Chapter 28
Snape entered the door of his office. After he had left the dead deatheater, he had been looking for Dumbledore, but he wasn't in his office, the Great Hall or the staff room. His robes were stained with Rockwood's blood and so he decided to change first.
He walked through the dusky room and entered his private chambers. The table in his sitting room was covered with newspapers and the newest edition of The Potion Almanac.
He opened the door to his bedroom, took off his dirty robes and left them on the little table next to the bathroom door for the house-elves to collect. The potion master seized a set of new robes out of the closet, put them on and sat on his bed to tie his shoes.
His look fell on a picture in a silver frame on his nightstand. He picked it up and looked at the little child on a swing smiling and waving at him.
I should have been there to play with you, he thought. He felt tears stinging his eyes and he blinked them away quickly, hoping he would live long enough to protect who he had to abandon so many years ago, not even knowing the child existed. The potion master put the picture back and left the dungeons, determined to find the headmaster, even if he had to search the castle from top to bottom.
He hurried up the stone steps leading to the entrance hall, when he felt the despised, but very familiar burning on his forearm that caused him to wince. Knowing that he had to behave like a true Slytherin now, he crossed the entrance hall and walked outside. Preparing himself for the unavoidable encounter with his former master, he ran across the lawn and reached a point outside of the Hogwarts' grounds where he could disapparate. Fortunately he had no problems to get past the dragons; Professor Flitwick had casted a spell on every staff member for protection in case they had to leave the grounds.
Sirius had found a track of the escaped deatheater at the edge of the forest and followed it towards the school. The search party was covering a different area so he wasn't afraid to be discovered. According to the scent, the deatheater he was chasing was not at all frightened but thrilled to bits. A feeling Sirius just couldn't comprehend and that urged him even more to find the intruder as soon as possible.
He dropped his muzzle to the ground once more and took in the scent of the person he was tracing. For some reason it seemed familiar to him. He knew he had smelled that before, but he couldn't tell where. He passed the greenhouses and walked closer to the castle. Next to the steps, which were leading to the front doors, he paused for a brief moment.
The person had waited here; he recognized the pressed grass and figured that the deatheater must have hid there for a while. The thought, that entered his mind, was terrifying. If the person made it to the front doors, he could also be inside the castle already. His whole body tensed, when he went up the stone steps and searched feverishly for some kind of proof that the deatheater had entered the castle, but fortunately, the trace ended at the bottom of the steps. Assuming that Harry and the other students wouldn't be in immediate danger, he tried to pick up the trace one more and followed it, leading him away from the castle again.
Snape apparated in front of the old manor he had visited so many times before. Although he spent most of his time in the gloomy dungeons, the dark and cold stonewalls of this building made him shiver. He knew what he, most likely, had to face tonight. Hopefully he would be able to convince the Dark Lord that all the suspicions, which had been raised about his person, were nothing but libels.
The old trees next to the entrance door made the place even creepier. The long branches looked like fingers, trying to grab anybody, who dared to get within their reach. Snape knew that if he would show any sign of fear tonight his fate was already sealed. So he walked up to the black, wooden entrance door and entered.
Inside it wasn't cosier. The dark-grey marble floor was stained with muddy footprints and the blood-red brocade curtains were just as dirty as the windows themselves. He walked through the gloomy entrance hall and just before he entered the former sitting room he pulled a hood out of his pocket and put it on.
The room was already filled with hooded figures gathered in a circle around a man in crimson robes. Snape moved silently to his place within the circle and watched the man in the middle. Voldemort turned around and his cold glare fell on the potion master.
"Severus, my loyal friend" his voice was dripping with malice and sarcasm. "I trust you have heard about the little failure tonight."
Snape concentrated very hard; his reply could make the difference between life, torture or death. He met the Dark Lords' gaze and answered "Yes my Lord I'm aware" Hoping he could break through his reserve, the potion master asked "But why my Lord has nobody informed me about it. I could have been of assistance"
"When have you ever been assisting anyone besides the old fool that runs the school" Malfoy's sneering voice was heard.
