Hogwarts-Professor Possessed by Relics of You-Know-Who

Recent investigations carried out by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement have brought about completely unexpected and horrifying results. Professor Quirinius Quirrell, who was supposed to be this year's teacher of Defence against the Dark Arts, was taken into custody after it was revealed that he was possessed by a relic of you-know-who that had somehow survived undetected for all these years.

The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Madame Amelia Bones, refused to release further information but denied that rumours about students being injured before the man could be taken into custody were true. Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, who claimed to have known nothing about the dangers one of his staff-members posed for the students is facing an investigation himself.

The ministry announced that a press conference would take place in a few days time, on which further information regarding how it was possible that a tinny bit of you-know-who continued to exist for almost ten years would be released to the public. The possibility that additional relics of you-know-who could exist was denied.

The fate that awaits Quirrell remains unclear, currently Unspeakables are examining the man in order to decide how to best obliterate the abomination.

Severus sighed when he folded the paper. It was Thursday morning and the Great Hall was unusually busy as students ignored the normal sitting arrangements to discuss the news about one of their Professors having been arrested by the ministry with their friends. The staff had managed to hide the events that had taken place the previous day from the students, but as many of the older ones (and all Ravenclaws, of course) had a subscription of the 'Prophet', the staff had already expected that today wouldn't be a quiet day.

Neither Minerva nor Severus knew any details, but Madame Bones herself had interrogated Quirrell two day before while a few Aurors had searched the man's office. However, they hadn't found anything incriminating and to the Potion Master's horror, Quirrell had remained at school. Fearing that the man might decide to escape, the heads of houses (Flitwick and Sprout had been told an edited version of events) had kept track of their colleagues until the next morning Madame Bones had arrived with two Unspeakables and a court order that allowed her to use more invasive spells and, if required, even Veritaserum on the suspect.

It had only taken a few minutes until a whole squad of Aurors had arrived to take Quirrell to the ministry.

Dumbledore, who had somehow managed to convince himself that Quirrell's interrogation the day before was nothing to worry about, only a slight misunderstanding, had been taken by surprise completely. Of course, he had flooed to the ministry right away and hadn't returned for several hours.

When he finally had been back at the castle, though, he had cancelled all lessons for the rest of the day and ordered his staff into his office. Apparently, Madame Bones had not only refused to release Quirrell despite Dumbledore demonstrating an impressive bit of magic (making the windows of the whole ministry tremble certainly wasn't a feat many wizard's could achieve) but he had also learnt about the changed guardianship of one Harry Potter and the fact that the boy had been discharged from St Mungo's several day's ago.

To say he had been displeased would have been a severe understatement.

At first, it had looked as if Flitwick, Sprout and the rest of the staff would side with Dumbledore, as certainly 'he had his reasons to deal with Harry the way he did'. However, when the headmaster had to admit that Quirrell had been possessed by the Dark Lord himself, all Professors had been outraged that their employer had hired the man without checking that he was fit to teach children.

Sprout and Flitwick, the only ones except Minerva, Severus and Albus himself that knew about the treasure currently hidden in one of the deepest dungeons of the castle, had looked at their fellow heads of houses meaningfully and the Potion Master had known instantly that, firstly, the two of them doubted that having the Philosopher's Stone and the Dark Lord at the school at the same time was a mere coincidence and, secondly, that Sprout and Flitwick were likely to reconsider their initial reservations about Severus having custody of the Boy-Who-Lived.

Predictably, Dumbledore had ordered that Severus was to stay behind when he had finally allowed the other teachers to leave.

"Severus, my boy, what have you done?" the headmaster had asked sorrowfully.

"I have sworn and oath, Dumbledore. I will keep Lily's child safe."

"But it's not safe for him to continue living, Severus! As long as Harry lives, Voldemort will be able to return."

Severus had winced at the the nickname of Tom Riddle. Usually, the headmaster was careful not to use it when the Potion Master was present, knowing exactly what it did to his youngest staff-member. Well, it seemed as if he had lost this little bit of consideration. "He has managed to do so even without using the boy, hasn't he?"

