Power of the Quill

The Power of the Quill.

Chapter 09 Revelations.

Harry had just finished his lunch and had an hour to kill now that Hagrid had canceled Care of Magic Creatures. As he neared the school's main entrance, he saw a familiar face descending the stairs.

"Tonks!" Harry called out.

She smiled as she made her way over to him.

"Wotcher Harry, long time no see," she said cheerfully to him.

"Ah, Tonks - we just saw each other a week ago," Harry said.

"It's just a expression, Harry. Try not to take everything so literally," she said lightheartedly.

"Sorry," he replied sheepishly. "So, what brings you to Hogwarts, something to do with the old crowd?" Harry asked.

"No, no, nothing like that. Dumbledore called me here on Ministry business," she answered.

"What kind of Ministry business?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing very interesting I'm afraid, just some boring old Auror stuff," she tentatively answered.

Harry wondered how Tonks had become such a good Auror and member of the Order, while still being such a rotten liar.

"Tonks, I already know about the attack on Parkinson," he said, giving her a knowing look.

"You do," she said, sounding a little surprised.

"Yeah, Hermione and Ginny found her. You really didn't think they wouldn't tell us, did you?" he asked.

"Us? Who else knows?" Tonks asked, with a worried expression on her face.

"Everybody in Gryffindor," he answered. "Probably everybody in the school, by now."

Tonks let out a sigh and said, "This is going to be more difficult than I thought."

"What's going to be difficult?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"Harry, any time an attack like this happens, the school is required to report it to the Ministry for investigation," she told him.

"You're going to investigate Parkinson's attack?" he asked.

"No Harry, I'm not," she said flatly. "I'm going to bury this attack so there's no investigation."

"Why?" he asked, sounding even more confused. "I've never liked Parkinson that much, but even she doesn't deserve what happened to her. Ginny said they beat her so bad you couldn't even recognize her."

"I know, Harry. I saw Parkinson when they brought her to the infirmary. She was about as bad as I've ever seen and I've seen some pretty bad things," Tonks said, in a now somber voice.

Looking a little perplexed, Harry said, "I didn't know you were in the infirmary last night. Neither Ginny nor Hermione mentioned it."

"Oh no, I got to Hogwarts only an hour ago, Harry. I saw what happened in a Pensieve with McGonagall's memory of last night in it. I can't blame her for wanting that memory out of her head," Tonks answered.

"If it was so bad, why stop the investigation?" he asked.

"Harry, this is just the kind of thing Fudge can exploit. If he could convince the Board of Governors that the students aren't safe inside Hogwarts, they would probably let him station a whole squad of Aurors right inside the castle. I can guarantee you, Fudge will hand pick every one of those Aurors himself; and student safety will be the last thing on their minds," she said, in a cautioning voice.

Harry shuddered at the thought of a dozen Dolores Umbridge's running around Hogwarts.

"But, how can you cover up an attack like this?" he asked. "Soon everyone will know."

"You would be surprised how easy it is to cover up an attack on a Muggle-born witch by a pureblood," she answered, with a sad look in her eyes.

Harry knew she was right; nobody would really care about what happened to Parkinson. She was both a Slytherin and a Muggle-born, the ultimate outsider. She could disappear off the face on the earth and no one would notice.

"You know it was Draco, don't you?" Harry asked.

"What?" she said, with another surprised look on her face.

"You said it wouldn't be hard to cover up an attack on a Muggle-born by a pureblood. How do you know it was a pureblood?"

"How do you know, is the better question, Harry," she said, giving him a suspicious look.

"Hermione and Ron told me," he answered.

"And just how do they know?" she asked.

"I can't tell you how Hermione knows, but Ron heard it from Draco himself," Harry said.

"He admitted it?" Tonks asked, astonished.

"Kinda, he admitted it to Ron without actually admitting it - if you know what I mean," Harry said, trying to explain.

"He's a Slytherin, I know just what you mean, Harry," she said point-blank.

"So, how did you figure out it was Draco?" Harry asked.

"Let's just say he's a lot like his father," Tonks said shrewdly. "I recognized the Malfoy signature on this attack."

"Did Lucius attack Muggle-borns the same way?" he asked.

"Yes, he was always very hands-on according to Kingsley; of course that was before my time and the first fall of You-Know-Who. He usually never left anyone alive to testify against him. This must be Draco's first; he really was pretty sloppy."

