Chapter 6: Telling All.
Lupin sat in Dumbledore's office; his head resting heavily in his hands and he barely registered the appearance of the mug of tea on the desk in front of him as the Hogwart's headmaster walked around the desk to take his seat on the other side.
The two of them sat in silence for a couple of moments, Dumbledore appreciating the need for Lupin's deep thoughts whilst cursing himself that he had waited as long as he had to pick Harry up and bring him to Hogwarts.
In his hands he subconsciously played with a small necklace with a bright red feather hanging off it. It was warm to the touch and had been charmed to let the headmaster know where the boy was at all times. He had known that the boy was in danger. He knew Voldemort would soon find out where the boy was being held and the necklace was going to be a gift from the headmaster to the boy as a form of protection. But, like he had done since Harry was taken to the Dursley's when he was a baby, Dumbledore had held off, hoping deep inside that something would happen that would prevent the boy from suffering any more of the anguish that Fate seemed to have in store for him. He had been wrong once more.
The silence was broken by the snap of the fire as it glowed green, indicating that someone was entering the office through the floo network and both men looked up to see Tonks step through the flames, followed closely by the glowing red hair of Arthur and Molly Weasley and their son, Ron.
"Albus, what's going on?" Arthur asked, stepping forward to the desk. "I was in the process of accepting an avalanche of owls when Tonks here turned up saying that you needed to see us urgently. I thought we were supposed to meet at the station?"
"Did you get a chance to read any of the owls?"
Arthur shook his head. "I figured by the urgency in Tonks' voice that I was needed here more. Why, was there something in them that I should have read?"
Ron stood by his father's side and looked down at Lupin as he sat, still unmoving with his head in his hands at his desk. "Remus?" he asked, his heart going cold at the dejected figure. "Where's Harry?"
Lupin's head shot up to look the tall red-head in the eye, but was unable to hide the truth that lay there.
"Oh no." Ron said, his shoulders fell and he felt his father's hand on his shoulder. "What's happened to him? Is he ...?"
"We don't know." Dumbledore interjected, shooting Lupin a comforting look before conjuring up a couple more chairs. "If you will take a seat for a few minutes, Ms Granger will be arriving with Moody and I will tell all that I know."
"Which isn't much." Remus muttered, replacing his head into his hands.
The fire spluttered again, and the familiar clunk of Moody's wooden leg hit the floor as he directed Hermione to one of the two empty chairs.
The bushy haired girl looked at Ron with fear in her eyes. "Harry...?" her voice broke as she sat down and watched her friend nod slightly. Her eyes darted between all the people in the room. "Is he okay?"
Dumbledore held up his hand. "We honestly don't know." He said, and launched into the happenings of the evening. "The Dursley's house was attacked by Death Eaters a couple of hours ago." He glanced at Arthur. "That was probably what all those owls were about. I expect you will be called to go and help clear up the mess. A couple of muggles, Harry's neighbours, were killed by the Avada Kadavra curse. When we arrived Voldemort was standing in front of Harry's house, next thing we know there was a great surge of magic. The house was destroyed and Harry and the Death Eaters were gone."
He watched as those he had brought to the office stared in shock. Only Lupin moved, his hand moving slightly so that he could wipe his eyes on the back of his wrist.
"We found the Dursley's shortly after." He continued. "They had been protected by some sort of shield. A shield that I believe Harry placed over them moments before the explosion..."
Hermione looked up. "Harry. Did he... Is he...?"
Dumbledore shrugged sadly. "I believe, and this I do not know for sure, that the magic that destroyed the house came from Harry. We have known for a long time that he strong in the magical sense, and I believe that the stress of the situation meant that Harry lost control of his feelings, hence the explosion."
"But you didn't find him." Ron stated, his voice void of all emotion.
Dumbledore shook his head. "No. We didn't. I think that his magic somehow made all the Death Eaters and himself disappear. Where they went, and if he is still with Voldemort we won't know until we can get word from our contact in Voldemort's inner circle."
"Snape." Ron said.
"Professor Snape." Dumbledore corrected automatically. "And yes, it is word from him that I am waiting for. Though I trust that information won't go any further than this room."
Hermione nodded slightly and looked up at her headmaster with tears in her eyes. "Do you think Harry will be okay?"
