King's Seven
Chapter Two
By Jasmine_
At breakfast the next day, Snape remembered his job for the King. It would take a lot of time and effort to do the research required. He had always been doing research for Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix but it was in his own free time. His loyalty was to the King and if the King asked him to do research, Snape would dedicate everything to finish the job for the King. I'm going to need an assistant, he thought, But who?. He would need someone competent and knowledgeable in potions, of course. Snape planned to give the assistant potions homework to grade. This would give him a considerable amount of extra time to research. He glanced to his Slytherin table and his eyes fell on Draco Malfoy.Of course, Draco. Good at potions and knows how to keep secrets.
"Headmaster, I have begun to fall
behind in my work for both Hogwarts and the Order. Would it be
possible for me to acquire an assistant from this year's seventh
years?"
"Of course, my boy," the Headmaster replied.
"Good. I'll tell Malfoy to pack up his things. I have an extra
bedroom..."
"Now wait a minute, Severus," Minerva McGonagall interrupted, "You
know that is not how we pick assistants. Every able student must be
able to apply."
"I don't have time to look through applications!"
"Well, those are the rules. You can't go picking whoever you want to
be your assistant. If that were possible, I'd pick Miss Granger in a
heartbeat."
"Fine. I'll give them a little test," Snape responded.
"Do whatever you want, Severus. But it must be fair to all."
Fair, Snape thought, Life isn't fair, Minerva. He watched as his only seventh year NEWT level class walk in. Snape wondered how he could get around the rules so that Malfoy will become his assistant. Well, she said they had to be 'able' students. This is the only class that knows enough to be assistants. And 'fair' could mean so many things...
"Quiet, all of you. I have an announcement to make. I have a question to ask of you. The student who gets this question right," he said while looking at Malfoy, "will receive 20 points to their house and also get a once in a lifetime opportunity."
The students looked up eagerly. Snape wasn't the type of teacher who gave out many points. To earn points from him was almost like winning the Quidditch cup.
"My question is this," Snape continued, still looking at Malfoy, "Name the seven members of the King's Seven." He had planned this question because he knew that Draco would know the answer. Malfoy's father was a King's Seven and Draco had grown up with the families of the other members. Snape smirked, No one else can know the answer. It's impossible to.. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hand raise up from the other side of the room. Miss Granger, he groaned inwardly.
"Mister Malfoy, your answer
please."
"I don't know, sir," Draco responded hesitantly.
"What was that?"
"I said I don't know, sir."
"How could you not know?" Snape asked incredously, his voice
dangerously low. "Your father is in it!"
"Uh. Edgar Goyle? .. Michael Cr..," he stopped when he saw the look
of fury on Snape's face "I.. still don't know, sir," he said,
slumping into his seat.
The boy is a bumbling idiot! Snape thought. He looked around the class. Nobody had their hand up except for Hermione. He cursed silently.
"Your answer, Miss Granger," he said
softly. He was defeated. Hermione was estatic. Thank God I took
the time to look this up, she thought.
"The King's Seven currently consists of Mr. DeMont Brokaw, Mr.
Franklin Hucks, Mr. Laurence Nicholson, Mr. Daniel Ford, Mr. David
Beasley, Mr. Lucius Malfoy," here she paused and glanced at Draco,
"and finally, Mr. Severus Snape." She stopped and looked at him
expectedly.
"Very well. 20 points to Gryffindor," he said while grimacing, "Meet
me after class, Miss Granger." She nodded and they began the
lesson.
Snape looked at the door and pinched the bridge of his nose. Granger, he thought, She's going to be the death of me.
"Miss Granger," he began, "Because
you answered my question correctly, you may be my assistant until the
end of the year. You may, of course, decline..."
"I accept, sir," Hermione interrupted.
"What?"
"I said I accept. This truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity. To
assist a world renown Potion's Master... it's a dream, really."
"Really, I had no idea you felt that way. Rest assured, it will
certainly NOT be a dream. There are many obligations."
"Yes, sir. And I plan to fufill them all."
"You don't know what you're talking about, you silly girl! Think this
over tonight and give me your answer tomorrow," he paused, "Hopefully
your friends can dissuade you." "You have my answer now, sir.
I accept," Hermione said firmly.
"Very well. Pack your things tonight. The elves will move them to
your new quarters in the dungeons tomorrow morning."
"My new quarters, sir?"
"Yes, yes. If you're going to be my assistant, how do you
expect to assist me if you're in Gryffindor tower?"
"Right," she murmured.
"Now, if you don't mind me asking. How did you figure out the names
of the Seven?"
"Well, I read about the families in Old Ways of the Wizard. It
didn't give me too much information except for the surnames of the
families. It didn't even say if they were still alive or not. So,
after finding out the names, I looked up the names in the Wizard's
Registry."
"But why would you even be interested in an .. archaic group?"
"Well, Professor Binns was talking about them for a few seconds in
class. I got curious and decided to look up more information about
them. I'm surprised to find such little information. Most books
believe that they've all died off except for the Malfoys and the
Snapes," she said. Hermione knew full well that she was blabbering
but it was too late.
