Back at Hogwarts castle, Severus had settled in his rooms for the night. The day had gone surprisingly well. Dumbledore had made an appearance at dinner; the expression of delight and relief on Harry Potter's face was quite amusing. There had been numerous staff meetings and reviews to make sure all teachers were fit and healthy enough to continue teaching in the near future. Severus' consultation had lasted less than three minutes, as he had no outward sign to any addiction and had shown no erratic behaviour since Dumbledore's recovery. Leaning back comfortably into his leather desk chair, Severus tapped the tips of his fingers on his desk and a black fire sparked into life inches from his fingertips. Reaching into one of the desk drawers, a packet was removed from its hiding place, the contents sprinkled into a crucible and set upon the black flames. Snape relaxed even further into his chair as smoke began to rise off the crucible. Around an hour later, Severus was dozing in his chair; the fire had been out only for a short while when Severus was brought into full consciousness by a harsh tapping on his window. Grabbing his wand from his desk, Severus scolded himself for not setting wards around his rooms before indulging in such pleasures and crept up to the window. Outside the window was a completely black owl, a species unknown in the Muggle and Wizarding worlds alike, recognisable only to those who knew what they were looking at. There was a joke between the Death Eaters, if such a thing exists; they called this creature The Death Owl. It was said that when The Dark Lord wishes for your company, he sends The Death Owl to…collect…you. How this rumour had been started in the Death Eaters no one knew, as know one had actually stayed breathing long enough to describe the owl to his fellows. Severus unlatched the window with a shaking hand and the owl perched superiorly on his desk, holding out one leg, onto which was attached a letter. Untying the letter, Severus noted the black envelope and broke the blank seal. He held the parchment in his hands and drew up the courage to open the parchment. Unfurling it, Severus was confused. It was blank. Touching a finger to it, the parchment became hot before something exploded out of the middle of it with no sound. Severus dropped the letter and threw his arms above his head, he had discarded his wand as soon as he recognised the owl, it was useless against such enemies. Severus stood against the wall breathing heavily and slowly let his arms fall, staring at the image in the middle of the room. Severus tasted the saltiness of his own tears on his lips. The Dark Mark seemed to be smiling at him, and Severus now knew the fear that so many families had felt so many years ago when they found the Mark hovering over their houses. Severus picked up his wand and the fallen parchment and muttered a charm, wand held against the parchment. The parchment glowed red and purple lettering started to appear.
The Lord wants answers. Now.
Wants answers about what? Severus thought. He toyed with the pros and cons of telling Dumbledore about his meeting, but decided not to. He would want to know how Voldemort contacted him and Severus was not at liberty to divulge that information, it would give one side too much an advantage over the other. Severus burnt the parchment and as it disintegrated in his hands, the Dark Mark also disappeared. It was a different curse than the one that stayed in the sky for days afterwards, regardless of the spells thrown at it. Throwing on his cloak and concealing his wand in his robes, Severus left Hogwarts castle, with every expectation of never seeing it again. Dumbledore sat in his office and stared out of the window at Severus' dark form stalking across the lawn. Sitting down in his chair, he stroked Fawkes and organised his thoughts. He did not dare put any of these thoughts in the Pensieve, in the hands of the wrong person the damage would be unimaginable, and he knew how inquisitive Harry Potter could be. Dumbledore was almost certain where Severus' loyalties lay but he was unsure if he had picked the right side.
Severus knew where he was heading, though to others it would appear he had just walked in a circle for the past hour, he had to make sure certain people were not following. He kept his mind off the impending doom by checking and double-checking that no one was following him, he was almost at the correct place and he would be granted entrance immediately. The Dark Lord was probably watching him at this very minute. Touching a tree on his left, Severus muttered a quick counter-curse and then touched another tree on his right, this time muttering a charm. He closed his eyes as the familiar spinning sensation surrounded him before stopping abruptly, his feet were on dusty floorboards and he could feel a slight draft on the back of his neck.
"Severus." He hissed. Severus opened his eyes and bowed to his Lord, noting Wormtails shivering form in the corner, luckily there was no sign of the snake, which Severus had never had a liking for.
"My Lord."
"Tell me, what has been happening at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Every word was said slowly and with as much deliberation as the last.
"Nothing my Lord. There have been no incidents at the School to report." Voldemort let out a hiss of rage.
