Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing.

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Harry Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor

Chapter 3: What Must Come First

Harry raced down the stairs fully determind to reach the door before either Hermione or Ron could ring the doorbell. He wondered vaguely whether Ron would even know what a doorbell was, but he dared not take any chances. Ron may not know, but Hermione certainly did.

He jumped over the last couple of stairs and yanked the door open while at the same time trying to catch his breath.

Hermione had her finger inches away from the bell and froze at the sight of him. "Harry!"

"Hey, mate," said Ron with a grin. "I bet you weren't expecting to see us here!"

That was an understatement, to say the least.

"What are you doing here?" asked Harry in a frantic whisper. "If the Dursleys see you-"

"Relax," Ron replied, glancing quickly at Hermione. "We're not planning on staying here very long and neither should you."

Harry frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"In a minute," said Hermione, looking impatient. "Well? Aren't you going to let us in? It's quite rude to leave people standing on the doorstep, you know."

Harry gaped at her. "Have you gone completely mad, Hermione?"

Ron snickered, but the look on Hermione's face quickly silenced him.

"Harry, do you want some help packing, or not? We'll be gone before the Dursleys even know that we've been here," said Hermione in what she obviously thought was a reasonable tone.

Harry glanced quickly over his shoulder, but the Dursleys were still in the living room. "How did you get here anyway?" he asked.

Hermione beamed at him looking quite pleased with herself. "We apparated."

"You apparated?" Harry turned to look at Ron in surprise. "No offence, mate, but didn't you fail your Apparition test? You left a piece of an eyebrow behind, remember?"

Harry glanced around, fully expecting to see some Ministry wizards popping up out of thin air to seize Ron, but nothing happened.

"I know I did," said Ron gloomily. "I had to hang onto Hermione while she apparated both of us here."

"Oh honestly, Ron. Stop sulking," was Hermione's response. "Don't worry, Harry. We weren't going to risk having the Ministry after Ron for apparating without a license. Now, are you going to let us in, or not?"

Harry sighed in defeat and stepped back to let them in. "Alright," he whispered. "But keep your voices down. If we're lucky, I might be able to sneak you out past the Dursleys without them even knowing that you've been here. Come on."

Harry led his friends quietly up the stairs to his bedroom and closed the door behind them. He turned to face them and sighed. "I thought that you two would have changed your minds by now, especially you, Hermione. Did you know that they've decided to keep Hogwarts open this year? It was in the paper last week."

"Yes, but that doesn't change what we've decided," said Hermione. "After all, there are some things that are more important than education."

Ron goggled at her and Harry's jaw dropped to the floor.

"Hermione, are you feeling alright?"

Hermione gave him a very cool look. "Of course I am. Did you read the article in today's Daily Prophet?"

"You mean the one about the Death Eaters escaping?" asked Harry with a snort. "I can't say it surprises me, and I didn't think that you would be shocked by it either. We all knew it was going to happen eventually."

"Not that one," said Hermione, shaking her head. "This one."

She snatched the newspaper off of his bed and quickly ruffled through the pages until she found what she was looking for.

Harry took it from her outstretched hand and froze when he spotted the large headline at the top of the page.

FORMER HOGWARTS TEACHER STILL MISSING

Despite the efforts from a top team of Aurors, the former potions professor and Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is still missing.

Severus Snape has been accused of murdering the former Headmaster at Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, on the night that the Dark Mark was spotted over the school's astronomy tower.

"We searched his home, the school, and every other place that we could think of," said Nymphadora Tonks, who is one of the Aurors currently working on the case. "So far we've turned up absolutely nothing. He was always one for secrecy. Even the tips that I've recieved from my fellow Order members have only turned up dead ends. Knowing Snape, he's probably already joined up with You-Know-Who so it's no wonder that we can't find him."

