Forsaken
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,161
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,161
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
The Use of Information
Chapter 27 - The Use of Information
Severus glared at the trembling locket, the chain dangled over his finger.
“Goddamn it,” he hissed at himself. He took a deep breath and held it steady as he lowered it into the small velvet sack in his other shaking hand.
“They say only crazy people talk to themselves,” said a quiet voice from the sofa.
“Then you should have been committed a long time ago, Shacklebolt,” growled Severus as he slid the pouch into his pocket. He glanced over at
Kingsley and sneered. “Get that look off your face.”
“Excuse me for being a little worried,” snapped Kingsley. “I just have a really bad feeling about this. Voldemort’s going to be more than a little pissed when
he finds out his precious - what are they called again?”
“Horcruxes,” muttered Severus, his eyes flicking to the window as he ran his hands down the front of his warm black robes.
“Right,” said Kingsley, “ - are gone, and he’s sure as hell going to figure out that you were involved.”
“Remind me again why I thought you could handle knowing what I’m doing?” said Severus sternly. He held his hands out in front of him, watching
apprehensively as they shook. He gripped the back of the chair and closed his eyes, his stomach churning. He silently counted to five and stood up straight
to finish getting ready.
“How are the kids?” he asked, grasping for anything to fill the tense silence. Kingsley smiled faintly.
“They’re great,” he answered. “Blaise is really coming along with some of the Junior Auror material that Harry’s teaching him. Neville got detention the other
day for sneaking into the Restricted Section under Harry’s cloak to fetch a book for one of their meetings. Those girls have every boy in the school and a
couple of my newly commissioned Aurors drooling over them, and I’m pretty sure Harry is trying to break the twins’ record for the most points lost in a single
term.”
“Yes,” said Severus drolly. “I got a very verbose Howler about a tea set and him dropping Defense a few weeks ago. This morning, her complaint was
something along the lines of me owing her 147 galleons for irreparable water damage to her classroom.” Kingsley chuckled.
“She was in a raging temper the whole day,” said Kingsley. “A couple of my guys said it took them about half an hour to turn her desk back to its original
shape.”
“What did he turn it into?” asked Severus, a smug grin creeping across his face.
“A ship,” said Kingsley, “complete with sails and rigging and everything. Of course, Harry had to see if it was seaworthy and didn’t want to go out to the
Lake.”
“Hence the water damage,” sighed Severus. “I’ll patronus him in the morning and remind him to be more careful. I can’t afford to be refurbishing the entire
castle.”
“Should I be worried that you’re actually encouraging this?” teased Kingsley. Severus grinned ruefully at the floor as he lifted the hood of his cloak.
“I admit I am a bit jealous,” he said. He felt his pocket again for the locket. He pulled the black handkerchief tied around his neck up over the lower half of his
face. Kingsley followed him as he walked slowly towards the door.
“Good luck, mate,” said Kingsley quietly.
~+~
It took everything he had to remain absolutely still as Severus watched the flickers of fear race across the blood-red eyes of the man in front of him.
Voldemort had been silent for several minutes since Severus handed him the locket. He hadn’t spoken, hadn’t moved, hadn’t so much as acknowledged that
Severus was still in the room.
“And you had no knowledge of this locket beforehand?” asked Voldemort finally.
“No, my lord,” said Severus cautiously. Voldemort held his gaze for a long while. Severus allowed the Legilimency tendrils into his mind, feeling them swirl
around all kinds of meaningless memories.
“What was the point of your staying in the castle if you can’t even bring me decent information?” snapped Voldemort. “Surely you must have noticed the old
man was up to something?”
“My lord,” said Severus. “I have already explained how Dumbledore -“
“Do not speak that name in my presence,” hissed Voldemort hatefully. Severus tensed up even further.
“Yes, my lord,” he answered. “I was not trusted with the man’s schedule or whereabouts, last year in particular. I was only informed of the times he would
return to the castle.”
“And the boy?” asked Voldemort impatiently. “Did you notice him meeting with the boy?”
“Not on a consistent basis,” answered Severus half-truthfully. “Potter had been spying on the Malfoy boy the entire year and thought he had discovered
Malfoy’s intentions. I believe the Headmaster met with him to dissuade him of these notions. I told the old man that Malfoy was taking the news of his father’s
imprisonment rather badly, hence the boy’s radically changed temperament and appearance.”
