Chapter Six: Around The Table, And Old Friends
Severus Snape felt like hell.
He limped down the long hallway, past the gargoyles ("sugar quills"), and leaned gratefully against the railing of the moving staircase, as it transported him up to the Command Hub, formerly known as the Headmaster's Office. Actually, only Dumbledore called it the Command Hub -- everyone else still called it the Headmaster's Office. When Dumbledore had called the meeting, it had taken his sleep-deprived brain a few moments to figure out what the heck Albus was talking about.
Severus was nursing more than a touch of a hangover from his late night drinking/talking session with Harry. He supposed that he was getting too old for such late nights, and the thought was a bit depressing. The lack of sleep made his already-battered body even more sore, and he'd awakened too late this morning to throw together a helpful potion. A quick cleaning spell for himself and for his clothes (which he had slept in), a hasty retrieval of his notes, and he'd lurched out the door, looking more or less like something the hippogriff dragged in. All he could hope for was that there was plenty of hot, strong coffee at the meeting, and maybe a bit of toast.
Snape was actually looking forward to this meeting. Albus had just returned from his dealings overseas, which he had undertaken in order to canvass some help from other nations. Their own forces were hopelessly outnumbered, and losing ground fast. If they could get a couple of thousand troops from other nations, that just might make enough difference to push them towards victory rather than a crushing, inevitable defeat. Albus had hinted that he was bringing in someone whom he could trust to help lead and inspire. Snape had no idea who, but at this point, he didn't much care. Their forces were so decimated that anyone would be welcome. Without any help, he doubted that they could hang on for more than a couple of weeks. The thought was horrifying, actually.
He wished Albus would take command from him. While he appreciated the honour, Merlin knew he was exhausted, exhausted from the last three years, and was not in any shape to command an army. Not alone. And Lupin, bless him for trying, simply wasn't the kind of help that he needed. Still, Severus valued Lupin's point-of-view and his clear common sense. Severus could become too emotional at times, not to mention just too damned tired, to have a clear head, and he was fully aware of it. No, he and Lupin made a great team -- although if someone had told him that twenty years ago, he would have laughed in their face -- but numbers were numbers, and that was the entire point. They were devastatingly outnumbered.
After a moment, the staircase disgorged him; and, looking around, he saw two heavily-armed aurors guarding the door to the Hub. Lupin stood there conversing with the shorter one.
"Good morning, Remus. Nymphadora." Snape said to them, and nodded hello to the larger auror. "Hello, Dunn. Has everyone arrived?"
"Yes, Professor." Snape hid his amusement. He'd taught so many people, it was amazing how many of them forgot the title "Commander" and called him "Professor" instead. He didn't mind. Personally, he'd rather just be called Severus, or even Snape. "Commander" had an uncomfortable feel to it. It just served to remind him how young some of the people under his command were. The thought was one of many that made him lose sleep at night.
Snape held his arms out at his sides, to allow the aurors to perform the security scan on him. In his retirement, Mad Eye Moody, working with Fred and George Weasley, had taken to inventing a variety of brilliant defence products. The DarkScan Wand was amongst the best (and best-selling) of them. He hid a smile. Those damned twins had made his life hell at school, but once free of the educational system, had quickly proven that they weren't all mischief and foolishness. He had to admit that he was quite proud of their accomplishments, and sincerely hoped that they would re-open their joke shop someday. He hoped that it would be possible.
A moment later, Tonks-Lupin pronounced Commander Snape to be clear, and allowed him and Remus -- whom Snape assumed had already been scanned -- to enter the Command Hub.
Inside, the large, ornate rectangular table was surrounded with seated people, who were making considerable inroads on the trays of pastries and pots of coffee. Severus limped to the table and chose a seat nearest to a full pot, which he pulled towards him with a silent prayer of thanks to muggles for this most wonderful potion. His seat was also close to a tray of pastry, so he appropriated a few treats, making sure to share with Fawkes, who was perched on the back of his chair. Hopefully Albus wouldn't notice. Blissfully inhaling the steam coming off his mug, he took a cautious sip of the fragrant black brew (mentally offering thanks to the muggles again), and scanned the table to see who was there. He was acquainted with most of them, but one face left him jolted.
His mouth fell open in shock.
Lucie.
