A Mortal Enemy

Chapter 10: Turning Points

The tinkling of fine china teacups woke Kara many hours later. She stirred and lifted herself slightly to peer at the origination of the sound. Two large blue eyes met hers and Kara, half-startled, felt her lips move along with her mind to execute the charm: Lumos. A pale light fell across the room and she spotted a tiny House-Elf next to the tea service. He stared back at her for a moment and then disappeared with a subtle popping sound. Remarking that it was the first time she had ever noticed the House-Elves dare enter Snape's rooms, she rose from the bed and peered at the clock on the fireplace mantle. The small second hand clicked gracefully into the silence of the bedroom and Kara watched it in wonderment for several moments before the hour and minute hands registered in her mind. 3:35, which meant she had been asleep for a mere few hours.

The time explained the horrible pain in her stomach, the nausea and the wave of confusion that was muddling her brain. They had to be the symptoms of severe sleep depravation. Kara looked around the room and realized Snape was nowhere to be found. She assumed he was still out obsessing about security in the castle, and then remembered, with a pang of jealousy, that he had left to go after Rita Skeeter.

Convinced she would never fall back into a peaceful sleep, Kara headed towards the shower where she washed, dressed and put her hair up. After donning a set of black velvet robes that she had bought in Diagon Alley over a year ago, but had never worn, she strolled out of Snape's rooms in search of something. What it was she was not sure of; perhaps it was food or perhaps it was the comfort of knowing the castle was not being attacked. Halfway down the hallway she felt a wave of nausea come over her and she had to stop momentarily in the dankness to clear her mind.

The stairs that led from the dungeons to the ground floor seemed to be extremely difficult to climb today, almost as if some unruly student had placed a magical charm on them to increase their height, or to make more of them than usual. In fact when she reached the stop of the stairs she was out of breath. Putting her fatigue aside she strode towards the Great Hall where she expected some students to be lingering, reading or playing chess. The doors were open and a few Ministry wizards stood at attention nearby and watched suspiciously as she entered. But there were no students to be found; the tables were empty and the hall was completely quiet.

And then Kara noticed the ceiling. It was dark, stormy and a rain was falling heavily. It couldn't be afternoon. It must be morning, she realized. Which meant her sleep had lasted over fifteen hours. Somehow, the clues began putting themselves together quickly: the House-Elf in her room, the cloudy feeling in her mind and body, and the fact that Snape was not there when she woke up.

Kara half ran from the Great Hall and up to the second floor where the headmaster's office was. She was panting heavily when she arrived. As soon as she entered the corridor she felt a now familiar tugging in her belly and mind. There was another Oracle nearby, and judging from the intensity of the sensation, whoever it was, was close. Slowing her pace and attempting to catch her breath, Kara moved gracefully through the hallway towards the stone gargoyle at the end of the hall.

"We cannot possibly condone this! We all know what the bylaws state!" came a harsh voice. It echoed through the hallway and Kara jumped at the sound. Instinctively, she stopped abruptly to listen more closely to the voice.

"Mundungus you cannot possibly expect him to sacrifice this for her. We cannot ask this of him. It must be his decision!" came another sharp voice, this time of a woman.

"This is not about what I expect or what I can or cannot ask. It was his oath! It was ours! We have all made this sacrifice. Why should he not have to live up to it!" the man called Mundungus shouted again.

"These are different times. For all we know he is Dumbledore's replacement. If he is our leader, then we cannot remove him."

"All the more reason for whichever of us it is to confess it. It does us no good to keep this secret from one another."

"Ah, now," came a much calmer voice. Another woman. "We all know the reasons Mundungus. Let us not argue over this so loudly. The walls of Hogwarts have ears. We cannot ask Severus to resign his position and it is only a matter of time before his future bride learns of his connections. In fact," there was a brief pause "I think the time has come upon us. If I am not mistaken I believe you'll find two pairs of very curious ears just outside this door, Severus."

