Rumored Nervous Breakdown

I am still lost in a fog of happiness this morning since Rupert promised to have lunch with me today; however, I come crashing down when I walk into the staff room for our workshop, pick up the agenda, and find Dolores blowing up like a pink puffer fish while Charity discusses the need for understanding between Muggles, Muggleborns, and the rest of the wizarding community.

I don't think Charity knows that she is playing with fire. It was public knowledge at the Ministry that Dolores had begun work on some sort of registry and identification system for Muggleborns. For her, blood status is everything.

Charity is arguing the movement of "purity" is slowly destroying our community and health. Many of the Pureblood families have shown tendencies towards inheriting some serious psychological and physical disabilities. It is no secret that the Black family had developed a reputation for producing a crop of sociopaths.

"How dare you spread that filth about the most prestigious families! I am descended from a long line of Selwyns, I'll have you know. I don't see any signs of mental defects in my family!" Dolores shouts indignantly.

"I guess you wouldn't count Gerald Selwyn, the patriarch of the family, as a relation. He has been locked in the 'special accommodations' wing in the Psychiatric Department at St. Mungo's for fifteen years."

"There is so much more that I can teach other than how Muggle inventions work and cultural idiosyncrasies. We need to teach tolerance." Charity is out of her league, and she doesn't know it.

"The Ministry does not believe in blending in with Mud... Muggles, and this behavior needs to be discouraged. Coming to Hogwarts is a privilege and not a right." Dolores is showing her true colors.

Dolores suddenly realizes that the room is quickly filling up for our workshop. She drops her argument with Charity as she takes attendance, donning that horrible look of benevolence towards the room. I look down at the pink page in front of me seeing the topic of the day is the dangers of Muggleborn culture invading the school's curriculum. No wonder Charity was so pissed.

While Dolores is distracted, I sit down next to Charity and ask her if she could assist me in some planning for the upcoming exams. I am also going to take the opportunity to discuss the potential for serious harm for not playing along with Dolores's radical views on blood status. Charity is setting herself up for Azkaban or worse if the winds of Ministry policy shift towards persecution of any non-pureblooded wizard or witch.

I pray no one decides to say anything. I catch a quick glance around the room to gauge the expressions of the staff. Minerva seems to be grinding her teeth, Charity's mouth is gaping, Sprout is wringing her hands, and Severus remains impassive as usual. The only thing keeping me going is that I will see Rupert later on in the day.

I have decided that I will catch up with Charity on my way back to my quarters so I can change to meet up with Rupert. I have no idea what he is planning for today, but I hope it isn't to pay a visit to Madam Puddifoot's. I have always hated that tacky place. Charles Bingham took me there once, and I almost choked to death on the confetti flowing freely from the ceiling into my tea.

After Umbridge finally decides she's browbeat us enough for the day and releases us, I catch up with Charity and arrange to meet with her the next morning, under the pretense of discussing exams. Then I head as quickly as I can downstairs; I need a breath of fresh air after breathing in Dolores's Eau de Elitist Bull Shit for an hour and a half.

"Nell!" I hear Rupert shout from the stairs in the Entrance Hall. "Ready to go? I brought pralines," he inquires, smiling broadly and holding a box.

I hear a whispered, "Oh, my. This is so sweet." I look over my shoulder to see Minerva standing next to Pomona.

When I reach Rupert's side, I give him a quick kiss, causing him to blush. I hear the clearing of a throat, and I look around to see Dolores giving us a look of irritation. I expect her to say something, but she does not.

"Rupert, come on. The stare of that pink-nightmare is giving me the creeps," I whisper, gripping his arm to lead him upstairs.

We make it to my quarters with me laughing stupidly at every comment; however, my laughter stops when I open my door. The room is in shambles. Cushions are ripped open, containers are spilt, my mattress is in tatters, and the picture frames are smashed.

"What the bloody..." Rupert cuts off his comment as he picks up a picture of me and my parents at my cousin's wedding last year. A large 'X' has been struck across the photo.

"Oh god, Dolores is going after my parents!" I shout, storming into my bedroom. "I've got to warn them." I throw on some Muggle clothing, intending to get to the next telephone in the Muggle village of Dingwall as quickly as possible. I don't want to let on that I know what Dolores is up to, so Flooing anywhere is out of the question. Just going home to my parents' house may give me away.

"Nell, where are you going dressed like that?" Rupert asks in exasperation. "Let me go with you."

