The Book Of Jude

Chapter Nine: Three Heads Are Better Than One

`Blink and you miss a beat

Keep one of your eyes open at all times.

The shit hasn´t even begun to hit the fan.

Consequence you´ll see

Will be stranger than a gang of drunken mimes.´

Incubus, Consequence

Tea was never Jude´s particular favorite, but in the absence of strong coffee this would have to do. She sipped the warm liquid and yawned as she went through the owls her former Headmaster had just received. She wasn´t just the assistant to the Headmaster in title alone, but in duty as well--that meant sorting mail. Wasn´t there anything stronger than a mild Earl Grey in this castle? She hadn´t truly slept since the first night she´d arrived at the Abbey, and she hadn´t closed her eyes for more than a blink since she´d come to Hogwarts. Oh, well. She´d operated on less sleep than this before and she´d never missed a step then and didn´t intend to now. The entire stack of letters she´d sifted through were letters from the Ministry--or more accurately, from Fudge. She shook her head at the incompetence the Ministry had sunk to in the last five or so years. At least under Howard Jennings, the former Minister and complete asshole, the magical government had been run efficiently and was not comprised of bumbling idiots and the like.

After placing the letters on the Headmaster´s desk for him to reply to, she picked up the Daily Prophet and was immediately stunned by the headline that ran under the heading. Gringott´s Break-in Latest was the urgent title that had caught her attention. So, Dumbledore´s infallible instinct was right again, she mused. He knew that the wizard´s bank was not safe enough to keep whomever Voldemort was bidding to steal the Stone out, so he´d removed it and placed it in the castle--and just in time, it seemed. This meant that the Dark Lord was still trying and would not give up the chase so soon, and now His next target would be here at the school. But how would He be able to break into the school without being noticed? There were more magical protections around the castle than Gringott´sitself--it would be no easy feat. She enumerated the possibilities until she´d remembered she was due in the Great Hall minutes ago.

In the Great Hall, students had gathered for lunch, which was informal and overseen by only a few teachers on a regular basis. Today, it was her duty, along with Professors McGonagall and Sprout, to make sure all rules were observed while in the Hall. After only two weeks of working here, Jude had become comfortable in her routine--and it was hard to believe that it had already been two weeks. She´d expected time to creep by in her anticipation for the year and all of its associated troubles to be over and she could once again return to Cambridge--and Rhys. But she rarely allowed herself such hope, even though he was constantly in her thoughts. She sighed and returned to the stack of papers she´d brought to keep herself occupied. Before she allowed her mind to become absorbed in her task, she gave the Hall a thorough inspection with her eyes and, to her satisfaction, saw Harry seated with his friends--mindless of any danger he might be in. She´d done her best to blend into the background here--even to the point of wearing robes again--black, of course--although she usually wore it over slacks in typical Muggle fashion, or even jeans on weekends, much to the torment of Professor McGonagall. She looked the part of a member of the staff enough not to attract too many questions. And her watch over Harry didn´t require that she had to actually speak to the boy--which she hadn´t done as of yet and didn´t plan on ever doing. She always made sure she knew where he was at all times and had already become familiar with his schedule sufficiently. She wasn´t worried--she knew Voldemort would not strike yet, but would allow enough time for everyone´s guard to drop and then He would make His move. The only problem she couldn´t decipher was how He would do it. She looked up from the documents to see Malfoyand his two thugs harassing a boy seated close to Harry at the Gryffindor table, but before she´d even had a thought to restore order to the scene, McGonagall was already on her way to defuse the situation. McGonagall hadn´t changed a bit since she was in school here, and it was an oddly reassuring fact. Malfoy and the two large and stupid-looking boys left, defeated by the severe Transfigurations teacher. Jude had no idea why Malfoy was so antagonistic toward Harry, or why Harry felt it necessary to encourage his hatred. It wasn´t significant, anyway, Jude told herself--just a fruitless House rivalry between the celebrity figure and one with power and influence. Draco didn´t strike her as an evil carbon copy of his father, even if he still looked up to the man. No, he seemed as if he could be changed, or influenced. All was not lost for him, Jude guessed and had made up her mind to talk to him--later.

