Chapter 17

Plans in Motion

In the gloomy corridors of Azkaban, dark shapes could be seen moving around, gliding. There were many of them: about twenty or so only in that small part which constituted the high risk ward. Nobody could fathom what the Dementors of Azkaban were really thinking at any given time – if, indeed, they were thinking at all – but an onlooker would describe them as gloating if he or she were still able to form any thoughts in their presence.

They were gloating at the misfortune of those imprisoned in this ward in particular, and came there often to make sure that there were no happy thoughts whatsoever in any of the dark, dirty little cells. And they hardly ever found any happy thoughts. The lack of happiness made them frustrated – or something similar to that – and some of them came dangerously close to sucking the souls of the inmates: to give them the Dementor's Kiss.

But they weren't allowed to, although hardly anyone would miss these people if that should happen. The Minister for Magic didn't want it, and the Dementors needed him now that the Dark Lord was gone; they needed this refuge where they could relish on what little happiness there was among the prisoners. So they kept gliding around, trying to sense what the inmates were thinking, trying to suck the joy out of them but not daring to get too close.

As the Dementors moved away from his cell, Severus Snape slowly, cautiously, allowed his thoughts and emotions to wash in over his brain again. This was becoming insufferable. It was insufferable, and had been for a long time, but now it was becoming absolutely necessary to do something, or else it would be too late. Yes, he needed to act now. Fifteen years was far too long. He had work to do ... He had to get out ...

Contacting the girl, the only person he could rely on, had proved impossible – he had tried again and again. Now he had taken even more desperate measures – he had tried to contact the boy. Despite everything, Snape had actually had a small hope that this would work. But even if it did, there was one unsurmountable problem – the boy didn't trust him. The boy resented him, hated him even, and would never consent to help him. Unless, of course, the girl convinced him otherwise. Would she be able to do that? Had she been able to convince anyone else during the past fifteen years? Snape doubted it. After all, she was a gullible little fool – who would believe her?

No, he needed to act on his own; he would have to give up on her. And on him too. The situation was becoming desperate, he had sensed that. Soon there might be no hope left ... He couldn't let that happen. There was only one course for him to take – breaking out of Azkaban with the aid of the other Death Eaters.

He had considered doing it for months, but he had stalled as long as possible. For the last few days he had hoped against hope that he might be able to get in touch with the boy. But he could no longer wait for the boy to respond, although he thought he had been so close ... so very close. But then, it might all have been his imagination. There was no spare time left now – he had to put his plan in motion.

The day before, the Dementors had moved Bellatrix Lestrange into the cell next to Snape's. It was almost as though this were a sign that he should go ahead with his plan. Bellatrix was the leader of the Death Eaters – if they had a leader at all in their present state. Deranged fools, all of them. How the Dark Lord could have trusted them, he didn't know. At any rate, Bellatrix was the person Snape needed to talk to. He took a deep breath. He had better begin right away. It would be difficult to convince her, but it would probably be easier to deal with her now, while she was still weakened by the visit from the Dementors.

He moved to a corner of his cell, where he had spent the last few months shifting rocks, so that there was now a slight hole in the wall between his cell and the neighbouring one. Another stroke of luck, or perhaps rather a sign that this was the course to take. For what if he had tried the other wall? Then it would have taken him another few months to get through to Bellatrix. The hole didn't go all the way through, but it was so deep that he would be able to have a conversation with the occupant of the other cell without anyone else hearing. Snape removed the stone he had placed in front of the hole to keep it from view (not that that was necessary, as the Dementors were blind, but one could never be too cautious).

'Bellatrix,' he said calmly.

There was no reply. He waited for a while, and then tried again. 'Bellatrix.'

Suddenly, he could hear heavy breathing on the other side of the hole. 'Who's there?' said Bellatrix's hoarse voice.

'It's Severus,' said Snape, and cautiously moved a few feet away from the wall. This turned out to be a good idea, because when Bellatrix answered him she was screaming at the top of her voice.

'You traitorous bastard! Go to Hell! I never want to hear your voice again, you lying traitor, you murderer! You betrayed the Dark Lord!' Bellatrix began sobbing. 'You b-betrayed him. He's d-dead b-because of you! I wish I c-could reach through this w-wall and KILL you!'

