Chapter 9- When It Rains, It Pours
Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.- Murphey's Law
The group landed in Fred and George's room. Hermione and Harry had to grab Ron to keep him from falling heavily on the floor. Samantha held her finger up to her lips, signaling for silence as she listened for anyone moving downstairs. She didn't hear anything. She moved quickly to the window and saw a red tinge where she assumed the wards were being attacked. She could hear the sound of a great crowd out behind the house in the garden. She smiled at the thoroughness of this operation. She turned towards the kids and tapped each of them hard on the top of the head.
"Grab your brooms and bring them over here, please," whispered Samantha, "Miss Granger, take your place at the window." She watched as two broomsticks rose into thin air and came towards her. She rapped each broom with her wand, watching the charm encase them completely. She made sure the charm was well-cast and covered the kids and the brooms entirely.
"Wait until you see the Order engage to move out," said Samantha, as she tapped herself with her wand. "Watch for stray spells. Do not make any noise or do anything that will alert anyone to your presence, please. I will meet you back here in order to return you three to the 12 before anyone else gets back. Bon courage, my blackbirds." With that, she walked out of the room and stood in the kitchen to watch for Severus.
He stood hidden in the trees, working on the wards. His troops were getting restless. His hands were shaking slightly with the effort of breaking down the difficult protection that surrounded the Weasley property. Damn it, this is taking too long, thought Severus as he slowly felt the wards weakening.
Bellatrix obvious shared this opinion. She walked up to where Severus was concentrating.
"What is going on, Snape?" she asked, lifting her mask. "Why is this taking so long?"
"Forgive me, Bellatrix," snarled Severus. "These wards are a little thick. It takes time to break them down gently so as to not alert the entire Ministry to our little party."
"Well, hurry it up," said Bellatrix hatefully, "we haven't got all day."
"You know, Bella," said Severus in a cool tone, "I was under the impression that I was the leader of this expedition."
The woman flushed and stalked back to where the others were waiting. Severus grinned to himself and continued to hit the wards.
Around 1:25, Severus finally got the wards to drop. He motioned for the rest of the Death Eaters to follow him. He felt the slight tingle of the Anti-Apparition wards as he got closer to the Burrow.
"No apparating," said Severus in a harsh tone through his mask. "They've got wards up." As soon as they passed the point where he had seen the wards begin, seven figures appeared out of thin air.
"Attack!" yelled Severus. He fired off relatively uncomplicated hexes towards the Order members as the ambush team was quickly surrounded by black cloaks. They fought well together, back-to-back, spinning slowly and firing off stunners and other non-lethal curses intended to immobilize their attackers. Suddenly Severus caught movement out of the corner of his eye. A black clad woman with curly black hair and chocolate brown eyes. Severus walked slowly towards her, his wand raised. She rose her own and they circled one another.
"So, we meet again, Miss Ives," said Severus. He fired off a simple stunner, which Samantha blocked. She saw briefly the firing of a spell from above, hitting an unsuspecting Death Eater from behind. Samantha smiled and flicked her eyes up, alerting Severus to the kids' presence. Severus gave her a slow understanding nod.
"Indeed we do, my old friend," she answered. She fired off a body-binding hex, which Severus dodged with quick reflexes. "I see you have lost none of your quickness in your old age."
"Old age?" said Severus with a chuckle, "Old age? I'll show you old age, my dear."
Samantha and Severus traded off firing spells at a furious pace. Their wands moved with alarming speed, exploding with bright light. However, if anyone had paid close enough attention, they would have noticed that the spells hitting the two duelers faded without leaving any damage. Samantha suddenly froze, her eyes widening in fear as she looked over Severus's shoulder. Severus saw the blood rush from her face and turned to look behind him.
"Holy shit," said Severus as he lifted his mask. The entire battle had come to a screeching halt on both sides as everyone eyed the tall, dark figure walking towards the pair of lone combatants. Severus stood stock-still, feeling the eyes of all the Order members staring at him with unveiled hatred. He stepped in front of Samantha, placing his body between her and the approaching red-eyed monster.
"Well, well, my little Snake," said Voldemort in a loud, furious tone. "It seems that we missed the party, Severus. Now, why would something like that have happened?" He stopped about ten feet from Severus, staring into the white face of his trusted, but silent, lieutenant.
