Chapter Eight

Professor Snape and the Straw Death Eaters

One afternoon Jane Undead was lying across her bed, contemplating the mountaintop seen from the window. The colourful cat was curled up on her lap, purring softly as her mistress stroked her fur. A few days ago, the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix had taken place, at which Jane went sceptical and returned with a terrible hangover. Well, at least she recovered before she went to class, otherwise, she could incur herself in front of the students. That night she met the wizard she was thinking about at the moment, who eventually got her drunk. Not that she was in love or anything, but she definitely liked the attention.

'You won't believe what I learnt about you!' Sirius Black had woken her in the morning after the steady binge with those words.

'What can be so interesting to learn about me?' Jane replied drowsily as she put on her glasses. Apparently, she had fallen asleep after drinking a lot of gin the night before, and now the ceiling was spinning before her eyes. 'And where, if it's no secret, did you learn it?'

'I suppose you remember Kreacher, our house-elf. He said he saw you here last night and started questioning you. Naturally, I scolded him that it wasn't his job to question my guests, but he hardly heard me. But he told me something very interesting about your pedigree. It turns out that your family is about a hundred years old and there are no men in it, except for a short time and as an exception.'

'I guess they just weren't lucky. Two drowned, one disappeared without a trace, and one contracted Manticore fever and passed away shortly after. But it seems as if you're having fun.'

'I'm not laughing at you. Kreacher just seems afraid of you, which is funny for me, at least. You see, he usually annoys my friends and tries to drive them away because they had Muggle blood.'

'Well, if it's funny for you, enjoy it. I'm thinking of lying down a little longer until the Earth stops rocking.'

Unfortunately for her, however, she could not lie down for long, as according to her watch, it would soon be time for breakfast at Hogwarts, where she hoped she could refresh herself with a cup of coffee. So she had to say goodbye to Sirius and leave his house. After looking out the window toward the square, she decided she could get out safely and apparated to Hogsmeade. The fresh air did its trick, and after walking all the way to school, she felt much better than before, so she went straight to breakfast, stopping by the bathroom to fix her hair a bit.

And now she was lying on the bed in her room, remembering the occurrence. Professor Dumbledore had said that Sirius's house was as secure as possible, so Jane wasn't worried that she spent the night there. She had long been fed up with the castle, so she was glad she had diversified a little. Sirius invited her to visit him again some time or stay after the next meeting, but she wasn't sure that would be sensible. She didn't think she should trust Sirius completely, especially since she couldn't rule him out as a potential spy of the Dark Lord. The story with the house-elf had startled her a lot.

On the other hand, if she came without warning and left cautiously, she could probably visit the place. After all, the house was the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, and Professor Dumbledore must have stuffed it with protective spells. And now that she was a teacher, things were changing for her, at least to some extent. Voldemort certainly still wanted to catch her, but since she was under Professor Dumbledore's protection, he was the one who needed to be more careful.

Jane decided to leave the matter for now and go do something useful, such as take a bath. It was a Thursday afternoon, and the Ladies' club was about to gather in the teachers' bathroom.

This time she went downstairs wearing her robe, holding her bathrobe over her hand. It was cold in the castle as the first heavy snow of the season had fallen outside. To her delight, the bathroom was warm, steam coming out of every open faucet, and a small fireplace was burning in the antechamber.

Minerva and Pomona had already arrived and were just undressing, so Jane greeted them and hurried to do the same. As she waited for them to sort their clothes, she warmed a little in front of the fireplace, then the three of them entered the main room. After helping them prepare the bathtub, she went to take a quick shower as was her habit and, with some delay, also slipped into the coloured foam. Shortly afterwards, Aurora arrived, took a quick shower, and joined them.

'I'm completely numb," she complained. 'Last night I and the students spent at least two hours at the top of the tower before the clouds gathered. It was very cold, and the wind was blowing strong. I think I should go to Madame Pomfrey to give me something for the cold.'

'I could rub you,' Jane offered her services. 'After we come out of the tub. I know from my aunt that it keeps you from getting sick.'

'I'll be very glad. I can't stay still because of the cold since last night.'

