Voices
"I should be dead..." said a voice. *****
Harry was bored. It was only ten minutes since he arrived at Grimmauld Place and the most interesting thing that happened was that Tonks tripped over the Troll's leg upstairs and Sirius' mother began to scream again. After a hundred apologies and a lot of yelling, Tonks managed to close the curtains around the portrait. Harry, Ron, and Ginny just sat there, wondering what was going to happen next when suddenly the fireplace erupted in green flames. Fred walked slowly out. George, Mrs. Weasley, and Mr. Weasley closely followed him.
"Harry! How splendid to see you old boy." Fred said as he stepped out of the grate. He looked pale. Not quite as pale as Ron, though, and Harry noticed that he didn't hold any chocolate in his hand. He took a seat in front of Harry.
"I'll say one thing," George spoke up, taking a seat next to Fred "if it weren't for Harry and the D.A., Mum and Ron might not be here right now. Not to brag, though, there was no way we would have stood a chance against all of those Dementors."
"Yes, I believe that's another one that we owe to Dumbledore." Mrs. Weasley said behind them. She was busying herself with the kettle, obviously about to make tea. Mr. Weasley took a seat next to the twins and gave a heavy sigh. He seemed much worse for wear than all of the others, except maybe Ron (possibly the shock).
"You should have seen it, Harry, it was amazing." Fred continued, "George and I were barely holding off the Dementors (and I do mean barely) when out of nowhere Dumbledore appeared in front of us, looking furious. Then there was this really bright flash of silver light, and all of the Dementors were gone. I'll tell you one thing, he didn't use a patronus.
"He didn't use a patronus?" Harry asked, "But I thought that the patronus charm was the only—,"
"Of course not," came the voice of Lupin coming down the stairs, "There are other ways to protect yourself from a Dementor. I only taught you the patronus because it's the simplest, and it's the only one I can perform properly. But that doesn't matter right now. Arthur, was Dumbledore at the Ministry?"
"Not that I know of." Mr. Weasley said as he poured half a bottle of Odgens Old Firewhiskey into his tea. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, he hasn't been here since the attack and we were going to have a small meeting to discuss...some things." he said. Harry didn't notice it, but Lupin gave him an odd sideways glance and Mr. Weasley nodded.
*****
"I should be dead..." the voice asked, "...shouldn't I...?"
"Should you...?" asked another one.
*****
Tonks made her way down the stairs. Moody was close behind her. They both greeted the Weasleys.
"Is Dumbledore here yet?" asked Tonks.
"No," answered Lupin, "I wonder what's taking him so long."
Upstairs, Snape stood alone in the darkness of the Hall. Time went by in complete silence. He heard the murmuring of voices downstairs.
A voice spoke, from the back of his mind.
"It's time..." it said. Flashes of darkness filled Snape's mind. "to return a weapon we once had." It was a voice he never heard before, but a feeling he recognized, hated, and loved. His arm burned. Memories. Blood, there was a woman screaming before him, it was...
"NO!" he said as firmly as he could to the voice in his head. The flashbacks were gone, but he still felt the horrible ecstasy in his body. The desire was overwhelming him, he could almost taste the...
"Severus?" came the voice of Moody, from the edge of the stairs. "Dumbledore's arrived."
"I'm coming," he said, finding it hard to use his voice.
"I should be dead..." said a voice. *****
Harry was bored. It was only ten minutes since he arrived at Grimmauld Place and the most interesting thing that happened was that Tonks tripped over the Troll's leg upstairs and Sirius' mother began to scream again. After a hundred apologies and a lot of yelling, Tonks managed to close the curtains around the portrait. Harry, Ron, and Ginny just sat there, wondering what was going to happen next when suddenly the fireplace erupted in green flames. Fred walked slowly out. George, Mrs. Weasley, and Mr. Weasley closely followed him.
"Harry! How splendid to see you old boy." Fred said as he stepped out of the grate. He looked pale. Not quite as pale as Ron, though, and Harry noticed that he didn't hold any chocolate in his hand. He took a seat in front of Harry.
"I'll say one thing," George spoke up, taking a seat next to Fred "if it weren't for Harry and the D.A., Mum and Ron might not be here right now. Not to brag, though, there was no way we would have stood a chance against all of those Dementors."
"Yes, I believe that's another one that we owe to Dumbledore." Mrs. Weasley said behind them. She was busying herself with the kettle, obviously about to make tea. Mr. Weasley took a seat next to the twins and gave a heavy sigh. He seemed much worse for wear than all of the others, except maybe Ron (possibly the shock).
"You should have seen it, Harry, it was amazing." Fred continued, "George and I were barely holding off the Dementors (and I do mean barely) when out of nowhere Dumbledore appeared in front of us, looking furious. Then there was this really bright flash of silver light, and all of the Dementors were gone. I'll tell you one thing, he didn't use a patronus.
"He didn't use a patronus?" Harry asked, "But I thought that the patronus charm was the only—,"
"Of course not," came the voice of Lupin coming down the stairs, "There are other ways to protect yourself from a Dementor. I only taught you the patronus because it's the simplest, and it's the only one I can perform properly. But that doesn't matter right now. Arthur, was Dumbledore at the Ministry?"
"Not that I know of." Mr. Weasley said as he poured half a bottle of Odgens Old Firewhiskey into his tea. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, he hasn't been here since the attack and we were going to have a small meeting to discuss...some things." he said. Harry didn't notice it, but Lupin gave him an odd sideways glance and Mr. Weasley nodded.
*****
"I should be dead..." the voice asked, "...shouldn't I...?"
"Should you...?" asked another one.
*****
Tonks made her way down the stairs. Moody was close behind her. They both greeted the Weasleys.
"Is Dumbledore here yet?" asked Tonks.
"No," answered Lupin, "I wonder what's taking him so long."
Upstairs, Snape stood alone in the darkness of the Hall. Time went by in complete silence. He heard the murmuring of voices downstairs.
A voice spoke, from the back of his mind.
"It's time..." it said. Flashes of darkness filled Snape's mind. "to return a weapon we once had." It was a voice he never heard before, but a feeling he recognized, hated, and loved. His arm burned. Memories. Blood, there was a woman screaming before him, it was...
"NO!" he said as firmly as he could to the voice in his head. The flashbacks were gone, but he still felt the horrible ecstasy in his body. The desire was overwhelming him, he could almost taste the...
"Severus?" came the voice of Moody, from the edge of the stairs. "Dumbledore's arrived."
"I'm coming," he said, finding it hard to use his voice.