Dumbledore's Army and the Lost Prophecy

by darak27

COMPLETE! Sequel to DA and the Wizard Revolution -- Harry was in his 7th year at Hogwarts and was convinced that it was not Voldemort he defeated but no one believed him except maybe for Luna, whose mind still refused to recall unpleasant events.

16. At the Snape Mansion

Chapter 16 - At the SnapeMansion

As their feet touched the solid ground, the group immediately recoiled at the repugnant sight of what Snape claimed to be his home. Anyone unfortunate enough to enter would instantly recognize it as a Dark Wizard's haven. No doubt about that. There were no colorful portraits to adorn the medium-sized living room, only strange-looking things hovering above them. All the furnitures were covered with repulsive snake skin and there were no comfortable chairs to sit on.

They had to settle on the cold, marble floor for that. The walls and ceilings were all black and their only source of light was the dimly lit fireplace. The hideous statues guarding the spiral staircase looked ready to devour any individual foolish enough to wander in its path. It would have been less horrific if there were at least some welcoming gestures from their host but, unfortunately, the unsmiling face of their host only heightened the already creepy atmosphere of the place.

"You call this a house?" said the disgusted Draco finally who expected the place to be somewhat similar to a regular wizard house -- not as grandiose as Malfoy Manor but habitable at least.

"Yes and I would appreciate it if you would keep your unsavory comments to yourself. You're not here for a vacation." reminded Snape in an even tone, his face devoid of any emotion.

"I think this place is very interesting -- " commented Harry much to the astonishment of everyone present and he could swear he chanced upon a faint hint of a smile on their host's face. He also heard some nasty insinuations regarding his state of mind but he just shrugged it off. That was a normal reaction to his comment anyway.

"For the benefit of those who cannot withstand a bit of discomfort, let me assure you that the rooms upstairs are quite satisfactory and complete with all the necessary amenities." said Snape in a tone that suggested that he consider those kind of people very weak in character.

"This definitely makes Sirius' house warm and friendly in comparison." whispered Ron to anyone who would care to listen.

"And this is the Training Room." said Snape as he led them to a mysterious opening that revealed an even more daunting room filled with several equipments that made even Wormtail tremble with fright.

Ron surveyed the scattered equipments with great apprehension. "Harry, are you really sure we want to do this? This looks more like a Torture Chamber to me."

"Weasley, if you don't keep your mouth shut, you will find that these tools could do worse than torture your already battered brain." Snape glared at Ron who promptly shut his mouth to avoid risking his wrath.

"I wonder what this little thing does..." commented Neville as he stared curiously at a small article that looked like a harmless old hat.

"Would you like to find out, Mr. Longbottom?" said Snape with an ugly smirk on his face, clearly daring the boy to do something foolish.

Neville eyed the dirty old hat anxiously but to everyone's surprise, he met the Professor's taunting gaze and returned the favor. "Yes, I believe I would, Professor." With that, he bravely shoved the article on top of his head, expecting the worst.

Hermione and Ron exchanged worried glances but Draco, Ginny and Luna just watched Neville with growing fascination.

Neville glanced one more at the professor and gave him a half-smile as he waited for whatever was to come.

Snape's expression was odd. He sneered at the boy but did not voice out any sarcastic comment that he never seem to run out of.

Harry saw this exchange and smiled inspite of himself. Neville was no longer the fumbling, clumsy and accident-prone boy that he used to be but perhaps the Potions Professor had been too pre-occupied to notice it.

Suddenly, the hat slid down to fully cover Neville's face then it constricted the neck part in such a way that would make the wearer lose oxygen within a short span of time.

Most of the witnesseses panicked and hastily tried to remove the nefarious hat but to no avail.

Snape stopped them with an intensely cold glare. "You better watch this carefully." he informed them. Then he barraged Neville with a series of annoying questions that if answered truthfully, the hat would loosen a little to give him time to breathe but if answered dishonestly, it would tighten some more until a faint choking sound could be heard from inside it. Finally, Snape seemed to be satisfied and removed the hat with a spell that not one of the students recognized.

