Chapter 45

The ebony wand was not something Maude would need for the next few hours, not if everything went according went according to plan. She pocketed it, and instead pulled out a small flask filled with a liquid, its deep purple appearing black in the darkness of the forest. She unstopped the bottle, and drank half its contents, gasping as her heart began to race. A downward glance confirmed her invisibility, the only sign of her presence a faint shimmer in the air when she moved. Confident now, she strolled out of the forest and towards the front door of Hogwarts where students were beginning to enter and exit. It took her a few moments to cross the snow-covered field, but there was no realistic possibility that anyone would see her, not unless they had been warned that she was coming. Maude ascended the steps to the main entrance quietly, and waited until the door opened, a group of first years spilling out and headed for the green houses and their Herbology lesson with Professor Sprout. After the last of these children had exited the school, Maude stepped through the door before it closed, returning to the school for the first time since she had graduated years earlier. There would be no joyous welcome for the return of the prodigal daughter if her presence were discovered, and Maude held her breath as she stepped into the main entrance.

Everything in the hall appeared exactly as it had been when she was a student. The wall decorations were the same familiar ones that Maude had seen daily when she was a student. The lingering odor of breakfast evoked memories of her own mornings at the school. But Maude paused to consider none of this, instead ascending the staircase to the second floor, effortlessly finding the bathroom haunted by Moaning Myrtle. Maude slipped inside a bathroom stall and closed the door just as the Asturias portion began to wear off. She stood in silence, listening to the sounds of students moving through the hall as she watched her form gradually resume visibility.

The strange odors of the rarely-used bathroom assailed Maude's nostrils, dank smells of things that burst through pipes from time to time as a result of Myrtle's fits of temper. The odor of mold growing on some of the surfaces adding to the bouquet. Maude's wait was broken now and again by the noises associated with the Hogwarts routine. She heard the morning rush in the hallway as students made their way to class, their shouts of laughter echoing through the stone hallways of the castle. When the first morning class of the day was over, she heard the same noises again as students gathered their books, and jostling one another, marched off to their second class.

The door to the bathroom burst open, the noisy arrival startling Maude, who stood on the toilet seat so that her feet would not be visible. It was not one intruder but two, a pair of giggling girls with a spare and some gossip that simply could not wait.

"You'll never believe what happened to Michelle this morning in transfiguration," said the first girl. Her voice was high, breathless and excited.

"What?" said the second girl eagerly.

"Half way through class, right in front of me, Michelle's head turned into a cow's head."

The second girl screamed with laughter. "What did McGonagall do?"

The first girl's voice dropped lower even though there was little danger of them being overheard.

"She said that whoever had cursed Michelle had better come clean immediately, otherwise she would seize all of our wands, examine each and everyone of them and determine whose wand had cast the curse."

"And then?"

Laughing, the first girl continued.

"It was Angela. Once she knew she was going to be caught, she fessed up right away."

"But why did she do it?"

"Well," said the first girl, "Michelle had been spreading pretty nasty rumours about Angela, and in the middle of class, somebody passed Angela a note, telling her all about the latest tale that Michelle was telling. Angela just lost it, and tried to transfigure Michelle into a cow. But she only managed to do the head, which I suppose was good enough. But the detention McGonnigal gave Angela is pretty awful. She'll be working in the kitchen with the house elves for the next week, and she's on bread and water the whole time as well."

"That's harsh!" said the second girl. "And how is Michelle doing?"

"McGonagall transfigured her back straightaway, of course." The first girl paused, struggling to stifle another burst of laughter. "But it gets better. After class was over, Michelle went outside, cleared some of the snow off the ground, and starting eating the grass underneath!"

What was Hogwarts coming to, wondered Maude. When she had been a student, the curses she had meted out to those who offended her had not been so easily cured. If this skill level was all the Dark Lord had to contend with, he would be ruling the magical world very soon.

Maude could have endured more of the teenage gossip, if not for the fact that her meeting should have started by now, and it could not take place with these two chatterboxes nearby. If something was not done, and immediately, perhaps the girls would start to grow roots. Maude silently and expertly flicked her wand towards the pair, and from the shout of pain knew that her curse had hit home.

"What's wrong?" asked one girl of the other.

"My knee! It feels like it's on fire!" With the help of her friend, the injured girl hobbled out of the bathroom and made her way slowly and painfully to Madam Pomfrey's infirmary. Alone now, Maude composed herself, and began to go over once more the explicit commands given her by Lord Voldemort:

'Give the boy no instructions. Give him your full attention so that when you come back, I can take from your mind a clear memory of exactly what he told you. Under no circumstances are you to give the boy suggestions, instructions, or God forbid, orders. Only I give orders.'

The bathroom door opened again, not with a rush this time, but the slow, hesitant movement of someone trying to keep quiet. Soft footsteps, and then the door closed.

"Impregno!"

Whoever had entered did not wish to be disturbed, for she had used a simple locking charm on the door. Not a highly advanced one, to be sure, but a locking charm nonetheless. But more importantly, it was she who had uttered the charm, and not the 'he' Maude was expecting. Maude willed herself into utter silence, scarcely breathing as the intruder crossed the floor to the bathroom stalls and unerringly entered the one next to the one occupied by Maude.

"Are you there?" asked a girl's voice. Maude said nothing. The silence grew, and then once again the voice.

"I shouldn't have asked if you were there. I know you're there. We don't have much time. I would have come in earlier if those stupid idiots hadn't been chattering away. So tell me: why was I told to be here?"