"I need to make a phone call," I inform him irritably. "My parents need to be warned and this is the quickest and safest way to do it."

"What can I do to help?" he inquires.

"Go to their house and baby sit until I can figure out where to send them. I cannot be there to keep an eye on them, but you can," I tell him; tears of frustration are leaking out of the corner of my eyes.

The pair of us dash downstairs and out the front doors, bolting across the lawn toward the school gates. Once safely outside, I Apparate to Dingwall and head for the public phone outside the local supermarket. I know I can find Dad somewhere using his mobile phone or calling his secretary.

I try at home first, just in case, but as I expected, there is no answer. Barely able to hit the numbers, my fingers are shaking so much, I finally manage to dial Dad's mobile.

"Dad, it's me Nell." I say, hoping our connection would not be dropped. "Is everything all right?"

There is no response from him. "Dad, is everything all right? Did something happen to Mum?"

He finally answers in a voice cracking with concern. "Love, the house was ransacked last night while we were out. They didn't take anything but left the place in shambles; someone even sliced open the mattresses." He seems to be putting things together. "You don't think this has anything to do with the mess you are in?"

"Where's Mum?" I inquire.

"You mother has been shopping all morning; I just talked to her a few minutes ago." The tension in his answer gives away his concern.

"I don't want either one of you out on your own. Dad, you need to leave the country before someone comes back to try again. This time was only a warning; next time, I don't think we will be so lucky." I really wish I could give him a hug right now. I am afraid I will never see him again. "Dad, Rupert is going to keep an eye on you until we can get you out of here."

"Nell, we can't just pick up and..." He seems agitated when he answers me.

"Dad, please. You need to get out of here now! " I don't know how I can make this any clearer. "There is something beyond some abuse of funding at the Ministry going on. Something else is being added to the mix." There is silence on the other end of the line, and I pray we have not lost our connection. "Go to some pretty beach in Florida or Aunt Clara's in Toronto, but you need to leave now!"

"I'll go collect your mother and arrange to take a second honeymoon," Dad says reluctantly. "What about Daisy?"

I completely forgot about the rules of transporting animals internationally. "Call my friend who has Ozzy, she is always willing to take in a well-behaved dog. She has been writing that she needs a good mouser."

"Nell, be careful." I lose the connection with his phone.

"Dad... Dad, can you hear me?" I don't have any more money left, and I slam the receiver hard against the cradle of the phone. "Shit."

Standing in the middle of the pavement in Dingwall, I struggle to keep my thoughts from racing into the worst case scenario. It is maddening how much I envy some of the citizens of this town who are able to live a peaceful life.

Rather than borrowing trouble, I am looking for a concealed place to Apparate. I can't help but to feel like I am being watched. No one has a clue where I have gone, at least I can hope.

I Apparate back to the school gates with a heavy heart as I look towards my prison. My pace slows as I get within two hundred yards of the front doors, and I can now hear other footsteps crunching on the gravel behind me.

I carefully pull out my wand in case it might be someone out to hurt me. Before I can turn, I hear an incantation, and I am thrown ten feet into some shrubbery in front of a brick wall; my wand finds its way into the grass several feet in front of me. When I look up to see my attackers, all I can see are two people with Death Eater garb on their bodies.

I know trying to lunge for my wand is foolish, but I make the attempt. I hear a loud crack; I smash back into the wall, and a male voice says, "Don't even think about it, you Mudblood whore."

"What do you want?" I inquire defiantly from the ground.

"You will speak only when spoken to," a female voice says, firing a hex that stings my face. "Someone needs to put you in your place."

I suddenly realize it is the Carrows. I can remember their lack of intelligence from when I arrested them many years ago. The combined intellect of the two can make Goyle senior look like Merlin in comparison.

"Give it to me," Amycus Carrow growls, lunging at me with his wand pointed at my chest.

"Give you what?" I inquire. My reward is a swift kick in the ribs by Alecto.

"You have something of mine, and I want it!" Amycus is starting to lose control.

It hits me like a train; Dolores is involved with some Death Eaters, and they are realizing I am on to her.

"I told you I have nothing on me!" I shout, and his sister throws another stinging hex at me; this one hitting me in the eye.

Amycus attempts to search me; however, I land a well-aimed kick in the face, breaking his nose. I can see a flash of red and all goes dark.

