Chapter Twenty Six
Harry glanced impatiently out the window of the Phoenix Centre, then at the timepiece on the wall; the little hand of the clock was almost after one. It was getting late. His mum would come for him when the hand was down at the six. He didn't know all that much about time; but he did know that after lunch time it never felt like it was a long time between then and when his mum collected him.
He glanced over at Malachi, who was reading the book on his desk intently, before he made little scribbles of sums on the parchment. He lifted a finger, counted one, then another, counted two, and so on until he grinned and quickly put his hands down, lifted his quill again and wrote the number down.
Harry sighed, rocking back and forth on his seat. He wanted to go during the first break; but Miss Douglas had followed them all over the courtyard and he hadn't had the chance to sneak back into the classroom to collect the cloak.
"Alright, quills down, everyone!" Mrs Gillan called out, ringing a bell; "That's lunch time. Anyone going to the canteen line up at the silver door," she pointed at it; "Anyone with pack lunches that wants to eat outside, the green door," she pointed at the other one.
Everyone quickly jumped down from their stools.
Malachi began to make his way towards the silver door, but Harry quickly grabbed his arm, whispered; "No. We have to get outside."
"I don't have a packed lunch," Malachi said with a shrug, speaking quietly.
"They don't check," Harry stated, lifting his jacket and little bag off the floor at his desk. Malachi hesitated and then lifted his own, and followed him to the door to the courtyard. The group of children, larger than the ones going to the canteen, poured out into the cold courtyard.
The boys put their jackets on quickly, before hurrying over to the far corner. Harry glanced around carefully, before unzipping his bag; "Look," he whispered, before, with another glance, he tugged his father's invisibility cloak from it. He demonstrated with a hand, in case someone was watching.
Malachi chuckled, his eyes brightening excitedly; "Wow!"
"I know," Harry grinned; "It's my dad's." He glanced at Miss Douglas and Mrs Cronus, who were taking their own seats at one of the picnic tables. He stuffed his almost empty bag into the bushes, which Malachi quickly mimicked, and then the two of them hurried behind a larger bush.
"You have to stay really close or it won't work," Harry told Malachi, firmly; the other boy stood in close, pressed against him, as Harry flung the cloak over them.
Malachi was holding his breath. After a second he realised it, whispering; "Did it work?"
"I dunno. I think so," Harry whispered back, "Come on." The two of them walked awkwardly out from behind the bush \and stood, nervously waiting next to the tree on their left.
People looked through them.
They both looked at one another, grinning brightly.
"It works!" Malachi breathed, looking even more excited than before.
"Come on!" Harry whispered, and the two of them held the cloak tightly around themselves and began walking towards the doors back into the building. They stopped at the door to the classroom, which was closed; Harry looked at the other door that was open, where older witches and wizards were going in and out. He tugged Malachi in that direction.
They stepped into the building and Harry was relieved to be warm again. He supposed he couldn't complain about the cold; he was going to have to go back out when they got to the exit of the building. But he would do it if he got to see his Uncle Sirius again.
The two of them walked awkwardly, not sure where they were going, bumping into one another every other step to get out of the way of the people walking up and down the corridor.
"Ow!" Malachi yelped.
"Shh!"
"You stood on me!" Malachi hissed.
"It was an accident!" Harry hissed back, glancing nervously around the faces of the people walking around them; "Stop talking!" he whispered in his ear; "People might hear."
Malachi stayed quiet; and the two of them waddled down the hallway under the cover of the invisibility cloak.
Suddenly, as they rounded a corner, his mum's face was right in front of him and he jumped back in fright, making Malachi yelp in equal fright.
Harry stared at his mum; she was behind a sheet of glass, sitting at a table. With a man. He could only see the back of him. But he was more interested in his mum; she was smiling; talking; laughing.
Malachi whispered in his ear, making him jump; "That's your mum, isn't it?"
"Uh huh."
"That's my godfather," Malachi whispered; "Severus. He's looking after me."
