Chapter 21- Aurors and Spies
In a few days Professor McGonagoll returned to Hogwarts with 10 Aurors. All the students wondered what was going on when Dumbledore announced that the school year would be ending early. After dinner Dumbledore started the task of informing the teachers of the situation. Dumbledore was often asked about Snape but Dumbledore refused to answer any questions.
"He's not with them." Was all he would say.
Soon the school was less crowded as students started to leave. Classes were canceled and the dormitories were given to Aurors to sleep in. Harry, Hermione, Anaka, and the Weaslys were the last of the Gryffindors to stay. They were all in the common room one day when a strange person entered. The figure was wearing a long cloak and a hood covered their face.
"Who are you?" Harry asked.
The figure dropped a small brown leather bag on a nearby chair. The figure removed their hood. The women had short wavy brown hair and dark brown eyes. Her eyes were framed with thin glasses. She smiled at the children.
"I'm Leslie." She said sitting in a chair.
She took off her cloak and sighed.
"Are you an Auror?" Ginny asked.
"Not exactly Ginny." Leslie said rummaging through her bag.
"You know my name?" Ginny squeaked. Leslie laughed and looked at them.
"In my job I have to know everyone and everything before I go somewhere. I know who all of you are."
"What is your job if you are not an Auror?" Hermione asked.
"I am a spy for the Ministry." Leslie replied.
"Like Snape?" Harry asked. Leslie shook her head.
"Snape doesn't exactly work for the Ministry. I'm not that sort of spy. I tried it once and almost got caught. Mostly because of Severus."
"So why are you here?" George asked.
"I need to gather information for the Ministry. I need to find out what this creature is and how to stop it. Also if possible I need to find out how many Death Eaters there are here, how many not here, and how many altogether. I need to decide how strong You-Know-Who is. Plus I need to fight in the battle." She smiled, "It's one hell of a job."
"So why do you do it?" Ron asked. Leslie laughed.
"What's with all the questions? Would you like to hear my life story next?"
The group stayed silent.
"It's alright. I get asked a lot of questions all the time. I do this job because I like it."
"But it must be so far from where you live." Fred exclaimed.
"How do you know?" Leslie asked.
"Well your shirt says New York on it so that must be where you are from. Also you sound different." Fred pointed out.
"Ah." Leslie said.
They looked at her shirt. It was black with buildings out lined with silver on it. They could tell it was enchanted because silver lights blinked on and off in the buildings and cars seemed to move up and down the streets. New York was written on the bottom in silver script. She also wore black jeans.
"Well I am from New York. I came to England because they needed a spy. I was born to two Muggle parents you know. Strange how I had magic. Didn't relieve it till I got a letter from a nearby wizarding school."
"New York must be a great place to live. It looks so full of life." said Anaka.
"That's not the only thing it's full of." Leslie mumbled.
She continued to rummage through her bag until she found a book. She took it out and started to read. The others stirred around her. After a while Leslie looked at them over her book.
"You can talk ya know." She told them. They nodded.
"Well, we should get ready to leave." Fred said getting up.
"Yeah. Dad should be here to pick us up soon." George said following his brother.
"You mean you are not taking the train?" Harry asked.
"Mom thinks it's not safe." Ron said rolling his eyes. The Weaslys went up to their rooms to pack leaving Anaka and Harry sitting by the fire. Anaka glanced at Leslie's book.
"What are you reading?" Anaka asked.
"One of the best books of all time." Leslie replied from behind her book.
"The Courtship of Princess Leia?" Harry read puzzled. Leslie closed the book and looked at them.
"You do know who Princess Leia is don't you?"
They both shook their heads.
"Have you ever watched or heard of Star Wars?"
"No." they said slowly.
"Geez!" Leslie said, "You children have been deprived!"
Anaka and Harry looked at each other.
"Are other Aurors coming to stay here? So far only you and two others have come." said Anaka.
"Others will show up." Leslie replied, "Will you show me my bed?"
Anaka nodded and brought Leslie to the 7th years rooms. Leslie chose a bed and dropped her bag on it.
"Now," she said, "can you show me around? This is my first time here."
"Sure." Anaka replied.
Anaka told Harry they were going and then left with Leslie. Anaka showed Leslie the classrooms, occasionally running into a teacher.
"Where is the faculty room?" Leslie asked.
Anaka looked at her. They had barely finished looking at the first floor. Anaka turned down a corner and stopped at a closed door.
"Thank you. You can go back to your friends now if you want. Also if you want to read some of my book go ahead. You might be lost at first since you never saw the movies but it's still good."
Anaka nodded and left. Leslie stared at the closed door. As a kid she had always been shy but as she had grown up her shyness had faded away. Now it seemed to be creeping back. I won't be shy at 32, she thought fiercely.
She opened the door and walked in. The conversation stopped and everyone turned towards her. Leslie bit her lip and walked towards a nearby table. She knew one person in the room and took a seat next to him. He frowned at her.
"Not happy to see me Severus?" Leslie said, pouring herself some tea.
"Hello Leslie." He mumbled.
"You're not still shy are you?" Leslie asked.
