Harry Potter and The Heirs of The Founders

Chapter Sixteen

Good Intentions

Severus left the meeting with Dumbledore unconvinced of the older man's belief that the rescue mission would be simple if they used the magic of the Covenant. He knew that he himself could not be involved in the mission as it would compromise his position as a spy. And Draco could only be involved on the proviso that the boy remained in his form for the entirety of the mission. The thought made him nervous. He would have to speak to the boy. If he were caught and fed Veritaserum the entire operation could be compromised. And now he had the responsibility of organising the members of The Covenant for Wednesday night. He couldn't shake the thought of joining forces with a werewolf. It was unnerving. Additionally, the thought of invoking the powers of the founders could be extremely dangerous. Lavender's ability to see the future was already stronger than the girl could cope with, Harry was renowned for making the wrong decision and Severus didn't even want to think of the possibilities if Chrystal was burdened with more Celtic ability. The three could be very dangerous and the fall of the Dark Lord would only occur if they work together. He had never questioned Dumbledore's judgement before however he shuddered to think of the consequences if the three did not work together.

Severus sat down at his desk and surveyed the list of the members of the Covenant. Most of them were still at Hogwarts, meaning it shouldn't be too difficult to round them up. He glanced at the name Ronald Weasley again and immediately flooed to The Burrow. He arrived to find Molly sitting on the sofa with a pair of knitting needles.

'What brings you here Severus?' she said with surprise.

'I need to see Ron,' he said. 'Is he here?'

Molly called Ron and he came downstairs quickly. He too was surprised to see Snape there.

'What is it Sir?' he asked. Snape explained to him about the induction of The Covenant and the role he was to play in Saturday's rescue mission. Ron quickly agreed. As Snape was leaving he called out;

'Do you think Terry Boot is trustworthy?'

It gave Ron something to think about. He had never really considered it before.

*~*

Wednesday night arrived at last.

The night of the crescent moon was upon Hogwarts and the time had come for the formation of the Covenant.

Covenants were old magic, each designed for one reason. The purpose of this Covenant was to destroy the Dark Lord. It was Slytherin's gift to the world and Harry hoped that he wasn't the only one who hoped that there weren't any unknown consequences to this magic.

He and Hermione made their way to his parent's quarters where Lily was quick to reveal them.

'We're to meet in the Great Hall,' she said. Harry and Hermione nodded in reply.

'How's Chrystal getting there?' Hermione asked. 'Madam Pomfrey hasn't regrown her bone yet?'

'I believe Sirius is going to carry her,' James said. He looked at the two of them very carefully. 'Her bone was regrown on Monday, but she is very unsteady on her feet still. Are you two sure you want to do this?' he asked. 'Once bound to a Covenant, if you break the magic you will die.'

'We're sure,' Harry said firmly for the both of them. They had been in deep discussion about the matter since Dumbledore revealed that the magic of The Covenant should be released before they tried to rescue the imprisoned wizards. They had decided that they should use whatever help was available to them to be able to defeat Voldemort.

Lily indicated that they should leave and they made their way down to the Great Hall, all four of them squeezed under Harry's Invisibility Cloak. And let's just say it was a tight squeeze, however necessary it was. It made the trip down to the Great Hall very slow. They eventually reached there and threw the cloak off after the doors were closed behind them. Harry glanced around. He could see Dumbledore sitting at the staff table with the familiar looking goblet sitting there and McGonagall sitting next to him involved in some deep kind of conversation. Malfoy was talking to Snape; Harry could only guess what they were discussing. He spied Ginny, Ron and Rose who were over in the corner of the room. Harry was glad to actually see Ron in a situation where Ron could see him too. He ran over to embrace his friend. It had been far too long, although it had been just over a week.

'It's so good to see you Ron,' he said 'You've got no idea how much.' Then he turned to his sister. 'You're looking better Rose. Can we have a chat later?' She nodded nervously in reply. Harry wondered if she realised that he had been in the room when she had healed Chrys.

Harry and Ron caught up on speculation of everything that was occurring in the world. Harry told Ron about the conversation he and Hermione had overheard on the Shetland Isles.

'Have you caught wind of anything at the Ministry?' he asked.

