Valentine, Sammy, and I all ran to the hospital wing just in time to see Lavender and Parvati leaving, Lavender in tears. They were followed by three red-headed Weasleys and Harry, whom Sammy cornered.
“Harry! Is Ron okay? Parvati said he was poisoned, and we thought maybe it was another Katie Bell or something!” Sammy was talking very loudly. I could tell she was terrified.
“He was poisoned,” said Harry, looking frustrated. “He's going to be fine. Anyway, Hermione's with him,” he added, as though that settled the matter. Then he walked away, looking at the ground, though I was sure that wasn't what he was seeing.
Valentine looked worried. “Do you think that whoever poisoned Ron is the same one who cursed Katie Bell?” she asked, glancing nervously at the door leading to the hospital wing.
Sammy turned; she had been watching Harry leave. “I think s- oh, Valentine? That was you?” She looked genuinely puzzled. Valentine nodded, and I hoped Sammy wouldn't bite off Valentine's head, the way she did when any Slytherin got to close.
I nudged Sammy. “She's cool, Sam. She's a Muggle-born.” Sammy's face brightened considerably.
“Yeah, I bet you're right, Val,” Sammy continued. Valentine smiled cautiously; I didn't think anyone had called her Val before. Then the three of us walked out to the grounds to continue our conversation.
~ * ~
The news of Ron's near-death experience spread faster than strep throat in a second grade class. People who didn't even know who he was, or anyone involved, were swearing that a Death Eater had forced the potion down his throat. That had been a Ravenclaw sixth year, and when I heard that crazy story, I wheeled around and set him straight. “Don't be stupid. Why would they do that, with a teacher present? And why go after Ron and not Harry, who, in case you didn't know, was there?” And I stormed off, shaking my head.
The truth was, I was scared. Not just for Harry. Ever since I had started first year, I'd been scared for him; by now that was habit. I was terrified that someone inside the school was trying to kill off students. Some unknown force, controlled undoubtedly by Voldemort, was clearly showing everyone that they had the power to get in and out of the school undetected, and if we thought what happened to Katie and Ron was bad, there was more where that came from.
Sammy had taken note that both attacks had been on Gryffindor Quidditch players, and said she thought someone was trying to kill off the team. Valentine, on the other hand, pointed out that both attacks had been meant for a different victim. When Sammy gawked, Valentine explained, waiting for a Ravenclaw boy to pass before she elaborated.
“Didn't Katie Bell say she was taking that package to someone? If her finger hadn't brushed that tear, she would have gotten whoever she was trying to bring that necklace to. As for Ron, if he hadn't needed to visit Slughorn, I would bet anything that Slughorn would be in the hospital wing now, or else dead. And he said that he was going to give that bottle to Dumbledore. I think someone's after Dumbledore.”
This explanation was so painfully obvious, I was surprised I hadn't thought of it. Sammy was, for the first time ever, speechless. Meanwhile, I brooded over this, and everything that had happened this year. It was all somehow connected, I was vaguely sure of that. When I looked at everything together, I knew it was all leading up to something. But if I looked at the events one at a time, I couldn't see how they fit. It was like the day Sev got me a one thousand piece jigsaw puzzle when I was ten. I had dumped all the pieces on the ground, having complete faith that they would make the picture of the penguin on the box, but when I took two random pieces and tried forcing them together, it didn't make sense.
And I was worried about Sev. He had congratulated me on mastering non-verbal spells after class on the first day back from break, but other than that, we hadn't spoken. I knew he had sent me that quote for a reason, and the words were always hovering in the back of my head, the same place where I stored all of my impossible riddles for untangling while I was in bed.
Qudditch, of course, continued. Luna Lovegood commentated, and I sincerely hoped that she would continue. That was the only bright spot of the match, though; Harry was cracked in the head with a bludger. Not to mention, we lost the game. Harry spent the weekend in the hospital wing, and he and Ron emerged together the next Monday, looking better than anyone had seen them in a while.
The weeks continued in a tense boredom. Again, Ron's poisoning was nothing new. Our teachers began to work us harder than ever in preparation for our exams. Soon all the sixth and seventh years spent every free moment studying or else working on the endless flow of essays, assigned reading, and spells rolling from our teachers' assembly line. Between this, and my recurring dreams about Snape's quote, I was in sad shape.
