The Arrangement
Chapter 5- The Letter
Sunday morning started much as the previous day had. Harry was again awakened by Draco calling him in the two-way mirror. This time, however, Harry didn't get lost on his way to the Great Hall as he was using the map he had been given the previous day.
Upon entering the Great Hall Draco and Harry immediately went and sat at the Gryffindor table since Pansy Parkinson and her bodyguard were sitting at the Slytherin table. As it was Pansy and the boy sitting with her, Harry thought his name was Goyle, kept shooting glares at the two boys sitting at the Gryffindor table.
"I wonder what class we'll have first tomorrow." Draco said as they ate breakfast.
"I'm not sure but I'll bet that Gryffindor and Slytherin will be together for every class we have." Harry said with a knowing smile. Draco looked at him questioningly. "There's something I haven't told you yet, but it looks like I'll have to tell you later." Harry said while he looked over to the doors of the Great Hall. He had just seen Blaise and Evan come in. Draco saw them and gave Harry a short nod.
"Morning guys. Mind if we sit here?" Evan asked as he and Blaise neared the table.
"Not at all. The more the merrier, right Harry?" Draco responded. Harry just gave them a grin. A few minutes later Ron and Hermione entered the hall and went straight over to where Harry was sitting as he was waving them over.
"Morning everyone. Do you guys have any plans for today?" Hermione asked as she and Ron sat down next to Harry.
"I was just planning on grabbing a couple of my textbooks and going outside to sit and enjoy the weather." Harry told them. Everyone agreed that it would be a nice day to spend outside. When they had finished breakfast, each went back to their respective dorm to grab a book and then they all met up outside and went to sit by a beech tree near the lake.
The day passed quickly and quietly. The small group of students didn't talk much except to discuss the different text books they were reading. Whenever they had a potions question they would turn to Draco but quickly found that Harry was also quite knowledgeable about the subject.
Monday morning, Harry was up early, eager for the first day of classes to begin. He woke Draco using the two-way mirrors as Draco had the last two days. They met outside the Great Hall as usual and were one of the first people to arrive since it was still early.
"Ok, so what were you going to say yesterday before Evan and Blaise came in?" Draco asked as they loaded their plates with bacon, eggs, and toast.
"Oh, that. Well, you know how Professor Snape is head of Gryffindor, right?" Draco just nodded. "Well, he told me that no matter what house I had been sorted into he would have been one of the heads. Headmaster Riddle wanted to be sure I would be able to talk to him outside of classes." Harry finished in a near whisper.
"So why do you think Gryffindor and Slytherin will be sharing all of their classes?"
"I think our fathers will try to convince the headmaster to do that so we can spend time together. Also a little because of Ron and Evan." Harry answered. Draco just looked at him for a minute before shaking his head.
"I don't know why you didn't end up in Slytherin, that's a very cunning thing to do."
"Well, the hat did say I have fathers cunning but my courageous side overrules it." Harry smirked.
"I should have known." Draco said shaking his head. Just then a small brown owl came flying into the Great Hall. It landed in front of the two boys.
"Who's it from Dray?" Harry asked as Draco took the letter it carried off its leg.
"This one is from Thomas. This one is for you from Cassie, I would assume." Draco said handing over a letter that was indeed in his sister's handwriting. Harry opened the note and began to read it.
Dear Cale,
Hey big brother, how are you? How are father and dad? What house did you get into?
The house here is almost as big as the one at home. I'm glad Maddy and Thomas are here because it would be really boring otherwise. Aunt Cissa is trying to keep us busy but there is only so much she can do.
You'll have to tell me what all of your classes are like. I bet that they start tomorrow, huh? Do you have Uncle Remmy or Uncle Siri for any classes? Maddy says to tell her dads hi for her next time you see them. I didn't even know they were going to be teaching until they showed up to drop her off. Did you know they were going to teach?
Tell everyone hi for me and give dad and father a big hug for me.
Your sister,
Cassie Snape
Just as Harry was finishing the letter he heard Draco whisper. "Better put that away. Here comes Evan and Blaise." Harry quickly put the letter into his school bag.
"Morning guys. Have the teachers handed out the class schedules yet?" Blaise asked as he and Evan sat down next to Draco.
"No, not yet. They were probably waiting till there were a few more students here." Harry answered.
"Then what were you putting in your bag, Harry?" Blaise asked glancing over at him.
"Nosey much, this morning Blaise?" Harry asked half joking. "Just a letter from my little sister." Harry answered anyway. Blaise turned thoughtful and Harry and Draco exchanged a worried glance. A few minutes later Ron and Hermione entered the hall and took seats next to Harry.
"Morning everyone. Have the schedules been passed out yet?" Hermione asked as she sat down. Harry just pointed to the head of the table where his father was starting to hand out the schedules.
The classes were setup so that they only had two classes a day but both classes were double periods so that they spent 4 hours in each class. As Harry had guessed, all of the Slytherin and Gryffindor classes were together. The group of 6 young people currently sitting at the Gryffindor table were rather glad about this.
