Sanity Restored

Part 8

While the people upstairs were quiet, Harry spent the afternoon inventing a device that recorded the information from his surveillance mirrors. He simultaneously recorded his friends and professors passing their time patrolling, reading, playing chess or in the case of Dumbledore; scheming while silently sucking on candies.

Having solved the recording part, he tweaked the crystals he had made to allow replay. He had placed the crystals in the frame, next to their respective mirror. To replay, he reversed the stream of information, targeting the larger middle mirror he also used to focus while watching.

He chuckled in surprise when it indeed reversed the stream completely and he got to watch the image going backwards. It looked quite funny. He shook his head, he wasn't looking for a magical VCR, what he wanted was a magical DVD player. He wanted to be able to skip to any point and start watching there, while the original stream continued recording. Hmm, this might even end up more advanced than what the muggles could currently do. Perhaps he could make some money on this once the war was over?

A few more runes, spells and tweaks and he was done. "You could have been so great, Tom," he mumbled. Intellect of a genius and criminally insane. All this magical knowledge and all he had used it for was destruction. It would have been sad if it wasn't so bloody dangerous.

Not having recorded anything of importance so far, he reset all crystals and set them to recording, adding a special alert to the crystal recording Dumbledore's office. The whole mirror would vibrate and the crystal would glow red when two or more voices were heard in the Headmaster's office, Lucius' office or anywhere in Order Headquarters. Done, he resized the whole thing and put it in a chest pocket.

Restless now that he was done with his task, he checked the time; almost four in the afternoon. Severus should be okay with six hours sleep, he figured. He banished all traces of their presence with a wave of his hand as he walked out of the room. Then blinked in surprise at how easily the action had come to him. He'd never been able to do magic casually like that as Harry Potter, but now it was a part of him, as easy as breathing. He smiled.

The light in the guest suite was dimmed, but lit up again once he entered. He walked over to the room he'd placed his old body in. "Winky?" he asked when he didn't see the elf around.

The elf immediately appeared in front of him with a pop. "Master..."she squinted confusedly between him and the body on the bed, "You is two? What will Master need Winky to call him?"

Harry frowned thoughtfully. "I guess, to avoid accidentally revealing what has happened to the wrong people, you should just go with Master. That comes easiest to you, doesn't it?"

Winky nodded energetically. "Yes, Master."

"Now, Winky. Professor Snape and I will leave here shortly to set up our new Headquarters at Prince Castle. I want you to stay here with my old body until we have checked the place is safe. I will call you when you can bring my body along. Okay?"

The elf looked disappointed, but didn't say anything. Harry figured she wanted more to do than that.

"You can still come help clean the place up, should it need it," Harry tried to placate the elf somewhat. He actually had no idea what state the castle would be in, or if there were any house elves looking after it.

"Winky will do as Master asks," she nodded solemnly.

"Do not worry, Winky. There will be many tasks for you to do while keeping Potter comfortable and healthy," Severus' voice came from the doorway.

The elf perked up. "Master Snape! Thank you, Sir!"

Harry chuckled at her happy adoring face. She may follow his orders, but Severus was her true bonded Master. He turned towards Severus and found him showered, shaved and alert. "Ah, Severus, right on time."

"In time for what?" Severus asked as he followed Harry out of the suite towards the main chamber.

Harry took one last look around. It was time to leave, both the chamber and the school far above, behind. He turned towards Severus. "I think it's about time we left school, don't you think?"

"Indeed, I think at least I have stayed way too long." He frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose before he looked up at Harry again. "What did you put in my drink last night? I don't think I've laughed that much since I was a student here, if even then. It's disturbing."

Harry smirked. "What makes you think I spiked your drink? Aren't you normally this lighthearted and fun company when out of sight of students and Death Eaters?"

"No." The reply was dead serious.

