"Them packages yeh were waitin' for, Alex. They came in at Hogsmeade Post Office today, yeh can pick 'em up anytime."
"That's great, thanks, Hagrid." Alex smiled at gamekeeper as he poured mugs of cider. She'd dropped in after her last class of the day and had somehow been drawn into helping Hagrid feed his pets. "Ungh, Snookums, don't bite the hand that feeds you," she chided.
Stepping away from the two-headed lizard's cage, she joined Hagrid at the table, blowing the steam from her mulled cider. "Mm, this is good. Happy Holidays," she toasted. He clinked his mug against hers, looking melancholy. "So, you're not going to visit Madame Maxime during the break ?" she queried. Hagrid had told her a bit about his sometime girlfriend, the half-giant headmistress of a French wizarding school.
He shook his head. "Nah. I can't just leave Grawp all alone, not at Christmas."
Alex gave him a sympathetic smile. Aw. I'd offer to baby-sit...but even I'm not that crazy. They sat in silence for a time, sipping their cider. The American found herself sharing Hagrid's pensive mood. It was two weeks before the Christmas break was scheduled to begin. Much as she'd grown to love the staff of Hogwarts, she missed her friends back in New Mexico, a feeling intensified by the approaching holiday. But I'll have Severus all to myself for two weeks. My schizophrenic lover. Alex shook her head, mildly exasperated with Severus Snape. It's like he's a totally different person when we're in London. Human, almost.
"Look, it's snowin'," Hagrid pointed to the window, interrupting her reverie. Fat white flakes were drifting down. By the time she bid him goodbye, the ground was already covered.
-----
Darkness. Then suddenly, pain. Alex shifted restlessly, alone in the antique four-poster bed. The flash of pain at the base of her skull faded to a persistent ache. In her dream, a candle flared to life on the bedside table. By its light, she looked down at her arm. The crudely drawn skull and snake branded there showed black against the pale flesh. "Bloody hell." Alex groaned.
As though watching from outside herself, the dreaming witch rolled out of bed, yanking on a pair of trousers, a shirt, a set of long black robes. She snatched up her wand from the bedside table. "Incendio." A small blaze kindled in the wrought iron grate. She sat on the edge of the bed for a moment to pull on worn socks of grayish wool, the left one with a hole in the toe. A glance around the stone-walled chamber, an impatient sigh. "Accio boots." Engineer boots, black and scuffed, flew out from under the bed along with a dust bunny or two. A quick look at the clock on the bedside table as she yanked the boots on revealed it was five minutes past midnight. "Bastard. So dramatic, aren't we. The midnight summons. Bloody inconvenient, is what it is."
Another lance of pain. Alex moaned and sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. The room was pitch black. The after-image of Severus Snape's hand, rubbing his left forearm, lingered behind her eyelids. She felt under the pillow for her wand. "Lumos."
Wonder what time it is ? She glanced at the bedside table, felt a moment of disorientation. She focused on the clock on the wall. Seven minutes past midnight. Weird. The base of her skull throbbed. Alex shook her head to clear it. Severus' voice came back to her, quietly annoyed. 'Bloody inconvenient.' No. It was just a weird dream.
"Nox." She lay back against the pillows, tucking her wand away. What if it wasn't a dream ? Alex groaned again. Oh, great. I'm sure Severus will have a few choice words for me if I wake him out of a sound sleep to tell him I had a nightmare. Or worse, he'll want to brew some new mood-altering potion for me to take. She chuckled at that, fluffed the pillows, tried to get comfortable. Worry grew, settled in a hard knot at the pit of her stomach. There's nothing I can do about it, even if it is real. If he's been summoned, he has to go, she reminded herself. Alex rolled over, pulling up the covers. Immediately, she threw them off again, grabbing her wand. Damn it, I have to know.
"Incendio." She knelt in front of the fire, grabbing for the can of floo powder on the hearth. Alex braced herself, then leaned forward, putting her face into the flickering green flames. "Severus -"
He was kneeling in front of his own hearth, wearing a hooded cloak, looking surprised, disheveled, and seriously annoyed. Alex glimpsed a small table holding a clock, a rumpled bed, a bare stone wall. She felt a flash of deja vu.
"Alex," he asked sharply, "what's wrong ?"