"Silence" hissed the Dark Lord and the cold voice as well as the icy glare that came from his red eyes cut through Snape's brain. "Severus, the informations, you have provided lately, have not been very useful. You haven't told us about the extra security measures"
"I have told you during a private meeting, that Dumbledore has ordered dragons to the school grounds and I've also informed you where they were positioned" Snape answered, slightly indignant, assuming that Malfoy had put some ideas in the Dark Lords' head.
"Yes I'm fully aware of these security measures. I'm talking about the grim."
Snape frowned "My Lord I'm awfully sorry, but I cannot follow you right there. There are no grims on the ground." he assured.
"My faithful servant, who has joined me after so many years of absence, informed me that there was very well a grim on the grounds." the Dark Lord insisted. The cold voice was sounding angry and impatient now.
He doesn't know that I know who the deatheater is he's referring to, Snape thought, smirking slightly under his hood. "I can swear that there's no grim on the grounds. Dumbledore involved me in the whole security program, and grims have never been taken into consideration"
"Step forward" the Dark Lord hissed. Snape knew what was coming. He would have to swear on the oath he once had performed. The Dark Lord placed his spindly, talon-like fingers on the mark on his forearm and Snape swore that everything he had just predicated was the truth. Everybody in the room knew that the potion master would drop dead instantly if he lied.
Harry woke up early after another restless night. While he dressed quietly, he remembered what had happened at night and finished quickly. After a sprint to the common room he looked around for a sign of Dumbledore and found him sitting in the same comfortable armchair as last night. It seemed to him that the old wizard hadn't moved an inch through the whole night.
"Professor Dumbledore?" he called. The headmaster winked and smiled at him
"Could you sleep Harry?" he asked and beckoned him over.
"There's something I forgot to tell you last night" Harry continued. The headmaster raised an eyebrow inquiringly. "Voldemort is very happy about something, but I don't know about what. His attempt to attack the school last night failed, so he has no reason to be happy."
Dumbledore sat up straight and looked at Harry "First of all Harry, last night was not a planned attack of Lord Voldemort. It was more like a vanguard to spy out what security measures we've set up." Harry's jaw dropped
"Does that mean Voldemort is planning to attack the school? But he never did that... he's scared of you after all" he cried out. Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his nose, concentrating for a moment before he replied.
"Tom fears me, because he knows I am capable of a lot more than I let others see" Harry looked awestruck at the white-haired wizard. "He is trying to get a hold of you so desperately, that he is confederating with creatures he can't control. Voldemort knows, he alone isn't a match for me, not here, and his servants are even less a threat, but we still can't take a chance. This is why the dragons are here. There are only a few more weeks until Christmas break and hopefully we won't have to send the students home before then."
At the prospect that he would have to spend even more time with the Dursleys, Harry became pale. Maybe he could go to the Burrow with Ron or spend Christmas with Kelsey and Kayla, but then he remembered, that their parents were in the Order and they might not have a place to spend Christmas either. When he heard somebody coming downstairs, Dumbledore dropped the subject and got up from his chair
"Good morning Mr Weasley" he called, when Ron scuffled through the common room sleepily. "Morning Professor Dumbledore" Ron answered. "I would suggest that you should go to breakfast. I know Professor Snape will not appreciate it if you're late", Dumbledore smiled and left the room.
"What was he doing here so early in the morning" Kayla asked. The mahogany- haired girl had just entered the common room together with Hermione and Ginny. She really liked Ron's little sister and had deep respect for her. It was hard enough to have one brother; she couldn't imagine how it must be with six and all of them older.
No wonder she was in Gryffindor, she had to be brave.
Kayla and Hermione had filled Ginny in about Harry's new situation in the dorm last night. The girls hadn't planned it actually, but unfortunately Ginny had overheard them when they re-read the instructions for the Muscail Potion and pondered how they could manage to take the big amount of ingredients out of the students' stock, without raising any suspicions. In the end they had surrendered to Ginny's arguments, which were accompanied by pouting and yelling. They couldn't deny that it would be unfair to involve someone, who had barely known Harry before this term like Zara and leave her out, who has been a friend since 5 years.