I wake up to find my clothes disheveled and jacket ripped apart. It takes me a few minutes to stand up, because my ribs are killing me, and I can't see out of my right eye. My progress in getting into the school is slow and painful.

As I get into the Entrance Hall, my heart sinks as I realize that I need to climb up several floors to my quarters. I think it would be easier to find a fireplace and Floo to my room directly; however, I don't want to alert Dolores of where I am.

My quarters are a still a disaster area, but I flop down on the torn up sofa anyway. I just need a minute to digest what has been going on.

With Dolores, family connections are everything. She is a rabid supporter of blood purity in society. This community is so small it is not hard to trace families. I am only two receipts away from completing my mission.

One of the receipts is for Dagwood Barnsby. The receipt was for twelve new brooms for the Department of Experimental Charms. The problem is that brooms are not needed by this department and Barnsby has been dead for fifteen years. The connection is with the Carrows. Barnsby is related to the maternal line of the Carrow family. Each receipt leads to the families of Death Eaters.

Oh, god! This is making so much sense now! Archibald Quimby's Christmas gift of an antique spell book is connected to the Goyle family. Quimby is Gregory Goyle's first cousin twice removed. All that money being filtered down to the families of Death Eaters using falsified purchase orders. If the gift doesn't make it to its intended recipient, someone in the family is allowed to claim it. I'm startled by how clever of a scam this really is.

Staying in these filthy clothes and walking around with a swollen eye are not going to make anything go any faster, so I get to the task of cleaning myself up. When I am finally able to see out of my eye, I put my possessions back in order. Most of what was destroyed could easily be put back together. Whoever did this did a rather amateurish job at destroying my quarters. The only thing I find really disconcerting is the "X" through my parents' picture. I want to get rid of it, but it seems like a life-line to their reality.

It is starting to get late, and I figure no news is good news; however, I refuse to relax one bit. There is a knock at my door, and I yank it open to only find that it is Rupert standing there with a very dirty Jack Russell Terrier in his arms.

Rupert stumbles over to the ruined couch and sits down heavily, leaning forward to put his forehead in his hands. "I got them out of the house fine, but when I went back for Daisy, the house looked like it had exploded. The local fire department was dowsing some flames and a kind lady was holding the dog. I heard the woman say that there was a funny green glow over the house after it blew up." I can hear the despair in his voice as he says, "Nell, I was hoping it would never come to this. Dumbledore knew there was some connection between the missing funds and payoffs to people in the Ministry. I just cannot figure out why someone would conjure a Dark Mark over your parents' house?"

"Rupert, where did my parents go?" I ask, feeling like I have a rock in my stomach. I am so relieved to hear that they made it out that my knees are trembling.

"Your dad decided they would go visit someone named Clara in Toronto. They took the first flight out they could get. He gave me this for you," he says and hands me a large manila envelope. "Your dad said you would know what to do with all of that stuff."

I dump the contents of the envelope on to the coffee table, and I am a bit surprised at what I find: Dad's credit card, my passport, Aunt Clara's phone numbers and address, rolled Muggle coins, a voucher for a flight to Toronto, and a short letter.

Nell,

When you receive this note your mum and I will be half way over the Atlantic to stay with your Aunt Clara. I want you to know how much we love you. We understand how important it is to you for us to make this trip.

I have left you what is needed for you to escape if you need to. I am not sure how hard it would before the people who are trying to harm you to detect this mode of finding your way to safety.

I want for you to call us every Monday and Friday at Clara's so we know that everything is fine. I have left you enough money to make as many calls as you please. I told Rupert to make sure he takes care of you.

Love,

Dad

P.S.

Your mother says that Daisy is family, and she should stay to protect her mummy instead of going to your friend's farm in Wales. Give her lots of hugs and biscuits from us, because I am afraid we have spoiled her terribly.

"Nell, what is all that?" Rupert breaks into my train of thought, causing me to snap out of my own little world.

"It's a way to get out of here via Muggle means in a hurry. My parents have left me a way to make sure we can keep in touch," I tell him quietly as someone knocks on the door.

I stuff the contents of the envelope back into the package, and I shove the package under the cushion of the couch. Rupert rushes over to the door to find out who it is. My heart sinks as I recognize that it is Dawlish being trailed by a rather smug Dolores.

"What do you want, Dawlish?" I inquire irritably.

