The Embittering of Severus Snape

The remainder of the morning was spent wandering in and out of shops in Diagon Alley. It wasn't until they stopped for ice cream that they were confronted with someone they knew.

"Do you hear that?" Sirius asked suddenly, turning sharply in his chair and scanning the passing crowd. Muriel only shook her head. "It's Bellatrix," he groaned a moment later as the laugh rang out again.

Muriel swore. She remembered Bellatrix well enough from their parents' parties. She could just imagine what the girl was like now. "I didn't see her at the Christmas Party fourth year," Mur commented, realizing it for the first time.

"I heard she was on some special mission for Riddle," Sirius replied vaguely. As much as he despised his family, it wouldn't do to tell their secrets. Mur's eyes narrowed.

"The Casa," she whispered distractedly.

Sirius started. "You know about that?" He'd thought for once he'd protect the family's secrets and not mention exactly what his cousin's mission had been. But he'd been told. Indeed, Bella's favor with the Dark Lord had been flaunted before him as if she'd been elected Minister of Magic.

"Black, do you know who owns the Casa de la Fontana Affascinato? We learned about it in History of Magic once. Third year, I think." Her tone was teasing, though her face still held a shadow that Sirius had come to associate with trouble. He shook his head, unconsciously fingering his wand. "Currently the only resident is my Aunt Rosa, but Papa owns it. It was enchanted by an eccentric uncle to the family around the time Hogwarts was founded. The Casa was attacked over holiday our fourth year. No one was killed, and the Fontana wasn't breached, but Papa was furious. I wonder if he knew it was Riddle who ordered the attack?"

Sirius' eyes were wide and he swallowed hard. "What do you mean, no one was killed?"

"Well, the fountain has only killed a handful of people over the centuries. Er- twelve, total, I think. It drowns them. A compulsion spell to open the person's mouth, then the water forces itself into his lungs."

"Twelve is more than a handful, Mur," Sirius said dryly, shaking his head. He didn't remember hearing about the Casa de la Fontana Affascinato in class, but then, he skipped History of Magic pretty regularly. But he now remembered what little his mother had told him of it. It wasn't the sort of place one should try to attack.

"Depends on the size of the hands," she replied glibly. She could sense his discomfort with the subject and was trying to change topics.

"Yours are tiny," he replied, immediately distracted. He took her free hand in both of his, ignoring his ice cream, and forgetting, for the briefest moment, what had spurred their conversation.

However, Bellatrix LeStrange wasn't easily forgotten. "Ah, look. My disgraced cousin and his new mudblood girlfriend." She was standing close behind Mur, who swung out of her chair with her wand in her hand so quickly that even a dangerous woman like Bellatrix was forced back a step. Sirius stood as well.

"Sit down, Black," Mur spat, not sparing him a glance. He sat, wand in hand and glaring, as Bella laughed. Behind her, Mur could see Bella's sister, Narcissa, her arm linked with Malfoy's as they hurried toward them.

"What's your name, mudblood?" Bella taunted. Mur locked her eyes with Malfoy's, who looked far more concerned than she'd expected. She could take advantage of that.

"Women of my social standing don't present themselves, Mrs. LeStrange," she said, smirking. Sirius stood again, but Mur continued before he got a chance to speak. "Perhaps Mr. Malfoy will present me?" she asked sweetly. She was gratified when Bella swung around to look at the nervous couple. Malfoy recovered quickly, a familiar sneer settling over his features.

"Well, Bella, it seems you've offended Miss Muriel Deesia." As he spoke, Muriel summoned Bellatrix' wand, which she had not drawn, and passed it behind her to Sirius, who hid it quickly. She could feel his nervousness. He'd never purposely antagonized his older cousin before, knowing how cruel she could be.

When Bella turned around again, she'd plastered a smile on her face. "Deesia? I was told Sirius was dating a Ravenclaw."

