Chapter 12: The Best Birthday (1)

"What is the worst that could happen?" – those were Marquis Carsilion Egbert's exact words when trying to persuade Duke Edward McMahon to send his sweet, innocent baby daughter to Hogwarts. This thought passed through his mind while he was watching from the High Table how the said innocent girl drew out her wand in front of the face of Severus Snape who already had his own wand in hand and was trembling with rage. 

The Marquis swiftly left the table and reached the group of first-years at the same time as Minerva McGonagall.

"Miss Plantier, Mr Snape, what is the meaning of this?" – shouted the Transfiguration teacher, her beady eyes darting between the two culprits. 

"Apparently, Miss Plantier is determined to break the record for the most house points deducted in a single day." – said Carsilion, flicking his wand towards the students, causing both Catherine's and Snape's wands to fly into his open hand.

"Isn't it rather unfair to place the blame solely on me…sir?" – asked Catherine, her voice tinged with irritation, as she looked at her teacher. 

"This is not the case, Miss Plantier," – said the DADA professor and smiled at McGonagall – "if the Head of your House doesn't object, I believe both you and Mr Snape should lose another 15 points each. Since you, Miss, were personally involved in a very dangerous situation this afternoon, I'll give you detention for the next two weeks. I believe Madame Pince would appreciate your assistance with some tasks. Report to her tomorrow, after dinner."

"What?!" – shouted Sirius – "What about Snape? He was the one who attacked her first during the flying lesson?"

"That's quite enough, Mr Black!" – interjected McGonagall – "I completely agree with Professor Thorne. I hope this helps Miss Plantier reflect on her behaviour and observe the high standards that the students of Gryffindor are held to. I will speak with Professor Slughorn, so he could deal with Mr Snape accordingly."

"This is so unfair!" – complained Sirius, looking at the two teachers as they returned to their seats at the High Table. 

"Slughorn is just going to wag his finger at him." – frowned James, glancing towards the Slytherin table where the first-years were laughing. 

"Catherine, are you crying?" – whispered Remus anxiously, looking at the young witch. Two big teardrops fell in Catherine's plate. She frantically wiped her face, stood up and left the Great Hall. 

"Flame, wait!" – shouted Sirius trying to follow her. 

"Don't!"- said Remus, grabbing his friend's sleeve – "I think she might need some alone time."

*** 

Marquis Carsilion Egbert sighed deeply and reclined in his chair, closing his eyes. At first, the idea of coming to Hogwarts and teaching Defence against the Dark Arts had sounded like so much fun. The main goal was, of course, to protect and guide his best friend's daughter, but he couldn't deny that there was also the thrill of working incognito in a place where nobody knew anything about him. It felt surprisingly liberating.

However, he hadn't envisioned that his lack of patience in dealing with kids would prove so problematic. In addition, the calm and collected child who had been living in isolation for almost 11 years, turned into walking mayhem, the moment she set foot in Hogwarts. In all honesty, Carsilion was astonished at how quickly Catherine had managed to make both friends and enemies. For some reason, her male classmates were absolutely fascinated by her to the point that if he were to punish the girl, Potter, Black, or both would have to be punished too. 

On the other hand, she was already rising to the top of the Slytherin's enemy list, which was unexpected, especially since Edward had confined in the Marquis that he had anticipated his daughter would be sorted into Slytherin. While the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin was nothing new, Carsilion suspected that this level of animosity was not normal. Lately, he had been constantly busy breaking up fights and investigating weird incidents, and every time, Catherine McMahon and Severus Snape were involved in one way or another. 

This evening was not an exception. He had to admit that the young witch was quick with both her tongue and wand. He was certain that Snape was ready to send her to the Hospital Wing and he couldn't exactly blame him. Snivellus sounded like a truly nasty alias, and judging from the ecstatic faces of the Gryffindors, it would stick to the boy. 

Carsilion slowly exhaled and looked at the parchment in front of him. If dealing with Edward's daughter was not tiresome enough, he wasn't even halfway through the second-years' essays on the Disillusionment Charm, and the one in front of him was already giving the Marquis a headache. 

A knock on the office door interrupted the professor's train of thoughts.

"Come in!" – said Carsilion. 

A tall blond boy entered the room and closed the door behind him. He looked at the DADA teacher with a solemn expression that reminded the Marquis of his own childhood when his best friend used to make exactly the same face before scolding him. 

"Speak freely, my boy," – he chuckled – "there are several layers of Privacy Spells around my office; nobody would be able to eavesdrop."

"My Lord," – bowed Greg formally – "I wanted to talk to you about my sister."

"I guessed as much." – smiled Carsilion – "Have a seat, and please drop the titles; I am your father's brother in everything but name."

"Right,"- said Greg, sitting in one of the chairs in front of the professor's desk – "then why are you so mean to Catherine?"

The Marquis sighed again and raked his hand through his auburn hair. 

"You are a smart and responsible young man, Greg."- he said eventually – "You understand the stakes of your sister being here and all the preparation that has been done to allow her to have a normal life. I cannot just shower her with attention and guidance. This is also the reason why she had never seen me in the past. It would have been so dangerous if my cover were to get exposed at some point. Several pure-blood families have connections to aristocrats, and they would do anything to be praised and recognised by the respective main families. The last thing we want is someone to associate Catherine and me if it is revealed that I teach at Hogwarts. Same goes for you and her. You should really keep your distance."

Greg pursed his lips and frowned. 

"It's not as if she likes or wants to have me around.'- he said bitterly – 'At home, I didn't mind it that much because I had always thought that she was just a solitary person, and that's why she was always so sarcastic and abrupt when I tried to talk to her or do something with her. But now I see her with Potter, Black and Lupin, and even with Evans, and she is so different. She is still sarcastic, but she is also funny and insightful, and she looks like she cares about these people… She smiles at them."

The boy was looking at his feet and felt confused and emotional. He had come with a completely different idea and ended up pouring his frustration and disappointment in front of Marquis Egbert. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at Carsilion's sky blue eyes, filled with sympathy.

"I know this is hard on you, my boy." – he said in a low voice – "We entrusted you with way too big of a responsibility. You should know, however, that you are an amazing big brother, and Catherine will see it one day. You should try to understand that for her, you are still a link to her prison, and her rage and frustration naturally reflect on you."

"I did everything I could!" – Greg choked out – "It's not my fault."

"Of course, it's not your fault," – said Carsilion – "That's why you should concentrate on your own studies, on your own life, and stop being so overprotective towards your sister. She is going to be fine even if I need to give her detentions for the rest of her time in Hogwarts." 

"She'll give you a run for your Galleons for sure." – Greg said smiling. 

"I have no doubt this will be the case." – the Marquis smiled back – "She is indeed your parents' child. With the inheritance of your mother's rage and your father's recklessness, hardly anyone stands a chance against her."

"You are joking, right?" – asked Greg with a slight concern. 

"I wish I was!" – Carsilion exhaled dramatically – 'Do you know that the first time I met your mother she turned me into a capybara?'