He narrowed his eyes at her. Leslie cleared her throat and looked away. A man across the table chuckled. Leslie looked up and her heart skipped a beat. A handsome young man was looking at her smiling. Leslie smiled back shyly.
"Who are you?" asked the other person sitting next to her. Leslie turned and glanced at her neighbor.
"I'm Leslie Brand."
She shook the other women's hand.
"I'm Minerva McGonagoll." She said, "These are my other Hogwarts colleges. Professor John Miffugan, Professor Rich Miffugan, Professor Flitwick, Professor Lupin, and you already know Professor Snape."
Leslie looked around the table.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all." She said slowly.
"So how do you know Severus?" Lupin asked.
"I don't know her." Snape grumbled. Leslie smiled at him.
"I met him on a spy mission. He basically made me lose my cover and I had to leave."
"How nice of you Severus." McGonagoll replied.
"So you are not an Auror?" John asked. Leslie shook her head.
"Just a Ministry spy."
"Where will you be staying?" asked Flitwick.
"In the Gryffindor dormitories. I already brought my bag there. I met a few of the students that were left." She looked at Lupin, "I even met your daughter Professor Lupin."
"Please call me Remus. So you met Ana? I hope she didn't give you any trouble?"
"Why would she?" Leslie asked.
"Well, she's been acting quite strange lately."
"She is just growing up Remus." McGonagoll pointed out.
"She is only 15." Remus replied.
"Perhaps we should change the subject?" said Rich.
Severus grunted and got up. Leslie watched him leave the room.
"I'll never understand Snape." John said shaking his head.
"I wouldn't try." said Remus.
Leslie excused herself and quietly left the room. Remus watched her go and then decided to follow her. Leslie saw Severus walk down a flight of stairs and ran to catch up. They walked side by side silently. When they entered his classroom Snape closed the door. Leslie looked around at the dark dungeon.
"What do you want?" Snape growled.
Leslie turned to see Severus staring at her with arms crossed.
"I need some info Severus." She said taking a chair and sitting in it.
Snape watched her as he took a seat behind his desk.
"What type of information?" he asked.
"I need to know a little about your Death Eater friends."
Severus's frown deepened.
"Like what?"
"How many are here?"
"45."
"How many aren't here?"
"I don't know."
"About how many all together?"
Snape glared at her.
"There has to be at least 100."
Leslie nodded. She looked around the room.
"Is that all?" Severus snapped.
"Well," Leslie said slowly, "I need you to get me close to the camp. Close to Voldy."
"Voldy?" Severus grumbled. Leslie gave him a hard look.
"You should be happy I'm even trusting you. You could have killed me last time."
"You were young. You should be happy I got you out alive."
"Barely," Leslie snapped, "and I wasn't that young. I was 20. It doesn't look good on your résumé to have that you had to abort your first assignment."
"They should not have made you go to the Death Eaters. He would have killed you if I had not done anything." said Snape.
"Just promise me you'll think of a way?"
Snape hesitated.
"Fine." He mumbled. Leslie beamed.
"Thank you Severus!"
She jumped out of the chair and opened the door. Suddenly a figure ran up the stairs. She turned to see them turn the corner at the top. Leslie quickly ran after them. If someone had heard their plans her and Severus could be dead. Especially if that person went to Voldemort. Leslie reached the top and looked down the left hall. A figure was running at top speed. Leslie cursed under her breath and took off her shoes.
"What are you doing?"
Leslie turned to see Severus at the bottom of the stairs.
"I heard you start to run." He said puzzled. Leslie threw her shoes at him and he ducked pathetically.
"Keep those for me Snape!" she cried. Then she silently ran down the hall.
The figure was continuing to run but not as fast. Leslie's heart pounded. Who was this person? Suddenly the person opened a door and walked in. Leslie stopped and walked silently towards the door. There were no markings on the door. She took a deep breath and then knocked. She made herself flat against the wall on one side of the door. The door opened slowly and Leslie saw a figure out of the corner of her eye. With a small cry she tackled the figure. They struggled and rolled on the floor. The figure was defiantly stronger then her and soon pinned her to the floor. Leslie gasped for breath. Her hair covered her face. A hand gently pulled her hair away and when Leslie saw who it was she gasped. Remus looked at her puzzled.
"Remus!" Leslie said angrily, "Why were you spying on me and Severus!?"
They stayed like that for a while, gasping for breath and staring at each other. Leslie's stomach did summersaults. Remus got off her and Leslie sat up. She was in a small living room. Apparently these were Remus's quarters.
"I was not spying on you two first of all." Remus said sitting in a chair, "I saw you follow Severus so I got curious. It's true that I followed you down to Snape's but only out of concern."
"Concern?" Leslie said skeptical, "You don't even know me."
"Well, people that get involved with Snape often are in some sort of trouble. I heard that you want to get close to Voldemort." He said softly.
"That is classified information." Leslie said getting up. She stretched and headed for the door. Remus blocked her.
"How could you go? It would be to dangerous."
"I need to do my job." She scolded. Remus sighed and stood aside. Leslie opened the door and started to walk away.
"Leslie!" Remus called. Leslie turned to see Remus standing outside his door.
"Would you like to come for a cup of tea sometime?"
