CHAPTER 3

"Severus, I've been expecting you," Dumbeldore said quietly, noting
automatically Severus was more upset than usual. Dumbeldore's blues eyes
shone less than usual as he gazed into the distraught eyes of his most
trusted friend and ally.

Dumbeldore ushered Severus into an oversized armchair upholstered in a
patchwork of oddly colored, but strangely soft, material and took the equally
strange looking patchwork armchair opposite.

"Lemon drop?" inquired Dumbeldore offering a candy tray filled with the
brightly colored sweets.

"No, thank you. Albus, there was a...complication tonight," Severus said
softly. His voice, usually full of scorn and self-confidence, shook as he
continued, "Hermione Granger was idiotically wandering about the Forbidden
Forrest when she stumbled upon the Death Eaters meeting."

At this Dumbeldore's eyes became intense blue beacons and Severus felt as if
they pierced his soul as he unsteadily met the aging wizards gaze.

After a moment Dumbeldore sighed with relief and some of the spark was back
in his eyes, "I take it you were able to extricate yourselves with no harm
done."

"No...no harm," gathering his dignity around him as best he could Severus
Snape took a deep breath and continued, "except that Lucius Malfoy now thinks
that little twit is my intended bride/a and expects US to attend all the
lovely soirees and Dark Revels together. I'm supposed to bring her to the
next event to "introduce her to society."

Severus found some satisfaction in Dumbeldore's shocked expression. Come to
think of it he'd never seen Albus shocked by anything before. If the
situation hadn't been so serious Severus would have been tempted to tease him
about his armor of calm finally cracking, thing being as they were he merely
raised and elegant eyebrow and asked, "Albus...What are we going to do?
She's just a child for Merlin's sake, and how am I supposed to do my job as a
spy if those blood thirsty flobberworms are watching my every move?
Voldemort was finally starting to trust me again."

Severus closed his mouth sensing that if he did not he wouldn't be able to
stop himself from rambling off all his fears about the situation. There was
no need to tell Dumbeldore how serious things were, if anything he understood
the intricacies of the game better than Severus did.

Dumbeldore popped another lemon drop absentmindedly into his mouth as he sat
contemplating the patterns of the skin on his hands. He had always found it
very relaxing to concentrate on them while the rest of his mind worked on the
problem at hand. After a few minutes of silence which, allowed Severus to
calm himself, Dumbeldore reluctantly looked up and said, "I like this even
less than you do."

"I highly doubt that, sir," Severus interrupted him.

"However," Dumbeldore continued ignoring Severus' comment, "I am afraid that
if Miss Granger is agreeable we will have to continue the deception. Bring
her to see me in the morning after you've talked it over. As tomorrow is the
first day of classes I will teach your first class so that you may speak with
Miss Granger. We're lucky she completed most of the courses given at
Hogwarts last year, otherwise she would have class tomorrow too. I believe
she had private research with Minerva scheduled then. You should speak with
Miss Granger immediately after breakfast, I'll deal with Minerva."

Severus suppressed a shudder as he thought of what Minerva's reaction would
be like. At least Granger would be in for a scolding from her as well, he
could almost here McGonagall's lecture, "Well I never, in all my years at
Hogwarts," Minerva did seem to love lecturing people, almost as much as he
did.

"If that's all, Albus, I'll bid you goodnight," said Severus rising with cat
like grace from his ridiculous looking overstuffed patchwork armchair. How
could the most powerful wizard in the world have such terrible taste he
wondered, not for the first time, and after a brief nod in Dumbeldore's
direction, headed for the door.

As Severus slipped through the doorway Dumbeldore couldn't resist getting in
the last word. He knew how much it would irritate him and Severus Snape was
highly entertaining when irritaited.

"By the way, Severus, have you chosen the colors for the happy occasion yet?
I think Gold and Silver would be a nice tribute to your houses," Dumbeldore
remarked casually, ignoring the glare which would have killed a lesser man,
and smiled gently at the now glowering Slytherin.

Relenting a little he added, "Good night Severus."

After Severus had left Dumbeldore spent several hours contemplating his hands
before going to inspect his eyelids. It seemed that once again sleepless
nights and crisis were upon them.

Well, I'm not really happy about how this turned out, especially chapter 3,
however when I revise I won't be changing content, just how things are said,
and perhaps adding a bit more description of their actions and surroundings.
I hope you all like it, and all I can say now is TAG YOU'RE IT SUSANNA I
look forward to your chapter 4 ^__^

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