Harry Potter and the Angel of Justice

Chapter Fifteen - The Spy Who Loathed Me

Illustration link:

[url]http://hpbook6.freewebpage.org/art/nomarks/Mars_Snape.jpg[/url]

Harry and his friends walked in silence for a minute or so before splitting up to their various errands. Hermione looked dreadful; she left for her Arithmancy class in a daze. Ron had still been in shock when Harry had led him away from Snape, but by now he was furious. Before Ron left for the Common Room, he told Harry, "Remember, Snape hates us and Mars. We should never believe him."

Harry wanted desperately to believe what Ron had said, but Mars did sometimes seem too powerful and too good to be true. Harry would just manage to convince himself that Snape was a filthy liar, and then he would remember how baffled he had been by all the things that Mars claimed to have done. Snape's accusations cast doubt on Mars' more Herculean accomplishments, but Harry didn't want to believe his charges--not at all. Especially since they were coming from Snape.

Harry was in no mood to teach today. Earlier he had really been looking forward to teaching the Water Spout Spell, but now he could barely concentrate enough to find his way to the classroom. Once he arrived, he went through his lesson plan listlessly; he explained the spell, showed the class how to cast it, put the instructions on the board, and told the class to practice the charm. Once they had managed to cast the spell themselves, he told them, they were free to leave. Harry then sat down at his desk, his mind returning inevitably to Snape's accusations.

Arguments raged in his head. Each time Harry thought of an event involving Mars that surely must have been genuine, he could think up a way that it could have been a setup to earn the loyalty of Harry and his friends. The explanations forming in his head grew more wild by the minute. One moment Harry found himself considering the possibility that Mars had formed the Committee Against Dark Sorcerers solely so that he could rescue Percy from them, and the next minute his imagination had Mars protecting all of Britain single-handedly.

Harry feared he might go insane if he couldn't relax. What he needed was his own pensieve to remove these outlandish theories. Then Harry remembered Mars' Occlumency lessons. Every night he had cleared his mind the way Mars had taught him, and that always relaxed him. He decided to try it now, in his classroom.

He thought of a beautiful starry night, of the constellations and the planets that formed the sphere of lights around the earth. Thoughts of its endless, lovely rotation began to relax him. He pictured in his mind's eye the nebulae and their fantastic colors. The rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter spun into view, and all thoughts of Snape and Mars were completely forgotten. Harry drifted far away.

"Harry, Harry. Can you hear me? Are you all right?" a young girl's voice came into Harry's mind. "Harry! Say something, you're scaring us!"

"Huh?" muttered Harry.

"Say something sensible, Harry, or I'm going to get the nurse!" the girl sounded slightly panicky, but this time Harry recognized her: it was Heather Parkinson.

"No, no, Heather. I'm all right. I just drifted off," answered Harry.

"You sure are a heavy sleeper, Harry," said Mark Evans, who was standing next to Heather.

"Well, I didn't sleep well last night," Harry lied. He sat up and looked around; all but six students in front of him had left. They all seemed worried about him, but Harry was finally able to convince them to go to lunch. He gathered up his things and headed to the Great Hall himself.

The Occlumency training had given Harry the ammunition he needed to convince himself that Snape was lying. Mars had taught him Occlumency very well, so well that by the end of Harry's fourth lesson (which was during the second week of school), he had been able to fend off all Mars' attacks immediately. If Snape was right and Mars had been trying to bewitch him, why on earth would he teach Harry exactly how to counter that attack? His mood brightened as he sat down beside Katie Bell, across from Ron, at the Gryffindor table.

"Where's Ginny and Hermione?" Harry asked.

Katie answered. "Before Ron got here they both came up, grabbed a few pieces of fruit, and left without saying anything. They looked really upset. Do either of you know what's wrong?"

Ron nodded and said simply, "Snape."

Katie sighed.

After Katie left, Harry explained to Ron how the Occlumency lessons had convinced him of Mars' good intentions.

"Well, it only took me a minute or so to realize what Snape was up to, but you're right about the Occlumency lessons. That should convince anyone," said Ron.

"We have to tell Mars in class today," offered Harry.

"You sure you want to do that? I don't think I can repeat what Snape said, Harry, not to Mars' face. I'd feel wretched," replied Ron.

"But he'd want to know. Especially since we think Snape is the spy. I mean, this could be one of Voldemort's missions for Snape. You know, to get us at each other's throats," said Harry.

Ron paused thoughtfully and then agreed.

Harry and Ron did not have a class before Defense Against the Dark Arts, so they went to the library to do their Care of Magical Creatures assignment. They needed to write a two foot essay on the Murtlap. It was a ratlike creature that inhabited the coastal areas of Britain. Harry remembered soaking his hands in a solution of its strained and pickled tentacles last year to ease the pain of the cuts on his hand. He struggled for a while to somehow write this into his essay before Ron reminded him it was time to go to class.

When they walked into the classroom, Harry saw Ginny was sitting next to Luna and Katie as usual; she looked very upset. She did not meet his gaze. Hermione was in back; she still looked miserable. Harry and Ron sat down on each side of her.

"Hermione, Harry's got it settled. The Occlumency lessons are a dead give-away. You don't have to worry any more," said Ron.

"We have to talk to him after class," replied Hermione quietly.

"'Course we will, it'll all be settled," said Ron confidently.

Harry, however, noticed that Hermione looked anything but confident.

A few times during the class Harry saw Ginny turn and scowl at Hermione. Each time, Hermione sighed sadly, and sometimes she would wipe a tear from her eyes. It was obvious that they had had a row, and Harry knew what it had to be about. He sighed himself: just when he thought he couldn't hate Snape any worse ...

Class started with a lecture on recognizing dangerous runes and wards. It was not necessary to be an expert to spot them, Mars told the class, but it would take some knowledge to know which ones posed the most risk. He gave a quick overview of the most common examples, and assigned homework to identify the thirty most heavily-used defensive wards in Britain.

After the lecture, Mars had everyone demonstrate competency with the Whisper Charm by sending a message to him at his desk. A few students still needed help casting the spell; those pupils received even more homework.

Eventually, everyone had tried the spell and class was dismissed. As usual, many students crowded around Mars' desk for a short chat before leaving. Harry, Ron and Hermione waited in their seats for the other students to leave. They watched Ginny walk up and wait behind the chatting students. As the last pupils trailed out of the room, the three of them approached Mars and Ginny.

Harry thought that Mars would tell them off for not paying attention to his lecture, but he didn't. Mars' eyes were full of concern as he looked at the four of them.

"Well, it's obvious that you two," said Mars, pointing at Ginny and then Hermione, "have been fighting. But only one of you looks mad." He stared at Ginny. "What caused this?"

"Snape," hissed Ron.

"What could've Severus done to make them mad at each other? I mean, I could see them getting mad at him," asked Mars.

"It's simple, Mars," Ginny broke in. "Hermione believes all of Snape's lies about you. She thinks that you're manipulative and evil. She believes you lied about saving her parents and that you are using us to help you control Harry," Ginny finished venomously.

