Disclaimer: Aw, not mine. You didn't think it was did you?
A/N - Well, reading OotP was a bit of a jolt. I am not planning to include much in the way of spoilers for it. A few concepts may cross over, but in general, this fic is firmly Alternate Universe.
So much for the theory that summer = time to write. It turns out that summer = lack of things to procrastinate = procrastination of the things that delay other things.
Did that make sense?
A bit of blood and gore coming up. We are about to earn our rating… or something like that. I just thought I'd warn you.
The long awaited chapter twenty-five:
*****
Harry hurtled down the glowing green tunnel. He could see the grate coming close.
He realized suddenly that it was the wrong one. This grate glowed; a dull, angry brown that might have been red if not for the green of the tunnel.
Harry twisted away from the unfamiliar grate. As he did so, a pale hand reached for him through the throbbing brown.
Harry sped past the clutching hand, spinning slowly. When he was past it, he looked forward. There was another intrusive grate. This one was on the other side of the tunnel. Harry wrenched the other way to avoid this grate as well. Another spectral hand groped after him.
Half a second later the bright beckoning Thornhollow grate loomed ahead of him. He stepped through quickly and drew his wand.
Severus was right behind him. The older man whipped out his own wand and pointed it into the grate. He spoke, a long incantation. He enunciated each syllable carefully. The fire grew suddenly blazingly hot and then it died completely.
"That collapsed the circuit. Anyone in it should be propelled back to their grate of origin." He shook his head. "Theoretically. Let's go."
Severus strode quickly to the wall disguising the way to Hogwarts. He opened the passage and climbed quickly into the mine cart. Harry was seconds behind him and the cart sped off immediately.
Severus stopped them about halfway through the tunnel. He got off and Harry followed, a bit confused.
"Start walking towards Hogwarts," Severus ordered. "I'll be right behind you."
Harry obeyed wordlessly. He walked quickly down the tunnel without looking back. He sensed Severus' presence beside him and looked up.
"Perhaps I should have shown you that as well." Severus rubbed the back of his neck wearily. "There is a diversionary tunnel. It ends up in the middle of a rather uncomfortable bog. Once again, the mechanism is not magical. Della and I hoped that a wizard would not look for a non-magical trick. Hopefully only the cave and the tunnel will be compromised." They walked along the tracks for a while.
"What about the cart?" Harry asked, almost tripping on a rail.
"Speeding towards the bog empty." Severus grinned. "It wouldn't do to leave it where the tunnels split. That would be mighty suspicious."
Harry nodded and they trudged on.
"Are you hurt at all?" Severus asked after several weary moments.
"No," Harry answered simply. "You?"
Severus rubbed his left shoulder experimentally. "I hit the side of the tunnel avoiding the second grate," he admitted, "but I think I'll survive."
They reached the stairway and began to climb.
Harry had expected to feel reassured when they reached the school. However, when they left the secret passageway, his feeling of tension only increased. Before long they came to a corridor Harry recognized.
"There is something not quite right going on." Severus frowned slightly. "Can you find your way from here?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Go right to your tower, Harry," Severus ordered. "Don't stop on the way. I will see you at dinner."
*****
Severus watched his son disappear around a bend in the corridor. His jaw hardened and he swung around to stalk off in the opposite direction.
There was something very wrong with the aura of the school. Aura was not quite the right word, of course, but it fit well enough.
The usual joy, pain and angst produced by several hundred teenagers was gone. It was replaced by more adult feelings of fear and anger and…
Severus stopped himself. That line of thought only contributed to the overall tension he was feeling. It was quite possible that he was just reacting to the breach in his own security.
Severus emerged into the Great Hall through the door behind his seat. It had not alarmed him that he had encountered no students up to this point. There were places in the school that students simply did not frequent.
However, a completely empty Great Hall at lunchtime (even if it was a Hogsmeade weekend) compounded his apprehension.
