The Second War
The Story of Sarah Snape
Chapter Seven
Memories of the past
The next few weeks seemed to go by more smoothly for Sarah, but the memory of her run-in with Bellatrix was still fresh on her mind -- as if it were yesterday. It didn't help matters any that every single day The Daily Prophet showed Bellatrix and the other Death Eaters who had escaped Azkaban. As always, she just glared at the paper, scanned the articles, and then threw it in the rubbish bin by her desk.
The Minister had her doing mostly paperwork now, thanks to Kingsley Shacklebolt. Kingsley had gotten the Minister to agree after several long hours with him -- Sarah wasn't too thrilled about it -- reluctantly she agreed when the Minister called her to his office to give her, her 'new job' orders.
However, the only bright light to her day was leaving work at the end of the day to go home where her boyfriend, Fred Weasley, would be there with his twin to have dinner with her, their parents, Sirius Black, some members of the Order on occasions, and Lupin when he was there. Her relationship with Fred seemed to be the only good in a world of unhappiness. Her father was either working at Hogwarts, doing something for the Order, or doing something for the Dark Lord; so time with him was short and far between.
Her best friend Ricky was still missing -- last heard from when he was in Egypt -- and the Ministry was on the top of her list of things to hate. Though she loved her job, it was the Minister of Magic telling everyone that 'he-who-must-not-be-named' was not back -- which was a lie -- and they believed her uncle, Sirius Black -- a suppose-to-be Death Eater -- was still 'at large' -- which was untrue was well. She knew the Ministry would never find him and for that, she was thankful.
"Fred I'm serious," Sarah said glaring at him in the Drawing room of Twelve Grimmald Place, her current 'home' and headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. "You could be more sensitive right now." She looked down at The Daily Prophet that she had brought home from work, which read in bold letters on the front page "Missing Auror Suspect for Escaped Death Eaters".
"I'm sorry Honey," Fred replied trying to hide a smile. Although he loved her, the thought the article was rather hilarious to him. "I know he's your friend and all, but you have to admit the Ministry is getting more and more creative now."
Sarah glared more at him. "It's not funny to me Fred. You know bloody well he was my best friend in school and he's Sirius' son. How do you think he'll feel about this or does that even matter to you?"
"I'm sorry really I am," he said trying to make her feel better. He would never admit it, but he was a little jealous of Ricky's relationship with Sarah and always had been. It didn't help him knowing Sirius had always wanted Ricky and Sarah to be together. "I know he won't like it, but he'll probably find it just as funny as I do."
Sarah said nothing, but glared at him more before looking back down at the paper reading it.
Missing Auror Suspect in Death Eaters Escape
Missing Auror, Ricky Black, -- son of escaped Death Eater Sirius Black -- is at the top of Ministry's list for the escaped of his father from Azkaban says a source close to Minister. "He went missing about a year and half after his father escaped from Azkaban," says the source. "The Minister does not believe this is purely a coincidence and believes he helped his father, Sirius Black, escape Azkaban."
It is said that he joined the Ministry -- not long before his father escaped -- as one of the youngest Aurors, along with his schoolmate, Auror Sarah Snape, -- daughter of former Death Eater, Severus Snape and deceased Auror Lillian "Hope" Black. When asked if they believed that Miss Snape had any part in or knew anything of her schoolmate's disappearance or the escape of mass murderer Sirius Black, the Minister had this to say. "No, Miss Snape has been interviewed thoroughly by the Ministry several times and we have complete confidence that she knows nothing of what happened to her fellow Auror and schoolmate, Ricky Black. Miss Snape is one of our top new Aurors; we have a lot of trust in her."
"Sarah Snape has a lot of potential to be a great Auror," says Kingsley Shacklebolt -- the Auror in charge of finding Sirius Black. "She's very quick on her feet and has never let us down." It has been said by a source close to the Minister that Mr. Shacklebolt has gone on several missions with Miss Snape for the Minister. When asked about this he would not confirm or deny, only saying, "The missions we are sent on are currently classified by the Minister, I'm sorry."
