Thanks for your reviews - and to those silent readers who don't leave reviews, thank you for reading my story.
When I originally posted this story on a different site, it didn't have any chapters. The site only allowed about 1,000 words at a time, so I posted every day - trying to end on a little cliffie each time. What I'm saying is, if my chapters seem to be filled with a variety of different scenes (rather like this one) it's because I'm trying to collect the little scenes together into a viable chapter, whilst still giving you all a fair chunk of story to read. I also have only sixteen days left before the next book...
Chapter Nine
REVELATIONS
Harry led the way up the steps, followed by Colin, Hermione on the stretcher and then Snape. There were over a hundred steps, all uneven and with different depths which made the going difficult. Harry's legs were beginning to feel very heavy as they approached the last few.
There was a small landing at the top - just big enough for one person. To Harry's right was a sheer drop to the cave floor. On the left was a solid wall with a tiny sickle embedded in it, level with Harry's shoulder.
Harry knew of course that the sickle was quite harmless, but he couldn't help hesitating before he touched it. Memories of what happened to Hermione were filling his head even as he lifted his hand.
He took a deep breath and put his palm to the sickle.
The wall before him began to part, this time silently and they were hit by a rush of chill air and smells of the lake.
Harry stepped out onto a flat level of rock. After the stuffiness of the caves, it was like stepping out onto the deck of a ship. The wind tugged at his cloak and he became keenly aware of his wet clothes.
He looked around. This was clearly the same piece of rock through which they had entered. He could even see the place where they had gone in. It didn't seem possible - all they had just escaped from lay underneath.
Colin came out and together they guided the stretcher through the gap. A blanket covered Hermione, and Harry adjusted it, making sure she was properly protected from the weather. It was a totally unnecessary action, but it made Harry feel better doing it.
Snape appeared next, like some giant black insect emerging from a stone. He stopped just a step away from the exit.
The water lapped around the edge of the rock a few feet away. It looked black and forbidding. Harry shivered.
"The causeway - it's gone." said Colin.
Harry looked, amazed that Colin could remember anything about his journey into the cave.
"The causeway is only visible, and therefore usable, for a limited time," said Snape. "You will travel back to land by boat."
Snape raised his wand and muttered a spell. A long, oblong boat appeared at the water's edge.
Colin got in and steadied the boat while Harry carefully guided the stretcher into the bottom. Once he was sure the stretcher was secure, he turned, thinking he should probably let Snape get into the boat next.
Snape was still standing at the exit to the cave, watching. The wind whipped thick strands of greasy hair over his face so that Harry couldn't make out his expression, but Harry thought he seemed to be waiting for something. Snape's behavior had been a bit suspicious ever since Bellatrix had been caught. No. Correction... Snape's behavior had always been suspicious.
Why had he turned up in the cave in the first place? Especially as only a short while ago he had been near to death.
But Snape had been staring directly into Harry's eyes...
"It's astounding how quickly the body can recover from even powerful spells when not being fed poison," said Snape, answering Harry's unvoiced question.
"But your shoulder...?"
"Madam Pomfrey is a master at mending broken bones, as long as the patient is not being kept suspended close to death."
Then, thought Harry, Hermione would be better very soon.
"Professor Dumbledore informs me I have you to thank for helping to save my life, Potter. Imagine," he went on, through barely moving lips, "regaining consciousness to find myself indebted, once again...to a Potter."
Harry didn't think Snape was about to hug him with gratitude.
"I believe you are aware of the bond created when one wizard saves the life of another." Snape continued. "A bond I wished to dispense with as quickly as possible. Knowing your arrogance, I assumed I wouldn't have too long to wait. Imagine then, my delight when I saw the three of you headed across the lake and into danger, a mere seven hours later."
"You...you knew Bellatrix was going to be there?"
"No. What I assumed would be there was a far greater danger. To us all."
"Why?" asked Harry. As loathed as he was to ask Snape for information, he had to know. "Why did you think Vol..."
Snape hissed.
"...'He' would be there? Did you know about the gold? Where does that corridor lead?"
"Silence!"
Snape's voice bounced over the water. Hermione moaned in her sleep. Snape glanced at her and then back at Harry. His hand shot up and grasped Harry's upper arm tightly.
"Listen to me, Potter," Snape's voice was low and waspish. "I realise you find it difficult not to meddle in things that are none of your business, and that you have a blatant disregard for instructions given for your own safety." Snape's fingers gripped Harry's arm so tightly, Harry was sure there would be an imprint in his flesh the next day. "However," Snape continued. "I cannot impress upon you strongly enough the urgency of getting Miss Granger back to the safety of the Castle. That, and only that, is your aim tonight regardless of whatever else happens. Do I make myself clear?"
Harry's arm was almost numb as Snape shook it with his last words. He didn't understand what Snape was going on about. What did he think he was going to do? Abandon Colin and Hermione in the middle of the lake?
