He knew besides the burning liquid, that they had the gas to watch for. Just breathing it in could be deadly. He took a look out the window that he passed, and he could see smoke rising in the air from where the mountain was. He shook his head as he hurried to the Headmaster's office, knowing the man had to be aware of this. He knew they needed to take protective measures, like getting the students out of here and to safety.

That was one thing he hadn't been able to reassure Potter about. He didn't think that the wards around the castle, protected against anything that mother nature could throw at them. It wasn't stupidity or neglect, it was just these kinds of things just don't happen here. Especially since they were all focused on the dementors and Sirius Black and Voldemort for a little thing like nature to stand in their way.

He found himself in front of the Headmaster's office, unsure how he got here so fast but nonetheless grateful as he stood there trying to remember the man's bloody password. He wasn't even trying to guess, there would be no point there was just to many sweets in the world. He swallowed before giving the password that Albus had given to each teacher only to be used in an emergency which is what this was. The guardian moved and he stepped on the moving staircase and hurried up it. Before he could knock he was being told to enter it, which he did, but he was too keyed up to take a seat.

"What is it Severus? Is it one of the children?" Albus asked immediately when he took in the expression the Potion's master face.

"No everyone is fine for the most part. The third year Care of Magical Creature's Class had an incident in class today," he told him swiftly.

"Oh, what happened this time?" Albus asked tiredly.

"Nothing of Hagrid's fault I can assure you. There were rocks, raining down on the children. A few were hit but all of them have gone to the infirmary to be patched up," Severus explained.

"What caused that? Do you know?" Albus asked frowning as he looked at his window. He could see a smoke cloud rising just pass the forest and wondered on earth what it was.

"I have a theory, but I'm do not know for sure. Which is why I am reluctant to tell you," Severus replied carefully.

Albus waited patiently for Severus to gather his thoughts together. Inwardly though he was getting worried, because the man had never been this flustered about anything. Severus was a man that was always put together no matter what. It took something big for him to become unhinged. The fact that it apparently had to do with Hogwarts had him worried, not for his sake but of his students.

~*~*~*Abandoned Classroom 1:30pm~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry hadn't made it back to his tower, he simply had conjured a blanket from a piece of paper and after doing the same to a quill to make a pillow he had laid down on the floor behind the desk. He knew if he went back to the Tower that Ron would be yelling at him for throwing him to Poppy and he was just so tired and sore. He didn't want to deal with anything but sleep for right now. He knew he wouldn't be bothered and he wasn't worried about the volcano since Snape was going to tell the Headmaster which is why he soon succumbed to his exhaustion and fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*Dumbledore's Office 3:00pm~*~*~*~*~*~*

By the time Severus had finished telling the old man all he knew he was feeling pretty exhausted and found to his shock that 2 hours had gone by. He frowned as he looked at the clock on the man's desk. It read 3:00pm, but looking outside, you would think it was around 6:00pm with the way the sky had darkened with the smoke. He stood up quickly, and out of curiosity and a bit of stupidity (which he refused to even admit to himself) had him opening one of Albus's windows and stuck his head out. The strong smell of the burning gas had his eyes burning within seconds, and him choking before he could think. He could feel Albus pulling him back into the office and shutting the window loudly.

"We have to get the children out of here," Severus gasped out before reaching for the glass of water that had appeared next to him.

"I know, Hogwarts wasn't designed to protect us against this. I'm afraid that the castle won't stand a chance if the lava reaches us," Albus told him quietly.

"What do you mean if, I think the question is when," Severus told him hoarsely before he sipped his water. "We need to keep calm, and tell the other teachers first. We don't want the student's panicking," he replied remembering Potter's expression when he had revealed what he thought it to be. He shook the thought away, wondering why he kept thinking of the child. All he knew was that the boy had better have visited Poppy. With the way the situation was going, they were all going to need to be in full strength. This was something big, and he didn't want to lose anyone.

"I'll start alerting the teachers, whoever is in their classroom or offices. If you see anyone on your way, you know what to do," Albus told him as he hurried over to the fireplace.

Severus nodded before he left the man's office, to warn his fellow teachers of the impending danger. He still wasn't sure how much time was left, but he had the sense to know that it wouldn't be long. And the safest place for them all to be was far away from here as possible.

