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CLAWS
OF A RAVEN
by Tyde
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Chapter Five
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Neville and Harry hadn't returned before the end of class so Ron and Hermione set out for Madam Pomfrey's office to meet them before heading downstairs for lunch. As they walked side by side they discussed the odd behaviour of the new professor.
"She seems almost like a split personality if you ask me" said Ron. "Real unstable like. Half Snape and half some nice person!"
"Great description, Ron"
"You know what I mean. I think she's got it in for Harry. Lupin was the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher we ever had, all the others have been Death Eaters or nutcases"
"Well she hasn't gone right out and threatened him, she just narrowed her eyes and spoke crisply. A lot of teachers do that. Professor McGonagall does it all the time. You're just being paranoid, Ron".
He put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her from going any further. "I know you think there is something odd going on here as well. Don't you?"
"Maybe. But I'm not about to jump to conclusions until there is further evidence. That's all I'm saying. Now come on, all the food will be gone if we don't hurry up and find Harry and Neville" She pulled him by the sleeve of his robes and they charged up the stairs towards the hospital wing.
They couldn't talk about their suspicions at lunch (seeing as the rest of the school still didn't know that Palgetti and Snape were siblings and Hermione didn't think it was Harry or Ron's business to tell everyone) so they ate in silence; now and then chuckling at Fred and George's latest inventions they were showing around the table.
It weighed on each of their minds though and Harry thought maybe it was time to bring out his Dad's cloak and do some after hours investigating. He inwardly groaned when he thought about the double Divination he had that afternoon. No doubt Trelawney would be predicting his death. Harry just hoped this year she'd make it interesting, like death by suffocation...from a flock of ducks.
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"Come here you simpering little fool" a voice hissed through the darkness.
Although it was daylight the canopy of tree branches intertwined did not let any light into this part of the forest. Wormtail stumbled towards the sounds that were issuing from his master, dragging the heavy sack by his side. They had arrived in a hollow in the Forbidden Forest only moments before.
A black glove coming up to the elbow joint was encased around the arm of the servant and it seemed to give off a vague pearly essence. Underneath was the silver forearm his master had graced him with last spring. It shone brilliantly like the coat of a unicorn and would surely attract attention in this environment where everything was so black it was like the world had swallowed your soul. A hand clamped down on his shoulder and he stifled a scream.
"Wormtail, build a fire. Nagini is cold" Some twigs nearby snapped under the weight of the great serpent that was slithering it's way towards them.
"Yes master" Wormtail mumbled as he gathered some chunks of rotting wood that were littering the forest floor. Piling them up and adding a blast from his wand they soon had a roaring fire going. The fire would serve to keep them warm and also to keep away more curious animals. He conjured a long, low couch for his master and a fairly comfortable wooden chair for himself. He placed the sack on the ground by his feet and opened up a parcel he'd had in one of his pockets. Voldemort took a seat and spoke lazily to Nagini who was curled up in front of the flames.
"Haa-heesh-ah-seeraj-keesh-maaah. Meesh-naaah!"
As the evil man spoke to the snake Wormtail noticed something nosing it's way around their travelling sacks. He pulled his H'taed dagger from the folds of his robes and slowly got up to see what it was.
As Nagini glided off through the forest towards her destination, a small squeak and a grunt of triumph could be heard. When the Dark Lord looked back at the fire a rotisserie had been set up that contained a fat and freshly caught Niffler (no doubt an escapee from Hagrid's lessons the term before), stabbed through the head by Pettigrew.
The skin bubbled up nicely and Wormtail licked his lips. Niffler meat was akin to the taste of lamb and he hadn't had any in so long. The benefits of being the servant to the most evil man in the world was that you could break rules without fear of punishment. A by-law (written by Dumbledore in 1981) forbid the hunting of Niffler and they were a protected magical species.
Wormtail added potatoes to the fire from the parcel on his lap and as the cooking smell got more intense he noticed the sack begin to stir. Kicking it swiftly before Voldemort would have the chance to notice the servant swore under his breath.
