Anger Management
Harry appeared at the bottom of the stairs leading up to Dumbledore's office and raced through the corridors to Gryffindor Tower. He nearly collided with Percy as he ran through the Portrait hole.
"Harry, slow down," Percy scolded.
"Sorry, Percy. Have you seen Ron?" Harry replied.
"I think he's in the boy's dormitory." With that, Percy strode by, leaving Harry to catch his breath before running upstairs.
"Ron…Hermione's awake!" Harry blurted the moment he entered the room. Ron rolled over and yawned.
"What's that?" Harry rolled his eyes and dragged his friend out of bed.
"Hermione's awake," he repeated as they made their way in the direction of Ravenclaw Tower. They rounded a corner and ran into Irlynn.
"Herm-" Ron began to say but Irlynn just nodded her head vigorously.
"I know. Come on, she's going to be furious she missed this," Irlynn said as they walked at a calmer pace to the Hospital Wing. Ron looked confused but Harry ignored him.
"What did you see?" Harry whispered.
"Just Snape coming in and telling Dumbledore that everyone had been revived," Irlynn answered as they reached the wing. Filch and Flitwick had long since abandoned their posts. The trio made their way inside and spotted Hermione sitting up, feverishly flipping pages of her Potions book. She didn't even look up when three chairs rallied around her.
"Welcome back," Ron said, finally pulling her from her reading material.
"I can't believe this happened. Oh I'm going to fail all my exams," she groaned.
"I don't think you will. It's not like you meant to get petrified," Harry offered. She gave a huff and bent over her bag, searching through it. Her brow furrowed.
"What are you looking for?" Irlynn prompted.
"A book I found in the library," she mumbled.
"We took it when you were attacked…it really helped." Hermione looked at Harry. She seemed almost disappointed that she hadn't been there to explain everything.
"It…it did?"
"Yeah…loads. Explained everything actually…well except why it was attacking but…we wouldn't have known what we were up against if you hadn't found it," Harry assured her.
"But…what happened? What did I miss?"
"Well…we went to the Chamber of Secrets…and I fought the basilisk. It's dead…and Ginny found a diary that was cursed…it almost killed her," Harry replied.
"Is she alright?" Hermione rasped, her eyes darting around the hospital room. She finally found Ginny lying a few beds away, calming reading the Daily Prophet. Ron stood and wordlessly excused himself, going to join his sister.
"Gin, how are you feeling?" he asked. She looked at him and quickly averted her gaze.
"I did bad things, Ron. I…I didn't want to but…I couldn't stop myself," she whispered.
"It's ok, Gin. It's not your fault. Just…where'd you get the diary?"
"I found it in my cauldron when I was taking out my books." In a rare moment of brotherly affection, Ron leaned over and gave her a hug.
Back upstairs, Snape stood in the doorway, waiting for Dumbledore to say something. When the older man didn't make a move, Snape stepped over the threshold and shut the door. He wasn't going to let the older wizard leave the room until he got some answers. Finally Dumbledore spoke.
"I should tend to the students," he murmured but Snape stood in his way.
"I am sure they have all returned to normal. I have a matter I need to discuss with you," Snape said as calmly as he could. Dumbledore looked at Snape with a quizzical stare but continued to try and make his way out of his office. Snape stayed his ground, not budging a step.
"Severus, is this really necessary?" Dumbledore demanded, beginning to grow irritated.
"I have a very important matter that I need your…advice on and I would appreciate just a few moments of your time as it concerns several students that you find…of interest," Snape drawled. Dumbledore gave a long sigh but returned to his desk. Snape, now certain that he had the Headmaster's attention, sat down as well.
"What is it that seems to be troubling you?" Dumbledore asked.
"Given the recent events involving Mr. Potter and his…companions—" Snape began but Dumbledore cut him off.
"You mean Miss McQuillen." Snape bit the inside of his lip to keep from snapping.
"Yes."
