Chapter 8
Time, that ever elusive fiend, flew by without much notice. It had been three whole months since the game between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor and exams were nearly upon them. Perhaps it was the looming exams, or perhaps he had been frightened off, but Severus noticed a conspicuous lack of any kind of suspicious activity from Quirrell. He said as much to Dumbledore in their occasional evenings of chess and whiskey in Dumbledore's office, but the headmaster would just nod thoughtfully and move on.
Truthfully, Severus was glad that Quirrell had seemingly given up on his troublemaking. He was not fond of keeping half an eye out at all times in case the quivering wreck decided to do something he shouldn't. Besides, Severus had more important things on his mind. There were exams to set, students to teach, appearances to keep up, and Harry. The more he tried to convince himself that telling Harry was a bad idea, the more he knew he was lying to himself.
It was Saturday evening, three weeks before exams were due to begin and Severus was once again unable to sleep. He had been visited by his old nightmare of Lily dying and had woken with a start. Instead of trying to return to sleep, he got out of bed and went to his sitting room. Despite the warmer temperatures elsewhere in the castle, the dungeons remained cold. He lit the fire, called for some tea from an elf, which arrived in seconds flat, and got out his old gramophone. The gramophone had been his fathers and it was one of the few Muggle technologies that worked in the castle. He found a record of Chopin and played it, sinking into his comfortable chair while the music washed around him.
Some time later, Severus' eyelids were heavy and he was slowly succumbing to sleep when a sharp knocking on his door woke him with a start. He placed the empty teacup that had been resting on his lap on the table beside him and glanced at the clock on the wall. Half past twelve. He ran his fingers through his hair, donned his gown, and pulled open the door.
"Minerva?" he said, utterly confused. He had half expected a student to be standing there. "It's half past twelve in the morning. What on earth is the matter?"
"I am sorry if I woke you, Severus, but I felt this needed to be dealt with right away," said McGonagall. He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She took a step to the side to reveal an arrogant-looking Draco Malfoy.
"I caught Mister Malfoy wandering around near the Astronomy Tower a few minutes ago. As his head of house, I felt it should be up to you to decide his punishment," said McGonagall, directing a glare at Malfoy. He had been wearing an arrogant smile, but then his face fell at these words.
"Punishment, Professor?" asked the boy.
"Indeed. Let's take this to my office," said Severus, cutting in. He did not feel comfortable standing in the doorway to his quarters at early hours of the morning discussing punishment with a student. He pulled his door closed behind him and the three of them walked the short distance to his office in silence.
"Well, Mister Malfoy. What do you have to say for yourself?" said Severus silkily when they were sitting in his office.
The boy became indignant. "Professor Snape, I had heard that Potter and Granger were going up to the Astronomy tower tonight to get rid of a dragon."
"A dragon?" asked Severus, quirking up an eyebrow. "And where, pray tell, would they find a dragon?"
"That oaf Hagrid had one in his hut."
"Hagrid lives in a wooden hut, Mister Malfoy. I know he isn't the brightest, but I don't think he'd be stupid enough to keep a dragon in his hut."
"Well, he was. And Potter and Granger took the dragon up to the Astronomy Tower to get rid of it. Weasley's brother had friends come and collect it."
Severus glanced at McGonagall then back at Malfoy. "Do you have proof to back up these accusations?"
A sneer crept on to the face of the blonde boy that was so reminiscent of his fathers, Severus had to suppress a shudder. Malfoy reached into his pocket and withdrew a piece of parchment and handed it over. Severus took the letter and read through it quickly.
He looked up at McGonagall who was standing behind Malfoy, her arms folded over her chest.
"Have you read this?" he asked her.
"I have, and quite frankly, I think its rubbish. In my opinion, Potter and his friends made up this cock and bull story and fed it to Mister Malfoy as a prank to get him in trouble. They were also caught wandering around, and I will deal with them momentarily."
"Potter was wandering around too?" asked Severus, feeling disappointed.
"He and Miss Granger were caught at the bottom of the Astronomy Tower just now, yes."
He looked at Malfoy, who had a somewhat relieved look on his face.
