Severus secured his wand inside his cloak and prepared for battle. Not that he'd been informed of the mission, or invited to join the attack. But he was done hiding in the dungeons.
He crept up the narrow stairwell and through the empty opulence of the main floor. Voices filtered in from the entrance hall, an indistinct murmur of restlessness and preparation. Severus halted out of sight and listened, judging the moment. He knew most of them now and could pick out individuals from the sea of voices. A few were classmates, and a month spent analyzing and planning had given him the rest. Malfoy stood far away, his voice slick and oily with the assurance of command. Closer, Severus heard the dangerous lilt of Bellatrix Lestrange, distinct among so many men, and her husband a low counterpoint almost lost beneath her voice. Wherever one brother was, the other would not be far behind. Severus waited, listening for Rabastan's laugh, and relaxed when it came. He would know that low barking laugh anywhere.
A new voice spoke then, strong and leisurely. The flow of voices ebbed, adjusting to the change, and Severus slipped into the room. He didn't recognize the newcomer but he knew the sound of authority, and it was all the distraction he needed. He only needed Malfoy's attention focused elsewhere; once he'd anchored himself within the group he'd be fine.
Regulus was caught in profile, turned away. Severus faltered and the gulf stretched wide. The fake smile was held stubbornly in place, but the muscles were stretched too tight. The performance fooled Evan Rosier, who was nodding along agreeably, but Severus knew better. He could read Regulus as easily as he could read his own handwriting.
"Severus."
The hiss of his name jarred him and he found Rabastan Lestrange grinning in his direction. He went to him, relief trickling through him at the distraction.
Rabastan offered his hand, and Severus shook it, smiling. He pivoted to face him, putting Regulus at his back. He didn't want to see.
"I heard you'd come to join the party, but I was starting to think it was just talk." At his brother's glare, Rabastan lowered his voice a fraction. "Where've you been hiding?"
"It seems my potions skills are invaluable." He didn't bother to keep the sarcasm from his voice, not for Rabastan. "They've kept me locked up in the basements, brewing."
Rabastan snorted, provoking his brother's disapproval, but no one else seemed to care. The normal buzz of conversation had resumed, and their voices were lost in the clamor.
"So we've heard," a soft voice added, as Senara drifted over to join them, standing possessively close to Rabastan.
"Why, Ms. Wilkes," Severus said, grinning. "How unexpected." Though he should've known she'd follow Rabastan.
Senara stuck her tongue out at him: a distinctly unladylike gesture. But her smile faded quickly, as she pulled him close and gripped his arm. "I can't believe you're here."
Severus made a vague noise, disconcerted. She was full blood, a third generation Slytherin, but her grandfather had been a mudblood. Not as far from the ideal as he was, but far enough.
"You never believed," she said. "And you didn't have anyone to follow in."
Severus froze, acutely aware of Regulus. Her eyes went wide at his expression, and her gaze slid past him, to Regulus. "No, I meant..." Embarrassment colored her cheeks pink. She looked to Rabastan for help, but he was pretending not to listen, looking anywhere but at them.
"Just doing my part," Severus answered, and changed the subject before she could try again. "What's the mission?"
Rabastan pounced on the question, eager to move to less awkward topics. "Lion hunting."
"Potter and Black?" He didn't hide the eagerness in his voice, and Rabastan's answering smirk confirmed it. All of them held a grudge against the Gryffindors, but none more than Severus. "Excellent."
Senara rolled her eyes at the exchange, but indulged him with an explanation. "The Order knows too much, and Lucius thinks they're behind it."
At that moment, Malfoy cleared his throat, and the muttering crowd fell into an expectant silence before Severus could find out more. Once everyone was focused on him, Malfoy pulled a mask from his cloak. There was a subtle shifting in the hall. Those in power donned the masks held casually till now, and the stragglers hurried to follow suit. Rabastan fell into place at his brother's side, Senara at his side.
Malfoy surveyed the group, his icy blue eyes the only pair not covered by weathered silver. When he found Severus, his lips thinned into an angry slash.
"Snape."
Severus gave him no reaction. His presence here was enough to risk Azkaban. That gave him the right to be here.
