Heaven and Hell

15th Chapter - Kidnapping

(February 1996)

Jon visited his mother in the infirmary daily for as long as she stayed there. Her condition slowly improved, and after three weeks she woke up from her coma. It turned out that she wouldn't suffer any lasting damage, thanks to Severus Snape's endeavours to keep the Bludger away from her and Madam Pomfrey's healing skills.

Once awake, Serena didn't tolerate that Jon or Harry or someone else sacrificed their sleep to watch over her, so Jon had no choice but to limit his visits to the hours between lessons and curfew.

"As flattered as I feel by the attention you bestow on your old sick mum, I'll give you hell if I should hear that your performance at school deteriorated because of this," she told him firmly.

Lack of sleep and neglected homework had already resulted in a slight drop of Jon's marks. Determined to get them back to his usual level before she left the infirmary, Jon took his book bag with him at the next visit, combining the need to do homework and his urge to watch over his mum as long as he could. But doing his homework in her company did not prove to be the best idea he ever had. Serena made a habit of checking his essays, and she always pointed things out to him that could do with more details, additional research or a wider explanation. As a result, he needed twice as much time to finish his homework. Admittedly, this additional work had a beneficial effect on his marks, but Jon didn't deem this extra improvement worth the amount of effort needed to gain it. Especially as these marks weren't that important in his opinion, all that counted were the results of the OWL tests, and they were still a few months away.

The improved security measures in and around Hogwarts seemed to work. There hadn't been another attack yet, so Jon began to like the thought that his mum was safe and he wouldn't need to guard her at every single spare minute.

He contemplated shortening his visits to the infirmary in favour of doing his homework later, alone, and spend only as much effort as he deemed necessary. But a few days later, just when he finally decided to do so, the alarms went off, announcing that someone was trying to enter Hogwarts grounds without being authorised. They didn't manage to get in, though, and fled before the staff arrived at the scene. Nevertheless, Jon dismissed his considerations and didn't cut down on his visiting time.

This alarm affected Serena too. Subconsciously, she had known it all the time, but now the fact sunk into her conscious mind that surviving the Bludger's attack wasn't the end of Voldemort's endeavours to take revenge on her. She started to consider that he might succeed someday, and the result caused her great concern.

Deviating from her usual behaviour of providing no information that she hadn't been asked for, she told Jon everything that she deemed important for him to know, before something could happen to her and she would take the information to her grave. One of those things was the fact that Severus Snape was Jon's father. Serena wasn't the only one who knew about this, but she rather told Jon herself than having him learn it from someone else. Jon surprised her by taking the news in a much more composed manner than she had expected. Of course she didn't know that it was already too late for him to hear it from her instead of someone else, and that he had already had a month to get used to the idea.

Two weeks after waking from her coma, just as the Christmas holidays began, Serena discharged herself, ignoring Madam Pomfrey's vociferous protests.

"I can't stand it any longer! Serena, you must take things easy! Serena, drink this disgusting potion! Serena, you can't get up yet! Serena this, Serena that!" she mimicked the matron's voice. "If it wasn't for Jon, who held me back on more than one occasion, I'd already have hexed her into next week for repeatedly getting on my nerves. What's she a mediwitch for, if I'm confined to bed for longer than a patient in a Muggle hospital!"

She was still paler than usual, though, and Jon didn't miss the slight limp with which she walked out of the infirmary. But he noted with relief that it disappeared during the following days and before the turn of the year, Serena was herself again.

During the first week of January, there was another failed attempt of an unknown person to enter Hogwarts grounds without being invited. Since the alarms didn't go off again after this day, Jon hoped that whoever had tried it had given up on their plans.

The relationship between his mum and Snape returned to the frosty state that it had been at the beginning of the school year. One week before the start of the new term, Jon found her pacing up and down in her office, angrily muttering expletives under her breath, along with the name of the Potions Master.

When Jon asked her for the reason of her agitation she confirmed his suspicion. In preparation of resuming her teaching, Serena had visited Severus Snape in his lab and asked him for a summary of what he had taught in the Defence lessons that he had taken over while she was in the infirmary. Noticing that he wasn't in a particularly bad mood, and hoping that after everything that had happened this was an opportune moment to talk things out and maybe do a step towards repairing their friendship, she had lapsed into a longer conversation with him. Or, to be precise, she had thanked him for saving her life, and told him about Jon and her reasons to not informing Severus that he had a son, while Severus continued to work on a potion and wordlessly listened to her. When she finished her speech, Severus finally answered. He made it perfectly clear that he didn't plan to change his attitude towards Jon one iota just because he was related to him. On the contrary, he was firmly set on ignoring that fact rather adamantly. After being excluded from his son's life for fifteen years, he didn't deem any additional paternal influence crucial to Jon's auspicious development. The boy was almost grown up, and Serena had certainly made all possible mistakes in bringing up a child by now, so there wasn't anything he could do about it anyway.

Serena hugged Jon tightly, saying in an apologetic tone that Jon shouldn't get choked up about his father's insensitiveness and lack of interest in Jon. The news of having a teenaged son was certainly a shock for him, and perhaps he would come to his senses after he had more time to get used to it.

Jon silently prayed that Snape didn't; the last thing he wanted to do was to spend time with this sour, ill-tempered grouch. And it looked as if his wish was fulfilled. Snape didn't show any change in attitude towards Jon. After the start of the new term Snape kept getting at Jon just like before, criticising trifle things because he couldn't find real mistakes, and deducting points for misbehaviour because he couldn't deduct them from the impeccable potions. But sometimes, Jon caught Snape watching Jon and his work with a strange look, as if he felt pride in knowing that Jon had inherited his exceptional Potions talent from him.

