Severus got his wand out and turned to his friend. "Brett, I'm really sorry for this…" he began, but Brett interrupted.

"No, Sef, wait! Don't obliviate me!"

In surprise, Severus lowered his wand. "You know what spell…"

Brett held up his hands. "Sef, please, sit down and put your wand away. You don't need to alter my memory, really." He sighed. "I'm a Squib, Sef. I come from a magical family. I know all about it, I just can't do any magic myself. So I chose to live in the muggle world."

Severus listened to him warily, wand still at the ready.

"A Squib? Then how come you never noticed we are wizards?"

Brett raised an eyebrow. "Neville too?"

Severus nodded.

"That explains a lot," Brett muttered, sitting down, "I really should have seen sooner, but you two do a very good job of blending in with the muggle world. Especially for English wizards."

Severus sat down. "You know English wizards?"

"I was born and raised in England," Brett explained, "I moved here over twenty years ago when I became of legal age. My family didn't want a Squib to blemish their good name."

"I don't know any English wizarding families by the name Eastman."

"Of course you don't, I changed my name when I moved here. I heard of Voldemorts death."

Severus nodded. "Yes, Harry Potter defeated him."

Brett sighed in relief. "Good. I was afraid when I left that he would destroy the whole of the island with those Death Eaters of his. What is your name, anyway? I doubt you use your own name either."

Severus stared ahead. "I don't want to tell you, Brett, because then I would really have to obliviate you."

Brett smiled. "That's ok. We all have our secrets. I've long gotten over being a Squib, although I did regret not going to Hogwarts. I met the Headmaster a couple of times, when my brother went there. He was kind to me. I heard he didn't survive the war."

He noticed his companion had suddenly gone very quiet. A quick glance learned him that the man was also deadly pale.

"I'm sorry, Sef, I should have realized that you just came from that place and you probably have some very bad memories."

"Very," Severus confirmed.

"My name was Nott," Brett suddenly said, "Ferdinand Nott. I so hated that name. Last I heard from my family was that my brother had married and produced an heir, Theodore I think."

Severus looked up in surprise. "You are a Nott?" he hesitated. "Brett, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your brother and nephew both died in the war."

Brett sighed. "On the wrong side, no doubt," he said bitterly, shocking Severus.

"Yes," he confirmed, "I'm sorry."

"I could see it in my brother from when we were children, you know," Brett shook his head, "he would turn out a Death Eater. Father actually encouraged him. Once it was clear that I was a Squib, they shipped me off to a muggle boarding school. I went home for the summer, but I had to stay hidden. They didn't want anyone to know that they Squibbed. As soon as I was 17, I transferred as an exchange student to America and got a green card later. I'm a USA citizen now."

"Do you know that you are the last surviving member of your family," Severus asked softly, "and as such, their estate is yours?"

"I don't want it."

"That could be, but if you don't claim it before the end of the year, it will most likely go to the relatives of one of the Death Eaters still on the run."

"I know, I got a letter from your Ministry, explaining the situation. Apparently that's the only reason they consider letting a Squib inherit the estate. Do you really think I should claim it?"

"Yes, I do. There are still Death Eaters out there willing to cause trouble, and leaving such resources in their hands would be unwise. You could always donate the whole lot to charity or something like that."

"I'll think about it." Brett got up. "Meanwhile, thank you for saving my life," he added, staring at the huge branch.

Back in England

"Everything set?"

"Yes. Benjamin will lure the Potter brat out and then we kill him."

"Simplistic."

"But effective."

"We'll have to wait and see."

"What, after all your whining about a dead man you know are the voice of reason? We must have given you too much of that drug."

(Exasperated sighs from the others and sounds of yet another strangling going on, followed by a yelp as another needle is inserted in a mad Death Eater)

"MacNair…honestly! Will you ever learn? Now he's gonna be out for a day at least again!"

"Sorry, he's just so easy to bait. It's not like I have much else to do these days, being on the run and all."

"We are ALL on the run, and you don't see US behaving like that!"

"I'm special."

"You're an idiot."

"A SPECIAL idiot."

"A DEAD idiot if you don't stop bickering and concentrate on the plan!"

"It wouldn't matter if he was dead, would it? Rufus would deny it anyway."

"Very funny Ben."

"Thank you, MacNair."

"Sometimes I wonder how The Dark Lord ever got anything done with morons like you in his service."

"Intelligence is not listed as a requirement on a Dark Henchmen jobdescription."

"CAN WE GET ON WITH KILLING POTTER ALREADY!"

