Chapter 40

"Pansy, dear..."

Pansy looked up as Blaise's mother knelt beside her where she sat on the floor, slumped against Ron. Pansy shifted over, hugging her. The woman held her, stroking her hair soothingly. She looked over at Ron.

"You must be Ron..." She said gently, "Blaise has told me so much about you..."

Ron stared at her, surprised. He hadn't really expected Blaise to waste his time with his mother talking about him... and he couldn't get over how much Blaise took after his mother. In fact, he couldn't imagine Blaise got much more than gender and a larger stature from his father. Still, she hardly looked more than twenty five... her skin still smooth and flawless... and those eyes... seeing the dark eyes that he remember so well... that he had gotten so little time to get to know... made him ache inside.... and yet he couldn't seem to make himself look away from them.

"I'm..."

"Mrs. Zabini... I know... Snape told me." Ron said with a little nod, still a bit thrown by her close resemblance to Blaise.

She gave him a little smile. "You can call me Delse."

He gave her a little weak smile and a nod. "Delse."

She smiled at him warmly and he saw where Blaise's ability to look completely unfazed by anything came from.

They looked up as Fred and George hurried up, Fred carrying the Marauder's Map. They didn't look pleased.

Snape looked like he dreaded asking, but did anyway. "What is it?"

"It's back inside..."

"It's in the Great hall..."

"Came right through the wall..."

"We figure it took an owl in one of the upper windows..."

"Came right in with the morning post..."

Snape sighed deeply. He had hoped it would be more difficult for it to return without a viable host to go out and fetch it. He'd already spoken to McGonagall, informing her of what had happened with Harry and had her seal the School. Apparently it wasn't sealed well enough. "Our owls apparently have enough magic in them to play host for a short time as well it appears... though I doubt that one survived the encounter... Crookshanks is a very strong beast, and he barely survived it... though I suspect it used him more than that once..."

"But he's ok...?" Ron asked tentatively. He had started out hating the bloody animal, true enough... but he'd grown to respect it after he discovered the reason behind it's dogged pursuit of his duplicitous pet rat.

Snape nodded. "Still a bit skittish, but he'll be fine... as long as we can keep him out of Ministry hands of course... Goyle's looking after him." He accepted the map from Fred and looked it over. It was easy enough to spot the smudge of the demon despite the crowding of dots and names that filled most of the Great Hall. The only notable gap in the crowd was where the Slytherin table sat. None of their House had left the Dungeon for breakfast. Snape had selected a number of house elves and assigned them to take up residence in the Siege tunnel, having them prepare food for the House in the small kitchen there. They had already fully stocked it after all, there was no reason not to use it.

He watched the smudge move about. It avoided the teacher's table, as stronger, more experienced wizards and witches were more likely to notice the incursion and had a much better chance of posing opposition to its control. But the students were another matter entirely... it flitted from one to the next like a humming bird, going from one end of the hall to the other in less than a minute. It seemed to almost be sampling them, seeking out the best host for it's purposes. At the rate it was moving, it would most likely have been through the vast majority of the students at least once before the end of the meal. The unsettling part was that this was probably how it had moved from the very beginning.

"Um..." Fred said tentatively.

"That's not the worst part..." George finished.

Fred flipped over one of the folds, pointing to a small cluster of dots moving along a corridor. Snape let out an irritable groan. It was Fudge and group of his Aurors, and they were heading right for the door to the Dungeon. Undoubtedly he would be coming to question them about last night's events.

He folded the map back up. "Fudge must not find out about this map." Snape said firmly, handing it back to Fred. "Take it and get back in the tunnel and send out my students. If he finds out about the map it will be whisked away to the Department of Mysteries in a heartbeat and do us no good... and the tunnel he'd have sealed... probably claim it was a security risk or some such bloody thing..."

They nodded and turned, running headlong back down the corridor.

Snape turned to Blaise's mother. "I'm terribly sorry..." He said. A number of students had gathered in the hallway by this point, holding a silent vigil outside Blaise's door. He motioned one of them over to take over watching Blaise, then looked back at her, "I have to go, but I'll be back shortly..."

She released Pansy and rose, tugging at the hem of her black blouse to straighten it, even though it and her finely tailored pants were still impeccable, her flowing black robes unwrinkled. "I shall accompany you. I've been meaning to have a word or two with our dear Minister of Magic, but he has been refusing an audience with me. I see no reason why I cannot talk to him now since he seems so eager to visit."

