Severus was brewing Harry's Christmas present when he heard Salazar yelling that someone was asking for him. He frowned, wondering who on earth would be awake at this hour... well, besides himself. Severus cast a Stasis Charm over the potion and headed upstairs.
Argus Filch was standing outside, frowning. "Someone's used Dark magic in the third floor corridor."
Severus tensed.
He'd known that Quirrell was up to something. He'd known that Quirrell was interested in the third floor. And for some reason, the man's core, which used to be Gray, was now Dark.
It was incredibly difficult to change one's magical core. So, something had happened to Quirrell on his little trip.
"I'll be there in a moment." Severus couldn't leave the Core Reader Elixir until he'd finished adding the runespore eggs. A Stasis Charm only worked for a few minutes.
Argus nodded and the Squib and cat left.
Severus went back to his lab and finished adding the eggs. However, when he returned, there were two students in his quarters -- Harry, who looked confused and anxious, and Blaise, who looked frustrated, angry, and protective.
"What happened?" Severus asked, in lieu of scolding them for being out of bed this late. Obviously, this was an emergency.
"Someone put a compulsion on Harry to make him go to the third floor corridor," Blaise said tightly.
Severus had to stop himself from growling, lest Harry think he was mad at him.
Once he'd calmed down, he ordered, "Come." The two boys stood, and Blaise dragged Harry down the stairs to the lab.
"Do not touch anything," Severus ordered, striding over to a shelf in the back of the lab that contained healing potions. He picked up a small vial that removed temporary compulsions and returned to Harry and Blaise. "One sip," he told Harry. "This potion is very difficult to come by, and while I could easily brew it, the ingredients are very rare and it takes several months to make it."
Harry gently took the vial and unstoppered it, then took a little sip. Immediately he gagged.
"I may have neglected to mention that the draught might taste ungodly," Severus drawled, making Blaise snort. He took the vial back from Harry, who looked a mixture of disgusted and amused, and put it back on the shelf. "In a moment, you will start feeling a bit of pain in your chest, and then relief."
Harry bit his lip, but then a moment later he relaxed. "I didn't feel any pain, just a little tightness."
Blaise rolled his eyes. "Because you braced yourself to expect pain, the experience was less uncomfortable."
Severus nodded. "I am assuming you are the one who used Dark magic in the third floor corridor?"
The Italian grimaced. "Am I going to get in trouble for that?"
"No. Argus will assume it was... someone else." No need for Blaise, or especially Harry, to get caught up in... whatever was going on. "There will be no more nighttime jaunts, and if I hear that either of you went anywhere near the forbidden corridor, you will be cleaning cauldrons for weeks. Do you understand?"
The two boys nodded quickly.
"Harry, I'd like you to come to me in the morning," Severus told him. "The Auror who is investigating your caretakers will be back at nine o'clock, but I want to talk to you before he returns. Is that all right?"
"Um... okay," Harry said hesitantly. "Professor, what about the person who put me under a, a compulsion?"
"Compulsions are highly difficult spells that often mask the magic of the castor," Severus explained, taking the boys back upstairs. "I assume you have never heard of compulsions before." When Harry agreed, he explained, "Compulsions are Mind magic. The castor will plant a thought in someone's head. Depending on the power of a compulsion, and whether or not the victim is a powerful Occlumens -- someone who can put a shield over his mind -- the compulsions can either be as weak as a simple, errant thought, or as deadly as the Imperius Curse, which is similar to Muggle hypnotism."
Harry paled. "But... but why would someone do that to me?"
"I am unsure," Severus admitted. "But I will be sending you protective jewelry, and perhaps I will start teaching you Occlumency early."
"Protective jewelry can protect you against Mind magic or minor deadly curses," Blaise told Harry when the boy looked confused again. "And usually, Professor Snape will wait until third year to teach his snakes Occlumency. It's easier for older kids to use Mind magic than younger kids. But someone has it out for you, so it would be safer for you to learn now."
Severus escorted the two boys back to the Slytherin common room, staying silent. He had been partially lying when he'd told Harry he had no idea who had cast a compulsion on him. There were only two options:
Dumbledore, who had kept an annoyingly close eye on Harry since he'd been sorted into Slytherin, and had put Harry with Muggles that hated wizards and magic.
And Quirrell, who was obviously determined to steal the mysterious object that Dumbledore was hiding in the forbidden corridor.
Severus shook his head as he returned to his quarters. Hopefully, his plan regarding Harry's home life would protect him against manipulative old men and secretive Dark wizards.
