FH Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Snape Returns

Again, forgive misspellings. At the end of the story I will iron it all out and make it FlAWlesS!

Sakura awoke that morning off-schedule and ran to the Great Hall to meet the rest of her house.

"Your late," Kyo said. " Dumbledore has already given the announcements. There's still no sign of Snape and Dumbledore looks very worried. I think he may know something we don't.

Sakura nodded and watched curiously as filch whispered something in Dumbledore's ear. His face went white. The room was hushed. " I have just been informed that our Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA) assistant Kurogane, Madame Pomfrey, and Mrs. Sprout have all gone missing."

Now it was their turn to flush. Kurogane, the nurse, and the herbology professor had all disappeared?!

"Kurogane was supposed to be accompanying Fai on his trip, but I can't think of where the others were last, besides here on the school grounds. It could be that all three are in the same location, perhaps even in the same place as Professor Snape. If any of you know anything, please report it to me immediately."

The school watched as the infamous Gryffindor prefect raised a hand into the air.

" Kabuto, what is it?" Dumbledore asked.

The prefects voice carried well throughout the quieted hall. " I know where Snape is."

From the Gryffindor side of the room, Syaoran looked up at the prefect in disbelief.

" He's right there." Dumbledore paused for a moment and then turned around. Snape the potions master was standing wet in the entrance of the school's double doors. As the professor walked slowly inside, Kabuto sat, and the crowd of students began to all talk at once. As the other students returned to their food, Sakura did not touch her plate. Neither did Syaoran nor Kyo. The three of them watched wordlessly as Snape and Dumbledore retreated to a more private area, doubtlessly to address his absence.
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Slytherin and Hufflepuff shared DADA. Snape of all people had taken over Fai and Kurogane's classes for the day. For this reason, Sakura ditched.

Kyo sat there alone, pretending to take notes. In reality, he was writing another letter with invisible ink.

"Class," Snape began with a hint of artificial regret, " I'm sorry to have made you wait for me in your potions classes, but I had to go on an urgent trip. A friend of mine was injured, and only I could cure him."

"You have friends?" One Hufflepuff asked, snickering out of character. Voldemort, Kyo thought wryly.

Before Snape could dock points from Hufflepuff, another voice interrupted him. " Where are the other teachers?!" Kyo covered his mouth, realizing the one who spoke was himself.

Snape's nostrils flared open. "Don't ask me. All I know is that Professor Sprout went looking for me about the Mandrake potion for Peeves. She took the Mandrakes with her and promptly became lost in the Forbidden Forest. Now I have no way to bring that Poltergeist back to his cheerful self. Kurogane got lost on his trip, and Madam Pomfrey was with me when I went to heal my friend. However, she was unable to help, so I decided to go looking for Professor Sprout. When I couldn't find her, I returned to Hogwarts and heard the nurse had not returned. I now believe the two have found each other and are wandering aimlessly in the forest, lost together. I explained all of this to Dumbledore when I arrived, and he has already organized a search team to find the two women. Beyond that, I know as little as you."

Snape later released them from class and Kyo frowned. Sealing his letter, he took it to Mokona, to give to Syaoran.

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"Thank you," Syaoran said as Mokona dropped it from above. The letter contained concerning news. " Dear Syaoran," it read. " Snape says he was out helping his 'friend' urgently because only he knew how to cure him. The rest of what he said about the others didn't make much sense, and I know he was making all of it up. What I don't know is how much I believe. I know that the prefect and Snape are bound by some sort of alliance, and I think that you, being a Gryffindor, should keep an eye on Kabuto. My guess is that Snape's 'friend' is actually Voldemort. If what he carelessly let slip is true, and he is the only one who can help Voldemort return to power, then we might be able to stop Voldemort for good. With one person working directly for him, our job will be that much easier. In any case, I don't believe Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout are in the Forbidden Forest."

Syaoran said " You're Welcome" and sent a reply back with Mokona.
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Kyo went straight to the common room to see Sakura after the letter was sent off, and Sakura asked him about DADA class. "You didn't miss much."

Sakura shook her head. " I just want Fai to come back already. It was alright when Kurogane here, but with them both gone..."

"Don't worry," Kyo said kindly, "Fai will be back before you know it and we'll have your feather too."

Sakura smiled, but he could tell she knew the task wouldn't be easy. For all the time they had known each other they had made little progress in the feather search. Perhaps the upcoming weeks would be different.

During their free time, the entire group met together. The girls were instructed to keep an eye out for strange things and the Ravenclaw prefect Ami was in charge of giving the Gryffindor girls missions. The boys were to look for the teachers and discover Snape's secrets. Sakura asked what she could do to help. "Hide," they answered a-matter-of-factly. And hide she did.

It was boring, hiding. Sakura hid in the common room every day, and Kyo would transport her food from the Great Hall. At night, Kyo would tell he what new things they had figured out, such as the fact that for some conspicuous reason, Kabuto and Snape's schedules intertwined perfectly.

"Your suffering grade doesn't matter anyway, because you aren't from the world, right?"

For some reason, Sakura wasn't comforted by the reminder of her uselessness. Having no one else to talk to, Sakura began keeping a diary. Kyo seemed worried about her, but she maintained that she was "fine". By the third week, the school was at its wits end with missing teachers and students and had no idea where she was. On the last day of the month, Sakura told the school that she had been very sick with a high fever and flu. She said that she had thought it was contagious and decided to stay in the common room, not trusting a substitute nurse. The school was glad to hear she was doing better, applauded her care for the other students, but reassured her that the substitute nurse was indeed qualified for the hefty position.

After the dreadful experience, Sakura began February outside.