Harry Potter and the Guild of the Night

Chapter 24

Snape stared after Potter for a moment and then shook his head briefly. He took a handful of the floo powder and tucked the bag back into his robes. He settled the strap of potion bag more securely on his shoulder and threw the powder in the fire, saying "Snape Manor". He stepped into the fire and then out of it into his home's formal parlour. He nodded to the others, grabbed another handful of floo powder and threw it into the fire, saying "Malfoy Manor". He stepped into the green flames and emerged into the Malfoy's formal parlour. He quickly looked around but he room was empty. He carefully opened the door and stepped out. The house seemed quiet and he stepped back into the parlour. He summoned a house elf, knowing that they had been told to obey his instructions within limits. One of the little creatures appeared with a pop and bowed low before him, waiting silently for its orders.

"Where is your master?" he asked firmly.

"Master is in the Basement Hall with the Dark Lord and Mr Wormtail, Professor Snape," the house elf informed him politely. "They has the Dark Lord's guest with them."

Snape gritted his teeth and dismissed the house elf. The Basement Hall was one of Lucius' pretensions. It was nothing more than a large room in the basement of Malfoy Manor that the Dark Lord had appropriated to use as a meeting room and torture chamber. That they were in there with 'the Dark Lord's guest' could only mean that Black had not been able to maintain the illusion of not remembering anything. Snape sighed; it was inevitable really, the Dark Lord was skilled at reading body language. This was however going to change everything.

He grabbed some powder from the jar on the mantelpiece and flooed back to his own house. He found everyone seated in his own formal parlour, waiting with a remarkable amount of restraint. A few jumped when he flooed in and Harry and Remus stood and looked eager.

"We have a problem," Snape said flatly before he could be questioned. "It appears Black was not able to keep up the charade." He shook his head and sighed. "Perhaps I should not have restored his memory," he said quietly and then looked up. "No matter. The Dark Lord has Black in a basement room with Lucius and Wormtail. Lupin, the map." Remus pulled the map out and opened it on a small table. The rest gathered around and Snape pointed at a room not too far from Sirius' prison. "It is this room here. We should be able to get there undetected. There appears to be no one else there. When we get to the room we will have to act fast to use the element of surprise. Lupin, Nhean and I will launch an attack at the Dark Lord, Lucius and Wormtail. Potter, you and your friends will get Black out of the room. It is possible that he will be injured. I ask that you exercise some thought and ignore any injuries he has and do not weep and wail over them. Just get him out any way you can," Snape ordered tersely. Harry and his friends nodded, ignoring the sarcastic remarks. "When you are out of the room, let us know and we will fall back and cover you. It is important that you keep going until you get to the parlour and floo straight to Hogwarts, preferably straight to the Headmaster's office. There will be no problems doing that; you are students of Hogwarts and Black is a member of the Order. The wards will not stop you. Do not wait for us. Do not try any ridiculous heroics if one of us should fall. Just get out!"

Harry and the others nodded and Remus folded the map and tucked it in his robes again. They quickly flooed into Malfoy Manor and stepped out of the fire into the parlour. Snape and Remus drew their wands while Harry and Master Nhean drew their swords, holding the scabbards in their off hands. Harry's Battle Guard drew their swords and wands, each of them muttering the word "Scutumus" and producing from their wands an oblong-shaped shield. They quickly took their places around Harry and the three men stepped in front of them, with Snape in the lead.

He quickly led them through the empty corridors of the manor until he reached Black's prison. He placed his hand on each of the locks to unlock them and opened the door. Black was indeed not there and his face became grim. He shut the door again and led them down to Lucius' Basement Hall. He stopped outside the double doors and raised an eyebrow at them all. He got nods in return and raised his wand.

He pointed it at the doors and shouted, "Effringo!"

The effect was rather spectacular. The doors were blasted into the room, right off their hinges. Snape, Lupin and Nhean charged in right behind them and started throwing hexes at the men standing at the other end of the hall. Harry and his friends followed them in and ducked around to the side of the room. A quick glance showed them that Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy had reacted fairly quickly to the surprise assault and were sheltering behind two pillars at their end of the room. Wormtail had clearly not been as quick and he lay unconscious on the dais at that end of the room. Sirius lay curled up on the floor below the dais, also clearly unconscious. Voldemort and Lucius were completely absorbed in their fight with the three teachers, who had now also sheltered behind pillars. Harry gestured with a jerk of his head and the six students made their way along the wall until they got near the front dais. They ducked back into the shadows when Voldemort stepped out and threw three quick hexes at the teachers.