"Bloody troublemaker"
The Dark Lord's ears picked up the sound and out of the corner of his eye he observed his 'loyal' servant kicking their hostage.
"Stop that Wormtail" The voice of Voldemort chilled his servant to the bone, like a child discovered doing something naughty but his eyes were filled with surprise.
"But master, it was waking up"
"Be that as it may the more you kick it, the less fight it has left. A simple stunning spell would have been ample" The words were starting to make sense now. "Leave it alone or it'll give up. And it's way too early for that" He heard a groan from the sack and he laughed. That high, cold, thin laugh that haunted Harry Potter in his dreams.
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The comfrey root in his left hand involuntarily dropped to the floor as the muscles in his fingers spasmed. Snape looked down at his hand, confused, and then he remembered. Slowly a sensation like that of a bug crawling under his skin, pushing it's way through veins, sinew and muscle took over. He bit his lip and walked quickly behind his desk, sitting down abruptly.
He growled at the assembly of first year Gryffindor and Slytherin students. "Crush your comfrey root into a fine powder and add to the potion. If it turns a milky grey colour you've got it right. If it goes black you've proven my point that you are all dunderheads" Snape's eyes settled on a tiny boy named Duncan Creevy in the first row that looked like he was about to burst with excitement just by sitting there. His frown intensified and the boy got the point and started crushing his comfrey root into a fine powder.
The Potions master allowed himself the luxury of a small grimace at the pain and rolled his sleeve up carefully. The Dark Mark which was normally a dull red colour was now gleaming with black. Severus swallowed uncomfortably. Black meant they were Summoned. And the closer one was to Voldemort when he summoned them the more it hurt. The former Death Eater had never been in so much pain.
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It had just started to tingle. Ever so slightly, but Harry knew that it would intensify. He knew it would feel like his head was being ripped apart and he knew it was going to happen soon. Why now? Why in the middle of Divination? Just like last year. Bloody Trelawney will be beside herself. The tingling started to increase until soon a white hot pain was running it's way up and down the length of his scar. By this time however Harry had already fled the classroom ("He was busting for the loo Professor" explained Ron who had a worried look on his face) and was halfway down the hallway.
He banged the door aside into the fifth floor boy's bathroom and ran straight through Nearly Headless Nick.
"Sorry Sir Nicholas" Harry mumbled but was grateful for the cold feeling he got from passing through the ghost. It had cooled a little of the pain searing through his forehead and he collapsed on a bench, hand clutched over the pain and breathing heavily.
"Not at all" replied the ghost who was looking at him with concern. "Is everything alright Harry?"
"My scar is hurting...again"
"Oh dear. That doesn't sound at all good. Dumbledore will know what to do, best go straight to him"
"Yeah Harry" joined in Ron who'd just entered through the swinging door. "You know what it means. At least it's good we all get a warning, I suppose"
"Yeah it's just terrific Ron having my head feel like it's on fire when someone is planning on killing me" he said sarcastically.
"Sorry Harry"
"That's alright Ron" he gave a little smile.
"I'm just saying, if your scar doesn't do anything then you know you're safe, right?"
"Right. But now, I know I'm definitely not safe"
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Author's note: I was having a big problem with this. I love writing confrontational scenes and I'd written some great ones (in my opinion) for Sorora and Severus but I don't think that they fit in. I'd love to squeeze them in but I don't think they really go anywhere. They will have to confront each other at some point again but not just yet, and by then circumstances could be greatly different.
Corrie – thank Merlin you reviewed. I was feeling very down in the dumps, very 'no one is reading it wah'. And thanks for your comments on Sweeter Than A Nightingale. Glad you liked it.
jasmin flower – thanks for the input. I'm having trouble will all the ins and outs of it at the moment so hence the absence of a real plot. The plot is coming though. It's going to be a long story so I'll focus a little on everyday happenings at first. I hope you like this chapter.
