CHAPTER 42: SIGN OF SCHEMING
(Ilya POV)
"You're acting as if you're her mother, you know," commented a blue-haired girl, as Ilya was gently waving her hand at the retreating back of a certain brown-haired first year.
"Why? I don't see anything wrong with what I'm doing," replied the silver-haired girl, as she and her three companions were eating their breakfast at the Great Hall…
"Hmmp!" pouted Alice. "You sometimes forget to cook meals for us, yet you have never failed making lunch for her everyday… I haven't forgotten how you sold me out to Rose yesterday you know, you traitor…"
"I said I'm sorry didn't I? I just didn't know what else to do," said Ilya pleadingly. "To show that I'm sincere, I'll cook some beef teriyaki for our dinner… will that be enough to earn your forgiveness?"
"Hmmm…" mused the black-haired female, whose face looked serious as if contemplating, before it broke into a smile. "Okay, then… apology accepted…"
"Simpleton," muttered Rose under her breath.
Sev, who was buried in a thick book, took no notice of the exchange, too busy studying.
During their first few days at Hogwarts, Evelyn had always been tagging around Ilya and company whenever she had an opportunity. Whenever she did not have classes, the brown-haired girl, according to her own words, would always look for Ilya and her boyfriend whenever she had free time.
In truth, Ilya could not help but be touched by this fact. The eleven year old had taken a liking, not only of her, but of Sev as well. She had not found them scary or intimidating, and was rather clingy and strongly attached to them (Evelyn's choke-like embrace was testimony to that.). Still…
Ilya knew that she had to put a stop to her habit. While the white-haired girl was pleased with the girl's show of affection, she was afraid that it might end up making her isolated from her classmates. Yes, Evelyn should be hanging out with children of her age. And so she made a deal with her. If Evelyn promised to be a good girl and make many friends and not look for them (the silver-haired girl and company) all the time, Ilya would make lunch for her everyday…
"But you know… much as I hate to admit it… I actually agree with mousy girl here," said Alice suddenly, a mischievous smirk appearing on her face, earning herself a growl from a certain blue-haired individual. "You're acting just like her mother. If you keep this up, Evelyn might just ask her brother to marry you, Ilya."
THUD!
Ilya, as well as Alice and Rose, turned to see what was the cause of the disturbance…
The raven-haired young man had dropped the book he was reading, a stunned expression on his face, apparently caused by the last comment…
"Oh, there's nothing for you to worry about Severus, that's not likely to happen," commented Rose, her voice sounding slightly disappointed. "As far as I can tell, that girl seems to be as equally attached to you as she is to Ilya… She seems to see you two as the perfect couple… though I still can't understand how she could have possibly seen you as a kind and gentle person… I mean, from the logical perspective, you certainly don't fit the image…"
"Too true," added the black-haired former Gryffindor.
"And what do you mean by that?" replied Sev quietly, a badly hidden note of anger in his voice, as a scowl began to form on his face.
I suppose this could wait, sighed Ilya inwardly, as her hand clutched on something fluid-like that was stuffed on the largest pocket of her robes.
The silver-haired girl could not help but watch in amusement, as she sipped on her morning coffee. Ilya actually had a half-mind to join in on the conversation and divert it from the present topic, but decided not to. Rose and Alice seemed to have forged an alliance, with the purpose of teasing her boyfriend. It was a good way to test his patience and ability to withstand psychological attacks after all, for despite all the training she had made Sev undergo through, there are still certain delicate issues in which the raven-haired young man found it hard to keep his temper in check…
-BREAK-
(Remus POV)
"… and do not let anyone lend them wands… they are not allowed to use magic… I will send someone else to take your place during your class hours…"
"Yes, Professor McGonagall," replied the werewolf, as the Deputy Head Mistress left for the castle, though not before turning back with a warning look, before continuing on her way.
