You promise to behave yourself?" Daphne eyed Harry "After all you do have form when it comes to these things"
"I promise" Harry replied "I don't blame him as such. But I would like to hear what he has to say"
They continued walking in silence, hand in hand in the early morning mist until they reached the school gardens where Hagrid was tending the pumpkin patch. The pumpkins were huge, promising an uninterrupted supply of pumpkin juice for the foreseeable future. Daphne shuddered at the thought.
"Hello Harry" Hagrid said cheerfully as he watched them approach "And Miss Greengrass isn't it?"
Daphne felt Harry tense up at Hagrid's casual use of his first name. She squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"Yer a bit early for class you know" Hagrid continued "It doesn't start for another couple of hours yet"
"We thought we would come early to introduce ourselves" Daphne said politely "We have never been formally introduced, but we have of course seen you around the school."
"Well, I am a bit hard to miss" Hagrid said in response "But I have known Harry here since he was a wee young tike. It was me that rescued him from the ruins of his parent's house after..." his voice trailed off "Well after you know who..."
"After Voldemort murdered my parents, you mean" Harry said harshly.
He took a deep breath. "You were the first one there?" Harry asked, his voice a lot less accusatory.
"Yes, I was" Hagrid replied sadly "Sirius had loaned me his motorcycle, yer see"
"How did you know to go and get Harry" Daphne asked.
"Dumbledore told me what had happened and said I was to go and collect Harry and take him to his Aunt's place" Hagrid replied "They're muggles you know"
"Yes" Daphne said "I did know that"
"Do you still have the motorcycle?" Harry asked.
It was not the question he wanted to ask. What he wanted to ask is how Dumbledore knew that his parents were dead. He wanted to ask why Dumbledore didn't take him away from the house himself. He wanted to ask why Dumbledore had dumped Harry on the door step of his muggle relatives and not taken him to his god father, or into the protection of Hogwarts until things had settled down.
Harry was struggling to keep his temper under control, but it was not Hagrid he was mad at, it was Dumbledore. It always came back to Dumbledore. Hagrid was just a man of unflinching loyalty being misused by an expert manipulator.
"I do have it actually" Hagrid said, his face lighting up. "Got it stashed away in the castle. Bin waiting for Sirius to ask for it back now that he has been released from Azkaban." He said the last word with a bit of a shudder, he was scared of that place. And with the dementors now roaming the grounds he was having nightmares about being locked up there.
"Well Lord Black would probably appreciate its return" Harry said "it would go some way towards an apology, from a friend that abandoned him when he needed him most."
That was his final word on the matter with Hagrid, who was now looking abashed at having been called out on his treatment of Sirius. Harry was also aware of Daphne's frown at his harsh words.
"So, what do you have in-store for us this morning?" Daphne asked "Your first lesson as a Professor after all"
"Ah, well. Do I have a treat for you" Hagrid replied happy for the change of subject "It was going to be a bit of a surprise, but to be honest it will be good to get your thoughts. Want to make a good impression after all. Come and have a look at these."
Hagrid led them back towards his hut. As they approached there was a loud barking coming from inside, accompanied by scratching at the door.
"Blimey, daft bugger has locked himself in again " Hagrid said and climbed the stairs to open the door for the large boarhound that raced out and tore down the stairs. Obviously happy to be free, he tore around the hut a couple of times, barking madly, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth. On completion of his second lap, he seemed to realise that there were people watching him. New people. He stopped in his tracks and stared at Daphne and Harry, before charging directly towards them, leaping at Harry who was the nearest.
Harry stood his ground as the large dog put a front paw on each of his shoulder and tried to lick Harry's face. Harry was not worried, it was obvious that Fang was not the least bit dangerous, although with the amount of drool dripping from the sides of his mouth, his robes were in danger of being ruined.
"Get down you mad dog" Hagrid said pulling him off Harry and away from the pair "Sorry about that" he apologised to Harry "He doesn't get many visitors. It just me here"
Harry laughed "Maybe if he improved his manners a bit"
"Nah, he is to set in his ways to learn how to behave" Hagrid replied "A bit like meself now that I think about it"
"Nonsense" Daphne said as she looked at Fang who was now looking a bit downcast beside Hagrid. She crouched down and called Fang to her.
"Come here you handsome boy" she said to Fang who bounded towards her eagerly with his tail wagging frantically.
