Ch. 22: Scheming
Gossip spread around the school like wildfire. Within one or two days, literally every student has heard that Shion was the victim of an entrance curse cast by Mrs Phantomhive, which was, of course, true, even if Malfoy couldn't have known that for sure when he had started his vicious offensive. Building up on Malfoy's story, cruel gossip, about how the Phantomhive twins helped their mother or forced Shion to keep the curse a secret, spread around the school, helped eagerly by the likes of Weasley. Everywhere that Ciel went, voices hushed and heads turned to look at him. Whispers hissed in his wake.
Ciel wasn't a Gryffindor to get upset over that and complain or do something rash. He wasn't a Hufflepuff to go crying in a corner. He was a Slytherin and, above that, he was a Phantomhive so he went on as though nothing had happened. He walked the corridors of the castle with his head up, ignoring the hissing whispers and unfriendly glares. He knew that eventually everybody would get bored and move on when another event worthy of gossiping would happen. He knew also, that Nezumi, raised as a Phantomhive, was doing the same and he knew that Shion was trying his best to ignore the gossip as well.
It wasn't easy, although he would never admit it. Besides bringing everybody's attention back to Shion, Malfoy's story reminded the students that Ciel's and Nezumi's mother was a Deatheater, one of the most evil, most despised wizards in the contemporary history. The commotion brought the bad memories of seeing the hideous tattoo on mother's forearm as she slowly rolled up her sleeve in the clinically clean room in the Ministry of Magic. For a couple of days, every time he heard the story, he remembered the shock and the betrayal that he had felt when the Aurors had dragged Rachel Phantomhive, unresisting, out of the room, before casting just about every revealing charm they could on him, Nezumi and father.
Back in the summer, the arrest and trial had gone unnoticed for the majority of the wizarding community. Between all the other arrests and trials and in the face of the sheer scale of the "success" of the Auror "investigation", the quiet and unassuming Mrs Phantomhive has been quickly forgotten and Ciel and Nezumi have been spared the fate of some of the stigmatised Slytherin students. Some of them, like Malfoy, had of course worked on their opinion since the first year at school. Now, they were all pushed in the back of the students' minds because new scapegoats presented themselves: the evil twins who were pretending friendship and forcing a poor, Muggle born student to suffer, in order to keep their secret.
This, in fact, hurt the most. Ciel could easily ignore the biting comments about how he would have been a Deatheater, he could even ignore, although with some difficulty, people badmouthing his mother. She has been a Deatheater. There was no point denying it and he didn't. When he would turn seventeen and was finally allowed to visit her, he would ask her reasons for her actions, but until then, there was nothing he could do. However, to know that the students considered him to be somebody to harm the person that was like a brother to him, that they thought he had pretended friendship or discarded it for the sake of his twisted reasons. That hurt. He supposed that it must have been even more difficult for Nezumi, whose feelings for Shion went further than brotherly love. Not that anybody in the school was supposed to know that.
On the bright side, Malfoy's story generated much more understanding towards Shion, who had told them grudgingly that the guys in the dormitory actually apologised for thinking that he was a vampire. Ciel and Nezumi had laughed at the insane assumption, but Shion had only said that he would gladly have the situation as it has been before because he couldn't listen to the gossip. He couldn't stand Ciel and Nezumi being accused when they had been the ones to save his life. It was typical for him, really, but Ciel was still happier that way. Shion has had enough that school year.
By the time that the weekend of Malfoy's detention arrived, a couple of waves of gossip had circled the school. First was the story that Malfoy anonymously released the day after he found out the truth about Shion. Closely after, Hermione's "Malfoy shovelling dung" story followed and, in retaliation, Malfoy "accidentally" let some third-year Hufflepuffs overhear him saying how he suspected that Ciel and Nezumi had threatened Shion into silence about the curse.
Ciel ignored the amazed glances as he, together with his friends, crossed the main courtyard of the school. They had decided to profit from the beautiful weather and get away from the whispers about how Shion, Safu and Lizzy better run while they still can and free themselves from their toxic friendship. They had sent a message to Hermione, to tell her that they wouldn't be sitting in the library that Sunday, because it was a crime to waste the first day of warm weather.
'This is really becoming insane,' Safu complained when they were out of hearing range. She got a bit better after finding out that Shion hadn't locked her out of the Room of Requirement, but she wasn't quite back to her normal, happy self. Ciel felt a bit sorry for her because she was probably starting to realise that her longing was not reciprocated. 'I mean, I can understand that they are all shocked, but we have been friends since the first year and you three were friends even before. Did they forget that?'
'I think they're just bored,' Nezumi suggested in a light tone, although Ciel did notice that his shoulders relaxed minutely when they left the castle. 'I mean there's nothing else happening this year, is there?' he asked and suggested that he might try to kiss Hermione again. Ciel bit his lip to stop himself from smiling at the slightly hurt look that crossed Shion's face so fast that he might have imagined it. He almost missed the satisfaction that flickered in Nezumi's grey eyes.
'I don't think it's going to work with your new, evil persona,' he commented neutrally. 'But you might try to convince Weasley to try and kiss her in the Great Hall. It should be fun,' he added with a laugh.
'Ciel,' Lizzy protested. 'Be nicer to the poor guy. Imagine that you had to try and attract a girl that could do so much better than you,' she added with a wicked smile. It was a sign of changing attitudes that Safu didn't giggle at her comment and for a moment Lizzy looked like she regretted picking up the topic.
