Disclaimer: I doubt I look anything like JK Rowling.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews.

To my faithful reviewer who said that Snape seeing Lily's body is the best thing I've ever written, wow, I'm stunned and so happy you said that. It was a gut-wrenching and horrible scene to write, and I'm glad you think I did well with it. Considering how long you've been reviewing my fics, and considering all the nice things you've said over the years about my writing, that says a lot. Thank you so much!

To the one reviewer who says my characterization is a little OOC, I take your points but somewhat disagree with you. As far as Snape goes, he honestly doesn't completely soften up when he sees Lily in Harry. There definitely is that scene when he takes Harry to his quarters, and then there's breakfast the next morning, but after that's over he tries to deny it ever happened, and starts treating Harry worse than normal. That's why it escalates to the point where Harry blurts out the comment about Snape hating his mother.

As for Draco, he's supremely confused by Harry defending him, but he does treat him worse because of it afterwards. That scene outside the Great Hall after the Daily Prophet article is released is a prime example. He's battling some pretty intense feelings, as he also just found out about Moody really being Crouch and that Crouch is supposed to be on his side of things. Draco isn't at all a nice person, and he'll never be snuggles and forgiveness and love. I am never going to write him that way. But will he change throughout the story? Absolutely.

As for Harry, I'm already writing him a little differently. After all, canon Harry laughed at Draco's humiliation. My Harry is already a little more cynical than canon Harry, and he reacts to his upbringing a little more than JK's version of him. He doesn't spill tears when he can help it, but I do agree that my version is a little more emotional. I was always surprised that he didn't react more harshly to the Unforgivables lesson in canon. I'm also shocked that it wasn't explored more deeply that it was Crouch who told him that he should be an Auror, and he never really thought about who it was that told him. He just agreed that that should be his career, and that was that. I'd have loved for him to think about it a little more.

To the other reviewer, I take your point too. I do think a lot of these scenes are very important to build up the story, but maybe things aren't happening fast enough. I do think the emotional conflict and the psychological aspects of these ideas are intriguing, but I understand what you mean about making the plot go faster. In this chapter, things definitely move along.

I hope you guys enjoy it.

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Severus Snape scowled as he donned his cloak, strode out of his office, and walked down the corridors and out of the school, ready to make an outing that he was dreading. It was late at night, and the daily curfew was in effect. If any student was walking the corridors right now, they were sure to get an earful. If, for any reason, he was needed as Head of House, Professor Sinistra had offered to take up the slack for him.

It wasn't out of the ordinary for Hogwarts staff to run errands, or to go and see their families sometimes. Students acted as though the staff were there twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, when that simply wasn't the case. For example, Professor Flitwick had a mother and a sister that he would see at least once a week. Sprout was involved in a romantic relationship, as was Charity Burbage. It certainly wasn't an uncommon thing for staff to leave the grounds when they weren't teaching.

However, Snape was not seeing any family, for he had none to see. And being in any kind of romantic relationship turned his stomach and made him nauseous. No, he was not going on an outing to partake in either of those things.

No. What Severus Snape was doing was strictly part of his duties, and something he dreaded. In the old days, he very much enjoyed seeing Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. When he had first arrived at Hogwarts as a nervous, cynical eleven-year-old, Lucius had been the first person to welcome him to Slytherin. He hadn't cared about how Severus was dressed, or that he was a half-blood. Lucius hadn't bullied him - in fact, as a Prefect, he had made sure that other Slytherins didn't as well. He couldn't help what went on in Severus's dormitory, of course, but he was very influential in the common room and in the corridors.

Lucius had left Hogwarts at the end of Severus's second year, but they had still kept in touch. Looking back, Snape knew he had let himself be manipulated by the charismatic older boy. He told Severus of a world where he would be respected, where he wouldn't be bullied anymore. He had promised him that he would be influential, that he would be cherished among the Dark Lord's followers for his expertise in Potions and Dark Arts. Lucius had been extremely impressed by the spells Snape had invented, and the speed in which he could learn the many aspects of magic.