He managed to get up to full speed in a couple of bounds, and being larger than Daphne he looked certain to bowl Daphne over until... "Sit!" Daphne commanded firmly while holding her hand up.
Miraculously, Fang pulled up just in time. He stared at Daphne who told him to "Sit!" again just as firmly.
Fangs' backside lowered to the ground.
"That's a good boy" she told him. He seemed pleased and his tongue lolled out of his mouth again. "You are a good boy" Daphne reaffirmed for him.
"Are you a clever boy?" She asked holding out her palm face up in front of his right paw "Who's a clever boy?"
Fang gave a small bark and lifted his right paw and placed it in Daphne's hand, it was so large it over flowed. Daphne held it for a couple of seconds before letting it go. She laughed and stood up ruffling his ears.
"Well, I never" said Hagrid
"So, Professor, what was it you were going to show us?" Daphne asked Hagrid who was staring at Fang in amazement.
"You're going to love this" Hagrid said excitedly "Although you must be quiet and do exactly as I say"
Harry shared a told you so look with Daphne. there had been some consternation amongst the students over what Hagrid classes would be like. Due to his size, Hagrid seemed to have no concept of personal safety. And they had all heard the story of Fluffy from Fred and George. Even with the twin's penchant for exaggeration, nobody wanted that to be one of their lessons to include how to care for an enormous three headed dog, or heaven forbid an acromantula.
They rounded the corner of Hagrid's hut and there, standing at the edge of the forbidden forest, was a small herd of hippogriffs, five in total, four beautiful chestnut-coloured females and a stormy grey male. As Hagrid approached the herd, they all turned as one to stare warily at the overly large creature approaching them.
"Aren't they magnificent!" Hagrid exclaimed loudly, startling the herd. He turned to look at Daphne and Harry, sure that they would be just as excited as he was. They were not there. Looking around further he saw them standing at the corner of his hut where they had wisely stopped as soon as they had seen the herd.
"Oh, come on you two. They won't bite" Hagrid reassured them, only to have the large male contradict him instantly by nipping his hand with an extremely sharp beak.
"Behave Buckbeak" Hagrid said ignoring the blood dripping from his injured hand. Buckbeak reared up at him, the talons on one of Buckbeak's front legs slicing off a section of Hagrid's bushy beard.
"Buckbeak!" Hagrid admonished him, while backing away slightly. "I don't know what has got into him" Hagrid said over his shoulder to Daphne and Harry "We should leave them to settle a bit."
He slowly backed away, keeping himself between the riled herd and Daphne and Harry. "Perhaps we should head inside to discuss the lesson"
"Imagine if that had of been one of your third-year students" Harry said pointing to Hagrid's hand which was now wrapped in a rag and had appeared to have stopped bleeding.
They were sitting in Hagrid's hut, Daphne and Harry in one of Hagrid's overly large armchairs, Fang laying at Daphne's feet. Daphne was looking around the hut, it was a wand and potion maker's dream with all sorts of items from magical creatures casually hung up or laying in piles on the floor. Daphne had already spotted unicorn tail hair, thestral mane, and a couple of acromantula fangs.
"Yer could be right" Hagrid looked downcast, he had been so excited to show off the hippogriffs "But they really are friendly once you get to know them"
"They would be perfect for your senior students" Harry offered "The sort of challenge you would expect when doing your OWLs and NEWTs"
"Well alright then, better to be safe I guess" Hagrid didn't seem overly convinced, but glad to for the opportunity to view his lesson from the student point of view "But it is almost time for your lesson, what am I going to show you then. I mean Fang here is interesting and all, but I really wanted your first lesson to be a bit fun. Can't have students dropping the subject after one lesson, can I?"
"Well now that you mention it, how about the little guy hiding behind that sack of potatoes" Daphne said pointing to the dark corner where she had spotted a pair of shining eyes peeking out at her.
"Oh no you don't, my tubby little friend" Daphne said grabbing the stout body before it could reach its target. "You just stick to your own patch" She placed the black furry creature back onto the large pile of wooden crates. Like a flash it was gone, seeming to have disappeared completely until Daphne spotted the lid of a crate open slightly with the little creature sliding through the small gap belying its portly appearance. There was a good amount of scuffling and it reappeared seconds later looking very pleased with itself.
Daphne picked it up again, holding it in one hand she held out the other. "What did you find?" she asked the young niffler. It shook its head, denying it found anything at all. Daphne laughed "Do we have to go through this every time?" she asked it before deftly flipping its back feet to face skyward catching the leprechaun gold galleons that slid out of its pouch.
