Chapter 7: Beginnings

Nine o'clock the next morning found Snape and Adelaide sitting in Dumbledore's office, not looking at one another.

They had arrived to find a note from Dumbledore, written in a silvery-gray mist that hung in the air over his desk, informing them that he had been detained, and would join them shortly. So they had each settled into one of the large, comfortable armchairs across from the Headmaster's desk, and there they sat in silence as the minutes ticked away.

Snape was intensely aware of the light scent of jasmine coming from her direction. Adelaide was intensely aware of the rhythmic drumming of his fingers on the arm of his chair.

Finally, without looking at him, she broke the silence by blurting out, "Look, I'm sorry about yesterday. I thought I was doing the right thing—how was I supposed to know that you're a double agent?"

"Is that what you plan to teach in your Defense Against the Dark Arts class—hex first, ask questions later?" he sneered, still not looking at her.

Adelaide ignored his question and continued to stare straight ahead. "I mean, isn't that the whole point of being a double agent—that no one's supposed to know you are one?" she asked of no one in particular.

"Well, you've demonstrated your abilities at attacking, but we've yet to see if you can teach defense. Do be sure to let me know if you'd like to exhibit your skills in that area, and I'd be happy to help out," he said sarcastically.

"Anyway, you should take it as a compliment," she spat back, finally turning to face him. "You must obviously be doing a…satisfactory job of it, since as far as I can tell, no one including Voldemort himself has the slightest suspicion that you're working for Dumbledore."

"Yes, well, the next time you decide to give me a 'compliment,' let's hope I have my wand in hand to return the favor," he said.

They sank back into silence for a few minutes, which was again broken by Adelaide.

"You're his favorite, you know."

There was a pause. Then he said quietly, "I sincerely doubt I am anyone's favorite anything, Miss Mayhem. And I have no idea what you're talking about."

His self-deprecation disarmed her, and she turned to stare at him. "You're Voldemort's favorite Death Eater. Believe me, I know it's no great honor, but you ought to be aware of it. You really don't know that?"

"Noooo," he responded slowly, turning his whole body slowly to face her, "and I am quite curious as to how you would know such a thing." That suspicious gleam that was already so familiar was back in his eyes. Yet his look was also filled with other emotions--too many for Adelaide to read, each competing with the other.

Suddenly, she realized that Snape had not been made privy to her full story. He had only heard the edited version Dumbledore had offered to the rest of the staff. She didn't feel like launching into it all over again, and anyway she suspected that one of the reasons Dumbledore had called them here this morning was to fill Snape in on the details.

So she just replied: "It's simple. Voldemort would boast all day about you to my father. Then my father would rage all night about you to my mother. For me, it was a simple matter of eavesdropping. You drive him nuts—my father, that is."

Snape was astonished. "Your father?" he said. "And just who is your father?"

Just then, Dumbledore entered the room. 'Saved by the Headmaster…again,' thought Addy.

Dumbledore made his apologies and sat down behind his desk. As Addy had guessed, his first task was to inform Snape of her involvement in Voldemort's circle, and of the work she'd be doing, with him, as a second double agent for the Order. As Dumbledore recounted her history, Addy stared down at her hands in her lap. It wasn't any more pleasant to hear it that it had been to tell it not 24 hours earlier.

Snape listened intently, processing the information quickly. His eyes did not leave Dumbledore the entire time. When the Headmaster was finished, there was a long silence, while they all contemplated the full import of what they were about to undertake.

Finally, Dumbledore said, "Severus, do you have any questions, for either me or Miss Mayhem?"

Adelaide felt her stomach knot up. She hoped he would not bring up her Dark Mark again.

After a pensive pause, Severus said, "Yes," and turned to Adelaide, a look of deep concern creasing his face. He continued in a measured tone, his eyes boring into hers. "Apparently, your family is heavily ensconced in dark circles, yet I have never of the Mayhems. How is that possible?" he asked her.

"Mayhem is my mother's family name," Adelaide responded evenly. "They are not dark wizards, and she has had no contact with them since she married my father. I have never known them."

Snape nodded and replied, "Well, then, that brings us back to the question you were about to answer when Albus joined us: who is your father?"

Adelaide looked him square in the eye, and said levelly, "You know him."

She saw an eyebrow go up.

"My father is Iscarious Jones."

She had to admit that she found his reaction most gratifying, and Addy struggled to maintain her detached expression. His face blanched and his mouth gaped open.

"Y—you are Iscarious' daughter?" he sputtered.

"In the flesh," she replied, with a wry smile.