Their first class of the day was Potions followed by Muggle Studies. They had Flying and Charms on Tuesday. Wednesday was History of Magic and Transfiguration. They had Defense Against the Dark Arts and Arithmancy on Thursday and Herbology and Astronomy on Friday.
The group headed off in high spirits. They quickly reached the Potions classroom. They all took seats near each other and quietly waited for the lesson to begin. It wasn't long before Professor Malfoy came in and took roll call.
"Now that roll call is done there is something I want to make perfectly clear. I will not tolerate anyone slacking off in this class. I do not care what house you are in, if I find you causing trouble of any kind, I will deduct points from your house. Despite me being head of Slytherin, I will not be partial to that house. If you deserve points for your work you will receive them."
"Now today we will be making a boil cure. I want you to work in partners. The instructions are on the board. I will be moving around the class to help. Don't be afraid to raise your hand if you have a question. Let's get started." Draco and Harry shot each other a grin and then got started on their potion.
The rest of the class passed uneventfully. Everyone turned out fairly decent potions and received 5 points for their house. As each group finished they were told to quietly read the first chapter of their textbook and then write a two-foot essay on the properties of the potion they had made to be handed in on the following Monday.
When the bell rang the class quietly packed all of their things away and went to the Great Hall for lunch. When Harry was done eating his lunch, he pulled out his Muggle Studies book to see what sort of things they would be learning about. As he did something fell out of his bag unnoticed by everyone except Blaise.
Blaise waited until everyone was looking in another direction then quickly reached under the table to grab the letter. He stuffed it into his pocket so he could look at it later. He suspected there was more to Harry Potter than people were letting on.
As soon as they were finished with lunch, everyone headed up to the first floor for their first Muggle Studies class. It wasn't long before Professor Black arrived to allow the students into the classroom. It was while the Professor was taking role call that Blaise finally took the letter out of his pocket and quickly scanned over it. It was just as he suspected. Harry Potter was not who he said he was. His real name was Cale Snape.
Blaise quickly slipped the letter back into his pocket and returned his attention to the class at hand. The class turned out to be quite interesting. They were going to learn about different muggle inventions that took the place of magic in the wizarding world. The first thing Professor Black started teaching about was something called electricity.
The class passed rather quickly and most of the students were still not sure that they understood the concept of electricity. Professor Black told them not to worry too much about it as they would be studying this subject for a while. He then assigned the first chapter in their text books for them to read. Also a book that would have to be gotten from the library. He told them to be prepared to discuss both in the next class.
When the bell rang the small group of 6 friends, that had been nearly inseparable since that first day, decided to go to the library and get a head start on their homework. Harry pulled all of his things out of his bag when they were all seated around a table in the library. He looked back into his bag as if he was looking for something. Not finding whatever it was that he was looking for, he quickly looked to Draco.
"Hey Draco, come help me find the book that Professor Black assigned." Harry said, standing and giving Draco a pointed look. Draco nodded and quickly followed him.
"What is it? What's wrong Harry?" Draco asked when they were out of earshot of the others.
"My letter from Cassie is gone. I put it in my bag at breakfast and now its not there. Where could it be Dray?" Harry answered looking very nervous.
"Are you sure it's not in any of your books lion?" Draco asked, using the nickname Harry's fathers used in an attempt to calm him down. Harry just shook his head.
"The last time I remember seeing it was at lunch when I pulled out my Muggle Studies book. I know it was in my bag then. Let's grab the book Siri assigned and head back to the table. I'll double check everything but I'm sure it's not there." Harry said shaking his head again.
While the two boys were gone, Blaise slipped the object in question back into Harry's bag without raising any suspicions. The two boys returned to the table and Harry looked through his bag again. To his relief the letter was in his bag but he was positive it wasn't there before. Harry caught Draco's eye and gave him a small smile to let him know he had found the letter. Draco gave him a small nod and let his gaze drift over the others at the table.
He had a thoughtful look on his face as he looked around at the others. His gaze lingered on Blaise a bit longer than it had the others. He suddenly inhaled a sharp breath and went paler than usual. He quickly regained his composure however.
"Hey guys, Harry and I are going to go ahead and head down for dinner. We need to ask Professor Black a question on our way. We'll see you at dinner, ok?" The others just nodded and Harry and Draco quickly walked out of the library.
Blaise watched them leave feeling slightly nervous. Had the missing letter been noticed? Did they suspect him of taking it? All he could do was wait and see what happened.
Out in the hall Harry turned to face Draco when they had reached a secluded spot.
"Alright Dray, what's up?"
"Do you remember who was sitting next to you at lunch?" Draco asked in response.
"Um, I think Blaise and Hermione were, why?"
"And just now in the library, who was sitting right next to you?"
"Blaise. You don't think he took it do you? I think it's time to go talk to my dad." Draco nodded as Harry pulled out the map out of his pocket to see where his dad was. Before Harry could activate the map a voice behind them startled both boys.
"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, why are you hiding in the corner?" Both boys turned around to look into the smiling face of Professor Snape.
"I just needed to speak with my father and Professor Black about something and was wondering where they might be." Harry said pointedly.
"I also needed to speak to my father and Professor Lupin. We were trying to decide if we should wait until after dinner to speak with them." Draco told the professor.
