While it might be the first day of spring here in the Nothern Hemisphere I still own nothing! But it is a beautiful day! and the sun is shining! and old man winter won't be around for much longer! Hip, Hip, Hoorah! :)


Chapter Fifty-four

Meeting

As the Headmistress opened the door, Taylor was bent over getting rid of her breakfast.

"What, may I ask, is going on in here?" McGonagall demanded as she eyed the five Gryffindors and one Hufflepuff suspiciously. Tonks and another auror were right behind her.

"Taylor wasn't feeling very well, as well, as you can see." Harry said as he wrinkled his nose. He had to admit the Hufflepuff had come up with an idea fast.

"Why did you not take her right up to Madame Pomfrey then?" McGonagall asked as she eyed them.

"Sorry Professor." Taylor choked out before her stomach heaved again. "I thought I'd be okay in a few minutes but..." was all she could get out before she was sick again.

The Headmistress stared at them all for another long moment before finally saying. "Porter you need to go to the hospital wing. I trust you all will clean that up and make sure Miss Porter gets there without leaving a mess the whole way?"

The four Gryffindors and lone Hufflepuff all nodded.

"You don't want to be late for class. I suggest you hurry along!" As soon as McGonagall and the two aurors were gone there was a collective sigh from the group, except Taylor who was still bent over.

"That was bloody well close!" Ron said a little impressed.

"Here Taylor, use this," Hermione offered as she conjured a bucket and handed it to her sick friend.

"Yeah, too close. You always carry Puking Pansys with you Hunter?" Harry asked, relieved that they hadn't been caught without an excuse.

"One never knows when they might need to get out of class. Taylor, are you alright?" The Hufflepuff asked concerned as he approached the bent over witch.

"Just peachy, Hufflepuff." She croaked between heaves.

"It'll get better soon," Ginny said knowingly as she vanished the mess.

The bell for classes rang and they could hear the thunder of feet as the student body emptied out of the Great Hall.

"We'd better get you to the Hospital wing. We don't want McGonagall getting suspicious." Harry said as he started toward the door.

"I've got Herbology. I've got to go or I'll be late." Ginny explained as she picked up her book bag.

Harry nodded. "Yeah okay Ginny. See you at lunch. Be careful." Ginny waved as she hurried out.

"What do you guys have? I have a double study." The Head Boy asked.

"We've got double Defense." Hermione answered as she picked up her bag, as well as Taylor's.

"Why don't I take Taylor up to see the nurse? That way you won't be late. Pomfrey isn't likely to send her to class anyway." The Hufflepuff offered.

Harry glanced at his sister as she heaved again into the bucket. He didn't want to go. He needed to talk to her about that letter but by the looks of it she wouldn't be up to talking anytime soon. Frowning he stared at the Head Boy for a long moment.

"Fine. Taylor I'll see you at lunch. I think you'd better sit with us. Hufflepuff…" He let the sentence go unsaid but the warning was clear. Look after Taylor.

The Hufflepuff just nodded and helped the red-haired witch out of the classroom and down the hall towards the Hospital wing. When they arrived, Madame Pomfrey was waiting for them. The Headmistress had notified the nurse that they were on their way.

Tsking, the nurse checked Taylor over and then told her to lie down while she went to get some potion.

Lying on the bed, Taylor could feel the effects of the Puking Pansy wearing off and she started to think about the words that had appeared on the letter when she wet it. She had already checked the letter for any more spells, but she had started to wonder why if Snape told her where to meet him, he didn't tell her how she was going to get out of the castle.

Snape would know, as well as she, that the other information wouldn't mean anything except to her. Whereas the way to get out of the castle could be disastrous if it fell into the wrong hands. Then she had remembered how Snape had hidden the way to go on, from her first year, when Harry had gone searching for the Philosopher's Stone. With cool logic. Un-magical, and undetectable.

She used to make secret letters herself with a bit of lemon juice when she was just a little girl. It was impossible to see unless you added water to the paper, a perfectly muggle way to hide something.