It wasn't until much later that Severus saw Lucius for what he was, and he despised himself for letting the older man have power over him. These days, Snape still maintained his relationship with Lucius, but it was all out of duty now. All the warm feelings he'd ever had towards him had dissipated, to be replaced with cold bitterness. Lucius was yet another person who had let him down.

Today, Severus had received an owl that demanded him to come to Malfoy Manor at the earliest opportunity. He had a horrible, sinking feeling that it had something to do with the events that had happened last week, and the ruined plan that was supposed to return the Dark Lord back to power.

The Headmaster was aware of precisely what he was doing, because he had informed him earlier in the day. Dumbledore knew what the risks were, and he had told him to be careful of what he said and did. It was just like the conversation they'd had about Karkaroff, and Severus despised Albus's condescending attitude. He hated how the man reiterated how much he cared about him when Severus knew it wasn't true. Albus needed a spy; therefore, he was using him to get what he wanted.

But Severus would do it without question, because atonement was the only thing he lived for now. He loathed how the sun streamed into his quarters in the morning, giving off the impression that all was right with the world. Severus knew that was a complete mockery of the truth - all had been wrong in his world ever since he and Lily had started drifting apart.

And now, he had to make nice with Lucius. It was plain that the man didn't really trust him anymore, and often threw veiled barbs at him to see how he would react. He took every chance he was given to throw Severus's old relationship with Lily into the conversation, and it took every bit of self-restraint for Snape not to slam him into a wall and use one of the spells Lucius was so impressed by.

He wondered why on Earth the blond aristocrat was suddenly demanding for him to come to the manor. Even though he knew it would most certainly have something to do with the Dark Lord's rebirth, he was filled with dread at what he might be asked. It was inevitable that the day would come when he would be asked to spy again, and he knew he would despise that day. To look the Dark Lord in the eye, to pretend he was still loyal to him after he had brutally murdered Lily ... it was almost too much for him to bear. He was supremely tempted to tell Dumbledore no, that he would not go back to his double life. The old man had failed to protect Lily, so why should Snape keep his end of the bargain?

But as he walked to the edge of Hogwarts' wards and Apparated to the gates of Malfoy Manor, he could hear his damned conscience, which spoke in Lily's voice, saying quietly, "You should be doing this because it's the right thing to do to atone for your past mistakes."

Snape sighed, the sound full of bitterness and exhaustion as he spotted Lucius walking towards him. He made sure his features were schooled into his normal, stoic mask as he prepared for whatever awaited him here.

"Hello, Severus," Lucius said, displaying his normal arrogance as he regally walked toward his guest. "It has been too long, my friend. Welcome back to Malfoy Manor."

"Thank you, Lucius," Snape said, reaching out to shake his hand. "Thank you for inviting me."

"You're welcome," Lucius said. "Come in. My wife will be very happy to see you."

Snape followed Lucius into the manor. When he'd first entered this place years previously in his young Death Eater days, the envy and bitterness that filled his gut was very apparent. Spinner's End was a downright hovel compared to the luxury the Malfoys lived in. It made him hate his home life even more - his disgusting father blew all the money he'd ever earned on drink, and his mother, once a beautiful woman, had turned into a sullen, submissive creature with no backbone. Spinner's End was riddled with bad memories, and yet he was forced to live there in spite of it all.

And now, as Malfoy smirked at him as they walked towards the drawing room, Snape couldn't help but feel that the blond man was rubbing it in his face. It was another of his little tests to see if Severus was still loyal to the cause. He was not going to allow himself to get riled up - he was not going to fail.

"Good evening, Severus." Narcissa smiled at him. She was sitting, very ladylike, on one of the couches in the drawing room. She was a woman who possessed much grace and poise, and when she and Lucius sat together, they almost looked like a king and queen. When Snape remembered Lucius bowing, scraping, and grovelling before the Dark Lord, it made him feel physically ill. To think that he had ever considered the monster as the one to save him from the hell his life had become - how, with a brilliant mind like his, had he let himself get manipulated so easily?

