Thanks to all of you who took the time to review my story :)
AN: Chapter betaed by Miette and dstone12, what would I do without you?
Severus woke up with a start, his heart racing. Helhest, what?
Tempus. Three AM.
Why was he awake less than two hours after going to bed? He still felt exhausted from his duel against Dumbledore, he needed to restore his energy!
He looked enviously at Dhaal who was snoring softly on his left end of the bed. His Familiar had clearly not been troubled by what had awakened Severus.
Sighing, Severus extended his Sense, checking that each of his House members were on the grounds. They all were there. However... Severus blinked. There was an almost muted presence moving on the grounds.
He sprang up from his bed, barely taking the time to put on shoes and cast a night-vision spell, his focus all the while on the presence that almost blended with his House. It took him far too much time to exactly locate the intruder with his Sense, the presence slippery and far too good at pretending to belong here. This was on a completely different level than simply shielding one's magical presence.
When he finally was close enough to see the foreign presence, he realised that Manylion had beaten him to the spot.
Her tall figure was imposing, almost as much as the fierce expression on her face as she glared at the figure sprawled at her feet.
"You took your time. Lucky I was awake when you called," said the Centauress, keeping her eyes on her prisoner. "Lucky I know all the tricks haughty Faes are so fond of."
"Half-Fae," lazily corrected the form at her feet.
"Silence!" barked up the Centauress, sending a harsh stinging spell to the intruder's hand.
He did not react. Interesting.
Severus cancelled the night vision spell and cast a soft Lumos instead, positioning himself to have a clear view of the intruder.
He was smaller than Severus, would barely reach his shoulders from Severus' estimation. He looked slim, with aquiline features and pointed ears that clearly marked him as a Fae. However, his eyes were a common dark brown, contrary to pure blood Faes whose eye colours were always disturbing to Wizards, ranging from blood red to amber yellow, with amethyst violet in between. Muśkēlī's eyes were sapphire blue, which was the most "normal" colour Faes' eyes could be. It had taken some time in Kyirong before Severus put words to what was so disturbing with her gaze.
What did one do when finding an intruder in his home? And why would there be an intruder, a Half-Fae no less, in his home?
"What's your name?" asked Severus, trying to give himself some time to analyse the situation.
"Would you mind letting me sit up first?" drawled back the Half-Fae.
"Yes," answered Manylion with a scowl.
She clearly thought this one was dangerous and resourceful.
Severus expanded his Sense to study the intruder, careful not to allow any breach in his own shields, and was once more met with a muted presence almost indistinguishable from the grounds.
The Half-Fae blinked, a small smile gracing his face.
"You truly are interesting."
Severus did not let himself be distracted.
"You may prop yourself up on your elbows to better face us."
Manylion was not pleased, but she slightly released whatever hold she had on the Half-Fae. She would need to teach him how to do that, it was even more effective than Deprimo.
The intruder settled himself slowly then looked straight at Severus.
"Lord Caspian, I am truly pleased to meet you. You may call me Demi."
"You'll understand I am not pleased to meet you, Demi," answered Severus.
"Don't worry, that's often the first impression people get from me, but I'm told I will grow on you with time."
Why would he have any time to grow on House Caspian?
"Why are you on my grounds?" asked Severus.
"I was taking a stroll. The evolution of the grounds is really fascinating," answered Demi.
He was sincere, but that was only part of the truth.
"The Fae's greatest ability is to lie while telling the truth,'' spat Manylion, as if reading his thoughts.
"My dear, you must have spent far too much time with full blooded Fae," said Demi compassionately, making her scowl harder.
"I repeat, what are you doing here?" asked Severus, remaining focused on the subject that mattered.
"He was empty handed, but he was leaving the grounds," added Manylion.
"I told you, I was intrigued," stated Demi with a mischievous smile.
Could he be on a reconnaissance mission? Or… had the wards discouraged him from his mission? Or… had he come to plant objects that did not belong here to frame House Caspian?
Severus was interrupted from his thoughts by his Sense warning him of the approach of other House members. Looking up, he saw Maverick and Ted approaching quickly but cautiously.
He was glad he had already provided Ted and Xenophilius with a protective stone. Of course, Pandora now wanted to research how to create a stone that would work for all the House but with several members providing the protection instead of only one. He had to be careful not to let her sweep him away in her research to the point of dropping everything else.
At the same time, Dhaal Sensed him a picture of himself looking over the sleeping Nymphéa and Luna, Pandora and Pākiki by his side. Good. He had thought he had a little more time before making defensive plans for his House, counting on the wards to block any attacks. He had not expected an infiltration.
"Is everything alright?" asked Ted, wisely remaining a bit behind Maverick.
"Oh my, even more interesting," stated Demi, earning himself another stinging spell from Manylion.
"The situation is under control for now," answered Severus. "What are you doing here?"
"You called us," answered Maverick with a raised eyebrow.
