"There are shadows lurking about the halls. Someone is always watching."
- Me… Sometime today, or something...
December fifteenth…
Fawkes was sleeping peacefully, unbeknownst to him, the thunderstorm roaring outside. Winds howling, trees bustling, leaves blowing furiously, the rain pounded on the castle, making loud slip-splash sounds.
As the small animals and birds took shelter, Albus absently sucked on a lemon drop. He was thinking, plotting, against Miss Granger and Mister Potter, making sure that his plan went fault-free. On the date of December twentieth, the day of the students' holiday, his plan would begin. Hopefully, this time, his plan would not have any holes. And, if he succeed in his first plan, he could go on to killing Mister Potter's children.
He sat back in his chair and smiled faintly, grabbing another lemon drop and popping it into his mouth, before getting lost in his thoughts again.
Over the past few weeks, he had been keenly observing the two, watching how they acted towards each other. They had been a bit more… hostile towards each other. They hardly ever spoke, from what he had heard, and they had been going through much stress Their attitudes changed when they were around their friends, and the two hardly even talked—let alone glance, at each other. One moment, he would act concerned, but the next, he'd be glad that they were suffering. He had worked hard to make the potion and attempting to ruin their lives, and he very well wasn't going to let it go unnoticed.
But, a part of him still had this lingering feeling, like something bad—horrendous—was going to happen. However hard he tried, the small lingering feeling wouldn't leave. At once, his thoughts flew to Mister Potter, and if he would ever try to do something, and then to Miss Granger, perhaps she'd do something. They might attempt to do something, but they surely wouldn't do something drastic, right? He sure hoped they wouldn't do anything.
The thunder and rain picked up, the Whomping Willow thrashing around furiously, clearly angered that the rain hadn't ceased. Albus stood up, checked to make sure the vials of the potions were clearly in place, and checked on Fawkes. Smiling at the sleeping bird, he made a note to get a few more lemon drops, and left the office.
The rain hadn't stopped, but merely gotten stronger.
0—0—0—0
"Stupid rain," Harry muttered while holding his child securely in his arms. "Won't even get me a pleasant night's sleep." James whimpered loudly as another roar of thunder was heard in the nursery, and Harry just patted his back more, hoping to sooth his freighted son.
Hermione was in the rocking chair, feeding their daughter in the hopes that she'd sleep after eating. By the looks of it, it was working. Hermione's eyes were dropping, but she was awake, feeding her child, watching Lily's eyes slowly droop while she nursed at her mother's breast. After a few more seconds, Lily was sleeping, her mouth still attached to her. Quickly re-adjusting her (she stirred, but didn't awake), Hermione fixed her shirt, silently glad that Harry was facing away from her, still rocking their son back to sleep. She picked up her daughter and walked around with her, burping her. She burped a few seconds later, and she placed a gentle kiss to her forehead, placing her into the cot.
James was now sleeping, so Harry, too, placed a gentle kiss to his son's forehead and placed him in his cot. He turned to Hermione, watching her leave the nursery and back to her (he still referred it to her room, since he had yet to unpack his clothes) room. Sighing, he went into her room.
When he got inside, she was already asleep—or so he assumed. He went into bed, making a quick note to stay as far away from her as he could, and took his glasses off.
"Harry?" called Hermione, looking to her left.
He said nothing, but concentrated on sleeping.
"Harry?" she called again.
He sighed and turned his head to the right, and asked, "Yes, Hermione?"
"I… are we…" she stumbled over her words, "I… what I mean to say is… are we still a couple?"
"Yes," he said, "unless you don't want us to be."
"I want us to be," she said quickly. "I… I just wanted to make sure, you know? Lately we haven't been talking, kissing, or anything…" she trailed off.
"Well, we have been ignoring each other for the past month."
"Three weeks, to be exact," she corrected.
"Whatever," he mumbled, moving to his side, not facing her.
She sighed. "Please, can we… can we just go back to the way things were?" she asked, moving towards him.
"I don't know, Hermione. Can we?" he asked, now looking at her.
"I… Yes. Yes, I think we can," she said confidently.
