Chapter Twenty - Doppelganger Jager
Really, wondered Gabrielle, would letting Hufflepuff House down be all that bad? That was the singular argument put against all of her far more numerous and reasonable ones. She had not agreed to be on the team. "You went to tryouts and you'll be letting Hufflepuff down if you back out now." She had been dragged to the tryout. "But you're the best beater we've got, and you'll be letting the House down if you don't fly." Her broom was being repaired. "We have a couple of Cleansweeps from alumni to use - muddling through is the Hufflepuff way! Don't let us down, right?" She really, really needed her broom. "Let your bat do the work! It's for Hufflepuff!"
There was a final argument to be made, saved for last because, though it was very obvious, Gabrielle did not like to call attention to it. "Ze uniform, it, eh, it will turn black. I will not look like I am on ze team, so I can not, eh, be on ze team," reasoned Gabrielle. She added, "You know zis."
"Mal says if you are only borrowing things they won't be ruined," replied the former seeker, Donna.
"How do you know zat?" Black was not necessarily ruined - she had not said that.
"You aren't the only one with ears," sniffed Mal.
"Eh, okay…" That, thought Gabrielle, was an odd thing to say.
"Come on, Hufflepuff is counting on you."
"I do not zink zat zey are."
"The firsties are excited to see you play. Second years too," claimed Donna. "You're their favorite professor."
"Eh, what?"
"The mind makes it real," assured the captain. Stokesy was what Mal called him, not Sticky.
"Eh, what?"
"You boys get out. Mal and I will sort out her kit. Everyone loaned something - a true Hufflepuff effort!" declared Donna.
v - v - v - v - v
Twenty minutes of fussing, temporary stitching, and three jabs, probably accidental, from the magically motivated needle later, Gabrielle had a new and very good reason not to play: she looked ridiculous. The uniform was baggy everywhere, even with more trussing that Maman's roulade. Oversized and poorly-fitted were bad enough, but it was the comically mismatched sizes that made it worse. Why could not both gloves have come from the same person? Her left hand was practically useless, since her fingers could not reach into the glove's fingers. Donna, who had relinquished her spot as seeker to 'manage' the team, could have loaned her complete uniform. She was at least only a bit taller and somewhat more, eh, filled out. And, both her hands were the same size.
Except, that was a slight exaggeration. Donna was almost a head taller and cheerfully ample. But, the former seeker was much closer than Mal or, eh, Barky. Gabrielle would have asked, but Donna was trying her best to catch Gabrielle up by listing all the possible plays that Hufflepuff could run. The effort was wasted - the name 'Grand Order of Cesium' or 'Diet Swizzle Olive' did not conjure up anything in Gabrielle's head with respect to the quidditch pitch.
Malachite jumped in when Donna lost her place on the third page of the playbook's table of contents. "We're up against Ravenclaw today. Their chasers are fast, 'specially Chubisky. Seeker is good too, and they probably have the best keeper this year in Skinner," she explained. "They're really keen on their formations though. That's where you come in."
"Eh, what? Zat is, how?" What Gabrielle was truly wanting to know was, why?
"Break up the formation and they fall back to regroup! A bludger to the face'll do it!"
"Eh, does it need to be in ze face?" The broken practice dummy came to mind. What if the bludgers played pranks again?
"The Toffler Rainbow Run, er, Double Ganger Jagger?, Second Pass Badger Flip," began Donna. She had found from where she had left off.
"Doppelgangerjager," corrected Mal. "It's German."
v - v - v - v - v
"Crickey, it's a fair dinkum arvo for the opening of quidditch season. This is Mickey, and we've a beaut of a match today with dinky-di Ravenclaw up against the bodgy Badgers of Hufflepuff. The staggerin' wall of a wizard Skinner has Ravenclaw as the kookaburra in the old gum tree, but can Hufflepuff be the dingo that gets in under the fence? What's in your tucker bag, Dickie?"
"Er..."
"Come on Dickie, mate. Don't leave me here drinking with the flies."
