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Chapter 9
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"Was it her?"
"Yes." The answer was sharp and not at all called for, but Dumbledore ignored the tone and went to the more important task of trying to figure out why.
"What happened?"
"He is actively searching for the boy and made the connection with him and Arabella Figg. Fortunately she knew nothing about Potter's situation, but the Dark Lord doesn't take too kindly with ignorance. And there was not an opportunity to interfere. She'll be found dead in her home on Privet Drive." Severus actually sounded melancholy as he reported. That in itself was a rare event and not to be discounted. The man most likely felt responsible for the woman's death. Felt responsible in a situation he could not have controlled.
"This is disturbing news," Dumbledore replied thoughtfully. "Voldemort should not have known where to find that location. By all appearances there is someone among the Death Eaters betraying us. Though it is obvious he is not privileged to sensitive information." He sat silent for a few moments, considering.
It was impossible for the informant to be Severus. His history did not merit a double cross, but with Voldemort's tactics of gaining information, everything had to be considered. Though, should that be the case, why only ask for Arabella's location? Why not just go immediately to Harry's location? Unless the informant did not know the location. Which Severus knew. Not that he ever would suspect Severus of such a deed.
Albus looked up from his musings and found his Potions Professor staring off into the fire, lost to his own thoughts. "Is there anything else you wish to add, Severus?" he asked quietly, not wanting to startle the young wizard too much.
"No, sir," he answered readily. Perhaps his formality stemmed deeper than the desire not to get close to anyone. Perhaps it was a way for him to remain in control despite crushing circumstances. The poor man must live in constant fear due to his position. If only that position was not so necessary. Perhaps then the formal outer shell could fall away, though Albus doubted the man would allow such an integral part of his daily life slip away without a fight, if at all.
It was a shame the Potions Master never allowed people to see past the corse exterior. The man had such an amusing sense of humor. It was the dry wit only an aristocrat, a well educated and highly sarcastic one, could conceive. Unfortunately Severus had a darker wit than most. Still it was refreshing not to listen to run of the mill gossip that is always floating around.
"So, how is Harry finding the arrangement?"
"As well as can be expected when he is not informed of the situation," Severus let a subconscious feral grin slip across his face. He had been the one to suggest the set up. Probably only to annoy both Harry and Irvan. Dumbledore had wanted to inform Harry before the spider was placed in his 'possession,' but Severus nulled that idea quickly. Saying if Harry knew he would tell his friends and somehow people who had no business knowing would find out. Namely Sirius and Remus. More than likely the wizard had just wanted to see their faces when everything came to light, And Albus had desired to see the vampire's reaction to hear about his placement. It wasn't every day you get the opportunity to surprise them.
"So he is enjoying his holiday."
"As far as I know," Severus answered frowning at some thought. At least the man was not imploring him to refrain from that line of questioning. "Thankfully, Irvan does not feel it is necessary to keep a detailed report on the boy's emotional state. If that is all, Headmaster," he concluded rising from his chair.
"Yes, yes. Of course," Albus smiled. "I wouldn't dream of keeping for your work too long." It was one of those things that could always be expected. Severus was a man of patterns, except when it came to his mental reasoning. Snape nodded in recognition and swept out of the room. He smiled again. It was impossible to deny that those robes gave him the appearance of a bat. Popping a lemon drop into his mouth, he wondered how that rumor began. The matters of Arabella would be sorted out eventually, once they had better information than speculation.
* * * * * * *
"Hey! Ron! Harry!" A familiar double image sprouted from the crowed streets. "Oh, hi, Hermione," Fred said casually. Or as he like to be known, Gred. The mirror image was right behind him, going by the name of Feorge. Harry hadn't seen the two of them much over the summer. They had been occupied with the Wealsey Family Secret and Harry had no desire to ruin it. Outside their mock Quiddich games the twins were nowhere to be seen. But now they were laden with far more parcels than normal school supplies.
"Ready to go back?" George asked.
"Why now?" Ron sounded slightly annoyed. He still hadn't figured out what was going on behind the twins closed doors.
"What? Does our little Ronnikins not want to see the little surprises he have?" Fred was definitely better at the worried mother voice when it came time to humiliate Ron.
"Like surprises from you are of the pleasant sort."
Harry stifled a laugh. When the twin did emerge from the depths of the experimenters' lab, it was always to test some new product and with Percy away most of the day, Ron was the next likely target. Even then, none of them knew exactly what was going on. The pranks seemed to be of their old variety.
"Ahh, come on," George whined. "You can put up with one more. After that we promise never to pull a prank on you"
"Unless you already know about it."
"And all other surprises will be the harmless kind."