"Sarah's a pleasure to work and a very hard worker," said an unnamed Auror at the Ministry. "I don't think she would have anything to do with any Death Eaters, after what happened to her mother." When questioned further on this he had this to say, "Her mother, Lillian, was killed by a Death Eater when she was very young, or so I was told."
"She's such a sweet girl I could not see her working with or having anything to do with any Death Eaters," said another Ministry worker.
"Considering who her father is," said one Auror when asked about Miss Snape and her former schoolmate, "I would not put it past her to be a Death Eater either. I, for one, do not trust her. My daughter knew both, Miss Snape and Mr. Black, in school and said they were very close in school." However, he would not comment further on the matter.
When we tried to contact Miss Snape for an interview, we were declined, saying she was to busy with work for the Minister. A source at the Ministry had this to say, "If she won't do an Interview, then the Ministry should take that into consideration that she might have something to hide. If she had nothing to hide, it would seem only fair that she would agree to do the interview. It seems a little suspicious if you ask me."
A source did tell use that Ricky Black was sent to Egypt by the Ministry of Magic with a group of Aurors, but the reasons why they were sent there, are classified by the Minister himself and he would not comment further on the subject. A source on the case, however, did say that they suspect that Ricky was involved in his father's escape, but to what extent they could not say. That same source also informed us that the Aurors who were there in Egypt with Mr. Black did report him missing to the Ministry about a week or so after they had arrived. No one knew what happened to him after that. Not one of his friends have heard from or seen him since he left.
Sources also confirmed that the Ministry is suspecting the former Auror of being involved in the escape of the Death Eaters earlier this year. They said that they believe that the father and son duo were indeed behind the mass breakout and are looking for any leads that might lead the Ministry to find and capture the Death Eaters and the missing Auror. "We have leads that tell us they are no longer in London," says Kingsley Shacklebolt. "We are still looking into all leads and are getting closer to capturing them."
"At least they don't think you had anything to do with it," a voice said from the door startling both Sarah and Fred.
Sarah looked up to see Sirius standing in the doorway leaning against the doorframe. "True, but this still isn't good," she stated as she watched him walk over and flop down into the chair next to her. "I don't like that they involved me in this article and I will be talking to the Minister about this and to Kingsley."
"He should be here soon," said Sirius not sounding like his usual self, which made Sarah believe that this article had him worrying more than he was letting on. "You can talk to him when he gets here."
"I think I'll go downstairs and see what mum is cooking, I'm starved," Fred said as he looked at Sirius and then to Sarah. "I'll be downstairs if you need me." He left before any one could say anything to him, but only after giving his girlfriend a look that said he thought she and Sirius needed to talk.
"I didn't mean to make him leave," mumbled Sirius, now looking at Sarah.
"It's okay," she replied back with a half smile. "I think he was giving us some privacy to talk anyway." Not wanting to add that she wasn't exactly happy with Fred at the moment she decided to change the subject before Sirius would suspect anything as she tossed the paper side and turned to look at the person who was closer than just an uncle to her. "He gets a little jealous when it comes to Ricky."
"I noticed," replied Sirius sounding a bit annoyed at the situation as well.
"Don't worry about it, he'll get over it," Sarah said trying to cheer Sirius up, as she brushed a strand of her, crimson short spiky, hair behind her ear. "I know you have enough to worry about, don't let this get to you."
"It's not that," he said looking at the wall on the other side of the room, no longer looking at her anymore. "I'm just worried about my son. It's not easy not knowing where he is, if he's okay, or what's happened to him."
"I know Sirius, it gets to me too, but I know he's alive I can feel it. He's the closest friend I ever had who accepted me for who I really am. Dad even likes him, which says a lot. I think it helped him some knowing Ricky was in Slytherin, but he always had great things to say about him." Seeing the sour look on Sirius face she added, "I know you don't like my dad, but Ricky did. Dad was always nice to him even when he was hanging out with 'a Gryffindork' as some of the other Slytherins called me -- when my dad couldn't hear them that is."
A sudden memory from her school days flashed into her mind and she smiled to herself. School was different for her in many ways; it helped that no Slytherin could really say anything to her because of whom her father was. Though some still tried, when they didn't think they would be caught or overhead. She shook the thought from her head as she focused back on Sirius.
"I never liked that he was put into that house," Sirius said with a low growl.
