13. An Investigation.

Author's Note: Thank you to all who are reading and reviewing! Your support really means a lot to me and helps keep the story alive :D I hope you enjoy the next chapter! (And those who don't have accounts or who aren't signed in must do so, so I can reply! You know you want to!)

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Donna cackled gleefully, practically falling off her chair in her mirth. "And then," she gasped, "Filch fell into the lake!"

The Doctor chuckled. "And then what?"

"Severus had to fish him out – he was wrapped up in one of the giant squid's tentacles, flying through the air and screaming – the student he'd been trying to catch had long gone-" she heaved in a huge lungful of air, "- so Severus gets him down, shoves his cloak at him, and stalks off to hunt the student!"

"Were they caught?"

"No – they still don't know who it was!"

"Three years and they haven't figured it out?"

"Nope," Donna replied gleefully. "And Filch fantasizes about it all the time – he keeps asking me what I think might have happened if Severus hadn't been so distracted by the escaping student…"

"You know," the Doctor announced, "I feel quite sorry for him."

"Tell me about it – imagine having Filch chasing you round the castle like that! I'm surprised Severus doesn't hide whenever he sees him!"

"No…I mean I feel sorry for Filch."

Donna stared at him. "For Filch?"

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair and got up to pace around the room. "Well, if you think about it, he loves someone who definitely doesn't like him back – and he's completely deluded about it, then he has us laughing about him in the background-"

"He doesn't know about that, though."

"Which might make it even worse, since you're his only confidant."

Donna paused to reflect about that for a moment. "Yeah…I suppose you're right – but that doesn't make it any less funny."

The Doctor snorted. "It should, shouldn't it, but it doesn't."

There was a short pause, then, "Do you think Severus knows?"

"From the way he was trying to reassure you about him, I don't think so. And he wouldn't guess, would he? Filch leers at everybody anyway."

Donna shook her head. "I wish he wouldn't – he's just creepy."

"I'm very relieved he doesn't like you, though – I was worried he'd – ow, no, not again," the Doctor groaned, massaging his left forearm.

"Voldemort?"

The Doctor winced as the ache on his arm intensified. "Don't call him that, Donna, the Mark can sense it." He ran into the bedroom and rummaged around in his wardrobe, withdrawing a long black cloak and mask with a sneer of disgust. "I hate doing this," he muttered to himself.

"I know you do," Donna said gently from behind him.

The Doctor jumped around, not having heard her following him. "You could warn me you're behind me!"

Donna rolled her eyes. "Now you know how I feel whenever you creep up on me, Space Boy." She smiled sadly at him as he put on his cloak and mask. "Don't go getting yourself killed, Doctor."

"That's not the plan," he said ruefully. "I'm more worried about who else will get killed."

"You can't save everybody," she said softly, "you're not superman. Just…try not to get hurt."

The Doctor gave her a half smile, even though she couldn't see it. "I'll try. You look after yourself here."

"I will."

He nodded and turned swiftly to make his way towards the door. The Mark began to burn more insistently and he raced through the corridors, black cape flying, students mercifully nowhere in sight.

"Bartemus?"

The Doctor stopped instinctively and turned around to see Severus running towards him, mask dangling from his fingers as though he had not yet had time to put it on.

"Severus."

"You have been called?" Severus asked, not slowing his pace, the Doctor running after him.

The Doctor laughed, forcing the sound to be harsh. "Astute as ever, Severus. Do you have any idea what our Lord wants?"

"No," Severus answered shortly, shoving the mask onto his face.

They both burst through the front doors and charged down the grassy hills in the grounds, slipping and sliding on the rain-slicked ground. The moon kept a silent vigil as they opened the Hogwarts gates and closed them behind them, glancing at each other in silent communication before pressing their wands to their arms and disapparating.

They found themselves in what had been a quiet, ordinary Muggle street; but what was now a meeting place for what appeared to be every Death Eater in existence. Everyone seemed to be facing a roughed up house on the end of the street, chatting quietly.

"The Granger residence," Severus murmured.

The Doctor glanced at him, one eyebrow raised behind his mask. "How do you know that?"

"Dumbledore, in his infinite wisdom, decided to charge me with warding the brat's house last year in anticipation of his death." Severus snorted. "Needless to say, the house wasn't hard to penetrate."

"So why are we here now?"

Severus shrugged. "The Grangers were run out months ago – the parents were killed but the brat escaped. Perhaps she or one of her little friends was sighted here."

"Yeh're righ' 'bout tha', Snape," a rough, gravelly voice interrupted. "RiverWood reckons 'e saw the Potter boy-"

"Indeed?" Severus drawled, sounding immensely pleased. "Come, Bartemus, we must see the Dark Lord kill the boy. Where is he?"