"And don't try and lighten their punishment just because they are your friends… just to make sure I will have Mr. Filch come by here later to check on your progress…"
"Yes, Professor…"
Remus Lupin was deep in thought, as he watched his two friends' attempt to deweed the courtyard with nothing but their hands and a pair of scissors each, in a titanic struggle against the pesky little plants…
Earlier that morning, when Remus Lupin had woken up at around seven, he was amused. It was Wednesday after all, a day when they have no morning classes, and as far as the werewolf remembered, his three Marauders friends had developed the not-exactly-good habit of waking up between nine and eleven in the morning on such days, and it was a normal occurrence. This time however…
They were wide-awake, and seemed busy in conversation, though they seemed to have placed a privacy ward around themselves so they couldn't be overheard. What got Moony's attention, however, was not the fact that they were acting oddly, but the fact that they were injured.
Both Sirius and James looked worse for wear. There were violet spots on their arms, as well as slap and scratch marks on their faces. Peter was rather fortunate, seemingly the least hurt among the three, although despite having lack of physical injuries, he looked more frightened… much more frightened, than usual. Yes, it was worrying. Remus got up, he needed to know what was going on, and what he found out greatly disturbed him…
Peter, apparently, has been abducted by someone who went under the name Archer, apparently to use him as a bargaining chip, in exchange for Prong's Invisibility Cloak.
Remus, upon hearing this at first, felt somewhat hurt and furious. Why couldn't they have told him about it? Wasn't he also their friend? He, like any true comrade, would have done everything in his power to help rescue Wormtail. However, as his three Marauder friends continued with their recap, it was eventually overwhelmed by a great feeling of dread and worry…
This Archer person, whoever he or she was (Peter said that it was a female voice he heard talking, somehow familiar, though he could not tell exactly who it belonged to.), as Remus' three friends learned the hard way, was not someone you would want as your enemy. She was, analyzing the details of his friends' accounts, a schemer and tactician, and a dangerously good one at that. It was a well-planned and well-timed move, and even James and Sirius, who can sniff out even the most well-designed traps, fell for Archer's.
Remus' three friends looked badly beaten, greatly depressed, especially James. During the ordeal, not only had they (except for Peter of course, who cowardly turned back into a rat) been beaten to a pulp by a hoard of angry females, as well as landed themselves a whole week's suspensions (In other words, as punishment, they were not allowed to attend classes, as they will be doing their detention during class hours instead of at night, James and Sirius among the rare few who had 'apparently' done something terrible enough to earn themselves such a rewards), as well as have their parents sent letters telling them of their actions (which was not really a problem for Sirius, though the case was different with James), they had also lost the Invisibility Cloak, which was the Potter family heirloom, the most valuable of James' possession, of which the thief they had no doubt of. But what made Moony worry the most…
Was the fact that the Marauder's Map had failed in its duty.
Even with the aid of the Invisibility Cloak, as well as other forms of spells that renders one impossible or nearly impossible to see, like the Disillusionment Charm, it is actually rendered useless by the Marauder's Map. The Map never lies, and anyone at Hogwarts will always appear on the map, whether they are invisible, Transfigured, or are in animagus form. Yes, even the most powerful concealment spells will not render one unseen from its eyes…
Or so they thought…
For Peter, Sirius and James, perhaps it was the first time it had happened, and were therefore shocked by the turn of events. They were actually beginning to doubt their own genius, thinking that there must be some flaws on it, perhaps the magic on it was weakening.
But for Remus, it wasn't the first time. He knew for sure that it wasn't the case. When Peter told them that Archer might actually be a girl, he already had his suspicion as to her true identity, and when he heard about how the Marauder's Map failed to register the twenty females in an specific area…
The werewolf remembered how his Marauder friends were unable to find him, no matter how much they tried, even by using the map, on that Sunday morning… There was no doubt about it… Archer's true identity…
Whoosh!
Thunk!
Remus was awakened from his thoughts, almost to the point of panic, as an… arrow… an arrow!… just hit the tree under which he was standing, just a few centimeters above his head. Had there been an apple resting there, it would have been a direct hit.
"What the…" gasped Remus, cold sweat pouring down his face, as he felt a chill running down his spine, while he set his sights on the direction which the arrow came from, but perhaps due to the distance, he saw no one.