Leslie smiled.
"I'd love to." She called back. He nodded and shut his door. Leslie started to walk again. She felt giddy for some reason and decided to go back to the Gryffindor common room to read some more.
*************************************
Over the next few weeks Aurors from all around the world came. Soon Hogwarts was full of life and the only students left were Harry and Anaka. It was after dinner one night when an Auror named Milata came to see them. He was from Africa and wore the most colorful clothes they had ever seen.
"Dumbledore thinks you should be at the next meeting." He said, "He'll probably decide if you should leave or not."
Anaka and Harry nodded. They followed Milata to the Great Hall. There was one long table in the center of the room with Dumbledore sitting at the head. Almost every chair was filled. Anaka saw Leslie sitting close to the head of the table with her father sitting next to her. There were three empty chairs after Remus. Milata ushered the kids to their seats.
"Hi dad." Anaka whispered as she slipped into the seat next to him. He smiled at her.
Harry sat next to her and Milata sat next to him. A big black dog was lying under the table. John and his parents were sitting on the other side further up the table.
"Now that everyone is here we can start." said Dumbledore, "Does any one have an idea for a battle plan?"
There was a lot of rustling of papers.
"I have one Dumbledoe." Said an older man further down the table.
"Go ahead Fertis."
"I think we should not leave the castle. I think we should create traps all around the castle and lure the Death Eaters in."
"What about Voldemort?" said an Auror, "That will never work."
"We need a straight battle." said another.
"I agree," said Leslie, "and it's just what Voldemort wants I'll bet."
"He wants an all-out war." Severus added.
"Where's the best place to fight a battle at Hogwarts?" McGonagoll asked.
"That seems to be the main question here." Voiced Mad Eye Moody.
"Any ideas Hagrid? You know this place best." Dumbledore asked.
"The best place would 'ave to be on the flat ground between the lake and de forest." Hagrid said slowly.
"That seems like a reasonable place." said someone else.
"But it leaves room for a surprise attack. They could hide Death Eaters in the forest." said Milata.
"Where else would we go? This seems like the best spot. Let's deal with the other problems later." said another Auror.
"Now what about the two remaining students? Should they leave or stay?" Dumbledore asked. There was a brief silence.
"We could use all the help we can get." Someone said slowly.
"But they're only children!" said another.
"Harry has gotten through more situations then us. It might be good to have him around." Said an Auror.
"What about the girl?"
"I'm staying no matter what." Anaka pointed out.
"So it's decided," Dumbledore said slowly, "they can both stay. What's next?"
"We should give Voldemort a date for this battle. It's not good to leave it up to him. He might get restless and decide to attack sooner." Voiced Trelawny.
"He might do that anyway." Pointed out Severus.
"How about June 6th? It's the full moon. We'll have enough light to see everything." Said an Auror.
"I don't think that's such a good idea." Said another.
"We don't need any werewolves around." Grumbled another.
"I agree. We don't need werewolves adding to our problems." Replied another.
Anaka looked up and down the table furiously. Her father was looking down at his hands. His face had gone pale. Sirius was growling under the table. Anaka was just thinking of a mean reply when Leslie beat her to it.
"How could you be thinking about that?" she snapped, "If any of you have a prejudice against someone here why don't you say it? If you do then you just might be on the wrong side. We don't need jerks like that here."
The room was silent as Leslie folded her hands in her lap and looked around at the others.
"I think we've found a date. June 6th it is. Any one have a problem with that?"
"Good choice Leslie." Dumbledore said with a smile.
Remus looked at Leslie and smiled. She smiled back. How could people dislike such a nice man? She thought. Leslie had heard that Remus was a werewolf but didn't believe it when she saw him. This confirmed her fears though. Why did bad things happen to good people?
"I think we can figure out the rest later. Everyone get some rest." Dumbledore said with a sigh.
Leslie collected her papers and got up.
"I really appreciate you saying those things." Remus said getting up.
"Any time." Leslie said, "They had no right to say those things. They judge you before they know you."
"You seem to know me so well but I don't know you at all." Remus said with a laugh.
"I have to know about everyone before I take on an assignment. I know the history of everyone in this room."
"I hope we can get to know each other better." said Remus.
Leslie nodded. She started to blush but Remus had already turned to leave with Anaka, Harry, and the dog. Leslie watched the dog. That's no ordinary dog, she thought and left quickly out the opposite door.
*****************************************
"They had no right to say those things about you dad." Said Anaka.
"I don't understand people that do that." Harry sighed.
"Just forget about it," Remus replied, "we need to concentrate on more important things."
The dog barked in agreement. They reached the Gryffindor common room and found it empty. Many of the Aurors had gone right to bed. Only Milata was up.
"Hello." He said quietly.
"Hello Milata." Anaka said sitting in a chair.
"I think it's time you went to bed." Remus said.
"Well I'm going." Harry said with a yawn.
"I guess we all need to get some rest huh?" said Milata. He and Harry said goodnight and went to bed.
"You too Ana." Remus said kissing his daughter goodnight.
"I'll see you tomorrow dad." Anaka said lazily.
