SILENT MIND – YEAR 3
Crossover: Harry Potter / Twilight
Summary: Absolute AU – Crossover story.
Bella's third year in Hogwarts turns out to be anything but peaceful, because the murderer has been escaped from Azkaban to find and kill Harry. Meanwhile her private lessons with Snape becomes even more interesting and also more difficult.
A/N: The third story in my "Silent Mind" series. I do not own any of characters, they belong to J. K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer. I just borrowed them and mixed up together.
My best regards and thanks to my best fan, GoddessxNyte! It's good to share ideas with You and receive encouragement and a lot of good words! Thank You so much! I hope You will stick around till the end!
This one happens to mostly follow the book lead, however it's rather such mix of book and movie that I would not advise to match it with either. The things like that just happens in writing process and I simply follow where the Lady Inspiration leads me, whether she choose to prefer the movie or book. This part was the one I had difficulties to write due to lack of ideas, since it never been my favourite part of HP series, so I apologize if it may seem less interesting than the previous ones. But I promise that the future sequels won't leave you disappointed, so stay tuned. Read, enjoy, review!
Characters: Severus Snape, Bella Swan
Shakespeare sonnet Nr. CLI (151.)
Love is too young to know what conscience is,
Yet who knows not conscience is born of love?
Then, gentle cheater, urge not my amiss,
Lest guilty of my faults thy sweet self prove:
For, thou betraying me, I do betray
My nobler part to my gross body's treason;
My soul doth tell my body that he may
Triumph in love; flesh stays no farther reason,
But rising at thy name doth point out thee,
As his triumphant prize. Proud of this pride,
He is contented thy poor drudge to be,
To stand in thy affairs, fall by thy side.
No want of conscience hold it that I call
His love, for whose dear love I rise and fall.
Chapter 1 – The Flight
Finally the house was empty, and I was left on my own.
Charlie went fishing with Billy Black shortly before the dawn. At the end of next week I had planned to return in London to pass the Apparition test, so I finally had a chance to do a little practice with it. I knew that Charlie would get a heart attack if I did it in his presence – just imagine me appearing out of blue in kitchen or living room. And I must admit that he was incredibly observant which was rather to be expected from the Chief of Police.
There was another reason why I wished to return in British Isles – Harry was there alone. From the letters I received, I knew that the whole Weasley family currently was in Egypt (Ron's Dad had won the money prize of seven hundred galleons from "Daily Prophet" – a wizarding newspaper), but Hermione spent the summer with her parents in France. They had a good time with their families, while Harry was stuck with Dursleys in Private Drive – I knew from his own stories how his relatives treated him and I felt that I had to do something about it, like being close by in case if he needed any help or quick getaway.
Thanks to Snape's lessons, I could Apparate almost perfectly. Only at first couple of practising times I accidentally Splinched – once I left my thumb behind (and actually fainted in Snape's arms at sight of that – he was not pleased, mind to say), then I nearly scalped myself, when a large chunk of my hair disappeared, while I remained where I was (Snape teased me for a week), but after a month I could successfully Apparate from one place to another without having any more incidents.
After few times Disapparating from my room to various spots (the kitchen, basement, few yards into the forest behind our house), theoretically I could use the rest of free time to work on couple of particulary tricky antidotes which Snape entrusted me to brew as a summer work in our private lessons. Mostly the process was quite smelly so I restrained from brewing when Charlie was home with a few exceptions.
Just when I began to pull out the brewing kit, an owl gently knocked at the window, delivering the "Daily Prophet". I let the bird in, untied the newspaper and put precisely fifteen knuts in small leather bag at owl's leg (normally it would be five knuts, but intercontinental delivery, of course, cost a bit more). Usually I never read the newspapers, but lately my habits had changed. It felt good to be connected with the wizarding world and its news.
The whole front page held a picture of the man with long, dirty and ruffled hair. His features were gaunt as if he had starved for a long time. To be honest, the look in his shadowed eyes was the only thing that still held the life within his appearance. I never been easy to get scared, but something in his face made me to shiver. The headline said that the man's name is Sirius Black and that he had escaped from Azkaban, a wizarding prison. I sat down and carefully read the whole article, which said that Black had killed thirteen people (one wizard, twelve Muggles) twelve years ago with a single curse. The Ministry of Magic warned everyone to be extremely cautious, claiming that Black is insane and, since he used to be very loyal Voldemort's follower, it made him even more dangerous.
I did not bothered to read the rest of articles. Now I wanted to return in Britain more than before. Whenever Voldemort (or his supporters) was mentioned, it involved Harry too, and my protective instincts kicked in with full force. The only way to get my mind off the article was turning attention to something else to keep myself occupied. I forced myself to sit down and read the instructions, given by Snape last year.
