Chapter 40

"Thank you, Minerva," Dumbledore called. He wore a grave look on his face as he turned back to Severus. "I am hoping it will not be time consuming to gain knowledge of the whereabouts of Ruby Parkes. I have already sent an owl requiring the immediate presence of Mr and Mrs Parkes. I want to have their daughter returned to them as soon as possible."

"This Zita Rougier must be an incredible actress," said Professor Flitwick, as he came to join us. "She has supposedly spent time with the Parkes family this year. I have not had any communication from the family about any concern."

"I do not doubt her skills in the art of deception," said Severus grimly. "We have had enough experience in that regard."

"You have the veritaserum, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

Severus nodded. "I do." He reached into his robes and produced a small vial, which he placed into Dumbledore's outstretched hand.

Dumbledore turned to Flitwick. "Filius, might I ask you to stay with your Ravenclaws here whilst we attend to Rougier?"

Flitwick nodded. "Of course, Albus. We shall begin discussing the additional points Ravenclaw is to receive tonight."

Dumbledore chuckled, whilst Severus merely rolled his eyes.

"I understand if you do not wish to be part of this," Dumbledore said quietly to Severus. "You and Armilla have emotional ties with this woman."

"Be that as it may," Severus said, sneering, "I would not miss interrogating this particular hag for the world."

Dumbledore didn't look surprised. "I thought you might say that. Shall we?" He turned to walk away.

I caught Severus' eye with a pleading look. He nodded grimly at me, not looking happy.

"Headmaster," he said, causing Dumbledore to turn around again. "If you will permit it, Armilla desires to be present as well."

Dumbledore looked from me to my brother, a slight frown on his face. "You're her guardian, Severus," he said, after a short pause, "if you think it wise, then of course Armilla may join us."

"I did not say anything about wise," Severus replied, walking over to my bed. "I merely said that Armilla desires it."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow as he turned again to walk away. "You see to assisting Armilla, Severus and I'll administer the veritaserum."

"You are sure?" Severus asked me quietly, as Dumbledore walked towards the other end of the room.

I nodded. "I am."

"Iwouldn't, Armilla," Terry said to me. "Who'd want to face that hag again?"

"I'd want to," said Lisa vehemently. "I'd like to hex her into oblivion."

"A shared sentiment, I assure you, Miss Turpin," Severus said, helping me to stand. "Unfortunately, your view of how to deal with such wrongdoings is not one the Department of Magical Law Enforcement shares."

"Pity," Lisa grumbled.

Severus handed me the pair of crutches that Madam Pomfrey had left by my bed. Slowly, we made our way down the room. I felt butterflies in my stomach as we got closer to the curtain that surrounded Rougier, Dumbledore and McGonagall.

"You can turn back at any time," Severus murmured.

I nodded. I would like to have turned back, simply to save myself from having more memories of Rougier to ponder, but I was determined.

Severus pulled the curtain back and I felt a magical barrier briefly as I passed through. There were clearly magical wards in place around the bed.

"Ah, if it isn't the clever little witch who finally defeated me," said a snide voice.

I had avoided looking at the person in the bed until then. I looked over to see Zita Rougier, or Zita Snape, as she now called herself, sitting up in bed, her greyish eyes fixed on me. Her face was twisted into a rather pinched expression, one that did not suit her features at all.

"Severus," I heard Dumbledore say warningly. I turned to see that Severus had his wand out, pointed straight at Rougier.

"Just in case, Headmaster," Severus said through clenched teeth. "I am hoping to not accidentally cast a well aimed curse at the hag."

Rougier sneered at him. "And where was the most devoted big brother whilst I was duelling his sister? Serving your master?"

Severus narrowed his eyes. "Oh aren't we brave?" he drawled. "Would you like me to hand you over to him right now, Rougier? The woman who was an ally to my father when he was in hiding? Since the Dark Lord cannot deal with my father any longer, you may be the next best option."

The colour on Rougier's face drained. She met my brother's gaze with a determined stare, but there was no denying that her hands, clasped together in her lap, were trembling.

"Unless Madam Rougier…er..Snape is usually this blunt, you may be able to tell that I have administered the veritaserum, Severus," said Dumbledore, his voice telling us that he wished to get on with the interrogation.

"Somehow I think this charming persona is part of this witch's usual temperament, Albus," said McGonagall tersely. "The sooner this is over the better."

Rougier merely smirked, folding her arms. "Ask what you will," she said, "it's not as if I can stop you now."