"Is it a deal?"
Ron shrugged. It was impossible to turn down an offer such as that. When the twins reverted to the semi-puppy dog faces they were impossible to refuse. Which Harry supposed was the whole point.
"So," Hermione said, joining the conversation. She may not appreciate the twins' line of work, but she had a curiosity streak a mile wide. "What is this all about?"
"Come on, and we'll show you." George grabbed Ron's arm and Fred took hold of Hermione's arm, leaving Harry to follow behind as they plowed through the river of wizards. Harry wished he knew what was going on, but he had a feeling that the surprise was of the sort that he was behind. The Weasley twins had so far kept their promise and Harry's name never was once mentioned when conversation was concerned with their projects.
"Now, what is this surprise you are so intent on giving?" Ron asked once they were all back at the Burrow.
"Have you no sense of timing?" George chided.
"Of course he doesn't," his brother remarked. "Now we must give the lady hers first. Don't you agree?"
"Of course. Now which on is it?"
"I think it's that brown one over there."
"They're all brown."
"Then I can't be wrong."
"Of course you can."
"You can't prove that the one I was pointing to was the wrong one."
"I think we had better let them sort this out before we get some really nasty surprise," Harry whispered to his friends. "I don't know about you, but the thought of them getting it wrong scares me."
"I'm inclined to agree with you, Harry," Hermione said, bringing Evan out of his hiding place in her purse. "I definitely don't want to get a box of Canary Cremes by accident." Quietly they backed out into the living room, not wanting to draw attention from the Dynamic Duo.
"Harry, do you know something we don't?" Ron asked, and the black mop of hair swung with his negation.
"Ah, Harry, there you are," Mr. Weasley came in, looking his cheerful self. "A letter arrived for you while you were at Diagon Alley," he said handing him a piece of parchment. "Hope you had a good trip. But it is really time for me to get back to work, now that you are all here. Tell Molly for me that I'll be home in time for supper. And Ron, make sure your brothers don't get into too much trouble with your mother. There's no telling what they got today. Have a good day," he said as he swept pass them to the fireplace and flooed to his office.
"Wonder what happened at the Ministry? Dad never leaves without telling Mum. Knowing him," Ron sulked, "we won't find out until it's out in the Daily Prophet. So, who's the letter from?"
"Don't know. Haven't opened it yet."
"You would think you could be a little more observant," Hermione pointed out.
"Gee, you don't have to get so mad with a little prompting."
"It's from Professor Dumbledore," Harry said, opening the letter. Why would he be sending a missive to him so close to the start of the term? Unless something terrible had happened.
A loud yowl interrupted him train of thought for a moment while a large white cat launched itself on Hermione. "Crookshanks. You have been a good cat while we were gone?"
"Bloody annoying cat," Ron muttered. Probably never forgave the mess it caused their third year.
Harry returned to the paper. Let them work out their problems with the cat. He read the letter and after the first line he could not continue.
Dear Harry,
I regret to inform you that Mrs. Arabella Figg was found dead today in her home on Privet Drive.
His eyes stared blankly at the words before him without really knowing what they saw. If only he had gotten word to Dumbledore. It was his fault all of this happened. He should have sent a letter right after the dream, like he normally did. But no, he had fallen asleep and sent nothing. How could he have been so selfish. Sleeping when he could have helped. It was like Cedric all over again. He had just watched and did nothing. His fault. It was always his fault.
If he was going to have the stupid link to Voldemort he might as well use it. But he couldn't even do that. He was useless. That one simple word encompassed everything that could be said.
"Crookshanks!" Followed by a loud crash of what could have been glass broke Harry's concentration. Probably for the better, he thought. Turning from the offending document, he tried to figure out what was going on.
"Come on, Crookshanks! It's just a bloody spider!"
"Ron! How could you say such a thing! Crookshanks, stop it!"
He looked just in time to watch a white streak of fur pounce on a bookshelf, sending the little artifacts flying. He couldn't see what the cat was chasing, but it was certainly persistent. Something black skirted its way to a large chest and scouted under it. It was a short flight, but Crookshanks had made a large mess of broken glass and cascades of books. And at the moment he was pawing for the object of the chase under the piece of furniture.
"Oh my," Mrs. Weasley said coming to investigate the noise. "What on earth happened here?" Her voice held the no nonsense tone that always presented itself when she demanded explanations.
Ron and Hermione looked sheepishly at the stout fiery redhead. Harry was always glad when he was not the subject of her righteous anger.
* Bloody cat. *
"Well, um, . . . Crookshanks got excited over seeing Evan," Hermione explained as was her nature. "I don't know what got into him. When he saw Evan he just went berserk."
