Disclaimer: (Clears throat and taps at microphone) I, Madam Arianna, do
not own anything in the Potterverse.although I would not complain if I did.
The plot is mine and a couple of the new characters. All others belong to
You Know Who.
A/N: Whew! I was beginning to have fan-fiction withdrawal! Sooo very much has been happening, and for anyone who is still out there reading, I want to apologize for taking so very long to update the story. So, without further adieu, let the show begin!
~Chapter 14~
The next Hogsmeade weekend came the weekend before the Yule Ball. A thick layer of snow had formed a blanket over the small village, but there was still quite a bit of bustle from the inhabitants. Most of the students were darting about buying Christmas presents and trying to avoid the friends they were buying for. Hermione was pawing over the novels in Vintage Books in hopes of finding the perfect present. Ron was looking extremely bored and had resorted to begging. "C'mon, Hermione, how long are we gonna be in here? I want to go to the joke store before all the good stuff is gone."
"I want to get something for Professor Atwood, and then we can go." Hermione disappeared around a corner leaving Ron and Harry to pretend to be interested in a big, dusty novel on the main desk. Ron soon lost interest and walked over to look out the window. "Hey, Harry, there's Snape."
"Funny, it's rare for him to leave the school as often as he has been."
"Harry, he's going into.the jewelry store?"
"What?" Harry joined Ron over at the window. Snape peered around to make sure no one was watching him and then entered Unique's Enchanted Jewelers. Moments later he emerged with a small black box in his hand. He placed the box in his robe pocket and strode quickly back to the castle. Ron and Harry watched until his billowing, black cape could no longer be seen.
"What are you two spying at?" Hermione had emerged from the back carrying a blue and gold bound book.
Ron and Harry smiled deviously. "We just saw Snape over at the jewelry store."
"So?"
"Someone's obviously getting a Christmas present from Ole' Snape this year," Ron answered in his most sing-songey voice.
Hermione's eyes lit up. "Let me buy this and then let's go see what he bought!" Hermione was truly a romantic at heart. She gave the wizard behind the counter her money and darted excitedly out the door with Ron and Harry trailing after her.
The shop was dimly lit with tiny candles that were spaced about in a circular manner. It smelled of incense and was decorated with jewels of every size and color. From behind the counter, a tall, thin woman emerged wearing deep crimson robes with bright, golden star jewels around the border. "May I help you?"
Harry turned to face her. "We're just looking, thanks."
"Oh, my!" she exclaimed while focusing on Harry. "Mr. Harry Potter! How are you? Oh, my word, please forgive my rudeness. My name is Emerald Sonders."
Harry smiled. "Nice to meet you."
"Oh, the pleasure is mine. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know."
"Well, actually," Harry decided to take advantage of his fame for once, "We were wondering if you would mind answering a question for us."
"I shall do my best." Her smile reminded him of Professor Atwood.
"There was a man in here a few minutes ago.black hair~"
"Cold stare and billowing robes," Ron added with a sly smile.
"Oh, you must be talking about Severus Snape."
"You know him?" Hermione joined in the conversation.
"Oh, yes, of course. We went to school together. As a matter of fact, we were in the same house."
Ron construed his facial features. "You were in Slytherin?" he asked with a tone of disbelief.
"Why yes! Does that surprise you?"
"A li'l," Ron admitted shyly.
Emerald laughed, amused with Ron's honesty. "You must all be in Gryffindor then." They each nodded their heads and smiled. "Well, being in Slytherin doesn't mean that you have to be evil. I mean, look at me. And Severus isn't so bad, right? I assume you all have him as a teacher."
"We do have him for Potions, but he's not always been the friendliest of gits."
Emerald crossed her arms and reflected. "Potions.hmm.well, I guess that makes sense. He always made the highest marks in Potions in school, but then again, he just seemed more suited for~"
"Defense Against the Dark Arts?" the three chorused.
"Yes."
"He's been trying to get that position for years, but Dumbledore always hires someone else," Harry said while sitting down at the main jewelry case.
"Well, here I go reminiscing! What was it that you wanted to ask me?"
Hermione's eyes lit up again. "We were wondering what he bought."
Emerald smiled. She pulled a small box out from the shelf and brought it over to where the children sat. She opened the box revealing a small, spherical, clear crystal ball at the end of a gold chain. When she picked it up to let Hermione see it, the ball filled with a swirling golden mist and a tiny diamond appeared suspended in the center.
Hermione's mouth dropped open and she whispered, "Snape bought that? It's gorgeous!"
Emerald allowed Hermione to hold the necklace, and the mist immediately changed to a blue color as the diamond turned clear. Hermione's excitement was evident. "How does it work?"
"Each necklace suites the spirit and needs of the person who wears it."
"Like a mood ring?" Harry interjected.
"At times, yes. The majority of the time, the color reflects a particular mood or feeling of the person wearing it. Once it has been given as a gift, and the receiver has put it on, it will only function for that person and no one else."
"You said the majority of the time that is true," Hermione added. "What about when it's not reflecting mood. What does it do then?"
"Well, it's only speculation. Not a lot is known about the functioning of this particular stone. Some say that it serves as a warning, and others believe that it reflects a bond between two people, or maybe even that it serves as a protection charm. Personally, I believe that the little thing has a mind of its own and serves as it sees fit." Emerald smiled warmly at the last thought.
"Why do more people not own these? They're absolutely wonderful!" Hermione sighed while handing the necklace back to Emerald.
Emerald placed it back inside its box. "Oh, for several reasons actually. The crystal mist stone is extremely rare.and expensive. I had to pull quite a few strings to obtain two at once. Besides that, the necklaces do not work for everyone. A person must be of a very powerful wizarding lineage or possess very unique powers in order for the crystal to react."
"You said it's very expensive?" Ron looked pensively at the box.
"Oh, yes." She gave them a figure which caused their mouths to drop open. "Yes, I know. I was shocked when Severus came in and asked for this particular necklace by name. He wouldn't tell me who it was for, but that's just like him. He's always been a very private person, especially when he's in love."
"Eww!" Ron contorted his face.
Hermione punched him hard in the side and rolled her eyes. "I think it's perfectly wonderful. And besides, hasn't he been a lot more tolerable this term? Maybe all he needs is a proper social life."
"C'mon, Hermione. This is enough to make anyone sick. You can't possibly see Snape going out on dates and getting all mushy, can you?" Ron was completely disgusted. The last person on earth that he could ever imagine being romantic was Snape.
Emerald was laughing hard. "Severus must have changed more than I realized. He used to be quite the romantic back when we were in school. As a matter of fact, Harry, he had quite a liking for your mother."
Harry's face went to a state of pure shock. "My.mother?"
"Yes. He was very fond of her. He was always trying to show off and impress her. Of course, that caused a lot of tension between Severus and the Merauders. Lilian's heart truly belonged to James, but she was such a gentle soul that she couldn't bare to hurt Severus' feelings. James allowed Severus some leeway for a while, but as James' and Lily's relationship became more and more serious, Severus got the picture. It's something he had a hard time getting over.in fact, I don't think he ever showed much interest in anyone after that."
Harry soaked in everything Emerald had said. She had explained more about his parents and Snape in a few minutes than he could have researched in weeks.
Hermione looked outside and realized that they had lost track of time. "Oh! We're late!" They jumped up and moved toward the door.
Harry turned and faced Emerald before running out into the snow. "Would you mind.well.if I came in and talked to you again sometime?"
Emerald smiled enthusiastically. "That would be wonderful! Send me an owl before you come and I'll have some of our old photos together for you to look at."
Harry smiled and nodded. His spirits were higher than they had been in months. He wondered how well she knew Sirius and Lupin and all of the things they got into as children. Harry decided to write Lupin again before the Yule Ball. He wanted to weeks ago, but he felt like the moment was now more appropriate.
The three were jogging towards the school when commotion from an alley caught their attention. They stopped and concealed themselves behind a building as they spied in the alley.
"Time is running out! The Dark lord wants this completed soon, and we're not upholding our end of the bargain. Do you know what happens when people don't fulfill their promises to him?" A short, pale complected man in solid black wizarding robes was pacing back and forth and speaking with a shaky voice.
"Stop worrying. Granted, we have had a few mishaps, but that was only the fault of the blundering fool~" Harry recognized the man speaking as the one who had attacked Snape before school had started.
Lyle turned around and cut the man off and held a finger up in his face to threaten. "If anyone here is a fool, it is you. How can you possibly expect me to carry out this entire assignment on my own?"
Ron and Harry exchanged confused looks as Hermione's face turned to pure shock. Angeline stood with her arms crossed, scowling at the arguing men. "Now listen, both of you," she began as she pushed Lyle away from the tall, slender man. "We're not getting anything done by standing around arguing."
"He's gonna kill us, that's what he's gonna do," the short pale man was holding his hand to his head. His other hand was trembling.
"Oh would you please shut up! If anyone gets killed, it's going to be you, not us." McGonagall emerged from the dark.
Lyle shot McGonagall an evil look and growled, "And what about you? Where were you during the match? My plan would have worked if you had been where you were supposed to be."
"Oh, please!" McGonagall shot a warning glance at Lyle. "Do you honestly expect me to get any work done when she can't keep Snape out of the way?" McGonagall grabbed Angeline by the arm and pushed her toward Lyle.