Harry had to consider it. The former Professor had acted different all of yesterday, honestly. There could be several reasons as he saw it. "I think it might have been a combination several things. First you got yourself infused with pure Dark Magic, twice. Then there was the release from Dumbledore's compulsions and the sleep deprivation." He shook his head. "You did an amazing job, considering you were high as a kite on Dark Magic, Severus."

Severus sighed. "No wonder I have such a hangover," he mumbled, before he collected himself and addressed Harry again. "Very well, just do me a favor and forget last night ever happened," he said with a shudder.

Harry ignored the request and waved him closer. "Bare your Mark and I'll give you another boost. Should take care of the hangover. Besides, I have no idea about the state of the environmental Magic where we're going, might as well grab some from here before we go."

Severus didn't move.

Harry sighed exasperatedly. "You should get used to the Magic soon, Severus. The more you use it, the less it will affect you."

Severus crossed his arms across his chest.

Harry squinted, getting irritated at the attitude. "Are you really that afraid of having some fun, Severus?"

"I am not a coward!" Severus sneered.

"Good, then show me your Mark and quit stalling," Harry ordered. "I can't believe it. You've been nasty for so long you can't even contemplate having fun without balking."

Severus seemed on the verge of blowing, even as he hesitantly pushed up his sleeve and bared the Mark. "It's not the fun, My Lord, it's the very thought of not being in complete control of my faculties. After what Dumbledore did, I can't …" he quieted when Harry began transferring the Magic. His whole demeanor relaxed again. "...that isn't as intense as yesterday," he ended.

"I have more experience now and I'm going slower. The Magic here, the Magic of Hogwarts, isn't as Dark as from the Leyline at Malfoy Manor," Harry explained as he slowly continued feeding Severus. "You have been part of this Magic for years." He closed his eyes, feeling the stream himself. "She likes you, Severus," he smiled.

They broke contact and Severus blinked, reorienting himself.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

Severus squirmed, looking uncomfortable again. "Sorry. Please, be patient with me. I am not used to being friendly, not even with the few friends I've had over the years."

"Not a problem, Severus, we do have more serious issues to address than having a few laughs between battles." Harry stepped over to the oval door that was the entrance to the chamber. It opened smoothly at his touch.

Severus followed through the door. "You didn't tell me why you decided to leave this quickly. I figured we'd have to stay longer. Usually the ministry keeps up the monitoring at least a few days before they get restless and give up."

Harry shook his head. "Not this time. Dumbledore didn't report your little kidnapping of the boy-who-lived to the Ministry. From what I overheard earlier this morning, only Poppy and my five closest friends knows I'm even gone and why you suddenly resigned."

"So after everything I did, I'm not even wanted?" Severus actually looked disappointed.

Harry shook his head again, the day was turning out to still be amusing. "You wanted to finally be famous, the most hated man in Britain? Kidnapping Harry Potter, hmm, you'd probably have to kill Dumbledore to top that."

Snape squirmed under Harry's incredulous glare. "No I didn't..." he bit off.

"Riight," Harry snorted. "Get over it, you've finally gone over to the Dark Side for the final time. The people who counts knows."

Severus' brain must have kicked in when he replied. "This must be that old coot's way of trying to get us back under his control. He might actually think he can blackmail me into returning. It must annoy him to no end that I slipped my leash."

"Sounds like a reasonable assumption to me. I don't care though. No matter what, you are not going back. If we need a spy other than my mirrors, we can always use Draco, or perhaps one of my friends."

Severus looked back towards the chamber. "What about all those old books? I had hoped to check out some of them. Imagine reading something that Salazar Slytherin wrote or collected."

Harry chuckled. "I copied all those books back when I was in school. You've already seen many of them on my shelves and read some of the potions texts even."

"Really? Why didn't you tell me?"

Harry chuckled. "The Madman may have shared some to help you out with a specific mission, but he would never have told you anything of sentimental value, Severus."

"Right, my turn to forget who you were."

"I promise, I'll let you have a look once we're set up at the Castle."