"Inside, bu'-"

Severus walked off, not even letting the man finish his sentence. The Doctor jogged to keep up with him as he parted the crowd effortlessly. They reached the front door, which was hanging off its hinges and looking charred around the edges.

A man stood at the entrance, as though unsure whether he should enter. His white blond hair seemed to be luminous in the moonlight, looking ragged around the edges. His posture was tense, as though he was suffering through an internal debate, oblivious to the world around him.

Severus stepped up beside him, peering around the door. "Lucius," he greeted. "I have heard rumours that the Potter boy was sighted here not long ago."

Lucius Malfoy turned to Severus slowly, but the action was tired and defeated, none of the usual grace found in the movement. "Severus, Bartemus," he acknowledged, inclining his head slightly before turning back to the door. "Your rumours were correct."

The Doctor gasped. "Our Lord is victorious at last?"

Malfoy shook his head. "No. The boy escaped. The clumsy fool who summoned the Dark Lord is being punished as we speak."

The Doctor forced his voice to sound disappointed. "I can't hear anything."

"Privacy Wards," Malfoy explained. "Even I was sent from the room – he wanted to discuss the situation without interruption, I think, from anyone who arrived."

"Was anyone else with the Potter boy?" Severus demanded.

"I have only heard the Granger girl mentioned," Malfoy replied. "Unfortunately, I did not arrive in time to participate in the attempt to capture them."

"I wish I'd been here," the Doctor growled. "I'd have been successful. Our Lord could be celebrating at this very moment-"

"Who was the idiot in charge of the capture?" Severus demanded.

"Pettigrew's new recruit," Malfoy said dismissively. "He has been on watch here for two weeks now after the last one got killed. The Dark Lord is not pleased."

"And he shouldn't be," the Doctor snarled. "With idiots like that trying to get into our ranks, we won't need enemies when the end comes. It's disgusting," he spat. "They're lazy, incompetent-"

"And an utter hindrance," Severus finished, apparently amused at the Doctor's tirade. "I believe we all agree, Bartemus."

"Lucky for us that the other side can be just as stupid," the Doctor continued in derision. "If Potter had half a brain cell, he'd know this place is being watched."

"Severus has been giving me similar talks over the years," Lucius replied, amusement finally shining through the dull voice. "I don't think I've ever heard you insult a student as much as you insulted him, Severus."

Before the man in question could comment, a figure appeared in the doorway. The pale, skeletal face of a wrathful Lord Voldemort peered at all three of them, red eyes glinting in the moonlight, long fingers still holding his wand.

"Lucius," the cold, high voice commanded, "dispose of the mess in the kitchen."

Lucius bowed low, hair scraping the filthy floor. "Yes, my Lord." He hurried past Voldemort and off into the house, drawing his wand.

Voldemort moved out of the doorway and stepped onto the muddy lawn, completely unconcerned with the mess. His red eyes surveyed them. "Punctual as usual, Severus, Bartemus."

They both bowed low, murmuring 'of course, my Lord', in appropriately submissive voices.

"Are the Carrows with you?"

"I have not seen them, my Lord," Severus replied, straightening up.

"A pity," Voldemort said, spinning his wand in his fingers. "They shall, of course, be punished."

"A just decision, my Lord," the Doctor said.

Voldemort ignored him, pointing his wand at his own throat instead to magically raise its volume. "My loyal Death Eaters," he announced, shushing the crowd at once, "it seems that incompetence has once more made itself known among my ranks. If anyone," he hissed dangerously, "is to summon me through the Mark because of a Potter sighting, and I arrive to find that the boy is nowhere to be seen…there shall be consequences."

There was a ripple through the crowd as everyone envisaged the 'consequences'.

"We are now one member short," Voldemort continued. "A necessary measure. I do not allow my followers to be as brainless as those we fight against. I suggest that you all consider your actions more carefully in future. You are dismissed."

He flicked his wand again and his voice resumed a normal pitch as he turned to Severus and Bartemus. "I have something that I must take care of," he said, effortlessly being heard over the dying murmur of conversation from the crowd. "I want to know why they returned here after all these months," he commanded. "Search the house from top to bottom. Leave nothing untouched, and bring any evidence to me."

They both bowed once more. "Yes, my Lord."

Voldemort nodded in satisfaction before wordlessly disapparating. Malfoy stepped out of the house, his steps ringing in the sudden silence. He nodded once at the Hogwarts employees before walking to a point further down the street. A loud 'crack' and he, too, was gone.

The Doctor sighed. "In we go, then."

Severus waved his wand over both of them. "Even here," he explained, "we could be overheard."

