Disclaimer - All JKR's, nothing mine! Except for a few characters I added.
Disclaimer 2 - Draco drawing dragons belongs to PikaCheeka. Sorry I forgot to mention that in the first chapter. I sort of adopted the idea subconsciously.
Disclaimer 3 - Severus' raven belongs to J. L. Matthews. I just borrowed him because he's such a perfect pet for Sevi and promise to return him unharmed.
The catar however are all mine and I love them so please don't use without asking me first.
-
-
A/N - Yes, here it is. Almost exactly two years after I posted the epilogue of My Name's Severus here is the sequel. I wonder how many of you still believed they'd live to see this. The French translation of this chapter by Leena will most likely be up only a few hours after this original version, by the way.
-
-
Double O Seve . . . rus
-
-
Chapter 1: The Traitor
-
-
Albus Dumbledore was lying the sun in his great grandson's garden. It was rare enough that he got a chance to truly relax, but he'd taken this weekend in the middle of the summer holidays off to visit the boy and his family.
Even though he'd never admit it openly, Albus knew that he needed the rest after nearly breaking down from overworking during the school year. Much as he hated to admit it he was getting too old to juggle five different jobs at the same time. He had to learn to delegate any additional jobs that came up to others.
But for this one weekend he didn't have any job at all. He was not a headmaster, not a politician, not a general at war against the darkest wizard of his time. He was just an old man visiting his family and enjoying the summer sun and the tray of sweets lying next to him in the grass. Occasionally he looked up at the sky to watch the clouds or birds fly over his head.
Wait a minute! What was that?
One of the distant flyers was getting larger and larger as if he were intending to land right on top of the wizard. Maybe there was a nest somewhere around here?
But this was a big bird, too large for a blackbird, too dark for a pigeon, too fast flying in this light for any kind of owl.
That last fact was a relief. No letter to call him away to his duties.
'A lone crow?' Albus wondered to himself. Crows were very social birds that usually flew in groups, though and this bird was getting bigger and bigger, too big for a crow even.
Albus cursed under his breath. This was definitely a raven and he had a feeling he knew him.
When the bird swooped into an elegant landing on the arm of Albus' chair, the wizard was sure.
"Corvus." he acknowledged the familiar of one of his most trusted teachers and friend.
"Crushed frog livers. One ounce." declared the raven holding out the piece of parchment tied to his leg.
"I very much doubt that." Albus answered as he gently untied the message. "Severus wouldn't send you to me to do his shopping."
"Lemon drop?" Corvus asked watching Albus unroll the parchment.
"That's more like it." Albus agreed. "But I don't think that'd be particularly healthy for you. Take one of the biscuits instead." he offered pointing to the tray.
Corvus did indeed hop down and pick up an orange biscuit. That shouldn't be too bad for him. With a smile Albus turned his attention to the message.
"Big news. Lunch at Hogwarts?" he read out loud.
That wasn't an innocent invitation. Severus had scribbled that down hurriedly and not even taken the time to seal it. If he hadn't wanted to waste time on full sentences it had to be extremely urgent.
And urgent news from his head spy were rarely good. Albus sighed. His holiday was over and he had exactly two hours to say good bye to his relatives and get back to Hogwarts.
-
-
About an hour later Albus aparated to the Hogsmeade train station and picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet at the local news stand. He could have apparated right into Hogwarts, if he'd had to, but overcoming the anti aparition wards at this distance was draining and he still had a full hour until his meeting. A nice walk up to the castle seemed just the thing to pass the time with and he'd have a few minutes left to skim the paper for any important articles.
Corvus, who'd been riding on his shoulder seemed to agree as he gave no signs of departing to return to his wizard.
Albus glanced at the front page of the paper as he walked out of the station and almost missed the first of the three steps that led out onto the road in surprise.
'Lucius Malfoy suspected of extortion' it said in huge letters. 'Trial next Wednesday.'
They had to be really sure of their case, if they intended to call the Wizengamot together on such short notice. Or maybe this was Lucius' doing? Maybe he was hoping to fend the accusations off before they found any proof.
