Disclaimer: This work is based on the J.K. Rowling's World of Harry Potter. Everything you recognize belongs to her.
On the last day of August, the Dark Lord summoned his Death Eaters. Much to Maerna's chagrin, the invitation was extended to her as well. She had not been called since that disastrous meeting which left her for dead. She send a sideways glance at Severus. Did he realize that is the Dark Lord demanded the same allegiance, she would refuse again? As usual, his face was a mask with no sign of concern. He caught her looking and gave her a tight smile before turning the handle of a large oak door.
The door led to a long, large room which reminded Maerna of the Great Hall albeit not quite as large. The ceilings seemed to be just as high although one couldn't be sure for the walls disappeared into an inky darkness. The only source of light came from a roaring fire beneath a marble mantlepiece. The ornate mirrors scattered along the walls reflected the firelight so eerie shadows danced along the room. In front of the fire was his throne. He glanced up upon their entry and motioned them forward. Maerna took a deep breath and allowed a curtain of occlumency to fall over her as her footsteps echoed on the stone floor.
"Tell me you have good news," Lord Voldemort said flatly to Severus. Severus nodded and fixed his eyes upon the Dark Lord's face inviting him in. After several uncomfortable minutes, a smile slowly crept onto the man's face. "Excellent. You can give a full report when everyone has arrived. Severus sit here." He motioned to the seat on his right. He completely ignored Maerna, a fact she wasn't sure should leave her worried or relieved. Since he hadn't motioned to a place at the table, she quietly found a chair that had been thrown back against the wall and waited.
Within minutes, the room had been filled. Some gave her a sideways glance. Others ignored her. Several, she had not seen since they had been enjoying a stint in Azkaban after the Ministry fiasco. "That was over a year ago," Maerna thought. The realization hit her. It had been almost two years since Severus found her at Oxford and changed her life forever. Maerna smiled to herself. One should never assume he knows God's plans, for she never would have imagined this.
Draco took a seat on the opposite side of the table, so Maerna could observe him easily. She had gotten to know the boy slightly the few days he spent with them hiding from the Ministry. If possible, he looked iller than he had in June. "I suspect, he is secretly glad to be on the Hogwart's Express tomorrow," Maerna mused. She glanced at his parents. Lucius looked horrible. "My how the mighty have fallen," Maerna thought and the chastised herself for wishing ill on another, even Lucius Malfoy.
There was no need to call to order because the room had been silent as a tomb. Lord Voldemort called on various people for reports. The Ministry was in complete control and they were processing muggleborns daily, Yaxley reported. "What about the thorn in this project? What news of Meg Darcy? What news of those Conductors?" Lord Voldemort hissed.
Maerna kept her head down as Yaxley stumbled over an answer. "My Lord, no one has seen them since they escaped at the Karden's residence two weeks ago. All the mudbloods are either registered or in hiding. Those who are registered are being called in for interrogation and are either imprisoned or kissed. We should have processed those within the next week or so. Here are a list of their names." Yaxley waved his wand and several sheets of paper appeared. "He motioned to send them down to Lord Voldemort but the latter ignored his underling, so Yaxley set the paper to the side and continued, "As far as the hidden ones, we are looking for them, but we fear many have slipped the country. These Conductors are a small group but are well organized. They were prepared. There are reports that they started warning mudbloods as early as June."
Voldemort hissed. Before Yaxley could say another word, he doubled over and fell from his chair, howling in agony. No one said a word or even looked at the screaming blonde. The Death Eater next to him simple scooted away a bit in case Yaxley became sick from all the pain. At last, Yaxley started breathing again and gasped out, "My Lord, I do have plan." Lord Voldemort did not say a word but desisted the pain.
Slowly Yaxley pulled himself up the chair and motioned to the list. "Four of these mudbloods have agreed to snitch in exchange for their lives." Cackling spread through the ranks. They knew no deal would be honored. "I have tracking spells on their wands. The moment, they are moved, I'll find them and, hopefully, their hideout. I have placed this list where I'm sure the Conductors will be able to find it."
Maerna visibly stiffened, but no one was looking at her. "Breath," she told herself. "Remove all emotions."
She calmed her heart just as Voldemort's voice boomed out, "Severus, what news do you bring?"
Severus gave his report about Hogwarts. The Carrows, he said gesturing toward the siblings further down the table, were settled in and rewriting their curriculum. The other teachers had been warned and Severus didn't seem them creating problems. They would be too worried about retribution on the students. Security had been increased tenfold, all secret passages blocked. "We'll know if he tries to enter the castle, my lord." A hiss moved about the table like a wave. There was no reason to mention who HE was. Everyone knew it was Potter.