"Why are you talking like that?"
"Strewth, mate! It's quidditch!"
"Aren't you from Old Oscott, near Birmingham?"
"So I should spek loike this?"
"Ahem."
"That would be more authentic, not to mention more under-"
"Headmistress!"
"Do get on with it, boys. You've missed the start, and Ravenclaw's first goal."
v - v - v - v - v
Up, thought Gabrielle intently, up, up, up! A second thought, not occupied primarily with staying airborne, opined that, all in all, things were going about as well as they could be. She, personally, was not holding the team back. That was, in true Hufflepuff fashion, itself a team effort. The chasers, 'Stokesy' Morehouse, 'Dank' Dresscote, and 'Bepoc' Grimmer, chased, but they all went for the quaffle directly, leaving the more disciplined opponents open all over the pitch. The seeker, 'Barky' Barrik, was definitely looking for something, but even with the lurching, intermittent flight Gabrielle had spotted the snitch twice. It was either magic that the match was not over yet, or Ravenclaw wanted to build up the goal differential. Malachite was doing her bit too, but, in a strategy Gabrielle found to be less than helpful, was mostly hitting bludgers at her. The Hufflepuff keeper was trying, at least. Possibly. It was hard to tell, since he, 'Hozer' Waterholder, had only blocked a few of the dozen tries. Hufflepuff was rubbish, and Gabrielle had to wonder if they had all skived off practice.
Up, up, oh mon Dieu, up, up! Up! A third thought joined in on the mental chant, as a sort of echo. Gabrielle swatted a bludger on her way down, to show that she was in fact trying. The second thoughts, which the other thoughts thought could be more usefully employed, considered the bludgers. They did not seem particularly interested in helping. Up, up - that is because they are iron balls, added a busy thought - up. She had named one Ginny-B and the other Ron-B.
v - v - v - v - v
"... and the pass is made across to Chubisky who has got a lane up the side as empty as the road to Alice Springs. He's through, and it's another goal for Ravenclaw! A bonzer of a try. What about that, Dickie?"
"Well done, but I won't call it brilliant as the Badgers are not putting up much resistance."
"Too right. That's London to a brick."
"What?"
"No worries, mate! What do you make of the little Hufflepuff beater?"
"Looks like she's having a load of trouble with that broom."
"That and with her tailor! No venom to that Black Widow, right? More like a kangaroo, or, fair go, a quokka."
"A what?"
"Like a kangaroo, mate, only much smaller. Like she's a beater, only much smaller."
"Live in your hedge in Old Oscott, do these quokka?"
"And they are off again. Hufflepuff is on the attack, Morehouse brings it up on the left, then over to Dresscote who, oh, is forced off his line by a bludger."
v - v - v - v - v
The problem, thought Gabrielle as the broom decided that is was quite done with flying again, was that the bludgers did not seem interested at all in helping. Which was, of course, normal. As she glided to a stop, which she knew would soon, again, turn into another drop, Gabrielle wondered if she should try giving them some helpful instruction. Ron-B was close by after being batted by Malachite. Gabrielle ordered, "Là! Lui!" She swung her bat, conveniently in her right hand for a sort of Wave of Command that would work on wizard Ron, mostly, then went back to thinking, "Up!"
v - v - v - v - v
"It's Morehouse now, looks to pass it to Dresscote -"
"That was a poor decision."
"Deadset. Ravenclaw has it now, over to Chubisky on the follow. Absolute ripper of a move past Hufflepuff's defender, he's tearing up the pitch, looking for - Oh!"
"Oh Merlin!"
"She'll be right, she'll be right. Chubisky takes a bludger to the face, and loses his broom."
"Lost more than that - I think I saw his teeth fly."
"Too true. An' it looks like he's gone walkabout in the Dreamtime. We've got an injury stoppage on the pitch."
"An unexpected turn of events, with an absolutely vicious bludger from Hufflepuff."