"I just had a dream. I know this is gonna sound stupid, Severus, but..." He was frowning, pulling on gloves. He glanced back up when she paused, eyes gleaming in the greenish glow of the enchanted flames. "Um, well, I saw you...or, actually, it was like I was you," she said, the memory becoming clearer. So weird. "I felt the Dark Mark -"
"A dream ? Just now ?" The potion master's voice was impatient.
"Um, yeah. Have you just been summoned ?" He scowled. "I'm sorry..." she said inanely, feeling stupid. Of course he's been summoned. Either that or he's decided to take a nice stroll outdoors. In a blizzard. At midnight. More pain, worse this time. Her vision blurred. Oh, shit, it hurts !
"Alex. Listen to me." With an effort, she focused on Severus. His face was pale, drawn. His fingers rubbed his arm through the fabric of his heavy cloak, an unconscious gesture.
"You feel it, too, don't you ?" This is really happening. He nodded.
"Listen," he said again, urgently. "Tell Dumbledore, immediately. I was about to floo him anyway. I don't know what's going on, but he'll know what to do about it. Tell him that I've been summoned, and what you've experienced. I have to go. Now."
"I know." Alex felt like crying. She forced herself to smile at him through the flames. She kept her voice light. "You be careful now, 'kay ?"
"Always."
That sidelong smile that made her heart lurch. She hid her fear. Don't be a baby. It won't do him any good.
Severus leaned forward, intent. "Tell the headmaster. Right away." He paused, dark eyes gleaming in the flickering green light. "Um, Alex ?"
"Yes ?"
"I know I said to hurry, but if you're wearing what you normally wear to bed, you might want to put on a robe, first." He flashed a quick grin at her, stood abruptly and was gone.
Alex pulled her head out of the fireplace and stretched gratefully. The muscles in her back were stiff from crouching in front of the hearth. The throbbing ache in her skull was easing, finally. She glanced down at herself and chuckled. Sheesh. I don't sleep naked all the time, you know, she lectured the absent potions master. She was wearing panties and a threadbare T-shirt adorned with a cartoon of a space alien and the words Roswell University in faded green letters. He's right, though. Not the best attire for an emergency meeting with Professor Dumbledore. She pulled on a sweatshirt and sweatpants and tossed more powder onto the fire. It was half-past twelve. Hope the headmaster's a light sleeper.
He was. Alex heard his knees creak as he knelt down to peer into the fire. "Miss Rose. Given the lateness of the hour, I must assume something is amiss ?"
"Sorry to bother you, sir. It's Professor Snape. He wanted me to let you know, he's been summoned. Um, by You-Know-Who."
"Ah." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, waiting. His expression was one of mild, polite curiosity.
"Sir, I've had a strange experience. I knew Severus was summoned. I saw it. Dreamed it, I guess. As it happened." Somehow, the headmaster's calm made it easier to explain the dream, or vision, or whatever it was. She knew Albus Dumbledore would believe her. "He said to tell you right away, Professor. What should I do ?"
His blue eyes twinkled at her through the flames. "If I were you, Miss Rose, I should ring for a nice cup of hot cocoa. The house elves will be happy to oblige." Dumbledore's expression became serious. "I have some idea of what might have happened, Alex. Give me a few minutes, would you ? Try not to worry."
It was nearly one o'clock before Alex heard footsteps in the hallway outside her door. "Come in," she called. She had unlocked the door and started a fire in the sitting room fireplace. Alex set her empty mug aside. She really hadn't felt like drinking cocoa, but it had seemed wise to follow Dumbledore's advice.
She heard his voice as the door to her apartment opened. "- anything unexpected happens, let me know immediately, Minerva."
"Of course, Albus." Professor McGonagall stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her. The tall witch was wearing a plaid dressing gown. Her greying hair was plaited into a braid. "Alex. How are you holding up, dear ?"
"I'm fine, Professor. I'm sorry to wake everyone..."
"Nonsense, think nothing of it." The two women sat in front of the fire. "You've had a vision. The headmaster has asked me to sit up with you, in case it happens again."
"Oh. Okay, I guess. I'm sorry..." her voice trailed off.
"Think nothing of it," McGonagall said again. "Now, we both believe you're perfectly safe here at Hogwarts, but we want to know more. In fact, if you could manage to get back to sleep..."
"Sure, I guess so." Alex stood, awkwardly. This is just so weird. "Um, what do you want to do ?"
