3. The Ultimate Argument
A true friend stabs you in the front.
~ Oscar Wilde
The weather was atrocious, especially for the month of June. The Forbidden Forest was all soaked under the steady drizzle, and Severus hated it with a passion. He also hated crawling in the wet grass under the wet bushes and not being able to swear about it aloud. However, he had no other choice, as the instructions he got prohibited any noise until he got to the rendezvous point.
Robes were not made for crawling, obviously. The offending garment got soaked as well and clung heavily to the grass, to the bushes and to Severus himself. At last, he reached the fir-tree chosen by the Headmaster, hid under it and tried to recover his breath, cursing silently the weather, the forest, the trees, the Aurors and the old man himself. He had three more minutes to wait.
Exactly one hundred and eighty seconds later, a flaming phoenix came down from the skies in a flamboyant flash of fire. As the bird fell on the ground, it changed into Albus Dumbledore, whose neon-orange robes could be seen by a blind man in the night forest from several miles at least.
"So, why exactly had I to crawl here, pray tell?" Severus asked gloomily.
"That's for secrecy, my boy. You do know very well the importance of keeping this secret." Albus smiled. "I have a very important task for you. While I am busy with... with looking after something, you must remind Harry that he must stay with his aunt until his coming of age. It is vitally important."
Severus was rendered speechless.
"Could you do that?" asked Albus.
"Are you mad?" Severus hissed. "I am wanted, for one. He will never believe me, too. And, last but not least, what about keeping secrets?!"
"I believe in you," Albus said seriously, giving him the new sack of food. "You will think of something, I am sure."
ss SS ss
Angry beyond belief, Severus was walking back and forth in their tiny hut.
"You look like death warmed over," Lucius said, biting into an apple. "Has something happened, Sev?"
Severus halted in his tracks and turned around, barely avoiding the table.
"Yes!" he bellowed. "Something has happened! And the people who live in glass houses..."
"Unfortunately, we live in a dug-hut," Lucius interrupted calmly, aptly throwing the apple core into the trash bag beside the door. "Anyway, I am impeccable, as always. And despite being forced into an impossible situation, I am not running rampant in a tiny room like a wounded elephant. So, what has happened?"
Severus sighed and sat heavily on his bed.
"It's not important." He Accioed another apple and started chowing on it. "It is not important at all."
Lucius rose on his elbow.
"So, what is this unimportant thing that our dear Headmaster wants you to do?"
Severus choked on his apple.
Sighing, Lucius shook his head.
"Now, you don't really take me for a fool, do you? Keeping secrets, indeed. You are lucky that I decided to escort you there and back; otherwise, you would have to battle off one hungry hag and two bored nymphs – all for yourself. Quite nice girls, by the way." He smirked. "I must say, however, that you look ridiculous when you crawl. So, once again: what does Dumbledore want of you?"
Severus groaned, tugging at his hair.
"Sorry, I could not hear him telling you," Lucius said unapologetically. "You were too far, and I could not come closer without being seen. So, spill it. We'll think of something, I am sure."
ss SS ss
Harry Potter finished reading his mail and had to stop himself from growling. A foot and a half of some pompous nonsense from Voldemort was not surprising. His silly threats and insults were almost funny. It was the postscript that made Harry snarl with fury.
Potter,
You must immediately leave Little Whinging and surrender to the Dark Lord.
S.S.
He crumpled the parchment and threw it into the corner angrily. This year he would stay with the Dursleys until the 31st of July, thank you very much!
ss SS ss
"Don't worry, Sev, he will stay home now," said Lucius. "This method is childproof. I've tried it on my Draco many times, it always works."
