Notes: This chapter is dedicated to HPFanForLife since she seems to want this update so badly. :D Enjoy!
Chapter One
Severus Snape stood in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, his arms crossed over his chest and his robes falling around him in the way that had always given the students the impression he was about to catch them doing something wrong. He could have been a statue; the only sign of life was the flickering of his eyes every time the heavy wooden doors opened to admit a student or staff member. Curfew was drawing near and students were scurrying in from their outdoor activities or Quidditch practices and tonight was most certainly a night that they would not want to be late. Snape wasn't having the best day and he wasn't afraid to take it out on innocent students.
Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, had asked him to wait in the Great Hall to welcome the four students they had written letters to earlier that day. Snape somehow doubted his greeting would be anything near the kind of welcome they would have received had Dumbledore been waiting for them, but he had reluctantly complied and stationed himself near the stairs. If Dumbledore expected anything beyond his customary sneer and nod of the head for these kids he was sorely mistaken.
Fifteen minutes after curfew Snape was still left standing in the hall, glaring at any professors who spoke to him while he waited. They had absolutely no business questioning him as to why he was standing alone in the hall; they hadn't been there six years ago when things had crumbled down around them. They didn't know what was going to happen if action wasn't taken immediately.
Hermione was the first to arrive, cautiously poking her head into the hall, then straightening self consciously and closing the door behind her when she saw Snape. He would have allowed himself a flicker of a smile if the situation wasn't so serious. Six years had gone by and he was still able to make the girl straighten her back just by looking at her the right way.
"Hello, professor," she said.
Snape nodded curtly. "Miss. Granger."
"Has anyone else arrived yet?"
Snape's dark eyes flickered over to her and then across the empty hall. "Do you see anyone else here?"
Hermione flushed slightly, then shook her head and looked down.
This time Snape actually did allow himself the slightest smile. It was nice to know that even after they'd been gone for a few years he could still shut his former students up with an icy sentence.
"I Apparated from Romania," Hermione said after a moment's silence.
"Did you now?" Snape asked.
She nodded, smiling a little. "I passed the test on the first try."
"Was there ever any doubt, Miss. Granger? You had your nose stuck in the study book for years before taking the test and probably practiced illegally with your friends many times," Snape said coldly.
"Actually, professor, I didn't." Hermione smiled proudly. "Got it perfect on my first try."
"How very interesting," Snape said dryly, trying to mask his surprise. Very few people passed the test on their first try, let alone getting the Apparating part before their third try.
He was still wondering exactly how it was that Hermione Granger was so perfect at everything she tried when the door creaked open again.
"Harry! Kendra!" Hermione exclaimed, rushing forward and throwing an arm around the neck of each. They were both covered in soot, no doubt they had traveled by Floo powder, but that didn't seem to bother Hermione as she hugged them.
"I've missed you both so much!" she said excitedly, releasing them and staring at them both.
Harry smiled. "It's really great to see you, Hermione."
"I've missed you," Kendra said, squeezing the other girl's hand before letting it drop. Her dark eyes flickered to the Potion's Master and they widened in surprise.
"Miss. Rayne," Snape said, inclining his head. "Mr. Potter."
"Professor," Kendra said, smiling. "It's good to see you."
"No doubt," he said shortly.
"Has Ron arrived yet?" Harry asked, turning to look at Snape.
Snape closed his eyes briefly, and then sighed. "Does it look like he's here, Mr. Potter?"
"No . . . sorry."
"If I know Ron he's probably drunk," Hermione said a hint of disdain in her voice. "Ever since he met that girl . . . what was her name?"
"Erin," Kendra supplied. "Her name is Erin."
"Right . . . Erin. Well, ever since he met Erin that's all he's done," Hermione said. "He spends all his time working or drinking."
"Well, that's Ron for you," Harry said.
Hermione frowned. "It wasn't the Ron we knew six years ago."
A tense silence fell over them and the door creaked open slowly, a red head peering around the corner.
"Nice of you to finally join us, Mr. Weasley," Snape said. "Your friends were just busy fighting over who was responsible for your apparent drinking problem. Miss. Granger here thinks it's your girlfriend . . . Erin, is it?"
