Forever and Always Yours, SS [Book 3]

Chapter 120

Amilia leaned back in her chair after downing her second glass of wine at dinner. The Great Hall was loud, like usual, but there were no wails and cries of hunger this time. Her suggestion the week before was listened to and implemented. Did the students still have the Unforgivable curses used on them? Yes, unfortunately, but no one was going without food or water, at least for now.

"Professor Snape, do you approve of the new exams for the Dark Arts?" Amycus Carrow asked.

Amilia slowly turned her head to him, "I have not looked them over yet. I started alphabetically, Arithmancy and Charms."

"I think you should skip over those for now." His lip curled as he spoke, almost as if he knew something she did not.

Amilia scowled, ready to speak when there was a commotion from the students. "He did it! Potter broke into Gringotts! Flew out on a dragon!"

Next to her, Severus shoved his heavy chair back to stand. Alecto's voice rang through the Great Hall, and the boy began to convulse, his head hitting the edge of the bench as he fell. Poppy raced over to stop the blood that Amilia could see.

Amilia stood up, leaning as far as she could over the table as the students began to turn to themselves and whisper. Draco stood as well, staring at Amilia, a look of confusion, joy, and being impressed crossed his face.

"Silence!" Severus yelled, "Madam Pomfrey, remove him from the Great Hall, repair his wounds, and then turn him over for his punishment."

Poppy quickly faced, "Headmaster, that is against everything I have ever vowed. I will not turn him over to be tortured after I have healed him."

"I was not asking." Severus said darkly.

Poppy glared at him, her fists shaking at her side. "As you wish." She barked orders at the Prefects nearby, and they marched out of the Great Hall.

Amilia stared at the pool of blood on the floor; head wounds always look worse than they are. She sat down and looked at her husband, "Should we call for desert?"

"Yes, I leave you in charge of making sure that no more chaos insues." He looked down at her, "Meet me in my office in two hours."

"Of course," Amilia said quickly, watching him walk through the corridor behind them. The meal before them was cleared away, and magically several types of desert appeared in front of everyone.

Students stared at it and chose to return to their whispering. Amilia watched each of the houses intently. Slytherin looked irritated; most kept glancing back at the pool of blood, grinning and mocking how the boy fell. Gryffindor glared at Slytherin, their numbers dwindling over the months that school had started. Recently two Purebloods, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom did not return after Easter Break. Several Death Eaters were dispatched to her home and met resistance, which did not surprise Amilia or Severus. Neville Longbottom had disappeared shortly around that time, and so far, no one had found him.

Amilia put some pudding in her bowl and moved it around, watching as a Hufflepuff pulled out their wand and magicked away the blood. Good, I am glad someone did it. 

The kid looked up at the Head Table, locking eyes with Amilia, and asked, "May I leave?"

Amilia waved her hand, dismissing the student; others watching rose from their seats and followed. Several Ravenclaw students got up, spit on the floor as they glared at her and the Carrows, and stormed out of the hall.

"I will punish them for that."

"Leave it be," Amilia sighed, "a little bit of spit is not going to hurt anyone."

"That is an insult and you know it!" Alecto snapped.

Amilia stood up, pushed her chair in, and started to leave the Great Hall, loudly saying, "If you let every insult bother you, then you are not as tough as you like everyone to believe."

Amilia sat in front of her fireplace, absentmindedly playing with the two lockets around her neck. The clock nearby ticked away steadily, counting down to when she needed to go to Severus; she wondered what he wanted and why he would leave dinner like that.

Usually, he did not leave if a student was being disciplined; he would always sit and watch, ensuring that none of the students tried to intervene. Amilia thought he was staying only to ensure she did not interfere, and if she were honest, she would absolutely intervene if he was not there. 

The clock chimed, and she got up, walking on autopilot to the portrait. Her parents beamed at her and waved as she opened it. Amilia stared blankly at the staircase; she could feel the anxiety in the room as it crept toward her. She sighed, "Let's get this over with."

Severus felt like his head was splitting; he had just gotten done conversing with Voldemort. The boy will try to come back to Hogwarts. Severus wondered why Voldemort thought that Potter would come here. Was something here, or was it more of the fact that every one the boy cared about was here?

No, that is not true. Most are out in the world protecting as many lives as possible. There had to be something here that Harry needed, but Dumbledore's portrait was of no help at the moment. 

Severus did not know when Harry intended to come either, but it seemed like things went from still to a raging boil instantly. It was true that Harry and his friends had broken into Gringotts. The boy seemed to have a natural talent for flare when in London, first a flying car and now his escape on an emaciated and abused dragon, and in truth, this time, Severus was rather impressed. 

Severus was sure that Bellatrix would get a beating of a lifetime because it was her vault they broke into. Voldemort did not tell him what was taken, but Severus was sure that it was another Horcrux.

He paced behind his desk, in front of the portrait of Dumbledore, who slept peacefully. "What should I do?"

There was not much he could do; it is not like he could warn the boy that coming here would be a death sentence for him. Even if he could warn Potter, the boy would not believe it; he believed that Severus was a traitor and would try to kill him on sight. Or, telling the boy would encourage him to come here, knowing that Voldemort was here and he could use everyone and everything at his disposal to finally end the war.

He continued to pace until Jordan's portrait started to cry; he gazed at her delicate features knowing that he needed to make one more trip to Spinner's End.