Night of Fears
Disclaimer: Characters and setting are the property of J.K. Rowling, I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.
Silverthreads: Thanks for the feedback
Physical exertion gave all five boys a healthy appetite. For the first fifteen minutes conversation took a backseat to food. Gradually the boys slowed down enough to slip a few words between bites.
"This is great Mrs. Potter," Remus said.
"I'll pass your compliments on to the House-elves," Eleanor replied.
Remus blushed. "Oh, right."
"Did you see that goal of James'?" Peter gushed to Sirius.
Sirius rolled his eyes and turned back to James. "I swear, on one of those new Nimbus you can flat out run Bludgers. It'll change the whole game."
"Naw, they'll just beef-up the spells on the Bludgers," James replied.
At the other end of the table another conversation was taking place.
"Is it true that the ministry is going to make a law about werewolves having to take a calming draught during the full moon?" Remus asked Harold Potter
"I didn't think calming draughts worked on werewolves," Severus remarked.
"They don't," the Chief Auror said.
"So why would the Ministry requiring them to take the potions?"
"It's a sugar pill for the politicians," Harold replied. Severus frowned in confusion.
"A placebo," Remus explained. "It's a muggle expression."
"That's stupid," Severus said. "I'm always getting yelled at when people don't think I have a good enough reason for taking potions."
Harold sighed. "It makes people feel safer."
"People are stupid," Severus stated judgmentally. "Big magic, like turning into a werewolf, deactivates the magic in most potions."
"There have been a number of incidents with werewolves lately. The attack on the Nutrimen's child three months ago, Mira and Preston…" Harold trailed off with a guilty look at Remus.
"My grandparents were babysitting me when it happened," Remus volunteered quickly. "When they brought me home… They were just… I don't really remember that morning."
Eleanor wrapped a comforting arm around Remus' shoulders. James patted him on the hand.
"People are scared Severus, the law may not make sense but it makes people feel better," Harold said. "We've already taken measure to see that all known werewolves are under guard by my people during the full moon so no one gets hurt, but it's not enough to reassure everyone. So the ministry proposed this new law to head off the possibility of lynch mobs."
"But calming draughts don't work on werewolves," Severus argued. "They ought to come up with something that works, not give out these 'sugar pills'."
"It's not logical but it's better than having people demanding we destroy them," Harold said.
"Kill them," Remus said quietly.
"What?" Eleanor asked.
Remus bit his lip. "Rabid animals get destroyed, people get killed. Werewolves are still people."
"That's very enlightened considering what happened to your parents," Harold said with surprise.
"The person can't control what the werewolf does, it's a monster that possesses them," Remus recited. "I can't hate the person for what the wolf does."
"But the person has a responsibility to take precautions against what the wolf is capable of," Harold said.
"Yes sir, always sir," Remus replied instantly.
"This is getting positively grim," Mrs. Potter remarked. "Peter, I heard your older sister and the Boot boy finally set a date."
Peter rolled his eyes. "Yeah, there's gauze and lacey stuff all over the upstairs and Melissa screams bloody murder if I touch anything."
"Will you be in the wedding?" Eleanor asked.
"Like I'd want to!" Peter exclaimed. "Jordan's got this little six-year-old twerp of a cousin and Melissa says 'he's such a cutey!'" Peter mimicked high-pitched, girlish tones. "He's going to be the ring barer. It's not like they even need me there."
"Peter, I'm sure your sister couldn't be happy without her whole family behind her," Eleanor told the boy.
"Boring," James sing-songed. "Everyone's going to the World Cup Quidditch match of course, even if we have to kidnap Sirius. We should make plans…"
That night the boys camped out in the Potter's front room. There were plenty of empty guest rooms as Severus had noted but the other four boys had looked at him funny when he said that. In the end Severus had grabbed a pile of blankets and pillows then tried to construct a comfortable nest like everyone else.
The elder Potters retired to their room for the evening and the House-elves put out the wall torches and let the fires die down to embers. There was an air of anticipation about the four Gryffindors that mystified Severus.
"Alright it's dark enough," Remus said. "Sirius, you want to start things off?"
Sirius got up and went to sit on the hearth. Wrapped in a blanket and silhouetted by the sullen glow of the embers he was a vaguely sinister shadow.
"We all know the wards at Hogwarts keep the ghost harmless and most the ghosts wouldn't want to do anything worse than Binns trying to bore us to death. Most of the ghosts, but not all…" Sirius trailed off leaving a theatrical silence behind.