"I'm afraid there must have been a mistake." Malfoy smiled, an oily expression of contempt. "My apologies." He inclined his head slightly to Severus, a gesture that would have been courteous if it was genuine. "We don't need any... 'potions' today."
"I wasn't summoned."
Malfoy turned to his companion in feigned surprise. He pursed his lips, an actor's stage expression of innocence, and asked Severus, "Surely you're not lost?"
Someone snickered, and Severus' face burned with heat.
"I came to join the mission."
"How unfortunate." He shook his head sadly, and Severus longed to curse the fake smile from his face. "I don't believe we have any use for you."
"It's fortunate, then, that I've brought not my potions kit, but my wand." He gave Malfoy a tight smile. He was not as practiced at fighting with words as Malfoy, but he could hold his own when needed. "I've come to fight."
"Indeed?" Malfoy's brows rose at this statement, a perfectly arched portrait of surprise and skepticism. He made an odd sound in his throat, as if considering. "I won't be responsible if you manage to get yourself killed."
Severus spoke in an undertone, so only those closest to him could hear. "And I won't be responsible if you manage to screw up the mission." There was the faintest tremor of amusement from someone, but he couldn't be sure who. Malfoy whirled back to face him, eyes narrowed. Severus stared at him blankly, and there was nothing Malfoy could do.
He dropped all pretense of courtesy then, turning his back on Severus as he spoke. "Fine. If you want to tag along, so be it. Do try not to hex anyone wearing a mask."
Malfoy didn't look at him again, but he had what he needed. A chance.
*/*
"Why'd they use a filthy muggle barrister?"
The question came from his right, though Severus couldn't see the speaker beneath the disillusionment charm. By the slow stupidity of the voice, as well as the unthinking vulgarity, he guessed it was Goyle, but wasn't sure. Severus ignored him, hoping he'd shut up if not given encouragement.
The hidden figure grumbled, carelessly stepping in a puddle and splashing rainwater on Severus as he moved. Severus scowled, stiffening as he let the dirty water soak into his cloak. Disillusionments were wasted on those stupid enough to reveal their presence in other ways, and he wouldn't let someone else's clumsiness reveal him as well.
"Don't see why we have to wait around outside." Goyle mumbled to himself, loud enough to reveal their presence if anyone was listening. "Oughta kill them all, so we can wait inside where it's nice and dry."
"Quiet!" he snapped. When Goyle let out a protest, Severus whispered back an explanation, blunting the s sounds to lessen the chance of being overheard. "It's too cramped to fight in there, and he may not come alone. Now shut up, before I silence you myself."
There was a snicker from one of the other hidden Death Eaters, and he could still hear Goyle's movement, but there were no further arguments.
Severus watched the somber sky, jaw clenched as he considered the clouds. A hard rain would make their disillusionments useless, pinging impacts outlining their shapes clearly, and the grey sky threatened more rain at any moment. Moisture trickled down the inside of his collar as the minutes ticked by. His impervioused cloak was no match for London drizzle, and he resigned himself to being wet.
A noise then, from high above, and he forgot his discomfort as he squinted up at the overcast sky. The growl of an engine filtered down to him, instantly recognizable, but he couldn't find the glint of metal in the grey of the clouds.
The engine choked into silence as the bike approached street level, but not soon enough to keep Severus from tracking it to the alleyway behind the building. He heard footsteps on the cobblestones, the noisy thud of heavy boots walking into their trap. A figure emerged from around the corner, and he recognized the black jacket with indecipherable Muggle symbols scratched into the leather. The collar was turned up against the weather, his head lowered. Black seemed smaller huddled like that, but Severus would recognize that jacket anywhere, after how obnoxiously proud of it he'd been all year.
Severus remained motionless, waiting for him to come into easy range, but his fellows were not as patient. A curse flew just as Black rounded the corner. The conflicting magic dissolved the caster's disillusionment spell, lighting the dull silver of Regulus' mask with an eerie green glow.
But the spell had been cast from too great a distance, and the jet of light hit the bricks too high. Debris rained down over Black, blasted loose by the impact, and he jumped sideways. He took off at a run as the next spell flew, bad luck making it miss its mark. Another disillusionment failed and Malfoy shivered into view. With a frustrated curse, Malfoy waved them after their prey.
