Gem: LOL! Aww thanks, that means so much to me :) I hope you'll like the
next chap I upload. I kinda forgot about this story for a while...lol. I
started writing it when I first joined HP4eva, which was just before the
first HP movie came out...I think I got up to like 13 chapters, then forgot
about it for a few months. I'm currently writing the 16th chapter, but I
still have to type up chapters 14 and 15 before I can upload them. 12
should be up later today :)
Keebler-elmo: there's gonna be some action in this one, lol. The story kinda gets more exciting after Winston's death, so I hope yo like it :)
HAHAHA the funniest thing! When I was editing this chapter, I realized that I had made one of Snape's lines a complete typo...he was supposed to say, "This shan't take long," but instead I made him say, "Shit doesn't fake it long." LOL! Man I must have been tired when I re-typed this...
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Chapter 11: "The Game of Truth"
Harry ran down o the Gryffindor common room. He spotted Ron and Hermione sitting with Seamus and Krum. He ran over to them, his heart beating quickly.
"Ron, I have to show you something," he said once he reached them. He tried to sound as calm as possible. He didn't want the whole common room to know about what had just happened.
"What is it?" Ron asked, eager to see what Harry had to show him.
"It's important," Harry replied. "Come on."
Ron curved his eyebrows in curiosity. "Alright," he said, standing up to go with Harry.
Harry led Ron upstair to their dorm room.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Ron asked him once they got into the dorm room, "You look a little shaken.:
"Come look out the window," Harry said, taking Ron by the arm and pulling him towards the window. "Look," Harry said, pointing out thr window. But as they both stared outside, they saw something quite different than what Harry had intended to show Ron. Harry thought that Professor Winston's body would still be there, but it wasn't. Instead, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape stood in the exact spot where Siren had killed Winston. A few aurors, including Lupin, stood a few feet away from them. They appeared to be putting Winston's dead body onto a stretcher.
"Bloody hell," Ron gasped. "What happened?"
Harry watched Lupin cover Winston's body with a blanket. Lupin's face had a solemnly shocked look on it, as though looking at Winston's dead face caused him a great amount of inner turmoil.
"Siren killed him," Harry said quietly. "What?" Ron exclaimed. "Did you see her?" "Yeah," Harry replied. "She said something to him... I forget what, but she looked really angry." Harry turned away from the window and leaned back against the windowsill. Ron followed suit and turned away from the scene as well.
"Ron, we have to tell someone," Harry said, "and soon."
"Well, we can't rght now," Ron replied, looking at the floor, "the teachers down there are all busy. Maybe we should give them some time. We'll have to wait till the morning."
Harry sighed and nodded his head in agreement,
***
Harry didn't get very much sleep that night. And when he did manage to sleep a little, scenes from the horrific night filled his head. Needless to say, he was relieved when morning finally came around. He was very nervous when the time finally came to tell Dumbldore. He and Ron woke up an hour before the quidditch game started so that they'd have enough time to inform the staff of what Siren had done.
"Should we wake Hermione?" Harry asked as they both crept down the stairs to the common room, "I mean, I know we're not allowed in the girls' dorms, but-"
"She's right there," Ron interupted. Harry could see Ron's face turn into a scowl as they reached the bottom of the stairs. There on the couch before them, Hermione was fast asleep, cuddled up closely next to Krum, who had his arms around her, also sleeping soundly.
"Never mind then," Harry quickly added, sensing the uncomfortable air around him, "We'll just go without her."
Ron gave Krum one last wicked glare before they turned to leave though the common room door.
"Should we go straight to his office?" Ron finally asked as he and Harry made their way through the castle halls, "or to the staff room?"
"His office," Harry replied, "For all we know, Siren could be in the staff-"
Harry and Ron both stopped abruptly as they turned a corner. There was Siren, and she was talking to Snape. Harry pulled Ron back behind the corner before Siren and Snape saw them. They were still close enough to hear what Snape and Siren were talking about.
"How did it go last night?" Snape asked her. Harry tried to listen a little better.
"Things went according to plan," Siren replied, "he's dead."
"Your grandfather should be happy," Snape said dully.
Siren let out what sounded like a sigh of relief. "I'm just gad it's all over now," she added.
"When will you be seeing your mother?" Snape asked her. Harry could hear their footsteps inching closely towards the corner.
"Whenever she feels like coming to see me, I guess," Siren answered, "Doubtfully before the quidditch game, like I had hoped."
"Are you nervous?" Snape asked her.
"Nah," Siren answered, and her voice seemed a bit calmer, "I mean, it's just my mother. It'll be a relief to finally see her again. I mean, I was so worried."
"I can imagine," Snape replied slowly, "but I was referring to today's quidditch game." "Oh," Siren replied. Harry could hear her footsteps stop. Snape's did as well. "A little," she continued, "I'm just nervous about playing against Viktor. Afterall, he does this stuff professionally."
"But it isn't Gryffindor's keeper you have to worry about," Snape replied, and his voice seemed to change to an almost bitter tone, "just keep an eye on Potter. Let Hunter take care of the others."
