TBAY: Filch's Double-Cross

[Melody]

No: HPFGUIDX 46056

Watching George deadbolt himself and Eileen in the tavern, Melody
secretly hoped Eileen would be ok.  This town seems to not be rather
trustworthy nor innocent in their intentions.  She turned to wish
Cindy and Risti good night, but they had already whisked back to their
warm beds.

"Hmph, seems I will be braving the muddied roads alone tonight." she
thought as she trudged home.  Even with the coming storm, she was
always one to wander without worry.  Besides, if anyone did accost
her, she did have a rather large beast to run to her defense.

Turning down the path that was becoming slowly familiar, Melody headed
back towards the glow of the Safe House lost in her own thoughts about
the night.

Had she actually called Filch a "Pied Piper"?  Whatever brought that
image to her mind?  Pied Pipers are false enchanters.  Filling their
enchanted with happy dreams and false extravagant promises if
followed.  If anything, Voldemort is a Pied Piper not Filch.

"Great going Mel," she commented to herself turning down the pathway
to the Safe House.  "Rather intelligent choice of words there.  Why
didn't just you call him a "frog prince" and completely make a fool
out of yourself?  Gracious."

Glancing up at the house, Melody paused and looked around.  She was
not sure if anyone was awake inside.  Not wanting to wake the crew,
she gingerly opened the oak door and slipped to the kitchen.  Chilled
a little, she hoped Sneaky left out a teapot so she could boil some
water.  To her surprise there was a steaming cup of cider waiting.  "I
did not know house elfs could read minds," she said quietly.  "Handy
little creatures they are."

A gentle rumble of thunder rolled outside.  Not feeling the least bit
appeased from the night, Melody slipped quietly back outside and onto
the porch.  Seeing a well-worn rocking chair, Melody lowered her tired
self down and gently began rocking sipping her cider.  The view was
rather spectacular as she watched the lightning strike and reflect
over the bay.  Life is always more enjoyable on this side of the
storm.  Her thoughts, though, turned back to the night's activities.

Cap. Cindy really believes Filch is dangerous.  A man who would murder
if threatened.  Her words echoed in Melody's head.

> "Oh, I don't know about that," Cindy said quietly.  "Filch ?- Filch
> is downright dangerous, and he'd kill if he had the power and half
> the chance.

Well, Filch is still a grown man.  A grown man who is constantly
exercising his arms and legs running around the castle cleaning and
chasing after muddy students.  Seems he is capable of murder even if
it is only in *muggle* ways.  So he has the power.  I wonder if he
really would if he had the chance?  "What was that passage Cindy
quoted verbatim?" Melody muttered trying to figure out why she was so
restless.  Looking to her side, she saw the four copies of HP sitting
on the side table.  All seemed to be quite well loved.  Impressed that
Pip managed to always have the books close to her, Melody picked up
CoS and found the passage.

> **********
>
> "What's going on here?  What's going on?"
>
> Attracted no doubt by Malfoy's shout, Argus Filch came shouldering
> his way through the crowd.  Then he saw Mrs. Norris and fell back,
> clutching his face in horror."
>
> "My cat!  My cat!  What happened to Mrs. Norris?" he shrieked.
>
> And his popping eyes fell on Harry.
>
> "*You*!" he screeched.  *You!*  You've murdered my cat!  You've
> killed her!  I'll kill you!  I'll ?"
>
> ***************

"Hmmm, Filch does seem rather...attached to Mrs. Norris." Melody
pondered while staring into the water.  "As if she is the only thing
he has in the world to comfort him.  Even if Mrs. Norris is not just a
cat, she is definitely cherished by Filch.  I know if someone
petrified by brother, I would be quite raven mad.  Still, why did he
immediate accuse Harry?"

The thought bothered her.  Filch had no reason to point immediately to
Harry it seems.  It could be as Cap. Cindy pointed out,

>But what does  Filch do?  He jumps to the conclusion that Harry
>killed Mrs. Norris!  He doesn't accuse Ron, Hermione, Draco or any of
>the other students.  No, he goes right after The Boy Who Lived, and
>he threatens to *kill* Harry!  That shows that Filch is not only
>irrational and murderous, but that he doesn't revere Harry the way
>others in the wizarding world do.  Makes me wonder about Filch's
>loyalty to the wizarding world, it really does.

