Snape was getting very angry with every passing day. The Order had been searching for Potter for five days, but they hadn't found him yet. He could not believe that a fifteen year old boy was able to escape and fool people more than twice his age. They had looked in all of the obvious places; however, no one had reported seeing the boy. No one was sure where they needed to search for him now.
The Order had tried to keep the news of Potter's disappearance out of the papers, but the noisy reporters had discovered people close to Potter wandering around different areas and searching for someone. The newspapers had finally realized that the Boy-Who-Lived was missing. Every day The Daily Prophet continued to write new stories about the abuse by the Dursleys and the disappearance of Potter. The Headmaster was constantly being barraged by questions from the Ministry and the Prophet. The Ministry wanted to know why Harry had been taken away from the Dursley's abuse without their knowledge. Fudge had demanded that the Ministry be kept informed about any updates in the search for the boy.
Snape sneered just thinking about the idiotic Ministry. He knew that the Ministry was only worried about its own image rather than actually worrying about Potter's welfare. Since the public now knew that Potter had been telling the truth all along about the Dark Lord's return, they pretended that their disbelief and distrust in the boy had never occurred. The Ministry wanted Potter back in order to make themselves look good.
Since Potter's disappearance, Snape had been keeping a low profile. He had spent some time looking for Potter, but he had to be careful so that neither the Dark Lord nor the Death Eaters could discover what he was doing. If the Dark Lord found out, Snape thought that he might be able to say that Dumbledore had forced him to look for the boy; however, he would have a hard time explaining why he had not told the Dark Lord as soon as it had occurred. There had not been a meeting for a while, but he figured that there might be one soon. He would be expected to explain everything he knew about the circumstances surrounding Potter being at Hogwarts and the disappearance of the boy.
Snape tried to take his mind off of Potter in order to concentrate on the potion that he was making. He hadn't had a lot of free time in the last few days to spend some time alone. Many of the Order members were staying at Hogwarts, including the Weasleys. He tried his hardest to avoid the two youngest children, but they were always wandering around looking for updates on Potter. They had even contacted Granger after the first day, and she had been allowed to join the group at Hogwarts soon afterwards. The only good thing about the situation was that the children were too concerned about Potter that they weren't causing any trouble like they normally did.
When Snape had originally searched for Potter, he had used Weasley's suggestion about the Knight Bus. He had strode quickly outside of Hogwarts grounds and briskly whipped his wand into the air.
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Flashback:
The bus hurriedly braked to a stop in front of him and Snape wasted no time in getting onto it. Stan had started to climb down the bus steps in order to greet the new passenger, but he quickly scrambled back up the stairs when Snape brushed past him. The welcome words died in Stan's throat when he saw that the passenger was his old Potion's Master, who did not look happy at all.
"Where…" Stan croaked. He cleared his throat and forced himself to finish talking. "Where did you need to go, Professor?"
"Diagon Alley and make it quick. I have important business to attend to," he snapped.
Stan nodded with wide eyes. He rushed to the front in order to relay the information to the driver Ernie. Once Ernie had begun to drive again, Snape looked back over at Stan and crooked his finger so that Stan would come back over to him. Stan noticed Snape trying to get his attention, so he trudged his feet and reluctantly made his way in that direction.
"Yes, sir?" Stan questioned softly.
"How has business been this morning? Have you had a lot of passengers?" Snape replied while staring intently into the man's eyes.
Confused, Stan stammered out an answer. He didn't know why Snape would want to know something like that, but he wasn't about to question the man. "We haven't had very many people wanting a ride this early in the morning. Our business usually picks up later on in the day."
Snape continued to stare unblinkingly into Stan's eyes. He was using Legilimency in order to see what information he could get out of the man without asking specific questions about Potter.
"Have you picked up anyone near Hogwarts lately? Anyone that I might know?" Snape replied as he tried to steer the conversation in a certain direction.
Stan hoped that Snape would finish with the questions soon and allow him to go sit back down. He guessed that the man was just making conversation until they arrived at Diagon Alley. He didn't really know why Snape would want to talk to him though. After all, he had been a terrible potions student, and Snape had never passed the chance to comment on his poor skills.
After thinking for a few seconds, Stan answered. "Now that you mention it, we had a young boy ride the bus this morning from Hogsmeade. He was carrying his trunk with him. That's the only one we have picked up today from that area…"
Interested, Snape abruptly interrupted. "This boy…do you know who he was? Can you describe him to me? I might know him. He could be one of my students."
Nervously, Stan continued to talk. "Well, he had blonde hair and a few freckles. He looked in his mid-teens. I don't really remember much else about him. He got on the bus pretty early though. I'd say that it was a little before six when he got on. I wondered what a boy his age would be doing out this early alone, especially in times like these."
