Chapter Two: Friends and Foes

Nick was still disappointed by Hermione's reaction to his demonstration, a month ago. He had thought that she would be excited about his discovery, he hoped that she would've fully supported him, but it had been quite the opposite. After the first few moments of astonishment, she went all "Miss Granger" on him, as Ron would say, and started to scold him. She even tried to bully him into surrendering the wand to the Ministry for examination because "who knows what curse could've been put on it". She told him that he had probably just figured out a way to see traces of magic, and that it was already a great achievement that he should be proud of.

He had to spend Christmas at school this year, because he had spent the last three Christmases with Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Harry and he had to take a turn watching after the remaining students, but also because he promised Sunya that he would help her with her research. So here he was, back in the library, under the scrutiny of good ol' Madam Pince…

"A penny for your thoughts!" Sunya whispered, observing him with her green almond-shaped eyes.

He blushed slightly, feeling somewhat ashamed of his wandering mind. He wasn't much help to her at this point.

"I'm sorry, I let my mind wander, what were we saying?" he asked, repressing a yawn.

"How about a drink? Hogsmeade? My treat!" she asked with that smile nobody could resist.

"Actually, that's a good idea. Let's get out of this realm of dust and old parchment for a while!"

She laughed, instantly attracting the attention of Madam Pince and her soul-piercing gaze.

"Ooooh, she scares me so much!" she said, grabbing Nick's arm and dragging him out into the corridor.

They got out of the castle, fleeing from Peeves who was distributing some "stinky treats" to unwilling students. It was a nice day, snow had stopped the night before, so everything was covered in a nice white mantle under a bright sun. They took the road to the village and talked about anything but studies. Near the castle gate, they met Neville who was walking back to Hogwarts with a bag on his side.

"Hi, Neville!" they said at the same time.

"Oh! Hello, Sunya! Nick!" he said, surprised. "You're going to Hogsmead? Well, of course you are! Be careful, the path is icy down there!"

"Thanks!" said Sunya. "What's in the bag? Oh, sorry, I'm nosey, as usual."

"No, it's all right! I ordered some seeds and seedlings for the spring planting, and they arrived this morning. Look, I even received some seeds of Kaloptas Refractarius from my colleague in Myanmar! Do you remember, Nick? I told you about him and my journey there."

Nick remembered only too much of it! Neville had told him about this trip, from India to Myanmar, for hours at the start-of-term banquet. He and some fellow herbologist had apparently discovered some kind of exciting new plant that slightly repelled magic creatures. The plan was to grow some and try to make an effective repellent for magical pests. So boring! But Neville was so nice and enthusiastic about it that he had to show some interest.

"Of course I remember! So it's good news, you'll be able to grow some and make a potion!" he said, trying to sound interested.

"I'm not sure if it'll grow well here, I'll have to test a few different soils and fertilisers, maybe… willow bark and dragon dung for a start… Sorry, I'm keeping you here, babbling like an old lady. I leave you to it. See you later."

And just like that, he was gone! Nick and Sunya looked at each other amused and resumed their walk to the Three Broomsticks. After a few slips and a lot of laughing, they finally took place at Sunya's favorite spot, in a corner booth near the fire. Madam Rosmerta was waiting for their order even before they were seated.

"Hello youngsters! What will it be today? Something to warm you up?" asked the owner, wiping a glass.

"I don't think I can be called a youngster anymore, Rosmerta," Nick said.

"Well, you're a youngster to me, so get over it," she told him with a smile.

"I'll have a pint of mulled mead, please," said Sunya, laughing at Nick's setback.

"And I'll have some of that special firewhisky you keep locked under the bar, if you please, madam?" He insisted on the last word.

"Well not today, not with that tone. It'll be the regular one for you!" she replied dryly but smilingly, winking at Sunya.

As she left to get their drinks, they took their cloaks off and made themselves comfortable in the padded seats. They talked for a while, joking and laughing, getting some more drinks as the day passed into night. At some point, they came to talk about their lives outside the castle.