'Do you honestly think that they will tell me anything?' Ron asked with a touch of disbelief. 'Percy doesn't even know anything, mind you he's contemplating quitting the Ministry and concentrating on Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.'

'Percy?' Harry asked in surprise. 'Quit the Ministry? Are you joking?' Ron shook his head.

'He wants to have more free time to spend with Penny,' Ron said gagging. 'The baby's due in February and he wants to get the house in order and then have time to spend with Penny and the baby after it's born.'

'I can understand that,' Harry said with a pang of guilt. So far he and Hermione had told no one that she was pregnant and they were planning on keeping it a secret for as long as was possible. They didn't want the media to get a hold of it and they didn't exactly feel comfortable telling Sirius or Chrystal given the events of the weekend.

Harry's guilt was brought to an abrupt end by Dumbledore calling for everyone's attention.

'I trust that everyone here is aware that once I ignite the flame of this goblet you are involving yourself in a magical contract that cannot be broken,' he said. 'If there is anyone here who is unsure of their commitment to our cause they should leave now.' Dumbledore paused for a couple of minutes. Harry noted that nobody left. Given that Draco was still there, he took this as a sign that Draco was serious about defeating Voldemort. 'Once the goblet is lit it will protect everyone from being seen until the Covenant is formed. I shall ignite the goblet now. Once it is ignited it will give us further instructions as to where we are to go.' Dumbledore cast a charm which ignited the goblet and a bright white flame emerged from the goblet. The flames appeared to be forming an arrow which was pointing towards the end of the staff table. Harry looked in the direction that the arrow was pointing and saw a hidden door which he swore he'd never seen before. Dumbledore advanced towards the door and opened it without any trouble. On the other side of the door there was a spiral staircase going both up and down. The flames of the goblet changed to point upward and the entire group began to walk up the staircase. It was a long journey until they reached the top of the staircase but when they reached it there was a corridor leading to the left and the right. Once again the flames changed direction, pointing toward the right. They turned and headed down the corridor that led to the right. It was dusty and full of cobwebs. How long has it been since anyone's been here? As they continued down the corridor it began to wind and turn and Harry could no longer fathom their whereabouts in the castle. At last they reached an old door that opened when the goblet's flames touched it.

The door opened slowly to reveal a room unlike any other Harry had ever seen. On each of the four walls were four portraits, a dark-haired man, a red-haired woman, a dark-haired woman and a fair-haired man. Harry recognised the fair-haired man and the red-haired woman from his dream. Under each portrait there was a case that held a weapon. To the side of each portrait there was a banner one for each house.

'This is the Founders room,' Harry whispered to Hermione and Ron. 'I recognise Slytherin and Ravenclaw from my dream.' Ron gave Harry a querying look to which Harry replied that he would fill him in later.

Harry watched as Dumbledore placed the goblet on a large, round table in the middle of the room. Suddenly the flames disappeared and out of the centre and roll of parchment emerged. Cushions sprung from the floor and Dumbledore indicated that everyone should sit down. Harry watched as Sirius gently placed Chrystal down on the cushion. She seemed to be dependent on him more than just physically at the moment. Harry sat down between Hermione and Ron. Once everybody had sat down white robes appeared on everybody's lap and the parchment unrolled itself and began to speak on a high pitched voice that made Harry shiver.

'You are here because you have been chosen by the Founders to defeat the Heir of Slytherin,' it began. 'Each of you have skills that will be vital in his defeat. Place on the robes of the Covenant.' Harry and Ron gave each other a look. If they didn't know that a covenant was very serious magic they would have laughed. So instead they exchanged looks before pulling on the white robes made out of a fine material. 'The Covenant will bestow abilities of the Founders onto this group of members; individually you may not be able to make a difference however together you will work wonders. Once the Covenant is formed, you will be bound to those in it until the day you die.' The parchment exploded and Harry felt dizzy, as if he were under a spell. Another voice sounded.

'The time of the Covenant has come,' it said. It was a deep male voice that Harry thought he recognised. 'The time to defeat my Heir is approaching.' The voice must be Slytherin's. 'Will the Heirs step forward?'

Harry swallowed as he watched Lavender timidly stand up. Harry walked over to Chrystal and helped her stand. Helping her stand he realised for the first time how petite she was.

