26 Jan 1996
Today was Friday. Severus was terrified of the next day. The safety of the students at Hogwarts depends solely on this plan. He read over the letter written by Nathee in English and checked the letter he would deliver to the Dark Lord. Parseltongue letter was a snake-like letter, which was not surprising since it is a snake language. He revised the plan in his mind until he was sure that he could follow through, and then he would go and do other things.
27 Jan 1996
Severus felt a sharp pain in his left arm. The Dark Lord was calling him. He quickly grabbed the cage of a snake that held Chon. Chon was a green snake with a golden crest and red eyes. Chon was as big as Nagini, if not bigger. Chon was a cheerful and bright naga and seemed to be unafraid of anything. Snape quickly left the Hogwarts grounds before disapparating to where the Dark Lord was.
"Wecome, my loyal servants." Voldemort greeted.
The meeting place today was a large mansion. The Dark Lord sat on a high chair at the head of a large table in a drawing room with chandeliers. Around the table were Death Eaters, one after another. To the right of the Dark Lord was a very pleased Bellatrix Lestrange. The left side of the Dark Lord was empty, and no one seemed to want to sit there.
"Come sit here, Severus," Voldemort beckoned. "Next to me."
Severus approached, still holding the snake cage in his hand.
"What have you brought?" The Dark Lord narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
Snape knelt down.
"My lord, this is called an Agua Serpent. It is very rare. It should be yours," he said, handing the cage to Voldemort.
"I have never heard of it before," Voldemort said suspiciously. "Where did you get it? Besides, I already have Nagini."
Snape quickly picked up the letter that Nathee had written in Parseltongue and handed it to his master.
"My lord, the details of the Agua Serpent are in this letter. It is written in a language I cannot understand. I am a fool."
Voldemort snatched the letter and began to read it. Soon, a satisfied smile appeared on his face. "Very good, Severus. Very good," he said. "Agua Serpent is a magical creature found in Asia. Its venom can be used as a tonic. It can also absorb the magical powers of wizards and other creatures. Such a rare animal—bringing it to me, do you not regret it?"
The Potions Master pretended to be shocked. "How could you say such a thing, my lord? How can such a valuable animal be worthy of me? Only you can use it most effectively."
"Now, get up and sit on your chair," the Dark Lord ordered.
Snape did as he said.
After that, there was a meeting. Severus told the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters information about the Order. Of course, it wasn't real information. He gave information that seemed useful but concealed its essence. He always did this. Chon and Nagini spoke in Parseltongue that Snape couldn't understand.
"It seems that my two pets have a crush on each other," Voldemort said. "The offspring born of them will be more powerful than any snake in the world. You must be careful. If some of you make another mistake, you may have to be Nagini's prenatal nutrition." Many Death Eaters trembled with fear.
The meeting ended, and the Death Eaters dispersed, including Wormtail. Snape looked at Chon, trying to tell him to follow the plan, before walking out of the mansion.
"Help!" Peter shouted in surprise. As soon as he was out of the mansion, the snake that Snape had brought slithered after him and tightly wrapped around him. He tried to struggle, but he couldn't. He transformed into a rat, hoping to escape, but suddenly the giant snake transformed into a cat and chased after Wormtail, running around in circles.
"Stupefy," the incantation was chanted. Wormtail, who was running away from the cat, didn't see it and was hit hard by the spell.
Snape conjured a cage and put the rat in it, while Chon transformed into a human.
"It's done," Snape said with satisfaction. "You did a great job, Chon." Chon looked pleased. "With pleasure, your highness. Nagini is a beautiful young snake. I think this time I consider this a gain, your highness."
Severus thought it would be better if he did not comment on this matter.
"I will take my leave, your highness." Chon bowed before disappearing.
Nagini was slithering about restlessly. The young snake was so graceful. He spoke to her with sweet words that she had not heard in a long time. He also taught her to communicate without speaking.
"In case we have a private conversation, something intimate," he said. "If someone can hear it, it would be embarrassing." And she agreed with him.
After the meeting, he slithered away. After making a firm promise to come back to her and reminding her to always contact him telepathically, this way he would know that she was fine and he would come back to her often.
But what Nagini didn't know was that Chon didn't want to know if Nagini was okay, but he wanted to know Voldemort's whole plan, a plan that didn't tell the Death Eaters but told Nagini. She didn't know that she was being used as another spy for the Order.
