kbinnz - Harry's New Home

"Erm, I think he just went to the loo," Ron said helpfully. "That's his plate right there," he said, pointing to a plate with half a sticky bun and several lollies on it.

Snape sighed and fought back a desire to confiscate the sweets. "Tell him that he can have the remainder of what is on the plate, but nothing more! Do you understand?"

"Yessir. Finish the plate. Nothing more."

"Thank you," he forced himself to be civil to the urchin, and swept away. The children would all be bouncing off the wall like pixies before the evening was through, and Albus тАУ the big idiot тАУ was the worst of the lot. "Do you like ice mice, Severus?" the Headmaster offered as Snape resumed his seat.

Snape gazed down his nose at the proffered dainties and said in as chilling a voice as he could manage. "No, thank you."

"It's a pity his disposition didn't improve with his looks," Hooch muttered from two seats down.

Snape politely picked up the plate in front of him and offered it to her. "Care for a caramel apple?" he invited.

"Ooooh! My favorite!" Hooch snatched the nearest one.

"In't that what nearly pulled out all yer teeth las' year?" Hagrid asked around a mouthful of sticky toffee pudding.

"MMMMfffffMMMM!" she wailed, her teeth firmly embedded in the apple.

"Dear, dear," Snape mourned. "How could I have forgotten?"

Hooch gave him a furious glare but was too intent upon extricating herself from the apple to do much else. She whimpered, turning to Pomfrey and McGonagall for aid.

"That was not very nice, my boy," Dumbledore said reprovingly, making Severus feel like a naughty eleven year old.

"She wasn't nice either," he muttered rebelliously, thereby sealing his likeness to one of his first years. The Headmaster twinkled at him, and he just knew that the ancient wizard was going to say something nauseatingly wholesome.

"TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!" Quirrell's panicked screams happily prevented Dumbledore's little homily, and in the ensuing chaos, the caramel apple issue was quickly forgotten.

Dumbledore quickly ordered the Heads of House to escort the students to their respective Towers, where enhanced wards would keep out a troll or other dangerous creature. Then the staff would regroup and search the castle until the troll was captured. "I am going to escort Madame Pomfrey back to the Infirmary," Dumbledore told Snape, "then I will meet you and the other Heads back here." He paused. "If the troll is in the dungeons, perhaps your Slytherins should take refuge elsewhere?"

"I'll take Hagrid with me. Between the two of us and my prefects, I believe we'll be able to make it to the entrance safely, but if not, we'll detour and I'll board my students with Filius'. What about the тАУ item? Surely this is a distraction to permit someone to make an attempt at it."

"I'll go check," Minerva said quietly, coming up behind the men. "With the troll in the dungeons, my students are unlikely to encounter it."

Albus nodded then went to take the medi-witch to her well-guarded quarters. Snape gave Hagrid and his prefects orders to gather the snakes in concentric rings by year, with the firsties in the well-protected center, before hurrying off to check on Harry.

He couldn't find either Harry or Ron, but did catch Percy by the sleeve. "Have you seen Potter?"

"No, sir, but the first group of students have already headed up to the Tower with half the Quidditch team. Once I get the rest up there, I'll do a head count and make sure he and Ron are safe."

Snape nodded once and hurried back to his students. He knew better than to challenge Percy's protective streak. The boy would make certain his charges were accounted for.

With Hagrid, Flint, and Jones protecting the rear of the group, and himself in the lead, Snape led the way to the Slytherin dormitory. They encountered nothing, not even a ghost, en route, but Snape didn't relax until the last student, Flint, was climbing through the portrait. "All present and accounted for, sir," the prefect reported. "We counted noses before we left and no one left formation."

"Good. You and Jones go around and reassure everyone, especially the lower years. Encourage them to continue the feast. I'll return as soon as the troll is captured and the castle is secure." The portrait closed behind Flint, and Snape added an extra layer of security to the wards.

"Come," he told the half-giant. "I want to check on Harry, and then we'll rejoin the other staff members."

He hurried to the Gryffindor tower, only to find that the Fat Lady rattling in her frame. "No!" she was shouting furiously. "I'm not to open until there's an all clear!"

"Open up, you bloody stupid portrait! Let me out!" came the muffled tones from inside the dormitory. "I swear I will hex the paint right off you if you don't OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR!"

"Well!" she exclaimed, affronted. Then, catching sight of Snape, she gave a very unpleasant grin and opened.

Percy Weasley tumbled out, falling directly into Snape's arms. The Potion Master set the boy back on his feet with a thump. "I thought your Head of House spoke with you about your language, Mr Weasley," Snape began forbiddingly.

"They're gone, Professor!" Percy interrupted, frantic. "Ron and Harry and Hermione. They're all missing. They're not in the tower, and no one knows where they are!"

Snape let loose with a blistering series of oaths that made the Fat Lady cower, covering her ears, while Hagrid and Percy stared in astonished admiration. "Get back in your tower, Mr Weasely. I will find those little idiots and Merlin help them when I do."

Percy nodded and turned to reenter the portrait. "Oh, and Mr Weasley. Five points from Gryffindor for your atrocious language."

Percy choked. "But, Professor, you said тАУ"

"Five points or a floo call to your mother, Mr Weasley. Your choice."

The prefect swallowed. "Five points sounds very reasonable, sir." He fled into the portrait before his honorary uncle could change his mind.

Snape glared at the closed portrait, cast an extra layer of warding, and then muttered, "And ten points to Gryffindor for excellence in looking after your House." Then he collected a grinning Hagrid with a look and rushed back to the Great Hall and the other professors.

TBCтАж

*Chapter 22*: Chapter 22

When Quirrell raised the alarm, Ron nearly panicked. A troll, loose in the castle? But how? He checked the time and saw that it was close to when Harry and Hermione had said they'd head back to the Tower so as to already be there when people started drifting up from the Feast. If they started back and encountered the trollтАж For all practical purposes, both were Muggleborns, knowing nothing about such creatures. He had to warn them!

Ron pelted through the halls and skidded into the library, surprising Harry and Hermione as they approached the door. "TROLL!" he yelled. For once, he would have been delighted to have Madame Pince loom up and start berating him, but no one so much as tutted.

"What are you screaming about?" Hermione asked in surprise. "We're all alone here, but that doesn't mean you should just тАУ"

"There's a troll loose in the castle!" Ron exclaimed, panting for air. "Quirrell saw it and came to the feast to warn everyone!"

"What's a troll?" Harry asked.

"You mean something that lives under a bridge and argues with goats?" Hermione asked blankly.

"No!" Ron rolled his eyes. Muggleborns! He went over to the Magical Creatures atlas that was by the librarian's desk and flipped to the correct page. "Look," he ordered, letting them see the entry. A moment later:

"Oh." Harry gulped.

"Oh my." Hermione looked pale.

"We've got to get back to the dormitory," Ron said. "That's where the Headmaster said everyone should go 'cause they're the safest, most warded parts of the castle."