"I will never understand why the Sorting Hat placed him in that house to be quite honest," she said shaking her head slightly from side to side. "It never made sense to me. Ricky was so not like most of the other Slytherins, I think that's what made us so close; he wasn't what you thought someone from that house would be like."
"He liked you a lot you know."
"Yeah I know. He was my best friend from the first time we met. We were so much a like that sometimes people thought we were brother and sister. I remember how most reacted to my last name and once they found out I was the 'Potion Master's' daughter -- I was treated differently -- but Ricky never did that. He always took up for me -- as did Bill and Charley before they left Hogwarts."
Sirius shook his head as he listened to her; so much was going on and it didn't seem to be getting better any time soon. Hearing about his son made him feel both happy and sad at the same time. He missed a lot with his son when he was in Azkaban; a lot of regrets remained inside him. He would give anything to have his son back.
Sarah saw the pain on Sirius' face and stopped. "Come on Padfoot," she said with a worm gentle smile as she playfully nudging his arm. "He wouldn't want you feeling like this. He'd want you to focus on what we need to do right now and not dwell on what we can't do anything about at this time."
"Your right," he said with a heavy sigh. "He would want me to be protecting you and Harry, not worrying myself about what can't be changed right now."
"He'll come back to us, I promise," she said with a smile. "Even if I have to go to Egypt and personally find him and drag his blood ass back here by his ear, he will come back."
He knew she meant what she was saying and the image of her dragging his son back here by his ear made him laugh. He heard some people talking downstairs and stood up. "I know you're right Paws. Let's go downstairs, I believe Kingsley is here." However, before either of them could leave the room Kingsley was walking into the drawing room.
"Sirius, Sarah, can I talk to the two of you for a moment?" Kingsley asking, knowing they had read the article in The Daily Prophet and wanted to explain things to them personally and privately if possible. He looked at Sarah, judging her face to see what her mood was.
"Sure," they both said at the same time in almost the same annoyed voice. Sarah and Sirius sat back down to listen to what Kingsley had to say. The look on Kingsley's face told Sarah that he was anxious and he looked a lot tired.
He looked down at them as he stood in front of them along the wall across from where they sat. He noticed The Daily Prophet on the table between the two of them and sighed; they had read it after all before he had a chance to tell them. He looked at Sarah as he spoke. "I tried to get a chance to tell you yesterday, but you left before I got a chance and the Minister had me working all night." He paused for a short moment. "I know you both have read the article already, but I want to explain."
"Explain then," Sarah said in a slightly displeased voice over what the article had said and the fact that this person, whom was supposedly her friend, could not take a few moments out of his day to warn her about the article and what it contained. Her arms were now crossed over her chest as she sat back in the chair staring, no glaring at Kingsley, her alleged friend.
"Yesterday morning the Minister called me into his office earlier than usual," Kingsley began slowly, knowing neither Sarah nor Sirius was very happy with him right now over that damn bloody article. "I didn't know what to think when he contacted me at home telling me I needed to come to his office right away. I had so many thoughts going through my head, none of them even close to what he actually had to tell me. When I got there he told me to sit down, so I did. He didn't waist any time; he got right to the point the moment I sat down."
"I have decided we are going to do a 'interview' with The Daily Prophet," said Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic from behind his large desk, the back of his office chair facing Kingsley. "Since I put you in charge of finding Sirius Black, the reporter will be interviewing you as well." He turned in his chair to now face Kingsley, his eyes slightly cold. "You will not tell them more than we want them to know and you know exactly how much I want them to know and I expect nothing more than that. This is very important; I do not want any mistakes. I have already talked to them and they will be contacting you this morning and Sarah as well. This article will be focused on the missing Auror, Ricky Black. I still suspect he helped his father escape and I think if we get the word out there we might have more of a chance of finding them both."
Kingsley stared at the Minister in shock. "Sir, if you don't mind me saying," he interrupted; he had to think fast. "I don't think it…wise to involve Sarah in this in any way at all…because of the incident with Bellatrix not to long ago. I don't think they should interview her, I think it best if we leave her out of this, for safety reasons. Her name being put out there so publicly might put her in more danger and we don't want that."
