Chapter 5 - A visit from the Prince of Darkness

'Death, my homie!'

Satan's outstretched arms were a bizarre sight in Severus's tiny sitting room. If Severus had his hood down and his face was not a bare skull, his eyebrow would be totally upwards. But he was in Death's full regalia, his defenses all up.

Still, he managed to remain civil.

'Satan? This is a surprise.'

The man wore his favorite red suit and a large smile. 'And it should not be so, don't you think? Our fields of work are so related; we should do business meetings more often, don't you agree?'

Severus kept all his accoutrements on as he said, 'You could make a case for that, I am sure. Is there something specific you wish to discuss?'

'Mind if I change first? I always had a predilection for my Hades persona, and I have so few occasions to wear it.'

'Suit yourself.'

A man garbed in Greek attire appeared in his place, and Severus thought it was such an improvement over that ridiculous red suit he seemed so fond of wearing. 'Ah, there,' exclaimed the Lord of All Evil. 'It is so elegant!'

Severus invited. 'Please be seated. What can I do for you?'

Satan dropped the niceties and complained, 'You can stop harassing my children. What have my baby Dementors done to you? Why were you so mean to them today?'

Severus did not flinch. 'They were harvesting my clients. I had to intervene.'

'Not true, not true!', Satan wiggled his finger emphatically. 'You did not harvest those souls, Sev, my boy. You know the rules: you don't meddle with us; we don't meddle with you.'

'Your boys,' spat Severus, 'were preying on a child.'

'They are fair game, same as babies, and you know it. Besides, what's it to you?' Satan smiled in a predatory way and said mockingly. 'Oh, I know. That child is the spawn of sweet Lily, isn't he? He is the son of the love of your life, your beautiful Lily, now lost forever. Oh, poor Severus!'

His irony was grating on Severus's nerves. 'Please call me Death. This is a business meeting, so let's keep this professional, shall we?'

Satan kept on the false irony. 'You don't want to antagonize me, now, do you, Sev my boy? Because you and I both know that once your tenure as Death is completed, you will be mine. And let me tell you, just between the two of us, I am saving you a very special place in Hell.'

That was a step out of the line and Severus rose as big as his office could be, and used his deepest and most sinister voice to remind the personification of Evil. 'Well, Your Malevolence, my tenure here is not completed, and until this day comes, I am still Death, and as such, you will respect me and you will respect my office. I do not answer either to you or the personification of Good. You don't scare me, Satan.'

Satan's evil smirk faltered, but he kept it. 'You are obviously not scared of me – yet. But I will own you, Severus Snape. Don't think you can undo all the evil you have done in your wretched, miserable life. So, at the end of the day, you will step into my parlor, Severus, my child. And then you will fear me. So enjoy it while you can. And stay away from my Dementors!'

With a cloud of dark smoke plus a foul stench, Satan vanished from Severus's house.

Severus looked around. Everything was in its place. And Satan literally went away fuming. Having a go at Satan felt good. Severus might regret that after his death, but it felt really good to tell off the tosser. Amazingly enough, Severus was still in one piece, still had his job and his soul.

'That is not a bad way to end the day' thought Death, as he began to weight the harvested souls and prepare to catch some sleep as he contemplated the momentous day he just had.

o0o 0o0 o0o

Lily's son really had a penchant for trouble, thought Severus a year later, as he crossed a cemetery field to harvest the soul of a young Hufflepuff named Cedric Diggory. Although Severus was no longer a wizard, he could sense something big was about to happen, and then he recognized who was with Potter.

Pettigrew.

The wretched, cursed, half-excuse for a man who sold Lily's family to Voldemort cradled a bizarre creature in his arms. At the creature's command, Pettigrew killed the Diggory boy and Severus harvested the soul, realizing the creature was none other than Lord Voldemort.

Severus had done his job, he was free to go. But something was about to happen and it was grave, so he stayed.