Harry looked at Malachi curiously, before interestedly taking a few steps along the glass so that he could look at the man his mum was speaking to.
He didn't look like he was as happy as his mum was. He was listening to her; looking at her; nodding; talking just a little bit. He smiled, really small, and his mum smiled back big.
Harry leaned closer, almost pressed against the glass.
"Let's go," Malachi said, tugging on his arm; "If Severus sees me he'll make me go back to school."
Harry didn't move; he was too interested in his mum. How much she was smiling; how happy she looked. She didn't look at his Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus like that. He glanced at the man though; he didn't look as friendly as his uncles were. Was he nice?
"Harry!" Malachi whispered, "Lunch will be finished soon. We won't have time to find Sirius."
Harry snapped to look at him when he said that; glanced back at his mum and the man; then turned and the two of them shuffled across the floor, searching for the exit to the building.
"Excellent findings, Lily!" Eugene exclaimed, as he glanced over the parchment she had submitted; "Excellent! This will be incredibly useful to the research."
Lily smiled, blushing under her manager's praise.
Cornelia Heart smiled at her, obviously pleased with her work also, as Eugene left the room, clutching the parchment in his hand; "Very good work."
"Thanks," Lily said, still blushing, "I...had a little help."
Cornelia nodded, with a knowing smile; "Yes. Severus is quite brilliant when it comes to Project Dorado; though that's no surprise, as he initiated it. Besides, your research focused on a completely different subject matter from what he would help you with; I'm sure a lot of it was your own insights."
Lily shrugged, modestly; "Oh. It really wasn't anything –"
Cornelia chuckled; "You two have been quite the talk of the Foundation, you know."
"Us two?" Lily frowned.
"Severus and yourself," Cornelia elaborated; "It's not like Severus to...take an interest in the 'fairer sex'," she stated, making quotation marks with her fingers.
Lily blushed, "Oh! Oh, no. It's...it's not like that at all. Severus and I are old friends."
Cornelia looked sceptical but it seemed decided to humour her; "Oh, I see. I'm sorry; all a misunderstanding. You know how it is around here; no secrets; everyone knows everyone's business. Even if it's all made up, it's always big news."
Lily nibbled her bottom lip, feeling strangely uncomfortable; "Yes. I have heard that."
"Though it would be rather ironic," Cornelia stated, with a grin; "If he were interested."
Lily paused; part of her not wanting to continuing with the hypothetical idea of Severus being interested in her, part of her wondering the reasoning behind any irony. Her curiosity won out; "Why?"
"Well..." Cornelia glanced at her, as she began flicking through some parchments, "You know it's against company policy for employees to be involved?"
Lily nodded; she had heard that.
"Well, it was Severus' situation that brought that about," Cornelia stated, was a glance around the room, as if she was worried Severus, himself, would be lurking there.
"What do you mean?" Lily frowned, her curiosity reaching higher heights; "What situation?"
Cornelia cleared her throat, before laying down the parchments she was holding; "Not too long after the place opened, Severus was involved with a woman who works here; you might have met her? Dana Wishbone?"
Lily paused a moment; she hadn't officially met her, but she had seen her. Tall; blonde hair; pretty. Nothing like her. She shook away the feeling; what was that? Jealousy?
No. She found herself feeling more uncomfortable, almost shifty.
"The two of them were involved after he returned from Italy –"
Italy? Severus had never told her he had been in Italy.
"I don't think Severus was nearly as serious about her as she was about him. Lasted a couple of months; talk of the Foundation for a while, as you can imagine," Cornelia was telling her, in a hushed tone, though her eyes were bright, as if she was delighted to finally find someone who didn't know the story for her to tell.
"Anyway; Severus broke it off and, after that happened; she just went crazy. I mean, not crazy; but she started sending love notes; breaking into his office; swapping shifts so she would be working when he was – she was working in the Research Department at this time – and timing breaks so they would bump into one another..."
