Gilbert Elsey's Owlery

Chapter 39: Gilbert Elsey's Owlery

The east side of the Seventh Floor?

Dumbledore thought of the Room of Requirement, but that was in the other direction.

"All right, we'll go take a look. Thank you for making the trip."

Once the questioning was over, Dumbledore stood up from the Headmaster's chair and led the three professors out of the Headmaster's Office.

The Headmaster's Office was on the Seventh Floor, so the east side wasn't far.

"Could little Order have spent the night on the roof?" Sprout asked, her eyes full of worry.

"Don't worry. We'll find him," Dumbledore reassured her, then noticed the portrait of the Tea-Selling Lady.

"Oh, that lovely child. He often goes that way. You could look for him there."

Dumbledore remembered the way the Tea-Selling Lady had pointed out. It led to the old Alchemy classroom, which had long since been abandoned.

"Clang!" Snape pushed open the door to the abandoned classroom, sending dust drifting down. There were clearly no signs that anyone had been inside.

"Let's check the rooms over there, too. There may be another one," McGonagall said.

There were quite a few secret rooms at Hogwarts. When she had been a student, she'd explored some of them herself—though that wasn't something she could admit to.

Sprout seemed to remember something. When she saw the portrait of the Great Tree, she said, "I remember this portrait. I discovered it when I was a student, but I never figured out what species the tree was."

"There's a trace of magic here." Dumbledore quickly discovered the secret. "Right here."

Dumbledore tapped the stone bricks with his finger. The portrait slowly swung open, and a cold wind blew in from outside, making both female professors turn pale.

Snape and Dumbledore both froze for a moment.

"I hope there's somewhere else up there. I'd like to think Mr. Order wasn't foolish enough to..." Snape was the first to step inside, and the others followed one by one.

When Dumbledore and the others saw a lush tree, they immediately recognized it as the one in the portrait. The Owlery beside it was Breeze's current home.

The flower bed Professor Sprout had given him was still spread out on the platform. There were clearly many more rare and edible plants growing in it now.

Sprout said nothing. She pretended not to notice the magical plants native to the Forbidden Forest.

"I imagine Mr. Order is excellent at Herbology." Professor Dumbledore adjusted his half-moon spectacles and looked at the Four-Leaf Vine spreading around the Owlery's windows. "A clever idea. It has a lovely, natural feel, and it keeps out the cold. But this isn't a student dormitory, and Mr. Order should be held to the same standards as the other young wizards."

"Of course, he discovered this place himself. He has the right to come here while he's at Hogwarts, except during curfew."

Professor McGonagall said nothing, instead studying the bronze patterns on the Owlery's walls. Then she suddenly said, "Gilbert Elsey!"

"Dumbledore, you must remember him. He was one of Ravenclaw's first students, a thousand years ago. I came across him when I was organizing the school's records of outstanding students. He later became the first Alchemy professor, but then he disappeared. All traces of his Alchemy classroom and office were erased."

"The few records that remain describe him as an old scholar who lived in the eastern Owlery. He had a wand made from an unusual plant, which helped protect him from the effects of failed Alchemy."

Dumbledore gently stroked the Great Tree, feeling magic flowing into the bronze patterns. He nodded slightly. "Oh, I always forget things. How lucky that you remembered, Minerva. Still, I think we should knock. It's clear this Owlery has accepted Breeze Order."

"And this Owlery is an Alchemy artifact. It doesn't belong to Hogwarts. As Headmaster, I can tell."

Gilbert Elsey had been a powerful Alchemy master, but those who knew of him understood how impoverished his life had been. The Sorcerer's Stone had been his obsession, but no one knew whether he had ever succeeded.

"Knock, knock, knock!" Snape walked up the stone steps and pounded on the wooden door.

Breeze was still reading on the second floor when he heard the noise outside.

"Someone's here?" Faner turned sharply toward the stairs, then said to Breeze, "They're Hogwarts professors. It seems they've found this place. But why? Nothing like this has happened in a thousand years."

Breeze put down his book, looking helpless. He understood that he couldn't avoid them. Something must have happened to make the professors realize he wasn't in the Slytherin Common Room. The disturbance in Slytherin had come to light.

"I knew this would happen eventually. It's just happened a little sooner than I expected."

Breeze wasn't worried about the consequences. He was the "victim" here. Unless Snape blindly sided with the Pure-bloods, Breeze could easily clear himself of blame.

"Stay here, Faner. I'll go down by myself."

Faner nodded, looking a little disappointed. It understood Breeze would be leaving.

Breeze quickly went downstairs and opened the wooden door. His expression was composed, though he deliberately let a hint of panic show in his eyes. "Professor?"

Snape pushed past him and entered the first floor, casting a Wand-Lighting Charm. The other professors came in as well. Professor Sprout pulled Breeze into her arms and held him close. "It's all right, dear. We'll see that justice is done."

