Charmolypi

Chapter 23

The scene changed showing the young quartet sitting together around the fire in the Gryffindor common room.

"You mean, You-Know-Who's out there, right now, in the forest?" Hermione asked, not believing what she was hearing.

"But he's weak. He's living off unicorns." Thea explained.

"Don't you see? We had it wrong." Harry said frustrated. "Snape doesn't want the stone for himself. He wants the stone for Voldemort. With the Elixir of Life, Voldemort will be strong again. He'll come back."

"But if he comes back, you don't think he'll try to kill the two of you, do you?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"I think if he's had the chance, he might have killed us tonight." Harry said solemnly.

"And to think, I've been worrying about my potions final." Ron joked weakly.

"Hang on a minute. We're forgetting one thing." Hermione said, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Who's the one wizard Voldemort always feared? Dumbledore. As long as Dumbledore's around, you're both safe. As long as Dumbledore's around, you can't be touched."

"Something seems off about this whole thing." Thea spoke for the first time in a while.

"How come?" Harry asked, intrigued by his sister's comment.

"If Snape were the one trying to steal the stone, then why hasn't he done it already?" Thea questioned. "Hagrid said that he was one of the teachers defending the stone, which means he knows where it is. He could have easily stolen the stone and made sure another teacher took the blame." Everyone was quiet. "And frankly, if Voldemort was able to rise once, while Dumbledore was around, I don't think we should assume that he wouldn't do it again." Harry was about to say something but quickly stopped when he saw that his sister still had something to say. "I think we're looking in the wrong direction completely. Snape would be the definite choice. If anything, we should find someone that isn't an obvious suspect. Snape may be a twat, but he's not someone that would work for someone such as Voldemort, I'm sure of it." The three wizards looked at each other, before looking back at Thea who was staring into the fire.

There were mixed reactions across the hall.

Dumbledore was growing to resent the girl who kept underestimating the power he possessed.

Regulus was worried about how disappointed the girl would be in her life. He felt that she was too trusting.

Snape looked down in shame, knowing full well that he had received the Dark Mark six months prior.

The Potters were worried at the fact that the siblings were in grave danger.

The scene changed showing the quartet walking through the courtyard, like other students.

"I'd always heard Hogwarts' end of year exams were frightful. But I found them rather enjoyable." Hermione said.

"Speak for yourself." Ron tells her, annoyed.

"Oh, come on, Ron. They weren't that bad." Thea teased, earning a glare from the boy.

"You alright there, Harry?" Ron asked his friend, as he was grabbing onto his forehead wincing in pain, while Thea felt pressure coming from hers but didn't react.

"My scar. It's burning." Harry told them wincing again.

"It's happened before." Hermione observed.

"Not like this."

"Perhaps you should see the nurse?" Ron tried.

"No. I think this is a warning. It means danger's coming." Harry told them urgently.