"Several hundred years ago they needed a substitute Professor for a term, a guest lecture came to Hogwarts to fill the position… and he never left." Sirius made eye contact with each member of his audience as he allowed that point to sink in. "He was a real bastard of a teacher, always looking for a way to humiliate his students."
"Well one group of students had enough, they decided to get even. They hexed him to loose his voice in the middle of a lecture. No big thing right? But he was livid; he went after them with murder in his eyes and a sword in his hand. The students fled. He chased them into the Forbidden Forest and they were ALL torn to pieces."
"But he still wasn't satisfied," Sirius shook his head in disbelief. "Not realizing he was dead he came back to the to the school looking for more students to blame his embarrassment. He still haunts the halls looking for victims. We know him as the Bloody Baron," Sirius finished.
"That's preposterous," Severus said. "Don't you pay any attention in history?"
"I believe we already established that Mr. Black has yet to out grow naps and has taken to substituting said activity for History," Remus fought to deliver his remarks without dissolving into laughter.
Sirius threw a pillow at his friend. "Mr. Lupin rarely pays attention and manages to stay awake solely for the pleasure he derives from disturbing said naps."
"So Snape, I suppose you're claiming to know the real story behind Hogwarts' Bloody Baron?" James challenged.
"Yes I do," Severus replied archly. "During the French Revolution he staked his fortune on a drinking contest."
"The Baron was proud of his ability to drink anyone under the table but being a Slytherin he also had a fall back plan; a sword coated with a detoxification agent. What the Baron failed to realize was that they young man who took his challenge was also Slytherin. The younger Slytherin seduced the serving wench the night before the contest and nothing in his mug was stronger than Butterbeer. The Baron had more pride than was healthy and didn't turn to his plan B until he was well and truly soused. He got up, staggered over to the nearest weapons rack and promptly pulled the thing over on himself. He was pierced thirteen times by the falling weaponry and died on the spot. The younger man was a French Aristocrat who'd lost his fortune when he fled that country. He soon forsook the serving girl, who murdered him in his sleep a few years later, but not before he could found the family line responsible for inflicting Lucius Malfoy on us. The Baron, unable to accept his defeat much less his death, became a ghost. To this day he refuses to speak of the humiliating, Gryffindor moment, that led him to try to win the contest by fair means."
The conclusion of Severus' story was met with groans and a hail of pillows.
"If he'd been Gryffindor he wouldn't have needed to cheat to win," Peter declared.
"Because you're all immune to alcohol?" Severus sneered. "I'll be sure to mention that one to Madam Rosmerta the next time Hagrid decides to serenade the Three Broomsticks."
James assumed a superior look. "No, because the serving girl would have liked him better than the other guy." This time the hail of pillow was aimed at James.
After they'd settled down a bit James took Sirius' place in front of the dying fire. "Now that's all nice and good, but there are vicious haunts much closer than Hogwarts. You know my Dad's an Auror and of course he really tries not to take his work home with him, but sometimes accidents happen. There was this one wicked spirit who liked to possess mirrors. They trapped her in a room with nothing for her to jump to and then they destroyed her mirror. They thought she'd been vanquished but they forgot that my dad's spectacles could hold a reflection in them.
"As soon as he got home that night she jumped into the mirror in the background of my Great-Great-Grandmother's portrait. Now you gotta understand, Granny is real fond of that portrait, says it's the only one that ever captured her properly and she won't have it destroyed so Dad was stuck with the spirit. Quite frankly Granny's scarier than the spirit so it generally behaves itself but sometimes, when Granny's sleeping, the spirit sneaks out of the portrait and into the house mirrors and if she ever catches you looking at her she'll drag you into the mirror with her so she can torture you as long as she likes."
"James, that story got o…" a quick kick from Peter silenced Remus.
Remus looked at Peter questioningly. The smallish Gryffindor tilted his head toward Severus. Remus grimaced but held his peace. "Okay, my turn…"
"Guys this might be a bad idea," Remus whispered. "You all know how jumpy Severus is."
"I've got his wand," Sirius replied confidently. "We'll let him wake up and cool off before we give it back. James played this joke on all of us, what's the big deal?"
Remus sighed and dropped his gaze in surrender.
"Okay, I got the mirror," Peter said and was quickly hushed.
"Alright," James said, his eyes were alight with mischief. "Peter, hold the mirror. Sirius, handle the special effects. I'll take care of waking up our Mr. Snape."
