Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.
Author: zimagesto
Title: Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin
Summary: Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R
Author's Note: I've got myself a livejournal! Hip, hip hurrah! And I promise to keep it updated and tell you about the work I get on my stories! huge grin
Link to my
Chapter 5: Help From Above, Panic From Below
The young woman sighed, lowering her dagger.
"Mayhowl" she said slowly. "What are you doing here, old friend?"
The wolf in front of her turned into a human being and took a peak at the trees all around them. The Forest of Wolves was safe, as safe as it would ever be... After all, he was the Lord of Wolves and Werewolves and could control his subjects. Even dogs recognized him as being nobility.
Of course, 'safe' was a rather relative term, since for the enemy of the animals, it was worse than the worst nightmare. Yes, Mayhowl had spies, scouts and guards everywhere.
"Patrolling" he replied softly. "The same with you, isn't it?"
"You've got it" she replied, sitting down next to a tree. "The kids they are here, in Snape Manor"
"I know" Mayhowl replied. "That's why everything is so secured... But it is only secured against Death Eaters. Have you heard that Snape has been taken away today?"
"What?!" she cried.
"Yes, by the Ministry" Mayhowl said. "The Minister said that he had somehow convinced Amala to go in the Department of Mysteries. He is now in a cell in a prison, surrounded by Dementors"
"He'll be nuts before he gets out" she said, slightly shaking. "They'll drag it as long as they can, they'll make sure that even him, as strong as he is, will have fallen!"
"There is one thing that I was always told, when I was little" Mayhowl said slowly. "'Trust the Ones who are much wiser. They shall find a way'. Do not worry, there will be a way to be found"
"Who will find it?!" she asked. "Who, tell me!"
"You have no faith" Mayhowl said with a small chuckle. "Have faith, Demonheart. Have faith"
"Fine..." she mumbled. "I will"
She sat back down to watch the trees and Mayhowl shook his head before running off through the forests in his wolf shape. Being a Homomagus was great help, it wouldn't do to always be a wolf, no?
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"Where is the Minister?" Dumbledore asked the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister.
"He left a short time ago with some business" the man replied. "He said he would return in about one hour"
"Where is he, exactly?" the old wise man asked.
"I don't know" came the reply. Dumbledore sighed.
"I shall wait for him in his office then" he said and went through the doors.
The Minister's office was changed from the way it had been six years before, when Fudge had been elected. It was much tidier and the many papers that had once been all over the desk were now in neat piles. Come to think about it, the Minister had changed. He had become a completely against them person two years before, then, one year ago, he had admitted to being somewhat wrong. And he had changed again. And right now, here it was: somewhat sneaky and politic-knowing Fudge.
Something had to be wrong. He just couldn't put a finger on it. He waited and waited and waited for Fudge to enter the office. He eventually started reading his "how to keep your robes in perfect shape" brochure. After awhile, he also took out his bag of lemon drops and started munching on them.
He just reached a very interesting part of his reading –one involving the perfect method of ironing the sleeves- when the Minister popped up.
"Hello, Cornelius" Dumbledore pleasantly said, closing his brochure. He'd find out about ironing sleeves some other time.
"Dumbledore!" Fudge said, jumping slightly. "What are you doing here?"
"You have thrown an innocent man to jail, Cornelius, you made a mistake" Dumbledore said in the most pleasant way he could say it.
"Innocent?! But he sent that... that girl that calls herself his girlfriend into the Department of Mysteries, where the Veil is!" Fudge said, his eyes glazing.
"How do you know that?" Dumbledore asked. "I had been wondering..."
For a second, the old Headmaster could see something close to surprise and fear in those eyes. Before they turned into a frown.
"There were magical traces of somebody getting in and out of there sometime in fall" he said. "You know we have some wards there!"
"How come you didn't realize there was a trespasser before, Cornelius?" Dumbledore continued his questioning. "I must say, if it would have been me, I'd have verified everything immediately."
"We weren't sure that it was somebody" Fudge replied with a small frown. "We could tell somebody had left with the girl, they went up through the corridors, we weren't sure if it hadn't been one of our own who had went there. Then, we checked and realized that Mrs. Wright had went in and she and somebody else went out"
"How far did you follow their trace?" Dumbledore asked slowly.
"Up to the Fountain in the Atrium" Fudge replied. "That's where they disappeared. We lost their trace, too many magical signatures"
"I see" Dumbledore said. "Very well then. I ask you again to let Severus Snape go"
"And one more time: no. That would be a complete madness!" Fudge said.
"Then, I am afraid, we have no more to discuss now" Dumbledore said, blue eyes boring into Fudge.
"Indeed, there is nothing to discuss" Fudge agreed.
Dumbledore simply turned on his heels and went out through the door.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
The Order of the Phoenix –plus the refugees from both Number 12 and Snape Manor- were in a dining room in said Snape Manor. A few tables had been conjured and everybody was there: after all, the matter concerned them all.
Dumbledore sighed as he thought of what he would do next. He gathered his forces and stood up, requiring silence by simple presence.
"I am afraid to say that today I went to visit the Minister on the matter concerning Severus Snape" he started. "And I found out that they had warded everything and that Amala's entrance in the Department did not go unnoticed. He said that the only reason for which they had not done anything sooner was because one trace could be found going in the Department and two were found going out of it."
"What?!" Amala said with a frown. "I went there for quite a lot of times before I actually got Sirius. They should have felt me before. And what do they mean, two traces going out?! Sirius and I left by portkey"
"Exactly what crossed my mind, Mrs. Wright. Also, I must say that I know the Ministry's wards and none were put for signaling people going in and out... And I also was there on that night. I went in and out" Dumbledore said. "There would have been two entering and three exiting, even then"
"But there had to be a fourth person" Amala said. "There also was Professor Towers there, he's the one that got us out of there"
"Yes, and that would have made two or three tracks in, one track out" Sirius said with a frown. "That story does not match up"
"Exactly my thoughts" Dumbledore said gravely. "I have thought of the reasons behind the act of capturing Severus. The Cornelius Fudge I knew would have only captured Severus if he had been sure that he was guilty, though he would judge on feeling rather than on thought. Of course, the Fudge I met now was much more organized than the one I knew... He was also sure that Severus was evil against doubt, but he wasn't panicked or afraid, as I expected he would. He wasn't even mindlessly enraged. Someone is behind him, steering him wrong."
"One of his advisers is a Death Eater" they all heard a voice and Colt jumped on the table, landing remarkably light and soundless on the table, considering that he was a marble wolf. They all realized he was the one that had spoken.
"I trust it is so..." Dumbledore said with a small sigh. "Alas, they are so good at hiding themselves, I cannot tell who they are"
"We could all see it in the Barty Crouch incident" Draco said with a roll of his eyes. "Basically, the greatest supporter the Dark Lord ever had was teaching at school"
"And don't forget first year" Harry shot from across the table to Draco. "Quirrell had Voldemort attached to the back of his head and nobody realized it was so for a whole year"
"Is that true?!" Mr. Evans asked, shooting up.
