As Potter is to Snape

Chapter 30

The trio talked quietly for the next several minutes until finally, Hermione ushered them up so that they could head down to the Great Hall for the feast. All thoughts of Snape and Lupin were pushed from their minds as they took in the Halloween decorations and all the delicious food. Well, mostly anyway.

***

Snape had just stood up from the staff table with every intention of spending the rest of his evening in his parlor, shut off from everyone as he drank a bit of Firewhiskey before going to bed. He would be glad when this dreadful day was over, and the sooner, the better.

Unfortunately, as his luck would have it, this was precisely when his night would go completely off the rails. Angelina Johnson came sprinting back into the Great Hall and up to the staff table, pausing only a moment to catch her breath. "Professor," she said to Dumbledore, "something's happened. The Fat Lady, she's missing and...and her portrait's been slashed."

Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape were already descending the steps from the staff table and making their way out of the Great Hall, with Angelina right on their heels.

When they got to the corridor leading to the Tower, Dumbledore immediately stepped up to the portrait, gently running his fingers over the slashed edges of the canvas.

Snape eyed the group of students until he found Harry, standing next to Ron and Hermione. Harry pointedly looked away from him, instead, focusing on Dumbledore's words as he addressed Peeves. When Dumbledore gave the order for them all to return to the Great Hall, however, Snape caught Harry's eye and gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head. Harry said nothing of course, but Snape hoped he would take it for the warning that it was.

"Stay in the Great Hall with the others. Be safe."

When the students were gone, Dumbledore turned to Snape and Lupin. McGonagall had already left to find Filch and have him search all the paintings for the Fat Lady.

"Go and get the Slytherins, Severus," Dumbledore said. "Then I would like for you and Remus to begin your search. Start with the third floor. I doubt he's still in the castle, but we need to be sure."

"I can search on my own," Snape immediately protested, ignoring Lupin as he rolled his eyes. "We'll be faster if we split up."

"I don't want anyone splitting up." Dumbledore's voice had taken on a hard edge, a tone that both of the younger professors had heard before, though rarely. Dumbledore sighed, "You will stay together and report to me when you've finished."

"Fine," Snape agreed before turning away and heading in the direction of the dungeons without another word. He barely heard as Dumbledore told Lupin that he was going to see that the students settled down in the Great Hall.

***

"Humenum Revelio ." Snape cast the spell to detect another human's presence as he and Lupin walked into the deserted classroom on the third floor. Nothing happened and Lupin sighed.

"Don't you think he would use a charm to make that spell ineffective?"

Snape grunted but otherwise made no comment.

The two of them had been searching the third floor for an hour but had only covered about half of it. There were just so many classrooms and hidden places to check. For the most part, they had worked in silence, both lost in their own thoughts, but every once in a while, one would comment that a room was clear or make a suggestion of where to search next.

"Harry and I," Lupin started suddenly as he busied himself with checking behind a large cabinet, "had a nice talk today."

"How very good for you," Snape replied dully, also intent on not looking at the other man.