"So what I saw in Black's mind was indeed correct," Voldemort hissed menacingly. "My loyal Severus is not so loyal after all. How long have you been betraying me, Severus? You shall pay for that disloyalty with your life."

Snape's lips thinned and he threw a powerful hex at his former master. Voldemort deflected it with ease but did step back behind his pillar. Harry nodded to his friends. He tapped Neville on the shoulder and mimicked dragging something. Neville nodded and the two of them sheathed their swords. Harry held up three fingers and counted them down. As soon as he finished the count, they leapt out from where they were hidden and he and Neville each grabbed one of Sirius' arms. They dragged him back towards the wall as Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Luna maintained their positions but before they were halfway there, they were noticed by Lucius Malfoy.

"Master!" Lucius shouted. "It's Potter!"

Voldemort swirled around, a triumphant look in his eyes. "So, Potter, you dare to come near me without your protector. A foolish mistake from a foolish boy."

Volemdort raised his wand and Neville and Harry dropped Sirius' arms and drew their swords. Neville pushed Harry behind him and took up his Point position, producing the oblong shield once again. Voldemort raised a thin eyebrow in surprise.

"A Battle Guard, Potter?" he sneered. "Getting ideas above yourself? What does a boy like you need with a Battle Guard?"

Harry kept his mouth shut and raised his sword, bringing his scabbard hand around in case he needed to cast a spell. Voldemort raised his wand but before he could do anything a shout of "Stupefy" came from the three teachers. Voldemort was thrown backwards and Harry shoved his sword roughly back in its scabbard.

"Come on, Neville," he yelled. Neville gave Voldemort once last glance before cancelling his shield and sheathing his sword. He and Harry grabbed Sirius' arms again and continued dragging him out of the room. The rest of Harry's Battle Guard reorientated themselves to protect the two boys from anything that might get thrown their way but a quick glance showed them that Voldemort was not moving and Lucius was thoroughly occupied fending off the attacks of the three teachers. Harry paused and glanced up at where Voldemort lay and thought briefly about taking his sword and finishing the whole thing now. He was just about to let go of Sirius' arm when Lucius took advantage of a tiny lull in the battle and threw a hex in his direction. Ron saw it and pulled him down. The hex impacted with the pillar next to them and exploded, sending chunks of stone flying in all directions. All six students ducked, with Harry's Battle Guard throwing themselves on top of him. As soon as the explosion faded, they pulled themselves into a crouch.

"Forget it!" Ron shouted over the sounds of the fight, blood dripping from small wounds on his forehead and upper arm. "We've got to get out of here!"

Harry swallowed and nodded. He tightened his grip on Sirius and the six students ran as fast as they could for the door. As soon as they got through, Hermione cancelled her shield and threw red sparks in the direction of the teachers.

"We're clear," she yelled to them and put her shield up again.

The teachers started backing towards the door as Harry and the others started back up the corridor towards the parlour. Harry briefly considered levitating Sirius but decided against it. If he had to use magic against anyone he'd have to cancel the spell pretty quickly; this would probably be worse for Sirius than just dragging him along. They gritted their teeth and kept moving, not looking back and trusting that their teachers would be able to get away.

They charged into the parlour and came to a sudden stop when they saw Bellatrix Lestrange standing in front of the fire, brushing herself down. She had obviously just arrived. She looked up in surprise at their chaotic arrival and her eyes narrowed as she identified them. She snarled silently and pulled her wand, advancing on them. Harry and Neville did not hesitate. Without letting go of Sirius or even slowing down, Neville raised his wand and Harry raised his hand, which was clutching his cane.

"STUPEFY!" they yelled and Bellatrix was thrown backwards with the force of their combined curse. She impacted heavily with the wall beside the fireplace and slumped down to the floor, unconscious. There was a dent and blood left on the wall where she had hit.

Harry and the others ignored this. Ginny broke away from her position, grabbed the jar of floo powder and held it out. Harry and Neville were the first to reach her. Neville dropped his hold Sirius as Harry grabbed a handful of the powder and threw it into the fire. He shouted "Headmaster's office, Hogwarts" and with the last of his strength hurled himself and Sirius into the green flames.

