Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, places, items, ect.
Comments: Ahh! Mistakies, mistakies. Yes, I did make Snape disapparate from inside Hogwarts. And I made Lestrange a free person and Voldemort alive. Whoopsies. I wasn't really thinking of that, I suppose...I kind of needed that for my story...oh well. My deepest apologies, everybody! Oh and also I really couldn't think of a name for this chapter - I'm trying to update before I leave for horse camp - so if the title makes no sense, don't worry about it!
I will be gone from July 11th until July 17th.
(so no updates during that time!)
Chapter 37 – Revelations
The next morning Harry awoke to find that he was completely alone in the room. For a moment he just stared around him blankly, not remembering where he was, but then the events of the previous day flew back to him at an alarming speed. Groaning, he got up and looked around. At the foot of the couch, there were some Muggle clothes laid out for him to wear. He held them up suspiciously. He was not going to wear anything of Snape's. However, they seemed much too small for Snape, as well as brand new – not to mention he didn't think Snape would have a reason for owning Muggle clothing. He grudgingly put them on, surprised to find that they fit perfectly. He walked towards the portrait, only to have it swing open as he reached for it.
"Potter," Snape greeted him, looking as if he wanted to kill him then and there.
"Uh, morning," Harry offered, reaching for his wand in what he thought was a subtle manner.
"Follow me," Snape ordered.
Harry new better than to argue with him, so he allowed Snape to lead him through what seemed like a maze. Finally, he found himself in a familiar setting – the dining room. Silver was already sitting at the table, her hair curled, wearing a light pink tank top and some faded jeans. She smiled at both of them in turn.
"Sleep well, Harry?" she asked sweetly.
"Yeah," he mumbled, trying to rid himself of Snape's piercing stare.
He sat down next to Silver and immediately realized that was a mistake. She leaned over and gave him his good morning kiss, but the moment he reached for her, a loud clatter distracted him. They drew away and Harry hesitantly looked up at Snape. Snape looked as if he were going to spear him with his fork at any given moment. Breakfast was eaten in silence, with a considerable tension between Harry and Snape. Silver finished her breakfast first, since she had not been wasting her time glaring like Snape and Harry had been doing. She put down her fork and turned her gaze to Snape, who gave Harry once last sneer before turning to look at her innocently.
"Can I play in the snow today?" she asked.
Harry looked at her curiously. There was still a bit of snow outside, but not the kind good for 'playing' in – it was pretty much a layer of ice on the ground. Snape seemed to debate her question carefully before answering.
"If Potter goes with you," he finally said, glaring at Harry once more.
She turned to Harry, her entire face lit up with excitement. "Will you come with me, Harry?" she asked, her voice pleading.
"Uh, sure," Harry replied.
Snape ate his last bite of eggs and then snapped his fingers. Instantly a house elf appeared at his side.
"Yes, master?" it squeaked.
It was dressed in a silk green pillowcase, Harry noted, which was much better than what most house elves wore.
"Miss Riddle would like to play in the snow today," Snape replied, "She would like..." he paused and looked at Silver questioningly "A light snowfall?"
"Yes, please," Silver agreed.
"A light snowfall," he confirmed.
"Right away, master," the house elf chirped, and then it was gone.
Harry looked from Silver to Snape curiously.
"Am I missing something here?" he asked.
"As usual," Snape sneered.
Silver shot him a look, and he looked down at his empty plate intently. Then, she turned to Harry.
"You can manipulate the weather in the backyard," she explained.
"Oh," Harry replied.
He didn't miss Snape's smirk at his less-than-intelligent answer. He finished his breakfast at Silver's urging, and then allowed her to drag him to a tall, wooden door. She pushed it open and he was shocked to see snow falling down softly outside. Silver dragged him out into the snow, the door closing behind them, and then she stepped away and turned her face upwards, smiling. Harry thought she looked like an angel. He looked up as well, and found that the sky was hiding a soft sunlight with fluffy grey clouds. When he looked back down at Silver, she was gone. He nearly began to panic, but the next moment he felt something hit him squarely in the back of the head. He turned around to see a smirking Silver tossing a snowball up and down in her hand.
"You don't want to do that," he told her, scooping and gathering some snow.
"Why not?" she challenged.
"Because," he said, "I am the...master...of snowball fights."
She began to giggle. "The master of snowball fights?"
"I'm Snowball Master," he declared.
She doubled over, clutching her sides. "Snowball...Master...oh...Harry," she laughed, falling down into the snow.