Auror, Nymphadora Tonks, is also a member of the group calling themselves the Order of the Phoenix which has recently gone public. It is a group of witches and wizards who have dedicated themselves to stopping You-Know-Who and his followers once and for all. The group was originally started by Albus Dumbledore, and it has grown in numbers over the past two years. When asked why they decided to go public only recently, Order member and Ex-Auror, Alastor Moody had this to say.

"Well there's no use in keeping secret what isn't a secret anymore! You-Know-Who knows all about the Order, and so do his Death Eaters. We fought them in the Department of Mysteries and again at Hogwarts. It doesn't matter anymore now that You-Know-Who has every Auror in the Ministry after him, and so does Snape. If we take out a few more Death Eaters along the way, then so much the better. You-Know-Who doesn't care if you're an Order member or not. Anyone who gets in his way is likely to get the Killing Curse, and that's why we all have to work together to stop him."

The Order of the Phoenix is currently working with the Aurors to locate Snape.

The former potions teacher had been with the school for fifteen years and many of his colleagues were shocked by the terrible events that had taken place at Hogwarts.

"It's just so hard to believe," said Minerva McGonagall, who has replaced Dumbledore as Headmistress at Hogwarts. "I knew that he had been accused of being a Death Eater years ago, but we all believed that he had really changed. Some Order members were reluctant to accept that, but Dumbledore trusted him completely. The Headmaster never said why, but we all felt that there had to be a good reason, despite the fact that Severus did indeed have the Dark Mark burned into his upper arm."

Strangely enough, Dumbledore had been the one who had gotten Snape off the hook the first time that the man had been accused of being a Death Eater.

Even with this startling revelation, the biggest twist in the story is what has been revealed about the night of the murder. According to members of the Order, the sole witness to the crime was The Chosen One himself, Harry Potter. What was an underage wizard doing atop the astronomy tower on that night of all nights? This question has yet to be answered because the only other witnesses to what had happened up there were all Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy's son, Draco Malfoy, who has recently gone missing as well. That left Albus Dumbledore who never had a chance to speak.

Could Snape have really been the one to murder Dumbledore, or could Harry Potter have been mistaken?

When asked about the relationship between Snape and Potter, Minerva McGonagall's response was rather abrupt.

"I really don't think that's relevant to the subject of this interview," the Headmistress said a little stiffly.

It certainly leaves room for speculation, and the rumors have been flying. The fact that the other Hogwarts professors also declined to comment suggests that there is more to the story than what has been revealed.

"No one ever liked Snape," said Hogwarts student, Ernie Macmillan. "He was always favouring the students in his own House and treating the rest of us like rubbish. I consider that to be very unprofessional. If you ask me, I think that the school governors should be making more of an effort to involve themselves with the school. There should be an inquiry into the student/teacher relationship here at Hogwarts. It would certainly straighten out anymore of that type of nonsense!"

"Why Dumbledore ever hired a former Death Eater is beyond me," said Hufflepuff student, Zacharias Smith. "He should have known the man would go back to his old ways. I always thought that Snape was rather suspicious. Maybe now they'll be more careful about who they hire."

There was some speculation as to whether or not the school would remain open this year in light of recent events. After a lengthy discussion between the school governors and the professors at Hogwarts, it was decided that the school would indeed remain open.

"After all, if the students aren't safe at Hogwarts anymore then they're not safe anywhere," said Head of Ravenclaw House, Filius Flitwick.

The mystery of Potter's presence at the scene of the crime still leaves many unanswered questions. According to members of the Order, Potter refuses to reveal the reasons why he was in the company of Albus Dumbledore before the murder took place.

"Harry's testimony is all we have to go on about what happened that night, and I trust his judgement," said former Hogwarts teacher, Remus Lupin. "The only other people who may be able to tell us anything are Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape. By the looks of things, neither one wants to be found so I doubt we're going to get anything out of them."

Once again this brought up the question of Snape and Potter. Lupin also declined to comment.

"I don't think it's really an issue that matters here," said Lupin calmly. "It doesn't change the reality of what Snape did, and Snape has no one to blame but himself."

