QUERENCIA
(n.) a place from which one's strength is drawn, where one feels at home; the place where you are your most authentic self
TESSA'S HEAD HAD LOLLED TO THE SIDE AS SLEEP OVERCAME HER — ONLY TO WAKE UP IN ALARM BY HERMIONE'S INDIGNANT CRY. "You said you'd already worked out that egg clue!"
Tessa jolted upright, wildly looking around before remembering she was in Charms class. They were supposed to be practicing the Banishing Charm for today's lesson, but she was too tired from staying up until dawn with Draco last night that she could barely open her eyes.
"Keep your voice down!" Harry hissed to her. "I just need to — sort of fine-tune it, all right? Just forget the egg for a minute, I'm trying to tell you about Snape and Moody . . . " he delved back into whispering about everything that happened with Snape, Moody, and Filch where Harry had almost been caught by the Potions professor.
"Snape said Moody's searched his office as well?" Ron whispered. "What . . . d'you reckon Moody's here to keep an eye on Snape as well as Karkaroff?"
"Well, I dunno if that's what Dumbledore asked him to do, but he's definitely doing it," Harry replied. "Moody said Dumbledore only lets Snape stay here because he's giving him a second chance or something . . . "
"What? Harry . . . maybe Moody thinks Snape put your name in the Goblet of Fire!"
Tessa used the end of her wand to point lightly at Ron. "You might actually be right, you know."
"Oh you two," Hermione said in a chastising voice, "we thought Snape was trying to kill Harry before, and it turned out he was saving Harry's life, remember?"
Ron shrugged as Tessa mumbled, "Never hurts to make a guess."
"I don't care what Moody says," Hermione went on. "Dumbledore's not stupid. He was right to trust Hagrid and Professor Lupin, even though loads of people wouldn't have given them jobs, so why shouldn't he be right about Snape, even if Snape is a bit — "
"Cruel?" Tessa offered.
"Evil?" Ron joined in and sharing a high-five with Tessa behind their backs. "Come on, Hermione, why are all these Dark wizard catchers searching his office, then?"
"Why has Mr. Crouch been pretending to be ill?" Hermione asked, ignoring Ron and Tessa. "It's a bit funny, isn't it, that he can't manage to come to the Yule Ball, but he can get up here in the middle of the night when he wants to?"
"You just don't like Crouch because of that elf, Winky," Ron muttered.
"You just want to think Snape's up to something," Hermione countered.
"I just want to know what Snape did with his first chance, if he's on his second one," Harry mumbled.
Tessa grunted under her breath, "Curiosity killed the cat."
Throughout the next few days, the four continued to search for charms and solutions that would help Harry go underwater.
"Of course, the ideal solution would be for you to Transfigure yourself into a submarine or something," Hermione said. "If only we'd done human Transfiguration already! But I don't think we start that until sixth year, and it can go badly wrong if you don't know what you're doing . . . "
"Yeah, I don't fancy walking around with a periscope sticking out of my head," Harry mumbled. "I s'pose I could always attack someone in front of Moody; he might do it for me . . . "
"I don't think he'd let you choose what you wanted to be turned into, though. No, I think your best chance is some sort of charm."
"It would be nice if Harry was half-merman," Tessa hummed absentmindedly and Ron choked on his tea.
By the evening before the second task, Tessa sat in the library with Ron, Harry, and Hermione as they skimmed through books after books for any last minute finds.
"I don't reckon it can be done," Ron said flatly. "There's nothing. Nothing. Closest was that thing to dry up puddles and ponds, that Drought Charm, but that was nowhere near powerful enough to drain the lake."
"There must be something," Hermione muttered, still poring over the tiny print of Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes. "They'd never have set a task that was undoable."
"They have. Harry, just go down to the lake tomorrow, right, stick your head in, yell at the merpeople to give back whatever they've nicked, and see if they chuck it out. Best you can do, mate."
Tessa burst out laughing as she and Ron started coming up with hilarious scenarios on what Harry should do.
"There's a way of doing it!" Hermione said crossly and sending the laughing duo a look. "There just has to be!"
"I know what I should have done," Harry said glumly, "I should've learned to be an Animagus like Sirius and Aunt Cathy."
"Yeah, you could've turned into a goldfish any time you wanted!" Ron pointed out.
"A whale even or a shark," Tessa piped up.
"Or a frog," Harry said with a yawn.
"It takes years to become an Animagus, and then you have to register yourself and everything," Hermione cut in, "Professor McGonagall told us, remember . . . you've got to register yourself with the Improper Use of Magic Office . . . what animal you become, and your markings, so you can't abuse it . . . "
Tessa sighed. "Mione, Harry was just joking."
"Oh this is no use," Hermione said, snapping shut Weird Wizarding Dilemmas. "Who on earth wants to make their nose hair grow into ringlets?"
"I wouldn't mind," came a familiar voice. "Be a talking point, wouldn't it?"
Tessa looked up to see Fred and George emerge from behind a bookshelf. She beamed at them, opening her arms from where she sat as both boys leaned over to hug her warmly. "What're you two doing here?"
"Looking for you," George said with a grin. "McGonagall wants you, Tessa. And you, Hermione."
Tessa shared a surprised look with Hermione who asked, "Why?"
"Dunno . . . she was looking a bit grim, though," Fred said with a slight frown as his fingers lingered on Tessa's shoulder. He had pestered McGonagall with questions on why she needed Tessa, but all the professor did was shoo him away with a mere assurance that "Miss Potter will be alright".
"We're supposed to take you down to her office," George said and Harry looked as though he wanted to make a protest.
"We'll meet you two back in the common room," Hermione told Harry as the two girls got up. "Bring as many of these books as you can, okay?"
"Right," Harry said uneasily.
