Caught

A/N: Needed some time to rethink the rest of this story and quite honestly don't know whether all that thinking was really necessary. Anyway, the seventh chapter of my story. I hope it's likable enough, it should at least provide some inside to some people's perceived character. Warning: Severus Snape is featured in this chapter, do not be afraid. Yet. And Voldemort's influence is briefly shining through, but that shouldn't be scary, right?



Chapter Seven – Along Came A Spider



"Where have you been, mate?" Ronald Weasley asked the evening of the Sorting Feast.



"Out and about," answered Harry. If there hadn't been a defined pecking order at the Gryffindor table, the seventh years sitting nearest to the doors with first years nearer to the head table, Harry would have changed immediately. As it was, a confrontation of some sorts couldn't be avoided.



"Dad says you never went to your aunt's," Ronald continued, obviously fishing for more information. "And Snuffles was worried sick. I sent you five letters and you didn't even respond to them!"



Hermione Granger glanced at her red-headed friend, frowning. Five letters wasn't much for a duration of two months. Of course she couldn't send letters with an owl unless people wrote her first, not that she was overly worried. Summer had given her a lot of time to think and part of that time was spent considering her friends and her private and professional aims. Berlin had been nice as well, even if the capital of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland was one major construction site, the magical district of Berlin, connected with the wizarding side of Potsdam and Weimar, was a very educative experience - even her parents thought so. Ron's parents had invited her to stay for a while as well, but after Ron's horrible behavior and Harry isolating himself last year, she wasn't inclined to grant them much leeway. If they wanted to remain best friends, Hermione had decided, they were going to have to give more than they tended to do. Hermione was tired of being used as a deus ex machina concerning the homework of her house mates. She had her O.W.L.s to worry about, after all.



"Then you'll need to ask your father again, because I have been with the Dursleys," Harry calmly retorted. "Granted it only was for a day, but that shouldn't really matter, should it? I think I've been through enough to be capable of making my own decisions."



"And what about your safety? Look at what happened during the Third Task!" Ronald exclaimed. By now most of the people present had turned their heads to watch the little drama queen act of Ronald evolve and hear Harry's opinion as well. It wasn't because they were interested of course.



Harry's expression turned harsher. "I appreciate it when people keep their nose out of my private life, Ronald."



"But I'm your best friend!" defended Ronald.



Harry shook his head slightly. "You once were, but you're not anymore. Point is, I grew up one way and you're still growing up another. I'm different, you're different, whatever passes for a friendship between is different."



Ron suddenly looked a little lost. "But we're best friends. We saved the Philosopher's Stone and Ginny, we beat dozens of Dementors and won the Triwizard Tournament, that signifies something doesn't it?"



A wry smile appeared on Harry's face. "That wasn't a Philosopher's Stone 'we saved', it was an alchemical stone that ages your body at a rate it can't keep up. As for Ginny, yeah we searched for clues together and you accompanied me to just before the Chamber, but it wasn't your life at stake, not your arm with a basilisk fang stuck in it, nor was it your essence leaving your body. Third and fourth year? I was the one who banished those Dementors and the one - except for Hermione - reading through most of the library for survival. I was the one kidnapped for some obscure ritual and tortured, not you. If you don't realize that by now, you'll only end up deluding yourself further. If you think we're best friends, Ronald, consider this: when was the last time I confided in you? And I truly mean confiding, not this superficial banter necessary to satisfy our social needs. You'll find that it's been a long time now, somewhere during third year? Our world still spins around its ax, people advance."



Hermione had listened as careful as she had to Dolores Umbridge's speech earlier that feast and was satisfied to know her thoughts went in the same direction as Harry's. Maybe her friendship with him could be taken to a more pleasant and healthy level.



"So how was the rest of your summer, Harry?" she inquired.



Harry focused on her, his eyes never leaving hers. "Quite alright, Hermione, learned a couple of interesting things and met some interesting people. Yours?"



"Germany was amazing!" she smiled. "If you ever decide to visit it, I recommend visiting Brandenburg Tower in Potsdam, it's fantastic, and it's the only magical skyscraper in Europe!"



Harry smiled gently. At least one less thing to worry about that year; a curious and bossy Hermione.



