Disclaimer: They are not mine – unfortunately...

A/N: I'm sorry for this late update. Life got in the way! But I hope you will enjoy it anyway even it is again a quite short chapter.

This Time it'll Work

Two and a half weeks had passed and the mandrakes had recovered from their illness. Now it was time to harvest them and hand them over to Severus. Pomona was very proud of her work and the inhabitants of Hogwarts were proud of her.

With the mandrakes now ready at least Severus set to work and surprised everybody when he announced that it wouldn't take him longer than a few days to a week to brew the potion. Unless something unexpected came up.

That was why he left the ongoing staff meeting early one afternoon. He had barely closed the door when it opened again.

"Did you forget something Severus?", Rolanda asked assuming that it was him who returned.

"How nice of you, Madam Hooch, but I think I'm a little too old to be confused with Severus", Dumbledore answered entering.

"Headmaster, what are you doing here?", Pomona asked wonderingly while the others just stared thankful that she had spoken out loud what everyone was thinking.

"Well, as you so nice put it I'm the headmaster. Can't I take part in a staff meeting?"

"Of course you can. We were just not expecting to see you here."

"I see. But I thought it necessary that we come up with a plan to get rid of the chamber's inhabitant. You all did very well running the school, but up to now we are just mending to the symptoms not the disease."

"What do you suppose?", Filius asked curiously.

"If I may interrupt", Lockhart piped up.

"Go on Gilderoy", Albus encouraged as he knew that he would anyway.

"I could tell you a quite similar story."

"Ah, you have experience with such things", Filius stated.

"Yes, I have."

"Very well then. Let us meet back here tomorrow evening and discuss everything further after we had time to think about what may be in there", Albus said thereby closing the meeting for the time being.

Yet it didn't come to tomorrow evening as Severus came back up when the teachers were filing out the room.

So much to if nothing unexpected came up.

"A student was taken down to the chamber!", Snape declared.

"By Merlin! Tell us who was taken, Severus!", Albus demanded.

"Miss Weasley", he stated soberly.

"Oh my goodness!" or something similar could be heard from several of the surrounding teachers.

"Now Gilderoy it seems your time to strike has arrived faster than anyone would have thought", Filius said turning to Lockhart.

"Now you can impress us all!", Rolanda exclaimed while Lockhart was only able to open and close his mouth not unlike a fish out of water.

"But... but...", he stuttered, "I need some time to prepare myself!" With that he turned on his heel and left for his office.

"I hope he'll manage to get her back", Pomona said.

"This useless pile of arrogance?", Severus asked cynically.

"Well, I have to inform Mr. And Mrs. Weasley. Would you please welcome them Filius?", Albus took back his usual control which faltered again by his next sentence. "And then I have to tell Minerva." And then he left in the direction of his office.

---

After having written a letter to the Ginny's parents and sent it off with a fast owl he returned to the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey was waiting for him.

"Back already, Albus?"

"I think it took me a sufficient amount of time. What is it you really want?"

"I'm glad that you left the Wing to tend to school business."

"Well, it is my job after all."

"One could have thought differently after the last weeks."

"Well, I came to the conclusion that something had to be done about the monster. Which by the way dissolved of its own volition."

"How's that?", Poppy asked now curious.

"A student was taken to the chamber."

"By Merlin, who?"

"Ginevra Weasley."

Poppy was shocked to hear such news.

"Did you contact Molly and Arthur already?"

"Everything was taken care of. Now I need to tell Minerva."

Shaking her head Poppy turned around and disappeared into her office probably to come to grips with the newest developments.

---

After having taken his usual seat Albus started to tell Minerva everything that's happened this evening, how he saw things and that he hoped everything would turn out fine.

What he didn't know was that deep under the castle a teacher and two of his students were fighting for their lives or in one case their memories.

TBC

A/N 2: Sorry again and I hope you liked it. I changed the actions again a bit as you probably have noticed. And there obviously won't be many chapters left. Maybe two or three. I'm not sure about that yet.