Harry spent a few minutes outside with Snuffles, and then they all walked back to the school for an early lunch. They found Ron and Hermione already there, and Lupin and Professor Black sat with them at the Gryffindor table to eat. They talked and laughed and ate, but never once did the conversation turn to the secret that Ron, Harry, Hermione, Black – and now Lupin – were carrying. Harry felt sort of bad that the only person who didn't know what was really going on was Sirius, but he held his tongue just the same; Black is in the dark, too, he told himself – she doesn't know that we know.
Later that day, Remus and Sirius took their leave, but not after Sirius resumed his human form for a few minutes in the security of Black's office to give his sister and godson a proper hug goodbye.
"I don't know when we'll be back in the area, Harry," said Sirius, "but hopefully we'll be able to see you again around Easter."
"Where are you going?" asked Harry.
Lupin smiled. "Got a bit of work to do, but we'll keep in touch. And you keep us posted with what's going on here, OK?"
Harry nodded, and Sirius shook everyone's hand one more time, and give his sister one final hug and a kiss on the cheek. "See you later, Sis," he said, then transformed back into a dog.
As they all left the office, Harry said, "We'll walk with you to the front doors." The group proceeded through the castle and just as they arrived at the great doors, they discovered Snape just coming in from outside.
Professor Black waved when she saw him, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Lupin exchanged looks. Sirius, as Snuffles, stopped and moved defensively in front of his sister. She bent down to scratch behind his ears and whisper, "That's enough now, Snuffles."
"Hi, Severus," she said merrily. "How are you?"
"Fine, thank you," he replied, then nodded to the assembled group. "Heading for home now, Lupin?" he asked.
"Yes, we're off soon," he said mildly. "Just saying goodbye to everyone before we go." He turned to Black and gave her a quick hug. "Take care, now, Rebekah." He turned to the three kids and shook each of their hands. "Harry, Ron, Hermione…take care as well."
They all patted Snuffles on the head, and Black gave the dog a hug and kiss on the nose. "Bye now. Talk to you later, Remus." They all waved goodbye (except, of course, for Snape) as the huge castle doors closed behind Lupin and Snuffles.
They all turned to go, and Snape fell in step next to Black. "Professor," he said, "do you have a moment?"
"Sure, Severus." She turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "I'll talk to you all later, OK? Have a good rest of the holiday."
The three practically ran back to the Common Room, while Snape and Black walked off in a different direction.
"I told Remus about Snape and Black," Harry said breathlessly once they had crawled through the portrait hole. "I had to, after Snape cornered us in the hallway."
"You didn't!" said Hermione. "I thought we weren't going to say anything!"
Harry shrugged. "He's not going to tell Sirius, either – and he told us to keep quiet about it to everyone else, too."
Ron groaned. "The best piece of gossip we've ever had, and we can't say a word."
"Remus thinks everyone will find out eventually…and he's right, if they keep going out in plain view of the whole castle for their little romantic encounters."
"Yeah, they-" Ron started, then changed the subject abruptly. "Hey, Harry, why are you calling him Remus?"
"He told me to, since he's not a teacher here anymore." Harry suddenly smiled. "Oh, and you should have seen the look on Snape's face when I conjured up my Patronus. He didn't know whether to be amazed or angry when he found out that I drove all those dementors away that one time!"
Ron and Harry sat down for a game of Wizard's Chess, while Hermione dug out her Arithmancy book to finish up her holiday assignments.
The rest of the holiday passed without incident, unless you counted the day that Professor Black brought the three of them to her office and taught them how to feed her fish and eel, which turned out to involve a handful of shrimp and several live anchovies.
The first week back to class was interesting, in that the rest of the school immediately noticed something different about Professor Snape. The Gryffindors were thrilled to learn that they weren't getting nearly as many points taking off, and Neville was especially glad that he wasn't being picked on unmercifully during every class.
The Slytherins, however, were quite displeased about the turn of events, and from snatches of conversation that they overheard, Harry, Ron, and Hermione learned that pretty much everybody suspected something, but nobody could figure out what it was.
"It's so funny to see them," Hermione said about the Slytherins one day, "scowling and grumpy during Potions because they can't get us into trouble so much anymore."
"Let's just hope it stays that way," said Ron. "I'd hate to think what would happen if Snape and Black had a fight or something."
A few days later, they entered the dungeon for Potions and were only slightly surprised to find a complicated arrangement of cauldrons and decanters arranged on a side table, behind which lurked Professor Black and Snape with their heads together – but they were talking, not romancing, and every few moments one of the cauldrons sent up a hiss and puff of red smoke.
"Good morning, Professors!" Harry said cheerfully to them as he, Ron, and Hermione slid into their seats and dumped their bags on the ground next to them – they had started a conscious campaign of public friendliness to Snape since classes had started back up again, and Harry was always careful to smile politely and greet him whenever he saw him, especially when he and Black were together.
Harry approached the tangled mass in front of them with interest. "What's cooking?"
