enthusiasm to continue.
Chapter 9: The awaking.
…Green light devoured slender figure of girl, and now chalk-white
ugly face with glaring redeyes turned to him, thin lips curling in horrible
smile…
"Ouch!"
Harry waked with start as something punched him painfully on the ribs.
Something, definitely
more material than the green light in his dream, and this something
hadn't stopped, as it
poked his leg now.
"Whassup?" muttered Harry, fingering for his glasses on bedside cabinet.
Next poke was his
only answer. Harry swore, put on his glasses and squinted at the intruder.
"Ron?" gaped he. "What's the matter? Are you mad, Ron, stop, IT HURTS!!!!"
"Look at this!" snapped Ron, his face almost as red as his hair. He
thrust a crumpled piece
of parchment in Harry's hands, glaring at him as if it was a picture
of his girlfriend, which
Happy splotched with dragon bile. However, it wasn't.
It was a letter, written in tiny, accurate handwriting, which looked
somehow familiar to
Harry. However, when he had read the message, all the other thought
flew away from his head.
Potter, if you want to see your friend Granger alive, come today
to Shrieking Shack at 10 PM
and bring the sword of Slytherin with you. Sword is hidden somewhere
at school, most
probably in Headmaster's office. Come alone, otherwise your friend
will be dead in 24 hours,
as well as if you don't come or don't bring the sword.
"Er…" said Harry, looking at the parchment dully. "Is it some kind of stupid joke?"
"Oh no it's not", hissed Ron, now coloring in delicate tint of turquoise.
"I checked Herm's
dorm, she had never came there tonight, and then I searched the castle
and grounds and even
girls' bathrooms and she was nowhere!"
"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" barked Harry, now in his turn glaring
at Ron. He tried
to jump out of his bed, but immediately stumbled and fell on the floor
in the heap of
blankets.
"Because at first I also considered it a stupid joke of Malfoy. It's
very much in his style"
retorted Ron.
"Why Malfoy?"
"Because it's his handwriting, don't you see? Last year in Potions when
I had splotched his
notes with ink and Snape made me to re-write all it, I had had a nice
chance to memorize his
hand. I always suspected this bastard, he's in league with You-Know-Who
along with his slimy
git of father, but now he simply surpassed himself!"
Instantly Ron buried his face in his arms, and Harry, watching him in
kind of stupor, saw his
shoulders shaking in soundless dry sobs.
"Ron" muttered he hoarsly. "Ron, we'll find her, she will be okay"
"It must have been me" cried Ron instantly. "Me, me, me!!!!!"
He pounded his fist on the Harry's bedside cabinet, sending night-light
flying onto the
floor. Only Harry's superb reaction saved the lamp from shuttering.
He put it back and seized
Ron's shoulder, giving him a good shake.
"Ron, your hysteric doesn't help. Madam Pomfrey will hear…"
Ron turned to face him and Harry was taken aback by the pure hatred
glowing in his friend's
eyes.
"Madam Pomfrey is busy upstairs re-bandaging Snape's wounds. And you…It's
always because of
you! Of course, Herm was eager to give her live to brilliant famous
Harry Potter, only
brilliant famous Harry Potter considered it below his dignity to notice
it! This look on her
face when she was watching you and thinking you don't see...And you
didn't, but I saw!"
Harry stared at Ron in complete disbelief, then forced his lips to part
"Ron, are
you…jealous?"
The punch on Harry's nose was Ron's response. Harry dodged and tried
to catch his hand, when
second sizeable blow on Harry's ear crashed him into the back of the
bed. Through the flock
of little stars dancing in front of his eyes Harry settled an accurate
blow on Ron's forehead
and his knuckles howled in pain. Ron, with his eyes slightly askew,
lunged at Harry, ripping
the bed hangings apart on his way.
Second later two boys were rolling onto the floor, punching and scratching.
Then, when the
cloud of dust raised by the battle lowered itself, it became clear
that nobody won. Both of
them were lying on their backs in the tangled heap of sheets, blankets
and bedside hangings.
Then Harry rose on his elbows and ducked under the bed, looking for
his glasses.
"Good God", panted Ron, feeling his rapidly swelling nose "Good hook you've got here, man"
"Your headlock wasn't that bad, either" grinned Harry, wiping dust and
cobwebs off his
glasses.
"So…"
"So…"
"So we've got to rob Snape's office again, this time for some damned
sword, and then go and
save…"
"Save whom?" drawled too-much familiar cold voice behind their backs.
***
…Steep steps were leading to the pale patch of light overhead, pale
light of early morning,
with sun still hidden the black basin of horizon. Honking of trumpets
became even more
shrill, more demanding. He has to hurry…
"Ouch!"