"Apparently Regalus forgot to mention that not all Ravenclaws are inferior to you. I'll take some time before school begins to be sure he's clear on that point." Mur kept her voice smooth, not realizing just how much like Malfoy she sounded until she saw his knowing smirk. She returned it as Bella's eyes darkened.

"Come on, Bella, we need to stop at the apothecary before we get back." Malfoy sounded remarkably pleased for someone whose newest crony was just embarrassed in the middle of the street. Muriel spared him a rare smile as Bellatrix turned to follow him. She reminded herself again to give his odd behavior some thought. Just then, Sirius tapped her shoulder and held out his cousin's wand. Mur took it and remained standing, watching them walk away.

"Aren't you going to - "

"As soon as she's far enough away that half the street will hear, yes, I am." Mur said, cutting him off. She heard him grumble something and sit down, his spoon clattering loudly. He was relatively sure she had a death wish.

"Mrs. LeStrange?" Muriel called sweetly, but loudly, turning more than a few heads. "It seems you've left your wand at our table. I'd hate to think of you being without it." Muriel kept her tone carefully friendly, and a slight smile on her face as Bellatrix moved swiftly through the crowd to claim her wand.

Muriel realized that Malfoy must have cautioned the older girl not to anger her further as Bella thanked her stiffly. Muriel ignored her thanks, choosing instead to make sure the girl never made the mistake again.

"Give Malfoy a message for me," Mur said in a dangerous whisper, still holding Bella's wand. She was painfully aware of the other students around them, and for once, she didn't care to offend them. "Tell him that if he insists on surrounding himself with purebloods, he'd do well to find the ones who can tell a mudblood from one of us. Even the Dark Lord won't be pleased if you go around killing your own."

Bella left in a huff as Muriel sat down. Sirius didn't look at her, choosing to keep his eyes on the street where Malfoy and Narcissa were headed toward the apothecary, Bella trailing behind in disgrace. Perhaps his mother had been right about Muriel trying to make a dark wizard out of him. He was grateful when his roving eyes caught a glimpse of someone he recognized in the crowd. Even if it was only Peter, maybe it would help break the tension he suddenly felt around Mur again.

"Peter! How are you, mate? How was your summer?" Sirius leapt up and hurried out into the street to greet his friend. Peter was happy to see him too, and didn't take much convincing to join him for ice cream, until he realized Sirius wasn't alone. When he spotted Muriel, he blanched a bit and told Sirius that he'd forgot that he had to meet his parents in just a few minutes. He left with a short wave and long strides.

Sirius shook his head and came back to the table. "Wonder what's up with him?" Then he saw the look of disgust on Muriel's face. "You know, I've been meaning to ask you about that."

"About what?" Muriel was only beginning to feel her heart rate slow. Her little game with Bellatrix had been more dangerous than she was willing to let Sirius know.

"On the train, when you were explaining how you found out we were animagi, why did you send Peter away?" He was looking at her curiously as she set down her spoon and sighed.

"It's hard to explain. I've never really trusted him. You and Remus, and even Potter, you all inspire confidence somehow, but Peter doesn't. He's just a little too eager to please." Sirius seemed to think about this briefly, but then shrugged and picked up his now melted bowl of ice cream.

"I don't know. It's nice having him around. Anything we don't feel like doing, he usually does for us. Besides, he's been in on everything the marauders have done since first year, and he hasn't gotten any of us in trouble yet. That is, if you don't count tripping over James' invisibility cloak when we were running around the school at night. I thought we'd given Professor McGonagall a heart attack, appearing out of nowhere like that. She felt well enough to give us all detention, though." Sirius clamed up suddenly, realizing that he'd just mentioned the invisibility cloak. As before, he scanned the passing shoppers for someone, anyone he could bring over to break the tension.

Mur looked up to answer, but quickly looked back down to concentrate on her ice cream. James and his parents were headed toward them. As she knew he would, Sirius ran to greet his friend. She watched as they walked back toward her, Sirius obviously explaining as quickly as he could so there would be no repeat of what happened with Peter.

