Labyrinth of Illusion

Hermione clutched her library books tightly in her arms, sniffing haughtily. "I'm telling the truth, Ron!" She glared at the red-haired boy walking beside her. "Professor Maclay read my mind!" Hermione insisted.

Ron shoved his hands into his pockets. "You're nutters. What could give you that idea?"

Brushing a lock of her bushy brown hair out of her face, Hermione straightened up. "Remember in class, when she said 'That's absolutely right, Miss Granger. On both accounts'. In my head, I had said Lavender would piss herself and die."

Ron laughed. "That's pretty funny, Hermione! Who knew you had nasty thoughts?"

"That's NOT the point, Ron!" Hermione leaned in. "I'm telling you, there is something with her... Something WRONG."

"Oh, come off it." Ron rolled his eyes for emphasis.

"Excuse me," Hermione and Ron heard a friendly voice behind them. They turned, facing a thin, young-looking man. His light brown hair was greying slightly around the temple and his look tired. They recognized him immediately as Remus Lupin, their former Defense Against the Dark Art Professor.

"Hermione, Ron, it's good to see you both," Lupin said, smiling, "You've both met my dog, Snuffles, right?" He gestured at the large, black dog beside him and winked.

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks. 'Snuffles' was the dog form of Sirius Black.

"Snuffles...right." Ron grinned. "Hey Snuffles."

Hermione nodded. "Of course. We always like seeing Snuffles. What are you two doing here?"

"Business for Dumble--" Lupin was cut off as he was grabbed from behind. Miss Tsukino, who had been coming up behind them, pressed him against the wall. She pulled a fan from her belt.

"Who is this?" Sakura snapped, "What are you doing here?"

Lupin whirled around, "What in the name of...." His relaxed. "Sakura, it's me!"

Miss Tsukino raised an eyebrow. "Oh, Remus. I didn't recognize you." She relaxed. "What are you doing here?"

"As I was just telling Hermione and Ron," He said, adjusting his shabby robes, "We are on business for Dumbledore. He has asked us to come and act as guardians. He is quite concerned at the moment." He gave her a smile. "You can relax, Sakura. We're not here to off Harry."

The Auror sighed. "Dumbledore did mention you were here. I just thought you were supposed to remain in hiding," She gave a sniff. "I should go find Harry." She turned to go back down the stairs. She was muttering to herself in Japanese as she left.

"Sakura?" Lupin said.

She turned her head. "Yes?"

"It's good to see you."

She looked indifferently at him. "It's good to be seen." She strode off.

'Snuffles' gave a snort. Lupin glared at the large dog. "Oh, just be quiet."

"Excuse me," Ron said, interrupting, "Did you say you two are going to be guarding Hogwarts like Miss Tsukino is doing?"

"Let's step into a more... private room. Snuffles needs a place he can-- err-- Get comfortable." Lupin faced the portrait two paintings down from the Fat Lady. "Prongs," he said quietly to the painting of the ballerina. The portrait swung open, revealing a very small room. There were two thin beds inside and not a whole lot else. Lupin escorted Hermione, Ron and 'Snuffles' inside. The portrait shut behind him. "Well, here we are."

'Snuffles' began to morph into Sirius Black. The thin, black-haired man stretched his long limbs, groaning. "Oh! It feels GOOD to be myself again." He smiled at Ron and Hermione. "It's good to see you two again." Sirius looked much healthier than he had the last time Ron and Hermione had seen him. His long hair had been pulled back in a ponytail and he had gained a little more weight.

"Hey Sirius," Ron said, waving, "How are things?"

"Well, other than threat of Voldemort and being on the run from the Ministry, I can't complain."

"Sirius," Lupin said in a warning tone, "This is not really a time to be joking."

Sirius sat down on one of the beds. "I wasn't joking. Other than those problems, there's not a lot wrong."

"Depends on who you talk to," Hermione muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked, eyes darkening.

"Hermione here," Ron pointed to his friend, "Thinks that Professor Maclay read her mind."

"WHAT?" Sirius and Lupin both exclaimed.

Hermione explained the story-- from Professor Maclay's introduction at Hogwarts, up until Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Sirius and Lupin listened, nodding occasionally.

"She's up to something." Sirius said gravely. He put his hand on Hermione's shoulder, looking her in the eyes. "It sounds like she did read your mind, Hermione."