"All right, let's go then." Severus held out his hand. "Your turn to apparate us. I have no idea where it is, was never actually allowed to go there as a child."

"Oh, I haven't been there either, the family ring the Goblins gave me is a portkey." He held out his hand and let the Prince family ring show. "Touch the ring, and we'll be off."

Severus did as told, and they were off. Harry still hated the disorienting way of travel and was grateful when it stopped and he miraculously remained on his feet without even a wobble.

He squinted when wind, sunshine and the roar of waves crashing against cliffs hit his senses. Blinking in the harsh light, he took in their surroundings. In front of them, between two huge black obelisks was a winding cobblestone path made of the same black rock. The path led right to the edge of a rocky coastline, then disappeared right into the violently roaring mass of water. If not for the bright sunshine and the warm wind, they could have been on the shores of Azkaban.

Harry's eyes were drawn to the slightly glowing lines of old runes running down the surprisingly pristine sides of the obelisks.

"What are you looking at?" asked a curious Severus next to him.

The runes glowed even brighter and larger, until he could easily read them. "These are the gatekeepers, Severus. To enter, or change the access permissions, one needs to press the face of the Family ring to the correct marked spot," he pointed towards a small glowing circle next to the runes. "See?"

Harry turned and found that Severus seemed to fight to keep his irritation below the surface, he could practically see the suppressed insult that the professor actually didn't voice. Obviously different sorts of ward controls were common and expected. "What are you looking at?" Severus reiterated impatiently.

Harry blinked, realizing. "Oh, you can't see them," he replied. "There's two huge black obelisks in front of us. I can't see the castle from here yet either. Your ancestors certainly managed to hide the place from even Wizards' eyes it seems."

Severus crossed his arms, and Harry had to suppress a chuckle. "Just give me a moment to familiarize myself with the wards. We don't know if your grandfather left anything nasty behind for anyone less than Pureblooded."

"Wouldn't surprise me," the dour man mumbled.

Harry turned his attention to the left obelisk. He took a deep breath and touched the ring to the glowing spot on the obelisk. A warm pulse of magic went through him and rippled across the ground in front of them towards the shoreline and then out across the water. The troubled water rippled and parted, much like 12 Grimmauld Place when one was told the secret.

Out of the depths grew a barren monolith of black granite. At least a hundred yards in the air, at the summit of the rock, the Prince Castle appeared like a dark shadow even in the bright sunshine. The overgrown cobblestone path in front of them turned into smooth black marble. The path stretched across a narrow ridge rising out of the water, ending in equally narrow steps cut into the stone, leading up the side of the monolith. Far up there he could see two more obelisks at the entrance to the castle. With the heavy anti-transportation wards in effect, reaching the top manually would be a difficult undertaking even in fair weather and sunlight, Harry figured. Not that it would actually bother two wizards with the power of true flight.

Harry tore his eyes from the Majestic sight. He glanced over at the still impatient and frowning Severus. The former Dungeon Bat did look rather out of place in the bright afternoon. He certainly fit with the black marble castle. "See anything yet?"

"No. I could feel the ripple of power, but still nothing visible."

"All right, let me..." Harry turned his attention back towards the obelisks and the warding. Manipulation of wards came naturally to him, he'd barely even reflected that he was even doing it at Malfoy Manor and the Chamber.

These wards though, they were ancient even in comparison to the Slytherin wards at Hogwarts. Information flooding through him told of Roman times. The Castle on the Monolith was a late addition, he realized. There must have been a Roman villa or perhaps a fort up there before it was built. Should be interesting to find out more about the site once they'd settled in. The wards reluctantly made him aware of what to do to master them. He cut his left palm with his wand, then sheathed his wand and smeared blood on both his palms. He made a hand print on each obelisk, the blood disappeared into the surface immediately with a surge of power.

He was about to turn towards Severus when the absorbed power reversed. With a flash of light, he found himself tossed back. He barely had time to think before he hit the ground twenty feet away. "Ouch!"

