𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑻𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑶𝑹 || 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘂𝘀 𝗦𝗻𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗮𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟑.

Snape needed to know what was inside Bellatrix's journal. Whether it was secrets, spells, or just Bellatrix's crazed ramblings, Snape needed to find out. The journal could provide very dangerous and very valuable information, depending on whose hands it fell into. Those hands needed to be his. He needed to figure out what was going on.

This was his goal as Snape made his way down the narrow, dimly lit staircase. He entered the room where the Death Eaters had been gathered the day before and gave them all a small nod.

Risa, the suspicious Farrell sister, narrowed her eyes and murmured, "Morning, Severus," in his direction, watching him as though waiting for him to be something which would prove her suspicions were correct.

Snape raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't make any other form of acknowledgment and sat down, next to Amycus Carrow.

In the middle of the table lay Bellatrix's journal. It looked harmless enough; an ordinary book made of black leather. A strap came from the back to the front of the journey, and was snapped shut, holding the book closed. However, there was much more to the journal than the eye could readily perceive. As soon as someone came within inches of the journal, electricity began to snap and crack around it, sending out sparks to attack the invader until they withdrew. Alecto Carrow had learned this the hard way. She'd tried opening the journal the day before, and her hand was now blackened and singed, and wrapped in bandages. She was regarding the journal warily, as though afraid it was going to shock her again.

One thing Snape truly appreciated about the Death Eaters: very little time was wasted with unnecessary pleasantries. Within seconds of his arrival, the conversation turned to the object in question. There was no discussion on how anyone slept, or how anybody felt about the weather that day. Had Snape been asked how he'd slept he would have had the embarrassing answer, "I missed my one year old charge so much, I hardly shut my eyes." So Snape was glad he hadn't been asked. In fact he didn't even ask himself how he slept, because he didn't want to give that answer to anybody, and that included him.

"So. There has to be some way to open it." Crabbe said, bending down closer to the table as though that would give him a better angle from which to discover the journal's secrets.

"How many enchantments do you think that thing has?" Goyle asked, eyebrows knitting together as he posed the question.

"Severus, you knew Bellatrix well, didn't you?" said Amycus. "How protected do you think this journal would be?"

"I had no idea that Bellatrix kept any sort of diary," Snape said dryly, not looking at anyone, even though he was aware all eyes were on him. "However, Bellatrix never believed in any sort of "less is more" principle." He smiled wryly to himself as he thought about how over the top Bellatrix was- she never just did a job, she had to do it three or four times. He wasn't sure if she was just melodramatic or extremely paranoid.

"So there's more than the lytning?" Alecto said nervously, referring to the magical sparks the journal emitted.

"I have no way of knowing for sure," Snape responded. "But I highly doubt that there are less than three enchantments binding that book shut. It could be very, very dangerous to open."

"Maybe," a voice said from across the table. "It just needs to be opened by someone a little stronger."

The speaker was one of the three werewolves, the only female.

Alecto's face flushed and she sniffed haughtily. "If you want to try opening that thing, Sharra, be my guest."

The werewolf grinned, revealing her teeth which resembled fangs, no matter the time of month. She slowly reached across the table, eyes glinting, as if daring someone to stop her from touching the journal.

Snape thought about telling her it wasn't the wisest idea, but realized that by watching her reaction he would be able to tell more about what was going on with that journal, and so he held his peace.

As Sharra's hand touched the book, she let out a scream which could only be described as a howl. The eyes of the Death Eaters mostly watched her face as it contorted with pain, but Snape watched the journal, and Sharra's hand. He nodded as he realized what was going on. He might be able to figure this out. Only one other person made any sound and that was Alecto. She was laughing.

------------------------ ~♥~ ------------------------

It had not been a good day for Harry. Those little red haired boys were scary to him, Won was ok, but the other little boys had chased him around until he finally resorted to hiding under the table. He felt very relieved when Molly picked him up and gave him a strange look.

"You certainly spend a lot of time under tables, young man," she said.

When they got back to Hogwarts, Albus took Harry from Molly's arms and thanked her.

"Do you need us to watch him again tonight?" Molly asked.

"Actually, he has other arrangements for tonight. We'll be in touch Molly," Dumbledore said. Harry was curious by Dumbledore's beard and he put his hand in it and gasped when he realized his hand was all gone. Then he squealed when he took it out again. Dumbledore smiled and carried Harry inside.

They spent the rest of the afternoon up in Dumbledore's office. Harry sat quietly and watched the portraits of previous headmasters. Whenever one spoke to him he just scowled and looked away. He was quiet until about six pm when Dumbledore stood from his desk and told Harry they were going on a little trip.

"Papa Severus told me you made a friend the other day," Dumbledore said, smiling to himself at his use of "papa", hoping that it would catch on. That would be fun to watch.

Soon Harry and Dumbledore, with Essentials Kit over his shoulder, arrived at Malfoy Manor. Harry's heartbeat, which had been racing the entire time they traveled, began to slow a bit. They'd been here before.

When Narcissa Malfoy answered the door, she smiled surprised to see Snape there. She'd been expecting Harry, but didn't know who was bringing him.

"Sorry for the intrusion," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. "Severus has been detained, and asked if I could drop Harry off."

"That's fine," Narcissa said, glad it wasn't Lucius who had come to the door. Lucius would not have been able to resist making some snide remark in the direction of the old man. For some reason, Lucius had a bit of a problem with him. Narcissa took Harry from Dumbledore, and Harry looked around eagerly for his small blonde friend.

"We will send someone from the school over to get him," Dumbledore said. "Tomorrow around eleven? Is that alright, Mrs. Malfoy?"

She nodded and gave him a slight smile. No matter how she felt about anyone, Narcissa was going to be polite. Her strict pureblood upbringing wouldn't allow for anything less. Dumbledore tipped his head to her and turned to go. Narcissa shut the door and carried Harry up the stairs, to Draco's large playroom where he was already playing.

As they walked they passed a large mirror and Narcissa couldn't help but notice how striking the pair of them were, with his jet black hair and her almost white-blond. Harry gasped at the mirror and pointed.

"Is that Baby Harry?" Narcissa asked, smiling. Draco loved the mirror. He had three in his room alone, because he found his reflection incredible.

Harry nodded emphatically. "Pot!" he declared. Narcissa shook her head, amused and carried Harry into the play room.

Draco smiled and waved as Harry entered the room. Narcissa set Harry down on the floor to play with Draco, then went to sit in the elaborate, high backed rocking chair in the room. For awhile she sat there contentedly, watching the little boys build block towers, but after awhile she fell asleep.

Draco smiled mischievously at Harry, who smiled back and the boys crawled out of the room.