Dumbledore's Secret

Chapter 14

Charlotte tapped her fingers impatiently against the piano keys. Not wanting to sit idly in the kitchen, she had wandered upstairs in search of something, anything to distract her. Still, she felt too anxious to play; she could only bring herself to punch out random pitches.

It was stupid, really, these feelings she had. Severus was a grown man, one who could take care of himself, one who, as he would doubtless tell her, was much more skilled in magic than she could ever hope to be. "Some of us," he had told he when they had been practicing the Protego charm, "need this more than others." Remembering his sarcastic voice, she felt a smile play at her lips. Then, almost immediately, she grimaced. What in God's name was the matter with her?

She told herself that her concern was really for her grandfather, that if something happened to Severus, Albus would certainly blame himself. She told herself that worrying about a moody, even verbally abusive, man such as Severus was madness. She told herself that if there had been anyone else in the house for the past month, she would never have sought his company. She told herself that, when he had brushed his thumb across her hand, that feeling in the pit of her stomach had been the result of stress and worry, nothing more. But no matter what she told herself, she knew the truth. Irrational as it seemed, she actually liked Severus Snape.

Hearing the front door of the house squeak open, Charlotte jumped up from the piano bench and hurried into the hall. "Severus ..." she began, but stopped when Tonks - she assumed the woman with wavy, orange hair was Tonks - appeared in the entrance.

With a frown, Tonks whispered, "It's only me."

"It's only you?" Charlotte repeated. "Where is ..."

"Shh!" Tonks hissed, pointing at the dozing portrait of Mrs. Black. Nodding her head toward the kitchen stairwell, Tonks muttered, "Come on. I'll explain."

Gritting her teeth, Charlotte followed the Auror down the stairs. From the moment Remus had introduced Tonks, Charlotte had sensed the younger woman's animosity. At the time, it had rather amused her. That Tonks could be jealous of Charlotte's two minutes of conversation with Remus Lupin suggested that the Auror had it pretty bad for the werewolf turned defense instructor. But today, Tonk's brusqueness only grated on Charlotte's nerves.

"Where are Severus and Remus?" Charlotte demanded when they reached the kitchen.

Tonks would not meet her eye. "They had some ... other business to take care of."

"Other business?" Charlotte asked, her voice rising. Tonks stared at her feet.

"You were just supposed to help Kingsley!" Charlotte continued. Then taking a deep breath, she said in a calmer voice, "How is he?"

Tonks finally looked up. "He's doing okay," she murmured. "The healers at St. Mungo's have managed to stabilize him, though he's still unconscious." She sighed, then said, "Look, I told them that if they didn't return in an hour, I'd go after them ..."

"Well, that's a relief," Charlotte muttered sarcastically.

Tonks suddenly grinned. "Wow, he's rubbed off on you, hasn't he? You even sound like him."

Charlotte only grimaced, making Tonks laugh once again.

The Auror walked to the stove. "Want some tea?" she asked as Charlotte began pacing.

"No, I've had enough tea to last me a lifetime."

"Suit yourself." Then she added in a shaky, unconvincing tone, "They'll be fine. Besides, I contacted the Order. Couldn't get in touch with Professor Dumbledore, but I did tell Mad Eye. If anything happens, we'll ..." But her voice trailed off as Charlotte frowned and began pacing again. They remained like that for nearly a half hour, Tonks stirring her tea aimlessly, Charlotte, alternating between pacing and scowling.

Suddenly, a sound upstairs broke the tense silence. Tonks and Charlotte exchanged a look before both hurried up the stairs.

"Now, be quiet, you lot! If you wake that portrait ... Oh, Charlotte! Tonks! Good, you can help us ..."

Molly Weasley stumbled into the house, her arms laden with packages. Several red heads and one bushy-haired girl, all of them equally burdened with parcels, followed her through the front door. Charlotte had to suppress her sigh of disappointment as she nodded at Molly.

"Hello, Tonks!" whispered the girl Charlotte did not know. Her thick, curly hair had fallen into her eyes, and she blew at it impatiently.

"Wotcher, Hermione! Here, let me take some of those things," Tonks said, reaching for one of the boxes.

"Oh, not the cake, Tonks! Uh, why don't you take this upstairs instead?" Molly whispered anxiously, handing her a bag full of blankets. "Even in the summer, this old house gets drafty."

