30th of November 2019

16. 30th of November 2019

"I did come to like the little Granger girl, you know." Phineas Nigellus Black looked at Severus over the rim of his tea cup. "Even if she is a Mu...Muggle-born. She is a very clever girl. And that barefaced insolence of hers...stealing my painting, carrying me around in that bag of hers...quite impressed me." He was smiling absently while he talked. "She could have made Slytherin House proud with that feat alone, but alas, her unfortunate..."

He cut his musings short when Severus caught his eyes and made a point of baring his teeth at the man.

"It is Headmistress Weasley now. Or did you forget?" Severus asked, meeting Phineas' eyes straight on, challenging him to continue. "And what were you just saying? Her unfortunate ... what?"

Phineas smirked.

"Sorting. I was referring to her unfortunate sorting. Gryffindor ..." He looked heavenwards. "I have no idea what is wrong with that hat."

He was sly, the elitist bugger, and when he continued speaking, looking innocent, Severus was tempted to use a well placed Silencio to shut him up.

"But now she has joined our ranks as the new Headmistress of Hogwarts. The youngest one we have had, excluding you, of course." He gave Severus a look under his eyelashes, probably imagining that Severus wouldn't notice. "And I'm under the impression that you are quite pleased with the Board of Governors' decision to make her the new Headmistress of Hogwarts."

And there it was: the reason for Phineas' little invitation. Severus put his teacup down and assumed a relaxed pose in his armchair. Phineas wanted to play and would not give up until Severus had at the very least given him the impression of turning over some worthy gossip. He might as well get comfortable, because this might take time.

"We had three acceptable candidates for the post, two of which decided that they had other priorities. Only one of them wanted the position: Hermione Weasley," Severus said, making sure nothing he said could be used in an obvious way.

Phineas rolled his eyes and groaned in mock despair. "Please. Don't even try. You chose the candidate you wanted, and you made it happen. The question is how you deterred young Longbottom. Did you, mayhap, tell him about your feelings about being a portrait? What was it you said? 'Much too close to the principle of the Horcrux to be comfortable' and then I seem to remember you adding something about 'a death turned into a half-life'." He gave Severus a look very much like the one a cat would give the mouse it was playing with.

Phineas was really nothing more than a much nastier and more sinister version of Albus.

Severus bought himself some time by refilling his teacup and took the opportunity to push down his simmering rage while doing it.

"If you really want to know what was discussed, the subjects of his research and his family came up. He was not willing to give either one of them less time, so in the end, he decided to turn the offer down. As far as my involvement went, I simply asked if he was willing to give up his research."

Phineas frowned and gave him a thoughtful look. Opened his mouth, only to close it again. And then his face cleared, and he waggled his index finger at Severus and tutted, now looking appreciative.

"You couldn't use the portrait argument, could you? Weasley and Longbottom might have compared notes at some point, and discussing it with one but not the other might have looked suspicious. The reality of being a portrait could have scared her off, especially if Longbottom had happened to mentioned it to her before the appointment was official." He threw his head back and roared with laughter while Severus clenched his jaw. The old fart even had to wipe his eyes after he had finished laughing.

"So, how did you manipulate Professor Weasley to accept, then, I have to wonder? She has been through a lot this last year, and that alone should have made her hesitate," Phineas said as he rose and started to pace the room with his hands locked together behind his back. He always gave Severus the impression that he had too much energy stored, and that he wasn't able to sit still for long periods of time.

"Manipulate? Such an ugly word to use. I pointed out some relevant facts for her to consider before making a decision."

Phineas laughed again and wandered over to the fireplace, leaning at the mantelpiece. "But what did you point out?"

And he could keep wondering, the nosy bugger. Let him guess to his heart's content.

"What would entice her to take the position?" Phineas tapped his lower lip with his index finger. "Ambition? Hm. No. She would have stayed at the Ministry if that was the case."

Severus shrugged, conceding the point. Seeing that, Phineas nodded.

"What about ideals as a motive? But she is forty now, or at least something in that vicinity, isn't she? And idealists tend to get disillusioned and jaded as time wears them down. And she is worn down, if the interview with Minerva is anything to go by."

"You were listening in on them!" Severus took care to sound shocked, which only made Phineas smile. "And it is risky to draw conclusions on something that happened years ago," Severus continued.

Phineas was shrewd, and if he proceeded to draw conclusions at this speed, he would soon have figured it out.

Phineas shook his head. "If anything, disillusionment grows worse once the rot has set in. And that woman has more reason than most ..." His voice trailed off. And Severus could see when it happened. Phineas's eyes started to twinkle, in a way that was only second to Albus, and a smile, broad enough to rival one of Umbridge's, spread on his face.

"You bastard. One just has to admire you." Phineas sounded awed as he watched Severus. "You played the pureblood card, didn't you?"

Severus made sure his face stayed blank.

"Pureblood card? I have no idea what you mean by that," he answered.

Phineas gave Severus a look that was almost sentimental, fatherly even, which almost, but not quite, made Severus shudder where he sat.

"Of course you know," Phineas said, with an unaccustomed warmth, and for a horrible moment Severus thought Phineas was going to pat him on the head. "You played on the fact that the Board of Governors are all purebloods. Knowing what happened to the girl during the war and then at the Ministry, she would just hate the fact that they are still all purebloods, even the younger ones."

Severus huffed at him. "That was her main argument for not accepting, yes." He gave Phineas a deliberate and measuring look. "It is a good thing you weren't appointed to talk to the candidates. With that strategy you would have botched it, and we would have had no candidates left. And Merlin knows how long it would have taken the Board to come to a decision then."

Phineas didn't look rattled by Severus' comment in the least. "Yes. Yes. That was stupid of me. So what? The younger ones?" Phineas stiffened and then all but jumped up and down with glee, pointing at Severus. "Malfoy! The Malfoy boy. She stopped working at the Ministry when he started working there, and now ... as the Headmistress of Hogwarts, she would outrank him. She could cause him real trouble. Is she that devious, that veangeful?"

Severus refused to acknowledge that he had used Draco as leverage. But he could throw the man a bone. He had earned it, after all.

"Do you remember Rita Skeeter, by any chance?" asked Severus.

Phineas shuddered and wrinkled his nose. "Yes. That rather scary reporter."

"That's her. Do you know why she gave up her job at the Daily Prophet?"

Phineas was interested now. Severus could see it in the way his tongue darted out to wet his lower lip. Odd that Phineas had such an obvious giveaway.

"No," Phineas said as he shook his head.

"Hogwarts new Headmistress somehow found out that Skeeter was an unregistered Animagus. Instead of telling anyone...anyone, including Albus...she caught her and put her in a jar."

"A jar? What on earth was her Animagus form?" asked Phineas.

"A beetle. And as far as I have been able to figure out, it seems that Headmistress Weasley blackmailed her into resigning her job, the option being to stay in the jar indefinitely. So, as far as your question goes, I would say that she is, indeed, quite devious. I would also add that she has a tendency to carry grudges."

"Much like you, then." Phineas was smiling, looking at peace as he sat down. "And how old was she when all this took place? That was some time ago."

"The year of the Triwizard Tournament. She was fifteen."

"Who would have thought that I was going to feel pleased about a Muggle-born Gryffindor female being appointed Headmistress of Hogwarts?"

Severus scoffed. "No one," he answered.

Phineas threw his head back and laughed.