Wormtail immediately ran to the boy whose face was already turning purple from lack of air. He quickly performed some spells on him and ordered him to rest for a while.

"This is definitely a torture chamber." said Ron in a hushed tone.

Hermione and Ginny were still too appalled to comment. Even Draco, who had lived in a Dark Wizards' house all his life, seemed unnerved by what he saw. Only Harry and Luna seemed to take the incident in stride.

"Now I know why he turned out to be that way." said Luna as she eyed Professor Snape with sympathy.

"What - abnormally ruthless and anti-social git?" said Harry jokingly.

"Why did you that? You could have killed him!" exclaimed Hermione angrily to the Potions Master.

Snape smirked at her. "Granger, for someone who's supposed to be the smartest student at Hogwarts, you're displaying a disgustingly low ability to comprehend some matters. That's what you're here for - to learn and understand the Dark Arts - and I've just given you a demonstration." He paused to retrieve the offensive article that fell on the ground. "This is a 'Constrictor'. As what you just witnessed, it will force the wearer to reveal any information asked of him and if the person's too stubborn to comply, the hat would tighten itself until the person can no longer breathe. Only someone skilled with the Dark Arts could remove it from the wearer's head."

"So, basically, it's just like the Veritaserum?" asked Neville who had just recovered.

"Yes, Mr. Longbottom, but unlike the Veritaserum which takes a full month to prepare and doesn't physically harm the drinker, the 'Constrictor' is more accessible and effective due to the excruciating pain it induces." Snape then regarded Neville with a little respect. "I must admit that I'm impressed with how long you were able to endure pain. Others usually panic and die from suffocation within a minute or two."

Others looked at Neville with increased respect. He was at it for more than fifteen minutes.

"P-Professor, is there a way to go around that thing?" asked Ginny timidly.

"There's always a way to go around anything...any spell even except the killing curse and it all boils down to MIND CONTROL which I'm about to teach you today if there are no more irrelevant questions." said Snape in his usual charming manner.

No one commented.

And so the rigorous training began...

The daily activities would usually start with a few minutes under the Cruciatus Curse -- Snape's and Wormtail's delightful way of waking them up -- then they had to try to stay under the 'Constrictor' as long as medically possible. This was immediately followed by drinking a few drops of Veritaserum -- Snape said that if they gradually consumed a large amount of that potion, they would be immune to its effects. Of course, an Occlumency lesson was also included in their daily dose of 'mind-strengthening exercise'. Then, after being severely battered and abused, that's the only time that they will be allowed to chew on a stale piece of plain bread and a glass of water.

"That will train you to survive if worse comes to worst. Do you think the Dark Lord is in the habit of feeding his captives?" spat Snape impatiently when Ron foolishly tried to complain about the inadequate food supply.

After the distasteful meal, if one could call it a meal, Snape and Wormtail would take turns placing them under the Imperius Curse until they could throw it off instantaneously. Then, the oh-so-merciful trainors would grant them the luxury of an hour or two of rest which was not very relaxing at all since they had to read voluminous chapters about the 'Characteristics and Actions of a Dark Wizard'.

The 'rest' would soon be followed by another disgusting meal. Then at exactly eight o'clock, Mad-Eye Moody would arrive to torture ... err..train them some more about the Strategies and Tactics of Muggle Dueling just in case they were disarmed and had to resort to hand-to-hand combat.

By the end of the day, the captives err...trainees would be too exhausted to care about anything but sleep which was limited to five hours only until they would be awakened again by the Cruciatus Curse.

And that was how they spent the whole week.

On the eighth day, they were pleasantly surprised to hear that Wormtail and Snape had to return to Hogwarts for a short meeting. They were even more delighted to hear that they had the time off and they could do whatever they want as long as they stay within the mansion and never enter the 'Training Room'. To top it all off, Snape had conjured some comfortable chairs so that they could eat properly on the dining table. They were provided with a very scrumptious meal that seemed foreign somehow after being used to having nothing but stale bread and water.