She watched her father and Sirius leave. As she headed to bed she heard a noise in the 7th year dormitory. Curious, Anaka approached the dormitory. The door was already opened a little so Anaka peaked inside. A girl with long black hair was rummaging through a brown leather bag. Anaka gasped as she realized the bag was Leslie's.
"Who are you and why are you looking through Leslie's bag?" Anaka asked as she opened the door all the way.
She walked inside and watched as the girl froze. She turned around slowly. Anaka almost gasped at the sight of her. She had black eyes like pits that you could get lost in and pale pink lips in a tight line. Her skin was sallow and if it weren't for her softened features Anaka would have thought it was Snape. The girl wore a violet tank top and black leather pants. She smirked and walked past Anaka out the door. Her steps were wide and she walked around like she owned the place. Anaka frowned and followed her into the common room and out into the hall.
"What do you want little girl?" sneered the woman as she stopped and looked at Anaka. Anaka noticed how her voice was silky and sneaky and she spoke in a soft dangerous tone.
"I want to know why you were looking through someone else's bag." Anaka said sternly.
"Now why would I tell you." The girl said softly and started to walk away, "Go back and play with your toys." She added with a wave of her hand.
Anaka clenched her fists and watched her turn a corner. We will see who you are, Anaka thought and walked back to the common room.
********************************************
Severus was in his room lying on his bed when there came a loud knock on the classroom door. He sighed and opened the door to his room. He stared at the empty classroom. The person at the door knocked harder and Severus walked quickly to the door.
"What?" he snapped as he opened it.
He gasped quickly at the sight before him and choked slightly. The woman smirked and walked past him.
"Who…What…." Severus stuttered as he closed the door and sat behind his desk.
The girl slid into a chair in front of his desk and stayed quiet. They stared at each other for a while.
"Why Severus," said the girl slowly, "you would think you would be happy to see me after so many years."
Severus frowned. The girl resembled him in so many ways, her hair, her eyes, the way she spoke and carried herself that Severus shivered.
"You seem familiar." He said slowly. Then the woman broke into a smile not made for her face and her eyes grew bright.
"I fooled you didn't I!! I knew it would work! How could you not remember your cousin Jessica Snape!!"
"Leslie!" Severus growled.
"I need you to take me to Voldy tonight." Leslie said, getting back into her sulky tone.
"No. He'll remember you from last time. He'll remember you were a spy."
"I work for the that damn Ministry now. They are such a bother." Leslie said with a wave of her hand, "I come to Voldemort with a message from the Ministry. To give him the date and place of the final battle. Also to see how powerful he has become but I'm not going to tell him that."
"You can't get involved in this again!" Severus snapped.
"Worried are we?" Leslie whispered.
"You can take care of yourself now." Severus said sitting back in his chair.
"Exactly. So take me to him. If I get killed then the Ministry can always send someone else."
Severus stayed quiet and looked at his desk.
"It was a joke Snape. It won't come to that!" Leslie scolded.
"I already got one spy killed. I won't get another." Snape said and quickly got up. He headed back to his room.
"Leave Leslie." He said about to shut the door.
Leslie stopped him and glared at Snape.
"I won't have you wreck this Severus! Not again! I got a bad rap last time so I'll make up for it now."
"With your life?" Snape growled.
"You are breaking the first rule of a spy Severus."
"Oh really? What's that?" Snape sneered.
"Don't get close to any body. Don't create attachments that could get in the way."
"What attachment?" Severus snapped. He grabbed his cloak and closed his bedroom door.
"Are we going or what?" he grumbled. Leslie hid a smile.
"Oh course cousin dear." She said. They quickly headed out the door.
*********************************************
Severus walked into the Death Eater camp slowly and looked around for Voldemort. He found him and walked towards him.
"Hello Snape." Said the Death Eaters.
"What is it Severus? I can see something is wrong." Voldemort asked.
Severus nodded and gestured for Leslie to come out of the woods. Leslie took a deep breath and entered the camp defiantly. She walked up to Voldemort.
"Nice place you have here Voldy." She said putting a hand on her hip. Voldemort jeered.
"Who is this little flower?" Voldemort hissed.
"This is my cousin Jessica Snape." Severus said, "She comes with a message from the Ministry."
"You seem familiar." Voldemort said slowly.
"I was here once with you. But now to business," Leslie said changing the subject, "the date of the final battle has been decided. So has the place."
She took out a piece of paper and handed it to Voldemort. Voldemort snatched it away from her and handed it to the others once he had read it.
"Tell your friends we will be there." He sneered. Leslie nodded. She scanned the camp taking in the work that was being done. Then she stared at Voldemort. Leslie felt like she was falling through a pit of fire looking into his eyes and couldn't look away.
"Anything else?" Snape asked turning Leslie roughly around. He had seen her stare at Voldemort and get lost. He'd seen to many people do that.
"That's it cous." Leslie said taking a deep breath and blinking a few times.
She gave him a pat on the back and then walked quickly back to Hogwarts. She walked into the Gryffindor dormitory for 7th years and ran to her bag. She took out her wand and changed her hair, voice and clothes back to normal. She stood in front of a big mirror and took out her contact lenses. Leslie got out her glasses and sighed as she looked in the mirror.
"Welcome back Leslie." She muttered.