Black looked up and smiled. "I'm learning how to make that shielding potion that I use for my aquarium," she said. "Professor Snape is kind enough to teach me, though I must confess, potion-making has never been my strong suit." Just then, one of the containers belched forth a cloud of purplish steam, making everyone cough and splutter. Black waved hand back and forth in an effort to clear the air.
"That's what it's supposed to do, Rebekah," said Snape, "and now you add the ground agrimony." She did as she was instructed, and the liquid in the cauldron turned a bright yellow-orange.
Just then, Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherin crowd bustled into the class room, stopping short at the sight of the two professors. Snape moved out from behind the table where they had been working and approached the front of the class.
"What's she doing here?" said Malfoy contemptuously, his eyes narrowed at Black, who ignored him.
Snape frowned. "Sit down, Malfoy, and kindly do not insult a fellow professor in my class. Ten points from Slytherin."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione's eyes widened and they looked at each other, but didn't say anything. Malfoy stared at Snape in disbelief, the flung himself into a chair, muttering under his breath.
"Make that twenty points, Malfoy, and if you say that again, it will be detention." Snape turned his back on the class and picked up a medium-sized glass jar in which floated some unidentifiable objects. He took the jar over to Black, set it on the desk, and murmured a few more words on instruction before returning his attention to the assembled students.
"Professor Black will be spending the hour with us today, as she is working on a particularly complex potion; I will remind you all to please pay attention and not get distracted by anything happening on that side of the room. Now," and with that he turned to the board behind him and began writing out the instructions for the day's lesson.
After class – which Harry had to admit was one of the best, seeing Malfoy's reaction to getting points taken off by his own head of house – as they headed up to the Great Hall for lunch, they overheard the Slytherins making nasty remarks about Professor Black.
Hermoine scowled. "Typical Slytherin," she muttered.
According to a few of the Hufflepuff students, who had Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins, Malfoy, in particular, disliked Professor Black, and pretty much divided his time between trying to disrupt her lessons and getting in trouble for it. Hannah Abbott told them that the main reason why Malfoy doesn't like her is that she associated with Muggles while growing up.
"He says it's just as bad as being Muggle-born," Hannah said, "and he just knows his father would remove him from the school, if he knew that he was being taught by a Mudblood or Muggle."
"Good," said Ron, "maybe he'll do us all a favor and clear out."
And so it was that it didn't come as too much of a surprise to them when they encountered Professor Dumbledore walking down the hall with Lucius Malfoy, who was looking most displeased, at his side. When they passed them, Mr. Malfoy gave Hermione a scathing look, and his mouth twisted into a sneer; Hermione ignored him.
"I'll bet he's come because of Professor Black," Hermione said once they were out of earshot. "It sounds just like something that Malfoy would do."
"Maybe he will leave," said Ron gleefully, but Harry shook his head.
"It's more likely he'll try to bully Dumbledore into making her leave, and when that doesn't work, he'll try to bully her directly," Harry said. "I only hope I'm around to see it when she blasts him into the ground like she did to Snape after the Quidditch match."
"Do you think we should warn her?" suggested Hermione.
Harry frowned. "She can probably take care of herself, and I'm sure she knows anyway, Dumbledore's bound to tell her, but I haven't seen her outside of class this week at all. We can ask her tomorrow after Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Harry was right in guessing that Professor Black knew all about Malfoy's visit to Dumbledore, as well as the reasons behind it, but she refused to discuss the subject with them. "That's none of your concern," she said, "so put it out of your minds. And there's no need to rush off and send Sirius and owl, I've already told him." And that was the end of the discussion, as Professor Snape had appeared in the doorway to her classroom, and the three decided to beat a hasty retreat before they saw something they really didn't want to see again.
"If they don't quit hanging out together all the time," said Ron, "the whole school's going to figure out what's going on between them."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, Ron, it's not like they'd want to stay away from each other. But you're right – people are starting to talk. I heard a couple of Ravenclaw fourth years talking about seeing them together, and I'd bet anything that Malfoy's pieced it together by now. Did you see them at dinner last night? Heads together the whole night, talking and laughing; and at breakfast again this morning."
"I guess he still doesn't know about her and Sirius – but I'm going to hate to see it once he does. Who knows what he'll do?" Harry said. "If he hurts her, I'll…"
"You'll what?" said Ron with a laugh. "He'll poison you or hex you in a heartbeat – he'd probably do that anyway, once he does figure it out, just because he knows you know Sirius!"
It seemed that Hermione's prediction was on the money, for rumors about Snape and Black's affair started swirling that very week; soon, everybody in the school was of the opinion that there was something going on between them.
When asked how they felt, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all shrugged and mumbled something like, "Sure looks like it, doesn't it?" and let the matter drop. They had no intention of telling anybody what they had seen over the holidays. The majority of the school, however, felt that Snape & Black's relationship could only be an improvement, as Professor Snape was much more even-tempered and less vindictive under her influence than he had ever been before.
