The Royal Oak Pub possessed no feature that would give validation to its claim of being royal in any fashion. But it did serve some of the best oak aged stout in Britain.

Petey Sandstone shuffled into the bar and took a seat not far from the door. He signaled for the bartender and ordered the stout as he always did.

Petey Sandstone actually looked identical to an old hermit that lived somewhere in the woods of Eastern Europe. The hermit wasn't even a wizard and his name was probably something like Alex or Nicholas. But Severus had met him during one of the man's infrequent forays into town while he himself had been doing research in the country. Of course, met was probably not the word to use. He had never actually talked to the man. The only reason the man had come to his attention at all was because he was so unremarkable looking. His hair was a sandy shade of brown, his skin was neither pale nor dark, but a nice medium tone. He looked like he could come have come from any European country. So Severus had taken it upon himself to lift some of the man's hairs as he passed him on the street.

And so Petey Sandstone had been borne. He was an infrequent visitor to the Royal Oak and was generally thought to be a harmless old drunk with a knack for entertaining any of his drinking partners with his tall tales.

"Oy Petey," the bartender, Samuel called. "The usual?"

"Aye! And keep em comin," Petey called back.

"What's the occasion?" Sam said as he crossed the room with the stout.

"Jus' in fer a bit o' company and good drink." He had on one occasion told the bartender that it was his birthday and bought the whole bar shots; a nice cover for getting his mark drunk. But as he looked around at the bar's clientele this night, he knew right away that he wouldn't find anyone with any concrete information here.

The Royal Oak was not seedy, but Sam had a ‘don't ask, don't tell' policy that suited the purposes of the bar's clientele. The pub shifted in and out of favor as the favorite of the Death Eaters to meet up socially when they felt like it. Right now, it appeared that it was out of favor.

Even as Severus cursed his bad luck, he also breathed a sigh of relief. It was difficult to draw information out of people who were as secretive as the Death Eaters. Legilimency would have been a requirement and that had its own problems. He was good, but there was always a possibility that the target would realize something was going on. And that would ruin Petey's excellent cover; something Severus was loath to do.

There were no known Death Eaters here tonight, but there were some potential informants that may know something useful. There were quite a few business men here, as was usual, and one could learn a lot about an organization from its spending habits.

He stood up with his stout in one hand and made his way over to a full table, swinging a chair around with him. Dodgy McDougal made room for him as he sat.

"Hey Petey. How's life treating you?"

Dodgy McDougal was a trader in the less than legal potions and artifacts world. Severus had done business with him as Snape on more than one occasion and he had been careful to develop a harmless little drinking relationship with the man as Petey. They rarely did business, as Petey liked to keep to himself, but they both enjoyed drinking like fish, which made them friends of a sort when they were both in the mood.

"Fortune, that bitch, ain't smiled on me in years. But life could be worse. How's business then?"

"Real great. Can't say as I'm upset with Fortune meself." And Severus could tell. The man was sporting ridiculously expensive clothes and jewelry.

"Ah, good fer you then. If you ever have need to trade in sheep, you let me know. I'm sick of the whole stinkin' lot of them. Knocked down me gate and just about trampled me poor dog."

Dodgy laughed far more than the story deserved. Clearly, the man was already well into his cups. "Aye, I'll let you know. But it's mostly potions these days."

Interesting.

"Brisk trade in that huh?" Petey asked, merely to be friendly.

"Aye, real brisk. I can't hardly keep up with the demand. Good for business that."

Severus played a few rounds of cards with Dodgy and his crowd. Over the course of an hour, he found out that the ‘brisk trade' was a bit more than just brisk. It was nearly manic. Twice, their game had been interrupted so Dodgy could go off into a backroom and conduct business. Now, Severus had expected there to be a rise in the amount of potion orders after his departure from the Dark Lord's fold. He hadn't been expecting this though. A little Legilimency told him that among the stock healing and interrogation potions were some pretty sinister exploding potions and poisons.

Very interesting.

When Petey finally left the bar, he was only stumbling a bit. Dodgy clapped him on the back and apologized profusely when Petey fell over from the force of the friendly clap and his own ‘inebriation'.