Tonks frowned, but took the blankets without complaint. Molly handed Charlotte the cake and said, "Charlotte, dear, take this down to the kitchen."

As she headed downstairs, Charlotte looked at the cake in wonder. It was several layers thick, and the rich, chocolate icing was decorated with happy greetings that would randomly appear and disappear. As she placed it gingerly on the counter, the cake read, "Sweet 16, Harry!"

Molly came up behind her said, "I do hope it turned out well. I didn't have much time."

"It's amazing!" Charlotte cried as "Sweet 16" disappeared and "Have a Beater of a Birthday!" appeared in its place.

"Do you think? Well, tasting it will be the test."

"I can't wait for him to hear the candles," Ginny said, coming into the room. She dumped a large box onto the table. "They sing, and their voices are horrible! They won't stop until you blow them all out."

Charlotte laughed. "Wonderful!"

"Well," Molly said, bustling around the kitchen. "We have lots to do before they arrive, which could be any minute now ... Ginny, go find your brother and Hermione, make sure they haven't found themselves a secluded corner somewhere. No time for snogging tonight!"

Ginny giggled and raced out of the room.

"Harry's coming soon, I take it?" Charlotte said, poking around in the box Ginny had left on the table. She was just admiring a glittering tablecloth when something jumped out of the box and wrapped itself around her head. "What the ..."

Charlotte reached for her wand, but Molly only laughed and said, "Just an over-eager party favor."

The birthday hat began to hum, "Happy Birthday to you!" and only when it had finished did it allow Charlotte to pull it from her head.

"What can I do to help?" she asked Molly.

The older woman stopped unloading groceries and looked up at Charlotte seriously. "Well, to tell you the truth, you can do me a rather big favor."

Charlotte nodded eagerly.

Molly bit her lip, then said, "As you've been spending the last month with him, perhaps you feel, uh, brave enough to ask Severus ... Perhaps you wouldn't mind telling Severus to ... well, asking him to ... be a bit kinder to Harry tonight? It is his birthday celebration, and I don't want Severus's rather ... well, his less than sensitive behavior to..."

Charlotte paled. "He's not here actually."

"Not here!" Molly screeched, nearly dropping the pint of strawberries she had just conjured. "But, Albus said he wasn't supposed to leave..."

Charlotte sighed. "Yes, I know. But today, Kingsley ... well, I don't know exactly what happened, but Kingsley was hurt. You'll have to ask Tonks. There was some trouble, and Remus and Severus both left and ..."

"Has someone notified ..." Molly stopped and pointed an angry finger at the kitchen door. "You three, don't think you can hide in the doorway and eavesdrop!"

Looking around in surprise, Charlotte couldn't help but smile as Ginny, Ron, and Hermione skulked through the doorway.

"We didn't hear anything," mumbled Ginny.

Charlotte caught Ron's eye and said quietly, "Don't think I've forgotten those ears."

"What?" Molly asked.

Ron's face reddened, and Ginny looked at her with big, pitiful eyes.

"Uh, I told them they need better ears," Charlotte said to Molly, tapping her own ear playfully. Then, before Molly could question them further, Charlotte went to Hermione and held out a hand. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Charlotte Richardson."

The girl took her hand and smiled. "Hermione Granger."

"Well, you three can start setting the table," Molly said. "Festive plates, napkins, banners, and table clothes, in that box over there," she said, pointing. Then she took Charlotte by the shoulders and led her into the stairwell. "Have you contacted anyone?"

Charlotte said, "I can't. I have no way here ..."

"Of course."

"But Tonks has. She said she couldn't get in touch with Granddad, but she did let someone named Mad Eye know."

Molly sighed. "Well, today just gets worse and worse."

"Why? What's wrong?"

Molly threw up her hands. "The whole ministry is falling apart, death eaters have escaped Azkaban, our prison ..."

"You mean, now there are more death eaters wandering around? Oh, god ..."

Molly patted Charlotte's shoulder sympathetically, then complained, "And Arthur - my husband -he'll probably be stuck at the ministry until Harry's next birthday ... well, I just hope we can put on a good face for Harry."

Charlotte said hesitantly, "A few minutes ago, when you asked me to talk to Severus ... why don't he and Harry get along?"

Molly sighed. "Oh, it's a long story, and besides he should be the one..."

"Yes, yes, he should tell me. But the problem is, he won't tell me."