“And did he meet with Malfoy at anytime to confirm your explanation?” asked Voldemort.
“Not to my knowledge, my lord,” said Severus.
“Is there anything you can tell me?” shouted Voldemort. Severus stood straighter, facing the man’s wrath head on.
“I have told you everything,” said Severus softly. “I do not keep secrets from you, my lord.” Voldemort turned away from him, hiding the wary thoughtfulness
his words had provoked.
“Indeed,” murmured Voldemort, tapping his lip with his finger. He began slowly pacing the room. “I have another object for you to find for me,
Severus.”
“Yes, my lord,” said Severus.
~~+~~+~~+~~
Harry paced the floor of the Room of Requirement in thought as the others read several notes he had received over the past week.
“This complicates things a bit,” muttered Blaise morosely, handing Ginny the parchment in his hand and taking another from Neville. “Looks like the three of
us are the only seventh year Slytherins without tattoos.”
“It explains why Nott has been a complete bastard, though,” said Ginny. She held up the note in her hand. “Everybody seen the new list?” At the murmured
assent and nods, she tossed it into the blazing fireplace.
“And Dumbledore just told you all this about You-Know-Who and these Horcruxes?” asked Caitlyn.
“Yeah,” said Harry distractedly. Caitlyn leaned forward a little, waiting for him to continue. He didn’t respond.
“How are we supposed to get into McGonagall’s office to ask about this cup thing?” asked Neville. “She isn’t about to let any of us into her office
unsupervised.”
“And she isn’t to know what Severus is doing,” said Harry sharply. “She and Moody would have a fit, not to mention they’d lock me in the dungeons for the
rest of term.”
“So after the cup,” said Pansy, “we still need Ravenclaw’s scepter, yes?”
“Yes,” said Harry, his anger at Severus’s order to stay at the castle flaring up again. His pacing tempo increased, giving him the look of a caged animal.
Without a word, he stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Ginny sighed.
“What wrong with him?” asked Blaise, his eyebrows merging with his hairline. Ginny hugged her arms across her chest.
“He doesn’t like being told to stay somewhere against his will,” she said quietly. “He promised Severus he’d stay until Christmas, but he hates being here.
He feels --”
“Trapped,” finished Pansy, staring at the door. Blaise sighed loudly as he stood up from the couch. He crumpled the parchment in his hands and tossed it
into the fire.
“Well, he’s not the only one,” he muttered. “Hogwarts has turned into a damned prison.”
“Halloween’s in a couple of weeks,” said Caitlyn hopefully. “Then we’ll only have another month and a half. Of course, I haven’t told my parents I’m not
coming back yet.”
“Neither have I,” said Ginny. “My mum will have kittens when she finds out.” She walked dejectedly out of the room, followed by Blaise and Caitlyn. Neville
glanced up at Pansy sitting on the arm of the couch from where he sat on the floor. He pushed himself to his feet and stepped over to her.
“You - you wanna go for a walk?” he asked shyly. She smiled a little and got up.
“Sure,” she said. He offered her his arm out of habit due to his grandmother always barking at him to escort her places. Pansy’s smile grew as she slipped
her arm in his. Just realizing his gesture, Neville blushed and walked her to the door.
The hallways were empty as they meandered around the castle. Kingsley walked past a corridor, pausing as he caught a glimpse of them. He opened his
mouth to reprimand them, but didn’t as he heard a soft giggle. He smiled to himself.
“Good job, kid,” he murmured. He moved on towards another hallway as Neville and Pansy turned down the Charms corridor.
“Peeves caught us down here in our first year after curfew,” said Neville. “I had been in the hospital wing because I -“
“Broke your wrist,” said Pansy. “Flying lessons.” They laughed quietly.
“I still hate brooms,” said Neville. “I was so glad when I got my apparition license. I’ll never be as good as Harry is at flying.”
“I don’t think many people are,” said Pansy. Neville smiled down at her and lowered his arm, hesitantly taking her hand in his. Pansy gently threaded her
fingers with his, placing her other hand on his arm. A heady feeling of elation raced through him, resulting in a giddy grin on his face. Pansy laughed softly at
him, feeling a thrilling rush fill her chest when he squeezed her hand.
