Revelations
"Good night, Lauren."
"Good night, Severus."
"Well, here are your potions." He passed her two flasks.
"Oh... excellent…"
"Don't abuse, you know that they can give us problems and they have to last until Easter," Sev said.
"Of course, I'll only take them when we meet. How long do you want to talk today?"
She is always the one who consults me, Sev thought. "Maybe just a couple of hours."
"Alright."
They took their doses, each with their dispenser.
"By the way, would you mind meeting on Mondays instead of Tuesdays?" Sev asked.
"Not at all."
She never refuses.
"Great, thank you very much," he said.
"Well, start with the good news."
"Today they are all good."
"I already imagined it, that's why I was in no hurry to meet," Lauren said. "Tell me then."
"I won them all over, including her, in a single day."
"What are you saying?" amazed.
"What you're hearing," Sev replied.
"How did you do it?"
"I still don't understand it very well..." He summarized the entire process, from before Christmas, which she only knew in fragments, of his relationship with Anthony, Ariel, and his entire day with the Guard. From his talk with Jack and the others, he did tell her that he had been abused as a child without going into details, but he told her the rest in full, including that he had even thought of becoming a Death Eater. If the Guard knows, how can I not tell her?
He also omitted the shield, but he did tell her everything related to little Ariel in detail. She didn't interrupt him at any time, letting her emotions show just with her expression, but she also realized the bond between them.
When he finished she told him, "So they ended up crying and sorry for not having helped you sooner."
"That's how it was."
"And Jack has given you a position of honor and consults with you on decisions apart from the others."
"That is," Sev said.
"Don't be surprised so much, Severus, you're not one more, you're already the second in command. You are the one who is going to command the training in Dueling and Mental Arts, you have given them the magic of the fir tree, your talent for it and made them see that you need to be more people. Being willing to ally with the Gryffs is a big step, and knowing Jack he will leave you free to do things your way, so the two of you are going to form an excellent dumbbell. He will be in charge of finding and gaining more allies at home and you will be training them, you will be on par."
"Oh…"
"You don't know how glad I am," Lauren continued. "Now, yes, a Sly squad will be able to form in the face of war, the entire Wizarding World is going to have to deny that we are the bad guys in the movie. Too bad Jack only has a year and a half of school left. Learn as much as possible from him to assume the role of leader in seventh grade and know how to choose who will succeed you when you finish."
"Me?" Sev said, astonished. "Who wanted to be a Death Eater just six months ago?"
"The best, you know the enemy, as soon as you all come to light you will intimidate them. We are more good than bad at home, you know that."
"Yeah. That's true."
"What happens is that people don't organize themselves, but we are Slys, Severus, rebellious and combative," Lauren said. "When your thing is known, many will want to join immediately."
"Sure."
She abbreviates House names like Jack, Sev thought.
"And also people from the other Houses, especially Raves, who go about their business and are above prejudice and competition," she continued. "And with time, Gryffs too, when they get over the nonsense of wanting to be the protagonists of the show and put the essentials ahead, to be all united against Voldemort."
Like it happened yesterday with Remus.
"Now the difficult period awaits you because the good people at home are not going to accept you just like that, Jack is going to find himself in trouble, let him act on his own terms," Lauren went on.
"Of course, he already told me."
"The Legilimency will be very useful for you to know who may be interested in joining at first and who has reluctance to do so since you are involved."
"But haven't you always said that allies should not be read?" Sev asked.
"It's an emergency situation, Severus, the first thing is to get you out of the hole. But don't give them the idea, Jack will come up with it by himself, and don't refuse when he proposes it, after all, you're the one who controls it right now, until you teach them. Thet way I can be the one to inform you of possible allies."
"Wow, Lauren, but that's going to be a lot more work for you."
"I was already counting on it and it's not such a big deal, it's not necessary to inquire as with the malefics, it's enough for me to probe their opinion about joining an organized group and what they think of you. I will give you the information to the extent that it is credible that you have obtained it."
"Okay, thank you very much, Lauren."
She smiled. "And with the Gryffs?You saw them yesterday afternoon, don't you?"
"Yes, and the alliance with them was not due to a mere interest in increasing the ranks."
"I imagine so. Something to do with the magic of the fir tree, right?"
She knows everything, Sev thought. "You hit the mark." He told her about the shield.
"Whoa, Severus, what a discovery... We have to keep it a secret and save it for the war."
"Of course."
"And continue investigating if it has more applications in Defense."
"I already thought about it," Sev said.
"But it should not leak. In fact, it will be necessary to choose very well who to tell it to and who not to."
"I already thought about it too."