Mars, Ron and Harry all flinched violently. "Ginny, that's a horrible thing to say," replied Hermione tearfully. "I just want to ask Mars about the accusations. It's the only thing that makes sense, don't you see?"

"I'll tell you what I see, shall I? I see an ungrateful and egotistical girl who thinks she knows more than than the greatest wizards on Earth. Someone who -" spat Ginny before Mars interrupted her.

"Ginny, please," said Mars, tugging on her robe sleeve. "We're all friends here. You can't let something Severus Snape said make you forget that."

"It's not me who's forgotten who my friends are," snarled Ginny, moving protectively between Hermione and Mars.

"It's not like that," said Hermione desperately.

"Okay, I think I need to have you two," said Mars, pointing at Harry and Ron, "tell me exactly what Severus said. Ginny, Hermione: hold your tongues for a bit."

Harry, who was a bit calmer than Ron, told Mars about Snape's accusations. Mars listened carefully and only visibly reacted twice, with a slight snarl: to the charge that he may have cursed Harry's muggle relatives himself, and the charge that he had jinxed the Grangers' car. However, Mars laughed out loud when Harry related Snape's declaration that Dumbledore himself was under the influence of Mars.

"He really said that? Are you sure you're not embellishing the story just to make ole Snapesy look stupid?" asked Mars mirthfully.

The four teenagers all frowned at Mars' levity.

"'Course I'm sure, Mars. He really got us worked up for a bit; even I was starting to believe he could be telling the truth," said Harry firmly.

"No offense intended, Harry, but the idea that anyone could have control over Albus Dumbledore is ludicrous, can't y'all see that?" Mars looked around. When none of them nodded, Mars sighed. "You really think that if I wanted to, I could control Professor Dumbledore?" he asked incredulously.

"Not control him completely like a puppet," said Hermione quickly. "But have undue influence over him. Like convincing him to let you move Harry from his relatives' house, canceling the punishments of your favorite students--" Harry, Ron and Ginny all inhaled at this and stared at Hermione; she flinched, but bravely continued, "--or even switching said students to your own disciplinary control."

Ginny glared nastily at Hermione.

"An excellent set of questions, Hermione, all of which have good answers; but I fear that the nagging doubt that Snape seems to have put into your head will always see a problem with my explanations. It's virtually impossible to disprove an allegation; that's why in our legal system one is supposedly innocent until proven guilty.

"There are, however, some things I can point to that should make you reconsider who deserves the benefit of the doubt. If I could convince Professor Dumbledore to put Harry's safety in jeopardy; if I had that kind of clout with him; don't you think I could have convinced him to have dropped Snape from the Order of the Phoenix once I gave him irrefutable evidence that Snape was providing information to the Death Eaters?"

"Aha!" exclaimed Ron triumphantly. "I told you he was the spy, Hermione."

Hermione ignored the gloating Ron and looked steadily at Mars. "Are you sure that Snape's the spy?" she asked carefully.

"Not only am I sure, so is the Headmaster," replied Mars.

"Then why has he let that traitor stay in the Order and at Hogwarts?" asked Harry hotly.

"As much as I hate to come to the defense of Severus, it's not that simple. While he is the reason that Voldemort has the inside scoop on the Order's activities, he did not betray the Order purposely," answered Mars grimly.

"What? He just accidentally started working for Voldemort again?" asked Harry sarcastically.

Mars rolled his eyes and gave a small smile. "Harry, do you know what the Dark Mark is?"

"Yes," he said slowly. "It's horrible. A large green skull with a snake sticking out of it like some kind of demonic tongue. The Death Eaters conjure it after they've killed." Harry shivered slightly. The others nodded nervously.

"There is another kind of Dark Mark, and it's much more insidious," said Mars.

"The one on the arms of the Death Eaters? Voldemort uses it to tell his followers to come to him," answered Hermione, trembling.

"Yes. Very few people know of that mark, Hermione, and fewer still know the full effects of having one. The mark does much more for Riddle than allow him to send a summons to his Donnies; it's an indelible link between them," explained Mars.

"A link? You mean they can communicate with it?" asked Harry.

"I told you: it's much more sinister than that. Once Voldemort has marked you, part of him is in you forever. A lot like your scar, Harry," answered Mars.

"But then it's two-way. The follower would be able to spy on Voldemort?" suggested Harry.

"Remember that this mark, unlike yours, was designed by Voldemort. It works the way he wants it. Your spying on Voldemort was a shock to him; this link was his own creation. He knows exactly how it works. If he can overcome the defenses of the mark bearer, he can hear what they hear, see what they see, and even peek inside their minds."

"That's how Snape was the spy and didn't know it?" asked Ron.

"Yes, Ron. Only a select few Death Eaters knew this secret: Dolohov, Malfoy -"

"And Karkaroff!" interrupted Hermione.

"Very sharp, Hermione. That's how they found out Karkaroff was in Denmark, and when I got to him first it was one of the secrets he divulged," said Mars, smiling at her. "You can see now why I released only a small amount of my intelligence when I spoke at the Order's meeting. With Snape present, not only could I not talk about the unwitting spy, but everything I said had a good chance of going straight to Malfoy and Riddle."

"Malfoy?" spat Harry and Ron.

"Oh, yes; all the time that Snape thought he was using his connections with the Malfoys to spy on Voldemort, they were actually using the arrogant fool to gather information," answered Mars.

The teenagers were silent for a few moments as these revelations swept over them.

"Didn't Dumbledore make you and the others swear not to tell anyone who the spy was?" Ginny broke the lull.

"He made Charlie, Bill and Fleur swear; but I wouldn't," Mars replied. "I did, however, promise not to tell anyone, even you four, unless the Headmaster and Snape failed to stop up the intelligence leaks. And from the events of last night, it's terribly apparent that Snape has not managed to block off his mind. It's hardly an easy thing to do; Tom Riddle is one of the greatest Legilimens in history."

"Last night? What happened?" Harry asked.

"I can't tell you what the mission was, but three Order members were involved. They were ambushed in a way that suggests that the Donnies had advance knowledge of the whole mission. As a result--all were killed," said Mars sadly.

The teenagers all gasped.

"One of them was an old friend of mine, Sturgis Podmore," Mars continued. "So you can see that even before you brought me this news, Severus Snape had already earned my wrath."

Ginny looked sad and patted Mars' hand in sympathy.

Harry was a loss for words. How could have Dumbledore allowed this? He looked at Hermione to see if she had come to her senses yet about Snape's duplicity; Ron, Ginny and Mars looked at her also.

"I want to believe that Snape is a disgusting liar, I really do, but how could he have fooled Dumbledore for so long?" she said timidly.

The others sighed angrily, but Mars spoke to her gently.

"He didn't fool Dumbledore. That's what I've been trying to explain to you. Snape had no idea the mark could do this to him.

