Weekend
After breakfast the next day, the twins could be heard asking Flitwick for a private meeting about the safety of their school, and when the Charms Professor asked why they didn't go to their Head of House, one of the twins answered, "She blew us off. She thinks our minds are always only on pranks, nothing else. But that isn't true!"
Flitwick looked surprised but asked them to follow.
In the Headmaster's Office, Severus was passionately declining Dumbledore's "offer" to accompany him to his meeting at Malfoy Manor. Narcissa had come through and the Unspeakable had agreed to meet this very same day.
"This is a private meeting, where private things will be discussed. So, no. You may not come. I'll tell you all the relevant details after I come back. I must leave now, good day Headmaster."
"Severus, you're meeting an Unspeakable. I must attend!"
"Why?" Severus stopped at the door.
"She might hear about the petrification of a student, my boy. That cannot happen."
"You didn't inform the Ministry?"
"Severus, it's a school matter. There's no need to worry the public. And you know as well as I do that nothing stays secret at the Ministry."
"We are meeting about the spell Lockhart cast. So, that topic will not come up. Good day Albus," Severus said and turned once again to leave.
Dumbledore looked quite worried at the now-closed door. It wouldn't do it if the Ministry stuck their long noses into Hogwarts' affairs.
He also noted how he was used to people agreeing to any whim he had. Maybe it would do him good to get denied, once in a while.
Fawkes trilled in agreement.
Severus stepped out of the floo and was immediately led to the drawing room by the same sad-looking house-elf.
When he entered, he noted that Narcissa sat at the low tea table with another person, who was shrouded in Unspeakable's robes.
After greeting each other, getting a cup of tea, and Narcissa having thanked Severus for his timely Patronus message to her yesterday – telling her not to worry, her son was well – they started the meeting.
Severus told the story of his "duel" to "Unspeakable No. 15", and Narcissa injected a few observations her son had made and had written in a letter to her about.
Nr. 15 listened attentively but seemed to get quite alarmed the longer the story went on.
Just when Severus started to tell her their conclusion, she cut him off and said, "Never mind that right now. The biggest concern at the moment is where Lockhart is. He needs to be contained immediately!"
Taken aback, Severus answered, "He disappeared during the night after the duel. That means sometime between Thursday and Friday. He left without his extensive wardrobe, just packing a small bag. He even left his wand, as far as I know. But maybe the house-elves collected it in the Great Hall and returned it to him."
The Unspeakable nodded and pulled out a pink seashell and started talking into it, "No. 1, No. 15 speaking. Do you copy? We have a code 33. Location unknown, name Gilderoy Lockhart, time of casting Thursday afternoon in front of hundreds of students. Successful casting confirmed. Code 33. Over."
A tiny voice barked out of the shell, "Are you on drugs? Code 33? We haven't had one in 3 centuries! The spell is thought to be eradicated!"
"It isn't. The casters just got smarter about it. Now get going and contain the idiot. I'll investigate further. No. 15 out."
Narcissa and Severus looked quite alarmed now.
Severus was the first to find his voice, "You sounded like secret agents just now. What was that?"
"We are a sub-division of MI-5. You know about the Muggle world?"
"Half-blood. So, what was that? Why does Lockhart need containment? What about me?"
"Most of it is confidential, Mr Snape, but Mr Lockhart needs to get contained more than Voldemort ever needed containment. Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but you get my meaning. Anyway, you don't need to worry, we have the perfect place for him. All you need is the counter-curse, nothing else. We have it, but I have to look it up first. Do not cast the spell Lockhart cast on you. It's highly illegal."
Narcissa flinched, "What?"
"Mrs Malfoy, it's Dark Magic of the evil kind, and the spell's in league with the Unforgivable Curses."
"No! I didn't know! It was supposed to be a cute little spell to help keep one's looks and not hurt anyone!"
"So, how many pure-blood women are casting it as of today?"
"I don't know! It's never to be talked about, my mother taught me. Can you reverse it on me too? Please?" Narcissa again had lost a lot of her normal unflappability.
"Yes. With the same counter, I'll use it on Mr Snape. So, how often have you cast it and who was present?"
"I cast it twice. And present were my husband and Messrs. Crabbe, Goyle, and Macnair."
"Both times?"
"Yes."
"Very well. If you agree to swear an oath never to cast this spell again nor teach it to anyone, you'll probably get off with a warning. The last time we had this situation, we offered a blanket pardon for swearing to never cast the spell. We should have made certain it wasn't taught either. Stupid, superficial, vain idiots!" Unspeakable No. 15 cursed and Narcissa shrank into herself, feeling very silly and ashamed.
"No wonder the birthrates didn't go up!" the unforgiving Unspeakable added in their distorted voice and Narcissa burst into tears again.
"Please refrain from talking about this any further, No. 15," Severus said and the Unspeakable nodded.
"My apologies, Mrs Malfoy, I didn't know it was a delicate subject."
Narcissa nodded graciously and cast a cleaning charm on her face, "You're right to scold us. It was idiotic and brainless. Can the effects of The Spell be reversed entirely even if I cast it by my own volition?"
"Yes. That's the good part of this spell. But the counter has to be cast by the caster of the spell to reach its full effect in this case with one exception. And yes, Mr Snape. I'll be able to cast the counter on you but to gain your true looks Mr Lockhart would have to cast the counter and he'll not be available to do so, I'm afraid."
"And the reason why that is, would be confidential, am I right?" Severus asked with a sigh and the Unspeakable nodded.
"But I'll no longer look like a hero from the cover of a cheap romance novel?"
Nr. 15 chuckled and answered, "No, but you'll stay a little more handsome than you would have been naturally. I have seen you before, and now that I know of this issue, I'm quite sure that you were an unwitting attendee of quite many castings of this spell in your common room when you were a student, so you'll never look like you did before this Thursday."
"Oh, well. Better than looking like I do now."
"And you might never be able to father a child the natural way. But as you're a Potions Master…"
Here Severus actually chuckled, "That's all right. I never wanted to become a father."
Narcissa frowned delicately but refrained from saying something. They had discussed this topic often enough, without ever agreeing on the issue.
"So, that's it?" Severus concluded. "You catch Lockhart and look for the counter-spell as a short-term solution, but what will you do with the overall populace?"
"I need to discuss it with my superiors and colleagues. But I implore you to drop a hint to the girls at your school that casting the spell is highly illegal. You too, Mrs Malfoy. You surely attend some gatherings with multiple pure-bloods. And the quieter you whisper about it, the quicker it'll spread. But you know that, I'm sure."
Narcissa smiled wanly and nodded, "That would be a normal day's work."
"Maybe we should meet again after Yule and exchange news."
"Will you floo me when you have found the counter-spell?" Severus tried not to sound too plaintive, but he doubted he had managed to do so.
"I'll if it's much earlier than our next meeting, I promise."
Severus sighed in relief and took his leave to inform Albus of the news and assure the man that his domain was still his to preside over all by himself.
A/N: So, that's it for the moment, but I think you get a feeling for the story now. Until next time!