Disclaimer/Author Note/Rating: Please see Chapter 1 for full disclaimers, legal info, etc.
Go raibh maith agaibh:
Wiri… thank you for the long note! Yes, our dear Severus is cunning, but Serena is the only one who can let go of her past.
Wyall Jared… You are far too kind with your praise. It means a lot to me that you like the story so much.
Mercury Gray… Thank you for calling the description vivid. I often spend so much time on my dialogue, I blow off the description. I've really tried not to do that in this story.
Twistedmind… I won't take it personally, I promise!
Lady of the Dog Star… Revenge? Ah, a dish best served cold. There is more about revenge to come…
Rushumble… Two hours? Yes, that is a long time to wait. That will be revisited eventually.
Annie Black… Will Severus save her? Read on, my friend!
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Chapter 28: Caught Between Scylla and Charybdis
A group of Gryffindor students walked down the hall, joking with each other. They were going to a special evening class with Professor Castleton-Black. She had laughingly called it Defense Against Dark Muggles. This group would be her experiment. If they got something valuable out of this, the Board of Governors was willing to consider adding it as part of the Defense Against Dark Arts program. All of the Weasleys were there and so were Harry, Hermione, and Neville Longbottom. And of course, Oliver Wood was there; he had been the first one to volunteer for the class.
"This class will be interesting if nothing else," said Wood as they got to the classroom.
"I just hope I can use some of what I learn on the Quidditch pitch," said George to his twin. "I still have a score to settle with Flint before we leave Hogwart's."
"Whoa," said Ron as they walked in the room. "She's moved all of the tables out of the way."
"What's that up there?" asked Harry.
"Looks like a big crystal. And it looks like there's something in it…" said Fred.
"Bloody Hell!" shouted Wood. "Professor!"
They all ran forward as they saw what had caused Wood's outburst. Inside the crystal, Serena was still in the kneeling pose she'd held when the spell struck her. Wood got there first and reached out a hand.
"No!" shouted Hermione. "Don't touch it, Wood… Not until we know what it is."
The knot of students stood and stared at the formidable crystal that encased their Dark Arts professor.
"We need to get Dumbledore," said Harry. "He'll know what to do…"
"And someone should get Professor Snape," said Longbottom. "He'll want to know, too."
"Snape did this!" barked Wood, assuming the worst.
"You don't know that," said Neville and Wood glared at him.
"Then we get Dumbledore first," said Harry. "You stay with the Professor. Ron and I will get the Headmaster."
The two boys tore out of the room, running until their throats were raw. Part way to Dumbledore's office they saw the Headmaster, flanked by McGonagall and Snape, hurrying down the hallway.
"Professor Dumbledore!" shouted Harry. "Stop! We need your help…"
"Not now, Potter," snarled Snape. "We have an emergency." He pushed past the boys but spun in his tracks when Harry spoke again.
"Something's wrong with Professor Castleton-Black…"
"You saw her?" Snape practically pounced on Harry. "Where is she? What's happened?"
"Severus," said Dumbledore, "let the boys speak. Harry? Ron?"
"She's in the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom," said Harry.
"She was going to do a special workshop for some of the Gryffindor students…"
"Ah yes," said Dumbledore. "Her Muggle-style self-defense…"
"But when we got there, we found the Professor, and she's been sealed up in glass or crystal or something like that…"
The three professors all looked at each other and there was no mistaking the concern on their faces.
"The rest stayed there with her, but we came to get you," said Ron.
"Excellent decision, Mr. Weasley," said McGonagall as they all rushed towards the classroom where the students had found Serena.
They walked around, surveying the crystal. Severus knelt down and looked at Serena. There was a red mark on her cheek. Whoever had done this had hit her, and her left arm was bloody. He seethed and then looked up at the clock. It was getting near 9:00 p.m. and that worried him. If this crystal was what he suspected, then Serena was running out of time.
"Minerva? Severus? What is your assessment?" asked Dumbledore.
"A Dominatus Crystal," said Severus angrily.
"I agree," said McGonagall. "And whoever created it must be mad. This is one of the most dangerous dark spells. I've only ever heard it described, never actually used."
