The Centaur's Shrine

Part II - Enemies

Chapter 10 - Teachers and students

An old house in the countryside,

Hermione Granger would have loved the house. Certainly not because of the decoration, which was rather dark and sinister, but for the books. These were everywhere, they owned the place. Not a room which didn't have a wall covered with bookshelves, except those reserved for the House Elves. Not a chair or a table which wasn't in easy reach of writing tools, and with a place to put an unfinished volume down. Even the loo, especially the loo, had its own little library and work desk.

The book obsessed owner of the house was a very old man. Old enough to remember teaching History of Magic to a young brilliant boy named Albus Dumbledore. He was born more than two centuries past, which probably made him the oldest wizard alive. He had been a teacher several times, at Hogwarts and at other schools. It was something he regularly did, teach for two or more decades, and then retire to spend years in long solitary research, before coming back, under a different name and appearance, to teach new generations of wizards. His magical ability was not exceptional, actually it was average, but his mind was one of the greatest. Over the years he had amassed a prodigious store of knowledge, and he had become the Scholar of the Brotherhood.

The Blood Brotherhood was old. It went back to the dawn of wizard history. Few people knew about it, and those who did were sworn to silence. Its structure was shrouded in secrecy. The outer circles were a nebula of alumni and short lived pseudo secret societies, but the inner core was a powerful organization, highly influent, and totally devoted to keeping the ancient order of things, including the supremacy of the pure blood wizard families.

The members weren't Dark Wizards by any means. The Brotherhood was much more civilized, and very careful about accepting overly ambitious individuals within itself. Every member swore oaths against attempting to take over the group, and all shared in rituals to reinforce their loyalty. As they progressed in the hierarchy, the oaths and the rituals became even more binding. In the ruling council, decision making was collegial. The system had worked very well. Accidents happened, disasters even, but the Brotherhood always survived and regenerated itself. Even if the Seven who made up the council were to die abruptly, the rituals would insure that successors would eventually be found and initiated.

The old wizard extended a hand toward a bookshelf and murmured a few words. The books moved from right to left with blinding speed, disappearing at one end and appearing at the other, while a soft shuffling sound was heard throughout the house. This went on for a few seconds, until one glowing book finally appeared and jumped out, landing on his desk. He opened the volume carefully and peered inside.

Fifty years ago, a great and powerful wizard had entrusted him in the education of his daughter, which already was a remarkable young witch. He remembered her very well. That wizard's fate had been tragic, but the Scholar had taught the young woman many things, eventually becoming her guardian and mentor.

In time he had introduced Electra to the inner Brotherhood. Some of the others had been reticent, knowing who her father had been. He had convinced them that she would find her place in the organization. She had proved her worth and quickly risen up the ranks to become one of the Seven.

A year and a half ago, she had conceived a dangerous plan, and the council had agreed to it. A delegation had contacted Lord Voldemort, shortly after he had made his spectacular comeback in the Riddle graveyard, and made him an offer.

The Brotherhood would use its influence to prevent the Ministry from acting opening against the returning Dark Lord. In exchange, they asked for only one thing. Control of the Hogwarts grounds and of the Forbidden forest. He could raze the school to the ground if he had too, but he was to preserve the lives of the pureblood students as much as possible. He had accepted, and a complicated pledge had been made.

The Dark Lord had wanted to know what they wanted exactly, but they had refused to elaborate. Trust was minimal between them. What Electra had brokered was a temporary deal. Afterwards, Voldemort would have to fight them to achieve total domination, and they knew that he would have to be checked at some point.

Voldemort hadn't been a member of the Brotherhood of course, but they saw him as a useful tool. Something to fight off the forces which worked against them. Those wizards who wanted to change the traditions and overturn the Old Order. Umbridge had been a member however, not of the inner core, but she had done what they'd asked of her, albeit badly.

