Disclaimer: The wonderful Harry Potter world and characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

This is my first fic and I am not a native English speaker, so if you spot some mistakes please tell.

I want to thank DementedDreameater for beta-reading this chapter, without her, this would be a lot worse

Two Introverted Souls..

AWKWARD INTRODUCTIONS:

As he was walking towards the manor, Snape could see only a small group of people was already there. This satisfied and troubled him in equal parts. He didn't want to be the last one, but arriving too soon meant he would have to socialize with the people at the entrance door. He searched for a friendly face and was relieved when he saw Lucius Malfoy. Severus headed towards him.

"Good evening."

"I hope it will be, Severus. Mission assignments are always a challenge. Not that I have the slightest doubt I will obtain one according to my category, but you know my expectations are high."

"I don't think you need to worry. The Dark Lord is surely aware of your expectations, and of your skills as well. "

Severus had barely spoken these words when a tall good-looking wizard approached them.

"Good evening, Lucius. Have you heard the news? Evan Rosier has been caught by the Aurors."

"Evening, Marius. Yes, I know. I guess today's mission assignments will have something to do with that. Now, let me introduce you to Severus Snape."

"Ah, we already met. Hello, Snape. "

To this, Severus just gave a short nod. He and Marius Wilkes knew each other for a long time; after all, Wilkes was a Slytherin student a few years older than him. However, he just didn't bother to salute the half-blood bookworm, thought Snape bitterly while noticing Wilkes's perfect brunette hair, or the quality of his robes. He glanced around trying to dissipate his anger; it would not do to allow Marius to upset him. Once he demonstrated his superior skills in front of his master, he would be rewarded and then the entire crowd that was now concentrating in the hall of the manor would have to line up just for a single word with him.

The tone of the conversation suddenly lowered and this told Severus that the Dark Lord had arrived. He bowed his head in respect and saw, in the corner of his eye, Lucius and the other DeathEaters do the same. Voldemort advanced to the entrance door, spoke a word in Parseltongue and it opened. But as Severus could see, his master was not alone. A tall young woman tailed him. While they proceed to the living room, Snape could study the woman in more detail. She was wearing a plait surrounding her head, a white blouse and over it, a simple red dress that marked no waist or breast. Even he could tell that she was out of fashion. She sat in a corner of the room, far from where the DeathEaters were gathered.

When people hurried to be as near to Voldemort as possible or to assemble with their friends, Severus was inevitably left in a corner. He barely managed to stay near Avery and Mulciber, who had arrived later. Malfoy was, of course, surrounded by a multitude who sought his approval nearly as much as they sought Voldermort's himself. While he heard Mulciber and Avery excitedly whispering about the upcoming task delivery, he looked around. He was the nearest person to the tall girl. She seemed tense and was sitting very stiff. She caught his eye and leaned forward to speak.

"Excuse me. Do you know the purpose of this meeting? My Master only said he was going to tell me today what I can do for him."

Severus frowned when he heard her. She had a very strong eastern European accent; it was difficult to understand what she was saying. He looked at her and focused on her outfit. She must be Russian. And she didn't know why she was there? Well, if she didn't know, then she was not worthy of the place she occupied and of course it was not his job to instruct her.

"Oh, to organize a fox-hunting. That's what British like to do during social events" he said, expecting her to understand she had been totally dismissed and had better not ask again. Amused he saw her frowning, as if she was wondering about the fox-game. But surely no one could be that stupid to take his snark for truth.

In that moment Voldemort spoke and Severus focused his attention fully on him.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. As you very well know, we have a lot of things to discuss today. But first of all, let's hear the latest reports. Nott, how are things in St. Mungo's?"

"I am afraid that we can't count on reaching the Auror, Mad-eye Moody, my Lord. He was not taken to the hospital, but cared for in another location. This leads me to think they suspect someone in the staff after the last inexplicable deaths. The other blood traitors of the list, however, have already been dealt with and are expected to die sooner or later within a period of two weeks." said Nott, and from his expression, it was easy to tell he wanted Voldemort to be happy with the later news and to forget the notice about Moody.

"Very well, but make sure you are subtle enough. We don't want you to get caught. Finishing off the injured or the non-followers is too important to mess up. Regarding Moody, we will address that issue later."

The meeting went on with more reports, some rewards and some punishments. The new missions were also assigned. Malfoy was in command for the very important attack on the radio stations. Now, the Dark Lord was instructing Avery on how to defraud Gringotts in order to obtain gold for the support of their organization when there was a whispering. It came from Severus' right and he saw it was the Russian woman talking to Voldemort, and she was doing it in Parseltongue. The Dark Lord frowned, eyed the woman and then half-smirked.

"Well, well. Here we have something curious, you see. Not all of us have a clear idea as to why we are here today. This lady by my side, for example, thinks we are here for a fox-hunting game."

This was received first with astonished silence and then with laughs that grew louder in just moments. The only one who was not laughing was Severus, who wondered how long it would take before that girl told Voldemort that he was the author of the joke. He gulped and his protruding Adam's apple moved up and down his throat.

"Tell me dear," asked Voldemort now in English. "Who told you such a thing?"

Severus looked down at the floor. He felt cold sweat in his armpits.

"Him." The woman answered pointing at Severus.

"Severus, our smart speaker." Frozen silence followed his words and Severus forced himself to raise his eyes from the floor. "Did you think I forgot to give you a mission? Well I had one in mind for you. But your clever interaction with my assistant has given me a new idea. Let me introduce her: Yekaterina Bulanova here is an extremely talented witch I recruited and trained for our cause. She will help us with the problem of Moody's location as well as with the rescue of Evan Rosier. Her exceptional talents will get the job done quite successfully, I expect. However, she faces a disadvantage: she is a foreigner and so she will need a local guide. That will be your honour, Severus."

"Now Katia," Voldemort continued. "Let me introduce to you Severus Snape. No one knows as many dark spells as him and no one can brew a potion better than him."

Severus could not believe the Dark Lord had complimented him that way, especially not after his misbehaviour. He started to blush.

"Something," Voldemort continued. "That compensates for his less than recommendable blood status."

It was like a cold shower for Snape. The crowd laughed and he blushed deeper, but not with delight this time.

"Katia, you may want to go with him to arrange the preparations for your mission, which is of course finding the location of Mad-eye Moody and Evan Rosier. You are in charge of the mission. Make sure it is a success."

Snape felt his legs trembling as he stood up from his chair. He looked straight at the wall and followed Katia, who seemed to be as tall as himself. The laughs still continued when they reached the door.

"Do you know how to move around this country well without drawing attention?" asked Katia in a soft, polite whisper when they were near the door. At the same time, she stopped so Severus could walk by her side.

But Voldemort heard her.

"Oh, don't worry Katia, he can show you even the lowest district. After all, he was raised in one."

Laughers were louder than ever when they finally closed the door behind them.

END OF CHAPTER 1.

Thank you very much for reading. Reviews are welcome.

Please, I would like you to tell me the following: Are the characters in canon? Is the OC, Katia, believable? Is she likeable? Is the pace fast enough?