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THE CHAOS BEGINS From: Caius JuliusChapter 10: Planning an Operation
Harry, Ron and Hermione were still sitting in the library, thinking about their previous
conversation, when all of a sudden Dobby appeared.
The House Elf hopped up on the desk, right in front of Harry.
"Hi Dobby," Harry said, smiling at the Elf.
"I see you've freed yourself of those feathers. The Gargoyle is his stony self again then?"
Dobby nodded, grinning himself. "Oh yes it is, Harry Potter, Sir. I was working hard
but now it's as good as new." He considered for a few moments. "Even better, me
thinks." There was no mistaking the pride in his voice.
"But I is not here to speak of the Gargoyle. I is on a mission for Headmaster
Dumbledore."
"What mission, Dobby?" Ron asked. "Does it involve all of us?"
"No, Sir." Dobby shook his head, again looking at Harry.
"Only Harry Potter." He tilted his head as if considering whether or not to confide the
details of his "mission" to Ron and Hermione.
"But since you are friends of Harry Potter...," he finally continued.
"I is to take you to Professor Dumbledore, Harry Potter, Sir."
Ron rolled his eyes.
"That's all? Come on, Dobby, I thought it was something important.
A simple 'please go to the Headmaster's office' would have been sufficient,
don't you think so?"
Dobby made a disapproving sound and turned his back on Ron who exchanged
a grin with Hermione.
"If you would follow me, Harry Potter," Dobby said and jumped back onto the floor.
Harry winked at Ron and went after the House Elf.
* * *
When they arrived at the entrance to Dumbledore's office, Harry had to congratulate
Dobby for his work on the Gargoyle. Not a single feather could be seen. He thanked
the House Elf and went past the statue.
Harry knocked on the door and entered – stopping dead as soon as he had stepped
into the room. A strange sensation of déjà-vu came upon him as he saw that
Dumbledore had a visitor. And not just any visitor, but Remus Lupin.
"Hello, Harry." Lupin said, his voice full of warmth.
Harry smiled.
"I should have known you were here." He looked at the Headmaster who until then
had been watching quietly.
"I gather that's why you told me to expect being called earlier today, isn't it?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"Indeed, Harry, it is. But before you ask anything more, I have to tell you that things
are not as simple as we planned them the last time Remus Lupin was here.
You remember that, don't you?"
Harry frowned slightly.
"Yes, Sir, I do. You suggested Professor Lupin would go to Azkaban instead
of this Bransom person to convince Snape of your faith in him."
He thought about Dumbledore's words.
"This doesn't mean your plan has been thwarted, does it?"
Lupin shook his head.
"Not completely, Harry. But we are forced to alter our course a bit."
"You see," Dumbledore explained. "When I went to London I learned that Fudge's
advisors, as I will call them, had decided to increase the pressure on Professor
Snape. That was no good news, of course. But when I arrived here and heard all
those rumours the situation threatened to get out of hand. I immediately contacted
Remus to ask for his advice and assistance."
He paused, looking at Lupin with a strange expression on his face.
"Well, we came to the same conclusion. Unfortunately so, I may add."
Harry's frown grew even more.
"Why unfortunately, Sir? What has become so dangerous, suddenly? I thought you
had the situation under control after your speech in the Great Hall today.
And when Professor Lupin will finally have talked to Snape all should be fine.
What's wrong?"
Dumbledore sighed.
"Well, generally you are right, Harry. Generally. But because of young Mr. Malfoy's
intrigue we are under time pressure. Useful as my announcement during lunch
certainly was to the school, you must be aware that the Death Eaters will use
it against Severus. Now they have the final 'proof' that I gave up on him.
And they won't hesitate to confront him with it, I am afraid."
Harry nodded. That had been what he, Ron and Hermione had been talking
about after all.
"The problem, Harry," said Lupin. "Is that we must act fast, as soon as possible,
before the Death Eaters can do too much harm. Fortunately, the Headmaster was
successful in getting the interrogation-schedule of this Bransom. But he also learned
that it has been decided to send Bransom to Azkaban not on his own but with an
accomplice. Surely we can... ehm... invite them on a kind of outing. That's what we
planned for Bransom from the beginning. But since there is another man we have to
replace him as well."
Harry blinked. "And?"
"And we don't have anyone to replace him with." Lupin concluded.
"Why?" Harry asked. "Professor Dumbledore could go with you."
"I would, Harry. "The Headmaster said.
"But I have to take care of the real interrogators while Remus is in Azkaban."
"Then someone else. How about Sirius?" Harry paused and considered this
possibility. The image of Snape, tortured and broken, came back to his mind.
Making him meet Sirius in this condition was not a wise thing to do.
"Ok, maybe not Sirius." He added, finally.
