Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Web of Lies: revelations.
Alec had been sleeping peacefully in his bed in the headmaster's quarters when a cold feeling ran through him, startling him awake. At first, he didn't notice anything wrong in his room that could have caused the disturbance. It was still dark, showing there were several hours left till morning. He was about to dismiss the feeling when his gaze fell upon a silvery figure floating on the side of his bed. The light coming from the ghost was very soft, but it was a bit startling to say the least. Looking closer, he recognised the figure as being the Grey Lady, Ravenclaw's ghost. He was about to ask what she was doing in his room, so far from the Ravenclaw's common room, when she spoke. Her voice was very soft, and he had to strain his hearing in order to understand what she was saying.
"I bear a message from Lady Ravenclaw." Harry nodded, relaxing against the headboard. It probably had something to do with his upcoming classes with the portrait. "She has asked me to tell you that before you go to the common room tomorrow evening for your session with her, you should go to the library and find a book called 'Powers of the Mind: a guide to know your inner self.' You will have to read the first chapter before meeting with her."
Alec frowned deeply. He hoped that the book was not in the restricted section of the library. It would be difficult enough to get the book out without arousing suspicions, there was no need to risk the restricted section. For an instant he considered going now, just in case, but he quickly cast that idea aside, he knew this tower was more heavily charmed than any other part of the castle, and he wouldn't put it past his grandfather to put up a monitoring charm around his room. No, pleasing Rowena was not worth the risk of angering the old man. He looked up and saw that the Grey Lady was about to leave.
"Hey! Wait a moment, please!"
The ghost turned around. "Yes?"
"Can you tell Lady Ravenclaw something for me?" After the ghost nodded, he added. "Tell her that I might not be able to access the book, but that I'll try, and that I might not even be able to make it tomorrow. It's Saturday and my grandfather might keep me here with him."
The ghost nodded. "I'll inform the Lady."
And with a very soft swish she disappeared from the room. Harry sank back into his pillows, and he was about to go back to sleep when the door to his room opened. Harry saw light coming from the figure standing in the doorway.
"Alec?"
Harry, knowing that the man had probably heard him, sat up and looked as Severus lighted the lights in his room. The man was dressed in dark robes, which Harry absentmindedly recognised as his Death Eater robes. The tall professor silently moved to the bed in which Harry was sitting and sat down next to him.
"What are you doing awake, Alec? It's barely two in the morning."
Harry rubbed his eyes, his mind racing to find a suitable explanation; after all he couldn't tell his uncle that a ghost had woken him up to give him a message from a portrait. Finally, he settled in for the safest answer, even if it might get him in trouble with the headmaster.
"I had a nightmare; I'm sorry I woke you up."
The tall man gently petted his head, a worried frown on his face. "I wasn't sleeping. Was the nightmare bad? Do you want to talk about it?"
Alec shook his head lightly. "No, it was just a regular nightmare, nothing too bad."
Severus nodded after a moment, and then stood up. "Go back to sleep then, I'll tell Albus to let you sleep in tomorrow."
Harry was about to complain but the man had already doused the lights and walked out of the door. Sighing, the teen relaxed against the pillows and closed his eyes. And he had thought that life as Alec Dumbledore was going to be easy. He wondered if all the other children lived like that, always careful to not let their parents down. Sighing, he put those thought out of his mind and dropped down to sleep; there was no sense in worrying about what morning would bring.
Once he left Alec's room, he went to the living room, knowing that Albus would be waiting for him. He had been called for a Death Eater just after putting Alec to sleep, and not having time to wait for Dumbledore to return, he had left a note in his office and hurriedly made his way outside. Luckily, the meeting hadn't been very important. Voldemort hadn't even been there; he had just left a list of potions he wanted in the hands of Lucius Malfoy and other as soon as possible, and other than that, the professor didn't have to do anything so he was able to return pretty quickly. As expected, Albus was sitting in front of the lit fire, staring pensively into the flames. The old man smiled up at him when he heard the door open.
"I trust everything went well?"
Severus nodded and sank down on the armchair next to Albus'. "Lucius only had to give me a list of potions the Dark Lord wanted, I didn't even see him."
Dumbledore nodded pensively. "Anything strange about the potions he wants?"
Severus shrugged. "Not really, just the regular things."
The old man nodded, somewhat pleased at that news. After all, if Voldemort didn't want anything special meant he was not planning anything too big right now. He was just standing up, ready to go to bed when the younger man spoke again.
"Is Alec still having nightmares?"
Albus frowned lightly. "So now and then, why?"
The younger man shrugged. "I heard him when I arrived, I thought he was talking to someone but when I entered, he was alone and claimed to have had a nightmare."
The old wizard looked pensively. "You think he lied?"