"So, Sunya, why did you spend your Christmas holidays here instead of going back to your family?" asked Nick somewhere around the third round of drinks.

"Oh, well," she said, slowly wiping her lips with her thumb, stealing some time. "You know, I had a lot of work, and my family don't really celebrate Christmas." She hesitated for a few more seconds before adding "We don't talk much actually. I haven't seen them for three or four years now."

"Oh, really?" Nick was embarrassed. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked, that was rude."

He took a long swig of firewhisky and choked badly on it, spitting the alcohol all over the table and got some admonition from Madam Rosmerta.

"Sorry about that too," he said after a waitress came to clean the table.

"It's nothing," Sunya said, still laughing. "As for my family, I don't see them because we have some… divergence of views. You see, I come from an old family of purebloods, as they like to call themselves, and I don't see the world the same way they do. I'm from the Feldira family."

"Oh, I see." He didn't know she was from a pureblood line, it was still a sensitive subject since the war.

"What about you?" she asked "Why didn't you spend Christmas with your family?"

"Because I don't have any family left," he began, taking another sip of his drink. "My parents died a long time ago, well, twenty-two years now, and my sister died with them."

A long silence followed, he was used to it by now, people saying how sorry they were and changing the subject as if that would make everything all right.

"Your whole family died at the same time? That's awful! What happened?" Sunya exclaimed, leaving Nick speechless. "Oh! I'm sorry, that was rough, wasn't it?"

"No, actually it's refreshing. Generally people try their best to avoid the subject, I hate it." He took a deep breath. "Greyback tried to turn my sister into a werewolf but it went wrong and she died. My father entered her bedroom as he was escaping. He went after him, my mother followed them. Greyback's pack was waiting for their leader in the woods, when my parents got under the trees, they were attacked and… Well you can imagine what an entire pack of werewolves can do to two wizards taken by surprise. I was at a friend's place that night, lucky me."

He called for another round of drinks. Sunya was staring at him in disbelief, but she wasn't dripping with pity like every other person he ever told about his family. Well not everyone, Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny were the only other people he had told his story to without regret.

"You know what? You remind me of Ginger!" he said suddenly.

"Ginger?"

"Ginny! Ginny Potter! What a fool," he said "She's my best friend, I call her Ginger because, well, she is. And it annoys her a lot!" he laughed out loud.

"So, I suppose it's a compliment?" she asked, unsure.

"Of course it is! She's the best. She knows everything about me."

"Well, it means you like me then?" she asked him with her special smile.

"Yes, actually, I do like you. Even more after tonight," he told her, still laughing.

They continued to drink and talk until Madam Rosmerta forced them out in order to close the pub. The temperature outside had dropped dramatically, and they were freezing. Nick tried to cast a warming spell, but his coat almost caught on fire and they were laughing so hard that someone threw a shoe from a nearby window, right in Nick's face, which made them laugh even more.

The journey back to Hogwarts took a lot longer than earlier, and by the time they reached the senior students' dormitory, the sun had begun to rise.

"It's been a really good night," Sunya told Nick.

"Yes, it was!" he said. "Thank you for that, I needed it. And thanks for the drinks."

"You paid for most of it," she said laughing "And you're welcome. I needed it too."

They stood there, looking at each other for a while.

"So, good night?" He finally said.

"Yes, good night."

The hangover wasn't fun. Nick managed to sleep until noon, but he was awakened by Neville, banging on his door for what seemed like an whole day. He was forced to put on some clothes and to follow the culprit to the Great Hall, for the last lunch of the holidays. He had forgotten that it was mandatory. They had to confirm their schedules for spring term.

"It seems that Professor McCallum has had a rough night," said McGonagall with her legendary wry smile. "Is that a shoe mark on your forehead?" she added with a feigned questioning look.

He wondered how she could know about that.

"I must've stepped on my head," he replied "Given how it hurts this morning!"

Everyone laughed at his answer, making his head hurt even more.