Molly considered her for a moment, then said, "Well, I guess it won't hurt. I sometimes think that Severus hates Harry. He says the boy is arrogant... but Harry is really the sweetest young man you'll ever meet. A bit uptight at times, but who wouldn't be if they had his burden? In any case, I think the real problem is not between Severus and Harry but Severus and James."

"James? Who's James?"

"Harry's father. Harry's dead father. He and Severus went to school together. In fact, Remus was in their class, too, and he was one of James' best friends. In any case, Severus never got along with James or his friends. It's been bad blood ever since then."

Charlotte frowned. "An old school grudge? Surely there must be more than that."

Before Molly could respond, a voice said icily from the top of the stairwell, "No, Miss Richardson, there's no more than that."

"Shit," Charlotte muttered as she looked up at him.

"Severus!" Molly said, her voice falsely bright. "Thank goodness you're back safely. Is Remus ..."

"The werewolf's upstairs," he muttered, hurrying down the steps. He seemed to be dragging something that sounded almost like a whimpering child. As he came to the bottom landing, he grabbed Charlotte by the arm and pulled her into the kitchen. "This," he said, "is yours." He pushed forward a small, wrinkled creature with big, wet eyes and shriveled little ears.

"A house elf?" she exclaimed.

Hermione, who had been helping Ron put up a banner, dropped the decoration into a bowl of fruit punch and cried, "Oh, the poor thing!" Then she glared at Charlotte. "Surely you're not going to keep her, are you?"

Charlotte wasn't paying the girl much attention. She stared in amazement at the elf, who was banging her head on the floor, crying, "Please, Lupa wants to be free, Lupa wants to be free!"

Hermione rushed over to Charlotte and shoved something into her hand. Looking down at the balled up, somewhat moist sock, she said, "What is ..."

But before she could finish, Severus grabbed the sock from her hand and threw it in the corner. "Miss Granger, you'll kindly take your interfering little mind elsewhere!"

"But ..." the girl sputtered.

"No, she's right, I can't possibly ..." Charlotte began. She had read about house elves, of course, and had been thoroughly disgusted with the practice of keeping them. Even though the elves claimed to be happy, the whole idea smacked of slavery.

The elf immediately stopped her wrangling and whispered, "Mistress will give me clothes? Mistress is too kind, too kind! Lupa will be happy to serve you, but all Lupa wants is to do so freely..."

Severus seized Charlotte's hand and pulled her into his makeshift lab, slamming the door behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded. "I couldn't possibly participate in such a barbaric, cruel ..."

"Listen to me," he said, his face inches from hers. "That elf is our last chance to find out what Radu was working on, do you understand me? She's the only one who knows what Radu was planning before the death eaters took him."

"Then why don't we just ask her? If we set her free, maybe she'll be more willing ..."

"A house elf does not tell his master's secrets to anyone outside the family. You are the last living member of the Radu family."

"Then, when I find out ..." she began.

"You can give her the very clothing on your back, if you'd like."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, his eyes seemed to darken. He's imagining me naked! she realized suddenly. Something between a gasp and a laugh escaped her mouth. Then he stepped away from her abruptly, saying with a sneering tone, "You shouldn't have any problem getting Lupa to spill her master's secrets. Apparently, you're quite adept at getting others to talk."

She sighed. One moment he was mentally undressing her, the next verbally upbraiding her ... he was like two different men, and there was no question in her mind which one she preferred. "Severus, I'm sorry about that, but I only asked Molly because ... well, I knew you wouldn't tell me anything at all!"

"And why should I?" he demanded.

Lifting her chin, she prepared to retort. But then she met his eyes, and she felt his fear wash over her. For a flash of a second, she saw him, a much younger man in death eater robes. She shook her head fiercely and said, "Severus, what is going on..."

He yanked the left sleeve of his robe up to his elbow. Thrusting his arm out, he said, "You want to know who I am? Well then, take a look. It's all right here."

She stared down at the mark, which was a black, almost pulsing skull on his skin. She forced herself to keep her eyes focused on it as she said, "So you were a spy. I already knew ..."

"I am a death eater." Then he shoved the robe back over his skin and said, "If you want to help the Order, you'll get Lupa to talk." Opening the door to his lab, he muttered, "Go."

