7

Sarah POV

Dumbledore moved closer, almost oblivious to my shock, and touched my forehead with his unburned hand. I inhaled sharply; suddenly free to breathe normally as Bellatrix's power began to fade, although the pain and the fear did not. She must have made it into my head, must have known what I knew- "Sarah, I know about Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said quietly, but his voice was quite clear. He slowly removed his hand, clearly satisfied that I had relaxed some. "Professor Snape is my spy, and is active once again as a Death Eater for that reason. He informed me as soon as Mr. Malfoy was initiated. The situation is under control."

"B-But he's trying to k-" I groaned again as I almost disclosed his mission but didn't make it that far. Even though I had Dumbledore so close to me and on my side, what ever Bellatrix had done to me was standing strong. Whenever I tried to speak of what I'd pieced together and seen, sharp digging pains, ten times worse then shin splints erupted in my left wrist. Panic exploded inside me- I had to tell him, tell someone-

"Yes, I know that he is trying to kill me," Dumbledore said lightly, as if this was daily conversation. I looked at him in disbelief. This couldn't be happening! Dumbledore had to have some plan to counter-act him, to protect himself and Harry- "Now, has Bellatrix entered your mind?" Dumbledore asked, staring at me with his x-ray eyes.

"No, s-sir," I breathed, almost sharply as Bellatrix tried again, as if she knew what we were talking about. The sedative barrier kept her at bay.

"Then listen carefully to what I have to say. You must keep this a secret until the day I die, do you understand?" He asked, his vivid eyes suddenly boring into me.

"Yes," I gasped as my breath started to get faster and shallower once more. Dumbledore leaned forward and started telling me things that made my breath stop. About how he was teaching Harry about Horcruxes and how they were the reason why Voldemort was still alive. About how he had already planned his death, how he had to die this year no matter what happened. About how Snape would appear to be a traitor but then be the most loyal of all. He told me about how the mark would steadily make me worse and worse, and if I wasn't turned in a certain amount of time, it'd kill me. He talked about Voldemort and Harry, and how the connection between their minds would get stronger. When he finished, I closed my eyes, overwhelmed. Everything was on the brink of falling apart, and Dumbledore had already compensated for it with his own life. A timer was attached to me now, and when there was no time left, I'd be dead.

"Sarah, you must learn Occlumens now, do you understand? Do you understand why? I did not plan on Harry having anymore friends, and I didn't plan on you taking such a big role so fast. But I believe you can help us, not the Death Eaters. Will you agree to take Occlumency from Professor Snape?" He asked, and I could only nod, my chest too tight for speech. "There is one last thing," Dumbledore said, standing, his robes swirling around him. "I said previously that no matter what, I had to die this year. I want to ensure that it will not be at the hands of young Mr. Malfoy. Despite the path he's taken, he has never killed another, his soul is pure. If you can stop him from the path Voldemort has chosen for him, you may save him from a terrible fate." Dumbledore said, and frowned when I didn't respond, my heart racing again, panting faster, I squeezed my eyes shut. The idea of helping Malfoy, the biggest coward and git I knew surprised me so much that it let her through-Bellatrix was tearing through the wall- "Poppy," I heard Dumbledore call, his voice sharp.

"Stay calm now, easy does it-" I heard Madam Pompfrey say confidently, and I was suddenly relaxing again, a newer, stronger sedative racing through me, making me very sleepy. "She'll be fine now. The sedative will give her enough time to rest and refortify her strength. I'll monitor her, Albus." Her voice got farther and farther away until it was swallowed by darkness…

Snape POV

As soon as I had alerted Dumbledore, I went back to my office where I had told Draco to wait for me. I had warned him to stay away from her, knowing that eventually she would figure it out, but the later the better. Of course, he had ignored me, and I was surprised that he was even waiting in my office. Draco was insufferably proud, like his father. His face changed from sulking to angry in about a second when I walked in the door. "I told you to avoid her." I said curtly, shutting the door. Maybe now he'd learn to listen.

"That's a little difficult in this school. We'd have classes together everyday." Draco spat. "And why should I? She's got nothing on me." He started for the door but a flick of my wand locked it.

"You should avoid her because I said so." I said dangerously, and he whirled back around, glaring at me.

"This is my job to do. My mission. I know that all you want is my glory. You can't order me around. This is a fluke," He said, his grip getting tighter on his wand.