The Minister stared at the Auror in front of him for a moment as if making some sort of decision. "You're right, we will tell them she is busy then," he finally agreed to an extent. "I will give her more paperwork to do and tell the report she won't be able to comment. Also we'll have to keep them away from her office."
"Thank you," Kingsley replied, slightly relieved; still not liking the Minister's plan of action to find the missing Auror, but at least Sarah would be safer.
"Make it sound that we are certain he helped his father and the other Death Eaters escape," the Minister began once more. "We need to put some fire under their bloody asses to bring them to justice!" He slammed his fist down on the table so hard that Kingsley jumped a little bit out of his seat, when he spoke the words.
"Minister do you really believe this is the best way to do that?" Kingsley asked concerned, but not for the reasons the Minister would be thinking. "We don't want to do anything that might jeopardize finding them."
"I believe this will force them to make a move, a mistake," he answered at once. "Then we will be there to capture them."
"If this is what you think is best, then I'll do it," he agreed, feeling uneasy about the whole thing, but not allowing that emotion to show on his face or in his eyes.
"Good, then you may go now," Cornelius said with a wave of his hand. Kingsley said nothing else; leaving quickly to warn Sarah about the up-and-coming article that would be in The Daily Prophet.
"I should have known this was the Minister's doings," mumbled Sirius sounding irritated at the same time Sarah said, "I knew this was the Minister's doings." sounding just as irritated as Sirius did.
Kingsley nodded understanding exactly what they were saying. "I was on my way to see you when I left the Minister's office," he added looking at Sarah gravely. "but I was interrupted by the reporter. I didn't expect them so early and they wouldn't wait. I was going to stop by your office to see if you were there yet and if not I was going to sneak out and come here." He sighed heavily, feeling almost like the run-in with the reporter had been a setup; like the Minister knew he would go to warn Sarah right after their conversation. There was no way he was that smart though. "By the time the interview was done, you had left for lunch already and I was gone by the time you got back doing work for the Minister all day after that. I made sure the reporter did not contact you though, I even called in a few favors from other Ministry works to make sure they didn't contacted you. I was hoping to speak with you before anyone else and before the article came out. Even today it seemed the stars were against me talking to you. The Minister had me running all over the blood place from the moment I arrived till I left. I came right here from the Ministry though, praying to Merlin you hadn't read the article yet."
"If you told them not to involve me then why the bloody hell was my name mentioned so many damn times?" Sarah order glaring at him with icy emerald eyes that made Kingsley shudder involuntary; her voice raised from the irritation she was feeling towards him right now and showed it opening in the sound of her voice.
"That's what I wanted to know myself," Kingsley finally was able to make words come out of his mouth, shaken to a certain extent by the icy look in her eyes that he had never experienced before. "The moment I saw this I went right to the Minister and demanded to know why he didn't keep his word. I was furious and appalled by the article and even told them they needed to print a retraction immediately. The Minister said there was no need for that and when I asked how they could quote me commenting on you when I didn't mention you once at all. All he would say was it was from an undercover reporter a few weeks ago." He looked at Sarah with an apologetic look in his eyes. "I remember saying that to some guy when he asked about the new Aurors, I never dreamed it would be used like this. I truly am sorry, Sarah. I think we need to watch what we say to people in the Ministry from now on."
"Yes we should watch what we say to others, but what about the other people who mentioned me?" she asked still not fully trusting of her former friend.
"I asked the Minister about that was well," Kingsley answered, his voice sounding a bit heavy with stress. "He said he wasn't sure who they had talked to, but he would find out. When I contacted The Daily Prophet, they said they couldn't name their sources. Not even the Minister could get them to tell him or so that's what he told me later." He looked at Sirius for a moment and then backs at Sarah. "I promise you I will find out one way or another who they talked to."
Sarah was silent for a minute before she spoke, looking into Kingsley's mind, judging if what he was saying was true or not. "It's okay Kingsley it's in the past," she replied finally believing he was being honest and telling her the truth. "Nothing can be done now. It's all out there in the open now, no need to put this out there more than it already is. If you ask me, I think the Minister is hoping I will end up letting this article cause me to make a huge mistake and say something that will prove I've been lying to him and the Ministry all this time; proving I know more than I let on."
