The Necromancer Amulet

Chapter Four - A Revealing Meeting

As Secessa entered the Headmaster's office she was surprised at how different it was compared to Karkaroff's room at Durmstrang. Karkaroff had furnished his room sparsely, but correctly, leaving no magical items out for the taking as he was of a suspicious nature, but in this office, the shelves were full of various interesting enchanted objects and books, and the furnishings were rich. Silver instruments on spindle-legged tables were emitting small noises and puffs of silver smoke, large portraits of wizards hung on the walls, and the windows were draped with thick, embroidered curtains. The portraits seemed to have woken up at their entry, and eyed her with somewhat sleepy interest.

"Now," said Dumbledore calmly, after he had conjured up some comfortable-looking chintz chairs in front of the fireplace where the four of them had sat down, "you have already explained to me, in your letters, that your reason for coming here is an urgent wish to broaden your views." She nodded in confirmation. "In view of recent events in Russia, however," he continued gently, "I was wondering if there are any other reasons for your appearance at Hogwarts. Perhaps if we would understand your situation better, we could avoid any confusion concerning your motivations for staying here. You see, the fact that your are a Dark Arts teacher has, quite understandably, upset some of our students' parents."

He pointed his wand at a tray on his desk where a simmering teapot and matching cups appeared, and with another flourish of his wand, the pot sprang to attention and started pouring tea into the cups. "Oh, and please have some tea," he added amicably. "Sherbert lemon, anyone? No? Well then." He leaned back in his chair, fingertips together, and gave her a penetrating gaze with his clear eyes. Too penetrating, she realised; he could be a legilimens.

"Of course, I fully understand their doubts," she said, panicking inwardly, and quickly averting her eyes, she picked up her tea-cup. Knowing she was a terrible Occlumens, she immediately clouded the surface of her mind with the first thing that she could think of. This happened to be vivid images of the horrid dinner she had just ingested, and she swallowed her revulsions as she quickly laid out a plan of what to say. Then she returned his gaze with forced calm, and sipping from her cup she told the story of her life, from the beginning, noticing that the other Professors seemed to have as little taste for tea as they had for the Headmaster's peculiar lemons.

Dumbledore listened thoughtfully as she told of her endeavours as a teacher at Durmstrang and as an employee for the Russian Ministry for Magic, occasionally asking for names or places. The other two teachers were quiet. When she came to the attack at Durmstrang, all three of them suddenly sat up and watched her with keen interest.

"You were there," the Headmaster said sharply.

"Oh, yes."

"And what happened?"

"I don't really know, exactly. They came at dusk. Death Eaters, I do not now how many - blasted the Main Gate open and sent spells flying. I'm glad no students were there at the time. I could hear them run for Karkaroff's office before I made my way out via a secret tunnel, and then I heard him scream. He was never the boldest of men, and he probably didn't put up much of a fight." At this, she thought she saw a little smile at Professor Snape's face from the corner of her eye. It puzzled her, but she decided to ignore him. "As I entered the forest outside the castle, I saw sparks flying from the Charms teacher's office, indicating that she was escaping as well. I know no more, as I had to leave the grounds as quickly as I could."

"Why did you not stay? Surely you could have helped the other teachers?" The question came from Professor McGonagall.

"They would have gone for me, immediately after they had secured Karkaroff. The Transfiguration teacher, Ursus, would probably have led them to me to get rid of me. He respected me, but we hardly got on, and he became suspicious of me towards the end. He probably helped them in their planning, come to think of it. Besides, the only two other teachers who were in any danger had their escapes prepared also, by me, to ensure their safety. I was certain there would be a new rule at the school after Karkaroff...left."

"Have you heard from them yet?" Professor McGonagall asked worriedly.

Secessa moved her gaze from the Headmaster to Professor McGonagall.

"Not from Elena. Vladimir sent me an owl, telling me he was in hiding and that everything has worked out as we had planned."

"Did you not contact your friend to make sure she was unhurt?"

She felt like she was being told off like a schoolgirl and her cheeks heated with annoyance.

"I gave Elena a portkey leading to a safe hideout of mine. There is no reason she shouldn't have arrived safely. She is probably just afraid that someone might track her owl."

There was a pause as the Headmaster leaned backwards, eyes twinkling. "I must say this is quite a surprise. I would not have expected to find any teachers at Durmstrang who object to the...less appropriate...parts of their syllabus. Because you do, don't you?"

"Oh, yes, I have done ever since I started at the school."

"And you have come here for what reason?"

The prompt question took her by surprise, and Secessa immediately looked down, realising that she had cleverly been put off-guard. Examining her now empty cup, she carefully considered what to say, and then she looked up at Dumbledore with determined eyes that she hoped were clear and free of deceit.

"Being unable to keep up appearances for much longer, my time at Durmstang had to end. I have come here for refuge, to teach. And I sincerely hope it will be under friendly terms." She said the last sentence pointedly. The meeting was beginning to feel like an interrogation, and she did not like it.

"I am sorry if I have offended you by my questions," Dumbledore said apologetically. "Since Hogwarts is under threat, we are unfortunately distrusting towards all strangers. You are of course very welcome here." He glanced at Snape briefly and then looked back at her.

