Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Dangers In The Past
After being forced back by Ron and Hermione, the remaining Death Eaters left, as they obviously had been unprepared to deal with the powerful teens. They both knelt next to Harry's body and Hermione started to look him over, relieved to find a weak, but steady pulse. Her friend had once again survived the killing curse. She always feared that one day, his gifted protection would fail and she would loose one of her best friends forever. She nodded slightly at Ron, letting him know Harry was still alive and then turned her attention to the other two teenagers.
Lily was sobbing hysterically in James' arms, trying to avoid looking at the spot where Harry lay. James, on the other hand, was staring at the motionless boy with a stunned gaze. He could not figure out why this boy, practically a stranger, had given his life to protect them. Hermione turned her face to Ron when he spoke softly. "Hermione, take them to Dumbledore. We need to tell him what happened. The protection around here really sucks. I'll take Harry upstairs."
Hermione nodded and stood up, quickly followed by Ron, who was now holding Harry in his arms. Ron was a little disturbed by how light his friend was, he knew he had grown over the summer, but even so, it shouldn't be possible for him to lift another boy his age so easily. With a last look at his friend, Ron turned around and walked up to the castle, leaving Hermione to deal with the two distraught teenagers. Once Harry and Ron had disappeared, Hermione turned to the couple and gently took James' arm. "Come on, you two, we need to get inside. We don't want to be here if more Death Eaters show up and Dumbledore needs to be informed about what happened."
Both teenagers nodded, Lily still firmly pressed against James's side. Once inside, Hermione led her two friends to the great Hall, were everyone was still eating. All students stopped talking when they came in. Dumbledore frowned and stood up, soon followed by Daniel, Ryan, Ethan and Minerva. Hermione dragged the two to a spot in front of Dumbledore before finally letting go of James' arm.
The headmaster looked even more worried when he saw Lily's red eyes. "What happened?"
Before Hermione had the chance to answer, James spoke. "Death Eaters… Harry is dead."
Startled cries rang around the room. Many were stunned, some girls burst into tears while their companions looked disbelieving at each other. Most of the teachers appeared horrified. The fact that Death Eaters could enter the school grounds so easily was a very serious matter. Ryan looked like he was about to pass out, but Daniel's firm hand on his shoulder steadied him. He looked up at his friend. Daniel was looking intensely at Hermione's calm face. The girl looked straight back at him as he mouthed: "Killing Curse?"
Hermione nodded slightly, a small smile on her lips that helped reassure her friends. Daniel and Ethan immediately began to move. Pretending to be supporting Ryan, the three men walked slowly out of the hall, watched by the teachers with sadness. No one had noticed the silent conversation that had gone on between Hermione and them. The girl turned her attention back to Dumbledore who was quietly questioning James and Lily. When he finished, he turned to Hermione, and was somewhat surprised to see her looking so calm. He had thought she and Harry were rather close.
Hermione told him what happened. Her story was not much different from the one the other two teenagers had told. After that, he sent all students to their common rooms and asked the teachers to gather in the staff room. While dealing out orders, Dumbledore noticed Hermione walking away in the opposite direction of Gryffindor's common room. No doubt, she was going to Ryan's room.
Hermione muttered the password as soon as she arrived. When she entered the room, Hermione smiled at the sight that greeted her. Ryan was sitting on the couch, with Harry's head resting on his lap. The older man was stroking the unconscious boy's face, all the while muttering how Harry was going to give him a heart attack some day. Ron and Ethan were sitting on the ground in front of the couch, while Daniel was leaning against the fireplace. They all looked at her when she came in, she smiled back and settled down near the door. If she knew Dumbledore, he would be here in no time. They all stayed silent for a while, just taking in the picture of Harry and Ryan, it always was hard to see Harry lying so quiet. While he never had been very loud, there was always an aura of power and comfort around him that had been lacking now for a while. It was very unerving to see such a lively boy lying so still, even if they had all seen it before. Ron was the first to break the silence.
