Secrets

Title: Secrets (7/?)

Chapter 7

Iris successfully managed to avoid Snape for the rest of the week, which was a feat she was particularly proud of. Her classes all went off without a hitch, which was something she was particularly grateful for. She had enough things on her mind as it was, without having to contend with misbehaving teenagers to boot. Even George and Fred Weasley seemed to be going through a quiet spell, which she was sure couldn't possibly last for very long. In fact, if she had bothered to give it more than a casual thought, it would have given her the impression of the quiet before the proverbial storm.

Inevitably, the storm eventually came; and when it did come, it did so in a particularly spectacular way. It was the last week before the Christmas holidays, the school grounds were covered by a white blanket of snow that had come early and suddenly in what was proving to be a particularly harsh winter. Even the lake had frozen over completely. Snow kept falling, almost incessantly, in a manner that distinctly resembled a blizzard. This meant that the students were effectively trapped inside the castle and after a few days of this, all the young, pent-up energy collectively accumulated by several hundred teenagers started manifesting itself in many strange and unavoidably trying ways.

The most impressive of the aforementioned manifestations erupted, literally, less than twenty yards outside Snape's office, with sensational results. There was a flash of light so bright it was seen half way across the other side of the castle, accompanied by a blast loud enough to make a person's ears buzz and followed by a rapidly expanding dense pink fog that grew to completely engulf the full length of four corridors around Snape's office.

Along with practically everyone else in the vicinity, at the sound of the deafening blast, Snape flew out into the corridor fully expecting to see a substantial section of the castle converted to rubble. Instead, he found himself standing in the middle of an opaque sea of pink vapour, with zero visibility.

For a couple of moments, he found himself struck speechless, partly due to the fact that he couldn't see anyone -or anything, for that matter -to speak to. The obvious logic behind this reaction wore thin very quickly, however, around the time when the pink fog, instead of beginning to dissipate, started transmuting into an equally dense downpour of golden glitter that fell to the sound of what seemed like hundreds of tiny, high-pitched wind-chimes. This third, unexpected and admittedly spectacular, visual and sound effect served to jolt Snape out of his initial shock.

He whipped his wand out from within the folds of his robe, pointed it upwards and traced a circle in the air above his head.

'Finite Incantatem!' he shouted.

Normality began returning very slowly, as the sparkling golden shower became sparser and the sound of the high-pitched tinkling faded gradually into silence. Twinkling golden particles were still hanging in the air and the wind-chimes could still be heard from somewhere far way, as he spun around vainly trying to detect the culprit.

'I WILL FIND WHOMEVER WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS; AND WHEN I DO, I PROMISE YOU, THEY WILL BE EXPELLED; I WILL PERONALLY SEE TO THAT!!!' he roared, literally beside himself in fury.

He reached up to push stray strands of his hair away from his eyes and, suddenly, he froze. He stared at the sleeve of his robe and then quickly looked down at himself. He was completely covered, from head to foot, in sparkling golden glitter.

He started shaking. In almost uncontrollable rage he clenched his fists and had to fight very hard to stop himself from screaming inarticulately.

'WHEN I FIND WHOEVER DID THIS, THEY'RE GOING TO REGRET THE DAY THEY WERE BORN!' he screamed instead.

He flung his robes violently away from his feet, spun around in a flurry of black and stormed back into his office. The door slammed shut loudly behind him, apparently of its own accord.

Standing safely several corridors away, Hermione jumped, suddenly, at the sound of Ron's disembodied voice.

'Done!' came a furtive whisper apparently out of thin air.

'God, you frightened the life out of me!' Hermione breathed back, trying to look casual and failing miserably in the attempt. 'Come on, we have to put Harry's cloak back before he finds out it's missing!'

'What? No congratulations, no "thank you Ron for going into the lion's den for me"?' Ron insisted indignantly.

'Later!' Hermione hissed. 'Now come on!'

In the Gryffindor common room, George and Fred were slouched casually in two large armchairs in front of the roaring fire and succeeding admirably in what Hermione had failed to achieve only a few minutes earlier. Both of them seemed the picture of insouciance, sitting there, gazing aimlessly at the fire. If they had had pipes, they would have been smoking them.

They didn't even look up when Hermione walked into the room accompanied by an invisible Ron, but kept regarding the flames with bored fascination.

'Alright Hermione?' Fred greeted her indifferently. It was a question that could have meant anything, but most likely referred to big flashes of light, pink fog, glitter and wind-chimes.

'Fine,' said Hermione, responding to the prearranged code.

'Good, good,' yawned George expansively, and wriggled his toes at the fire.

*

One of the many people that made the mistake of running in the direction the flash of light and deafening blast had come from and had consequently been caught in the glitter shower was Iris. By the time she had reached the corridor on which Snape's office was located, she was sparkling as brightly as a Christmas tree. She had never seen anyone with more gold on them before in her life. She did have a couple of great aunts that, when they went out for tea, liked to bedeck themselves with enough gold to give a goblin from Gringott's a heart attack, but she suspected that even they would have been impressed by her appearance right now.

She also suspected that Snape wasn't in the most amiable of moods at this particular moment. She had heard the outraged screaming, the -not in the least idle -threats and finally the slamming of the door. Any sane person faced with the prospect of meeting Snape at this juncture would have turned around and walked very quickly in the opposite direction. Considering herself to be such a person, and having satisfied herself that that section of the castle was still standing, she also did the reasonable thing of turning one-hundred-and-eighty degrees and walking quickly away.

She didn't get very far, however, before she heard what she could only presume was Snape's door opening and then slamming shut again behind her. For a moment, she considered running for it, but then decided that her self-respect couldn't possibly allow her to do anything as childish as that. She would just have to grit her teeth and bear it. She stopped walking and turned her head. Snape was striding quickly along the corridor, in her direction, robes fluttering ominously behind him. She noticed that he seemed to be miraculously free of glitter. 'That was quick', she thought as he approached her. On the other hand, it was obvious that Snape would never have even contemplated walking around the castle covered in glitter that sparkled like over-enthusiastic fairy lights.

'Did you see anyone, Raveneye?' he grunted menacingly, before he had even come up to her.

'Sorry, no one,' she said as he swept past her.

'Little bastards,' he growled to himself, stalking purposefully towards Dumbledore's office, Iris could only presume.