Even though most people wished the couple well (only not to their faces, as the two had not publicly announced their association), there were some who did not; the latter group came to light one morning at breakfast when the mail arrived. An owl had just dropped Hermione's Daily Prophet subscription on her plate when a commotion at the teachers' table caused everyone to look up.
Several large owls had swooped down and dropped large, red envelopes in front of Professor Black. Her eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed, but before she could so much as pick one of the howlers up, they all exploded at the same time. Snippets of the enraged letters could barely be made out over the din:
"Filthy Muggle-loving Mudblood-"
"-don't need your foul-"
"-go back to-"
"You shouldn't have gotten involved-"
"-be sorry you ever laid eyes on-"
"-could do better than the likes of you-"
Behind the tumult, Professor Black had jumped out of her seat and raised her wand; Snape was on his feet the next instant, his wand also raised. Whatever spell they uttered couldn't be heard over the cacophony, but from both their wands issued sparking, fiery bolts of lightning that hit the howlers and shredded them to bits; the smoking, ashy pieces that were left slowly floated down and covered the table in front of them in a gray dusty blanket. Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table and saw Malfoy, Crab, and Goyle grinning wickedly and laughing to themselves.
Black reached over and picked up another piece of parchment – the one letter she received that was not a howler. She looked slightly shaken as she scanned its contents, and Snape, who was reading it over her shoulder, looked downright furious.
Professor Dumbledore approached them and said something to Black in low tones. She handed the scrap of parchment over to him without a word and shook her head. Dumbledore also read the letter and gave both Snape and Black a searching look. He held the letter out to Black, but instead of taking it, she just waved her wand and it burst into flames. After a few words to Dumbledore and Snape, she started to leave; Snape tried to follow her, but she turned and shook her head, pushing him back toward his chair.
The whole of the Great Hall was completely silent; everyone was watching the confrontation at the front of the room. Black swept quietly out of the hall, and Dumbledore turned to the students.
"Nothing for any of you to concern yourselves with," he said. "I suggest you finish your breakfast so you are not late for your first class." He then turned and ushered Snape toward a side door and out of sight.
Harry grabbed his bag of books and stood up. "I'm going to try to track her down; Ron, I'll see you in Divination." He climbed out from behind his bench and dashed out the doors after Black.
He found her in her office. She looked up at his soft knock on the door; her face was ashen. "Harry, good morning. I guess you're here because of the incident you just witnessed." It was more of a statement than a question.
Harry nodded. "Professor, what's going on? Are you OK?"
She sighed, rubbed a hand over her face, and sat down wearily in her chair. "I'm fine, Harry, really. I'm just a little…shaken. It's not every morning one gets that many threatening letters. I'll freely admit that they caught me off guard."
"Why are you being threatened, Professor?" was his next question.
She smiled and shook her head. "No reason that you need to be worried about, Harry."
Harry took a deep breath and decided to admit what he knew. "It's about you and Professor Snape, isn't it?"
She obviously didn't expect to hear that – her eyes and mouth flew open. "Severus?…um…what…whatever do you mean?" She tried to sound innocent, but it didn't fool Harry for a minute.
"I know about you and Professor Snape. Ron and Hermione do, too." He admitted. "We saw you and him on Christmas Day…." He looked up at her sheepishly.
She stared at him incredulously. "How on earth…?"
"We…we saw you walking around the lake from the windows in the Gryffindor tower," he said, wondering just how much of their eavesdropping he should admit to. "And we saw him kiss you… We haven't told anybody else, I swear…well, I told Remus…but we didn't tell anybody else, honest. The whole school knows, though. The rumors have been flying for a week or so."
Black looked away and said, almost to herself. "I thought I was so careful…thought we could just pass it off as being good friends…I never meant to fall…" she suddenly looked up at Harry. "Does…does Sirius know?"
"I didn't tell him," Harry said, "and Remus said he wasn't going to, either. But Sirius knows you're hiding something from him – he's known since that last time we were all up at Hogsmeade. He told me to keep an eye on you to find out what it was that you weren't telling him."
Black sighed again and closed her eyes. "Oh, boy…what a pickle…"
They both jumped at the sharp, insistent knocking at the door; without further preamble, the door burst open and Snape stood there, as white as a ghost. "Rebekah-" he started, then stopped when he saw Harry.
"Severus," Black said quietly, "come in and close the door behind you."
He did as she said, and she put her head in her hands for a moment and sighed.
"Rebekah," he said again, "what…how…?" he seemed at a loss for words.
"Severus, the cat is out of the bag," she said. "The whole school has figured out that you and I…well…" she sighed again but managed a wry smile. "Harry told me that the rumors have been circulating for about a week."
Snape gave Harry a sharp look, but Black sprung to his defense. "Harry didn't start the rumors, if that's what you're thinking. He'd…er…figured it out over the holidays, but held his tongue out of courtesy." She gave a small laugh. "Guess it doesn't matter anymore, though." She looked up at Snape and shook her head. "It will be nice to not have to hide it anymore, I think…."
Harry squirmed uncomfortably in his chair – he did not particularly enjoy being party to the conversation. "Er…Professor? I really should go." He stood up rather hesitantly.