That was how he became a witness. That was how he was able to witness a fourteen-year-old boy be used for a spell, then stand up, get challenged to a duel and incredibly escape being murdered by a resurrected Dark Lord. Granted, young Potter had more luck than brains, but still his mere survival was in itself a remarkable feat.

The kid disappeared using a portal key, and Severus stayed a few more minutes, watching the events unfold with some of his former colleagues. There were only less than a dozen Death Eaters, and Severus pondered they probably thought the Dark Lord dead and gone, as he had. Later he would berate himself for the maudlin moments in which he realized that he would probably be there as well, had he survived the ominous Halloween of 1981.

Voldemort made all of his followers take off their hoods. Unseen, Severus gazed at them for a long time. His first impression was that they were so old. Lucius Malfoy had always been older than Severus, but now he looked over forty. Since Severus had technically died at 22, over forty was practically middle age.

Voldemort chastised every one for their lack of faith in him, praising only those in Azkaban. That explained Bellatrix's absence, thought Severus. But in the midst of all the drama, somewhere deep inside him, his former self was delighted to see arrogant Malfoy brought low.

His watch blinked: he had to go. Severus checked his device: Harry Potter was safe. But as he was about to leave, he saw a person Apparating to the assembly, someone he immediately recognized. The identity of the newcomer would've chilled him, if it was possible. But his time was up and he didn't want to upset Mort.

o0o 0o0 o0o

'Wouldn't it be easier if I had a portrait in your place?'

Severus bristled internally at the petulance of the Hogwarts headmaster, sugar-coated by the twinkle of his much blue eyes. How dared the mortal?

'There is no need,' he said evenly. 'I intend to follow Lord Voldemort's activities more closely from now on. And young Harry, too, of course.'

Dumbledore was not done with the niceties. 'I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. It means a lot to me.'

Severus said, 'Must I remind you I am not allowed to interfere in mortals' affairs? It is not in my place to save the brat if he puts himself in mortal danger. Should he expire, it is not within my power to bring him back to life.'

'I understand.'

'If it is any consolation to you, there is no interference from any of the other entities that operate on the fringe of the mortal world. No one helps you, but no one helps him, either.'

Dumbledore knew quite well to whom he was referring. 'Fair enough, I guess.'

'One last thing: is Aurora Sinistra still teaching at Hogwarts?'

'Yes,' answered Dumbledore. 'May I enquire why you ask?'

'You might want to check where her real loyalties lie. I'll be in touch.'

Having said that, Severus took off, for he had a client due in twenty minutes. Harry Potter would have to take care of himself for a while.

That was easier said than done, for the device that detected trouble for young Harry went ballistic in a particular hot summer day in Little Winging. Having the time to spare, Severus sped there to find at least three Dementors attacking not only Harry but also another boy, a blonde fat one. Severus snarled at all the sight of the horrid creatures, but recalled Satan's visit and refrained from interference, even though it was against his best judgment. Nevertheless, he watched the events and made sure Harry was safe. When the old woman helped both boys home, Severus stood back. As he made his way to Mort, parked two blocks away, he recognized the scent of sulfur in the air.

Satan had been there all the time.

o0o 0o0 o0o 0o0

'What the hell are you trying to do?'

Fate looked furious at him, but Severus replied calmly, 'I was about to get some lunch. Care to join me?'

Both of them were standing in front of the Hog's Head, the sordidly-famed pub in the small town of Hogsmeade. Severus was out of his attire, Fate was not.

'Do you intend to go in there in plain sight?'

'Why are you so upset? We can interact in the mortal world, and you know that.'

She was having none of it. 'You are taking a big risk of being recognized. This would upset the cosmic balance. Not to mention screwing up my threads!'

'Relax, Marlene. No one here remembers an unremarkable twenty-something nobody who has been dead for ten years. It would be riskier in the Three Broomsticks, but here? I should be fine.'