Manylion had said the same thing. When had he called them? And to that place precisely? Could they have felt him trying to locate the foreign presence? They definitely needed to practise using the wards and their bonds.
"I see. Well, here is what we know so far…," said Severus, quickly filling them in.
"Someone is trying to frame you," Maverick immediately stated. "Someone powerful or well connected, to use the service of someone like him," he added, gesturing toward Demi who was listening to them with his face blank of any thoughts aside from his apparent carelessness and the interest in his eyes.
"Are we certain he is working alone?" asked Ted.
"What do you mean?" asked Severus, already wanting to slap himself for not thinking of this possibility.
Demi was quite good at hiding his presence. What if he had a partner who was very good at it?
"Well, I'm not an expert in breaking an entering, but it seems to me that most professionals would work in a team when targeting someone as powerful and knowledgeable as yourself," explained Ted.
"We have his partner," interrupted Mòr, coming out from seemingly nowhere. "My Chevaliers are bringing her in."
Mere minutes later, four Faerys flew in, guarding another one in the middle of their formation. Contrary to the other Faerys Severus had met, the female Faery in the middle had rounded ears. Severus would bet his right hand that she was a Half-Faery.
Even focusing his Sense on her, he was unable to distinguish her presence from the other Faerys'.
"Hello Demi," were her first words, followed by a sheepish hand-wave toward the Half-Fae.
"Hello Mimi," answered Demi with a fondly exasperated look.
"She tried to hide among our Tree," explained Mòr. "But when we Sensed your call, we put up our security checks and found her out when she tried to enter the Tree," he added, looking at Severus.
"I didn't think a new Tree would already be both so organised and so knowledgeable," said Mimi, pouting at Demi.
"House Caspian has helped us refine our sensitivity to Magic," agreed Mòr seriously, while Demi only slightly shook his head at his partner.
"What did I tell you about assumptions?" asked Demi pointedly.
She glared at him, crossing her arms in a huff.
"Mimi," insisted the Half-Fae, in a tone of voice that reminded Severus of Frekka when she scolded Dhaal and her children.
Mimi sighed.
"Assumption is the Dark mother of all mistakes."
That was a good maxim to follow.
"What were you doing on our grounds?" interrupted Manylion abruptly, shoving Demi flat back on the grounds.
To his shock, Severus realised that the banter between the two partners had made him relax his vigilance. They were good.
"I was very curious about Tree Caspian, and Demi was curious about House Caspian, so we decided to come and visit," explained Mimi earnestly.
"Why not come during the day and ask for a visit?" asked Severus.
"We did not think you would agree," answered Mimi, looking embarrassed. "New Redes are always wary of outsiders. So we decided not to ask for permission."
They were sticking to their story. Were they so sure that Severus would not find anything amiss? Or did they think he would not have the time to find anything?
Maverick seemed to echo his thoughts.
"We need to secure them then search the grounds quickly for anything they could have planted."
Mòr and Manylion shared a look.
"Manylion, my Chevaliers and I will take care of the securing part," stated Mòr.
"We will put them in my hut where we can keep an eye on them," added Manylion.
And where they would be away from the Manor and the more vulnerable members of the House.
"Go ahead," agreed Severus.
He watched with interest as neither Demi nor Mimi opposed any resistance. Did they know they were out matched, or were they still gathering what information they could, or were they biding their time, hoping for one moment of inattention?
"That will take care of them for now, we'll see for a more long term solution after we have found the reason for their presence here," said Maverick, calling Severus' attention to him.
"Where do we begin?" asked Severus, suddenly far too aware that House Caspian's territory was huge.
"I see three possibilities," answered Maverick. "First, you try to Sense if something feels wrong on your territory."
Severus looked at him incredulously.
"It would only work if what they planted was strong in magic and unshielded."
"It's not impossible they tried to put Dark Artefacts for Aurors to find," answered the older man. "Of course, the question is why the Aurors would have a reason to search your home, but that is neither here nor there."
It was an important question so Severus put it in a corner of his mind.
"I didn't Sense anything amiss earlier, except for Demi's presence," remarked Severus.
"This is the second possibility," continued Maverick. "To try to Sense where our intruders went."
Severus stared at him.
"Can I really do this? Demi's presence feels barely there, Mimi's is non-existent, so to Sense mere traces of them…"
Maverick smiled wryly.
"I never said it would be easy, especially for a new Head of House. I'm pretty sure they did not expect you to Sense them. The last possibility is to try to deduce where they could have put what they brought using where we found them, where they could have gone depending on the wards' strength, and where Aurors would look during a search."
Severus looked at him sceptically.
"We found Demi here, in the middle of the clearing I use for morning practice. I don't see how it helps us, he could have come from anywhere."
Severus frowned.
"I don't understand why I only Sensed him here, we have no idea how long the both of them remained on our grounds."
"I think Demi relaxed his vigilance once he thought the hardest part of the job was done," said Maverick.