"You'd do well not to touch me." Angeline jerked her arm away from McGonagall and glared. "I was doing fine until that girl got there~"
"Shhh! Did you hear that?" The tall, slender man silenced the woman, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione held their breath. Surely he had not heard them. The man disappeared into the darkness and returned seconds later. In each hand he held the collar of a Weasley twin. "Look what we have here...two nosey Hogwarts' students."
"They must be dealt with, otherwise they'll run and squeal to that meddling old headmaster," Lyle moved forward with his wand aimed.
McGonagall held her hand up to stop Lyle. "We can't just kill them here. Dumbledore will realize if any of his students go missing."
"We'll have to come up with a cover story then, won't we?" As he raised his wand, George and Fred took a swing at the tall man who held them. He laughed in a cold and sinister manner and held them out in front of Lyle.
Hermione darted out in front of the alley before Ron or Harry could stop her. "Oh, there you are Professor Atwood! I was hoping I would find you before I went back to the school. I have the most wonderful news! Can you come with me down to Honeydukes?"
Hermione's sudden appearance caught the group off guard. It gave Harry the perfect opportunity to jump out and yell, "Expelliarmus," sending Lyle's wand jetting across the road. At the same moment, Ron had sneaked around the building and hit the tall man hard across the back of the legs. Fred and George seized the opportunity to squirm out of the alley and ran back toward the school as fast as their legs would carry them.
"We've got.to go.faster!" Harry yelled in between breaths. Behind them, Lyle, Angeline, and the tall man were at their heels. Luckily, Angeline slid in the snow going up the hill giving them a little headway.
"Almost.there," Ron was focused on the main doors. Once inside, they slammed the doors shut hoping to buy a little more escape time. As they ran down the hall, McGonagall came out of her office and stepped right in front of them. Fred and George attempted to stop, but the efforts came too late. They slammed right into her and all three fell to the floor. Fred and George jumped up just as quickly as they had fallen and stared down at McGonagall with their hearts pounding and their mouths gaping.
"Where have you all been? Have you any idea what time it is?" McGonagall stood up and brushed her robes off while staring sternly at the students.
The five exchanged glances of panic. There was no possible way that McGonagall could have gotten up to the castle before them, and yet there she stood.
Hermione began to speak when the latch to the main door clicked and the door began to open. The fivesome turned and began to run again. "Come back here this instant! What is going on?" McGonagall shouted after them, but they did not reply.
The door swung open and Hagrid and Lyle stepped in. McGonagall turned to see who was entering as several flakes of snow shot into the hall and quickly melted. "Did Harry and the others come through here, Professor?" Hagrid towered over her with a look of concern etched on his face.
"Yes, they did. What is going on? They acted like they were scared to death."
Lyle stepped forward. "Nothing to be alarmed about, I assure you, Professor McGonagall. My sister, some of our friends, and I were arguing in town. The children heard us and concocted an elaborate story to explain why they were late." Lyle smiled his most charming smile and took Professor McGonagall by the arm, leading her down the hall. "Now, don't be upset with them. After all, children will be children. They just lost track of time in the joke shop. I shall have a talk with them, if you will show me to their common room."
"Perhaps we should just leave 'em be til in the morning." Hagrid had a look in his eyes that McGonagall could not place, but she did agree.
"Yes, I agree. I will have them meet you in your office early tomorrow morning."
Lyle smiled. "Very well. I shall explain everything to them then." He bowed politely and moved down the hallway.
The five students had stopped in a hallway near the library to catch their breath. Hermione slid down the wall and landed on the floor. "What are we going to do? We don't even know if we knocked down the real McGonagall~"
"Or if the real McGonagall was in town a few minutes ago." Fred cut into Hermione's sentence with a tone of despair in his voice.
"Now do you understand how we felt at the start of term?" George looked at Harry and shrugged his shoulders. "We're stuck between a rock and a hard place."
Harry had caught his breath and was pacing back and forth in front of the window. He turned to George and Fred, "What were you two doing back there, anyway?"
"We had been to see Mr. Salister when we saw them heading into the alley. We decided to find out what they were up to since everyone else had headed back to the school already."
Ron looked up from his seat on the floor. "We've got to get to Dumbledore before anyone catches out of our rooms."
"I agree, Harry said. With that, all five moved stealthily down the hall.
Upon arriving at Dumbledore's office, Harry ran through a stream of possible passwords, but nothing worked.
"Halt, who goes there? Draw your sword!" a tiny voice from a portrait on the wall demanded.
"Sir Cadigan! We need to see Dumbledore immediately. Can you help us?"
The knight recognized Harry and put his sword back. "Dumbledore is in London picking up the prize for the upcoming ball. He has left me here to guard his domain," he finished, puffing his chest up proudly.
"W-well, when's he coming back?"
"Three days."
"What'll we do now?" Ron felt hopeless as he ran his hand through his hair.
Harry lowered his eyes and whispered, "This can't wait, and someone has to know what's going on."
"Who can we trust though?" Hermione asked.
"Snape."
"What?" all three of the Weasleys chorused.
"What makes you think Snape's gonna help us? He doesn't even like us." Ron's distaste for the idea was evident.
"Look, our past with Snape hasn't been a pleasant one, that's certain, but I don't see any other way around it. As much as we get on his nerves, Snape always does only what he thinks is in the best interests of the school. Besides, back in the alley they were saying that Snape got in the way of their plans. That means that he is not part of what's going on."
Fred spoke up, "But, Harry, George and I saw two Snapes the last time we were in Hogsmeade."
"We'll just have to take a chance. There's no one else."
"I agree with Harry," Hermione said.
"Alright, I agree. We have to make sure it's actually Snape, though," Ron decided as the twins nodded in agreement.
"Oh, there you all are." The five turned in horror. Lyle was coming up the stairs toward them. "Shouldn't you all be in bed? Professor McGonagall went into the common room and didn't find any of you. I do believe that's worth some points from your house."
Cornered, they did the only thing possible-they charged at Lyle. After knocking him to the floor, they ran down the stairs and moved quickly to the dungeons.
The students moved silently up to Snape's door. Harry gulped and knocked on the door.
Snape awoke to the sound of knocking at his door. He rolled out of bed and reached for his robe. After putting it on, he lit the lamp next to his bed as the tapping sounded again. When he walked over and opened the door, there were five students staring up at him.
Harry stepped back and looked blankly at Snape. "We're sorry, Sir, but we have to talk to you, now." Harry expected Snape to yell, but he allowed his irritation to show through a gruff, sleepy whisper instead.
"Potter, have you any idea what time it is? Could this not wait until tomorrow, or must you all insist on roaming the halls at night and breaking the rules constantly?"
"Sir, please just listen. There's no one else we can tell. Dumbledore is gone and we can't trust anyone else."
Snape stared at Harry for a few moments. Harry tried to read Snape's face but could not. "Wait here," Snape finally said and retreated back into his room, closing the door behind him. Five minutes later Snape emerged in full robes. "Sit down," he motioned them all to the chairs.
"Professor Snape, do you mind telling me how I got this scar on my hand?" Hermione held up her hand for Snape to see.
"Ms. Granger, if you have gotten me up in the middle of the night to play games, I shall be very unmerciful"
"Please, Sir, just humor me. We have to make certain.well.please, just humor me."
Snape looked as though he could have pulled his wand out and turned them all into spiders. His curiosity was now outweighing his ill mood, so he answered, "You know very well that I cut your hand to perform a counter- curse on Mr. Potter. Now, talk, or suffer the consequences."
Harry was satisfied and began talking. He recounted all of the events that had taken place in Hogsmeade, including the previous trip. Snape listened attentively, nodding and leaning forward on occasions. When he had related everything he could recall, he took a deep breath and said, "and here we are. Now do you see why we had to come in the middle of the night and why we had to make sure you were really you?"
Snape leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He said nothing for a few moments, but he did not take his eyes off Harry. Finally he spoke. "Mr. Potter, how much of this story do you expect me to believe?" It was now Snape's turn to test Harry.
Harry looked Snape square in the eyes as he stood and leaned over the desk. "All of it. Give me your strongest truth serum and ask me anything you want. I have nothing to hide."
"That won't be necessary. I believe you."
Ron, Hermione, and the twins sighed with relief.
"Go back up to your rooms, and do not speak a word of this to anyone else- and I do mean anyone."
"Don't worry, you have our word." They filed out of the room as quietly as they had come and made it back to the tower without encountering anyone.
"What do you suppose Snape's gonna do?" George plopped down on the couch next to the fireplace.
"I dunno, but what are we going to do tomorrow when McGonagall sees us at breakfast tomorrow?" Hermione sighed while collapsing into the armchair.
The portrait swung open and McGonagall entered, arms crossed and face fixed in a furrow.
Ron looked at Hermione and whispered, "Forget tomorrow.we have a problem now."
"Where have you all been? You know the rules! No one, and I mean no one is to be roaming this school at night. Not to mention your tardiness from Hogsmeade. Well, explain yourselves!"
No one said anything. McGonagall crossed the room to stand in front of them. "Someone had better say something before I truly get upset."