"Good morning, Severus, Remus." Albus smiled at them as they seated themselves. "Be sure to help yourself to the libations, and thank you for arriving so promptly. Now that we are all here, I shall effect introductions. Please rise when you are introduced." Albus gestured with one hand.
"To my right: Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Grounds and Keys, and also in charge of my "Get Things Done" team, as I choose to call them." Hagrid rose, and waved, then quickly sat back down. "Poppy Pomfrey, our head Medi-Witch," Pomfrey rose slightly and nodded. "Minerva McGonagle, who is in charge of the castle overall, and Filius Flitwick, who provides administrative support to Minerva." Both Minerva and Filius stood, the former tall and regal, the latter a good three feet shorter and smiling kindly.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt, who is in charge of Auror Operations." The handsome black man rose and nodded politely. "Arthur Weasley, who is serving as the Deputy Minister For Magic." Weasley stood but did not smile or nod; the events of the past three years had engraved deep lines on his face, and his once-trademark red hair had thinned and greyed considerably. "Harry Potter."
Potter rose and nodded, making eye contact with Snape. He gave Snape a small, wan smile. His young face bore signs of a sleepless night as well, and Snape noted that he had a full cup of coffee in front of him.
"And joining us from North America…Special Agent Simon Nigel-Nickerson, of the American Magical Bureau of Investigation." The tall, severe-looking man rose, looking out of place with his mussed-up hair and decrepit muggle clothing. He gave a quick nod, and smiled at Dumbledore before sitting down again. Albus smiled back, then turned to the woman beside him and gave her a warm smile.
"And most of you may recall my great-great-great-grand niece from her days as a student here at Hogwart's, Lieutenant Detective Lucie Degrace, representing the Canadian Magical Law Enforcement Association." Lucie rose and nodded, her eyes lingering a bit longer on Snape than on the others. After she sat back down, Albus continued. "And I am Albus Dumbledore," he rose and bowed courteously. "Acting Minister for Magic."
"I have recently returned," he continued, "from a meeting of Magical World Leaders in North America, to discuss what they refer to as the "Voldemort Terrorist Situation." He smiled. "They have all pledged support, and Simon and Lucie will be co-commanding the effort, along with Commander Snape, as requested by Commander Snape himself."
All heads turned curiously towards Snape, as he leaned back in his chair and breathed out in relief. "Thank you, Albus," he said.
"Well, Severus, as you yourself said, we cannot do this alone. If we fail in our bid to put a stop to Voldemort, the rest of the world will be at risk from his terrorism. The time has come to put a stop to this. I'm sure we can all agree upon that."
Murmurs of agreement came from the entire gathering. Albus continued. "Rubeus, will you please lead off this meeting?"
"Aye, sir." Hagrid stood, and walked over to the end of the table, where there was a small podium. "The grounds are bein' fully DarkScanned twice a day, every day, by myself' an' my team. All perimeter guards have the DarkScan Wands, and there haven't been any breaches. No probs. We had two missions this week. One, to get Mr. Nigel-Nickerson settled in to th' castle, and two, to escort Lucie to th' castle and get her all settled in. Both went off withou' a hitch." He smiled down at Lucie, then continued. "Fred an' George are continuing work with Mad Eye on their Dark Defence stuff, an' young Draco's become me most trusted team member. He's doin' better now, too. He's getting over what happened to his parents, poor kid. 'Twill take time, tho'. No kid should ever have to see something like that."
Hagrid sighed sadly. Most everyone in the room knew that Draco had watched Voldemort personally torture his parents nearly to death. Draco himself would have been next, but for Lupin and Snape, who had arrived on the scene, and had been forced to blow their cover in order to save the young man. It had merely been a matter of time before they ceased operating as double agents anyway. They were unable to prevent what had happened to Lucius and Narcissa, but somehow, Draco and Lupin had managed to get them to Hogwart's, as well as the badly-injured Severus Snape. Snape was recovering, but no one knew for sure if Lucius and Narcissa would ever regain consciousness.
It was a hard thing for Draco to bear, and he spent much of his off-duty time at his parents' bedsides, sometimes accompanied by either Hagrid or Snape, or both.
"Thank you, Hagrid. Poppy?" Albus said, leaning back in his chair.