"That's because most wizards aren't willing to risk the backlash." Dumbledore turned. "We need to find out how to break it. There will be a book…"
Snape interrupted him. "Serena may run out of time before we can even find that book in the restricted section of the library…"
Hermione took a deep breath and every head turned towards her. "The Dominatus Crystal," she said, "is a dark spell designed to let one wizard or witch feed off of the power of another. First, the individual who is struck with the spell is attached to the originator by means of a magical umbilical cord. This is how the magic is transferred from one to the other. The crystal forms to keep the victim from fighting back and forcing the cord to be severed. The person who cast the spell slowly drains the power from the person in the crystal until they are too weak… and then they die."
Severus closed his eyes for a moment and forced himself to stillness. The fact that Miss Granger seemed to have all the answers never failed to grate on his nerves despite the fact that her knowledge was proving tremendously useful right now.
"Go on, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore. The other students stared at Hermione with wide eyes.
"It isn't easy to break the Dominatus Crystal. First, the Crystal itself needs to be shattered. To do that, one must offer a blood sacrifice because the crystal is created out of blood in the first place. To shatter it, a person must cut their hand and place it on the Crystal and then speak a profound truth. The catch is, the truth must be more universal than personal… AND the speaker must have nothing to gain from releasing the person in the crystal. Because of these requirements, it is almost virtually impossible to shatter a Dominatus Crystal."
I can't touch it, thought Snape. I have everything to gain by setting Serena free. He ground his teeth together angrily.
"What happens if you do all that but you don't say something true?" asked Harry.
"The Crystal will suck your magical powers out through the wound in your hand and transfer them to the person who cast the spell. You'll be killed," answered Hermione. "And there's more. Once the Crystal is broken, Professor Castleton-Black will still be attached to the person who did this to her. She needs to break the cord herself – or force the spell-caster to do it. If an outside person does it, the energy of the spell could backlash and kill her anyway."
"Bloody hell," said Ron.
"Understatement," whispered Fred and George in unison.
"We have to do something for her!" said Wood desperately.
"Who would have done this to her?" asked McGonagall.
"Hey," said George, "a little earlier, I saw Draco Malfoy's uncle leaving Slytherin House…"
Snape grabbed his arm. "Malificus Malfoy? He was here on school grounds? Tonight?"
"Hey!" said George. "Let go! Yes, I saw him earlier but just for a second."
"Malfoy did this," said Snape, dead certain. I will kill him, thought Snape. And I'll do it with my bare hands. No matter what the outcome here tonight, I will find him and he will suffer for this…
"Then that makes this even more difficult," said Dumbledore. "What would he need Serena's power for?"
"The Medallion!" gasped McGonagall. "They're retrieving the Medallion tonight!"
"Summon whoever we can from the Order, Minerva. We need to stop them." Dumbledore's voice was firm, decisive.
"What about Serena?" asked Snape angrily. "If they are retrieving the Medallion, then they'll need to do it by midnight. That doesn't give her much time."
"But we do have some time, Severus. While the others are coming, I suggest we think long and hard about how to help Serena when they get here."
The next hour dragged for Severus. He paced and muttered to himself, racking his brain on what could be done to break the Crystal. Each answer had a flaw.
"Severus," said McGonagall quietly. "We'll do everything we can…"
"What if it isn't enough?" he hissed. "I was duped in this too. I stayed and waited for a parent to come meet about their child for two hours. If I'd left after only a half hour, I'd have probably found Malfoy at her cottage. I could have stopped this before it started!"
"Blaming yourself won't change anything," she said.
He turned away. If it had been any other parent, I would have left, he thought. But Nigel Boggsbottom is one of the most elusive Death Eaters I know of. The chance to talk to him, the chance to maybe find out about the Rorret Medallion… that's what kept me here. I'll bet the note was from Malfoy and that it's a fake. I should have known!
There was a commotion outside the door as Sirius Black, Tonks, and Remus Lupin all came in. They were followed by Arthur and Molly Weasley, along with their oldest son, Bill.
"Moody's on his way," said Lupin, "but I don't know if he'll get here in time. This is the best we could do on such short notice."
Dumbledore gave the group a brief summary of what had happened.