He sat up, muttering, "I'm never going to get a good night's sleep, am I?" and looked at Hermione in the eye. "Hermione, I don't know. Really, I don't. I know we're young, but we… I don't know, we just have too much on our plates." He ran his hands through his hair. "I… it's not that I don't want to be with you—I've fancied you since third year—but this… parenthood, is challenging.
"It changed so much, you know? With out the threat of Dumbledore, Qudditch, school, the Dursley's, I was just barely getting by. And now I have a… a family? I don't know… it's just really hard shuffling everything. I'm too young… I…" he trailed off.
She apprehensively held his hand. "I know, Harry. I feel the same way. There are so many things we've got to go through, together. I don't want to you go through this alone, and I certainly don't want to go through his alone." She laced her fingers through his and brought them to her lips, never breaking eye contact. "Please, Harry, don't put me through his torture. I've missed you so much; I don't know how much longer I can last."
Again, he sighed. "You're right… this is going to get some used to, but we'll get through it, no matter what." He smiled, and did something he didn't think he'd do so soon: kiss her. His lips briefly touched hers, barely giving time for Hermione to respond, and he pulled away.
"Well," he said after a few seconds, "I'm going to sleep. Good night, Hermione."
"Good night," she smiled.
0—0—0—0
Although he had made up with Hermione, Harry couldn't release the feeling of killing Dumbledore, once and for all. He knew that Dumbledore was planning something, but he didn't know what. He wasn't going to have yet another child, when he wasn't even fifteen. He could just imagine Draco's reaction.
"Again? Honestly, you two are like fucking rabbits—pun not intended."
He chuckled at the thought, but at the same time, contemplating on his forming plan. After he killed Dumbledore, perhaps he, Hermione, and the twins (he still had a hard time saying 'family') would leave. But the question was, where?
"Mister Potter!" roared Professor Snape, startling the wits out of Harry. "Keep your head in the clouds one more time and you'll be having detention during the holidays with me!"
Keeping his eyes on his potion, Harry thought once more. What… what is he doing? And how long do I have to kill him? And when is he going to attack? Is he even going to—
"Potter, fifteen points off!" Professor Snape said, gaining his attention once more.
"Sorry, Professor," Harry muttered despite Hermione's nudging at his side.
"Harry, pay attention!" whispered Hermione furiously. Harry nodded dumbly, focusing on the bubbling potion.
After adding the bumbleweed, Harry felt a poking on his leg. He looked down, and saw a note poking his leg. He quickly picked it up and read.
Harry, you and your family better be extra careful on the twentieth; I heard Snape talking to Dumbledore about the potion, and that date. Watch out, Potters!
There was no need for a closing, because he instantly knew who wrote it. But before he could fold it and put it in his trouser pocket, Snape had taken it.
"I believe this calls for another ten points off, Potter. Don't you think?" He went to his desk and read the note, his eyes going slightly wide. After reading it, he threw it into the rubbish bin, which ate it hungrily, giving a big 'urp' in satisfaction. "Who wrote the note, Potter?" he asked.
"Don't know," he lied.
"Liar," he retorted. "Five more points off for lying."
Harry rolled his eyes, and Hermione whispered in his ear. "Harry, stop reading notes!"
He sharply turned his head, their noses nuzzling together, and he whispered his reply. "This note gave us vital information. It could even save our lives!"
"Oh, stop being over dramatic," she whispered.
"Potter, Granger!" Snape warned.
"Sorry," they muttered. "I'll talk to you later," Hermione muttered to Harry.
He nodded and went back to his potion.
Once class had finished, Hermione grabbed Harry by the collar (his books were already in his bag) and dragged him out of class, not caring if she was making a scene or not. Some of the class sniggered, Snape quickly left, and the other portion laughed.
Once they were out, Hermione dragged him into an unoccupied broom closet, and they went in, locking the door behind her. There wasn't much room, so Harry and Hermione were very close. (They were still a bit awkward around each other, and that didn't help much.)
"Care to tell me why you dragged me into a broom closet when we could've gone to our rooms?" Harry asked.
"Because it's closer," Hermione replied.
He just looked at her sceptically.
"Anyway," she hastily said, "I want to know what made Snape to deduct so many points today."
"I was daydreaming… sort of," he said, shrugging it off.