Remus settled back and waited for the fireworks to start. The other three boys got into position.
James murmured a spell and Severus' sleeping body levitated and spun in midair. Severus woke with a shriek and a pulse of wild magic that broke James' spell and his glasses.
Severus crashed to the floor and quickly scrambled to his knees as he searched for his wand. "They're here. They're here. He said they weren't real. They're here!" Severus' panicky literary sent shivers down the other boys' spines. His eyes lit on the open door then went wide and white rimmed. "It's open. Who un-barricaded the door? I need my wand, they're here!"
"Severus, wake up. It was just a joke." Remus caught the Slytherin boy's shoulder and was tossed aside. Severus possessed a wiry strength that the other boy hadn't anticipated. Remus' head cracked against the edge of the hearth and he slumped to the floor in a daze. The loose objects in the room began to vibrate.
James swore and grabbed Severus. He shook the other boy roughly. "Snap out of it!" he ordered.
A glass vase burst and Severus struggled violently against James. Sirius joined in and between the two of them they managed to pin the Slytherin boy against the wall. Tears were running down Severus' face. "Come on Sev! Wake up, you've got to wake up." Sirius pled.
"He's blood crazy!" Peter exclaimed from across the room. Severus' eyes locked on the slight Gryffindor and a bloody gash opened up on Peter's cheek.
James thrust his palm under Severus' chin and pushed his head back, forcing Severus' eyes to the ceiling. The Slytherin boy screamed and every bit of glass in the room exploded in a hail of shrapnel.
Then the three boys were forced apart from a sharply cast spell. Harold Potter stood in the doorway looking every inch an experienced Auror despite his dressing gown. His second spell suppressed the magic running wild in the room.
To Severus it felt like being wrapped in miles of cotton candy. He couldn't move, his magic was stifled but he felt insulated from the world as well.
"Ella, look after the boys. I'll deal with Severus and put a call in to the office," Harold said. "They don't need to dispatch anyone."
Severus felt the cotton candy tug him gently toward the door. Moving like a sleepwalker he stumbled to Harold's side then allowed the older man to guide him down the hall to a richly appointed study. Harold settled the boy in a leather chair that almost swallowed his childish form.
Harold opened a drawer in the heavy desk to reveal a neatly organized potion's rack. He selected a vile and handed it to Severus.
The familiarity of the action shook the boy out of the spell-induced stupor enough to ask. "What is it?"
"A calming draught. It might be one of your father's; it's been awhile since I needed to restock my home supplies. Too much time spent behind a desk these days, I suppose." Harold kept talking until Severus took the potion.
"What did you do to me?" Severus asked after a moment.
"The spell? It's used for crowd control, a very weak cousin to the Imperius. It only works as long as the target is panicking. If they can get themselves under control it fades," Harold paused for a moment. "You were starting to throw it off when you asked me about the potion. Now I want to talk to you for a bit, but I'd rather not have the night patrol summoned out here."
Severus nodded then watched Harold conduct a short conversation with his subordinate over the floo system. When he was done the older man pulled up a second chair across from Severus.
The boy scowled. "That wasn't just a calming draught," he accused.
"You do know your potions," Harold admitted. "It's standard procedure. The under-aged restriction on magic is the most frequently broken law on the books. Aurors don't go rushing off for every teenager who decides to play a prank or take a short cut in their chores but we do investigate incidents of powerful magic, it's primarily for the child's benefit, the impetus for that kind of magic is generally not something a kid ought to be dealing with on their own."
"At home I practice dueling all the time and you guys never showed up." Severus' eyes widened. "It's making me talk!"
"Not really, it's not veritaserum." Harold gave Severus a sheepish smile. "Think of it as having the filter between your thoughts and your mouth loosened a little. I need to find out what happened."
"Why don't you ask them!" Severus exclaimed.
"Knowing my son, I feel very confident in saying that they were playing a prank on you," Harold admitted. "But you reacted like your life was being threatened. Don't you think you went a little overboard?"
Severus looked at the floor.
"What did you think was happening?"
"They were coming for me and the door wasn't barricaded. They could get to me. Bogarts can't apparate, right?"
"Who could get you, Severus?" Harold asked quietly.
"I – I don't know. Them… maybe the Bogarts in the attic?"
"You lock your door when you sleep?"