* Blood and bloody ashes! Go away already. * The strange voice repeated. Harry stared dumbfounded in to nothingness. Was he going insane already? Hearing voices? But this voice wasn't like the basilisk. This was as if there was someone in his head. * If you want to play rough. So be it. To think that I would have to deal with a crazed and mental feline. Stupid cat. *
Crookshanks let out an ear piercing screech and beat a hasty retreat behind Hermione. "Your spider bit my cat," Hermione said aghast.
"Well, it was your cat's own fault." For some reason he did not sound anger or annoyed in the least. Probably due to the foreign entity taking residence in his brain. And to think Voldemort was enough.
* Deserved it, damn cat. *
"Harry, are you alright?" Leave it to Molly Weasley to bring concern back to the humans.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm alright. Just the letter was a bit of a shock."
"Nothing happened, did it, dear?"
"Er . . ." How did one put this? "Professor Dumbledore wrote saying Mrs. Figg was dead." Such eloquence.
* Blood and ashes. *
"That's horrible. Do you need anything, Harry?"
"No, ma'am. Thank you, though." Merlin he sounded tired. What was he going to do now?
"Uh, I guess now is not a good time," Fred said somberly. "We'll just wait until we get on the train tomorrow."
"Sounds like a plan," George agreed immediately. "See you around dinner time." And the two disappeared upstairs, packages and all.
"Ron, I think it would be best if you were to leave Harry alone for the moment," Mrs. Weasley suggested. "Harry, if you need anything I'll be in the kitchen."
"Uh, thank you, Mrs. Weasley." He did not see any of the others leave the room, but he was glad that they did. He still had a letter to read and if the first sentence was anything to go on then it was just going to be more bad news. Not to mention the strange little voice that popped into his head so suddenly.
* Next time I meet up with that cat, I am not going leave it at a simple bite. *
Well, there was no option at figuring out who or what it was until he asked it. Though, given the topic of the curses, if the voice wasn't Evan, than he'd announce in front of the entire school that Snape was his favorite teacher. Satisfied that that incident was one hundred percent unlikely, he went for a question and thought it directly at the voice. * You're Evan, aren't you. *
* What! This was not suppose to happen. Definitely impossible. There is absolutely no way for you to possibly be able to communicate with me. * Was it him, or did the little voice sound confused, shocked, and not just a little annoyed.
Harry sat down hard and nearly missed the edge of the nearest chair. * You are Evan. * Just brilliant. Now not only did he have to worry about Voldemort taking over his mind at all hours of the night, he had a suspiciously and deceivingly innocent creature as a gift from Hagrid that he could now communicate with and he had no idea how or why that got started. He felt slightly better knowing the spider was just as clueless. * You can talk *
* I can think. Just because creatures such as myself can't talk as humans doesn't mean we are not intelligent. * Great an annoyed and sarcastic tarantula.
* Sorry. I didn't mean it that way. * And now he was apologizing to it. He didn't think it would be the wisest decision to tell Ron or Hermione. He would be put into St. Mungo with no questions asked. * It's just a shock to find out. *
* Agreed. * The black and silver tarantula came out of his hiding place, not at all acting pleased. * And here I was thinking nothing could go wrong. *
* What do you mean by that? *
* Nothing that concerns you. * it snapped. Well, Harry decided, it was one thing to have a pet and a completely different one to have a pet that talked back to you.
* Uh, so what do we do now? * No sense in making it angry. Who knew, it might be able to transform into some scary monster and attack.
* I don't know. This has never happened before. Though you should finish reading that letter. * And now he was getting advice from a spider. Could his life get any weirder? But he did go back to the letter.
Dear Harry,
I regret to inform you that Mrs. Arabella Figg was found dead today in her house on Privet Drive. Investigations are under way as I write. Unfortunately we both know who performed this cruel act. You must understand that there was nothing in your power that could have aided the situation. So do not blame yourself for anything.
Secondly I would like to bring to your attention that Snuffles will not be present on the first few days of the term as I need him for an important assignment.
Do try to enjoy what is left of the holidays and I look forward to seeing you on the first of the term.
Albus Dumbledore Headmaster of Hogwarts School or Witchcraft and Wizardry et. al.
He was right. It wasn't good news. But where would Sirius need to go. He had too many questions with no answers so the best thing he could do at the moment was stop asking questions. Like that would work. Dumbledore had told him that there was nothing he could have done to help Mrs. Figg. Did that mean he knew about the old witch without him sending an owl? If so, how? Did Snape know something about it? Why didn't he do anything to stop it? If he didn't know, how did Dumbledore find out about it? More importantly, was Snape still a trusted member of the Death Eaters? And was that a good thing?