Snape waked with start as something punched him painfully on the ribs.
He jerked his head up
and immediately hissed in pain as thousands of sharp needles pierced
his hands and neck. Dark
shape was looming over him, and this shape was wearing a troubled expression
on his face.
"Tehhie? What the Hell are you doing? I was sleeping"
"That I noticed", replied the girl with small smile lurking on her lips.
"Was it necessary to rip half of my hand off to wake me?" grumbled Headmaster,
scratching his
bandaged shoulder.
"You will be surprised, but it was. And I wouldn't call it sleep, either"
"What do you mean?" asked Snape exasperatedly.
"Normal people are used to breathe in their sleep. And you weren't.
Actually, for a moment I
was pretty sure that you are dead, and it was particularly unpleasant
moment"
Tehhie's eyes twinkled with the last words but her voice gave away the notes of concern.
Snape crooked his brow, regarding the girl with mingled annoyance and
amusement. Tehhie's
cheeks paled slightly, but she wasn't going to continue.
"Well, I am not…yet, as much disappointing as it sounds" said Snape softly.
His glance slid down the girl's forehead, to her dark eyes and rested
at her pursed lips.
However, whichever his intentions were they remained unrealized, because
the steps echoed in
corridor outside and Melian, accompanied by scowling Madam Pomfrey,
appeared at the
threshold.
"Did I miss something?" asked DADA teacher with roguish look on her face.
"Brick falling on your head on your way here", muttered Snape almost
imperceptibly, then tore
his gaze from Tehhie's eyes and stared sulkily at the bundle in nurse's
hands.
"What's this?"
"Fresh bandages and medicine" snapped Madam Pomfrey in response and
advanced to Headmaster
menacingly, eyeing his blood-blotched bandages with visible disapproval.
"Leave me alone, woman, I don't need them" moaned Severus, rolling his eyes.
Madam Pomfrey goggled at Headmaster, her jaw dropping. Then she blurted
out something
incoherent and stormed out of the room.
"Hmm, Severus" coughed Tehhie, exchanging a puzzled glances with Melian.
"It wasn't quiet
polite"
"My dear girl" smiled Snape nastily "When you'd be facing death in three
days time, you
wouldn't be quiet polite, too. Besides, I don't have time to lay off
at Hospital Wing,
enjoying her cure. I must move on and question Malfoy. Got me?"
"Yeap" said Tehhie, still looking doubtful.
"Honestly" muttered Melian.
"That's better", concluded Headmaster, rose (during this exercise grimace
of pain twisted his
features) and approached to the wall with huge painting and secret
knob on it. Hidden door
slid aside under his touch, and he squinted inside the gloom of the
chamber. Then he cursed
violently.
Tehhie poked her head under his elbow to take a look. The room was empty,
no trace of
imprisoned Dementors at all. The statue of troll, however, still loomed
in the corner, ugly
and covered by thick netting of cobwebs.
"I feel worst" hissed Snape, approaching to the statue cautiously. He
raised his wand and
tapped troll's stone shoulder. Something appeared from the thin air
and fell onto the floor
with muffled thud. Immediately the wave of horrible stench spread over
the chamber, Tehhie
choked and rushed back to the office and Melian edged closer to take
a look.
The thing lying onto the floor had been once a human body, no doubts.
However, it appeared
that the owner of this body had been gone for years. Decomposed flesh,
hanging in ragged
shreds, bared yellowish bones, half-clenched fingers were gripping
at the air. Empty eye
sockets stared fixedly, and black puffy lips curved into terrible smile.
"I'm gonna be sick", croaked Tehhie, and retching noise confirmed her words.
"That's interesting" murmured Melian, bending over the sad remnants. "Is it Lucius?"
"Not easy to say", answered Snape, surveying the corpse with visible
disgust. "But I reckon
it's him, I still can recognize this smile"
"But what killed him? Doesn't look like cyanosis or something like that.
I mean, even if he
died right after we had placed him in the statue, he isn't supposed
to look like that"
Snape's eyes glinted, dark flames flashed in their depth, and he cursed again.
"I'd had to foresee this"
"What?"
"Possession. He had left his body, when he had realized that there is
no escape, to posses
somebody else. Somebody close to him"
Melian instantly paled, and Snape's face twisted in fury and frustration.
"Quick, Melian, you check Maleficent, and I'm going for Draco. Tehhie, you stay right here"
"Urgh"
"In my office, I mean, there is no need to guard THIS. Let's put it
back into his amazing
sarcophagus for a time being"
With the final wave of self-spelling wand Severus placed the corpse
inside the statue and
rushed out of the office, Melian on his wake.
