It\'s All Done With Mirrors

A/N: Aoibheann - here you go then :-))


Chapter Twenty
A Morning Meeting with the Minister of Magic.


Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2010

\"I\'m glad to see you here so promptly, Severus,\" said McGonnagall, curtly.

\"You know how I despise tardiness, Minerva,\" replied Severus, in the same tone.

There was no sign of Arthur Weasley as yet, so Severus spent the next few minutes trying to engage in one of his favourite belligerent occupations - trying to out-stare Minerva McGonnagall.

However, she was having none of that, and after a few of his attempts to catch her eye she snapped: \"For the love of Isis, will you please sit down, Severus! You need to be brought up to date, and the lot has befallen upon me to fill you in.\"

He sat then, and steepled his fingers as he looked up at her.

\"Severus. Last night, Ronald and Hermione Weasley\'s house was destroyed by the Annihilare curse. Ron was inside. If this was not enough, the party responsible has escaped - has disappeared en route to Azkaban - and may be on the way to Hogwarts even now, as it seems the criminal\'s nasty intentions do not end with a mere single murder.\"

Severus blanched, and Minerva continued.

\"I have every reason to believe that the Ministry will be behind us every step of the way, unlike previous times, and Arthur Weasley will be here to go into that presently. For my part, I will only be happy when Pansy Malfoy is subjected to the Dementor\'s Kiss.\"

Severus blinked. \"Pansy? What has she got to do with this?\"

\"Everything, Severus. She cursed the house, caused Ron\'s death, and we must not suppose she will be contto sto stop there. One of her most likely targets - Hermione - is already here, and for her own safety here she must stay. Lavender will shortly be bringing another person here this morning. A boy, named Robin Chapeau. And please gods he will soon be safely within the walls of Hogwarts, because we believe Pansy Malfoy has been at large for a number of hours.\"

A d ofd of soot puffed into the office, followed by Arthur Weasley.

\"I\'m sorry I\'m late, Minerva.\" The Minister\'s usual breezy cheerfulness was drastically muted. \"Molly and I only arrived in Hogsmeade a few minutes ago. Train was delayed at Hogsmeade Station. Aurors checking the train. Severus,\" he said, sadly. \"Jolly decent of you to come this morning.\"

\"Arthur. It\'s...pleasant to see you.\" Severus could almost hear Minerva\'s jaw drop open in surprise. \"I\'m sorry about your loss,\" he continued, stiffly. \"Please convey my sympathies to your wife.\"

\"I will indeed, Severus, and thank you. Now,\" the Minister gathered himself together, drawing from his pocket a rolled parchment.

\"This is a list of the names of the eight Aurors who will be stationed in Headeeade unobtrusively, to keep track of any strangers around. Mrs. Malfoy,\" and here his voice faltered, \"Mrs. Malfoy did not have her wand, nor her broomstick, and her person was searched most closely for both portkeys and money.
\"We will be working together to place more protective wards around Hogwarts, effectively sealing out any intruders, and keeping those within its walls safe from harm. Albus, I believe, is meeting Aurors Tonks and Longbottom in our new quarters at Hogsmeade as we speak.
\"Our aim is to complete the protective spells by lunchtime. Has Miss Brown delivered her charge here yet?\"

Minerva shook her head. \"We hope to have them both safely ensconced within the hour, though, Arthur. When they have arrived, Albus, Nymphodora and Neville will set the wards.\"

\"Molly and I are staying at Fred and George\'s apartments for the time being. The fireplace there and the one in this Office shall be the only Floo connection between Hogwarts and the outside world. The Aurors will come and go by this link, and this link only,\" Arthur explained, and Severus nodded thoughtfully.

\"Might I ask if Mrs. Malfoy has any way of acquiring another wand? Whatut aut anyone who might have been persuaded to hide her somewhere, or give her money?\" Severus asked, intrigued.

\"She may have allies dotted around, although they will be far and few between,\" added Minerva, frowning. \"The Crabbes and the Goyles are all in Azkaban, Mr. Blaise Zabini is still at St Mungo\'s, unable to breathe without assistance. Marcus and Jessica Flint died in the final battle, on Voldemort\'s side. That just leaves Millicent Bulstrode.\"

\"We are looking for Miss Bulstrode, but haven\'t had much luck yet,\" reported Arthur, wearily. \"She was last seen in Wizarding London, in Knockturn Alley, to be precise, at around Six o\'clock yesterday evening. So far she has not returned to her family home in Essex. Were the two of them close, to your knowledge?\"

\"At school, they were, fairly,\" Severus admitted. \"Although there was a lot of competition between the two over my godson. I am sure I did not notice Miss Bulstrode at their wedding, which may mean that the two of them had parted company on less than friendly terms.\"

\"Her brother may be able to shed some light on that, perhaps. I believe he is here...under indentures to Argus Filch, am I right?\" Arthur asked.