Dumbledore looked down at his hands where the chain was still wrapped around his long fingers. "I hope so." He said. "I feel responsible for not getting him away from the Dursley's sooner."
"He was supposed to be coming to Hogwarts tonight." Moody explained to Ron and Hermione. "True to our word we've been keeping in close contact with him, and he admitted to us that he was still having problems with his scar and the nightmares associated with it. We were going to be bringing him here so that he could work on his Occlumency with Dumbledore."
"And now he's gone." Ron's voice shook with anger as he looked Dumbledore in the eye.
The headmaster nodded. "Indeed he is. I can only hope that, if he is with Voldemort's followers that Snape will somehow be able to get word to us about his location so that we can send out a rescue party to bring him home."
"How long do you think it will take?" Molly Weasley asked in a small voice. Ever since she had first met Harry she had treated him as one of her own sons, sympathetic to the boy who had lost his parents at such a young age.
Dumbledore shrugged. "I do not make set times to meet with Severus, especially now that Voldemort is becoming more active. I cannot allow him to endanger himself in that way."
"Well he had better make an effort now." Lupin muttered, slamming his palm against the heavy oak desk. "That boy is worth more than he'll ever be. The sooner we hear that he is okay and can bring him home the better."
Dumbledore frowned. "I don't think I've heard you speak in such a way, Remus. You cannot afford to loose your calm head at a time like this."
"But he's right." Ron spoke up. "Snape hates Harry, that's no secret. He always picks out Harry for the worst treatment in our potions lessons. He deliberately destroyed all Harry's attempts at the potions we made last year, especially after those stupid lessons he had been having with him. And now you are expecting him to hurry home to tell us that Harry is okay." He shook his head sadly. "It won't happen."
Dumbledore let Ron's words fall into the silence of his office, absent of the usual clicks and whistles of his various gadgets that littered the sides. Even all the portraits of the headmasters and headmistresses of the past sat in silence. He shook his head slightly at the tall red head and spoke. "Severus is more human than you think, Ron. And even if he did have something personal against Mister Potter, I can assure you that he will make every effort to save him simply because no one deserves to be put through the horrors Voldemort is capable of. Not even Harry."
Lupin sat in Dumbledore's office; his head resting heavily in his hands and he barely registered the appearance of the mug of tea on the desk in front of him as the Hogwart's headmaster walked around the desk to take his seat on the other side.
The two of them sat in silence for a couple of moments, Dumbledore appreciating the need for Lupin's deep thoughts whilst cursing himself that he had waited as long as he had to pick Harry up and bring him to Hogwarts.
In his hands he subconsciously played with a small necklace with a bright red feather hanging off it. It was warm to the touch and had been charmed to let the headmaster know where the boy was at all times. He had known that the boy was in danger. He knew Voldemort would soon find out where the boy was being held and the necklace was going to be a gift from the headmaster to the boy as a form of protection. But, like he had done since Harry was taken to the Dursley's when he was a baby, Dumbledore had held off, hoping deep inside that something would happen that would prevent the boy from suffering any more of the anguish that Fate seemed to have in store for him. He had been wrong once more.
The silence was broken by the snap of the fire as it glowed green, indicating that someone was entering the office through the floo network and both men looked up to see Tonks step through the flames, followed closely by the glowing red hair of Arthur and Molly Weasley and their son, Ron.
"Albus, what's going on?" Arthur asked, stepping forward to the desk. "I was in the process of accepting an avalanche of owls when Tonks here turned up saying that you needed to see us urgently. I thought we were supposed to meet at the station?"
"Did you get a chance to read any of the owls?"
Arthur shook his head. "I figured by the urgency in Tonks' voice that I was needed here more. Why, was there something in them that I should have read?"
Ron stood by his father's side and looked down at Lupin as he sat, still unmoving with his head in his hands at his desk. "Remus?" he asked, his heart going cold at the dejected figure. "Where's Harry?"
Lupin's head shot up to look the tall red-head in the eye, but was unable to hide the truth that lay there.
"Oh no." Ron said, his shoulders fell and he felt his father's hand on his shoulder. "What's happened to him? Is he ...?"
"We don't know." Dumbledore interjected, shooting Lupin a comforting look before conjuring up a couple more chairs. "If you will take a seat for a few minutes, Ms Granger will be arriving with Moody and I will tell all that I know."