Again, the Headmaster sighed heavily.
"You see, Harry. This whole affair is known only to very few people.
Me, Professor Lupin – and you."
Harry stared. No, they couldn't... It was impossible.
"Errr, you don't want to send me in there, do you?"
Dumbledore and Lupin exchanged meaningful glances.
"Harry, we can't and won't force you," Lupin said quietly.
"It is like the Headmaster said. It should be someone who knows the whole story.
A lot more people know or at least guess bits and pieces of it but only very few know
it to the full extent. And it is vital to know it, Harry. Otherwise we would risk far too
much. Every new person we let in on the secret represents a dangerous risk.
Far too many secrets are connected with Severus."
Dumbledore nodded.
"Another problem is we simply have to act now. If we do nothing Severus will break
eventually. If Voldemort learns what Severus knows our chances of victory in this
war will decrease rapidly.
"On the other hand if we choose someone who doesn't know half of the story, this
person could unintentionally endanger the whole operation. As of yet, Voldemort
does not know for sure that Severus is our spy. He might suspect but nothing more.
If suddenly Severus' true role was revealed he might be able to keep our secrets
safe and not betray us but he will die a most horrible death.
I cannot allow that to happen."
Dumbledore paused for a moment as if to ponder what he had just said.
"But," Harry stuttered, thinking about the Headmaster's words.
"If you don't want to risk bringing a newcomer in and you are unable to find someone
to go with Professor Lupin... wouldn't that play into Voldemort's hands? You said
yourself Snape would crack if you don't contact him. He'd be better off dead."
He frowned.
"You surely won't... kill him, will you?" He looked from Lupin to Dumbledore unbelievingly.
Dumbledore's eyes lost their sparkle and he looked sadly at Harry.
"We would lose a valuable spy but Voldemort couldn't force information out of
Severus and he would be granted a quick and painless death. In fact this is
something we agreed upon if ever a situation like this arose."
Harry stared at the wall. He hated the Dementors, hated the feelings they stirred up
in him whenever they were near. A building full of those creatures was the least place
he wanted to go. The thought of visiting Azkaban repulsed him immensely.
But if he didn't go who would? Didn't the Headmaster say there was no-one else?
Which meant that if he said no he was personally signing Snape's death sentence.
He sighed heavily. It wasn't fair.
Why, oh why, did those things always happen to him?
Granted, it was partially his fault this time but still…
The way Lupin and the Headmaster had described their situation bore a close
resemblance to blackmail. Either he went with Lupin or Snape would die.
But it wasn't all about Snape's death. Without him who would get information out of
Voldemort's circle?
(Harry still wondered how Snape had been accepted back into the fold.)
"Oh well," he finally said, looking into Dumbledore's eyes.
"Count me in. After all, I wouldn't want Snape's ghost to haunt me forever, blaming
me for his death."
With that he sank into a seat next to Lupin and stared at Dumbledore's desk.
What was he getting himself into?
"Bravo!" Dumbledore said. "Harry, I am proud of you. Although I must say I never had
any doubt about your decision."
Harry looked up to see the Headmaster smiling proudly at him.
He simply couldn't help but smile back.
"Thank you, Sir." He said.
Dumbledore sighed and straightened himself. "Now that this matter is cleared, we
have to plan the operation itself. Unfortunately, the next time Bransom and his
companion will visit Severus is tonight. That's too soon for us to intercept them.
But the day after tomorrow everything should be arranged."
He seemed to notice Harry's questioning look because he stopped and smiled at him.
"Of course, we cannot do everything in this operation ourselves, Harry. I met with
Sirius Black while I was in London and he promised to keep an eye on Bransom.
Also, he will provide the necessary diversion when we have to overpower him.
As it happens," he added with a slight grin. "Bransom has a certain liking for dogs."
"Well," Lupin said with an amused voice. "he won't any more after he meets Sirius."
Harry nodded. So far everything was fine.
"That comes in handy. But how do we know who this other person will be?
If I or Professor Lupin are to replace him we have to know who he is."
Lupin smiled grimly at him.
"In a certain way, Voldemort has the same problem we have, Harry.
We are convinced that not too many of his men know that he is behind
Severus' arrest. Thus we believe he will send the same person as tonight.
And we will learn who that is from Sirius tonight."
Again, Harry nodded in understanding. "I hope it will be as simple as it sounds."
Dumbledore sighed.
"I have to admit we don't have the time to plan more carefully, However, even if our
plan with Sirius fails, I have two other options of getting Bransom into our hands.
But I must ask you not to inquire just what those are, Harry."
"Understood, Headmaster. For once I'm glad not to know everything."
He smiled a bit shyly.