"Professor, we can't give you an explanation," Harry spoke up. McGonagall opened her mouth to object but Harry spoke again before she could say anything else. "But I promise you that Professor Snape knows why we were up roaming around~"
"We have actually been in his office for the last hour-and-a-half. We had his permission," Hermione cut in attempting to help.
"And I promise that we will tell you why when we can, but please understand that we just can't explain anything right now."
McGonagall didn't seem at all pleased but elected to accept their answer anyway. "Very well then, but you are not out of trouble by any means. It's dangerous enough out there without all of you sneaking about. I shall speak with Severus in the morning while you are meeting with Professor Atwood in his office before breakfast."
They exchanged looks but said nothing. "Now, I advise you all go to bed. It's already three in the morning. Well.go on." When McGonagall heard their doors close from upstairs, she allowed herself to sigh. "I am getting too old for this," she mumbled to herself as she walked out the hole into the hallway.
The next morning came very early. When Harry heard the morning bell chime, he sat up groggily and looked out the window. The light shot through the window and across the room when he pulled open the curtain. Ron sat up and rubbed his eyes as Harry put on his glasses. "Mornin' already?" Ron questioned between yawns.
Harry nodded and began to get dressed. "We have to go down to Professor Atwood's office before breakfast, and I want to get it over with as quick and painlessly as possible."
"You know, I just don't' trust him. There's something about him that I just can't put my finger on."
"I know what you mean, Ron. Maybe it's just the fact that the Dark Arts position is jinxed." They both headed down the stairs and waited for Hermione. When she arrived, Harry heard the next bell chime. "Where are Fred and George?"
"Maybe they're already down there. C'mon, we can't wait around all morning. I'm starving."
The door to Lyle's office was closed, so Harry knocked, although reluctantly. Lyle opened the door and ushered them inside. He locked the door behind them. Fred and George were already there, but they didn't at all seem upset or nervous to Harry.
Lyle pointed to the seats and the three sat down next to the twins. Lyle smiled and sat down across the desk from them. "Fred and George tell me that you five had quite an experience last night. Do you three want to tell me about it?"
"I'm afraid we can't," Harry looked inquisitively at Fred and George. Surely they had not said anything to Lyle after Snape said not to.
"I see. You three are very loyal. Tell me, didn't Severus seem a little out of sorts last night? I know that he told you not to say anything, but did it ever occur to you that maybe Severus wasn't who he pretended to be?"
"What are you talking about?" Ron crossed his arms and glared unapprovingly at Lyle.
"Listen, I went to speak to Severus this morning and he denied that any of you had been to see him last night which means that you told an imposter what happened."
Harry's scar began to burn as soon as Lyle finished talking. He pretended that nothing was wrong, but he did not let his guard down. Cautiously, Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and then back at Lyle. The twins seemed perfectly alright with everything. "Then how did you know he told us not to say anything?"
"Fred and George told me. If you three will just trust me as they have, then I can get to the bottom of this."
"Well.if Fred and George told you.we won't get in your way as long as you don't tell Snape that we're helping you."
Lyle smiled. "Good, now I need to show you each something individually in here," Lyle stood up and pointed at the large storage room behind his desk. "I think that things will be a lot easier to understand once you see it."
Harry's scar burned again when Fred began to talk. "It's alright, Harry. Professor Atwood had to show us before we could understand, but it's okay now."
Hermione and Ron glanced at Harry. They too felt uneasy about the situation but opted to wait for Harry's response.
"That's not necessary, Sir. If you'll excuse us, Professor McGonagall will want to speak to us before breakfast~"
"Sorry, Harry, but that is not an option." Lyle sprang out of the chair and grabbed Harry by the arm, pulling him towards the storage room. Ron ran to help Harry and Hermione ran to open the door.
"Alohamora!" Hermione yelled, but the lock did not budge. She fidgeted with it and resorted to banging on the door and screaming for help.
"You all should have minded your own business last night!" Lyle threw Ron at the wall while still struggling to pull Harry towards the closet. Fred and George remained in their seats with calm, pleasant faces.
In the hall, Angeline was walking toward her brother's office when she heard Hermione's voice screaming for help. She sprinted the rest of the way and pulled out her wand. "Move away from the door!" she yelled and then commanded, "Alohamora!" Nothing happened. "Reducto!" Still nothing. "Blast! There's an magic warding charm placed on the door!"
"Help! Please hurry!" Hermione pleaded with her. She then turned and aimed her wand at Lyle and yelled, "Lacarnum Inflamari." Flames shot out of Hermione's wand and hit Lyle's robe. He let go of Harry and beat at the flames.
"Accio wand!" Harry commanded, and Lyle's wand shot into Harry's hand. He ran over to the door to help Hermione.
"Harry!" Harry turned around at Ron's cry only to see a chair flying across the room at him. "Inpedimenta!" Ron yelled, causing the chair to slow down thus allowing Harry and Hermione to move out of harms way.
"Hermione, what's going on in there?" Angeline had resorted to trying to break the lock by hand but was having no luck.
"Your brother has lost his mind! Help us! The door's protected from inside."
"As well as outside," she replied as her sense of urgency rose. Her mind raced. She could not get the door open with magic, but perhaps it would open with brute force. She dropped to her knees and placed her fingers to the sides of her head. From inside, she heard Ron yell and then a loud bang on the wall. "Please let this work," she muttered as she closed her eyes and concentrated.
Across the school, McGonagall and Snape sat whispering. "This is simply terrible," McGonagall sipped her tea and placed the cup back on the desk. "No wonder the children wouldn't talk to me last night."
"I apologize for that, but I could not place them in further danger if the imposters were indeed inside the school." Snape suppressed a yawn. He had spent the rest of the night searching the halls and researching in the library's restricted section and had consequently not made it back to bed. As he reached for his cup of coffee, a pain unlike anything he had ever experienced shot through his head. He gripped his head and gasped while nearly doubling over.
"Severus, what is it? What's the matter?" McGonagall leaned forward and offered a hand of support.
The pain subsided just as quickly as it had appeared and Snape shook his head slightly and stood. "I'm not certain, but something is wrong. Will you come with me please?" Snape moved swiftly out the door with McGonagall at his heels.
Hermione and Ron darted behind a desk to evade another flying chair. Then, as a sudden change of mood, Lyle regained his composure and held out his arms. "Enough of this!" he yelled and jerked open the door to the storage room. A dementor shot out of the room and awaited commands. "Dispose of them!"
The dementor moved toward Ron and Hermione. They were cornered. Harry shouted, "Expecto Patronum," and his huge, silver horse lit the room. From behind him, Lyle attacked Harry sending his wand flying across the room. Harry scrambled across the floor, but Lyle grabbed hold of his robe as well as the wand Harry had taken from him earlier.
Angeline clawed at the door as she listened to Hermione scream. Hagrid was soon behind her. "What goin on here, Ms. Angeline?"
"Hagrid! Can you get the door open?" She scrambled out of the way and Hagrid pounded on the door as hard as he could. It left a crack down the center, but it did not open it.
"Lyle, please open the door! C'mon, we can talk about this!" Angeline pleaded with her brother, desperate to get to the children.
McGonagall and Snape were soon standing next to her. Snape looked at Angeline. Her hands were bleeding from clawing and pounding at the door. "Severus, he has the children in there!"
Hagrid pounded at the door with determination. If Harry was in there, he would get to him.
"Accio broomstick," Snape held out his wand. Seconds later his broomstick shot into his hands. He pushed open the window and flew out it. He rounded the tower and moved in front of the window of Lyle's office. Inside he saw the picture of disarray. Lyle had hold of Harry, who was grabbing madly for his wand. Across the room he saw a dementor with its arm stretched out toward Ron and Hermione. Without hesitation, Snape swung out from the tower to gain momentum and then sped toward the window. He broke through it and went rolling across the floor into Lyle. Harry was able to free himself and he darted toward his wand.
Snape was on his feet and running towards the dementor a second after knocking Lyle to the ground.
Hermione felt herself growing cold and the room was getting dim. She fought the feeling as hard as she could. Ron positioned himself in front of her, but was having trouble focusing as well. Just in time, Snape slammed into the dementor sending it into the wall. Ron grabbed hold of Hermione's arm and pulled her away from the creature.
Snape felt all the warmth leave his body. He sluggishly scooted across the floor in an attempt to distance himself from the dementor. Several times his arms gave out and he hit the floor on his back. The dementor recovered quickly and turned towards Snape to administer the kiss of death.
At that moment, Hagrid finally broke through the door with the help of McGonagall and Angeline using weakening charms on the magical field that protected it.
The dementor had grabbed Snape by the collar when Harry summoned another Patronus. It immediately let go of Snape when Harry approached, and it retreated to the side room. Harry kept his Patronus held until he was able to walk over to the door and lock it.
Hagrid moved to Hermione and Ron. They were okay, but exhausted. Lyle sprang to his feet and moved toward the door. Angeline cut him off. Her eyes were flaming. "Explain yourself!" Lyle said nothing. He had a look of defeat spread across his face. He pulled out a small vial from the pocket of his robes and quickly drank its contents. Seconds later, he fell lifelessly to the floor. Angeline gasped, confused and livid at the same time, and ran to his side.
