Advance Arrangement
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story. I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Lily's visit with Amelia went well. Amelia had always good friends with the Potters, and due to the hassle about Sirius and Peter in the morning after Halloween, the Unspeakables had let her in on the secret that she and James were alive.
When she told her about the antidote to the antidote for Veritaserum, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement became excited to say the least.
She stared at Lily in apparent disbelief. "Why have you never informed me? Or the Aurors about his valuable potion?"
Lily shook her head. "I am sorry, Amelia. We finished the potion at the end of September, and then a few days later, we made the copies and were sent into hiding on the North Pole. I haven't even contacted Severus Snape by now, but I intend to speak with him right away. I will let him in on the secret."
"Is he trustworthy?" Amelia cast her a sharp look.
Lily nodded. "Absolutely. I'd trust him with my life. He has made a grave mistake, but I can understand why he did such a thing, and neither the Marauders nor I are completely innocent. We might have driven him into making the wrong choices." She remained pensive for a moment, before she made up her mind. "I believe that he has sufficiently made up for it."
"Where is Sirius, by the way? I know that he has taken off the whole week, but as his fiancée…" Amelia slowly trailed off.
Lily nodded. "He is with us on the North Pole for the time being. Will you please visit us, as soon as you're done here for the day?"
"Are you sure that it's all right for me to come over, and how in the world will I be able to travel to the North Pole?"
Lily chuckled. 'I've never seen her so insecure,' she thought in amusement, before she promised, "I'll come and pick you up in an hour if that's all right with you. I hope to have the antidote to the antidote by then, too."
"Don't they mind if you bring so many friends over?"
"No dear. The Potters are the heirs of Merlin and in extension Santa. As their family, we have our home on the North Pole now, and Santa and Merlin reassured us that we can invite our best friends at any time. Of course, James and I only reveal our identities to people who have sworn us an oath of secrecy."
Amelia nodded. "Of course. Considering how you were betrayed by one of your best friends, you cannot be careful enough. All right, I'll see you later on then."
HP
Saying goodbye to Amelia, Lily pulled up her hood and popped right into the Hogwarts dungeon. From the beginning of the school year onwards, Severus had become the Potions professor and Potions master at the school, and Lily had visited him a couple of times at the beginning, when they had still been researching the antidote potion. 'Thank Merlin,' she thought. 'I wouldn't want to walk through the castle searching for him.'
As it was shortly before dinner, Severus was in his office and not in his private lab, much to her relief. 'How could I explain that I know where it is if he's unaware of my identity?' she thought, hoping that her friend would readily swear her the necessary oath.
Severus appeared grumpy, when he opened the door.
"Hello Professor Snape, I would like to speak with you for a moment. I am Unspeakable Fluffy."
"Unspeakable Fluffy?" Severus quirked an eyebrow. "Have we ever met before?"
Lily chuckled. "Yes, we have. Would you be willing to swear a wizard's oath to keep everything that I tell you a secret?" He did not like it; however, after short hesitation, he pulled his wand.
"I swear on my magic to not reveal what Unspeakable Fluffy tells me to anyone."
"Thank you, Severus. I appreciate it very much. Now, when I lower my hood, please do not curse me. I am who I appear to be."
Her friend's eyebrows rose; however, he stashed his wand in his robe pocket and looked at her in clear expectation. However, when Lily lowered her hood, his hand found its way back into his robe pocket.
"I knew that he was going to come after us," Lily began to explain and told her friend everything that had occurred since they had last met.
When she finished her tale, Severus remained quiet. He did not even look at her but seemed to stare right through her. "I still can't believe that you're alive. But I am most pleased. Thank you for letting me in on the secret."
Lily smiled. "You're my friend and Harry's unofficial godfather. I hope that you will extend this position to Bobby now as well."
A small smile crossed the Slytherin's face. "It will be my pleasure. I hope they're as adept at brewing as you. If your husband doesn't mind, I shall teach them from their next birthday onwards."
"Thanks Severus," Lily replied, recalling why she had come to see him in the first place. "Do you still have a few doses of the antidote to the antidote for Veritaserum?"
Severus smirked. "We should call it the anti-denial potion, and yes, I still have the five doses we brewed after the test versions."
Lily quickly explained what it was needed for, before she asked, "Are you able to leave Hogwarts for a few hours to accompany me to Amelia Bones and give her the phials. She will certainly want more, and it would be good if you could directly provide them for her. Afterwards, I'm going to take Amelia with me to the North Pole, and I'd be happy if you accompanied us as well."
"I'd have to ask Albus or at least Minerva."
Lily nodded in understanding. "Minerva then please. I intend to reveal myself to her anyway, provided that she'll give me the requested oath."
"She surely will. Do you want me to call her over?"
HP
Five minutes later, Minerva had sworn her oath and seeing Lily pulled her into a bear hug. She then sighed in relief, before she asked, "What about Harry?"
After discussing the matter of Harry and Bobby for a few minutes, Minerva agreed for Severus to leave the castle for the evening, while she would visit the Potters on the North Pole after Dumbledore's trial on Saturday.
HP
"Being an Unspeakable must be really convenient, considering that no one else is able to apparate out of Hogwarts," Severus remarked, when Lily popped them right in front of Amelia Bones' office a few minutes later.
"Would you consider becoming an Unspeakable as well?" Lily suggested. "My team would surely be happy to have you."
Severus shook his head. "Thank you, Lily, but I have more than a full-time job with my positions as Potions professor, Potions master and Head of Slytherin."
When Severus handed Amelia the batch of potions, stating, "The anti-denial potion," she immediately enquired if he could regularly provide such a batch for her.
"I could do that, but wouldn't it be better if Lily brewed the potion? I really don't have much time for extracurricular activities."
Lily nodded. "I can do that."
"Thank you, Lily." Amelia smiled. "May I also ask you to administer the potion for Albus' and Molly's trial?" Seeing that Lily looked at her in shock, she added, "in your Unspeakable Fluffy capacity of course."
Lily hesitated, however, knowing that Severus would not want to administer the potion to Albus, at least as long as he was the headmaster of Hogwarts and his boss, grudgingly agreed.
"Sev, we should research for an updated version, which we can just spell into someone's body instead of having to make them drink it."
Severus gave her a sharp nod of agreement.
HP
By the time Lily as Unspeakable Fluffy had to administer the anti-denial potion to Albus Dumbledore on Saturday morning, she was glad to be able to wear her Unspeakable robes with hood, so that no one let alone Albus Dumbledore was able to decipher her emotions upon forcing that potion down his throat.
'Thank Merlin I don't have to act as a witness during the trial,' she thought, as she took her seat in the visitors' gallery, knowing that she could fully rely on Charlus, Merlin, Sirius and Amelia. 'I wonder if Dumbledore is really innocent and if so, who is behind all this.'
tbc...
Thank you for the kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please continue feeding my muse. Any ideas, suggestions or opinions are welcome.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
