"Albus," Minerva said stepping in front of him and taking hold of his arm. "We were merely talking to Myrtle about her continued flooding of the second floor corridor when she gets upset. We're all tired of having to clean it up as is Argus."
While Minerva distracted Albus, Severus quickly shrank Salazar's portrait and put it in his pocket.
"It's our duty as heads of house to correct a problem that's being neglected. After all, we don't want anyone slipping in the water and injuring themselves, do we?" Minerva continued.
"Why are Mr. Snape and Miss Lovegood here too?" Albus wanted to know.
"They were already visiting Myrtle when we arrived," Pomona said. "Miss Lovegood apparently met her when she attended Sir Nicholas' Death Day party and she introduced Myrtle to Mr. Snape."
"I came along because Myrtle was formerly of my house if you recall Albus," Filius added.
"Sev and I were looking for Harry and Remus said he thought he'd seen him on this floor," Lily explained.
"It's almost dinner time so I suggest you children say goodbye to Myrtle and return to Ravenclaw Tower," Minerva suggested. She left with Dumbledore and Hagrid trailing them
Harry and Luna said goodbye to Myrtle, promising to come back and visit her soon. They went with Filius while Pomona, Severus, and Lily returned to the Entrance Hall and went downstairs. Remus went to his office in the defense classroom to finish his lessons for Monday.
Severus entered the Slytherin common room through his office and he re-hung Salazar's portrait over the fireplace. He was glad the immediate problem was solved although they still had no idea what had set Nessendra off again. "Lord Slytherin, may I have a moment of your time?"
"Certainly Severus,"
"When next you visit Nessendra, will you ask her why she started attacking the students again after fifty years?"
"I will. I would like to know the reason myself." All the people involved had sworn an oath to keep Nessendra's existence a secret because if Albus found out about her, he would order her to be killed and call in someone from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to dispatch her.
Severus was thinking about the shed skins. He decided he would contact Zort tonight and ask him to make him an appointment with Ragnok, director of Gringotts to discuss whether the goblins would be interested in the skins. He sent his owl Aesculapius off with a message to Zort at Gringotts.
Harry was waiting for them outside of Severus' quarters when Severus and Lily came back from dinner. Since it was Friday and they assumed that Harry had all or the majority of his homework done already, they allowed him to stay. Severus put his hand on the portrait and it swung open.
"Is there anything wrong, Harry?" Lily asked in concern as they sat down in the living room.
"No, Mum. I just had an idea about Nessendra," Harry said. "How you could make it easier for Lord Slytherin to visit her."
"And what is your idea, Harry?" Severus asked.
"I thought we could go to the magical portrait store in Diagon Alley, buy a frame, and hang it in Nessendra's den. That way Salazar can visit her whenever he wants to without you having to shrink his portrait, take it down there, and risk being seen by the headmaster."
"That's a really good idea," Lily said. "It will make it much easier to protect Nessendra from Dumbledore, too."
"As it happens I am planning to go to Diagon Alley to talk to Ragnok about the shed skins of Nessendra's and you and your mother can come with me, visit the portrait store, and pick out a frame you think Salazar would like."
Harry smiled. "That sounds like a great idea, Dad."
"I'll floo Filius and tell him you are going to be spending the night down here," Severus said.
Harry nodded. Since he had clothing and other stuff stored in his bedroom and bathroom here, he didn't need to go back to Ravenclaw to get anything.
Severus flooed Filius and let him know that Harry would be spending the night in his quarters.
Harry sat down and opened a basic Arithmancy book he'd bought. He'd been fairly decent at Math when he was attending the Muggle school in Surrey so he didn't expect to have too much trouble with it.
"You're planning to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes next year then?" Lily asked.
Harry nodded. "And the bonus is that Ron Weasley won't be. I heard from Dean that he's going to take Divination and Care of Magical Creatures."
"I am relieved you won't be taking Care of Magical Creatures. Professor Kettleburn is retiring at the end of this year and I have heard from Minerva that Albus is planning to appoint Hagrid in his place. While he does have an extensive knowledge of magical creatures, he seems not to understand that some of them are too dangerous to be taught about to third years," Severus said.