"Yes, it is" Remus said grimly. "The Defence Against the Dark Arts position was always a troubled one"
"You mean, Death Eaters and dark wizards taught there?!" Mrs. Evans asked, her eyes growing large. "Next thing you tell us, dark creatures roam the castle, maybe even teach, too!"
There was a dead silence for about a half a minute before Remus raised his head and smiled a bit disturbed.
"There was a werewolf who taught Defence Against the Dark Arts"
"What?!" Mrs. Evans cried. "When?!"
"Four years ago" Remus replied in a quiet voice. "You're talking to him now"
Both Evans just gaped, not truly comprehending. Finally, Mr. Evans said slowly:
"You're a werewolf."
"Yes" Remus agreed slowly.
"That is it!" Mrs. Evans said, tears in her eyes. "Mark is never going back to that school! First, weird teachers that are dark creatures or wizards, attacks upon the school, being captured by dark wizards! No, it is all finished, we're moving in the US, where my brother lives!"
"No, really, it's quite safe" Hermione said slowly. "None of the Death Eaters who taught us did us any harm, they didn't want to blow their cover and Professor Lupin takes a potion to prevent him from being dangerous at the full moon. And besides, no permanent injury has happened there as far as I know and nobody got killed for fifty years!"
"What?!" she cried. "Killed?!"
"It was when Voldemort learnt at Hogwarts as a student" Hermione said, suddenly understanding her grave mistake.
"He learnt at Hogwarts? Really?!" Mrs. Evans said. "That's it. Come on, Mark. We're going to my brother, he'll be more than happy to have us and we'll find you a nice school there, a nice normal school and you'll grow up to be a doctor, like you always wanted"
"No, mum..." the young boy said, shaking his head. "I want to be a wizard!"
"You can't be a wizard, it's too dangerous!" she cried.
"You are or aren't a wizard from birth, it's not as if you have a choice!" Hermione pointed out. "And ignoring danger doesn't mean causing it to cease in existence!"
"Well, at least he won't end up kidnapped by Death Eaters and he will not end up in any relationship with his teachers!" she said and most people in the room winced. Amala did so with quite a lot of heart. "You must understand, we do not belong here, we are what you call Muggles. He might be a wizard, but he's too young to face all the horrors in your world. Perhaps later, he will train himself so he can use his gifts, but now it is too dangerous to do so. I am sorry"
"Mum!" Mark cried.
"You have no say in this" his father informed him. "We should go. We had spoken to my wife's brother ever since this started. He said that sure, anytime we want, we can live at his place. It is time we leave"
"But... his training! His future!" McGonagall reasoned.
"He has a future in the Muggle world" Mrs. Evans said. "Come on, Mark. Let's go"
"And where do you intend on going?" Draco asked with a smirk. "We're in the middle of nowhere"
"Mr. Malfoy" McGonagall said sternly and the boy sighed.
"I am sorry about your decision" Dumbledore said, indeed seeming to be sorry. "I will help you get to your brother. I must say that I was expecting this, though"
Draco rolled his eyes and even though everybody had seen it, nobody said anything.
Dumbledore took out a piece of parchment from his robes and turned it into a portkey.
"I saw where your brother was, Madam" he said quietly. "I created a portkey to take you there. If at any time you regret your decision and wish for your son to come back to Hogwarts, there is a wizard in the city where your brother lives. He can send me a letter. Here is his address"
The old Headmaster handed them a piece of paper and smiled sadly at them.
"Thank you, sir" Mr. Evans said.
They took the portkey from Dumbledore and disappeared from view.
"How can you let them go just like that?" McGonagall asked, outraged.
"The Evans told me about their idea since we first met at Number 12. They weren't sure what to do. I asked them to give us a chance and they did" Dumbledore replied with a feeble smile. "It appears that they have decided now"
"This will not look good, Professor" Draco said. "In fact, it will look really bad"
"I know" Dumbledore said sadly. "I know."
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"Sirius?" Amala said, walking towards the man in front of the fireplace.
"Yes?" he asked, paying attention on her, but not looking at her since his eyes had somehow gotten stuck on the fireplace.
"I know you're not exactly a friend of Severus" she said slowly.
"Not exactly a friend is somewhat an understatement" he said with a smile, still staring at the fireplace.
"Ah, yes..." she said slowly. "But you fight on the same side"
"I guess we do" Sirius said, finally tearing his eyes away from the fireplace and looking at her. "Sit down, don't be shy"
Amala smiled feebly and sat down on an armchair on Sirius's right.
"We should do something for him. And you heard what Dumbledore said: Fudge's been acting weird lately. Perhaps there is something wrong with him... How can we tell?"
"What is your point?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow towards her.
"Well, I know a very talented man, he's an Animagus, you see" she said with a small smile. "He can walk around with lots of precaution, since he was once wanted by the Ministry"
"No" Sirius said shortly and definitely.
"You haven't listened to everything I had to say..." Amala said with a small smile.
"I know enough of it now to say: no" Sirius said seriously. "I cannot possibly sneak up in the Ministry in dog shape and check up what Fudge is doing"
"Oh, bother" Amala said, rolling her eyes slightly. "That's not what I wanted. See if you don't listen?"
"Then what did you want?" he asked curiously.
"Well, somebody has to know where Fudge lives" she said with a small smile. "And I just happen to have one Invisibility Cloak. All I needed was somebody... somebody brave and quiet enough to go there, somebody who would have a plus in case something bad happened"
"You're telling me to go and spy on Fudge in his home?!" Sirius asked, shocked. "I thought you were much more..."
"Severus has rubbed off one me" she said with a small shrug and a wicked grin. "Besides, I sneaked in the Department of Mysteries all on my own, remember?"
"Oh, Lord..." Sirius said, mock desperate. "Very well, I'll find out where he lives. And where did you get an Invisibility Cloak from?" he asked frowning.
"My aunt" Amala replied. "A goodbye gift, she said it'd help me in Hogwarts. It helped me. Not in Hogwarts, but it did. I used it to get to the Department. I only used it then, though. "
"Do you really have no mischievous bones in you, Amala?" Sirius kidded.
"Oh, I do" she said with a roll of her eyes. "I just didn't have too many occasions, you see? But this year I might have a clue as to what to do with it"
"What?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Nothing you might even remotely want to know" she said with a wicked smile. "Now, what do you say? Deal? You do it?"
"Yes" Sirius replied. "Fine"
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
A silent shadow went down the streets towards the house of one Cornelius Fudge. Sirius was not very happy about this and he had hoped that any one of the Order would oppose to the idea of him going to the Minister's house.
Of course, nobody had opposed. Yes, they had said it was not a very easy thing to be done, but they had also agreed that Sirius would be perfect for the job.
So, there he was, in the middle of the street, going towards the Minister's residence. It was lucky that he had his home in a mostly Muggle area, so nobody would recognize him later.
He made it to the Minister's block and went up to his apartment, keeping himself as hidden as possible. He wanted to make sure that nobody would recognize him afterwards. He knocked on the door, hoping nobody would reply from inside. And, perfectly, nobody did. Then, Sirius slipped the Invisibility Cloak on and opened the door with one of the special knives that opened every door. He smiled to himself as the door opened slightly and he entered the room.