"I'll tell you what. Meet me in my office tonight at eight. Professor Dumbledore and Snape will both be there. I plan to finally convince Professor Dumbledore that he must quit trusting Snape with sensitive information. You can see for yourselves if I use beguilement or logic to convince the Headmaster, but while Snape is in the room, I need you to remain silent. Once he has left, you can ask questions of Dumbledore or myself. Does that sound fair?"

"It's a lot more proof that Snape ever offered," said Harry.

Hermione looked at Mars without meeting his eyes. She murmured, "Yes, that sounds fair."

The four students left for the Great Hall in silence. Harry sensed Ginny's anger at Hermione, but she seemed to at least be containing it now. When they reached the Gryffindor table, Hermione sat down away from the others. Ron looked after her uncertainly, then at Harry. Harry nodded at him; Ron walked over to sit beside Hermione.

None of them said much during dinner; when they had finished, they carefully agreed to study with each other in the library until eight. Harry couldn't concentrate on his work at first, so he decided to try clearing his mind again. This time he made sure that he didn't clear it too much; he stopped his meditation as soon as his tension faded. Harry quickly finished his essay on Murtlaps and started studying defensive runes and wards. Unbelievably, when eight o'clock arrived and Ron pointed out that it was time to leave, Harry realized that he had just experienced his most productive study hour ever. As they left the library, he decided to try clearing his mind before each study session in the future.

When they reached the door to Mars' office, Harry knocked. Mars' voice invited them in, but as Harry reached for the knob he saw letters swirling around on the door. From the murmurs behind him, Harry guessed that the others had seen them also. They slowly formed into words:

Remember, be silent while Snape remains.

Harry nodded to himself and opened the door. As they walked in, they saw Mars sitting behind his desk, grinning as usual. In front of the desk sat Professor Dumbledore, in one of his chintz armchairs, and Professor Snape, on a typical desk chair. Mars motioned for them to join the group.

Snape scowled at their approach. "I thought only Potter was coming. I didn't realize half of your fan club was invited, Mars."

They ignored his scowl and took seats in the four comfy armchairs that Dumbledore conjured for them.

"Now that we're all here--well, I'm assuming this is all--" Snape added, looking at Dumbledore, who nodded at him, "--I would like to know why."

"I'll be happy to answer that question for you, Severus," offered Mars.

"I hope we're not about to be bored out of our skulls with another one of your paranoid predictions of the future, Mars. It's bad enough that my students have to be subjected to your insane ramblings, but I draw the line at having to listen to your drivel myself," said Snape condescendingly.

Harry scowled at Snape; he heard Ron's sharp intake of breath. He knew very well that Snape only dared insult Mars because Dumbledore was in the room. Snape and Draco Malfoy seemed to be cut from the same cloth.

"Well, Severus, I'll let you judge the insanity of what I have to say, but it does involve your immediate future, and you will listen," replied Mars nonchalantly. The threat implicit in those words, in spite of Mars' calm delivery, got everyone's attention. Mars stood up, leaned his hands onto the desk, and stared at Snape, who averted his eyes.

"To say you and I dislike each other would be an understatement. But then, you have many enemies, don't you? There's all those people you hurt as a Death Eater; and, of course, the Donnies themselves can't be too happy that you escaped the horrors of Azkaban that they were forced to endure. Then, to add insult to injury, you holed up with the Death Eaters' greatest enemy, Albus Dumbledore.

"Yes, a lot of people want you dead, but you hid behind the power of Dumbledore and survived these last fifteen years. His power, however, cannot protect you from me."

Harry's eyes flicked from Snape to Mars and back again. Snape was difficult to read, but his eyes were darting around the room; perhaps he was preparing himself for a fight? Mars, however, maintained his calm demeanor in spite of his warlike words. Harry had seen Mars truly upset before; so far Mars had shown none of his earlier fury.

"I didn't travel five thousand miles to earn a teacher's salary, Severus. I came here to ensure a victory over our enemy, Tom Riddle. Harry here is the key to our success. He must be taught, and he must be protected. I will not allow you to jeopardize everything in your pursuit of personal glory. I'll kill you first if I have to," said Mars, still with icy calm.

"Did you all just hear Mars, that paragon of humility, accuse me of being a glory hound?" Snape asked sarcastically; but he was looking increasingly nervous.

"You certainly snuggled up to Fudge after he mentioned getting you the Order of Merlin; don't you remember? You were trying to have Remus and Sirius murdered by Dementors," snapped Mars, his calmness beginning to give way to anger.

Harry remembered Mars seeing this memory in his mind during their first Occlumency lesson; the reminder of this event made him scowl even more deeply at Snape.

Mars' angry accusations continued. "Your Occlumency lessons last year were much worse than the simple failure that Harry and Professor Dumbledore believed them to be. They were a farce. You were, in fact, weakening Harry's primitive natural defenses with your undisciplined probes. You also failed to instructed him how to properly defend himself or clear his thoughts."

Harry, Hermione and Dumbledore all jerked a bit at this; they each looked as if ideas had begun racing through their brains. Snape looked as though he had been stabbed; he almost staggered backwards before composing himself.

"Paranoid drivel..." Snape managed to say unconvincingly in his defense.

Mars stood up straight and walked around behind Harry's chair.

"You were using Harry as bait; you had tried to match wits with Riddle, but failed. Voldemort, however, was willing to take risks when it came to Harry here, and you knew he would expose himself in order to trick the boy. You made it easier for him to see into Harry's mind, and tried to gain information from the intrusion. You then had the gall to castigate this poor boy for never getting better at Occlumency, even though that was always your plan!

"Either that, or you actually wanted Harry to walk into that trap at the Department of Mysteries because you never really left Voldermort's fold," snarled Mars.

Snape grabbed his upper arm for a moment as though it pained him. He hissed, "Dumbledore trusts me!"

"Maybe for not much longer, Severus," Mars said dangerously.

"Maybes don't make it so, now do they, Mars?" asked Dumbledore, breaking his long silence.

"Oh, I quite agree, Headmaster," Mars nodded, "but I have a lot more than conjecture to back me up. His behavior here has never been that of a reformed villain. He has turned the Slytherins from the others, encouraged them to consider themselves elite and believe themselves better than 'those pathetic half-blood and muggleborn loving houses,'" said Mars mockingly.

"He has routinely tried to get Harry Potter expelled, even though he knows how important Harry's education and safety are to all of us! He has put his personal vendettas and a school boy's old hatreds ahead of our cause time after time. He is simply too great a risk to tolerate anymore," finished Mars with a glare at Snape.

"He is not the only one harboring old grudges," said Dumbledore sagely.

"But mine have not interfered with our mission, not ever! If I hadn't put them aside for now, do you think he would be here, breathing at this very moment? Or did you forget what happened to my mother? You do remember her, don't you?" asked Mars hotly.

Dumbledore looked cross for a moment, but the look faded and he asked, "So, you want me to throw Severus to the wolves then?"