"I'll just sit here, dear, and have a cup of tea, if you don't mind." McGonagall reached for the little bell on the table nearby.
"Okay, then. Um, goodnight." Alex retreated to the bedroom, leaving the door open. She climbed into bed fully dressed, made sure her wand was close at hand, and blew out the candle. From the next room, she heard the clink of china. McGonagall's tea had arrived. This is too weird. I'm sure I won't be able to sleep a wink. A few minutes later, she was sound asleep.
-----
A clearing in snowy woods, ringed with dark-robed figures. Most were muffled to the eyes in cloaks, concealing their identities, but a few had thrown their hoods back and stood with an air of defiance. I guess when your face has been plastered all over the front page of the Daily Prophet, secrecy doesn't really matter anymore. The little witch felt a flash of jealousy as her gaze was drawn to a tall, dark-haired witch. Bellatrix Lestrange. The still-beautiful Death Eater's eyes met hers, then slid past, not recognizing her under the black hood. Another tall figure stood next to Lestrange, wrapped in an air of menace as real and as dark as his cloak. As the last of the Death Eaters took their places, he pushed back his hood to reveal a bare skull with snake-like features and burning red eyes. Tossing in her bed, Alex bit back a cry of disgust. The Dark Lord spoke at length, a half-mad rant.
One by one, Voldemort called his Death Eaters forward. Alex's eyes darted around the circle, peering into hoods, trying to identify the Dark wizards. Some of those called forward were praised. "Listen, all of you. Here is one who knows how to make the most of an opportunity. He has carried out his mission to infiltrate Gringotts Bank. Not only that, but this loyal servant has managed to subvert one of our enemies." High-pitched laughter rang across the clearing. "Soon, very soon, the young wizard will betray those who have proven such a hindrance to our cause." For just a moment, Severus' body tensed; the Dark Lord had reached inside his minion's hood to pat his cheek. The horrible parody of fondness revealed the Death Eater's face for a fraction of a second.
Now others were called forward to be punished. Alex covered her eyes as those who had failed to satisfy Voldemort's whims were tortured with the Cruciatus Curse. Try as she might, she couldn't block the sight from her mind; in the woods, Severus Snape watched their torment intently, hoping for a glimpse that would allow him to identify the hooded servants of the Dark Lord.
Soon it was his own turn to be beckoned forward. In her darkened bedroom, Alex tensed. Dream-like, she felt herself carried forward by Snape's booted feet. She knelt in the snow in front of the Dark Lord, raising her head defiantly to meet his red eyes. His vile hand, pale and flaccid, reached out to grasp her shoulder. She wanted to tear her eyes from the evil gaze, to flinch away from the foul touch. Snape did not flinch. "You have done well, my servant." The slit of a mouth stretched into a rictus, a horrible facsimile of a smile. "I enjoyed watching McHugh suffer and die. Soon you will be given the opportunity to kill again." The Dark Lord leaned closer, his gaze penetrating the hood. The red eyes burned into hers. They filled her vision. She screamed.
Waking again, safe in her room at Hogwarts, Alex stifled the scream with some difficulty. Minerva McGonagall appeared at her side a moment later. Alex shook her head, ridding herself of the disorientation she felt. It seemed so strange to feel the warm mattress under her body, when moments before she'd been kneeling in the cold snow. "He's using Legilimency on Severus," she told the older woman, sitting up in bed. Her heart pounded.
"Professor Snape is one of our best Occlumens," McGonagall reassured her.
"Good thing, too." Alex sighed. Those eyes. Ugh. She shut her own eyes, trying to banish the image. Of course he won't be able to get anything out of Severus. Sheesh. The man's more heavily armored than a Hungarian Horntail. "Minerva," she said urgently, "One of You-Know-Who's thugs; I caught a glimpse of his face. Um, I mean, Professor Snape did. Someone who will betray the Order of the Phoenix...I think." She groaned. "Dammit ! It's all confused. I heard You-Know-Who's plans, a bit of them anyway, and I know I could identify that Death Eater." Alex shook her head again, this time in frustration. "It's no good. It's just like a dream; now that I'm awake, it's all fading away."
McGonagall frowned. "It's as though you attended the meeting yourself. Severus will report to the Order as soon as possible, of course, but it's a shame you can't tell Albus now. If one of the Order could get to this Death Eater as he returns from the meeting, catch him unaware..." McGonagall's face brightened. "Of course ! The pensieve !"