Black turned back to him and smiled. "Oh, sure, Harry, have a good day. See you this afternoon?" Harry nodded and hurried out the door and up to the top of the North Tower to Professor Trelawney's attic classroom. He couldn't wait to tell Ron. But as he climbed the long staircase, he thought about the Potions class he would have to endure in one hour…and about how it looked like their streak of luck with Snape had probably just run out.
When Harry and Ron met up with Hermione outside of the dungeons, they held a whispered conversation and mutually decided to continue to keep quiet until either Black or Snape admitted to their involvement with each other, which, as Harry dryly pointed out, was about as likely to happen during Potions as for Voldemort to join the Royal Ballet.
They slipped into Potions and took their seats in silence; Snape was not in the room yet. Their fellow Gryffindors took their cue and did the same, but the Slytherins were not quite so intelligent. Malfoy had seen Harry running after Black that morning, and he had guessed – rightly so – that Harry knew something.
"Hey, Potter!" he shouted across the dungeon. "What did your Mudblood teacher-friend think about all those howlers this morning?"
Harry turned around in his seat to face Malfoy and stared coldly across the room. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"
"Why should I bother," Malfoy retorted, "when someone who knows exactly what's going on is sitting right here in the room with me? Come on, Potter, 'fess up. Are the rumors true? I know you know. What is that Mudblood excuse for a teacher doing with Professor Snape?"
Nobody but Harry noticed that Snape was standing just outside the doorway, listening. It didn't matter to Harry – he wasn't going to reveal the secret anyway. "If I knew anything at all, Malfoy – and I'm not saying that I do – I wouldn't say anything anyway. It's their business, and none of mine. Or yours."
"It is my business, Potter," Malfoy sneered, "if the head of my house is being bewitched by that filthy-"
Just then, Snape, displaying his keen sense of timing, burst into the room. "What did I tell you, Mr. Malfoy, about insulting other Hogwarts teachers in this classroom? Fifty points from you for ignoring my rule." He turned to Harry. "And ten points to Potter for doing the proper thing and keeping his mouth shut. He is quite correct, Malfoy. It is none of your business what is going on – if anything – between myself and any other faculty member here."
Malfoy was seething; the Gryffindors had to work hard to keep their faces straight, less Snape change his mind and take back the first points he had ever willingly given out to any of them. Instead, they focused their minds on the day's lesson. At the end of class, as everyone was gathering their things to leave, Snape said, "Potter, stay behind for a moment."
As the rest of the students filed out the door, Harry caught Ron & Hermione's eyes and jerked his head to the front of the classroom.
"Your friends can wait outside for you, Potter," Snape said, but Harry interrupted him.
"Please, sir…if you're going to talk about…Professor Black…well, they know, too," Harry said timidly.
Snape sighed. "Very well. I want to thank you, Potter, for keeping quiet. I would…prefer…that this remain a secret. Such as it is. At least for now."
All three nodded silently. "We won't say anything, Professor," Hermione said. "We had already decided not to."
Snape leaned forward and looked directly into Harry's eyes. "But I am going to ask you this, Potter, and I want the truth. How did you find out?"
Harry gulped. "Um…well…we saw you and Professor Black…on Christmas…walking around the lake, and…." He couldn't say anymore; fortunately, he didn't need to.
"I see," said Snape, straightening. "Very well. I appreciate your…discretion. Off you go, then, it's nearly lunch time." They decided not to push their luck, and scurried out the door.
Professor Black continued to receive howlers every morning at breakfast over the course of the next few days. By this time, however, she was prepared for their arrival and calmly blasted each one of them into smithereens before it even hit the table.
Black had also thanked Harry privately, as Snape had, for maintaining his silence both with his classmates and with Sirius. She made Harry swear numerous times that he would not reveal anything about her relationship with Snape to Sirius…or her relationship with Sirius to Snape.
After a few days, the howlers stopped coming and things returned to normal. But not for long. One morning, just as Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting down to breakfast, a piercing scream rang out through the hallways. Everybody turned, stunned, toward the doors to the hall, unsure what to do, too terrified to move.
Snape, who had barely gotten settled into his seat, leapt over the table and tore past rows of astonished students, the rest of the teachers on his heels. It took only moments for Harry, Ron, and Hermione to realize who wasn't at breakfast: Professor Black. Ignoring a prefect who was yelling at them to stay where they were, they dashed out into the hallway right behind the rest of the teachers.
They heard strangled sobbing long before they turned into the corridor and saw Professor Black crumpled in a heap outside her office door, which was standing open. Snape had gotten to her first, and was doing his best to calm her down.
Dumbledore stood staring into the office, Professor McGonagall and the rest of the teachers at his side. Snape had succeeded in calming the woman in his arms somewhat, though she was still crying.
Harry approached her hesitantly. "Professor…?" He whispered. She didn't respond. Snape looked up at him, then nodded silently toward the door. Dumbledore turned around and saw Harry standing there, and Ron and Hermione off to the side, horrified looks on all their faces.
