Chapter 8
A Slytherin and a Gryffindor
Still undecided about what to do, Laurel walked slowly back to the bed and sat up. She avoided looking at the young man as she had been instructed and did not mention a word. She really was not afraid of the boy, on the contrary, his pale face reminded her of the photograph of Severus when he was a child, his look full of helplessness and boredom made her feel a certain pity.
- "I never thought I'd see a Muggle in my home."
He said it without malice, rather with indifferent surprise. He shook his wand and the lights in the room came on at the same time Enoby stood up and nearly fell flat on her face from the speed she bowed to the young man.
"Master Draco, Enoby has been tasked with caring for the soulless one. If the Master requires of Enoby with great pleasure I will call another elf ... "
- "Prepare the Akardos's food, Enoby. I order you to go to the kitchen and prepare her dinner and I forbid you to mention to anyone that I am here. "
The elf hesitated for a moment but disappeared with a loud noise. Draco occupied the same chair where Severus had sat and with his eyes fixed on the floor he asked:
- "How does it feel to be hit by the killing curse?"
Laurel sighed and fixed her gaze on the silk curtains of the canopy bed, reliving once more the painful spasms that ran through her body and the intense green glow that seemed to illuminate her from within. Of course, Draco must be curious, as anyone else would be curious to learn that someone had escaped a certain death. She cleared her throat and although she was aware that Severus would be angry if he ever found out, she replied quietly:
-"It was painful. At least for me it was. But maybe that's not what you're wondering. Perhaps what you want to know is if it is right to use that curse on a person. If it is worth causing so much damage and pain."
Draco looked into her eyes, his cheeks twitching with anger. He abruptly pulled up the sleeve of his left arm revealing the mark that it was already familiar to Laurel.
- "Be careful, you're talking to a Death Eater."
Laurel looked at him impassively, if he had risked sneaking into Severus Snape's rooms to discuss moral notions with a Muggle, he mustn't have had such bad intentions.
-"You're just a child."
-"I am not a child!"
- "No, a lost young man. It was obvious that you didn't want to cast that curse. She forced you. Why are you doing something that you clearly don't want to do? "
- "What do you know about what a pure-blood wizard should or shouldn't do?
- "Not much actually, but I would like to be able to help you. Wizard or not, I can see the anguish in your eyes, it's not common for someone so young. "
- "Everyone wants to help me! My aunt, Professor Snape, but I can do it myself! I don't need anyone's help! "
- "Professor Snape? Is Snape your teacher? "
- "At Hogwarts. He is the potions master. "
- "I don't think he is cut out for being a teacher, really."
- "He is a tyrant." - Draco replied and a slight smile lit up his face. - "But he is a good head of house, always on the side of the Slytherins. He also does not kneel before the Chosen One Potter as Dumbledore does. "
At the mention of that name, her slight smile suddenly faded.
- "I'm sorry, I don't understand anything you say." - Laurel said. - "But if you think Professor Snape is not so bad, surely he can help you."
- "Snape is the right hand of the Dark Lord, he just wants to take credit for my work, steal my glory. I am sure I will make it. I will do my best to make my plan work. Everyone will be amazed when I do what they think is impossible."
Draco seemed to speak more to himself than to Laurel.
- "And what do you have to do?"
He stared at her thoughtfully for a moment, when he answered his voice had recovered its threatening tone:
- "What I will do is show that the Malfoys are the most loyal purebloods. I will take the first step to clear the way for the Dark Lord and when he comes to power, my name will be engraved in history and no one will remember the name of Harry Potter."
- "What will happen then with those who are like me? With Muggles? "
-"Collateral damage." - He replied, waving his hand dismissively. - "Purebloods will create a superior world, where we no longer have to hide, where we are respected and feared by the Mudbloods and Muggles."
Laurel held his gaze, she was shocked by his cruel words, but she didn't want to let him know. History was repeating itself again: a war based on useless beliefs about invented superiorities, an evil leader and his pawns blindly following his orders. When Tobías had told her about the magical world, she had often imagined it as a perfect and magnificent world where no one would have to suffer. She was very wrong. Wizards were human beings too, and as such, they made the same mistakes as Muggles.
- "I don't want to crush your ego, Draco. But you are still too young to understand the world. Something tells me that you are repeating what your parents have taught you."
- "You have a lot of guts to tell me that, soulless one. I see that the whipping was not enough."
Laurel hung her head in fright. Draco however laughed in satisfaction to see that his words had had the expected effect.
- "You accuse me of being very young, how old are you?"
-"Twenty six."
- "You see, and you pretend to be very wise. You speak as if you are Dumbledore's age. "
- "Dumbledore?"
- "The old nutter headmaster of Hogwarts."
Laurel noticed Draco fade away again. His voice dragged out the last sentence, but before he could sink into his bad mood she asked him:
- "Tell me about Hogwarts, please."
