Authors' Notes: This story is part of an ongoing epic involving a natural Legilimens named Sydney (Siggy) Whetstone, a first year student at Hogwarts, his cat Morpheus, Severus Snape (who has become Siggy's guardian following the death of his abusive uncle), and Hermione Granger, who is studying Morpheus, a maneki neko with unusual magical powers. It takes place in roughly 2007 or thereabouts.

A Trip To Remember

A collaborative effort by Sinistra_Furze and SadiraSnape

CHAPTER 7 – Siggy Snatched

Hi Ginny

We are just finishing our packing up ready to leave for Romania. We are back at Mr Valentinas' house for the night. The last day of gathering ingredients started uneventfully.

Siggy was well-behaved and Morpheus accompanied us as we visited some small side-alley Apothecaries. Each shop we visited was stuffed with ever-more revolting artefacts in jars, baskets and cabinets - to deter curious fingers (you-know-whose).

Morpheus jumped up onto the counter in one shop we visited and watched all the customers carefully from his vantage point. He really looked like he understood it all. I saw Severus pull Siggy's hand away from something best left undescribed. The boy has an insatiable curiosity which, combined with a lack of caution, means you need eyes in the back of your head to keep track of him.

In the last shop we went to someone recognised Siggy, perhaps from his previous trip. The elderly man gently touched Siggy's arm and spoke quietly to him. I saw Siggy shake his head. I meant to ask him about it later, but events overtook us.

On our way back to Mr Valentinas' I was softly daydreaming of a nice cool shower, when I felt a strong tug pulling me backwards - so sharply I landed on my arse. It was the binding charm reaching the limit of its range. I looked round and saw Siggy struggling under someone's arm. They were trying to drag him off but he was putting up a good fight.

I shouted and jumped up, but was shoved aside as Severus barged through the crowd like a knife through butter and grabbed at the attackers. He managed to get his hand on one but the other disapparated with Siggy.

If I'd been the man in Severus' grasp I'd have spilled all the beans straight away, he looked murderous. He struggled for a few moments before being shoved up against the wall. His face went slack and I realised Severus was using Legilimency to find out what had happened. It seemed like ages as I watched, but couldn't have been more than a minute or so. With a snarl Severus shook him like a rat and the man slumped in a heap, stunned.

Severus turned to me and said, "They've broken the binding charm and taken him to a place nearby. You will have to come with me; I can't leave you alone now. Have your wand ready."

And with that he grabbed my arm firmly and disapparated. I staggered a bit as we arrived in - a small modern hotel room. Is it strange that the first thing I noticed is that the room was air-conditioned?
Siggy was sat cross-legged on a chair arguing with a man in a Muggle suit sitting on the sofa opposite. The look of surprise on his face when we appeared in front of him!

"Just what do you think you are doing?" demanded Severus, wand pointing directly between the man's eyes.

Give credit where it's due, the man was a quick thinker. "We wanted to borrow the lad for a few hours, a consultation only, concerning access to a tomb we have had our eyes on for a while," the man replied in a rather whiny voice. "There's never been a problem before with making use of his skills," he continued, as if affronted that his uncivil means of obtaining that service were irrelevant. And, as you might have expected, Severus was not convinced.

"He is currently in our employ and I do not take kindly to having him snatched away without even an attempt at negotiation," Severus snapped.

"His uncle was always amenable before…." argued the man.

"His uncle is dead." Severus scowled down at him in an all-to-familiar manner, "and before you ask - I did."

The man's eyes widened. "I heard some rumours, but couldn't be sure what the papers said was true."

It interested me that Severus was claiming to have been responsible for the death of the late unlamented Uncle Ambrose, when I knew that wasn't the case, but neither Siggy nor I said anything. We glanced at each other and edged closer to Severus, however.

"We are leaving now. Do not attempt to follow us or to approach the boy again. You will regret it."
And with that he grasped one in each hand and disapparated us to a side street behind a cafe near our hotel.

As soon as he established our rooms were safe the questions began….

"Did you know them…. where….when….?"

"What did they say about what they wanted?"

….and so on, with a shaken Siggy trying to keep up with the barrage of questions. Apparently he had met the man on a previous trip with his uncle and remembered seeing him the day we went to buy books, but didn't have a chance to speak to him then. Today the man had asked for his help in some enterprise to catch a rare creature, but Siggy didn't expect anything bad to happen as a result of his refusal.