The projectile had wedged deep, halfway into the tree. Had he made the wrong move at the wrong time, there was the possibility that it would have been impaled through his head instead of wood. Still, it did not seem like the one who shot it had any intent to harm. There was a note attached to the arrow, and it was probably used simply to send a message… a familiar, blue scroll…
Remus plucked out the arrow, and retrieved the piece of paper, which read…
To Remus Lupin
There werewolf quickly looked around to check if anyone else had noticed, which, thankfully, did not seem to be the case. The only people who were currently in the area were himself, James, Sirius, and the caretaker, Argus Filch, along with his cat, Skittles. The feline seemed to have noticed the arrow, as it was currently staring at the tree were Remus was, but its master was too busy dealing as harshly as legally possible with the werewolf's two Marauder's friends, which made the two too preoccupied with anything else either. Sure that the coast was clear, Moony opened the letter, which was undoubtedly addressed to him, and read silently:
To Remus Lupin,
I assume that by now you have more or less figured out my true identity. You are a clever and intelligent individual after all, and unlike your friends, who only use their brains for petty misdeeds, you use yours when it counts the most. They should have been the ones crying out to the moon, not you.
At this the werewolf felt a slight twinge of anger, as the words were definitely an insult to his friends, but quickly dropped it when he read the third sentence, and settled back to silently reading the message…
Now, as I think you already know, I currently have in my possession an item which belonged to one of your friends. I will tell you now, no matter how much effort anyone place on trying to convince me, I am not giving it back…
So she has James' Invisibility Cloak, thought Remus bitterly, as he read the lines, pausing for a little while.
In an instant, several thoughts entered his mind on ways to try and convince (or force) the thief to return the Cloak, like informing the teachers about the theft (although that would not exactly be a good thing, as they will discover how the Marauders manage to get away with many of their pranks, as well as freely continue with their illegal nighttime strolls). The Cloak, after all, was not simply a family heirloom, for as far as Moony had seen, James had treated it as if it were a part of himself… And permanently a hand, leg, or any part of your body… based from Prong's reaction to the loss of his Cloak, was not a good feeling. He already had a half-mind to go to Dumbledore's office and report the incident (since he was the teacher who would most likely be able to do something, as well as the one least likely to use the information against them.), but decided to finish reading the letter first before deciding on his next course of action…
… for if I were to give it back, it would only be used to assist in bringing more pain and misery to other people, many of whom are undeserving of such harsh treatment. Your friends are cowards who prey on the weak, and in my opinion, are unworthy to even be in Gryffindor. They would go so far as to make anyone, even eleven year old children, miserable, the mental state of some of them almost shattered, their lives almost destroyed, just because they have been Sorted into Slytherin, or simply because your friends were bored and are trying to find some source of entertainment.
The werewolf could not help but feel a pang of guilt stab through his gut. He was there. Not once, but many times… so many times in fact that he had lost count. Innocent people becoming victim of pranks which… though he hated to admit… were no longer funny, but cruel, downright cruel… yet he did nothing… he did not like it… yet, despite being a Prefect, for the sake of friendship, turned a blind eye to their actions… all he did was watch and let it happen…
They should consider themselves lucky that all the innocent people they victimized who I know about are alive and well. Take my advice, Remus Lupin. I will overlook their actions for the time being, but do your best to keep your friends in line. For if I ever find out that they are off Maraudering innocent people again… and believe me, I will… I will inform the Ministry that there are three unregistered animagus, one rat, one dog, and one stag, running around illegally at Hogwarts, and that will earn them a compulsory, free-of-charge, ten-year-stay at the wonderful zoo called Azkaban… and that's the best they can hope for... I hope I'm making myself clear. It's not a threat. It's a promise.
Sincerely,
Archer
Upon reading the last lines, Moony could not help but gasp in shock and horror. James' assumption that Archer did not know about them being Animagi was wrong. She knows. Archer knows about them. Remus did not how she managed to, but she knows. She found out about it. And not only does Archer know about the fact that they were Animagi, she also knew the forms they take…
This isn't good, thought the werewolf to himself, as he watched how Padfoot and Prongs tricked Filch into finishing trimming the plant designing for them, by deliberately doing a poor job and then asking him for a demonstration, then letting him do all the work for them.