"Is Parkinson going to testify against Draco?" Harry asked.

"No, it wouldn't do any good," Tonks answered solemnly. "The sad fact is, Harry, no one would believe her, at least not without another witness. She's a Muggle-born witch without any family or money. He could accuse her of attacking him and the wizard court would probably believe him."

"You know, as much as I love Hogwarts, sometimes the Wizarding world really sucks," Harry said, moodily.

"Don't worry Harry. The Order isn't about to let Malfoy get away with this," Tonks assured him.

"What are they going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said simply. "But Dumbledore will think of something, he always does."

Her statement didn't comfort him as much as he would have hoped. The Order always seemed to be reacting to things, but was very slow and careful about attacking a problem head on. As soon as the first D.A club meeting was held, he would make sure Draco and his goons were the top priority.

"So, I hear you're joining the family soon, Harry," Tonks said with a large smile.

"Oh gods, please don't remind me," Harry said, sounding very depressed.

"Why not, Harry? Me and my mum think it's a great idea," Tonks said seriously.

"How come?" he asked.

"Because, silly, it means we're no longer going to be related to the Malfoys," she said gleefully. "Can I call you Uncle Harry from now on?" she asked mischievously.

"No, you can't," he said, as his face started to color. "You know I'm not the only who could be trapped by this law. I got the distinct impression from that Fitage character that you might be on their list."

"Oh, I know I'm on their list," she suddenly said. "I've already received two marriage contracts from the Ministry."

"Two, how is that possible?" Harry asked.

"After I arrested the first pureblood, for using dark magic, the Ministry had to send me another contract. I arrested the second guy last night, but haven't heard anything from the Ministry yet. I'm hoping they get the message and move on to easier prey," Tonks answered.

"How did you know they were using dark magic?" he asked.

"All the old pureblood families use dark magic, Harry. It's not a very well kept secret. We could round up more than half the wizard population if we really wanted to," she said, with a smirk on her face.

"Do you think you could do the same thing for me?" Harry asked, with a hopeful look in his eye.

"Afraid not Harry. I'm just a nobody, so I can get away with it. Fudge isn't going to let you out of that contract unless somebody dies. Besides, I think you and Aunt 'Cissa will make a lovely couple," she said lightheartedly.

"What do know about Mrs. Malfoy? I mean Miss Black," Harry asked.

"Not much, I only met her twice, and that was in court," Tonks answered.

"Court?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yeah, my mum and Lucius have been fighting over the Black estate ever since my grandparents disappeared."

"Your grandparents disappeared?" Harry repeated.

"Yep, they both disappeared on holiday the day after Narcissa found out she was pregnant with Draco," Tonks said scornfully. "Mum believes Lucius had something to do with it."

"What does Narcissa getting pregnant have to do with it?" he asked.

"Because Lucius couldn't inherit unless he had a blood connection to the Black family. My grandfather's will said that everything was to be split equally among his three daughters; but of course, the will and everything else disappeared out of the family vault the same day they went missing. The only thing left of the Black Family fortune is the estates and their lands."

"Your mother thinks Lucius killed your grandparents and stole the family fortune, so he wouldn't have to share it with her and Bellatrix?' Harry stated.

"Yep, and he didn't stop there. Just before my grandparents were declared dead, Ministry Aurors started receiving anonymous tips about Bellatrix being a Death Eater. She couldn't inherit a thing if she were in Azkaban. We also think he tried to kill my mum on at least three different occasions," Tonks said, irritably.

"Why has it taken so long to settle the estate?" Harry asked.

"Because neither side is willing to budge. Lucius didn't want my mum or dad to have any part of the estate. And my mum didn't want the man who probably killed her parents to get his hands on their family home. It doesn't really matter now, my aunt was declared the sole hair to the Black bloodline, so everything is hers now."

"Do you think there is a chance that your grandparents disappeared on purpose?" Harry asked. "Maybe they were trying to get away from Voldemort, so they took everything out of the vault and secretly moved to another country."

Tonks just shook her sorrowfully and said, "No Harry. My grandmother use to wear this Black Widow pearl necklace; it was a one-of-a-kind family heirloom that she never took off. My mother found the necklace for sale in a Knockturn Alley shop about two years after her mother disappeared. After she bought it, my mum discovered that the necklace still had traces of her mother's blood on it."

"That sounds really horrible, Tonks," Harry said.