After Severus had finished his interrogation Siggy sat on the floor disconsolate, fretfully picking at a loose thread on the carpet. He looked thoroughly miserable.

I watched Severus pace up and down the room. He frowned, muttered and huffed as he went to and fro. He wanted to go find out more but couldn't leave us alone while he did so. Instead he sent several owls and asked up to pack our things quickly. While we waited for the replies, he explained that we would return to Mr Valentinas' ahead of schedule.

In order to distract Siggy from his misery Severus demonstrated the wordless repelling charm which had allowed him to push through the crowd with ease. Useful in school corridors too, I thought with a smile. He also explained the binding charm he'd used was a particularly strong one, used to prevent or delay apparition and it began to dawn on me that Severus had been anticipating trouble.

If I'd have thought about it, Siggy's uncle would not be the only one wanting to take advantage of his skills. It must have been quite a strain on Severus to remain alert at all times and I wondered why he hadn't asked me to share the burden. I've spent a lot of time having fun, when I could have been more help.

Within the hour Mr Valentinas arrived with a Portkey and we found ourselves back in his lovely house full of comforts and good memories. On the doorstep waiting to greet us were the charming Omar and the mysterious Morpheus. I swear they were both smiling.

Well, I'll write a bit more soon, when we get to Romania. But before I do so, a word to the wise….if Ron tries to interfere any more I swear I'll….I'll….Listen, I don't need any help! I've enjoyed this trip and though I've had as much excitement as I need for today, it's been a lot more fun than listening to Ron ramble on about Auror training and quidditch scores all summer.

Give my love to Molly and of course I'd love to have dinner with you all when I get back.

Love

Hermione

21 July

Intrigue follows our young Whetstone like night follows day, it seems. And I was prepared for it.

We visited the Wizarding souk again today, to fill the holes in my Potions requirements. I took the precaution of setting a binding charm on all three of us, knowing that Hermione can get distracted and Siggy likes to wander off on his own, much like his feline partner in crime. Who I also included in the charm – we didn't need to leave for Romania leaving Morpheus behind, especially since I've cut him off from fresh catnip, so he would be unable to apparate. (Where is the boy keeping it, I wonder…)

Without seeming to, I managed to keep an eye on Siggy at all times. I'd had a warning by owl from Ogdoad that some questionable individuals had been inquiring about him, wanting to know when he'd return and if he was still "available". I didn't like the sound of that (who knows what it meant – his uncle was truly that much of a beast), so I decided that we would all be connected by a particularly strong binding charm, and that I would watch the boy like a hawk.

This proved provident, since it allowed me to stop him from grabbing a handful of desiccated scorpion venom, prepared in a gel of hagfish slime, something that could have dissolved his fingers in seconds. How do parents do it…? I swear I'd run mad, gibbering under the moon, if I had to do this for years on end.

I noticed in the last shop an elderly man stop the boy and speak to him. I faded into the shadows, cast Exaudio so I could hear them from a distance, and watched. "Come with us now, boy," the man said. "We need your services." Siggy shook his head, looked about, and headed for Hermione. I marked the man in my memory. Right. We'll see about you.

I gathered my chicks together, called the excursion to a halt, and headed back to our hotel, trying to watch in all directions at once. We were almost there, when Siggy managed to dart off to look at something, and two ruffians grabbed him – one of them the man from the shop.

"Damn and blast it all to HELL!" I thought, and used the force of the binding charm to part the crowd so I could get to them. I managed to grab a handful of one's coat, but the other disapparated, taking Siggy with him. I felt one fourth of the charm disappear.

I dragged the one I'd caught down a nearby alley and slammed him against the wall. Without a by-your-leave, I dove into his mind, Legilimencing him within an inch of his life. It was simple – the other had taken Siggy to a nearby funduq and now I had the location from the rascal's mind. I shook him in my fury and flung him to the ground. I frankly didn't care if I'd killed him.

I turned to Hermione and told her the binding spell was broken but that I knew where to find Siggy. "You can't stay here, so you must come with me. Get out your wand and be ready to fight." I knew she was frightened (probably by my face – I could feel the snarl on it), but that Gryffindor courage rose in her and she took my hand with the same strength as she displayed during the war, and with no hesitation.