She sighed in relief. "Well, someone believes me!" She turned to Ron, smirking. "I *told* you."

"Mind reading is a powerful ability," Lupin commented, shaking his head, "I don't know a single wizard who possesses it. I don't know where Gwendolyn would have acquired it. But it's possible it doesn't mean anything sinister."

"Keep in mind that we haven't seen this woman in sixteen years, Remus. There's a lot she could have picked up in that time. I would watch out."

Lupin sighed. "You're just saying that because you don't like Gwendolyn."

Sirius threw himself back on his bed. "Is there any reason I should? She's always been a sullen, snarky little bitch who was never happy with who she was. She didn't like us either."

Sitting down on the bed next to Sirius, Lupin glared at his friend. "That was years ago. People change."

Sirius looked more ferocious. "And I'll bet anything, this time, not for the better. Mind reading usually goes hand in hand with mind control."

Ron gulped. "M-mind...control?"

Sirius nodded. "The ability to make control a person, make them do what they wish. It's like the Imperius Curse, only stronger. Most people don't even realize it's happening to them. It usually takes place over a period of time. The target is seduced using key phrases or gestures. If exposed to it enough, the target becomes a drone-- mindlessly serving the needs of their master."

Hermione swallowed hard, nodding. "Do you think Gwendolyn is dangerous?"

Sirius and Lupin shared glances. "We don't want to say anything like that just yet," Lupin said cautiously, "But it's a possibility. I doubt Dumbledore would give her the position of Professor if he didn't trust her. But he may be angling at something."

"I'm going check it out," Sirius growled, "Don't worry about it."

****

Severus paced his room, growling softly under his breath. He had prepared himself for sleep, but he was not a bit tired. He would most likely stay up all night, cursing that horrid woman under his breath.

"Cute nightshirt," Gwendolyn commented.

Severus whirled around. He crossed his arms, glaring at the woman standing in his doorway. "How the devil did you get in here?"

"You could have been a bit more creative with your password. Salazar, really..." she tsked. "So where did you get the night clothes?"

"That's none of your bloody business! What do you want?" He demanded, glaring at her.

She sauntered in, smiling wickedly. "You said you wished to talk to me. I'm sorry if I took too long speaking with Harry. You must understand he's my only surviving relative."

"Yes, it is a pity," Severus snarled.

Gwendolyn shut her eyes, trying to hide the hurt look on her face. "There's no need to be sarcastic about it, Severus."

"I'm not," He replied, in a much softer voice, "While it's true I had no love for the Potter family, I never wished to see the entire line wiped out."

"No love?" She laughed. "I beg to differ--"

"Beg all you want, it won't work." Severus summoned a trunk to him. "Here are all of your things. I would have given them to you earlier, but I wanted to make sure I had every last thing you left with me."

"Not even keeping a tiny momento?" Gwendolyn asked, running her hand over the trunk.

"I have no need for your things. Oh, your vault is still full. Since everyone assumed you were dead, your things were split up in accordance to your will. I'm afraid anything you left to James was destroyed along with his house. Your money is still in vault 401."

"You didn't spend any of it?" Gwendolyn looked up at Severus, surprise in her eyes.

"Not a single Galleon," He snapped, "I prefer working for my money, not having it handed to me."

"You never had any trouble spending my money when we were together," Gwendolyn crossed her arms, cocking her head.

Severus turned away, lowering his head. "If I had started using that money as if it were mine, it would have been admitting that you were gone."

"If you didn't want me to be gone, why are you being so cold to me now?" She asked, taking his hand.

He pulled away almost violently. "I thought you had been killed. That Voldemort had taken you. I had to live with that guilt on my conscience. But no, you wandered off! For the past sixteen years I've believe you were killed because of my defiance. The truth is you're just a bloody moron!"

Gwendolyn laughed. "That's some way to talk to the girl you switch allegiances for."

A grin crossed Severus' lips. "You really believe I left Voldemort for you, don't you?"

"You-you didn't?" Gwendolyn's face cut. She pulled back slightly.

"You would have liked to believe that, wouldn't you? Severus Snape became a knight in shining armour, defied Voldemort all for the love of a good woman..." He laughed. "That's just so clichŽ. It never had anything to do with you."

