Chapter 19
A/N: See I told you I would update! Please review, I'd like to know you guys are thinking. Is the story getting better? Is it going downhill? Is it the worst piece of garbage you have ever read so you don't really care either way?...hehe
I am to pretend to be the wife of Severus Snape, and infiltrate the school of Hogwarts. I am to gain the trust of one Hermione Granger, feed her a potion that will led her to hate and distrust her closest friends, and then bring her willingly before the Dark Lord. She will be the perfect pawn in his hands, because not even Dumbledore himself will suspect it. There will be no curse to detect, no hex to guard against, she will be acting on her own free will. So complicated, and yet eerily simple. And then, Hermione will kill Potter with her own hands. I have to admit it is clever. Hopefully I will find my sister before that time, and get her to safety before the deed is done. If not, I am not sure if I will be able to live with myself.
Severus stood very still for a moment, gripping onto the arms of his chair so tightly that his fingers had turned white.
"I should have told you, but I was forbidden. I didn't know..." Katherine began, her eyes brimming with tears.
Still Severus was silent, but wore a very thoughtful expression on his face. Katherine let her voice fall away, and collapsed back into her chair. Without warning, Severus nearly jumped out of his seat and walked out of the room. Though unsure if she was welcome, Katherine hesitantly followed. She flinched as Severus pushed open the bathroom door with a loud bang, and then stood staring intensely at the cauldron that sat simmering in their bathtub.
"What are you going to do?" Katherine whispered after a few intense moments.
Severus placed the toe of his shoe on the cauldron's black metal edge, and then after a moment of hesitation gently tipped it over. He watched impassively as the hissing potion rushed down the drain, leaving behind a cloudy purple haze. Katherine sighed deeply, suddenly feeling very ashamed of herself.
"Are you very angry with me?" Katherine asked after a few moments of silence, at a loss for what else to say.
"Not very." Severus said, watching as the last of the potion disappeared. "We have both been equally foolish."
With a wave of his wand, the empty cauldron disappeared, and the tub returned to its sparkling white state.
"Show off." Katherine whispered, trying to distract herself from her tears.
"Indeed." Severus said, smiling ever so slightly.
"We are royally doomed, you know that?" Katherine said, her voice flat and emotionless.
"Perhaps. We shall see."
Severus turned and walked out the room, fighting a slight limp from his torturous experience the night before.
"Are you coming?" He asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Coming where?" Katherine asked, following him all the same.
"To try and sort this mess out."
-----
Severus was not surprised in the least that Albus Dumbledore stood at the base of the spiral steps leading up to his office, looking as if he had been waiting for them all along.
"Out so late Severus?" Dumbledore looked almost amused. "I thought that you might still be recovering. It would do you well to rest."
"Thank you for your concern." Severus nearly spat, at the moment the last thing he wanted was the older man's pity.
Dumbledore's eyes fell on Katherine, who stood beside the potions master looking terribly pale and frightened.
"You have nothing to fear dear girl, you are among friends here." Dumbledore said, a kind twinkle in his eye.
Katherine looked rather shocked, and if it was possible, even paler than before.
"We need to speak to you." Severus whispered, sending a nervous glance over his shoulder. "In private if you don't mind."
Dumbledore nodded and gestured for them to step forward. As soon as they had both moved onto the bottom step, the spiral staircase began to turn, rising up towards the ceiling. When it finally came to an abrupt stop, Dumbledore announced the password, Caramel Creams, and led Severus and Katherine into his dimly lit office. With a wave of his hand, the room brightened, and a roaring fire appeared in the ornate fireplace.
"Please take a seat." He whispered, as two chairs magically appeared in front of his desk.
Severus sat first, looking very solemn. Katherine followed, her entire body shivering with unease, despite the great wizard's welcoming nature.
"Now what is it you have to tell me?" Dumbledore asked, looking over his glasses at them as he settled down behind his large wooden desk.
There was a moment of silence as Katherine sunk further into herself, and Severus cleared his throat painfully.
"We have discovered a plot to harm Mr. Potter." Severus said in a slow careful voice.
"I see." Dumbledore brought his fingers together into a steeple, and nodded thoughtfully.
"The Dark Lord planned to....to use Katherine and myself in this plot."
"Ah." Dumbledore whispered, looking over his glasses at the pair.
"He wanted us to bring Ms. Granger into his circle by means of a mind altering potion, and then use her as a tool in Mr. Potter's demise."
Dumbledore gave a long sigh, and leaned back in his chair.
"Is that all?" He asked, running a hand through his long white beard.
Katherine stared at Severus, her widening. To her relief he simply nodded, his eyes downcast and his face a few shades paler than normal.
