Chapter 43
Amber grabbed the arm of her fellow Ravenclaw and cried "How are we supposed to get out of here? There's only one way" and pointed at the door.
"You're quite wrong here" Kalliope exclaimed. "I know a short cut but therefore we have break in" She gestured to the other door, which led to the little room where all the telescopes were stored.
Hermione pulled her wand and called "Alhomora", the door sprang open and they ran inside.
The room was small and they had to huddle together to be able to close the door.
If it wouldn't have been under such frightening circumstances, Ron wouldn't have mind to be standing so close to Hermione. When she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, he had made his mind up that he would ask her out to the ball the next chance he got.
Kalliope made her way through to the opposite side of the room and towards a wonderful copy of the solar system. She tapped the little orb that symbolized mercury and muttered "Ostendium", as all of a sudden the pedestal, on which the solar system was standing, slid aside and revealed a dark shaft in the floor.
She didn't give any explanations but climbed down the metal latter at the wall of the shaft as fast as she could.
While he watched Zara disappearing in the dark hole after Ginny and Kalliope, he heard a bursting noise and knew the dementors were through the trapdoor and on the platform.
"We have to hurry" he cried and pushed Hermione and Amber towards the entrance of their escape route.
Just when he heard the dementors rattling at the door, all the girls were gone and Ron made his way down the ladder.
Kelsey had decided to stay back, because his patronus was still stronger then Ron's.
"You go next" Harry said to his cousin, when Ron's red head had disappeared.
"No Harry! They are most definitely not here for me. You've already fought them today and you wouldn't make it through another encounter. Leave the hero position to me, if only for this time" he grinned and pushed the black- haired boy down the latter.
Just when Kelsey was half way down the latter, the dementors came through the door.
"We have to leave NOW" Kalliope yelled from the bottom of the shaft and pointed her wand at the trap door. "TEGO" she screamed and a blue lightning flashed from the tip of her wand.
The force of the spell she had used to seal the trapdoor, caused Kelsey to lose his balance and he fell. The last thing he saw, before his hands lost contact to the ladder and he fell backwards, was a slimy, bone, somehow decaying hand grabbing at him.
When these horrible fingers slightly brushed his cheeks as he fell, his mind blacked out by the bone chilling iciness these fingers sent through his head.
Harry had sent his friends down the hallway, which connected to the shaft, when Kelsey crushed on the stone floor.
The black-haired boy had no time to ponder. He threw his cousin over his shoulder, as he saw there was no chance he was walking on his own feet, and ran after his friends.
Right when he had the feeling, he couldn't walk another step, they recognized where they were at.
"The Room of Requirement" he panted, as he saw the door on the right.
They walked in and Harry put his still unconscious cousin down on a soft bed.
On the drawer next to the bed he found a big chunk of chocolate and thrust it in Kayla's hand.
"Try to wake him up and give him as much of chocolate as possible" Then looked into the frightened and terrified faces of his friends and said "I'm going to get Professor McGonagall"
"I'm going with you!" Ginny exclaimed and the determined look on her face kept Harry from arguing. The last thing he wanted right now was to raise the infamous Weasley temper; for that he was just too exhausted.
He grabbed Ginny's hand and ignored a threatening look from her brother, for not talking her out of it. But neither of the boys said a word when Harry opened the door and dragged Ginny to McGonagall's office.
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Sirius was very concerned about the potion master. Since they had returned to Dumbledore's home 2 days ago, Snape was unconscious. Although they never got along, even when they were fighting for the same side, he didn't want the man to die.Celeste had been continuously tending to the shattered body, treating it with several ointments to heal the countless holes the spiked chair had left. The fever, caused by the severe infection, was continuously raging in the potion master's body, torturing him with terrible nightmares. Sirius was not skilled enough to brew a dreamless sleeping potion and he seriously doubted Snape's system could have handled it.
He heard the injured wizard moan in his sleep, muttering incoherently and striking wildly.
Sirius had sent the young witch to bed earlier this evening. She was exhausting herself over the care for Snape and so he ordered her to bed, insisting that he would take care of the other wizard that night.
Afraid Snape might accidentally do even more damage to himself, he sat down on the bed.
The potion master was swinging at an invisible enemy, growling and moaning, so Sirius took the arms and pushed them on the bed gently but emphatically.
"Not even when you're sick, I'll watch you giving me a black eye." he smirked and held the arms firmly while Snape struggled helplessly against him.
The body parts of the wizard, which were visibly, were drenched in sweat and the normally sallow face was red from the fire which was raging within him.
Dumbledore had left a potion to bring the fever down, so Sirius reached for the little vial on the night stand.