In a few days Professor McGonagoll returned to Hogwarts with 10 Aurors. All the students wondered what was going on when Dumbledore announced that the school year would be ending early. After dinner Dumbledore started the task of informing the teachers of the situation. Dumbledore was often asked about Snape but Dumbledore refused to answer any questions.
"He's not with them." Was all he would say.
Soon the school was less crowded as students started to leave. Classes were canceled and the dormitories were given to Aurors to sleep in. Harry, Hermione, Anaka, and the Weaslys were the last of the Gryffindors to stay. They were all in the common room one day when a strange person entered. The figure was wearing a long cloak and a hood covered their face.
"Who are you?" Harry asked.
The figure dropped a small brown leather bag on a nearby chair. The figure removed their hood. The women had short wavy brown hair and dark brown eyes. Her eyes were framed with thin glasses. She smiled at the children.
"I'm Leslie." She said sitting in a chair.
She took off her cloak and sighed.
"Are you an Auror?" Ginny asked.
"Not exactly Ginny." Leslie said rummaging through her bag.
"You know my name?" Ginny squeaked. Leslie laughed and looked at them.
"In my job I have to know everyone and everything before I go somewhere. I know who all of you are."
"What is your job if you are not an Auror?" Hermione asked.
"I am a spy for the Ministry." Leslie replied.
"Like Snape?" Harry asked. Leslie shook her head.
"Snape doesn't exactly work for the Ministry. I'm not that sort of spy. I tried it once and almost got caught. Mostly because of Severus."
"So why are you here?" George asked.
"I need to gather information for the Ministry. I need to find out what this creature is and how to stop it. Also if possible I need to find out how many Death Eaters there are here, how many not here, and how many altogether. I need to decide how strong You-Know-Who is. Plus I need to fight in the battle." She smiled, "It's one hell of a job."
"So why do you do it?" Ron asked. Leslie laughed.
"What's with all the questions? Would you like to hear my life story next?"
The group stayed silent.
"It's alright. I get asked a lot of questions all the time. I do this job because I like it."
"But it must be so far from where you live." Fred exclaimed.
"How do you know?" Leslie asked.
"Well your shirt says New York on it so that must be where you are from. Also you sound different." Fred pointed out.
"Ah." Leslie said.
They looked at her shirt. It was black with buildings out lined with silver on it. They could tell it was enchanted because silver lights blinked on and off in the buildings and cars seemed to move up and down the streets. New York was written on the bottom in silver script. She also wore black jeans.
"Well I am from New York. I came to England because they needed a spy. I was born to two Muggle parents you know. Strange how I had magic. Didn't relieve it till I got a letter from a nearby wizarding school."
"New York must be a great place to live. It looks so full of life." said Anaka.
"That's not the only thing it's full of." Leslie mumbled.
She continued to rummage through her bag until she found a book. She took it out and started to read. The others stirred around her. After a while Leslie looked at them over her book.
"You can talk ya know." She told them. They nodded.
"Well, we should get ready to leave." Fred said getting up.
"Yeah. Dad should be here to pick us up soon." George said following his brother.
"You mean you are not taking the train?" Harry asked.
"Mom thinks it's not safe." Ron said rolling his eyes. The Weaslys went up to their rooms to pack leaving Anaka and Harry sitting by the fire. Anaka glanced at Leslie's book.
"What are you reading?" Anaka asked.
"One of the best books of all time." Leslie replied from behind her book.
"The Courtship of Princess Leia?" Harry read puzzled. Leslie closed the book and looked at them.
"You do know who Princess Leia is don't you?"
They both shook their heads.
"Have you ever watched or heard of Star Wars?"
"No." they said slowly.
"Geez!" Leslie said, "You children have been deprived!"
Anaka and Harry looked at each other.
"Are other Aurors coming to stay here? So far only you and two others have come." said Anaka.
"Others will show up." Leslie replied, "Will you show me my bed?"
Anaka nodded and brought Leslie to the 7th years rooms. Leslie chose a bed and dropped her bag on it.
"Now," she said, "can you show me around? This is my first time here."
"Sure." Anaka replied.
Anaka told Harry they were going and then left with Leslie. Anaka showed Leslie the classrooms, occasionally running into a teacher.
"Where is the faculty room?" Leslie asked.
Anaka looked at her. They had barely finished looking at the first floor. Anaka turned down a corner and stopped at a closed door.
"Thank you. You can go back to your friends now if you want. Also if you want to read some of my book go ahead. You might be lost at first since you never saw the movies but it's still good."
Anaka nodded and left. Leslie stared at the closed door. As a kid she had always been shy but as she had grown up her shyness had faded away. Now it seemed to be creeping back. I won't be shy at 32, she thought fiercely.
She opened the door and walked in. The conversation stopped and everyone turned towards her. Leslie bit her lip and walked towards a nearby table. She knew one person in the room and took a seat next to him. He frowned at her.
"Not happy to see me Severus?" Leslie said, pouring herself some tea.
"Hello Leslie." He mumbled.
"You're not still shy are you?" Leslie asked.
