The twins, seeing Harry's condition, ran back towards the Great Hall, to get Harry's dad and mum. They were back in a few moments, hurriedly followed by Severus and Lily. Dumbledore followed them.
"Harry!" Severus knelt down beside him. "What happened?"
"We were just going to Transfiguration," Hermione explained. "Harry didn't say anything about feeling ill and then he just started throwing up."
"We'd better get Harry to Madam Pomfrey," Lily said.
"Take Harry to the infirmary and I'll summon Mr. Filch to clean this mess up," Albus said. He was angry. He had explicitly stressed to Mr. Weasley to use only ten drops, but he must have dumped the entire content of the vial into Harry's Pumpkin Juice. Stupid child!
Severus nodded, scooped Harry up into his arms, and rushed him to the hospital wing with Lily following.
"Tell Harry I'll get all his assignment for him," Hermione called.
"Everybody had better get to their classes so you aren't late," Dumbledore said to the rest of the students. "I'm sure Harry will be feeling better later today."
The students began to leave, some reluctantly. When they were all gone, Dumbledore took a vial out of his pocket, scooped up some of the vomit into the vial, grimacing as he did so, corked it and placed it back into his pocket. He cleaned up the rest of the vomit with a wave of his wand and then hurried up to his office where he gave the vial to Fawkes. "Please take this to Professor Slughorn as quickly as possible," Dumbledore demanded.
Fawkes glared at him. It was just days before he was due to burn and he was rather grumpy, but took the vial and vanished.
Draco, Dean, Theo, and Millie were on their way to Charms. "How is Dumbledore so sure Harry's going to be okay?" Dean asked.
"I was wondering that, too," Draco answered. Theo and Millie nodded in agreement.
Ron and Seamus were walking behind them and Ron laughed loudly, while nudging Seamus, and said, "Now instead of calling him the Boy-Who-Lived, they'll have to change his name to the Boy-Who-Can't-Stop-Barfing!" He stopped laughing abruptly as he suddenly found four wands pointed in his direction.
"You had better shut up, Weaselbee, before I glue your tongue to the roof of your mouth!" Draco threatened. He'd learned the Langlock Spell from Severus.
"Keep it up, Weasley and you'll be known as the Boy-Who-Has-No-Hair," Millie threatened Ron, pointing her wand at his hair.
Footsteps could be heard coming down the hall and all wands were quickly stowed away. Filius appeared, stopped, and then motioned towards his classroom, "Everybody inside and take your seats, please."
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Severus had sent a note to one of his brightest 7th years who name was Katherine Knox, explaining that Harry had suddenly taken ill and asking that she take over his 1st and 2nd year classes that morning until Madam Pomfrey got Harry stabilized. Lily asked Remus to watch her class and gave him the reading assignment she had planned to assign them for homework, but they should read the chapter in class.
Both Lily and Severus were seated at Harry's bedside, waiting for a diagnosis from Poppy. She had given Harry a mild sedative so he could stop dry retching.
Madam Pomfrey came over to them with a frown on her face. "I cannot find what set this vomiting off. Normally, this happens with food poisoning, but there's never been a case of it at Hogwarts."
"Could Harry be allergic to some food we don't know about?" Lily asked worriedly.
Poppy shook her head. "Food allergies usually have other symptoms such as rashes or hives. Besides, Harry's been eating the same foods for the last three years and any allergy would have revealed itself his first year." She looked at the scroll in her hand. "His stomach is empty now so I can't find out what made him sick."
Harry woke up around lunchtime and was shocked to find himself in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey immediately came over to his bed. "How are you feeling, Harry?"
"Tired and my stomach muscles feel a little bit sore. What happened?"
"You were on your way to Transfiguration with Miss Granger and all of a sudden you started throwing up violently. The Weasley twins ran and got your parents and they brought you here. I had to give you a sedative because you were continuing to dry retch and that is why your stomach muscles feel sore. Your parents asked me to tell you they'd be back at lunchtime."
Harry nodded. "I think I do remember feeling really nauseous all of a sudden." He groaned aloud. "I don't think I ever want to see another glass of pumpkin juice again because that's all I could taste when I threw up."
