Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted and favourited this story (and me as an author, thank you!) it all means a lot.

Anyway, this chapter has to blend in a lot of stuff we already know from the books for it to work, as well as to keep the story moving. It was a bit of a balancing act so that it didn't get too boring and I only hope I succeeded in doing that. So, please enjoy and I'll be back again with another update next week.


Chapter Six: Dear Diary

Alone in his office, Albus Dumbledore allowed himself to think the unthinkable. Out from under the gaze of his colleagues; away from the bewildered scrutiny of the boy who desperately needed answers he could not yet give, with only the animate portraits of his predecessors taking a glimmer of interest. It was now that he felt at leisure to pursue the most uncomfortable of truths. Meanwhile, the rising sunlight lit up the faded gold leaf lettering on the spine of an ancient tome, spelling out the name of a book so rare only a precious few knew of its continued existence. Yet, Albus still couldn't quite bring himself to open it just yet.

Outside, the sun continued to rise. The strengthening light slanted through the eastern windows, finding its way through the gaps in his bookshelves in narrow beams that sliced through the lingering darkness. A new day dawned bright and sunny, in which to face cold reality. But it was Severus Snape who continued to occupy his mind. Severus and the past mistakes he reflected back at Albus, revealing to him a host of low truths he thought long dead and buried. Because heaven knew, Snape was not the first talented young wizard to fall beneath the sway of the Dark Arts. It was a slow seduction that Albus knew well. All too well. That what started out as testing the boundaries of one's power, soon led to ever greater liberties, feeding into youthful arrogance that pushed them ever onwards. Greater extremes, bigger risks and better rewards. It was a treacherous path he had once trod himself, led by the gently coaxing hand of Gellert Grindlewald.

Before he could lose himself to maudlin reflection, he opened the book on his desk. The old leather creaked with age, revealing parchment pages yellowing with dust and time. Along each leaf, an antiquated typeface detailed the darkest magic known to man, providing a step-by-step guide to horror and damnation. Before he even retrieved this book, Albus knew where his thoughts were leading him. As soon as Severus Snape told him about the fragments of Voldemort's soul encased in a ring, in a child. Even in a diary. There was only one logical conclusion, and yet he had shied from voicing it as if open acknowledgement would set it in stone. Only now, in the post-dawn silence, did his inner-voice speak aloud that which his conscious mind had feared. Horcruxes.

Fragments of soul, embedded in objects. Created by murder, sealed in blood. If the maker's body was ever destroyed, the horcrux could be cracked open and the fragment of soul within nurtured back to full body. Death Eaters, they called themselves. But Albus had never before considered how apt that name was. He read the chapter on horcruxes again, feeling his skin crawl as the pieces of the puzzle Snape had given him all fell neatly into place. And by the time he read through the relevant chapters thrice, he was convinced. It was no longer a question of 'if' there were horcruxes, but of 'how many?'

Then, when a knock on his door sounded by mid-morning, he answered the call with some trepidation. "Come in, Severus."


"Good morning, sir." Severus might still have been half asleep, but he still caught Dumbledore hastily shoving a book in his drawer. He crossed the room, wondering why some of the windows were still shuttered and settled himself in the chair opposite the desk. This close to the headmaster, he could see he wasn't the only one lacking sleep lately. "Sorry about last night."

The headmaster raised an impish smile. "I trust you already consider yourself suitably chastised, thus we shall say no more about it. Now, before you were called away, you were going to tell me about a diary."

Severus hesitated. It was a long story so, for the sake of brevity, he summed up as succinctly as he could. "There exists a diary containing a fragment of the Dark Lord's soul. It was in the care of the Malfoys until Lucius palmed it off onto a first-year student. It was just a blank diary, so she wrote in it herself. Then the soul fragment wrote back, quickly taking possession of her." He paused, shrugged his narrow shoulders and concluded, "there's more. But that's the basic gist of it."

Dumbledore's silence was contemplative as he looked Severus dead in the eye. "Given the task that lies ahead of us, Severus, I'm going to need the unabridged version of that story."

That was fair, so he cast his mind back and started from the beginning. How Ginny Weasley, in the future, would come to own the Dark Lord's diary, the possession of her soul and the Chamber of Secrets she unknowingly opened. The basilisk moving through the pipes, petrified muggleborns and a school under siege. "The basilisk killed that girl in the toilets, sir. The one Hagrid's pet monster was framed for," he said, hardly relishing the fact that he was probably going to have to do something about that too.

