Chapter 22
Any word?" came a low growl from the shadows outside of Sophie Storms' office.
Sophie, who'd been sitting with her head in her hands, looked up wearily and shook her head.
She had received a letter via owl at her house from her young intern the night before. It had been brief. It read thus,
Sophie,
I'm ok. Everything went smoothly. Your office, 10 p.m. Monday.
Lex –
Sophie had gone through a variety of moods since she received the letter nearly 24 hours ago. Initially, even before the letter, she was so furious that there was no apt word to describe her fury. Then she went to contemplative; giving Lexie the benefit of the doubt, hoping that she'd discovered loads of useful information in the long silence between them. But that eventually rolled over to concern. Deep down, Sophie had a heart of gold. And she liked Lexie as a person. She hoped that she was alright and that Snape hadn't caught on to her and decided to off her.
But the worry would be replaced in a matter of minutes. Moody grunted in disproval, then stumped off back the hallway.
Sophie covered half of her face with her hand and rested her elbow on the desk. The candles which lit her office were burning low and guttering by the time Lexie trudged in, looking wind-blown and as though she hadn't slept in weeks.
Sophie got to her feet as Lexie made to shut the door and give them a bit of privacy. She put her knuckles onto the desk and leaned forward, ready to do battle.
Lexie held up her hands, "Wait! Wait… Sophie… I know what you're going to say – please just let me -"
"REALLY! YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO SAY! You think I'm going to reprimand you for being completely irresponsible, putting yourself in danger and for failing to accomplish any of the objectives for which you were hired to accomplish? Well, you're right.
You have not checked in with me in over a month. I assume you've been far too busy fraternizing with the students, doing homework and finding a date for the Christmas dance to bother with such a small thing as reporting in regarding the status of your mission! We did not put you on this undercover mission so that you could relive your adolescent years. We sent you to that school for one purpose; to learn whether or not Snape is or is not currently a Death Eater and supporting You-Know-Who. If you'll remember, you wouldn't have even been put in this situation if you hadn't completely botched your last two missions. This was a chance for you to redeem yourself and prove that you are mature and responsible enough to be an Auror. And you've completely failed to prove that to me.
You've also put yourself in danger through your irresponsibility. You are rubbing elbows with a potentially dangerous criminal. Any slip up on your part and you could've wound up dead. You're lucky to be alive.
Furthermore, I've yet to hear any decisive evidence that'll tell us whether or not Snape is a threat. Which is a huge concern, being that he is in close contact with our youth on an everyday basis."
She was out of breath and exasperated when she'd finished.
Lexie was sheepish, blushing and on the verge of tears. She knew Sophie was right; that was what hurt more than being ripped a new one.
Sophie drew in a deep breath. "Sit down." She said, her voice strained.
Lexie obeyed.
Sophie flopped down in her chair. She looked at Lexie for a moment before saying, "Tell me you've got something useful. Something solid on Snape, some names of Death Eaters… anything. Lexie… I don't want to fire you. Give me a reason not to."
Lexie had recited what she was going to say, in her head probably a hundred times before she'd arrived that evening. "Sophie… I know I've been irresponsible. But I promise I haven't just been slacking off. I've been spending a lot of time with Snape. I've been getting to know him and -"
"Lexie! We did not send you there to make friends with him!" Sophie shouted, thinking they'd wasted a good bit of time letting Lexie carry on with this mission without supervision.
"I know! Sophie, I know. But what I'm trying to tell you, is that Snape isn't exactly an open book. He's more… like an onion… many layers. I'm not going to be able to just come right out and ask him, 'Hey – so, what side are you really on? I know you're teaching here at the school, but is that just a front?'…" Lexie said in a mock-Snape voice, which she butchered badly.
"Don't get smart." Sophie warned, furrowing her brow.
Lexie nodded. "Sorry. But, you see what I'm saying? The more time I spend with him, the more likely it'll be for me to learn the truth… the real truth. Sophie… I think he's beginning to trust me. But there's a long way to go." She said.
Sophie didn't look exactly pleased with this assessment, but she didn't look as though she was going to tell Lexie to clean out her desk… just yet anyway. "So… from what you've learned so far… what's your analysis of Snape? Do you think he really is a Death Eater? I mean… let's look at the facts… even though you had to blackmail him, he did begin to train you as a Death Eater. Can you give me anything solid to back that up?"
"Well…" Lexie began. "You're right… he did let me begin training to become a Death Eater… that's true. But, there are certain things he's said… just little things, that lead me to believe that he doesn't even like being around them. Much less the things they do or what they believe. He's so cynical about everything, that it's hard to siphon through what he isn't doing and what he's just disgusted about having to do. Does that make any sense?" she asked, feeling as though she'd just talked around in a circle.
Sophie nodded. "There's a difference between the things he's doing because he's been ordered to by the Death Eaters, that he doesn't enjoy doing… and the things that he's only pretending to do, if he's really on our side."
"The question is… who is he deceiving?" Lexie said, wondering if she herself was being deceived by the Potionsmaster.
There was a silence between the two for a few minutes.
"I know all signs point to 'yes'… he is a Death Eater. But what if it's all an act? What if he's leading me on with the whole 'becoming a Death Eater' thing… what if it's all part of his plan to keep his true affiliation secret?" Lexie said vaguely.
"What do you mean?" Sophie asked, shaking her head. This was beginning to get confusing.
"OK," Lexie said, trying to be as clear as possible, despite her whirling, cloudy thoughts. "Suppose Snape is on our side. But he wants the Death Eaters to think that he's on their side and spying on us. Well, he'd have to do something to convince them that he's truly on their side… even if he's not. What better way than to recruit a student from Dumbledore's school to come over to the dark side? Someone that maybe he thought would've turned bad anyway… that way, he's not actually coercing anyone who's good into turning bad… but he's still meeting his quota…" she said uncertainly.
"I see…" Sophie said contemplatively.
"And no one could know about it… he could never tell anyone, because if he did, he'd risk exposing himself." She finished, sounding more confident.
Sophie surveyed her for a moment. "Lexie… I think perhaps you're reaching. If I didn't know better… I'd say you were actually pulling for him to be good." Sophie accused.
Lexie bit her lip. "Well… I guess I am."
"You must be objective Lex. You have to find the truth, no matter what it is." Sophie told her.
"I know… I'll try to be objective. And I will find the truth, one way or another." Lexie said solemnly.
She then told Sophie that Lucius Malfoy had hosted the party she'd attended with Snape on Saturday. Sophie agreed that perhaps with a little more solid evidence, they'd have enough to bring charges against him again.
What impressed Sophie the most was the manner in which Snape had trained her. the lessons, both physical training and historical background…
"Very thorough… if I didn't know better, I'd say Snape doesn't entirely dislike teaching." Sophie said cynically. "I'll tell you what Lexie… despite my better judgment, I'll give you one last chance…" Sophie said scoldingly.
Lexie felt as though a hundred pound weight had just been lifted from her shoulders.
"But I want reports WEEKLY!" She went on. "I want to know everything that's going on in the school and with Snape. You'll have to get some something at least mildly useful on a regular basis. Not only is your ass on the line now, but mine is as well."
"I promise Sophie… I won't let you down. This is my top priority."
A/N: PAINFULLY short, i know... i apologize. but this chapter wasn't exactly a delight to have to crank out. kinda confusing - a little boring. let me know if i need to re-word, or if you got the jist. i can redo it later if the public so demands. the next chapter will be more fun to read, i hope. but let me know what you thinka bout this one anyway. PLEASE REVIEW!