The Dark Lord nodded once in approval and then moved on. "What about my potion? You've had almost two years on it?"
It's time, Maerna thought. They had finished the potions months ago but had delayed giving it to the Lord Voldemort. Severus and she agreed that they could procrastinate no longer without causing suspicion. "I apologize for the delay," Severus said, "Although we still have some roadblocks, mostly how to disperse it to vast groups in a timely manner, we have a prototype of the potion here. I would like to borrow someone for a demonstration."
Voldemort looked pleased at Severus's news. He pointed to Yaxley, who was obviously paying the piper at this meeting. Severus nodded and motioned Maerna to come forward. Taking a deep breath, Maerna rose, moved closer to the table and began her speech. "This potion is similar to the imperious curse in that it controls a person, but instead of controlling his actions, it controls his thought thus making it even harder to throw off. Of course by controlling the person's mind, you automatically control their actions. I'm going to demonstrate on Yaxley by having him proclaim ideas that he, most assuredly, does not agree with."
Yaxley sent her a scathing look, but she ignored him and plunked a goblet full of bright pink potion in front of him. He took it in four big gulps. Then he sat back and crossed his arms in defiance. Silently, Severus handed her his wand, which made a few eyebrows at the table arch up. She turned to Yaxley and began a quiet cantation. His eyes seemed to gloss over and then correct themselves. Satisfied, Maerna handed Severus wand back to him and turned toward her victim.
"Tell me, Yaxley," she said, a playful smile on her lips, "What do you think of Harry Potter?"
The Death Eater was still for a moment before calling out in a clear, self-assured voice. "Harry Potter is the Chosen One. He will defeat the Dark Lord. He did it once as a baby and he can do it again."
Maerna continued, "What would you do to help Harry Potter reach this goal?"
"Whatever he needs me to?" Yaxley replied.
"Would you attack a fellow Death Eater?" Maerna asked.
Yaxley nodded, "of course."
"Would you put yourself in harm's way?" she asked and again he nodded.
"Would you be willing to die for Harry Potter?" Maerna pressed.
Yaxley leaned forward in anticipation, eagerness gripping his face. "Absolutely."
Silence as still as death swept through the room. No one dared to laugh or to celebrate. Maerna was known for walking a balance beam with the Dark Lord, but most thought she had pushed too far. Maerna sensed that too for she stopped and turned toward him. "I apologize for my choice in questioning, sir, but I wanted an ideology that Yaxley would, normally, strongly disagree with in order to demonstrate the potency of this potion. I could not think of a more paradoxical topic."
Lord Voldemort said not a word, his snake-like features hard as ice. Finally Maerna dared to speak again. "Perhaps sir, another demonstration, using a silly, more amusing topic? He turned his red eyes on her and nodded in approval."
Maerna turned back to the blonde man, "Yaxley, go demonstrate your love to Lucius."
"With pleasure," the Death Eater said. He pushed his chair and walked over to the owner of the house. Down on one knee, he began to declare his love unabashedly, reciting poetry about Lucius's long, white-blonde hair and grey eyes. Lucius froze with a horrified look upon his face trying to push Yaxley away while the love-struck man tried to kiss his hands and robe. The room roared in laughter at Lucius's expense who was, at this point, physically kicking Yaxley in the face. Maerna put her hand on Yaxley's shoulder and told him to return to his seat which he did in a docile manner.
Finally the room calmed down. Maerna turned to the Dark Lord and waited patiently. He drummed his fingers on the table, deep in thought. "Severus, it seems you have chosen well for a partner," the Dark Lord said, "and I have a perfect way to reward her for a job well done." He waved his wand and a long, thin box appeared. He motioned Maerna forward. "It seems as though you have overcome your little wand problem," he stated "How?"
"Severus, isn't sure," Maerna lied through her teeth and cast her eyes down. "My grandmother died almost two years ago. He thinks that perhaps the strength of the curse is slowly dissipating as time continues." Actually Severus and Albus's portrait thought the blood bonding ritual had overcome her grandmother's curse, but she would share that with the Dark Lord when hell froze over.
Lord Voldemort nodded and extended the box out to her. "I understand that you ordered this from Ollivander a few weeks ago. It is now ready. You are a very powerful witch without a wand, Ms. Danazul. I look forward to seeing your power with one."
"Thank you, milord," she said graciously taking it. "I look forward to showing you another demonstration in the future."