The Polyjuice wore off fifteen minutes later. Severus stepped out of Petey's robes and into his own, finally straightening to his impressive six foot-two inch height. He took a moment to enjoy the blessedly smoke free night breeze. He had learned very little actually, but what he had learned had given him more questions, not less. Was the Dark Lord simply restocking his stores or was he planning something else; something like an attack?

It was possible, of course, that the brisk trade in potions was just a coincidence. Death Eaters were not the only customers, nor did they go to Dodgy exclusively. Still...

Severus considered going to the next pub that sometimes catered to the crowd he was looking for, but he reminded himself that Potter was alone in the castle. And the dinner hour was approaching soon.

He had never before bothered to go home for dinner, preferring to finish all of his business when he needed to. But it would not do to miss dinner and have Potter try to contact him while he was in the middle of spying. And he thought his chances of finding concrete information this way were low.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dobby practically tackled him the second he walked into the kitchen door.

"Harry Potter! What can Dobby be doing for you?"

It had taken no less than ten minutes to get Dobby to stop running from counter to stove to Harry and offering him every plate Hogwarts had ever served. But eventually, Harry had managed it without resorting to yelling in frustration.

"So if Harry Potter isn't hungry, what is Harry Potter wanting in the kitchens?" Dobby asked in confusion.

Harry managed not to wince from hearing his full name being said twice in one question. Dobby was sweet, but there was a limit to even how much sweetness he could take.

"I just came to see how you were doing actually."

Wrong thing to say of course. Dobby gushed all over again for nearly a full minute.

"Dobby. Dobby. Dobby!"

The elf went still.

"Ok Dobby, thanks. But it's no big deal, all right? No!" he held his hand out when Dobby would interrupt him. "It's NOT a big deal so lets just not talk about how great I am or anything, ok?"

"Oh Dobby is bothering Harry Potter sir," Dobby lamented.

He almost left right then and there. The only thing that stopped him was seeing Dobby about to bang his head on the wall for bothering him. Good God, either Dobby's gotten worse or I'm losing patience, he thought. Maybe it was contagious and he had contracted impatience from Snape.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The thing about spying was it required a great deal of patience sometimes.

Severus had been all set to Apparate back to Hogwarts and get some work done before dinner, when who should walk by his alley with a hood pulled down low, but Jadie Smithkin? This was just too good an opportunity to pass up.

Jadie was a mean, homely little witch. But she was also married to Walden McNair's cousin, Jake Smithkin. And Jake Smithkin had been attempting to worm his way into the Dark Lord's favor for months now. When Severus had last heard, the Dark Lord had been considering giving the man the Dark Mark.

Now Jadie and her husband had always been careful to appear as decent enough citizens, despite their unfortunate relations. Clearly, appearances could be deceiving. So the question begged to be asked, why was Jadie walking around down here in this seedy part of London attempting to conceal herself?

Severus followed her for two city blocks before she slipped into another bar, this one far more sinister than the Royal Oak Pub. He had then stood outside, watching her and her companions through the window for several moments before deciding that this was a conversation he couldn't afford to miss.

Unfortunately, Petey Sandstone would not be left alone in an establishment like this. He looked too harmless; too average, to fit in. So instead of transforming his identity again, which would take far too long at any rate, Severus simply pulled his hood up until it completely concealed his face and went inside. The moment he stepped in the door, his heart leapt into his throat. He hadn't been able to see who Jadie was meeting from his vantage point outside, but now it was clear. She was meeting her husband, Walden and Lucius effing Malfoy.

He veered off to the left at the last moment and sat himself at the bar, several tables and conversations away.

Lucius was in disguise of course. But Severus had seen most of his disguises over the years. One thing Lucius could never manage to disguise was his arrogant posture and calculating stare. Black hair, mustache and drab clothes or no, that was Lucius all right.