And so, several minutes passed in which Draco told her the origins of the school, the sorting hat, the supremacy and cunning of Slytherin, the delusions of grandeur and pointless heroism of Gryffindor, the academic obsession of the Ravenclaws and the duffers from Hufflepuff. He talked about his teachers, his classes, Quidditch. Laurel listened to him entranced, daydreaming of the castle, the lake, the forbidden forest. Draco spoke and spoke until he felt lighter. The burden he carried on him since his father had been taken to Azkaban lessened a bit, but then he remembered that this would be his last year at Hogwarts. If he achieved his goal of assassinating Dumbledore, he would never set foot in the school again, he would consecrate his position in Lord Voldemort's inner circle, but if he failed, the one who would be killed would be him.
A loud crack made both of them jump. Enoby had appeared again holding a tray that she placed on Laurel's lap. The delicious aroma of a bowl of stew and a freshly baked bread loaf made her stomach come alive again with a lurid noise.
-"Do you want some?" - She offered to Draco. -"It looks so good."
Draco shook his head.
- "No, I better go. Snape will be here any minute. "
Even though Laurel felt the urge to start swallowing the steaming food, she held back and blurted out the question that had been puzzling her since she saw Draco Malfoy in the room.
- "Why have you come to talk to me Draco?"
- "I wanted to know what is so special about you. I wanted to know who was the Akardos everyone was talking about. "
- "And did you discover something special in me? Am I very different from the others? "
- "No." - Draco replied, scanning her up and down. - "You are so ordinary."
-"Of course." -Said Laurel smiling. - "As ordinary as dandelions in the garden."
And since she couldn't hold back anymore, she began to devour the stew. Draco looked around him. He had expected to find the suite turned into an alchemical laboratory and had been a bit disappointed not to find it filled with cauldrons and glass jars with strange ingredients as he used to see in potion classes.
- "What is Snape planning to do with you? Everyone is talking about some kind of potion to repel attacks."
-"I have no idea." - Laurel replied with her mouth stuffed with bread. - "You will have to ask him."
-"I don't trust him." - He said, staring at the door, afraid to see the tall, thin wizard entering through it. - "Will you tell me when the experiments begin?"
- "And will you tell me what you have to do for the Dark Lord?"
- "I can't tell you that."
- "Then I won't tell you either." - She said and extended her hand towards Draco. - "We are even."
A knowing smile spread across both faces as they shook hands. Draco got up and headed towards the door, ignoring the Elf who followed him, bowing deeply. Before he could leave Laurel asked him:
- "Snape isn't just a teacher, is he?"
Draco turned to her, his sharp face so much like her mother's. He replied in a cold and quick voice:
- "He is a spy at Hogwarts. It is said that the only person the Dark Lord fears is Albus Dumbledore and Snape is the only Death Eater with access to him. Dumbledore entrusts everything to him. He's a nutter old man, I'm telling you."
. . .
The slowness with which the spiraling staircase rose to Dumbledore's office made him lose what little patience he had left. Severus jumped the steps two at a time until he reached the oak doors and knocked harder than he should but he didn't care. The doors swung open to reveal the headmaster sitting at his desk with Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Bill Weasley standing around him. Everyone looked at him expectantly. Snape had disappeared in the midst of the attack and had not shown any signs of life until they received the urgent message from him that same afternoon.
- "Severus, it's good to know that you are well." - Dumbledore said. - "Members of the Order say that you fled the scene after a confrontation with your fellow Death Eaters. We were worried about you."
-"Blimey!" - Tonks exclaimed before Severus could answer. - "You flew out with that girl. The one I couldn't make disappear. Tell them, Snape. They think I'm going bonkers! "
- "Thank you, Nymphadora." - Dumbledore cut her off. - "But let Severus explain what happened."
Severus looked at the others with his usual scornful grimace and reserved a special look of hatred for Lupin before turning to Dumbledore.
- "She is an Akardos. She was taken to the Malfoy Manor where she is being held prisoner. The Dark Lord has left me in charge of her, he hopes that I can use her to his advantage."
- "You speak as if you were not the one who took that poor girl and left her at the mercy of the Death Eaters." - Lupin said, returning him the look of hate.
- "If I hadn't gotten her out of there she would be dead. Greyback nearly bit her neck off. You already know how savage werewolves can be."
Lupin chuckled at Snape's cheek and cursed him under his breath. Dumbledore stood up and approached them, his clear voice rising in the circular office.
- "You attacked an ally, you confronted the other Death Eaters for defending a Muggle and then you fled with her. I'm afraid you seriously jeopardized your position in the eyes of Voldemort."
-"¿Would you rather I witnessed the butchery of an innocent woman?" - Snape growl. -"I am not stupid, I knew very well what I risked. I have managed to get her relatively safe for the time being, and the Dark Lord maintains his full trust in me. What else do you want from me, Dumbledore?"
Dumbledore sighed and walked over to one of the windows. The Black Lake glittered in the summer sun, but it wasn't its sparkling waters that caught his attention. His mind drifted back to that night Snape had turned to him, betraying Lord Voldemort to save Lily Potter's life. He knew very well of Snape's immense capacity to love, an ability unique among Death Eaters and one that he had used to his advantage, making Snape a faithful servant to the cause of the Order of the Phoenix. However, despite the long years that the Slytherin had proven to be exceptionally loyal, this was the first time he had acted so recklessly and foolishly. Dumbledore wondered if the influence of that woman would be strong enough to undermine Lily's memory and in the process end his dominion over Snape.