Madame Pomfrey stood and made her way to the podium. "We're managing well in the hospital wing. We're seeing more patients now that Saint Mungo's has been destroyed, but we're coping. Miss Granger -- sorry, Mrs. Weasley -- has proven to be an exceptionally quick learner. If she ever chose to become a Medi-Witch, she would have no problem doing so. However, if there is any kind of increase in the number of casualties, we will be overwhelmed. There will need to be more hospital facilities and trained personnel to operate them." She returned to her seat, passing by Minerva McGonagle with a friendly nod as she made her way to the podium.
McGonagle stood and surveyed the room unsmilingly. "Poppy is correct. While we are managing well, the situation could quickly become critical. All it's going to take is one battle, and we'll have people dying just because there is no room and no personnel to take care of them. Otherwise, things in the castle are running smoothly. I would like to add that Filius is providing invaluable help, and that it is greatly appreciated."
She returned to her seat and Flitwick took her place, standing on a nearby stool in order to see over the podium. "Yes, um, thank you, Minerva. Just so everyone knows, resources and finances are all well. No issues." He smiled and hopped off the stool, then returned to his seat.
Kingsley Shacklebolt took his turn at the podium. "Our team is down to ninety-seven Aurors, now, and we're all serving here at the castle. We still have not discovered where Dawlish and Ferguson have disappeared to. If they did not disappear of their own volition, then I pray for their sakes that they are dead. They're good men. I hate…to think of…what they may be going through..." His face twisted with grief for a moment; too many Aurors had been lost over the years. He said nothing more, and sat down with his head bowed. Beside him, McGonagle placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
After a brief silence, Arthur Weasley stood. "The remaining Ministry has finished relocating to Hogwart's, and there is a large, armed force standing guard around what's left of the Department of Mysteries. Kingsley…I know…I hope…" He stopped, and composed himself. They all knew that he was thinking of Percy, and of Molly, both missing for several weeks now. "That's all I have." He sat down, a look of deep distress still on his face.
The room was silent. Albus looked at Harry, who sat next to Arthur, his hand on his shoulder. Harry stood and walked to the podium.
"Er…I realize that we're going to have a lot on our plates during the next few weeks. But you have to remember that our friends and family are in Azkaban." He was referring to the wizarding prison, that was no longer under Ministry control, but was being used by Voldemort and his minions as a prison for his enemies. Rumours and stories that had reached their ears, about the suffering of the prisoners, were rife, and were horrible. "We're going to have to either break people out of there, or destroy the entire thing. We can't leave our loved ones to suffer, can we?" He glared at the room in general, then sat back down. Beside him, Arthur Weasley buried his face in shaking hands, and Harry put a comforting arm around the older man's shoulders.
Albus nodded at Snape, who slowly limped up to the podium. Remus Lupin stood, and placed himself behind Snape's right shoulder. Snape was touched by the gesture, and nodded gratefully to the man he was beginning to call friend. He would never forget that Remus endangered his own life to save Snape's.
"Yes. First, I would like to say thank you to everyone for coming here today." He looked at everyone directly, and longest at Lucie. She wasn't avoiding his eye, exactly, but her face showed little or no recognition. He continued.
"I must say that Remus and I have been working closely with Ronald Weasley, who is a brilliant tactician. Of course, we all knew that, after he soundly defeated Minerva's chess challenge at the tender age of eleven. To this date, I do not know of anyone else who has defeated Minerva at a game of chess." A few reminiscent smiles could be seen around the table. Even Arthur brightened a little, and Snape gave him a small smile before continuing.
. "To summarise the situation as Remus, Ron and I see it…we're in bad shape. We've been taking a hell of a beating.. Voldemort's supporters are numerous. He's in control of an army of Inferi -- they number in the thousands. He's gathered several hundred witch and wizard supporters, both Death Eaters and others. Impossible to guess how many are under the Imperius Curse. I believe it's best to assume that none of them are, and to assume that they are all our enemies, though that is a bitter pill to swallow. Giants, Goblins, Werewolves, Dementors. The Vampires are staying neutral, but they are paying the price. Voldemort's people are slaughtering them for sport. The Centaurs are nearly gone."