Tessa trailed after Hermione, tagging along out of the library when she felt someone hold her back momentarily. She glanced up to see Fred with his eyebrows drawn together anxiously. She smiled up at him. "Hey, it's okay — what are you so worried about?"
Fred blinked rapidly and shook his head. "I — I don't know — something doesn't seem right, Tess."
"It's fine," she said with a short laugh. "I'll be okay, I'm going to be right back."
Fred wanted to do anything but let go of Tessa, but slowly — he did. He watched her walk down the corridor until she disappeared from his sight, and very reluctantly, he let George walk with him back to the common room.
Tessa and Hermione were extremely confused when McGonagall ushered the two students inside her office. The professor's mouth was set into a straight line as she sat down opposite to them.
The two shared a look before Tessa cleared her throat. "Professor, is something wrong?"
McGonagall sent Tessa a slight upturn of her lips as she wearily said, "Not quite, Miss Potter. I called the two of you here today in the matter of the second task, which involves the Champions searching for their lost treasure." She tipped her head towards Hermione. "Miss Granger is Viktor Krum's, and Miss Potter as Harry Potter's."
Hermione nodded. "What can we do to help, Professor?"
"I will need the both of you to be put in a deep sleep before the task begins." McGonagall pushed two cups of tea across the coffee table. "If you please, Potter and Granger."
Tessa shrugged before taking the teacup and clinking it against Hermione's. "Cheers," she mumbled before bringing it up to her lips and downing it in one go. Barely a minute passed before Tessa's vision turned cloudy, and then drowsiness filled her body as her limbs turned heavy. With one last blink, she slumped against Hermione and just like that — she was unconsciousness.
One thing that McGonagall forgot to ask them was if they knew how to swim.
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
Draco couldn't find her anywhere. He had been sitting in the stands now for about five minutes before he started to debate whether or not he should storm up the castle and search for the third time for her.
"Draco, calm down," Theo said from next to him, rolling his eyes as he propped his ankle against his knee.
"I can't find her anywhere," Draco replied with a scowl, letting his eyes roam through the students. "It's not like Tessa to be gone for so long especially when it's her brother's second task."
"Have you asked Weasley?"
Draco snorted. "No, I didn't. The twins would probably mock me for asking."
"I meant Ron Weasley, but okay." Theo laughed as Draco made a face and shoved his shoulder. "But seriously though — maybe you can ask Philip Williamson. He's down there, you can try."
Draco crossed his arms haughtily. "No, thanks. I'll find her myself."
Theo clicked his tongue. "You and your pride."
A minute had passed and Draco reached up to impatiently run a hand across his hair, leaving it tousled as he grumbled under his breath, "I swear to God, if Tessa is out gallivanting the woods or up to no good, and if she gets hurt — "
Theo let out a groan as he held himself back from punching Draco. "She's probably fine, stop overreacting, you mother hen."
Draco glared at him, turning his attention back to the Black Lake as he muttered, "Mother hen. Bet you heard that from her."
Before Theo could say anything else to that, Ludo Bagman's voice echoed throughout the audience. "Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One . . . two . . . three!" The whistle echoed shrilly in the air as everyone excepted Draco erupted with cheers.
He watched as the four champions wade through the water before they were completely submerged into the lake. Half an hour passed, and Draco was getting even more anxious when nothing happened. And then — Cedric Diggory broke the surface with Cho Chang.
The crowd exploded in applauses for him as the two gasped greedily for air before making their way to shore.
Shortly after, a terrible transfiguration of a half-shark half-man burst out of the water and shifted back to Viktor Krum. The stands went wild upon seeing him with Hermione in his arm.
Fleur Delacour appeared no longer than five minutes later — with no one. She was helped out of the water and given a bathrobe to warm her up as she waited by the stands.
Draco's blood turned cold upon realizing who Harry had to retrieve as his lost treasure. "Fuck," he breathed out, blindly getting to his feet as he felt his knees nearly buckling.
Theo furrowed his eyebrows. "Draco, what's wrong?" He reached out to grab his jacket, but Draco had already begun pushing his way through the other Slytherins in the stands.
"Shit, not Tessa," he was blurting to himself in a slightly panicky voice as he weaved his way through the thick crowd of people who were waiting anxiously for Harry. "Please don't be Tessa."
Just then — the smooth surface of the lake rippled as bubbles formed from within. Hushed murmurs scattered throughout the audience as Draco halted from next to where Fleur was shaking from the cold. A figure broke through the waters and the crowds went ballistic as they cheered and applauded.
From where he stood, Draco could see a little girl with silver hair who looked to be Fleur's sister, and Tessa who was now gasping for air as she wildly treaded the water. Harry was nowhere to be found, and Draco guessed that he had sent the two girls up whilst he escaped the merpeople and grindylows.
The people in the audience simply stared in surprise at Tessa who was desperately trying to keep afloat, her head submerging in the water repeatedly. Nobody did anything.
Without a second thought, Draco shrugged off his jacket and kicked off his shoes — and then dove into the Black Lake.
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
Tessa couldn't breathe — she kept swallowing lake water with every gasp of air she tried to let in. Her arms were flailing helplessly around her as her head bobbed up and down in the water as a desperate attempt to stay afloat.
She didn't understand what was happening; had no clue of where she was. The memories of what had happened last year came flashing through her mind, and she felt terror swallow her whole.
There were strong arms around her before Tessa could even begin to fathom the thought of truly drowning this time. Arms that wounded protectively around her as her savior brought her to shore. Her mind was fuzzy — even when someone had helped her out of the water and on the wooden platform of the stands.
"Tessa, are you okay? Can you see me?" a voice was asking in a fervent manner; their hands holding her face gently yet firmly.
Tessa opened her mouth to speak, but instead coughed and spilled water into their lap. She winced and weakly glanced up to meet his eyes. "Draco," she croaked out hoarsely, her throat scratchy and dry as she wearily tried to regain her breathing.
