Chapter 2:
Friends or Foes
'It can't be.' He thought. "Harry…?" Upon hearing Dumbledore's voice the people behind Harry removed their hoods revealing the remaining members of the DA. Each member bore similar markings as Harry. Dumbledore took a step towards Harry only to have him step back his wand between them. "Jergens take your people to the hospital wing." The Aurors sidestepped the group eyeing them as they went. The DA mirrored their suspicious looks. Knowing that the situation could easily escalate beyond his control, Dumbledore motioned for Harry and the others to precede him. Harry made no move to comply with the old wizard's request.
"After you." Harry said motioning with his wand the tone of his voice sounded strained. Dumbledore in an effort to move things along and also as a show of good faith motioned for Moody and the others to follow him to his office. Snape was silently seething with rage. 'A group of upstart young wizards telling him what to do. The arrogance of some people.'
Moody kept his eye on the wizards and witches behind him. The way they carried themselves made the hair on his neck standup. It was openly hostile. A spot between his shoulder blades itched as if any moment one of them was going to fire a curse into his back. 'I don't like having these people at my back. I'll feel much better when we finally reach the Headmaster's office.'
"Airheads." The gargoyle leapt to the side allowing the group to continue. As they entered the office, Dumbledore conjured chairs for the large group. Moody stood while Bill and the elder wizards took seats. The DA also chose to remain standing. Moody observed their posture. 'No matter how laid back they appeared they were anything but. Weasley and the Longbottom kid's eyes are constantly moving around the room.' "Now…" the headmaster began but was interrupted.
"What happened to the Death Eaters and where is Voldemort?" Bill flinched as Harry said this.
Snape exploded at the young wizard. "Why you arrogant sonuva…"
"Stice." A spell struck him sewing his lips shut preventing him from finishing. Moody cocked an eye at this. He'd used this particular curse on many occasions.
"Mr. Longbottom that was uncalled for." Moody was surprised at this statement. He hadn't even seen his wand. Moody focused his eye closer and caught the wand sticking out the end of his sleeve.
"Stice Excidere." Neville muttered before turning back to Dumbledore waiting for him to answer. The chords were instantly cut from Snape's lips.
"After I told you to leave, we received reinforcements. It didn't take us long to take care of the remaining Death Eaters. There have only been a couple of attacks since then. Voldemort has yet to appear at any of the battles. Our biggest worry has been getting the wards repaired before Voldemort could launch a major offensive."
"What happened to you guys during the siege?" Bill asked as he looked at his brother and sister. "You've aged so much."
"That'll happen to you when you spend almost four years trapped in a room and no one comes looking for you." Ron growled at his older brother.
Hermione squeezed his shoulder. "Ron calm down." He placed his hand on hers giving her a smile before turning back to Bill.
Bill looked visibly shocked by his words. "That's not possible. It's only been three weeks since you went missing after the first attack."
"You're lying." Dean said moving to get at Bill.
"Potter you need to learn to control your rabble." Snape sneered at Harry and the DA.
"No one asked for your opinion Death Eater." Neville said the words coming out like a curse. "You're lucky I don't kill you where you sit." At this he drew his wand on the potion master. Padma grabbed his arm and shook her head.
"There'll be time for that later. Right now I need to talk with the Headmaster alone."
Moody gave the headmaster a look but he left the room after a nod from Dumbledore. Neville tripped Snape on the way out. As he rose up on his knees, Neville bent to whisper into his ear, "I remember you." Snape grew pale and rushed from the office.
"What do you need to talk with me about Harry?"
"At the end of last term you told me the prophecy of why Voldemort wanted to kill me. That wasn't completely the truth was it? When I thought back on it there were some things that didn't fit. It couldn't have just been the luck of the draw that Voldemort would choose me as his nemesis. What are you not telling me?" Harry's eyes seemed to flash glowing for a second and then dimming. It could have been some trick of the light Dumbledore thought as he observed this with quiet contemplation. "Here we go again. I ask you a question and all I get is silence. I thought you were going to keep me informed this year. Was that just another lie? If you had told me everything I would have been prepared and maybe Cedric, Sirius, and everyone who died during the siege would still be alive." Dumbledore remained silent thinking of how to reply to Harry's harsh and frank assessment of events. "Maybe those questions are too hard for you. How bout you tell me why the DA and I were stuck in a room for nearly four years?"
"The only possible explanation for what has occurred is if the room somehow became out of synch with normal time." Something must have registered because Harry's look changed but the emotions behind it were quickly covered up.
"I assume classes are still going on. Where do you propose the DA stay? We seem to be a few years late for class." Harry gave a hollow laugh.
The Shrieking Shack is in good repair since the last time Remus was here. Would the DA be comfortable staying there?"
"As long as we're not locked in for a few more years."
"There's no danger of that happening. Once you're settled I'll send Dobby over with some food. I'll come see you later this evening then we can decide what to do next." Harry stuck his head out the door and called the DA back in. Dumbledore walked over to a dusty old mirror and struck the glass hard with his wand shattering the mirror. It broke into shards that dropped backward swirling into the mirror's surface. "If you'll step through here it will take you to the Shrieking Shack." Harry didn't ask why he hadn't shown him this since his third year. He figured it was just another one of Dumbledore's little secrets he didn't want Harry to know about.
They all stepped inside and exited the gray surface on the other side. The Shrieking Shack was just as he remembered it dank and dusty. The furniture had been repaired yet dust clung to everything. Parvati whipped her wand in an arc across the room and said, "Scourgify." The dust winked out of existence.
It wasn't long before Dobby popped into the room. "It is true. Headmaster is saying that Harry Potter is back." Dobby rushed over tackling Harry in a hug. The DA laughed at the frantic house elf before while Hermione and Ron greeted Dobby with enthusiasm. "Where have you been?" Dobby asked but after hearing a rumble come from Ron's stomach he gave them a sheepish look. With a snap a table and loads of food appeared before them.
Once the DA had thoroughly filled their bellies they proceeding to tell Dobby about their time in the Room of Requirement. The hostility that they had, had before was gone replaced instead with a feeling of camaraderie. When they'd decided to restart the DA Dobby had been one of their strongest supporters. They had missed him terribly over the 'years' they had been trapped. Dobby took the time to sit with them and fill them in on things that had happened since the Hogwart's siege.
"Dobby, could you do us a favor?" The trio asked while the others sat back resting.
"Anything for Captain Harry Potter and his friends." The house elf jumped up and saluted making Harry mentally groan but smile at the elf's eagerness.
"Could you find Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks? Ask them to meet me here tomorrow night at 8:30. Make sure you tell them not to mention this to anyone."
"Yes sir, Captain Harry Potter sir." With that the house elf popped back out of the room. Now they only had one other visitor to deal with tonight before they could talk amongst themselves. 'I hope I've done the right thing. Dumbledore holds too much back for 'my own good'. In my mind that means he can't be trusted. I just hope that Remus and Tonks are willing to listen to my side of things. They are the last bit of family I have left and the Dursley's sure as blood hell aren't gonna help me.'
[A/N: I'm sorry to all those Snape fans out there. There may be a lot of Snape bashing in this fic. He's an interesting character but I hate him on principle. I despise teachers who terrorize their students. I also hope that the pace of the story is better. If anyone has any problems with the story they can email me soulscry2000yahoo.com]