Snape felt the warmth coming back to his body and he raised up to his knees. Lyle was on the floor and Angeline had backed away from him with tears streaming down her face. "He's.he's.dead," she said in a trembling, shocked voice.
McGonagall raised her hand to her mouth. Hagrid looked down at the floor as did Ron and Hermione. The twins were still seated despite all of the commotion. Snape stood and steadied himself. His legs were still a little shaky, so he used caution as he moved toward McGonagall. "Take her out in the hall, Minerva."
McGonagall nodded and led Angeline by the arm out of the room Snape started to summon a stretcher fro Lyle's body when a blinding light filled the room. Lyle's body disappeared, leaving only his cloak behind. "Voldemort called his body back. He was on a suicide mission." Snape looked at Harry and moved toward the closet door. "I assume that the dementor will no longer be in here either, but be ready with your Patronus in case it is."
Harry nodded. He stood back from the door with his wand raised. Snape opened the door, but there was no dementor inside. Instead, in the corner, sat a figure in ropes. As Snape re-emerged from the storage room, he brought with him Lyle Atwood. Lyle had been tied up and gagged. There was a scratch and bruise on his forehead and blood had dripped down his face and onto his robes. Snape pulled the gag out of his mouth and handed him over to Hagrid as he went out to fetch Angeline back into the room. As Angeline was ushered back in, she saw her brother standing there quite alive. The shock and confusion were too much for her, and she passed out. Snape caught her and lowered her to the floor.
Hagrid pulled the roped from Lyle's arms and legs, and Lyle swept over to his sister. "What is the matter with her?" he growled the question at Snape.
"Your double killed himself and she thought it was you. When you emerged from the closet, it was too much of a shock for her system to manage."
Angeline opened her eyes and the room swam into focus. Lyle was hovering over her, and Snape helped her to her feet. "Wh-what is going on..Lyle?" She was battling an array of emotions in her mind.
"I was going over some notes when some man came barging in. He hit me across the head with a metal bar, and the next thing I knew I was in the closet fighting to get the ropes off. I could hear the children screaming from outside, but I couldn't free myself."
Harry moved over to Fred and George. They had not so much as flinched during the entire struggle. "Professor Snape, something is wrong with Fred and George. They haven't budged since we first came in here." Harry moved out of the way as Lyle and Snape exchanged glares and examined the twins.
"Hypnotized," Lyle announced as he waved his wand in front of their eyes. Fred and George blinked several times and looked around the room. There were broken chairs everywhere. Glass was sprayed across the floor and seven sets of eyes were focused upon them.
"Did we miss something?" George questioned feeling rather uncomfortable with all of the attention.
Angeline moved toward Snape. "Severus, what is all of this about?"
Snape turned his eyes to McGonagall who nodded her head approvingly. "Voldemort is after something in the school. He obviously has someone brewing Polyjuice potions for his Death Eaters."
"Then he's been planning this for at least a month."
"We believe that it has been longer than that.possibly since the last school term when." McGonagall stopped and looked at Harry with concern.
"When he performed the rebirth ritual using my blood at the Tri-Wizard tournament," Harry finished her sentence.
"We should make sure that there's no one else in the school who's not 'ter be here," Hagrid offered.
"Agreed," McGonagall said. "We'll have everyone remain in the Great Hall after breakfast. I'm afraid it will take some time to cover the entire castle, though."
Snape nodded, "Indeed." He glared at Lyle as he proceeded to the door.
"C'mon, all of you," McGonagall ushered the children out the door. "I think you all have had enough adventuring for one week. Go on down to breakfast."
"I'll tend to things downstairs, Professors." Hagrid followed the students out the door.
Snape's arm stung slightly, and he rolled up his sleeve revealing a shard of glass that was protruding several inches from his elbow. Angeline watched him pull the glass out and caught a glimpse of the tattoo just below it. She allowed a look of astonishment to creep across her face. "Severus?" she whispered while pointing at his arm. Snape quickly pulled his sleeve back down and turned his back on Angeline. McGonagall looked down at the floor, and Lyle crossed his arms and looked rather pleased.
"That's how you knew the noitome counter-curse and about the Death Eaters." Angeline realized quickly that Snape's past as a Death Eater was not a topic that he was proud of or that he wished to discuss.
"It looks like we've found our breach," Lyle was gloating as he circled Snape. "Obviously Death Eaters cannot be trusted-nor should they be allowed to work in a school around children."
"McGonagall looked up. "Ex-Death Eater, Lyle, and Severus has more than paid his debt." Her glare could have bore a hold through Lyle. "He is neither a breach nor is he an endangerment to these children."
"If I have the 'courts' permission," Snape remarked coldly to no one in particular, "there is work to be done, and it will not get done by itself."
Angeline wasn't sure what to say. She was quite shocked that Snape had been a Death Eater, but there were things in her past that she was too embarrassed and ashamed to tell anyone, too. She respected his privacy although she did have a dozen questions that she wanted to ask. On the other hand, Snape seemed to be causing a lot of tension between her brother and her even if it was unintentional. Lyle simply did not trust anyone where his sister was concerned. In the end, she opted to not say anything. She followed out the door shortly after Snape and jogged to catch up with him.
"You don't honestly trust him, do you?" Lyle questioned McGonagall after Snape and Angeline left the room. "My sister and I have been trying to infiltrate the Death Eaters' circle for the last few years, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's never to trust one-ex or not."
"Professor Snape is a Hogwarts teacher, and I have no doubt in my mind that he is trustworthy. He would never place any of these children in danger~"
"How do you know? Have you any idea what the Death Eaters of his generation did?"
"I'm certain that I am much more familiar with past occurrences than you are, and I am certainly wise enough not to question Albus Dumbledore's decisions. Professor Snape may have done some terrible things in his past, but that is not for you or me to judge. Furthermore," McGonagall realized that she was beginning to shout, so she lowered her voice, "Severus has been extremely lenient with you.for what reason, I'll never understand. As Albus' second in charge at this school, consider this a direct order. Stop causing him trouble. Otherwise, you will have no one to blame for your fate but yourself. You'd do well to remember that Severus is a much more experienced mage than yourself, and I will not hold him accountable for silencing the trouble-makers that reside herein." With that, she turned and proceeded to the Great Hall.
Angeline moved silently next to Snape as they approached the Great Hall. Before they entered, Angeline grabbed Snape's arm and pulled him aside. He looked at her with his trademark emotionless mask.
"Severus, I need to know something."
"Look, if it's about~"
"Shh-just listen. Tell me, what happened just before you and Minerva came up to Lyle's office?"
Snape had expected her to ask him about the Dark Mark, or the Death Eaters, or anything else. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Well.how did you know where to come, or that anything was wrong?"
Snape was now the one that was astonished. He wondered if she had something to do with what he had experienced. "I'm not exactly sure. It was just.a feeling."
Angeline's smile returned. "Then it did work. I wasn't sure that it would, I mean, I've only done it one other time."
"Done what, exactly?"
Angeline blushed slightly. "Well, I knew that I couldn't get to the children, so I.well, I called you."
"Where did you learn to do that?"
"My mother was able to do it. She was quite talented at it, but.she never actually taught me how. That's why I wasn't sure if it had worked or if you just happened to be in the right place at the right time."
"You said that you had done it one other time."
"Yes, but it was more or less an accident. I was.well." Angeline seemed to be searching for the most appropriate term, "I was in a bit of a spot, and I summoned my father." Snape listened intently but noticed that her tone changed significantly when she mentioned her father. Angeline became a bit more distant and added, "I must have done something wrong because he yelled out in pain from across the house. He warned me not to ever do it again. I suppose he thought I was misusing my magic."
Snape allowed a corner of his mouth to rise to a half-smile. "I will admit that it was an interesting experience."
Angeline looked hurt. "Oh, Severus, I'm sorry! Did it hurt you too?"
"Don't apologize. It only hurt for a moment, and besides," Snape was now smiling full-heartedly and taking her by the hands, "I am pleased that you summoned me before anyone else."
Angeline's face burned as she allowed an embarrassed smile to come across her face. Just then, McGonagall approached, and Harry came out of the Great Hall. Snape dropped Angeline's hands feeling rather ridiculous.
"Mr. Potter, everyone is supposed to be in the Great Hall," Snape's ill mood quickly returned.
"Yes, Sir, I know, but there's something that I have that might help."
"Well, what is it Harry?" McGonagall's face had returned to its naturally stern state despite the fury that it held only moments ago.
Harry held up his wand and summoned a small, black box from his room. Moments later it was in his hands. He waved his wand across the lock and it fell open. Harry pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to Snape. "Professor Dumbledore gave this back to me last week. He made me promise only to use it if it were a dire emergency." Harry tapped his wand on it and said the magic words that made the map appear.
As Lyle approached wearing his most pressing glare, Harry closed the box and handed it to Snape. "Sir, I know that you and I haven't always been.well."
"Yes, Mr. Potter."
".I trust you now, and I can't think of a bigger emergency than this, so I'm sure that Professor Dumbledore will understand if I give this to you for now. Just, please, don't let anyone else have it. It's caused more problems than it's worth, but it could be useful to find someone who is not supposed to be here."
Harry offered a half smile as he turned to go back in the Great Hall. He hoped that he was doing the right thing by giving Snape the Marauder's Map. He felt a small knot building in his stomach and decided that he was going to have to be on his best behavior until Snape decided to give him the map back.if he gave it back.