"Shouldn't we write to the headmaster? You know he gets annoyed when we don't tell him these kind of things."
Everyone nodded and Daniel left his place next to the fireplace to go and write the letter. Just after he had disappeared into his room, there was a soft knock at the door. Hermione stood up, a knowing smile on her lips as she went to open the door.
She received a momentary shock when in front of her stood, not the comforting form of the headmaster, but the frightening image of a Death Eater. Her fear subsided immediately and she stood aside to let her potions professor enter the room. Ryan looked at him questioningly.
"What are you doing here, Snape?"
The man took off his mask and nodded in Harry's direction. "I just wanted to make sure he hadn't died on us."
Ryan growled in annoyance. "Won't Malfoy suspect anything?"
"I'm not an idiot, Black! Malfoy is too pissed off right now about failing in the attack, and he told us all to get lost. He has a worse temper than Voldemort had, but can't kill the few Death Eaters he still has."
Before Ryan could reply, another knock echoed throughout the room. Hermione stood up again, and this time let Dumbledore, McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey in. They all wore sad expressions on their faces, and directed their attention towards the couch where Harry's slight form was resting. Madam Pomfrey slowly walked towards the boy and put a shaky hand on his forehead. Suddenly, she frowned. The boy was much to warm to be dead. With shaking fingers, she moved her hand towards his neck and nearly fainted when she felt the strong pulse against her fingers. Dumbledore, seeing how pale the nurse had become, walked forward. "Poppy, what's wrong?"
The woman gulped. "He's still alive." After that statement, the nurse forced Ryan to leave his spot and proceeded to examine the unconscious child.
Minerva and Dumbledore appeared shocked as she worked but a smirking voice cut through their questioning looks. "Of course he's alive. That kid always survives the killing curse."
The three past teachers turned around and looked at the scowling Death Eater. Dumbledore frowned. "How is that possible? No one has ever survived the killing curse. And may I ask who you are? You are obviously a Death Eater, yet you haven't attacked us. You seem to know how to get in and out the school without anyone noticing."
Daniel, who had just returned with the letter, answered for him. "For the first question, we are not sure, you should ask our Dumbledore about it, I don't know if even Harry knows. And for him, well, that's Severus Snape. He's our spy."
"Lupin!"
"It's alright, Severus, they know about us. Has someone seen Hedwig?"
Charlie answered him while Snap started to throw a fit. "How did they find out? Wait, never mind, I can probably guess." He turned his attention to Dumbledore. "As for how I'm able to go into Hogwarts? Let's just say the charms protecting this school need a good updating."
Before Dumbledore could answer, Minerva asked something she had been curious to find out. "Aren't the three of you supposed to hate each other?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "Minerva, I'm sure they have grown out of their fights by now."
At the headmaster's words, Ron and Hermione couldn't help but smirk. The boy looked at the three men, highly amused. "Yeah, right. No offence, headmaster, but in our time you still have to constantly remind them to get along. At times they're worse than first-years."
"Weasley!"
Ron smiled innocently at his enraged Potions Master. With an innocently sweet voice, he asked: "Would you believe me if I told you I was sorry, Professor?"
Hermione was had to turn around, or else she would've laughed in Snape's face.
"No! If I could, I would take a hundred points from Gryffindor for this."
Ron's face brightened. "Hey, I hadn't thought about that. We'll have to remember to take advantage of this opportunity, won't we, Hermione?"
Snape gripped his mask and stormed out of the room, passing a helplessly laughing Hermione and a bewildered Dumbledore. After the door had closed, Ryan turned to the red-haired boy who was sporting a victorious smirk.
"You really shouldn't have said that, Ron. He'll be sure to take lots of points from Gryffindor when you return."
Ron shrugged. "You say that like it's something special. He always takes points and he's never needed a reason to do so. Now at least he will have one."
Ryan sighed. "Good point."
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for all reviews and thanks to my beta readers, Tanya and Gates.
