TBAY: DRIBBLE SHADOWS (long)

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 128778

With a few margaritas under her belt, Jen mused about SSSusan's new 
addition to the slightly beat-up DRIBBLE life-preserver, a small 
gray object carelessly stored in a ramshackle tool shed. No one 
remembered to take it with them once when the denizens of Theory Bay 
left for an extended vacation. So far no one had returned. Until 
today. 

"That life-preserver kept Grannybat afloat for quite a few days once 
upon a time," Jen commented to SSSusan idly, "when Theory Bay was 
hopping with activity and George served up a mean fire-whisky at the 
bar. They said no one would ever return here! Especially not with 
Hurricane Jo on the horizon. But here you are SSSusan, bravely 
fighting the winds to bring DRIBBLE SHADOWS to the Bay--here's a 
toast to you!" 

The two clink glasses in a companionable way and SSSusan, barely 
able to contain herself, bounces on the creaky beach chair. "WELL, 
enough reminiscing Jen, What do you THINK?! About DRIBBLE SHADOWS?

"Oh, sorry, got lost in thought there. What did you put in these 
margaritas anyway? I'm feeling a bit....well, erm, anyway...It's 
*perfect* is what I think. A perfect solution to several things 
bothering me for quite awhile now."

"You mean something new, something other than what I proposed last 
night?" SSSusan waited expectantly.

Jen spied several other figures lounging in the Bay at the moment, 
unheard of this time of year. Alla sat under a beach umbrella with 
the word SNAPE emblazoned across the top, and a big "X" marking 
through his name. Alla! She never did care for the Potions Master, 
once the most prolific theory subject in this part of the world.

Jen shaded her eyes and looked in the distance. "Is that Neri too?!? 
What's he doing over there, hopping on one foot and trying to wipe 
blood off the other one?"

"Well, erm," SSSusan evaded Jen's eyes, "he must have had an 
accident. There are razors out there you know, left over from that 
Friar who wandered around here. Maybe Neri, you know, stepped on 
one." Jen looked curiously at her friend. "SSSUSAN! Did *you* do 
that?!?

"Well he called my theory *inelegant*, the nerve of some people! 
Here, I'll give him a margarita for gosh sakes, don't get all snarky 
on me!"

SSSusan called Neri over and he accepted the drink gratefully, 
mumbling about the need for a fire-whiskey at the moment to use as 
aniseptic.

"You know Neri," Jen remarked casually, "Snape's potion could still 
have been used for the protection during the missing-24 hours and 
not be redundant. Haven't you ever wondered exactly how Harry is 
protected at Hogwarts?"

Neri surveyed Jen suspiciously. Everyone knew the shiny canon that 
Harry was safest at Hogwarts because he was under the watchful eye 
of Albus Dumbledore, and due to all the extra precautions there.

"I find it a bit odd myself, that the one place Harry is safest 
besides the blood protection of Privet Drive, is at Hogwarts. 
Surrounded by the three people who would be able to administer the 
dragon-blood ointment to Harry at verious intervals throughout the 
year. Don't you?"

While Neri pondered the possibility, SSSusan suddenly sat straight 
up in her chair. "Madam Pomfrey!" she said excitedly, "how many 
times every year does Harry visit the hospital wing and even sleep 
there! A perfect place to administer the ointment!"  She and Jen 
click glasses again, while Neri frowns at this new information. Both 
suspect an objection might be on the way, the razor so recently 
uppermost in his mind.

Jen swung her legs over the side of the lounge chair, "excuse me, 
there's something I need to tell Alla. About Snape. You see, it's so 
perfect! Snape risked his life to deliver the carefully prepared 
ointment to James and Lily at Godric's Hollow on that fateful 
afternoon, and was met at the door by James and possibly Sirius 
Black. They chided him! They sneered at him! Here Snape was risking 
his life to tell them the Dark Lord was on the way and the ointment 
would protect baby Harry, and SLAM! Right in his face. Snape kept 
the ointment and it was administered during the missing 24-hours. 
Viola!"

"It explains what Snape told Harry in POA: 'Like father, like son 
Potter! I have just saved your neck and you should be thanking me on 
bended knee!...You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to 
believe you might be mistaken in Black--'"

Jen beamed at the assembled group, happy to feel the water tickling 
her toes in Theory Bay once again and certain rain would fall on her 
speculations soon, as often happened when you dabbled in the Bay.