He narrowed his eyes at her. Leslie cleared her throat and looked away. A man across the table chuckled. Leslie looked up and her heart skipped a beat. A handsome young man was looking at her smiling. Leslie smiled back shyly.
"Who are you?" asked the other person sitting next to her. Leslie turned and glanced at her neighbor.
"I'm Leslie Brand."
She shook the other women's hand.
"I'm Minerva McGonagoll." She said, "These are my other Hogwarts colleges. Professor John Miffugan, Professor Rich Miffugan, Professor Flitwick, Professor Lupin, and you already know Professor Snape."
Leslie looked around the table.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all." She said slowly.
"So how do you know Severus?" Lupin asked.
"I don't know her." Snape grumbled. Leslie smiled at him.
"I met him on a spy mission. He basically made me lose my cover and I had to leave."
"How nice of you Severus." McGonagoll replied.
"So you are not an Auror?" John asked. Leslie shook her head.
"Just a Ministry spy."
"Where will you be staying?" asked Flitwick.
"In the Gryffindor dormitories. I already brought my bag there. I met a few of the students that were left." She looked at Lupin, "I even met your daughter Professor Lupin."
"Please call me Remus. So you met Ana? I hope she didn't give you any trouble?"
"Why would she?" Leslie asked.
"Well, she's been acting quite strange lately."
"She is just growing up Remus." McGonagoll pointed out.
"She is only 15." Remus replied.
"Perhaps we should change the subject?" said Rich.
Severus grunted and got up. Leslie watched him leave the room.
"I'll never understand Snape." John said shaking his head.
"I wouldn't try." said Remus.
Leslie excused herself and quietly left the room. Remus watched her go and then decided to follow her. Leslie saw Severus walk down a flight of stairs and ran to catch up. They walked side by side silently. When they entered his classroom Snape closed the door. Leslie looked around at the dark dungeon.
"What do you want?" Snape growled.
Leslie turned to see Severus staring at her with arms crossed.
"I need some info Severus." She said taking a chair and sitting in it.
Snape watched her as he took a seat behind his desk.
"What type of information?" he asked.
"I need to know a little about your Death Eater friends."
Severus's frown deepened.
"Like what?"
"How many are here?"
"45."
"How many aren't here?"
"I don't know."
"About how many all together?"
Snape glared at her.
"There has to be at least 100."
Leslie nodded. She looked around the room.
"Is that all?" Severus snapped.
"Well," Leslie said slowly, "I need you to get me close to the camp. Close to Voldy."
"Voldy?" Severus grumbled. Leslie gave him a hard look.
"You should be happy I'm even trusting you. You could have killed me last time."
"You were young. You should be happy I got you out alive."
"Barely," Leslie snapped, "and I wasn't that young. I was 20. It doesn't look good on your résumé to have that you had to abort your first assignment."
"They should not have made you go to the Death Eaters. He would have killed you if I had not done anything." said Snape.
"Just promise me you'll think of a way?"
Snape hesitated.
"Fine." He mumbled. Leslie beamed.
"Thank you Severus!"
She jumped out of the chair and opened the door. Suddenly a figure ran up the stairs. She turned to see them turn the corner at the top. Leslie quickly ran after them. If someone had heard their plans her and Severus could be dead. Especially if that person went to Voldemort. Leslie reached the top and looked down the left hall. A figure was running at top speed. Leslie cursed under her breath and took off her shoes.
"What are you doing?"
Leslie turned to see Severus at the bottom of the stairs.
"I heard you start to run." He said puzzled. Leslie threw her shoes at him and he ducked pathetically.
"Keep those for me Snape!" she cried. Then she silently ran down the hall.
The figure was continuing to run but not as fast. Leslie's heart pounded. Who was this person? Suddenly the person opened a door and walked in. Leslie stopped and walked silently towards the door. There were no markings on the door. She took a deep breath and then knocked. She made herself flat against the wall on one side of the door. The door opened slowly and Leslie saw a figure out of the corner of her eye. With a small cry she tackled the figure. They struggled and rolled on the floor. The figure was defiantly stronger then her and soon pinned her to the floor. Leslie gasped for breath. Her hair covered her face. A hand gently pulled her hair away and when Leslie saw who it was she gasped. Remus looked at her puzzled.
"Remus!" Leslie said angrily, "Why were you spying on me and Severus!?"
They stayed like that for a while, gasping for breath and staring at each other. Leslie's stomach did summersaults. Remus got off her and Leslie sat up. She was in a small living room. Apparently these were Remus's quarters.
"I was not spying on you two first of all." Remus said sitting in a chair, "I saw you follow Severus so I got curious. It's true that I followed you down to Snape's but only out of concern."
"Concern?" Leslie said skeptical, "You don't even know me."
"Well, people that get involved with Snape often are in some sort of trouble. I heard that you want to get close to Voldemort." He said softly.
"That is classified information." Leslie said getting up. She stretched and headed for the door. Remus blocked her.
"How could you go? It would be to dangerous."
"I need to do my job." She scolded. Remus sighed and stood aside. Leslie opened the door and started to walk away.
"Leslie!" Remus called. Leslie turned to see Remus standing outside his door.
"Would you like to come for a cup of tea sometime?"
Leslie smiled.