"For starters," replied Mars coldly.

"Headmaster, don't listen to his foul council. I have always been loyal," said Snape, sounding braver than he looked.

"Loyal to whom? That is the question, Severus," Mars growled.

"For fifteen years I have served your cause. Now this barbarian comes back with, with his insane theories, threatening me! I can't believe you even listen to this criminal. He -" Snape began, speaking quickly and nervously.

"Enough!" snapped Dumbledore loudly. "Mars, your case is very strong, and I find myself agreeing with most of what you said. Severus just has not come around the way we had all hoped," finished Dumbledore, shaking his head.

Snape looked stunned, but Mars instantly had his wand out and pointed at Snape. "Excellent! Shall I send him to Antarctica without his wand to freeze to death, or just turn him into a trout and feed him to the giant squid?" Mars grinned evilly.

Snape reached for his wand, fumbled, groped in his robes. His hands passed frantically over his torso, searching for the missing wand, to Mars' evident amusement.

"Forget something, Severus?"

"Blast your eyes! What have you done with it?"

"Oh, you won't be needing a wand where you're going."

"Mars," interjected Dumbledore. "You didn't let me finish. While I agree that I have ignored many troubling signs of Professor Snape's behavior, I am not going to sack him yet."

"No need to sack him once he's squid bait. I'll teach Potions for the rest of the year," volunteered Mars helpfully.

"No, Mars, you must wait."

Dumbledore turned to Snape. "Severus, you need to understand the gravity of your situation. Mars is not the only one who suspects you, but he is the only one I cannot protect you from. If you provoke him again by endangering his plans, he will eliminate that threat--that being you, of course--and there is no wizard or witch in Britain that could stop him.

"I think it is time for you leave now. Mars, please put away your wand and give Severus his."

Mars immediately tucked his wand back into his belt. "You'll find your wand stuck to the outside of the door," he said as he walked around to his seat behind the desk.

Snape stormed bat-like to the door and tried to slam it behind him, but it shut silently.

"Well?" asked Mars staring at Dumbledore.

"Feeble."

"You really think so?"

"Yes, Mars; it's a good thing you were not born a squib, because you would have failed miserably as an actor," answered Dumbledore with a smile.

"Oh, that is harsh, old man, way harsh!"

Harry and the others were completely lost. They thought they had just seen two of their teachers a split second away from a duel to the death; they were in no shape to follow the conversational nuances between Dumbledore and Mars.

"Let me get a second opinion from our closer audience, shall I?" asked Mars. Dumbledore nodded his approval; Mars looked at the teenagers."So, did you four think I was about to whack ole Snapesy?"

The two Weasleys nodded their heads affirmatively; Harry and Hermione shook theirs. "We've seen you upset before, Mars," Harry explained. "When you told off Draco Malfoy for calling Hermione a mudblood, you looked terrifying."

"Yes, your eyes were absolutely glowing with anger," Hermione added, somewhat nervously. "Tonight, you just looked amused while you were threatening Snape--er, I mean, Professor Snape."

Mars' face dropped in disappointment.

"If it makes you feel any better," Dumbledore said consolingly, "I am sure Severus believed your performance. And since it is precisely the sort of animosity that Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy have been hoping for, I think they too will accept our story as the truth."

"Professor. Can you please tell us what's going on here?" asked Ginny.

Dumbledore smiled warmly at her and began his explanation. He told the teenagers how Mars had convinced him that he was right about Snape, once he heard about the dreadful end that the three Order members had met with. Because they didn't want Voldemort and the Death Eaters to know they were on to the leak, they needed a good excuse to cut Snape out of the information loop. The rivalry between Mars and Snape was well known, and it seemed believable that the two might come to blows over the treatment of Harry Potter and his friends.

Dumbledore then explained that Snape was allowed to stay at Hogwarts because he could be used unwittingly to feed false information back to Voldemort. Mars and Dumbledore also planned to use the children of Death Eaters at the school to give bad intelligence to their enemies.

"So Snape doesn't know that you two set him up?" asked Ron.

"Nope," answered Mars.

"So he's really fuming back in his quarters as we speak, with no idea how amused we are?" asked Harry, smiling.

"Wonderful, isn't it?" asked Mars. "It's about time he got slapped down a few rungs."

Even Hermione managed a smile. She then looked to be screwing up her courage and finally asked Mars a question. "If you weren't really trying to manipulate us like Professor Snape was saying, why did you insist on Hagrid being back before the term started?"

The question was a good one; even Ginny didn't seem angry with Hermione for asking it. She looked at Mars inquisitively, along with the others.

"I see that y'all can still get anything you want out of Hagrid, can't you?" answered Mars, smiling at her. "Well, I would have thought that since Harry and Ron were with me the morning of the wedding, they could have answered that for you."

Harry looked at Mars in disappointment. "You mean you did only bring him back because Ron and I complained about not seeing him when we got off the Hogwarts Express the year before?"

"What? Don't be ridiculous, Harry. Don't you remember me telling Magorian that he, Dumbledore, Hagrid and I had to get together to settle the dispute over Firenze?" said Mars.

"Yeah," Harry said, beginning to look enlightened.

"Well, I needed Hagrid for that, didn't I? If he didn't come back until halfway through the school year, who knows how many of you would have been used as pincushions by hacked-off centaurs? No matter how dire the warnings, I have never heard of a Headmaster that has successfully kept all of the students out of the Forbidden Forest for an entire year. Have you, Professor?" asked Mars.

Dumbledore shook his head and smiled. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and especially Hermione exhaled in relief.

After such an intense session, the students were too mentally drained to dredge up further questions for Mars; they decided to call it a night. Hermione seemed convinced of Mars' innocence; she hugged him good night, along with Ginny, before they left. Harry and Ron exchanged smiles as they listened to Hermione and Ginny chatting amicably about the evening's events on the trek to Gryffindor tower. They were both grateful to see the animosity ended between the girls.

Harry climbed into his four-poster bed feeling better than he had in days. All of his friends were talking to each other again, and he had witnessed Snape getting some of his own medicine. What better way to end the week?

Chapter 16 - The Dark Arts

Illustration link:

[url]http://hpbook6.freewebpage.org/art/nomarks/Harry_Cho-Scared.jpg[/url]

Potions class had been very different during the two weeks following Snape's and Mars' confrontation. Snape still gave Harry and Ron plenty of dirty looks, but his usual snide comments were missing. In fact, Snape spoke to them as little as possible, and only when his role as a teacher demanded it. For Harry, this change was a most welcome one. Without the constant derision and harassment, he found himself learning quite a bit as he worked.

Defense Against the Darks Arts, however, had taken a turn for the worse. Mars seemed irritated that the class was not picking up the lessons as quickly as he expected. Only Hermione and Padma had managed to learn any of his advanced curriculum - the Unified Astronomical Somatics System, or UAS--and even they had only been able to grasp small parts of it, although both girls did seem very excited about it.

