Harry Potter and the Guild of the Night

Chapter 18

The remaining weeks before the start of the school year passed very quickly. Harry had apologised to Snape and, as Remus had suggested, his second apology had been dismissed. His Occlumency lessons had settled back into the routine that had been established prior to the argument. His lessons with Master Nhean also progressed well. He had learnt all twenty-one of the katas and was now performing them both with and without his sword. In the last few days, Master Nhean had started working with him, duelling with swords. It was pretty stylised at the moment as he learnt how the movements in the katas could be used in a combat situation but he was certainly making some progress.

His friends were also making progress. Fred and George had had to leave a few days ago. Lee Jordan had been running their business for them over the summer but they could only stay away for so long. They had wanted to be back for the return to school rush. His other friends however had made some serious steps. Ginny, Hermione and Neville had started working through the katas with swords that Professor Dumbledore had dug up for them and Master Nhean had promised that when they were ready they would start sparring with Harry. Luna and Ron were still probably a few weeks off starting work with their swords. Ron had made the biggest improvement. Master Nhean had been right; the katas had been excellent exercise for accustoming him to the way his body was now that he had grown.

Ron and Ginny, and Fred and George while they were around, had also been working pretty hard with Harry on his quidditch. He was now pretty confident on his broom and he actually found it easier to find the snitch than before. It was somehow easier to find the purple energy ball that was the snitch than trying to find the glint of gold. Ginny had been able to beat him once or twice at the start but in the last week, she hadn't been able to get near him or the snitch. Ron was gleeful; with Harry back on the team and Ginny showing a lot of skill as a Chaser, he couldn't see how they could be beaten.

Also going well was Harry and Ginny's relationship. All of their friends as well as the adults went out of their way to allow them time to themselves. They weren't rushing anything though, Harry was honestly just enjoying having someone who loved him and Ginny didn't want to rush. She was determined that they should take their time and get to know each other. And that they shouldn't let Voldemort force them to do things they didn't want to right now. She said each time that they had all the time in the world and Harry was starting to believe her. He was having enough trouble getting used to kissing her whenever he wanted anyway. Ginny occasionally got very angry with the Dursleys and she had surprised Harry into helpless laughter several times with her knowledge of invective. The first time she had gone off on them Harry had been surprised. She had been furious that because of the way they had treated him, he was always so delighted to touch her and be touched in return. She wasn't angry with him, of course, and Harry didn't completely understand why she was so furious. She refused to explain and Harry had eventually dismissed it. He just concentrated on enjoying himself and making sure that Ginny was also enjoying it...and listening to her incredibly impressive vocabulary of swear words. Fred and George would be proud of her.

Snape had gone to one more meeting with Voldemort. Harry had again shielded himself and watched. The Potions Master had been delivering the veritaserum and Voldemort had been excessively pleased. The whole thing had made Harry shiver. Somehow the sight of Voldemort being so pleased had made him almost nauseous. At least Snape had avoided the Cruciatus curse this time. Unfortunately Voldemort had not expanded on what his plan was. They had just over a month before the last of the potions was ready and right now there little they could do to plan for it. They did at least have the knowledge that whatever happened Snape would be hip deep in it so all they could do was make some general plans and hope for the best. The Order was watching Croaker and hopefully that would be enough.

Neither Snape nor the Headmaster had been able to figure out why the link now worked the way that it did. The shield certainly worked to keep Voldemort out of his mind, though he could have done with out seeing things when the Dark Lord got especially worked up. He had been forced to witness two more Revels and had been physically sick after both. He hadn't been able to work out a way of not being drawn into seeing things from Voldemort's point of view as yet but Snape had said that he may have a few ideas but he wanted to do a little more research before they tried them.

Harry walked down the corridor that led to the dungeon. This was his last morning Occlumency lesson. Tomorrow evening all of the students were coming back and Professor Snape had said he would need the day to set things up for the first week. They would work out a schedule for his lessons once the year started. Harry was both excited and a little apprehensive about everyone coming back. He was a little disappointed that he wouldn't be doing lessons with them, though he was sure he wouldn't miss Potions with the Slytherins one bit. Master Nhean had said that they would start doing wandless magic once the school year started. Harry was glad of that. If he was going to be using his sword, he would need to know how to do wandless magic. With his sword in one hand and the scabbard in the other, there was no room for his wand.

He walked into the classroom and found Professor Snape leaning against his desk, waiting for him.

"Sit down, Mr Potter, we have something to discuss."