Hermione flushed a deep red before turning away and walking in the direction of Dumbledore's office.
"Thank you," Kendra snapped at Snape. "Isn't this just what we need? More fighting. Your timing, professor Snape, is just wonderful." She turned and hurried after Hermione, leaving Harry, Ron and Snape to stare after her in shock.
Snape blinked. Had Kendra Rayne really just told him off?
Maybe they had changed more than he'd imagined.
* * * *
"Professor Snape received this last night," Dumbledore said, handing a scrap of parchment to Hermione before steepling his fingers beneath his chin and studying his former students carefully.
They had come up to his office only minutes earlier and after their hellos were finished Dumbledore had become very grave. They knew it had to be serious when his blue eyes fell flat and his hand trembled as he handed the parchment across the table. He hadn't even offered anyone a lemon drop from the bowl on his desk, merely stared at them as they took in the words scribbled hastily on the parchment.
"Snape,
I can't send this to Harry or Dumbledore, it's too risky. I met a woman yesterday in New York, she used a curse to slaughter people. Trucido. I need to know what this means. I'll be at Hogwarts as soon as travel is safe for me.
Sirius Black."
"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed when he saw the name at the bottom.
"Sirius Black?" Kendra asked, her eyes wide.
Harry glanced at her quickly. "You don't know what really happened . . . he . . . you have to trust me, Kendra. Sirius didn't kill anyone. Even Snape knows the truth now."
Kendra nodded slowly. "You'd better explain it to me later, Harry."
"I will," he promised, then glanced at Snape. "Sirius wrote to you."
Snape nodded slowly. "Yes, your godfather felt it necessary to send this letter to me, Merlin only knows why."
Kendra glanced up at him. "He said right in the letter that it was too dangerous to send it to Harry or Dumbledore. This woman he met might know that he's Harry Potter's godfather and if she's as dangerous as he said . . ." she trailed off, looking thoughtful.
"What was the curse?" Hermione whispered. "It's the one we heard that night, isn't it?"
"You were supposed to forget it," Snape said sharply.
"We did," Kendra cut in. "Until a couple years ago. Everything started coming back to us."
"What do you mean by everything?" Snape asked.
"Everything," she said softly. "Things we really didn't want to remember."
"Like what?" he pushed.
Harry glared at him. "Unlike some people here Kendra has a heart. A big one. And seeing you beaten and bruised was more than she could handle."
Snape fell silent, glaring back at Harry.
"We needn't fight over this," Dumbledore said, raising his hands slightly. "We need to be calm and we need to think this over."
"Wouldn't it help if Harry's godfather was here?" Kendra asked. "He'd be able to give us a description of the woman."
"That's why I came," a hoarse voice said from the door of Dumbledore's office and they all turned to see Sirius Black leaning casually against the frame.
"Come in, Sirius," Dumbledore said, motioning to him. "Have a seat."
Kendra took in Harry's godfather and cast a grin in Hermione's direction, who smirked in turn. His hair was shorter than it had been since Harry had last seen him and his face was fuller, less gaunt and haunted. There were still dark circles beneath his tired eyes, but his health had improved greatly.
His eyes flickered over the group, a soft smile on his face when he stopped on Harry, then pausing for a long moment on Kendra.
"I'm Sirius Black," he said after a moment. "Kendra Rayne?"
She nodded. "That's me."
"You're the crazy girl who risked her life to safe the overgrown bat?" he asked, laughter in his eyes.
Kendra bit her lip and smiled slightly. "That would be me."
"Well, I guess someone had to," Sirius continued. "But don't expect the favour to ever be returned."
Kendra glanced up in surprise, then turned her eyes to Snape. She smiled and looked back at Sirius before saying, "You'd be surprised what he did for us."
"Sirius," Dumbledore said, interrupting the conversation. "We need whatever information you can give us about this woman."
"Yes," Snape said dryly. "We need to find out which of these four explained the curse to someone." His black eyes swept over the group angrily and it took all of Kendra's will power not to cringe.
"Like the letter said I met up with her in New York. She was outside walking, just . . . walking and she came right up to me and asked if I was really Sirius Black. That really scared me. I thought I was caught for sure. But when I didn't answer she just smiled and told me to watch what she did. I think . . ." Sirius trailed off and sighed deeply. "I think she was trying to pin it on me. I've done it once in the eyes of the Wizarding world, right? So why wouldn't I do it again?"
