Meadows and De Vere
Morwena gazed at the picture of Scott Highcross, nobly holding the Snitch aloft. “Do you think he was a Muggleborn?”
“I do,” said Robert, softly.
“Do they let Muggleborns in Slytherin House?” asked Pauline, tartly.
Robert gazed slyly at her. “It does happen occasionally.”
Morwena: “I’ve never come across this name on any of the family trees I’ve studied.”
“Nor have I,” said Robert. “There’s another interesting tidbit here that supports this line of thinking – Highcross never flew a minute for the Silver Serpents.”
“What?” cried Tess, indignantly. “Good enough for this school All-Star team, but not good enough for the House Club?”
“It is odd, isn’t it?” said Robert. “He must have had a reputation around school as a top-notch flyer. He was good enough that they moved Diggory, who had been Seeker for the Badgers that year, to Center Chaser, where he had two goals and four assists in the match against Beauxbatons.
"Now, you could argue that Chaser was Diggory's more natural position, that he was only Seeker because he was the Badgers best flyer. Still, Highcross must have been damn good for them to put him at Seeker for this match, with school pride on the line.
"Yet, he never played for the Snakes. He was a reserve in '90 and '91. After the victory of Beauxbatons, he should have been the heir apparent going into the ’92 season. But something happened that derailed his candidacy."
Robert’s eyes fell on Rhiannon. “MacDougal, you know your Quidditch, don’t you? Do you know who was Seeker for the Snakes in the ’92-93 campaign?”
Rhiannon flushed and glared back at him. She resented references to her father, the famous Quidditch player. But then, she gave a start and said soflty, “Malfoy.”
Robert grinned broadly. “Yes. Do you remember the story?”
Her confidence surging, Rhiannon answered quickly. “Didn’t his father buy everybody broomsticks?”
“Indeed. In the Autumn of 1992, Lucius Malfoy outfitted the Silver Serpents with top-of-the-line Nimbus broomsticks. In exchange, he had his son installed as Seeker, so young Draco could extend his rivalry with Harry Potter onto the Quidditch pitch.
“Though few families had the prestige and clout of the Malfoys, if Highcross had possessed decent wizarding heritage, he might have withstood the challenge from young Draco. He would have had seniority, being a Fifth Year. If he was Muggleborn, though, he would have stood no chance, certainly not then. He would have been forced to step aside, which, incidentally, is exactly what happened."
Tess, feeling she must contribute something, interjected, “He was a Prefect!”
Morwena, firmly: “So was Meadows. They must have known one another.”
“I agree,” said Robert. “You should start there. Ask Meadows what she knows about Highcross. Then, move on to DeVere. Work your way up to McGonagall.”
Tess gasped. “McGonagall? I hardly think we need to bother the Headmistress about this!”
“Who do you think gave me that photograph?” countered Robert. “I wouldn’t have found it in the Slytherin archives. McGonagall knows Highcross. You’ll need to talk to her if you’re going to investigate this properly.”
“Let’s see what the other two tell us,” said Morwena. “We don’t need to bother the Headmistress yet.”
Later, in their dormitory, Morwena outlined their strategy. “Let’s keep this quiet. We don’t want to tip off Meadows as to what’s coming. We also don’t want Rebecca to know we’re doing this for Robert, not until we’re much father along. I don’t want her to try and stop us. And, let’s do our best to keep this from Vanessa and Umberto. I don’t want them cutting in on our project!”
The girls’ next Transfiguration class was not until Monday. It was the last class before lunch. All during the weekend, the girls stuck to their gossip and said nothing about the Highcross investigation. That was fine with Tess. She was nervous about confronting her teachers about Scott Highcross. She would have rather kept her musings to herself.
Now that Morwena was involved, this was her project. Morwena was the one that was desperate for extra-credit points in History. All she cares about is finishing ahead of Calliope, so she can be Head Girl. That’s six years away! I don’t even know what I want to be doing six days from now!
Monday morning, it was Tess’ turn to be nervous. She ate half a slice of toast and a few nibbles of scrambled eggs. Morwena gave her a hug and whispered, “Go on. Everything will be fine.”
The morning seemed to drag on. Defense was first. Gregor was intent on lecturing for the entire period. Tess did her best to pay attention and took careful notes, but it was dry work. It’s more fun when we get to practice, she mused.