"I reckon the Black Widow still has a bit of a bite after all."
v - v - v - v - v
The inaugural match did not last for much longer, excepting the second injury stoppage, which was not completely her fault. One of the Ravenclaw beaters, Pumpkinhead, or Pumpinstead - Gabrielle did not care - had sent Ron-B toward her totally on purpose. She was climbing at that point, and so was able to send it right back, "That one! Him! Not-in-the-face!" A dose of Skele-Gro for his shoulder, thought Gabrielle, and he would be fine. And for his leg, because of the way he landed after his fall.
Gabrielle watched some of the remaining match from the ground. The broom, she had come to realize, was having difficulty understanding how high up, eh, up was supposed to be. That was not her fault either. The broomstick had at one point been trying to burrow itself into the sand below the fliers. Since the thing was completely immune to reasoning, Gabrielle had to wait for it to figure it out for itself.
When Gabrielle was in the air, since it was too much of a stretch to call it flying, she found it was better to send the bludgers at the quaffle. That was more difficult, and very irritating to Ravenclaw, all of which which seemed to suit Ginny-B quite well. And, the spectators eventually stopped gasping every time she batted a bludger, since no one got hurt. Except for Pumpkinhead, and that was more his fault anyway. Hitting the snitch proved too tricky even for Ginny-B, and Gabrielle stopped suggesting it since one of the attempts resulted in Hufflepuff's new seeker Barky nursing his arm when the bludger missed its target.
v - v - v - v - v
"- and there is Michaels with the snitch for Ravenclaw, tucking away the victory like a 'roo does its joey! Any thoughts, Dickie?"
"An easy victory for Ravenclaw, but a costly one. They'll be in trouble against Gryffindor if Chubisky is not a full go by match time."
"Deadset, mate. Pomfrey will have hard yakka there."
"... Are you really going to do this every match?"
"Crikey, Dickie. Don't be the croc in me billabong!"
"I don't know what that means!"
"What about the Hufflepuffs? How do you think they'll fair in the next match with Slytherin?"
"I suppose it will depend on whether they can get in a bit more practice -"
"Any practice."
"Slytherin will have more to worry about if they get a proper broom under the Black Widow. Can't ignore those bludgers. Has there ever been a first year beater with -"
"Third year."
"What?"
"Says here third year. Gabrielle Delacour, Mistress of the Mirk, third year."
"Mistress of the… Mirk?"
"That's the good oil."
"Er, Mistress…"
"Tie your kangaroo down, mate."
v - v - v - v - v
The Hufflepuff quidditch team was not feeling down after the loss, the decidedly lopsided loss, mostly because of the post-match speech by the captain Stokesy. He focused solely on the effort, and not at all on the lacking outcome, listing a variety of statistics proving that Hufflepuff had indeed played a game of quidditch. Gabrielle did not understand some of the things he said. Neither did Malachite, who whispered that the captain had once been struck by lightning while standing too close to muggle letronics. 'Upgrading the training construct' was an odd way to say 'practice harder' in Gabrielle's opinion, though she could see the need. Afterward, the entire team went to the infirmary to check on the condition of the injured players, and she was not singled out for blame. Gabrielle did have to apologize, but only as part of the team's regrets. One had to specifically remember that Hufflepuff had actually lost.
Gabrielle was currently in the League room, which was for members of the League of Transfer Students only and off-limits to, as an example, Mags. The Gryffindor was far too excitable, acting as if she had just witnessed Merlin's return. Gabrielle was disappointed that no one seemed interested in throwing the girl into the lake.
Not that the League room was peaceful. Le Presidente Shimagina was attempting to write, eh, draw a shield spell, then use the talisman before Saruchi could jab her wand with a quick incantation. Gabrielle could not see the point of it after the first six attempts. The, the, eh, well, she forgot what Suki-chan had called them, but the lines she drew on the small sheets were definitely simpler, cruder, than at the start. If she did manage to hold one up before Saruchi cast, Gabrielle wondered, would it even work? Gabrielle pulled out the magical map that George had sent. Mags was still in the hallway. Otherwise, the library would be quieter.
