"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 38

Minerva turned to Mordred, uncomfortable. "You approve of this?"

He shrugged. "We are at war. It is only logical to recruit potential defectors, and soldiers are sometimes forced to kill. With the possible exception of yourself, Headmistress McGonagall, we are all murderers in this room."

"There's a difference between killing Death Eaters and murder," Moody snarled. Minerva frowned. Is there? If they kill us, it's murder. It should be murder if we kill them as well.

"Dahlia Wilkes," Mordred replied coolly. "She was still in the house when you burned it to ash. I understand that your words at the time were, 'This will teach that Death Eater bastard a lesson.' I hear that Octavian took it to heart. He was certainly less merciful towards the opposition following the death of his non-combatant wife."

Moody's scarred and ruined face became stricken, and he fell suddenly silent. Minerva wondered if he had not known. For several long seconds, no one spoke. Minerva felt herself grow pale as realization struck her. Albus Dumbledore had not refuted Mordred's words.

At last, Dumbledore spoke. "Surely, there are alternatives to killing them? If we do so, we become no better than those we seek to defeat."

Mordred laughed mockingly. "How do you intend to defeat Riddle? Will you lock him in a prison, as you did Gellert? As we so recently demonstrated, prison walls can be broken."

That is a remarkably good point, Minerva thought.

"There is a difference between stopping Tom and killing all of his followers!" Dumbledore retorted.

Mordred raised a mocking eyebrow. It struck Minerva as familiar, though she could not place how. "Who said we would kill all of them? As Gellert said, it would be based on the situation. Or should we aim only to capture if we see Bellatrix Lestrange, for instance, torturing another family into insanity?"

"I agree," Minerva said, glancing sharply at Dumbledore. Alice and Frank Longbottom had been her students. Later, they had become her friends. No one else should suffer as they had. Bellatrix Lestrange had been captured, and Azkaban had seemed sufficient at the time. But now . . . You-Know-Who broke her out of prison once already. What was it that Severus sometimes would say to her? "The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again but expecting different results," or something along those lines.

"Minerva –" Dumbledore began.

"No, Albus," Minerva interrupted. "As the only non-murderer in this room, my perspective might be different than all of yours. Yet I cannot condone letting monsters like Lestrange run free to commit atrocity after atrocity. We are, as Mordred said, at war. I remember the war against Grindelwald. Our forces had to kill then. Even you admitted the necessity at the time. You-Know-Who may not have as large an army, but his methods are far worse." Across from her, Grindelwald's lips twitched slightly.

"Exactly what I have been trying to tell you, Albus," Moody agreed.

Dumbledore stared at her, looking very old and sad. He sighed. "So be it. I can only hope, my dear, that you reconsider. Do not let your soul be scarred."

"Excellent. So it is settled," Mordred said. "Gellert, as you may need to work with the Order on the various raids, would you care to be the primary liaison between our two groups? During the school year, of course, Severus can relay his reports to Headmistress McGonagall."

Grindelwald nodded. "Certainly. It will be lovely to work with Albus again." Minerva caught a slight flush appear on Dumbledore's face. So, they were more than simply enemies, at least at one point. I had heard a few hints from Bathilda, but never actually believed them. It looks like she was right after all.

"Would you care to stay with us here?" Dumbledore asked.

"Thank you, but no. As luxurious as your headquarters undoubtedly are," Grindelwald said, and Minerva fought a snort, "the space that Mordred has kindly provided is more than sufficient for my needs."

"You will, I hope, at least join us for dinner?" Dumbledore asked.

Grindelwald and Mordred glanced at one another. The phoenix trilled. Mordred shrugged, and the phoenix flew from Grindelwald back to his shoulder.

"We would be delighted," Grindelwald said. Dumbledore beamed.

-DVDVDV-

They retired to the library as they waited for Molly Weasley to finish the dinner preparations. Gellert was chatting with Dumbledore, occasionally flirting with the man to keep him off balance. Who would have guessed that the great and powerful Albus Dumbledore had such a glaring chink in his armor? Severus mused. Unfortunately, that left him with Moody and McGonagall. At least soon I will no longer have to deal with the Order directly. For all that it was effective, pretending to be someone he was not grated on his nerves.

