Chapter 11:
The mysterious letter:
It was as if time itself had frozen still for several minutes after the three men from the Ministry disappeared with Snape. An eerie silence lay over all the people in the entrance hall. Nobody talked or even breathed too loudly. Only when Draco Malfoy stepped out from a group of Slytherins, standing left of the hall, and marched over to Dumbledore, did the strange stillness fall from students and staff.
"How could you allow him to be arrested," the blond boy spat in outrage, full of disgust. "All he has done was to kill a wanted murderer. Nobody will mourn Black, but you just have to protect your own house again of course."
Malfoy's words stirred the fury in Harry anew and he wished to tell Malfoy with a fist into his face, exactly what he thought of the Slytherin's opinion, but the reminding hands of Hermione and Ron on his arm held him back. The two had anticipated his thoughts exactly, and for the second time in a half hour, held him back. But this time, Ron appeared to be as furious as him and just wanted to say something when Dumbledore raised his hand in a halting gesture without even turning. Ron blinked, confused, being as surprised as Harry. This man really didn't seem to miss out on much.
"Draco, I know that Severus is…was your Head of House, and that you feel obliged towards him, but he knew what would await him if he'd use an Unforgivable against another human being." Dumbledore paused for a moment and when he continued speaking his voice was barely more than a whisper. "The Severus I knew would have known it at least."
He turned away from Draco, letting his gaze wander over the crowd, his eyes firmly set. "Please get back to your classes. The normal school schedule will not be interrupted by the current events. Potions will be cancelled for today. From tomorrow on, I will teach this class until I've found a replacement for Professor Snape."
His voice was firm, and it was clear that for him the discussion about the whole affair was over. Obediently, yet reluctantly, the students started to walk off, disappearing in the corridors, whispering timidly with one another.
Malfoy sneered one more time hatefully at Dumbledore. "You…you Gryffindor," he swore, turned briskly and stalked away, following the other Slytherins.
The teachers followed the students out of the hall, after throwing one last sorrowful look at Dumbledore.
At last only Dumbledore remained, together with the three Gryffindors who hadn't moved a foot yet. Tiredly Dumbledore faced them now. "You should be going too, children."
"Don't listen to Malfoy, Sir," Hermione said. "He only wants to make you feel bad."
The Headmaster smiled bitterly. "I don't need him for something like this. I am doing that perfectly on my own. But now off with you. There is a class waiting for you, I'm sure," he continued before any of them could reply to something in his first comment.
He had just finished talking as a flapping sound, coming from the still open entrance, caught their attention. Gradually, a small body came from the bright daylight, growing into a white owl that was flying into the room, directly towards Dumbledore. The headmaster instinctively lifted his arm on which the bird landed with ease, ruffling its feathers, before pulling in its wings. With a frown, Dumbledore managed with one hand to unbind the rolled parchment with the red wax seal from the owl's leg. The bird instantly took off again and disappeared the same way it had come in.
Dumbledore hastily broke the red seal and unrolled the letter. He read carefully, holding the letter in such an angle that Harry and his friends could not make out the words. The change that was going over Dumbledore's face showed them however, that whatever was written there was far from pleasant. The crease on Dumbledore's forehead deepened and his eyes turned hard. "Damn it to hell!" he suddenly cursed in a thundering loud voice, making Hermione jump back horrified. Harry and Ron exchanged a surprised look. Albus Dumbledore did not swear! Never! Or so they had always thought up until now.
The Headmaster didn't pay any more attention to the still gawking students and marched off with an angry pace.
"I don't know about you," Hermione said. "But I for my part would die to know what was in that letter.
"I only know that I don't want ever to get Dumbledore angry," Ron added intimated.
Hermione sighed. "We better get going. Professor McGonagall doesn't like it when anyone is late for class. Maybe we can ask the Headmaster later."
Harry and Ron nodded mutely and followed her towards the Transfigurations classroom.
The next time they saw the Headmaster at the staff table in the great hall. He looked like he had calmed down again, but he still seemed quite preoccupied and was pushing his food around rather than actually eating something.
The whole morning had been bad. Even if the teachers tried to act as if nothing had happened, the students were not able to concentrate fully and always fell back into whispering with one another. There had been a considerable tension over the school since Snape had killed Sirius, but now nobody was even halfway interested in schoolwork anymore. With satisfaction Harry had watched the confused, angry and insulted looks of the Slytherins. Snape would fall and those arrogant gits would get a major crack in their perfect façade.
But this letter, which Dumbledore had gotten this morning, was still on the mind of the three friends. They had talked about almost nothing else for the whole morning, discussing theories about what may have been in it. They had the discerning feeling that there was something written in this letter, which they would like as little as the headmaster. Maybe Voldemort had attacked again, killing someone?
When lunch was over and the first few of the students filed out of the hall, the three friends paid special attention to Dumbledore, and when the old wizard stood and walked out of the hall they followed him out, catching up to him in the corridor leading to the great hall.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry called after him. The headmaster stopped, turning around to them.
