Chapter Four: Six Days

A/N: My most sincere thanks to Angeldust-aka-Evilwoman, miss mcGonagle, bigkihap, am4ever, Leta, Brighid, Quill of Minerva, Ginger Newts, Silver Sorceress and LinZE for their reviews. You guys make writing rewarding.

I have always thought that Severus and Minerva are closer than portrayed in canon; they argue far too much and have known each other far too long for anything else. I have also always seen Albus (speeches, anyone?) as a tad bit of a dramatist, and have enjoyed using that to my advantage. Severus, too, has a bit of that flair (the robes?).

Apologies in advance if the flashback-within-a-flashback is confusing; Quill of Minerva and Brighid's reviews sparked it.

September 20th.

Six days.

It had been six days since she had been taken, and for six days he had watched in growing dismay as their defenses crumbled around them.

They all missed her—even his snakes were worried, though they would never admit it. But she had always been fair, even back when he had been a student, taking points from Gryffindor just as fast as she did from Slytherin and rewarding excellence wherever she found it. And in doing so, she had won the Slytherins' universal, if grudging, respect.

Points, however, were the least of their problems now. If Severus didn't suddenly become a miracle-worker, they were doomed. Even the Potter brat knew it.

Albus Dumbledore had simply ceased to function, and the Resistance was disintegrating.

Oh yes, the Dark Lord had known exactly what he had done in kidnapping Minerva McGonagall.

Severus recalled the scene at Grimmauld Place with a visible wince.

flashback

They had all gathered together for the first time in decades, missing only two of the twelve that formed the core of the Order of the Phoenix. Grimmauld Place was still the Order's headquarters, now owned by a more subdued Harry Potter. The children were upstairs, no doubt trying to listen in on the adults' conversation with more of the Weasley twins' confounded contraptions. The pranksters themselves were seated at the table, looking more serious than Severus had ever seen them.

They were all there: Molly, Arthur, William, the twins, Tonks, Shacklebolt, Lupin, Moody—even Aberforth, who had not attended an Order gathering since the seventies. Of course, they had not had a topic this devastating to discuss since the return of the creature calling himself Voldemort. Tonight, they were there to talk about their esteemed leader. Their leader, who had quite literally ceased to function the moment Minerva McGonagall's kidnapping had been confirmed.

The accompanying ransom note, if Voldemort's demands could indeed be called a "ransom," probably helped account for Albus's state.

Severus slammed the offending parchment down on the table violently.

"I hereby commence this meeting of the Order of the Phoenix," he said in a low, dangerous voice.

"What gives you the authority to lead?" Shacklebolt snapped.

Severus sneered at the Auror. "I am Minerva McGonagall's second. As both she and Dumbledore are currently…incapacitated, I am now the official leader of this Order." He watched as Shacklebolt read the acceptance on the faces of the senior Order members, shocked speechless.

"Let it be, Kingsley. We have bigger problems to deal with tonight," Arthur said wearily.

Sending Severus a half-hearted glare, the Auror returned to his seat.

The Slytherin continued as if the interruption had never occurred. "As you all know, Minerva was kidnapped three days ago. Our attempts to locate her have failed miserably. Albus received this note yesterday."

Aberforth, seated on Severus's left, rose to pick up the parchment. "Dumbledore," he began tonelessly, "you really should take better care of your things, old man. Quite careless of you, really, to leave this one lying about where just anyone could pick her up. Since you don't seem to care too much about her welfare, I've taken the liberty of relieving you of her." The younger Dumbledore brother paused momentarily. Severus watched as the hand that held the parchment shook a little; the other formed a tight, angry fist. "Wormtail here—" Aberforth was interrupted by a growl from Lupin. "Wormtail here has gotten the ridiculous notion that you actually give a damn about someone, Dumbledore! I beg to differ, but I feel that I must give you the chance to speak your case. Should you care to prove me wrong, deliver the Potter boy to me at my manor by midnight You have seven days, Dumbledore. One of them, the woman or the boy, will die. I leave the choice to you.

"Yours sincerely, Lord Voldemort." Aberforth glanced up from the parchment. "He's added a postscript," he said wearily, before proceeding to read the rest. "Oh, and Dumbledore? One more thing I forgot to mention. Should you somehow get the idea that this trade is unfair and attempt to change the stakes, I would be forced to undertake drastic measures, I'm afraid.

"If you attempt to find your precious Minerva, I will kill her. If you, in your desperation, tell anyone about this, I will kill her. In other words, if you do anything other than follow my instructions explicitly, I will kill her. In the meantime, I will enjoy finding out exactly what has so fascinated you about this woman. I confess that I cannot see it at the moment, but I have seven days, after all, to learn everything. Cheers!" Aberforth spat the last line, now radiating a cold fury.

Molly looked close to tears; Arthur held her comfortingly, though clearly horrified. The youngest of the Order, Tonks and the twins, had yet to get past their shock. William, Shacklebolt, and Lupin were sickened, though not as surprised.

Severus's face could have been carved from stone.

