"Normal speech"
Thoughts
"Mental speech"
"Non-English speech"
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling, her publishers, and Warner Brothers own Harry Potter.
Chapter 29
Molly Weasley ran upstairs to check on the children. They were still busy cleaning one of the old guest bedrooms. She relaxed. Snape didn't hurt them. Reassured, she sent her patronus – a mother hen – to Dumbledore. To her immense relief, he arrived only a few minutes later.
"Molly," he greeted. "What has happened?"
"S-Snape," she stammered. "He petrified me! He wanted me to give you a message."
"My dear, I think you need a cup of tea." Dumbledore waved his wand, and a steaming cup appeared. He handed it to her. Molly took it, her hands trembling. "Now, what was Severus's message?"
"He wanted you to see it. In your pensieve, I mean" Molly said, feeling calmer now that Dumbledore was here. "And he wanted me to give you this." She handed him the envelope.
"Thank you, my dear. If I may?" Molly nodded, and Dumbledore pressed his wand gently against her temple. There was a slight tugging sensation, and then Dumbledore removed his wand, a silvery thread attached to it. He took the pensieve from the kitchen counter, and then dove in.
He emerged shortly thereafter. "If true, this is most reassuring. Despite recent events, we may not have lost one of our greatest resources in this war."
"But he freed Grindelwald!" Molly exclaimed.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Innocent until proven guilty, Molly. We merely suspect, with good evidence, but even so. And his new contact may prove our key to victory." Dumbledore opened the envelope and scanned the contents. He smiled sadly. "Yes, we might yet be able to come away from this setback victorious."
-DVDVDV-
Albus gathered the Order of the Phoenix together. "My friends, I bear good news." The assembled witches and wizards began murmuring excitedly. They had had little to celebrate lately. "A potential major ally has contacted us, and with his help, we might be able to make significant strides in our campaign about Voldemort and his Death Eaters."
"Who is it, Albus?" Remus asked.
"A prince," he replied, eyes twinkling. He noted that Minerva seemed immediately to understand the reference. Sirius frowned, no doubt recalling the conversation he and Albus had had earlier. Alas, the book of wizarding genealogies had proven futile. There was a Prince family mentioned, but it had died out decades ago. "A prince has asked to meet with me and one other Order member on neutral ground to discuss the war effort.
"Moreover, I have reason to hope that we have not entirely lost Severus as our spy. He was kind enough to arrange this meeting, as I had requested of him prior to his . . . disappearance." Albus had placed Severus's house at Spinner's End under Order surveillance, but he had not been seen since his abrupt departure from Grimmauld Place until his surprising meeting with Molly earlier that day.
"And you think you can trust him?" Alastor demanded. "Snape's betrayed us six ways to Sunday. This is bound to be a trap."
"He provided a binding magical contract guaranteeing safe passage," Albus replied, handing it to Alastor, who immediately began examining it. "And it also attests that we will be meeting the prince we have been seeking. We must trust in the prince, Alastor. If we do not, things might become far worse. I do not say this lightly."
"He's right," Minerva interjected. She did not seem happy about it. Albus wondered if she was still angry with him. His imagined that his ears were still ringing from the scolding she had given him last week after she had learned what he and the others had done to Severus.
Alastor nodded. "Contract seems genuine enough. Still think it's a ruddy fool idea to believe the greasy bastard, especially after that business with Grindelwald and now the Azkaban breakout."
"On that note, Severus claims that he sent us warning of the pending escape. I do not recall receiving any such missive. Did anyone else?" Albus asked. This would be a good test of Severus's loyalties. If he had been lying . . . .
There were murmurs of dissent from the assembled Order members. Albus sighed. He had so hoped that Severus was not lost.
He noticed a flicker of something – consternation, perhaps? – cross Sirius's face, before it vanished.
"Sirius?" Albus asked. "Did you remember something?"
"No, nothing," Sirius replied hastily. Too hastily, Albus thought.
"Sirius?" he asked again, tone sharper. "What happened?"
Sirius flushed. "Nothing! You know how Snape is – always lying!"
"Sirius Black!" Minerva snapped. "To my shame, you may have charmed your way out of mischief as a student, but you are obviously hiding something now. What is it?"
Sirius fidgeted. "There was a note. It appeared right after we heard the news about Grindelwald's escape. I forgot about it!" he protested.
Albus felt suddenly furious. Everyone took an involuntary step back, and he realized his aura was flaring. He forced it back under control. "Do you still have it, Sirius?" he asked, his tone hard.
Sirius gulped. He checked his pockets. "Does it matter?" he asked petulantly, and then looked down as he saw Albus frown. "Kreacher!" The filthy house-elf appeared with a crack.
"Check the pockets of what I wore last week for a piece of parchment. If you find it, bring it back here at once."
"Master called for Kreacher, and Kreacher must obey," Kreacher said in his deep croak. "Filthy blood traitor, a disgrace to –"
"Now, Kreacher!" Sirius roared, and the elf disappeared. There was a very tense silence for about a minute as they waited for Kreacher to return. Sirius scowled down at his feet.
Kreacher reappeared and handed a scrap of parchment to Sirius. "Kreacher searched master's pockets and found this." Kreacher laughed. "Master Regulus's friend sent a warning, but the mudblood loving fools did not listen!" He laughed again.
"Get back to your cleaning!" Sirius snapped. He handed the parchment to Albus, who took it.
"'Death Eaters, led by Nott and Avery, to assault Azkaban tomorrow night,'" Albus read aloud. "Severus did send us a warning," he said softly. If I had only known . . . . We might have prevented the escape. With a full day's notice, we even might have been able to gather enough witnesses to prove that Voldemort had returned. He turned to Sirius, and this time he consciously allowed his aura to radiate from him. The Order members shuddered. "Sirius, you shook hands with Severus in the Hogwarts Infirmary. You agreed to work with him. I cannot express how disappointed I am in you. Whether or not you believed in the warning, you had a responsibility to pass it along. Innocent men and women are going to die because you did nothing."
Sirius flinched. "I –"
"You have broken the trust placed in you as a member of the Order of the Phoenix. You will consider the repercussions of your actions. You will consider how your failure to act has repercussions. You have a considerable amount to prove before I will ever trust in your judgment again."
Sirius hung his head in shame.
-DVDVDV-
"As you suspected," Gellert said, looking up from the completed contract that had appeared in the storage crate a few moments ago. "Albus chose the former auror to accompany him."
Severus nodded. "And the meeting place?"
"Ah, there you were mistaken. He selected Sherwood Forest over the alternatives."
Severus nodded, and then continued to read Gellert's latest draft. Finally, he said, "These terms are acceptable. What will you require from me?"
"Can you make Lothar's Pigment?" Severus scowled, and Gellert raised a placating hand. "My apologies. Lothar's Pigment, then, and then some quiet while I work."
Severus nodded, and moved to the small workstation. He began to prepare ingredients.
A/N: Please review!
