Disclaimer: don't own
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. Much love to sugar-high pixie for reviewing.
Of Blood and Magic
Chapter 17: Unseen
By the time Thursday rolled around, Tevelle was quite fed up with classes once again. Her days had devolved into a dull routine of meal, class, meal, class, meal, homework, then stare sleeplessly at the ceiling only to start the whole process over again once dawn was peeking over the horizon.
Curled up in a corner of the common room, Tevelle shut her potions book with a controlled slam. The rest of the common space, deserted as it was at the late hour, remained undisturbed.
Tevelle was restless.
A half-finished potions essay glared at her from the end table next to her, but it was ignored. No more work was going to get done until she worked out some of her edginess.
Slipping out into the shadows of the corridor was a simple matter and once out of the dorm, Tevelle let her feet carry her where they willed. It was second nature to keep to the darkest of shadows, embracing the night and the stealthier aspect of her nature.
As she neared the entrance hall, a slight sound caught her ears, and Tevelle consciously sunk even further into the shadows, stepping lightly so that her footsteps were silent to human ears.
Someone else was in the corridor ahead of her, someone not particularly skilled at stealth. Vision told Tevelle she was alone, but she ignored her eyes and focused instead on her other senses. Conflicting odors of strongly smelling soaps tickled her nostrils and the sounds of breathing and heavy footfalls filtered into her ears. There was the rustle of both paper and fabric as well. Sneaking closer, the individual's personal scent mingled with the rest. Tevelle stilled.
"You know, Harry," Tevelle whispered to the air where she estimated his ear to be, "You would fail as a ninja."
The startled gasp was immensely satisfying.
"Who's there?" Harry Potter's disembodied voice sounded in a stage whisper.
Tevelle moved, the movement allowing Harry's eyes to track and notice her form in the darkness.
"Tevelle? What are you doing here? It's late, you'll get caught." As he spoke he pulled a fold of silvery cloth from over his head.
She focused on the strange cloak for only a moment though, the way her eyes slid over it without centering was unsettling. Some type of invisibility cloak, though it smelled odd, with a faint hint of thestral hair in the weave, which was strange as most invisibility cloaks were woven with demiguise hair.
"I could ask you the same, though you'll get caught before me; I actually know how to sneak."
"Wha-?"
"I could hear you all the way down the hallway and I'd have to be nose-dead to not smell all that perfumed bath soap."
Harry's teeth clicked shut. "Oh."
"So, what brings you to this dark and dreary corridor this late at night?" Tevelle tried again, silently berating herself for her harsh words. By his dismayed and slightly lost gaze, Harry obviously was not teased playfully very often.
"I was working out the egg clue for the next task. You?"
"Ah, makes sense. I was just restless." At the boy's accepting nod, Tevelle stepped fully into the torchlight, making a conscious decision to be visible.
They began walking again, this time in what might even be considered companionable silence. They had turned their second corner before Tevelle noticed it.
"Hey, Harry, this is a roundabout way back to the Gryffindor common room. We should have turned left back there."
The stumble and sharp intake of breath were quite telling, even without her enhanced senses revealing his suddenly quick heartbeat. Harry was a terrible actor. "Um-" He stuttered. "I dropped something."
Tevelle shrugged. It made no difference to her which route they took, and Harry's reasoning mattered even less, lie or not. No doubt she would find out soon enough anyway. They were walking down some stairs now, and she only vaguely remembered to hop the trick step.
Soon enough it became apparent that her companion had not.
Harry fell in an ungainly sprawl, one leg sunk up to the thigh in the stair. The golden egg that was his reason for being out so late clattered down the stairs, the heavy metal ringing out, bell-like, with each impact. A flutter of tattered parchment followed the egg.
Tevelle stifled a giggle at Harry's shocked expression. "Very graceful. With that sort of poise it's is a wonder you did not have more dance partners at the Yule Ball." The sarcasm in her voice was plain.
"Shut it!" His tone, however mortified, had a note of mirth. "Now, are you going to help me up?"
There were footsteps approaching, though the faint sound was nearly drowned out by the cacophonous wailing the egg had started up having broken open at the bottom of the stairs. Tevelle reached for where the invisibility cloak has slipped to the floor, flinging it to cover Harry in one smooth motion.
"Tevelle? Wha-"
"Shhh, someone is coming." The boy's heartbeat quickened in fear as he struggled to free his leg. She could feel his imploring eyes look up at her for help but there was no time. The shadows embraced her, and Tevelle brought her body to complete stillness.
"PEEVES!"
Filch had arrived, and Mrs. Norris as well if her nose was not mistaken. The egg quit it's wailing as the caretaker closed it. "This is a Triwizard clue! This belongs to a school champion! PEEVES! You've been stealing!"
