Chapter II
It was unusually cold and quiet that evening in Hogsmeade. Stars shone distantly against the velvety clear sky, and the first early snowfall had covered the houses and routes of the wizarding village in an eerie white.
Although it had stopped snowing hours before, the inhabitants had turned in early and not a soul in sight could be spotted in the narrow streets. In the village's main square, only a couple of regulars inside Madam Rosmerta's pub were enjoying their beers and firewhiskey at the wooden bar.
Rosmerta's had continued to be a profitable business over the years, under the supervision of its relentlessly entrepreneurial owner. Madam Rosmerta was just setting various drinks on a tray to take them upstairs to the distinguished guests who had been meeting discreetly and quite regularly on the first floor of her pub, when an unusual noise she heard outside the door made her stop in her tracks. She hoped it was the third guest they were expecting and not some government official, otherwise there would be trouble. She went to one of the small windows and peered outside. Her jaw almost dropped at the view. A large, gorgeous sleigh pulled by six reindeers had landed just outside the pub's door, and Rosmerta breathed in relief when she saw Mademoiselle Caroline Armand, headmistress of Bauxbattons stepping out of the sleigh. The headmistress was a young woman with very long dark hair, partially hidden at that moment under the luxurious white fur hat she wore. She was also wearing a far too expensive wool and fur coat for a place like this, and over the knee red suede boots with high heels. That fact alone made Rosmerta wonder how she could even walk with those in the snow. Talk about trying to arrive inconspicuously. Rosmerta shook her head in amazement.
Mademoiselle Armand entered the pub a moment later and swept the room with her gaze, as if looking for someone. The heels of her extravagant boots clinked on the old wooden floor when she spotted Rosmerta and hurried her way. Everyone turned and stared at the unusual apparition.
"Bonsoir, Rosmerta. Are they already here?" she asked in English, her words laced with a heavy French accent.
Rosmerta nodded and grabbed her tray.
"Come with me Mademoiselle Armand," she said quietly. "Nice new perfume, or am I wrong?"
"Ah, my fiancé just brought it from Paris," the woman replied with quick smile. She was clearly used to compliments, but still reveled in each of them.
Rosmerta chucked to herself and pushed the large oak door open, taking the stairs to the first floor. Hopefully despite Madamoiselle Armand's conspicuous appearance, no one would consider the reunion of the most brilliant minds in the wizarding world under Rosmerta's roof more than an academic's friendly chat and run to warn the Ministry, or even worse, the enforcers. Or perhaps she was deluding herself given that it would probably take Draco Malfoy's Aurors under two minutes to arrive and arrest them all for conspiracy. She put these thoughts aside and instead replied good-naturedly:
"Lucky you, Mademoiselle Armand. Here you go, the gentlemen arrived a while ago and have been waiting for you."
She entered a room on the first floor and set her tray on the table in the middle of the room where three men of different ages sat. Discussion around the table halted for a moment, and Rosmerta served the drinks and checked on the fireplace, adding more wood.
"Caroline. So happy you could join in the end," Dumbledore said pleasantly, standing gingerly despite his age and pointing to a chair beside him. "Please have a seat."
The youngest of the men at the table smirked and looked away, the side of his sallow face obscured by a curtain of greasy black hair. The third man whom Mademoiselle Armand knew well, Bertrand des Pensees Profondes, a most renowned professor of ancient runes and philosopher, smiled at her good-naturedly.
"Bonsoir Caroline," he said.
"Good evening, professors," she replied.
The young woman shed her coat and sat at the table. In the golden light she appeared most fair, with her waist-long glossy hair framing pretty features in which blue, almost violet eyes were the most noticeable.
"Would it pain you so greatly to be on time just once, Mademoiselle Armand?" Snape asked, without hiding his irritation. "It is inconvenient for all of us to have to go through the status quo more than once because of your bad habit."
"Severus, please…" Dumbledore intervened on a conciliatory tone.
But Caroline, whose red lipstick painted lips curled slightly when she heard Snape speak, seemed to enjoy the banter.
"Ah," she retorted, without addressing to anyone in particular and avoiding to look at Snape, "it seems some people are under the impression that their time is more valuable than others'".
"It's not an impression, Mademoiselle. For some of us it is a bitter reality. Not that you would understand that with you taking what, two hours every day to put your makeup on?"