"Deesia," James greeted her coldly as he sat.

"Hello Potter," she replied resignedly. 'Maybe I should have owled him an apology,' she thought as Mr. Fortunesca bustled out with another sundae for James. She was spared the embarrassment of coming up with one, however, because the two friends were more than happy to chat together. She finished her ice cream in silence, thinking that no matter how she felt about Sirius it would be impossible for them to spend any time together once school started. She smiled to herself. It would probably be better to forget about the whole thing. That would be far more convenient than finding him in a broom closet with another girl anyway. She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of her name.

"Muriel, do you want to come with us?" Sirius was looking at her, and James was looking the other way. She wasn't sure where they were headed, but it didn't matter.

"No, that's all right. I have a few other things I want to pick up. I'll just meet you back at the Leaky Cauldron tonight." She hated the disappointed look he gave her, but felt a great deal more comfortable when they'd gone. She pulled out a new book, 'Dark Arts Defeated,' by Tanasha Rendor, and sat happily in the sun.

She had finished half the book by the time the sun went down. She marked her page and slid it back into her shopping bag. The Leaky Cauldron was only a few minutes' walk, and soon she was back in the dingy darkness of the bar and making her way out onto the street. Sirius was waiting for her. The walk home was silent. Mrs. Black and Regalus had finished earlier, so it was just the two of them.

The house was in sight when Sirius suddenly stopped and put down his bags. She turned to see what was wrong. He took her bags and put them beside his, then he mumbled a banishing charm and they watched as the bags flew through the window to Muriel's bedroom. "Come on," he said, offering her his hand. She hesitated a moment, then took it, curious.

He led her down an alley between two houses and they came out near a little pond surrounded by trees. They sat down and watched a family of ducks swimming by. Muriel bit her tongue, knowing this would be a bad time to talk about ducks.

"I know what you're thinking," Sirius said finally. The sun was completely down by this time, and crickets were chirping everywhere, making Muriel's head hurt. She sighed. He probably did know, but that didn't make it any less true.

"How James and Snape feel isn't a good enough reason for us not to see each other," he said. "At least, it isn't good enough for me." He made it sound like a challenge, and she had never yet passed up a challenge. Muriel almost laughed. If she hadn't been so lost in her own thoughts, she would surely have seen this coming. He'd obviously planned it out very well. He reached out to run his fingers through her hair again and she let him. "I can't think of a good enough reason, to be honest," he whispered. He leaned forward slowly and their eyes met. She felt his lips on hers a moment later, and was shocked to find herself kissing him back. His hand behind her head, he pushed her backwards, lowering her gently to the ground. Muriel could feel her face flush; his lips were so soft. When he finally pulled away, he was lying beside her, propped up on his elbow.

He stared at her as she stared up at the stars. "What are you thinking about?" he asked finally. Her eyes darted to him so quickly that he was sure he'd startled her. He wondered briefly if she was thinking about Bellatrix, then he pushed the thought out of his own mind. He REALLY hoped his cousin wasn't waiting for them at the house.

"How long it will be before I can convince you to do that again," she replied, surprising them both. He saw a flicker of humor in her eyes as he pulled her closer.

---

The last two days of break flew by. Bella had not made another appearance. After a brief encounter with Regalus, who went back to school with his feet on the wrong legs, Muriel made a point to clear almost all the images from the mirror in her room. Then she finished packing and enchanted her trunk to follow her downstairs. It wasn't a long walk to King's Cross Station, but Sirius and Muriel walked on either side of Mrs. Black in case they ran into any of their friends. They had decided that it would be best if everyone knew they were each seeing SOMEONE but no one knew they were seeing each other.

Muriel thanked Mrs. Black again for letting her stay. Mrs. Black was kind to her and invited her to come back. Muriel noticed, however, that she said nothing at all to Sirius, but doted on Regalus and Muriel before sending them all off to the train. Regalus got away from them as quickly as he could on his mis-matched feet.