A little smirk flitted across Snape's lips. "Of course. This way." he said, sweeping off down the corridor, leaving Ron and Pansy staring after them.

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Harry stood in the doorway of the room he'd been given, unsure what he was supposed to do. He had heard enough from passing Slytherins to gather the gist of what had been happening. In the flurry of activity that had been going on that morning, everyone seemed to have forgotten about him quite completely. Not that he minded. The room was small and sparsely furnished, but he'd take it over his room in Gryffindor in a heartbeat. At least no one here bothered teasing him or staring and talking about him just loud enough for him to hear.

He looked down the corridor towards the Common room, but was hesitant to leave the room they had put him in without being told to. Still... he had seen the twins tear past (though he still had no idea what they were doing there), and he knew something new was happening.

There was a sudden increase in activity in the already busy corridors... he watched in surprise as the last of a stream of seventh years hurried out of the doorway the twins had run through... and then the doorway simply vanished! He realized that must be the hidden door they had been talking about the night before, though the conversation was a bit muggy in his mind now...

He tensed as Snape turned down the corridor, storming in his direction, his robes billowing ominously behind him as they always seemed to whenever he was angry enough to move that fast. "Let's go, Potter." He said shortly as he passed, not so much as pausing or glancing in his direction.

Harry quickly fell in behind him and found himself walking beside a petite, raven haired woman. She looked over at him and crooked a smile. He felt a shock go through him, realizing immediately who she reminded him of.

"Harry Potter..." She said musingly, trailing her eyes down him. "Certainly didn't expect to see you here... I'm Delse Zabini." She said, confirming his initial impression. "My late husband absolutely loathed you..." She added offhandedly.

He blinked and dropped his eyes as they came out into the Common room, his cheeks coloring.

As they came to a stop, she reached over and lifted his chin with her fingertip, "That's a point in your favor, dear." She informed him with a smirk before dropping her hand.

He looked at her, surprised, but then was distracted as a couple of students unlocked and opened the door at Snape's nod. He slunk back against the wall, hoping to escape the notice of whomever they might be greeting.

Fudge looked in, startled. They he had obviously arrived just at that moment and he wasn't expecting the immediate response he received. He quickly brushed it off and started to enter. Snape immediately held up his hand. Fudge stopped, looking surprised.

Snape motioned two of the older students over and they began casting detecting spells on the group. Snape already knew none of them housed the demon, but not to check would be to admit that and make Fudge's suspicious little mind start wondering how they knew. Fudge huffed indignantly as he was motioned through and they continued on the others in the group.

Snape just smiled at him coldly. "Safety before pride, Minister. Surely you understand." He said softly.

Fudge rolled his eyes and waited until the entire group had entered and the door closed. The sound of the locks shooting into place made him a bit nervous, but he hid it quickly. He regained his superior posture as his men took up their positions around him once again.

"Minister," Snape said before Fudge was able to get out a word, "An urgent matter has come up which needs to be addressed..."

Fudge waved him off dismissingly, "First thing's first! I hear there was some kind of incident involving your students last night."

Snape took a calming breath, glaring at the insipid man for a moment before replying, "It was mostly about Mr. Potter actually... and he is only one of my students in the sense that he is a Hogwarts student. He didn't make it into my Advanced Potions class."

Fudge looked over, spotting Harry who was staring fixedly at the rug under his feet. "I didn't hear about any disruption in Gryffindor House..." he said, obviously confused and shocked to find Harry in Slytherin of all places!

"He was apparently driven out by the scorn and ridicule of his Housemates... a situation that was undoubtedly significantly escalated by the extensive testing performed on him by your administration." Snape said evenly, his eyes glittering.

Fudge puffed up a bit. "We did what was necessary to insure he was free of the beast!"

Snape sneered at him. "That would have taken a few moments and a handful of uninvasive spells... it was completely unnecessary to torture him for hours and leave him covered head to toe in scars that may never go away... did you think the other boys wouldn't notice? Gryffindor house doesn't have private wash rooms."

Fudge quickly saw that continuing the conversation along its current course would only lose him face and quickly diverted the subject. "But how did he get out?"

"That is a good question." Snape said, glancing over at Harry.

Harry turned beet red, "I... followed the Aurors out after the nightly checks." He said meekly.

