Chapter 10: Leaving on a Train

Meissa was thinking, thinking about everything that had been said about Snape. She still believed in his innocence. But there was still a question about why he would attempt to bypass a Cerberus.

Now that she knew that the Cerberus was there to guard something and that it had something to do with Nicolas Flamel - the name was familiar even if she had no idea why. So in the weeks since the first match, when she wasn't in the library helping Hermione or doing homework, she was pulling double time to keep Harry out of trouble with Draco.

Draco had turned nasty towards Potter after Slytherin's defeat. The 170-60 point lost was a sore spot for the blonde and he had no qualms about taking it out on Potter. He once tried to mock Harry by saying something about a wide-mouthed tree frog - it didn't really make much sense to her. When that flopped he fell back to taunting Harry about his lack of a family.

In all honestly it was annoying in Meissa's opinion - she wanted to smack her cousin for making things unnecessarily difficult for her. She also wanted to make him realize that had things gone another way he would've been fatherless as well. Just like she was parentless.

Sometimes she thinks he doesn't pay attention as well as he should - his words cutting deeper than he probably realized.

In any rate it was the day before the winter break and Meissa was looking forward to the celebration. She might not like her Uncle Lucius but she has to admit that celebrating Yule with the Malfoys has always been an interesting experience. Whenever her Uncle Sevy - and guardian - was far too busy to come back home she stays over at the Malfoy manor. On Yule mornings - as well as Christmas mornings - her Aunt Cissy would wake Draco and her up before dawn and they would go up to the top of the tower to watch the sun climb high into the skies.

She was honestly looking forward to it.

"Meissa," she hears as she was finishing up the last of her packing. She would've been done sooner but she had spent at least fifteen minutes debating if she wanted to take a small suitcase or her trunk. In the end she decided she wanted to pack light and chose the suitcase, packing a few days worth of clothes and her homework. Of course she, to be safe, placed an extra strong locking spell on her trunk - as well as various other jinxes and curses that would discourage just about anyone except the determined.

Looking over her shoulder she sees that it was Daphne, firmly drying her wet hair.

"Yes?"

"Did you have any luck looking up Flamel?"

"Nothing yet," the raven-haired girl replies as she glances towards the door. "He's proving to be a very elusive wizard."

"Are you sure he's a wizard?"

"Has to be," Meissa remarks, braiding her hair back. The bangs that refused to cooperate she braided into smaller braids. With a flick of her wand the braids stayed together without tying them off. "Hagrid said that it was between Dumbledork and Flamel." She makes a vague gesture, "You've seen how Professor Dumbledork dresses. There's no way he'd fit in with the Muggle world."

"Dumbledork?" Daphne repeats with disbelieving snort, just barely resisting the urge to laugh.

"I could call him Dumbledumb but it's rather repetitive." This has Daphne giggling despite her best efforts. Meissa just smirks at the ashen blonde, more than a bit pleased to get a reaction from the other girl.

"So if he's not in Hogwarts' library where could he be?" Daphne asks after she managed to get her giggles under control.

"I don't know. It's possible that he was in the library but someone checked out the book," Meissa theorizes.

"If that's the case, what do you plan to do?"

Meissa shrugs her shoulders. She had a funny feeling that she read something about him before. "Nothing can be done at the moment," she confesses. "The winter break is tomorrow so I'll check the library at the Black Manor when I can get away."

"Get away?" Daphne looks confused, "Where are you going if not home?"

"I'll be staying at the Malfoys over the break." Meissa shrugs her shoulders.

Daphne looks worriedly at the other girl - she sounded like she spent a lot of her time at her cousin's place.

"If I was to invite you, would you come to my house for Yule someday?"

Meissa stares at the blonde, surprised by the question. "I…" she didn't know how to answer that. She remembered the last time she had gone over to a friend's home - she didn't want that to happen again.

"Someday," she finally mutters.