***
Severus prowled hurriedly through the second-floor corridor, heading
for the stairs to the
dungeons and trying to escape Madam Pomfrey's attack, when the sound
of arguing voices drew
his attention towards the Hospital Wing doors. He braced himself against
the worst (nurse
with her hands full of bandages), opened the door soundlessly and slipped
inside. The words "
rob Snape's office again" reached his ears and he froze on the spot,
fuming with rage.
"Potter, you are going to regret that you hadn't been blasted into smithereens
by the
Malfoy's spell" said he to himself, feeling a strong temptation to
finish what Malfoy
started, but then the words "sword" and "save" made him to think better
of it. He emerged
from the shadows slowly and asked
"Save whom?"
***
"Er…Money for Christmas presents?" tried Ron tentatively, forcing himself
to look as innocent
as he could. Then he traced Snape's glance and choked, because Headmaster
was staring right
at the crumpled letter, lying forgotten next to Harry's leg. Ron made
a quick snatch for it
but Snape was faster.
Boys stared at the reading Headmaster, preparing for worst.
"Well, in any case it was inevitable", whispered Harry in Ron's ear, which burned purple again. "We couldn't just go and steal this sword"
Ron glared at him, then raised his eyes to glance at Headmaster, and
felt the bottom of his
stomach dropping off. Snape always looked surly, especially when addressing
to the one of
them. Now he looked murderous.
"When did you find this?" asked Headmaster at last, and boys sighed
with relief because,
judging by Snape's physiognomy, it could be everything including death
sentence.
"About eleven o'clock. I came to check how's Harry and it was lying
next to his bed. And
Hermione was gone, I searched all the castle"
He hesitated for a moment, then added "It's Malfoy's handwriting, I'm sure, so I presume…"
"Shut up, Weasley!" snarled Headmaster, scrutinizing the letter again.
Then he frowned, biting his lips as if unable to make a decision. At
last he turned to Harry
and barked "Potter, come with me. Weasley, go to your Common Room and
don't leave it until
you get my permission to do so"
"But…" started Ron, but Headmaster's homicidal glance silenced him and
he shuffled towards
the Gryffindor common room, cursing under his breath.
"Move, Potter", commanded Snape, and all the objections died away in Harry's throat.
They marched through the deserted Entrance Hall towards the stairs to
the Slytherin dungeon.
After several minutes of fast walking Snape stopped in front of damp
gray wall and muttered
"Desperando". Large opening appeared in the wall and they scrambled
inside, Harry completely
perplexed with the thought that Snape allowed him to sacred Slytherin
Common Room. The room
with empty fireplace and scattered chairs was as deserted as the Entrance
Hall outside, all
the Slytherins gone.
"Wait here", barked Snape and went towards the stairs to Slytherin dormitories.
Harry sunk
into one of the chairs and prepared himself to the long waiting when
Headmaster reappeared,
his look even more murderous than it had been before.
"Um.. Is Malfoy missing, too?" asked Hurry, avoiding Headmaster's glance.
"Yes, he is. Even more than you could imagine, Potter", answered Snape
slowly with the
mirthless smile. But then his expression darkened and shoulders sunk,
as if under invisible
burden. Instantly Harry recalled that Malfoy had been Snape's favorite
student, and-at least
it looked like that-Snape was Malfoy's favorite teacher, too. He even
felt a little bit sorry
for Snape for a moment, but then the thought about Hermione wiped all
the compassionate
feelings out of his head.
"What about Hermione, then?" asked he, aware that he sounded no less
than obnoxious. "Are you
going to help her or just because your favorite…"
He met Snape's glance and the words froze on his lips. For a minute
they were staring at each
other with unmasked hatred, then Snape smiled slowly and said, in a
voice no more than a
whisper
"Potter. Have you ever thought about anybody but yourself?"
"What?" gaped Harry, flabbergasted.
"Have you ever realized that most of the woes befalling your friends
were caused by nobody
but you? How many times they nearly died to protect your priceless
person? How many people
have to die to let you live and prosper? Cedric Diggory on your fourth
year, Annabel Woods
and Richard Dawens last year. They were nobody to Voldemort, he wouldn't
have killed them if
not for you. Now Granger is kidnapped just because she happened to
be your friend…"
"Go on!" cried Harry, his face contorted with rage. His right hand was twitching, seizing his wand.
Snape regarded him with strange, almost amused look of his dark eyes
and continued, his voice
even and indifferent
"I can bet you asked yourself many times, Potter, why do I hate you
so much. You and your
father, my grand rescuer, so great and valiant. The answer is simple-if
not for you and him,
Lily wouldn't have died"
Harry raised his wand and stared in Snape's eyes, his cheek twitching.
Then, without spare
word, he cut his glance off and stormed out of the room.
TBC...Now, where is your reviews?