Aurora Sinistra even shivered in the water, apparently, she felt quite cold, then sank to her chin. After a while, Pomona offered to play cards, which everyone approved. Only Aurora hesitated for a moment if she would feel too cold to keep her hands out of the water, but then decided to play, too. They conjured a marble table in the middle of the pool, after which Jane began dealing the cards.

They played three bridge games, two of which Jane and Minerva lost and one won. Then they got tired, put away the cards and the table, and started talking. After listening to the conversation about the upcoming students' visit to Hogsmeade, Jane decided to ask something that she was interested in at the moment.

'Does any of you happen to know more about Sirius Black, in whose house we met?'

The three of them turned to her, somewhat surprised, and Minerva replied, 'Sirius, it's interesting that you think of him just now. In fact, I shouldn't be surprised, I keep forgetting that you're new and you just weren't here then. You see, three years ago we had a little adventure with him here in school. He came looking for his godson and scared everybody.'

'This is hardly a reason for anyone to be scared.'

'Yes, but there were special circumstances around him. I guess you know that Sirius was in Azkaban for many years.'

'Azkaban?' Jane was shocked. 'What for? And how did they release him?'

Minerva raised an eyebrow in surprise. Her colleague was quite uninformed about an issue that had caused a great deal of controversy a few years ago, which was rather strange.

'He was taken away because he turned the Potters over to You-Know-Who. But he escaped three years ago.'

'Minerva, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but that's not possible. Or at least it wasn't possible then', she corrected herself because she quickly remembered some of last year's incidents.

'I don't know how he escaped, but he definitely did. They turned every stone looking for him. Eventually, Professor Snape and Professor Lupin, who was teaching your subject at the time, managed to catch him. And he turned out to be innocent. The real culprit was the Potters' other friend, Peter. But nothing can be proven until Peter is caught. That's why poor Sirius is practically locked in his house. Professor Dumbledore says it's dangerous for him to go outside.'

Jane just nodded, trying to stomach the shocking news. To sit in prison for so long, given that you have done nothing wrong. Her new acquaintance was definitely to be pitied. On the other hand, it wasn't so certain that he was really innocent. True, the headmaster believed him, but he could sometimes be more gullible than was safe for anybody. She had to check it out somehow, but so far she didn't have a good idea how. She had remembered Black from the time they were together at school – he was something like Euphem Forest, but not so stupid. The girls were like glued to him. The good thing was that he probably didn't know Legilimency, because very few Animagi knew it, but it didn't stop him from learning a little Occlumency. In that case, Jane would, at best, simply waste her time, and at worst, reveal herself to a potential spy.

Deciding to abandon this topic, for the time being, the young teacher tried to join the conversation of the others again. However, they had fallen silent and drank cocktails with firewhisky instead, probably to keep warm. When they offered one to her, she gladly accepted. Then they talked again about going to Hogsmeade, and Minerva asked her, 'What about you, Jane, don't you want to come with us? Teachers can indeed go at any time, but I guess you will enjoy the company. The whole school will be there.'

'Well, if you think it's going to be interesting, Minerva, I'll come. I just need to count my Galleons first.'

They talked for a few more minutes about minor matters, after which Jane went to rub Aurora Sinistra's back, as she had promised.

If nothing else, at least Jane couldn't complain about not working. Lily and her band came to rehearse regularly, and she had recently begun doing something for the Defence Against the Dark Arts class with the help of Professor Hagrid, which she hoped they would complete by the end of the year. Unable to think of anything else on the subject of Sirius Black, she wrote a letter to Dora Tonks, in which she mentioned, among other things, his name and her hesitation as to whether he was really innocent. Since the girl was an Auror, she might tell her if there was anything peculiar about him.

One day, just as she was walking the five Ravenclaws to the door after a rehearsal, to her great surprise, a student was waiting for her outside, probably for counselling. This was Anthony Stone, one of the few Slytherins from his year who attended the magic club. Why he hadn't knocked on the door but was standing outside waiting for them to finish, however, was unknown.