Fudge seemed to puff up even more, seeing the possible implication of inattentiveness on the part of his men. "Impossible... my men are highly trained. There is no way they could have been followed out a door without noticing!" His beady eyes narrowed. "Unless of course the rumors are true... are you in possession of an invisibility cloak? Those are closely monitored by the Ministry you know! I didn't see your name on the registry..." He said accusingly.

Draco snorted with derisive laughter from where he leaned against the mantle, getting quite fed up with Fudge and his frivolous bantering, "Oh please! Can we get on with this already? You won't believe him even if he says no, so why don't you just search him and be done with it?" he sneered.

Fudge glared at him, then nodded one of his men over. The Auror went over and began searching Harry. Harry let him, looking over at Draco in surprise. Draco knew very well Harry didn't have the cloak on him... he hadn't returned it yet!

The Auror straightened after a moment, shaking his head.

"You can check the room we put him up for the night in if you'd like, but I doubt he'd leave such a valuable item just laying about in Slytherin House." Snape said with a sneer.

Fudge nodded to his man, and Snape gave one of his students a nod. The third year girl quickly led the Auror off towards the room.

"And what about the beast the demon possessed? I heard it was a Kneazle or some such thing. Where the devil would it find a Kneazle?" Fudge demanded.

"I have no idea where it originated from... the Forbidden Forest has any number of strange and rare beasts in it..." Snape said evasively, "As for this particular Kneazle... it didn't make it." He said without batting an eyelash. "Died on the way back to the Dungeon. Nothing we could do."

"I'll be wanting the body so my people can examine it." Fudge said, clasping his hands behind his back and trying to look authoritative.

"Not possible I'm afraid." Snape said evenly, "I incinerated the body and got rid of the ashes with a simple cleansing spell."

"You what?" Fudge demanded angrily.

"It is against your flouted health regulations to keep dead animals or animal parts in dormitories. I believe it was originally intended to prevent the making of dark potions in secret, but it is a regulation none the less and must be followed." He said with a thin lipped smile.

Fudge huffed angrily, then looked over as the Auror hurried back with the old pillowcase in his hand. Snape had come by Harry's room shortly after he'd been taken to it the night before and returned it to him after making him swear it wouldn't lead to another 'incident'. Harry pushed away from the wall and looked on tensely as the Auror carried his most precious and private belongings to Fudge.

"This is all there was." The Auror said, opening the case for Fudge to examine the contents.

Fudge pulled out the photo album and opened it. He flipped through it as the Auror pulled out Sirius' knife, examining it.

"Well, well..." Fudge said, coming to a stop on one of the pages. "Harry Potter and the infamous mass murderer Sirius Black... Don't you two look chummy?" He said with a smirk. "Not advisable to keep evidence of aiding and abetting such a creature lying about... Now where might this picture have been taken I wonder...?"

Harry pushed through the Slytherins in front of him and strode up to Fudge, snatching the photo album from his hands. He closed it carefully, then reached out and snatched the knife handle away from the Auror. "Those are mine." He said, his brilliant green eyes narrowed with fury.

Fudge looked shocked and taken aback by the unexpected behavior. His face quickly clouded with anger, "Now you listen here boy..." He started menacingly.

Harry didn't even let him finish, he stepped closer and even at only sixteen he was looking down slightly to look Fudge in the eyes. "All of this is bullshit! Sirius was innocent and you know it... not to mention ten times the man you'll ever be... and none of this even matters! You keep pulling the same bloody thing every time you think something will make you lose face! You divert attention to things that are entirely pointless and ignore what's right in front of your face. Snape tells you he has urgent matters to discuss and you blow him off for stupid shit that is in the past and none of your bloody business in the first place! You know what the right thing to do is, and yet you fuck around and avoid doing it! Why don't you stop posturing like a bloody peacock and give them what they need to cure that boy!"

Fudge went red with anger at his impudence. "His blindness is regrettable, but does not justify breaking the laws that have held us in good stead for a great deal longer than you've been alive, boy!" He hissed.

"He DYING!" Harry spat back.

Fudge darted a look over at Snape, who nodded, confirming it. Fudge quickly covered his surprise. "Well that still doesn't justify breaking the law. I cannot simply bend the rules every time someone gets cursed! Where would we draw the line? It's a slippery slope, that! And might I add that you are getting dangerously close to..."