"I'm here," he said and brought his hand up to wipe the water away from her mouth. "I'm here, you're okay." He brought an arm under her knees and one around her back as he lifted her up. "Come on, let's get you to the hospital wing."
Tessa weakly struggled in his arms for a moment, looking around her. "Harry — ?"
"He's okay, Braveheart. Don't worry, he made it out after you did."
Tessa nodded before slumping against him, letting her head fall against the crevice between his neck and shoulder. "Good." She let her lips tug up as she mumbled into his wet shirt, "I knew he could do it."
Tessa must've drifted in and out of consciousness along the way, because she woke up with a jolt when Draco arrived in the hospital wing. She was carefully set down on the bed just as the office door bursted open to reveal Catherine whose eyes widened upon seeing her.
"Tessa!" she exclaimed, rushing over to the other side of the bed with her dyed blonde hair spilling over her shoulders. "Tessa, what happened?"
"Mum." Tessa winced, forcing herself to sit up but Draco reached over to gently push her back down.
"Mrs. Potter," Draco started as Catherine's eyes flashed sharply to him, "Tessa drank some lake water, and she — "
"Malfoy," Catherine breathed out, her lower lip trembling as her knees locked up. She was taking in his platinum blond hair, his silver eyes, and his pale skin — and a horrible memory resurfaced. The scars of her past began to unravel and haunt her of what had burned her flesh from long ago.
Tessa was completely aware of everything now — she swallowed roughly and sat up. She glanced from her mother and to Draco who seemed uncertain on what to do as his lips pressed together in a thin line.
"You're a Malfoy, aren't you?" Catherine's voice was firm yet quivered slightly; her hands shaking as she breathed raggedly.
"Yes," Draco finally replied after a moment's pause as he reached over again for Tessa. "But I — "
In a heartbeat, Catherine had brought her arm up as a barrier between Tessa and Draco, refusing to keep her stare away from him as a muscle feathered her jaw. "You helped save her today — thank you for that. But please — stay away from my daughter," she said as calmly as possible.
Tessa's blood ran cold as she froze. Draco had stilled — he was so still, Tessa didn't think he was even breathing as he stared right back at Catherine.
Tessa's chest squeezed in immeasurable tightness as she hastened to appease the situation, "Mum, stop — "
"Teressa," her mother's warning voice was cold and nothing like the warmth she constantly radiated.
"Mum, please, Draco isn't like his father — "
Catherine swiveled her gaze to silence her daughter with a sharp look. Tessa's body was trembling, but she glared right back at her mother challengingly. She refused to back down, insisting on pining that furious stare toward her but —
Draco took a step backward and away from them.
He admitted defeat for her.
Tessa cut her gaze to him, feeling the air escape her lungs. She searched his face — the twist of his lips and the light burned out from his eyes. She leaned forward as though to reach out for him, but was held back from her mother's outstretched arm.
Draco was still slowly walking away from them, his eyes solely on Tessa, and Tessa alone. It's okay, Braveheart. It'll be okay.
She shook her head. Draco, stop — we need to talk about this.
I'm a Malfoy. His lips curled up into a bitter upturn. I understand what she must think of me.
Please don't walk away from me. I can fix this — we can fix this, Draco.
But Draco was already several feet away from her when he tipped his head ever so slightly in the direction of her mother. Don't hate your mother for what she's doing — it's to protect you, Braveheart.
And with that — he turned around and walked out of the hospital wing.
There was a roaring in her ears and a thrumming in her veins when she slowly met Catherine's stare. "Why," she croaked out. "Why would you do that?"
For a moment — there was nothing but fear etched into the soft planes of her mother's face, and then a soft whisper, "Because he'll hurt you just as his father did to me."
The roaring deafened to a ringing as Tessa counted to ten — leashing her temper as she let her eyes travel from the terror in Catherine's eyes and her knees that buckled and gave up on her as she crumpled to the floor. "Lucius . . . hurt you?"
There was hesitation before Catherine confessed, "My back — it had been scarred by Bellatrix Lestrange after she and Lucius Malfoy had brought me to the Malfoy manor."
"Mum," Tessa breathed out, shutting her eyes tight as a desperate feeling of being lost overcame her.
"The Cruciatus Curse and the 'blood traitor' mark wouldn't have fallen upon me if neither of them had pledged their allegiance to the Dark Lord." Catherine rose to her feet, regaining her strength as she said, "That boy is the son of Lucius Malfoy, a devoted Death Eater — and I will be damned to let my daughter associate herself with that sort of peril."
Tessa couldn't breathe again as she shook her head furiously. "Mum, listen to me — Draco is nothing like that. He wouldn't hurt me — "
"I am begging you to listen to me, Tessa," Catherine's voice was no louder than a whisper, yet the firmest it's ever been. "You need to rest while I fetch you a vial to clear the lake water." With a very brief flash of regret passing in her face, her mother turned around to approach the cabinet.
Tessa was no longer paying any attention — everything sounded as though she was underwater again. Just like that, her mother had merely snapped her fingers and tore Draco away from her. A broken sound escaped her lips as she clawed the fabric on her chest. She couldn't understand why her heart felt as though someone had crushed it and ripped away the anchor that stabled her to this world.
And suddenly — Tessa felt like she was drowning again — but this time to an unfathomable pain where no one could save her from this darkness.
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
Tessa hasn't spoken to Draco for weeks now. She'd been to their closet and to the Astronomy Tower every single night for hours, but he didn't show up. All that's left between them was the fleeting stares across the room that'd last for a few seconds — and then Draco would smile wryly and look away.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were worried for her, especially when she hasn't been eating properly. Tessa was losing weight and she constantly seemed to be drained of energy. She'd sleep in classes, and withdraw further into herself that nobody could talk her out of it.