They tumbled out of the fire in the Headmaster's office and Harry quickly dragged Sirius clear. He turned back to face the fire, falling to his knees with exhaustion. He let one hand rest lightly on his godfather's shoulder. Dumbledore, who had been sitting at his desk, came over and asked a question which Harry ignored. Just then Neville stumbled through the fire, followed by Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Luna. The six students moved away from the fireplace, collapsed to the floor and waited, their hearts in their mouth. Finally the flames flared green and Remus, closely followed by Master Nhean and Snape staggered through and also collapsed to the floor.

"Albus! Close the floo to the outside!" Snape coughed and the Headmaster pulled his wand. He waved it at the fireplace with a muttered word to close the floo to the outside though he prudently left the internal floo network active. He turned and looked at the ten people lying in various states of exhaustion and injury on his office floor. He walked over to the fireplace and floo-called for the school's mediwitch.

He remained silent; his expression calm until Madam Pomfrey came rushing into the room. Then he walked over to her.

"Minor injuries and exhaustion only, Poppy," he said quietly and the mediwitch turned and knelt down next to Remus, who was closest.

The entrance of the mediwitch seemed to prompt Snape into action. He pulled himself to his feet and staggered over to where Sirius lay. He shook the unconscious man until he moaned and his eyes flickered open.

"Prop him up," he said tersely to Harry who quickly slipped an arm behind his godfather's shoulder and pulled him slightly upright. Remus stumbled over, having been released by the mediwitch and helped Harry hold Sirius up. Remus had a bandage around his wrist and another on his neck but he grinned tiredly at Harry. Harry returned the grin as Snape pulled a potion bottle out of his bag.

"Counteragent for the Egeovenenum," he said, each word seeming to almost fall out of his mouth with weariness. Snape had what looked like very nasty burns on the side of his face and on his left hand and from the way he was leaning, he also had a wound of some description on the left side of his chest.

"Drink this," he said to Sirius and held the bottle to his mouth. Sirius obediently swallowed the potion and shuddered. Snape pulled out two more potions and poured them into Sirius. As he tried to move away, Sirius caught his wrist.

"Severus," he said hoarsely. "Thank you...and...I'm sorry."

Snape stared down at Black in surprise and finally nodded, his face a mix of conflicting emotions. Sirius let him go and slumped back against Harry and Remus. Madam Pomfrey came over and gave Harry a quick once over. He had managed to come out of this one pretty much unscathed. He was tired both from the stress of the battle and also from having to drag Sirius all the way to the parlour but otherwise unhurt. As soon as Madam Pomfrey was sure of this, she turned her attention to Sirius. She ran her wand over him and her lips thinned. She glared at him but it quickly softened and she patted his hand. She got up and went over to inspect Severus. He submitted to her attentions with a tired glare and a muted snarl. After she finished with him, she stood up brushing her hand on her robes.

"Three to go to the hospital wing, Headmaster," she said briskly. "Professor Snape, Sirius Black and Mr Weasley. They should be able to make there under their own steam but I want everybody else in bed and resting." She turned to look at them sternly. "I don't know what you lot were doing and quite frankly I don't want to know. Probably something dangerous, knowing all of you."

Harry and Remus got up and pulled Sirius to his feet. When they got him to his feet, Dumbledore stepped over to them and tapped the three of them on the head. Harry felt the odd cracked-egg-on-the-head feel on the Disillusionment spell and smiled sheepishly at the Headmaster. He'd forgotten for a moment that Sirius was still considered by the rest of the wizarding world to be a wanted murderer. Hermione and Luna helped Ron to his feet and Neville and Ginny went over to Professor Snape and offered him a hand. Snape stared blankly at the two students for a moment then with a curious look on his face, accepted the helping hands.

They made an odd group walking down to the hospital wing and garnered many stares that made Harry quite glad for the Disillusionment spell. When they got to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey hustled her three patients into beds at the far end of the room and drew a curtain around them. She then removed the Disillusionment spell from Sirius, Harry and Remus. She shooed Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Neville out of the room but, after a soft glance, allowed Harry and Remus to stay with Sirius. She walked over to Snape and began working on his burns.

Sirius smiled up at Remus and Harry, delight and astonishment in his face. This expression quickly faded when he looked closely at Harry. He had noticed the cane and had been confused by it, wondering why Harry was holding it but now he was starting to get worried. Although Harry could see in a unique way with his Oversight, he still had some of the habits of the blind due to the fact that the image overlay he saw was ghostly and he relied mostly on the energy fields. He had a tendency to stare in the direction of a person rather than directly at their face. He also tended not to notice emotion changes very quickly unless the person was talking and he could pick it up in their tone of voice. Sirius caught hold of Harry's free hand.