We apparated into a small, relatively well-appointed room at one of the better funduqs in town. I saw first that Siggy was quite healthy and safe, and that a man in Muggle clothing was talking to him. Morpheus, who had followed us, leaped into Siggy's lap and began growling at the man.

I strode over to the stranger, pointed my wand in his face, and snarled, "Just what do you think you're doing?"

The man made some feeble excuse regarding wanting to employ Siggy as a consultant – I leaned into him and touched my wand to his forehead. "He is currently in our employ and I do not take kindly to having him snatched away without even an attempt at negotiation," I grated out.

"His uncle was always amenable before…," he started.

"His uncle is dead." I fixed him with one of my best scowls. "And before you ask – yes, I did."

The man's eyes widened and the blood drained out of his face. "I heard some rumours, but couldn't be sure what the papers said was true."

I pressed my wand deeper into his forehead. "Trust me. It was quite true."

Of course I had nothing to do with the demise of Dear Departed Uncle Ambrose, but with this sort of scum it never hurts to build one's reputation for mayhem. Morpheus leaped onto my shoulder, leaning forward and snarling. Hermione and Siggy moved close to me.

"We are leaving now. Do not attempt to follow us or to approach the boy again. You will regret it," I warned and, keeping my wand pointed at him, grasped Siggy's hand. Hermione grasped the other, and I disapparated us to the café near our hotel.

I hurried our party into my room, set wards all around, and then began interrogating young Mr Whetstone. I was a bit harsh about it, no doubt due to the fright and the leftover adrenaline, so I made a conscious effort to calm down. I discovered that Beastly Uncle A had made quite a little side business of hiring out Siggy to anyone with the price, for the purpose of capturing strange and magical creatures. Shaking with anger, I paced up and down the room, muttering to myself. My fists were clenched so tightly that I have small half-moon marks in my palms from my nails biting in.

While I'm not the greatest enthusiast of children, and certainly don't regret never having any, the very idea of someone so blatantly and without conscience renting out a child of their own flesh and blood… I simply don't have the words to express the depths of my loathing and fury at Beastly Uncle, at our late kidnappers, even a bit leftover for Albus and his use of Potter, no matter how the end was justified. I have never been able to become reconciled to that…

I needed to investigate this immediately, but I couldn't leave the boy and Hermione alone – they would be in danger. I released the wards, requested parchment, a quill, ink and the use of the café owls, then assured my chicks that we would be returning to Ogdoad's directly. After I got my materials, I hastily sent owls to Ogdoad, the Ministry, the Egyptian Ministry, and to a particularly efficient Egyptian auror I've come to know, and reset my wards.

Once that was done, I noticed with a start how sad and disconsolate Siggy was. My god, the boy probably thought I was furious with him – I'd certainly done nothing but rant and rave since we'd entered the hotel, and then I'd battered him with questions as if he had done something wrong. Oh, well done, Severus. Guardian of the Year material, no doubt about it.

I sat down on the carpet in front of him, caught his mind with mine, and told him he had done well and that I was quite pleased with his conduct. "You are not in any way to blame, young man," I told him. "Don't consider that for a moment." Legilimency is a handy thing sometimes, especially when you're dealing with another who is highly skilled. And who may not necessarily want to appear vulnerable in front of a lovely young lady…

I sat back and said, "Now, if you can manage to cease attempting to unravel this fine specimen of the rug maker's art, I'll be happy to show you both that binding charm." Siggy brightened up considerably, stopped picking at loose threads in the carpet, and I spent a somewhat more relaxing hour teaching a pair of bright and apt students.

While working with Hermione, I again realized that she is a grown woman, and could have been assisting me in safeguarding Siggy all along, especially today. I'm so accustomed to working alone, it never crossed my mind how much of an asset she could have been all this time. There was really no need for me to act the protector of both – this young lioness needed none from me.

Hm. An equal. What a fascinating proposition.

Ogdoad arrived with a Portkey just as Hermione and Siggy mastered the binding charm. We returned to his home, and were greeted by the gracious nephew Omar and, surprisingly, Morpheus! I have no idea how he managed to precede us to Ogdoad's, but there he was. There's much, much more to this cat than meets the eye…