Tessa avoided her mother like the plague, not even glancing at her during meals in the Great Hall. She didn't hate her — she couldn't. No matter what happened, Catherine was still her mother, and she didn't have the heart to loathe her.
And she wouldn't even if she could — that was the last thing Draco had told her before they'd stopped speaking.
Not only that — Tessa knew it pained her mother from having to do this. She could see the regret and hurt in her eyes for having to make such cruel decision, except she knew that Catherine just wanted to protect Tessa and take no chances. Tessa understood that; but sometimes she wished she wasn't always very much so.
March eventually arrived, as well as Sirius's letter to Harry which told them to meet him in Hogsmeade on Saturday.
"He hasn't come back to Hogsmeade?" Ron said incredulously.
"It looks like it, doesn't it?" Hermione replied sassily.
Tessa, who had been leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, lifted an eyebrow at Hermione as she drawled, "Tetchy."
"I can't believe him," Harry said tensely, "if he's caught . . ."
"Made it so far, though, hasn't he?" Ron said. "And it's not like the place is swarming with dementors anymore."
Harry sighed defeatedly and pocketed Sirius's letter before they walked to Potions where they found Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and her group of friends huddled in front of the door. Tessa couldn't stop herself from skimming through the crowd for Draco, but didn't find him amongst them.
"There they are, there they are!" Pansy giggled, and the huddle of Slytherins broke apart and Tessa caught sight of the Witch Weekly magazine in Pansy's hands. "You might find something to interest you in there, Granger!" She cackled and flung the magazine to Hermione.
Tessa scowled and took a menacing step toward Pansy, her eyes flashing dangerously. "I'm not in the fucking mood to deal with you, Pugface — leave Hermione alone."
Fear crossed the Slytherin girl's face as she hesitated before her eyes fell on something behind her shoulder. Tessa threw a glance and found Draco entering the scene in that slow, arrogant strut of his. There was a dark and cruel expression on his face directed to Pansy, daring her to make a comment against Tessa.
Pansy stuck her nose in the air, letting out a scoff before she entered the classroom with the other Slytherins. Hermione, Ron, and Harry walked in as well, leaving Tessa lingering by the threshold as she watched Draco search her face emotionlessly.
Are you . . . okay? he seemed to ask.
Hope sparked in her chest as warmth ignited throughout her, and Tessa responded with a slight curve of her lips. Yes, I'm okay. You?
He cocked his head to the side, slipping a hand in his pocket as he regarded her for a moment. Better now that I'm talking with you again.
There was a pause between them, just the two stupidly smiling at each other without exchanging any words.
Something seemed to darken in those cunning silver eyes of Draco. You know, Braveheart, she could practically hear him purr into her ear, I think I mis —
"Whenever the both of you are done, Miss Potter and Mr. Malfoy, we have a class to start," came the drawling voice of Professor Snape.
The class bursted out laughing and snickering at them, and Tessa ducked to hide her reddening face as she sprinted over to her usual seat next to Theo which was behind where Hermione, Harry, and Ron sat. Theo wasn't here today, so she took up the seat with the other three.
As soon as Snape turned around to write the ingredients of today's potion on the blackboard, Hermione flipped open the magazine under the desk until they found an article titled: Harry Potter's Secret Heartache
Tessa stifled a groan as she read through the preposterous writings on Hermione being Harry's girlfriend who's been making love potions to entrance Harry and Krum alike.
"I'm going to kill her the next time I see her," Tessa growled under her breath.
"I told you!" Ron hissed at Hermione. "I told you not to annoy Rita Skeeter! She's made you out to be some sort of — of scarlet woman!"
Hermione couldn't help herself but snickered at that. "Scarlet woman?"
"It's what my mum calls them."
"If that's the best Rita can do, she's losing her touch," Hermione said and tossed aside the magazine. "What a pile of old rubbish."
Tessa beamed and slung an arm over her shoulders. "Atta girl, Mione!"
Harry sent her a strange look. "Why are you in such a good mood again? Did something happen?"
"She reconnected with her soulmate again, obviously," came an amused voice and they looked up to Theo strolling over and taking his seat behind them. "Do keep up, Potter."
Tessa scrunched her nose up at him, rolling the magazine and smacking him by the arm with it. She stood up and went back to her seat next to Theo as they began to make their Wit-Sharpening Potion.
"There's something funny, though," Hermione said as they started to work. "How could Rita Skeeter have known . . . ?"
One of the things Tessa liked about Theo was how he kept quiet and didn't stick his nose into their conversations.
"Known what?" Ron said quickly. "You haven't been mixing up Love Potions, have you?" Tessa and Theo snorted at Ron for that.
"Don't be stupid," Hermione snapped. "No, it's just . . . how did she know Viktor asked me to visit him over the summer?"
"What?" Ron blurted out, dropping his beetle with a loud clunk.
"He asked me right after he'd pulled me out of the lake," Hermione muttered. "After he'd got rid of his shark's head. Madam Pomfrey gave us both blankets and then he sort of pulled me away from the judges so they wouldn't hear, and he said, if I wasn't doing anything over the summer, would I like to —"
"And what did you say?"
Theo shared a look with Tessa as they covered their mouths to keep from laughing. Harry looked completely awkward as he sent pleading glances to his sister as to get him out of there.
"And he did say he'd never felt the same way about anyone else," Hermione went on, "but how could Rita Skeeter have heard him? She wasn't there . . . or was she? Maybe she has got an Invisibility Cloak; maybe she sneaked onto the grounds to watch the second task . . . "
"And what did you say?" Ron repeated, pounding his pestle down so hard that it dented the desk.
