"Albus, I think a Muggle has breached the wards," Snape's head appeared in the fireplace of the headmaster's office.

"Are you sure, Severus? The anti-Muggle wards must need to be replaced soon," Albus sighed. "Call Hagrid, I'll fire-call Minerva. Thank Merlin it's summer."

Severus Snape's head disappeared as Albus pinched some powder into the black pit under the mantel. "Minerva, meet us in the grand entrance, Severus says a Muggle has gotten onto the grounds."

The three wizards congregated in the grand foyer, wondering how someone could have gotten past the school's defenses.

"Where are they Severus? Are you sure it's not a Deatheater?"

"I am positive Albus. You know that I am the staff member that is alerted by the wards when a Muggle gets too close—

"Must be that famous charm you seem to have for them, Severus, that the castle chose you to do this job," Minerva McGonogall piped in.

"Yes, inviting them in for tea and scones is just the ticket to getting us all exposed!"

"Now, now you two. Are you sure it's a Muggle, Severus?"

"Well, headmaster," Snape paused, his pale face frowning, "I am unsure. There seemed to be a hint of a wizard's magical signature, it was as if the ward was confused about where the person was friend or foe, wizard or not."

"Ah, so it could be a Muggle-born wizard who doesn't know they're a wizard."

"Albus, you surprise me with your wealth of knowledge of these things," Severus sneered.

"Hmrphrm," Minerva chorlted, hiding her face with her hand.

"Severus, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you just complimented me," Dumbledore smiled.

"Hagrid is waiting for us in his hut," Severus continued, "We should split up once we get there. No telling what's going on."

"A prudent move Severus," Albus noted. The trio walked down the steps of the castle, the humid summer air greeting their cool bodies.

Snape, in his billowing layers of black robes and high-collared shirt buttoned all the way up his throat, was already sweltering in the mid-July heatwave Scotland was experiencing.

"At least the children aren't here, although I can't fathom Voldemort attacking in the summer when no one is here," Minerva said, wiping sweat off her brow as she knocked on Hagrid's door.

"H'llo professors. Me and Fang 'ere was 'bout to come lookin' fer ye."

"The wards indicated the breach was near the gates," Severus sneered at Hagrid's wolfhound, whose nose was wiggling after having picked up the foreign scent.

"I suggest we go see what this Muggle is," the headmaster's eyes twinkled merrily. "But still we must take precautions, wands out everyone. Severus, you stick to the forest on the left side, Hagrid you stick to the right side. Minerva and I will take the road."

The partially obscured blue sky poked out from drifting white clouds as the professors approached the gate from their various positions, the stone walls upholding the intertwined black metal bars which formed a Hogwart's crest in the middle. To a Muggle, they were supposed to appear broken down and dangerously hanging from their hinges. The trees of the Forbidden Forest waved gently in the wind, their leaves whispering amoung the branches.

Snape darted into the shade and darkness of the forest, cursing the day the castle's anti-Muggle wards had been assigned to him. He pulled at his collar as sweat built up on his skin, trying to get more air into his lungs that the heat and humidity seemed to be stealing from him. His eyes scanned the underbrush and the trunks of the trees. Sweat trickled down into his eyes from his greasy hair, and his stomach churned.

"Damn," Serverus swiped his face, his hand smeared sweat across his thin cheekbones. What he'd give to be back in the cool dungeons, prepaing potions for the upcoming term. But there was something wrong; a Muggle had breeched the wards.

Well, the wards classified it as a Muggle, Snape leaned against a tree. It was impossible to detect an intruder who didn't want to be seen. There was a spell, but of course, there was a spell for almost everything and this spell was particulary draining. It allowed the caster to reveal things within a six to eight foot radius, in all directions. The only problem was it revealed and amplified everything -- in this case, the forest's workings, the sound of dirt settling, moles, worms, wind, leaves, or better yet, he could see through trees, thick underbrush, even the ground as the spell revealed to the castor what was around in all four cardinal directions. A wizard had to be powerful to not only cast it, but deal with all the information flooding the senses. He suspected the spell was the reason Albus knew everything that went on in the castle, well almost everything. The spell could not see through wards, thankfully.

"Passum pastesco silva," Snape muttered, literally meaning, spread out to reveal the forest. Instantly his senses were overloaded, and Severus looked through his eyes to see a transparent forest, and ground, the physical world becoming a ghostly-like phantasmogoria of pale images. At least the colors were muted a bit. He began to walk forward toward the gates, his ears catching all the scrunging noises of the grub worms, the chomping of moles, the wind in the trees, leaves scratching up against each other in the breeze, the splintering crack of trees growing, birds chirping almost in symphony, the whisper of spiders, clucking of crickets, the buzzing of flies, the fluttering of several harmless magical creatures and the distant approaching hooves of a centaur pounding on the ground. He stopped to pinch the bridge of his nose, Merlin what a headache.

The gates where nearing, the metal creaking in the wind, he could see his deatheater robes and mask hidden in the stone pillars of the gates, he could pick up the slobbering hound Hagrid insisted was a good watch dog. He could not detect beyond the wards of the grounds, thankfully. He felt weak and his legs were beginning to cramp. Minerva and Albus' voices could just barely be heard, carrying on the breeze. Where was the blasted Muggle?

"Severus! Oi! Here!" Hagrid's voice rocheted off the insides of his head.

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This is my first attempt at fan fiction. This story has been broken into chapters b/c it was too cumbersome to be taken in all at once. Also, it is a work in progress and has not been betad. I also broke my laptop and have not been able to write any more on it in several weeks. I will be updating the new chapters as soon as I ftp my old files to my new computer. Thanks for your patience.