"Then I will speak with Ms. Granger and we will do what has to be done." Albus said in a firm yet gentle tone. "We try to make the best out of the situation."
"I will be revealed to the Dark Lord as a spy." Severus said rather bitterly. "It is only a matter of time now."
"We will everything in our power to avoid that Severus." Albus said kindly. "But if your safety comes into question, I will not allow the charade to continue any further. You have already taken great personal risks, perhaps more than I should have allowed."
Katherine stiffened as Dumbledore's eyes fell on her. To her surprise her smiled slowly at her before speaking again.
"But what is done is done, I only wish that you could have been more...forthcoming...with certain information."
A sudden stricken look flashed across Severus's face, and his heart began to race wildly. What a fool he was to think he could deceive the great old wizard
"Is there anything that you would like to tell me?" Dumbledore asked, with an odd twinkle in his eye.
Severus began to shake his head, but then apparently thought it better to make no reaction at all.
"You have brought Katherine here under Voldemort's orders. I am quite sure of that Severus."
"I have deceived you." Severus whispered after a few moments of stunned silence. "I thought it was the only way."
"Perhaps it was Severus." Dumbledore said calmly. "I cannot judge your actions in such a delicate situation."
"Will you send me to Azkaban?" Katherine suddenly blurted out, unable to fight her rising panic.
"I have never been a poor judge of character." Dumbledore said in a thoughtful voice. "But I would be all the more convinced to hear it from the source. Are you loyal to Voldemort?"
"No." Katherine said in a firm voice.
"Are you willing to help us in our cause?" Dumbledore asked.
"More than willing." Katherine nodded.
"Than it is settled. You will stay until we have this situation with Ms. Granger resolved."
Katherine felt like she could breath for the first time in ages.
"T-Thank you." She stammered, smiling in relief.
Severus, looking equally relieved, leaned back in his chair and let out a grateful sigh.
"It is a shame though." Dumbledore said, a sudden smile creeping up on his face.
"What's a shame?" Katherine asked, her eyebrows knitting in confusion.
"That this was all a ruse. I thought you two made a rather good couple."
Katherine's jaw went slack for a moment, as she simply stared in disbelief at the headmaster who was wearing a rather teasing smile. Severus mumbled something about 'not knowing anything', but Katherine couldn't help noticing that the edge of his normally pale face had turned a brilliant shade of red.
A/N: See I told you I would update! Please review, I'd like to know you guys are thinking. Is the story getting better? Is it going downhill? Is it the worst piece of garbage you have ever read so you don't really care either way?...hehe
I am to pretend to be the wife of Severus Snape, and infiltrate the school of Hogwarts. I am to gain the trust of one Hermione Granger, feed her a potion that will led her to hate and distrust her closest friends, and then bring her willingly before the Dark Lord. She will be the perfect pawn in his hands, because not even Dumbledore himself will suspect it. There will be no curse to detect, no hex to guard against, she will be acting on her own free will. So complicated, and yet eerily simple. And then, Hermione will kill Potter with her own hands. I have to admit it is clever. Hopefully I will find my sister before that time, and get her to safety before the deed is done. If not, I am not sure if I will be able to live with myself.
Severus stood very still for a moment, gripping onto the arms of his chair so tightly that his fingers had turned white.
"I should have told you, but I was forbidden. I didn't know..." Katherine began, her eyes brimming with tears.
Still Severus was silent, but wore a very thoughtful expression on his face. Katherine let her voice fall away, and collapsed back into her chair. Without warning, Severus nearly jumped out of his seat and walked out of the room. Though unsure if she was welcome, Katherine hesitantly followed. She flinched as Severus pushed open the bathroom door with a loud bang, and then stood staring intensely at the cauldron that sat simmering in their bathtub.
"What are you going to do?" Katherine whispered after a few intense moments.
Severus placed the toe of his shoe on the cauldron's black metal edge, and then after a moment of hesitation gently tipped it over. He watched impassively as the hissing potion rushed down the drain, leaving behind a cloudy purple haze. Katherine sighed deeply, suddenly feeling very ashamed of herself.
"Are you very angry with me?" Katherine asked after a few moments of silence, at a loss for what else to say.
"Not very." Severus said, watching as the last of the potion disappeared. "We have both been equally foolish."
With a wave of his wand, the empty cauldron disappeared, and the tub returned to its sparkling white state.
"Show off." Katherine whispered, trying to distract herself from her tears.
"Indeed." Severus said, smiling ever so slightly.
"We are royally doomed, you know that?" Katherine said, her voice flat and emotionless.
"Perhaps. We shall see."
Severus turned and walked out the room, fighting a slight limp from his torturous experience the night before.
