Muggle Studies

Myrddin

They are still talking to the portraits.

I know. It's crazy. In my defense it came out of my head just like that, ready to go. I just wrote it down. Maybe I should have stuck with the smut, haha.

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Again there was a long silence after Severus and Nayme finished sharing their information.

"So what are you planning to do?" Dumbledore finally asked.

"Find out who's behind this and expose them before they can do anymore damage." Nayme said.

"And you have already enlisted Potter, Granger and Weasley to that end?" Minerva asked, gravely.

"Weasley S , yes." Nayme said. "Ginny's with us too."

"And what of Arthur? Or Kingsley?"

"Arthur works in a different division and Shacklebolt... we thought he might trust the wrong person, so we avoided telling him." Severus explained.

"Until now." Nayme said.

They exchanged a look and a nod.

"Until now? Something changed?" Dumbledore asked.

"No. We're just keeping our options open. As Minister for Magic he might have the best big picture view of anyone who may have an interest in all of this." Nayme answered.

There was a pause.

"Also, given what we now know about Ms. Adams, Shacklebolt could help you question Dolohov again in her presence." Dumbledore suggested. "Her gifts would be most useful in his case. She might be able to pierce through the memory charms placed on him."

No. Never. Absolutely not. He could feel the knot in her stomach and it made him even more dead set against it.

His despair was almost palpable. She didn't want that either, but... if there was no other way... maybe...

"Dolohov's trial is over. There's no excuse for bringing him in from Azkaban without raising suspicion." Severus said, quickly.

Dumbledore looked at him in silence for a moment. "Perhaps there could be a way for her to see him there. You are both potioneers, I assume neither of you is a stranger to polyjuice."

"And how exactly is she supposed to establish a connection with his mind, portrait ?" He barked derisively. "Are you suggesting we arm him and ask him to cast a mind spell on her? Take our risks with an imperious curse, maybe? As delightful as that sounds, I would not put a wand in his hands and let him point it at my wife." Severus growled.

He was close to punching a whole through that damn thing - the suggestion had been bad enough; the insistence was unbearable.

"Perhaps Ms. Adams could start practicing initiating connection instead of waiting for it to happen."

"Oh, no, Albus, I don't think it works like that, you see." Edessa chimed in. "It's a defensive trait. If the jerdespreet could use their gifts to attack, the balance would have been gravely affected. They could have turned our magic on us at any time and enslaved us easily. You heard what Headmaster Snape said - even he had a hard time escaping her and she hadn't even been training or practising at all."

"With all due respect, Edessa, that is just your theory. One can always put it to test." He turned to Nayme. "I understood, from what Ms. Adams was saying at the beginning of this conversation, that there were moments in which a connection was established without a spell having been cast."