"Professor Howard, I have come from the Ministry to officially inform you about an incident involving your parents," he says, holding one of those envelopes that I have not seen since the last days of Voldemort's reign of terror. He walks into the room uninvited, but I am too stunned to throw him out on his arse. "I have come to inform you that at one-thirty p.m., your parents' home exploded and a Dark Mark was conjured above the scene. There didn't appear to be anyone home, but no one has been able to locate your parents."

"Oh, Eleanor, I was so concerned when I heard about this. I rushed up here as soon as Dawlish arrived. If there is anything I can do just let me know," Dolores coos, tapping me affectionately on the cheek. She sees Rupert walking over to my shoulder and says, "Mr. Osgood, I am glad Eleanor will have someone to help her through her time of need."

It is taking every ounce of self control not to slap the woman, and I am trying to come up with some snappy little comment.

"Professor Howard," Dawlish snaps. "I need you to sign off on this note."

I snatch to quill out of his hands, sign the form, and shout, "Get the hell out of here!"

"I am so sorry," he says with a slight note of sympathy, and Dolores walks out the door with him.

"Thank god that's over with," Rupert says, walking over and pulling me into a hug. I cringe and roll away from him. "What the ...?" he inquires, tugging at my shirt. "You entire side is black and blue!"

"I had a friendly reunion with the Carrows. They were demanding something, and it didn't make sense until after they stunned me and left." I try to play down the incident, but I can read the worry on his face. "They are after those papers that are in Dumbledore's possession right now." I give him a weak smile and say, "I'm fine. I just have a few bumps and bruises. Dolores is involved in some shady dealings with Death Eaters at some level in the Ministry. I think she has been funding some sort of scheme with them." I absent-mindedly pat Daisy on the head as she tries to gain my attention.

"Nell, with this escalation in violence, I am really concerned about your safety. Promise me you will not be out on your own anymore. Listen, why don't you let me go along when you contact your parents. It's not like I really need to have an excuse to be up here." I have to appreciate Rupert's loyalty and love for me. "You can't do this alone. You got off easy with the Carrows."

"Rupert, you know this is not going to end with me handing over that last document. There is something nasty going on at the Ministry, and I don't think it bodes well for anyone that is not half or pure blood. You haven't anything to worry about. Your family is one of the older and more established families. You know, Dolores feels that Hogwarts should not be open to Muggleborns. She said so this morning. What if she gets her way, Rupert? Let me tell you, my parents were relieved when they found out why weird things kept happening when their daughter was angry or teased. My Aunt Clara once proposed that I may be possessed or something, and Mum should see about taking care of it. When someone showed up from the school, Dad was so proud to have a daughter with that kind of talent. I could harness all that energy, make use of it, and maybe make a difference. You can't have children running around doing accidental magic all over the place, it will be chaos. Will the Ministry just round them up only to prevent Muggleborns from contaminating the rest of the wizarding community?"

"Nell, I just don't know. When it comes to you, I will do anything to keep anyone from hurting you or anyone else. What is it you said about Ozzy a while ago? 'You can't ride the pedigree.'"

I know Rupert is referring to the time we were talking about Rolonda's horse, Gracie, and the mare's extensive thoroughbred championship pedigree, and Ozzy's origins of being a horse from a mismatch of breeds and bloodlines. I explained to Rupert how Ozzy is easier to handle, quicker to pick up different skills, and could out last Gracie in any endurance contest. In essence, the pedigree and ancestry isn't worth anything if the horse is not willing to work.

Rupert and I end up sitting on the sofa staring at the fire. Daisy is curled up at our feet snoring loudly. There is another knock at the door, and I walk over to find out who it could be. If it's Dolores, I may just hex her and be done with it.

Minerva is standing in the doorway looking very worried. I let her in, and her eye falls on the official "Congratulations, Your Family Has Been the Recipient of the Dark Mark" envelope. "Rupert, I am so glad you are here. She..."

Rupert has put his hand up to stop her sentence. "Minerva, Vivian and Roger are safely out of the country. Nell came up here after the staff meeting to find the room ransacked and this." He holds out the crossed out picture. "She was able to warn them before any harm could be committed."

"Minerva have a seat," I say, motioning her to a comfortable chair. "I think it is time that we work on this as a team. I need as many people as possible around me for help. This mess goes deeper than you think."

The three of us spend the evening discussing what Dumbledore really knew, and I let her know what I have found out. I have let Dolores isolate me and put me at risk. I cannot allow her to divide and conquer. If she can push me around, what can she do to another?