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Cracker in the Castle	By : karlak Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 814 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter
Four- Paying the Fiddler

The journey to the
Headmasters Office was silent. Neither
spoke. Becca�s� mind was
racing. Was now the time to come
clean? Is now the time to let it
all go and really come clean? To
share her burden and deal with whatever the consequences were, but then another
thought hit her like a slap, but what, what if they have no interest in the
whole truth. There was nothing they
could do about what had been done, so why tell them any of that. For a moment Becca felt sick, her mind reeling into a few
months ago.   She stopped
walking; she had to get it together. Snape
was eyeing her suspiciously. �Are
we plotting another escapade, Miss Moore?�

Becca looked at him.
Then gathered herself up, this was already going to be shitty enough
without Snape in her face. �No, no Surr. Jus
got a lot of thangs on my mind, Surr, I know I gotta come clean, so,� she
stammered off into silence thinking might as well be honest to some point.
Snape could feel her tension rising.
If she tried to run, he was very ready for her.
But looking down at her now, she didn�t appear to be scheming, but
appeared rather sad and shaken. He
was looking for any trace of the confidence shown earlier with the others.
She pulled the boggin off, wanting to be respectful of the Headmaster and
for fear of what was about to happen.

Inside the Headmasters�
office, Professor McGongall was waiting when Becca and Snape entered.
McGongall was slightly shocked to see Becca with Snape.
McGongall was standing next to the fireplace; Snape took a place closer
to her than Becca. Both professors
looked Becca over. As she was about
to speak to Becca, Dumbledore came down the back stairs.
�Well, Severus, what have we here?� the Headmaster asked happily with
underlying tones of comfort. Professor
Snape replied, �I was out in London and this is what I found.�
He spoke quickly giving Becca a chance to reply, but she said nothing.
Becca wasn�t sure what to say or where to start exactly. Should I go allll the way back or just work with tonight?
Think. Think.
Think. Fuck.
Think. Becca did not
realize that she was so caught up in her inner thoughts, that she did not
realize tat she was shaking her head with a confused look on her face

The next to speak was
McGongall, �Why were you off school grounds tonight, child?�
The professor�s head was cocked to the side at an utter loss; Becca was
her student. Of coarse she knew that the girl had lost her father perhaps
a year ago, but there had been no change in her schoolwork, if anything it had
improved, which was hard. Snape
stayed quiet; he admitted to himself that he was mildly interested in the girl,
but only in the terms of questioning what other events had she been up to
lately? He smiled secretly at her
ingenuity, very sly one indeed, but with ludicrous sense of honor and loyalty.

�I played a show
tonight.� McGongall was confused,
�What kind of a show?�

�I
played a small rock concert. I can
play the geetar some. I needed the
money from tonight�s show for us,� the girl spoke so soft that Dumbledore
came in closer to listen better. Becca
kept her eyes downcast; she knew the Headmaster was standing close to her, but
she dared not to look up at him. She
feared rejection and humiliation. Dumbledore
saw the girl visibly get more nervous; he was ready to provide whatever comfort,
children should not deal with such matters, as were his growing suspicions of
her plight. �Miss Moore, should
your mother be contacted?� Professor McGongall asked. �Is she at home? Do
you know where she is presently?� Becca
quietly answered, � I dunno where she is.�
The professors were passing glances from one another; none were speaking.
�Child, how long has she been gone?� McGongall pressed harder.
Becca was trying to find the words, but they just refused to form leaving
her standing before the professors feeling foolish and quite upset.
All those months of staying strong emotionally for herself and others was
beginning to surface with confusion and pain in the forefront.
Becca found herself at a total loss of words; trying two or three times
to just get the words to fall out of her mouth, but they never came. She shook her head a time or two just wanting it to be
clearer.


Becca was starting to move slightly, her nerves getting to best of her.
The Headmaster moved forward slightly, �How about we begin at the
beginning?� he asked calmly trying to lower his gaze to hers peering over his
glasses. Becca was trying to decide
exactly which beginning he was referring to, the evening? Or the real start?
These thoughts caused her to begin to waiver.
Sensing her further stress, Dumbledore offers, �There is another way
for you to show us,� he paused trying to meet her eyes, �or you can tell us.
The choice is yours. We have
to resolve this business.� He
came up right in front of Becca. �I
know this behavior is not of your nature, Becca.
Take a moment and decide how you shall relay the truth to us,� with
that he stepped away back towards his professors.