"That wouldn't have worked," Hermione said. "Once you were in Azkaban again the killings would have continued."
"And they would have thought I had an accomplice," Sirius explained. "I don't know why she would want to send me back but she did. I could just tell she wanted me gone."
"Did she tell you her name?" Harry asked.
Sirius shook his head.
"What did she look like?" Dumbledore asked.
"She was dressed like a Muggle, but so was I. Her hair was blonde and very long."
"How long?" Ron asked, his eyes suddenly wide.
"Past her waist," Sirius said. "Maybe almost to her knees. It was very distinctive. Her eyes were dark though, which I thought was strange. They were black."
"Most qualified witches and wizards can perform simple glamour spells, Black," Snape said. "How can you be sure she didn't alter her appearance so that you would remember her very clearly and have your information be completely incorrect?"
"It's not," Ron moaned into his hands and the entire room turned to look at him.
"What are you talking about, Ron?" Hermione asked.
"I met a girl in the Three Broomsticks last year," he said. "I was already drunk but she was just so beautiful." He shook his head, looking horrified. "Her name was Calli and her hair was red when I knew her but it has to be the same girl. She's the only person I ever told about the curse."
"You," Snape growled. "I should have known it was you. An incompetent Weasley . . . an incompetent drunk Weasley. Like you needed alcohol to make you any more stupid."
"Did anyone else say anything about the Trucido curse?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes sweeping over the rest of the group.
One by one they all shook their heads, leaving Dumbledore's disappointed eyes on Ron's terrified face.
"You've made a terrible mistake, Ron," Dumbledore said.
"I know," he whispered.
"This woman you shared the information with has already killed countless innocent people."
Ron's face paled, but he nodded. "I know."
"This is your mess," Dumbledore continued. "I call all four of you here to find out who let out this horrible secret and to tell them that they need to fix this. Alone, if they must."
"I . . ." Ron trailed off, looking sick to his stomach. "By myself?"
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "If the others feel they would rather return home then the answer is yes, Ron. By yourself." He turned to the other three sitting before him and regarded them carefully. "The question now is would you three rather return home?"
Harry shook his head. "No. I'm staying to help Ron. I'm an Auror. What kind of Auror would I be if I turned around and went home?"
"I'm staying too," Kendra said quietly.
Hermione nodded. "So am I."
"If these three are willing to stay and help then I am too," Sirius said slowly. "I can't let these kids take all the responsibility."
"I assure you, Black, they are quite capable," Snape said.
"I know they are, Snape," he replied. "I heard what happened in their seventh year. I heard all about it."
"I'm simply saying you shouldn't take their abilities for granted."
"I'm not," Sirius said shortly. "I'm just offering my help as well." His eyes turned to Kendra and he grinned. "You want my help, don't you?"
"Sirius," Harry groaned.
"What?"
"Don't flirt with my friends. She's too young for you . . . and she has a boyfriend."
Sirius smirked and nodded. "Not another word from me."
Snape growled deeply in his throat. "You'll never change, will you, Black?"
Sirius's grin grew. "Not if I can help it."
"It's late," Dumbledore said, interrupting the possible fight. "If you'll follow Severus he can show you the rooms you'll be staying in. Sirius, you have a room just down the hall from the others. Kendra and Hermione can share the first room, and Harry and Ron can share the second. If you're hungry just let me know and I can arrange for the house elves to have something prepared and brought to your rooms."
Hermione frowned at the mention of the house elves, but said nothing.
"Harry and I haven't had the chance to eat," Kendra said. "If it's not too much trouble-"
"None at all," Dumbledore said. "I'll have something sent to each of you. Anyone else?"
No one replied, so Dumbledore ushered them from his office and they descended down the stairs to the hall that led toward their rooms.
"This way," Snape said, then walked briskly down the hall.
They followed in silence, Ron staring at the floor and wringing his hands.
They went into their separate rooms and the castle was silent once more. Each of the remaining four went to sleep fearing how much longer the silence would last before it was torn apart by screams and cries for help.
End Chapter One
