Double Dog Dare! -- Episode 12
Juliane, 15 January 2002

An audible snort from Viviane's direction made everyone turn to her. "Well, really, Albus. Black obviously screwed something up, didn't he? We'd best get that mangy creature (she indicated Fidelis) back to Hogwarts and start siphoning his memories into your Pensieve. Knowing Black, he's got himself into a most untenable situation."

Ignoring the tone of Viviane's suggestion, Dumbledore acquiesced to the content. "Severus, take Fidelis and meet me in my office, and Viviane, you as well. I have some final words for Mr. And Mrs. McCarthy."

"Me? Why-" Viviane protested.

"Because, my dear, we may need your help to rescue Sirius, if indeed he requires it."

She would have argued the point, but Snape grabbed her arm none too gently and stepped to the fireplace. He turned to Molly. "Floo powder?" he snarled.

Molly thrust the jar into his hand, spilling some of the glittery substance on his robe. "Oh, Professor Snape, I'm sorry. You now look like a member of the Freaky Cabaret Follies," she said between gritted teeth.

Snape twitched his robes at her, but the Floo powder stuck obstinately to the fine wool, except for a few particles that drifted onto his numerous, cloth-covered sleeve buttons. Giving up the attempt at deglittering, he stepped into the fireplace, dragging Viviane behind him and muttering something about "damnable women" as he disappeared. Viviane replied with language that made the boys jerk to attention and the grownups become momentarily crosseyed.

"So those are Professors? They, um, teach children?" Mr. McCarthy was just beginning to inquire, when a voice unfamiliar to anyone in the room echoed out of the fireplace. "This is an official visit from the Ministry. Please step away from the hearth, and remove all cats from the general vicinity."

A blur of tweed filled the fireplace, then a tall man with soft but inexpressibly haughty features stepped forward. He carefully brushed off his tailored, but perfectly lived-in robes, and glanced about the room, taking in each mend in the curtains and every chip in the furniture, then looked down his nose at those assembled, one by one. "There has been magic performed in this vicinity, by a boy, an American boy. An obviously untrained American boy. " He turned to the Headmaster. "Albus Dumbledore? I am Addison DeWitt. As a representative of the Ministry, I must say this is irregular, at best. Dangerous, very dangerous, at worst."

When the man first appeared in his living room, Arthur Weasley had gone into a state resembling catatonia, excepting his eyebrows, which were dancing a tango across his forehead. As the Ministry official ceased speaking, he woke fully up. "Addison? Addison DeWitt? I've heard of you, many times, but never met you. Nobody I know has ever met ... where's Mafalda?"

DeWitt's nostrils narrowed without taking in any air. "She's on vacation. Now, to get back to the purpose, none of you are leaving this house until I get a full explanation of what happened here, and why. By order of the Ministry." He chose the newest armchair and settled down, legs negligently crossed, and stared at Jason in a way that made his mother hug him tightly to her quivering bosom. "Well?"

Dumbledore's eyes began to twinkle, then hardened into a glitter. "Mafalda, take a vacation? That is an event more rare than an accurate Trelawney prediction. My good sir, may I ask why the Ministry should be so interested in the thoughtless act of a boy who didn't even know he was a wizard? And why seal the fireplace to Floo traffic?" The Headmaster walked over to look directly down into the eyes of the official. "You have sealed the house, as well, preventing any attempt at Apparating, or Disapparating. What is the true purpose of your visit?"

Addison DeWitt merely smiled and raised one eyebrow as his long fingers precisely adjusted a fold of his robe. "Is there any chance of obtaining a decent cup of tea?" he asked.

"I wouldn't count on it," snapped Molly.

~*~*~

" ... and if you call Fidelis 'mangy' one more time, I'll refrain from stopping him next time he wants to piddle on your skirt."

Viviane ignored Severus and went to pour herself a scotch from Dumbledore's stash, knowing how good it was, then set the decanter down. "If I must rescue Dogboy, I'll have to be stone sober," she said with regret.

"Perhaps he's got himself killed and you won't have to," said Snape hopefully, as he settled down in front of the fire to wait for Dumbledore. Fidelis curled up in his lap and snarled at Viviane when his master's attention was distracted by a coal leaping out of the fire.

"Oh, that would be nice, although it might put a damper on things in the long run," she replied, dropping into the chair opposite him. "Dumbledore might appoint you guardian to Harry Potter."

Severus' expression changed from amused to slightly dangerous. "I'd rather not think about that."

The two sat for a few moments longer, then Viviane got up to pace, finally turning back to Severus. "Why don't we start? If Sirius really has got himself in trouble, we shouldn't be wasting time. Besides, without Dumbledore here, we can savor the moment if Sirius is being tortured."

"Excellent idea, my dear," the Potions master said, and dropped a kiss on the back of her neck as she carried the Pensieve to the Headmaster's desk. Severus set the tiny spaniel besides the silver bowl and whispered, "Don't worry, Fidelis, this won't hurt a bit."

"Rrrrowwwwwwlf!" the dog answered, and remained still as Severus, lifting a silky canine ear, used his wand to draw silvery strands from thence into the bowl.

Viviane draped an arm around Severus' waist as they drew together, peering down in the swirling silver liquid of the bowl, then both of them leaned closer as the liquid cleared.