"No," she retorted, stepping closer (if possible) to him. "You're lying, and I know it." Her eyes narrowed, "You're still planning on killing Dumbledore, aren't you?"
He avoided her eyes and said, "Possibly."
Her hands went to his shoulders, and she looked down at him. "Harry, why do you still want to murder him? Honestly, why? I've wanted to kill him, too, but I haven't actually thought about it."
"Because… because he changed my life, and not for the better; tried to kill me; manipulated me to his wits end," he counted off his fingers. "Need I go on?"
"So, what you're trying to say is," Hermione said, "that you want to go back to being the boy that didn't do homework, slept during classes, and played qudditch till dark? Is that what you're insinuating?" she asked, feeling tears coming to her.
"No, I didn't mean that, Hermione." He held her hand—which was still very much on his shoulder, and intertwined them. "I love James and Lily—I really do, but they've changed my life so much. I feel like I'm already a married man, and I don't want that just yet!" He sighed. "I do like you Hermione, a lot, but I'm not ready for parenthood-"
"Do you want me to leave?" she interrupted.
His eyes went wide. "No!" he answered at once. "I'd never want that! It's just…" He sighed. "I don't know. I just… I just want to be a normal teenage boy, do normal teenager things."
"But you're not normal; you're the Boy-Who-Lived, and that changes everything. You're a wizard, that's certainly not normal, in muggle standards. And… and you're a teenage father—a very young one, if I might add." She sniffed and turned away. "If you want out of this, it can be done. You'd very nearly done it once before, and you could do it again."
He turned her around and hugged her (he wasn't sure how he could do it, considering the amount of space given), his arms around her waist and hers around his. "I'm not going to leave. Not now, not tomorrow, and not ever, got that?"
She gave him a little squeeze. "What about that note?" she changed the subject.
He let go and opened the door. "I'll explain on the way to class. I'm surprised if we're not already fifteen minutes late."
She smiled and hesitantly held his hand. "Okay." He gave her a squeeze of reassurance.
0—0—0—0
Once classes were over, Hermione was fuming. After Harry told her about the note, she had gotten so mad that she nearly skipped their next class. After Harry had gotten over the initial shock, he brought her back to her senses, telling her that she could go rant after classes were over.
Harry had never been so glad they had classes.
She went to the Great Hall, where lunch was being served. She sat down, piled a bit of food onto a plate, and went off, talking to no one. Harry looked at her worriedly, but said nothing, and copied her actions.
He left the Great Hall, not missing the little smirk Dumbledore had on his lips, and headed towards Gryffindor Tower. It had been a while since he had roamed the halls (two weeks, a very long time for a Potter), and he really wanted to take his children out to see the castle. The paintings gave him curious looks, and some even ventured off to actually speak.
"So, lad, I heard that you've children?" asked a man. He was fairly old, and wore a Renaissance style of clothing.
Harry stopped and turned to face the man. "Err… yes, I do. Why do you ask?"
The man shrugged. "I was simply curious, is all. Such a young man, merely a child really."
Harry nodded slowly. "Well, I am fourteen." He stated it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Right you are, Harry Potter." He winced at the name, but let the man continue. "Why so young, child?" asked the man, quickly adding, "If I may ask."
He shrugged. "I just had sex with my girlfriend once, and then she got pregnant. We were at my home, so we weren't allowed to use magic, and… I don't know, things just got carried away." He looked at his dinner, which was starting to get cold, and back at the man. "It's not like I regret it or anything; I love my kids."
The man nodded, smiling a bit. "Understandable. Children these days are having children so young. I don't understand why, though." He gave out a soft sigh. "Your explanation, however, is understandable, but I still do not see why you couldn't have waited until marriage. Even then, children get married so young."
He smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, but I'm lonely. My wife had died when I was thirty-two, and I had no children, so I was alone throughout my life. I have no one else to speak to. The other portraits simply ignore me," he smiled, "because they think I'm a bit mental."
Harry softly chuckled. "I don't see how, really. You're pretty nice."
"Thank you, young man," he said. "I think it is time that you see your girlfriend and children, and be off to classes." Flashing him a big smile, "Good day," he said. "Perhaps I won't be so lonely anymore."