In Charms, they did get to practice some of the spells they had been learning, but only after another half-hour of lecture and note-taking. Tess and Morwena spent the last twenty minutes of class using magic to dry damp parchment, a useful spell in such a rainy place as Hogwarts.
Finally, it was time for Transfiguration. Meadows lectured for the first half of the period, then let them work on their project for the second half. As before, Tess focused on her notes, and channeling magical energies through her wand, and ignored Meadows.
The others, however, did not. There was not a moment, as Meadows moved around the room, assessing and coaching her pupils, that she was not under the watchful eye of one of the Coven. At the end of class, as the other students were packing up, Tess saw silent signals passing between Morwena, Rhiannon and Pauline. Morwena looked in Tess' direction and mouthed the word, "Wait."
Meadows dismissed her students, and the room slowly emptied out, until it was just the Slytherin witches. Vanessa lingered in the doorway, perhaps curious, perhaps spying on orders from Umberto. Pauline turned on her. "Get on your way! This doesn't concern you!" Vanessa left in a huff.
Meadows said, "Pauline, you really should be nicer to Vanessa." She looked nervously from girl to girl. "What can I help you ladies with?"
Tess was flushed, cringing. Morwena calmly took the lead. “We’re researching a picture we saw in the Slytherin Common Room. It turns out the boy was a former classmate of yours, Scott Highcross. Do you remember him?”
Meadows’ eyes went wide. Her face drained of colour. “Yes, Scott was a classmate of mine.”
“Weren’t you prefects together?” probed Morwena.
Meadows leaned up against her desk. She suddenly flushed, hotly. “Yes. And I knew him, of course, long before that, being in the same year and all.”
“Were you friends?” asked Tess.
Meadows blush deepened. “I suppose. We weren’t close. He was a very handsome boy, you must know that if you’ve seen his picture, and I was just an average, shy Hufflepuff. But, he polite and sweet and grand and charismatic. He had many friends.”
Morwena’s eyes narrowed, and her brow furrowed. “Do you keep in touch?”
A look of sorrow crossed Meadows face. She looked away, towards the wall. “He was killed in the early days of the war. His funeral . . . I had never been so sad. He had so much . . . potential. So much to live for.”
Tess’ stomach sank. A fear she had held in secret was suddenly confirmed. We had never heard anything about him because he was already dead.
Pauline: “You said his name once, in class. Tess heard you.”
This was a blow to Meadows. Was she afraid? Torn? Still sad that this man was dead? Tess couldn’t tell. When she spoke, Meadows voice was stifled. “I hope I didn’t trouble you, Tess. You really are coming along well in Transfiguration . . . I . . . Scott has been on my mind, lately. I got a letter over the summer from . . . a mutual friend. It brought up a lot of old memories.”
Tess held in her breath and waited for Meadows to say the name of this old friend, but she did not. Instead, Meadows said, “It’s getting late. You girls should go to lunch. You need to be ready for your next lecture.”
Morwena, however, was not done. She asked sternly, “Is there something about Tess that reminds you of Scott Highcross?”
Quick waves of emotion crossed Meadows’ face once more. “I don’t know the picture that you’ve seen. When he was older, of course . . . but at eleven, girls and boys are still more alike than different.”
Morwena considered her another moment before saying, “Thank you, Professor.”
The four girls walked down the empty stairwell. The sound of voices carried up from the Great Hall below. Tess walked, lost in thought. Morwena draped her arm around Tess and said, “I’m sorry, Tess. Are you sad to learn that Highcross is dead?”
“Yes. I don’t know why, but I am.”
Pauline: "One thing that you have always said, Morwena: Hufflepuffs are terrible liars. We cornered her, but she could have bluffed her way out of it. We would have been none the wiser. But she didn't have it in her. It was right there, all over her face!"
Morwena gave Tess another squeeze, then let go. She turned to Rhiannon and said, "Rhi, do you have any comment?"
"I don't like it," Rhiannon said, flatly. "I've got a bad feeling about all this."
"It’s probably nothing,” said Tess.
"Oh, it's something," huffed Rhiannon. "It's only nothing if we forget about it."
"What does your gut tell you?" asked Morwena.
Rhiannon bit down on her lip, and her jaw quivered. Morwena waited patiently for an answer. Finally, Rhiannon said, "You don't look like someone unless you're related to him."