As she righted it again, it stared at her with sad watery eyes. Daphne however had fallen for this before and reacted just in time to stop it as it made for her necklace again. She had declined Hagrid's offer to put it in his moke skin pouch with all the other student's shiny and/or valuable items before the lesson began. Daphne handed off the niffler to Harry for his turn, and looked around at the other students.
All around her, her class mates were dealing with their nifflers with varying degrees of success. The rather large family of nifflers that had been in Hagrid's hut were putting the students through their paces on the practical part of what was turning out to be a very successful lesson.
Hagrid had started the hastily put together lesson very nervously, leading them through the textbook description of what a niffler was, what they eat, where to find them, and their obsession with shiny objects. But a few astute questions from Susan, who was doing Creatures as a requirement for the Aurors, soon had Hagrid leaving the textbook and providing answers from his vast store of knowledge gained from decades devoted to looking after magical creatures. Pretty soon there were questions from nearly all the students, most relieved that the lesson wasn't on dragons or something as dangerous. Admittedly, the questions were mainly about how to use a niffler to rob various places, but at least the students were engaged in the lesson.
Susan and Neville, another auror to be, had the father of the litter of younger ones. He was a wily old boy with some grey showing in his glossy black fur. It took all their combined skill to try and get him to give up the gold that he had found in the mound of dirt that he had dug up in front of them. They weren't having any luck, he seemed to have not found any gold despite Daphne knowing that there was gold down there as they had helped Hagrid hid it just before the lesson. Daphne guessed that while the niffler was tunnelling in the dirt, he had connected his freshly dug excavation to his underground burrow, and had been stashing the gold there before returning to Susan and Neville seemingly empty handed.
The other students appeared to be having more luck with the younger ones, Ron Weasley was greedily stuffing the galleons his and Seamus' niffler was willingly giving them into his robes, unaware that being leprechaun gold it would vanish after a few hours. After handing Ron the gold, his niffler would make a show of diving into the huge heap of leaves in front of them, digging and flicking leaves everywhere, mostly at Ron and Seamus, before sneaking out the back of the heap and into Ron's robes to steal the gold it had just given him. Ron and Seamus were clueless.
Everyone seemed to be having a great time, the first outdoor gathering since the new year and the new rules had begun, until…
"Get away from me you bloody ferret!" Draco yelled at the niffler who was trying to get at the shiny object hanging from the chain around Draco's neck. Draco was by himself, a little way away from the other students who had taken to ignoring him after his disgraceful performance in Saturday's duel. It was only some of the older Slytherins who talked to him now, along with Pansy of course, but she wasn't taking Creatures, so Draco had no study partner for the lesson.
"Aghhh!" Draco yelled in frustration as the older female niffler was not to be dissuaded, avoiding all Draco's attempts to catch it, while focusing on getting its paws on that brilliant shining object. Every time he grabbed hold of the little creature, its glossy pelt enabled it to slip through his hands and make a fresh attempt. This went on for at least five minutes with Draco getting louder and more furious with every attempt by the niffler who seemed to think it was some kind of game until Draco drew his wand shouting at the little creature.
"I am going to kill you, you little…" Draco didn't get to finish the sentence. In his anger he hadn't noticed the air around them getting colder until Lavender let out a horrified scream causing everyone to freeze and look around at her obvious distress.
Then almost as one, everyone started screaming and pointing at the line of dementors gliding straight towards them from the edge of the forbidden forest. Or more accurately straight towards Draco.
Hagrid immediately strode forward, imposing his bulk between his students and the dementors. Fang, defying his cowardly reputation, by his side.
"Harry, get the students into my hut" he yelled to Harry "You will be safe in there"
He clutched the pendant around his neck, which had been charmed as an emergency call to Dumbledore for just such an occasion.
Harry and Daphne managed to get all the students into the hut in a remarkably short time, except for Ron and Seamus who were arguing that they should be trying to get back to the castle. All the while Hagrid had been retreating as the dementors advanced, but now he was back at the steps of his hut and time had run out. He grabbed the scruff of Ron's robes in one hand, Seamus' in the other and carried them up the steps, bounding up two at a time, and practically threw them through the door. He grabbed the enormously heavy door, preparing to slam it shut.
"Harry, Daphne" He yelled "Get inside now!"