The failed ambush had turned to a hunt.
Severus stumbled into a run, joining the chase. He kept up at first, but let the others surge ahead after the first few turns of the winding alleyway. He would not set himself apart by mindlessly following the pack.
The alley emptied out into a busy street, and Severus paused, considering, as it began to rain in earnest. Most of the Death Eaters were out of sight now, only the slowest and laziest of them still blundering down the sidewalk, pushing people out of their way as they ran. They left a trail of screaming muggles in their wake as they stunned whoever got in their way and ignored the rest.
Severus fell into step with the flow of pedestrian traffic. Malfoy had left him maskless as an insult, but it let him blend in where the others couldn't. His black cloak was unremarkable among the rain-slicked Mackintosh of the crowd, and he kept his head down. Each person he passed let their gaze slide past him as he slipped through the crowd.
A wailing child clung to his legs as he stepped over her mother's unconscious body. He looked down into her scrunched, blotchy face. Tears streamed down her cheeks, mixing with the rain, and he knew. This was wrong.
Black loved muggles. He wouldn't take Death Eaters into their midst and leave them to suffer the consequences. He wore their clothes and listened to their music. He'd enchanted one of their machines, rather than relying on floo powder and apparition like a normal wizard.
The bike. Severus swore and turned back. He careened into an old lady and sent her sprawling into the man next to her as he broke into a run. The bike was the other direction. Either Black would double back, or it'd been a ploy. A rational man would abandon the motorcycle, but they'd fought each other long enough for him to know reason and Sirius Black didn't have much to do with each other.
As he backtracked, he caught the glint of a silver mask from the corner of his eye. A straggler, too lazy or too out of shape to keep up with his fellows, he thought. He ignored them, starting back up the alley from which he'd come. But when he heard footsteps pounding after him, he looked back to find the robed man following.
"Severus," he called out, "Wait up."
Severus knew that voice, and broke into a run, all attempts at secrecy forgotten as he splashed through the rainwater. But he was no match for Regulus' quidditch-primed muscles. The ridiculousness of trying to outrun him made Severus abandon the attempt. He sagged forward, hands on his knees, as he tried to breathe.
"What is it?" Regulus asked, catching up easily.
Severus kept his head down. The puddles reflected back distorted images of Regulus, a chorus of accusing, resentful faces.
"Where are you going?" Regulus wasn't even breathing hard, a fact which irritated Severus further.
"The bike," he explained, when he managed enough air to speak. He risked a look, to judge the reaction. "He'd never leave the damned motorbike."
Regulus stared at him, his grey green eyes the color of the slanting rain. Then he nodded. "You're right."
Severus forced himself to start moving, much slower this time. It would do him no good to arrive at a fight panting, so he stayed at a fast walk this time. Regulus matched his pace instead of leaving him behind, but Severus could read nothing from his expression. There was no acknowledgement, but no hostility either.
They reached the barrister's office without another word. The bike was still there. Regulus started to speak, but Severus hushed him, knowing their enemy could be close. Instead, he signaled him to the other end of the alley, using the silent hand signs they'd used when sneaking out of the dormitories at night. Regulus grinned, recognizing the gesture, and Severus looked away, a lump forming in his throat. They took positions on either side of the bike, guarding different approaches.
Severus crouched behind a bin, listening. The patter of the rain drowned out the sound of approaching footsteps, and he heard nothing until the muffled exclamation from behind. He whirled to see Regulus slide to the ground, the wand falling from his limp hand as he slumped into the mud. There was movement in the shadows, a whisper of fabric drowned in the sound of rain. But he could not make out the attacker or the subtle edge of a charm effect, no matter how hard he stared.
"You're in my way, Snivellus," growled Black's voice. Severus cast a stinging hex in the direction of the sound, but there was nothing there to absorb the magic. He'd missed.
"Had to come stick that giant nose in my business, didn't you?" A zigzag of light flashed toward him, from the left, and Severus adjusted his aim. The telltale rebound of raindrops marked his target, and he called another spell, but Black's hit first. The stunner hit dead center, and darkness took him.