A/N: And now, for a little more background information on the beautiful Miss Ives and the introduction of Mr. Potter to our tale...

Chapter 4- Dining in the Moonlight

That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all lessons that history has to teach.- Aldous Huxley

The clock in the hallway chimed 11. Samantha sat in her desk chair, staring at the open window. The night air was surprisingly frigid. The room had chilled past the point of comfort, but Samantha made no move to shut the window. The Patronus could get in through a closed window, but she didn't care to listen to reason at the moment. Her hands gripped the arms of the chair, the nails on one hand ragged and uneven from her chewing. Her wand sat idly on the desk, along with blank parchment, her favorite black quill and a bottle of emerald green ink.

At 11:30, she gave up and got ready for bed. She rose up from the chair, and walked towards the window, stumbling over her shoes. She shut the window tightly and locked it. As she was disrobing, a bright white light shot into the room, casting a faint shimmering on the walls. She ran back to the desk and grabbed her wand, waving it hurriedly to light the candles in the room. She touched the tip to the white fox's tiny nose. Her wand glowed blue and a parchment shot out of her wand. Samantha ripped it off, and unrolled it.

To the lovely Samantha Haydyn--


Sam, we are in trouble. Big, huge, dragon-sized trouble.


I have been given the supreme honor of leading a Death Eater raid on Fang and Phlegm's wedding. Oh yes, but it gets better. I have also been informed that I am, and I quote, "the best that the Dark Lord has"- and no, Samantha, I am not making this up to feed my ego. The Dark Lord made specific mention of the fact that now that I am seen as a traitor to the Order, they will have no knowledge of any attacks.


I don't know exactly what plans Albus and Arthur laid down for security. I mentioned Auror surveillance and possible cloaked/disillusioned sentries around any wards that were set up. You need to find out exactly what they're planning and let me know so we can plan accordingly.

I have thought about this for a bit and had an idea. I don't know if this is feasible, but it would avoid unnecessary bloodshed. I think the wedding should be held on the last day of June. Have the real ceremony the day before and stage a fake one on the first of July. That way, I still attack a "wedding party." The children will probably be sent off somewhere, although Potter may not go quietly. My men can be ambushed and get out quickly if need be, with a few of them being captured. I don't know if I will be able to convince the Dark Lord that I was not the one who passed the information, but I will do my best. Since I'm leading the attack, I will be the one to report to him and can provide the details necessary.

The infamous Lady Malfoy was killed this evening for her lack of faith in the Dark Lord and for binding me to help Draco by the Vow. Right in front of the boy, blood was everywhere. Draco was in shock the rest of the evening. I'm sure the two doses of Crucio didn't help at all. Our dear friend Bellatrix also got a little dose of her own medicine for teaching Draco a bit of Occlumency. I don't know how Lucius will react to the news of his beloved Narcissa being killed.


Send word to the Order and let me know the details. It would probably be better to hold a full meeting, although you would have to withstand all of the bitter hatred of my being. Tell them you have a new source for news. Being one of the few Slytherins there, I'm sure you can manage.

Stay safe for me, love. I miss your beautiful face.


Forever yours,
Severus

Samantha stood in shock, her mind racing and failing to grasp any coherent thought. The Dark Lord was going to attack the wedding. Bloody hell, Severus, how am I supposed to do this, she thought. She opened her secret drawer and dropped the note inside. She rubbed her eyes with her fingers. Exhaustion was claiming her, and she couldn't think straight. She would have to contact Remus in the morning before she left for work. She waved her wand to douse the lights. She climbed into bed, not bothering to change the rest of her clothes. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Her alarm clock rang at six the next morning. Samantha lifted her head to gaze blearily at the illuminated face. She slapped the top of the clock to silence the noise, and sat up. Her eyes kept sliding shut and every muscle in her body shouted for more sleep. She got up before she could lay back down and went to take a shower.

After getting dressed and making herself a cup of tea, she sat back down at her desk. She always hated the way that Albus had taught them the Patronus Messaging Charm. She could never get her mental letter quite the way she wanted it quick enough to shoot off without writing the actual words down on parchment. Resigning herself to the lecture she would get from Remus, she pulled a piece of parchment towards her and inked her quill.

Remus-


I have received news from an ironclad source on the inside warning of an attack on the wedding at the Burrow. We need to talk to the other Phoenixers, Arthur in particular, to discuss the security detail and a possible alternative plan I thought of after getting the news. Please respond as soon as you can. We are quickly running out of time.