"Harry? Where are your glasses?" he asked, starting with the most glaring difference. Remus got a rather chagrined look on his face. He had over the last couple of months gotten used to Harry without his glasses. He moved around to stand beside Harry and placed an arm around his shoulders.

"Do you want me to tell him, Harry?" he asked softly to the confusion of Sirius. He was rather taken aback by Remus' almost paternal actions and he found a glimmer of jealousy rising within him.

Harry shook his head. "No, Remus, its okay," he said with an affectionate, if somewhat uncomfortable, grin at his guardian. "I guess it should come from me."

Sirius by this time was starting to panic a little. "What's going on?" he demanded, gripping Harry's hand tighter.

Harry sat down on the edge of the bed and Remus placed a hand on his shoulder. He took a deep breath.

"Sirius," he began, "there was...a problem...with the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon had a few problems and he kind of overreacted a little. He...he hit me and he sort of threw a glass at my face. It...well, it blinded me." Sirius gasped and his mouth dropped open in shock and horror. "Remus and Professor Snape rescued me and I've been here ever since. Professor Dumbledore found me a great teacher, Sirius." Harry voice sped up and began to gain a little enthusiasm. "He's taught me a huge amount. And I don't ever have to go back to the Dursleys. Remus and Mr and Mrs Weasley are my guardians now."

Harry came to a sudden stop as Sirius gasped. Remus stepped forward and grabbed his oldest friend by the arm.

"Stop that, Padfoot," he demanded. "We weren't trying to replace you but we thought you were dead. Someone had to act as Harry's guardians after the Dursleys couldn't. Harry asked if I would be his guardian and since the Ministry wouldn't allow a werewolf to act as sole guardian, the Weasleys were the obvious choice. I'm sure Molly and Arthur wouldn't mind if you took over their role, just as long as you don't take Harry away from them. They do love him, you know."

Harry had been looking stricken ever since he had stopped talking and he suddenly threw himself at Sirius and hugged him tightly, tears rolling down his face. Sirius was startled at first and then wrapped his arms around his godson.

"Harry, it's alright," he murmured, tears welling in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I was being stupid. I forgot that I knew I was alive but you didn't."

Harry pulled back a little and wiped his eyes. "I wanted Remus to be my guardian because he was friends with my parents and you. He was all I had left of all of you and he helped me so much in the first couple of weeks after I was blinded. Sirius, I don't think I would have made it if it wasn't for Remus."

Sirius smiled at Harry and hugged him again. He then held his hand out to his friend.

"Thank you, Moony," he said earnestly. "Thank you for being there. Thank you for doing what I failed so miserably at. Reckon you could put up with the both of us?"

Harry grinned and turned to look at Remus. The werewolf looked at the two of them, both wearing almost identical expressions of entreaty. He started laughing.

"If Molly doesn't kill you for taking 'her Harry' away from her, I think I could manage it," he said wryly. "After all, someone's got to keep you two under control."

Harry and Sirius burst out laughing but were quickly hushed by an exasperated Madam Pomfrey. She left them with a warning about behaving themselves. Sirius grinned at her as she left and then sobered and turned back to Harry.

"So what's this about a new teacher?" he asked curiously.

Harry's face lit up and he launched into a detailed description of everything Master Nhean had done for him and taught him, finishing with the formation of his Battle Guard.

"A Battle Guard?" Sirius said with surprise. "I guess he knows about the prophecy then. Wow, there hasn't been a Battle Guard formed in hundreds of years."

"Two hundred, according to Master Nhean," Harry said. "It was kind of hard to get used at first. I really want to keep my friends out of danger but they kind of refused to listen to me. So I guess this is the best compromise. If I can't keep them safe, at least I know they've got the best training possible."

"Well, good on them for not listening," Sirius said emphatically and Harry smiled wryly. Sirius then turned to Remus. "So, Moony, what excuse do you have for hanging around Hogwarts?"

"I'm teaching, Sirius," he replied almost primly. "Defense Against the Dark Arts. Dumbledore arranged it. I believe it was something along the line of how terrible Harry's injury was and how it would be cruel and unkind to rob him of his guardian, nevermind that that guardian is a werewolf." Remus smiled mischievously.