Albus sat down on the next bench he found to read the article. So the ministry had been alerted by an anonymous owl sent to the minister's office itself? Including wizarding pictures of Lucius threatening a Muggle farmer with a display of magic?
That was almost a prank worthy of the marauders, Albus thought. He knew for sure that Lucius would never risk doing anything like that while Voldemort was preparing for his big attack. He just wasn't this foolish. And that meant that he'd been framed.
If James Potter were still alive he'd know who'd done this, but Remus was too mature to play those kinds of games on his own.
A slight shift of weight on his shoulder reminded him of another prankster who had a bone to pick with Lucius however. He'd better get going now.
-
-
Severus was already there when he arrived at the table. Unfortunately so were professors McGonagall and Trelawney. Minerva wasn't a problem, of course. She knew Severus was a spy and Albus trusted her with his life. Sybil however was an unpleasant surprise.
The Divination teacher usually didn't come down from her tower for meals and Albus therefore hadn't expected her presence. She was unlikely to remember that he hadn't planned to be back before Monday, if she even knew what day of the week it was at all, but she was incurably nosy. Under no circumstances could he allow her to hear Severus' report.
Severus apparently was aware of the problem as well. He unobtrusively turned the little green hedgehog that had been happily munching away on a potato from Severus' plate to face in Trelawney's direction.
Greenie blinked at the sudden disappearance of his potato, sniffed his tiny green nose and smelled more potatoes right ahead. With another happy "Sniff!" he shuffled along after the smell, soon reached Sybil's plate and took a huge bite out of her steak.
"Ahhh!" shrieked Sybil. "Raaat!"
Greenie blinked up at her in surprise and considered whether he'd better roll up into a spiky ball to protect himself from whatever had made the funny woman scream.
"Why really, Sybil." Minerva scolded despite her own dislike of Severus' pet. "That is a hedgehog. Who ever heard of a spiky rat without a tail?"
"Greenie has a tail." Severus corrected her, but neither of the witches paid him any mind.
"Whatever it is, it's on my plate!" shrieked Trellawney. "Vermin in my food! Take it away! Take it away!"
"It's Severus'." Minerva shrugged. "He always lets it climb around his food. Just hand it back to him."
"You can't possibly expect me to touch it!" Trelawney protested.
"Why not?" Albus twinkled at her. "It's only a hedgehog."
Sybil looked insulted. "Hedgehogs have flees." she declared haughtily. "I refuse to touch that thing."
"I assure you that Greenie is absolutely clean and healthy." Severus commented equally insulted. "Really Sybil, such a fuss over a cute little pet."
"I refuse to share my lunch with filthy rodents and insensitive idiots!" Trelawney declared jumped to her feet and headed towards the door.
Minerva smirked. "Wait Sybil!"
Trelawney stopped in the door probably hoping for an apology to her genius.
"Didn't your crystal ball warn you there'd be a green hedgehog at the table today?" Minerva asked still smirking.
Trelawney angrily threw her shawl over her shoulder and scoffed: "Ignorants!"
The shawl slid off her back and to the floor as she stalked out.
"I think I'd better bring her her shawl." Minerva told the two wizards. "And rub it in a little."
"Not one of her better excuses." Severus remarked as Minerva closed the door behind her.
"Well, it wasn't really needed, was it?" Albus smiled. "So what's the important news?"
"There was a meeting this morning." Snape reported calmly. "The usual hick hack at first and Lucius was in a very bad mood today, but then He made an appearance and He was in a very good mood, almost triumphant."
"About what?" Albus asked nervously. "Did he say?"
"Apparently he has managed to gain another agent. A death eater able to get at Harry Potter here at Hogwarts."
Albus' eyes narrowed. "I haven't hired any new teachers this year and I'd swear to the loyalty of all the old ones."
"Is that why we just chased Sybil off?" Severus remarked.
"Sybil's a fool that might well go talking to the wrong people, but she'd never join the death eaters." Albus shook his head. "Do you think He'd trust that much in a house elf?"
"Never." Severus said without hesitation. "No, from what He said it appears that we're looking for a student. Most likely, but not necessarily, in Potter's year since He said the agent was 'close to Potter'. I assume that He was referring to them sharing classes."