They agreed on the schedules for the term, and settled everything that needed to be. Slughorn asked Neville about some plants he would need for the final term and Madam Hooch asked for three new brooms and some furniture for Quidditch. Nick seized the opportunity to bring up the subject of the increasing demand for his classes.

"With the arrival of new senior students, and the increased popularity of the subject, I will soon be forced to turn away students," he said. "I thought of a solution that could satisfy everyone."

He searched for a while in his parchments , and seeing that it would take ages, he just said:

"Accio Timothy's test."

He caught the roll of parchment that had flown out of the bag he was carrying, unrolled it and handed it to McGonagall.

"I'm sure all of you know about Timothy from the senior student programme?" he asked, looking at everyone. They all nodded. "This is his last test. As you can see, it's nothing short of perfect!"

They all looked at the parchment in turn, nodding and agreeing.

"Well, he is my solution. Let me explain. He is, by far, the best student I have ever had. And I think that he could, without any doubt, teach the Third-year. It would leave me enough time to take on all the other classes without turning any students away, and it wouldn't prevent him from pursuing his studies."

They discussed this for some time, checking all the schedules, and they came to the conclusion that it was, indeed, a good solution. McGonagall gave her approval and made an appointment with Timothy , to offer him the position.

"If that's all?" asked Minerva "I think our young Professor McCallum could do with a bath and a nap."

The first week of spring term went well. Timothy had accepted the position of teaching the Third-year, so Nick could take this term's senior students who had applied for his class. He had just finished his last lesson of the week and was going to the Great Hall for dinner when he saw Hermione in the main entrance. She gestured for him to join her and they met at the staff table.

"Hello Hermione, how was Christmas?" Nick greeted her with a smile.

Hermione, who had looked really tense before, seemed relieved.

"We missed you, a lot!" she exclaimed, pulling him into a hug and kissing him on both cheeks. "Your presents were incredible, they thank you a lot. I love mine so much, it's so beautiful! Ginny almost cried when Ron told her how much the gloves cost, and Harry choked on his drink when he figured how old was the Golden Snitch you got him. He said there was no way you could afford it, in fact he said that we probably couldn't afford it all together! So everyone is wondering now how you could get us these presents?"

It had taken him three years to collect the presents for this year's Christmas. They had all done so much for him, and he wanted to do something nice for them. He had found Hermione's first, a desk wand-holder from the Renaissance, finely crafted in mahogany and silver. Then it had been the ancient dragon hide wand holster with silver decorations he had bought for Ron. One that doesn't let the wand go unless the owner grabs it. Then he had found Ginny's, incredibly rare and ancient Quidditch gloves made of acromantula silk and adorned with very fine gold arabesques. They were bewitched to keep the hands warm or cool depending on the weather. He had to exchange them for quite a few artifacts of his collection.

Lastly, whereas he was searching for a spying quill for a future class, he had come across this sketchy wizard selling what looked like stolen goods. Nick had immediately recognised an original Golden Snitch from one of the oldest manufacturers. The irony is that the guy wasn't really trying to sell it, he had told Nick that he had just found it in his late grandfather's house and that he could have it for a galleon because it was broken anyway. After some research, it turned out to be probably one of the five oldest Golden Snitches known, an invaluable piece of history!

"Don't worry, I got really good deals!" he said with a wink, but that only made Hermione suspicious. "These are not stolen goods, I assure you! The gloves weren't cheap at all but that's ok. For your's and Ron's, I got them at a good price from people I know well, and Harry's only cost me a galleon! That's a story for another time!"

"So, look, Nick, I wanted to say that I'm sorry if I have somehow overreacted about, well, you know. I just want you to be cautious," she said, miserably.

"It's ok, Hermione, I don't blame you, and I'm cautious I swear!" he replied.

They had a nice dinner, catching up on their holidays, Hermione telling him how Ron had devastated her kitchen with a Weasley & Weasley firework prototype, and him telling her about his drinking night with Sunya at the Three Broomsticks.

