It took a week to return to Hogwarts tower, under half the time it took Harry to get to Spinner's Keep in the first place. Snape must have a better sense of direction than I do, Harry mused silently.
The first fingers of dawn were creeping over the sleeping village of Hogsmead. Harry resisted the urge to call out to a few of his friends, as he usually would have. Snape was studying the placement of houses and shops curiously.
"It has changed a lot since I was last here," Snape explained when Harry asked him about it.
"When was that?" Harry prodded, feeling a spark of interest at the subject of history for the first time in his life.
"About forty years ago," Snape elaborated, "Though I suppose they would have had to rebuild it, considering it was on fire when I left."
"Fire? Did Voldemort do that?" Harry asked.
"No, he was preoccupied with Hogwarts. One of his lieutenants cast a Fireball spell which did the trick."
"Really?" Harry said, "What's a Fireball like? I've never seen one, and Dumbledore says I can't learn it yet."
"Do you think you can handle that level of magic?" Snape sneered.
"I started learning the theory behind the Dispel Magic spell just before I set off, and according to Bill it's about the same amount of power required." Harry said.
"Knowing the theory and channelling the magic are two different things," Snape warned.
"I know," Harry pulled a face, "You sound like McGonagall – my Transmutation teacher."
"Is that a bad thing?"
Harry opened his mouth, but decided not to say anything and shut it with a snap.
Not long later Snape tied the Nightmare up outside the gates of Hogwarts and Harry lead him to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore was fully dressed and alert, despite the early hour.
"Harry," the old High-Mage greeted cheerfully, "It's good to have you back, my boy." He looked over to Snape, "And I see that you were successful."
Harry blushed and smiled with the praise. However, his smile vanished when Dumbledore began to speak again.
"I wish to talk with Lord Snape in private, Harry," Dumbledore said, "If you could just step outside..."
Harry nodded silently and left. The older two watched until the doors closed behind the young Mage.
"He doesn't know of his history, does he?" Snape asked, sounding as though he was sure of the answer that was to come.
"No," Albus replied.
"I thought not," Snape said, satisfied, "Had he paid more attention to his history studies you may have had a harder time convincing him to fetch me. Very clever, using the boy that way."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Albus denied.
There was a silence, in which Snape walked up to the wall and studied the map of the continent. Markings were placed strategically over the parchment, showing the positions of enemies and allies.
"Any news on the Phylactery?" Snape asked abruptly.
"No," Albus said, moving over to stand next to Snape. "And that's where we were hoping you could help us."
Snape snorted. "I stood far too openly against him at the end of the last war to be able to infiltrate his ranks this time."
"You misunderstand me," Albus drew the Death Knight's attention to a selection of smaller maps laid out on a table, "Through my research I have narrowed the placement of the Phylactery to these places. If you, Harry, and maybe a few others, could check them for me it would help immensely. I have grown far too old to be indulging in adventures like these."
"You want me to go off on what could likely be a wild goose chase," Snape said slowly, "With a Mage who has barely passed his exams and any other person in this town who is idiotic enough to travel with a Death Knight. Is that correct?"
"That's the spirit," Albus smiled.
"May I remind you that I could easily kill you right now?"
"That's why I need you to go," Albus explained, "You are powerful enough to keep yourself and Harry alive. Harry can handle any interaction with people and you can take care of the Dragons."
"Dragons?" Snape quickly scanned the maps. "So help me if we end up looking down the snout of a Black."
"There is little doubt that Voldemort would have used various dangerous creatures to guard his most treasured possession," Albus said, "That may or may not include Dragons. You must be prepared for any possibility."
Snape nodded slowly. "I will have to return to my Keep first."
"I trust that I need not remind that time if of the essence," Albus said.
"We will set out this evening." Snape agreed.
The Death Knight collected the maps and put them in a scroll case that Albus provided. He nodded once to the ancient Mage and walked out of the room.
"I can only hope that you are successful," Albus said quietly after the Undead Lord's retreating form.
Harry walked grudgingly away from the closed door. The wards surrounding the room were too strong for Harry's Scrying spells. All he could do was hope that either Dumbledore or Snape would tell him what was going on once they'd finished.
Harry nodded – more out of habit than anything else – to a few of his fellow apprentices on his way down the tower. They were too busy rushing around with armfuls of scrolls and various other magical items to pay much attention to Harry. It didn't bother Harry in the slightest; his mind was trying to come up with likely scenarios for why Dumbledore would need someone like Snape.
He didn't even notice he was outside until someone grabbed his arm.
"Hey, Harry!" It was Fred, a local thief. His brother, Ron, was Harry's best friend, "You've got to see this horse!"