Eventually Saruchi bored of her role, and said as much. She sat down and pulled out her Arithmancy assignment. Suki-chan looked disappointed, then looked to Gabrielle, and then sat down as well. Gabrielle tried not to feel slighted.
"Zat will never work. You should know zis," said Gabrielle, perhaps failing in her attempt.
"I try," shrugged Sukiya. "Is he out there?"
"You mean -she-, and yes, she is."
"Not Head Boy?"
"It is too early for that," informed Saruchi. "He would be holding his 'leadership' council with - what is that?"
"It is un map magique of Hogwarts," explained Gabrielle. Too late, she wondered if it was supposed to be a secret. At least, mostly secret, since Suki-chan already knew about it. It might be all right if it was a League secret. She looked for the garden gnome.
"This is amazing magic," marveled Saruchi, after watching over Gabrielle's shoulder. "Really amazing. May I, um, use it for a bit?"
"I zought he was in ze, eh, council?"
"That is what he -tells- people, but who else is in the cabal?"
"Eh… okay. By ze way, I have ze banana." Maybe the fruit would help, thought Gabrielle, and she started rummaging through her handbag.
"Is there cake?" asked Sukiya. It always sounded like cakey when she said it.
"Only ze rock cakes. Zere are pasties, still, zough." Those did not keep as well as one would think. She should, decided Gabrielle, definitely keep cake in the handbag.
"I don't see him anywhere," muttered Saruchi. "Where did you get this from?"
From my fiancé, tried Gabrielle to herself. Nearly fiancé. No, that sounded too, eh, hopeful instead of certain. Or, perhaps, delusional, added a mean thought. Too early, decided a third. He had just not made his move. "It was a gift from George," said Gabrielle finally, blandly.
"George, one of those Weasley twins."
"You like him, I think," judged Sukiya.
"Eh, what?!" Gabrielle gave Saruchi a Look.
"What? I hardly know him."
"Ehh? You were Ravenclaw at first, and you write things down about him always," wondered Suki-chan.
Now it was Saruchi's turn to try a Look. "Are you referring to Craig Torrae?" she asked scornfully.
"Yes. It is very kawaii, but you need to tell your feelings soon. There is new girl chasing him," warned Suki-chan. Gabrielle renewed her search for the banana with more urgency.
Saruchi looked, to Gabrielle, like she wanted to explode at Sukiya, but she was also repeatedly glancing at her notebook, the one where, Gabrielle presumed, she detailed the cabal. Curiosity won out. "Since when?" asked Saruchi, opening the notebook and picking up her quill.
"Since Halloween Ball. You only see him."
"You are so wrong. If there was a snake in your house, wouldn't you like to know where it is?"
"Ehh? You switched Houses," said Suki-chan.
Gabrielle finally found the emergency banana, and put it on the table, along with one of the rock cakes. This was more for a distraction, which was successful. Saruchi took the banana absently while she pored over the map; Suki-chan rapped on the rock cake with the handle of her brush.
"I don't think he is at Hogwarts," announced the Vice-President in alarm after more searching. "That is suspicious."
"Eh, okay," agreed Gabrielle. Did the banana not work?
"He could be on… date," hinted Sukiya. She was trying to carve a hole into the rock cake with one of her ninny knives.
"I could, eh, try to scry him," suggested Gabrielle. That would be more interesting than listening to the argument, and she was Gabrielle, Mistress of the Mirk. Was Mags gone yet? "Suki-chan, can I use some of ze magic ink?"
"Magic ink?"
"Zat you make ze, eh, talismans with."
"Gomen, no, it is not magic. I buy from store near train station, but is very good ink."
"It is not magic?" asked Gabrielle again. She had expected that it would be. How did the talisman work? "Zen ze card, eh, ze paper, is magic?" Ze brush?" Sukiya shook her head.
"Can I borrow your brush?" asked Saruchi.
"Mu? I have spare," replied Sukiya quickly, reaching for her knapsack.