Severus practically ran to the hearth. He drew his wand and invoked a complicated set spell that he and Dumbledore had arranged.
"Albus!" He called, only half believing that the Headmaster would, or even could answer him.
"Severus!" Exclaimed the head in the flames. "What a relief! Where is Harry?"
"Safe. I sent him up to Gryffindor Tower. What is going on?"
Dumbledore looked much relived and at least a year younger.
"Then all of the students are accounted for." A small smile played about his eyes. "We don't even seem to have any fatalities. Come join us in the entry hall. I will explain what I know while we help Poppy."
Dumbledore's head disappeared from the fire, leaving Severus relived, yet still confused. Fatalities? He said there were no fatalities?
Severus left the Great Hall. His eyes widened and his nose twitched in revulsion. The entrance hall greatly resembled a war hospital.
Scores of students of all ages and all houses rested on hastily conjured cots. More children stood or sat in huddles or weary lines. House elves scurried about, dispensing ice packs, clean rags and soup.
The students all had been injured in some way. Many of them were clutching bloody rags to their injuries. Most were silent, but the few who were not made up for them.
Severus had not seen so much human suffering since… Well, he wasn't going to think about that, was he? His fingers sought the scar on his side.
Severus surveyed the scene again, forcing himself to evaluate. It was not as bad as he had feared at first. Less than a quarter of the school was present.
The prefects and all of the teachers were there, speaking to the injured.
Poppy was there, looking extremely harried. She was flitting from injury to injury. She seemed to be doing more instructing of others than actual healing.
Good. That would conserve her strength. There were too many injuries for her to bespell them all. She would collapse of exhaustion.
Dumbledore appeared to be assisting her; his wand was out.
Severus took a shallow breath and entered the seething mass of suffering.
"What can I do?" He asked when he reached Poppy.
"I am almost out of blood-clotting cream." Poppy said, not looking up. "This is the last of the burn-healing paste." She smeared it on Vincent Crabbe's arm as she spoke. "Some more wound-cleaning potion would help as well."
"I have all of those in stock," Severus said. "Humby?"
The elf appeared.
"Go to my store room behind the advanced classroom," Severus instructed. "There will be quantities of healing potions on the left-hand wall. Bring what you can carry, have some of the others help you. Especially bring blood-clotting cream, burn-healing paste, and wound-cleaning potion."
The old elf nodded grimly and left to gather help.
Severus turned back to Dumbledore. Poppy was again engrossed in her work.
"What happened, Albus?" Severus asked.
"Hogsmeade was attacked." The older man said. "Death Eaters, all looking for Harry."
Dumbledore preformed a healing charm at Poppy's direction.
"When they didn't find him?" Severus looked around the room in comprehension.
"Explosions, flying curses, several beasts set loose. I am afraid Hogsmeade will be slow to recover." Dumbledore shook his head. "A few of the older students tried to put together a resistance force." Dumbledore gestured to a row of cots. "Apparently torture was more popular than killing. As I said before, none of our students have died."
Severus realized with a wince that all of the sixth and seventh year students sleeping dreamlessly in the row had been struck down by the Cruciatus Curse.
"And none will." Poppy broke in, looking up at him. "Although several may spend an uncomfortable few nights. I am not mending bones today and possibly not even tomorrow." She shook her head in despair. "The worst cases have been dealt with."
Severus hesitated a moment before saying unsteadily, "I can mend bones." He avoided eye contact with his colleagues. It was an odd bit of magic that not everyone could master. "The only problem is that… Well, I…."
"Severus?" Dumbledore asked softly.
"I use a modified..." Severus gritted his teeth. "The truth is that I curse them whole."
"Then…" Poppy began, wincing.
"Yes. It sort of hurts a lot when I do it." Severus admitted. "But it is effective."
"Do it." Poppy ordered. "Start near the front doors."
*****
athenakitty – What exactly does "pop Voldie's clogs" mean? I am not familiar with the phrase.
