An Unlikely Savior ~ (Edit) COMPLETED

Chapter 31 ~ The Worst Laid Plans

The Ravenclaw version of Eileen’s conception spread around the school quickly, and partially did what Alsop hoped, which was clear his aunt’s name. However, it also demonized Snape for being such a bastard as to do something like that to an unsuspecting witch. Well, demonized him with three of the houses. The Slytherins thought he had been ingenious, of course.

But it also raised questions about Eileen’s abilities. Were they natural? She had been very advanced when she arrived at Hogwarts. Out of all of the houses, the Hufflepuffs were most inclined to believe Eileen was just smart and could have gotten her gifts naturally. Both her mother and father were gifted in magic and very intelligent. But Hufflepuffs were notoriously fair-minded about things and not prone to go off on willy-nilly tangents.

”It’s all a matter of chance, isn’t it?” one Hufflepuff said to her housemates. “I mean, look at my brother. He’s dumb as a bag of rock cakes and both our parents received good marks when they attended Hogwarts. He tries hard but it just isn’t there.”

Eileen was strange and antisocial to most of the students, and not popular at all. Didn’t it make sense that if she were really magically engineered, that she would be very popular and a school favorite? She’d be kind and friendly and everyone who met her would be drawn to her. But it wasn’t like that at all.

Still, the quiet debates pointed out that neither of her parents had been particularly popular either. Hermione had been the brightest witch in the school, but she wasn’t exactly rolling in friends. She had associates, but she wasn’t wildly popular. Actually, a lot of people couldn’t stand her because she was so smart and self-righteous. And forget about Eileen’s father. He was a pariah all his dark life. If those were the attributes of her parents, then Eileen may have inherited the “unlikeable” trait, too.

When questioned about the truth of Eileen’s conception at breakfast, Rose’s first response was, “Where’s did you hear that?”

A bit of asking around narrowed it down to the Ravenclaws, and Rose looked over at Alsop blackly. She hadn’t told him anything, but it didn’t mean that Eileen didn’t. And it seemed he had blabbed it all over the school. But she confirmed it was true, then fielded the questions about how she felt about it.

”It doesn’t matter how I feel about it. She’s my sister, and that’s the end of it,” she said tightly. “I’ve just got to live with that.”

Hugo gave pretty much the same answer, except he said he thought it was cool, much to the surprise of his housemates. Both James and Albus were sullenly quiet about it, and when they were questioned they simply said they didn’t want to talk about it.

Lily was all smiles and said she liked the idea of having another girl cousin, even if she was a Slytherin.

When Eileen entered the Great Hall, everyone went silent and watched her as she sat down at the Slytherin table. She reddened slightly but went about eating her breakfast as normal, and the quiet whispering began again. She cast a Muffliato spell on herself so she could only hear buzzing.

Minerva sat at the Head table, her lips held in a tight thin line. She’d received owls from Ravenclaw parents demanding an investigation into Eileen Snape’s academic record, claiming that the witch had an unfair magical advantage because of the method in which she was conceived.

”Magically engineered? Unfair magical advantage? The way she was conceived? What in the world are they talking about?” the witch intoned as she read letter after letter. She was expecting a summons before the Board of Governors about this situation. No doubt they had received owls too. This was fast becoming very sticky business. If the board took the complaints seriously, there would be an investigation and most likely a hearing. At least it wouldn’t happen until school reconvened after holiday. Hogwarts was letting out next week for Christmas.

Minerva sighed inwardly as she watched Eileen butter some bread. The girl’s mother and father would be coming to the conference Monday evening. She would make them aware of the complaints about their daughter and find out what it was all about.

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No one had the nerve to question Eileen directly although in every class she got curious glances from the other students. They looked at her strangely, more strangely than usually as she scowled, looking completely unapproachable as usual.

Alsop found her by the lake during lunch time, and approached her quietly as she sat on a boulder, throwing stones into the icy water. She heard him coming, however.

”Hi Eileen,” he said to her softly.

”Hi, Alsop,” she responded, not looking at him. He sat down next to her on the boulder.

”I couldn’t find you yesterday,” he said.

”No. The Headmistress excused me from classes. I stayed in Slytherin house and did some extra credit work,” she replied.

”Are—are you ok?” Alsop inquired.

”Yeah. As long as I don’t listen to what people are whispering about me,” she replied. “People are such blasted gossips. Gods, don’t they have their own lives to worry about?”

Alsop sat there quietly for several moments, and Eileen turned to look at him. He was too quiet.

”What’s wrong?” she asked him.

”You’re not going to like it, Eileen. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

”Tell me, Alsop. What did you do?”

Alsop told her how his housemates were talking about his aunt Hermione, how they were calling her names and accusing her of being an adulteress. How horrible it had been to listen to that because he loved his aunt.

Eileen listened quietly as he told her how he told them the truth, hoping it would stop them from saying such terrible things about her mum, and what happened when he did.

”I’m sorry,” he said softly, waiting for the lightning to strike.

Eileen stared at him, her mouth pursed—at first. Then it twitched a little, trying to form a smirk. Then, she burst into laughter, loud, belly deep laughter as she slid down the boulder to her feet and bent over with mirth.

Alsop had never seen her laugh like this. He thought she might have finally snapped.

”Eileen—Eileen, what’s so funny?”

She straightened, shaking her head.

”People. People are funny. Do they really believe I’m some kind of magically engineered being? That I’m—I’m perfect? Oh, Alsop, how mad does that sound to you? I’m far from perfect. Yes, I’m good at a lot of things, but when all you have to do is practice your magical skills, fly around and read most of your life, what else do you expect? I didn’t have any friends coming up, so spent all my time learning things and perfecting what I could do. I enjoy learning, discovering new things, being tested and writing about them. That’s all there is to it. Really. The very idea of my being magically designed to do what comes naturally is insane. Completely insane. No one could take that seriously.”