"Well, I was too busy seeing whether you and Harry were okay to —"
"Fascinating though your social life undoubtedly is, Miss Granger," a cold voice mused from behind them, "I must ask you not to discuss it in my class. Ten points from Gryffindor." Snape glided toward their desks and snatched the copy of Witch Weekly from Hermione. "Ah . . . reading magazines under the table as well? A further ten points from Gryffindor . . . oh but of course, Potter has to keep up with his press cuttings."
The Slytherins all burst out in crooning laughter as a cruel smile twisted Snape's mouth.
He cleared his throat and read aloud, " 'Harry Potter's Secret Heartache . . . dear, dear, Potter, what's ailing you now? 'A boy like no other, perhaps . . .' "
Tessa's blood boiled in fury as Snape read the entire article in a sneering voice.
"How very touching," he said sardonically. "Well, I think I had better separate the four of you, so you can keep your minds on your potions rather than on your tangled love lives. Weasley, you stay here. Miss Granger, over there, beside Miss Parkinson. Mr. Potter — that table in front of my desk. Miss Potter — "
Snape glanced around and found the only empty seat left was beside Draco. The blond cleared his throat and subtly straightened himself to play it cool.
Snape rolled his eyes and muttered to Tessa, "Never mind — stay where you are."
Furiously, Harry, Hermione, and Ron got up to transfer seats as Tessa continued to make her potion with Theo who pinched her side to keep her from making a snide remark.
Theo sighed. "I've been doing this since our first year. Honestly, Tessa, I don't know how many points you'd have taken from you if it wasn't for me." He clicked his tongue and shook his head, giving himself a pat on the back.
Tessa rolled her eyes and bumped her hip against Theo's. "Oh, sod off, Theodore Nott."
Just then, there was a knock on the dungeon door and Snape replied in his nasally voice, "Enter."
The entire class turned around to see Karkaroff walk in and approach Snape in an anxious manner. "We need to talk," he said abruptly, eyes wildly glancing around him.
"I'll talk to you after my lesson, Karkaroff," Snape muttered.
"I want to talk now, while you can't slip off, Severus. You've been avoiding me."
"After the lesson," Snape snapped dismissively.
Karkaroff stood behind Snape's desk for the rest of the period, and Harry who had been sitting up front swiveled around to give Tessa a look.
"Oh no," Theo blurted out. "I know that face — what are you up to?"
Tessa feigned an innocent look. "Nothing — what are you talking about?"
Theo narrowed his eyes but muttered, "Whatever — I can't talk you out of it if you already set your mind on something. Just — stay out of trouble or your snarling bodyguard will have my head for it."
She rolled her eyes but said nothing in response to that. Biting her lip, she let her eyes travel the room at the same time he looked up from his cauldron. They locked gazes across the room, and she watched the way his eyes flickered down to her biting her lip. He snapped his attention back to her eyes, and she could've sworn something dark yet enticing pass across his features. Something in the way he looked at her made Tessa's toes curl and her breath hitch.
She hurriedly turned away and focused on finishing the potion for the rest of the period. Right before class ended, Harry deliberately knocked over his bottle of armadillo bile, and as the class started to leave the room, Tessa sprinted over and hid behind his cauldron.
"What's so urgent?" the two heard Snape hiss at Karkaroff.
"This," the Durmstrang headmaster replied, and Tessa and Harry peeked over the cauldron to see him lift up the sleeve of his left forearm to reveal something to Snape. "Well? Do you see? It's never been this clear, never since —"
"Put it away!" Snape snarled at him.
"But you must have noticed —"
"We can talk later, Karkaroff! Potters! What are you two doing?"
"Clearing up my armadillo bile, Professor," Harry said innocently, showing him the sodden rag.
"Helping Harry clean up, Professor," Tessa added.
Karkaroff spun on his heel and strode out of the dungeon, shortly followed by Harry and Tessa who didn't want to be left alone with Snape. They ran down the corridor and found Hermione and Ron waiting for them, and then proceeded to spill everything they'd just witnessed.
The next day, they left the castle at noon to go to Hogsmeade where Sirius would be. Tessa had piled at least a dozen chicken legs, an entire loaf of bread, and a flask of pumpkin juice in Harry's bag to bring to him. They reached the strike at the end of the lane where they found Sirius waiting for them as a shaggy black dog carrying some newspapers in its mouth.
"Hello, Sirius," Harry said happily as the dog sniffed his bag eagerly.
They walked across the patch of ground that led to the foot of the mountain before they began to climb and follow after Sirius. The four of them were wheezing by the time they squeezed themselves inside a dimly lit cave where they caught sight of Buckbeak tethered to the end of it. The hippogriff bent his front knees upon recognizing them, and Hermione rushed over to stroke his neck.
Sirius had morphed out of his dog form and was now the familiar godfather Tessa remembered. His black hair was even longer, and he had grown even thinner than before. "Chicken!" he said hoarsely after removing the old Daily Prophets from his mouth. "Thanks," he said as Tessa handed him Harry's bag of food. "I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself." He gave Tessa a nod. "Your mother can barely sneak away from Hogwarts without exposing herself, but she's done her fair share in sending me food."
Tessa and Harry shared a look before asking in unison, "What're you doing here, Sirius?"
"Fulfilling my duty as godfather," he said cheerfully. "Don't worry about it, I'm pretending to be a lovable stray." He was still grinning at them, but then he said more seriously, "I want to be on the spot. Your last letter . . . well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been stealing the paper every time someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried."
"What if they catch you?" Harry asked. "What if you're seen?"
"You four, Cat, and Dumbledore are the only ones around here who know I'm an Animagus," Sirius said with a shrug as he continued to devour the chicken leg.
Ron nudged the two and passed them the Daily Prophets with the headlines: Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch, and the second, Ministry Witch Still Missing — Minister of Magic Now Personally Involved.