The trouble was, Lucius would know him too. He was a good actor of course and if he had taken the Polyjuice, he could probably have sat down at the table, shaken the man's hand and regaled him with a story and Lucius would never have figured it out. But he hadn't transformed and all it would take would be for his hood to slip just the slightest bit and he would be caught and forced to attack. When he slipped into a stool, he pulled the hood down even more over his face and cast a quick Notice-Me-Not spell. It would have to do.

Unfortunately, Lucius and his companions had also taken pains to not be noticed or heard. Severus could overcome the Notice-Me-Not charms simply because he had a purpose in looking for them, but he could not hear a word and Lucius' eyes were scanning the crowd too often for him to attempt lip reading.

And so he had had to be patient for the last half hour and just sit at the bar and sip his drink. And then be patient for another twenty minutes while a fourth companion had come in and reported...whatever it was he had to report.

When they had all finally stood up to leave, Severus had to force himself to remain seated by will power alone. And it had paid off. Lucius had indeed left behind a watcher to warn him if he were being followed. The watcher, wearing concealing hood and robes much like his own, had waited nearly two minutes before he had moved out of the shadows and left.

And only then had Severus gotten up to leave.

Lucius and his companions were gone but the watcher was just disappearing around a corner.

Now, he could walk and keep to the shadows, and hopefully the watcher wouldn't notice him. Or, he thought with a smirk, he could track him from on high.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Harry did eventually get Dobby to relax. It had taken a stern voice though and something very close to an order. When Dobby finally quieted down, Harry sat back with a sigh.

Now, he could re-ask his question about how Dobby had been doing lately and hope that Dobby would stay calm and composed. But then clearly, Dobby was nearly incapable of not gushing if Harry inquired about him at all. Or, he thought with a smirk, he could use this opportunity to get some answers.

"So, I noticed that Winky's been um...feeling better." He had meant to say that she was acting sober but he didn't want the other house elves to hear him say that about her - just in case.

Dobby's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh yes. She's feeling much better. She would be in trouble if she got sick again."

"She got in trouble? With who?"

"Master Snape caught her drinking and ruining his shirt. He yelled so loud and threatened to have her thrown out of the castle."

"Snape?" Harry exclaimed. "He yelled at her?"

Dobby's little head bobbed up and down. "Master Snape is very kind sir. He be putting Winky to work all the time now. She barely having time to sleep she is working so hard."

Kind? Snape...kind? For working Winky all the time? House elves are so strange.

"Is she ok? I mean, she's got to be upset about it. I know I would be."

"Oh no!" Dobby exclaimed. "Winky happy. Winky say she have master now. She doesn't take money from the Headmaster anymore. Can't buy drink."

"Snape is Winky's master?" Harry exclaimed. What the hell was going on here?

"No, Harry Potter sir. Winky want to be but Master Snape not be binding her. He saying she not worthy to be bound to him."

Unbelievable! Harry couldn't quite decide what to think about that. It was a good thing that Winky wasn't drinking any more and that she was happy. But Snape was using her and called her unworthy. Would he really bind her to him if she proved herself? Would she be happier that way?

Dobby seemed to think it was the greatest thing in the world, after ‘Harry Potter sir' that was. He wondered if Snape had known Winky would be happier or whether he had just wanted to punish her. Or maybe it had been a little bit of both.

"And she's really happy about all this?"

"She is! Winky is always talking about Master Snape. ‘Master Snape wants his shirt cleaned. Master Snape is not liking wine, he liking whiskey better. Master Snape is best Master.' But I is telling her Harry Potter sir is being better." Dobby kept talking but Harry paid barely any attention to him after that.

Huh. Hermione would have a fit, of course. Ron might think it was funny. Too bad he wasn't going to say a word about it to either of them. Snape liked whiskey?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He rarely drank, but he could use a shot of whiskey about now. This was just ridiculous.

It was, perhaps, the most boring bit of spying he had ever done. Lucius and the others were long gone. The watcher was now hidden in the shadows, supposedly unseen, watching the street.

Right. Unseen, he thought with a smirk.

Severus was crouched on a rooftop far above, watching the watcher watch the street. Neither of them had moved for several long minutes. Severus ran a mental map of the area through his head. He was now about a block from the main entrance of the Ministry. But as far as he knew, there was nothing of interest on this street, nor was there any other way to enter the Ministry but through the main entrance and the floo connections.