"Well, yes," Albus replied uncomfortably, "but the boy - he is a threat to the students, and even if the Unsepeakables manage to destroy the piece of Voldemort that has taken possession of Quirinius, the Horcrux in Harry's mind will give him yet another chance to return!"

"And what makes you so sure that he won't be able to return once you have killed Harry? How do you know that he hasn't made additional Horcruxes or found other means to achieve immortality?"

"Well, it's not likely..."

"I won't allow you to kill an innocent child, Albus."

Albus had looked at the Potion Master thoughtfully. "Where have you brought the boy, Severus?"

"He is safe, both from the Horcrux and from you, but I certainly won't tell you where he is."

"He is at Hogwarts, then?"

"I won't tell you, Albus, but let me assure you that wherever he is, I have made sure that you cannot reach him."

Again, the headmaster had been silent for a minute or so. "What are you planning to do, Severus? If you don't allow me to kill Harry... certainly it will be a lot more cruel to hold him captive for the rest of his life, won't it?"

"Yes, but I won't do this either. I have already spoken with an old friend of mine who is much more knowledgeable than you when it comes to Horcruxes. I'm certain that there are ways to remove this being from Harry's mind without killing the boy. But if this should turn out to be wrong... well, we'll see. But I certainly won't allow you to kill Harry just because it's the most convenient way to get rid of the Horcrux, Albus."

Dumbledore had shaken his head. "I doubt there is anyone alive who knows more about Horcruxes than I, Severus. But I understand that you want to save the boy, he is Lily's, after all. I just wish you would trust me to know best, my boy. It's not as if I'm happy that Harry has to die, no, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made... yes."

Shortly after this ridiculous statement, a furious Severus Snape had left the headmaster's office. The old coot really believed that killing Harry was right! Ever since the Potion Master had found out about the state the boy was in and Albus' rather questionable handling of Harry after that fateful night, he had wondered whether the headmaster was much more manipulative than he had originally thought and played some sort of deep game or if he really believed that everything he did was right.

Considering Dumbledore's magical skills and his general intelligence, it was almost unbelievable, but after what the man had stated, it certainly seemed as if he was convinced that he knew better than anybody else what was right and what was wrong. Sure, the man was a rather good Occlumens, too, but Severus doubted that he would manage to hide something of this magnitude.

At least Albus didn't seem to be determined to to get Harry out of Severus' clutches immediately, which meant that, for now, it was safe for the boy to stay at Hogwarts.

Severus snapped out of his thoughts when a rather grumpy Minerva addressed him. "Did the old coot bother you and Harry during the night?"

"No," he replied, "I felt him casting several spells on my quarters, but he stopped once he noticed the upgraded wards. I think he merely tried to find out whether Harry was in my quarters or not, if he had wanted to break through the wards I'm certain I would have noticed."

"Good. He kept me awake until three o'clock in the morning, trying to convince me that he only had Harry's best interest at heart and that he would never harm the boy if it wasn't absolutely necessary. Seemed to think that I would be more likely to hand Harry over to him than you."

Well, that certainly explained the Transfiguration-Professor's grumpiness, Severus thought silently. "Where is he, anyway?"

"At the ministry. Apparently, Madame Bones owled him early in the morning. I don't know whether she had learnt anything new, though."

Severus was just about to reply when the morning owls whirred into the Great Hall. A brown tawny owl he didn't recognized dropped a scroll with the ministry-seal on his plate. Frowning, he scanned the letter and absent-mindedly noticed that Minerva seemed to have gotten a similar one.

"Bones demands another meeting..." he trailed of, eyeing his colleague questioning.

"Yes, wonder what has happened now" Minerva nodded. Apparently, she had gotten the same letter.

"Well, I suppose we will find out after lunch," the Potion Master replied, since the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had requested his - and seemingly Minerva's - presence at the ministry this afternoon.

"Yes-" but Minerva was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a Patronus that had the form of a swan.