Snape sighed, and bowed his head. "He's got perhaps as many as ten thousand supporters, and we're down to under five thousand. The numbers are against us." Snape looked at Nigel-Nickerson and Lucie. "Our need is great. If you've got a few bodies to lend us, now is the time. Absolutely now." He paused, then said, "Thank you." Snape looked at Lupin, who had nothing to add, and they sat down.
His face grave, Simon Nigel-Nickerson stood. He paused, on the way up to the podium, and placed a hand on Snape's shoulder. He said nothing, but the look they exchanged spoke of the brotherhood of warriors, and Snape sat up a little straighter, as though feeling stronger. When Nigel-Nickerson took to the podium, he looked over at Lucie, and said, "Lucie. Would you join me, please?"
"Of course, Simon," she nodded. "Severus?"
After a moment, he stood, and side by side, the three of them stood up at the podium. At Snape's nod, Lupin joined them. There was something about them -- something powerful about the way that they stood, together, so strong and united, that for the first time in weeks, the others assembled at the table felt a flicker of hope. It showed in the way that Arthur Weasley raised his chin and set his mouth. The despair that had been so strong just moments earlier seemed to evaporate, and in its place, there seemed to be a strong sense of purpose. Watching them, Dumbledore wore a small, proud smile, and his eyes gleamed with triumph.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Simon said, in his curt, nasally voice. His hands rested in his pockets, and he rocked back on his heels. Despite his decrepit appearance, he definitely seemed a force to be reckoned with. Beside him, Lucie stood at relaxed attention, and gave off an air of command in her muggle-style suit and her sharp, alert expression. Although they could not have appeared more unalike, they also complemented each other, and seemed completely at ease with one another. "It's an honour to be here, to be a part of this gathering of some of the most famous wizards in recent history. Your accomplishments are legend, even as far away as the United States and Canada."
"I am Special Agent Simon Nigel-Nickerson, but please call me Simon. I'm based out of the Magical Bureau of Investigation, which is located in Salem, Massachusetts. It's a pleasure to be working with the legendary Commander Snape," he paused, and Snape flushed red at the compliment, "and the equally legendary Lucie Degrace, who is one of the top homicide investigators in Canadian Magical Law Enforcement. She and I have worked together on several cross-border cases, and I can honestly say that there are no two other people whom I would wish to have on my side, than Severus Snape and Lucie Degrace. And Captain Lupin, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I've heard good things about you, and I'm pleased to have you on our side, sir." Nigel-Nickerson nodded respectfully to Lupin, who smiled and nodded back. "And now, Lucie, if you would continue?"
Snape glanced over at her, his curious gaze cataloguing the changes of almost twenty years. She was still short, still solid and stocky, with her light brown hair -- was that a touch of grey at the temples? -- pulled into an efficient up-do. Her piercing amber eyes were fringed with long, dark lashes, and he noted the laugh lines around her mouth and at the corner of her eyes. She'd never been a great beauty, not really, but her intelligent, understanding personality and sunny smile had smitten more swains at Hogwart's than the most beautiful of girls. Snape approved of what he saw now. The years had been kind to her. She'd be what, thirty-nine now? Forty?
Forty, he decided, for she was a few months older than he was, and he would turn forty in January. She'd aged nicely, he thought. Maturity suited her, and made her even more appealing. He wondered what she saw when she looked at him.
His mouth quirked in a small, wry smile. Probably some burnt-out, overgrown, skinny bat. Just as he saw every time he looked in a mirror. He wished he'd gotten up a bit earlier this morning, and had taken a bit more care with his appearance. Perhaps he would have worn his green-and-silver house robes over his black coat and trousers, rather than his everyday black robes. He'd been told that the green brought out the colour of his eyes, and the silver would highlight the silver streaks in his hair, which he personally thought made him look more distinguished…
"Good morning, everyone," Lucie said, in that direct, low voice that Snape had always loved. "I'm glad to be back here, to see you all, but let's save the chit-chat for later, and cut to the chase. As Commander Snape said, the British forces are hurting in a big way. Let's see what we can do to help you out a bit."
She looked down at a small notebook that she extracted from the pocket of her rather businesslike suit. "All right then. The International Magical Alliance had a meeting, as you know, just this past week. All members have pledged support, with trained personnel, and volunteers, who are being trained by the Magical Law Enforcement societies worldwide, as we speak."