Snape circled Gwendolyn, shaking his head. "Voldemort never wanted you dead. Why in the world would he care about a pathetic, cursed wretch like you? It was a story. After all, a man doesn't just change... It's got to be a fairy tale. The beautiful woman makes the evil sot mends his ways. How else would Dumbledore believe me if I wasn't changing for one of his own?"

"Do you think that bothers me?" Gwendolyn asked, feigning disinterest. "That you used me? That we had to trick Dumbledore into taking you in?"

"I'm not saying you weren't fun." Severus' grin grew. "But mostly, you were convenient."

Gwendolyn shook her head. "Listen, Severus... Try to hate me all you want."

"Believe me, I do."

Gwendolyn let out a deep sigh. "Severus.... I really don't know what to say to you. I never wanted to leave you. I gave up a lot to be with you." She bit her lip. "Jamie never forgave me for being with you."

"And the only reason I forgave you for being related to him was you hated him more than I did." His hardened gaze met hers. "Where were you?"

She shrugged. "There's no one explanation...."

"Pick one," Severus snarled.

"You kept a lot of secrets from me, Severus," Gwendolyn touched Severus' forearm. "And that's a lot bigger than my secret."

"GET OUT!" Severus shouted. "NOW!"

Levitating her trunk, Gwendolyn strode towards the door. She paused in the doorway. "I never forgot you, Severus. I hate myself for loving you, but I just can't stop. I can't forget that Gypsy-wizard who used to stay late in the Potions Dungeon with me...Who used to make fun of Jamie with me... I was in the Labyrinth."

"You couldn't have survived," Snape scoffed.

"The only way to solve the Labyrinth is to get as lost as you can..." Gwendolyn gave a bitter smile, showing off the scar on her neck. "For once, my curse came in handy."

"You--" Reaching out, Severus tried to grab Gwendolyn's arm. However, she slipped out before he could touch her.

He shut it behind her, leaning heavily against it. He swore beneath his breath. He was suddenly very tired.

****

"Sirius!" Harry threw his arms around his godfather. "Hermione and Ron told me you were here, but I didn't believe them!"

Sirius smiled, hugging Harry back. "It's good to see you too."

"Where's Buckbeak?" Harry asked.

"We've got a few allies still outside the school. Don't worry, he's in the best hands."

Harry pulled away, looking to Lupin. "It's nice to see you again, Professor Lupin."

A flicker of hurt passed over Lupin's eyes. "You can call me Remus, Harry... I'm no longer a professor."

Harry nodded to Lupin-- no, Remus. "I can do that. Is this your mission? To guard the students? Like Miss Tsukino?"

Sirius nodded. "Yeah. We'll be keeping a lower profile. I doubt the students would be too thrilled to hear a werewolf and a wanted criminal were looking out for them, but we'll be around."

"Is Dumbledore really that concerned about us?" Harry's hands balled into fists nervously. "Does he think something's going to happen?"

"We're not sure about that," Remus said gently, "Last year was a bad year... He just wants to be extra careful."

"Have you guys seen Gwendolyn yet?" Harry looked back and forth between the two men. "She told me you guys used to be friends. I bet she would be really thrilled to see you guys."

Sirius and Remus exchanged uncomfortable looks. 'Friends?' Sirius mouthed, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Harry asked, looking back and forth between the two. "Is something going on?"

"We just want you to be careful, Harry," Remus replied hesitantly.

Harry furrowed his brow. "What would I have to be careful about?" He didn't like the looks on Sirius and Remus' faces. "Do you guys not trust Gwendolyn?"

"It's just.... You've gone through a lot in the last year. I don't want to see you get hurt." Sirius placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Hermione mentioned something about Gwendolyn that we don't like. It sounds kind of-- fishy."

"You're saying I shouldn't trust my own family?" Harry's eyes flashed. "Listen, Dumbledore gave her a job. So he trusts her."

"Harry," Remus spoke hesitantly, "Things don't sound right. GwendolynÉ She's hiding something. And it doesn't sound like she's being honest."

"At least she's telling me something!" Harry shouted. He stalked towards the portrait hole, anger welling inside him. "I've only known her a few days and she's already told me more than you have in two years!"

Sirius looked at Remus, sighing as his godson left. "Well, that could have gone better."