“Harry, are you mad?!” Hermione exclaimed.
“No, it’s just something I have to do.” Harry smiled and snatched the key back from Hermione’s hand and placed it in his pocket. “If we want the knife, we need to leave to the dungeons. Now let’s go!”
“Bloody, Harry. I know you saved my life back there, but this is insane!” Ron shouted, throwing his arms in the air dramatically He sat down on one of the chairs and looked toward Harry.
“Ron’s right, Harry. We have to go down eight floors while avoiding teachers and Prefects! Harry, it’s almost impossible, even with the invisibility cloak. We can’t make it down eight floors with the cloak covering us completely the whole time! One of us could step on it, revealing all of us! It’s just too risky.” Hermione crossed her arms and finished. “I’m not doing this. We’ve done crazier things in the past, but Harry, it’s our last year here. I don’t want to be known as ‘the girl who sneaks out at night’.”
“Hermione, please. Just trust me. Would you either sneak out of our Common Room and have fun, or come with us””
Harry was cut off by Ron’s rude remark, “Whenever did I say I was going?”
“What are you talking about Ron?”
“I never said I was going to go!” Ron stood back up, his face seemed to tell Harry the answer of if he was going or not.
“So this is what it’s come to? You both abandon me. Is that what you want? Fine then!” Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and strode off toward the door. “Go have fun snogging in a bloody closet.” He viciously opened the door and closed it while concealing himself with the cloak.
“That was awkward,” Ron said in low undertones.
“Yeah, kind of was.”
“Hermione, he just saved my life, I really think I should go.”
“No, Ronald.” Hermione leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips. “You still shouldn’t.”
Ron’s eyes widened. “I didn’t actually believe Harry about the snogging bit, but””
“No, no snogging. Just a little kiss. From girlfriend to boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?! No! No way! I’m not ready to be someone’s boyfriend! Even if you are Hermione!”
“Why are you talking about me in the third person?” she asked, stepping back. Her face coiled into a frown.
“Well, I usually refer to the love of my life like that?” Ron finished, questioning if the thoughtfulness of his words would really overcome somewhat of an insult.
“Aww, aren’t you sweet. Maybe the love of your life should finish her essay on Murtlap now.”
“Hermione, you’re overreacting! It was just a simple word? Don’t get mad at me over that!” Ron exclaimed taking a few steps closer to her.
“What are you talking about? I’m not mad at you . . . and I really do need to finish this essay, it’s due tomorrow.” She began to focus on her parchment and began writing.
“Oh, well that settles that then.”
***
Meanwhile, Harry had just stepped onto the sixth floor. He hadn’t noticed anything living on this floor which meant it was possible to just be able to casually walk to the next level which is exactly what he did.
After easily walking down two levels Harry had appeared on the fourth floor. This was where the library resided which meant that the librarian had been here as well.
He carefully took one step at a time, trying to be as quiet as possible. But this had been proven hard considering there were some paintings that hadn’t completely fallen asleep yet which meant trouble for Harry.
“Harry Potter, go back to bed!”
“Turn off that bloody light, boy!”
“A little late for a stroll through the school, isn’t it?”
Those were only a few of the things he heard calling out at him.
“I have to get off this floor before Madam Pince hears,” Harry muttered under his breath.
His pace quickened and he neared the next staircase.
“Is someone out there?” Madam Pince called out into the darkness of the night.
Harry stopped dead in his tracks, covering his mouth with one hand and making sure he was completely shrouded under the cloak with another. He backed up into a corner and slowly slid down.
“Lumos!” Madam Pince waved her wand around vigorously. After numerous times of looking and numerous times of failing, she waved her wand once and whispered, “Nox!” Her light seemed to disintegrate as if it was being covered by a piece of cloth. He heard a few footsteps and the sound of a door closing.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief after she walked back into the library.
He continued on his journey to the dungeons and narrowly escaped several prefects and teachers. But his cautiousness had proven well and he had made it down to the dungeons. He felt his pocket to make sure the key was still there and walked up to door that he had been at recently before. He opened up the Potions classroom and gently walked inside. He looked around the room, stumbling upon numerous amounts of drawers, all needing to be opened by a key.
The invisibility cloak flowed gently to the ground and he began what he came here to do. He tried the first drawer, and a small click was heard. The drawer flew forward toward Harry, revealing all that was inside.
A bottle of firewhiskey, several books, and a quill. That was no help.
He shut the drawer quietly and moved on to the next one. The same as before, a few useless items, except one thing did catch his attention. There was a letter in there and thick calligraphic handwriting on the front which read “Severus Snape”. It was a woman’s handwriting. He lifted up the flap and noticed that it had already been read many times before. He opened up the letter and read it to himself.
Dear Severus,
We can’t see each other anymore,
things are getting too confusing between
us and I just can’t take the pressure. I’m
terribly sorry about this but I don’t think
we should be seeing each other anymore.
I still love you and I still want to see you,
but the Dark Lord knows about us,
he’s going to kill you Severus.
Please understand that I’m doing this
for the best.
Love,
Laila
He noticed small blotches in the note which could have been caused by tears. How could someone love such a vile man so much? thought Harry.
“Snape had a girlfriend? I didn’t know he had it in him!” He pocketed the letter and moved on to the next drawer.
