Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it? I don't own Harry Potter, I wish you'd stop rubbing it in.
Author Note: My Muse is struggling to abandon me once more but I managed to beat this chapter out of her before she fled. I've managed to lay a trap, so we'll see if I can't get her back in short order to get more work done on this. Enjoy.
16. Snape's Return
"The assassin failed."
"Yes my Lord."
There was a hissing sound of anger and an impression of cold stone and green flames.
"You try to heavily on my mercy Wormtail. You assured me that our remaining insider would have no trouble dispatching of Potter."
"We did not know he'd be sent a wand, and still, all is not lost."
"Crucio." This was followed by an agonized scream. "You've failed too many times Wormtail, tell me why I don't kill you know, I have no more use for you it seems."
"But-" the voice was gasping in pain, "He still may die!"
A hiss of wary anticipation resolved itself into a single word. "How?"
"The device… please my Lord! The pain, it's too-"
"Tell me how!"
Another scream pierced through the shifting gloom and now the whining voice was trembling in agony. "There is a piece inside of him! It's been sealed with a spell, but…" and here his words meshed together into another bray of pain and terror.
"But what?"
"Any strong magic fields will destroy the spell and kill him!"
The low crackling sound that had been pervading the room ceased abruptly and the pained screams were replaced by harsh but relieved panting.
"It would seem that your desperate attempts to save your ratty little tail have paid off. Send word to our remaining insider and tell him that Potter must be forced near the staff. Then we'll be done with him for good."
"And if the Gunslinger interferes?"
A cold laugh punctuated this question. "He won't be allowed near that staff, they're terrified of his craft, they won't risk it waking again."
"Yes my Lord… but what about Lucius, why did he-"
"Lucius has more important work to do here. Don't question me Wormtail."
"Never, my Lord… Is there any danger of-"
With a bolt of pain in his scar, Harry felt himself rising towards wakefulness and the two voices changed quality to far more familiar and comforting ones.
"-any danger of another one?"
"I doubt it, the first would have taken years to make."
"Still, so much rides on this boy…"
The voices were murmurs, Harry had trouble grasping them in the fuddled darkness that pervaded his brain.
"Don't fret too much, he certainly won't be the first one to survive one of those devices. I'm more worried about how it was introduced in the first place."
"It must have to do with the staff…"
Harry was becoming more aware of who was in the room with him. He thought he had caught Professor McGonagall's severe voice in the last line, the other seemed to have the firmer tones of the Auror professor, Ryan Argano.
"Well I don't see what good that does us since we can't get to it to repair it."
"I had hoped he might be able to get to it…"
"Not a chance, the enchantment would crush the spell and kill him, even if he could get close to it. No doubt he's a good flyer, but those winds…"
Harry stirred and his eyes fluttered.
"No more of this, he's waking."
Harry moaned and his eyes snapped open, his hand fled to his scar which still throbbed dully. Ryan Argano and Minerva McGonagall stood beside the table he was lying on and the scarred Auror handed him a small flask containing some sort of peppery potion. Harry drank it and felt the lethargy flee his body as he came fully awake.
"Well Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall looked him up and down as he sat up, "how do you feel?"
Harry shrugged his left shoulder experimentally and felt no pain other than a bit of stiffness that suggested he'd been sleeping on that hard table for quite some time. "Fine, I guess." He looked around and noticed that he was in the same classroom, not in the infirmary as he had expected. He also noticed he was shirtless and shivered in the cool dusky light. Professor Argano handed him his shirt and as he pulled it on, Harry noticed an intricate little mark that appeared to eight or nine figure-eights interlocking with letters or symbols so small that he couldn't make them out. It appeared to have been branded on him just above his heart. "Is that where the-"
"Yes, that's where it is, and where it's going to stay." Argano cut him off with an abruptness that seemed a bit odd to Harry. Harry glanced at it again and shuddered at how close to his heart it had come.
"If you're sure you're feeling all right Mr. Potter, please finish dressing and come with me. Headmaster Sideson would like to speak with you." She turned her eyes to Ryan, "That is assuming we're done here Professor?"
"Yes, nothing more we can do."
"Then please come with me."
Harry swung his legs off the table and felt them pop from soreness. He stretched them fully before standing. "How long was I asleep?" he asked while he finished pulling on his T-shirt.
"Two days."
"Two days?" Harry was incredulous.
"Yes, it was a very complicated spell, we told your friends that you had a rather nasty illness and they were to stay out of the infirmary to avoid contagion. Your teachers have a better idea of what's going on, but many of them have also been kept in the dark as to the true nature of your malady."
"Why?"
"Because someone in this school is passing information about you to the Death-Eaters and we believe they're a member of the faculty."