"I'll have my elf bring you a bowl of chicken broth, buttered crackers, and tea. If you do alright with that, you can have a light meal of solid foods for dinner."
"When can I be dismissed, Madam Pomfrey?"
"We'll see how you do with lunch and dinner and if you don't have any bad reactions, I will dismiss you after dinner, but I will insist you stay with your parents tonight just in case."
Madam Pomfrey's elf returned with a tray that contained a bowl of chicken broth and some buttered crackers. Poppy took it from her, thanked her, and then set it down in front of Harry. "Eat slowly," Poppy warned.
Just then Severus and Lily hurried in. Poppy had sent her Patronus to alert them that Harry was awake. Harry looked up and smiled. "Mum, Dad!"
They both gave Harry a hug and a kiss. "How are you feeling, Harry?" Severus asked.
"Much better," Harry replied.
"What happened?" Lily asked.
"I don't really know," Harry said. "I got up at my normal time and I felt fine. I didn't feel ill." He shrugged. "I went down to study for my Transfiguration test before breakfast and that git Ron Weasley came over and tried to pick a fight."
"What about?" Severus asked sharply.
"Aww...just the usual. That I was in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor; that I'd chosen you over Potter. Stuff like that, but then Draco, Theo, and Millie, Greg, and Vince came in and chased him off."
"I may have to have a talk with Molly about Ron's attitude," Lily said with a frown.
"Don't bother, Mum," Harry replied. "Ron's just a jealous berk." He shook his head. "Hermione and I were just walking to Transfiguration and without any warning, I felt massively nauseous and I threw up all over the Entrance Hall."
"That's really strange, Lily remarked. "Madam Pomfrey said usually that happens with food poisoning, but she said there's never been a case at Hogwarts."
"Miss Granger said she would bring you your assignments and I imagine your friends will be flooding in here once classes are over," Severus said.
"Madam Pomfrey said she might dismiss me tonight if I don't have any reactions to this," he pointed to his empty bowl or to dinner, but she said she'd prefer I stay with you tonight."
"We would insist on it anyway even if Madam Pomfrey hadn't," Lily said.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Dumbledore hurried back to his office. He didn't expect Horace to have an answer yet, but maybe whatever potion Severus was using on Harry would stand out like a sore thumb and be easily identifiable.
He rubbed his hands together. Hopefully he would have some good news for James and Amber. There was a knock on the door and Minerva McGonagall appeared over the door.
Dumbledore waved his wand and opened the door so Minerva could come in, "Poppy flooed me and said you wanted to know when Harry was conscious again."
"Does Poppy know what is wrong with Harry?"
Minerva shook her head. "She wasn't able to find a cause for it."
"Whatever it was I hope it isn't catching. I don't want to even think about students throwing up all over the place. Argus would probably quit."
'Don't be stupid, Albus, if it should happen in class, the professors would be responsible for clearing it up and that's what a wand is for."
"I wonder if it's something Severus told him to take and Harry just doesn't want to admit it," Albus said.
"Don't start that again!" Minerva snapped. "Severus is a much better father to Harry than James ever was."
"That still doesn't remove the fact, as much as Severus and Lily would like, that James is Harry's biological father," Dumbledore said primly.
"And it's also a biological fact that some men do not want children and in James case, that's due to the fact that he never grew up past fifteen. I pity his fiancée if she decides she wants children!" Minerva said, leaving the office." The old coot! If she found out he was interfering with Harry again, he was going to be making another fast trip to the Black Lake!
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Once classes were over with, all of Harry's friends crowded into the hospital wing to see him. They were being quiet so Madam Pomfrey allowed them all to stay.
Hermione gave Harry his homework that she'd collected for him with a note on each one when they were due. "Thanks, Hermione, I'll have to go see Professor McGonagall about making up the test I missed this morning."
Draco and Theo were laughing. "Weasley was making fun of you saying you'd be known from now on as the 'Boy-Who-Can't-Stop-Barfing' and Millie asked him if he want to be known as the 'Boy-With-No-Hair' and she had her wand pointed right at his head," Draco said.
"I would have, too," Millie said. "He was lucky Professor Flitwick came along when he did!"