"I know," Siren replied with a laugh. The two of them began to walk again, getting closer and closer to Harry and Ron.
"Speaking of Hunter," Siren added, "What are we supposed to say about- "
Siren stopped talking as she and Snape turned the corner to see Harry and Ron leaning up against the wall.
"What are you two doing here?" Siren asked. She sounded as though she were uncomfortable around them.
"Not getting into any trouble, I hope," Snape added, staring darkly at Harry.
"No, sir," Ron replied quickly, "we were just looking for Dumbl- I mean, the Headmaster."
"What for, I wonder?" Snape asked, his voice and face expressionless.
"We just need to speak with him," Harry answered, trying not to look Siren in the eye. "Do you know where we could find him?"
"He's indisposed," Siren replied, "At least for the time being."
"What, is he sick or something?" Ron asked, and Harry could tell that he was afraid of being so neat to Siren.
"He's in no mood for visitors," Snape replied, "but I'd be delighted to give him a message for you." Harry could tell that was a lie. Snape didn't look (or sound) delighted at all.
"We'd rather you not," Harry said to him defiantly, "It's our own business right now." Snape's eyes flickered with rage. As he was about to reply, Siren interrupted.
"I'll tell him you were curious," she said, and she looked at them a bit more sternly now. "You two should go back to your common room and prepare for the game," she said in an authoritative voice.
No, Harry thought to himself, We can't. We have to tell someone what you've done!
"When will the Headmaster be available?" Ron asked, rather nervously.
"I don't know," Snape sighed, obviously annoyed and wanting to leave.
Harry was getting desperate. He had to tell Snape the circumstances of why he needed to speak with DUmbledore. If Snape understood, then perhaps he'd bring them both to see Dumbledore. But Harry couldn't say anything. Not in front of Siren.
"Perhaps I could speak with you then, Professor?" Harry said, trying to seem calm and cool. Harry could tell by the look on Snape's face that he wanted nothing less than to talk with Harry. However, as a teacher, Snape know that he had no choice but to help the students with their problems.
Snape took a deep breath, as though trying to contain his anger, and looked at Siren. "This shan't take long," he told her, and he directed Harry to follow him down the hall. Ron, meanwhile, had to stay behind. Feeling very uncomfortable and quite afraid of Siren, he left to go back to the common room.
Siren then leaned up against the wall and patiently awaited Snape's return.
***
"What is it?" Snape finally asked Harry once they had walked out of hearing distance of Siren. Harry could almost feel Snape's hatred for him filling up the space around the two of them.
"There's a reason why I must speak with Professor Dumbledore right away," Harry replid quickly, his voice a bit nervous.
"And what would that reason be?" Snape asked dully, looking straight ahead and not even glancing toward Harry.
Harry looked down at his feet and took a deep breath. "I saw Professor Winston's death last night," he said. Snape stopped walking very abruptly and stared intensly at Harry.
"Did you see who did it?" Snape asked very darkly, and Harry got the impression that this made Snape a little more angry than usual.
"Well," Harry started, but as he was about to answer, he decided not to. He wasn't even sure if he could trust Snape, so he decided to lie. "No," he continued, "but if I could speak wth the Headmaster, I'd be able to describe the person to him."
Harry could immediately tell that Snape knew Harry was hiding something. However, Snape simply nodded slightly with a sneer, and told Harry to follow him to Dumbledore's office. As they walked there, Harry suddenly remembered what he had overheard Snape and Siren talking about only moments before. 'Things went according to plan.' Siren's voice echoed through his head as he remembered the conversation, 'he's dead.' ... 'Your grandfather should be happy.' What on Earth were they talking about? Harry thought to himself. Were they talking about Winston? And now for some reason, Harry had the feeling that Snape knew about Siren killing Winston. Harry reached into his pocket to make sure his wand was still there. He wasn't sure, but he wasn't sure if he could totally trust Snape's loyalties.
They finally reached the stone gargoyle before Dumbledore's office. Harry was shocked as Snape merely looked at the gargoyle and, without even saying a password, it leapt forth and let them through. Harry assumed that it must have been charmed to recognize staff members.
As they went up the winding staircase, Harry could hear two very familiar voices talking. They reached the top of the stairs to see the door of the office already slightly ajar. Snape knocked twice on it, and Dumbledore's voice could be heard telling him to come in. The door opened, and there sat Dumbledore at his desk, and both Sirius and Lupin standing near the window. Snape looked right at Sirius, and Harry could tell that both were trying their best not to say a word.
Before Harry could say anything to Sirius, Dumbledore stood up and looked at both he and Snape. "What is it?" he asked kindly, but Harry could see the lament in his eyes.
"Potter, here, claims to have been witness to last night's events," Snape replied, pulling his eyes off of Sirius.
"What?" Sirius gasped, "You weren't there, were you, Harry?"
"Er, no," Harry replied. "I could see it from my dorm window."
Sirius and Lupin exchanged concerned looks.
"Did you see who did it, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, taking a few steps closer. Harry could see Snape glaring at him from the corner of his eye. "Yeah," Harry replied quietly. He didn't want to say anything more. Not in front of Snape, at least.