"So, it's true," said Dumbledore, almost to himself. "The Chamber of Secrets is just sitting there, waiting to be opened." He trailed off, deep in thought. A reverie he quickly snapped out of. "But for now, all we need to worry about is that diary, Severus. It's the one object we know, for certain, that contains a fragment of Voldemort's soul. Everything else, for now, is extraneous to that."

He nodded, eyes widening eagerly. "I can get it, sir. The Malfoys' have it. I only saw it after it had been destroyed, but I'd recognise it well enough. It was just a plain diary, bought from a muggle shop."

It was that, to him, that made it so memorable. A plain, ordinary diary that most of their kind wouldn't look at once, never mind twice. Yet, Dumbledore seemed hesitant. His brow was creased in deep thought and Severus could almost see the calculations going on behind those bright blue eyes. Eventually, he said: "I cannot emphasise enough how much I need that diary. But I also need you, Severus. I will not have you risk yourself-"

"I did this stuff for you all the time, sir," he replied, his haste bordering on the impertinent. "Death Eater meetings were held at Malfoy Manor all the time and I know precisely where they keep their little collection of dark artefacts."

The conflict was plain to see on the old man's face. Torn between the need for one thing but at the risk of another. Severus already knew which way this was going to go. All the same, he jogged the headmaster along himself. "Sir, I know how it looks but I can hold my own. I don't know what I am now, but I still did all that work for you. In the other life I led. It still means something, doesn't it?"

"Of course it does. Severus, you misunderstand me," said Albus. All the same, the old man looked jolted. "Everything you did, and everything you overcame to achieve it is nothing but a credit to you. And never would I downplay your capabilities. But, forgive me..." he trailed off, misty-eyed for a moment before the impish smile returned. "As great as my talents may be, it is still taking quite some getting used to the fact that you're not quite as other sixteen-year-olds. Severus, just give me assurances that you will take no risks in your pursuit of this diary."

"I've never had a death wish, sir. I promise; you have my word," he replied. Severus paused to draw breath, studying the headmaster as he did so. This was the one thing that, in his other life, Dumbledore had never told him. One key piece of information held back, far too risky to impart to one so close to the Dark Lord. But whatever Severus was now, he knew he was not that former Death Eater any more. "Sir, surely in this life you can tell me how the Dark Lord's soul seems to be scattered around in random objects? How has he done that?"

His question echoed into the silence that now seemed as heavy as a funeral pall. The gaze with which Dumbledore fixed him bore right through him and lingered. Somewhere, through the open window, children's voices could be heard as they ran to their next lesson as a bell tolled from the direction of the Astronomy Tower. After what seemed an age, the headmaster reached into his top drawer and produced a leather-bound book. The same one, Severus suspected, that he had hidden as he entered the office.

"Read the chapter on Horcruxes," said Albus, sliding the book toward Severus. "I will not know for sure until I see that diary. However, I strongly believe my theory to be correct."

In all his years of studying the Dark Arts, even as a genuine Death Eater, Severus had never come across Horcruxes. The name meant nothing to him. So, with great curiosity he turned to the relevant page and began reading the synopsis. And everything fell into place. He looked up from the page, meeting the headmaster's gaze again. "When the Dark Lord returned, he looked more snake than man. It must have been because his soul was so mutilated from creating these things."

Curious, Dumbledore said, "show me. Use your occlumency."

At random, he selected the last meeting of the Death Eaters held at Malfoy Manor before his death, as he had been sat at Voldemort's right-hand side. Fixing it in his mind, he met Dumbledore's gaze and allowed the other man to access his thoughts. It was so subtly done that he felt nothing, so waited until Albus himself broke eye contact once he had seen enough. He muttered something under his breath in disgust as he broke away. Moreover, he looked troubled. Severus had never seen him openly troubled before.

"Sir?"

Severus passed the book, Secrets of the Darkest Art, across the desk again. Catching it, Albus tossed it carelessly back into the drawer as though he would much rather be obliterating it out of existence. "It's all right, Severus. You've done well and I trust that not a word of what I have told you will leave this office. For now, not even to Miss Evans."

"Of course."

"And before you go, Severus, there is one more book I would like you to familiarise yourself with, if you are not already."

