Cementing Loyalties
Severus Snape stood, face tilted up, in the shower of his rooms at Hogwarts, letting the hot water cascade down him. His mind was occupied with thoughts of what he could do to show Harry Potter that he sincerely wanted an alliance with him. The irony of the situation was not lost on him. What do I have to offer Potter? Potions? He doesn't care about them. Defense? I suppose I could help him there, plus I do have contacts that could help even more. But something that is tangible? Something immediate that would ensure he would listen to me? He removed the Mark; he didn't have to do that. He apologized − again, that was unnecessary. He has indicated that he trusts me. That alone is priceless to me. Trust… something Dumbledore and the Dark Lord failed to give me. The Dark Lord even went so far as to put that filthy rat in my home to spy on me…wait, the rat. Wormtail… I would wager that he is still there. Potter hates him; I'll give Potter the chance to clear Black's name. With a plan to be set into motion, Severus hurriedly finished his shower. Exiting the bathroom, he cast a drying charm on his body and quickly dressed.
A few minutes later, Severus Apparated into his home in Spinner's End. Unlocking the front door, he spied the rat he needed, sitting in his chair, drinking his wine. "Remove your flea infested carcass from my chair," he barked.
Wormtail jumped out of the chair at the cold command. "Snape, where have you been?" Wormtail was stuttering, as he always did in the presence of the tall forbidding man.
Snape eyed him coldly. "That is none of your concern," he drawled. "Now return my wine to the kitchen."
When the rat turned his back to obey, Severus stunned him from behind, not sparing another thought for the bottle of elf-made wine that now lay shattered on the floor. Quickly, he bound the much smaller man. Adding a spell to insure he could not transform, Severus levitated the rat down to the basement. Pulling a vial from one of his many pockets, he knelt beside the man and forced his mouth open, pouring the sleeping draught into it, and then rubbing his throat to make him swallow. Satisfied that Wormtail would sleep for the next 48 hours, unless the antidote was administrated, Severus made his way back to the kitchen and scrubbed his hands to remove all traces of the vile creature.
Afterward, Severus returned to the living room, cleaned the spilt wine, and poured himself a tumbler of scotch. He looked down at his favorite chair in disgust; remembering the rat in it, he quickly cast a thorough cleaning charm. Content he had removed any lingering fleas, he sat and tried to think through the next stage of his plan. Now to locate Potter so that I can transfer custody of the rat. Where would he be? I don't know the brat well enough to make a guess, but Albus is sure to be looking for him. I'll just wait and follow the coot to Potter.
Enjoying the warmth blossoming from the scotch, Severus slowly relaxed, thinking back over the last twelve grueling hours. The power the brat showed… Sweet Merlin, I was aware that he had potential, but that level of power is outside of any I have before witnessed. The public will fear him if something is not done to appease them, but that is something I can assist the boy with. At least Potter will not demand servitude. It will be more an alliance of equals, he with the raw power and I with the knowledge. A loud knocking at his front door interrupted his musings. "For Circe's sake, what now?"
Reluctantly leaving his chair, Severus made his way to the door, taking a look out the window. What he saw made the normally austere mouth turn up in a wicked smile. Opening the door to admit his unexpected guests, he carefully blanked his expression. "Narcissa, Bellatrix, what an unexpected, but pleasant surprise!" he exclaimed.
Stepping back to allow them entry, he asked, "Ladies, may I take your cloaks?" The two women handed over their light outer cloaks. Severus bowed lightly and gestured toward the living room. "Please, have a seat."
Once they walked inside, Severus drew his wand and summarily stunned them both. "No wonder Potter was able to simply walk into the Dark Lord's presence, such arrogance deserves to be taken advantage of." He laughed aloud wickedly.
Carefully levitating Narcissa onto the couch, he bound Bellatrix and soon had her dosed with sleeping draught, resting uncomfortably next to Wormtail. Deciding the addition of a potentially dangerous Bellatrix Lestrange called for more care, the tall man added several layers of locking charms, and an anti-apparation jinx on the basement.