The temperature dropped below freezing in the middle of January. The weather was too frosty to enjoy being outside, so the students were stuck in the castle, desperately trying to find ways to distract themselves. It didn't even snow, which further limited the possible pastimes.

In an attempt to improve the general mood, Serena set up a weekly Dueling club. Much to the students' chagrin, she didn't ask Snape to assist her in demonstrating new spells as Gilderoy Lockhart had done three years ago. Serena was a bit more skilled than Lockhart, and many a student would have liked to see Snape being hit by a particularly nasty curse.

The bitter cold stayed for one month, before the first warm rays of sunshine managed to make the thermometer climb above freezing again. But the rise in temperature brought only a short-term improvement of the weather. A violent thunderstorm was brewing, and it would get pretty nasty before the weather got better again.

Not caring about the weather outside, Hermione, Jon, and Ron sat in the Gryffindor common room, busy with schoolwork. The crackling fire in the hearth created a cosy atmosphere, but the boys couldn't quite enjoy it. Hermione had insisted on them doing their homework, firstly thoroughly and secondly without her help. So the boys had both been occupied with an essay for Potions about the multiple uses and potential dangers of curare for the better part of the evening. Hermione's behaviour reminded Jon uncomfortably of his mum. It seemed as if he was doomed to making his homework as best as it could be, whether he liked it or not.

After finally finishing, Hermione had badgered them into practising for the next day's Charms test. Ron groaned when he got another rebuke from Hermione for not doing his swishing and flicking of his wand carefully enough.

"It works, so it's good enough," he insisted stubbornly.

"It's not. They are only minimal deviations, but they can lead to random results with more complex charms. You should pay more attention to the way you flex your wrist," Hermione argued.

Ron rolled his eyes, but did his next flick with more accuracy, though.

Watching them, Jon enviously thought of Harry, who currently didn't have to suffer Hermione's obsessive cramming. He was at the Dueling club, and undoubtedly was having much more fun than Jon or Ron.

Ron hadn't felt much inclination towards attending the club; he wasn't keen on having Jelly-Legs Jinxes and other dreadful things being hurled at him for the entire evening. This was exactly what had happened the last time, and thanks to Harry, Ron had wobbled about in a much undignified manner for a whole five minutes before Serena had released him with the counter-curse. Jon had never been to the Dueling club. He had had so many private Dueling lessons from his mum; it was enough to last for the rest of his life. Hermione had regarded it more important to prepare extensively for tomorrow's Charms test than practising the Shield Charms that she had already mastered in their Defence lessons. So Harry had gone alone that evening.

While Hermione checked on her list of what else was to be practised, Ron muttered under his breath to Jon that wobbling legs were probably better than swotting up his Charms with Hermione. Jon nodded in assent, seriously considering giving the club a try when it took place the next time.

"Ok, Hermione, that's enough," Jon said. "My brain has reached its maximum fill level. What I don't know now, I won't learn before tomorrow either. Time to enjoy the evening, relax, and not worry about schoolwork for the rest of the day." He demonstratively shut his Charms book and leaned back luxuriously in his armchair, clasping his hands behind his head.

"But we haven't even touched on -", Hermione began to object, but was cut short by Ron.

"I agree with Jon. Take it a bit easier, Hermione. It isn't an OWL test, after all."

The mention of OWLs worked like a conditioned reflex on Hermione ever since the fifth year had begun. She pulled an alarmed face and, muttering about not having done her daily stint of OWL preparations, she dived into her bag to retrieve a thick heap of notes. Then she absorbed herself in the study and memorisation of the notes, any admonishment for the boy's lack of enthusiasm about homework forgotten.

Crookshanks and Spike were curled up in front of the hearth, dozing. When Jon leaned back, exposing a book free lap, Spike briefly looked at him, considering following this unspoken invitation and demanding his daily share of affection, but then he decided that his current position was too comfortable to move and carried on dozing.

"So, do you already have someone to go with to the Valentines Day dance?" Ron asked Jon, not quite succeeding in sounding casually.

"Not really. The only one I'm interested in doesn't want to go with me." He pulled a crestfallen face, casting a meaningful glimpse at Hermione, who was still immersed in her notes. If she had noticed it, she didn't let it show.

Ron frowned. "So you've asked her behind my back. I knew it! You're trampling on our agreement to keep a low profile around her."

"C'mon, I wasn't backstabbing our agreement. When I saw her rejecting your invitation, I thought it wouldn't do harm if I tried it too. You asked her first, by the way, which means you broke it in the first place."

Hermione let out an annoyed gasp. "Could you please stop talking as if I wasn't here? Or as if you were talking about someone else? And could you also stop discussing me as if I was the last piece of cake on the platter and you're trying to decide who's getting it? As I said before, I won't go with either of you; I'd go with Viktor, but he isn't here. So I won't go to the feast at all."

"But I thought attendance was mandatory. Why don't we go as friends, not as a date?" Jon suggested.

Hermione shook her head. "Not a good idea -" she began, but was distracted by Crookshanks who hissed angrily, staring at the portrait hole.

