Chapter 7: Plans, Plots, and Conspiracies for All

"Is something wrong, Severus?"

The Potions Master looked up to face a pair of madly twinkling blue eyes. Without answering, he continued to stride down the hallway, his black robes billowing out behind him. He was amazed to find that the old, seemingly frail man had no trouble keeping up with him. 'Ah well, that's the mystery that is Albus Dumbledore,' he thought to himself. The two were making their way to Dumbledore's office to floo to The Burrow.

"You will be speaking with Draco today, am I correct?"

"Yes, Albus."

"I assume you know of my intentions to offer him a position in the Order."

"Yes, Albus."

"Since you are already going to have quite a lengthy conversation with him, would you care to offer this position to him yourself? I dare say the invitation would be more warmly received if it were to come from you."

"If you don't mind, of course, but yes, I would much rather inform Draco of the Order myself." Severus paused for a few moments, debating whether or not he should ask the question that had been lurking around in the dark recesses of his mind for weeks. "Albus?"

"Yes, Severus?"

"I was wondering if you'd be making the same offer to Ginevra Weasley?"

"Before I answer that question, may I ask why you are concerned with the affairs of a young Gryffindor and a Weasley no less?"

"Albus, you know the nature of her relationship with Draco just as well as I do. I feel that it is my prerogative, as his Godfather, to be slightly concerned with his life. Besides, I want to see him turn to the path of his father no more than you do. I promised Narcissa that I'd do everything in my power to make sure that that didn't happen. If that means being concerned with a Gryffindor, and a Weasley, no less, then so be it." Despite the cold exterior he was hardly ever without, Severus did actually care for people … well, some people. Those few people included Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. Narcissa's death had hit him probably as hard as it had hit Draco. Contrary to popular belief, Severus wasn't Draco's Godfather because he was friends with Lucius during school. He was Draco's Godfather because he and Narcissa had been extremely close during school. Not in the romantic sense, of course, as she was more like a sister to him than anything else. Nevertheless, Severus was rather distraught about Narcissa's death; the only thing he could think of to assuage his grief was to do what Narcissa would have done, had she still been alive. And that meant doing everything in his power to make sure both Draco and his Amor Semper survived the oncoming war … together. "So will you be asking Miss Weasley to join the Order as well?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Dumbledore answered slowly.

"Have you considered the fact that there is no chance in the seven hells that Draco will allow her to become a member of the Order? I highly doubt he will even allow you to offer it to her."

"Ah, yes … I will expect as much from Draco. What is your opinion on the matter, Severus?"

"I think it's noble and gallant that Draco will try to do this for Ginevra's own protection. But I also think that Ginevra will be a valuable addition to the Order. She's very bright, as I'm sure you already know. If we assign her to help Draco spy, we could end up with a lot more information than if Draco went alone. Furthermore, Ginevra would probably be able to gain a lot of information on her own if she did choose to spy for us." Severus stopped in front of the gargoyle, watching with slight amusement as Dumbledore said the password – Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"Yes, but the real question is: will Draco allow it? Not to mention whether or not her family will allow it. But we're getting ahead of ourselves here, let's get to The Burrow first."

... ... ...

"Good afternoon, Molly."
"Hello, Albus," came the tired reply.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley." Molly's head turned sharply to see none other than Severus Snape standing in her living room. Dumbledore had not informed her that he was going to be there.

"Mr. Snape," Molly responded through gritted teeth.

"Severus is going to be speaking with Draco while I take a look at Blaise. In addition, he has brought some potions for Blaise with him."

Severus nodded before adding, "They should help heal whatever internal damage was done. From what I heard about his condition, I'd be surprised if these potions didn't heal him enough so that his body would release him from the coma within a few days."

"Then he's really going to be okay?" The three adults turned abruptly to find Draco standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen.

"Yes, I believe so, Draco. But he has sustained a great deal of damage, so I wouldn't expect him to be completely back to normal – physically speaking – for at least a week or two, if not more." Draco sighed; he was eternally grateful that his Godfather felt no need to protect him, never had. Severus knew what kind of things Draco lived with and, ergo, felt it pointless to try and protect Draco from anything. He had seen the worst of things. A lot of this understanding stemmed from the fact that Severus had lived a similar life to Draco; a cold, demanding Slytherin father, and a removed, emotionally unavailable mother.