Molly, of course, commented on it. "Severus! How can you be so cold?" she asked harshly.

"I am what I must be, Molly," Severus replied impassively. "Now, if you all would pull yourselves together, we have some decisions to make." Some of them glared at Severus, apparently insulted; he didn't care. "Minerva is likely at Riddle or Malfoy Manor, though I do not know which."

"Well, why don't you find out?"

Severus observed Shacklebolt disdainfully. "Any inquires I make as to Minerva's whereabouts will immediately be taken as investigations on Albus's behalf, thereby condemning her to death."

"Surely You-Know-Who wouldn't just kill her!" Molly exclaimed. Severus raised an eyebrow. "I mean, isn't she more valuable as a hostage?" she continued hesitantly.

Severus shook his head wearily. "Yes and no, Molly. I'm not sure how much the Dark Lord knows. He's insinuated that he knows Minerva is the one weakness in Albus's armor, but he's not absolutely certain of that."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.

"The note," Severus replied. "If he was absolutely certain of Albus's compliance, then he wouldn't have bothered mocking him or giving him a week to 'decide.' The Dark Lord is avaricious—he would have asked for everything he thought he could get. The fact that he only asked for Potter's life—"

"What do you mean, 'only Potter's life'?" Lupin snarled.

Severus resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the Gryffindors' idiocy.

Aberforth, the only other Slytherin in the room, saved him the trouble. "If Voldemort—" Aberforth did roll his eyes at their collective gasp; Severus smirked. "If Voldemort had known the truth, he would have demanded the immediate surrender of Hogwarts, not Harry Potter."

Eight of the twelve core members of the secret organization devoted to saving the world gaped at Aberforth. "What?" Tonks burst out.

Severus and Aberforth exchanged a look Because that, Albus would have given him, you idiots. "You explain," Severus said curtly, gesturing at the stunned table.

Aberforth shrugged. "You were informed at the beginning of the summer of the prophecy involving Potter and Riddle. Albus knows it's pointless to surrender Potter to Voldemort; Minerva would die anyway."

"He wouldn't keep the deal?" one of the twins asked.

"Who, Riddle?" The other twin nodded. "No, he would. Minerva would be released, but without Potter, who would be around to stop Riddle? Albus knows that she would stay to fight and probably get herself killed. Giving up Potter would be pointless."

They were still staring at Aberforth, unable to believe that a man could talk so callously about his brother, his brother's second (and wife, though they didn't know that), and the young savior of the wizarding world—well, the damn-well-better-be-the-savior. Severus refused to think that he had put up with that idiot Gryffindor for five years to no purport.

Looking back out at the eight incredulous faces around him, Severus recalled a conversation with Minerva over tea in her office long ago.

flashback

"Why is it that you Gryffindors seem totally incapable of thinking rationally when your 'feelings' are involved?" Severus snapped at Minerva after yet another Gryffindor first-year had shouted at him in detention and then promptly burst into tears.

The infuriating woman had burst out laughing when he had finished the tale.

"It's not funny! You Gryffindors need to learn to compartmentalize!"

"Severus, our emotions are our emotions; they're part of who we are."

"Your emotions could very likely get you killed!"

Minerva sobered. "When the situation calls for it, I can 'compartmentalize' my emotions, as you say."

"Usually, yes, you can. But not always!" Severus stood and paced across the carpet furiously. "Aside from the fact that I find it highly annoying, it's a bloody dangerous habit!"

"Severus!"

"Admit it!" He pointed a finger at her accusingly. "You get overly emotional, and then you get distraught and you can't think straight, and if that happened on the battlefield, it could get you killed."

"It could also save a life." Severus glanced up at her, incredulous. "Yes, Severus. It did exactly that, as a matter of fact, in another war much like this one…oh, fifty years ago or so."

end flashback

It was on that day, many years ago, that he had discovered that the Headmaster and his Deputy were far more than they seemed, both separately and together. Minerva's story had been fantastic, but the proof had been there, and Albus had independently corroborated her words later, actually correcting the parts where Minerva had apparently downplayed her role.

It had become a favorite point of contestation over the years, whether being an "overly-emotional Gryffindor" was an advantage of disadvantage.

For the first time in his life, however, Severus desperately hated being right. If things didn't improve quickly, they would lose this war because of two overly-emotional Gryffindors. He squashed the traitorous little voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Minerva. Severus Snape was never overly-emotional, and certainly not over the kidnapping of one Gryffindor and the collapse of another. The mere thought was ridiculous.

Unbidden, Minerva's laugher rang out in his mind, bright and warm, and Severus gasped for breath, feeling suddenly as though he had been blindsided by a bludger.

A/N: I hope that this chapter addressed everyone's questions. Thank you again for your wonderful reviews; I really do appreciate them. Please drop by with any comments, suggestions, etc. that you might have!

I love four-day weekends! This is the fastest I've ever updated anything.

I'd like to thank my friend Florence for kindly telling me to "cut to the chase" with this story when I asked her advice, though she doesn't read fanfiction. Sorry about the long A/N.