Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and friends. Too bad.
A/N: School starts back for me on the 17th. I don't know how often I will be able to update once that happens. I'll try not to leave you hanging for too long, though. Thanks to my reviewers.
Lucius Malfoy glanced at Snape for a moment before taking a long look around the room. His eyes halted for a few moments on the stool which was lying on the ground and the knife that had fallen beside it. Snape impatiently waited for Malfoy to explain why he had arrived at Hogwarts. Malfoy's careful examination of the room only took a few seconds before he turned back to Snape.
"Hello, Severus."
"Lucius."
Malfoy's eyes wandered again to the stool. As he stared at the object, his suspicious voice filled the room. "I thought I heard voices in here a minute ago. Is someone else around?"
Snape kept his expression neutral while he answered the question. "The only one that I know of that is in the school is the Headmaster. I was reciting the instructions to myself for the potions that I was brewing. That is what you heard."
"I don't see any books open."
"I don't need to have a book in front of me while I work," Snape said with a smirk on his face.
"Yes, of course. Did I startle you when I Flooed in?" Lucius asked, his gaze finally turning from the stool to look at the Potions Master.
"I was cutting up ingredients when you arrived. I wanted to know who was coming to see me. The stool and knife accidentally fell to the floor," replied Snape.
"I see. I never knew you were clumsy." After a short pause, Lucius's sneering voice continued speaking. "So you rushed all the way over here just to greet me? How charming."
Snape grew tired of this interrogation. "Was there something specific that you wanted? In case you haven't noticed, I am a little busy right now. If you just came to talk, that will have to wait until another time."
Malfoy began slowly wandering around the lab and inspecting everything. Harry, who was still under the Invisibility Cloak, had to silently and carefully walk away from Malfoy. Harry didn't have a whole lot more room to move, so he hoped that Malfoy would stop approaching him and go back over to Snape soon.
Malfoy stopped moving a few inches from where Harry was standing. Harry held his breath and tried to stand as still as he possibly could. If he was to be found here, the consequences would be disastrous for himself and his professor. Harry slowly began to relax as Malfoy continued his exploration of the classroom.
"Our Lord asked me to come here and deliver a list of potions to you. He wants these to be made within five days," Malfoy said as he handed over a piece of parchment.
"Since when are you his messenger boy?" Snape asked.
Malfoy gazed hatefully at Snape for a moment before calming down. "Are you questioning our Lord, Severus? You know he doesn't like it when people do that."
"No, I wasn't questioning the Dark Lord. I was just wondering why he sent you. Surely you have more important things to do, and you are one of his favorites. He could have sent someone that has a lower ranking than you to fulfill this task," Snape said, trying to butter up Malfoy.
Malfoy swelled up at the compliments. "We aren't always able to figure out why our Lord does something, but his ways are the best…"
Malfoy was cut off when flames suddenly burst in the middle of the room. Once the flames died down, Fawkes was visible. The phoenix led out a beautiful song before flying over to a table near where Harry was hidden. Harry mentally groaned and wished that Dumbledore had picked a better time to quit working than right now. He hoped that Fawkes would be smart enough not to expose him to Malfoy.
Snape's face gave an almost imperceptible twitch at the sight of Fawkes, and Malfoy raised his eyebrows in surprise. The room was silent for a few moments as everyone stood still in shock. Malfoy finally turned to Snape for an explanation.
"What is going on? Why is that bird here?"
"That is Albus's phoenix so my guess is that he wants me for some reason," Snape explained. "I shouldn't keep him waiting for long, so you should probably leave."
"I will want to see you again soon so that we can finish our discussion. Make sure to have those potions done in five days. You know what will happen if you are late. Goodbye, Severus," Lucius said as he walked over to Snape's office door.
Once Snape was sure that Malfoy was gone, he turned to where Harry had last disappeared. "You can come out now."
Harry took off the Invisibility Cloak, and Snape had to refocus his gaze towards Harry's new position. Harry folded his Cloak and put it under his arm. Once he had done that, he went over to the stool and knife. He placed the knife carefully on the counter and set the stool back in its proper place.