"I'd love to." She called back. He nodded and shut his door. Leslie started to walk again. She felt giddy for some reason and decided to go back to the Gryffindor common room to read some more.
*************************************
Over the next few weeks Aurors from all around the world came. Soon Hogwarts was full of life and the only students left were Harry and Anaka. It was after dinner one night when an Auror named Milata came to see them. He was from Africa and wore the most colorful clothes they had ever seen.
"Dumbledore thinks you should be at the next meeting." He said, "He'll probably decide if you should leave or not."
Anaka and Harry nodded. They followed Milata to the Great Hall. There was one long table in the center of the room with Dumbledore sitting at the head. Almost every chair was filled. Anaka saw Leslie sitting close to the head of the table with her father sitting next to her. There were three empty chairs after Remus. Milata ushered the kids to their seats.
"Hi dad." Anaka whispered as she slipped into the seat next to him. He smiled at her.
Harry sat next to her and Milata sat next to him. A big black dog was lying under the table. John and his parents were sitting on the other side further up the table.
"Now that everyone is here we can start." said Dumbledore, "Does any one have an idea for a battle plan?"
There was a lot of rustling of papers.
"I have one Dumbledoe." Said an older man further down the table.
"Go ahead Fertis."
"I think we should not leave the castle. I think we should create traps all around the castle and lure the Death Eaters in."
"What about Voldemort?" said an Auror, "That will never work."
"We need a straight battle." said another.
"I agree," said Leslie, "and it's just what Voldemort wants I'll bet."
"He wants an all-out war." Severus added.
"Where's the best place to fight a battle at Hogwarts?" McGonagoll asked.
"That seems to be the main question here." Voiced Mad Eye Moody.
"Any ideas Hagrid? You know this place best." Dumbledore asked.
"The best place would 'ave to be on the flat ground between the lake and de forest." Hagrid said slowly.
"That seems like a reasonable place." said someone else.
"But it leaves room for a surprise attack. They could hide Death Eaters in the forest." said Milata.
"Where else would we go? This seems like the best spot. Let's deal with the other problems later." said another Auror.
"Now what about the two remaining students? Should they leave or stay?" Dumbledore asked. There was a brief silence.
"We could use all the help we can get." Someone said slowly.
"But they're only children!" said another.
"Harry has gotten through more situations then us. It might be good to have him around." Said an Auror.
"What about the girl?"
"I'm staying no matter what." Anaka pointed out.
"So it's decided," Dumbledore said slowly, "they can both stay. What's next?"
"We should give Voldemort a date for this battle. It's not good to leave it up to him. He might get restless and decide to attack sooner." Voiced Trelawny.
"He might do that anyway." Pointed out Severus.
"How about June 6th? It's the full moon. We'll have enough light to see everything." Said an Auror.
"I don't think that's such a good idea." Said another.
"We don't need any werewolves around." Grumbled another.
"I agree. We don't need werewolves adding to our problems." Replied another.
Anaka looked up and down the table furiously. Her father was looking down at his hands. His face had gone pale. Sirius was growling under the table. Anaka was just thinking of a mean reply when Leslie beat her to it.
"How could you be thinking about that?" she snapped, "If any of you have a prejudice against someone here why don't you say it? If you do then you just might be on the wrong side. We don't need jerks like that here."
The room was silent as Leslie folded her hands in her lap and looked around at the others.
"I think we've found a date. June 6th it is. Any one have a problem with that?"
"Good choice Leslie." Dumbledore said with a smile.
Remus looked at Leslie and smiled. She smiled back. How could people dislike such a nice man? She thought. Leslie had heard that Remus was a werewolf but didn't believe it when she saw him. This confirmed her fears though. Why did bad things happen to good people?
"I think we can figure out the rest later. Everyone get some rest." Dumbledore said with a sigh.
Leslie collected her papers and got up.
"I really appreciate you saying those things." Remus said getting up.
"Any time." Leslie said, "They had no right to say those things. They judge you before they know you."
"You seem to know me so well but I don't know you at all." Remus said with a laugh.
"I have to know about everyone before I take on an assignment. I know the history of everyone in this room."
"I hope we can get to know each other better." said Remus.
Leslie nodded. She started to blush but Remus had already turned to leave with Anaka, Harry, and the dog. Leslie watched the dog. That's no ordinary dog, she thought and left quickly out the opposite door.
*****************************************
"They had no right to say those things about you dad." Said Anaka.
"I don't understand people that do that." Harry sighed.
"Just forget about it," Remus replied, "we need to concentrate on more important things."
The dog barked in agreement. They reached the Gryffindor common room and found it empty. Many of the Aurors had gone right to bed. Only Milata was up.
"Hello." He said quietly.
"Hello Milata." Anaka said sitting in a chair.
"I think it's time you went to bed." Remus said.
"Well I'm going." Harry said with a yawn.
"I guess we all need to get some rest huh?" said Milata. He and Harry said goodnight and went to bed.
"You too Ana." Remus said kissing his daughter goodnight.
"I'll see you tomorrow dad." Anaka said lazily.