"Are you sure?" asked Ted, looking both doubtful and hesitant.
Severus looked at him inquiringly.
"What are you thinking, Ted?"
"Remember their maxim: Assumption is the Dark mother of all mistakes. It did not feel like an act."
"So you think Demi decided to let me Sense him at this precise moment? But why?" asked Severus thoughtfully.
"To distract yourself from something else?" ventured Ted.
"That would make sense," said Maverick. "Caspian's wards are very strong despite their youth, even more so since your Tree was created. To trick the wards, Demi and Mimi would have to be careful not to emit harmful intentions and to convince the wards that they belonged on Caspian's grounds. They would also need to have found the weakness point of the wards, the place where it is the easiest to breach them."
"So they planned the intrusion some time ago," stated Severus.
"Yes. But even then, it would not have been enough to enter the manor," continued Maverick. "Not with your wards. They would have needed specialist tools, and even then, it would have caught your attention."
"Do you think this is what woke me up?" asked Severus. "Mimi breaches the manor's wards which wakes me up. But immediately, Demi lets his presence show while Mimi completely hides herself, which makes me focus on him. It gives her the time to plant whatever she needs to and then to go hide in the Tree, where she is quickly discovered."
"I think that works," agreed Maverick, "especially as she must have passed through the wards without breaking them. However, it means that whatever they planted is not Dark, or it's heavily shielded. Otherwise, you would have Sensed it no matter the distraction."
"Hmm. If I follow your reasoning to its end, Mimi won't have been able to enter the hidden room," said Severus, eyes slitted as he imagined the scene. "The laboratory and the magic practice room also are too well protected. The library and the living rooms are too close to the Yule stones that power the wards… Which leaves the kitchen and the dining room, I don't see them going upstairs and taking the risk of being caught."
"But a kitchen or a living room are weird places to hide something," remarked Ted. "If we assume it was something that could put you in trouble, it must be hidden somewhat."
Maverick nodded.
"Which leaves the greenhouse, just off the kitchen."
He looked at Severus suddenly.
"You stock some of your ingredients there."
Severus nodded, light dawning on him.
"They are trying to frame me for Lord Potter's poisoning."
"But how would they get the Aurors here?" asked Ted nonplussed.
Especially when they had already left empty handed once, acting without any proof of wrongdoing and on Potter's words instead.
"It's not the most pressing matter right now," said Maverick. "First, we need to find the ingredients you should not have. Basilisk's venom, if I'm not mistaken…"
"And Graphorn's horns," completed Severus, already walking towards the Greenhouses.
Knowing what they were looking for and where, it did not take Severus and Maverick long to find the two jars that did not belong in the Greenhouses. Severus had to admit that put with all the other jars, he may not have noticed anything amiss just walking by.
He put them in the Dark artefacts room for now, writing in one corner of his mind to find a more permanent solution. Then he sent all his House members back to bed after thanking them for their help and quick response, only Manylion and four Chevaliers remaining awake to guard Demi and Mimi.
Four hours later, Severus was up, fighting a yawn as for once, he took a mug of strong, dark coffee for breakfast along with eggs, cheese and toast. While his body had yet to fully awaken, his mind was in full working order as he pondered what should be his next move after the previous night intrusion.
Demi and Mimi had not told Manylion anything useful during the past hours, to the Centauress' great frustration.
What should he expect? Were the intruders supposed to send a signal to say their mission was done? How could anyone be certain that there would be a search to find those ingredients?
He felt that after the last time, Moody would not agree to a search of his home without a true motive and proof, especially not now he was a true Head of House. Of course, Moody might not be on top of things after his amputation, however, Severus did not think a Judge would sign a warrant so easily either, no matter their relationship with Lord Potter.
Which led to the question of who had wanted to frame him? He was a Potion Master grade I so an obvious suspect for the Certa mor brewing. Yet it had been five days since the murder attempt on Lord Potter and nobody had come to ask him questions, even under the pretext of getting information on the difficulty of brewing it or procuring its ingredients.
What was so different about tonight? The only answer was his retrieval of the diadem Horcrux, but Dumbledore was in Russia right now, under Goblin watch. And why would Dumbledore poison Lord Potter?
At least, Dumbledore was a more credible suspect than James Potter, despite what most of the younger Death Eaters thought. Even in the low probability that Potter Jr. had entertained the thought of killing his own father, he would never have had the cunning to achieve his goal without being caught. While Black had definitely proven capable of making such plans, even Severus had to admit that the probability of Potter-bis supporting Potter Jr in this endeavour when the Potters had saved his life in adopting him after his magical disinheritance was almost non-existent.
Severus sighed. He needed to know more about the incident.
He startled badly as Andromeda sat next to him.
"You cannot afford to let your guard down now," stated the older woman, her tone disapproving.
"This is the only place I can," shot back Severus sharply.
"What will you do with the prisoners?" asked Andromeda, looking at him pointedly.