His first thought was that it smelled as if the air was closed, as if the apartment had been abandoned for years. Cautiously, he closed the door and walked in, half expecting for someone to jump at him from somewhere and try to kill him. As he quietly walked through the house, he noticed that the windows all had curtains on them and that the air was closed... and the house neat. Too neat to be lived in.
A feeling crept inside of his heart then. He felt that something was wrong, something told him it was very, very wrong. Just to check, he turned into his dog shape and sniffed the air.
It felt as if nothing had lived there for years, it smelled like something bad had happened and then something had been done to hide it. Sirius felt himself panic at the stench of the hidden death there and he transformed into his human shape, picked up his Cloak and ran out the door, somehow managed to lock it, even in his panic, and then he Disapparated straight into his home.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Voldemort caressed his wand with a true pleasure... Ah, how many he'd killed and tortured with that one wand...
"Peter!" he cried to the small man. "Bring me Fudge, I need to speak to him..."
The ratty man scattered from in front of his Lord and exited the room. Voldemort smiled. How nice, his pathetic little servant was more of a rat each day. Soon, a body floated in the room, sustained by Peter's wand.
"Hello, Fudge" he said with a malicious little smile. "How do you like my castle so far?"
The broken man was shivering. He was balding, his nails were clipped into his skin, parts of his skin seemed to have been taken away from his body.
"Do you even understand what I speak anymore, Cornelius?" Voldemort asked slowly. "Do you? Answer me!"
At the last cry, Fudge raised his head slowly. He didn't seem to care about anything anymore.
"How convenient that nobody thought I'd be using Polyjuice again to gain my goals, isn't it?" Voldemort said with a small hiss. "Do you know why I brought you here now, Cornelius? To tell you that Dumbledore's petty Order is falling, will fall and all thanks to you."
"Wh-what do you want?" Fudge coughed.
"Oh, look, Wormtail! He still understands and speaks!" Voldemort said with a horrible grimace that was meant to be a smile. "Well, wanted to tell you that Snape, you remember him, right? The one you wanted to give the Order of Merlin to, he's in a jail, guarded by Dementors. And just as I was thinking about his fate and how convenient it would be for one of the Dementors to... accidentally administer him the kiss, I remembered you! You're such a burden nowadays, Cornelius"
The man raised his head, a sick feeling on his face. A sick expression that turned horrified.
"I was thinking of making sure you won't ever try to escape or try to tell your story, Cornelius. There is a great way to do it, you know it, don't you, Cornelius?"
"No... no... I'll do anything you want, just don't..." the small man said, shivering.
"Really, will you?" Voldemort said, showing his teeth. "But you see, Cornelius, the problem is, if I threaten you with the Kiss and you say you'd do anything for me not to get it done to you, I wonder..." the Dark Lord said, mock thoughtful "If you won't do it for anyone who threatens you with it. You're just worthless, a burden and so I think I should just make my life easier"
"NO! Please, no!" Fudge said.
"I think yes..." Voldemort said. "Now, where is Lucius, he'll want to see this. After all, he hates you and your life... Ever since I helped him escape from Azkaban, he's literally been in your shoes, Cornelius. He hates you and all the little problems you caused him by being yourself. And Peter wants to watch, don't you Peter? You've been a Minister for awhile, haven't you?"
"Yes, my Lord" Peter said, slightly shaking. "Of course, my Lord"
"Afraid I'll do it to you, aren't you, Wormtail?" Voldemort said with a dark laughter. "Not just yet, no, not just yet, I need you still"
Peter squeaked slightly just as Lucius entered, arranging his robes.
"I am sorry for being late, Sire" he said darkly. "Is it today that it is done?"
"Yes, Lucius... Today is a special day for our precious little ex-Minister. It is his birthday... Let us give him a special gift, shall we?"
Voldemort made a small move with his wand and a side door opened, a Dementor coming in.
"Have a nice meal..." Voldemort said, laughing darkly.
Fudge started shaking harder and harder as the Dementor went towards him, gaining more distance with every moment. He then started yelling like he never did before, fighting against his binds with more power than the three other men in the room thought would have been possible for him.
The Dementor wasn't in a hurry. It slowly took down its hood and, over the screams that Fudge gave out, Voldemort cried:
"Only a few moments of having a soul left, Cornelius! I hope you enjoy them!"
The man didn't hear him and continued to cry out, until the Dementor caught him into a powerful grasp and sucked his soul out his mouth. Then, he fell silent.
"That was enjoyable. Leave" Voldemort said, gesturing towards the Dementor. "Peter, take what is left of Cornelius in a cell... Make sure it's warm and comfortable, we wouldn't want that body to die, would we?"
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked the head in his fire. "Are you sure?"
"It smelled like evil, like darkness and the house hadn't been lived in for years!" Sirius replied in near panic. "I tell you, something was wrong, deeply wrong, deadly wrong there!"
"Well then, I shall go talk to Fudge soon" Dumbledore said, a bit thoughtful. "I really should find out why he hasn't lived in his house for all these years"
"You should, Headmaster. And soon" Sirius said. "Farewell"
"Goodbye, Sirius" Albus replied.
Sirius pulled his head back through the fireplace and, after a lot of spinning, he made it back into his kitchen. He felt dizzy and he wanted to sit down. Blasted Floo, couldn't they had made it less dizzying? As he turned from the fireplace, he saw Iris sit on one of the chairs in the kitchen and managed a feeble smile.
"Hey" he said slowly.
"Hey" she replied. "What happened? You look horrible, no offence"
"Fudge hasn't been living in his apartment for years and something bad happened there before that" Sirius gave her the very summarized story. "I really don't like it" he added as an afterthought.
"Come sit down" she said slowly. "We should go ahead and see what is wrong then"
"But how?" Sirius asked, his eyes dark. "We can't just pop in the Minister's office and demand where he's lived for the last few years. Damn. If at least he had a wife or sister or parent or anything."
"Or a bastard daughter" Iris said thoughtfully.
"Pardon?!" Sirius said, maybe a little shocked.
"No, I was thinking about something" she said with a small smile. "Don't mind me. But it really is a shame that he never got really close to anybody."
"He used to be close to people in older days" Sirius said with a small frown. "Then he became too much of a pain in the ass for anybody to still like him"
"I know" she replied. "Maybe he meant it. Well, I've got an idea. How about we drop by his work unexpectedly and stupefy him and get him here for questioning?"
Sirius snorted.
"Oh, yes, and if it turns out he had some great majestic plans that require him to stay hidden, then what do we do? Say 'sorry, we thought something was wrong?'"
"Why not?" Iris said with a shrug. "We could explain it to him later. Listen, I'll get some of the Veritaserum that Severus has in his private stocks and we'll feed the Minister with it and if he turns out to be on the wrong side, well, it's a good idea for a next move and if he's on our side... well, we'll tell him what it's about"
"Yes, and he'll believe us why exactly?" Sirius said.
"He won't have any other choice" Iris replied with a small smile. "Well, let's talk to Dumbledore about it. See if he has any objections..."
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Severus woke up on the small bed in the Ministry cell. He saw some Dementors outside, but he couldn't feel their influence... too greatly. He was still cold on the inside and he could remember some very awful scenes of his past, but he wasn't reliving them. He frowned, how come he didn't feel them fully?