"You won't," Harry said reassuringly. "Bye," he said before he left.
Once he got to Gryffindor Tower, he saw the young First Year Gryffindor girls he met a few weeks ago, sitting, playing with a tea set. He saw Kelsey flash him an evil smile, and he quickly went through his portrait, that note still very much imprinted in his mind.
Twentieth December. That's in five days, he thought, wondering what Dumbledore would do. Perhaps he's going to put a potion into our pumpkin juice? Perhaps he wants to get his hands on James and Lily, then. He thought as he sat on the couch and set his lunch on the table, starting to eat. I'll have to be extra careful that day… but if Snape read the note, then he'll surely tell Dumbledore. Will he set the date to an earlier time, or will he keep it the same, thinking that I "knew" he was going to change it, and he didn't? He reasoned that he was simply thinking too much at the time being, and that he needed some food in his system; however, he couldn't complete that task, as James had started crying.
He got up and went into the nursery. He went over to James' cot and picked him up, hoping to soothe him. He didn't. He brought him to the changing table, and took off his pants. Seeing that his nappy was dirty, he quickly got a clean one from under the table. Taking the dirty one off, throwing it into the rubbish bin, he got the wipe and started cleaning his son. Once he was clean, he put his nappy on, smiling when James gave a contented sigh, and put him pants back on. Picking him up, he went back to his lunch, James safely in his arms.
Perhaps he didn't notice her, but Hermione was already there, reading the next few chapters in her studies, feeding Lily, and feeding herself. She had a small smudge of sauce on her upper lip, and her shirt was bunched up (no doubt for feeding Lily), and her eyes were fully concentrated on the pages before her. There were rolls of parchment, ink bottles, and various bottles for the children were there, but she paid no attention. Not even to Harry.
I thought she was angry, he thought looking at Hermione. Apparently not, his mind reasoned.
Harry sighed, saddened at the thought of being ignored (or, at least, he thought) once more, and made his way to the couch to attend to his cold lunch, James snoozing in his arms.
0—0—0—0
After class finished, Severus quickly made his way into Dumbledore's office. When he saw him, Dumbledore was currently filling a potion (the potion that he put in Granger's drink, no doubt, Snape thought) into a vial, and filling up a second one.
After a few seconds of humming to himself, the Headmaster sat in his seat, offering Severus a seat. "I am not here for 'chit-chat,' Albus. There is someone here, someone that knows of your—our—plans. I do not know of who it is, but that person told Potter what is going to happen on the twentieth."
"How can they? I have not even told you," Albus stated, his eyebrows burrowing in slight confusion.
"No, you have not told me the facts of the plan, but the note had stated that something to do with the potion, and the date." He put his hands into his pockets. "You might want to change the date of your plan, because now that they know, they are undoubtedly going to be more cautious."
Albus nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, Severus, you're right. I will change the date." He looked at the two vials, and then back at Severus. "It will be sooner." He smiled, "Severus how would you like to deliver a 'gift' to a Gryffindor girl?"
Severus smirked. "The potion, perhaps?" he asked.
Albus nodded. "Yes, the sooner the better. You will give this potion to Kelsey. She is a First Year, whom is in Gryffindor. She is quiet useful in information about the Potter's; I'm quiet surprised that she hadn't been sorted into Slytherin." Picking up the two metallic blue coloured vials, he handed them to Severus. "Take this to her, and say the date has been changed."
Severus nodded, putting them safely into his pockets.
"Report to me when you have given them, and I shall be paying the two youngest Potters a visit," said Albus.
Severus nodded again and left.
He smiled. "Hopefully Mister Potter and Miss Granger will be too preoccupied to notice their missing, soon to be dead, children."
He was very excited—he felt like a child again, but that small, lingering, feeling would not leave.
0—0—0—0
Once Harry finished his, cold, lunch, he played with his sleeping son's hair. Hermione still hadn't noticed him, and he felt a bit like he had when they were still fighting.
"Hermione?" he called tentatively.
She jumped, and Lily immediately started crying. Quickly putting her on her shoulder, not bothering to fix her shirt, she started patting her. James, having heard his sister's cries, started crying, too. Harry sighed; why couldn't twins do something at different times? He mimicked Hermione's actions, and they quieted down a minute later.