Voldemort never acknowledged her. He just moved onto the next report.
After being dismissed, Maerna, Severus and the Carrows returned to Hogwarts for dinner. Throughout the meal, The Carrow siblings openly appraised Maerna, trying to determine where she fit in and she returned their gaze without a hint of fear. They understood two things: Severus was very protective of her and at the moment, the Dark Lord was happy with her, so she was off-limits to whatever diabolical schemes they were cooking up.
As soon as dinner finished, Maerna made her excuses and slipped up to the Headmaster's office to floo home. Severus quietly followed her. He pulled her into this arms as the stairwell moved them upward. "Don't open the door," he whispered as they neared the top.
"Why not?" she whispered back. "There's no one up there."
"Actually," he replied with mirth. "There's about a hundred people up there. Most of them are nosey, old men who like to try to tell me how to run Hogwarts and my life."
Maerna laughed as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I bet there is one who is the worse. Long white beard, twinkling eyes, sits right behind the desk."
Severus rolled his eyes. "Sometimes he is, but he also supports having you in my life and I'm thankful everyday that you are." Severus looked deep into her brown eyes trying to drink in every feature. "I was so worried when we were at the Manor today. I was sure he was going to demand you take an oath of allegiance again."
"And if he did, you knew I would refuse," Maerna supplied, her face marked in sympathy for him.
"Maerna, I can't do this alone. I need you here with me to survive this year," Severus begged.
"You don't really need me, Severus. What you need is to believe that God is there for you." Maerna's voice was smooth and kind but her words cut into him.
He cast his eyes downward. "I did pray some. When you were testing Yaxley with Harry Potter, I asked him to protect you."
"And he did," she whispered back.
"I know. I wish I had that strong faith that you do," he confessed.
"That's something I can't give you. Only God can," Maerna said.
Severus didn't say anything. They just stood in the dark for several minutes wrapped in each other's arms. Suddenly, he leaned down and claimed her mouth, pouring all his worries and anguish into the kiss. "Stay tonight" he asked huskily, but Maerna shook her head no.
"I have some important things to do this evening but I can come back tomorrow for the feast if you want." She didn't give any more details and he didn't ask.
"Okay," he gave in and opened the door to the office. As he walked across the office, Maerna waved her new wand around making confetti and ribbons burst forth from it. A huge grin appeared on her face as she watched the color fall to the floor. Severus walked over to his desk and picked up two books. "I thought these might interest you." He handed her Standard Book of Spells 1 and 2. "Given your propensity for wandless magic, I assume you'll fly through these but it's a good idea to start from the beginning. Also Flitwick said he'd be glad to tutor you a bit to help you catch up."
"Flitwick volunteered to do that?" Maerna was surprised. As "Snape's woman", the staff had been less than friendly toward her, not that she really blamed them.
"Let's just call it a favor the headmaster requested," Severus said. Maerna nodded and tucked the books under her arm.
"Also," Severus continued, "I want to start teaching you occlumency. If the Dark Lord is going to pull you into more meetings, I want you prepared."
Maerna quickly glanced at Dumbledore's portrait and share a secret smile with him. "Whenever you are ready, Severus," she replied, "I think you'll find me a quick study."
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One quick kiss later, she stepped into the fireplace and returned to the cottage. Once there she threw the books down and stepped back into the fireplace. A flash of white caught her eye. A slip of paper had fallen out of one of the spell books and fluttered to the floor. Curiously, Maerna stepped back out of the fireplace and grabbed the parchment. It was The List. The one Yaxley had of all the registered muggleborns who were up for interrogation within the next two weeks. "Thank you, Severus," she thought. She scanned the list of about one hundred names. Four of them were traitors. Four were willing to give up others to save their skin. The question was who? Maerna ran downstairs and grabbed the the Veritaserum she had finally managed to brew and jumped back into the fireplace "The Conductors Headquarters" she said in a clear voice and disappeared in a green flame.
Maerna raised her head from the fireplace to see five wands pointed at her. She held her hands up in innocence. "I'm not here to hurt anyone," she simply stated as she scanned the crow. Remus and Jak were to her right while three redheads stood to her left: "Bill, George, Fred." She nodded at each one. She had changed her appearance to straight black hair, but Fred recognized her anyways. "Meg!" he yelled while the others just stared at her.
Remus growled and told her to get lost, but she ignored him and crossed over to the table. There sat the exact same list as the one in her pocket. "Where did you get this?" Maerna demanded holding it up.
Remus refused to answer her but Jak spoke up. "Tonks managed to acquire it at work. Someone had left it on the desk and she discreetly made a copy."
