Immortality

Chapter Two

Unexpected Ally

Harry woke from dreams of chasing Dudley on his broomstick. He sat up, spotting Neville sitting on his bed, and suddenly remembered his expression from the night before.

"Hey Neville, what's up?" he asked, and was surprised to see a fat tear roll down Neville's cheek.

"Gran wouldn't let me bring Trevor," he said miserably. "She says he's too old and I don't look after him properly."

Harry couldn't really argue; Neville's lax care of his toad was a well-known fact, though it probably had something to do with his chronic forgetfulness.

"Well... You'll see him in the holidays," he offered, not really knowing what he should say, but having a go anyway.

This didn't help; Neville lapsed into sobbing at the thought of how long he would have to wait. Harry took the opportunity to throw on his robes and nip down to the common room, where he found Ron and Hermione sprawled in a couple of armchairs, obviously waiting for him.

"Hey guys, why you up so early?" he asked, flopping down beside them.

"Well this one's always up early," said Ron gesturing at Hermione, who was absently stroking Crookshanks. "And I needed to get away from Neville."

"It's not that early actually," put in Hermione. "It's only quarter past seven."

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron and turned to the fireplace, a glimpse of red and gold catching his eye as he did so. He turned back to see what it was and saw Dean clambering in through the portrait hole; a brightly coloured badge pinned to his robes. A red and gold badge with a large 'P' on it. A prefect badge.

Dean tweaked the end of his robes out of the door and looked around the common room for someone.

He wandered over to Harry.

"Hey Harry, have you seen Lavendar?"

"No, why?"

"We've got a meeting for all the prefects right now in the Great Hall. Any idea where she is?"

"Hang on," Harry looked over his shoulder. "Hermione, seen Lavendar?"

"She's still in bed I think, why?"

"Dean wants her; they've got a prefect's meeting."

"Ah, I'll go get her," Hermione bustled off upstairs.

Harry turned back to find Dean looking at him apprehensively.

"Um, I was just wondering..." he said slowly.

"What?" asked Harry.

"I was just wondering, said Dean hurriedly, "if you had any idea why you weren't picked as a prefect?"

Harry looked at him blankly; the thought simply hadn't crossed his mind.

"What I mean is, well, you're you, and well, you know," Dean finished awkwardly.

"Wouldn't have the slightest idea," Harry said frankly. "Maybe they picked the people with the cleanest records? I mean, mine isn't exactly sparkling."

Dean looked vaguely relieved, "I suppose that makes sense." But then he glanced at his watch and started looking harassed again. "We're supposed to be down there now!" he said, exasperated. "What's taking her so long?"

Just then Hermione appeared at the top of the stairs to the girls' dormitories, dragging a very dishevelled-looking Lavendar. Dean rushed over.

"Lavendar come on! We need to be there two minutes ago!" And with that he grabbed her arm and hauled her out of the common room.

"Hmm, maybe Lavendar wasn't such a great prefect choice after all," said Hermione, coming over. "But anyway, breakfast?"

"Excellent idea Hermione," said Ron, coming up behind them. "Let's go."

***

The Great Hall was slowing filling with sleepy-eyed students, still unused to the early school mornings. Harry, Ron and Hermione picked their way through haphazard bunches of people and sat down at the Gryffindor table, taking care to avoid the rather hyperactive first years, who were bouncing around as though someone had fed them sugar. A rather furtive looking Fred and George hurried past, clutching what looked like a bag of gummy bears and whispering furiously to each other. Harry eyed them suspiciously before applying himself to toast and marmalade. Then suddenly a first-year came hurtling up, all bright eyes and too-big robes.

"Harry! Harry Potter! Wow! Can I see your scar?!"

Unfortunately, this attracted more of them, like bees to honey. Soon they were five deep around him and he was desperately looking for a way out. Ron stood up, towering over them all by nearly a foot and attempting to look menacing. They scattered back and Hermione stood up as well, moving between them and Harry, who was trying to hide behind a bowl of fruit.

"Do you mind?" asked Hermione, indignantly. "We're having breakfast."

"But-" The only one brave enough to open his mouth quickly shut up at Hermione's scowl.

"OK..." he muttered. C'mon guys, we'd better leave him alone."

"But I want to see-" The original gawker bounced up and down impatiently, only to have a hand clapped across his mouth and be dragged away.

"It's alright Harry, you can come out now," teased Ron, sitting down again.

"Yes Potter, come out of your... lair. Scared of first years are we?" said a hatefully familiar drawl.

"Stuff off Malfoy," said Ron. "Go play with the Skrewt."

"Temper temper," said Malfoy, his eyes glinting. "No need to get nasty."

Harry stood up, thoroughly pissed off; first Dudley, then first-years and now Malfoy. What a wonderful start to the year.