The Doctor couldn't help himself; he let out a short, tense laugh. "You're really going to turn into Mad-Eye Moody one of these days, Severus. I'm surprised no one else sees it."

"I did not survive this long as a spy on pure coincidence," Severus replied shortly. "Let's start upstairs and work our way down. Knowing Miss Granger," he said in a tone of exasperation, "she came back here for a book."

"You really think she'd risk getting killed for a book?" The Doctor shifted at the look of disbelief that Severus gave him. "Alright, silly question, but someone had to ask."

They reached the top of the half collapsed staircase with difficulty, moving rubble and ornaments as they went. "In there," Severus said quietly, nodding his head at a door that was half ajar.

The Doctor nodded his consent even as Severus slowly pushed the door open, wand held high and illuminated, throwing the room beyond into sharp relief. The bedroom looked as though it might once have belonged to a young girl; the walls were a light colour, diminished by years of sun exposure, barely recognisable as a tame pink. Books were scattered all over the floor, some of the pages torn and lying discarded, separated from the rest of the book. A desk was split in half, a leg flung haphazardly onto a small bed. Photo frames had smashed to the floor, their pictures lying still and ripped beneath the fractured glass.

A small line of blood was spattered across one of the walls, indicating an injury. The Doctor walked up to it and, grimacing, put his finger in it. It was not yet dry.

"They can't have gotten far," he announced. "I think they disapparated here." He pointed at the spot he was standing in. "Maybe they got injured as the Death Eater took one last shot at them."

Severus nodded before swooping down upon a stack of papers at the Doctor's feet. He began to sift through them, a frown of concentration between his brows. "Granger never cancelled her subscription to the Daily Prophet," he explained, "but the owls couldn't find her."

"So she's in hiding somewhere," the Doctor deduced, then smiled. "It seems your resident 'know-it-all' managed to find a way to confuse the owl post after all."

"No doubt she searched five libraries first," Severus snorted. "The owls must have left the papers here as a last resort." He held one up. "This one has a page ripped out of it."

"Really?" the Doctor squatted beside Severus, glancing at the headline. "'Death Eater Presumed Worse-Than-Dead Returns'," he read. And below that was written; 'full story on page three'. "Which page is missing?"

"Three," Severus replied, before holding up another paper. This time, it was The Quibbler. "It is the same for this one."

The Doctor examined that paper as well, frowning. "It seems they've decided to take the bait."

"Perhaps, but one can never be too careful where the three of them are concerned. They often reach the wrong conclusion."

"Oh, I don't know about that – Hermione was right about Rita Skeeter being an Animagus, she worked out that Remus Lupin was a werewolf…" he looked more closely at the other man's expression. "Oh."

"Granger had her suspicions about Skeeter," Severus clarified. "I caught her researching the woman's biography in the library. She was too focussed on keeping Potter from being killed to finish, however."

"And Remus Lupin?"

A shadow passed over Severus' face. "He bit a student after forgetting his potion," he said darkly. "He turned what was supposed to be his shift at patrolling the corridors into a desperate hunt for a murderous werewolf on the rampage."

"But…how did that work? Wasn't he inside?"

Severus snorted. "He saw a student on the grounds when he passed the Entrance Hall and decided to go after her. Apparently he considered himself above our warnings to stay inside and take his potion."

"That's terrible," the Doctor murmured. "Did the student survive?"

"She died in the Hospital Wing. Lupin was asked to leave immediately. I had to cover his classes for the last few weeks of term."

"So, if Lupin was sacked – it might be a bit of a strange question, if you don't mind me asking it – who found Sirius Black in the Shrieking Shack?"

Severus blinked. "Black? He disappeared when he escaped from Azkaban."

The Doctor nodded. "Right, makes sense. He couldn't really go after Pettigrew when he was protected by the Dark Lord, could he?"

Severus frowned. "Pettigrew?"

"Sirius Black wanted to kill Peter Pettigrew for betraying the Potters?" the Doctor asked, searching for any sign of recognition. "No? Must be one of the differences. So – onto the next room?"

They spent the rest of the night searching the house and found, to their relief, that several wardrobes appeared to have been ransacked recently. It seemed that, anticipating their arrival, Hermione Granger had tried to cover her tracks by pretending to pick up some supplies – unless, as Severus suggested, she had simply decided to tackle two things at once.

Together, they decided to tell Voldemort that the only things taken seemed to be supplies. At this point, the possibility of the three teenagers learning to trust the Doctor was too attractive to risk blowing his cover by handing Voldemort the torn newspapers. They would just have to grit their teeth, throw up their shields, and prepare to lie for all they were worth.

They could only hope that the ex-students did, indeed, come to the right conclusion.