"They will remain with Manylion for now," answered Severus. "Mòr will also supply a rotation of Chevaliers."
"Isn't it a big risk to take? You are expecting an Auror search," said Andromeda.
"We can't call the Aurors about the intrusion, it would give them a pretext to search the manor. I don't think they would find anything noteworthy, but it's a waste of time we don't have."
Not now when he needed every spare second to work on a way to block the Marks.
"Why don't you ask your allies?"
Severus shook his head.
"We can't go to our allies for every little problem we face. As a new House, we are on a precarious edge, especially now that House Caspian boasts a Tree and several members. We must show we are capable."
He could not tell her he had already cashed in a big favour the previous night. Not yet.
"You cannot keep them in Manylion's hut indefinitely," replied Andromeda, a hint of frustration showing in her voice.
"I only need to until their release won't matter," answered Severus evenly.
Andromeda looked away, her lips pressed thin.
"There are ways to dispose of them discreetly," she finally said.
"We are not the Blacks," answered Severus bluntly, unable to mask his distaste at her suggestion. "They haven't done anything to warrant such a definite action."
"They almost destroyed our House. They still could, if the Aurors find what they hid."
"The Aurors have no reason to come. And I secured what they planted," replied Severus, looking right in her eyes.
"Are you sure the Aurors have no reason to come knocking? You came home awfully late yesterday. You also partake in the Death Eaters meetings," said Andromeda, her face unreadable.
Severus sighed, looking at his cold half-eaten plate.
"I need to work. You need to stop digging about this matter. I promise I will explain everything in less than three weeks."
They locked gazes, Severus willing Andromeda to let it go.
"Don't mess it up, Severus. I won't let you drag my family down."
"You trusted me to be your Head of House. I listened to your arguments, but now I'm telling you to let me deal with it. You may call me on it if I have not explained everything in three weeks," repeated Severus.
"I'll hold you to that."
Severus nodded, getting up to retreat in his office with another warm mug of coffee. He was too tired for these kinds of discussions.
He settled into his armchair, then looked up at his clock. Ten AM.
He hesitated then reached for his communication stone. Petunia's schedule, between her medical internship and her research to help Lily protect Harry, was irregular. He might be lucky enough to catch her on a break.
"Good morning, Severus."
"Good morning Petunia," answered Severus, a smile gracing his lips as he suddenly felt his tiredness lighten.
"Is your call linked to the reason why James left early this morning?" she asked, her voice teasing.
"It might be," answered Severus. "You'll need to give me more specifics."
He had no idea how the Goblins had planned to explain Dumbledore's absence from Hogwarts, and had not even thought to worry about it.
"I had planned to call you this evening, but now works well enough. I need to take a break from those dusty books."
He could only relate.
"Then I won't feel guilty for interrupting you."
She laughed lightly.
"Alright, I'm in my room. Lily swore she made it impervious to listening charms and other invasive spells."
Severus nodded in approval.
"I'd like to know more about the poisoning attempt on Lord Potter. I find it suspicious that it happened now, yet I'm quite sure that it wasn't one of the Death Eaters. I'm also surprised Lord Potter survived."
"He survived thanks to you," answered Petunia seriously. "The stone protected him. I have no idea why, I mean, I like Fleamont and Euphemia, they both think that women can do as much as men, but I don't think I included them in my daily ritual."
"Are you sure it's the stone that protected him?" asked Severus, surprised.
He had not expected it to work on lethal threats, or to pick up on unconscious intent.
"I'm pretty sure it was. Lily and I were having tea together when she felt that something was wrong. We went to his office where we found him in a coma, his cup of tea spilled on his desk. That's when I realised that the stone was getting very warm. Lily ran a bunch of diagnostic spells while I examined him the muggle way. She also called a healer who quickly told us that he appeared to have been poisoned with a potion called Certa mor, but that it could not be because he would have already been dead. My stone broke three hours later, at the moment he woke up."
It was a good omen for the protective stone that Severus had given his own House members, especially for Ted.
He needed to give Petunia a new stone as soon as possible, Dhaal would be happy to deliver it discreetly at her workplace.
"Do you have any idea who could have poisoned him?" asked Severus, focusing back on the reason for his call.
"Well, the Aurors haven't found anything suspicious in his office, aside from his tea."
"But you have a theory," guessed Severus from her tone.
"I think Dumbledore is involved. I told you before that Fleamont and the Headmaster were having disagreements about how to best protect Harry. It has spread to the way Dumbledore is trying to handle the current civil war and other political matters. Fleamont even accused Dumbledore of fanning the flames to increase the conflict," explained Petunia.
"I would not put it past him, though I'm surprised that he would go so far as to poison Lord Potter," answered Severus.
Lord Potter and Dumbledore were supposed to be friends. But did Dumbledore really have any friends? As a rational plan, gaining more influence within House Potter by eliminating the older Lord while framing Severus so he would be arrested was the perfect move. If it was true, Severus was almost impressed.