Dumbledore seemed to have read his mind, and said, "Everyone here is trustworthy, Harry. You can tell us what you saw."
Harry still wasn't sure if that was true, but he had no choice. He had to tell them. "It was Siren," Harry replied, and he put his head down, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.
"Siren?" Dumbledore asked, obviously shocked at Harry's reply.
"Are you sure that you saw what you think you saw?" Lupin asked him.
"Absolutely," Harry replied. He could still feel Snape's eyes on him, almost as though someone was breathing down the back of his neck.
"It appears that you are greatly mistaken, Potter," Snape replied, his voice almost amused, but nevertheless cold as ice.
"How so?" Harry asked darkly, finally looking up at Snape.
"Harry," Sirius replied, "Siren was nowehere neat Hogwart's last night."
"What?" Harry asked, looking away from Snape's twisted face, "But I know I saw her-"
"I'm afraid he's right," Dumbledore added gently, "Siren was at an Auror Meeting last night, discussing any further plans of attack against her grandfather."
Harry couldn't believe it. He didn't know what to say or think. If Siren didn't kill Winston, then who did? "So who was it that I saw strangling Professor Winston?" Harry asked aloud.
"Perhaps you imagined it," Snape mocked, obviously enjoying watching Harry make a complete fool of himself before the headmaster..
"I don't think so," Lupin replied, shaking his head, "Winston did die due to strangulation. Perhaps he saw who did it and merely misidentified them as being Siren." Snape stared bitterly at Lupin.
"But it even sounded like her..." Harry trailed off.
"What did the person say?" Dumbledore asked, sitting back down at his desk.
"I don't really remember," Harry replied. He felt more like a fool with every passing second. "Something about Professor Winston knowing her secret."
Dumbledore curved his eyebrow at this and sat back in his chair.
"Perhaps this person was trying to frame Siren," Sirius added, "They could have used some form of magic to look like her - Polyjuice potion, maybe?"
"That means that the person must have been around Siren recently," Snape replied, "in order to obtain a part of her."
"And Siren hasn't been away from Hogwarts since school started," Dumbledore replied, "not until last night."
"If they did use the Polyjuice Potion, they'd have had to have been around Hogwarts," Lupin replied.
"It takes a month to be prepared," Snape replied cooly. "School only started a couple of weeks ago. She must have been around this person during the summer."
"And she sent most of her summer here," Dumbledore replied gently. "When she wasn't in Knockturn Alley preparing things for her class, she was."
Everyone was silent for a bit, putting the pieced together in their own heads.
"So there's a murderer in Hogwarts?" Harry asked. "There was last night, atleast," Sirius replied, "and some time before that, I'll bet."
"This doesn't make any sense," Harry replied, gathering more bits of information from his memory.
"No?" Snape asked darkly.
Harry looked at him angrily. "No, it doesn't," he snapped back. "I heard what you and Siren were talking about in the hallway! You were talking about things going according to plan... something about someone being dead and how Voldemort would be happy about it! Why should I believe that you weren't talking about the Professor's death?"
Snape lost it. He nearly lunged at Harry, grabbing him by his cloak and pushing him against the wall. "How dare you listen in on my conversations, you idiot boy!" he yelled evilly. Before he could do anymore, both Lupin and Sirius grabbed Snape by the arms and pulled him away from Harry. Lupin tried his best to keep Sirius from hurting Snape.
Dumbledore stood up and looked at Snape very sternly. "Severus, what is the meaning of this?" he asked in displeased tone that Harry had never heard before. "What is Harry talking about?"
Harry was both terrified and victorious. He was finally going to reveal Snape for what he truly was- a death eater.
"I cannot speak of it infront of two aurors," Snape replied, his voice fuming, his eyes still on Harry.
Dumbledore looked at both Lupin and Sirius. "Leave us, then," he said to them, "Only for a moment."
Sirius stared coldly at Snape, daring him to make another move. Lupin left first, hesitantly followed by Sirius.
"Now," Dumbledore said, calming down a bit, but still obviously discontent," tell me what happened, Severus."
Snape finally looked away from Harry and turned to Dumbledore. "After the meeting last night," he replied in a monotone voice, "Siren and I met up at the ministry Headquarters. She was terrified, saying that her mother had been kidnapped. I assumed that it was her grandfather's doing, but it wasn't. It appears that Charles Nott had kidnapped Raven at the beginning of the summer, telling Siren that she had to do whatever he asked of her, or else he would kill Raven."
Harry was utterly confused. He knew that Raven was Siren's mother, and he was only assuming that Charles Nott was Hunter's father- the death eater.
"But what would Charles want with Siren?" Dumbledore asked slowly.
"Power," Snape replied simply. "He's been forcing her to teach him every bit of powerful magic that only the heir of Slytherin would know of. As well, he ordered her to allow Hunter's calling on her, hoping that it would bring their two families closer together, and that someday the Dark Lord would accept he and Hunter as family." He took a deep sigh and then continued, still rather dully, "Siren had been too afraid to tell anyone. She didn't want her mother to die. She finally told me, and together we went to Charles' home. We took him by force to the only person Siren felt she could trust..the only one she felt would know what to do."
