IX - The Deceptors

31st August 1997

Harry spent half a day patiently staking out the front doors of the Ministry of Magic. He brought a copy of the Daily Prophet back to Grimmauld Place. It had a shocker of a headline:

SEVERUS SNAPE CONFIRMED AS HOGWARTS HEADMASTER

"Severus Snape, long-standing Potions master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was today appointed headmaster in the most important of several staffing changes at the ancient school. Following the resignation of the previous Muggle Studies teacher, Alecto Carrow will take over the post while her brother, Amycus, fills the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"I welcome the opportunity to uphold our finest Wizarding traditions and values —' Like committing murder and cutting off people's ears, I suppose! Snape, headmaster! Snape in Dumbledore's study — Merlin's balls!" Hermione shrieked, making both Harry and Ron jump. She leapt up from the table and hurtled from the room, shouting as she went, "I'll be back in a minute!"

"Merlin's balls?" repeated Ron, looking amused. "She must be upset." He pulled the newspaper toward him and perused the article about Snape.

"The other teachers won't stand for this. McGonagall and Flitwick and Sprout all know the truth, they know how Dumbledore died. They won't accept Snape as headmaster. And who are these Carrows?"

"Death Eaters," said Harry. "There are pictures of them inside. They were at the top of the tower when Snape killed Dumbledore, so it's all friends together. And," Harry went on bitterly, drawing up a chair, "I can't see that the other teachers have got any choice but to stay. If the Ministry and Voldemort are behind Snape it'll be a choice between staying and teaching, or a nice few years in Azkaban — and that's if they're lucky. I reckon they'll stay to try and protect the students."

Hermione came back into the room. She was carrying a large, framed picture, which she now lowered to the floor before seizing her small, beaded bag from the kitchen sideboard. Opening it, she proceeded to force the painting inside, and despite the fact that it was patently too large to fit inside the tiny bag, within a few seconds it had vanished, like so much else, into the bag's capacious depths.

"Phineas Nigellus," Hermione explained as she threw the bag onto the kitchen table with the usual sonorous, clanking crash.

"Sorry?" said Ron, but Harry understood. The painted image of Phineas Nigellus Black was able to flit between his portrait in Grimmauld Place and the one that hung in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts: the circular tower-top room where Snape was no doubt sitting right now, in triumphant possession of Dumbledore's collection of delicate, silver magical instruments, the stone Pensieve, the Sorting Hat and, unless it had been moved elsewhere, the sword of Gryffindor.

"Snape could send Phineas Nigellus to look inside this house for him," Hermione explained to Ron as she resumed her seat. "But let him try it now, all Phineas Nigellus will be able to see is the inside of my handbag."

"Good thinking!" said Ron, looking impressed.

x-X-x

Phineas looked disgruntled and sulky when he returned to his frame in the Headmaster's office.

"The crafty Gryffindoress bitch has just stuffed my portrait into her handbag, stuffed being the apt word for it. I cannot see or hear a thing…!"

Severus paused in scratching his quill across the parchment, but said nothing. Somewhere off to the corner of the room a portrait was snoring wheezily.

"Well boy, have you nothing to say about that?" Demanded Black's portrait reedily.

A vein above the Headmaster's right eye twitched. "Even though you cannot see anything right at this particular moment, Black, I suspect you shall soon. The fact she has taken your portrait is a boon to me. Please continue to visit the other frame often, and converse with the teenagers if ever they wish it. I would like to be kept informed of what they are up to..."

"Delinquents, the three of them, they should be in school with the others…"

"Fate shall catch up with them, I'm sure…" Murmured Snape. He left the message he was writing unsigned, rolled up the parchment and addressed it to 'Romulus,' before allowing an owl to take it out of the window.

x-X-x

"Remus," is that you?"

"Yes, my love."

His wife sat up, sleepy-eyed, as her husband came through into the living room. He peered worriedly at her wan face, and at the bucket set down by the side of the sofa.

"Couldn't sleep. Morning sickness again," she explained, her hair an overboiled pea-green. She pulled it back out of her face. "I've been puking rainbows all morning, but at least it's pretty puke, hey…"

Remus let out a sigh. "I hope the sickness is not a bad sign…"

"Remus, stop worrying, what will be, will be. I love you and our baby, I'll remind you every day until you get it through your stubborn noggin," replied Tonks. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure Mum was sick with me the same, I'm sure it's a sign of a metamorphmagus… Might just be that, if not then baby's going to be one damn funky coloured wolf…!"

Her husband gave her a tired smile and pecked her tenderly on the cheek.

There was a sharp rap at the window then. It was one of the general Hogwart's owls. He let the bird in and untied the scroll attached to its leg. The writing was recognisably spidery, and the message was unsigned.

"I am now in position, much to my chagrin and disquiet... Meet in your old haunt under the stroppy tree, 7pm on eve of full moon."

The note set itself alight and burned to ash as soon as he'd finished reading it.

"What was that?"

"Just some more details about my next mission. I can tell you that I have been making some progress within the pack...Greyback may not be as safe as he thinks anymore...A new werewolf turned up at the last pack meeting, a huge one who doesn't seem to be much of a fan of You Know Who… He killed one of Greyback's mates, which shook the pack, and I think he is now gearing himself up to challenge Greyback for the Alpha."

Tonks grinned and gave her husband a big hug. "Oh that's brill - about time that nasty bloke got his comeuppance."

Lupin bit his lip. "Fingers crossed he will, love, fingers crossed... One thing I have to warn you about, though, is that the challenger has asked for my help...so I will need to be away in London over the next full moon. Challenges to pack Alphas can only take place during the full moon, wolf to wolf, so I am not locking myself away that night. Fortunately I have managed to get a modified form of Wolfsbane which is non-sedating, so I will be compos mentis at least..."

Tonks nodded and only hugged her husband tighter, as he seemed quite out of sorts. "Stay as safe as you can...For me, and for our little boy..."

x-x-x

2nd September 1997

Deputy Headmistress Alecto came clattering into the Headmaster's office.

Snape stood up, his face a thundercloud. "What the blasted hell do I keep telling you about knocking, woman?"

"Potter and his pals have broken into the Ministry!"

"What?"

"Oho…!" Crowed Albus Dumbledore's portrait delightedly.

"They escaped, but Yaxley managed to grab hold of the girl as she apparated, she carried him to the Order's old haunt, breaking the Fidelius - thanks to her clumsiness we finally have access to Twelve Grimmauld Place!"

"Ah..." Albus Dumbledore's face fell.

Blocking the former headmaster's sigh of disappointment, and keeping his eyes firmly on the evilly grinning witch before him, Snape forced a smirk to curl his mouth.

"Excellent news, Carrow, one less bolthole for the Order..."

x-X-x

The Muggle neighbours of Grimmauld Place gathered to stare confusedly at the filthy-dirty townhouse wedged between the two clean ones, and wondered why they had never noticed it before.

Quite clearly they were losing it...