'Hello, Anthony!' Jane greeted him as the seven people around the door wondered how to pass. There was a small commotion, but it quickly resolved on its own – the boys had decided that Lily had to go through the door first, and she, without even having an idea, stood at the back, waiting for the others to come out. Once the girl realized what was expected of her, she finally stepped forward while Anthony held the door and the others lined up behind her. Lily nodded to him, and he almost dropped the doorknob as he answered her. All of this took less than ten seconds, but it was enough for Jane to notice two things: Anthony seemed to have fallen for Lily beyond recognition, and she wasn't indifferent to him, too.

After the Ravenclaws hid behind the next door, Jane and Anthony walked back into the room, and the teacher asked, 'So, Anthony, what brings you here?'

'Well, Professor, I'm having trouble with a spell from the club.' The boy sounded a little distracted, so she gave him time to come to his senses before asking him exactly what the spell was.

After fixing the problem with the spell (it turned out that Anthony had recorded it incorrectly because he was in a hurry), Jane politely offered him a cup of tea.

'I want to ask you,' she began as she sipped her tea, 'did you hear anything coming from the room while you were outside?'

'Actually, yes. Rock music. But not very loud.'

'I see. We forgot to cast the soundproofing spell again. May I be a little curious?'

'Of course.'

'What do you think about what you heard? You see, I'm a little biased, even though I'm not in the band, so I want to hear a second opinion.'

'I think it was very good,' Anthony said sincerely. 'Are you teaching them?'

'Yes, I'm passing the experience, so to say. At one time I also had a band, although we haven't played for a long time. The boys and Lily wanted me to help them, and I did what I could.'

Meanwhile, Murray stuck her head out of the bedroom door and, looking around, decided to join in the conversation with a pitiful meowing.

'Poor Murray,' Jane said at once. 'Did I forget to feed you again?'

'You have a nice cat, Professor,' Anthony said and went to pet the animal, which was already eating from its bowl.

'There are a lot of them in my aunt's place', Jane answered. 'I took Murray already grown up but we have little kittens every spring. I can get you one if you want.'

'I would be very glad but I don't know how my tomcat will accept it. He is a little jealous of other cats.'

'You have a tomcat? Can I see him some time?'

'You'll have to come to the dungeon. He doesn't allow to be carried around.'

Since she didn't have much against the Slytherin Dungeon, Jane agreed to drop by some time. The student and the teacher talked a little while they drank their tea, after which Anthony apologized that he had things to do and started for the door.'

'Come by more often,' Jane told him while walking him to the door. 'I'm very happy when I can help my students with something. And you better not call me a Professor, for now, I'm just an Associate Professor.'

'I'll try to remember.'

They said goodbye, and Jane returned to her room. Meanwhile, an owl had appeared in the window, tapping its beak impatiently on the glass, with a letter tied to its leg. The teacher hurried to open it and take out the letter. The bird wandered around the room, but when it saw the cat, it decided it would be wise to fly away.

The letter was from Dora Tonks, who had apparently decided to write to her as soon as possible after receiving hers. Dora was writing about her life during the years when they had not seen each other, and mentioned, among other things, some amusing stories from her work. She had given a lot of space to Sirius Black, where she defended him fervently, but the letter made it clear that the two were in fact cousins or something, so Jane wasn't sure her words were reliable.

She sighed and picked up some parchment and a pen. She decided to respond immediately by sharing some information about herself and writing that she didn't really mind her cousin, she just wanted to make sure of what she had heard at school.

The autumn days passed monotonously. The weather was depressing – it was constantly raining or windy. There was a Quidditch match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff, which was not attended by many spectators, as the weather had been quite unpleasant. Jane spent most of her days in her office or room, sometimes stopping by the teacher's room. The students had already begun to get into rhythm, especially the Ravenclaws, who seemed to have finally awakened from their deep sleep. In one of the first days of December, she decided to surprise the sixth-graders with an innovation she had invented herself.

When the Ravenclaw students entered the classroom, they noticed two major changes in the room's interior. The first was that all the desks and chairs were shifted to the walls, and the second was a few scarecrows with hooded cloaks complementing its decoration.

