One of the few things that had made Harry happy in that course was seeing Snape once again deprived of teaching his favorite subject.
Although the professor's mood was worse than ever, this time his anger was caused because another death eater had taken his place. Not even Voldemort would grant him his most desired wish.
But that did not stop the teacher from continuing to enjoy the public humiliation of his students, while he walked among the smoking cauldrons.
Harry tried to keep his eyes focused on his potion, ignoring the professor's presence. Snape had already made it clear that he would make him pay for the attack on the Lady, and he didn't want to give him any more reasons to be cruel to him. That day, he also had to face pressure from Hermione.
"Did she really tell you that?" she insisted.
"Hermione, just because she spoke in Parseltongue doesn't mean I'm deaf," he was exasperated.
"But it doesn't look like something that... I mean, she is the Lady! She was talking like Al Capone."
"Miss Granger, your invaluable help will be of no use if your inept friend lets his potion burn to listen to you," Snape's cold, hissing voice made them jump on the spot. Hermione blushed to the roots of her hair and turned all her attention to her cauldron. "And you, Mr. Potter, stop distracting–"
His monologue was interrupted by a rhythmic knock on the door. Dumbledore peeked into the classroom.
"Sorry to interrupt you, Severus. Have you seen miss Leyne and miss Arson?"
"They were in my class this morning," Snape replied, very stiffly. Dumbledore looked worried.
"Okay, please continue. Meet the other teachers later," Dumbledore closed the door, and the murmurs of the students rose through the classroom.
"Silence! Get back to work."
***
Sixteen years ago, Severus Snape had been prosecuted by the Wizengamot for been a death eater and collaborating with lord Voldemort. Only Dumbledore's declaration in his favor saved him from suffering the Dementor's kiss.
However, suspicions remained on him, and there were many who were waiting for him to make the slightest mistake so he could be condemned again.
Not even his work at Hogwarts under Dumbledore protected him. He felt spied on, and he didn't have as much power and influence as other death eaters to remove those suspicions.
He also suspected that Dumbledore didn't quite trust him. Despite having sworn loyalty to him and spied for him, the murder of Lily Potter had destroyed the only asset the old headmaster could wield against him.
It didn't matter that he had promised himself not to go back and let himself be carried away by the darkness again, without Lily there were no longer any guarantees of his loyalty.
Determined to prove his innocence, he thought about the options he had left. He was still immersed in his role as a spy, but that was nothing spectacular.
If he wanted to get the Ministry off his back, he had to do something else, like hand over another death eater. Or even something better.
Severus still remembered the silent girl with the scar on her face who accompanied his former master. He had heard of her death, but the description of the body did not match the Lady he remembered.
Furthermore, Severus was convinced that there was another witch living with her in the mansion, Regulus had told him, before disappearing.
For Severus, his problem had a clear solution. If he handed over the Lady, no one would doubt his innocence.
He investigated everywhere and followed his intuition. He performed Legilimency on several Gringotts workers, and found out that a young woman had taken money the same night as the Dark Lord's defeat. However, his informant could not give him the name of the young woman, nor did he remember any scars.
But Severus didn't give up. He knew that his intuition was right, and that the Lady was not dead. For months, he questioned the underworld of Knocturn Alley, until crucial information reached him. The woman he was looking for was called Hellen Smith.
***
The Carrows did not attend the faculty meeting, but no one missed them. However, both Dumbledore and Snape questioned them, ensuring that they had nothing to do with the disappearance of the students.
"Maybe it's too early to panic. They may have escaped to Hosmeade, as part of a prank," Flitwick suggested, trying to remain calm.
"Those three girls were from different houses and years, and they barely knew each other," Sinistra argued.
"Could these be individual pranks?" Sprout asked.
"Just in case, I have warned the Hosmeade shopkeepers to be alert," Dumbledore reported. "I've also spoken to the centaurs, in case they've gone to the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid is looking for them too."
Then Snape spoke up.
"Headmaster, I remind you that there are rooms at Hogwarts that close on their own and take days to reopen."
"I'll send the ghosts to explore them," Dumbledore agreed.