But something else in Snape's words jolted in Harry's brain.
"You're not coming back with us, Sir?" he said, trying to make his voice sound normal despite the pain in his arm making him wince.
Snape glared and threw Harry from him.
"Go!" he spat. "Before I remove the boat and take pleasure in watching you all drown."
Harry clambered into the boat. Checking again that Hermione's stretcher was secure, he pushed off from the rocks as quickly as possible. As far as he was concerned, Snape could stay there on the rock and rot.
The boat turned itself and began floating gently around the rock so that it could head towards the land nearest the Castle.
Snape stood watching them, getting smaller as the distance between them got bigger. His silhouette remaining quite still apart from the wind flapping at his cloak.
"I don't get it," said Harry, more to himself than to Colin. "What's he waiting for?"
"Perhaps he's going back into the cave for something?" suggested Colin. "Maybe he's going to...ohhhh! Harry! Look!"
Colin was pointing towards the sky above the Castle.
The moon shone weakly over the lake. In its milky light hundreds of birds of all different sizes were zooming around in the sky.
"They must be the school owls," said Colin in amazement. "Look at them flying in and out of the moonlight. It's as if they're playing a game of Owl Quiddich!"
Harry watched as the birds weaved and swooped in and out of each others path at great speed, but never colliding. It reminded him of the way bats flew. In fact, some of them were small enough to be bats. He'd never witnessed owls doing anything like this before though, and wondered if Hedwig was up there enjoying the game.
Thinking she probably was, Harry looked back at the rock.
Snape had gone.
As they neared the bank, another cloaked figure stood watching them. Not the sinister black-cloaked figure of Snape, but the willowy form of Professor Dumbledore, whose cloak was decorated with shiny moons and stars, and whose silver hair and beard seemed to radiate light.
The boat reached land with the tiniest jolt and Harry clambered out as Dumbledore stepped forward. Without speaking, Dumbledore pointed his wand at the stretcher and it floated out of the boat and hovered between them.
Harry watched as Dumbledore put his hand on Hermione's forehead. Then, just as Harry had done earlier, he tucked the blanket unnecessarily around her.
Colin came up to the stretcher. Dumbledore looked at him, his eyes twinkling for the first time.
"Colin, that is a wonderful trick for Halloween," he said, and Colin put his hands self-consciously to his ears. "But I think we need to get you to Madam Pomfrey straight away. If you hurry, she will be able to deal with you before all her attention is given to Miss Granger. Off you go. She is expecting you."
Colin set off, running. Harry turned to Dumbledore.
"Madam Pomfrey's expecting us? How does she know..?"
"Professor Snape warned me of your arrival," replied Dumbledore, matter-of-factly.
"Snape?" said Harry, incredulously. "But he's still at the rock. How..?" But Harry didn't finish his question. At that moment the ground began to tremble. So much so, that Harry found it difficult to stand upright. He put out his arms to try and keep his balance.
A low, heavy rumbling gradually built up until Harry thought his eardrums were about to jump out of his ears. It was joined by the most excruciating screeching - like finger nails being drawn down a chalk board.
Harry looked questioningly at Dumbledore, but Dumbledore was staring at something across the lake.
Harry turned to look in the same direction. At first he could see nothing out of the ordinary and he scanned the lake for a clue, all the time wincing at the noise. Then he noticed something.
The rock in the middle of the lake was shrinking. it was sinking into the water. The waves were reaching higher and higher and large sprays of water and bubbles could be seen as the rock slowly disappeared inch by inch below the lake.
A chill swept over Harry as he watched the rock sinking slowly, like a submerging whale. He turned to Dumbeldore and the chill he felt turned to ice as he saw the Headmaster's astonished expression. Clearly, Dumbledore hadn't been expecting this.
"Professor Dumbledore!" yelled Harry over the screeching. "Professor Snape! He's still over there!"
As much as Harry hated Snape, the thrill of horror that gripped him as he realised he was watching someone he knew being trapped and probably drowned, was overwhelming.
He stared at Dumbledore again. Why was he just standing there doing nothing? Standing there as if in a trance?
"Professor!" he yelled again, and running to the other side of the stretcher, grabbed Dumbledore's arm. He began pulling Dumbledore towards the boat. "He's trapped! Do something!"
But Dumbledore stood glued to the spot. His head turned towards Harry but his eyes, for a moment, remained focused on the rock. Then he brought his full attention to Harry and looked deep into his eyes.
"Harry. I believe you received instructions from Professor Snape before you left him? Do you remember what they were?"
"Of course, but..." Harry began. Dumbledore looked at him over the top of his spectacles and Harry stopped. "He told me...he told me that no matter what happened, I was to get Hermione back into the Castle..."
"Precisely," answered Dumbledore.
"But..."