Soon I was fully engrossed in brewing, leaving the less smelly ones to the end of day when Charlie planned to return. The day passed quite fast, and soon I heard the car pulling in the parking spot in front of house. A minute later the door opened and Charlie came in. I left my room only to show up on the top of staircase and say hello to him, then I returned back to brewing. Only three more samples to go, and the summer work will be finished.
After two hours, when I just had finished yet another potion, I heard Charlie's voice.
"Bella, get downstairs! Hurry up!"
Charlie sounded rather worried, so I lifted my head, pausing in mid-way of filling the phial with the sample of Wiggenweld Potion which was known as the antidote for Draught of Living Death. Silently wondering what happened, I stoppered the phial, quickly extinguished the flames under the cauldron, with a single wave of wand making the rest of potion to vanish, then wiped my face with moist towel – the fumes from the cauldron made me to sweat. Only then I left the room and went downstairs to the living room, where Charlie had settled in front of television.
"Hey, dad!" I perched on the edge of the couch. "What's up?"
Charlie said nothing, only pointed at the screen, where the BBC evening news were on (he had made a habit to watch British television channels). I turned my head and saw a picture of the man whom I saw earlier this morning in "Daily Prophet". Now, that was weird. Why would Muggle news would say anything about Black? I listened as the broadcaster informed that Sirius Black is armed and extremely dangerous, and all citizens are asked to be very cautious.
"Bella," in Charlie's voice I heard the authority of the Chief of Police, as he spoke. "I don't want you to return in London until they will catch him! It's too dangerous!"
I glanced at the screen again. The broadcaster continued to talk about the measures the Scotland Yard already had taken in order to find Sirius Black and put him back behind the bars. Then Charlie's words sank into my mind.
"Dad, I don't think Sirius Black would try to break in Oxford university with one of the best security systems in the British Isles! Besides, I think that now they will make it even better, now when the murderer is in loose," I tried to put up every argument I could come up with. "The entire Scotland Yard is looking for him. It's very likely he already had left the country."
"Bells, you're not going anywhere, and that's the end of it!" Charlie nearly shouted, but I was not going to give up that easily.
"Dad, I'm of age! You can't forbid me to return in school, remember?"
"As long as you live under my roof – " Charlie began, but I stood up.
"It can be fixed easily, I can move out at any moment," I saw a flash of pain in Charlie's eyes and continued in soft voice. "Dad, you know I love you, and I don't want to move out, but if you won't give me the choice, I will move out."
Charlie's face changed its colour, slowly turning red.
"Alright, that's it, Bella! You're grounded from now on!"
"What? But – "
"No, 'buts'!" This was the first time I actually saw him so angry. "I'll call them Monday morning to explain why you won't attend the studies this year! That man already had killed thirteen people! I'm not going to let you to leave and take the risk to increase the count of his victims!"
I felt the magic swirling in my hands and forced myself to calm down. I had read a lot about accidental wandless magic to know that it could be caused by a very intense emotional outburst. The last thing I needed right now was for Charlie to learn the truth in such way. Without a word, I spun around and run back upstairs and into my room, slamming the door behind.
I turned the lock and, to calm down a bit, I began to clear the table, putting the potion making kit away. If only I had someone – anyone to whom I could talk to, someone who could understand me. But my friends were thousands of miles away. Of course, I wrote them letters, but it took a while for Amy to get to them and back, and so far I received only one letter from each of them, responding immediately. Harry called me too, whenever he managed to sneak out of house (so Dursleys would not notice the mobile phone), but it happened very rarely.
The use of magic in Muggle presence was forbidden – unfortunately this restriction applied to Charlie as well even in spite that he was my father. The question kept on whirling in my mind – to whom I could call for help? That is, who could actually help me with something more than comforting words? With whom I could contact within the following two days, before Charlie finds out the truth? There was one person to whom I could ask for help, but I doubted Amy would reach him in time. From the other hand – what could I lose?
I looked at Amy, who had returned from the night hunt and now perched on the back of chair, her amber eyes questioningly watching me. I sighed deeply, then walked over to the desk and pulled a piece of parchment, ink bottle and quill. After briefly considering the text, I quickly scribbled a few lines, then tied the letter at Amy's leg which she outstretched to me, ready to deliver.
"I'm sorry, Amy, but I will have to send you across Atlantic once again," I quietly said. "I promise I won't send you anywhere for a very, very long time afterwards, but you must deliver this letter to Professor Dumbledore as fast as you can, or else we both will be in very serious trouble!"
Amy hooted quietly, nibbling my finger gently, then she hopped off the chair and took off through the open window, vanishing into the night. I looked after her, silently praying for her to find the Headmaster before the Monday morning.