A group of first years had opened the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, entering in an animated chat. At their feet, a grey, fat rat peeked over the threshold, its black button eyes watchfully eyeing the large orange cat and its black-and-white companion Spike. After a few seconds the rat turned and scurried off. Crookshanks dashed towards the portrait hole. Spike curiously followed him, but before they reached the door, it was shut again. Crookshanks scratched vigorously at the back of the portrait while Spike meowed for Jon to let them out.

"No, Spike," Jon said, shaking his head, "I won't open the door for you. It's too late to go out. Besides, there's a storm coming, not the best weather for an outdoor stroll. And if Filch catches you roaming the castle, he won't be nice to you, he's still holding a grudge against you." Jon clapped his lap. "Come here for a little scratching session, that's more fun!"

Spike didn't come, though, and Crookshanks didn't leave the door either.

"You're too obsessed with rats for your own good," Hermione reprimanded her cat. "Just because Ron's rat was a disguised murderer doesn't mean that every rat is. I won't let you go hunting a student's pet." She put her notes on the table and got up with a sigh to take him away from the door.

She had almost reached him, when the portrait hole swung open again and Neville entered. Both of the tomcats seized the opportunity and slipped out, making Neville stumble. As if the rat had been waiting for them, it was still sitting in the corridor. Seeing the cats coming after it, it let out a frightened squeak and shot down the stairs, both pursuers hard on its heels.

"Crookshanks, Spike, no! Come back!" yelled Hermione, though she was completely ignored. Jon jumped up from his armchair and together, they hastened out of the common room to capture their pets and bring them back before curfew began.

Occasionally seeing a black tail with a white tip rounding a corner or hearing fearful squeaks, Jon and Hermione followed the chase and before long they found themselves in the Entrance Hall. The large oak front portal was ajar and they glimpsed a blur of orange fur disappear through the crack of the door.

"Merlin's warty nose, who left the portal open this late!" Jon cursed, catching his breath. He opened the door a bit wider and vainly tried to make out something in the darkness.

"We can't follow them, we aren't allowed to leave the castle after dark," Hermione reminded him.

"But I'd rather not leave them outdoors tonight. You know, the storm."

The wind had already freshened to an extent that the rustling leaves of the trees in the Forbidden Forest could be heard at the Hogwarts entrance. No stars were to be seen; thick, dark clouds obstructed the sight of them, and the air bore that typical surreal quality that heralded a thunderstorm close at hand.

Jon muttered, "Lumos!" and held his wand out of the door. The light cut a small sphere of luminosity into the darkness, but didn't reveal anything of Spike and Crookshanks' whereabouts. He cast a glimpse at Hermione, who bit her lower lip, indecisive as to what weighed more: the obligation to follow rules or the unwillingness to leave her pet in a thunderstorm. Not waiting for her to come to a decision, Jon checked that they were alone and slipped out.

He alternately called for Spike and Crookshanks, but neither cat answered his calls. Pulling his robes tighter around himself, he crossed the lawn in front of the castle, trying to deduce which way they went. Soon he became convinced that he wouldn't find them by just staggering around in the darkness. Jon had just resolved to attempt an Accio Spell on Spike, even if he didn't exactly know where Spike was, when he suddenly heard a cat yelping in pain. The sound came from the edge of the Forbidden Forest, not far from him. He stumbled forward, hoping that a branch hadn't broken off a tree by the wind, and fallen on one of their pets.

Suddenly Jon saw a chubby figure in front of him, but it was too dark to recognise the person. He had Spike lifted up, holding him by his tail, which had caused the cat to utter its yelps. Crookshanks was hissing and incessantly circling the dark figure to find a good spot to attack him in order to help Spike.

"Hey," Jon shouted, believing it was a student who was in front of him, "drop my cat, you're hurting it!"

"Ah, there you are, at last," the other one answered. "I've been waiting for you, Jonathan Potter. Regarding this beast -" He shook Spike who let out another painful meow. "- I'm afraid that I can't just let it go. It attempted to eat me, impertinent creature! Look." He stepped closer to Jon and pointed with his free hand that seemed to be covered by a silver glove towards his ear. His head became slightly lit as if his finger was a torch, and Jon could see that it wasn't a student - looking too old and having a bald patch on his head. The man's ear missed a small bit of the auricle and was crusted with drying blood.

"It was a close call, I transfigured back just in time to prevent myself from becoming your cat's dinner." The man now pointed his silvery index finger at Jon's chest, as if to lay special emphasise on the fact that it was Jon's pet and thus Jon's fault. "It deserves a severe punishment, don't you think so?" The man's small eyes, which reminded Jon profoundly of the rat's dark button eyes, narrowed and darted venomous glares at Spike.

Jon had never seen this man before, and yet he had the feeling that he knew who was standing there. Short, chubby figure, bald patch, beady eyes, a silver hand - a pang of panic shot through Jon when he remembered Harry describing him. This was Peter Pettigrew, a.k.a. Wormtail, Death Eater, Ron's former pet rat in his Animagus form, the man who had delivered Harry's parents to Voldemort, who had murdered Cedric Diggory, and who had provided the Darkest of all wizards with a new body. Jon wanted to hex Wormtail into the next century, wanted to scream blue murder to alert everyone at Hogwarts, wanted to grab Spike and run away - but he realised with a shock that he wasn't able to do anything; he couldn't move at all, not even speak.

Wormtail grinned. "I see in your eyes that you've figured out who I am. Well, don't worry, I'm not here to kill you - not now, at least. Let go of your wand, you won't need it anymore."