He stepped aside. The office looked like a bomb had gone off inside it: shredded papers and mangled books were strewn everywhere, the desk had been blasted into at least three pieces, the chairs were overturned, and there was water everywhere.
The water confused him for a brief moment, but then he remembered just what was in her office. He stepped closer, and choked back a cry at what he saw. The front of the enormous aquarium had been smashed and broken glass littered the floor. But the most horrifying thing of all was the sight of her two beautiful pets, the lionfish and the eel, dead, their bodies sliced open and impaled upon the jagged remains of the glass tank. On the back wall, written in what Harry thought at first was paint, but then realized it was blood – the blood of the fish – was the following message:
Take your heart and get out, Mudblood, he is not for you!
Black's cries had diminished to ragged breaths, and Harry could hear Snape murmuring softly to her. Behind him, he heard Hermione gasp and Ron let out a stifled cry; they, too, had come forward to see the office.
Harry closed his eyes and turned away; he felt Dumbledore's hand on his shoulder, and he looked up into the face of the headmaster. There was not any sign of the familiar impish twinkle behind his half-moon glasses; instead, Harry could read sorrow and pity in his blue eyes.
"You should have stayed behind, Harry," said Dumbledore.
Harry just shook his head. "She's more than just a teacher to me; she's my friend."
Black raised her head at the sound of his voice. "Oh, Harry…" she started, her voice cracking, "you should have stayed in the Great Hall…nobody should have to see this…" She leaned her head against Snape's shoulder and closed her eyes. "My babies…my little pets…I've had them for years…"
Professor McGonagall herded Harry, Ron, and Hermione away from the scene and back toward the Great Hall. "You three, come on, that's right…this isn't something you should see…"
Harry put a hand up to stop McGonagall. "Professor, we know about them, OK? You don't have to hide the fact that they're in love with each other."
McGonagall's mouth twitched into a wry smile. "I wasn't talking about that, Mr. Potter; I was referring to the office. But how did you find out…?"
"We saw them over the holidays," Harry said for what seemed like the tenth time, "and they both know that we know, and, no, we didn't tell anybody else."
"Well," she said as they approached the Great Hall, "I'm sure they have told you that they did not want this to be public knowledge."
They nodded. "We promised them that we wouldn't say anything…not that it matters anymore at this point. Professor…was what happened really connected to…them?"
McGonagall didn't answer right away. Just outside the doors to the hall, she turned to them. "I suppose since you already know…yes, there are apparently some people who think that Professor Snape should not be involved with her…and instead of just letting him make his own choices, they have decided to threaten her. But, I will warn you – drop the matter here and now, and no discussion on what you have seen with anybody. Professor Dumbledore will make an announcement to the school soon."
Dumbledore did indeed make an announcement to the school later that morning. Harry couldn't help but notice how pleased the Slytherins looked at the news of what had happened.
"I'll bet you anything Malfoy's behind it," he said at lunch.
"Impossible." Hermione shook her head. "Malfoy might be evil, but there's no way he could get into her office. All the teachers lock their offices with spells far too advanced for a student to break."
"He didn't have to do it himself to be involved," Ron reminded her. "I agree with Harry – he's involved somehow."
Defense Against the Dark Arts class was cancelled that day, but the rest of the classes went forward as scheduled. Potions was nightmarish; Snape was grouchy and irritable – with good reason, Harry thought – and Malfoy continually taunted Harry from across the dungeon when Snape's back was turned.
By that afternoon, Black's office had been cleaned up and she had regained most of her usual composure. Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to visit Hagrid after classes let out, and none were surprised to find Professor Black there with Fang in her lap. She had a cup of tea in front of her and though she smiled warmly at the three, they noticed that her eyes were puffy and red.
Harry was torn between sending a letter to Sirius and keeping his promise to Black and not saying anything. In the end, the decided, against his better judgement, to not send an owl, at least until he had talked to her again.
But as things again returned to a semblance of normalcy, Professor Black flat refused to let Harry tell Sirius what had happened. "I won't have it, Harry – promise me you won't say anything. He'll know soon enough – when he comes for his next visit, he'll notice the missing tank. I've made up my mind to tell him then, to his face…and hopefully between myself and Remus we'll be able to hold him down." She grinned sheepishly. "I don't even want to think about what his reaction will be. 'Hey, big brother, your nemesis Severus Snape are I are having a romantic fling.' With any luck, he'll faint dead away before he flips out."
She looked at Harry and sighed. "Harry…you know, my intention was not to fall in love. But my attempts to keep Snape out of your hair threw me into a much closer association with him than I would have normally pursued on my own. Before I knew it…whammo." She shook her head. "Too late to back out now. But I never thought I'd be threatened for it."
"Professor," Harry said suddenly, "I think it was Malfoy."
She gave him a searching look. "Draco Malfoy? Malfoy couldn't get in here to do what was done. As much as the little snot hates me…I don't think he did this. Now, don't get me wrong…he probably knows exactly who did this. Or has an idea. And he was probably responsible for one or more of those annoying howlers I kept getting. But with no proof…I'm not going to throw gasoline on the fire by accusing him."