'To begin the blood of each founder must be placed in the goblet.' Harry looked at Hermione quizzically. What about Slytherin's blood? Chrystal drew out her wand and pointed at her wrist.

'Lacerato!' she said. Harry saw that blood began to trickle from her wrist. Harry and Lavender did the same. Another voice sounded.

'Blood of my Heir, Blood of Gryffindor given to defeat the Heir of my cousin,' the voice said. Harry made sure Chrystal was able to stand by herself then moved forward and let his blood trickle into the goblet until suddenly the small cut on his wrist healed. Harry stepped back and a female voice sounded this time.

'Blood of my Heir, Blood of Hufflepuff, shed to defeat the Heir of my friend,' it said. Lavender gingerly stepped forward and did the same. After she had stepped back a different female voice sounded.

'Blood of my Heir, Blood of Ravenclaw, shed to defeat the Heir my lover.' Harry was about to help Chrystal forward when Slytherin's voice sounded again.

'Blood of my daughter, Blood of Slytherin, given to defeat the Heir of my son.' Harry looked at her questioningly, but helped her place her blood in the goblet. Again it healed itself and after that occurred the blood began to swirl around in the goblet and began to bubble and began to increase in size. Slytherin's voice was audible once more.

'Those who wish to serve under the Covenant must dip their hands one by one into the blood of our Heirs,' he said. Harry glanced at Hermione and Ron. Was he sick or something? What was Slytherin trying to do? Dumbledore, however did not seem as concerned, he placed his hand in the goblet and moved to stand next to Harry. Sirius moved forward and took hold of Chrystal before both of them stepped forward and dipped their hands into the goblet. Harry followed their lead and gingerly placed his hand in the goblet. It didn't feel like blood, instead it was warm and felt thin and fluid. Hermione, Ron and Rose followed again in a fashion similar to Harry. Each looked slightly relieved after they had placed their hands in the goblet. Lily, James and Lupin followed, and then Charlie, Snape and McGonagall ventured forward. Draco held Ginny's shoulders as the two of them walked towards the goblet. Once everybody had dipped their hand into the goblet Gryffindor's voice sounded.

'Everyone should place their hands on the goblet. The headmaster will then cast the incarnation.'

Everyone did as the voice instructed. Dumbledore then took a deep breath in before he gave the incarnation.

'We stand before this goblet to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort,' he began. 'Those that stand here strive for good and for the survival of the light. We invoke the power of the Founders. We invoke the power of the Founders. We invoke the power of the Founders.'

After he had finished light began to stream from the goblet and Harry felt a kind of feeling like fulfilment. A change had come over everybody in the room. The goblet exploded and the light ended. The glass cases surrounding the weapons shattered sending fragments into the air and scratching those in the room.

'The Covenant has been formed,' Dumbledore said. 'You should all go. Beware; if you turn on the Covenant the consequences will be severe.'

Almost everybody left the room, leaving the Potters, Blacks and Ron there. Chrystal was staring at the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw. Looking at the two of them, it was amazing to see the similarities between the two women. She picked up the sword lying in front of the portrait. It was silver with blue sapphires in the handle. It was engraved with a cross.

'This is mine,' she said turning to Sirius. 'Harry and Hermione take care. No doubt I'll see you soon. Can we please go Sirius?'

Sirius picked his wife up and carried her out the door. Harry glanced at Hermione. He felt that the time was right to let everyone in on their little secret.

'Hermione,' he whispered. 'Can we tell them about the baby now?'

'I thought you wanted to wait?' she whispered back.

'No we should tell them now,' he said. 'I don't know when we'll get another chance like this. Besides I don't want you to go on the weekend and everyone will ask questions as to why.'

'We'll talk about that later Harry,' she said. 'But we have to tell them now, everyone's wondering why we're whispering.' Harry looked around and saw that Hermione was right.

'What's going on Harry?' Rose asked in that teasing voice she often had. It was a sure sign to Harry that she was getting better.

'Well we've got something to tell you,' he said slowly. 'Hermione's pregnant.'

Harry didn't know what to expect when he told everybody. He knew their reactions would be interesting but he wasn't quite sure what they would be. Rose squealed with excitement and ran and hugged Hermione and Harry as hard as she could. James followed by shaking his sons hand, congratulating him and giving him a sly wink. Ron voiced a loud congratulation, which secretly relieved Harry who had been quite worried about his friend's reaction. His mother however was quiet.