"Severus, the entire property is protected, so you needn't worry about prying ears and eyes … except the of the Weasley children, of course."

"Yes, thank you, Albus." With a slight nod to Molly, Severus walked towards the back door. "Come along, Draco." Draco followed obediently, sighing softly as he did so.

They walked along the lake for a while before coming to rest at the edge nearest to the forest. Draco made himself comfortable on the sandy beach while Severus sat down on a boulder. Draco gave him a confused look as Severus stared, dare I say, affectionately, at his Godson.

"I remember the first time I ever saw you … it was a horribly cold day in January. The weather was terrible. Your mother and I were supposed to meet for lunch. It was a few weeks after your birth and, seeing as how involved I was with the Death Eaters, I hadn't had the chance to see you yet. I refused to let her take you out in that cold, so I had to come to Malfoy Manor." Severus chuckled, yes chuckled, and looked up at the sky, clearly seeing the memory in his mind's eye. "You were adorable. Lying in that little basket, staring up at me with those huge gray eyes. You already had this look about you that this world wasn't enough, that it wouldn't suffice for majesty like yourself. But then I started thinking … I hated the fact that you'd have to grow up in this world. A world where your father was an abusive bastard that cared only for money and power. A world where people were being killed left and right for no reason. A world that a perfect little child like you should never, ever have to face.

"I remember that day for being the first day I met my Godson, but I also remember it because it was the day I went to see Dumbledore. It was the day that I asked him what I could do in the fight against Voldemort."

"You're … wait … what?"

"Dumbledore has assembled a group of people called the Order of the Phoenix. I am their one and only spy in Voldemort's army, as I have been for many years. Your mother also did a great deal to help. However, seeing as she had little access – other than your father – she couldn't give us much information on Voldemort's workings. Yet, she still helped me and several members of the Order on more than one occasion."

"Wow … okay, so where was I for the past 16 years!"

Severus laughed and shook his head. "Don't feel too bad … we did do a right job of keeping it secret. As you know, my promotions in Voldemort's ranks have never been lacking."

"Mum was pretty clever I guess … but why are you telling me this now?"

"Because Dumbledore and I think you should join the Order. There's still enough time that you could go back and pledge allegiance to Voldemort. Tell him you had a taste of life with these mudblood-lovers and you've come crawling back to him to ask forgiveness."

"No … there's something else … something you're not telling me." Draco's eyes narrowed as he evaluated the man in front of him.

"Too much like your Mother for your own good." Severus rolled his eyes and shot Draco an annoyed glare. "Yes, there is something else. I think Voldemort would be much more likely to believe you and take you back if you brought him a little gift. A little gift by the name of Ginevra Weasley."

"What! Fuck no! I'm not giving Ginny over to that bastard! I never even said I was going to do this! What the fuck is wrong with you!"

"Draco, please calm down. It is highly unbecoming when you lose your temper like that." Draco opened his mouth to speak again, but Severus held up his hand. "Just let me explain. I happen to know that Voldemort does not want to kill Ginevra any more than he wants to kill Bellatrix Black. There is a lot of his plan that you do not know, Draco."

"Then I guess you had better start explaining."

Severus sighed and shook his head. "Fine … Voldemort has had plans for you since the day you were born. He wants to make you his heir, his prince. Eventually, he plans to legally adopt you as his son so that you truly will be his rightful heir. If the Potter boy does defeat him, then he expects you to continue where he left off and … take over the world or something idiotic like that. If Voldemort wins, he wants you to rule after he dies and, until then, you'll be the face of the empire. So, if all goes according to his plans, a prince you shall become.

"But what's a prince without a princess? He knew that you would need a wife – one of his own choosing – to help you rule. He was also privy to certain … interesting pieces of information. Namely, the identity of your Amor Semper. It was not a coincidence that Ginny Weasley received the diary of Tom Riddle. Contrary to what many people believe, the diary was never intended for Harry Potter, nor was it a way for Voldemort to get closer to Potter. Voldemort fully intends to make Ginevra Weasley your bride."

