The Dark Force Defence League Chronicles: The Fagaras Amulet
Chapter 1
The Dark Force Defence League
Severus Snape sat alone in the darkened living room in his home on Spinner's End. He strained his eyes against the dim candlelight as he tried to focus his attention on his book. His last week in the classroom leading to the break had been a frustrating one, the students annoying him more so than usual as their excitement over the upcoming holidays kept them off task. After yelling at class after class of students all week, Severus had eventually just flopped back in his chair behind the desk during his final class of the term and found a book to read. Not that the kids had even noticed, he thought grumpily. He was happy as soon as the term was officially over and he could leave Hogwarts for some peace and quiet.
This evening he was spending his time doing just what pleased him the most; reading a good book and enjoying a bottle of his favourite elf-wine. Severus took another sip of wine from his goblet and turned the page in his book; an encyclopaedia of plants most commonly used in healing potions that he had already read several times before.
A noise at the window made him look; he saw two bright yellow eyes peering in the window back at him. Severus stood and approached cautiously; a large pure black owl hooted and pecked the window with its beak.
"What do you want?" Severus asked the bird.
The owl tapped again impatiently. Severus opened the front door and stepped out; approaching the owl on the windowsill he noticed a small scroll tied to its leg. Severus frowned; it was very rare that he received owls from anyone, let alone at his private home and so late in the evening. Who could have known that he had only arrived from Hogwarts that afternoon?
He untied the scroll from the owl and it pecked gently at Severus' hand expecting a treat.
"I have nothing for you," he said.
The owl pecked him again and when it realised no treats would be forthcoming, it bit him.
"Damn it!" Severus swore swatting at the bird. "Get out of here, blasted thing."
The owl took off and Severus went back inside, waiting until he was seated again before unravelling the scroll. The small piece of parchment had a simple black emblem on the top that Severus didn't recognise; he thought it resembled the head of a griffin holding a sword in its mouth. The note inside was simple;
The Leaky Cauldron
Saturday 19th
8 pm
Tomorrow, Severus thought. He couldn't believe the nerve of someone to assume such a note would inspire his compliance. The author hadn't even given their name. Severus decided to forget about it, tossing the parchment aside and returning to his book.
On Saturday evening Severus had not forgotten about the parchment and the secretive message. In fact it had been on his mind ever since the arrival of the owl. At ten minutes to eight he paced up and down in his lounge room, stopping every few seconds to glance over at the parchment lying on the table. He looked at the time and cursed himself for letting his curiosity get the better of him. Severus pulled on his travelling cloak and stepped outside, determined to go to the Leaky Cauldron if only to tell the mysterious correspondent what he thought of their secretive methods.
When he reached the tavern it was just striking eight. He pushed his way through the doors and quickly scanned the room, it was busier than he had expected with small groups of people enjoying quiet drinks together in the dimply lit bar. One occupant in particular caught Severus' attention, a figure in a hooded black cape sat alone at a corner table clutching onto a goblet. He stepped closer to the man and noticed a large silver medallion around his neck of the head of a griffin with a sword it its mouth. Severus took a seat across the table from him.
"You have summoned me here so I hope for your sake that you have something important to say, I hate people wasting my time."
The hooded man raised his goblet slowly and drank from it.
"You have nerve indeed to assume that I would have come at all," Severus continued.
"You're here aren't you?"
The man spoke slowly, deliberately, and had a deep voice.
"So what do you want?"
"I have a proposal for you Severus Snape, a mission if you like."
Severus raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of mission? I do not even know who you are, what makes you think I will agree to any mission?"
"Whether you agree or not is incidental," the man growled. "The task will be achieved regardless of your involvement or not, you are not the only candidate."
"What is this task?"
"I cannot tell you what it is unless you first agree to it; you must understand that there must be a degree of discretion involved."
Severus looked the man up and down through narrow eyes. Beneath the hood his features were in shadow, barely able to be made out. The flickering candles on the table allowed Severus to see only the dark eyes and pale skin of the man across from him.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"That is both incidental and irrelevant. You were chosen to complete this mission based on your unique skills and talents but if you are not interested I will bid you farewell now and be on my way."
