A Mortal Enemy

Chapter 6: Death is Black

Dumbledore returned just moments later with Harry. Kara wondered if Harry had been positioned outside of the Gargoyle that led up the stairs to Dumbledore's office. Either that, or Dumbledore had an unknown shortcut to Gryffindor Tower.

When Harry entered, Sarah turned around and spotted him. She didn't appear alarmed that he was there and she seemed vaguely unfamiliar with who he was. For Harry that was no doubt shocking.

"Ms. Pritchard, this is Harry Potter," Dumbledore said. The two students made a casual nod towards each other.

"Do sit down Harry."

From his corner perch, Fawkes made a swishing sound and swooped down onto Harry's lap. Harry immediately began petting the Phoenix softly along its beautiful red back.

"Hello Fawkes," he said lovingly while flashing a smile at the young Slytherin.

"That's a beautiful bird," Sarah said as she leaned over to pet it along with Harry. With a move that could only have been born to an athlete, Harry jumped back, taking the chair with him and sending Fawkes into the air. He then stood against the wall, slightly shaken, realizing that at any moment the girl could have killed them both. Somehow all the adults in the room had managed to remain calm.

"I'm sorry," Sarah whispered. She was near tears again. "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to pet him."

"It's ok. It's just... well..." Harry stammered. He looked at Dumbledore, who nodded affirmatively at Harry.

"I'm an Oracle. If you touched me we would both die," Harry finally said.

Sarah's eyes lit up with comprehension and her mouth dropped open. Harry carefully sat back down in the chair and cautiously scooted closer to her.

"It's really important that you never tell anyone that; especially any of your housemates. If anyone found out that I was an Oracle I'd probably be dead before I knew what to do about it," Harry said in a calming voice to her.

"Would they kill me too?" she asked, clearly frightened.

Harry looked at Kara, but she kept a straight face, revealing nothing to him.

"I don't know. But I promise I'll never tell anyone just in case. Ok?"

The girl nodded in agreement and everyone was quiet as Sarah mangled the black handkerchief that was still in her hands. Harry looked at it and then in his eyes fell on Snape sitting behind the Headmaster's desk. Kara could tell from the look on Harry's face that he was pondering why Snape was sitting there. Snape was thinking along the same lines and rose from the chair. He gave the Headmaster a knowing look as he passed by.

"Can I ask you something?" Sarah directed towards Harry in a quiet voice.

"Sure," he replied in a polite manner. His eyes continued to glance at Snape periodically.

"Is it true what they say about you?" she asked.

The question brought a dark look from Snape but Harry met his gaze confidently. Kara nudged Snape slightly in his back where the students couldn't see.

"It depends on what they say, and who said it."

"Well some of the Slytherins were saying at dinner that you defeated You-Know-Who when you were a baby," she replied.

"You mean you've never heard that story before?" he asked, nearly excited by the prospect.

"No. I... I have never heard any of the stories," she said, embarrassed. "I hope you don't mind me asking."

"Oh. Well believe it or not I knew as much about it on my first day at Hogwarts as you do now," he said smiling. "It's true. When I was a baby he killed my parents and then tried to kill me, but he wasn't able to."

"Why not?" she asked, dumbfounded. "Is it because you're an Oracle?"

"Well. No. It's because of my Mum. But we should talk about it some other time," Harry replied as he glanced uncomfortably around the room, realizing they probably had better things to be discussing.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Sarah said as her brow furrowed and she gave him a very sorry look.

"It's not that. It's just I think Professor Dumbledore has other things to talk about," Harry said as he waved vaguely towards the Headmaster, who was now sitting behind his own desk.

"I do indeed, Harry and it is getting late," he replied after letting out a long sigh. "Under normal circumstances it would probably be unwise to discuss your rare gifts with any of the students but we had to in order to ensure your safety. I just want to make sure you're both aware of the consequences of you interacting, and that you'll be careful," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Both of the students nodded.

"Excellent. Professors, if you'll escort Ms. Pritchard back to her dormitory I'd like to have a private moment with Harry."

Kara looked at Snape. What was it that Dumbledore had to say to her apprentice in private? Was he going to inform Harry of his death? Snape mentally shrugged as Sarah stood from the chair.

"Hey Sarah," Harry said as Sarah stood up. "If you have any questions, you know - about this or anything feel free to ask me. That goes double if they're questions about Voldemort and I. I'd rather you ask than listen to whatever someone in Slytherin has to say." Snape shot him another nasty look.

