A/N: I love all of the thought provoking reviews I'm getting. Remember, it's your way to talk to me. Have a question? I'll answer to the best of my non-spoilering ability! :)
Chapter Seven
Hermione was able to make several Knuts disappear without much effort. She had a measure of disposable income so she used it for a bag of Every Flavor Beans, a new quill, a set of dress robes, and a few other things that were desperately sought after by some of Hogwarts' students. Most of these requests seemed fairly recent. Hermione assumed it was because the older ones had faded as they were fulfilled through other means or the desire simply was resolved.
But the students arriving on the train in a few days time would be very happy indeed when some of their smaller wants and desires were going to be granted by their own Fairy Godmother.
She packaged up a few last-minute items to bring to the owls. The new packaging had a little flair but was completely anonymous so that people knew they were receiving a gift but not her name. She didn't know if she was supposed to give that information out or stay a secret—or if she wanted to be known either way. It was nice working behind the scenes. It was what she did best.
But some wishes took more of an effort to fulfill and went beyond just a sweet or a letter. Her next wish was one of those.
"Professor Flitwick?" Hermione asked the man a week before the term began, "I'd like to ask for your assistance with something."
"Certainly, if I can. Is this in regards to the book?" he asked as he showed her to a chair in his office.
"Well, no," she hedged. "The book is actually coming along great, but I've been working on a side project and I think I'm going to need your help."
"Is this about being a Godmother?"
Hermione panicked. "I didn't think she would say anything!"
Flitwick waved his hands at her. "Calm down,child. Minervahasn't told anyone but me. She is planning on making me deputy when term begins, did you know that? We tried to convince Severus, but he understandably wasn't interested. Minerva informed me we are once again graced with a Godmother so that I would be informed if anything strange happened. You do know that strange things have a tendency to follow Godmothers?"
"I've been figuring that out," Hermione told him meekly.
"Have you received your dress yet?"
"I get a dress?"
"Oh yes," Flitwick told her, growing animated. "Each is different and reflects the witch's personally. You never know when it will show up, so keep a lookout. You'll have to show us when you get it!"
Not bloody likely, Hermione thought, the familiar words of her former professor coming back to her. Right now she was perfectly happy staying a secret.
And she didn't even want to think about the remarks if Severus saw her in a big puffy fairy godmother dress.
"What is it then that you need my help with? Is it in regards to a wish?"
"It is, actually. For someone here in the castle."
"Oh, give me all the details!" he asked eagerly.
~~HGSS~~
The Headmistress was also easy to persuade but the elves were a little more difficult. They were still wary of her and any endeavors she was planning. She pleaded with them but they politely ignored her, telling her they were Hogwarts Elves and they only look direction from the professors, not from Missy.
Eventually Minerva followed her down and explained to them what they were going to do. The plan was to help one of the residents of the castle, to serve and to make him happy. Little effort would be required of the house-elves, not that they minded of course, and in return it would fulfill a special wish.
After being assured clothes were not involved, the elves were also on board.
The last obstacle was the portraits. Their cooperation was vital for Hermione's plan to succeed. She asked for help from as many as possible, receiving their agreement to assist and their consent to be silent. Everyone knew that the quickest way for word to spread through the castle was through the portraits.
It was with the portraits that Hermione most needed Professor Flitwick's help. She wasn't even going to try to alter a charmed portrait with another charm. That was master-level work, and she would be in big trouble if she got it wrong. They had a Charms master in residence—a Charmer, as Flitwick frequently reminded them was the official title. Better if it was left up to him.
A few portraits were made to appear ravished, as though someone had come through in haste, or had stopped to set a building on fire, knock over a table, or create general chaos. The portraits themselves were happy to assist with some of the destruction. It wasn't often they were given anything to do. General merriment was the feeling amongst them as they pillaged and destroyed.
The following morning, Hermione woke up early and went to her designated space. A seldom used room, up in a tower, of course. Where else would a fair maiden be? She charmed ropes around her ankles and wrists, bound a gag over her mouth, then lay down to wait.
~~HGS~~
"Cadogan!" came the desperate cry, echoing off the stone walls. "Sir Cadogan!"
The little knight was polishing his helmet when he heard the plea. Was that the Headmistress? Surely, the madam herself wouldn't need him, or would she? Was there something she needed that required a chivalrous knight? A quest? A damsel in distress?
Grabbing his helmet under his arm, he hopped astride his fat little pony who whinnied in protest. "Onward, Blossom! Heed the call of feminine despair!" He nudged the pony forward with his heel and soon they were off at a gallop through the startled portraits.
"I am here, madam!" he called as he leapt off his pony with a bit of a stumble in front of Minerva. "What can Sir Cadogan do for you?"
"I have a quest to lie at your feet, brave knight!" Minerva told him, laying on the plan thick. "A fair and virtuous maiden has been stolen by a villain! A dark man transformed into a dragon and swept her off into the highest tower! Only a stalwart knight and his loyal steed will be able to save her from certain ruin!"
