Chapter 9 - Please sir, I would like a one way ticket to hell...

Fifth year was almost done, he had been an Unspeakable for almost two years, it would be exactly two years in four months. But right then he had a debacle to stage with Potter and his miscreants. Potter, Black and himself had planned this out hopefully to perfection. It was just about his last chance to get an in with Lucius Malfoy. Despite his best attempts he had not been able to garner the invitation to join the Death Eaters that either his Grandfather or the Unspeakables wanted. It was the first step to a very long, excessively planned plan that would hopefully result in the culmination of both Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore being taken out of power for once and for all.

After they had all passed through the training and trials to become an Unspeakables, Potter and Black had both separately offered to cease hostilities with him and the other Slytherins. But that would have been suspicious and wouldn't have given him the ability to make a scene like he was about too. It also would have saved him the humiliation he was about to endure but that was besides the point. Lucius needed to see that he was more than capable of being one of their social elite. So at the agreed upon time he was sitting under the agreed upon tree, reading a book about wandless casting, something he had recently been having issues with, when James Potter and gang descended upon him. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Lucius Malfoy was in residence at the castle currently and was watching from a distance.

Being levitated in the air was not a pleasant experience and the sudden impact with the ground was unexpected and even less pleasant. He caught a panicked look from Black as Lily walked up. That had been his only stipulation in the entire ordeal. That Lily be left alone. Frustrated she was ruining everything he said the only thing that he could think of to get her to go away. He called her a dirty little mudblood. He saw the looks from Potter and Black and wondered just what was going through their little minds. Hopefully they would finish the ploy and allow the entire ordeal to be worth it. Hopefully he could explain it to Lily later. Or Rowan could since she likely wouldn't talk to him again for sometime; if ever.

Things had gone smoothly after Lily had run away. Potter and Black had finally managed to string him up in the tree, like they had agreed upon and had proceeded to mock him as best they could while leaving alone anything that was actually humiliating, like the time he had blown up an experimental potion and turned himself green for two whole weeks. It only took them three tries to get him situated well enough in the tree he wasn't going to simply fall right back out. He could see that they were trying not to hurt him, and he could appreciate that they were trying to cause him the least amount of damage possible but you would think that the brightest boys in their grade would be able to levitate him into a tree well enough not to worry about him breaking his neck if he fell. He was caught though and that was when Lucius decided to step in. The Marauders were chastised and sent off. He was ripped out of the tree, causing twice as much damage than what Potter had managed and then he was face to face with Lucius Malfoy. Scowling he sneered and waited for the other boy to start. If this didn't work in his favor he was out of ideas and he really didn't want to try and do this backwards. The idea of being wholly Dumbledore's man sickened him. Lucius just looked him over once and said

"Would you like the chance to get revenge? To get revenge on all the filthy halfbloods, blood traitors and mudbloods who have ever humiliated you?" Nearly rolling his eyes at the heavy handed way Lucius attempted to rub salt in what would have been a gaping raw wound if it hadn't been a staged production for Lucius's benefit. He sneered again and demanded,

"What did you have in mind?" Lucius just smirked and said

"There is a Death Eater revel in two weeks. You will receive coordinates a few hours before hand. If you can manage to get there then you get in, until the fun starts of course." Severus schooled his features blank as he nodded. The Unspeakables had taught him to apparate as part of his training but he didn't really want Lucius to know that. At least not just yet so he just nodded allowing just the hint of unease to slip from out behind his mask. Just enough that Lucius cackled as he walked away with his minions. Rookwood caught his eye as he turned and winked. As soon as their backs were turned and he felt as if he could let his guard down he smirked in triumph. He was in, getting to the revel was simple and he was almost positive that the training the Shadowed warrior had been giving him in his dreams would be a hundred times worse than what some spoiled cultish purebloods could come up with. He caught sight of Lily's red hair to the side of the castle and wondered if he could ever gain her forgiveness but he had a feeling that if he hadn't called her a mudblood Lucius would never have made his offer. It felt like a catch twenty two. Sighing he wandered off towards the Slytherin dorms. He needed to report to Mirach that he had gained entry to the Death Eaters.

Later that night he slipped out of the dorms wreathed in silence just another shadow among the darkness. Stepping up to the door for the Come and Go room he inferred that Potter and Black were already present, stepping through the door he noticed that the decorations were a neutral sitting area and Potter and Black were already waiting. They both looked up at his entrance and panicked stricken looks passed over their faces for a brief moment as they jumped to their feet. the panic lasted only until they noticed that he was not noticeably armed and didn't appear angry. In all honesty he was just tired. He wandered in and sat down in the last chair with all the poise that his Grandfather could train into him and asked without a hint of sarcasm

"What can I do for you gentleman?" Potter took a deep breath and said

"We wanted to apologize Snape. I figure at one point in time that would have been a riot but now that we've gotten to know you a bit you aren't nearly as bad as we thought." Black took up then saying

"Besides you're one of us and we're one of you so it's all the same now." Sighing and shaking his head he said wondering silently if Black actually thought about the words that came out of his mouth, he responded

"I get what you're saying, I do honestly. I'm not mad, not even about Lily. I wish she'd let me explain but everything that happened was necessary to gaining entry into the Death Eaters. The girls aren't suited, you guys are both the morally upstanding Gryffindors that wouldn't possibly ever go over to the Dark side and Rowan has a much too unstable temper to trust to keep his cool in dealings with people like Lucius Malfoy. Rookwood will watch my back so no need to worry there. And I'll even consent to letting you patch me back up Black." That got him amused looks. It had surprised everyone but Mirach that Sirius had ended up being exceptionally good at healing charms. Potter's response wasn't one he was expecting though,

"I'm glad we aren't actually going back to hating each other. Though we should probably come up with a code name for you and the others. Easier to communicate that way." Severus sighed but nodded at the logic of the idea. It would make it easier to communicate since it would allow them to use regular post rather than finding moments to slip notes or meet like they were now. He watched Black look him over before the other boy asked

"You get your animagus yet?" Severus snorted but didn't ask how Black of all people knew he had even been working on it. Black had been one to figure out how Mirach saw so much about each of them before they themselves really knew. Shaking his head he said

"Yes, I achieved my animagus, as I'm sure you can see." Black shook his head and said

"I can't see if you actually managed it or not. Just they your magic has accepted the form, so you could have just been close to getting it for all I know. So what are you?" Looking at the two of them he hesitated and asked

"You won't tell anyone?" They nodded and he said

"I'm a bat. Specifically a Ryukyu flying fox." Potter looked at Black and said with all seriousness in his tone

"Well that could be useful." Severus chuckled and said

"If you come up with half of what I use the form for you'll be close. The Department has been training me for this role since I joined. I've gotten pretty good at being sneaky." Potter nodded and Black said

"What about Eclipse?"Severus made a face and shook his head. Potter snapped his fingers and said

"I know, Dova! It's swedish for muffled or deadened." Black gave Potter a funny look but Severus rolled the word around in his head and nodded liking the sound and the meaning and said

"I like it. Deal. Dova." Black just looked at him like he had grown a second head before mumbling

"No accounting for taste." Chuckling Severus just shook his head and listened with half an ear as nicknames for Narcissa and Morwenna were suggested and discarded. If this was what having friends was about than he was all for it, it was nice to be able to just sit and relax with people his age talking about nonsense.