But it was too late, the dementors surged forward, seeing their final prey escaping. Hagrid quickly slammed the door shut to protect the students already in the hut and turned to face the dementor that had floated up the steps after him. He froze as the dementor floated to within inches of his face, it appeared to study him.
The remaining dementors came after Daphne and Harry who now had their backs against Hagrid's hut.
Without even thinking, Harry's thestral wand flew into his hand, the tip glowing in preparation for the parseltongue version of the incendio spell that he had used on the dementor on the train. Harry's intent enough to get the spell to the point of casting, but requiring the incantation to be spoken aloud, as all the parseltongue spells he had tried to caste seemed to demand.
The sight of the young wizard with the glowing green eyes, the wild hair, with wand in hand was enough to forestall the swarm of dementors, their collective consciousness recalling the memory of the excruciatingly painful death of their kin at the hands of this very same wizard. For creatures of the dark, to be consumed by a fire so hot and so bright your very soul was burnt was their greatest fear.
The shared experience of pain and death had caused great fear and dismay among them. It had been many years since they had felt this fear, the passing of the last snake speaker had freed them from the servitude that he had demanded of them in exchange for their continued existence. But here was another with the power of life and death before them.
They stopped advancing and hovered patiently in place, waiting for the command that they would be compelled to follow. For they did not doubt this wizard's resolve at all, they had already tested him and he had not hesitated for an instant to kill one of them to protect himself and his mate. The fact that she was standing beside him now only reinforced the view that their lives hung in the balance.
Harry held his wand before him, the spell yet uncast. He watched the dementors as they hovered before them. Why did they stop? He took a step forward watching the reaction of the Dementors, whilst they didn't back away, they appeared to flinch as one. He felt a presence inside his mind, stopped by his occlumency shields. Were they trying to read his mind? Is that why they were just waiting there? Were they wondering what he was going to do?
He lowered his wand a fraction, still ready to caste but not as threatening a posture, they seemed to visibly relax, as much as a terrifying seven-foot soul sucking skeletal creature can look relaxed. Despite himself Harry smiled at that thought. The dementors saw that smile and it terrified them.
Harry eased his mind shield just enough for his thought to escape "You will leave" he demanded, feeling a bit strange commanding them like that, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. Despite the fact there were half a dozen of them and he was just a thirteen-year-old boy. Is this how the Ministry controls them? he wondered, the thought morphing into wondering if the Ministry actually control them at all? Or did the dementors just follow the orders that suited their own purposes?
Harry watched their reaction, raising his wand back to the casting position, just in case.
The Dementors backed up a few feet as one.
"You will return to your patrol outside the Hogwarts wards" Harry thought more forcefully, his wand glowing brighter. His next move would have to be to caste the spell. A last resort, for experience had shown that this would result in him passing out, drained of his magic. Not really what he wanted when faced with dementors.
He took another step forward causing the dementors to, well not flee, but certainly to move with purpose. Harry watched with relief as they returned to the edge of the forbidden forest where the wards ended. The tension that had been building up inside his body was suddenly released, causing him to almost collapse to the ground, it was only Daphne's quick reaction, putting her arm around his waist, that saved him from falling.
It was at this point that Dumbledore finally came rushing up to the rescue, just a little too late as always.
"Where did they go?" he asked Hagrid whilst gasping for breath.
"You scared them off, Professor" Daphne said her voice strained with the effort of holding Harry up.
Dumbledore looked surprised, it seemed exceedingly unlikely as he had seen them flee whilst he was still some distance away. He studied Daphne and Harry who were standing just in front of the Hagrid's hut from where the students were now emerging, they had obviously put themselves between the dementors and their class mates. He had read the aurors report about what had happened on the Hogwarts express, this is the second time that they had done this if the official record of events was to be believed. Yet here they were, arm in arm as if they were on a date, not having just faced a swarm of dementors. It was this casualness that disturbed him the most.
Harry latched on to Daphne's quick thinking, the last thing he wanted was for rumours about what happened to start spreading around the school. Well rumours about himself.
"They must have seen you coming, Sir" Harry said to the Headmaster "They are obviously terrified of you"
This was overheard by the students who were emerging from the hut and were now milling around, still looking nervous, but relieved that help in the form of Dumbledore had arrived.
Some of the Gryffindors amongst the students actually cheered Dumbledore upon hearing that he had saved them, boasting about a Gryffindor to the rescue and how that was twice that the students of Hogwarts had been rescued from dementors by a Gryffindor. The Gryffindors had been quite unbearable ever since they found out that their new favourite professor, Professor Lupin, was not just a brilliant teacher but had also been a Gryffindor prefect.