Walking upstairs from the basement to the living room, Severus couldn't help thinking on this run of luck. Perhaps fate doesn't hate me after all… The plan to help Potter just keeps getting better: first Wormtail, now Bellatrix. Potter hates her just as much as the rat; now I can offer him a chance to clear the mutt's name and to avenge his death. Black must be rolling over in his grave − Severus Snape assisting in returning his name to good graces! Yes, fate does seem to be favoring me today, or perhaps it's just more of Potter's dumb luck.
Severus retook his seat to think over the problem of Narcissa Malfoy. The problem was he liked Narcissa. She had always been kind to him, caring for him occasionally after punishment from the megalomaniac he had formerly served. He also felt a duty to prevent Draco from following in his father's footsteps. Not that he liked the little sycophant, but there was potential in the boy. This little fact, added to admiration of his mother, caused Severus to make an attempt at saving the last free portion of the Malfoy line.
Withdrawing his wand from where it rested in his sleeve, Severus pointed it at the blond woman. A softly spoken 'Ennervate' had Narcissa opening her eyes, clearly trying to discover why she was now lying down, when last she recalled she was walking.
"Severus, what happened?" came the almost panicky question.
Severus regarded the woman coolly. "I will endeavor to explain in a moment. Would you care for something to drink?"
"Severus, now is not the time to remember your manners! Where is Bella? Did you stun us?" The blonde woman sounded nearly at her wit's end.
Severus took pity on her and started his explanation. "The Dark Lord is dead, Narcissa. Harry Potter defeated him late last night."
The women gasped and a hand flew to her mouth. Twice she tried to speak before she managed to gasp out, "Lucius?"
Severus shook his head sadly. "The Aurors have him; he will go back to Azkaban."
The news did not seem unexpected to the blonde. "Severus, what do we do now?" she cried. "And where is Bella?"
Ignoring her questions, Severus sat back and told the story of the defeat of Voldemort once again; when he reached the end, Narcissa looked stunned. "Potter can wield the Black Flame? That would mean he is the head of the Black family… Oh dear, and he hates us."
Assured that the woman sitting across from him fully understood the situation she faced, Severus offered his opinion on her best option. "Narcissa, if you leave Potter alone, I believe that he will not come after you. I plan on offering him my assistance; that is why I have captured Bellatrix and Wormtail − I am hoping that will serve to assure him of my sincerity. You need to convince Draco to refrain from engaging Potter in a feud; he would not survive such a confrontation. It would be in your best interest to inform Potter of your neutrality."
Narcissa nodded, wide-eyed, trying to understand how completely her world had just changed and how to keep her remaining family safe from the Ministry. "Exactly how powerful is the Potter boy?" she asked with trepidation.
By way of answering, Severus rolled back his left sleeve and showed her the now smooth skin. "He removed the Dark Mark, and destroyed Dumbledore's office," he said gravely. "He is extremely powerful and when word gets out that there is a new head of the Black family and that he will not blindly follow Dumbledore, he will be politically powerful as well."
This information seemed to shock the blonde even more. "He won't follow Dumbledore?"
As Severus started to reply, a burst of flame in the room distracted them both. A brilliantly red and gold phoenix suddenly appeared with a scroll in his beak. The dark man glared at the bird and took the scroll, and, with a cheerful trill, Fawkes disappeared in another burst of fire.
Quickly reading the note, Severus turned to Narcissa. "I'm sorry, I must go," he uttered hurriedly. "Let me see you out. Please, think over what I have said."
In less than a minute, he had a confused and still reeling Narcissa bundled back into her cloak and standing outside the door. After watching as she shook her head and then started walking away, Severus gathered his own outer robes and buttoned them up. After a quick check on his prisoners, he prepared to attend a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix.
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Severus opened the door to No. 12 Grimmauld Place and stepped into chaos. The portrait of Mrs. Black was screaming obscenities at the top of her painted lungs. An exasperated looking Molly Weasley was arguing with three teenagers, the headmaster was sucking a lemon drop, and Tonks was apologizing to a flattened looking Shacklebolt who was picking himself up off the grimy floor. Severus turned his attention to the group arguing: the youngest male Weasley was looking mutinous, the Granger chit determined, and the Weasley girl appeared furious.
