Chapter 29

"The Potter boy?" Snape grinned. He'd wondered when Lucius was going to make his move against the Dark Lord's mortal enemy. Fortunately, he and Dumbledore had prepared for this.

"No, we can deal with Potter later; I speak of one Mr. ... Amastacia-Liadon," Lucius said. He... no, it knows too much, whatever it is that we summoned, Lucius thought. "Whatever you have to do, get him out of that school."

"It shall be as you say," Snape said. Now, this is good news, Snape thought. Time to get back at that boy for insulting my house and attacking my students. And unlike Potter, I'm under no obligation to protect him. Snape smiled briefly before masking it. No sense letting Lucius know I'd do this one for free.

"It shouldn't be too hard for you," Lucius said. "He's not a wizard." I doubt he's even human. We may have accidentally created some sort of ... Homunculus. An artificial human. There's no telling what it might do.

o—o—o—o

When Milo returned to the castle, it was late afternoon. He was glad to make it to safety—not because he thought he was really in any mortal danger, after what he'd discovered in the forest, but because without any powerful spells he was as good as useless if another plot hook appeared.

What he had to do was find Harry. He had a right to know about Milo's discovery—it directly affected the Boy-Who-Lived, after all.

"M-M-Milo," Milo heard a familiar voice from behind him. "M-m-m-ight I have a w-w-w-word with you?"

"Sure," Milo said. "What's up, Professor?"

"E-enjoying the sun, I s-s-see?" Quirrell asked.

"It was sunny?" Milo asked. Nobody ever paid much attention to weather where he was from, unless it was an ominous thunderstorm. "Well, then I guess I was. And I went to check out that spider thingy I killed the other day."

"Oh, did you?" Quirrell asked. "Whatever for?"

"It's just that something seemed wrong about the whole thing. The tree really shouldn't have killed it," he said.

"It looked like a pretty heavy tree to me," Quirrell said. "Maybe it was an extraordinarily lucky hit?"

"Falling objects can't critical hit, because they don't make attack rolls," Milo said. "It would be different if I threw it."

Quirrell paused.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

"Ah, nevermind. I'll figure it out eventually. I don't suppose you noticed anything?"

"No," said Quirrell. "I did not—although just a moment ago, I did see the Potions Master heading into the forest." Quirrell looked Milo directly in the eye when he did, as if expecting something.

"Oh, did you?" Milo said. "Wonder what he was doing. Gathering rare potions ingredients or something. Probably. Yeah, totally that." Natural 1 on Bluff. Great. Just great.

"Of course. Well, I'll be seeing you in class Monday," Quirrell said.

o—o—o—o

Not a Wizard? Snape mused. What could that possibly mean? How could he be in Hogwarts and not be a Wizard? I'll have to keep a closer eye on him in class...

Snape's breath caught. The only reason Lucius would have an interest in him is if the boy's tale were true, he thought. So, impossible as it seems, he really is from another world.

Snape was caught in a dilemma. If he refused to do as Lucius asked, it would blow his cover with the Death Eaters, and his position there would be necessary in the next war. And, though he tried to keep it from influencing his decision, he did want to get his revenge with Milo for 'accidentally' blinding his students. But... Snape was under no illusions about what Lucius would do to Milo once the boy was outside of the wards and away from Dumbledore's protection.

The Snape that everyone knew, the pawn of Lucius, would comply. If he didn't, it would confirm any suspicions Lucius had about him being a double agent. And besides, if Milo really wasn't a wizard, then it would be Snape's duty as professor to make sure he was expelled. Besides, Milo wasn't anyone important. It was unfortunate, perhaps, but the boy had become a pawn that needed to be sacrificed to protect the king.

Snape was broken out of his reverie when he bumped into the Defence Professor.

"S-s-s-sorry, S-S-Severus," Quirrell stammered and scurried away. Snape shook his head. It should have been me with that position, Snape thought. Quirrell is much more suited to his old job as Professor of Muggle Studies.

Hang on, Snape thought. He could practically hear the wheels clicking in his brain. What was it Quirrell said about Milo? That he was impressed with his magical abilities? From what Snape had heard, Milo was one of the least gifted students that Hogwarts had seen, apart from his occasional demonstration of wandless magic. And after that acromantula attack, Quirrell had tried pretty desperately to save the boy... most unusual. The Quirrell that Snape knew fainted whenever he saw a spider.

Most unusual, indeed. With everything going on involving Milo, nothing, Snape decided, should be treated as coincidence. Snape resolved to keep a closer eye on the Defence Professor, and watch for an opportunity to prove Milo's lack of magic. Shouldn't be too hard, he thought. I'll just have to wait for the other students to progress somewhat. When he fails to do so as well, that will be evidence enough.

o—o—o—o

Sometimes I'm so clever I outsmart myself, Milo thought bitterly. This is one of those times.

"Squeak squeak squeak squeak," Mordy said excitedly. "Squeak squeak SQUEAK."

"Mordenkainen: I don't speak Rat," Milo said, his voice tinged with an edge of frustration. Though they shared an empathic link, which let each know the other's general mood and condition, they couldn't actually speak until Milo hit level five.

"What's up, mate?" Ron asked him. Milo was sitting in Gryffindor Common Room, trying to figure out what Mordy had seen Snape do. From what he could tell, there was a great deal of squeaking involved. Ron and Harry had just walked through the portal, looking despondent.

"I found Snape sneaking about in the forest and had Mordy tail him, but I evidently didn't think very far ahead when I did. You ever hear of a spell that lets you talk to animals?"

"Nope," Ron said. "Except for Parselmouths, of course."

"Parcel mouths?" Milo asked. "What are those, aside from the worst thing to get in the mail imaginable?"

"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed. "Everyone knows about Parselmouths."

Harry sighed

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