“So you’re not mad at me?” Alsop asked her with relief.

”No, and it’s because you were trying to defend my mum. She really is innocent in all this, and the truth was going to come out sometimes. It’s better than the rumors,” Eileen told him.

Alsop smiled at her, then suddenly popped off the boulder and stole a kiss from her.

”Alsop!” she hissed, spluttering like she usually did, but not looking at all displeased.

”That’s for not being angry at me,” he said to her. “I know we’re supposed to be cousins, but—I don’t feel like a cousin to you, Eileen. I don’t care about any of that, really. All I care about is you.”

Eileen reddened a bit, then said, “I see why they call you Soppy.”

”Somehow, it doesn’t sound so bad when you say it, Eileen,” he responded.

They looked at each other for a long moment. Then Alsop had a thought.

”You’re still going to go to the ball with me, aren’t you? I mean—I’d understand if you didn’t want to go because of everything that’s going on.”

”Of course I’m going. I didn’t suffer through that fitting and dad’s complaints for nothing,” Eileen told him with a frown.

Alsop smiled at her brightly.

”That’s great, Eileen. I knew nothing could bring you down for long. You’re too strong for it.”

”That’s because I come from good stock, Alsop,” she replied with a tight little smile. “Come on, let’s get back to the castle.”

Alsop was very surprised when Eileen took his arm. She never did that before. They walked back to Hogwarts just that way, Alsop feeling as if he were walking on air.

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Eileen’s belief that no one would take the idea of her having some kind of magical advantage because of the way she was conceived seriously was erroneous. At that very moment, the owls the Board of Governors had received were being discussed very seriously by the twelve member panel. Lucius Malfoy was among them.

”These complaints have to at least be investigated. We can’t let these parents think we don’t take such things into consideration,” one walrus mustached member stated.

”Yes,” another agreed. “We have to at least take a look into the situation. I propose we send investigators to question both parents about the girl, as well as her teachers and the girl herself. After we collect enough information, we’ll be able to see if there is reason to have a hearing. If the young woman indeed has been given an unfair advantage academically, we may have to rescind her marks.”

Lucius frowned slightly at this. Eileen Snape was a Slytherin after all, and a credit to his house. He fully believed in house nepotism.

”Carlton, do we have the right to do that? If the girl has earned her marks, she should in fairness be allowed to keep them,” he stated flatly.

”The question is, Lucius, if she did indeed ‘earn’ them or if she was magically assisted in some manner in getting those marks? If she is found to have abilities that transcend what is normal, it would be highly unfair to the other students who attend Hogwarts and work hard for their marks. We have to maintain a balance, Lucius.”

”So, you intend to leave her markless? Is that your solution?”

”No. Possibly we can give her a certificate of completion, rather than let her graduate based on her marks. A general diploma that credits her with finishing the Hogwarts curriculum satisfactorily.”

”Without any honors or awards?” Lucius asked, his face blackening. “With nothing to show how exemplary her work was? That’s abominable. I won’t agree to it.”

”Now Lucius, don’t be contrary. We don’t even know if there will be the necessity for a hearing,” another board member said placatingly.

Lucius turned hard gray eyes on him.

”We all know for a fact there is going to be a hearing, gentlemen. These are Ravenclaw parents and they are all overzealous when it comes to their children and extremely competitive in academic matters. Having a Slytherin beating out their children has to be disconcerting and they’ll grasp at any straw to give their own children a leg up. They’ll raise a stink if there isn’t a hearing. Maybe even go to the press.”

Not one of the governors disputed this. Lucius shook his head slowly.

”I’m letting you all know right now that if it is decided that this young witch will have her marks rescinded, I will definitely be a dissenter in the judgment and will submit a written protest for the record on this matter.”

”You are free to do as you like, Lucius,” Carlton said tiredly. “So, I recommend investigators be sent out to interview the girl’s parents, teachers and the young lady herself. All in agreement?”

”Aye,” eleven voices agreed.

”All opposed?”

”Nay!” Lucius said loudly, raising his hand high.

”Duly noted, Lord Malfoy. We will make arrangements to start the investigation as soon as possible. Now, on to other matters—“

Lucius half listened to the rest of the business on the table. Although he was a consummate Slytherin, he felt the Board to be in error on this situation. Even if the witch did have some advantage, that could be a matter of her parentage rather than some inane and difficult to prove magical reason. This was bad business.

Very bad business indeed. Severus Snape had already been insulted by the Powers that Be once, snubbed for his role in the downfall of Voldemort and technically blamed for Albus Dumbledore’s death although he escaped Azkaban. Snape had risked his life, and although Lucius had been a loyal Death Easter for most of his life, toward the end he was glad to see the despot fall. His entire family had been in danger. Harry Potter had cleared them all during the hearings and told how Narcissa saved him from being killed under the possibility of death herself. Others stated they hadn’t been involved in the final battle at all. So he held no ill will, and even a sense of gratefulness toward Snape’s part in all of it.

Snape might have taken that slight in stride, but Lucius was sure he wouldn’t take this attack on his daughter well at all.

But Snape, as volatile as he could be, wasn’t the one they needed to worry about. Since they didn’t have all the details, Lucius wasn’t aware that Hermione Weasley was Eileen’s biological mother. If he had been, he might have been even more adamant about why there should be no hearing.

And that was because an angry Hermione Weasley was a one-witch army.

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A/N: Thanks for reading.