She started pitying the poor soul who had had the unfortunate notion that blinding flashes of light, explosions and especially glitter outside Snape's office would have been an amusing way of spending a boring afternoon. Even though she rarely harboured any sort of sympathy for misbehaving teenagers, the extent of the adolescent delusion the soul in question must have been suffering from to have attempted something like that was enough to provoke in her a sort of compassion she had never before experienced.

'And you might want to do something about that glitter. Gold doesn't suit you,' Snape's voice came, roughly, as he retreated.

Iris opened her mouth to reply, but changed her mind. Instead she sighed, shook her head and decided to head back to her office.

The school-wide search, instigated by Snape, for the culprit or culprits of that particular practical joke proved fruitless. Whoever it might have been had obviously planned this well in advance and had managed to cover their tracks with virtually professional efficiency. Everyone suspected the notorious Weasley twins, of course, but, failing to produce any sort of evidence against them, even Snape couldn't do anything but grit his teeth and hold an irrational grudge against them, for future reference.

The last day of term came very quickly and, soon, the castle acquired a very uncharacteristic tranquillity that was entirely due to that lack of hormone crazed teenagers trapped within its walls. Like every year, there were a few students that had elected to stay at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays, but there were never nearly enough of them to create the sort of commotion that went hand-in-hand with everyday life during term.

Amongst the ones choosing to stay were Harry, Hermione and the entire Weasley family.

Hermione and Ron spent most of their time taking turns at listening in on Snape, through their newly installed Earspy, since one of them had to be with Harry almost constantly, to avoid provoking suspicion on his part. To their immense disappointment, two weeks after the Earspy's installation they still hadn't heard anything of any interest whatsoever. In fact they were on the verge of dropping the whole idea completely, by virtue of the fact that, by now, they were being bored almost to death by the lack of eventfulness in Snape's life.

'I don't think I can bear much more of this,' Ron groaned one evening after Harry had gone to bed. 'This guy doesn't have a life, I tell you! No wonder he's such a spiteful bastard. I mean, it's been two weeks already, and all he seems to do is sit there and read; or write, or something, brew potions, I don't know. He hasn't seen a single person in that room in two weeks!'

'I know. It is getting to be rather tiresome, isn't it?' Hermione agreed.

'Rather tiresome?!' Ron exclaimed. 'Hermione, that doesn't even begin to describe it. Today I wanted to stick my thumb into my eye and twiddle it around in my brain!'

'Yeeew! Ron! That's disgusting!'

Ron waved Hermione's reaction away, dismissively.

'I guess we've got one thing to be grateful for; he still hasn't found the dreaded thing. I reckon life would suddenly become a tad more interesting than I would like, all of a sudden, if he did find it.'

'Would you relax? He won't find it. For crying out loud, it's the size of a pea!'

Ron just shook his head, looking distinctly unconvinced.

'Look, we haven't got anything better to do, anyway, so let's just stick with this plan for a bit longer and see what happens. If after Christmas still nothing has happened, then we can reconsider and see if we can come up with something else.'

'Oh, alright,' Ron groaned. 'But I tell you one thing; you're taking the morning shift, tomorrow!'

'Ok, Ok,' Hermione agreed. 'You get your beauty sleep and hang out with Harry till lunch time, after that, it'll be your turn though!'

'It's a deal.'

*

That next morning, Iris received a letter, carried to her window by Maeve. She had to perform two spells on it just to be able to open it and a further two to be able to decipher its contents. In the end, it read:

Advising you on the successful installation of 'Item'. Further details to follow in due course.

Iole Ranger

Iris read the letter then touched it with her wand and watched it go up in flames. She sighed, resignedly. At least Iole had kept her word and had bothered to send her a progress report, so to speak.

Not one minute had passed since she had read the letter, when a strange exploding sound and a puff of purple smoke came out of her fireplace, followed by what was unmistakeably Dumbledore's voice.

'Iris, dear, can I see you in my office please?'

'Certainly,' Iris said, addressing the flames. 'I'll be right up.'

She found Dumbledore sitting back in his armchair and apparently toying with a piece of parchment in his long, delicate fingers.

He smiled at her encouragingly and she sat down in an armchair opposite him.

'What did you want to see me about?' she asked, as she settled herself more comfortably.

'Did you get a letter from Iole today?' Dumbledore enquired casually.

'Since you're asking, you probably already know that I have.'

'Quite. What did she say?'

'Just that she is advising me on the "successful installation of Item".'

'Ah.'

'What do you mean, "Ah"? Is there anything else I should know about?' Iris asked, starting to sound rather wary.

Dumbledore looked down at the piece of parchment he was still toying with and proceeded to clear his throat.

'Well, yes,' he said. 'She did say I was to break this gently to you, but I'm afraid I don't know how that may be accomplished.'

'For the love of Merlin, Albus, just tell me what she said!' Iris exclaimed.

'It appears that we have lost them again.'

Iris sat there, staring at him speechlessly for a moment.

'What do you mean we've lost them again? How can we have lost them again?' she cried in the end, sitting up in her chair. 'And what do you mean we? We haven't lost anyone! They have lost them!... I don't believe this!!' She was trying very hard not to start screaming, but was finding the feat uncommonly difficult at this point.

'It seems that they have disappeared,' Dumbledore said mildly.

'What do you mean disappeared?' Iris asked, her eyes gleaming in a manner that could only have been described as dangerous.

'I mean disappeared. Entirely. Country house and everything.'

'The house has disappeared??!!' Iris cried incredulously. She slumped back into her chair with a despairing groan. 'I can't believe this!' she repeated. 'A house doesn't just simply disappear! Didn't they have anyone watching them?'

'They did. Virtually twenty-four hours a day.'

'So, what happened?'

Dumbledore shrugged sadly.

'Two or three days after your little expedition, they disappeared.'

'Two or threes days after I left?!' Iris said incredulously. 'And she tells us now?! What happened?!'

'I'm not familiar with all the details, but I'm not sure that Iole knows exactly, either.'

'I'll tell you what happened!' Iris cried, suddenly sitting up in her chair again, 'Somebody got careless and the bastards figured out they were being watched! It's not that easy to make an entire house disappear. They must have put a lot of effort into it. Is she sure this isn't just a simple illusion and the house is still happily sitting there, under our very noses?'

'I believe they have checked thoroughly. It appears to be quite gone.'

Iris groaned again and lowered her face into the palms of her hands.