Taylor thought about the message that had been written in lemon juice.

The witch, with the hump, for only this night.

The one-eyed witch with the hump, and the secret passage beneath it that lead to the hidden trap door in the basement of Honeydukes in Hogsmeade.

Taylor knew that passage, as well as all the other hidden passages out of the castle, had been sealed up the start of her sixth year. Yet somehow Snape had managed to unseal that passage so she could go see him, tonight.

Thinking quickly she come up with an idea.

Taylor had never played sick before. She really hated being in the hospital and she felt really bad for poor Hunter who blamed himself for giving her the Puking Pansy, when she didn't appear to get better. Still though, she kept up her ruse, even fooling her brother and friends.

That evening the Gryffindor quidditch team had practice, and Taylor had encouraged her brother to go. Which he did reluctantly, taking Ron and Ginny with him. Hermione and Greg both had early patrol tonight and when Taylor faked being asleep, they both left quietly to let her rest and complete their rounds.

A few minutes later she got up and dressed and then went to the nurse's office.

"Madame Pomfrey, I'm feeling a lot better. I think I want to go back to my common room."

The nurse checked her over, and then released her advising her to get a good night's sleep.

Once out of the hospital doors, Taylor wasted no time heading up through the school to Gryffindor Tower. If she were going to go meet Snape then she'd need a few things. Reaching her room she was relieved to see that Lavender wasn't there, as she quickly changed from her school clothes into a pair of dark jeans and a heavy dark sweater. She also grabbed her winter cloak and stuffed it into her school bag.

Glancing around, she saw the picture frame with her aunt and uncle in it, covering the painting of Dumbledore. Pausing, she considered telling her old Headmaster where she was going but decided against it. He wouldn't likely approve.

Grabbing a piece of parchment she quickly wrote a note for her brother. She didn't want him to… well, he'd worry for sure, but he'd know she'd gone at least and planned to return. Sealing it, she put it in her pocket and hurried down the stairs from the girl's dorm and up the stairs to the seventh year's boy's room.

Her luck was holding and no one was in Harry's room. She opened her brother's trunk and rummaged through. She didn't bother with the map or the two-way mirror, but took her father's invisibility cloak and put it in her bag along with a couple of other things she found that she thought she might need. Closing the trunk she put the letter on her brother's pillow, fairly sure that he'd see it when he came up to change out of his quidditch robes.

Then Taylor hurried back down the stairs and across the common room, only pausing when Dean asked her where she was going. "To see a wizard." She answered and knew that anyone who heard her would draw the conclusion that she was going to see the Hufflepuff.

Back out in the corridor, she wasted no time hurrying down through the castle to the one-eyed witch. Heart pounding she looked carefully around before approaching the stone bust. She remembered the password from when she had gone into the passage with Harry in their third year. Tapping her wand on the hump she whispered "Dissendium".

Knowing she could be seen at any moment, she threw her book bag through the opening. A noise down the corridor had her clambering in and dropping to the stone floor beneath with a thump. Trying to control her racing heart, Taylor lit the end of her wand as the hump closed above her, sealing her in the dark tunnel.

Taking a deep breath of the stale air, Taylor picked up her book bag and began walking down the tunnel. She knew it was early in the evening yet but she wanted to put some distance between her and the opening. Plus, if Harry came back early from quidditch he would see her on the map if she wasn't almost to Honeydukes.

She'd only been walking for about five minutes when she thought she heard a noise behind her. Wheeling she stared into the blackness behind her. The fear of the darkness threatened to overpower her once again, like it had when she first escaped from Voldemort and she had to reach for her Gryffindor courage to keep her feet moving forward.

The tunnel was starting to angle upwards when Taylor stopped again. She was almost certain that she would be off the map by now. Resting for a moment she looked at her watch. The quidditch practice would be about over by now and her brother would be returning soon.

Then she heard it again, a faint noise.

