Ternion || Oliver Wood

Chapter 121

The Parting

"Obscuro!"

A black blindfold appeared over Phineas Nigellus's clever, dark eyes, causing him to bump into the frame and shriek with pain.

"What — how are — what are you —?"

"We're sorry, Professor Black," said Hermione, pointing her wand at the painting, "but it's a necessary precaution!"

"Remove this foul addition at once! Remove it, I say! You are ruining a great work of art! Where am i? What is going on?"

"Never mind where we are," said Harry, and Phineas Nigellus froze, abandoning his attempts to peel off the painted blindfold.

"Can that possibly be the voice of the elusive Mr. Potter?"

"Maybe," said Harry, knowing that it would keep my ancestor's interest.

"We've got a couple of questions for you — about the sword of Gryffindor." I started interrogating the past Headmaster.

"Ah, my descendant....Renee, and you're with Mr. Potter, I thought you were Regulus's daughter, not that disgrace Sirius —"

"Answer the goddamn question." I bellowed, he stopped talking in shock.

"Ok, ok! That silly girl acted most unwisely there —"

"Shut up about my sister," said Ron roughly. Phineas Nigellus raised supercilious eyebrows.

"Who else is here?" he asked, turning his head from side to side. "Your tone displeases me! The girl and her friends were foolhardy in the extreme. Thieving from the headmaster!"

"They weren't thieving," I uttered. "That sword isn't Snape's."

"It belongs to Professor Snape's school," said my ancestor. "Exactly what claim did the Weasley girl have upon it? She deserved her punishment as did the idiot Longbottom and the Lovegood oddity!"

"Neville is not an idiot and Luna is most obviously not an oddity!" I said angrily.

"Where am I?" repeated Phineas Nigellus, starting to wrestle with the blindfold again. "Where have you brought me? Why have you removed me from the house of my forebears?"

"Never mind that! How did Snape punish Ginny, Neville, and Luna?" asked Harry urgently.

"Professor Snape sent them into the Forbidden Forest, to do some work for the oaf, Hagrid, actually it wasn't Professor Snape's idea to do that, it was that student Sephitis." said Phineas, emphasizing the word 'Professor.'

"Hagrid's not an oaf!" said Hermione shrilly.

"It's barely a punishment," said Harry, "Ginny, Neville, and Luna probably had a good laugh with Hagrid. The Forbidden Forest....they've faced plenty worse than the Forbidden Forest, big deal!"

I felt relieved at the punishment given to them, I was nervous that Snape might have used the Cruciatus Curse or something worse. Good thing it was Lilith to decide.

"What we really wanted to know, Professor Black, is whether anyone else has, um, taken out the sword at all? Maybe it's been taken away for cleaning or — or something?" Hermione began to ask the real question.