"I appreciate it, Millie," Harry said. "But he's a cretin and not worth getting into trouble over."
There was an explosion of noise as Fred, George, Lee, and Cedric came in. Harry assumed Quidditch practice was over.
Madam Pomfrey looked out of her office with a frown on her face and the twins and Lee immediately quieted down.
"How was Quidditch practice," Harry asked cheerfully.
"I think Angelina is trying to outdo Woods in practice sessions," Fred replied.
"Well, she does want to win the House Cup to top off her Hogwarts career," George pointed out.
"But if you all drop dead from over practicing, that isn't going to be possible," Lee added.
Cedric smiled and asked Harry, "How are you feeling, Harry?"
"A lot better now. Thanks, Cedric," Harry said.
"Yes, they'll need to put a sign in the entryway for future students that reads 'The Boy-Who-Barfed-Here'," George joked.
"Yes," Fred agreed. "It'll be a revered spot."
"Ugh!" Hermione exclaimed. "You two are so gross!"
Harry laughed. "Well, I hope they don't put it up until after I graduate."
"When are you getting out of here?" Neville asked. "Everybody missed you in class."
"Madam Pomfrey said if nothing else happens, she'll dismiss me after dinner, but she wants me to spend the night with mum and dad. I can go back to class tomorrow."
"Professor Sprout asked after you," Vince said.
"I'll have to remember to thank her tomorrow," Harry replied, making a mental note.
His friends stayed until it was time for dinner than all of them left for the Great Hall. Madam Pomfrey appeared with a tray containing a plate with baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and mashed parsnips. "Now, if you can keep this down, I will dismiss you and you may return to classes tomorrow."
"Good!" Harry exclaimed. He ate slowly, being careful to adequately chew his food before he swallowed it. He didn't think that was what had made him sick, but just in case.
Severus and Lily came in when they were finished with their supper. Madam Pomfrey came over. "How are you feeling, Harry? Any stomach pain or feelings of nausea?"
Harry shook his head. "Nothing at all. I feel fine."
"Alright then, you may leave," Poppy replied.
Severus and Lily helped Harry to get dressed. "It seems weird to get dressed just to get undressed again when I get downstairs."
"Well, I am sure you do not want to walk back to the dungeon in a hospital gown with the back flapping open," Severus teased.
"It tends to be a bit drafty," Lily added.
They saw Albus coming out of the Great Hall and Severus, Lily, and Harry tried to duck out of his way, but unfortunately, he spotted them and came over. "Harry, how are you feeling now? You gave everybody quite a scare this morning."
"I'm fine, Headmaster, thank you for asking."
"We were just taking Harry downstairs. Madam Pomfrey wants him to spend the night with us," Lily said. "He's tired so we need to get him to bed," Lily said.
"Thank you for your concern, Headmaster," Severus added. They went down the steps quickly to get away from Dumbledore.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Dumbledore had just returned to his office when his floo sounded and he saw Horace's head. "About time!" He huffed to himself. He went over to the floo and knelt down. "What did you find?" He demanded.
"Nothing," Horace answered. "I did the test twice and I found nothing both times. There are no other potions in this person's system."
"Damn!" Dumbledore muttered. "Is there any way to hide a potion so it cannot be found in the person's system?"
Slughorn shook his head. "Not to my knowledge."
Dumbledore thanked him and got off his knees. He flooed James. "May I step through, James?"
"Of course, Albus, you're always welcome at Potter Manor," James said moving aside so Dumbledore could step out of the floo.
Albus sat down on the couch. "I'm afraid I do not have any good news for you, James. The potion was given to Harry which caused him to throw up immediately. I took a sample of the vomit and sent it to Horace who analyzed it and reported back to me a short while ago that there were no other potions in Harry's system."
James got up and paced around the room, running his hands through his hair, leaving it looking even messier. "Well, then Snivellus must be threatening Harry in some way to make sure Harry always says what a happy life he has with him."
Dumbledore shook his head. "Harry, unfortunately, looks genuinely happy to me and that's what makes the whole thing so maddeningly frustrating!"