"I have a theory about how this may have happened," said Voldemort. He waved his wand over his head, taking down the Anti-Apparition wards with one motion. Unfortunately, Samantha's Disillusionment charms chose that moment to fade and disappear, revealing two black-clad young men on brooms. They hovered above the proceedings silently. Harry watched in fear, while Ron eyed Severus with contempt. Samantha gave Harry a shake of her head, telling him not to fire.
"You see, Severus," continued Voldemort, apparently unaware of Harry and Ron hovering above him. "I think someone informed the Order of our coming to visit. An informer who knew the Order well enough to send word on less than a week's notice, Severus, if my thinking is correct. What do you think about this theory so far, my Snake?"
"Well, my Lord," said Severus with a slight bow. "I would have to say that your theory is relatively sound and thank you for the compliment on my speed."
Voldemort's face contorted with fury. Severus reached back and grabbed Samantha's hand, giving it a squeeze. Samantha returned the squeeze, if only to keep Severus from feeling her hand shake.
Voldemort looked furiously past Severus into Samantha's pale face. "Well, well, Miss McKinnon. How wonderful to see you. I've been waiting to meet you for some time, but Severus could never seem to locate your whereabouts. A bit curious, don't you think, my dear?"
Samantha felt Severus tense beside her. He pulled her closer to himself to keep the Dark Lord's attention on himself. Voldemort shook his head at the pair.
"Severus, you are very good. I've never met a better Occlumens. I suspected at one time that your loyalties had wavered. But you let me into your mind willingly, letting me see your actions. I see now that nothing is as it seems. You have disappointed me, Severus. You were my best soldier."
"You disappointed me a long time ago, Voldemort," said Severus in a loud and steady voice. The other black-robed figures flinched violently at the sound of their lord's name. Above them, Harry nodded his head and gave the man a small grin.
Severus let go of Samantha's hand and ripped off his black cloak and mask. He threw them at Voldemort, hitting him in the chest. The clothing hit the ground just as the loud crackings of apparating Aurors was heard about half a mile away. The other Death Eaters instantly grabbed their fallen comrades and apparated away. Voldemort looked down the road to see the Aurors running full tilt towards them. He let out a scream of frustration and raised his wand at Severus.
"This is not over, Snape," spat Voldemort. "I will hunt you down in the dead of night when you least expect it. But before I kill you, I will destroy everything that's dear to you, right before your very eyes. You can be sure of that." He fired off a curse and disapparated with a loud crack.
"NO!" screamed Severus as the Sectumsempra curse hit Samantha full in the chest. He caught her as she fell to the grass. "No, no, no! Sam! SAM! Talk to me, Sam!" He felt the bile rise to the back of his throat as he watched her blood spill on the ground. She slowly reached up a hand to his face.
"Before - you - start - the - the counter-curse," gasped Samantha, "change - your appearance. Now, Severus - do it - NOW!"
Severus lifted his wand and touched it to his forehead. His sharp angular features softened as his hair became short and brown. His eyes changed from darkest black to hazel, his trademark nose shortening ever so slightly. With a nod from Samantha, he began to rapidly sing the counter-curse just as the Aurors reached the Order members.
"We came as soon as the Apparition wards came down," said Gawain Robards as he walked up to Arthur. He looked around to examine the damage. "Looks like you guys got off pretty easy."
"Yeah, we did," said Kingsley as he made his way over to Robards. "Come on, we'll go back to the office and start the paperwork. Moody and Tonks can help us fill in the blanks." Robards took another look around.
"Are you all okay here, Arthur?" asked Robards. Arthur nodded at him numbly. "Then we'll be off. I'll send a team back over to reset the wards tomorrow." He turned and disapparated, followed almost immedately by the other Aurors, Kingsley and Tonks. Moody stared at Severus and Samantha, shaking his head. He turned sharply and left for the Ministry.
Severus finished the incantation for the fourth time. Samantha slowly tried to get up. She managed to get to her feet with help from Severus. Remus walked quickly over to her, pulling her away from Severus, causing her to stumble. He pulled his wand on Severus, who simply stood with his own wand at his side.
"YOU!" shouted Remus. He turned to Samantha, trapping her arm in a tight grip. "He was your source, Samantha! You sent us here on HIS word? YOU BELIEVED THE WORD OF A MURDERER AND A TRAITOR?"