“I don’t like brooms either,” she said. “I’m - I’m actually afraid of heights.”
“Really?” he asked. “I never would have -“
“Well, well, look what we have here,” said a malicious voice in front of them. Neville immediately drew his wand, pulling Pansy behind him. Pansy clutched
his sleeve tightly, watching in horror as Theodore Nott appeared out of thin air in front of them. She gasped softly at seeing Vincent Crabbe and Gregory
Goyle appear beside and behind them. She drew her wand, pointing it shakily at Zachariah Smith’s leering face as he stepped out of the shadows.
“You filthy blood traitors!” hissed Nott, walking forward into the torchlight. “Have you no shame, following that half-blood around like lost puppies?”
“At least we don’t kiss his ass like you do Voldemort’s,” snarled Neville, trying to mask his fright at being surrounded. “We have dignity, unlike you
idiots.”
“Hm,” mused Nott coldly. “That sounded like hostility. What do you think, Zach?”
“Definitely a bit of hostility,” replied Zacharias, raking his eyes over Pansy’s trembling frame. Her eyes widened, and she pressed her back firmly against
Neville’s. “I think they need to be taught a lesson.”
“Indeed,” said Nott, a cruel smile spreading over his thin face. He looked over Neville’s shoulder and nodded. The last thing Neville felt was a sharp blow to
the back of his head.
~+~
Neville grunted as he was kicked once again in the stomach. He could hear Pansy crying in the corner of the room, but his eyes were swollen shut. He
choked on the blood he accidentally inhaled through his broken nose.
“Stop it!” screamed Pansy as she struggled against Crabbe and Goyle, who were hard-pressed to keep her from escaping. “Leave him alone!” Nott slowly
turned around.
“Do you want some, Blood Traitor?” he asked silkily. “I can give you what you want. Malfoy may have had the looks, but he could never please you the
way I could.”
“You’re disgusting,” spat Pansy. Nott laughed and pointed his wand at Neville.
“Crucio!” he shouted. Neville shrieked in agony as his limbs twitched uncontrollably.
“NO!” screamed Pansy. “Please stop! Please!” Nott casually lifted his wand and turned back towards her.
“What will you give me to stop?” he asked. She hung her head, sobbing as she looked down at Neville’s unconscious body bleeding on the floor. Nott
waved his hand at Crabbe and Goyle. They immediately dropped her on the floor. She crumbled down, sobbing louder as she sneakily slipped her hand
into her robes and grabbed onto the cross hanging from her neck.
“Wait outside,” said Nott harshly. “This won’t take long.” Crabbe handed him Pansy’s wand as he and Goyle shuffled out the door. Pansy glanced again at
Neville, her heart thumping at hearing him wheeze.
“Doesn’t sound too good, does he?” said Nott breezily, gazing carelessly at the pile of bloody robes.
“Not as bad as you’re going to sound here in a few minutes,” said an icy voice from the doorway. Pansy looked up and choked out a laugh of relief as
Blaise and Harry stood in the doorway. Harry immediately disarmed Nott while Blaise hit him with a Body bind. Pansy scrambled over to Neville and gently
turned him over.
“I don’t think your Dark Lord’s going to be too happy with you,” said Harry, standing over Nott’s frozen face. “I don’t blame him really. You’re a bit of an
idiot.” He pointed his wand down, binding Nott from chest to knees in tight, black rope. He grabbed Nott’s robes and dragged him towards the door.
“Get him to Pomfrey,” he said, looking down at Neville worriedly. “We can handle the rest of them until Kingsley gets here.” Blaise nodded curtly and
murmured the spell to conjure a stretcher. He gently levitated Neville onto it.
“Harry, he’s got my wand,” said Pansy hoarsely, her throat tight from screaming.
“I’ll get it and bring it to you,” he said on his way out the door. He tossed Nott up against the wall next to where Ginny had her wand aimed at Smith’s furious
and gagged face. He tilted his head towards her ear.
“You look hot,” he whispered. Ginny grinned smugly at him.
“Of course I do,” she said smugly. She glanced to her right. “Hey Cate, you might want to lighten up just a bit. If you kill him, I don’t know if Harry can get
you out of prison.
