Chapter 3

She knew, when she saw Dumbledore reaching for the warn and tattered sorting hat that she wasn't going anywhere any time soon. She sighed heavily. If she were honest with herself she knew it would come to this.

"You do understand Miss Snape, that there is a level of secrecy that will come with this choice." It was the first words Dumbledore had spoken since they left Borgin and Burkes. Sabina felt a stab of annoyance that he seemed to take for granted her acquiescence to his "solution" but what other choice did she have.

"For one, we'll have to come up with a name that won't raise as much suspicion as that of Snape. Do you have any preferences?"

"Bergman." She sighed after a short pause. "It was the name of my mother's favourite actress"

The headmaster raised his head just a fraction at the mention of her mother but said nothing further on the topic, instead he dropped his head into a nod and reached for the sorting hat he had placed on his desk. He rose and slowly walked to her.

"Naturally you are familiar with this process; I feel that as years go by, we are affected by our environment and the situations we find ourselves in. It would be best to sort you again, as to make sure you are in the most conducive environment for as long as you are with us. For as long as it takes us to get you back home of course." Before he placed the hat on her head however he paused, "and trust me when I say, my dear that I will be doing my utmost to get you back to where you belong"
As far as Sabina could remember her first sorting went a lot faster than this one. She almost started to wonder if it was working at all when she heard the sing song voice in her head. The sorting hat did not speak to her when she was first sorted. She frowned at its words.

"Umm...tough choice"

"What do you mean choice, there was no choice the first time!" Sabina shouted, she wasn't sure if she'd said it out loud or just in her head, but she was already so tightly strung she didn't think she could take any more surprises today.

The sorting hat seemed to ignore her outburst completely as it continued to make sounds of uncertainty in her ears. Finally it seemed to come to a conclusion as it said out loud; "Well let it be Ravenclaw then" but Sabina couldn't help noticing the lack of conviction in its decision.
Once the hat was removed she knew the headmaster must have noted its tone as well as he seemed to frown at her for a second before turning to place the hat back on its shelf. "You are in Ravenclaw in your time too I trust."

"Yes sir," Sabina responded, "I was made prefect last year"

"Ah," was his only response before he went back to his chair behind his desk.

"There is not much more we can do about your situation today unfortunately. There is some petty cash in the schools budget, I will provide you with some money so that you may buy school supplies, clothes and any other essentials you may need. Tomorrow I think I'll get someone to escort you to Hogsmead. For now I will call for a prefect to take you back to Ravenclaw tower and get you settled, you will sleep in the dormitories with the other 7th years."

"They will also be able to enlighten you on your class schedule and so on. I am certain that even 15 years from now, out school rules will not have changed that much, so these of course will still apply to you. I will call for you again soon when I have had time to think about your problem and hopefully I will have some plan of action by then."

Sabina sat silently in her chair, staring at her lap willing her tears not to come just yet. She knew he was trying to help, she knew it was the best choice for now, but all she wanted was to just go home.

"Miss Snape, or shall I call you Miss Bergman, please look at me." When she raised her head, the look of concern and sympathy in the Headmasters eyes nearly broke her resolve not to cry. "I know this is difficult, but I am afraid there is more difficulty ahead and you have to be strong. With the war going on, these are sensitive times and you have to make sure that we do not affect the natural flow of events here. I will ask you please not to speak anyone else about the true nature of your situation except me. No one must know who you really are and where you come from, especially not Severus."

At the mention of her father's name her tears finally broke free. "But sir..."

"No Sabina, Severus has an integral part to play in this war, as I'm sure you know. We cannot afford to let him loose focus. I will find a way to get you back to your time as soon as I can but in the interim, we cannot risk doing anything that could jeopardise our chances of victory. You should know Severus would not want that either"

Of course she knew how important this war was to her father, being the daughter of a war hero (of two actually) had had quite the effect on her, in fact she was certain it was part of the reason she was in this mess in the first place. She nodded her head, not trusting her voice enough to speak.

"Good. Then we will say that you are an exchange student from Beauxbatons, who lost her way (and her trunk) on route to the school. That would explain why you were so upset when Miss Granger found you. I will go and find a student to take you up to the tower, in the mean time you may want to try and compose yourself my dear, you will have to be quite the actress for the time being."

He said nothing further as he swept out of the room, leaving Sabina to wonder how on earth she was going to pull this off.

Hermione was burning with curiosity. The headmaster had not called her back to his office and she was dying to know what had become of the girl she had found in Hogsmead. She had spent the entire afternoon in the library, studying before Harry had found her and proceeded to berate her for leaving Hogsmead without telling them and making him worry.

"I still can't believe you just left like that Hermione, you know its dangerous out there, what were you thinking going off by yourself like that" Harry asked as they made their way into the Great Hall for dinner.

