Chapter 8.

School and Secrets.

"Little Miss Fairy,

Stupid little ditz,

They say she was scary,

And put up lots of fits.

One - "

Auri cut herself off in singing the stupid tune when she saw Professor Snape and the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Turmoil whispering secretively in a dark corner of the hallway. She turned pale and quietly hid herself behind a column closest to the two teachers and listened in carefully.

"… You moron," Professor Snape hissed at the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. "You were supposed to do it today…"

"B-but that girl couldn't possibly know," the professor answered feverishly, backing away.

"You know everything, don't you Miguel?" Snape lifted him up by his collar. Auri clasped a hand to her mouth to keep from gasping loudly. Professor Turmoil struggled, being quite short at 5''1, and bobbed his head up and down like a broken doll.

"N-n-n-n-no I don't," Professor Turmoil stuttered, swallowing air. "I-I-I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry, S-s-s-Severus. The Dark Lord will be h-h-happy f-for u-us."

"You idiot," Snape lifted him even higher, his eyebrows furrowed into a straight line. "Someone could hear you!" He dropped him roughly to the floor and continued in a low voice, "I want Potter dead tomorrow, you hear? The Dark Lord doesn't have time for mistakes."

"Yes, sir," Professor Turmoil replied like an obedient child being convicted of a felony a while before.

Auri watched him disappear, scrambling up the steps to the Great Hall and sighed freely. Suddenly Snape turned towards her direction with a strange expression on his face and reached a hand towards Auri's column. At that very moment, Professor McGonnagal scurried down the staircase and nodded towards Severus, followed by a group of students. He pulled his hand away, his upper lip twitching unpleasantly, and spun on his heal. Auri swallowed hard, shaking, trying to digest the information she had just heard, and barged into the Girl's Common Room, frantically yelling out for Hermione's name.

A small girl with short blonde hair lifted her head from a book she was studying and replied dully, "She's not here, so be quiet please."

"Where is she then?" Auri's eyes were wide.

"Check the Great Hall, or the library. Oh yes, today's Hogsmead day," the girl answered tiredly, as if the conversation was making her weary.

"What's Hogsmead?" Auri asked, plopping herself down on a bed.

"You must be an idiot to not know what Hogsmead is," the girl replied coldly. "I would've went but my permission form wasn't signed." She turned her eyes from the book and gazed at her. "Use flu powder to get there, it's a long way walking." The girl handed her a small sack of green powder.

Auri grabbed it and hurried to the nearest isolated fireplace. She thrust a handful of powder into the fireplace and yelled, "Hogsmead!"

She arrived, coughing, on a narrow street and spotted Ron and Hermione in a café by pure chance.

"Hermione!" she said rather loudly, barging into the café.

"I was wondering where you went. Didn't you know it was Hogsmead Day?" Hermione asked quizzically.

"N-no," Auri shook her head, taking a seat next to her. "But that's not important. Harry, there's something I really must tell you. And while I won't tell you all of my secrets, I think you should know this because it concerns you."

Harry stared down into his plate, not able to meet her eyes.

"Snape is going to kill you," she whispered across the table.

"What?" Ron yelped.

"Quiet," she shushed him, a bit irritated. "Now listen closely…" Auri explained her dreams and what she heard recently from Professor Snape and Turmoil. Of course, she left out the part of her true identity because she was sure it would cause even more problems.

"Oh…" Harry said softly. "I-it should have been expected."

"You don't say?" Auri said skeptically. "In your place, I would tell Dumbledore."

"Yes, Harry," Hermione looked concerned. "She's right. You really should."

"He wouldn't believe me," Harry replied darkly. "He's always been so sure that Snape was long gone from being on Lord Voldemort's side."

"As you can see he's wrong," Auri replied in a very Hermione-ish voice.

"But blimey… why would he want to kill you?" Ron gaped at Harry.

"The prophecy," Harry replied in a steady voice. "He read the prophecy and they automatically believed in it. One of us has to die. And they will make sure that I'm the one."

"Harry," Auri said, her voice breaking. "Harry, I'm sorry. I should have told you earlier."

"Not your fault," he said quietly. "I wasn't a present either."

"You've got to be careful," Hermione sounded worried. "Please tell Dumbledore before it… something terrible happens."

"Hermione," Harry sighed. "I've already told you. There is - "

"Unless…" Ron interrupted him thoughtfully. "Unless… Harry, you kill Snape first."

"Don't be an idiot, Ron," Hermione said irritably. "If Harry kills Snape, he'll have to go to Azkaban. And even then, the Dark Lord will be forced to take action and the results could be monstrous."

"So it's better if Harry dies first?" Ron inquired angrily.

"No, I'm just saying that it's better off - "

"Wait. Who's that?" Auri cut Hermione off in a deadly whisper, pointing to a tall, dark and black figure standing by the doorway.

Ron turned towards the doorway and lifted his eyebrows in surprise, "Blimey! Why, that's Snape!"

"Why would he…" Auri's voice trailed off as she wrinkled her forehead.

"Sh-sh-sh-sh, quiet," Harry said hoarsely, pulling out a silvery cape strewn with stars from his back pocket.

"Not your invisibility cloak again, Harry," Hermione frowned.

"Get under," he whispered to Auri.

"What?" she looked at him, confused.

"It's an invisibility cloak, you've got to get under it," he explained quickly.

She ducked down and they walked carefully over to the counter where Snape was ordering himself a drink. His eyes were scanning the room when they spotted an empty chair next to where Hermione and Ron were sitting. His lips twitched with suspicion.

"He knows," Harry breathed. "We've got to get out of here."

"And do what?" Auri said heatedly. "Let you die? We've got to find out what he's up to."

A short pudgy man appeared in the doorway of the café. Auri recognized him as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Professor Turmoil made his way through the tables and acknowledged Snape with a nervous nod.

"Greetings, professor," he said a little too cheerfully.

"Shut up and listen, you fool," Snape said quietly. "I just received a message from the Dark Lord. I will retire from Hogwarts and now you will play Dumbledore's favorite."

"B-b-b-but, won't they be…" Professor Turmoil stuttered.

"Suspicious?" Snape finished. "Yes… that's why your job is so important."

"M-my job?" the DADA professor looked even more nervous than before, shifting in his seat.

"Yes," Snape continued, taking another gulp of his drink. "Butter up Potter and play Dumbledore's favorite. For now… you must wait further instructions before doing anything else."

Harry dragged Auri to their friends under the invisibility cloak and then the four of them left the café.

"Well?" Hermione said anxiously. "What did you hear?"

"They're not going to kill me," Harry said darkly. "For now."

"Snape is going to retire," Auri added. "And Harry, be careful with the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Voldemort takes away my parents," Harry fumed. "And now, he wants to kill me because of some stupid prophecy which isn't even true!"

They walked back to the castle silently, each thinking his or her own personal thoughts, most of which were cheerless. The day took an unexpected turn and all of them realized they will have to fight Lord Voldemort sooner than they had anticipated.