Snape concentrated on finding an image of this boy in Stan's mind. He was able to see the image without a lot of trouble or effort. Focusing on the picture of the boy, Snape couldn't immediately tell if it was Potter or not. It wouldn't surprise him if Potter had used some kind of spell to disguise himself. The boy had used magic during prior summers, and he would certainly have been able to do it at Hogwarts without anyone noticing.
When the bus came to a stop somewhere, Stan jerked and gazed out of the window. He saw that a little old lady was patiently waiting for someone to help her with her baggage. Stan timidly looked back at Snape.
"I need to get back to work, Professor. We should be at your stop soon," Stan quickly said before fleeing.
Snape smirked at the obvious discomfort that he had caused the man. The smirk faded, however, when he finally came to the conclusion that Potter had definitely used the bus that very morning. It was very unlikely that another teenage boy had gotten onto the Knight Bus that early in the morning that close to Hogwarts. All doubt had dissipated in his mind that the boy was anyone other than Potter. His eyes narrowed as he realized that he couldn't wait to find the boy and give him a piece of his mind.
He spent the rest of his journey contemplating what he would do upon reaching Diagon Alley. It was very possible that Potter might not even still be there. If Potter had moved on to another area, he wasn't sure where else the boy might go. Hopefully he would be able to find more clues of Potter's existence in Diagon Alley.
The bus eventually stopped in front of the Leaky Cauldron. He got some amusement watching Shunpike avoid his eyes and mutter a hurried goodbye. Snape discreetly walked into the Leaky Cauldron and continuously scanned the crowd. Despite his quiet entrance, the barman spotted his arrival and jovially waved him over.
"How are you today, Professor Snape?" Tom said.
"I am fine," Snape brusquely answered. "And you?"
"Can't complain," Tom replied. "I saw in the paper this morning that the poor Potter boy had been abused by his relatives. Sad business, that is. I realize that he is one of your students. Do you have any idea how the boy is doing?"
Snape put a look of disdain on his face. "Why would I care what happens to the Potter brat? I have other business to take care of. I am looking for a boy who I believed came here early this morning, about 6:00. He had blonde hair, freckles, and he was carrying his trunk with him. I don't know if you saw him, but…"
Recognition flashed on Tom's face. "Of course I saw that boy. I notice everything that goes on in here. He came through earlier this morning but left not long afterwards. Said he was staying with a friend. He seemed polite enough…"
"Thank you for your help," Snape interrupted. He had found out all of the information that the barman could probably tell him. He needed to leave the Leaky Cauldron, inform Dumbledore about what he had found, and spread the news to the rest of the Order so that they could continue on the trail that Potter had unknowingly left.
Once he had exited the Leaky Cauldron, Snape slipped quietly into a side alley and, with an unobtrusive glance around, he Apparated to the gates outside of Hogwarts. He impatiently waited for the gates to acknowledge him and let him inside. When he had finally entered the school grounds, Snape hurried up the steps and made his way towards the Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk and working busily on paperwork. He would have liked to be out looking for Harry, but he knew that he needed to stay at Hogwarts in order to keep updated on any progress. The Headmaster was keeping the search party coordinated as well as warding off the press and the Ministry. As soon as Snape entered his office, Dumbledore quickly looked up with a hopeful look on his face.
"Well? How is the search going? You must have found out something or else you would not be back so soon."
The Headmaster quieted and waited to hear whether the news would be good or bad. He trusted that if anyone could find Harry, Snape might be the one to do it. The man was good as a spy, and he had been able to fool Voldemort all of these years.
Snape settled into a chair and recounted everything that he had learned so far. "I believe that Potter used a Glamour Charm before leaving Hogwarts. He must have gone to Hogsmeade before hailing the Knight Bus. I had a talk with Stan Shunpike, and I was able to find out a description of what Potter looked like and where the boy went. He visited Diagon Alley, and the barman at the Leaky Cauldron even remembers the boy. That is pretty much all of the information that I have been able to acquire. The only other thing that I do know is that Potter has already left Diagon Alley; however, I do not know where he has gone."
Hearing a small piece of good news concerning Harry, Dumbledore cheered up a little bit. A relieved look passed across his face. "So, we are well on our way to finding Harry. That is excellent. Good job, Severus. Give me the description that you have of Harry, and I will pass the information on to the rest of the Order."
End flashback
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Snape had been sure that they would find the boy soon after tracing his route to Diagon Alley. He thought that knowing the boy's disguise would help their quest even more. Frustration mounted inside of him, however, as the days passed and there was still no sign of Potter. It seemed like they had reached a dead end. With every day that continued, the trail kept growing more and more cold.
