Chapter Five
The next morning the train leaves. Sasha shares a compartment with her three new friends, as well as Ron's younger sister Ginny, and Luna and Neville. They talk, laugh, play a few games and Hermione and Sasha read for a bit. She notices Harry is very calm and silent. He still looks tired, strained, as if he hasn't been sleeping well.
At King's Cross Station Mrs Weasley, a plump, motherly-looking woman with Ron's flaming red hair, awaits the five of them. After saying goodbye to Neville and Luna, they go through a brick pillar, to Sasha's surprise, and soon, after a short travel, arrive at headquarters; a magically hidden house in a calm neighbourhood. Grimmauld Place is old, dark and dusty. The atmosphere is rather heavy and sombre. Hermione shows her the room next to the one she and Ginny occupy, and tells Sasha that'll be her room during her stay in the house. Mrs Weasley fusses over them and immediately sets to making them an extensive lunch. Everyone is very nice to Sasha, but she knows they can't wait to find out why she has come to headquarters as well. She's just a new student after all, and a Slytherin at that, at least that's what they think for now.
Sasha finds out about the Weasley's patriarch's accident and meets the twin pranksters of the family, as well as Sirius Black, the owner of the house. The group talks for quite a long time after lunch, still sitting in the kitchen.
Soon enough the key members of the Order start to arrive, starting with Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. They join the conversation after being introduced to Sasha. Next to arrive is Severus. Without a word of greeting he seats himself to Sasha's right.
Sirius' reaction is immediate, "Snape, the poor girl's just left school, do you really need to annoy her by sitting right next to her?"
"Considering I, unsurprisingly, prefer her presence over yours, and this seat is as far from your dogly scent as possible, I should think it is quite obvious why I would sit here."
Sasha, not even trying to hide her amusement at Severus' retort, chuckles. Severus, in turn, smirks smugly, glancing at her. Most of the table is appalled at her behaviour and their interaction. She is at ease with Severus, she knows that, she rather enjoys his sharp wit, too. The others aren't aware of their understanding, of course, which explains their surprise. The two of them, over the past week, have become used to playfully bickering, after spending so much time together.
"What did he do to her, influence her with some sort of potion?" she hears Ron whispering, as per usual quite loudly for a whisper.
"Ronald!" his mother chastises him.
The conversation soon picks up again, and lasts until seemingly all of the Order members are in the room.
"Wait, so now we can be at an Order meeting? Not that I'm complaining," Harry wonders out loud, noticing how many Order members are present.
"Yes Harry, for once this concerns all of you as well," Dumbledore answers him, walking into the room. He goes to sit at the head of the table, to Severus' right.
"This isn't all of the Order," he first explains to Sasha, "Minerva McGonagall is at the school right now, as is Hagrid. There's also Charlie Weasley, who's in Romania at the moment, and Bill Weasley is at work at Gringotts. There are others too, in the ministry, for instance, though they don't often sit in on a meeting like this one, as Severus may have explained to you already?"
She nods.
"Good. Now, as you all certainly have noticed, we have a new person in our midst. She'll be part of the Order, from now on."
"See? I told you she couldn't be trusted! I knew she was hiding something!"
"Ronald, that's quite enough!"
"So she'll be allowed to work for the order?" Harry asks.
"Obviously," Severus drawls.
"But she isn't even of age! And we can't even assist to the meetings, let alone actually help," Harry then objects.
Sasha briefly looks at Dumbledore, silently asking for permission to add to the discussion. He nods. "As a matter of fact I am of age."
"Then why are you in fifth year?" His tone is quite aggressive and it's the most he's said to her since she has arrived.
"Potter, kindly refrain from commenting on things you do not understand and let her continue."
"Thank you, Severus," Sasha answers. He lightly slaps her leg, under the table, making her notice her slip of the tongue, "Professor Snape, I mean. Sorry."
While, again, many look surprised, Dumbledore simply asks her to continue.
"Professor Dumbledore put me in fifth year because my parents didn't follow Hogwarts' curriculum while I was home-schooled, so I didn't learn some things yet."
"Are there any questions?" Dumbledore then asks.
"No offence, love," Sirius tells her, before turning to Dumbledore, "but how do we know we can trust her?"
Sasha just smiles tightly, Severus narrows his eyes at the man.
"Severus and I both have enough proof. We wouldn't have brought her here, otherwise."
"But maybe she misled you, she's a Slytherin, after all," Ron speaks up. Sasha knew he didn't trust her from the start, and it doesn't looks like that'll change soon, especially after this revelation. She feels Severus tensing, next to her; he's annoyed by the boy.
"Mister Weasley, do you honestly think we would have brought her here, of all places, if we weren't sure about her?" He nearly spits the words out, though he doesn't raise his voice.
