"C'mon," Harry said wanting to get away from there as soon as possible. If it was Wormtail, there was no way Ginny would be able to feel it. Dread began to settle over him. He put his arm around Ginny in an effort to keep her warm, but didn't think it would help much. The icy feeling was inside, not just the temperature of the air around them.

They moved silently to the end of the hallway and turned the corner, only to come to a dead stop. A dementor was standing less then 5 feet away, moving swiftly towards them. Ginny screamed and Harry let go of her, he thrust his hands into his robes for his wand. Already the sounds of his mother's pleas for his life were filling his head.

The dementor had reached forward and grabbed Ginny by the shoulders, pulling her close to itself. She looked as if she were paralyzed, and made no effort to get away.

"No!" Harry screamed as he pulled his wand out of pocket. He concentrated with all of his strength on his new home, and living with Sirius.

"Expecto Patronum!" he yelled. At once the familiar silver light streamed from the tip of his wand taking the shape of Prongs. It headed straight for the dementor holding Ginny.

The dementor let go of her, and skittered away quickly back down the corridor, followed by the stag. Ginny slumped to the floor, crying and Harry went to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked full of concern. She didn't answer him, just stayed where she was, cross-legged on the floor, rocking herself back and forth.

"Ginny, please answer me," Harry said, touching her shoulder. She slowly raised her head to meet his eyes.

"It was.was." she began through choked sobs. Her eyes flickered upwards looking past Harry, and widened in terror. It was then he realized the cold feeling was still all around them, and he jumped up. He spun around quickly raising his wand as his mother's screams began filling his head once more, but he wasn't fast enough.

The Dementor was too close, and it knocked his wand out of his grasp. Harry tried to keep his head clear, to block out the horrific cries, but it was of no use, he was paralyzed with fear as the dementor pulled back the hood covering its sickening face underneath. It crept its rotting hands around Harry's neck and raised his face to its own, ready to administer the kiss.

Harry felt himself blacking out, but fought against it. He knew that if the dementor was able to take his soul, he'd never really wake up again. When he did, he wouldn't even know he was awake. He struggled to lift his hands up, and used every ounce of strength he had to keep the dementor's face away from his own. Ginny was screaming and yelling curse after curse, but she couldn't perform the one spell that would save Harry. She had never been taught how to make a Patronus.

Harry did the only thing he could think of, while trying hard not to hear his mother's voice ringing in his head, he concentrated on summoning Wormtail.

A violent shiver ran through him despite the fact that he was already freezing from the dementor's presence, and Wormtail was standing at his side.

"You promised me you wouldn't." he began to say angrily, then realized what was happening, and a look of terror came over him.

"My wand." Harry said weakly. His wand had been knocked several feet away from him and he had no way of reaching it. Wormtail looked around frantically; when at last he spotted the wand, he hastily snatched it up, then spun back around.

Harry couldn't hold on any longer, his eyelids were flickering in his effort to keep them open and the dementor was so close now he could feel its breath. Ginny had stopped throwing curses at it, at a loss for how to help Harry.

Suddenly, Harry saw a bright silvery light and he felt the dementor's grip release him. He fell to the floor, gasping for breath. When he looked up, the dementor was nowhere to be seen, and something silver was slithering off down the hall, supposedly chasing it.

Ginny rushed to his side, and he looked into her tear-stained face.

"I thought it was going to kill you." she trailed off. "How did you do that?" she asked. Her voice was trembling.

Harry just looked at her, not sure what she meant. He hadn't done anything and had been thinking the same as her. Then he remembered seeing Wormtail for a few seconds. Did he really succeed in calling him? He hadn't been sure if he was seeing things. He looked around and spotted Wormtail standing a few feet away, where his wand had been laying.

"Did you." he began. Wormtail nodded, stiffly. He moved over to where Harry was sitting and bent down, holding his wand out to him.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked, her eyes fixed on the wand. To her it appeared as if it was floating in mid-air. Harry lifted his arm, which took effort, and grabbed the wand.

"Thank you," he said to Wormtail. It felt weird to say that to him, but he felt wrong not saying it.

"Who are you talking to?" Ginny asked, alarmed. Harry had forgotten she hadn't been there the night he found out about Wormtail.

He tried to stand up but couldn't quite make it. Ginny helped him some, though she was very weak as well. When he finally was on his feet, he leaned back against the wall.

"What we need is chocolate," Harry muttered.

"I think we need to see Madam Pomfrey," Ginny replied. Harry groaned inwardly, but nodded.

Wormtail was still standing nearby, not having spoken since he first arrived. Harry wondered briefly why Wormtail hadn't warned him about the dementors in the first place, but decided to ask him later. He started to move down the hallway, using the wall for support.

"So, do you know what happened?" Ginny asked again, as they moved slowly through the halls.

"I think so," Harry replied. He looked over his shoulder to see Wormtail was following them. "Do you remember being told about Peter Pettigrew?" he asked her.

"Wormtail?" she asked not bothering to hide the disgust in her voice. "What's he got to do with anything?"

Wormtail gave her an indignant glare and Harry rushed on. He explained as quickly as possible what he had found out a few nights ago.

"So you have to drag him around with you?" Ginny asked. "That's horrible. But what does that have to do with what just happened?"

"I summoned him, brought him here. I couldn't think of anything else to do," Harry replied, then paused before continuing. "He saved me."

"So, he's the one that did that spell then? Like the one you did to make the dementor let go of me?" Ginny asked.

"The Patronus, yes," Harry said, then continued. "Did you get a good look at it? The Patronus he conjured?"

Ginny nodded.

"What was it?"

"Well.it kind of resembled a rather large.worm," she said, uncertainly.

Harry turned to look at Wormtail; he arched an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with that?" Wormtail asked crossly.

Harry just shook his head, when another thought occurred to him.

"I didn't even know ghosts were able to use wands," he said.

"Oh yes," Ginny answered, casually. "They aren't allowed their own wands because there are many ghosts, such as Peeves, that would use it to cause chaos. But they can use them just like we can."

"It's a wonder Peeves just doesn't go around stealing our wands then," Harry replied, "I wouldn't put it past him."

"Well they can't take a wand without a wizard or witch's permission. You must have given it to Wormtail or he wouldn't have been able to touch it."

Harry shrugged.

"I guess I did," he said.

They were finally coming to the last hall before the hospital wing, and Harry was glad. He didn't think he'd be able to make it much further, and looking at Ginny he saw the same went for her.

As they turned the last corner, Wormtail stopped. Harry gave him a curious look.

"This is it for me, I'm not going near Dumbledore again. The hospital wing is right there so you'll be fine," he said.

"Why did you come with us this far then?" Harry asked.

Wormtail hesitated before answering.

"To make sure you made it back alright, of course," he finally said, as if it should have been completely obvious.

"Oh," Harry replied, not sure what to say. He watched as Wormtail faded from view, before continuing on towards the hospital wing.

"Hey!" Ginny said, smiling and pointing in front of them. Harry looked down the hall to see Dumbledore and Lupin entering the hospital wing, deep in conversation. The doors slammed shut behind them before Harry could call out.

"Well," he said, turning to Ginny, "we were headed there anyway, let's go see what's up."

The two of them made it to the hospital wing doors and almost collapsed through them. Sirius, Lupin and Marzia were halfway across the room talking, and looked up when they heard them enter.

"Harry!" Sirius yelled as his godson fell to his knees. Ginny was swaying on her feet and collapsed only a second later. Harry lunged to catch her so her head wouldn't hit the floor, and just barely made it.