"I want that one."
"Nani?"
"Can't I? Give it to me."
"Gomen nasai, I am sorry. It is ancestral, precious, and mine to protect," Suki-chan's head nearly hit the table when she bowed.
Gabrielle was not certain as to what was going on, but she did not like it. And, she was out of bananas. "Saruchi! Suki-chan was mistaken, only, about ze Head Craig. I am, eh, certain of zis." Mostly certain - Allie had kept a notebook for the boy she had liked.
"I was just testing a hypothesis. It's obvious, isn't it?" claimed Saruchi.
"Eh, no?"
"Tsk. In Japanese magic, the brush is the wand."
Gabrielle doubted that was the case, and really did not like the tone used. She had been focusing on magical ink, and why Saruchi was upsetting Suki-chan, and not questioning the means of exotic magic. If it was obvious to a third-year, then would it not be obvious to at least some of the Japanese wizards and witches? George had said that their school had been blown up, though.
"It has been tried. It is not wand," smiled Suki-chan, a touch smugly.
v - v - v - v - v
The brush was a wand, though not a particularly good one. That was the conclusion after nearly an hour of experimentation, which Sukiya only agreed to when Saruchi pointed out to her that the alternative was reworking an Ancient Runes essay… by herself. Early on, it was plain that any wand was useless for Japanese magic (proper magic to Suki-chan). There were just too many brush strokes to duplicate while pretending to write in the air, and Suki-chan ran out of incantation well before she ran out of was a difficulty as well, since she had been taught since childhood to concentrate solely, silently, on the complicated brushwork.
Western magic (proper magic to Saruchi, who really needed another banana) was obviously better suited to wandwork. Sukiya at least looked the part, swishing and flicking her calligraphy brush. The simpler motions meant that she remembered to say the incantations more times than not. Nothing seemed to come of the effort, though Suki-chan claimed to have felt something. Gabrielle wondered if that was just an attempt to line up help for the Ancient Runes work.
Gabrielle had assumed that they had managed to prove that all the Japanese wizards and witches, ever, were correct, and that the ex-Ravenclaw just did not want to admit that she was wrong, when Saruchi asked her to take over being the target of Suki-chan's not-spells. It was, Gabrielle thought, a very Hufflepuff sort of thing to be this patient (Maman would be pleased). She began a list of tasks that Saruchi could do to repay this tolerance. A list that increased dramatically when Saruchi announced that the next round of tests would include ink! Yes, her clothes were already black, but, honestly.
In the end, it was discovered that the brush could work as a wand, after a fashion, if it was dripping with ink. Gabrielle had learned that a shield spell would not prevent the splatter of ink from reaching her. She was good at the shield spell - the only reason she had sneezed at all was due to a splash of ink hitting her in the face. Gabrielle still was not certain that her face was clean. Veelas have no need for mirrors.
Saruchi, who Gabrielle now suspected of being kicked out of Ravenclaw for being annoying, had gone back to studying the map. My, Gabrielle corrected. map. Annoyingly obsessive, or annoying and obsessive? Suki-chan was just realizing that Gabrielle was wearing the rest of her ink. One could not tell, of course, except for a few errant smears on her face and an overlooked patch in her hair.
"I am sorry, Gigi-chan. May I borrow some ink?" asked Sukiya.
"Do you want fresh, or should I wring it out from my blouse?"
"I still cannot find him," complained Saruchi.
Oh mon Dieu, groaned Gabrielle to herself. "He might share his plans if you just admit you are in love with him. Some boys need a billboard," advised Gabrielle.
"What is billboard?" asked Suki-chan.
"Eh, zat is what zey call zose big signs, like ze ones in London."
"Don't you have a crystal ball?" asked Saruchi. She muttered, "Krang Earrot - he has got to be one of his minions."