Harry walked over to her.

'What's wrong Mum?' he asked.

'I'm not old enough to be a grandmother,' she said. 'I mean my best friend is just contemplating having children and now I find out I'm going to have a grandchild?' She laughed. 'I'm not angry Harry. I just need to get used to the idea.'

'You wanted to have another child?' his father asked with a smile on his face. His parents began to gaze into each other's eyes and started kissing each other. Harry felt his insides twist.

'Is anybody else grossed out?' Ron asked loudly. Harry nodded and Hermione didn't comment.

'Hey Mum, Dad,' Harry called. 'We'll be in your quarters waiting for you to come and hide me, but meanwhile I want to catch up with Ron and Rose.'

Neither of his parents said anything, Lily just raised her hand in acknowledgement as James continued to kiss her. Harry stole a glance at the Gryffindor portrait grabbed the weapon and then left them to it.

*~*

Harry led Rose and Ron to Lily and James' quarters. Harry had filled Hermione in on his dream, as well as Rose's actions on the weekend. Now that he realised his dream was accurate he was on edge. Things appeared to be far more complicated than he had ever imagined.

'How did you do that to Chrystal Rose?' Harry said to her. 'I was actually frightened.'

'You shouldn't run around the castle like that Harry,' she retorted. 'It's a breach of people's privacy.'

'The idea is that I'm in hiding Rose,' he said. 'You wouldn't expect me to just announce my presence so that anybody wanting to have a shot at me could.'

'Cut it out,' Hermione said. 'You'd think that you two were children or something.'

'Just making up for lost time,' Harry said with a smile as Hermione jokingly whacked him on the head. 'Seriously Rose what did you do and how did you do that?'

'It was a simple incarnation really,' she explained. 'Ever since the Shrieking Shack explosion I've wanted to be a Healer. I've wanted to be able to do something if someone needed medical care urgently. So I've been learning by reading and practice with Madam Pomfrey since I've been back at Hogwarts. I even spent a couple of weeks of my holidays at St Mungos. I learnt a lot in a short period of time, the kind of stuff Madam Pomfrey isn't up to date with.'

'But how did you do that without a wand,' Hermione asked. 'That's what scared Harry.'

'I've never used a wand to heal,' she said. 'I don't know why, but I feel like if I concentrate hard I don't need to. I know it's slightly unusual.'

'Slightly unusual?' Ron said. 'Have you ever tried to do magic without a wand? And I'm not talking about accidental magic either. It's not easy.'

'Actually no,' she said going slightly red. 'I'd never thought about it.'

Ron picked up a quill from the desk.

'Try and make this float,' he said. 'Without a wand.'

Rose glanced at the quill and then seemed to focus on it.

'Wingardium Leviosa,' she said as she sent the quill into the air. Looking at the stunned faces around she was slightly surprised. 'What's the big deal? I'm sure anyone can do it with practice. All it takes is concentration.'

'No Rose,' Hermione said. 'It's a very rare gift, not many people can do it. It's not something that you can learn. You have to have the ability in the first place.'

'How come Rose can do that then?' Ron said.

'I'm not sure,' Hermione replied. 'If I knew we wouldn't be asking Rose about it. I've searched through most of my books on medical magic for the last few days and I still haven't found anything.'

'I just don't think you should let anyone know that you can do this,' Harry said. 'It could be dangerous for you. Sirius is oblivious to what happened, but Chrystal remembers and she's quite worried about it.'

Rose glared at him.

'Why do you have to discuss me with everyone behind my back Harry?' she asked. 'I did the only thing I could. She would have died.'

'I'm not saying you did the wrong thing,' he said. 'It's just that you don't want any reason for Voldemort to come after you. If you have a rare gift like that, then you leave yourself open.'

'He's just concerned,' Hermione said.

'You don't need to worry about me,' said Rose placing the emphasis on need. 'I don't tell my parents what happens at Hogwarts. I'm not used to having people all concerned about me.'

'You'll just have to get used to it Rose,' Harry said. 'I'm not used to having a family either but I have one now. It's not easy, but wouldn't you rather have a family?'