"Is Lupin trustworthy? Won't he tell the other three?" Lauren asked.
"I am almost convinced that he won't. He was reluctant to join the Guard yesterday and I persuaded him by telling him that Voldemort tries to pick off any outstanding wizard. Did I do well?"
"Yes, it is credible that you know that information. You know, you've spent a lot of time in contact with the enemy, a magnificent double agent."
"But perhaps he will tell his friends about it, who are also good duelists," Sev said.
"He could not. How would he justify that he found out?"
"True. Also, I tried to keep him quiet by telling him that maybe Black knew about it too and hadn't told him anything."
"Very cunning of you, because it is indeed credible that Black knows," Lauren said.
"Yes, in fact Lupin was aware of Bellatrix's dealings through him."
"Of course, the Gryffs also want to fight. But they are waiting for Dumbledore to propose."
"Yeah... Another one waiting to put the cards on the table when we leave school," Sev said.
"That is. Dumbledore and Voldemort, the two sides of the same coin. Do not be surprised that he tries to recruit you all as soon as your thing is uncovered, especially you. He will want to control you all, and he is a manipulator of the first order and without any scruples. You must all learn to occlude as soon as possible, so that he cannot find out that you know Druid Magic."
It's time for the proposal, Sev thought. "Lauren, join us. We don't have a Pensieve and Jack can't get one safely until next month."
"Ugh… Severus… you can't ask me that, the first thing is my family. They won't trust me as they have you unless I explained everything I told you. And I'm sure Fairbank would betray me, and maybe your girl too. You know, jealousy, we women are very evil in that regard. Don't worry, I don't think you'll be appointed before Easter. After all, training wouldn't start until summer. You will have fifteen days to prepare yourselves thoroughly if you take advantage of the afternoons, which will have already lengthened, for it. They now have our talent for Occlumency as well. In fact, I think at least the Slys already had it, all of them, including the boy, and the Gryffs aren't going to expose themselves. But until then you all must avoid, everyone, seeing the old man. Tell Anthony tomorrow in Arithmancy and tell Lily as soon as it is your turn to write to her."
"I already have tomorrow's letter, I will add an urgent notice."
"Brilliant."
"Dumbledore notices the Occlumency?" Sev asked.
"Impossible to know, but almost certainly. He is over ninety years old, he has had a lot of time to learn."
"And then... why does he only read eyes?"
"Do you think that?" Lauren said.
"It's what it seems."
"I think it is more what he tries to pretend."
"Yeah."
"In fact, I have never approached him since I found out my parents' secret, he could have tried to recruit me as a spy," she said.
"Sure."
"And hence what I told you before about how he will try to recruit you as soon as the Guard is uncovered. He will want to train you, take advantage of it, the old man knows a thousand things that we don't, but always stay alert with him. He won't tell you anything until you're about to leave Hogwarts and then he'll propose that you accept Voldemort's offer and get marked to become a double agent."
"Ugh…"
"Calm down... You're already warned, so you know. To get everything you can but not let yourself be manipulated. Use him, and not the other way around, he is even more dangerous for you than Voldemort himself."
Sev snorted.
"Don't worry, you will have more than two years to prepare" Lauren continued. "He'll make you his right-hand man, and when he sees you're not swallowing, he won't waste everything he's taught you and will keep you as his second, protected from the fight, and Lily too, of course, if you go on teaching her everything that you learn from him."
"Buah, Lauren... you already had all this planned."
"Of course. We discussed everything with my parents at Christmas. Perhaps I shouldn't have told you yet, but it's essential that Dumbledore doesn't find out that you know Druid magic, at least for now. I'm sure he knows about it, and who knows what he'd do if he found out, he could Obliviate all of you or worse, because you'd still have the ability and could rediscover it by chance like you did on Sunday."
"Buah... I had thought to ask him to protect Lily as soon as the letter arrived," Sev said.
"Mistake, do not allow yourself to be indebted to him, he will blackmail you into doing whatever he wants. You must let him approach you, and then put your conditions on him as you did with the Guard, you already saw how well it has gone for you. He must already be pondering it in his mind since he saw you and Ariel together at Christmas, and even more so now that he has seen you all miss Sunday lunch. He must be rubbing his hands."
"And won't he try to appoint the boy to find out what's going on?"
"I don't think so, because he doesn't suspect the Druid magic thing, and he already finds out about the rest simply by observing your movements, it would be giving himself away prematurely," Lauren said. "That one should have been Sly, he outsmarts all of us put together. You're going to have to learn to deal with him, he's seventy-five years ahead of you."
"Wow, Lauren… I don't know what I would do without you."
