From the moment it was realised that Tonks was missing, Dumbledore knew that they would never see her again. He also felt like it was his fault that she'd been taken as despite Voldemort's warning, he'd never seriously considered he would snatch someone at the very meeting that Harry failed to show up to. But he'd been mistaken and now he knew that this latest scheme of the dark's needed to be taken seriously, and the entire Order needed to be on their guard as any one of them could become the next victim.
Following Tonks's disappearance it actually took a few days before she was returned, with yet another note giving Harry a time and place to meet Voldemort. Once again, Dumbledore had to argue against Harry actually turning up for the meeting, but he was pleased that despite what had happened to Tonks, everyone continued to support him. No-one had decided that instead of risking everyone they should simply sacrifice Harry, but Dumbledore knew that the longer this went on and the more people who got caught in the middle, the more people would start and re-evaluate the stance of protecting Harry at all costs. What Dumbledore needed to do was end this plan before it got out of hand, but as of yet he had no idea how he could achieve that.
After the mistakes he'd made at the first meeting, Dumbledore insisted that it wasn't just Harry that was going to avoid the meeting. He stressed to every member of the Order that they needed to stay indoors. In fact, he even suggested that as many as could manage it, should spend the night at Grimmauld Place. He also added the warning for them to be cautious in the coming days as well, as if the dark couldn't snatch anyone on the night of the meeting, they would certainly want to do it as soon as possible afterwards.
With the Order all secure for the night, Dumbledore himself decided to attend the meeting. He didn't tell a soul about it, but shortly before midnight he apparated to the meeting place and was there when Voldemort arrived, this time only accompanied by three Death Eaters.
"Getting cocky, Tom?" Dumbledore greeted the dark wizard. "Last time you had half a dozen Death Eaters with you."
"I figured I wouldn't need as many since I wasn't expecting anyone to be here," Voldemort replied with a chuckle. "I thought you would have learnt you lesson about spying last time, and I see I was right. Here all alone are you, Albus?"
"I am," Dumbledore confirmed. "I want to try and appeal to your better nature and stop this madness. You know I will not let Harry sacrifice himself to feed your ego."
"We both know that when it comes down to it, you have no control over the final outcome," Voldemort snorted. "Potter will ultimately make the decision about when to face me. And he will face me, Albus. Unlike you, who only sees the so called greater good and will do whatever it takes to get your own way, he has a conscience and eventually all these people dying for him will prick that conscience. You know that well as I do. The only question remains, how many people will die before the inevitable happens?"
"No-one else needs die, Tom," Albus protested. "We know your plan now, and we are ready for you. You won't get your hands on anyone as easily as you did Ron and Tonks."
"I guess we'll soon find out," Voldemort laughed. "Don't forget the rest of my warning, Albus. I know where most of the Order is at any given time. I can get to pretty much who I want, when I want."
"Yet, you're just standing here chatting to me," Dumbledore argued. "I'm outnumbered, you could have taken me by now."
"Oh, but I don't want you," Voldemort cackled wickedly. "I want you to witness the death of your protegee. Only once you're truly broken will I do you the mercy of ending your life. Until then Albus, goodbye."
Before Dumbledore could react Voldemort vanished along with his three Death Eaters, leaving the headmaster standing alone in the middle of the graveyard. Shaking his head in disappointment, Albus headed back to Hogwarts for the night, praying that everyone had followed his advice and were safely tucked away where the dark couldn't get to them.
The day after the second arranged meeting, Severus was grabbing a cup of coffee in the staff room at break time when a harried Dumbledore entered the room and all but flopped onto one of the sofas. Checking if the headmaster wanted a drink, he made him a cup of tea and handed it to him.
"Rough morning?" he asked.
"I've been checking on the Order," Dumbledore answered. "So far, everyone is accounted for and they're all on high alert. Although Merlin knows how long for. Do you have any idea, Severus?"
"I told you, I haven't been privy to this plan," Severus lied with a shrug. "I have tried to find out about it, but I can't really go around demanding explanations. Not if I want him to keep trusting me. All I know is that he seemed very confident that he could cherry pick Order members as and when he needed to."