"What was that?" Severus hurried over to him and began checking him over for damages.

Harry frowned even as he let Severus give him a hand up. "I should have had control. These wards are pretty standard, if old, the gatekeepers only want magical blood to operate. No muggle will ever even see this place." He tilted his head even as he realized that before the two of them, no half-blood had ever been the Master of this Castle. "Maybe some of your ancestors tweaked these Roman gatekeepers to only accept Prince blood?"

"Indeed, let me give it a try." Harry almost laughed over how Severus tried to hide his eagerness with his usual stoic mask, even as he too cut his palm and wet his hands. But when he tried touching the obelisks, he couldn't. To Harry it looked absolutely ridiculous when he missed the six feet by four feet wide base of the obelisk even when standing next to it.

Harry grabbed him by the arm and guided him forwards until his hand touched stone, leaving a bloody handprint on top of Harry's. "Whoa!" Severus gasped, tilting his head backwards to take in the huge piece of stone in front of him.

"Severus," Harry pointed towards the castle even as he guided him to the second obelisk. "Behold your legacy."

Harry was glad they had not arrived in the night, with the Aurors hot on their heels. He silently watched Severus take in the magnificent Castle far above them. It seemed the reality of what his own family had denied him was difficult to handle emotionally. Harry saw both anger, sadness and resignation flash over his friend's face. He waited until Severus turned towards him again before he held out the Family Ring towards him. "Severus Tobias Snape, do you swear to uphold the honor and traditions of the Prince Family, until the end of your days?"

"I do."

"I, Tom Marvolo Riddle, give all of the Lord Prince Legacy back to its rightful owner, Severus Tobias Snape." He put the ring onto Severus finger with a smile. It truly felt good to be able to do this for his new friend.

Severus smiled back, there seemed to be no pain this time. "No, Harry, I will not kiss the bride," he then laughed even as he smirked, another heavy burden had been released from his shoulders.

"Aaaw, are you certain, my Prince?" Harry teased back.

Severus shuddered dramatically, even as he laughed. "Absolutely, positively certain, my Lord!"

Harry chuckled at the change in mood. "So, feeling better now?"

"Hmm, yes, I do believe I am." He looked up towards the castle. "How about we get up there and do some exploring?"

"Sounds like a marvelous idea, I do love to explore old castles."

"Yes, after curfew," Severus winked.

"You're not giving me a curfew here are you? I'd be dreadfully bored if I had to stay in my room all night."

"No, I think I can count on you being able to handle yourself in a tricky situation these days, Harry. Explore all you want, but do fill me in if you find something interesting, will you?"

"Of course, that's what exploring is for. Now, since you're the one wearing the ring; how about you activate the obelisks to transport us up there. I would prefer not to have to climb all those steps."

"Like you'd actually walk!" Severus snorted, as they were enveloped in a flash of light.

Even as Harry blinked away the spots, he realized they were standing between two different obelisks. These were placed right in front of the castle gates. "Whoa, that was different!"

"Interesting," Severus hummed. "That was nothing like either portkey, floo or apparition."

"I wonder if there's any documentation? Could be interesting to see if it can be recreated."

Severus looked at him funny. "What?"

"I keep forgetting the Dark Lord used to be into all sorts of research in his younger days."

"Yeah, until the madness made him abandon everything not directly involved with destruction or immortality." Harry shook his head. "You do not want to know the direction his research took in later years, believe you me." He shuddered at the images of death and destruction that surfaced. He did not want to even think about exactly how skilled he was with torture, both magical and mundane.

"No, I guess those subjects should stay closed, for now."

"We'll see when we find the dungeons. I know a certain toad I wouldn't mind using to refresh some of that knowledge," Harry smirked, thinking of Umbridge.

"You have a point there. You think she survived the Forbidden Forest and the Centaurs?"

"Oh, right, you missed when they brought her back. She survived, a little roughed up but nothing seriously wrong with her. Not enough to satisfy my need for revenge, that's for sure."

