Chapter Seven: Deadly Surprises

Dumbledore's Office

Mr. Weasley arrived at Hogwarts, upset about the news that he had gotten from the Headmaster. He loved his wife and to hear that she was gone and that the person that he had slept with wasn't his wife had left him numb and angry. Dumbledore welcomed him with the usual smile, but not the twinkle that he usually had.

" Have you found my wife yet?" Mr. Weasley asked the Headmaster.

" Not yet, Arthur," Dumbledore answered. " But I'm having Moody and Tonks check everywhere, even Malfoy manor. If she's there or anywhere else, they'll find her."

Mr. Weasley felt his legs give way and Dumbledore had to place him in a chair.

" Would you like a strong brandy?" Dumbledore asked him, knowing that brandy would calm his nerves.

" Thanks."

Dumbledore went to his store of liquor and poured from a decanter that Severus had gotten from one of the Slytherins that he had confiscated it from. He then handed the glass to Mr. Weasley, who drank from it.

" Any news about what You-know-who is planning next?" Mr. Weasley asked ten minutes later after the brandy had taken affect.

" Not yet!" answered the Headmaster. " We've got another spy working for us and he's come back with no new information."

" What about Severus and this condition that the Department for The Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures is talking about?"

" No new news yet," Dumbledore said. " Poppy is very upset about this, as you can imagine."

" Of course!" stated Mr. Weasley. " So is the child okay?"

" It's well!" Dumbledore answered. " Hermione is a month along and so far showing no signs of what will happen in June. Of course, I'm pleased that the D.A are supporting her. She needs that now, more then ever."

Mr. Weasley nodded at that.

" How is Severus handling impending fatherhood?"

Dumbledore chuckled this time.

" He's being Snape!" Dumbledore said, now grinning.

Malfoy Manor

Mrs. Weasley had no idea what was going on, but she didn't like it. She was in a dark room, which had no windows, so she didn't know if it was day or night. She had tried to scream out help on several occasions, but nobody answered. She had a feeling that nobody would ever find her and that she would die in this place.

" Oh gods please help me and if you can't, watch over my children," she prayed out loud.

Several tears rolled down her face, but since she was tied up, she couldn't do anything about wiping the tears away. Suddenly the door opened and someone entered. She couldn't see who it was, but a small hand untied her and Mrs. Weasley was able to move. It took her five minutes to be able to support her, and then she was able to move around.

The door opened again and that's when she noticed a small child holding it for her. She had short black hair, a small button nose, brown eyes, and a pleasant smile. She motioned for Mrs. Weasley to follow her and she did as she was told. She followed the little girl up the dungeon steps, to the main corridor of the house. At once Mrs. Weasley knew that she was in Malfoy Manor and that she was in deep trouble. If anyone found her gone, then she would be dead. The little girl motioned for her to follow her and again, she did.

Finally they made it to the front door and Mrs. Weasley pushed it opened. However, the little girl didn't follow her outside. Mrs. Weasley turned and looked down at her.

" Thanks for helping me," she told her. " What's your name?"

The girl didn't answer, just stared at her. Then seeing that she wasn't going to get an answer, she left the manor and walked across the grounds. She had just made it to the gate when a voice entered her head and two pairs of hands pulled her past the front gate.

" My name is Merlin," said the voice, as Mrs. Weasley fainted into the arms of Moody and Tonks.

Gryffindor Tower

Ron was busy with his homework for Advance Defense Against the Dark Arts, when a small hand pulled on his robes. He turned to see a girl with short black hair, a small button nose, brown eyes, and a pleasant smile looking up at him. He looked around to see if there was anyway that this girl could of entered without him noticing. He found that this was impossibility.

" Your mother is safe!" she told him.

Ron stared at her.

" How do you know?" he asked.

But the girl said nothing else. She pointed to the painting, which told him that she wanted him to leave.

He got up and left Gryffindor tower, but as the painting swung shut, he saw that this girl was gone. It seems strange that this girl could appear and disappear so suddenly. He turned and headed to the hospital wing, knowing that if the girl were right, then she would be there.