The thundering of Harry's heartbeat was echoing in the sudden quiet and Tevelle hoped desperately he did not reveal himself. The two students were soon joined on the stairs. Filch was squinting into the shadows, looking high where he would expect a certain poltergeist. The more astute Mrs. Norris had swept her gaze straight to Tevelle and Harry in turn, fixing on the later.
Cats were better at distinguishing shadows than most, this particular cat especially, but Mrs. Norris acknowledged Tevelle's presence as appropriate and allowed. The boy on the stairs smelling quite strongly of lavender and soap, however, was another matter. Still, the kitten-child was obviously frightened; that was punishment enough this time.
"Filch, what is going on?" Tevelle forced herself to not react, to not even move her eyes to track the newcomer. Snape stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking quite disgruntled in his dark gray nightclothes. His scent was not quite right for someone who had just tumbled out of bed. He had been awake and already quite livid before this little interruption.
"Peeves?" Snape's quiet musing simply compounded Tevelle's observation, "But Peeves couldn't get into my office…"
"The egg was in your office?"
"Of course not! I heard banging and wailing."
"Yes, Professor, that was the egg-
"-I was coming to investigate-"
"Peeves threw it, Professor."
Snape seemed not to hear Filch, lost in some line of thought of is own, "-and when I passed my office, I saw the torches were lit and a cupboard door was ajar! Somebody was searching it!" Now the strange mix on surprise, suspicion, indignation, and rage made sense.
Tevelle fought off a smile. Snape and Filch were close enough now that movement would draw the eye and bring her notice. While that would not precisely be a problem if she were on her own, with Harry near but unseen it would be difficult to not give the curious boy one more strangeness of hers to latch onto.
"But Peeves couldn't-"
"I know he couldn't, Filch! I seal my office with a spell none but a wizard could break!" Snape snapped angrily, his gaze roaming up the staircase and then back down to where the egg had landed. "I want you to help me search for the intruder…."
They were almost home free. The two adults were leaving now, Filch complaining to a barely tolerant Snape about going to see the Headmaster about the poltergeist.
Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.
Tevelle cursed silently. Of all the people to come investigate it had to be one of the few humans on staff who could see through invisibility spells. There was also a chance that Tevelle would be spotted as well. With luck, the magical eye Moody sported was still just an eye and without movement to give her away she would remain just a darker shape amongst shadows.
"Pajama Party is it?"
"Professor Snape and I heard noises, Professor," Filch wheedled, "Peeves the Poltergeist, throwing things around and Professor Snape discovered someone had broken into his-"
Snape hissed, "Shut up!"
As the adults argued, Moody turned his attention with casual suspicion to the stairs, his gaze fixing on Harry and only vaguely glancing towards Tevelle's shape. Tevelle remained immobile, not even breathing or blinking, pulling as much of her presence and power into herself as possible. It was unclear if she was successful or not.
"You know I am hiding nothing, Moody," Snape's voice was dangerous now, an edge that caught the attention of Tevelle's more bestial side, "as you've searched my office pretty thoroughly yourself."
"Auror's privilege." Tevelle could not call the hostile barring of teeth Moody displayed a smile. "Dumbledore told me to keep an eye-"
"Dumbledore happens to trust me."
"'Course he trusts you. Trusting man Dumbledore; believes in second chances. But me…" Moody's tone was malicious, "There are spots that don't come off, spots that never come off. D'you know what I mean?"
Snape's heartbeat suddenly galloped, and his scent filled with nervousness and regret. A hand closed on his left forearm convulsively. The Dark Mark, Tevelle thought sadly. She knew of the role Snape had played in the first war with Voldemort. It was a hard role, and a scar that would most likely stay with the Potions master the rest of his life both literally and figuratively.
"Go back to bed, Snape. Wait, you forgot something."
Harry, nearly forgotten where he huddled half in the stairs, suddenly panicked. Why would he risk it over a scrap of parchment, unless it was one very special, or incriminating, piece of paper. Hopefully he would quiet down before someone caught on. The display seemed to catch Moody's attention, however.
The moment Snape, recognition in his eyes, reached for the parchment, Moody summoned it with a well-timed accio.
"My mistake- I must have dropped it earlier."
Too late, though, Snape had connected the dots.
"Potter." It was just barely too loud to be a whisper.
"What's that?"
"Potter! That egg is Potter's egg. That piece of parchment belongs to Potter. I have seen it before; I recognize it! Potter is here! Potter and his invisibility cloak!" The potions professor reached out with questing fingers.
"There is nothing there, Snape, but I'll be happy to tell Dumbledore how quickly your mind jumps to Harry Potter.
"Meaning what?"
"Meaning Dumbledore's very interested to know who's got it in for that boy! And so am I, Snape…. Very interested…."
Snape lowered his arms, turning to Moody with expertly restrained temper and a credible imitation of calm. "I merely thought that if Potter was wandering around after hours again as is an unfortunate habit of his…. He should be stopped. For- for his own safety."
