(8)Pop Goes The Portkey
Harry could only stare as Snape & Dumbledore aparated to the Hogsmeade Gates.
"Come on, Harry!" Ron broke into his thoughts. "Let's get back to the castle."
Harry began running as soon as he appeared at the gates, with Neville & Ron close behind. Up ahead, Harry could see Snape running across the grounds towards Hogwarts Castle but Dumbledore, as usual, was no where in sight.
"Let's stay out of sight!" Harry whispered as he, Neville & Ron entered the hospital wing. They stood behind the curtains that Harry gently pulled across one side of a bed & waited. He peeked out through the crack for a moment & saw Merida two beds down, her blonde hair framing her face. Harry forced himself away from the curtains & sat down.
"I found her on the floor," Mcgonagall was saying. "I was just returning a book that Miss Voth had left in my classroom & saw Merida."
"Did you see anyone else?" asked Dumbledore.
"No," said Mcgonagall. "I wanted to stay & look, but I had to get Merida here. Allastor said that no one but me had entered but still, she was attacked."
"I've already tested Allastor," Madam Pomfrey said. "for the use of polyjuice potion in case someone was posing as him but it came out negative."
"I don't know how anyone could get in," said Mcgonagall. "but---Severus? Are you all right?" Snape was standing close to Merida & appeared to be in a trance.
"Hush, Minerva," Dumbledore said. "He's trying to contact Merida!" Dumbledore could recognize the spell of Occlumency any day!
Snape entered Merida's mind. Merida, can you hear me?
Father, where are you?
Standing beside you in the hospital wing. Minerva found you. What happened?
I don't know! Some lady attacked me. She had very familiar eyes. It was as if I knew her from somewhere. She said.....something....
Yes, Merida? Come back! You're fading!
It's hard to focus!
You're very weak & you're not used to Occlumency but you must focus!
She said she was going to kill me & that she found something! Some Sphere! That's all I remember.
Rest for now, then. Snape began to leave Merida's mind.
Father, don't leave!
I'm not going anywhere! Just out of your mind! Snape took hold of Merida's hand & returned to reality. He felt hers squeeze his, then she passed out completely again.
"Merlin's sake!" Pomfrey greeted him as soon as Snape was back to reality! "What the devil are you trying to do, Severus? KILL her? She's too weak for your style of Occlumency! You're too rough! I should know! I'm the one fixing Harry's headaches whenever you invade his mind! NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!"
Snape winced! "Poppy, I'm only rough on Harry Potter because he doesn't do as he's told! He doesn't push me out when I know he can! I wouldn't be rough like that on my own daughter!"
"As far as I'm concerned, your Occlumency is too strong!" Pomfrey glared at him. "You live up to your name, Severus!"
"I will refrain from commenting on that!" Snape gritted his teeth as Dumbledore covered his smiling with his hand. Snape glowered at him! "Do you want to know what Merida told me or not?!"
"Yes, Severus!" Dumbledore snickered.
Snape rolled his eyes to the ceiling for a moment! "She said it was a lady had attacked her. Apparently this lady had come to kill her!" Snape hesitated a moment. "The lady.....also.....found," Snape wondered what was wrong with himself! "found some sort of.....Sphere?"
Dumbledore went very silent. Not THAT Sphere! Please Merlin, not that! He gazed at Snape for a long time.
"Well?!" Snape was getting impatient!
"It's something from your past, Severus!" Dumbledore said. "Something you've trained your mind to forget but now the truth must come out! It can only be the Dementor Sphere!"
Snape collapsed to the floor, fainted! Pomfrey hurried to his side. "He's just fainted, Poppy!" Mcgonagall said. "& with good reason! Albus, do you really think it's that Sphere?"
"It has to be!" Dumbledore said. "I thought it was destroyed but I wasn't sure! Now, I'm positive it still exists! Poppy, lay him on the bed beside Merida! He should be awake in a few hours!"