Jon felt an invisible force opening his fist, bending open one finger after another until his wand fell to the ground. The light on its tip went out as it fell from his grasp. He was tied up, the same way as he had been three months ago in Hogsmeade, with ropes that shot out of the tip of Wormtail's finger and pulled tight around Jon's body.

Crookshanks, deciding that now was the moment to interfere, jumped at Wormtail and climbed onto his back, scratching and spitting at him. Wormtail let go of Spike and picked the attacking animal from his shoulder blade. He hurled Crookshanks forcefully away, cursing, because his ear had started to bleed again.

Spike bestowed Wormtail with an angry hiss for treating him so rudely and then turned to follow Crookshanks, his injured tail hanging down and trailing on the grass.

"Oh, no, you won't go, you're still to receive punishment," Wormtail snarled. "Avada Kedavra!"

A blinding flash bathed the surroundings in a ghostly green light before it hit Spike and everything became shrouded in darkness again. The power of the curse made the cat do several somersaults before landing hard on the ground, already dead.

"No! Spike!" Jon screamed, realising that Wormtail didn't control his body anymore. Because of the ropes, however, he was unable to achieve anything more than yelling. "How could you! You... you bastard! You killed Spike!" Against his will, hot tears shot from his eyes and burned down his cold cheeks.

Ignoring Jon's outburst, Wormtail produced something from the inside of his robes. After fumbling with it for a while, he fastened it to Spike's collar. As Wormtail knelt beside the dead body of Jon's pet, an orange blur of fur suddenly emerged from the darkness and leapt at Wormtail again. Crookshanks managed to place a few scratches across the Death Eater's face that would undoubtedly hurt a lot more than his ear.

Cursing, Wormtail reached for Crookshanks, but couldn't grab him because the cat was too fast. Incensed, he cast a second Killing Curse, but narrowly missed the scratching cat. Crookshanks made a dash for the Forbidden Forest and vanished between the trees at the very moment that another green flash erupted from Wormtail's silver hand.

After Crookshanks' disappearance, Wormtail got up again and went over to Jon, who vainly tugged and pulled at his bonds.

"Oh no, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Wormtail said with a threatening growl underlying his words. He closed his silver hand around Jon's neck with such force that Jon couldn't breathe and stopped wriggling. However, Jon got the impression that these words weren't directed at him. The next sentence confirmed it. "If you don't drop your wand, silly girl, your friend'll meet the same fate as his pet."

Jon wanted to scream a warning at whoever was there, wanted to tell that it was nothing but a bluff - that Wormtail had said earlier that he wouldn't kill Jon. But the clamp at his neck didn't allow more than a noise that sounded so much like a death rattle that Jon stopped it immediately, frightened out of his wits.

In a rapidly blurring vision, Jon recognised Hermione, stepping closer and letting her wand fall to the ground. She had apparently decided to fetch Crookshanks and Spike before the storm completely broke loose instead of following the rules, and had left the castle. The green flashes and Jon's screams had certainly given her a pretty good clue as to where she would find him in the darkness. Unfortunately, Wormtail had noticed her before she could attempt anything to help Jon.

Wormtail grinned maliciously. "My, my, look what I got! If this isn't Potter's Mudblood friend, the little witch who's too smart for her own good. My Lord will be delighted."

Hermione had recognised him as well and burst out, baffled, "You? How could you get on Hogwarts grounds? There are wards..."

Wormtail chuckled. "Oh, you mean the ones that don't let in any uninvited guests? Well, it's undoubtedly advantageous to be able to turn into a rat that some unsuspecting children deem to be cute looking and happily welcome it on Hogwarts grounds." His chuckling subsided and was replaced by an annoyed snarl. "Some stupid little girl bound a pink ribbon round my neck and called me Dotsy. I mean, how a stupid is that name? And I had to endure her disgusting affections for seven long hours before she left me alone for a moment and I could slip off. So don't try anything stupid, I'm not in the best of moods."

As soon as Wormtail was finished tying Hermione up like a parcel, he dragged her and Jon a little way into the Forbidden Forest. He stopped in front of a particularly large tree and bent down, retrieving an empty bottle from the weeds under its roots. It turned out to be a Portkey that brought Wormtail and his captives away from Hogwarts and to who knows where, just as the first raindrops began to fall.

* * *

When Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room it was almost empty. Ron sat in an armchair, Quidditch through the Ages in his lap, his head bent slightly backwards. Soft snoring noises escaped his open mouth. There were more open books and heaps of parchments spread about the table. Harry surmised that the two empty armchairs had been occupied by Hermione and Jon.

He shook Ron's shoulder. "Ron, wake up!"

"What? I'm not sleeping, Professor, I'm only thinking with eyes shut... Oh, hey, Harry." Sleepily, Ron rubbed his eyes.

Harry collapsed in a free armchair. "The Dueling club was great, I wish you'd been there. Serena showed us how to reflect curses." He grinned blissfully. "Malfoy sent a hex at Crabbe, not thinking that Crabbe would be able to reflect the hex at the first try. But, to everyone's surprise, Crabbe did it and Malfoy sprouted blue feathers all over his body. Serena tried to help him out of his misery, but Malfoy couldn't tell her the counter-course because his mouth was full of feathers too. It took her almost half an hour to find a working counter-course on her own." They broke into laughter, Harry at the memory, and Ron at the image.

"I suspect," Harry added, "that Serena could have come up with this counter-course a great deal faster. That it took her so long was probably her way of taking revenge for what Malfoy had done in the Three Broomsticks."