\"He is indeed, but I am afraid his family disowned him years ago. It\'s worth asking, but I\'m not convinced he will know anything,\" Minerva said, sadly.

\"I will ask him, Minerva,\" said Severus, surprising the Headmistress again. \"He was sorted into Slytherin, after all, and he may tell his old Head of House a few things he would never admit to a Gryffindor. He\'s a Squib, though, as I am sure both of you know. He is particularly sensitive because this fact led to him being disowned. I may need some time to bring him round.\"

\"Excellent, Severus! I know I can count on you there. Now, Minerva, where is my daughter-in-law? I thought she would be here, you know. Is she all right?\" Arthur\'s honest face, etched with fresh lines of pain, furrowed further in concern. He had always been fond of Hermione.

\"Hermione is asleep in Gryffindor Tower, Arthur. She has been through a lot of trauma, and needs as much rest as possible. Your daughter has asked for you to visit her, however. With everything that happened last night, we were not able to contact you before now. The babies were born last night,\" and heinerinerva grinned at the delighted expression on the Minister\'s face, \"and I am sure you will want to fetch Molly as soon as possible, and visit your family. Perhaps, if we\'re finished here...now would be a good time?\"

\"Certainly, Minerva! I will use the new Floo connection immediately, if you don\'t mind, and bring Molly straight back here with me.\" With renewed vigour, Arthur jogged to the fireplace and vanished in another cloud of soot.

In an instant, it seemed, Arthur was back, followed by his wife. Molly Weasley, too, seemed to have aged from the tragedy of losing yet another son, but she was smiling through it, with dazed excitement.

\"Oh, where is she, Arthur? Where\'s my clever little girl? And twins, to boot! Morning, Severus, morning, Minerva! Isn\'t this a marvellous thing?\" She twittered on for another minute or so, barely stopping to breathe, before endiith ith a \"Come on, Arthur! Stop hanging around like an old dishrag! Let\'s go and see our family!\"

And they were gone, out the door, leaving Professors Snape and McGonnagall feeling quite breathless.

\"I shall never get used to Weasleys,\" remarked Severus, but the usual sarcasm was conspicuous by its absence.

\"They\'d better not wake Hermione with their noise,\" clucked Minerva, disapprovingly.

\"That\'s if Mrs. Ronald Weasley is actually in Gryffindor Tower,\" Severus replied, darkly.

\"Where else would she be, Severus, for goodness sake?\"

Severus didn\'t say anything, and Minerva flashed him an exasperated look. Then she relented, sensing that her colleague still harboured some feelings for the girl. She pulled her scrying mirror from her pocket and screwed it to the pointed end of her wand, muttering \"locare Hermione\". Checking it briefly first, she came and sat next to Severus on the sofa.

\"There she is, Severus,\" soothed Minerva. \"Right where I said she was.\"

\"Alone?\" He didn\'t dare look.

\"Well, look and see - yes, she\'s alone. Sleeping like a baby, the poor dear must have been so tired - now, Severus, there\'s no need to snatch!\"

Severus looked at her,rounrounded by the red velvet drapes of her bed, which were drawn back on one side to allow the peach-toned sunlight to caress her sleeping form. Her breast rose and fell softly with each breath. Zooming in with a quickly muttered spell, he allowed his eyes to feast upon her face.

She was so beautiful, her full lips parted slightly, her eyebrows slanting aristocratically below her creamy forehead. His gaze lingered on the sweep of her brown lashes as they brushed her cheek. She smiled in her sleep briefly, wrinkling her pert nose, and he reached out to touch her skin...

The image faded, leaving his fingers pressed against the cold, dark glass. He swore softly.

~ Really, Severus, I had no idea you knew such language! ~ That voice piped merrily, inside his mind.

Severus scowled, and rose, shoving the scrying mirror and the wand into Minerva\'s lap.