Rose nodded in reply.

'Give me time Harry,' she said. 'Now if you'll allow it, I'd like to spend some time with Ron.'

Harry shook his head.

'You can sleep in that bed with Hermione,' he said pointing to a queen sized bed. 'Ron and I will sleep in the next room.' Harry opened a door to reveal two single beds and pointed Ron in the direction. 'Trust me, I owe Ron a couple,' he said with a smile.

*~*

The operatives gathered early Saturday morning before dawn in the Hogsmeade offices of Weasley Wizard Wheezes. None of them spoke of the dangers of what they were about to do. Harry was not nervous. He was beginning to get used to doing things like this. And he felt better after having managed to convince Hermione that she should not be involved in the mission. Especially given what had happened to Chrystal last weekend. He knew that he was to remain in his Animagus form for the entire time that the mission was underway; however he was unsure as to how much help he'd actually be able to be. It would be people like Ron who would be making an impact on the operation. This was a new experience for Harry. For the first time it would be his friend who would be in more danger than he would. He knew that Ron cold handle himself. Ron was very courageous and he was an excellent tactician as evidenced by his chess games, yet Harry couldn't help but feel slightly frightened for his friend.

Harry saw quite a few people there that he recognised and quite a few that he didn't. His mother was there of course, in her Animagus form rubbing Ron's leg. Ron was in deep discussion with Dumbledore and Moody. Looking around he saw Sirius, Mundungus Fletcher and all of the Weasley boys including George, Angelina, Katie and Alicia were also there, but Lee wasn't, which Harry did notice. Things must be bad between them. Harry looked around at Ron's "troops" as he liked to think of them. He looked for a glimpse of Terry Boot. Harry was surprised when he couldn't see him there. He made a mental note to ask Ron about it later. Arabella Figg was there talking to Lupin. Harry wondered what Arabella would be able to do remembering that Dumbledore had caused her to lose her ability to foresee the future when he had forced her to reveal the Prophecy. Then he remembered that she was also known to have a good medical knowledge. Harry glanced over at her again and saw Rose was there as well. He didn't know how she had done it, but Rose had managed to convince Lily that she should be on hand to deal with the injured. Before long, Dumbledore brought them all to attention and handed them over to Ron. He had gone bright red.

'Thank you all for coming,' he said. 'For the most of you you're job is to use the portkeys issued to you to rescue those trapped in the fortress. You will head there once the all-clear has been given to you from Dumbledore. Your portkey will become active and you will be transported all over the fortress. You should retrieve anybody you find and bring them to the centre of the fortress where there will be portkeys waiting for you to transport them back here. Their injuries can then be assessed and they will be transported to the necessary destination to handle their injuries. Are there any questions?'

When no one answered he stated that the advance team would leave now, and everybody else should await further instructions.

Harry felt his heart leap into his throat. His heart was pounding against his chest. Please don't get hurt Ron.

*~*

Draco Malfoy had gone ahead of the advance group. His job was, in his Animagus form to clear the path for the advance team. He hadn't told anyone except Sirius this before earlier in the week, but the Animagus form he had chosen was a poisonous snake. He had done experimenting and found that when in his form he could use the venom as a weapon. It would not kill, but it would make someone ill enough to pass out for a couple of hours. He slithered toward the fortress, spying the two men standing there. He knew who they were. He recognised them as Death Eaters. Draco was very sly, he knew he would be able to avoid their sight until after he had bitten the first one, he just hoped the second one wouldn't try and kill him. He slithered towards the first man and dug his fangs into the mans heels. It was a good feeling. The man jumped into the air and Draco was quick to lunge at the second to ensure he didn't get accidentally harmed. Both of them fell to the ground. The snake slithered inside with a smile on his snake face.

*~*

'Who's there?' Chrystal called. She was sitting alone in her bed reading while everybody else was on their salvage mission. She hated being confined to bed but after not having a pelvis for a few days earlier in the week she wasn't really strong enough to walk around herself.

'It's Severus,' the man called. 'Severus Snape. Are you decent?'

She laughed.

'Come in Severus,' she said. 'I hear I owe you a thank you. Thank you for saving my life for the second time.'

'Just doing my job Chrystal,' he said. 'Besides I owe you one. I've come to keep you company for a while. How are you doing?'