Harry went over to the small swinging chair and placed James in there, strapping him in for safety. Walking over to Hermione, he held his arms out to her; she handed Lily over.
"Sorry," she muttered, fixing her shirt. "I didn't realize you were there."
"I know," he said simply, having put Lily in the swinging chair, as well.
"I… I was studying for the next semester's lessons," she explained, pointing to her book.
He sighed. "Hermione, after today, I don't see us going back for this semester. Or for any semester, for that matter," he stated.
Hermione's face was of pure shock. "You're not kidding. I thought you were joking when you said that Hogwarts isn't safe for us anymore," she said, aghast.
"No, Hermione. I wasn't kidding." He rolled his eyes at the thought. Of course she wouldn't take me seriously on a matter such as this.
"I… but… School, how?" she asked, her mind whirling with thoughts.
"Hermione, please, just stop thinking about school for one moment, okay?" He gave a loud sigh and stood up, kneeling in front of Hermione. "Look, remember when I told you about the note?"
Apparently she had forgotten, because her face suddenly went to one of anger.
"Yes, Hermione, Dumbledore is planning something with that potion," he said. "It's got something to do with the potion that he gave your before the twins were conceived, and now, I think, he's planning on using it again. On the twentieth of December, if I remember correctly."
"Oh, yes," she said darkly, "the note. I had totally forgotten about that note." She shook her head, as if wanting to get rid of the evil thoughts that were plaguing her mind. "What are we going to do, Harry?" she asked desperately.
"Can I kill him?" He didn't know what possessed him to ask so outright, but he did. Hermione had been caught off guard, and her mouth hung agape in shock.
"What?" she said after a few moments.
He audibly gulped; suddenly frightened that Hermione would slap him again. "Can I kill him?" he asked barely above a whisper. Before she could answer, he started explaining. "Think about it, Hermione. Like, really think about it. We wouldn't have to worry that we were going to get another lust potion and have more children; we wouldn't have to worry about having our children taken away from us; we wouldn't have to worry that our lives were in danger by an old man; and we wouldn't have to worry about being spied on twenty-four-seven by the Headmaster and Potion's master.
"Think about it."
With that, he left their rooms.
Hermione was left to contemplate his question.
She sighed. There was no way that she would be able to go to classes today.
0—0—0—0
Severus took brisk steps, hoping no one would pay attention into the direction he was heading towards. So far, no one had noticed. His luck, however, was cut short when Draco Malfoy walked up to him, smirk on his face.
"Professor," he said, "what a pleasure it is to see you. May I inquire as to why you're in this filth infested halls?" he asked, smirk still intact.
Severus' expression did not change. "I am simply doing a task, Draco. Nothing more, nothing less." He breezed past him, his robe billowing behind him.
However, he did not hear Draco's comment of, "Watch your actions, Professor. There are shadows lurking about the halls. Someone is always watching you."
0—0—0—0
Once Severus had gotten to the Gryffindor Tower, he quickly located the girl, Kelsey. He had taught her potions for a few weeks, but he hadn't seen too much of her. He figured she skipped frequently.
Kelsey was having a small tea party with her other Gryffindor friends. Thankfully, no other student was there, and that made his 'task' much easier. He could simply hand her the potion, and make his way back to teaching his students.
"Kelsey," Severus beckoned, "please come over here for a moment."
She nodded, told her friends she'd be back in a minute, and walked over to him. "Yeah?" she asked, looking at him expectantly.
"Do not speak to me in such a matter," Severus said. Taking out the two vials, he told her, "You are to slip this into Miss Granger and Mister Potter's drinks. You may invite them to your little 'tea party' and slip it into their tea then, but you must do it either today or tomorrow."
"What happened to the twentieth?" she asked curiously.
"That is none of your concern. Your job is to simply slip this into their drinks while they aren't looking, and then tell us when they start acting odd."
She nodded. "Okay… but how will I know they're acting oddly? I dunno them, so I wouldn't really know, would I?"
"No, I suppose you wouldn't. The oddity of their behaviour will be simple: they will start kissing furiously, and hopefully they were leave to their rooms, your task finished."