Sirius laughed softly. "Good on Dumbledore then," he said then sighed. "I don't suppose he managed to clear my name?"

Remus shook his head. "He had trouble getting the Ministry to even admit that you were dead." He laughed ruefully. "Of course, I guess we can't do that now. Peter was knocked out when we went in to rescue you but we didn't have an opportunity to grab him as well as you."

Sirius chewed on that for a while. "What about me taking veritaserum?" he asked finally. "I never got a trial first time around. What about if we get Dumbledore to pressure for a trial using veritaserum?" He grimaced. "I've got to get my name cleared, Moony! I can't really be Harry's guardian until that happens."

Remus nodded; he could understand Sirius' urgency. "I'll speak with Albus," he said. "I'm sure we can sort out something."

Sirius nodded then grinned as he saw Harry stifle a yawn. "You two get out of here and get some sleep," he said gruffly. "You look like you need it."

Harry nodded and Remus threw an arm around his shoulders and led him out of the hospital wing. Sirius sighed and settled back in his bed. He looked around the little curtained off area and saw that both Ron and Severus were asleep. He grimaced; he really didn't know what to make of Severus Snape now. The man had risked his life for him. Sirius was very uncomfortable with this. He remembered the floo-call that Harry had made during the last school year. He'd been very upset about the incident that had occurred after their Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL exam. Sirius shifted uncomfortably; that wasn't one of his best memories. Probably why I still have it, he thought. It had felt right at the time. Merlin knows Snape had given as good as he had gotten, though he'd been a lot more...Slytherin about it. His revenge had always been subtle and cunning. But as he'd gotten older he had come to the realisation that what he and James had done was...well, perhaps a little cruel.

Sirius shifted further down the bed and pulled the blankets up around his ears. He sighed and decided to think about this a bit later when he'd had time to consider what had happened a bit more. He was tired and sore. Voldemort had held the Cruciatus on him longer than he liked to think about. He'd passed out from the pain, in fact. He sighed again, shut his eyes and willed himself to sleep.

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

The next morning saw everyone back in the hospital wing with Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall. When everyone was settled either on a bed or in a chair, the Headmaster levelled a serious and even admonitory gaze on those who had ventured to Malfoy Manor the previous day.

"Now that you are all feeling better," he said sternly, "I think I'd like an explanation."

Harry beat the other adults to that explanation.

"I was the one who pushed for this, sir," he said firmly but with a hint of nervousness. "I was...intercepted by Draco Malfoy yesterday on my way back to Gryffindor Tower yesterday. He said something that made me think that Sirius was in danger. I went and got Ron and the others in Gryffindor and asked them to get Luna, Master Nhean and Remus. Then I went and spoke to Professor Snape. I asked him whether he thought what Malfoy had said was true or just Draco yanking my chain."

Dumbledore looked over at his Potions Master. "And your opinion, Severus?"

Snape steepled his fingers in front of his face. "I...took the threat seriously, Albus. It coincided with something Lucius had said to me that last time I had seen him."

"And why did none of you come to see me?" the Headmaster demanded.

Harry looked at Snape a little helplessly. Snape licked his lips. "You were distracted by what was happening at the Ministry, Albus," he said. "I felt that if Draco was motivated to goad Mr Potter in that way, we did not have the time to convince you that the threat was serious. I felt that we needed to move immediately."

"And you chose to follow Harry's plan?"

"Er, sir?" Harry interrupted. "It wasn't my plan. It was Professor Snape's." He shuddered. "The last we used one of my plans, it...well, it didn't work that well." Harry's voice shook. "That's why I asked Professor Snape, Master Nhean and Remus to help."

Dumbledore considered the three adults in question and then gestured for Harry to go on.

"Well, we met in the Guild classroom," Harry continued, wishing now that one of the adults would take this responsibility off him. "Professor Snape's plan was a good one. It used our strengths." Harry shrugged. "It probably also kind of helped that Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna have been training as my Battle Guard."

Albus and Minerva's eyes widened at this and Nhean smiled gently.

"I had intended to tell you, Albus," Nhean said with quiet amusement. "I wanted to wait for a while to ensure they would actually be able to function properly as a Battle Guard. As it turns out, they do. Their actions during our foray into Malfoy Manor were exemplary."

Harry's Battle Guard perked up and smiled proudly. Harry grinned at them and turned back to face the Headmaster.