"I can't hold her," Harry said weakly as the other three reached him. Lupin bent down and gently lifted Ginny; he carried her to the nearest bed while Sirius helped Harry over to a chair.

"What happened?" Sirius asked, his eyes showing his concern. Harry looked up at him, unable to speak. His vision blurred and he was afraid for a moment that he would pass out, he shut his eyes. After a moment, he felt it would be safe to open them again, and saw Dumbledore was there too now.

"Dementors," he managed to say before anyone could speak, "two of them, near the dungeons."

All four pairs of eyes looking at him widened slightly.

"How?" Sirius asked, glancing at Dumbledore.

"I don't know," Dumbledore replied gravely. Lupin meanwhile was using his wand to conjure up a chocolate bar, which he handed to Harry.

"Thanks," Harry said gratefully before biting into it; the warmth that immediately spread through him was most welcome. He took a few more bites, feeling his energy return, before looking back up at the others.

"Do you feel up to telling us what happened?" Dumbledore asked, kindly.

Harry nodded, slowly, then asked a question.

"Did you tell them," he asked Dumbledore gesturing to the others, "about the other night?"

"You mean about Wormtail?" Sirius asked through clenched teeth. His expression became very cloudy.

"Yes, him," Harry said. He sighed lightly before starting to speak. He watched the expressions on their faces as he told them what happened, but no one, thankfully, interrupted him. When he was finished, his throat was a bit dry.

"Why wouldn't Wormtail have warned Harry about the dementors?" Lupin asked, immediately.

Dumbledore stroked his chin in thought, but before he could answer, Sirius spoke up.

"What I want to know is how they got here in the first place," Sirius said. "And why did one of them try to administer the kiss on Harry?"

"Good questions," Dumbledore spoke up, "ones to which I too want the answers. But I don't have them as of this moment."

Harry hoped they at least found out about the dementors quickly. He didn't fancy another run in with them any time soon. As for Wormtail, he would ask him himself next time he saw him.

Before anyone could say anything else, Madam Pomfrey ran over from the opposite side of the hospital wing.

"Headmaster!" she cried, full of distress, "he's getting worse, I don't think Allison can hold him any more!"

Dumbledore stood up immediately.

"Excuse me, please," he said then quickly followed Pomfrey over towards where Snape's bed was.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, alarmed.

"It seems that Professor Snape has gotten worse over the past few days," Marzia told him gently.

"What?" Harry asked shooting up out of his chair. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Harry, sit down, you've had a very rough day." Sirius began, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Sirius, you don't understand!" Harry cried. "If he dies, it's because of me, I can't let that happen, not again! We have to do something!"

"Again?" Remus asked. "Harry, what do you mean by."

"I want to see him," Harry cut him off. "Please?" he asked.

Sirius looked at him skeptically, but Marzia spoke up before he could say anything.

"Of course you can, just don't disturb what they are doing to try and help him, okay?" She looked up at Sirius and Remus to see them staring at her. "Don't give me those looks you two, I don't see any reason Harry shouldn't be allowed to see Snape."

Harry stepped passed Sirius and walked with Marzia to where Snape was, and the other two followed. But when Snape came into view, Harry wasn't prepared for what he was going to see. He had expected him to look like he had a fever, pale and clammy, but it was much worse.

Snape was thrashing in the bed, clawing at his neck. It looked almost like he was trying to pull something off of himself, something that was choking him. His breathing was very shallow, and coming in short gasps. His eyes were pressed shut so tight it looked painful.

Professor Gazten was there, whispering something over him, while Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey looked on, grim expressions set on their faces.

"What's she doing?" Harry whispered to Marzia, not taking his eyes off of Snape. But before Marzia could answer, Gazten collapsed into the chair behind her, unconscious. Madam Pomfrey exchanged a worried glance with Dumbledore before rushing to Gazten's side.

"What do we do now?" she asked, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

Dumbledore shook his head, gravely, and didn't speak.

Harry stood there, unmoving, shocked over what was happening. He had been under the impression, until a few moments ago, that Snape was slowly recovering. Now it appeared as if he would be dead in a matter of minutes.

"We have to do something!" he said, finding his voice.

"Harry," Sirius began, stepping next to his godson, "there's nothing we can do."

"No!" Harry said firmly. "There's got to be something! Do we know what's wrong with him? Why is this happening?" he asked frantically. He looked into Sirius' face, then turned to Dumbledore.

"Harry," Dumbledore said soothingly, still looking very distraught, "I want nothing more than to know how to help Professor Snape, but he is being attacked by something of which we have no knowledge. As you can see it is invisible to us."

Harry looked back at Snape's thrashing form. He was dying, right in front of everyone, and no one knew how to help him.

He stepped forward towards the bed, stopping next to it. Was something actually choking him? Was it a dream?

"He's in a coma," Gazten spoke up weakly from behind him; he spun around to face her. "A very deep one, and he's being attacked, by something we can't touch."

"How do we get him out of it then?" Harry asked. "Or if we can't do that, then how do we stop what's attacking him?"

"I've tried," she said, earnestly, "at first he was able to hold off his attacker on his own, but he grew too weak, and it was able to overcome him. Without being where he is, I can do nothing."

"What do you mean? He's right here!" Harry exclaimed.

"I'm talking about mentally. I can see him physically, but that's all. I need to see what he's seeing, to help him."

"You don't know how to do that?" he whispered, seeing the sad look in her eyes.

She shook her head slowly, and Harry's heart sank. Dumbledore didn't know what to do, and Gazten was the only one that Harry suspected knew magic that they didn't. If they couldn't figure this out no one could.

He turned once more to see Snape, barely breathing now, and knew it would be over in minutes. Whatever enemy he was facing, the battle was coming to an end. His hands were still near his throat, straining with the little strength left in him to pull something away.

Harry didn't know why he did it, but he stretched his hand out towards Snape's neck. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his hand, which made him pull his arm back quickly. He looked at his hand in shock as there was blood dripping from two large holes in his palm, and barely had time to register what was happening, before he slumped, unconscious, to the floor.

Harry opened his eyes and saw he was still in the hospital wing; Sirius, Remus and Marzia were leaning over him, while Madam Pomfrey was cleaning his hand.

"I'm fine," he said, sitting up quickly. "I don't know what happened there."

"Let's get him to a bed," Remus said quietly.

"What? No, I said I was fine; really." he trailed off. He watched as Sirius pointed his wand at him and lifted his limp form up and across the room to a bed.

Harry sat on the floor, astounded. How could this be happening? He was still sitting right there, but he just watched himself float across the room. He stood up, feeling shaky, and quickly remembered what had caused him to faint in the first place. Looking over at Professor Snape's bed, he saw he was still lying there, grasping at his throat, only this time he could see what was choking him.

A black snake with blue banding had coiled itself around Snape's neck, squeezing the life out of him.

"Stop!" Harry cried, hearing it come out as a low hiss. Snape's eyes were open, and they were looking at Harry, filled with terror.

"Let go of him," Harry said evenly, looking into the snake's black eyes. It pushed itself up to be level with Harry's face, before answering.

"You shouldn't have come here," it hissed.

"I have no idea how I got here, but I'm not going to let you kill him," Harry replied.

With that the snake finally released its hold on Snape and lunged at Harry, who barely managed to step out of the way. He thrust his hands into his pockets only to find they were empty, he didn't have his wand.

He took a few steps back, trying not to panic.

"You can't tell me what to do, this is my realm," the snake hissed at him. It was slithering on the floor towards him, and Harry saw it was only about three feet long, but that did little to ease his worry. He looked up at Snape who was now greedily gulping in air, and was glad he was still alive. But if he didn't figure out a way to get rid of this snake, they would both be dead.