During the night and the following day, nothing changed. It was Sunday night, and I was lying in my bed, waiting for the morning with fear. Even the slightest noise behind the window made me to jump out of bed and rush to look outside, hoping to see someone – anyone – who came to save me. But the seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours, and I was still left alone. The owls from wizarding world could cross an enormously large distances much faster than any normal owl, but it was still possible that Amy had not reached her destination yet.
I rolled on my stomach and pressed my face into the pillow. Maybe I should simply pack my things and leave while Charlie was still asleep? But, no, that was a bad idea. Being a cop, he would call out for a National Guard or Scotland Yard to find me, not to mention the worry it would cause to him. No, I could not do that to him.
One glance at the clock confirmed that I have only four more hours left to my doom. Charlie planned to call to Oxford at eight o'clock in the morning, or at least that was what he said last night. I moaned and wished to be dead. Reaching out to turn off the light, I closed my eyes, sending a silent prayer for the miracle to come.
I must be dozen off, because when I opened my eyes, there was a light in my room, flickering slightly and casting a strange gleam on the walls. Only several seconds later I realized that it was not coming from the outside, but from somewhere behind me.
"I'm disappointed, Miss Swan," a very familiar voice drawled quietly. "One would expect of you to have your things packed and ready after such desparate plead for help! Perhaps I should have not come here at all?"
I could not believe my ears. Blinking, I turned my head and saw Severus Snape who stood at the door, leaning against the frame. The light came from the tip of his wand, enlightening his black eyes and pale, gaunt face which held an usual smirk.
"P-professor Snape!" I stuttered, my sleep-fogged brains desperately trying to grasp the fact that the Potions Master was here in Forks, in my room. "What... I don't... how... ?"
"Believe me, Miss Swan, I did not volunteer to be here on my own accord. It just happens that Professor Dumbledore is busy at present time, so he thought it would be prudent for me to come and aid you," Snape coldly stated, reaching for the switcher to turn the light on.
The bright light forced me to squeeze my eyes shut. When I finally got used to the light, Snape already had walked further into the room, letting his gaze roam over the contents of my room, including computer, CD player and a few other Muggle things. I suddenly felt uneasy for having such a mess in the room. Finally Snape turned to me, crossing his arms over chest.
"Now, Miss Swan, I'd appreciate if you would be so kind and explain what so terrible had happened, so I could assist you and return to more useful things to do."
His snarky and sarcastic attitude affected me better than icy cold shower. In one milisecond I was fully awake and alert. And, above all, I felt kind of pissed off. At any other situation I would have snapped at him, but it would not be the smartest thing to do – really, it would be quite stupid to argue with the only person who could get me out of oncoming trouble. I took a deep breath, cleared my throat, and then glanced at door, where Charlie slept across the hallway.
"I have a problem with my dad," I said.
Snape quirked his eyebrow cynically. "Oh, and that's it? Is that the reason of why you asked for help? I'm sorry, Miss Swan, but your family problems is not quite in my competence. Now, if you excuse me, I've got some really serious matters to take care of – " with that, Snape turned and strode toward the door.
"He saw the Muggle TV news about Sirius Black!" I hissed in despair, when Snape already put his hand on door handle.
At hearing the name of currently the most wanted person in wizarding world, Snape spun around, frowning. After a second of hesitation, he silently motioned for me to continue. I mentally sighed in relief.
"He forbid me to return to British Isles. That's not the problem, I'm of age and I can leave if I want," I shook my head, when Snape already opened his mouth to once again contradict the size of trouble. "But my disappearance would hurt him, and, since he's a cop, he would do anything to find me, that's why I didn't object when he put me in house arrest."
"He did that? Really?" Snape smirked, but I choosed to ignore his obvious amusement. "Well, amusing as it is, I still don't see where the problem is. Surely you could – "
"He doesn't know about Hogwarts. He thinks I'm attending a Muggle university, Oxford," I interrupted. "After two hours he will call them to inform that I won't be attending the studies as long as Black is in loose. The real problem is that – first, he doesn't know that I've never been a student in Oxford. And, second, he doesn't know that I'm a witch!"
"You haven't told your father who you are?" Snape's eyes slightly widened.
"No! I – I can't tell him that!" I shook my head, blushing slightly, not wanting to let him know what a coward I am. "Please, sir, it's the only thing that really worries me – that he will find it out somehow. If you could... I don't know, make him to forget about calling or else – "
"Hmm," Snape frowned, thinking for a moment. "I could alter your father's memories. He would never remember the conversation about forbidding you to leave or calling to – what was the name – Oxford?"
I nearly fainted in relief and grabbed the back of chair to stay upright. "Can you really do that?"
"If I must," Snape shrugged casually, moving to the door. "While I deal with your father, I expect you to pack your things and be ready to leave within ten minutes."
He turned and disappeared in the hallway. I could hear him opening and closing Charlie's door. Did he planned to wake him up or did the memory altering did not required for the person to be awake? Too confused to think about it, I did as Snape told and quickly gathered everything I needed – the school books and rest of stuff, clothes and robes, not forgetting the small leather case where I kept the phials with potion samples. By the time Snape returned, I was ready to leave.