Lily raised an amused eyebrow, wondering how Severus had managed to get himself in such a position; why he didn't just have her fired.
"Eventually Severus had enough. He tried to reason with her by himself; when that didn't work he went straight to the boss."
"The boss?" Lily repeated; "Regulus Black?"
"Aye," Cornelia nodded; "And Mr Black had her transferred to another department; told her if she went within ten feet of him she'd lose her job."
"Wow," Lily shook her head at the story, feeling sorry for Severus; how awkward he must have felt; "Poor Severus."
Cornelia chuckled; "Poor rest of the Foundation staff!" she declared; "Severus had Regulus ban any future relationships between colleagues! Any current relationships had to be declared on the spot for it to be accepted; anything after that date was considered gross misconduct."
Cornelia looked at her with a grin and shrugged; "Hence the reason for the irony."
Lily met her eyes and smiled slightly, before reasserting; "Like I said, Severus and I are just friends."
Cornelia still didn't look convinced but didn't say otherwise. She didn't have the chance; because at that moment a nervous looking runner burst through the door.
Cornelia looked at him sharply with a frown; "Shaw? Is something wrong?"
"Uh..." the boy looked nervous, before glancing in Lily's direction; "Mrs Potter?"
She felt a panic seize her; remembered him as the runner from the Phoenix wing from the day before. She stepped towards him; "Yes?"
"Uh...there's a problem at the Phoenix Centre," he stated, nervously, making her stomach drop and heart leap into her throat simultaneously; "It's your son. He's missing."
Severus was fuming; almost spitting fire and blowing smoke from his nostrils as he addressed the Phoenix staff, after being informed of the details of Malachi and Lily's son's disappearance.
What if they had been snatched by the people who had murdered Evelyn; what if they had simply snatched by anyone! How could such a thing have happened, in such a secure facility as this?
"This is an absolute disgrace! What were you doing while these children disappeared? Gossiping about hair and make-up? Perhaps making arrangements for your weekends off? Well I shall tell you what you'll be doing; you'll be looking for a new place of employment! And do not expect a reference!"
"Severus!"
He turned to see Lily hurrying up the corridor towards him, her face pale and expression a picture of panic and dread. She looked at him with terrified, searching eyes; "What happened?"
"It seems that your son and Malachi Redway have somehow," – he gave a pointed glance in the two teachers' direction – "managed to leave the premises."
"But how? How could they have passed the security guards?" Lily said quickly, "They would have stopped them. Are there any secret passages? Severus, what if someone has taken them?"
She was talking without taking a breath; Severus put a hand on her arm to silence her and then gently guided her away from the others who were listening.
He kept his hand on her arm, speaking reassuringly; "I doubt that would have happened, Lily. People are screened thoroughly upon entering the building, as you know; it would not be possible for them to remove both the children without raising some suspicion."
Lily drew in a breath, attempting to calm herself.
"I have alerted the Ministry; they are monitoring any locations where either of the two of them may use magic; once we get word we shall be able to trace them."
"Why would either of them use magic? They're just children, they don't know how."
"Has there never been an occasion of accidental magic with your son?"
She shook her head; no.
"Professor Snape!"
Severus turned as a runner, Francis Dalwinkle, hurried towards him, clutching a piece of parchment; "The Ministry has informed us that the trace on Harry Potter has activated," he held out the parchment to him. Severus took it quickly, glancing at the information; "Thornhill."
Lily's eyes eyes widened, while her face paled; "How could they have gotten so far? It would take them hours to get there!"
Severus nodded; they had obviously not travelled on foot, perhaps not even alone, and tucked the parchment away; "I shall investigate."
He only took a few steps before Lily piped up at his heels; "I'm coming with you."
Severus felt like answering that that much was both obvious and expected; instead, he gave her a nod as they hurried down the corridor.