But Harry couldn't help but notice that Malfoy's vendetta against him was increasing steadily in the wake of the office break-in. Not a day went by that he wasn't taunted or sneered at, and nothing anybody did could seem to stop it. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed to not turn and retaliate. But, as Hermione pointed out, it made Malfoy angrier when Harry ignored him, and he had to admit that there was a certain satisfaction in seeing Malfoy so obviously rankled by his unsuccessful attempts at picking a fight.
Harry's resolve nearly broke one Friday morning at breakfast when Malfoy, flanked by his cronies Crabbe and Goyle, came up behind him.
He poked Harry in the back of the head with his wand. "Hey, Potter. I see your friend wasn't put off by the attack on her office. When d'you reckon they'll try again?"
Harry stared at him coldly, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't know why you're asking me, Malfoy," he replied. "Why don't you ask the culprits themselves? I'm sure you know them…if you're not one yourself."
Malfoy glared at Harry. "How dare you-" Before Harry could react, Malfoy had reached out and grabbed a handful of his hair and twisted. Hard.
Harry roared in anger and tried to pry Malfoy off; Hermione and Ron jumped to their feet to prevent Crabbe and Goyle from joining in. The commotion did not go unnoticed for long, but Harry lost a chunk of his hair before Professor McGonagall descended on them and snatched Malfoy by the back of his robes.
"Mr. Malfoy!" she thundered. "NEVER let me catch you doing that again! Detention! And ten points from Slytherin for you – and Mr. Crabbe, and Mr. Goyle!"
Harry massaged the spot on his head where Malfoy had ripped out his hair. "Ow." Once McGonagall was safely out of earshot, he said, "I'll get him, I swear…."
Hermione shushed him. "Don't you dare, Harry. Don't let him goad you into anything that will get you into trouble; that's exactly what he wants. If you keep on ignoring him, he'll just keep losing his own cool and wind up with more detention."
Harry grimaced. "I wonder how much hair left I'll have if this keeps up?"
"When McGonagall gets through with him, Harry," said Ron, grinning, "he won't dare touch you for a while." He laughed. "That'll give your hair time to grow back!"
Ron couldn't have been more wrong. After Divination, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione were about to go into the dungeon for Potions, Malfoy cornered them outside the door.
"Don't feel so smug, Potter, it's not over. I haven't finished with you, yet," he sneered. "Of course…you're making it so much easier by not fighting back. Not that you could do much even if you tried."
Harry's eyes narrowed as he glared at Malfoy. But he held himself in check and didn't strike out. Instead he gave a short laugh and said, "Well, you're the one who pulled on my hair like some silly Muggle, instead of trying to hex me."
Hermione ducked her head so Malfoy wouldn't see her smile. But he was too intent on Harry to notice. "I'm warning you, Potter-" he started, but Harry just turned his back on him and headed for the door with Ron and Hermione.
Harry never heard the curse that Malfoy flung at him, but he felt its effect immediately as his was picked up and hurled through the door in front of him. Inside the classroom, Snape had heard the raised voices and had started to come investigate. Unfortunately, he stepped right into Harry's flight path as he came hurtling through the door and he found himself slammed backwards into the dungeon floor with Harry sprawled on top of him, barely conscious.
Snape extricated himself from underneath Harry and stormed out of the dungeon after Malfoy, who had decided to attempt a getaway, while Ron and Hermione struggled to support Harry and get him up to the hospital wing.
Harry awoke to the blurry forms of the Gryffindor class standing grouped around the hospital bed. He fumbled for his glasses on the bedside table and brought their worried faces into focus. Behind them were the silent forms of Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey.
"Oh, Harry! Thank goodness you're awake!" Hermione, white as a sheet, as by the head of the bed.
Harry groaned and tried to sit up. "What hit me?"
Professor McGonagall answered him. "A particularly nasty hex, courtesy of Mr. Malfoy," she said tersely.
"He's not hurt as badly as I expected," said Madam Pomfrey.
A wry smile crossed McGonagall's face and some of the students chuckled nervously. "We have Professor Snape to thank for that, Poppy. He…er…cushioned your fall, Potter."
Harry ached too much to laugh at that, though it was amusing. "Where…where's Malfoy?"
"He tried to run for it," said Hermione, "as if he would get away or something. Professor Snape caught up with him just down the hall and dragged him up to Dumbledore's office. They're all up there now."
Just then the door opened and Professor Dumbledore walked up the ward with Professor Snape behind him. Professor McGonagall shooed all of the students except Ron and Hermione out of the room and closed the door behind her.
"Ah, Harry," said Dumbledore as they approached the bed, "you seemed to have suffered no permanent repercussions. Still, I believe Madame Pomfrey would like to you remain here overnight." Harry nodded.
"We'll see you tomorrow morning," said Ron, and he and Hermione hurried out the door.