'Iris, dear, do calm down. Besides, according to Iole, Voldermort hadn't shown up in that house since you were last there.'

Iris looked up at Dumbledore through her fingers.

'He hadn't?'

'No.'

'He might have done so in the future, though.'

'It is possible, of course... Iris, I'm not pretending that this is not most unfortunate, but it is something we're just going to have to cope with.'

'But we had them!' she complained. 'For once we were lucky, and we had something on them! We had one location, at least, where they were all likely to show up, sooner of later. Now what?'

'Now, we wait, and put our faith in Severus and Aidan.'

'Albus, Snape won't be able to move an inch out of Voldermort's sight, if and when he is summoned again. How is he going to work out where on earth they are if all he can see around him is featureless countryside, dotted with black-clad figures. As far as Aidan is concerned, we're also going to have to wait and see how quickly he manages to fit in so as to be able to move around without arousing suspicion. Besides, for all we know, they might start meeting in different locations again, every time, especially now that they've probably figured out someone was watching them.'

'As I said, we're going to have to wait,' Dumbledore repeated mildly.

'Look, Iole has given me till after Christmas, anyway. Then she expects me to actually start doing my job; and after this new turn of events, I think it's probably a good idea. We have to start taking a few chances. I don't like it any more than you do, but I don't see any other way. Did you see the Daily Prophet yesterday? There were three more attacks within the space of two days!'

Dumbledore inclined his head.

'I did see the report, yes,' he said.

'We don't even know what sort of numbers we're dealing with here!' Iris insisted hotly.

Dumbledore sighed and placed the piece of parchment he was still holding, slowly, on his desk. For a few very long moments he remained silent, while Iris watched him expectantly.

'We will have to take some precautions,' he said calmly, in the end. 'I think a Portkey, or two, might be in order.'

Iris started breathing again.

'Yes. I thought of that too,' she said with obvious relief.

'I will talk to Severus,' Dumbledore continued. 'I will let you know when things are in order.'

Iris nodded quietly and rose from her seat.

'I'm sorry, Albus,' was all she said.

Dumbledore smiled warmly at her.

'We all are,' he said kindly.

After lunch with Ron, that day, Harry decided, reluctantly, that he should give the Library a visit, since he hadn't stepped foot in it once, since before the holidays had started. On the contrary it seemed that both Ron and Hermione were individually spending uncommonly long hours studying there. It was starting to make him feel a bit guilty. It wasn't like Ron to study that hard. For Hermione it was completely normal, of course. Harry had spent that last five years wondering when she would finally move permanently into the Library and live there. It hadn't happened yet, but this Christmas it did seem as if it was becoming a more and more likely eventuality.

'I think I'll go to the Library and do some work,' Harry said as he and Ron walked out of the Great Hall.

'Ok,' said Ron, relieved that he wouldn't have to come up with yet another improbable story for leaving Harry alone with Hermione.

'Want to come?' Harry asked.

'Nah... Can't be bothered, to tell you the truth. I think I'll go and see what Fred and George are up to.'

'Oh, Ok,' said Harry, only slightly puzzled by Ron's unusual desire to see his brothers.

After walking with Harry up to the Library, Ron turned and headed back towards the Gryffindor tower.

'Took you long enough!' Hermione complained once Ron had found her in the girls' dormitory, alone.

'Sorry. Had to stay and have lunch with him. Would have been weird, otherwise.'

'Where's he now?' Hermione asked.

'Library. I think he's starting to feel guilty about not getting any work done, when we've been constantly saying that we're going to study, all the time.'

'Well, it won't do him any harm,' said Hermione indignantly.

'Yeah, but we haven't been studying. We've just been trying to get rid of him!'

'Still won't do him any harm,' she insisted.

'Guess not,' Ron shrugged, grudgingly. 'Anything interesting happen?'

'Nope.'

'Why am I not surprised?' Ron sneered. 'God, I can't be bothered to sit here and listen to that thing again!' he exclaimed.

'It's all for a good cause,' said Hermione placidly.

'Yeah, yeah, I know... Hey, are you doing anything in particular now that Harry's off studying? Wouldn't want to stick around and listen to that thing with me, would you? It would make it all so much more bearable if we could at least talk in the meanwhile.'

'Well... I guess I don't have anything urgent to do... But we can't stay in here!' she added hurriedly. 'You shouldn't hang around the girls' dormitory, you know.'

'Yeah, yeah. Ok. Whatever, as long as you don't leave me alone with that thing.'

'Fine. I've found the perfect place!' Hermione announced proudly. 'Follow me!' she said and jumped off her bed.

Ron followed her despondently out onto the narrow, winding staircase and down into the common room. They went out through the portrait hole, down one corridor, up another, down a short flight of steps, then turned right, up a second short flight of steps, and finally Hermione stopped in front of what seemed like a blank wall.

'What's this?' Ron asked bemusedly.

'A closet,' she said triumphantly.

'Where?' asked a bewildered Ron.

'Right.... Here!' said Hermione and touched an ever so slightly discoloured stone on the wall. Immediately, the outline of a door popped into view and it started swinging slowly open.

'Blimey!!' Ron exclaimed. 'How did you find that?'

'Chance,' said Hermione as she pulled her wand out from within her robes. 'I was looking for a quiet place to sit and listen in on Snape and I found this corridor. It was quiet, secluded and looked like no one had been through here in ages. I sat down on the floor, leaned against the wall, and... Hey Presto! Door swings open! Cool, isn't it?... Lumos!' she added in the end and the tip of her wand burst into light.

She walked into the solid stone closet and Ron followed her just a little bit hesitantly.

'You don't have anything edible on you, do you?' Hermione's voice came from inside the room.

'I've got some Berty Botts Every Flavour Beans...' Ron answered uncertainly.

'Oh, well... can't be helped. Better than nothing I suppose,' said Hermione as the stone door swung shut behind them.

*

At around three o'clock that afternoon, a knock came on Snape's door, which had the unwelcome effect of startling him. He wasn't expecting anyone and if there was one thing he disliked that was surprise visits.

'Come in,' he called out irritably.

The door opened and two men walked into his office.

Snape stiffened. Slowly he rose from his seat.

'Good morning, Severus,' the first man said. He was tall and lean and seemed to be somewhere in his late forties, wearing simple black robes. His thinning brown hair and slim, angular features made him look a bit like some sort of bird. His brown eyes had the same piercing quality Dumbledore's eyes had, only in a very different way; these eyes made you shiver.