To Harry's amusement, Fred dragged him a few feet and pointed at the Nightmare. It didn't look like it was enjoying being the centre of attention.
"Bill swears he saw you and someone in armour on it," George continued for Fred.
"Er... Yes..." Harry said carefully.
"Wow," The twins gave Harry identical looks of awe. "Can you show us?"
"I don't know," Harry admitted, "I've never been near it without Snape."
"No harm in trying," Fred said cheerily.
Harry eyed the Nightmare's pointed teeth warily. "Are you sure about that?"
"What's the worst that could happen?" George asked. "Here horsey, horsey..."
The Nightmare seemed to have had enough. It lunged at George, fire leaping from the ground where its hooves struck.
"Ahhhh!" George yelled, clutching the side of his head.
Harry grabbed him and pulled him out of the Nightmare's range. The fiery beast strained against the rope Snape had tied it with, but the Death Knight appeared to have done a good job. The rope held.
"Bloody hell," Fred whispered from Harry's side.
Harry followed his gaze and felt sick. The Nightmare had bitten George's ear clean off. Harry quickly pulled a cloth out of his robes and held it against the bloody wound.
"That has to be one of the most foolish things I have ever seen."
Harry snapped his head around to see Snape watching them.
"Can you help?" Harry asked.
Snape shook his head. "Take him to a Cleric before he loses all the blood in his body."
Harry nodded, but stopped as Fred took the cloth off him and began to tend to George himself.
"I'll take him home, mum'll be able to fix this." Fred said, "You should stay here, Harry."
"Oh," Harry said, "You're sure he'll be all right?"
"Absolutely," George replied, sounding slightly woozy, "I'll come find you later, Harry, don't worry."
Harry tried to smile reassuringly, but failed. He watched Fred lead George away until he lost sight of the two twins.
"Is he going to be all right?" Harry asked Snape.
The Death Knight untied the Nightmare and started walking away from Hogwarts. Harry trotted after him.
"I believe he will live." Snape told Harry. "After the initial shock they acted like such a thing was an everyday occurrence."
Harry hummed in agreement. They walked in silence for a few minutes, then Harry remembered the direction his thoughts had taken before he met the twins.
"So what did Dumbledore want?" Harry asked.
"There is a reason why you were kept outside," Snape replied.
"But there must be something you can tell me," Harry protested.
"Not if you use that tone."
"Sorry," Harry mumbled, "Was it something to do with Voldemort?"
"Calm down," Snape ordered, "Let me speak without interruption. If you are still unsure about anything, then you may ask questions, but only once I have finished."
"All right," Harry said happily. This sounded promising.
"Have your studies included Liches yet?" Harry shook his head and Snape sighed. "This might take longer than I anticipated then. A Lich is a powerful Undead Wizard, created by a potion and a specific set of spells. Part of this process is the creation of a Phylactery: a magical item which contains the Lich's soul. While this Phylactery exists, it is impossible to properly kill the Lich."
"So that's why Voldemort's back, even though they defeated him last time? He's got a Phylactery?" Harry's eyes brightened in understanding. He looked up to see Snape glaring at him, "Sorry."
"Essentially, you are correct," Snape admitted.
"So what's Dumbledore going to do about it? I mean, he'll be a bit busy stopping Voldemort from taking over again, where's he going to find the time to hunt for this item?" Harry asked, grinning sheepishly when Snape glared again.
"If you would let me finish," Snape scolded, "You would understand that Albus has asked for my assistance in this area."
There was a second's silence as this clicked into place in Harry's mind.
"You're going Phylactery hunting? Can I come?" Harry asked.
"Albus has insisted that I take you along with me, so yes, you may come." Snape said grudgingly.
"Really?" Harry brightened, "I've always wanted to go travelling. Are we going anywhere near the sea? I've always wanted to see the sea. Or mountains. Or –"
"Enough," Snape interrupted, "We will be returning to Spinner's Keep – so I can fully prepare for a journey like this – then I will plan a route for us to take from there. However, while we are near the village, there are supplies that you will have to buy from here, along with recruiting other adventurers."
"Supplies?" Harry sounded confused.
Snape gave a soft snort. "Did you think it a wise idea to go on a long journey without even your spell book?"
"Oh! I'll have to go back to Hogwarts to fetch that. And some spell components too." Harry suddenly realised how much he would have to take. "And my travelling cloak. And some food. And –"
"Stop," Snape ordered, "You can worry about that while you are recruiting others to join us."
"Me?" Harry squeaked, "Why me? I thought you would do that."
