I - "Who is this? and what is here?"*

The theft of Gryffindor's sword left Severus worried. After all, for a long time Tom Riddle had coveted that sword to make a Horcrux from it. If the sword had been stolen by another Dark Wizard planning to use its symbolism to gather followers, that might be like a rerun of the nightmare they all had hoped to have left behind. If that wasn't enough, the theft was also demoralising to Hogwarts and to the Order of the Phoenix supporters, and the Ministry had taken advantage of the circumstances to interfere at Hogwarts again. Severus had no doubt that they had done it on purpose, to boast of their authority. The Ministry feared that the Heads of Hogwarts could constitute a significant power in the Wizarding World. The Ministry's nerve in blaming Minerva irritated Severus to no end.

In the first two days that followed the theft, Severus conducted a personal investigation. He talked to Harry, the Slytherin students and most of the teachers to try and obtain a general picture of the case.

He was sure that someone had used Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Minerva. The fact that Slughorn had decided to prepare the potion for the seventh-years seemed suspect, as did his recklessness in leaving a cauldron full of the potion in the classroom for many days. However, the long time required to brew the potion, and the need to explain the details of its composition could justify his actions. Besides, no one could deny that the Polyjuice Potion was one of the topics most likely to appear on the NEWT exam.

In the afternoon of the second day of investigations, having finished his last class of the day, Severus returned to his quarters and had a long bath to relax. Harry still had one class to attend and would arrive in about an hour. After the bath, Severus went to his office to feed Ceci. It was usually Harry who took care of the boa constrictor, since both could talk in Parseltongue, but Severus liked Ceci's company, and feeding her was a good excuse to be with her.

Severus sat on the sofa while Ceci ate her food. A movement in his scrying mirror** attracted his attention. Severus stood up and approached the mirror to get a better view.

A witch who Severus recognised as Minerva, dressed in black, was floating on something that looked like a flying carpet, coming from the Hogwarts castle and going down towards the lake. When the image got clearer, Severus could see that it wasn't a carpet, but a tapestry. The tapestry landed by the lake. Then Severus could see that the tapestry depicted the Lady of Shalott weaving on her loom, and that the witch carried a glass case containing a sword under her arm. The fake Minerva approached a boat, placed the box on its bottom and stepped into it. It was an enchanted boat; as soon as she entered it, it slid across the smooth surface of the waters. The image became cloudy and unfocused, and soon the surface of the mirror was empty again.

Severus paced his office. He considered leaving a note for Harry, but decided it wasn't necessary, since he wouldn't be away for too long. He left his office, climbed the staircase and walked towards the front door of the castle. An Auror who was watching over the entrance asked where he was going. He said he was going to take a walk by the lake and watch the birds. The Auror insisted on searching him. Severus had to fight himself not to cast an Unforgivable on the dunderhead. As soon as the Auror let go of him, Severus strode off down the lawn towards the lake. He saw a boat near the rocky shore, as he had seen in the mirror. He got closer to it. The boat was empty. Severus sat on a rock and gazed at the lake, feeling frustrated.

"Severus? What is it?"

Harry had followed him to the shore. Just by looking at him Severus realised that, when his class had finished, Harry had found out Severus's location through the bond that united them. Harry's presence made Severus feel better. The fact that he couldn't keep any secrets from Harry, which at first had seemed a frightening burden, had proved to be a blessing. This way, Severus always had someone with whom to share his deepest feelings, and never felt alone.

As they walked by the lake, under the watchful eyes of a nearby Auror, Severus told Harry what he had seen in the scrying mirror. Harry could read his feelings and, to a certain point, his thoughts, but when they expressed their thoughts in words, they could discuss them more easily.

"Do you think the mirror showed what really happened?"

"As you know well, at first I didn't believe in this mirror's power. However, I have to acknowledge that everything the mirror showed so far has had a real basis."

Harry looked thoughtful. "It's true. But you don't think it was really McGonagall, do you?"

"Of course not. It was someone using Polyjuice Potion."

"Severus, why don't we go to your office, call Remus and Sirius, and tell them? Four heads think better than two!"