"It is, Harry. My mum and grandma were very close. Even after my grandfather disowned my mother for marrying a Muggle-born, grandma made sure he didn't cut her out of his will. My mother still blames herself for what happened to her parents and her sisters."

"How can she blame herself for that?" he asked.

"Because, after she married my dad, my grandfather rushed out and betrothed both his remaining daughters to the purest purebloods he could find: Malfoy and Lestrange. He might as well have gift-wrapped them both and sent them directly to the Dark Lord," she answered.

"I wonder if Narcissa is still working with the Death Eaters, now that Lucius is in prison," Harry said with concern.

"I really don't know, Harry, it's something we're just going to have to find out," Tonks said, returning Harry's concern. "When are you going to see her?" she asked.

"Tomorrow night. I'm taking Ron and Hermione with me," he answered.

"Just be careful Harry. Don't let her fool you; my mother always said that her little sister was wickedly smart, and not in a nice bookworm way either," she warned him.

"I'll keep that in mind," Harry said.

............................................................................................................

Hermione made her way down the corridor that led to the infirmary. After she'd owled him that morning, Dumbledore suggested that they meet there to discuss what she had seen on the Marauder's map. How he knew she planned to visit Pansy today, Hermione didn't have a clue.

When she reached the infirmary, two figures stood by the door waiting for her. One was Dumbledore and the second was, very unexpectedly, Remus Lupin. Hermione's face reddened at the sight of Lupin. He didn't know it, but he was on the top of her list of candidates for her cherry-picking contest.

"Mr. Lupin, what are you doing here?" she asked, with a smile.

"It's Professor Lupin now, Miss Granger," Lupin informed her. "I'm returning as your Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor this year."

"That's fantastic! Have you told Harry and Ron yet?" she cheerfully asked.

"No, the Headmaster will be making the announcement in the Great Hall at dinner," Remus answered.

As the smile slipped off her face, Hermione said, "I guess you've heard about what happened last night."

"Yes I have," Lupin said, with a sympathetic look in his amber eyes.

"I'm afraid I must asks that we discuss this matter inside the infirmary, where unwanted ears will not be listening," Dumbledore said, as he opened the infirmary door so that Hermione could enter.

As she made her way down the infirmary's long rows of beds, Hermione observed that the place was almost completely deserted. She saw only Madam Pomfrey standing next to a first or second year girl, examining her. It wasn't until she nearly reached Madam Pomfrey that Hermione realized the small blonde girl, sitting on the side of the bed in a plain white nightgown, was Pansy. She was amazed, not only at how different Pansy looked, but also by the fact that she didn't have a mark on her.

Ever since their first meeting on the Hogwarts Express, five years ago, Hermione had noticed that Pansy always wore an overly abundant amount of makeup on her face. She had always believed that Pansy did this to try to cover up the fact that she had a strange-looking nose. Pansy continued to paint her face, even after she had her nose fixed. Now Hermione understood that Pansy wasn't just trying to cover her pug nose but was also trying to look older. Without the makeup she looked at lease four years younger.

Along with her makeup, Pansy's long curly blonde locks were gone as well. She now had straight hair that had been cut to shoulder length. One of the more noticeable differences, to Hermione, was Pansy's large blue eyes. Before, every time Hermione had seen them, they were always squeezed half shut with a look of distain or anger; now Pansy wore no expression at all on her face. Hermione expected to see some kind of emotion: sadness, anger or even fear, but there was nothing. Pansy looked like a ninety-pound doll sitting on a shelf, waiting to be played with. Hermione had the irresistible urge to poke Pansy just to make sure she was alive. Only the sight of Pansy's first blink in nearly half a minute cured her of her compulsion.

"What is her condition, Poppy?" Dumbledore asked in a low voice, as they reached the front of the bed.

"Physically, she fine," the Mediwitch answered. "It was mostly broken bones and soft tissue damage. Fortunately, there wasn't too much damage to her internal organs. She'll still be sore for couple of days, but that's about it. Mentally, that's a whole different story."

"Has she said anything, Poppy?" Lupin asked, as he stared sympathetically at the small figure on the side of the bed.

"She spoke just once when she first regained consciousness. She said she fell down the stairs," Pomfrey answered.

"That's it?" Lupin asked, a little astonished.

"Just those five words: "I fell down the stairs," and nothing more. No matter what we asked, she just stayed silent," Pomfrey said, with a discouraged look on her face.

