Severus fought the tears trying to fall from his eyes as he looked at his lost friend in front of him.
He knew...
If he did this, he sealed their fate...
"I'm sorry." He choked out to her. "It's got to be now."
He gripped the wand in his hand tigh...
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January 1995
"Accio Parchment!"
Harry held his breath as the parchment slipped right through Professor Snape's hands, and started traveling... towards Harry?!
"Oh thank goodness! Thought I'd lost this forever..."
Harry turned around the best he could and saw Meae standing behind him slightly, holding the map in her hands.
She ran her hand over the map in a slight daze whispering almost reverently... "Mischief Managed..." in a voice so quiet even Harry right next to her, almost couldn't hear her.
He turned worryingly to the men on the other side of him. Snape was looking suspiciously between the parchment in Meae's hand and the Golden Egg Filch was still clutching.
"Potter..." he whispered.
"What's that?" Moody asked calmly leaning on his walking stick as he readjusted his weight.
Harry felt a light kick from behind himself as Meae descended the stairs and moved to block him from possible sight of the other men.
"Be quiet, I'll handle this..." she muttered airily towards him.
Harry nodded silently before realizing she couldn't see him.
Wait....
How did she know he was there?
"That Egg is Potter's Egg. That Parchment belongs to Potter. I have seen it before, I recognize it!" Snape began frantically, stretching his arms out in front of himself as is to feel around for him.
Meae shifted back slightly, getting closer to Harry. It was subtle. Harry doubts anyone noticed the action besides maybe Moody...
"Got Potter's best interests at heart, have you?" Moody growled lowly to Snape.
"Err... actually boys." Meae interrupted finally.
"While it's true these do belong to Harry..." Harry nudged her slightly as she spoke.
Was she trying to get him in trouble?
Meae ignored him.
"It's actually my fault they're here..."
This caused both men to pause their staring contest and look at her strangely.
"The stairs got me... They dropped as I tripped a few floors up... and by dropped I mean it was like I never had them in the first place..." She said awkwardly.
Filch looked at her with wide eyes "But... but Peeves?"
She shrugged slightly "sorry?" She said.
Snape started walking their direction quickly but halted when Meae flinched slightly away from him towards Harry.
Harry knew she flinched because he was behind her and she didn't want Snape to know, not because he had scared her.
But Snape could sod right off, Harry didn't want him anywhere near his family...
"And just why, did you have Potter's things Meae?" Snape asked her with narrowed eyes.
"Harry's been trying to work out the Egg, the screeching doesn't nearly bother me as much as everyone else, he's probably tired after working so hard trying to figure it out, I'm just going to return his things..." she told him without missing a beat.
"What's the parchment?" He asked her.
"Charmed parchment, Harry probably wouldn't want the other champions to read any notes he might be taking on the egg and second task." She said back.
Snape sneered at her suspiciously for a while before muttering "I think I will go to bed."
"Best idea you've had all night." Moody said.
Meae clutched at Harry's arm as she whispered to him.
"Don't lose the map again, it's hard to know who you can trust anymore." She said as she helped him out of the trick stair and handed the map back to him once Filch had left.
She descended down the stairs quickly before turning back to them once more.
"Professor, I'm trusting you to get him back to his dorm safe and sound. I better run interference with Severus before he stews in it too long.... Goodnight boys." She smiled kindly at them.
The two stared after her for a moment before Moody reached into his jacket and pulled out his flask.
"Shame she never became an Auror." The Professor growled before taking a swig from his flask.
Moody turned towards Harry quickly "Close shave, Potter." He muttered.
"Yeah... I-er... thanks." He replied weakly.
"What is that thing?" Moody asked nodding at the Map in Harry's hands.
And Harry...
Well surely Meae couldn't be talking about Moody right?
He was an Auror for Merlin's sake!
"Map of Hogwarts." Harry replied.
No matter how many hands the map moved through that night, only one person saw the words carefully cultivated in scratchy hand writing for the blue haired woman.