The Scholar had been confident that they would be able to control the situation. It was one against many after all, and they didn't waste time and power on immortality spells and other selfish obsessions. Voldemort was powerful, but he had studied dark magic for only fifty years, and he didn't know about the Power Circles, or how they could be used. Their existence was one of the most closely guarded secrets in the world.

They had been ready for success or setbacks, but not for such a catastrophic failure.

Tonight, Electra was with him again. He had been waiting for her in his study-library, ready to discuss their final assessment of the current state of affairs. She'd Apparated silently in front of his desk, a demonstration of masterly control.

"Good evening professor," she said warmly. She'd always called him that, a lot of his former students did.

"Good evening, Electra. A pleasure to have you here once again."

"Do you understand better what actually happened?" she asked, not wasting any time.

"Definitely community magic, but not as powerful as it should have been if they had fully controlled the Circle," he replied in his toneless, precise voice. "I believe they taped into it unknowingly. It would fit with the account of asking all the school occupants to join in. The castle was built astride it for that very purpose after all."

"So, perhaps they don't know what they did," she said hopefully.

"That is possible." He would never commit himself unless he was sure, and his standards for that were high indeed, especially when betting against Albus Brian Dumbledore.

"And the Six of them are linked together?"

"Of that I am certain, and I would bet that the Headmaster arranged it that way. Perhaps he hoped that their merged power would be sufficient."

"Six students? Against Voldemort?"

"Don't forget the link between him and the Potter boy." He shrugged. "He called them the Six Founders when he testified to the Wizengamot. I think that he was actively trying to invoke the original Founders' power, and that he partially succeeded."

She was silent for a moment.

"If this is true, then they are a grave menace to us."

The original Founders had greatly reduced the influence of the old wizard families by allowing any potential wizard or witches to learn as much magic as they could master. Any successors would certainly follow in their footsteps. Enough of this, and there wouldn't be anything left of the old traditions.

"I think so as well, but moving against them is difficult at present. A direct attack would be chancy, and they are too popular for the usual indirect means of discrediting them."

"Waiting is out of the question," she countered. "The last time, we reacted too late, and that damn school was finished before we could do anything. We must act now," she added decisively.

"How?" he asked simply.

She began to pace in the room.

"This bond that they have. It can't be as complex as the one the original Founders made, or as our own rituals?"

"I do not believe it is based on a ritual. Two of them share a pledge, but it is a private one."

She grimaced in exasperation. The Brotherhood was an expert of rituals. It was yet another weapon which they could not yield.

"Then how do they do it?"

"They are using something much more basic." He smiled in retrospect at his own surprise, when he'd finally understood how simple it had been, after searching for a complex solution. He looked at her to see how she would react.

"Tell me old man!" she snapped impatiently.

"Love."

She frowned. "What?"

"Love and friendship, absolute trust. Such a simple thing, but they believe in it enough for it to work." He shrugged. "I think that their age is part of it. Such innocence and trust would not be possible between adults."

"Don't tell me the Malfoy boy is innocent!"

He conceded the point.

"A valid remark, but I have found no other explanation. Something must have been done to make him join them." He nodded absently. "Dumbledore has made stranger things happen before. He certainly planned this carefully."

"Don't say his name," she snapped.

He shrugged. "Put your obsession aside Electra. Remember what happened to Riddle."

The look on her face was murderous, but he looked back without fear. Thelas and the others might be scared of her, but that was because they were expendable. The brotherhood would be hard put to find a better Scholar than him. Harming him would harm the organization, and so it would be impossible for her.

"He destroyed my family. It's personal."

"We have talked about that before. He did not destroy your family. He killed your father. Your mother died in the battle. You are still alive. Shall I tell you again my opinion of what happened?"

Her eyes blazed but he held her stare. Slowly she shook her head. The conversation he referred to was fifty years old, but she remembered every word.

"Your father was a fool Electra. He challenged the entire world, like hundreds before him. He was powerful, and so he reigned for a few years, but absolute power begets absolute resistance, and so he met his match. His failure was inevitable."