"Ok, ok, keep your robe on…"

Stateside

Neville was relaxing in the hammock when he saw Severus and Brett approach, back from their holiday.

He smiled happily. Severus looked relaxed and tanned, albeit walking somewhat gingerly still.

"Hey Sev, hi Brett. How was the trip?"

"Very good!" Severus replied, lowering himself on a chair, "we had a lot of fun. Did a lot of riding, I learned how to fish, Brett found out we're wizards, we saw some beautiful scenery…"

Neville shot up. "WHAT!"

Severus innocently continued, "Yes, really, we were at this gorgeous waterfall…"

Brett snorted at Neville's indignant face.

"I'm a Squib, Neville. Sef here saved me when a large branch came down. It would've crushed us if he hadn't…what DID you do?"

Severus shrugged. "It was accidental magic, really, I just reacted. Neville…" he proceeded to explain to him what exactly had transpired.

"…so Brett will be visiting England soon," he concluded.

"Is Neville your real name?" Brett asked, "I know Sef's isn't."

Neville grinned. "No, this is my real name. I doubt I could remember a fake one. Besides, I have no reason to change it."

Brett stared at Severus. Then his eyes widened. "You are Severus Snape!" he exclaimed.

A hand clasped over his mouth. "Shhhh! Don't go shouting that all over the state!" Severus whispered, "though I'm not sure how you found out."

Brett looked at him. "You said you were Neville's teacher. Neville obviously went to Hogwarts, and there has only been one teacher of your age the past decade. But…you are supposed to be…"

"Dead?" Neville supplied, helpful.

"It's a long story, Brett," Severus said, "I'll go get us some beers. Please, whatever you heard about me, don't condemn me before you know everything…"

Two hours later Brett sighed. "Quite some story. You're a brave man, Sev. I guess I understand why you want to keep this quiet, and rest assured, I won't tell anyone."

Neville suddenly grinned.

"What?"

"Harry wrote that they had a little bet going on about whether or not you would cheat and use magic this week. Here, read it."

He watched Severus intently, but instead of the chuckle he expected, Severus went deadly pale.

"Oh Merlin…oh no…Neville, we have to go back, now!"

"Severus? What's wrong?"

"That man! Benjamin Lance! The project, it's a trap! He's a Death Eater!"

Hogwarts

"Well, the first day went rather well, don't you think?"

Harry, sitting down in the teacher's lounge with a butterbeer, nodded happily.

"The kids certainly seemed to enjoy themselves, and they learned a lot, no doubt. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the lectures, the staff has obviously put a great deal of effort into this project."

Benjamin agreed. "Definitely. I hope our own project the day after tomorrow will be just as popular."

"Oh, I think it will."

Stateside

"You can't go."

"I have to! You can't do this on your own!"

"Severus, it's too risky for you to go!"

"I'm going Neville, we don't know what the trap is and how many Death Eaters are involved, you simply can't do it all on your own."

Neville grumbled. "Oh, fine then. Just…use my cloak. Now, what's the fastest way home?"

"Apparating," Brett said.

They turned to him. In the shock of discovering a Death Eater at Hogwarts they had forgotten about their friend.

"You can Apparate to New York, and take an International Portkey to London. From there you can Apparate to Hogsmeade. Do you think you can take me with you?"

They stared at him. Then they nodded. "Fine, fine, but hurry up. We're apparating to New York in an hour."

An hour later, Severus took a firm hold on Brett's arm and they apparated.

"Now, where do we get that Portkey?" Neville wondered.

"Follow me," Brett said, leading them to a small building in Manhattan.

Upon entering, it seemed like a regular bank. Brett sighed.

"Do you see a gold and green booth to the left?"

"Yes," the other two answered.

"That's where you buy the Portkey. I can't see it. Just ask for an International Portkey to London for three. It should cost about a hundred dollar, not entirely sure."

Neville went to get it while Severus and Brett stayed out of sight.

"I got it," Neville said, returning ten minutes later, holding out a ticket.

"Take it, it will activate as soon as I say the word."

Soon, they felt the tug as Neville spoke the command word he'd been given.

They landed in a backroom of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Oh Merlin, I can't be seen here," Severus said.

"We'll apparate to Hogsmeade right away. Brett, are you staying here? The Ministry is in London, we can come back to take you there later."

"No, I'm coming with you. I've always wanted to see Hogwarts once."

"It could get dangerous."

"I know."

Severus took a firm hold of him again and they once again apparated.

This time they landed on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, on the path that led to Hogwarts. They nearly ran up the path, Severus in invisibility cloak.

Just as they got to the grounds, they saw Harry leave the castle in the direction of the greenhouses.