"She didn't fall down the stairs," Hermione said rapidly, but just above a whisper so Pansy couldn't hear. "Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle grabbed her out of the corridor that leads to the dungeon. They took her into a small room off the corridor and attacked her. When they were done, Crabbe and Goyle took Pansy up to the Astronomy Tower through a secret passageway. Once they got her there, they threw her down the stairs leading to the fifth floor."

Three faces just stared at her in surprise.

"May I inquire just how you know this, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked, giving her a cagey look over the rims of his glasses.

Hermione had promised Harry that she would keep the map a secret, even from the school staff. But she wasn't naïve enough to believe that Dumbledore didn't already know all about the map, and whose possession it was in.

"I used the Marauder's Map and my Time Turner. I went back and watched the whole thing happen on the map," she informed the Headmaster, while still keeping her voice low.

"Miss Granger, I appreciate your concern for your fellow student, but I must ask that you not repeat what you said here, with anyone," Dumbledore said, with a worrisome look on his face.

"Why?" she asked.

"This information, in the wrong hands, can do a considerable amount of harm, not just to yourself and Miss Parkinson, but to all Hogwarts," Dumbledore answered.

Just then, the infirmary door flew open and Professor Snape entered carrying a tray full of small bottles.

"Are those my replacement potions, Severus?" Madam Pomfrey asked, as Snape approached. "The poor girl nearly emptied out my whole Mediwitch cabinet last night."

Snape handed Pomfrey the tray and said, "This is everything except Madonna's Regret Potion. I won't be able to add the belladonna for another four hours. I will have a dozen doses ready by tomorrow morning."

Pomfrey took the tray from him and headed to her office.

"What is she doing here?" Snape asked angrily, as he sneered at Hermione.

"She's here on my behalf, Severus," Dumbledore answered. "She had some information about last night's events. I also thought it would be a good idea if someone visited with Miss Parkinson that wasn't a member of the staff," Dumbledore told Snape.

"What kind of information?" Snape asked, giving her a suspicious look.

"Well Severus, if you follow me to Madam Pomfrey's office, I will explain," the Headmaster said. "Miss Granger, will you would be so kind as to keep Miss Parkinson company for a moment so that I may inform Professor Snape of what you told us here?"

"Yes, Professor," she answered.

Before heading to the Mediwitch's office, Dumbledore reached over to place a comforting hand on Pansy's shoulder. As soon as his fingers touched her, she jerked abruptly away, as if he had delivered a very painful electric shock. The Headmaster quickly withdrew his hand. Hermione could see the tragic look on Dumbledore's face. She wondered why Pansy would react that way; surely she knew the Headmaster would never hurt her.

Looking very sad, the Headmaster moved away from the bed and headed towards the office. Lupin tried to follow, but had to step around Snape, who was purposely ignoring his presence. Finally, breaking the disapproving glare he was throwing at her, Snape turned and followed the other two Professors into the office.

Hermione waited until Snape was about twenty-five feet away before muttering, "Butthead," in a low voice. Just after her comment, Snape slowed his pace for just a step or two and then sped back up. Hermione was sure that he had heard her.

After watching the three Professors enter Pomfrey's office and close the door behind them, Hermione turned her attention back to Pansy. She still had that utterly blank look on her face. Her expression hadn't changed, even during her reaction to Dumbledore's touch. It looked like Pansy was just staring at the bed next to the one she sitting on; but to Hermione it look as if she were staring at something a lot farther away than that bed.

Hermione felt the uncontrollable urge to say something but didn't have a clue what that should be. She thought about apologizing to Pansy but, the truth was, she really didn't have anything to apologize for. Still, for some unknown reason, she felt guilty about what had happened, even if she didn't know why. Hermione wished Parkinson would show some kind of emotion that would give her a better idea what was going on in her little blond head.

After a minute of standing at the head of Pansy's bed, Hermione finally decided to talk. She walked around the bed and sat down next to Parkinson, keeping three feet of safety in between them, just in case Pansy decides to become violent.

"Pansy, I know what really happened to you last night. I know it's not true that you fell down the stairs. I know it was Draco, Goyle, and Crabbe that attacked you in that room off the corridor, just before the dungeon," Hermione said, trying to sound sympathetic. She realized that this was the first time, with the exception of last night in the fifth floor corridor, that she had addressed Pansy by her giving name.