~*~*~*~*3:30pm~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry wasn't sure when he awoke up, until he heard his stomach growling quite loudly and then he knew. It wasn't unusual as he had skipped lunch earlier; he had still been full from his small breakfast. It always took him a good month or so to get used to having normal portions sizes of food. Since at the Durselys, he barely got enough to live off of. He knew it was a bit early for dinner but he also knew that if he saw one of the twins they would get a snack for him. He stretched and looked out the window, before quickly checking his watch. He couldn't understand why it looked so dark when it wasn't even close too 5'clock yet.

He shook the sleepiness off of him, hoping he wouldn't get in trouble for missing a class. He made his way out the abandoned classroom and walked through the halls. He double checked that his cloak was securely on him as he found himself following the students that all seemed to be going to the Great Hall. As he entered it he could see that dinner was ready and he frowned. Maybe everyone else was confused too. He wasn't about to ask though, and quickly found his seat next to Ron who was stuffing his face.

"Hey Ron," Harry murmured as he looked around at the assortment of food on the table.

"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione said from where she was looking at him in concern.

"I was around," Harry said carefully.

"Around where? No one's seen you since class. We thought something had happened to you," Hermione told him worriedly.

"Oh, sorry. I went to the infirmary and then I was tired so I took a nap," Harry told him them honestly.

"Did he ever? I've never seen Madame Pomprey that angry. Not to mention Snape, the way he took after you Harry, I thought he was going to kill you," Ron exclaimed.

"What happened? Why was Snape chasing Harry?" Hermione asked wide eyed as she looked at her friends.

Harry shrugged embarrassingly, he didn't want to get into this. "Uhm, look the Headmaster is about to get up," he said hurriedly as indeed the old man was standing as if preparing to say something.

As he knew she would, Hermione along with everyone at their table turned to look towards the head table as the Headmaster stood up.

"Attention students, I know some of you are wondering about what is going on. And just why we are eating so early, which I will explain to you in a moment. I just need you all not to panic because Hogwarts has always been the safest place in the magical world and I will do everything in my power to make sure that it stays that way," Albus told him carefully.

Harry stiffened as he looked at his peers all around them, everyone had started talking the minute the man stood up, but then they had silenced when they heard the weight of his words. The funny part was they didn't even know what was wrong. He shook his head as he looked at Ron before he turned back towards the front.

"In the past few hours, I have been getting reports about a mountain a few kilometers from here, that isn't what its supposed to be. In other words an active Volcano. I don't think I need to explain to anyone what this is, and if you truly do not know then ask someone in your house and I'm sure they will tell you," Albus replied gravely.

"What the headmaster is trying to tell you, is that there is no need to panic. Because as long as you stay inside the castle walls, nothing can harm you," Severus said in his quiet voice. There was no need to raise his voice as the Great hall had completely gone silent.

"There is no need to panic, but if anyone feels like they cannot handle it just make your way to the infirmary," Poppy said as she too stood up and did a small look around the Great hall as a few students actually stood up. She nodded to her colleagues before she headed towards them, gesturing for them to follow her.

Harry, along with nearly everyone else watched her and those students leave out the Great Hall before returning their gazes to the Headmaster. He could see the worry in those twinkling blue eyes from where he was sitting, and that had him frowning. But that was nothing compared to when his eyes and Snape's connected. He had the sudden thought about him not visiting the infirmary, and what the man had in store for him if he found out.

Harry swallowed thickly, as the minute that thought had crossed his mind, his potion's master's eyes narrowed as if he had read his very mind. He was unable to break eye contact for a moment as the dark gaze bore into his emerald ones. He was only released from the compelling gaze when the man crooked his finger, in the universal signal for 'come here'. But Harry was doing anything but, he looked at his barely eaten food before grabbing two apples and standing up.

"Harry where are you going?" Ron asked, looking at his mate in surprise as he stood up.

"I need to go to the infirmary, remember I didn't get to see Madame Pomprey?" Harry told him, even though he had no intention of going.

"Oh yeah, if I were you I'd hurry, she was a right state when you ran out," Ron told him, before shuddering at the remembrance. It wasn't even he the Matron had been annoyed at but his blistering ears along with who ever else was still awake and coherent had heard it.

Harry grimaced before he nodded, tucking the two apples into his cloak pocket he hurried out the Great Hall, very much aware of the penetrating gaze on his back. His plan was to stay as far away from Snape as possible. He headed up the stairs, wanting to see if he could see the volcano again as he was sure since the Headmaster had said it he had nothing to worry about. But as Harry along with everyone in school would find out; that just because one man said one thing, didn't make it right. Especially when it came to Mother Nature.