She watched her father and Sirius leave. As she headed to bed she heard a noise in the 7th year dormitory. Curious, Anaka approached the dormitory. The door was already opened a little so Anaka peaked inside. A girl with long black hair was rummaging through a brown leather bag. Anaka gasped as she realized the bag was Leslie's.
"Who are you and why are you looking through Leslie's bag?" Anaka asked as she opened the door all the way.
She walked inside and watched as the girl froze. She turned around slowly. Anaka almost gasped at the sight of her. She had black eyes like pits that you could get lost in and pale pink lips in a tight line. Her skin was sallow and if it weren't for her softened features Anaka would have thought it was Snape. The girl wore a violet tank top and black leather pants. She smirked and walked past Anaka out the door. Her steps were wide and she walked around like she owned the place. Anaka frowned and followed her into the common room and out into the hall.
"What do you want little girl?" sneered the woman as she stopped and looked at Anaka. Anaka noticed how her voice was silky and sneaky and she spoke in a soft dangerous tone.
"I want to know why you were looking through someone else's bag." Anaka said sternly.
"Now why would I tell you." The girl said softly and started to walk away, "Go back and play with your toys." She added with a wave of her hand.
Anaka clenched her fists and watched her turn a corner. We will see who you are, Anaka thought and walked back to the common room.
********************************************
Severus was in his room lying on his bed when there came a loud knock on the classroom door. He sighed and opened the door to his room. He stared at the empty classroom. The person at the door knocked harder and Severus walked quickly to the door.
"What?" he snapped as he opened it.
He gasped quickly at the sight before him and choked slightly. The woman smirked and walked past him.
"Who…What…." Severus stuttered as he closed the door and sat behind his desk.
The girl slid into a chair in front of his desk and stayed quiet. They stared at each other for a while.
"Why Severus," said the girl slowly, "you would think you would be happy to see me after so many years."
Severus frowned. The girl resembled him in so many ways, her hair, her eyes, the way she spoke and carried herself that Severus shivered.
"You seem familiar." He said slowly. Then the woman broke into a smile not made for her face and her eyes grew bright.
"I fooled you didn't I!! I knew it would work! How could you not remember your cousin Jessica Snape!!"
"Leslie!" Severus growled.
"I need you to take me to Voldy tonight." Leslie said, getting back into her sulky tone.
"No. He'll remember you from last time. He'll remember you were a spy."
"I work for the that damn Ministry now. They are such a bother." Leslie said with a wave of her hand, "I come to Voldemort with a message from the Ministry. To give him the date and place of the final battle. Also to see how powerful he has become but I'm not going to tell him that."
"You can't get involved in this again!" Severus snapped.
"Worried are we?" Leslie whispered.
"You can take care of yourself now." Severus said sitting back in his chair.
"Exactly. So take me to him. If I get killed then the Ministry can always send someone else."
Severus stayed quiet and looked at his desk.
"It was a joke Snape. It won't come to that!" Leslie scolded.
"I already got one spy killed. I won't get another." Snape said and quickly got up. He headed back to his room.
"Leave Leslie." He said about to shut the door.
Leslie stopped him and glared at Snape.
"I won't have you wreck this Severus! Not again! I got a bad rap last time so I'll make up for it now."
"With your life?" Snape growled.
"You are breaking the first rule of a spy Severus."
"Oh really? What's that?" Snape sneered.
"Don't get close to any body. Don't create attachments that could get in the way."
"What attachment?" Severus snapped. He grabbed his cloak and closed his bedroom door.
"Are we going or what?" he grumbled. Leslie hid a smile.
"Oh course cousin dear." She said. They quickly headed out the door.
*********************************************
Severus walked into the Death Eater camp slowly and looked around for Voldemort. He found him and walked towards him.
"Hello Snape." Said the Death Eaters.
"What is it Severus? I can see something is wrong." Voldemort asked.
Severus nodded and gestured for Leslie to come out of the woods. Leslie took a deep breath and entered the camp defiantly. She walked up to Voldemort.
"Nice place you have here Voldy." She said putting a hand on her hip. Voldemort jeered.
"Who is this little flower?" Voldemort hissed.
"This is my cousin Jessica Snape." Severus said, "She comes with a message from the Ministry."
"You seem familiar." Voldemort said slowly.
"I was here once with you. But now to business," Leslie said changing the subject, "the date of the final battle has been decided. So has the place."
She took out a piece of paper and handed it to Voldemort. Voldemort snatched it away from her and handed it to the others once he had read it.
"Tell your friends we will be there." He sneered. Leslie nodded. She scanned the camp taking in the work that was being done. Then she stared at Voldemort. Leslie felt like she was falling through a pit of fire looking into his eyes and couldn't look away.
"Anything else?" Snape asked turning Leslie roughly around. He had seen her stare at Voldemort and get lost. He'd seen to many people do that.
"That's it cous." Leslie said taking a deep breath and blinking a few times.
She gave him a pat on the back and then walked quickly back to Hogwarts. She walked into the Gryffindor dormitory for 7th years and ran to her bag. She took out her wand and changed her hair, voice and clothes back to normal. She stood in front of a big mirror and took out her contact lenses. Leslie got out her glasses and sighed as she looked in the mirror.
"Welcome back Leslie." She muttered.