I had begun, also, to think of Sev more often as Snape. I hadn't spoken one-on-one with him for quite a while, and I was falling into the habit of thinking this way without realizing it.
Katie Bell returned, right in the middle of April. It was the day after Apparition tests. Sammy passed hers with flying colors, although she reported that Ron had been failed on a sheer technicality (he had splinched half of one of his eyebrows, and he was furious). When Katie returned, we waved at her, as did many other people from various tables. Snape noticed she was back too, and he cast a dark look at- Malfoy? Malfoy glowered at his pancakes, pointedly ignoring Snape.
That night, I had a particularly bad nightmare. It was the same as usual, always the same, but for some reason it was really intense. The scenery had changed too. Now, Snape was dressed as Brutus, and he was standing on top of a high tower, clearly at Hogwarts. I thought it was the Astronomy Tower. He pushed the old man, Caesar, off the tower, and shouted, “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more!”
I sat bolt upright in bed, and yelled, “No!”
Sammy and Hermione had gathered on either side of my bed, their faces furrowed with concern. Sammy handed my a glass of water that I took shakily. “Are you alright?” asked Hermione.
I nodded. “Yeah... bad dream... m'fine.”
“You were muttering,” said Sammy, looking serious for a change. “Said something about Rome, and stop, and someone named Sev.”
“She was quoting Shakespeare,” said Hermione, half tired, half exasperated, like a kindergarten teacher attempting to teach a stubborn five-year-old that two plus two is four. “It was from Julius Caesar.” I wasn't surprised that Hermione knew. She and I had the same taste in books, and we had had many a debate on the merits of several of Shakespeare's plays. Sammy looked uncomprehendingly at Hermione, and I sighed.
“Look,” I said. “Both of you, go back to bed, I'm fine.” I stood up, pulling a black hoodie on over my red plaid pajamas.
“Where do you think you're going?” asked Sammy sharply, though Hermione had already fallen into her bed.
“Bathroom, wanna come?” I said sarcastically. Sammy rolled over on her own bed and fell asleep.
Of course, I wasn't going to the bathroom. I didn't care if Snape took a million points from Gryffindor. I needed to see him, and to ask him what he meant by sending me that Christmas present. I walked stealthily through a secret passage that took me just inside the entrance to the dungeons. I tiptoed to his quarters, still down there and far from his classroom, I supposed because of the Slytherin dormitory being down there as well. I padded the familiar path to his quarters, and tapped lightly on the door. I heard him get up, and I whispered, “It's me.”
Snape opened the door. He hadn't been sleeping; he was still in his black robes, despite it being nearly midnight, and there was a dying fire in the grate. He he quickly hid a bottle of what was probably alcohol, and made me some hot chocolate. He studied me with concern; I'd never come to see him in the dead of night before.
“Are you alright? You look pale,” he said quietly, after I'd nearly finished the hot chocolate.
“I've- er- I've been having bad dreams Sn- Sev.” It came out choppily, and Sev looked even more worried. His face didn't turn dewy eyed, like some people's parents. I could tell he was worried by how expressionless he was. He could have passed for an ice burg, but in reality he was probably ready to wake half the staff of Hogwarts if it would stop my nightmares.
“What are they about?” he asked.
“Well, the play mostly.” I said truthfully. He didn't need to ask what I meant. “Usually the scene where Brutus kills Caesar.”
Sev became stiff. He set down his mug and looked into the grate. I continued, too ashamed to look at him; it all seemed stupid now that I was saying it out loud. “You're usually Brutus, and an old man I can't see is Caesar. I woke up my friends tonight, I was making so much noise. And other nights, I wake up crying, and I don't know why-”
I wondered if he heard the fear and desperation in my voice. I fought to keep it calm as I spoke again. “I'm starting to think it means something. I didn't know who else to go to.”
Sev continued studying the grate pensively. Then he turned to me. He sighed, rubbing his eyes with the fingers of his left hand- a tactic he used for stalling. Finally he said, “Rosie, I'm not here to tell you that you're dream means you'll be attacked by a giant squid. That's Trelawney's job.” I smiled. “But, I do think that if you didn't dwell on the play so much, you might get more sleep. Try to keep yourself busy.”
I nodded. Sev helped me up and said, “Filch will be on the seventh floor by now in his patrol, but I would still take that secret passage. It's quicker and safer.”