Both Sirius and Kingsley stared at Sarah with their mouth's dropped open and wide eyed, stunned at what she was getting at. She looked at them and blinked once, stunned at how they were looking at her; like she had just said the most shocking absurd unheard words anyone ever heard. Had they not thought of that? Was she the only one who considered there being an alterative motive behind this article?
"It makes sense to me," she replied, breaking the silence, still staring back at the two of them. "The Minister promised I wouldn't be mentioned and I was, more than once as a mater of fact. He kept me busy working almost every second of the past two days, Kingsley not getting a chance to warn me about it beforehand. It just doesn't seem like some weird coincidence to me. Now if the Minister is behind it or not, that's a different story altogether, but think about it."
"I don't think he would do that," Kingsley said unconvincingly, even himself. "He's not really smart enough to pull something like that off I don't believe or at least not without some outside help."
"I wouldn't put it past him," growled Sirius, his eyes seeming to be staring off into space as he spoke.
"Kingsley's right I think, if this is what's going on, and I'm not saying it is or it isn't, but I don't think it was his idea…originally at the very least," Sarah stated matter-of-factly. "If anything I'd say someone 'put' the idea in his head at some point or 'randomly' mentioned something like this to him hoping he would take the idea and run with it."
"But who?" asked Sirius and Kingsley at the same time, both staring at her with the same confused look in their eyes.
Sarah thought about this for a moment, contemplating all possibilities that she could think of. "Possible a Death Eater in the Ministry," she finally answered. "Who else would want to discredit me?"
"That makes the best sense," said Kingsley as Sirius nodded in agreement with what they were getting at. "Only think is, why would they want to and who is the person behind it in the first place?"
"Bellatrix would be my first instinct," Sarah sighed after saying the name. "She could convince a few Death Eaters to discredit me or at least 'plant' the idea for the article into the Minister's head. The reason why is obvious, but I do know a few Death Eaters don't exactly like me, Dad told me as much before. Some are to afraid of him to actually do any thing to me personally, but I'd be willing to bet that more than a few of 'em would go as far as to discredit me as an Auror by using someone else to do the 'dirty work' for them. After all they weren't to happy when he said I would not be joining them and would not be helping them. Voldemort himself was not too thrilled about it either, but understood my father's reasons behind not wanting me in 'harms way'. He also mentioned to him that he could use me as a spy against the Order and the Ministry without me knowing. I think that's the only reason they haven't 'done away' with me yet."
Both Sirius and Kingsley stared at her, this was news to them and she knew it. This was something that only Dumbledore knew about till now. She trusted the two of them enough to know more than the other Order members. She smiled slyly at them, knowing there was more to Voldemort keeping her alive than she was allowing them know. "As I've said before I only tell what I feel needs to be said at the present time, need-to-know bases, no more no less remember? I can't say more than that though, for both my safety and my father's."
"Discrediting you would seem a good way to go about it," replied Sirius before Kingsley could say it, both knowing not to push the rest of what she had said. "Discredit you then who would believe anything you say?"
"But isn't you working as an Auror part of their plan?" Kingsley pointed out before Sarah could respond to what Sirius had said.
"Exactly Sirius," she replied then looked at Kingsley. "Yes, but Bellatrix wouldn't give a bloody dragon's ass would she? But that is something to think about Kingsley. I hadn't really considered that part completely." She sat back in her chair, lost in her own thoughts now; thinking of every possibility that would have to do with this article and knowing the second she had the chance she would have to discus this with her father.
Later that night she sat in the quiet darkness of her room once more while everyone else slept. She stared out of her window into the darkness of the early morning or late night, depending on how you see three o'clock in the morning. She loved the night, the darkness, the stars, the moon; it all made her feel some how content and happy. It helped that it was always quietest in the middle of the night when everyone else was fast asleep.
She rested her arms around her knees as she pulled them towards her body as she sat on the edge of her windowsill, her head rested against the frame around the window. Her black robe was tied tight around her keeping her warm from the cold chill in the night air that filled the old house. Part of her missed how things used to be, before Voldemort's return. Everything was simple, good, and happy, but now it was all messed up. Soon more people would be dying from the war and a lot of innocent lives would be lost, something she dreaded more than anything. No matter if the person was good or bad, if they hadn't really done anything she considered them innocent, like her father when her mother had first saved him after she became an Auror.
