The Redemption of Severus Snape

Part 33

Summer break was coming to an end and Lindsay looked forward to the vibrant activity of Hogwarts. She'd just finished breakfast and was flipping through her favorite muggle newspaper. She set it aside and picked up the first issue of her subscription to The Daily Prophet. She read the most fascinating article on the second page.

An illegal hippogriff fighting ring has been apprehended by Ministry aurors, who were tipped off by an anonymous informant. The wizards responsible for the illegal activities were badly beaten, but were unable to identify their attackers. They claimed to have been attacked by several very large warlocks. Aurors believe the battered hippogriffs turned on their abusers. The rescued hippogriffs will be held in Ministry custody until healthy enough to join the herd at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The apprehended wizards will be held in custody while awaiting trial.

Next to the article was a picture of a hippogriff that shared the same unusual coloring as Stampy. Lindsay smiled broadly and set the paper down, "Good going, Hagrid."

Today's agenda would be house cleaning—the entire house. She had plans to spend a long weekend with a friend, and the mindless chore of cleaning would keep her busy until evening and keep her mind off of the fact that she was alone. She even tried some of the cleaning spells that Molly had taught her with a small measure of success.

Shortly before ten in the evening, Lindsay received a call from her friend canceling their plans. Her sister had gone into labor earlier than expected and needed a caregiver for a few days. Lindsay's friend lived near a lovely city park and impromptu music performances were common on weekends. Older musicians were usually performing in the early morning hours; typically jazz and folk. Younger musicians began gathering in the afternoon and the music became harder and more driven as evening approached. Lindsay decided to make day trips. She'd leave very early and take her violin. She wasn't particularly good at playing jazz and hoped to catch someone willing to give her lessons. The jazz players tended to favor Friday mornings.

Friday promised to be a good day. The sun was shining and there was no rain in the forecast. Lindsay spread a blanket on the grass and set her things down next to her. She and a few dozen others were waiting for the first musicians to begin playing. Younger people were lying on the grass and enjoying the sunshine, some had babies and toddlers with them. Older people had brought folding chairs and sun shades, a few had little dogs sitting on their laps or next to their chairs.

What happened next was so fast and so unexpected that even Lindsay's photographic memory had difficulty sorting it out. There was a blur of activity. Dark figures appeared out of thin air. People began to scatter even before the screaming started, some fell dead on the ground still clutching a beloved pet or an infant. Jets of differently colored light streaked through the air. A small group of people ran across Lindsay's blanket. She had just managed to put her hand on her violin case when her sight went black.

Lindsay woke to screaming. Her head was pounding. Her sight was blurry as she raised her hand to the back of her head. She wasn't sure what happened, but surmised that someone must've kicked her head while trying to run over her. She winced as her hand touched a large lump. The screaming stopped suddenly and fiddle playing began. The sound of soft whimpering to Lindsay's immediate left drew her attention, and she saw a short-haired woman not much older than herself standing next to her. The woman appeared to be standing, but something didn't look right to Lindsay's bleary eyes. On Lindsay's right stood a boy aged not more than fifteen or so. He was struggling frantically against leg restraints that Lindsay couldn't see.

Invisible restraints! Lindsay's heart began to race. Her head swam as her pulse quickened. She could move her arms, but not her legs. She blinked several times trying to clear her vision. She suddenly realized that looking down was actually looking up. They were being held in the air upside-down. She looked down, in the correct direction this time, and saw at least six people dressed in black and some wearing hoods. Her long hair hung over her face and obscured her vision a little, but that didn't matter once she glanced at the seventh person. She'd never seen him before, but she knew exactly who he was. His high-pitched nasal voice rang unopposed in the large darkly lit room.