Disclaimer: It's not mine.
I'm Still Here
Chapter14: At the Door
Severus went to answer said door while Harry waited quietly in the den only to hear a chorus of hushed and hurried voices carry from the main hall. His tiny brow creased in worry. What was going on out there anyway?
"Eh?" Harry grunted. He crawled towards the door only to overhear a string of harsh whispers that upset and confused him.
"Well what do you mean, they don't know what happened?"
"They are having trouble recalling much of anything. It's horrible Severus. Where is Harry? I've come to take him."
Snape moved forward, blocking Mr. Weasley's path.
"Is Ronald feeling better?"
"Hm?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"The other child? Is he still ill? Isn't that why I had to watch the brat in the first place?"
"Oh yes; somewhat anyway. Harry will just have to come home with me regardless. It's not as if you are going to take him for Christmas and with Tonks and Lupin's current state..."
'What current state?' Harry wondered. This did not sound good and Mr. Weasley looked exceeding nervous and agitated. In fact, Harry had never, even in times of dire stress, seen him so out of sorts. It put a queasy feeling in his stomach like a bad bottle.
"Of course," Snape said slowly, stepping aside. "He's in there." His long arm pointed to the den from which Harry was peeking, but he darted his head away quick enough to escape detection.
Mr. Weasley came around the corner searching the floor for Harry. Harry scooted back into the shadowy corner where the house elf had lingered to frighten him. He wasn't sure why he was hiding from Mr. Weasley. Perhaps going with him would mean something terrible had happened to Lupin and Tonks, something bad enough to keep them from coming back to collect harry like they promised.
Snape swooped down and scooped him up briskly from his hiding place and extened him unceremoniously. "Here," he said.
"Thank you." Mr.Wesley smiled and over friendly smile, and Snape actually drew Harry slowly, seemingly subcontiously back from Mr. Weasley. Did he intend to keep Harry here?
"How are you to transport him back without being detected?" Snape inquire.
" I'll be aparating, of course. Severus, I must report back or everyone will think something has happened to me too. They obviously assumed Harry was with Tonks and Lupin if they have just been attacked. They could come-"
"You'll be the next place they look." Snape retorted.
"I am taking him to Headquarters. " Mr. Weasley said with unusual fervor.
"Where?" Snape asked, still making no move to hand over Harry.
"Headquarters! Of the Order of the Pheonix!"
"Where?"
"Blast it Snape! You heard me. Give me that baby!"
"I simply asked you were Headquarters was." Snapes voice was soft, low, and dangerous. Mr. Weasley's face drained of color. He did not reply. Instead, with exceptional speed he pulled his wand and jinxed Snape. Snape all but tossed Harry aside and the two began to duel. Harry squealed in fright and retreated into the dark confines of the house.
Bursts of light, yelps of pain, and crashes of broken furniture rang from the den and baby Harry, hidden in a dark corner under a table cloth of a tea table shook and whimpered in confusion and fear. How was a baby to protect themselves? He had never felt so helpless or afraid. Was he this afraid, he wondered, when he Voldermort first attacked him as a baby?
From down the hall he heard Snape shout, "You had no orders to come here! Who are you? How dare you attack me? Speak!"
Mr. Weasley's voice laughed in reply, but it wasn't Mr. Weasley. A Death Eater had snuck in using polyjuice potion to disguise themselves as Mr. Weasley and take Harry to Voldermort, Harry surmised along with the potions master. But, unless Snape's cover had been blown, why would they attack him?
Maybe they weren't under orders from Voldermort. Perhaps they knew where Snape's loyalties really laid. It was possible that the man dressed like Mr. Weasley was not a Death Eater at all, but a trader like Wormtail had been, trying to sell baby Harry to Voldermort to save his own skin. How, Harry wondered, did they get Mr. Weasley's hair and clothes? Had Lupin and Tonks really been attacked too, or was it just Mr. Weasley? The battle in the other room intensified and whole was blown in the wall not five feet from Harry's tiny head.
He jumped in surprise, and began to cry silently as shard of wood and dust sprayed the hallway. He took great care to remain very quiet so to not give his hiding place away in case Snape fell. He considered it highly unlikely that he would, but all the same… The man disguised as Arthur Weasley's plans had been spoiled and his only hope to remain alive and undiscovered was to kill Snape. He would throw at him everything he had and he wasprobably a capable member of the Order.
If that man killed Snape and found Harry, he could give Harry to Voldermort and, if he wished, even make it look like Snape was the traitor. Of course, then there would be no need as Voldermort would come to power with Harry out of the way and the secrets of the Order in the palm of his hand. If he killed Snape and did not find Harry, how was Harry to explain to the others that there was a traitor among them? What could he do? He could not help Snape. He could not defend himself. H could not even warn his friends. His was intolerable!
Very suddenly, the house went quiet. Harry waited, entirely still, poised and waiting to hear a voice call his name but whose would it be? Several agonizing seconds drug on as he crouched, trembling, under the table. Still the house was silent. Had they both been killed? What would he do then?
Soft footstep fell on the dusty, carpeted floor, and Harry small heart pounded for all it was worth. Then it came.
"Harry?" It was Mr. Weasley. Harry pulled his legs closer to his chest and tried to breathe as quietly as possible Maybe someone would come for him soon. He hoped. He prayed.
"Come on. Mean old Snape is dead. Come with Mr. Weasley. We'll go get you some dinner to eat. I know you're hungry." At the mention of food, Harry's treacherous stomach growled in agreement.
"Come on, little baby. Want to play hide-and-seek? Ready or not, here I come… No? Ring around the Rosie. He drew back heavy curtains with a flourish to reveal nothing. Harry scooted over behind the table-just in time. He lifted it up the table cloth to reveal, again, nothing.
"Pocket full of Posies." Harry barely contained a whimper as he noticed his toes stuck on onto the carpet.
"Ashes, ashes…" With the faint sounds of a knock on the front door, an idea occurred to Harry. In a flash, he reached forward and grabbed the edge of the carpet and yanked with all his strength.
"We all-" he slipped on the carpet wrinkle and fell on flat on his back unexpectedly, knocking the wind out of him. Harry courageously leapt from his hiding place declaring with great effort at the sound of the squeak of the front door, "All fall down!"
He raced as fast as his chubby legs would carry him to the calls of "Severus?" and "Harry?" and cries of "My God!" "What happened?" It was Tonks and Lupin. They were alright. Harry teetered and swayed dangerously as he scampered towards them, nearly tipping over. With them in sight, his hopes leapt. Unfortunately, his feet did so as well, slipping in a puddle of warm blood. Feet away, Snape lay still on the floor.
"Harry?" came Lupin's concerned and puzzled voice.
"Remmy!" Harry's small, bloody hands reached up to him. Remus was clearly taken aback, and quickly drew his wand, startling Harry.
From behind him, Harry heard movement. Twitching and spitting, Mr. Weasley stumbled towards them, wand drawn. He was changing back, but into whom?
A/N: I'm sorry to make you wait so long for a new chapter, but I have little to no time these days as I have 16 hours of classes a week, plus studying, and I'm in a play. Up-dates to all three of my current stories cannot be regular, I apologize. I will not be putting any on hiatus though, and if I decide to discontinue, I will send messages to everyone who reviews or has this story on their alerts or favorites so you will not continue to look for new chapters in vain. However, as I said, I have no plans to abandon the story. Thanks for your patience and please let me know what you thought of this chapter.