"I wonder what's going on." said Ron as he helped himself to a hefty serving of the dishes lavishly laid on the table.

Hermione eyed the food warily before she replied. "Maybe they poisoned the food ... or maybe they were just testing us if we could control our hunger in front of this feast. Remember what we read about how the dark minds work?"

Ron and Draco choked on their food when they heard Hermione's statement. Neville spat whatever morsel was left in his mouth and Ginny promptly stopped eating. Unsure of what to do, they just stared forlornly at the wonderful spread in front of them, wishing they were back at Hogwarts where they could eat to their heart's contents without fear of any underhanded maneuvers.

"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Harry after seeing their expressions.

He and Luna had decided to spend the morning together to explore the house, talk about some stuff and well - whatever. They were making up for lost time and they just stopped for lunch.

No one said anything.

Harry and Luna took their seats and started to fill their plates.

Still no one said anything.

"Why aren't you eating? Is there a problem?" asked Luna when she noticed that the others were not even touching their food.

"Umm...We have some reservations about this meal. We're thinking that maybe it's poisoned or something." replied Hermione weakly. The others murmured their own suspicions about the motives behind the kind gesture.

To their surprise, Harry and Luna laughed.

"Oh, is that all? I thought it was something bad." said Harry.

"Didn't Professor Snape tell you?" said Luna.

"Tell what?" asked Ginny.

"That they are going to give us a practical test tonight and if we perform to their standards, we could go back to Hogwarts tomorrow." replied Harry.

"Oh!" muttered Hermione and Ginny softly.

"WHY DID YOU TELL US?" ranted Ron as he shoved as much food as possible down his throat.

"Well, you asked..." said Harry, confused by Ron's reaction.

"Hmp! I didn't want to know." said Ron.

"Why not?" asked Neville curiously.

"Cause now I won't be able to enjoy the afternoon at all. I would be too busy worrying about that dreadful test." said Ron wearily. "Who knows what those evil minds have in store for us?"

"Don't worry Weas - Ron....No one's going to die." said Draco, grinning wickedly at him.

Everyone just groaned and continued eating.

====================================================================

The afternoon passed too quickly for the group's liking. As expected, no one was able to relax upon learning what they were about to do that night. Right after lunch, the group practiced what they learned and tried to recall all the details that Snape had imparted to them.

By night time, the tension was already at its highest point. Every little thing seemed to get on their nerves. Only Harry and Luna were oblivious to everything around them. They were so engrossed on their own little world while the others were almost tearing each other's throats.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?" yelled an angry Ron.

"HOW THE HELL SHOULD WE KNOW? WE'RE ALL HERE!" yelled an also irritated Draco. The suspense was too much for him too.

"IF YOU TWO DON'T STOP, I'M GOING TO CURSE YOU!" screamed Hermione at the top of her lungs while Neville vainly tried to pacify her.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" shouted Ginny and Draco and Ron immediately froze on the spot.

"Hey, that's uncalled for!" said a red-faced Neville as he removed the curse on Draco and Ron.

Ginny glared at him. "FINE!" She was about to run to her room when something caught her attention.

POP!

POP!

POP!

Three cloaked figures appeared on the other side of the room.

Ginny was frozen on the spot. Another pop....and then another...and another....

"AAAAAHHHH!!!! DEATH-EATERS!!!!" she yelled immediately and started attacking the intruders.

The others in the group quickly spun around and joined the battle. Soon, the place was sizzling with colorful sparks and electrifying curses. Jets of light were grazing each of their skins, wounding them but they just ignored it.

"CRUCIO!" shouted one cloaked figure and hit Neville but he was already used to the pain. He managed to free himself by quickly sending a strong stunning spell to the figure.