'Uh, Associate Professor Undead,' August asked impatiently, 'what are these things in the middle of the room?'

'These, August, are Death Eaters made of sacks,' Jane answered calmly. Several students laughed at her words, to which she only smiled in response. 'They don't look real to you now, but you'll see in a moment.'

At that moment, the teacher noticed a raised hand at the end of the row of students.

'Yes, Miss Jones,' Jane said.

'Professor, what is all this about?'

Omitting the wrong address, she decided to answer the question, 'It occurred to me that you hadn't actually practised very well any of the spells we learned due to the simple lack of suitable objects. But I think that with the help of these dummies you'll feel as if you have real opponents against you and we'll be able to practice everything. So, if there aren't any more questions, I think it's time to get started.'

There were still a lot of uncomprehending faces around her but Jane was convinced that it was better to show them than to keep explaining. So she swung the curtains on the windows and with one short motion enchanted the sack figures. They began making sounds as if they were about to attack and approached the students. Cassandra Jones screamed in surprise.

'Don't worry, they're completely safe' Jane shouted just in case. 'There's nothing they can do to you. But you can apply on them all sorts of spells you can think of. In fact, let's practice the repulsing spell first.'

To set an example, she stepped before the students and repulsed the nearest Death Eater with a well-measured Impulsus spell.

'It's your turn,' she urged them.

With a determined expression on her face, Lily Smith stepped forward and also aimed at one of the figures. The spell was strong, and the dummy flew to the other end of the room. Lily was followed by August, then by Jerry and Euphem. Gradually, the others calmed down and decided to test their abilities. Jane encouraged them, and when they had all successfully practised the first spell, she offered them another.

'Now try without speaking. Very good. Lily and August, you try without wands. And now the others.'

The students were no longer afraid of the Death Eaters, who were slowly losing their limbs and sometimes their heads, and straw was flying all over the room.

'Associate Professor Undead, it's a lot of fun,' Euphem exclaimed excitedly as he decapitated a dummy.

'Only you'll help me clean afterwards, which is unlikely to be so much fun,' Jane joked as she stood to one side and watched the lesson. Most of the students did great, but some needed help. She looked at her watch from time to time so as not to hold them longer than she should, and when there were five minutes left until the end of the class, she announced the end of the lesson.

'It ended too fast,' a ginger boy tried to protest, standing a little away from Lily.

'So much for today. Death Eaters are humans, too and also need their rest.'

There was a storm of laughter.

'Fifty points for Ravenclaw, I think you deserved them. And now you can disperse. Whoever wants could stay and clean with me.'

Most of the students hurried to leave, but a few remained. Lily, August and Seth, as well as two of the others, helped collect the straw in a pile, after which Jane treated them to some strong tea.

'We did a good job today,' she commended them as she pulled out a straw tangled in her hair.

'Associate Professor Undead, do you think we'll be able to cast these spells if we meet a real adversary?' asked August, who had left his cup of tea on a desk to cool.

'I really hope so,' Jane answered him. 'But it's good to exercise regularly.'

'Ah, Professor, may I ask you a question, if it's not too daring?'

The teacher turned to the source of the voice and saw a tall dark-haired girl with aristocratic features chilling her tea with a spell.

'Of course, Alice. That's why I'm here' she said calmly and smiled invitingly.

'Have you met the Death Eaters yourself, I mean face to face?'

At the mention of this question, Jane froze in her place. It was logical to be asked this, but she didn't expect it at that moment. She met Lily's gaze, who was looking at her seriously, her eyes reading, "Should I tell her to shut up or will you?" Waving Lily not to worry, Associate Professor Undead explained earnestly, 'One should avoid such meetings as much as possible. But there is not always a choice. To answer your question, and I think you deserve an honest answer, yes, I had to face the Death Eaters. It's not something I recommend.'

All five kids looked startled and didn't appreciate her humour at all, but Jane wasn't offended.

'Look, there's nothing to be scared of,' she explained calmly. 'That's my job. Come on now, drink your tea and you better get going before you're late for a class and lose points from Ravenclaw.'