"But I can’t be related to him!" cried Tess. “He’s Muggleborn!”
Rhiannon huffed her rebuttal.
The girls’ first chance to question Professor DeVere was Tuesday afternoon. Tess was nervous again. She was grateful to have Morwena as her lab partner. Morwena followed DeVere’s directions carefully. She gave Tess simple things to do, like dicing magical herbs for the potion.
Towards the end of class, DeVere came around to inspect their potion. “Another solid effort, girls.”
“Thank you, Professor,” said Morwena, promptly. As he began to move to the next group, Morwena called out to him. “Professor, we’d like a chance to speak to you after class.”
He smiled pleasantly. “I can give you a few minutes. My next class starts at three fifteen.”
Once he had moved on, Morwena grimaced. “That won’t give us much time.”
“I’m sure it will be enough,” said Tess. “We just have a few questions for him.”
Promptly at three o’clock, Professor DeVere dismissed the class. This was the last class of the day for the First Years. The Gryffindor boys ran from the room. Everyone else took their time gathering up their things. Rhiannon and Pauline came over to where Morwena and Tess were standing. Umberto gave them a questioning look. Tess turned her back on him.
“They’re going to be talking about this, for certain,” said Tess softly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t find them lingering by the door.”
“It’s impossible to work in secret, in a school like this,” said Morwena. “Especially if you’re a Slytherin.”
By the time everyone else had left, it was nearly five minutes after three. Morwena led the way, down the steps to the professor’s lectern. “So, you girls have a question for me,” said DeVere, pleasantly. “Is this about Potions, or is this the side project Robert Kaufmann put you up to?”
Tess was shocked. Morwena had anticipated that Meadows might tell the other teachers that some First Year girls were asking questions about one of the alumni. But, not once had they mentioned Robert Kaufmann to Meadows.
Morwena, however, kept her voice calm and steady. “Yes, Professor, this is about our side project. We’re researching a picture that Kaufmann has displayed in our Common Room, a picture of Scott Highcross.”
“I remember Highcross,” said DeVere. “I’m sure that’s what you wanted to ask me. He was a few years younger than I was, of course. He was one of the students that I tutored in Potions.
“You see, Professor Snape was a master among masters when it came to Potions. He was a great instructor, if you had aptitude for the subject. If you didn’t, you were a dunderhead, and he didn’t have time for you.
“Starting in my Fifth Year, I started a study group for younger students who were struggling. Scott was the first to join. He was simply miserable in Potions, but, thanks to me, he scratched out an ‘Acceptable.’”
“Do you remember who his friends were?” probed Morwena. “Who his girlfriend was?”
DeVere laughed. “Scott was a handsome guy. I’m sure he had girlfriends. Couldn’t tell you who they were.”
“Did you keep in touch with him after graduation?”
“No, I did not. I went abroad and stayed there. My family sensed there was trouble coming, so they kept me in Italy until it blew over. I didn’t know Scott had died until I returned home, after the war.”
A Ravenclaw boy came into the room and sat down in the front row, not far from where the girls were standing. “You girls should go,” said DeVere, gently. “As you can see, my Ravenclaw Fourth Years are already arriving.”
“One more quick question, Professor,” asked Morwena, urgently. “It doesn’t sound like you knew Highcross terribly well. Did something recently spark your memory about him? Did you, by chance, receive a letter over the summer about him?”
“I’m sorry girls, but we’re out of time. If you will excuse me, I need to make some last-minute preparations for my next class.”
More older students were trickling in, gazing suspiciously at the young girls. They had no choice but to leave.
Out in the hallway, Morwena looked both ways. “Umberto isn’t here,” she said dryly. “We must have just missed him.”
Rhiannon flatly stated the obvious. “DeVere was ready for us.”
Morwena sighed. “How did he possibly know about Kaufmann? We didn’t say anything about him to Meadows!”
Pauline: “Rebecca told Gregor about this.”
Morwena nodded. “The staff must have conferred after our interview with Meadows and compared notes. But, why the secrecy? Why couldn’t he even tell us if he got a letter?”
Rhiannon gave a harsh, irritated huff. “Because they don’t want us to know! Not Meadows, not DeVere. None of them! We’re digging into some old scandal, and if we keep at it, we’re going to get in trouble!”