Guilty as Sin

CHAPTER 32

Harry lay staring at the ceiling admiring his project with a sense of supreme satisfaction. It had taken him nearly two years to perfect the charm but it had been worth the effort. The crisp blue sky with fluffy slow moving white clouds looked as if it would go on forever. Harry could almost smell the clean fresh air he’d created in the ceiling cavity of Snape’s chambers. Originally he’d been learning the charm to brighten the roof of his room at the Dursley’s but with those days behind him the charm had come to another use entirely.

“He’s not going to like it.” Draco muttered as he stared up into the clouds where he and Harry had spent the afternoon picking out rude shapes in them.

“It’s being negative that pulls your chain isn’t it Draco?” Harry snapped irritably back as he rolled over onto his side to stare down at his blonde friend.

“No, It’s called being realistic Potter there’s a difference.” Draco defended himself lamely as he rolled back over as well to finish his weekend homework. This week had been so slow, time seemed to almost go backwards. Potions on Friday had seemed like a week especially with Snape curiously absent and Madam Sprout standing in. Neither Harry nor Draco had seen Snape in two days and while they were not necessarily worried it was a little strange. Then again a lot of what Snape had been doing for the past four weeks had been strange. Harry had heard a rumor among the students that the potions professor was under a curse but that was highly unlikely. His behavior had been extremely out of character; even the headmaster had asked Harry if Snape was feeling all right. Snape had taken to hoarding strange items, like woolen robes and knitted jumpers. He’d also filled an entire trunk with blankets and bedding but it wasn’t just material items the professor was hoarding but food too. Harry had likened him to a hamster squirreling things away for winter. Draco and Harry had laughed about it at first but now it wasn’t funny and was just down right strange. Winter had long gone but Snape appeared to be preparing for another ice age. Neither of them had dared confront their Superei about the strange behavior, one thing at least that hadn’t changed was Snape’s iron fist discipline and rule. Admittedly for Harry his experiences with Snape were short and less violent but Draco was served with his usual heavy handedness.

“Could have fooled me.” Harry muttered as he to turned to his homework and casually ticked a few of the boxes on the pop quiz Professor McGonagall had sprung on them.

“So where do you think he’s gone?” Draco finished his essay with a date and a signature before rolling the parchment up and stowing it in his school bag.

“Who knows we’ve seen less of him these last few months than we ever had in our lives and it’s not like him to be missing classes.” Harry ticked the last few answers on his test and like Draco stuffed his remaining work into his bag. It was getting late and both of them had skipped dinner to finish their homework, so a late night snack was in order.

“Do you reckon it has got something to do with those documents going missing from the Ministry?” Harry followed Draco out of the living room and into Snape’s lab kitchen. There was cheese and crackers and a jug of pumpkin juice in the ice cupboard and Harry sat down at the bench as he watched Draco slice the cheese for them.

“Maybe, I don’t suppose we’re going to find out though and you can’t always believe what’s written in the papers.” There had been a massive attack at the Ministry last week but all that the Ministry could account for as missing were a few ancient documents taken from the department of Mysteries. It had seemed strange to Harry that for such a large-scale attack as the one they’d described in the Prophet, so little had been taken. Though without being privy to the meetings of the Order Harry was little more informed about the incident than everyone else was, and anything he guessed would be more speculation than concrete facts. Collecting a plate full of crackers and cheese, along with a glass of juice Harry wandered back out into the sitting room and plonked himself down heavily on the chair by the fire. Draco followed him a moment or two later carrying his own plate.

“You know as silly as this sounds, I miss him.” Draco muttered around a mouthful of cracker as he sat down on the rug at Harry’s feet. Harry laughed and shook his head.

“That’s stupid he’s only been gone two days, how did you cope at Christmas for two weeks?” Harry scoffed at Draco. Despite his teasing however Harry had to admit too, he was missing Snape as well, and an ill feeling had settled in his stomach. Snape knew something that they didn’t and that was more of a worry than knowing what it was.

“Dismally, I even got the old family photo’s out and flipped through them looking for pictures of him with my Dad.” Draco washed a mouthful of cracker down with a swill of juice before continuing. “You know he was pretty good looking when he was younger, his nose wasn’t so crooked and he was more muscled.” Harry chuckled warmly as Draco rested back against his friend’s legs and stretched his feet out onto the fire surround to warm them.

“What, are you saying he’s not good looking now?” Harry stared at Draco with mock shock causing the blonde to thump him on the leg.