"And I missed it, blimey!" Ron frowned in annoyance at himself. "I swear I'll come with you the next time. Hermione forced us to learn for the Charms test. She was constantly criticising my swishing and flicking." Ron rolled his eyes. "This wasn't half as much fun."

"Speaking of Hermione, where is she? And Jon? Their books and parchments are still here."

"Crookshanks and Spike jumped up and dashed out as if something had bitten them. Jon and Hermione followed them, to get them back before curfew." Ron snorted. "As irritating as Pig can be, at least he returns by himself."

"If they want to be back before curfew they're too late. It began a minute ago," Harry said.

"It's already that late?" Ron cast a glimpse at the wall clock above the hearth and frowned. "They left over an hour ago."

"I hope nothing's happened to them. Maybe we should go looking for them."

Ron nodded in agreement. Harry headed towards the stairs to the boy's dormitories to fetch his Invisibility Cloak.

Half an hour later Ron and Harry still wandered the various corridors of Hogwarts without finding so much as a trace of Hermione, Jon, or their pets. "Maybe they went outside?" Ron suggested.

"Maybe. Let's check it."

They descended the stairs towards the exit. When they came near the Entrance Hall they heard an excited, deep voice speaking that belonged to Hagrid. They stopped at the threshold of the last stair, peeking down.

Hagrid stood in the brightly lit Entrance Hall, talking to Professors Dumbledore and Snape, the former listening with a most serious expression, the latter standing with arms folded in front of his chest and wearing his usual unfathomable mask. Serena was also there, sitting on the bottom step of the stair opposite of the one where Harry and Ron stood. Her stare was glassy; she didn't seem to notice anything of what was going on around her. Harry recognised Spike laying on her lap, motionless, with his head, legs, and tail hanging down like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Tears glistened in Serena's eyes and she absentmindedly stroked Spike's black, wet fur.

"... an' I followed Fang's bellows an' found Spike," Hagrid told them. "I said 'Spike, yeh shouldn' be outside in this weather. Yeh better come in.' But he didn' come. When I lifted him up I noticed that he was all cold an' limp. An' I found two wands and this." Hagrid stepped to Serena and pulled a crumpled piece of parchment out of her clenched fingers, handing it to Dumbledore.

"Serena Potter," the headmaster read out loud. "Come to my castle, tomorrow at midnight, and bring your nephew Harry Potter along. If you fail to do so or if you should bring someone else, your son will meet the same fate as his cat. Lord Voldemort. PS: This also applies to Hermione Granger. Hmm, the postmark is in a different handwriting, as if added later."

"Whoever took them probably only had planned to get Mister Potter. When he also got hold of Miss Granger, the kidnapper adjusted the already prepared note," Snape speculated.

Harry gasped. Voldemort had killed Spike and kidnapped Jon and Hermione? And he wanted Harry or he would kill them. This explained Serena's absent state. She certainly was out of her mind with worries.

Hagrid cast an uneasy look at her and continued, "I went straight fer the castle an' I ran into Professor Potter an' showed her the note. She's been miles away since then, poor lass. Yeh know the rest, Professor Dumbledore, I sent a prefect ter fetch yeh because I didn' want ter leave her alone, not when she's like this. I'm sorry ter have interrupted yer meeting with Professor Snape, though."

"Never mind, Hagrid," Dumbledore assured the half giant. "You did exactly right." He took a deep breath. "So you found the dead cat on Hogwarts grounds?"

Hagrid nodded.

"This is not good, absolutely not," Dumbledore muttered, stroking his beard.

"It's impossible to put up perfect wards. There's always a way to bypass every single one of them," Snape said. "But there's still a big difference between entering Hogwarts grounds and entering the castle. If Mr. Potter and Miss Granger had abided the rules and not gone out after dark, they'd probably still be here. After their return, a suitable punishment should be very much in order."

"Greasy, nasty git," Ron whispered angrily. "Jon and Hermione have been kidnapped and all Snape's interested in is how to punish them for getting out after dark."

"Yeah, as if being held hostage wasn't punishment enough," Harry assented and fell silent again to listen at the conversation that had carried on.

"An' what are we ter do now?" Hagrid was asking.

Everyone except Serena looked at Dumbledore.

"We cannot fulfil his request, that much is clear. We need to think of a way to rescue the two students. And I would prefer to keep this to ourselves for the moment; I don't want to worry the students overmuch. We must also find out how the kidnapper could get on Hogwarts grounds, so that we can close this security gap."

"D'yeh know where that castle is? How 'bout goin' there now, while You-Know-Who isn' expectin' us, an' savin' Jon an' Hermione," Hagrid suggested.

"It's not that easy. We don't know where the Dark Lord's hiding at the moment," Snape answered. "The castle that this note refers to was once his headquarters, but it's been deserted for fifteen years now. He's certainly not there; the castle isn't safe for him anymore. Aurors found and destroyed it after his downfall."

"Darn," Hagrid answered. "It's a real pity that You-Know-Who knows that yeh were spyin' on him, Professor Snape. Yeh could easily have found out where they were if he still were trustin' yeh."

"I'm not sure if it were easy," Snape replied dryly. "But you're right, this isn't an option."

Ron gave Harry a baffled glance. "You-Know-Who knows that Snape was a spy? Then how on earth was he able to rejoin the Death Eaters this summer?"

Harry looked equally clueless. "I don't know. Apparently he didn't. Maybe he's secretly watching them from afar?"

"I think that someone or something will wait there with instructions how to get to the real party," Serena joined the discussion.

