Cat and Mouse Part III
Snape, William, and I had arrived at Edelweiss in winter. In all that time, I had not left the base except to steal to the outside of the mountain to watch the sunset or catch a glimpse of the wildflowers after spring returned. Summer seemed barely to have arrived before the days became shorter and the temperatures cooler. I think it was less to do with the weather and more due to my qualifications and other work keeping me busy.
Somehow, Autumn found me escaping Edelweiss's halls, now of stone and slush after summer's humidity infiltrated the ventilation system. The reason: my first mission with Officer Snape as his Auxiliary.
General Braun had ordered us to Blackpine River, an area in Austria several hours from base where Dark Forces personnel had been passing through for an entire week. I had expected Snape and I would travel by magic as we had for Nadina Village. We did so, but only to Innsbruck. There Snape rented a Ferrari – just as if he were a Muggle – and instructed me to drive us east. He sat in the passenger seat, the map spread over one leg and papers I presumed were Intelligence on enemy movements on the other. I felt glad he was keeping busy. Given that this vehicle far surpassed my net worth, I wanted to concentrate on the road.
Once I got over my initial intimidation, I began to enjoy the drive. It had been so long since I'd had an unbroken view of the sky. Puffy white clouds – autumn's forces were not yet strong enough to rout out all of the humidity – drifted on a deep blue sea that nearly turned violet at the horizon.
Through the windshield, the sun warmed my shoulders. Had Snape not been intent on his reading, I would have rolled the windows down to feel the wind in my hair.
Hills gave way to tree-filled valleys. Soon the car joined waves of leaves that the wind swept across the road. A giddy sense of freedom filled me; I almost felt that I flew.
Snape never looked up; his expression of concentration never changed. I decided not to mention my delight, not wanting to seem as if I saw the mission as a vacation.
Our journey took several hours. The entire time, Snape only broke the silence to give the next stage of our directions. These were so simple they required no explanation.
At a grand bridge that spanned a boulder-studded river, Snape called a halt. I pulled into a parking space for the lookout point and looked around, my secret elation growing. Pines covered the surrounding hills. Occasional deciduous trees in their ranks blazed like torches with their fall colors. When I opened the car door, a refreshing pine scent wafted in. I breathed it in deeply as discretely as I could.
"How long will the mission be?" I asked.
"General Braun said to come back if no Dark Forces passed this way after a week," Snape said, to all appearances still indifferent to the natural beauty around us.
"Where will we stay?" I wondered if I was supposed to have booked hotel accommodations, since I was the Auxiliary. (Depending on the Intelligence Officer, that could be synonymous with grunt work.) It was a somewhat weird feeling, as though I were not only Snape's secretary but that I was required to anticipate his needs like we were a long-married couple.
"I forgot to mention it," Snape said. "We will be onsite 24-7 until the week ends or we get the information we need. The mission is listed in Records under scouting but I'd classify it as more of a stakeout. But to answer your question, here." Snape handed me a tent package with the Edelweiss seal on top. I grinned, remembering the ones from Cyrena. On the outside, they'd looked like tents, but the interiors were fully-furnished hotel rooms.
"I have one, too," Snape said. "Go set them up in the trees over there and make sure no one can perceive them."
He meant, hide them with magic. The best course, if Dark Forces might be passing through, would be to use a low-level spell so it would be less noticeable.
When I finished with our tents, I found Snape at the bridge. We had both donned "mission appropriate" clothing: jeans, hiking boots, jackets. (Don't ask me how the Ferrari fit the outdoorsman image.) Snape, however, looked so somber, he might as well have been wearing his Ministry uniform
Sensing a mission briefing coming, I joined him and waited.
"It would make the most sense for them to travel by night, but who can say," Snape said. Although we were alone on the bridge, he still kept his voice low. "24-hour surveillance would be the conservative choice."
"I know a few spells for that," I volunteered.
Snape nodded. "Good. We should still set watches. I will take nights, since they are most likely to be active then."
I nodded.
"If something happens, we also need a spell that signals to the other person," he said.
"I'll take care of that, too. What are we actually going to do if we see Dark Forces on the march?"
"Determine where they are going."
"You mean follow them?"
"Yes. Though if they are bound for a base or a transport point, we will stop there. Let me clarify something, Miss Granger. You are not to follow them on your own."