"I can make the snakes look for them too," the Lady then offered. "They can reach many hidden places."
"I thought you could locate them with the power of your mind," McGonagall commented, scathingly. The Lady calmly looked at her, understanding her accusation.
"I have already tried, but Hogwarts is huge, and very well protected. It would take days to locate them... assuming they are here."
Silence fell over the office, as everyone realized that it was possible that the students were not at Hogwarts.
"Has anyone seen miss Vaitiare?" Dumbledore then asked, glancing sideways at Snape. He shrugged his shoulders.
"As if she cared much about these types of meetings," McGonagall snorted.
"I have seen her," a voice interrupted from a corner of the room. Everyone turned to look at Narcissa Malfoy, who had gone unnoticed until that moment. "This morning I saw her leaving school, heading towards Hosmeade, but no one was with her."
The teachers exchanged a questioning look.
"For now, it's best to avoid panic," Dumbledore decided. "We will search for the girls discreetly, and without creating any alarms."
"And what about their families?" McGonagall asked. "Should we notify them?"
Dumbledore did not respond, because at that moment, a white rune began to appear on the table.
Some of the teachers stood up, alarmed, but the rune continued to shine, seemingly innocently.
Dumbledore and the Lady approached, cautiously and curiously. He pulled out his wand, but she was quicker, and leaned across the table, holding out her hand. She was frowning in concentration.
Gently, she touched the rune with her fingertips. The surface of the table rippled, as if it were filled with water, and the Lady's fingers sank into it. The witch looked at the phenomenon with curiosity, but suddenly, everything changed.
In a sudden and violent gesture, the Lady threw her head back, rolled her eyes, and made a strange sound, as if she were running out of air. Her clothes fluttered, as if moved by the wind, and before the astonished gaze of everyone, she began to age.
Her hair turned gray, and her face and hands became wrinkled. She began to scream, as if she were being tortured. She tried to back away, but the rune had closed around her hand, preventing her escape.
And very slowly, her body was dragged towards the table, as if someone was pulling her from the other side of the hole. She almost lost her balance, tripping over the table.
Dumbledore tried to stop her with a spell. The other teachers had also drawn their wands. Everything was happening very fast, and it was very confusing. She screamed, resisting, and her cries of pain became more desperate.
"Hellen!" Snape and Narcissa had run towards her. He hugged her waist, and she grabbed her arm, and between the two of them they pulled with all their strength, fighting to free her.
The strange energy that was trying to absorb the Lady also attacked them. Narcissa screamed in pain, falling to the ground on her knees, but Snape didn't release his grip. His determination was greater than the pain, and leveling with all his weight, he managed to pull the Lady and free her arm from the rune.
They both fell backwards, collapsing to the ground. The closest professors rushed to their aid, but Dumbledore still pointed his wand at the table, prepared for anything.
However, the rune had disappeared, without a trace. The table regained its usual appearance, as if nothing had happened.
The Lady had also recovered her appearance, but she seemed weak and confused. For a fleeting second, both of her eyes seemed to turn a bright blue, and her scar seemed to shrink in color and size, but she shook her head and the fleeting vision disappeared.
Disoriented, she let Snape help her up. She removed his hands from her waist and stood up, regaining her poise.
She exchanged a look with Dumbledore, and for a moment, they both agreed on the same thought.
"Spread the word immediately," the headmaster ordered. "No one should approach those runes, under any circumstances."
***
There were magicians specialized in finding people. They were very rare, and their services cost a fortune, but Severus managed to hire one.
The process was expensive and very slow. There were hundreds of women named Hellen Smith in the world, including witches alone, and it was very difficult to select with certainty the one he was looking for.
Severus hoped that she had not changed her name again, because then his only clue would be gone.
On several occasions, the Seeker managed to find a woman who matched the Lady's description, but each time Severus went to check, he found that it was not her.
Finally, after three years of tireless searching, the trail took him to Hawaii.
The Seeker had informed him of the presence of a squib who lived on one of the most remote islands. Even though he would have discarded that clue long ago, Severus was desperate enough to try one more time.