Sirius found James and Peter right away and headed off down the train looking for an empty compartment. They were already discussing Quidditch loudly. Muriel shook her head. She was glad that there were no major tests for 6th years. Between classes, Quidditch, and trying to spend time with Black, she was sure she wouldn't have been able to pass them! She hadn't mentioned to him that she was trying out for the team again this year. You just can't trust a boy to keep his head when it comes to Quidditch team rivalries. She headed for the Prefect cabin at the front, anxious to see Severus.

After listening to the Head Boy and Girl explain everything to the new 5th year prefects, she left the cabin hurriedly. Severus hadn't been there. She stuck her head in the door of every compartment, but he didn't seem to be on the train. She was nearing the end of the train when Remus grabbed her shoulder, startling her. "Looking for Snape?"

"Yes, have you seen him?"

Remus shook his head. "No, and that's not all. The 5th year Slytherin prefect is missing too." They exchanged a worried glance before Remus opened the door to the next compartment. He stuck his head inside. "Hey mates, have you seen Snape?" Muriel could hear the other marauders inside telling him that even if they had they'd be trying to forget about it by now. Remus closed the door quickly, and looked apologetically at Muriel.

"Go on, I'll just finish looking in the rest of the compartments." She smiled at him as he pulled open the door again and disappeared. She looked, but Severus was definitely not on the train. When she'd gone up and down the corridor twice more, she sat down in the small space behind the doors of the last two cabins and wrapped her arms around her knees. There weren't very many reasons why a student would fail to get onto the Hogwarts Express.

She sat quietly for so long that she was startled when she looked up and realized that it was beginning to get dark. 'Must be almost there,' she thought. She heard someone whispering and pulled out her father's mirror to find him hissing her name frantically.

"Mur, are you there?"

"Yes, Papa!" She could see worry lines etched deeply into her father's face. She hadn't seen him since halfway through the summer when he'd told her to stay with the Blacks. It looked as though he'd aged several years since then. His eyes were dark.

"Severus is here at the Ministry. They're interrogating him, and he told them that - " He stopped, remembering that he'd been keeping his identity as a Death Eater secret from her all this time.

"It's all right, Papa, I know." His eyes widened but he nodded.

"I'm sure they'll be bringing you in next to confirm it. They're using Veritaserum, so it isn't likely to go very well. I'm going to have to disappear for a while, if I can," he added ruefully.

Muriel nodded mutely. It was her greatest fear finally coming true. Then she sat up a bit straighter. "No, Papa, don't do anything yet. I have an idea."

---

"SEVERUS!" Muriel was running from the Great Hall at top speed. She'd looked for him all through dinner, but he hadn't appeared until just before it finished. "Severus, where've you been?" Her voice was strained and she looked worried. Severus turned from the 1st year Slytherins he was leading to the dormitory. The 5th year prefect had not turned up at school this year, so the job of showing the first years their dorms was his yet again.

"I haven't been anywhere, and I'm busy just now, Mur." His voice was cool. He was still very upset with her spotty explanation of where she'd spent half the summer.

"What is your password?" she demanded, loudly enough to startle him into telling them.

"Hatless Hag!" he exclaimed.

"Thank you." She said briskly, turning to the 1st years. "The corridor is that way, look for the picture of a snake charmer." The first years looked terrified, but not a soul among them moved. They all turned to Severus, who looked rather shocked. Muriel was already impatient, and this delay was more than she could take. The Gryffindors were coming out of the Great Hall now too. Her wand was up. "Petrificus Totalus, Mobilius Corpus." Severus immediately went rigid and began to float ahead of her. "Now get out of here!" she snapped at the gaping first years. They ran.

Muriel steered them into the secret corridor that led to the Potion Master's dungeons, and closed the portrait quietly behind them. "Look, I know you're angry, but I'm not releasing you until you hear me out. Papa just contacted me with the mirror. He said you were taken to the Ministry for questioning this morning, and as a result, he's in custody." Severus couldn't move or speak, as Muriel's curses had not yet worn off, but his eyes were wide. "You told them everything. It was Veritaserum." She was crying now, more out of frustration than anything. "I'll be next. I'm sure they're already on their way, and I've got to hide." She paused. "He'll be sent to Azkaban, Sev." With a flick of her wand she set him gently on his feet again, noticing that he seemed to be regaining movement. She waited.

