Harry shot up and raced downstairs. Mad-eye was dead… a cold plummeting feeling settled in Harry's stomach. Not brave, war hardened, slightly mad Mad-eye Moody…
He found Ron in the kitchen, wearing a dressing gown and making breakfast.
"Mad-eye Moody's dead" said Harry urgently. His skin crawled and he was shaking. His scar was burning, white-hot pain searing through his forehead.
"What?" Ron blinked.
"Moody's dead, I saw Voldemort kill him." Voldemort was angry, more angry than ever, but the emotion that overpowered Harry was not Voldemort's; it was his own sense of greif as the realisation that Moody was gone hit him. He had to sit down as his eyes stung with boiling tears.
Ron had turned white. "You're having those dreams again?" he whispered. Harry nodded and screwed his eyes shut.
Ron handed him a mug of coffee, wich he sipped gratefully, and patted his back. He then hurdled upstairs to get Remus.
They came back a moment later, Remus looking irritable.
"What's this about a dream?"
"Voldemort's killed Moody, I saw him!"
Remus looked shocked. "B-but Harry, how do you know It wasn't just a dream-"
"NO!" Harry jumped to his feet. He needed an excuse to shout. Voldemort had just killed an other person, though not as close as Sirius or Dumbledore, but still close to him. "Don't you get it? They're REAL!"
Ron grabbed Harry's shoulders and gently lowered him back into his seat, muttering "calm down, mate, calm down.
At that moment, an owl swooped in from the open window. Remus opened the letter attached to its leg, and read, his eyes growing larger.
"Harry, I- I think you're right! It's from Dora; (by this he meant Tonks) she, Bill Weasley, Elphias Doge and Moody went to rescue some muggle borns, but the Death Eaters caught them. Bill got some serious injuries (Ron paled) and the Death Eaters got Mad-eye!" Harry closed his eyes. This confirmed Moody's death, and perhaps Bill's too.
"They're at St. Mungo's. Ron, go and wake Hermione up."
*
They stepped into the shiny floored room at St. Mungo's hospital. The entire Weasley clan were there, including Percy, and even Fred and George were treating him like a brother again.
They and Tonks were waiting outside a door marked "private".
"Harry" said Tonks tearfully "he's killed Mad-eye. I'm really sorry!" then she started crying into Remus's chest.
"How is he?" Ron whispered to Ginny.
"Not good" she was as white as a sheet. "It was a bardus caedo curse, Ron, its permanent!"
Besides her, Fleur, who had been listening, burst into tears. They waited for what seemed like an age, until Mr. Weasley, trembling, stepped out of the private door. He was not wearing a good expression.
"It'll get better" Fred and George's faces lit up "before it gets worse. Seven years, he's got, until the curse kills him." And he broke down and cried.
"NOOOO!" wailed Fleur, banging the door open and flinging herself across Bill's chest. She was shortly followed by a sobbing Mrs. Weasley, and then the rest of the Weasleys.
They were all huddled around Bill's bed; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley taking each of his hands, Fred, George and Percy all staring at him with tears rolling down their cheeks, Charlie standing a bit nearer, looking stricken and Ginny crying on Ron's shoulder, Ron clinging to her and shaking.
Harry, Hermone, Remus and Tonks were standing in the doorway to give the family some room. Hermione had tears rolling as well, and Tonks and Remus were still grasping one another. Harry put an arm around Hermione's shoulders and looked back at the Weasleys.
Looking at them and knowing they would soon lose one of their member broke his heart.
*
In the Burrow, he recounted his dream to Remus, Mr. Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt. They were all wearing solemn expressions.
"So that's it, Alastor "Mad-eye" Moody is dead" sighed Kingsley in his deep, rumbling voice. "The funeral will commence shortly, and the will reading- ahh!" he didn't continue as two figures had appeared out of no-where, clutching a tattered old book, and crumpled on a heap on top of him, knocking him unconscious.
Only as the figures stood up did Harry recognise that head of sleek white-blond hair and the curtain of greasy black hair.
"YOU!" Harry roared, firing the first curse that came into his head at Severus Snape.
"Snape! What's he doing here?" said Remus as he and Mr. Weasley both fired stunners at him, but Snape had managed to shield himself and Draco Malfoy from all three spells. Harry carried on firing curses furiously at him until he yelled "the locket, the cup, the snake and something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's!"
Harry immediately stopped. "Wh-what?"
"Those are the horcruxes Dumbledore told you to destroy!" Snape's eyes darted between Harry, Remus and Mr. Weasley.
"Horcruxes? What's he talking about, Harry?" asked Mr. Weasley. He, Remus and Malfoy looked bewildered.
"How do you know?" snapped Harry. He was too confused to be furious.