"Go now. I expect you here after dinner tomorrow night."
"Yes, sir. Good day," she said and left the dungeons.
Snape cursed out loud.
"Hey, boys," Hermione said cheerfully
to Harry and Ron as she sat down in the Great Hall for dinner.
"Hey, Hermione. Where were you today? We waited in the Common Room
for you," Harry asked.
"I was held up by Professor Snape. He had to ask me something."
"What'd you mean? He had to ask you for help? The world must
be ending!" Ron laughed.
"Shut up, Ron. Actually, come to think of it. He did ask me
for help," she smiled.
"Huh?" "He wants me to be his assistant for the rest of the year,"
Hermione explained.
"You mean you're going to spend more time with him?" Harry
looked at her unbelievingly.
"Yes. I'm moving out of Gryffindor Tower, too. I have to move to the
dungeons."
"NO WAY!" Ron shouted. "You... you can't!"
"I have to. It's going to be fine, really. This is something I really
want to do. He's brilliant. He's a Potions Master. Think of all the
things I'll learn."
"But you'll have to give up everything fun..."
"No I won't. I'm sure he'll still let me see you, silly."
"It won't be the same, though!" Harry said.
"Perhaps, not. But be happy for me, please?"
"Congratulations, Severus. On your
new assistant, that is," Dumbledore said with his eyes twinkling.
Snape just scowled.
"Who's the unfortun.. I mean, lucky student?" asked
McGonagall.
"It's Miss Granger," Dumbledore beamed. Snape deepened his scowl.
"Miss Granger? How did that happen? I know you too well, Severus. I
know you would have made it so Mister Malfoy would be your assistant.
What went wrong?" McGonagall smirked.
"Lucius Malfoy went wrong. The man has taught the boy nothing about
his heritage. Damn that man!" replied Snape
"What did you ask them?"
"I asked them to name the seven current members of the King's
Seven."
"And Miss Granger knew?"
"No, she didn't. I just picked her to be my assistant because she
looked as if she knew the answer," Snape retorted.
"No need to get snippy. I'm surprised, that's all. I wasn't aware
that the King's Seven were on the NEWTS. Wait a moment, there are
current members?"
"They aren't on the NEWTS and no, there are no current members. It
was a trick question," he lied. "The Gryffindor know-it-all must have
done some light reading on the Seven," Snape said. He looked
at Draco Malfoy and frowned. Stupid boy! he thought, I must
have a chat with dear Lucius. "If you'll excuse me, Headmaster,
Professor. I must ready my quarters for the arrival of an unwanted,
unplanned for, .. accident." With that, he left the Great Hall with
his robes billowing.
Snape headed to his dungeons with every intention of giving Lucius Malfoy a verbal beating.
"Lucius Malfoy," he said to the
fireplace. Soon enough, the pale blond head of the elder Malfoy
showed up.
"Severus! How are you doing, my friend?" Lucius said. Snape noticed
he looked more tired than before.
"You ruin me, Lucius. You haven't told Draco anything about the
Seven, have you?"
"Well, no. Not yet. I plan to. Why do you ask?"
"I assumed he already knew about the Seven. Because Hogwarts Rules
dictate that I could not choose just anyone to be my assistant, I had
to come up with a question that only Draco would know. I asked him to
name the seven current members of the group."
"Oh dear. The boy hasn't a clue. He didn't say anything stupid, did
he?"
"He named Edgar Goyle and was about to name Michael Crabbe until he
realized what a mistake he was about to make." Lucius chuckled while
Snape scowled. Snape continued, "Another student got the answer.
Hermione Granger."
"What?" Lucius began, "It's impossible though! Nobody's supposed to
know about us."
"Well she did. I know that our family names are listed in some
history books. But she went an extra mile. She looked us up in the
Wizard's Registry. She knew all our given names, Lucius."
"Hmm. Well, that could be a good thing. The King, after you left,
asked DeMont and myself to begin spreading rumors about his return.
He wants to see how many supporters he can get."
"I see. What else are the others to do?"
"Franklin's interest with Muggles has been rewarded. The King asked
him to research Muggle weapondry. Honestly, though. I believe the
King just said that to keep Franklin out of trouble," Lucius replied.
Snape laughed. Franklin was the epitome of a Gryffindor. Do first,
think later. Lucius continued, "He asked David, Laurence and Daniel
to search for the ancient weapons."
"Really?" Snape asked excitedly. "Do you think they'll be able to
find them?"
"I hope so. It would help our cause tremendously. Which reminds me.
You need to let them into Snape Manor. They'll need to search your
library for any clues."
"Of course. Anything else I missed?"
"Funeral will be on Sunday. You will be there, won't you? A meeting
is to follow."
"Right. I'll be there. Well, I must get going, Lucius. Next time
Draco comes home, don't hesitate to tell him about us. He needs to
know where his family's loyalty lies before he goes laying in
anywhere else."
"Yes, I know what you mean. Good night. I'll see you on Sunday,
hopefully not any sooner." The fire went out.