Finally, when his lips would move, he said, "I don't remember anything before the feast. I must not have been on the train at all. Oh, Mur, I'm sorry." His coldness of moments ago had vanished. He knew that she loved her father more than anything. He sank down to the floor, as much in relief as worry. At least they hadn't asked him about himself. If they had, they certainly wouldn't have sent him back to school.

"Good, then you'll help me fix it! Listen, I need the counter serum for their truth potion. I need to be able to go in there and tell them that I told you Papa was a Death Eater when we were children to scare you. I'll collaborate what you told them about your dad. He's already in hiding, and we can send Gypsy to warn him tonight." Severus nodded. Everyone knew about his father anyway. He looked up.

"You'll need to know what I told them," he said quietly.

Muriel nodded slowly. "It's no where near the full moon. We'll use the Shrieking Shack. The locals are used to hearing weird noises from there." She swallowed, not sure what else to say.

"All right. I'll get the potion ingredients and meet you there." Severus stood, but stared at the floor as he spoke. He could feel the fear radiating from her. He turned before he opened the portrait, and went back to her. She fell against him hard and he held her for a moment. "Don't get weak on me now, Mur," he whispered into her hair. "We can do this."

---

"Look at that, would you." James was pointing down the stairs at the fleeting vision of Snape floating at the end of Muriel's wand. He was about to follow when he felt Peter tugging at his robes.

"James, it's Padfoot, hurry!" James and Peter ran to the other side of the hall. Remus was already bending over Sirius, who had only just opened his eyes. He groaned.

"I'm going to have to learn when she's serious and when she's not," he said, flashing his friends a weak grin. "She warned me to get out of her way." He shook his head ruefully, but stopped quickly. He'd hit the wall pretty hard and moving was making his head hurt. Sirius stood up with a little help from Remus, and they all headed back to the common room. Sirius was doing his best to talk them out of searching for Muriel and Snape. "Prongs, if she blasted me imagine what she'd do to YOU!"

They helped him back to the dormitory and he plead exhaustion, which wasn't exactly true. He waited until they all went back to the common room, and pulled his broomstick out from under his bed. A moment later he shot out of the window, and just in time, too. He watched as Snape, barely a shadow so far below him, prodded the knot of the Whomping Willow and disappeared down the tunnel.

Muriel was pacing an upstairs bedroom when Severus arrived with his cauldron full of ingredients. Neither of them spoke as he prepared the potion. Severus was thankful for her silence. He needed to prepare himself. They both knew what it would take to break the memory charm.

The potion took just over 2 hours to complete. They sat, still and silent on either side of the cauldron. Like Veritaserum, this potion was entirely clear. It shouldn't be hard to exchange one for another. Muriel was excellent with switching spells. He looked up at her, and was surprised to see that tears were slipping silently down her face. He reached out and wiped her face. "Don't get that in the potion, you'll mess it all up," he whispered gently. It was time. He extinguished the fire under the cauldron and poured the potion into three separate vials. "That'll give you 6 hours." He spoke confidently now, trying to show some strength, not just so he could get through the next task, but so she could as well. "Ready?" he asked.

Muriel shook her head, but got up anyway. She watched silently as Severus pulled an armchair around to face her, tears still streaming down her face. 'This is going to be worse for her than me,' he thought. 'Then you'd best not complain!' The answer came from inside his head, but it sounded so much like Muriel that he almost laughed. Muriel raised her wand to do the one thing she'd promised herself she'd never do again. "Crucio," she whispered.

