Always For You. [Snape Romance] [Harry Potter]

Arc 2: Chapter 3: Resurgence

My whole body went stiff. "Sleepwalking? You're sure?" I tried to ask calmly but nerves were seeping out of my voice. 

"Absolutely positive. I never lie, do I?" she proclaimed and the first voice smacked her on the head. "Okay, maybe I do from time to time but not on this one!" 

I took her at her word. Could it truly be...? I went and presented my findings to McGonagall and Snape who became more concerned. 

"We need to see Dumbledore." McGonagall spoke with watery eyes. "He needs to be informed immediately."

With that, we made our way to the third-floor gargoyle... but not before Severus carefully grabbed my arm.

"What happened?" He inspected and I realised there was a gash on my arm. How hadn't I noticed that before? I hadn't felt any pain whatsoever from it.

"I don't know. Maybe I caught it on a twig or someone on the way past. I hadn't even noticed I had it!" 

"This looks at least a few hours old. You need to be careful." he spoke as his eyes drifted to the scars that bore on my shoulder from the Hound. 

The ones on my hands were fading slightly over time but my shoulder never healed. To this day, the claw marks were as prominent as they had been on impact. Some scars simply cannot heal. That was life.

"I will, thank you." I laughed. "You are overbearing sometimes but... I appreciate that." I pulled his hand down on my arm and took it in my own. Everyone was in their common rooms; they weren't going to see. 

"Hurry along, you two! This is important!" McGonagall called from in front of us. We dashed to catch up.  

*****

This office was starting to become my second room at the castle with how often I had to come here. Am I purely unfortunate or do all the professors come here this frequently? 

Dumbledore rose from his seat to speak to us the moment we opened the door. It seems he was already well aware of the situation. There were several books of different sizes and usage open on his desk. 

"Tell me, what have you found out, Minerva?" 

McGonagall summarised her discoveries to him. Dumbledore sat back in his leather chair. His glasses looked as if they were about to fall off his face. He knew something that we didn't and that fact made me incredibly wary.

 "They mentioned the students seemed like they were sleepwalking..." I added in. 

His face went deathly pale. 

"Sir?" Even Snape was beginning to feel the suffocation in the air.

There was a deafening silence. One could almost hear our synchronised heartbeats that agonised in suspense. After what felt like forever, Dumbledore pushed his glasses back up his nose and began to speak:

"We have another matter that requires your attention, Miss Juniper." Dumbledore stared me down with an urgent tone to his voice. "I am certain by now you have become aware of the strange occurrences happening at Hogwarts. We believed these events to be caused by the ghosts but they confirmed they had not played a part in it. It is worse than even I anticipated."

"I don't see how the ghosts could be making people blackout or destroy the portraits either..."

"How familiar are you with the tale of Ruberion Hollander?" he asked, clearly shaken at having to speak this person's name.

"Nothing, the name doesn't ring any bells." I admitted. McGonagall stepped timidly back.

"Ruberion was a student at Hogwarts an odd fifty years ago. He was a remarkable boy. I don't think any professor doubted that. Always top of his class and extremely talented. Yes... he would have gone far." Dumbledore paused briefly in contemplation.
"Unfortunately for him, his mind got the better of him. He delved into things he should not have knowledge of; that being the Dark Arts. Ruberion became a master of manipulation. Anyone he spoke to fell to his whims and would do as he commanded without question. Someone like that could not be allowed to continue to study at Hogwarts for long. There was one incident that forced my hand."