"Severus, come to your quarters, it's urgent!" it announced with the medi-witch's voice before it evaporated into thin air.

The Potion Master was on his feet immediately. Something was wrong with Harry, he knew it!

Ignoring the curious looks from students ans staff alike, he stormed out of the Great Hall. Only a few seconds later, or so it seemed, he rushed into his quarters and was greeted with loud screams he wasn't sure were human.

"Severus!" Poppy called, clearly relieved that he had arrived. "Good, you're here! I don't know what caused this, but - NO!"

The last word had been aimed at the boy that was currently fighting with all his might against the medi-witchs grip on him, and the Potion Master hurried to the door that led to the kitchen where the two of them were engaged in some sort of wrestling match in order to help.

"Harry, stop! Calm down, it's all right!" He stated, his voice raised but not yet screaming as he didn't want to alarm the boy - if he could hear him, that was. He motioned Poppy to step aside so that he could take Harry - who was still screaming and trying to get away from the adults. Once the boy was safely in his arms, Severus carried him to the living-room and sat down on one of the sofa, wincing now and then when a particularly vicious kick of the child's feet hit his legs.

Not really knowing what else to do, he continued mumbling nonsense until Poppy, who had slipped away as soon as she did no longer need to make sure that Harry didn't slam his head against the wall, returned.

"It's the altered version of calming draught you have made," she said, brandishing a small flask, "do you think it's safe to give it to him?"

"Would I have made a whole kettle full of it if Harry couldn't take it?" the Potion Master retorted, grabbing the flask. "Harry, I want you to drink this, it will make you feel better, I promise."

"NOOOOOOOOOO... I won't!"

"Yes you will! Now open up!" And he uncorked the flask with one hand while Poppy stepped next to him in order to keep Harry's head as motionless as possible. Still, only half of the the contents made it in Harry's mouth.

The child swallowed reflexively and a minute or so later, his fighting started to cease.

"Harry? Are you all right now?" Severus asked once Harry had stopped struggling against his grip.

A weak nod was all he got in reply, though the boy snuggled closer to his chest which suggested that the weakness was more due to fear or tiredness rather than the Horcrux still having control over Harry's body.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Severus prompted gently.

"Demon... no, Horcrux. I'm sorry! I just... I couldn't..." Harry broke off, his voice pleadingly.

"I know, Harry, I know," Severus answered. Unconsciously, he had started rocking the child.

"It just got me and started fighting with Madame Pomfrey and I couldn't do anything... are you mad?" Big, green eyes stared at Severus worriedly.

"No, Harry, I'm not mad. It's not your fault that the Horcrux managed to get control, I have expected something like this. I'm just glad that it didn't harm you - it didn't, did it?" He added sharply.

"' don't think so..."

"Good. Do you know what happened before the Horcrux started to fight?"

"Madame Pomfrey and I had just entered the kitchen to have breakfast," Harry replied with an unsure voice. What did the Professor mean? As if to emphasize his statement about not having had breakfast yet, Harry's stomach gave a loud growl.

"Severus, it happened just when I was about to give Harry his medicine." The medi-witch interrupted the exchange between the two men.

"It did?" This wasn't good. If the demon tried to prevent Harry from taking his medicine... well, they would need to be extra careful. "Now, Harry, shall we try having breakfast again?"

The boy's enthusiastic nod brought a small smile on the Potion Master's face.

When Severus and Minerva entered Amelia Bone's office, both were surprised to find a man who looked even older than Dumbledore already sitting there, apparently having a serious discussion with Madame Bones.

"Ah, you're here, good!" Amelia greeted the two Professors and motioned them to sit down. "This is Nicolas Flamel, Mr Flamel, these are the Professors Snape and McGonagall who have brought this matter to my attention."

Upon hearing the name of the old man, Minerva and Severus looked at each other in complete shock. Sure, they had known that their employer had, at one time, worked with the legendary man, but not even in their wildest dreams had they expected to ever meet him. The Flamels had almost completely withdrawn from the wizarding world centuries ago!