He had told her that she had two choices. Follow her father's footsteps and share his fate, or join those who build upon the virtues of tradition and patience. She'd been too young to be told the full story of the Brotherhood then, but she had followed the path he offered, and eventually, she had transferred her individual ambitions to the group. She would never be a Dark Lord, and in truth she was content to further their common goal.

But Electra Grindelwald wanted revenge all the same, and she would have it. One day she would crush the life out of Albus Dumbledore's body.

- - -

Hogwarts,

Severus Snape checked his equipment on more time. He had reduced his list to three potions which would be easy to prepare and test, and also require the use of a wide variety of ingredients. Everything he needed was inside a small transportable chest, including a brand new set of instruments.

He hesitated to take the Muggle book he had tried to read. An introduction to biochemistry had thoroughly confused him with countless references to basic knowledge which he didn't have. The high level of abstraction in the text had surprised him. It actually made Arithmancy look simple. These difficulties had dashed any hope he'd had of handling this project alone, and it had made him adjust upwardly his impression of the Parker woman. If she could handle such a subject at a research level, then she was certainly highly intelligent. He'd looked at her children's grades, and they were impressive for Muggle borns, especially Richard's.

He had also consulted the records on her husband. Ethan Parker had been a Ravenclaw with no particular distinctions. He'd been working with the Ministry since after his graduation, and he'd died in a stupid accident, when a wild dragon had escaped and wrecked havoc in a Muggle suburb, leaving her with twin babies. The Ministry had cut off all contact with her until the true nature of the children could be determined. He'd grunted at that. It must have been tough for her. Severus didn't approve of Muggle - Wizards relationships on principle, and the incident only served to illustrate one of the many problems it caused. Harry's family history with the Dursleys was another.

If you disapprove, then what exactly are you doing today Severus?

He tried to ignore the interior voice. This was nothing but a research project, and she was already in contact with wizards.

He took the permanent portkey to Grimauld, and as fate would have it, she was the first person he met, sitting the living room sofa next to Richard. He greeted them, noting with some relief that the new decoration was finally something tasteful.

"Good morning, professor Snape."

"Good morning Mrs. Parker, Mister Parker." He hesitated, then added. "I trust you had a pleasant Christmas?"

"Wonderful, thank you," she replied, throwing a kind smile at her son. "You know, it's always such a happy time of the year with young children." Richard scowled furiously and quickly asked to be excused.

Severus smiled politely. Actually, he knew nothing of the sort. His own childhood memories were of stiffly formal family reunions, and at school he usually evaded the festivities as much as possible. This year, the entire faculty had celebrated Yule together, but at least no children had been present.

"I need to have a word with the others, and then we can proceed with our experiments."

"Very well. I think they're still having breakfast."

There was indeed a lot of youthful exuberance in the kitchen. He called out a quick greeting, caught Draco's eyes and retreated in the lobby. The boy stood up and joined him.

"Do you want me to show you to the laboratory, sir?"

"Is it still on the third floor, the room on the left?"

"Yes sir. There's a sign on the door, you can't miss it. If you need anything, please call out. Dobby or one of us will be available."

"That will be fine. Oh, and Draco?"

"Yes?"

"Please convey my thanks to all of you for your present. I ... truly appreciate it."

He had found the richly decorated package on Christmas morning, at his usual place on the teacher's breakfast table. Inside had been a beautiful antique pestle and mortar set, and a card with all their names. All the teachers had received gifts as well. Dumbledore's had been the strangest of all. A selection of large woolly socks in a finely worked wooden case with no markings except for a small inset mirror.

Draco grinned. "You're most welcome sir. We had a lot of fun ourselves with yours. Harry and Hermione are away for the rest of the holidays, but they said to be sure to tell you that."

So they managed it all right.

In truth he expected no less, but it must have been an interesting evening. He pushed away his curiosity.

"In that case I'm very glad."

"I'll leave you to your work then, Mrs. Parker, sir."

Severus followed the boy with his eyes as he went back into the kitchen. Helen looked at them both and hid a smile.