Lucie looked up for a moment, those golden eyes scanning the room quickly, and then she continued, in her crisp, no-nonsense way. "Latest numbers: African Empire, over twenty five thousand troops and volunteers. Pacific-Asian Conglomerate, fifteen thousand and change. South American Alliance, also fifteen thousand. European Union, including Britain, nearly ten thousand. Canada, nearly twenty thousand, and the United States of America, nearly eighty thousand. From other nations whom I have not yet mentioned, another ten thousand plus." She broke off and looked up from her notes, her large eyes locking on to Snape's. He felt a tingle in his stomach that had everything to do with her remarkable presence, and nothing to do with those incredible numbers.
"You've asked for help. We've got it. Approximately one hundred and seventy-five thousand trained and soon-to-be-trained personnel." She smiled slightly, and said, "So how do you like them apples?"
The room echoed with a stunned silence.
Harry was the first to speak. "Er…I'd say I like them apples just fine…"
The spell was broken, and they all burst out laughing. Lucie smiled again, and said, "All right, then. What say we get down to work?"
There were nods of agreement all round, so they resumed their seats, and called for more coffee and pastries. "Simon," said Dumbledore, "I'd appreciate it if you would outline the tactical plans that you and Lucie have come up with. We can all get to work on those."
"Certainly, Albus," said Nigel-Nickerson, sipping from a steaming mug of coffee. "First on the agenda is the medical situation."
"So far, you've got it under control, but I agree with Madame Pomfrey. You're going to need more than one ward. We can provide several hundred Apparating Paramedics, who can serve here at Hogwart's. When casualties are brought in, the A.P.'s can provide first aid, stabilize the patient for Apparation, then perform the Apparation to one of many wizarding medical institutions worldwide. Poppy can provide first diagnosis, and administration of this ward as a distribution service. How do you feel about that?"
"Excellent idea," said McGonagle, nodding her approval. Pomfrey smiled in relief, and agreed.
"Excellent. Next, I propose that Lucie, aided by this Ronald Weasley, head up the tactical division here at Hogwart's. We'll be bringing in more people and equipment. Integrate Ministry operations, intelligence, and tactical. Lucie is more than capable of this, and with Ronald's assistance…Lucie?"
"Minerva and/or Filius should be brought in on this," she said, wiping a spot of coffee off her chin.
"I volunteer," said Flitwick. "Minerva, if you can supervise the rest of the show, I can assist with the Operations Centre."
"Yes, Filius. That will be fine."
"Fine by me, Professor," Lucie added.
"Next. Specialty teams and Information. Commander Snape, I believe that's your forte?" Simon quirked an eyebrow at the former potions master, and peered at him through a curtain of messy blonde hair.
Snape smiled humourlessly. "It is, Simon. I'll require Hagrid's help with this."
"No prob." Hagrid waved a large hand.
"Problem solved, then. Lucie will head up tactical ops, Severus, Remus and Hagrid's team will head up specialty information ops -- both teams will be working closely together, of course. And Minerva, we'll bring the Aurors in on this, to work under the command of Kingsley and yourself. Flitwick will provide assistance to tactical, and you and Kingsley will manage the castle itself. That sound good?" Simon gave Minerva a penetrating glance.
"Most satisfactory," said McGonagle, crisply. Shacklebolt nodded approval.
"I'll serve in a co-ordinational capacity, then. Albus, Arthur…does this plan meet with your approval?"
"Very much so," said Albus. Beside him, Weasley nodded. Harry spoke up.
"What about me?"
Simon smiled at the young man. "You know your role, Harry. You're the star of the show, and you have your own path to walk down. It's everyone else's job," he waved a hand to indicate the others, "to sweep that path clean for you. And we'll back you up with everything we've got, son. You're not going in there alone. We're all together in this."
Harry stared at him for a long moment, then nodded.
"So what is the status of the operation at the present moment?", Dumbledore asked.
"Lucie." Simon nodded at her. Folding her hands and focusing her intense stare on her uncle, Lucie leaned forward, one hand stroking Fawkes as he moved from Snape's side to Lucie's.
"Hello, Fawkes, old buddy," she murmured, stroking his plumage. She then spoke up. "We've currently got the aforementioned troops stationed worldwide, awaiting their summons via SkinPhones, another Weasley/Moody invention."
