Chapter 76

Severus woke feeling an unusual mix of extremely ill and gleefully triumphant. Ill because thanks to Sekhmet he had a dreadful hangover and triumphant, because due to the last time he and Nightshade were hung over, also around the holidays as it happened, he'd learned from the experience and made up several drafts of a very effective hangover potion. Now he just had to get out of bed and get it. That would be a feat in itself thanks to the relentlessly spinning room and his pounding head that was apparently trying to keep up a rhythm to the spinning. "Please tell me I did not sing that disgusting song last night," Severus begged the warm lump at his side that was Mag.

"Well," she replied slowly after a moment of hesitation. "I can tell you that you are now the proud owner of a beautiful black obsidian pyramid that you promised to share with me."

Severus found this only mildly comforting. He was certain he'd care more about the pyramid after his pounding head stopped beating him up.

/Actually you didn't sing, if it makes you feel any better, Prof. It's rap music, so you actually rapped. Not very well, but I'm sure Sekhmet got a gigantic kick out of the attempt. I'm sure Millicent did./

"If Bulstrode sells a copy of that tape to Potter I will kill them both," Severus stated through gritted teeth as he slowly dragged himself to a sitting position. That was step one. Step two involved putting his feet on the floor and standing and if he was very slow and careful he could manage it.

"Wait," Mag said. "I only had one drink, and you had at least two. I'll get up and get the hangover potions. Cabinet above the sink, right?"

"Yes," Severus said, because nodding instead would've probably caused his head to explode. Mag rose from bed and staggered across the room. Soon she was back with two small bottles one of which she extended to him.

"I love you," he said with true feeling and she gave a weak chuckle.

"Even though I'm a Vietnamese hooker?"

Severus opened the bottle and chugged down the contents. "Bloody right. You're my Vietnamese hooker after all, and I don't have to share."

/Come on, Prof. Let's go down to breakfast. The potion has you feeling better now and your damned owl is hungry,/ Nightshade said.

Severus sighed. "Would you like me to bring you up some breakfast or...you could breakfast at Wolfgang's and visit with Sekhmet," he suggested, turning to Mag. Though he currently hated Sekhmet more than usual, it was Christmas morning and Mag shouldn't have to spend it shut up in his rooms alone.

"I could breakfast at Wolfgang's," Mag agreed thoughtfully. "I'll be back in an hour though. I want to spend the day with you."

"You're better than I deserve, do you know that," Severus said, reaching to draw Mag into his arms.

"Hm...I think I'm just what you deserve," she corrected gently. They didn't speak for over half an hour, and by the time they were finally dressed for breakfast, Nightshade was glaring angrily.

/Shagging before eating is stupid, because food gives energy, and energy probably makes for better shagging. Plus it's rude to keep me waiting,/ he complained.

Mag called Mira and asked her to apparate her to Adler Manor while Severus and Nightshade headed down to breakfast. Severus's mood was improved by the hangover potion as well as the shagging, so he didn't respond to Nightshade's argumentative comment. Though the Carrows were at breakfast, they merely greeted Severus then went back to their food rather than bitching and moaning to him about this, that, and the other as they were all too often wont to do. He doubted they had any particular Christmas spirit, so perhaps they were just hungover. Unlike him, they apparently had no hangover potion, Severus thought in pleasantly mean spirited satisfaction. They deserved hang overs if anyone did. Filius arrived shortly after Severus poured his first cup of coffee. The little charm's master was cheerful and bright eyed, quite as if he hadn't had nearly a bottle of Egyptian spirits at a Christmas eve bash last night.

His constitution was impressive, Severus thought. Due to the Carrows silence and Filius's company, breakfast was pleasant enough. Mag hadn't yet returned when Severus arrived back at his rooms, so he settled down with an alchemy book and a cup of festive cinnamon tea. Mag was back a few minutes later so he made her a cup as well and she settled down with another text on alchemy. Both were studying methods of combining forms of alchemy with other branches of magic such as compulsion in preparation for making another Death Eater take Severus's place during Potter's confrontation with the dark lord. The concept of replacing himself with someone else was a stressful and complex one, and over the next few months, took up most of Severus's thoughts when not dealing with the rigors of being Headmaster.

Where the old man posing as Grindelwald only had to keep his mouth shut about what he was doing, the person posing as Severus would have to do a lot more than that. Where the old man posing as Grindelwald was willing, whatever Death Eater Severus ended up capturing for this most certainly would not be. Something extremely complex like this took talents said Death Eater also would not possess...so the talents would have to come from the outside rather than the inside. These talents would have to come from others who would be building this illusion. Severus, Mag, Albus, Wolfgang, Grindelwald and Regulus would all quite likely be involved. It was extremely possible that nothing like this had ever been done before...So no pressure what so ever, as Nightshade helpfully pointed out more than once. Wolfgang had no news of significant progress when Severus had seen him over Christmas.