They walked up the stairs in silence. One door had a stylized cauldron symbol on it. Severus opened it and stopped in surprise. It had been modeled in the very same style as the Hogwarts potion classroom. The walls had been charmed to resemble the dark stones of the dungeons, and even the workbench was a copy of the one he used in class. It was in stark contrast with the rest of the house. The only thing missing were the rows of school desks. The final touch was a frame on the wall with a picture of himself, sternly contemplating the room, and looking ready to comment scathingly on any mistake.

This has Potter written all over it.

He frowned and turned toward Helen, who tried to stifle a laugh. He sighed and gave a wry smile of his own.

"You see what I have to put up with."

"Really," she replied. "They're some of the nicest kids I ever met. And so full of life too. You must be really proud of them," she said.

"Yes," he said softly. Then he caught himself. "What do you mean?"

"Come now. It's obvious that they consider you a father figure."

He scowled at her.

"What did they tell you?" he asked briskly.

She'd been ready for his sharp reaction. This was evidently a man who liked to keep control of his life. She shrugged and kept a half smile on her face.

"They didn't tell me anything specific. I'm just reading between the lines."

The scowl turned into a measuring stare.

"And what do you ... read, Mrs. Parker?" he asked carefully.

"Please, why don't you call me Helen?"

She is trying to make me lower my guard. Is it innocent sympathy, or something else?

"As you wish ... Helen."

"And can I use your first name as well?"

He hesitated a fraction of a second. "Certainly." No harm in that.

She laughed good naturally. The sound brought back buried memories. It had been a long time since a young woman had done that in his presence.

"What is so funny?" he asked, confused.

"I don't know what your first name is."

Yes. Clumsy of me.

"Forgive me. It's Severus," he said, inclining his head in apology.

An appropriate name for a hard teacher, she thought.

"Well Severus, I won't pretend to know much about you, but these kids are pretty well adjusted and very open with their feeling. They're happy, they like you and they feel that they owe you a lot." She smiled as if she had just finished a demonstration. "That's good enough for me."

Such an explicit admission of trust made him uncomfortable. He struggled for the proper attitude to take, and an unconscious grimace showed on his face.

"Well, at least I know in which House I'd place you," he finally said.

"And where would that be?" She was genuinely curious.

"Gryffindor of course, like your daughter."

"Ah, courage and forthrightness, and what else does that entail?" He started to frown again until he reminded himself what she was.

Of course, she doesn't know what the Houses really represent. Her children are too young to understand all the implied values, and their consequences.

He decided not to go into too many details.

"It makes for, ah, complex relationships with Slytherins like me."

She nodded slowly.

"Complex. That's a word that fits you well."

"Perhaps." In truth, among all possible adjective, he found this one rather comfortable.

She smiled mysteriously.

"I like complex puzzles."

His immediate reaction was defensive, but her smile was turning into something softer. As if they were sharing a kind of private joke. He found himself warming to the playful banter. He showed an appreciative smile of his own and inclined his head in acknowledgment.

"Speaking of puzzles." He indicated the workbench.

"Ah yes. Let's get back to our experiment." She took out a notebook and a ball point pen. She wrote the date and place. "Have you thought of something specific to test?"

"Yes," he replied, extracting a piece of paper from his bag, and trying not to be distracted by the unfamiliar Muggle tool. "This is the recipe for a simple cleaning potion. It should be easy enough to test. I will make a batch and demonstrate it. Then you will do the same."

She watched and listened attentively while he worked, making a point of explaining the different steps, in much more detail than he had ever done in class. When the brew was finished, he tried it one on several pieces of wood that he had previously stained with ink. Of course the potion worked perfectly. His picture portrait smiled smugly.

Helen repeated the same gestures but the potion didn't look the same, and when she attempted to clean her piece, only a little of the ink went away. Severus watched in undisguised fascination. The portrait sneered contemptuously, but he knew that she had followed the procedure perfectly.

