Harry frantically paced in front of the fireplace in the Headmaster's office. Ginny had been taken and he hadn't even noticed. He had failed her, and now he may never see her again. He could never forgive himself for this.
"Mr. Potter, if you are not capable of being still for more than a fraction of a second, then I am going to force a calming potion down your throat. You're going to wear a hole in the floor." Snape snapped, obviously irritated.
"Fuck off." Harry snapped back, he knew Snape was just picking a fight but he didn't care.
"Language Potter."
"Fuck the hell off, asshole."
"Just because the attention deprived Golden Boy has become a love sick puppy to a silly little girl does not mean he can disregard the rules."
"Ginny is not a silly little girl!" Harry yelled
"Well, I'd beg to differ." Snape said.
"Yeah, I'd like to see you beg! Beg for mercy when I kick your greasy ass!" Harry yelled and ran from the room. Sirius glared at Snape before running after Harry.
"You'll have to forgive Harry's behavior Severus. He's lost something very dear to him." Remus said; looking at the door the two had just run out of.
"Yes, well he's going to give himself a coronary if he's not careful." Snape said while digging in his pocket for something.
"Well, I'd better go find those two before they do something rash." Remus nodded to Minerva as he headed for the door.
"Lupin, wait." Snape called after him, coming to a hard decision. "Give this to him." He told the other man, handing him two small vials, "Calming potion, and dreamless sleep." He explained when he got a questioning look from Remus, who nodded and continued on his way.
’’
Remus walked down hall after hall, not really paying any attention to where he was going. He had long since given up on finding Sirius and Harry, together those two knew the school better than everyone but the Weasley twins, so they could be virtually anywhere, possibly even Hogsmeade by now. Though he did hope that Sirius had enough sense to keep Harry on school grounds.
Remus was just about to return to the headmaster's office when he heard someone running. He saw Sirius turn the corner and was about to chastise his friend for running when he saw the look on Sirius' face.
"What's wrong?" He asked, getting more worried when he didn't see Harry.
"Harry, I was trying to find him. Little blighter knows every nook and cranny in this place!" Sirius explained, while clutching his side where he had a stitch from running.
"When I finally found him, he was crying!" Said he couldn't take it anymore, then he collapsed!"
"Where?" Hell this was bad; Remus hadn't seen Sirius this worried since he found Harry playing in Lily's potion cabinet on his watch.
"Third floor, left hand corridor Third door on the right." Sirius told him, still breathing heavily.
"Go get Severus, send him up here, then run to the hospital wing, let poppy know what's happened." Remus told him, and took off, only to be stopped by Sirius.
"Why Snape?"
"Harry might have ingested a potion, if he did Severus should know which one it was, and the antidote." After having said this, Sirius still looked reluctant to go after the potions master, "Look, Sirius, I know you don't like the man, but he may be able to save Harry's life." At this Sirius nodded, and took off to find the snarky bastard.
Remus continued on his way to the third floor fearing the worst. When he got there, he found the right door with out problem. Entering he saw Harry laying on the floor, breathing heavily. He picked up the boy and headed out the door, towards the Hospital wing. By the time he got to the stairs, Snape came running up and looked at Harry, before conjuring a stretcher for Remus to lay him down on. He took a moment to cast a few quick diagnostic spells.
"He hasn't taken anything deadly." Snape said to no one in particular, "But we should still get him to the Hospital wing." And so they made their way to the Hospital Wing, neither saying anything the other.
’’
Sirius paced the floor of the infirmary. Harry had been out for the last three hours. Snape had said he hadn't had any potions, which relieved Sirius more than anything. Poppy had confirmed Snape's findings, and had concluded that the reason for the collapse was stress. Sirius still wished Harry would wake up.
After bringing Harry in on a stretcher and helping Poppy examine him, Snape had left, telling Sirius and Remus to give Harry a calming potion, and then a dreamless sleep potion. At that time Remus had pulled out the two potions from his robes and placed them on the bedside table. Now they had nothing to do but wait. Outside the search was still taking place, and every now and then, voices could be heard outside the infirmary doors. Sirius could never make out what they were saying, but he could tell, as if it were instinct, that they wouldn't find Ginny; and thought perhaps Harry could sense that too; That she was gone from the castle, and that to find her they would have to search elsewhere.
’’
Dumbledore sat in his office, wondering where he had gone wrong. The entire castle had been searched, and not another trace had been found of the missing girl. The ghosts had done extensive searches of the grounds, under the lake (God forbid she be found there), and the forbidden forest. And yet, not a trace could be found. Before they were able to begin searching Harry had collapsed. The young man now lay in the infirmary, in a deep sleep thanks to the aid of a dreamless sleep potion. Sirius and Remus now sat at his bedside. Dumbledore was not looking forward to when Harry woke up.
Snape had been called out not long ago; He was not expected back for some time. Which was probably a good thing; Hogwarts didn't need their potions professor hexing students left and right for being emotional over the loss of Ginny Weasley.
It seems Ginny had touched the lives of many, especially the Gryffindors. Of course he had notified all the students in the school, he'd needed to know if any of the other students had seen the young girl. Not long after the school had calmed slightly from the news of Ginny's disappearance, both the Slytherins and Gryffindors were in an uproar. It seems Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy had finally decided it was no longer necessary to keep their relationship a secret. Needless to say neither house took the information well at first, but after a time they had accepted the unlikely couple, and once again quieted. And now it was time to contact the ministry. Oh what fun that would be.
’’
Voldemort was particularly elated at the kidnapping of Ginny Weasley. His latest plan to stop Potter once and for all had been put into motion, and Severus was sure he planned on using this meeting to reward the one who had made it happen. The Dark Lord had been speaking of his plans for months, but would never reveal the name of the person or persons who would carry out the plans, only that when the time came, all would know who was responsible. So now Snape stood in his Death Eater robes in front of the monster that used to be his master, waiting for him to reveal the name of his servant who carried out the kidnapping.
Snape watched as Voldemort stalked around the ring of Death Eaters before stopping and hissing, "Filch, step forward."
"Oh shit." Thought Severus, this man had access to virtually every room in Hogwarts, not to mention full control over the house elves. Why hadn't Dumbledore known about this?
"Though you lack magical abilities," Voldemort continued, "You have proven yourself as one of most noble a stature. Though before I denied you the right to become one of my faithful, I now offer you the chance to take my mark, and be a part of one of the noblest groups in all of Great Britain. But know that if you deny me now, it will be your life."
"I will."
"Then you will address me as 'my Lord'."
"Yes, My Lord." Severus tuned the rest of the marking process out; he'd seen it enough over the years. He didn't know how long he stood there, lost I thought, but when he tuned back into the meeting, Voldemort was once more walking along the inside of the circle.
"Snape step forward." Severus did so and bowed to the Dark Lord. "The poison you've been working on, is it done yet?"
"No, My Lord, it is not."
"Why is it not?"
"The wormwood is acting badly with some of the other ingredients, turning it from a poison to nothing more than a cauldron of worthless gunk. Unfortunately with out the wormwood, the potion would be so unstable that it would explode. I have been trying to come up with a solution to this problem and I think by adding a few choice ingredients, I would be able to stabilize it with out compromising its potency."
"Then do so." Voldemort told him, "You are dismissed."
(A/N: I know it took me forever, but writer's block has been plaguing me. But finally it's done, thank goodness. Please review, and remember constructive criticism is welcome; any outright flame will be used to roast marshmallows and make s'mores, with lots of chocolate and yummy graham crackers.)