"You said his name! I thought you weren't supposed to," she said in shock.

"You should always say his name. There's no reason not to. I've always said it and he's never jumped out of a bush and tried to kill me," Harry said jokingly. "Well, he jumped out of a cauldron once but that's an entirely different story altogether."

Sarah gave him a big grin and headed towards the door, making sure the two Professors were in tow.

Kara wondered why Harry was being so light hearted and friendly towards the young Slytherin girl. Perhaps Dumbledore had given him some advice before guiding him up to the office. Kara was almost certain now that Harry had been waiting there for them to call upon him.

When they had reached the stone door of the Slytherin House, Sarah looked up at her Professors. Kara could tell she had questions.

"What is it Ms. Pritchard?" Kara asked.

"I was just wondering what happens now," she replied.

"There are some things that we will need to work out. Just read as much of those books as you can and try to enjoy your first few weeks at Hogwarts. I do not want you to try to make a decision today or even tomorrow. I assure you that you will have enough to worry about with your classes," Kara replied.

Sarah nodded at her and muttered the password to the Slytherin common room. The door opened and she disappeared inside.

"This is going to be an interesting year," Kara said out loud. Snape gave her a reproachful look that she ignored. She turned on her heel and headed towards his quarters where she spent a quiet night in Snape's arms.

* * *

The next morning Kara woke early, dressed and wrote to her Aunt in France before breakfast and her first classes. She attempted to discreetly ask about family relations that may be responsible for the birth of Sarah Pritchard. It would be unwise to raise alarm that a young girl bearing their family name was delivered to the school, and Kara wanted to avoid a rush to conclusion. She knew very well that if any of the Pritchards heard of the girl's existence they would rush to her side, scoop her up and lavish her with riches before asking the right questions. It wasn't as if that was necessarily a curse, it was just something that could be easily exploited.

It was almost a week before she heard back from her Uncle Jeane, who was the Pritchard blood relative in his marriage. He spoke vaguely of distant cousins who had died at early ages, but was unaware if they left children behind. He promised to check for her. And so Kara went on with her classes, conducting them in the same rigid way she had the previous year. In the prearranged three hour sessions she had with Harry each day she would allow herself to relax and take advantage of the fact that he needed a more refined, but less intensive method of instruction than the rest of her students. It was all she could do to prevent herself from mentally counting down the days towards Dumbledore's death.

But the stress wore more heavily on Snape than Kara despite his attempts to make her believe otherwise. She rarely saw him outside of meals, the bed they shared and the one class they each allowed the other to sit in on. As always, she chose the dangerous combination of the Slytherins and Gryffindors who were now in their sixth year of instruction with Snape. She watched him intently during those two sessions she was afforded. He had a grace and comfort in the classroom that he was attempting to savor. Kara could see it in his eyes. In a very short time Dumbledore would turn the world upside down and the classroom would no longer be plagued by the cedar smell of his dark locks and his wicked gaze. She shared in his nostalgic moments when his eyes would drift off into a cauldron or as he would watch a student nervously drop powdered substances into boiling solutions.

Exactly two weeks after Dumbledore had taken the final dose of the Elixer, Snape sat close at dinner and put a hand on her knee under the table where no one else could see. Kara could tell he had had a long day and she put her hand on top of his as they waited for the rest of the students to enter the hall. He leaned over to her.

"The Ministry has asked for another twenty doses of the Vaccine," he said mechanically.

"I will begin the work this evening then. I'm glad I purchased extra dragon liver last time."

He wasn't in the lab when she went in around 7 to begin making the Vaccine, but he joined her later with two Slytherin second years. After admonishing them for some dastardly deed, he sent them on their way and made tea.

Kara went into the secure storeroom, removed the protection spells from the ingredient cabinets and pulled out the Peruvian Dragon Liver. There was only one left, but that would be plenty for the work she would do this evening. Using forceps, she took the mangled meat out of the preserving solution, cut it in half, and returned the remaining pieces to the jar. The tiny room filled with the smell of preserved meat. Snape was sitting at his desk reading assignments when she strode back to the workbench. There was a huge stack of parchment in front of him. It was only the second week of class and he was already enslaving his students.