"Sir, I know you're not happy that we kind of took matters into our own hands but we had to," he said earnestly. "Professor Snape and I both knew that Sirius wouldn't be able to hold out for long." He shot an apologetic glance at his godfather. "I'm sorry, Sirius, but when Professor Snape told me what Vol...er, the Dark Lord was trying to do, I knew you wouldn't be able to stand it. He'd have said something vitriolic about me and you'd loose your temper."

Sirius gave a barking laugh. "No offense taken, Harry. You're right though I'm not entirely sure what I did to alert him. I tried to react properly and I thought I was doing okay." He scowled and scratched his head. "I guess I must have screwed up somewhere."

"It would not necessarily have been anything big," Snape said with an unreadable expression. "The Dark Lord is skilled at reading body language. If he saw anything the slightest bit amiss, he would then use Legilimancy to get to the truth of the matter."

Sirius gave Snape an odd look and then nodded. Everyone in the room looked at the two men, a bit surprised at the studied neutrality between them.

"Anyway," Harry continued, "that was why we had to act. If the Dark Lord did think that Sirius was lying and did use Legilimancy then he would also find out that it was Professor Snape who gave Sirius the potion to get his memory back and if he looked hard enough, he find out that Professor Snape was a traitor. And he did get that, sir. He...had a go at Professor Snape about betraying him during the fight."

Harry fell silent and Dumbledore considered what he had been told. While he was not happy that such precipitate action had been taken, he had to acknowledge that the action had been well taken.

"Very well," he said finally. "I am not pleased that you chose to take such an action without at least informing me of your intentions but I concede that the risk was necessary." He turned to look at Nhean with interest. "Was the Battle Guard truly that effective?"

"Yes, Albus," Nhean said with justifiable pride. "While I could not watch them all the time, what I saw of their approach to the end of the room where Sirius was lying was efficient and their rescue of him was tight and compact. I must especially commend Neville and Ron on their actions. The Battle Guard acted properly at all times and never once forgot their focus; to protect Harry. Harry is also to be commended. He struggled at first with the idea of letting his friends protect him but was able to work with his friends in the Guard instead of against them when things became serious."

The members of the Battle Guard raised their heads in pride at this praise. They had thought they had done well but to now be praised by the man who had taught them made all the difference. Now they knew they had done well.

Albus smiled gently at them. "Very well," he said. "Now what are we going to do with you, Sirius? Would you be willing to go back to Grimmauld Place?"

"No!" Sirius burst out, alarmed. He took a deep breath and calmed down. "No, Albus, I'm not going back to that...place." He paused a little uncertainly. "I...I want you to organise some kind of trial for me, Albus. I never got one the first time around and therefore never got to clear my name. I...I need to clear my name." He ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "Look, I'm eternally grateful to Molly and Arthur for everything they've done for Harry but...I should be Harry's guardian. Along with Moony, of course. But the only way I can do that is if my name is cleared. I want a trial, Albus, with veritaserum so that nobody can doubt my word." He looked at Albus imploringly, silently begging him to understand, then something occurred to him. "And it better be Snape's veritaserum. I trust his, I don't trust the Ministry's."

There were surprised looks from many in the room at Sirius' last statement but the Headmaster appeared to ignore it. He nodded at Sirius.

"Of course, my boy," he said quietly. "I shall speak to Kingsley and we shall organise something for the next couple of days. In the meantime, I would like you to use Harry's excellent cloak to go to the suite you have shared with Remus and, though I know it will not be easy, to stay there."

Sirius' eyes closed and a forlorn, pained look crossed his face at the idea of being locked up again. He swallowed and slowly nodded his head. Albus smiled sympathetically at him.

"We will get this done quickly, Sirius. I promise," he said earnestly. He then turned his head to look at Snape.

"Severus, now that your role has been exposed, I must ask that you remain in the Hogwarts grounds until we can ascertain precisely how much danger you are in."

Snape scowled and nodded reluctantly.

The Headmaster stood and clapped his hands. "I think that is all for now," he said brightly. "Minerva, I think you and I need to speak with Kingsley. I shall let the rest of you head for whatever Sunday diversions you prefer." He then fixed them all with a stern gaze. "I trust if any of you have any further plans for gallivanting around, you will inform me?"

There were chagrined and sheepish nods from the others in the room and the Headmaster swept out, his deputy in his wake.