He dropped a little bit of the content on a spoon and placed it on Snape's lips. The hurt man refused to open his mouth and turned his head away, still moaning in agony.
Sirius grabbed the head with one hand and pushed the cheeks together to force the potion master to swallow the medicine, while he leaned over the wizard stopping his arms from swinging again.
Snape was too weak to offer resistance, so he took the medication and instantly he started to relax.
His arms stopped struggling against Sirius' grip and the distorted grimace was replaced by an expression of inner peace.
Sirius covered the potion master carefully with the silk sheet and retreated to a black leather armchair.
Standing in the door, Celeste had watched the whole scene.
Since they had escaped from the vampire castle, she had quite a lot of conversations with Sirius Black.
She knew that Sirius and Severus were loathing each other, so she was very surprised about the gentle way Sirius took care of the other wizard.
They were both interesting men and were a lot alike although neither of them would ever admit it.
The old wizard, who had sent Sirius out for the rescue, hadn't asked her how she became involved in the whole situation, but smiled at her warmly when he showed her where she could sleep.
He had been very concerned about Severus state of health and was deeply disturbed, that he couldn't bring him to the magical hospital he called St. Mungo's.
Sirius had told her that Severus was spying on the most evil wizard alive, Lord Voldemort, for Professor Dumbledore and that the person who had inflicted this pain on him had most likely been Lucius Malfoy.
Celeste very well remembered the blond wizard that had been at the castle together with Severus. She could still feel his cold glare on her body and her head was aching when she thought about the pure hatred she had seen every time she looked in his eyes.
He was even more terrifying than the vampires she had served. They were very aware of her powers and never dared to touch or embrace her.
As she watched Sirius tending to the potion master, she heard Severus moaning and murmuring words she couldn't understand.
When Sirius retreated to a chair in the back of the room, Celeste walked up to him and touched his cheek slightly.
"You should go and sleep a little. I'm taking over" Celeste whispered, trying not to disturb the potion masters well needed rest.
Sirius opened his mouth ready to object, but one look in Celeste's face was enough to confirm she wouldn't argue with him.
She tucked on his sleeve and he rose from the chair. With a little smile at the beautiful witch, he walked to his bedroom.
Celeste sat down next to the potion master and took his hand in hers. She was very grateful to him for saving her life back in the castle and she was determined to save his life now.
She looked at the peaceful expression on his face when she seized a washcloth and started to wash his tortured body very cautiously.
His body tensed slightly when her hands moved over all the little scars on his back. Even when he was unconscious his body was trying to reject somebody's touch, but after a few moments, his body relaxed and a little sigh emerged from his lips.
She knew that he needed to wake up so that they could administer the right healing potions.
In the water she used for the wash up she had added several herbs that were supposed to strengthen the wizard's system and to speed up the healing progress. She exposed the chest and gently rubbed over the white flesh, feeling the muscle beneath the hot skin. She continued to wash the arms and legs, massaging slightly to increase the blood flow. She was glad that he didn't flinch anymore under her touch as she went on with her work.
After she had washed the shattered body from head to toe, she hurried to dry his wet skin, when he started to shiver slightly. After applying several ointments on the deepest marks she carefully dressed him and covered him with the silk sheet.
The man she was looking at seemed so much more real than the man she had seen dining with Prince Gregorius. His scowl and sneer was nothing more than a façade he put up for protection, while the peaceful smile was more like his most inner nature. A nature he had almost forgotten already and Celeste was afraid if things wouldn't change soon, he would bury it in the depths of his soul forever.
She gently caressed his hand as she watched him in his sleep.
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Harry dragged Ginny along the corridor towards Professor McGonagall's office. Right before they reached the door, Ginny suddenly stopped and forced Harry back to stand right in front of her.When Harry looked at the pretty redhead, he all of a sudden felt a lump in his throat.
Oh dammit, she's going to cry, he thought devastated as he recognized the tears welling up in the girl's eyes. Why do they always have to do that?
Ginny swallowed hard, before she threw her arms around Harry's neck and buried her face on his chest.
"When I heard that you're fighting dementors again all alone, I thought I had lost you forever before we even started". Then she gave him a kiss on his neck and rested there for a few seconds. The boy was very aware about her warm breath next to his ear and a pleasant shudder went through his body.
When Harry looked at her again, her face was dry and looked happy.
Harry bent down and kissed her lips gently and whispered "Let's get McGonagall" before they entered the office hand in hand.
"Yes Mr Potter, what is it?" McGonagall called when she came out of her private chambers. "What are you doing out here after curfew?"
"There are dementors in the castle" Harry poured out.
"What? Dementors in Gryffindor tower? Did anybody get hurt??" McGonagall shouted and headed for the door. Her green velvet dressing gown was rustling when she walked out of the door.