He decided that it wouldn't do any good to send an owl to the Headmaster. Those sort of questions needed to be voiced in person and it was unlikely that Dumbledore would answer them anyway.
Time slipped passed him unnoticed and unhurried. When he did begin to notice, Evan was missing, but that was far from unusual and he was hearing more noise in the kitchen than just Mrs. Weasley preparing supper.
"Arthur, how dare you leave without telling me first. Making Ron tell me was worst than you forgeting completely." Mrs. Weasley sounded concerned and exasperated. He was thankful that he had learned how to read emotions. And Ron's mother was fairly easy as she kept them all at the surface.
"Now, Molly. It was an emergency. The Aurors found Arabella and Albus needed someone to look after the happenings at the Ministry. He seems to suspect that someone is spying against us." As calm and collected as Mr. Weasley sounded, the undercurrent of emotion bordered on outrage. And justly so. No one was happy when they suspected a rat.
"That's terrible."
"It just gets worse, Molly. Minister Fudge wants to question Professor Snape. Seems to think he might know something about this."
"How did you find this out?"
"I talked with Percy. He is more than eager to inform people of Fudge's opinion."
"But why would he want to question that man. Surely Professor Snape wouldn't be fool enough . . ."
"I don't know, Molly," Mr. Weasley interrupted his wife before she could insult the Hogwarts teacher. "Fudge seems to have a grudge against Snape. Maybe he is the only Death Eater he is willing to admit to."
"But you said yourself that Snape would never . . ."
"I know I did. And I am not the one who suspects him. Dumbledore is doing everything he can to keep the Ministry out of Hogwarts' business."
"There's something else, isn't there."
"He wants to take away Remus's teaching license."
"He can't do that! Only the Governors can do that. And they were the ones who gave it to him in the first place."
"It appears the Minister wants to forget that clause. He also wants to question Remus about the leak."
"Impossible. He's always been on our side. He can't want to question him because of a few suspicions over a decade ago."
"He does and I won't be surprised if he succeeds in securing both for questioning."
"I can't believe it. Granted Snape made his share of mistakes and is just a nuisance, but surely they can take Dumbledore's word like they did last time. And poor Remus. He's done nothing." She seemed an the verge of tears as he spoke of the werewolf.
"I know. As I said, Dumbledore is fighting it every step of the way. You remember how they took Hagrid away. If the Ministry gets its mind set on something there is very little Dumbledore can to to interfere without risking his own removal."
"But it's just not fair, Arthur."
"I know. I talked with Percy while I was there. He said he met Remus while they were trying to give him his license. He said he saw nothing that would make the man suspicious except for the fact he was a werewolf. And the fact that the man himself didn't want to be a threat to the children should be enough to convince them he means no harm. You know Percy. If he has an opinion in his head it is very hard to persuade him otherwise. I have a feeling he will attempt to fight for Remus."
"But what about Snape? Surely he is fit enough to trust."
"I believe so, but Percy and Fudge do not."
"This is just one big mess."
"Agreed."
Harry backed out of hearing range. Today had just been a bad day was the understatement of the year. The Ministry wanted Remus? Was Fudge insane? Of course he was, he shouldn't have even asked that question. Why Remus? Probably only because he was a werewolf. The prejudice against them was extremely high.
Supper would have some interesting topics, should Mr. Weasley decide to inform them of recent events. Which he realized quickly would not come to pass, as the rest of the redheaded clan and Hermione came down for the meal.
"Hermione, is Crookshanks alright?" he asked. He didn't want to be responsible for the cat's death. Not that he could have done anything about Evan in the first place.
"He's fine. Most scared, and I think the bite is a little sore, but nothing to worry about."
"That's a relief."
"Makes me wonder though, what have you been feeding him?"
"He pretty much takes care of that himself."
"He won't eat normal food," Ginny said. "I tried one day and he ignored it completely. Though I have seen him out in Mum's gardens."
"So that's why the garden-gnomes have been slower this year," Mrs. Weasley said as she placed the dishes on the table. "Probably the best thing that has happened to that garden in years. Must thank Hagrid for me, Harry."
"Of course, Mrs. Weasley," he replied quietly, not really ready to engage in conversation about the tarantula. Just the thought of the arachnid was enough to put him out of sorts. Animals were just not meant to talk back.
Supper was the usual noisy affair, but Harry wasn't expected to participate. He was busy thinking over everything that had happened today. Mainly Mrs. Figg and Evan. Those two had cause major disruptions in his life so far. The only one who was worse was Voldemort. He really needed to stop attracting trouble. Professor Snape was right about that.