"Yes, sir. Which one?" Automatically, Severus thought of the Restricted Section in the library. Some dark, screaming volume full of the darkest magic, such as he had just read a moment before. Forbidden knowledge, lost taboos. Piquing his curiosity further, Albus reached into his desk drawer again and produced another volume. Smaller, this time. "Oh," he said, picking it up and glancing at the colourful jacket. "The Tales of Beedle the Bard?"

He thought he might have been handed the wrong book, but when the headmaster spoke it became clear this was all intentional. "I'm sure your mother read the stories to you when you were a little boy."

"Well … yes," he replied, casting his mind back. His lip curled as he tried to recall the details while simultaneously lost on the book's relevance to anything. "I think I liked 'Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Something-or-Other'".

"I rather enjoyed that one, too," said Dumbledore, looking animated again. "But I think you will find The Tale of the Three Brothers far more interesting, in light of what we have just discussed."

Then it dawned on him. "Ah, the Elder Wand."

That wretched thing got him killed, or so he thought before waking up here.

"Read it all, it is most interesting," said the headmaster. "And good luck getting that diary, Severus."

Understanding himself to be dismissed, he left the room and descended the stairs before emerging into the cool corridor beyond. Pausing at the foot of the stairs to the Gryffindor tower, he sent another message up to Lily to meet him at the gates. In the meantime, he thought it only fair that he be the one to collect the supplies this time.

He ducked into the Slytherin common room, found his own bag in his old dormitory and made for the kitchens. All the while, the minor problem of breaking into Malfoy Manor and getting the diary played on his mind. It had been easy to commit himself to the task. The Malfoys knew him but they could never know it was him who took the diary he wasn't even supposed to know existed. Then there were the anti-intruder jinxes around the house, the extra layers of magic that protected the item itself. And that was after he managed to gain entry to the manor house itself. The latter, at least, he had an idea about and needed to test it.

Rucksack in hand, he swung down into the basement stairwell next to where the Hufflepuffs dwelled in their damp, subterranean cellars. He followed the passageway lined with brightly painted pictures of food, pausing only to tickle the relevant pear that opened up the entrance to the kitchens. If only, he lamented, accessing Malfoy Manor would be quite so easy. If only there was some weakness in the Malfoys' security, something he could exploit, to give him a way in.

"House Elf!" he said as the kitchen swung into view. There were scores of them running around. Tiny, with matching loin cloths embossed with the Hogwarts insignia wrapped around their narrow waists they each appeared to be doing ten things at once. There were so many of them the air crackled with their unique magic, as dishes floated in mid-air, pots scrubbed themselves and spit roasts turned over vast open fires. At the sound of his voice, a number of them stopped what they were doing and bowed low in the presence of the wizard. Alas, he had not meant to say anything at all. "No, please, it's fine. Carry on doing what you were doing."

Regardless, a number of them began crowding around them, each talking over the other as they paid homage. A peculiar obsequiousness that left him feeling faintly embarrassed. "I just need to collect a few bits and pieces for a friend and I-"

"No, master. We must do it!"

"Here, sir!"

They spoke at once, making it impossible to determine which had said what. But they all conveyed platters toward him, a whole hog roast hovering ominously in the air as they all scrambled to help at once. Eventually, he managed to pick the few bits and pieces he had in mind. Some cauldron cakes, sandwiches and a few flasks of butterbeer before managing to make his escape. Breathless from his encounter with the eager elves, he ran for the door and out into the grounds where he could catch his breath again.

To his relief, Lily was already waiting for him by the gates. Her red hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, a light summer dress reached her knees. She greeted him with a smile which lit up her whole face. "Sev! I wanted to ask you about something I found last night, but it can wait since I assume we're going somewhere?"

"Wiltshire," he said. "And I guessed it was my turn to bring the supplies."

"Rightly so. But what's in Wiltshire?"

"The house we're breaking in to."

Lily looked scandalised. "What!?"

He kept walking, crooked smile in place as he reached the gates and opened them with a tap of his wand. Once they were outside, he held out his hand for her hold onto as he turned on the spot and threw them both into a void that sucked them both into compressed oblivion. Moments later and they were atop a lush, green hill overlooking a deep valley below.