Harry swallowed down his surprise and sat down at the front desk. Orinda was again around his neck, he seemed to like that position and oddly enough he wasn't as obvious as you might think despite his prominent colouring. At first glance, he seemed to be some odd kind of necklace. Orinda's three heads looked up when Harry sat down and the left and middle heads quickly went back to sleep. The right head had taken quite a liking to Snape. Harry was amused by it; they did after all have very similar personalities. The right head hissed for a moment before settling down to sleep again and Harry stifled a laugh.

"Something amusing, Mr Potter?" Snape said with a raised eyebrow.

"Orinda likes it down here. He was asking why we don't come down more often," Harry said smiling.

Snape's lips twitched. "He is welcome to visit at any time."

"But not me?" Harry said with cheeky innocence.

Snape eyed the young man blandly. "If you can be as quiet as your friend, you might be." His face then became blank and Harry looked at him with surprise.

Snape drew in a breath. "There are two reasons why I need to speak with you, Mr Potter. Tomorrow the walking menaces that the Headmaster likes to call students will be back. Among them will be Mr Malfoy and his cronies."

"Er, sir," Harry said carefully, inwardly amused at Snape's description of the students. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I think I know what you're going to say. You're going to have to go back to treating me like you always have. I'd already worked that out, sir."

Snape nodded and frowned. "Good. I'm pleased you realised that." He paused and scowled. "I wanted you to know that I...am...not pleased by this. I find that I...can tolerate working with you when you are acting like an adult."

Harry looked at the Potions Master in surprise. That had to be possibly the nicest thing Snape had ever said to him. "Er, thank you, sir but it's alright. I know why you have to do it and well, I probably won't be happy about what you say but I won't hate you for it. You have to do it, Malfoy and the others have to be able to report to their parents that you despise the Boy-Who-Lived."

Snape was startled at the bitter tone that crept into Harry's voice at the end but was pleased that he understood.

"Good," he said with satisfaction. "I also need to speak to you about your Occlumency lessons. Technically you have learnt enough that you no longer need to continue them with me. The Headmaster would be able to take over your education from here. However I would like you to continue the lessons with me. I believe that I may be able to come up with some way of stopping you from seeing what the Dark Lord sees but there is another reason." Harry was surprised when Snape hesitated, looking almost nervous. "Do you recall when you collapsed in the Great Hall that you said you thought you could turn what you were experiencing back on the Dark Lord?"

Harry nodded. "You told me not to; you and Remus and Professor Dumbledore."

Snape nodded. "Yes. It is possible for you to do this. To reverse at least some of what the Dark Lord has been doing to you. It will not be easy nor will it be pleasant but if you wish to learn how to do that, I would be willing to teach you."

Harry's mouth dropped open in surprise and he quickly closed it and thought hard. The opportunity to give Voldemort some of the grief he had been subjected to was an idea that he really liked but from the unusually hesitant way Snape had mentioned it, it would not be easy or even something that he should do.

Harry looked seriously at the Potions Master. "Do you think I should learn how to do this?"

Snape leaned back against the desk and sighed. "If you have the stomach for it, Mr Potter, and the courage then yes, I do think it is something you should do. I do not exaggerate when I say it will be unpleasant. The Dark Lord's mind is undoubtedly a sewer. You will see things you will come to regret knowing about."

"Worse than the Revels?"

"Yes," Snape replied bluntly.

Harry lapsed into silence and thought again. He finally looked up at Snape. "I want to do it. I'll probably regret this decision more than once but we could find out so much information this way, couldn't we? And I could possibly be able to influence him, right?"

Snape sighed; some part of him had hoped that Harry might refuse this. The boy would see some truly horrific things. But another part was very proud of him. This was a very adult, very responsible act. This would enable them to find out far more about the Dark Lord than anything they had tried before.

"Yes, Mr Potter, both of your suggestions are possible," Snape said quietly. "Now, I have discussed this with Master Nhean. He put your Potions lessons in abeyance while you caught up with the reading he set you. Have you finished that?"

"Er, yes, I have," Harry stammered, a bit startled by the sudden change in direction.

"Excellent," Snape nodded. "Then you will take your Potions lessons with me. Nhean has given me instruction on how they should be done. You will be down here at eight p.m. sharp on Monday and Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings at ten a.m. sharp. We will do potions work for an hour on Mondays and Wednesday with the second hour being devoted to Occlumency. Saturday mornings will be purely Potions work."

Harry sighed; looks like he wouldn't get out of those potions lessons after all though at least he wouldn't have to deal with the Slytherins. "Yes, sir."