Chapter 9
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"Was it her?"
"Yes." The answer was sharp and not at all called for, but Dumbledore ignored the tone and went to the more important task of trying to figure out why.
"What happened?"
"He is actively searching for the boy and made the connection with him and Arabella Figg. Fortunately she knew nothing about Potter's situation, but the Dark Lord doesn't take too kindly with ignorance. And there was not an opportunity to interfere. She'll be found dead in her home on Privet Drive." Severus actually sounded melancholy as he reported. That in itself was a rare event and not to be discounted. The man most likely felt responsible for the woman's death. Felt responsible in a situation he could not have controlled.
"This is disturbing news," Dumbledore replied thoughtfully. "Voldemort should not have known where to find that location. By all appearances there is someone among the Death Eaters betraying us. Though it is obvious he is not privileged to sensitive information." He sat silent for a few moments, considering.
It was impossible for the informant to be Severus. His history did not merit a double cross, but with Voldemort's tactics of gaining information, everything had to be considered. Though, should that be the case, why only ask for Arabella's location? Why not just go immediately to Harry's location? Unless the informant did not know the location. Which Severus knew. Not that he ever would suspect Severus of such a deed.
Albus looked up from his musings and found his Potions Professor staring off into the fire, lost to his own thoughts. "Is there anything else you wish to add, Severus?" he asked quietly, not wanting to startle the young wizard too much.
"No, sir," he answered readily. Perhaps his formality stemmed deeper than the desire not to get close to anyone. Perhaps it was a way for him to remain in control despite crushing circumstances. The poor man must live in constant fear due to his position. If only that position was not so necessary. Perhaps then the formal outer shell could fall away, though Albus doubted the man would allow such an integral part of his daily life slip away without a fight, if at all.
It was a shame the Potions Master never allowed people to see past the corse exterior. The man had such an amusing sense of humor. It was the dry wit only an aristocrat, a well educated and highly sarcastic one, could conceive. Unfortunately Severus had a darker wit than most. Still it was refreshing not to listen to run of the mill gossip that is always floating around.
"So, how is Harry finding the arrangement?"
"As well as can be expected when he is not informed of the situation," Severus let a subconscious feral grin slip across his face. He had been the one to suggest the set up. Probably only to annoy both Harry and Irvan. Dumbledore had wanted to inform Harry before the spider was placed in his 'possession,' but Severus nulled that idea quickly. Saying if Harry knew he would tell his friends and somehow people who had no business knowing would find out. Namely Sirius and Remus. More than likely the wizard had just wanted to see their faces when everything came to light, And Albus had desired to see the vampire's reaction to hear about his placement. It wasn't every day you get the opportunity to surprise them.
"So he is enjoying his holiday."
"As far as I know," Severus answered frowning at some thought. At least the man was not imploring him to refrain from that line of questioning. "Thankfully, Irvan does not feel it is necessary to keep a detailed report on the boy's emotional state. If that is all, Headmaster," he concluded rising from his chair.
"Yes, yes. Of course," Albus smiled. "I wouldn't dream of keeping for your work too long." It was one of those things that could always be expected. Severus was a man of patterns, except when it came to his mental reasoning. Snape nodded in recognition and swept out of the room. He smiled again. It was impossible to deny that those robes gave him the appearance of a bat. Popping a lemon drop into his mouth, he wondered how that rumor began. The matters of Arabella would be sorted out eventually, once they had better information than speculation.
* * * * * * *
"Hey! Ron! Harry!" A familiar double image sprouted from the crowed streets. "Oh, hi, Hermione," Fred said casually. Or as he like to be known, Gred. The mirror image was right behind him, going by the name of Feorge. Harry hadn't seen the two of them much over the summer. They had been occupied with the Wealsey Family Secret and Harry had no desire to ruin it. Outside their mock Quiddich games the twins were nowhere to be seen. But now they were laden with far more parcels than normal school supplies.
"Ready to go back?" George asked.
"Why now?" Ron sounded slightly annoyed. He still hadn't figured out what was going on behind the twins closed doors.
"What? Does our little Ronnikins not want to see the little surprises he have?" Fred was definitely better at the worried mother voice when it came time to humiliate Ron.
"Like surprises from you are of the pleasant sort."
Harry stifled a laugh. When the twin did emerge from the depths of the experimenters' lab, it was always to test some new product and with Percy away most of the day, Ron was the next likely target. Even then, none of them knew exactly what was going on. The pranks seemed to be of their old variety.
"Ahh, come on," George whined. "You can put up with one more. After that we promise never to pull a prank on you"
"Unless you already know about it."
"And all other surprises will be the harmless kind."