But then he remembered the soothing voice... The one that told him all would be alright. It was like a faraway dream, but it was the voice he had heard at some times of need during the past. That voice belonged to Jack Strois. The black, silky voice that spoke in calming tones... He'd promised something.
His cell was dark. He saw it now. He sighed as he looked at the Dementors and he looked towards the dark ceiling. He felt something like pain cross his feelings and he let out a pained question.
"Where are you?" he asked and all the questions remained unanswered over the years poured out of him. "Where are you? Why don't you want me to remember your face? Why don't you show it? What are you afraid of? Why?"
He felt as if his question was answered. He could feel the answer nagging him in the back of his mind.
"Soon..."
Soon what? None of his questions was a 'when', they were 'where' and 'why', always 'why'... But still, the answer was 'soon'... And he felt he knew what the question was. But he also felt that the 'soon' was the end of his rhetorical questions, an end that clearly said he'd had to start thinking practically.
Like thinking about escaping. He'd needed to escape once before... When he himself, as Severus Snape, had lost Voldemort's trust. That damned night, he remembered it so well, when he'd lost his grip on Occulmency and Voldemort had read right through him. It had been the night when he'd witnessed a woman that he knew to be one of Monica's friends killed by the Death Eaters he was with. Voldemort had seen the pity in his mind... Damned be his feelings, they had betrayed him: all the hate for his Master, the betrayal for Dumbledore's cause...
He remembered being dragged down by Lucius right into the cell where he'd thought he'd find his doom... The pain of his limbs after suffering many curses, the fear that Voldemort had somehow seen Monica in his mind. She'd been his only help, his light, his faith, his love... And now, maybe she would be lost...
Oh, how he'd cried in silence all through the night. How he'd seen the shadows moving on the walls... How he'd heard the snakes slithering.
The memories engulfed him, induced by the Dementors, and nothing could save him as he relived the fear of death, the sickness as he thought of Monica's friend being tortured, the fear for his lover's life. Those feelings returned at full force and he somehow got off the bed and his stomach contracted, throwing the remains of his last meal out.
He remembered that woman's face as she was hit again and again with the Cruciatus, that she'd been tortured and raped by his colleagues. What had her name been? Elisabeth?... Carmen?... He couldn't even remember... But he did remember her eyes as she'd been hit again and again and again for a reason that escaped his mind.
His body was shaking as he collapsed on the bed. He didn't want out from those memories... if he'd wanted, maybe he'd been able to throw them out. But he deserved them.
He remembered waiting for his death or worse, for the Kiss, that night long ago and he realized that the two situations were not far apart. They were so much alike. He wondered if he'd be killed now for betraying Voldemort...
No! It was not him who was holding him prisoner now! He had to remember...
But he remembered so well... How the shadows moved on the walls... The same shadows moved now. Had Voldemort seen Monica in his mind? Would he go after her now, taking her away from him? He loved her, she'd be the first person who Voldemort would hit, if he saw her. And then Colt...
But if he received the Kiss, he'd never find out what happened, would he? And if he received it, it would be better, no reason for him to hunt her, was there? She'd be safe... And that was all that mattered. His soul was not all that important.
Coldness went through him and he shivered. If Voldemort had seen Amala in his mind, he'd get her down, he'd kill her. No, if he saw Monica, he hadn't met Amala yet... But how did he know of her, then, if he hadn't meet her? He, Severus, was twenty-two and his lover's name was Monica, he'd never met any Amala... But he met Monica, she was twenty-five and she was a wonderful person. He loved Monica.
No! He was thirty-nine! He had been apart from Monica for sixteen years! They'd only been together on rare occasions and, about eleven-ten years ago their love had turned into a deep, deep friendship. He still cared for her and yes, he still felt some of the old love, but friendship was all that they had now.
And Amala... Amala, she was his lover now. She was seventeen and she was truly an angel. Such intelligence and such an innocent mask, too... He had to remember how old he was, who he was. He had to remember his love for Amala, Monica's flame would not start burning again because of his memories. The similarities were caused because of the dark cell and because the Dementors brought back that night.
He opened his eyes and saw that there were no shadows on the wall, like there had been then. There was no Voldemort wanting to punish him for betrayal. There were no Death Eaters running about trying to kill either Monica or Amala. That night was long gone, such a dreadful night that had been. He'd defeated the Dementor's influence.
He managed to smile thinking of his escape. The way he'd somehow bended the bars on the window in his despair, using a part of his torn robes, the way he'd climbed down the fortress's wall, nearly falling so many times he could not remember. He shivered remembering that. He could have fallen so easily, his feet could have slipped so easily off the nearly polished walls and he'd have fallen from thirty meters up. How desperate he'd had to have been to climb down those walls, which were nearly impossible to hang on to.
How he'd then run into the village nearby, meeting no one, how he'd then Apparated in Hogsmeade and panicked thinking he'd been followed, oh, he remembered...
He remembered walking through the Forest towards Hogwarts, hiding himself in the shadows, going forward only because of his will force. He remembered the way everything seemed to be unnatural then, the new moon, the glittering lake, the dark silhouettes of trees that rather looked like people. How he remembered the feeling that somebody had walked with him all the way, how he remembered the wolf he'd seen run past him. How he could still feel the fallen branches under his feet in those moments when he could see, hear and feel better than at any other time in his life.
He also remembered running into Monica that night, she'd been patrolling the Forest while waiting for him. He remembered her tired, worried face and her happiness to see him. He remembered her shivering in his arms and crying silently when he'd told her of Elizabeth –yes, that had been her friend's name, he now remembered-. He remembered her crying after that when she heard of his loss of grip on Occlumency. He remembered their kiss after that, so full of pain and sorrow.
And he remembered the way the moon shone with a silver light that night, the way the black trees of the Forest moved in a slow dance that spoke of quietness and hiding. He remembered every little detail, every single sound, the branch that hung above him, the silent steps of a distant unicron. He remembered how they'd sat embraced for longer than forever, how then they'd looked at each other and seen themselves more beautiful than ever before...
He remembered the scent of her perfume, the glint in her eyes... The way she'd started moving in her arms with no more sorrow, no more pain, forgetting past and future and knowing only present. She touched him on his very soul then, when they'd made love right before the first break of dawn, when the night was at its darkest hour. He remembered her shivers, her silent moans, her breath...
Every little detail of that night would forever be kept in his soul... Every single detail. And he was sure she would never forget, either...
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"Right! Left! Watch. Your. Head, Cameron!" Sania cried. "Come on, that's not how a Fal'sil fights!"
"Oh, shut up!" the other young woman cried.
In the world of Alcara, in the valley where the Falan -or Fal'sil- kingdom had their capital, one half-elf young woman was sparing with another young woman who was completely human. They were standing in one garden from the marginal sides of the city, the weather was beautiful, the sun was shining and August was just the best month ever for wearing really loose and comfortable clothes. The small house Cameron's parents had was shining in the middle of the tall green grass. A small bench was standing unused under a tree and the two women were holding wooden sticks, pretending they were swords. The half-elf woman, Sania, was enjoying herself greatly while Cameron was not having too much of a good time.