"I agree with her," Snape said, nodding in assent, and added, "I think it's safe to assume that the Dark Lord doesn't plan to set them free. He's using them for bait. When he's got what he wants, he'll kill them all. If Mister Potter and Miss Granger are even still alive."

"Jon isn't dead, I'm sure. Voldemort's a sadist. He'll certainly want me to watch my son being killed," Serena objected quietly.

An uneasy silence followed, finally broken by Dumbledore. "I might have an idea as to how to rescue Mister Potter and Miss Granger. You, Serena, should go to the castle, as requested in the note, and wearing a Locating Charm. When they bring you to the captives, we will follow you, hidden under Invisibility Cloaks, and free them. You will most likely have to hand over your wand, but hidden under the cloak, there has to be a way to retrieve it and slip it back to you, so that you can Disapparate too. We could take your Invisibility Cloak, and I think, Harry wouldn't mind lending his one to us for a night."

Serena put Spike aside and got up. Now that they were working on a concrete way to save her son, she stripped off the despair like a butterfly its pupa; life and determination returned to her eyes. "This plan's certainly worth considering. There are two weak points, though. Firstly, I don't have my cloak anymore. I lost it years ago, so one cloak must suffice. Secondly, I doubt that I won't be checked for Locating Charms. They aren't difficult to detect."

"Valid points, but no show stoppers," Snape butted in. "Number one, Serena's Invisibility Cloak isn't lost. When she moved out rather unexpected, I put all of her possessions in a trunk and stored it in the loft. It's still there, and the cloak is there too."

"I've been here for about six months already. When did you plan to give my things back to me?" Serena snapped irritably at him. She scrutinised Snape with a leery gaze.

Snape ignored her and continued, "Number two, I'm able to follow Serena wherever she goes."

"Indeed? How?" Dumbledore asked.

Serena arched an eyebrow at Snape's statement. "I'd also be very much interested in knowing that."

"It's your bracelet. It's enchanted with a slightly modified Locating Charm. I simply concentrate on it and it leads me directly to the place where the bracelet is at that moment. Since you're always wearing it, I can always find you. The charm isn't detectable, at least not easily - I didn't want you to know about it when I gave the bracelet to you, so I went to great lengths to disguise the charm. I doubt that a Death Eater would find it if he doesn't know what to look for."

"You did what? You gave me that bracelet to spy on me?" The distrust in Serena's eyes was accompanied with disbelief and also a healthy amount of anger.

"I didn't spy on you. And it wouldn't be for you to call the kettle black anyway. However, I changed my mind and didn't use it as I had intended. But as it was a birthday present and you seemed to like it, I couldn't possibly demand it back, could I?"

Serena lifted her arm, looking at the bracelet that she still wore. This revelation had apparently left her speechless for a few seconds. At length, she muttered, deep disappointment underlying her voice, "And I thought we'd been friends. This was the last birthday present I got from you, and it was so gorgeous. When I unwrapped it and saw it for the first time, I was deeply impressed. I thought, if you go to the trouble of finding me such a beautiful present, then our friendship still has a chance, can somehow be patched up again. But apparently I was wrong." Her voice grew harder and the anger returned. "You didn't want to make me happy, you only wanted to ensure that I kept it, so that you could trail me."

She opened the tiny clasp and tossed the bracelet at Snape's chest. He caught it, while she hissed at him, "I'll wear it tomorrow, you can give it back to me then, and after our return you can take it and stuff it."

Snape's eyes narrowed. He grabbed Serena's hand and put the bracelet into it, squeezing her fingers shut around the elegant jewellery. "I can understand your aggravation, but it saved your life once, now it can save that of your son. Maybe you should be a bit more grateful."

"He's still our son. And how did this save my life?"

"Never mind. It's a long story. Perhaps I'll tell you some day. But not now, there're more pressing matters. The question is how many should go on this rescue mission? Only I can take a bearing on the bracelet, since I was the one who charmed it. As every child learns in the first Apparition lesson, one can only Apparate as much additional mass as one's own weight, give or take a few pounds. That means I can take only one other person with me. Plastering Serena with several Locating Charms for each participant is no option, they'd interfere with each other and we could lose her completely."

Dumbledore stroked his long white beard, looking pensively. "If necessary, Severus, you alone would suffice to give Serena her wand back and come back with either Jon or Hermione, while Serena takes the other student. But as this plan is risky enough and we have two Invisibility cloaks, I think it safer to have two people following Serena."

"So who'll come with me? Can you get someone from the Order to Hogwarts that quick?"

Dumbledore deliberately shook his white head. "No, they're busy with their own tasks. I was planning to accompany you myself. Don't think because I'm old, I'd be useless."

"We never would, Albus," Serena hurriedly said. "I appreciate your help very much. If something should go wrong and it should come to a direct confrontation with Voldemort, we couldn't wish for a better companion than you. And besides that, we need to be three people, because there will be three students that have to be Apparated out."

"Three?" Snape asked, arching an eyebrow.

Serena nodded in an affirmative manner. "The letter is perfectly clear about me bringing Harry along. If we don't want to rouse their suspicion, I'll have to take him with me."

Snape shook his head. "That's not a good idea. The plan will only work if we strike suddenly, and don't give them time to react. You'll have enough to do to free yourself and get away, without having to take one of the students."

Serena scowled at Snape. "Do you have a better idea then?"

"We have twenty-four hours to come up with a better plan," Dumbledore cut in. "But first we should get some sleep. No matter what we decide, we'll need to be fresh and rested. Tomorrow night will be a long night." Marking the discussion finished, Dumbledore turned towards the stairs.