"No 'buts' Harry. Professor Snape knows better than most the danger Miss Granger is in. We must get her into the Castle without delay."
Dumbledore waved his wand and the stretcher began to float off towards the Castle.
Dumbledore followed.
Harry stared in disbelief at Dumbledore's back and then, feeling slightly sick, began to follow.
Harry moved through the castle in a daze. He didn't remember walking along the corridors and up the staircases that led to the Hospital Wing, but somehow they got there.
Running through his head all the time were memories of the water pouring in through the roof of the cave and the sick fear he had felt, sure they were all about to drown.
How could Dumbledore have walked away, leaving Snape to the same fate?
Madam Pomfrey was waiting for them. She whisked Hermione and the stretcher away behind a screen.
Dumbledore turned to look at Harry.
"I see accusation in your eyes, Harry."
"You're supposed to be this powerful wizard," said Harry, bitterly. "People have told me how great you are. Even Voldemort is scared of your powers. So how come you couldn't help Snape?"
"Professor Snape would not have wanted my help."
"Even if it saved his life?" said Harry in disbelief.
Dumbledore breathed in and out slowly before replying.
"I do not believe Professor Snape is dead. I admit that Caverna Caeli sinking back beneath the lake was something I had not expected just yet. However, if I am correct, Professor Snape will have returned to the cave and escaped through the passageway."
Harry's mind struggled to keep up with this information.
"But you might be wrong," he said.
"I agree." Dumbledore inclined his head. "But I have sufficient confidence in Professor Snape's powers to expect him back at the school within the hour." Dumbledore considered Harry over the top of his glasses. "Do I detect a change of attitude towards your ex-Potions Master, that you are so concerned for his safety?"
"No way!" spluttered Harry before he could stop himself. "He's still an evil...I mean, I still hate...but when someone's life is in danger...I mean, he's a human being..."
Dumbledore regarded Harry for a moment and then Madam Pomfrey's head appeared through the screens.
"Headmaster..."
They walked over. Madam Pomfrey looked at Harry and then at Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded and Madam Pomfrey let Harry pass.
Hermione looked very small and helpless. Some of her hair was plastered to her head and she was bandaged just like Snape had been when he had been in the Hospital Wing.
"Madam Pomfrey can mend broken bones in a trice," said Dumbledore. "Miss Granger should be sitting up in bed enjoying chicken soup by tomorrow lunchtime."
"What about that?" said Harry, pointing at Hermione's hand. Dumbledore lifted it gently and turned it over, revealing the Dark Mark.
"I am afraid," he said. "this will prove a little more difficult."
"But you will be able to get rid of it?" said Harry, looking from Dumbledore to Madam Pomfrey.
The look on their faces answered his question.
"But...but...does that mean Hermione's now a Death Eater?"
"She may have Voldemort's mark, but do you seriously imagine Miss Granger following him because of it? Yes, it will burn whenever he calls his followers. Sometimes the call will challenge her will power; but whilst she remains in Hogwarts she will be safe."
"So she can't go home to see her parents? Or visit Hogsmeade?" said Harry in disbelief. "And what happens at the end of next year when she leaves school?"
Dumbledore looked up, but instead of looking at Harry, he stared at the screen on the other side of the bed. When he spoke he sounded very old and tired.
"By then, Harry, I believe we shall all know what fate has in store for us."
A silence hung over them for a moment until Harry asked in a whisper,
"Wha...what do you mean?"
Dumbledore turned slowly to look at him. Harry couldn't remember Dumbledore looking so old.
"It means I believe the time is approaching when the prophecy will be fulfilled. Before your last year at Hogwarts is complete, you will have faced Voldemort for the final time."
The words numbed Harry.
'Before your last year at Hogwarts has ended'.
Ever since he had learned about the Prophecy and its contents, Harry had managed to convince himself this terrible but inevitable part of his life would occur sometime in the distant future.
Professor Dumbledore's words had slapped him in the face.
This thing wasn't happening later, but within the next eighteen months.
He hardly noticed Madam Pomfrey insisting he spend what remained of the night in the Hospital Wing under observation.
As he got into bed he saw through the window the sky tinged with indigo. Daybreak was approaching.
Harry wasn't expecting sleep to come easily, but closed his eyes anyway.
The next time he opened them he discovered he had slept for over twenty-four hours and Ron was sitting on his bed.
Ron had brought Harry a bag of Honeydukes toffee but as Harry wasn't in the mood for sweets, Ron sat working his way through them until there were just two pieces left.
"Snape's back," said Ron when Harry asked. "Had his first day as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher yesterday."
"Already?"
"Yep. Apparently he's even worse than when he was Potions Master."
"You'd think he'd be happier now he's got the job he always wanted," said Harry.
Ron shook his head.