At that Caroline turned sharply towards Snape, prepared to make a nasty reply before Dumbledore put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't mind Severus, Caroline. Let's discuss the matter at hand. We have good news."
Appeased, the French woman turned to meet his gaze.
"Please professor," she said to Dumbledore. "Forgive my delay. We had a meeting with all 7th grade students' parents to prepare for the graduation ceremony. What is the good news?" She glanced furtively at Snape who met her eyes for the briefest of moments before he looked in the opposite direction.
Rosmerta grabbed her tray and left the room to give her customers some privacy.
"Since we are all here now, I shall share my good news with everyone," Dumbledore spoke. "Last evening Harry Potter came to visit me, and he brought the most unexpected guest with him."
Silence fell around the table as Dumbledore leaned towards his interlocutors. "Lord Voldemort."
For a long moment no one seemed to breathe as they stared incredulously at the Hogwarts Headmaster.
Snape spoke first, voicing the others' thoughts: "How is this possible? The Dark Lord is alive? Are you sure he was truly the Dark Lord, headmaster?"
"Positive," Dumbledore replied calmly.
"I fail to see how this is a good news and how it could help us," Bernard des Pensees Profondes argued. "He is…or used to be the most dangerous dark wizard in the world."
The Hogwarts headmaster took a sip from his goblet.
"Arguably," Caroline said. "Liliana Slytherin has beaten all contenders for that title by far."
"Arguably," Snape drawled. "Liliana Slytherin can hardly be considered a dark witch."
"Here we go again," Caroline countered, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "How many times did we have this argument? Why do you always have to defend her? Do you fancy the "Saviour", professor?"
Snape threw her a disgusted look at the insinuation and did not honor the question with an answer. He had always held a very strong fascination with the dark arts and with the Slytherin family more than anything. Liliana Slytherin and Voldermort had been the last of their descendants. While Severus had lost all respect and empathy for Voldemort when his former master had attempted to take his life, his interest in Liliana was still as present, but it had never hovered on the side of the inappropriate.
"I think we all agreed at the end of our last meeting that something needed to be done about Liliana's rule over our world before it is too late. I, too, have mixed feelings towards Liliana. I've always had since I found out that she was Gellert Grindelwald's granddaughter. The apple could not fall far from the tree, I thought at the time, and consequently chose not to trust her. But she saved the wizarding world from Voldemort. We were all there, apart from you Caroline, because you were too young at that time, but we were all witnesses of that great deed. She did something none of us had been able to, but that does not give her the right to destroy everything we stand for. Since last year, we have had irrefutable proof that she'd been using the Sources to her own benefit. This is where I draw the line."
Caroline nodded absent mindedly, while Snape stared unseeingly at his goblet. Bernard de Pensee Profondes nodded.
"I lead a comfortable life as headmaster, she never interfered at Hogwarts and she did not let Ralph or Draco interfere either," Dumbledore continued. "She made you headmaster of the new Durmstrang, Severus. We could just close our eyes and let it be. But we all know we cannot. It will be the end of our world."
"Is there no way to speak to her directly?" Bernard des Pensees Profondes intervened against the lingering silence that Dumbledore's words had provoked.
"Direct access to Liliana is impossible, you know that well, Bertrand. All our efforts to meet her have been in vain. The last time she spoke to me was the day she left Hogwarts all those years ago. Draco Malfoy is our only interlocutor, and this only when it pleases him." Dumbledore sighed. "To get to her we have to eliminate Draco and Ralph Parkinson from power first."
His interlocutors all stilled at the latter name.
"And in any case she will never agree to give up power or the Sources. Without the Sources the fate of our world is compromised, we all know that," the philosopher said.
Even Snape seemed to agree with his statement.
"We agreed on a plan last time we met," Mademoiselle Armand said. "How does Voldemort fit into the plan?"
Snape gave a humorless laugh.
Dumbledore stared at him kindly. "Do you want to explain, Severus?"
The headmaster of Durmstrang suppressed a snort. "I thought it would be pretty obvious. Voldemort alive is proof that Liliana Slytherin is a fraud. It's proof she never defeated him and that she does not deserve the pedestal the wizarding world put her on."
"Is there any explanation as to why a dead wizard who was killed in front of thousands is alive?" Caroline asked.