"I'll take that," Daphne tells her quietly, smiling when the tensed girl looks at her in the eye.

She didn't smile back, choosing instead to grab her books and made a dash out of the room. Daphne, left behind, could only shake her head - she should've expected that kind of reaction from the girl.

~MJB~

Meissa was walking with her cousin after potions, giving her cousin the cold shoulder again after what he had said in class. Sometimes he could be such a thoughtless prat.

"Meissa," Draco hisses at the raven-haired girl, trying once again to get her attention.

"What?!"

"Can you at least tell me what I did wrong?"

"Draco, if I have to tell you then bugger off."

"This isn't fair and you know it!"

"Fair?!" she whirls around on him, her dark brown eyes turning impossibly darker. "You really want to talk about fair? How about this, how is it fair that you keep bringing up Potter's lack of parents!"

Draco splutters at her words, perhaps realizing the crux of the problem.

"You, dear cousin of mine," she practically snarls, "Are a real piece of work." With that she storms off, ignoring her cousin's calls behind her.

In little to no time at all she had joined the Gryffindors though they had left the classroom earlier. Though once she looked past them she saw that a very large fir tree was blocking the corridor. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom - along with a loud puffing sound - told her that it was Hagrid.

"Ello," she mutters in greeting to Hermione while Ron asked Hagrid if he needed help.

"Nah, I'm alright, thanks Ron."

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoys cold drawl from behind them.

Meissa tensed at her cousin's voice and she could see out of the corner of her eyes that he was eying her. She silently brushes her robe back and palms the handle of her wand, her body poised for just about anything.

"Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose - that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

Meissa drew her wand just as Ron dived at Malfoy. She barely had time to utter a word when Snape came up the stairs.

"WEASLEY!"

Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.

"He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."

"Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily, his eyes sweeping over the students gathered. He did not miss the fact that Meissa had her wand drawn and when their gaze met she silently holstered it. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."

Needing no further encouragement Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere - smirking at the Gryffindors. Snape gives the Gryffindors one last look before he leaves in another direction.

"I'll get him," said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "one of these days, I'll get him -"

"Going after Draco is only fuel his vendetta," Meissa pipes up towards Ron with Hermione nodding in agreement.

"I hate them both," said Harry, "Malfoy and Snape." Meissa frowns thoughtfully at the boy but stayed mum about it.

"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Hagrid. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."

The boys were quick to follow them and when Meissa hesitated Hermione slid her hand into hers and, with a reassuring smile, she pulled the Slytherin girl into the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.

"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree - put it in the far corner, would you?"

The hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.

"Aunt Cissy wasn't kidding when she said that Hogwarts tend to go all out for Christmas," Meissa remarks in awe.

"Aunt Cissy?" Hermione asks while Harry and Ron were taking in the sights.

"Draco's mum. Aunt Narcissa - Cissy as I like to call her - and my mother are sisters," Meissa clarifies.

"Oh, I see," Hermione nods. "Maybe one day we'll meet."

Meissa grimaced at the thought of their meeting. "I don't believe that would be a good idea," she confesses and when she sees the confusion in Hermione's face she tries to find the right words to clarify the situation to the other girl. "My aunt, as much as I love her, doesn't… well, she doesn't approve of muggleborns."

Hermione frowns. "Oh."

Meissa gives her a quick one arm hug that left Hermione wondering if that actually happened.

"Meissa." The raven-haired girl looks at her. "Are we going to be okay?"

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Well… your aunt, you just said she doesn't…"

Meissa gives her an odd look.

"She's only my aunt, Hermione. As much as I love her I won't let her dictate who I become friends with."

Hermione gave her a grateful smile. The topic exhausted - for the time being she suspects - the girls tune back into the boys' conversation in time to overheard Hagrid asking them a question.

"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.

"Just one," said Hermione. "And that reminds me - Harry, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."

"Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.

Meissa was curious as to what spell he was using to produce the golden bubbles - she had a thought that her Aunt Cissy might appreciate the help decorating the tree.