She swept to the door and looked out rather sneakily before beckoning for Harry to follow. She led him through a dizzying maze of secret passages and short cuts that would have impressed even Fred and George. Soon Harry found himself in a grand corridor he was sure he had never seen before.
"Where are we?" Harry gazed around at the ornate splendor and was reminded of the main hall of the Ministry of Magic.
"We're in the faculty section. You should feel honored, Mr. Potter, very rare indeed are the students admitted in here. I don't believe even your friends Fred and George Weasley have managed to enter this section of the castle."
"I thought we were going to see Sideson."
"We are, we're meeting him in the Headmaster's lounge, we fear his office may be observed somehow and things will be said at this meeting which can not reach the ears of You-Know-Who at any cost."
She swept him through a heavy mahogany door and into a large but cozy room lit by soft glowing sconces burning with a muted golden flame which filled the room with a constant, warm ambiance. Several large couches of ancient Dragon hide leather were arranged around a enormous coffee table topped with gleaming Onyx. The room smelled heavily of old leather and old cigars and everything seemed designed to engender rest and comfort.
Opposite the door was a gigantic hearth which stood cold and empty. Above it was a huge mantle dominated by a carved relief of each of Hogwarts' standards in a ferocious pose. The eyes of each creature were inlaid with a precious stone of that houses color. A ruby for the Lion, Sapphire for the Raven, Emerald for the Serpent, and Amber for the badger. On either side of the hearth was a tall floor to ceiling window which arched at the top. Both were covered by heavy black curtains which created shadowy areas where the sconce light did not seem to reach.
A voice spoke from one of these shadows and Harry felt something cold slither down his back in recognition. "Hello, Mr. Potter."
Harry swallowed and tried to remind himself that he had nothing to fear from this man. "Hello professor."
A low chuckle followed that remark. "Not at the moment I'm afraid," here he stepped into the light, "for now I'm simply Mr. Snape." Severus Snape stood looking like some pale and black robed vampire in the warm golden light. Harry noted that he appeared even more sickly and ill fed than usual. Snape turned and with a skeletal hand threw open the curtains to reveal the sullen, iron gray sky outside. The weak light stole through the room and the warm sconces seem to dim to nothing leaving the room in a dusky half twilight.
Professor McGonagall propelled Harry further into the room with a gentle shove and then stepped around him. "Hello Severus." She gestured pointedly at the hearth with her wand and a warm roaring fire sprang into being.
"Minerva," Snape smiled and it seemed, for all of its weakness, to be genuine. Harry lowered himself onto one of the ancient couches and marveled at the fascinating décor while he waited for Sideson to arrive.
Snape surveyed the room with an unreadable expression. "This room has been used by every headmaster since the school was built. Did you know that Potter?"
"No, not really."
Snape smiled, "I've heard that you've kept yourself remarkably well behaved this year. All ready a month and a half and you don't seem to have lost too many points for your house. Even managed to avoid detention it would seem." He stalked over to drop onto the couch opposite of Harry. "It is a refreshing change to see you taking my advice to heart for once."
Harry wasn't sure how to respond to that one, "Yes sir."
Snape didn't seem to hear him, instead he just stared gloomily out the window and the silence in the room grew heavier.
Professor McGonagall checked her watch. "Well, I'm afraid I must attend to a class of third-year Ravenclaws so you'll have to excuse me. I'm sure Marcus won't be long. Glad to see you all right Severus." Snape nodded but did not take his eyes from the gloom outside. In the pale light, Harry thought he saw a nasty half healed scar marring his cheek.
Harry sat silently starring into the fire and tried not to think about the malevolent bit of metal inside him, straining towards his heart every moment, with nothing holding it back but a spell that it seemed was only going to delay the inevitable...
The door clicked open and Harry turned to see Marcus Sideson enter looking drawn and tired. He seemed to relax a touch when he saw Harry. "Ah, Harry, good to see you up and about. Dumbledore would never forgive me if I allowed you to die in his absence." He sat wearily on one of the unoccupied chairs and turned to Snape. "Severus it's been a long time. However I think we'll both agree that these are somewhat better circumstances considering."
Snape nodded, "Yes, indeed, but please don't feel that you have anything to apologize for, we both know things now we could not have known then."
Sideson sighed heavily and Harry noticed he seemed much more weighed down by the duties of being Headmaster than Dumbledore had ever appeared, even in the most terrible of times. "That's certainly true." He stretched an arm wearily. "Well then, to business."
Harry looked up as both adults turned their attention on him. "Why did you want to speak to me Headmaster?"
"First of all," and here he dropped a roll of parchment in front of Harry, "Professor Dumbledore sends his greetings. Go ahead and read it."
Harry unrolled the letter and read the strong, elegant script.
