(1) Lux Brumalis (R. Weasley)

Chapter Eighteen

Snape leads Pixie all the way back to his office, without saying a word. Pixie spends the trip trying to work out what she could have possibly done to get into trouble already. She doesn't remember doing anything. She doesn't think she has anyway. He closes the door behind them and moves to his desk where he picks up a photograph and turns it to face Pixie, she frowns a little and looks down at it. It's a photo of a Gryffindor quidditch team from years past. Snape points at the only woman on the team.

"Do you know who this is?" He asks her, she gives him a weird look. Of course, she knows who that woman is.

"My mom" She offers, he nods.

"She was the youngest chaser in Hogwarts history" He informs her. "Joined the team in her second year..." He then looks down at the photograph. "She was...." He stops. "Probably still is, a very talented flier...." He sets the photograph onto his desk. "I saw what you did for Longbottom" He admits as he sits at his desk. "Not many third years could do what you did" She tilts her head and pulls a face. "Your mother never let you on a broom before?" She shakes her head.

"No" She answers. He hums a little and leans back to watch her. "She said I wasn't old enough" She swings her legs a little. "Do you know what happened?" She asks, he frowns at her. "Why first years with brooms was banned?" He snorts and leans back.

"There was an incident in our first year" He answers. "A group of..." He pauses and sneers a little. "Gryffindors...your mother included, thought going flying at midnight would be a good idea....two of them flew through the windows of the Ravenclaw Tower. Broke an arm and a leg of two separate students sleeping in their beds. And shattered a very rare, very expensive, crystal. After that, first years were banned from bringing brooms"

"Mom did?" She asks with a smirk, she didn't think her mother had it in her. He nods and then looks up as his office door opens and a very large, very angry looking boy walks in. Pixie raises an eyebrow at him.

"Good, you are here" Snape leans up. "Flint" He introduces for Pixie. "He's captain of the Slytherin team" Pixie glances at the huge Slytherin boy. She's seen him around the common room but all but a few keep their distance from him. "This is Stark, she's your new chaser" Pixie turns a look on Snape.

"I'm sorry, what?" Pixie asks him. "I never said I wanted to play quidditch"

"She's too small anyway" Flint comments as he looks over her, Pixie turns a dirty look on him.

"Excuse me?" Pixie argues.

"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Stark?" Flint asks her.

"My mother took me once a month to watch the All-Stars play" She answers. Flint pulls a face and nods.

"Your mother play herself?" He counters, she nods.

"Her mother is Tatiana Snape" Snape points out. Flint seems to instantly recognise the name. There aren't many in the wizarding world who doesn't know her.

"Youngest chaser in Hogwarts history" Flint muses and then seems to double-check Pixie. Her mother was small for a chaser too. And one of the best players Hogwarts has ever seen. "She'll need a decent broom....a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven" Flint points out. "And a kit..."

"I shall speak to Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule" Snape offers already making a note to write to Tatiana about getting Pixie a broom. "Send an owl to your mother," He tells Pixie. "She'll want to be informed as soon as magically possible" Pixie snorts a little. He's not wrong about her mother here.

"Training starts next week," Flint tells Pixie. "Pull your weight or you are off the team" He adds and then leaves. Pixie pulls a face.

"I don't remember agreeing to this" She admits. She honestly can recall saying that she was on board.

"Give it a try" Snape offers. "One game, and if you do not like it...you can quit. But you are your mother's daughter, I am sure you will do great" She looks at him and raises an eyebrow. He's so stoic and angry in class that him being supportive and nice is weird. "You both have the same 'something is weird' look" He mumbles and looks away from her. She snorts and shrugs. "You are dismissed" He adds. She stands from her seat and heads to the door, pausing with her hand on the handle, looks back over her shoulder at him.

"Thanks, Uncle Severus" He glances at her. There is something softer in her eyes. This conversation is the first time she's actually felt like he was her uncle. He nods a little and she leaves.

........

Pixie knows eavesdropping is wrong. But when she hears Draco and his friends whispering and laughing she can't help herself. They are up to something. Bad something. They're talking about some dual he arranged with Harry. But Draco's not going to show. He's going to tattle on them instead, get Harry and Ron caught and in trouble and likely expelled. Pixie leans back against the wall and closes her eyes. It's light out now and she can't be caught out of bed herself, but if she doesn't then they will get into trouble. She'd only gotten up because she remembered that she'd left a book in the common room. But boy did she get something even better. She will think about how she can use this information later, right now, she needs to help Ron and Harry.

..........

Harry and Ron wait in the trophy room for Draco and Crabbe to show, and they are not alone, they have somehow managed to pick up Hermione and Neville along the way. Harry makes his way around to look at the trophy cases in the moonlight. Ron keeps his eyes on the door at the end of the room. Harry clutching to his wand, just in case. Time creeps by and nothing. No one comes.

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispers, hopeful. Then a noise from outside one of the doors and they all instantly turn to it. The door swings open and Pixie jumps in.

"Boo" Pixie states and the four of them jump, Neville almost wetting himself. She chuckles a little and waves in greeting.

"Pixie" Harry scolds.

"Sorry, couldn't resist" She shrugs a little and then sobers. "Malfoy's not coming" She offers. "And you need to get out of here" She warns them. "I overheard him...He's told on you..." Harry and Ron share a look. Harry had only just put his wand away when there is another sound, from the next room this time. It's not Draco.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner." It's Filch talking to his cat, Mrs Norris. Pixie looks around as much as she can in the dark before moving to a second door, she has no idea what is on the other side. She yanks it open to reveal a supply closest. Her eyes scan over the mix-matched items inside. She smirks.

"Pixie?" Ron asks when he notices she's not stood with them. Harry spins looking for her. A light appears near the floor. Pixie is crouched, her wand held in her mouth, the tip lit up as she rummages through a box. She holds up a couple of things and looks at Harry with a rather huge look of excitement on her face.