"What do you want Malfoy?" he demanded.

Malfoy smiled insolently, "I was just passing by and wondered what all the fuss was about. Nothing I see. Not thinking of starting your fan club up again are you? That would be a tad... big-headed now wouldn't it?" And with that he sauntered off, leaving three angry scowls behind him.

"Idiot," said Harry, irritably. "I wish he'd get a hobby or something."

"He's already got one: annoying us," said Ron.

"He's getting more like his father don't you think?" said Hermione, thoughtfully. "Less fire, more ice."

"What on earth are you talking about Hermione?" asked Ron, bewildered.

"He's more...subtle I guess you'd call it. Less crude insults, more malicious insinuation."

Ron looked at her, horrified, "You aren't falling for Malfoy are you?"

"No!" snapped Hermione. "I'm just commenting that he's grown up a bit, gotten a bit nastier, and we'd better watch out for the little bastard," she said vehemently.

Harry didn't really know what she was on about, but he had noticed one thing, "At least he's not a prefect either."

"He isn't? Great! I mean, imagine if he was... hardly bears thinking about really," said Ron, tucking in to forgotten breakfast.

"Uh-huh, unbearable would be right," said Harry, grimacing.

Soon teachers began filing along the tables, handing out timetables to the students. Harry caught his, noticing as he did so that Hermione got more than one piece of paper.

"What's that 'Mione?" he asked, curious.

"It's my field-trip timetable," said Hermione, not looking up. "Arithmancy and Rune Studies both have one this year and... oh no! They're both next month, a week apart! Oh no, I'm going to get so behind!

"You? Behind? Never!" said Ron happily, having found that that morning he had double Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology, his two favourite subjects. "I wonder how Hagrid is?

"I wonder what he's going to let loose on us this year," mused Harry, scanning his timetable and seeing he had double Potions and Astronomy in the afternoon. "Not a bad Monday really."

"Depends, doesn't it?" said Ron. "We've yet to find out what this new Potions teacher's like."

"True, true," said Harry, munching on a piece of toast. "She can't be worse than Snape though, can she?"

"Wouldn't know Harry, she certainly looks nasty enough, maybe they're related?" said Ron, stuffing his timetable into his bag.

"Get real," said Hermione. "She doesn't have any of his characteristics apart from black hair and eyes, and that's hardly uncommon."

"Gah, what'd you have to go and spoil our fun for?" said Ron, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, shouldn't we be moving?"

***

The group standing outside Hagrid's hut looked vaguely apprehensive. That was understandable, considering the chaos some lesson had been. Harry, Ron and Hermione strolled up and took their place up front.

Soon Hagrid appeared, towing a wagon with a large sheet-covered object on it. He parked it by the vegetable patch and turned to his students, beaming.

"Mornin' class," he rumbled. "Welcome back. Now, as yeh'll already know, this is yer O.W.L. year, an' so things'll be gettin' a bit harder. Now, I don' want to stan' aroun' all day talkin' abou' it, so let's get on with it. We're startin' Aquatic Creatures today, an we'll do it fer abou' two months an' then move onter somethin' else." He turned around and dragged the sheet off the wagon, revealing a large water-filled tank. It contained a large amount of what looked like spiders, but they were bright purple and had a large pair of feelers that were busily exploring the walls of the tank, a third shorter one sticking straight out in front of them.

"Nerwicks," he said proudly. "Come from off the coast o' Madagascar."

"And will they leap out of the tank and give us fatal bites?" smirked Malfoy.

"No, no, they don' eat anythin' bigger than your finger-tip, and they're not poisonous at all. But the really fascinatin' thing abou' them is their way of defendin' themselves. Watch this." And he plunged a large hand into the tank.

The class drew back in horror, waiting for the screams of pain and the cue for them to streak back to the castle. But all that happened was the startled Nerwicks froze, swinging the middle feeler up with the front-most pair of legs, imitating miniature Muggle machine-gunners, and spraying Hagrid's hand with what looked like fluorescent yellow flames.

The class tensed, ready for flight, but Hagrid just beamed.

"See, clever little fellas aren't they?" he said, pulling his hand out again. "It's all illusion, but the fish don' know tha' do they?" He produced a large stack of goldfish bowls and a small net. "Ok everyone, come and get a Nerwick."

They separated out into groups and drew the violently coloured creatures, labelling their various bits.

"This's a bit tame for Hagrid, don't you think?" muttered Harry, as he struggled to draw his very active Nerwick.

"At least it doesn't give Malfoy anything else to try and get him sacked with," said Hermione sensibly.

"S'pose you're right," said Harry. "Ron, what's the matter?"

"I- don't- like- spiders..." Ron shuddered, eyes fixed on the Nerwick as it scrabbled against the glass.