Gabrielle was taken aback. She had forgotten that she had a crystal ball, since that was part of the awful summer that needed forgetting. Had Saruchi known about it, somehow gotten into the handbag? No, decided a second thought. Someone who had been kicked out of, no, -expelled- from Ravenclaw would not be able to best George's magic. It was because she was Gabrielle, Mistress of the Mirk - of course she would have a crystal ball. She eventually found the small crystal ball in the handbag, which desperately needed organization. Or, at least, more than the simple system she had right now (Pepi-Z and things from George; things needed daily; and other). She also found the needed ink. The ink had been easy.
The scrying went surprisingly well, once Gabrielle was able to concentrate. She had to resort to chanting, or at least something like what she used to do with Nona. Saruchi helped too, by finally pointing out to Suki-chan that she had drawn two of the runes upside-down. Gabrielle hoped that the quick result was due to a natural growth of her talent - that is, talents, but suspected that the success was primarily due to the fact that the Head Boy was in the hallway outside. The tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy could be seen as he passed it.
Saruchi was not impressed, but vexed, since the map indicated that another was in the hall. She pulled out a small mirror and went to the door, opening it a crack to try and use the mirror to see down the hall. A small part of Gabrielle was also vexed, because Saruchi had not volunteered the mirror earlier. Mags, who was no longer outside the door, would be sure to help with a prank.
A larger part of Gabrielle's thinking was unravelling the plot before her and, at least a little, beginning to panic. The Head Boy had been kidnapped and replaced by a doppelganger! Why? George had said that Earrot was a goblin name, and that Earrot had been in the infirmary when the second beetle - the nearly murderous beetle - had disappeared. Why? It was obvious now: he had taken any evidence of the crimes that led to it. That caretaker had put the magicked insect on Mr. Weasley's car, but she had found it. He had been murdered for his failure. Possibly murdered, Gabrielle had to admit, since the important part of the message had been needing to stay at the Burrow for Christmas instead of at Granary Winterhall's bequeath. But, Robert Mac, eh, Caretaker had been… hired by the goblins of Gringotts!
Why, then, continued Gabrielle's keenly logical thinking, did the goblins of Gringotts want to know where she was? The answer lay in her handbag. The silver inkpot with the florid 'G', stolen from Gringotts. By Fred. Well, perhaps not stolen per se, George had surely been there too, but definitely taken. Fred had given her the illicit inkpot though, so he was the one she would blame. Would the goblins really do all this just for the inkpot? There were old stories and a lot of boring history about them, but Gabrielle mostly thought of goblins as a slightly grumpier sort of wizard.
The first step was to return the inkpot to Gringotts, which Gabrielle had definitely intended to do. It was just that things had gotten somewhat hectic, and she had forgotten completely about the inkpot. She would also apologize for using up most of the ink while scrying. For, eh, practice. Only. Once Lieutenant Mimsey had delivered the misplaced item back to its owners, then the Head Craig would be freed. And he had better be grateful that she had figured this all out!
v - v - v - v - v
Gabrielle's plan had been to sneak out to the owlery after curfew, because she could use the apron and there would be fewer chances of having to silently clean up others' messes. That was an obvious and logical plan. It was hard to be alone in Hufflepuff though, so she had thought to don the charmed apron after leaving the common room. Which, Gabrielle now saw, had not been a very clever part of the plan. She had been spotted.
Gabrielle was on her way to assign the Lieutenant his task, but now Suki-chan was sneaking along behind her "for protection". The apron had been replaced by the saved, carved wooden pass from the Headmistress, which Gabrielle had been keeping for emergencies. She supposed that getting rid of the inkpot was sort of that. She hoped that the pass would extend to her protective shadow, because Suki-chan was very noticeable unless the ninny was standing perfectly still. The problem was the collection of throwing knives looped onto a sort of belt. These chimed when Suki-chan moved.
There were some benefits to the unexpected interference, at least. Sukiya had taken a sheet of colorful paper and folded a box for the inkpot, which Gabrielle had already hidden in a clean but decidedly worn sock. Black, of course. Gabrielle included a note with it admitting nothing but apologizing anyway for the delay. She remembered not to sign the missive. Saruchi, who insisted that she still needed the map, at least thought to add an impervious charm to the paper box. She also advised waiting a few minutes until the Head Boy's doppelganger started back upstairs on his patrol. His suspicious patrol, if one was a former Ravenclaw.