She did feel guilty for upsetting them so, but really, she felt she was capable of looking after herself and didn't need to be treated like a toddler; "I said I was sorry Harry, how many more times do you need to hear it. And I also told you I wasn't alone"

"Yes, this mysterious girl you found wondering the streets. Don't you think that's a tad suspicious Hermione, you can't just go helping strangers, what if it was a trap, what if..."

Hermione cut him off with a tight grip on his forearm when she noticed said "mysterious girl" sitting beside Luna Lovegood at the Ravenclaw table.

"There she is Harry! The girl sitting next to Luna."

"Well lets go over there then" Harry said as her lead the way towards the Ravenclaws. But before they could get halfway across the room, Dumbledore's magically amplified voice sounded throughout the hall.

"Attention children, I have an announcement to make. Please seat yourselves at your tables quickly."

All students hurriedly moved to their house tables and seated themselves as the Headmaster waited for them to settle and the noise to die down before he continued. "Before we enjoy this lovely meal provided for us, (and I do love sweet potatoes!)," he said as he looked down on the assortment of food the house-elves had provided for dinner, "I would like to welcome our new exchange student from Beauxbatons Academy, Miss Sabina Bergman. Please stand Miss Bergman."

Every head in the Great Hall turned to look as the tall dark haired girl slowly rose from her seat, she kept her gaze on Dumbledore however, and Hermione couldn't help but notice the solemn look in her eyes.

"Thank you Miss Bergman, I trust that you will enjoy your stay here with us and I trust that every student will do their utmost to make you feel welcome, as is the Hogwarts way. I also trust that you will quite enjoy the sweet potatoes, so...dig in children"

As Dumbledore seated himself at the head table the noise in the hall grew as the students discussed the news of the new exchange student, "Since when does Hogwarts accept exchange students?" Harry asked as he started dishing food into his plate.

Hermione was however still looking at the girl in question. There had never been an exchange student program set up at Hogwarts in all the years they had been at the school, and as far as she could remember she had never read about such a programme in Hogwarts: A History. As she started in on her own plate (sans sweet potatoes as she couldn't stand them) she couldn't shake the feeling that there was far more going on than what the Headmaster had just said.

Maybe if he concentrated on the sceptical of colours and lights below him, it would take his mind off the searing stabbing pains hitting him from every direction. The street beneath him was wet from earlier rains, turning the tar into a quasi-mirror, reflecting the orange and red flames devouring the suburban house behind him. He could still see Death Eaters in his peripheral vision, throwing spell after spell at the already destroyed home of some nameless, blameless and now surely dead muggle family. The green dark mark directly above him shone an eerie glow over the scene, floating in the night sky like some sentinel God, overlooking his worshippers.

"You disappoint me Severus. I am beginning to think you may not be ready to join my inner circle."
The Dark Lord stood in the middle of the street, looking down at a quivering prostrated Severus Snape with a malicious glint in his eyes. He seemed to ignore his other followers prancing around him and rejoicing in the destruction they had cause.

"My lord," Severus croaked with a voice hoarse from screams he didn't remember issuing, "I was simply looking out for us my Lord. Someone had to make sure we would not get caught."

"How valiant of you, Severus. To care for your brothers so much that you deem to be the "look out" at each one of these little missions. That you would constantly deny yourself the pleasures of these activities simply to ensure that we do not, how did you put it? Get caught?"

Hate could not begin to describe how Severus felt about times like these. The Cruciatus he could bare, the broken bones and deep gushing wounds could be healed, but having to submit himself to this...man. Having to bow his head and go on his knees, start every sentence and end every sentence with the loathsome phrase of "my lord" were things that made his skin crawl. He was amazed sometime at how long he'd been able to pull this off without once taking a sharp blade to his wrist and ending it all.

Another bout of the cruciatus hit him, this time directly in the middle of his spine to keep him from standing up, as he was trying to do at that point. "These missions are my way of sending a message to the world. My way of not only putting fear in the hearts of my enemies but also a way of rewarding my followers. Imagine how it must feel to show up here anticipating the enjoyment of those I deem most worthy of the rewards I can bestow, and finding one of them standing out in the street, separating himself, not participating and seemingly indifferent to my cause. Can you imagine my disappointment Severus? It makes me think you do not enjoy what we do. It makes me think you do not really want to be one of us"

"My lord, furthering your cause is my only objective, I simply thought..."

"Enough! Tell me this, my son, are you or are you not one of us?"

Lord Voldermort reached down and took Severus' chin between his fingers, forcing his head upwards until their eyes locked.

"Do you want to be a part of my inner circle, one of my most worthy?"

"Yes...My lord." Severus' breathy reply was said both out loud as well as deep in the recesses of his mind were Voldermort could see it as the truth. Then you will have to show yourself capable of doing what needs to be done, of revelling in what a Death Eater should most revel in...in showing his power over those of less worth!"