'Marcus,' Snape acknowledge the man's greeting shortly, while eyeing him guardedly. Then his eyes flickered over to the unknown man standing beside him.

The stranger was much younger than the both himself and Marcus, Snape noticed; somewhere in his mid-to-late thirties Snape presumed, although he looked a bit younger than that. He was of a more average height, slim but well built, with short, mousy-brown hair that would probably have had curls if it were grown longer. His eyes were a strange blue-green colour that was difficult to define. Snape assumed that the man had the sort of face that would be considered handsome, by some. He wore green robes that were so dark they bordered on black.

'What can I do for you?' Snape continued coldly after a moment's pause.

The one Snape had addressed as Marcus walked over to one of the chairs standing in front of his desk and sat down uninvited. The younger man followed his lead and did the same.

Snape looked down at the both of them, silently, for a couple of moments and then slowly lowered himself back down into his armchair. He sat there, stiffly upright, waiting.

'I just thought I'd come and pay you a visit, old friend,' Marcus said casually. 'After all, we haven't seen each other in such a long time, it's a crying shame! I was in the neighbourhood with Aidan here, and it occurred to me that there's no time like the present.'

'Of course,' Snape said in the end, after a not very brief hesitation. 'And -Aidan, is it?' he asked, turning to the younger man who nodded expressionlessly, ' -is a... new acquaintance?' he concluded, stressing the word 'new' just a bit more than was strictly necessary.

Marcus nodded.

'Indeed he is,' he said with a strange smile that didn't touch his eyes.

'I see...' said Snape slowly. 'So, since you're both here, is there anything I can do for you?'

'You know, it's very kind of you ask,' Marcus said lightly, 'and also very thoughtful. There is just one little thing, if it isn't too much trouble, of course...'

'If it is at all possible...' Snape said, his voice dripping ice.

'You're too kind,' Marcus repeated. 'You see, we were wondering whether you could take the time out of your busy schedule to brew us a little something that requires that special touch only a Master of the Art possesses.' Marcus grinned broadly at Snape in a manner that lacked any intimation of mirth, but possessed something intensely sinister instead.

At this point Snape lost all patience with the whole performance. The face of Marcus Ireson in front of him was making him feel decidedly nauseated and that only served to make anger begin boiling up inside him. The audacity of simply walking straight into Hogwarts, under Dumbledore's very nose, to introduce someone new to him and to ask him to brew a potion for them was something he hadn't thought the Death Eaters capable of.

'What is it you want, Ireson?' he said shortly, dispensing with the inane charades they had been playing over the past five minutes.

'Oh, it's not what I want!' Ireson said in exaggerated indignation.

'Yes, yes. I understand. What-do-you-want-me-to-make?' Snape repeated each word slowly, a hint of danger now in his voice.

Marcus smoothly tossed a small piece of parchment onto Snape's desk. Snape picked it up, read it carefully, and then, with a snap of his fingers watched it go up in flames.

'I need two days,' he said calmly, after a short pause.

'You have one,' Marcus Ireson said flatly.

'I'll do my best,' said Snape and rose from his seat. Ireson and Aidan followed his lead and also got to their feet.

'I'm sure you will, Severus,' Ireson said with a distinct flavour of menace to his tone. 'Either I or Aidan will be by to collect the package.'

They walked out the door without another word, leaving Snape still standing, silently, behind his desk. The more he thought about the audacity of the whole exercise, the more he seethed. His first instinct was to go straight to Dumbledore's office and tell him about the whole incident. Some strangely undefined survival instinct stopped him, though. He wasn't paranoid without reason and this was a situation that, to his mind, totally justified the overt exhibition of such a neurosis. If they had the confidence to simply waltz into Hogwarts like that, then he had reason to be worried; very worried indeed. Something was happening and he obviously wasn't aware of it.

He sat back down in his armchair and glared at the door the two men had left standing ajar. Without warning the door suddenly slammed shut loudly. He needed to think -without interruptions.

Was it possible that he was being watched? Could this all be an elaborate scheme to test his loyalties? He was well aware how paranoid this whole idea sounded, but in his experience, there was no such thing as 'impossible' -even if that involved spying within Hogwarts grounds. Nevertheless, he was somehow sure that, whatever it was that was going on, it wasn't simply a ploy to catch him out. Maybe that was an added bonus, a fringe benefit in the larger scheme of things. What the larger scheme of things was he had no way of finding out in the immediate future. The only thing he could do was to watch his step even more carefully than usual. That inevitably implied that he had to stop even talking to Dumbledore, at least for the time being, until he figured out what was going on. It was an idea he distinctly disliked, but he couldn't think of anything else. Once again, he was on his own.

He got up, abruptly, from his chair and headed for his store cupboard of potions' ingredients. Might as well get started. It was going to take him all day, and probably all night, anyway.

Several corridors and many flights of stairs away, hiding inside a small disused closet, Ron and Hermione turned to stare at each other in shocked disbelief. In Ron's hand sat a minute, featureless beige sphere, the size of a pea. In fact, it could have been a pea, if it had been green; and it would have been green if one had placed it next to a green background; or it would have been blue, if one had placed it next to a blue background. Ron was fairly certain that this sphere's twin, right now, was a brownish-black colour, as it sat comfortably in the back corner of a bookshelf in Snape's office.

'What the bloody hell was that all about?' Ron breathed after they heard the door in Snape's office slam shut.

'I don't know,' Hermione whispered. 'It was definitely something, though.'

'Oh, yeah! It was something, alright!' Ron agreed.

They sat back, gazing at each other and thinking furiously.

'He didn't sound very happy to see them -whoever they were -did he?' Hermione ventured in the end.

'No. He didn't. And I'm not surprised really. That Marcus guy's voice gave me Goosebumps all over; especially near the end there, before they left.'

'Yeah,' Hermione nodded vigorously. 'Me too.'

'That second guy -Aidan -didn't say a single word the entire time, though, did he?'

'No.'

'I wonder what it was they asked him to brew for them. It's a bugger we can't see through these things, too! They must have written it down... Hey, do you think he might still have it written down?!' Ron asked excitedly.

'Don't be ridiculous!' said Hermione dismissively. 'They went through that whole stupid performance about being in the neighbourhood and paying social visits and you think Snape's still going to have the potions written down? Assuming they even were originally written down and not whispered, or mouthed, that piece of parchment is now nothing more than cooling ash; I guarantee it!'