"You lie. And I want to know why you helped Dumbledore." Severus was confused, unless that meant that Voldemort had somehow set a spell upon the school. But that was impossible. Severus took a deep breath and tried to explain,
"Dumbledore recovered by himself from an illness," Wormtail suddenly broke in with a sniggering laugh, which he dampened relatively quickly.
"An illness? Or a curse?" Voldemort whispered, freezing Wormtail's sniggering with one beady eye. A curse? Severus frowned, that means that the protection surrounding Hogwarts is starting to fail. How?
"You were informed of my plans?" Voldemort questioned Severus, who felt anger start to bubble inside him at Wormtail.
"No my Lord. I received no word of your plans, or else I would have taken full advantage of the opportunity and… disposed… of Dumbledore while the chance was present." In the corner, Wormtail squeaked.
"Wormtail. Did I not tell you to contact Severus?" Wormtail let out another squeak and his stuttering reply reached Severus' ears a minute later.
"I… I did conta… contact him my… my Lord." Voldemort muttered something inaudible and Severus tensed, ready for the pain to engulf him but instead it was Wormtail who was whimpering in pain.
"I can always tell a lie." Wormtail shuffled forward and threw himself on his knees, begging forgiveness. Severus curled a lip at the pathetic creature and allowed his heartbeat to slow. Suddenly his right arm erupted in pain and he fell to his knees clutching his arm, lips sealed so as not to make a sound.
"Remember what I can do Severus." Voldemort hissed, before Severus felt the room spinning and he landed in the forest, still on his knees. Leaning against one of the trees, Severus uncovered his still aching arm and touched a long white scar that had appeared there. They were called White Marks, it meant that Severus only had one chance left or the Death Owl would be making a final call. Severus thought about Voldemort's parting words, 'remember what I can do.' Severus thanked every god in the universe that he had no family or close friends then held his head in his hands and wept.
Harry and Ron made their way down to the Great Hall the following morning and sat down next to Hermione, who pushed plates of bacon and eggs towards them.
"Cheers. Hagrid still isn't back then." Harry noted, scanning the teacher's table. Dumbledore had told them that he was out in the mountains searching for certain people and would not be back for a few weeks.
"And where's Snape?" Ron asked, nodding towards Snape's empty chair.
"Dunno. Hey, I've got Potions first. Hope it's cancelled." Ron nodded in agreement before spearing a piece of bacon with his fork. "But he'll probably set work anyway. He always does. And an essay no doubt." Professor McGonagall was going down the table collecting names for those staying over Christmas and both Ron and Harry signed up. Apparently Hermione was going skiing again with her parents and the Weasley family were planning on visiting Charlie and Harry would not be able to go with them.
"Yes, we're going to go and stay with a distant cousin. His son goes to Durmstrang, and he owns a mansion. Almost as big as fathers." Draco Malfoys voice came floating over from the Slytherin table and Ron groaned.
"That's all he's gone on about for the past two weeks."
"A mansion? Wonder what he's compensating for?" Seamus leaned over to whisper to Harry, who snorted into his toast.
"We'd better go," Hermione collected her bag and stood away from the table and some of the Gryffindors followed her lead towards the dungeons. When they arrived at their classroom, Professor Flitwick was stood at the board waiting for them.
"Hello children," he squeaked, contrasting sharply with Snape's morning greeting, which usually consisted of a sneer, 'Professor Snape cannot be with us and so I will be taking your class. If you turn to page thirty-three in your textbooks and get your cauldrons out, we will begin." Harry wondered where Snape was, he never missed a lesson and he was sure he saw him yesterday.
Dumbledore knocked on Severus' door and waited politely. He knew Professor Snape was here; Severus had come to see him last night after he had composed himself in his rooms. Dumbledore could not understand how Voldemort had managed to break through the protection surrounding Hogwarts but had saved all questions until Severus was ready to be asked them. The handle turned and the door opened, to reveal a very annoyed and completely normal Potions Master.
"Severus." Dumbledore smiled pleasantly.
"Headmaster. I still do not agree with cancelling my lessons. There is no need."
"There is every need Severus. I do not think Minerva would be very pleased to find you taking out your fury at me on her students." Dumbledore chuckled quietly to himself and entered the room when Severus stepped aside.
"I will be back teaching in the afternoon."