"A student." Albus mused. "Considering how much trust He appears to be placing in the traitor, it will probably be the child of one of his older followers, someone well versed in the dark arts, most likely a Slytherin as he relies on his own house the most. What do we know about the Slytherins in Harry's year? There's your friend Malfoy for one."
"Draco isn't dark. He can't stomach torture any more than I can and his girlfriend is a Weasley. I also know that Lucius has repeatedly told Him that the boy is still too immature to be used in His plans." Severus shook his head. "Draco is on our side, but Lucius doesn't realise that, yet. He would never trust the boy with an important mission as long as he hasn't proven his worth and, as I said before, he doesn't have the nerve."
Albus nodded. "Who are his classmates then?"
"Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe have death eater parents, but Gregory lacks the intelligence to work independently and you have to know Vincent well to realise that he's any more intelligent than his best friend. He has always used their fathers for 'beater duty'. He probably doesn't see anything more in Vincent, but he's not completely out of the question, I admit. Then there's the Zabini boy, Blaise." He paused.
"What about Blaise?" Albus pushed when Severus didn't continue.
"I don't like him." Severus admitted. "He tried to frame me once to get between me and Draco and he can be devious, but his parents aren't death eaters as far as I know."
"How well do you know? They might be among the lower ranks."
Severus nodded. "Yes, they might. It is quite possible, even though Mr Zabini was a Ravenclaw, if I remember correctly. Unlike the Malfoys, Crabbes and Goyles the Zabinis are not traditionally a Slytherin family. He spoke of the agent as 'he', but maybe we should consider the girls anyway. Pansy Parkinson's father is high in His favour at the moment and the girl has the intelligence and mean streak required for the job. She's also currently Blaise's girlfriend. Her best friend Millicent Bulstrode qualifies as well, though she doesn't quite have Pansy's talent for strategy. Estella Rashton is highly unlikely. I'd place her firmly on the light side. Her family is definitely safe and she's always been a bit of an outsider among the group. That leaves Alice Mortimer and Juliana Carlson. Alice's father is a Muggle and Juliana's mother a Hufflepuff. both girls put up a mean front, but that's probably mostly for the sake of acceptance. I'd narrow it down to Blaise, Pansy and Millicent as the main Slytherin suspects."
"I see." Albus nodded. "He has several Ravenclaws in his service as well, though. Do we have any death eater children in Ravenclaw entering sixth year?"
"Filius knows them better than I." Severus reminded him. "But Miranda Deering's father is in Azkaban for practising the dark arts and Eric Farran has shown strong anti Muggle prejudice before. Other than that, I can't think of any suspects."
"The Patil girl?" Albus suggested. "We know practically nothing about the family, but they appear to be pureblood."
"Immigrated from India after His fall. It's very unlikely they've had contact with death eaters before then and both girls get on well with their Muggle born classmates."
"I didn't get the impression that Ms Granger and Ms Parvati Patil were that close." Albus pointed out.
"That's mostly due to their very contrary interests, I believe." Severus argued. "Ms Granger has a very logical mind and idolises Minerva. I believe I heard she even walked out of Divination class, because she despises Sybil. Ms Patil to the contrary idolises Sybil and Divination is her favourite class. The dislike the two teachers have for each other has carried over to the students, I believe."
"Alright, not Padma Patil, then. What of the Hufflepuffs?" Albus asked.
Severus thought for a moment. "Nicodemus Hanson. He's a prejudiced loner who probably got into the house on the merit of his dedication to his work alone. He's rather discontented with the social ways of his housemates and tries to keep his distance as much as he can."
"He's Muggle born, though." Albus commented.
"But still the most likely candidate Hufflepuff has. The house has the largest number of Muggle borns and the pure-blooded members all associate freely with them. Hufflepuff has produced very few death eaters or Aurors. Fighting over ideals or for personal advantages is just not their way."
"They like to make the world better for everybody, though."
"But not by fighting. They'll invest their time and work in social services or medical research that will prove a more real and immediate help to people. No, we'll most likely find our traitor in Slytherin or Ravenclaw. What of the Gryffindors, though? So far we've only cleared Ms Patil."