"The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"

"They're not working," Meissa injects. "We've been scouring the library for anything on him since you mentioned him last time." Harry nodded in agreement.

"You what?" Hagrid looked shocked. "Listen here - I've told yeh - drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."

"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," said Hermione.

"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere - just give us a hint - I know I've read his name somewhere." Meissa had to concur with him on that but she suspect that their sources may have been different.

"I'm sayin' nothin, said Hagrid flatly.

"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron and with that the trio left Hagrid looking disgruntled. Meissa, who told them that she was going to join them later, smiled at the half-giant before leaving in search for Daphne.

~MJB~

Meissa was quiet, sitting in one of the compartments on the Hogwarts Express Train, staring out of the window. She was disappointed that she couldn't spend the winter break with her Uncle Sevy but she knew that he had been worried about something for the past few months.

While she wasn't completely sold to the idea that Snape was trying to get past the Cerberus she did know that something was up.

Dumbledore had brought in something, something related to the vault that was broken into before the start of the term - according to what Hermione had told her after the meeting. Whatever that item was she had to agree with Harry that it was hidden in Hogwarts, likely just past the Cerberus hellhound. And despite what Hagrid might think a Cerberus is a dangerous magical creature.

The presence of a Cerberus INSIDE Hogwarts Castle let alone the grounds was a serious problem. To her that meant the item itself was probably a dangerous relic - which leads to her questioning Dumbledore's competences. Placing a dangerous item inside a school housing students as young as eleven is a foolish idea, no matter how secure the school is supposed to be. If the item itself is not dangerous then the person after the item - someone made that break in attempt after all - was a dangerous person.

Regardless of which case it was she could only conclude that Dumbledore was being reckless.

And somehow she couldn't help but think that her uncle was involved. Maybe not in the manner the Gryffindors believe but in a manner. She remembered her uncle telling her that the Headmaster trusted him - perhaps too much in any other person's opinion. If Dumbledore trusted her uncle to involve him in whatever defenses he may have put up then it's likely he involved others.

In order to keep a secret just that it was wise to only tell one other person the nature of the secret. But Meissa had a low opinion of the headmaster and had no doubt that he involved other professors in the formation of the defenses.

If Fluffy the Cerberus was ever bypassed then there would be nothing to keep the item, whatever it might be, safe from the wrong hands. And if she had to place a bet she would say that the headmaster had set up exactly seven lines of defense to the item. That of itself meant the involvement of at least seven instructors - though she hardly considered Hagrid an instructor so maybe seven staff members.

And of those staff members one of them would likely know what the item is and could covet it for themselves.

The more she thought about it the more it made sense. And the more it made sense the more she wondered why Dumbledore would put the entire student body at risk. Because chances were that the information could slip out to the wizarding world or at the very least attract the wrong kind of attention if someone had a loose tongue - someone like Hagrid…

Disturbed by her line of thought Meissa grabs a book and, flipping it open to a random page, started reading to distract herself. She didn't want to think about the strangeness of Hogwarts and the peculiars of its' Headmaster. Because, if she had to be frank, she didn't trust the old wizard - anyone who deliberately puts another in risk was immediately placed in her book.

~MJB~

Meissa was in the midst of an intense migraine by the time the train rolled in at King's Cross Station. The winter break was shaping up to be a fine holiday indeed. She just wanted to hide away in her room at the Black Manor but no, of course not. She had to go to the Malfoy Manor which of course means she'll be spending time in the presence of her Uncle Lucius for most if not all of the winter break.

By the time her Aunt Narcissa showed up - fashionably late of course - Meissa was in no mood for pleasantries.

"Draco, Meissa, I hope your first term went well?" Narcissa asks as she kissed her son's forehead. She made to do the same when she sees the dark look on her niece's face. Instead of touching her she simply smiles at the irritable girl. "Did you get a migraine on the train, dear?"