"Look he's stopped!" Gazten called to the others, gesturing towards Snape. "He's breathing a little better now."

As soon as Harry's eyes were averted the snake took its chance, it again lunged at him and before Harry realized what was happening it coiled itself around his neck. He immediately began trying to pry the snake away from him, but it was too strong, and he began to fight for air.

"You will be much tastier than he would be," the snake hissed in Harry's ear, "much more power within you."

Harry couldn't reply, all he could do was try to breathe.

"Harry!" he heard Sirius yell and looked up, anxiously. Could he see him?

But his godfather was bent over his comatose form, which was now doing much the same thing Snape had been doing earlier. Grasping at something invisible around his throat, and gasping for air.

Great, Harry thought, distantly, I've successfully managed to get myself into the same predicament Snape was in, with no one able to do anything.

His vision was blurring now, and blackness was fading in and out. He knew he couldn't pass out, or it would all be over. He used every ounce of concentration he could muster to stay awake, but he could no longer stay standing. He felt his back press up against the closest wall and slid down to the floor.

"Don't fight it," the snake hissed, "here, I'll make it quicker for you." The snake crept down his side and sunk its fangs deeply into Harry's arm. He felt half of his strength drain away in that instant, and nearly blacked out entirely, but held on. He wasn't fighting just for himself right now, and refused to give in so easily.

"You are much stronger than I originally thought," the snake hissed, sounding quite gleeful. "But I tire of this game." Harry watched with horror as the snake brought its face directly in front of his own. He felt a strange sensation running thru him and quickly became aware of a cloud of light surrounding him.

The snake opened its mouth and began sucking in the cloud, drinking it down like water. Harry didn't know what was going on but he knew he didn't want the snake to get any more of it inside him; he had to stop it.

He struggled to loosen the snake's grip in the slightest, thinking if he could move it away from him just a little he could slip it over his head. But the snake was much stronger than him, and with the little bit of air he was actually getting; he didn't have the energy.

Harry felt his eyes fluttering and a feeling of hopelessness settled over him, when suddenly he heard something that made his heart jump.

The snake was retching; it seemed, on the cloud. He didn't know what the cloud was, but the snake choking was certainly a good thing in his opinion. He felt the strong muscles in the snakes body loosen their grip around his neck and was finally able to pry it loose.

As he tossed it on the floor, he saw it was now secreting a green substance, filling the air with a rotted stench, and glaring, darkly, at him.

It gurgled something that was incomprehensible, before giving a final retch, and melting into the floor.

Harry stared at the disgusting puddle of filth on the floor before getting shakily to his feet. He made his way over to where Snape was lying on the bed.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked him breathlessly, when he saw Snape looking up at him.

Before Snape could answer, Harry felt a surge of energy rush thru him, and everything went black. He didn't pass out though, and when his vision returned he was lying on the bed Sirius had moved him to before. He looked around to see Sirius, Remus and Marzia looking down at him, their faces a mixture of confusion and joy.

"Harry," Sirius said, his voice showing how relieved he was. "What happened? You started doing the same thing as Snape." he trailed off.

"I'm okay Sirius, I feel fine actually." It was the truth too, as soon as he had opened his eyes he felt as if nothing had happened. He started to get out of the bed and Sirius held him back.

"Fine?" he asked, sounding skeptical. "A few moments ago you were gasping for air and now you're fine?"

Harry nodded at him. He looked around his godfather to see Snape was now sitting up as well.

"Look, see?" Harry said pointing. "Snape's up too. C'mon."

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. The four of them walked across the room, stopping next to Snape's bed.

Madam Pomfrey was frantically checking over Snape in amazement, despite his protests that he was fine. Dumbledore and Gazten stood nearby, trying to hide their amusement.

"Madam Pomfrey!" Snape shouted, becoming angry at last, "I assure you I'm fine, now will you please." he trailed off when he caught sight of Harry.

His eyes narrowed and Harry almost took a step back. Surely he had done nothing that Snape could possibly yell at him for. He braced himself for the screaming that was coming.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," Snape said so quietly Harry almost didn't hear him say it. He nodded at the potions master.

"You're welcome," he replied, in a normal tone of voice.

"Okay," Remus spoke up. "Who wants to explain what just happened here?"

Before anyone could speak, the doors to the hospital wing banged open, and everyone turned to see who had entered.

"Told you," Hermione said in a taunting voice, sticking her tongue out at Ron, who rolled his eyes at her.

"Mr. Weasley, Miss. Granger, is there a problem?" Dumbledore asked, tolerantly.

They looked at him, then to Harry, before Hermione spoke.

"We were looking for Harry, professor. We were supposed to go visit with Hagrid today and we already checked the rest of the places we thought he might be. I suggested we come here, but Ron said he'd never come here if he didn't have to. I thought he might be checking up on Professor Snape again." she trailed off, looking at everyone.

"What did we interrupt?" she asked, blushing slightly.

No one said anything for a moment, and Harry noticed Snape had been giving him a peculiar look since Hermione said he was checking up on the potions master. He turned to Dumbledore at last, deciding to explain what had just happened, and tell Ron and Hermione about the dementors later.

"There was a snake, choking Professor Snape. That's what bit me, I think," Harry said, holding up his hand. The bleeding had stopped but the blood was dried to his hand, and the places where the snake's fangs had pierced his skin were throbbing. He glanced down at his arm to see the other bite marks were gone. Wondering how this was possible, he decided to just continue, and hope Dumbledore might have some explanation.

"You saw a snake, Harry?" Sirius asked, then looked at Dumbledore. "How is it that we didn't see it?"

"Let Mr. Potter go on Sirius, then we can try to figure this out."

"I didn't see it when my hand was first bitten," Harry continued, as Madam Pomfrey was now having him sit in a chair so she could take care of his injury. He explained everything that had happened from when he passed out until he woke up in the bed Sirius had put him in. When he was done, he looked at the faces around him.

Ron and Hermione were by far the most confused looking of everyone, Sirius, Remus and Marzia looked disturbed by what they had just heard, and Dumbledore was deep in thought. Snape was sitting on the bed still, an unreadable expression on his face and Gazten was looking intently at Harry. She was the first to speak after an awkward silence.

"Harry, you said the snake was black with blue banding, did it have a flat head and black eyes?" she asked in a very serious tone.

Harry nodded.

"You saw it?" he asked in surprise.

"Not today I didn't," she replied, "but I've seen them before."

"Them?" Remus asked. "There are more of these things?"

Gazten nodded.

"Yes, many more. They're called Dream Snakes."

She looked around at the room full of blank stares, only Dumbledore seemed to show some recognition, before continuing.

"Dream Snakes don't live in the same plane of existence as us. We live in what is known as the Material Plane, while they live in the Ethereal Plane. We can't see the Ethereal Plane, but its inhabitants can see us."

"So how do we protect ourselves from them?" Harry asked.

"Normally we don't need to, they usually stay far from where we live, but something, obviously, has changed. Dream Snakes feed on anything they sense has a strong life force, wizards and witches are more appealing, as they are the most powerful of all human beings. When you saw the cloud form around yourself, the one the snake began to drink, that was your life force," Gazten said, looking at Harry.

No one spoke, so she continued.

"The Dream Snake has two special powers it uses to aid in its attack. One being it's ability to induce a coma upon its victim, so they are unable to awaken, and therefore unable to escape. You said you didn't have your wand, which will happen anytime you travel to the ethereal plane. You are there and able to combat physically, but any weapons you have on you are left behind in the Material Plane. The second power is an energy drain of sorts. When you are bitten by the Dream Snake in the Ethereal Plane, you are drained of a great deal of your energy, making it easier for the Snake to overcome you and steal your life force."

