Chapter 38: A Warning Acknowledged
Elian frowned, but his expression remained carefully neutral. It wasn't surprising, coming from Snape's perpetually grim face. The message was clear: Snape had learned of Voldemort's interest from his Death Eater connections, had told Dumbledore, and now Dumbledore was warning him through the same channel. It was a cold, efficient relay of deadly information.
"Thank you, Professor Snape," Elian said, his tone measured.
A muscle in Snape's jaw twitched. "Your gratitude is misplaced. You should direct it to the Headmaster."
In the past, Elian might have been just another piece of background noise to the Potions master—a Gryffindor to be mildly despised. But the prophecy had changed that. Like it or not, Elian was now a piece on the board, and he couldn't simply resign from the game. If he was going to be a player, he needed presence. He couldn't afford to seem like an easy target, a nuisance to be brushed aside.
Hearing Snape's insistence that this was Dumbledore's doing, Elian allowed a bright, knowing smile to spread across his face. He met Snape's obsidian gaze squarely.
"Of course, I'm grateful to the Headmaster," he agreed smoothly. "But I believe the debt is greater to you, Professor. Isn't it?"
Crack.
The temperature in the dungeon seemed to drop several degrees. Elian felt a sudden, sharp pressure—a flicker of pure, focused menace—lock onto him.
Snape's eyes narrowed to slits. His face became a mask of stone, but behind it, his mind raced. Coincidence? A flippant remark? But why stress the gratitude twice? What did this boy know? Did he understand the source of the warning? Did he know about the spy who delivered it? The horrifying thought bloomed: if a first-year could see it, who else might? Was his cover, his life's work of painful deception, common knowledge?
He could not afford to speculate here. Not with this unnervingly perceptive boy watching him.
"Remember the warning," Snape hissed, his voice like frozen silk. "That is all. You may thank the Headmaster." With a swirl of his black teaching robes, he turned and swept from the classroom, his exit too swift, too abrupt. He needed to find Dumbledore. Now.
Watching the usually unflappable professor retreat so hastily, Elian felt a small, grim satisfaction. Sometimes, the most potent weapon was not a spell, but the suggestion that you could see a man's deepest, most dangerous secret. It was a card he hoped he wouldn't have to play often, but it was good to know it worked.
The satisfaction was short-lived, however, replaced by a cold knot of reality in his gut. Voldemort. Targeted. Dumbledore's order to stay within Hogwarts' walls was no mere precaution. It meant the Death Eaters had a plan, and he was the objective.
Sighing, Elian shouldered his bag and left the now-empty dungeon.
He hadn't taken ten steps into the corridor when he saw a scene that made his blood simmer.
Three Slytherin students in their green-trimmed robes had cornered a taller, nervous-looking boy in Gryffindor red. It was a classic, ugly tableau: Draco Malfoy, flanked by the hulking forms of Crabbe and Goyle, surrounding a terrified Neville Longbottom.
"Come now, Longbottom," Malfoy drawled, a cruel smirk on his pointed face. "Let's have a proper look in your bag. We're the Inquisitorial Squad, authorized by the High Inquisitor. We have the right to inspect for… contraband."
"I… I don't have anything!" Neville stammered, clutching his schoolbag to his chest. "I have to get to Herbology…"
"I heard you've been attending illegal gatherings," Malfoy pressed, enjoying the power. "Best to hand it over and save us the trouble."
Crabbe and Goyle loomed closer, their dull faces set in intimidating scowls. Neville looked like he might faint.
Then, a flash of red hair.
Ginny Weasley barreled into the circle, shoving Goyle aside with surprising force. She planted herself between Neville and Malfoy, her hands on her hips, her face flushed with anger.
"Back off, Malfoy! Just because you've got a shiny badge doesn't mean you can paw through people's things! It's not right!"
(End of Chapter)
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