"Now, to work. Legilimens!" Snape barked

***********************************

Harry walked into the Guild classroom a couple of hours later to find his friends in deep discussion with Master Nhean. They seemed to be talking about when and how they would be continuing their lessons once the school year started. He wandered over and listened in for a minute before offering a suggestion.

"Look everyone," he said reasonably. "You know how bad the first week of school is. Every year it's been the same. We end up rushed off our feet because we've gotten out of the habit of going to classes. Why not take the first week off while you settle in again and then we can all meet on Saturday afternoon and plan the lessons so that they fit in with your ordinary classes and with Quidditch practice?"

He was greeted by a number of wry grins.

"Now, Harry," Hermione said dryly. "You weren't supposed to bring logic into this discussion."

The others laughed and agreed to Harry's suggestion.

"Well, now that we have worked that out," Master Nhean said. "I understand the six of you are going into Diagon Alley this afternoon to do your shopping." The teens nodded. "Well, then I think I will cancel what I was planning to do today. I don't think you'd be able to concentrate. But I would like you all to sit down. I think we need to discuss a few things before the school year starts."

Harry and the others looked delighted at having a day off and they all settled down on the mats. Master Nhean joined them, sitting cross-legged.

"Firstly, I have decided that your lessons will be cancelled for tomorrow as well. Although I know the rest of the students don't arrive until evening, I somehow doubt any of you will be able to concentrate so I will surrender to necessity," Nhean said with a smile. "Secondly, Harry, I have a list of text books that you will need to purchase. Some of them are the same as the school texts but there are a few extra ones for your Potions classes and for my lessons, mostly on strategy and tactics. Has Severus spoken to you about what we plan to do with your Potions lessons?"

Harry nodded. "Yes and I've agreed to continue my Occlumency lessons with him as well."

"Excellent!" Nhean said with approval. "I know the extended lessons will not be easy, Harry, but I am pleased you are attempting them. Now you will also be doing to other classes with some of the teachers here at Hogwarts. You will taking Advanced Transfiguration lessons with Minerva, Advanced Charms lessons with Filius and Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts with...er, the new professor." Nhean smothered a grin, as he knew that the teens did not know who the new teacher would be. "This is mostly because you will be learning the lessons at least partly using wandless magic. I could teach you just as easily but the teachers in question are experts in their fields and I saw no reason for them not to teach you and plenty of reasons for trying to keep your routine as normal as possible. We will start out by having you attend the normal sixth year classes in those subjects. That may not continue; we're going to play that part a little bit by ear. You will also have private lessons with those teachers."

Harry grinned; he was thrilled at the idea of attending classes with his friends. He would actually feel relatively normal. Then he frowned. "Master? Who is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

Nhean chuckled. "Well, that's a secret, isn't it? Suffice to say, you know who it is and I think you will like having them as a teacher. Ah, now don't ask any questions. I won't tell you. Why should you learn the answer before any of the other students."

The teens grumbled a bit about that but Nhean just chuckled and went on. "Now, all of you, listen to me." Nhean's voice became very serious. "The Headmaster intends to inform the students that I am here to further Harry's education but nothing more. However, I must ask the rest of you not to go into too much detail about what you learn in here. I have...bent a few rules in what I have been teaching you. Oh, don't worry, it's nothing that you or I will get into trouble for but nonetheless you have learnt a few things that normally stay privy to the Guild. I know your friends will be curious but I ask that you...evade as many questions as possible."

Harry and the others all nodded solemnly and promised Master Nhean they would be discreet. Nhean was pleased with this and dismissed them. The teens all stood and piled out of the classroom in a noisy mob, excitedly discussing the upcoming trip to Diagon Alley. That caused Harry to stop. He had quick word with the others and walked back over to Master Nhean, who presented him with the almost forgotten list of books. Harry grinned, thanked his Master and then ran to catch up with his friends.

********************************

After lunch the six friends gathered in the Entrance Hall again, waiting for Remus and Mrs Weasley to join them. Mrs Weasley was coming back to Hogwarts especially for this trip. She had returned home about a week ago, worried that Arthur was not looking after himself well enough. Harry stood with one hand gripping his cane and the other arm firmly around Ginny's shoulders, listening to the excited chatter of his friends. Ron was talking a mile a minute about what he was going to get from the twin's shop while Hermione was also going a mile a minute about what books she wanted to get from Flourish and Blotts. It was particularly amusing because they were actually talking to each other. Harry wasn't sure they were actually listening to each other though. It had been amusing to watch the two of them of the last couple of weeks. They were sort of slowly edging towards a relationship. Ginny had described it as two dogs circling each other trying to decide if they liked each other. That description had caused Harry to collapse laughing. He wasn't sure that either Ron or Hermione would appreciate being compared to dogs. He was hoping they'd actually get on with it soon though or he might just be forced to lock them in a small room until they figured things out.