She puts her hand on his arm and squeezes once, hoping to calm him down. It seems to help, a bit at least, as he reclines in his chair once more.
"Anyone else?"
When no one answers, the headmaster nods once, "Good. If any of you think of something else, don't hesitate to ask about it. Trust and truth are important in this. Now, before we continue this meeting, those underage will have to leave the room."
The boys immediately begin to argue while Hermione and Ginny silently slip out of the kitchen, as they know they won't be allowed to stay either way. Mrs Weasley also prohibits the twins from staying, saying they still are too young, the two of them also wisely leave, pulling Ron with them. Now, only Harry is left.
Severus leans towards Sasha and tells her, in a silent tone, how the boy tries to argue each and every time. "Not only that," he adds, "but his godfather and guardian, Black, never tells him to stay away."
"Black is his guardian? Oh dear…"
"Indeed," he smirks.
"What are you two whispering about?"
"Well, that explains the dog animagus," Sasha mumbles, alluding to the way Sirius nearly barks at Severus. The latter, having heard her, smirks wider.
"Nothing of importance, Black," the professor answers him, "I was just telling her about you being Harry's guardian. Her answer, 'oh dear', says it all, don't you think?"
"Professor, don't repeat my words!" Sasha chastises him lightly, smiling.
"Why, you little…" Sirius starts, but Dumbledore interrupts them, "Enough." His tone is hard and serious – intimidating. Sasha hasn't heard it before.
"And Harry," Dumbledore continues, "Please join your friends."
He opens his mouth to react, but Dumbledore is quicker, "Now, Harry," his firm tone shows that he's very serious indeed and he won't change his mind.
Very annoyed at his dismissal, the boy leaves the room.
Dumbledore moves his wand in a few ways before putting it back in his sleeve. Sasha raises her eyebrows. Severus simply says, "Silencing spell."
She nods understandingly.
"Now that that is taken care of, we shall explain the actual circumstances of Ms Louhi's presence."
His statement is met with many curious looks around the table.
He continues, "Severus, will you please explain what you told me happened at Voldemort's latest meeting?"
The spy tells the same story once more, leaving out the part of her different powers, as well as her age. Almost all members of the order simply have a look of pity on their face. Mrs Weasley, though, immediately cries out, "You poor child! You shouldn't be mixed in this business, especially being so young!" She then turns to Dumbledore, "Albus, you can't possibly ask of her to help us, she's far too young for all of this," she tells the older wizard.
Sasha is a bit shocked by the woman's behaviour, to say the least. She ignores her pity and answers, "I'm not that young, actually."
"Of course you are, child! You may be of age, being seventeen, but you're still far too young!"
"I'm older than you, actually."
"That's— wait, what?"
Severus snorts, amused by Mrs Weasley's disbelief. Sasha also has to supress a chuckle.
"As I was saying," she continues, "I am older than I appear to be. I was born in October of the year 1695, to be exact."
"How is that possible?" Shacklebolt wonders out loud.
"I'm descended from a Finnish witch, whose name was Louhi. She appears in the mythology of the non-magical world – or muggle world, as you say. She could do wandless and wordless magic and she was a shape-shifter as well. Over the generations, the shape-shifting abilities have disappeared, for as far as I know, sadly. Our family's magic allows for us to look any age we want. If we maintain a relatively young age for decades, we can keep living, as our body doesn't die.
"Your last name is Louhi, isn't it?" Sirius asks.
"Exactly."
"So you're the descendant of that witch?" Remus asks.
She nods.
"Too bad about the shape-shifting, though," Tonks winks.
"Yes, that's true, but it wasn't like your kind of shifting, it was more like an animagus?" She looks to Severus for confirmation if that's the right term. He nods. "Though she could shift into more animals than one," she continues.
"So you are immortal?" Alastor Moody asks next.
"Honestly, I have no idea. Nobody has ever tried to live as long as I have. All of the members of the Louhi-line have simply lived until their bodies died – for as far as I know, anyway."
"Why didn't you?" Moody questions.
"I have to avenge my parents."
Nobody asks for any details, and Sasha appreciates it. She has never before put her trust in this many people, she couldn't bear to actually have to explain every detail of her existence – including the fact that she knows of two other members of the Louhi-line who are alive still, though for different reasons than her own. Since their survival isn't relevant, she doesn't think it important enough to mention.
After a few tense seconds, Tonks breaks the silence, "So you can change your appearance, right now, to appear older than you do now?"
"I can. Would you like for me to prove it?"
Tonks nods enthusiastically and Moody observes her, slowly nodding as well. He's suspicious of her, that much is obvious. The others all have curious expressions on their faces.