Leaving Becca to ponder
without them at her immediate attention. Becca
looked at the professors, they had gathered around the front of the fireplace
speaking softly amongst themselves. Becca turned her back to them.
She just needed to think. Snape
moved his position to have a clearer view of the girl when she turned around
from them. He was intently
listening to McGongall speak of the girl�s father dying in some odd accident
at a factory that the man did not work at.
When Becca glanced back over at them, the Headmaster had called for seats
around the fireplace that were drew close enough for an intimate conversation.

�Are you ready my
dear?� asked Dumbledore as he extended his hand out for her to come and sit
with them. Becca approached the
trio. Snape was to her immediate
left with Professor McGongall next to him.
Dumbledore would be to her right, closing the circle.
Becca sat down almost brushing Snape�s leg. She decided she had had ample time to find her voice again
wanting desperately to get right to the point.

�Professor, kin I ask
you a question?� she asked the Headmaster looking him fully in the eye.
�Of coarse, my child, anything?� was his natural reply.
�Can you jus tell me exactly how I can show you, because I want you to
see the whole truth. I
don�t wanna have to tell ya�ll this mess.
It�s jus too mu..� Becca never completed the thought, not wanting to
over speak. Dumbledore believed he understood her reasoning; this was
going to be painful. Snape rolled
his eyes extravagantly; at least he would not have to listen to that ridiculous
English full of female emotions over her current situation, but he, also, knew
that the Headmaster expected him to help this girl.
He was trying to relax a little himself, because he secretly did care
about the well being of all students, and as much as he hated the thought, he
did actually, well, kind of like her, maybe, just a very small amount.

�Becca, none of this
will leave this room. Your
professors and I are committed to seeing this issue resolved.
We offer help out of the darkness. But
first we must know the depths of that darkness,� the Headmaster paused for a
brief second, giving Becca a little time to absorb the idea that they were
willing to help bear her burden, �Professor Snape will cast a spell that will
allow him insight to your memories. He
can see it all. All you need to do
is relax and let him look.� Becca
stole a glance at Snape. His
demeanor was stoic as usual, but Becca could swear there was a tiny hint of
softness in his eyes. She wasn�t
sure what he could possibly be thinking of her disrespect and complete
disregard for school policy not to even begin to mention all the other
shit.

�Will you and Professor
McGongall be able to see �em too? like tv?�
Becca asked wanting further clarification of exactly who was going to see
this bullshit. �Well, there is a
way for us to see too,� with that Dumbledore turned and called a house elf,
then he leaned down and whispered into the elf�s ear and, poof, the elf was
gone. Not a mere second later,
poof, the elf returned offering Dumbledore a sac of deep purple velvet.
He reached in and pulled out a magnificent metallic purple crystal of
sorts; it was around seven inches long with almost gleaming white tips at either
end.

He passed the crystal over
to Snape, who had just withdrawn his wand.
That is when Becca would later recall when the roller coaster began.
Snape placed the crystal in his palm while focusing more of his attention
at Becca. The Headmaster and McGongall peered into the crystal.
With his wand raised, Professor Snape started, �Just try to relax.
Legimens!� The crystal in
his palm emitted a soft purple glow around the edges and the center transformed
into some type of cloudy blackness that looked as if it were trying to receive
input.

Becca felt something odd.
It was a strange feeling of invasion.
�Show me the beginning� the voice said.
Becca�s eyes popped open and looked directly at Snape.
His eyes were also open fixed on her.
The voice was his, but it was somehow in her head.
It seemed to her that Snape was whispering in her ear from inside her
head. �I am going to start
looking around.� All three
professors saw random images of varying younger versions of Becca sometimes with
family or the family pet. Becca of
present simply closed her eyes, watching the flood begin.