"Of course it's not true Granger. Nothing has ever been true; it has all been just a bunch of lies," Pansy answered, in the hollowest sounding voice Hermione had ever heard.

She was really surprised that Pansy had answered her. She almost preferred it when she thought Pansy was catatonic. Parkinson's voice had always been full of emotion; to hear her sound so different gave Hermione the creeps.

"Draco will pay for what he did to you, Pansy," Hermione said, trying to reassure her.

"No he won't," Pansy said with the hollow voice, while still staring straight ahead. "No one is going to care what he did to a piece of filthy street-trash. You were right Granger, I should have never been born."

Pansy's words bit into her. Hermione had not really meant any of what she had said last night. She was only trying to hurt Parkinson the same way she had been hurt herself so many times before. Now Hermione felt a terrible guilt; it was as if her words had condemned Pansy to her fate. Hermione tried to find something to say in response, but could think of nothing.

The sound of flapping wings interrupted Hermione's thought process. One of the plain brown owls that the school used had just flown through one of the open high windows at the end of the infirmary. Clutching a small package in its talons, the bird glided its way down the long rows of beds until it reached them. It dropped the small, pink box on the bed between them then flew back down the ward and out the window.

The box was only half the size of a shoebox. It was pink with a red ribbon tied around it. On the top was a card that said, "To P.P," in old English letters. Hermione regarded the package with some suspicion as she read the card. It gave no indication who had sent it.

"It's for you, Pansy," Hermione informed her.

Pansy didn't respond; she didn't even look over at the package.

"Would you like me to open it for you?" she asked.

Without turning her head or saying anything, Pansy reached over and pushed the small box toward Hermione. She took that as a yes. Hermione picked up the box and hopped off the bed. She moved across the ward and set the box on the bed opposite Pansy's. Hermione took out her wand and said, "Reperi Arcanum Acutus," a revealing charm that would show if there was anything magical or dangerous in the box.

Convinced it was safe, Hermione slowly untied the red ribbon bow on the top. After she had removed the ribbon, Hermione stood back and slowly lifted the box lid with the tip of her wand. Once open, she could see the box was packed with light pink wrapping paper. Still using the tip of her wand, Hermione unfolded the packing paper to see what was in the box. Inside, she saw three small pieces of glass, a folded piece of parchment, and some light blue cotton cloth underneath.

She removed the three small pieces of glass from the box, careful not to cut herself on them. Under closer examination, she discovered that they were pieces of a two-inch glass figurine. Fitting the pieces together revealed a unicorn. She had no idea why someone would send Pansy a broken unicorn. 'Maybe it was broken during delivery,' she thought to herself.

Hermione set the glass pieces aside and removed the piece of parchment from the box. She unfolded it and read the note. Hermione let out a gasp as she read the five words written in simple block letters, "YOU'RE OUR WHORE NOW, BITCH."

With a shaky hand, Hermione set the piece of parchment down and then removed the final object from the box. The light blue cloth turned out to be a pair of girl's knickers. As she unfolded the undergarment, she discovered that the crotch was covered in dried blood.

Hermione began to breathe quickly as the meaning of each object became clear to her. The unicorn was a symbol of virtue, or a girl's virginity. Someone smashed this figurine the same way they destroyed Pansy's virginity, and the bloody knickers were evidence of this. Most disturbing of all was the note, guaranteeing that they would do it again. Hermione recalled what Snape had said, when he first entered the ward, about the Madonna Regret potion still needing belladonna to be added. Belladonna was used in most Morning after potions. The only reason they would be out of it is if they had used the last on Pansy.

Hermione stared at the girl on the bed; suddenly, Pansy seemed even smaller then she had looked only a minute ago. Now she understood Pansy's reaction to being touched. It had never occurred to her that anything had happened beyond the beating. Hermione had thought that was as bad as it could get. Now she knew just how wrong she had been. Pansy had been violated in the worst possible way; no one can fully recover from that. Hermione realized that the person she knew as Pansy Parkinson was now gone forever.

Hermione would never have believed that another student could do this, not even Draco Malfoy. Just thinking about the blond-haired Slytherin made Hermione's stomach lurch. As Hermione pictured the horror that Pansy must have gone though, she suddenly felt her mouth fill with bile. As quickly as she could, Hermione snatched up a bedpan and violently vomited her lunch into it.