He grinned – it was fun making her so happy. Finally, she stopped laughing and threw the snowball in her hand at him.
"You're going to wish you hadn't done that!" he exclaimed, throwing his snowball at her.
She rolled out of the way just in time. Dang, he thought.
She gathered some snow as she leapt to her feet, but he had started first, and pelted her in the shoulder with a good-sized snowball. She gave a small shriek and threw her snowball at him as he bent down to get more snow. It hit him in the back of the head yet again.
"And you call yourself Snowball Master?" she taunted, "I've gotten the back of your head twice."
Grinning, he picked up his two freshly-formed snowballs and threw them at her consecutively. She squealed as one hit her side, and the other her leg. Harry bent to get more snow, but when he straightened, she had disappeared. He turned around slowly, looking at every bush intently. Suddenly he felt a snowball hit his cheek. He spun in her direction and shot a snowball over the hedge of the nearest bush. He knew he had succeeded when he heard a squeal, and she shot up, bits of snow all over her dampened curls. At first he wondered if she would be mad, but then she began laughing, and pelted a handful of snow at him, not bothering to roll it up.
"Amateur," he accused, rolling his ball of snow up.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "I got you anyway!" she replied.
At his look, she gave a little squeak and ran behind the bushes. He followed her, and he had raised his hand to pelt her with a snowball when she suddenly reached up, grabbed a hold of his shirt, and pulled him down.
"Shh," she said, pointing through a hole in the bushes.
He peered through to see Snape standing out in the snow, looking around. He glanced at Silver to see that she was rolling up a snowball. No way, he thought. She finished rolling up two, and set one to the side. Once Snape had his back turned, she pelted it at him. It hit him in the back, and he whirled around. She didn't wait any longer to pelt the second one at him – and hit him right in the face. She clapped her hand to her mouth when she saw the slush slowly trickling down his face. She began to shake with silent laughter as Harry waited for Snape to point his wand at their bush and yell 'Avada Kedavra'. She suddenly began to giggle out loud, no longer able to hold it in.
"Shh," he hushed her as Snape's eyes locked on their bush.
Harry didn't understand what was so funny about pelting the most feared teacher in Hogwarts with a snowball – right in the face. Snape made his way over towards them menacingly, and Silver jumped up with a squeal. Then Snape did something unimaginable. He smiled. It was only for a second, but he smiled nevertheless. Harry was awestruck. He watched as Snape reached out, grabbed a squealing and protesting Silver, spun her around, and tossed her into a soft snowdrift nearby. She landed laughing uncontrollably.
"Miss Riddle," he said, towering over her, "What have you to say for yourself?"
She could only giggle in reply. "You...looked...so...funny," she gasped.
Harry watched amusement flicker in Snape's eyes. "I'll bet," he replied dryly.
She rolled over in the snow, clutching her sides and still laughing wildly. To Harry's surprise, Snape chuckled and shook his head. Then he turned towards Harry. He gave him a venomous and calculating look.
"Scared, Potter?" he challenged.
Harry gaped. Was Snape inviting him to throw things at him? Without a second thought, he grabbed a handful of snow, rolled it up, and shot it at Snape. Snape sidestepped it easily, but Harry quickly made another and caught him in the back as he turned to look at Silver. The three of them froze. Snape slowly turned around to look at Harry, his hand behind his back.
"That, Mr. Potter, was an excellent show of Gryffindor bravery," he commented, although it didn't really sound like a compliment coming from him.
Harry looked at him uncertainly, and a familiar smirk spread across Snape's face.
"However, you have yet to witness Slytherin power," he finished.
With that, he brought his hand out of behind his back, revealing a huge snowball, and chucked it at Harry. Harry didn't have a chance. It hit him smack in the face and a fresh wave of giggles came from Silver. Snape looked very pleased with himself once Harry had wiped the slush from his eyes, although he refused to smile...it was more of a satisfied smirk.
For the next half hour, the three of them pelted snowballs at each other. Snape threw them at Harry with all his might, as if hoping to bruise him, but tended to toss them lightly on Silver. Harry did the same to Snape. It was a good system, or at least he thought. Silver suddenly slipped on a patch of ice, and slid into Snape's arms.
"You're soaked," Snape observed, "And shivering."
She nodded up at him, her curls dripping with water and snow and her cheeks pink.
"Time to go inside," he announced.