Extinguishing her wand, Taylor turned around and waited, listening intently, barely even breathing. Then she heard it again, closer this time. Wand at the ready she waited as different defensive spells went through her mind, stunning spells, shields and powerful jinxes. Soon she could see something, a pinpoint of light bobbing toward her slowly.

It was a lit wand tip.

Taylor thought of hiding under the invisibility cloak but decided against it. Whoever was approaching her was coming from the school and was most likely a student. She needed to find out how they knew about this passage and if they had followed her or had other intentions.

As the light got nearer Taylor was almost positive that it was a lone person. She waited a little longer, knowing that in her dark clothes she would be hard to see if she stood still wand at the ready.

The lit wand was only about thirty feet away when she recognized who it was.

"Hunter! What…" Taylor exclaimed and had to dive to the side as the Hufflepuff fired a stunner at her. "Expelliarmus!" Taylor snapped and caught the Head Boy's wand. "What do you think you are doing?" Taylor demanded as she lit her wand and glared at the tall Hufflepuff.

"Taylor! Bloody Hell! You scared the crap out of me!" the Head Boy yelled as relief swamped his voice.

"What are you doing down here?" Taylor demanded again.

"I could ask you the same thing! Are you crazy going down here all alone?" Hunter demanded.

"No, I'm not crazy. I have a reason. You don't."

"A reason? You've got to be kidding me! You're not really going to meet that Death Eater are you?" The Hufflepuff asked incredulously.

"Give me one good reason why I don't stun you and leave you here until I get back?" Taylor asked in a deadly serious voice.

"Do you even know where this tunnel leads? How can you sneak out of school like this? Potter is going to skin you alive!"

"Yes I know where this tunnel leads. You know why I am leaving and Potter will get over it, eventually. Now about you?" Taylor said in a hard flat voice.

"Do you know how dangerous this is? If anyone should find out… Taylor, please come back with me."

"I can't. This is more important than all of that. I need to go. Go back Greg." Taylor said shaking her head. She knew she couldn't stun him and leave him. She wasn't sure just where the tunnel would seal itself back up and if something should happen to her she couldn't risk him dying down here.

"No. I can't leave you to go off by yourself. You need to come back with me." The Hufflepuff implored as he stepped closer to the witch.

Taylor took a wary step back as she raised her wand. "Hufflepuff, that's close enough! I'm not coming back with you. This is something I have to do."

The Head Boy stared at the determined look on the witch's face and knew there wouldn't be no talking her out of this. He knew he could go back and find Potter but he'd never be fast enough to catch back up with the witch. Not before she reached the other end and apparated away. He didn't have a clue where she was going. The message had obviously meant something to her but not to him, or Potter if he guessed right. He had thought of trying to knock her down but it was plain that she was expecting something like that too.

"I'll come with you."

Taylor stared at the Head Boy, a little shocked. She hadn't expected this. "No. I can't take you with me! I'm going to see a Death Eater for crying out loud! What would your parents think?"

"They'd think I did the only thing I could, to try to keep the girl I love from getting hurt."

Taylor couldn't believe the wizard and said as much.

"Do you think you are the only one willing to die for the ones you love?" The Hufflepuff asked in a hard voice as his eyes bore into the witch's in the wand light.

Taylor shook her head.

"You're either going to have to stun me or take me with you because I am not letting you leave by yourself!"

A muscle along the Hufflepuff's jaw twitched as the two tried to stare the other down.

Finally Taylor snapped, "Fine! But you listen to what I say! If you don't, so help me Hufflepuff, I'll make you wish you'd never been born!" the Head Boy nodded curtly.

Keeping the Hufflepuff's wand for the moment, Taylor pointed down the tunnel. It was a few minutes before they came to the stairs and another ten minutes before they came to the trap door under Honeydukes.

Taylor thought for a moment then handed the Hufflepuff his wand as she pulled the invisibility cloak out of her book bag.