Love,
Samantha

Samantha rolled up the parchment and set it on the desk. She tapped it once with her wand. The parchment was coded for Remus's wand only and disappeared from the desk. She mentally spoke the incantation and a bright white falcon shot through the wall of her room. She watched as the sun dawned on an overcast sky.

Samantha arrived at the Ministry a little after 7:45. Her desk was already piled from reports filed overnight by the graveyard shift Aurors. She sighed and took out her paper to read before beginning to edit the reports. Nothing in particular caught her eye as she glanced quickly at all the headlines, flipping the pages leisurely. Disappointed by the lack of distraction, she pulled off the top report and began to work.

The day passed quickly. No other sightings of Severus had been reported, much to Samantha's relief. By the time five o'clock rolled around, she had pushed all thoughts of the wedding and the planned attack out of her mind, concentrating instead on which came first, McMasters or Miller. She finished filing the few reports in her hand and said goodnight to Kingsley. She apparated to her flat and removed her cloak, placing her bag by the front table. She walked into the kitchen and froze when she saw a man sitting at her kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Hey Sami, how was your day?" asked Remus as he set his cup back on the table. "I made some coffee. Hope you don't mind. It didn't look as though you drink much."

"I don't, usually," answered Samantha once her heart had settled its thunderous pumping in her chest. "Remus, most people owl before they come over, you know." She turned to pour herself a cup of coffee, smiling to herself. "Is Tonks aware of your deplorable manners?"

"Of course she is," answered Remus. "It's part of my charm."

Samantha snorted into her coffee, pulling the cup away from her mouth so that she didn't spill it all over her robes.

"Indeed. I don't see how Tonks can withstand all that charm."

"Yes, well I didn't come over to talk about me," said Remus. The smile faded from his face."I came to talk about this little letter you sent me at the crack of dawn this morning."

"Good," said Samantha. She took a sip of bitter coffee and made a face, reaching in the cabinet for some sugar. "I was wondering if you had gotten it."

"Yes, I did," replied Remus, watching her dump heaping spoonfuls of sugar into her cup. "And I must say I find this idea of an "inside source" a little dodgy, Sami."

"I trust this person with my life," said Samantha smoothly. "You know how I am about trusting people."

"Well, yes, but -" said Remus, eyeing Samantha carefully. "You have been wrong before."

"So you think that since I believed Severus, that I can't trust the right people, is that it?" said Samantha as she glared at Remus, her eyes narrowing at the guilty look on his face.

"Look, Sami, we were all fooled when it came to Snape. He just went and -"

"And sacrificed his life over and over again for those damn Gryffindors that you swear are the most innocent kids on the face of the earth," shouted Samantha. "He never ONCE gave us false information, never ONCE lied to us in the course of his work for the Order. The only times he didn't explain himself fully were the times when Albus had specifically told him to keep his mouth shut." She roughly placed the lid back on the sugar container and slammed it on the shelf in the cabinet.

"Sami, the man killed Albus," growled Remus. "Harry saw everything. He said that Snape walked up the stairs and pulled his wand and -"

"Do you know what Potter and Albus were doing away from the castle that night, Remus?" asked Samantha softly. She smirked cruelly at Remus's confused look. "What a pity."

She yanked out the chair across from Remus and slammed down her cup of coffee. She sat across from him and crossed her arms, giving him a pointed glare. Remus shifted uncomfortably in his chair and cleared his throat.

"Alright then, Samantha. If you trust this mysterious source, then we'd be safer acting on what they tell us than ignoring it all together. Arthur spoke to me about doing the detail for the wedding. Only the Auror-trained Phoenixers can lay down Anti-Apparition wards large enough to cover the entire Burrow and the garden where they're having the ceremony. We had Moody lay them down last week. It's just going to be family and close friends. Fleur's only bring her immediate family, as it's too dangerous to bring everyone up from France. Only a few Weasleys outside of Arthur's immediate family are coming, along with the Lovegoods from the other side of the village, so that won't be too many more people. Of course, the whole Order was invited. Well, everyone but Mundungus, who Molly refused to invite. So we're up to about 40 people. That's counting Harry and Hermione. They're both already at the Burrow, helping to make preparations."

He paused to take another drink and continued. "As far as other security for the actual ceremony, I was planning on posting Hestia and myself on opposite sides of the protective wards in the garden that Albus set up a few months ago, doing walking patrols. Arthur and I double-checked to make sure that they were still solid after he died. They were weakened quite a bit, so we went ahead and had Tonks reinforce them. We'd be disillusioned. I was gonna have Mad-Eye stand guard at the front of the Burrow, with Tonks watching the rear, and have both of them disillusioned as well. They'd have to come through the woods to get to us, and then they'd have to get around Tonks and Moody and past the wards."