"Yes?"
"Well,…actually…we just wanted.." Harry stuttered, suddenly very uncomfortable. Asking other people about the content of their mail was something belonging strongly in the 'insolent' category, but Harry, Ron and Hermione had decided to ask anyway. They were just worried, after all. Surely this would excuse their curiosity. A nudge in his rips by Ron's elbow got him back to the problem at hand and the still-waiting Dumbledore. "We've been worried about the letter which you got this morning," he blurted out before his conscience would hinder him again.
Dumbledore didn't seem angry with them about the question. He just regarded them attentively and a twinkle found its way into those blue eyes of his.
"That's quite considerate of you. However, there was something in that letter that I didn't expect and it caught me off guard, that's all."
"And what was in the letter," Ron asked excitedly.
Dumbledore faced the redhead but Harry didn't miss the brief sideways glance full of concern in his direction. "It is nothing you should worry yourself with."
Again he put on his I-will-not-discuss-the-matter-any-further face and stared sternly at them over the rim of his half-moon spectacles.
With a questioning exchange of looks the three teenagers gave in -- for now.
"You can't be sure about it, Harry," Hermione protested, whispering.
Usually Hermione was the only one who could muster at least the appearance of interest in History of Magic, but today her attention was directed at the two boys in the row in front of her. Harry and Ron had moved their chairs back as much as possible and until the backrests of their chairs touched Hermione's desk.
"I am positive that the content of the letter has something to do with Sirius and the murder."
"But why?" Ron asked.
"Because of the look, Dumbledore gave me."
"What look?"
"Blimey Ron. Just how blind are you? That I-know-something-which-I-will-not-tell-you-for-your-own-safety-look."
"I didn't see such a look."
Harry rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed. Ron was his best friend but sometimes the youngest Weasley boy had the attention of a rock.
"The seal actually did look a bit like the Ministry seal, from where we could see it," Hermione said thoughtfully.
"And how do you know what the Ministry seal looks like, 'Mione? Your parents are Muggles and are probably not getting mail too often from the Ministry, other than my family. Since my father works there, he often gets notes or the like from them."
"So? Oh you big expert. Then why don't you tell us what the Ministry seal looks like," Hermione hissed, a bit offended.
"It looks like the one on Dumbledore's letter," Ron answered innocently and with a wide grin.
Hermione made a disgruntled, snorting noise. "Idiot!" she muttered.
Ron only answered with an even wider grin, before he became serious again, looking slightly guilty at Harry. "Sorry Harry. What are we going to do about the letter now?"
Harry forced himself to smile at his friend. Ron didn't mean to disrespect Sirius by fooling around. Harry knew this. The redhead had cared about his godfather too, but Sirius had not been family to Ron, like it was the case for him. The whole situation had therefore not had such a magnitude on Ron as it did on Harry. Part of him was even relived that his friend was acting so normal. It showed him that not everything was over. Some things remained unchanged and he felt that he would need the normality of those things in the near future. They would help him come to terms with the loss. Together with the knowledge that Sirius would be avenged, when Snape would be punished for his doings.
"We'll get the invisibility cloak and go to Dumbledore's office. He will have the letter there."
"I can't image that happening," Ron contradicted.
"And why not?" Hermione asked still a bit offended.
"Because Dumbledore knows us. And he seems to be able to see straight through the invisibility cloak. Just remember the incident in Hagrid's hut. You know. When Hagrid told us to follow those…" he shuddered exaggeratedly, "disgusting spiders, who led us to the even more disgusting monster spider."
Harry remembered this incident clearly, would probably never be able to forget the moment that had led to one of the scariest instants in his life. They had been hiding under the invisibility cloak while Fudge had come to arrest the half giant. Dumbledore had been present as well and had looked straight at them, as if he knew perfectly where they were. They had told Hermione the story after she was freed from her petrifaction.
"Ron is right," she finally admitted. "I don't think either that we'll be able to sneak into his office unnoticed, even knowing the password."
Harry nodded. If he thought about it, Dumbledore had never seemed surprised to find him in his office. Even after he had found the Pensive, Dumbledore had looked as if he would have expected him to be right there.
How he did that was a mystery, but often, the old wizard appeared to be all-knowing and somehow, Harry didn't doubt that in his own quarters, Dumbledore really was.
"And if we just follow him for a while?" Ron suggested. "We hide under the cloak, put a silencing spell on us and keep enough distance."
"And what for?" Hermione asked. "Do you expect him to step in front of a mirror, reading the letter loudly to himself?"
"Was only an idea," Ron sulked.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. Would you be so kind as to pay attention to the class?" Professor Binns', who had finally become aware of their discussion, said, interrupting briefly his boring, sleep inducing lecture.
Ron and Harry moved their chairs back to their desks and let the rest of the course wash over them. Even if their thoughts were circling around a certain letter rather than around History of Magic.
T.B.C.