"Ginny says he took five points from a Ravenclaw girl just because she sneezed while he was talking. He's reducing people to tears - and not just girls. Apparently one first year boy tried to get himself expelled so that he wouldn't have to have another lesson with him."
Harry, who had experienced Snape's wrath more than most, shook his head.
"Sounds normal to me. They should try Occlumency lessons with him..."
"I'll tell you what's not normal," said Ron, scrunching the now empty toffee bag into a ball and throwing it on the bedside table. "Even the Slytherins are getting detentions and extra homework. I tell you, Harry, whatever Bellatrix hit him with in that cave has done the impossible - it's made him worse than before."
Ron had been absolutely furious that he'd missed all the action in the cave. His conversation was peppered with all the nasty hexes he'd like to spring on Pansy Parkinson.
"I mean, if she hadn't hexed me, I wouldn't have been out of it. I'd have come with you and maybe Hermione wouldn't have got hurt. I can't believe she was stupid enough to touch the Dark Mark."
"She saved our lives, Ron," Harry reminded him.
"Yeah, I know but...well it's not going to be easy for her, is it? Everyone'll be terrified of her when they see the Mark."
"Not the people who matter. I mean, you still like her..."
Ron went crimson.
"Yeah, I've been told all about what I said to Hermione while I was hexed," said Ron. "I can't go into the Common Room without someone reminding me. It's not true, you know."
"What isn't?"
"That I fell in love with her on the train that first year. I mean, we couldn't stand her, remember?" Ron looked at Harry for confirmation. Harry nodded.
"Harry, you're my best mate, right? You're the only one I'd ever tell this to..." Ron looked all around the room making sure no one could overhear. "The truth is," he spoke in a low voice. "I think I do...sort of...you know...l-ike Hermione, but it didn't happen on the train. I think it happened right after we fought that troll. Remember? When Hermione was trapped in the girls toilets."
"How could I forget?" said Harry.
"Couldn't really ignore her after sharing an experience like that, could I?"
Harry remembered his conversation with Hermione in the Common Room just before they went after Colin.
"Ron," he said, wondering how long he was going to be the go-between for the pair of them. "Why don't you just talk to Hermione about it?"
"Are you mad?" spluttered Ron. "You can't just walk up to a girl and say 'oh, duh, I love you'. She'd laugh in my face."
"Yeah, she would if you did it like that!" Harry told him.
"Besides, what if I asked her out and she turned me down?" continued Ron. "How could I still be friends with her?"
Harry looked past Ron to the other side of the ward. Madam Pomfrey was drawing back the screens around Hermione's bed.
Hermione was sitting up.
"Hello," she said.
There was something different about Hermione.
She wore a high-necked nightgown that hid her bandages. Her hair had been washed and now hung like a glossy mane past her shoulders. Her skin looked really glowing and healthy and there was a look in her eye Harry had never noticed before.
She looked older. More...grown-up.
She looked beautiful.
Ron just looked terrified.
"Wow, Hermione! You look great!" said Harry, nudging the petrified Ron towards a chair. "Doesn't she, Ron?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Looking good, Hermione." Ron held both thumbs up at her, grinned awkwardly and almost fell into the chair.
"How are you feeling?" asked Harry. He noticed she kept her injured hand out of sight below the blankets.
"Fine. Madam Pomfrey says my bandages can come off tomorrow," she said, smiling. "I've even been feeling well enough to catch up on some work."
Harry saw Ron look up and silently pleaded with him not to comment this time, but...
"Bet your glad you didn't injure your writing hand, huh?"
Harry groaned inwardly.
Hermione's smile wavered a little and her face lost some of its colour.
"Yes," she said, tersely.
Harry wasn't sure what to say, but felt he had to break the silence.
"Hermione..." he began.
"I'm told it will burn," she said, cutting through Harry's sentence. She looked down at the bed covers, plucking at them with her fingers. "When he calls us - his Death Eaters - apparently I will feel compelled to go to him. I'm going to be taught how to resist. Professor Dumbledore thinks I have sufficient abilities to cope."
"He's right. You're a brilliant witch, Hermione," Harry told her. "Everyone thinks so."
But tears were falling silently down Hermione's cheeks.
"They won't now, though, will they?" she said with a trembling lip. "No one wants to be friends with a Death Eater."
"You're not a Death Eater," said Ron, moving to sit on the edge of Hermione's bed.
"Doesn't matter. People will see the Mark and assume that's what I am. Bellatrix was right."
"Bellatrix?"
"Yes. You remember, Harry, what she said to Professor Snape in the cave? That everyone would fear him because of the Mark. He'd be an outcast forever."
"But you're not Snape," said Ron. "She was talking about Snape."
"I've got the Dark Mark, Ron, the same as him. I will be an outcast."
Harrysat on the bed, opposite Ron.
"You won't be an outcast. Not to us. Not to your friends."
She looked at Harry.