“You know what I mean Potter.” Draco whispered as he finished off his last cracker and brushed away the crumbs from the front of his robes. “He’s different now, tired and worn. It’s like Voldemort and Dumbledore have just sucked the life out of him that was there when he was younger. I bet he’d look better without them in his life.”

“And us.” Harry muttered as he flicked his wand at the empty plates banishing them to the sink in the lab to be washed later. “Think of what all this sex is doing to him?…” Both Harry and Draco laughed loudly but before either of them could speak again a rumbling echoing around the castle made them both fall silent. The sound wasn’t loud but it was strong and a few of the glass vials on Snape’s shelves rattled against one another with the shake.

“Jesus, what was that?” Draco whispered as the rumbling stopped and everything fell silent again.

“Thunder maybe?” Harry offered in explanation as he stood up and gently pushed Snape’s pensive back further onto the bookshelf beside him where the rumbling had dislodged it a little. Draco too stood up and when to push the few glass vials in the lab back further into their shelving.

“A big bloody storm if it is.” Draco returned from the lab and looked at Harry who was inspecting the dust that had fallen from the fireplace.

“An earthquake then?” Harry shrugged his shoulders and went to sit back down again but before his bum reached the cushion the rumbling started again this time only louder and far more violent. The ground beneath them felt as if it were crumbling and the walls shook. Like lightening Harry grabbed Draco dragging him into the bedroom as things started falling from the shelves and dust and debris fell from the roof. Crawling on their bellies both boy’s rolled under Snape’s bed out of the way. The rumbling didn’t stop and both of them watched the books and things from the shelves fall off onto the floor, smashing and scattering.

“What’s going on?” Draco whispered as he snuggled closer to Harry as the mirror that had hung over Snape’s tall boy fell from the floor and shattered loudly beside the bed.

“I don’t know?” Harry muttered hardly hearing his own voice over the rumbling.

Then just as quickly as the rumbling had started it stopped the place falling into an eerie still silence. Harry didn’t dare breath as he listened for signs of anything else happening. After a few moments of nothing Harry felt Draco go to slide from beneath the bed but Harry grabbed hold of his arm pinning him in place as he felt a strange wave of magic engulf the room. It was clear that Draco had felt the magic too as he looked up at Harry in fear. Before either of them could speak the wave of magic receded and every torch and candle in the rooms went out plunging the chamber into pitch black, even the flicker of the fire in the living room had been extinguished. Harry felt Draco tighten his hold on his hand as both of them tried to see out from beyond the under skirt of the bed. As he lay in fear Harry felt the temperature in the room plummet and he shivered as the cold seeped under the bed and wrapped itself around him and Draco. The room had turned icy, cold like a dungeon should be. Harry had an unnerving flash back to his third year and the Dementor who’d cornered him on the Hogwart’s express.

“The wards, they’ve gone.” Draco whispered his voice barely audible above the sound of their breathing in the silent blacked out room.

“Huh?” Harry queried as he looked across at Draco. The only thing Harry could see of Draco though was the boy’s shining whites of the boy’s wide fearful eyes.

“Snape’s wards on his chambers they’re gone, that’s why it’s cold and the torches have gone out.” Draco whispered as he drew his wand out and tightly clasped it in his right hand. Unconsciously Harry did the same thing his hand nervously shaking despite it’s deathly grip on his wand. What Draco had just said made sense, and if it was true anything or anyone could be in the chamber now, they were sitting ducks. “What…” Draco went to say something but Harry heard the crunch of a footstep on the broken vials in the lab and instantly clamped his hand over the blonde’s mouth silencing him as both of them focused their attention on the soft footsteps walking around in the lounge. Harry had faced fear before, mainly Voldemort but this fear he felt now was entirely different. He knew Voldemort and what the wizard was capable of, he knew also a myriad of dangerous creatures but what he feared was the unknown that was now creeping around in the lounge room. Harry didn’t know how to fight the unknown and his body froze rigid as the footsteps entered the bedroom.

Harry couldn’t breath as he watched the movement in the darkness of whatever or whomever it was walking around the bed. Draco was shaking like a leaf pressed up against Harry’s side the boy’s fingers practically drawing blood from Harry’s arm where it was tightly gripped around. Harry was sure he swallowed his tongue as the footsteps came to stand directly beside the bed, exactly in line with where he and Draco were lying. An inch or so closer and Harry would have been able to touch the black boots with the tip of his nose. It was then though that something struck him, there was a familiarity to the outline of the boots he could see from beneath the bed, and that smell…the scent was light but it was there nonetheless. Daring to take a breath in Harry inhaled deeply as silent as he could manage, engulfing his senses in the slight hint of scent that was hidden in the cold air. Harry couldn’t have mistaken the scent if he’d tried and almost immediately he relaxed and rolled himself out from under the bed much to Draco’s horror, who wasn’t thinking straight and hadn’t yet smelt their mate.