"Oh, I see," she said with a odd smile.

"What?" he asked, oblivious.

"Well, you… No, nothing dear!" she said, before waving someone behind him. "Hi Sunya!"

Nick turned in his seat to see Sunya walking rapidly towards them, a bit concerned.

"Hello, Hermione, glad you're here!" she said before turning towards him. "Nick, Professor Flitwick sent me to find you. It seems that someone has broken into your office! Professor McGonagall is already on her way."

He stood up so suddenly that his chair fell to the floor, attracting the attention of half the table. Looking at Hermione, he could see that they shared the same concern.

"Where is it?" asked Hermione quietly enough to be heard only by him and Sunya.

"Here, in my pocket, I never leave it behind!" he reassured her in the same tone, drawing a questioning look from Sunya.

"Good!" she replied. "But we still need to find out if anything is missing from your office. You still have powerful artifacts in your possession that could do some damage!"

They started to walk rapidly towards Nick's Office, Sunya close behind them. On their way to the third floor they met Minerva.

"Oh, good, you're already here! Filius is waiting for us at your office," she said, leading the way without another word.

The door to Nick's office was intact, but the break-in was obvious by the room's chaos, spilling over into the hallway. Professor Flitwick and Filch stood outside, preventing anyone from approaching.

"Get out of here!" growled Filch at the curious students. "I'll have you locked up in the dungeons if you don't!"

But the arrival of another Professor, the Headmistress and the well-known Mrs. Granger convinced everyone it was time to move on.

"What happened?" Nick asked Flitwick, looking at the mess. "Did you see something? Or anyone?"

"No, nothing," said the little man. "I was returning to my office to fetch a parchment I had forgotten for Horace when I found your office open and in such a disorder that it could have been visited by a troll! But I can tell you that it happened fast, for I had passed through this corridor on my way to the Great Hall only five minutes before. It was an hour ago, I didn't want to leave it unwatched so I waited for someone to pass, and sent them to call Filch and the Headmistress. Then Miss Feldira came by and I thought I'll send her to get you."

"Thank you, Filius, we'll take it from here," said Minerva, dismissing him and Filch. "Miss Feldira, thank you for your time, you can go now."

"We'll talk later," Nick said to Sunya, giving her a reassuring smile. She smiled back, uncertain, and left with one last look at the mess.

"How many protection spells did you put on this door?" asked Hermione.

"Three," he said grimly. "A powerful locking spell to resist "Alohomora", a spell to prevent physical break-in and another to prevent magical probing. Only a few people here could've gone through all three of them, especially in such a short time."

"We have to find out what's missing," said the Headmistress. "I imagine all of your artifacts and dangerous objects won't be affected by a cleaning spell?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, they won't," he confirmed. "They're all protected."

"Good," she said, casting a spell that took care of the bigger part of the disorder, only leaving the protected objects on the floor.

They spent the next two hours putting everything back in order, checking with Nick and his inventory, inspecting every object for curses or magical damages, examining the room and the walls, even his clothes, only to find that nothing was missing or been tampered with.

"Is there anything else the intruder might have been looking for?" asked McGonagall with her piercing look.

Nick and Hermione exchanged a glance, but before he could speak, she stepped between him and Minerva.

"It's possible," she began with a sudden authority in her voice. "But we can't tell you anything on this matter for now, Headmistress, I'm sorry."

McGonagall was taken aback by the change in attitude, as was Nick. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead, she granted.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Mrs. Granger," she said severely. "And I would appreciate to know if my students and my personnel were in any danger."

"Of course, you'll be. As for now, I don't think anyone is in danger, but we need to assess the whole situation before making any decisions, I'm sure you understand?"

"I do," said the older woman, relaxing. "Now, I have work to do, I bid you goodnight."

After McGonagall's departure, Nick tried to speak, but Hermione interrupted him.

"We should go for a walk," she said.