Severus would like to have been more certain of the meaning of what he had seen before sharing his news with Harry's lunatic godfather. But he knew Harry wouldn't stop pestering him until Severus called Black and Lupin and told them everything. Once Harry used to share everything with Ron and Hermione; now his new adventures were shared by Severus, Remus and Sirius - a weird quartet formed in the most unlikely of ways.

"All right." Severus scowled at Harry. "But this will have to remain between the four of us. You will promise me that you will not tell anyone else."

"Hmph. You mean I can't tell Ron and Hermione."

"Exactly."

"Right," grumbled Harry.

With Black and Lupin sitting on Severus's office sofa and Harry in a separate armchair, Severus told them what he had seen in his mirror.

Lupin listened attentively. Black was playing with Ceci, who liked to wind herself around his arms and neck. Much to Severus's displeasure, Ceci seemed to have a crush on Black.

"Your mirror could very well have shown the rest of the story too," complained Black, when Severus finished his report.

"Four gray walls, and four gray towers... " recited Lupin, remembering the lines of Tennyson's famous poem, The Lady of Shalott. "Do any of you remember if there is a Lady of Shalott tapestry in Hogwarts?"

None of them remembered such a tapestry.

"There're tons of tapestries at Hogwarts," complained Harry.

"I will search the castle for our Lady of the Shalott tapestry," said Severus. "In spite of my conviction that finding it will not be of any help."

"There's something I don't understand," said Lupin. "Why did the thief swap the tapestry for a boat?"

"It may be difficult to maneuver a tapestry. As flying carpets were banned by the Ministry, we British wizards and witches don't know how to fly a carpet," commented Sirius. "It is one thing to float down from the castle to the ground on a tapestry, but quite another to maneuver a tapestry through the trees, for example."

"Is it forbidden to enchant a tapestry to fly, too?" asked Harry.

No one seemed to know.

"Those Ministry rules are ridiculous. They say flying carpets were banned because someone included carpets in the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects. I don't believe it. There must be some political or economical interest behind that," said Sirius, shaking his head.

"About our Lady of Shalott," said Lupin. "Where do you think she went with the boat? Could she have gone to Hogwarts gates and handed the sword over to an accomplice? Or did she leave Hogwarts?"

"She couldn't have left Hogwarts, since there is no one missing in Hogwarts," reasoned Severus. "Both the scenarios you have described are highly improbable. The gates were locked and there were protections all around the castle. I won't go as far as saying you cannot pass anything through the gates without triggering the protections. I can assure you, however, that Filius, Minerva and I designed those protections to make it as inviolable as possible."

"I don't know about you," said Lupin, "but I believe the evidence is insufficient to arrive at a conclusion. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't do something, you know."

"What exactly do you suggest, Lupin?" said Severus impatiently.

"I'll tell you, if you call me 'Remus'."

Severus rolled his eyes. "As you wish, Remus," said Severus in a silky voice. "How can we do something if we don't know who the culprit is?"

"See, if what you told us is true... and I believe it is... we know details about the way the culprit acted. And the culprit doesn't know that we know," declared Lupin, as if that explained anything.

Severus frowned. "That could be very useful if we wanted to blackmail the culprit, but I can't see how..."

Black interrupted him. "Ah! Now I'm beginning to understand."

"Good for you," said Harry, "because I'm still lost."

"I'm just speculating, friends," said Remus. "I don't have any concrete plan in mind. I'm just remarking that we've got this advantage over our opponent."

"As far as we know, this person acted alone, at least inside the Hogwarts grounds. The images were not sufficiently clear, but from what I could see, that person didn't seem to be as controlled as Minerva. Her (or his) gestures were nervous. We could try to intimidate her... or him," suggested Severus.

"Yes!" said Black. "You can be very intimidating when you want to, Sevvie."

Severus hated that nickname, and glared at Black.

"About the intimidation," said Harry, clearly trying to prevent the aggravation of the animosity, "have you got any specific idea?"

"We know that the thief used the Lady of Shalott tapestry. Tennyson's poem is well known in the Wizarding World. We could use it to evoke certain images... " suggested Black.

The world seemed to brighten before Severus. "'She left the web, she left the loom, / She made three paces thro' the room, / She saw the water-lily bloom, / She saw the helmet and the plume, / She look'd down to Camelot. / Out flew the web and floated wide; / The mirror crack'd from side to side; / 'The curse is come upon me!' cried / The Lady of Shalott'" recited Severus.