"May I inquire what Mr Flamel has to do with Quirrell?" Severus asked, "you have written that this meeting would be about what you have found out being wrong with the man."

"Dumbledore hasn't told you, then?" Madame Bones asked, her eyebrows raised.

"No, he has stayed in his office ever since he returned from the ministry and refused to speak to anyone. I don't know whether he's just sulking or if he plans something, though." Minerva responded.

"Well, then, where should we start?" Amelia said thoughtfully. "Quirrell has been kissed -"

"WHAT?!" Minerva exclaimed, while Severus stayed silent. He remembered very well what Audrey had said about ways to destroy Horcruxes, and even if he wasn't sure whether it had been another Horcrux or something entirely different that had possessed Quirrell, he knew it had once been part of the Dark Lord. Knowing that it had been... 'removed' by one of these dreadful dementors was a relief, yes.

"Yes. The Unspeakables that were assigned to deal with him decided that it was the only way to prevent further harm. You-know-who had possessed him, Minny!"

"Possessed? By... by you-know-who?" The Transfiguration Professor seemed to have difficulty comprehending what she had just heard.

"Yes. We were able to determine that during his travelling, Quirrell came to Albania and encountered a sliver of you-know-who that has, for lack of a better word, 'lived' there ever since that fateful Halloween. Whether it was willingly or not, the remnants of you-know-who possessed Quirrell and eventually the man became a mere slave of him. Perhaps Quirrell volunteered to help him, we don't know, but when he returned to Hogwarts, everything Quirrell did was ordered and controlled by you-know-who.

"This is where Mr Flamel comes in." and she nodded towards the other wizard. "As you probably know, Mr Flamel is the only known wizard who ever created the Philosopher's Stone. Early in his career, Dumbledore worked with Mr Flamel for quite some time and this summer... well, perhaps you should continue, Mr Flamel?"

"Very well," the old man inclined his head. "Dumbledore and I became friends. A few month ago, I approached him because I was looking for a new hiding-place for my stone. There have always been people who were after it, so I have made a habit of finding a new place for it every ten or twenty years. He recommended Gringotts as he told me the Goblins had become more agreeable during the last two-hundred years, and I followed his advice.

"However, during the summer he contacted me again to inform me about new threats that he had been unable to foresee. Apparently, someone was after the stone again and already knew in which vault it was stored. Albus offered me to hide the stone at his school. Naturally I refused, you can't hide something this dangerous in a school full of children, but he insisted that it would be perfectly safe and that by having it nearby, he might even be able to catch the one he thought to be the would-be thief red-handed. What convinced me to agree to his plan, though, was the prospect of Albus finally defeating the relics of the latest dark wizard that he was sure was the driving force behind the wizard that he suspected to be after the stone."

"Albus knew that you-know-who was after the stone and nevertheless agreed to hide it at Hogwarts?" Minerva asked, incredulously.

"Yes. I know Dumbledore is a powerful wizard, I never doubted that he would be able to defend the stone against any threat if necessary. He assured me that he would set up wards and barriers no one would be able to breach, and that the students wouldn't even notice that something was... different."

Minerva, who couldn't believe that Albus had been prepared to risk the life of the students if it meant that he would get the opportunity to defeat you-know-who once for all and that the old man had actually had the audacity to ask his employees for help, being fully aware that they would have never agreed to set up all those traps if they had known who exactly they were guarding the stone against, was just about to ask further questions when Severus started to speak.

"Let me get this straight," the Potion Master said, trying very had to stay calm and collected, "Quirrell has been possessed by the Dark Lord for weeks, if not month, and has ordered the man to steal the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Yes," Madame Bones answered, sounding very serious, "apparently, the remnants of you-know-who's soul that had taken possession of Quirrell thought that by using the stone, it could create a new body for himself. If he had succeeded..." she broke off, the horror in her voice palpable.

"It wouldn't have worked, though." Flamel quietly but firmly said.

"It wouldn't? Why not? Isn't the Elixir of Life meant to make anyone who drinks it immortal?" Severus asked sharply.