He could just go down there and deal with the watcher he supposed. It would be far easier and faster than sitting up here. And it certainly wasn't like he didn't have the tools at his disposal to interrogate the enemy. He had filled in as interrogator for both sides of this war on more than one occasion. Potions, Legilimency and ruthlessness went hand in hand with questioning prisoners; things that he had an abundance of skill in.

He made his decision and backed away from the edge of the roof slowly. It wouldn't do to alert his prey to his presence before he wanted to. He swung over the edge of the roof on the alley side of the building and dropped soundlessly to street level. Keeping to the shadows, he peered around the corner.

The watcher was still there, back turned to him. Smiling, he slipped out of the shadows of the alley and onto the sidewalk. He crossed the street under a lamp casually. If the watcher did turn, he might not think anything of Severus' crossing the street. But the watcher did not turn. He was staring down the other end of the street. As Severus crossed onto the walkway, he again slipped into the shadows and paused to look up and down the street. The watcher was only five meters from him. He could stun him now without the danger of missing and alerting his prey.

And he did just that. The watcher fell to the ground with a nearly inaudible thud. Smiling nastily, Snape strode forward and rolled the watcher onto his back with a vicious kick. The cloak fell from the... woman's face?

Damn!

"Nymphadora Tonks," he spat.

She was incapable of replying but her eyes said enough. Bastard.

He probably should have just freed her right then and there, but he hadn't survived this long by trusting only in his five senses. Instead, he reached down and dragged her bodily into a hidden alcove a few feet away. Silently, he tested her for disguises. And then just to be safe, he tested her for the use of Polyjuice.

It was official; he was now standing over an extremely irate Nymphadora Tonks.

Shit.

"Finite," he flicked his wand casually, freeing her from the petrification. She sprang up immediately, breathing hard and looking fearsome. Severus was not impressed.

"What the hell are you doing Snape?" she hissed.

"Watch yourself, Nymphadora. I'm not one of your little Auror Corps mates."

She at least had the decency to blush. "Don't call me that," she said grumpily.

Severus smirked but said nothing about that. "I do believe you should be explaining yourself to me. What are you waiting for here?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you. I'm on official Ministry business."

"Ah. Protecting this innocent looking patch of walkway? How... fitting of the Ministry. It's a relief to know that while we're all out fighting, the Ministry is ensuring that sidewalks everywhere are obeying the laws of gravity."

"I'm not..." Tonks started, but then his words hit her. "Ha ha. Very funny Snape. I'm not holding the sidewalk down. I was following the Smithkins if you must know. But I lost them."

"You were..." And then the danger of her statement hit him. "Damn. Come on. Move." He grabbed her arm and hauled her back out onto the sidewalk and started to pull her into an Apparation.

"What the hell Snape!" Tonks pulled back.

It was all he could do to keep from growling at her. If she was not the watcher, and he had no doubt that Lucius would have remembered to leave one behind, then he had just given away his position as well. "We have to go. Now!" He reached for her arm again, but it was already too late.

The only warning he had was the red light reflected in her slightly widened eyes, but it was enough for his battle-trained body. He pushed her back and ducked, spinning around and bringing his wand to bear.

Clearly, the true watcher had taken the time to call in backup. Five soldiers in black robes and white masks ran down the sidewalk toward them. He took the time to aim and yelled out, "Avada Kedavra."

He was not in the mood to take prisoners right now. The joke was on him and he did not find it funny.

The Death Eater dodged at the last second. "That you, Snape?" the man, Mulciber he realized, called out. "You're dead, traitor!"

It was as though Tonks wasn't even there. The second they realized that the traitor was in their midst, they focused their attack on him.

"Damn it." He was completely exposed in the middle of the street whereas his enemies were already taking cover. Their curses were coming in volleys that were becoming difficult to dodge. What the hell was that Tonks doing? He didn't take the time to look for or call to her though. This battle was taking all of his attention and then some.