Ginny and Luna were discussing their upcoming OWLS and how hard they were likely to be. Hermione had been telling them how easy they were if you studied and Ron had been moaning about how difficult they were so the girls were a little torn between the two. Harry was having a quiet conversation with Neville as he half-listened to the others. He and Neville had taken the opportunity last week to have a long, private discussion about the prophecy and what had happened to their respective parents. As a result, their friendship has changed into something much better than it had been before and Harry was surprised at the depths he had found in his quiet friend. Neville was going to do some major studies in Herbology when the year started and was also planning on doing an extended study project in the subject. He was also planning on concentrating much of his studies on Defence Against the Dark Arts and Harry was encouraging him all the way.

Hermione was also planning on doing an extended study project, though she was choosing to do it in potions. Harry had told her and Ron about his confession to Snape. He had then been yelled at for the next hour until he managed to get convince them that Snape wasn't going to take points or give them detention, that if anything the man had seemed amused and a little impressed. And when he had told them about Snape's offer to Hermione of supervising an extended study project, they had been surprised into silence. Hermione had then spent the next half-hour almost babbling in delight, much to the amusement of Ron and himself. Despite that, Ron hadn't been overly happy about it all; he still didn't really trust the Potions Master but he hadn't wanted to spoil Hermione's joy. She had promptly spent the next three days researching what topic she'd like to do and had then marched down to the dungeons one afternoon to present Professor Snape with a proposal. When she had come up to dinner still deep in discussion with the Potions Master, Harry and Ron had assumed her proposal had been accepted and she told them later that they were right. Extended Study Projects could last for one year or two depending on the scope of the project, Hermione had rather thought hers would need the full two years. She had decided to look into the current treatments for extended exposure to the Cruciatus curse and to try and find an improvement; either improving on the current potions used or coming up with an entirely new potion. Neville had nearly burst into tears when she had told them all her project topic and she admitted that what had happened to his parents, as well as the pain Harry had been subjected to before he learnt to shield, was what had given her the idea.

Harry's thoughts and conversation were interrupted by the arrival of Remus and Mrs Weasley. Remus was carrying an old woollen sock, which Harry assumed was the portkey that Professor Dumbledore had organised for them. He was proven correct when Remus called for them all to gather around and place a finger on the sock. Then the familiar fishhook-in-the-stomach feeling took over and they were all stumbling into each other in the small yard behind the Leaky Cauldron. Remus tucked the sock into his pocket and gestured for them all to listen.

"Professor Dumbledore has organised for the portkey to return us to Hogwarts in three hours so you should all have plenty of time to do all the shopping you need. I hope you all brought your letters and book lists." Five hands waved Hogwarts letters and Harry waved his booklist from Master Nhean. Remus chuckled. "Good. Now Harry and I need to go to Gringotts so I will leave the rest of you with Molly." He turned and tapped on the wall then led them into Diagon Alley.

Harry gasped and clutched at Remus' arm for a moment. Remus drew them out of the main traffic of the Alley into a small sheltered corner of one of the buildings.

"Everything alright, Harry?" he asked with concern.

"Yeah," Harry gasped. "It's just...there's so much magic here. I'd kind of gotten used to seeing all the magic in Hogwarts and I just wasn't prepared for it here."

Remus chuckled and waited for Harry to pull himself together. When he was ready, the two of them made their way down the street to Gringotts. As they were waiting in line, a thought occurred to Harry.

"Remus?" he said quietly. "What's happening with Grimmauld Place and the rest of Sirius' things now that he's...he's dead."

"Nothing at the moment," Remus said with a sigh and then he looked around to ensure that nobody could hear them. "We're having a slight problem convincing the Ministry that he's dead and that he was innocent. Believe me, Dumbledore's trying but there are a few people in the Ministry digging in their heels. The Order is still using Grimmauld Place as Headquarters but we've made provisions to move in a hurry if things go badly. Sirius' nearest blood relatives are Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy. If we can't get his will accepted, everything will go to them."