Lucie smiled admiringly, and held up a strong arm, pointing at the fleshy part of her palm. A faint bluish mark could be seen there. "They function much as the famed Dark Mark does, although they can be used to send verbal messages as well. They are tiny magical communicators embedded within the skin. You can touch them, and either speak or think of the person to whom you wish to speak. This person's SkinPhone will be activated, and they will feel a small vibration. They will then either hear your voice, or, if they've got the SkinPhone set on non-verbal, then they will see a written message appear on the skin of the hand, which can be erased with a non-verbal spell." To demonstrate, she touched her phone and said into her palm, "Simon Nigel-Nickerson."
Nigel-Nickerson held up his hand, to show the skin vibrating slightly. He grinned and touched his palm, and immediately blue writing showed up on his skin. …hi from Lucie…
"Most impressive." Dumbledore said. Beside him, Arthur grinned, half-proudly, half amazed.
"The SkinPhones of the troops will also have an All Call feature. I can touch the phone, and say or think, "All Call". This will send a message to everyone on our wavelength. We'll have individual squadrons programmed as well, so that I can send an instant message to an entire squadron."
"Brilliant," breathed Flitwick. "Those twins were always two of my favourite students, you know." The others laughed.
"I'll bet," said Lucie, smiling. "Mr. Weasley, you must be very proud of them. They're brilliant, and their inventions have already saved a lot of lives. I feel certain that they will save many more. I've been working with them, and Mad-Eye, a bit on the tacticals of mass production and mass distribution of the DarkScan Wands and SkinPhones. We'll have all troops, including everyone in Britain, outfitted within two days…or I'll know the reason why not." She raised an eyebrow, and her facial expression left no one in doubt that she would indeed have her plans accomplished within the set time frame.
"And what about a plan, though? How are we going to take on Voldemort?" Lupin said, eyeing Lucie curiously. "It's not going to be easy, you know."
"Oh, I'm well aware of that, Remus," said Lucie. "With every squadron fully outfitted and trained as best as we can, we propose to deploy the troops along the perimeter of Britian, and close in, using a pincer-like pattern. And we won't forget about Azkaban, Harry. After Voldemort has been located, then Harry, along with a hand-picked team, will move in. Have you any idea where Voldemort's base of operations is?" She glanced briefly at Severus.
"The last we knew," said Snape, "was about a hundred miles north of this location. In the old Riddle mansion, where his muggle father lived. But our information is somewhat out-of-date. In fact, he's almost certainly moved by now."
"No matter. We'll find him, and we'll handle him. Now. Any questions, anyone? Feedback? Opinions?"
There was none. After a moment, Simon said, "Since we're not fully ready to go, I suggest we sleep on this, do what we can do today, and meet again tomorrow morning to finish up. Everyone should bring some questions, observations, suggestions, and points of view to the table. Does that meet with everyone's approval?"
There were nods of assent. "Well, then," said Simon, "How about we break for lunch?"
"Agreed." Dumbledore stood, and said, "We'll meet here at eight a.m. tomorrow morning. And now, let's get to work. Preliminaries, for the rest of the day, barring unforeseen circumstances. Simon, a word please."
"Of course, Minister." Simon rose, and with a nod at Severus and Lucie, followed Dumbledore to the suite of rooms branching away from the office. The others moved towards the revolving stairway.
The room slowly cleared. Snape waited for Lucie, who was organizing her pile of notes. At last, she stood, a pile of papers in her arms, and locked eyes with Severus. Once again, the impact of that amber stare hit him in the gut. It was as though the last twenty years melted away in an instant, and he felt like the tall, stringy teenager that he used to be, once again in awe of his tough, funny, competent, sometimes embarrassingly-blunt girlfriend. He'd always wondered what a go-getter like her had seen in him.
"Long time no see, Lucie."
"Yeah, you too." She was guarded, unsmiling.
"How have you been?"
"Fine."
Snape continued. "I don't see a wedding ring on your finger"
She frowned. "That's not really any of you business, but I took it off after my divorce, for obvious reasons. Why? What's it to you?"
"Just wondering. Albus told me you had married, a few years ago."
"So?" Her arms tightened around the stack of papers.
He sighed. "Lucie, why the attitude? It's been a long time."