"I'll give this back to you. I have no idea what we will find up there. Keep it ready. Stay under this cloak. We need to get out of Honeydukes before we can apparate away. I'll side-along you. Any questions? Once we open that trap door we won't be able to talk."

The Head Boy was impressed despite himself, with the clear calm voice of the Gryffindor witch. If she was scared or nervous it didn't show one bit. Her plan was simple and straight forward. Get out of the shop and get away. He knew this passage led to the sweet shop in Hogsmeade. He'd used it quite a bit, after finding it in fourth year, to get sweets for their house parties. He had no idea how it was unsealed now or how the Gryffindor knew, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it was in that letter too.

Nodding that he understood, he was impressed again when the witch threw an invisibility cloak around his shoulders and stepped close to get under it herself.

"Will you ever cease to amaze me?" The Head Boy whispered in the witch's ear as he bent so that the cloak would cover them both.

"Shh!" Taylor hissed as she pointed her wand at the trap door and lifted it just a little so that they could peek out.

The basement was dark and relatively empty compared with the last time Taylor had been in there. The only bit of light came from the crack under the door out into the shop. Carefully the two made their way out of the trapdoor and up the stairs to the door. Listening, they couldn't hear anything, so after a few minutes Taylor opened the door just a crack. The evidence that business was bad was all over the shop. Many of the shelves were empty and dust lay on much of the candy that was still left. Only a few bins showed any use. Even the floor was covered in dust. At the moment there was no one in the shop, not even the proprietor.

Opening the door further, Taylor and Greg slipped out and silently shut the door behind them before walking towards the front of the shop and the exit. Taylor knew from years previous that there was a bell above the door that would ring when the door was opened. Looking at all the dust and serious lack of use the store obviously had, she wondered if they would have to chance opening it themselves and making a run for it.

Pausing by the front door Taylor was carefully weighing her options when she heard footsteps on the boardwalk outside. The door swung open and in walked Madame Rosmerta. Acting quickly Taylor caught the door and as fast as possible they slipped out. She didn't wait once outside, but quickly and silently they walked down the boardwalk and to the nearest alley.

Taylor looked around quickly before grabbing the Hufflepuff's arm and fixing a remote apparation point in her mind. She spun.

The bands released and Taylor looked around warily for a moment, then she turned to the Hufflepuff to see, by the faint moonlight that he too had his wand out. Taylor didn't pull the invisibility cloak off, she just whispered.

"When we get where we are going, stay under the cloak and keep quiet. I don't want to scare this person away. They will not take kindly to me bringing you along. Any questions?" She could see the wizard shake his head.

Despite herself ,Taylor was glad to have the Hufflepuff along. He wasn't her brother, but she knew he'd fight if he had too. Plus she wasn't all alone.

Taylor gripped the Hufflepuff's arm again this time fixing the apparation point for Grimmauld Place in her mind before stepping into her spin.

She hated this house. It always gave her the creeps and she didn't care that her brother now owned it. Still, this was where Snape wanted to meet. It was a good location actually. Highly warded. Un-plotable. Unknown to Voldemort. Unused by the Order.

Opening the door, she led the way in and down to the kitchen. It was most likely where Snape would be. Once in the kitchen she slipped out from under the cloak and lit some candles. It still looked creepy but at least she could see. She was just starting to wonder where she should get the Hufflepuff to wait when she heard a noise at the front door.

"Greg!" Taylor hissed and almost screamed when he touched her arm. He must have been following her around the kitchen. "In here!" Taylor whispered as she rushed to the broom cupboard and opened the door. Pushing on his invisible body she pulled the door closed behind him, as she hissed, "Stay!" Turning she stepped away from the cupboard her wand out at the ready.

The kitchen door opened and in walked a dark, fully cloaked Death Eater with their mask in place.

Taylor raised her wand a bit higher as she eyed the Death Eater.

"You came alone. Brave of you, Porter!" the voice altered by the mask was unrecognizable.

"Show me your face before I hex you!" Taylor demanded.

"Ah, arrogant and foolish as always Porter. I'd have thought your stay with us would have beaten some sense into you." The voice said smoothly.

