Birds of a Feather
Chapter 26: Whack-A-Mole
Summary: After Fawkes rescues Severus Snape from the Shrieking shack, the phoenix decides to stick around.
The usual disclaimer applies. See Chapter 1.
Severus was back in the Potions classroom at Hogwarts. Draco was there. So were the Weasley twins, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew, all seated at their desks, waiting. Severus wasn't sure if he was supposed to be a student or the teacher, but he knew he was late. He felt lost. He opened a supply cabinet and was shocked to find a tiny werewolf staring out at him. Its little black eyes burned with hate and it wrinkled its ugly snout, exposing its yellow fangs. He slammed the door shut and there was flash of silver light.
He woke up suddenly as another flash lit his room. It must be the Ghoul Busters casting their patronuses, he realized as the sleepiness vanished from his mind. They're 'busting' Dementors - or trying to.
He looked out the window. The swamps were dark and quiet for a moment, and then there were a few more flashes. I'd better find out what's going on, he thought.
He had just finished dressing when there was a knock on his door. He opened it to a find a very agitated Mr Cohen. "I'm waking the staff because we need to protect the children," the Principal told him. "We're gathering in the dining hall. The Ghoul Busters seem to have stirred up quite a hornets' nest out there. There's a battle going on in the swamp, and I'm worried that it could spill over into the school area. We'll have to evacuate the students. I'd rather err on the side of caution than have a tragedy." He then hurried off down the hall.
Fawkes was still asleep on his perch, making soft little whistling noises. Snoring, I suppose, Severus thought. Ridiculous creature! He's probably dreaming. I wonder what a phoenix dreams about? Well, I won't wake him. He'd only get up to some sort of mischief. He conjured a cage around the perch, a tricky spell that he managed with ease, and then he covered the cage with a conjured cloth and floated it along to the dining hall.
~~~~~
Fawkes dreamed of the Ancient Ancestors who had ruled the world long before the first phoenix was hatched. They were strangely beautiful, graceful creatures that the muggles called by awkward names like Archaeopteryx and Confuciusornis. He watched them in his dream. Some soared through the skies, some were flightless and, shockingly, many of them had teeth, but all of them were covered with beautiful feathers, just like today's birds. Fawkes knew they had all been destroyed by the wrath of the sky gods a long time ago. It made him sad to think of it.
An Archaeopteryx flew past and winked at Fawkes. Carry on, little brother! he sang.
~~~~~
When Severus reached the dining hall, Cohen and Armstrong were already there, and the rest of the staff were pouring in. "I need most of you to wake the children, organize them into groups, and escort them to New Orleans," Cohen announced. "We need to get them out, just in case some of those things get past the Agents. Use the Emergency Floo; it's big and powerful enough to take groups of up to ten all the way there. Now get going!
Then he turned to Armstrong. "If you and your group are willing," Cohen said, "I'd like you to stand guard on the wall, in case any of those things approach. You'll be our last line of defense."
"We're ready," Armstrong said, looking at the others. "Let's go!"
"Look after Fawkes for me," Severus said to Cohen. He floated the covered cage with the still-sleeping phoenix over into a quiet corner, and then he apparated with Armstrong. The two of them appeared on top of the wall nearest to the battle area. Kat and Angie were already there, and somewhat to Severus's surprise, Saunders was there, too.
"So what happens now?" Kat asked.
"We wait," said Angie, staring out into the darkness.
~~~~~
"So where are you heading?" Seabiscuit asked as Argus Filch took a seat in the mess.
Filch poured himself a mug of tea. "America", he replied.
"Where in America?" Biscuit asked, just to make conversation.
"I haven't decided yet," Filch said irritably. He reached for the sugar.
"Well, I'd recommend a stop in Baltimore," Biscuit said. "My cousin works for the Wizard Immigration Assistance Agency there. They can help you get proper identification - the muggles are very uptight about illegal immigrants these days - and they'll point you toward the various wizarding groups and communities. They have programs to help people get settled, and they have programs for squibs who …"
"I am NOT a squib!" Argus shouted.
Oops, thought Biscuit, I guess I hit a nerve there. "Of course not," he said quickly. "I just meant that they have programs for everyone there, no matter who or what they are."
"Hrummph," said Filch.
Biscuit left the man grumbling to himself and went back into the galley. He was in the midst of making vegetable soup when the silence was broken by a distant yelp.
"My cat!" Filch cried. "Something's happened to my cat!" He jumped up and ran off to find her.
~~~~~
Mrs Norris yelped in surprise when she spotted Cosmo, the ship's kneazle, watching her from behind a sack of mail.
Hi there, beautiful, he purred as he crept out of his hiding place and sauntered across the floor. What's a nice gal like you doin' on a boat like this?
