Chapter Twelve

The Return Journey

It seemed like only a few minutes later that I was being shaken awake again. I was shoved from whatever I was leaning on into an upright position. I opened my eyes and saw it was dawn. The sun was only just rising above the Muggle skyline of the City of London. Snape was standing above me, casting a shadow in the dawn light.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Does it matter? Get up!" Snape snapped at me with his disciplinarian tones and snapped his fingers. I realised at once that he had used a summoning charm to make me stand.

"Okay, I'm coming Professor." Snape was looking at my mother. He crossed to stand beside the bed.

"If I knew a charm that would help you awake, believe me I would cast it a thousand times." He said to the body on the bed. Snape bent to say something in a low tone to my mother, who was still asleep. I thought I caught the word "Sister" being said, but I wasn't sure. It couldn't be right… Mum's maiden name was-.

"Snape?" A voice interrupted my thoughts. It was Percy in the doorway. He held Snape's broom out to him.

"Yours I believe Professor." Snape nodded, and took the broom, running a hand along it. I noticed the singeing at the very end. That broom had been used to referee many Quidditch matches with Snape, and he seemed glad to have it back.

"And we believe this is Miss Amethyst's." Percy said, holding out something that we all seemed to have trouble calling a broom. It was snapped completely in two, black from the blast that had separated me from it the previous night.

"We thought it could have some sentimental value…" Percy explained. I gave a smirk.

"Thanks for finding it. I'll use it as a reminder to how lucky I am."

"Time Elixa." Snape reminded me.

"But how Sir, I can't apparate yet…?"

"Safe journey." Percy said. Snape seized my arm and the next minute we were standing in Dumbledore's office. I heard Dumbledore shout a charm to seal the way we got in. You couldn't apparate into Hogwarts without a wizard as powerful as Dumbledore organising it.

"Only Percy saw us go." Snape explained.

"Miss Amethyst, glad to see you in one piece." Dumbledore seemed his normal self again, his blue eyes twinkling as I remembered I first noticed them at my sorting many years ago. That sorting had put me into Slytherin.

"So am I Professor… if it hadn't been for Professor Snape, I'd have been flat on the ground… Percy and Simpkins were amazing too in the way they handled the dark wizards."

"Mr Weasley let go of you and flew into a tree." Snape pointed out.

"Severus." Dumbledore warned. Snape shut his mouth. I noticed Dumbledore wore the same robes as he had worn the previous evening. He looked tired, probably the headmaster had been up all night waiting for word of us.

"Madame Pomfrey is waiting in the hospital wing. We decided that was the best place to catch up on sleep, and also to help you recover, but you've come back remarkably less scathed than we feared…What is that you're holding Elixa?" I revealed the remains of my broomstick.

"Ah." Dumbledore replied.

I was glad to have some time alone, away from lessons. It was an excellent time to gather thoughts and think things through. I'd scribbled some questions and thoughts on a piece of parchment, drawing lines from each question and then writing points at the end of each line. It was late afternoon when it came to me. I took the necklace off. The dark wizard had reached for my neck when he'd got close. There was something about this necklace that Voldermort wanted. He wanted it badly enough to kill my father and put my mother into the state she was in. The necklace probably caused all the odd changes of power. I wrote another question down. Why injure someone on its side? Thinking of Snape, and then heal them? The curses had worked the other night in a strength I'd not seen before. I knew I wasn't good a duelling, but the previous night I had sent a dark wizard to the ground. Also Snape had managed to hit the other wizard when it looked as if it wouldn't reach. I wasn't going to underestimate the Professor's power, but I had my hand on his wand arm… Too many questions, and not enough answers.