Severus nodded. "I put a chair under the doorknob, that way nothing can get in… except my father, he apparated. But he said my room was safe. I still like having the chair. I hate sleeping at Hogwarts. It's weird that I fell asleep here, probably all the flying."
"How about when you were staying with Sirius?"
"Well Narcissa's house might have Bogarts too, I don't know that it doesn't."
"Did you always do that?"
"No, the Bogarts only moved in a couple of years ago." Severus rolled his eyes. "The house feels bad. I don't like it. My parents fight all the time. They don't like each other anymore. It's because of the Bogarts."
"I'm sorry."
For several minutes after Harold took Severus away a shocked silence reigned in the front room.
Eleanor helped Remus to a couch then checked Peter's cheek. "I think you'll need a bandage," she said. "Come along to the bathroom.
The other three boys trailed after James' mother and Peter. Eleanor sat Peter on the edge of the bathtub, she dabbed carefully at the freely bleeding wound.
"I'll go get a coagulation potion," James volunteered.
"It's not that bad sweetie. We'll just use a bandage," Eleanor said. "I don't want to disturb your father."
"He tried to kill me," Peter stammered.
"Peter, you know how accidental magic works," Eleanor sighed. "Severus wasn't consciously doing anything. Who's next?"
"We were just playing around," Sirius said. He sounded stunned.
"And things just got carried away; I know. It's happened before, remember Peter's broken leg?"
"Mom!" James protested. "It wasn't like that. I played practically the same trick on Remus and Sirius, they didn't go crazy."
Eleanor rubbed her eyes. "We'll talk about it tomorrow," she said. "For now why don't the four of you get some sleep? No more camping out tonight. I'll have the House-elves make up guest rooms. James, you know where your bed is… I expect you to stay there until breakfast."
Once she'd seen the four boys to separate rooms Eleanor called for tea to be sent up to the drawing room opposite her husband's study.
After a time Harold joined her. "How is Severus?" Eleanor asked.
"I heard him blocking the door after I sent him to bed, apparently it's habitual," Harold sighed.
"Something has happened to him then?"
"I don't know. He has a few of the signs of having been obliviated but it could just be an active imagination coupled with stress, it seems his parents are having martial problems. I'm going to talk to Artalocus about this. That boy's always strung like a piano wire, tonight other kids played into one of his nightmares and he snapped. Speaking of the other kids…"
"More rattled than hurt," Eleanor said. "Peter's on the verge of screaming bloody murder. So I sent them to separate rooms, hopefully they'll calm down and be thinking rationally by morning."
"Good, I'd hate to see them work themselves into a hysteria over this. The last thing that kid needs is for his friends to become another source of stress."
"They're good kids, they won't hold it against him. I'm sure Peter was just scared; you know how head wounds bleed," Eleanor said.
First thing the next morning the children flooed back to the Pettigrews then Sirius and Severus started the long flight back to the Black Estates.
The three remaining boys sprawled under the trees behind Peter's house. "It's not like it's the first time he's gone nuts and tried to kill one of us. It's not even the third or fourth time," Peter said.
"There's something wrong with him," James said.
"Yeah, he's crazy," Peter stated, "and dangerous." He rubbed the fading cut on his cheek. "We hardly ever recognize the spells Snape uses when he goes nuts and he goes for blood."
"I know."
"He's gonna hurt someone worse."
"I know."
"It was an accident. We didn't have to play that stupid trick on him," Remus said.
"We were being normal," James protested.
"Right, why should we have to change because he's a freak?" Peter chimed in. "I told you guys we shouldn't let someone like him hang around with us. He's Slytherin, he's dark."
Remus winced.
James thought about it for a while. "I think Peter's right," he said slowly.
Remus' protest was soft and inarticulate.
"I thought Snape would make things with Sirius' family easier on him," James said defensively. "But Sirius still gets in trouble for doing stuff with us all the time. Heck Snape's probably reporting back to the hag."
"Sirius does manage to meet up with us most of the time," Remus said. "And Severus is generally in tow, I really don't think what happened last night was intentional or controllable. I don't think we should penalize him for panicking."
"It's not just last night okay?" James exclaimed. "Snape blows up over nothing all the time, he hexes before he thinks and his first impulse isn't a binding spell or a jinx, it's nasty dark stuff. Who else do you know that studies blasting curses and junk like that in their spare time?"
"How's Sirius supposed to tell his parents that Snape can't come along anymore?" Remus asked.
James winced. "Yeah, didn't think of that."