"After examining the situation in which I found myself last evening, perhaps I should…attempt to fulfill her mother's wishes," he continued through pursed lips. He hated being wrong, absolutely detested it.
"I see. I'm very glad you see this now, Severus," Dumbledore stated with that twinkle in his eye.
"However, given the…lack of experience I have with…familial interaction…" Again Snape was interrupted.
"You mean being a parent."
"Stop interrupting me!" Snape spat.
Dumbledore looked taken aback at Snape's outburst. He was so caught off guard that he nearly fell from his chair. Snape took a deep breath and let it out through his nose to calm himself down.
"As I was saying…given my lack of experience in the matter…and my…less than mediocre example…I am at a loss as to how to broach the subject with her."
"And you believe I hold the answer to your query?" Dumbledore questioned.
"You were the one pushing me to this, Albus. You cannot expect me to believe you did it just to rub my face in it," he snapped again.
"No, of course not Severus…I was merely saying that…I too have no personal experience with my own children as I do not have any," Dumbledore explained. It sounded very weak to Severus. The Potions Master took several more breaths to keep his temper in check. It wouldn't do him any good to lose it now. As he sat there, staring his mentor in the eye, he wondered whether he should share the feelings he had experienced the night previous.
"Out of curiosity, what exactly prompted this…conversion?" Dumbledore pressed. Now Snape had no choice.
"Having overheard their plan…I knew it would entail exposing themselves to potential harm and most certain mortal peril. The more I watch her, the more I see her mother in her and I could never forgive myself if something were to happen," Snape said. Dumbledore nodded.
"In that case…perhaps it would be best to explain the situation to Irlynn with her adoptive parents present. There is no chance of miscommunication of information if all are present," Dumbledore stated. Snape thought for a moment.
"Perhaps that can be arranged," Snape agreed and stood. Without another word, he left the office. Dumbledore leaned back and let out a sigh of relief. Waiting a minute or two for Severus to vacate the immediate premises, Dumbledore headed down to check on Justin, Colin and Hermione.
By the time final exams rolled around four months later, Hermione had more than caught up on her work and was running about like a decapitated chicken. Her friends were more than glad she was back to normal. Harry had not heard anything more about Horcruxes from Dumbledore and part of him was worried. The weather had finally warmed up and he was sitting out in the courtyard when Irlynn joined him.
"Hi," she said, sinking to the grass beside him.
"Hi."
"So…you're coming with us back to Ireland at the end of term right?" she asked.
"Yeah. I'm sure my Aunt and Uncle will understand…they hate having me around anyways. I'll tell them everything when we get to train station," Harry answered.
"Good. Mum and Dad are looking forward to seeing you." Harry smiled at his sister as the sun snuck out from behind a cloud. The pair sat in comfortable silence for a moment or two before Harry looked at her.
"Did you ever talk to Dumbledore about your visions?" he blurted.
"No…he seemed a bit busy with…well everything else going on," she answered. He nodded. Dumbledore had been rather preoccupied with the Chamber of Secrets business.
"I'm glad that the term is almost over. It was definitely a long school year," she sighed, leaning back on her hands and letting the sun shine on her cheeks.
"Yeah…guess that house elf was right after all," Harry snickered.
From a shady alcove, Snape watched the pair. He hadn't decided when he was going to confront Irlynn and her parents with the news. Perhaps over the summer. It would give them all some time to adjust to the idea and figure out the best course of action. He wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying. He just watched them. They finally both stood and headed back inside. Snape couldn't hide a small, genuine smile from creeping onto his lips as he watched the sun shimmer against her hair, just like her mother.
From high above them all, Dumbledore stood at the window, just watching the clouds drifting in the sky. He glanced back at hiss desk, the Riddle diary lying atop it. He had a feeling the Wizarding World was in for a large and painful shock in the near future. It was in the air and he knew he was not even the slightest bit prepared for what was to come.