"Someone is feeding him information, they must be," Dumbledore muttered. "But that doesn't matter right this moment. For now, my focus is keeping everyone safe. Which is why I'm going to cancel the Hogsmeade trip tomorrow."
"That is awfully late notice," Filius Flitwick remarked from where he was sitting nearby with Pomona Sprout and McGonagall.
"The students will be awfully disappointed," Sprout added.
"Better disappointed than kidnapped by the dark," Dumbledore shot back. "I'll make the announcement at dinner. I also think tonight's head of houses meeting should be held here in the school. I know we were planning on going down to The Three Broomsticks, but I think it might be too dangerous."
"To be in a pub full of other people?" McGonagall questioned with an arched eyebrow. "I know you are right urging caution, Albus, but this could be taking it too far. We can either apparate down, or use the floo, and unless we need to use the bathroom we'll be in the bar all together the entire time. I can't see them attacking in a pub full of customers."
"You do have a point, Minerva, but I still think we should lead by example," Dumbledore argued.
"And I think the example we should set is that you can be cautious yet still live your life," McGonagall argued. "People can't hide away forever, Albus. They have lives to lead, jobs to go to."
"If it makes you feel better, if any of us do need to use the bathroom, we can go in pairs," Sprout suggested.
"I'm outvoted on this, aren't I?" Dumbledore sighed in defeat.
"Yes Albus, I rather think you are," McGonagall said as everyone expressed their support for her decision to be defiant and carry on with their original plans.
As for Severus, he was over the moon that McGonagall had done the hard work for him. He hadn't had to say one word to try and get the meeting to The Three Broomsticks to still go ahead. At least now when one of his fellow heads was taken, no-one could say he'd been the one to push the issue. Not that Dumbledore would suspect his involvement as the headmaster trusted him completely, and had no idea that his loyalties actually lay with the wizard who had tried to save Lily's life, not the one who had been willing, and still was, to use her child as a weapon.
Once breaktime was over, Severus headed back to his teaching duties, and once lunchtime hit, he sent a quick message to Lucius confirming that the meeting that night was still on, and advising him of the decision to visit the bathroom in pairs. In Severus's opinion that would be the best time to snatch someone, and if needs must, he would find a way to get someone into the bathroom. If none of his colleagues felt the urge, he himself would have to find himself in need of the bathroom, and trust that whoever Voldemort sent to do his dirty work would get the job done with the minimum of fuss.
The rest of the day passed as normal for Severus, and when he attended the Great Hall for dinner before the meeting, Dumbledore confided that he'd done another check on the Order and everyone was still okay. Even though he didn't say it, Severus suspected that the older wizard was hopeful that the more time that passed the less likely it would be that Voldemort could continue with his plan. Maybe Dumbledore thought that if it wasn't as easy to snatch people Voldemort would give up, but if that was the case, he was severely underestimating The Dark Lord.
As he'd said he would do that morning, Dumbledore announced the cancellation of the Hogsmeade visit for that upcoming weekend. Predictably, his announcement was met with bitter disappointment by the students, and they were still grumbling after dinner when Severus, his fellow head of houses and Dumbledore left the castle to make their way down to Hogsmeade.
"You can't really blame them, can you," Flitwick hissed to Severus as they walked down to the school gates in a group so they could then apparate directly into The Three Broomsticks.
"Not really," Severus admitted. "But Albus might have a point about being cautious. Imagine the outrage if he'd allowed the trip to go ahead and a student was taken. He would lose his job for certain."
"There is that I suppose," Flitwick conceded.
Once they reached the gates, they apparated straight down to The Three Broomsticks, arriving in one of the back rooms which had been arranged that afternoon by Dumbledore. He may not have agreed with being down in the village, but since it was happening, he was wanting to make sure it was as safe as possible for his staff.
"Remember not to go anywhere by yourself," Dumbledore cautioned. "We even go to the bar in twos."
Severus had to stifle an amused snort when he spotted McGonagall rolling her eyes at the back of Dumbledore's head as he led the way out of the back room and towards the main bar. Clearly she was unimpressed with being treated like one of the students they taught, although he noticed she didn't challenge the order and was happy to go and sort the first round of drinks with Flitwick.