The two of them met only a single professor on the circuitous route that the absence of the broom forced. Herr Korbel passed them with a brief, "Guten abend." He did not even ask for an excuse or explanation, which Gabrielle assumed was due to the magic of the pass from the Headmistress. Or perhaps it was due to the presence of the grey tabby cat that slunk along the walls far more stealthily than Jingles the Ninja did. One's peripheral vision becomes attuned to slinking when it is the apprentice that is blamed when the stock escapes.
As Gabrielle crossed to the owlery with Suki-chan, she started to wonder about several things. The first was that she was wearing her Cloak of Darkness, her normal cloak over that, a hat, a scarf, and her winter gloves. How much colder was it going to get? The second concern was whether the pass actually covered leaving the castle. The third, and most frightening, was whether the door they had used would lock behind them. Muggle doors sometimes did that, and they were not even magic. Her sensitive humours were definitely affected, since the latter two thoughts really should have been had before leaving the - and Gabrielle could not believe she was thinking this - warmth of Hogwarts castle. She could not see how Suki-chan managed in her ninny, eh, ninja pajamas.
v - v - v - v - v
The wingback chair, now upholstered in festive red and green stripes, was familiar, as was the antlered stone carefully aligned with it. The wizard, possibly sleeping, in the other chair, also striped, was not. Gabrielle could not tell if the wizard was actually asleep or magically so. His eyes were closed, but he was sitting stiffly upright. That probably should not concern her right now, advised a second thought. Coming up with a good excuse should.
Except it apparently did. Or was supposed to. "Do you know who this gentleman is?" asked the Headmistress.
"Eh, no?" Gabrielle did take another glance before answering, just in case.
McGonagall regarded the stone carefully, then sighed. "He is Samuel H. Sterner, something something et cetera, from the Ministry, and is rather definite that I should be helping him with his inquiries. In that we are in disagreement, as he will not give any details in the matter."
Gabrielle did not say anything, because what was she to say? The annoyance from the Headmistress made it clear that the something something etcetera was not just overly tired. Should she just ask about her detention now? Why was Suki-chan just allowed to return to the dorm? That was hardly fair.
"I was endeavouring to determine if this intrusion somehow pertained to the activities of Mister Potter. Sterner claimed it was not an official matter, as if that would be more persuasive to me when it comes to providing information about a student. I rather expected that your agreement to aid Potter might allow you to illuminate the Ministry's intentions."
"Eh, no. Hermione sent ze kettle, only," said Gabrielle quickly. Too quickly realized a second thought. Using the qualifier would only invite more questions. She hoped that the Headmistress would not - Was that a flicker of light?
"Only?"
"Eh... well, eh, zat is, Ginny also asked zat I find somezing about a man, a muggle named Browning."
The pronged rock flashed briefly; Gabrielle could tell by the light reflected by McGonagall's spectacles. That was annoying - it had been the truth!
"And that was all, was it?" asked the Headmistress sharply.
"Zat is, she asked me to ask, eh, George." The rock did not agree. Several portraits tsked scornfully. But why? Was that not all? "Oh, eh, zere was ze M2, aussi." No reflected accusations this time.
"The motorway?"
v - v - v - v - v
Gabrielle left McGonagall's office with a determination to learn more about what Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were up to. Though not so much as to actually be involved with it. That could be dangerous. Things happened around Harry, everybody knew that. She just needed enough to distract the Headmistress, who was far more interested in that than what she and Suki-chan had been up to. There were no new detentions! Neither for her or the privileged Suki-chan, which still felt wrong.
Gabrielle was now escorting Samuel H. Sterner, Section somesuch, High Dean of training stuff, along the path to Hogsmeade. The Headmistress had been so intrigued by the late Browning and things beginning with 'M' that she had quite forgotten that Gabrielle was only a student. Gabrielle was not worried though. The High Dean was an auror, and the acromantulas knew to leave the path be. It was, she noted, definitely colder than before, and wafts of mist drifted through the trees.