"Well, if you ever go to battle or to hunt..." Sania started but was cut off by the other woman.
"What if I don't go?! I'm a woman and therefore not a soldier!" Cameron cried. "I want to do other things, not go into battle! Have you ever heard of other pleasures than the ones that include swords, shields, daggers or bows and arrows, Demonheart?"
"Yes, I have" the other one said with a small shrug. "And I enjoy a great deal many things except for fighting, but you should know, my friend, that those who do not use weapons can still die because of them and therefore you should learn how to fight! Besides being a nice sport, it's also helpful!"
"Where the hell do you get such lines from?!" Cameron cried. "Tell me!"
"From another one of my hobbies: watching movies!" Sania said with a roll of her eyes. "That one was from 'the Lord of the Rings', although it's not the exact quote"
"'The Lord of the Rings'?!" Cameron said with an exasperated look. "What's your next favorite? 'The 13th warrior?!"
"Actually, I quite like the 'Adventures of the 3 Ninjas'" Sania said thoughtfully. "And 'Pretty Woman' was great, 'Hot Shots' was one of the most wonderful parodies ever, 'the Histroy of the World, Part I' was extraordinary, 'Karate Kid', all from the series, were inspiring, 'the Sword in the Stone' is one of the greatest animations ever, add 'the Lion King' to that –although the sequels were awful-, 'Contact' was great..."
"Ok, ok, I get it" Cameron said, rolling her eyes. "Shish. Don't you ever watch anything normal, like, which is not about battles or 100 years old?"
"I liked 'Pirates of the Caribbean'" Sania replied with a smirk. "Now, really... You should get some more practice."
"I hate swords! I hate bows and arrows!" Cameron cried. "Everybody here is nuts! The elves... that's all they speak of, the elves: battles, stars, nature and old times! GO GET A LIFE!"
"Aren't we mad?" Sania asked with a small laugh.
"How the hell can you be so... so... calm!" Cameron cried. "I'm, fuming, steaming and..."
"Using up all your energy" Sania said with an amused chuckle. "Which is not good. I know what you like... You like dresses and make-up and the world where humans originate from, Terra. And you like perfumes and boys and going out. Am I right?"
"Yes! Yes!" Cameron said desperately. "Finally! You've got it!"
"I like those, too" Sania said, sitting down on the grass. "Sit down"
Surprised, Cameron did as she was told and sat down next to Sania, not caring that her clothes would be grass stained when she got up.
"This world" Sania said, showing the other everything around her "is a world of warriors. You know that. The Fal'sil came here one thousand years ago and some others, human or not, joined them in time... Everything went well. As you know, this is a peaceful world, except for the occasional battle with one kingdom or another. Now, the Fal'sil did not invent electrical-based machines and they never used gas or petrol. Many from this world are magical, so some things were adapted, others were not."
"I know all this, Demonheart. Which is your point?" Cameron asked. "I don't get it"
"You will soon" Sania said with a small smile. "Many inventions were brought and adapted from the Original world. Others were brought from other places. No polluting machine or anything was brought here. Therefore, your world has windmills and hydro-electric plants more than the Original world does. It is a much cleaner, less polluted, less crowded place."
"Yes?!" Cameron said, getting impatient.
"What you wish for is that world, Cameron" Sania said seriously. "I lived there for many years. I met girls and young women with the same ideas as you. But do you know what the problem is there?"
"Why don't you tell me?" Cameron said, annoyed.
"They don't know anything about magic or different worlds. Normal people couldn't defend themselves against many creatures, even if they tried. But generally speaking, they're good at war: they've got guns and bombs, they don't need swords" Sania said slowly. "Do you want to be in that world? They have pretty clothes and you would find yourself pretty much in heaven with the responsibility and boy part"
"Yes, I'd like that" Cameron said with a frown. "Why wouldn't I? Why don't you?"
"Because I like forests and animals and trees and control over myself and the possibility to be respected no matter how old I am or where I was for the last four years. I have a name, I have something to say. I can ask to see the king of the elves, I know Saren, the High Priestess of the elves. I can walk down these streets at night and have no fear of being attacked and robbed. I can tell people about experiences I had, things I lived through without being considered nuts. This world is peaceful, Cameron, although many from it are warriors. That world is violent, although not many are soldiers."
"It is not violent!" Cameron said, outraged.
"You've never been there. That's where I come from though. Trust me, it's violent. And there is no such thing as nobility, there are places where the lack of respect for the others can drive one Fal'sil crazy. Of course it has some better parts than this world has... But I like this one better. And for now, you are a Fal'sil and all Fal'sil learn how to fight."
"But I never hunt or go to battle, I don't need it" Cameron said with a sigh. "My parents are both traders, my grandparents were doctors and traders and well, nobody in my family has really fought for generations"
"Well then, tell your parents to stop hoping you'll become a great warrior!" Sania said. "They told me to teach you, but if your heart does not lie with it, there is nothing I can teach that you have not yet learned."
"Tell them?!" Cameron nearly cried. "You know them! They deeply desire I will become a warrior and they won't take 'no' for an answer!"
"But how do you think they'd feel if they realized they've been pushing you the wrong way and you never said anything? You should be a trader, or an esthetician or something of the sort, there is need of such people" Sania pointed out. "A world of warriors cannot resist without traders and workers... Even if they have magic"
"So... you're saying I should let this go?" Cameron shyly asked.
"Yes! If you don't like it, don't do it. Do what you deeply wish to do! That's the warrior's path, not the actual sword fighting and demon-hunting!" Sania said. "A warrior's path is what that warrior chooses to do with his or her path, taking full responsibility of his or her actions. That's it"
Cameron just stared at the half-elf woman in front of her, truly understanding for the first time that she was free to do whatever she wanted with her life.
"I should be going" Sania said slowly. "I must get to the castle. The viceroy and the High Council have demanded my being there in half an hour and I shouldn't be late"
"Okay..." Cameron said slowly and watched Sania as the other smiled at her.
"The two of us" Sania said, getting up, "we're quite alike. I had to fight to become what I am because I was being forced to become what you want to be. And you have to fight to become what you want to be, being forced to become what I am. You have a friend in me, Cameron. Don't forget it"
With that, the young half-elf put her stick down on the ground and left the garden, the small house and her new -found friend behind, heading towards the castle.
She had meant what she had said to Cameron. She would be the other's friend... And indeed they were quite alike. She could remember all the times when she had been back in her family and when her parents had tried to force her to become what she was simply not meant to be. They wouldn't see that yes, school was easy, but it was not enough. She had questions to be answered, things to discover.
She was a warrior and God knew it had taken a lot from her to become what she now was. It would take a lot from Cameron to become what she wanted to be, too. Because Cameron did not simply want a normal life, Sania knew. Cameron wanted to bring all the technological good things from the Human World –also known as the Original World or Terra World- into Alcara. She wanted to make movies a more common occurrence, not something special, she wanted to bring some of the clothing styles into Alcara.