"Time is of the essence," said Dumbledore. "Where is Miss Ruby Parkes and how can we free her?"

Rougier laughed. "Oh Miss Parkes is in France with my brother, Marcel. She is trapped inside a book, Chapter 40 to be precise. Reading the first line backwards will take you in there with her. Saying the last line of the book in French will take you back out, provided you are holding onto Ruby. The book is called La Magicienne and it is sitting at the far left side of the bookshelf in the kitchen."

"Is she injured?" I asked urgently, feeling a pang in my chest. Poor Ruby.

Rougier shook her head. "No, just missing some hair."

"Your brother's address is still in Lyon, is it not?" said Severus tersely.

"Yes," Rougier answered.

"Kingsley will find him," Dumbledore said. "There is only one small wizarding village in Lyon. Is your brother currently in hiding?"

"No," Rougier replied.

Dumbledore suddenly waved his wand and his patronus appeared. With another swirl of his wand it was gone.

"I've sent word to Kingsley," he said. "He's waiting on orders."

I bit my lip. I hoped Ruby would be okay. Thank goodness she was alive.

Dumbledore conjured four squashy purple armchairs and gestured for us to sit. After assisting me to sit, Severus sat down, his narrowed eyes fixed on Rougier's.

"I think we need to start at the beginning," Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair. "Tell us of your association with the Snape family and all the details of how it came about."

Rougier sent a scathing look to Severus and I before she began, her eyes on Dumbledore. "I first received correspondence from Aurelius Snape in the December of the year before last. It was in the October of that year that he had discovered that he had a daughter. My brother, Marcel Rougier, had been approached by the Bletchley family for my services. The Bletchleys considered themselves close friends with Aurelius and he had communicated to the Bletchleys that he was seeking a governess for the week Armilla was to spend at Snape Manor.

The Bletchleys wanted to be the ones to make a recommendation, as they were not as affluent as they had once been, and saw this as an opportunity to strengthen their ties with a wealthy pureblood family like the Snapes and perhaps push their sons ahead of Draco Malfoy in the line for Armilla's hand."

Rougier paused. "Some of this is all conjecture on my brother's part, but the truth as I heard it from him. Young Arian Bletchley was apprenticing for my brother in Lyon and his role was pivotal in those early days. At last, I received the first of several letters from Aurelius Snape. He was very clear in what he expected of me in the week I was to spend at his house. He had not yet met his daughter, but was quite clear in improvements that would need to be made." Rougier looked over at me, her face scornful. "I found it so myself, for when I finally had the pleasure of meeting his dear daughter, I found her to be lacking in just about every way."

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Severus' hand grip tighter around his wand, but it was McGonagall who spoke up.

"I think you will find, Madam," she said, a pinched expression on her face, "that Armilla Snape is one of the most highly thought of students at this school, not merely for her academic skills but also for having a remarkably good disposition."

Something seemed to flicker in Severus' eyes as he looked over at his colleague for a moment.

"I agree with Minerva of course," said Dumbledore in a grave voice, his eyes fixed on Rougier's. "You'll forgive us for taking no notice of your opinion, especially as at this moment, everyone in this room finds your judgement wanting. Let's move on."

Rougier pursed her lips, now refusing to look at Severus or I.

"Tell me of how your association with Aurelius Snape was continued after Armilla departed Snape Manor," Dumbledore said, interlacing his fingers in his lap. "Surely you were not kept on after Armilla returned to Severus?"

"No, I was not kept on," Rougier said. Her voice seemed to have lost some of its arrogance. "I didn't expect to stay on. It was understood before I arrived that my presence would only be required for the time Armilla was there. Aurelius did plan on having me return in the summer, as he expected to have Armilla stay with him again."

"Then things took a little turn," Severus drawled, looking distastefully at Rougier. "And your services were required a little earlier than you thought?"

Rougier now looked over at Severus. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to hex him right out of the room. "Yes," she whispered. "Things took a little turn. Aurelius owled me in Lyon, asking for my presence in his home at my earliest convenience. I was there as a soon as I could and I found him in a rather agitated state. He told me of his role as a Death Eater, which I had guessed at of course. It seemed the Dark Lord was planning to have a weapon stolen from the Ministry of Magic and Lucius Malfoy had a major role to carry out. Lucius had made a request of the Dark Lord; that if he was successful Draco would be betrothed to Armilla."