"So why do I still have the bite marks from being bitten here, and I don't have the one from the Ethereal Plane?" Harry asked.

"The Dream Snake was unsuccessful in its attempt, and died. That is why you don't have the bite marks from the Ethereal Plane. The one it gave you in the Material Plane are still there because you received them to your physical self, not your ethereal self. The only questions I have are, how was the snake able to induce a coma on you, since it can only do this to sleeping victims, and why didn't it succeed? From the way you explained it, I don't see what caused it to die."

"Well," Harry began, "I think what stopped it."

Sirius, who was giving Gazten a suspicious look, cut him off.

"How is it you know so much about all of this?" he asked abruptly.

Gazten looked at him, reading the mistrust in his face, but didn't answer. She looked to Dumbledore.

"Allison knows many things that will be most useful to aid us in our battle against Voldemort, Sirius," Dumbledore spoke. "What's important now, is finding out how this happened."

"Well, Voldemort must've managed to make contact with the Ethereal Plane somehow," Remus spoke up.

"I believe you are right," Dumbledore said gravely, "It wouldn't be the first time he's managed it."

Every pair of eyes in the room except Gazten's widened upon hearing this.

"What?" Sirius asked in shock. "When?"

"Roughly about 16 years ago, perhaps a bit more," Dumbledore replied. "But that's not important now. What is important is finding out how many of the creatures he's managed to contact from there, and how many will be helping him."

Dumbledore shook his head gravely.

"First however, I will be contacting the ministry to see what information I can get on the dementors from earlier. If they are no longer in Azkaban, I need to know why we weren't informed."

"We'll do a search of the castle," Marzia spoke up. "To make sure there aren't any still lingering."

Sirius and Remus nodded resolutely.

"Very well," then he turned his attention to Snape. "Severus, I'm going to ask that you stay here so Poppy and Allison can make sure nothing else was done to you. When you are feeling up to it, I want to discuss what happened on September 1st."

Snape looked like he might explode over the suggestion that he should stay in the hospital wing, but Dumbledore did not appear in the mood to argue the matter, so Snape stayed silent.

"Harry, how's your hand?" Dumbledore asked, kindly.

"It's fine, it barely hurts anymore," Harry said, honestly.

"Good, I want you and your friends to go back to your tower for the remainder of the day. I will tell Hagrid that you won't be coming today, and as long as we find there are no more uninvited guests in the school, you can visit him tomorrow."

Harry nodded, not much in the mood to do any visiting today anyway. He stood up and walked over to Ron and Hermione, who were looking as bewildered as ever.

"C'mon," he said to them. "Let's wake up Ginny, I'll tell you what you missed when we're back in the tower."

Harry barely got any sleep that night. He tossed and turned thinking about everything that had happened that day. How did the dementors get in the school? Were they working for Voldemort now? Why wouldn't the ministry notify everyone? He hoped that Dumbledore would find out soon; today's encounter had been too close for comfort.

As for the incident with the Dream Snake, the only question he had was the first one Professor Gazten had asked. How was the snake able to draw him into a coma? If she were telling the truth it wouldn't have been able to do so while he was awake. Her second question about how he survived he could only guess was because of Lunis. He had actually been about to say it when Sirius had cut him off earlier.

When Sirius had asked Gazten why she knew so much, Harry's suspicions towards her were immediately re-ignited. Not that they had been completely gone to begin with, but after his brief talk with Hagrid during the Care of Magical Creatures lesson, he had felt better about her presence. Now he was back to doubting her, even though Dumbledore seemed to trust her.

He couldn't explain why, but he felt there must be someone in the school, helping Voldemort. Too many things were happening this year for there not to be. And last year the same thing had happened with Tytros. They had all believed he was their friend, and that belief almost cost Harry his life. Dumbledore had said he hadn't told Harry about Lunis last year because he had been unsure of how it would interact with the knowledge. For all he knew it wouldn't have helped him at all.

He rolled over onto his stomach, trying to get comfortable. His thoughts drifted now to Wormtail. When Harry had called him during the dementor encounter, and he realized the situation, he saved Harry's life, without question. Then accompanied both he and Ginny to the hospital wing, to make sure they were safe. What Harry wanted to know, was if this was something else he was 'forced' to do, or not.

Harry flung the covers off of himself, sat up and grabbed his glasses. He swung his legs around the side of the bed and stood, then crept silently to the window. He didn't want to wake anyone else. He sat down on the ledge, drawing his knees up under his chin, and stared out over the grounds. Everything looked so peaceful, he thought, praying that it wasn't just an illusion. If he could ask for anything, it would be to get through this school year without any more of Voldemort's followers showing up. Not only was he in danger, but two people had already almost lost their lives and he'd only been in school a week.

He shook his head trying not to think of these things, trying to convince himself that everything would be alright, and not believing it at all.

When a hand came down on his shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts, he almost screamed. He turned quickly to see who was there.

"Neville!" he whispered loudly, relief sweeping over him. "You scared me."

"Sorry," Neville replied sheepishly. "I've been listening to you moving around for a few hours now, and when I heard you get up I thought I'd join you."

"Oh, I'm sorry Neville. Did I keep you awake?" Harry asked, guiltily.

Neville shook his head.

"No, you didn't. I couldn't sleep either." He shrugged casually.

Harry put his legs down so Neville could sit next to him on the ledge.

"What was keeping you up?" Harry asked.

"Oh, you know, this and that. I'm thinking about this being our last year here, and all the work ahead of us. I'm very nervous about the N.E.W.T.'s you know."

Harry chuckled.

"You sound like Hermione," he said smiling.

Neville gave him a skeptical look.

"I can't imagine what she'd be worried about, she's got the highest marks of our entire year!"

"So we keep reminding her," Harry said, thinking about all the abuse Hermione took from he and Ron over her study habits. They sat in silence for a few moments, until Harry spoke again.

"You know I don't think you really have to worry just yet, there's a long way to go before the N.E.W.T.'s. You've got plenty of time to study."

Neville just shrugged, in an off-handed kind of way.

"I guess you're right," he replied. "Usually I'm not worried about finals yet, but I just feel different this year. I can't explain what it is. But something is bothering me. So I'm assuming it must be that."

Harry looked at Neville carefully. They had never been close, but he still considered him a friend.

"Neville, if you want to tell me something, you know I'll listen," Harry said.

Neville looked up and met his gaze, and Harry was surprised to see Neville wasn't just worried; he was scared. This wasn't just over some end of the year tests.

"No, I'm fine," he said quickly. "It's just nerves, over finals. I'm sure of it." He stood up then and stretched. "I'm going to try and get some sleep."

"Were you the one that reported Malfoy?" Harry blurted out before he could stop himself. He didn't know what that would have to do with anything, but he was suddenly overcome with the feeling that Neville was the one who told.

He expected Neville would deny it, or refuse to answer, but he did neither. The two of them looked at each other in silence for a moment, before Neville nodded slowly.

"Why did you want to know?" he asked.

"I don't know," Harry replied slowly. "I just knew a Gryffindor was the one who saw what he did, and that Dumbledore was asked not to say who. Which I can understand, but you don't have anything to worry about. Malfoy thinks I told."

"Why does he think that?" Neville asked.

"Probably because he blames me for everything," Harry replied bitterly. "If something goes wrong for him it's always my fault as far as he's concerned. Besides he knew I had been trying to get over to him during the lesson, everyone saw me trying. That's why I was surprised someone noticed what he did."