Kara worked in silence. She never needed Snape's company, or at least didn't need him to speak constantly. His presence was enough for her and she could feel him in her bones. He paced or read as she diced and they both tried to ignore the eerie feeling of doom that hung in the air.

Kara returned to the storeroom again to fetch the soda squash. She reached up to the tall glass jar and pulled five long tendrils out using tongs. After screwing the lid back she returned to the lab, stopping briefly to pick up a jar of bezoars she would need. The bezoar jars were made of black glass to mimic the environment of goat stomachs. They were easy to pick out on the shelf and grabbing them now would prevent her from making another trip to the storeroom. When she arrived back at the lab table, Kara snuck another peek at Snape who was now blankly staring into the fire, no doubt thinking about Dumbledore.

She chopped the soda squash and put it in the cauldron, flipped an hourglass and walked over to him. The door to the lab closed without a sound and locked. Her hands glided up to his shoulders and began kneading them. He groaned quite loudly. Kara put up a sound barrier around the lab door. After twenty minutes of attacking his tense nature, her singing hourglass announced it was time for her to return to her work. Almost begrudgingly, she went back to the Vaccine.

A flip of the hourglass ended the song, and Kara picked up the black glass bottle containing the bezoars. She unscrewed the lid and tipped the container, expecting one large stone to come tumbling out, but it was empty. Kara walked back into the storeroom to fetch another bottle, but what she found was that they were all empty. There wasn't a single bezoar in their private supply.

"Severus? Did you use all the bezoars for something and forget to tell me?"

"No. There should be plenty in the storeroom," he replied without looking up.

"I found six bottles, but they're all empty. Did you reshelf them somewhere out of the ordinary?" she asked.

He walked through his office quickly, entered the storeroom and looked precisely where she had.

"This is the only place I would have put them; right next to the goat milk. We can get some from the student stores for now."

"You're not concerned about the quality?"

"They're bezoars Kara not Unicorn blood," he snapped. Kara could tell he was peeved about the missing bezoars, but he wasn't about to let on he was panicking internally. Missing ingredients meant there had been a breach in their security.

Kara entered the Potions classroom and walked into the private stores that he had just off to the side. But to her shock, the bezoar jars there were empty as well. She rushed to the cabinets where the school provided student ingredients were kept. She checked each bottle. Every single black glass jar was empty. She panicked. The pre-Vaccine solution would only stay fresh for another hour. Where on earth was she going to get bezoars at this time of night?

"Severus, they're gone. All of them," she said as she rushed back into his office.

"You checked my private stores?"

"Yes, and the student stores. They're all empty. What the hell is going on?" she stood nervously with one hand on her chin.

"How long will the Vaccine stay fresh?"

"Only about an hour I think."

"Get our cloaks. Meet me at the entrance to the castle. I will go with you to Hogsmeade," he said as he rushed behind his desk, picked up a quill. He was no doubt going to write a note to Dumbledore.

"Severus, are you sure it's wise to leave... considering..." she asked hesitantly.

He didn't answer; a sure sign he was in no mood to debate. She rushed to his quarters and grabbed both of their black cloaks. Minutes later they were flying through the air on his broomstick. They landed expertly in front of the apothecary in Hogsmeade and pounded on the shop door. The old storeowner, in pajamas and nightcap, opened it timidly.

"Professors? What can I do for you so late in the evening?"

"Bezoars. Quickly. We need all the ones you have in stock," Snape insisted as he pushed the man inside and entered. He reached in his cloak pocket for the gold to pay the man, but the storeowner returned from the back with a sad look on his face.

"I'm sorry Professor Snape, but it seems I'm all out of bezoars at the moment. Very strange, I was certain I had at least twenty when I did inventory yesterday. My apologies for the..." but Snape was already out the front door and rushing towards the train station. Kara had to run to keep up with him.

"We'll check in France first, if you don't mind waking your relatives. I have no desire to travel to Diagon Alley and wake the shop owner there. Mr. Cassons is less than discreet and considering the enemies I've made as of late I've no intention of venturing into Knockturn Alley," he said as they reached the Apparation point on the train platform.

In the back of her mind, Kara wondered if Snape was thinking there would be no bezoars in France either?

"Jeanne won't mind. You know the Apparation point?"

"Yes."

Moments later they were pounding on the private entrance to the Pritchard's Apothecary in Paris, France. It was nearly midnight.

"You don't know how to disarm the wards?" Snape asked impatiently as they waited for the older Wizard to open the door to his shop.