Rougier shook her head. "Aurelius was furious. He did his best to thwart Lucius in the time before that night at the Ministry but to no avail. Aurelius was ordered to keep his distance. I believe he was lucky You-Know-Who didn't kill him, but he must have been useful enough to be kept alive."

"And what did Aurelius want with you at this time?" Dumbledore asked, though he knew the answer perfectly well. "Explain what his plan was."

"To assist him," she answered. "He was planning to go into hiding and take Armilla with him. He did not take kindly to Lucius asking the Dark Lord for Armilla's hand and he had decided that Armilla was going to have no association with the Malfoys." She paused. "Aurelius had connections and managed to find a house and secured it so that it couldn't be found." She wrinkled her nose. "Armilla will remember that it was not the most comfortable of houses. She should count herself lucky she spent such a limited time there."

I said nothing. To tell the truth, I wanted her to keep talking. It was so strange hearing these events, though they had taken place quite a while ago now, told from Rougier's perspective.

"We had not been there long before Aurelius decided he would collect Armilla. I do not know how he got into Hogwarts, all I know is that he managed to acquire polyjuice potion and one of Lucius Malfoy's hairs. He managed to find Armilla in the dungeons and portkeyed her to the house." Again, Rougier shook her head. "Obviously Armilla had to do some quick thinking from the start." She shot a scathing look at me. "I have never seen a daughter attempt to manipulate her father as I saw you do. Quite the Slytherin, I must say."

"A compliment I think," Dumbledore said, as Severus smirked. "Continue."

Rougier glared at Dumbledore. "From the start, Armilla was nothing but difficult. Impudent, defiant and rather wily." She looked over at Severus. "You must be so proud of your parenting skills."

Severus merely gave her a deadpan look. "Self defence skills are a must these days," he said smoothly. "If my sister employs impudence, defiance and wily tricks to aid her in a successful escape, then I congratulate her whole heartedly."

"You were getting to the part where I left you on the bathroom floor," I said, my voice completely neutral.

Rougier narrowed her eyes. "You little-"

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Armilla managed to escape, yes, and," he looked over at me and inclined his head, "we were very proud of her for it. I would however, like to hear your version of the tale."

Rougier looked as if she would really rather not, but the veritaserum would not let her keep the event to herself. "I awoke on the bathroom floor after Aurelius came back," she said. "I had been knocked out and had also been stupefied." She paused and grimaced. "Aurelius was not much better." He would never tell me of what had happened in the grounds and he would fly into such a temper if I asked. All I managed to learn from him was that Armilla had gotten away, taking his wand with her." Rougier glared at me. "And she took mine too."

I said nothing, though I had several sarcastic comments ready to hurl at her.

"Aurelius kept a spare wand in the house," Rougier continued, "and we had to use it between us. He didn't leave the house or grounds initially, knowing that due to Armilla's return, Severus and Dumbledore would probably have Aurors looking for him. His mood turned dark, very dark, and he spent his days in his room, barely doing anything. I suggested one time that he should disown his daughter, as she had betrayed him, but he would not hear of it." Rougier shuddered. "He had a terrible temper during those weeks."

"And why did you stay?" Severus asked, his expression calculating. "Surely you were not bound to the house?"

"Of course I wasn't bound to the house!" Rougier snapped. "I left when I needed to. Continuing the acquaintance served my purpose."

"And what was your purpose?" Dumbledore queried, leaning forward slightly.

"At first it was revenge." Rougier gave me a look of loathing. "I was enraged that Armilla had managed to get past both her father and myself. I kept returning to Aurelius at the house for many weeks, trying to win him over, to make him stop obsessing over his children. He would sit for hours on end, muttering to himself about betrayal and deception and the loss of his wife. Over and over he would mumble the name of his beloved wife. Hazel, Hazel, Hazel."

Rougier stopped, taking a breath. "When I ventured to suggest once more that Aurelius disown Armilla, he very clearly told me that his estate would pass to Armilla upon his death and nothing would prevent her from inheriting it. As his daughter very clearly had magical ability, there was no question of her inheritance."

"There was a clause in the will about denying the inheritance if a child was a squib?" McGonagall said, her disdainful expression clearly showing what she thought of that.

Rougier nodded. "I thought if I could get Aurelius to transfer his affection from his late wife to me, I could secure some, if not all, of his fortune for myself. I immediately began planning how I could attack Armilla's magical core. If I could rid her of her magic, she wouldn't be able to inherit. Soon it was my dearest hope to become pregnant too. A magical child of mine would then inherit the Snape estate, thus securing a place among the most prominent British wizarding families. It was the perfect plan."