"Voldemort," Dumbledore sighed. He paced around the room for a bit. "Go on."
"She stayed their with him while I left to free her mother. But when I returned to the house, her mother had already fled. I can only assume she's still hiding somewhere."
"And what happened to Charles?" Dumbledore asked calmly, as though he already knew the answer.
"From what Siren has told me," Snape replied, "her grandfather killed him after discovering that he had been taking abuse of Siren. Siren apparently left afterwards and returned to Hogwarts only a couple of hours ago."
He then looked back at Harry. "And Siren didn't want anyone to know that she had had dealings with her grandfather," he continued, "which is why I ask that neither of you mention this to anyone."
"It's understandable," Dumbledore replied, "and I shan't say a word to anyone not in this room. You have my word."
Harry was in a state of shock. None of this was making any sense to him right now.
"And do I have your word, Potter?" Snape asked darkly, staring at Harry with a threatening gaze..
Harry nodded his head yes, not being able to find his voice.
"I will have to have a talk with her, however," Dumbledore replied. He turned to Harry, and seemed to look happier. "But on a different note," he continued, changing the subject and smiling, "I believe you have a quiditch game to get ready for, Harry."
*****
The quidditch game was only minutes away. Harry didn't have any time to catch up with Ron and tell him all that had happened. He had to meet up with the Gryffindor team in the locker rooms. He got their as quickly as he could.
"There you are," Katie Bell said as Harry walked in, "we thought you weren't going to show up."
"Sorry," he said, quickly putting on his gear, "I was busy and lost track of time."
"Vell, ve start in 5 minutes," Krum replied, "Ve haff to valk out to the pitch."
Harry grabbed his Firebolt. "Let's go."
*****
"And it's a beautiful day," Lee Jordon's voice echoed throughout the pitch, doing his usual commentary." Is everyone ready for the first quidditch game Hogwarts has seen in over a year?" The crowd erupted into cheers.
"Ready?" Harry asked the team as they were about to fly onto the pitch.
"Ready," they all replied.
They heard Lee's que, and they all flew out onto the pitch. They were met mostly with cheers, but the Slytherins were all booing them loudly.
The Slytherin team was already out. Harry saw Hunter flying near Malfoy. 'He must not know aout his dad,' Harry thought to himself. He also saw Siren fly a bit above Malfoy, her bat secure in her hand. She looked different, Harry noticed, but he didn't know why. She seemed...colder. Maybe she was still upset about last night. She just looked different as far as Harry could tell. He then noticed her eerie resemblance to Andreala. 'Those two could pass for twins,' he thought.
"POSITIONS!" Madam Hooche yelled out. The players on each team got ready. "As always, I want a clean game." she warned them all.
"The game is about to start as Madam Hooche says some last minute words," Lee's voice could be heard above the cheering crowds, "And...the quaffle has been thrown up...and the game starts with Slytherin in possession! Marcus Flint has the quaffle and is being closely guarded by Hunter Nott as the Weasley twins fly by, trying to get a good shot in with a bludger. Alicia Spinnter is closing in on him...she may have a chance to steal- oh no! Siren Ridge hammers a bludger towards Alicia but misses by an inch, leaving Flint in the lead. He's got a shot - he's taking it... oh! Denied! The quaffle is stopped by Gryffindor Keeper Viktor Krum, and Gryffidor are now in possession with Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell taking it to center."
Harry was looking around for the snitch, but it couldn't be seen. He could tell that Malfoy was watching him. He decided to fool Malfoy by flying towards the Gryffindor posts as quickly as he could, which would also take Hunter and Siren's focuses off of the Gryffindor chasers. It worked. Malfoy flew after Harry, as did Siren. However, as he flew closer to Krum, he saw it- the golden snitch had already appeared, and it was right below Krum's feet. Krum winked at Harry, signifying that he had noticed it, too. Harry flew towards it as fast as he could, still far ahead of Malfoy. Siren, however, was right beside him. Without any warning, she grabbed her bat and swung at Harry, hitting him in the stomach. He stopped abruptly, as Malfoy sped past him. Thankfully, the snitch had disappeared.
Madam Hooche's whistle sounded, calling for a penalty against Siren. But Siren didn't stop. She hit Harry again, and this time it hit his chest, knocking the wind out of him.
He hunched over, trying not to fall from his broomstick. The crowd was almost silent as Siren continued to beat him, ignoring Hooche's repetive whistles and shouts.
"What are you doing?!" Harry finally managed to yell at her, flying a bit away from her. Siren didn't reply. She took out her wand and aimed it at Harry.
"What are you doing?!" Harry yelled again, his voice shaking with agony. The pitch was still and silent. The crowd gasped as Siren finally spoke...
She pointed her wand right at Harry, and the words seemed to echo throughout the pitch as she spoke them. "Avada Kedavra." A green light blinded Harry, and he couldn't see a thing as it quickly crept closer to him.
