A/N Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! It makes my day when people
take the time to leave comments, especially nice ones ;-) You're all
fabulous :-)
Chapter Two
Snape lay awkwardly on the tiny sofa, cramped, aching and unhappy. It was only ten thirty p.m., but McGonagall had been in bed for an hour and a half…she was a firm believer in the philosophy of 'early to bed, early to rise'. Snape had genuinely considered sneaking out to a pub, until he remembered that this was muggle London and he would be expected to fit in. Well, he didn't feel like fitting in just at the moment. He felt like slipping back into his own comfortable, safely anonymous black robes, grabbing his wand and going out to curse a few choice individuals, starting, perhaps, with the Minister for Magic - just for kicks - and certainly finishing with the entire London population. No *serious* curses of course - just relatively minor, irritating ones, sufficient to give the Minister, and the Muggles, a taste of the bad day - scratch that, bad *life* - Snape was having.
Turning over with difficulty onto his left side Snape reflected on the reason he had been chosen for this mission. Not, of course, because he knew an unusual amount about muggles, and certainly not because he liked muggles - in fact, his score for the standard questionnaire administered to all potential undercover wizards masquerading as muggles had been on the low side. McGonagall, being a lily-livered Gryffindor liberal, had received a low muggle-knowledge score but a perfect muggle-antiprejudice score. Snape's scores had been embarrassing. Well, it wasn't his fault they asked such weird, out-of-date questions, like
Question 157. While in London, a Muggle woman asks you directions to Madame Tussaud's. You reply:
I'm afraid I don't know
I don't know, try the post office
(Appropriate directions)
Begone, foul muggle, lest I blast you into the fires of hell with my wand
Surely it just *had* to be a trick question?
No, Snape had certainly not been chosen due to any love of the muggle lifestyle - he knew full well that Albus had only recommended him because of his extensive experience as a spy. Snape was a good actor, an excellent liar, and his ruthless sense of Machiavellian self-preservation stood him in good stead for the most dangerous of missions - which supposedly included the current operation, though the most dangerous thing Snape had come across so far was the elderly lady next door who wielded a particular vicious walking-stick. Perhaps slightly more dangerous was the foul- looking heap of minced food poisoning McGonagall had prepared for yesterday's dinner, which she daringly dignified with the name of 'haggis'.
Dumbledore had insisted, however, that all possible care be taken to maintain their muggle covers - no letters by owl except in reply to his own; no magic to be used except in dire circumstances (they had their wands, of course, cunningly disguised as umbrellas, having borrowed the idea from Hagrid); and a hundred other little cautions. According to Dumbledore, counter-agents, working for the Dark Lord, were expecting operatives from Hogwarts and would be watching for them carefully. Dumbledore had of course provided a secret-keeper, but it was always possible that person might be kidnapped and tortured. Snape hoped if that happened the individual would keep her mouth shut.
The mission plan was relatively simple. A number of muggles, almost always relatives of muggle-born witches and wizards, worked for the Ministry - sort of inside-operatives, keeping the wizarding world informed about technological, adademic, military and other developments among muggles. Recently several of these individuals had become vitally important in seeking out a number of Death-Eaters who, following Voldemort's fall, had escaped into the muggle world, assuming muggle identities. With the Dark Lord's power increasing, his ex-followers might very well return to the fray - or worse, might already have returned, acting as spies for the Dark Lord, putting muggles in serious danger.
Two of the Ministry's muggle operatives who had chosen to work for Dumbledore in finding the missing Death-Eaters were a married couple called Beris and Patrick Wainthrop; they had compiled over several months a virtually complete list of the Death-Eaters' muggle identities and where they could be found. Unfortunately, before the list could passed on to Dumbledore, the couple had disappeared…almost certainly killed or kidnapped by the opposing side. But what had become of the list, and how would it be used if it still existed? It was Snape and McGonagall's task to recover both list and Wainthrops if possible, preferably without getting themselves killed.
Which, of course, was easier said than done.