Filch doesn't seem to revere the boy that lived at all, that is true.
 He sees him as a pest.  Melody shrugs.  "Maybe Filch doesn't read the
papers," she thought amusingly picturing Filch in a coffee shop
perusing The Daily Prophet with a spot of tea.  "Well that might be a
bit harsh.  He obviously can read.  Still, maybe Filch had other
motives for jumping to the Harry conclusion so fast.  Motives that
supercede the fact Harry once debodied the greatest Dark Wizard of the
world."

Flipping the pages of Cos, Melody laughed thinking, "Hey, at least
Filch picked the one person in the crowd who everyone knew had powers
beyond comprehension for his age."  Her hands rested on a bit of
passage, from The Deathday Party chapter, that happened a few days
earlier.

********************

His [Filch's] eyes fell on Harry and then darted to the Kwikspell
envelope, which, Harry realized too late, was lying two feet away from
where it has started.

Filch's pasty face went brick red.  Harry braced himself for a tidal
wave of fury.  Filch hobbled across the desk, snatched up the
envelope, and threw it into a drawer.

"Have you - did you read - ?" he sputtered.

"No," Harry lied quickly.

Filch's knobbly hands were twisting together.

"If I thought you'd read my private - not that it's mine - for a
friend - be that as it may - however -"

Harry was staring at him, alarmed; Filch had never looked madder.  His
eyes popping, a tic was going in one of his pouchy cheeks, and the
tartan scarf didn't help.

**********************

"Well Filch does seem rather defensive about his Squib status.  A real
sore spot there." Melody noted.  Harry did say he had never seen the
man madder, and this is a man that has to put up with the Weasley
twins' antics.  Reading on, it seems Filch is quite nervous about
Harry having such knowledge about Filch.  Not really knowledge of a
skeleton in Filch's closet, but more of a very embarrassing part of
Filch that does not allow him to be seen as an equal.

"Hmm, I wonder if Pip wants to use that fact in her argument about how
wizards look down on people who do not have magic," She thought
marking the passage to get back to Pip later when she was awake.
"Seems Filch's near breakdown at the thought of anyone judging him as
a squib shows that it is not only humiliating but a possible threat on
his life or the lives of the person, or cat, he loves."
Melody reached again for her cider and laid the book down in her lap.
 Filch was scared after that incident.  Seems he knows Harry's ability
to attach even if it was only against Voldemort.  Filch does not know
Harry does not have that power now.  Filch doesn't even know that
Harry doesn't hold the same prejudices as the rest of the wizards.
Seems Filch does not even know what a non-wizard raised person would
be thinking.  He only jumps to the conclusion that Harry can and would
act upon a squib.

"That is why he let Harry go that day from his office without
punishment," Melody said as she sat up in the rocker.  "He wanted to
get Harry on his good side and not tell anyone about the Kwikspell
courses.  By letting Harry go unpunished, Filch was doing him a
favor."  Melody's mind raced.  That is why at the writing on the wall,
Filch was so quick to place blame.  Harry has broken the deal Filch
thought he had made.  Harry goes unpunished; Filch is left alone.  So
to Filch's eyes, the boy who had the power to debody Voldemort, the
boy who knew he was a squib, and the boy who should feel like bullying
Filch attached the one thing Filch holds so dear.  Mrs. Norris.

Melody began rocking against in the night air.  She was sure she was
on to something.  Filch did not mean he would *kill* Harry.  There
were hundreds of students and Dumbledore striding down the hall.
Filch was just impassioned.  His precious Mrs. Norris strung up by her
tail...humiliated...de-humanized (sort of).  It was as if Filch saw
his own heart pulled out and sat on the mantle for all to jeer.  "Poor
squibby Filch," she sighed.  "He finally had had enough."

Melody was not sure if Cap. Cindy would be convinced of this, but she
quite was.  To Filch, Harry had broken a promise to him.  He had acted
upon the knowledge that Filch was a helpless squib and made a fool out
of him like bullies often do.  Filch did not care it was *Harry*.  He
just wanted justice to the person he thought had wronged him and his
petrified cat.  That cat is his world.

Melody's head was hurting now.  She had stayed up *way* too late.
Closing the book and resting it back on top of the rest, Melody rocked
herself out of the rocker.  Stretching a bit, she rested her mind in
the knowledge *she* at least felt better.  Slipping back inside up to
her room and into her nightgown, she was quite glad to let her head
rest on the deep pillows on her four-poster bed.  "Maybe not now is a
good time to owl post Cap. Cindy," she muttered almost asleep.  "I'll
do it in the morning.  When she is sober."


Melody