Dangers In The Past
After being forced back by Ron and Hermione, the remaining Death Eaters left, as they obviously had been unprepared to deal with the powerful teens. They both knelt next to Harry's body and Hermione started to look him over, relieved to find a weak, but steady pulse. Her friend had once again survived the killing curse. She always feared that one day, his gifted protection would fail and she would loose one of her best friends forever. She nodded slightly at Ron, letting him know Harry was still alive and then turned her attention to the other two teenagers.
Lily was sobbing hysterically in James' arms, trying to avoid looking at the spot where Harry lay. James, on the other hand, was staring at the motionless boy with a stunned gaze. He could not figure out why this boy, practically a stranger, had given his life to protect them. Hermione turned her face to Ron when he spoke softly. "Hermione, take them to Dumbledore. We need to tell him what happened. The protection around here really sucks. I'll take Harry upstairs."
Hermione nodded and stood up, quickly followed by Ron, who was now holding Harry in his arms. Ron was a little disturbed by how light his friend was, he knew he had grown over the summer, but even so, it shouldn't be possible for him to lift another boy his age so easily. With a last look at his friend, Ron turned around and walked up to the castle, leaving Hermione to deal with the two distraught teenagers. Once Harry and Ron had disappeared, Hermione turned to the couple and gently took James' arm. "Come on, you two, we need to get inside. We don't want to be here if more Death Eaters show up and Dumbledore needs to be informed about what happened."
Both teenagers nodded, Lily still firmly pressed against James's side. Once inside, Hermione led her two friends to the great Hall, were everyone was still eating. All students stopped talking when they came in. Dumbledore frowned and stood up, soon followed by Daniel, Ryan, Ethan and Minerva. Hermione dragged the two to a spot in front of Dumbledore before finally letting go of James' arm.
The headmaster looked even more worried when he saw Lily's red eyes. "What happened?"
Before Hermione had the chance to answer, James spoke. "Death Eaters… Harry is dead."
Startled cries rang around the room. Many were stunned, some girls burst into tears while their companions looked disbelieving at each other. Most of the teachers appeared horrified. The fact that Death Eaters could enter the school grounds so easily was a very serious matter. Ryan looked like he was about to pass out, but Daniel's firm hand on his shoulder steadied him. He looked up at his friend. Daniel was looking intensely at Hermione's calm face. The girl looked straight back at him as he mouthed: "Killing Curse?"
Hermione nodded slightly, a small smile on her lips that helped reassure her friends. Daniel and Ethan immediately began to move. Pretending to be supporting Ryan, the three men walked slowly out of the hall, watched by the teachers with sadness. No one had noticed the silent conversation that had gone on between Hermione and them. The girl turned her attention back to Dumbledore who was quietly questioning James and Lily. When he finished, he turned to Hermione, and was somewhat surprised to see her looking so calm. He had thought she and Harry were rather close.
Hermione told him what happened. Her story was not much different from the one the other two teenagers had told. After that, he sent all students to their common rooms and asked the teachers to gather in the staff room. While dealing out orders, Dumbledore noticed Hermione walking away in the opposite direction of Gryffindor's common room. No doubt, she was going to Ryan's room.
Hermione muttered the password as soon as she arrived. When she entered the room, Hermione smiled at the sight that greeted her. Ryan was sitting on the couch, with Harry's head resting on his lap. The older man was stroking the unconscious boy's face, all the while muttering how Harry was going to give him a heart attack some day. Ron and Ethan were sitting on the ground in front of the couch, while Daniel was leaning against the fireplace. They all looked at her when she came in, she smiled back and settled down near the door. If she knew Dumbledore, he would be here in no time. They all stayed silent for a while, just taking in the picture of Harry and Ryan, it always was hard to see Harry lying so quiet. While he never had been very loud, there was always an aura of power and comfort around him that had been lacking now for a while. It was very unerving to see such a lively boy lying so still, even if they had all seen it before. Ron was the first to break the silence.