"I saw Liliana cast the curse and hit him square in the chest. I was just a few meters away from them. She had all intention of killing him," Dumbledore said. "One explanation is that Voldemort has still a Horcrux or more that we were not aware of at the time. The other is that Liliana and Voldemort's connection will keep both alive as long as one of them is alive. Rowena Ravenclaw's potion had very strange effects on them, some of which I fail to comprehend fully to this day."
"And what did the Dark Lord say when Mr Potter brought him along?" Severus asked.
"Well, that's the most interesting part, isn't it, Severus? Here is where we have to tread very carefully. He's very vengeful and I think I have never seen him so unhinged. He could do something reckless as we speak."
"That is very unlike the Dark Lord. He always prepares his attacks very carefully and chooses the right moment to strike. It's one of his most frightening characteristics," said Snape.
"That is to be hoped for. But he was very agitated, I could tell. He stormed out of my office after a couple of minutes. To him, Liliana's killing curse is yesterday's fresh reality. He's furious."
"He could indeed be a very useful tool to take down Liliana's lackeys and then Liliana herself. His resurfacing would the perfect pretext for a well prepared uprising." Caroline, who'd been quiet for a while said suddenly, her chin resting in the palm of her hand, while she stared meditatively at the Hogwarts headmaster. "But how do we do this without incurring too many risks? He will not be easy to handle."
Dumbledore smiled, and leaned towards her, his eyes twinkling. "Ah, Caroline," he said. "You and I always think the same. Yes, that is the real question."
Snape snorted. He was clearly not in favor of any plan which involved Voldemort.
"To say that Voldemort hates me would be an understatement," Dumbledore continued. "Someone else will need to act on our behalf."
"I think no one in this room. We need someone whose intentions Voldemort, for reasons I can't fathom, could trust," Bernard shook his head.
"He trusts no one completely," Snape said.
"But he could trust Harry Potter's intentions. For different reasons, both feel that Liliana betrayed them," Dumbledore said. "He agreed to Harry bringing him to me. Harry may also be the only person who can find him, too."
"I feel like you are keeping parts of the story from us, professor," Caroline smirked.
"I would hate to speculate, I don't have all the elements myself."
"So I trust that you will discuss the issue with Mr. Potter?" Snape inquired.
"In due time. Meanwhile, are we all prepared?"
"Yes, we are largely prepared. I have convinced Vlad Svensson to participate. He will put his name in the goblet of fire. You take it from there."
"Well done, Severus. We are also prepared at Hogwarts. The Head Girl, Miss Price, is most anxious for eternal glory so I have no doubt she will cast her name in the goblet. There is no one as promising for the task as her."
"Excellent, we have everything in place then. For us it will be Jerome Caulier, 7th grade too. Are you sure that rejuvenating potion and the glamours will work? " Caroline inquired anxiously.
"I trust Severus' skills with my life," Dumbledore replied, and looked amused when Snape murmured something unpleasant under his breath.
"Then we are set."
"There is also the question of Mr. Potter accepting the job," Bernard remarked.
"I have no doubt he will accept it. I will go find him tomorrow morning. I have a good idea of where he may be."
"Then we are set!" Caroline said, raising her glass in a toast. "To the success of our plan."
Three other glasses were raised in unison.
Half an hour later, Dumbledore helped Caroline into her sleigh.
"See you in one week at Hogwarts, professor," she said. She looked at Snape, who hovered at the entrance of the pub with the philosopher, and who appeared to be ignoring them.
"When is the wedding?" Dumbledore asked.
"On May 5. Invitations will follow before Christmas."
"Glad to hear that. Au revoir, Caroline."
The sleigh was soon up in the air and Caroline waved a graceful hand at him.
Dumbledore smiled contentedly. He'd rarely had the pleasure of meeting someone who was able to guess his intentions. He was getting old. It would be nice to have someone to rely on in the near future.
"Severus," he called.
"Yes, Headmaster," Snape replied smoothly, his scowl gone as soon as Caroline's sleigh was out of sight.
"I wish you'd work closely with Caroline and stopped antagonizing her on every occasion."
"It's not intentional, Headmaster," he argued. "It's just that…she reminds me of someone I used to hate and despise from the bottom of my heart. Vain, arrogant, self-centered…"
"Also impossibly clever and devious…" Dumbledore continued, amused.
"We will collaborate to your standards, no worries, headmaster," Snape concluded fast, a slight flush coloring his pale face.
"Glad to hear that. Now, who's up for another pint?"