The Snake and the Eagle

Chapter 15 - Goodbye to Hogwarts

Though terrible events may sometimes disturb the otherwise peaceful life of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it was still a school and as such it was everybody's concern to keep the students' minds set on their lessons, homework and exams. Snape, now fully recovered, was back to teaching Potions down in the cold dungeons. He was so relieved to return to the noise and bustle of the school routine. Everything looked the same, but he had a feeling that something had changed in the students' attitude towards him. They still seemed to be quite scared of him, but it looked like they sort of showed him a little more respect. Very few people were known to have survived the Cruciatus without dying or going mad, and Snape had given proof of being a strong and powerful wizard, therefore worthy of everybody's esteem.

Dumbledore asked Lupin to remain at the castle and work as a messenger for the Order. Other Order's meetings secretly took place to discuss the precious information discovered by Snape. Harry Potter was finally allowed to join in, and so were Ron and Hermione. At the beginning, everybody wanted to keep Harry's friends out of it, but Dumbledore convinced them that after what they had been through the previous year - Grimmauld Place and the Battle in the Department of Mysteries - they both had the right to be there.

At the beginning of March, one of the most important meeting of the Order of the Phoenix took place in the deserted Great Hall, just after midnight, when the rest of the school was innocently sleeping in their beds. This time, every Order member was present. There was: Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge, Albus Dumbledore and his brother Aberforth, Arabella Doreen Figgs, Mundungus Fletcher, Rubeus Hagrid, Hestia Jones, Remus Lupin, Minerva McGonagall accompanied by her three young Gryffindors, Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Severus Snape with the newly appointed member Alexandra Falconbridge, Nymphadora Tonks, Emmeline Vance, Arthur and Molly Weasley with their elder sons Bill and Charlie.

That meeting went on smoothly and peacefully, as anybody was well aware of the seriousness of the thing. Moody had been faithful to his promise to Dumbledore to keep his mouth shout, unless he had something useful for the Order to say. He chose to place himself as far away as he could from Snape. The relationship between Lupin and Snape had greatly improved since Remus had been to visit him in the Hospital Wing. Snape had been more than civil with him, almost friendly, of course as much friendly as Snape could be. At first, Moody had been very upset to find out about the restored friendship between his beloved Alexandra and the hateful Snape. But he had realised how much Alexandra had been looking distraught for their separation, so he had given up his open hostilities toward him for her sake. He could not fail to notice how happy she now looked, back by Snape's side. Very important decisions were taken that night, and it was obvious that Hogwarts was the enemy's main target.

"I'm afraid we'll have to prepare ourselves to face a possible siege of the castle," Dumbledore gravely began his speech, "Everything should be set before the beginning of the Easter Holidays. Until then, the school will go on with its usual activities as nothing is going to happen. Last thing we need is Voldemort realising how much we know about his plans." Everybody in the room felt a shiver down their spines at the mention of You-Know-Who's name. Old habits are hard to die!

"What are we going to do when the students come back?" a worried Molly Weasley asked.

"They won't come back," Dumbledore gravely stated, to anybody's astonishment.

"Hogwarts can't be closed!" Harry shouted in panic, followed by other people's protests. Dumbledore raised his arms to restore silence.

"Students will be given the opportunity to choose whether they want to go back home or stay here at Hogwarts. Muggle families will be informed about the gravity of the situation, and the Muggle-borns would be exhorted to stay. This may be the only safe place for them." Everybody agreed with him. There was no way Muggles could protect their children from a merciless enemy like Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

"Once students leave the castle, it will become the headquarters of the resistance," Dumbledore went on.

"What is the Ministry of Magic going to do about the matter?" asked an old wizard.

"Minister Fudge has granted to send a special squad of Aurors and unspeakables to guard on the castle. This brings the question to a certain map of my acquaintance, that may be very helpful in discovering any potential weakness of the castle." At these words, Harry stepped forward and handed him the Mauraders' Map. Lupin had been very wise in suggesting the boy to bring it along with him to the meeting.

"Thank you, Harry. It will come very useful indeed," Dumbledore said examining it carefully.

"Headmaster?" Snape said approaching him.

"Yes, Severus?"