"Shouldn't we write to the headmaster? You know he gets annoyed when we don't tell him these kind of things."
Everyone nodded and Daniel left his place next to the fireplace to go and write the letter. Just after he had disappeared into his room, there was a soft knock at the door. Hermione stood up, a knowing smile on her lips as she went to open the door.
She received a momentary shock when in front of her stood, not the comforting form of the headmaster, but the frightening image of a Death Eater. Her fear subsided immediately and she stood aside to let her potions professor enter the room. Ryan looked at him questioningly.
"What are you doing here, Snape?"
The man took off his mask and nodded in Harry's direction. "I just wanted to make sure he hadn't died on us."
Ryan growled in annoyance. "Won't Malfoy suspect anything?"
"I'm not an idiot, Black! Malfoy is too pissed off right now about failing in the attack, and he told us all to get lost. He has a worse temper than Voldemort had, but can't kill the few Death Eaters he still has."
Before Ryan could reply, another knock echoed throughout the room. Hermione stood up again, and this time let Dumbledore, McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey in. They all wore sad expressions on their faces, and directed their attention towards the couch where Harry's slight form was resting. Madam Pomfrey slowly walked towards the boy and put a shaky hand on his forehead. Suddenly, she frowned. The boy was much to warm to be dead. With shaking fingers, she moved her hand towards his neck and nearly fainted when she felt the strong pulse against her fingers. Dumbledore, seeing how pale the nurse had become, walked forward. "Poppy, what's wrong?"
The woman gulped. "He's still alive." After that statement, the nurse forced Ryan to leave his spot and proceeded to examine the unconscious child.
Minerva and Dumbledore appeared shocked as she worked but a smirking voice cut through their questioning looks. "Of course he's alive. That kid always survives the killing curse."
The three past teachers turned around and looked at the scowling Death Eater. Dumbledore frowned. "How is that possible? No one has ever survived the killing curse. And may I ask who you are? You are obviously a Death Eater, yet you haven't attacked us. You seem to know how to get in and out the school without anyone noticing."
Daniel, who had just returned with the letter, answered for him. "For the first question, we are not sure, you should ask our Dumbledore about it, I don't know if even Harry knows. And for him, well, that's Severus Snape. He's our spy."
"Lupin!"
"It's alright, Severus, they know about us. Has someone seen Hedwig?"
Charlie answered him while Snap started to throw a fit. "How did they find out? Wait, never mind, I can probably guess." He turned his attention to Dumbledore. "As for how I'm able to go into Hogwarts? Let's just say the charms protecting this school need a good updating."
Before Dumbledore could answer, Minerva asked something she had been curious to find out. "Aren't the three of you supposed to hate each other?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "Minerva, I'm sure they have grown out of their fights by now."
At the headmaster's words, Ron and Hermione couldn't help but smirk. The boy looked at the three men, highly amused. "Yeah, right. No offence, headmaster, but in our time you still have to constantly remind them to get along. At times they're worse than first-years."
"Weasley!"
Ron smiled innocently at his enraged Potions Master. With an innocently sweet voice, he asked: "Would you believe me if I told you I was sorry, Professor?"
Hermione was had to turn around, or else she would've laughed in Snape's face.
"No! If I could, I would take a hundred points from Gryffindor for this."
Ron's face brightened. "Hey, I hadn't thought about that. We'll have to remember to take advantage of this opportunity, won't we, Hermione?"
Snape gripped his mask and stormed out of the room, passing a helplessly laughing Hermione and a bewildered Dumbledore. After the door had closed, Ryan turned to the red-haired boy who was sporting a victorious smirk.
"You really shouldn't have said that, Ron. He'll be sure to take lots of points from Gryffindor when you return."
Ron shrugged. "You say that like it's something special. He always takes points and he's never needed a reason to do so. Now at least he will have one."
Ryan sighed. "Good point."
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for all reviews and thanks to my beta readers, Tanya and Gates.