"If you mean you want me to lower my wand and bow down to you, I have news for you!" Taylor snarled.

"I did not come here to fight. I need to know what the crest meant to you."

Taylor watched the Death Eater warily. She couldn't be sure who was hidden behind the mask, but if it was Snape he would need reassurance that it was really her. She knew that this could be a trap too and so she said cautiously, "It was a picture of the spell I used to bind one of you."

"So it was. Though you didn't come alone after all did you? Did you bring Potter with you? Is that who is hidden in the broom cupboard under that invisibility cloak?"

Taylor stepped in front of the cupboard door. "It's no business of yours who is in there. They will stay there. Your business is with me. Now let's get on with it!"

"Porter, I believe you are even more foolish than that brother of yours." The Death Eater slashed his wand and Taylor reacted, throwing up her shield, but whatever the spell was, she felt it sweep through her shield though it didn't seem to hurt her any.

"What did you just do?" Taylor demanded. She wanted to look behind her to make sure that Greg was all right but she didn't dare take her eyes off the Death Eater in front of her.

"I just assured that our conversation would only be between us. I have no intention of this coming back to me. Now…" The Death Eater waved his wand at his face and the mask and the altered voice disappeared. Snape's black eyes bore into Taylor's as he said in his oily voice. "Porter you have become careless. A whisper has reached the Dark Lord's ear that there is a witch who can use the Dark Magic. I believe I warned you before about the perils of allowing this to happen."

Taylor glared at her old professor. "I haven't been using Dark Magic!"

Snape's face turned to a sneer. "How exceedingly like your father you are! Arrogant and oblivious to the world around you. Thinking that only the ones that they are speaking to have ears."

"I wouldn't know! I never had the chance to know my father! You might be able to bait my brother with that but not me! Who are you talking about that knows about my Dark Magic?" Taylor growled meeting Snape's cold black eyes.

"It came from St. Mungo's I do believe."

Taylor stared at her old professor as she thought. "The Curse Breaker that Pomfrey contacted, but that was about a supposed dark curse not Dark Magic. I don't understand."

Snape shook his head as if she were a slow student. "Porter I am disappointed. I thought that you were the smart one of the pair."

Taylor's eyes narrowed but she racked her brains. "Pomfrey knows that I can use Dark Magic. She… would have performed lots of tests after my… but she thought it was a dark curse not the signature from my ability to use Dark Magic. The Curse Breaker… would have known the difference! It was the Curse Breaker who told Voldemort, but because Pomfrey didn't have any consent from my parents, because I don't have any, she couldn't tell the Curse Breaker who I was! Patient confidentiality! Of course! That's why the Curse Breaker wanted to see me so badly. To find out who I am!" Taylor had started to pace as she thought but she stopped and looked at Snape when she finished.

"It is only a matter of time before the Dark Lord discovers who you are and then…" Snape's voice was slow, and oily.

"What? Is he going to come after me?" Taylor asked looking into the black eyes.

"I do not presume to know what the Dark Lord is planning to do with this information when he has it. However, I can assure you that it will not bode well for you, or Potter. It will be just one more tool that he will use to destroy Potter."

Taylor rubbed her hand up over her face. "Snape… ah Sir" Taylor wasn't really sure how to address him. "What am I supposed to do? I don't even understand Dark Magic but yet I can use it! Now Voldemort is going to try to exploit it! What can I do?"

"You Potters are all alike! Always whining about how unfair your lives are! Well life is not fair! Grow up! Accept this gift that you have and stop complaining about it!"

Taylor glared at her old professor as her blood pounded in her ears. "Well, tell me what I am supposed to do with this gift! How can I use it to stop Voldemort? Tell me what I need to know!"

Snape glared at her for a long time before finally saying. "I cannot tell you what I do not know. Though I have studied the Dark Arts extensively, very little is known about Dark Magic. It has unfortunately been lost in time. What I can tell you however is that your ability to use Dark Magic somehow shields your mind from the Dark Lord. Though at this time, he is not aware of this fact."