'What do you think you can gain in this seedy pub, anyway? I mean, besides some awful beer and a headache.'

'Information. So unless you join me, I bid you a fond farewell.'

'Watch out so you don't become tangled in their lives. Remember: we live in the fringe of their world.'

Fate went her merry way, and Severus went inside the pub. To call it seedy was an understatement to say the least. No wonder Hogwarts students weren't keen to take their Butterbeers there. Coming to think of it, Severus was not even sure they served those in there.

He ordered lunch and a Stout, and he tried to keep his head down, for the old bartender knew him. The whole bar still smelled of goats or something of that ilk. There were a few customers: a witch wrapped in shawls, a man all bandaged, and two other witches with a heavy Yorkshire accent in a corner.

His ears were keen to pick up any gossip about the school. The news he gathered from the "Daily Prophet" were bizarre, to say the least. An inquisitor at Hogwarts? Harry Potter discredited about Voldemort's return? That merited a closer look.

Still, Severus could not help but remember the most momentous occasion he experienced in the Hog's Head. The moment when his whole life changed, and led him to the same place where it all began. For it had been in the Hog's Head that he had heard the prophecy, the prophecy that made Voldemort target Lily.

All his dark reminiscences dissolved in thin air when a familiar trio of teens walked in. There he was, Lily's boy with Lily's eyes, his red-haired Weasley friend and the smart girl. It was at this moment that Severus had to refrain from doing a double take at the girl, Hermione.

What had happened to her? She was a young woman, actually, and not a bad looking one. Her figure impressed Severus. Then he reprimanded himself. The girl was perhaps fifteen years old, a mere child. True, Severus was still as young as his 22-year-old self had been when he became Death, but there was an age gap that could not be ignored. And what was he thinking, anyway? Better keep his head on the mission and forget minor distractions.

As inconspicuous as he could be, Severus followed the trio's activities as best as he could. But the bartender kept looking at him, as if trying to jog his memory. It was clear that Severus's features were familiar to the man, although he couldn't exactly pinpoint where he knew him. That was a deal breaker: Severus would never try to infiltrate the wizarding world in plainclothes again. Muggles were blissfully unaware of the other side, but wizards had means and tools to catch him.

Not for the first time since he became Death, Severus mourned keenly for the loss of his wizarding powers.

Then other teens started pouring in the pub, and Severus actually turned his back on them, as if annoyed. His lunch came, and he went about his business trying his best to look as if he were not interested at all in what was happening.

Truth be told, Severus was a bit confused after all the teens declared their meeting ended and signed an enchanted paper (another brilliant move from the girl Hermione). Had the situation at Hogwarts deteriorated that much as the kids said? Was it really necessary to make extra classes for self-defense?

'Oh,' said Dumbledore, smiling in his office. 'It was a lovely gesture, but Harry shouldn't have done this. The situation is grave enough as it is.'

Severus asked, 'What is going on in this school? It sounds as if the Ministry of Magic is interfering in Hogwarts!'

'That is most certainly the case, I'm afraid, my friend,' confirmed Dumbledore. 'They intend to neutralize me as soon as they can, and young Harry has naively given them the perfect excuse.'

'With extra classes of Defense Against the Dark Arts? How can that be?'

'You are missing the most important point, and the Ministry will not. They already believe I am articulating the overthrow of the Minister of Magic, and now they have even more reason to think so.'

'Dumbledore's Army…' Severs repeated. 'Do you really believe they could think so?'

'They'd rather believe this than believe Lord Voldemort is back.'

'Fools,' snarled Severus, as he watched his watch blink insistently, indicating he had a client. 'Sorry to interrupt our chat, but I have to go.'

'Thanks for stopping by. This piece of information will be very useful, my friend. Farewell.'

He hardly answered Dumbledore. It was time to get back to his job.

Severus had no idea, though, that he was nowhere through interfering in Harry's life.

Or Hermione's.