***

The halls were dark and cold as usual in the castle. In the two weeks that she´d been there, little had happened to concern her regarding the Stone, or Harry´s safety. The only people she´d seen in the corridors late at night that were not members of the staff were the two redheaded, mischievous twins that she had seen at the Gryffindor table during the Sorting Ceremony. It turned out that they were, in fact, Weasleys and notorious for pranks and the current record holders for the most detentions earned in a single year. This information was proudly given upon her questioning the duo, which had been prowling around the Third Floor Corridor. Apparently, Dumbledore´s cautions in his opening speech regarding the restricted Third Floor Corridor had done more to pique the curiosity of the two boys, rather than terrifying them into staying away from the third floor altogether. She sentthem back to their Common Room without taking any points from their House, nor did she give them detentions. However, she did warn them again not to come near this door--Dumbledore´s speech may have sounded like a joke, but the fact of the matter was that this was serious--not a game. Whether they actually believed her, or were merely grateful that she´d not taken any points from them, they left quietly and had not come back.

She checked the door to make sure that it was locked--which it was. As she rattled the handle roughly, she heard a low growl from within. What was in there, she had no clue and she didn´t want to find out. As the low, rumbling growls died down, Jude thought she´d heard footfalls at the other end of the hall. Pausing to strain for the sound again, she was rewarded with the sound of more steps that sounded like the maker was in a hurry, yet desperate to remain quiet. She made her way slowly down the hall, her attempts at silence much more effective than whoever she was pursuing. Walking through a door that remained unlocked, she found herself in the Trophy Room. The moonlight from the high windows glinted off of the polished surfaces of the gleaming cases filled with cups and plaques of all shapes and sizes. A shimmer of moonlight on blonde-white hair alerted her to the presence of the person she was pursuing. It was DracoMalfoy. Jude allowed herself a small smile--not even two weeks into his first year and he was already up to no good.

She moved silently behind him, unnoticed by the boy, who seemed to be looking for something or someone--seemingly pleased not to find anyone here. When he turned to look around the room once more, he was startled to see another person standing in a small square of light from the narrow window. His features betrayed surprise and fright only for a brief moment, before twisting into an angry sneer.

"What in the hell do you mean by sneaking up on people in the middle of the night?" The boy spat at Jude. He was a lot like his father, she thought. But Lucius, even though he´d tried, had never managed to intimidate her. So, why did his son think it would work now?

"You´re up awfully late, Mr. Malfoy." Jude leaned casually against a trophy case holding a few miscellaneous awards. She folded her arms and evenly met Draco´s harsh glare. "Talk," she ordered the boy, who, in his turn, crossed his arms and leaned back against the stone wall. He was not used to following orders and was not about to begin now. She narrowed her eyes but remained silent.

"I know exactly who you are, Elliot. My father told me all about you--you´re a coward who´d betray anyone in a second." The boy seemed a little disconcerted when these words had no effect on the woman standing between him and the only door out of the room. Still, he´d decided that only a little more pressure was needed, and then she´d crack like an over-boiled egg. "If you think I´m afraid, you´ve seriously misjudged. You´re nothing but a little girl who ran when things got tough." She let him keep talking, knowing that if she gave him enough rope, he´d eventually hang himself without her help. "Everyone that matters knows about that and they won´t overlook your betrayal. When things change, you´ll wish the Ministry had sent you to Azkaban, where people like you belong." He pushed himself off the wall forcefully and walked a few paces forward, but was quelled in his enthusiasm by a quiet smile that played across Jude´s face.

She, too, took a few steps toward him. "If I were you, I would refrain from shouting your father´s philosophy too loudly. However much he and his kind," she said this with a small, but disdainful snarl, "wish for `things to change´, they won´t--not if I can help it." At this, the boy allowed himself a laugh.

"What do you think you can do to stop them?" he questioned her with unbridled arrogance. "You think Dumbledore and the rest trust you to keep that from happening? They don´t trust you at all--haven´t you ever heard the saying `keep your friends close and your enemies closer´? Dumbledore has you here just so he can keep an eye on you." He was satisfied to see her momentarily flinch at his words. This gave him courage to continue. "Does Potter know who and what you are?" He smiled, as she looked visibly taken aback at this. She let her hands fall at her side and she felt numb with shock, wondering if this boy would have the guts to tell Harry any or all of her past deeds. He was surely familiar with the most incriminating ones.