Albus laughed. "The Gryffindors, Severus? They're the white knights in shining armour. Their house has produced more aurors than any other and no death eaters."
"Peter Pettigrew." Severus stated dryly.
"Fine, fine." Albus sighed. "Your thoughts on the Gryffindors then?"
"As I said, we've cleared Patil. Granger is out of the question. She's Muggle born and a close friend of Potter's. Ms Brown's mother is Muggle born as well, which makes her an unlikely candidate. Neville Longbottom's seen his parents tortured into insanity by death eaters. Dean Thomas even still prefers the Muggle game of Soccer to Quidditch, Ron Weasley is Potter's best friend and... well, a Weasley. That leaves Seamus Finnigan as the most likely candidate."
"A half blood." Albus pointed out. "See, there was no need to suspect the Gryffindors."
"No more, than to suspect the Hufflepuffs, but we should consider the other years as well, just in case."
Albus sighed. "We don't have time to go through the whole student body right now. Make me a list. Starting with the Slytherins of course. I'll ask the other heads to give me similar lists on their houses, but if you have the time, I'd like to have your opinion on their students as well. You've always been best at predicting these things."
"I know the dark side the best." Severus reminded him. "And the people on it."
"Which reminds me." Albus said deliberately lightly. "I've read the most interesting headline in the prophet today."
"Oh?" Severus asked.
Yes, he definitely knew what Albus was talking about.
"Apparently somebody sent the ministry an anonymous letter accusing Lucius Malfoy of extortion." Albus continued.
"Oh?" Severus repeated.
"It's the strangest thing, because I'm sure good old Lucius wouldn't do this while playing such an important role in Voldemort's current plans." Albus mused. "Someone framed him."
"Oh?"
"Severus." Albus said sternly.
"It's not like he doesn't deserve it Albus." Severus volunteered. "He may not have done it since Voldemort's return, but I know he did it before then. When we were younger I sometimes even helped him with it."
"Severus!"
"He has done much worse things than that, Albus."
"SEVERUS!"
"All right all right, I won't do it again. Happy?"
"You are incorrigible, Severus. What do you think will come of it? Lucius will buy himself out of going to Azkaban and end up with a slap on the wrist. That won't help us any."
"But it will anger Lucius." Severus commented. "Which is all I really intended to do. We have more important issues to discuss however." he quickly changed the topic. "What are we going to do about that new agent? We can't allow him to run freely around the school."
"Indeed, we might have to expel him unless we can find another way to neutralise him." Albus said sadly. "I hate to see a child expelled for an error made by his parents. Maybe, we can turn him around to our side, or feed him false information. We would need to warn Harry of him, of course and rearrange the schedules to keep the two apart."
"To do any of that we'd have to know for sure who it is." Severus reminded him.
"Right. Our first goal must be to identify him. We need a counter agent to ferret him out." Albus decided.
"I can only supervise the students so much. Even if he is a Slytherin, he'll get suspicious, if I hang around the common room too often, search trunks, or follow him in the hallways." Severus reminded him. "Any other staff member would be even more suspicious."
"And that is why we need a student to do the job." Albus announced brightly. "As we are most likely dealing with a Slytherin a Slytherin will have the best chances to catch him and will also be the least suspicious. The traitor will be very distrusting of the Gryffindors, of course."
"You want to recruit one of my students as a secret agent Albus? Are you out of your mind? They're children. All of them have at least friends on the dark side. They aren't innocent white knights like your Gryffindors, Albus. Slytherin has all shades of grey, scarred children that don't trust easily, if at all."
"You said not all of them were dark." Albus said almost accusingly.
"They aren't." Severus confirmed. "But that doesn't mean that they'll stand against their friends and family. Slytherins stick together. Nobody outside their house will stand up for them so they must present a united front at all times. Most of them are neutral, Albus and that's as good as they're willing to give you."
"You said the Malfoy boy was on our side, though. He trusts you and being Lucius' son he will not likely be suspected of working for us." Albus stated.