"Me and Theo are trying to convince Dean to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes rather than any of the other three subjects. Hermione insists she's going to take all five subjects. Vince and Greg said they're taking Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies. Draco's planning on taking the same subjects as me. I think Millie wants to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes too, but she doesn't think she's bright enough."
"Professor Burbage should be back from her sabbatical so they will not be stuck with that idiot Lockhart," Severus remarked. "And when I talk with my snakes about their third year electives; I will talk with Miss Bulstrode about it," he promised.
The next morning Severus made breakfast. Aesculapius had returned with a message from Zort that Ragnok would see him at 9:15. They ate and then flooed directly to Gringotts. "I do not know how long I will be." Severus looked at his watch and said, "It's 9:00 now so I will meet you at the portrait store at 10:30."
"Alright Sev," Lily said nodding. Severus walked towards the tellers while Lily and Harry left Gringotts. "Do you want to look in Flourish & Blotts while we're here?" Lily asked.
Harry grinned. "When don't I, Mum? I'm almost as much of a nutter about books as Hermione."
"Sev and I always loved books when we were children and as students."
"That must be where I get it from."
They walked into Flourish & Blotts and Harry went to the section on Ancient Runes to see if he could find a beginner's book he could read over the summer. Lily went to the Charms section. When they met up at the front again, they each had two books.
They left and went up the street to the portrait store that was located across the street from Slug & Jiggers. It was called, The Perfect Picture Frame: Whatever You Imagine Is Possible. When they walked inside, the amount of portrait frames were almost overwhelming. There were so many different styles of them; more than Harry could ever imagine. After looking around, he finally found a portrait frame tucked into the back of the store that he thought Salazar might like. It featured a comfortable looking chair and ottoman in front of an emerald green curtain. Harry found Lily and pulled her over to view it. "What do you think, Mum?"
Lily nodded. "It looks perfect. I wonder if the store owner or Sev could put the Slytherin crest on the curtain."
"Good idea, Mum. I think lord Slytherin would really like that."
They waited for Severus to join them. He was back from Gringotts by 10:00. "Ragnok is extremely excited when I told him about the amount of shed skins there were. He did not appear to be discouraged when I told him that some of them had been shed centuries ago. From what Ragnok said the older the skins, the tougher armor it makes. He is going to come out tomorrow and bring a crew of Goblins with him. I will need to let them in Nessendra's entrance where she goes out to hunt so the headmaster is not aware of their being at Hogwarts."
"I'll go with you, Dad so I can explain to Nessendra what's going on and we can hang Lord Slytherin's new portrait frame at the same time," Harry said.
"I take it you and your mum found a suitable frame?"
"Yes," Lily said. "Harry found one." They led Severus over to the portrait frame they had found.
"I see and it is perfect. I am sure Salazar will be very pleased with it."
"We were wondering if the owner would be able to put the Slytherin crest on the curtain," Harry said.
"We can certainly ask him," Severus said. He magicked it off the wall and floated it over to the desk as the owner came out from the back. "We were wondering if it was possible to add the Slytherin crest on the curtain in back of the chair."
"Certainly," the owner replied, taking out his wand. He waved it over the frame and in a few seconds, the Slytherin crest appeared on the curtain.
"Awesome!" Harry said.
Severus provided the owner with his vault number for payment and then shrank the portrait frame and put it in his pocket. They went through the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron and out on Charing Cross Road where Severus summoned a cab and they revisited the Bear & Staff Pub on Leicester Square for lunch. This time Lily and Harry had the Chicken and Bacon Sandwich; Lily had a salad with hers and Harry had fries. Severus chose the Ham and Mustard sandwich and had a salad with his. Both Severus and Lily drank tea and Harry drank milk. Both of them skipped dessert, but Harry had the Warm Belgian Chocolate Brownie.
"I really like eating here," Harry said as they came out of the pub.
"Yes, it is growing to be one of my favorite places also. I will have to take Filius here sometime soon. I am sure he will enjoy it," Severus replied thoughtfully. They took a cab back to Charing Cross Road, entered the Leaky Cauldron, and flooed back to Severus' quarters.
The next morning Severus and Harry met on the second floor near the girl's bathroom. Severus stopped Harry from going in and said, "I need to check and see if the headmaster has put up any wards to alert him if somebody goes in here." Severus did a quick examination around the door with his wand, but found nothing. "It probably has not occurred to him yet."