---



Blanking his facial expression, it was a stern Harry that entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, its current resident being Dolores Umbridge, who also functioned as Cornelius Fudge's Undersecretary. It was the second day into the school year and for some obscure reason Harry already had a week's worth of detention - that one Defense lesson he'd had the day before had been a real trial on his nerves and certainly not because of Umbridge's shrill voice, her horrific clothing style or her irritating fake smile. Spending his summer in the presence of a Death Eater, a Dark Lord and a snake that ate humans as appetizers, Harry though he'd recognized evil as it was - Romilda Vane's scariness discounted - but Dolores Umbridge made him rethink his previous beliefs and refine his worst fears. Umbridge was the perfect candidate for starting a Vernichtungslager, she had the good qualities of a torturer and apparently the wizarding world was dumb enough to hand give her a lot of power.



Harry casually let his hand drop in his pocket so that it clutched his wand. He had a feeling vermin like Umbridge needed to be put down urgently. He understood now why Lucius failed where Marvolo would succeed in overthrowing governments: the Ministry of Magic was filled with people of her kind, you needed to be a real bastard to squash your rivals.



Harry stared right into Umbridge, allowing his divination talents to dominate - the same way he analyzed the people in that bar in Blackpool. While what he saw merely was a confirmation of his previous observations, to do what he did usually caused his 'victim' extreme awkwardness.



"I think you need to be made aware of several things, Dolores," spoke Harry harshly, while seating himself on Umbridge's desk, "And one of them is that no matter how hard you might try, Hogwarts will never be yours to control. A second thing you have to remember, Dolores dear, is that in comparison with me, you are nothing but an irritating side-effect of what I want to accomplish. You don't like the idea of being unimportant? Tough luck.



"Now I know you are probably thinking 'what does this brat think he can do? I'm a member of the government', well it's quite easy. Give me a minute to demonstrate your new fear, well, it's not like you can move or even object. Up until this moment you have been scared to death of half-breeds or even complete magical sentient creatures without being confronted with one, haven't you? That's right, Dolores, I know all of your little secrets - didn't expect me to be absent of Little Whining, did you? From this evening onwards however every time you will even think of harming mine, there will be a punishment to be paid. I've been experimenting this summer, if you hadn't realized, and I've come upon a very peculiar way to curse people. You believe in the trinity of mind, body and soul, I believe? Well, I've put a compulsion upon your soul - when you actively contemplate harming my person or those I consider mine, you will feel a very real emotional and physical need to copulate with a half-breed. Consider this as a word of caution: a body can be altered, a mind can be deceived, but a soul can't. Now, I believe this should do for my detentions of this week, shouldn't it? Have a pleasant evening and enjoy your week."



Smirking slightly, Harry left the office. It took a couple of weeks during which Umbridge was suspiciously absent a lot of the evening, but the faithful Ministry employee returned with a vigor after it, focusing on Hogwarts staff and people she assumed were safe that irritated her. Of her rather negative mood towards the Boy-Who-Lived those first two days, nay word was spoken, though suspicious looks often came her way from Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore.



---



The wind blew hard the weekend before Halloween as the students of Hogwarts made their way to Hogsmeade, the only town in Great Britain absent of Muggles. The third years laughed and excitedly exclaimed their joy, while the fourth years already were more subdued, having grown accustomed to Hogsmeade visits.



Severus Snape followed the students, his sneer long vanished into a thoughtful frown as he contemplated his lot in life. It was a poorly drawn one if he was honest with himself. His childhood was a nightmare up until those last years where he befriended Lily Evans and taught her and himself the subtly art of potions and magic. His Hogwarts years could be best described as a sour smile; he'd found his niche, a raison d'etre, at Hogwarts: the development of Potions and the creation of some masterful spellwork. It also marked the end of his friendship with Lily and losing her to his suppressor, James Potter. The first five years after his N.E.W.T.S. weren't exactly filled with joy either, though if he were honest with himself, up until the end of the Dark Lord's rise they were the most wondrous years in his life.



Becoming a Death Eater gave him purpose, the feeling that he was contributing something to society. That ended when Sybill Trelawney prophesied for the first time in her life and Lily's life became mortally endangered. Like so many, he had forgotten there were two sides to the Dark Lord's aims: one promoting an advancement of the wizarding world, the other the selfish quest for immortality. That prophecy threatened both aims, something Severus hadn't realized fully until Lily's son survived a Killing Curse, his mother forever in the land of the dead.



