~OOooOO~

"Attention Everyone!" Minerva McGonagall's voice rang out over the student's conversations; they immediately quieted and looked to the head table. Minerva nodded, thanking them, and then drew breath to impart her news. "As of today, Headmaster Dumbledore will be taking an extended leave of absence from Hogwarts. His health is in question and he made the decision to take this leave with the approval of the Hogwarts' Board of Governors. I will be assuming the position of Temporary Headmistress and Professor Snape will be filling my position as the Temporary Deputy Headmaster." Small conversations broke out all across the Great Hall; many were wondering what was wrong with the Headmaster, others were wondering just what this would mean for the school.

Severus watched the Slytherin table closely, noting who smiled and who didn't. He saw the look of abject fear on two of his Slytherins' faces and made a mental note to speak with Theodore Nott and Tracey Davis at some point that evening. He didn't know if their fear was because of Albus leaving or because he had been appointed Deputy Headmaster; he needed to know if they were, like Goyle, afraid of becoming Death Eaters or if they were simply neutral and didn't like that a known Death Eater had been given such a high position.

Severus looked to his right and noticed the smug look on the face of Devon McAndrews; the Astronomy Professor had returned to the school the prior day and had immediately sought Severus out.

"Devon...to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I've been asked to tutor one of the Slytherins and wished to find out which subject the child needs assistance in."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "I was not aware that one of my students required tutoring; which one is it?"

"Gregory Goyle. His father asked me to see that the boy understood everything. I believe that his father thinks that Mr. Goyle is not applying himself as he should be."

"Ah, Mr. Goyle. You may write to his father to let him know that your assistance is not necessary. Mr. Goyle came to me and asked for my help with his classes. I believe that I will be more than adequate to tutor Mr. Goyle in any other subjects that the boy wishes to learn more about." Severus stressed the word 'subjects' slightly, so that the other man understood that Severus would also be speaking to Goyle about joining his father amongst the Death Eater ranks.

Professor McAndrews smiled and nodded his head. "I had wondered if you had heard. I believe that Mr. Goyle will be safe in your more than capable hands. I will write to his father at once."

Severus inclined his head slightly, thanking McAndrews for the compliment, and left.

Severus now knew that he would have to be on his guard around Devon McAndrews; just what position he held within the Death Eater ranks Severus had not yet determined. He had spoken with Minerva and they had decided that Professor Devon McAndrews would have to be taken care of; there could not be a loyal Death Eater on the staff at Hogwarts.

Severus leaned forward slightly and caught Remus' eye. Remus nodded and made a gesture to his watch indicating that they would meet after their second class. They both had a free period at that time and would discuss this then. Severus nodded in his direction and then applied himself to his breakfast.

Two hours later, Severus answered a knock at his office door. He opened it and ushered Remus inside quickly; he wanted no one to see the werewolf speaking with him. Once Remus had settled in a chair and Severus had warded and silenced the room, he turned to face Remus. "McAndrews all but admitted to me that he is a Death Eater. Minerva and I decided last evening that he will have to be taken care of. I think that this is something that is right up the Mutt's alley."

"I agree...if he's the one who has been poisoning Albus, he needs to go. I'll get Sirius here and we can talk more about how much he can do."

"Do you think he could drain him so much that McAndrews cannot function as a teacher here?"

Remus chuckled. "I know he can. After a few sessions with Sirius, McAndrews won't be able to think straight, let alone teach anybody anything. Sirius will know when to stop, so that he doesn't drain all of his magic, just most of it. We'll have to let Poppy know that she shouldn't do anything to heal McAndrews when he goes to her."

"I'll talk to her...you talk to your Mutt." The two men parted ways, Remus leaving via the floo and Severus stepping into his quarters. They had to be quick about this or they risked McAndrews learning about Draco. Not that anyone else really knew what was going on, but that was something that Severus couldn't allow to happen. Like Harry, Draco must be kept safe.

