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AN: ** Spoiler warning - This submission makes mention of situations in HBP. I've tried to keep it very vague.**
Private Lessons
Harry was startled.
"Souvenir?" Did he really mean to keep the card? What had made him stash it rather than put it in the pile with the others?
"I can only imagine what idiotic reason you have for your subreption," Snape sneered, turning back to his papers.
Harry bit his lip. "Subreption, sir?"
"The card, Potter. You just put something in your robes."
"The card? I.."
"Oh shut it." Snape signed. "Enough of your psitaceous mumbling. Just put it on the pile with the others, Potter. You're not to remove anything from this room that you didn't arrive with."
Harry was relieved. Watching the professor, he reached into his robes and pulled out his hand, flicking the edge of the top card as he slapped his hand gently on the pile. Snape looked at his watch.
"Go," He said, not bothering to look up.
Harry wasted no time. He left the office and headed back towards Gryffindor Tower, thinking about the detention card in his pocket. He wasn't sure why he took it, or why he didn't put it back when he was caught, but there was something about the event it described that Harry felt might be important. He was very interested in what had been done to the Anodyne Solution and who had really done what to land all five of them in detention. Harry was reluctant to visit Dumbledore without bringing the one thing he wanted most, but Harry needed to know. It was important, somehow.
"Just my imagination, anyway," he whispered to himself as he detoured. "It probably didn't happen like that at all."
He quickly made his way to Dumbledore's office. Just a quick word about it, he thought, and hopefully we'll stay off the subject of Slughorn.
"Acid Pops," he said to the Gargoyle, which slid aside.
At the top of the revolving stairs, he knocked.
The door opened for him, a mildly surprised Dumbledore looked up from his desk.
"You're here, sir." Harry was almost hoping not to find him.
"Yes, Harry. I'm on my way out, actually. Have you got it?"
Harry sat down in front of the desk and pulled out the detention card. "No, sir. I will though. I promised. Actually, it's something else. I found this during my detention with Snape tonight."
"Professor Snape, Harry."
"Yeah. Sorry. It's probably nothing, and I'm not sure exactly why I thought it might be, but do you remember anything about a time my Dad, Sirius and Pettigrew got a detention with Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius' brother?"
Dumbledore reached across and Harry handed him the detention card. He held it out at arm's length and read it, front and back.
"Hm." Dumbledore looked pensive, and Harry felt that he might be wandering around in a library of memories, searching for the right one.
"Bellatrix only ever served one detention that can recall. This must be the one, as it's to do with the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey was apprenticing at the time. Perhaps you should ask her. If I recall," he pointed his blackened hand at the card, "the tainted Anodyne Solution was destroyed before Professor Slughorn had a chance to find out exactly what had been done to it. And of course, only the students involved really knew what happened that day. They were all given equal blame and equal punishment."
"So, Remus would know?" Harry asked was Dumbledore handed the card back.
"He was present; he may, but he's unavailable. And as you wouldn’t expect to ask Bellatrix or Wormtail about it, you should begin with Madam Pomfrey. Tomorrow, of course."
"Yes sir. Thanks." Harry remained in his seat.
"Something else?"
"Well, I was just wondering about Sirius' brother," Harry said softly.
"Regulus Black, being dead, is rather quiet these days, Harry." Dumbledore smiled.
"Yeah I know," Harry said. "Do you.. think he and Sirius loved each other?"
Dumbledore looked up at him again.
"I mean, no one told who did what, right? Was it because everyone was trying to save themselves from more trouble, or because Sirius and Regulus were brothers, and they didn't want to get one another in more trouble?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in that way they often did. Harry heard a snort from the portrait of Phineas Nigellus.
"Sirius talked very little about his brother for his own reasons. He mourned the fact that his brother had been a Death Eater. His death was a great loss for Sirius, considering Regulus had wished to leave Voldemort's service. It's my personal theory that Sirius felt guilty, that he should've done more to help Regulus do so. I must admit that I feel some guilt, myself for the same reason. Unfortunately, news of his intentions reached me too late." Dumbledore rose from his desk now, looking at his watch.
"Sirius said Voldemort ordered him dead. Who do you think actually killed him?"
Dumbledore shook his head as he reached for his cloak from the back of his chair. "I don't know. It was a horrible death, that I know. It wasn't the killing curse. But I'm afraid it's time for you to return to your dormitory, Harry."
"Yes sir," Harry replied. He got up.
"And Harry, please don't forget that other matter…" Dumbledore began.
"I'll try to talk to Professor Slughorn again tomorrow too." He left quietly and quickly, and returned to Gryffindor tower.
As Harry climbed into his bed, he heard Ron's plangent moaning.
"Not now, Lavender…"
First thing the next morning, Harry went off alone to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey was nowhere to be found, so Harry decided to come back later. As he came out again, he ran right into Professor Slughorn, bouncing slightly off his large, maroon belly.
"Harry!" Slughorn's eyes darted about a bit, avoiding Harry's. "Can't talk just now, my boy. I need to speak with.."
"She's not in, sir," Harry interrupted. "I couldn’t find her."
"Oh." Slughorn's face dropped, and Harry fingered the card in his pocket, wondering if he should chance asking him about it.
"Professor, do you remember an incident when my parents were here, when my Dad served a detention for something about an Anodyne Solution in the Hospital Wing?" Harry pulled the card from his pocket and showed it to Slughorn.
Slughorn read it, his eyes squinting. He broke out into a wide smile and patted his belly. "Ah yes. This wasn't recorded properly. I remember testing that solution myself. Nasty thing! In the course of my dabbling, it changed color completely to bright green without any warning whatsoever. And I'll bet you can tell me why it did that, can't you, Harry?"
Harry's heart raced, but he had no idea without his textbook handy to tell him. He shook his head.
"Really? Page two hundred, Harry! It's all there. Anyway, as soon as that happened, I realized how incredibly dangerous it was and destroyed the whole vial immediately. I reported my findings to the Nurse for the record, but I guess she neglected to add them. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm due elsewhere now. See you in class, Harry."
Harry realized at that moment that his guess was probably right. Bellatrix and Regulus were probably responsible for the tainted solution, if it was that dangerous. And if Bellatrix was responsible, it might even have had something to do with Voldemort. She was older than Sirius, and maybe a full fledged Death Eater by that time. Maybe this was how she got in. He had to find out more.
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Snape's Detention Duel - Round Two - Mission and Subs
McGonagall's Cat Snape's Detention Duel - Round Two - Mission and Subs Aug 26 2005, 08:54 PM
Aug 26 2005, 08:54 PM