Harry Potter was not available for comments on the subject.

As far as things stand now, it may be a while before any information can be turned up about Snape's whereabouts.

Harry slowly lowered the newspaper and stared at Hermione, careful to keep his face expressionless. "What about it?"

Hermione bit her lip and glanced quickly at Ron who shrugged.

"It's just...do you remember what Dumbledore said about finding the Horcruxes?"

"Yes," said Harry stiffly. "It's not the kind of thing one tends to forget."

"Well," said Hermione slowly. "I know you want to be the one to bring Snape to justice, but you can't let that stand in the way of what's really important which is the Horcruxes. The Aurors and the Order are keeping an eye out for Snape, and I'm sure they'll catch him eventually. What you need to focus on is the task that Dumbledore gave you because defeating Voldemort is what counts."

Ron winced at the sound of Voldemort's name, but Harry remained silent.

"Harry, with Voldemort gone, the Death Eaters are powerless," said Hermione in a gentle voice. "You saw what happened the last time Voldemort disappeared. They became nothing but a scattered bunch of witches and wizards who were running from the Aurors. Many were forced to pretend that they had reverted back to the good side. They're nothing without Voldemort, Harry."

"So basically you're saying that I should just forget about Snape," said Harry coldly.

"If you let your hatred for Snape cloud your judgement, it will leave you vulnerable which will give Voldemort the edge. You may end up making a mistake that will get you or someone you care about killed. Where will that leave the rest of the magical world if you end up dying? So many people are relying on you, Harry. They see you as a symbol of hope that one day they won't have to live in fear of the man who has ruined so many lives, who's name they dare not even speak. Snape has already played a role in the murders of two innocent people, Dumbledore and Sirius. Don't let him have that chance again. Let the Order deal with Snape while you deal with Voldemort. There will always be a chance to bring Snape to justice after Voldemort is out of the picture."

"Not if he ends up dead before You-Know-Who," Ron pointed out.

"I hope that doesn't happen," said Harry quietly. "Death would be an easy way out for Snape. I want him to be looking me straight in the eyes when he finally gets what he deserves, and that's the Dementor's Kiss."

Harry let out a bitter laugh. "Then again, Snape never had much of a soul to begin with so I guess it won't really make that much of a difference. Look, Hermione. I'll try to go along with what you said, but if I happen to meet Snape face to face, I can't keep any promises."

Hermione sighed and managed a smile. "I guess that's the best I can hope for."

"Can you believe that bloke, Zacharias?" Ron snorted. "I'm surprised he's actually on your side about Snape killing Dumbledore considering that he doesn't seem to like you. I always thought that he was the type who would like Snape. Him and Malfoy could be best mates."

"Malfoy appears to have more of a soul than Snape," said Hermione quietly. "Even you can't deny that, Ron."

They all fell silent and Hedwig hooted in sympathy from her cage.

After several moments, Hermione regained her composure and gave Harry a bright smile.

"We're here because we've come to take you to The Burrow."

"What for?" asked Harry, frowning.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already," grinned Ron. "Bill's and Fleur's wedding."

"You do want to come, don't you?" asked Hermione.

"Of course, but-"

"Well then start packing your trunk so that we can get out of here. After that it's on to Godric's Hollow, and then we start searching for the Horcruxes."

Ron and Hermione started to gather up his things, and Harry sighed.

"You really aren't going to give up, are you? Well alright then, lets hurry up about it. Having the Dursleys downstairs is making me nervous. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

Harry picked up Hedwig's cage while Ron and Hermione grabbed his trunk.

They headed out of the room and slowly began to make their way back down the stairs as quietly as possible.

They were halfway to the bottom when Ron lost his hold on the trunk. It crashed down the stairs and landed at the bottom with a thump.

"What the ruddy hell was that?"

Harry froze in horror at the sound of Uncle Vernon's voice.

Hermione let out a gasp of dismay, and they all turned just in time to see Uncle Vernon poke his very purple face into the hallway.