"Yes, but that's just it," Flamel replied, smiling slightly, "someone who is alive will become immortal, at least if it is taken regularly. But a splinter of a soul can hardly be called alive. Sentient, perhaps, yes, but certainly not alive."

"So what would have happened if he - or Quirrell - had drunk the Elixir of Life?" McGonagall asked.

"I don't really know. Quirrell would have survived the possession for much longer than he would probably have without drinking it. Or perhaps Voldemort needed him immortal for some dark ritual that would have brought him back to life but would have killed Quirrell before it could have been completed. It is also possible that Voldemort didn't really understand the stone in the first place and mistook it for something that would allow him to leave the state of half-life he was in."

While Minerva, Bones and Flamel continued to discuss the recent events, Severus thoughts were racing. Why hadn't he thought of this sooner? It was so obvious! The Philosopher's Stones rendered a living being immortal, but it couldn't create life. So a non-living being wouldn't be affected by the Elixir of Life either, would it? He asked Flamel, not caring that he interrupted the old man's tale about another dark wizard who had tried to steal the stone more than three centuries ago.

Flamel was taken aback by the young wizard's blunt question. He wasn't used to people who didn't treat him as if he was some kind of god. It was quite refreshing, though, he though. "Yes, that's right. I have done plenty of research about this matter, only living beings are affected by the Elixir. It doesn't matter whether it's a creature or plant or a human.

"Ghosts or stones, on the other hand, have never shown any signs that suggest that the Elixir of Life does anything to them. And the things muggles have invented to cope without magic - several of these devices certainly seem to be alive, they can make noises, need energy to function properly, are more skilled than most craftsmen and some of them can think faster than humanly possible - well, they even tend to react negatively when being exposed to the Elixir. I have bought plenty of muggle-stuff, my wife even started to question my sanity, but no matter what I tried - bathing the things in the Elixir or pouring it in openings that seemed to be similar to a mouth - most of them stopped working completely. It was almost as if the Elixir killed them instead of making them immortal..." Flamel trailed off, frowning.

Severus had to stifle a laugh. The mental image of the ancient wizard drowning electronic devices in a magical potion and wondering why they stopped working was quite peculiar indeed.

However, when he asked his next question he was deadly serious once again. "So if Quirrell had drunk the Elixir of Life before you had him kissed... what would have happened?"

For several moments, Flamel and Bones looked at each other blankly. Then the legendary wizard cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose the sliver of Voldemort would still have been sucked out by the Dementor. I'm not sure about Quirrell's soul itself, though. After all, the dementors doesn't really kill the wizard. But it's entirely possible that the results wouldn't have been quite as disastrous for the poor man."

Madame Bones snorted. "Poor man?! He was allied with You-Know-Who, he would have ended up in Azkaban anyway!"

"And what would have happened if instead of having the man kissed by a dementor someone would have cast the killing curse at him?" Severus asked sharply, ignoring the curious stares he received from his colleague.

"Capital punishment has been banned by the ministry decades ago, how can you even suggest something like this?!" Madame Bones snapped, clearly irritated.

"Oh yes, I forgot, you just leave people rotting in Azkaban for years or allow dementors to suck out their soul, which of course is much more humane than simply killing them." Severus voice was dripping with sarcasm and he was pleased to see Bones blushing.

"It wasn't me who ordered those creatures to do this to Quirrell, and I have tried to convince the responsible people for years to replace the guards at Azkaban!" Madame Bones retorted fiercely. She wouldn't have an ex-death-eater telling her about right and wrong.

"If you would be so kind to answer my question, Mr Flamel?" Severus addressed the old wizard directly, trying to ignore the infernal muttering of Bones.

"Well, it's quite possible that Quirrell would have survived the curse, even so you can't be sure. I don't think anyone has ever attempted something like this... determining whether the Elixir is strong enough to protect you even from the darkest spell there is. Theoretically, though, it should work."

"But you're not sure?" The Potion Master pressed.