"The results are not much better than with hot water," she observed. "Something other than simple chemistry is at work here."

He nodded silently.

"When you brew a potion," she continued, "are you thinking some kind of incantation, or concentrating on something else than the actual motions?"

"No. If a mental process is at work, it must be unconscious." His mind was in turmoil. This probably warranted a major change in the way potions should be taught.

"Do you mind if we try something else?" she asked.

He shook his head, curious at what she was getting at. She took the solution he had prepared and used it on a third piece of wood. The results were not perfect, but still much better that her batch. She made a few notes, wrote the numbers 1 to 3 on the used pieces, and gave him her batch of potion. Understanding immediately, he tried it on a fourth piece. The result was intermediate between the previous two.

Fascinating.

He pursed his lips in appreciation as she consigned the details on her notebook. What they had just done was extremely instructive. The potion needed magical ability both to be brewed and to be used.

They did more experiments which confirmed their findings. They finished taking notes, she by hand, and he by having a quill do the work magically, if only to show that he was as serious and methodical as she was. When they were done, Helen explained that she had also tried to classify some of the ingredients mentioned in the potion manual.

"This powered crystal is one the simplest substance chemically and biologically. It doesn't seem to have any symbolic value either. It is therefore possible that my 'magic-less' status will not matter a lot if I use it. Do you have anything else which could be similarly neutral, and used in combination with it?"

He searched his memory and found two recipes. One of them was an invisibility potion and it was probably the best choice. It was however long and delicate to brew.

"That will take me about an hour to prepare. After that, you will be able to mix these in a separate recipient, which I will then add."

"And you will need to do it yourself as well," she said, smiling. "It's almost noon. Do you want to break for lunch, or shall I get us some sandwiches?"

He shook his head and gave her a rare smile. He didn't want to break up the special mood they shared, intellectual challenge and friendly company.

"Sandwiches by all means. You can ask Dobby for what ever you want."

"Dobby?"

"The House Elf, a small humanoid creature wearing the most outrageous combination of clothes that you can imagine. I you can't find him, just ask one of the kids."

She shook her head and chuckled, anticipating yet more strangeness.

"What should I bring you?"

"I'll eat anything, chicken and salad would be fine."

She went and came back with Dobby in tow, carrying a large plate. The Elf placed it on a side table and left quickly. Severus had started the new potion, and she looked at him working. She noted his precise movements when cutting or grinding the various ingredients, the little tricks he used to add measured quantities at regular intervals, under the approving stare of his portrait. His grace was a sharp contrast with the stiffness he showed when talking to others. She didn't interrupt until he paused, explaining that the brew would need to simmer on it own for a moment. They each took a sandwich and started to eat.

"I can see that you're really good at this. It's becoming a lost art at the College. Most of us rely on machines for mixing and brewing."

He raised an interested eyebrow and swallowed a bite. "You have machines to do that?"

"Yes electrical and magnetic tools, controlled by computers."

"Computers?"

"Machines that control other machines, and process information."

"Electrical too?"

"Yes."

"Hum, they wouldn't work here, or at the school."

She cocked her head and looked at him carefully.

"Do you need to be somewhere special to do your work?"

He frowned. It was another good question. Actually there were places where magic worked better, and magical folks tended to concentrate there. He remembered something about Hogwarts being situated in a special location as well. It was certainly there that he did his best work.

"You may have something." He explained some of this to her, and then added, with a trace of awkwardness. "I like the way your mind works. I find it very ... stimulating." He stopped in embarrassment. The portrait Severus raised his eyes to the ceiling and shook his head.

She just smiled, ignoring his reaction. "Thank you. It's very flattering. As I told you, most of our time is spent thinking about theory, and on how to program the machines to do the wet work."

Wet work? Yes that about describes it.

"I am sure that you do that very well. Perhaps one day, you will show me?"

"With pleasure."

He looked at his watch. It was time to continue. "This will be ready in a few minutes. Here is what we are going to do." He described the simple process of crushing the crystals and mixing them.