Samantha nodded her head as she pictured the Burrow in her mind. She had only been there once before, but it had a distinct charisma about it that made it unforgettable. The plan was okay, even if the sentries were a little thin on the edges of the wards. But the wards sounded pretty solid. Moody probably added a jinx or two to shake things up.

"You mentioned something about an alternative plan that you thought of," said Remus. "I'd love to hear it, seeing as how I don't think Bill and Fleur want to remember their wedding day for masked men and black cloaks."

Samantha gave him a small grin. "Indeed. Well, since my source indicated that the attack was to be held on July first, I thought it might be better to hold the wedding a day or two before. That might make travel arrangements a little tricky for Fleur's family and the other Weasleys, but for the sake of safety I think it would be best. Then, on the first, we can have just Order members at the Burrow and ambush the attackers. We'll need to plan specifics, but I thought it might be feasible."

"Hmm," hummed Remus. He ran a hand through his graying hair and looked off into the corner of the room. "Have you mentioned any of this to your mysterious source?"

"No," said Samantha. "My source simply informed me of the attack and has no idea what we're planning." At least not yet, he doesn't thought Samantha.

Remus nodded. "Good. I feel a lot better without them knowing what we're doing. I would have to talk to Arthur and Molly, but I think you may have something, my dear. We wouldn't have to worry about the kids being in the way. We could send them all to Headquarters, since Harry inherited it from Sirius and all of the protections are still in place. He owled me yesterday and said that he'd been to visit and things seemed normal and that it's still under the Fidelius. Said he had Kretcher cleaning everything top to bottom. I'll contact Arthur tonight and see if we can't have a full meeting either tomorrow night or the next day. Oh, that reminds me!"

Remus reached in his pocket and pulled out a letter. "I meant to send this to you today at work, but I completely forgot. Harry's coming over for dinner tonight at 7 and I told him you would be there. I know it's kind of last minute, but you're more than welcome to join us."

"It sounds wonderful, Remus," said Samantha. "I'll just need a little time to clean up a bit and change clothes, but I can be there by 7, no problem."

"Great!" said Remus. He stood and grabbed his cloak off the back of his chair. "Thanks for the coffee, Sami. I'll send a note to Molly before dinner to give to Arthur." He kissed her cheek and walked to the door. "See you at 7."

"Until then," said Samantha. She watched as Remus disapparated back to London, deep in thought about the plan. She sighed and stood up from the table, making her way to the bathroom for a quick shower.

At 6:58, Samantha apparated to the alleyway behind a two-story brick house in South London. She walked around to the front door with a bottle of white wine in hand and raised the brass knocker on the door, rapping it loudly twice. The door was opened by a young man with messy black hair and unnatural green eyes.

"Hi, I'm Samantha, Remus's cousin," said Samantha. She held out her hand to the boy, which he took and shook quickly. "You must be Mr. Potter."

"Yeah, nice to meet you," said Harry. He stepped aside and waved her in. "Please, come in. Remus is just finishing up in the kitchen."

"Thanks," said Samantha as she stepped inside the shabby but immaculately clean house. She hung her cloak on the hooks by the door and made her way down the hall to the kitchen. She could smell roast garlic as she got closer to where Remus was cooking. She walked in and set the wine on the table. Remus was stirring a pot on the stove.

"Hey there, Sami," said Remus as he opened the oven door. "I mistimed the chicken, so it's gonna be about 20 or 30 minutes."

"No problem, just call us when you're ready for us," said Samantha. "What do you say we retire to the sitting room, Mr. Potter?"

Harry was standing in the doorway, watching her and Remus interact. Interesting, thought Samantha as he followed her back down the hall to a small room right off the entryway. She sat down in the chair facing the outer window, while Harry sat on the sofa across from her. He was nervously flattening hishair on his head.

"Don't worry," said Samantha, "I'm not some trashy Prophet reporter in disguise who's going to ask you all kinds of embarrassing questions." She chuckled softly at the blush that crept up the boy's neck.

"Sorry," said Harry, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "Remus didn't say much about you when he invited me over."

"No, I expect he didn't," mused Samantha. "My past made it somewhat difficult to know who exactly to trust with my personal information. Not very many people remember me, which works decidedly in my favor. Even now, a lot of the Order members don't know that Remus and I are related."