"Which isn't much." Remus muttered, replacing his head into his hands.
The fire spluttered again, and the familiar clunk of Moody's wooden leg hit the floor as he directed Hermione to one of the two empty chairs.
The bushy haired girl looked at Ron with fear in her eyes. "Harry...?" her voice broke as she sat down and watched her friend nod slightly. Her eyes darted between all the people in the room. "Is he okay?"
Dumbledore held up his hand. "We honestly don't know." He said, and launched into the happenings of the evening. "The Dursley's house was attacked by Death Eaters a couple of hours ago." He glanced at Arthur. "That was probably what all those owls were about. I expect you will be called to go and help clear up the mess. A couple of muggles, Harry's neighbours, were killed by the Avada Kadavra curse. When we arrived Voldemort was standing in front of Harry's house, next thing we know there was a great surge of magic. The house was destroyed and Harry and the Death Eaters were gone."
He watched as those he had brought to the office stared in shock. Only Lupin moved, his hand moving slightly so that he could wipe his eyes on the back of his wrist.
"We found the Dursley's shortly after." He continued. "They had been protected by some sort of shield. A shield that I believe Harry placed over them moments before the explosion..."
Hermione looked up. "Harry. Did he... Is he...?"
Dumbledore shrugged sadly. "I believe, and this I do not know for sure, that the magic that destroyed the house came from Harry. We have known for a long time that he strong in the magical sense, and I believe that the stress of the situation meant that Harry lost control of his feelings, hence the explosion."
"But you didn't find him." Ron stated, his voice void of all emotion.
Dumbledore shook his head. "No. We didn't. I think that his magic somehow made all the Death Eaters and himself disappear. Where they went, and if he is still with Voldemort we won't know until we can get word from our contact in Voldemort's inner circle."
"Snape." Ron said.
"Professor Snape." Dumbledore corrected automatically. "And yes, it is word from him that I am waiting for. Though I trust that information won't go any further than this room."
Hermione nodded slightly and looked up at her headmaster with tears in her eyes. "Do you think Harry will be okay?"
Dumbledore looked down at his hands where the chain was still wrapped around his long fingers. "I hope so." He said. "I feel responsible for not getting him away from the Dursley's sooner."
"He was supposed to be coming to Hogwarts tonight." Moody explained to Ron and Hermione. "True to our word we've been keeping in close contact with him, and he admitted to us that he was still having problems with his scar and the nightmares associated with it. We were going to be bringing him here so that he could work on his Occlumency with Dumbledore."
"And now he's gone." Ron's voice shook with anger as he looked Dumbledore in the eye.
The headmaster nodded. "Indeed he is. I can only hope that, if he is with Voldemort's followers that Snape will somehow be able to get word to us about his location so that we can send out a rescue party to bring him home."
"How long do you think it will take?" Molly Weasley asked in a small voice. Ever since she had first met Harry she had treated him as one of her own sons, sympathetic to the boy who had lost his parents at such a young age.
Dumbledore shrugged. "I do not make set times to meet with Severus, especially now that Voldemort is becoming more active. I cannot allow him to endanger himself in that way."
"Well he had better make an effort now." Lupin muttered, slamming his palm against the heavy oak desk. "That boy is worth more than he'll ever be. The sooner we hear that he is okay and can bring him home the better."
Dumbledore frowned. "I don't think I've heard you speak in such a way, Remus. You cannot afford to loose your calm head at a time like this."
"But he's right." Ron spoke up. "Snape hates Harry, that's no secret. He always picks out Harry for the worst treatment in our potions lessons. He deliberately destroyed all Harry's attempts at the potions we made last year, especially after those stupid lessons he had been having with him. And now you are expecting him to hurry home to tell us that Harry is okay." He shook his head sadly. "It won't happen."
Dumbledore let Ron's words fall into the silence of his office, absent of the usual clicks and whistles of his various gadgets that littered the sides. Even all the portraits of the headmasters and headmistresses of the past sat in silence. He shook his head slightly at the tall red head and spoke. "Severus is more human than you think, Ron. And even if he did have something personal against Mister Potter, I can assure you that he will make every effort to save him simply because no one deserves to be put through the horrors Voldemort is capable of. Not even Harry."