"We know that the - eh - authors of this map were all Gryffindors. I have good reason to think that, as such, they may not have had access to a full knowledge of the dungeons, as they had of the rest of the castle. Maybe we should see to update it with some more details on that part?" Snape suggested, throwing a knowing look towards Lupin. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. He was very pleased to read in Snape's words a clear hint to a friendly collaboration between the two. Moreover, it had been a very wise idea, as there possibly might be hidden, secret passages the enemy could exploit on his behalf. One should not forget that Voldemort had one of the Mauraders by his side.

"I'm sure you probably know the place better than anyone else, apart from the Bloody Baron perhaps. May I ask you to help us with the map? Maybe you could work together with Remus, as he has some experience with this sort of things," Dumbledore proposed and Snape nodded.

"It will be a pleasure," Lupin said. That last detail set, the meeting ended and everybody left with his mind set on the defensive strategy.

***

It was very hard to concentrate on anything else after such important decisions, and those who found it harder were obviously the kids. Harry, Ron and Hermione had been told to keep the whole matter secret and were exhorted to avoid talking about it, unless they were sure they were safe from possible eavesdroppers. What was worse was: how were they supposed to concentrate on studying with a coming war? Even Hermione was finding it murderously hard to simply do her homework, imagine poor Harry and Ron! In spite of his personal dislike of Snape, Harry was rather pleased that Remus and him had become friends. With Sirius dead, Remus had felt as lonely as never before in his whole life. The world outside was not kind with werewolves like him. He had always been refused by anybody because of what he was, no wonder he ended up being friend with a man who had been equally refused for who he was.

Their experience of loneliness and rejection had been a good base to build up their friendship. It was now very easy to see the two of them chatting or walking together, and Alexandra was always pleased to join them. She thought Lupin was a very nice person, and she was very happy that Severus had finally put an end to his childish old grudge against the mauraders ... Well, at least where Lupin was concerned. He still hated the slimy bastard of Pettigrew more than ever. On his behalf, Lupin had never really disliked Snape, neither in his school days. On the contrary, he admired his skills and his natural talent with potions. He had always disapproved the way James and Sirius bullied him. All the same, he had never said anything about it, because he was too scared to lose his only friends.

At first, Lupin had been considering his friends' behaviour as just a manifestation of the millenary antagonism between Gryffindor and Slytherin. But when it turned into the deadly prank Sirius had played on Snape, it was a completely different matter. Sirius had defied Severus to go into the Shrieking Shake calling him a coward. Severus, who had always been very proud and brave, fell right in the trap that could have resulted in his terrible death. He obviously could not have imagined he was going to face Remus in his werewolf form. Remus enjoyed Alexandra's company too, she was beautiful and very kind. He immediately noticed the positive effect she had on Snape, he looked more relaxed every time she was around him. Although it was a weird matching, Remus agreed with Albus and Minerva in saying that the two made a beautiful couple. The only thing he could not understand was why Snape still hesitated to declare his feelings to her. He thought it was pretty obvious she wanted him as well, but who can tell how the heart really works?

During the last Hogsmeade week-end before the holidays, Snape and Lupin spent their free time searching the dungeons together. They carefully checked it room after room, stone by stone, using various revealing charms all around the place. The ghosts gave them a hand too. Just as they suspected, there were two hidden passages no one knew about : one led to the underground harbour where docked the boats carrying the first year students; the other one was hidden behind a statue of Salazar Slytherin, standing in a dead end corridor. It could be opened by touching a snake engraved on Salazar's chest, and it led straight in the middle of the Forbidden Forest.

The beginning of the Easter holiday came closer and closer, and it was time for Dumbledore to inform the students about the delicate situation. One stormy evening, just after the dessert was served, Dumbledore stood up and called for silence to make his important speech.

"Two years have passed since I told you that Voldemort was back. I'm afraid his powers may have grown up immensely lately. I don't see any reason to hide you that a new war is about to begin." A breathtaking silence fell on the crowded room as people were too shocked to say anything.

"Therefore ... your families have been informed about the situation, and they will decide whether they prefer to have you back home, or here at Hogwarts. Please, inform your Head of House as soon as your parents have taken this difficult decision. I feel the need to warn the Muggle-born students to take their decision very carefully, and consider that Hogwarts may be the only safe place for them." From his seat at the Gryffindor table, Harry could clearly see Malfoy and his cronies sniggering maliciously at Dumbledore's last sentence. Silence was then immediately replaced by a cloud of anxious murmuring, spreading through the room. His words had come like an icy shower. It was clear that, with a coming war, not only they were not going to return after the Easter holidays, but there could not even be a Hogwarts to go back at all. One thing was sure, many people were going to die.