Mrs Norris scowled. The nerve of that big orange kneazle! she thought. Who does he think he is, giving me a corny old pick-up line like that? She looked him over with her big yellow eyes. He does have lovely fur and nice green eyes, though. Those black tufts on his ears and tail are kind of classy, too. Must be a pureblood. Well, I'll show him a thing or two! When he got close enough, she gave a mighty hiss and swatted him upside the head, knocking him head over heels and ripping his ear.
Wow! Whatta woman! Cosmo thought, shaking his head as he righted himself. He puffed himself up and started yodeling loudly. She answered him with a long, drawn out howl.
~~~~~
"So do you think the Ghoul Busters can handle them?" Kat asked after a while.
"Probably," said Angie. "The Busters are kind of … insensitive, I guess you might say. They're really thick, actually; nothing gets to them. It's one of the fundamental requirements for joining them." She thought for a moment. "Maybe that's why most of them are men."
Kat gave her a look. "Ha ha, very funny - not!" he said.
"There is some evidence that being incredibly obtuse and thick-headed can help one resist Dementors," Severus said, remembering Sirius Black's sojourn in Azkaban for a moment. "However, it probably does not help one cast a strong patronus."
Angie scoffed. "I'm sure the Busters all have extremely powerful patronuses. Things like lions and tigers and bears."
"I hope you're right," Armstrong said.
"The Dementors may be smarter than we think," Severus said. "I've heard that Dementors always flee before a patronus. However, if they scatter instead, then some of them could double back."
"You mean that, while the Busters' patronuses are busy attacking some of them, the rest could be heading back here?" Angie asked.
"Precisely," said Severus. "The Dementor that encountered those two girls last night, Darkness and Mysteria, or whatever their names are, was probably doing exactly that."
Armstrong increased the light from his wand. "Dementors are sooty black, and it's going to be hard to spot them in the dark. They could be on us before we know it."
Severus nodded, remembering the one that had sneaked up on him the previous night.
"I'll fix that," Angie said, and she cast Dementorem Revelio. "There's one!" she cried. "Over there, to the left! Expecto patronum!" A silver streak sprang from her wand and sped after the Dementor. "The rest of you hold back! There may be more!"
And indeed there were. It wasn't long before their charms revealed at least four more hiding in the dark.
"Expecto patronum!" cried Armstrong and Kat, and silver streaks flashed from their wands and flew toward the shadowy creatures.
Severus closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and remembered how good it felt to be alive. Then he called out, "Expecto patronum!" and his patronus sped after the others.
Saunders was the last one to cast. His voice quivered and his patronus failed to materialize, so Severus wasn't surprised when the young Agent apparated away right afterward. With their patronuses gone, they were completely vulnerable. There was nothing to stop any Dementors that managed to dodge the patronuses. Not only were they unprotected, but so was the school. If any of the monsters got past them, they could get inside.
~~~~~
Inside the school, the evacuation was not going well. The staff didn't want to send the children unescorted, and there weren't enough teachers for every group, so after delivering a group, the teacher would have to come back for another. This had caused a major traffic jam at the floo.
"Be careful coming back - don't get in the way of outgoing groups!" Mr Cohen kept shouting, but it was no use. He watched helplessly as an incoming Ms Larose collided with Ms Brewster and an outgoing group. They all ended up in a heap on the floor, but the older boys didn't seem to mind too much. Most of them were quite enamored of the majestic Divination teacher.
"Boys are such morons," Mysteria said, rolling her eyes, "and so are teachers!"
"Hey, look," Darkness said, "I think that's Fawksie, asleep in that cage in the corner. He doesn't know what's going on."
"Well, I can fix that," Mysteria said. Leaving her place in line, she fished around in her backpack and came up with a packet of chocolate-covered coffee beans. She uncovered the cage, opened its door, and held some beans under Fawkes's beak. "Wakey wakey, pretty birdie," she crooned, "I've got some yummy treats for you!"
~~~~~
Contrary to Angie's expectations, the Ghoul Busters were having a rough time of it in the swamp. Even the toughest of them could feel the effects of the Dementors. Irrational fears began to creep into their minds, and it became difficult for them to think clearly. Their patronuses started to weaken.
Their captain took a deep breath and reminded himself to stay calm. "Keep thinking good thoughts to keep yourselves strong!" he ordered. "And keep your patronuses out there until all of those monsters have been destroyed!"
He turned to see a Dementor closing in on his sergeant, who was leaning on a tree and vomiting. He thought of his parents, visualizing their smiling faces with all his might, and he waved his wand to recall his patronus. His silver boar responded and came charging back to gore the Dementor with its tusks.