"You made a big botch of this whole thing, Albus!" James yelled. "If you hadn't let Snivellus take Harry from the Dursley's, this never would have happened," James snapped. "Now because of you, he'll grow up the next dark wizard that we'll all have to fight, because that's what Snivellus wants!"
"This is not my fault, James! I was not here at the time," Dumbledore replied. "I was in Greece, mediating a dispute between the Greek and Turkish wizards as is my duty as Chief Mugwump. I didn't realize he wasn't still with Petunia until the Sorting and by then he had already adopted Harry."
"It is your fault, Albus!" James yelled. "Instead of regular checks on Harry to make sure he was still with Petunia, you did nothing! Snivellus never would have been able to bring Harry his letter if you'd been on top of things and not farting around with a bunch of stupid Greek and Turkish wizards!"
"After all I've done for you, James, and this is how you treat me?" Albus demanded. "Well, the next time you have a problem, don't come crying to me!" Dumbledore threw in the floo powder and disappeared into the green flames.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Harry got up the next morning and went into the kitchen to get a couple of eggs to feed Keb and Isis. He was surprised to find Tita making breakfast instead of his dad.
"Good morning, Mr. Harry," Tita said. "Tita will have breakfast ready in a few minutes. How is Mr. Harry feeling?"
"Really good, Tita, thanks. Where's dad and mum?"
"I knows they got a call from Headmaster Mr. Dumbledore and went off to see him."
Harry sighed. He supposed Dumbledore found another way he, Potter, and Black could interfere in his life. He grabbed a couple of eggs out of the refrigerator, went back into his bedroom, and laid them in Keb and Isis' terrarium. He heard the door to their quarters open, heard his mum and dad's voices and came out of his bedroom.
Tita had just finished putting breakfast on the table. "You's should eat while it is warm," she said to Harry and his parents.
Severus and Lily sat down at the table and they all filled their plates from all the dishes on the table.
"So what did Dumbledore want?" Harry asked, rolling his eyes.
"He and James had a disagreement and Dumbledore says he's through with James and the next time he has a problem, he can find somebody else to help him," Lily explained.
"We will see how long that is going to last," Severus added. "I suspect the first time James runs to him about some alleged mistreatment by Scrimgeour or one of his other imaginary enemies, Dumbledore will rush to Minister Bagnold."
Lily laughed. "I'm pretty sure they've both worn out their welcome in Minister Bagnold's office."
"How come Sirius still hangs around with him? From what Remus and Reg have said, he sounds like he's pretty smart," Harry asked.
"I would suspect Sirius' loyalty is somewhat misplaced," Severus replied.
"Anyway," Lily said. "At least for now, we have some Dumbledore and Potter free time so let's enjoy it."
"I hope this means no more interfering with my class schedule or following us around," Harry replied.
"Unfortunately, I do not think there is a cure for the headmaster's Potter addiction," Severus replied drolly.
"Do you think we can ride our bikes Saturday or Sunday, weather permitting of course?"
Severus looked at Lily and asked, "Do we have any plans for the weekend?"
Lily shook her head. "And we should get outside and enjoy the weather while it's still nice because it will be snowing soon enough."
"Great!" Harry exclaimed. "I'll let the others know at lunch and then Luna and I will let Myrtle know after classes."
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
At lunchtime, Severus noticed that Dumbledore's "throne" was empty. "Where's the old barnacle?" He asked Minerva as he and Lily sat down.
"He was called away to mediate another dispute between the Turkish and Greek Wizards. The last agreement he negotiated three years ago broke down and after that he has to go to Baghdad to warn the Iraqi Wizards that they can't fly their carpets without using a Notice-Me-Not Charm on them. Muggles have been reporting seeing strange things in the skies apparently." She stirred some milk into her tea. "Oh, and I told Harry he could take the test he missed after school tomorrow if he was ready."
"He's ready," Lily said to Minerva.
"By the way, Harry's bike club is going to be riding to Hogsmeade and back on Saturday. Remus and Percy Weasley will be leading the way as they did the last time and Lily and I will be riding in the back to keep an eyes on things."
"Oh, I have no doubts about that," Minerva replied with a smile.