Almost the same lesson was repeated with the students from the other houses. The Slytherins were quite sceptical of the exercise, and the Hufflepuffs needed a lot of help, but in the end, they all did well. For the seventh year, this class was even more difficult, and for the fifth year, some things had to be eased. Nevertheless, all the students were very excited after their first lesson with the Death Eaters and were looking forward to the next one. However, one of the Ravenclaws spread the spilt the beans, and soon the whole school knew about Jane's meetings with the Dark Lord's true followers. In general, this rather impressed the students, although some didn't believe it. Professor Snape seemed to have listened to the rumours as well, and who knows why he didn't seem particularly happy with what he had learnt. He and Jane looked awry at each other for a long time before finding a safe way to compare their abilities.

And so one day Professor Snape spoke to Jane, just after lunch was over, 'Associate Professor Anded,' he said formally, vicious flames flashing in his eyes. 'The headmaster has asked me to test your Occlumency skills. He needs to know who he trusts, and that's why he's given me this task.'

'So Professor Dumbledore told you to "test" me?' Undead repeated in disbelief, looking her colleague straight in the eye and added hurriedly, 'Of which you probably convinced him yourself. Are you still playing that string, Snape?'

'The task I've been given,' said the professor icily, 'greatly affects the work of the Order. As for me – your pathetic personality does not particularly excite me.'

There was almost no one left in the Great Hall, so they could talk calmly without the danger of being overheard.

'I'd love to miss this lesson,' Jane said with a hint of anger in her voice. 'But I already promised Professor Dumbledore to speak with you.'

This was a complete lie but she wanted to know what would happen next. The only bad thing was that Dumbledore himself had no idea of this promise, and it wasn't wise to give false information to someone so good at Legilimency. Fortunately, the witch knew how to cover for herself and did her best not to give away her innocent lie. If he wanted to compare abilities, let him start here.

However, Professor Snape didn't seem to be particularly interested in her last remark, but instead pushed his chair back and motioned for her to follow him to the door.

'Let's go to the History of Magic classroom. Professor Binns has no classes there today', Jane suggested.

Snape snorted something in response, but he seemed to agree as he walked to the stairs that led to the classroom in question. Since he didn't comply with her stride at all, she had to run after him so she wouldn't lag far behind. As they entered the classroom, the two of them pulled up a chair on either side of the teachers' desk and sat down almost simultaneously, looking at each other with animosity.

'Maybe I should take my glasses off,' Undead said first, reaching for the dark blue frame. True, she wouldn't be comfortable without them, but the suggestion that Snape's genius could be hampered by a piece of glass seemed tempting, and at the same time looked like a subtle insult.

'It's not necessary.' There was a slight irritation in his eyes, and Jane felt inner satisfaction. One by one, the professor's weaknesses began unfolding before her.

She smiled politely and focused on her interlocutor's eyes. For a long moment, the black and the brown eyes met, and Jane felt the floor suddenly collapsing beneath her feet. For a moment, everything around her seemed black. She didn't see, she didn't hear, she didn't feel. Then, like a roar from above, someone's crying fell on her. It was hers, she realized, unable to think of anything else.

'Don't cry, Janie,' a woman's voice whispered.

Her vision cleared and two girls with long dark hair and black robes were hugging in front of her. When the two let go, she distinguished in one of them herself, this time without surprise, and the other was her good friend Margita, who had died a few years ago.

'They left without even calling me!' whimpered Jane from the memory. 'They were like family to me!'

'They didn't want it to happen like that,' the other girl answered. 'Maybe they had some troubles.'

'We all have troubles,' Jane wiped a tear from her cheek. 'Since the Dark Lord returned, all the rats have fled wherever they can. Some go as far as Europe.'

'Don't talk like that,' Margita reassured her. 'These are just rumours, you'll see that everything will be fine.'

'You know you're wrong, don't you, Gita?' A fleeting smile flashed across the younger Jane's face. 'You've been so happy lately that you find everything wonderful. Your wedding, now the baby. I'm so afraid for you when you're near me. I can get you into trouble.'