"No, the only way to know it for sure would be to try it out, and even then you never know whether a human body would react in the same way both to the Elixir and to the curse than an animal's body - as you can't very well risk the life of a human being only to find out more about how the Elixir combined with a spell works."

"Hmmm..." Severus thought about what he had just learned. Madame Bones eyes him suspiciously while Flamel looked at the young wizard with mild interest.

It was Minerva, however, who broke the silence. "While I admit that theories about dark spells and Alchemy are quite fascinating, could we please come back to the topic at hand?" her exasperated voice made it clear that she hadn't a clue why Severus was so interested in what to her appeared to be magical theory that had no actual use in real life.

"Yes," Madame Bones hurried to agree, "there isn't much more I wanted to tell you anyway, but I thought that since the two of you have who have brought the matter to my attention in the first place, you would probably be interested in the outcomes of the investigation, too."

"I trust the stone will be dealt with, then?" McGonagall asked crisply.

"I will collect it before I return to France," Flamel said calmly, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience I have caused the English Ministry, but I think you understand that it's not easy to safeguard such a treasure from anyone who might abuse it. Actually, I have already thought about destroying it, after more than 500 years life tends to lose its fascination anyway..." he broke off.

"Right," Minerva said, a bit disconcerted about Flamel's statement, "as for You-Know-Who-"

"Don't worry, Minny," Amelia Bones interrupted her old friend, "there is no way the sliver that had taken possession of Quirrell could have escaped the dementor, it's probably already digested and... well." She broke off awkwardly. No one of the current occupants of the room really wanted to think about what might become of souls - or part of them - once they had been digested by a dementor.

Severus, who wasn't so sure that the piece of the Dark Lord that had resided in Quirrell was no longer a threat - he didn't know whether it had been a Horcrux or something else, after all - resolved to ask Audrey about her opinion. He would need to speak to her anyway before he tried anything regarding the Stone as he wasn't prepared to risk Harry's life.

When Minerva and Severus took their leave, he briefly wondered whether he should ask Flamel about the possibility of, well, 'borrowing' the stone right away, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Flamel was sure to speak to Albus when he retrieved the stone, and even so the Potion Master thought that the headmaster wouldn't oppose a plan that would save Harry's life while simultaneously getting rid of the Horcrux, he wasn't prepared to take any chances. After all, he didn't know whether the man had additional reasons for demanding Harry's death.

When the Potion Master returned to his quarters, he was surprised to find not only Poppy (who had once again babysat Harry) but also Dr Green sitting in his living room, having a heated discussion about how mentally ill people were treated in the wizarding world.

"I tell you, your hospital should be closed permanently if this is the normal way you care for severely traumatized people! They need psychotherapy, not being locked up for the rest of their life with not therapy whatsoever!"

"But there is no way people who have been under the Cruciatus Curse for such a long time will ever recover, all you can do is to keep them as comfortable as possible!"

"How do you know this if you have never even tried to treat the victims of this curse appropriately? And the ward the woman and her husband are confined to can hardly be called comfortable if only a fraction of what Harry has told me is true - and the boy isn't prone to lying, you know!"

"Perhaps it's just different in our world! I'm certainly not defending the way those healers have treated Harry, but the Longbottom are war-heroes and if there had been any way to get them sane again I'm sure the healers would have applied the treatment immediately! The mother of Frank is one of the most influential members of our society, after all!"

"But you must admit that their treatment leaves much to be desired," Severus, who had given up hope that the two of them would notice his return on their own, interjected, "and seeing that at least Alice seems to be much more aware of her surroundings than I would have thought, I wonder whether the Janus-Thickey-Ward really is the best place for them."

"But Severus, where else should they go? It's not as if there are many other options for wizards that have sustained such serious brain damage."

"Brain damage?" Dr Green interrupted, "I thought they had been tortured with this curse that is incredibly painful but doesn't leave any physical marks?"

"Well, yes-" Madame Pomfrey began, not knowing what the doctor meant.

"Then how can they possibly suffer from brain damage?"