Still, it was not the fact that Archer knew about their animagus. No, what actually shook the werewolf to his core was…
"It was not my intention to help you at all... I was merely worried for the safety of the other students at Hogwarts… my objective was simply to eliminate the threat to innocent lives."
The words rang in Moony's head, making a shiver run down his spine.
For as far as Remus can tell, Archer, who he now knew was the girl Emiya, has just registered the Marauders as among such potential threats…
Definitely not good…
-BREAK-
(Severus POV)
"… and so that's what happened," finished the silver-haired girl, as she took something out of her pocket and held it out, which was then taken by a certain black-haired female, a look of awe on her face.
At around five in the afternoon, once they entered the sanctuary of the room on the fourth floor, Ilya gave a detailed explanation of what she had been up to to her friends. She told them about…well…everything. The anonymous letters…the fact that three out of four of the Marauders (with the exception of the werewolf) was an Animagus, their animal forms, their means to successful pranking… the Map… the Invisibility Cloak… the rat in the jar…
"Amazing…so this is how they do it," muttered Alice, as she looked at herself in a person-sized mirror, only to find no reflection, as her body in the real world also appears as if it has completely vanished.
Earlier that day, Ilya had told Rose and Alice that she had forgotten something important that she had to do, and told them they can proceed with the regular morning laps, promising to catch up later. The other three eyed her suspiciously, one of whom was actually trying to suppress a smirk, while the only male member of the group merely sighed (the other female tried to suppress a growl), but let her run off regardless.
Yes, in truth even Severus was amazed when he first saw it. Having been formerly a welcome guest to the Malfoy Manor, as well as to other Dark Lord Supporters' homes, he had already seen a few of said rare Cloaks. And they were indeed magnificent. The spell that was cast on them was so powerful that it really seems as if the one under it really does become completely undetectable, and yet…
The particular Invisibility Cloak in front of him right now, was different, far different, and far more awestriking, than the ones he had seen. Unlike the Cloaks he had seen before, which were simply blankets or cloth that were imbued with powerful magic, the one which was formerly being used by his hated enemies, was different. It was as if it was water woven into fabric, as if it was Invisibility itself was woven into a cloth, and the look in Ilya's eyes indicated that she was probably having a similar line of thought. And somehow, in a way he couldn't explain, there was definitely a strange feel to it…
Yes, the raven-haired young man had been angry at first. When he first found out that the brown rat was actually Peter Pettigrew, he actually had the impulse to stomp on the thing, for it had confirmed his suspicion as to who was responsible for his foiled ambush attempts on the Marauders in the years gone by, though he managed to control himself (With every last bit of strength he could muster). And when Ilya told him about the Cloak and the Marauder's Map, he could hardly contain his fury. Having things like that was… basically… unfair and very unsporting… well, not that it mattered when it comes to war, specifically, prank wars. Anything goes in battle after all, and it is always best to get your hand on every advantage you can have. Severus Snape could not deny the fact that he too, had never played fairly against the Marauders, though that was probably because of his personal hatred for them.
"Still… you could have told us about it sooner Ilya," said Rose suddenly, with a note of slight hurt in it.
"I feel the same way as Rose," added Alice, whose tone was cheerful, but there was something in it that made it similar to that of the blue-haired female, as she removed the Cloak from herself and handed it Rose for her to try. "We might have been able to do something to help…"
Severus did not voice it out, but he actually felt the same way as them. While Ilya had told him more than she did the other two, she still did not tell him about her plan, until after it has been successfully initiated…
"I'm sorry," replied the silver-haired girl, flushing slightly. "It's just that one person was enough for this particular task. And besides, I don't want to get any of you into trouble. If I get caught, all the blame will fall on me… don't worry… if I really needed help I'll be sure to tell you… for now though…"
The raven-haired young man could not help but sigh, his mind occupied, noticing that the ratio between the number of sighs and scowls he makes everyday seems to be slowly rising to the former's favor.