"Were you always this blood-thirsty?" Severus shook his head as he turned towards the blackened metal doors they were standing in front of. He began working on getting them through the inner wards.

Harry instead turned to take in the breathtaking view of the ocean and the dark rocky coastline below. In the distance he could see the dirty skyline of a large Muggle city. He wondered briefly where exactly they were, and how much of the green fields near them were in fact hidden from the Muggles.

Enough power and it was technically possible to hide any amount of land right in the middle of the Muggles, without them even noticing their country should be rather a lot larger. It wasn't done much in modern times, but was normal procedure back in Ancient Roman days to keep the savages away from your house. Finding out their exact location would have to wait as Severus already had the doors opened behind him with a mighty rush of air.

"The castle was sealed under a powerful temporal stasis ward," Severus explained even as he strode ahead of Harry inside. "The Goblins probably activated them when my grandfather passed away thirty years ago, while I was still a child. Obviously, nobody's been here since."

Harry followed silently, taking in the interior with big eyes. Where the outside of the place was made up of sharp angles and sweeping curves of the darkest black stone and metal possible, the inside was light, airy and bright, made of white marble, ivory and gold. Light flooded the entryway from a domed glass ceiling far above them and from multiple windows facing the ocean at the back of the enormous room. He'd never seen anything like it, not even as Tom Riddle. "Whoa! Amazing!" slipped out.

"Indeed," Severus agreed with him standing in the middle of the floor turning slowly to take in the amazing building. "How is this possible? This is not like anything I've seen in the Wizarding World before."

"I agree, Tom Riddle hasn't seen anything like this either. It must be hundreds of years old, though all these clean lines and glass walls looks more like something the Muggles might come up with in modern times."

Severus let out a tired sigh. "I do not need a new mystery in the middle of everything."

Harry patted his new friend on his shoulder, hoping to infuse some comfort to the stressed man. Both their lives had been turned around in a very short time, neither knew exactly how to handle it. "Don't worry so much, Severus. We should be safe here. Whatever we decide to do in the times to come, it will be on our terms. Okay?"

Severus seemed to pull himself back to his usual confident self. "Trying to make me feel better, are you? Lie to me some more, why don't you?" he said with his normal blank face.

Harry nodded mock seriously. "We are not on the run from the Ministry and Dumbledore. We'll never be able to stop the Madman from returning, the Death Eaters will never cease terrorizing the world, and we'll never get to live our lives the way we want to."

"And we'll die trying," Severus added with a shake of his head.

"Seriously, my friend. We have a good chance to pull this off. We'll come up with a plan, and we'll come out ahead."

"Don't mind my whining, My Lord," Severus replied, giving himself a shake. "I'm still in shock over what's happened the last two days. Give me some time with my cauldrons and I'll be back to normal in no time."

Harry decided to take it slow, to enjoy the scenery. He headed for the nearest flight of stairs winding up towards the upper tiers. "Let's find ourselves somewhere to live around here," he decided out loud. "I'm sure there's plenty of lab space around."

"Deal." Severus followed him. "The wards are telling me there are three Master suites on seventh floor, two on sixth along with several smaller suites. There's also three whole floors with regular guest-rooms."

"Let's check the top floors first then, no point settling for less than the best. Unless you're feeling uncomfortable with all this light and would rather explore the dungeons?"

Severus followed eagerly. "Hell no! I go for light and space any time I can do so, without damaging my reputation too much. You never saw the setup I had in my private quarters at Hogwarts, did you?"

Harry smiled. "You're like this place then, the harsh darkness is only on the surface."

"Are you calling me a light air-head?"

Harry burst out into laughter. "Severus, watch yourself, you're turning into a bloody comedian."

Severus grumbled. "I don't know what you did. I try my best fighting it, but it seems I can't help myself."

"I always thought you could be really funny, with all that sharp wit of yours...if only you weren't using it to hurt people."