While Lily recovered herself, Severus surveyed the scene. Thick woodlands spread out either side of the valley, through which a large river flowed westwards toward the distant coast. Nestled among those trees was a large manor house, its gothic style turrets clearly visible among the sea of green. Its finely manicured lawns seemed incongruous among the untamed nature that surrounded it. Around those lawns, a tall wrought iron fence marked the boundary. A boundary he knew to be protected by spells and jinxes, some of which would bring a frown to the faces of polite society.

"Is that the place; that huge house down there?" she asked, looking from him to the Manor.

Severus nodded.

"Cool, Sev. Let's just go busting in there, shall we. What could possibly go wrong?" She turned to look up at him, smirk in place as always when she was trying to be as facetious as him. "How do you rate my sarcasm skills?"

"Exceeds Expectations. I'm proud of you, Lily." Together, with him holding her hand to help her down the rugged hillside, they made their way toward Malfoy Manor. "Seriously, though. Today we're just looking. I want to see what the security's like. And when the day comes, you don't have to be there but I think you'll want to be when I tell you everything."

"God, you're being serious," she replied, stumbling on a loose rock. "So, who lives there and why are you planning to burgle their house? And how much do wizarding lawyers cost for when you court date arrives?"

"I see your faith in my abilities remains unshaken by recent events," he retorted. "But no, I won't get caught. And it's the Malfoys' place. You remember them?"

She turned serious. "Of course. They're up to their eyeballs in dark magic. All of them."

They reached the foot of the hill, where a low dry-stone wall formed a barrier to the wild woodlands that stretched to the north of the house. Helping Lily over the wall once he'd jumped it himself, he led her by the hand into the trees. Relieved to be hidden beneath the forest canopy, he breathed a little easier as he turned to watch her wending her way along a narrow, beaten earth path. Sunlight dappled her auburn hair, her eyes flashing bright emerald as she looked at him expectantly. Sometimes, even now, back in this time, he ached when he remembered the pain her death had caused and the gaping void she had left in his existence.

Noticing that he had come to a halt, Lily did the same. "Sev, what is it? What's going on?"

Satisfied that they were alone, even their voices muffled by the trees and the undergrowth that surrounded them, he answered, "in that house is something we need. A diary, with a fragment of the Dark Lord's soul encased inside it." He had given his word to Dumbledore that he would not mention Horcruxes and so he didn't. Still, he found a way to skirt around the subject. "For him to be defeated, that diary must be destroyed first."

Her eyes widened, the colour draining from her face. "Merlin's beard, Severus."

A felled tree was nearby, brought down by some storm or other. Severus guided her over to it so they could sit down and talk awhile. From inside the rucksack, he produced some of the snacks he had brought, handing her a cauldron cake and some butterbeer. By his estimation, it was nearing noon so they may as well have some lunch. "Do you get it now, why I have to do this?"

"Tell Dumbledore, Severus! This is too dangerous for us alone."

"Dumbledore knows," he answered. "Thing is, he could tell the Aurors about it. They could raid the Malfoys' house and they might even find what we're looking for. But then it would be all over the Daily Prophet and even if it isn't, they'll go running to the Dark Lord and he will find out that we're on to his little secret."

"But if we destroy it quickly, he won't have time to react."

"It's not that simple, Lily. He could make more items like that diary and we cannot let that happen. Please, believe me."

"He'll still know the diary is missing," she pointed out. "Then he'll just make another."

"True but if, unlike the Aurors, we're discreet then no one will notice it's missing for quite some time," he reasoned. "Hopefully, Lucius Malfoy will be so shit scared that it's missing he won't even mention it to the Dark Lord at all."

Lily was quiet, her gaze averted as she watched the river flowing past. For what seemed an age, the silence was broken only by the birdsong high in the trees. Once again, he found himself looking at her, noting how the light shifted across her face as the trees swayed overhead. "Sirius said you're Lucius Malfoy's little pet. And don't deny it, Sev. He was the one who set you on this path. He's the one who turned you into … into-"

"A Death Eater in waiting?" he cut in. "Is that what you think I am?"

"No! Listen, Sev," she looked at him again, the appeal plain to see in her face. "I hoped and hoped you would come back to me. These last two or three years, I have watched you fall deeper and deeper under their influence. Theodore Nott, Evan Rosier, Mulciber and all the rest of them. They all had their claws in you, dragging you down with them. The things they had you doing, the magic you were experimenting with… I thought you were all but gone. And now, suddenly you're talking about breaking into people's houses to find dark magic and destroy it. This change, Sev, it's all very sudden and out of the blue. It's like you woke up from that coma a different person and it's all a bit much to process."

