Harry's legs carried him back to the main school building without regard for being seen after curfew whilst Ron stared mutely at the corpse. How could this have happened? Hagrid was foolhardy when it came to raising dangerous creatures but he never took any risks when his own life was in the equation. It was as if Fang hadn't even been in the hut as he had quickly vanished without a trace, and it didn't seem like he was in the area at all. Strangely enough, the great boarhound hadn't left any paw prints in the dried mud, which made the whole situation even eerier. The young wizard hurtled at breakneck speed until Severus Snape, his infamously cruel Potions Master, intercepted his course.
"Where do you think you're going at such a ridiculous speed at this hour of the night? Fifty points from Gryffindor"
"B-but s-s-s-s-sir, we need to get help, Hagrid's…"
"You were out on the grounds to visit that great oaf too? A further one hundred points shall be deducted for your blatant disregard for the rules, so we'll top it off with three nice detentions shall we?"
"Listen, you can do what you want with
me, but Hagrid needs help, there's been dark sorcery down there, so I need to
find Professor…"
"What's this? What do you know about dark arts? Speak!"
"There's a weird sign over his
head, please sir you've got to help him"
Severus stood rigidly at the thought of the sign without revealing his terror; it appeared the trouble that once plagued the school was back again. But how could it be? They were no longer here and there…so, their offspring had been corrupted? Severus remembered everything easily, yet it was one thing he'd never discussed with Dumbledore, as he knew it would get him thrown out. It was the reason why he knew so much about the dark arts and that was why he wanted the job so badly, and thankfully it was one of the school's lesser-known occurrences of great importance. It started out as something to repay James Potter and his friends back with, but it had transformed into something similar to a curriculum vitae when he joined Voldemort in his rise to power.
"Sign?"
"Yes sir"
"Find the headmaster then stay in the common room. Tell Professor McGonagall to give you the green vial in the fifth drawer of the antique desk; it will calm your hysteria down. Is there anything else you feel I should know?"
"Ron's down there, I left without him. We didn't do it, please believe me"
"I do, Potter, now stay with the staff whilst this is investigated. This is the only time I'm letting you off any detention I've given you, so wisely keep that in mind. The points being deducted have been increased by another hundred for Weasely's defiance"
"Please sir, you've got to save him. Please"
"I'll try. Off with you now"
Severus headed down to the hut, equipped with his ebony wand in case the perpetrator of the crime dared show their face. He stepped over the unconscious Weasley and entered the shelter with sweat dripping along his spine in trepidation, and his discomfort trebled as he instantly recognised the symbol—there was no mistaking it being identical to the one he himself had used with his 'friends'. But how had their child learnt of it? It simply wasn't possible; the cover story had been too clever.
Harry shouted up at Dumbledore's office until he received the attention required, and it was only when Professor Lupin called out 'Fizzing Whizzbee' from behind him they were allowed access to the staircase the gargoyle protected.
"Professor? What are you doing here?"
"Official Ministry work my dear Harry, I can't reveal what it is though. How have you been?"
"It's Hagrid, Snape's been…"
"Lullabesco!"
As Remus Lupin shouted it, it instantly sent Harry into a dreamless sleep, feeling it better to give the boy rest instead of waiting quite some time for him to receive a serum from Madame Pomfrey. He sighed as he carried the boy in his arms on the way to Dumbledore; Harry did not need to relive the discovery just yet as an untraceable message describing the murder had already Apparated onto Fudge's desk. They were confounded as it would take the writer quite some time to leave the school grounds, write it and send it with exceedingly strong magic for such a hex to be laid on the scroll, and then they would return to the school or remain AWOL. If they returned to where they were designated to be, there would be no accounting for it. Lupin had only arrived so quickly as he had Apparated to the very edge of the school grounds and ridden a voricon to the school. A voricon was the fastest ever-living animal, and with only three in existence, they were used only in matters of utmost importance for the Ministry of Magic. When dismounted, they became invisible and silent, making them unavailable for plunderers' cages for their rarity. He'd never heard of such an incident as this in all his life, unaware that he'd attended school with two people perfectly submerged in the dark arts that specialised in creating the logo. He'd visited the school with specific orders to proceed with a spell, which would show those who had been near the hut, and to pinpoint anyone who was away from anybody else when the murder occurred. He didn't know how to break it to Harry that there was no possible way of reversing the death, and that yet another father figure had been stolen from the wizard. He hadn't spotted Harry's eyes being a more incandescent shade of green before he'd sent him asleep, or that the scar on his forehead was a striking amethyst, throbbing every other second.