"You know what it's like," she said to him. "People react and stare at your scar all the time, but at least it doesn't terrify them."
Harry thought of all the hassle and irritation of people recognising him because of the scar on his forehead and their various reactions to it. He silently agreed that Hermione was in for a tough time.
"Once people get to know you, they won't even notice your scar," he told her. "Do you still notice mine?"
She gave him a lopsided smile.
"I'll just have to wear gloves all the time," she said. "At least, if I'm ever allowed out of the school."
"You'll be allowed out in no time," said Ron. "In fact...erm...I was thinking," Ron cleared his throat. "Next Hogsmeade weekend - would you like to go out with me? I'm sure you'll be allowed by then - once Dumbledore's taught you how to..."
"Oh," said Hermione, looking a bit awkward. "Well, actually, Dumbledore isn't the one who's going to be teaching me."
"Oh. I thought you said...who is then?" said Ron.
"Well, it's obvious really, isn't it? There's only one person in the school with firsthand knowledge of this..."
"Snape?" said Ron, aghast. "You're having extra lessons with Snape?"
"Oh, Hermione. Then I was wrong," laughed Harry. "You really do have a problem!"
Harry and Ron grinned widely at each other across the bed.
"Actually, he's been quite sweet about it."
Harry and Ron's grins froze on their faces and then melted into ones of disgust. They both turned to stare at Hermione and together almost shouted,
"SWEET!"
She gave a little smile at their reactions.
"Yes. He came to see me last night..."
"Snape came to..." Ron looked at her in total disbelief.
"Well, OK, I know he only came to see me because Dumbledore made him. He was really furious. He kept pacing backwards and forwards at the end of the bed and didn't look at me once."
"I suppose compared to his usual behavior that could be described as 'sweet'," Ron conceded, folding his arms as if daring Hermione to continue with this nonsense.
"No, I mean, well, he's a really private person, isn't he. And to come here and have to talk about something so personal - and to a student. Well, it must have been very difficult for him. That's all I mean."
Ron moved his mouth silently like a goldfish. Harry thought he'd better say something before Ron found his voice.
"What exactly did he say?"
"He told me the burning gets worse the more powerful Vol...You-Know-Who gets. Don't say his name anymore, Harry, please. It stings when you do." Hermione bit her lip and her eyes looked sideways for a moment. Harry knew she was trying to control the tears.
"He said..." she cleared her throat. "He said that I would find the call difficult to ignore even though I don't want to go, but that I'm safe at Hogwarts because we can't disapparate inside the Castle. The lessons are to help me resist in the outside world, so I won't be a prisoner in school."
Harry took hold of Hermione's good hand and gave it a little squeeze. He smiled at her, reassuringly.
"Sweet!" spluttered Ron.
"Ron!" warned Harry.
"Well," he laughed, a little hysterically. "I'm still having trouble coming to terms with the fact she helped save his life, and then she comes out with 'sweet'!"
Hermione pushed herself up in the bed.
"What do you mean?" she said, dangerously.
Harry noticed her lips go thinner and her eyes narrowed. A warning light went on in his head.
Unfortunately, in Ron's head the warning light was well and truly broken. He continued blindly.
"I mean, Snape! How could you've fought alongside that slime ball?"
"What should I have done? Let her kill him?" snapped Hermione.
"Yeah!" laughed Ron, oblivious to the anger in Hermione's voice. "It was our one chance to get rid of the evil git and you blew it!"
Ron grinned from Hermione to Harry, waiting for them both to join in the joke.
Hermione's face was like thunder.
"You stupid... You're just so immature! Why don't you go away and grow up!"
Ron finally realised no one was laughing. His face fell like a landslide.
"Wha...?"
Harry saw Madam Pomfrey advancing up the ward.
"Come on, Ron," he said, trying gently to push Ron away from the bed. "I think it's time we were going."
"NO! Hang on a minute," he said, his voice rising with indignation. "I want to know what she's on about..."
"Mr. Weasley! I must ask you to leave the ward..." Madam Pomfrey took hold of Ron's other arm.
Ron resisted. Harry and Madam Pomfrey took a firmer hold and between them began frog-marching him backwards down the ward.
"What's she got so angry about?" he shouted as they marched him along. "She knows I was only joking."
"Well it WASN'T VERY FUNNY, Ron!" Hermione shouted back.
Just before they reached the doors to the ward, Ron stopped struggling and glared at Hermione.
"His life isn't in danger anymore," he shouted sarcastically. "You can stop defending him now."
Hermione went a deep shade of pink.
"GET OUT!" she screamed.
"Where do you think you're going, Mr. Potter?"
Harry had begun walking with Ron down the corridor away from the ward when Madam Pomfrey called after him. It was only then he remembered he was still wearing pajamas and wasn't actually supposed to leave the ward yet.
