Disclaimer: It belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling, not me.

A/N: Um… Iknew that ruddy name was familiar (Miranda Goshawk). Damnit. I should know better than to write a chapter without checking the Lexicon! Oh, well, consider it a wacky coincidence for now. If it ends up being important to the plot, I'll address it later.

This chapter is basically a lead-in for what I have planned next - and I know it's a little on the short side, but... Well, I don't really have a good excuse for that. Sigh. Happy reading!

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Planning and Preparation

Harry looked up from his easel to identify the source of the tapping at his window. It was, as he'd assumed, an owl. It wasn't Hedwig, though. It was an unfamiliar owl, larger than most of the others he had seen. Isn't that an eagle owl? he mused as he sat his paintbrush to the side and opened the window. The owl flew in and perched on the back of his desk chair. Harry took the parchment envelope from the owl. "Wonder what Snape wants?" he said aloud, recognizing the spiky handwriting. He broke the plain wax seal and opened the letter to find two sheets of parchment.

16 June, 1998
Potter,

As we had agreed, Lucius sent the enclosed letter to me to be forwarded to you. Are you free for a meeting on the twentieth?

-Prof. S. Snape

15 June, 1998
Severus,

Please let Mr. Sophismata know that I think his proposition is sound. I would like to meet in person sometime in the next week to discuss potential courses of action.

One of the things we will need to address is what to do with Mr. Riddle and those 'friends' of his who won't want to follow what we plan to do. I have some ideas on this, but don't wish to pen them in a letter.

Let me know when Mr. Sophismata will be available.

Sincerely,
Lucius Malfoy

Harry laughed outright at the fact that Malfoy was still using the name Snape had come up with. Doesn't the man pay attention to all the Latin used in spells? Or doesn't he care what they mean? Or if he knows, does he just figure it's a last name and have done with it? It's funny how literal wizards can be; there must be thousands of ways of disguising one's identity with magic, yet they all assume, when meeting someone, that what they're seeing is the truth of the matter. I know most muggles would assume likewise, but even they know that things like make-up and wigs, hair-dye and whatnot are relatively easy to use. Not to mention the fact that lying is usually pretty easy to do. Still chuckling a little, he nodded to the owl, "I'll have a response ready in a few minutes. Go ahead and have something to eat and drink – I'm sure Hedwig won't mind." He gestured to the perch in the corner of the room. Hedwig was out hunting and likely wouldn't be back until morning – if then. The weather the last couple of days had been quite nice, and his owl seemed to like roosting in the tall maple tree in the back yard.

The eagle owl fluttered over to the perch and began investigating the food dish while Harry took a seat at his desk. Harry thought for a few minutes on what he wanted to say before booting up his laptop and typing. When he finished, he emailed it to himself and then went down to the den to print it off, much to Jenn's irritation; it wasn't that she was in the middle of anything important – unless beating her previous high score in Minesweeper counted – it was more the fact that she could have been.

"At least I know now what I can get for you for Christmas," Jenn joked as the printer worked.

"If you think so. I don't really use it all that often, though."

"I know, but it'd be nice to have your own so you don't have to keep hijacking my workspace whenever you need to print anything." Jenn sighed a little, "So… What did you decide?"

Harry blinked, confusion apparent on his face. "About what?"

"You mentioned something a couple of months ago about going to uni part-time. I was wondering if you'd done anything with that?"

Harry brightened, "Oh, yeah. I did some research online. I think I'll see if I can do a distance-learning course. It'd be easier than trying to drive back and forth to classes three or four times a week." Harry removed the letter from the printer tray and snagged an envelope from the box next to the monitor of Jenn's computer.

"Makes sense, what with that building downtown. How's it going with that, by the way?"

"Slower than I'd hoped, but no real problems so far – other than the obvious."

"Sorry," Jenn shook her head, "what obvious?"