After classes, Harry and Luna walked to the second floor bathroom. Luna knocked on the door and then peeked inside. "Myrtle? Can we come in? It's Harry and me."
Myrtle peeked out of her toilet stall and smiled when she saw them. "There were some rude girls in here earlier, trying to find me, but I scared them off. They must have been related to Olive Hornby."
"We came to tell you that were going to be riding our bikes again on Saturday and do you want to come?" Harry asked.
"Oh yes! I did so enjoy the last ride. I hardly ever get out of here unless someone flushes the toilet."
"Great!" Harry said. "Luna and I will come here Saturday morning and pick you up."
"I'm going to the library, right now," Luna said. "Would you like to come with me, Myrtle?"
"Oh yes! I sometimes go there at night, but it's pretty scary then."
"I'll see you at dinner, Harry," Luna said as she and Myrtle left the bathroom.
Severus and Lily were just coming down the hall to the bathroom when they saw Luna come out with the ghostly form of Myrtle floating beside her.
"Hello, Professor Snape and Professor Evans-Snape," Luna said as they passed.
"Hello, Miss Lovegood and Miss Abernathy," Severus replied.
Lily smiled. "Hello Luna and Myrtle."
They watched as Luna went down the hall, chatting amicably with Myrtle. "Luna is quite amazing," Lily said. "Do you know that Filius told me that she's made friends with all the ghosts and is working on Peeves now."
"If she's able to make friends with Peeves, then she should run for Minister of Magic when she's old enough," Severus said.
Harry came out of the bathroom and was surprised to see his parents. "Mum, Dad, what are you doing here?"
"Professor McGonagall told me at lunch that Professor Dumbledore will be gone for awhile so I thought we can go and visit Nessandra and I want to take a look at Lord Slytherin's potion lab that he had down here."
"I'll open up the passageway," Harry said going back into the bathroom. After he opened the passage, Lily cast a spell to form steps. When they got to the bottom of the steps, Severus pulled out three pairs of mirrored sunglasses and gave one to Lily and Harry. "I know Nessendra usually has her glasses on, but just in case she doesn't."
Harry opened up the next room and they walked through the room with all the basilisk fountains in it. They could hear voices in the next room, "Somebody's with Nessendra," Harry said.
"It is probably Lord Slytherin which is fortuitous for me," Severus replied.
They walked in and Harry hissed a greeting to Nessendra. She peered out of her nest and hissed something at Harry. They saw she had her glasses on so they took their sunglasses off. "Nessendra says welcome."
Severus gave a slight bow towards towards the picture frame and said, "Lord Slytherin."
"Lord Prince," Salazar replied, once again using Severus' hereditary title. "Nessendra and I were just talking. Thanks to this picture frame I can come down and visit her anytime I wish."
"I am happy to see that it has worked out so well for you both," Severus replied. "Right now the headmaster is gone from Hogwarts fulfilling his duties as Supreme Mugwump and will not be back for at least a week so I thought I would explore your library and your potion's laboratory more, if I have your permission?"
"You do, Professor Snape. Please take me with you so I can direct you," Salazar requested.
Severus took out his wand and levitated the picture frame down off the wall and allowed it to float in front of him while he searched through his pockets. "I put a padlock on both of the doors and made them impervious to the Alohomora Spell. The keys I have are the only ones that can open them." He finally found them in one of the many pockets of his robe. "Ah! Here we go," Severus said, finding the keys. He steered the picture around the corner and stopped in front of two doors behind which Salazar's library and laboratory were located and unlocked the padlock on the library door.
"I wish I had thought to do that in my day," Salazar remarked. "It would have kept my worthless descendant from pillaging my library."
Severus levitated the picture frame in front of him as he walked into his library. He summoned a chair and then used the Flabra Spell to blow all the dust, dirt, and cobwebs off the chair before he lowered the picture frame down on it.
Harry and Lily followed him, but stopped in the doorway when they saw all the huge, thick, spider webs. Nessendra had followed them and stuck her head in over them.
Salazar sighed as he looked at the empty spaces in his book shelves again.
