The gray owl tapped on the window, and the latch clicked open as soon as Dumbledore pointed his wand at it. The bird dropped the envelope on Dumbledore's desk, flew over to Fawkes' perch for a moment: then was gone, back out the window. Dumbledore glimpsed the band on its leg that identified it as a Hogsmeade post owl.

He inspected the letter with caution, not touching it at first. These days, it didn't pay to be too careless. There was no name or address on the outer part of the letter. Dumbledore prodded it carefully with his wand, but nothing alarming happened. Satisfied, he picked it up and opened it with a silver letter opener.

It was written in small, cramped handwriting, with green ink, and signed S.S. Dumbledore's blue eyes narrowed. By all appearances, this note was from Severus Snape. They had corresponded once or twice before, as representatives of opposing forces, so to speak.

But this time, Snape had not signed the letter with the Dark Mark. What did that mean?

As for the prophecy ... Dumbledore sighed. He knew very well what young Snape had heard, and to whom he had brought the news. Aberforth had caught him and thrown him out of the Hog's Head, but by then the damage was already done. Dumbledore warned the Potters immediately and they'd gone into hiding, with Sirius Black as their Secret-Keeper. Everyone knew he and James Potter were best friends; Black was the ideal choice, and yet Dumbledore felt uneasy. He knew something wasn't right...

Dumbledore sincerely hoped they would all come through this dark time safely. They were all so young, with such bright hopes for the future ... He could see no end in sight to this war, but one step at a time ... his responsibility was to stand against Lord Voldemort for as long as he could, and seek to thwart Voldemort's Dark aims in any way possible.

Which brought him back to Snape's letter. What could Snape possibly want to say to Dumbledore himself about the prophecy? Maybe Snape was hoping to learn, by talking to him, what the rest of the prophecy had said? Dumbledore had no intention of giving that away. Those few missing sentences might turn out to be very important indeed. The Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... Dumbledore had only a vague inkling of what that might mean, but he knew it was essential to keep Lord Voldemort from hearing those words.

Still, Dumbledore decided, he might be well served by going to the hilltop and listening to whatever Snape had to say. Snape was a Death Eater, and he surely had a great deal of useful knowledge. Dumbledore had crossed wands with him several times since Snape had left school, and he knew the man was a talented Occlumens as well as a formidable duelist. Not the sort of wizard to give away information easily. But he might be teased into dropping a hint or two about Voldemort's current plans.

Could he be trusted, with that business about "your ears only"? Snape obviously wanted a one-on-one meeting. What were the chances he was trying to set up an ambush? Dumbledore wondered, gazing at the letter.

It seemed, from the tone and the handwriting, as though Snape was being honest. For a change. Dumbledore could fight off a fair helping of trouble anyway, so unless there was a trap much cleverer than he was expecting, it should be safe to go to this meeting. He would Apparate a distance away and approach carefully, of course, just in case.

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Snape Apparated to the hilltop ten minutes before midnight. It was a wild night; the tree branches rattled and the wind seemed to howl. He stared every which way into the darkness, waiting, half expecting a curse out of nowhere to strike him down.

What kind of a fool was he playing, putting himself out here in such a vulnerable position? His only hope was that Dumbledore was more "honorable" than a Death Eater would have been. He had to take the chance that Dumbledore would talk before fighting.

Foolish Dumbledore and his notions of fair play. He was true to his House, though any Hufflepuff would be proud of such behavior too. Their ideas about justice were a weakness that could be used against them. It was strange that, with their ridiculous self-imposed constraints, Dumbledore and his followers had lasted this long against the Dark Lord.

Was that a sound? A flicker of movement? Snape stared into the shadowy trees, but he was afraid to light his wand. No. There was nothing there.

Suddenly, a deafening roar exploded in his ears, and a bolt of white light blinded him. The ground suddenly seemed to jump up, knocking him down, and his right hand went numb. He shouted into the night: "Don't kill me!"

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