The hooded man pushed back his chair and stood up.
"Wait," Severus said quietly. "I have not necessarily said no. Not yet at anyway."
The man sat back down and took a long drink.
"Do you have a name?"
"You can call me Apafi," he said. "Have you heard of the Dark Force Defence League?"
"The Dark… that organisation is just a legend, a fantasy group."
"And what makes you believe that?"
"Well," Severus said. "It is not a real group is it? I have never met nor even heard about any members."
"Just because the Defence League does not have a headquarters or regular meetings or a secret handshake does not mean it doesn't exist," Apafi said impatiently. "We purely deal with issues on a case by case basis so to speak. A matter arises and the member with the best chance to succeed is chosen to complete the mission."
"Are you telling me it is real?"
"Of course it is!"
"But why are you here seeking me, I am not a member."
"Consider this your invitation."
Severus looked confused.
"I am not sure…"
"What's there to be unsure about?" Apafi asked. "Are you or are you not on the side of good? Don't you wish to see the world rid of all that is dark?"
Severus narrowed his eyes again and frowned at him.
"I assume that you would not have selected me for this mission if you doubted that."
Apafi nodded.
"Indeed Severus, indeed."
"So what do you need from me?"
"The Dark Force Defence League consists of a group of people who share a common interest, a desire if you will, to rid the world of dark wizards and objects. There is a particular item that someone is currently seeking, an item that you must find before they do."
"What is it?"
"The Fagaras Amulet, a talisman that when worn will enable a vampire to walk about freely in the sunlight. There is a clan in central Romania currently seeking the amulet; they plan to discover its secret so they can share it with other clans throughout Europe. As you can imagine such a thing could prove potentially devastating to the whole of humanity."
"Vampires?" Severus scoffed. "Why did you come to me for this mission? I have had no dealings with vampires before."
"I believed you would have more luck… fitting in than anyone else."
"Fitting in? I am not a vampire!" he shouted angrily and several people looked over at him in alarm.
"I know that you are not," Apafi said calmly. "I was merely suggesting that this particular mission requires someone discrete, someone who is able to investigate quietly without drawing attention to themself. I believed you to be such a man."
"Indeed," Severus said still scowling.
"So, do you accept the mission?"
Severus looked at Apafi long and hard. He was still dubious that the League was real; this stranger could even be sending him into a trap. However, he thought, the idea of undertaking a secret mission aroused his curiosity.
"How long do I have to think about it?" he asked.
"You must make your decision now," Apafi said flatly. "If you agree, I tell you the details of the task, if you don't then I find someone else. I have had my eye on Sirius Black; I expect that he would be more than willing…"
"Black?" Severus laughed. "Your standards cannot be too high if you would consider him for something so supposedly important."
Apafi shrugged.
"If you are not interested…"
"I will do it," Severus interrupted. "When will I be required to leave?"
"Immediately," Apafi said. "The clan draws nearer to discovering the amulet with each passing day. You must travel to Romania and find it yourself before they do."
Apafi finished the rest of his drink and wiped his mouth with his long black sleeve. He stood up and wished Severus luck.
"You will find the clan in Fagaras, Romania. I cannot tell you any more than this."
Severus watched him exit the tavern, limping heavily on his right leg. He wondered only briefly if he had done the right thing in accepting the mission. The least he thought he could do would be to research the amulet and see if there were any decent leads worth following.
He stood up from the table and puffed out his chest importantly as he scanned the crowd again. Useless fools, he thought. You can all sit here getting drunk while I make the world a safer place for your children.
Severus left the bar and headed home, feeling decidedly more optimistic than when he arrived. He was almost excited to begin his mission.
A/N
And there you have it, the scene is set for an exciting League adventure...
I got this chapter out a lot faster than I intended - it seems my break between stories was a little too much to bear. I don't expect to be updating too frequently on this so if you will at least bear with me patiently we should pull out a fun & interesting advesture for Severus here.
Thanks for reading & remember that I always love to get your reviews!