Chapter 13- A Day in the Life of a Death Eater

All wish to possess knowledge, but few, comparatively speaking, are willing to pay the price.- Juvenal

For a Sunday at noon, Diagon Alley was practically deserted. Samantha and Severus walked towards the tall white building at the end of the Alley, passing very few shoppers. Severus's eyes darted back and forth, watching for any signs of attackers. Samantha watched a woman outside of Madam Malkin's pull a hood over her child's face. The woman then picked the child up and walked briskly towards the apparition point, frequently looking behind her. Samantha grabbed Severus's hand. He looked at her and gave her a small smile as they reached the silver doors of the bank.

Inside, the lines weren't long at all. Bill's desk was empty, as he was still on his honeymoon with his new wife. After about a two hour wait, a goblin by the name of Griphook led Samantha and Severus to a cart. Severus sat casually, his arm on the edge of the cart. Samantha closed her eyes as the cart shot off, her hands clutching the front of Severus's robes tightly. She could feel him laughing, and felt his hand rub her back. After a few minutes, the cart stopped.

"Vault 524," droned the goblin. Samantha stood shakily as Severus stepped out of the cart with ease. He held a hand towards her and helped her out.

"I hate these damn things," muttered Samantha. She handed the goblin her key. The creature opened the door and stood to the side.

Samantha had quite a bit of gold saved up. She never went on big splurges and had no large expenses. Her job paid well enough for her, and her vault reflected her thriftiness. She stepped inside as Severus handed her a large sack.

"Better take most of it, Sam," said Severus out of the corner of his mouth. "I don't know when you'll be able to go back to work. You need to notify Kingsley and let him know you're going on extended leave."

"Oh good," said Samantha as she scooped handfuls of galleons into the sack. "They pay me for extended leave, you know."

"When this is over, I am definitely going to look into working at the Ministry," muttered Severus as he watched her empty her vault except for about 50 galleons and some sickles. She put the bulging sack in the pocket of her robes and grudgingly got back in the cart. She clung to Severus as the cart shot off again. She was still holding on to his robes with a death grip when they stopped again.

"Vault 1073," droned the goblin. Severus handed Griphook his key and stepped out of the cart. He helped Samantha as she stumbled out, her face a light shade of green.

The door opened on a massive vault, full to the brim with gold, jewels, old portraits and lots of books. Samantha stared openmouthed as Severus began scooping galleons into another sack.

"My former job also paid well, as you can see," said Severus smirking. "My overtime bonuses from both my former employers were ridiculous." He filled four more sacks, placing them inside an empty trunk. He looked over the books stacked near the back wall. He shrank one every now and then, tossing it inside with his gold. He was walking towards the door, shrinking the trunk when he saw a strange black leather-bound book sitting on top of an old chest. Samantha followed his gaze and reached down to pick up the book. She handed it to Severus, who turned it over in his hands.

"I've never seen this before," he said softly as he placed the tiny trunk in his pocket. "The last time I was here was over two years ago, and it definitely wasn't here then." He opened the front cover and nearly dropped the book. He fumbled with a white envelope that fell out of the book. He glanced at it, but the name on the title page caught his attention.

"Sam," he said, motioning her over. "Look at this."

She walked over to where he was standing and read:

This book belongs to Regulus Arcturus Black.


"Oh my God," breathed Samantha. Severus shut the envelope inside the front cover with a snap and shrank it, placing it in his pocket with the others.

"Let's go, Sam," said Severus as he walked quickly out of the vault. He held Samantha tight as the rode the rickety cart back up to the main lobby of the bank. Samantha practically ran out the doors, taking several deep breaths of fresh air to calm her stomach. Severus strode gracefully out of the bank a few minutes later, placing an obscene amount of paper bills into another pocket on the inside of his cloak. He grabbed Samantha's elbow gently and walked her towards Flourish and Blotts.

"We'll do books first," he said, smirking. "We can wait until your stomach settles before we hit the Apothecary."

She glared at him as they entered the bookshop. They split up, Severus heading towards the section on Defense while Samantha picked up a few books on Charms and various kinds of Transfiguration. She paid for her books at the counter and waited for Severus to finish. After about 45 minutes, she started to get a little worried. She rose to go look for him when he came down one of the aisles holding seven books and levitating a large stack behind him. The clerk gaped at him when Severus put all the books on the counter. He paid the shocked clerk and shrank the packages. He pocketed them and took the bag Samantha was carrying from her hands. They walked from there to the Apothecary, where Severus quickly bought five standard potion kits, along with ample amounts of rare ingredients needed for some medicinal potions. He had the clerk place unbreakable charms on all the jars as he paid for the stores.

