The flower-and-crown paired symbols appeared at the end of the first few potions in the book. Then they began to skip, appearing only after every other, or every three. As the second author's input dropped off, the original author - Snape - began to edge more and more into nasty little charms and pranks, and after the Levicorpus inscription, the second author vanished entirely. But that didn't tell her anything useful, just that Snape as a teenager had worked with someone else at the beginning of sixth year and then stopped.
Wait... Harry had explained about the Levicorpus incident. That was fifth year, not sixth. So Snape had been working ahead in his books. Well, that didn't tell her anything except that he was studious - and he shouldn't have picked on HER so much for reading all the books! Even she wasn't quite enough of a swot to work through and critique all the assignments for the NEXT year's classes. With Harry and Ron to keep out of trouble, she didn't have the time!
Still, the book didn't tell her anything useful. It was the property of an angry young man, becoming progressively more nasty as time passed - but no spells about killing anyone, no comments on performing Unforgivables, no hint of why Snape would join the Death Eaters.
Hermione smacked herself on the head with her quill. Well, it wasn't like he was going to write "Hi, I'm a future double agent!" in his textbook, was it?
He did write that he was the Half-Blood Prince, though. That still didn't make sense. The crown in the flower-and-crown signature could stand for Prince... but when the second author disappeared, both the flower and the crown stopped showing up. Maybe the flower-and-crown meant only the second author instead of the two of them together. A relative, perhaps? With a flowery name? If he'd been working with a pureblood cousin named Cyclamen Prince or something, then the half-blood signature could have been to set himself apart from his cousin.
So, did Snape have a Princely cousin? To the library!
---
When Snape emerged from the makeshift potions laboratory in the basement of their Buckinghamshire retreat, he did not appear to be a well man. Along with the filthy, matted hair and the sallow skin, there were deep rings under his eyes that turned his long features into a frightful vision. Draco could not help but take a step backwards. Snape might not be as terrifying as the Dark Lord, but he was definitely in competition. Here was a man who had stared into the face of death long enough that it was starting to look back.
And yet, despite this appearance, Snape's voice was the essence of civility. "Good morning, Draco. I trust your mother is well?"
"Yes, sir." He smiled bravely. "I think the challenge of making this Muggle dump livable is actually making her happier than she has been in a long time."
A raised eyebrow. "She has told you she is happy?"
"No," Draco admitted. "But she seems to enjoy herself."
"Never make assumptions about what a woman feels," Snape warned. "Appearances can be deceiving."
"My mother has a noble spirit. She will be fine," Draco said, somewhat exasperated. "She knows I - you - will look after her."
Snape's eyes met his, pools of blackness that seemed to draw him in... Draco struggled to apply his knowledge of Occlumency and hide his first thought, that he would look after his mother by freeing her from the Vow. He must not let Snape think of him as an enemy! Anyway, he didn't want Snape dead, even if that would be the simplest solution... he DID owe him more than that.
"I only want what is best for both of you," Snape said, his voice as slick as oil. "You believe that, don't you, Draco?"
"Yes, sir." He ran a hand nervously over his hair. "We are very grateful."
"Good. Because there is a way in which you can be of service to your master." Snape's long fingers, tainted with the smell of unknown ingredients, seized hold of Draco's pointed chin and tilted it upwards. "You must take my place."
The young Malfoy tried to show no reaction. "Your place, sir?"
Severus Snape smiled. "You must become a traitor to the Dark Lord."
---
Hermione sighed. There was a second cousin, yes - one Diluvia Prince, Slytherin House - but she was too many years older to have been Snape's fifth-year Potions associate. The only Slytherin girls with flower names close to the right age were Narcissa Black and Violet Bolger (Pansy's mother, probably, if that face was any guide) and the flower in the book didn't look anything like a violet or a narcissus. Of course, that little flower doodle was so generic, it could mean any kind of flower. How would she know?
Sighing, she glanced down at her hand, which lay partially covering a picture of a group of Slytherins.
R... Black
Hermione picked up her hand.
Regulus Black.
No middle name listed, but... hadn't someone said Sirius had a brother who joined the Death Eaters? Could this be the mysterious RAB after all?
Hermione scooped up the old picture and kissed it, ignoring the disgusted expressions on the purebloods' faces. Thank heavens for libraries! She'd found a clue to a problem she hadn't even been researching at the time.
Returning to the commons, Hermione checked to be sure Ginny wasn't around, then called the Burrow on the Floo. "Harry! I found something!"
Harry looked a bit tired, but still pleased to see her. "Something about Snape?"
"No, something better. I think I found R.A.B. I'm not sure about the middle name, but remember Sirius' brother? Regulus Black? He was a Death Eater and he defected and Voldemort killed him, remember?"
Harry nodded. "I don't remember his full name either. I suppose I could check the tapestry at Grimmauld Place..."