"Remember you?" asked Harry. "Remember you from where?"

"It's a long story," said Samantha as she gazed out the window. She sighed. "But you have quite a story of your own, don't you, Mr. Potter. I assure you, mine's not quite so enthralling but it's quite interesting to say the least." She paused and put a hand to her lips, thinking about where to begin. "Well, I suppose I'll just start at the beginning, hm?"

Harry nodded and Samantha began to speak. "Well, I was in the same year as your parents, Sirius and Remus back in school. I was in Slytherin, though. Slughorn was my head of House." She grinned at the scowl that Harry gave her. "I doubt that feelings against my House have changed much since I was in school, judging by the face you're making." Samantha paused at the questioning look that Harry gave her. He seemed to be debating with himself on saying something.

"You can ask me whatever it is you're trying to hold in, Mr. Potter," said Samantha, grinning. "I promise not to bite too hard."

"Did you -" began Harry. He cleared his throat and looked directly in her face. "Did you know Snape, then, since you were in Slytherin at the same time?"

Samantha's grin faltered a bit, and she looked from those wicked green eyes to the window. She spoke in a voice hardly above a whisper. "Yes, I did. We were best friends since first year, not quite unlike yourself and Miss Granger or young Mr. Weasley from what I can gather. I can safely say that I knew him even better than Albus himself."

Samantha was silent for a few moments, lost in thoughts of the past. She closed her eyes, seeing Severus sitting across from her in the library watching her read… seeing him play Chaser for the House team and cheering her lungs out…seeing that look in his eyes that night in the commons room as he leaned in to kiss her for the first time…

"I'm sorry," said Harry, breaking Samantha from her reminiscing. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Talking about Severus would never upset me," said Samantha firmly, shaking her head. "You never have to watch your words around me, Mr. Potter. I assure you that he is not a sore topic for me. But I didn't mean to go off on a tangent. Yes, I knew him from school."

She paused briefly to remember what she was going to originally say before thinking of Severus. "I did well in my subjects, got excellent N.E.W.T. scores. I wanted to be a Healer for St. Mungo's. There was a real need for them at that time, what with the Dark Lord rising and killing people left and right. Well, I graduated and went home to find the Dark Mark floating over my house and both my parents dead. I was scared to death. I had a decent amount of muggle money at the time, so I found an apartment north of here in Grantchester and got a job waitressing. I didn't associate with the Wizarding world for about 3 or 4 years, until after that Halloween night when you lost your parents. I came back, using my mother's maiden name, and applied for a file clerk job in the MLE offices. I actually work with Kingsley Shacklebolt pretty extensively. That's pretty much my story. I've been a member of the Order since Kingsley recruited me a couple of years ago. I volunteered to be one of the ones who fetched you that night with the Dementors, but Hestia beat me out for it."

"If you don't mind me asking," said Harry, that questioning look in his eyes once again, "what were your parents' names?"

"McKinnon," said Samantha softly."Marlene McKinnon was my mother and a member of the Order as well. My father's name was Jacob. Everyone thought that I was dead too, since I disappeared entirely after I graduated. After they died, I had to drop the name because there were still Death Eaters out looking for me. I took my mother's maiden name, Ives, and have used it on every single form I've filled out since."

Harry nodded. He fingered something in his jacket pocket. With a slight thrill running through her body, Samantha placed her arms casually on the arms of the chair and took on a relaxed pose.

"So, I heard that you had thehigh honorof having private lessons with Albus this past year," said Samantha. She watched his face for any expression that would give him away. "If I may ask, what were they about?"

"Oh, I'm really sorry, but I can't talk about them," said Harry. He shifted his gaze to the bookshelf on the far wall. Samantha grinned slightly.

"I see," she said. Going for the kill, she continued in a dismissive tone. "Knowing Albus like I did, it was probably some kind of history lesson. He was always harping on being good students of history, saying that if we didn't study the mistakes of the past, that we were bound to repeat them in the future. I think often times he stressed history more so than other more practical things, like Potions or Defense."

Samantha watched nonchalantly as Harry's face paled. He stared at her and his eyes widened when Samantha gave him a wink. She held his shocked gaze until Remus's voice carried down the hall.

"It's ready, you two come on in and eat."

"Marvelous," said Samantha, pointedly ignoring the shell-shocked look on Harry's face. "Shall we go and see if it's edible, Mr. Potter?" With that, she stood and turned to walk towards the kitchen.