And Sania wanted to bring a lot of Alcara into herself. She wanted to become ageless, like the elves, she wanted to be brave and to be able to face any part of life like a warrior. Like a true warrior... She wanted to find the answers to the questions that human beings were searching for countless ages, she wanted to learn the freedom of being herself... She wanted to learn the language of trees and animals, of stars and clouds.
But for the short future, she wanted to find out why the viceroy had called her at the castle. It was unexpected to call her, she had nearly nothing to do with anything at that moment. She had been in the Forbidden Forest for quite awhile before going to Alcara and yes, she had been in the elven realms quite a lot, but otherwise, why would he call her?
The great grayish-white castle in the middle of the capital got nearer and nearer to the young woman and she soon found herself walking at her quick pace through the corridors. A few servants nodded towards her in hello and she nodded back in reply. After walking up and down the greatly decorated stairs and corridors for what seemed too long a time, she got to the room where she had to be in and entered without bothering to knock. Nobody would have heard it anyway.
The room she had entered was large and the tall windows let the summer breeze inside. She smiled to herself as she took in the details of the room, once again being amazed by the tallness of the ceiling and by the large round table that was in the middle of the room. There were differently colored decorations on the wall and some curtains moved slightly over the windows.
The other people who were in the room were at the round table, mostly talking among themselves and nodding gravely from time to time.
Sania sat down on one of the empty chairs and she looked at the viceroy who was talking to one of the council. She also noticed that there were a few elves there.
There were about forty people there, out of what she could gather. Yes, there was the viceroy, the High Council which consisted of thirty members and about ten elves. She wondered... What did they want with her? Sure, she was respected for some of the creatures she'd fought, but in no way was she anywhere near the greatness of the elves or the importance of the members of the High Council.
Soon, a few others entered the room and they were 49, after what Sania could see... Hmm... 49 was square 7. Did that mean that their luck was squared? She chuckled to herself. Numbers were such a good joke.
The viceroy rose from his chair and gave a small hum before starting to speak.
"Fellow Councilors, great elves and you our valiant guests-"
Sania knew she was one of the 'valiant guests'. Nice way to say 'no-importance-for-this-place people'.
"The reason for our gathering here" the viceroy continued "is the choosing of another king or queen"
Oh, yeah. Sania remembered that problem. The old king, Lombard, or whatever his name had been, had died. He hadn't even been one of the original king's line, that's what she'd heard. He'd been elected by the High Council due to the lack of king or queen at that point of time. All nice and well, but what did it have to do with her?
"We have chosen to bring back the House of Eagle, our King from 1000 years ago" the viceroy said and everybody gasped, including Sania. But... where had the House of Eagle been for all that time?
"But... aren't they... dead?" one of the 'valiant guests' asked.
"No, just forgotten" the viceroy replied. "Because for nearly eight hundred years they have lived in the Original Human World"
Original Human World! So that was what it was called! Ah, she'd been wondering for so long! But still, what did all this had to do with her?
"It has reached our ears that after King Eagle had risen from his place in the Clearing of Roses, he had went to see Naranesh, the human goddess, and there he told her who his heir was and he has given her the Ring of the Fal'sil for her to give to his heir. As some of you may know, Eagle's wife was Roxanna Chase. And as all Chases, she passed her name down from generation and so, her heir and therefore the king's heir still bares the same name. The queen of the Fal'sil is now Jane Chase"
"Holy cow!" Sania said, her eyes widening greatly as she nearly fell from her chair. All the eyes turned towards her and she remembered in a very embarrassing way that she was between a lot of important people and she was just a guest. She was damned.
"Pardon?" the viceroy said and one of the elves chuckled lightly.
"I said... rolling down!... my path of memory is" Sania tried to save at least a last bit of her dignity. Although taking in Yoda-mode was probably no good idea of how to do it. And all the elves were laughing now. "I recall that once before... I met... one girl that did bear such name she?"
Well, not only the elves were laughing now. And she had turned really, really red, being perfectly aware that her sentences sounded as if somebody had ripped apart the words in whatever she wanted to say and gave them back in random order. And mixing them up a little after that, too.
"Oh?" the viceroy said. "Do tell"
"But no way could the future queen and young girl be the same. The future queen must have some age, the girl too young had been"
Okay, okay, some of her sentences were starting to have some sense and poetry-like rhythm. But why was she talking like this again? Oh, yeah, to hide her original mistake. Not that it was working.
"This girl we're searching for is very young too and that is why we called you. You've met a Jane Chase, have you not?" the viceroy asked, apparently never having heard of her before, since he was one of the few people in the room not laughing their heads off.
"Yes, yes, in the Forbidden Forest, right next to Hogwarts school. With a group led by the bearer of the Green Torch she was. I paid her little mind, I had not known her line of king... blood" Sania finished, feeling her word inspiration was definitely not one of the best. The ones who'd managed to stop laughing started again when they heard her drop her voice and say 'blood' in a totally un-noble way.
"Indeed it must have been her, she is learning at Hogwarts and I have been told that she is indeed friends with Harry Potter, the one who bore the Green Torch. Tell us about her" the viceroy asked and Sania sighed inwardly. 'Till the end!
"Young and unknowing small girl, perhaps her parents would do better, such power in their hands. Too young to rule, too young to fight, she is unknowing of what is to come. But she is bright, within the time, become great queen she shall" Sania replied, trying to think of herself as a great, old, experienced queen.
"Her parents are dead" one of the people in the High Council said and the small chuckling went away abruptly. "Killed by supporters of the one that calls himself Voldemort."
"Oh my God!" Sania said shocked. "So sorry..."
"But I have heard she is coping well" the viceroy said. "Perhaps that is why Eagle has chosen her? But this is what I want to ask you: should she be our queen or not?"
"It is known that sometimes greatest minds and hearts come in youngest bodies" one of the elves, who Sania immediately recognized as Saren, the High Priestess, said.
"But experience gets great only by time" Sania pointed out. "And the youngest of the Chases has not had yet any time"
"I know another who walks on the path of greatness and she is hardly older" Saren said, smiling towards Sania. "Intelligence is eternal, although experience indeed comes only by time. I think that yes, she should be back on the throne and that we should be here to help"
"What the great priestess says I agree with" Sania said. Awkward speaking seemed somewhat more normal now. "She is wise, the great priestesses always are"
"What I say" Saren said slowly "is that what your king Eagle has chosen he chose with a reason. His House should be back. We should help her and teach her everything she needs to know. And we should do it by going to her, not calling her to us. She still needs her friends and she still needs to become a witch. Let's not call her to us, let us go to her."
"Us go to her?!" the viceroy said, surprised. "But..."
"She knows no-one here, besides Sania, and that is not enough for her to feel comfortable. Her parents are dead and if we take her away from her friends, from the ones who know her, what will she do? She might like it here, but even liking it will be eclipsed by what she has lost. We cannot ask her to be a queen and therefore to give up most of her freedom, her time, her life, we cannot ask her to sacrifice herself for us, for it will be a sacrifice, while asking her to give up other things that she needn't give up... I may think she can be the queen, but I do not think that she will do it if we rip her apart from her home, her friends and her world."
