A/N: Thanks to my reviewers: Ac 3000 [sorry!], 101spacemonkey, Bonomania, Silver997, Norah, JWOHPfan, lifelesslyndsey and Loloshky! Reviews make my day brighter 3
Another chapter already. I'm procrastinating, but who cares :P
I can feel my lungs tighten and my thoughts begin to tumble, but I haven't got time for this right now. I'm probably late already. I really, really want to smash my hand through something, but I can't afford to do anything else at the moment. I'll already be in enough trouble. So instead, I run. I have...Binns this period. I hope.
Luckily, I'm right. Unluckily, I am indeed late. I sneak in at the back without interrupting the drone that is already emanating from the front of the classroom, and slip into the seat Ron and Hermione have saved for me. I give them a quick grin to show my gratitude, but it is met by suspicion.
"Where were you?" Hermione hisses."You're ten minutes late! And you were supposed to be coming to the Hall so we could walk down together!"
Shit, am I really? Time flies when you're having fun, I guess. "I'm sorry, I was..." Plausible excuse now please brain. "Snape kept me late, going on about stuff." Liar.
Ron snorts. It's a harsher sound than I would normally associate with him. Hermione is usually the scathing one. "Don't give us that crap, Harry."
"What? He did! I promise!" I might as well just go jump off North Tower now, the look they're both giving me.
Hermione's turn. "Harry, we saw him standing outside the Great Hall 5 minutes before classes even started."
Ron. "Which means you've been hanging around doing...something... for quarter of an hour, at least."
My day just gets better and better. "Okay, fine. I just wanted a little bit of time to myself, okay? I've been constantly watched for days. I just, y'know. Needed some time."
Ron's eyes soften a bit. "Sorry, mate. Paranoid."
Hermione's, however, are still narrowed. "So why did you lie to us, then?" she demands. "Why make out you were with Snape?"
Think, Potter. "I just...I'm not supposed to go anywhere alone at the moment."
"Yes, for a reason!" This last statement, in contrast to the rest of our reasonably hushed conversation, is loud enough to attract the attention of even Binns.
"Miss Grange!"
Hermione doesn't even look up. She's staring at me, eyes wide. "You did something," she states, slowly.
"No! Of course not!" I deny, with as much conviction as I can muster.
"You did! You're lying again!" She's practically screaming this time.
"Hermione, I didn't! Please, this isn't the time!" Everyone is looking, staring. Vultures. I can't see Binns any more.
She laughs, the sound carrying an edge of hysteria. "Not the time, not the time, he says!"
I open my mouth, but I don't know what to say. My eyes are burning, and my head is pounding even harder than it was in the bathroom. My lungs tighten, and I just don't know what do with myself.
As it turns out, that doesn't matter. Binns comes floating through the door, shortly followed by Madame Pomfrey. Not through the door, obviously. She opens it first. Guess that was where he went, then.
My thoughts are extraordinarily inane considering the amount of trouble I'm just about to be in. What if Snape pulls me out of class altogether? He threatened to if I caused any more trouble, after all. What if he decides I'm not worth the trouble and expels me? I eye the door. Pomfrey is otherwise occupied with calming down Hermione enough to persuade her to drink a calming draught. If I just inch towards the door like this, I can...
I dart out the door, and run. I have absolutely no idea where I am going, but that's not currently important. What's important is getting away. I consider my options. Room of Requirement? Too obvious. Forbidden Forest? Too many things that would happily eat me. Chamber of Slytherin? No. Shrieking Shack? Definitely not.
In the end, I end up just flinging myself into a broom cupboard. I know that as soon as Ron and Hermione check the Marauders' Map, they will know where I am, but still. It will give me a little time. My heart continues to race for a bit, but eventually it quietens, and I relax into the comforting darkness. I can almost fool myself that I'm back at the Dursley's in my cupboard, and term has started yet. Not that I want to be with the Dursleys, but still. The events of this term so far are making it a close run thing at the moment. At least I know where I stand at the Dursleys'. Well, most of the time, anyway.
Inevitably, my seclusion doesn't last long. Longer than I'd anticipated, though, so I can't complain. Count my blessings and all that. The sudden flooding of light into the small space causes me to screw up my eyes, which means I can't see who has come to extract me. I suppose I expected it to be Snape, because Dumbledore's cheerful suggestion that we "take a walk", surprises me. Trust him to act as if it's perfectly normal to come across people sitting in cupboards, though.