'Well, yeah, I guess so,' Ron agreed grudgingly.

'Look, the main point is to figure out who these people were. Did you notice that Marcus Ireson -wasn't it -said that it wasn't him that wanted the potions?'

'Course I did! I'm not entirely thick, you know!'

'So they were running an errand for somebody else...'

'And we can all guess who that is!' Ron interjected sneeringly.

Hermione stared at him.

'Ron!... It can't possibly be! You think they were Death Eaters?' she said in disbelief.

'What's wrong with you?' Ron cried in exasperation. 'Have you suddenly gone stupid or something? You're the one with the brains around here, supposedly! It's bloody obvious!'

'But they couldn't possibly just have sauntered into Hogwarts like that, as if it was the most natural thing in the world?'

'Why the hell not? That bastard Lucius Malfoy has been doing just that for bloody years!'

'Yes, but that was before! He hasn't shown up once since last summer. Not since Harry saw him with you-know-who! He wouldn't dare show up here like that now!'

'Why-not?!' Ron insisted fiercely. 'It's Harry's word against his. There is no evidence against him whatsoever!'

'But Dumbledore knows! He believes Harry, and Malfoy is sure to know that!'

'So? What's Dumbledore going to do to him without any evidence to back him up? Zap him?!'

Hermione fell silent with a horrified expression on her face. She hadn't thought of things this way before.

'Hermione, for once in your life get over it! Dumbledore is not God! Snape was just in the company of two Death Eaters, right here, inside Hogwarts, and I bet you that right now, as we speak, he's brewing potions for you-know-who!... I don't even want to contemplate what sort horrifying things those potions might do to people!!' Ron concluded with a shudder.

'The Servitium Potion!' Hermione suddenly gasped.

'What?' asked Ron in surprise.

'The Servitium Potion!' Hermione repeated. 'Remember that? We had to write two parchments on its "developments and uses" and we had to learn to brew the antidote. He went mental with the antidote... don't you remember?'

'Of course I remember!' Ron snapped. 'I was there! What's your point? You think he's making Servitium potion for them?'

'Oh yes!' Hermione breathed. 'That's why he made us learn how to brew the antidote when it was obviously way too hard for us. That's why he seemed so fixated on it!'

Ron leaned back, folded his arms across his chest, raised his eyebrows and sneered.

'You mean to say that his intention was to teach us how to protect ourselves from something he himself is brewing for you-know-who's benefit?... Hermione, have you any idea who insanely improbable this explanation is? He was just in a room with two Death Eaters for Merlin's sake!! What does it take to convince you that you're wrong??!'

'Ron, it makes perfect sense,' Hermione tried to explain patiently. 'Just think about it for a second, will you?'

'I have thought about it and I find it much too improbable to seriously contemplate. Why are you so intent on making excuses for him? It's so much easier, not to mention much more obvious, to just admit that he's evil!'

'Because it's so much easier and so blindingly obvious! Come on, Ron, you have to admit that Dumbledore couldn't possibly be so careless as to not notice the blindingly obvious!'

Ron paused to contemplate the merits of Hermione's arguments and he had to admit that there was a convincing dose of reason to them.

'So, you're saying that those two in his office right now were not Death Eaters,' he said cynically. 'They just acted strangely and happened to sound all sinister.'

'Actually, I think you're probably right on that score,' said Hermione. Ron was suitably surprised that Hermione admitted to any such thing. 'I think they probably were Death Eaters. I just don't think that everything is as it seems. I still don't think Snape is really back with you-know-who again.'

'So what's he doing hanging out with a bunch of Death Eaters then, and brewing potions for them?' Ron asked what he thought was a reasonable question.

'He's spying on them,' she said gravely.

Ron goggled at her.

'Don't you remember what Harry said he saw in Dumbledore's Pensieve? He's done that before... he's obviously doing it again!' Hermione tried urgently to explain.

'Hermione, I know! But, especially if he did it before, don't you think it's pretty darned impossible for him to do it again? I mean, isn't someone from the past sure to have found out after all these years? It can't have been such a well kept secret if we know about it, can it?'

'The only reason we know about it is because Harry saw it in Dumbledore's Pensieve. How many people do you think would ever get the chance to do that?'

'Not many, agreed. But there must definitely be other people out there that had known about it first hand, all those years ago. Surely some of them will still be around!'

'Ron, I'm not saying it's not a risky business! I'm just saying that he's doing it. It's you-know-who we're talking about here, and he's back in the flesh. Don't you think people would be prepared to take a few risks if that meant stopping the creep!? I mean, this is serious! I don't think Snape would be doing it for fun, or anything!'

'Taking a few risks is one thing, Hermione,' said Ron hotly. 'Being a double agent in you-know-who's gang, when you don't know how many people might know you're doing it, is a different story altogether. Let's just say that I wouldn't attempt it, ok? Which means I'm not convinced by the whole idea.'

'Fine!' Hermione said indignantly. 'Then we keep on listening and see what happens. In any case, we haven't got enough proof to go to Dumbledore with, either way. Just make sure you remember what I said, because you're going to see that I am right about this!' she added in the end.

'Fine. And you just remember what I said, because it's soon going to become apparent that you're delusional about Snape -although for the life of me, I can't imagine why!' Ron retorted.

'Fine!'

'Fine!'

*

It was practically twenty-four hours later to the minute when a this time expected knock came on Snape's door again.

'Come in,' he growled, getting up from his seat, ready to meet Ireson.

The door opened and the young man from the previous day walked in. Snape was mildly surprised that Ireson had sent someone so obviously new to collect the goods. Ireson must think highly of this newcomer, Snape contemplated. Either that, or he was being tested, as everyone that was admitted to Voldermort's circle always was in the beginning.

'Good afternoon, Professor Snape,' the man spoke for the first time. He had a pleasant, husky voice, that was, however, completely devoid of emotion -like his eyes.

Snape, instead of answering, set a small black case on his desk and then turned to look at the man meaningfully.

'Everything ready, I see,' the man commented needlessly as he approached the desk.

'Naturally,... Mister...?'

'-White,' the man interjected.

'-Mister White,' Snape repeated. 'Now, if that is all...'

'For the time being,' said Aidan White flatly. 'I'm sure we will be in touch if there is anything else...'