Dumbledore bid Harry goodbye, Snape nodded at him but didn't say anything, though Harry was surprised to see a look of genuine concern on his face, and the two of them left. Madam Pomfrey brought Harry a goblet of a warm yellow potion with instructions to drink it all. Harry did so, and in a few minutes he felt his pain ease and a restful sleep come over him.
Harry slept straight through the night, but was awakened early the next morning when the hospital door banged open and heavy footsteps echoed through the ward. As he groped for his glasses, he heard the door to Madam Pomfrey's office open and her lighter footsteps approaching.
"Professor Snape! What's going on?!" The head nurse's anxious whisper sent chills down Harry's spine. He quickly located his glasses, put them on, clambered out of bed and peered around the screens.
Snape and Madam Pomfrey were bent over a figure in the bed next to his. Harry's heart lurched – it was Professor Black.
Just then, the door opened again, and Professor Dumbledore came hurrying in. He saw Harry and gave a slight shake of his head, warning Harry to stay where he was. "Severus – what happened?"
Snape was holding Black's hand; Harry could see that she was unconscious. "Rebekah and I usually meet early on Saturday mornings. She was not at our usual spot, so I went to her private quarters….I found her lying in the hallway."
Madam Pomfrey had busied herself checking out the senseless woman. She looked up the other two. "She's been stunned, Professors. And I don't know what else, but she looks like she's in bad shape."
Dumbledore frowned, pointed his wand at Black's chest and said, "Ennervate.
Black stirred, gave a soft moan, and opened her eyes wearily. She looked up at Snape, reached over with her free hand, and grabbed at his arm. "Severus…" she said weakly.
He knelt down next to her bed and stroked her hair. "Rebekah…what happened?"
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Woke up early, couldn't sleep. Made some tea, did a bit of reading. Thought I'd go for a short walk. Left my room, went into the hallway…heard a noise behind me. I turned, didn't see anybody." She paused, too tired to continue.
They waited. Finally, she spoke again. "I started to walk away, when I heard it again. A swishing sound. I looked again, and there was a wand hovering in midair. It moved. A voice spoke. 'Petrificus totalus.'" Harry immediately knew what had happened; someone had put the full-body bind on her.
Black spoke again. "I couldn't move. The voice laughed softly. Said I'd be sorry. Then…then…" she broke off and said no more.
"Rebekah," said Snape. She opened her eyes. "Rebekah. Then what?" He looked like he really didn't want to know.
When she spoke it was in a whisper. "Crucio."
"The Cruciatus Curse?" Snape whispered, horrified. "They put the Cruciatus Curse on you?"
"Many times. I couldn't move, I couldn't scream, I couldn't defend myself. It hurt…so bad. I think I passed out. Several times. Kept getting revived. The full-body bind started to wear off. I could move a little. Grabbed at where I thought they were. Grabbed it…the invisibility cloak. Pulled it off his head. Saw his face. Then…heard footsteps. He stunned me. Next thing I remember is waking up here." She closed her eyes again and leaned against Snape.
Snape shook her gently. "Rebekah…look at me." She opened her eyes. "Who did you see? Who did this to you?"
She shook her head. "I don't know."
"Didn't you recognize him?" asked Dumbledore.
"I…I recognized his face…but it wasn't who I thought it was."
Snape looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
She shuddered and looked up at him. "It…it looked like….like Harry."
Snape's head snapped up and he saw Harry watching from behind the screen. His eyes flashed and Harry could see the anger rising in his face. But Black saw it, too, and grabbed his robes, forcing him to look down at her. "Severus! It wasn't….it wasn't Harry! It couldn't have been him. Listen to me, please!" She tried to get up out of bed, but her actions redirected Snape's attention away from Harry for a moment.
Snape looked between the two of them, the pleading woman in the bed and the terrified young man watching from his bed. Finally, with great effort, he turned back to Black. "Rebekah…how do you know it wasn't him?"
She shook her head. "Harry wouldn't do that to me; he'd never do that to anybody. But that's not how I know," she said then, in response to Snape's unspoken comment. "He wasn't wearing any glasses."
Dumbledore nodded silently. He turned to Madam Pomfrey. "Poppy, go ahead and take care of Professor Black, I'm sure there is something you can give her. Severus…a moment?" He led Snape across the ward where they spoke in hushed tones while Madam Pomfrey bustled off to her dispensary.
Harry saw Black looking at him. He slipped out from behind the screen and approached her bed. "Professor…are…are you OK?"
She reached out and grabbed his hand, then glanced over to make sure Snape and Dumbledore were still engrossed in their conversation. She turned back to him. "Harry," she whispered, "send an owl to Sirius. Tell him everything. Everything. Even about Severus and me. I know I asked you not to before, but never mind that, just do it. Will you do that for me?"
Harry nodded. "I will. You just rest and get better, OK?"
She shook her head and laid back down. Snape and Dumbledore returned to the bed. "Rebekah," said the headmaster, "You should stay here today, perhaps tomorrow as well. But I think that perhaps it would be best if you did not return to your quarters until we solve this. And you should not be alone; whoever has targeted you will undoubtedly try again."