Ron and Hermione produced a very powerful shield charm to deflect mild curses while sending fireballs to the enemies. Draco tackled a nearby death-eater who was trying to attack Ginny. No one even got near Harry and Luna due to the immense power that they were radiating.

Suddenly, someone summoned several 'Constrictors' and charmed it to capture all the students but the hats never even lasted a minute on their heads. And the students had enough sense to continue firing spells while struggling to break free from the 'Constrictors'.

The battle became even more intense as more Unforgivables were hurled unrelentingly by the enemies. The group, sensing that they were dangerously outnumbered, disillusioned themselves to even the odds. But they were disgruntled when they noticed that the enemies could still sense their presence and were even able to remove the charm.

"Luna, Ginny, Hermione, combine your strengths to bind the enemies when I give you the signal." yelled Harry while wandlessly sending three dark-cloaked figures flying to the wall, knocking them unconscious. To his other side, Neville, Ron and Draco were also ferociously attacking the enemies. They managed to incapacitate five more unwanted visitors.

Behind their back, a number of death-eaters were preparing to throw a powerful spell at the boys but Luna quickly saw it and launched a spell of her own. Harry followed it up by a disarming and stunning spell then he levitated all the enemies to one side of the room.

At Harry's signal, the girls simultaneously conjured a magical rope to bind the fallen intruders to prevent them from escaping.

Soon, several intruders disapparated, leaving only the unconscious ones behind. The smoke started to clear out, giving the group a clear vision of their surroundings. The table was smashed and the staircase was broken. There were trickles of blood on the floor and some furnitures were reduced to ashes. Snape's house was a mess! But they had managed to get fifteen enemies, not bad.

Harry looked at his friends and noticed some minor burns and unsightly wounds but otherwise, they were all right.

"Why didn't Snape and the others arrive? Do you think we've been setup?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know." replied Harry simply then tensed again as he heard several consecutive sounds of people apparating.

Everyone immediately pointed their wands to the direction of the sound expecting another encounter.

"Merlin! What happened here?" yelled a familiar voice.

It was Arthur Weasley, Minister of Magic, and he was accompanied by Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey.

"DAD!" Ron and Ginny ran to hug their father at once.

"Poppy! Quick!" said the Headmistress and Madam Pomfrey quickly tended to the bound figures.

"We've been attacked by death-eaters, Professors. I think Snape set us up." said Hermione.

The Headmistress suddenly looked confused for a moment then her eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh, I assume you passed your test?"

"Test? What test? Didn't you hear, Professor, we've been attacked!" exclaimed Ron who was finding it difficult to comprehend why the school nurse chose to attend to the injuries of the enemies first.

"No, you were not attacked. Let me show you." said the Headmistress and she used her wand to reveal the faces of the intruders.

The group was stunned. They were all Order members!

"I think Professor Snape and I had a slight misunderstanding. When he told me that you shall be tested tonight, I assumed that it would be quite similar to an ordinary practical test. I never thought that he had a different idea in mind. But I admit his plan was ingenious. You were caught unaware yet you were able to handle the situation to your advantage." explained the Headmistress. "And without any major injuries, I see. You did well."

Arthur Weasley chuckled softly. "I think our members need to train too. Imagine seven kids beating them!"

"So, Professors, are we going back to Hogwarts tomorrow?" asked Harry who was the first to recover from the shock.

"Certainly. Especially now that several Order members have to spend some time at the hospital wing." replied the Headmistress. Then she addressed the whole group in a low voice. "Kindly try to teach them a thing or two, will you? I never imagined them to lose this terribly. It's really humiliating!"

"Of course, Professor. It will be a pleasure!" replied the group with suspicious grins pasted on their faces.

"Hah! May I have the pleasure of WAKING Snape up?" said Ron, his eyes twinkling with anticipation.

"I would be delighted to prepare their meals." commented Hermione with a devious grin.

The Minister and Headmistress were puzzled but the rest of the group just roared with laughter.