Spending my life trying to be an excellent wizard and then letting others enslave me, Sev thought.
"About Lily, what you should do is spend the time you have left in security to train her thoroughly in Defense, and also Harb and Lupin, so that when she is in danger again there will be at least three against the bad guys," she continued. "And in the critical period, which will be before the summer, cut off all contact and that she not be separated from her housemates, not only Lupin and Harb, but also Potter and Black. There you're going to have to swallow."
Lauren sighed and Sev looked down, defeated. Alliances with the lions... Two whole months without seeing Lily and her having to put up with Potter all the time.
Lauren put her hand over his, leaning across the table, and spoke to him very sweetly, "Come on, Severus, cheer up. Perhaps by then you will be able to project to each other through the Great Hall and in class. You have already acquired my talent and you can pass it on to her."
"I was thinking of taking her to the fir tree this Sunday, but I went with the Guard."
"Oh… the work is piling up. But maybe she already have it. Is she communicative?"
"Yes, a lot," Sev replied.
"So she has it, and she already passed it on to you in January."
"And also for Legilimency. From the first time we tried, she penetrated much more than I did."
"Intuitive, she knows how to understand people," Lauren said.
"Yeah."
"Then she also gave it to you. I noticed the change as soon as you did the ritual."
"Really?" Sev asked.
"Yes, I didn't tell you anything so as not to force you to talk about her. And for Occlumency?"
"Not that, nothing is saved for her."
"But you gave her yours, you have complemented each other perfectly," Lauren said. "It would not have been necessary for you to do the ritual with me, but I thought you were missing the Projection and I knew you would need it."
Oh… She did it for Lily despite how she feels about me.And to think that I was about to deny it to her. He looked at her with misty eyes. "Yes, it was necessary, Lauren, and I don't regret doing it at all, so I also passed on my talent to you."
"Of course, and I thank you very much." Lauren continued to speak to him with her mind. "So you don't need to take her again, spend time practicing Projection.I am sure that between you it will be very easy, because you have known each other your whole life.You can do it even while doing other things… I've never tried it, but it must be fantastic…" She gave him a knowing look and smile.
And to think that she's wanting it with me and she's offering it to me with Lily. He couldn't stop himself from crying and stopped looking at her again.
She squeezed his hand. "Come on, cheer up, Severus, everything is sailing smoothly, now you just have to gather momentum to jump the abyss.You already have people on the other side to receive you, even if she didn't resist."
She thinks I'm crying for Lily, and I'm doing it for her. He looked at her. "And you, Lauren?Do you stay on the other side?"
"I will jump at my moment, and I know that you will be waiting for me to receive me."
"Don't ever doubt it."
"Have you seen? I'm not doing it just for you, I also want to be part of those Slys who will fight Evil, and you will be my supporter."
It's time to probe her out about Jack, Sev thought. "Have you thought that Jack would also keep your secret?"
"Yes, I know he would."
They tried to keep it under wraps, like I guessed.
"But I'll wait until he learns to occlude and check with my parents over Easter," Lauren continued.
She has hope, they love each other.
"And besides, now you have enough with your thing," she went on. "He must be very worried about the sword of Damocles that hangs over you all if he has come to consider 'alliances with the lions'."
Jack's words. And always thinking of us before herself.
"Are you staying up late again on Thursday?" she asked him.
She has guessed, from my proposal to change to Mondays and stay only two hours today, that I am going to see Lily that night, so as not to take potions two days in a row.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Well, if you don't feel fit on Friday, we'll leave the Defense class with me for next week."
And last Friday she told me that her week was going to be very long.
"No, Lauren. I want to start now," Sev said.
"But on Saturday you also have training with t Guard, you're going to be exhausted."
"It doesn't matter. I withstand pressure well and they are all things that I really want to do. I'll sleep well on Friday and Saturday night and I'll have Sunday to rest and catch up on my homework."
"Merlin, Severus… you are made of very stern stuff."
Jack's words again.
"Look who's talking," Sev said. They smiled at each other.
"If you change your mind, project to me in the Great Hall and in peace. Do you already have the Occlumency book?" Lauren asked.
"Yeah. I got it last night, so I could check it out with you."
"That is to say, you also stayed up late last night," worried.
"Yes, but I didn't take potion," Sev said.
"To top…" Now she was the one who almost cried. "Well, then today we will only dedicate ourselves to explaining to you how to teach them without them discovering that you already know. Thus they can already practice without Pensieve, and you read them only superficially, immediate thoughts, do not delve into the recent ones."
"I didn't mean to."
"Better teach them to read and that they do it among themselves," Lauren said.
"Okay."
"Come on, then take out the book and let's get to it."