"I'm a Dark Wizard, a Death Eater. I'm not nice, Harry. I enjoy making up insults, the nastier the better. If you think us doing some friendly bantering will change that, you will end up disappointed."

Harry snorted. "Return to your old ways around me and you'll find out what it means to insult a Dark Lord. Don't you worry, I have within me the capacity to be both nasty and cruel as well."

"I'm sure we'll be able to break in the dungeons very shortly."

"Mmm hmmm," Harry hummed. "The Toad's first, me thinks," he nodded even as they arrived at the top floor. It actually frightened Harry a great deal to acknowledge how the Dark was growing inside of him. He'd always had it, of course, but now it was getting really hard to contain.

They wandered through the suites, and Severus decided he wanted the west wing as his quarters. It was the only flat with a warded private lab area, as well as a large conservatory terrace. Harry chose the opposite suite, in the east wing. It was a mirror of Severus' flat, except it had a library adjoining the spacious study. Perfect for his private collection.

They decided to part ways for the rest of the day, to get settled in. Harry had a good feeling about the place, it was everything you could ever dream of in a penthouse flat. There was even a huge pool, with a Quidditch pitch on top of it, in the strangely well preserved winter garden below. The glass dome protecting the many balconies and terraces was amazing in its clarity and size. He was certain it wouldn't have been possible to build without magic stabilizing it.


Lucius Malfoy woke with a start when the wards on the fireplace chimed, indicating a floo-call. Confused, he looked around the room, massaging away the crick in his neck as he did. He'd fallen asleep in front of the fire in his study. Had he really had that much to drink? He remembered having a drink while considering his next move, now that he was free. He didn't seem to remember what he'd come up with though. It was the strangest feeling. There was an emptiness in his mind. Panic twisted his guts when all his mental fail-safes indicated he had been compromised. The knowledge that someone had obliviated him chilled him to the bone. Who had dared obliviate the Dark Lord's second in command?

The fire ward chimed again, bringing him back to reality. He ejected his wand and opened the connection. His mind would have to wait.

"Lord Malfoy, Lucius?" the voice of the Headmaster of Hogwarts greeted from the fire.

Panic flared within Lucius again, when he found himself going down on one knee and bowing to the old man's face in the fire. "Lord Dumbledore, what can this humble servant do for you?" WHAT? AM I SAYING! his mind screamed at him behind his stoic facade.

"Would you mind stepping through to my office. We have some things to discuss, my boy," the old man asked politely.

Lucius wanted to scream, but couldn't get a sound out. So this was what had happened to his mind. He'd been in some manner bewitched by the Headmaster. Well, he would very soon find out what it was all about. Then he'd do what he needed to do to break the old coot's hold on him. Mind magic was something the Malfoys were very good at, and if he couldn't find anything in his family grimoire, there were always the Dark Lord and Severus to ask.


Albus Dumbledore stepped back from the fireplace in his office to allow his new spy entry. He had hoped to wait until the compulsions settled, but knew there was a chance the wily politician detected them if left to his own devices too long before they were confirmed.

"Lucius, welcome," he greeted when the unusually rough looking Malfoy Lord entered. He held out an arm, indicating his guest to take the chair in front of his desk. "Come, have a seat. Lemon drop?"

"Headmaster. What can I do for you?" Malfoy bit out even as he sat, ignoring his offer of candy. So, the man was fighting the compulsions, just as he thought.

"I need to know where Severus have moved Tom and Harry, my boy." Direct orders should push the man into the right frame of mind.

Albus saw sweat begin to pearl on Lucius' forehead and upper lip as he tried to fight the compulsion to obey.

"Dear boy, there's no reason to fight your need to tell me what you know," he coaxed gently. "You understand, don't you, Lucius. It's for the Greater Good. Tom needs to be stopped. Harry needs to be returned to school."