Tonks had tripped over a crack in the walk when Snape pushed her and she had fallen right behind a dustbin. "Ow!" She sat up gingerly and peered around the corner. Snape was under heavy attack and he was completely exposed. Shit!

She needed to contact the Order and get them here fast. They were severely outnumbered at five to two. But she knew that there wouldn't be time for that. She could escape, but then Snape may be killed or worse; she could not abide that. She shot a few curses off from behind her cover, but just because the Death Eaters were not attacking her did not mean they had forgotten her. They blocked and dodged her attacks.

"Snape and I are under attack! Lead Moody back here!" Out of her wand shot her canine Patronus. It darted across the night sky and then she turned her attention back to the battle. Snape wasn't getting nearly as many curses out as the Death Eaters were getting on him, but so far, he remained un-hit. He wouldn't be able to keep that up indefinitely, though. And if he turned his back to Apparate for even a second, he would likely be killed on the spot. If only the Headmaster were here...

Tonks smiled as an idea formed in her head and she Apparated to a nearby alley. This they would not see coming.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Severus heard the crack of Apparation and he didn't know whether he should laugh or start killing everything in sight. That cowardly bitch! But what had he expected from an Order member?

The Death Eaters got a good laugh out of that too. "Looks like you're not the only traitor Snape!"

Yes, very funny. "Crucio!" Not laughing now are you?

= - = - = - = - = -

Harry didn't know whether he should laugh or groan from the futility of trying to calm Dobby's adoration. Finally, he just gave up all together and listened to Dobby do a blow-by-blow re-enactment of his being freed from the Malfoys and how great Harry Potter sir had been.

After several minutes of this, Harry realized that he'd rather just leave. After being forced to take a basket full of foodstuffs with him, he finally managed to escape out of the kitchens. He made a beeline for his room. The fact that Snape had left the castle completely had been bugging him for a little while now. When they had been in the infirmary that first day, the man had said that he might have to leave from time to time and that he would only require someone else to come in when it was expected to be a long absence. Still...

Snape had left angry about something. And it had been after an Order meeting. Could he have been given a job? Harry was dying to know where Snape had gone now. He almost wished he had followed him. But there was no rule against taking his map and going for a walk around the grounds. He wouldn't go into the forest; he'd just walk around the tree line. Snape couldn't yell at him if he just happened to be there when he came back could he?

Well, he could. And he might. But then, Harry might get lucky and see what Snape had been up to as well. It was worth the risk, he decided.

It only took him a minute to find his map and note that Snape had still not returned. Still, when he walked out the door again, he made sure to slip his wand out from his sleeve. He didn't think Snape could take him off guard while he had the map, but he wouldn't put it past the man and he had said to prepare for unexpected attacks, both from him and from the enemy.

There was a part of Harry too, that felt a little uneasy about being alone in the castle. He could see that the Headmaster wasn't there and he hadn't seen any of the other occupants all summer, not that they were much use to him. Without Snape there, he felt oddly exposed. Perhaps it was just something about being in a huge castle and the way that the hallways were so eerily silent. At any rate, he felt much safer with his wand out. His eyes darted toward every shadow as he walked and they scanned the map in his hand at regular intervals. Being here alone was like being in one of the scary movies that Dudley had watched from time to time.

= + = + = + = + = + = +

Fighting five Death Eaters alone was a nightmare. He had done something similar when rescuing Potter, but he had been too focused on his goal of getting Potter out alive to consider the foolishness of the move. At this point, he would have loved to have just Apparated away, but his opponents gave him no opportunities to concentrate on a destination. They seemed to know that since Tonks had Apparated, he had no reason to stay and they pressed their attack viciously.

He learned rather quickly that their goal was not to kill him when he finally did get hit. Clearly, the Dark Lord had ordered him brought back alive. That gave him no comfort though. They had no qualms about hurting him. And the curse that had broken through had hurt him. Aimed for his chest, it had hit his arm instead, as he had moved just a second too slow, and it had knocked him to his back.

Injury, in a battle like this, was a harbinger of death or capture. Where before his adrenaline had been keeping him on his toes and moving fast, now it made his stomach clench and his heart rate speed up painfully. But he had no time to recover. His old comrades were closing the distance between them.