Silver obediently headed for the door, and he walked behind her. Harry stayed put, wondering if Snape was under the Imperius Curse or not. Although he might have simply been trying to kill him with the massive snowballs, it didn't seem that way – completely. After Snape directed Silver to take a hot shower, he turned to Harry, with the same look of loathing he always gave him – maybe without so much intensity.
"Don't know the meeting of inside, Potter?" he sneered.
Harry supposed that answered his question.
He could see from Silver's wet footprints that she had adjourned upstairs. He, however, had been given instructions to a shower on the first floor, so he supposed he would have to do his best to find it. The people in the portraits along the way tended to creep him out as he walked. They would whisper things where the only words he could make out were "intruder", "stranger", and "destroy" – he didn't get the best feeling.
Finally, he arrived at a wooden door that was relatively large. He pushed it open to reveal a bathroom that looked about as nice as the Prefects bathroom at Hogwarts. Instead of a bathtub, there was a shower, but it had many different nozzles sticking out of the wall to turn, so Harry experimented with them. He accidentally got one stuck spewing out scented blue bubbles, and by the time he had yanked it back in place, half the bathroom was full of them. The good news was that when he swished at them, they disappeared. So he spent a bit of time running around the bathroom popping bubbles, and feeling like a complete idiot, but he figured that was how he was supposed to feel in Snape's house, anyhow.
After his shower, he felt a lot better – until he opened the bathroom door and turned the way he had come, only to walk into a solid wall. The pictures on the wall sniggered. Harry paused and looked at his options. There was a hallway to the left, but that was the opposite of the way he had come, and there was one that led straight ahead. He figured his best choice was to walk straight ahead and look for hallways that led to the right. Unfortunately, after minutes of walking, he came to a dead end, with a staircase to his left. When he turned around, the hallway had, of course, readjusted itself so that there was a dead end, and a hallway facing left. Stifled laughter was still coming from the pictures.
Harry groaned to himself and began to walk up the staircase, which creaked. He was careful to test his foot on each one; lest there be a trick stair like the ones at Hogwarts. Finally, he reached the second floor, and, to his relief, there was a friendly-looking hallway that opened to his right. He turned down it and after walking for five minutes, still had no clue where he was. He heard a noise beyond a door to his left, and paused. He certainly didn't want to walk in on Silver showering or changing, but more importantly, he did not want to walk in on Snape doing either of those things. He scooted closer to the door and leaned sideways to press his ear against it, but no sooner had his head made contact than the door opened, causing him to stumble in and land on his side with an "Ouch!"
"What are you doing up here, Potter?" Snape asked, sounding both amused and annoyed.
Harry slowly got to his feet. "Uh, the hallways kept changing on me, so I came upstairs, and then I, um, got lost," he explained.
"And you were eavesdropping on me because?" Snape asked.
"Well, I wanted to make sure it wasn't Silver taking a shower or something," Harry answered.
Snape gave him a calculating glance, as if deciding whether or not he was telling the truth. Then, he suddenly sniffed and smirked.
"Didn't know you were such a fan of blue bubbles, Potter," he commented.
Harry blushed. "Lever got stuck," he mumbled.
Snape suddenly looked as if he were trying very hard not to laugh. He quickly regained his composure, however, and looked down at Harry with his usual sneer.
"Very well, then, follow me," he said irritably.
Harry obediently followed, and within a matter of seconds Snape had directed him to the staircase.
"Go downstairs, turn left, turn right at the second hallway, and you'll come to the dining room," he directed, "The house-elves are preparing a meal."
Harry nodded and headed downstairs.
"And Potter?"
Harry turned around to look at Snape.
"If I catch you kissing her, I'll hex you," he informed him.
Harry grinned. "Guess I won't get caught, then," he said, surprising himself with his boldness.
Snape smirked. "It's your funeral," he replied.
Harry didn't know why he was still smiling as he followed Snape's directions to the dining room – he somehow found Snape's threat funny. The image of Snape tossing Silver lightly into a snowdrift crossed his mind. Snape may still sneer at him and give him looks of hatred, but could he really be that bad? Silver had brought out something in Snape that Harry didn't think he or anybody else had ever seen coming from Snape before. The funny thing was that Snape didn't even seem to realize it. Harry wandered into the dining room absorbed in thought, and only looked at Silver after she threw a crumpled-up napkin at his head.
He looked up in surprise and grinned. "Hey, beautiful," he greeted.
She smiled. "Ooh, way to greet the girlfriend," she complimented him.