***

The week before the beginning of the holidays, there was a continuous rushing in and out of owls carrying their important burden, a real rain of letters and feathers. One day, one of these deliveries caused an unusual commotion at the Slytherin table. A big eagle owl landed in front of Pansy Parkinson, and she took the letter from the leg of her family owl. She opened it and recognised at once her father's handwriting. She carefully read each line, her eyes getting brighter the more she read on. As soon as she had finished reading, she bursted into tears and run out of the Great Hall howling loudly. At the Head Table, Snape took notice of the strange event and suddenly stood up quite bewildered. He strode down to the Slytherin table.

"What happened to Parkinson?" he urgently asked to his students.

"Don't know, she just got mail from home," idly answered a girl. He knew she had recently become a sort of renegade among her fellow Slytherins. There was a main rule in that house: you could be with Malfoy or against him, and she had turned her back to him after that infamous incident with the Hufflepuff girl. But the news of her bad reaction to a letter from home arose in him a strange sense of suspicion. He hurried out of the hall in pursuit of his student. Following some people's indications, he finally found her by the lake. She was sitting there, clutching her knees to her chest while crying profusely.

"Miss Parkinson?" he tentatively said, but she did not seem to have noticed his arrival. "Pansy?" he then whispered in a softer tone. She finally realised he was there, and lifted her tear stained face to look at him.

"Oh, it's you Professor! Sorry, sir. I didn't hear you coming," she said, her voice shaking among great sobs. He then lowered himself to sit next to her.

"I heard you received a letter from home, is there any problem?" he kindly asked her.

Unable to speak, she took the letter out of her pocket and handed it to him. He read it with furrowed eyebrows, and his mouth slightly opened in disbelief when he reached the final lines. Her father wrote her that her hostile attitude towards the Malfoy family, and the support displayed for the traitor Snape, had mined his own position within Voldemort's inner circle. The only way he had of giving proof of his loyalty to the Dark Lord was to disown her. He told her she was a shame for her family, and that she could well remain there under Dumbledore's foolish protection. Not a single warm word from her family, and what was worst he was one of the causes of it all. He looked down at the girl and felt a digger stab his heart at the look of despair he saw in her eyes. He felt so guilty, but the girl did not seem to accuse him of her misfortunes. On the contrary, she wrapped her arms around his chest and cried her eyes out, pressing her face on his heart. He put his arms around her, hopping to find something to say to comfort her.

"Don't worry. You'll be safe at Hogwarts, and I swear I'll take care of you," he told her soothingly. He waited a few minutes, to give the girl time to give vent to her feelings, then he spoke again.

"We better go back to the castle. It's rather cold here outside." She nodded and they took their way back, the girl still clutched to his side and his arm around her shoulders. He could feel the girl's need of human warmth and, in that moment, he seemed the only one able to give her some. They reached the Entrance Hall when most of the students had already left for their morning classes. They paused in front of the stairs leading down into the dungeons.

"Your first class should be double Potions, isn't it? Given to the situation, you're excused from my class. Now go back to your dormitory and have some rest," he kindly told her while giving a single stroke to the girl's head. She detached from his side, whispered a grateful "Thank you, sir," and went down the stairs. Snape turned his head to find Dumbledore by the door to the Great Hall, his eyes were twinkling, positively impressed by the Potion Master's fatherly attitude towards the girl.

"Headmaster! I didn't realise you were there," he said surprised.

"Or else you wouldn't have shown your true colours to our dear Miss Parkinson," he pointed out, without bothering to hide his complacency. Snape suppressed his embarrassment to the old wizard's words, and approached him with a serious expression on his face.

"Headmaster, may I have a quick word with you before going to class?" he coldly said. The hardness on the younger man's face told Dumbledore the situation was more serious than he had first thought. His eyes lose at once their amusement, and he beckoned the younger wizard to follow him to his office.

***

Dumbledore's letters to the students' parents probably made more damage than good, and a very small group had agreed to stay. But he really had no idea how few they were, until he summoned the four Heads of House in his office.

"Thank you for coming, my friends," he greeted them.