They were walking back towards the apparition point when they passed by a dark shop window displaying various wand accessories. Severus pulled Samantha into the shop where they were greeted by an elderly woman.

"Good afternoon," said the woman as she stepped out from behind the counter. "Can I help you find anything?"

"Yes, actually," said Severus. "I'm looking for some wand holsters. Preferably ones that strap to the wrist."

"Those are over here towards the back," said the woman. She led them to a large table and pointed to the middle display. "Those are the only ones I have, but they're the best. A flick of the wrist will send the wand right into the caster's grip. They have anti-Summoning charms on them as long as the wand is in the holster. The owner can also activate a built-in charm where only they can remove the wand from the holster."

"Sounds perfect," said Severus as he picked up one in black leather. "How much are they?"

"They're 20 galleons a piece," said the woman hestiantly. "I know that's a little high, but these holsters are one of a kind and -"

"I'll take five of them," said Severus. He picked out five in black and handed them to the woman. She quickly ran over to the register and took the gold from Severus's hands. She wrapped the parcel in brown paper, which Severus put in the sack with his potion ingredients. Thanking the woman for her help, they left the store and continued on to the apparition point.

"Why did you buy us holsters?" asked Samantha, watching the street around her.

"Because we might need them when we go in search of splintered bits of evil incarnate," said Severus softly, his eyes once again darting to and fro. "Besides, I've always wanted one. I just never had any reason to buy one until now."

Samantha smiled as Severus let go of her hand. With a quick glance behind him, he nodded at Samantha. They left the Alley with a sharp crack and reappeared in the park. Samantha transfigured their robes into Muggle clothing as walked quickly down the deserted street to the 12. They pushed open the door of the house and walked to the drawing room. Hermione was draped across a chair with a book in her hands, while Harry and Ron lay in the floor playing a game of chess. All three looked up when Samantha and Severus entered the room.

"Well, we're back," said Samantha, taking her bag of books from Severus so he could cancel his glamour. "And we come bearing gifts."

"Wicked!" said Ron as he sat up. "Did you get any Every Flavor Beans?"

"Or Chocolate Frogs?" asked Harry as he stared at the chess board in frustration.

Severus snorted and started unshrinking his many packages. "No, Mr. Weasley. We got you things much more useful than snacks to rot your teeth." He tossed a thick book at the redhead, who caught it on reflex.

"Hogwarts, A History?" cried Ron as he read the cover, a look of utter horror on his face. He held the book at arms length. "You can't be serious?"

"Oh, I am very serious, Mr. Weasley," said Severus as he shuffled through his other books. "That is one of many that the three of you will be reading during your brief stint at The Snape Institute for Accelerated Learning. Best start now."

Ron turned to Hermione, a pleading look on his face. She rolled her eyes at him and turned back to her book.

"Serves you right for all the times you teased me about reading that book," said Hermione as she flipped the page.

"Oh, but wait, it gets better," said Samantha with a grin. "We also got lots of potion ingredients."

Harry and Ron both groaned. Harry rested his forehead on the floor, his moaning muffled by the carpet. Severus chuckled softly and unwrapped the small brown package.

"Quit your whining, children," said Severus with a grin. He walked over and dropped a holster in both Hermione and Ron's lap, while he dropped Harry's on top of his moaning head. "You will need to wear these every day and keep your wands in them. They strap to your wand arm. Flick your wrist and your wand will come out right into your hand." He watched as Harry strapped his on and stuck his wand in it. He stood up and gave his wrist a hard flick, sending his holly wand into his hand. Severus smiled at his amazed expression.

"I doubt you even have to flick your wrist that hard, Potter," said Severus. "As you get used to them, you'll develop a feel for how much movement is necessary."

"Thank you, sir," said Harry as he lowered his sleeve down over the holster. "What other books did you get?"

"Most are just copies of potion books that I left sitting in my former office," said Severus as he tossed Harry a copy of Hogwarts, A History. "A lot of the books we need for you three, Sam and I already have. I'm sure between you three and Samantha and I, we have all the standard text books currently used by Hogwarts staff. I will also be teaching all of you at least the basics of Occlumency."

"Uh, right," said Harry, looking away from Severus. Ron and Hermione shared a concerned look, and watched Harry with unease. Severus exhaled loudly.

"Potter, I must apologize for our earlier attempts at Occlumency," said Severus softly. "I was under a lot pressure from Albus to teach you quickly. As such, I neglected to instruct you properly as to the methods and expected you to meet an absurdly high proficiency level in a short amount of time. Rest assured, this time around will be much better."