"Oh, Severus, if you're thinking what I think you are, you're a genius," exclaimed Black.

And the quartet started to discuss an intricate plan that would keep them occupied for the next five days at least...

II - Water Lily

A complicating factor was that no one was allowed to leave Hogwarts, which meant that all the items would have to be picked up inside the castle and immediate surroundings. Severus had told them he would need at least four days to finish the mirror - which would be the climax of the drama. It was only natural, then, that they opted for a play in five acts: one act per day.

They were gathered in Severus's office; Remus and Sirius had come through the internal Floo Network (which remained activated).

"Did you search the castle for the Lady of Shalott tapestry, Severus?" asked Sirius.

"Yes, I did, and no, I didn't find it," answered Severus. "Let's proceed with the plan."

"Something is worrying me," said Remus. "What if they try and conceal the news about our object 'apparitions'? The Committee has no interest in divulging what happens inside the Head's office."

"Well," said Harry, "if they try and conceal it, we ourselves can let it leak. Subtly, of course."

"How Slytherin of you," said Severus, proudly.

"Clever boy," said Sirius. "We just have to let it slip to Hagrid."

"It will be safer if each of us let the secret slip to at least one person, 'being' or 'creature' every time," suggested Remus. "Hagrid's not the only one with a lose tongue here. We've got Peeves, the ghosts and the portraits, too. Harry could be the one in charge of carefully spreading the news among the students. If we all go around saying that 'everybody's saying that such and such happened', we will make it come true."

"In order to prevent them from removing our objects from the Head's office, we can cast a Permanent Freezing Charm on each object," suggested Sirius.

"That's a wonderful idea, Padfoot," said Remus.

Sirius produced from his pocket a beautiful water lily he had "fished" from the lake when the Auror who was watching him had got distracted. He tenderly placed it on Remus's head. "You're exquisite as Nefertum," said Sirius, gazing passionately at Remus.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Let's do what we must."

Remus kissed Sirius, and then looked at Harry, who put the Invisibility Cloak over him. Severus stretched out his hand containing the ptyx*** and placed it into Remus's hand.

In a blink of an eye, Remus was in the Head's office. A tall, strong Auror was standing near the desk. Remus knew he had to be careful. He counted on the surprise element and the ptyx, which was in his pocket now. He cast a non-verbal Levitation spell followed by a non-verbal Permanent Freezing Charm on the water lily. Remus didn't even see the reaction of the Auror behind him. He just heard a murmur of surprise as he put his hand into his pocket and grabbed the ptyx to return to Severus's office.

III - Helmet

On the fourth day after the theft, a few minutes before midnight, Harry donned his Invisibility Cloak, left the chambers he shared with Severus and climbed the staircase straight to the Armour Gallery, on the third floor.

Harry looked for a medieval-style suit of armour. Perhaps his stereotypical gay side was taking over, he thought, not without some concern, but then he shrugged and attributed to Sirius's influence the fact that he was seriously worried about the aesthetic aspect of that adventure. After all, the theme was clearly romantic... He picked up a helmet with a magnificent golden plume. He slipped the plume into one of his pockets, hid the helmet under his Cloak and went back to his chambers.

After repeating for the umpteenth time his one thousand and one warnings, Severus pressed Harry against the wall and gave him one of those kisses that made Harry melt. Harry had to take a deep breath before putting on the Invisibility Cloak again. Severus placed the ptyx in his hand, and Harry was sent straight to the Head's office.

There were two Aurors inside the office. Harry knew any mistake could be fatal. The day before, Remus had used the surprise factor to full advantage, but now everyone was talking about the water lily, thanks to their own leaking, and the Aurors were very watchful. Harry planned his own movements carefully before casting a Levitation Spell along with a Permanent Freezing Charm, all non-verbally. Harry left the helmet hovering in the air and held the ptyx. He still could see the Auror advancing blindly towards him, and was glad to open his eyes and see Severus before him.

Harry's heart was racing. Severus embraced him even without seeing him. The connection between them was so strong that Severus always knew where Harry was, even when he was wearing the Cloak.

"Did anyone see you?" whispered Severus.

"I don't think so. Phew."