"Great so the most evil wizard ever can't read my mind! Well that is sure a relief!" Taylor snapped sarcastically.

"Well if you used that head of yours for more then a hat holder, you would know that this is indeed a great advantage! When the time comes and you meet the Dark Lord again, this could prove to be what saves you! Think Porter! Honestly, how our world thinks that a Potter will be its savior is beyond me!" Snape said with great disdain.

"Will you stop trying to insult me and tell me what I need to know!" Taylor demanded with a huff.

The two stared at one another for a while before Snape said in his oily voice. "If you were listening, Porter, I have already told you a great deal."

"Yeah, you told me that Voldemort is trying to find out who can use Dark Magic at school. Unfortunately for me, there are numerous rumors going around the school about Dark Magic and me. All he has to do is ask a Hufflepuff and he'll know or some Slytherin." Taylor sighed. She didn't know what she could do about that. She couldn't control what people thought about her.

"Well, lucky for you the Dark Lord does not frequent the school yard to listen to the insistent chatter of a bunch of underage witches and wizards! However the Dark Lord does have eyes in the school, so you are going to have to remain diligent."

Taylor thought for a few minutes before saying, "The aurors. It's one of the aurors isn't it? Do you know who?"

"Let's just suffice it to say that the Dark Lord has ways of making people do his bidding that will make it next to impossible to discover their identity before it is too late."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me? I saved your life, sure, but you saved mine and Hermione's so that makes us even." Taylor asked perplexed as she voiced the thought that had been bugging her since getting the letter.

Snape stared at her for a long time, his eyes slowly traveling over her from her toes to her head, but not at her eyes. When he finally spoke his voice was low, reverent almost. "You look so much like your mother. You even have many of her mannerisms. She used to pace when she wanted to think and chewed on her bottom lip when she was nervous. I don't know how I didn't see it sooner." His voice became harsher as he continued. "It is the eyes. You have Potter's eyes. He also stamped you with his arrogance, stealing away Lily's sweetness! He stole her from me! Poisoned her mind!"

Taylor stood rooted to the spot staring at the man who had been her professor for six years.

"Sweet gentle Lily. Potter was jealous! Righteous and arrogant! He wouldn't even let her talk to me! When I heard the prediction… The Dark Lord said he would not hurt her… I never meant for her to get hurt…"

Stunned Taylor could only stare back, as she saw the anger turn to horror and then the self-condemnation on the wizard's face. When his black eyes finally met hers she could see the torment in them.

Snape turned away from her and when he spoke again his voice was flat, expressionless. "Here is the book that you have been searching for. Show it to no one that you do not trust with your very life! If I ever have need to contact you again…" Taylor jumped as the wizard in front of her brandished his wand. The incantation fell from his lips as a large white doe erupted from his wand to canter around the kitchen. "I suggest you get back to the school before midnight. If you don't you will not get in. Goodbye Porter."

Taylor watched as Snape started towards the door, shocked to her core about what she had just discovered. "You loved Lily. You loved my mother…" She wasn't even aware that she said it out loud until Snape wheeled and pinned her with a look of such hatred that she gasped.

"You will do well to keep that to yourself!" Wheeling he went out of the kitchen and the front door closed with a bang before Taylor recovered enough from her shock to move at all.


A/N So Snape told Taylor about loving Lily! As well about a spy in the school... So what do you think? Taylor is being her typical leap without thinking self! Though if circumstances were different I have very little trouble seeing Harry doing about the same thing and sneaking out of Hogwarts! Hope you liked it!

Thanks to those who left a review! And Alerted and Favorited! And for reading... at over 224000 words now I know this is a long story! So I really do apperciate you sticking with it all this way! There is much more to come too! Also Thank you to my wonderful beta, barbc who is reading this story for the second time! The first she was just giving me feed back now she is doing corrections for me! Well until next time, cytpotter.