"I will answer yourcall, dear madam!" Sir Cadogan told Minerva with his sword held high. It had been his destiny when he was amongst the living to free a maiden from a beast far more terrible than a dragon. It took her into its castle far across the land. Cadogan faithfully followed, sacrificing sleep and shelter to bring the lady home to her father before any harm befell her. Alas, he was slain by the creature, only seeing that the woman was alive before he perished. He awoke again as a portrait here in the school, being honored for his contribution in attempting to save the daughter of one of the school's patrons, Rowena Ravenclaw.
The Baron had gone after Helena Ravenclaw, who stole her mother's diadem and escaped to Albania. He took her into his own house to try and convince her to return to her mother and homeland. Her mother was dying, and when the Baron didn't return in haste, Cadogan was sent to find them. The Baron killed him, afraid he was a lover of Helena or would try to take her away, before killing them both.
It had always plagued the knight that he had failed in such an important task. And then seeing them both in the halls of the school as ghosts drove him nearly mad. He vowed to never fail another undertaking.
But another opportunity never came.
Until now.
"I will rescue the maiden if it's the last thing I do! No dragon will scare away this knight! Where was she last seen?"
Minerva pointed down the hall to a painted house on fire. "There is where she was taken from!" she shouted and soon Sir Cadogan and his little pony were off at a full run.
The villagers were gathered around the house and explained to Cadogan what happened.
"She was walking through the hall," said one.
"When a dark stranger snatched her!" said another and a third interrupted, "He turned into a dragon before our eyes and flew off down the corridor after setting our house on fire!"
"Who knows what trouble awaits any who are valiant enough to go after him!" the first added, remembering the script they had talked about.
They pointed Cadogan down the hall to where the painted rampage was evident. He raced through frame after frame to follow the path of destruction.
"But wait!"
Suddenly there was a house-elf in the hallway, waving his hands for attention.
"You must find the gate!"
"What gate?" asked Cadogan, pulling up on his pony.
The elf covered his mouth as though telling a secret. "I shouldn't tell! The creature will be very angry if you find his magical gateway, leading to the tower with the maiden!"
"Tell me, Elf, I command you! I am Sir Cadogan of the Round Table! I will keep your secret and assure your safety!"
"You will find a secret passage in the jungle painting at the base of the tallest tower! It is only by defeating the guardian and entering the gate that you will find the villain and the maiden!"
"I will find this gateway and the guardian will be no match for the likes of me! I have only been defeated once and it shall not happen again!"
Cadogan began his search for the gateway. The jungle painting was known to him, as were most of the paintings in the castle. He had been there for hundreds of years, wandering the halls. It was far from him, however, and the traveling would not be easy. Many of the paintings were filled with debris and chaos and the residents flocked to other unharmed portraits, gathering together to talk about the travesty.
He felt every bit the knight as he followed his quest, soothing the agitated portraits and restoring a bit of peace before traveling on in search of Hermione.
When the large jungle scene finally came into view, Cadogan gave a shout and hurried his pony on.
As he was racing around the corner through each of the pictures in between, Snape came down the hall and paused to watch the half-crazed little knight on his rotund pony. What could he possibly be doing? The knight had done some strange things over the years; Snape could clearly remember him patrolling the castle all night long when it was rumored Sirius Black had found a way in.
The knight had been fairly quiet while Voldemort was in control of the castle, occasionally threatening the Carrows and others, but they laughed it off. What could a silly portrait do? But now he was clearly disturbed, something must have set him off, and Snape was bound and determined to find out what it was.
Cadogan drew up to the jungle and hit the ground running. The gate was hidden behind a copse of trees, not easily seen by the human eye, far back in the painting. He pulled on the door, but it would not budge. Snape watched as he pulled again with all of his might but the door did not give an inch.
"Confounded door! I shall rig Blossom to your handle and pull you into splinters! Nothing shall impede my quest for the fair maiden!" Cadogan shouted at the unyielding gateway.
"A key!" hollered a little elf that popped into existence at Snape's side. "I believe a key must be found to open the door! Only a certain magical key can do the trick!"
Snape looked down to the little elf with his brow raised. "To complete the quest!" the elf told him, which in fact told him practically nothing.
"You are correct. A key most certainly is what is needed! Warrior!" Cadogan called to Snape in the shadows. "Are you aware of the location of the key in question?"
Severus took in the situation. Clearly Cadogan was on the trail of something, and it seemed rather important if the elves were aware of it as well. Yet strangely, he had heard nothing.
"An eye in a blue face
Saw an eye in a green face,
"That eye is like to this eye"
Said the first eye,
"But in low place,
Not in high place."
Severus quoted Tolkien to the painting, confident the ancient wizard would not be versed in modern Muggle literature.
"Ah, a rogue! Speak thee plain! A maiden's virtue hangs in the balance!" cried Cadogan.
"But what honor is in a quest if the path is freely given and not hard won?" asked Snape.
Cadogan nodded. "You speak true, rogue. I shall seek the answer at once!" He leapt upon the poor pony, who was clearly ready to call it a day, and nudged her down a long hallway, filled with portraits eager to play their part.
Severus watched as he disappeared and turned to the elf. "What exactly is going on?"
"Binx cannot say! Binx is a bad elf for revealing the quest to one who was not informed! Bad elf!" Binx grabbed the stone wall and began to smash his face against the stones. "Bad! Bad!"