"Is it really that bloody obvious?" the girl practically growls. If she had been any other person she would've earned a slap for her insolence. As it was, because of who she is she got a look that warned her that she was close to crossing the line.

Meissa scowls to herself and accepts the outstretched arm alongside with Draco who grips his mother from the other side. If Narcissa noticed the coldness between the two she most certainly didn't comment on it. Instead she took them straight home, the cousins traveling with her via side-along apparition.

The familiar squeeze through a small tight space left Meissa breathless and once they had reached the Malfoy manor Meissa stumbles away from her aunt, fighting the urge to empty her stomach. No matter how many time she side-apparates with someone she could never get used to the sensation. Maybe when she learns how to apparate it'll be easier on her stomach but until then she couldn't help but feel ill every time.

"Meissa, dear, are you going to keep the glamour up?" Narcissa asks as she hands her cloak to a house-elf.

She was just about to head up the stairs when she heard the question and was reminded that she had cast a semi-permanent glamour over her appearance to keep people from asking questions.

"Thanks for the reminder," she mutters gruffly before she removes her earrings as she headed up to the East Wing. There she went to the room clearly marked by a cluster of ten stars in the exact layout of the Orion constellation.

She stood in front of the door and traced the groove, finding the star which she was named after. She then found the star that held her mother's name. "Mom…" she mutters quietly to herself before she connects the stars to form the constellation. Her fingertip blazing a trail across the wood until finally the constellation temporarily filled in to form the image of a young warrior with a sword lifting a lion up with one hand.

Once the door unlocked she twists the knob, pushing the door open just as the image faded back into a cluster of stars. One day she's going to need to remember to thank her Aunt Cissy for the wards on her room in the same manner as her bedroom in the Black Manor.

Once inside the safety of her room she grabs a small silver case in the shape of a star, shutting the small wing shaped earrings away for the entirety of the winter break. Now that they were sealed away she goes to the wardrobe and pulls out a change of clothes.

She was tempted to wear her usual clothes - trousers and a casual button up shirt - but she knew that her aunt would get upset with her for wearing something so laid back. She never cared about appearances but rather comfort - a habit her aunt sorely wished she could eliminate from her niece.

She was stripping off her shirt when she notices an uncovered mirror, affording her an unwanted look.

Her raven locks had lightened up to a shade of brown highlighted with a tint of red. Her skin, while still retaining its pale hue, had adopted a bit more healthy color, but every scar that was hidden by the glamour was now in stark relief against her skin.

Some were small, some were fairly large, and there was more than a few burns. Some of the scars were long and no matter how she looks at them it was clear that they were deliberate. The smaller scars were not as noticeable but they were still fairly large.

Most of them were on her back and she was grateful she couldn't see them but the ones she could see were often the reason why she bothered with the glamours. Though the hair and skin color changes was suggested by her aunt - what better way to hide her parentage.

In her opinion she saw no point in it but she hadn't been able to deny her aunt much - except the dresses, that bit she'll deny for the entirety of her life.

Meissa, after staring at the mirror for who knows how long, scowls at her image before intoning the incantation for the blasting curse - hardly flinching when the broken shards bit into her skin.

Though she did frown at the specks of blood that dotted her shirt - that had been a waste of clean clothes.

She was eyeing the shirt when she hears a distinctive crack of an apparition.

"Mistress Narcissa sent Menny to young Mistress." She looks down to the elf that just popped into her room, seeing the wide eyes that held concern for her. It was clear to her that the elf had already seen the blood on her. "Do Young Mistress wish for Menny to heal Young Mistress?"

"No, Menny," Meissa answers shortly, strengthening her shirt.

"Can Menny clean?"

"Be specific."

"Mistress' shirt has blood. Menny can clean it."

Meissa glances at the house-elf before she shakes her head. The elf's wide eyes were hopeful for a job from her and she notes with distaste that Menny had old healing scrapes along her spindly arms and legs. The old ratty pillowcase that served as Menny's outfit looked worse than usual.

