To Prove A Point

Chapter Three : Reactions

As soon as Harry Potter left the property of 4 Privet Drive, a blue light lit up on one of the many devices that lined the shelves that lined the walls of Albus Dumbeldore's office at Hogwarts. The sudden change caught the Headmaster's attention instantly. Catching sight of the change, he frowned before finishing the letter he was writing.

' . . . the request for additional funds Pomona would be fulfilled almost instantaneously if you wouldn't mind revealing how much extra money your budget would need and, most importantly for the Governors, what it would be used for.

When you have the time, drop by my office and we'll discuss the matter.

Albus

Signing his name with a flourish, he tapped his wand against the parchment to magically dry the ink before rolling the letter up and dispatching it with the waiting school owl.

Watching it soar of into the distance, he momentarily forgot about the blue light, however, as ever, such things could never be forgotten forever. Thoughts of war, the Order and Harry Potter nearly continuously plagued his mind, never letting him just be the Headmaster of Hogwarts, reminding him that he was also a leader in the war against Tom.

Sighing, he turned back to his desk and gently pulled open the top left hand draw where he stored his chocolate frog card that had been charmed to allow him, and other holders of such a card, to communicate securely and quickly.

Retrieving it, he held it up and lightly smiled at the image of himself who was peering unabashed back him. Speaking clearly, he intoned the name of one of the members of the Order who was currently watching over Harry.

"Nymphadora Tonks."

Rapping distinctly on the freshly painted brown door of the house, Tonks rested one hand on her wand which lay in her back pocket, prepared to spring into action at the drop of a hat.

The door was opened by Petunia Dursley who sniffed and looked upon Tonks with disdain. Knowing who - and what - she was, Petunia dropped any pleasantries she may have had, and went straight to the point.

"Yes?" she hissed, "What do you want? The boy's upstairs, perfectly fine." Glancing around, she looked to see if anyone was watching this doorstep encounter.

Reacting to the disdain in her usual way (a lack of respect and an increase in attitude), Tonks took her time and loudly chewed her bubble gum pink gum before blowing and cracking it loudly in the woman's face. Hampering any further disrespect was the knowledge that Harry might not be safe.

"Mrs Dursley, I need to come in. We think there's something wrong with Harry."

"I told you! He's fine!" Torn between wanting her to leave quietly and not wanting to cause a scene in full view of her neighbours, Petunia nevertheless stood by and let Tonks enter the house.

Tonks darted inside through the tiny gap the woman had given her and felt the door sweep close quickly behind her.

"He's in his room. You know where it is." Throughout this brief exchange, Petunia kept her eyes off Tonks, steadily ignoring her presence and staring straight ahead. As Tonks headed up the stairs, Petunia turned and returned to the kitchen to warn her husband.

Tonks heard a cup being slammed down onto a counter and a whispered conversation take place as she continued up to the first floor.

Knocking on Harry's door, she called out his name and waited for a response. Receiving nothing, she twisted the door knob and stepped inside.

One first glance Tonks confirmed Harry was nowhere to been seen. All that was in his room was a tall cheap wardrobe, a desk and a single bed in the far corner. Tonks couldn't see any of Harry's Hogwarts stuff and assumed it was beneath the stairs as usual. The only other thing of note was Hedwig's empty cage which rested on the desk. Strange, as owls were typically let out after dusk so Tonks took note of the absence of the bird.

Before she left she cast a number of charms to ensure that Harry truly was not in the room in any shape or form.

Leaving the room as she had found it, Tonks returned to the ground floor. Pausing to send a message back to the Headmaster, Tonks went to find the Dursley's, intent on having a few words with the family who hadn't even noticed Harry had disappeared.

As soon as Harry Potter entered the Dark Lord's cavernous meeting room, Severus Snape feared the war would be ending all too quickly, starting with the boy's death.

Restraining himself - the immediate reaction upon seeing Potter was the urge to grab the boy and Portkey out of there before Voldemort and his fellow Death Eaters began the pre-death torture, - Snape instead waited. He was not in on this plan and didn't know how Voldemort had managed to capture Potter in the first place, the wards around his aunt's house were supposed to be the strongest possible.

Slyly glancing at the people next to him, Snape saw that he was not the only one not to be in on the plan. The Dark Lord still trusted him then.

They all recovered quickly upon seeing the Boy Who Lived, greeting him in their own way, and what followed was tame by the Dark Lord's standards, but the effect on Potter was immense.

Following the second death he fainted to the entertainment of the others, Bellatrix in particular found the boy's weak stomach hilarious. Keeping blank faced throughout, Snape waited for his orders.

"Dolohov, you may remove the bodies and be rid of them," the Dark Lord gestured to the fallen body and the frozen body of the terrified Muggle who had been Glamoured into bearing the resemble to Hermione Granger.

"Put the girl into the dungeon, she may be useful later," he added as an after thought. "The rest of you may leave, Severus and Rodolphus stay."

After the others left, the Dark Lord beckoned the two closer.

"Severus," he said, his thin lipped mouth hissing on the final 's', "when Dumbledore asks you what happened here today leave nothing out, tell him everything."

"And what should I say as to your motives my Lord?"

The pause after his question almost caused him to glance up from the floor to see the Dark Lord's face, but he knew such a thing could lead to a short burst of the Cruciatus Curse. Training his eyes on the bottom of the Dark Lord's robe instead, he waited silently for his response.

"You do not know of my motive or intentions Severus, that is what you will tell him."

Treading on thin ice, but knowing the answer would be imperative to know, he ventured into asking his master one last question.

"And when he asks how you got the boy?"

The Dark Lord's high pitched cackle sprung forth and pierced the silence of the chamber. "Why Severus, you shall not have to answer that question. Dumbledore shall have the answer from the boy's mouth. No, Harry Potter shall not die today, today he is safe."

Dismissed, Snape hurried as fast as he could from the room to a point where he could Apparate away. He had to reach the Headmaster with this news as soon as possible, though they would have to wait for the Dark Lord to return their chosen one before they would find out how he got him in the first place.

A/N: So those of you who have seen my profile would have known that I've been taking part in the DG Forum's Fic Exchange, which is why this hasn't been updated.

Thank you for the reviews, I'm about to go and reply to them now. [Actually, I may do that a bit later as I typed half of this up on my phone this afternoon, so my thumbs are refusing to help any more.]

This story is on forty eight people's alert list! Which makes it the most alert-ful (you know what I mean) story I have, so thanks for that.

You've read it, now tell me what you think of it.

Sarah

[kamuinoyume: Yes, reading it again and I agree, it is rushed at the end and I'll bear that in mind for future such situations. Thanks.]