"It was actually Professor Hagrid who saved us" Susan pointed out "Here stood between them and us giving us time to get to the safety of his hut"
"Well, he is a crazy Gryffindor as well, isn't he" Neville said with a laugh.
"I noticed these two Snakes weren't anywhere to be seen" Ron said nastily while looking at Daphne and Harry "Probably hiding under Hagrid's bed"
This brought a laugh from Seamus, and a smattering of titters from others. Daphne just rolled her eyes and tried to ignore him. The strain of holding up Harry preventing her from retaliating further. Ron will keep.
"I guess that end the lesson" Hagrid said looking slightly disappointed that it had been cut short in such dramatic fashion. "You should be getting to yer next class"
"I will take them Hagrid, make sure they get back to the castle safely" Dumbledore said, easily slipping back into the role of the superior wizard, after the brief moment of doubt upon seeing Harry face down the dementors. But maybe he just imagined that, or in the moment it seemed more than it was. He knew he would be spending a few long hours this evening revisiting that memory.
"Come on children, gather your things, don't want to be late for your next class" he said basking in the looks of hero worship he saw in their faces. Well, most of their faces, Daphne and Harry did not seem impressed, and neither did miss Bones or mister Longbottom.
Daphne and Harry walked slowly over to Hagrid, Harry was walking easier now and appearances must be kept. "Thank you, Professor Hagrid, that was a great lesson" Daphne said "And thank you for keeping everyone safe" She gave him a big smile.
"Yes, thank you Professor, those nifflers were neat" Harry said then paused before adding "And thank you for your honesty earlier. I see why my mum and dad liked and trusted you so much" Harry looked at Hagrid for a moment longer before giving him a nod and together they turning to head towards the castle.
The rest of the students approached Hagrid to retrieve their personal items they had given to him for safe keeping. They all thanked him for a great lesson and for keeping them safe from the dementors. It didn't appear that any of them would be changing their elective from Creatures just yet.
"You look terrible" Daphne said quietly on the walk back. Harry was now able to walk by himself unsupported, but they were still arm in arm just in case. They were a little separated from the rest of the students so she wasn't concerned about being overheard. "Will you be ok?"
"I think so" Harry replied with a wince, just the effort of talking exacerbated his headache. "The dementors really took it out of me. I have a splitting headache and feel mentally and physically drained. Weasley could beat me at the moment" he said with a laugh, regretting it instantly.
"We should take you to see madam Pomfrey" Daphne said, more in hope than anything else. Harry's response was the expected "Hell no!"
"Did you see when Draco disappeared" Harry asked more to change the subject than anything else.
"No" Daphne replied "I know he went into Hagrid's hut, he was one of the first in there the bloody coward. But as he didn't come back out again, it must have been while they were all in there. We can ask Neville and Susan in the Broom Cupboard tonight"
Their group had decided to call the Room of Requirements "The Broom Cupboard" much to the embarrassment of some who blushed every time it was mentioned. For now, they had decided not to tell any of the other students about the room. A selfish decision maybe, but they wanted to see how it went first, not willing to give the room up to the unappreciative masses just yet.
They walked on in silence, Daphne holding Harry's arm tightly, not wanting to talk about what had happened with the dementors until they could find a place where they wouldn't be overheard, Not easy in the castle.
Upon reaching the entrance hall, the students split up and starting heading towards their next classes.
"Just a minute Harry, I would like a word with you in my office" Dumbledore said to Harry.
"Imagine that" Harry muttered under his breath. "Of course, Sir" he replied with a smile on his face. He wasn't really in any shape to fend off Dumbledore in the state he was in, but thankfully Daphne was with him, still holding his arm. They started to head towards the stairs.
"No, not you Miss Greengrass" Dumbledore said to Daphne "You run along to your next class, no point in you both missing it" Dumbledore smiled to himself, quite pleased with that little manoeuvre to split them up and get a chance at Harry alone.
"Of course, Headmaster" Daphne replied before turning to Harry "You can share my notes if you ask nicely" she laughed as he stuck his tongue out at her, something he hadn't done since they were young. She leaned in to hug him and whispered "Sure you don't want to change your mind about going to the infirmary?"
Harry was seriously considering it, especially with the way Dumbledore was looking at him. It must have been obvious to him that Harry was not at his best, all those years of experience would not let him miss such an opportunity.
