Chapter 23: The Potters and the Prophecy

A part of Severus was resentful at being in Dumbledore's debt. Another part of him was ever so grateful for it.

As it was, Severus was surprised to receive a letter from Dumbledore, asking to meet with him at Hogwarts. Sequestered in the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore floored Severus by insisting that he call him Albus… and also by offering him the open post of Potions Master (brought on by Horace Slughorn's retirement) at the school.

Even though he was smart enough to know that Albus was probably doing this to keep Severus close and thus keep an eye on him, Severus readily agreed to the offer. Lily had always told him he could make a good teacher.

And besides….

When Severus told Voldemort of the terms he had agreed to from Dumbledore, the Dark Lord was actually delighted.

"A perfect perch from which to spy on Dumbledore and the Order, Severus! Report all goings-on back to me."

So it was that by day, Severus taught Potions and served as the youngest Head of Sytherin House ever, and by night, continued to patrol with the Death Eaters and report all Order of the Phoenix intelligence back to his Master. If Dumbledore knew this is what his newest employee was doing, he never let on. Nevertheless Severus believed he probably knew. The man was a Merlin-damned genius.

In any case, what little intelligence Severus was able to gather in those first several months or close to a year was not of much value. The most intriguing nugget of word was actually this: Lily was expecting a baby. So were Frank and Alice Longbottom, it seemed. How far along each mother was, however, was uncertain. To Severus's surprise, Voldemort was very interested in the information, for he had come to despise the Potters for spurning his initial offer. And the Longbottoms were equally renowned as being two of the most effective Aurors in the Order of the Phoenix.

One evening, Severus was down at the Hogs' Head Inn getting a drink when he passed by an open door and heard voices. One of them was Dumbledore, and as he peered around the corner, he could see a woman with frizzy hair sitting across from him. She sat ramrod straight, and even in profile, she appeared almost catatonic as she intoned these words:

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..."

"OI! Bloody hell are you doing here?!" And suddenly, Severus felt himself nearly being picked up as a man who for a moment he thought was Dumbledore, having caught him eavesdropping, picked him up and threw him out. Just before he landed face-first in the snow outside, Severus could see the real Albus moving through the gathering crowd, scanning curiously as his doppleganger approached him. Heart pounding, Severus rushed to inform his Dark Lord of this threat to his power and indeed, his very life.

Knowing he would probably have already been outed by the barkeep of the Hogs' Head who bore an uncanny resemblance to Dumbledore, Severus, on a whim, decided to reveal to Albus what he had overheard, expecting to be fired on the spot. Instead, Albus was gracious and did not harbor ill will against Severus, though his face did pale when Severus decided, again on a whim, to inform Albus that Voldemort knew of the prophecy that foretold his destruction.

"I don't think I heard all of it – I was tossed out before I could, which means there are pieces the Dark Lord does not know."

Dumbledore was grim. "Please see to it that it remains so, Severus."

At the opening of August 1980, two birth announcements appeared in the Daily Prophet, one of which caused Severus's heart to seethe with jealousy: Lily had given birth to a beautiful baby boy. Alice Longbottom had also given birth, though in neither case was the date of birth made clear.

That didn't stop Voldemort from speculating, stroking his beloved pet snake and surrounded by his loyal inner circle.

"This so-called prophecy clearly refers to a boy…. A boy born as the seventh month dies to parents who have thrice defied my will…. But which boy?..."

"The Longbottom brat is of noble, pure blood, my Lord, though his parents are traitors!" Bellatrix Lestrange spat. "He would not dare to stand against you!"

"The blood which runs through each boy's veins is a factor, though it is not my only concern…" Voldemort mused. "Indeed, the little Potter whelp is weaned at the breast of a bitch with mud as blood. A half-blood, we would call them. And yet, though it discomforts me to voice it, by virtue of that alone, the similarities between myself and Harry Potter are indeed…. Striking. Even compelling."

Around the long conference table, all the Death Eaters stiffened, even Severus: Voldemort almost never publicly admitted to his partially Muggle origins, and on the rare occasion he did, it was only to his most trusted; very few outside of his inner circle knew the truth. Indeed, many of his followers believed him to be pure blood.

For Severus himself, however, his heart was beginning to race. If Voldemort was turning his eye in favor of Harry Potter, Lily's son, then that meant…

"My Lord!" he spoke up, trying not to sound too desperate.

Voldemort swiveled his head to his most trusted aide with mild interest. "Yes, Severus?"

"I would advise you to not so easily dismiss Neville Longbottom out of hand. You need not concern yourself with the spawn of the riff-raff…"

"The prophecy states I shall mark him as my equal, Severus…. by virtue of the blood in his veins, it would seem that Harry Potter is already my equal in ancestry, though it gives me great pain to confess it. Nevertheless, I shall take your candidacy of the Longbottom boy into consideration."

The meeting broke up, and Severus was overcome with a need of assurance, which compelled him to approach his master.

"My Lord, may I speak with you alone?"

To his relief, Voldemort acquiesced and they stepped into a private alcove.

"Let me begin by making it perfectly clear that I shall accept your judgment on whom you make your target, whatever you decide. But should your wisdom keep your eye on Harry Potter, I must implore you: spare the child's mother."

Voldemort chuckled. "My dear Severus, why should I?"

His silence spoke volumes.

"Ah, yes! I remember…. This is the girl to whom you took such a fancy that you recommended her talents to me. Pity she chose to spurn me. However….." And Voldemort held up a bony hand. "As you have proved yourself doggedly loyal to me, I shall grant you this boon. Very well, Severus. If the girl is willing to stand aside, I shall spare her life. But her child must die."

"Understood, my Lord. Anything you say! Do what you like with her lover and the babe, but Lily Evans Potter must remain alive!"

"If my whims and circumstances demand it of me," Voldemort acceded.

However, Severus had worked long enough with the Dark Lord to know that he couldn't take that assurance as far as he could throw it. Even if Lily so much as refused to stand aside from her son's life, it would be the perfect excuse for Voldemort to do one thing he was known for: go back on his word.

Severus was on his way back to Hogwarts Castle when Dumbledore intercepted him on a windswept plain, violently disarming him.

"You steered the Dark Lord in the direction of the Potters?!"

"Not intentionally!" Severus blasted out, truly frightened. "I told him to take care of the Longbottom boy, but his heart is set on Lily's son!"

"Severus, do you have any idea what you've done? Because of you, multiple lives are at stake! Including Lily's!"

"Then hide her!" He flinched at Albus's hawkish, knowing glare. "Hide them all, I beg you!"

Albus's lip curled. "You disgust me."

It was a wonder he still had a job when he returned to the Castle that night.

Secluded in the Burrow, Lily bounced her little baby in her arms, watching her husband and his three best friends pace their living room.

"Are you sure about this, Padfoot?" James asked.

"Moldy and his crowd will go for me. They say the Dark Lord is mad with rage and trying to smoke you out. He wouldn't be afraid to cross Moony either, werewolf or no. This is the best way the secret holds. No one would suspect Wormtail."

"Gee, thanks," Peter scowled. Remus laid a hand on his little friend's shoulder.

"It's meant in the best way. And you've always wanted to help."

Peter nodded. "OK. Let's do it."

With that, James stepped forward and whispered the location of Godric's Hollow into Peter's ear. Then, together, he and Peter cast the Fidelius Charm.

Lily smiled, rising and kissing Peter on the cheek. Then, with a smirk and a wave of her wand, the best ale from the Hog's Head appeared out of thin air, though her pockets were lighter as Galleons disappeared from there in exchange.

"How about I buy you a drink, Mr. Pettigrew?"