However, she quickly pulled herself together. "My advice to you, Mr. Malfoy is not to spread your father´s ideas around as if they were your own. It has been my experience that our fellow students do not look to kindly upon those of us with certain affiliations." She gave the boy a significant look and was gratified to see him swallow hard. "Besides, you wouldn´t want your father to get into hot water because his son couldn´t keep his mouth shut, would you?" She smiled sweetly as he scowled at her. "By the way, what were you doing up here in the middle of the night, anyway?" She was now standing only a few feet from the boy, who seemed to relax a little, no longer threatened by her presence.

"Dueling Potter,and he´s late." He crossed his arms and glanced at his rather expensive looking watch.

"Where´s your wand, then?" She noticed his casual air falter as he realized he´d been found out. "You weren´t going to duel him were you? You were going to set him up." She shook her head. "What time should I expect Filch to be by here?" She had to admit with a laugh, this kid was amusing at least.

"Ten minutes." He smiled mischievously. She wasn´t as daft as he´d previously suspected. He´d have to keep clear of her from now on, he mentally noted.

She sighed. "Well, then I guess you´d better get back to the dungeons before you have to explain to Professor Snape why you lost his House ten points." She moved aside so he could retreat through the door in which he had come. She´d instantly liked the kid, even though he chorused his father´s dogma like a broken record. It was because he simply did not know better and all fathers were heroes to boys that age, she assumed. He was as angry and hostile as she was then and he reminded her of the child that she had been. She couldn´t blame him for hating Harry--he had friends that admired him not because of his wealth or power, but because he was a genuinely good kid. And everything seemed to come easy to him--Jude had to admit, that if she were in Draco´sshoes, she´d do the same thing. She shook her head and decided to return to the locked door and check the halls again. She hoped to head Harry off before he was ambushed by Filch.

After several minutes of searching, Jude had wandered far away from the locked door that she had been watching for two weeks. She had hoped to find the boy Malfoyhad tricked into breaking curfew, but feared that Filch and his mangy cat had stumbled upon them first. She was about to search a tapestry-lined room when the sound of several running feet informed her that someone--or several people were fleeing from something. She made her way back to the locked door just in time to see four students--one with distinguishably frizzy brown hair--running as fast as they could from the door, yelling frantic statements like "What do they think they´re doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" Jude ran quickly to the door. It was still locked, but beyond the thick wood she could hear several booming barks. What ever was in there--Hagrid´sdoing, she supposed--those kids had seen it. She took several secret passages that she was sure only Filch and the Weasley twins knew to Gryffindor tower. Emerging from behind a dusty tapestry, Jude beat the four students back to the entrance to their common room. She was gratified that she´d guessed correctly that the four were Harry and his friends--they´d obviously tried to hide from Filch in the locked door on the third floor, but found it was already occupied. She´d had no problem finding the entrance to the tower common room before they did--she knew this castle inside and out, including the common room entrances to every House. She watched as Harry shouted "Pig snout" at the fat lady in the portrait. It instantly swung open and the four clambered in to the room and out of sight. Jude breathed a relieved sigh when Harry and the other students were back safely in their dormitory. Their encounter with the monster behind the locked door was too close of a call for Jude´s liking. If she could help it, it would be the last. She trudged tiredly back to the third floor.

***

"Fluffy?" Jude knew Hagrid had an odd appreciation for the wild and untamable beasts of the world--a sick obsession, really--yet this seemed to be on a whole new level of derangement. She hadn´t mentioned the events that had occurred two months prior--she´d never had a good reason to and, in any case, she didn´t want to get Harry and his friends, or Dracointo trouble over it. And that had been the last `incident´ to date. But now that Hagrid had brought it up, she was rather curious as to what the hell was behind door number two.

"Yeah," he answered unabashedly at her sarcasm. "He´s got to have a name, don´t he?" She eyed him skeptically then let her eyes fall to her lap where Hagrid´s large boarhound was drooling all over Jude´s black robe.

"You should have been named Fluffy, Fang." She tousled the immense folds of skin that cascaded around the enormous dog´s face. He seemed to be enjoying this, so Jude continued. "That, that...whatever it is should have had your name."

"It´s just a dog." Hagrid shook his head as he prepared tea.

"Just a dog?"Jude raised her eyebrows at that. "A thing that weighs more than the Hogwarts Express and has three heads is not just a dog, Hagrid." She looked up and was a bit surprised to see him smiling proudly.

"I know. He´s great, isn´t he?" He beamed like a proud parent. Jude simply shook her head.