He traveled to the island, and once there he continued investigating on his own. Certainly, there was a small trace of magic, too powerful to belong to a squib, but too weak to belong to an adult witch. Maybe it was someone who wanted to go unnoticed, living like a muggle.
No matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find anything else. Tired and disoriented, he sat in a small bar near the edge of the beach, trying to collect his thoughts.
If the Lady was on that island, she was hiding very well. Or maybe, it was just another dead end, and he was wasting time and money, chasing a ghost that didn't exist.
Not even Dumbledore thought she was still alive. Why did he insist on proving the opposite? Maybe he should give up once and for all.
However, before he gave up, he tried one more time, promising himself that if he found nothing, he would return home and never think about the Lady again.
He looked around, taking in the bar. The waitresses were young and wore a uniform that simulated typical Hawaiian dress. One of them was of Hawaiian descent, another was brunette with blue eyes, and the third, very pretty, wore her blonde hair in two braids. The latter was telling her friends about her latest love conquest, and the others were laughing, joking about it.
Severus ignored them and focused his attention on the bar owner. The muggle was very affable, and hardly needed persuasion to speak openly. Severus asked him about the island and its customs, and finally, casually, he ended up talking about the people who had recently moved in, and the houses that had been rented or sold.
It was then when he realized that the man was avoiding talking about a particular house, due to a spell of silence.
Severus managed to interrogate him with enough skill to know the approximate address, and leaving the bar, he went in search of it.
It didn't take long to find the mysterious house, but when he arrived, he discovered that it was empty. He found very subtle signs of magic around it, but no trace of protective shields.
Arming himself with patience, he prepared to wait. It was clear that someone was living there, and it was a matter of time before they returned. Meanwhile, he explored the surroundings, making sure he was not wrong, but all his investigations confirmed what he already suspected: the mysterious squib lived in that house.
When night fell, he saw lights behind the windows, and knew his chance had come. Taking all necessary precautions, he approached the house and knocked on the door. He didn't expect what he was going to find.
There, looking at him with surprise painted in her blue eyes, was one of the bar's waitresses.
***
The Lady still had unfinished business. She made her way through the hallways, ignoring the venomous glances the students gave her as she scanned the crowd with her dark eye.
Finally, she found Harry talking to his friends, at the door of the library.
"Potter, come with me," she ordered without stopping. He exchanged glances with Ron and Hermione before following the woman, who was hurrying away.
He ran after her, to keep up, until they reached her office. Once there, she closed the door, and they stood facing each other.
"Potter, I suppose you remember that you owe me a favor," she said very seriously. He nodded reluctantly. "I imagine you also know that three students have disappeared in the last few days," although Harry tried not to express any emotion, his mind was no match for her Legilimency. However, the Lady was willing to get straight to the point. "Unfortunately, no one knows where they are, and the professors have not found any clues either. That's why I want you to use your map to find the missing girls."
"What?"
"Your map. That map that shows the names of the people who are at Hogwarts. You have an object like that, am I wrong?" Harry shook his head, still surprised. "Search there for the missing students. May its magic be more effective than mine."
Harry stared at her in silence, considering the situation.
"I know your name is Hellen Smith."
"And I know you sneaked into the infirmary to spy on me," she replied, crossing her arms. She didn't seem angry, which was even more disconcerting. They remained silent again, studying each other.
"Who are you? Who are you really?" he dared to ask.
"I am the Lady. And I order you to fulfill what I have commanded you."
"But–"
She raised a hand to silence him and opened the door, motioning for him to leave.
"Ignorance is life, Potter."
***
Professor Vector was studying the parchment on which she had drawn copies of the mysterious runes.
"I can't recognize them. I had never seen anything like it," she protested frustrated.
The other professors were facing a similar problem. All of them had obtained a similar list and were studying it uselessly. They shared theories and ideas, but nothing worked to understand the mysterious marks or make them disappear.
Dumbledore entered Snape's office, and found the professor bent over the parchment, totally focused. Around him, several books lay open in disorder, and on the walls, he glimpsed different diagrams and drawings that emulated the arrangement of the runes.