\"I am going to the dungeons, Minerva. Albus - with his usual irresponsible behaviour - caused a most insupportable mess there last night, and I suppose I am to be the one who gets the honour of clearing it up again.\" He stalked out, robes billowing.

\"See you, Severus,\" Minerva said, absently, looking in the scrying glass once again. She watched with relief as Lavender brought the boy safely into the bosom of Hogwarts, and walked him, as planned, to the Library.


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The Library, Hogwarts, August 2010

Orla Quinke gently laid a copy of \'Hogwarts - A History\' in front of the young lad.

\"Here you go,\" she whispered. \"Robin, isn\'t it?\"

He nodded, large brown eyes seeming huge in his pale face.

Orla smiled. \"See what you make of the alumni, I always find it fascinating,\" she said, softly. Obediently, Robin turned to the back of the book, where special graduates of Hogwarts were listed.

He giggled as the photograph of his godfather - listed for Loyalty - raised one sardonic eyebrow. There was his foster-mum, Lavender, she was listed for having undertaken special services to the Order of the Phoenix, which soundarvearvellous. He liked Lavender, but he missed his real mum.

He could remember her, his mother. Although the memories were dim, and under normal circumstances he shouldn\'t be able to remember her at all. He had come to live with Lavender when he was only four months old. But his godfather, Uncle Draco, had given him a pensieve - which was a secret, of course. And he had been delighted when Uncle Draco showed him how to uncurl his memories - blurry though they were - and place them within the shifting sand-like magic that lay within the stone bowl. And he looked at those memories every day.

She had lots of hair, and it tickled his skin as she nuzzled at his cheek. Her hands were small but strong, and he tingled at the memory of their caresses. Brown. Her hair was brown, and curly...and her eyes were brown too. Like his. He couldn\'t remember her face, and that sometimes made him cry.

Lavender didn\'t like to see him cry. And he didn\'t like Lavender to see him crying - it just started her off...and boy, could she make a noise! Robin shrugged away thoughts of his mystery parents, and continued to look through the alumni of \'Hogwarts - A History\'.

Touching the pages lightly, he looked at Harry Potter, who had untidy hair and round glasses and a nice smile - he\'dn thn them many times before, in the Daily Prophet. Harry was a famous Quidditch star, but it mentioned something else in here - something about defeating a Dark Wizard. Robin didn\'t know about that, but he did know that Harry Potter was a famous player on the British Quidditch Team.

Harry Potter was also a friend of Uncle Draco\'s, Robin knew, but he also knew that they hadn\'t always been friends. Robin thought of his godfather with his ready smile and his witty conversation and his mischievoays.ays. He couldn\'t imagine anyone not wanting to be a friend of Uncle Draco.

Here was a Ronald Weasley, deceased, who was listed here for Bravery - specifically, for helping Famous Harry Potter to defeat the Dark Wizard, and who looked just like a grinning, freckly carrot.

And here, with an Award for Bravery - like that Ronald Weasley - and a Special Commendation for Academic Excellence, was someone called Hermione Granger.

He squinted, looking at the photograph. She looked very clever; hair pulled back, expression studious, biting her lip like he did sometimes when he was concentrating.

He\'d seen her before, he realised with a jolt.

Where had he seen her?

Oh yes! That\'s right - she was the Witch that Uncle Draco had pointed out yesterday, in Diagon Alley. Uncle Draco had given him a Chocolate Frog as a reward for planting a roll of parchment in the pocket of her robes.

They\'d gone to get Robin his books and his wand, the school clothing and quills, ink, stuff like that. And Robin had wandered off, fascinated by the animals in the Menagerie, and then he\'d caught sight of the Firebolt broomsticks. And he\'d made Uncle Draco worried, and cross with Robin. But then Uncle Draco had forgiven him, and had dared him to go across the street and put a little parchment roll in a certain lady\'s pocket.

Robin liked dares. They made him feel brave. It hadn\'t been difficult to do, either, because she had been looking up at the sky. He\'d popped the roll into her pocket, and pretended he was merely brushing past her.

Robin decided that when he came to Hogwarts to study, he was going to do as well at his OWLs and NEWTs as Hermione Granger had. He liked setting himself goals like that, it made up for him not knowing whom his mother was. Or his father, for that matter.

He, Robin, had black hair. His mother\'s was brown. Maybe his dad had black hair.

Maybe his dad was Famous Harry Potter! Imagine that...

Robin closed the book, lost in his own dreams.