Harry snorted and rolled his eyes but let the subject drop. They slowly moved forward in the line and when they got to the front they were quickly ushered over to the entrance to the vaults. One quick trip later, Remus was throwing galleons, sickles and knuts in a bag for Harry. They then made their way back to the surface and, at Harry's suggestion, headed for Flourish and Blotts to buy his books. Throughout the next couple of hours, Harry kept getting strange looks. He knew that people recognised him but they were a little taken aback and confused by the lack of glasses and his cane. He was, not surprisingly, heartily glad to finish his shopping and head back to the Leaky Cauldron. They had about half an hour to go and Remus suggested they wait in a private room. Harry agreed and the two of them settled in with a couple of butterbeers to wait for the others. The rest came bustling into the room with about ten minutes to spare, all loaded down with bags and boxes. Ron and Hermione were arguing loudly about how much study they actually needed to do this year and Ginny, Neville and Luna were watching them with amusement. Mrs Weasley was the last to come in and she just rolled her eyes at the arguing pair.

"They've been at it the whole time," she said in exasperation and she sat down with a thump next to Remus.

He and Harry laughed and Remus pulled out the sock-portkey. "Alright everyone!" he bellowed and when they all fell silent and stared at him, he gestured to the sock. "It's almost time. Everyone, grab your things and place a finger on the portkey."

Everyone shuffled around until they were all touching the portkey and waited. A minute later the portkey activated and they were all rushed back to Hogwarts.

They arrived back in the Entrance Hall where, due to the sheer amount of packages they were carrying, they all ended up on the floor. They picked themselves up and sorted their packages out then Mrs Weasley ordered them all to go and unpack. The teens groaned but slowly trailed off to Gryffindor Tower. Remus and Harry trudged up to their suite.

"Harry?" Remus asked as they made their way up the stairs. "Did you want to move back into Gryffindor Tower for the school year?"

"Erm, yes, I did. If you don't mind?" Harry said a little hesitantly. He had enjoyed living with Remus and didn't want him to be offended. "It's just that if I don't I won't get to see my friends that much this year."

Remus laughed, much to Harry's relief. "Of course I don't mind," he said. "I fully expected you to want to go back there. Though you know that you can come and see me and even stay here at any time?" Harry nodded and Remus ruffled his hair. "I just wanted to know whether you wanted to move up there tonight or leave it until tomorrow?"

Harry groaned. "Can we leave it till tomorrow? I don't think I can face the thought of packing and unpacking everything tonight."

Remus laughed and they continued on to the suite.

**************************************

Dinner was once again a loud and excited affair. The teens had politely moved themselves down to the end of the table but still their noise was making more than one of the teachers wince. Snape was looking especially vindictive and he shot more than one glare down to their end of the table. Harry and his friends ignored the glares and winces and concentrated on enjoying themselves. After tomorrow they knew that they'd be stuck in a huge round of classes, practices and training and they were determined to enjoy their last night of freedom. They were also determinedly ignoring the threat of Voldemort, for this night at least.

Ron, Harry, Neville and Ginny were involved in a discussion that seemed to involve some complex quidditch moves when Harry suddenly gasped and clapped one hand to his forehead. This action brought all conversations at their end of the table to a halt and very rapidly produced the same reaction at the more adult end of the table. Harry shut his eyes and his breathing became heavier. Ginny placed her arm around his shoulders and whispered something into his ear. He shook his head and swallowed. He then shook his head again and looked blindly up the table.

"P...Professor Snape?" he whispered and then winced in pain.

There were startled reactions from everyone around the table and they became more pronounced when Snape stood and walked down to where Harry was sitting. He crouched down besides Harry.

"Yes, Mr Potter?" Snape asked.

Harry breathed heavily for a moment, his eyes tightly shut and his forehead creased in pain. "Is...is he...summoning you?"

Snape raised an eyebrow. "No, Mr Potter. Why?"

"He's...really upset and angry about something," Harry gasped. "I can't block it all out. He's really mad."

Snape frowned and concentrated on the young man sitting in front on him.

"NO!" Harry gasped suddenly. "Stay out!"

Snape suddenly wavered and nearly fell. He shook his head and glared half-heartedly at Harry. "I was merely trying to observe," he said impatiently.

"No!" Harry said. "I don't know if he can get into my head. If he can and you're there..."

Harry's voice trailed off into another pained gasp as Snape stared at him in surprise. He truly had not considered that aspect of the link. By this time Professor Dumbledore and Remus had gathered near Harry and were watching with concern. Orinda too had been roused from his slumber around Harry's neck and was hissing with some distress.