"Is it a deal?"
Ron shrugged. It was impossible to turn down an offer such as that. When the twins reverted to the semi-puppy dog faces they were impossible to refuse. Which Harry supposed was the whole point.
"So," Hermione said, joining the conversation. She may not appreciate the twins' line of work, but she had a curiosity streak a mile wide. "What is this all about?"
"Come on, and we'll show you." George grabbed Ron's arm and Fred took hold of Hermione's arm, leaving Harry to follow behind as they plowed through the river of wizards. Harry wished he knew what was going on, but he had a feeling that the surprise was of the sort that he was behind. The Weasley twins had so far kept their promise and Harry's name never was once mentioned when conversation was concerned with their projects.
"Now, what is this surprise you are so intent on giving?" Ron asked once they were all back at the Burrow.
"Have you no sense of timing?" George chided.
"Of course he doesn't," his brother remarked. "Now we must give the lady hers first. Don't you agree?"
"Of course. Now which on is it?"
"I think it's that brown one over there."
"They're all brown."
"Then I can't be wrong."
"Of course you can."
"You can't prove that the one I was pointing to was the wrong one."
"I think we had better let them sort this out before we get some really nasty surprise," Harry whispered to his friends. "I don't know about you, but the thought of them getting it wrong scares me."
"I'm inclined to agree with you, Harry," Hermione said, bringing Evan out of his hiding place in her purse. "I definitely don't want to get a box of Canary Cremes by accident." Quietly they backed out into the living room, not wanting to draw attention from the Dynamic Duo.
"Harry, do you know something we don't?" Ron asked, and the black mop of hair swung with his negation.
"Ah, Harry, there you are," Mr. Weasley came in, looking his cheerful self. "A letter arrived for you while you were at Diagon Alley," he said handing him a piece of parchment. "Hope you had a good trip. But it is really time for me to get back to work, now that you are all here. Tell Molly for me that I'll be home in time for supper. And Ron, make sure your brothers don't get into too much trouble with your mother. There's no telling what they got today. Have a good day," he said as he swept pass them to the fireplace and flooed to his office.
"Wonder what happened at the Ministry? Dad never leaves without telling Mum. Knowing him," Ron sulked, "we won't find out until it's out in the Daily Prophet. So, who's the letter from?"
"Don't know. Haven't opened it yet."
"You would think you could be a little more observant," Hermione pointed out.
"Gee, you don't have to get so mad with a little prompting."
"It's from Professor Dumbledore," Harry said, opening the letter. Why would he be sending a missive to him so close to the start of the term? Unless something terrible had happened.
A loud yowl interrupted him train of thought for a moment while a large white cat launched itself on Hermione. "Crookshanks. You have been a good cat while we were gone?"
"Bloody annoying cat," Ron muttered. Probably never forgave the mess it caused their third year.
Harry returned to the paper. Let them work out their problems with the cat. He read the letter and after the first line he could not continue.
Dear Harry,
I regret to inform you that Mrs. Arabella Figg was found dead today in her home on Privet Drive.
His eyes stared blankly at the words before him without really knowing what they saw. If only he had gotten word to Dumbledore. It was his fault all of this happened. He should have sent a letter right after the dream, like he normally did. But no, he had fallen asleep and sent nothing. How could he have been so selfish. Sleeping when he could have helped. It was like Cedric all over again. He had just watched and did nothing. His fault. It was always his fault.
If he was going to have the stupid link to Voldemort he might as well use it. But he couldn't even do that. He was useless. That one simple word encompassed everything that could be said.
"Crookshanks!" Followed by a loud crash of what could have been glass broke Harry's concentration. Probably for the better, he thought. Turning from the offending document, he tried to figure out what was going on.
"Come on, Crookshanks! It's just a bloody spider!"
"Ron! How could you say such a thing! Crookshanks, stop it!"
He looked just in time to watch a white streak of fur pounce on a bookshelf, sending the little artifacts flying. He couldn't see what the cat was chasing, but it was certainly persistent. Something black skirted its way to a large chest and scouted under it. It was a short flight, but Crookshanks had made a large mess of broken glass and cascades of books. And at the moment he was pawing for the object of the chase under the piece of furniture.
"Oh my," Mrs. Weasley said coming to investigate the noise. "What on earth happened here?" Her voice held the no nonsense tone that always presented itself when she demanded explanations.
Ron and Hermione looked sheepishly at the stout fiery redhead. Harry was always glad when he was not the subject of her righteous anger.
* Bloody cat. *
"Well, um, . . . Crookshanks got excited over seeing Evan," Hermione explained as was her nature. "I don't know what got into him. When he saw Evan he just went berserk."