A/N: Whew! I was beginning to have fan-fiction withdrawal! Sooo very much has been happening, and for anyone who is still out there reading, I want to apologize for taking so very long to update the story. So, without further adieu, let the show begin!
~Chapter 14~
The next Hogsmeade weekend came the weekend before the Yule Ball. A thick layer of snow had formed a blanket over the small village, but there was still quite a bit of bustle from the inhabitants. Most of the students were darting about buying Christmas presents and trying to avoid the friends they were buying for. Hermione was pawing over the novels in Vintage Books in hopes of finding the perfect present. Ron was looking extremely bored and had resorted to begging. "C'mon, Hermione, how long are we gonna be in here? I want to go to the joke store before all the good stuff is gone."
"I want to get something for Professor Atwood, and then we can go." Hermione disappeared around a corner leaving Ron and Harry to pretend to be interested in a big, dusty novel on the main desk. Ron soon lost interest and walked over to look out the window. "Hey, Harry, there's Snape."
"Funny, it's rare for him to leave the school as often as he has been."
"Harry, he's going into.the jewelry store?"
"What?" Harry joined Ron over at the window. Snape peered around to make sure no one was watching him and then entered Unique's Enchanted Jewelers. Moments later he emerged with a small black box in his hand. He placed the box in his robe pocket and strode quickly back to the castle. Ron and Harry watched until his billowing, black cape could no longer be seen.
"What are you two spying at?" Hermione had emerged from the back carrying a blue and gold bound book.
Ron and Harry smiled deviously. "We just saw Snape over at the jewelry store."
"So?"
"Someone's obviously getting a Christmas present from Ole' Snape this year," Ron answered in his most sing-songey voice.
Hermione's eyes lit up. "Let me buy this and then let's go see what he bought!" Hermione was truly a romantic at heart. She gave the wizard behind the counter her money and darted excitedly out the door with Ron and Harry trailing after her.
The shop was dimly lit with tiny candles that were spaced about in a circular manner. It smelled of incense and was decorated with jewels of every size and color. From behind the counter, a tall, thin woman emerged wearing deep crimson robes with bright, golden star jewels around the border. "May I help you?"
Harry turned to face her. "We're just looking, thanks."
"Oh, my!" she exclaimed while focusing on Harry. "Mr. Harry Potter! How are you? Oh, my word, please forgive my rudeness. My name is Emerald Sonders."
Harry smiled. "Nice to meet you."
"Oh, the pleasure is mine. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know."
"Well, actually," Harry decided to take advantage of his fame for once, "We were wondering if you would mind answering a question for us."
"I shall do my best." Her smile reminded him of Professor Atwood.
"There was a man in here a few minutes ago.black hair~"
"Cold stare and billowing robes," Ron added with a sly smile.
"Oh, you must be talking about Severus Snape."
"You know him?" Hermione joined in the conversation.
"Oh, yes, of course. We went to school together. As a matter of fact, we were in the same house."
Ron construed his facial features. "You were in Slytherin?" he asked with a tone of disbelief.
"Why yes! Does that surprise you?"
"A li'l," Ron admitted shyly.
Emerald laughed, amused with Ron's honesty. "You must all be in Gryffindor then." They each nodded their heads and smiled. "Well, being in Slytherin doesn't mean that you have to be evil. I mean, look at me. And Severus isn't so bad, right? I assume you all have him as a teacher."
"We do have him for Potions, but he's not always been the friendliest of gits."
Emerald crossed her arms and reflected. "Potions.hmm.well, I guess that makes sense. He always made the highest marks in Potions in school, but then again, he just seemed more suited for~"
"Defense Against the Dark Arts?" the three chorused.
"Yes."
"He's been trying to get that position for years, but Dumbledore always hires someone else," Harry said while sitting down at the main jewelry case.
"Well, here I go reminiscing! What was it that you wanted to ask me?"
Hermione's eyes lit up again. "We were wondering what he bought."
Emerald smiled. She pulled a small box out from the shelf and brought it over to where the children sat. She opened the box revealing a small, spherical, clear crystal ball at the end of a gold chain. When she picked it up to let Hermione see it, the ball filled with a swirling golden mist and a tiny diamond appeared suspended in the center.
Hermione's mouth dropped open and she whispered, "Snape bought that? It's gorgeous!"
Emerald allowed Hermione to hold the necklace, and the mist immediately changed to a blue color as the diamond turned clear. Hermione's excitement was evident. "How does it work?"
"Each necklace suites the spirit and needs of the person who wears it."
"Like a mood ring?" Harry interjected.
"At times, yes. The majority of the time, the color reflects a particular mood or feeling of the person wearing it. Once it has been given as a gift, and the receiver has put it on, it will only function for that person and no one else."
"You said the majority of the time that is true," Hermione added. "What about when it's not reflecting mood. What does it do then?"
"Well, it's only speculation. Not a lot is known about the functioning of this particular stone. Some say that it serves as a warning, and others believe that it reflects a bond between two people, or maybe even that it serves as a protection charm. Personally, I believe that the little thing has a mind of its own and serves as it sees fit." Emerald smiled warmly at the last thought.
"Why do more people not own these? They're absolutely wonderful!" Hermione sighed while handing the necklace back to Emerald.
Emerald placed it back inside its box. "Oh, for several reasons actually. The crystal mist stone is extremely rare.and expensive. I had to pull quite a few strings to obtain two at once. Besides that, the necklaces do not work for everyone. A person must be of a very powerful wizarding lineage or possess very unique powers in order for the crystal to react."
"You said it's very expensive?" Ron looked pensively at the box.
"Oh, yes." She gave them a figure which caused their mouths to drop open. "Yes, I know. I was shocked when Severus came in and asked for this particular necklace by name. He wouldn't tell me who it was for, but that's just like him. He's always been a very private person, especially when he's in love."
"Eww!" Ron contorted his face.
Hermione punched him hard in the side and rolled her eyes. "I think it's perfectly wonderful. And besides, hasn't he been a lot more tolerable this term? Maybe all he needs is a proper social life."
"C'mon, Hermione. This is enough to make anyone sick. You can't possibly see Snape going out on dates and getting all mushy, can you?" Ron was completely disgusted. The last person on earth that he could ever imagine being romantic was Snape.
Emerald was laughing hard. "Severus must have changed more than I realized. He used to be quite the romantic back when we were in school. As a matter of fact, Harry, he had quite a liking for your mother."
Harry's face went to a state of pure shock. "My.mother?"
"Yes. He was very fond of her. He was always trying to show off and impress her. Of course, that caused a lot of tension between Severus and the Merauders. Lilian's heart truly belonged to James, but she was such a gentle soul that she couldn't bare to hurt Severus' feelings. James allowed Severus some leeway for a while, but as James' and Lily's relationship became more and more serious, Severus got the picture. It's something he had a hard time getting over.in fact, I don't think he ever showed much interest in anyone after that."
Harry soaked in everything Emerald had said. She had explained more about his parents and Snape in a few minutes than he could have researched in weeks.
Hermione looked outside and realized that they had lost track of time. "Oh! We're late!" They jumped up and moved toward the door.
Harry turned and faced Emerald before running out into the snow. "Would you mind.well.if I came in and talked to you again sometime?"
Emerald smiled enthusiastically. "That would be wonderful! Send me an owl before you come and I'll have some of our old photos together for you to look at."
Harry smiled and nodded. His spirits were higher than they had been in months. He wondered how well she knew Sirius and Lupin and all of the things they got into as children. Harry decided to write Lupin again before the Yule Ball. He wanted to weeks ago, but he felt like the moment was now more appropriate.
The three were jogging towards the school when commotion from an alley caught their attention. They stopped and concealed themselves behind a building as they spied in the alley.
"Time is running out! The Dark lord wants this completed soon, and we're not upholding our end of the bargain. Do you know what happens when people don't fulfill their promises to him?" A short, pale complected man in solid black wizarding robes was pacing back and forth and speaking with a shaky voice.
"Stop worrying. Granted, we have had a few mishaps, but that was only the fault of the blundering fool~" Harry recognized the man speaking as the one who had attacked Snape before school had started.
Lyle turned around and cut the man off and held a finger up in his face to threaten. "If anyone here is a fool, it is you. How can you possibly expect me to carry out this entire assignment on my own?"
Ron and Harry exchanged confused looks as Hermione's face turned to pure shock. Angeline stood with her arms crossed, scowling at the arguing men. "Now listen, both of you," she began as she pushed Lyle away from the tall, slender man. "We're not getting anything done by standing around arguing."
"He's gonna kill us, that's what he's gonna do," the short pale man was holding his hand to his head. His other hand was trembling.
"Oh would you please shut up! If anyone gets killed, it's going to be you, not us." McGonagall emerged from the dark.
Lyle shot McGonagall an evil look and growled, "And what about you? Where were you during the match? My plan would have worked if you had been where you were supposed to be."
"Oh, please!" McGonagall shot a warning glance at Lyle. "Do you honestly expect me to get any work done when she can't keep Snape out of the way?" McGonagall grabbed Angeline by the arm and pushed her toward Lyle.