"What about Nadina Village? You wanted me to do that mission -"
Snape scowled. "You do remember the outcome of Nadina Village, right? I won't risk another Troll's Root incident jeopardizing our objective. In the field, we are Intelligence Officer and Auxiliary. This is the only time I will remind you of that. Despite the loose leash you granted Alliban, an Auxiliary does not question orders. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir." Teaching, Snape could be acerbic and imperious, of course, but he never gave commands, specifically; it wasn't that kind of environment. Welcome to being a soldier, I thought. I wouldn't let it get me down, though.
I set up the signal spells to cause an alarm (a bell sound and a blue light) in both our tents if magic users crossed a designated range on either side of the road. The trigger points, active on both sides of the river, spanned the entire road and some of the shoulder. As I'd been on foot, I hadn't gone too far, maybe a quarter mile on each side. This extra distance would give Snape and me time to prepare for our queries as they approached. I was about to come back when it occurred to me: the soldiers might be marching on foot, keeping off the road while still following it. If that were the case, it'd be good to have signals along the river and in the woods.
I finished placing them as the afternoon light deepened to that golden color that heralds twilight. It took me a few minutes to find Snape. He'd had hidden himself behind a black pine bush and made himself look like part of it with an illusion. With the naked eye alone, I couldn't find him; I had to use a spell to see through Illusions.
"There you are," I said, mentally praising his hiding place. Since I had the daytime watch, I might want to use it, too. "We're all set up."
I told him about the signal spells, to which he replied, "I will wake you when it is your turn to stand watch."
I nodded. It seemed like Snape wanted to be alone. What was on his mind? I wondered. The Intelligence he'd gotten couldn't have been that serious, or he would have shared it with me. Well, maybe. I hoped this mission wasn't going to turn into another Poisoned Corn operation. Though if it did, maybe I could reunite with William at the Eastern Front. My stomach clenched at the thought that Snape might be up to something. Maybe I should do some independent surveillance.
Neither of us had packed any food, so it wasn't long before I had to leave Snape alone and go drive out to find some.
I almost expected him to criticize my lack of planning (or would that be mind-reading, since he hadn't told me about this mission until the very last minute?) He didn't say a negative word, however, only that I should find a town and buy dinner
I didn't want to leave him now that I'd had the thought that this mission could be a front for something. But we did have to eat. And it was an order of sorts.
It was almost fully dark by the time I returned to the closest small town. I hurried into the tiny general store to find the owner counting his money in preparation for closing. He glared at me, and I hustled into the thick of the shelves. As quickly and discreetly as possible, I cast a currency change spell on my Ministry-standard wallet, then grabbed the first edible things in reach: bread and baked beans. I threw in a packet of coffee and dumped it all on the counter. The owner totaled them while I counted out coins. The Ministry paid a small stipend to its Intelligence Officers that increased with rank. Since I'd been demoted, it was more like a pittance. For a moment, I worried I wouldn't have enough. I should've gotten some from Snape.
The man's frown lines deepened as he watched me, but luckily he didn't look outside and see the car.
Driving back, I rolled down the windows. Night air, cool and rapidly edging toward brisk, streamed through. Did Snape still feel uncomfortable after what had happened during the Resist Enemy Questioning evaluation? Since that afternoon, he hadn't seemed changed; his wit remained incisive and ironic, and he never hesitated to criticize the Ministry, aspects of the war, our lesson plans, or anything, really. One day, he'd asked me to review the papers he'd filled out to request William back from the Eastern Front. I hadn't known what they were until I read through them; Snape hadn't indicated in any way that they were significant.
Perhaps he felt out of his element away from the classroom, in a situation where our roles had changed. If you considered the attraction dynamic between us, I suppose this mission could be misconstrued as a kind of camping date. That thought made my heart speed up a bit, and I had to take a moment to rein it in.
I found Snape seated by a fire. "Is it safe to have a fire?" I said.
"Your magic detection system should alert us in time to put it out," Snape said.
We sat by the flames and ate like hobos…or soldiers. It was the first time since initial training at Cyrena that I'd truly felt like one.
The wind picked up, making me shiver.
"Haven't I told you to get a thicker jacket?" Snape said, unexpectedly.
"No," I answered, confused. "When did you ever say that?"