We walk in silence down to Snape's rooms, where the portrait lets us in, seemingly with no prompting from Dumbledore at all. Not that I can particularly bring myself to be bothered about this fact. What does bother me, however, is how he just strides in and sits down in Snape's armchair, as if he owns the place. I'm not so stupid as to say so, though, so I just stand there and study my shoes.
He instructs me to "sit, dear boy", so I do, perched on the edge of his sofa. I'm still not looking at him, but I can feel his infuriatingly twinkling eyes on me.
"So," he begins. He digs his hand into his pocket and brings out a small paper bag. He takes out a golden sweet for himself, then holds the bag out to me. "Lemon drop, my boy?"
I shake my head. There's some kind of faint irony in the situation, but I let it pass.
"So," he repeats. "Severus will be with us shortly, I just wanted a word with you first, Harry." He stands up and strides to the fireplace. "I, personally, believe it would be in your best interest to be transferred to a wonderful establishment called St Patheus'." He holds up his hand as if to forestall an outburst, but I wasn't actually going to say anything. What's the point when he'll send me wherever he wants anyway? "They have an excellent unit there for people with - problems. Like yours."
He pauses. "However, Severus has bent my ear and persuaded me to let him have a few weeks with you. In light of this, I wish to inform you that I will placing some conditions on you remaining here. Firstly, that you will abide to the letter by any instructions Severus gives you. Secondly, that you will be escorted everywhere. Even to the - ehem - bathroom." I swear there's got to be laws against this. Do wizards have human rights acts?
He pulls a face. I think he's trying to look sorrowful, but he just looks like he's got wind. "Finally, that you will agree with me placing some spells on these rooms."
He looks at me expectantly. "What spells, Sir?" I enquire obediently.
"Ah. Well. They will prevent you from speaking anything but the truth." Is he fucking serious?? Oh. Apparently he is. "Well, Harry?" Like I've got a choice.
"Fine," I agree shortly.
He sighs, then smiles condescendingly. "Right. Well. Let's get started then, eh?" He draws his wand out of his sleeve and waves it in a complex-looking pattern, chanting some stuff under his breath. I swear he always adds in a couple of extra useless waves at the beginning, just to look more impressive.
Just as he is lowering his wand, Snape comes in, with a furrow between his brows. His eyes take in Dumbledore, then fly to me, then back to Dumbledore. Suddenly, he looks furious. His fists curl up at his sides and his lip curls a little. "Albus," he says. Coldly. Quietly.
Dumbledore's eyes widen almost imperceptibly. "Ah, Severus."
"I thought you said we would discuss this further before you took any action?" I don't think I've ever seen him quite so angry. It's kind of scary.
"I merely did what I thought was best. As is my right as headmaster of this institution." Dumbledore's tone has taken on a note of warning.
"So I see. I must admit to being rather tempted to tender my resignation to you, as you are indeed headmaster of this institution." Snape wouldn't resign over me. Would he?
"You go too far, Severus."
"No, you go too far, Albus!" His semblance of control evaporates. "I am trying to help this boy! Who, let me remind you, used to be your favourite student! How am I supposed to do that when you thwart me at every turn?! I told you not to make Poppy remove his scars - you ignored me. I asked you to get Horace in to cover for me for a couple of weeks so I could maybe just about get somewhere near helping him within your ridiculous time frame that you enforced on us - you refused. And now I ask you not to shatter every possible ounce of trust I may have begun to build up with him by putting charms commonly used for tackling juvenile delinquents on my quarters - you sneak behind my back to do it anyway!" His eyes are furious, and I think for a minute that he's going to hit out.
He doesn't. He just watches as Dumbledore makes his excuses and hurries out muttering about "what I thought best" and "for the greater good". Then he throws his hands in the air. "He always does this, he always does this!" He stares into the fireplace for a long moment, visibly calming himself down. The he looks over to me. "I apologise," he tells me. "I cannot remove the spell, it's time limited. It'll wear off in a few weeks." He sighs, and wipes a hand over his face wearily. "It doesn't force you to speak if you don't want to. Just forces you to tell the truth if you do talk. Just." He sneers at the door that Dumbledore walked out of.
He waves his hand around vaguely. "It's commonly used for young offenders who have committed serious crimes and won't confess." He pinches the bridge of his nose. "I would suggest we used another room to talk in, but I don't trust any other location to be completely private. Albus knows this, that's why he did it. He knew it would put me in an impossible situation which would force me to do things his way."
There is a long silence, and then; "Harry." Cautiously. "I'm sorry to have to do this, but...Myrtle came to see me earlier."
A/N: Omg I'm so evil. I apologise for all the cliffhangers, but they're so fun! Anyway, you've got no complaints after such an extra long chapter :P
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