Harry now understood why their textbook had been about Astronomy. According to Mars' system, the location of the planets (or "wanderers," as Mars called them) were key to proper wand movement when casting a spell. Their positions in relation to each other and their placement amongst the stars each night called for changes in wand gestures depending on the spell. Water charms, for example, were affected by a single planet, Neptune; most jinxes, on the other hand, were affected by the placement of two or three planets at once. The class was growing disheartened because there were so many different things that Mars expected them to know instantly and apply immediately to the spell they were casting.

After two weeks with little progress, Mars gave up in disappointment. "Starting next week I'll split the class into three groups and teach each group what I think will help you the most. Don't worry, Hermione and Padma; you two will keep learning the UAS methods, but we'll go a little slower," said Mars.

"I just can't justify putting so many of you on the path to learning UAS so that years from now you'd be able to defend yourselves expertly--not with the trouble we have today. We need to make sure that all of you can defend yourselves as best as possible right now. Voldemort won't wait until-" Mars stopped mid-sentence when the students in the class, with the exception of Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny, flinched strongly at the name Voldemort. He looked more cross than ever.

"Oh I can't believe it. After all you went through last year, all the teaching from Harry and now myself, and this advanced class still fears saying or hearing his name?" asked Mars incredulously.

Most of the class hung their heads, embarrassed. Mars beckoned toward Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys. "Okay, you four come on up here." He them lined them up facing the class and stood behind them. "Go ahead Ron, Harry, say his name--loudly," suggested Mars.

"Voldemort!" Harry and Ron yelled in unison. Unsurprisingly the students winced, but Harry jumped at a comical cry of fear from behind him. He turned in time to see Mars leap catlike up on top of his desk and whip out his wand. Jabbing his wand around the room nervously, Mars cried, "Do any of you see him? Did he apparate here at the sound of his name looking for blood?"

A wave of nervous laughter rippled around the room, but a few of the students looked cross.

Mars jumped down from the desk and put his hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"Maybe it's just feminine voices that he can hear. We can't afford to take any chances, you know? Hermione, Ginny: would you mind following the boys' fine example?"

"VOLDEMORT!" they yelled, even louder than Harry and Ron.

Again the class winced, but this time quite a few students tried to control their reaction.

Mars looked around and then held his hand to his ear. "He doesn't seem to be in the classroom, but what's that I hear outside?" He leaped at the door and snatched it open. His wand had transfigured into a fiery white sword as Mars jumped into the hall, yelling, "Have at you!"

Two young girls could be heard squealing in surprise.

"Halt, I say! How do I know that you two aren't Death Eaters in disguise?" asked Mars with mock pomposity.

"I don't know, do Death Eaters normally go around with bows in their hair like Mary and I?" asked a giggly voice Harry recognized as Heather Parkinson's.

"Well, I did say in disguise," answered Mars.

The girls' only answer was more giggling. Mars said goodbye and reentered the classroom. The four up front grinned at Mars as he told them to retake their seats.

"Now, I can see many of you disapprove of my levity when discussing Voldemort. But I was just trying to show how silly your fears are about saying his name. Tom Riddle himself is certainly to be feared, but being scared of just his name is not only stupid, it helps him.

"I will not tolerate that kind of irrational behavior from my advanced class. By Friday, you are all to be able to hear his name without flinching. Don't look so worried, Pavarti; did you see him show up a minute ago? Do you think he would dare show his face anywhere that he knew Albus Dumbledore was?

"Now, if you thought that hearing his name was tough, just wait. I'm giving you all till the end of the fall term to be able to say his name in class, clearly, loudly, and on command. I cannot teach you to fight something if you are too terrified to even mention it. Class dismissed," finished Mars crossly.

For the first time Harry could remember, no one stopped to chat with Mars on the way out of class.

For the next few days Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny spent a lot of time saying Voldemort's name to their classmates to help them pass Mars' test on Friday.

Wednesday morning Harry was eagerly walking to his Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. He had really enjoyed teaching so far; he was looking forward to today's lesson, the Flipendo spell. He wasn't sure why anyone would want to use this spell, but it was in his lesson plan. As he rounded the last corner before the classroom one of his students, Mark Evans, ran up to him.

"Harry! Oh, Harry, it's awful--you have to help us," squeaked the terrified first year.

Harry calmed the boy and they hurried to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Inside a shocking scene met their eyes: all the first year students were bound by snake-like ropes from their mouths to their knees, and standing behind them was Draco Malfoy, with an evil grin on his triumphant face.

"Some teacher you are, Scarhead! None of these miserable brats had any idea how to defend themselves," he sneered.

Harry drew his wand with lightning speed and aimed it at Malfoy's heart. "Give me a reason, you son of a Hag!" Harry shouted.

Malfoy grimaced and pointed to Harry's right. He said matter of factly, "I think you have a visitor, Potter."

Harry turned and saw Mars standing calmly next to him. Harry jumped back in surprise. "Mars, what's going on?" he cried.

"I appear to be interrupting a nice duel you've set up with Draco, here. Sorry to intrude, but I must. We have to start your lessons tonight, I'm afraid," replied Mars.

"Huh? What--? Lessons? What do you mean?" stammered Harry. At that moment Malfoy and all of his students disappeared from the room.

"You're having a dream, Harry, and I have dropped in on it. I need you to get dressed, grab your wand, and meet me in the Common Room. Do you understand?"

"I'm dreaming, but you're real? How I am supposed to understand that?" asked Harry irritably.

"You'll wake in a second, Harry; just meet me in the Common Room."

Harry jerked his head up. He was in his bed, and he could hear the other boys snoring. He looked around: no Malfoy, nor any first years, in sight. He sighed and relaxed; he had, indeed, been dreaming. But had Mars been real? How could that be? He'd been dreaming, he was sure of it. But Mars had said that he'd awake in a second, and he had.

Harry pondered for a few more minutes and decided it was worth getting dressed to see if Mars was really in the Common Room. His movements woke Ron, who looked up at Harry from his bed.

"Where are you going?" Ron croaked sleepily.

Harry told Ron about his dream, and Ron looked intrigued.

"Well, you never know with Mars, it could've been real. I'll go down with you, shall I? You can't be allowed to play the fool all by yourself," said Ron cheerfully.

They dressed and headed downstairs, expecting to find the Common Room empty and have a good laugh. When they opened the door, Harry and Ron stopped dead in their tracks. Mars was standing in front of the fireplace, looking at them.

"I don't remember inviting you, Ron, but I guess I should have known better than to think that I could break you two apart."

"What are you doing here?"

"How did you get in?"

"A password is a poor defense against intruders, Ron. You never know who's listening, sight unseen, when you say it aloud. As for your question, Harry, I've come to start your lessons, the ones I hinted at in my office weeks ago. I'm afraid one or two nights a week, the two of you aren't going to be getting any sleep," answered Mars gravely. "Are you ready?"

Harry swallowed, nodded, and glanced at Ron. Ron looked scared for a moment and then he, too, nodded at Mars. Mars opened the painting and walked out; the two boys hurried to keep up with him.