"Fawkes came to get me. It means that Professor Dumbledore is ready to go back to his house. Are you going up to see him now, or do you want me to deliver a message to him?" asked Harry.
"I need to finish the potions that I was working on, and then I have to start on the potions for the Dark Lord. Some of those are difficult and will take some time to finish. Just tell him that I will be by to visit his house probably tomorrow. I figure that you will tell him about what happened today, but I will tell him again just in case I have something to add."
"Okay, Professor. Bye," Harry said.
Harry started to walk towards the classroom door, but Fawkes flew in front of him. Harry wasn't sure what Fawkes wanted, but he finally figured it out once Fawkes swished his tail feathers. Harry hesitantly grabbed onto the phoenix's tail. Once he had done that, Fawkes flashed them both out of the dungeons and into Dumbledore's office.
Dumbledore looked over at them when they appeared. "It took you a little while to get here."
"I'll explain once we get back to the house," Harry answered.
"Alright. Grab some Floo powder and head home."
When Harry landed in the living room, he settled himself on the couch and waited for the Headmaster. He knew that they would be having a long conversation about what had happened down in the dungeons. Once Dumbledore relaxed on the couch beside Harry, Harry began to explain what had happened that afternoon. After he was finished with his story, Dumbledore started to question him.
"Do you know what kinds of potions that Severus is being requested to make?"
"No, but Professor Snape said that he would be here probably tomorrow. Do you think that Malfoy suspects that Professor Snape isn't a loyal Death Eater? Whenever he came into the room, he kept asking suspicious questions and kept staring around the lab."
"From what you have told me, it does seem that Severus will have to be more cautious than he already is," Dumbledore answered.
Harry looked up at the clock after a wide yawn crossed his face. He was shocked to notice how late it was. They had missed dinner without even realizing it.
"How about we fix something quick to eat, and then you can go to bed?" Dumbledore asked.
"Alright."
After eating a light meal consisting of a sandwich and some fruit, Harry bade the Headmaster good night. He wandered into his room and quickly got ready to go to sleep. Once he had finished his nighttime rituals, he crawled into bed and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Harry found himself in the same room in which he had last witnessed Voldemort talking to Nagini and a mysterious Death Eater. This time, there were several Death Eaters standing silently around Voldemort, who sat on his throne. Voldemort seemed pleased about something, which Harry knew could not mean anything good.
Even though Harry couldn't see the faces of the Death Eaters, he could tell that they seemed excited about the events which were about to occur. Harry hoped that they wouldn't be torturing or killing anyone while he was forced to watch.
Voldemort finally looked up from his place on the throne and locked gazes with the two Death Eaters standing near the door. "Bring the prisoner in."
The two followers bowed deeply to their master before exiting the room. Silence continued to reign, and Harry began to feel nervous. After a few moments, he was able to hear the clinking of chains as they neared the room. When the prisoner was pushed into the center of the room, Harry couldn't make out who it was at first because of the shadows dominating the area. Once one of the Death Eaters shifted a bit, the flames of the torches on the wall cast a bit of light onto the person. Harry gave a startled cry and stumbled back a few steps. He started to shake his head disbelievingly; breathing became a difficult task.
"Well, well, well. Look who we have here. Who would have ever known that we would catch the famous Sirius Black?" Voldemort taunted.
Sirius stared defiantly up into those burning red eyes. Without breaking the gaze, Sirius spat a big wad of phlegm at Voldemort's feet. Voldemort's eyes flashed angrily for a second before a smirk settled across his features. The Death Eaters held their wands pointed down at Sirius just itching to try out a few curses.
"You will never get any information out of me," Sirius retorted.
"Are you completely sure about that? My followers can be very…persuasive." A large smile broke out on Voldemort's face.
As the Death Eaters began to close in on Sirius, Harry felt himself start to wake up. He frantically tried to remain with his godfather, but it was no use. Harry didn't want to see Sirius tortured, yet he desperately wanted to know what was going on.
Harry began to moan loudly as he became more aware of his surroundings. Once he realized that the Headmaster was trying to wake him, Harry bolted up. Dumbledore looked worriedly into Harry's wild eyes.
"Harry, are you okay? What did you see?" Dumbledore questioned.
"Sirius. He's got Sirius."
