A Ghoul's Warning

Sweet Snake

Last Time:

The message was so simple that it didn't need to be said. It was silently telling Severus: 'If you want to know, go find him.'

XXXXXXXXXX

The caretaker's cat, Ms. Norris, was relaxing in her favorite sunny spot. The warmth of the sun turned her into a happy melted puddle of fur that was stretched out on the floor of the sunny Gryffindor tower. She was sleeping deeply when the door to the common room suddenly flew up, effectively terrifying the poor cat.

The shocked screech she let out and the sound of her claws scratching the floor as she scrambled under the couch did nothing to slow the intruder down. Upon hearing the person go into the boys' dorm the cat peeked out curiously.

She couldn't help but wonder ... Why did someone want to go into the dorms when no one was there? All the students left hours ago so there was no one to play with. Perhaps the person liked curling up on the beds like she sometimes did?

Out of curiosity, the cat snuck up the steps and into the dorm. She wasn't sure why the person wanted to go in there. In her mind it must be to curl up on the bed. After all, the students were gone so there's no one to pester her, but the sun wasn't at the best sunbathing angle. Why go in the dorm then?

The cat looked terribly unimpressed when she entered the dorm. Granted, she didn't expect to see the potion master there. However, he wasn't doing anything worthwhile like stretching out on the freshly cleaned beds or hiding underneath to attack anything that dares move. All the professor was doing was waving his stick around and it wasn't even in a fun way. If the man wasn't going to do something interesting or give her attention then she was going back to her sunny spot in the common room.

Severus never noticed the cat leave the room. He simply continued casting his charm. When it finished one bed started glowing.

"I just need a little magic for the strongest link." Severus hissed to himself as he used his wand to drain a fine thread of magic from the glowing bed. "Good. Tell me where he is!" He demanded urgently after wrapping the thread of magic around his wrist. The thread vanished, but a little black heart appeared on his wrist in its place.

A sudden pain tugged at the wizard's wrist. When the tip of his wand stopped glowing he could feel a very clear, albeit weak, pull on the wrist of his free hand. In an instant he rushed out of Hogwarts and apparated in the direction of the pull.

Each time he appeared in a new area the pull got stronger. Once it started getting warm he knew he was close and started only running along the sidewalk. Soon he was led right to the door of a simple house on a regular family friendly muggle street. However, the peaceful scenery didn't make him slow down until he started knocking roughly on the door of the chosen house.

"Hurry up." Severus growled to himself as he waited for someone to answer the door.

Barely a second ticked by when Severus began to raise his wand. Just before he blasted the door off its hinges the doorknob shifted. When it opened, Severus' eyes widened.

"Professor Snape? Um, why are you here?" A very confused Harry Potter asked, clearly a little shaken at not only seeing his least favorite professor on his doorstep, but also having said professor's wand pointed right at him.

Without any response Severus cast a scanning spell that was so fast Harry didn't even notice, "I wish to speak with you. May I come in?" Severus asked gently and felt a pang of guilt when Harry actually flinched in shock at that softness in the man's voice.

While Harry looked conflicted about opening the door any wider, Severus was deep in thought. The scan told the potion master that the boy in front of him was not only real, but also had a fractured rib and other wounds. In fact, he could easily see a bruise on the boy's cheek.