Of course, Gabrielle felt that it would be more reassuring if the High Dean was more alert. He was trailing along behind her, rubbing his eyes and muttering to himself. Perhaps it was that his training would come to the fore should danger arise. The Headmistress had offered that the previous tenant of the office had left behind quite a collection of useful items. Which, Gabrielle assumed, explained the auror's muddled state and the stone always pointed, unnecessarily pointed, at her.
The muttering worried Gabrielle for more than the lack of focus by Sterner. She was certain that she had heard him say 'goblin' more than once, but she could not be completely sure because, well, he was muttering. If she asked though, then he would ask things. There really was no obvious way to tell him not to worry about the Head Boy's doppelganger. At least, not without having to explain the inkpot.
A second thought had worked out something important, and made it known. It was this: Sterner would not be accompanying her back to the castle, because he was leaving. It was the path, yes, and Professor Hagrid was not at all subtle about how the 'relations wi' ter neighbors' were to be, but it was not as if there was a school for all the residents of the Forbidden Forest to learn that in, was there? She stopped short and turned. The auror seemed surprised to find that she was there. Would it even matter if he was not with her?
"Eh, zis is ze path, you see? Just follow it to Hogsmeade." Gabrielle used her wand, with the steady, dull light spell, to indicate the cleared lane. "I zink you will be, eh, fine. Bonne soirée." Probably safe, too.
Sterner snorted derisively. "Shirking your duty?"
"Eh, what?"
''Regulation, procedure, protocol - these are values that should be taught at an early age. Little wonder at the quality of recruits these days," complained Sterner. "You were assigned a mission. You must carry it out."
Gabrielle did not wonder why the Headmistress had put him to sleep anymore. Also, this was probably her punishment. Which Suki-chan should be sharing. Gabrielle was about to argue when a second thought suggested a better strategy. She smiled, and said, "It is after curfew. You know zis. Ze, eh, regulations say I should be in ze dorms, and ze protocol is for you to take me back to ze castle."
v - v - v - v - v
Her 'mission' complete, Gabrielle was escorted back to the castle by Sterner. He had actually made her walk all the way to the edge of the town, only to return with her the entire way. It made no sense. Gabrielle concluded that he was either insane, or was so eccentric that in fifty or so years he, too, would leave her a rundown shack in his will.
The pointless walk was not unpleasant though. Beyond an obsession with rules and procedures, Sterner was otherwise polite. Especially after the dire wolves sauntered out from the edge of the forest. That was what Professor Hagrid called them. Gabrielle thought they were probably just normal wolves that grew a bit bigger because of the magic in the forest. And, she supposed, in the creatures they hunted. The alpha male of the pack was called 'Bloodthorn' by the Professor. Gabrielle preferred the name Monsieur Timtims. He always insisted on sniffing her thoroughly - she was certain he was looking for Sauveuret for a quick snack. After not finding her familiar, Monsieur Timtims stood watching the auror while she patted the rest of the wolves. But not the lead animals. It was easy to tell which one was the lead female, because she always faced Gabrielle and growled.
Gabrielle asked about the goblin after that, since Sterner looked quite relieved after the pack ran off without eating them. Why, she wondered, do people always think they will be eaten? He was not pleased that she knew about the goblin, and even less so after she pointed out that she had not been spying but simply standing next to him. He would not 'divulge the details' of his mission, even after learning that she knew it was not an official matter and so probably involved Harry Potter. Gabrielle told him about Krang Earrot anyway, because of the second beetle. Though, she did not mention that, the inkpot, nor Sukiya. She added that the goblin was not a student, so the Headmistress had probably not known about him, and that he would likely be leaving Hogwarts in a few days. Gabrielle announced herself as the Mistress of the Mirk when Sterner asked how she knew that. He was not impressed.