"Ahh miss Greengrass, mister Potter, I have found you" Professor Snape came swooping down the stairs "I need to see you in my office immediately"
"I was just going to have a chat with Harry, Severus. Can't it wait?" Dumbledore snapped irritably.
"Mr Potter and Miss Greengrass are required to attend to a family matter." Snape said "I am afraid it is quite urgent"
Snape turned his back on Dumbledore to look at Daphne and Harry, he gave a very slight shake of his head, so small that it was barely noticeable and he stared intently at them hoping they won't ask for more details in front of Dumbledore. He needn't have worried, they had no intention of saying anything in front of the headmaster.
Dumbledore gritted his teeth. Attend to a Family Matter. How he hated that phrase. It was the excuse that pure bloods used to get out of any situation, and there was nothing he could do about without being accused of not respecting tradition. "Of course, Severus. Maybe I can have that word with Harry latter then?"
Severus just ignored the request and turned away and started walking briskly towards his office, followed by Daphne and Harry, both relieved to be away from Dumbledore but now concerned over what was so urgent.
Following Snape into his office and he closed the door behind them. Putting his index finger to his lips, indicating they should be quiet, he drew his wand and waved it in a series of complex movements while muttering under his breath. They watched as the perimeter of the office door glowed blue and the walls took on a light blue tinge before the colour faded away.
"We will be safe to talk now" Snape faced them indicating to the armchairs in front of the fire place. Harry collapsed thankfully into his, it was good to get the weight off his tired legs, now if he could only stop his head from pounding.
"Firstly, everyone is fine, and everything is ok. I apologise if I caused you two any distress, but it was the only way to get you away from the Headmaster."
Daphne and Harry were relieved and told him so "Thank you professor, but why the urgency?" Harry asked.
Snape sat back in his chair, trying to decide how to approach this. In the end he decided the direct approach would probably work best.
"I saw, mister Potter" Snape told him "I witnessed everything"
Daphne and Harry froze in their chairs, their faces not revealing the shock of that statement, while they were thinking furiously about what he had just said. What could he have seen? Up until that point they thought that all they had to worry about was what Hagrid would tell someone, and what Dumbledore himself had seen.
The students in the hut would not have seen anything, and would believe the Dumbledore to the rescue story. No doubt backed up by an article in the Daily Prophet about the whole incident.
They weren't too worried about Hagrid, he would have been more concerned about the dementor right in front of him to see anything or to recall any other details. And with his Dumbledore hero worship he would probably believe that it was Dumbledore who scared the dementors off.
Dumbledore's line of sight from the castle entrance may have been partially obscured by Hagrid's hut, with the chances of him seeing anything of significance being doubtful. Probably why he wanted to get Harry alone to interrogate him.
"I see" Harry finally replied "And what do you think you saw" it came out a bit more aggressively than Harry had intended. The shock of Snape's admission combined with his current condition, made him glad that this was not Dumbledore sitting opposite him.
"I was in the astronomy tower" Snape explained "I saw you two, through a telescope, face down a pack of dementors and saw them retreat back to their station. And before you ask, I wasn't spying on you, I was merely keeping an eye on Hagrid's first lesson at the request of the headmistress"
Again, his statement was greeted by blank face stares. He tried again.
"I don't want to know the details" Snape reassured them "I don't expect you to explain anything. I just want you to know that I saw what happened and I am concerned about your welfare.
If that reassured them, it didn't show in their faces.
"But I have to say, the last time I saw anything like that, it was the dark lord ordering attacks by the dementors" Snape finally got to the point he wanted to make.
Realisation flared on their faces.
"I am not a Dark Lord" Harry stated flatly.
"I don't think you are, mister Potter" Snape hurriedly reassured him "But there are those that would if a true account of what transpired was to became public knowledge"
"You know, I didn't order them to do anything" Harry said stretching the truth.
"Yes, I saw that you didn't say anything to them" Snape agreed "But the dark lord didn't either. He ordered them to do his bidding with his thoughts"
"I AM NOT…" Harry practically yelled and jumped to his feet.
"We know, Harry" Daphne put her hand on his arm "We know you're not a dark lord"
Harry collapsed back into his chair, all pretence of being fine forgotten.
"If I may mister Potter, I have an idea" Snape said hesitantly "It is well known that dementors read minds – could they have seen that you are a parseltongue?"