Luckily it was not at all unusual for Bellatrix to behave this way; otherwise the Dementors would probably have been there in no time. As it was, however, they were quite used to hearing her voice, the sound of her shrieks spreading throughout the gloomy gaol, and could no longer be bothered to come and investigate what it was all about.

Snape waited patiently while Bellatrix ranted on for several more minutes. What a fool she was! Completely useless without her precious Dark Lord. And she thought she knew so much about Snape and his allegiances. Snape laughed softly to himself.

In reality, there were only three people in the world who had ever known exactly whose side Snape had really been on: Snape himself, the Dark Lord, and Albus Dumbledore. All the others – the Death Eaters, the members of the Order of the Phoenix, yes, everyone, had been unsure about him towards the end of the war. And that was hardly surprising considering what his orders had been.

But the Dark Lord and Dumbledore, they had known. One of them had known all along, and the other had been told right before the famous Penultimate Battle – the great battle in which the Dark Lord had defeated Dumbledore. That had been followed by the Final Battle; Harry Potter had defeated the Dark Lord once and for all, and ended the war.

And then Snape had been left alone – both the Dark Lord and Dumbledore gone, neither of them having told their followers whose side Snape was really on. And so both sides had turned on him, the members of the Order convinced that he had betrayed Dumbledore, and the Death Eaters convinced that he had betrayed the Dark Lord to Harry Potter.

Snape snorted contemptuously. As if he had needed to do that. After Potter's precious mentor had been killed, he had been perfectly able of seeking out and killing the Dark Lord on his own, without any aid from Snape, and more than willing to do so. And there had still been no real proof as to what side Snape was on.

If only Snape hadn't got involved in that last Death Eater attack – the attack on Potter's best friends. Knowing the important work he had to do, he should have stayed out of that one, not risk getting caught. That had given the Aurors enough evidence of his guilt to put him in Azkaban without a trial.

But it was no use crying over spilt potion – what was done was done. He had spent fifteen years paying for his mistakes, and now he would have to set them right, before it was too late. Even if that meant playing foul – even if it meant risking everything.

Bellatrix seemed to have run out of breath and her ranting had ceased. Snape decided to give it another try.

'If you're done cursing at me,' he said smoothly, 'perhaps you'd like to take a moment and listen to what I have to say.'

'I don't want to hear anything from you, you –' Bellatrix began, but before she got any further, Snape cut her off.

'Fine,' he said indifferently. 'I just thought you might be interested in hearing how we're going to get out of here ...'

There was a long silence. Finally, Bellatrix said quietly, 'What do you mean?'

Snape smirked. That had got her attention. He told her his plan, and left her to think about it, carefully replacing the stone in front of the hole. He took a deep breath. It was done. It was finally done. He was going to get out of Azkaban.

He would finally be able to tell someone about the secret he had been forced to keep to himself for fifteen years ...

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews – many of you had requested to hear more about Snape, so here it is. Please tell me what you thought.

I was surprised that no one was disappointed about Harry walking away from the telephone box in Chapter 16 – I certainly was, so perhaps I'll have him turn around again in the next chapter ... But then again, perhaps not. I ... haven't quite decided yet. ;)

I'm glad you liked Pansy, because she will be back later on, and I really like writing her.

risi: Yes, Luna and her Orb will be back in a few chapters.

valentines-hater: No, Snape isn't a vampire. Have I written something which made you believe so?

Dius Corvus: Thanks for a really detailed and thought-through review! Yes, I have a plan and I know exactly where I'm going. You're right about Harry, he's not as mature as he might be. He simply couldn't cope with the trauma after all his friends – and Ginny – had died, and never dealt with it while he was living as a Muggle. You could almost say he was living in complete denial. That is also why he hasn't asked some questions which are rather close at hand. Tonks, I think, is quite different from the Tonks we know from OotP. You'll find out more about her later.

Silverthreads: Not being from the States, I don't know what a Valley-girl is ... But thanks!

Sierra: I'm afraid I won't have time to update Changes before you leave, but don't worry, -there won't be all that much Harry-Snape interaction in that chapter anyway.

Once again, thanks a lot for the reviews, Artemis 1860, risi, dark fire chain, Anna, alecatq, Randi Weasley, Adenara Yatman, Silverthreads, valentines-hater, Enclave, Dius Corvus, KiwiJeanne and Katkit!