"Why do you care?" Remus snarled. Maerna didn't say a word but pulled her own copy out of her pocket and laid it flat on the table. "Where did you get that?" he demanded.
Maerna breathed in deeply before answering, "Unfortunately, it's a long story and one I can't share many details of," she looked at the skeptical faces, "but I can tell you that Yaxley left that list out purposely at the Ministry so we would find it. There are names on it, four to be precise, who are willing to turn us in to save their own skin.." She continued with the explanation, searching their faces as she went. It was obvious some believed her more than others.
"Suggestions?" Bill stowed his wand away and glanced around the room for anyone with an idea..
Maerna held up the the bottle of Veritaserum. "We interrogate each refugee before we take them anywhere and checked their wands for traces."
The others nodded except for Remus who didn't look remotely convinced about anything that was going on. "Remus," Maerna said gently. "I know you are upset with me. Perhaps I should have told you the truth from the beginning, but do you understand why I didn't?" Remus didn't answer. Instead he turned back to the list and began to study it intently. Maerna sighed, "What do you want from me? Do you want me to lie to you? Tell you that he means nothing to me? I'm not going to do that because I don't lie to my friends. I care about him deeply but I also care about you and I care about this mission and I won't let anything jeopardize it even HIM."
Remus nodded once. He appeared to be trying but was still sceptical "I want to trust you, Maerna, I really do. There is so much evil flying around that it is difficult to be sure what is for the good."
"Then trust me, Remus. If I was on their side, would I have told you about the list? Would I have handed you Veritaserum to test the muggleborn? If I was on their side, I would have appeared with a dozen Death Eaters in masks behind me and you would be dead by now," she said in blunt honestly.
Remus widened his eyes at her speech but recognized the veracity of her claim. "Okay, okay," he gave in. He held out his arms and Maerna ran into them. He wrapped in her in a big hug and held her tight. Just then he noticed the wand sticking out of her pocket. "You've acquired a wand, I see" he commented.
Maerna nodded. "Just a few hours ago."
Remus studied it carefully. "It looks like the work of Ollivander."
Maerna knew it was a test of sorts. She carefully took the wand back and ran her finger down its shank gently. She paused before she spoke, giving herself a moment to be sure what she said came out perfectly. "It is. He made it personally for me. He's alive but in a place that I can't get him out of at this time."
Remus looked at her hard, then sighed and all the unbelief drained from his face. He folded her back into the hug, "It will be okay, Maerna. It will be okay."
There were about a hundred muggleborns on that list. Some has already been rescued. Some had already been detained. The Conductors rescued ten more that night. All passed the Veritaserum test. All moved out by Portkey at dawn. Maerna dropped onto the sofa in exhaustion. Remus looked particularly bad. The full moon had only been a few days ago. Maerna wasn't sure how he kept going. As he plopped down next to her, he handed her the Sunday Prophet.
She glanced at the date, September 1st. "The Hogwarts Express will be pulling out in about an hour," she said.
"Hhhmmmm," Remus was noncommittal but flipped the paper over and pointed to the article under the fold. SEVERUS SNAPE CONFIRMED AS HOGWARTS HEADMASTER.
"Yeah, I know," she admitted. "He wants me to come to the opening feast tonight." It felt strange admitting to Remus that she had a relationship with Severus. Strange but also comfortable. She hated keeping secrets from her friend.
Remus looked like he wanted to say more, but Maerna switched topics. "Tomorrow, I want to go the Ministry."
"Why?" Remus asked.
"Because I want to see which muggleborns are already there. Whom we can try to save. For whom, it is too late. We're getting down the wire here, Remus. Either we can smuggle them out of the country or they get a one way ticket to Azkaban," Maerna said.
"How do you know that?" Remus asked cautiously, so Maerna told him her own experience in Courtroom Ten. At first he looked solem; however, by the end, Remus was howling in laughter with tears streaming down his face, "That old bag. She deserved it," he proclaimed but he quickly sobered up. He looked at her quizzically, "You know, Snape seems to really love you," Remus observed.
Maerna nodded her head. "He's never told me such, but I know he needs me for strength and comfort and I'm there for him. Not everything about him is clear.
Her voice was filled with such conviction that Remus didn't even try to challenge. "I guess, we can't choose whom we fall in love with," he mumbled.
"Nope," Maerna said, "Look at what Dora got stuck with."
The remark earned her a well deserved whack on the arm. "Come on, Let's go talk to Arthur. He might have some ideas on how to get you into the Ministry."