"Wait, I thought that if I got my Amor Semper, then I wouldn't turn evil."

"No … if you got your Amor Semper, you wouldn't be doomed to become evil. But that's not so say that you can't choose evil all on your own if you want. Nothing's stopping you from choosing it. And, Voldemort's counting on the fact that you will choose evil. Particularly because he will hold the fact that he helped you get your Amor Semper over your head. Not to mention both of your lives." It seemed rather ironic to Draco that they were talking about this, calm and collected for the most part, as if it were nothing particularly important. When, in reality, they were discussing the destiny of the entire Wizarding world – Draco and Ginny included.

"But where does that fit in with all this spying shit you're talking about?"

"Okay, so if you were, hypothetically, to go back to Voldemort, this would be the story. I told you all about the plans and you saw the genius in it. In addition, you became completely and utterly disgusted with muggles, mudbloods, and mudblood-lovers after your short stay with the Weasleys. But, while here, you got Ginevra to also see the genius and truth in Voldemort's ideas and plans. You convinced her that his way is the right way. She has come back with you because you have fallen in love and want to fulfill Voldemort's plans.

"Voldemort will, undoubtedly, want you and Ginevra to spend as much time as possible together, while still with the rest of the Death Eaters. So, you will be able to watch over her, if that's your concern. Furthermore, you may be able to avoid receiving the Dark Mark. I don't think Voldemort will want to mar his only son," Severus snorted incredulously before continuing, "or his son's bride. So there should be no problem there. Lastly, seeing as I was the one that brought you back to the light – or darkness depending on how you look at it – I will, most likely be greatly rewarded by Voldemort. The more I'm rewarded, the more information I'm privy to. And, the more information I'm privy to, the more information the Order receives.

"I haven't informed Ginny of the plans yet. But, I have to tell you that any plans you had of keeping her well away from this war were thrown out the window the day she was born. She's already involved, so you need to make your decision with that understood. If you don't want me to ask her, I won't. It's your decision." Severus sighed and looked out over the surface of the lake; the water rippled slightly as the wind blew over it.

"Don't tell me shit like 'it's your decision, Draco' or 'do whatever you want, Draco'. I know you have an opinion that you're just dying to share with me, so you had better just get out with it now."

"If you insist. I think that Ginevra should be involved in this plan. She keeps you in line, that much I've seen. And you'll need to stay in line when meddling with these things. She has just as much right to try and stop Voldemort as you do, if not more considering her history. Furthermore, she's not going to let you go in there yourself and will probably end up doing something stupid if you try to. And besides, I've been her teacher for 5 years now; I know how clever she is. She'll make a fine spy. But we're getting ahead of ourselves here. You haven't even decided if you're going to go in, let alone take Ginevra with you."

Draco raked his hands through his hair several times, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to dull the ache that was pounding in his head. "I need to think about things … I need to be alone and think about all of this. You've just dumped a lot of shit on me."

"Fine, take all the time you need. But I don't think I need to remind you that everyday you wait is another day of missed information from Voldemort." With that, Severus stood up and walked away from his Godson, returning to The Burrow. He didn't hear the series of quiet, colorful words that spewed from the young man's mouth as he realized just how much shit they were all in.

A/N: Mwahahahahahaha! Was that not the most unexpected chapter ever! This was totally not where I was planning for this story to go, but I started writing and it just kind of came out this way. I hope you all liked it! This is my birthday present to you all (except that it's a bit late, sorry!) Please review! (I didn't get very many for Chapter 6 and it made me very sad)

Mz. Sammiz: Thanks!

Inukaino: Hehe, yes well, we'll see what happens to Blaise! Poor Draco, getting all of that dumped on him! Thanks a bunch! I hope you liked this chapter!

I have a new story coming for you all. It's super short, only like two or three chapters, but it will be my end of the year present to you all. Yay for the end of my Sophomore year!