"So, we still don't know where the Death Eaters are, just that they're bringing the Medallion up tonight," said Lupin. "It means our hands are still tied."
Snape leaned against a table, one hand pressed to his head. Less than an hour and it would be midnight and then it would be too late. Serena was dying and he couldn't do anything to stop it.
"There's one way to do find out," said Sirius. He flicked his head towards the Crystal. "If we shatter it, the dynamics of the spell will shift. As we were told, the two people in this spell have to be able to see each other when one isn't actually encased in the crystal. Since Malificus isn't here and we suspect he's the one, that might break the spell."
"And how do you propose we shatter the Crystal?" asked Snape sarcastically. "Do inform us of your brilliant plan." And 'might' work isn't good enough, you miserable git!
"You break it. You're in love with her," Sirius shot back, "Aren't you willing to die for her?"
Snape took two big strides toward Sirius. "How dare you…" He shoved Sirius once and made him bump into a table, knocking several empty flasks to the floor which all shattered. Shards of glass skidded across the smooth floor. Sirius was surprised to say the least… Snape had never been able to stand up to him, especially physically, when they'd been in school. He instantly started back at Snape and both men's hands went for their wands.
Then Mrs. Weasley was between them. "Enough! You're worse than little boys!" she shouted. "That's not a solution, Sirius. We'd end up with two innocent dead and then a Malfoy would have gained all of that power? Never!" As she spoke, Molly Weasley couldn't help but be amazed that she was actually defending Severus Snape, a man she'd never particularly liked.
"She's right," said Dumbledore. "That's not a solution."
As they argued, Neville Longbottom had spent five long minutes staring at the Crystal and at Serena. Then a though – and some inspiration – came to him. He picked up a thick shard of glass from one of the broken flasks and looked at it. Then he looked back at the Crystal. With one smooth action, he dragged the glass across his palm, opening a deep wound.
"Neville!" screamed Hermione. "Don't!"
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
That's all for this installment. I'll have something else posted over the weekend. Please do let me know what you think. I hope the suspense is lasting; I wasn't sure how long to "drag it out" for, but it took a while to get this whole situation resolved (and as you can see there is more to come…) Please read & review and let me know what you think of it!
Go raibh maith agaibh:
Wiri… thank you for the long note! Yes, our dear Severus is cunning, but Serena is the only one who can let go of her past.
Wyall Jared… You are far too kind with your praise. It means a lot to me that you like the story so much.
Mercury Gray… Thank you for calling the description vivid. I often spend so much time on my dialogue, I blow off the description. I've really tried not to do that in this story.
Twistedmind… I won't take it personally, I promise!
Lady of the Dog Star… Revenge? Ah, a dish best served cold. There is more about revenge to come…
Rushumble… Two hours? Yes, that is a long time to wait. That will be revisited eventually.
Annie Black… Will Severus save her? Read on, my friend!
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Chapter 28: Caught Between Scylla and Charybdis
A group of Gryffindor students walked down the hall, joking with each other. They were going to a special evening class with Professor Castleton-Black. She had laughingly called it Defense Against Dark Muggles. This group would be her experiment. If they got something valuable out of this, the Board of Governors was willing to consider adding it as part of the Defense Against Dark Arts program. All of the Weasleys were there and so were Harry, Hermione, and Neville Longbottom. And of course, Oliver Wood was there; he had been the first one to volunteer for the class.
"This class will be interesting if nothing else," said Wood as they got to the classroom.
"I just hope I can use some of what I learn on the Quidditch pitch," said George to his twin. "I still have a score to settle with Flint before we leave Hogwart's."
"Whoa," said Ron as they walked in the room. "She's moved all of the tables out of the way."
"What's that up there?" asked Harry.
"Looks like a big crystal. And it looks like there's something in it…" said Fred.
"Bloody Hell!" shouted Wood. "Professor!"
They all ran forward as they saw what had caused Wood's outburst. Inside the crystal, Serena was still in the kneeling pose she'd held when the spell struck her. Wood got there first and reached out a hand.
"No!" shouted Hermione. "Don't touch it, Wood… Not until we know what it is."
The knot of students stood and stared at the formidable crystal that encased their Dark Arts professor.