"Do you even know where we are?" Malachi glared at Harry in irritation. So far they had got on a bus that they were on for ages, that dropped them off in a little town and then walked for what seemed like hours across fields, through the woods and through another little village where scary people had stared at them as they passed by their shops. And then they'd gotten on a train and walked some more until they came to another village.
The next village wasn't so bad; it was a bit bigger. It looked familiar; and so did they, because people were looking and pointing and talking about them as they walked through. They were all dressed in robes; they were all witches and wizards. Someone asked Harry where his mother was, offered to take them into the shop.
Harry had told her no and pretended his mum was waiting for them somewhere, then they ran away.
Stranger, danger; Harry had said and then had to explain it was a muggle saying and that's why he'd never heard of it.
"Uh huh," Harry said, in answer to his question.
Harry was lying; he knew he was lying. He hated it when people lied to him.
And the search for Sirius didn't seem all that much fun anymore, now that it was almost dark and getting really cold.
He stubbed his toe on a rock as they entered another set of woods; "Ow!" he yelled out, as he tripped and fell onto his knees.
Harry leaned over him, peering at his knee curiously; "I think it's bleeding."
"Do you have a hanky?" Malachi looked at him; Harry shook his head. Malachi rolled up his trouser leg, revealing a cut across his knees and whimpered, looking at it sadly; "It hurts."
"Don't cry; that's what babies do."
"I'm not a baby!"
"Here," Harry started ripping the fabric across the bottom of his shirt; "I saw my mum do it when she was helping a muggle once; mum's a healer. Kinda. She said you've gotta press the cut so it stops bleeding."
Malachi immediately pressed his hand to his knees.
Harry shook his head, kneeling down beside him; "It's too deep for that. Here," Harry tucked the fabric around the back of his knee, then turned it, beginning to wrap it round gently; at the last moment he yanked, pulling the fabric so tight that Malachi yelped again in pain.
"Ow!" he shoved Harry, sending the other boy to the ground with a thud.
"I was just helping!" Harry yelled, angrily, using his arms to push himself onto his bottom. He grabbed the edges of the fabric again; "I gotta pull it really tight or you'll keep bleeding and wolves will come."
"Wolves!" Malachi cried in terror; "There's no wolves here!"
Harry shrugged, glancing around the woods, looking more curious than worried. Malachi's brow stitched together both in pain and in fretfulness; "I wanna go home. You don't even know where Sirius is."
"No one knows. He's hiding; everyone hides in the woods."
"No they don't. If they did everyone would find them."
"Uncle Sirius can turn into a dog when he wants; it won't matter because no one would know it was him."
"I wanna go home," Malachi repeated; "We've been away ages." Severus would be so angry if he wasn't at the school when he came to pick him up. He'd never seen him angry with him before; but he'd heard him fight with his dad and that was enough to assure him that he didn't want to be on the receiving end of his fury.
"We can't go home; what if he's right over there?" Harry pointed in a random direction; one they wouldn't even be walking in. Malachi shivered, eyeing his wound again, before he pulled the trouser leg back down over it. He got to his feet; he was able to walk okay on it.
A rustling in the bushes near them made them both jump and straighten, turning in the direction of the sound. Malachi swallowed, breathing quickly, panicked; he wished they hadn't let the invisibility cloak earlier.
Harry had said they had to leave it, so people couldn't find them and make them stop looking for Sirius. But now, Malachi wished someone would find them. He felt Harry's hand grip his sleeve, as he peered at the bush, which continued to rustle.
A moment later, a centaur leaped out, landing in front of them.
They screamed; they sounded like little girls.
The centaur raised an eyebrow, smiling a little bit; thinking it was funny; "What are two little ones like yourselves doing wandering the forest?"
"Uh, n...nothing," Harry stammered, as his grip on Malachi's sleeve tightened; "We were just going home."
"Home? No homes around here, kid."
"Uh...we were looking for my uncle first," Harry explained, before looking at him curiously; "Have you seen him? Sirius Black."
"Afraid not."
"Okay," Malachi quickly nodded, now grabbing Harry's sleeve; so they were both mimicking each other; "Bye!"