Severus noticed it and said, "Your books may not be gone for good, Lord Slytherin. I was thinking that Riddle probably kept them with him at Riddle Manor. He would have never lost anything belonging to one of the Founders and would have kept them in a secure place. If you can give me the titles, I can go to Riddle Manor and search for them," Severus offered.
"Yes and it is very kind of you to do so," Salazar replied. "I can dictate the titles for you whenever you are ready."
Severus searched his pockets and found not only a blank, folded piece of lined Muggle writing paper, but a ball point pen as well. "All right, I am ready, but please recite the titles slowly. My Latin is not what it once was, I am afraid."
Salazar began to recite the title slowly and stopped whenever Severus requested or asked for clarification on something. When they were finished, there were ten titles listed.
"Thank you for being willing to search for these books. They do mean a lot to me," Salazar said.
"It is no problem," Severus assured him. "I will be back in a minute." He went out and unlocked the padlock on the door to the laboratory. I am going to open these doors for a few minute, Nessendra, so I can chase all these spiders outside before I destroy all of their webs. Please stand away from the door, Lily and Harry."
Nessendra hissed something to Harry and Harry said, "Dad, Nessendra says she can chase the spiders out for you."
"Be my guest," Severus said as he left. He went and opened the door that Nessandra went out of and returned from hunting. In a few minutes he saw many spiders, large, medium, and small, streaming out the open door. After the last one had left, he shut the door again and returned to the lab.
"I believe I had potions in my potion diary that used spider webs," Salazar mused.
"I'll save some of them then," Severus replied. He saved a big pile of webs and the rest he destroyed with his wand. "Would you mind if I ask the elves to clean in both these rooms when they come to clean Nessandra's nest?"
"Not at all." Salazar replied. "It will be good to see them clean again."
Severus pulled open one of the large bottom drawers in Salazar's desk which was empty and levitated the spider webs into it. "I will need to find something different to store them in, but for now they should be safe here." He opened his pocket watch and glanced at the time. "We should probably be getting back in case the headmaster decides to make an early return."
"I understand as what I've heard from the students talking of Dumbledore lately, he sounds like a suspicious, paranoid old man," Salazar remarked.
Your assessment is correct, but perhaps now that he is no longer in contact with the two people who strive to increase his suspicion and paranoia, he will be more reasonable."
"And how long do you think that's going to last, Sev?" Lily asked somewhat sarcastically.
Severus grinned. "About five minutes...maybe." He levitated Salazar's portrait and hung it back on the wall opposite Nessendra's nest and then went back and locked up the library and the laboratory.
Everybody said goodbye to Nessendra and they returned upstairs to the bathroom. Harry closed the entrance and Lily made the sink appear dirty and unused. They returned to their quarters, grateful that the visit had gone okay.
Severus looked at the list of books Salazar had dictated and frowned. "My Latin is a bit rusty, but I believe I will be able to locate these books at Riddle Manor." His mother, Eileen, had insisted he learn Latin from the local parish priest who ministered to Spinner's End, saying it would make casting spells much easier. And he had found it to be true when he got to Hogwarts. "I believe I will apparate to Little Hangleton on Saturday morning."
"Severus Tiberius Snape!" Lily snapped. She only called him by his full name when she was alarmed or angry with him. "You are not going to Riddle Manor alone!"
"Mum's right, Dad," Harry said. 'You don't know if there might be Death Eaters staying there, convinced that Mr. V. is going to return."
Severus chuckled at Harry's description. "Mr. V.? I believe the majority of Death Eaters are now living in rent-free apartments in the North Sea courtesy of Magical Law Enforcement. The ones that are left are pretty much third rate rather like the Nazi's you see now, a lot of noise, but no substance."
"But still…" Lily argued.
"How about if I ask Remus and Filius to come with me then?" Severus offered as a compromise.
Lily's expression changed from anger to a mild pout. "I suppose I wouldn't worry quite as much with Remus and Filius accompanying you."
"Good. I will floo them immediately and ask them," Severus replied. Fortunately, both were available and agreed to meet him in his quarters at 9:00 on Saturday morning.
"You do remember it's the date of our bike club ride?" Harry asked.
