Chapter 17: The Big Shift
"Yes," Lorelei replied with a small laugh.
"But how in the bloody hell do you know how to do that?!" Seamus asked, jumping to his feet.
"It's something my friends and I at Sawyer were researching 4th year. Just to see how it was done. I decided I wanted to try it. So I did. I studied for a year and a half, and with Gramma Belle's help, I finished it. I'm registered with the American Ministry. I don't shift much."
"Why do you call it shifting?" Ginny asked.
"That is just what Sarah Grace calls it." she replied. "It just kinda stuck with us."
Lorelei looked at Seamus who was still staring at her. "I wasn't going to say anything while I was here. Hermione already felt liked I stole her thunder when I got here. I don't want her to think that I am trying to out do her. I count her as a friend, And I would really like her to stay my friend. I have a feeling having a friend like her will be pertinent."
"But this is so cool!" Ginny said giving Lorelei a big smile.
Seamus still looked shocked. "Do it again," he said with a smile.
Lorelei transfigured again. She sat as a small tabby looking at him. She bumped her head against his leg, and rubbed her side against him. She sat on her haunches and meowed at him.
"Okay, I can't kiss you while you're a cat. Could you change back please?" he laughed.
She changed back to her normal form. "Why do you want to kiss me Mr. Finnigan?"
"Because you're brilliant, and I am so glad that you are mine."
Ginny groaned as Seamus pulled Lorelei towards him and kissed her. He broke away laughing. "I don't want to hear anything from you, Weasley. First I had to see you and Thomas snogging all over the place, now it's you and Potter.
Ginny blushed, "Yeah, well things change." She looked at Lorelei and asked, "But how are you going to use your ability to get any information?"
"That is easy. I am going to sneak into the Slytherin common room as a cat and spy on them. I will spend all weekend in there if I have to."
"Don't spend all weekend Miss Ward. I need you to sneak into my dorm as a cat. When I pull the curtains closed around my bed, you can change back into your normal form." Seamus was laughing as his cheeks flushed.
"Fat chance. There is a prefect in that dorm!" she laughed at him. "Could you imagine McGonnagal's face if I got caught?"
Laughing they went back to the common room. Seamus was wondering aloud where the Slytherins common room might be.
"I can just ask Harry," Ginny said.
"How would he know?" Lorelei asked.
"He and Ron sneaked in once, 2nd year. Harry told me not too long ago. They used polujuice potion to get in."
Lorelei laughed. " Seriously? Okay, well be casual about it. Don't make it obvious, I don't want anyone to know what we are up to."
"No problem, I'll find out tomorrow." Ginny replied.
The next day, Ginny slipped a small piece of parchment into Lorelei's hand at dinner. It only had one sentence on it.
Far left dungeon corridor.
Saturday morning after breakfast, she told Seamus goodbye in an empty corridor. She transfigured into the tabby cat and wandered off towards the dungeons. She prowled along and when a group of young Slytherins walked past her, she followed closely behind.
"Veritiserum," Said the tall blonde girl in the group.
The stone wall opened. Lorelei took her chance and dashed in between the girl. She slid in quickly and bounded down the steps leading to the main sitting area. She walked though the common room, and found Cade in a chair against a far wall. She curled up under the chair and waited.
She didn't have to wait very long. Malfoy came in with Crabbe and Goyle.
"Cade, did you hear from your father," Goyle asked. "Did he get that job?"
"The school board hasn't decided. There is a former teacher who is trying to stonewall him."
"That Martin witch that you mentioned before?" Malfoy sneered. "Didn't you say that is Ward's grandmother?"
"Yeah, she is supposed to be brilliant."
"Who cares if she is brilliant?" Crabbe asked.
"She is just smart that is all I'm saying. Dad always said good things about her."
"Well, do you know why she is blocking his appointment," Draco asked.
"Dad won't tell me. But I did hear him and mom talking before I left for Hogwarts, they had a huge fight. Dad told her that he wanted to move back to South Carolina. He grew up there, and misses it. But Mom doesn't want to, she hates the East Coast. She's gone to Sawyer a few time, being Headmistress at Bay Area, she has to, ya know?'