"They're making it sound like he's dying," Harry said slowly. "But he can't be that ill if he managed to get up here . . . "
"My brother's Crouch's personal assistant," Ron informed Sirius. "He says Crouch is suffering from overwork."
"Mind you, he did look ill, last time I saw him up close. The night my name came out of the goblet . . . "
"Getting his comeuppance for sacking Winky, isn't he?" Hermione said, an edge in her voice. "I bet he wishes he hadn't done it now — bet he feels the difference now she's not there to look after him."
Tessa and Ron groaned simultaneously as she said, "Mione, not again."
"Hermione's obsessed with house-elfs," Ron muttered to Sirius.
Sirius, however, looked interested. "Crouch sacked his house-elf?"
"Yeah, at the Quidditch World Cup," Harry said and got into detail of everything that happened that night. Sirius looked exceptionally proud when Harry told him how Tessa practically spat fire at Crouch.
"Let me get this straight," Sirius said after Harry finished everything, brandishing a fresh chicken leg. "You first saw the elf in the Top Box. She was saving Crouch a seat, right?"
"Right," the four said together.
"But Crouch didn't turn up for the match?"
"No," Harry replied. "I think he said he'd been too busy."
Sirius paced all around the cave in silence. Then he said, "Harry, did you check your pockets for your wand after you'd left the Top Box?"
Harry was quiet for a moment before he said finally, "No, I didn't need to use it before we got in the forest. And then I put my hand in my pocket, and all that was in there were my Omnioculars."
Tessa perked up. "Are you saying whoever conjured the Mark stole Harry's wand in the Top Box?"
"It's possible."
"Winky didn't steal that wand!" Hermione insisted.
"The elf wasn't the only one in that box," Sirius said as he continued to pace. "Who else was sitting behind you?"
"Loads of people," Harry said. "Some Bulgarian ministers . . . Cornelius Fudge . . . the Malfoys . . ."
"The Malfoys!" Ron said so suddenly. "I bet it was Lucius Malfoy!"
Sirius dismissed his assumption with another question, "Anyone else?"
"No one," Harry said with a shake of his head.
"Yes, there was, there was Ludo Bagman," Hermione reminded him.
Sirius pursed his lips in thought. "I don't know anything about Bagman except that he used to be
Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps. What's he like?"
"He's okay," Harry mumbled. "He keeps offering to help me with the Triwizard Tournament."
"Does he, now? I wonder why he'd do that?"
"Says he's taken a liking to me."
"We saw him in the forest just before the Dark Mark appeared," Tessa informed Sirius.
"Yeah, but he didn't stay in the forest, did he?" Ron reminded her. "The moment we told him about the riot, he went off to the campsite."
"How d'you know?" Hermione shot back. "How d'you know where he Disapparated to?"
"Come off it," Ron said incredulously to Hermione. "Are you saying you reckon Ludo Bagman conjured the Dark Mark?"
"It's more likely he did it than Winky," she replied back stubbornly.
"Told you," Ron said, looking meaningfully at Sirius, "told you she's obsessed with house —"
But Sirius held up a hand to silence Ron as he looked between Hermione and Tessa. "When the Dark Mark had been conjured, and the elf had been discovered holding Harry's wand, what did Crouch do?"
"Went to look in the bushes," Harry replied, "but there wasn't anyone else there."
"Of course," Sirius muttered, pacing up and down, "of course, he'd want to pin it on anyone but his own elf . . . and then he sacked her?"
"Yes," Hermione said huffily, "he sacked her, just because she hadn't stayed in her tent and let herself get trampled — "
"Hermione, will you give it a rest with the elf!" Ron cried out exasperatedly.
Sirius shook his head and said, "She's got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."
He scrubbed a hand over his face, thinking hard. "All these absences of Barty Crouch's . . . he goes to the trouble of making sure his house-elf saves him a seat at the Quidditch World Cup, but doesn't bother to turn up and watch. He works very hard to reinstate the Triwizard Tournament, and then stops coming to that too . . . It's not like Crouch. If he's ever taken a day off work because of illness before this, I'll eat Buckbeak."
Tessa's eyes widened as she drawled in faux horror, "You can't be serious!"
A mischievous glint flashed in Sirius's eyes as he cracked a grin. "Oh, but I am."
"D'you know Crouch, then?" Harry said suddenly.
Sirius glanced at him, and his face darkened. "Oh I know Crouch all right," he said quietly. "He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban — without a trial."
"What?" Ron and Hermione cried out together.
Tessa scowled. "I knew I had good reason to dislike him."
"You're kidding!" Harry added in disbelief.
"No, I'm not," Sirius said, taking another bite of chicken. "Crouch used to be Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, didn't you know?" They all shook their heads to which Sirius went on saying, "He was tipped for the next Minister of Magic. He's a great wizard, Barty Crouch, powerfully magical — and power-hungry. Oh never a Voldemort supporter. No, Barty Crouch was always very outspoken against the Dark Side. But then a lot of people who were against the Dark Side . . . well, you wouldn't understand . . . you're too young . . . "
"That's what my dad said at the World Cup," Ron said in slight irritation. "Try us, why don't you?"
An amused grin spread across Sirius's face and he said, "All right, I'll try you . . . Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing . . . the Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere . . . panic . . . confusion . . . that's how it used to be.
"Well, times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Crouch's principles might've been good in the beginning — I wouldn't know. He rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters. The Aurors were given new powers — powers to kill rather than capture, for instance. And I wasn't the only one who was handed straight to the dementors without trial. Crouch fought violence with violence, and authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects. I would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the Dark Side. He had his supporters, mind you — plenty of people thought he was going about things the right way, and there were a lot of witches and wizards clamoring for him to take over as Minister of Magic. When Voldemort disappeared, it looked like only a matter of time until Crouch got the top job. But then something rather unfortunate happened . . ." Sirius smiled grimly. "Crouch's own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to talk their way out of Azkaban. Apparently they were trying to find Voldemort and return him to power."