"I was mistaken, then," Snape said, dropping the subject as fast as I'd ever known him to.
Now I had no choice but to spy on him. His distance and that strange remark… Did it mean anything? I didn't want to take the chance that it might.
Yet despite my caution, nothing happened for the next two days and nights. Backpackers, cars, and other vehicles came and went, but I sensed no magic from them, noticed nothing that might designate those passing as Dark Forces soldiers. My signals remained silent.
By night, Snape kept watch over the road, and I kept watch over him. He sat still as a man in a painting, an ambiguous figure composed of shadows that gave me no clues to his thoughts or motivations. As I yawned my way through day three, I had an idea. Snape and I had yet to practice Influence together. Since I was spying on him anyway, why not make use of our time at night and try to get some answers from him?
The sun rose and set on Snape's and my (admittedly brief) turnovers to one another.
"Nothing's been happening so far," I made sure to emphasize during our sunset turnover on day three. "If I may ask, do you remember our agreement a few weeks ago after the Resist Enemy Questioning evaluation?"
"What part?"
"You said we could practice Influence when we had time. And out here," I gestured to include the evening woods, "we seem to have it in abundance."
"Ah yes, your side project."
How cute, I imagined him thinking, but not adding.
I waited for a minute, but he gave no answer either way. "Is that a yes, sir?"
"If I am under your Influence, seeing illusions and believing falsehoods, who will watch the road for the Dark Forces?"
"Me, of course."
Snape's lip curled ever-so-slightly. "This mission takes priority, Miss Granger. If something should happen –"
"I'll leave off Influence and alert you at once! I'm sorry for interrupting," I hurriedly added.
"Your signals will reach out here, correct?" he asked.
"Yes. They will make the same sound as inside our rooms."
"Very well, Miss Granger. I'm trusting you," Snape said.
"Thank you, sir," I said, pushing aside a slightly guilty feeling that I did not feel likewise about him.
After the first night, I'd gotten some money from Snape and bought us proper supplies. As a result, we were eating better, but still in silence. For having so much to say during lessons, Snape became downright tacit in regular conversation. I had tried to draw him out several times, though the most I'd gotten for my efforts were one-sentence answers.
We finished dinner and continued our silence. I gazed into the flames, watching them dart and ripple around the logs.
"Well, Miss Granger?"
I looked up to find Snape peering expectantly.
"Are you just going to sit there all night?"
"No, of course not." I smiled a hidden smile in the shadows, glad that Snape had all but volunteered. Broaching the subject with him once had been uncomfortable enough. "Let me think now what I want to do."
"I'm surprised you don't have a scroll of ideas already written up." The remark had considerably less bite than some of his sarcasm.
"Edelweiss has kept me busy," I said, then proceeded to mentally review the facts.
Following our…complication…with Resist Enemy Questioning, Snape had told me about his time in Fangher, resisting their attempts to torture him. I'd learned that he had been an active double agent up to the time of his capture. That was the reason for his prestige in the Ministry, despite the small number of stars he possessed as an Intelligence Officer. (Although General Braun had sent Snape to Catherine Sierra during the Poisoned Corn attempt, that had been a one-time thing. Currently Snape was classified as an Intelligence Officer in the Ministry, not a double agent.)
Though I wanted to ask about William, indeed that was my main motivation for using Influence on Snape, knowing his loyalties was more important for the greater good, William's included.
Although I had focused on the illusions side of Influence with William, that was not the way I would use the magic this time. Tonight, I would use Influence to get Snape to divulge his past, his thoughts and intentions. Since Snape had agreed to submit to my Influence and opened his mind to me from the beginning, this would be easier. I had a brief flashback to the Enemy Information qualification, an echo of Snape's words: "The threat of harm, the coercion of another, they are all psychological manipulations that we use to achieve our ends."
I tried to ignore the slimy feeling creeping over me.
The first step was to Influence Snape into experiencing feelings of goodwill toward me, wanting to trust and, critically, confide. (We would find out firsthand tonight if he were capable of these things.) It was different from using Influence as strength to force a result because I wanted Snape to continue the behavior I instilled in him for the course of a conversation. It might have worked to use words in a method similar to Muggle hypnotism, but I didn't want Snape to anticipate what I was attempting and put a stop to it.