"Binx! I command you to cease and as a Head of House you must obey!" Snape told the elf in his very stern, not impressed tone of voice. The elf quit immediately. "I was simply ensuring you were staying to your orders. You behaved as a good elf. Please go scrub the cauldrons in my personal lab as a reward for your behavior."
"The cauldrons?" asked Binx, tears wobbling in his wide eyes. "In your personal lab? Oh, thank you, sir!" The elf snapped his fingers and disappeared.
"Pesky creature," Snape mumbled, now on his own to ferret out what the commotion was about. It was something to do with the jungle painting, but as far as he was aware, nothing of interest surrounded its existence. He stood with his arms folded when he heard it. The soft, faint cry of a young woman. She was shouting for help. Was this who Cadogan was looking for?
The entrance to the tower may have been blocked for a painting but it wasn't for a human. Snape barreled through the door andran up the stairs, two or three at a time. He reached the top of the Astronomy tower out of breath, his heart pounding from the exertion as well as the panic. He had no idea who or what was holding the girl captive. Could something have entered the school? Was it trying to lay in wait for the students who would be returning the day after tomorrow but came instead upon the nosy know-it-all? Because it could only be her who screamed for help, it surely wasn't the melodic tones of an irate Scotswoman.
"Hermione?" he huffed, finally seeing her, bound on the floor and blessedly alone.
She groaned and dropped her head to the floor, unable to talk through the gag.
Severus paused to recover his breath, seeing that she was in no immediate danger. He couldn't help but notice the position her vulnerability had left her in.
Her golden curls spread out on the floor in a fan. Her back was arched with her hands bound underneath her, leaving her chest on display as it rose and fell with her rough breathing. The sight of the binds on her arms and legs made him suck in a huge breath of air, which had nothing to do with his recent exertion.
How he would love to tie her hands and feet with silk ribbons, binding her tight on her knees, his fist in her hair, pulling her head back while she…
Severus shook his head. There was a time and place for such thoughts. Preferably alone in his rooms and not in front of the object of his fantasies, his desire on clear display for any who dared to look.
"Apologies for my pause, Hermione. I drew up the stairs in quite a rush, afraid for your safety." He made short work of her bindings and gag.
"No! No! Tie me up! Tie me back up quickly!" Hermione frantically exclaimed when she could speak.
"Whatever for? I don't know who did this to you but-"
"Just do it! Now!" she yelled, and he hurriedly complied.
As he used his wand to refasten her ropes, he told her, "As you bid. I wish I could have done this years ago," and cinched her gag as she huffed her annoyance.
At just that moment, the clatter could be heard of Cadogan entering the scene on his wiped-out little pony.
"Rogue! It was you who cast off with the fair maiden! I knew you were treacherous! Unhand her this instant. We shall have a duel, you scurvy cad! Pestiferous rampallian! You won't escape this time!"
Cadogan continued his verbal assault on Snape, brandishing his over-sized sword and challenging him to come at his painting like a man and not a lily-livered princox.
"What is he on about?" he asked Hermione, who glared at him, unable to speak around her gag. "Can I untie you now?" She nodded and he proceeded to undo the work he had just accomplished.
"Oh, thank you!" Hermione shouted in an exaggerated voice. "You have found me and defeated the villain!"
Severus gave her a questioning look, and she elbowed him in his side. "Play along," she whispered.
"Indeed!" he told the painting. "I cannot try to outwit such a cunning and brave knight as Sir Cadogan." He barely refrained from rolling his eyes.
Hermione beamed at him. He still wasn't sure what was going on but it was apparently the right thing.
"You have won my admiration forever," she told the knight. "Now go into the Great Hall where there is a feast in your honor!"
"I shall leave you a place at my side, fair maiden!" Cadogan told her triumphantly. "Just call on Sir Cadogan if this wretched barnacle gives you any trouble! I shall alert the Headmistress at once to come to your aid!"
"Thank you," Hermione told him again and the little knight and his wee pony galloped off with their colors flying.
"What in the bloody buggering fuck was that?"
"Such language!" Hermione scolded. "We thought it might be a bit of fun to stage a quest for Sir Cadogan before the start of term," she told him, which was really a partial truth and so not a lie at all. "He has always wanted to save the maiden and we were getting a bit complacent. Minerva and Professor Flitwick both helped."
"And dare I ask what would have happened if I had not been present to play the part of villain?"
"Oh! That's right, I almost forgot. I'll show you. It's really a great piece of charmwork." Hermione stomped her foot twice against the stone floor. Suddenly, a large roaring dragon appeared, writhing like the dragon in a Chinese parade. Fire shot from its mouth as it roared, shooting up in the air only to burst into bright fireworks.
"It's all run by house-elves!" Hermione told him proudly. "They were supposed to disappear when he brandished his sword."
The elves were clearly enjoying themselves. The flames and fireworks fell around them as they stood together on top of the Astronomy tower, lighting up the night sky with their display.
It was, in all, a job well done.
A/N: This chapter really made me giggle, but it did give me fits, so extra love to Araeofsomething for helping me work it out.