The Dark Lord had, at one time, looked on him as a favorite. And Severus had benefited under his tutelage for a while. What he hadn't learned directly from the Dark Lord, he had learned from his example. What the Dark Lord studied, he had studied. What the Dark Lord knew, he had attempted to learn. He had been a good soldier.

And one thing he had learned from watching the Dark Lord fight was how magic could make the body stronger and capable of great feats. It wasn't necessarily dark when a wizard learned to fly without a broom, but it was the result of dark study; something Severus had devoted himself to many years ago.

And he had never been sorry for it.

He sprang from the ground despite his injuries and landed on his feet, wand already extended and a curse on his tongue. "Avada Kedavra!"

Mulciber fell and Severus was already weaving toward the alley in a serpentine pattern, firing off curse after curse over his shoulder. He just needed a moment - just one bloody moment of cover - to Apparate and escape. Like Tonks had done. Leaving you here to die, his mind supplied him.

He was almost to the alley when another curse broke through his defenses. It hit the back of his knee and he fell forward, ripping his robes. Growling, he rolled over onto his back and started firing off blasting curse after blasting curse as quickly as he could in the general direction of the Death Eaters. There would be no mercy and he was beyond caring about conserving energy.

Now the enemy had to take cover from him. He barely took the time to aim, settling instead for lighting the sky with spell fire. Accuracy by volume, he thought with a wry grin. There was a time for subtle and there was a time for all out warfare.

But he knew he couldn't keep it up indefinitely. Without backup or an opportunity to Apparate away, he would not live through this. He didn't expect backup.

So he was completely taken off guard when there was a shout from the other end of the street and he lifted his eyes to see the Death Eaters scrambling away from Albus Dumbledore himself.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Being an Metamorphmagus did not immediately make one a good actor. Just because you could look like someone didn't mean you could act like them as well. But in battle, acting mattered very little. She wasn't tall enough to pull off Dumbledore, nor was she capable of transfiguring her clothes into such outlandish robes as the Headmaster's. But she settled for changing the color to a garish magenta and forcing her hair to become white and long and growing a long silver beard. She didn't bother changing her eye color. It wouldn't matter at the distance she was from the Death Eaters and Snape didn't have much time. All that mattered was taking them off guard long enough for Snape and she to get away, or for Moody to get there with back up.

"Enough!" she yelled, pitching her voice with a spell just enough that it would come out as a powerful man's voice.

It had the intended effect. The Death Eaters, who had moments before been scrambling for cover from Snape's impressive volley of spell fire, began to scramble again to find new cover for their newly exposed backs.

"Incarcerous!" A Death Eater dropped to the ground, bound in glowing ropes.

Come on Snape. Apparate!

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

"Headmaster! Good evening sir." Harry had seen him coming on the map long before he left the front doors of the castle. He had seen it the moment that Dumbledore had appeared on the map at the front gates actually.

"Good evening Harry!" He seemed in a far cheerier mood than he had just that morning. "Out for a walk?" he inquired.

"Yes sir. I'm just waiting for Professor Snape to get back so we can eat. Do you know when he plans on returning sir?" Maybe the Headmaster would slip and say what Snape was up to. Instead though, the Headmaster frowned at him.

"Has he left then?"

Uh-oh. Was he not supposed to have? He did not immediately know why he said what he did next but it came out all the same.

"No. I mean he's around here somewhere. I thought he might have been with you is all. He's probably just in the lab, I suppose." Knowing Snape had risked his very life to keep him safe, he couldn't not be loyal to the man in turn. And there was something about the idea that Snape was the underdog in the Order that made him want to defend the man, even if Snape was nasty to them most of the time. Harry knew all about being the underdog after all.

The Headmaster smiled at him knowingly. "Perhaps. Though I wouldn't be surprised if he had run out for a few hours. There are always errands to run."

"Maybe," Harry said, staring at his shoes. "Anyway, I was just going for a walk, so I guess..."