"Aren't we being a bit obvious on our way to secret lessons?" whispered Harry as they walked down a staircase.

"Don't be silly, Harry. Do you think I can only hide us from Muggles? Just stay close to me."

They stopped outside the door to Mars' office. "There are, of course, hidden wards that protect this door, boys, but both of you can open it without harm," said Mars, opening the door. He led them over to the large desk and they sat in the chairs, facing each other.

"We need to start with a few explanations and rules, because this is a very serious endeavor you're about to embark on." Mars looked straight at Ron. "Ron, Harry and I are inescapably locked into this struggle, we have no choice. But you - "

"Don't try to leave me out! I'm no coward, I've proved that many times," said Ron fiercely. His hands balled into fists.

Mars' expression changed from somber to proud. "I don't think they breed cowards in your family, Ron. However, this will be a real change for the both of you. And you need to know the full extent of my plans before we go any further. There is still a way out until you take the final step."

Ron and Harry looked at each other in confusion. Harry had no idea what Mars was talking about.

Mars opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a shallow stone basin, carved with runes around the edges, that Harry instantly recognized as Dumbledore's Pensieve. It was full of the familiar silvery substance that Harry knew was the stuff of memories. Mars looked at Harry.

"Have you told anyone about your prophecy, Harry?"

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean does Ron, or any of your other friends, know what it contained?"

"I thought you said it got smashed, Harry?" asked Ron.

"It did, Ron, but Dumbledore witnessed the prophecy when it was made and he showed me its telling with his pensieve there," said Harry, pointing at the basin. "I didn't tell any of you because I knew it would be too upsetting. You know how much your mum and Hermione worry." Harry felt very guilty for having hidden the truth from his friends. But then a thought struck him.

"Does this mean that you know the prophecy Mars?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry, I know all about it. Professor Dumbledore rarely conceals information from me. Ron, don't be upset that Harry hid this from you, it's a most troubling revelation. Harry, Ron must now be told if he is to join you in learning how to stop Tom Riddle."

"Wait a minute now. We are the ones who are going stop him? You mean me and Harry? Not you and Dumbledore?" asked Ron, looking confused.

"That's right, Ron. I know it sounds crazy, but this should help explain why it has to be Harry," answered Mars. He raised his wand and prodded the silvery substance in the basin with its tip.

A figure rose out of the basin; Harry was expecting it, but Ron gasped in surprise. It was Sybil Trelawney, their fraud of a Divination teacher; she was dressed, as usual, in layers of shawls, and wore huge glasses that magnified her already large eyes. She spoke, not in her normal misty voice, but in a harsh and hoarse tone:

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."
The slowly revolving Professor Trelawney sank back into the silver mass below and vanished.

Ron looked thunderstruck; his hands gripped his chair arms tightly and his eyes were as wide as Luna's. Harry had no idea what to say to his best friend, but Mars clearly did.

"Yes, Ron, that does mean that only Harry can completely vanquish Voldemort. No one else can, not the aurors, not me, not even Albus Dumbledore. I tried to defy the prophecy on the night of Bill and Fleur's wedding. He was in the warehouse that I blew up, with only a few of his servants. I didn't want to risk waiting for the rest of the Donnies, in case I was spotted, so I called down a meteor swarm to demolish the whole block. There wasn't much but dust left, but Voldemort disapparated just before the swarm hit. There is no way he could have known I was there; I was foiled by the words of the prophecy.

"I am now going to teach Harry how to kill Tom Riddle; it's the only way.--I am going to teach him the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra."

Harry and Ron flinched.

Mars turned his powerful gaze on Harry. "Harry, do you trust Ron with your life? That is what you are risking by including him in your lessons with me. I can give him a memory charm and free him from this burden, but I will admit, having such a close and trusted friend along this dangerous path would be beneficial."

Harry looked at Ron and again felt the horrible guilt of putting so many people he cared for in danger. In a shaky voice, he said to Ron, "When we thought Sirius wanted to kill me, you jumped in between us and told him that he'd have to kill you too. Do you still feel that way, mate?--because if you don't, I won't hold it against you."

Ron answered, a tear glinting in one eye. "You know I do. After what we've been though - I'd never abandon you, no matter what the consequences." He turned and stared into Mars' light blue eyes. "Just like Bill and Charlie have got your back, Mars, I've got Harry's."

"I never doubted you for a second, Ron, but I had to make sure that you yourself made the decision. I only plan to teach you two the minimal amount of Dark Magic that it takes to learn the Killing Curse, and not one spell more. It pains me horribly to show anyone these awful curses, but the only other option is capitulation. If Harry doesn't kill Tom Riddle, than we have no future; nothing is more important than this cause! Do you both understand this?"

Harry and Ron both nodded without hesitation.

"Then forgive me in advance for teaching you such horrible spells. If I could bear this burden for you, please believe that I would. It is dreadful to learn these arts, but much worse to teach them." He sighed. "I do not, however, see any other way. We will not be the only ones to suffer before this is finished." Mars' eyes swelled with tears. His heart looked to be breaking at the thought of instructing young wizards in the Dark Arts.

"The Cruciatus Curse is terrible; it attacks your nerves throughout the body, including your brain. Extended torture from it causes insanity and death." Harry and Ron nodded; they both had seen Neville's parents in St. Mungo's. "There is only one legitimate reason to learn it: to use it as a stepping stone in learning the Killing Curse. You are to never use this spell once outside of our lessons - not even on Death Eaters. Got it?"

Harry and Ron nodded again.

"It was hard to find a suitable subject for you two to practice on--well, other than Snape, I suppose," Mars winked.

Harry and Ron smiled in spite of their tension.

"I did, however, find something that we can test the spell on without feeling guilt or pity. This nasty critter does not feel pain. The torturing will just make it mad, so the better your spell, the more it will growl."

"Growl? What is it?" asked Ron.

"Well, wizards are really superstitious about them, so I want to assure you before we go into the next room that there is nothing to worry about. He didn't come for any of us," said Mars, as he stood up and walked to the right door on the far wall.

Harry had no idea what Mars meant, but assumed he would understand once they saw their target. He and Ron hurried after Mars. This room was even bigger than the office and seemed to have a complete alchemy lab; there were several tables, and at the back of the room was a large cage which housed an enormous black dog. The dog immediately reminded Harry of the one he had seen on the cover of a book on Death Omens--but that would mean that this dog was-

"A GRIM? Are you mad, Mars?" shrieked Ron in panic.

"Relax, Ron, he didn't come for you or any of us. I captured him when he showed himself to this poor old witch in Hogsmead last week," said Mars.

"You captured him? That's unheard of," sputtered Ron.

"How did you know he was going to appear to the witch in Hogsmead?" asked Harry nervously.

"Let's just say I know a lot of things before they happen, Harry. I couldn't save her from dying of old age the next day, but I could snag this brute for you to practice on. Their true names are Barghests, and they're nasty even when they're not foretelling the deaths of their viewers, so keep away from his cage."

