Chapter 36: Masquerade, Part 3

"Ariadne, we've been searching for ages."

Ariadne sighed and ran her fingers through her voluminous, dark hair; in a parallel motion, Sirius did exactly the same to his own rugged locks.

They were seated facing each other on Sirius's four-poster bed in the boys' dormitory, the only private escape from the party where they could remove their masks and speak freely about what Ariadne considered an imminent threat to everyone's safety.

"I know what I saw, Black. A man and a woman in skull masks. I didn't recognize either of them."

"I don't doubt the accuracy of your memory, Morrigan. Just that the characters in question are still at the masquerade. They must have left long ago."

"But then how would they carry out whatever plan they have for tonight?"

Sirius had taken on a brooding expression that Ariadne had come to know well; in the dim light of the dormitory, his eyes and furrowed brows seemed even darker than usual.

"I don't know. They could have cronies designated to do the dirty work. Or they could have laid some kind of trap they can trigger from afar." He paused and absentmindedly fiddled with his mask. "And you still can't confirm whether they were Hogwarts students?"

"They could be, based on my estimation of their ages. But it's not anyone I know."

"You must have disciplined three-quarters of the Hogwarts upperclassmen by this point, Morrigan, and you have the memory for it. If you don't know them…"

"It's harder to identify people with the masks. You're not really saying you think someone could have infiltrated Hogwarts?"

Sirius looked inscrutable again. "I'm not sure of anything, Morrigan. You know that You-Know-Who's connections within the castle are stronger than we anticipated. Yaxley, Clarice and their gang are evidence of that."

"But I also know that Hogwarts is virtually impossible to penetrate without someone knowing."

Sirius tilted his head to acknowledge her point.

"Don't you think we should tell someone? McGonagall? Warn everyone downstairs? End the masquerade early and send them back to their common rooms?"

Sirius shifted around and stretched his legs out on the bed. "No."

Ariadne opened her mouth to respond vehemently, but Sirius held up a hand to forestall her. "No, Morrigan, it's not because I don't want the party to end."

"But—"

"Or that I'm worried about us all getting in trouble for having an unsanctioned masquerade party."

"I was going to say—"

"And it's not because I'm worried about my reputation and being thought of as a wet blanket."

Ariadne glared at him. "Can I talk now?"

Sirius frowned again. "I thought I had anticipated all of your possible objections."

Ariadne sighed. "You had better have a really good reason for not wanting to notify McGonagall immediately and put the entire castle into lockdown, Black."

"I have multiple reasons. For one, it would cause immediate panic and chaos. If you learned anything from our last brush with authority during an illicit social gathering, intoxicated teenagers who know they've been breaking the rules are impossible to evacuate in an orderly manner. Especially because we can't provide any concrete details about the threat. Two, if these…intruders' plan involves activating an enchantment of some kind remotely, ending the masquerade will almost certainly trigger it right away. And lastly, it is to our advantage to pretend that we know nothing about their plot and will be caught totally unawares. It gives us an edge of surprise."

"So what exactly are you suggesting we do? Just act like everything's fine and wait for them carry out their act of terror?"

"Mostly, yes. But you forget that we aren't completely defenseless."

"Without alerting any of the professors nor enlisting their help and protection, I'd say we essentially are," replied Ariadne, crossing her arms.

"Of course we aren't. We have you and me to look after things and manage the situation if it gets out of control."

"Are you ever going to stop wildly overestimating your abilities?"

"Are you ever going to start believing that you're the most powerful and magically capable witch in this castle?"

Ariadne was momentarily caught off guard by this question. "You know it's true, Ariadne, you have for a long time. You just need to start acting like it." Sirius leaned in towards her, his voice low and intense. "Forget your beloved professors, forget the Hogwarts staff that have turned a blind eye to prejudice and dark magic growing within these very walls. We've gone up against these would-be Death Eaters on our own, and we've won. You can handle this. We can handle this."

Almost involuntarily, Sirius's words conjured a montage of memories in Ariadne's mind. The forbidden Polyjuice Potion. That night in the Forbidden Forest with Clarice. Dueling Yaxley in the dungeons corridor. Holding Sirius's deathlike, lifeless body in her arms. When she was with Sirius, she felt powerful and fearless. She felt something bigger than herself.

"Ariadne?"

Sirius's gaze was now gentle and concerned, and it somehow felt even more intimate than when he touched her face earlier that night.

Ariadne cleared her throat. "I'm willing to defer notifying McGonagall and shutting down the masquerade…on the condition that we both remain absolutely vigilant to our surroundings and evacuate everyone at the first sign of trouble."

"Agreed."

They were both silent for a moment. "Something else on your mind, Morrigan?" Sirius asked finally.

Ariadne sighed again. "The woman and the man in those skull masks…they essentially warned me of something happening tonight. They gave me advance notice. Why?"

"They're playing mind games, Morrigan. It's a common tactic of You-Know-Who and his followers. They plant fear and confusion and intimidation. That's why it's best not to react by shutting down the entire castle. That's what they want, it gives them power over us. We have to show them we're not afraid."

Ariadne raised an eyebrow. "By partying like we're not being threatened by the forces of darkness?"

Sirius grinned. "Precisely."

"Speaking of the party, we should probably get back down there. They'll be wondering where we are."

Sirius shrugged. "They'll just assume we're shagging." He paused. "We could fulfill their expectations, if you like." He raised one of his own eyebrows suggestively.

"Black, I've just been threatened by potential Death Eaters and you've somehow convinced me we don't need help to deal with it. It's not exactly mood-setting."

"Suit yourself," he said, getting up and rummaging under his bed. "Drink?" He once again offered her a flask from his private stash of mulled mead.

This time, Ariadne accepted.