"I see nothing perfect about it!" Severus spat, the hand on his wand almost trembling. "Your thinking, madam, has been nothing short of deranged from the start."

"Revenge and greed together cannot possibly make for a perfect plan," I added. "What's more, you didn't succeed."

"Other than killing our father," Severus muttered.

Rougier's face was twisted with malice as she looked at us. "I didn't kill Aurelius!" she shrieked. "I am no murderer!"

Seeing as she was under the effects of veritaserum, we could have no doubt she was telling the truth.

"No murderer?" Severus repeated. "But you'll take part in kidnapping not only my sister, but also Miss Parkes, as well as stealing my sister's magic. You expect us to condone this?"

Rougier's eyes flashed. "What I expect of you is-"

Dumbledore's stern tone cut across her's. "Did you play any part in Aurelius Snape's death, Zita?"

"I did not," she said primly. "I had no plan to kill my husband."

"Did you know of any plan to kill our father?" I asked.

"Again, no," Zita said smoothly, smirking at me. "Your attempt to paint me as a murderer will fail. I had no knowledge of any plan to kill my husband."

"Did you know anyone who had a motive to kill him?" Severus asked.

"No," Zita said, her voice now impatient. "I thought I was clear."

"Let's return to your marriage," Dumbledore said. "How did it come about?"

"I can make myself desirable to a man if need be," Rougier said, the smirk still on her face, which only deepened when she saw Severus roll his eyes. "Aurelius was a lonely man with a dead wife and children who had abandoned him. I easily stepped in as the companion with an awful lot of sympathy and affection. Eventually he came to see me in a whole new way."

"So you didn't use magic to secure his consent to the marriage?" Severus asked, his tone full of doubt.

"No, I didn't!" Rougier snapped.

"Did you ask him to marry you?" I asked.

Rougier pursed her lips before answering. "Yes," she said shortly. "He thought it was a good idea."

Severus let out a sound of derision and looked away.

"How did you bring about the marriage?" McGonagall asked, an eyebrow raised. "I would have thought it would be rather difficult to manage considering Aurelius was in hiding."

"He came out of hiding," Rougier said shortly. "He came with me to France and after being married, he managed to conceal himself once more in a small chateau. The Death Eaters didn't hunt for him in France, at least not that I know of." She stopped and looked at Severus, who remained silent.

"Tell us about your brother's financial problems," I said. "I would have thought your marriage would have helped in that regard."

Rougier looked outraged that I would know of her brother's business, but the veritaserum did not let her keep the truth to herself.

"My brother Marcel got into considerable financial debt last August," she said, her tone flat. "He owed a lot of money to many people and when he couldn't repay them

on time he began receiving threats." She stopped to swallow. "He…His life was in danger. I had to help in any way I could. Aurelius did not know of the blunder. I merely asked him for money when I could. I could only give Marcel money in small amounts, as Aurelius was not very forthcoming."

"What did Arian Bletchley know of all this?" I asked.

Rougier looked sharply at me, her lips pursed once again. "He knew of the financial problems," she said. "As Marcel's apprentice, they worked so closely together that it could not escape Arian that something was amiss. On a drunken night, Marcel revealed all to Arian, including that I had married your father."

Rougier sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "Arian was very supportive," she said, opening her eyes again. "Though he was not a Death Eater, relatives of his, the Hewitts were, and he promised me that through them, he was going to do everything in his power to raise Aurelius in the Dark Lord's esteem. In exchange for doing this, I assured Arian that I would put his name forward to Aurelius as a suitor for Armilla. Arian seemed confident of securing Armilla's agreement to a relationship. He told me that if they were to marry, he would ensure that money Armilla would receive from her father on her marriage would be used to erase Marcel's debt. He wanted to save the business so he could inherit it himself. It was something that would work out well for everyone."

"Except Armilla," Dumbledore said, looking gravely at Rougier. "Forgive me, Madam, but there is nothing in that plan that reveals generosity of spirit in any respect."

Rougier was silent. She met Dumbledore's gaze, her face unconcerned.

"Tell us of your motive to have a child and its relevance, if any, to the curse cast upon Armilla," the Headmaster said, shaking his head slightly.

"I didn't like that Aurelius would not change his will after we were married," Rougier said, suddenly glaring at me. "I thought it logical that his wealth should be transferred to me upon his death. Aurelius did not seem to think so. Again, he told me that Armilla and only Armilla would be inheriting."