Both Severus and Poppy didn't know what to say as the point Dr Green had made was rather logical. "I don't think anyone has ever bothered to take a closer look at the Longbottoms," Severus finally stated, "people like them... well, they aren't regarded very highly in our society. Sure, the two of them being war-heroes might have led to them being treated marginally better than other people with a similar condition - there have been cases where mentally disturbed wizards have been locked away and hidden by their own families for years - but still..." he trailed off, trying not to think of what he had learnt about the history of the Dumbledore-family during his time as a death eater. Some of Voldemort's followers had taken great delight in pulling the leader of the light's questionable family to pieces.

"It was similar in our world, you know," Dr Green replied, "for many centuries, people used to hide their mentally ill relatives, and anyone who had the misfortune of being institutionalized was kept under condition worse than the conditions most animals have to endure. And fifty years ago, the Germans used to simply kill those people. The leader of them was a lot like your Voldemort, actually." Dr Green let out a bitter laugh while Madame Pomfrey flinched and Severus reflexively clutched his left forearm.

When Severus had recovered, he started to speak again. "Well, perhaps we can do something to help the Longbottoms. The chief-healer I spoke to when we took Harry seemed to be rather cooperative, and since you are a specialist when it comes to mental illnesses, it might be possible to convince him that there are other places the two of them could stay. Of course, we have to speak to Augusta Longbottom, but since she only cares about her son's glorious past, I don't think she would mind either."

The three adults talked a bit longer about whether they could do something for the Longbottoms, and in the end they decided that the best course of action would be to think about it for a bit longer and speak to Minerva, as she was the person closest to the Longbottom-family (including Augusta) they could think of.

Severus especially was eager to change the subject. Not because he didn't care about the woman who had obviously helped Harry quite a lot during his time at St Mungo's, but because he had been dying to ask the doctor a few questions ever since he had read one of the older books about electro-convulsive therapy the man had lent him.

Finally he got rid of Poppy and immediately started to interrogate the doctor. "I have read those books you have kindly lent me, and I have a few questions concerning this... this means of treatment."

"Yes?" Dr Green said pleasantly.

"If I have understood this correctly, this bout of electricity causes the brain to be flooded with chemical messengers and thereby altering the way it works, yes?"

"It's rather simplified, but yes, that's about how this kind of treatment is supposed to work."

"Then what would happen if an even larger amount of electricity would be conducted through a person's brain?"

"Well, I suppose the person would experience serious seizures and some form of permanent brain damage is quite likely. Of course, if the electricity exceeds a certain level, the person would likely die."

"Yes, I thought so." Severus trailed off.

After a minute or so of silence, Dr Green, unsure about what the other man was after, couldn't restrain his curiosity any longer. "I suppose this has something to do with Harry?"

"Yes," Severus snapped out of his thoughts, "well, it's not only about Harry but more about magic in general. Of course, it might be a useful thing to know when it comes to destroying the Horcrux in his mind."

When all what he got was a questioning glance, the Potion Master deigned to elaborate. "This therapy - it seems to be similar to the way a certain dark curse works. The very curse that killed Harry's parents and caused the boy to become a Horcrux in the first place, actually. The caster has to employ a high amount of his or her magic, which at some level can be seen as another form of energy. When the curse hits the victim, it's just too much energy for a living being to take, and as a result, every form of energy in the victim's body - magic, heat, electricity, no matter what - evaporates. The body can't deal with such a high amount of energy and simply shuts down."

"And this is related to Harry how?" Dr Green asked. While he thought magical theory to be quite fascinating, he didn't see how this had anything to do with Harry.

"Well, one of the means to destroy a Horcrux is casting this curse - the killing curse - at the container of this being. Harry, in this case. But perhaps such an electric shock can replace the killing curse." Severus didn't manage to keep the hope out of his voice completely.

Anything would be better than having to cast the Avada Kedavra at Harry. Even if by using the Elixir of Life they could reduce chances of Harry being killed, still, only thinking about having to cast this curse at Harry made Severus feel ill. But he knew that if it came to that, he himself would be the one who would cast the curse. He wouldn't trust anyone else with Harry's life.