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*Dun dun DUUUNNNNNN* Mwahahahaha! Nehehehe....*folds her hands together and twiddles her fingers* Excellent.
-Summer :P
Keebler-elmo: there's gonna be some action in this one, lol. The story kinda gets more exciting after Winston's death, so I hope yo like it :)
HAHAHA the funniest thing! When I was editing this chapter, I realized that I had made one of Snape's lines a complete typo...he was supposed to say, "This shan't take long," but instead I made him say, "Shit doesn't fake it long." LOL! Man I must have been tired when I re-typed this...
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Chapter 11: "The Game of Truth"
Harry ran down o the Gryffindor common room. He spotted Ron and Hermione sitting with Seamus and Krum. He ran over to them, his heart beating quickly.
"Ron, I have to show you something," he said once he reached them. He tried to sound as calm as possible. He didn't want the whole common room to know about what had just happened.
"What is it?" Ron asked, eager to see what Harry had to show him.
"It's important," Harry replied. "Come on."
Ron curved his eyebrows in curiosity. "Alright," he said, standing up to go with Harry.
Harry led Ron upstair to their dorm room.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Ron asked him once they got into the dorm room, "You look a little shaken.:
"Come look out the window," Harry said, taking Ron by the arm and pulling him towards the window. "Look," Harry said, pointing out thr window. But as they both stared outside, they saw something quite different than what Harry had intended to show Ron. Harry thought that Professor Winston's body would still be there, but it wasn't. Instead, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape stood in the exact spot where Siren had killed Winston. A few aurors, including Lupin, stood a few feet away from them. They appeared to be putting Winston's dead body onto a stretcher.
"Bloody hell," Ron gasped. "What happened?"
Harry watched Lupin cover Winston's body with a blanket. Lupin's face had a solemnly shocked look on it, as though looking at Winston's dead face caused him a great amount of inner turmoil.
"Siren killed him," Harry said quietly. "What?" Ron exclaimed. "Did you see her?" "Yeah," Harry replied. "She said something to him... I forget what, but she looked really angry." Harry turned away from the window and leaned back against the windowsill. Ron followed suit and turned away from the scene as well.
"Ron, we have to tell someone," Harry said, "and soon."
"Well, we can't rght now," Ron replied, looking at the floor, "the teachers down there are all busy. Maybe we should give them some time. We'll have to wait till the morning."
Harry sighed and nodded his head in agreement,
***
Harry didn't get very much sleep that night. And when he did manage to sleep a little, scenes from the horrific night filled his head. Needless to say, he was relieved when morning finally came around. He was very nervous when the time finally came to tell Dumbldore. He and Ron woke up an hour before the quidditch game started so that they'd have enough time to inform the staff of what Siren had done.
"Should we wake Hermione?" Harry asked as they both crept down the stairs to the common room, "I mean, I know we're not allowed in the girls' dorms, but-"
"She's right there," Ron interupted. Harry could see Ron's face turn into a scowl as they reached the bottom of the stairs. There on the couch before them, Hermione was fast asleep, cuddled up closely next to Krum, who had his arms around her, also sleeping soundly.
"Never mind then," Harry quickly added, sensing the uncomfortable air around him, "We'll just go without her."
Ron gave Krum one last wicked glare before they turned to leave though the common room door.
"Should we go straight to his office?" Ron finally asked as he and Harry made their way through the castle halls, "or to the staff room?"
"His office," Harry replied, "For all we know, Siren could be in the staff-"
Harry and Ron both stopped abruptly as they turned a corner. There was Siren, and she was talking to Snape. Harry pulled Ron back behind the corner before Siren and Snape saw them. They were still close enough to hear what Snape and Siren were talking about.
"How did it go last night?" Snape asked her. Harry tried to listen a little better.
"Things went according to plan," Siren replied, "he's dead."
"Your grandfather should be happy," Snape said dully.
Siren let out what sounded like a sigh of relief. "I'm just gad it's all over now," she added.
"When will you be seeing your mother?" Snape asked her. Harry could hear their footsteps inching closely towards the corner.
"Whenever she feels like coming to see me, I guess," Siren answered, "Doubtfully before the quidditch game, like I had hoped."
"Are you nervous?" Snape asked her.
"Nah," Siren answered, and her voice seemed a bit calmer, "I mean, it's just my mother. It'll be a relief to finally see her again. I mean, I was so worried."
"I can imagine," Snape replied slowly, "but I was referring to today's quidditch game." "Oh," Siren replied. Harry could hear her footsteps stop. Snape's did as well. "A little," she continued, "I'm just nervous about playing against Viktor. Afterall, he does this stuff professionally."
"But it isn't Gryffindor's keeper you have to worry about," Snape replied, and his voice seemed to change to an almost bitter tone, "just keep an eye on Potter. Let Hunter take care of the others."
"I know," Siren replied with a laugh. The two of them began to walk again, getting closer and closer to Harry and Ron.
"Speaking of Hunter," Siren added, "What are we supposed to say about- "
Siren stopped talking as she and Snape turned the corner to see Harry and Ron leaning up against the wall.