'How do you think?' she replied quite quickly and harshly.

'Well if I were you I guess I would be a little upset,' he replied softly.

'Sorry for snapping,' she said a little ashamed of herself. 'I'm just a little highly strung at the moment and I've had pretty much everyone asking that question.'

'I hear if you're a good girl you get to go to the Quidditch match on Monday,' he said. 'Although in my opinion if you're not well enough to teach, you're shouldn't be traipsing off to a Quidditch match.'

'I can't exactly traipse anywhere at the moment,' she said.

'Well to take your mind off it why don't we try and brainstorm about this toxin,' Severus said. 'My theory is that someone must have slipped it into your drink. You were probably the only person drinking water; it could have easily been targeted at you.'

'I know that Severus,' she said. 'My question is who? We were very particular as to who was invited. Additionally I wasn't getting any nervous vibes off anyone except perhaps Harry and Hermione.'

'Well if we start from the top and go through the guests,' he suggested. 'Perhaps we can make a list of likely suspects and take it from there. Starting from the top, of the Hogwarts Staff there was Dumbledore, McGonagall, Vector, Sirius, you and myself. I think we can suggest that it is unlikely to be any of the above. Perhaps Vector, I don't know where her alliances lie.'

'Agreed,' she commented. The thought had intrigued her; they didn't really know where Vector allegiances lay. 'Lily and James are unlikely, as is Lupin.'

'Then there was the entire Weasley clan,' Snape said. 'Given Harry's closeness with the family and Dumbledore's faith in them again I think we can dismiss them as suspects.' Chrystal nodded.

'I've known the Weasleys since I was six,' she said. 'Arthur and Molly have always gone out of their way to be helpful, especially when I was going through some pretty rough times. And I remember Bill and Charlie from school.'

'The only likely suspect would have been Percy,' Severus said. 'But that was before that attempt on his life a couple of years ago. He's a changed man and would certainly not be involved in anything like that. His wife is a journalist, but she's a sports journalist and is unlikely to be involved in anything like that, especially being Percy's wife. Onto the other partners, Angelina Johnson, Kathryn Bell and Malfoy. You, for some strange reason trust Malfoy, but he is the only one of them who would have access to a toxin like that, working at St Mungos.' Chrystal nodded again

'Do we know where those girls' allegiances lie?' she asked.

'Some operatives have kept a close eye on them and we believe that they're trustworthy,' Severus said. 'The twins are in the Order and are both pretty cluey. I think if there was something going on with either of them it would have been brought to our attention earlier. Then there's Oliver Wood, he's a difficult one.'

'I trust him,' Chrystal said. 'I can't explain to you why, but I do.'

'Then if we continue,' Severus said. 'There were his Gryffindor friends, we know pretty much what Miss Brown is up to and besides gazing into her orb and getting plastered, that's not much. Finnegan is too obsessed with how Lavender's doing to do much else. What about Thomas?'

'I've never gotten a bad vibe from him,' Chrystal said. 'But to be honest I don't know where his allegiances lie. One woman of concern would be Parvati Patil. I can tell you I don't trust her and she and Lavender have had quite a few disagreements lately.'

'She's a possibility then,' Severus said. 'She's working as a nurse at St Mungos.'

'What?' Chrystal said in surprise. 'Her a nurse?'

'I guess she thinks it's a good place to meet eligible young doctors,' Severus said with a smile on his face. 'Despite the difference in house and appearance she and Miss Parkinson seem to have a lot in common. Silly little girls who only want to catch a rich husband.' Chrystal laughed at this.

'They should go after Quidditch players,' she remarked. 'They're starting to get paid quite generously now. After that there was Rose and somehow I don't think that's likely. The girl healed me.' Chrys put her hand over her mouth after she had spoken. The look on Severus face said it all. 'I shouldn't have said that.'

'I guess not,' Severus replied. 'But for the girl's sake I'll forget that I heard that.' Chrystal looked at the look on Severus' face. He looked upset and exasperated. He looked tired and exhausted.

'Is everything going fine for you?' she asked.

'It's just difficult to keep up the charade of being Voldemort's loyal servant,' he said sighing.

'If you don't mind me asking are you seeing anybody?' she asked him. He immediately looked shocked. 'I could just feel a sort of vibe there.'

