It's not easy to explain, but . . .

Chapter 56

                                        Chapter 56 : Final preparations and Plan B

"So, did Voldemort question you about the Patronus display?" Dan asked, looking at Severus.

"Actually, he did not . . . never mentioned it," replied Severus, shrugging.  "In the two weeks between the Quidditch match and my next attendance at a Death Eater meeting, other things had pushed that little incident from his mind.  It seems that Harry, Ron and Hermione had been spotted in Diagon Alley and he was livid that 'Potter and his friends' was walking around so freely."

"Were you really?" Emma asked, startled that they could be so foolhardy.

"Of course not," laughed Harry.  "It was various members of the Order using Polyjuice potion; waiting for the effects to be almost gone, then popping into Diagon Alley, going into a shop as they felt themselves changing back, and when the Snatchers or Death Eater who had spotted one of us came in to search, we were not there and nobody had seen us.  Drove them bonkers!" Harry was grinning.  "Especially when we were 'spotted', almost simultaneously, half way across the country in, say, Godric's Hollow or at St. Mungo's, even.  By the time these reported sightings got back to him, our 'doubles' were, of course, back to normal and going about their business.  Didn't take him long to figure out I was taunting him."

"He was NOT pleased, to say the least," Severus added.  "But, as these sightings never occurred in Hogsmeade or at the school, I wasn't involved." 

"You all were really pushing his 'buttons', weren't you?" Tom laughed.

"Every chance we got," nodded Ron.

"But it was just a couple of times we did that . . . we didn't want anyone caught, so when the winter weather settled in to stay, we stopped that particular activity and moved on with our preparations,"  Hermione informed them.

"And we weren't the only ones getting ready," Draco added.  "My classmates in Slytherin House had their own agenda."

"Which we might not have noticed as soon as we did, if it hadn't been for a slight hiccup on my part," Albus informed them.

"What happened?"Dan asked.

Albus leaned forward and stage whispered, "I was seen in the dungeons." Nodding his head at the gasps that announcement elicited.

"You were not!?!"  "Oh, dear!"  "How'd that happen?"  "OOPS!"

"Oops, indeed!  And I didn't even know I'd been spotted!" Albus informed them.  Holding up a finger to stop any questions, he continued, "In my defense, it was in the middle of the night, around 3 AM or so, and I daresay that nobody would have expected students to be sneaking about . . . would you?"

"Actually, Headmaster, I can come up with quite a list names who, I suspect, have most certainly been skulking around Hogwarts at that hour, on numerous occasions," answered Dan, as his gaze swung over several groups of former students who either snickered, sheepishly raised their hands or found the enchanted ceiling of particular interest at that moment.

"Ah, but at that time, I wasn't really considering the possibility, with the Carrows patrolling the halls and the atmosphere of the times."

"So, who spotted you and what happened?"  Rupert asked, grinning.

"Ah, well, it really started with Harry, Hermione and me," Ron injected.

X X X

The wind was howling around the castle, grey clouds hanging low as the snow started falling, ushering in the third storm in as many weeks.  The drifts in the courtyards were higher than most of the students, so the ban on using wands outside of the classroom (one of the Carrow's rules) was lifted in order for the students to be able to clear pathways enabling them to get between the different wings of the school.