"Indeed. Is it rather important?" Snape asked raising one of his eyebrows in question.
"Quite." the boys said together.
"Hmm... Then perhaps we should see if we can locate the professor's for you. Let's try Professor Malfoy's office first." Severus said beginning to lead the boys to the dungeons. The five of them had already decided to meet down there after classes that day. He had been headed there himself after cleaning up his classroom and preparing for the next day's classes.
When Severus, Harry, and Draco reached the dungeon office they found the other 4 professors sitting around talking quietly. The professors seemed surprised to the two boys with Severus. They were quickly ushered in, the door shut and silencing and locking charms put into place.
"Alright boys, what seems to be the problem?" Severus asked once everyone was sitting. Draco looked at Harry and nodded so he would start speaking.
"I got a letter from Cassie this morning. You apparently did not tell her not to use my real name because she did. She also signed her full name to the letter." Harry started. The professors gave each other a look. This did not seem like a big deal to them.
"The letter disappeared after lunch. I looked all through my bag when we went to the library after Muggle Studies and I couldn't find it. I asked Draco to come with me to locate the book that had been assigned to us to read. I wanted to tell him what was going on. We discussed it for a few minutes and then went back to our seats. When we returned I went back through my bag as he suggested and found the letter. We left shortly after that and that is when you found us." Harry finished looking at Severus.
"There is one thing he failed to mention." Draco spoke up before anyone could say anything. "Blaise was sitting next to him at lunch and in the library. He also saw Harry putting the letter away at breakfast this morning. He seemed rather interested in it this morning."
The professors looked at each other and each let out a small sigh. They were all afraid something like this might happen. They all knew, in fact, that it was inevitable, they were just hopping it wouldn't happen so quickly. Severus finally broke the heavy silence that had fallen over the room.
"We will have to wait and see what Mr. Zabini chooses to do with the information. We will keep a closer eye on him and if he says anything to either of you let us know about it immediately." The two boys nodded and everyone left for dinner.
The rest of the week passed without incident and the boys enjoyed their classes so much that they nearly forgot what happened earlier in the week. That is until Saturday afternoon. Harry and Draco had managed to get some time away from the rest of their friends and were sitting outside by the lake talking about their first week of classes and finishing up some of their homework when one of the brown school owls landed in front of Harry. He quickly removed the note tied to its leg and watched as it took flight and headed back to the owlery. He opened the note and quickly scanned it before handing it to Draco. It was short and to the point.
Harry,
Meet me tonight at the Astronomy tower just after lights out. Please come alone.
BZ
Draco handed the note back to Harry as he spoke. "We need to go find my dad. He needs to know about this." Draco nodded. Both boys grabbed their belongings and headed for the Transfiguration classroom hoping James would be there. Luckily he was and Harry showed him the note.
James quickly scanned the note and then put locking and silencing charms so he could speak freely. "I want you to go ahead and meet with him. I will be with you. However, I will be concealed under an invisibility cloak so he will think you are alone. I want to know what he is up to." The boys nodded and left for dinner slightly apprehensive about the meeting that night.
When the time rolled around for Harry to meet with Blaise that night he was ready but extremely nervous. He slipped the invisibility cloak his father had given him around himself before making his way to the Astronomy tower. When he reached the tower he slipped the cloak off and saw James stepping out of the shadows.
"He's already up there. Open the door so I can go in first. I'll stand to the side then so I can follow you up." Harry nodded and opened the door once James had concealed himself under the cloak.
Harry quickly reached the top of the stairs and saw Blaise looking out of one of the windows. He turned when he heard Harry approaching. He flashed Harry a quick smile before speaking.
"Harry, I'm glad you came." Harry interrupted before Blaise could go any farther.
"What do you want from me Blaise?" Harry asked impatiently.
"I just want to know if my suspicions are correct. Are you really Cale Snape?" Harry just numbly nodded his head. He didn't know what else to do. "So then your dad would actually be James Snape?"
"Yes, Blaise, I am. What I want to know is what you plan to do with this information?" James said as he stepped out of the shadows and removed the invisibility cloak. Blaise paled considerably when he saw James standing before him.
"Nothing, sir. I swear, I won't tell anyone else about this. I just thought it would be nice to have someone to talk to who knew what it was like..." Blaise trailed off at the glare he was receiving from James.
"You had better hold to your promise, Mr. Zabini. If I hear one word about this and find out that you told someone else, you will regret it. Now I think it's time we all get to bed." James said leading the boys down the stairs.
The next morning, Minister of Magic, Albus Dumbledore received a letter from one of his grandchildren attending Hogwarts.
Grandfather,
I have recently heard some very interesting news that I thought you might like to know. It appears that our Defense professor, Severus Snape, is married to our Transfiguration professor, James Potter. They have a son currently attending Hogwarts under the name Harry Potter. His true name is Cale Snape. I know how you feel about these types of things.
I hope this letter finds you in good health.
Sincerely,
Your Grandchild
Albus put the letter down and quickly walked out of his office. He had plans to make.
A/N: Thank you to everyone that reviewed last chapter. They are greatly appreciated. Look for new update info in my bio. Bye for now.