'I was,' he said biting his lip. 'I was seeing Narcissa Malfoy. But she believes I'm a Death Eater. It just wasn't working.'

'Well to be honest I don't think much of Sirius' cousin. She can be a nasty piece of work. Are you seeing you mother for Christmas?' she asked.

'What is this Àille? Twenty questions?' he asked.

'No I was only wondering that if your mother was going on tour again if you would join us for the Dunvegan Ball on Christmas Eve,' she said. 'My way of thanking you for saving my life.'

'Okay, I accept,' he said standing up. 'I had better go and brew these potions so that they'll be ready when Dumbledore returns with the wounded.'

'Do you want some help?' she asked. 'You'll have to help me downstairs, but my hands are still useful even if I'm not well enough to be out rescuing people.'

'Very well,' he said. 'Miss Weasley will be joining us in a few hours. She has quite exceptional potion making skills.'

He helped her out of bed, she was thankful that she was already dressed and helped her down to the dungeons. He summoned a chair for her to sit at and then gave her a book of potions.

'We need some pain potions,' he said. 'You can summon any ingredients you need from my private stores. Make a variety. And try not to stuff them up Miss Àille-MacLeod-Black or whatever you want to call yourself. I've heard about your cooking and hope your Potion making skills are above this.'

She laughed.

'I assure you Severus I got a Newt for Potions,' she said as she got to work making pain medications. 'I was an Auror remember.'

*~*

Ron guided his men into the fortress following Malfoy's attack. He instructed two men to tie up the two guards and led the rest of his men into the fortress. He sent them forward wit the instructions to capture not kill any Death Eaters that they came across. Ron himself headed for the centre of the fortress to meet with Malfoy, to organise the portkeys and to tell Dumbledore to send the others. He reached there and found that Malfoy had already spoken with Dumbledore and told him that reinforcements were on the way.

'There's one strange thing Weasley,' he said. 'Apart from the two guards there aren't any other Death Eaters here. I think there are about one hundred prisoners, but no gaolers. I think they know we were coming and we probably only have a limited amount of time before the gaolers return.'

'That's strange,' Ron said. 'I'll send my men in and can you ensure the portkeys are all active?'

'Already done,' Malfoy said as Ron sent the Hit wizards into the fortress. Ron waited for each of his men to report to him before they portkeyed back to Hogsmeade. Each of the twenty Hit Wizards located a few of the prisoners. Ron couldn't believe the people were human. They looked skeletal, as if they had been starved for several weeks. Additionally the fortress smelt. It smelt like rotting, decaying bodies. It brought back the memories of the old wizards apartment he had been to on his first day of training. Ron knew something was wrong. There should have been more guards, more Death Eaters. The fortress itself was far too quiet. Ron looked around. He was certain Lily had said that there were far more guards than the two that Draco had bitten. He returned to find some of his team arriving back at the portkeys.

'Do I need to send for backup?' he asked them.

The two men shook their heads.

'There are only half dead people there,' one of them said.

'It's probably better if we bring them all here and then portkey them in one go,' said the other, Terry Boot, Ron's ex-partner.

'I'll take this lot then,' Ron said. He grabbed the wrists of the two men then located one of the portkeys. He grabbed it and was transported back to Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes. A temporary hospital had been set up with stretchers laid across the entirety of the basement. Ron could see many witches and wizards, including his family members tending to the wounded. He picked up one of the men, who was unconscious and lay him on a stretcher before assisting the other man who apart from his starved form only had some leg ulceration. He alerted Dumbledore to their presence before pulling him aside.

'There's something strange there,' he whispered to Dumbledore. 'I want to take a few people to search the fortress from here. My men are searching for bodies, but I'm still unsure as to how trustworthy they are.'

'You'd better take Harry,' Dumbledore whispered. 'He's somewhere around, I'm sure he will go and have a look.' Dumbledore winked at Ron, before he Apparated back to the fortress.

*~*

Chrystal made her way slowly to her office following the brewing of potions. She knew that she had a lot of work to catch up on after her week spent in bed. She opened the door to her office and saw an unfamiliar face standing there. The young man was pale and had a haunted look about him.

'Who are you and what are you doing here?' she asked.