Harry knocked on the door and called, "Myrtle? It's me, Harry. Can my dad and I come in?" Myrtle stuck her head out from the toilet cubicle where she had died. "Hello, Harry. You can come in. Is Luna with you?"
"Not this time, but she's planning to visit you after classes tomorrow," Harry replied. He and Severus came in and Severus put a spell over the door that would prevent anyone from coming in. Harry went over to the sink with the snakes on the faucet and hissed, "Open," in Parseltongue. As before the sinks separated and the one with the snakes on the faucet sank down revealing the entrance. Again Harry hissed, "Form stairs." When the stairs formed he and his dad went down them slowly until they reached the bottom. They put on mirrored sunglasses and walked through the shed skins until they came to the round iron door where Harry hissed the password and it opened.
"Nessendra," Harry hissed.
"Who is there?" Nessendra hissed back.
"It's me, Harry and my dad, Severus." Nessendra peered out of her den and they could see she was wearing her safety glasses so they removed their sunglasses. "Hi Nessendra," Harry hissed going up to her and rubbing his hand on her head.
"Salazar did not come with you?"
"No, but we found a way to make it easier for him to visit you whenever he wants."
Severus took the frame out of his pocket, resized it, and stuck it on the wall opposite Nessendra's nest of moss and grass with a permanent sticking charm. Severus knocked on the portrait and called, "Lord Slytherin?"
In a few moments Salazar walked into the portrait, sat down in the chair, and put his feet up on the ottoman. "This is unexpected," he said looking around him. "Very nice and comfortable."
"Harry thought of it," Severus replied. "He thought it was a much better solution than my having to constantly shrink your portrait to take it down here so you could visit Nessendra."
Salazar shuddered. "That was quite uncomfortable the one time you did do it!"
Harry meanwhile was explaining to Nessendra about the Goblins that would be coming shortly to appraise her shed skins and would probably be taking them all away with them.
"I had better go and check to see if the Goblins are here," Severus said as he turned right and went down the hall to where the outside entrance was. He pushed open the stone door to find Ragnok and a Goblin crew of twenty waiting outside. "Come in and do not worry because the Basilisk will not harm you."
The Goblins somewhat warily followed Severus through Nessendra's den and into the outer room. Ragnok's eyes grew twice their normal size when he saw all the shed skins. He turned back to Severus. "I believe we can make an excellent arrangement that will benefit both of us greatly."
Severus bowed slightly and said, "I will leave you to your work then."
It took several days for the Goblins to collect all the skins, but when it was done the profits earned by Severus and the Goblins were immense. In gratitude, Ragnok presented Severus with sets of Goblin armor for him, Harry, and Lily. Like Goblin jewelry, it would automatically resize to fit whatever person donned it. Severus decided to place some of his earnings in Harry's and Lily's vaults, Remus' vault, and he asked Ragnok to set up vaults in Theodore Nott's and Millicent Bulstrode's names and he put enough Galleons into each of them that with careful investing by the Goblins, by the time they were 17, they would be able to pay for an apprenticeship or live quite comfortably if their parents disowned them for refusing to follow their bigoted views. He put himself down as administrator of their vaults so if their parents discovered the existence of the vaults they would not be able to seize them if the children were disowned. He knew Nott Senior was one of Voldemort's most virulent followers and continued to preach his poisonous views. The Bulstrode's, while not as rabid as Nott, still subscribed to Voldemort's views on Muggleborns and Muggles. The money that was left he placed in the Hogwarts Scholarship Fund. In addition he would be able to get fresh Basilisk scales at any time because Nessendra shed them regularly.
Salazar had requested a meeting with Severus so he got up early before any of his snakes were awake. "I found out why Nessendra started the attacks again. She said a rat spoke to her and told her that Lord Voldemort had sent him, he was her friend, and was there to free her. As you might be wondering; another animal does not need to know Parseltongue when speaking to her."
Severus' eyes narrowed in thought. "A rat? I recall seeing a rat scurrying off as we came into the inner chamber that first time, but paid it no mind because they are prevalent down there."
"But why would he send a rat?" Salazar questioned.