“ -- stupid motherfucker,” growled Caitlyn, kicking Goyle one last time. She forcefully straightened her robes and smoothed back her hair. “Alright, I’m done.”
Harry chuckled softly and fired off his patronus.
A few minutes later, Kingsley and Minerva appeared at the end of the hallway, staring in pride and horror respectively at the three students before
them.
“Oh good,” said Harry as they walked slowly down the hall. “Hey Kingsley, how’s it going?”
“Apparently very well,” he said. “What have you got for me, kid?”
“Four Death Eaters caught torturing Neville and Pansy,” answered Harry.
“Impossible,” said Minerva imperiously. “The wards would have been triggered as soon as they stepped through the gates.” Harry raised an
eyebrow.
“Then I would say your wards need a bit of work,” he said cheekily. “Either that, or Voldemort gave them a way to get past the warding. Here, let’s ask.” He
knelt down in front of Crabbe and removed the ropes around his mouth. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a vial of Veritaserum he had found in Severus’s
old office. He grabbed a handful of the boy’s hair and yanked his head back. Crabbe yelled, allowing Harry to pour three drops into the boy’s mouth. He
restoppered the vial and slipped it back in his pocket as Crabbe’s eyes went slightly unfocused.
“Can you hear me?” asked Harry.
“Yes,” replied Crabbe blankly.
“Potter, the use of Veritaserum on students is strictly prohibited -“ began Minerva.
“Only for professors, which I am not,” said Harry. He turned back to Crabbe. “How did you and the other Death Eaters get past the wards?”
“Nott portkeyed into the school from his house,” said Crabbe. “The rest of us were branded after the start of term and were given portkeys to the dorm
rooms. He told us not to leave the grounds.” Harry waved his hand and looked up at Minerva.
“Anything else you care to know?” he asked. Minerva pursed her lips.
“I want to see the three of you in my office, now,” she said tightly. “You too, Kingsley.”
“Certainly, Professor,” said Harry coolly. “Right after we get this slime out of the castle and make sure Neville is still alive. Kingsley, they’re all
yours.”
“Thanks, Harry, girls,” said Kingsley. He pulled a round disk from his pocket and pressed the button in the center of it, paging the rest of his squad to the
corridor.
~+~
Harry stared blankly at Minerva’s furious face, his arms cross over his chest. Blaise, Ginny and Caitlyn flanked him on both sides.
“I will not tolerate you and your little group running amuck after curfew,” said Minerva sternly.
“We weren’t running amuck,” argued Harry calmly. “We were rescuing two of our friends from a pack of Death Eaters.”
“Precisely!” she shouted. “What if more of you had been injured, or worse -“
“Please don’t insult us by saying you actually care about our well-being,” said Blaise hatefully. “If that were the case, Pansy, Cate and I would not be
sleeping on the floor of the First Years’ dorm rooms.
“You should have reported the names of any known Death Eaters to me or Kingsley immediately,” said Minerva. Harry snorted.
“I thought you didn’t trust Severus?” he asked bluntly. “Seeing as how you’ve basically shunned him from the Council, we assumed you weren’t interested
in the intelligence he’s been giving us since term started.” Minerva sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“So all of you know about Severus?” she asked wearily.
“Of course,” said Blaise. “Who do you think talked to us and our parents about helping him and Harry?” Her head shot up from her hand. Harry stepped
forward and rested his palms on her desk, leaning towards her threateningly.
“I made a promise to stay until winter break,” he said quietly. “I was taught that you should always keep your promises. But you should know that
none of us will be returning. We have a wizard to kill, since the Order doesn’t seem to be doing much these days.”
“The Order has been patrolling Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley,” said Minerva curtly. “Not to mention keeping an eye on various departments within the
Ministry.” Harry pushed himself away from her desk and walked towards the door. The other three followed him silently, glaring coldly at Minerva.
“I’m not finished with you, Potter,” she said loudly, standing up from her chair. Harry paused and looked over his shoulder.
“But I'm done talking to you, Professor,” he said quietly, pulling the door open for Ginny and Caitlyn. “We are all done talking.” He followed Blaise out as
they made their way back down to the hospital wing.