“Quick thinking, Severus. Has anyone noticed?”
“I do not think so, no. Potter hissed, but with no reaction from the snake, it could have been mistaken for a reaction to sudden pain. Nothing unusual in the aftermath of a duel.”
“Good, good. With Gilderoy an increasingly unlikely candidate and Draco confirmed to know nothing, we are back to the start.” Dumbledore stopped pacing his office and frowned. “Lucius knows something, I am certain.”
“It is unlikely he would have influenced the Board of Governors to oppose your suggestion of implementing safety precautions if he was not involved.” Lucius might not think the attack on a cat sufficient cause for inconveniencing the students, but after Colin Creevey had been attacked, he would want action taken to protect his son. Unless he knew Draco was not in danger ... “Any news from the roosters?”
“The remaining one has fallen silent. Lack of competition, Rubeus tells me. Perhaps, if you might ...”
Severus nodded briskly. “I shall watch the chicken pen tonight.”
He made sure no one had followed him into the Forbidden Forest before turning. Crowing took a couple of attempts, but was immediately answered by Hagrid’s single remaining rooster.
The Heir would come to silence that one, too.
Severus had waited five hours, hiding in the bushes close to the chicken pen, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“It is I”, Dumbledore said softly.
“Why are you here?”
“I will see a child walk back to the castle, later tonight. It appears, the culprit escapes us – or perhaps, we let him escape? In any case, I wished to be here.”
Severus suppressed a groan. He hated timeturners. They gave him a headache. And after learning they were sometimes handed out to students, he had never forgiven Slughorn for not suggesting Severus as candidate for that.
With a time turner, he could have put a silence spell on himself that fateful day ... everything would have been different ... or perhaps not.
In any case, trying to understand how Dumbledore could know in advance what was going to happen gave him headaches.
Another hour passed before something happened.
A child approached the chicken pen, raised a wand ... “Alohomora.”
Severus remembered that voice.
And when the child went into the pen and ducked to crawl into the chicken coop, he recognized the movements.
Ginevra Weasley.
There was no noise in the coop, but when the child emerged, she carried a dead rooster. She placed it near the fence, then went outside and used a spell to close the door.
Severus moved forward, but Dumbledore held him back with a firm hand on his shoulder.
He had seen in the future that the child would escape, and he would not allow for something different to happen, Severus realized.
So he waited until the child was out of hearing distance. “She is under the Imperius.” Under different circumstances he might have felt relieved that the criminal was not one of his Slytherins, perhaps even a bit smug that one of Dumbledore’s precious Gryffindors was responsible ...
He had come to loathe the Weasley girl for her cooing over and complimenting an animal that did nothing more than protect a young of its own species – hardly praiseworthy - but much as he hated her for that, it was simply not possible she was Slytherin’s heir.
Or had, of her own free will, killed the roosters in cold blood.
“Under the Imperius, or someone is using Polyjuice Potion.” Her movements had been recognizable, but someone might have studied her for long enough ...
“I verified her identity. No, this is Ginevra, but she is being influenced, I agree.” Dumbledore tapped him with his wand, and Severus felt the sensation of a disillusionment spell cast on him.
“Why not let me end the spell, then? I can still catch up with her.”
“We need to find the Heir, or he will just use someone else. Follow her, but stay under my disillusionment spell. If she returns to her common room, do not attempt to follow her.”
Severus nodded and swiftly followed the girl.
Her movements were increasingly sluggish, so it was easy to catch up with her.
When she arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, she looked as if she was sleepwalking. Her pyjamas – whoever had imperiused her had not considered it necessary to make her put more clothes on – were sprinkled with blood and some chicken feathers clung to the fabric.
She mumbled the password and climbed inside.
Severus performed a quick spell to reveal any human presence. There was either no one else in the common room, or someone as powerful as Dumbledore himself.
Could Slytherin’s Heir be a Gryffindor girl? Gryffindors could be evil, Severus knew all too well, and women could be too – no one who knew Bellatrix could believe otherwise – but there weren’t many women like Bellatrix, and that Slytherin’s Heir would be sorted into Gryffindor was extremely unlikely.
No, whoever was influencing her must have put her under the spell before she went to bed.
**
Severus was working late, the essays starting to get blurry in front of his eyes, when Dumbledore’s patronus appeared and summoned him to the Headmaster’s Office.
“I have news”, was all Dumbledore revealed. “You will want to know.”
Severus went, past the Gargoyle and entered without knocking. “You know who the Heir is?”
“Indeed. Sit down.” Dumbledore gestured towards a comfortable armchair he must have conjured previously. “It might come as a shock.”
Severus sat down; it was easier to indulge the Headmaster. “Draco, then?”
“Tom Riddle. You know him as Voldemort.”
It was, indeed, a shock. “How?” He ought to be dead or, at the very least, weakened.
“A dark artefact. Minerva found Tom’s diary among young Ginevra’s possessions.”
“It is confiscated, now?“
Dumbledore shook his head. „I asked Minerva not to intervene.“
Severus stood and slammed his hands on the desk. “HAVE YOU GONE MAD?“
„Calm down, please.“ Dumbledore raised a hand as if to shield himself. “We still do not know how a basilisk can move through the castle in the way Harry described. Or where the Chamber of Secrets is hidden.”
“Does it matter? Just take away the diary. The Dark Lord has no children, and will never father any offspring, even if he returns to a semblance of life. If he was the last Heir of Slytherin, the secret of the chamber will die with him.”
“Ever the pragmatist. Did it not occur to you, Severus, that if, as I am certain, Lucius Malfoy managed to somehow get this diary into the school, he might have more such artifacts in his possession?”
It had, in fact, not. Severus’ emotions had gotten the better of him, again. He sank back into the chair. “Very well. The basilisk needs to be killed. I suggest taking action during the Christmas Holidays. Hermione Granger would be suitable bait. Since Minerva already knows, perhaps she could impersonate her?”
„Yes, that seems appropriate.“ Dumbledore steepled his hands. „To make sure he takes the bait, we should make it appear as though Hermione is about to figure out the secret of the chamber. Some research late at night in the library, only returning to her common room shortly before curfew, the easiest of victims.”
“We need to move fast, then. Lest the girl does figure it out and tells Ginevra about it.” The potion would be ready the day after the students left Hogwarts for the holidays. Getting it over and done with before Christmas had some appeal. “Does Miss Granger intend to stay at Hogwarts?” He had brewed a large cauldron full of potion, but Minerva would certainly not enjoy having to stay in the students' dormitory overnight. It would be easier if Miss Granger stayed - they would only have to get her out of the way for a couple of hours.
Chapter 8