The First Year

Break on Through

Harry woke up, his fingers cramping. They were wrapped around the handle of his wand. 'Owwwwww,' he breathed, slowly straightening his fingers. He flexed his hand a few times, loosening the stiff joints and muscles. He scrubbed his face with his hands and sat up. Neville, Seamus, Dean, and Ron were all asleep in their beds. Seamus and Neville looked a lot better than they had a few nights ago. Harry reasoned they had gone to see Madam Pomfrey. That's what I should do, he thought. His gashed and burned knees still throbbed. He put on his glasses and looked at his watch. It was almost seven. Harry slid out of bed and gathered the clean clothing still nestled on the foot of his bed. He stumbled into the bathroom and managed to undress and shower, discovering he wasn't as sore as he had been last night. He supposed sleeping for nearly two straight days had helped.

Harry pulled on his clothes and conjured a toothbrush. His mouth felt like it was coated in moss. As he brushed his teeth, he realized he probably needed to see Professor McGonagall. He didn't think Ron or Hermione would have told her about... Harry spit the mouthful of toothpaste into the sink and proceeded to brush his teeth again. He didn't want to have to think about what he had to tell McGonagall until he was actually in front of her. He went back into the dormitory and found his moleskin pouch on the night table. He didn't remember putting it there, but guessed someone, probably one of the elves, had collected the clothing he had left on the bathroom floor last night. Or maybe Ginny had put it there before she left. He opened the pouch and pulled the Marauder's Map from it. 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,' he whispered, tapping the map with his wand. He broke out into a cold sweat, remembering. I can't... Not now. Like everything else, there would be time for that later.

He carried the map to a window and sat on the deep sill, tilted the map toward the clear morning sunlight, carefully searching the map. McGonagall was in the Headmaster's office. No, Headmistress. He slid off the window sill and looked around the room for his trainers. They were lined up neatly next to his bed, miraculously clean. Well, cleaner that they had been. He picked them up and sat on the edge of the bed to put them on.

He grabbed his Invisibility Cloak, and tiptoed out of the dormitory and down the spiral staircase to the common room. It was empty, to Harry's surprise, until he realized the dormitories for the fifth year and below were unoccupied by their usual occupants. Grateful for the lack of an audience, Harry slipped out of the portrait hole and made his way to the entrance to the Headmistress' office. A suit of armor guarded the entrance in lieu of the broken gargoyle. 'I need to see Professor McGonagall,' he said. 'It's important...' Harry didn't know what to expect, but he hadn't expected the suit of armor to make a clunky bow and step aside for him with no password.

Harry climbed the unmoving staircase to the top and knocked on the heavy oak door. It creaked open, and Harry poked his head through the gap. 'Professor?' he called softly. 'Professor McGonagall?'

'Come in, Potter,' came the hoarse invitation. 'I was hoping you'd be awake today. Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley said you'd been sleeping since Saturday morning.'

'Yeah, I just woke up...'

McGonagall toyed with a quill, looking nervous about something. It unsettled Harry to see her this way. She had always been so stoic, even in the direst circumstances. 'Have a seat, Potter,' she said.

Harry gingerly perched on the edge of a chair. 'I need...' He cleared his throat. 'I need to tell you something.' His voice dropped to a whisper. 'About Snape...' His throat closed around his voice. 'Professor Snape,' he amended. Harry raised a shaking hand to his head, and ran it through his still-damp hair. 'He's in the Shrieking Shack. Someone... Someone ought to bring him in with the...' Harry choked. 'The others.'