'Doubtlessly,' Snape said, barely able to disguise a sneer. The little bastard had hardly joined the Death Eaters yesterday and he was already acting as if he was Voldermort himself. Presumably that was a desirable personality trait these days.

Aidan shot Snape a withering look, just to let him know that his sarcasm hadn't been lost on him and then headed for the door, black case in hand.

Sudden running footsteps sounding from the corridor and coming in their direction made him stop short.

'Severus!' came a cry from a distance. 'Severus!'

The door was flung open, unceremoniously.

'Severus!' Iris cried again as she flew into the room and suddenly skidded to a stop as she came face to face with Aidan. She felt her eyes widen in surprise and she gasped.

Aidan stood in the middle of the room, staring at her in astonishment.

Snape's eyes narrowed.

'Er... I didn't know you had company,' Iris managed to breathe in a fluster.

'Mr. White was just leaving,' Snape said calmly, eyeing the both of them narrowly. 'What's wrong, Iris?'

'Er...' she began hesitantly.

'Apparently there's some sort of school emergency in progress,' Aidan said flatly, having managed to regain his composure, 'so I will take my leave and allow you to handle it.'

'Quite,' Snape said dryly and watched Aidan's back as he walked calmly out of his office.

Iris nervously looked out into the corridor to make sure Aidan was well out of earshot and then hurriedly shut the door. Still panting slightly, she turned to face Snape. He frowned as he looked at her. He had never seen her so flustered before. It was a completely new side to her that, if he wanted to be honest, worried him. She didn't strike him as a person that would lose her composure easily and the fact that right now she seemed so distressed could only mean one thing; something momentous was happening.

'What is it?' he asked again.

'The Dementors,' she breathed. 'Azkaban... Everyone's out!'

'What?!' Snape cried.

'Everyone!' she repeated in quiet desperation.

'When?'

'I don't know. Dumbledore just got the news.'

'Is this verified?' Snape asked quickly, having regained some of his self-control.

'I should think so. I don't know. Dumbledore just sent me down to tell you.'

'Couldn't he have used the fireplace?'

'He didn't want to risk anyone else hearing about this. He didn't know if you were alone... Which you'-

'-Yes, yes. Alright,' he interrupted her impatiently. 'Do we have details about this?'

'Not many, yet. Dumbledore'-

'-wants to see us. Of course,' he swept quickly out from behind his desk.

'-Exactly,' Iris confirmed and swiftly opened the door, walking hurriedly out into the corridor, Snape close on her heels.

*

In the privacy of a small, concealed closet half way across the other side of the castle, Hermione, wide-eyed, stared at Ron, her hands clasped over her mouth. Ron's jaw was hanging open in shocked horror.

*

Behind Dumbledore's office, through a semi-concealed door, the staff of Hogwarts congregated. It was a large, almost bare room with an enormous oval table standing in its centre. There was nothing else in the room, except blank, stone walls and about a dozen tall, tapered candles floating near the ceiling, above the table. There were no windows to let the sunlight in. It didn't even have a fireplace, and no portraits graced its walls. There was no way in and out of this room, except through the one door in Dumbledore's office.

As Snape and Iris made their way through the door and into the conference room, the occupants of the portraits hanging around the circular walls of Dumbledore's office all craned round the edges of their frames in an effort to see inside. Some of them had even migrated into the two portraits hanging nearest the door, hoping for a better view. Headmasters and Headmistresses of Hogwarts' past that hadn't moved from their frames in centuries were now crowded into just two small frames, straining and craning over each other's shoulders, trying to see.

Inside the conference room, everyone had already congregated. Dumbledore sat at the end of the table, with McGonagall to his right, and Professor Flitwick to his left. Even Sybil Trelawney was there. It was the first instance in years that her presence in a staff meeting failed to surprise Snape.

Snape let Iris move past him to take her seat while he closed the door behind them. Swiftly, he took the sole remaining empty chair and turned to look at Dumbledore expectantly.

'Regretfully, the reason for this meeting, as you all already know, is not a happy one,' Dumbledore began gravely. 'What we have been expecting, and fearing, for some months now has finally come to pass. The Dementors have joined Voldermort's forces. In the process, every single prisoner in Azkaban has escaped. I use the term loosely, since, from what I gather, it was an organised operation with the objective of releasing the prisoners -all the prisoners which might have been deemed useful, even in the most circuitous way, to Voldermort's cause. The few that were deemed worthless, or even harmless have already been found dead. All the most violent, and dangerous criminals seem to have been turned loose and are being hunted down as we speak. Every single one of Voldermort's old supporters that had been convicted to Azkaban has, of course, very conveniently, disappeared.'

Dumbledore stopped speaking.

An awful silence descended, broken only by the rustling of robes as someone shifted in their seat.

'How were they killed, Albus?' Minerva McGonagall whispered, after a moment.

'They were administered the Kiss,' Dumbledore confirmed McGonagall's fears. She groaned and hid her face in her hands. As far as she was concerned, even the killing curse would have been preferable to this.

'I suspect that it was part of the arrangement,' Dumbledore continued, reluctantly, 'an exhibition of good faith and a reward for services rendered, on the part of Voldermort. It is obvious that he has promised the Dementors more of the same, should they commit themselves to him.'

'Oh God,' McGonagall breathed into her hands and shuddered.

'What's being done about locating the prisoners?' Snape asked, apparently calmly.

He wasn't calm; not in the least. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest and he could feel his palms beginning to sweat.

'There are teams of Aurors out, as we speak, combing the entire country. A few have already been apprehended;... a few whose "capacities" have been more seriously compromised after long years in the custody of the Dementors.'

'You mean all the ones that have gone so mad they can't remember their own names any more, let alone how to Disapparate,' Snape growled furiously. 'The harmless ones!' he added.

'Yes,' Dumbledore said shortly. 'For those of you who like to call a spade a spade... Those ones.'

'This isn't just about the Dementors joining Voldermort and the Death Eaters escaping Azkaban, though is it?' Iris said quietly. 'This situation has created so much confusion and panic and is draining so many of the Ministry's resources that, even as we speak, it is giving Voldermort virtually a free rein to do as he pleases. And this situation is going to continue for a while, before the Ministry manages to regroup. He's got bigger fish to fry, hasn't he? There's something else that he's planning. This is just a diversion!'

Dumbledore nodded somberly.