"Draco, I do not want your glory. You must have felt your mark burn in the hallway- and it's because of her. Avoid her." I ordered, trying to make him at least listen to reason.

"Why? A Dark Mark doesn't burn around a Mudblood. I'll do as I please." He snapped, turning around, unlocking the door, and stalking off into the hallway like a spoiled brat, but, incidentally, just like his father. It wouldn't have been so bad if this girl hadn't ruined everything. Dumbledore would tell her the truth now, and if anyone was to try to discover it, they'd aim for the weakest link- her. She'd probably also blab to Potter and his gang, throwing everything into jeopardy, my position, Dumbledore's plan- all of it. I didn't care how skilled the Order claimed she was, or how strong she'd been in dealing with the effects. My fireplace erupted with green flames, interrupting my brooding, and seconds later, Dumbledore himself stepped through, lightly brushing ash from himself with his dead hand.

"Severus," he greeted me, stepping out of the hearth.

"This is it, Dumbledore. She'll ruin it all, mark my words." I warned, but he just sighed heavily, conjuring one of his squishy armchairs and sitting down. "Are you not concerned?" I demanded.

"You will need to teach her Occlumency as soon as possible." He said calmly, and I nearly threw something.

"You told her enough to need Occlumency? Are you mad, Albus? This will not end well, this will be our undoing. This girl is the weakest link, and you know it. Bellatrix knows it. That's all the Dark Lord needs." I hissed, only getting angrier when he shook his head placidly. That was the one thing that always irritated me about Dumbledore. He always danced around the point and treated everyone else below him like children.

"She needs it not only because she knows, but because Bellatrix has silenced her. If she can do that, she could try to possess her and invade her mind again." He said, and I stood for a moment, only looking at him before it sunk in. She couldn't speak of Draco, not to anyone, not even Potter, not even Dumbledore. For the moment, we were still secure, and she was taking the fall, not us. "You understand now, I'm sure. I'll send her down tomorrow evening." Dumbledore said, rising from his chair and Vanishing it.

"Has she been possessed before?" I asked before he was almost out the door, and he paused and replied without looking at me.

"I believe so, during the summer. Her memory was so broken; she couldn't and wouldn't remember it happening. But she is stronger than you think. Good afternoon, Severus," He walked out then, closing the door quietly behind him, leaving me to think.

Harry POV

We grabbed Hermione and went up to the Hospital Wing instead of going to Lunch. Sarah was the only one in the ward, and was sleeping somewhat peacefully thanks to Madam Pompfrey. Hermione pressed Ron for details, but nothing stood out too much, except for her one comment, "I have to see Professor Dumbledore." Did she think that she was going to seize? Had she remembered something from the summer, felt an overpowering influence in that hallway? My suspicions were running high- according to Ron, only he, Snape, McGonagall and Malfoy had been in the hallway with her at the time, and only he, Snape and Malfoy before McGonagall arrived. Had she realized, (and I hoped that she did), that Malfoy was a Death Eater?

But most of all, I wanted dearly to know why Dumbledore has been in the ward for so long. I hoped that it wasn't because of Sarah's health, that's the last thing she needed. I wanted information from Dumbledore. I knew that I'd get it, tonight even, our first lesson, but Dumbledore had a way of dishing out certain information to certain people, and there were things that he'd never tell any of us.

And that made me wonder if he'd tell it to Sarah.

Draco POV

I stormed down the hallway, shoving a pack of first years out of my way. Snape was an idiot, and he'd ruin everything. He knew as well as I did that if I didn't succeed, he'd probably kill me, and the Malfoy line would end. Failure wasn't going to be an option. And here was Snape, throwing random facts and orders at me, claiming to be trying to help, but really just being a prat and confusing me. I knew that he was almost as loyal as Bellatrix, if not more so, and he probably just wanted more of everything, more power, more glory, and more influence. He was a greedy, nosy bastard.

And why would he claim that Wimkil, the only Mudblood nerdier than Granger would be responsible for triggering my Mark? That made no sense at all, yet it had burned when I stepped into the hallway. The rumor going around school was that she'd been attacked by Inferi, even though the pictures in Snape's classroom that depicted an Inferi attack were only full of blood and mangled people. Her story didn't fit- but neither did Snape's. But what did it matter? She was a Mudblood, and Snape was only trying to trip me up. It was all just lies.