“Severus.” Harry whispered as he lay on his back staring up into the darkness of the shadow above him. A flicker of indigo eyes met his own before Harry saw an almost relived smile shine from beneath the hood of the cloak.

“Harry are you alright?” Harry whimpered in relief as Snape bent down, sheathing his wand into the sleeve of his robe as he drew Harry up onto his knees and gently inspected the boy’s face with warm but rough hands. There was very little they could see in the darkness so Snape’s hands did the mandatory inspection of the boy to ensure he was okay.

“Yes, both of us.” Harry nodded in Snape’s cupped palms as he reached beneath the bed and pulled out Draco who was still shaking but no longer with fear, more relief.

“Good, now listen to me, get your cloaks, your wands and whatever personal belongs you think you need and come back here.” Harry wondered why Snape was whispering but obediently nodded. “And no magic.” Snape whispered as an afterthought as Harry grabbed hold of Draco’s hand and began leading them around the chamber in the darkness.

“Why no magic, I can’t see a thing.” Draco complained as he kicked his foot on the edge of a fallen draw and swore quietly to himself.

“I don’t know, just shut up and collect what you want.” Irritated a more than a little worried Harry hurriedly collected his and Draco’s cloaks from the hook in the lounge before returning to the bedroom where Draco was blindly emptying both their draws of things into a small traveling trunk. Snape was rummaging around in the darkness as well although with what sounded like far more calculated movements. Finally with the traveling trunk swinging between them and their cloaks wrapped around their shoulders Harry and Draco waited at the bottom of the bed for Snape to finish whatever he was doing in the dark.

“Do you have everything you want?” Snape’s figure finally came to a stand still in front of Draco and Harry, both boys nodding in agreement having not a lot to begin with anyway.

“Yes.” Draco confirmed verbally when he realized Snape was still waiting for an answer having not seen the twin nods.

“Alright I’ll shrink the trunk.” Harry frowned but said nothing as Snape took the trunk from the both and with a strange whispered charm, spoken in the old language Harry had heard only a few times before the trunk was shrunk and Snape placed it carefully in Harry’s pocket for safe keeping.

“What’s going on?” Harry whispered as Snape took them both by the arm and led them out of the destroyed chamber.

“I haven’t got time to explain Potter, now stay close to me, keep your eyes out for anything that moves and watch your step.” Snape glared at both boy’s in dark and neither of them had to see the man’s gaze to know how serious he was. Take a deep steadying breath in Harry followed Snape down the darkened corridors of the dungeons, with Draco holding onto the back of his cloak close behind.

The school was deathly silent and eerily dark. There was rubble and debris scattered all over the stone floor, causing them to stumble and their footsteps to crunch loudly in the silence. Even as they ascended the stairs towards the upper levels of the school there was no light, the school strangely devoid of even moonlight shining in through the windows, or what was left of the shattered glass anyway. Draco and Harry were stunned silent at the wreckage of the school their eyes wide with shock as Snape began carefully leading them up the grand staircase that was crumbling and falling down with every step they took. What ever had happened had been quick but devastating and Harry could help but think about what had happened to the students and professors.

“Watch the gap.” Snape called back over his shoulder as they took the last few steps up into the Owlery tower. Harry was horrified as he jumped over the sizable gap in the stonework of the tower steps, it was as if the tower had been shaken free of the rest of the castle and moved an entire ten inches away, leaving a large gaping split in the floor that as far as Harry could see went all the way down the side. Draco didn’t look down and merely followed Harry into the owlery, which despite its name was completely devoid of owls. Once they were in the tower Snape seemed to relax a little and Harry stood in the center of the room as he watched Snape stride over to the open ledges around the outside of the tower. Harry couldn’t help himself he had to see what Snape was looking at. Leaving Draco where he was Harry followed Snape over to the turret and looked out into the moonless night. The image Harry saw from the turret was one he would never forget in his life. Harry’s heart suddenly mirrored the crumbling cold, dark castle he’d just walked through as he stared out at the scene.

“And so the war begins…” Snape whispered his own gaze lost in the darkness, his voice hollow and foreboding telling the story of the scene far better than any dark image Harry could ever see…

TBC>>>>>>>>>>>>