She went to the door and slammed it shut again. "You make a rather strange death eater," she said, her eyes flashing. "A death eater who wants to help the Order? A death eater who risked his own life to save mine?"

"You think that absolves me? I have made potions that have killed people in horrible ways," he said, his voice becoming desperate. "I have stood by and done nothing as people were murdered and tortured, I let my own ..." He stopped and his expression turned cold. "Go. I have no more desire to ..."

"But I don't know that man!" she protested, though she shuddered inwardly at his words. "I know the man who's spent his whole summer trying to teach me to fight off Voldemort, I know the man that rushed off to save another man's life..."

He shook his head angrily. "You don't know me at all." He went to the door and threw it open. "I said, get ..." Severus stopped. Standing in the open doorway was one very angry looking Albus Dumbledore.

"I thought I told you," the old wizard said very softly, his eyes piercing Severus's, "not to leave this place."

Charlotte cringed. The look on her grandfather's face was terrible to behold. His lined face was set in a cold, forbidding mask, and, beneath narrowed lids, his blue eyes glittered with anger. "You explicitly disobeyed my orders," Albus continued, his voice frighteningly calm. Expecting Severus to defend himself, she was surprised when he only nodded silently.

"Perhaps you still do not take your life seriously enough?" Albus asked, his voice beginning to rise. Still, Severus said nothing.

In the kitchen, the Weasley children - including the twins, who were busy setting off fireworks - stopped what they were doing and exchanged gleeful looks. Tonks and Remus, who must have come into the kitchen with the arrival of Albus, were watching the scene with raised eyebrows. Molly was too busy talking heatedly to her husband, who must have just arrived, to take notice of brewing storm in the makeshift lab. Only Minerva, who stood near the kitchen doorway, looked appropriately grim.

"Do you not realize that you could have been taken tonight? With the rest of the death eaters on the loose now ..." Albus said, his voice now loud enough to make Molly and Arthur look over at them.

Charlotte stepped between her grandfather and Severus. "Please, Granddad, he was only trying to help save a man's life." She shot a desperate look at Remus and Tonks, hoping for backup, but they made no move to come forward.

"Well, well," Severus said quietly, "my champion comes to the rescue."

She realized only later, when thinking back on the scene, that there had been the tiniest of smiles on his face when he said this, that his eyes had been warm, even grateful, that he was actually trying to defuse the situation with his version of a joke.

But at that moment, Charlotte heard only his sarcastic words and said, "Fine! Fine!" She pushed her way past her grandfather, feeling more than a little guilty as she caught the look of surprise on the old man's face. Then she wheeled around and said to Severus, "You are an impossible man!"

She headed blindly for the stairs when she heard a squeaky voice behind her call out, "Mistress?"

Charlotte groaned and turned around to face the house elf.

Lupa looked at her, then shook her head sadly. "Lupa is not free," she stated.

Charlotte sighed. "No, I'm sorry, Lupa, you are not ..." Charlotte couldn't bring herself to finish. She stared sullenly at the floor. To her surprise, Lupa did not begin wailing again, only nodded and patted her hand. She looked at Lupa questioningly, and the house elf said, "Lupa knows you have trouble. Lupa knows Master Snape is a bad man," she muttered, nodding toward Severus.

"Miss Richardson!" Hermoione cried, coming over to her. "Miss Richardson, you can't possibly do this. It's inhumane! Why, I'm sure your grandfather ... Professor Dumbledore, you wouldn't want her to do this would you? Don't let Professor Snape bully you ..."

Charlotte glared at the teenager. Immediately, Hermione's mouth snapped shut.

In the tense silence that followed, Molly stepped into the center of the room and said briskly, "Harry will be here any minute. And all of this bickering has to stop! No more arguing," she said with pointed looks at her and Severus, "no more talk about death eaters or house elves or this madness about being minister of magic," she added, glancing at her husband.

"What do you mean by that?" Ginny asked, looking shrewdly at both her parents.

"I said, no more discussion! Now, when he gets here, I'm turning out all the lights, and you'll pretend you're not here, do you understand? I'll go upstairs, tell Harry and Hagrid that you've already gone to bed. Then, I'll ask them to have a cup of tea, and when they reach the bottom, we'll all yell surprise. Does everyone understand?" Molly glared at each and every one of them, including Albus and Minerva. She looked like a general commanding her armies, Charlotte realized, her lips twitching despite her bad mood.