"Grimmauld Place!" Hermione repeated excitedly, another memory falling into place. "We found that old locket there, the one we couldn't open! Oh, Harry, that must be it!"
"Which probably means it's gone by now," Harry's face was grim. "Mundungus will have sold it back to the collectors shops. And he's in Azkaban and we can't even ask."
"We can search the shops in Hogsmeade!" Ron suggested. "We can have a nice day out all together..."
"No, we can't. Harry is supposed to be resting," Hermione scolded.
Harry glowered. "I'm fine. I'm not an invalid. I am perfectly capable of going to Hogsmeade without needing a nursemaid."
"But you can't!" Hermione flapped her hands anxiously. "We don't even know if Fletcher did steal the locket. It could still be back at 12 Grimmauld Place. Ron, make him see reason!"
Ron looked back and forth between Harry and the fire. "Er, how about we check the old place first, then? If it's not there, then we go to Hogsmeade."
Harry pressed his lips together irritably, but nodded. "We should get hold of Kreacher and see if he knows anything. He was always trying to stop Sirius from throwing things out - he might have the locket stashed somewhere. He probably won't tell you, though. If you see him, tell him I command that he visit me. I'll get him to talk. He'll know about Regulus, too."
Hermione sighed. "I'll try, but I don't like bossing the elves around."
Ron snorted with laughter.
Harry quickly changed the subject. "So, no luck finding that Potions book? I think I've got Snape on the brain... I had this awful dream about him last night. I dreamed I was a baby and he was standing over my crib, getting ready to blast me into smithereens." He shuddered.
"Did your scar hurt?" Hermione peered at him, worried. "It was just a dream, right? It wasn't one of those visions?"
Harry shook his head. "Snape couldn't have been there the night my parents died. Either he would have killed me, or tried to kill me and ended up like Voldemort, or carried me off to Dumbledore as proof that he was really a good guy after all. It was just a dream. It's just because I'm thinking about him too much."
"I did find the book, but I haven't gotten much from it yet," Hermione admitted. "I found out that Snape had a friend or partner he was studying with for the first part of the book, but then they stopped working together for some reason. And I don't know who it is. There's just this flower, like a signature. So I thought it could be a girl with a flower name, but I looked through all the Slytherin girls his age and I couldn't find anyone really suitable. And that's where I saw Regulus's name."
Harry nodded. "If Snape had a friend who didn't become a Death Eater.."
"Slimy Snape? Friends?" Ron scoffed. "Probably just competing to see who could poison the most cockroaches quickest."
"... if he had a friend," Harry continued, "that friend might be able to tell us something about him, or where to find him. But it's a long shot."
Hermione nodded. "I suppose I could check the other houses. Since he was studying ahead, maybe a Ravenclaw. I'll look for all the people with flower-names..." She paused. "Well. There's your mother, of course. And she was good at potions. But..."
"Snape called my mother a filthy Mudblood," Harry said darkly. "He tried to hide it from me, but I saw the truth. There was no way they were friends."
"Right," said Hermione. "I'll keep looking."
---
Draco gaped. "Sir?"
"A spy," Snape elaborated, releasing his grip on the young Malfoy. "A spy for both sides. You will return to your classmates, full of stories about the horrors you have witnessed, and how you are truly sorry for the things you have done, and beg their forgiveness. You will tell them a few secrets you have managed to win from me. You will gain their confidence. And then you will return here, and tell their secrets to me."
"This is - what you did?"
"Oh, yes," Snape smiled. "I was Dumbledore's pet Death Eater. Everyone knew it. But everyone thought that I was on their side, you see. That is the key to being an effective spy. You must be able to convince everyone that you really work for them. After recent developments, of course, I can no longer continue in my old position. But you - you are young. They will believe that it was all a foolish mistake, that you never meant any harm..."
Draco nodded slowly. At least, as a spy, he would be in a position to know things. He was sick of not knowing what was going on. If he were able to work for both sides... knowledge was power. But could he pull it off? "What if I can't convince them, sir?"
"Then you will be granted a visit to your sire," Snape said. "And remain there. I have spent time in Azkaban myself, you know. Still, it is unlikely that they will harm you. Unlike our associates, who will be most displeased if you fail them again." Snape plucked at the sleeves of his robe, tugging them back down over his hands. "Our rewards, of course, are also greater, as you saw when the Dark Lord bound your mother to me."
Once again, Draco was forced to draw upon his growing acting ability to remain expressionless. VOLDEMORT was the Binder? Then...
"Go and speak to your mother," Snape suggested. "You will not be able to see her for a while after this. Then, I will help you to prepare your story of the terrible things you have endured at my hands..."
Draco nodded obediently. There was no question of resisting, of course. Following Snape's plan would cement his position with the older man. He would learn to play both sides. He would gain access to everyone's plans. And then he could make his choice. Because, to free his family from the Unbreakable Vow...
... the Dark Lord would have to die.