"Yeah, he´s wonderful. Every household should have one." Well, she had to admit--she was rather relieved--Voldemort or anyone else, for that matter, would have a rough time getting past something as vicious as Fluffy. Jude doubted that the thing could even be knocked out by the most powerful stunning charm she could think of. And now that the kids had seen what was locked behind the door, she was sure that they would no longer be lurking around the third floor. She resumed patting Fang on the head, as he´d not ceased to drool on her trousers. Oh, well. She had made this visit to Hagrid expressly to see the dog that had been such a good companion to her when she had little else to call friend. She´d always enjoyed visiting Hagridwhen she was a little girl--his hut was always filled with the most interesting objects: crossbows, dragon scales, old pictures of Professor McGonagall when she was her age. She looked out the window on which a carved pumpkin was seated. She´d almost forgotten that it was Halloween--one of her favorite holidays to spend at the castle. She looked forward to seeing the beautifully decorated Great Hall this evening and smiled as she thought of the impression it would make on the First Years. Yet, she could never fully share in all of the happiness of the day--it had been clouded by the memories of what had happened that night many years ago, now. On Halloween, ten years ago, she´d murdered a little boy´s father and did little to save the life of his mother. The gloomy expression returned to her face, despite her efforts to enjoy her visit with Hagrid. She knew that he´d invited her here to cheer her up today. He knew what today signified for her--what was on her mind at this very moment. He reached down and took her small hand in his enormous one and gave it a squeeze.

"You can´t change what happened, Jude. But what matters is that you´re here now when Harry needs you--that says a lot and I´m sure James and Lily are grateful that you´re looking after their child when they can´t." She smiled a sad smile at Hagrid. She knew he was only trying to help but he was making her feel worse. It was her fault that they couldn´t be here to protect their son themselves, and no amount of rationalization would ever make that guilt go away. She sighed, allowing her shoulders to sag. The only consolation that came that day was the reminder that, so far, she´d done her duty well and Harry was safe for now.

***

Thousands of glowing Jack-o-lanterns filled the air, illuminating a ceiling that mimicked the stormy sky outside. Bats fluttered through the maze of pumpkins and candles, completing the scene. Jude breathed in the delicious smell of baked pumpkin and candy of all sorts. It was a smell that reminded her distinctly of Halloween and of the Great Hall decorated so festively. She did the customary check of the room and instantly found Harry seated among the Gryffindors, chatting happily with the redheaded boy he was constantly in company with. Although she thought it strange not to see the girl with the fluffy brown hair, as she usually was not far from them, Jude thought little of it. Maybe the boys had finally done something to tick her off and she was sitting with other friends. Jude returned her attention to Dumbledore as he said a few words and then called for the feast to begin.

Jude had only been chatting with Hagrid for a few moments before the great oak doors of the hall burst open. Jude instinctively jumped to her feet, but was surprised only to see Professor Quirrell. She watched with a furrowed brow as he ran to the head table, stopping only when he reached the Headmaster. The nervous, little man looked terrified, with his turban askew and a frantic expression. Jude´s eyes were fixed on the scene and she strained to hear every word of what was said.

"Troll--in the dungeons--thought you ought to know." The man collapsed immediately in a heap on the floor. The entire room had heard every word of the message, and instant chaos ensued as hundreds of students began to panic, shouting and pushing for the door.

Dumbledore´s booming voice immediately restored order to the scene, as he called for silence. "Prefects," he commanded, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" Jude was astounded at the level of control the Headmaster had over his students. Everyone obeyed instantly. Jude quickly scanned the room once more and was relieved to see Harry by the side of the Gryffindor Prefect, who looked, oddly enough, like another Weasley. The students filed out of the Great Hall as Dumbledore commanded the teachers to follow him to the dungeons. Once Jude was sure Harry was safe, she made her way around to the front of the floor where the Defense Againstthe Dark Arts teacher was lying.

"Some expert in Dark Creatures," she thought. "This guy meets up with a troll and instead of knocking it out, he runs like a little girl." It didn´t make much sense to her. She knew this man was nervous and afraid even of his shadow, but didn´t he have a reputation for besting dozens of trolls, zombies and vampires? She shook her head and nudged the prone form in an attempt to rouse him. He stirred and she helped him to his feet.