"I hope you don't think, Mister Malfoy, that you have evaded punishment. Despite your… noble attempts to catch Potter out, you were still in contempt of the rules yourself. I think that warrants a detention. I will let you know when you are to serve your punishment," said Severus matter-of-factly. "You may go. Straight back your dormitory. If I hear otherwise, you will regret it."
"Yes sir," said Malfoy. Severus could see he was angry and was trying not to show it.
"Oh, and Mister Malfoy, you need not contact your father, as I shall be doing that for you."
Malfoy blanched, but said nothing. He turned around and almost sprinted out of the office.
"Good night, Severus," said McGonagall as she, too, left.
Now alone, Severus rested his head in his hands. Perhaps the time was near to tell Harry. Perhaps it would discourage these illegal activities. He felt disappointed in Harry for trying to pull that kind of prank. He hoped that Harry would receive a detention too.
-XXX-
Harry and Miss Granger did receive detention. McGonagall had conferred with Severus about it, and they had decided that it was best that they all served it together. Her hope was that they might just sort out whatever rivalry there was between them. Personally, Severus thought that Harry and Malfoy would never quite get over their enmity, but didn't say it.
Two weeks after Harry, Malfoy, Granger and surprisingly, Longbottom had been caught out of bed breaking the rules, they were set to serve their detentions. Hagrid had requested their help almost immediately, bringing Severus to think that Malfoy might have been telling the truth about Hagrid and the dragon. He didn't say anything though because Harry liked the man, and was friendly with him. Besides, Hagrid was as part of the castle as the Quidditch Pitch or the Forest.
Severus wasn't worried about Harry and the others serving their detention in the Forest, but when he received a message the next day from Dumbledore to meet him in his office immediately, Severus began to think something had gone wrong.
"You summoned me, Albus?" he said as he entered Dumbledore's office, closing the door behind him. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, writing on a piece of parchment and pointed to the chair in front of him without pausing. Severus sat quietly, waiting for Dumbledore to finish.
"My apologies, Severus," said Dumbledore eventually, looking up from what was obviously a letter he had been writing. "When the words are flowing, one better get them down or they fly away like frightened birds."
"What was it that you needed to see me for, Albus?" prompted Severus.
"Ah yes. As you no doubt are aware, Harry and his friends served their detention in the Forest last night."
"I was aware, yes. Did something happen?"
"I received a message from the centaurs that something strange occurred in the Forest last night. The centaur Firenze said that he happened across Harry alone, and he was about to be attacked by, and I quote, 'a hooded figure with the most evil aura, a creature that is not of the Forest'. He said that it was advancing on Harry and that he scared it away," said Dumbledore. The lines on his face revealed that this worried him.
"Is Harry alright?" asked Severus, slightly alarmed.
"Certainly. He was not injured in the slightest."
Satisfied, Severus turned his attention away from Harry. "What do you think the creature was?"
"I am not sure. I have a hunch that it might be Voldemort. I think he somehow found out about the Stone and has come looking for it. Firenze said it had been feasting on unicorn blood. I can only think of one person who would do that."
Severus paused. "What do you want me to do?"
"I think it has something to do with Quirrell. Have you got anything to report about him?" asked Dumbledore.
"No, as I have said before, he has been keeping a very low profile. I think he is trying to avoid notice, but that makes me suspect him even more." That was the most frustrating thing about the whole situation was that he knew Quirrell was up to something but couldn't prove it.
"Well, the only thing we can do is keep an eye on him. I have a feeling things are going to happen very soon."
"I hope you are wrong, about the Dark Lord, I mean," said Severus, knowing that Dumbledore was not usually wrong when it came to things like this.
-XXX-
Exams were here. Severus had spent days preparing exams, both theoretical and practical, and the amount of marking he had to do when they had been completed kept him far too busy to worry about anything else. Even thoughts of speaking to Harry had slipped from his mind in the hectic schedule he now had. At night he was exhausted and slept deeply without nightmares. He didn't mind the workload if it meant he slept well.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Severus thought Harry looked far more pale than usual. He put it down to exam nerves and stress, and didn't dwell on it. He had found over the course of the year that his paternal instinct had kicked in a lot more than he would care to admit, and he thought of himself as Harry's father more and more. Every now and then something would happen to Harry or someone would say something about him and Severus would feel protective. It was an instinct he wanted to fight, lest he blow his cover.