"Good evening, Narcissa," Severus replied. "It is good to see you again."

Snape despised small talk - he considered it a bunch of inane nonsense. He had never understood why human beings were so quick to partake in it. "I hope you are well," he said for good measure.

"Very well, thank you," Narcissa smiled.

"Shall we go to the dining room?" Lucius asked. "I don't imagine you ate dinner in the Great Hall and dined among your fellow staff members."

"No, I did not," Snape said, and the disgusted face he showed the Malfoys was very real. "I make it a point to ignore that old fool when he constantly informs me that I am needed there."

Snape always had a checklist in his head for things that he was supposed to say to the Malfoys. Insult Dumbledore? Check. Sneer about his colleagues? Check. Two items on the list had already been completed.

"I see. Never fear, the house-elves will dish us up something delicious," Lucius said as they took seats at the dining-room table. "Dippy!" he barked, a vicious sneer forming on his face.

Snape remembered Dumbledore's explanation of what had happened to the unfortunate Dobby. Lucius had never treated his house-elves well, but now, Snape could see that he was even more cruel and malicious towards them. A terrified elf popped into the room, dressed in nothing more than a filthy tea towel. It was a completely contradictory sight in such a formal manor. "Yes, Master Malfoy, sir? What is Master and Mistress Malfoy and their guest wanting, sir?" he squeaked.

"The French onion soup followed by the lamb," Lucius snapped. "Hurry up."

"Yes, sir, Master Malfoy, sir. Dippy is getting that right away, sir," the elf cried out shrilly before popping away - even the sound of that was fearful.

Snape didn't comment on Lucius's treatment of elves - first, it was not his place to do so, and second, he couldn't afford to.

The fearful elf returned with the French onion soup within a few seconds. "Dippy will bring the lamb in five minutes if that is agreeable to you, Master Malfoy, sir," he squealed fearfully.

"Not a minute later, Dippy, or you will have hell to pay," Lucius drawled, glaring at the elf. "Now get out of my sight."

Narcissa, too, made no comment on her husband's behavior. Her facial expression was blank as the three of them started on the soup Dippy had given them.

The soup tasted quite good, as food went. Snape had honestly lost any appetite he had once possessed. Eating was a chore for him now, only done so he could live another day in this hellish, dull existence. But he smiled and complimented the Malfoys, knowing that it was proper etiquette to do so. "This is delicious," he said.

"I'm glad you are enjoying it," said Narcissa, smiling again. After a beat of silence, she asked, "How is Draco?"

That was a loaded question, and Snape had to ponder how to answer that. He couldn't let on to Draco's parents that the boy was struggling to come to terms with the fact that the man who had attacked him so brutally was someone he thought he could trust. He couldn't even begin to hint that he possessed some level of hope that Draco would not go down the same path he had travelled down, one of regret, guilt, hate, heartbreak, and bitterness. He could not tell them of the boy's utter confusion at the fact that the boy he professed to hate with a passion had defended him. He couldn't speak of the vulnerability and desperation he'd seen in Draco's eyes, the eyes of a little boy who didn't understand what was going on in his world. And above all, he couldn't snarl at Lucius and Narcissa that they had bestowed the wrong lessons on their son, that they had taught him all the wrong values. The familiar frustration Snape had been battling rose within him anew, wishing for nothing more than to be unleashed.

But instead of saying everything he wished with all his soul that he could say, he answered simply, "Draco is doing well. I commend you for giving him the skills he needs in Potions, Lucius." Lucius always liked being buttered up, after all.

The blond man smirked, proving Snape's point. "I do hope he is surpassing his classmates, especially that Mudblood Granger," he drawled.

Snape kept a tight lid on his emotions. That slur was not said by accident, he knew. The incident by the lake at the end of his and Lily's fifth year had travelled around Death Eater circles, and there was no doubt that Lucius was using the slur on purpose to see if Snape reacted. He was not going to show Lucius just how much that particular word still stung him like an axe to the gut.

"They are at about the same level right now," Snape said, knowing that this would not be to Lucius's liking.