She closes her eyes and concentrates. She needs quite some power to do this, which is why she doesn't, usually, but if it's to prove she's with them, she'll do it. When she hears a few gasps, she knows she has succeeded.
She appears to be in her late thirties now, about fifteen or twenty years older than a few seconds ago.
"Well, that certainly proves she speaks the truth," Severus states. She smiles at him and then looks at the others. Her smile is strained and she's happy she's seated; due to the amount of magic she needed, her blood pressure lowered dramatically and she sees black spots dancing before her eyes. She hides the way she is feeling and asks, "I guess you all believe me now, yes?"
All of them nod. Tonks asks the next question, "And now you can simply turn back?"
"I will need some time, first, since it takes a lot of power and I'm rather tired now. But yes, in a while I'll be able to turn back."
The actual meeting begins. Sasha is mostly listening, absorbing all of the information. They talk about possible future moves of the Death Eaters, about ministry officials who might be undercover Death Eaters and about the recent muggle attacks.
"Okay, so Lucius is a high standing ministry official and an important Death Eater?" Sasha asks after a while. When she receives a few nods, she continues, "How does the Minister not see that, especially since Lucius was also majorly involved in the last war?"
Remus answers her question, "He pretended to have been under the influence of the Imperius Curse, after the first war."
"Yes, that, and the fact that the Malfoy family is an old, influential one and their fortune and possessions are quite extensive, does help," Sirius adds.
"Typical," she sighs.
Professor McGonagall speaks up next, "Have the both of you already decided how you will act at the next meeting with You-Know-Who?"
"We have, now we only have to wait for his 'call'," Sasha answers. Severus nods at her response.
"So we'll have two spies then," Kingsley Shacklebolt states.
Finally, after some more discussion, Dumbledore asks, "That's all of the most recent news?"
Everyone nods.
"Good. Until the next meeting, then. Happy holidays to all of you."
A few mumbled answers wish the headmaster the same. Albus leaves the room, after cancelling his silencing spells, soon followed by most of the other Order members, who are needed elsewhere.
When Severus stands up, once everyone but Sirius and the two of them has left, he grabs Sasha's arm and pulls her along to the corner of the room, near the door. Sirius watches them suspiciously, they notice. The man's suspicion worsens when Severus casts a strong silencing spell around them.
"Have you decided on the dates for your 'outings' yet?"
"I have, indeed. If it's fine with you, I'd like to go to the school this coming Wednesday. For the other outing, as you call them, I'd like to go on Friday and Saturday, in the same week. The second week of the Holidays will be calmer, this way, having nowhere to be."
"Both Friday and Saturday?"
"Yes, I have a bit of travelling to do and since it takes time to go from one place to another, we'll need two days. Unless you can travel long, international distances by apparition?"
"Sadly, we can't. We normally use Portkeys, but these need to be allowed by the ministry, which takes time, especially during the Winter Holidays."
"Okay, so like I thought, we'll travel by muggle means."
Severus nods, "I think that is agreeable, indeed. At what time shall I pick you up?"
"At two o'clock would work for me on Wednesday, we'll then see when to depart on Friday, as I still have to book our tickets... And, before you leave, was the silencing spell really necessary?"
"No, I suppose not, considering they'll find out soon enough you'll be leaving for a few days, but I rather enjoy riling Black up," he smirks darkly.
She shakes her head semi-disapprovingly, though she is smiling slightly.
"I'll be here at two, coming Wednesday, then. Ah, and before I forget," he quickly moves his wand over her form. She feels a rippling of the air around her. It ends as soon as it began.
"What was that?"
"A glamour. Those dunderheads will wonder who you are, if you are to walk into a room looking about my age. It should stay on until you have regained your powers to return to your younger self."
"Oh, thank you. I'll see you then, Severus."
He simply nods and ends the silencing spell. He soon leaves the house.
Sasha returns to the table and summons a glass of water. Sirius hasn't moved and he's still watching her.
"What are you doing?" he inquires.
"What do you mean?"
"With Snape. What's going on? I thought you were his student?"
"I will be, when school starts again. Why does it matter?"
He frowns, "I just thinks your interaction is rather strange. You act almost as friends…"
"We are supposed to work well together, since we're both spies in the Dark Lord's camp. This arrangement wouldn't last long if we couldn't at least interact civilly. Not to mention the fact that our lives depend on how well the Dark Lord believes our act."
"I suppose you're right… Just be careful. One never knows whose side he's really on."
She smiles tightly – he seems to imply that also applies to her –, but doesn't answer to his doubts.
"I'm going back to Hermione and the others, if you don't mind. They must be wondering why I'm staying away this long."
"Yes, that's a good idea. I'll see you later."
[To be continued]