~~~~~
Severus and his companions watched tensely as their patronuses zigzagged through the trees. The silver creatures would gang up on one of the Dementors and try to destroy it, but then they'd suddenly be distracted by another. It reminded Kat of the muggle game called Whack-A-Mole.
"Is it my imagination, or is the light from the Busters' patronuses getting weaker?" Armstrong asked, peering off into the distance.
"So it would appear," Severus said grimly. "We could use a backup plan." In the worst case, he knew he could cast Fiendfyre on the monsters, but that would be an act of last resort. He wasn't certain that he could control the flames. It wasn't the sort of curse that one practiced, after all; it was far too dangerous. The Carrows had been insane to even mention it to the Hogwarts students. He could only hope that Cohen was almost finished evacuating the students.
Suddenly there was a loud 'crack' and Saunders appeared beside him. "Now what?" Severus started to growl, but the young Agent grabbed him and apparated away, taking Severus along with him.
~~~~~
Fawkes happily gobbled down Mysteria's coffee beans, and then he looked around as the caffeine took hold and his sleepiness faded away. What? he wondered. It seems to be the middle of the night. What is everyone doing? Have they all gone crazy? These fledglings should be asleep now! So should I! And where is my wizard? What's going on here?
"The Dementor-things are back, Fawkes," Mysteria told him. "We've got to get out of here." She pointed at the floo. Mr Griffin, the magical creatures expert, had just tried to leave with a group of twelve, having failed to count them accurately in the confusion, and purple smoke was pouring out of the overworked floo. Mr Cohen was frantically casting spells at it, trying to get it back into working order.
The phoenix didn't understand the girl's words, but he could sense the danger. He shrieked, took off, and flew straight through the nearest window, leaving a phoenix-shaped hole in the glass.
~~~~~
When they landed, Severus grabbed Saunders by the throat and slammed him up against the nearest wall. "You sniveling coward!" he snarled. "I should break your useless neck!"
"No! Listen!" Saunders managed to croak. "I need your help!"
"It's the students who need my help, not you!" he said, flinging Saunders to the floor.
He turned to apparate back to the others, but Saunders grabbed his leg and screamed, "I KNOW HOW TO STOP THEM!"
Severus hesitated and, for the first time, he looked around. They were in some kind of windowless wooden shack lit by a kerosene lantern that sat in one corner. An ominous-looking symbol that he'd never seen before was drawn in the center of the dirt floor, surrounded by a circle of black candles. There was also a bowl of what looked like blood, along with some smaller bowls that held powders, herbs, bones, and pickled monstrosities.
"I know a spell that should weaken them so they'll be easy to destroy," Saunders groaned. "I saw it done once, to some other … things. I tried to cast it, but I'm not strong enough to do it alone. I need help."
Saunders was bleeding from one wrist, and Severus realized that the blood in the bowl must be his. He was also bleeding from his nose, but Severus had caused that when he'd thrown the young Agent to the floor.
"Let go of my leg and pull yourself together!" Severus snapped. He pulled a vial of blood-replenishing potion from a pouch on his belt and tossed it to Saunders. "There's no time to waste."
~~~~~
"You fat orange furball!" Seabiscuit said as he picked up the kneazle. "Whaddya think this is, the Love Boat?"
Cosmo smiled back at Mrs Norris as the cook carried him off. See ya later, Sweetie, he purred.
"Lock him up somewhere!" Filch fumed.
Mrs Norris glanced toward the cargo hold and waved her tail. After midnight, then, Big Fella, she purred.
~~~~~
"Listen, Harry," Ron said, "this trip is going to take more than one day, whether we find Snape or not, so we can't leave until after Auror training on Friday night. And we don't want to arrive in New Orleans in the middle of the night, so we might as well wait until Saturday morning, after breakfast." He was using every excuse that he could think of, desperately trying to delay their trip in the hope that Harry would somehow come to his senses and lose interest in finding Snape.
"No," said Harry, "there's a time difference that will work in our favor. It's several hours earlier there than it is here."
"Really?" Ron asked. He hadn't paid much attention in Astronomy class, and he'd never given much thought to the Earth's rotation.
"It's true," Harry told him. "If it's early evening here, it should be mid-afternoon there, I think." He wasn't too clear on the details, either. "Tomorrow is Friday, so we can leave right after training."
Ron sighed. He was running out of plausible excuses. It wasn't that he didn't want to go to New Orleans; that part sounded like fun. But what if they actually found Snape?
Well, how bad could that really be? Ron asked himself. Sure, Snape can be pretty scary sometimes, but he's not Voldemort. He won't do anything lethal. And there won't be any Acromantulas there, or Basilisks, or Dementors, or anything like that. No, there's no reason to be too worried.
To be continued …
P.S - This story usually updates first at fanfiction.net. See wolfwillow there.