Faith .|. H. J. POTTER ✔

Chapter one-hundred-forty-seven

Faith, Harry and Luna hurried after Professor McGonagall's quick steps. Three Patronus cats from Professor McGonagall's wand split off one by one to find the other three Heads of House. They had already descended two floors since they left the Carrows in the Ravenclaw common room. Harry's scar was still prickling and by the soft squeezes that Harry felt in his hand, he knew Faith felt it too. It was irritating to have that feeling constantly but he only had to think of Faith's blazing looks or her comforting gaze and he'd forget about it.

When they descended another flight of stairs, Faith started to notice another pair of footsteps from behind them. She noticed that Harry heard it too because he was already fumbling with the pouch around his neck to get the Marauder's Map but Professor McGonagall halted in her tracks and held out her wand before Harry could do so.

"Who's there?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"It is I," The voice of the man they despised so much sounded from a suit of armour and the man the voice belonged to stepped from behind it. It was Severus Snape, the murderer, the bully, the Death Eater.

He was not wearing night robes, instead dressed in his regular black cloak, even though it was late at night.

"Where are the Carrows?" Snape asked slowly.

"Wherever you told them to be, I expect, Severus," Professor McGonagall said, whilst the three teenagers shuffled as quietly as they could backwards so they wouldn't stand between McGonagall and Snape. Snape couldn't see them but he was wearily staring at the air beside McGonagall, as if he knew they were under the Cloak somewhere.

"I was under the impression," Snape went on, "that Alecto had apprehended an intruder,"

"Really?" Professor McGonagall asked. "And what gave you that impression?"

Faith saw how Snape's eyes flickered to his left forearm on which the Dark Mark was branded upon. 

"Oh, but naturally," Professor McGonagall said. "You Death Eaters have your own private means of communication, I forgot,"

Harry noticed how Faith was slowly getting riled up with anger, just by seeing Snape's face. Harry knew it wouldn't take long before Faith would emerge from the Invisibility Cloak and curse Snape straight to his face. He took her hand again and gave it a squeeze as he still backed away against the wall with her and Luna.

"I did not know that it was your night to patrol the corridors, Minerva," Snape mentioned coolly.

"You have some objection?"

"I wonder what could have brought you out of your bed at this late hour?"

"I thought I heard a disturbance," Professor McGonagall said.

"Really? But all seems calm,"

Professor McGonagall didn't respond. Her eyes followed Snape as he took a step closer. 

"Have you seen Harry Potter or Faith Diggory, Minerva? Because if you have, I must insist -"

Faith jerked at the sudden quickness of Professor McGonagall's attack. Her wand slashed through the air, and Faith thought it hit Snape but quickly realised that he had produced a Shield Charm within seconds. Professor McGonagall was swift to react again, waving her wand at one of the torches and shooting a tongue of flames at Snape but that attack didn't work either because the flames turned into a solid serpent that Professor McGonagall blasted to smoke and reformed into a dozen silver daggers, shotting through the air. Snape avoided them by hiding behind a suit of armour.

"Minerva!" The squeaky voice of Flitwick suddenly sounded. 

Faith and Harry, who were shielding Luna from the spells that flew around, leapt around and saw the Professors Flitwick and Sprout hurrying along the corridor, with a panting Professor Slughorn behind them.