Dear Harry,
I hope this letter finds you well. Marcus has been kind enough to inform me of your latest brush with darkness. I wish you a speedy recovery and am sure you will pull through. By now, I'm guessing that you have heard from Hagrid the good news that he will be returning to you soon. I have also been in touch with "snuffles" and he wishes me to convey his well being to you, as well as to apologize for him that he has been unable to write. Lastly, I wish to remind you that extraordinary minds and tool can overcome the most insurmountable barriers.
Albus Dumbledore
Harry smiled and re-rolled the parchment. "Was there anything else?"
Sideson nodded, "Yes, Severus, please deliver your message as well."
Snape nodded and withdrew a minuscule vial from somewhere in his volumes oh his sleeves. Inside was a shifting golden liquid which captured and recast the light from the wall sconces. "Drink it now."
Harry took it hesitantly and looked at him questioningly.
Sideson nodded, "Drink it Harry, it's a potion to strengthen the holding spell and Professor Snape is here at very great risk to deliver it."
Harry pulled the stop and drank the potion. It was surprisingly cool in temperature and taste considering it's glowing appearance. He waited a moment and felt nothing, he looked questioningly at Snape who only nodded in satisfaction.
Sideson sighed in relief. "Thank you Snape. Will you be staying the night or would it be safer for you to return now?"
Snape glanced out at the iron colored sky again and was silent for a time. "Best to go now, the longer I stay the more chances that the spy will see me."
"Right, you're sure you entered unnoticed?"
"I'm confident that no one but Dumbledore knows of the entrance I used."
"Good, and once you're out?" Sideson left the question hanging in the air. In response, Snape pulled another small vial from his robes.
"I have all ready prepared a selective memory potion to take once I am on my way."
Sideson nodded. "Thank you for your courage." Both he and Snape stood and Harry followed suit. Sideson held out his hand and Snape shook it formally. "Good Luck, Severus."
"Until we meet again Marcus." He turned with a nod to Harry and was gone.
Professor Sideson sighed and sank back down onto his couch. "Have a seat Harry, we've got some more to discuss before you go back to life as usual." It occurred to Harry that life as usual might be rather hard after this. "Before I tell you the things I must, o you have any questions?"
"What is the Staff Draconis?"
Of the questions Sideson might have been expecting, this didn't seem to be one of them. Marcus drew in a hissed breath. "How did you hear about that?"
"It's mentioned in Hogwarts: A History and when I was waking up, I thought I heard it mentioned. Or maybe I dreamed it."
Sideson eyed him, most likely considering how much to tell. "The Staff Draconis is what stops people from apparating within the Hogwarts grounds. Actually, a combination of the Staff and amplification stone. The staff produces intense magic fields and the amplifier projects it out over the grounds, it distrusts many things, electronics, apparation, things like that."
"So what's wrong with it?"
"We don't know and we can't get to it to fix it."
"Where is-"
"Don't bother asking, I won't tell you." Sideson was looking at him with such finality, it was almost a glare. "Listen to me Harry. I know you and your friends have a habit of saving the day, but this time you have no choice. If you go after that staff, you will be killed."
"What?"
"The magic resonance of that staff would destroy that holding spell, and nothing would stop that sliver from entering your heart. Any other questions?"
"What was Professor Argano doing when he killed those Death Eaters?"
"That is a technique called Gunslinger's Craft. It's very dangerous and as far as I know, Ryan is the only person to master it in a hundred years. If you want to know more about it, you'll have to ask him. The history of the technique and the Loranciados is one and the same." He snorted at this, "Considering how much he likes to talk about his guns, I doubt you'll get much of an answer about any of that." Here he checked his watch. "No more questions I think. I need you to listen carefully.
"There is a spy here and the only conclusion we've been able to reach is that it is a member of the staff. Snape is still considered a faithful Death-Eater, if it were known that he was here, he'd be killed immediately. You must not speak of your injury. You must not tell anyone. Not even Mr. Weasley of Ms. Granger. You will stick to the story that you were ill and you will not speak of the device, or the Staff Draconis. If the spy were to know about your weakness, it would be too easy to lure you into a trap and kill you. Do you understand?"
Harry sat silently, allowing to sink in that he would be truly alone this time. He saw Sideson waiting patiently for his answer and nodded slowly. "Yes sir."
"Good." Rather than looking relieved, Sideson seemed even more somber. "I know this will be hard, but you must be strong." With that he stood and gestured for Harry to do the same. "You'll spend the night in the infirmary and return to class tomorrow. Follow me."
Harry swallowed, and with one last glance around the fantastic room, stood and followed him out.
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Author Note: Whee, this is fun! Here muse… Here musey musey musey! Be vewy vewy quiet, we's huntin' astral projections of inspiration! Anyway, while I try and get my inspiration back, I hope you enjoy. PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU! REVIEW! PLEASE! ahem… where was I? Oh right… Here muse…
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