- "I would like to speak to Severus alone for a moment, please."
The others did not protest. When they were alone Dumbledore sat down at his desk again and invited Snape to sit across from him.
- "You are a good man, Severus. I am convinced of it. As I am also convinced that your mission as double spy and protector of Lily's son is your highest priority, isn't it?"
Snape didn't answer him, he looked away from the old wizard who was piercing him with his intense blue eyes. He knew that Dumbledore was trying to penetrate his mind. Even though he had regained full control of his occlumency after fleeing from Laurel's presence, he was in no mood to defend his deepest thoughts against Dumbledore's legilimency.
- "I gave you my word, Dumbledore."
The headmaster nodded while he materialized a tea set with his steaming kettle on top of the desk and poured Snape a cup. He politely accepted it even though he didn't want to drink it. Dumbledore took a sip before speaking again:
- "You have done well to hand over the Akardos, otherwise you would be accused of treason, but by wanting to protect her, you may have put a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands. I imagine it was your idea to convince Voldemort that it was possible to put the woman to use."
-"It was the only way to justify keeping her alive. The whole idea about creating a concoction that somehow protects against magical attacks came to me on a spur of the moment. I am not even sure that would be possible to do, but the Dark Lord believed in me and expects results."
- "As I am expecting them too, Severus. You are a wizard with an extraordinary intelligence, as few I have had the pleasure to get to know. You will continue with your plan. You will have to divide your time between Hogwarts and the Malfoy Manor. It won't be easy at all, but I know you are already aware what will happen to you if Voldemort finds out you're deceiving him."
- "I've been deceiving him for years, Dumbledore, and I've never seen so much concern on your part. I think what worries you is that I've brought a problem that was not in your plans."
- "I'll be honest with you, I never thought of seeing you so determined to protect someone. Even with Harry you don't seem that interested."
- "I've dedicated my life to protecting that insolent brat!"- Snape replied aloud. - "Day after day since he set foot at Hogwarts, I have had to deal with his arrogance while I watched over him. So do not dare, director, to imply that I have broken my promise."
- "Not at all, Severus, however I can't help but wonder, do you have feelings for that woman?"
For the first time since entering the office, Severus looked Dumbledore squarely in the eye, daring him to penetrate his mind. His strong shield of occlumency made any emotion disappear, leaving only darkness, leaving only the blackness that always seemed to surround him, that was part of his aura, of his personality, a total darkness that even distilled into his physical appearance.
He permitted the presence of Dumbledore inside his mind. His occlumency allowed the headmaster to see only what he wanted. As usual, Dumbledore found the old memories at Hogwarts, his immeasurable hatred for James Potter, Lily's bright green eyes, his complete and utter loyalty to him, but that was not what he was looking for. Prowling through the thousands of complex layers of Snape's thoughts he finally found it: the round, childlike face of a woman smiling sadly at him, her lacerated body laying down on a bed. Nonetheless, he did not find any emotion attached to her- The old wizard pulled back, defeated. He took another sip from the teacup and held his eyes to Severus who was staring at him impassively and cold. He asked again:
- "Well? Do you have feelings for her?"
-"No. My actions have nothing to do with sentimentality, Dumbledore. "
- "So, I still don't understand why ..."
- "She knew my father. My muggle father. She took care of him during his last years." - Answered Snape's voice, deadpanned and cold. - "Surely you will not think that I am so inhumane to allow a person who has taken care of my own sick father to die, right?"
Dumbledore did not want to discuss the subject further, he knew that Severus was loyal to his word and to the memory of Lily Potter and that was enough for him for the moment. Now what concerned him the most was the safety of his spy and the possibility of Voldemort gaining a powerful advantage thanks to the Akardos. He discussed the matter with Snape, examining all the alternatives for the preparation of the potion, which did not involve serious harm to the woman. He finally said:
- "You will have to do as in the myth of Penelope, the advances you make during the day, destroy them at night. This will buy you more time. Keep me informed of the development of your research."
- "How long do you think it will take the Dark Lord to realize that I'm taking him for a fool?"
Dumbledore smiled and waving his wand he made the tea set including Severus' intact cup disappear.
- "For the sake of Akardos you better maintain your role as well as possible. Now if you wish you can go to your office. I think you will need your alchemical implements."
. . .
Severus appeared in a swirl of shadows in front of the massive gates of Malfoy Manor. He brought with him three large trunks in which he had accommodated with an expansive spell all his laboratory items, magical ingredients, and dozens of books that he hoped would help him with the difficult task he had to undertake.
He paused for a moment in front of his bedroom doors, breathing uneasily. Someone had gained access, the wards he had cast before leaving were broken. He opened the doors slowly, a pang of fear at the thought of Laurel's dead body on the bed made his heart stop. But he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her standing, staring out the window into the darkness of the night. Her torso now covered by his own filthy shirt. She turned to face him.
-"I am glad you are back, Severus."