"Ah, I see, got Potter's best interests a heart, have you?"
Mrs. Norris's frustrated meow broke the staring contest. She had rounds to make still, and this display of dominance was accomplishing nothing.
"I think I will go to bed." Snape said curtly.
"Best idea you've had all night."
After wresting the egg back from Filch, Moody sent the two other staff members on their way. Mrs. Norris followed her human, quite content to give the night-creature and kitten-child a chance to worm their way out of their predicament. She may be a cat, but she was intelligent enough to know Moody's strange eye had spotted what the other human males had not.
"Close shave, Potter." Moody muttered once they were alone.
"Yeah….. I-er…. thanks."
"As elegant as ever, Harry." Tevelle revealed herself, knowing that Harry would probably not know to play along if she wanted to pretend absence.
"Miss Nightshade! I did not see you there." Coming from Moody, the words weighed with extra significance.
"I know. That eye might be magical, but your brain is still human."
Tevelle's explanation seemed to leave Moody baffled still, but she did not elaborate further. Knowing he would get no more from her, Moody turned his attention back to the parchment in his hands.
"What is this thing?"
Tevelle looked over his shoulder. She was curious as well.
"Map of Hogwarts."
"Merlin's beard! This is some map."
Tevelle let out a low whistle. In addition to a moving and accurate depiction of the corridors and classrooms, there were moving dots representing every moving creature in the castle, both living and non-living, labeled with a name. Tevelle bit back a relieved sigh. It would have been inconvenient to explain why she did not show up on a magicked map. She took a closer look, identifying her dot, labeled 'Tevelle Adair Nightshade'. Clustered near her dot were two others. Harry Potter and… well that was curious.
Bartemius Crouch.
Not Alastor Moody, as would be expected. Was the map glitching? Tevelle held her tongue, making a mental note to mention this to Xeven. Moody, it seemed, had not noticed incorrect label for his dot.
"Er- Professor Moody, Tevelle, d'you think you could help me?"
"What? Oh, of course."
Still slightly distracted, Moody grasped Harry's arms and pulled. Leg free, Harry took a step onto the next highest step.
"Potter," Moody said slowly, seeming to have forgotten Tevelle once again, "you didn't happen, by any chance, to see who broke into Snape's office, did you? On this map, I mean?"
There was something off about his tone. The suspicion was there, but there was something wrong. And what was with the sudden nervous heartbeat?
"Er- yeah I did," Harry answered, "It was Mr. Crouch."
Moody's reaction was subtle, but violent. Eyes widened, hands clenched defensively, and his heartbeat thundered. "Crouch?" he said. "You're- you're sure Potter?" Tevelle was suddenly glad she had not mentioned the oddity of the name when she saw it. Something was strange with the Auror.
"Positive." Harry seemed oblivious to Moody's reaction.
"Well, he's not here anymore," said Moody.
Liar, Tevelle's inner beast snarled, but she clamped down on it.
"Crouch…" Moody continued, "That's very- very interesting."
"Er- Professor Moody? Why do you reckon Mr. Crouch wanted to look around Snape's office?" Stupid, stupid, human boy!
Tevelle tensed, but not enough that she would alert the man beside her. Moody's stance had changed in some small way. He was tense, ready to flee or spring or both. An edge had entered his scent as well. She shot a glare at Harry, but it seemed both of the others had forgotten her.
"Put it this way, Potter, they say old Mad-Eye's obsessed with catching Dark Wizards." Speaking of himself in the third person, interesting…. "But I'm nothing – nothing- compared to Barty Crouch. " There was something personal in his tone.
Tevelle watched, silently as Harry proceeded to ask stupid, dangerous question after stupid, dangerous question. Had she really been that unobservant of body language when she was a human?
"And now I want to ask you a question Potter."
Now, Harry was nervous!
"Can I borrow this?"
"Oh! Yeah, okay."
"Good boy… Right bed, now, Potter."
It was only then, when Moody nearly turned into Tevelle that he seemed to remember she was there. His fear spiked, but it was carefully controlled. He fixed Tevelle with a look that was difficult to interpret. The blue eye rolled around to look at Harry pointedly. "You too, Miss Nightshade, I trust you will be able to find your common room in the dark.
Tevelle did not even dignify that statement with a response. It seems none was expected; Moody was already leading Harry off.
"You ever thought of a career as an Auror, Potter?"
"Goodnight!" Tevelle called loudly, annoyed at their rudeness. They could have at least said goodnight, she grumbled silently.
The Slytherin common room was exactly as she had left it, a fire crackling in the grate and her abandoned potions essay glaring across the room at her accusingly. With a sigh, Tevelle fell into the armchair, even more restless than she had been before setting out.
A/N: It would be fantastic if more than one person could review this time. Reviews are how I gauge if people actually like my story and what I'm doing with it or not.