"Crouch's son was caught?" Hermione gasped in shock.
"Yep," Sirius said, tearing off a chunk of bread. "Nasty little shock for old Barty, I'd imagine. Should have spent a bit more time at home with his family, shouldn't he? Ought to have left the office early once in a while . . . gotten to know his own son."
"Was his son a Death Eater?" Tessa asked.
"No idea, I was in Azkaban myself when he was brought in. This is mostly stuff I've found out since I got out. The boy was definitely caught in the company of people I'd bet my life were Death Eaters — but he might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like the house-elf."
"Did Crouch try and get his son off?" Hermione whispered.
Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "Crouch let his son off? I thought you had the measure of him,
Hermione! Anything that threatened to tarnish his reputation had to go; he had dedicated his whole life to becoming Minister of Magic. You saw him dismiss a devoted house-elf because she associated him with the Dark Mark again — doesn't that tell you what he's like? Crouch's fatherly affection stretched just far enough to give his son a trial, and by all accounts, it wasn't much more than an excuse for Crouch to show how much he hated the boy . . . then he sent him straight to Azkaban."
"He gave his own son to the dementors?" Harry asked quietly.
"That's right. I saw the dementors bringing him in, watched them through the bars in my cell door. He can't have been more than nineteen. They took him into a cell near mine. He was screaming for his mother by nightfall. He went quiet after a few days, though . . . they all went quiet in the end . . . except when they shrieked in their sleep . . . "
Tessa was silent as she watched the shadows in Sirius's stormy grey eyes.
"So he's still in Azkaban?" Harry questioned.
"No," Sirius said dully. "No, he's not in there anymore. He died about a year after they brought him in."
Tessa sucked in a sharp breath. "He died?"
"He wasn't the only one," Sirius said bitterly. "Most go mad in there, and plenty stop eating in the end. They lose the will to live. You could always tell when a death was coming, because the dementors could sense it, they got excited. That boy looked pretty sickly when he arrived. Crouch being an important Ministry member, he and his wife were allowed a deathbed visit. That was the last time I saw Barty Crouch, half carrying his wife past my cell. She died herself, apparently, shortly afterward. Grief. Wasted away just like the boy. Crouch never came for his son's body. The dementors buried him outside the fortress; I watched them do it."
Sirius finished the bread and raised the flask of pumpkin juice to his lips, taking a long swig from it.
"So old Crouch lost it all, just when he thought he had it made," he continued. "One moment, a hero, poised to become Minister of Magic . . . next, his son dead, his wife dead, the family name dishonored, and, so I've heard since I escaped, a big drop in popularity. Once the boy had died, people started feeling a bit more sympathetic toward the son and started asking how a nice young lad from a good family had gone so badly astray. The conclusion was that his father never cared much for him. So Cornelius Fudge got the top job, and Crouch was shunted sideways into the Department of International Magical Cooperation."
There was a pregnant pause between them all before Harry spoke up, "Moody says Crouch is obsessed with catching Dark wizards."
"Yeah, I've heard it's become a bit of a mania with him," Sirius said, nodding. "If you ask me, he still thinks he can bring back the old popularity by catching one more Death Eater."
"And he sneaked up here to search Snape's office!" Ron said excitedly.
"Yes, and that doesn't make sense at all."
"Yeah, it does!"
Sirius shook his head. "Listen, if Crouch wants to investigate Snape, why hasn't he been coming to judge the tournament? It would be an ideal excuse to make regular visits to Hogwarts and keep an eye on him."
"So you think Snape could be up to something, then?" Tessa asked.
Hermione cut in before anyone could say anything more, "Look, I don't care what you say, Dumbledore trusts Snape —"
"Oh give it a rest, Hermione," Ron said impatiently. "I know Dumbledore's brilliant and everything, but that doesn't mean a really clever Dark wizard couldn't fool him —"
"Why did Snape save Harry's life in the first year, then? Why didn't he just let him die?"
"I dunno — maybe he thought Dumbledore would kick him out —"
"What d'you think, Sirius?" Harry said loudly as the two stopped bickering.
"I think they've both got a point," Sirius said thoughtfully. "Ever since I found out Snape was teaching here, I've wondered why Dumbledore hired him. Snape's always been fascinated by the Dark Arts, he was famous for it at school. Slimy, oily, greasy-haired monkey, he was, like Cat always called him — " Ron, Harry, and Tessa shared grins at that " — Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in seventh year, and he was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters."
Sirius held up his fingers and began ticking off names.
"Rosier and Wilkes — they were both killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell. The Lestranges — they're a married couple — they're in Azkaban. Avery — from what I've heard he wormed his way out of trouble by saying he'd been acting under the Imperius Curse — he's still at large. But as far as I know, Snape was never even accused of being a Death Eater — not that that means much. Plenty of them were never caught. And Snape's certainly clever and cunning enough to keep himself out of trouble."
"Snape knows Karkaroff pretty well, but he wants to keep that quiet," Ron added thoughtfully.
"Yeah, you should've seen Snape's face when Karkaroff turned up in Potions yesterday!" Tessa said with a fervent nod to Sirius.
Harry explained, "Karkaroff wanted to talk to Snape, he says Snape's been avoiding him. Karkaroff looked really worried. He showed Snape something on his arm, but I couldn't see what it was."
"He showed Snape something on his arm?" A befuddled look crossed Sirius's face. "Well, I've no idea what that's about . . . but if Karkaroff's genuinely worried, and he's going to Snape for answers . . ." He stares at the cave wall for a moment before grimacing. "There's still the fact that Dumbledore trusts Snape, and I know Dumbledore trusts where a lot of other people wouldn't, but I just can't see him letting Snape teach at Hogwarts if he'd ever worked for Voldemort."