"Well I was looking at you," Neville began, "but then something made me start watching him, I guess it was just because I saw you trying to get over there and I wanted to see why. But you won't tell, right?" he asked, sounding worried.

Harry nodded, grinning.

"Your secret's safe with me," he said confidently.

"Thanks Harry," Neville said, gratefully, before turning towards his bed again. "Good night!"

"Night Neville," Harry said. Something inside was telling him that wasn't what Neville had been worried about either, but he wasn't going to push him now. He decided it was probably a good idea to try and get some sleep this evening. When he was in the bed he placed his glasses again on the table next to him, before lying back into the soft pillow. It was only a few minutes before he was sleeping soundly.

The next day was dreary and cloudy outside. Everyone was cooped up in the common room playing games or doing homework. Harry, Ron and Hermione went to see Dumbledore right after breakfast, but he seemed to be very busy, still trying to get in touch with the ministry mostly. He did assure them that no dementors or any other unwanted visitors were found in the school after it was searched, but Hagrid was not going to be able to see them that day, as he was busy with other matters.

The three of them left the office and headed back towards their tower.

"Do you think the ministry will give him the information he wants?" Hermione asked. "I mean, after the way they tried to keep things from him last year."

"From me," Harry interrupted. "They tried to keep things from me. And I wonder if they're doing the same this year too. Ron and I saw Percy here yesterday, and seeing as how he's working closely with Thurston, I would think he could've told Dumbledore what was happening, if the ministry does indeed know."

Ron just lowered his head and his cheeks flushed when Harry said this. Hermione gave him a quizzical look, then turned to Harry, who just shook his head at her.

"I'll tell you later," he mouthed the words so Ron wouldn't hear them. He knew from what Ginny had told him that Percy's behavior was an embarrassment to Ron, and didn't want to say anything in front of Hermione. But since he also found out Percy blamed him personally for the ministry's problems, it couldn't hurt for Hermione to know about it.

"Why don't you tell her now?" Ron said, sounding bitter. Harry looked at him uncertainly. "I know you're going to, so tell her. Ginny told me what you two talked about yesterday. And since Percy will be staying here."

"Staying here?" Harry asked, astonished. "Why?"

Ron shrugged.

"I don't know, probably something to do with the ministry I'd suspect."

"But isn't that why Marzia is here? For the ministry?" Hermione asked.

"That's what she said," Harry replied. "I guess they don't trust her, or Thurston doesn't anyway. He probably has Percy here to check up on her."

"Okay, one of you please tell me what's going on with Percy," Hermione said firmly.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and Ron sighed, heavily.

"I'll tell her," he said quietly. He gave Harry a look that said he clearly wanted to do this alone, and Harry caught on.

"I'll catch up with you guys in a bit, I forgot that I needed to talk to Sirius about something. See you later!"

He waved at them, and watched them walk out of sight, before turning and heading off in the opposite direction.

Harry walked aimlessly through the halls. He hadn't really had anything to ask Sirius about, most of his questions were for things he wouldn't know the answers to. But he knew Ron didn't want to talk about Percy in front of him, so he said the first thing that came to mind to excuse himself.

Having nowhere to go and not wanting to hang out in the common room, he headed up to the owlery. It always had a calming effect on him, just sitting there, listening to the soft hooting of the owls.

The damp air filled his nostrils as soon as he stepped through the door and he inhaled deeply. He walked slowly to the edge of the owlery; again looking out over the school grounds, and just watched the rainfall.

He wished everything could be this stress relieving. He looked over towards Hedwig's usual perch to see she was still gone, and wondered what was taking so long. But before he had time to speculate, he heard movement behind him, and turned to see who was there.

"Hey!" he said, a smile coming to his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Sending a letter, silly," Mel replied with a smirk.

"Do you have your own owl?" he asked standing up. He walked over to where she was standing. "Or do you use one of the school's?"

"I have my own, want to meet him?" she asked, then turned and began walking down the aisles.

"Sure," Harry replied, moving to follow her.

When they reached the second to last aisle, Mel turned down it and stopped at one of the last perches. A beautiful snowy owl was sitting on the perch in front of her.

"This is Elliot," she said smiling.

"Hello Elliot," Harry said cheerfully, holding his hand out towards the bird. He quickly pulled it back when Elliot lunged forward, snapping his beak.

"Don't be insulted," Mel said quickly, "he never takes to strangers."

"I guess not," Harry said, watching the owl warily.

Mel gently stroked the bird's feathers around his neck, before tying the letter to his leg.

"That's my baby," she said sweetly as he affectionately nipped her fingers. He jumped up in a flutter of feathers, cuffing Harry in the head as he did so, before flying off into the wet weather.

Mel tried to stifle a laugh as Harry rubbed the back of his head, trying in vain to flatten his messy hair.

"At least he didn't bite you," she said with an apologetic shrug.

"True," Harry said smiling at her.

The two of them started walking back the way they had come.

"So," Mel began, "why were you here then? It didn't look like you were sending anything."

"I just like it up here, and I didn't have anything else to do," Harry replied honestly.

"Where are your friends?"

"They.um, they needed to talk."

Mel just nodded. They reached the main entrance to the owlery and came to a halt.

"So, do you have an owl here?" Mel asked.

"Yes, a snowy owl, like yours. Only a girl. Her name's Hedwig."

"Cool name," Mel said, "can I meet her?"

"Well, you could if she were here." Harry began then trailed off. "Hang on, I think this is her now."

Both of them turned their heads to see a snowy owl heading towards the owlery. It flew in and spotting Harry, went directly to him, landing on his shoulder.

"Hey girl," Harry said smiling at Hedwig. She ruffled her feathers and looked curiously at Mel, while Harry untied the letter from her leg. He turned to Mel.

"This is Hedwig," he said proudly holding his arm out for her to move down. Mel looked at her carefully.

"And is she as good with strangers as Elliot?"

"She usually doesn't care one way or the other, just as long as I pay attention to her. C'mon, you can give her a treat, I'm sure she'll like that."

"Okay."

The two of them walked to Hedwig's perch and Harry held out his arm for her to step onto it. When she was settled down, Harry pulled a treat out of the box he had for her, and handed one to Mel.

She reached out tentatively and slowly moved the treat near Hedwig's sharp beak. Hedwig c.ocked her head curiously to the side, before gently s.natching the treat from Mel's grasp.

"She's so sweet!" Mel said smiling at Harry.

"Told ya," Harry replied grinning. He reached up and rubbed Hedwig's neck, and she nipped his fingers affectionately, before the two of them turned and began heading back towards the door.

"So, get anything good?" Mel asked, gesturing towards the letter.

"A letter from my girlfriend," Harry replied, remembering what Marzia had told him. He loved Cho; the fact that he had to remind himself of this in Mel's presence was a bit unnerving, but he put it down to the fact that she was part Veela.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to pry," Mel said, blushing.

"Don't worry, you weren't," Harry said with a smile. He thought she looked even more beautiful like this, with a brilliant blush on her cheeks. But he forced himself to look away and squeezed the letter in his hand tightly.

"Well, I have to get going, but I'm really glad I ran into you here," Mel said sincerely.

"I'm glad too," Harry replied.

"See you in class tomorrow," Mel said, then with a wave, walked out the door.

Harry stared after her, smiling, before turning his attention to the letter in his hand. He opened it carefully, and began to read.

When he was back in the common room, Harry paced near the window, waiting for Ron and Hermione to return. Ginny was throwing him curious looks but he told her he would explain when the others arrived.