"I'm sorry too, sir," said Harry as he lifted his head. Looking Severus in the eye, he spoke in a clear tone. "You were right when you said that I wasn't trying because I wanted the dreams to continue. Not for the reasons you gave, but because I wanted to keep things like what happened to Mr. Weasley from happening to anyone else. I'm also sorry for the Pensieve thing. That was completely inexcusable and you had every right to throw me out."

"Yes, I got a lecture from Albus about that," said Severus with a smile. "I yelled at him for about an hour and stormed out of his office. One of many regrets." He turned away from Harry and levitated his books behind him. "Sam, if you could come with me and help me put these away, I would appreciate it." Samantha took the hint, and left the blackbirds in the drawing room, Ron and Hermione asking tight-lipped Harry about the Pensieve.

Severus dumped the books on his bed as Samantha walked into the room. He shut the door and pulled out the black book from his vault, enlarging it as he sat at his desk. Samantha conjured a chair and sat down beside him to read over his shoulder. Without a word, Severus removed the envelope and opened the letter.

Snape-


I gave this book to Albus to give to you. I figured you would want it, since you were good friends with my little brother. I didn't really read it too carefully. It seemed pretty dodgy to me, full of Dark Arts stuff and weird calculations and symbols - something that might appeal to someone like you. I didn't want Harry to stumble across it by mistake at Headquarters.


Sirius Black


"For once, his idiocy pays off," said Severus. He gave the letter to Samantha to read as he opened to the first entry. He shook his head and turned to another entry about a quarter of the way in.

"Were a lot of Death Eaters promoted that quickly after joining?" asked Samantha, reading the entry over his shoulder. Severus shook his head.

"No, it usually took more than two years of service in the field, as it were," he answered. "I was shocked when Regulus was promoted after only six months. Lucius ranted about it for months afterward." He turned to another, this one about halfway through the book. After a few seconds, he closed the book and handed it to Samantha. He rested his head in his hand, his other hand tapping the edge of the chair softly. Samantha flipped through the pages, noting that there were no entries after November 17, 1979. She turned the pages slowly, glancing quickly at the bold script. Most of the entries were accounts of normal, daily events detailing meetings with old friends or Death Eater associates. Severus's name cropped up every now and then. She turned the next page and saw that the entry was a list of what looked like ingredients in a potion. Two words were underlined at the top.

"Severus, is Rivière Noire a potion?" she asked, running her finger down the page. "It has a lot of really powerful ingredients if it is."

"It's a Dark potion," said Severus. He looked up at her and took the book from her hands. "I've never brewed it myself. I saw it in a book once. I don't remember which one, though." He read the list, tapping a finger against his lips. "Why would Regulus write this particular potion down?" Severus got up and handed the book back to Samantha. He walked over and picked up several books off the bed. He sat back down at the desk and looked for any references to the potion. He flipped through one and stopped to read a passage.

"Sam, listen to this," he said. He lifted the book up and read. "'This potion can be used as a base for other potions. However, one must use caution, as some of these more powerful potions can be dangerous, capable of reproducing the soul-destroying effects of Dementors.'" He looked at her with bright, excited eyes. "This could be just the thing we were talking about earlier!" He bent over the desk again, rapidly reading about the base potion and cross-referencing some ingredients. "Sam, can you get me some parchment and ink?"

"Of course," said Samantha as she ran to her room. She sprinted back to Severus and held out a roll of parchment and a quill and ink. He unscrewed the lid of the ink and began to scrawl notes onto the paper.

"You know, I'm not really a big fan of green ink," he said as he reread something.

"Well, it's a good think I didn't ask you then, isn't it?" replied Samantha smartly. She heard a knock on the doorframe and turned around.

"Dinner's ready if you're are hungry," said Harry. He noticed Severus tossing a book on the ground and leaning back in his chair to pull another off the bookshelf behind him. Harry gave Samantha a questioning look.

"I believe we might have found a way to get rid of a certain locket," said Samantha. She made to follow Harry out of the room when she looked back at Severus, who was completely immersed in his research. "Severus, come to dinner. You need to tell us more about this potion that you're going to be brewing."

Severus growled at her. "Sam, I need to do research before we start hacking up ingredients. It's going to take me a while before we're ready to -"

"All the more reason to come to dinner," said Samantha. She went over and grabbed Severus by the arm, physically pulling him away from the desk. "I'm sure our blackbirds would love a little homework to keep them busy."