She knew. He could sense it. "Yesterday, when Dumbledore had you study that memory, how much did you work out for yourself?"

"Not much." She shook her head. "But Dumbledore said you returned from a very long journey. And I think I'm starting to get an idea of what that journey might have been. You, you saw things, didn't you? Lived them?"

He couldn't quite meet her eye any longer. "Lived them, is more accurate."

He heard the breath hitch in her throat. "How long?"

"Do you remember what I told you when I woke up?" he asked. "I told you after Potter attacked nothing was as you remembered it?"

"I thought you were dreaming."

"I lived, Lily," he said. "I lived for years and I died after being bitten by a snake."

Quietly, she said: "Nagini."

Severus nodded, but said no more. He wanted her to have time to take it in, to absorb what she was being told. Nor would he tell her anything she didn't directly ask for. Nothing she did not need to know.

"That's why you have no trace," she said, stifling a dry laugh. When she met his gaze again, however, she was stoic. Her eyes hard and cold as they bored into his own. "I know I died. And, I don't want the gory details. There are some things I am not yet ready for and that is certainly one of them. Just tell me one thing: was it him?"

Severus answered with a barely perceptible nod of the head. "It was him."

"Well then, let's find a way into Monster Mansion and get that soul diary to Dumbledore," she said, rising to her feet. She stood with her back straight, her eyes blazing as she peered through the trees and then back to him. "And I'm in, Sev. Whatever you have to do, however you have to do it, I'm with you."

For the first time in a long time, his heart soared.

They made their way out of the woods, to another footpath that ran around the perimeter fence of Malfoy Manor. Even so, he stuck to the shadows at the edge of the trees since Lucius still knew him. Despite being only sixteen, Lucius had had him marked out for years already, had been charting his progress through school. Keeping tabs on him through Nott and Rosier, as well as summoning him to this very house once during every school holiday. Only through his adult mind could he see this tenderly sinister grooming for what it really had been. It was nothing like the near paternal care that Lucius Malfoy himself had made it appear. And the child Snape had fallen for it, hook, line and sinker.

Eventually, however, they had to come out into plain view. The manor rose above them, as dark and foreboding as its reputation suggested. Shuttered windows blocked the light in the upper storeys, but the ground floor afforded the occupants full view of who was coming and going despite the tall privet hedge, so he acted quickly to test the theory that had already formed in his head.

"Lily, try to touch the gate."

"Sure." She did so, only to flinch as the air crackled, forcing her backwards. "What was that?"

Nothing he had not expected. "Anti-intruder jinxes. Now, turn and look behind me. Tell me if you see anyone approaching, okay?"

"All right." She was rubbing her hand as if electrocuted, but did as he asked.

Only once her back was to him did he test out the theory that had already formed in his head before they even set off. He rolled up his sleeve to expose the mark and showed it to the gate. Quickly, he covered his arm and grabbed Lily, dragging her through the perimeter gate as thought the metal had turned to air. "We're in. Now let's get the fuck back out."

In one fluid movement, he pulled her back out of the fence and onto the driveway beyond. He turned and disapparated them both back to Hogsmead. Breathless, cheeks flushed with exhilaration Lily laughed. "Those anti-intruder jinxes aren't very good, are they?"

Severus forced a laugh. "That's just the perimeter fence. We need to breach the house and then whatever charms they have protecting their little stash of dark artefacts."

He knew where they were, however. He had seen them countless times, even the hidden floorboard where other items were kept from view. But that diary. It was so bland and ordinary; it might not even be displayed. If it was, it was only because it had come from the Dark Lord himself. The secret, however, was the House Elf. It had hit him like a thunderbolt as soon as he walked into the kitchens and saw them all running around. The Malfoys had a House Elf, who wanted his freedom. It was a germ of a plan taking root in his head, even though he didn't even know if it was the same elf they had now as in the future.

And now, there was one more thing. "Lily, do you think you could sweet talk James Potter into lending you his invisibility cloak?"


