Caught!

Disclaimer: I'm not Rowling.

'Get up, Potter. That last memory,' said Snape. 'What was it?'

'I don't know,' said Harry, getting wearily to his feet. He was finding it increasingly difficult to disentangle separate memories from the rush of images and sound that Snape kept calling forth. 'You mean the one where my cousin tried to make me stand in the toilet?'

'No,' said Snape softly. 'I mean the one with a man kneeling in the middle of a darkened room ...'

'It's ... nothing,' said Harry.

'How do that man and that room come to be inside your head, Potter?' said Snape.

'It-' said Harry, looking everywhere but at Snape, 'it was-just a dream I had.'

'A dream?' repeated Snape. 'You do know why we are here, don't you, Potter? You do know why I am giving up my evenings to this tedious job?'

'So I can learn Occlumency, said Harry, now glaring at a dead eel.

'Correct, Potter. And dim though you may be-' Harry looked back at Snape, hating him '-I would have thought that after over two months of lessons you might have made some progress. How many other dreams about the Dark Lord have you had?'

'Just that one,' lied Harry.

'Perhaps,' said Snape, his dark, cold eyes narrowing slightly, 'perhaps you actually enjoy having these visions and dreams, Potter. Maybe they make you feel special- important?'

'No, they don't,' said Harry, his jaw set and his fingers clenched tightly around the handle of his wand.

That is just as well, Potter,' said Snape coldly, 'because you are neither special nor important, and it is not up to you to find out what the Dark Lord is saying to his Death Eaters.'

'No-that's your job, isn't it?' Harry shot at him.

He had not meant to say it; it had burst out of him in temper. For a long moment they stared at each other, Kitty was convinced he had gone too far. But there was a curious, almost satisfied expression on Snape's face when he answered.

'Yes, Potter,' he said, his eyes glinting. 'That is my job. Now, if you are ready, we will start again.'

He raised his wand: 'One-two-three-Legilimens!'

Harry raised his own wand.

'Protego!'

Snape staggered- his wand flew upwards, away from Harry—

'ENOUGH!'

'Well, Potter ... that was certainly an improvement ...' Panting slightly, Snape straightened the Pensieve in which he had again stored some of his thoughts before starting the lesson, almost as though he was checking they were still there. 'I don't remember telling you to use a Shield Charm ... but there is no doubt that it was effective. Practise emptying your mind now.'

Snape turned to Kitty, who braced herself. 'Legilimens!'

She was flying on Harry's broomstick, going to Grimmauld Place…Dudley was punching her repeatedly…she was screaming on the floor of the graveyard…

Then, the memories started becoming fainter. A dull emptiness filled her mind, void of emotions and thoughts. In between, the flashes of memory were coming back, and as she fought to empty her mind, the absence of emotions filled her once more…

'That was really good, Kitty,' said Snape, 'You finally managed to succeed in emptying your mind. Try to teach that worthless brother of yours something, will you?'

Harry was scowling. Snape turned to him and raised his wand.

'Let's try once more. Legilimens!'

Harry was flat on his back, on the floor of Snape's office, yelling loudly and clutching his scar.

'POTTER! Explain yourself!' said Snape, who was standing over him, looking furious.

'I ... dunno what happened,' said Harry truthfully, standing up. There was a lump on the back of his head from where he had hit the ground and he felt feverish. 'I've never seen that before. I mean, I told you, I've dreamed about the door ... but it's never opened before ...'

'You are not working hard enough!'

For some reason, Snape seemed even angrier than he had done two minutes before, when Harry had seen into his teacher's memories.

'You are lazy and sloppy, Potter, it is small wonder that the Dark Lord-'

'Can you tell me something, sir?' said Harry, firing up again. 'Why do you call Voldemort the Dark Lord? I've only ever heard Death Eaters call him that.'

Snape opened his mouth in a snarl. 'Shut up!' he spat.

'Now, I think that's enough for today,' Snape continued, 'I want you both back here day after tomorrow, six o'clock in the evening.'

Harry and Kitty turned to go.

'Trelawney's been sacked,' said Luna, as Kitty entered the Ravenclaw common room.

'It was only a matter of time,' said Kitty.

'Dumbledore's got a centaur to teach Divination now. You should've seen Umbridge's face when she saw Firenze,' said Luna. Kitty grinned.

The DA lessons were becoming tougher for Kitty. They had finally started work on Patronuses, which everybody had been very keen to practise, though, as Harry kept reminding them, producing a Patronus in the middle of a brightly lit classroom when they were not under threat was very different from producing it when confronted by something like a Dementor. Kitty and Luna had been unable to produce a patronus so far. Neville was having trouble, too. His face was screwed up in concentration, but only feeble wisps of silver smoke issued from his wand tip.

'You've got to think of something happy,' Harry reminded him.

'I'm trying,' said Neville miserably, who was trying so hard his round face was actually shining with sweat.

Hermione's Patronus, a shining silver otter, was gambolling around her.

'They are sort of nice, aren't they?' she said, looking at it fondly.

The door of the Room of Requirement opened, and closed. Harry looked round to see who had entered, but there did not seem to be anybody there. It was a few moments before he realised that the people close to the door had fallen silent. Next thing he knew, something was tugging at his robes somewhere near the knee. He looked down and saw, to his very great astonishment, Dobby the house-elf peering up at him.

'Hi, Dobby!' he said. 'What are you-What's wrong?'

The elf's eyes were wide with terror and he was shaking. The members of the DA closest to Harry had fallen silent; everybody in the room was watching Dobby. The few Patronuses people had managed to conjure faded away into silver mist, leaving the room looking much darker than before.

'Harry Potter, sir ...' squeaked the elf, trembling from head to foot, 'Harry Potter, sir ... Dobby has come to warn you ... but the house-elves have been warned not to tell ...'

'What's happened, Dobby?' Harry asked, grabbing the elf's tiny arm and holding him away from anything with which he might seek to hurt himself.

'Harry Potter ... she ... she ...'

'Umbridge?' asked Harry, horrified.

Dobby nodded, then tried to bang his head on Harry's knees. Harry held him at arm's length.

'Is she coming?' Harry asked quietly.

Dobby let out a howl, and began beating his bare feet hard on the floor.

'Yes, Harry Potter, yes!'

Harry straightened up and looked around at the motionless, terrified people gazing at the thrashing elf.

'WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?' Harry bellowed. 'RUN!'

They all pelted towards the exit at once, forming a scrum at the door, then people burst through. Harry could hear them sprinting along the corridors and hoped they had the sense not to try and make it all the way to their dormitories. It was only ten to nine; if they just took refuge in the library or the Owlery, which were both nearer—

Kitty was running towards the girl's bathroom on the seventh floor when she heard a cry behind her.

'Impedimenta!'

She froze. The person behind her caught up with her. It was Draco Malfoy. He pointed his wand at her and muttered the counter curse. Then he seized her by her shoulders.

'Leave me or I'm going to stick my wand up your—' said Kitty, struggling.

'Shh! Be quiet, will you? Listen, they've got Potter, already. Pansy is coming to check the girl's bathrooms. Go now into the library, it's already been checked,' said Malfoy in a low voice.

Kitty stared at him.

'Hurry up, Umbridge's coming!' he said frantically and pushed her towards a corridor on the left.

Kitty turned and ran.

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