Dumbledore called a meeting of the Order members in the evening. When all the members arrived, they reported what they had found out.
Severus remained still. He imagined the faces of the Order members when they knew that he had caught a traitor and couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at, Snivellus?" Sirius said in displeasure. "There's a war going on. Do you think it's funny?"
"You don't need to worry, Black You don't have to do anything. Just stay in the house," Snape sneered.
"Severus!" Dumbledore said as a warning.
"I was afraid you'd be lonely," Snape said as he took out a cage of a rat. "So I got you a pet to keep you from being lonely."
Everyone's reactions were really funny. Some of them were gaping, and some were rubbing their eyes.
Sirius pointed a trembling finger at the cage. "The traitorous rat. How did you get him?"
Snape did not answer. He turned to Kingsley. "We have caught the real culprit. Is there any way Black can get off?"
"Sure, sure," the black wizard said. "I will handle it." He picked up the rat cage and walked out.
Severus reported Umbridge's case. It was exactly as he thought. McGonagall had no idea about it, and she was furious. But her anger was nothing compared to Dumbledore's.
"I will handle it," he said firmly. "She will get what she deserves. No one has ever harmed a student since I became headmaster."
"You deserve credit for that, Professor Snape," Mrs. Weasley said. "You caught Pettigrew."
"I don't really want to, but if my name is cleared, I will ask the ministry to give you the Order of Merlin," said Black. "Don't you want it?"
"I used to want it," Snape corrected. "But now, if I get it, it's dangerous. It's going to be big news. And the Dark Lord will be suspicious."
"What do you want, Severus?" Dumbledore asked. "I can give you everything, except…"
"The position of Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor," Snape said, and Dumbledore said the same thing. Snape looked disappointed.
"Anything else, Severus?" Dumbledore said. "I can't give you that."
And a wish suddenly appeared in Snape's mind, a wish he had never felt before.
"I want a lotus pond," he said at last. He didn't know why he wanted it, but he had never wanted anything so much.
Dumbledore looked surprised. "You will have a lotus pond," he said at last. "But I didn't know you liked lotuses."
"I love them," Snape said. He thought of another word for the lotus, a water lily.
No one said anything, but Dumbledore seemed to understand the implication.
January 28, 1996
"Harry," Hermione cried, waving the newspaper around. "There's big news."
Harry sat down next to her. "What news?" he said nonchalantly. It was probably stupid news again.
"He's going to reopen Sirius' case," Hermione said brightly.
"What?" Harry and Ron shouted at the same time, both trying to grab the newspaper to read.
The Ministry's Embarrassing Mistake
It was well known that the brutal murderer Sirius Black had betrayed the Potter family and killed Peter Pettigrew and 12 Muggles 14 years ago and had escaped prison to hunt Harry Potter. The Ministry even suspected him of having a hand in the great escape from Azkaban, but was it really? Kingsley Shacklebolt, one of the Ministry's officers in charge of the case, had met the man everyone thought was dead, Peter Pettigrew. The question was, where had he been? All this time, it would be inappropriate to claim that he was afraid of Sirius Black, because Black had been taken to Azkaban for a long time, but Pettigrew had never shown up. There was also no evidence of any investigation of Sirius Black.
Augusta Longbottom, the mother of the famous ex-auror, commented:
"I have met the young Sirius many times. He cannot be a bad person. When I know that there has never been an investigation, I am sure. I hope the truth will come out and justice will be served to all."
It seems like a horrifying story. Arresting and throwing people in jail without a trial. But this story is not as horrifying as the person sent by the Ministry who harmed the students themselves.
Minerva McGonagall, the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts, said, "Umbridge used the blood quill on the students. I have witnesses and evidence. I will submit it to the court at any time."
The Ministry of Magic will urgently issue a subpoena for Dolores Umbridge to be investigated.
Harry looked up from the newspaper and looked at the teacher's desk. He saw Umbridge clutching the newspaper tightly. The other teachers looked satisfied. Suddenly, two Aurors walked in. They showed Umbridge a sign and took her away.
"I am a member of the ministry," she screamed. "You have no proof."
One of the Aurors produced a blood quill and a photograph showing it was on Umbridge's desk. "It is illegal to have this in your possession," he said, nodding to the other. The two Aurors flanked her before leading her away.
Harry had never thought the sky could be this clear. He was sure.
that if the Dementors came, he would be able to cast the Patronus easily.