Faint whispering was heard in the back of his head but he ignored it and continued. The whispering grew stronger and Harry quickly looked around the room. The whispering stopped and everything was still.
But suddenly, the world began to spin, and Harry became dizzy. Stars seemed to explode right before his eyes and the world went black. His limp body fell on the floor.
“Never look in my drawers again,” Snape’s low voice echoed throughout the chamber and he walked over to Harry’s side, taking the letter from his pocket. “And I’ll be wanting that key if you don’t mind.” He grasped the key in his bony hands and placed it in his desk drawer. “Wouldn’t want you getting the Knife so soon would we?”
***
“Hermione, Harry’s been gone for an awfully long time. Do you think he’s alright?” Ron questioned while pacing across the room.
“Ron, he’s Harry Potter. I think he can handle a teacher or two.” Hermione went back to writing her essay.
“Hermione, you’ve changed. What’s gotten into you? It’s like you don’t even care about Harry anymore!”
“What are you talking about? Harry’s my best friend! But I love you more.” She walked slowly over to Ron with a smile strewn across her face.
“Hermione, stop! You’re taking this way too far! I’m going to help Harry. Have fun writing you bloody essay!”
***
Grimmauld Place had been a mess ever since Remus had lost his memories and things were getting worse by the second.
“No! Remus! Put the cat down!” Mrs. Weasley called while running awkwardly over to where Remus was.
“A cat? I thought this was you! Sorry!” Remus dropped the cat onto the ground. It hunched its back and hissed loudly at him.
“Bloody! You have a scratchy voice!”
“Remus, that’s not me! Goodness! I’m right here!” She grabbed his shoulders and looked directly into his eyes.
He slouched away from her grip and walked around the home.
“What is this curtain doing here? It’s covering up such a lovely painting!”
“REMUS, NO!”
He pulled the curtain off and it revealed the horrid picture of Mrs. Black.
Horrible screeching echoed throughout the home awaking all of the other portraits causing them to scream as well.
“That’s better!” Remus smiled and walked away from the screaming Mrs. Black.
“Better?! You’re barking mad, Remus! We can never get her to shut up!”
“Yeah, she really should shut up. It’s quite annoying, who would ever even uncover her?”
“You did!”
“Really? Well, it’s a marvelous painting!”
“Argh! Remus, help me quiet her down!”
“But, she somewhat scares me. It’s that awful screaming noise!”
“Remus! Help me!”
“Fine, but I don’t know why you even uncovered her in the first place.”
“Remus, just go sit on the couch . . . please.”
***
“So, Potter. Rummaging through my stash are we?” Snape hissed, his greasy black locks shrouding his face.
“Give me back the key. It’s mine!” Harry shouted, standing up nervously.
“Oh is it now? And who gave it to you? The key fairy?”
“Shut it, Snape, you and everyone else knows who bloody gave it to me! My godfather gave it to me. That’s who! Now give it back!”
“Oh, your godfather? He’s dead now, right?”
Harry suddenly released a vicious spell which skimmed Snape’s pocket, causing the key to fall onto the floor.
“Accio Key!” The key flew into his hand and he threw it up in the air, letting gravity do the rest.
“A simple spell? That’s all you have?” Severus threw his head up in laughter.
“Well, I’m conserving energy for when I have to face the Dark Lord. . . . It looks like I’m not the only one who will have to do that now. I read your letter. The letter from your so called girlfriend, Laila.”
“Oh please, Potter. That letter was from nine years ago! Laila’s a thing of the past now.”
“Sure she is, so you wouldn’t mind if I took the letter along with me?” Harry sneered waving his wand around in a kid-like fashion.
“Why not, take it. Show it to your friends. Burn it. Like I care.”
Harry seemed confused. He made a quick turn and strode out the door.
“My invisibility cloak!” Harry shouted.
The door slammed shut and locked behind him. He threw all his weight against it but it didn’t budge.
“Oh, you want back in now? We’ll arrange that tomorrow in detention.” He walked further back into the shadows of the room and sat lazily on the chair at his desk, awaiting for morning to arrive.
Snape took the letter out of his pocket and read it to himself.
“I love you too, Laila. I love you too...”
***
“Now, Remus. This”” she picked up an old wand, “”is a wand.” She handed the wand to him and observed his actions.
“I know what a bloody wand is! It shoots fire from the tip and makes things explode!” Remus smiled proudly as if he knew everything.
“Not exactly. A wand shoots spells from the tip, not fire. And it doesn’t make things explode, it makes things do whatever the spell does. Such as before you used the Wingardium Leviosa spell on that”that bowl... which is now broken.”
“That was a spell? Blimey! I thought it was some sort of chaotic life enhancer type of thing!”
“We have many things to talk about...”
The main door erupted open suddenly and there were three cloaked figures hovering there. It was almost as if Death hovered before their eyes.
“No. No, not them.”
“Who is it? Are they friendly?” Remus asked dumbly.
“Far from friendly. They’re Death Eaters. We have to leave, now.” Mrs. Weasley finished her statement in a worried tone. She grabbed Remus’ wrist and stood up rapidly.
The back door erupted open, glass shards flying everywhere. One Death Eater hovered in and said barbarously, “We wouldn’t want you leaving now, would we?”