The Keeper
Chapter 53
This was it.
Her training, the private lessons. Every test and every obstacle he had given her. Every preparation had been for this.
Her part to play…
Severus Snape and the young girl stood alone in her small bedroom at 12 Grimmauld Place. The twin size four poster bed occupied the corner. A small table beside that, a lamp, and a small desk against the other wall comprised all the remaining furniture. Nothing but wood and white walls.
"For now, you do nothing," replied Snape.
The girl was understandably confused.
"Your role will be revealed soon enough, but for now… what I need most is for you to stay angry with me; stay very angry," he said.
In disagreement she started to shake her head. Admittedly, there was a lot to take in; but at that moment she just wanted it all to end.
"Yes," he argued, taking her head into his hands to cease the shaking. "No can know of this discussion, do you understand?"
She paused as she listened.
"It is imperative that they think you hate me," he explained.
"Why?" she questioned. And though her eyes begged for answers he hesitated.
How much could he really tell her? Of course she had already proven time and again that she could be trusted, but this? Then again she would have to know…
The two continued to stand in silence in the middle of the room. "Swear to me that it's true," Severus finally spoke. His dark eyes burrowing into hers, her head still firmly in his grip.
She wasn't sure immediately what he meant.
"You said you loved me," he stated just barely over a whisper. "Swear that it is true." Though he stood with his usual air of authority, she thought she could hear it drifting along the edge of his words. Something so slight, so barely there… a soft undertone of fright.
She had already surrendered. Already decided to just obey.
"It's true," she replied. After that her eyes no longer questioning. "I'll do whatever you ask of me."
Severus felt a wave of reassurance as she stepped closer; her eyes so full of blinding surrender, of the pure admiration he still couldn't believe was for him. Staring back at the overwhelming depth of emotion he sealed their meeting with a kiss. This had all gone as well as he could have planned it.
Yulisa's emotional surrender, however, would not go unquestioned. As soon as he left she felt ecstatic, happy for the first time in weeks. Severus wasn't the bad guy! She wasn't wrong to love him, and better yet now they were going to be together! He was just a spy, like the Victoria had said, and not only could she be with him, she could help him… wait.
As the hormonal cocktail of infatuation slowly seeped back toward normal levels her logic started to return to her.
She had been so desperate for resolution, so conflicted by everything, she had simply jumped toward whatever made it so.
Had he lied to her? Of course he would say he was on the good side, to tell her exactly what she wanted to hear. 'But what was his plan?' she asked herself. Her hating him? She didn't see how the pieces fit. Was he using her somehow? Manipulating her through her emotional attachment?
Lying in the middle of her bed under a surge of fear, Yulisa's instincts told her to just go with it for now. Until he actually asked her to do something, she wasn't doing any harm. And if he trusted her she could hopefully figure out what he was up to at least. Then if he tried to play her… well, she would just play him.
Following her own agenda the young Gryffindor returned to amidst the other Order members. Harry was still greatly distraught, and while she herself wasn't exactly fine either, she approached her lonely looking friends; Hermione looking up to her with broken and guilty eyes.
"Oh Yulisa, I'm so sorry! We all are!" the other Gryffindor exclaimed as she rushed to hug her dark haired friend. Word about Yulisa's little lash-out had finally spread.
"I told her we should tell you about that bloody git, both Harry and I did," argued Ron defensively, giving Hermione a vindicated look.
"I know, I'm sorry," Hermione continued, pulling back from Yulisa's arms. Her face looked on the brink of tears. "It's just… I knew you were friends with him and I just…"
"Wait," Yulisa interrupted, "what didn't you tell me?"
Ron simply looked to Hermione, his expression along the lines of 'this is your mess, you clean it up."
The fuzzy haired brunette took a deep breath. "We knew Snape had a past with the death eaters, and that he supposedly had reformed and joined Dumbledore in the Order."
Yulisa's face was astonished. "How?"
"Harry saw it fourth year in a memory of Dumbledore's or something," replied Ron.
The revelation that her friends had known something this significant for over a year was admittedly shocking, but then again nowadays everything seemed to be.
"What memory?" Yulisa questioned, her curiosity greatly peaked. Ron just shrugged his shoulders.
