Yo! Short but whatever. At least it's something. Thank you to all readers so far!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...

There was no more time to discuss things though. Not yet. Classes began before anyone really even knew it, and the students were quickly thrust right back into all the schoolwork. With things so busy, everyone trying to catch up with the sudden, excessive workload, Harry and his friends kept to themselves for the time being.

But even then, there were a couple of things they noticed. Snape seemed a lot more...relaxed than usual. Enough to be noticeable to those looking closely, at least. Lucius Malfoy wasn't a terrible professor either. In fact, he wasn't half bad. Though he never bothered explaining where the sudden interest (or qualifications) in teaching had come from, he seemed to treat members of all Houses somewhat fairly, which was certainly a break from the norm, particularly considering who he was.

Harry, however, remained rather suspicious. Malfoy's timing here was surely no coincidence. He had written to the Dark Lord, had received a response back, and now said Dark Lord's right hand man was teaching at the castle? What were the odds of that? Did Voldemort suspect Raven Serpent was a student? Harry couldn't recall having put anything in his letter saying, or even suggesting that.

Then again, maybe it really was just a coincidence. Maybe Voldemort had already been planning on sending Malfoy to teach at Hogwarts, and Harry's timing with the letter had just been weird. That was possible, he supposed, maybe even more likely, but he really just couldn't find himself to believe that. But maybe that was just his paranoia speaking...

Two weeks went by before Harry, Ron, and Hermione gathered in the Room of Requirement, with Neville acting as a distraction so Ginny didn't start questioning where the other three were. Luna may or may not have decided to give a hand too. It was hard to tell with her sometimes, but she knew that any help was appreciated.

"How do you plan on replying?" Hermione was asking. "What do you plan on saying?"

Harry didn't answer at first, and scanned over Voldemort's letter. "I think... I think he mainly wants to know what we really think about the Dark's goals. He seems curious to know how I learned about Horcruxes, sure, but I feel like he doesn't care about that as much. It feels like he wants more insight on the goals, than anything else."

"He ended the letter with that," Ron agreed. "It's put like a question, but it's really more of a statement."

Hermione understood too. "Even if we 'defect' from the Light, if what we want doesn't match what the Dark wants, then no matter what we have to offer, we're of no use to them, essentially."

"Right, so that just leaves us needing to figure out what the Dark's goals actually are. It isn't as if anyone's told us much of anything when it comes to that."

Harry sighed deeply. "Dumbledore isn't going to say anything either. You know how he is. And most of the Order is just as bad. Having Moody on our side helps, since Dumbledore trusts him, but it isn't nearly enough."

The witch hesitated, biting her lower lip, then cautiously said, "Well, Professors Snape and Malfoy are both here in the castle. I can't say which side Snape is on just yet, but we all know Malfoy is most certainly Dark."

Ron's eyes widened, and he paled slightly, understanding immediately what their friend was getting at. "You think Harry should just go straight up to them and ask them?"

"Well, maybe not outright. Maybe just...I don't know?-leave a few hints here and there? See how they react?"

Harry frowned and leaned back in his seat. "Hints do make more sense. And if they're just little hints, I can always play it off if they start getting suspicious. It'll be like-like-what's it called?-planting seeds of doubt? I feel like it's something that'll get them to be curious."

"Who do you think it'll be easier to start with?"

Harry hesitated for a second, then said, "Normally I would say Malfoy, but honestly, with the way Snape reacted when he got me from Privet Drive, I feel like he'd be the best bet."

Hermione blinked. "Professor Snape? Really? Is that a good idea? You two don't get along particularly well, you know."

Harry nodded, understanding her concern. "I know," he agreed, "but...you didn't see him when he came to get me that day. I think Snape's more curious about all this than he's letting on. I just feel like..." Harry paused and scratched his chin, thinking of the right words to say that would get his friends freaking out at him. "I feel like even if Snape isn't interested in hearing what I have to say, or even if he doesn't agree with me, he's going to tell me just that. Maybe not clearly, but he'll tell me. Does that make any sense?"

Hermione frowned, then pinched the bridge of her nose, and said, "I suppose it's true that no matter what you've said or done in the past, he's always had something to say to you, but...but this is different, Harry. There's so much hinging on this. If he really is Dumbledore's man, is this hunch good enough to ensure he won't go running off to him?"

"She's right," Ron agreed. "Can we really afford this going wrong? It's going to mess up pretty much everything we've been working towards these past few years-especially the last two years. Is trusting Snape worth that risk?"

Harry sighed deeply. He understood where the other two were coming from, he really did, but...they didn't know Snape as well as he did-not that he knew the man all that well. Honestly though, all he was going on was a hunch, and those hunches were usually right. Usually.

"I don't know what's going to happen," he said slowly. "Not for sure. I think maybe leaving hints for Malfoy will be fine for now, if we even approach him, but with Snape..."

"You want to tell him," said Ron, eyeing his friend closely. "You want to tell him outright. I know you know what you're doing, but...do you know what you're doing, mate?"

Unable to help himself, Harry cracked a smile. "Do any of us?"

"Touche. But seriously-"

"I know, Ron. I know that this could go really wrong. I get that. And I don't have any way to explain this, but I really do think it'll be fine. I know it sounds stupid, trust me, I do, but I just can't explain it."

After a moment of awkward and tense silence, Hermione sighed explosively. "Fine. Fine, you do what you think needs to be done. But make sure Dobby's nearby when you talk to Professor Snape, alright? If something goes wrong-and I hope nothing does, but just in case, at least have him there as backup."

Ron nodded in agreement, dragging his fingers through his red hair, looking a little agitated. "Dunno if Snape'll get violent or anything, but on the off chance that he does, it'd be best to have Dobby around to stop him. Might have to restrain and question him at that point, but let's hope it doesn't get to that."

Relieved this hadn't started an argument, Harry agreed readily. Dobby was surprisingly good at being sneaky, and if the House-Elf being around meant they were all on board with what he was thinking, Harry was perfectly fine with that.

Now all he really needed was a way to approach Snape without the situation coming across as suspicious. Snape was probably a pretty paranoid man, after all...

That's it for now. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!