"Let's go to bed. It's late."

IV - Plume

On the afternoon of the fifth day, ten minutes before the beginning of classes, Severus called Draco to his office.

"Draco, what are the students saying about the latest events?"

"Ah, it's a bloody mess. The craziest theories."

"Did you hear anything that attracted your attention?"

Draco became thoughtful. "Well, yesterday night, in the middle of the Astronomy class, Professor Wyrd entered Professor Sinistra's classroom and said she'd seen Professor Sinistra going down the stairs from the Astronomy Tower on the night of the theft, and that she should be careful. Professor Sinistra became enraged and pushed Professor Wyrd out of her classroom, claiming it had been Wyrd who had gone to the Astronomy Tower that night without permission, and that that hadn't been the first time she'd gone there with her lover. Professor Sinistra said that if she saw Wyrd and her lover in the Astronomy Tower again, she'd talk to the Headmistress."

Severus couldn't suppress a smirk. "And who, according to the rumours, is this... lover?"

"Why, it's Professor Fence, of course."

Severus shook his head. That was all they needed: a love triangle at Hogwarts. Wyrd and Sinistra struggling for Fence. But... was there anything beyond that?

"I told you everything I knew," said Draco. "Now it's your turn. What's really happening here?"

Severus prepared himself to do his part in the "leaking" of the latest news. To hell with subtlety: once rumours were spread, no one could tell who had started them. Hopefully. "I wish I knew. The latest rumours are that a helmet appeared in the Head's office. First a water lily, and now a helmet. The Investigation Committee seems to be under a Confundus Charm. Apparently those objects appear in the Head's office and no one can remove them from there." When he saw Draco's eyes widening. Severus decided it was enough. "Now go, or we will both be late for class."

At night, Severus took the golden plume to the Head's office. It was an easy task; the plume was a very small object. Severus had been assigned with an easier task because not only he would have to take another object to the Head's office, but he would also play a more complex role in the last part of the plan.

Since Severus could be discreet when he wanted to be, none of the Aurors noticed at first that the plume had joined the helmet. It was a piece of cake. If only the other tasks were as easy as that one!

V - Tapestry

Right from the beginning, Sirius had been chosen as the one who would create the tapestry and take it to the Head's office. As Sirius didn't know where to find material to weave one, he thought it would be easier to pick one of Hogwarts tapestries and use it as a basis.

He wanted a colourful and versatile tapestry, one that would allow him to execute variations... On the seventh floor, he found exactly what he wanted. There were a few moth-eaten holes in it, but it was an animated tapestry! It had to be that one. On the same night that Severus put the plume in the helmet, Sirius returned to the seventh floor after curfew. He looked around - there wasn't anyone in the corridor. He took out his wand, transfigured the tapestry into a ring and slipped it on to his finger.

Remus welcomed him back in his chambers with a look of curiosity. "Got it?"

"Yeah!" answered Sirius.

"Did anyone see you?"

"I hope not."

"Which tapestry did you choose?" asked Remus.

"The one with the trolls in tutus."

Remus widened his eyes, but didn't say a word.

Sirius grabbed the mirror to contact Severus.**** The latter wasn't happy to know about Sirius's choice, though.

"Are you out of your mind? That tapestry, besides being animated, is one of the flashiest things in this castle! Its absence may be easily detected and notified to the Committee, or to the Headmistress."

Sirius shook his head. "Severus, Severus. The students will love us for having removed that monstrosity. The whole bloody thing is obscene. Our popularity will rise to new heights when people find out what we did."

Severus glared at him. Even through the mirror, Severus's eyes seemed to gleam with a dark fire. "Don't even think of damaging the tapestry. It is the property of Hogwarts."

Sirius sighed. "All right, I'll only rearrange its elements to form new images, but the previous images will be easily recovered later. Since you are so fond of trolls in tutus..."

"As you are bone-idle, you will have time enough to do a good job," remarked Severus, with his usual sarcasm.

"Don't call me bone-idle. Don't forget that one of the reasons why I'm writing our story is that I want posterity to remember your greasy ingratitude. But don't worry. I already knew that, due to my artistic skills, I'd be the one chosen for this task." Sirius stuck out his chin. "Even if I have to spend the night awake, I promise tomorrow night the tapestry will be ready. I'll have to cast a Dormant Animation Spell, to be activated later, but when it is activated... it will be glorious."