From what Severus could discern amongst the shouting, the three teens were demanding to be admitted to the meeting and Mrs. Weasley was denying them that privilege. Deciding to enjoy the show, Severus leaned back against the entryway wall. After a couple minutes, the headmaster finally noticed him, and Severus raised an eyebrow in sardonic amusement.
After five minutes of listening to the argument, the headmaster finally broke it up with a gentle, "Molly, I think we should let them in; perhaps they can help."
Molly Weasley looked flabbergasted but agreed. While Tonks and Shacklebolt fought the curtains back over Mrs. Black, eventually silencing her, Severus edged around the victorious teens into the kitchen full of loud gossiping Order members. Finding a dark corner, he again leaned against a wall, prepared to, hopefully, discover where the Potter brat was hiding himself. As the last of the stragglers made their way in and found seats, the meeting began.
As the headmaster relayed the circumstances surrounding the temporarily destroyed Voldemort, several Order members shot Severus incredulous glances when his part in the defeat was revealed. Severus glared at them till they turned back to the headmaster.
At the end of the story, the headmaster spoke again, "Ladies and gentlemen, we must find Mr. Potter. When he was in my office, he lost control of his power. He was angry with me and he destroyed my office. He must be found before he endangers himself or others. I fear the amount of destruction that he could cause if he is left unattended. There is also the fact that the Black Magic is dark; I'm afraid it could corrupt him, if it hasn't already."
This announcement had the whole attending Weasley family, plus Lupin and Tonks on their feet all talking over each other, yelling at the headmaster or just crying in the case of Molly Weasley. All of them were saying the same thing: Harry Potter was not going dark, he wouldn't, and why was he angry? Harry normally handled his power much better than that.
While the others were yelling, disagreeing or in some cases agreeing, Severus made careful note of those who stood up for Potter and those that did not. The information could be useful in the future. All the same, the Potions master found it hard to believe that Dumbledore told his Order that Potter was going dark. Well, this removes any lingering doubts about my decision. Black magic is not dark; it is simply another type of magic that has not been seen in almost eight hundred years. I am curious about what adoption spell Black and the Potters used; it is possible that the spell could be dark if it was used to transfer bloodlines. When Potter learns of the lengths Albus will go to insure his influence over him, needless to say, he won't be a blind follower any longer. With a sigh, he came out of his musings. They are starting plans on how to find Potter. Perhaps I should offer my services for when they locate the boy.
"Headmaster, when the boy is located I would be willing to retrieve him, as I have first hand experience with his new powers, and have survived them twice."
The headmaster looked over at him and nodded. "Thank you, Severus. You, along with Alastor, will retrieve him once he is found."
Severus rolled his eyes at the thought of having to spend time with the paranoid ex-Auror, but nodded anyway.
The meeting started to wind down; several people went to speak with the headmaster, while others milled around discussing the fact that their savior was probably the next dark lord. Molly Weasley firmly sent the three youngest attendants upstairs with the admonishment to let them know immediately if they heard from "Dear sweet Harry." Severus watched them leave; after a few moments had passed and no one was looking in his direction, he followed them up.
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Harry rolled over in his rented bed and reached out to the night stand, slapping the top several times looking for his glasses before remembering that he didn't need them anymore. He looked over at the clock and noticed he'd only slept about 5 hours, but he felt much improved. "Must be that stuff Snape gave me," he muttered to himself.
He ambled into the bathroom, used the loo and took a long hot shower, scrubbing away the last day and trying to ease a few sore muscles. After he finished and dressed in a tee shirt and jeans, he walked over to the desk in the Muggle hotel room and thought of how to word the letter he needed to write. What do I say, hi, survived the Dark Lord; really need to talk to someone about my split soul? Yeah right, that would go over well, would they even understand? I don't think so; how can they? They're still children, they weren't forced to grow up like I was. Sometimes I feel much older than they are; I have for a while now. Ron and Hermione are still doing what the adults tell them, they still believe that Mum and Dad know best. Well I don't have Mum and Dad to turn to, but the one I thought I could just lies to me. Damn Dumbledore and his lies. I may not be a child anymore, but there is a whole world of things I don't know and need to find out about. So who can help? Who has never lied to me? Well, that's a short list. Remus? I don't know about him; he is very loyal to Dumbledore, he might contact him. Tonks, Shacklebolt? I don't know either of them well enough to talk to about this. Drumming his fingers on the desk top, he thought.