Harry folded the letter and sealed it in the envelope, rolling his eyes as he did so. "That thing I agreed to play jailer for. However, he seems pretty serious about sticking to his side of our agreement. The judge's allowing him to finish secondary school before he has to get a job, and so far, the only thing Dudley's asked for has been a computer with internet in his flat, so he didn't have to arrange escorts through the court all the time. Actually, that was what made me think of doing distance-learning myself."

"Should I call Ripley's? You just admitted that yourcousin, of all people, actually had a good idea?" She reached up and laid her hand on his forehead. "Hmm… no fever. You sure you're feeling all right?"

Harry batted her hand away with a light chuckle, "Well, even a stopped watch is right twice a day – it had to happen to Ickle Diddums sometime." An impatient hoot sounded through the ceiling, interrupting their conversation. "I better get this owled before that monster decides to eat my bed-curtains. Or the bed."

"That's not Hedwig?"

"Nope, she's out hunting again. Snape sent a rather evil-looking bird that's probably beginning to gnaw through the perch."

"Best not make it wait, then."

Harry nodded and ducked out of the den. Upon reaching his bedroom, he scrawled Professor Snape on the envelope and handed it to the owl. "Here you go. Thanks for waiting."

The owl ruffled its feathers and took off out the window.

17 June, 1998
Professor,

The twentieth should be fine. Where should we meet? If you have no complaints, might I suggest my office in London? I think it would be prudent to have Malfoy on unfamiliar ground, just in case he wasn't as sincere as he would like us to believe. I know I can have Sirius and Remus there, too. Maybe I'll install a hidden camera, so they can watch on CCTV from another room. I doubt that Malfoy would think to look for something like that.

I find it amusing that Malfoy just assumes that I was who you said I was. I would have thought that he'd have been… Oh, I don't know. More suspicious. Are all wizards so unimaginative? If so, then I definitely need to get BKE up and running in order to give the wizarding world a lesson in thinking outside of the box.

I would appreciate it if we could meet to discuss this issue with Malfoy in person sometime before the twentieth. I'd like a better idea of the man's personality before I get too deep in dealing with him.

On an unrelated note, I've been meaning to ask – just why did that potion of ours do what it did to whom we gave it? From what I could gather on what went into it, it shouldn't have had the effect it did. Could it have all stemmed from sleep deprivation?

Yesterday, Remus mentioned to me that you were working on a new variation of Wolfsbane. He didn't know what effect you were going for, however, but did say that it would be infinitely better if it didn't taste so horrible. I think he was hoping that was your goal, though I doubt it, personally. Last night, I was wasting time online and stumbled across pictures of the American's Mars Pathfinder project and had a random thought: What would the effects of having a werewolf on Mars be? I mean, is it just our moon that triggers the transformation, or is it any moon? Is it because our moon is technically not a satellite, but a planetary binary partner? Just thought I'd ask you as I don't know who else would have even a remote possibility of having the answers.

I also had something else I wanted to discuss with you – it's nothing major – but I think this letter has rambled on quite long enough as it is.

See you on Saturday,
Harry Potter

Severus tucked the letter into one of his many pockets and quickly downed the remainder of his breakfast coffee. He had a letter to reply to, and two of his research projects were going to need careful attending for the next twenty hours. If he expected Lucius to receive Harry's reply in time for the actual meeting, he'd best send it before going into his lab.

Sitting at his battered, old desk in his study, Severus retrieved a clean sheet of parchment and thought for several minutes before setting his quill to work.

18 June, 1998
Lucius,

Mr. Sophismata has graciously agreed with your request to speak with him in person. He will be available this Saturday. If this agrees with your schedule, I will floo to the manor at two o'clock. I trust you've no objections to Side-Along in this instance – Mr. Sophismata prefers we meet at his office in London, and I doubt that you have been there before.

-Prof. S. Snape

His return note to Harry wasn't much longer.

18 June, 1998
Potter,

As I will be seeing you this weekend, I will answer your questions then. I have sent a letter to Lucius stating that we will meet with you on Saturday, at your office, at two-thirty. I, of course, shall come to your house earlier, so that you can show me this office of yours. I will need some idea as to where to apparate Lucius. Ten o'clock would be preferable.