Kara vaguely recognized this woman's voice although she could not picture the speaker's face in her mind. But before she could search herself for the answers, the stone wall to her left began to shift and a rush of warm air came forth, blowing the strands of loose hair surrounding her face behind her. Moments later, Severus Snape rushed out of the newly opened portal. When he saw her, he halted and his eyes immediately darted towards the gargoyle at the end of the hall. He stared there as if he was seeing something he couldn't immediately recognize from this distance, but knew was there.

Kara looked at the room that had enfolded in front of her and that Snape had come out of. She immediately recognized Sirius Black and Sydney, the Oracle of Montare. She realized it was Sydney's voice that she had heard moments ago alerting Snape that she was outside. There were nine other faces in the room, but she didn't recognize any of them.

Kara looked to where Snape was staring and remembered that Sydney had said there were two pairs of ears listening. Who else was he expecting to be there?

She then looked to Snape, expecting him to raise his eyes and explain to her silently what was happening. But instead of looking at her, Snape's eyes fell to the floor and refused to meet hers. Confused, she looked passed him into the room to find that all the occupants except one had let their eyes fall to the table and away from her gaze. All that is, except Sydney. Kara looked deep into her eyes and heard:

"I know you can hear me, Kara. Listen to me carefully. You need to leave now with your young charge."

Kara felt her face twist into confusion at the words she was hearing in her mind.

"That's right. I mean Harry Potter. He is standing outside the door and I suspect that Severus knows he is there. Mention what you've seen to no one. I am sure Severus will explain when he is able to. Trust me, however, that he explain cannot now. Go now before Severus discovers Harry outside."

Kara gathered herself mentally and prepared a way to explain her presence at what must be a secret meeting of some kind.

"I'm relieved that I found you, Severus. When you have a moment I need to discuss some important matters with you," Kara said with a bit of strain. She gave Snape a meaningful look that she knew he saw.

"When I am finished here I will come to your office," he replied softly. He then turned back into the room and the stones rearranged themselves into place.

When the portal was closed Kara executed Accio cloak in her mind, and sure enough the form of Harry Potter backed against the wall at the end of the hall appeared. Kara caught the cloak in her hands and with her head signaled towards the stairs that lead back down to the first floor.

Harry walked timidly past her, looking up at her face and wincing slightly when he read the expression there. Kara led him back to her office and slammed the door behind them.

"Explain to me why you are out of bed at this hour," she said curtly after sitting down behind her desk.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but very few words came out.

"I..." he stammered.

"I believe that you and I made an agreement that you would ask for my company when feeling the need to walk around the castle late at night. I am severely disappointed that you would disobey me," Kara said in a voice that became louder as she went. "Not only does this violate our agreement in your training, but also you were specifically ordered to remain in your dormitory to ensure your safety. Now out with it! What were you doing spying outside the headmaster's office?"

"I wasn't spying."

"Then what, Mr. Potter, would you like to claim you were doing? It seems obvious to me that you were eavesdropping on what was obviously a meeting you were not invited to." Kara's voice was now elevated to shouting level. She noticed Harry cower.

"I can't tell you, Professor," he muttered.

Kara's mind flipped and she felt her cheeks redden. How dare her young apprentice hold back this information? Aware that she was as much upset with Harry as she was confused about this situation, Kara thought she might lose her temper. She stood quickly and the chair behind her slammed against the wall as it was pushed backwards. She leaned over the desk, placed both hands there and opened her mouth to begin a verbal assault when the door to her office flew open. In walked Snape followed closely by Sirius.

Snape took two steps inside and turned towards Harry. He didn't seem surprised at all that he was there.

"Go back to your dormitory Potter." he said in a calm voice that Kara wasn't expecting. After all, in all of the other times Harry had been caught out of bed, Snape had flown into a rage and given him detention.

Harry took a long look at Snape as if expecting him to do just that, but when it never came he simply walked sheepishly out of the room, escorted by Sirius. Snape's mind closed the door behind them and Kara watched as he then paced the room silently for several minutes. Eventually he reached over to pull Harry's Invisibility cloak off her desk. He clutched it in his hands.