Most of Cho's letter told him how concerned she was for him. Asking if he was alright and what steps Dumbledore was taking to ensure his protection. She couldn't believe that Gridman was able to pass for a student teacher, and promised she'd be looking into how that happened, even though it wasn't her department.

Harry was very happy to see that she wanted to look out for him. He didn't exactly like to depend on others, but with Cho he didn't mind as much. What was bothering him, however, was the last part of what she had written. He looked up when he heard the portrait hole open, to see Ron and Hermione entering at last. They spotted him and Ginny, and headed over to them.

Ron simply had a blank expression on his face, while Hermione looked worried.

"I had no idea Percy felt that way," she whispered as they reached their usual corner.

"It gets worse," Harry said grimly, holding up the letter. "I got Cho's reply today."

"What did she say?" Hermione asked.

"Well, she mostly wanted to make sure everything was all right here and that the proper precautions were being taken so no one else can get into the school. She said she'd be looking into it at the ministry."

"That's good isn't it?" Ron asked, confused.

"Sure, it's great," Harry replied, then lowered his voice. "But at the end of the letter she mentioned that Percy had been down to see her quite a few times since she started work there. He's been asking a lot of questions about me. Always wanting to know if I'd written to her, or how things are going."

Harry looked around to see that all of his friends' jaws had dropped.

"What did she tell him?" Ginny managed to ask.

"She thinks I'm good friends with him, or at least okay friends, anyway. It sounds like she thinks he's being sweet and checking up on me."

"And now he's here." Hermione said, deep in thought. The other three all exchanged glances, waiting for her to continue.

"How much did you tell her last time Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I told you, everything, except for how to.um.defeat Lunis, I told her everything."

"So if Percy saw that letter he'd know almost everything."

"Hang on a second," Harry said, quickly. "I don't think Cho would go around showing that to anyone else first of all. And second of all, what would it matter if Percy did know? The ministry may not like me, but none of them has ever shown that they want to kill me."

"What about Fudge?" Hermione asked.

"He was working for Voldemort," Harry replied, "something which I don't think stands for Percy. He's far too into having a respectable reputation and being in good standing with the ministry for that."

"I understand that," Hermione said gently, "all I'm saying is we."

"Look," Ron cut in hastily, "Percy may be a giant git most of the time right now but he'd never do that, okay?" His eyes flashed angrily and his cheeks flushed.

He looked away after his outburst and everyone was silent. Hermione finally stood up and stepped towards Ron cautiously.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to suggest Percy would do anything that.well anything like Fudge did."

Ron didn't respond, and kept his gaze fixed out the window.

"Forgive me?" Hermione asked, looking at him pleadingly. Harry and Ginny watched as Ron slowly turned to face his girlfriend.

He reached out and put his arm around her, drawing her to him.

"Of course I forgive you, I'm sorry I snapped like that, it's just..."

"You don't have to explain," she cut him off. "I understand. And it was wrong of me to jump to conclusions like that."

He smiled broadly at her and kissed her softly; Harry and Ginny just exchanged pleased glances.

"I think we're probably looking into this too deeply," Harry spoke up after a moment. "Percy isn't who we should be worried about right now. We're just going to have to keep our ears open, listen for anything that sounds suspicious."

"Like Gazten, you mean?" Hermione asked, giving Harry a knowing look.

"Well, it would be nice to know how she knew all that stuff the other day. But I guess I'll have to wait until I can talk to Hagrid."

"Why don't you just ask Dumbledore?" Ron asked.

"Because I get the impression Hagrid knows her, besides Dumbledore is busy today too, trying to get in touch with the ministry. I'll just wait till I get a chance to speak with Hagrid again, maybe during class this week or something."

He stood up then.

"I'm going to reply to Cho, tell her not to let anyone there know what I've told her. I'm sure she wouldn't do that anyway, but if she thinks they're my friend." he trailed off. "I'll see you guys later."

They said good-bye and he headed up to his dorm to write the letter.

The weeks went by and soon it was October. Harry had tried several times to speak with Hagrid to no avail. He was gone every weekend for a reason that Harry didn't know, and Gazten was at every Care of Magical Creatures class. He hoped that this wouldn't last the entire year or he'd never get to speak with Hagrid. When he asked why she was there he was just told he'd find out soon enough.

Snape was not as well off as he had claimed to be and ended up in the hospital for the whole month of September. Apparently the Dream Snake was not the only thing that had been used as an attempt on his life, but it was certainly the most dangerous, and Gazten had been able to slowly nurse him back to health. Voldemort definitely had it in for Snape, and wanted him to pay for what he considered to be a betrayal.

Sirius and Marzia continued to patrol the school, and since the dementors' mysterious appearance, nothing else out of the ordinary found it's way into Hogwart's. Lessons continued as normal and so did quidditch practices, to Harry's relief. After a very stressful first week of classes this was a much-needed break.

Percy was only seen occasionally, walking importantly through the halls as if he owned the place. He would glare at Harry any time he caught sight of him, but nothing worse. Harry came to the conclusion that while he'd rather be on speaking terms with Percy again, this wasn't something he needed to worry about.

Dumbledore had been busy with the ministry, pulling teeth trying to get the information he needed. Mr. Thurston wasn't Minister of Magic yet, but while he was filling in he was making everything very hard for Dumbledore. Picking up right from where Fudge had left off.

He had however assured Dumbledore that the Dementor's were indeed still guarding Azkaban, and they would have been notified if any of them had left. He suggested it was perhaps, another one of Harry's vivid tales. Dumbledore had a few choice words for Thurston before ending the discussion.

One morning in the second week of October, when everyone had just begun to eat, Dumbledore stood up and called for everyone's attention.

"Good morning to all of you," he began with a smile. "I don't want to take up much of your time this morning, so I shall be brief."

A few murmured whispers passed through the great hall, but stopped immediately when the headmaster began speaking again.

"As you know there were quite a few strange occurrences the first week of school, and since then things have quieted down a great deal. I want to assure you we are doing everything possible to keep all of you safe. If any of you comes across anyone or anything that looks even slightly suspicious, you are to report it to one of the instructors without delay."

He paused a moment as the students immediately began talking to each other, some sounded afraid, others thought it was nothing to worry about.

"On a lighter note, the first Hogsmeade visit will take place on Halloween as usual. And the quidditch season will commence on schedule."

Harry looked across the table at Ron with wide eyes. He had no idea they were even thinking about canceling the season again, but the fact that they weren't was wonderful news to him. Ron just shrugged and smiled.

"Gives us the chance to get the house cup again," he said happily.

"Exactly," Harry replied with a grin.

Dumbledore had finished his speech, told them to enjoy their food, and was now sitting back down at the head table. Harry noticed Snape was there too, which could only mean one thing.

"I guess Gazten won't be teaching us potions anymore," he said sullenly.

"I thought you didn't trust her," Hermione replied, taking a small bite of her toast.

Harry considered this for a moment.

"I don't, but I really don't want Snape back just yet. It's been nice not losing fifty points for Gryffindor every week because of his stubbornness."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it, you knew he wasn't going to be gone the entire year."

"Well we could hope, couldn't we?" Ron asked in a whiney voice. Hermione just rolled her eyes at him and before he could respond to that she turned to Harry.

"Have you heard from Cho yet?"

"No," Harry said in a serious tone. "Hedwig came back last time with no reply. I'm getting a little worried."

"Are you?" Ron asked sharply and Harry looked up at him, knowing exactly what his tone meant.

"Ron, stop, please? I'm don't even see her that much."