"Black, don't be an idiot. You need to rest to be in good condition tomorrow. Even a wizard as incompetent as you can finish the tapestry before tomorrow night if you start early in the morning. Use a Knitting Charm. Lupin, take him to bed now."

"Why, Severus, you surprise me. I never thought I'd..."

Severus turned his back to the mirror and left Sirius talking alone.

Sirius quirked an eyebrow at Remus. "He ordered us to bed."

"I know you don't like to obey his orders, but this particular order is... how can I say..."

"Lustful," said Sirius, pushing Remus down to the bed.

The following night, after midnight, they gathered again in Severus's office.

Sirius cheered inside when Severus couldn't help staring in amazement at Sirius's tapestry. He loved to surprise Severus. The tapestry depicted only a lake with a boat floating under the willows' shade, but Severus could surely sense the concealed spells that would trigger the animation.

Harry covered Sirius with his Invisibility Cloak. Remus blindly searched for Sirius's lips; Sirius helped him, turning his face to Remus to receive the good luck kiss. Finally, Sirius stretched his hand out of the Cloak and Severus placed the ptyx in it.

When Sirius found himself in the Head's office, he noticed that, besides the two Aurors, Nulligan himself was guarding the place, sitting at Minerva's old desk. He would have to make some changes to the plan. Under the Invisibility Cloak, Sirius caught his wand and cast a Levitation Spell on one of the mysterious objects on the shelf behind the desk. Nulligan promptly stood up, and the two other Aurors ran towards the object. Meanwhile, with all the quickness, dexterity and grace he could manage, Sirius produced the tapestry from within the Cloak and stuck it to the wall with a Non-Verbal Permanent Sticking Charm. Then he put his hand into his pocket and squeezed the ptyx.

VI - Mirror

Severus had been working on the mirror for four days, during his rare spare time. He had decided to use his ordinary bathroom mirror instead of his scrying mirror - in spite of its idiosyncrasy, the scrying mirror had proved to be useful in the past. After spending the whole Sunday working on it, Severus could finally tell Harry that the bathroom mirror was ready to fulfil its important role.

"How many spells did you cast on it?" asked Harry.

"I had to cast four complex and interconnected spells. The first spell will make its dimensions enlarge; the second, will make it crack diagonally, from corner to corner. Coupled to this Cracking Charm, I cast a Sound Amplifier Spell. The fourth spell is a Delaying Spell, which will trigger the spells at the right time." Severus looked around his office. "Has Black brought your Cloak back?"

"Yes. He grumbled a lot. He said he had to spend more than an hour by the gargoyle to find out the new password."

"Well? Did he find it out?"

"He did. It's 'rhombus'."

"Rhombus? Why would they choose such a word?"

"There were four of them, too, when they arrived here," replied Harry.

"Ah. The dunderheads of the Investigation Committee."

"You're too tense," observed Harry.

"I'm concentrating on the task at hand."

Harry approached him and embraced him. "I know."

Severus reciprocated the embrace. Harry massaged his tense muscles. For a few moments, Severus let his body relax at the firm touch of Harry's hands.

Before leaving, Severus helped himself to a dose of absinthe. Harry looked at him with a frightened expression.

Severus tried to reassure him. "It's a small dose. It will give me just the push that I need."

Harry smiled. "Don't worry, Severus. Everything's going to be all right."

Harry's smile brightened his soul. Severus did believe everything would be all right. He donned the Invisibility Cloak, covered the mirror with it and held the ptyx in his hand.

He found himself in the middle of a room full of Aurors. Luckily, he hadn't stumbled on any of them. However, it didn't matter how many Aurors were in the Head's office: Severus cast a Non-Verbal Impedimenta, paralysing all of them. Taking care not to be seen, Severus hung the mirror in front of the shelf that stood behind the desk, at an angle with the tapestry. Everything was ready. Severus held the ptyx again and returned to his chambers.

Severus was taking off the Invisibility Cloak, under the anxious look of Harry, when a thundering noise resonated all over the castle, shaking its structures.

"Let's go, Harry. The mirror has cracked. There's no time to lose."