It would appear that Lucius was abusing his elves again - to her growing irritation.

"Thank you but no." She pats Menny on the head as she opens the door. She was just about to leave the room when she thought of something and turned to look at the small creature. "Menny, I forbid you from cleaning my room."

She watches the house-elf wring its ears with pity but when she watches her for a moment longer she saw that she was going to follow her orders. At least until she's been counter-ordered by the mistress of the house.

"Meissa, what did you do to yourself!" she hears Draco exclaim, snapping her from her thoughts. She honestly hadn't noticed that she was walking past his room. "You're bleeding!"

She side-steps his attempt to touch the cut on her cheek, narrowing her eyes at him. Without saying a word she walks away from him - she didn't want nothing to do with him.

"Meissa!"

~MJB~

Meissa was in the library, reading a book regarding magical creatures. The book listed the creatures from harmless to extremely dangerous and grouped them in accordance to their natural habitats. She found the book interesting and there were some creatures she found herself fascinated with.

The chimera fascinated her the most - though she couldn't figure out why - with the dragons being a close second. If she had to pick a career she might pursue something to do with dragons. Or she could follow her godfather's path and become a potion master. She knew from his constant complaints that not many have a talent for potion making and those who do often don't consider potions to be their calling. But she did like to duel a lot so she could consider a life as an auror.

Though she suspects her aunt would throw a fit about any of the careers she was honestly considering.

"Meissa, dear, there you are," the young girl hears as she was scribbling something down on a parchment. In between her readings of the magical creatures she was working on a rough idea for a spell - the search for Flamel inspiring her.

She scribbles the last few letters to the spell before she looks up to find that it was her aunt.

"Ello Aunt Cissy," she greets, setting her quill down and marked her place in the book.

"You failed to show up for supper tonight," the blonde woman remarks as she crosses the space between them. Her eyes narrowing when she sees the state her niece is in. The rips in her shirt and the blood staining the fabric. "What did you do?" she asks, her fingers plucking at the stained and frankly ruined shirt.

"Um… broke a mirror?" Meissa offers meekly. Now that she had time to calm down from the bout of… well, she wasn't sure what it was but she knew that it wasn't a good reaction.

"Now why would you do a thing like that?" Narcissa shakes her head as she cast a diagnosis spell over her.

"Mirror."

Narcissa pauses in her spell work and eyes her niece. "We might have to separate the glamours in that case."

"No, Aunt Cissy, it was hard enough to create a glamour over everything, separating them is just going to ruin the whole thing," she protests, trying to turn her face away from her aunt's hand.

"That's the least of my concerns young lady," Narcissa narrows her eyes at the girl who met her eyes defiantly. Meissa turned aside her aunt's attempt to use Legilimency on her and gave her aunt a 'not impressed' look at the attempt. Narcissa doesn't even have the decency to look remorseful for the attempt.

Meissa rolls her eyes at her aunt, "Can't you just ask what you're so worried about?"

Narcissa frowns at a persistent scratch on her niece's face.

"I have many concerns," Narcissa remarks as she tilts Meissa's head to the side so she could peer at the thin gash. "But one of them would be this silence between you and my son." She quickly finds the reason why her healing spells won't work and with a bit of wand work the small sliver of the mirror was gone and the scratch healed without a mark.

"What of it."

"Would you like to explain to me what happened between you and my son?"

Meissa made a face at the thought of rehashing the issue out with her aunt but knew from past experience that she wouldn't let the issue go - something she always thought her mother would do if she was around. So she reluctantly answers her aunt's question, going into details as her aunt demands.

Needless to say, her aunt wasn't pleased with her son's antics - doubly so for going with his father's credo.

I honestly could not help the title. I was thinking 'Leaving on a jet plane' but train fits better. Please review and lemme know whatcha think!