Severus shook his head. "I don't know; he didn't seem to be scared, he even looked fairly calm, but on the other hand, there was no one he could have been talking to, there aren't even portraits in his room."
"Did you hear what he was saying?"
Once again Severus shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Albus. For all I know he really could have had a nightmare. He might be too used to them for the lesser ones to have any effect."
Albus just nodded, even if he wasn't really convinced. "I'm really starting to wonder what on earth is going on with him. He has been behaving strangely."
The Potions Master nodded, even if he wasn't so sure. After all, it only had been two days and all the occurrences so far had been explained. Maybe Albus was being overprotective; then again, he had the right to be. After all, Alec was his grandson, and he knew the headmaster wouldn't forgive himself if something happened to that kid.
"Maybe you should talk to him?"
Albus frowned sadly. "I don't think it would help much, not to mention that tomorrow I need to attend a meeting with some members of the order." Severus frowned, but before he could comment, the older man spoke. "I know, I know, I really should try to make some time for him, but things are being hectic right now."
Severus sighed. "I know, Albus, but if the child is doing something dangerous, someone should try to find out what it is."
The young man knew that with those words he had just given Albus the invitation he needed. Not a moment later, the older man spoke again. "Why don't you take him for the day, Severus? It's Saturday, I'm sure you could find something to amuse him."
Snape scowled. He wouldn't mind taking the boy, but he was a student now, and he surely would want to spend some time with his peers. He had noticed that Alec only really spoke with the Creevy girl, and he didn't think that was very healthy, the boy needed more friends. "Albus, he needs to spend time with his classmates, else he's going to alienate them. He needs to have friends his age."
A sad look entered the old man's eyes. One that Severus wasn't sure how to interpret.
"You're right, but even so I would like you to talk with him for a while. Have him play some chess with you in the morning, and he can rejoin his peers during lunch."
Snape grunted while the headmaster stood up. "All right, we'll see."
The old man nodded and left the room. He went to check on his grandson but luckily found him deeply asleep. Looking around the room, he found that Severus had been right in his assessment that there was nothing Harry could have been talking to. Maybe he had been talking to his snake? But looking around, he didn't see Derek anywhere, and even so, Severus would have heard him hiss, not speak. Shaking his head, the old man made sure the teen was comfortably tucked in and then left the room to catch a few hours of sleep before the meeting.
Web of Lies: revelations.
Alec had been sleeping peacefully in his bed in the headmaster's quarters when a cold feeling ran through him, startling him awake. At first, he didn't notice anything wrong in his room that could have caused the disturbance. It was still dark, showing there were several hours left till morning. He was about to dismiss the feeling when his gaze fell upon a silvery figure floating on the side of his bed. The light coming from the ghost was very soft, but it was a bit startling to say the least. Looking closer, he recognised the figure as being the Grey Lady, Ravenclaw's ghost. He was about to ask what she was doing in his room, so far from the Ravenclaw's common room, when she spoke. Her voice was very soft, and he had to strain his hearing in order to understand what she was saying.
"I bear a message from Lady Ravenclaw." Harry nodded, relaxing against the headboard. It probably had something to do with his upcoming classes with the portrait. "She has asked me to tell you that before you go to the common room tomorrow evening for your session with her, you should go to the library and find a book called 'Powers of the Mind: a guide to know your inner self.' You will have to read the first chapter before meeting with her."
Alec frowned deeply. He hoped that the book was not in the restricted section of the library. It would be difficult enough to get the book out without arousing suspicions, there was no need to risk the restricted section. For an instant he considered going now, just in case, but he quickly cast that idea aside, he knew this tower was more heavily charmed than any other part of the castle, and he wouldn't put it past his grandfather to put up a monitoring charm around his room. No, pleasing Rowena was not worth the risk of angering the old man. He looked up and saw that the Grey Lady was about to leave.
"Hey! Wait a moment, please!"
The ghost turned around. "Yes?"
"Can you tell Lady Ravenclaw something for me?" After the ghost nodded, he added. "Tell her that I might not be able to access the book, but that I'll try, and that I might not even be able to make it tomorrow. It's Saturday and my grandfather might keep me here with him."
The ghost nodded. "I'll inform the Lady."
And with a very soft swish she disappeared from the room. Harry sank back into his pillows, and he was about to go back to sleep when the door to his room opened. Harry saw light coming from the figure standing in the doorway.
"Alec?"
Harry, knowing that the man had probably heard him, sat up and looked as Severus lighted the lights in his room. The man was dressed in dark robes, which Harry absentmindedly recognised as his Death Eater robes. The tall professor silently moved to the bed in which Harry was sitting and sat down next to him.