"Lets beat it, before Dumbledore sees us," Harry whispered and urged Ron to turn around. Ron complied and they hurried back to Gryffindor tower, heading straight for their dorm.

Harry lay awake long after that. Tossing and turning, he couldn't get his mind to rest, which was a prerequisite to falling asleep. Instead, he stared at Jon's empty bed, or at least in the direction where it was behind the veil that the darkness had spread over everything.

Where were Jon and Hermione now? How were they feeling? Were they hurt? Scared? Would he ever see them again? Shuddering, he remembered his last encounter with Lord Voldemort. He had only just escaped with his life, luckier than Cedric. Harry groaned. A new aunt and cousin with lots of interesting stories to tell and strange things happening to them had contrived to take his thoughts away from the memories of the horrid experience at the end of last year. The number of nights with nightmares about graveyards, piercing red eyes, and Death Eaters had decreased distinctly. But if he should find any sleep tonight, the nightmares would be back. He was sure of it.

* * *

Harry wasn't the only one suffering from insomnia. Serena lay in her bed, also wide awake and worrying about her son's well-being. Albus' plan wasn't perfect and she dreaded that it wouldn't work. Even if they should miraculously succeed, Voldemort wouldn't give up so easily. Jon would still be in grave danger. She needed another plan, something that would ensure not only Jon's current survival but also an end of Voldemort's enmity.

Her mind was reeling in its desperate attempts to come up with a solution to this dilemma. She wouldn't hesitate to do whatever was necessary to save her son. But what would this be? Voldemort wanted to kill Jon and her to take revenge for her betrayal. If she could bring him to forgive her, Jon would be out of danger. But Voldemort didn't forgive traitors. Or did he, under special circumstances? If she could do him a great service, offer him something that he craved more than revenge... Suddenly it hit her. She knew exactly what to do. A smile crept over her face, ousting the worried frown.

She rose from her bed and threw on a robe. Then she got into a pair of particularly soft slippers and did something that she hadn't done for years - she sneaked about the castle of Hogwarts at night. She cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself and left her quarters. Of course the curfew didn't apply for staff, and no one could have reproached her for being out after hours, but she didn't want anyone to notice what she did.

She slinked towards the library, as stealthily as she could, and entered the restricted section, looking for a certain book. Reminiscences of her sixth year rose to the surface of her memory, when she had been a regular guest here. To avoid unpleasant surprises, she had mostly ignored books that had been enchanted. But this one book had stirred up her curiosity. It had been by far the most secured book in the whole library. She hadn't even seen it at first. Only the charm that made magic visible had given away that there had to be something. While the most enchanted books had glowed in a rather dim blue gleam, this one had given a glaring light like an over-decorated Christmas tree.

Even after she knew that there was a book, she couldn't take it. Not even the professors were allowed to get it without the headmaster's permission. It had taken Serena the better part of sixth year to get past all wards, hexes, and spells that protected it. When she finally held the ancient tome in her hands and skimmed through it, she saw why it was so heavily secured. The book described the Darkest of magic, atrocious rituals that could only be performed by the most powerful wizards, and spells so bestial that merely knowing their existence probably sufficed to be put into Azkaban for good.

The volume was still where it had been so many years ago. Serena hadn't dared remove it from the library back then. But tonight she would do it. She still remembered how to overcome its protections. Before she began, she checked if new wards had been added since her last visit. But apparently no one had even paid attention to it. After successfully removing the wards, Serena tucked the book under her arm and hurried back to her quarters.

* * *

Harry gave up on trying to sleep at six in the morning. He had dozed off once or twice, but neither long nor deep. He felt tired and hoped that a hot, strong coffee would change this. When he put on his clothes, he heard Ron's voice, "Wait, Harry, I'll come with you."

Harry spun around, startled. "You're awake? It's six in the morning."

"I know. But I couldn't sleep. Thoughts of Hermione and Jon kept me awake. Your tossing and turning wasn't helpful either."

They were the first ones in the Great Hall. After emptying a big mug of coffee, Harry picked listlessly at his scrambled eggs.

"I wonder if they'll tell us about the kidnapping," Ron said. "You heard Dumbledore; he doesn't want anyone to know about it. But we're their friends, we're bound to notice that they're missing."

"Hmm." Harry gave a grunt of assent, being more occupied with his own thoughts and only listening with half an ear to Ron.

Serena was right. Not taking him with her would rouse suspicion and unnecessarily risk Jon's and Hermione's lives. They couldn't leave him here just to spare him another encounter with the Dark Lord. Harry would face Voldemort again, whether he wanted it or not. At least this time he would face him neither alone nor unexpectedly. If Dumbledore's plan worked, he wouldn't even have to fight with him. He was only the bait. And maybe an ace up Dumbledore's sleeve if something should go wrong. Which was likely, the plan was more than risky.

"Hello! Earth to Harry, is someone home?" Ron waved his hand in Harry's face to get his attention. When Harry's eyes became focused again, Ron asked, "What's with you? Have you heard anything of what I said?"

"Sorry, Ron, I was thinking. I should tell Professor Dumbledore that I know what happened to Jon and Hermione. I should go with Serena tonight."

"Are you sure? I mean, don't you think that the professors can handle this alone?"

"Voldemort wants me. What if he's so pissed off when I don't come that he kills Jon and Hermione straight away?"