Snape took her hand again. "She can stay with me," he said. Black started to protest, but he silenced her. "No, Rebekah, I won't have it any other way." He smiled down at her, but Harry could tell the smile was slightly forced. "I'd rather you stay with me, anyway."
She sighed and nodded, then smiled back up at him. Madam Pomfrey returned with a potion and goblet. Snape took it from her and poured it for Black. "I will stay here with you while you rest," he told her, then handed her the goblet.
She smiled at all of them, held Harry's gaze for a moment longer than the others, then drank the potion and sank back onto the pillows and slept.
Madam Pomfrey looked down at Harry. "How are you feeling, Harry?" she asked. "Do you need to stay here any longer?"
Harry shook his head. "No, I feel much better. I'll go back up to my Common Room now; I think they" he nodded at Snape and Black "would like to be alone, anyway."
Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, Harry, I quite agree with you. Severus," he turned to Snape, "you'll let me know when she awakens, won't you?" He nodded.
Harry reached out and squeezed Professor Black's unresponsive hand once before turning and running out of the hospital ward. He had a lot of news for Ron and Hermione; he only hoped they wouldn't mind if he woke them up so early to tell them.
Ron was irritated with Harry for waking him up so early on a Saturday, but once Harry started in with what had happened in the hospital wing, Ron wasn't quite so tired anymore.
"They attacked her? Professor Black?!?" he practically screeched. "No way!"
Hermione came down from the girls' dormitory shortly after with the intention of doing some of her homework, but one look at Harry's & Ron's expressions and she knew something was up.
Harry filled her in while Ron threw his clothes on and they all ran up to the Owlery with parchment and quill so Harry could write to Sirius.
"This is going to be the hardest letter I've ever had to write," Harry said.
Dear Sirius,
Hi, how are you doing? If you're not already sitting down, please do before reading any further. Things are happening here that you need to be aware of. Your sister is being targeted for anti-Muggle attacks because of the fact that she grew up associating with them, for one thing. There's another reason, but I'll get to that in a minute.
First off, a few weeks ago, she started getting howlers every morning at breakfast – really nasty ones, too. But she ignored them after the first day. Then, when that didn't scare her off, someone broke into her office and pretty well destroyed it. They also smashed her aquarium, killed her fish, and left a nasty message on the wall.
Then, early this morning, I was in the hospital wing – how I ended up there is another story – and Snape came running in carrying her. He'd found her lying on the floor in the hall. Dumbledore came in and they and Madam Pomfrey woke her up and questioned her. She was attacked outside her living quarters here. We still don't know who did it, but she said they were wearing an invisibility cloak and they put the full-body bind on her and then put the Cruciatus Curse on her lots of times. She said she was able to fight back a little when the body-bind started to wear off, and she grabbed at their cloak and pulled it off their head. Whoever it was looked like me, but she knew it wasn't because he wasn't wearing any glasses. Nevermind that I'd never do anything like that, anyway!
She's OK, I talked to her, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore are having her stay in hospital for a while, and she asked me to write you the minute I left the hospital wing and tell you everything that happened.
There is one more thing I need to tell you about, the other reason she's being targeted and attacked. The reason is – and I apologize for not telling you but she asked me not to – is that she and Professor Snape
"How am I supposed to word this?!?" Harry demanded angrily to nobody in particular. Hermione and Ron came over to see what was wrong.
"I'd just put that they're in a relationship," said Hermione.
"That sounds corny," said Harry. "An 'affair' is more like it, but that sounds so…"
"Wrong," finished Ron.
Hermione giggled. "Well, it is sort of wrong. I mean, when Sirius reads this, that's the first thing he's going to think!"
Harry sighed and stared at the letter. He picked up the quill, paused a moment, then finished:
are…well, they're in love. I can't think of any other way to put it. Ron, Hermione, and I have known since Christmas but we swore we wouldn't say anything (so don't bite me or anything).
Hermione and Ron snorted with laughter at that phrase.
But, Sirius, you've got to believe me when I tell you that Snape is so different these days, I really think he does love her. You should have seen him today when he brought her into the hospital. I don't think he's doing this to her. But someone is because they're together. The message on her office wall said something like 'Take your heart and get out, Mudblood, he is not for you!'
Anyway, sorry to have to break this to you, but she wanted you to know. Say hello to Remus for me, and give Buckbeak a pat. I guess I'll be seeing you soon?
Harry
He thought for a moment, then added:
PS: One more thing – Dumbledore said that he didn't want her staying by herself anymore, until they catch whoever's doing this – so she's going to be staying with Professor Snape for now.
He reread the letter and, satisfied, rolled it up and went over to where Hedwig was watching from her perch. She held out her leg and he tied the letter to it; he carried her to one of the holes and she flew off.
"Him and Remus will be out here by Monday morning," predicted Harry gloomily.
"Yeah," said Ron, "and Snape will have a big black dog breathing down his neck for the rest of the term!"