"Dumbledore told me, Potter." Suddenly he turned on Remus, Mr. Weasley and Malfoy. "Obliviate!"
Their eyes slid out of focus for a second, and then Malfoy was looking as shocked and scared as he had been, and Mr. Weasley and Remus shot stunners again.
"Snape! What's he doing here?" said Remus, as Snape blocked them.
"I need to speak to Potter alone!"
"Hell, no! You killed Dumbledore!" growled Mr.Weasley, shooting another spell at him.
"On his orders!" everyone looked stunned as Snape pulled a portrait from his bag. Harry's heart gave a jolt as he saw the face.
"Sirius…"whispered Remus, his eyes wide.
"Hey! Get your filthy hands off my frame!" Sirius growled. Sirius glowered at everyone in the room with a sour look on his face. "Aww! Do I have to?" he whined to Snape. Snape glared at him. "Fine! It's true! It's all true! As much as I hate too say it, the slimy git was acting on Dumbledore's orders all along."
"What?" echoed Harry, Remus and Mr. Weasley.
"I was there" Sirius sighed "Dumbledore told Snape he was going to die anyway, so instead of having Dr-" his eyes shot to Malfoy, who's eyes were wide, but only Harry noticed this "one of the Death Eaters do it, he ordered Snape to kill him."
A stunned silence followed this, in which Sirius nodded encouragingly. Eyes trailed from Snape to Malfoy to Sirius.
"How do we know" said Remus quietly "that you haven't blackmailed Sirius?"
"Oh, come on Moony! If he was a baddun, I'd tell you straight away! You know how much I hate the little-"
"Yes, thank you, Black" Snape's eyes narrowed.
"And I put a spell on this place to make it unplottable to anyone who isn't loyal to the Order of the Phoenix" muttered Mr. Weasley, glaring at Snape curiously.
"But he killed Dumbledore!"
"And believe me, it was with utter regret" his eyes were filled with complete sincerity, and Harry finally lowered his wand.
"Well, what's he doing here? I wouldn't believe he was working on Dumbledore's orders for a minuet" Harry spat at Malfoy. He was standing in the corner, as though trying melt into the shadows.
"Draco has seen the error of his ways. He seeks refuge and shelter from the Dark Lord." They all turned to stare at Malfoy.
"Ooh, ooh! That was me, that." Sirius beamed "I told him it was a bad idea to become a Death Eater! And then the little git shoved me in his wardrobe!"
Harry exchanged a look with Remus. He didn't think Malfoy had changed either.
"Potter, I need a private word with you!"
"Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of us, right Harry?" But Harry was already leading Snape into an empty room. He locked it.
"How do you know about the horcruxes? Why did Dumbledore tell you to kill him? And what the HELL is Malfoy doing here? It must have been hard for you to get away from Voldemort on your own, let alone with Malfoy tagging along. Why's he so important to you that you took him with you?" Harry felt that somehow Malfoy was the centre of the confusion. Snape held up his hand for silence.
"Firstly, you are right; it has been a long and perilous journey to escape the Dark Lord's clutches." Snape's eyes darkened.
"And Malfoy must have been a burden." Snape stayed silent. "Was that on Dumbledore's orders?"
"My orders were to kill Dumbledore so that Draco wouldn't have to, fake my loyalty to the Death Eaters and stay that way until I could get my hands on a horcrux and bring it to you."
"But why did you bring Mal- you have a horcrux?"
Snape opened his bag and pulled out a golden object. Hufflepuff's cup. "Of course" thought Harry as he took it, remembering his dream. It was vibrating with energy, and Harry's scar burned.
Suddenly it glowed white-hot, and Harry felt his fingers instantly blister. He dropped it, but before it hit the ground Snape had yelled "Destructo pars partis ame sept!" There was a blinding white light and the room was filled with an odd heat. Harry heard a crack and a man screaming. When the light dimmed Harry opened his eyes. The cup had split into halves, and the two fragments lay there, smoking. Harry shoved his blistered hands under his armpits and stared at Snape, who looked calm.
"I suppose you should know the full story" he said quietly "but it's hard to explain…"
Harry had an idea. He told Snape to wait and rushed downstairs to get the glass pensieve Hermione had got him.
"If you can't tell me, show me. "He thrust the pensive into Snape's arms. Immediately he raised his wand to his head and pulled a thin string of silver memory and placed it in the bowl. String after string of glittering memory swirled in the basin, until Snape paused.
"You wanted to know why I bought Draco?" he twisted his wand in his fingers. "Well… I suppose… yes…" He reluctantly drew a few more strings of memory from his greasy hair. Harry looked at Snape, but Snape avoided his eyes. Then he plunged into the swirling contents of the pensieve. He felt the smooth, cool memory around his face, but then he was falling…
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