"Her world is this one" a human woman said in a nasty tone. "She needs to get used to it, this is the place she'll rule and I know many people who would give up anything to rule Alcara! Why wouldn't she do it? We make her queen and before we know it, we have to sacrifice ourselves so she can feel great!"
"I know many people who would kill to sit on this throne too" Saren said, glaring slightly towards the woman. "Don't forget, Sybille, that I know this kingdom too. I have been through these lands for many years and I know that many stupid people or people lacking common sense would want to be rulers, but they only think of the good parts of ruling a world! The first thing that Jane Chase thought when Naranesh gave her the Ring of the Fal'sil was that being a queen was very difficult, a great responsibility. The reason why she thought before accepting was that she was afraid that she would not be able to handle it, she is aware that her age is against her!"
"How do you know?" Sybille asked in an annoying tone. "Has the young girl told you so? She wants us at her feet, mark my words"
"Naranesh read her mind" Saren replied with a small smirk. "Young Jane Chase told nothing of her fears, but those fears are the sign of a great ruler to be. I say we should contact her. Sania can go there, talk to her. We can send teachers, it will not be an effort. We can easily give her a key to this world so she can travel from the Original Human World here at any time. She will be great, once her training finished."
"Well, who agrees with Saren?" the viceroy asked and most of the elves and quite a few of the council raised their hands. "Opposed?" some others, not including Sania, raised their hands. "Very well, then. We shall send her teachers"
Sybille didn't seem to be too pleased, Sania noticed as she raised from her chair and walked towards the exit along with other people. Behind her, she could hear the viceroy asking:
"How old is that elven woman who talked first?"
"Oh, she's only half-elven" one of the elves laughed. "She's twenty-two"
"But... the way she spoke... as if she were a few thousand years old" the viceroy said and Sania could just hear him gap.
"Well, that was because of her first exclamation" the elf explained.
"What was it?" the viceroy said palely. "The one with her remembering?"
"Rolling down my path of memory?" the elf seemed to laugh even harder. "At first she'd cried 'holly cow'. She just had no clue how to correct it"
Sania started laughing like mad and exited the room.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Dumbledore entered the Minister's office after announcing the secretary he had many things to tell him and therefore she shouldn't interrupt them, no matter what.
Now of course, Fudge was not announced of his visit... He would find out as he'd be taken away with the parchment portkey at the right time. As for himself, Dumbledore wore invisible gloves, so he wasn't afraid of touching the parchment and disappearing.
As he stepped through the door he saw that Fudge was sitting at his desk, writing something.
"Hello, Cornelius" he said pleasantly. "How nice to see you again"
"Dumbledore!" the other said, startled. "What are you doing here?"
"Let Severus go, Cornelius, this is the last time I ask this of you" Dumbledore said, thinking that it was worth a shot.
"No" Fudge replied, snorting slightly. "I already said it many times ago"
"Very well, then" the old Headmaster said. Plan B it was, then. "I would then like you to sign this paper so I can complete the paperwork"
Fudge eyed him suspiciously as he took out the parchment.
"What paperwork?" the Minister demanded.
"My dear boy, you must know that I'll be representing him in court. I need to get your signature that you are still sustaining that he belongs in Azkaban."
Fudge eyed him suspiciously before saying in a rather disbelieving manner:
"Let me see the paper"
Dumbledore handed him the paper and, as soon as Fudge's outstretched hand touched it, the Minister disappeared and the Headmaster sighed relieved.
"On to part two..." he said before taking off his gloves and touching a portkey of his own and getting into his office in Hogwarts.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
In Dumbledore's office, Iris and Sirius jumped and bound the Minister with two carefully aimed spells.
"What the hell?!" he cried in a voice that was not totally his.
"Don't worry, Fudge, you'll find out soon enough" Iris said and took a bottle of something off the Headmaster's desk. Just then, Dumbledore himself appeared in the middle of the room.
"Ah, I see everything is going alright" he said calmly.
"Dumbledore, what the heck do you think you're doing?!" Fudge cried. "Are you out of your mind?!"
"No, my dear boy, we just want to find out a few things from you" came the reply and Iris took the cork off the bottle. "Drink this, will you?"
"What is it?" Fudge asked, glaring at the bottle.
"Something that will make our talk a bit more easy" Dumbledore replied.
Iris fed the potion to Fudge, who was struggling in reply. She somehow managed to make the Minister swallow some of it and then said with a happy smile:
"Well, a bit of Veritaserum never hurt anyone."
"Veritaserum?!" Fudge cried. "No!"
"Let's start with the beginning" Sirius said smirking. "What's your name"
"Lucius Malfoy" spat the small man and all three gaped.
"Is this working?" Sirius asked, looking at the bottle with a glare.
"Yes" the small man said between clenched teeth.
"I think I'll give it a try" Sirius said and took a small sip from the bottle. "My name is Sirius Black. This Veritaserum is good. Yep, it's working. So... Lucius?"
"Yes" the man who looked like Fudge said sourly.
"When did you take the place of the Minister?" Iris asked slowly.
"After the escape from Azkaban" Lucius replied with a sorrow look.
"Well, Fudge was already a bastard by then, he didn't have much work to do to get in the skin of his character" Sirius said with a small shrug and Fudge let out a short sniff which sounded a lot like a snort.
"Did Voldemort make you do this?" Dumbledore asked.
"He asked me to, yes" Lucius replied, looking at Dumbledore coldly.
"What did you do to Cornelius?" the Headmaster asked.
"We kept him in a cell for awhile, but when he got too much of a pain, the Dark Lord got a Dementor to administer him the Kiss" Lucius replied with something like glee in his eyes. Sirius and Iris shivered like one and the beautiful woman put a hand on her lover's shoulder for support.
"When did he get the kiss?" Dumbledore asked and Lucius couldn't hide a smirk.
"Today, Dumbledore. Today"
The three members of the Order in the room looked at each other with something like horror as Lucius watched them triumphantly.
"What about Severus? What will happen to him?" Iris asked slowly.
"The Dark Lord wanted the Kiss to be administered to him, too, he was just waiting for the right time. If I don't make it back to the office, that scum, Wormtail will go and will finish the job" Lucius said with a bark of laughter. "No matter what you do with me, that fool of a traitor will be worse than dead"
"Nobody would believe Wormtail to be Fudge" Sirius said with a small dismissal of his hand before something dawned on him. "Would anyone believe it, Lucius?"
"Everybody would" Lucius replied.
At that certain time, his body started changing back due to the lack of Polyjuice. In front of the three of them stood now the tall, cold, impressive stature of Lucius Malfoy, complete with an evil smirk.
"Has he ever been in the Minister's place?" Sirius asked slowly.
"Yes" Lucius said, trying to look just as calm and cold, but something was starting to seem really worried in his act.
"When was Fudge taken away from his house and job?" Sirius asked.
"After the Master came back to his material self" Lucius said, definitely looking less calm.
"So, that wasn't him when I told him about the parting of the roads" Dumbledore said slowly and Lucius managed to keep his mouth shut. "Who was it?"
"Wormtail" the blonde said quietly.