Severus resigned himself to be led out of the room and down to the kitchen. They opened the door to find Ron and Hermione snogging by the stove.

"Oi," cried Harry, "get a room, you two!". The two teenagers broke apart quickly, each blushing furiously. Hermione turned back to the stove. Ron busied himself with getting out plates and silverware. Severus laughed at them and sat down at the table.

"You two have solved your disagreement from this morning, then?" said Samantha with a wink at Harry. "I would hate to have to go back to my flat to get spare dishes." Harry snorted and quickly turned it into a cough as Ron glared at him, slamming down some forks. Hermione set some platters on the table while Harry gave a pot on the stove a quick stir. He flicked his wand and levitated it over to the table.

"Harry!" cried Hermione. "What are you doing? You're still underage! The Ministry's going to send you a notice!"

"No, they're not," said Harry as he set the pot on the table. "According to what Dumbledore told me, they can't determine who cast the spell if you live in a magical household. Since the four of you can legally do magic, and have been the entire time we've been here, I figured that the Ministry wouldn't notice a little more."

"Spoken like a true Slytherin," said Severus as he ladled out some soup for Samantha. He set down the bowl in front of her and gave Harry a shrewd look. "In fact, that's very Slytherin thinking, especially for a Gryffindor." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Who are you, and what have you done with Potter?"

"Well, sir, I was almost put in your house," said Harry as he sat across from Samantha and served himself some soup. "But I talked the Sorting Hat out of it."

"I didn't even know you could do that," said Samantha. "My mother would have loved for me to have talked the Hat into putting me in Ravenclaw. She about keeled over when she found out I was in Slytherin."

"I was almost put in Ravenclaw," said Hermione as she reached for her glass of water. "But the Hat decided on Gryffindor."

Severus swallowed. "Why did you talk the Hat out of Slytherin, Potter?" he asked. "You definitely would not have turned out like you have, had you been in my house."

"I had met Malfoy in Diagon Alley and on the Express," said Harry as he took a bite of soup. "I didn't like him, so I told the Hat to pick any house but Slytherin."

"Yes, Draco does make interesting first impressions," said Severus. "I don't know how many times I tried to tell him to watch what he says to people. He's been that way ever since he was little."

"You've know Malfoy since he was little?" asked Ron around a mouthful of bread.

"Of course," said Severus haughtily. "He's my godson. Or was, I suppose. I haven't heard from him since the night Narcissa was killed. And after yesterday, I doubt the boy will ever speak to me again."

"Malfoy was at the attack?" asked Hermione.

"Yes," answered Severus. He took a sip of water. "Along with several other classmates. Young Crabbe and Goyle, Nott and Parkinson."

"Figures," muttered Ron. There was an uncomfortable silence, borken only by the sound of spoons against bowls. Severus stared down into his food, deep in thought about Draco. He felt a hand on his arm, and gave Samantha a small smile.

"So, tell us about this potion, Professor," said Harry. "You said something about research?"

"I found a book that must have been willed to me by your godfather," said Severus. "It was the journal of Regulus Black. Inside on one of the pages was a potion that turned out to be the base for some pretty nasty soul-destroying potions."

"So we just dump the locket in a cauldron of this stuff, and that's it?" asked Ron.

Severus rolled his eyes. "No, Weasley. We first have to find a potion with this base that will crack the gold of the locket along with destroying Voldemort's soul. That's the tricky part."

Ron looked from Severus to Hermione, confusion written all over his face. Hermione sighed.

"We have to find a way to keep Voldemort's soul from escaping and possessing something else, Ron," said Hermione.

"Right," said Ron, "that's what I was about to say." Hermione just rolled her eyes and continued eating.

"It won't take us very long in this house to find some useful books," said Severus. He finished the rest of his dinner and sat back in his chair. "You're not a bad cook, Potter. It's strange that you're so horrible at potions. Usually the two coincide."

Harry shrugged. "I've had more experience cooking for my aunt and uncle than brewing potions. The threat of detention from you is nothing compared to being locked in a room for a week with no food."

"I should've tried that," said Severus thoughtfully. "Merlin knows it probably would have helped Weasley learn something."

"Ha, ha, very funny," said Ron as he stood up from the table. "Come on, let's go look for some books."

"Be careful in there," said Samantha as Hermione and Harry stood up to follow Ron. "I don't know if the Order got to that room to clean it of Dark objects." The Trio nodded and left the room.

"Up for a little research, my dear?" said Severus as he stood and walked behind Samantha's chair. He pulled it out and offered her his elbow. Smiling, Samantha put her arm through it and the couple went upstairs.