"It might not have been a rat, but a rat Animagus instead," Severus said. "And one that may be trying to rally the surviving and free Death Eaters."
Salazar nodded. "Yes and that would explain why Nessendra only saw him as a rat. He would be unable to communicate with her in his true form."
"Thank you, Lord Slytherin for your information," Severus said with a slight bow. He would need to call a meeting to relay what Salazar had found out to the rest of their group. He set about discreetly notifying Minerva, Filius, Pomona, and Remus of the meeting which would be held in his quarters. Later that evening, they all met in Severus' quarters. Minerva and the other heads had put a charm on their quarters that would alert them if Albus should summon them. Filius, Pomona, and Minerva sat on one couch and Severus, Lily, and Remus sat opposite them. Blinky popped in with tea and snacks and set the tray in front of Severus.
"Thank you, Blinky." Severus leaned forward to pour the tea into the cups and handed them round and then passed the plate of tea cakes around. Once everyone had been served, he leaned back. "I found out from Lord Slytherin today what set Nessendra off on her rampage. She said a rat came and told her that Lord Voldemort had sent him, he was her friend, and had come to set her free."
"A rat you say?" Remus asked suddenly looking very alert.
"Yes, but I suspect the rat was an Animagus. He would not have needed the password to open the door, he could have fit through one of the larger holes in the wall."
"Didn't Ronald Weasley have a rat last year?" Filius asked.
"Yes, but we heard Molly Weasley saying it had run off, but I think she and Arthur assumed that since they'd had it over ten years, it had gone off to die," Lily explained.
"None of you would know this, but Peter Pettigrew was an Animagus and his form was a rat," Remus said.
"What!" Lily exclaimed jumping to her feet. "Another thing that toerag Potter lied about!"
"Fifth year James, Sirius, and Peter all became Animagus so they could be with me when I transformed. They decided to do it third year, started studying how to do it, and finally achieved it in our fifth year. I think Peter was more intelligent than we gave him credit for as he was able to hide the fact that he'd become a Death Eater for three years."
"What could he possibly gain by his actions now?" Pomona asked mystified. "He had to know if there had been any more attacks; the Board would have forced Albus to shut down Hogwarts."
"And there's no way he can bring You-Know-Who back now," Filius added.
"He would most likely not have known about the horcruxes," Severus agreed. "But he or they may have another candidate in mind. I will check with Lucius to see who the ones are that may fit the bill."
"Merlin's hat!" Minerva exclaimed. "Will we never see the end of this?"
"Not as long as they are still vicious Death Eaters still alive in Azkaban, I suspect," Severus replied.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
James and Sirius were standing in a corner, drinks in hands, at a large dinner party given by Cornelius Fudge. Albus was also present.
"So, what do you think?" Sirius asked, taking a sip of his drink.
"About what?" James asked.
"About the women of course!" Sirius said nudging him. "There are some luscious specimens present I must say."
"Yes, both Mary and Marlene look nice," James remarked.
"Yes, but take a look at Fudge's niece. I don't know her name though," Sirius said taking another sip of his drink and then pointing her out.
James wondered if Sirius still had a thing for Mary MacDonald. He glanced over at where Sirius was pointing and saw a dazzling black-haired witch with violet eyes, dressed in a floaty robe of sapphire blue. She was laughing and teasing her uncle. "Wow! How come I never noticed her before?"
"I don't think she lives in London. I heard she's just visiting her aunt and uncle." He nudged James again and said, "Go over and introduce yourself and I'll sneak over and change the place cards so you're sitting next to her."
"Thanks, Siri!" James said putting on his best smile and heading in her direction.
Sirius snuck into the dining room, found the place cards and quickly switched them so James would be sitting next to her. "Just what do you think you're doing, Siri?" A voice behind him said. He turned to see Regulus with his arms folded.
'Merlin! He looks like Mum when he does that!' Sirius thought. "What's it to you?"
"I'm not leaving you to wreck things by deciding to play one of your asinine jokes and switch the place cards to have people sitting next to people they can't stand and don't get along with."
"I'm helping James out by seating him next to Fudge's niece. It's about time he started a new life."
"Yeah, Siri and she's going to mightily impressed when she finds out he disowned his 12 year-old son."
"He didn't want the Potter line contaminated with Snivellus' blood."