"So he was standing in the corridor? Under this?" he asked.

"Yes. When I asked him to explain he said he couldn't tell me why he was there." Kara then paused, expecting Snape to go into an explanation of what meeting was taking place and how Harry had overheard things he shouldn't have. However, Snape continued to just stand silently looking at Harry's cloak.

"Severus, he has violated our training agreement and he has obviously been spying on whatever meeting you were attending. Surely you don't intend to let him just go back to his dormitory unpunished."

"I trust that you will see to punishing him for disobeying you. As for the other offense I will deal with it directly. It is up to you whether or not to return this to him," he said as he laid the cloak back on her desk.

He turned to go.

"Severus?"

"I am going back to my quarters," he said as he reached for the doorknob. He opened the door, but Kara used her mind to slam it shut. She put up a sound barrier and locked the door. She waited for Snape to spin around and confront her but he never did. He merely stood there staring at the door. Kara, swept passed him and put herself between him and the exit. She stared up into his face and he quickly looked away.

"Severus? What is going on?" she asked calmly, trying to sound non-confrontational.

"Kara I am tired and I wish to sleep," he replied, still looking away.

"I will not move until you give me answers. You let a student break the rules. You attend some secret meeting and don't seem to care that that same student was eavesdropping. And what's worse you seem to be reluctant to discuss the matter with me. Don't try to tell me nothing is happening and that you want to go sleep," Kara said. She lifted a hand to his face in an attempt to comfort him. He didn't pull back, but when she turned his head to look at her he took hold of it. Closing his eyes he kissed her palm and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Severus? What on earth is going on with you?" she said in an attempt to pull away.

"I will tell you in time." He pulled away, reached inside his robes and pulled out an envelope.

"This came for you while you slept," he said handing it to her.

"Why didn't you wake me for tea?" she asked, recalling the questionable circumstances of her prolonged sleep.

"I am tired," was the only reply she received followed by a quick kiss on the lips. He then slid by her, unlocked the door with his mind and disappeared through it moments later. Kara made no attempt to stop him.

Snape had never been so purposefully evasive. He had always been forward with what was going on, or discreet enough to not leak any clues at all. And never had their encounters been so uncomfortable. He had refused to look her in the eyes, and not because he wanted to grieve privately or prevent her from having to see his visions of Death Eater meetings. No, this was actual avoidance and Kara couldn't help but wonder if Snape was hiding something from her. What had that meeting been about? Why were they talking about her? And why had Harry's presence not bothered Snape?

Only Kara's innate curiosity allowed her to open the letter in her hands. What greeted her there was not going to help her overcome the mix of fury and confusion she had experienced in the last hour.

Ms. Kharisca Lynch,

Your presence at the French Ministry of Magic is required promptly at 11am (Standard Wizarding Time). This is an informal inquiry into the events surrounding the European disappearance of bezoars. Apparate to the Paris office and ask for Madame Marleau.

Yours,

Sam Ascalon

Department of Mysteries

- - -

Seven hours later, Kara walked under the large archway that led to the Paris branch of the French Ministry of Magic. She hadn't bothered to wake Snape to tell him where she was going. He would no doubt learn from the Aurors that she had traveled towards Hogsmeade and then Apparated. The doors to the Ministry opened of their own accord as she glided towards them, clad in a particularly stunning violet and black set of robes. When the young witch behind the reception desk spotted her, she stood immediately as if in shock. This was something that Kara was not yet used to. Previous to the wizarding world learning that she was an Oracle, she would simply pass unnoticed through crowds and people would politely nod in her direction. Now, when she encountered strangers, they would practically quake with fear. Kara approached the woman slowly.

"Madam Marleau, please."

The young witch nodded quickly and disappeared behind a door behind the desk. Kara turned and began admiring the obsidian and ivory colored waiting room. Ornate statues of men and woman were placed casually in each corner. One of them, noticing Kara was staring at her, reached up to flatten her hair, which of course was rock hard and already straightened properly.