"Why are Moody and Crouch so keen to get into Snape's office then?" Ron said stubbornly.
"Well, I wouldn't put it past Mad-Eye to have searched every single teacher's office when he got to Hogwarts. He takes his Defense Against the Dark Arts seriously, Moody. I'm not sure he trusts anyone at all, and after the things he's seen, it's not surprising. I'll say this for Moody, though, he never killed if he could help it. Always brought people in alive where possible. He was tough, but he never descended to the level of the Death Eaters. Crouch, though . . . he's a different matter . . . is he really ill? If he is, why did he make the effort to drag himself up to Snape's office? And if he's not . . . what's he up to? What was he doing at the World Cup that was so important he didn't turn up in the Top Box? What's he been doing while he should have been judging the tournament?"
Everyone lapses into silence as they settled on watching Buckbeak trot around for a few minutes. Finally, Sirius turned to Ron again as he asked, "You say your brother's Crouch's personal assistant? Any chance you could ask him if he's seen Crouch lately?"
"I can try," Ron murmured doubtfully. "Better not make it sound like I reckon Crouch is up to anything dodgy, though. Percy loves Crouch."
"And you might try and find out whether they've got any leads on Bertha Jorkins while you're at it."
"Bagman told me they hadn't," Harry piped up.
"Yes, he's quoted in the article in there. Blustering on about how bad Bertha's memory is. Well, maybe she's changed since I knew her, but the Bertha I knew wasn't forgetful at all — quite the reverse. She was a bit dim, but she had an excellent memory for gossip. It used to get her into a lot of trouble; she never knew when to keep her mouth shut. I can see her being a bit of a liability at the Ministry of Magic . . . maybe that's why Bagman didn't bother to look for her for so long . . . " Sirius sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. "What's the time?"
Tessa glanced at her watch. "It's half past three."
"You'd better get back to school," Sirius said, getting to his feet. "Now listen . . . I don't want you lot sneaking out of school to see me, all right? Just send notes to me here. I still want to hear about anything odd. But you're not to go leaving Hogwarts without permission; it would be an ideal opportunity for someone to attack you."
"No one's tried to attack me so far, except a dragon and a couple of grindylows," Harry said. Tessa didn't bother concealing her snort of laughter as Sirius scowled at them.
"I don't care . . . I'll breathe freely again when this tournament's over, and that's not until June. And don't forget, if you're talking about me among yourselves, call me Snuffles, okay?"
Tessa bursted out laughing this time. "But Snuffles is too funny, I won't be able to take it seriously!"
Sirius rolled his eyes and affectionately ruffled her hair. "Then you can call me Paddy." He handed Harry the empty flask and went to pat Buckbeak good-bye. "I'll walk to the edge of the village with you, see if I can scrounge another paper."
However, right before he transformed back to a black dog, he threw a glance at Tessa and crossed his arms.
"Before I forget — what's this I hear of you and this Malfoy kid?"
Tessa groaned loudly and buried her face in her hands as the other three peered curiously at her. "I can't believe Mum told you about it!"
Sirius huffed. "Of course she told me about it. But really, Tessa, you should listen to her when she said to stay away from him. He's a Malfoy, and you should be careful around him. I know it's very hypocritical of me and your mum to say this since I'm a Black and she along with your father gave me a chance — but the Malfoys are not a force to be reckoned with."
She threw her hands in the air. "Draco's not evil or anything like it! He's a perfectly nice person — " the other three snorted in disagreement at that " — okay maybe not a perfectly nice person, but he's good to me. He's trying to change and become a better person."
Sirius frowned as he said, "Your mother has good reason to be wary of him, Tessa. After all — I was the one who saved her when it happened."
Silence hung between them all as Sirius and Tessa shared a solemn expression. The other three looked rather confused, but Tessa sighed and looked away, not saying anything else.
He finally transformed into a black dog once again before they left the cave and trekked back to the village. They each patted him on the head, Tessa lingering a while longer to give him a wry smile before he ran back to the direction of the cave.
"Wonder if Percy knows all that stuff about Crouch?" Ron said as they walked back to the castle. "But maybe he doesn't care . . . it'd probably just make him admire Crouch even more. Yeah, Percy loves rules. He'd just say Crouch was refusing to break them for his own son."
"Percy would never throw any of his family to the dementors," Hermione said firmly.
"I don't know. If he thought we were standing in the way of his career . . . Percy's really ambitious, you know . . . "
They walked up the steps and entered the Great Hall where they could smell dinner already. "Poor old Snuffles," Ron said, breathing deeply. "He must really like you, Harry . . . Imagine having to live off rats."
The three of them burst out laughing, but Tessa was too busy looking over at Draco who was sitting with Theo. A rueful smile tugged on her lips as she watched the way his eyes were bright when he talked and listened to Theo speak animatedly.
She couldn't do it, Tessa realized after seeing a smile light up his handsome face. She couldn't stay away from him — especially not when she had grown too attached to him.
As though sensing her presence, Draco glanced up and locked eyes with her. He grinned at her across the distance, and she smirked right back at him.
To hell with what Catherine and Sirius warned her, Tessa thought to herself. Draco was worth the risk.
A/N
YES DRACO SAVES HER TWICE NOW FROM DROWNING WHOOP DEE DOO
Oh oh! I really really want to make a section where my characters answer some questions as though you're interviewing them. Please pretty please comment in this with any question/s you have for Tessa, Draco, Philip, Catherine, Fred, Kasi, and any other character!!!
Completely random but — I was going about my day and so suddenly thought of a future TACO/DRESSA scene and well... let me tell you how flustered i got writing it...
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!! What did you think of it? Favorite moments?