-Prof. S. Snape

Saturday, the twentieth of June, was one of those beautifully gorgeous days where the temperature was perfect for short sleeves with just enough breeze to keep the air fresh and the only clouds fluffy, white mounds floating across a sky of cerulean blue. Harry woke rather early. Even though it was summer, a lifetime of being expected to make his uncle's breakfast ensured his internal clock was forever set on 'early riser'. At a quarter past seven, he headed down to the kitchen.

Remus was steadily working his way through a plate of bacon and eggs. An empty plate and mug sat in the sink. Harry helped himself to the last of the food and sat across from Remus. "You're looking well, Harry," Remus commented.

Harry smiled, "Just in a good mood, I guess. Where'd Jenn run off to?"

"She said something about having some errands to run. What about you, Cub? What are your plans for the day?"

"Oh, Professor Snape and I are meeting up with Lucius Malfoy to determine precisely what his role will be in BKE."

Harry should have waited until Remus had finished swallowing his tea. As it was, Remus took several moments to cough. When he finally got his breath back, he wiped his mouth on a paper napkin. "What!?"

Chuckling, Harry shook his head a little. "What 'what'? He's got the political pull I'll need to successfully pull this grand plan out of my head and into reality – or so Professor Snape told me."

Remus' eyes were comically wide. "While I can't dispute that, I hope you know what you're doing, Cub. Lucius Malfoy can be… dangerous to know."

"So I've gathered," Harry dryly replied, spreading marmalade on a piece of toast. "I was hoping you and Sirius would be available to help me keep an eye on things. The meeting's going to be this afternoon, downtown."

Still somewhat surprised to hear of Harry's plans for the day, Remus could do little else but nod. Harry chuckled a little at Remus' expression and continued talking around a mouthful of breakfast. "I want to set up a CCTV system between my office and a nearby room. I assume that Malfoy knows Sirius at least, and it wouldn't do at all for him to catch on too early just who he'll be working for."

Remus let out a little laugh as he realized something. "You reallydo know what you're doing, don't you?"

Harry smiled and took a drink of his juice. "I hope so, Remus. I certainly hope so."

After stopping by an electronics store to pick up a cheap CCTV system comprised of a solitary camera and a black and white monitor, Harry, Sirius, and Remus arrived at the BKE building that still sported the sign for 'Lexik Mainframes'. Sirius and Remus headed up to the top floor to install the CCTV system and Harry hurried back to the Kellerman house. He arrived with little under a minute to spare before Snape showed.

"Professor," Harry greeted him.

"Potter."

"Come on, I left Sirius and Remus alone in my office… I'd like to get back before they manage to blow something up."

Snape smirked, "At least you maintain a realistic view of those two."

Harry shrugged a little and began the trip back to his building in downtown London. "So, you said you'd answer my questions today…"

"That I did. Insofar as our little potion's effects on the Dark Lord, I would have to assume that the result we received had partly to do with the Dark Lord's unusual physiology, partly to do with his mental state prior to our interference, and partly due to sleep deprivation. However, this is merely my opinion – there isn't any way to know for sure what, exactly, caused his insanity."

"Oh," Harry was a little disappointed with that answer, but he figured the professor knew what he was talking about. "What about a werewolf on Mars?"

"You realize that is quite probably the most ridiculous question I've ever been asked," Snape arched one eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.

Harry chuckled a little. "Yeah, I know. I've just been spending so much time with Remus that it just made me wonder about the reality of lycanthropy. I've always liked astronomy, and seeing some of the pictures the Americans have of the Martian surface… It just made me curious. I know a lot of people have the desire to be able to travel the stars and visit other worlds, and with my brain being how it is… Well, I couldn't help wondering."

Snape made a 'harrumph' noise. "I don't see the point in dwelling on impossible matters, Potter."

Harry grinned, "But it's not so impossible, you know. The Americans want to have a manned mission to Mars completed by the year 2010. If a muggle could walk on the Martian surface – why not a wizard? Why not a werewolf?" Catching Snape's expression out of the corner of his eye, Harry sighed. "Consider it an intellectual exercise."