Dumbledore sighed.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Remus and Dumbledore were walking quickly down the corridors of the Ministry. After the old Headmaster had gathered a few of the Order and told them about everything, telling them to pass the information forwards, they decided to act as quickly as possible on the Snape matter. Dumbledore had talked to everybody and told them about his deal with Fudge which implied letting Severus Snape go and putting Lucius Malfoy back in prison... Somewhere where Dumbledore decided the best place for him would be. Sirius suggested a nice, cold place six feet underground in a large wooden box. Iris had glared.
"They should really destroy the Dementors they have left" Remus said with a sigh.
"Voldemort would want them in here" the Headmaster replied. "Of course he would make sure that some stayed here. This will all be changed. I will make arrangements for the Minister to be replaced."
"Who will you put in his shoes?" Remus asked curiously.
"I still need to see" Dumbledore replied and sped up his pace. If Wormtail managed to take Lucius' place and give the order for Severus's Kiss in time, it would... Well, let's just say that it would have resulted in a very mad Dumbledore and Order of the Phoenix and in a murdering Amala Wright.
They got on the corridor where Severus's cell was and Dumbledore took out his wand, casting a Patronus charm.
"No use in being friends with them now" he explained to Remus in a short way and took out the key for Severus's cell and opened it.
The Potion Master was sprawled on the small dirty bed. At the moment the two other men entered he woke up from his shaky sleep and got on his feet.
"How nice to see you again Albus, Remus" he said in a dry way.
"You're free" Remus said in a calm way. "And you need to get out of here and back to your house. Kingsley will get your wand"
"He'd better" Severus said dryly and started walking towards the two. They could see he was rather drained, but he was not as bad as they'd expected. "Well, what are we waiting for?"
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"Severus!" Amala said as the Potion Master, Dumbledore and Remus appeared in the middle of the room.
The older man caught her in her arms as she made a few steps towards him. On his tired face a smile appeared. He'd missed her, worried about her in those times when he'd forgotten everything... And then he remembered about relieving that night... He wanted some sleep, a good bath and a bit of peace.
"Hi" he said slowly.
"Are you ok?" she asked looking straight into his eyes.
"I'm rather dirty and tired, but yes, otherwise I am perfectly fine" he replied with a tired smile. "I should be taking a bath and going to bed. I'll be alright tomorrow"
She nodded and his gaze wandered off towards the other people in the room. He gathered all his power to glare at the spectators. What were all the refugees from both Snape Manor and Number 12 doing there?
"I should be going, we'll talk tomorrow" Severus said and released himself from Amala's embrace and walked tiredly out of the room.
"Well, off to bed with all of us" Draco said, surprising everybody. "We need to be awake tomorrow. Well? Let's go, let's go!"
The teens went out of the room at a much quicker pace than the Professor, leaving the adults to stared behind them.
"Sleep is not all they will do" Albus said, his eyes twinkling. "I do believe that they will talk all night"
"I think I agree" Sirius replied. "Well, everybody else, with me, we should be going back to my house"
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Colt and the teens were in one of the day rooms on the bedroom level.
"Well, he might be too tired to feel like talking now, Amala" Draco said with a huge smirk "but tomorrow he won't feel like talking either"
"Why?" she asked and the blonde snickered. Colt raised an eyebrow –if such a thing was possible for wolves.
"Are we really that innocent, Amala?" Draco asked with a lot of irony. "He won't want to talk to his girlfriend. In fact, he'll put both your mouths to better use"
"If you're suggesting that he'd be kissing me, why don't you just say it?" Amala asked, rolling her eyes.
"I wasn't thinking of kissing, unless you call that kissing..." Draco said with a smirk and a mock-frown. "How do you call it? Kissing?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Ron snapped.
"Nothing your pure and innocent mind would want to know" the Slytherin replied with a now trademark smirk. "Kisses on other parts of the body than the lips... or cheeks, or hair or anything on the upper side of the body or anything too down"
Amala raised her eyebrow before realizing what he meant and blushing slightly.
"I'll have you know, Draco, that we never got to such a part of our relationship" she said, blushing even greater.
"You will soon probably" the blond replied.
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.
"Do we need to spell it out to you?" Draco asked with an amused raise of his eyebrows. "One last clue: it involves one of the two's mouths and the other's sexual organ"
Ron blushed furiously.
"That's a mental image I could do without" he said between clenched teeth and some of the others, including Amala, laughed.
"Yes well, it's obvious that you've never even thought of anything of the sort, never mind done such a thing" Draco said and made a dismissal gesture. "You're therefore forgiven"
"Ginny, how can you stand him?" Ron asked with a sigh and his younger sister laughed.
"I'm so glad Severus's alright" Amala said in a more serious way. "For a while there I thought something really bad would happen..."
"Don't worry, he's tougher than he looks and he even looks tough" Colt said with a yawn.
"Colt?" Neville said in a shaky voice and the wolf's head turned towards the teen. "How come Professor Snape doesn't... well, you know... hate me anymore?"
"He's never hated you" Colt said matter-of-factly.
"He hasn't?" Neville asked, surprised.
"Nah, that was reserved for Harry here" Colt said drawing a few chuckles. "And especially for James Potter, Sirius Black, a few Death Eaters and Voldemort. Hey, you didn't shake nine tenths as much as usual at the sound of that name!"
"Then what did he feel for me?" Neville asked slowly.
"Something between complete exasperation and complete annoyance" Colt relied casually. "Don't take it personally, but you destroyed his classroom enough times for him to feel that."
At that certain moment, there was a loud bird cry outside and Colt jumped from his spot to the window, looking outside and losing his usual joy and happiness.
"A crow..." he said quietly, but loud enough for the others to hear. "Crows are messengers... Something is to happen soon"
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
AN: There goes another chapter... A really long one! That scene with Severus escaping from Voldemort just leaped into my mind. And meeting Monica... Oh, my, Amala will have to find out about her sometime.
Well, then, don't forget to review... I deserve it! looks at you proudly
Replies to reviews –and tones of thanks to those who reviewed! You guys are the best of the best!-:
Skillz: Here you go... chuckle
Inu-kokoro: I can't believe I keep posting chapters at the right time... Talking about coincidence... Well, Severus is back, but Amala will have to find out about Monica. And he might just tell her more than needed... Ouch. ;-)
Marauder#3: Well, it wasn't Fudge... And I basically gave a Kiss to an innocent man... Well, that's Voldemort for you. And you'll get some Amala/Severus soon... Draco might be a complete brat when it comes to saying things, but he's got a pretty good intuition. And Amala/Severus and Draco are sooo fun to write ;o)
Tsuetsu: My lj is at the very top of this chapter, right under 'link to my journal' ;-). And yes, I'd be delighted to have you as a friend! What's your lj? May I add you as a friend?
GamingGuy84: Mate, you make me feel bad. Only now are things getting interesting?! pouts. Just kidding. Well, Voldie's servant was Lucius... I know I don't specify, but he was under Polyjuice then and I couldn't describe him if I didn't want to give away this chapter. And the kids... they'll go to Hogwarts soon enough.
Alcapacien: lol. I meant relationship as in friendship, yes. No, no slash here, it's a slash-free story. And well, their friendship didn't really start in this chapter, but it will soon. All I need is a little time.