"Why do you have to see her at all? You told us how she reacted to Malfoy trying to curse you that day! She doesn't care!"

Harry didn't respond; he had to admit that Mel's reaction from that day bothered him still. And yet he had never brought up the subject with her yet. He just didn't want to confront her about it.

"Ron come off it," Hermione chided him. "Harry can spend time with whoever he wants and it's really none of our business."

Harry looked at her gratefully, but she didn't return the gaze. He knew she didn't care much for Mel either, but she wasn't as outright with it as Ron was.

"Whatever," Ron snorted.

Harry opened his mouth to defend Mel but Hermione spoke first.

"C'mon, we have to go. Don't want to be late for potions on Snape's first day back."

The three of them walked down to the dungeons and headed to the potions classroom. When they arrived most of the class was already there, and they took their usual seats near the back.

No sooner had they sat down then Snape came walking, or more accurately, hobbling into the classroom. He was using a cane, which he held in his right hand to help him walk. He didn't look at any of the students, but headed to the front of the room. Setting his cane down, he pulled the blackboard closer to him, setting it where the whole class could see; then he turned, abruptly, to face the students.

"I'm going to begin today's lesson with explicit directions on the potion you will be brewing the second half of class. I won't be stopping for questions, so pay attention and don't interrupt."

"Just as pleasant as ever I see," Ron whispered to Harry as Snape turned back around. Harry nodded in agreement, but didn't speak. Snape had already begun talking loudly and writing notes on the board.

He had barely begun to write when he was startled by a voice next to him.

"I still can't believe he ever became a professor."

Harry turned to his right, where no one was supposed to be sitting, only to see Wormtail standing there, looking at Snape with an amused expression on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Harry whispered fiercely.

"Just thought I'd drop in," Wormtail said with a wicked grin on his face. Harry stared at him in horror.

"How about you drop in some other time, when I'm not in potions."

"Who are you talking to?" Ron asked from Harry's other side.

Harry looked back around.

"Wormtail," he whispered.

Ron's expression darkened.

"What's he doing here?"

Harry shrugged and was about to say he didn't know, but was cut off by someone else.

"Potter and Weasley! What is so important that you have to discuss it during my lesson?" came Snape's irritated voice from the front of the class.

Harry saw Ron's ears redden and felt the blood rushing to his cheeks as he forced himself to meet Snape's gaze.

"Nothing sir, I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Snape narrowed his eyes at Harry

"Ten Points from Gryffindor, and if I catch you again it will be twenty points, is that understood?"

"Yes sir," Harry nodded.

"Weasley?" Snape spat.

"Yes sir, understood." Ron said quietly.

Snape turned back around stiffly and resumed the lesson. Harry heard Malfoy and company snickering and saw they were all glancing in Harry's direction.

"You don't see him punishing them now, do you?" Wormtail asked, still looking just as amused.

"Shut up," Harry hissed, then turned back to his parchment. He did all he could to ignore Wormtail, and wished he would just go away.

A few moments passed with no more interruptions, and Harry was just beginning to feel at ease again. He finished writing down the ingredients on the board and went to dip his quill in his inkbottle, when he noticed it was no longer on his desk.

His heart gave a lurch as he looked up and saw Wormtail carrying it, slowly towards Snape.

Harry inhaled sharply and both Ron and Hermione looked at him questioningly. He glanced at them and pointed at the bottle, which to them appeared to be floating through the air of its own accord. None of the other students had caught sight of it yet, as they were busy taking notes, and Snape's back was turned.

Their eyes widened in horror as they saw what Harry was pointing to.

"Wormtail?" Ron mouthed. Harry nodded.

He couldn't take it; he had to say something.

"Professor Snape," he began.

"I told you no questions Mr. Potter."

Harry watched nervously as Wormtail was stepping up directly behind Snape. A few people noticed the bottle, but no one said anything.

"Yes, but."

"Twenty points from Gryffindor!" Snape snarled, spinning around and glaring at Harry. Wormtail had been prepared for this, and moved in step with Snape keeping the ink out of his view. A few of the students snickered at the moving bottle, and Snape swept his eyes across the room, eyeing them all suspiciously.

Wormtail raised the bottle over Snape's head, smiling madly and Harry stood up suddenly.

"Professor Snape, listen to me."

"POTTER! Take your seat this instant! I've had enough of your disruptions for one lesson. Fifty points."

But he never finished his sentence. Black ink was running down his face, into his eyes and mouth. His hair was instantly matted with it, as Wormtail was sure to spread it around. When the bottle was entirely drained, he stood back to admire his work.

Snape was doubled over, choking on some of the ink, while wiping furiously at his eyes. When he straightened and cast his dark glare across the students the room went utterly silent. He looked outright terrifying, his face streaked with black ink and huge dark circles smudged around his large eyes. The pale skin that was showing was looking whiter than ever. The only thing that didn't look much different was the greasy sheen of his hair.

His eyes came to rest on Harry before he spoke again, in a deathly quiet voice, through clenched teeth.

"Where is your inkbottle, Mr. Potter?"

Harry threw a hateful glance towards Wormtail before looking at Snape. He was trying to ignore the low laughter coming from Malfoy's corner of the classroom.

"I asked you a question Potter!" Snape spat at him. The ink was still running down his forehead and he had to keep swiping at it to prevent any more of it getting in his eyes.

Before anyone else could speak, Wormtail stepped in front of Snape with the empty bottle in his hand, waving it tauntingly. Laughing out loud at the expression on the potion master's face, he turned and headed to the back of the class. When he stopped next to Harry's desk, he placed the bottle on the surface of it.

Everyone had followed the bottle's path with interest and when it landed in front of Harry, Snape's glare looked murderous.

"You think you're funny, Mr. Potter?"

"Professor Snape," Harry began desperately, "I swear I didn't do it."

"So you think the bottle moved itself? Surely you don't think I'd believe such a ludicrous excuse?"

"No, it's not that at all," Harry said.

"Then by all means, enlighten me."

Snape crossed his arms across his chest and didn't move. Harry could feel all the eyes in the room trained on him, and his face felt very hot. But he knew he couldn't say anything about Wormtail in front of them.

"I can't explain what happened Professor Snape," Harry said calmly. "But I didn't do it, I swear."

Snape looked at Harry carefully, and neither of them spoke. Harry wanted to turn to Wormtail and strangle him, or do anything that would hurt him. What did he do that for? He knew Harry would get in trouble because no one could see him. Was he trying to get him into detention? And if he was then why?

He was shaken from his thoughts when Snape reached out a hand and slowly picked up his cane from the desk.

Harry stayed standing in place, and Snape moved towards the door, just before going through it, he turned to the rest of the class.

"I will return shortly, nobody move until then or it will be detention."

He fixed them all with a threatening look, before finally going through the door. They all listened to the sound of his uneven footsteps retreating down the hall, and no one spoke until he was completely out of earshot.

"Good one Potter," Malfoy remarked snidely, "why did you bother using magic if you were just going to admit you're the one who did it. You might as well have walked up there and poured the ink on him."

"Shut up Malfoy," Harry hissed, then turned his anger on Wormtail.

"What were you thinking?" he whispered, feeling his anger rise while Wormtail tried to control his spouts of laughter.

"Oh come on, you can't tell me that wasn't funny!" Wormtail said cheerfully.

"Maybe it would have been if you hadn't made it look like I did it!" Harry shot back.

"Sorry," Wormtail shrugged. "Really I didn't think about it. I saw your bottle sitting there, picked it up and you know the rest." He gave Harry another wicked smile. "But, my work is done for now, so I'd best be going." Slowly, he began to fade away.