"To what?" Harry asked with a laugh, "To getting thrown into Azkaban for dimpling your precious ego? You think I give a flying fuck? Does it look like my life is all roses? Does it look like I'm enjoying myself? I'm out here dealing with all the bullshit everyone piles on me every bloody day, living under the constant threat that Voldemort will come through the door at any moment and put an end to my miserable fucking existence! So, you know what? Azkaban is sounding really fucking cozy right about now! Take me away! Lock me up and throw away the bloody key! I hope Voldemort pisses on your bloody corpse when he's done fucking you over you pompous bastard!" He gave him one last glare, then turned on his heels and stalked back over to his place by the wall, as if daring Fudge to send his men after him. When he got there, he turned and leaned back against the wall, clutching his photo album to his chest and glaring at him venomously.

Fudge just stood there in total shock, his jaw hanging slightly. When he recovered after a long moment of drawn out silence, he looked over at Snape, obviously trying to pretend he hadn't just been verbally eviscerated by a school boy in front of dozens of witnesses. "So this curse has started up again, has it?" He said, all business once again.

"It has." Snape said with a slight nod. "So you can see the urgency of our need for those ingredients..."

Fudge put on a false look of sympathy. "I am truly sorry Professor Snape, but I couldn't get many of those ingredients even if I wanted to..."

"What about Erumpent tail?" Snape asked pointedly, his dark eyes boring into Fudge, who was suddenly trying not to look like he'd been caught red-handed doing something wrong.

"Erumpent tail?" He asked, as if curious. "Is that one of the ingredients? I'm afraid I haven't perused any of the literature on that particular curse in quite some time..."

Snape's jaw clenched. "Oh really?" He said slowly. "That is very curious indeed... seeing as you recalled every last one of them mere hours after you heard he was afflicted with the White Wraith curse..."

Fudge colored again. "I... have nothing to do with such things..." He blustered unconvincingly, "You would have to talk to someone who oversees the import and export of potion ingredients... most likely some quality control issue or something of that nature..."

"Well why don't you give us one and we'll test the quality of it for you?" Snape asked with a little smirk.

Fudge narrowed his eyes at Snape angrily. "I'll see about getting you an appointment to discuss it with the appropriate department head." he said stiffly.

Harry looked over as Delse took off her cloak. She smiled over at him. "Harry... would you be a dear and hold my cloak for me?"

He blinked, startled, but held his arm out and let her drape her cloak over it.

"Thank you." She said with another bright smile, then she turned and began wending her way towards the center of the room.

Harry looked back over as Fudge started talking again.

"I feel for you, truly I do." He said not even bothering to put much effort into his false sincerity, "But there is very little I can do... but I assure you I will give you what assistance I can. In fact..." He looked over, motioning two of his men forward. "Just have someone lead my men to the boy and they will take care of dispatching him and disposing of the body for you."

Snape's posture stiffened, his jaw dropping slightly in furious shock and indignation at the suggestion. The Slytherins near the back moved as one, blocking the hallway leading towards the room Blaise was in. Even Fudge's own men were looking over at him as if he'd gone completely mental.

"I'll not have you slaughtering my students in cold blood!" Snape spat, incensed.

Fudge looked exasperated. "Come now... it isn't as if he can be cured, and you can't have a wraith flitting about a school full of innocent children!"

Snape looked about ready to either start screaming at him, or start tearing him limb from limb, but then his eyes shifted slightly and his posture eased, a little unnerving smirk flitting onto his lips.

Fudge looked down in surprise, noting Delse standing squarely before him for the first time. Delse was a good several inches shorter than him, but he was still a bit taken off guard at not having seen her approach. She smiled up at him genially, batting her eyelashes at him.

He brushed off his surprise, "And who might you be, young lady?" He asked curiously.

In the blink of an eye, Fudge found himself flat on his back, the diminutive woman perched on his chest, pinning his arms with her knees and a long, wicked dagger pressed to his throat, her other hand resting on the end of the handle. It was perfectly poised to be driven directly into his brain in a split second if she chose to.

"I'm the mother of the boy you are trying to murder..." She hissed softly, her dark eyes glaring down at him murderously.

His Aurors overcame their surprise, whipping out their wands and casting disarming spells at her. She just smiled down at Fudge evilly as the spells flared around her, bouncing off what looked to be be some kind of protective shield surrounding her and rebounding on the Aurors. All the Aurors suddenly found themselves disarmed, their wands flitting away into the furthest reaches of the room. The Slytherins just stood there, making no move to help them retrieve their wands... and being very uncooperative when a couple tried shoving their way through them to find the lost wands. "Like my little charm? I find it most useful..." She said with a smirk.

