Author's Notes:

POV you're Severus Snape:

Severus Snape made his way to the Headmasters office. He had been summoned there to report his investigation into Sirius Black's attack. At least he hoped that was all it was. He always had a sense of foreboding when meeting with Albus Dumbledore, their meetings often stirred unwanted thoughts and painful emotions in his mind and he knew that one day, at one of those meetings, the Headmaster would look at him with pain in his eyes and tell him "Severus, you know what I must ask of you." and then the nightmare would start again, though that particular meeting would be heralded by his Mark. This time however, it had to be about Sirius Black's recent attack and though he loathed the madman with a passion, the subject brought him neither guilt nor shame.

He arrived in front of the Gargoyle and, though the silliness of it pained him, he spoke "Fizzing Whizzbees."

The Gargoyle moved aside and he stepped onto the rotating, and illogically ascending, spiral stairs. He knocked, entered and steeled himself for whatever whimsical or enigmatic question the headmaster would ask in lieu of greeting.

"Tell me Severus, have you ever wished for a situation in which the best course of action would be to charge into battle on your valiant destrier, sword in hand?" the Headmaster asked in a dreamy voice.

"I don't…"

"Hmm?… I usually do not long for violence, on the contrary, but … all this politicking and scheming and opposing Malfoy's faction in the Wizendgamot and preventing the idiots at the ICW from causing another goblin uprising…And when I did have to resort to violence in the past, it was always in the form of a great magical duel…"

Severus thought it better not to interrupt at this point.

"I find myself longing for the sword, my dear Severus, but I doubt Fate will grant me that chance. I fear I am to powerful with a wand for it ever to make sense." He sounded truly sad now.

There was another knock on the door, saving Severus the trouble of finding something to say. "You may enter." said Dumbledore, his tone now perfectly neutral.

"Aaah, Minerva, so good of you to join us! Please take a seat, both of you, so we may start this meeting."

"I've interrogated the ghosts, but none of them saw Black." said Severus, hoping Dumbledore would not change the subject.

"I'm afraid the same is true for the portraits, Albus." said Professor McGonagall.

"So he slips trough our hands once more… At least now one of our fears is confirmed and anther quelled."

"Quite."

"This confirms Black is after Potter, yes, but what fear does this attack quell?" said Professor McGonagall puzzled.

"Some members of the Order, including Severus and myself, feared that Black had escaped Askaban with the help of Lord Voldemort."

"I understand, but how does today's incident change that?"

"Black entered Hogwarts in broad daylight, tried to enter Gryffindor tower and attacked the Fat Lady with a knife. That does not strike me as the behaviour of someone under the Dark Lord's orders." said Severus.

"Precisely, it now appears likely that Black is acting alone. And I assume, Severus, that there is no development in the behavior of your Mark ?"

"No, the prickling hasn't intensified again since last school year." They still had no idea what the Dark Lord had done the previous year to cause the Mark to intensify however, since it evidently hadn't been preparing for Black's prison break.

"Well, that is reassuring yes, but Sirius Black still managed to enter the castle and Mr Potter was here. I refused to let him go to Hogsmead to keep him safe, by Merlin! He could have been killed today! We have to do something."

"I agree, Minerva, but I am at a loss. I've tried every method I could think of to locate Sirius, to no avail."

"The dementors are outraged. They demand access to the grounds." said Severus flatly.

"And they'll never get it from me. The students have had to deal with enough as it is and clearly the foul creatures are no better at catching Sirius than us. No, I will not put my faith in dementors! I have contacted Amelia, to see if she can spare a few Aurors to patrol the halls. In the meantime, we'll have to do it ourselves. Severus, please draw up a schedule for patrols for the staff."

"Of course, headmaster." He was glad to be given that task, at least he could make sure-

"Including Remus! I trust him completely and he knows Sirius best."

"That's exactly why-"

"We've had this conversation before, Severus. Four times, I recall. My views have not changed."

Severus grumbled. Old fool. I bet that's how he got in!

"Will that be all then, headmaster ?" asked Severus, already getting up, eager to get out of there.

"There is one other matter I wished to discuss with you."

Severus froze then sat back down slowly, hoping this matter wouldn't sour his mood further.

"Miss Weasley. Minerva, I've heard your view last year, but I am curious to hear what you think, Severus."

He looked up surprised. He had not expected that. "Surely this can wait until tomorrow. It's almost dawn and we haven't slept !" Professor McGonagall looked annoyed as well.

"Perhaps you're right, Severus. Once we are well rested we can have a nice long conversation." the Headmaster said brightly, his eyes twinkling.

"On second thought let us get this over with now." said Severus, wanting to avoid an extra meeting with Dumbledore. The Old once take you, you twisted old fool !