Harry thought about that "I don't know if my thoughts were in parseltongue or not. But surely that would not have been enough to drive them off. After all, like you say they can read everyone's thoughts. And I am sure that during an attack everyone's mind is screaming for them to go away and leave them alone."
"It was what you did on the train" Daphne said before covering her mouth with her hand as if to try and put the words back in, horrified at such an indiscretion. Obviously she had been more affected by the dementors than she realised, something to bear in mind for any future encounters.
"It's ok, Daphne" Harry said, glad to be able to talk about this finally "You could be right, I had the same spell in mind as the one I used on the train"
"Could they have some sort of hive mind?" Daphne asked Harry "Could they have known what you did to that one on the train?"
They looked towards Snape for answers
"A collective consciousness would certainly explain some of their behaviour" Snape admitted "I am afraid I am not an expert on dementors. There are not many people who are, maybe there is someone in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry who would know."
"Yes, I was thinking the same thing." Harry said nodding along, Croaker would know, there was very little about magic that he didn't have some knowledge of. Failing that he would have access to that information if it was available at all.
"Which brings me to the reason I brought you two in here, aside from checking on your welfare and getting you away from the Headmaster until you had a chance to compose yourselves." Snape said "You need to be sending memories of what happened back home. Immediately. I am sure your parents would want to know as soon as possible, perhaps they can find someone to shed some light on the incident"
Harry and Daphne nodded their agreement.
"However, this is not the sort of thing you would want to send by owl, especially with the new security precautions" Snape continued "Regardless of how much you trust your owl"
"Not that I am saying that the mail is being intercepted and censored" he quickly added, the expression on his face telling the completely different story.
Daphne stared into the fire place "Is that floo secure?" she asked Snape
"It is" Snape replied with an almost smile "Whilst the parties to the call can be still be identified by the Ministry, the actual conversations cannot be listened to. And only I can call out or receive calls"
"Do you require me to extract the memories?" Snape asked. He was not surprised when they said no, the advancement of their magical abilities no longer noteworthy. He just handed them vials without comment.
Snape approached the fire and knelt in front of it. Tossing a small pinch of floo powder into the flames, he leaned in so his head was in the now green flames. "Greengrass Manor" he said firmly and clearly, and waited for the connection to be made.
"Hello, Professors Snape, sirs" Toby's voice came from the fireplace "What can we be doing for you today, sir?"
"Would it be possible to have a word with Lord or Lady Greengrass" Snape said "It concerns miss Greengrass and mister Potter"
"Certainly, sir" Toby replied.
In a matter of moments, Roxanne's voice came from the fireplace "Severus? Is everything ok?" she questioned with a hint of concern.
"Lady Greengrass. The children are fine, I have them here in my office with me." Snape replied quickly to ease her fears. "However, there has been an incident. The circumstance of which are inadvisable to discuss over the floo network"
Snape glanced over his shoulder at Daphne. Seeing her holding two vials containing the wispy memories he turned back to the fireplace "I will let Daphne explain"
Snape moved away from the fireplace and returned to his chair as Daphne took his place. He watched as Daphne had a whispered conversation before sitting back on her heels.
"Is it safe?" Harry asked.
"Yes" Daphne said "It is definitely mum"
She looked apologetically at Snape. "Sorry Professor, but I had to check."
"I would expect nothing less, miss Greengrass" Snape replied "I am not offended in the slightest"
"Mum would like your memory of the event too, if you are willing to provide it" Daphne asked.
"Of course" Snape said and proceeded to extract the memory and seal it in a vial.
Daphne handed the memories through to her mum, leaning forward to have another longer conversation, at one point she turned to have a quick glance at Harry who appeared to be asleep in his chair, before turning back. She exited the floo and the green flames returned to normal.
"Thank you, Professor" She said "I better make sure Harry gets back to the dormitory safely. I would say he will be missing class for the rest of today"
"No sense in waking him, he can sleep here. I will make sure he is not disturbed" Snape said "You better get along to your next lesson. Appearances must be maintained after all"
Daphne approached Harry and brushed away the hair that had fallen over his face. He looked so peaceful.
"Thank you again, sir" Daphne said whilst straightening her robes. She took a deep breath, stood tall with her shoulders back, and approached the door the Snape had just unsealed.
"One more thing, miss Greengrass" Snape said "I have some news that should cheer you. This Saturday's duelling matches, the third-year match is your duel against mister Weasley"
Snape was right, Daphne headed into her next class with a smile on her face.