As Snape sifted through
her mind, he rapidly skipped over parts only wanting to focus on the time since
her fathers� death. Then he came
to it, the memory of her at the funeral. Snape
watched as the image of her father�s casket being lower into the cold ground.
Snape was not the only one to hear her sharp intake of breath at seeing
the memory from this viewpoint. �I
know this isn�t easy. You are
doing quite well,� was what Becca heard.
The images were starting to loosen up and flow more readily, snippets of
the family shedding tears the first few months after the death.
The next image is of Becca and her mother fighting over the drinking that
her mother was doing. Another image
is of her mother drinking violently from a whiskey bottle. Maybe a month later, Becca is standing looking at her mother
and turns to realize that she has brought some person to their home.

The stranger would be
introduced to Becca as Carlos, �the man of her dreams.�
Professor McGongall looked nervously at Dumbledore; he knew she was
starting to get upset herself. After
all, he knew how much Minerva truly liked the girl.
They continued to watch the crystal.
Snape moved to another memory. Becca
was in the kitchen of their home. Carlos
was yelling at her because her mother was not home yet.
Becca turned to catch him looking at her with an odd expression on his
face. His expression was quite
dark; he asked �How old are you now anyway?�
Snape could feel the girl getting sick to her stomach.
. Immediately the memory
shifted to another of Becca, yet again and again, looking up to catch Carlos
staring at her. A short break to
another memory Hogwarts school term recessing for summer break.
At the present, none of the professors said anything.
Snape could sense there was more and pushed further, when the explosion
came, he closed his eyes.

Becca was approaching her
home late, when she heard her mom yelling at Carlos. Snape stopped to watch the fight. Becca came in the house quietly by the backdoor.
Mom and Carlos were in the upstairs bedroom arguing.
Becca was looking for Lynn with the only thought of getting her out, for
some reason she felt like this night was going to get worse.
Becca of present was getting more nervous; she knew what was coming.
Snape could feel her anxiety. She
was starting to try and shut him out mentally.
She dropped her head into her hands to cover her eyes.
She was about to speak, when Snape interrupted her.
�Miss Moore, I know it is getting bad, but it will be over soon.
Find courage. Show me more.� Becca
was rubbing her temple trying to find a way to relax. She took a raged deep breath and released the memory.

Carlos and her mother were
drunk and physically fighting, screaming insults at one another.
Becca was telling Lynn to climb out the window when she hears the awful
sound. She told Lynn to go and hide
on the far side of the garage and she would meet her in a few minutes; right
now, mom needed some help. Becca
slowly opened the bedroom door and peered outside.
She could hear her mother writhing in pain.
Becca went to the room where the fight was ensuing.
Carlos had hit her mother several times in the face; she was a bloody
mess. When he saw Becca, he lunged
her. A fight raged between the two,
but the girl was no match for him. A
last punch from Carlos brought unexpected results.
The memory stopped abruptly and was replaced by a small black box that
boasted a large padlock that appeared to be covered by some type of slimy
reddish residue. Dumbledore looked
at the girl; this was about to get much worse, he had desperately hoped that
this would not be the outcome of this tale.

Snape thought for a
moment, and then reached out to the girl verbally.
�Miss Moore, open the box.� He
could feel her trembling inside. �Miss
Moore,� he continued, �You have proven yourself brave and courageous.
Ready to �come clean� and open the box?�
Becca heard a gentleness that she had no idea that Snape possessed.
All of a sudden the box blazed bright fiery red, Becca yelled mentally at
Snape, �I fuckin hate the box!� Followed
by a tearful Becca, �Sorry professor, the box..� she trailed off and took
another harsh breath. With that
Becca of present stood straight up startling the professors, �I jus need ta
breath fer a minute. This is..�
She trailed off as she stepped away from the circle.
No one made a move to stop her. Becca
was rubbing her temple wishing desperately for a joint.
Snape noticed how much thicker her accent was getting with her agitation.
Becca appeared to Snape to be walking in small circles, stepping one way
then abruptly turning the opposite way. Professor
McGongall approached the girl, speaking softly and intently to her.
The girl looked at her, silent with thought. When the thought had passed, Becca nodded to McGongall while
biting her lower lip. �Damn
the fiddler!� was the next thought she had.
Professor Snape realized that she did not know he was still linked to her
mind. Neither man had moved when
Becca rose but now the Headmaster was extending his arm out again motioning for
Becca to come back to the circle.

