Harry Potter and the Dark Mark

Chapter Eleven

Harry fumbled for his glasses and wiped them on his towel before putting them back on. The steam had clouded them, and he had to squint carefully at the tiled floor to ensure that he didn't slip in a puddle of water. He made his way slowly out of the bathroom and returned to the dormitory, and proceeded to get dressed. Lessons were cancelled, so he wore his cords and a thick pullover under his robe. Ron wasn't in his bed, so Harry assumed he was already downstairs. He straightened the sheets on his bed, and then made his way down to the Common Room.

"What time is it?" he asked Ron. His voice was husky from sleep.

"Time you got a watch," Ron joked, without a trace of humour.

"Ten to twelve," Hermione informed him.

"Is lunch at the normal time?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Ron and Hermione chorused. They were sitting next to each other on one of the settees, Ron's arm draped around Hermione's shoulder comfortingly. Harry looked around, checking on the other Gryffindors. Most people were awake now, although the silence in the Common Room belied this fact. Usually cheerful and noisy, the room was as quiet as the library.

"Did they find Dennis and Natalie, yet?" someone asked from the stairway. Harry swivelled round. Ginny stood there with tousled hair and shadows under her eyes.

"No," Hermione said finally. Ginny nodded and retreated up the stairs to the boys' dormitories, presumably to tell Colin this.

A half hour later, everyone, including Colin Creevey, was in the Common Room. McGonagall climbed in through the portrait hole. She looked round gravely at all her students, who fell silent at her entrance.

"Good morning, Gryffindor," she said quietly. No one replied. A few, like the Weasely twins, nodded at her politely, but most people, Harry included, felt that for her to make a special trip, she could only be bringing bad news.

"I am afraid I have some bad news for you," she said, looking nauseous. "Yesterday, there were many people trapped underneath the rubble of the Three Broomsticks after it was blown up. I can now confirm that this attack was indeed one perpetrated by You Know Who." There were a few gasps at this, but most people had already come to that conclusion anyway. "Yesterday, we were missing two students from this house, both in their second year. I am sorry to inform you that the bodies of Dennis Creevey and Natalie MacDonald have both been found under the remains of the Three Broomsticks. I have already owled their parents."

The second years were horrified. All of the girls began to cry, and a couple of the boys did as well. Colin breathed in quickly and turned as white as a sheet, and Ginny and a few others ran to his side, trying to console him in vain. The Weasely twins gazed at him with identical looks of sorrow and sympathy engraved on their faces, and everyone else sat, stunned, shaking their heads or wiping away their tears in silence. Ron hugged Hermione. Harry couldn't see her face, but he knew she was crying.

McGonagall continued, speaking over the muffled sobs and cries of grief. "I know it will be hard, but I would ask that you all proceed to lunch as instructed in last night's notice. Colin, if you could come with me please." She held out her arm towards the door, and Colin stood up and left with her. The air was thick with emotion. Harry waited for lunch. He wanted to know what Dumbledore was going to do. Ron nudged him from his thoughts.

"Harry, I can't help feeling... I persuaded you and Hermione not to tell Dumbledore about Wormtail... I should have known..." Ron stopped speaking and fiddled with a frayed patch on his trousers.

"Ron, if anyone were to blame, it was me! My scar was irritated, it was itching, and then I saw Wormtail, and I didn't want to tell Dumbledore because I just wanted everything to go away. And... and I saw a Death Eater outside the Three Broomsticks just before it was blown up. I didn't recognise him until afterwards. I didn't make the connection until it was too late..." Harry stared despondently at the carpet.

"You saw... who?"

"Macnair," Harry responded in a miserable whisper. "The one who almost executed Bu-"

"Buckbeak," Ron finished, his face awash with memory.

"Harry, you do understand we have to tell Dumbledore this, don't you?" Hermione suddenly cut in. Her cheeks were pink and damp, and her eyelashes spiky with salty tears.

"Of course," Harry said. He would not make the mistake of silence again. She nodded at him, and then checked her watch, before standing and wiping her eyes.

"Gryffindors, you have ten minutes before we must go to the Great Hall for Lunch. I know we are all upset, but Dumbledore's announcements will be of great importance to us. Everyone ought to get ready now, so that we can leave soon," Hermione announced with her Prefect's composure. There was a buzz of talk at her words, and people departed to go tidy themselves and dry their tears before lunch. No one questioned her authority, or her instructions.

Walking through the corridors in pairs was a strange sensation. The passages usually so full of life and noise echoed with whispers of death and fear. Everyone walked rapidly, almost as if something lurked just behind each corner, waiting for an opportunity to cast a curse. When everyone was congregated in the Great Hall, and was seated at the appropriate table, Harry had a chance to see the empty seats on each bench, and the reactions of the other pupils.