Sirius sat silently on the first landing until he heard a dull thud, and what sounded like a chair being pushed forcefully against a wall. He crept cautiously up the remaining stairs. The door was open and light was streaming out of it, so he stuck his head around the doorframe. Muriel was standing over Snape, who was writhing on the ground, his face contorted with pain, though he made no sound.

Without thinking, he ran forward and snatched the wand from her hand. Severus gasped and stopped moving abruptly, and Muriel pushed him roughly away. "What do you think you're doing?" he said, still gripping her wand. She didn't answer, but knelt down to Severus.

"Can you remember the interrogation at all? What did you tell them, Sev?"

"It wasn't enough," he rasped, taking her hand and letting her help him back into the chair. Muriel swore under her breath.

"Accio wand," she said. Sirius was so shocked that it barely registered that she'd done wandless magic. He just opened his hand when it returned to her. For the first time, she looked at him. "Were you followed?" she asked roughly. He shook his head. "Go back downstairs and make sure no one comes up here, do you understand?" Her eyes were hard, in spite of her tears.

"I can't let you do this, Mur. I know he's a slimy git, but - " Sirius had raised his wand, but she cut him off.

"Don't be a fool. I could knock you out before you knew you'd come here and have a memory charm on you before you hit the floor." Sirius felt like he'd been slapped.

"It has to happen, Black," Severus said, startling them both. "It was my idea in the first place." Sirius lowered his wand. It wasn't like him to back down from a fight, or listen to reason, but if she was this upset, then something important must hinge on this.

'He's been hit with a memory charm and we have to get through it, now either stand guard or step out of the way." With her jaw set in a determined scowl she turned away from him to face Severus again. "You're sure you remember nothing?" Severus didn't move.

It was all she could do to speak the curse a second time, but she managed it, and held it in place by letting her mind dwell on her father's capture. As if from a distance, she heard Sirius' footsteps pounding down the stairs. By the time he came back up, Muriel was helping Severus back into the chair. They both looked grim, but triumphant.

"It's gone. I can remember everything." Severus raised his head to see that the rest of the marauders had joined Black at the door. "He was followed." Muriel spun quickly. She couldn't stand the look on Sirius' face, but it was nothing to the look of fury that James was giving her. She stunned him without a second thought, and turned back to Severus as Sirius tackled Peter to stop him from interfering.

"There isn't enough time for you to sort it all out and tell me. I've got to get back up there before they suspect." At this, Remus looked up from where he was propping up James.

"They already suspect something. We heard McGonagall talking with an Auror on our way out." Muriel didn't bother to ask if they'd been seen. She had long since known about the invisibility cloak. She turned back to Severus.

"You know what I've got to do, are you ready?" she asked. To the surprise of all, he laughed shortly.

"No. I can't prepare for it in this condition." He closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair as Muriel raised her wand yet again. This time no one moved to stop her.

"Legilimens," she muttered. Then she too closed her eyes. In spite of not being prepared, his usual defenses were still firmly in place, and this was going to take some work. Remus and Sirius exchanged a knowing glance. Peter, still under Sirius' knees, let out a squeak and Sirius let him up. It seemed to take forever for her eyes to open. By the time they did her tears had stopped. She turned to Sirius.

"I have a plan, but I need your help. You have to trust me." She looked into his dark eyes. It was a lot to ask, she knew, after what he'd just witnessed. His emotions were so jumbled that she had no idea what he'd do. Finally he nodded.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" Peter asked shrilly. "You can't possibly - " He never got to finish that sentence, however, because Muriel had rounded on him and her wand was already pointing at his chest.

"Do you have any doubt about what I will do to you if you don't do EXACTLY as I say?" Peter shook his head violently.

"Remus! Stay here and take care of James and Severus. Sev will explain everything when he wakes up. Black, you and I were out taking a walk and we got a little carried away." As she spoke, she mussed her hair just like James always did, and undid an extra button on her blouse. Sirius' eyes widened as she came toward him and pulled his hair gently out of the ponytail he always wore. "Peter!" she said sharply, not bothering to turn toward him. "You sneaked out after us to see where we were going. You will stick to that story or say nothing at all, do you understand?" Her voice was low and dangerous and Peter could do no more than squeak.