I didn't raise protest. Neither of us had mentioned the quote. He hadn't clarified anything. But the fact that he had assured me the play was nothing to worry about was enough to calm me down. I headed back upstairs and when I reached my bed, I slept more peacefully than I had in weeks, and for the remaining month, I was no longer plagued by nightmares.
The weeks continued. Harry managed to get himself in detention right before the last Quidditch match. We still won in spite of his absence, and he seemed especially happy about this. Considering that he and Ginny started dating immediately after the match had ended, this wasn't a surprise. Sammy got a dreamy look every time they passed for the rest of the year, but I cut her some slack; Ginny and Harry were sweet, not disgusting like Ron and Lavender.
We had nearly two months of normalcy. Oh sure, the papers still reported horrible things, Voldemort was still gaining power, but we were almost unaware. It was as if we were in a giant transparent umbrella of innocence, keeping the grass green and the sky blue, and shielding us from the storm raging on the outside world.
Still, the year was nearly over. One imposing question hovered over me during spare moments: where was I going after the year ended? It was clear I could not go back to Spinner's End. I had toyed with the idea of going to Sammy's, but it might raise awkward questions, and it wasn't exactly the safest place in the world. That left only Lupin, and since he didn't have a house, as far as I knew, that merely brought me back to square one. After a while, I simply disregarded these thoughts, assuming that Sev and Dumbledore had it all worked out.
~ * ~
One warm June evening, I was minding my own business in the dormitory, watching Violet and Artemis play tag (it was like a bizarre episode of Tom and Jerry), when Sammy came rushing in as if a Blast-Ended Skrewt was after her. Valentine, to my surprise, was on her tail.
“Hold on, Sam, how'd she get in here? What's going on?” I said, sitting up straight.
“There's no time to explain!” she said breathlessly. “Something's wrong, we don't know much about it. Hermione wasn't very clear. I had that D.A. Galleon in my pocket, and it burned, so I found Hermione, and Valentine was with me. She said to get as many of the D.A. as we can, because Malfoy's up to something. Come on!”
I stood up and the three of us ran out, followed by Neville Longbottom, who had obviously been waiting. “Where exactly are we going?” I panted as we exited the portrait hole.
“Myrtle's Bathroom,” said Valentine, and I noticed Neville cringe slightly. “Hermione said it was the last place anyone would look,” she added, and I guessed she had seen Neville's face.
When we arrived, we saw Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna. As soon as we got inside, Ron closed the door and locked it. He muttered a spell and said, “That ought to keep us from being interrupted. Hermione, you do the talking.”
She flushed a little and said, “Right. Well, Harry and Dumbledore have gone off somewhere.”
“What?” asked Ginny and Neville sharply.
“Harry and Dumbledore have been having... erm... private lessons all year, and now they have to take care of something. He didn't really explain. Anyway, since Dumbledore's gone, Harry thinks that someone might be attacked again. And, well, he's under the impression that Malfoy will have something to do with it. We need a plan, because even if Harry's just paranoid, it's better that we at least have an eye on things, and Harry's hunches have more often proved right than wrong,” Hermione said with finality.
“What do we do?” asked Sammy, who looked like a rearing horse, poised for action.
“Some people have got to be stationed outside the Room of Requirement,” said Ron, who was staring at a piece of parchment. He looked up and exchanged a dark look with Hermione. “He just walked in.”
Hermione sized us up. “You take Ginny, Neville, and Valentine with you. I'll take the others down to Snape's office, and stand guard.”
Ron looked suspiciously at Valentine, but Hermione said, “Oh, for heaven's sake, Ron, if Harry's right we're in no shape to turn away volunteers!” Ron left, taking his troops with him, and Hermione waited, looking worried.
“Why are we going to wait outside Snape's office?” said Sammy.
“Snape used to be a Death Eater. I'm betting anything that Harry thinks Snape has something to do with this.” Everyone looked at me in surprise, but I avoided their eyes. Hermione waited five minutes, and then we headed downstairs. Hermione was talking in a low, serious voice as we made our way to the dungeons.
“We have to stay hidden,” she said. “Snape can't know we're on to him, he can't know anything. We'll station ourselves behind those suits of armor by his door. Remember, we cannot be seen.”
The Other Potter by georgeisholey
Chapter Notes: Okay, kids, this is where things get interesting! Fasten your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. :)
Chapter Endnotes: That little box down there is so empty. What a waste of space... Surely we can use it for something.