"Thank you for coming Severus. I have a dilemma I would you to help me with."
"What is it now Albus?" Snape asked, swatting away the tin of yellow candy in Dumbledore's hand away from himself. "Do you need more advice of how many of those infernal muggle candies to order so they will last you a week?"
"Now, now, Severus," the headmaster chuckled. "You know that was only one time and I have never asked you again – "
"Albus, you locked me in this room, cornered me, and practically force fed me those lemon contraptions after I made it perfectly clear I was uninterested. Then you had the gall to ask me how many more of them to order. As I told you before, if you ever attempt to do that again, I will convince the Dark Lord that the destruction of every lemon drop factory in Europe is vital for him to win this war." Severus sneered at his long time mentor, smirking on the inside and knowing he had won this battle.
"Severus," the headmaster said, his voice betraying the tiniest quiver of fear. "There is no need to make any hasty decisions you might regret later. After all –"
"Albus, is there a reason you called me up here or are you just going to waste my time with this pointless banter. I am an extremely busy man. I have lessons to plan for those dunderheads I have teach, potions to brew for Poppy –"
"Severus, we both know that you never change the curriculum and if you happened to, it would most certainly be finished by now. As school does not start for another month and a half I am quite sure that Poppy can wait." Snape scowled at this thwarting of his escape plan. Dumbledore continued innocently, his eyes twinkling. "Is holding a simple conversation with me truly that bothersome?"
"We both know that there is no such thing as a 'simple conversation' when it comes to you Albus."
"My dear Severus," Dumbledore said, twiddling his thumbs. "I really have no inclination as to what you are referring to." The twinkling in his eyes grew.
"Albus, the 'simpler' the conversation, the more worried I become. The fact that you are sucking on not one, but two of those ridiculous muggle candies is beginning to frighten me far more than the Dark Lord ever has."
"Really my dear boy. You give me far too much credit. However, my lemon drop habits aside, there is a rather serious matter I wish to discuss with you."
"Well, spit it out old man."
"In a moment. First I would like for you to tell me everything you remember from your seventh year to Voldemort's temporary downfall in 1981."
"Albus, you know perfectly well that I hardly remember those years. I remember finishing school with top grades, spying on Voldemort's plans for the Order, and beginning to teach at this school. My memories of that time are hazy at best. I remember waking up in the hospital wing one morning and you telling me that there had been an accident in the potions room. We concluded that the accident cause a form of amnesia. I have yet to regain those memories."
"Would you like to?" Dumbledore asked smiling.
"Of course I would like to!" the potions master sneered. "How many times have we held this conversation? As there has been no recent breakthroughs in memory loss research I think we are finished here. I see no valid reason for you to sit there and remind me of my loss in memory."
"No, we are not finished here. I have a very good reason for asking, unless you would rather stay ignorant of your past."
"Are you telling me that you have found a way to recover my lost memories?" Snape asked incredulously.
"In a sense. You see, I have a minor confession to make." Dumbledore's face turned serious.
"What have you done now old man?" Snape growled. Something key was being kept from him and he was going to find out what it was or there would be hell to pay.
"Well, it is not what I have done, but rather what you asked me to do and my fulfilling of that request. You see Severus, there is a secret from your past that you asked me to protect. If Voldemort were ever to discover it you would be in terrible danger."
"Albus, have you been sucking on one too many lemon drops? I'm. A. Spy. There is nothing more dangerous than that. You know what the Dark Lord does to punish anyone who dares to desert him. What on earth could put me in more danger than my current position? I can not possibly conjure up anything suspicious from my past."
"That is because you requested me to conceal it. The measure we took to ensure this security were great." Dumbledore took a deep breath. "You asked me to… obliviate certain memories so Voldemort would never uncover them accidentally."
"I asked you to obliviate some of my memories?" Snape shouted.
"Severus, do you remember why you became a spy in the first place?" Albus asked suddenly.
"I –" he paused. "I don't remember. I think it was a slow process. One of the raids was too much for me. I couldn't handle it."
"And what of your friendship with Lily Evans? How did that end?"
Severus started at the question, but recovered quickly. "She was a muggle-born. The Dark Lord would have been displeased with my friendship with her if he found out. Then she practically threw herself onto Potter our seventh year. I saw her only in passing between our final year and her death. Albus, why are you drudging up memories that are best left forgotten? I do not see what Potter's wife has to do with this discussion."
"Then I will keep you ignorant no longer and will enlighten you. The reason – "
A flash of fire appeared and Fawkes burst from it, dropping his message in front of a surprised Dumbledore. The headmaster slowly opened it. He scanned it, a resigned look upon his face.
"Tell me Severus," Dumbledore said. "Has Voldemort mentioned an attack on Azkaban in the near future?"
Severus' eyes shot up in surprise. "Azkaban? No. I am positive he will eventually attempt to break his followers out, but he has emphasized that it would not happen until Christmas at least. Why do you ask?"
"Fawkes has just delivered the most intriguing letter, telling me that Voldemort is planning a breakout a week from today. However, he has only let Lucius in on his little secret, so the element of surprise is on our side." Severus looked skeptical.
"If the Dark Lord only told Lucius, then how do we know? He would never dare to betray the Dark Lord so obviously."
"You will just have to trust me that it is from a reliable source. We will have to plan our defense very carefully. This could be just the opportunity we have been waiting for to force Lucius from Voldemort's confidence."
"Who is the letter from Albus? How are you so sure that you can trust him?"
"Who is the letter from? That my dear boy is an excellent question. But I am unsure if it would be wise –"
"Tell me now."
Here is your opportunity Albus. The headmaster thought to himself. Well, here goes nothing. Please hear me out before you murder me Severus.
"Well, Albus, I am waiting." Snape said putting on his best death glare.
"It is from your son, Severus."
A/N: Ooooh cliffie for our poor potions professor! Once again. Reviews are much appreciated!