Back in the Great Hall, Severus was silently seething, how dare that insolent obey his direct order. And then the little brat had the gall to run out of the hall when he had explicitly beckoned him to come to the front. The minute he saw that Potter brat, he would take him to the infirmary himself, but for the moment he needed to reassure his Slytherins who were looking up to him that everything was okay. He stood up and walked over to his snakes to find every single eye looking up at him.

After spelling a privacy charm as he what he had to say to his snakes was between them and him and no one else. He didn't need them getting embarrassed if they forgot themselves, as he was reluctant to return them to their quarters. Slytherin Tower was in the Dungeons so if the lava made its way back Hogwarts gates, his snakes would have the least chance of survival unless they were all ready to fly themselves out and he wouldn't jeopardize their life.

"I know some of you are hoping what the Headmaster had to say was a joke, but I can promise you that I have seen the volcano with my own eyes. And I know you snakes won't doubt my words as I have never lied to you. If you wish to go home, you can come with me to my office and you can floo from there," Severus told them.

"Professor, won't Hogwarts protect us from it?" Draco Malfoy asked softly, unaware that Harry Potter himself had voiced that same question a few hours ago.

Severus believed in telling his snakes the truth, and as he had just spoken he had never lied to them. They didn't take too kindly to being lied too as they were already distrustful when they came to school. He had gained their trust, and he didn't want to lose it. But on the other he didn't want to frighten his younger years, as he could see his first and second and third years tremble a bit in their seats. He was so happy once more that he didn't have to explain this to the Hufflepuffs as they were already crying. He shook the thought away as he thought how to answer the boys' question.

"I can't know for sure, Hogwarts is a magical castle and it protects us from magical things that wish to hurt us. I don't think when the wards were created that they added ones that will protect us against Natural things. I could ask the Headmaster to be certain, but as Hogwarts has been known to surprise us, I cannot say," he replied carefully.

He could see his snakes break apart his words, as if trying to find the underlying message, but this time there wasn't any. He sighed as quite a few of his older years stood up, wanting to go home. They understood the gravity of the situation. He nodded to them, telling them to wait by his office door and he would be there in a bit. He noted absently that one of his 7th years hesitated a bit as he got out of his seat like he wanted to leave but something was stopping him.

"Marcus what is it?" He asked, as they were still under the privacy charm; which didn't dispel until you had cleared the Slytherin table. Not that it really mattered as every table in there had their own silencing charm around them as well.
"My sister Amanda, she's a first year. I want her to come home too, my mum would kill me if something happened to her," Marcus told him honestly as he looked to the Gryffindor table. He looked down and towards the first years trying to spot the girl.

Severus nodded, he understood that as, Marcus wasn't the only one who was getting their younger sibling out of here. "You can go get her, Minerva won't mind," Severus told him.

"She's not there," Marcus told him quietly, feeling a bit worried. "What if she went outside?" He asked, panicking a bit inside.

"Relax Marcus, she doesn't have an outside class today and she knows first years aren't allowed outside alone. If anything she probably took a nap," Severus told him quietly. "Calm yourself,"

Marcus nodded before baring his teeth as he looked at the Weasely twins. He glared at them angrily before turning back to his teacher., he had heard from his first year Slytherins that they had been playing pranks on his sister and he hadn't appreciated it. But he had also heard from Draco, who heard from Ron Weasely that the twins had actually stopped the pranks against her, as they refused to witness blatant bullying of a firsty who had yet to do anything. Honestly he didn't know what to believe, and he didn't care, just as long as she wasn't being hurt anymore.

"Will you find her for me, and then send her home?" He asked, his self preservation instinct kicking in. He was the heir to the Flint house, and if something happened to him his father would find him beyond the grave and kill him again.

"You know I will," Severus told him before turning to address the rest of his table.

Marcus nodded as he walked out of the Great Hall, unaware of what was unfolding how his little sister was going to end up smack in the middle of it. He had no idea the danger that was starting to unfold nor how his life and everyone else's would change as well.

Severus sighed as most of his 5th, 6th, and 7th years all walked out of the hall. He had hoped the younger ones had followed suit. Well if he was being honest with himself, the half-bloods and the few on the low muggleborn students had also left. Turning to look around the Great hall, he could see that the remaining students were either pure-bloods, or half-bloods who hadn't grown up in the muggle world. He sighed but this was better then none of them leaving. He looked at his students, preparing for their protests even before he said it.

"Okay listen up snakes, this is extremely important that you pay attention to every word that I am saying," Severus started off. He could see every eye on him once more and he quickly got to the point of no one being allowed in the tower. He winced at the loud voices of protest, but a stern glare was enough to shut them all up. He gestured to Draco who looked like he was going to choke on the one word that they all wanted to voice,

"Why can't we?" Draco asked in a shocked tone.