"Oh, yeah," he said, turning round. "Could you just give me a few minutes, Madam Pomfrey?"
She raised her eyebrows but went through the doors without another word, leaving them alone.
"What was all that about?" Harry glared at Ron.
"Don't ask ME! Ask HER! She's the one with the problem."
Ron couldn't stand still. He was pacing backwards and forwards. He gesticulated wildly as he spoke. In particular, stabbing a finger at the doors to the ward to punctuate each sentence.
"Just a moment ago you actually managed to ask her out, and now you've ended up screaming at each other."
"Yeah, well she can forget about Hogsmeade. And in case you hadn't noticed - she didn't answer me. She just changed the subject."
"Mmmm. I think you might have caught a bludger on that one, Ron."
"No worries. I'm through with her. No, seriously, Harry. I don't care anymore. I'd rather go to Hogsmeade with Millicent Bullstrode. Forget all that rubbish I told you earlier. That was me being 'STUPID' and 'IMMATURE'!" he shouted at the door.
"Ron..."
"Whatever Bellatrix hit her with in that cave..."
Ron stopped and looked at Harry, wide-eyed. "Harry! You don't think Bellatrix really could have put a spell on them both, do you? Snape and Hermione, I mean. To make them both really evil?"
Harry sighed.
"No, Ron, I don't. On this occasion, you did it all by yourself."
Ron looked at him and nodded.
"Yeah. Suppose. Well, see you later, Harry."
"I'll come and find you, soon as I get out."
Ron walked away, holding his hand up to indicate he'd heard Harry. Harry watched until Ron turned the corner, and then pushed the door open to the ward.
Hermione lay on her bed with her back turned towards the door. As Harry drew level with her, he paused to see if she was OK, but she was curled up into a tight ball, the blankets reaching her nose. Her eyes were closed.
He sat down on his own bed wondering if the three of them could ever get their friendship back to how it had been.
Madam Pomfrey broke into his thoughts.
"Mr. Potter, would you get dressed please. The Headmaster would like to see you in his office."
Mr. Fudge was in Dumbledore's office when Harry arrived. He had aged considerably in the last few months. His shoulders stooped as though he carried a huge weight on them and many more lines creased his face.
He stood with his back to the fire, but stepped forward when Harry entered the room.
"Ah, Harry," he said, shaking Harry by the hand and clapping him on the shoulder with his other. "Sterling work once again, eh?"
Fudge spoke in an exaggerated friendly voice almost as if he were trying to make amends for doubting Harry's sanity during the last year.
"Sorry, Mr. Fudge?" Harry wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to have done that was 'sterling'. He looked at Dumbledore for a clue, but Dumbledore was leaning at ease in his chair, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
"I've been talking with the Ministry and they've all agreed that your bravery in the past year, not to mention more recent events is worthy of an Order of Merlin, Second Class, no less."
Fudge's face beamed with satisfaction as he delivered this piece of news.
"Er..." said Harry.
"Surprised, eh?" chuckled Fudge. "Well no one can deny you deserve it. I mean tackling You-Know-Who last summer and then finding the goblin gold...you must be feeling quite proud of yourself."
Harry couldn't help feeling there was insincerity in Fudge's attitude. It was only last year he had put Harry on trial and tried to get him expelled from Hogwarts. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to play ball with this man, even if he was the Minister of Magic.
"I came face to face with Voldemort," said Harry, taking pleasure in the look of horror on Fudge's face at the mention of the name. "because of my own stupidity, Mr. Fudge. As for goblin gold - I didn't find any gold."
Fudge smiled indulgently.
"As modest as ever, eh, Harry? By finding the goblin gold and being able to return it to the goblins, we now have them on our side. And who'd have guessed the gold had been hidden in the one place no one would ever think to look. In the goblins own vaults! Where it was stolen from in the first place!
"Well, anyway, the Ministry has decided to award you the medal. The award ceremony will take place atthe Ministryon the second of January. I'm not sure we can get your Aunt and Uncle there..."
"Oh, no, no, Mr. Fudge. I think, I mean, erm..."
"I suppose, Dumbledore, we could find a way of getting Harry's family to the ceremony..?"
"Mr. Fudge," said Harry, quite loudly to get his attention. "My Aunt and Uncle won't want to...and neither do I."
Fudge was still beaming.
"I mean, it's very kind of the Ministry, but if you don't mind, I'd rather not have a medal."
Fudge frowned and then did a sort of spluttery laugh. He glanced at Dumbledore as if wanting confirmation of what he'd just heard.
"Not want a...why on earth not? I have to tell you, Harry, that a Merlin Second Class has never been awarded to one so young. You should be honored."
"I am, sir," said Harry, truthfully. "It's just that, well, I think there's already too much fuss attached to my name. I'd rather not have an award tagged onto it as well."
Fudge took a moment to digest this.