'I'm afraid it seems that way. He could have had the Dementors join him months ago. And yet he waited. He waited until the Ministry had dropped its guard -what there was of it -and then executed a perfectly timed operation that was designed to create maximum confusion and panic.' Dumbledore shook his head, sadly. 'If only Fudge had listened!' he whispered.

'What about the Giants?' Snape suddenly asked, realising for the first time that Hagrid wasn't in the room.

'I sent Hagrid to them immediately, as soon as I got word of what had happened, and I've contacted Madame Maxime. You know we've been negotiating with them for months now. They're stalling, Severus. I doubt we'll get any result this time either, but it was imperative that at least someone went. They're waiting to see who's more likely to come out on top, and who's more likely to honour any promises he might make to them. We shouldn't count on the Giants for help. We should also be prepared for the worst possible eventuality, at this juncture, which would be the Giants finally deciding to pick a side, and then pick the wrong one!'

Snape shook his head, sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing the ridge of his nose.

'Albus, what are we going to do?' McGonagall suddenly interjected. 'We can't just sit here helplessly and wait for the end of the world. We've got to do something!'

'Of course we're going to do something, Minerva. Someone has to! First and foremost, I refuse to have this school compromised, in any way, shape or form! That is our first priority. Filius,' he turned to Professor Flitwick. 'I want this school to become an impregnable fortress. I want fly-by barriers in place today. I want the Apparition barrier extended by at least a mile. I want the entire perimeter of the Grounds protected by the most powerful Ward charms available. I want no one to be able to get in, or out of this school except through the main gate. You are to allow flight within the school grounds, but nothing without natural wings and any larger than a bird is to be able to fly into, or out of Hogwarts. Is that clear?'

Professor Flitwick nodded anxiously.

'I'm going to need help...' he whispered.

'Minerva, you will help Filius,' Dumbledore said without so much as blinking. 'And one more person of your choice, Filius,' he added.

Flitwick nodded again.

'Er... I think,...er, Madam Hooch, if you would be so kind...,' he stammered nervously.

'Of course,' Madam Hooch replied immediately.

'Fine,' Dumbledore said quickly. 'I'd also be happier if we could install a system that would alert us to the possible presence of Dementors, if they ever come anywhere within two miles of the school. Anyone got any ideas?'

The silence that descended over everyone was so laden with sharp, vigorously racing thought that it buzzed, like a thousand working bees in frantic action.

'Erm... there might be a way,' Iris suddenly said, hesitantly. 'I'm not at all sure it will work, but I'm willing to give it a try... Unless anyone has any other ideas, of course,' she added, looking hastily around the table.

Every single head in the room shook sadly.

'Why don't you tell us your idea first, Iris?' Dumbledore urged her on.

'Ok. Well, I was thinking that to do what you want, one would have to figure out a way of distinguishing Dementors from other creatures -magical, or not. A charm, or a hex, or any spell wouldn't be able to distinguish without some sort of obvious, unmistakeable criteria. Then I thought, what are those criteria? It's not what they look like, or their physical appearance; after all, no one knows what's under those cloaks of theirs, and while they're wearing them, they could even pass for human. They could, except for one thing: the feeling they exude to all living things around them. All living things recoil from Dementors in fear! So, since only living things will be able to identify a Dementor, we can try using living things as our alarm system. Practically, what that means is that I can try contacting the trees -since they don't tend to move around -and even maybe some animals, create a link between them and, say, some sort of object, which we can charm to act as a receiver. Theoretically, the moment a Dementor came anywhere within miles of the school grounds the trees and the animals would pick it up, and, if we've managed to create a strong enough connection, we'll receive the same warning.'

Iris looked around her uncertainly. Everyone was staring at her silently, and they seemed to be thinking. The only expression in the room that she perceived as curious was Snape's who was looking at her in overt astonishment.

'That is the most impressive idea I have heard in many many years,' Dumbledore suddenly spoke His usual warm smile was back on his lips and reflecting itself in his eyes, even if it only lasted a minute. 'We'll try that!' he announced seriously in the end. 'Iris, do you need help with that, or can you manage alone?'

'Erm, I wouldn't mind some help with the Charming part,' she said. 'We might need to try various objects and devices to see which ones work best and I'd appreciate some input from a second party. I'll go out and do all the trekking in the countryside myself though. It's not a problem,' she said, shooting Dumbledore a slightly nervous smile.

'Of course, you're right,' Dumbledore agreed. 'Let's say that, when you finish with the countryside, you come and see me and we'll see what we can do about the Charms. If I'm unavailable, it will be due to circumstances of extreme importance, in which case I'm sure Severus would be more than happy to give you a hand,' Dumbledore concluded.

Snape looked up at Dumbledore, a startled expression in his eyes. He hadn't been expecting that; he wasn't used to people asking him to do things that didn't involve cauldrons and peculiar things in jars.

'Severus?' Dumbledore enquired.

'Of course, Albus,' he said, a slight hint of surprise still lingering in his voice.

'Good... Sybil!' said Dumbledore suddenly and Sybil Trewlaney physically jumped, with a light yelp. She hadn't been expecting that either.

'Yes, Headmaster,' she said, the misty quality back in her voice almost immediately.

'Sybil, I want you to go and do what you usually do. Only this time, I want you to focus on one thing, and one thing only. Voldermort.'

Sybil recoiled this time, wincing at the sound of Voldermort's name.

'Headmaster,' she said as if in doubt of the propriety of the request.

'Sybil,' said Dumbledore sternly, 'I want you to try and "see" for us. This is important. Use the fire, use the crystal ball, use whatever you like, but from now on, the only thing you're going to be looking for is Voldermort. Is that clear?'

'Yes, Headmaster,' she replied demurely.

'You never know, we might have some unexpected luck, and get a useful prediction, just when we need it most,' Dumbledore added, more kindly.

'That'll be the day!' McGonagall breathed, not very quietly.

'Minerva!' said Dumbledore curtly.

'Ok, Ok!' McGonagall retracted, raising her hands in what, with a bit of imagination, could have been interpreted as an apology.

Sybil Trelawney sniffed indignantly and shifted in her chair.

'Just one more thing, Sybil,' Dumbledore suddenly continued. 'I would like you to have someone with you twenty-four hours a day. Seeing as there have been a couple of occasions in which you have made predictions under what must have been a heavy trance and consequently had no recollection of them, I wouldn't like to risk that happening again now. So, Professor Sinistra, if you would be so kind...'