"Where do you think you're." Harry began.

"Um.Harry?" Hermione spoke up from her seat. Harry turned towards her abruptly. "You might want to sit down, or have your conversation facing us," she continued.

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

"You're attracting a bit of attention.that you may not want," Ron said, pointing. Harry looked around to see many of the students were looking at him, and he realized he had gotten a bit loud. He slumped into his chair, ignoring the whispering spreading through the room, which was undoubtedly about him, and put his head in his hands.

How was he going to explain this to Snape if he asked in front of the class again? He didn't want to take the blame under any circumstances, but he could see little choice.

Harry decided that the only way would be to talk with Snape after class, explain everything to him. Dumbledore would surely back him up. His stomach was knotting with worry, and he tried to calm down. All he could think about was how to pay Wormtail back for this, but could come up with no way to do anything to a ghost.

When he felt a hand gently touch his shoulder, he was again stirred out of his thoughts.

Harry looked up to see Hermione had come around to his side of the desk and was crouched next to him. He looked at her questioningly.

"You don't have anything to worry about, you know," she began, looking at him reassuringly, "No matter what he says during class about house points or detention, Dumbledore knows about Wormtail, and he'll believe you."

Harry smiled at her.

"Yeah really, Harry," Ron spoke up, sitting forward on his chair. You won't even get in trouble for not answering Snape if he asks you about it again. Dumbledore would understand why you did it."

"I know he would," Harry began. "It's just that I had hoped after what happened.with the Dream Snake and all, that Snape and I might've been able to start off better when he came back to teaching. But Wormtail's managed to ruin that as well." he said bitterly.

"You had hoped to be best friends with Snape then?" Ron asked, skeptically.

"No," Harry said laughing, then shrugged. "But maybe manage to not lose so many points for Gryffindor just by coming to class. You know.start off small."

"Did Wormtail say why he did that?" Hermione asked, standing up and moving back around to her side of the desk. Harry shook his head.

"No, just that he thought it would be funny, " he said, rolling his eyes.

"He was right," Ron said with a grin, "did you see how Snape's eyes looked like they were bulging out of his head?" He started laughing at the image of it and Harry just looked at him.

"Sorry, I was paying a bit more attention to him blaming me for it happening then how he looked."

"Oh come on Harry, admit you thought it was funny!" Ron said, elbowing him lightly in the ribs.

"Yeah admit it Potter," Draco called from the other side of the room.

"I don't believe I was talking to you," Ron spat at him.

"I don't believe I care," Malfoy retorted, sitting back, lazily in his chair. He looked at Harry again.

"So why'd you do it, was the lesson too boring for you? Or did you just want to give Snape a special welcome back present?"

"Why don't you mind your own business," Hermione called to him.

Draco smiled at her sweetly, which none of them expected.

"I bet I know what happened." he continued after a moment.

"Shut up Malfoy," Harry said coldly. "I didn't do it and no matter what you."

"I wasn't going to say that," Malfoy cut him off, holding up a finger. Harry just looked at him, not sure how to react to Malfoy's behavior.

"I'm willing to bet.your new pet did it."

"You're mental," Ron said disgustedly.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, completely bewildered.

"You don't know which one I'm talking about?" Malfoy asked, feigning shock. "Surely you must remember.what was his name again? Oh yes.Wormtail."

Harry felt his jaw drop as he gaped at Malfoy. He was speechless with shock, and knew from the silence Ron and Hermione were as well.

"I'll take that as a yes," Malfoy sneered. He looked quite pleased with himself.

The sound of uneven footsteps coming down the hall put an end to any talking however, and a few seconds later, Snape re-entered the room. The ink was completely gone, but he hardly looked better. In fact, Harry thought he looked worse than before.

He was sweating quite badly, and looked out of breath. His skin was very pale and clammy, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Carefully he stepped to the front of the classroom and surveyed the students before speaking.

"You are all dismissed early today. I want Chapters 7 and 8 read and summarized for next lesson. We will continue with this potion then."

He turned slowly as the class broke out in whispers. Everyone was startled by this sudden turn of events, and wanted to know what was going on. It was unlike Snape to let even Slytherins out early, but the entire class, that was unprecedented. No one argued however, they hastily gathered their belongings and headed for the door.

"I'm going to ask if he's okay," Harry said to Ron and Hermione as they stood up.

"I knew you were gonna say that," Ron said rolling his eyes. Hermione nudged him with her elbow.

"We'll wait for you in the hall," she said.

Harry waited until the last student had filed out before he made his way up to the front of the class, where Snape had sat down, looking very tired.

"Professor Snape?" he began, tentatively.

Snape looked up with a start and narrowed his eyes.

"What is it Mr. Potter?" he asked in a low voice.

Harry gulped, hoping he wasn't pushing his luck.

"I just wanted to see if you were alright sir, you look like you're ill." he trailed off, seeing Snape's glare.

"I'm simply touched by your concern," Snape hissed.

Harry nodded, not wanting to press him any further, and turned to leave.

"Potter," Snape said before Harry could take a step.

"Yes sir?" he asked, turning to face him again. He saw the look on the potion master's face has softened slightly.

"I believe what you told me, that it wasn't you who pulled the stunt with the ink."

Snape almost looked as if he were straining to get those words out but Harry felt very relieved upon hearing them.

"Do you know who it was?" he continued.

Harry nodded.

"Yes." he said then hesitated before continuing. "Wormtail," he mumbled.

Snape's eyes widened and he looked at Harry skeptically.

"The same Wormtail who died a few months ago?" he asked in a voice that clearly stated how insane he believed that explanation to be.

"Yes sir."

"How?"

Harry set his books on the desk and pulled a chair over. He smiled briefly before sitting down.

"Since we both have a bit of free time, let me tell you a little story."

When Harry finally sat back and looked at Snape, he saw a mixture of amusement and disappointment on the potion master's face.

"So," Snape began, "You have, to some extent, complete control over Wormtail?"

Harry considered for a moment before answering.

"Um, yes.I guess you could say that."

"Why didn't you stop him then?" Snape asked quickly, his eyes flashing.

"I.well.it doesn't work that way." Harry sputtered; realizing he should have known Snape would've turned this on him.

"Did you try to stop him?" Snape pushed.

"No," Harry mumbled, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor. "But I didn't see him until it was too late, and if I started talking in class you would've told me to be quiet." he trailed off, thinking that might not have been the best thing to say.

When at last he looked up again, he was shocked to see Snape was smirking at him.

"You're right Mr. Potter," he began slowly, "that's exactly what I would have told you."

Harry's jaw dropped and he quickly snapped it shut when he realized what he was doing. He looked at Snape carefully, sizing him up.

"Um.can I ask you a question?" he began tentatively. Snape nodded.

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but, are you feeling alright?"

Snape's expression hardened, and Harry wished he could take the words back.

"Thank you for your explanation Mr. Potter," Snape said curtly. "I'm sure Professor Dumbledore can confirm what you've said is true. If he does I'll make sure the points are given back to your house. Was there anything else?"

Harry shook his head quickly.

"No sir."

"Good, you'd best be on your way then."

Harry nodded, stood up and grabbed his things. He mumbled good-bye and quickly headed for the door.

When he stepped through into the hallway, he noticed Ron and Hermione were nowhere in sight. Upon checking his watch he realized he'd been there much longer than he intended and there was only twenty minutes until the next class began. He set off down the corridor, deciding to check the great hall for his friends first.

He stopped in his tracks, however, when he heard an icy voice behind him.

"So, what did you tell him?"