"Ah yes. I see what you mean. Quite understand. Well, if you're quite sure...?"
He looked at Harry and Harry nodded.
"Well, you'll always know we made the offer. Dumbledore..."
Fudge nodded towards the Headmaster and Dumbledore rose to show the Minister to the door.
Harry suspected Dumbledore had summoned him to his office for more than Fudge's announcement and he was right. As Fudge left and Dumbledore closed the door he gestured for Harry to take a seat.
"An Order of Merlin Second Class, Harry. My, my..."
"I hope I wasn't being rude, Sir - turning it down, I mean..."
Dumbledore held his hands up to stop Harry.
"I fully understand your reasons, Harry, and I applaud them. Just between ourselves, I was only surprised you remained so polite. After your treatment last year at the hands of the Ministry, I found your responses very restrained." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at him over his half-moon spectacles.
"Why does the Minister think I found the goblin gold, Sir?"
"He doesn't. He is using you, Harry. You see, he would rather acknowledge 'The Boy Who Lived' as the hero of the day, than explain how the gold was really discovered. Bad news may sell newspapers, but good news boosts the Public morale in times of trouble."
"But how could anyone discover the gold? It's invisible. Bellatrix said there was a Secret Keeper."
"I am surprised you, of all people, Harry, have forgotten that once the secret had been told, the gold could be found."
Harry shivered. Of course, how could he have forgotten Wormtail's betrayal of his parents' whereabouts.
"But the cave was empty, Professor. We couldn't see anything..."
"Caverna Caeli is vast. Far larger than the island of rocks suggests. There are many more chambers than the ones you discovered. It is where the goblins originally stored their gold and, as the Minister observed, where better for Voldemort to hide the gold than in the very place it had been stolen from?
"Once Voldemort was in possession of the gold, it was given a Secret Keeper. The goblins were told they would have their gold back once they had sworn allegiance to the Dark Lord. Before the goblins could make their reply, Voldemort was all but destroyed by yourself. For all the years since, the whereabouts of the gold has remained a mystery."
Harry thought of the corridor beyond the last cave. That must have led to the other chambers that contained the gold. Voldemort had sent Bellatrix to retrieve it - or had Bellatrix known all along where it was hidden, unable to get to it all these years because she'd been in Azkaban?
Dumbledore's voice broke into Harry's thoughts.
"With the return of Voldemort, it was imperative we find the gold and retain the goblins as our allies."
"That's why Sna...Professor Snape stayed behind on the rocks instead of coming back in the boat with us," said Harry, suddenly realising. "He had to go back to the cave to get the gold."
"Precisely," Dumbledore nodded.
Harry thought back to the rock and Snape refusing to answer Harry's questions. He looked up at Dumbledore and wondered...
"Professor Snape told me that he had expected to find Voldemort in the cave," he said. "Why...how..I mean, Snape had been unconscious a long time. How could he have known there was danger in the caves or what was going on? How did he know the gold was there?"
Dumbledore looked at Harry for a moment before replying,
"Because, Harry, Severus Snape was the gold's Secret Keeper..."
Harry heard Bellatrix's voice:
"I wish I could be there to see his face when he realises the key to its whereabouts has been at the Castle all these years."
She had meant Snape. He was the key she spoke about. Snape had known about the gold all the time and not said a word.
And still Dumbledore trusted him.
"In the months that followed Voldemort's disappearance," Dumbledore continued. "The Death Eaters who remained free sought Severus Snape in order to obtain details of the gold's whereabouts. By that time, however, Severus had already come over to us. When the Death Eaters eventually caught up with him, he refused to give them any information."
Dumbledore's brow furrowed and he fiddled with a quill, absent-mindedly.
"I brought Severus back to Hogwarts myself. He had been tortured. So much so that when he finally recovered, weeks later, he was totally unaware he had ever been the gold's Secret Keeper. It took Lucius Malfoy and a potion of Sleeping Death to unlock the memory years later."
"How did Malfoy get the information from Snape if Snape was unconscious?" said Harry.
"Rather like the state of hypnosis, the draught allowed Lucius to speak to Professor Snape and obtain answers which lay hidden in his subconscious. Professor Snape could hear nothing but the voice of Lucius Malfoy. Once Lucius was caught and we were fully aware of what had been going on, Madam Pomfrey was able to supply an antidote. When he regained consciousness, Professor Snape was able to recall everything he had said. It was then we realised Caverna Caeli had become an extremely dangerous place.
"Professor Snape risked a great deal following you to the cave, Harry."
"He only followed so he wouldn't be in my debt, like he was in my dad's," scoffed Harry. "He told me that. Snape couldn't care less if I lived or died."
Harry was looking directly at Dumbledore as he said this and was unsettled to see a piercing look of annoyance flash across Dumbledore's eyes.
