The Sufferer & The Witness

Chapter 11: Rumors

After a fairly chaotic 10 minutes, the Slytherins found themselves safely in their common room again. "Alright you lot!" seventh-year prefect O'Bannon shouted above the din. "Everyone back to their dorms and we'll do a quick check to make sure we've got everyone. We'll report back to Professor Snape and see where we go from there. Clear? Good, now let's move!"

The first year students obediently shuffled back to their dorms, feeling safer than they had been since Professor Quirrell told them about the troll. Apparently the feeling of once-again being safe allowed some of the boys' bravado to return. "It's a good thing the troll didn't come after me – I would have easily taken it down!" boasted Draco.

Blaize merely rolled his eyes and Ted, feeling a bit more demonstrative about the claim, piped up, "Yeah right, Draco! I saw you shaking like a leaf, just like the rest of us." Ted didn't mind Draco so much, but he felt the need to keep him in his place when his ego got carried away.

"Whatever …" Draco muttered, but the lack of a more venomous retort told everyone in the room that Ted was spot-on.

"First years! You lot all here?" barked O'Bannon after sticking his head in the door.

The other room occupants looked around briefly before Ted replied. Normally Draco would have taken the lead, but he was still sulking a bit after Ted's comments. "Yeah, we're all here. Wait …"

Professor Snape stalked into the Slytherin common room, where the students were gathered. Immediately the room went quiet, causing a small smirk to appear on Snape's face at this show of respect. "The troll has been killed, but the Headmaster wants the students to remain in the common rooms for the evening. For those that did not get to finish dinner, food will be arriving shortly. Questions?"

The first year boys looked at each other, then looked at O'Bannon the prefect. He was not looking flustered at all about Potter's disappearance, so they knew if they wanted information, one of them would have to speak up. After a quick discussion using only facial expressions, Draco drew the short straw. He sighed and slowly raised his hand, a resigned look on his face. "Professor?" he called out quietly.

Snape turned and stared at the young Malfoy. He knew what question would be coming, but Snape had to admit he was surprised that anyone seemed to care about Potter's whereabouts – especially Draco. Since all Snape knew of the incident was what McGonagall had told him, he had no idea if Potter was even alive right now. As a result, he would have to answer this question carefully. With a small nod, Snape gave permission to Draco to speak.

"Sir, one of our dorm-mates isn't here."

"Yes, O'Bannon relayed that to me. We have found Potter and are taking … appropriate action …" That statement could imply many things, and probably start a fair amount of rumors. However, it would keep panic at bay and maintain the belief that the teachers were on top of things. After a few seconds of silence while the students tried to decipher the answer their head of house gave, Snape continued. "That is all. Good evening." And with that he twirled on the spot and stalked out of the room, robes billowing behind him.

Just as Snape thought, the school was soon buzzing about the disappearance of Harry Potter. The rumors ranged from him leaving school to go back to the Muggle world, all the way to him dying at the hands of the Dark Lord during a séance gone awry on Halloween night. Apparently the prevailing thought surrounding this one was that Harry was trying to contact his parents' souls but got the Dark Lord's instead. Needless to say the students felt that mistake would surely result in the loss of your own soul.

Potions was the first class on November 1st, and Hermione was beside herself. She only had two people who she considered friends in the whole school, and even she wasn't sure they were really friends at all. They were nice to her however, and that was a lot more than she was used to. She spent most of her time with Neville, helping him through his studies and trying to bring him out of his shell a bit. Neville was a kind-hearted boy but painfully shy, although he was now comfortable enough with Hermione's near-constant presence that he would occasionally say 'hi' to her first when they met for breakfast.

No, the more she thought about it, the more she could confidently say Neville was a friend. When Ron made fun of her after Charms class yesterday, it was Neville who grabbed her arm to keep her from running away. He whispered into her ear that Ron was wrong and he was happy to call her a friend. She returned his words with a watery-but-beaming smile and a heart-felt thank you. She also hugged him, causing the boy to turn bright red and stand rigid in the middle of the courtyard for a good 30 seconds before he regained motor control.

Her other 'friend' was Harry Potter, although she would be the first to admit that they had spoken maybe three or four times in total since they shared that compartment on the Hogwarts Express. However he was always nice to her and, from what she had observed, never made fun of anyone. He hardly ever talked to anyone either, which made him more shy than Neville in some ways. But when she was able to get him to talk, he was always kind and didn't seem to care that she had frizzy hair, buckteeth, and was a 'know-it-all'. She hoped to corner Professor Snape after class to try and see what the true story behind Harry's disappearance was.

Over at the Slytherin table, Daphne was feeling more comfortable now that she had befriended Pansy. Blaise had been right – Pansy wasn't all bad, but right now was one of those times she felt miles apart from the girl. "It doesn't really matter what happened to Potter," Pansy started, offering her opinion on the rumor of the day. "No one liked him and no one talked to him. I doubt we would have even noticed had Draco not asked Professor Snape."

Daphne had been thinking how cold and heartless Pansy could be when the girl's last statement finally processed in her mind. She realized with a start that she was exactly like the others on this front – if Draco hadn't said anything, how long would it take for her to notice he wasn't around anymore? With thoughts of her newfound coldness weighing on her mind, she slowly trudged to the dungeons for Potions class.

"How are you feeling, Harry?"

I realized I must have dozed off and hazily gazed at the Headmaster, flanked by professors Snape and McGonagall, and the school nurse. I mentally tried to snap out of it and, seeing that I wasn't sure how long I had been out, did a quick check to try and assess my condition. You know, because it's the Headmaster asking after all … I was still in the hospital bed, my head still pounded, and each breath still hurt. Looks like I could use the same answer I gave the nurse. "I've been better …"

The Headmaster's eyes did this odd twinkling thing and he looked much happier than when I first noticed him. "Glad to hear it, Harry. I know you need your rest, so we won't keep you long. However, we do need to understand what happened."

With that I told the tale best I could. Practicing my Charms work, realizing I was late to the feast, dropping my stuff off in the dorm, then running into the Troll on the way up to the great hall. After that things became a bit hazy and my story suffered accordingly. By the time I was done, there was a wide range of facial features gracing my audience – confusion, pity, frustration, and, oddly, excitement.

"I see …" the Headmaster slowly spoke after a few seconds. For some reason he was the one with excitement on his face. "Well, rest up my boy and listen to Madam Pomfrey's instructions. Once you're feeling better, we'll revisit this incident to discuss further."

After the teachers exited the hospital wing, Snape spoke up. "Well that was useless …"

"Not necessarily, Severus," Albus replied. "He was able to instinctually know how to survive an encounter that he had no business winning. This shows that he has potential for great skills if we can just –"

"Albus!" Minerva cut in. "Stop it! What did we just discuss in your office? You will not use the boy as merely a tool, you will not willingly put him in harmful situations, and you will not go running off by yourself, making Merlin knows what plans about him! We three will continue to discuss and agree on a course of action together before we start influencing the boy's life further. Am I clear?"

Albus merely nodded in resignation, looking properly chastised. Snape visibly took a step back, having been truly afraid for the first time since his days facing the Dark Lord.