"Ms. Lynch?" came a man's voice from behind her. She turned around, her chin held up high, and faced the man who had spoken. He was tall with brown hair and brown eyes. In all respects he was what one might consider ordinary, only Kara noticed he was far from ordinary. He had no aura.

"I am very glad to finally meet you Kara," he said as he held his hand out to her. She took it politely, but continued to stare at him with curiosity. He smiled back at her and Kara got the feeling he knew what she was wondering.

"Follow me," he then said while gesturing towards a door that had just opened in the wall to her left. Kara entered through the doorway, followed him down a long hallway and finally into a small room with two chairs. He gestured for Kara to sit down into one of the tall backed chairs.

"I was expecting to meet with Madam Marleau," she spoke shortly after the door had closed.

"I am Madam Marleau," he replied. "Well, that is an alias of mine, anyway. I'm obviously not a Madam." He sat down across from her and began pouring tea for the both of them.

"My real name is Sam. I am the one who wrote and asked you to come."

"You've performed contrification on yourself," Kara pointed out.

"Yes," he nodded as he sipped tea. "When I was brought into the Department I volunteered to undergo the process. It is helpful when we need to interact with witches such as yourself."

"I hope you don't mind my eagerness to get this over with, Mr. Ascalon, but I will be sorely missed if I am away from Hogwarts for long."

"Yes, of course. I shall get directly to the point then. I wanted to record your statement on the bezoar disappearance. Of course, I have read the reports from the Ministry wizards who questioned you at Pritchard's Apothecary, but their reports are scattered with holes and somewhat inconsistent. In fact I feel I should apologize on behalf of the Ministry for our incompetence that night. I should have been summoned immediately."

"Why you in particular?"

"You might say this is my area of study," he replied, as he looked deep into her eyes. The eye contact unnerved Kara. There were few people who dared look at her so intently. Harry was one of them, but she felt no threat from him. Sam Ascalon, however, she did not feel comfortable with; his gaze was intentional and foreboding.

"Really? I wasn't aware that one could make a study of bezoar disappearances, Mr. Ascalon. Do they happen often?" Kara replied somewhat sarcastically. Her reaction clearly put her in a defensive position and she knew her interrogator would pick up on it.

"Not bezoars specifically, mind you, but odd circumstances of this nature are my field of expertise. Additionally, the Ministry should have realized how pointless it was to question you given the fact that you could read the proper answers right from the interviewers mind." Kara's heart nearly stopped beating. Was he accusing her of being dishonest?

"I assure you, Mr. Ascalon, that everything I relayed to the Ministry was spoken in truth and I am prepared to answer any questions you have." She tried to keep her voice calm and relaxed. It would do no good to provoke him now.

"I am glad to hear that. I will be very honest with you Ms. Lynch. There are few in the Ministry who believe your story as it has been told. Given the suspicious circumstances around your flight from the school and the fact that Albus Dumbledore's death occurred at approximately the same time I hope you can see that we are not in a position to believe what you have told us so easily." He paused and studied Kara carefully. She made sure not to blink or move a muscle; she just sat and listened intently.

"As a result," he continued on. "I am going to ask that you help us to ensure your answers are honest and that you are not holding back with anything."

"And just how would you like me to help you ensure that?" Kara asked in a rough voice; she knew what was coming.

"A light dose of Veritaserum," Sam replied.

"I will not."

"Consider this carefully, Kara," came his warning. "You and your fiance left the school at the precise moment Albus Dumbledore was facing Voldemort. Yet it seems he did not ask you to join him with this battle. Instead you claim that you were making a vaccine for Prixel poisons. And I believe we have some questions about the nature of that as well, seeming as you've not divulged the formula."

"And it was part of my agreement that I not be required to, Mr. Ascalon. My production of the vaccine is done voluntarily on my part. The formula was entrusted to me by the discoverer and the Ministry has no rights to it," Kara interrupted.

"Yes, and the... discoverer... died shortly afterwards, did he not? At the very hand of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"That is what I have been told," Kara replied, attempting to keep herself calm. The man's words were just pointed enough to be an accusation and yet disguised cleverly in the form of innocent questions.