"They're gonna kiss?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Dude, they've got like two kids already. Don't you think they're just a bitpast kissing?" Her voice was sarcastic.
"You think I don't know that? I know they've gone past kissing. They will do it again, and my," he wasn't going to tell her it was actually Albus' plan, "plan will be in motion."
She shrugged. "Okay, whatever." She took the vials from him. "When d'you want me to put 'em in there, again?" she asked, pocketing them.
"Either today or tomorrow," he answered. "Either will due."
"Kay," she answered, turning around and walking back to her friends.
Severus did a scan of the room, and glad that no one was around, walked out of the Gryffindor Room.
0—0—0—0
He wasn't sure where he was going, he just knew that he needed to get away. He wasn't mad, no, but needed a walk. When Hermione was thinking, she needed her space. And thinking about whether or not he could kill Dumbledore was a big decision. He wasn't sure what she was going to say, but he knew that, no matter what, they couldn't stay in Hogwarts. They could get home schooled, but they couldn't attend Hogwarts.
He took a left and went outside, forgetting about classes. Yesterday, McGonagall had announced that Hogwarts was hosting a Yule Ball on December thirty-first. It was a dance, and Harry did not dance. And the fact that it was on the thirty-first did no good, either. He, Hermione, and the twins would be, hopefully, be gone by then.
And then there was the issue of the Triwizard Tournament. He certainly didn't want to finish it, but he wasn't sure what the consequences would be if he did. Or, even, if he didn't. There was the chance that he might die, participant or not. He didn't want to die, leaving Hermione a single mother at only fourteen and his children fatherless.
He sighed. What was he supposed to do?
I'm not doing the tournament, he thought while walking through the halls. I can't… I'm leaving Hogwarts, so I can't possibly participate. Hogwarts will finally get their real champion: Cedric.
While his thoughts were on the Triwizard Tournament, he bumped into someone rather forcefully.
"Sorry," Harry apologized, helping whoever had fallen. And with a sudden realization, he noticed who it was. "Draco, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in classes?" he asked.
Draco brushed off the dirt from his robe, and fixed his platinum blond hair. "Oh, Harry, what a pleasure to see you, too," he drawled out sarcastically. "I was simply strolling around. And, no, I'm not supposed to be in class. I have a free period." He smirked. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?"
"Uh… no where that I know of." He looked at him, confused. "Why, am I supposed to be somewhere?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not your girlfriend."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh really? I never would've noticed," he said.
"I'm sure you wouldn't have. The only way you would notice I was me, was if I took of my shirt and danced in front of you." He grinned at Harry's expression.
"I'm not that thick-headed," he stated. "I know the difference between Hermione and you." After a moment, he added, "Besides, you don't have the… assets, to be like her."
This time, Draco laughed. "Sure as hell I don't. I don't want breasts."
"Okay, I think we've talked about Hermione and me enough," Harry said, chuckling. "So, do you know exactly what's going to happen on the twentieth?" he asked seriously.
"No, not completely," he said. "That potion—the one Dumbledore gave Hermione—was, supposedly, going to be used again. And… and then, perhaps, he'd do something to your children." He shrugged. "Again, I'm not positive."
Harry nodded. "Okay, at least it's better. We'll just be extra cautious on that day."
Before he forgot, he had to tell Harry what happened to Snape. "Harry, Snape is up to something. He was lurking about the halls today, and not just any hall, but the Gryffindor Tower hallways."
"Why could he be around there?" asked Harry curiously.
"I'm not too sure, but he said that he was doing a 'task'." He shrugged. "Keep an eye out, Potter. No matter where you are, people are watching."
He nodded thoughtfully.
"Well, bye, Harry." Draco gave a slight wave, and walked past him.
Harry nodded, lost in his thoughts again.
0—0—0—0
Severus walked into Albus' office.
"I have given the girl, Kelsey, the vials," he said.
"Very well, Severus," Albus said, sucking a lemon drop. "If there is anything else, you may come by." He waved him off. "I believe you have a class to teach?"
Severus nodded. "Yes, I do." Without bidding farewell, Severus left.
Dumbledore smiled, still sucking onto his lemon drop.
Now, all he had to do was wait.