And without another word, she dragged him out of his office and made him put his protective spells back. She led him through the corridors, back to the main entrance, and out of the castle. She led him around, to the training grounds and back to the castle, constantly looking around. Then, she took him to the fifth floor and stopped in front of the secret passage entrance between the armors.

"Open it!" she said urgently, still looking around.

He cast a disillusionment charm so as not to be seen, and touched the unlocking stone with the old wand he had just taken from his robes. The entrance appeared, and before he could make a move, Hermione disappeared through it, leaving him alone in the empty corridor. He put the wand back and entered the passage. As soon as he was inside, Hermione grabbed him and pulled him uncomfortably close to her, so close that he could feel her body against his.

"That's really too close, Hermione…" he started before she silenced him by covering his mouth with her hand. She leaned towards him, moving even closer, her mouth just inches from his ear.

"Are you totally and thoroughly sure we can't be heard here?" she whispered, the tip of her wand pushing against his chest.

"Her..ion..!" he tried to say.

"Just answer me!" she snapped.

"Yes, I'm sure," he managed to answer.

"Who else knows about this?" she asked then, maintaining the pressure with her wand.

"No one, I swear, I…," he tried.

"What do you call your best friend, and why?" she cut him.

And with that question, he knew that it was really serious, and that Hermione wasn't joking. He knew that a wrong answer would at best land him in interrogation at the Ministry, and a wrong move would be fatal.

"I call her Ginger, because it annoys her!" he said, his heart beating fast. "It's me, Hermione, what's wrong?"

She let him go and took a few steps back, lighting her wand. He saw her worried face and a glimpse of tears at the corners of her eyes.

"We have a problem!" she finally told him. "We had a break-in at the Ministry a few weeks ago! Very similar to the one that just happened here. A cabinet was ransacked, nothing stolen. A lot of protective spells were dismissed in a few minutes. No one was seen. But we did find a small trace of Polyjuice potion."

"Oh, ok, I understand the precautions now," he replied.

"It was unlikely you were an imposter, especially after you'd opened that passage, but I had to be sure. We've had a few other similar affairs in the past few months. Whoever is behind this is looking for something," she told him.

"But, the Ministry and now me? It doesn't make much sense, I'm not working with you!"

"There's more," she added. "I bet the wizards who've been visited are all connected to you somehow because they all deal with ancient objects, and the cabinet at the ministry contained goods confiscated from one of them. I didn't realise the connection until now! I've been stupid!"

Nick took a few moments to assess the whole situation. Someone was looking for something, that was clear. But was he, or they, after the wand? Did anyone know anything about it before he bought it? He was almost certain that the wizard who had sold it to him hadn't told anyone about it, he was a very secretive man. He had told Nick because they had worked together for years and he wanted the wand to be in good hands. He was very old and without an heir, so that was the only reason why Nick could buy it. He told Hermione this.

"He may be after something else," she said. "But we need to be careful about this. This wand could be very powerful, or dangerous, it's clearly not an ordinary wand."

"It could be more than one person," Nick added.

"Let's assume for now that it's only one person, that's enough trouble to start with!"

"So now you believe me!" he exclaimed, suddenly.

Hermione took a few moments to answer, looking at him with some concern.

"I believe, as I did before, that this wand is unusual, and that you did find something that it can do, or help you do, that no other wand can," she said cautiously.

"Oh! Well, I'll take it for now, but you'll see, someday, that I was right!"

They talked for some more time, agreeing on some precautions and making plans in case of an emergency. They agreed not to tell anyone about this for the moment being. Hermione told him that she would leave instructions in case anything happened to her and that he should do the same. She tried to get him to leave the wand with her, but he immediately refused. He told her that he had more experience with it, and therefore it was safer in his hands. Amazingly, she agreed to this.

"It's late," said Nick. "And I have a class to attend in five hours."

They started walking, and after a few steps, a door appeared on the wall.

"It'll take you to your office,"

"I must say that this corridor is really amazing," said Hermione softly. "You should continue to investigate it!"

And she left, leaving Nick speechless. He walked on for a few moments, until another door led him to his quarters.