"And so you were making this vaccine for the Ministry, because you were asked?"

"Yes. I was notified that they required another batch."

"And one of the components of this vaccine are bezoars?"

"Yes. Bezoars are often used when dealing with poisons, Mr. Ascalon."

"And when you went to your supply room to acquire them, they were gone?"

"Yes, as were all the bezoars in the school and the apothecary in Hogsmeade."

"So you Apparated to France to visit your Uncle's shop? Why not try Diagon Alley?"

"It seemed less inconvenient to wake my relatives," Kara replied. She left out the fact that Snape had not felt he could trust the shop owners in London.

"I see. And that is where you made the unfortunate discovery of Paul Brichand's body?"

"Yes."

"You see, Ms. Lynch, I find some of this difficult to believe. You see there is no evidence of why Mr. Brichand died aside from the blood on his body. There is no evidence of a curse or bodily wounds. And what is more mysterious is that it is not his blood that we found. It was House-Elf blood."

Kara gave him a quizzical look. That made no sense whatsoever.

"I don't see how Veritaserum is going to help you in this matter, Mr. Ascalon. I am just as baffled by that news as you are."

"It would help me to know that your statement is true and that we can begin looking elsewhere at possible suspects other than yourself and your fiance."

Veritaserum would certainly put that issue to rest, Kara thought. But if Sam Ascalon began asking other things, she would not be able to resist answering. The secrets of Harry Potter, Sarah Pritchard, Draco Malfoy and the Prixel vaccine were just a few of the many things she knew needed to be kept from the Ministry. Kara also wasn't sure whether she trusted Sam Ascalon. He didn't seem to fear her at all and something about his demeanor indicated he had intentions beyond what he was indicating.

"I will agree, Mr. Ascalon, under the following conditions. Your questions will be written down and previewed by someone I trust. If any of the questions are objectionable I will not go through with the interrogation. That person and anyone else I want present will be at the questioning and if you stray beyond the bounds of the agreed upon questions, then I will be immediately be fed an antidote. Additionally, I will supply the Veritaserum."

He was quiet for a moment as he pondered on her offer.

"The Ministry will supply the Veritaserum, but you are free to analyze it prior to use, if you wish," he replied. "It would be pointless of us to go through this process only to find that you have diluted the formula. Also because of his part in this, Severus Snape cannot be present at your interrogation. That implies he also cannot review the questions."

"Very well. And my last condition is that this take place at Hogwarts."

Sam nodded in agreement.

"I will contact you when I have prepared my questions," he said as he rose and gestured towards the door. Kara left the Ministry building without incident and proceeded to Apparate back to Hogwarts.

- - -

Snape rose from behind his desk when Kara entered his office later.

"Where were you?" he asked softly.

"I was asked to come speak to the French Ministry regarding the bezoar disappearance." Snape's face went white at these words and he sat behind his desk when Kara took refuge in one of the leather wingback chairs near the fire.

"And?" he asked.

"They do not believe what we have told them and have requested I submit myself to an interrogation under Veritaserum."

"And you agreed I take?"

"With stipulations... It will be done here where the Ministry can be watched carefully. They will also submit the list of questions to someone I trust for review prior to the interrogation. I will also be allowed to have people present who can stop the interrogation. You, however, cannot be present nor can you review the questions."

Snape sat still in his chair, his face calm and relaxed. He was avoiding her eyes but it was clear to her that he was worrying inside.

"In regards to this matter, Severus, I have nothing to hide. If the questions are suitable then we have nothing to worry about."

He nodded in agreement and stared at the empty bookcase to his left.

"You have questions about this morning," he stated.

"Ones which I have a feeling you are not prepared to answer," Kara replied.

"Unfortunately I cannot tell you what you want to know, especially if the Ministry is going to question you under Veritaserum."

"You weren't prepared to tell me earlier either, Severus."

"I had hoped we would have more time," he stated, looking now down at his desk. "We need to bring Draco back here immediately."