Suddenly Harry gasped and would have fallen backwards off his seat if Snape had not caught him. The Potions Master slowly lowered Harry to the floor and Remus pulled off his outer robe and bundled it up to be used as a pillow. Ginny quickly knelt beside Harry and was then joined by the rest of their friends. Orinda's hissing became louder and he slowly unwound himself from Harry's neck, crawling down his shoulder and onto the floor towards Ginny. She lowered her hand to the little Runespoor and he crawled up and wrapped himself around her wrist. She gently ran her other hand through Harry's hair and looked up at the Headmaster, silently asking him what to do.

Dumbledore slowly knelt down next to Harry and patted Ginny on the shoulder. He then laid one hand on Harry's shoulder. The moment he did, Harry screamed and his back arched off the floor. As Dumbledore tore his hand away in shock, they all saw Harry's scar begin to bleed. Snape swore and pushed the Headmaster out of the way. He clamped his hands around Harry's head and closed his eyes. He screamed once, loudly, shockingly, and then fell silent. Ron jumped forward with a cry; one hand outstretched but was stopped by Hermione.

"Don't, Ron! I'm sure he knows what he's doing," she said worriedly. She wrapped her arms around Ron and he returned the gesture.

They could do nothing but join all of the others in watching the tableau before them helplessly. A collective sigh was released when Harry stopped screaming and collapsed back onto the floor. He and Snape remained in their positions though. After nearly twenty minutes, Snape finally removed his hands from Harry's head. He looked dully at those standing and kneeling around him and finally fixed his gaze on Hermione.

"Miss Granger," he said hoarsely, pulling a small silver key out of a pocket. "Go to my office. This key opens the potions cabinet within. On the bottom shelf of the cabinet you will find a small wooden chest. Bring that chest back here."

Hermione took the key from him with a nod and ran out of the Great Hall, brushing the tears from her eyes. Snape turned his attention back to the young man lying on the floor in front of him. He gave a start of surprise when Remus lay a hand on one black-clad shoulder.

"Severus? What's happening?" Remus asked.

Snape cleared his throat. "I...do not know. The Dark Lord was angry and then excited. Then he began performing some kind of magic. I did not recognise it." Snape shook his head. "I believe there was an overflow of magic that fed back through the link that Potter and the Dark Lord share. It overcame Potter's efforts to shield."

"You were able to help him," Remus said with certainty.

"Yes," Snape said and then coughed. "Albus, I think you should examine my memories of what happened later tonight. You may recognise what he was doing."

"Of course, my boy," Dumbledore said soothingly. "But I think it can wait until tomorrow. I daresay you will need the rest."

Snape scowled and then coughed again. Finally he waved a hand at the Headmaster in surrender. Hermione came running back into the Hall, cradling a small wooden chest in her arms. She came to a skidding halt next to the Potions Master and thrust the chest into his waiting hands. He put it down and opened it with a whispered word. His hand ran lightly over the vials inside and he grabbed one containing a sickly-orange coloured potion. He prised Harry's jaw open and poured it into his mouth, running his fingers over the young man's throat to force him to swallow. After that one had gone down, he pulled out a light blue coloured potion and also poured that down Harry's throat. He sat back on his heels and watched for a moment and when Harry began shuddering, he pulled out a third vial, this one containing a bright red potion. He slipped an arm behind Harry's shoulders and pulled him slightly upright.

"Harry," he said, much to the surprise of the others in the room. It was the first time they had ever heard the Potions Master refer to Harry by his first name. "Drink this."

Harry moaned but obediently drank the potion when Snape tipped the vial into his mouth. Shortly afterwards his eyes slowly flickered open and he stared blankly. The others quickly recognised what Snape had already known; Harry had dropped his Oversight. Harry lay as he was for a moment and then his eyes closed again and he slumped against the Potions Master. Snape let out a sigh and slipped his other arm under Harry's legs and picked him up.

"Severus, let me levitate him," said Dumbledore in a kindly voice.

Snape shook his head. "No," he rasped. "You will not be able to use magic on him for twenty-four hours. It would make him violently ill."

The others reacted in surprise and Snape turned his tired gaze on Hermione again. "Miss Granger, please close the chest and take it back to the cabinet in which you found it. Be sure to lock the cabinet again."

Hermione nodded and knelt down to deal with the chest. Snape turned towards the door and nodded to Remus. They left the Great Hall, closely followed by Hermione, who was once again carefully cradling the wooden chest. The others watched them go and Ron shook his head.

"Why can't Harry have a normal start to the year for once," he said mournfully.