Apparently, some of the Order members had found out the exact shops that the boy had gone into. Potter had been stocking up on food and clothing. For impulsively leaving Hogwarts after reading the article in the paper, Potter had done a good job of evading everyone. In some ways, Snape's respect was growing for the boy, even though he would probably spend a lot of time yelling about the boy's foolishness whenever he finally found Potter.
He growled in anger when someone dared to interrupt his brewing time by knocking on the door. Snape hoped that he could ignore the sounds and force the person to go away. He was in no mood to talk with anyone at the present. The knocking only got louder and more persistent, however, the longer that he continued to wait. Finally, unable to stand it anymore, Snape lowered the flame under the cauldron and loudly snapped for the person to enter.
Mentally groaning when he saw that Potter's friends had dared to enter his domain, Snape glared at the three teenagers. "Granger, Weasley, and Weasley, if you haven't noticed, I am very busy at this time. When someone does not answer the door, it normally means that they either are not there or else it means that they do not want to be disturbed. Since my response falls into the latter category, I hope that you will realize that I am not pleased by the interruption right now. Quickly state what you came to say and then get out."
Ron's face turned red, but he was prevented from angrily responding when Ginny stepped on his foot and Hermione touched his arm in warning. Hermione boldly stepped forward and tried not to be intimidated.
"Sir, we know that you have been out looking for Harry in the past few days. Would you please tell us what is going on? Professor Dumbledore mentioned something the other day about Harry being spotted, but we haven't heard any updates recently."
Deciding that he would have to answer them so that they would leave him alone, Snape answered. "Potter was wearing a disguise when he was spotted on the Knight Bus and in Diagon Alley. We are still trying to locate him, but we have not had any luck so far. You now know everything that we know. Now, if you do not have anything meaningful to say in order to help us find your friend, I suggest that you leave my lab."
Hearing Snape's dismissal, Hermione dejectedly nodded and miserably led Ron out of the room. Ginny lingered for a few more seconds.
"Yes, Ms. Weasley?" Snape coolly inquired with one of his eyebrows raised.
"I know that you hate Harry, sir, but he is important to us. I hope that you can find him really soon. Thank you for helping search for him," Ginny replied while looking Snape in the eye. Once she had given her small speech, she hurriedly left the room to catch up to Ron and Hermione.
Startled by Ginny's words, Snape took a break from his potions and sat down. He was surprised that one of Potter's friends had actually thanked him for what he was doing. Snape had to disagree with one thing that she had said though.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Snape admitted to himself that he did not hate Potter. Finding out about what the Dursleys had done and even spending some time with the boy had helped to change his attitude towards Potter. He still wasn't entirely sure what his feelings were towards the boy though. At the present moment, he was annoyed with Potter for running off; however, he did not hate the boy.
Snape did not know what exactly would happen to Potter once the boy was found by the Order and returned to Hogwarts. The boy would, of course, need a guardian since no one wanted him to come under the control of the Ministry. Because the wizarding world knew about the abuse, something would also need to be done about the Dursleys. Snape had tried to get any information out of the Headmaster about his thoughts on all of this; however, Dumbledore had been very busy in the past few days and had not been able to answer his questions.
Deciding that his time would be better spent by finishing his brewing, Snape stood back up and walked over to the cauldron. He turned raised the flame and began chopping more ingredients. His hand faltered, however, and he stifled a cry as he clutched his arm with his hand. The Dark Mark was burning, and he could not waste any time in leaving Hogwarts. The Dark Lord would already be angry and suspicious of him because of any involvement that he might have had with Potter. There was no reason to be late to the meeting and heap more punishment on his head.
Snape quickly took the cauldron off of the fire and put the flame out. He hurried through the hall and entered his private quarters. Grabbing his Death Eater robes and mask in one hand, he began to put them on as he sped out of the room. Once he had reached the Entrance Hall, he paused and brought his wand out of his robes. Snape muttered a few words and watched as his silver message swiftly took off in the direction of the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore would receive the message and know that he had left Hogwarts for a Death Eater's meeting.
As soon as the message was out of sight, Snape abruptly snapped around and strode towards the end of the school's boundary. Once he had stepped outside of the gates, Snape adjusted his Death Eater garments, clutched his wand in his hand, and Disapparated.
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A/N: I know that it has been about two weeks since I have updated, but long times between updates will probably be the norm until this semester is over. At least we get a month off for Christmas break. Then I will be able to spend more time writing. Thanks for the reviews from last chapter.