"Ah, I'll come with you then. It's been so long since I've taken the time to truly enjoy the grounds here in the cool of the evening. Shall we?"

"Sure," Harry shrugged.

"How have you been, Harry? I've not had much time to speak with you, I'm afraid. Why, you've been here for well over a week I believe. Are you enjoying your summer so far?" the Headmaster began by way of making conversation.

"I...yes," Harry said, realizing with astonishment that it was true. "I mean, apart from the whole nearly being killed thing."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, I do believe that would be most unpalatable. I'm relieved it turned out as well as it did." After a short pause, he continued. "And how are things with your Professor? I understand there was quite an upset over something or other last night." Harry didn't miss how the Headmaster was watching his face.

"Oh," Harry ducked his head. The Headmaster must have heard about he and his friends spying on Snape's conversation. Had Snape mentioned it? It was probably Mrs. Weasley, he thought with a groan.

"Yeah, well that's all squared away now. Sir," he added as an afterthought.

"I'm glad to hear it. Molly Weasley was rather concerned over it."

"Oh?" Harry said in as cold a voice as he could muster.

The Headmaster was far too fond of chuckling at the oddest of times in Harry's opinion. "I assured her that everything was quite in hand of course. She is rather over-protective of you at times, though I daresay, she's not the only one."

"Believe me, I know." He stopped himself from crossing his arms as they walked. He'd rather just not talk about any of it, not least because he didn't enjoy talking about getting in trouble. In order to change the subject, he decided to take a more direct route to getting information.

"Sir, I was hoping you could tell me, do we know how many escaped from Azkaban? Was it every Death Eater or just a few? What do you think they're planning?"

The Headmaster stopped walking and looked down at him with a serious expression. "Those are very good questions Harry."

"But you know, don't you? At least some of it? Can't I know too?" Hadn't he proven himself trustworthy to the Headmaster? Why couldn't he know just a little bit?

"Yes Harry. I do believe..."

But whatever the Headmaster was about to say was cut off by a shout in the distance. They both turned with their wands drawn only to see Remus running up the hill towards them.

"Headmaster!" he called. "I've just had word from Alastor! It's Dora! She's under attack in London."

The Headmaster was already walking swiftly to meet Remus. Harry followed hot on his heels.

"Do we know precisely where and how many?" he asked as he met up with Remus and they both walked briskly to the gates, though Remus looked like he wanted to break into a run.

"Yes," Remus said, out of breath. "Five Death Eaters. On Bloom Street, near the Ministry entrance."

Five Death Eaters? Harry thought. Tonks might be an Auror, but even the best couldn't hope to stand against that!

The Headmaster nodded resolutely. "Harry, go back to your quarters and wait for Severus to arrive. Tell him what has happened immediately when he returns. We'll meet back at Headquarters."

"Yes sir," he answered. Snape! Snape would know what to do. Harry had no trouble with those orders. He was already considering trying to send Snape a Patronus, though he didn't know if it would work if Snape were far away.

Remus was following the Headmaster out of the gates. "No sir. From what I understand, Severus is already there. It's only Dora and Severus." Remus had a decidedly panicked look on his face, as though he were dying to get to the fight and help.

Harry stopped with every muscle tensed and turned around slowly, as though he were in shock. And that wasn't far from the truth. Snape- the man he was living with; the man that had committed to teaching Harry how to defend himself; the man that made defeating the Dark Lord a game between the two; the man that had saved him on more than one occasion - that Snape was under attack right now?

The Headmaster was already preparing to Apparate and spared him not a glance at all, though Harry noticed how strained the Headmaster's face was. "Then we had best hurry." And then he was gone with a crack.

Harry watched as Remus prepared himself to Apparate, also without sparing Harry a glance. It was just assumed that he would obey the Headmaster's orders. And he had been going to, honestly. But that news just changed everything.

It was almost as though it all happened in slow motion. Remus raised his wand and began to turn on his heel. Harry saw his own hand reaching for Remus' shoulder and felt his legs moving as if of their own volition. And then he felt the sickening feeling of Apparation as his hand landed on Remus' shoulder and he was sucked along with the man to wherever they were going.