"It's all settled," he said, walking back into the room. "When your father will wake up, he will think that you left yesterday's night and that he personally took you to the airport. As for Sirius Black, your father thinks that he has left the British Isles and currently has been sighted in Rumania, so it's safe to be in London."
I stared at him, grateful beyond the words. But Snape merely walked past me and flicked his wand at first towards Amy's cage, shrinking it, then he put the cage (which was in size of muzzle) in my trunk and shrinked it too to the size of matchbox, he handed to me. The astonishment probably was very visible in my face, because Snape grinned.
"When you will settle down in London, resume its previous size with a simple Finite. Now, let's go!"
He turned and strode out of room, the black cloak billowing behind him. I shook my head and grabbed my jacket, stuffing the shrinked trunk in pocket. Sometimes I wished to be able to turn the events back and then repeat them again in slow motion, like in movies. Especially when things happened so fast like they did now. I crept downstairs, pausing only to fetch my mobile phone from the table in hallway where I left it for the night to charge.
Snape was nowhere to seen, when I finally stepped outside, carefully locking the door behind me (Snape himself probably used magic to unlock them). I checked around the corner, and there he stood, waiting for me to join him.
"Ready, Miss Swan?" Snape looked a bit impatient, while I looked around, searching for something that could work as magical (or non-magical) way of travelling.
"Are we going to Apparate?" I cautiously asked, deep inside hoping to hear a negative answer. Indeed, the distance between Forks and London was too large – only highly skilled wizards and witches were able to successfully manage to perfom intercontinental Apparition.
"No, there are different methods. We could use the Portkey or Floo powder, but I will show you another way. Consider it as an extra private lesson or, which is more the case, a demonstration of what I will attempt to teach you someday. Now, come closer."
Intrigued, I did as I was told, until we stood side by side.
"Put your arms around me and hold on tight!"
I locked my hands around Snape's waist. Without warning, Snape swung his own arms around me, pulling me so close I could barely breathe, yet I did not tried to break away out of pure curiousity of what would happen next.
And then I was flying in the air, Snape's arms tightly wrapped around me. I felt like my whole body had split in molecules, absolutely weightless as if I was a ghost. A quick glance at myself confirmed this sensation – we both had turned into nothing but a black fumes, shooting through the air while the land passed by underneath in enormous speed. I had no physical form anymore, neither had Snape, but amazingly I could still feel his body against my own. I felt his heart beating under the thick layer of black robes, his breath upon my forehead.
I realized that it was easy to enjoy this flight once the initial shock about the method of flying was over. Soon the mainland was left behind and now we were flying over the Atlantic ocean. I watched, breathless, how the colours of the giant field of water changed from aquamarine to deep navy blue, depending on the depth, glistering in sunlight like a thousands of diamonds had been scattered all over the surface.
Snape's arms tightened around me, providing the warmth and protection against the cold wind, that mercilessly tried to reach through the clothes due to being so high in the air. I rested my head against his invisible chest and sighed in content.
"Enjoy the flight?" Snape's voice sounded like a whisper of air, yet it held the usual smirking tone.
"It's so beautiful," I whispered, not even bothering whether or not he heard it.
"I might teach you how to fly like this," Snape said, his voice drifting around me in a way that it was impossible to tell where exactly it came from. "But it's not easy. There are only few who had ever been able to master it. Don't raise your hopes too high, Miss Swan."
I refused to answer, not wanting to upset myself by thinking that I might not be able to ever fly like this. If this was the first and only time I had a chance to experience something so beautiful and extraordinary, I wanted to enjoy each and every second of it. Thankfully Snape said nothing more, and so we both soared across the sky towards the British Isles.
After an hour I finally spotted the curved shapes of coastline that belonged to Ireland and Great Britain. Soon we reached London and flew over the Big Ben and river of Thames. Before I had time to accustomize the new location, my feet firmly touched the ground, in an instant my body regained its full form, Snape released me from his grip, and with a regret I knew that the journey had ended.
A fast examination of my surroundings revealed that I was standing right next to my Jeep. There was oh so familiar signboard of "Leaky Cauldron" at the end of side-street where Snape had brought us into. I turned around to thank Snape for his help and wonderful flight, but he was already gone without even so much as bidding goodbye.
"Unbelievable!" I nearly stomped my feet against the ground like a little, spoiled child. "Would it be so hard for him to hang around a few seconds more? Insufferable man!"
Before entering the "Leaky Cauldron", I took the shrinked trunk out of my pocket and performed the spell to get it back in previous size. When it was done, I strode towards the entrance, dragging the trunk behind me, while my thoughts still lingered at the wonderful flight.