After what seemed like an hour, but was really only seconds, Hermione finished emptying the contents of her stomach into the pan. As soon as she set it down, it disappeared with a small pop and a second later a new clean bedpan took its place. Resting one hand on her stomach and breathing deeply, Hermione looked back over at Pansy.

This time Pansy was staring right back at her. Her eyes had the look of absolute sorrow in them now.

"You said you knew what happened. You said you knew," Pansy said, as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Without saying another word, Pansy turned away from Hermione and continued to stare at the bed next to her.

Hermione threw the items back in the box. She picked it up and ran towards Pomfrey's office.

"THE SON OF A BITCH RAPED HER!!" she shouted, as she almost crashed through the office door.

The four people in the room stared at her with surprise. Not waiting for anyone reply, Hermione walked over to Madam Pomfrey's desk and poured the items out of the box for all to see.

"The bastard just sent these to her by owl," Hermione said, thoroughly disgusted.

Lupin picked up the piece of parchment and read it. After only reading it once he handed it to Dumbledore. The Headmaster scanned it briefly before handing it to Snape. As Snape read the note, the other three in the room inspected the remaining objects on the desk.

After what seemed like an eternity without anyone saying anything, Hermione finally said, "Did you hear me? She was raped."

"Miss Granger, we were already aware of that," Madam Pomfrey told her, in a solemn voice. "I've been a Mediwitch for fifty years and have seen many terrible things. It was quite apparent to me that Miss Parkinson was the victim of a sexual assault as soon as Mr. Filch set her on that bed last night."

"What are you going to do about it?" she asked everyone in the room.

"That has yet to be decided, Miss Granger," Dumbledore answered.

"What do you mean? Shouldn't you at least call the Ministry's Aurors about this?" she asked.

"We believe that it would be best for everyone, especially Miss Parkinson, if the Ministry was not involved," the Headmaster said.

"You can't just let Draco get away with this," Hermione said, sounding very frustrated.

"What do you wish us to do, Granger? Just turn Malfoy over to the Ministry without so much as a shred of proof?" Snape sarcastically asked her.

"Get some proof. What about D.N.A?" she asked.

"D.N...what?" Pomfrey asked with a puzzled look on her face. Hermione then realize that talking to wizards about D.N.A was like talking to Eskimos about air-conditioners.

"Granger, all likelihood of Ministry justice for Miss Parkinson disappeared as soon as she told Madam Pomfrey she fell down the stairs. No matter what proof there is that points to Malfoy's guilt, the simple fact that she lied about what happened is all the doubt they need not to pursue charges against a pureblood," Snape informed her.

"So what are you going to do?" Hermione asked, as she placed her hands on her hips and gave Snape a contemptuous glare.

"As the Headmaster has already informed you, we have not made any decision on the matter as of yet. Frankly, I don't see how any of this is your concern, Miss Granger," Snape said harshly.

"Not my concern? ARE YOU INSANE?" she shouted. "A Muggle-born witch is raped because she's being forced to marry a pureblood, and that doesn't concern me? I have to spend seven hours a week with that sick S.O.B. Do any of you honestly believe that Draco wouldn't have preferred that it was me in that room, instead of her?"

"Hermione, please calm down," Remus said, as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "We will take care of Draco. But you're going to have to trust us to do it in our own time. I know you feel for that girl out there, we all do. But that can't change the fact that we need to be concerned about all the students' safety, and not just justice for one. I know it sounds cruel, and it is, but we can't let our feelings get in the way of what's best for Hogwarts and the rest of the Wizarding world."

"So, you're going to do nothing about Draco?" she asked, sounding even more frustrated.

"Nothing directly, for the time being," Dumbledore answered. "For now, we will be keeping a extra close eye on young Mr. Malfoy and his companions. We have already decided to remove Miss Parkinson from the Slytherin dorms and will rearrange her class schedule so that she is no longer in Mr. Malfoy's presence. He will be constantly observed to make certain he doesn't harm another student."

"I hope you don't mean this fool," Hermione said angrily, as she turned towards Professor Snape. "He has his head shoved half way down a caldron so much, he couldn't keep an eye on a mountain troll. Besides, he probably gave Malfoy a hundred house points for getting rid of the Mudblood that was in his precious house."

Snape shot forward, grabbing Hermione by the arms and pinning her to the wall. "    YOU IGNORANT LITTLE SHIT!!" he bellowed at her.