"Remus," said a soft voice behind them. Remus turned to look at Harry, who stared at him with his head held high and a stubborn look on his face, the spitting image of James from times past. "Remus, let Samantha go. You're hurting her arm."
Remus looked down at where he was grabbing Samantha and quickly released her. She moved back over to where Severus was standing. Severus wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.
"And Samantha, these kids are not supposed to be here!" cried Remus, his face red in anger. "They were supposed to be somewhere -"
"-locked up and babysat while they ATTACKED MY HOUSE," said Ron furiously, who had landed behind Harry. The front door of the Burrow opened and Hermione ran towards her friends as Ron continued to speak. "Locked up and LIED TO by trusted adults who claim to be doing everything 'to keep us safe.' Why don't you just come out and tell us the truth? Maybe then we'd actually be safe!"
"Ronald Weasley," cried Molly from where the other Order members were standing in shock. "You apologize right this instant. You are all in very big trouble."
"You were not to know anything about what the Order was planning to do here," said Remus, giving Samantha a hard glare. "Sami, you promised me you wouldn't tell them."
"Dear cousin, I am a woman of my word," said Samantha. She turned to where the kids were standing, all three of them grinning at her. "Did any of you know what the Order was planning on doing here today?"
"Not a damn thing," said Ron, placing an arm around Hermione's shoulders.
"Nothing," said Hermione as she smiled up at Ron.
"Sam only told us that we were going to be portkeying here because Death Eaters were going to attack the Burrow," said Harry. He looked at Remus, who glared back at Samantha. "She told us nothing of the fake crowd noise or that you all would be Disillusioned as well, or about that awesome defensive position that you used, fighting back-to-back." He turned to Hermione, "We're gonna have to practice that."
"Molly," said Samantha as she turned away from Severus. "You'd better sign me and my friend here up for whatever punishment you're planning for these three. It was our idea to have them here. Several of you would be dead if not for their spell casting." She looked from the faces of a shocked Molly and a furious Arthur and smiled at the kids. "Oh, dear me, I've been very rude as to not introduce my friend here. I don't think you know him. In fact," she said as she turned to smile at Severus's disguised face, "I'm terribly sorry, sir, but I don't exactly remember your name."
Severus smiled back at her and turned to Harry. He stuck out his hand, which Harry immediately grabbed and shook.
"Jacob Prince, Mr. Potter," said Severus. Harry grinned at his choice of name. Severus turned to the other two, who seemed more hesitant about him than Harry. "Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger. It's truly a pleasure to meet you, although I daresay the circumstances are less than favorable."
"Yes, sir," said Harry with a huge smile. "I don't think Voldemort appreciated you throwing your dirty clothes at him."
All three teenagers burst out laughing, along with Severus and Samantha. Remus, Arthur, Molly, Hestia and Doge just stared at them, completely flummoxed.
"That was bloody brilliant," said Ron as he clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You should try that next time, Harry. It really seemed to piss the old snake off."
"NO, HE WILL NOT," roared Remus. "You are just kids! You shouldn't be treating this so flippantly. You don't know what it's like -"
"Don't know what it's like?" asked Harry incredulously. "Remus, think about who you're talking to here. If you've forgotten, you might wanna take a look at this." He lifted his hair to display his trademark scar.
"Lupin," said Severus softly. "These young people have been fighting this war since they entered Hogwarts. Hell, they're practically veterans! They've put in more time fighting Voldemort than some Order members. Give them a bit of credit. I think they've more than deserved it."
"I'm not about to listen to anything you say, Snape," spat Remus. "Your word is not anywhere near good enough -"
"Well, then perhaps you will listen to Mr. Potter," said Severus as he cast a Silencing charm on Remus. Severus crossed his arms over his chest and turned to Harry.
"Mr. Potter, please tell us briefly about the end of your first year," said Severus.
"Well, Ron, Hermione and I had to make our way past some enchantments to keep the Sorcerer's Stone from being stolen and Voldemort resurrected with the Elixir of Life. The Devil's Snare gave us a bit of trouble - "
"Hermione helped us with that," said Ron proudly. Hermione blushed.
"Yup," said Harry, "then Ron won us that chess game with the life-size pieces that would have smashed us to bits had he not sacrificed himself to win the game."