Suddenly, Harry slapped himself in the head. Damn, why do I keep forgetting about Snape? He has never lied to me. He has saved my arse time and again; he would understand, I think, but how to contact him? Maybe Ron and Hermione will give him a message for me, plus I really owe it to them to see them. Harry picked up his pen.
With all his thoughts, and hopefully a course of action, settled, Harry quickly wrote his letter and sent it off with the owl he had rented earlier in the day. With nothing to do now but wait till noon he decided to go and have a large breakfast, then maybe some shopping in Muggle London. He really wanted to get rid of all of Dudley's hand-me-downs.
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Severus Snape ascended the stairs of headquarters, automatically avoiding the ones that creaked, walking silently down the hallway till he heard the voices he sought. Pausing outside the closed door, he shook his head. The fools didn't even use a silencing charm; anyone could've overheard them.
"What is Snape up to? He's always after Harry for something." That would be the Weasley boy
"Ron, hush, that's not important right now. Professor Dumbledore's telling everyone Harry is going dark and you're worried about Professor Snape? Honestly, Ron." And the Granger chit chimes in.
"If you two are going to fight, I'll go find Harry myself." And the Weasley female.
Having heard enough, Severus opened the door and entered the room. Holding his finger to his lips, he shut the door and added a strong locking charm and then a strong silencing charm, and finally turned to the three confused teens. "You three heard the headmaster's plans to retrieve Mr. Potter," he began "I can assure you that Mr. Potter has no desire to find himself in the headmaster's company again any time in the near future. That he made clear in the destruction of Albus' office." The teens simply stared at the Potions Master, confused as to where the conversation was going.
"Why do you care, Snape?" demanded Ron.
"Ron, it's Professor Snape, show some respect," Hermione nagged.
Severus quickly interjected before two thirds of the trio could start bickering again. "Mr. Weasley, my reasons are my own. However, I am willing to assist you in insuring that Mr. Potter remains free from the headmaster's manipulations. All that I ask in return is that you inform him that I wish to speak with him."
Ron, Hermione and Ginny seemed taken aback by the fact that Professor Snape was willing to help Harry, but as always Ron was suspicious. "Why would you help Harry? You hate him! What kind of trick are you trying to pull?" exclaimed the boy passionately.
Severus glared at the defiant redhead. "Merlin, save us from fools and Gryffindors; not that I notice a difference. Mr. Weasley, I will endeavor to explain this in a way you can understand. Potter did me a favor in removing the Dark Mark from me. I wish to repay it by helping him in his quest for independence."
Hermione jumped in before Ron could alienate the Professor, knowing Harry needed all the help he could get. "Ron, hush, Professor Snape has helped Harry many times, and you know that. Sir, how can you help?"
Severus let his gaze linger over the three youngsters. When they all nodded their agreement, he began to outline his plan. "I will give you a Portkey that is designed to transport you to a safe-house − my safe-house. No one, not even the headmaster is aware of its existence. I feel certain that Mr. Potter will contact you; at that point the headmaster will send you to see him. While he is distracted, Moody and I are instructed to retrieve him, even against his will."
Severus paused to make sure they understood the severity of what he was saying. "Before that occurs, you will activate the Portkey; when you arrive, inform Mr. Potter where he is and that I desire to speak with him. I will return here and report that the three of you have disappeared. It should take me less than an hour, at which point I will journey to your location. When you have finished your dramatic and emotional reunion with Mr. Potter, I will supply you with another Portkey to the location of your choice. Are there any questions?" After several minutes of assimilating the information, they all gave their acceptance of the plan. At that point, a plain brown postal owl came through the open window.
"Well, read it, where is Mr. Potter to meet you?" inquired Snape impatiently.
Hermione quickly read the letter before replying, "Noon, at the Leaky Caldron."
Severus nodded at them, handed Hermione a wide-banded ring with a snake etched into it, and said, "Here is the Portkey; the activation word is Venom." With that, he removed the charms and left the three remaining in the room wide-eyed and wondering what just happened.