"Are you coming?" He asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Coming where?" Katherine asked, following him all the same.
"To try and sort this mess out."
-----
Severus was not surprised in the least that Albus Dumbledore stood at the base of the spiral steps leading up to his office, looking as if he had been waiting for them all along.
"Out so late Severus?" Dumbledore looked almost amused. "I thought that you might still be recovering. It would do you well to rest."
"Thank you for your concern." Severus nearly spat, at the moment the last thing he wanted was the older man's pity.
Dumbledore's eyes fell on Katherine, who stood beside the potions master looking terribly pale and frightened.
"You have nothing to fear dear girl, you are among friends here." Dumbledore said, a kind twinkle in his eye.
Katherine looked rather shocked, and if it was possible, even paler than before.
"We need to speak to you." Severus whispered, sending a nervous glance over his shoulder. "In private if you don't mind."
Dumbledore nodded and gestured for them to step forward. As soon as they had both moved onto the bottom step, the spiral staircase began to turn, rising up towards the ceiling. When it finally came to an abrupt stop, Dumbledore announced the password, Caramel Creams, and led Severus and Katherine into his dimly lit office. With a wave of his hand, the room brightened, and a roaring fire appeared in the ornate fireplace.
"Please take a seat." He whispered, as two chairs magically appeared in front of his desk.
Severus sat first, looking very solemn. Katherine followed, her entire body shivering with unease, despite the great wizard's welcoming nature.
"Now what is it you have to tell me?" Dumbledore asked, looking over his glasses at them as he settled down behind his large wooden desk.
There was a moment of silence as Katherine sunk further into herself, and Severus cleared his throat painfully.
"We have discovered a plot to harm Mr. Potter." Severus said in a slow careful voice.
"I see." Dumbledore brought his fingers together into a steeple, and nodded thoughtfully.
"The Dark Lord planned to....to use Katherine and myself in this plot."
"Ah." Dumbledore whispered, looking over his glasses at the pair.
"He wanted us to bring Ms. Granger into his circle by means of a mind altering potion, and then use her as a tool in Mr. Potter's demise."
Dumbledore gave a long sigh, and leaned back in his chair.
"Is that all?" He asked, running a hand through his long white beard.
Katherine stared at Severus, her widening. To her relief he simply nodded, his eyes downcast and his face a few shades paler than normal.
"Then I will speak with Ms. Granger and we will do what has to be done." Albus said in a firm yet gentle tone. "We try to make the best out of the situation."
"I will be revealed to the Dark Lord as a spy." Severus said rather bitterly. "It is only a matter of time now."
"We will everything in our power to avoid that Severus." Albus said kindly. "But if your safety comes into question, I will not allow the charade to continue any further. You have already taken great personal risks, perhaps more than I should have allowed."
Katherine stiffened as Dumbledore's eyes fell on her. To her surprise her smiled slowly at her before speaking again.
"But what is done is done, I only wish that you could have been more...forthcoming...with certain information."
A sudden stricken look flashed across Severus's face, and his heart began to race wildly. What a fool he was to think he could deceive the great old wizard
"Is there anything that you would like to tell me?" Dumbledore asked, with an odd twinkle in his eye.
Severus began to shake his head, but then apparently thought it better to make no reaction at all.
"You have brought Katherine here under Voldemort's orders. I am quite sure of that Severus."
"I have deceived you." Severus whispered after a few moments of stunned silence. "I thought it was the only way."
"Perhaps it was Severus." Dumbledore said calmly. "I cannot judge your actions in such a delicate situation."
"Will you send me to Azkaban?" Katherine suddenly blurted out, unable to fight her rising panic.
"I have never been a poor judge of character." Dumbledore said in a thoughtful voice. "But I would be all the more convinced to hear it from the source. Are you loyal to Voldemort?"
"No." Katherine said in a firm voice.
"Are you willing to help us in our cause?" Dumbledore asked.
"More than willing." Katherine nodded.
"Than it is settled. You will stay until we have this situation with Ms. Granger resolved."
Katherine felt like she could breath for the first time in ages.
"T-Thank you." She stammered, smiling in relief.
Severus, looking equally relieved, leaned back in his chair and let out a grateful sigh.
"It is a shame though." Dumbledore said, a sudden smile creeping up on his face.
"What's a shame?" Katherine asked, her eyebrows knitting in confusion.
"That this was all a ruse. I thought you two made a rather good couple."
Katherine's jaw went slack for a moment, as she simply stared in disbelief at the headmaster who was wearing a rather teasing smile. Severus mumbled something about 'not knowing anything', but Katherine couldn't help noticing that the edge of his normally pale face had turned a brilliant shade of red.