"What are you doing awake, Alec? It's barely two in the morning."
Harry rubbed his eyes, his mind racing to find a suitable explanation; after all he couldn't tell his uncle that a ghost had woken him up to give him a message from a portrait. Finally, he settled in for the safest answer, even if it might get him in trouble with the headmaster.
"I had a nightmare; I'm sorry I woke you up."
The tall man gently petted his head, a worried frown on his face. "I wasn't sleeping. Was the nightmare bad? Do you want to talk about it?"
Alec shook his head lightly. "No, it was just a regular nightmare, nothing too bad."
Severus nodded after a moment, and then stood up. "Go back to sleep then, I'll tell Albus to let you sleep in tomorrow."
Harry was about to complain but the man had already doused the lights and walked out of the door. Sighing, the teen relaxed against the pillows and closed his eyes. And he had thought that life as Alec Dumbledore was going to be easy. He wondered if all the other children lived like that, always careful to not let their parents down. Sighing, he put those thought out of his mind and dropped down to sleep; there was no sense in worrying about what morning would bring.
Once he left Alec's room, he went to the living room, knowing that Albus would be waiting for him. He had been called for a Death Eater just after putting Alec to sleep, and not having time to wait for Dumbledore to return, he had left a note in his office and hurriedly made his way outside. Luckily, the meeting hadn't been very important. Voldemort hadn't even been there; he had just left a list of potions he wanted in the hands of Lucius Malfoy and other as soon as possible, and other than that, the professor didn't have to do anything so he was able to return pretty quickly. As expected, Albus was sitting in front of the lit fire, staring pensively into the flames. The old man smiled up at him when he heard the door open.
"I trust everything went well?"
Severus nodded and sank down on the armchair next to Albus'. "Lucius only had to give me a list of potions the Dark Lord wanted, I didn't even see him."
Dumbledore nodded pensively. "Anything strange about the potions he wants?"
Severus shrugged. "Not really, just the regular things."
The old man nodded, somewhat pleased at that news. After all, if Voldemort didn't want anything special meant he was not planning anything too big right now. He was just standing up, ready to go to bed when the younger man spoke again.
"Is Alec still having nightmares?"
Albus frowned lightly. "So now and then, why?"
The younger man shrugged. "I heard him when I arrived, I thought he was talking to someone but when I entered, he was alone and claimed to have had a nightmare."
The old wizard looked pensively. "You think he lied?"
Severus shook his head. "I don't know; he didn't seem to be scared, he even looked fairly calm, but on the other hand, there was no one he could have been talking to, there aren't even portraits in his room."
"Did you hear what he was saying?"
Once again Severus shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Albus. For all I know he really could have had a nightmare. He might be too used to them for the lesser ones to have any effect."
Albus just nodded, even if he wasn't really convinced. "I'm really starting to wonder what on earth is going on with him. He has been behaving strangely."
The Potions Master nodded, even if he wasn't so sure. After all, it only had been two days and all the occurrences so far had been explained. Maybe Albus was being overprotective; then again, he had the right to be. After all, Alec was his grandson, and he knew the headmaster wouldn't forgive himself if something happened to that kid.
"Maybe you should talk to him?"
Albus frowned sadly. "I don't think it would help much, not to mention that tomorrow I need to attend a meeting with some members of the order." Severus frowned, but before he could comment, the older man spoke. "I know, I know, I really should try to make some time for him, but things are being hectic right now."
Severus sighed. "I know, Albus, but if the child is doing something dangerous, someone should try to find out what it is."
The young man knew that with those words he had just given Albus the invitation he needed. Not a moment later, the older man spoke again. "Why don't you take him for the day, Severus? It's Saturday, I'm sure you could find something to amuse him."
Snape scowled. He wouldn't mind taking the boy, but he was a student now, and he surely would want to spend some time with his peers. He had noticed that Alec only really spoke with the Creevy girl, and he didn't think that was very healthy, the boy needed more friends. "Albus, he needs to spend time with his classmates, else he's going to alienate them. He needs to have friends his age."
A sad look entered the old man's eyes. One that Severus wasn't sure how to interpret.
"You're right, but even so I would like you to talk with him for a while. Have him play some chess with you in the morning, and he can rejoin his peers during lunch."
Snape grunted while the headmaster stood up. "All right, we'll see."
The old man nodded and left the room. He went to check on his grandson but luckily found him deeply asleep. Looking around the room, he found that Severus had been right in his assessment that there was nothing Harry could have been talking to. Maybe he had been talking to his snake? But looking around, he didn't see Derek anywhere, and even so, Severus would have heard him hiss, not speak. Shaking his head, the old man made sure the teen was comfortably tucked in and then left the room to catch a few hours of sleep before the meeting.