"There have been many changes in House Potter these past weeks, and I don't think that Dumbledore approves of most of them," said Petunia. "Both Remus and Peter have been adopted into House Potter, as well as their close family."
That was a surprise. Well, not really if Severus was honest, though it meant that Lord Potter had found the Marauders worthy and that they had been able to swear by the Potters' motto. Magic comes from bravery. Unexpected, especially concerning Lupin. He might grow a backbone one day.
Petunia continued, unaware of his thoughts.
"Peter's parents are Muggleborns and never belonged to a House – they had no idea how important it could be even when you're not of noble status like the Malfoys or the Potters. Remus' grandmother left House Brown because she could not agree with its motto and did not find another suitable House, while his other grandparents were unaffiliated Purebloods. James and Sirius are over the moon, as you imagine, but for some reasons, Dumbledore was opposed to the adoption. He said they should wait until after the election – whenever that might be – because the adoption would prevent Remus and Peter from achieving their missions for the Order. It made James hesitate to ask formally for their adoption but when he told his father, Fleamont got into such an intense rage over the mere idea that Dumbledore would try to meddle with House Potter that the Pettigrews and the Lupins were adopted before the end of the day. That was three days before he was poisoned."
Dumbledore was making a more and more credible culprit. The question was: how did he hire Demi and Mimi? Even though the both of them were Half-Bloods, Faes were notorious for keeping away from those they considered to be subpar races, like Wizards and Goblins.
"I thought I was busy, but I see I'm not the only one," said Severus, keeping his thoughts for himself.
Petunia let out a sigh.
"I can't believe so much has happened in such a short time. Our nerves are a bit frayed with all the excitement, and with Dumbledore not answering James' Patronus, it's no wonder my brother-in-law left in such a hurry this morning."
"Dumbledore was supposed to meet with Potter yesterday but did not show up?" asked Severus, trying not to show too much interest.
"It was more than just a meeting," answered Petunia. "Yesterday, at about eight, James received a Patronus from Dumbledore saying "Alert 2, Fawkes to confirm." It's not the first time that James received this message. Usually, somewhere between thirty minutes to five hours later, he would receive either a letter from Fawkes or another Patronus saying "False alarm". But this time, he received neither."
Severus had thought he had been careful to hide his plans, but Dumbledore had been on alert each time he had remained at Hogwarts for dinner.
"James stayed awake all night. When he still hadn't received any word at seven this morning, he left to organise an emergency meeting with the Order. Lily joined him about half-an-hour later, and they still haven't come back."
Severus hoped the Goblins had covered their tracks well.
"That's quite the tale," said Severus. "But I'm sure Dumbledore is alright. He's too crafty and unpleasant to just stop making trouble for everyone."
"I hear you," agreed Petunia. "Honestly, I don't understand how James still idolises the man so much. But I'm not being fair, Dumbledore disappointed him when he recommended not adopting Remus and Peter. There is still hope for him."
Severus was not going to hold his breath.
"Time will tell."
They veered on lighter subjects, from Petunia's studies and reflections about her future medical specialisation to Severus' new House members. When they bid each other goodbye, Severus was stunned to see that almost two hours had passed by.
He decided to take his lunch in his office to begin working right away. He still needed to work out the details about implementing the Horcrux plan and to hopefully find a better way of blocking the Marks.
Yes, he had a lot of work awaiting him, but after the events of last night, his brain wanted to focus on something fun– something new and different, meaning Brys' apprenticeship subject.
To study Potions from a chemist's point of view had been on Severus' to-do-list for a while. It seemed the easiest way to try to merge Magic and muggle sciences. But now, Severus was wondering if it wouldn't work as well with other muggle sciences and magical fields. After all, Transfiguration was governed by equations, same as in physics, and physics worked for Muggles. So who was to say that Magic could not be added to muggle equations and work?
And why stop at Transfiguration and not try to translate Charms and Curses into equations too? Transfiguration required the use of equations because of the risks for a Wizard to deplete his core while using it, but who was to say that the same work could not be done for other magical fields?
It opened new possibilities that made Severus' fingers itch with curiosity and desire to experiment.
He spent the rest of the afternoon drafting lessons and improvement plans for his two Apprentices, as well as organising the different axes of reflection they could research in order to study magical fields from a muggle point of view. He also made notes about the specific areas of specialisation of the various muggle teachers he needed to hire for them, as well as drafted himself a plan to balance his time between his future project for Family Ressurs, his Apprenticeship project for Minerva, his own apprentices and his House business. It led him to make a list of which tasks and chores he could delegate to other House members, which ones he should delegate and the required training plus sharing of information necessary so that one of his house members could replace him in these tasks.
When Severus surfaced, dinner had long come and gone, an empty plate the only sign that Tuei had not let him skip a meal and that he had eaten without tasting his food.
