'But he's — ' Sirius swept a hand towards Dumbledore's prone form, swallowed hard, and said, 'He's in stasis. Not responsive.'
Snape gave Sirius a hooded glare. 'Perhaps if you hadn't always been skiving off in Potions class,' he said coldly, 'you'd have a better idea why I'm here.'
Sirius left eye twitched again, more violently this time. 'Useless smug git,' he exploded, glaring at Snape.
'I'd prefer that you dispense with the name-calling,' said Snape, glaring right back. 'It serves no purpose.'
'And I'd prefer that you choke to death on a garden hose, but we don't always get what we want, do we?' said Sirius, ignoring Lupin's quelling glances.
'Sirius, now's not the time,' said, quietly.
'Oh, shut up, Moony,' snapped Sirius, narrowing his eyes in exasperation.
'Moony?' Snape's eyebrows shot up. 'You two still call each other by your childhood pet names? How adorable, in a sad, arrested-development sort of way.'
Lupin stepped quickly to Sirius' side and put his hand firmly on his friend's shoulder. This was partly to show his support and partly to remind Sirius that, if necessary, Lupin could hold him down and forcibly prevent him from jumping at Snape. In fifth year at school, Lupin had once thrown Sirius across the Gryffindor common room.
It was easy even for his friends to forget how strong he actually was.
'Professor Snape,' said Lupin calmly. 'We're all here for the same reason. Let's try to keep this from getting personal.'
Snape ignored him, busy finishing doing whatever it was he had been doing with his mortar and pestle. He turned around now, holding in one hand a flask half-full of liquid, and in another a small clear bag of blackish powder. He proceeded to pour the powder into the liquid, shook the flask several times, and glanced up. 'Very well, Lupin,' he began -
And was interrupted by a sudden surge of noise from the corridor outside the room. Lupin, whose hearing was quite sensitive, could distinguish a jumble of voices all speaking at once.
'The reporters,' said Sirius tersely.
'I'll go see what's going on,' said the doctor, who looked thrilled at an excuse to get away from Snape and Sirius for a bit. He scampered off, still clutching his clipboard.
Snape took no notice of his departure. He had rolled his voluminous sleeves back, and was bending over Dumbledore, holding the flask.
He leaned forward and put on hand on Dumbledore's shoulder — a curiously gentle gesture, Lupin thought — then proceeded to pour the contents of the flask into Dumbledore's unresponsive mouth.
Sirius' shoulder jerked under Lupin's grip. 'What are you doing?'
Snape sat back, clutching the now-empty flask and staring at Dumbledore's limp form with wide, glittering eyes. 'Just wait.'
Lupin stared. For a moment, there was nothing — then he saw the tension in Snape's shoulders suddenly sharpen, heard Sirius at his side give a little gasp of astonishment. For Dumbledore's body was moving, his hands tightening into fists, his back arching up. A gray plume of smoke suddenly burst from his chest and rose upwards, trailing threads of silvery dust. Instead of dissipating, the smoke began to coalesce and harden. It began to sculpt itself into a shape.
Lupin saw eyes forming, a nose, a mouth, a stream of silvery hair, a pair of half-transparent spectacles. The ghostly form of Dumbledore's head, his shoulders. It rotated slightly to face them and Lupin, speechless with astonishment, saw the half-transparent mouth smile.
'Severus,' said Dumbledore, looking down at him. 'Sirius. And Remus. You are all here.'
Snape glanced sideways at Sirius and Lupin's poleaxed expressions, and a faint smile flickered at the corner of his mouth. 'We're here, Headmaster. But we haven't got much time.'
Dumbledore inclined his head. 'Then let us begin.'
Narcissa put a hand to her mouth. 'Your parents,' she said, turning to Ron and Ginny, who both looked as if they'd been shocked with electricity. Hermione could have sworn that Ron's hair was standing up with alarm. 'Mum and Dad?' breathed Ginny, looking both startled and horrified. 'Oh, I bet they're just going to murder us.'
Anton the ghost looked worried.
'There will be no murders here,' said Narcissa briskly, and made a shooing gesture towards Anton. 'Anton, go and tell them we're on our way. Ron and Ginny, come with me. Harry and Hermione, you wait here.'
'No,' said Harry, quickly, 'I'll come with — '
'You'll wait here,' said Narcissa in a voice like iron bands. Looking extremely imperious, she swept her robes around her, and started out of the room, shooing Ron and Ginny before her like ducklings.
As she passed Hermione, she reached a hand out from one voluminous sleeve and pressed something into Hermione's grasp.
Hermione looked up in quick surprise, saw Narcissa give her a half-smile, and then she and the Weasleys were gone and Hermione was alone in the room with Harry.
She looked up at him and saw that he was standing with one hand on the desk. He seemed to be carefully examining one of the books she and Ron had been reading earlier, although she did note that he was holding it upside-down. Not sure whether she should speak to him or not, she glanced down at the object Narcissa had put into her hand.
It was the letter from Snape.
Hermione sat down hurriedly in a nearby armchair and stared at it.
It was a roll of heavy cream-colored paper, tied with a green and silver ribbon. 'Harry,' she croaked, and held it up where he could see it. 'It's the letter from Snape — about the potion.'
Harry put the book down with a clunk but didn't move. 'So open it,' he said, expressionless.
Slowly, she pulled the ribbon free and unrolled the letter, scanning the page filled with Snape's familiar,