Snape shook his head. "I would not be welcomed in Hogsmead village." He pulled a small sack out of the Nightmare's saddle bag, "Here," Harry took it, frowning, "Enough gold to get you a horse, a basic adventurer's kit, and give the others their first wage."
"Wage? You mean they get paid for this?" Harry asked sullenly.
"No more than twenty gold each," Snape paused to take in Harry's disgruntled expression, "You will probably spend far more than that kitting yourself up, that is all the preliminary pay is for."
"Oh," Harry said, pacified. "What sort of people should I hire?"
"I believe another Fighter would not go amiss," Snape said, "Someone skilled in long-range weaponry, a healer of sorts, and anyone who can work with locks." He looked at Harry carefully, "I trust you can handle whatever arcane spells I cannot?"
"Of course I can," said Harry. He hesitated, looking at the bag of gold in his hands, "So what should I tell people?"
"Mention that they will be expected to work alongside a Death Knight, but do not use my name or tell anyone of our quest," Snape explained, "Make sure they either have a horse, or are prepared to use the money you give them to buy one. I expect to get back to Spinner's Keep within a fortnight."
"Ok..." Harry was absolutely sure he was going to mess this up somehow.
"We will leave in five hours," Snape informed him, "That should leave you and whoever you recruit enough time to fully pack and say goodbye."
"Right," Harry said, "Should I bring them back here then?"
"Yes," Snape replied, "Go."
Harry hesitated, but set off a quick walk when Snape gave him a push.
Harry stood in the middle of the village square, unsure what to do. Snape had made it sound easy earlier, but now Harry was completely at a loss as to how he should go about hiring adventurers.
Two hours had already gone by. Harry had fetched his spell book and components from Hogwarts and had bought a horse. The gray mare nuzzled at Harry's hair as he tried to decide what else he would need.
"Harry! There you are, Harry," Harry turned to see Ron coming toward him, "Fred told me what happened earlier," He looked at Harry's horse in confusion, "Did that really bite off George's ear?"
Harry couldn't help it, he laughed at Ron's expression. Ron huffed in annoyance, which made Harry laugh harder.
"That was a Nightmare, this is just an ordinary horse," Harry told Ron once he had managed to calm down enough. A sudden idea struck Harry. "Do you want to go on a quest with me, Ron?"
"What for?" Ron asked, "If it's just delivering a message again..."
"No," Harry said quickly, "It's going to help in the war against Voldemort."
Ron went a pale shade of green. "Look, Harry, there's no way we're going to be able to take down a Lich. I mean, a Lich... they're just too powerful."
"Nothing like that," Harry explained, "We're just going to fetch this magical item that's going to really help."
Harry could see that Ron's interest was piqued. That's the Fighter down, Harry mentally ticked off. He reached down to his belt to get the gold for Ron, but felt a sudden thrill of horror.
The money bag was missing.
"It's gone!" Harry yelped. He looked around on the ground, but he couldn't see a trace of gold anywhere.
"What is?" Ron asked.
"My gold," Harry elaborated, "I still have to buy some equipment and that was going to be your wages too!"
"Calm down, Harry," Ron shook the young Mage, "We'll go see if Fred can help us out. Mum's taking George to the Clerics for healing and Fred mentioned having a couple of drinks since it'll take a few hours for the spell to work."
"All right," Harry mumbled dejectedly.
Harry felt awful. His first mission Snape had entrusted him with was going all wrong. What if Snape thought he wasn't good enough? Would he find another Mage to help him?
Hopefully recruiting Ron would take the edge off the Death Knight's anger a bit. Harry contented himself with that thought as Ron led him and his horse toward the tavern: The Three Broomsticks. Ron tied up Harry's horse and pulled Harry inside.
"Ron!" Fred shouted as soon as they entered. Ron grinned and went over to Fred, accepting the offered mug. "Ordered two by accident," Fred explained, "George is usually here with me."
"Sorry about that," Harry said quickly.
Fred waved his hand. "You didn't know. Besides, Father Lupin'll have him patched up by the end of the day."
Harry nodded, feeling slightly better about the incident.
"So," Fred said, leaning forward conspiratorially, "What brings you in here on this fine day?"
"Someone stole Harry's money earlier today," Ron said quietly.
"So you think I had something to do with it?" Fred pretended to look offended.
"No," Ron said, "But we were wondering if you've noticed anything or anyone who might've."
"It's really important," Harry said.
"Money's always important, Harry," Fred told him, "Though I did happen to spot a shifty-looking fellow earlier. Some Elf in him, if those pointy-ears were anything to go by." He nodded discretely to a corner of the tavern, "That's him, over there."