He got up and stretched his entire body, sighing as he felt something pop in his back. Then he methodically tidied his office, preparing it for a possible Auror search. Everything concerning his House or his research was encrypted with a spell linked rune. Then he moved to his lab and his practice room to clean up and encode any sensitive documents. His potions were locked up as usual, and nothing short of a warrant would make him open up the area.
Finally, Severus went down to the basement and its Horcrux meeting room. All the boards and documents went into a cupboard that was then locked and covered by an illusion. Then he put up various drapes all around the walls of the room. To the already cosy feeling created by the armchairs and low table, he added one big thick plush rug onto which he laid several children's toys. This was supposed to be a playroom for the kids of House Caspian, with a corner for adults when supervision was needed.
Satisfied with his work, Severus went to check on Caspian's grounds, using the flows to quickly tour his territory while expanding his Sense to check there were no new intruders. He finished by Manylion's hut, where Tuei, who had taken the day watch with four other Chevaliers, told him that their guests were very talkative but had provided no useful information on the reason for their presence here.
Severus had expected nothing less.
He declined Nymphéa's plea for a game of Mysterium, a board game which was a bit too much like prophecies to Severus' tastes: it was about a ghost making a team of seers guess the circumstances of his murder as well as the identity of his killer by sending them psychedelic visions that supposedly contained clues.
Instead, he went straight up to bed and fell asleep as soon as his head touched his pillow. He slept like a log, not even noticing when Dhaal cuddled next to him.
When morning came, Severus woke up feeling a lot more clear-headed, which was a good thing as the Aurors came knocking at nine o'clock sharp.
Severus was in his office when Tuei came to fetch him. He hastily followed her in the conservatory where Andromeda was making small talk with two Aurors.
The man was Prewett, one of the Aurors who had taken part in the previous search of his home. The woman looked familiar, and after a few seconds, Severus recognised Alice Longbottom, a Ravenclaw one year older than him, a clever witch who had surprised many by choosing an Auror career instead of a more scholarly job. He had to admire her dedication to her job when her kid had a target on his back. Though she may be hoping to catch potential attackers before they could attempt to reach him.
"Good morning, Lord Caspian," welcomed Prewett. "Thank you for accepting to receive us. I am Auror Prewett, and this is Junior-Auror Longbottom. I believe you have already met my brother and her husband."
Auror twins. How peculiar.
"Good morning Auror Prewett, Auror Longbottom," said Severus. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Tuei had told him that they wanted to ask him questions in his capacity of Potion Master Grade I, but he wanted to hear how they would present their requests to him. He caught Andromeda's gaze and silently gestured for her to leave him with the Aurors.
She hesitated for a few seconds before gracefully taking her leave.
"Like we told Andro– Mrs. Tonks, we would like to consult with you as a Potion Master Grade I," explained Prewett.
Interesting that Prewett knew Andromeda well enough to call her by her first name. He would need to ask her what she thought of him and his brother. He knew from Lily that they were members of the Order of the Phoenix, but they may not be as close minded as their leader.
Severus nodded.
"Please have a seat. Would you like some coffee or some tea?"
He hid a smile at the Aurors' quickly hidden look of surprise. He could play the courteous host when they were not accusing him of misdeeds without proof.
"Tea would be lovely," answered Longbottom with a smile.
"Coffee for me," added Prewett.
Tuei left only long enough for them to settle on the rounded benches around the wooden table. She served them tea and coffee as well as a plate of madeleines, then left the room for good.
Longbottom surprised him by heartily tasting one of the cakes, blushing when she noticed both Prewett and Severus watching her with bemused amusement.
"Those are very good. I did not have the time to have breakfast because Neville made a fuss about eating this morning," she said defensively.
"Please help yourself, I assure you that Tuei will be pleased to know you approve of her cooking," answered Severus with a small smile, feeling himself relax a bit.
She smiled back gratefully and took another madeleine.
Prewett shook his head but his eyes showed fond amusement.
"So, what did you want to ask me?" asked Severus, taking them back to the task at hand.
"I'm sure you have heard about Lord Potter's poisoning attempt," began Prewett. "We have confirmed that the poison was Certa mor."
"Really? I have never heard of anyone surviving Certa mor before," said Severus. "Unless he didn't ingest it?"
Prewett shook his head.
"Lord Potter's survival is another mystery, but so far, all the other Potion Masters Grade I we have consulted have confirmed that it was Certa mor and seemed perfectly brewed, though none had ever had the occasion to do so themselves. It also worked as expected on several rats. You are the last one on our list. If you confirm that this is indeed Certa mor and well brewed, there won't be any doubt left."
"The last one on your list?" repeated Severus with a raised eyebrow.
He doubted that many more Potion Masters Grade I were vocal supporters of Lord Voldemort, and thus prime suspects for the ministry.
"Senior-Auror Moody was adamant," answered Longbottom. "He speaks highly of you. He was quite impressed by your library and your lab."
"How is he?" asked Severus, hiding his surprise at such a praise. "I was quite pained to hear about the loss of his leg."
