Chapter 2
Minerva McGonagall was in her Office grading the latest homework of her students. It was already quite late in the evening but she hadn´t managed much sleep in the last year and it was better to keep busy than to allow her thoughts to wander. Otherwise, it might get tempting to simply march up to the headmaster's office and make use of Snapes own methods and simply kill him.
Formidable though he was, the headmaster was outnumbered. All the other Heads of House would side with her if only she would give the Order. Only the other Death eaters on staff would come to his aid and they posed no threat to even her alone. But no, she couldn`t let her desire for revenge get in the way of her duty. She needed to protect the students. Now they were taught the dark arts, practiced them on each other yet, miraculously, no one had died as of now and she intended to keep it that way.
Startling her out of her thoughts was the voice of the hated Headmaster: "Emergency announcement. All Staff will meet in the Courtyard. Prefects will escort their Housemates to the great Hall and wait for further Instruction. This is all".
Wondering what the Traitor wanted from them she summoned her teaching robes and started on her way to the courtyard. Hopefully it had nothing to do with Potter. The boy had been missing since the attack on the oldest Weasley boys wedding and none in the Order had a clue where he had vanished to.
She arrived as one of the first staff members in the Courtyard. Only Flitwick had beat her to it and she remembered that he had been patrolling the Corridors that night." Filius, do you know for what reason He called us here?" she asked him." No, but I heard him apparate only a few minutes ago. I can imagine only one reason why he would leave Hogwarts in the middle of the night and summon us all immediately afterward. He …." Whispered Flitwick.
The sound of several footsteps interrupted the Charms Professor and the remaining staff members entered. Quite a few of them were ripped out of there beds by the announcement and were grumbling to each other.
That all stopped the moment the headmaster, flanked by his two Death eater colleagues, joined the evening assembly. Snape walked with his hands crossed behind his back and marched to the front of the crowd of professors, the witches and wizards in his way easily making way for him.
"Many of you are surely wondering why I have summoned you at this hour." Said Snape in his even tone. The two Death eaters still positioned behind him. Minerva studied her former Friends face more closely. Something wasn´t right here. Did he look paler than usual? And the other Death eaters didn't know what was going on either. They tried to hide it, but she had taught them as she had taught everyone that had passed through this school in the past 40 years. They were anxious to hear from their master. It seemed that only his inner Circle had been summoned. She could also detect resentment that they couldn't count themselves among that elite group.
She was ripped out of her observations by the sudden movement of Snape. He had drawn his wand. Instantly she did same ready to defend any fellow staff member against the murderer and in the corner of her eye she could see the other heads doing the same. But instead of attacking any of the professors in front of him he whirled around and before she understood what was happening shot two silent spells at his comrades. There wands flew in large arcs in the air before they fell carelessly to the floor. In that time, he had followed up with another two spells which had the now shouting Death eaters crumbling to the floor, motionless.
"I will have to be brief. In my capacity as double agent for the Order I have, tonight, freed Harry Potter from the dark… from Tom Riddles captivity. I have no doubt that this will cause immediate retaliation from him and his followers. As of now Time is of the essence. We need to organize the defensive wards. Everyone capable of casting them, ready yourselves. Those unable to help with the defensive enchantments will monitor the student body and prepare them for departure. With the wards in place even Tom will have trouble to breach this castles walls. It will delay him for long enough to evacuate the students and plan our next steps." He spoke as calmly as possible. When no one moved, still reeling from shock, he added a powerful: "Now."
Snape watched as Hogwarts's professors organized themselves across the school. He himself had already activated every protective enchantment that he, as headmaster could. He would add to the normal wards as well but one more Wizard wouldn´t make much of a difference and he knew he would need his strength in the coming hours.
From his balcony he could see the massive magical shield descend on the Hogwarts grounds. The statues of the castle march to the gates like medieval soldier ready to defend their keep.
He was waiting for an answer from Headmistress Olympe. Magical schools where among the most secure places in any magical country. Hogwarts would not be able to protect all of its students from the dark L… from Tom. Beauxbatons on the other hand had, at least for the moment, the support of its ministry and the majority of students weren´t of any particular interest to Him. No for as long as Potter and the remaining Order were occupying the d... damnit, Toms mind the other students and Staff would be safe.
Soon he would have to face Minerva and Potter and his little friends. For the moment they seemed to shocked to truly question him but he knew that as soon as the school was evacuated they would demand answers. He wondered weather or not Dumbledores portrait would be enough for them, or would he have to… "Headmaster, Headmaster, ah there you are. I´ve been searching the whole bloody castle for you. The Beauxbatons headmistress has agreed to temporarily house the students of Hogwarts. But one of her requirements is that you, headmaster, cannot join them." Panted a rather heavy-set older gentlemen in his portrait." Very well Trimble, you can inform her that she can expect the students to arrive within the hour." Answered Snape evenly. It was time to inform the student body of the change in location.