A/N - Well, reading OotP was a bit of a jolt. I am not planning to include much in the way of spoilers for it. A few concepts may cross over, but in general, this fic is firmly Alternate Universe.
So much for the theory that summer = time to write. It turns out that summer = lack of things to procrastinate = procrastination of the things that delay other things.
Did that make sense?
A bit of blood and gore coming up. We are about to earn our rating… or something like that. I just thought I'd warn you.
The long awaited chapter twenty-five:
*****
Harry hurtled down the glowing green tunnel. He could see the grate coming close.
He realized suddenly that it was the wrong one. This grate glowed; a dull, angry brown that might have been red if not for the green of the tunnel.
Harry twisted away from the unfamiliar grate. As he did so, a pale hand reached for him through the throbbing brown.
Harry sped past the clutching hand, spinning slowly. When he was past it, he looked forward. There was another intrusive grate. This one was on the other side of the tunnel. Harry wrenched the other way to avoid this grate as well. Another spectral hand groped after him.
Half a second later the bright beckoning Thornhollow grate loomed ahead of him. He stepped through quickly and drew his wand.
Severus was right behind him. The older man whipped out his own wand and pointed it into the grate. He spoke, a long incantation. He enunciated each syllable carefully. The fire grew suddenly blazingly hot and then it died completely.
"That collapsed the circuit. Anyone in it should be propelled back to their grate of origin." He shook his head. "Theoretically. Let's go."
Severus strode quickly to the wall disguising the way to Hogwarts. He opened the passage and climbed quickly into the mine cart. Harry was seconds behind him and the cart sped off immediately.
Severus stopped them about halfway through the tunnel. He got off and Harry followed, a bit confused.
"Start walking towards Hogwarts," Severus ordered. "I'll be right behind you."
Harry obeyed wordlessly. He walked quickly down the tunnel without looking back. He sensed Severus' presence beside him and looked up.
"Perhaps I should have shown you that as well." Severus rubbed the back of his neck wearily. "There is a diversionary tunnel. It ends up in the middle of a rather uncomfortable bog. Once again, the mechanism is not magical. Della and I hoped that a wizard would not look for a non-magical trick. Hopefully only the cave and the tunnel will be compromised." They walked along the tracks for a while.
"What about the cart?" Harry asked, almost tripping on a rail.
"Speeding towards the bog empty." Severus grinned. "It wouldn't do to leave it where the tunnels split. That would be mighty suspicious."
Harry nodded and they trudged on.
"Are you hurt at all?" Severus asked after several weary moments.
"No," Harry answered simply. "You?"
Severus rubbed his left shoulder experimentally. "I hit the side of the tunnel avoiding the second grate," he admitted, "but I think I'll survive."
They reached the stairway and began to climb.
Harry had expected to feel reassured when they reached the school. However, when they left the secret passageway, his feeling of tension only increased. Before long they came to a corridor Harry recognized.
"There is something not quite right going on." Severus frowned slightly. "Can you find your way from here?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Go right to your tower, Harry," Severus ordered. "Don't stop on the way. I will see you at dinner."
*****
Severus watched his son disappear around a bend in the corridor. His jaw hardened and he swung around to stalk off in the opposite direction.
There was something very wrong with the aura of the school. Aura was not quite the right word, of course, but it fit well enough.
The usual joy, pain and angst produced by several hundred teenagers was gone. It was replaced by more adult feelings of fear and anger and…
Severus stopped himself. That line of thought only contributed to the overall tension he was feeling. It was quite possible that he was just reacting to the breach in his own security.
Severus emerged into the Great Hall through the door behind his seat. It had not alarmed him that he had encountered no students up to this point. There were places in the school that students simply did not frequent.
However, a completely empty Great Hall at lunchtime (even if it was a Hogsmeade weekend) compounded his apprehension.