And so, I sat in silence, implanting the feelings I wanted Snape to experience. I started out with my eyes open, but Snape had not closed his own. He began by gazing pensively into the fire, but as the spell began to take effect, he shifted position and turned his face to me. His unblinking stare unsettled me. Although he presumably was "under" due to my Influence, his dark eyes pierced. It reminded me of the haunted house gag where a staring person stayed very still, and dim lighting made it difficult to tell if they were real or a mannequin. Then, when "guests" walked by, the corpse or mannequin or what-have-you would lunge at them or even chase them. Simply uncanny, when things you thought were stationary started moving.
It took a few false starts before I found the courage to shut my eyes and finish laying the groundwork for my questions.
To steady my voice, I took a deep breath. I would start with a less important question first. If Snape reacted with suspicion, if he shook off the spell, or any number of other things went wrong, I wouldn't have laid all my cards on the table.
"Tell me how you know Catherine Sierra," I said in a light, conversational tone.
"I know her from my time in the Dark Forces and when I was a double agent for the Ministry," Snape answered without hesitation.
I barely refrained from gasping. This was going to be a wild ride from the start, I could see. Influence was having a better effect than I had hoped for. I decided it was safe to tie his answer into my higher-stakes line of questioning. "You were in the Dark Forces? Explain."
Snape's eyes gazed down the corridors of time that led to the past. "When I was a teenager, the Dark Lord sought recruits in the schools of witchcraft and wizardry. His followers approached me, told me of his interest in my abilities in Potions and academic matters. He needed clever individuals in his ranks. His flattery seduced me for a time, as did the fact that I was in a vulnerable position in my life."
"How could that be? You, of all people…" I murmured.
Snape did not answer. I tried again. "Did something bad happen to you?"
"I don't like to remember it," Snape answered through gritted teeth.
The first roadblock. I sat for a minute listening to the night woods, the crackling fire, the sound of my own heart. Then I reached out with tentative mental force against the wall that Snape had put up. "Tell me," I said.
A silence followed. I exerted my will against it a little more.
"Poverty does not lend itself to a loving, healthy family dynamic. It also makes school life hell," Snape finally answered.
"You were bullied." I didn't dare let any of my shock enter my voice, as it might disrupt the spell. It reverberated in my mind instead, caged electricity.
"Yes, by family and my peers," he said in a matter-of-fact way. Perhaps, no, more than likely, this was the origins of his sardonic, forbidding nature.
"You changed loyalties, though. You were only aligned with the Dark Forces 'for a time.' What happened?"
Again, that stubborn silence. I pushed harder. Despite the cool evening, sweat formed at my hairline. I needed to know where Snape stood, but I didn't like gambling with his mind this way. Depending on how the situation went wrong, Snape could end up with mental damage, a horrific outcome, especially if it turned out that he could be trusted. The alternative, little better, was my Influence would be broken, and I could not say how much of our exchange he would remember. If he were able to recollect it in full, regaining his trust would be the least of my worries. Finally, to my great relief, Snape yielded.
"The Dark Forces came after the first person I ever loved, the first one to show me love in all my life. Now that I am older, I see that I was foolish. She loved me…in her way, but not as I cared for her. Since then, I have known a different love."
"Do you mean Catherine?"
"No. Catherine and I had a different relationship, less of love, more of…utility."
Another question formed on my lips, almost instantly. But I knew that he would resist it; I had an idea that the first woman he'd loved had met a bad end. Still, I had to know for sure. There was no way I could bring it up in casual conversation, either; it had to be now.
With that said, I didn't dare push Snape any further. So instead I backed off and spent several minutes inspiring calm and trust within him via Influence. When I noticed his breathing relax and even out, I tried again, "Then…your first love…what happened to her?"
Even in the firelight, I could perceive Snape's strain, the pain that just thinking of what had happened caused him. But I had worn him down. Snape could not keep his secret from me.
"The Dark Lord killed her," he said in a choked voice I'd never heard before. I felt a little sick that Snape's trust in me and my manipulation had led to my sharing in his big secret. It felt as if I'd stolen something from him.
That was enough for one night. I ended our session by filling his head with a parade of unremarkable illusionary people: General Braun and others from Edelweiss. (It would have been suspicious for Snape to have a huge blank spot when he tried to remember the nights he'd practiced with me.) And amidst all this cacophony, I buried his memories of our talk.