Unforgivable Promises (Snarry story)

Chapter 28

Severus propelled the body of young Mr. Thomas up to the infirmary, telling himself that he chose the destination for the unconscious student's benefit rather than his own piece of mind. Reluctantly, he kept the boy from colliding with the walls too soundly. Depositing him in the nearest bed, he went to check on Harry. From across the room, he could see by the young wizard's complexion that the markings had been no easier to witness this time around.

"Are you well, Potter?" he asked, knowing that Filius beside him was as aware as the rest of the staff of their relationship, but still uncomfortable being too familiar with Harry in public. He trusted Harry would know he was concerned.

For his part, Harry nodded and looked up with a haunted look in his face. "I think I saw what I needed to. Professor Flitwick thinks so, too."

"Yes," Filius said. "We'll need to break everything down into component runes, of course, which will take some effort. But Mr. Potter remembered the entire process, start to finish."

"There is no need, then, for you to witness the rest of the ceremony tonight," Severus said, masking the relief in his voice. Harry nodded again, and gave him a weary smile. The Potions Master resisted the sudden desire to take Harry's hand, clenching his own in a fist.

"Has Miss Jones checked in yet, Filius? Or Albus?" He muttered scathingly when the answer came in the negative. "I left Mr. Thomas unconscious nearby. Would you be so kind, Filius, as to check that he is secure? I doubt he will awaken soon, but I want to take no chances."

"Is he hurt?" The other professor asked.

"Not by anything I cast on him, no." He watched Harry as he answered, wondering how the boy would take the news of a Gryffindor being caught out tonight. When Filius scurried off to check on the boy, Severus took the opportunity to brush Harry's bangs out of his eyes.

"You caught Dean," Harry said in something between a question and a statement. "It was just a matter of time, I guess."

"He was trying to leave the grounds, yes. Did you suspect him, then?"

"No," Harry replied. "I meant it was a matter of time before a Gryffindor joined him. Another Gryffindor, that is."

"You are right, of course, that Gryffindors will not be entirely unimpressed by the Dark Lord's promises. But I think Mr. Thomas should not incur your disappointment quiet yet. I suspect he was under Imperius."

Harry blinked, then his eyebrows rose. "Is that why you want Professor Jones here?"

"It is. Unless I have severely misjudged the boy up until now, he was not acting on his own."

"He could have started the rumors," Harry said. "He was in the dorm the night I was going to leave. Maybe he overheard something after you and the Headmaster left." Severus nodded thoughtfully in response. A loose end tied up neatly, perhaps. But an insignificant one.

Filius returned, and Severus found himself taking a step back away from the boy's bed without thinking about it. Harry's eyes darted to him before he asked, "When do you think you'll be able to work out the runes, Professor?"

Severus listened to the two talking and grew increasingly irritated. Runes had never held any interest to him, and in some great joke, they were now proving vital to his survival. If they had been discussing a potion, or even a spell or ritual, all of which he excelled at, he would be in a position to free himself. But he knew the Dark Lord's abilities far too well to believe he had any chance to decipher the glyphs scarring his arm. Filius and Minerva were his only hope. Minerva was going to be intolerable from now on. Intolerable.

As though the ghost of Godric Gryffindor was mocking him, the woman in question entered and inquired about Harry's success. With everyone satisfied with the Charms Professor's assessment of Harry's memory, she suggested the staff members return to their posts watching the grounds. Only Severus had found a student out of bounds, but no one felt secure assuming the incident was isolated. And Thomas did not account for the students who would go willingly to take the Mark.