�Ready to finish,
child?� Dumbledore asked knowing that they needed to get this over with soon.
Both females joined the circle, Becca sat down and placed her head down
into her hands, �Jus do it.� Snape
had been careful not to look at her eyes. The
gemstones were on emotional overload. Snape
knew how anger, humiliation, and pain all loved to live in ones� mind
together. He didn�t want to
frighten her any further; he was fighting is own rising sickness; he knew this
round was going to be quite intense. �Miss
Moore?� he asked silkily. �Surr?�
�Remove the residue from the box.�
He decided to move slowly, like stirring a potion, take one step at a
time. Becca took at deep breath, as
she exhaled, the residue began to slide away.
McGongall looked at Dumbledore with small tears nervously forming for the
girl, then back to the crystal. The
lock on the box began to shake slightly then shattered into a hundred pieces in
slow motion resting in the air around the box.

Professor Snape took
advantage of the opportunity, �Open the box.�
The box rattled some and slowly the lid creaked open.
Snape saw the memory come to him. It
started a second or two where they had left off with her and Carlos fighting,
the super punch was coming. Becca
of present was still leaning forward with her face covered and she had finally
started to cry a little. Dumbledore
had tentatively placed a hand on top of her head.
Becca stiffened slightly, but the Headmaster held fast, slowly patting
her head. Becca had no further time
to react to his touch because Snape was pulling her back shifting her attention
back to the memory.

The memory was moving
faster, Becca fighting with Carlos, being hit several times and her finally
landing on the floor. Snape could
see the blood start to drip from her nose.
Carlos came up and stood over her, Becca was looking frantically around
for an escape when she realized he had a knife. With one swoop, Carlos had sliced her on the left side.
Snape could tell she was trying to use her magic to call the knife to
her, but it was not working right. The
knife did not obey. His free hand
was trying to grab her breast. Becca
felt a new sense of urgency. She
tried to kick him with everything she had.
She was trying to avoid a knife attack from one hand, when the other
landed a blow and caught her on the side of her head.
Becca blacked out that time, darkness with an overwhelming sense of cold.
The cold was growing greater, her chest felt heavy and constricted.
Becca was trying to open her eyes.

She opens them to see
Carlos only inches from her face. �I
was hoping you would wake up for this little girl,� he almost giggled out.
He was trying to lie on top of her.
Becca immediately struggled against him.
He was kissing and biting her neck drawing blood from the last bite.
Becca thought she could hear blood dripping somewhere, she wasn�t sure
if it was from her nose or neck. His
hands were assaulting her chest; Becca realized that she was unclothed except
for her panties. Her panic
skyrocketed, the realization of what those stares had really meant.
Carlos was getting impatient with her resisting him.
So, he decided to slap her across the face, �Pay attention bitch.
See this?� The knife was a
fraction of an inch from her eye. �I
will use it,� he stated while trying to get his hand between her thighs.
He leaned back looking for the side wound and ground his palm into the
cut. Becca felt a fire in her side;
the burning was absurd. �That settled you down some, hey.� He was shaking her head.

Becca had decided to try
and catch him off guard, just try and be still, pool all energy, wait for the
moment, he was drunk, and take the opportunity. She did not want this asshole to be the first.
Her father had been adamant that she could not date any boys until she
was eighteen and there was no reason to question him, the consequences would be
stiff. She let him keep rolling her
head from side to side. Convinced
she was subdued, Carlos went back to his business of getting those panties off.
One swift move and the undergarment was lying on the floor.
Carlos lowered himself onto her. He was propped on one arm fumbling to
get his dick out of his pants, when Becca summoned every ounce of energy she
had. Almost instantaneously, Carlos
was thrown off Becca just enough for her to get out from under him and a step or
two away. She was facing him trying to find her feet to stand; she had
to get out. But then Carlos
didn�t move for a few seconds, Becca stayed still only her eyes were scanning
the room trying to find her mother. When
he hadn�t stirred for a few more seconds, Becca reached down and pulled her
underwear back on and walked over and swiftly kicked Carlos in the head.