"But Ron, it's not a spider, it just looks like one, anyway, it can't get out of the bowl," said Hermione, adding the last label to her diagram, as her Nerwick sat placidly on the bottom, waving it's long antennae around. "Just draw it and then you can give it back to Hagrid."

An hour later, Harry finally managed to finish his drawing, and they handed them in with their Nerwicks. Hagrid pulled them off to one side.

"Now, I need someone to look after the Skrewt," he said anxiously. "I'm too busy, an' I was wondering if one of you could do it perhaps?"

They looked at each other; none of them were eager to volunteer to look after the now over twelve-foot Skrewt. Finally, Ron gave in.

"I'll do it," he said glumly.

"Great!" said Hagrid enthusiastically. "If you come after school tomorrow, I'll show you what to do."

And with that they trooped off to Herbology, Ron gloomily trailing along behind. Professor Sprout was her usual cheerful self, herding them all into the greenhouse and giving them a cursory exam lecture before getting straight down to business.

"Today we are starting carnivorous plants, can anyone give me an example?"

To no one's surprise, Hermione's hand shot up immediately.

"The Peruvian Sledge-hammer Plant."

"Well done Miss Granger, anyone else?"

"The Tibetan Noose Vine?" Neville volunteered.

"Excellent. We aren't going to be studying quite such violent examples; you'll only study them if you continue with Herbology after Hogwarts. We're beginning with Malicious Tumbleweed, gather 'round everyone, now, who knows how it attacks?"

After ten minutes of question-and-answer, they split off into pairs, each with a Tumbleweed in a cage.

"Doesn't look particularly dangerous," said Ron, poking a stick between the bars.

It ate the stick.

"Ah," said Ron, holding the stub of wood remaining. "Maybe it is."

The Tumbleweed spat out the mangled remains of his twig and rolled up against the side of the cage, following the sound of Ron's voice. Ron leapt back, nearly knocking Seamus over, before grabbing a bigger stick and poking the matted lump of vegetation. It opened a leafy mouth and bit down on the new irritation.

Ron spent the next half-hour feeding everything he could find into the cage, and then Professor Sprout came around, handing out dead mice to give them.

Harry dangled the mouse by its tail, but handed it over to Ron at his eager look. Ron pushed the mouse through the bars, dropping it directly on the Tumbleweed.

The ball twitched, and rolled over the body. They could hear chewing noises, and then it spat out the tail and a pair of little pink feet.

"Ew," said Parvati, at the next table over. "Gross!"

Ron just giggled.

***

At lunch Ron was still grinning and Harry was beginning to have serious doubts about his sanity. But he snapped out of it long enough to eat something, and then sobered up smartly when he remembered what class they had next.

On the way to Potions they had a look in the Entrance Hall, where a small crowd of students were lingering around the black hole, to see if anyone who wanted to enter the House Tournament would drop their names in. And they were in luck. A nervous-looking brunette was being steered over by a bunch of friends and, at their encouragement, darted forward and dropped a scrap of parchment in before hastily rushing off in flushed embarrassment. Harry didn't think she would get very far if she was scared of doing that, but then he realised that he was the one hiding in a corner keeping an uneasy watch on the various groups of first-years roaming the Entrance Hall. Maybe he shouldn't be so quick to judge...

***

They filed apprehensively into the classroom and sat down. The new professor was sitting at her desk, watching them all closely. When they were seated she stood up and looked down on them.

"Good afternoon," she said icily. "As you all should know, I am the new Potions teacher. I will not tolerate foolishness or anyone who disobeys me. You will be sitting your O.W.L exams this year, so I expect you all to study hard in class and out of it. Anyone who doesn't will receive punishment. Do I make myself clear?"

There was a stunned murmur of assent from the students. Harry glanced over at Malfoy to see him smirking, obviously thinking this was another Snape, who would favour the Slytherins and give him free rein to humiliate Harry.

He soon found out just how wrong he was.

The professor set them to making a Courage Potion as a start to Mind Affecting Potions. Harry was chopping his dried scorpions when Malfoy brushed past, shoving his elbow and scattering scorpions all over the floor. Harry glared at him, Malfoy sneered. Then Professor Venin swept over to find out what the scuffle was about, and seeing Malfoy's smirk worked out exactly what had happened.

"Five points from Slytherin Malfoy, and clean up this mess."

She strode off again, leaving a very shell-shocked looking Malfoy behind her. Now Harry was the one grinning, as Malfoy got down on his knees very reluctantly and sullenly swept up most of the dead insects. Then he stalked back to his own table, throwing poisonous looks at the professor's back.

At the end of the lesson, they handed in their potions and headed off to Astronomy, Harry feeling very pleased that for once Potions had not been an ordeal, in fact, he had almost enjoyed it!

***

"I hate Astronomy theory," groaned Harry at dinner, swinging his bag onto the bench. "It's almost as bad as Binns."