Mcgonagall & Dumbledore headed out the door. Dumbledore paused a moment beside the curtains surrounding one bed & smiled before continuing on his way! Harry, knowing they were caught, hurried out to follow him with Ron & Neville who were grinning nervously! "What happened to Professor Snape?" Harry asked.
"That Sphere is a bad part of his past!" Dumbledore answered. "He'll be alright soon enough & so will Merida."
"That lady gave the Sphere to Peter Pettigrew!" Harry said. "We saw them in a back alley behind the Shrieking Shack!"
"Oh, what a tangled web this is!" Dumbledore sighed. "I don't understand any of this, either!" he smiled softly at Harry. "You & your friends should get to the Tower. Allastor will escort you there & Lupin will be at the Tower as well!"
Snape was awake again the next morning. Merida was still out but Pomfrey said she would be fine in a few days. Snape left Merida in her care & left.
"I'm sorry it has resurfaced, Severus!" came the sudden voice!
Snape stopped breathing for a minute or two! It's only Albus! Get used to it, will you?! "Look, I don't want to talk of it right now!" Snape snapped.
"Very well, then!" Dumbledore said. "I will be silent!"
"Please do!" Snape muttered.
"Apparently, Peter Pettigrew is involved," Dumbledore changed the subject.
"Wonderful!" Snape declared flatly!
"Some lady gave him that Sphere last night!" Dumbledore said.
"& we're back to that!" Snape snapped as he entered his office.
Dumbledore continued on to his own office. Please don't do this, again, Severus! Closing yourself off from it!
Not listening!!!! came the heated reply on the wave of Occlumency! Dumbledore winced & shut the spell off!
Merida awoke two days later to find Ron sprawled out at the foot of her bed, fast asleep! Harry was sitting on her bed, right beside her & Neville was in a chair on the other side. "Hey! She's awake!" Harry shoved Ron over & lay down beside Merida. Ron yelped as he woke up, causing everyone to laugh! Harry kissed Merida softly. "So you're feeling better yet?" Harry asked. "What happened to you?"
"I don't rightly know!" said Merida. "One minute, I was being attacked by some lady; the next minute, I'm here talking to you!"
"We're just on the lunch break!" said Neville. "We've got Mcgonagall's class next in a few minutes!"
"Oh, I wish I could go!" Merida looked at Pomfrey.
"No, Miss Snape!" Pomfrey ordered. "You just woke up a few minutes ago! You're staying here for at least one more day!" Pomfrey returned to her desk as Snape walked in. "Severus, she just woke up!"
"Good!" Snape fumed at her! "Merida I---GET OFF THAT BED THIS INSTANT, POTTER!!!!!!!"
"Ohhhhh!" Merida groaned as Harry, in his panic, flipped off onto the floor! "He was only here a few seconds!"
"I don't care!" Snape snapped as he glared at Harry! "Don't you three have a class to get to?" Harry fled the possible blasting zone with Neville & Ron hot on his heels! Snape sighed, slightly frustrated, as he sat down beside Merida. "I really wish you'd get over that crush with Potter! Can't you find some other man?"
"I'd hardly call almost two years just a crush, father!" Merida declared! "Who WOULD you want me to be with? Draco? He may be good-looking but that's all he is!"
"Anyone who isn't related to James Potter!" Snape groaned.
"Why do you hate Harry so?" Merida asked.
"Hmpf!" was the answer! "Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about...boys...!!" Snape just realised what he said. Oh, help! It's going to happen one day! "I just wanted to know if you remember anything else?"
"No, not really!" Merida said. "Do you know about that Sphere?"
Snape took a long time to answer. "No!" he finally said, hating the lie but not wanting to talk of it. "I must get to the Potions Class!" Snape got up to leave.
"Be nice, father!" Merida threatened as she laughed.
"Working on it!" Snape yelled over his shoulder as he left!
Merida was allowed to leave the next day. She was outside with Harry & Ron who were telling her all about Hallowe'en Eve when Neville came running up to them. "You'll....never....guess," Neville panted. "what I found!" He was bouncing with excitement. "Come on!" Neville led them inside to the Hall where Quidditch Trophies of games passed were on display. He pointed to a Slythering case.