"How did you capture it?"

"It wasn't easy, but that's not important now. What is important is that you two start to learn the Cruciatus Curse on him."

They stood about fifteen feet from the cage. Mars explained, "To cast one of the unforgivable curses, you have to be in a certain mindset. It takes a great deal of anger, even hatred, inside you to gather the necessary negative energy to cast such a malicious curse."

"That Lestrange woman said that to cast an unforgivable curse, you really have to mean it and throughly enjoy what you are doing in order for it to work correctly. She said righteous anger wouldn't work for long," said Harry.

"I'm not surprised she believes that. Bellatrix learned all of her Dark Arts from Riddle himself, Harry. She is as terrible as he, just not as clever. Giving in to the evil temptations that the Dark Magic contains is the easiest way to learn it, but we will not take that route. Righteous anger won't work, I agree, but a bloodthirsty desire for justice can power the spell. You must harden yourselves; you must remember why we need to harness these Dark Arts, and you must abandon pity when dealing with the Death Eaters. They are unreformable; they are all murderers and have caused untold suffering, including to those close to you both. Their cruelty is limited only by their abilities."

Mars put his hands on their shoulders and looked down at them. Harry felt anger and hatred flow through his veins. Images of victims poured through his head; his heartbeat pulsed in his ears, and he tensed his grip on his wand.

"Remember when Bellatrix threatened to torture Ginny to death?" barked Mars.

"YES!" they both shouted angrily.

Mars released them, but the hatred stayed. Harry's vision tunneled onto the Barghest and he raised his wand.

"The wand movement is simple." Mars raised his wand and pointed it at the Grim. "Crucio!" he shouted. The black dog immediately lunged against the cage, fangs bared, snarling loudly. Its eyes, full of malice, were fixed on Mars. Mars released the spell.

"You next, Harry. Remember, vengeance and justice for all the people this evil beast has sent to their deaths," called Mars.

"Crucio!" cried Harry. He felt waves of animosity passing through him to his wand as the curse was cast. The Barghest hit the bars again in fury, fixing its gaze on Harry now. Its glare was so terrifying that Harry's concentration broke and his spell stopped.

"It's okay, Harry, you did great for a first try. This bad boy is a lot fiercer than most Donnies," said Mars, gripped Harry's shoulder again. Harry's fear drained from him and his anger rose again.

He and Ron both tried the curse several times over the next five hours. After the sixth try Harry thought he was getting the hang of it. Ron was not doing as well, but on the last try the Grim went wild with anger, and Harry thought it was going to free itself from the cage.

"Excellent, Ron," exclaimed Mars as he clasped Ron's shoulder. "You both have a foothold on the curse now. You know how it works and how it feels; next, you need to get yourselves in the proper mindset without my help. That will be the most important part of mastering the spell. The killing curse requires the same thought process, but your brain has to concentrate even harder and the somatic movements are trickier. Vengeance and justice! Brood on those subjects and how they relate to your thoughts about Voldemort and his followers until we practice again."

Harry and Ron both nodded in agreement and followed Mars back out into his office. He walked up to his fireplace and pointed at a floo powder pot. "This fireplace can take you to any fireplace in the castle, but none of them can bring you here. Just say 'Gryffindor Common Room' when you use the powder and you'll be back in your tower. I'm afraid that it is about time to get up, so it's going to be a long day for you both."

They both used the fireplace to get to the Common Room. Once there they decided to head down for breakfast, since they were already dressed.

"So I guess Mars is an empath?" asked Ron as they started down the staircase.

"A what?"

"Someone who can feel or transmit emotions. When he touched my shoulder, I really wanted to kill Lestrange," answered Ron.

"Yeah, he did something like that before with me, and I think Hermione. He must be a Seer too, because how else would he have known when and where that Grim would be?" added Harry.

"You know, mate, I can't believe I'm saying this, but it looks like Loony Lovegood was more right about Mars than Hermione," said Ron, shaking his head.

They were the first ones in the Great Hall and wasted no time in starting to eat. When Ginny and Hermione arrived a few moments later, they looked at Ron and Harry in surprise. "What's got into you two? I have never seen either of you so awake in the morning," commented Hermione. The boys just smiled and kept eating.

The lack of sleep from the previous night soon caught up with Harry and Ron. They had been fine while eating and moving around, but as soon as Harry finished his class lecture and sat down at the desk, he started nodding off. He fought hard to cover it up, but Mary and Heather both teased him about snoring on their way out of class. Harry smiled despite himself.

Harry headed out to the courtyard to meet his friends for break, but waiting for him outside the classroom was Cho. She looked downcast at first, but when she saw Harry, her eyes lit up and she beamed at him as she approached. Harry noticed that despite her current happiness, her eyes were red and had deep shadows under them. He thought she must have been crying again.

"Oh, Harry, please don't walk away," she begged.

"I wasn't going to, Cho; what's the matter?" asked Harry nervously.

When Cho reached him, she grabbed his arm, put one of hers though it and patted his arm with her other hand.

"The matter is that since school has started you've said less than ten sentences to me. On the train you said we could be like it was before," she answered. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

Harry looked down at her pretty face and was surprised that she wasn't crying now. He wasn't sure how to explain to her that he now liked Ginny. In fact, he had just surprised himself by having that very thought.

For four years Ginny had fancied him so much that she could barely walk and talk around him. Harry had always felt awkward about her crush on him and treated her as nothing more than his best friend's kid sister who wanted to tag along. By the time Harry had decided he liked girls, it was Cho that he fancied, but it seemed that events had conspired to keep them apart. Now here was Cho fawning all over him, begging him to see her again, and all he could think of was Ginny. Maybe Hermione did had a point about boys being stupid about their feelings?

"I haven't been avoiding you, Cho. I,--I've just been busy. Teaching that class for Mars is a lot of work," said Harry with only partial truthfulness.

"There's no need to lie to me, Harry. I know you're seeing Ginny Weasley now. It's all over the school, you know?" said Cho in a surprisingly friendly voice.

"It is?" asked Harry, truly shocked. He figured if it was commonly known that he and Ginny were dating, it would have been nice for someone to have told him about it.

"Of course. You've stayed with her family the past four years, Harry. You are far too famous to hide something like that, but your new girlfriend can't be so jealous that she doesn't allow you to have friends, can she?"

"What? Of course I have friends."

"Then help me with our Defense Against the Dark Arts homework tonight. I still wince horribly when people say that awful name. It reminds me that he killed Cedric."

Harry knew he was stuck helping her now. She had played her Cedric card, and that always aroused his sympathy because he felt responsible for Cedric's untimely death. He then remembered that there was to be a prefect meeting this evening, and that his friends would have to attend it. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to help Cho without ditching his friends, and then to explain to her in private how he really felt.

"Okay," said Harry. "Meet me in the library at seven. I'll help you then."