Teaching at Hogwarts gave him a purpose again and Severus was grateful to Albus Dumbledore for that, even if the arrival of Lily's son, James Potter's spawn, blemished his latter career. Having a purpose, after all, wasn't the same as accepting past deeds, lost opportunities and continue living life fullest. Professionally, Severus's life was a success. Privately, Severus's life was as messy as that day he called Lily a Mudblood.



Complications were arising though, mere months ago his Dark Mark had become black instead of the gray it had been for more than a dozen years: Lord Voldemort had returned. Severus however wasn't summoned until the end of September. Considering the burning tingle a summoning accompanied, Severus couldn't help but Apparate to his former master. To his great surprise, the Dark Lord was alone, if you didn't count the scarily big snake of course. The conversation he had with the Slytherin heir then was a very confronting one, all of Severus's cards having been put on the table and even now, one month later, Severus wasn't sure where his secondary loyalties lay. He was bound by oath to Dumbledore to follow the elder wizard's commands, unless those commands would dishonor the memory of Lily Evans-Potter. The Lily Severus knew however, could be quite vicious and secretive when she wanted to be, so it wasn't as if she could make his decision any easier.



Severus entered the local apothecary, greeting the Richard LXVI, son of Richard LXV – the Richard who owned the store, politely. It never hurt to be friendly with your suppliers, especially those of potion ingredients. The Prince scion took the list of necessary ingredients out of his inner pocket and handed it over. When the staff of Hogwarts needed to buy something in name of the school, they needed to create a list, argue over it with the headmaster, or in the case of large purchases such as school brooms, the Board of Governors, before allowing the headmaster to sign it and put a wax seal with the school crest on it. It was a tedious thing to do as a Potions professor because there were ingredients not in stock on a monthly base, meaning that the Potions professor needed to go through the procedure ten times a year, but Severus actually preferred it like that. Rules and precautions were a necessity in a school of adolescent witches and wizards. Besides, Severus wouldn't trust the ingredients bought by anyone else – who knew what kind of quality they could bring back.



Richard LXVI unsealed the list and read it through before going to the back of the store, where he needed to assemble Hogwarts' recent purchase. During the wait, Severus stared at one of the rare ingredients in display, a runespoor's venom, thinking about the Dark Lord, the world and animals in general. When Richard LXVI returned with a box full, Severus had an epiphany of sorts – or more like a realization: when snakes go into hibernation they don't build a nest, they seek shelter. So when snakes start building webs, they would eventually fail. Only a spider prevailed in that task, for only spiders caught things in their webs.



The Dark Lord was nothing but a snake trying to simulate a spider, no matter how hard he tried and Severus, well, Severus liked spiders.



Clutching the box tightly in his arms, Severus returned to Hogwarts castle with renewed vigor. Let the Dark Lord spin his webs, Severus would be there when the snake failed.



---



Harry met Barty near the edge of Hogsmeade clandestine. They didn't kiss or even hugged, even though they wanted to. Instead they traded news and made some practical arrangements in case of emergency, for Barty had been granted the great honor of going undercover again, this time parading as Guy Bloke, who worked in the Department of Law Enforcement directly under Amelia Bones. Guy Bloke lived in Ireland and was a completely different character than Alastor Moody, so it didn't look like Harry and Barty would be able to spend much time with each other. As a precaution, Barty gave Harry a copy of his will, as well as giving Harry a sealed envelop containing the Crouch family signet ring, to be opened in case Barty was found out and given the Dementor's Kiss or sent to Azkaban before being able to escape. It was with slightly widened eyes Harry accepted these items, knowing how much trust Barty placed in him. It was a feeling Harry enjoyed greatly. A couple of hours later, they parted ways. Harry joined Luna in the Three Broomsticks where they both read a book – Harry still working his way through Isin Peverell's notes.



Reading about Slytherin's roots was very interesting and made Harry wonder if one day he would visit the places the Slytherin clan had been – which was quite extensive, going from medieval Dover to the empire of Charles Quint, the early Maghreb, a flourishing Egypt, a poetic Persia and the grand Mesopotamian culture known only for its Sumerian and ancient lore of Abraham's people. It might be a pilgrims tour worth doing if his ambitions and plans failed in Britain.



A/N: If memory serves me well, Richard LXVI should be read as Richard the sixty-sixth. That's what I call pure-blood!