Knowledge is Power

Chapter 19

Mag worked a silencing charm on the window of her dorm room before carefully sliding it open and pushing her broom through. It hovered in the air, waiting as she climbed out after and threw a leg across. The midnight black sky was full of stars and she longed to ride the breeze among them.

Sharing her mood, Nightshade flew out after. Once he was at her side, and she'd softly closed the window behind them, they were off! Mag loved their midnight flights, but they hadn't gone on one in some time. Too frequently she was sleepy by the time it was late enough to go. If they went too early, her dorm mates were still awake and they'd definitely snitch on her for sneaking out. The excitement over sharing Nightshade with Severus had kept her energized tonight, though, and she thought the flight would be a nice way to expend her excess energy.

As they soared through the night sky, the wind causing Mag's long red hair and green school robes to stream out behind her, she couldn't help thinking of the ancestor who shared her name. Had that first Magritte WestCraven also liked to ride her broom at night? Was that what got her spotted by the Muggles and burned?

They flew high over the forest for nearly an hour, Nightshade taking the opportunity to hunt himself down a few midnight mice snacks. They were back inside just before one and as she'd hoped, Mag fell asleep right away. The night flight exercise had done its job and tired her out. She didn't wake until the morning and had pleasant dreams of flying through the starry sky. On the way to breakfast, her mood was so good that she decided to resume an old game she used to play but tired of a few years back. It involved smiling in the most friendly of ways at Gryffindors. Because Gryffindors believed Slytherins to basically be the root of all evil, a friendly smile from a Slytherin really screwed with their heads! It was surprisingly easy.

This morning, she was taken aback when the Gryffindor she smiled at smiled shyly back, then fell into step beside her.
"Hi," the girl said.

"Hi?"
Mag heard the question in her own voice. The girl wasn't even flustered!

"I'm Parvati Patil."
"Mag Westcraven," she replied, for lack of anything better to say.
The two walked in companionable silence until they reached the dining hall, and another Gryffindor girl called out to Parvati.
"That's my friend Lavender," Parvati said.
"Lavender! Come meet my new Slytherin friend Mag."

Blast! The last thing she needed was two Gryffindors being friendly to her first thing in the morning!
"That's okay," she said, and hurried past Parvati and toward the Slytherin table.

As soon as they reached the great hall, Nightshade flew ahead of Mag and to the staff table, holding a rolled parchment in his claws. He presented it to Severus as though it were the morning mail. Taking it, Severus pretended to read it, then stood as if needing to reply at once, and left the Great Hall. Nightshade flew along behind him.
//Hey what about breakfast? An owl gotta eat.//

//We'll go back,// Severus replied.
Once in the dungeon with the door locked, he gestured Nightshade to his shoulder where he already had a thick leather shoulderpad in place under his robe.
"Now for the chameleon charms," he said.
Flicking his wand at his robe, then at Nightshade, Severus spoke a spell rapidly under his breath that Nightshade's sleepy ass was too morning mind fogged to follow. In truth he didn't really give a shit either as he'd not need to be performing the spell himself.

For the second one, Severus's wand pointed at his own head, then at Nightshade's. Nightshade could feel some sort of energy passing between their heads as Snape spoke the Latin spell. The words for head and connecting and hiding were in there somewhere, and Nightshade was pleased with himself for somehow paying attention in Mag's classes and even remembering a bit of Latin. Smartest owl EVER, he told himself proudly.