They brewed three batch, one with her mix, one with his, and one in which he deliberately blotched the work, but not badly enough that the potion should fail. He applied the final potions to three pieces of wood. The first two became transparent as glass. The other was translucent and smoky. She did the same and the results were similar but distinctly degraded.

"What conclusions do you draw?" she asked.

He caressed his lips thoughtfully before answering.

"It means that some aspect of potion making can be done by Mu- non magical folks," he said softly, "and probably also by mechanical means." He turned toward her, excitement lighting up his eyes. "I think that I would like to see some of your machines."

His eagerness was communicative. She thought about it. The labs were mostly deserted during the holidays, and there were no specific restrictions in any case. The only difficulty was in finding an experiment that would mean something to him.

"It could be arranged. When are you free?"

"I have nothing special planned for the week. Is the day after tomorrow too early?"

"It's a date. Shall we meet here like this morning? I'll have my car. It will be about a half an hour drive."

"Very good."

She remembered what they had discussed. "And perhaps you could bring your equipment as well. It could be interesting to see if you can work outside a magical area as well as here.

He nodded silently, and there was a definite respect in his eyes when he looked at her. For some reason, it made her feel very good. Severus debated about telling her exactly what he was planning. She could certainly help him much more if she had all the elements, but he was still reticent to do so.

Because she is a Muggle? Because I want to keep my secrets?

He had too much to think about, and prudence won out. He cleaned up the lab quickly. They came down to the lobby and turned toward her.

"Thank you for you precious cooperation," he said softly.

"Not at all, it was truly fascinating for me. I look forward to the next time." She smiled and offered her hand. He hesitated and willed himself to take it gingerly, surprised at the unusual strength of her handshake.

"Goodbye ... Helen."

"Goodbye Severus."

- - -

Richard was thoughtful. Twice, he'd seen professor Snape in the house, and in both occasions he was sure that the man hadn't used the front door. Silena had explained about Apparation magic, but she had also mentioned that most wizard homes were shielded against it. A casual question to Ginny had confirmed that this was also the case here. So, how did the man arrive?

One possibility he liked to imagine, was that there was a secret passage between the house and Hogwarts, and he was determined to search for it. Exploring during the day was out, they'd get caught immediately. He drew Alicia and Silena aside after the evening meal and explained his suspicions.

"Let's wait until they're all asleep and explore the house tonight," proposed Alicia.

"Right," he replied. "If we could use it to get back to the school, it would be brilliant," he added, "but maybe it's protected?"

"Only one way to find out."

The evening dragged on endlessly. Ron challenged Richard to a game of chess. The boy was usually able to hold his own for a time, no one ever beat Ron at chess, but this time he was dispatched in less than six moves. The girls were similarly edgy, but thankfully none of the others paid much attention to it.

At midnight they got out of their beds and dressed quickly, using the darkest clothes they could find. Richard would have dearly liked to be able to look more like John Steed, but all he had found was an old umbrella and a red flower he'd fixed on his jacket. Alicia had tried on a pair of black rubber boots, but the result was ridiculous, so she'd abandoned the idea and settled for sneakers and a black turtle neck sweater. They opened the door carefully and slipped downstairs as silently as they could.

They had decided to start with the first floor. A few sounds were coming from the kitchen, and Richard supposed that the Elves were still working.

The living room is out. I was there the second time he came in.

They tried the storage rooms. There was a large one for furnishings, some of the old Black furniture was kept there, and a smaller one for food. Moving carefully, they checked every nook and corner. Richard was knocking on walls with the handle of his wand, looking for hidden doors.

"Perhaps it's in one of the big cupboards?" whispered Silena.

It wasn't impossible. They tried several of the big doors until they came at one that was locked. It looked promising and a sense of anticipation filled them.

"Let's search for a key."

"No need," said Silena. "My brother taught me this spell last year." She took out her brand new wand and pointed it at the lock.

"Alohomora!"

The door opened to reveal a dark space. They held their breath and Richard peered carefully inside.