A/N Sorry this chapter was so short - I just wanted to get the explanatory bit of plot out of the way! Will update soon!
Chapter Two
Snape lay awkwardly on the tiny sofa, cramped, aching and unhappy. It was only ten thirty p.m., but McGonagall had been in bed for an hour and a half…she was a firm believer in the philosophy of 'early to bed, early to rise'. Snape had genuinely considered sneaking out to a pub, until he remembered that this was muggle London and he would be expected to fit in. Well, he didn't feel like fitting in just at the moment. He felt like slipping back into his own comfortable, safely anonymous black robes, grabbing his wand and going out to curse a few choice individuals, starting, perhaps, with the Minister for Magic - just for kicks - and certainly finishing with the entire London population. No *serious* curses of course - just relatively minor, irritating ones, sufficient to give the Minister, and the Muggles, a taste of the bad day - scratch that, bad *life* - Snape was having.
Turning over with difficulty onto his left side Snape reflected on the reason he had been chosen for this mission. Not, of course, because he knew an unusual amount about muggles, and certainly not because he liked muggles - in fact, his score for the standard questionnaire administered to all potential undercover wizards masquerading as muggles had been on the low side. McGonagall, being a lily-livered Gryffindor liberal, had received a low muggle-knowledge score but a perfect muggle-antiprejudice score. Snape's scores had been embarrassing. Well, it wasn't his fault they asked such weird, out-of-date questions, like
Question 157. While in London, a Muggle woman asks you directions to Madame Tussaud's. You reply:
I'm afraid I don't know
I don't know, try the post office
(Appropriate directions)
Begone, foul muggle, lest I blast you into the fires of hell with my wand
Surely it just *had* to be a trick question?
No, Snape had certainly not been chosen due to any love of the muggle lifestyle - he knew full well that Albus had only recommended him because of his extensive experience as a spy. Snape was a good actor, an excellent liar, and his ruthless sense of Machiavellian self-preservation stood him in good stead for the most dangerous of missions - which supposedly included the current operation, though the most dangerous thing Snape had come across so far was the elderly lady next door who wielded a particular vicious walking-stick. Perhaps slightly more dangerous was the foul- looking heap of minced food poisoning McGonagall had prepared for yesterday's dinner, which she daringly dignified with the name of 'haggis'.
Dumbledore had insisted, however, that all possible care be taken to maintain their muggle covers - no letters by owl except in reply to his own; no magic to be used except in dire circumstances (they had their wands, of course, cunningly disguised as umbrellas, having borrowed the idea from Hagrid); and a hundred other little cautions. According to Dumbledore, counter-agents, working for the Dark Lord, were expecting operatives from Hogwarts and would be watching for them carefully. Dumbledore had of course provided a secret-keeper, but it was always possible that person might be kidnapped and tortured. Snape hoped if that happened the individual would keep her mouth shut.
The mission plan was relatively simple. A number of muggles, almost always relatives of muggle-born witches and wizards, worked for the Ministry - sort of inside-operatives, keeping the wizarding world informed about technological, adademic, military and other developments among muggles. Recently several of these individuals had become vitally important in seeking out a number of Death-Eaters who, following Voldemort's fall, had escaped into the muggle world, assuming muggle identities. With the Dark Lord's power increasing, his ex-followers might very well return to the fray - or worse, might already have returned, acting as spies for the Dark Lord, putting muggles in serious danger.
Two of the Ministry's muggle operatives who had chosen to work for Dumbledore in finding the missing Death-Eaters were a married couple called Beris and Patrick Wainthrop; they had compiled over several months a virtually complete list of the Death-Eaters' muggle identities and where they could be found. Unfortunately, before the list could passed on to Dumbledore, the couple had disappeared…almost certainly killed or kidnapped by the opposing side. But what had become of the list, and how would it be used if it still existed? It was Snape and McGonagall's task to recover both list and Wainthrops if possible, preferably without getting themselves killed.
Which, of course, was easier said than done.
A/N Sorry this chapter was so short - I just wanted to get the explanatory bit of plot out of the way! Will update soon!