"It was the only move left," said Ron, a flush creeping up his neck.
"There was also a bit of a riddle involving Potions, I believe," said Severus, adopting a thoughtful look.
"Yes, sir," said Harry with a smile. "And I had no clue as to how to solve it. We were in such a hurry - we thought you were trying to steal the Stone, sorry about that, sir - but Hermione figured it out in like five minutes. I went on and fought with Quirrell, who had Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head, while she went back to stay with Ron and owl Dumbledore for help."
"Wait," said Samantha, raising her hand to stop Harry. "That riddle only took you five minutes, Miss Granger?"
"Yeah," said Hermione. "It wasn't too hard once you read it over a couple of times."
"Bloody hell, Severus," said Samantha, shaking her head. "How long did we work on that riddle? Three weeks? Four?"
"I distinctly remember it taking us about a month and half," said Severus, looking away from Hermione in embarrassment. "Fine. Now, Mr. Potter, enlighten us on your second year experience."
"Oh yeah, the whole Heir of Slytherin thing," said Harry, rolling his eyes. "Turns out Lucius Malfoy slipped Ginny the diary of Tom Riddle in with her school books. Riddle eventually possessed her and had her open the Chamber of Secrets and let out a Basilisk. It petrified Hermione and a couple of others before Ron and I figured out where the entrance was. Of course," he looked at Hermione, who gave him a grin, "Hermione helped us with that too. Apparently, Ginny had been trying to fight him off in her mind, but he was too strong and kidnapped her into the Chamber. We got down there and were separated by a rockslide, thanks to that idiot Lockhart. I went and found Tom draining Ginny's life to make himself mortal again. He's pretty persistent, once he sets his mind on something." Samantha chuckled at him.
"Anyway, he set the Basilisk on me, but Fawkes pecked its eyes out. The Sorting Hat gave me the Sword of Gryffindor, and I killed the Basilisk with it, but I got bitten. I took the tooth out of my arm and stabbed the diary with it. That released Ginny and kept Voldemort from coming back. Fawkes healed me with his tears and flew all of us out of the Chamber."
Remus stood still, staring at Harry. He looked at Severus with wide eyes, his face pale and slightly green. Severus cancelled the charm with a flick of his wrist.
"I think, Lupin," said Severus with his trademark sneer, which looked unfamiliar on his new face, "you are familiar with what happened at the end of their fourth and fifth years, correct?"
"Y-y-yes," stuttered Remus.
"If this hasn't prepared them, then what are you all waiting for?" cried Severus. "More good Order members to die before our numbers are so low that we have no other choice?" He took a breath to calm himself and spoke in a softer tone. "They only need to know that we believe in them. That will make them more powerful and give them more protection than we can possibly imagine."
The three teenagers stared in awe at Severus. Samantha wrapped her arms around Severus tightly. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit her hard, and she swooned. Severus caught her before she could fall completely.
"Sir, we still have the portkey to Headquarters," said Harry as he rushed to help Severus lay Samantha softly on the ground. Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out the black rock they had used earlier that day. Severus took it in one hand, looking at Harry. Harry held his gaze. "There's a bedroom on the second floor. Third door on the right, I think. It's been cleaned. You're more than welcome to use it for Sam."
"Thank you, Mr. Potter," said Severus. He pulled his wand out of his pocket. He tapped the ball, activating the portkey. He wrapped Samantha's hand around it and held it with his own. He looked one last time at Harry and whispered "thank you."
"No, sir, thank you," said Harry firmly. They all watched as Severus and Samantha disappeared with a flash.
"Well," said Ron awkwardly, "I'm staving. I think there may be some bacon left over from breakfast this morning over at Headquarters. Harry?"
"I want to make sure Sam's okay," said Harry. "Disapparate to the park. We'll walk from there." With one simultaneous pop, the blackbirds disapparated.
"He was right," said Arthur softly. "All those things Severus said, about them fighting since they were little." He looked down at Molly. "We can't keep them locked away forever."
"Oh, Arthur," cried Molly as she buried her head into his chest. Hestia and Doge looked at one another in disbelief. Remus sighed heavily and addressed the group.
"Well, it's 2 right now," said Remus as he looked at his watch. "I told the others to meet us at Headquarters at 3. We might as well go and wait for them." With several cracks, they apparated to the 12.