"I deduce that this phenomenon is not Voldemort's doing."
"If it were, I would have known it already," Snape growled, harshly, without looking up.
The professor was more surly than usual, especially after the disappearance that morning of a first-year Slytherin student. With her, there were four missing girls.
"The power of those runes caught me off guard, I admit. I didn't expect something like this to happen before my very eyes. Do you know if the Lady managed to see something when she touched the shiny oval?"
For the first time, Snape looked at him, straightening.
"I have spoken to her, but she has barely revealed anything to me."
"Is there any new information?" Dumbledore sat in a chair, looking patiently at the professor. Snape wrinkled his nose but followed suit.
"From what I have been able to find out, the runes act in a completely opposite way to what we thought. They are not a shield, but a sink. The Lady believes they open a portal to another place, but she does not know where they lead."
"Do you know what caused her sudden aging?"
"She has described it as something similar to the effect of dementors, but it is not exactly the same. Apparently, she could feel something absorbing her magic and energy. Had not been separated from the rune, she would have been... emptied. Maybe she would have died."
Dumbledore was silent, thoughtfully studying the parchments.
"It was very curious, what happened" he commented at the end. "She was able to resist the suction effect of the oval, unlike the students."
"Her power is much stronger," Snape muttered.
"Of course, and she also has incredible mental control over the magic that surrounds her. Still, the rune seemed to be more powerful than her. She was truly lucky that you and Narcissa reacted so quickly, who knows what would have happened if you didn't manage to restrain her. By the way, what did you call her?" he asked, as if nothing had happened.
Snape looked at him with no expression on his face.
"I didn't call her in any way."
"You are wrong, Severus, you shouted a name as you ran towards her."
"In any case, I would call her "my lady." It's the only treatment I'm allowed," Snape remained imperturbable as he held the headmaster's gaze.
"Severus, I know you are hiding something from me."
"I assure you, Headmaster, that I have not lied to you."
"Lying and hiding are not the same thing, Severus," Dumbledore sighed, knowing he wouldn't get anything else out of him. "I hope you know what you're doing."
***
She remembered him. Of course she remembered him.
He had been one of the Dark Lord's favorites. It was said that he had been obsessed with a mudblood, but he was a good death eater and a very efficient spy, and that was why Lord Voldemort had commissioned him to spy on Albus Dumbledore.
And now he was there, at the door of her house.
Hellen felt panic overcome her. What was he doing there? How had he found her?
"What do you want?" she asked, trying to seem braver than she felt.
"Finding you. But I've already achieved that," he smiled, but his smile had little joy in it. It was rather perverse and calculating.
"Then leave me alone. I don't need death eaters hanging around my house."
He, who had expected to find someone more imposing and powerful, felt emboldened by her terror. That was going to be a lot easier than he expected.
Severus took a few steps forward, causing her to step back.
"I came looking for you because I need you to do something for me," he whispered.
"What do you mean?"
"You must surrender before the guards of Azkaban," she opened her blue eyes, surprised and scared.
"Why would I do such a stupid thing?" but her mind was trying to think quickly. "Would that be the price of your freedom? If you hand me over, will you stop being a renegade death eater and become Dumbledore's faithful dog?"
"If you do not surrender voluntarily, I will give your address to the aurors. I'm sure more than one would be happy to catch you."
"I can also kill you and disappear," she replied, starting to get upset. But he was not fooled by her bravado. By now he had noticed that she was not using her magic. Not even the house was surrounded by basic protection spells.
"And thus you will reveal, not only the place where you hide, but your magical trail. It will be incredibly easy to follow you after that."
Hellen narrowed her eyes, growing angrier.
"You're a miserable pig," she muttered, approaching him. "Go back the way you came, and you'll be lucky if I spare your life."
"If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it already," he ruled, looking at her smugly.
Then, the door of the house slammed shut behind him, and he turned to find the house-elf Win, who was looking at him menacingly.
"Does the miss want Win to take care of him?"
"It will not be necessary. You will hear from me again," and without giving them time to react, Severus disappeared.