"Come on," she said, tugging his arm in the direction of the door, "we have to get to the third floor." She hoped she was not too late already and that Professor Snapehad had the same idea as she had. She hoped that he would be there now, at the locked door. This troll getting into the school was no accident--Jude would bet good money that it was let in as a distraction.

"Why are we going to the third floor?" Jude looked at Quirrell, who despite having fainted at the sight of a troll, now appeared to be annoyed with Jude´s urgency.

"This troll was a distraction. Whoever let that thing in is headed there to get the Stone. We have to head them off," she explained in an exasperated voice.

"We?" he asked, trying to wrangle his arm from her grasp.

"Yes, we," she replied shortly. "I need all the help I can get." She couldn´t believe how much of a fight this guy was putting up. "I´ve been thinking--if Voldemortwanted to steal the Stone right out from under our noses, He wouldn´t just waltz in here and take it. Neither would He send one of His thugs to do it--He´d have someone already working for Him on the inside." She talked rapidly as they climbed the stairs--she couldn´t believe it had taken her this long to figure out. But now the problem was, who was in league with Voldemort? Jude had no guesses to offer.

"And how are you so sure about that--maybe he does plan to walk in one night and take it." He looked skeptical.

"Because I know VoldemortK," Jude replied, not meeting the other man´s eyes as she said this. They had gained the top of the last flight of stairs and ran toward the door.

"So do I--I tracked him for three years across Eastern Europe, just to discover none of us knew as much about him as we thought."

"Well, I do." She was being stubborn and she knew it. Why would something that seemed so obvious to her be so doubtful to this man? She had to explain. "I know how He operates, how He thinks--I used to be His student, His protégé." She chanced a look at the Professor´s face--he looked a little stunned but not much. She quickened her pace. The door was just around the next corner.

"Yes, I´ve heard about you." He allowed a small smile. "So, then, who do you suspect as the insider?" His questioning no longer held that note of skeptical disbelief, but one of suspicion and his familiar nervousness. "Do you think there are any obvious choices as to who it might be?" He sounded a little afraid again, but Jude chalked it up to the fact that they were nearing the door.

She gave a little chuckle. "Well, I would be the obvious choice, wouldn´t I? Either myselfor Professor Snape would be the easy answer. But I can guarantee you that it is neither of us." They rounded the corner just in time to see Professor Snape slamming the door shut and locking it. He was panting as if he´d just finished a marathon. Jude ran over to him, but Professor Quirrell preferred to remain behind.

"What the hell was Hagrid thinking? That thing almost tore my leg off." Jude looked down at the professor´s leg and, indeed, Fluffy had tried his best.

"Did anyone manage to get in?" Jude questioned frantically. Snape gave her an incredulous glare.

"Well, Jude, I didn´t see any body parts lying around, so I´d venture a guess that no one managed to get past that monstrosity," he snapped viciously at her. She shrugged it off.

"We should go and see if the others need our help. You should see Madam Pomfreyabout your leg." She started to walk back down the corridor toward Professor Quirrell, who looked as if the last thing he wanted to do was aid the others in dispatching a fully-grown Mountain Troll.

"I´ll be fine," he said and followed the others. Jude noticed the suspicious look the professor gave to Quirrell as he passed the trembling little man. Did Snape suspect Qurriell? She wondered why he would and made a mental note to ask him later.

As they descended to the second floor, they heard a scream from a long way off. So the troll was no longer in the dungeon, Jude guessed. They quickened their pace a little, still remaining cautious. After a few turns down the winding corridors, they met Professor McGonagall. She explained that the troll had left the dungeon and the teachers had split up to find it. As she finished her explanation, the ground shook as something large seemed to have hit the floor not far from where they all stood. They continued down the corridor after Professor McGonagall, who flung open the door to the girls´ toilets. Jude´s eyes widened in surprise at the scene that greeted her. The stalls and sinks were reduced to piles of wood and plaster on the floor where a large, smelly troll lay, unconscious. Harry and his redheaded friend were standing over it and Jude could see the bushy-haired girl struggling to get to her feet. She looked visibly shaken and horrified.

Professor Snapebrushed by Jude to get a closer look at the troll. He bent over it and examined the lump on its small head. It was definitely out cold. Jude noticed Professor McGonagall silently fuming, staring hard at Harry and his friend.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" Professor McGonagall said with cold fury in her voice. "You´re lucky you weren´t killed. Why aren´t you in your dormitory?"