The last day of exams found Severus sitting in his office marking papers. No sooner had he completed the last one, a flash of light startled him. He looked up just in time to see a red feather along with a scrap of parchment float down through the air. He grabbed the note before it landed. This was Dumbledore, without a doubt.
Severus,
I have received an urgent call from the Ministry and I am leaving now. I am not sure when I shall be back, but please keep watch. If anything happens, send your Patronus and I shall return at once.
Yours,
Albus Dumbledore
Severus sighed. Dumbledore was called out often at the most inopportune moments. He had been planning to visit Dumbledore and discuss how he was going to tell Harry the truth. He felt that it was time. The year was nearly up, exams had finished and the boy had nothing more to worry him.
Now in a very bad mood, he left the dungeons, wanting some sun and fresh air. In the Entrance Hall, however, he came across Harry and his two friends. They were huddled together.
"It's tonight," he heard Harry saying. "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs to know and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."
"But what can we –" Granger caught sight of Severus standing there and gasped.
"Good afternoon," he said smoothly. The children just stared at him, their faces white. "You shouldn't be inside on a day like this."
"We were –" began Harry, but Severus cut him off.
"You want to be more careful. Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can they?" Severus sneered as the children flushed and turned to leave. As a last thought he added, "Be warned, Potter – any more night-time wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."
He hoped that the threat was enough to deter Harry from attempting to go after the Stone by himself. Severus wouldn't put it past the boy to do so. He changed his mind about going outside, choosing instead to go to the staff room. He'd had enough of the dungeons for the moment.
When he reached the staff room he found a piece of parchment and quill and wrote a note to Dumbledore.
Albus,
I overheard the trio talking and Harry reckons that the Stone will be under attack tonight. I don't know how he knows about it, but he does, and I fear that Harry might go after it to protect it. I don't know if you are able to return, but if you can, please do so as quickly as possible.
Yours,
SS
He sealed the note and summoned an elf. "Take this to the owlery and have it delivered to Professor Dumbledore. It is urgent, so hurry." The elf took the note and vanished without a word. Severus sighed and sat on a sofa next to Trelawney, which he regretted at once. She leaned over towards him and began telling him that he had a 'dangerous aura'.
Severus' patience with Trelawney was wearing thin, and he stood to leave the staff room. He ignored the batty woman warning him that death was soon to be upon him and he must beware and strode out of the room. He was rather surprised to see Granger standing outside the staff room.
"Can I help you, Miss Granger?" he asked icily.
"Er, I was just waiting for Professor Flitwick, Sir. I had a question about my exam…" she stuttered, clearly nervous.
"I'll just go fetch him for you then, shall I?" he said, turning back to staff room, not waiting for a reply. Flitwick wasn't there, and he knew it, but he was also well aware that Granger was probably there on lookout.
After a moment he left the staff room again, and as he had expected, Granger was gone. Exasperated, he descended the stairs to the dungeons once more. Half way down he came across Quirrell coming up.
"S-Severus," stuttered the man, stopping short.
"Quirrell," said Severus.
"N-n-nice weather we are h-having," said Quirrell nervously. He looked fidgety and distracted. He kept touching his turban.
"Indeed. I hope, Quirrell, that you don't find yourself in any kind of trouble before the term is out," said Severus, raising his eyebrow menacingly.
"T-t-trouble? W-what kind of t- trouble would I g-get into?" Quirrell was now rather pale.
"I think you know what I mean. I'll be keeping my eye on you."
"Y-yes, well, you won't n-need to S-Severus. I d-don't plan on getting into any k-kind of t-trouble. G-Good day, Severus." Quirrell hurried off without glancing back, touching his turban again.
Severus shook his head and continued back to his quarters. He had heard nothing from Dumbledore, and he hoped that nothing would happen until he got here. It was a moment he would come to regret for a very long time.