He quickly ran, tugging Harry along behind him. They released one another as they gained speed, hurrying deeper into the forest, the feet slamming against the ground, breaking branches, and trampling all over flowers and weeds, until they both stumbled into a clearing and stopped; hands on their knees, gasping for breath.
Malachi's breath, which he was barely managing to get back, caught in his throat as he stared at a large, white object across the clearing.
He gasped, grabbing Harry's arm; "Harry, look!" he whispered.
Harry spun around and saw what he saw; a unicorn.
It hadn't noticed them. It was grazing in the grass; it seemed to glow and sparkle in the dark woods.
Malachi wished he had his painting supplies with him.
"Wow," Harry whispered, taking a step towards it.
"Don't move, you'll scare it," Malachi whispered.
"Now now; what d'we have 'ere then?" a gigantic man appeared from the bushes to the left of them.
Malachi and Harry stumbled backwards away from him; but Harry's leg caught a branch and he fell backwards. Malachi quickly leaned down, trying to pull him up.
"Careful there; ye don' want te hurt him more that he already is," the man said, sounding jolly and friendly; but Malachi was still frightened, staring at him in terror.
The man kneeled down in front of them; he looked between them, then stopped when he looked at Harry; and he peered at him for a moment before he smiled widely; "Nah, couldn't be? Little Harry Potter?"
Harry stared at him and Malachi could tell he didn't know who he was.
"Just leave us alone, mister," Malachi said, trying to sound stronger, but he stammered and sounded frightened and he blushed.
"Can't be doing that, I'm 'fraid. You two got any idea where ye are? Nah, you'll have to come back t' the castle wi' me. Let Dumbledore see t' ye."
Both Malachi and Harry straightened with wide eyes; Dumbledore was someone they'd only ever seen on chocolate frog cards.
"We're at Hogwarts?" Harry said, excitedly.
"No right now yer not," the man stated; "This is the Forbidden Forest. Yer very lucky you haven' been snatched or worse. What you two doin' out here? Where's your mum, Harry?"
Harry shrugged; "Working. Who are you?"
"Pardon my manners," the huge man held out a huge hand; "Rubeus Hagrid."
Malachi eyed him suspiciously; but Harry took his hand and shook it. The man looked in his direction, holding the hand out to him; "An' yourself?"
Malachi glanced at Harry who nodded slightly; Malachi looked back at him, cautiously taking his hand; "I'm Malachi."
The giant, Hagrid, stood up and towered over them; "Well, come on. It's a bit of a trek back t' the castle."
He and Harry quickly got to their feet.
"We can't," Harry said; "We're looking for my Uncle Sirius."
"Sirius? Is he out here with ye?"
"Uh, no," Harry shrugged; "He went away ages ago. He's looking for someone."
Malachi thought the man looked like he knew what Harry was talking about but he didn't say that. He just nodded; "Well, it's gettin' way too dark for two little things like yourselves to be running around in the Forbidden Forest; let's get ye both back t' the castle and see what Dumbledore has t' say. He might be able t' give ye a hand."
Harry nodded immediately and began to follow the man back through the tress. Malachi grabbed his arm, speaking quietly as they followed him; "What about 'stranger danger'?" he repeated what Harry had said to him earlier in a whisper.
"It's okay. You heard; he knows Dumbledore," Harry stated, confidently.
"Everyone knows Dumbledore," Malachi countered, quietly, "Even bad people."
"I think he's nice."
"Maybe he just wants you to think he's nice; but really he's really horrible and nasty and likes to use children in potions or something."
"Shh! If he hears you he might not help us," Harry hissed, looking anxiously at the man's back.
Realising that his only options were to follow this man or to wonder off by himself in the woods - the Forbidden Forest – Malachi reluctantly conceded and settled into silence as they were led deeper into the trees, the darkness falling around them even more quickly than before; dreading what would happen when Severus went to get him from school.