"He's surprisingly well," answered Prewett dryly. "He is more involved than ever in Auror business, and it has been the occasion for him to take a step back and consider the big picture."
"I'm glad to hear that," answered Severus truthfully. "Losing a limb is always a risk for magical beings."
"Indeed," agreed Prewett.
He looked at Severus pensively before taking a vial out of his robes and handing it out to Severus.
"If you don't mind, I would rather go to my lab for this," said Severus dryly. "There is no need to take risks."
From the Aurors' face, he had passed the first test of being a reasonable Potion Master.
They went to his lab, where Severus invited the Aurors to sit on two chairs and touch nothing. Then, he quietly set up the additional protections he needed to examine such a dangerous potion. He went on to examine the colour, the viscosity and the acidity of the potion, all of which were in conformity with the Certa mor. Then he took out several small testing rune-stones which were used to test the effects of a potion. Each Potion Masters Grade I created his own, with his own set of runes depending on the effects he wanted to test for. Of course, most Potion Masters did not know goblin runes, and Severus was certain his testing rune-stones were far more precise than most.
The potion tested positive for core draining effect and muscle paralysis effect, while it tested negative for corrosive effect and oxygen depletion effect. Once more, it was consistent with the Certa mor.
Nodding to himself, Severus carefully extended his Sense over the vial. The potion was well brewed, with no sign of instability. Its goal was pretty clear.
"All tests confirm that this is indeed Certa mor," finally said Severus after a little less than one hour, handing back to Prewett the half-full vial. "I cannot be one hundred percent sure, short of brewing the potion myself and then comparing it to yours, but I think this is the most probable possibility."
"You've never brewed it?" asked Prewett, looking bored out of his mind.
Severus thought he was a good actor.
"I'm sure you are aware that it is illegal to brew this potion outside a special agreement with Saint Mungo," answered Severus dryly. "Basilisk venom's and Graphorn's horns also are notoriously hard to procure legally."
"So you know the Certa mor's recipe," stated Longbottom.
Severus looked at her pointedly.
"All Potion Masters Grade I should know it. It is among the most efficient and tasteless poison in existence, and quite tricky to brew. A beautiful challenge but a lot of effort for something that could be achieved with other potions under far less restriction."
"You're saying that as a Potion Master Grade I, it's not how you would have tried to kill Lord Potter," said Prewett, watching him with piercing eyes.
Severus wanted to roll his eyes.
"The Certa mor was first invented for those sentenced to death, so they could die quickly and painlessly. In this case, quickly is a big risk of being discovered. Moreover, the sale of two of the Certa mor's main ingredients are heavily restricted by the ministry, which is another big risk of leaving a trail and being discovered."
"You make good arguments," agreed Prewett, "though you forgot the one about this potion being so difficult to brew that it would also reduce the number of suspects mostly to Potion Masters Grade I."
Severus tilted his head pensively.
"It's mostly true, however, there are people who aren't Potion Masters Grade I but would be able to brew the Certa Mor. I cannot be completely certain as I have never brewed it, but I believe that I could have done it after my first year of Apprenticeship."
When he had really begun to understand Sensing, though he might have been able as soon as after he had studied for his NEWTs.
"But you're a Potion genius, so that limits the possibilities," countered Longbottom.
She shook her head at her partner's sceptical look.
"Lord Caspian's genius in potions was well known in Hogwarts. Rumours began in his first year that he could brew anything even without a recipe, and they only grew from then on."
She turned towards Severus with an apologetic smile.
"Your genius with Potions was rumoured to only be equalled by your incapacity in Transfiguration."
Prewett hummed in agreement.
"As you can imagine, Professor McGonagall taking you as an apprentice caused quite the stir, between surprise and jealousy I think, especially as you had just taken up the mantle of Head of House Caspian."
Severus let himself show a satisfied smile.
"I like to keep busy."
"Well, you may get even busier if you agree to help Minerva," said Longbottom dryly.
"Alice," said Prewett warningly.
"Gideon," echoed Longbottom, tilting her head in defiance.
They locked eyes for a brief second before the man let out a disgruntled sigh.
Severus watched with curiosity.
Longbottom smiled winningly.
"It's not a big secret, Lord Caspian will know soon enough, either from the newspaper or from Minerva herself. She has already told the main faculty."
She turned her head back to Severus.
"Yesterday morning, Professor McGonagall received a letter from Headmaster Dumbledore, delivered by Fawkes, his Phoenix. He told her that he needed to leave immediately for a secret mission which could decide the fate of Magic in our world. He also named her Interim Headmaster for the duration of his leave."
The Goblins had done a good job, using Fawkes for messenger.
"That's... unexpected. And cryptic," stated Severus raising an eyebrow in feigned perplexity.
"It is," agreed Longbottom. "You were at Hogwarts the day before yesterday, did you notice anything different in Headmaster Dumbledore's behaviour?"