The Hospital Wing

" Place her on the bed," Madam Pomfrey ordered, as soon as Moody and Tonks appeared.

They placed her on the bed and Madam Pomfrey waved her wand, transfiguring her ruined robes into a hospital gown.

" Where did you find her?" Madam Pomfrey asked them.

" Nearly out of Malfoy manors gate," Moody answered. " I have no idea how she managed to escape without a wand."

Madam Pomfrey shook her head and started to wave the wand over her body. When she had finished, he covered her up until only her head was showing.

" Well she seems fine," she told them. " She needs rest and then she'll be ready to leave in a few days."

" Thanks, Poppy," Tonks muttered. " And maybe she'll be ready to tell us how she got out when she recovers."

" I hope so," Poppy said.

They both thanked her, Tonks again, and then left. Five minutes later, Ron appeared. Madam Pomfrey tried to tell him that his mother couldn't take visitors, but he wouldn't listen. He rushed over and hugged his mother, glad that she was alive.

The Ministry Of Magic

" I'm glad the work day is over," Lee told his fellow graduate Angelina Johnson. " So want to go out for a drink or something?"

" No thanks!" said Angelina. " I've got to be back home. Mum is worried about the long hours I'm spending at the office."

" Well, maybe another time," Lee said, trying not to look disappointed.

" Danger witches and wizards," came a girl's voice.

They looked to see a girl with short black hair, a button nose, brown eyes, and a short of pleasant smile a few yards away. The girl turned and pointed at the end of the hall. Lee walked past her and saw a body up against the wall. Lee looked and saw that it was the body of Arthur Weasley. Lee gasped, but that didn't stop the loud gasp that he heard from Angelina.

" The girl is gone!" she said, when he turned around.

Hogwarts

Dumbledore got news about the death of Arthur Weasley during dinner the next night. He rose up and silence fell.

" Students and staff," Dumbledore began. " Arthur Weasley is dead! He died last night at the Ministry of Magic. We have no idea what killed him, but most believe that it was the killing curse. Please pay your respect to the Weasley's when you leave."

And he sat down.

Everyone turned their attention to Ginny and Ron, who had returned from the hospital wing. Both looked as though their best friend had died. Hermione cried in her hands, Harry looked stunned, and Severus looked the same way as Harry. When dinner was over, the houses paid their respects; even the Slytherins did, which shocked most. Two days later Arthur was buried next to his parents, both who died during the first war against Voldemort and the next morning Mrs. Weasley married Alister Moody, according to the Last Will in Testament that Arthur had left behind.

" Are you all right, Ron?" Hermione asked, a week after the horrible events that happened at the Ministry of Magic. " Is Moody treating you all right?"

" Yes!" said Ron. " We've moved from our old home to his home, but it's not the same as having dad around."

Hermione looked at her plate of food. She knew what that was like, but she didn't think that he wanted to hear that now.

" So any idea on who did it?" asked Harry.

" No!" was Ron's answer.

Dumbledore's Office

" So any idea on who this little girl is?" Dumbledore asked the new Mrs. Moody.

" None!" she answered. " I was hoping that anyone would know, but I've come up with nothing."

" How is Alister treating you?"

" Well!" she said. " I think theirs more to him then meets the eye, but I haven't had the chance to talk to him yet. I mean personally it's strange to be married to someone much older then you, which means that I know what Hermione and Severus are going though. So how are those two anyway?"

" So, so," Dumbledore said, with a small smile. " I'm going to give Severus some time off, so that he can spend it with his wife. I mean a foundation has been laid, I just want them to build on it."

Molly smiled at that.

" Oh yes, that will be very good for both of them."

A/N: Sorry about this chapter taking so long to come forward, but I was working on how I was going to do this. I wasn't expecting to kill off Arthur, but I guess that's just how it went. Next chapter: Severus decides to kiss his new wife. We'll see how she reacts to this.