Chapter 7

WHAM

Tollie jolted awake, his head submerged under water. He gagging on soap, and forced himself up.

"Professor Lupin!" a voice rang through his water logged ears.

Tollie looked up, and saw Harry running from the room. "Harry, wait!" He cried out, flinging a towel around his waist. He put his foot out onto the tile floor, where it promptly slipped out from under him. His head connected solidly with the sink- white fairy lights floated before his eyes as he slid onto the ground. Harry ran back into the room, his wand pointed at the boy.

"Harry- wait- you don't understand." Tollie croaked, spitting up saliva and bubblebath.

"You're a Deatheater!" Harry snarled, his wand leveled towards Tollie's throat.

Lupin and Snape both finally reached the room as Harry menaced closer. Tollie, still stranded on the floor, his towel wrestling to stay on, sat there looking overwhelmed. "Harry, don't," Remus pleaded quietly. "You don't understand." The younger boy hesitated long enough for Tollie to find a purchase against the nearest wall. "He's not a Deatheater," Remus continued, his sight roving between the two boys.

"Harry, just please," Tollie got to his feet, his left hand wrapped around his right forearm.

"Andrill's not a Deatheater, Potter" Snape stated. "Not anymore."

To everyone's amazement, Harry finally diswanded himself, and took off running.

Remus started to follow, but was stopped by the other teacher. "I'll do it," Severus declared, and pursued Harry down the hall.

Tollie slid back to the ground as Remus kneeled next to him on a very wet floor. "Well, I wasn't expecting for him to find out this way," Remus said softly.

"There really isn't a right way," Tollie replied, reaching for his shirt. "I better get used to that response."

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, no, I don't know. My head feels off." He grabbed for his right temple. "Give me a sec." The boy was left alone, somehow managing to get dressed and bind his wand to his left arm without cracking the wall with his head. He looked at himself in the mirror and groaned.

"What?" Remus burst back in on the boy.

"My eyes," Tollie explained. "One is yellow and the other is orange."

"Do you need a healer?" Remus seized Tollie's chin and moved it into the light.

"No- just didn't realize that a smack to the head was what was needed to pull off this trick" One pupil expanded; the other persisted on staying the same size. "I've been trying to do this trick for years, you see." Tollie laughed hoarsely and began to concentrate. The left went ecru while the other went magenta. "I think I need to lay down, Professor Lupin." He reached out for support as the room twirled and color shifted. Remus instantly propped a hand against Tollie's back and arm, and guided him to his bedroom. The boy collapsed onto the cadaverous bed, his breathing thin and shallow. Remus went out into the hallway, and called for the other teacher to return. Severus immediately emerged from the staircase. He looked far too smug as an upset Harry followed behind him. "Severus, do you mind flooing to Hogwarts? I need to contact Dumbledore."

Harry paled. "Is Tollie okay?"

"I'm not sure, I think that he has a concussion; but with his condition, I can't just take him to St. Mungos... I'll be right back- I probably ought to go wake him up."

He went back into the room, and found Tollie pacing. "Tollie?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, just pippy."

"I sent Snape to get some help."

"Yes, I felt it."

"Felt what?"

"I need to leave, Remus."

"Leave?"

"Far, far away?"

"Why?"

Tollie stopped walking. He looked up at the teacher, his eyes a murky yellow. "Because." "They're tracking me." Remus's breath died as the boy lifted his shirt sleeve. The mark, only a year old and still quite clear, was blazing light. Its mouth had jutted open as a tattooed snake coiled itself around his arm. "I need to go," the boy whispered.

"You can't go, Tollie. You need to stay here." Remus slid back to the door and yelled. "Severus!"

The other man raced back to the room, a bag of floo powder leaking over his hands leaving a green trail behind him. "Bring him." Severus pronounced. "We need to get to Hogwarts immediately." Remus pulled the boy to the kitchen, nearly bumping into Harry. "Out of the way, Potter!" Snape ordered, giving Remus the floo bag. Harry, for once, obeyed the potions master without question.

"No, Harry needs to come too." Remus countermanded just as he and Tollie disappeared into the green fiery mists.

The four found themselves in the Defense Against the Dark Art's lodgings. Remus and Severus supported the boy to the nearest couch. He was lain down as a Mobilicorpus spell was cast.

The school was extremely quiet as they made their way down to the infirmary. "Potter, go find Dumbledore," Snape decreed; the boy nodded and took off running. The infirmary's instantly crowded pictures and portraits watched from their perches, watching the intruders. They were all in states of informal summer dress, and much clucking emanated from them until Snape threw them an malevolent look.

"Do you know what's going on, Severus?" Remus asked as they searched through the infirmary's cupboards and drawers ignoring various screams, hexes, and curses that emanated from them. A few completely denied them access.

"I told Tollie that something like this might happen," Snape began. "These marks aren't just for decoration. They also serve a purpose."

"What's that?"

"Voldemort's not stupid enough to trust his own followers. I'm sure there are all sorts of spells and curses attached to them. There's a reason why I haven't tried to take mine off yet."

Remus finally found a tattered blanket stuffed in the back of a cupboard, and placed it over the sweating boy. "It'll be all right now, Tollie," Remus soothed, wiping the boy's forehead.

The door's banged open as Dumbledore swept into the room. "What has happened?"

"Tollie hit his head, and I think he's got a concussion. But he also says that he's being tracked," Remus stated, letting the older man examine the boy. "That's why we came here." Remus reached for his arm, but Tollie pulled away. "It's okay, Tollie. Let Dumbledore see." The expanding Mark was finally exposed to the headmaster.

Dumbledore peered down at the teenager, watching the snake grow in length. He reached down and lightly touched the arm. "Tollie."

"Mmm?" came a sickly reply.

"Who is tracking you?"

"The Others. My parents." Tollie answered lowly. "They say they love me."

"You can communicate with them now?"

"Oh, yes. They're very proud of me. They say that they want me back."

"Why is that?"

"Because I've shown them where Harry Potter is. They want to kill him, you see," he pronounced. "No," he amended. "They want me to kill him." His face broke as he turned to the ex-DADA teacher. "Professor Lupin, I don't want to kill him. I want to stay with you at 12-"

Remus shushed the boy with his hand "Don't talk, Tollie."

The boy's eyes suddenly snapped into a bright, clear blue. He grabbed Remus's hands, ripping the wand off his arm. "You must take it- I can't trust myself." He thrust it against the teacher, then fell back, his eyes clouding over again.

"Severus, I need you to take Harry to my chambers," Dumbledore ordered, "and lock yourselves in, and don't come out until you know that it's safe."

Severus left the infirmary, and found Harry listening to a portrait.

"You're to come with me, Potter" Snape grabbed Harry's arm, and dragged him a few feet before he began to fight back.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, trying to wriggle out of his teacher's grip.

Severus looked down at the teacher, "It appears that Tollie's concussion has caused a direct connection to the other Deatheaters. I have, in Dumbledore's infinite wisdom, been put in charge of your personal safety." He dragged Harry a few more feet, leaving future bruises on the boy's arms and drag marks along the floor. "Now kindly follow my directions for once in your life without your usual bickering... Please." Severus choked on the last word.

Harry finally picked up his feet, and followed his teacher back to the headmaster's chambers.