"Girls, I think we've found it."

Alicia took out her own wand. "Lumos!" The inside of the space lighted up. It was empty, except for a shiny door knob placed right in the middle of the wooden back panel.

"Well," she asked. "Shall we try it?"

"Maybe we should check for traps," he said dubiously.

"How prudent you are," she mocked. "Let me show you how a Gryffindor does it." She stepped inside decisively and touched the knob.

And disappeared from their sight.

Whoa!

Alicia found herself inside another large cupboard. It would have been dark but her lumos spell was still working. She opened it from the inside, there was no lock, and looked at a stone walled room full of chests and chairs. She didn't doubt for a second that she was at Hogwarts. She stepped outside, turned back and waited for the others to follow. She could see an identical door knob inside. When nothing happened for a couple of seconds she stepped back in and touched the knob.

She was back at Grimauld, looking at her two friends who hadn't moved.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked impatiently.

Richard smiled. "We wanted to make sure that you could come back."

"No sense in all of us getting lost," added Silena seriously.

Slytherins!

"And if I hadn't?"

He grimaced. "We'd have gone to get the others." And into big trouble.

"But it's much better that way," added Silena grinning.

Alicia didn't know whether to be annoyed or amused. She chose the latter and chuckled.

"Well I confirm that it works, both ways. Shall we go?"

They followed her, and quickly found themselves in the deserted corridors of Hogwarts. Walking carefully, they started to examine the painting on the walls. For the most part, these showed their occupants sleeping. Some were snoring noisily.

And some were not sleeping at all.

"What are you doing out of your beds at that hour?" said one middle aged portly wizard from his frame, making them jump in fright.

"Er, nothing sir," whispered Richard. "It's just a game."

"A game? Why should young students be out at night ..." They didn't wait for him to finish and ran quickly away and up the first available stairway.

"Well, Well. Who is that?" asked another voice. They turned to see the ghostly shape of Nearly Headless Nick coming out of the wall on their left.

"Uh, good evening Sir Nicolas," answered Alicia. "Please don't mind us. We'll just be on our way."

Nearly Headless Nick was one of the most benevolent ghosts of the school. He was not one to turn in a curfew breaking student, or three. In the many centuries he had spent in this place, he had seen quite a few. He smiled absently and started to move along.

"Can you help us?" asked Silena innocently. "We're looking for a painting."

The ghost's face brightened at the request. People so rarely asked things of him, and with no students in residence he'd been more than bored for the past days.

"Certainly, my dear. A painting you say? Well there's certainly no lack of that in this place. Can you be a little more precise?"

Alicia picked up the cue.

"We only have a label to describe it, sir. It's 'modest sage'."

The ghost chuckled.

"Precious few of those on these walls. Are you sure you've got that right?"

Richard frowned and thought about it. That was what they had reasoned after reading all the books they could find about the school. Maybe the riddle was more complex. He took out the original drawing and looked at it. The letters were reversed he saw, but more than that, they were mirror imaged.

Maybe the meaning should be reversed as well.

What was the opposite of 'modest sage'?

"And what about a painting about a 'pretentious fool'?" he asked suddenly.

Sir Nick inclined his head to consider the new request. The head toppled over his shoulder, barely attached by a strand of skin. Silena gasped.

"Oops, sorry about that," he said, restoring his head in its proper place. "Where was I? Ah yes, a pretentious fool you say? Well offhand, I'd think of Sir Cadogan. Don't know why, but it's what comes into my mind. A brave soul certainly."

The three children looked at him with expectant eyes.

"Can you tell us where his painting is?" asked Alicia.

"Well, it's on the seventh floor, right on the landing, but ..."

"Thank you Sir Nicolas," she said, as they rushed up the next flight of stairs. They felt the excitement of being close to the solution of their quest, and they couldn't wait for anything. Still, seven was a large number, stairs-wise and when they arrived on the top landing, they were all panting heavily and not running any more. Richard tripped on the last step and fell face down.