"We will be back well before your bike club ride," Severus assured Harry.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
James was still upset about his argument with Dumbledore. He hadn't met to accuse him of failing to check on Harry, but his mouth had ran ahead of his brain sometimes. He looked over at Sirius who was reading the sport's page of the Prophet. "How come you never checked on Harry either, Padfoot?"
Sirius put down his paper. "Because Dumbledore told us he was fine and he didn't want a lot of people hanging around the Dursley's house attracting unnecessary and unwanted attention. Besides that we were really busy rounding up the Death Eaters." Sirius chuckled. "Some of them were so demoralized by You-Know-Who's death, they were practically giving themselves up."
James shook his head. "Petunia and that walrus she married never did have any sense of humor. They were probably still mad at us for putting that spell on their wedding cake so that it blew up all over them and she took it out on Harry."
Sirius laughed loudly. "That was a good one, Prongs! I'll never forget the expressions on their cake covered faces! It was even worth being hung upside down by Lily for half the day!"
"I still can't figure out why we couldn't get back down from that spell," James complained. "We knew the counter-spell, but it didn't work."
"Snivellus must have changed the counter-spell and only told Lily what it was."
"Probably," James agreed. "She never would stop writing to that dark prick even though I forbade her to."
"Well, you'll have to make sure you lay down the law to Amber that what you say goes no matter how she feels about it," Sirius replied picking up the paper again.
"You're right, Padfoot. I didn't do that with Lily and look where it got me."
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Severus had invited Filius and Remus over for breakfast on Saturday morning. He made sour cream blueberry pancakes, hash browns, bacon and scrambled eggs containing different herbs.
"These pancakes are superb!" Filius exclaimed. "May I have your recipe?"
Yes, it is actually a recipe I found in a cookbook my mother had when I was cleaning out my house in Manchester. Those older cookbooks have a lot of good recipes in them."
Lily nodded. "My mum had a Betty Crocker cookbook. I think every bride who got married during the forties, fifties, and sixties got one either as a shower or wedding gift."
"I used Aunt Petunia's copy a lot," Harry added. "It did have some really good recipes although Aunt Petunia preferred I use the Julia Child cookbook."
Remus frowned at Harry's revelation. Petunia should have been the one doing the cooking, not Harry. What on earth were the Dursley's thinking forcing an eleven year-old boy to cook their meals for them?
Once breakfast was finished. Severus, Filius, and Remus flooed to Hogsmeade and then apparated to Little Hangleton appearing right in the middle of a grave yard.
"Whoa!" Remus exclaimed as he noticed the statue guarding the Riddle gravesite. It was of an angel holding a very large scythe over its head. "Really creepy!" Remus remarked.
"Indeed," Severus replied.
"And that wrecked house we can see down the road is the beginning of the story, eh?" Filius asked.
Severus nodded. "Yes, that's where the Gaunts lived. Riddle number two's mother, grandfather, and uncle."
They walked towards the front door, their wands at ready. Once they entered, Severus whispered, "The libraries in these old houses is usually on the first floor, but some can be located on the second floor."
"I can't say this house doesn't give me the heebie-jeebies," Remus whispered.
"I'm not feeling really comfortable here either," Filius admitted.
Fortunately Severus was able to locate the first floor library quickly. He took out the paper that he'd written the titles of Salazar's missing books on and scanned the shelves. He quickly found all of the books on his list. "I have got all of Lord Slytherin's missing books." He shrank them and put them in his pocket.
"What about all these other books?" Remus asked. "They might be dangerous."
"They could be," Severus agreed. "I suspect You-Know-Who may have "borrowed" many books from the libraries of the Death Eaters he stayed with. I will floo Auror Scrimgeour and have him send out a couple of Aurors to pack them all up."
Filius chuckled suddenly as he pulled a book off the shelf. "It looks as if somebody was fond of teenage romance books. You don't suppose it was You-Know-Who's father?"
"More likely Mrs. Riddle," Remus said sympathetically.
They went outside and disapparated to Hogsmeade and flooed back to Severus' quarters where he immediately flooed Rufus Scrimgeour and told him about the books in the library. "I do not know what they may contain, but the probably should not be left there for somebody to stumble across. However, if there are any potion books, please allow me to look through them before you destroy them."
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