She suddenly grinned, looking a little mad. "I remembered the clause in the will about squibs. I could not be absolutely certain that Arian would help us once he and Armilla were married, if indeed, Aurelius sanctioned the marriage. I began devising a plan to drain Armilla's magic, even before I was pregnant. Marcel had dabbled in the dark arts in his youth and together we created the curse that would make Armilla's dead guardian appear. All I needed was to have Armilla in sight when I cast it. It would collect what magic it could from Armilla, since the curse was drawn to her. The curse would disappear when others would come by, but still retain the magic.

I needed a way to have access to Armilla and so I decided to disguise myself as a student at Hogwarts. Before the school year started, I spent a lot of time in Diagon Alley, looking for students shopping for supplies. My chance came in the bathroom of The Leaky Cauldron on the last day before school was to start. Luck was with me that day. I entered the bathroom to find a young lady in there, reading over her Hogwarts supplies list. As her name was on the letter, I already had an identity. Ruby Parkes. I stupefied her, swapped clothes, grabbed a hair, added it to my Polyjuice potion and I became Ruby Parkes. She fit nicely into my brother's book and I carried her with me all the way to Hogwarts. I spent a fair bit of time in the book with her in those early days, coaxing her to tell me things about herself. It was not difficult. She stayed with me until I decided to leave the book in France in February. I carry around an abundant supply of hair."

"Did you torture her?" Dumbledore asked.

Rougier nodded. "Initially. She is uninjured now, of course."

"Her family didn't suspect anything?" McGonagall asked.

Rougier laughed. "The Parkes family? I only had to spend one night with them and it became clear rather quickly that Ruby did not see a lot of her parents. It was the dotty little grandmother who I found inside the Leaky Cauldron and she suspected nothing at all."

"When did you become pregnant?" I asked.

"Late December," Rougier answered, looking away.

"You couldn't have been seeing Aurelius too often," Dumbledore commented. "I suppose you saw him over the Christmas holidays?"

Rougier nodded curtly. "Yes, I had my ways."

Dumbledore also nodded. "And I granted permission to Ruby's parents for her absence from school after Christmas due to the illness of a relative."

Rougier laughed. "Me again. Morning sickness you know. I couldn't return to school."

McGonagall narrowed her eyes. "You didn't return until after the death of Aurelius Snape in early February."

"Yes," Rougier said simply.

McGonagall shook her head.

"I suppose your constant use of Polyjuice potion caused you to miscarry?" Severus asked, his tone emotionless.

Rougier looked darkly at Severus. "Yes," she said quietly. "I miscarried in late February."

"Then why not give up the plan?" McGonagall asked, looking incredulous. "Why carry on?"

"Because I wanted Armilla's magic gone!" Rougier snapped. "I would not rest until it was gone." Rougier paused and smiled sweetly at me. "Then of course, Armilla got too clever and so we had to rethink the curse."

"Did Father know you were pregnant?" I asked.

Rougier shook her head. "No, I didn't tell him."

"How did he come to be at Snape Manor at the time of his death?" Severus asked.

"I do not know," Rougier said. "I arrived at the chateau one evening after several days' absence to find he was not there. I came back to England and checked the house we had lived in briefly and there was no sign of his having been there. I was going to see if he had returned to Snape Manor and I was intercepted by an owl carrying the news of his death."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I must confess that this is one of the most complex tales of deceit I have encountered, and that's saying something."

Rougier snorted. "You want a tale of deceit, ask Severus to share one."

Severus sneered. "I won't outshine your story tonight, Madam."

"It was a rather thrilling one," McGonagall muttered, as Dumbledore took out his wand. He stood up and gestured for Severus and I to follow him.

McGonagall stayed behind with Rougier as we made our way outside the curtain. Dumbledore put the tip of his wand to his temple and withdrew a long wispy strand. He then added it to a conjured vial and I watched, amazed, as he performed a complicated wand movement, causing the vial to disappear.

"I've sent it to Kingsley," Dumbledore said to Severus. "Extra information for his encounter with Marcel Rougier. Hopefully he will have freed Miss Parkes soon."

A/N Thanks for reading. Please review – comments are always appreciated. Just a quick message to 'Guest' – thank you very much for your message; I was glad to receive it. Thank you to all those who continue to review – I always enjoy reading your reviews and messages. I still have plans to finish this story and this chapter was one of the trickiest to write, which is why I updated much later than planned. I had to keep checking detail in both of my stories to make sure all the little things still added up, despite having planned all this!