* Blood and bloody ashes! Go away already. * The strange voice repeated. Harry stared dumbfounded in to nothingness. Was he going insane already? Hearing voices? But this voice wasn't like the basilisk. This was as if there was someone in his head. * If you want to play rough. So be it. To think that I would have to deal with a crazed and mental feline. Stupid cat. *
Crookshanks let out an ear piercing screech and beat a hasty retreat behind Hermione. "Your spider bit my cat," Hermione said aghast.
"Well, it was your cat's own fault." For some reason he did not sound anger or annoyed in the least. Probably due to the foreign entity taking residence in his brain. And to think Voldemort was enough.
* Deserved it, damn cat. *
"Harry, are you alright?" Leave it to Molly Weasley to bring concern back to the humans.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm alright. Just the letter was a bit of a shock."
"Nothing happened, did it, dear?"
"Er . . ." How did one put this? "Professor Dumbledore wrote saying Mrs. Figg was dead." Such eloquence.
* Blood and ashes. *
"That's horrible. Do you need anything, Harry?"
"No, ma'am. Thank you, though." Merlin he sounded tired. What was he going to do now?
"Uh, I guess now is not a good time," Fred said somberly. "We'll just wait until we get on the train tomorrow."
"Sounds like a plan," George agreed immediately. "See you around dinner time." And the two disappeared upstairs, packages and all.
"Ron, I think it would be best if you were to leave Harry alone for the moment," Mrs. Weasley suggested. "Harry, if you need anything I'll be in the kitchen."
"Uh, thank you, Mrs. Weasley." He did not see any of the others leave the room, but he was glad that they did. He still had a letter to read and if the first sentence was anything to go on then it was just going to be more bad news. Not to mention the strange little voice that popped into his head so suddenly.
* Next time I meet up with that cat, I am not going leave it at a simple bite. *
Well, there was no option at figuring out who or what it was until he asked it. Though, given the topic of the curses, if the voice wasn't Evan, than he'd announce in front of the entire school that Snape was his favorite teacher. Satisfied that that incident was one hundred percent unlikely, he went for a question and thought it directly at the voice. * You're Evan, aren't you. *
* What! This was not suppose to happen. Definitely impossible. There is absolutely no way for you to possibly be able to communicate with me. * Was it him, or did the little voice sound confused, shocked, and not just a little annoyed.
Harry sat down hard and nearly missed the edge of the nearest chair. * You are Evan. * Just brilliant. Now not only did he have to worry about Voldemort taking over his mind at all hours of the night, he had a suspiciously and deceivingly innocent creature as a gift from Hagrid that he could now communicate with and he had no idea how or why that got started. He felt slightly better knowing the spider was just as clueless. * You can talk *
* I can think. Just because creatures such as myself can't talk as humans doesn't mean we are not intelligent. * Great an annoyed and sarcastic tarantula.
* Sorry. I didn't mean it that way. * And now he was apologizing to it. He didn't think it would be the wisest decision to tell Ron or Hermione. He would be put into St. Mungo with no questions asked. * It's just a shock to find out. *
* Agreed. * The black and silver tarantula came out of his hiding place, not at all acting pleased. * And here I was thinking nothing could go wrong. *
* What do you mean by that? *
* Nothing that concerns you. * it snapped. Well, Harry decided, it was one thing to have a pet and a completely different one to have a pet that talked back to you.
* Uh, so what do we do now? * No sense in making it angry. Who knew, it might be able to transform into some scary monster and attack.
* I don't know. This has never happened before. Though you should finish reading that letter. * And now he was getting advice from a spider. Could his life get any weirder? But he did go back to the letter.
Dear Harry,
I regret to inform you that Mrs. Arabella Figg was found dead today in her house on Privet Drive. Investigations are under way as I write. Unfortunately we both know who performed this cruel act. You must understand that there was nothing in your power that could have aided the situation. So do not blame yourself for anything.
Secondly I would like to bring to your attention that Snuffles will not be present on the first few days of the term as I need him for an important assignment.
Do try to enjoy what is left of the holidays and I look forward to seeing you on the first of the term.
Albus Dumbledore Headmaster of Hogwarts School or Witchcraft and Wizardry et. al.
He was right. It wasn't good news. But where would Sirius need to go. He had too many questions with no answers so the best thing he could do at the moment was stop asking questions. Like that would work. Dumbledore had told him that there was nothing he could have done to help Mrs. Figg. Did that mean he knew about the old witch without him sending an owl? If so, how? Did Snape know something about it? Why didn't he do anything to stop it? If he didn't know, how did Dumbledore find out about it? More importantly, was Snape still a trusted member of the Death Eaters? And was that a good thing?