"My days at Hogwarts are always full, especially with the OWLs approaching. The students don't give me much time to socialise apart from the meals. I didn't notice anything specific at dinner," answered Severus, careful to choose his words to speak the truth. "Why? Do you think the illustrious Headmaster Dumbledore, victor over the Dark Lord Grindelwald, wrote the letter under duress?"
Longbottom shrugged.
"Not really, the letter was delivered by Fawkes. Dumbledore's brother also received a letter, from Gringotts this time, telling him that he was the acting head of House Dumbledore per his brother's instructions until such time as he was back from his mission. However, it is surprising, so we prefer to ask if anyone noticed something suspicious."
Prewett stood up.
"Thank you for your time, Lord Caspian. We won't bother you any longer."
"It was my pleasure," answered Severus truthfully.
He walked them back to the front door, Longbottom asking him to thank Tuei for the madeleines.
He wondered if being in contact with Aurors like her and Moody gave the Potters twins hope to finally become useful human beings.
Severus extended his Sense and focused to follow the two Aurors until they reached the anti-flow-travelling wards limit and apparated away. Only then did he let out a relieved sigh. He just might still make it. He might still have time to reunite Lord Voldemort with his Horcruxes and save Slytherin's view of the magical world.
Now Severus only needed to find out about who had hired Demi and Mimi, as well as figure out what to do with the both of them. He could not afford loose ends so close to the deadline for the Horcruxes reunification plan.
He had barely made two steps towards Manylion's hut when Dhaal suddenly appeared in front of him. Only the fact that Severus could Sense his Familiar through their bond prevented him from having a heart attack on the spot.
"What are you doing, Dhaal?" asked Severus, feeling irritated. "Now is not the time to play pranks."
The Thestral tapped his hoof on the ground, reminding Severus of Manylion on the day of their first meeting. He did not remember Dhaal ever showing such a sign of anger.
"I'm not playing, I'm training."
"Training?" repeated Severus, his irritation quickly replaced with concern at his Familiar's unusual agitated behaviour.
"I was lazy before, and now I'm not good enough!" answered the Thestral, pacing in front of Severus at his full height.
"That's not true," protested Severus. "We still have much to learn, with our House being so new, but this knowledge cannot be learnt in mere days. We have both practised using our House's magic regularly, and–"
"I did not Sense them last night."
Severus blinked, cut short at the dejected feeling that came through their bond. He could not remember Dhaal ever feeling like this.
Frowning, Severus walked in front of his Familiar, forcing him to stop moving by putting his hands on each side of his head so they could face each other.
"Dhaal. What do you mean?"
The Thestral tried to turn his head but Severus did not let him, holding firm.
He snorted but relented.
"I did not Sense Demi and Mimi on the grounds. I only woke up when you called for all of us and told us that there were intruders on the grounds."
Severus felt himself relax. He shook his head lightly at his Familiar.
"Dhaal, you were exhausted. You had just battled Dumbledore, Hogwarts, and a Phoenix! And Demi and Mimi did not mean any direct harm to us, so of course you slept through it."
"But you Sensed them!"
"Only Demi. And I did not use up as much core magic as you did during the fight against Dumbledore," countered Severus.
Holding up against a Phoenix was very demanding. Severus tried not to think about what going against Nagini could require from Dhaal. They were going to use the muggle drugs on her after all.
He stared straight at his Familiar's eyes, using their bond to reassure Dhaal that he had no reason to beat himself up about this.
"There is a reason that it's you and me, Dhaal. If one of us falters, the other is here to back him up. You broke Fawkes' song's hold on me."
Finally, Severus felt his words taking root in the Thestral's mind. Tension seemed to uncoil from his body as he slowly relaxed.
Dhaal gave Severus a small headbutt before decreasing his height and jumping on his shoulder, cuddling against his neck.
"We're still lacking some training. We need to be in top form if you want to save your Marvolo," Sensed Dhaal, still a bit subdued.
Severus nodded, his hand petting Dhaal's side lightly.
"I know. I didn't expect the growth of our House to open so many Sensing possibilities and magical opportunities."
"We should spend a day at Svalbard," stated his Familiar decisively.
Fighting against the voktere certainly was the fastest way to improve the skills they would need for the Horcrux reunification.
"We'll go tomorrow," agreed Severus, "if we have managed to deal with Demi and Mimi by then."
"We should go now," countered Dhaal. "The sooner the better."
Well. The Aurors had just left. The next Death Eaters meeting was tomorrow evening. His House members had organised the watch over their intruders. Who could say when they would get another opportunity to get away for a few hours?
"Alright, let me warn Tuei then we're off," said Severus with a smile.
The gratitude flowing through their bond told him that he had made the right choice.
Dhaal's amazing magical abilities, his self-confidence in his beliefs as well as his mischievousness and cheerful personality made it too easy to forget that his Familiar could feel insecure too.
The both of them against a group of voktere definitely was a good way to cheer him up.