He glanced down, noting the striated crystal pendant hanging from her neck. "That's illegal!" Was all he could think to say.

She chuckled again. "No... this is a family heirloom... it predates your precious Ministry, and therefor is perfectly legal under the Legacy clause."

His jowls quivered, "You... you kill me and you'll go straight to Azkaban..." He stammered, "And it won't do your son any good..."

She smiled down at him, though it wasn't a reassuring smile in the least. "Who said I was going to kill you Minister? You really shouldn't jump to conclusions like that..." She looked down at him like a cat toying with a mouse, "I'm merely exercising my right as a wronged party to seek an audience with you... Having my request for audience through legal channels in verbal and written form turned down in excess of five times... and you've turned me down eighteen times... gives me the legal right to use any means I see fit to get my point across..." she said, the razor sharp tip of the dagger 'accidentally' piercing the thin skin of his neck, making a bead of blood emerge.

"You've made your point..." He said quickly while trying to keep his neck absolutely still. "How about we get up and I'll be more than happy to give you that audience and we can discuss your issues like civilized people..."

She grinned. "No need... I'll keep this short and sweet... my request is simple. Release this Erumpent tail and whatever else you may possess that they will need so they can cure my son... you will do this swiftly as he has little time left... and if he dies..." She said, her voice growing cold, her eyes hard and dangerous. "You will quickly follow him." She said in a low growl.

"Threats are hardly the way to get what you want..." He said, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

She chuckled low in her throat. "That wasn't a threat, dear Minister... that was a promise. If he dies, I will consider it murder on your part under the article concerning the willful withholding of life saving materials without just cause... I will claim my right to collect a blood debt... and as you are the last in your bloodline... that really leaves taking your life as the only possible means to pay off that debt... now doesn't it?"

"I'm the last in my bloodline! We're protected by law!" He stammered, grasping at straws.

She laughed. "It would protect you if you weren't sterile! Didn't think I'd know that, did you? Not that you're likely to reproduce at any rate... The Bloodline Preservation clause only protects those capable of passing on their blood..."

He swallowed, obviously thinking hard for a way out of this.

She smiled down at him, then slipped her hand off the end of the dagger, patting his cheek. "Why don't you go and think it over? Just... don't think too long..." She said with a smirk. In one fluid movement she was up and striding away.

The Aurors were looking at Fudge for instructions. He motioned them over angrily and they hurried over, helping him to his feet. He glared at her receding back, as the gathered Slytherins tossed the Auror's wands back, though throwing them just badly enough to make they have to hurry after them and pick them up off the floor. Then Fudge looked over and spotted Snape's highly amused smirk, and those of his students, who were all obviously trying very hard to hide their mirth. There were a few titters, then they all broke into laughter. Even Snape chuckled.

Fudge looked down and realized he had pissed himself. He jerked his robes closed and turned, storming out as two giggling students opened the door for him, a large wet spot staining the back of his robes.

Delse was smirking merrily as she meandered back through the crowd. She paused next to Ginny. "Thanks for the pointer, by the way..." She said brightly.

Ginny blinked in surprise, "Pointer?"

"In the picture... pinning the arms like that... it's always so irritating when they flail... thanks..."

Ginny just looked stunned. "Um... sure..."

Delse then made her way back over to Harry. She came to a stop before him. He was just staring at her with open awe. She batted her eyelashes at him and he realized with a start what she wanted, holding out his arm so she could take the robe. "Do you think he will give Snape what he needs?" He asked curiously.

She smirked, tossing the cloak over the crook of her elbow. She lifted the dagger and turned it, examining the blood glistening on the tip. "He had better... or he's going to be in for one Hell of a nasty surprise..." she said with a malicious glint in her eyes.

He just stared at her. To think a small, attractive, but overall harmless looking woman like this was capable of what he'd just seen... he found it oddly fascinating...

She looked back over at him, then her eyes drifted down. She smirked, her cheeks tingeing ever so slightly pink. "See you later Harry..." She said just a little too merrily, striding off back towards Blaise's room.

Harry darted a glance down and blushed brightly, shifting the Photo album down a bit lower and hurrying back to his room.

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