Settled in a corner of the room, Severus couldn't spot anyone who didn't belong there, but he was trusting that somewhere nearby there was a Death Eater lying in wait. Although it quickly became clear that whichever Death Eater had been sent to do the snatching, would have a decent wait as it was evident fairly quickly that Severus's colleagues intended to make the most of their night in the pub. School business was dealt with in record time, and when Dumbledore suggested they should be getting back, he was shot down and another round was ordered.
A couple of hours later, Severus was just thinking that he should be pressing forward and faking a trip to the bathroom when Flitwick announced he needed to go. Again, Dumbledore tried to use it as an excuse to call it a night, but Flitwick fancied another drink and said he was quite happy using the pubs facilities and that it was time for Dumbledore's round.
Again, Severus was delighted with the turn of events as he hadn't had to manipulate a thing to be the one to accompany Flitwick to the bathroom. As they went, Flitwick admitted he found the whole visiting the bathroom in pairs a bit weird, and he would be more than happy if Severus wanted to wait outside.
"I might as well go myself while I'm here," Severus said as the reached the men's room.
Despite believing that Dumbledore was being overcautious, Flitwick still pulled out his wand before they tentatively entered the bathroom and checked there was no-one lying in wait for them. Satisfied that the bathroom was empty, Flitwick decided to use one of the cubicles and darted inside. All the time he was chattering on as he often did when he'd had a few drinks inside him, and Severus barely managed to get the odd word in here and there.
Although just as he was answering Flitwick's question about how long he thought Harry would last before breaking and meeting with Voldemort, he caught sight of someone entering the bathroom behind him from the reflection in the mirror. Still talking to Flitwick, he gave the robed figure a nod and moments later everything went black as he was hit from behind by a stunning spell and went tumbling to the floor, gashing his head on the sink as he went.
The next thing Severus was aware of was Dumbledore calling his name, and opening his eyes he found he was still lying on the bathroom floor. Pushing himself up, he let out a groan as everything spun around him and he felt sick.
"Take it easy, you've had a nasty blow to the head," Dumbledore said.
Puzzled by Dumbledore's remark, Severus automatically lifted his hand and his head and winced at how tender it felt. He was also shocked to find his hand came away covered in sticky blood. Whoever Voldemort had sent had certainly done a bloody good job of keeping him above suspicion.
"What happened?" he asked as Dumbledore helped him to his feet. "Filius," he suddenly gasped, spinning around and almost falling back to the floor as a wave of dizziness hit him. Luckily Dumbledore still had hold of his arm and stopped him from falling.
"He's missing," Dumbledore explained. "We got worried when the pair of you were taking so long. When we came to check what was happening, we found you on the floor out cold and no sign of Filius. Do you know what happened?"
"We checked the bathroom when we came in, and it was empty," Severus answered. "Filius went into one of the cubicles and I stayed out here. We were talking and I was just washing my hands when I saw the door opening behind me through the mirror. I don't remember anything else, whoever it was must have attacked straight away. I don't even known if I managed to shout a warning to Filius. We should have listened to you, Albus. You were right about coming here tonight."
"Let's not focus on that now," Dumbledore muttered, although Severus was sure he detected a glint of triumph in the old wizard's eyes. No doubt it was a boost to his ego to be proven right. "Let's get you back up to the castle and have Madam Pomfrey check you over. Minerva and Pomona are arranging a floo connection back to Hogwarts."
"And Filius?" Severus asked, allowing Dumbledore to assist him in walking as he still felt rather light-headed.
"It's not looking good," Dumbledore admitted. "No-one else who has been taken has been seen alive again. We need to find a way to stop this before anyone else loses their lives."
Although that was easier said than done, and they both knew the best way to stop Voldemort snatching the Order was to give him what he wanted. Although they also both knew it was inevitable, and Harry would eventually defy Dumbledore to make one of the meetings with Voldemort. The only difference was, Severus knew roughly when that would happen, and he knew Harry would survive the meeting, but Dumbledore feared the inevitable meeting would spell the end of Harry. What he didn't realise that it was his life that was rapidly reaching its end, not Harry's.