When they finally told Ginny that Harry's parents were still alive and that everything was depending on how fast they could get the remaining ingredients, Ginny got so pale that even her freckles faded. She clapped her hands over her face and muttered "NO,NO,NO,NOOO....how could they do this to him...how could they"
Ginny took her hands off her face and Kayla could see the fury in the girls' eyes and also a pain, but it wasn't exactly her pain. It was the pain she felt for Harry. Kayla knew for quite a while that Ginny had a crush on her cousin, but the way her eyes looked right now, proved that the feelings for Harry went a lot deeper than that.
I need to give Harry a hint here. This girl is just too good to be ignored, she thought.
When the redhead heard, that there was still hope for Harry to be reunited with his parents, her eyes sparkled full of thirst for action. She wanted to do everything in her power to help, and so she started firing questions at the two fellow Gryffindors. The three girls pondered where they would brew the potion, as soon as they had all the ingredients and came to the conclusion that Myrtle's bathroom would be the best place. According to Hermione it had worked well in their second year when they made the Polyjuice Potion to question Malfoy.
Ginny's eyes darkened noticeably when she remembered what had happened to her that year. Voldemort had possessed her and forced her to do horrible things. Without Harry's help she would have died in the chamber.
Harry's answer brought her back to reality. "He was here all night, protecting us" he claimed. "But why did he stay in Gryffindor tower?" Kelsey wondered.
"This is quite an easy question to answer dear brother" Kayla answered. "The deatheaters were after Harry, right?"
The black-haired boy nodded and sighed. "Yes they were here to get me and the bad news is that the escaped deatheater returned to Voldemort". Hermione, Ginny and Ron flinched in unison. They waited for a few more minutes, until all the Gryffindors were assembled in the common room, then they opened the portrait hole and found Stephen leaning against the cold stonewall, chatting animatedly with the fat lady.
"I assume you have something to do now, my dear", the fat lady stated, while the students climbed through the portrait hole.
"I really enjoyed the conversation ma'am" Stephen bowed and then left the portrait behind him. Harry knitted his eyebrows and frowned when he watched the fat lady trying to hide her blushing face behind a fan of peacock feathers. Kayla, Hermione and Ginny giggled hysterically when they passed the portrait and followed the dragon trainer down the hallway.
The Great Hall was very quiet this morning and everybody seemed to feel glum. Harry knew exactly why. He was sure that all the students had been informed by their Head of House last night and he understood why so many stared anxiously at him.
They all know the deatheaters came for me, he thought, while he silently ate his porridge.
From the Slytherin table he heard loud whispering from Malfoy and his cronies, who pointed at him and then started laughing.
"Don't pay them any attention." Ron said calmly, when he recognized the depressed look on his friends' face. "I bet Malfoy's dad was the one who escaped"
Harry wasn't so sure about that. Malfoy sr. was too smart to put himself in danger. He sure was a loyal deatheater no doubt, but Harry just couldn't imagine that Malfoy would risk his life for something as trivial as a spy job. He was too valuable for Voldemort with all his connections in the ministry.
Harry looked over the tables and recognized something odd. The teachers seemed very tense. Dumbledore was talking quietly with McGonagall, Stone stared somewhat disbelievingly at Professor Sprout, but the really strange thing was that Snape wasn't there. At this moment the post was delivered and the air was full of owls, packed with letters and packages of all sorts.
A large barn owl swooped down and landed on Hermione's plate. She paid for her Daily Prophet and the owl took off. A black raven drew the attention of a few students at the Gryffindor table, when it landed right in front of Kayla.
Totally bewildered, she stared at the strange messenger for a brief moment, before she took the letter from its leg. The raven croaked hoarsely, spread his large wings and left the hall.