"Because if the Lava somehow gets in, it will destroy everything in its path. And before it makes it way to the second level of the school it will demolish the first. Our tower is located in the Dungeons, one of the lower parts of the castle, I don't need to explain to you how dangerous that position makes us. In short, we would be sitting ducks," Severus replied.

"But what about all of our things?" Pansy Parkinson exclaimed, clearly distraught over losing her valuables. As materialistic as she was about things, she did currently have a point.

"As soon as you finish eating, you will be allowed to go back to the common room and your dorms to get whatever you want to bring with you. But after that I am sealing it so no one can return until I can be sure that it is completely safe," Severus finished.

He could see that while they didn't like the plan, they weren't protesting anymore. He could also see that the majority of his table was already getting up and making their way out of the door. He canceled the spell before he headed out himself, going to his office so he could get his students that wanted to go home out. He had no idea that a couple of his snakes would ignore his warning, and place themselves along with every other teacher there in danger as they tried to get them out.

~*~*~*~*Corridors 5:40pm~*~*~*~

Harry held Amanda's hand tightly, not wanting to get separated from the only other person. They didn't know really what to say, and the past 5 minutes or so had been awkward to say the least. At least it was until Amanda had told a joke that Harry hadn't heard since primary school and they both broke out into giggles. Now they were chatting despite their horrible circumstances, and their conversation was taking their mind off of their current situation. Harry couldn't see anyone in their portraits, and he shuddered, unsure of what that might mean. He felt Amanda squeeze his hand comfortably and he relaxed slightly. He unlike her really knew his way around, so in the dark was no problem.

They stopped as one suddenly when they felt rather then heard Hogwarts groaning. As they inched their way towards the next set of stairs, Harry could swear he heard faint screaming coming from below. Something in him, was telling him to continue to go up. He had seen the lava, but he had remembered that if you felt scared or just off to go to the infirmary, and that was on the second floor. They had to go down, regardless of how he felt on the inside. He swallowed before turning his gaze to Amanda.

"You ready?" He whispered.

"Yeah," she replied softly as she swallowed a tearful lump in her throat. All she want was her big brother, as she had never felt this scared in her life before. Amanda had always been protected by Marcus, as she was constantly called their little miracle baby. Her mother had been told after having her big brother that she wouldn't be able to have children, even with the aid of potions but then she came along. Everyone spoiled her, especially her daddy, and all she wanted right now was to be at home in his arms.

"It'll be alright," Harry told her quietly.

"How do you know?" Amanda mumbled, trying to keep from crying. Up until she had exited the Tower, she hadn't yet fully grasped the severity of the situation. But from their point on the top of the stairs, she could smell something burning; and the smell was making her stomach turn. They didn't know that the smell wasn't just the lava but also of burning flesh, a smell they never wanted to breath.

"I don't, but I'm hoping that it will be," Harry said trying but failing to be optimistic.

"I want my brother," she sniffled out.

"Shh, and we'll find him, just please don't cry," Harry pleaded, his calm facade starting to crack as she started to lose it.

Amanda nodded, her shiny brown eyes could see the panic in his emerald ones, and she didn't want him losing it as she was following him. "I'm okay, I'm okay Harry," she told him tearfully.

"Okay," Harry said after a moment as they continued down the next set of steps. He didn't complain about the tight grip she had on his hand, because he was pretty sure he was squeezing hers just as tight.

~*~*~The Infirmary 4:00pm~*~*~*~*~*~

Poppy led the students to her domain, not noticing until she got there, that she had gain a bit more students on her way. She had each one in a bed, with a calming potion in their system. She still have a few of the Third years from Harry's class earlier, but they were still sleeping. As the infirmary quieted, as the children rested she went over to the entrance to it and touched it with her palm. Though she didn't know if Hogwarts itself was protected from Natural elements, she knew for a fact that her infirmary was.

This was the most sacred place of any business, or school, and it had to be protected. The wards around it activated the minute she placed her wand and her hand against the wall. She could literally see the magic moving across the walls and the entire area of the hospital wing. Whatever it was that was going on, they would be protected. Her and her students wouldn't get hurt. She wasn't sure honestly what was going to happen but for the time being it didn't matter. After telling the woke students to play quietly she disappeared into her office, wanting to make sure that if something were to happen that she would be prepared for it, making sure that all of her burn salves and potions were upfront, with an unbreakable charm on them.