"That is unacceptable," Lucius sneered. "I expect better of him. I have told him time and time again that he must not involve himself in childish, petty rivalries against Harry Potter. I did hear of a little ... incident involving our mutual friend Crouch."

Snape felt like snarling. Crouch was just as much his friend as he was Lucius's - that was, they were bitter enemies. Crouch was just as livid with Snape for avoiding an Azkaban sentence as he was with Lucius.

"Ah, yes," he sneered. "I did pull Draco into my office and inform him that he had to control his emotions in front of that brat."

Insult Harry Potter. Another item on the Malfoy checklist completed, although that one was never hard to do. Ever since that horrible incident a few days ago, however, Snape tried to keep any thoughts about the boy locked deep inside - it hurt too much. He was all too happy when Potter did not show up at his office for detention on Monday evening. Snape had not told him to return, after all, and honestly, if he never saw the boy's face again, he would be quite pleased.

The words would crop up in his nightmares, and in his waking thoughts at completely unexpected, random moments. "I'm sure you hated her, too. I bet you were glad to find out she was dead."

When he'd seen the boy on Wednesday during Potions, he couldn't look at him, just like he couldn't in class on Monday. Heouldn't even throw an insult at him. Instead, he took out all his ire on that complete and utter dunderhead, Longbottom. He spewed bitter, poisonous bile from his tongue at the Weasley brat, who wouldn't stop glaring at him, and refused to acknowledge that Hermione Granger had indeed brewed her potion correctly - rather, he'd sneered at her success.

And today, it had taken extra effort for him not to react to Lucius slipping the word Mudblood into the conversation. He'd almost caressed the two syllables as they were spoken, and Snape was supremely glad he hadn't given himself away. He wanted to close his eyes and forget that there was such a boy as Harry Potter.

"Indeed," Lucius said, bringing his guest back to the present. "Draco will see Potter receive his just punishment in due course. In fact ..." He gave Snape a calculating smirk that sent chills down his spine. "He has agreed to perform a special task that will see it done. I have not told him exactly what the task entails yet, but he sent me an owl this morning and agreed that he will do whatever I ask. The Dark Lord has decided on a new plan in order to reign again."

Snape felt his heart begin to race, and for a wild, paranoid moment, he thought both Malfoys would be able to hear it. He kept his expression stoic, praying for endurance. He knew that no matter how hard Draco was struggling right now, he would not yet be able to resist the temptation to obey his father's wishes. "Indeed?" he drawled in an unconcerned tone. "How will Draco be involved in such a plan?"

"Word has travelled, Severus, that Potter defended my son from Crouch's punishment," Narcissa said, and Snape could see the worry in her eyes. She was hardly as proficient at hiding her emotions as Severus was. If she showed such worry about her son in front of the Dark Lord, there was no doubt she would be punished. The monster did not appreciate those in his service showing such weakness.

"My only objection to Draco being punished in such a way was that it was done by Crouch," Lucius said with an ugly sneer. "I can't say I feel much sympathy for him. It will teach him not to attack Potter in front of a teacher. I cannot count how many times I have had to tell him that he cannot exhibit such behavior. I was extremely disappointed to find out about that little incident, and I shall show him my disapproval when I next see him."

"Don't be so hard on him, Lucius," Narcissa placated. "He is only young."

"Age does not matter, Narcissa," Lucius said sharply. "His immature behavior was utterly unacceptable. You know he will not last long in the Dark Lord's employ if he does not learn to control himself."

Narcissa glared at her husband. She stayed silent, but there was genuine anger in her eyes. Lucius paid her expression no heed, his face in that same arrogant sneer. Snape wanted to leave the manor immediately; he did not want to be here at a moment like this. These two could squabble in their own time.

"Anyway," Lucius drawled, "if there is one silver lining to Draco's abominable conduct, it is that the Dark Lord has used it to help him come up with his plan. Draco, I have been told, did not take at all well to Potter defending him."

