My dad only joined us a few days later as he had needed to clean up the house which had been sacked by the Death Eaters. Seeing him had relieved me a great deal, and I felt slightly less the weight of Harry, Ron and Hermione's absence. I was eating breakfast as I read the Daily Prophet. The headline almost made me choke on my cereal:
SEVERUS SNAPE CONFIRMED AS HOGWARTS HEADMASTER
Under the headline was a picture of the all too familiar hooked-nosed, black haired man. I grunted as I began to read the article.
"What is it?" Tonks asked.
I began to read aloud in response.
" 'Severus Snape, long-standing Potions master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was today appointed Headmaster in the most important of several staffing changes at the ancient school. Following the resignation of the previous Muggle Studies teacher, Alecto Carrow will take over the post while her brother, Amycus, fills the position ofDefense Against the Dark Arts professor.
" 'I welcome the opportunity to uphold our finest Wizarding traditions and values —' Merlin's beard! Snape, Headmaster!" I exclaimed. "The other professors know what happened, surely they won't — "
"If Snape if Headmaster that will surely be because of Voldemort. In that case, the other professors don't really have a choice," Remus said.
"Well," my dad said as he walked into the kitchen, "we should really be off."
Remus stood to follow him. But I turned to them before they walked out of the house.
"I want to help."
The two of them shared a look before looking at me.
"It's much too dangerous for you to leave the house," my dad said.
"Oh, come on!" I said. "You already stopped me from following Harry and now you want to lock me up in here? I can help, I want to help!"
"Yes, alright," my dad said after a moment. "Next time we'll bring you along."
***
I was reading The Tales of Beedle The Bard in the sitting room the following day when Remus came back into the house looking quite upset and angry.
"What's wrong?" I asked as he sat down on his chair.
"Nothing," he grumbled.
"Did something happen?"
He sighed deeply. "I've just come back from Grimmauld Place. That's where they're staying."
I gasped loudly and sat down closer to him. "How are they? Are they alright? How's Harry? Did he ask about — "
Remus raised his hand and I stopped talking.
"They are fine," he said slowly, causing my heart to beat wildly in my chest. "They reacted in the same way you did. I told them you were well."
"How did you know they were there? Why didn't you bring me with you?" I asked.
He took another deep breath. "I had to make sure the place wasn't crawling with Death Eaters beforehand, didn't I?"
"Of course," I said, my voice shaking with excitement, but frowned when I noticed he still looked angry. "Seriously, did something happen?"
He seemed to hesitate before speaking. "He called me a coward."
"What?" I said. "Why would he say that?"
He hesitated once more, and I thought I could see shame hiding in his eyes. "Because I — I offered to help them with whatever it is they're doing."
"Why would he call you a coward then?"
"Well, that's not exactly why he said it. . . . I told them Tonks was pregnant and he seemed to be under the impression that I wanted to help simply to escape that reality."
There was a moment of silence as I recalled his face when they had told me the news.
"Is that the reason?" I asked hesitantly.
"Maybe it was. . . . I don't know," he said with a deep sigh.
"I know you think you shouldn't have married Tonks because you believe she deserves better, but that's not true," I said. "She loves you, and what she needs is for you to be by her side."
I turned around to face the radio on the table to avoid his gaze. I began to flick through the channels.
"The password is 'Sirius' tonight," Remus said before he walked out of the room.
I frowned as I thought of what he had just said, then my mind wandered to Harry, Ron and Hermione in Grimmauld Place. I desperately wanted to go. I had to go. My dad wasn't here, and I knew I could not leave without saying goodbye. I would leave first thing in the morning, then. I smiled to myself as I found the right channel and spoke the password. A few moments later Lee Jordan's voice echoed out from the speakers.
" ' We apologize for our temporary absence from the airwaves, which is due to a number of house-calls in our area by those charming "Death Eaters". But now, we're back! So, let's move to news concerning the wizard who is proving just as elusive as Harry Potter. We'd like to refer to him as "Chief Death Eater". And here to give us his views on some of the more insane rumours circulating about him, I'd like to introduce our new correspondent, "Rodent"!
" I'm not being Rodent! I told you, I want to be, "Rapier"!
I laughed slightly as I recognized Fred's voice.
" 'Oh alright, "Rapier"! Could you tell our listeners the various stories you've heard about the Chief Death Eater?
" 'Yes I can. As our listeners will know, unless they've taken refuge at the bottom of a garden pond, You-Know-Who's strategy of remaining in the shadows is creating a nice climate of panic! Mind you, if all alleged sightings of him are genuine, there must be nineteen You-Know-Whos running around!
" 'Which suits him of course, the air of mystery creates more terror than actually showing himself.
" 'Agreed. So people, let's try and calm it down a bit, things are bad enough without inventing stuff! For instance, this new idea that You-Know-Who can kill you with a single glance from his eyes. That's a Basilisk, listeners! One simple test: check whether the thing that's glaring at you has legs: if it has, it's safe to look. Although, if it really is You-Know-Who, that's still likely to be the last thing you ever do.
" 'Well, thank you for that update, "Rodent"!
"Rapier"!
" 'And don't forget to tune in again listeners, for more stories, tales, updates, and advice. In the meantime-
Stay safe!
And support Harry Potter! ' "