Love Potion HP

Chapter Seventeen: Gryffindor Versus Slytherin

Harry stood in the moonlight surrounded by tongues of black flame. The fire did not burn. It felt cold as ice and he shivered. Dark shapes surrounded him and above, a great skull with a snake slithering from its mouth glittered among the stars like a hundred pale emeralds. Voldemort's mark, yet he felt no fear, only anticipation.

A voice above him boomed, "You have vowed your honor, you have vowed your valor, and you have vowed your life to my service and aid. Now I ask of you one final thing. Do you pledge to me your soul, Severus Snape?"

Harry answered without hesitation, in a voice not his own, "I do."

"Hold out your left arm," Voldemort's disembodied voice commanded.

He did so- it was not truly his arm, but Snape's- and a thin beam of red light suddenly seared his skin, etching upon it in black the same symbol shimmering the sky.

* * *

Harry bolted straight up in bed, out of breath and nearly screaming.

He had had the dream twice before, but never had it been so vivid. He imagined he could feel the burning on his own skin.

The first time the scene had played in his mind was the eighteenth of February, the same day he had drunk the Polyjuice which transformed him into Snape. Could the potion have somehow transferred a shred of Snape's memory into his brain?

But that didn't happen when I used it to become Goyle during second-year.

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that while Harry had been Snape, Snape had also been Harry? Had it created a link between them? He certainly seemed prone to that sort of thing given the many connections- such as his wand, his scar, and his ability to speak Parseltongue- that existed between himself and Voldemort. If that was so, then what memory of Harry's had Snape gained? Probably the image he saw whenever he got close to a dementor...

He should have told someone the first time the dream occurred. He should have spoken Dumbledore, or at least, Sirius. He had not for one reason; it was Snape's memory and it was personal. But now that it had reappeared...

I'm just going to have to suck it up and talk to Snape, he thought.

It was unfortunate that his first opportunity would not be until after the Quidditch match tomorrow. Harry was determined to win and if he succeeded, the Potions Master would be in a foul mood.

But Harry was used to Snape being in a mood.

* * *

"Come on, Sirius!" Severus shouted up the stairs. "I'm not going to be late even if I have to leave without you!"

"I can't find my shoe!" Sirius called back.

"You probably chewed on it!"

"What?" he called, confused.

Severus rolled his eyes. "What do you need shoes for? You're going as a dog anyway!"

"I got it!" Sirius announced, then emerged from the bedroom. As he came down the stairs, he asked, "Are you sure the Slytherins won't mind a dog in the stands?"

"Slytherins?" he repeated. "I thought you were going to sit with Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley to be on the Gryffindor side."

"The view's better from the Slytherin stands, plus I'd feel safer with a close eye on you."

Severus sighed. "No one is going to attempt anything at a Quidditch match."

"Someone tried jinxing Harry's broom-"

"Yes, but Dumbledore will be there. Don't worry so much," he said. "This is an opportunity to forget our troubles for a few hours and just enjoy ourselves. Or as best as we can enjoy ourselves," he muttered.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Why won't you enjoy yourself?"

"I already know what's going to happen," he grumbled. "Potter will catch the Snitch. He always gets the Snitch."

Sirius grinned, then morphed.

* * *

As usual, the entire school had come for the match. Harry glanced about the stands. He spotted Hagrid easily among the Gryffindors and from there spied Ron and Hermione, who were sitting next to him. He turned towards the Slytherins and soon found Snape; he was the only spot of black amid a sea of green and silver. Harry squinted his eyes and thought he could just make out the figure of a dog resting its head in the Potions Master's lap. He suddenly felt very happy.

The emotion was not shared by the Slytherins. Behind masks of fierce determination, the green-robed Quidditch players vainly hid their apprehension. Almost half of their team had been replaced in the past two weeks and the only one who appeared confident was their new Seeker, a third-year named Alexandra Reeve. Alexandra reminded Harry a bit of Cho in a very odd way, as if she were a younger, twisted mirror of the Ravenclaw. She was pretty and very lithe. Her long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her violet eyes regarded him much in the manner that a cat would a canary. Despite that he was larger and two years older than her, Harry felt a bit intimidated.