'Who's not being nice?' Ciel asked her, knowing that it was better to pretend that nothing was wrong. 'Besides, I don't see myself having that kind of problem', he added smugly, ignoring Nezumi's comment that it was only because he already had a girl chosen.
They reached the border of the lake and, with a flick of her wand, Elizabeth dried a path of ground so that they could sit down, after casting a warming charm on their cloaks. They settled on the ground, forming a small circle, knowing that nobody would come close to them and disturb them. Nobody came close to them if they could help it, however, Ciel wasn't surprised when Hermione joined them some moments later. To express her thoughts on the gossip, the Gryffindor made it a point to spend some time with them nearly every day. Usually it meant she met them for a meal or two, since that was what they mostly did all together during the week.
Ciel appreciated the voice of confidence, even if he wasn't surprised to get it, and he knew that so did Nezumi, even if his brother wouldn't admit it out loud. He knew also that Shion was very relieved that Hermione's attitude didn't change and the girls were very happy, because they managed to grow quite close to Hermione over this year.
'So your friends are standing there to make sure that we don't hurt you, or are they waiting for whatever it is that you promised to tell them?' he asked, nodding towards where Potter and Weasley were failing to look inconspicuous, some twenty steps away. Hermione sighed.
'I promised I'm going to ask you a question about Malfoy,' she admitted without much enthusiasm. Ciel wondered why it was always about Malfoy with Potter. It was always about Potter with Malfoy as well and Ciel was wondering what would happen if somebody locked the two of them in a dark room, without wands. Maybe they could try to do that to Malfoy to pay him back for whatever revenge he would cook up?
'Are you going to ask it?' Shion asked when Hermione didn't seem willing to continue. He rolled his eyes when she pointed out it was a question for the twins.
'They heard Malfoy talk about schemes to somebody and they wanted to investigate,' she said finally. 'I didn't want them to do anything stupid, so I promised to ask you,' she added to explain why she was asking. Ciel exchanged a quick look with Nezumi, who snorted.
'The only schemes Malfoy has been discussing this year are investment schemes for his father's Muggle money,' Ciel said with a smirk. Hermione blinked. 'I don't want to be disrespectful, but I don't think that Weasley should be interested in those kinds of things,' he added, noticing the evil smirks on Nezumi's and, surprisingly, Shion's faces.
'Investment schemes for his father's Muggle money,' Hermione repeated slowly, either not quite believing what she has heard or trying to memorise it. 'Malfoy has Muggle money?' she asked.
'Of course,' Ciel replied, surprised that this was her doubt about the situation. 'Where do you think he is getting profits from? There's no stock market in the wizarding world and there's hardly any companies in which one can invest. You don't quite think that Lucius Malfoy's meagre earnings from sitting in the directors' boards were enough to cover their extravagant living and pay for all the houses they have, do you?'
'They have more than one house?' she asked, looking more and more surprised.
'Of course,' Ciel repeated. 'I don't know the details, but they have at least a mansion somewhere on Côte d'Azur besides their manor in London's suburbs. They like to show off, so I would assume they have a winter cottage somewhere, maybe near Chamonix, because it's so fancy, and possibly another hidden retreat, where they can go if they want to get away,' he explained.
'I never thought about that,' Hermione admitted. Ciel chose to not say that it was obvious if the only pure-blood families that she associated with were the Weasleys and the Longbottoms. There was no point in annoying her. 'It seems reasonable now that you say it,' she added with a sigh.
'You should visit us this summer, in Nezumi's and Ciel's place up by the fjords,' Elizabeth interjected with a grin, laughing when Nezumi protested that she was not supposed to invite people to places that did not belong to her. Hermione's eyes widened.
'Yeah, Nezumi even has a fake driving licence, so we can go sightseeing or spend some time in Oslo if we miss civilisation,' Shion added enthusiastically. 'Since we're not allowed to Appearate and we cannot use magic outside the cottage,' he explained, probably misreading Hermione's surprised gaze.
'You can drive a car?' she asked, turning to Nezumi.
'Remarkably well,' he replied with a smug smile and repeated Elizabeth's invitation, adding that they always went there for some time during the summer because it was peaceful and beautiful. The house was standing by a lake, with no neighbours in sight, only a field of grass, forest on the other side of the road, the lake and a rock wall standing tall on the other side of the lake. Ciel was looking forward to be there this summer. Hermione laughed.
'And here I was getting worried that Malfoy might actually be scheming to do something horrible,' she said, sounding relieved. 'Either that those schemes are this revenge that he mentioned the other day or that he was going to-' she stopped herself, blushing slightly.
'Cast the House Curses around Hogwarts?' Ciel suggested, content to see that he managed to shock her. 'I don't think that he is able to do that. We read up on them a lot during last summer and they seem to be awfully complicated,' he added, keeping his tone light and pretending to not notice Shion biting his lip and looking down. He knew that it was okay to say the name out loud and now that the truth was out it was stupid to pretend that the thing didn't exist.
'How did you guess?' Hermione asked. Ciel shrugged and told her that there were not many things she would consider inappropriate to mention. In the light of currently most popular topic, it was easy to figure out what Potter and Weasley might come up with. 'So you're sure that it's investment schemes,' she concluded, probably trying to close the subject of House Curses.
'Yup, he's not going to discuss whatever he plans for me with anybody,' Ciel replied, keeping his tone light. No need to let Hermione know that he was, in fact, worried about that. 'He wouldn't risk not noticing Cravat, Hamlet or Tsukiyo and betraying his plans,' he added.