She smiled at the memory her father had shared with her on many occasions. She wondered for a moment if she would be destined to be like her mother and die the way her mother had. She had always seen things differently; perhaps her views were one of the reasons Voldemort was keeping her alive. She would never go up to a suspected Death Eater, hex them, and put them in Azkaban. She would wait till she caught them red-handed before acting. Perhaps Voldemort thought she would be useful to him after he gained control of the Wizarding World or perhaps he hoped that she would change her mind and join him as her father had. She did remember her father state that Voldemort believed she would be a waste of good talent if she were killed.
She sighed, wondering if she would have to become a spy like her father if it meant those she cared about would be safe. Would she be able to do it? Would she even be able to prove her loyalty to him by taking some innocent person's life? She shuddered at the mire thought of having to serve Voldemort as a Death Eater, but laughed quietly at the thought of what Bellatrix's reaction would be to her becoming 'one of them' and fight beside her.
This, unfortunately, was a possibility that she might have to answer one day. Good and evil was always a super thin line to her, always seeing things as gray more than black and white. She believed that both good and evil dwelled in every person, but it was the choices they made that defined who you were. Her father had killed in his past, but did that define who he was now? No it didn't, at least not in her eyes at least. People change and people make mistakes; that was what she knew. Killing a bad person was it as bad as killing an innocent person? Killing a murderer was that as bad as murdering the innocent? This was something she often wondered when the part of her that wanted nothing more than to torture and kill her mother's murderer surfaced from deep within her. Would killing a murderer justify killing someone or make you just as bad?
She shook her head at the thought and knew the answer she felt was right as she wrestled with the thoughts going through her mind knowing what most would think if they knew what she felt. She knew very few would agree with her and most would think badly of her for even thinking the way she did, but to her at the end of the day if there was no chance, not even the smallest possibility, that the person would ever turn to the side of 'good'…death was the only possible cure……or a good dose of torture to make them feel the pain they caused others, surfaced deep within her mind.
There was evil deep inside her that few where even aware of and she knew she was more than capable of become a powerful Death Eater if she let it control more of her, but her choices, her beliefs, her love she had for her family, the respect she had for the world she loved, the happiness she loved to see on people's faces; it was what defined her and kept that part of her locked away. The choice to do what was right no matter how hard it was, to make sure those she cared about were safe at the end of the day, that was what mattered to her the most.
She sighed knowing there were going to be harder choices to come for her to protect the ones she loved. She knew what she was capable of and if the time came she would do whatever it would take to make sure they were safe. Her decision was made and now only time would tell if she would have to make that sacrifice.
Hours pasted by as she contemplated the thoughts on her mind from another sleepless night. Before she knew it Remus was pounding on her door, thinking she was still in bed, telling her she was going to be late if she didn't get out of bed already. She shook her head from the sound that brought her back to reality and sighed.
"I'm up already Lupin," she said, almost coldly to him. "I'm getting ready now." She crossed over and grabbed a black shirt and black jeans, changing clothes as fast as she could. She cast a spell on her hairbrush so it would brush her hair as she put on her socks and shoes. She looked in the mirror and sighed once more, knowing today was not going to be one of her favorites. She was going to march into the Minister's office and give him a piece of her mind over the article that had been in the paper. This was something she was dreading and only hoped she would not say anything she would later regret or put anyone else in the middle of this.
She put on her cloak and tucked her locked, with her father's family crest engraved into the front of it, safely under her shirt. She rushed out the door so fast and downstairs she hadn't even noticed that Sirius wasn't up yet. Molly and Remus were waiting at the door for her as she came in.
"Here's your plate," replied Molly cautiously, having been warned of Sarah's mood by Remus.
"Not hungry, no time to eat," responded Sarah, trying to keep her voice level as she grabbed a piece of toast and ran out the door, leaving Molly and Lupin watching after her.
"I sure hope she doesn't say anything that will get her into trouble," Remus replied. "Her temper seems to be at a higher level than usual." He looked at Molly and both of them sighed.