"You'd do well not to touch me." Angeline jerked her arm away from McGonagall and glared. "I was doing fine until that girl got there~"
"Shhh! Did you hear that?" The tall, slender man silenced the woman, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione held their breath. Surely he had not heard them. The man disappeared into the darkness and returned seconds later. In each hand he held the collar of a Weasley twin. "Look what we have here...two nosey Hogwarts' students."
"They must be dealt with, otherwise they'll run and squeal to that meddling old headmaster," Lyle moved forward with his wand aimed.
McGonagall held her hand up to stop Lyle. "We can't just kill them here. Dumbledore will realize if any of his students go missing."
"We'll have to come up with a cover story then, won't we?" As he raised his wand, George and Fred took a swing at the tall man who held them. He laughed in a cold and sinister manner and held them out in front of Lyle.
Hermione darted out in front of the alley before Ron or Harry could stop her. "Oh, there you are Professor Atwood! I was hoping I would find you before I went back to the school. I have the most wonderful news! Can you come with me down to Honeydukes?"
Hermione's sudden appearance caught the group off guard. It gave Harry the perfect opportunity to jump out and yell, "Expelliarmus," sending Lyle's wand jetting across the road. At the same moment, Ron had sneaked around the building and hit the tall man hard across the back of the legs. Fred and George seized the opportunity to squirm out of the alley and ran back toward the school as fast as their legs would carry them.
"We've got.to go.faster!" Harry yelled in between breaths. Behind them, Lyle, Angeline, and the tall man were at their heels. Luckily, Angeline slid in the snow going up the hill giving them a little headway.
"Almost.there," Ron was focused on the main doors. Once inside, they slammed the doors shut hoping to buy a little more escape time. As they ran down the hall, McGonagall came out of her office and stepped right in front of them. Fred and George attempted to stop, but the efforts came too late. They slammed right into her and all three fell to the floor. Fred and George jumped up just as quickly as they had fallen and stared down at McGonagall with their hearts pounding and their mouths gaping.
"Where have you all been? Have you any idea what time it is?" McGonagall stood up and brushed her robes off while staring sternly at the students.
The five exchanged glances of panic. There was no possible way that McGonagall could have gotten up to the castle before them, and yet there she stood.
Hermione began to speak when the latch to the main door clicked and the door began to open. The fivesome turned and began to run again. "Come back here this instant! What is going on?" McGonagall shouted after them, but they did not reply.
The door swung open and Hagrid and Lyle stepped in. McGonagall turned to see who was entering as several flakes of snow shot into the hall and quickly melted. "Did Harry and the others come through here, Professor?" Hagrid towered over her with a look of concern etched on his face.
"Yes, they did. What is going on? They acted like they were scared to death."
Lyle stepped forward. "Nothing to be alarmed about, I assure you, Professor McGonagall. My sister, some of our friends, and I were arguing in town. The children heard us and concocted an elaborate story to explain why they were late." Lyle smiled his most charming smile and took Professor McGonagall by the arm, leading her down the hall. "Now, don't be upset with them. After all, children will be children. They just lost track of time in the joke shop. I shall have a talk with them, if you will show me to their common room."
"Perhaps we should just leave 'em be til in the morning." Hagrid had a look in his eyes that McGonagall could not place, but she did agree.
"Yes, I agree. I will have them meet you in your office early tomorrow morning."
Lyle smiled. "Very well. I shall explain everything to them then." He bowed politely and moved down the hallway.
The five students had stopped in a hallway near the library to catch their breath. Hermione slid down the wall and landed on the floor. "What are we going to do? We don't even know if we knocked down the real McGonagall~"
"Or if the real McGonagall was in town a few minutes ago." Fred cut into Hermione's sentence with a tone of despair in his voice.
"Now do you understand how we felt at the start of term?" George looked at Harry and shrugged his shoulders. "We're stuck between a rock and a hard place."
Harry had caught his breath and was pacing back and forth in front of the window. He turned to George and Fred, "What were you two doing back there, anyway?"
"We had been to see Mr. Salister when we saw them heading into the alley. We decided to find out what they were up to since everyone else had headed back to the school already."
Ron looked up from his seat on the floor. "We've got to get to Dumbledore before anyone catches out of our rooms."
"I agree, Harry said. With that, all five moved stealthily down the hall.
Upon arriving at Dumbledore's office, Harry ran through a stream of possible passwords, but nothing worked.
"Halt, who goes there? Draw your sword!" a tiny voice from a portrait on the wall demanded.
"Sir Cadigan! We need to see Dumbledore immediately. Can you help us?"
The knight recognized Harry and put his sword back. "Dumbledore is in London picking up the prize for the upcoming ball. He has left me here to guard his domain," he finished, puffing his chest up proudly.
"W-well, when's he coming back?"
"Three days."
"What'll we do now?" Ron felt hopeless as he ran his hand through his hair.
Harry lowered his eyes and whispered, "This can't wait, and someone has to know what's going on."
"Who can we trust though?" Hermione asked.
"Snape."
"What?" all three of the Weasleys chorused.
"What makes you think Snape's gonna help us? He doesn't even like us." Ron's distaste for the idea was evident.
"Look, our past with Snape hasn't been a pleasant one, that's certain, but I don't see any other way around it. As much as we get on his nerves, Snape always does only what he thinks is in the best interests of the school. Besides, back in the alley they were saying that Snape got in the way of their plans. That means that he is not part of what's going on."
Fred spoke up, "But, Harry, George and I saw two Snapes the last time we were in Hogsmeade."
"We'll just have to take a chance. There's no one else."
"I agree with Harry," Hermione said.
"Alright, I agree. We have to make sure it's actually Snape, though," Ron decided as the twins nodded in agreement.
"Oh, there you all are." The five turned in horror. Lyle was coming up the stairs toward them. "Shouldn't you all be in bed? Professor McGonagall went into the common room and didn't find any of you. I do believe that's worth some points from your house."
Cornered, they did the only thing possible-they charged at Lyle. After knocking him to the floor, they ran down the stairs and moved quickly to the dungeons.
The students moved silently up to Snape's door. Harry gulped and knocked on the door.
Snape awoke to the sound of knocking at his door. He rolled out of bed and reached for his robe. After putting it on, he lit the lamp next to his bed as the tapping sounded again. When he walked over and opened the door, there were five students staring up at him.
Harry stepped back and looked blankly at Snape. "We're sorry, Sir, but we have to talk to you, now." Harry expected Snape to yell, but he allowed his irritation to show through a gruff, sleepy whisper instead.
"Potter, have you any idea what time it is? Could this not wait until tomorrow, or must you all insist on roaming the halls at night and breaking the rules constantly?"
"Sir, please just listen. There's no one else we can tell. Dumbledore is gone and we can't trust anyone else."
Snape stared at Harry for a few moments. Harry tried to read Snape's face but could not. "Wait here," Snape finally said and retreated back into his room, closing the door behind him. Five minutes later Snape emerged in full robes. "Sit down," he motioned them all to the chairs.
"Professor Snape, do you mind telling me how I got this scar on my hand?" Hermione held up her hand for Snape to see.
"Ms. Granger, if you have gotten me up in the middle of the night to play games, I shall be very unmerciful"
"Please, Sir, just humor me. We have to make certain.well.please, just humor me."
Snape looked as though he could have pulled his wand out and turned them all into spiders. His curiosity was now outweighing his ill mood, so he answered, "You know very well that I cut your hand to perform a counter- curse on Mr. Potter. Now, talk, or suffer the consequences."
Harry was satisfied and began talking. He recounted all of the events that had taken place in Hogsmeade, including the previous trip. Snape listened attentively, nodding and leaning forward on occasions. When he had related everything he could recall, he took a deep breath and said, "and here we are. Now do you see why we had to come in the middle of the night and why we had to make sure you were really you?"
Snape leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He said nothing for a few moments, but he did not take his eyes off Harry. Finally he spoke. "Mr. Potter, how much of this story do you expect me to believe?" It was now Snape's turn to test Harry.
Harry looked Snape square in the eyes as he stood and leaned over the desk. "All of it. Give me your strongest truth serum and ask me anything you want. I have nothing to hide."
"That won't be necessary. I believe you."
Ron, Hermione, and the twins sighed with relief.
"Go back up to your rooms, and do not speak a word of this to anyone else- and I do mean anyone."
"Don't worry, you have our word." They filed out of the room as quietly as they had come and made it back to the tower without encountering anyone.
"What do you suppose Snape's gonna do?" George plopped down on the couch next to the fireplace.
"I dunno, but what are we going to do tomorrow when McGonagall sees us at breakfast tomorrow?" Hermione sighed while collapsing into the armchair.
The portrait swung open and McGonagall entered, arms crossed and face fixed in a furrow.
Ron looked at Hermione and whispered, "Forget tomorrow.we have a problem now."
"Where have you all been? You know the rules! No one, and I mean no one is to be roaming this school at night. Not to mention your tardiness from Hogsmeade. Well, explain yourselves!"
No one said anything. McGonagall crossed the room to stand in front of them. "Someone had better say something before I truly get upset."
"Professor, we can't give you an explanation," Harry spoke up. McGonagall opened her mouth to object but Harry spoke again before she could say anything else. "But I promise you that Professor Snape knows why we were up roaming around~"
"We have actually been in his office for the last hour-and-a-half. We had his permission," Hermione cut in attempting to help.