"Keeper: Captain Tom Riddle!" Harry read out.
"What?!" Neville barked in surprise. "I didn't notice that! It's the Seeker position I want to show you!"
Harry scanned down the list of names. "Merida, I think you should read it!"
Merida read out all the names.
Keeper: Captain Tom Riddle
Chaser 1: Bellatrix Black
Chaser 2: Nercissa Black
Chaser 3: Yuna Leblanc
Beater 1: Lucios Malfoy
Beater 2: Mcnair Jr.
Seeker: Severus Snape
"Mmmm--hmm!" Harry stared at the old plaque. "All known Death Eaters! Voldomort had his plan in order back then!"
"If only Tom knew that Snape was actually spying on him!" Ron laughed.
"My father was a Seeker?" Merida exclaimed. "He never told me that! Of course, he never tells anything!" Merida sighed. "I think the only way to know more about him is bits & pieces that I'll find out like this!"
"Still not talking?" Ron asked.
"Not much!" Merida answered. "Hey! Let's ask Hagrid! He knows lots of stuff!"
"Yeah!" Neville agreed. "We've got his lesson in half an hour! Then we can ask him afterward!"
As soon as "The Care Of Magical Creatures" was over, Harry, Ron, Neville & Merida followed Hagrid to his hut. "Al'ight! I know you are up to som'thin' or other?" Hagirid smiled at them.
"We wanted to know," Merida began. "about......how Hogwarts was when you went to school?"
"Ya mean ya want to know about yar father!" Hagrid corrected her.
"That to!" Merida laughed.
"Al'ight!" said Hagrid. "Come inside & I'll git us some tea!"
"We found out Snape was a Slythering Seeker!" said Ron. "We read it off an old plaque in the hall!"
"Yeah, he was a Seeker!" Hagrid said. "& a thumping good'ne, I might add! Sly'th'ing ne'er lost a game so long as Se'erus Snape was the Seeker!"
"He fainted the other day!" Harry said.
Hagrid went silent a moment. "I know!" he finally said as he poured a little to much tea into Harry's cup. "Sor'y 'arry!"
"Something about a Dementor Sphere?" asked Neville.
Hagrid stayed silent, again. "I know that, too!" Hagrid sighed & sat down beside Fang. "That Sphere gives complete control ter whoe'er has it, o'er the Dementas!" He glanced at Merida. Just tell her! Not like Se'erus e'er will! "The thing ya need ter know about the connection betw'n that Sphere & yar father is.........it's because of that Sphere that yar mother died!"
Merida buried her face in her hands for a moment. "Oh, dear! I'll be more careful what I ask him from now own!"
"So Voldomort used the Dementors to kill the Snape family?" Harry asked.
"Now there's the myst'ry!" Hagrid said. "By the evidence found by the aurors, the Dark Lord was actually proved innocent!"
"Innocent?!" everyone shrieked!
"Ya, innocent!" Hagrid said. "Aurors say it wasn't the Dark Lord that controlled the Dementas that day but someone else! 'Course, no one believed it, & only the Order members know what really happened!"
Harry, Ron, Neville & Merida left Hagrid's hut, half-wishing they hadn't asked! They walked in silence, back to the castle. "I wonder who else could be responsible?" Merida suddenly spoke.
"Who knows," said Harry. "probably one of the Death Eaters like Lucious or Mcnair, perhaps!"
Merida entered her dorm & sat down on the bed to clear her head. A soft rustling at the window caught her attention. It was Crookshanks, wanting to come in. Merida let him in & closed the window. She picked up Crookshanks & put him on the bed.
"Mmmmeeoow?" Mrs. Norris cried pitifully outside the window.
Merida sighed & got up again. "Couldn't you have shown up two seconds earlier?" she teased. Mrs. Norris rubbed up against Merida's leg. So long as Filch wasn't around, Mrs Norris wasn't a bad cat! Merida picked her up to put her beside Crookshanks.
"POP!!" went a portkey!