He decided that it wouldn't do any good to send an owl to the Headmaster. Those sort of questions needed to be voiced in person and it was unlikely that Dumbledore would answer them anyway.
Time slipped passed him unnoticed and unhurried. When he did begin to notice, Evan was missing, but that was far from unusual and he was hearing more noise in the kitchen than just Mrs. Weasley preparing supper.
"Arthur, how dare you leave without telling me first. Making Ron tell me was worst than you forgeting completely." Mrs. Weasley sounded concerned and exasperated. He was thankful that he had learned how to read emotions. And Ron's mother was fairly easy as she kept them all at the surface.
"Now, Molly. It was an emergency. The Aurors found Arabella and Albus needed someone to look after the happenings at the Ministry. He seems to suspect that someone is spying against us." As calm and collected as Mr. Weasley sounded, the undercurrent of emotion bordered on outrage. And justly so. No one was happy when they suspected a rat.
"That's terrible."
"It just gets worse, Molly. Minister Fudge wants to question Professor Snape. Seems to think he might know something about this."
"How did you find this out?"
"I talked with Percy. He is more than eager to inform people of Fudge's opinion."
"But why would he want to question that man. Surely Professor Snape wouldn't be fool enough . . ."
"I don't know, Molly," Mr. Weasley interrupted his wife before she could insult the Hogwarts teacher. "Fudge seems to have a grudge against Snape. Maybe he is the only Death Eater he is willing to admit to."
"But you said yourself that Snape would never . . ."
"I know I did. And I am not the one who suspects him. Dumbledore is doing everything he can to keep the Ministry out of Hogwarts' business."
"There's something else, isn't there."
"He wants to take away Remus's teaching license."
"He can't do that! Only the Governors can do that. And they were the ones who gave it to him in the first place."
"It appears the Minister wants to forget that clause. He also wants to question Remus about the leak."
"Impossible. He's always been on our side. He can't want to question him because of a few suspicions over a decade ago."
"He does and I won't be surprised if he succeeds in securing both for questioning."
"I can't believe it. Granted Snape made his share of mistakes and is just a nuisance, but surely they can take Dumbledore's word like they did last time. And poor Remus. He's done nothing." She seemed an the verge of tears as he spoke of the werewolf.
"I know. As I said, Dumbledore is fighting it every step of the way. You remember how they took Hagrid away. If the Ministry gets its mind set on something there is very little Dumbledore can to to interfere without risking his own removal."
"But it's just not fair, Arthur."
"I know. I talked with Percy while I was there. He said he met Remus while they were trying to give him his license. He said he saw nothing that would make the man suspicious except for the fact he was a werewolf. And the fact that the man himself didn't want to be a threat to the children should be enough to convince them he means no harm. You know Percy. If he has an opinion in his head it is very hard to persuade him otherwise. I have a feeling he will attempt to fight for Remus."
"But what about Snape? Surely he is fit enough to trust."
"I believe so, but Percy and Fudge do not."
"This is just one big mess."
"Agreed."
Harry backed out of hearing range. Today had just been a bad day was the understatement of the year. The Ministry wanted Remus? Was Fudge insane? Of course he was, he shouldn't have even asked that question. Why Remus? Probably only because he was a werewolf. The prejudice against them was extremely high.
Supper would have some interesting topics, should Mr. Weasley decide to inform them of recent events. Which he realized quickly would not come to pass, as the rest of the redheaded clan and Hermione came down for the meal.
"Hermione, is Crookshanks alright?" he asked. He didn't want to be responsible for the cat's death. Not that he could have done anything about Evan in the first place.
"He's fine. Most scared, and I think the bite is a little sore, but nothing to worry about."
"That's a relief."
"Makes me wonder though, what have you been feeding him?"
"He pretty much takes care of that himself."
"He won't eat normal food," Ginny said. "I tried one day and he ignored it completely. Though I have seen him out in Mum's gardens."
"So that's why the garden-gnomes have been slower this year," Mrs. Weasley said as she placed the dishes on the table. "Probably the best thing that has happened to that garden in years. Must thank Hagrid for me, Harry."
"Of course, Mrs. Weasley," he replied quietly, not really ready to engage in conversation about the tarantula. Just the thought of the arachnid was enough to put him out of sorts. Animals were just not meant to talk back.
Supper was the usual noisy affair, but Harry wasn't expected to participate. He was busy thinking over everything that had happened today. Mainly Mrs. Figg and Evan. Those two had cause major disruptions in his life so far. The only one who was worse was Voldemort. He really needed to stop attracting trouble. Professor Snape was right about that.