"It was the memory of Igor Karkaroff's trial," Hermione quickly reported. "He named other death eaters in exchange for his release from Azkaban. He had tried to name Snape but he was already under Dumbledore's protection." None of this information was new to her, though. "Yulisa," Hermione continued, her tone treading carefully, "are you sure it was Snape who attacked your mother? I mean, if he was really on Dumbledore's side-"
"Of course he's lying!" Ron interrupted. "Don't tell me you believe he's really reformed," he continued despite Hermione's expression, "he was just saving his own ass. I mean the man has dark magic written all over him."
Suddenly remember what Snape had told her the day before she acted. "Of course I'm sure," Yulisa responded. "And Ron's right, he's pure evil."
The young Gryffindor simply walked away, headed down for the kitchen. Despite what she had said, she wasn't sure. She had given this a lot of thought since the night of that horrible revealing. It had made so much sense for it to be him, though now she questioned.
She had arrived at her conclusion because he had seem to know about the necklace, though that shouldn't have been too difficult for him. He did, after all, have five years to arrive at the truth. He had known her mother was the previous keeper, though that too could have been intuitive. It was her mother that was attacked, and if he had known about the bloodlines he would have known a muggle-born wizard would have been an unlikely candidate. What had been the most condemning was her scar. Victoria had mentioned Snape had created a curse that was used against a keeper, she had mentioned something to Dumbledore even, and then Karkaroff had made that comment. The pieces had just suddenly all fit when his form behind the mask was recognized, and looking back he even admitted to it. 'Not my wand,' he had proclaimed. He had confirmed it himself!
But then there was everything else. Victoria had said she was wrong, that she had blamed him for a crime he didn't commit and that Dumbledore could even attest for his whereabouts the day it all went down… and of course she had recognized Snape behind the mask. After months of feeling and sensing exercises, she would recognize him anywhere. That's why he had been so familiar.
She sighed as she poured herself a cup of tea. Her thoughts swirling like the dark liquid as she dropped a single cube of sugar inside.
Everything that was in his favor made perfect sense. Had he really been telling the truth the day before?
"Troubled, I see." Her thoughts were broken as she heard the familiar voice of her headmaster. Turning her attention toward the door, Albus Dumbledore had just entered the room.
"Professor-" she began. He held his hand up to silence her.
Looking up from behind his half-moon spectacles, he already knew what was spinning around in her young head. "Perhaps it would be beneficial if you and I had a little chat," he proposed. Before she could even agree he turned to head back out the door; his hand motioned for her to follow.
With her tea in hand she trailed behind the old man. He led her to what looked like an empty room along the ground floor. The door swinging open to reveal a small table and a few chairs, one of which was occupied by Severus Snape. Of course he was there.
"Severus told me about his grand plan," Dumbledore began as he shut the door behind her, the young girl not hiding some of her surprise, "and I think it's a wise arrangement." Albus continued over toward the table, taking a seat. The two men waited for the girl to join them. After a short pause she did.
"Though of course, I understand you're uncertain. You wish to protect your opes and are doubtful in who to trust," resumed Professor Dumbledore. "But I assure you, Severus is one of the most trustworthy people I know, and in light of recent developments, I do hope you will agree to help us."
"Us?" Yulisa noticed.
Dumbledore's eyes glanced down toward his hand, his ring finger black. "Forgive me, if I don't divulge all the details now, but as I'm sure you are aware the war outside is very real. Its dangers are very present, and its consequences," he mentioned lifting his hand, "very affecting."
Yulisa listened carefully, still confused about what was going on.
"Severus takes a huge risk by employing in espionage for me, and I'm afraid it has come to pass that he will not always have my protection."
Her heart started to race as she listened to her headmaster.
"A day will come, Yulisa," the old man's eyes twinkling with some strange apprehension, "when Severus will have to prove himself to Voldemort. And when he does, all will turn against him." Yulisa looked to her potions professor sitting in the next chair down. He just stared away from them out into the room, his expression holding his usual bored demeanor. "Except for you." Her attention returned to the speaker. Albus sat with a deeply serious expression upon his face, her ears half not believing what she was hearing.
It was all true…
The girl began to nod in agreement.
"OK."