Malfoy nodded his head, "Yeah, that is typical. My dad was on the Board of Governers here for a while, he talke about the other heads of schools coming in for big meetings. Especially when they were planning the Tri-Wizard Tournament. It took years to come to an agreement on that."
"One time when I was about nine or so, Dad had applied for a job at Sawyer for the first time. Mom had been made headmistress the year before. She didn't want to move because she wouldn't be guaranteed a job there. She went to Sawyer with dad and interviewed with the board. Mom was going to apply for the transfiguration job, and dad the potions job. The Martin witch was on the board at back then. There was already a potions master there, Paige Ward, Martin's daughter. Apparently she was talking a leave of absence to do research on some potion she had been working on."
"But what does that have to do with anything?" Malfoy asked him.
"I'm getting there. Dad was going for her job. Apparently after their interview, Mom and Dad fought while they were there, in the Inn they were staying in. Dad yelled at mom for something, he kept saying that she was jealous. They didn't see the guy from the board there, he went to ask them some more question, but after seeing the fight, he told them that they weren't level headed enough to teach there.
" The next day mom went to talk to Paige Ward, saying that since Paige knew Dad from school that maybe she could help change their minds. Dad found out what she was doing and went to stop her. Mom left before dad did though. Dad told her to leave, so he could apologize. That is when I found out that Dad dated Paige."
"Really?" Malfoy asked in surprise.
"Yeah, before coming here, I went into dad's office one day. He left the door open, and I wanted to sneak in and grab a book of hexes he never let me look at. There was a drawer that was slightly opened on his desk and a picture in it caught my eye. It was of a pretty witch with a big smile. I pulled it out and looked at it. I didn't know who she was, so I flipped the picture over and saw the name 'Paige Martin'. When I first saw Lorelei at the sorting it was like seeing a ghost."
"But ghosts are transparent," Crabbe said with a blank look.
"It's a figure of speech, genius." Cade said with a laugh. He continued, "So anyway, they didn't get the job and they came home. Paige never got the chance to talk to anyone though, because she died the next day. The potion she was working on something when wrong. She tried it on herself, and she died.
"I still can't believe you think Ward is pretty." Goyle said laughing at Cade.
"She is though, there is no denying it." Cade said.
"She is." Malfoy agreed.
At that Lorelei had heard enough. She crawled out from under the chair and stretched. She went and waited by the door until it opened. At her first opportunity, she darted out the door and up the corridor. She didn't stop running until she got to the portrait of The Fat Lady. She changed back into her normal form, and the fat lady said, "How did you do that?"
"I'm an animagus, but never mind that now, Trecle tart, trecle tart!"
"No need to shout," the fat lady said swinging forward on her hinges.
She climbed through the portrait hole and found Seamus.
"Hey Lor," he said with a smile. He was sitting with Dean. "How was the library?"
"Ya know, Lots of dusty books and whispering." she said bouncing on her heels anxiously. "Can we take a walk?"
"Sure thing."
"I'm going to run up and get something really quick. I will be right back."
She went upstairs and got the purple journal she used to talk to her little sister. On the way back out fo the common room with Seamus she nodded to Ginny in the corner.
Ginny followed behind them a few minutes later. They went to the same empty class room as a few days before. She told them everything she had just heard.
"So do you think that Miles Cade sabotaged your mom?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah, I do. It's the only thing that makes any sense. He was at the house the day before Mom died."
"But how would he have done it," Seamus asked. "He wasn't there that day. It's not like he could have slipped something in her cauldron."
"No, but he could have tampered with her stores." Lorelei said resting her hands on her hips.
"And you're gonna prove that how?"
"Gramma Belle locked mom's stuff up after she did. She always said that there were too many hazards in there for me and Sarah Grace. She was so little then, four years old, and she got into everything!"
"So when you get home, you're going to plunder through the stores?" Seamus asked.
"Nope." she said with a smile, holding up the journal. "Sarah Grace can do it for me."
"But will she know what she is looking for?"
"Yes. You don't live with Gramma Belle and not know basic potions ingredients. The items on mom's list are really common.
She opened the journal to a blank page.
-Sarah Grace, I need a little favor.
A few minutes later the book glowed in response.
"It's so early Lor. I'm going to beat you. What do you what?"