"No, he did not," Snape answered. This was more or less true; Draco had behaved worse towards Potter ever since that little display, but Snape, being a spy, saw what others didn't. He could see Draco struggling with feelings of sheer confusion. He hated Potter, and Potter hated him. He simply didn't understand why the other boy would defend him while the rest of his Gryffindor friends looked on, laughing.

"Indeed," Lucius said, nodding. "It is obvious that that pathetic, stupid little Gryffindor brat is soft and malleable. After all Draco has said and done to him, Potter still defended him."

Snape had a feeling he knew where this was going, and he felt a mixture of both hope and dread. The two emotions warred with each other, plunging him into a whirlpool of chaotic thoughts.

At that moment, Dippy popped back in with the lamb. He made the empty soup bowls disappear, and then popped back out without a word.

All three began to cut and eat their lamb while Lucius continued explaining the plan. "You have a part in this too, Severus," he said slowly, a smirk twisting his face. "You are to orchestrate and set it up. You will make sure that Potter and Draco get to spend some quality time together. Potter has a ridiculous capacity for acceptance, it seems."

Every part of Snape wanted to object to that. No way would Potter ever change his mind about Draco. No matter what the other boy did, he would continue to loathe him even if it was completely unwarranted.

But that didn't explain the mysterious hope that had suddenly sprung up inside him, hope that he so desperately wanted to tamp down. Potter's hated voice filled his head again: "I'm sure you hated her, too. I bet you were glad to find out she was dead."

Snape tightened his Occlumency barriers, trying to drive out those awful, gut-wrenching words from his head. He couldn't think about that now. Not now.

"And the entire time, Draco will be looking for Potter's weaknesses," Lucius explained smugly, his eyes full of hate. "He will pretend to make nice with Potter. He will convince the fool that he is having a change of heart, and Potter will buy it hook, line, and sinker, only to realize that Draco was setting him up to be the main star in the Dark Lord's rebirth."

Narcissa had said nothing this entire time, but there was still worry and concern for her son shining in her eyes. Snape couldn't look at her face for long - it brought up the bitterness of his own childhood, the fact that his own mother had never, ever looked at him that way. Before she had drawn her last breath, Snape got the feeling that she'd grown to hate him just as much as his father had.

"And the Dark Lord will reward you both once it is done," Lucius drawled, still smirking smugly. "And you will be forgiven for your complete lack of judgment when it came to your part in the Crouch affair."

Snape knew that Lucius would bring this up before the night was over. "I had no choice, Lucius," he drawled right back, matching step for step. "I was not aware of what was going on, that Moody was not who he said he was and that Crouch was attempting to bring our Lord back to power."

"How, exactly, were you involved in Crouch's capture in the first place?" Lucius demanded, not letting the subject go.

"Why, it was Potter's meddling, of course," Snape sneered, his nostrils flaring. "And then, our dear Minerva got herself involved as well. I caught Potter running through the corridor when he was supposed to be going to detention with me. He said he had a ... bad feeling ... that Longbottom was in trouble. The illustrious, esteemed Mad-Eye Moody had invited him for tea in his office, and Potter seemed to take issue with it. Once Minerva put her nose in it and accepted that Potter actually had something to worry about, I could do nothing else but go along with it. You know how close that busybody is to that old fool, Lucius."

Snape, of course, was not going to reveal the Marauder's Map to Lucius. If the story about Pettigrew was indeed true, he could end up discussing it with his Master and the other Death Eaters, but for now, Snape was not willing to shed light on the existence of such a thing. He was not going to be the one responsible for that wretched thing getting into the wrong hands.

"I see," said Lucius, and Snape could see that the man could find nothing wrong with his story although he still looked suspicious. But Snape knew that he had mollified him for now. "Well," he said, "you can certainly redeem yourself for that misstep by making it possible for Draco to lull Potter into a false sense of security."

"It will be done," Snape said, and even as he spoke the words, he had a feeling that this was the beginning of something. Whether the words spelled doom or hope, only time would tell.

But as Lucius's smirk grew into an evil, ugly grin, Snape could only hope that he had not just agreed to plunge the world into another era of darkness.