"Because I'm not interested. I dumped you when you became a Death Eater, and I moved back to Canada and worked there in Magical Law Enforcement. I wasn't going to take the chance that we'd meet up on the job, you know…you a Death Eater and me an Auror. No damn way. I'm sure Albus explained that to you, though. But that was twenty years ago. There's no point in rehashing that now."
"Yes, yes, Albus did explain it to me. And I do understand why you were upset -- things could have been awkward…"
"Awkward?" Lucie stared at him, incredulously. Then she seemed to regain her train of thought. "But that's not the point! Again, it was almost twenty years ago. I wrote to you when you came to Hogwart's to teach, and you never wrote back. I tried, you know. I tried to give things another shot, and I never heard back from you, so I never wrote again. What more is there to say? If you'd wanted to try to patch things up, that was the time. You snooze, you lose." She simply stood there and glared at him, her brows knitted. He could see that she was getting angry.
Snape was stunned by her characteristic bluntness, and found himself at a loss, even though he should have known better. Lucie was never one to beat around the bush. "Lucie…I tried to write back. I did. But you don't understand…"
"No, I don't. I never did. Even when Uncle Albus explained that you became a Death Eater on his orders. Why couldn't you have told me that? What was the big secret?"
"That was also on Albus's orders. No one was to know that I was a double agent. Why can't you understand that?"
"Why couldn't you tell me?" Her eyes sparked furiously, and he realized that she'd been waiting a long time to pose this very question. "We'd been together for almost four years by that point! You were the one talking about getting married --couldn't you trust me?"
"Of course I trusted you! Don't you be an idiot about this, woman! But I was under orders! Surely you, Lieutenant, can understand that!" His own temper began to fray.
"So why didn't you write back to me? And don't you dare call me Lieutenant or woman, you damn well know my name." Angrily, she slammed her pile of papers down on the table and swung back to face him. Lucie looked down, and seemed to realize that she was losing her temper. She took a few deep, calming breaths, and then looked at Severus steadily. He remembered that she'd always had extraordinary control over her emotions, and apparently still did. Being much more emotional and hot-headed himself, he'd always found her self-control to be a bit strange.
The late morning sunlight streamed between them from the tall windows, and dust motes floated lazily for a long time before Snape whispered, "…I couldn't…I'm sorry. I just couldn't."
"Why not?" Just as softly. After a moment, Lucie averted her gaze again, hurt. She shook her head regretfully. "It would have made all the difference. If you'd confided in me…"
"Why did you get divorced?"
"What?" Astonished, she gaped at him, then said curtly, "None of your damn business. Things just…jeez. I'm a cop. That's…a hard life, for a spouse. And…there were other issues." She looked away.
Snape studied her for a moment, then said gently, "We're a breed apart, Lucie. You and I. Like two ancient warriors in a modern world." He moved closer, and brought a hand up to cup her soft cheek. "I've never stopped loving you…but I didn't know whether or not you could still love me. The things I've had to do…been witness to…" He sighed. "You deserved better."
She nodded, her expression stony. She didn't pull away from his touch, but neither did she encourage it. "And so did Gordie. My ex-husband," she added, by way of explanation. "He could never understand what I …did every day. And I didn't want to burden him with it. He's a sweet soul. It would hurt him, knowing just…well, just how cruel people can be to one another sometimes." She looked down at her feet again, her face troubled, and sad.
"Just as I couldn't bear to burden you with my issues, and my past." Snape gently turned her back to face him, and she looked up at him, her golden eyes luminous, and slightly moist. "But now I'm beginning to wonder…maybe I was wrong," he said, softly.
"You damn well were wrong."
Despite himself, Severus laughed, and hugged her close, praying that she wouldn't pull away. After an anxious moment for him, Lucie hugged him back, although he could sense her reserve. They broke off the embrace, and she leaned back to smile up at him.
"Severus? Not right now. The time's not right. But maybe later…"
Smiling, he sighed and held out his arm. She did not take it, and he gestured towards the doorway, instead. "Maybe later. You're right. But for now, let's go eat. I'm starved."
"Sounds good." She stopped and gestured for him to go ahead of her.
"Now, Luce," he said, as they spiralled down the moving stairway, "Why don't you fill me in on what you've been doing the last twenty years?"
She laughed delightedly. "My pleasure…Sev."