"We need to get Dumbledore," said Harry. "He'll know what to do…"
"And someone should get Professor Snape," said Longbottom. "He'll want to know, too."
"Snape did this!" barked Wood, assuming the worst.
"You don't know that," said Neville and Wood glared at him.
"Then we get Dumbledore first," said Harry. "You stay with the Professor. Ron and I will get the Headmaster."
The two boys tore out of the room, running until their throats were raw. Part way to Dumbledore's office they saw the Headmaster, flanked by McGonagall and Snape, hurrying down the hallway.
"Professor Dumbledore!" shouted Harry. "Stop! We need your help…"
"Not now, Potter," snarled Snape. "We have an emergency." He pushed past the boys but spun in his tracks when Harry spoke again.
"Something's wrong with Professor Castleton-Black…"
"You saw her?" Snape practically pounced on Harry. "Where is she? What's happened?"
"Severus," said Dumbledore, "let the boys speak. Harry? Ron?"
"She's in the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom," said Harry.
"She was going to do a special workshop for some of the Gryffindor students…"
"Ah yes," said Dumbledore. "Her Muggle-style self-defense…"
"But when we got there, we found the Professor, and she's been sealed up in glass or crystal or something like that…"
The three professors all looked at each other and there was no mistaking the concern on their faces.
"The rest stayed there with her, but we came to get you," said Ron.
"Excellent decision, Mr. Weasley," said McGonagall as they all rushed towards the classroom where the students had found Serena.
They walked around, surveying the crystal. Severus knelt down and looked at Serena. There was a red mark on her cheek. Whoever had done this had hit her, and her left arm was bloody. He seethed and then looked up at the clock. It was getting near 9:00 p.m. and that worried him. If this crystal was what he suspected, then Serena was running out of time.
"Minerva? Severus? What is your assessment?" asked Dumbledore.
"A Dominatus Crystal," said Severus angrily.
"I agree," said McGonagall. "And whoever created it must be mad. This is one of the most dangerous dark spells. I've only ever heard it described, never actually used."
"That's because most wizards aren't willing to risk the backlash." Dumbledore turned. "We need to find out how to break it. There will be a book…"
Snape interrupted him. "Serena may run out of time before we can even find that book in the restricted section of the library…"
Hermione took a deep breath and every head turned towards her. "The Dominatus Crystal," she said, "is a dark spell designed to let one wizard or witch feed off of the power of another. First, the individual who is struck with the spell is attached to the originator by means of a magical umbilical cord. This is how the magic is transferred from one to the other. The crystal forms to keep the victim from fighting back and forcing the cord to be severed. The person who cast the spell slowly drains the power from the person in the crystal until they are too weak… and then they die."
Severus closed his eyes for a moment and forced himself to stillness. The fact that Miss Granger seemed to have all the answers never failed to grate on his nerves despite the fact that her knowledge was proving tremendously useful right now.
"Go on, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore. The other students stared at Hermione with wide eyes.
"It isn't easy to break the Dominatus Crystal. First, the Crystal itself needs to be shattered. To do that, one must offer a blood sacrifice because the crystal is created out of blood in the first place. To shatter it, a person must cut their hand and place it on the Crystal and then speak a profound truth. The catch is, the truth must be more universal than personal… AND the speaker must have nothing to gain from releasing the person in the crystal. Because of these requirements, it is almost virtually impossible to shatter a Dominatus Crystal."
I can't touch it, thought Snape. I have everything to gain by setting Serena free. He ground his teeth together angrily.
"What happens if you do all that but you don't say something true?" asked Harry.
"The Crystal will suck your magical powers out through the wound in your hand and transfer them to the person who cast the spell. You'll be killed," answered Hermione. "And there's more. Once the Crystal is broken, Professor Castleton-Black will still be attached to the person who did this to her. She needs to break the cord herself – or force the spell-caster to do it. If an outside person does it, the energy of the spell could backlash and kill her anyway."
"Bloody hell," said Ron.
"Understatement," whispered Fred and George in unison.
"We have to do something for her!" said Wood desperately.
"Who would have done this to her?" asked McGonagall.
"Hey," said George, "a little earlier, I saw Draco Malfoy's uncle leaving Slytherin House…"
Snape grabbed his arm. "Malificus Malfoy? He was here on school grounds? Tonight?"