"And I promise that we will tell you why when we can, but please understand that we just can't explain anything right now."
McGonagall didn't seem at all pleased but elected to accept their answer anyway. "Very well then, but you are not out of trouble by any means. It's dangerous enough out there without all of you sneaking about. I shall speak with Severus in the morning while you are meeting with Professor Atwood in his office before breakfast."
They exchanged looks but said nothing. "Now, I advise you all go to bed. It's already three in the morning. Well.go on." When McGonagall heard their doors close from upstairs, she allowed herself to sigh. "I am getting too old for this," she mumbled to herself as she walked out the hole into the hallway.
The next morning came very early. When Harry heard the morning bell chime, he sat up groggily and looked out the window. The light shot through the window and across the room when he pulled open the curtain. Ron sat up and rubbed his eyes as Harry put on his glasses. "Mornin' already?" Ron questioned between yawns.
Harry nodded and began to get dressed. "We have to go down to Professor Atwood's office before breakfast, and I want to get it over with as quick and painlessly as possible."
"You know, I just don't' trust him. There's something about him that I just can't put my finger on."
"I know what you mean, Ron. Maybe it's just the fact that the Dark Arts position is jinxed." They both headed down the stairs and waited for Hermione. When she arrived, Harry heard the next bell chime. "Where are Fred and George?"
"Maybe they're already down there. C'mon, we can't wait around all morning. I'm starving."
The door to Lyle's office was closed, so Harry knocked, although reluctantly. Lyle opened the door and ushered them inside. He locked the door behind them. Fred and George were already there, but they didn't at all seem upset or nervous to Harry.
Lyle pointed to the seats and the three sat down next to the twins. Lyle smiled and sat down across the desk from them. "Fred and George tell me that you five had quite an experience last night. Do you three want to tell me about it?"
"I'm afraid we can't," Harry looked inquisitively at Fred and George. Surely they had not said anything to Lyle after Snape said not to.
"I see. You three are very loyal. Tell me, didn't Severus seem a little out of sorts last night? I know that he told you not to say anything, but did it ever occur to you that maybe Severus wasn't who he pretended to be?"
"What are you talking about?" Ron crossed his arms and glared unapprovingly at Lyle.
"Listen, I went to speak to Severus this morning and he denied that any of you had been to see him last night which means that you told an imposter what happened."
Harry's scar began to burn as soon as Lyle finished talking. He pretended that nothing was wrong, but he did not let his guard down. Cautiously, Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and then back at Lyle. The twins seemed perfectly alright with everything. "Then how did you know he told us not to say anything?"
"Fred and George told me. If you three will just trust me as they have, then I can get to the bottom of this."
"Well.if Fred and George told you.we won't get in your way as long as you don't tell Snape that we're helping you."
Lyle smiled. "Good, now I need to show you each something individually in here," Lyle stood up and pointed at the large storage room behind his desk. "I think that things will be a lot easier to understand once you see it."
Harry's scar burned again when Fred began to talk. "It's alright, Harry. Professor Atwood had to show us before we could understand, but it's okay now."
Hermione and Ron glanced at Harry. They too felt uneasy about the situation but opted to wait for Harry's response.
"That's not necessary, Sir. If you'll excuse us, Professor McGonagall will want to speak to us before breakfast~"
"Sorry, Harry, but that is not an option." Lyle sprang out of the chair and grabbed Harry by the arm, pulling him towards the storage room. Ron ran to help Harry and Hermione ran to open the door.
"Alohamora!" Hermione yelled, but the lock did not budge. She fidgeted with it and resorted to banging on the door and screaming for help.
"You all should have minded your own business last night!" Lyle threw Ron at the wall while still struggling to pull Harry towards the closet. Fred and George remained in their seats with calm, pleasant faces.
In the hall, Angeline was walking toward her brother's office when she heard Hermione's voice screaming for help. She sprinted the rest of the way and pulled out her wand. "Move away from the door!" she yelled and then commanded, "Alohamora!" Nothing happened. "Reducto!" Still nothing. "Blast! There's an magic warding charm placed on the door!"
"Help! Please hurry!" Hermione pleaded with her. She then turned and aimed her wand at Lyle and yelled, "Lacarnum Inflamari." Flames shot out of Hermione's wand and hit Lyle's robe. He let go of Harry and beat at the flames.
"Accio wand!" Harry commanded, and Lyle's wand shot into Harry's hand. He ran over to the door to help Hermione.
"Harry!" Harry turned around at Ron's cry only to see a chair flying across the room at him. "Inpedimenta!" Ron yelled, causing the chair to slow down thus allowing Harry and Hermione to move out of harms way.
"Hermione, what's going on in there?" Angeline had resorted to trying to break the lock by hand but was having no luck.
"Your brother has lost his mind! Help us! The door's protected from inside."
"As well as outside," she replied as her sense of urgency rose. Her mind raced. She could not get the door open with magic, but perhaps it would open with brute force. She dropped to her knees and placed her fingers to the sides of her head. From inside, she heard Ron yell and then a loud bang on the wall. "Please let this work," she muttered as she closed her eyes and concentrated.
Across the school, McGonagall and Snape sat whispering. "This is simply terrible," McGonagall sipped her tea and placed the cup back on the desk. "No wonder the children wouldn't talk to me last night."
"I apologize for that, but I could not place them in further danger if the imposters were indeed inside the school." Snape suppressed a yawn. He had spent the rest of the night searching the halls and researching in the library's restricted section and had consequently not made it back to bed. As he reached for his cup of coffee, a pain unlike anything he had ever experienced shot through his head. He gripped his head and gasped while nearly doubling over.
"Severus, what is it? What's the matter?" McGonagall leaned forward and offered a hand of support.
The pain subsided just as quickly as it had appeared and Snape shook his head slightly and stood. "I'm not certain, but something is wrong. Will you come with me please?" Snape moved swiftly out the door with McGonagall at his heels.
Hermione and Ron darted behind a desk to evade another flying chair. Then, as a sudden change of mood, Lyle regained his composure and held out his arms. "Enough of this!" he yelled and jerked open the door to the storage room. A dementor shot out of the room and awaited commands. "Dispose of them!"
The dementor moved toward Ron and Hermione. They were cornered. Harry shouted, "Expecto Patronum," and his huge, silver horse lit the room. From behind him, Lyle attacked Harry sending his wand flying across the room. Harry scrambled across the floor, but Lyle grabbed hold of his robe as well as the wand Harry had taken from him earlier.
Angeline clawed at the door as she listened to Hermione scream. Hagrid was soon behind her. "What goin on here, Ms. Angeline?"
"Hagrid! Can you get the door open?" She scrambled out of the way and Hagrid pounded on the door as hard as he could. It left a crack down the center, but it did not open it.
"Lyle, please open the door! C'mon, we can talk about this!" Angeline pleaded with her brother, desperate to get to the children.
McGonagall and Snape were soon standing next to her. Snape looked at Angeline. Her hands were bleeding from clawing and pounding at the door. "Severus, he has the children in there!"
Hagrid pounded at the door with determination. If Harry was in there, he would get to him.
"Accio broomstick," Snape held out his wand. Seconds later his broomstick shot into his hands. He pushed open the window and flew out it. He rounded the tower and moved in front of the window of Lyle's office. Inside he saw the picture of disarray. Lyle had hold of Harry, who was grabbing madly for his wand. Across the room he saw a dementor with its arm stretched out toward Ron and Hermione. Without hesitation, Snape swung out from the tower to gain momentum and then sped toward the window. He broke through it and went rolling across the floor into Lyle. Harry was able to free himself and he darted toward his wand.
Snape was on his feet and running towards the dementor a second after knocking Lyle to the ground.
Hermione felt herself growing cold and the room was getting dim. She fought the feeling as hard as she could. Ron positioned himself in front of her, but was having trouble focusing as well. Just in time, Snape slammed into the dementor sending it into the wall. Ron grabbed hold of Hermione's arm and pulled her away from the creature.
Snape felt all the warmth leave his body. He sluggishly scooted across the floor in an attempt to distance himself from the dementor. Several times his arms gave out and he hit the floor on his back. The dementor recovered quickly and turned towards Snape to administer the kiss of death.
At that moment, Hagrid finally broke through the door with the help of McGonagall and Angeline using weakening charms on the magical field that protected it.
The dementor had grabbed Snape by the collar when Harry summoned another Patronus. It immediately let go of Snape when Harry approached, and it retreated to the side room. Harry kept his Patronus held until he was able to walk over to the door and lock it.
Hagrid moved to Hermione and Ron. They were okay, but exhausted. Lyle sprang to his feet and moved toward the door. Angeline cut him off. Her eyes were flaming. "Explain yourself!" Lyle said nothing. He had a look of defeat spread across his face. He pulled out a small vial from the pocket of his robes and quickly drank its contents. Seconds later, he fell lifelessly to the floor. Angeline gasped, confused and livid at the same time, and ran to his side.
Snape felt the warmth coming back to his body and he raised up to his knees. Lyle was on the floor and Angeline had backed away from him with tears streaming down her face. "He's.he's.dead," she said in a trembling, shocked voice.