"I don't want to alarm them," she replied.

Uncle Jeanne answered the door after a few minutes, and before he could get in his hellos, Kara had hugged him, pushed him aside and let Snape enter.

"We wont be long Jeanne, and I promise to visit again soon. We just need bezoars, and we are in a hurry. You don't mind if we pillage your storeroom for a moment?" she asked hastily as Snape swept past her to the backroom of the Apothecary.

"Certainly not Kara. Is everything quite alright?"

"Yes. Everything is fine, we're in just a bit of a rush."

"Gone! They're all gone!" she heard Snape yell.

"What? That's impossible. I inventoried yesterday, there were exactly two hundred and thirteen. I counted them myself," Jeanne said as he rushed over to the tall wooden shelf that housed the heavy black bottles.

"I don't believe it. This is impossible," he continued on as he inspected several empty bottles.

Kara nodded to Snape to follow her. They went down the narrow staircase into her old laboratory. The door was unlocked, which was unusual. She entered, walked over to a workbench and slid a cabinet door open underneath it.

"This is where I used to keep my private ingredients. I doubt Paul has moved anything since I left," she said as Snape looked at her quizzically.

Kara bent down and sure enough, there were ten bottles of unused bezoars. She sighed inwardly to herself, grabbed a bottle and opened it. It was empty.

"How on earth... this is impossible..." Kara muttered as she checked each bottle. She heard the footsteps of Uncle Jeanne coming down the stairs, and then heard her Aunt.

"Kara? Is everything ok?" the sweet voice called to her.

"We're just having trouble locating bezoars," Kara said in an exhausted voice as she turned towards her Aunt coming down the stairs into the basement.

"There should be some upstairs, but I think I saw that Paul had some in his anteroom the other day," her Aunt said as she strolled to the side room. Paul was the Potions maker that had replaced Kara when she left for Hogwarts. Her Aunt opened the door and screamed.

Uncle Jeanne rushed to his wife's side and pulled her back quickly. Kara went to see what her Aunt saw and was met with the sight of Paul's body sprawled on the floor, covered in dried blood. There was a black glass shattered everywhere. His eyes were rolled back in his head.

"Jeanne, you'd better fetch the Ministry," Kara said without any hint of panic in her voice. "Severus and I will stay here. And we'd like some tea please."

Jeanne led her distraught Aunt up the stairs and Kara waited until they were out of sight before she started panicking.

"What the hell is going on!" she exclaimed in a hushed voice.

"I do not know, however it is curious he was holding a bezoar bottle. That is not going to look good on our part considering we have been searching for them for the past hour," Snape replied

"His body has clearly been here for a while," Kara said. She covered her mouth and nose with a hand. "God Severus, I can smell the death on him."

Kara looked at the stiff body. The blood was dried and the smell made her want to vomit more than looking at Voldemort did. She turned away and leaned against one of her old workbenches.

"Dead people have black auras," she said as she tried to distract herself form the reality of the moment. Snape came over to her and put an arm around her shoulder for comfort. They stayed in that position until the Ministry wizards arrived a short time afterwards.

If anyone thought Severus Snape was less than cordial under normal circumstances, then they'd never seen him when being questioned about suspicious circumstances. Kara had never heard him degrade an individual the way he did the wizards that questioned them that night. The first witch left the room in tears and the second refused to ask any more questions after the first few minutes. But Kara gave some credit to the third interviewer who didn't bother asking the specifics. He cut right to the chase and began asking why they were looking for bezoars in the middle of the night and why they had bothered Apparating all the way to France. Kara had just finished explaining her relationship with the storeowners when two young wizards burst in the room.

"Zere haz been an attack in London. Zey say You-Know-Who haz taken over ze Ministry in London!"

Kara and Snape simultaneously pushed everyone in the room aside with their minds and rushed out the door of the Apothecary without thinking twice about the fact they'd left the scene of a crime.

"We're going back to Hogwarts, correct? If Dumbledore dies tonight, you need to be there, not in London," she admonished, knowing he would want to be where the action was.

He nodded at her curtly and moments later they were flying up the path to Hogwarts on his broomstick. There was no indication that news of the attack had reached the school yet. It was quiet and the halls were empty. They rushed to Dumbledore's office and Kara nearly collapsed as they entered.

It was completely empty save the desk, a pile of scrolls and Fawkes. Dumbledore was gone.