Severus made his way for the door, and Molly said, "You don't have to go, Severus, just behave and ..."

He shot her a poisonous glance before disappearing through the doorway. The teens resumed their decorating, and Molly went back to scolding her husband, despite her previous command. Remus, Tonks, and Minerva set to helping get the kitchen ready for Harry's arrival.

Charlotte glanced nervously at her grandfather. "Uh, welcome back?" She managed a lopsided smile.

He came over to her and put an arm about her shoulders. She was relieved to see that his face had resumed its softer, grandfatherly appearance. "It's not been an easy month for you, has it?" he asked with a sigh.

She smiled up at him. "Oh, not as bad as it might seem tonight. I just don't understand him..." She looked over at the doorway and frowned. Then, sighing, she added, "Perhaps someday you'll get to see me in a rational, sensible state. I promise, I do behave normally sometimes!"

Albus grinned and said, "Well, I hope not. You're much more interesting this way."

Glancing down at Lupa, who was hovering nearby, Charlotte whispered, "And what am I to do with you?"

Before Lupa could respond, Severus came back into the room and muttered, "Wonder boy is here." He immediately went to his lab and slammed the door.

"Oh, good god, I hope he didn't run into him," Molly muttered, then looked at all of them and said, "Quiet!" Raising her wand, she whispered, "Nox!" and the room went dark.

They waited tensely for a moment, and then they could hear Molly's voice in the stairwell. "We'll just have a nice cup of tea, or perhaps hot milk, Harry?"

"Sure, I ..."

Suddenly, the lights flashed back on and everyone cried out, "Surprise!"

Charlotte had never seen Harry before, and she thought that perhaps there had never been a better time to meet the famous boy. His face shone as he took in all the people in the room, and his eyes were bright green behind his glasses. He raised a hand to his untidy hair and said, "Wow!"

Ron and Hermione nearly knocked him over as they ran to hug him. Most everyone else gathered around him, clapping him on the back, laughing and shouting out good wishes. Charlotte suddenly felt uncomfortable, almost as if she were intruding on a private family moment. She fell back into the corner, noticing as she did that the lab door had opened slightly. She glanced at the opening in surprise. Severus stood by the doorway, his eyes focused intently on Harry.

Charlotte realized that Molly had been wrong. He did not hate the boy; he envied him. Her chest ached as she watched him gaze at Harry. Then his eyes slid to hers, and they flashed angrily. She could almost hear him sneering, Do not pity me! Still, she did not look away. He glared at her for a second longer, then quietly closed the door to the labs.

"Charlotte, dear, come over and meet Harry," Molly was saying to her.

"What?" she asked, turning around distractedly.

Molly gave her a strange look, then repeated, "Come meet Harry."

"Oh, yes, of course."

Harry was now at the table, laughing as Ginny struggled with one of the manic party favors.

"Harry, dear, this is Charlotte Richardson, Professor Dumbledore's granddaughter."

Harry looked at her in surprise, then glanced shyly at Albus, who was watching the scene with a look close to adoration in his eyes. How he loves this boy, she realized, glancing between the two of them.

Holding out her hand, she said, "Happy birthday, Harry!" She pointedly refused to look at his forehead, though she was - as much as she hated to admit it - really curious about the scar. But she imagined that he got enough of such ogling, and besides, she had no wish to remind him - or herself - of Voldemort tonight.

"Thanks! Uh, it's nice to meet you. I didn't realize Professor Dumbledore had any grandchildren, or children for that matter!" With a questioning glance at Albus, he asked her, "Is your mother or father related to Professor Dumbledore?"

She smiled brightly, perhaps too brightly, and said, "Well, enjoy yourself tonight!" She turned away quickly, only just catching the blush that spread across Harry's face as he realized he'd said something wrong.

"Miss Richardson? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry..."

She managed to flash him a smile. "What? No, not at all. Well, have a happy birthday!" Her eyes suddenly tearing up, she hurried out of the kitchen. When she reached the stairwell, she stopped and leaned heavily against the wall.

"Sweet sixteen, Charlotte!" Her mother dangled a set of car keys in front of her sleeping face. "Wow!" she exclaimed, rising out of bed. "What a way to wake up!" "But can I trust you with this, do you think? You're not going to use it for snogging with that boyfriend of yours, are you?" "Snogging? Mom, you're so British!"