"And what if he's so fed up with you always escaping him that he kills you on the spot as soon as you arrive, just to be on the safe side?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I don't think so. He's waited for so long to get his revenge, he won't spoil his triumph through rushing."

"But delivering yourself to You-Know-Who?" Ron's face paled from the mere thought about it. "Maybe they've already found a better plan and don't need you at all."

"I suppose, I'll learn that when I talk to Professor Dumbledore."

"Well, if you insist. But I'll come with you, I also heard everything yesterday."

The empty corridor with the stone gargoyle, the entrance to Dumbledore's office, was on the second floor, as was Serena's office. Just at the second Harry and Ron left the staircase, they saw Snape entering the Defence professor's office, with both hands cautiously carrying a bottle that was filled with a transparent fluid.

He didn't close the door behind himself because his hands were full. Harry couldn't resist his curiosity and hurried to the door, closely followed by Ron. Pricking up their ears, they eavesdropped again. The conversation inside was well on the way to become another argument, the voices displaying a considerable amount of hostility. It seemed as if Snape and Serena couldn't help it but quarrel when they were together.

"That's none of your business. Put the bottles on my desk and get lost. Don't you have something to do? Like giving lessons, grading papers, or getting my Invisibility Cloak from your loft?" Serena's voice sounded irritable.

"Don't bother to thank me for the ingredients," Snape spat back. "And I daresay it is my business. I'm going to risk my life tonight to save your... our son, after all. I should know what you're planning."

"No one's forcing you to come with us. If you think it's too dangerous then stay here," Serena retorted.

"You bloody well know I didn't mean it that way. Besides, this liquid is not without danger. If you drop the bottle, it'll destroy the entire floor. Do you really need that much?"

"No, not if I succeed in brewing that potion at the first attempt. And it would help my concentration immensely if you leave and stop irritating me."

"Why don't you just tell me what potion you need? I'm sure I can make it without putting Hogwarts in danger of being blown up. Besides, there's no potion that contains both of these ingredients. You can't safely combine Erumpent Horn liquid and dragon blood. Don't you remember the mnemonic rhyme about it?"

"Mnemonic rhyme?" Obviously, Serena didn't remember.

Snape recited a small verse that was apparently meant to serve as memory aid.

"Dragon blood, or serpent fangs,
or frog toes as ingredients
are never good with Erumpents.

"Professor Godpot made a point of teaching us these rhymes so that even people like you remember at least something about potions, but apparently you're a hopeless case!"

Serena didn't sound as if she took Snape's remarks to hearth when she answered, "Don't fret, I know what I'm doing. And stop lecturing me, I'm not one of your students. The potion's not for you; so as I said before, it's none of your business."

Snape sighed. "Oh well, if you insist on wasting time and ingredients in an attempt on your own before you realise that it's beyond your abilities and beg me for help, by all means, do so. But I'd kindly ask you to do this outdoors. I'm sure, most students and staff members would appreciate it very much if you don't blow up the castle again." Snape's sour tone was dripping with sarcasm.

The boys didn't hear Serena's answer, though, because behind them sounded another voice, "Did no one tell you that it's not good manners to eavesdrop?"

Harry and Ron spun around, startled. Professor Dumbledore stood in the corridor, gazing sternly at them.

Ron looked ready to make a bolt for it. Harry pulled himself together and burst out, "Professor Dumbledore, we were just on the way to your office. We, erm, were looking for Hermione and Jon yesterday and found you talking about them in the Entrance Hall. I wanted to tell you that I'm willing to go with Serena if it helps somehow."

Dumbledore scrutinised Harry, giving him the feeling as if the headmaster weighed up Harry's innermost depths. "This is quite brave of you," the older wizard finally answered. "Or you are not clear about the danger that you put yourself in. If anything goes awry, you could lose your life."

"I know, and I don't care. All that counts is if it helps in the rescue of my friends."

"Oh, how noble of you. And utterly stupid. You sound so much like your father, now you're even pointlessly risking your life." Snape's voice was filled with caustic derision when he spoke to Harry. He had left Serena's office and had apparently heard a part of the discussion with Dumbledore.

Harry realised with a bit of a surprise that Snape's comment didn't rile him as much as he had expected. Well, he would face Lord Voldemort tonight. Snape couldn't get to him much in view of what else was awaiting him. With more boldness than he had thought himself capable of, Harry answered back, "To risk one's life for a friend isn't stupid. But that's something that you'll probably never understand. You don't even have friends, ever since Serena turned her back on you."

Snape's expression darkened. "Do not forget yourself, Potter, I'm still your professor and I will not be spoken to like that," he hissed. "You don't know what you're talking about. This is far too dangerous. You're staying at Hogwarts. Period."

Serena, who had also left her office to see what was going on in the corridor, objected. "I believe it's imperative to have Harry participating. Lord Voldemort has demanded that I bring him along. If I don't do it, I risk Jon being killed the instant I arrive without Harry."

"And not forgetting Hermione," Dumbledore added and gave Serena an odd look. She nodded quickly, giving Snape the cold shoulder as answer to his scowl.

"I agree with Serena," Dumbledore continued. "We shouldn't disregard Lord Voldemort's desire to get Harry. Of course it is risky for each of us, but without Harry I deem the risk to aggravate Lord Voldemort and have our mission fail even greater."

Snape's scowl intensified. "It looks as if I'm outvoted, then. Very well, take the boy with you, throw the rabbit to the snake. I hope that he won't turn out to be a millstone round our necks." He spun around and headed towards the stairs, his robes billowing behind him.