Snape took a deep breath and regained his composure. He'd heard of Jones' daughter—all the Death Eaters had—although very few had ever seen her. The rumors said she was supposed to be some sort of virgin princess, locked away in waiting for Voldemort.

He turned to Dumbledore and said, "Albus, we are playing with hellfire, here. You are aware of that?"

Dumbledore replied, "No more so than you are with Voldemort, Severus. And, according to Adelaide's reaction to you yesterday, you are doing a fine job of convincing him that you are loyal to him, and not to me. I expect you will teach Adelaide everything you know, so she can do the same."

"The work you've done has been invaluable to the Order, and has saved many lives," Albus continued. "I'm hoping that with the two of you working together on different angles within Voldemort's circle, we can be many times more effective."

"There's something I don't understand," said Severus, turning to Addy. "If you were sent by Voldemort and Lucius, why didn't they tell you about me? Why didn't they tell you they already had a Death Eater working within Hogwarts?"

Addy shook her head, saying, "I don't know. It's been bothering me since I found out about you. I can't figure out what their motivation was for keeping it s secret. Perhaps it was a test?"

"You mean, a little game to see how long it would take us to discover one another?" said Snape.

"Maybe," replied Addy. "I just don't know. I can find out the next time I am called back."

"So, you have thought through your stategy, then, for when you are called to report to Voldemort?" asked Snape.

"Yes, I've thought through a lot of strategies," said Addy, eagerly moving to the edge of her seat. She began speaking very fast, her eyes glittering brightly, as she rattled off her plans. "We'll need to manage several fronts of misinformation: reports on Dumbledore, reports on the activities of the Order, reports on the Potter boy, and, quite possibly, reports on one another. I have a suspicion that we will be asked to keep an eye on each other, as assurance that we each remain loyal to Voldemort. We must coordinate our stories, so that they match, but not too closely--we don't want it to seem as though we're working in collusion. In fact, I will probably have to pretend to hate you, in order to stay in my father's good graces. And, all the while, we can be delivering information back from the compound to Dumbledore, so as to foil as many Death Eater attacks as possible. The most important thing in that arena is to always have a scapegoat from within Voldemort's circle, so that he doesn't become suspicious of the information we've provided him. But we must choose our scapegoats wisely. It shouldn't be too difficult, however, since he trusts almost no one and there is practically no limit to the number of expendable Death Eaters we can use. Sort of kills two birds with one stone, doesn't it?"

She heard a cry of protest from the corner, and, said over her shoulder, "Sorry Fawkes, it's just an expression."

Snape and Dumbledore exchanged a look. They were impressed. She obviously had a firm grasp of the situation.

But Snape was still overwhelmed with concern. "Well, you clearly understand the scope of the work involved, but it's easier said than done. We will have to practice."

A phrase she had spoken was ringing through the back of his mind: 'I will have to pretend to hate you.' "It's a start," said a voice in his head. "Now focus, you silly git."

Dumbledore clapped his hands together and said with a smile, "Well, you two have your work cut out for you. In addition, Miss Mayhem, you will need to prepare for the new term. We must remember that we all still have an obligation to the students of this school. Since there is so little time, I have owled Remus Lupin to ask his assistance. He has already taught this course, and I was delighted to hear that he still has all his notes and lesson plans. His schedule will allow him to stay here at Hogwarts for the next few days, to help you get up and running."

Severus scowled inwardly at the thought of Adelaide working with Lupin.

Dumbledore continued, "My suggestion is that you work with Remus on your course during the day, and with Severus in the evening. Once the term begins, you will have to keep up with your lessons and grading, while you continue your night time strategy sessions. Our "resistance fighters," as you termed them, Adelaide, is called the Order of the Phoenix. We will continue to meet regularly and I'll ask the two of you to report on your tactics of misinformation, and any news you glean from Voldemort's compound. In fact, with Remus here, I think I will call an emergency meeting of the Order for tomorrow night. Severus, would you show Adelaide to her classroom and office?"

Severus nodded in agreement. Addy's head was spinning, but she was eager to get started and excited about this chance to work hard for a good cause and, just maybe, accomplish something that would address the sins of her past.

As though he had read her mind, Dumbledore added, "This is an awful lot of work. We are but a small band, desperately facing a much larger empire of evil, but hopefully some good will come of it. I don't want you two getting lost in it, however. You must keep up your strength. Adelaide—please see that he eats."

Adelaide and Dumbledore exchanged a smile, while Snape rolled his eyes. They left the office together, and could hear Dumbledore humming merrily to himself as the door closed behind them.

To be continued…

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Note from author: some of you may be wondering why I've given this story an R rating. I promise things will heat up shortly. Please hang in there!