"What if Snape didn't want to come along anymore?" Peter remarked gleefully. "The hag couldn't blame Sirius if the slimy Slytherin decided to go hide in the dungeons."
"This time I'm going to do it; I'm going to kill those little twits!" Lucius exclaimed as he stocked downstairs.
Narcissa grimaced and Bellatrix grinned at Lucius' declaration.
"What did the nasty little boys do this time?" Bellatrix asked.
Lucius glared at her angrily. Bell arranged her mouth in a sympathetic moue. He relaxed. "Your parent are going to have to refurbish the guest room, they stuck Devil's Snare under my bed. If I'd been sleeping they could have killed me!"
Bellatrix laughed. "It's such a waste to kill someone by accident."
"Lucius don't be hasty," Narcissa sighed. "Siri could have done that on his own, he just doesn't know when to quit. Severus tries to warn you about Siri's silly stunts." She patted Lucius' arm.
"He doesn't try hard enough," Lucius said. "And that's assuming that the paranoid little sociopath did try to warn me. I'm still going to skin the both of them alive."
"Oh let 'Cissa have her little stray, you know how she can't help but collect them," Bellatrix said dismissively.
Lucius grimaced at the reference to his girlfriend's menagerie. Without thinking about it Narcissa's fingers strayed to the raw claw marks adorning Lucius' forearm.
Bellatrix smirked. "Narcissa's pets might not be pretty to look at but once she wins them over they're viciously loyal aren't they?"
Regulus and his friend stumbled into the kitchen. "What's for breakfast?" Reg yawned.
"We got the House-Elves to make scones," Narcissa said.
Regulus rubbed his eyes and glanced around the table. "Siri and Sev aren't down yet," he said then grinned. "You know what that means." He turned and ran back up stairs.
"What's that about?" Lucius asked.
Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "He's just doing his duty as a younger sibling, he's probably going to dump a bucket of water on Siri or something. Reg isn't exactly creative."
Several minutes later Regulus trudged back downstairs. "They're both gone already, I even banged on Sev's door."
"Well they had better get back soon," Narcissa said with a frown. "Mother and Father will be down for breakfast any minute now. I hope Siri isn't getting them into trouble again."
"Sev-er-us, come on. I said I'm sorry. Don't sulk," Sirius cajoled.
Severus angled his broom toward a tree. That forced Sirius to dodge away from his side or go splat.
"It's a stupid trick, James does it to everyone the first time they stay over. James and Peter got me; I helped them get Remus. He probably did it to Peter too, but they've know each other forever," Sirius continued as he flew around to Severus' other side. "We didn't know you were going to get that freaked out."
"I hate your friends!" Severus exclaimed. "They're stupid, spoiled brats."
"They were acting friendly, not that you'd know anything about that!" Sirius snapped.
"Attacking someone in their sleep is friendly? I'd hate to see what you do to an enemy," Severus snarled.
"It was just a joke," Sirius took a deep breath. "We really didn't mean for you to get hurt. Really, honestly, truly on my word as a Gryffindor."
Severus snorted. He turned to tell Sirius exactly how much he thought that was worth and watched in shock as an invisible force snatched Sirius out of the sky.
The Slytherin boy dove through the canopy. He didn't care about the branches lashing his face and arms, he just wanted out of their attacker's crosshairs. Severus landed badly; half the bristles on his broom were broken. He knew it wouldn't fly again without repairs.
Miles from sanctuary and under attack from an unknown enemy and his broom was busted. Severus cursed Sirius under his breath. "Stupid, pea-brained, idiotic Gryffindor! This is all your fault."
Without really thinking about it Severus started walking toward where he'd seen Sirius yanked to the earth. Ten minutes later he stumbled upon his bound and unconscious friend.
"Came back for this one did you?" a deranged voice cackled.
Severus spun around, his wand ready. There was nothing but foliage for him to fight.
"Must be the Gryffindor one."
Severus voiced an outraged protest. Something struck him in the back of the head. Severus fell to his hands and knees, his wand was still clenched tightly in his hand; his vision was filled with stars. He heard booted feet crunching through the leaves then a brutal kick knocked him on his back. Severus' breath left his body in a whoosh.
The boot came down on Severus' wrist. "Can't be havin' you doing magic," the man said. He leaned down and put his full weight on Severus' pinned wrist. The small, delicate bones ground together and Severus screamed. The man plucked his wand from his limp fingers.
Severus whimpered, his vision tunneled in and everything went black.