"Yes he could, Harry. As much as you may think otherwise, Severus Snape has a great deal of interest in your survival."
"What do you mean? He loathes me..."
"You are the one person who can vanquish Voldemort for ever. Until that time, Severus Snape has no prospects of leading a relatively normal life without fear of Voldemort's wrath. You are his only hope, Harry. You are our only hope." Dumbledore looked away towards the window, his eyes glistening behind his glasses.
Harry felt the blood rush to his head. he stood up, tipping his chair over as he did so.
"That's TOO MUCH!" he yelled. "That's too much responsibility to place on me. Either I kill Voldemort or the whole world suffers? I can't HAVE that weight on my shoulders. It's not FAIR!" Harry's face was burning. He was leaning with his fists on Dumbledore's desk and pushing his face towards Dumbledore.
Dumbledore looked up at Harry.
"Believe me, Harry, when I say I would give my life if I could take your place. I wish with all my heart that I could save you from what lies ahead and prevent any harm coming to you. Voldemort is a very powerful wizard and his followers are ruthless; but you have many great and powerful people on your side, Harry - and yes, I do include Professor Snape - who are not going to allow you to do this by yourself."
Feeling unsteadied by his outburst, Harry picked up his chair and sank back into it. He realised none of this was Dumbledore's fault. He hadn't invented the prophecy. It was wrong to take it out on Dumbledore.
They sat in silence for a while with only the instruments around the room making little puffing and ticking noises. Then, in a very meek voice, Harry asked,
"What happened to Professor Flight, Sir?"
"Sirens are an essence rather than body and therefore cannot be killed. However, they can be silenced by hostile spells. Without her voice, the Professor was forced to return instantly to her sisters. She will be fine."
"And Professor Polykett? We know he was in contact with Malfoy. Even Professor McGonnegal saw him."
Dumbledore smiled indulgently.
"Ah, yes. Ambrose. As you may have gathered, Harry, Ambrose Polykett has a rather obsessive fascination for explosive concoctions. Your friend Mr. Weasley will bear witness to that!"
Harry felt a small smile creeping across his face when he thought how ridiculous Ron had looked with the rhinocoral on his nose.
"It just so happens," Dumbledore went on. "That the hair of a pure white cat is an ingredient in potions for silent explosives. He allowed Lucius the cat the freedom of the potions room so that he could collect the hair. Apart from being rather..shall we say, engrossed in his hobby, he was quite innocent in the whole affair..."
"So he's still here?"
"No." Dumbledore gave a little smile. "I thought it in his best interests to send him as far away from Hogwarts as possible, before Professor Snape returned to the dungeons and saw the condition of the Potions Room."
Thouandl - I have to agree about the baby talk. Makes me want to wring her neck. And as for Severus ever liking her - to quote Severus in 24LH "We all do strange things in adolescence." My favourite part is Hermione and Snape fighting together. I really did think they would look invincible together.
Queen of the Faeries - I wrote this story just after OotP was published. It was the first HP I ever wrote and it was posted on a site for younger readers. The site allowed nothing more than a 'T' rating, so, no, this is not the Snape/Hermione story I mentioned earlier, although it does involve a shifting of attitudes between the pair, and the story very much involves them both, whilst still keeping Harry's pov. I realise readers on this site are older and will recognise what is going on, but the readers on the previous site were more concerned with Ron asking her out, so didn't see it.
The story I mentioned to you is most definitely an NC17. I have never written erotic fiction before, but this is a one-shot pwp story just as an experiment. I haven't written it yet, and I'm not sure I will. If I do write it, it will be posted on Ashwinder.
As always I am delighted to get your reviews. (My distinct style of writing Sev? Do I have one?)
Emma Barrows - So glad you're enjoying the story, lol.
Widow767 - I shall be updating quite quickly - trying to get it posted before 16th. Don't think I shall manage it though.
FemmeLoki - No, this is not a Snape/Hermione ship as such, (you'll see what I mean at the end) although they do dominate the plot quite a bit.
Ah yes. Bella and the pregnancy test. Well, I figured that Bella would have learned what to look for. Narcissa's campaign was against Muggles expecting heirs to pure blood families. She had sussed the situation between Severus and Andi on that first meeting in Antonio's restaurant and had put the watch on them (Liz mentions feeling she was being watched when she moved stuff out of Andi's flat). Considering the subject of the campaign, Bella would have been alerted to Muggle methods of testing for pregnancy. Is that OK? Please feel free to ask any other questions that occur to you in the wee small hours! Sweet dreams! lol.
Lydia - Thank you so much for your lovely review. Snape calls Bella 'Miss Lestrange'? Really? I hadn't realised. Of course, I meant for him to do that (cough), just as we call actresses 'Miss' even though they're married (cough)...Oh heck, I give up...I slipped up! There will probably be a few more slips along the way. Five points to your House if you spot them! lol.