Jude´s eyes were narrowed, examining the students´ expressions. Why had these kids thought that they could handle a troll on their own? And once again, she´d realized that Harry was in jeopardy and she had no clue about it. She had allowed him to be in danger twice. She kicked herself--so far she wasn´t doing a great job of keeping Harry safe. But this kid seemed to find trouble easily--she´d have to work harder at keeping an eye on him.

The boys were silent. But from the other side of the room a small voice answered the Professor.

"Please, Professor McGonagall--they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!" McGonagall looked astounded that she could have been the cause of this mess.

"I went looking for the troll--because I--I thought I could deal with it on my own--you know, because I´ve read all about them." Jude raised her eyebrows in disbelief--this girl was horrible at lying. "If they hadn´t found me, I´d be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose,"

"Lovely," Jude thought.

"And Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn´t have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

Jude had to admit that it was very noble of this girl to take all of the blame for this fiasco. She only hoped that McGonagall would buy such a feeble lie and let them off the hook. But Jude wasn´t sure the professor would go lightly on any of them--she was notoriously fair.

"Well--in that case..." McGonagall said, staring at the three students. "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Jude saw the girl hang her head. The boys remained speechless.

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," the professor said. "I´m very disappointed in you. If you´re not hurt at all, you´d better get off to Gryffindor tower." The girl left as McGonagall turned her attention to the two boys. "Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go." Jude watched as the two hurried out of the chamber.

***

"That troll was a diversion." Jude began.

"Yes, that´s exactly as I suspected." It was reassuring that at least Dumbledore and Professor Snape agreed with her. "Severus, did you find anyone in the Third Floor Corridor?"

"No, Headmaster, there was no one."

"I think that someone here, in this school, let it in. Voldemort would have someone we trust working against us. That´s the only way He´d ever manage to get the Stone without being discovered." Jude tried to explain her theory, which was feeble at best, being that she could produce no name to fit the role of the insider working against them.

"Couldn´t it have merely been a prank? Peeves could just as easily have let that troll in, Miss Elliot." McGonagall would, as usual, take the objective view and not let suspicion cloud her judgement.

"I guess that is just as likely, Professor. But it is too close of a coincidence to be overlooked." She didn´t want to sound like the boy who cried wolf, but everything that had happened pointed in the direction she´d taken. She knew she was right, but couldn´t fully explain why she was.

"Alright," Dumbledore placated her. "I suggest that everyone keep an eye open. Something is afoot. Peeves may have been behind this and it may have been part of a more sinister plot. We need to be prepared if something else should confirm our suspicions." Jude got up to follow the others as they filed out of the Headmaster´s office.

"Can I speak to you for a minute, Jude?" She looked at the person who´d grabbed her elbow. It was Professor Snape. She nodded, intending to seek him out later anyway. They ducked into an empty classroom and Jude shut the door.

"You really should see Madam Pomfrey about that," she urged the professor as he limped to a chair and sat down.

"Later." He frowned at Jude. "So you have no idea who could have possibly been behind letting that troll in?" His tone was harsh, almost accusing. Was he suggesting that it was her?

"No, Professor." She furrowed her brows, trying not to look hurt at the insinuation. "Who do you suspect?" She knew he was on to someone by the tone of his voice.

"Quirrell." He spat the name with loathing. "Why would someone with experience dealing with such beasts as trolls run to tell Dumbledore and the rest of us that it had gotten into the school? Why didn´t he just take care of it himself? I know that he´s more than up to the task."

Jude was expecting this revelation but still had trouble pointing the finger at Quirrell. "You saw him. He´s a coward." She was exasperated. Next to Quirrellbeing in league with Voldemort, she´d just as well believe that Peeves was responsible for letting the troll in.

"Maybe he has us all fooled."

That made sense to Jude, but she still had a hard time pointing the finger at someone when the evidence was flimsy at best.

"I´m not asking you to denounce him to Dumbledore, Jude," Snape reassured her. "I merely want you to keep an eye on him. Tell me if you notice anything suspicious."

"Okay," she agreed reluctantly. She couldn´t help but think that, maybe in another classroom, some of the other teachers were discussing the likelihood that she and Snapewere once again in league with Voldemort. She knew that she was a much more likely target of suspicion that jittery, stuttering Professor Quirrell. She would promise nothing, but she would be watching him from now on. She couldn´t afford another close call--another, that maybe all that was necessary.