The empty first floor made it clear to everyone that Breeze had been sleeping on the brightly lit second floor. But he had already changed into his pajamas, so they didn't pry any further.

Professor McGonagall, however, grew stern. She spoke sharply to Breeze. "Mr. Order, I've always thought you were the most sensible first-year, but you..."

McGonagall pressed her lips together as she watched Breeze hiding fearfully in Sprout's embrace, and ultimately said no more.

McGonagall bent down and touched Breeze's cheek. With a helpless tenderness, she said, "You could have told me."

Breeze's eyes reddened. He lowered his head stubbornly. "This is my problem, Professor. I have to learn to deal with things on my own. Besides, I've had a good month. I've been able to study to my heart's content without being bothered by their Pure-blood ways."

At Breeze's words, a glint passed through Dumbledore's eyes. "Minerva is worried about you, Mr. Order. Of course, this wasn't your fault, even though you did hurt the other young wizards at the time."

"I'm sorry... The most precious things I had were torn up. My diary is the only proof of my birth, and the source of my name. The satchel was the first Christmas present Betty ever gave me..."

Breeze lifted his head from Sprout's embrace and looked Dumbledore straight in the eye, his voice rising with emotion. "I only dealt with them the Slytherin way, to make them shut up and understand that I'm not someone they can push around."

"Leaving was a relief. I could never accept their Pure-blood rules!"

"Pure-bloods, Half-bloods, and Muggle-borns are all the same. They all have magic. Even Muggles are extraordinary in their own way. Their descendants can be born as young wizards, too, and they have their own strengths."

"Who is born great?"

"Who is born ordinary?"

After he finished speaking, Breeze turned and buried his face in Sprout's arms, saying no more. Where the professors couldn't see, the pure red in his eyes slowly surfaced, then faded back to pure black.

His pure black eyes held a trace of relief.

Breeze thought, I swear on Merlin's soul that everything I said tonight was true.

But everyone knew that the most deceptive thing of all was a truth that had not been fully told.

Breeze respected everything that existed in the world. Although he didn't agree with the Pure-blood doctrine, he didn't look down on it. If he needed to, he'd follow it. If it could make his world a better place, why not accept it?

A world with both good and evil was the way things were supposed to be.

When all was said and done, Breeze still admired the spirit of the Pure-bloods. Being born to privilege did offer a person more choices, just as Breeze's own excellence had earned the professors' approval, and now they chose to protect him.

"Dumbledore!" Professor McGonagall shot Dumbledore an accusing look.

"You shouldn't have said that. Order already understands what he did wrong. Besides, those young wizards started the conflict. They even bought rare Potions, intending to bully Order and leave no trace!"

"I'm sorry... Sorry... I think I got a little confused."

Dumbledore had only just processed what Breeze had said. He looked at the back of Breeze's head, his expression complicated. "I believe you, Mr. Order. You're a very thoughtful young Slytherin. And I assure you that Snape will keep an eye on his House."

Snape gave a snort. Breeze's words had startled him, too. If those Little Snakes heard them, they'd immediately try to get rid of this unusual Slytherin.

Snape was a Half-blood, and he'd been bullied as a child, too. Seeing Breeze's wounded expression reminded him of his own years as a student in Slytherin... Lily.

"I'll keep an eye on them. Slytherin won't tolerate this kind of infighting!"

Snape looked at Breeze, sounding resigned. "Now, Mr. Order, please gather your things and come back to the Slytherin Common Room with me. I'll take care of everything."

At that, Breeze understood he'd cleared himself of blame. He was about to pull away from Professor Sprout, but she tightened her arms around him.

"I think we should talk about changing Houses."

Sprout gently stroked Breeze's head. "I think Hufflepuff could take better care of little Order."

Order blinked. Could he change Houses?

But...

"I think I should thank you for your concern... But I'm a Slytherin, and I'm sure of that."

Breeze managed a smile and stepped out of Sprout's embrace.

"Slytherin shouldn't be what it is now. I've read about the true nature of Slytherin in many books. They're shrewd, calm, and thoughtful in their dealings, and they stand firm in their convictions. Perhaps it's because some people lack convictions that they've given the House a bad name and behave even worse."

"But I think people like that are in the minority. No one is born evil. And I believe I'm capable of handling what comes next."

Snape gave Breeze an approving look. It seemed he smiled, though perhaps the cold wind blowing in had simply made Breeze imagine it.

"Perhaps we should respect Mr. Breeze Order's choice. Now, you can go pack your things and leave."

"Of course, Dumbledore has agreed to let you keep this place as a secret hideout. No one will reveal its secret."

Breeze bowed to the professors.

"I'm sorry to have worried you all. I'll go pack my things now."

Surely no one really thought I'd change Houses... The Sorting Hat had placed Breeze in Slytherin, which meant he had the qualities to belong there.