In her office, Celena sat still for a long time, her hands on her temples, trying to soothe the beating of blood in her head. She went back and forth from fever to numbness, from terror to exhilaration, from utter shock to knowing, somehow, that this was supposed to happen. Eventually she went off to bed and sank into an uneasy, disturbed sleep, perturbed by many restless dreams. And just as she was about to drift off for the third time, she heard her window open with a creak and someone slid softly onto the floor.

She sprang up, clutching her wand, and saw the handsome blue-skinned face and ruby-red hair of Korian. He was smiling triumphantly.

"Kor," she said, panting, "just knock next time, alright? What on earth are you doing here at this hour?"

"Sorry," he said, grinning, "it's nearly dawn, but I just had to tell you. Look outside the window, will you?"

Celena scrambled out of bed and, shivering with cold, threw on a thick plush robe. She stepped up to the window. The chilly night air was still, but the tree tops in the Forest looked as though they were moving in a storm.

"Oh! - she exclaimed softly. Could it be..?"

"These tree people," said Korian, "very impressive. We were with them. Caught three werewolves, a vampire, and a man."

"Three werewolves and a vampire?" Celena repeated faintly.

"And a man."

"Who?"

"Not sure. Goliath got him.

Apparently, the nighttime visits were not meant to end with Korian's strolling in through the window. Just as Celena opened her mouth to say she didn't envy the captive who is now in Goliath's hands, whoever he is, there was a knock on her office door and when she opened, she saw the Headmistress in her tartan nightgown and slippers.

"Excellent – I see you already alerted Celena, Korian – come, Celena, don't bother getting dressed. To my office, both of you."

"Professor McGonagall, what..?"

"Come along, come along, I'll explain later."

The beautiful circular room that hosted many Headmasters and Headmistresses of Hogwarts was now, no doubt, at one of its weirdest moments.

When Professor McGonagall, Celena and Korian walked in, they were met by Snape (Celena buried her eyes in the carpet); Goliath, holding both arms of a small, pale, mousy man in one mighty hand; and Hagrid, his hand gripping the shoulder of a student –

"Hagrid," said Professor McGonagall, "let go of Mr. Creevey for now. No doubt, it's very grave, a student out of his common room at this hour – by all means, deal with Mr. Creevey later – but we have more important matters just now."

Dennis flinched as Hagrid marched him, a hand still on his shoulder, past Goliath. Dennis never quite got used to the gargoyles.

Since Celena didn't dare to look up, she didn't see the quiet and ironic triumph in Snape's eyes as he looked at the man Goliath had in his grip. But she did hear the barely contained glee in his voice as he spoke:

"McDonovan, old friend."

"Severus," the little man said grudgingly. He had small, watery, strangely pale eyes, devoid of expression. "The traitor. The double-crossing spy…"

Snape looked unabashed.

"I suppose you thought you would pay me a surprise visit?" he said, walking back and forth before McDonovan, "Prowling around Hogwarts grounds at night… well, well, well… we shall soon see what you were up to."

"You can let go of him now, Goliath," said Professor McGonagall, "we have his wand, and there is no way he can escape."

Goliath stepped back, and McDonovan rubbed his arms, which were numb because of Goliath's steely grip.

"Your war is lost," continued Snape, "your master is dead, your army is broken; why did you come?"

McDonovan let out an unpleasant chuckle.

"Our war lost?" he sneered, "Don't fool yourself, Severus. Just because the Dark Lord had the misfortune to confide some of his plans to you, it doesn't mean that you got the access to his most cherished, his most secret –"

"Go on, then, McDonovan," said Snape, with a look of grim satisfaction. "Why don't you spill out the story of your amazing achievements – I mean, apart from your attacks on our fellow lizard-men here, I think we all had a chance to witness the pathetic results –"

Celena looked up in alarm. Goliath and Korian looked indignant, but merely swished their tails. McDonovan, on the other hand, looked as though he would like nothing better than to throttle Snape bare-handed. Celena wondered how long he will be able to endure the provocation.

"We killed your Minister," said McDonovan, "we have Merlin's wand – He has the wand…"

McDonovan fell silent, and everyone in the room exchanged looks, wondering the same thing: had he given himself away and told more than he meant to, or was it a clever hoax meant for intimidation? Beads of sweat appeared on McDonovan's brow. The tension in the room was such that it seemed one could cut the air with a knife. There was no doubt concerning "his" identity – "he" could only mean –

"Oh, yes, McDonovan," Snape nodded calmly, "no need to stop now, we know it anyway – it's the Dark Lord's son."