Wasting no time he spoke quickly "Her potions and homework are consistently flawless, but I am less impressed by that than I am appalled by the abysmal performances of most students."

McGonagal looked at him disapprovingly and the Headmaster chuckled.

"What else can you tell me ?"

"Many students think she is mad. The second and third year Slytherins have a …strong dislike for her. The older Slytherins tend to dismiss her rumoured brilliance as exaggerations." He stopped, but the look in the Headmaster's eyes told him what he expected but wouldn't ask. Damn coward, if you need a snake to do your dirty work, at least own up to it ! "She is a capable Occlumens-"

"Severus! How could you ? Is that how you know so much about your charges' opinions ?" said McGonagall severely.

"Minerva, let me deal with this mater later. Please let him continue." said Dumbledore, shooting a severe look at Severus.

Severus held back a smirk. He knew perfectly well that the Headmaster would do no such thing. The information he could get about the Slytherins and, indirectly, their parents was too valuable.

"As I was saying, she is an Occlumens and I doubt I could get past her defences even if I tried. You might, Headmaster, but I expect she will notice if you try."

"How could you imagine the Headmaster would want to violate a student's mental privacy like that ?!"

"With what happened to the last truly exceptional student that studied at Hogwarts, I find that quite easy to imagine." Said Severus truthfully. His ego prevented him from fearing a twelve year old, but … he did worry. He always had a sense of unease when she was in his classroom, she was just more talented, more confident and more unhinged than any pre-teen had any right to be.

"You can't possibly suggest she has anything in common with You-Know-who." she turned expectantly to Dumbledore.

The Headmaster sighed and got up. He walked towards the single window in his office. Looking out at the light of dawn, then he spoke "During my time at this school, there have been a number of students who shone brighter than most. Franck Longbottom, Lilly Evans, both of you,…" he took a graver tone, "Bellatrix Black, Augustus Rookwood…" He paused for a moment, "Myself, I suppose." he chuckled. "But Tom Riddle,…he outshone us all, like the Moon outshines the stars in the night sky." He lowered his voice to almost a whisper, "And now…the sun rises."

The silence stretched out as the first rays of sunshine peaked over the horizon and trough the office window.

Severus felt a chill go down his back. "You can't mean… Surely, she's not that much more…I mean-"

"Oh no, I was merely remarking how late it is. The sun is already rising ! We better wrap this up, it's a school night for both of you, after all." said Dumbledore, his tone now jovial again. "Though, I do believe miss Weasley is even more magically talented than Tom Riddle was and by quite a margin. So I'm not really worried."

Severus stayed silent, even though part of him wondered what the hell Dumbledore meant, he hoped he would just be dismissed so he could get some sleep before his monday morning class with… the third year Gryffindors Oh damn it all to hell !

McGonagall was not satisfied however, she sighed and said with a tone of exasperation "Far be it from me to encourage that notion, but I was under the impression that you were both discussing the possibility of miss Weasley turning evil. Surely that eventuality, slim though it may be, makes her talent more worrisome ?"

"That is what I believed as well until it occurred to me that if she turns to the Dark Side, once she comes fully into her power, there will be nowhere to hide. A problem is only really a problem if it has a solution, you see ? What could we do ? Obliviate her and send her to live as a muggle before she becomes too powerful ? Restrain her powers in some other way ? No, I've seen enough of this world to know how these tales end. If we even attempt anything of that sort, it will turn out to be the very thing that sets her on the path of Darkness and dooms us all. A self fulfilling prophecy if ever I saw one. All we can do is hope, though it is but a fool's hope…"

This time Severus couldn't help himself, he had been wrestling with that very question himself, "So there is another prophecy, one about her!"

"Alas no, Severus. The most talented Mage in generations and I could not find a single recorded prophecy about her. It is as if Fate itself doesn't know what to make of her…" He looked again at the rising sun and snapped to a jovial tone again "Oh, but time is making fools of us again, bed time and lights out! Night night." With that declaration he strode towards one of the side doors of his office and exited without another word.

Professor McGonagall and Severus exchanged an exasperated look and left the office in silence.

Dumbledore's words had done nothing to ease Severus' worries. The Headmaster seemed just as confused as him about the whole situation. Severus had made the parallel between Weasley and what he had heard of the Dark Lord as a youth, but he thought she was more reminiscent of a tiny Dumbledore, though the Headmaster had had the decency to wait for old age before going half mad. It wasn't as bad as another Dark Lord he supposed, but he really didn't need a second more unhinged Dumbledore in his life.

Author's Notes:

Alright here we go, Chapter 8, first point of view change!

I hope you enjoyed ;)

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