Snape woke in a soft bed, piled high with blankets, yet he was freezing. He turned in the bed, hoping to gather some warmth so that he could go back to sleep, but found himself staring into a pair of dark eyes, which startled him so badly that he nearly fell off the bed. She seemed amused

"Good morning." She said softly, adjusting the blankets so that he was fully covered once more. He shivered in response. "I trust that you slept well?"

He nodded, sitting up slightly in order to feel less intimidated by her. Ordinarily he was scared of no one, but the creature before him could either help him, or become something that even the worst nightmare couldn't conjure.

"You should not have come here." She said harshly, her eyes glinting maliciously.

"He said you would help me." Snape replied.

"He should have known me better than that." She said matter-of-factly as she ran a finger along a scar that showed on his collarbone. He shuddered involuntarily. "You should have known me better than that."

He laughed then. A mournful laugh.

"What I knew before doesn't matter. I have no other place to turn. If you won't help me…"

"Don't try playing on my sympathies. I'm not human, as you yourself have pointed out on so many occasions. Pity is a human concern and you'll find that it isn't indulged much around here." She said venomously.

There was a pause as they looked at each other, as if calculating the weakness of the enemy before them.

"Well what do you plan to do then?" He finally asked, sounding weary and resigned.

She reached out both hands and grabbed his face, pulling it so that it was level with her own and leaned forward as if to kiss him. When she was a fraction of a centimetre away from him, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. His body began convulsing and she released him immediately, causing his body to fall back onto the bed into the bed. He lay panting for breathe and looking slightly confused and not a little scared. She giggled, causing him to look up at her. Her eyes were sparkling and there was an eerie glow to her cheeks that had not been there before.

"What did you do to me?" He panted, feeling as if his chest had been crushed and his body set to ice.

"Insurance." She said dreamily. "I've decided to help you."

"Why?" He asked.

"Take a look for yourself." She replied, leaning forward to look directly into his eyes. He groaned as the memory surfaced within his own mind.

"Let's just say I'm curious." She said, smiling.

Snape was beginning to think that coming here might not have been such a good idea.

Many miles away…

There was music and fanfare, everything that you could expect at a wedding. The food was wonderful, the banter light-hearted, and the couple elegant despite the marred features of the groom. Harry sat back to reflect as he watched the happy couple waltzing.

The events of the last two weeks seemed a blur. It was almost impossible to believe that he would never again have to return to the Dursleys. He had gone there first, as Dumbledore had wanted.

Dumbledore.

He felt his heart clench painfully for a moment before filling with anger and hatred against the man who had murdered his mentor.

Snape will pay.

The party began to wind up. He, Hermione and Ron were leaving that night to stay in a motel near Godric's Hollow. It made the sleeping arrangement easier for the Weasleys, considering the fact that they were housing the Delacour family at the present, and also meant that Harry could continue with his mission a little sooner.

Hermione came up beside him, followed closely by Ron.

"Are you ready to go now Harry?" She asked. "We should get moving soon."

Harry nodded and quickly went over to say farewell to what was left of the guests. He's been in such a daze, he noted with a little disappointment, that he'd missed out on farewelling the new couple.

Once they were ready, they gathered their trunks together. Hermione frowned.

"How are we getting there again?" She asked sweetly.

Harry rolled his eyes. He should have seen this coming.

"We're apparating remember?" Ron replied, stuffing a left-over bit of wedding cake into his mouth.

"But Harry, you know you aren't supposed to apparate yet. You don't have your licence!" Hermione said, putting her hands on her hips in the perfect imitation of Mrs Weasley.

"Hermione, I managed to apparate myself and Dumbledore back to Hogsmeade. I think I'll be fine with a trunk." He replied.

Hermione clicked her tongue angrily and looked as if she was about to argue when Harry disapparated.

Hermione appeared next to him, looking rather ruffled and Ron appeared a moment later looking a little green.

"Here we are." Harry said, pointing to the small building in front of them. They entered the door quickly, eager to get out of the mist that seemed to be getting thicker by the moment. They didn't seem to notice the dark shadow watching them from the corner of the building.

Harry surveyed his room. It was quite small and a little grubby. Not nearly as nice as the room at the Leaky Cauldron where he had stayed before his third year.

A storm was gathering outside. There was a loud wind that seemed to shake the windows from their frames, and the spattering of the rain against the rooftop provided an annoying crackle to the sensitive ear.

Harry quickly changed into his pyjamas and nestled under the covers, not realising just how tired he was until his head had touched the pillow and he immediately fell into a deep slumber.

He awoke with a start less than an hour later, absolutely freezing and unsure of why he had woken. He reached for his wand, and cursed when he realised it wasn't where he'd left it on the bedside table. He turned on the lamp to see if it had fallen beside the bed.

"Looking for this?" A soft voice whispered in his ear.

He jerked in the direction of the voice and saw skeletal woman standing over his with his wand dangling from her hand. He reached out to take it from her, but she pulled it back away from him and placed it into one of the pockets of her voluminous robes.

"Now, now, there's no need for that just yet my child." She said fondly, placing his glasses on his face.

He glanced around the room and ascertained two things in his sleep-addled mind. The first was that there was no deatheater mask or wand on this woman, and the second, that there was no one else in the room. Feeling a little more confident about his safety, he turned his attention back to the woman.

In darkness, she could have been mistaken for an Inferi, but the light from the lamp highlighted her dark eyes and caused a sparkle that no corpse could achieve. Her hair was long and completely white, though she didn't really look that old. Her skin was deathly pale and she was so thin that she really did look like a living, breathing skeleton.

"Mr Potter," She breathed. "You have no idea how it feels to finally meet you. Your legend precedes you of course."

"Um… I don't mean to be rude, but could you please tell me who you are, and why you are in my motel room?" He asked grumpily.

"Forgive me," She said, reaching her hand out and smiling graciously. "My name is Alaria Dalmones. As for why I am here? I required an audience with you, that I am afraid could no longer be delayed."