~OOooOO~

Harry was bored. He had finished all of his homework and was waiting for Professor McGonagall to come for his Transfiguration lesson. He heard a sound at the door and, knowing that it wasn't time for his lesson, he levered himself off of the bed and crawled into the closet, his legs dragging behind him. He cast a disillusionment spell on himself and waited; if it was someone who was supposed to be in Charlie's rooms, they would make their presence known to him. He heard nothing other than the sound of something rustling in the living room. He tried to breathe as quietly as possible, but he was beginning to hurt; he must have bumped something when he was trying to get to the closet.

Devon McAndrews peeked his head around the door and looked around Harry's room; not seeing the boy anywhere, he confidently strode into the room and looked even further, taking note of the exercise equipment. Harry watched this and held his wand at the ready; if McAndrews came any closer to his hiding place, Harry was going to stun him. The teacher snorted slightly at the muggle equipment and turned to walk closer to the closet. Harry quietly cast a stunning spell at the teacher and smirked as the man dropped to the ground; he dragged himself out of the closet and cast the full body bind on the incapacitated man. He heard the sound of the floo activating and panicked; he didn't have the strength to get back into the closet. He looked around frantically, trying to figure out where to go when he heard a strangled gasp come from the doorway; he looked up and pointed his wand at the person standing there.

~OOooOO~

Severus was teaching the third year Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff class when Minerva fire-called him. He dismissed the students and allowed the call.

"What is it Minerva?"

"I need you in Charlie's quarters at once! Something has happened." Her head disappeared from the flames.

Severus threw some powder into the hearth and stepped into the floo, calling "Professor Weasley's quarters!" as he went. After a small bit of spinning, he stepped out into Charlie's rooms to see Poppy running scans over Harry, who was lying on the sofa. Minerva called him into Harry's room and he left the room to see what Minerva had found. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Devon McAndrews lying on the floor, unconscious and in a body bind.

"I found him like this with Harry on the floor next to him. Harry had heard someone come in to the rooms by the door and, knowing that I would come by floo, he got himself off of the bed and dragged himself into the closet. He said that McAndrews looked around before coming to where Harry was hiding; he stunned McAndrews and then put him into the body bind. That's when I got here. Severus, what do we do?"

"First of all, is Harry injured?"

"He hurt himself by getting off of the bed, but he knew that he couldn't be found there; he would have been too vulnerable. Poppy's taking care of him, as you saw. What do we do with him?" She indicated the man on the floor. "We can't have him see you in here, but you're the only one who knows Legilimency well enough to basically force a confession out of him."

"No, I can't do that. Lupin and I came up with a plan. Get him and Black over here immediately. Someone needs to inform Charlie that Harry is hurt again, if the bond hasn't told him already." They both heard the sound of the door slamming against the wall as it was thrown open.

"Harry! Poppy, what happened?" Charlie's voice was distraught and he didn't allow the medi-witch time to answer him. "What happened? Is he alright? What happened?"

Minerva and Severus walked out into the living room and Minerva explained what had happened. Severus told him what Sirius was going to do and how it would affect the Death Eater. While Minerva fire-called Remus and Sirius, Poppy walked into the bedroom and placed an even stronger spell on the man to keep him unconscious until Sirius could arrive. Charlie carefully picked Harry up and moved him into his own bedroom; he would be switching rooms with Harry, if he found his room to have too many bad memories now.

Sirius and Remus arrived and immediately headed into Harry's room. They locked themselves in and silenced the room, so that no one would know exactly what had gone on in there. Twenty minutes later, Sirius walked out, followed by Remus. "Poppy? There's a man on the floor in there who needs your help. I didn't take it too far, but that's only because Remy stopped me; he wanted to hurt my godson, that's unforgivable." Sirius walked out of the room, followed closely by Remus. Everyone left them alone; no one wanted to be that close to an angry psychic vampire.