"Very well," Snape groused. "Lycanthropy is caused by a magical breed of spherical transmucosal salivarian animal virus, much the same as Dragon Pox and Kelzan Syndrome. It can only be transmitted by contact with the saliva of a transformed wolf, and then only if the saliva is introduced to the bloodstream."

"A werewolf bite," Harry said.

"Or being drooled on and getting it in an open cut or something similar."

"Oh."

"The reason the disease 'activates' – for lack of a better term – during the full moon is because of Agrippa's first law of Elemental Transmutation. Do you recall it?"

Harry nodded, "Elemental magic, when in contact with a reflective surface, doubles back in on itself, becoming stronger and burning out impurities."

"Not how I would have phrased it, but accurate."

"So, you're saying that the reason lycanthropy activates on the full moon is because that's when the moon's reflection of the sun's fire magic reaches a… trigger point?"

"Precisely," Snape replied. "Now, addressing the Mars aspect of your little hypothetical situation – Phobos and Deimos combined are less than a tenth the mass and reflective surface of the moon. Under no circumstances would they be able to reflect enough fire magic to trigger the virus into activity."

Harry took a moment to think about that and then started laughing. "So, if lycanthropy can only be transmitted by a transformed wolf, and if the Martian moons just aren't large enough to trigger the virus, then the disease itself could be totally annihilated in a single generation – if living on Mars was an option."

"That may be true, but the feasibility of your solution remains an impossibility, Potter."

"Two words, Snape – Dragon Tears."

Snape managed not to roll his eyes, but the urge to do so was strong. The remainder of the ride to BKE was spent mostly in silence. After pulling to a stop in the basement level parking garage, Harry escorted Snape up to his office. Harry helped Remus install the CCTV camera while discussing the afternoon's meeting with Lucius. At noon, Harry ordered some delivery from a nearby deli and the four of them had lunch. Remus and Harry hardly heard the snarking between Sirius and Severus anymore.

When the last of the sandwiches and tea had been finished off, Severus apparated back to Hogsmeade, reminding Harry that he would be back at two-thirty with Malfoy. While waiting for Snape to return with Malfoy, Harry went through the process of readopting his disguise of 'James Sophismata'. Sirius couldn't help laughing at both the name and the disguise. Harry managed to shoo both him and Remus out of the office shortly before Malfoy and Snape appeared.

"Mr. Sophismata, a pleasure to see you again," Lucius' voice was warm, though still echoed of the politician he undoubtedly was.

Harry shook the blonde's hand, "I believe I asked you to call me James, Mr. Malfoy."

"Lucius, please," Malfoy replied.

"Professor," Harry greeted Severus. "Make yourselves comfortable," Harry nodded towards the two leather-and-chrome chairs facing his glass topped desk. "I apologize for the lack of personnel – I've not yet had the chance to hire a secretary. May I offer you something to drink?"

"Thank you, but no," Lucius shook his head.

"Professor?"

"No."

"Loquacious as ever, aren't you?" Harry thought he could probably get away with the comment – it wasn't as though he were Snape's student any longer, after all.

Lucius chuckled politely while Severus arched an eyebrow and dryly replied, "Indeed."

Harry smiled and picked up a pen and a tablet of yellow legal paper, "Well, now that the pleasantries have been observed, shall we get down to business?"

Over the course of the next four hours, Lucius and Harry tossed ideas back and forth, with an occasional idea from Severus. By the time Malfoy and Snape left, Remus and Sirius were snoring in the room next door, and Harry couldn't stop grinning. The first step to his life-goal had been taken, from here on out, it was going to be nothing but work. But it'll be fun, too.

A/N2: This is the last chapter of the first part of the story arc. The next chapter will be out soon (I decided against starting a second story for the next bit, even though this is starting to come up on 'epic' in length) – how soon, I can't rightly say, but I hope it will be up in the next week or two.

Reviews make me smile – and don't forget that I have a reward for the poster of the 2000th review of this story, see my profile for full details!