"Charlotte?" Her grandfather had come into the stairwell.

For a moment, she couldn't speak. But, when she realized he was staring at her, she managed a weak smile. "I'm beat," she said with a shrug. "Will you be leaving again tonight?"

He said nothing for a moment, then, as if snapping out of a daze, he smiled and said, "No, well, Minerva and I will go to Hogwarts this evening ... a bit crowded here. But we'll be back tomorrow. We have some business to take care of in Britain before we go abroad again." He paused, then said very quietly, "Charlotte, should you need to talk ..."

She reached up and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "Then I'll see you in the morning?"

He sighed, but said cheerfully, "Absolutely. Sleep well."

She nodded and quickly climbed the stairs, thinking that she probably would not sleep very well at all.

"Mistress?"

Charlotte looked around quickly. "Oh, Lupa!" she said as she reached the second floor. "I'm sorry, I forgot ..." She sighed. "You must be very tired, Lupa."

The house elf looked up at her in surprise. "Why, Mistress should not worry about Lupa! Would Mistress like something before bed? Perhaps a nice cup of chocolate or ..."

"Lupa, you and I need to have a talk."

Lupa shook her head and whispered, "Lupa cannot tell master's secrets."

Charlotte sighed. "Not even if it will mean your freedom?"

Lupa shook her head again. "If Lupa must pick between Lupa's honor and Lupa's freedom ... Lupa must pick honor."

Charlotte sat down on the top step, her eyes now level with the house elf's. "Lupa, aren't you allowed to pass secrets to family members? I'm your old master's great niece, and..."

Lupa said sadly, "Master Nicolae made Lupa promise to tell no one, no one." The house elf looked at her feet and murmured, "though Lupa can tell Mistress some things ..."

Charlotte nodded encouragingly. "Good!"

"Master Nicolae would often invite pretty women over and ..."

Charlotte closed her eyes. She didn't think she wanted to hear this particular secret. "Lupa, what about any potions your Master was working on? Can you tell me about those?"

Lupa shook her head. "No, those are what Master told Lupa to keep quiet on."

Biting her lip, Charlotte said tentatively, "And if I commanded you to break that promise..."

Lupa's eyes grew wide, and she grabbed the railing of the stairwell and began banging her head on it. Gasping, Charlotte pulled the house elf away from the wooden spindles and said, "Okay, okay, I don't command you!" Then with a sigh, she added, "Lupa, we're at an impasse! I can't let you go unless you tell me ..."

Lupa shrugged. "Then Lupa will serve Mistress, and serve Mistress well. The house elf code says that when the house elf has a family, the house elf must serve with all heart." Lupa put on a bright smile. "And so Lupa will!"

Charlotte resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "But Lupa, you don't want to! You want to be free, I heard you ..."

"Please, Mistress, forgive Lupa, Lupa was distraught with Master Nicolae's death, Lupa was out of mind! Lupa is a good house elf, and Lupa wants to serve. Can Lupa get Mistress a hot towel before bed? Or some tea? Perhaps a ..."

"No, Lupa. You can get some sleep. Come on, I don't know where you plan to sleep, but there's room in my bed ..."

"Oh, no! Lupa would not dare! Lupa sleeps on the floor."

Too tired to argue (and secretly relieved ... with a flash of horror she imagined rolling over onto the little, wrinkly creature), Charlotte nodded and headed to her bed. After making a little nest for herself on the floor, Lupa had quickly fallen into a rhythmic pattern of snores, and Charlotte stared up at the ceiling, wondering why nothing in this new world of hers made any sense.

*

It had only taken an hour of Lupa's wheezy, fake snores to drive her mistress out of the bedroom. Precious woman, she had actually tiptoed out of bed, and Lupa thought she'd never seen a human take such care to open and close a door so softly. If Lupa hadn't had more important things on her mind, she might actually have felt guilty about what she was about to do.

When she was certain her mistress had left the room, Lupa opened her big eyes and sat up from the pile of rags she had used to create a bed. With a quick nod of her head, she disappeared with a loud pop from the cavernous bedroom at Grimmauld Place.

Several minutes later, she reappeared, breathing a heavy sigh of relief; her mistress still had not returned. Snuggling under her rags, Lupa clutched a tiny vial of liquid in one hand and a crinkled old scroll of parchment in the other. "Everything will be all right now," she murmured in her elvish tongue just before she fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.