"Headmistress McGonagall," he said, "have you selected a replacement potions professor yet?"

McGonagall sighed. "No. And I still need to find a defense professor. Unless you'd be interested, Alastor?"

Moody snorted. "Because it worked so well last time? Besides, there's too much for me to do out here now that Voldie's back." He paused. "Don't you need someone for transfiguration, too?"

"As I am only the interim headmistress, I will continue to teach classes. Should the appointment become permanent, then yes, I would need to appoint a successor."

Severus nodded, and then reached into an inner pocket to remove a piece of parchment. Inclining his head slightly, he handed it to McGonagall. "Severus anticipated that you might require assistance with your search. To that end, he compiled a list of potential candidates. However, he instructed me to stress that the choice is ultimately yours, and that the list is by no means comprehensive." Severus did not add that this was the same list of names that he kept regularly updated, and that each year he included it as an appendix to his – always rejected – annual resignation.

"Thank you," McGonagall said, scanning the list. "And please, thank Severus for me as well." Severus nodded. "Do you think he would be interested in the deputy position? I cannot offer it officially, as mine is only an interim appointment for now, but Albus suggested him as the most likely candidate." Moody snorted.

No! No, absolutely not. Are you bloody insane? Why would anyone even think that I would want that?

Hellspawn's laughter rang in his mind. "Congratulations! Potential unofficial deputy headmaster . . . you're moving up in the world!" Severus glared at him. "You know what they say – it's the thought that counts."

"You are less amusing than you assume," Severus snapped at Hellspawn. Moody and McGonagall both seemed surprised by his tone and comment. Stay in character, he reminded himself. To McGonagall, he said, "I suspect that Severus would prefer not to undertake those duties, Headmistress McGonagall, although I can certainly ask him should you wish. Further, should your appointment be made permanent – as I hope is the case – I would recommend first asking him unofficially, as otherwise he might find himself . . . pressured . . . to accept the post, regardless of his personal feelings on the matter." From the slight widening of her eyes, Severus guessed that she had not previously considered that the Dark Lord might have forced him to accept.

Tonks hesitantly knocked on the door. She stared at Gellert before shaking herself. "Molly asked me to let you know that dinner's ready."

On the way back to the kitchen, Tonks turned to Severus and said, very quietly, "Sir, you're in contact with Professor Snape, right?" Severus raised an eyebrow, but nodded. She flushed, but continued, "Could you please tell him that I'm sorry? I've – I've been thinking about what I saw . . . what we all did to him. It wasn't . . . it wasn't right. I know he probably won't ever forgive me – forgive us – for what happened. But we're supposed to be better than that. I became an auror to stop things like that."

Severus stopped walking and observed Tonks' face for several long seconds, assessing her sincerity. He remembered her as a student. For all that she was a metamorphmagus, she always had difficulty hiding her emotions. She seemed genuine. He believed her.

But can I forgive her?

Severus inclined his head slightly. "I shall convey your words to him, Auror Tonks. Although I cannot promise that he will forgive you for your actions – or your inaction, as the case may be – I nevertheless appreciate that you have apologized. You are the only one to have done so."

Tonks nodded, and then said, voice still quiet. "I know some of the others felt bad about it. Remus and Kingsley . . . well, I don't think they'll do something like that again. Professor McGonagall blew a gasket when she heard." She glanced in McGonagall's direction, but the older woman was now several paces ahead and did not seem to have heard. "She reamed Professor Dumbledore out – If it hadn't been for the silencing charms, you could have heard her a mile away. I'd never imagined she even knew some of those words." She grinned slightly at the memory.

"Thank you, Auror Tonks. I am relieved to hear that you are not the only member of your organization with a conscience." And Minerva yelled at Dumbledore? I would have loved to have been a witness to that.

Tonks, Lupin, and Shacklebolt . . . can I wrench them from Dumbledore's grasp? Lupin was a lost cause, too weak to act on his own. But Tonks and Shacklebolt . . . stealing his two active aurors could be devastating to the old man.

A/N: Please review!