"So what do you think of Professor Venin now?" asked Hermione.

"She's alright, a bit too much like Snape for my liking, but still loads better," said Ron through a mouthful of peas.

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "But I did like how she dealt to Malfoy, he didn't know what hit him!"

"I think she's very good," said Hermione, pouring herself some pumpkin juice. "I wonder why they hired her and let Snape teach Defence Against the Dark Arts? I mean, Snape's been trying to get that job for years, so why'd Dumbledore suddenly decide to give it to him now?"

"Don't know," said Harry. "But you're right, it is a bit weird."

"Maybe something happened," said Ron. "Do you know why he wasn't allowed the job in the first place?"

It was then that Harry remembered what he'd seen in the Pensieve last year. Snape had been a spy against Voldemort, so could hardly have been allowed to teach the very magic which would have been used against his 'master'. But Voldemort knew about him now, didn't he? "One, who I believe has left me forever... he will be killed, of course." So if Voldemort knew; Snape could teach. And considering his history, he would be rather good at it, but... How had Voldemort found out?

"Harry?" Hermione peered at him, wondering why he wasn't talking.

Harry looked up, startled.

"You know something, don't you?" said Hermione. "Can you tell us?"

"Later," muttered Harry, glancing around at the other diners. "In the common room."

"Sure," said Hermione. "In the common room."

Just then Angelina, who seemed to be living Ron's dream of being Head and Quidditch captain, came striding up to them.

"Harry, there you are. Look, we're having tryouts tomorrow, for Keeper, do you think you can make it?"

"Yeah. What time?"

"About five, see you there." And she marched off to find the rest of her team.

"Keeper tryouts eh? Who do you think will go?" asked Ron.

"Dunno, maybe Seamus, probably not Dean, possibly one of the sixth- or seventh-years. Why?"

"Just wondering. What about one of the younger students?"

"Hopefully not Colin," said Harry, crossing his fingers. "Is your sister interested?"

"Don't think so, not in being Keeper anyway."

"Lee might try," suggested Hermione. "But then again, he is rather fond of commentating."

"Yeah, he's a good commentator," agreed Ron. "Wonder who'll replace Diggory?"

"Or half the Slytherin team, they've lost Flint, Derrick and Bole," said Harry.

"Did the Ravenclaw team lose anyone?" asked Hermione.

"Um, just one of the Beaters I think," said Harry, frowning. "So did Hufflepuff."

They continued to talk about Quidditch for the rest of dinner, before heading off to the common room. Harry flopped down in his favourite armchair by the fire and waited for the other two to seat themselves before leaning forward into a huddle.

"So what do you know Harry?" whispered Hermione.

"Well, last year, when I was in Dumbledore's office, I found his Pensieve."

"His Pensieve! What were you doing looking in his Pensieve?" asked Ron. "That's really rude, it's like reading someone's diary!"

"Well I'm sure Harry didn't mean to," said Hermione. "Go on Harry."

"Anyway, I didn't know what it was at the time, so I sort of, had a look in it, and it sucked me in. I ended up watching all these court cases against Dark wizards. One of them was Karkaroff."

"Karkaroff!" gasped Hermione. "So that's why he was so nervous; Voldemort was returning and Karkaroff had betrayed him!"

"Yeah, exactly, and anyway, he tried to accuse Snape of being a Death Eater, but Dumbledore said he'd reformed and was now acting as a spy."

"So if Snape was a Death Eater, or at least pretending to be one, Dumbledore couldn't exactly let him teach Defence Against the Dark Arts; Voldemort'd probably order him to teach us all wrong; leaving us open to attack, and if he disobeyed; the Ministry would lose its spy!" said Hermione excitedly. "But what made Dumbledore let him teach now?"

"I'm pretty sure that Voldemort knows Snape isn't one of his loyal servants any more. Last year, in the graveyard, he called all his Death eaters up, and there were quite a few missing. Three were dead, two were in Azkaban, and then there was one who was 'too cowardly to return', and I figured that was Karkaroff, because even though he's not very nice, I don't think you can call Snape cowardly," said Harry, grudgingly. "But then Voldemort mentioned one who 'had left him forever', and I think that means he knows Snape is a spy."

"So he blew his cover somehow," said Hermione. "I wonder what he did."

"Me too," said Ron. " Snape's not stupid either, so it wouldn't have been something little."

"Somehow I doubt we'll find out easily, if we find out at all," said Hermione. "It won't exactly be public knowledge."

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "But I bet Snape'll be touchy about it; he's not one to tolerate failure. Hopefully being finally able to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts will stop him being too nasty."

"Hopefully," said Hermione. "Anyway, it should be dark enough to do that Astronomy homework now. Let's get it done before the Tower fills with people with, uh, other things on their minds."