"I thought so," he answered, sitting next to her and receiving a well- earned kiss.
Snape was nowhere in sight when they parted, much to Harry's amusement. He had half expected an alarm to go off whenever anything came in contact with Silver's lips.
"What are you smiling about?" she inquired.
"Snape told me he'd hex me if he caught me kissing you," he answered, grinning mischievously and kissing her again.
"He probably meant it," she warned.
"I just won't get caught," he replied, leaning in again.
She giggled as she drew away. "He's gonna catch us," she cautioned.
He was about to lean in again when he distinctly heard a footstep in the distance. Immediately he straightened up. Snape walked in and observed them for a moment.
"Damn you, Potter, you heard me coming," he accused.
Harry grinned. "Sure did," he agreed.
Snape shook his head as he sat down at the table. He opened his mouth to say something back, but was interrupted.
"Language," Silver murmured warningly.
Snape shut his mouth again, and Harry sniggered, earning himself a reproving glare from both of them. Harry and Snape had their glaring contest again during lunch, each attempting to see if they could intimidate the other with direct eye contact. Suddenly, Silver's fork clattered to her plate and she clapped a hand over her head.
"Ouch," she whispered softly.
Snape and Harry both rose. Silver tried to stand up, and fell into Harry's arms. He awkwardly picked her up and brought her away from her chair. She swayed slightly as she stood up.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"I don't feel good," she murmured, "Not at all."
Suddenly she put both hands on her head. "Oh," she said softly, "Ouch."
"Your head?" Snape asked.
"My head," she repeated, "It hurts. And the voices – so many voices."
Snape and Harry exchanged glances. Silver suddenly pushed away from Harry. Surprised, he released her. She tried to take a step towards Snape, but fell. Snape reached out and caught her. He attempted to right her, but her knees gave way.
"My name isn't flower!" she suddenly exclaimed, "Get out of my head!"
"Who's in your head?" Snape asked quickly.
"Voldemort," she moaned, "Get him out."
Snape looked up at Harry, and then back down at Silver. It was evident he didn't know what to do.
"We'll have to go to Dumbledore," he said finally.
Harry nodded.
"Get him out," Silver pleaded, looking up at them with glazed eyes, "Make him leave."
"We will," Snape assured her, "Don't worry."
He picked her up, and Harry followed him to the fireplace. As they went, Silver cried out almost unconsciously.
"I won't bow!" she cried passionately, "I won't bow!"
"Go, Potter," Snape commanded.
Harry obediently threw some Floo Powder into the fireplace and stepped in, ordering, "Dumbledore's Office." He heard Silver pleading with Snape once more as he left.
He arrived in Dumbledore's office and searched frantically for the headmaster, who was not at his desk.
"Hello, Harry," Dumbledore greeted from behind him.
Harry felt a wave of relief.
"It's Silver," he said.
At that moment, Snape and a delirious Silver arrived. Snape looked worried, and it wasn't hard to see why.
"No, shut up!" she yelled, clapping her hands to her ears, "Go away! I'm not your flower!"
Dumbledore withdrew his wand in the blink of an eye.
"Set her down," he commanded.
Snape began to look around.
"Right there," Dumbledore told him.
Snape looked at Dumbledore as if he were crazy. "The floor is too hard," he argued.
"Severus," Dumbledore answered warningly.
Reluctantly, Snape set her down and began to walk away.
"No!" she cried, "Don't leave, you have to help me! He won't go away! Please, S-"
"Silencio!" Dumbledore cried, flicking his wand.
Snape and Harry looked at Dumbledore. "She can't give away her location," he explained, "That is, assuming she hasn't already."
Snape shook his head, and Dumbledore nodded. Silver clapped her hands over her ears and mouthed uselessly.
"Do something, Albus," Snape said urgently.
"Relax, Severus," Dumbledore replied, and then, pointing his wand at her, "Stupefy."
Silver froze for a moment, and then collapsed onto the ground.
"How is that going to help?" Snape exploded angrily.
"If she can't think consciously anymore, Voldemort will lose his hold," Dumbledore answered.
"What did he do?" Harry asked, looking at the unconscious Silver.
"I can't say that I'm certain, Harry," Dumbledore replied, "He must have used a very powerful spell to get a hold on her mind from so far away."
"Git," Harry muttered.
"Do you still have that torch, Harry?" Dumbledore asked suddenly.
"Yeah," Harry answered, "I put it in the box Ron gave me for my birthday."