"I think it would be more helpful to your health if you rested Severus."
"No Headmaster, I insist." Severus said through gritted teeth. "I am at my most pleasant when teaching." Dumbledore's eyes seemed to twinkle behind his spectacles before he bowed his head.
"That is your choice, of course. I trust I will see you at lunch then?" Dumbledore conceded before leaving Severus to his own thoughts once more. Sighing, Severus concealed his wand in an inside pocket, collected a stack of homework that needed marking and stalked out of his rooms, slamming the door with a bang. Walking down the corridors towards the Great Hall, Severus dared a student to get in his way; he was in the mood to take a few points off various houses. Reaching the Hall, he settled down in his usual seat and started to plough through the marking, sighing at unforgivable mistakes and occasionally glancing up as someone passed through the Great Hall.
Harry grabbed his bag and followed Ron out of the dungeon, breathing in fresh hair after the dankness of the potions lab.
"I'm starving!" Ron complained, Hermione rolled her eyes and led the way to the Great Hall.
"At least I didn't get the usual comments from Malfoy because Snape wasn't there," Harry commented, throwing a glance over his shoulder at Malfoy who was just emerging from the dungeon. As they reached the Great Hall, Hermione stopped suddenly, causing Ron and Harry to knock into her slightly.
"Look at the teachers table." She whispered. Harry looked around her and frowned, Snape was sat in his usual seat, marking work with a permanent sneer on his face.
"Maybe he feels better." Ron said, Harry shrugged and went to sit at the Gryffindor table followed by Hermione and Ron.
"Maybe he had to do something, Dumbledore'll know what's up with him or where he's been." Hermione reasoned.
"Then why is he wandering around at ungodly hours? Going out of the castle in the middle of the night? I don't get it." Harry answered.
"I thought you were going to ignore him this year." Hermione chided.
"Ignore Snape? The way he carries on? Impossible." Harry grinned before tucking into his meal.
A few days later and Severus had begun to settle back into his normal teaching patterns. No news had been heard about Death Eater activities, all was quiet through the Wizarding world and Hagrid had returned to the castle. Dumbledore had spread a rumour that Hagrid had been off collecting some ingredients from the mountains, the stocks of some of the more rare potions ingredients were running low and the seventh years needed them for their lessons. This rumour was accepted by the castle and most seemed happy to have him back. Harry had begun to ignore Severus' activities and concentrated instead on his studies and spent hours at a time with Ron and Hermione talking to Hagrid about the mountains.
Late one night, as Severus sat in his office, the moon was shining in through an open window when he received a message. The Mark burned a fresh pattern on his arm, he gripped the arms of his chair until his knuckles turned white and the pain subsided slightly. Throwing on a long cloak, he calmed himself before collecting his wand and striding out into the night through the main doors of Hogwarts. Reaching the town of Hogsmeade, he disapparated and reappeared within a clearing surrounded by dense trees.
"Amongst friends and enemies," Severus whispered to himself before joining the circle of Death Eaters that was forming in the middle of the clearing. Severus bowed his head, face covered, as were all the Death Eaters, and he stood shoulder to shoulder with some of the most feared people in Wizarding history.
"Brothers. Friends. Deceivers." Voldemort's voice rang out across the clearing, some of the Death Eaters visibly jumped, most took an audible breath in, all stood that little bit straighter. A rustling of cloaks and they appeared, Wormtail took his place in the circle and Voldemort took centre stage.
"None of you know why you are here." Voldemort paused as he surveyed his followers. "You will. This is our time once again. It will be as it was. The world has forgotten us, but they will remember. We will be feared and revered. We will be respected and hated. We will be triumphant. And those who stand against us will burn." Severus knew what Voldemort was doing. It sounded so simple, so inviting. How easy it would be to just leave Hogwarts all together and join Voldemort completely. This was his game; he would test the strength of his Death Eaters, even though he already knew the strength of each of them. Severus blanked his mind and tried not to concentrate on the Dark Lord's words. Each one was given with thought and consideration, and Severus could tell that most of the Death Eaters were under his spell already. Lucius Malfoy was stood a few places to the left of Severus and he could tell that Lucius was doing the same as he was. Trying not to listen. Lucius may be an arrogant bastard but he loved his wife and son and Voldemort could destroy it all, though Severus saw no reason why Lucius would disappoint him.
