Up and Down

Mother and Daughter

"Ah, Ms Visconti."

"Professor."

She stands in the cluttered office, hands clasped demurely before her as she waits for the pompous man before her to continue. Black stiples his fingers, looking down at her from behind his desk.

"I presume you know what it is I summoned you here to talk about?"

"No, professor."

"Do not play coy, girl. Not something of Fig's to emulate, least of all now."

How dare he invoke Fig's name. She clenches her teeth, glaring at the Headmaster.

"I'm afraid I do not follow, professor. I don't know why you would summon me here."

She has an inkling. But she would rather have him spell it out anyway.

"Let me be plain, Ms Visconti. Mr Scaevus Gaunt has notified the Department of Magical Law Enforcement that his son Orceus is missing, and his heir Marvolo has been beaten and tortured."

Her heart is hammering against her ribs but she stands still and keeps her face neutral.

"And what do I have to do with all that, professor?"

"Do not lie to me, Ms Visconti. I know that Marvolo and Orceus Gaunt have sought you out for meddling in their family affairs. They wanted to protect their brother from you."

She wants to laugh. Protect Ominis? From her?! And who would protect him from them?!

Anna waits as Black's eyes bore into her waiting for some sort of response. She doesn't give him one.

"I am this close to summoning Aurors to Hogwarts, Ms Visconti. Unless you can provide me with a satisfactory explanation for what happened to Orceus Gaunt and who subjected Marvolo Gaunt to torture, I will hand you over to them."

Her fingers touch the warm metal of the ring on her finger. They cannot take her away. They can't. No, no, no...

"What. Is. That."

Black's voice suddenly loses all pretence of civility. He stares at her hand, at her ring.

Marching up to her, the man grabs her by the wrist, yanking her arm up.

"This ring, it belonged to my aunt Cassiopeia! Where did a half-blood like you get it?!"

"Let go of me!" She tries to pull her hand back but Black holds it in a vice grip, his face white with fury.

"Answer me, girl! Was it Mr Sallow who gave you this? No, he wouldn't have the funds to acquire something like this. No. It must have been... Mr Ominis Gaunt. Ominis, Ominis, Ominis... that willful boy, he dares..."

There is a vicious disdain on his face. Disgust, even.

"You will rot in Azkaban, girl, and Ominis will learn his lesson. You are-"

The sound of stone steps sliding past the walls of the passage interrupts whatever insult Black had prepared for her. Anna's knees tremble with relief, expecting Ominis and Sebastian to rush inside and help her resolve this mess, somehow.

But it's not the person she expected.

"Get away from my daughter, you bastard!!"

Alice Prince hurtles up the stairs and past stunned Anna to wrench her hand away from Black and insert herself in between the two of them, pushing the Headmaster away with a rough shove.