"Tell me, who's staying?" he asked taking seat in his chair behind his desk, while the four teachers took seat in the chairs and arm-chairs Dumbledore had conjured for them. Professor McGonagall was the first to speak.

"The students from my house are: Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter, Dean Thomas, Ronald and Ginny Weasley. I obviously suggested to the Creevey brothers to stay, but their parents wrote me they are a very close family, and they want to stay together no matter what," she gravely said.

"What? Longbottom is staying? But he's pureblood!" Snape shouted astonished, and a little annoyed as well.

"I know it, Severus," Professor McGonagall patiently said, "but he comes from a family of Aurors, and they think he would be safer here with us. Moreover, they boy has expressed the wish to stay," she added. Obviously, Snape was not pleased to hear such news, but all the same he decided to hold his tongue. Then was Professor Sprout's turn.

"Well, although I have many Muggle-borns in my house, there are only four people staying: Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie Mac Millan," she gloomily said, and there was a great concern showing on her face. Then Professor Falconbridge spoke.

"I have only five names on my list: Terry Boot, Cho Chang, Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein and Luna Lovegood," she said, looking as much worried as the others. The last to speak was Snape.

"As a probable consequence of my - ah - reputation, I have only one student staying: Pansy Parkinson," he said in his usual cold voice. Even if it was not common knowledge his being an ex-Death Eater, the enemy's attack on him that nearly costed him his life had put him in a peculiar situation. Everybody knew how Slytherin House had always been closely related with Voldemort's supporters, so it was not a surprise that its students would not be willingly left there with Snape.

"My goodness! So few!" exclaimed Dumbledore in disbelief. "I hope they won't regret it," he said mournfully. How could he blame them? It was so evident that Voldemort's main target was Hogwarts itself. "Meet me tomorrow in the Entrance Hall, where we'll welcome the parents coming to take their children. It's all for now, you can go," he dismissed the four teachers, who stood up and left the Headmaster's office in complete silence.

The students left just after breakfast, and it was not a happy sight at all. Dumbledore and the four Heads stood there, saying goodbyes and looking deeply worried. Even Snape let escape some of his anxiety behind his usual cold teaching mask. His greatest fear was to be forced to face his beloved little snakes on the battlefield, as potential new Death Eaters' recruits. The sixteen students staying had gathered in the Entrance Hall too to say goodbye to their friends, and tears filled many eyes at the thought that that could likely be a farewell. Poor, overly sensitive Hagrid did not have the heart to watch them go, and preferred to see the procession of carriages from a window of his hut, crying his eyes out.

Nearly all of the parents of the Slytherins turned their back on Snape with malevolent side looks, leaving without approaching him for a quick handshake. Only one did it, and he was the most unexpected one. Lucius Malfoy came in, with his usual air of superiority plastered to his hateful face. He saw Draco shaking hands with his Potion Master and crossed the hall to join them at the bottom of the marble staircase.

"Severus! What a pleasure to see you - ah - alive," he said offering his hand to Snape. Obviously he was not surprised to see him there, safe and sound. His son had already informed him about his teacher's recovery. "I assure you it's not mutual," Snape whispered with his mastered coldness, neither shaking that hand nor stopping boring his black eyes in Lucius's icy ones. He gave him a screwed and calculating look.

"Dear, dear. How rude! Is this the way of greeting an old friend?" Lucius sneered .

"I thought that friends weren't supposed to stab you in the back," Snape hissed. In the meantime, Draco's confused eyes darted from his father to his teacher. It seemed that Lucius had forgotten to inform his son about the new turn in their friendship.

"See you then, Snape," Lucius smirked, steering his son to the door.

"See you in Hell, Malfoy!" Snape bitterly thought.

"Malfoy, wait a minute! You're forgetting something," he called him back. He searched for something in the pocket of his robe, and threw it to Malfoy who grabbed it in his fist. Lucius opened his hand to see the serpent ring he had given Snape for Christmas. Mr Malfoy said nothing. His face was suddenly mask-like. "I think you'd better keep it, I don't know what to do with it," Snape smirked, satisfied by the sight of a speechless Lucius. He gave him a look that seemed to clearly state he did not need a stupid ring to tell him where his loyalties lay. Lucius pocketed the ring, turned on his heels and stormed out of the door.

"Come, Draco!" he ordered to his son who was standing stunned, still looking to his teacher and Head of House.