"Ah, the biting one?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly.
Harry nodded.
"I would prefer if you carried it with you at all times," Dumbledore informed him.
"Uh, okay," Harry agreed.
He was going to ask why, but he knew that Dumbledore would have told him already if he was ever going to. Dumbledore walked over to Silver and stooped beside her.
"Ennervate," he said quietly.
Silver's eyes opened slowly as she sat up. Her eyes landed on Snape, and he walked up and held out his hand to her. She gratefully accepted it, and he pulled her up. For a moment the two stared at each other, as if speaking without words.
"Is he gone?" Snape finally asked.
She nodded and ran into his arms.
"It was so scary," she whispered.
Harry saw that she was shaking. Snape looked awkwardly up at Dumbledore as he patted her back stiffly. Harry had to suppress a grin. Snape was so weird.
"Miss Riddle, if I may question you?" Dumbledore asked politely.
Silver backed away from Snape a step and looked at him questioningly. He nodded.
"All right," Silver agreed, looking at Dumbledore.
"Very good," Dumbledore said, conjuring up an armchair for himself, and a couch for the other three.
Much to Harry's relief, Silver sat in the middle. He looked over at her, trying to catch her eye, but she was looking at Dumbledore.
"What, exactly, happened?" Dumbledore inquired curiously.
"Well," Silver said, "I was eating lunch, and then all of a sudden I felt this pain in my head, and his voice...he said, 'Hello, flower'. Then I started to hear echoes in the background, but he kept talking to me. He asked me where I was and who I was with, and I wouldn't tell him. I made him really mad, and my head started to hurt more...I couldn't see where I was, I could just feel people around me. And then I felt alone, and my voice wasn't working anymore. He got really mad about that, and started yelling at me, but I couldn't talk. And then I don't know what happened."
"Well, you couldn't talk because I put a Silencing Charm on you," Dumbledore told her, "And after that I stunned you."
"Oh," she replied softly.
"I do not know if Voldemort will try that particular spell again," Dumbledore said, "But I would advise you to be on your guard until then. I would not advise going anywhere alone for long periods of time."
Silver nodded, and Dumbledore's eyes shifted to Harry.
"The same to you, Harry," he said.
Harry nodded as well. Dumbledore let out a deep, tired breath. Harry instantly felt sorry for him, and he saw concern well up in Silver's eyes as well. Snape looked emotionless, as usual.
"Severus, what did Voldemort say during your summoning?" Dumbledore inquired.
Snape looked down at Silver as if he was afraid that what he would say would damage her.
"He just wanted to...let me know...that he is getting impatient for Potter," Snape said uncomfortably.
Harry could only imagine what Voldemort's tactics were for letting somebody know that he was impatient.
Dumbledore nodded. "Very well then," he said, "Anything else I should know?"
Snape looked hesitantly down at Silver, and then back up at Dumbledore.
"Well – he told me that I had until the end of Potter's seventh year," he said.
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.
"To either get Potter or kill you," Snape supplied.
"What?" Silver asked.
Snape looked down at her blankly.
"Don't do that to me," she ordered, "What do you mean you have until the end of next year?"
"That's all I have," he answered, shifting uncomfortably.
"To live?" she croaked.
He gave her a long look and then nodded stiffly. Silver buried her face in her hands, but didn't cry that Harry could see. Dumbledore looked calculatingly at Snape.
"We will discuss this later, Severus," he said, "I think you should be getting home."
Snape nodded, and he got up. Harry followed suit, but Silver stayed sitting down, her face in her hands.
"Silver?" Harry tried.
She took her hands away from her face, revealing that she hadn't been crying – at least not that Harry could tell. She stood up, and looked at Dumbledore.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"Not a problem, Miss Riddle," Dumbledore assured her.
Silver only took two steps before she fainted. Harry caught her and managed to pick her up, but he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to make it out of the fireplace still standing after being spun around by Floo Powder, so he handed her over to Snape. Snape and Silver left, and Harry turned to look at Dumbledore.
"Do you think she'll be all right?" he asked.
"I think that Miss Riddle is stronger than she appears," Dumbledore replied cryptically.
Harry nodded. "Um, thanks," he said.
Dumbledore gave him a solitary nod. "Any time, Harry, any time," he told him, "Don't forget about that torch, now."
"I won't," Harry answered.
He exchanged one last look with Dumbledore before flooing himself to the Snape Manor once more.