'Don't say that, Jane.' Margita patted her gently on the shoulder. 'You don't believe in these things, do you? Your mates are just a little scared, when they see that nothing has happened, they will return on their own.'

'Yes, they're just a bunch of pathetic cowards. But believe it or not, I'm like them. Tomorrow I'll pack up and hide somewhere. I'll not look for you anymore, it won't be good for you. But if you see things are getting rough, take your husband and cover yourself somewhere. I don't think there's any reason for them to look for you, but you better be careful.'

'What about you? Why do you think they'll look for you?'

'I'm not really sure. I just know it. When Voldemort begins with a family, he finishes with it. And…'

Watching shocked this conversation from long ago, Jane felt it's time to act. She knew what was coming next, and she didn't intend to reveal it to her colleague, even if they were on the same team, which she didn't believe. She strained her will to the limit, and when she felt the time was right, he directed it to Severus.

He flinched for a second, but that was enough for the picture before their eyes to dissolve. Jane had gathered speed, so she didn't stop there. She wanted to see something significant, she wanted him to remember a nightmare, too. To see it so alive and real that he loses all idea of place and time. She felt she could and would do it. She took a deep breath and attacked.

One moment she could see Severus's eyes, the next she seemed to be moving frantically. It was like a journey through memories. The victim always felt it, but it was the most effective way to reach someone's humiliating or shocking memories. Jane herself had used it several times, so she could be sure she had felt it some moments ago.

Almost instinctively, she found such a memory in his mind and stopped at it. She felt as if she had suddenly stopped her broom in motion and was about to fall out of her hard chair, but she managed to stay in place with great effort and focus on the picture.

The room was gloomy and very cluttered. A young woman was lying in an old iron bed with torn blankets, muttering something. She looked pale and emaciated. She must have been sick. At that moment, the room's door opened and a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy with tousled long hair and a worried expression entered.

'Mother?', said the boy softly, and sat down by the sick woman's bed. So that was young Snape, Jane thought. The woman then had to be Eileen Prince, his mother, at least according to the file in the cupboard in the teachers' room.

'Are you better today?', the boy asked hopefully.

The mother just shook her head.

'I hear you're in a bad crowd, son. Lucius Malfoy and his friends will use you for their own purposes and then leave you to fend for yourself.'

'You don't understand, mother. They're my friends.'

'Don't act like your poor Ravenclaw mummy doesn't know at which end to hold her magic wand.' Eileen coughed and struggled to say the words, 'You're on a dangerous path, son, and I won't be here to help you when you need it.'

'Don't talk like that, mother,' young Snape said in a strangled voice.

'Listen to me, son.' The cough was getting worse. 'Until it isn't too late.'

The little wizard burst into tears and the picture began blurring. Snape had got himself together and was throwing Undead out of his mind. She held on with all her strength, but she felt she couldn't go on like this. In just a few seconds, she was pushed so hard that she tried to lean back in her chair, but she couldn't, and before she knew it, she was lying on her back on the ground. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about anything. She couldn't believe that this little adventure had cost her almost all her strength. She hoped Snape felt as good as she did, but the thought couldn't warm her much. For several minutes she lay on the ground and stared at the ceiling, unable to move even a part of her body. It wasn't pleasant in the slightest to lose control over herself in this way, she told herself irritably. Not in front of Snape, on the floor in someone else's classroom. Speaking of Snape, what was he doing right now? Jane turned her head slowly toward the desk.

Professor Snape lay, like her, with his arms outstretched and his hair strewn across the floor. To her horror, however, she noticed that she had clasped his hand in hers and did not seem to intend to let go.

For a while, they just breathed hard and looked at each other. Then Jane moved her hand in an attempt to pull away but to no avail. The professor's hand was warm, and hers was suddenly numb. She couldn't move it an inch.

'So what do you intend to say to Dumbledore?' She asked curiously in a low voice.

'I'll tell him to do what he wished. Whatever he wants, just not to bother me with you anymore. I don't burn with desire to repeat this.'

'You can't make me.' Jane pulled her hand away from his and stood up slowly. "What did I get myself into", she thought as she staggered on the way to the door.