�WHAT THA FUCK DID YA DO
THAT FER? DID YOU KILL HIM?�
her mother had appeared from somewhere screaming at her.
Becca was stunned, �Did she really just ask me if HE was okay.
I mean, I know she�s drunk but damn.� Her mother was stumbled over to Carlos and fell on him.
�Did you see what that asshole just tried to do to me?� she asked her
mother breathlessly. �Whadid he
do?� She was slurring badly at
her daughter seemingly oblivious to the fact the girl was semi-nude with bruises
forming and bleeding from several areas. �He jus tried to ra. ra�,� Becca stopped losing her
voice. �What,� her mother
screamed her anger building; her bleeding face forgotten, �Why would he wanna
fuck yoou when he can have me all night long?�
She paused momentarily. �Git
tha fuck out and don�t eva cum back,� she told Becca.

Becca was lost in a
overwhelming feeling of sickness and betrayal.
Not that her mother had ever been �Mother of the Year,� but to chose
that fucker over her. �Good
riddance. Fuck her.
I�m out.� She put the physical pain aside and managed to get to her room
to pull some jeans and sweatshirt on, focusing on being quick and quiet.
She could hear her mother sobbing over Carlos attempting to rouse him up.
�Fuck him and her,� was her last thought exiting the house.
Becca of present never moved. Dumbledore
has retrieved a handkerchief from somewhere and offered it to Professor
McGongall. McGongall could not believe that one of her kids was going
through such tumultuous times. Part
of her wanted to understand why the girl hadn�t come to her, but then again
the worst had come over the past summer. She
knew the girl was embarrassed and confused about the whole mess.
She also knew there was more even further back, but that now was not the
time to go any deeper into Becca�s� mind.
This evening was proving to be eventful enough.

Snape wasn�t sure if he
should keep going, the girl had endured plenty, but maybe they should finish it
for the girls� sake, he could see other memories linked to this event.
He was completely uncomfortable with this situation.
The fight had been nasty. He
wasn�t sure how Becca managed to get Carlos off her; oh he knew it was linked
to her magic. But then again her
magic did not appear to be working right
He had never seen her do any amazing magic her way, he did not consider
making trinkets dance any true form of magic.
He thought he sensed something magical in the air at he club, when she
played the guitar.

Sometime later, the
conversation was done, everything that had happened in the last few months
including the whole evening with Snape. Dumbledore
sat silently while contemplating what exactly to do with Becca.
He did not want to punish her too harshly over the few rules broken, but
rather he wanted to focus on the bigger picture.
Becca was about to graduate, but the other girl was about to begin
Hogwarts.

The professors� each
lost in their own thoughts. Dumbledore
was the first to speak. �Becca,
this has been a very dark and trying time for you, but you have displayed a
great deal of courage and compassion for your friends and family.
But alas, you have broken several rules,� he paused.
Becca knew that Snape had told them about the club and the pot.
She was waiting her fate mutely; she had decided that she was going to be
as respectful as possible to the professors while her future was decided.

Snape had been listening
somewhat less interested until the Headmaster got to the part about breaking the
rules. He was gazing at Becca
thinking about the box and the other children she cared for.
Snape found himself unable to resist slipping back into her mind for a
quick peek; �FUCK! I am so
expelled. Just breathe.
I am tired. I could just
close my eyes for a few minutes.� Snape pulled back slowly.
He looked down and realized the time was well after four am.
No wonder the girl was tired. For
reasons still unknown to Snape he found himself saying to the Headmaster,
�Perhaps the child is tired and is ready for rest.
All matters pertinent can be discussed tomorrow.�

With that calm statement,
all eyes in the room turned to Severus Snape.
He stood is ground pointing to the clock on the wall.
He was tired too. Dumbledore laughed softly at his self. �Alright off with you two then.
Miss Moore, please come to my office tomorrow afternoon immediately after
lunch and we shall resolve the rest of these matters.
Professor Snape, thank you for apprehending our youngster here.
I would like you to be here as well.�
Severus snorted at the older man. What
the hell does he want with me? Merlin!
And the stars in the sky!   Dumbledore
laughed again, �Everything will be fine Severus.
Good night to all or rather good morning would seem more in order.�
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