Harry and Ginny were rooted to the spot. Dammit, Harry thought. They had totally forgotten that McGonagall wasn't supposed to know that they were roaming the castle.
"What is it Mr Potter? "McGonagall urged. "The dementors are not in the in Gryffindor tower. They cornered us at the astronomy tower." Ginny said, as she squeezed Harry's hand tightly.
"What in the name of Merlin were you doing on the astronomy tower?" Professor McGonagall shouted helpless and walked over to the fireplace. "Professor Lupin, Professor Wells in my office please"
Two minutes later, the two teachers joined the headmistress and the students in her office.
"Mr Potter and Miss Weasley just informed me that dementors are roaming the castle" McGonagall said firmly. Lupin shuddered visibly and Professor Wells subconsciously grabbed his hand.
"Dementors?" the potion mistress called and her voice stated that she was truly terrified.
Lupin turned around to face Harry. He grabbed the boys' shoulders tightly and urged "Where have you seen them the last time?"
Harry swallowed hard and answered "In the storage room on top of the astronomy tower."
The DADA teacher thanked him, grabbed the arm of his colleague and rushed out of the office.
"So Mr Potter" McGonagall said earnestly. "Who else was with you and where are they?"
Harry and Ginny didn't answer, but left the office and beckoned the headmistress to follow them.
When they arrived at the Room of Requirement, Professor McGonagall was totally baffled. "So this room really exists?"
Harry didn't answer, but pushed the door open and entered.
Kayla and Zara was sitting next to Kelsey, feeding him with chocolate; Ron, Hermione, Jozlyn and Amber were sitting quietly in squashy armchairs, nibbling on their chocolate while Kalliope was standing a little at the side, arms folded in front of her chest.
Professor McGonagall hurried over to Kelsey, who was still pale and shivering, but at least conscious.
"Mr Warren, you need to go to the hospital wing immediately"
Kelsey sighed audibly but nodded.
Then the headmistress turned to the other students and said "You all should see Madam Pomfrey for some more chocolate, but before you go I want to know why, by the love of Merlin, you were at the astronomy tower in the middle of the night"
She looked at all of the students in turn but nobody answered her question. Then Kayla rose from her chair and said "This explanation will take a while"
"Very well, Miss Warren; I will accompany you to the hospital wing and after that I want to see you and whoever else was involved in this stunt in my office" The headmistress was obviously furious.
Kayla nodded and turned her attention back to her brother "Can you walk Kelsey?"
The handsome Gryffindor sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.
"I should be ok" he assured his sister and slowly got on his feet.
Professor McGonagall opened the door and Kelsey, supported by Kayla and Zara, followed the others.
Madam Pomfrey was rooted to the spot in bewilderment when she saw the little group entering the hospital wing. She ordered Kelsey into one of the beds and handed big chunks of chocolate to everybody.
Professor McGonagall watched the whole procedure in impatience and when all the students were provided with what they needed, she turned to the Grecian girl.
"I will see you tomorrow in my office before lunch. You are dismissed."
Kalliope shuddered slightly at the low and dangerous voice of her momentary head of house, but managed to produce a grin and nodded before she left the hospital wing.
The headmistress took a deep breath and addressed the two Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuff
"You three will report to your head of house first thing in the morning. And now go to your dorms and no more foolish expeditions or you will all be expelled."
The three girls stared at the floor and rushed out of the room.
The Gryffindors now faced the headmistress and then McGonagall sighed in exasperation.
"Who came up with this foolish idea" she said and her eyes travelled between Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"It was my idea" Kayla said when she looked up at the headmistress.
"Well Miss Warren, and what did possess you to drag 9 of your fellow students out at night?" McGonagall snapped.
Kayla's face turned crimson instantly. This all took a terribly wrong turn; she never wanted it to go this way and she definitely never wanted to put her friends in danger.
"Professor McGonagall, this was not Kayla's idea alone." Hermione spoke up. "We came up with it together in order to add some extra protection to the castle after what happened to Zara and Neville"
Kayla gratefully took Hermione's hand and squeezed it.
"Protection? What kind of protection?" McGonagall
Kayla and Hermione explained the whole story in turns while Ron and Harry watched the headmistress' face switch between pale and red.
"I know I should take points from all of you...an awful lot of points ... but I see that this was all for a good cause to save your fellow students. So I think I will reward 20 points to Miss Warren and Miss Granger for the courage to perform such advanced magic. 20 points for Mr Potter for fighting so bravely against 5 dementors. And 10 points to everybody else who was involved in this life threatening task" McGonagall smiled. "Now off to bed with you and no more wandering around for no matter what noble intensions"
The Gryffindors settled for the night, although there wasn't much left.