Lupin laughed. "Sorry," he said and regained his composure.
"Ok, assume we've got the evil two captured and Harry and me are taking Polyjuice.
I guess the next step is how to get to Azkaban. But since we are Ministry officials
that shouldn't be a problem, should it?"
Dumbledore nodded. "That really is the easy part."
Harry frowned. Easy? They were going to Azkaban, where the Dementors lived.
How could going to a place like that be easy?
His worries must have been written clearly on his face because Lupin took his hand
and looked Harry in the eye.
"Harry," he said. "don't be afraid. It's alright to fear the Dementors. Almost everyone
does. That's why they guard Azkaban. Even the Death Eaters are afraid of them.
Bransom is no exception, I am sure of it. And remember how wonderfully you got rid
of them in your third year. Besides, they know that you are on their side – Bransom
is, I mean."
This helped Harry feel better. He smiled slightly at Lupin.
"Thanks. You're right. It's just that all those feelings came back at once.
How I met one of these things on the train and how they almost got Sirius…" he choked.
"When I think of going to Azkaban I always imagine I'd go there as a prisoner,
not as an interrogator."
Lupin smiled and stroked his hair. "It's all right, Harry. The same goes for me.
I don't like those monsters either, take my word for it. So, are you ready to go on?"
Harry nodded.
"Good. Albus, if you want to continue…"
"As you wish, Remus." The Headmaster said. "When you are in Azkaban you will
have to get to Severus. This is the tricky part. We have no knowledge of his
condition. So be careful what you say and how you say it. He isn't the most
accessible person and I don't know how he will react when you tell him who you
really are."
Harry cringed a bit. "Do we have to. I mean, ehm, Professor Snape and I… don't get
along all too well, you know."
Dumbledore sighed. "Only too true. But that is a risk we have to take. Not every
problem can be solved in advance. Let's just hope Severus doesn't believe you two
to be a trick of Voldemort's."
"Ok, Sir." Harry said. But he still had more questions.
"Sir, just how are we supposed to convince the Professor of our true intentions?
What if he doesn't believe us?"
Again, Dumbledore sighed.
"Well, that, I am afraid, is entirely up to the two of you. Improvisation will be crucial.
As soon as you have convinced Severus, he will know what to do.
We have to trust his judgement. That's all the advice I can give you."
Harry was not entirely satisfied but he knew the Headmaster wouldn't say anything
else on the matter. But still…
They couldn't simply walk into Snape's cell, saying 'Hello, don't worry, we're not
here to torture you. We're just two of the people you despise most and we'd like to help you.'
No, that probably wouldn't do. Snape would die from shock.
Well, like the Headmaster said, improvisation will win the day.
"So," Harry finally said. "after we're done with Snape we simply return to you and
your 'guests' can go home, thinking they'd been to Azkaban?"
"As simple as that, Harry, yes." Dumbledore confirmed.
"And then we can plan more carefully how to proceed, based on what you and
Severus have agreed on." He paused and looked out the window.
Neither Harry nor Lupin dared to break the silence.
Finally, Dumbledore continued.
"So that will be our course of action. I hope to Merlin that Voldemort is indeed as careless
in this matter as it seems. This is our only chance to save Severus.
But please, although his life is dear to me and his role is vital to our cause, don't do
anything that could put either of you in more danger than you'll already be. Do you
understand me?" He looked directly at Harry.
"Yes, Sir." The fifth-year said.
Not endangering them? Except for going to Azkaban to try and thwart yet another of
Voldemort's plans, disguised as Ministry officials no less?
Well, that should be a piece of cake!
"Good," the Headmaster said.
"Now I don't wish to keep you longer, Harry. But one last thing: I must ask you again
not to tell any of this to your friends. Under no circumstances. I will contact you
through Dobby when we get news from Sirius."
Harry nodded, and after saying good-bye to Lupin, left to re-join his friends.
TBC…
Now to my dear reviewers:
Cloudshape: As you can see, Lupin returns to the story and he will stay, Promise!
Dogbone7: Wow! Thanks. That's what makes me write the next part!
Kiyu-Chan: Now that is a truly wonderful praise. I don't know what to say except thank you ever so much!
Arlinne Mae: Thanks for telling me. And I intend to put Sirius into the story as well, but only a little.
Skipper77: Since you are now a Beta of mine, there shouldn't be any suggestions left… ;-)
Peridot: No, don't go insane! Who's supposed to review if you are in St. Mungo's???
Slytherin's Silver Snake: Thank you! Even if short, I really appreciate reiviews. (Who doesn't)
Rashelana Lupin: You wanted more? Here you go!
Lex: I know, it's been some time but here it is...
Sirius The Doggie: Well, it's been three days, so I hope you are still with us! *grins*