Professor Sinistra's eyes widened, acquiring a slightly pleading expression all of a sudden. Dumbledore's eyebrows rose.

'Of course, Albus,' Sinistra said resignedly at once.

'But Headmaster, there is no need! And it's so hard to focus when one is not alone. The Inner Eye clouds so easily...' Sybil Trewlaney immediately complained whiningly.

'Sybil!'

'Yes, Headmaster,' said Sybil diffidently, very quickly.

'Right! Now, Professor Sprout and Professor Binns; I want you two to make sure that the few students we have remaining in Hogwarts for the rest of the holidays stay well out of everyone's way. I don't want overly curious teenagers getting nosy and making a nuisance of themselves. In fact, I don't want any student in here finding out what is going on, if at all possible. Is that clear?'

'We'll do our best,' Professor Sprout said, not very confidently. Years of experience told her that what Dumbledore was asking was a deceptively difficult feat to achieve.

'And keep a close eye on the Weasley twins in particular, please,' Dumbledore added. 'Oh, and Professor Binns, due to your...erm, unique position, I'd ask you to please keep a very close eye on Harry from now on and until further notice. Once term starts, I will make sure some of the other ghosts lend a hand in this too.'

'Yes Headmaster,' said Professor Binns flatly. Being already deceased released him from at least one common concern, namely death.

'Good. That will be all for the time being. I am counting on you all to work as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence!' Dumbledore concluded.

A bit uncertainly, one by one, the teachers started rising from their seats. McGonagall was the first to leave, quickly, with Professor Flitwick trotting hurriedly after her. Immediately behind them came Snape, who only made it as far as the door.

'Severus, will you wait for me in my office please?' came Dumbledore's voice unexpectedly.

Snape stopped short and turned to look at Dumbledore with a faintly puzzled frown creasing his brow.

'Of course,' he said, nevertheless, and retreated.

'Iris, if you would be so kind, I would like a word,' Dumbledore added immediately, as Iris was rising from her chair. She sat back down again.

Once the last member of Hogwarts staff had left the conference room, the door swung slowly shut, leaving Iris and Dumbledore alone.

They looked at each other silently, for a moment, then Dumbledore sighed.

'Is there anything I can do, Albus?' she asked, concern clearly discernible in her voice.

'Iris, I want you to try and find out exactly what the Ministry is doing about this. Fudge... well, you know. He is being... difficult. Obviously, I have been given some information, but I would like to have some more details on the situation, if at all possible.'

'But hasn't he finally come to his senses?' Iris exclaimed. 'What does it take to convince him that it is time to take radical action?'

'I think that, in some way, he is blaming me for what has happened,' Dumbledore tried to explain.

'What?!' cried Iris. 'Is he out of his mind?'

'I don't think he actually believes that, of course, but I think that his bitterness against me is influencing his actions. You know what they say about blaming the messenger...'

'But surely, that's not possible! I mean, he's supposed to be the Minister, for Merlin's sake.'

Dumbledore shrugged, quietly.

'Nevertheless...' he said. 'Which is why I would like you to try and find out what you can.'

'Of course. I'll see what I can do. Haven't you talked to Iole?'

'I have. But at the time the Department was in a state of emergency and she was, obviously, trying to cope with far too many things all at once. I didn't get much out of her. She might be more willing to talk to you, especially if you go there in person. For obvious reasons, I don't want to leave Hogwarts, unless absolutely necessary. Of course, I've also been trying to contact Arthur Weasley, but I haven't as yet been able to get in touch with him; and it's likely that I won't be able to do so until things calm down a bit. Which, of course, might take days.'

'Do you want me to go now?' asked Iris. 'What about the Dementors?'

'I'd like you to go straight away, if you don't mind. I doubt that their first target will be Hogwarts,' said Dumbledore reasonably. 'However, I would also ask you to get back as quickly as possible.'

'Of course,' said Iris earnestly. 'I'll get going immediately. By the way, there's just one other thing that I almost forgot with all the excitement,' she continued, lowering her voice. 'You should probably know that, when I went, just now, to call Snape, I found Aidan White in his office.'

Dumbledore's eyebrows rose in surprise.

'Aidan White was here?' he asked in disbelief. 'Was he alone?'

'As far as I know. He left almost immediately after I walked in. But I think Snape might have noticed something. I mean, I almost ran into Aidan, physically, and I'm afraid I didn't do a very good job at concealing my surprise. Not that Aidan was much better at it. You could have knocked him down with a feather, if the expression on his face was anything to go by. I wish Iole had told me that he might have shown up here. I would have been a bit more prepared!'

'It's likely that she didn't know either,' Dumbledore said in Iole's defence. 'Death Eaters don't make a habit of visiting Hogwarts. You think Severus might suspect something?'

'I don't know. It's likely. I'm sure he noticed our surprise. I mean it was hard not to!'

'Well, if it ever comes up, we'll just have to convince him otherwise. With everything that's going on, I shouldn't think it hard. He's probably forgotten about it already. What I want to know is what Aidan White was doing here,' he added in the end.

'I have to tell you one thing, Snape didn't look at all happy to see him. Not that he looks much happier meeting anyone else, but this was even more blatant. He was not happy about having him in his office, Albus, I tell you!'

'I'm sure that's completely understandable. However, it's probably nothing more than Aidan presenting himself to his fellow Death Eaters; I am told it's something that's done...' he concluded with a hint of sarcasm in his voice that Iris had never heard before. 'Unfortunately, I don't think it's advisable to ask Severus about this, unless he volunteers the information, which I should think he will. Otherwise it is going to be obvious that the information came from you, and we don't want that, do we? He's suspicious enough as it is.'

'I suppose so...' Iris agreed reluctantly and sighing, she prepared to get up.

'There's just one more thing before you leave,' he added before Iris had the chance to move from her chair. 'The surveillance arrangements have been made, everything is in place, we are ready to start.'

'Good,' said Iris, although she felt nothing of the sort. It was something that was necessary, however, so it had to be done. 'You will give me the details when I get back?'

'Yes. Now, off you go, and be careful, dear. Be very careful.'

'I will. Don't worry about me!' she said, shooting him a warm smile and getting up from her chair.

'And will you please tell Severus to come in, on your way out?'

'Certainly,' she said and opened the door.

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(Chapter End)