"What are you two doing here?" Siren asked. She sounded as though she were uncomfortable around them.
"Not getting into any trouble, I hope," Snape added, staring darkly at Harry.
"No, sir," Ron replied quickly, "we were just looking for Dumbl- I mean, the Headmaster."
"What for, I wonder?" Snape asked, his voice and face expressionless.
"We just need to speak with him," Harry answered, trying not to look Siren in the eye. "Do you know where we could find him?"
"He's indisposed," Siren replied, "At least for the time being."
"What, is he sick or something?" Ron asked, and Harry could tell that he was afraid of being so neat to Siren.
"He's in no mood for visitors," Snape replied, "but I'd be delighted to give him a message for you." Harry could tell that was a lie. Snape didn't look (or sound) delighted at all.
"We'd rather you not," Harry said to him defiantly, "It's our own business right now." Snape's eyes flickered with rage. As he was about to reply, Siren interrupted.
"I'll tell him you were curious," she said, and she looked at them a bit more sternly now. "You two should go back to your common room and prepare for the game," she said in an authoritative voice.
No, Harry thought to himself, We can't. We have to tell someone what you've done!
"When will the Headmaster be available?" Ron asked, rather nervously.
"I don't know," Snape sighed, obviously annoyed and wanting to leave.
Harry was getting desperate. He had to tell Snape the circumstances of why he needed to speak with DUmbledore. If Snape understood, then perhaps he'd bring them both to see Dumbledore. But Harry couldn't say anything. Not in front of Siren.
"Perhaps I could speak with you then, Professor?" Harry said, trying to seem calm and cool. Harry could tell by the look on Snape's face that he wanted nothing less than to talk with Harry. However, as a teacher, Snape know that he had no choice but to help the students with their problems.
Snape took a deep breath, as though trying to contain his anger, and looked at Siren. "This shan't take long," he told her, and he directed Harry to follow him down the hall. Ron, meanwhile, had to stay behind. Feeling very uncomfortable and quite afraid of Siren, he left to go back to the common room.
Siren then leaned up against the wall and patiently awaited Snape's return.
***
"What is it?" Snape finally asked Harry once they had walked out of hearing distance of Siren. Harry could almost feel Snape's hatred for him filling up the space around the two of them.
"There's a reason why I must speak with Professor Dumbledore right away," Harry replid quickly, his voice a bit nervous.
"And what would that reason be?" Snape asked dully, looking straight ahead and not even glancing toward Harry.
Harry looked down at his feet and took a deep breath. "I saw Professor Winston's death last night," he said. Snape stopped walking very abruptly and stared intensly at Harry.
"Did you see who did it?" Snape asked very darkly, and Harry got the impression that this made Snape a little more angry than usual.
"Well," Harry started, but as he was about to answer, he decided not to. He wasn't even sure if he could trust Snape, so he decided to lie. "No," he continued, "but if I could speak wth the Headmaster, I'd be able to describe the person to him."
Harry could immediately tell that Snape knew Harry was hiding something. However, Snape simply nodded slightly with a sneer, and told Harry to follow him to Dumbledore's office. As they walked there, Harry suddenly remembered what he had overheard Snape and Siren talking about only moments before. 'Things went according to plan.' Siren's voice echoed through his head as he remembered the conversation, 'he's dead.' ... 'Your grandfather should be happy.' What on Earth were they talking about? Harry thought to himself. Were they talking about Winston? And now for some reason, Harry had the feeling that Snape knew about Siren killing Winston. Harry reached into his pocket to make sure his wand was still there. He wasn't sure, but he wasn't sure if he could totally trust Snape's loyalties.
They finally reached the stone gargoyle before Dumbledore's office. Harry was shocked as Snape merely looked at the gargoyle and, without even saying a password, it leapt forth and let them through. Harry assumed that it must have been charmed to recognize staff members.
As they went up the winding staircase, Harry could hear two very familiar voices talking. They reached the top of the stairs to see the door of the office already slightly ajar. Snape knocked twice on it, and Dumbledore's voice could be heard telling him to come in. The door opened, and there sat Dumbledore at his desk, and both Sirius and Lupin standing near the window. Snape looked right at Sirius, and Harry could tell that both were trying their best not to say a word.
Before Harry could say anything to Sirius, Dumbledore stood up and looked at both he and Snape. "What is it?" he asked kindly, but Harry could see the lament in his eyes.
"Potter, here, claims to have been witness to last night's events," Snape replied, pulling his eyes off of Sirius.
"What?" Sirius gasped, "You weren't there, were you, Harry?"
"Er, no," Harry replied. "I could see it from my dorm window."
Sirius and Lupin exchanged concerned looks.
"Did you see who did it, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, taking a few steps closer. Harry could see Snape glaring at him from the corner of his eye. "Yeah," Harry replied quietly. He didn't want to say anything more. Not in front of Snape, at least.
Dumbledore seemed to have read his mind, and said, "Everyone here is trustworthy, Harry. You can tell us what you saw."