With a undignified squeak, Lucius gave in. "I don't know, Headmaster. Severus has nowhere to go, except his family home in Spinner's End perhaps. But you already know that place, right? No Death Eater, except perhaps Wormtail has access to Riddle Manor, and I know of no other place the Dark Lord owns. Why do you think he forces himself on his followers?" His eyes bugged out in horror and he clasped his hands over his mouth to stop what he was spilling. It was no use. "You should check the manors of the other imprisoned followers, I know Severus has access to them all."

Albus sighed, somewhat disappointed. He had already guessed as much himself. "What is Tom planning next? What do you think will come of this latest failure?"

Malfoy seemed to get more and more resigned to his fate. This time the answer came without delays. "I'm certain he will free his captured followers and recruit the Dementors at the same time. We have been working on the ministry for a while, I'm sure that will continue. Now that he's been revealed, I'm sure there will be raids on muggles and muggleborns. More specific than that I can't get, he never reveals any details even to his closest until it's time to act. Nobody knew about the Ministry attack until the very night we were briefed and sent."

Albus nodded sagely. "Anything else you wish to tell me, Lucius?"

Lucius stood, his hair wild and his clothes in disarray. "What did you do to me?"

"Why, I didn't do anything to you, my dear boy. I think your conscience must have finally awakened."

The compulsion that made the blonde obey kicked in as one of the key conditions was mentioned. "Yes...yes, that must be it," the confused man shook his head.

"Why don't you return home and have some rest. This whole business must have been quite the ordeal, my boy. I'm certain you will feel much better in the morning."

"Yes, Headmaster," Lucius replied on automation.

"Keep an eye out and report to me if you receive any information, or if you are called, of course."

"Yes, Headmaster."

Albus smiled even as the reluctant spy returned to his home. That compulsion spell had been a really good idea to develop. He had it down to an art these days, his targets obeyed but didn't show any suspicious loyalty. He'd had some mishaps in the beginning, regretfully. Dear Hagrid would never be the same as he was, could barely think on his own after it was applied. Most of his older Order members had also become slightly too fanatical followers. He wondered how the boy would fare in Tom's clutches when the hidden compulsions kicked in. Killing rage, perhaps?

No, Tom would never allow that much freedom to act. The boy needed to be returned, preferably before he woke up.

Dumbledore was doubly reminded of his traitorous potions master, when he opened the top drawer of his desk hoping to find a pain-relief potion. He didn't have any left, that very fact made the headache from earlier in the day return with a vengeance. How was it even possible for the man to have escaped? Never before had someone he had turned with his spell managed to return to their previous ways. Severus should never have been able to do what he had done.

He shook off the mystery for the moment, it was time to find out where Harry had been taken. He may have missed him at Malfoy Manor, and the Ministry Trackers may have lost the trail, but that didn't mean the boy was gone for good. Albus stood, ignoring the headache for the moment and moved over to the shelf with small silver devices.

The students, as well as other visitors to his office, liked to watch them perpetually spin, seemingly without purpose. But, they did have a purpose. They kept track of people Albus needed to keep an eye on, and nobody was more important than Harry Potter, his weapon against Voldemort. Harry had several bound to him, his wand and his home in Surrey, to ensure Albus knew exactly where he was at all times, and if alive and healthy.

Albus frowned when he looked at the health gauge, expecting it to be falling apart with Harry in Voldemort's clutches. He was surprised to find It was indicating that Harry was in perfect health, and still in school. How could that be? He cast the diagnostic charm that checked the functionality of the device. Working perfectly.

Could they have hidden somewhere on school grounds? He concentrated and accessed the wards as Headmaster. His mind flooded with detailed information on everybody present inside the wards. Slowly, he sorted through them, one floor at a time, from dungeons to the Astronomy tower. He found none of the three anywhere on the grounds.

He looked at the device again. 'Close proximity' was all it indicated. It had been made useless, apparently. It seemed impossible to Albus that the wards around their hideout blocked even a blood-seeker, when nothing had been able to block it so far.

"Damn!" In a fit of anger, he smashed the device against the floor.

To be continued...