Lily was nothing, if not patient. Straight after dinner in the Great Hall, she returned to the Gryffindor common room and hoisted herself up onto her favourite windowsill to wait. To wait as James Potter flirted with Marlene McKinnon, then bantered with Peter Pettigrew, then said goodbye to Sirius Black as Black went off to serve detention somewhere. Then he was chatting to some fifth years about quidditch and quidditch teams, and quidditch matches and which brooms were best to pay quidditch. Fucking quidditch! All the while, he cast the occasional furtive glance her way, which she met in hope that he would read the signs that she needed to talk to him.

Then, finally, as evening settled in fast around the castle, they were the only two students left in the common room. Stiff from sitting on the sill so long, she slid down and bid goodnight to Mary McDonald, promising her she would be up shortly as she sat at a now empty table. Smirking, James rumpled his hair and took the seat opposite hers. With one hand, he casually spun the chair around so it was facing backwards and sat himself down spread-eagle, arms resting along the top of the backrest, he regarded her nonchalantly. "Well, Evans, you're becoming quite the international woman of mystery, lately."

"This is serious, James."

"Nope, Sirius is in detention- ouch!" She kicked him under the table. "Sorry. I'm sorry."

For what it was worth, he fixed his face into an expression of sombreness.

"That is such an old joke, anyway. It wasn't funny the first time round either, so never mind now."

His expression remained unchanged. Quietly, he rose and turned his chair around again, so that he could sit properly. He looked like a child learning his manners for the first time. "I know how I've been. I know what I've been-"

"A bully." For someone about to ask a huge favour of him, Lily knew this was probably not the right way of going about things. Yet, her brusque honesty had no discernible impact on the boy opposite her. He remained as chastened as she had ever seen him.

"Yes. A bully." His voice faded; hazel eyes unfocused behind round spectacles. In the failing light, she could see the colour rising in his face. It looked a lot like shame. "I almost killed someone. Twice."

"His name is Severus."

"Severus, I know. And ever since what happened, I've done nothing but think. All through those detentions, it's been on my mind. My parents won't even speak to me they're so disgusted. And, and…" James broke off, failing to meet her eye he looked everywhere except at her. Only once he composed himself did he continue: "I don't expect you to believe me, Lily. So, I won't waste your time or mine by asking you to. But I'm going to show you that I want to make amends."

This was promising, but Lily wasn't convinced. However, she knew an opportunity when she saw one. "To me and to Severus?"

"Yes."

Despite herself, a broad smile grew upon her face. "There is one thing you can do, and I guarantee all will be forgiven."

"What?"

This was big. So big she hesitated before blurting out: "Lend me your invisibility cloak."

"Do mine ears deceive me?" he said, raising a shadow of his mocking grin. "Lily Evans appears to be out for a spot of rule breaking."

More like law breaking. She laughed, but it was a hollow effort. "Something like that."

James drew a deep breath. "I know I don't often treat it as such, but that cloak is an ancient family heirloom. If anything should ever happen to it, it would be on me. Can I ask what you would need it for?"

"I… I…" she had always been a useless liar and she could feel her cheeks burning red. The heat reaching her ears and forehead. "I just thought I might walk around in it. You know… nip out. At night. Just being invisible."

"Merlin's beard, you look like a radish," he said. "So, Severus Snape will forgive and forget everything if I just let you wander around in my invisibility cloak for a night? That's uncharacteristically generous of him."

"I'm sworn to secrecy, James. But please believe me, the world will be a little safer if we succeed in doing what we intend on doing." She sent up a silent prayer that he, at least, would trust her enough to mean what she said.

"Forgive me, Lily, but this is sounding shadier by the second," he said, frowning. "I can't give you my cloak unless I know what's happening, what you're doing with it and why. Especially if, as it seems it does, it involves a budding Death Eater."

First Severus turns into someone else overnight and now James Potter, too. Lily was ready to throw in the towel, to just throw her hands up and admit defeat. Only, this was too important for that. "Talk to him."

"To Snape?"

"Yes." Her answer was firm. It made sense. If Severus was being serious about turning over a new leaf and renouncing the dark arts, and if James was serious about changing into a better person, it made sense for them to work together. She knew she had to try. "We can meet him tomorrow, by the lake. None of the others, just us three. And James, this isn't some jolly little jape we're planning. It's for real."

Clearly intrigued, he remained silent. In the end, after what seemed an age, he nodded. "All right. Just the three of us."


Thanks again for reading, reviews would be welcome if you have a minute.

BTW, this story is definitely Snily. I just want to explore the idea of James and Snape being compelled to work together.