Anything you recognize, I do not own. Everything else is a figment of my imagination and I took the characters out to play for awhile.
Beta: Kateera
Chapter Four:
Severus awoke the next morning not feeling rested at all. He knew this idea was going to go downhill and he didn't want to be on the ride. Of course, swearing his allegiance to Albus meant that he couldn't very well go against his wishes. Grumbling, he got out of bed and dressed for the day. After a small breakfast he went to his personal potions lab and began work on the Elixir of Adulescentia as it was a complex potion and preparing it would give him time to think of how he would approach this task that Albus had set him on.
The train arrived that evening with the sniveling brats that he was supposed to teach this year. Every year it seemed as if they got smaller and more coddled. Where were the students who had brains and a backbone? That's all he ever wanted. Dare he say it, but another student like Granger would be a miracle. In all his years of teaching, she seemed to be the only one who had something in her head even if she did come off as an insufferable know it all. Severus sat at the head table, listened through Albus' speech, and even managed to eat with only a few sneers towards the students. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Albus stood up to give his final start of term notices.
"And finally, I ask that the following students remain behind as their fellow classmates head to their dorms. Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood. The rest of you are dismissed, enjoy your slumber, as your class schedules will be handed out tomorrow at breakfast."
There was a lot of hustle and bustle as the students left to get settled into their dorms. The few students asked to remain behind were staring around a little puzzled at each other. The teachers also took their leave and Severus was hoping to sneak out undetected but luck had never been Severus' friend.
"Severus, this is your team, I assume you know that and as such you should definitely be here for this meeting."
"Of course Albus, how foolish of me."
Albus turned toward the students in question and gave them a smile, that bright twinkle in his eye making everyone nervous. Before he could say anything Harry stepped forward.
"Professor Dumbledore, we've been worried sick about Hermione. Do you know what's happened? She won't respond to any of our letters. We were hoping we would see her here but unless you guys have her somewhere, it's like she's vanished."
"Very astute, Potter."
Dumbledore gave Severus a sideways glance before addressing the group.
"Actually Harry, that's why we've gathered you students here this evening. We have been told Hermione has been taken to a muggle boarding school and her parents are adamant that she not return to Hogwarts. For most students I would abide by their parents wishes in these matters, but Hermione is not like most students and I do feel her presence is definitely needed here."
"Then why not go get her? We can help, we would love to help, although I am not sure why Malfoy and Zabini are here."
"Well Harry, if it were that simple we would already have acted and tried to get her. As it is, her parents did a little research into the school they wanted to send Miss Granger to and unfortunately it will not be so easy. The reason Hermione hasn't been getting your letters or been able to contact you is that she was placed at a school that is protected by the ancient gods. Although the gods and wizardry have very little to do with each other, one thing they can do is make places they wish to remain secret, very secret indeed. Kind of like what we do with the muggles. There are only a few schools around the world that are protected by the gods and we need to figure out which one Hermione is at so we can try and get her back to Hogwarts. We also need to tread lightly as it would be very unwise to anger the gods and goddesses."
"We are in, we will help however we can," said Harry speaking for himself and his friends.
"As much as I know you would like to help Harry, I actually have a special project for you and I and it should prove detrimental in your defeat of the dark lord."
"But Professor, Hermione…" he said trailing off with a catch in his voice.
"Yes Harry, I know you miss her but we must look at the bigger picture as we try and locate her. That is why I have appointed Professor Snape in charge of this mission and he has assembled this team," said Dumbledore, sweeping his arm out to include the other students.
Harry stuttered at this most recent revelation but continued listening to the plan.
"Yes Severus will need help locating these schools and then he is going to do something he hasn't done in a very long time, become a student. That is where you guys will come in, after locating the schools that have the protection, we will need to get Severus ready to go undercover as a student in the muggle world. Severus will appoint you with your duties and the days that you will meet. I am trusting you students and this is a big responsibility and I do not want to see your studies diminish because of it. If for some reason you can't perform the duties asked of you as well as your duties for your classes then I will take you off the team. Severus do you have a time on when you would like to have your first meeting?"
"I need you to be at the Potions lab promptly at 8 on Monday night and we will get started right away. I'll have the essential books you will need to start conducting your research, please do be prompt as I do not want to waste anymore time than is necessary on this project. Malfoy and Zabini, if I may have a word with you, the rest of you are dismissed." The students left in a flurry of conversation as Malfoy and Zabini went to stand in front of their teacher and mentor.
"I asked you guys to be a part of this group strictly for being my allies, I trust you can complete your duties as well as entertain this notion of Albus' that the Granger girl is important to defeating He Who Must Not Be Named. I know neither of you have chosen where you end up in the war that is inevitable. Until you do choose, I need your help on this task, if only to help my case as a spy."
"We shall be at the Potions lab on Monday sir." Draco replied stiffly as he walked away, Zabini following.
Severus rubbed his temple, where he could feel a headache starting to form. With a sigh and a swish of his robes he left the great hall to retire to his bed chambers. The next week, was going to be a long one, he could tell.
Monday, promptly at 8, Severus heard a knock on his door and with a wave of his hand the door creaked open. In walked Malfoy and Zabini, followed by the Weasley girl and the rest of the group with Ron Weasley bringing up the rear.
"Sit down. The books you need are on these two tables and the people you sit down with are the people you will be conducting your research with."
Malfoy and Zabini sat down regally at one of the desks as the rest of the students fought over where to sit, once they figured it out the only one who hadn't been able to sit was Ginny Weasley who with a disdainful huff proceeded to take her seat with the two Slytherins. Ron tried to protest, but there wasn't much that could be done since there were no more seats at the other table.
"Shut it Ronald, it doesn't matter," Ginny said, her annoyed tone enough to make him fall quiet..
"Now that everyone has taken a seat let's get started, "Severus drawled with a sneer at Ron's pouting face, "I have prepared some information about the schools that are known to have God and Goddess protection. There are five of them that are confirmed and we shall start there and worry about the unknown if we have to go down that path. I'll split up the schools between the tables and I need you to go about finding out as much about the schools as you can. Where they are located, name, the people who run it, the region that it is in, get as much information you can gather. I suggest you get some paper and quills to take notes and we can compare them as we go along."
With that he raised his hand and the books on his desk dispersed between the two tables.
Ron and Luna's table got books on Egyptian and Indian mythology, Ginny's table got books on Greek, Celtic, and Norse mythology. With a bit of grumbling, they opened the books and started to pour over them, trying to glean as much information as they could. As the students were reading, Severus went to continue to brew the potion he would need to impersonate his youth.
When it was time for the students to head back to their common rooms, Severus stood up and cleared his throat. "We shall make Monday's our regular meeting time. We should meet for the next few Mondays, come up with the area we should visit first, and focus on that one. That way, by the time the potion is ready, I will know everything there is to know about that location. For now you are dismissed."
The books disappeared from the tables as the students stood up and gathered their belongings. There was a definite curiosity about being included in this group but also a hovering sense of worry for Hermione, Severus wasn't the nurturing type so he let them be with their own thoughts as he finished cleaning up the room and retired for the night. He was completely unsure of where they were going with this pet project of Dumbledore's, and that worried him more than anything else. He lay in bed with the latest edition of Potion Explosion but he couldn't concentrate and he fell into a fitful sleep about brunettes, and potions, and red eyes following him.
AN: Thank you for reading! I am sorry this chapter didn't get out as early as I would have liked but I have decided to use this fic for Camp Nano and my goal is 25,000 which is hopefully doable since thats half of NaNoWriMo! I hope you liked this chapter and the next one will hopefully be up next week at the latest! Please leave a review if you're heart feels it!