"Good for you, Harry. You mustn't let Ginny boss you around just because she's your girlfriend. You're too young to be henpecked," said Cho as she stood on her toes and kissed Harry on the cheek. She then let go of him and walked back up the corridor.

"Girlfriend? Henpecked?" said Harry to himself. Cho had him so bewildered that he forgot completely about being tired. He had already missed break, so he headed out to Hagrid's cabin to meet Hermione and Ron for their next class.

Harry kept his study plans with Cho to himself. He didn't think there was any need to chance irritating Ginny about it. After dinner, Hermione left to meet Padma in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Mars had enchanted the door in that room to let his advanced students enter it any time they needed to practice or study. Ron, Harry and Ginny studied in the Gryffindor common room until it was time for the Weasleys to leave for the prefects meeting. Harry said good bye and then gave them a good head start before he left to meet Cho in the library.

Harry felt apprehensive and guilty about meeting Cho, although he really didn't know why. He told himself that Ginny would understand him helping other students with their assignments; she did it all the time; but he still felt bad about not informing her. Why should he, though? Even if the whole school thought they were going out, they really weren't, were they?

To add to his confusion, he was actually afraid of talking to Cho. She had been acting so weird lately that he really didn't want to be around her. He couldn't put his finger on why he felt this way, either. She had been perfectly friendly. But by the time he sat down next to Cho in the library Harry had worked himself into a real bundle of nerves.

After they had chatted for a few minutes, Cho pointed out that the library was a poor place to be saying You-Know-Who's name loudly over and over. Harry was still nervous just being around Cho, so this change in plans made him feel even more antsy, although her reasoning was sound. Cho suggested they use the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. That particular change of venue was actually welcome to Harry. Hermione would have gone to her prefects meeting by now, and it was quite likely that other students from the advanced class would be in the room practicing the same thing. Harry would probably end up helping everyone there, and it wouldn't look like he was doing anything alone with Cho. This revelation lifted Harry's spirits, and he quickly agreed with Cho's plan.

They left the library together, but Cho led him on a different route than he would normally have taken. He knew the way, although it was a bit longer; but it went near the Ravenclaw tower, so he decided Cho was simply used to walking this way.

After a few minutes Harry noticed that some of the magic torches weren't lit; the corridor was getting progressively darker. He never remembered seeing them out like this before, but he said nothing. The hallway had gotten quite dark when Cho stopped suddenly.

"Harry! Did you hear something crawling over there?" she asked.

"Where?" Harry peered into the darkness.

Cho threw an arm around Harry, holding him tightly around the waist. When she spoke she sounded scared. "Over there, Harry! It sounded horrible."

"I didn't hear anything, but if you let go, I'll look at it."

Cho released him and Harry walked towards the area she had indicated. He reached for his wand, but it wasn't in his waistband. He spun around to face Cho; she was pointing her wand at him and had his own wand in her other hand.

"Oh Harry, you're so predictable. All I had to do was get you away from your friends and that foul American. You always want to play the hero, don't you?" asked Cho, her eyes bulging in the dim light.

"What are you doing, Cho?" asked Harry, glancing around, trying to determine his options. He knew he had to keep her talking until he could think of something.

"Why, I'm killing you, of course," she said in a happy voice that didn't match the strained look on her face.

"But why?" stalled Harry. He was running out of time.

"Because the Dark Lord ordered me to, silly. You've lived far too long, Harry Potter. Good-bye."

Harry raised his arms protectively as she started to move her wand, but the incantation he heard was in a male's voice.

"Impedimenta!"

Cho was knocked off her feet and landed on the stone floor with a thud.

Harry looked down the corridor, trying to see who had saved him. To his horror, Snape's black-clad form stepped out of the shadows.

"Well, don't just stand there like an idiot, Potter; get those wands!"

Harry snapped out of his shock and snatched his and Cho's wands from the floor. Snape twirled his wand and thin cords shot from it, entwining Cho's body and gagging her.

"Now, why would your ex-girlfriend want to kill you?" asked Snape as he bent down to look closer at Cho.

"I don't know, sir," answered Harry stiffly.

Snape was now prying her eyelids open and shining the light from his wand into her eyes.

"It looks like the Imperious Curse to me. How long has she been acting strangely?"

"Since the beginning of summer, I'd say. She went from never wanting to speak to me again to saying she missed me dreadfully inside of a week," answered Harry.

"Well, that certainly fits in with my theory. Whomever was controlling her would want to be able to get her very close to you, Potter. I don't have her in any of my classes, else I would have recognized her condition right away." Snape had stopped short of directly insulting Mars, but Harry knew exactly what he was implying.

"Mobilicorpus," said Snape, and Cho floated into an upright position. She was now struggling vainly to escape from the coils.

"Come, Potter. We're going to see the Headmaster. Perhaps he can tell us who cursed her. And by the way, there's no need to thank me for saving your life yet again," sneered Snape. Harry grimaced and followed Snape to Dumbledore's office.

Under normal circumstances Harry would have been quite amused when he heard the password to Dumbledore's office was now 'Canary Creams': they were a trick sweet invented by the Weasley twins. However, at this moment he was preoccupied by the latest attempt on his life. Cho had probably been suffering under the Imperious Curse for months. Just another innocent coming to harm because they knew him. Harry sighed miserably as he followed Snape and the floating Cho up the spiral escalator that led to Dumbledore's inner chambers.

Dumbledore examined Cho's face very closely for several minutes and then took out one of his odd silvery instruments. He sprinkled some blue powder into his left hand and walked back over to Cho. With his left hand in front of her face, he tapped his palm with the silver instrument and a blue smoke cloud rose in front of her face. Dumbledore peered through it for several seconds and then straightened.

"Yes, Severus; she is indeed under the Imperious Curse. Poor girl appears to have been fighting it for months," said Dumbledore sadly.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand, waved it around her head several times, and said "Libertasio." Cho's face contorted for a few seconds and then a green mist rose from her and floated upwards and dispersed. Cho's head dropped and she appeared to be unconscious. Dumbledore tapped her bonds with his wand, and they quickly unraveled. He guided her to an armchair, and Snape released her from his floating charm.

"Severus, would you please fetch Madam Pomfrey to look after Miss Chang?" asked Dumbledore.

"Of course, Headmaster," answered Snape, scowling at Harry on his way out.

"I'm afraid we'll see more and more people under the influence of that curse, Harry," stated Dumbledore.

"That powder and the silver rod. Did you need that to see she was controlled by the Imperious Curse?" asked Harry.

The Headmaster nodded.

"Then how did Snape know just by looking at her?"

"That is what I am wondering at this very moment," answered Dumbledore as he sat down behind his desk.

They sat in silence until the school nurse came to fetch poor Cho. Madam Pomfrey looked Harry over quickly and cleared him to leave before she revived Cho and led the confused seventh year back with her to the hospital.

Harry trekked back to Gryffindor tower, pondering the meaning of Dumbledore's last words to him.