"Yes, yes, the son!" McDonovan cried out, his eyes bulging wildly, "the son, more glorious than the father! Do with me what you will. He is safe, and he is ours. And he will rise and become more powerful than the father had ever been!"

There was a long silence.

"We will take him to the dungeons now, shall we, Headmistress? " asked Korian. "Unless you want to interrogate him now. It's nearly dawn, you see, and we must find a good place for hibernation."

"Yes – yes," said Professor McGonagall slowly and distractedly, sinking into her beautiful winged armchair and rubbing her temples,
"please do. And if you see Hagrid on the way, send him here. He will need to be filled in."

When the two gargoyles trod off, each gripping one of McDonovan's arms, Celena looked outside the window. The sky was already turning pale grey; soon, it would be pierced by the first ray of sunlight, which she hoped would cast away some of her murky, gloomy thoughts.

"It's horrible," she murmured, "a son… but – do you think he is actually a – a – a human child?"

"That is certainly a good question," said Professor McGonagall, -"other interesting details are when and where was this son born - Snape, you were right in You Know Who's inner circle at one time, didn't he ever confide in you?"

"The Dark Lord," Snape raised an eyebrow. "Confide in anyone?"

"No – I suppose not, Severus, he should have known not to put all his eggs in one basket –"

"What about the woman?" asked Celena, avoiding Snape's eye and looking purposefully only at Professor McGonagall, "We suspect it was Bellatrix Lestrange, don't we? Was she ever seen – well – with child?"

"Sometimes, certain Death Eaters were gone for months on confidential missions, and Bellatrix disappeared a few times as well," said Snape. He, too, was not looking at Celena, but rather at the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, who was snoozing in his golden frame. "And even then, her pregnancy could have been concealed using a wise charm. It was certainly not beyond the capability of the Dark Lord."

Another pause fell, and after that, Professor McGonagall got to her feet, looking brisk and alert as usual despite a restless night.

"The other members of the Order will need to be alerted," she said. "Severus, I can trust you to send a message to everyone, can't I? And Celena, I now doubt that you ought to have witnessed this scene, but I am confident that –"

"My lips are sealed, Professor McGonagall," Celena said solemnly.

"I ought to tell Mr. Filch to check on the house-elves," continued Professor McGonagall, "they were so agitated tonight that I'm afraid they might not be up in time to serve breakfast by eight-thirty. Not that it would be much of a problem, after all, there are no classes today and the castle is nearly empty."

It was only then that Celena remembered today was the first day of Easter break. Portkeys and the Floo network were arranged for the students who were going home for Easter, and only a few would remain at Hogwarts. Celena was looking forward to the peace and quiet of the next days.

Not everyone, however, were leaving. Some especially eager O.W.L and N.E.W.T students remained, not wanting to miss two weeks of access to the school library. And Dennis Creevey, his friend Martin Nordholm, and Melissa Hanson were also to remain at Hogwarts, attempting to cope with their increasingly stressful load of work and start revising for their exams, which would determine whether they would be able to go on with their selected N.E.W.T classes in their seventh and final year of school.

After Hagrid shouted at Dennis, gave him detention for the next day (prepare a selection of food for Flobberworms) and took him to Gryffindor tower, Dennis pulled Martin out of his bed and the two of them sat together until the break of dawn in the empty and quiet common room, talking in hoarse whispers.

"What on earth were you doing in the greenhouses at that hour? " asked Martin, shaking his head in exasperation.

"I told you, I needed some fresh Mandrake leaves for a potion I'm experimenting with, and – well, I doubted Professor Sprout would just give them to me if I asked. Besides, they're best when picked at three in the morning."

"And then –"

"And then I saw Celena – Professor Costello – coming up from the direction of the Forest – she was almost running, and looked flustered and – and sort of confused. I wanted to follow her, and then I saw Snape coming from the same direction. He was walking very slowly, and his robes were torn, and he had his wand in his hand and the queerest expression on his face."

"So you think they were in the Forest together? Why would they be?"

"I don't know. Couldn't have been a coincidence, though, could it? They were coming up the same path. And something fishy definitely happened there."

"Still, you shouldn't have gone prowling all over the castle at night! Do you realize how much homework we have to do during the holidays? And you are already going to waste one day on chopping lettuce for Flobberworms!"

Dennis shook his head.

"Say what you will, mate, but I'm not going to take my eyes off Snape."