"Good. I'll explain on the way. Let's go." They set off down the passageway. True to her word she explained her father's situation. Halfway through the story, she caught Sirius eye, desperately hoping he'd understand as she launched into a recitation of exactly what she planned to tell the ministry. She spoke loudly enough for Peter, who was trailing behind, to hear. "Of course my father isn't a Death Eater at all. I just told that to Sev when we were kids to scare him into being nice to me."

Sirius must have understood because for the first time since she'd stunned James he spoke. "You mentioned that to me once - that you'd told him that." She closed her eyes and hoped he could feel her gratitude. They were just about to the Whomping Willow when Sirius held her back. Behind them, Peter's shuffling stopped too, just out of sight. He obviously wanted to be as far from Muriel as he could get.

"We should make this convincing, don't you think?" The old twinkle was back in his eyes again. She couldn't believe that he was speaking to her at all after what he'd just seen her do.

"Are you proposing that we - " He cut her off by pushing her gently against the wall of the cave.

"It would hardly support our kissing story if you go back to the castle this unhappy," he whispered, an arrogant smirk twitching his lips upwards. She could feel his hands grasping her waist. His lips were on her neck, and for a moment she almost forgot the situation entirely. She was brought sharply back to the present, however, when he bit her.

"Ow!" she said, pushing him away. "What was that for?" Now she was really angry. Why would he play with her like that?

"Hurt?" he asked calmly. She just glared at him. "Good, then hit me for it." To his surprise, she not only didn't hit him, but she sank to the ground and burst into tears. He looked around helplessly. It was a good plan! He couldn't cheer her up, but he could give McGonagall a good reason why she was so upset. Peter padded up the passageway to see what was the matter and Sirius grabbed him. "Peter, I need you to give me a black eye."

Peter had rarely failed to do something that Sirius asked of him, and when the situation was explained he did this too. After all, Muriel was already mad at him, and he didn't want to be in a dark cave with TWO people who'd gladly curse him into oblivion.

"Now Mur, you stomp off, and take my broom." He handed it to her. "Go straight up to your dormitory and make a fuss about me giving you that hickey and you hitting me." She was looking at him oddly now, finally comprehending. "I'll sit out by the lake and look guilty, and Peter, you need to get yourself caught by McGonagall and let her cow you into telling her this story." He held out both hands to Muriel and pulled her up. "Good luck," he said, planting a chaste kiss on her lips.

Peter went straight to the castle, giving Muriel just enough time to get in her dormitory window. Professor McGonagall found Sirius, 20 minutes later, sitting by the pond with his head in his hands. He told her Muriel had hit him, and she gave him detention and took him to the hospital wing. His eye was bruised and puffy. She then headed for the Ravenclaw common room. She arrived to find Muriel sitting with several other girls. Some were giggling, but a few were comforting her. She was crying.

"My dear, we've been looking all over for you," she said gently. "Where have you been?" Muriel did her best to act as though she didn't want to tell. She knew a midnight stroll across the grounds on her first night back to school was going to mean another detention. She still had to serve the one from the end of last year!

"I just lost track of time, Professor. I went out for a walk after dinner, I know I shouldn't have, but - " She didn't finish, not wanting to mention Sirius. That would seem too obvious. Professor McGonagall nodded sagely, and invited Muriel to her office, explaining on the way about the Auror who'd come to take her to see her father. Muriel knew this was a lie. She'd been wondering how the ministry was going to get to her, and now she knew. They'd fed McGonagall a line about her father being injured and wanting to see her at St. Mungo's.

Before they reached the office, Muriel said she needed to use the lavatory. She didn't fool herself that they'd wait to question her in the morning. This was too important. She downed the first vial of potion in the bathroom before heading to McGonagall's office and letting the Auror, whose name she knew was Harrington, hand her a port key to take her to the ministry.