Chapter Four: Resurrection Plans?

The annoying interruption of loud whispers disturb the sleep of the wounded man. Piercing ebony eyes snapped open in irritation, trying to pinpoint the location of the offending voices. White curtains surrounding his bed gave away Severus Snape's location. He once again found himself in the sterile environment of the Hospital Wing. Stifling a groan from the horrendous pain that lance throughout his battered body, he gradually lifted himself in a sitting position to assess his injuries. From the agonizing pain in his ribs, he deduced that one or two of his ribs must be broken. His left leg was twisted awkwardly and he knew that his ligaments were torn. His right leg fared a little better with just his ankle broken. His chest and left hand were too bandaged to be able to tell the extent of their injuries. His right hand receive only minor burns. Gently running his hand over is face, he traced a deep gash from his right eyebrow to just beneath his ear. The memories of tonight's meeting rushed through his mind with grim clarity. He must tell Albus as soon as possible.

"Poppy, I must insist that you allow me to see Severus. I give you my word that I will not keep him no longer than ten minutes. I must know what has happened at tonight's events," Albus demanded quietly.

"Fine, but only for ten minutes. After that, forgive me, I will drag you away. He needs his rest in order for the potions to be able to heal his body," an exasperated mediwitch replied.

"Thank you, my dear lady."

Concerned blue eyes, devoid of their usual sparkle, met the fathomless eyes of the Potions Master.

"Headmaster," whispered Severus, wincing at his feeble attempt at speech.

"Severus, what happened tonight?"

"He knows, Albus, he knows I am the spy."

Albus frowned, his blue eyes grave. He sighed sadly and asked, "How did this come to be? Who told him?"

"I assume Bellatrix and Lucius has a hand in it, but he has been suspicious of me since his return. At least I have been able to escape with valuable information. It seems that the Dark Lord wishes to resurrect his most esteemed ancestor, Salazar Slytherin."

"I see. This is not good. I am afraid that the worst part is that we won't be able to recognize the Founder. Salazar Slytherin is the only one who has never had a portrait of himself. We will be hard-pressed in identifying him. None of the history books describe his appearance either except that he was quite tall with piercing eyes. Unfortunately that does not help us very much. For now, I want you to rest and hell. Poppy has told me that you will be ready to leave in three days. In the meantime I will substitute your classes. I must leave you. I will have to alert the rest of the Order. Plus I have finally found someone for Defense Against the Dark Arts. He will be here at 6 am today. Sleep well, Severus."

The ex-spy scowled at the prospect of meeting the new professor and nodded his farewell before being drugged with a Dreamless Sleep Potion by Madame Pomfrey.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Come in," Headmaster Albus Dumbledore replied to a gentle knock upon his office door.

A man with a powerful aura and an air of dignity entered the Headmaster's office. Long black hair tied back with a green ribbon, intelligent silver eyes, aquiline nose, and a chiseled face greeted Albus. He wore flowing black robes with embroidered silver serpents along the collar and cuffs of his sleeves, a crisp buttoned shirt, ebony dress pants, and polished dragonhide boots. He extended a pale hand with graceful fingers towards Albus and gave a firm handshake in polite greeting.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Headmaster. I am Sebastias Venificus," a silky deep voice said.

"Ah, Mr. Venificus, the pleasure is all mine. Please have a seat. I am Albus Dumbledore, but call me Albus. Would you like tea? Lemon drops? Or would you rather go straight to business."

Seating himself down into an absurdly plush, red armchair, Sebastias replied, "If you do not mind, I would like to get started with the interview as soon as possible."

"Not at all. Your credentials tell me that you are more suited for a position as a Potions Master. Tell me, why would the Defense Against the Dark Arts interest you more than Potions?"

Sebastias smirked. "I must admit that this curse upon the DADA position is what intrigued me the most. I wanted to be the first to break it. Plus I noticed you already have an esteemed Potions Master and I have always wanted to teach at Hogwarts. Helping students learn to defend themselves in dangerous situations is an added bonus, an extremely satisfying one at that."

Blue eyes twinkled merrily behind glasses. "I see. I do hope you are the one that can break our curse. Tell me, what is your definition of the Dark Arts."

"The Dark Arts are nothing but the darker magic of our nature. We must have darkness to balance the light. The so-called Dark Arts used by Lord Voldemort and his followers is what I call Black Magic, which gains its power from the deaths and pain of innocents. I would not recommend anyone to go down that treacherous and evil path."

"Interesting. Going by your definition, have you ever practiced the Dark Arts."

"I will be truthful, Albus. Yes, I have used the darker side of magic. You must know that I would never use them against an innocent. I have long ago vowed I would not spill innocent blood. I know the theory of Black Magic, but I will never practice it."

"Congratulations, Professor Venificus. I am pleases to tell you that you have the job. I must warn you not to use any Dark spells. If you do, I will not be able to turn the other cheek. I will have to report it to the Ministry. I hope you understand that it is my duty as the Headmaster of this school that forces me to. Teaching the theory of the Dark Arts is fine. To be able to defend against the Dark Arts, you must know how it works."

"I quite agree and I completely understand your position. I will not use any Dark spells while I am a professor of this school."

"I am pleased to hear that. Minerva is outside, waiting patiently to give you a tour of the school and to show you your rooms. Have a good day, Sebastias."

"And you also, Albus."

With the grace of a predator, Sebastias bowed and left. The quiet snap of the office door left Albus to muse over the newest member of his staff.

"I do hope, Fawkes, that I have been able to choose well this time," whispered a concerned old man to his familiar.

The majestic phoenix trilled softly, trying to ease the burden off of his old friend's mind.

AN: I give credit to Sira Black for the name of the DADA Professor. If you want to know, Venificus means poison in Latin. Thank you again, Sira Black.

I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to get it up quickly before I left for a friend's house for the week. Unfortunately her computer is down for the moment. So it will take me about a week for the next chapter. Who know, I may even shock myself by adding two chapters. Review if you wish. Wow, I just noticed that I went over a thousand words!