
"Yeah…" She trailed off as light flooded the ground from the locker room as the door opened and the rest of the boys filed out laughing at something or other.
James wandered over to them as the others bid them goodbye and Brenna's eyes drifted again to the barely visible pathway. She didn't really notice the two of them seeming to have a silent conversation.
"Um, Brenna, what are you looking at?" James asked and immediately she snapped her attention back to them, though her senses remained heightened.
"Nothing, just thinking is all; I've got that History Essay to do still." She explained offering what appeared to be a tired smile though none of that was true at all. The two boys nodded; apparently they believed her, which no doubt came from years of practice perfected by a simple rule…but that's an explanation for another chapter.
The boys looked as though they were about to ask a question when Brenna heard the soft rustle of the grass against something, from the sound of it, a person's foot, medium-tall in height, which is reflected in the foot size, and they were close. Instantly Brenna whipped around so fast it was almost a blur, wand out and pointed toward the direction of the sound and, as it turns out, directly at Remus' chest.
His eyes widened in surprise and he raised his hands slightly, palms out. Brenna looked him over once, noting that he was the one who she had heard in the grass but not the reason that caused the uneasy feeling. Her eyes flickered to the pathway once again before lowering her wand and regarding the boy in front of her.
"Hello Remus." She moved to the side so the four of them stood in a lopsided circle, all three boys facing her. "So guys want to know what I meant this morning when I was talking about the Slytherins." It was a statement, not a question and the boys couldn't help the shock they felt at this. "You want an answer, so here it is, figure it out for yourselves."
"What?"
"That's you're answer?"
"That's all you're going to say?"
"You guys are some of the brightest students at Hogwarts, you can accomplish complex magic, you can figure this out." When the boys still looked incredulous she continued.
"I can't say anymore, you know that, just listen to what I said, you'll understand soon enough."
"Brenna, we did listen we don't know what the hell you were talking about." James answered exasperated.
"Then you heard the words, but you didn't listen. Get used to thinking for yourselves, boys, the world doesn't give clear, straight-forward answers to anything. What I told you is not confusing, you didn't even have to decipher words and meanings, you just can't grasp the implications because you're so sheltered. And I'm not sure that's a good thing. Think, you know what I was saying, you're going to have to admit it sooner or later." She looked each boy in the eye, as she spoke, her steady look filling them with a confidence they hadn't felt before. Her faith in them and praise on their abilities made them proud. Sure other people had told them that countless times, but for some reason it meant more coming from Brenna, as though she was more important and powerful than all the professors and their parents combined.
Once again her eyes drifted to the pathway this time turning her body as well. She could feel something there, watching, but after a fleeting moment, the feeling was gone as was whatever had been there.
"We should get back to the Castle," She hadn't turned from the spot she was watching while she spoke, and the three Marauders exchanged semi-nervous glances at the tone of her voice, it was like she had sensed a threat and they didn't know she had, "Just give me a minute to grab my things…You might want to keep your wands at hand." With that she sprinted to the locker rooms, leaving the boys standing together each retrieving his wand from his pocket. A few moments later Brenna returned her bag on her shoulder and her eyes searching the darkness, wand in her right hand. For some reason she gave the distinct impression that she was waiting for something to jump out at them and she was ready for a battle to ensue.
"Let's go" She said shortly, her eyes still sweeping the landscape as they silently began walking, the boys still holding their lit wands.
"Brenna, why did you tell us to get our wands out?" Remus asked as they walked up the last flight of stairs that led to Gryffindor tower, frowning as he thought about the way she seemed to expect danger.
"For protection, you should always have your wands with you and when you're in an isolated place they should be in your hands, particularly at night." She answered, her tone not mocking but patient as though she was teaching them.
"But Hogwarts is the safest place in the Wizarding World." Sirius told her as they neared the Portrait Hole. James said the password and the Fat Lady, after some grumbling opened but none made a move to enter as Brenna regarded them with a very solemn expression.
"No where's safe." She told them, her eyes holding a sadness and pain that the boys couldn't understand, not yet. They were too young, too immature, too sheltered. They didn't know the truth about the world. They didn't know the pain of the war. They were still innocent.
Without another word, Brenna turned and walked into the Common Room and toward the Girls' Dorms, leaving three very confused Marauders standing outside the Common Room, locked out by a very agitated Fat Lady.
A/N: Please leave a review, they mean a lot :)