Secessa glared at Dumbledore coldly and said nothing. There was a pause, as the Headmaster seemed to wait for a response. When none came, he continued softly, "is there anything you would like to ask us, Secessa, about this meeting or your work?"

"Do you know anything further of the events at Durmstrang?" she asked quietly, gazing at the dancing flames in the fireplace.

Dumbledore sighed a little. "The attack was covered up by the Russian Ministry, of course. My contact there told me some new teachers were called in urgently, to replace the ones that disappeared during the attack. Your friend Ursus is running the school temporarily." Secessa grimaced, and there was a pause.

Suddenly, Professor Snape spoke, his voice barely more than a whisper. It seemed to be a trait of his. "Our revered Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher seems to have little more to say. If you don't mind, Headmaster, I would like to get back to my office; I'd like to save this evening from becoming entirely wasted."

Showing no reaction whatsoever that what he had heard might have been interpreted as offensive, Dumbledore smiled. "Certainly, Severus." The gangly man rose and made his way towards the door.

A bit annoyed at her new colleague's apparent disrespect for her, Secessa sullenly focused her eyes on one of the puffing silver instruments. It was only then that she remembered that she was about to hold lessons the following day, and that she was completely unprepared.

"Is there an old syllabus that I can use for now, until I have made my own?"

Professor Dumbledore smiled at her. "Of course, there will be one in your office, maybe Severus can show you the way."

Secessa thought for a moment that the Headmaster had given her a little wink but decided that this was not very likely. She rose from the chair, still feeling a little bit annoyed by the whole interrogation business, and gave the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall a curt nod each before she turned towards Professor Snape, who was waiting impatiently for her at the doorway, wearing a dour face.

"Follow me then," he muttered irritably, and they descended down the revolving staircase together.

They walked in silence down several flights of stairs and through a long corridor. The Potions Master led her briskly up a staircase opposite to a painting of two grand-looking witches playing chess, and when they reached the first floor he pointed down a torch-lit hallway ending with a spiral staircase.

"Your classroom is the first door to the right," he said flatly. "The spiral staircase will take you directly to your office and quarters, which you also can reach from the second-floor corridor."

There was a pause. Professor Snape gave her a piercing look, and was about to turn and leave when he stopped and looked at her again.

"Surely, it would have been snow on the ground when you left the Durmstrang castle. How come you weren't followed and apprehended?" It was as an accusation.

Secessa wondered how he knew about the snow, but then realised that to most English people, anywhere north would be snowy. She was beginning to get very annoyed at this man. Why was he so rude to her?

"What makes you think my escape was anything out of the ordinary? It was snowing," she said curtly.

"Death-Eaters will hardly be stopped by a little snow if they intend to follow someone's tracks. Although Dumbledore seems to believe your little story, I'm a bit concerned at how you got away so easily." His eyes narrowed and his black, greasy hair framed his face in a very unflattering way as he leaned forward. "The question you should perhaps ask yourself," he continued in a soft, dangerous voice, "is whether keeping secrets from other members of staff is the best way to go about your business here. It is all rather...suspicious, this whole miraculous escape of yours."

"The Headmaster doesn't seem to think it is. And hence I cannot see why it should be any concern of yours." She was beginning to fume inwardly.

"You seem to forget that you are speaking to one of the senior teachers at this school," snarled Snape. "What concerns Hogwarts, concerns me."

She gave him a cold stare, which he returned without effort. It was outrageous that he would have the audacity to speak to her in this way. Secrecy be damned, this man needed to be put into place and sent back to the pile of bat-droppings he had emerged from!

"I'm an Animagus." She gave him a frosty, superior smile, the best that her rage could muster. "Registered of course, but the Russian Ministry tends to be secretive about its employees, even former ones."

For a brief moment, he looked surprised, and she snorted; he probably thought she had made some deal with the Death Eaters to get away.

"I have told no-one about it since my life might be in danger still, and it gives me an advantage if I am attacked. Surely you will have the decency to keep it quiet. If the word gets out I will know to whom I owe the favour. And believe me, I repay my debts." She spoke with the cold, threatening voice that sometimes scared the living daylights out of her students, and was pleased to see that he stood back. A little.

"What is your animal?" he asked, eyeing her sharply.

"An arctic fox. Now if you please excuse me, I have some classes to prepare for."

As Secessa turned her back on him, she was smiling, but the smile faded as she walked down the corridor. She was sure he had been slightly taken aback, and that would teach him not to be so bloody nosy. However, she wished she could have managed to hold her tongue, since telling him might be something she would live to regret.

With somewhat heavy steps, she walked up the stairs at the end of the corridor, where she found two doors, one leading to her office and the other to her quarters. Pleasantly surprised to find that both opened magically at her touch, she stepped inside her office in a slightly better mood.

Her new workroom was a small, cosy space containing a number of useful books in a bookshelf, a comfy chair and a large oak desk set. Unfortunately, the flowery drapes by the window were absolutely awful, and she hastily transported them into one of the cupboards with a few flicks of her wand, breathing easier as they disappeared from sight. How my predecessor could focus with those around, I just don't know!

As she sat down at the desk to prepare for tomorrow's classes, she wondered slightly whether she had made the right decision, in her anger, to tell the Potions Master about her transfiguration abilities. Would he keep her secrets to himself or not?