McGonagall raised her hand to her mouth. Hagrid looked down at the floor as did Ron and Hermione. The twins were still seated despite all of the commotion. Snape stood and steadied himself. His legs were still a little shaky, so he used caution as he moved toward McGonagall. "Take her out in the hall, Minerva."
McGonagall nodded and led Angeline by the arm out of the room Snape started to summon a stretcher fro Lyle's body when a blinding light filled the room. Lyle's body disappeared, leaving only his cloak behind. "Voldemort called his body back. He was on a suicide mission." Snape looked at Harry and moved toward the closet door. "I assume that the dementor will no longer be in here either, but be ready with your Patronus in case it is."
Harry nodded. He stood back from the door with his wand raised. Snape opened the door, but there was no dementor inside. Instead, in the corner, sat a figure in ropes. As Snape re-emerged from the storage room, he brought with him Lyle Atwood. Lyle had been tied up and gagged. There was a scratch and bruise on his forehead and blood had dripped down his face and onto his robes. Snape pulled the gag out of his mouth and handed him over to Hagrid as he went out to fetch Angeline back into the room. As Angeline was ushered back in, she saw her brother standing there quite alive. The shock and confusion were too much for her, and she passed out. Snape caught her and lowered her to the floor.
Hagrid pulled the roped from Lyle's arms and legs, and Lyle swept over to his sister. "What is the matter with her?" he growled the question at Snape.
"Your double killed himself and she thought it was you. When you emerged from the closet, it was too much of a shock for her system to manage."
Angeline opened her eyes and the room swam into focus. Lyle was hovering over her, and Snape helped her to her feet. "Wh-what is going on..Lyle?" She was battling an array of emotions in her mind.
"I was going over some notes when some man came barging in. He hit me across the head with a metal bar, and the next thing I knew I was in the closet fighting to get the ropes off. I could hear the children screaming from outside, but I couldn't free myself."
Harry moved over to Fred and George. They had not so much as flinched during the entire struggle. "Professor Snape, something is wrong with Fred and George. They haven't budged since we first came in here." Harry moved out of the way as Lyle and Snape exchanged glares and examined the twins.
"Hypnotized," Lyle announced as he waved his wand in front of their eyes. Fred and George blinked several times and looked around the room. There were broken chairs everywhere. Glass was sprayed across the floor and seven sets of eyes were focused upon them.
"Did we miss something?" George questioned feeling rather uncomfortable with all of the attention.
Angeline moved toward Snape. "Severus, what is all of this about?"
Snape turned his eyes to McGonagall who nodded her head approvingly. "Voldemort is after something in the school. He obviously has someone brewing Polyjuice potions for his Death Eaters."
"Then he's been planning this for at least a month."
"We believe that it has been longer than that.possibly since the last school term when." McGonagall stopped and looked at Harry with concern.
"When he performed the rebirth ritual using my blood at the Tri-Wizard tournament," Harry finished her sentence.
"We should make sure that there's no one else in the school who's not 'ter be here," Hagrid offered.
"Agreed," McGonagall said. "We'll have everyone remain in the Great Hall after breakfast. I'm afraid it will take some time to cover the entire castle, though."
Snape nodded, "Indeed." He glared at Lyle as he proceeded to the door.
"C'mon, all of you," McGonagall ushered the children out the door. "I think you all have had enough adventuring for one week. Go on down to breakfast."
"I'll tend to things downstairs, Professors." Hagrid followed the students out the door.
Snape's arm stung slightly, and he rolled up his sleeve revealing a shard of glass that was protruding several inches from his elbow. Angeline watched him pull the glass out and caught a glimpse of the tattoo just below it. She allowed a look of astonishment to creep across her face. "Severus?" she whispered while pointing at his arm. Snape quickly pulled his sleeve back down and turned his back on Angeline. McGonagall looked down at the floor, and Lyle crossed his arms and looked rather pleased.
"That's how you knew the noitome counter-curse and about the Death Eaters." Angeline realized quickly that Snape's past as a Death Eater was not a topic that he was proud of or that he wished to discuss.
"It looks like we've found our breach," Lyle was gloating as he circled Snape. "Obviously Death Eaters cannot be trusted-nor should they be allowed to work in a school around children."
"McGonagall looked up. "Ex-Death Eater, Lyle, and Severus has more than paid his debt." Her glare could have bore a hold through Lyle. "He is neither a breach nor is he an endangerment to these children."
"If I have the 'courts' permission," Snape remarked coldly to no one in particular, "there is work to be done, and it will not get done by itself."
Angeline wasn't sure what to say. She was quite shocked that Snape had been a Death Eater, but there were things in her past that she was too embarrassed and ashamed to tell anyone, too. She respected his privacy although she did have a dozen questions that she wanted to ask. On the other hand, Snape seemed to be causing a lot of tension between her brother and her even if it was unintentional. Lyle simply did not trust anyone where his sister was concerned. In the end, she opted to not say anything. She followed out the door shortly after Snape and jogged to catch up with him.
"You don't honestly trust him, do you?" Lyle questioned McGonagall after Snape and Angeline left the room. "My sister and I have been trying to infiltrate the Death Eaters' circle for the last few years, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's never to trust one-ex or not."
"Professor Snape is a Hogwarts teacher, and I have no doubt in my mind that he is trustworthy. He would never place any of these children in danger~"
"How do you know? Have you any idea what the Death Eaters of his generation did?"
"I'm certain that I am much more familiar with past occurrences than you are, and I am certainly wise enough not to question Albus Dumbledore's decisions. Professor Snape may have done some terrible things in his past, but that is not for you or me to judge. Furthermore," McGonagall realized that she was beginning to shout, so she lowered her voice, "Severus has been extremely lenient with you.for what reason, I'll never understand. As Albus' second in charge at this school, consider this a direct order. Stop causing him trouble. Otherwise, you will have no one to blame for your fate but yourself. You'd do well to remember that Severus is a much more experienced mage than yourself, and I will not hold him accountable for silencing the trouble-makers that reside herein." With that, she turned and proceeded to the Great Hall.
Angeline moved silently next to Snape as they approached the Great Hall. Before they entered, Angeline grabbed Snape's arm and pulled him aside. He looked at her with his trademark emotionless mask.
"Severus, I need to know something."
"Look, if it's about~"
"Shh-just listen. Tell me, what happened just before you and Minerva came up to Lyle's office?"
Snape had expected her to ask him about the Dark Mark, or the Death Eaters, or anything else. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Well.how did you know where to come, or that anything was wrong?"
Snape was now the one that was astonished. He wondered if she had something to do with what he had experienced. "I'm not exactly sure. It was just.a feeling."
Angeline's smile returned. "Then it did work. I wasn't sure that it would, I mean, I've only done it one other time."
"Done what, exactly?"
Angeline blushed slightly. "Well, I knew that I couldn't get to the children, so I.well, I called you."
"Where did you learn to do that?"
"My mother was able to do it. She was quite talented at it, but.she never actually taught me how. That's why I wasn't sure if it had worked or if you just happened to be in the right place at the right time."
"You said that you had done it one other time."
"Yes, but it was more or less an accident. I was.well." Angeline seemed to be searching for the most appropriate term, "I was in a bit of a spot, and I summoned my father." Snape listened intently but noticed that her tone changed significantly when she mentioned her father. Angeline became a bit more distant and added, "I must have done something wrong because he yelled out in pain from across the house. He warned me not to ever do it again. I suppose he thought I was misusing my magic."
Snape allowed a corner of his mouth to rise to a half-smile. "I will admit that it was an interesting experience."
Angeline looked hurt. "Oh, Severus, I'm sorry! Did it hurt you too?"
"Don't apologize. It only hurt for a moment, and besides," Snape was now smiling full-heartedly and taking her by the hands, "I am pleased that you summoned me before anyone else."
Angeline's face burned as she allowed an embarrassed smile to come across her face. Just then, McGonagall approached, and Harry came out of the Great Hall. Snape dropped Angeline's hands feeling rather ridiculous.
"Mr. Potter, everyone is supposed to be in the Great Hall," Snape's ill mood quickly returned.
"Yes, Sir, I know, but there's something that I have that might help."
"Well, what is it Harry?" McGonagall's face had returned to its naturally stern state despite the fury that it held only moments ago.
Harry held up his wand and summoned a small, black box from his room. Moments later it was in his hands. He waved his wand across the lock and it fell open. Harry pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to Snape. "Professor Dumbledore gave this back to me last week. He made me promise only to use it if it were a dire emergency." Harry tapped his wand on it and said the magic words that made the map appear.
As Lyle approached wearing his most pressing glare, Harry closed the box and handed it to Snape. "Sir, I know that you and I haven't always been.well."
"Yes, Mr. Potter."
".I trust you now, and I can't think of a bigger emergency than this, so I'm sure that Professor Dumbledore will understand if I give this to you for now. Just, please, don't let anyone else have it. It's caused more problems than it's worth, but it could be useful to find someone who is not supposed to be here."
Harry offered a half smile as he turned to go back in the Great Hall. He hoped that he was doing the right thing by giving Snape the Marauder's Map. He felt a small knot building in his stomach and decided that he was going to have to be on his best behavior until Snape decided to give him the map back.if he gave it back.