"We have a month before the attack. The Dementors will leave Azkaban and join us; some of the Giants are leaving the mountains. Hogwarts will no longer be a school for the Wizarding community. It will be a school of the Dark Arts and my army will grow." Severus' mind was racing; 'they're going to attack Hogwarts. In a month. With Giants and Dementors', Severus wished he'd had the thought to notify Dumbledore of where he was going.
"All be alert for my calling. It will be soon." Voldemort left the circle, closely followed by the simpering Wormtail. The Death Eaters visibly relaxed and many disapparated immediately. Lucius made his way over to where Severus was stood and bent his head close to his ear.
"You were looking very uncomfortable Severus. Something you wish to share?" Severus looked at Lucius before curling his lip into a sneer.
"Simply wondering what the Dark Lord's plan is to dispose of Dumbledore and Potter." Lucius nodded curtly. Severus suddenly felt something probing at the back of his mind. Lucius was trying to read his mind, or at least his most recent thoughts.
"Don't be foolish Lucius. I would never leave my thoughts for any stranger to sort through, much like you I suspect." Lucius sneered and nodded slightly.
"There is something strange about you Severus. And I don't like it." Severus didn't reply and Lucius moved off, disapparating with a cold glance at Severus. Severus took a breath before disapparating and appearing back in Hogsmeade. Making his way to the Three Broomsticks, Severus threw open the door and strided to the bar. Ordering a Firewhisky, Severus knocked it back in one, threw down some money and stalked back to the castle.
When Severus made it back to his rooms, Dumbledore was sat in his leather chair, legs crossed elegantly, as he studied Severus over the top of his spectacles.
"Severus."
"Headmaster," Severus nodded curtly, shut the door and leant against it slightly, worried that his legs would not hold him for much longer.
"I need an explanation."
"If I had hesitated for longer than I already did, it takes me long enough because of the walk to Hogsmeade." Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.
"I would have appreciated a letter, a quickly scrawled note. I have to know everything you do, in order to protect you." Severus hung his head, weariness taking over.
"I will give a full, detailed report first thing tomorrow, but for now Headmaster can I rest? I am utterly drained." Dumbledore nodded sympathetically and rose to leave Severus to rest.
"First thing mind." Severus nodded and opened the door for Dumbledore, shutting it quietly after him and, sliding gratefully to the floor, held his head in his hands. Rousing himself, Severus crawled onto his bed, threw the covers over his head and shut his eyes.
Severus awoke to sunlight hitting him square in the face. Still fully dressed from the night before, Severus squinted at his reflection in the mirror and prepared for his meeting with Dumbledore. An hour later and Severus strode out of his room, showered, shaved and clean clothed and made his way to Dumbledore's office.
"Headmaster," Severus nodded as he sat opposite Dumbledore.
"Severus. Are you well? It was rude of me not to ask if you were injured last night," Dumbledore answered, looking concerned until Severus shook his head. "I must ask this Severus, and I apologise if it grieves you to do so, but can you recount everything that happened last night?" Severus wondered what Dumbledore would do if he refused or left vital parts out of his story. Dumbledore would no doubt notice, but would he say anything? Or leave Severus to wallow in his own thoughts and misery?
"Severus?" Dumbledore pushed. Severus took a deep breath and recounted the happenings of the night before, leaving in every detail.
"… after Lucius disapparated, I came back to Hogsmeade and walked to the castle." Dumbledore leant back in his chair and gazed at Fawkes for an instant before rising and taking his Pensiev from a cabinet, sat back opposite Severus.
"We need to gather everyone here, if the Dementors are leaving Azkaban that means that all of Voldemort's old allies will rejoin him that were held captive there. The Giants are an unfortunate twist, I knew that Hagrid might not be able to persuade them to help us, but what has Voldemort offered them that we have not?"
"Rule of part of England, most likely." Severus offered, "They have always wanted somewhere to colonise." Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully,
"Maybe. I must contact all members of the Order immediately, especially Remus."
"And the students?" Dumbledore sighed,
"I suppose I will have to send them home. They cannot possibly stay here."
"But a flurry of activity will alert them to our knowing."
"Of course. We must wait and bide our time. Whatever happens you, Severus, must…" Suddenly a loud knocking came on the door of the Headmaster's office and McGonagall rushed in.
"Oh Albus! It's Fudge. He's dead."