The Bludgers and the Golden Snitch were released. Madam Hooch tossed the Quaffle in the air- and the game began!

Gryffindor took the Quaffle, putting Slytherin on the defensive. The Quaffle exchanged hands several times, but Slytherin only scored twice to Gryffindor's seven. Harry tried as best as he could to tune out Jordan's quirky commentary. His eyes scanned the skies, searching for the familiar golden glimmer- while Alexandra's eyes seemed to bore straight through his body.

Gryffindor scored again. The students cheered and then Harry saw it. He was off, faster than an arrow on his Firebolt, as the Snitch zoomed towards the Slytherin stands. Alexandra followed, spiraling around him crazily in concentric circles, trying to distract him. She was not a nuisance for long. The speed of her Nimbus Two Thousand and One was no match for his Firebolt; he soon outdistanced her. He gripped his broom handle tightly and extended his left hand. His fingers began to close around the Snitch-

A sudden pain jolted through his arm. His hand involuntarily jerked back. Alexandra dived-

* * *

Everyone in the Slytherin stands stood up and cheered.

Alexandra Reeve had caught the Snitch!

* * *

A wild celebration was taking place in the Slytherin common room. Silver and green streamers, confetti, and even candy flew about the room while a group of sixth-years enacted an exaggerated imitation of Potter's fumble.

"You are all going to clean this up afterwards!" Severus reminded them sharply.

"Of course, Professor Snape!" Alexandra Reeve called back cheerily. She was sitting on a chair atop a table and wearing- of all things- a tiara with a broken Snitch as the crown jewel.

Severus looked down at the dog at his feet. "Come on," he mumbled crossly. "They don't need my supervision to tear the place apart."

They exited the common room, entering the dungeons, then left the castle. Severus's thoughts were heavy as he crossed the grounds. Slytherin had beaten Gryffindor for the first time since Potter became a Seeker. He should be happy about that, but instead, his mind continuously replayed the last moments of the game, focusing upon the odd way Potter's hand had moved just before Alexandra had gotten the Snitch...

"Professor!" a voice called out. "Professor Snape!"

Severus turned around. Harry Potter, still in his Quidditch robes, rushed towards him with his Firebolt in hand.

"Potter?" Severus asked. "What-"

Potter stopped before him and caught his breath. His face was pale. "I need to talk to you and Sirius. Something's very wrong-"

Severus placed his hand on his shoulder and ushered him towards the cabin. "Come along," he ordered and, feeling a sudden need for haste, dashed for home.

Back at the cabin, Severus closed the door and locked it. Sirius changed again to human and guided Potter to the sofa.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, reacting to the panic in Potter's eyes. "What's wrong?"

Severus leaned Potter's Firebolt against the wall, then took a seat by Sirius.

"I should have told you sooner," Potter said. "I really, really should have told you sooner-"

"So tell us now," Severus snapped.

Potter took a deep breath. "The night after I took the Polyjuice that changed me into Professor Snape, I had a dream. I was... I was standing in the middle of a ring of black flame and the Dark Mark was in the sky over my head. There were people around me and I heard Voldemort's voice asking me to... to give him my soul..."

Severus's heart skipped a beat.

"He called me by name- only it was Professor Snape's name-"

"The initiation ceremony," said Severus dully. "The Death Eater initiation ceremony."

Sirius's eyes darted from Potter to Severus. "Can Polyjuice do that? Transfer a memory?"

"It shouldn't. But if some outside power interfered..." he hesitated. "Then it is possible..."

"I had the dream again last night," Potter said. "And then, today, during the match, when I was just about to grab the Snitch, I felt a pain, and-"

He stopped and suddenly began to quiver.

"What?" Sirius asked anxiously.

Impossible... Severus shook his head. It can't be what I think.

Potter held out his left arm and rolled up his sleeve.

Branded on his skin was the Dark Mark.