Severus practically ran to the hearth. He drew his wand and invoked a complicated set spell that he and Dumbledore had arranged.
"Albus!" He called, only half believing that the Headmaster would, or even could answer him.
"Severus!" Exclaimed the head in the flames. "What a relief! Where is Harry?"
"Safe. I sent him up to Gryffindor Tower. What is going on?"
Dumbledore looked much relived and at least a year younger.
"Then all of the students are accounted for." A small smile played about his eyes. "We don't even seem to have any fatalities. Come join us in the entry hall. I will explain what I know while we help Poppy."
Dumbledore's head disappeared from the fire, leaving Severus relived, yet still confused. Fatalities? He said there were no fatalities?
Severus left the Great Hall. His eyes widened and his nose twitched in revulsion. The entrance hall greatly resembled a war hospital.
Scores of students of all ages and all houses rested on hastily conjured cots. More children stood or sat in huddles or weary lines. House elves scurried about, dispensing ice packs, clean rags and soup.
The students all had been injured in some way. Many of them were clutching bloody rags to their injuries. Most were silent, but the few who were not made up for them.
Severus had not seen so much human suffering since… Well, he wasn't going to think about that, was he? His fingers sought the scar on his side.
Severus surveyed the scene again, forcing himself to evaluate. It was not as bad as he had feared at first. Less than a quarter of the school was present.
The prefects and all of the teachers were there, speaking to the injured.
Poppy was there, looking extremely harried. She was flitting from injury to injury. She seemed to be doing more instructing of others than actual healing.
Good. That would conserve her strength. There were too many injuries for her to bespell them all. She would collapse of exhaustion.
Dumbledore appeared to be assisting her; his wand was out.
Severus took a shallow breath and entered the seething mass of suffering.
"What can I do?" He asked when he reached Poppy.
"I am almost out of blood-clotting cream." Poppy said, not looking up. "This is the last of the burn-healing paste." She smeared it on Vincent Crabbe's arm as she spoke. "Some more wound-cleaning potion would help as well."
"I have all of those in stock," Severus said. "Humby?"
The elf appeared.
"Go to my store room behind the advanced classroom," Severus instructed. "There will be quantities of healing potions on the left-hand wall. Bring what you can carry, have some of the others help you. Especially bring blood-clotting cream, burn-healing paste, and wound-cleaning potion."
The old elf nodded grimly and left to gather help.
Severus turned back to Dumbledore. Poppy was again engrossed in her work.
"What happened, Albus?" Severus asked.
"Hogsmeade was attacked." The older man said. "Death Eaters, all looking for Harry."
Dumbledore preformed a healing charm at Poppy's direction.
"When they didn't find him?" Severus looked around the room in comprehension.
"Explosions, flying curses, several beasts set loose. I am afraid Hogsmeade will be slow to recover." Dumbledore shook his head. "A few of the older students tried to put together a resistance force." Dumbledore gestured to a row of cots. "Apparently torture was more popular than killing. As I said before, none of our students have died."
Severus realized with a wince that all of the sixth and seventh year students sleeping dreamlessly in the row had been struck down by the Cruciatus Curse.
"And none will." Poppy broke in, looking up at him. "Although several may spend an uncomfortable few nights. I am not mending bones today and possibly not even tomorrow." She shook her head in despair. "The worst cases have been dealt with."
Severus hesitated a moment before saying unsteadily, "I can mend bones." He avoided eye contact with his colleagues. It was an odd bit of magic that not everyone could master. "The only problem is that… Well, I…."
"Severus?" Dumbledore asked softly.
"I use a modified..." Severus gritted his teeth. "The truth is that I curse them whole."
"Then…" Poppy began, wincing.
"Yes. It sort of hurts a lot when I do it." Severus admitted. "But it is effective."
"Do it." Poppy ordered. "Start near the front doors."
*****
athenakitty – What exactly does "pop Voldie's clogs" mean? I am not familiar with the phrase.