"Hey!" said George. "Let go! Yes, I saw him earlier but just for a second."
"Malfoy did this," said Snape, dead certain. I will kill him, thought Snape. And I'll do it with my bare hands. No matter what the outcome here tonight, I will find him and he will suffer for this…
"Then that makes this even more difficult," said Dumbledore. "What would he need Serena's power for?"
"The Medallion!" gasped McGonagall. "They're retrieving the Medallion tonight!"
"Summon whoever we can from the Order, Minerva. We need to stop them." Dumbledore's voice was firm, decisive.
"What about Serena?" asked Snape angrily. "If they are retrieving the Medallion, then they'll need to do it by midnight. That doesn't give her much time."
"But we do have some time, Severus. While the others are coming, I suggest we think long and hard about how to help Serena when they get here."
The next hour dragged for Severus. He paced and muttered to himself, racking his brain on what could be done to break the Crystal. Each answer had a flaw.
"Severus," said McGonagall quietly. "We'll do everything we can…"
"What if it isn't enough?" he hissed. "I was duped in this too. I stayed and waited for a parent to come meet about their child for two hours. If I'd left after only a half hour, I'd have probably found Malfoy at her cottage. I could have stopped this before it started!"
"Blaming yourself won't change anything," she said.
He turned away. If it had been any other parent, I would have left, he thought. But Nigel Boggsbottom is one of the most elusive Death Eaters I know of. The chance to talk to him, the chance to maybe find out about the Rorret Medallion… that's what kept me here. I'll bet the note was from Malfoy and that it's a fake. I should have known!
There was a commotion outside the door as Sirius Black, Tonks, and Remus Lupin all came in. They were followed by Arthur and Molly Weasley, along with their oldest son, Bill.
"Moody's on his way," said Lupin, "but I don't know if he'll get here in time. This is the best we could do on such short notice."
Dumbledore gave the group a brief summary of what had happened.
"So, we still don't know where the Death Eaters are, just that they're bringing the Medallion up tonight," said Lupin. "It means our hands are still tied."
Snape leaned against a table, one hand pressed to his head. Less than an hour and it would be midnight and then it would be too late. Serena was dying and he couldn't do anything to stop it.
"There's one way to do find out," said Sirius. He flicked his head towards the Crystal. "If we shatter it, the dynamics of the spell will shift. As we were told, the two people in this spell have to be able to see each other when one isn't actually encased in the crystal. Since Malificus isn't here and we suspect he's the one, that might break the spell."
"And how do you propose we shatter the Crystal?" asked Snape sarcastically. "Do inform us of your brilliant plan." And 'might' work isn't good enough, you miserable git!
"You break it. You're in love with her," Sirius shot back, "Aren't you willing to die for her?"
Snape took two big strides toward Sirius. "How dare you…" He shoved Sirius once and made him bump into a table, knocking several empty flasks to the floor which all shattered. Shards of glass skidded across the smooth floor. Sirius was surprised to say the least… Snape had never been able to stand up to him, especially physically, when they'd been in school. He instantly started back at Snape and both men's hands went for their wands.
Then Mrs. Weasley was between them. "Enough! You're worse than little boys!" she shouted. "That's not a solution, Sirius. We'd end up with two innocent dead and then a Malfoy would have gained all of that power? Never!" As she spoke, Molly Weasley couldn't help but be amazed that she was actually defending Severus Snape, a man she'd never particularly liked.
"She's right," said Dumbledore. "That's not a solution."
As they argued, Neville Longbottom had spent five long minutes staring at the Crystal and at Serena. Then a though – and some inspiration – came to him. He picked up a thick shard of glass from one of the broken flasks and looked at it. Then he looked back at the Crystal. With one smooth action, he dragged the glass across his palm, opening a deep wound.
"Neville!" screamed Hermione. "Don't!"
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
That's all for this installment. I'll have something else posted over the weekend. Please do let me know what you think. I hope the suspense is lasting; I wasn't sure how long to "drag it out" for, but it took a while to get this whole situation resolved (and as you can see there is more to come…) Please read & review and let me know what you think of it!