Harry still wasn't sure if that was true, but he had no choice. He had to tell them. "It was Siren," Harry replied, and he put his head down, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.
"Siren?" Dumbledore asked, obviously shocked at Harry's reply.
"Are you sure that you saw what you think you saw?" Lupin asked him.
"Absolutely," Harry replied. He could still feel Snape's eyes on him, almost as though someone was breathing down the back of his neck.
"It appears that you are greatly mistaken, Potter," Snape replied, his voice almost amused, but nevertheless cold as ice.
"How so?" Harry asked darkly, finally looking up at Snape.
"Harry," Sirius replied, "Siren was nowehere neat Hogwart's last night."
"What?" Harry asked, looking away from Snape's twisted face, "But I know I saw her-"
"I'm afraid he's right," Dumbledore added gently, "Siren was at an Auror Meeting last night, discussing any further plans of attack against her grandfather."
Harry couldn't believe it. He didn't know what to say or think. If Siren didn't kill Winston, then who did? "So who was it that I saw strangling Professor Winston?" Harry asked aloud.
"Perhaps you imagined it," Snape mocked, obviously enjoying watching Harry make a complete fool of himself before the headmaster..
"I don't think so," Lupin replied, shaking his head, "Winston did die due to strangulation. Perhaps he saw who did it and merely misidentified them as being Siren." Snape stared bitterly at Lupin.
"But it even sounded like her..." Harry trailed off.
"What did the person say?" Dumbledore asked, sitting back down at his desk.
"I don't really remember," Harry replied. He felt more like a fool with every passing second. "Something about Professor Winston knowing her secret."
Dumbledore curved his eyebrow at this and sat back in his chair.
"Perhaps this person was trying to frame Siren," Sirius added, "They could have used some form of magic to look like her - Polyjuice potion, maybe?"
"That means that the person must have been around Siren recently," Snape replied, "in order to obtain a part of her."
"And Siren hasn't been away from Hogwarts since school started," Dumbledore replied, "not until last night."
"If they did use the Polyjuice Potion, they'd have had to have been around Hogwarts," Lupin replied.
"It takes a month to be prepared," Snape replied cooly. "School only started a couple of weeks ago. She must have been around this person during the summer."
"And she sent most of her summer here," Dumbledore replied gently. "When she wasn't in Knockturn Alley preparing things for her class, she was."
Everyone was silent for a bit, putting the pieced together in their own heads.
"So there's a murderer in Hogwarts?" Harry asked. "There was last night, atleast," Sirius replied, "and some time before that, I'll bet."
"This doesn't make any sense," Harry replied, gathering more bits of information from his memory.
"No?" Snape asked darkly.
Harry looked at him angrily. "No, it doesn't," he snapped back. "I heard what you and Siren were talking about in the hallway! You were talking about things going according to plan... something about someone being dead and how Voldemort would be happy about it! Why should I believe that you weren't talking about the Professor's death?"
Snape lost it. He nearly lunged at Harry, grabbing him by his cloak and pushing him against the wall. "How dare you listen in on my conversations, you idiot boy!" he yelled evilly. Before he could do anymore, both Lupin and Sirius grabbed Snape by the arms and pulled him away from Harry. Lupin tried his best to keep Sirius from hurting Snape.
Dumbledore stood up and looked at Snape very sternly. "Severus, what is the meaning of this?" he asked in displeased tone that Harry had never heard before. "What is Harry talking about?"
Harry was both terrified and victorious. He was finally going to reveal Snape for what he truly was- a death eater.
"I cannot speak of it infront of two aurors," Snape replied, his voice fuming, his eyes still on Harry.
Dumbledore looked at both Lupin and Sirius. "Leave us, then," he said to them, "Only for a moment."
Sirius stared coldly at Snape, daring him to make another move. Lupin left first, hesitantly followed by Sirius.
"Now," Dumbledore said, calming down a bit, but still obviously discontent," tell me what happened, Severus."
Snape finally looked away from Harry and turned to Dumbledore. "After the meeting last night," he replied in a monotone voice, "Siren and I met up at the ministry Headquarters. She was terrified, saying that her mother had been kidnapped. I assumed that it was her grandfather's doing, but it wasn't. It appears that Charles Nott had kidnapped Raven at the beginning of the summer, telling Siren that she had to do whatever he asked of her, or else he would kill Raven."
Harry was utterly confused. He knew that Raven was Siren's mother, and he was only assuming that Charles Nott was Hunter's father- the death eater.
"But what would Charles want with Siren?" Dumbledore asked slowly.
"Power," Snape replied simply. "He's been forcing her to teach him every bit of powerful magic that only the heir of Slytherin would know of. As well, he ordered her to allow Hunter's calling on her, hoping that it would bring their two families closer together, and that someday the Dark Lord would accept he and Hunter as family." He took a deep sigh and then continued, still rather dully, "Siren had been too afraid to tell anyone. She didn't want her mother to die. She finally told me, and together we went to Charles' home. We took him by force to the only person Siren felt she could trust..the only one she felt would know what to do."