"Halt! Who goes there?" asked a strong masculine voice. A knight in armor was brandishing a sword and challenging them from a large painting in front of them.

"Are you Sir Cadogan?" said Alicia.

The man stopped, surprised.

"Yes, that's me, proud descendant of ... Hey!" He yelled as the children ran toward him and tried to look behind the painting.

Silena took out her wand and pointed it at the frame. Sir Cadogan made a sweeping slash with his sword, trying to get at them. He missed of course, but the sword smashed into a chair leg in the neighboring painting. The old witch who was sleeping in it fell to the ground and yelled in pain. The knight moved his sword again. The other portraits were waking up and getting out the way fast.

"Cadogan, are you mad?" screamed one. "You almost cut my leg off!"

"Alohomora!" called out Silena.

"Back! Back I say. I would not slay children but I will defend ... Mmmph." His voice became muffled as the frame pivoted like a door along unseen hinges and the knight found himself pressed against the wall.

In the space behind the panel was a small recess, with a plain wooden box inside.

"We found it!"

They quickly recovered the box and re-closed the opening.

"Sorry about that, Sir Cadogan," apologized Richard. "We won't bother you again. Good night."

"What? Such insolence! Come back here and fight!"

"Cadogan, you damn fool. Shut up and go to sleep!"

They fled back down the stairs, only slowing down when they came to the lower floors. It would really be a shame to get caught by Filch now. It only took them a few minutes to get back to the secret cupboard, and from there to Grimauld Place, and finally back in their room.

Like the girls, Richard was out of breath and barely able to speak. He held the box in front of him and the three of them looked at each other with big stupid smiles on their faces. They'd done it. The Avengers had succeeded in their very first mission. It almost didn't matter what the prize could be.

"Can ... we ... take ... a look?" panted Silena.

Richard went to sit on his bed, and they joined him there. The box wasn't locked and he carefully opened the lid. Inside, there was a small leather book and an envelope. He removed the envelope and Alicia took the book. On the cover was written:

The Marauders' guide - volume 1

"There's got to be something about that name," said Richard. "Fred and George used it several times." He opened the envelope. It contained a single piece of paper.

Congratulation! You have finished your first quest. Your reward is one of the most useful books you will ever read. There will also be an extra bonus if you bring or send us this letter before January 31st.

F & G

P.S. What name did you choose?

"We've got to get to Diagon Alley before the end of the vacation," said Alicia.

"Hum, we could always ask, but it might be easier to send this by owl in any case. In the meanwhile we'd better hide the book."

Alicia looked longingly at it. "I'm not sure I want to go to sleep."

"You'd better. If they see us weary eyed in the morning, they're going to get suspicious."

"Okay."

They quickly undressed, got into bed and extinguished the lights.

"Richard?" asked Silena.

"Yes?"

"That was real fun."

"Sure was," added Alicia.

"Yeah, it was great." He thought about something. "You did real good, both of you."

"You were brilliant!" said Silena. Pride filled him.

"We make a good team. I'm glad we're together in this."

"Me too!" both of them answered as one.

"Let's go to sleep. Good night girls."

"Goodnight Richard."

- - -

The Scholar's house,

Electra marched through the doorway, a determined expression on her face.

"I have a plan," she said. "We can eliminate the danger and recover what we want. I want to know what you think of it."

She talked for several minutes, explaining her idea. The Scholar listened silently, nodding sometimes, frowning at some points, but he did not interrupt her. When she was finished, he reflected on what she proposed.

"It could work," he said finally, "but remember that it has been tried before." He didn't add that it had failed.

"It was tried too late, after the initiative had been lost, and in one important aspect, it worked. Had the Brotherhood acted sooner, it would have succeeded."

He nodded absently. She was probably right, and she did have that talent for finding weakness in others. At least, she wasn't proposing that they rely on another potential Dark Lord.

"I agree. Let's go over it in detail, and then we can put it up to the council."

Teachers and students Ch10 - 1