Harry looked over and decided that Fred was right; the stranger did look Elfish. His eyes slanted up at the edges and the tips of his ears could be seen poking out of his long black hair. He must have only been a Half-Elf, because he also had a bit of a beard.
"Looks a bit tough for the likes of us," Fred commented, "Got that bad-tempered horse anywhere nearby, Harry?"
"We could cause a scene," Ron suggested, "Maybe he'll give Harry back his money if everyone in here makes him."
Fred shook his head. "He'll scarper. We need a solid plan. You're a Mage, Harry, any suggestions?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Magic isn't allowed in here, remember?"
"Maybe you could talk to Dumbledore about it," Ron told Harry, "I'm sure he'll understand."
"I would," Harry said, "If it was Dumbledore who gave me the money in the first place."
Ron frowned in confusion, but Fred's eyes held a spark of comprehension. "You mean it was Snape?"
"Snape?" The three of them turned to see the Half-Elf staring at them. "I could tell you terrible tales of that dark Knight."
He didn't appear to notice the hostile glares from Harry, Fred and Ron. Instead he reached into his pack and pulled out a lute. He gave it an experimental strum and began tuning it carefully.
"So," The Half-Elf said easily, "Any specific requests? Since we're here in Hogsmead, I could tell of the time he burnt the place to the ground. What do you say?"
"He did that?" Harry blurted.
"Ah," The lutist looked delighted, "Someone who has yet to hear the story, fantastic." He strummed the lute again and nodded at the sound. "Shall we begin?" He asked as he began to pluck a mournful tune.
"When the Lich Voldemort's power was at its peak, a mere forty years ago, he thought himself powerful enough to destroy the tower of Hogwarts. And so he came to our little village, bringing cold and death in his wake.
"His highest standing lieutenant came alongside him, the Death Knight Lord Snape. The accursed Undead Warrior sent even the bravest men running in fear, for he had the power to kill a man with one word.
"Though those in hiding prayed for their homes to be spared, the Undead are not creatures of the Gods. Upon Voldemort's command, Lord Snape sent a Fireball into the town's midst.
"The townspeople wept, for nothing could be salvaged from the wreckage. The only comfort they had was in the knowledge that Voldemort had been defeated and Lord Snape had returned to his cursed Keep.
"And now, dear friends, we hear startling news. The Lich Voldemort has said to have risen again. We only hope that his Death Knight will stay away from our homes this time around."
The Bard finished and looked expectantly at his audience. Fred clapped and the Bard gave a bow. Ron looked vaguely interested, but Harry's eyes were wide as things began to click into place.
Snape had said he wouldn't be welcome here... that Hogsmead was on fire when he left! Harry felt the first trickle of doubt and betrayal. Why didn't he just tell me straight up?
Harry was brought out of his thoughts as the Bard dumped a bag of gold on the table. A very familiar bag...
"That's mine!" Harry exclaimed.
"That's right," The Bard said, looking pleased with himself, "Got it off a street urchin who'd taken it from you."
The other three stared at him.
"Minus a finder's fee, obviously," he continued. "And payment for that tale."
Harry weighed the bag in his hand, it felt a lot lighter. He scowled as the Half-Elf packed away his lute again.
"So," he slung his pack over his shoulder and smiled widely at the three of them, "Know any good adventuring spots around here? I'm trying to make up a new tale – people are getting tired of the classics – but I can't do that without a decent adventure for inspiration."
Harry couldn't believe his luck. "Actually, I'm looking for adventurers." What else had Snape told him? "You'll have to work with a Death Knight and you need a horse."
"Death Knight?" The Bard's eyes narrowed, "So when you were talking about Snape earlier..."
Whoops.
"Er... yeah," Harry said, fearing the Bard's reaction after the tale earlier.
To his surprise, the Bard's face broke into a grin. "Excellent. Everyone loves a story about heroes going dark. When do we set off?"
"In two hours," Harry told him, "I still need to find a healer, then we've got to go meet up with Snape out of town."
The Bard held out his hand. "It's Sirius Black, by the way."
Harry shook it. "Harry Potter."
Ron had a turn. "Ron Weasley."
Sirius offered his hand to Fred, but the Thief shook his head. "I'm not going. That horse'll probably bite off something more important than my ear if I'm around it for too long."
"Right," said Harry, feeling optimistic, "Sirius, if you and Ron could get your gear together, I'll visit the church and see if they've got a Cleric to spare."
"I'll go with you and see how George is doing," Fred said, draining his pint and putting some money on the table.
The four of them went outside and agreed to meet back there in an hour. Things were finally looking up for Harry.