"Voldemort," Dumbledore sighed. He paced around the room for a bit. "Go on."
"She stayed their with him while I left to free her mother. But when I returned to the house, her mother had already fled. I can only assume she's still hiding somewhere."
"And what happened to Charles?" Dumbledore asked calmly, as though he already knew the answer.
"From what Siren has told me," Snape replied, "her grandfather killed him after discovering that he had been taking abuse of Siren. Siren apparently left afterwards and returned to Hogwarts only a couple of hours ago."
He then looked back at Harry. "And Siren didn't want anyone to know that she had had dealings with her grandfather," he continued, "which is why I ask that neither of you mention this to anyone."
"It's understandable," Dumbledore replied, "and I shan't say a word to anyone not in this room. You have my word."
Harry was in a state of shock. None of this was making any sense to him right now.
"And do I have your word, Potter?" Snape asked darkly, staring at Harry with a threatening gaze..
Harry nodded his head yes, not being able to find his voice.
"I will have to have a talk with her, however," Dumbledore replied. He turned to Harry, and seemed to look happier. "But on a different note," he continued, changing the subject and smiling, "I believe you have a quiditch game to get ready for, Harry."
*****
The quidditch game was only minutes away. Harry didn't have any time to catch up with Ron and tell him all that had happened. He had to meet up with the Gryffindor team in the locker rooms. He got their as quickly as he could.
"There you are," Katie Bell said as Harry walked in, "we thought you weren't going to show up."
"Sorry," he said, quickly putting on his gear, "I was busy and lost track of time."
"Vell, ve start in 5 minutes," Krum replied, "Ve haff to valk out to the pitch."
Harry grabbed his Firebolt. "Let's go."
*****
"And it's a beautiful day," Lee Jordon's voice echoed throughout the pitch, doing his usual commentary." Is everyone ready for the first quidditch game Hogwarts has seen in over a year?" The crowd erupted into cheers.
"Ready?" Harry asked the team as they were about to fly onto the pitch.
"Ready," they all replied.
They heard Lee's que, and they all flew out onto the pitch. They were met mostly with cheers, but the Slytherins were all booing them loudly.
The Slytherin team was already out. Harry saw Hunter flying near Malfoy. 'He must not know aout his dad,' Harry thought to himself. He also saw Siren fly a bit above Malfoy, her bat secure in her hand. She looked different, Harry noticed, but he didn't know why. She seemed...colder. Maybe she was still upset about last night. She just looked different as far as Harry could tell. He then noticed her eerie resemblance to Andreala. 'Those two could pass for twins,' he thought.
"POSITIONS!" Madam Hooche yelled out. The players on each team got ready. "As always, I want a clean game." she warned them all.
"The game is about to start as Madam Hooche says some last minute words," Lee's voice could be heard above the cheering crowds, "And...the quaffle has been thrown up...and the game starts with Slytherin in possession! Marcus Flint has the quaffle and is being closely guarded by Hunter Nott as the Weasley twins fly by, trying to get a good shot in with a bludger. Alicia Spinnter is closing in on him...she may have a chance to steal- oh no! Siren Ridge hammers a bludger towards Alicia but misses by an inch, leaving Flint in the lead. He's got a shot - he's taking it... oh! Denied! The quaffle is stopped by Gryffindor Keeper Viktor Krum, and Gryffidor are now in possession with Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell taking it to center."
Harry was looking around for the snitch, but it couldn't be seen. He could tell that Malfoy was watching him. He decided to fool Malfoy by flying towards the Gryffindor posts as quickly as he could, which would also take Hunter and Siren's focuses off of the Gryffindor chasers. It worked. Malfoy flew after Harry, as did Siren. However, as he flew closer to Krum, he saw it- the golden snitch had already appeared, and it was right below Krum's feet. Krum winked at Harry, signifying that he had noticed it, too. Harry flew towards it as fast as he could, still far ahead of Malfoy. Siren, however, was right beside him. Without any warning, she grabbed her bat and swung at Harry, hitting him in the stomach. He stopped abruptly, as Malfoy sped past him. Thankfully, the snitch had disappeared.
Madam Hooche's whistle sounded, calling for a penalty against Siren. But Siren didn't stop. She hit Harry again, and this time it hit his chest, knocking the wind out of him.
He hunched over, trying not to fall from his broomstick. The crowd was almost silent as Siren continued to beat him, ignoring Hooche's repetive whistles and shouts.
"What are you doing?!" Harry finally managed to yell at her, flying a bit away from her. Siren didn't reply. She took out her wand and aimed it at Harry.
"What are you doing?!" Harry yelled again, his voice shaking with agony. The pitch was still and silent. The crowd gasped as Siren finally spoke...
She pointed her wand right at Harry, and the words seemed to echo throughout the pitch as she spoke them. "Avada Kedavra." A green light blinded Harry, and he couldn't see a thing as it quickly crept closer to him.
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*Dun dun DUUUNNNNNN* Mwahahahaha! Nehehehe....*folds her hands together and twiddles her fingers* Excellent.
-Summer :P