The Slytherins were a mixed group; many sitting impassively while others stifled sobs or gazed at the teachers' table with fear. Harry's eyes noted only three empty spaces at this table. Hufflepuff lacked five students, Ravenclaw approximately seven, and Gryffindor only the two. The doors to the Great Hall parted as he was inspecting the other Houses, and a gaggle of students traipsed in, followed by Madam Pomfrey.

Five Ravenclaws, a mixture of seventh and six years, hurried to their friends and took their places. Skirting round the edge of their table were two Slytherin fourth years, one with a slight limp. The last students to enter the Hall were from Hufflepuff. Out of these three, Harry recognised the girl Neville had rescued. She did not seem to be in any physical pain, but her face was drawn, and she looked tired. Dumbledore acknowledged her as she sat down, and then stood, surveying his school. Every face met his, anticipating the speech to come. He adjusted his glasses, and then began.

"I trust you are all rested as well as is possible under these terrible circumstances. I will not mince words. Yesterday, Lord Voldemort targeted this school in a monstrous attack. Six students were snatched from our midst. From our second year, in Slytherin, Malcolm Baddock, in Hufflepuff, Owen Cauldwell, from Gryffindor, Dennis Creevey and Natalie Macdonald, and from our fifth year, two Ravenclaws, Mandy Brocklehurst and Lisa Turpin. It is not the first time Lord Voldemort has preyed upon your schoolfellows.

"Last year, despite the wishes of the Ministry of Magic, I told you that he murdered Cedric Diggory, and that he had risen again. I do not wish to retract anything I said then, but merely to reinforce it. Many of your parents will not consider this castle a safe place for you any longer. I will repeat that everyone in this hall will be welcomed back at any time. It is not my plan to give in to Lord Voldemort, and close Hogwarts. As long as there are pupils in this castle, I will continue to teach them. Hogwarts will remain open for the last week of this term. However, no one will be remaining over the Christmas Holidays, as Aurors will be scouring it and strengthening the protective charms that surround us.

"The Spring Term will begin on the usual dates, and pupils returning to the school will be able to catch the Hogwarts Express as normal. All pupils who will need to make arrangements for the Holidays please speak with your Head of House. Finally, I would ask that you never forget these pupils, friends and schoolmates, and that you all show kindness to those who suffer this bereavement more strongly than yourselves. A memorial service will be held at a more appropriate date. I would also like to mention that we might well have been missing another student, if it had not been for the heroic actions of Mr Neville Longbottom. For his actions, one hundred points will be awarded to Gryffindor."

Neville smiled weakly, and the rest of the Gryffindors tried to feign cheer. They were not adverse to the house points, but it was hard to be happy in this atmosphere. There was a smattering of applause from around the hall. With that, Dumbledore sat down slowly, and the food appeared on the House tables. People began to eat, but it seemed that not many had an appetite. Some were crying again, others just sitting in silence. Colin looked shell shocked, and wasn't responding to anyone. Even Ron was only picking at his meal. Hermione, however, was fervently combing the teachers' table with her eyes. She turned to Harry with an urgent look, and leaned in towards him. Ron, in between them, put down his fork and glanced from her to Harry and back again.

"Snape isn't there!" she hissed. Harry and Ron both turned their heads to confirm her statement. That done, they turned back to her once more.

"Where is he?" Ron demanded.

"Well..." Hermione stopped, as if she had been thinking something disturbing.

"Go on," prompted Harry.

"Well, he's been missing for a day after each time the Dark Mark has appeared in the sky..." She trailed off, unable to contemplate what she was saying.

"I knew it! He's a ruddy Death Eater! That's where he goes!" Ron exploded. "What does Dumbledore think he's doing, letting him teach us? He probably told You Know Who that we were in Hogsmeade yesterday afternoon!"

"Ron, that's just supposition," Hermione said doubtfully, but Harry could see the unease in her face. He stood up decisively.

"Well, I'll ask Dumbledore when I've finished telling him about Wormtail and the Streeler Venom, and my scar, and Macnair," he muttered.

Ron looked up at him. "What, now?"

"Yes. I'm not hungry. Dumbledore isn't eating either," Harry reasoned.

"Hmm," Ron agreed.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "He usually eats such a lot," she sighed.

"Don't we all?" Ron chimed in, swilling his pumpkin juice around inside the goblet.

Harry nodded and set his jaw, before beginning his trek down the Great Hall. He had a feeling that this meeting was going to be one of the more difficult kinds, in which he admired the carpet a lot, and got told off. Approaching Dumbledore in a much more confident manner than he felt, he quelled the butterflies in his stomach. Upon reaching the table, he spoke clearly but quietly.

"Professor, I need to speak with you privately." Dumbledore looked altogether unsurprised, and then leaned forwards.

"Come to my office directly after this meal," he instructed. Harry nodded, feeling nervous, and then left the Great Hall. He knew people were watching, but he didn't feel like staying at the meal. He knew he couldn't eat anything anyway.