Having known her well enough, Severus knew that his girlfriend was the kind of person who would go out of her way to help others, by whatever means she deemed necessary. Whenever there was a task that had to be done, she always seemed to go for carrying the lion share of the pain and burden… no… she actually tries to carry the entire burden all by herself… Ilya has the tendency to try and do everything by herself…
And Severus Snape was not happy about it…
-BREAK-
(Severus POV)
Ilya had now taken out a piece of parchment and shown it to her friends...
"What is it?" asked Alice, eyeing the parchment suspisciously.
"It's a map," replied the silver-haired girl. "A map which shows the location of every single person in Hogwarts… whether you are in the Great Hall… in a classroom… or even when you're taking a bath… it allows to see anyone and everyone, whatever it is they are doing… "
"The Marauder's Map?" inquired Rose. "But I thought…"
"No, it's not," replied Ilya with a smirk. "I may have gotten the idea from it, but yes, I suppose you could say that mine is an improved version of it… It's still just in the layout stage though. I have no intention of using a parchment for my map… "
"Trace…on…"
Severus had now guessed that the seemingly blank piece of parchment that James Potter carried around with him was definitely the Marauder's Map. Ilya's own map was still quite similar to it… except that it was around five times its size, the size of a small writing board…
"Layout or not, it is impressive…" whispered Rose, as the map of Hogwarts appeared on the parchment, with moving dots indicating the location of every single person in the castle.
"I know you already told us what it is for… but this is just" muttered Alice, as she held it up in her hand for a closer inspection "… no wonder they hardly get into trouble with the teachers… I mean, they get caught only when they wanted to get caught… There's Professor McGonagall walking down the Grand Staircase… There's Peeves …probably trying to make Myrtle Cry again… not that he needs to, she's crying most of the time… and there's Evan Rosier entering through the Hogwarts g…"
"WHAT?!" shouted Severus suddenly, grabbing the map from the black-haired female's grasp.
"HEY!"
"Evan Rosier?" inquired Rose, looking puzzled at their reaction. "Who is that?"
"He's a Slytherin seventh year," gasped Alice. Judging from the fact that her voice did not have its usual fun demeanor, she seemed to have come to a realization.
"As well as one of those who eagerly ran to join the Dark Lord on the 31st of August," added the raven-haired young man, which made the blue-haired girl gasp, before her surprise turned into alertness, her red eyes narrowed, as he placed the map in such a way so that all four of them could get a good view…
Severus could not help but feel tense and nervous, as he, Ilya, Rose and Alice, watched as more people… around twenty of them… entered the gate… more than half of whom he recognized… He was formerly a member of the House of Serpents after all… and all he saw that were familiar, were among those who got sent plummeting into an underground river...
Suddenly, Severus felt a chill and nervousness which has nothing to do with what he had just seen...
"Just as I suspected," said Ilya quietly, yet it was filled with a cold fury that can make one feel as if they are about to be burnt and frozen alive at the same time, said emotions reflected in her emerald eyes, devoid of their normal warmth and cheerfulness...
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Alright, another chapter out people.
Yeah, thank goodness my fever's gone... only the damn yucky green stuff remains to be... well, I suppose I should stop, just in case there are those among you who are eating or drinking coffee while you read through this site.
Anyway, the only downside is that it transferred. Yes, indeed, it transferred to someone else. And I'm not really happy about it. Now, instead of being the one taken care of, I'm the one taking care of someone... add that to the lot of things I have to do and... well, I just hope I don't get sick again cause of it. Hey, it's not that I regret taking care of her. When it comes to priorities, she's on top of my list of course, and she was patient with me when I was in the same predicament just a couple of days ago, not to mention that I'm to blame for her catching it.
Anyway, that's just me blabbing to relieve my stress. When you're sick, it's difficult straight. When you have to do multi-tasking, add the fact that you're the one worrying about someone... and you end up with the same result... Still, I'd rather be healthy than sick, and I'll make sure she recovers quickly.
Like always... I hope you enjoy this chapter... I'll try and update this as often as I can, though the best I can promise is that I'll at least update once a week...
Later then, people...