As Severus wouldn't risk meeting with anyone when not entirely necessary these days, he hadn't seen him since. Drawing attention to anyone at this point was just too risky, and being Headmaster, had Severus in Voldemort's line of direct attention far more than usual. After spring break, Severus raised the subject with Grindelwald when next he came to visit Zabini. Blaise, Gellert, Severus and the Zabini elf were in Severus's office, Severus having stopped them before they could apparate to their work room beside Filius's bed chamber. He asked how the project with Wolfgang was progressing that served to identify the dark mark and tracked Death Eaters in Knockturn Alley. Gellert said that it was progressing, and Severus made it clear that it should progress faster. He informed both of the situation including Mag's rune reading and the decision he'd made to force a Death Eater to pose as himself. He explained that he'd not only need memories implanted in the Death Eater's mind that the dark lord would expect to see, but also memories that Albus felt Potter would also require in order to accept orders from Severus and trust them if the need arose.

"So you'll need Wolfgang to hold the Death Eater captive until you require his...services," Gellert asked. "That could be problematic if he is called by Voldemort, could it not?"

"Exactly," Severus said, nodding. "So we'll have to figure out a way to do both. To single out a Death Eater and know where he is at all times. I will need to craft a way to make him constantly accessible to me so I can bring him to me whenever I need him, but without Voldemort noticing. I will also need to transfer those memories into his head and transfigure him into myself in a short amount of time. That's complicated magic, and not something to be accomplished in an instant as you know." Speaking all of this out loud made it seem all the more complicated and thus perhaps futile on one hand. On the other, poring it all out to other competent wizards always made Severus feel more optimistic and less pressured. He didn't have to do this alone and the more brilliant minds involved the better. He, Mag, and Wolfgang had already made significant progress and Regulus had agreed to help. With Grindelwald and Zabini on board, and with Zabini's family connections, he knew he could probably pull this off if they proceeded carefully.

The sudden look of sympathy on Zabini's face was nearly startling. "It's Alright," the seventh year Slytherin said in a tone that one could almost call soothing. "We'll help. With enough of us putting our heads together, we'll have it sorted. Have you considered working with elves, because they can perform a great deal of complicated magic in a very short amount of time which sounds like just what you need."

"No, I hadn't actually, but the thought is intriguing," Severus said slowly. "Perhaps Kreacher would help."

"And Bramble," Gellert added. "His spell crafting skills are rather amazing. He'd likely find this sort of thing overly simple, right, Bramble?" Gellert turned expectantly to the elf in question, who hadn't said a word as he stoically waited to apparate Gellert and Blaise to their room in the staff wing. "How would you accomplish any of the things required in this situation," the blond asked, directing his words to the elf.

Bramble looked a bit startled and a bit annoyed to be dragged into this, but took a moment to consider before speaking. "Bramble sees two ways to proceed. The first allows Severus Snape more time to work on his Death Eater's mind. This first method involves isolating the dark mark so that it can not be used, but not destroying it entirely. Then it can be activated at a later date when the Death Eater is posing as Severus Snape. Bramble would do this with a sort of freezing charm so that the mark is in a sort of stasis."

Gellert gave a smile of pleasure, blue eyes flashing with triumph as though he'd come up with the idea. "I told you he was brilliant," he said smugly, then eagerly gestured to the stoic Bramble to continue.

"Bramble's second method involves linking your Death Eater to you so that you can draw him to you at need, then having a group of people ready to transfigure him and transfer your thoughts into his mind as rapidly as possible," he told Severus. "If Bramble and Kreacher help, this could be accomplished in perhaps three minutes."

"I told you he could solve it," Gellert crowed, clapping a frowning Bramble on the shoulder. Bramble's expression clearly said that he wasn't at all moved by praise and would rather not be involved at all.

"Once this Death Eater is captured, if you use Bramble's second idea, Gellert and I could make a pendant for you that would draw him. It will work like a Portkey that brings him to you rather than you to him. He won't need a pendant of his own as we can use his blood, linking him to yours and giving him no link to you," Blaise told Severus.

"Bramble was thinking Gellert and Master Blaise could make something like that to serve," the elf said, giving a satisfied nod.

"I like the first method best, as this Death Eater could take my place faster in the end, and if Voldemort believes him dead when his mark is inactive via being frozen, he will no longer be a consideration," Severus said thoughtfully. Severus was already more relaxed at the idea, and his mood more hopeful. "If I am missing for even three minutes in the end, the dark lo...Voldemort may question it, so if the switch could take place in a few seconds instead, I feel that would be safer. Are you quite certain you can freeze the dark mark to deactivate it then reactivate it later," Severus asked Bramble, but it was Gellert who confidently replied.

"Of course he is! And your so called dark lord won't even think to look for elf magic."

Severus nodded, feeling a much needed surge of relief, because he knew Grindelwald was right. Voldemort's over confidence and lack of regard for those things he did not respect or value had caused him a defeat more than once.