"And I'm sure she's going to be really impressed with that, too."
"She's not going to find that out though, is she?" Sirius replied hovering threateningly over Reg.
"Are you going to threaten everyone, Siri? More than just me know what Potter did."
Sirius left the question unanswered as people began to filter into the dining room. Reg saw that Cornelius' niece was clinging to Potter's elbow.
Before the elves started to serve dinner, Cornelius rose and said, "For those who may not have met her previously, I would like to introduce my niece, Miss Amber Rose Elliot."
She rose and smiled, "Thank you, Uncle Cornelius and hello everyone." She sat back down and smiled at James.
Reg who was seated by Alice and Frank and Augusta Longbottom, noticed all three of them looking at James with identically disgusted expressions on their faces. 'Well,' Reg thought as he began to eat with relish. 'This should prove very interesting.'
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Severus flooed Lucius the next morning and asked if he could step through.
"Of course, Severus. How is Draco doing?"
Severus used his wand to get rid of the ashes on his clothing and then stepped out of the floo into Lucius' study. "Draco is doing very well in all his subjects. I am very pleased with my Godson."
"Excellent," Lucius replied. He called Dobby and had him bring tea. "Now what may I do for you?"
Severus accepted the tea from Lucius and crossed his legs. "I had spoken with Lord Slytherin and asked him if he could find out what set Nessendra off this time."
"I am to assume he has given you the answer?"
"Yes. Nessendra told him a rat came to her claiming that Voldemort had sent her, he was her friend and would set her free. Lord Slytherin also informed me that she could understand him as a rat so he did not need to speak Parseltongue."
"Him?" Lucius inquired with eyebrows raised.
"Yes, we are fairly certain the rat is an Animagus named Peter Pettigrew."
"I see. One of Potter's best buddies – how interesting!"
"I do not know if he thinks he can bring Voldemort back or if he is planning the inauguration of a new dark lord," Severus said.
"We know he will not be able to bring Mr. Riddle back so you may be right in that he is planning to make someone else king."
"Who do you think it could be of the ones who are not in Azkaban?"
"Unless Pettigrew is planning to break them out of Azkaban," Lucius pointed out. "If that is the case I would think Markus Mulciber. If he is not planning an Azkaban breakout then Thaddeus Nott. They are both particularly vicious individuals who despise Muggleborns and Muggles. They were also the ones the Dark Lord gave the most horrendous assignment to as they loved torturing, raping, and killing."
Severus grimaced at this. "We need to find him and stop him as soon as possible."
"I would call Moody and inform him. I'm sure if he's still at Hogwarts, he will not fall for cheese in a trap bait."
"He may not be. The morning we first went down to find Nessendra, a squealing rat ran out. I am sure now it was Pettigrew."
"He will not be able to resume his Animagus form so he has probably gone to ground somewhere he feels is safe."
"That could be anywhere," Severus sighed.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Pettigrew hopped off his broom in Godric's Hollow, shrinking it, putting it into his pocket, and quickly turned back into a rat, scurrying up the sidewalk of the wrecked Potter house and quickly entering it through the smashed front door. He turned back into his usual appearance and went to find a room where he could safely stay without anyone noticing. He grinned and laughed. Wouldn't James have a fit if he knew he was going to be using this place as his sanctuary? He roamed around the house picking up knickknacks and putting them down again. He checked everywhere in the house and then decided that the safest place for him would be the cellar since he recalled that Dumbledore had created a place down there and disillusioned it where the Potter's could hide if they received a warning that the Dark Lord was on his way. It was probably still there disillusioned and fully stocked. He went down the cellar steps.
"Finite Incantatem!" The door appeared and Pettigrew chuckled. He pointed his wand at the lock and said, "Alohomora!"
He heard a click and pulled the door open to find a big room with a kitchen, bathroom, and two smaller rooms jutting off from the big central room. The kitchen was fully stocked with the food under stasis spells. Pettigrew closed the door which he assumed would revert back to being disillusioned, lit a lantern, and plunked down in one of the squashy red armchairs, giggling. Dumbledore was so stupid to use only simple spells to save his golden couple that the Dark Lord could undo with a snap of his fingers! He took a deep breath and let it out. He was completely safe here.
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