Suddenly Hermione felt very afraid, even with Dumbledore in the room. She knew it was a bad idea to take her anger out on Snape, but she felt so frustrated she just couldn't help herself.

"Let her go, Severus," Lupin ordered, as he pulled one of Snape's hands away from her.

Snape released her and turned on Lupin. "How dare you touch me, you filthy animal," he spat at Lupin.

"I believe we have had enough of you Slytherins attacking students, for now," Remus shouted back at Snape, clearly upset about the animal insult.

"Everyone, please calm yourselves!" Dumbledore said, in a raised voice.

Snape turned his back on Lupin and moved to the far corner of the room. No longer interested in what her Professors had to say, Hermione walked out of the office without a word and left as abruptly as she had entered. She ran down the full length of the infirmary, not even looking over at Pansy as she passed by.

............................................................................................................

The four people in the room stared at the door Hermione had just left by. No one seemed to know what to say.

Finally, it was Madam Pomfrey who spoke as she got up from behind her desk. "I need to finish my examination of Miss Parkinson. I hope that you three will behave yourselves. There are some very delicate instruments in this office; I would hate to have any of them broken in a scuffle," she said as she left the room.

As soon as the door closed behind Pomfrey, Snape spoke. "The girl is right. We should not wait to deal with Malfoy," he said in a cold voice.

"What would you suggest?" Dumbledore asked.

"Kill him," he answered simply.

Dumbledore knew this would be Severus's response. He had seen the rage in the Potions Master's eyes as he informed him of what had happen to the girl last night. He also knew that Severus would blame himself for what had happen.

"Severus, we are not assassins. The Order was formed to protect, not to harm. Whatever Mr. Malfoy has done, it does not justify his murder," Dumbledore said.

Snape turned to face the Headmaster. Albus could still see the rage boiling behind those dark eyes.

"He has taken the Mark. There is no turning back for him. Killing him now would be an act of mercy. The longer he wears the Mark, the more corrupted his soul will become. We may not be able to help him in this life, but we can save him from being damned in the next," Snape said, in a serious tone

.

"Severus, I refuse to give up on anyone while there is still hope. Remember, you also carry the Mark of the Dark Lord. If we had giving up on you, the Order would have lost one of its most valuable assets."

"Draco's situation is completely different than my own," Snape said, angrily. "He has embraced the dark magic that now flows within him, I never have."

"Still, you took the Mark willingly, Severus," Dumbledore said, coolly.

"My reasons for taking the Mark were as valid the day I received it as they are today," Snape said defensively. "The Order would not have stood a chance against the Dark Lord if I hadn't gained the knowledge we needed."

"I would never have asked you, or anyone, to make such a sacrifice," Dumbledore said sadly to the younger wizard.

"I know. That is why I never told you what I planned to do," Snape said flatly. "Draco is his father. He has already shown how vicious he has become. You know as well as I do that it's only a matter of time before he strikes at another Muggle-born."

"We cannot kill Malfoy, Severus," Lupin said. "If we did, it would bring the Ministry down upon us. Fudge is looking for any excuse to place Hogwarts under Ministry control. The murder of a prominent pureblood could do that."

"It would not be murder, Lupin. It could be something as simple as a Quidditch accident. Malfoy believes himself to be better on a broom than he actually is. A simple charm to a bludger and it will be quick and relatively painless," Snape said.

"Headmaster, you told me yourself, when you confronted the Dark Lord in the Ministry he had less than half the power he used to possess. That is why he hides now; he is afraid to take on you, or even Potter, until he has more strength. The only way he can act now is through his followers, most of which are in Azkaban now. He only has a handful left. We must deny him any more new recruits, if we can. The only real place for him to find new Death Eaters is Hogwarts. I doubt any older wizards will jeopardize their freedom to join him. The Mark can only be given willingly. Only the young and naïve would agree. Draco Malfoy is his gateway into this school. If we are to save others from his fate, we must act now."

"Severus, I fully realize the danger that Mr. Malfoy poses to the school. But, I am not willing to condone the killing of a sixteen-year-old boy. What would we do next? Kill whomever we suspected was in league with the Dark Lord? Soon there would be little difference between the Order and the Death Eaters," Dumbledore said.

"How can we win a war if we continue to be so imprudent," Snape shouted, as he headed for the door. He slammed it behind him as he left.

..........................................................................................................

Reperi Arcanum Acutus - Discover a dangerous secret.