"You want me to recruit Draco for your plans?" Severus demanded angrily. "I already told you he can't stomach it, Albus! He's a surprisingly sensitive boy, once you get a look behind the mask."
"He won't have to watch or participate in any kind of torture, Severus." Dumbledore reminded him. "All he'll have to do is watch his classmates and report to us, if any show signs of working for Voldemort. Watch, listen and continue to pretend to be on the dark side. That's all I expect of him. He'd most likely do that anyway."
Severus shook his head. "I don't want to see him put into danger. He has no experience with spy work and his own father would kill him for it, Albus."
"If you have a better suggestion, I'll gladly accept it, but I can't think of anyone more fitting for the job. Everybody else we can trust will be at the very least suspicious to the traitor and the traitor himself will be the only one with any spying experience." Dumbledore decided. "We have to use Draco."
Severus sighed again and nodded his head sadly. He had no problem risking his own life spying, but risking that of his young friend was a very different matter. He was proud of the hard won trust of the boy. He just couldn't abuse it this way, but what other choice did he have?
If only this had happened last year while he'd still been a boy himself! Then he could have taken the spying job instead of Draco. He could probably have done it easily with all his experience.
Those worries wouldn't leave him alone all day and by dinnertime he caught himself wishing that he'd never changed back at all. He even considered using Neville Longbottom's youth potion again, but that wasn't an option. The potion was extremely dangerous after all and he might be needed as an adult at any time. There was no telling whether the antidote would still work a second time. According to its inventor it hadn't worked again on a rat that had been given a too weak version at first and aged only a few months instead of two years. The second dose had only made the rat sick for a day and not changed it's age at all.
It was predictably just when he'd gone to bed that night that he came up with a new idea that might present a solution.
With that on his mind there was no chance at sleep, of course. He absolutely needed to find out whether this could be done, but the books available in his rooms couldn't answer his main question. He'd have to go to the library for that.
Tomorrow, he promised himself, now he needed his sleep.
He climbed back into bed, but the question still wouldn't leave him alone. After about one hour of hopelessly trying to sleep he finally gave in, got up and, after getting dressed hurriedly, went up to the library.
The halls were dark and the door closed, but fortunately during the holidays it wasn't locked.
Severus entered and cast a quick spell to light a few candles at his favourite desk, then lit his wand to be able to search the shelves for the titles he needed.
The Potions texts he could find blindly, but the Charms ones took him a moment to locate. Soon however he was back at the desk with the books and started his search. The Potions part was easy enough, but it seemed that Charms didn't provide the solution he needed.
Deeply disappointed he closed the books again. Now there was no other way, but to look to Transfigurations for help. And that meant he'd require the help of another wizard or witch to cast the spell for him.
Severus checked a few Transfigurations texts and in one of them he found an advanced spell that might provide a basis to work on. It would need adapting, though and that excluded Sybil Trelawney and even Madame Pomfrey from the list of possible helpers. Dumbledore was much too busy to bother him with such a big problem. It would have to be McGonagall.
Severus grimaced. That was just what he needed, to have to ask Minerva for a favour! Well, there was no way around it either.
A glance at the clock warned him not to bother the Transfigurations teacher at this hour. That would probably result in a very fast end to his plans.
Once again he returned to his bed, but still wasn't able to sleep. His relationship with Minerva McGonagall hadn't exactly been the best during the time he'd been her student last year and he was still nervous around her. What if she turned him down?
He finally got up a third time and started writing his list for Dumbledore, starting with the seventh years. The three members of the Quidditch team were suspect, he decided, but the girls were all right. The thought of the Quidditch team made him even more nervous, though. They'd get to play against Potter. Maybe that was what Vodemort had meant when he'd said that his agent could get close to Potter.
The things a Quidditch player could do to another, if he wasn't afraid of losing the match as a result were frightening. Was Voldemort's agent meant to get information on Potter, or to kill him outright?
He went on to list the sixth years he'd already mentioned to the headmaster, then did the fifth year as well, before he was finally tired enough to sleep.
The next morning he took the books from the library with him to breakfast in the hopes of catching McGonagall right away, but he only found Dumbledore in the great hall.
The headmaster looked up in surprise when Severus entered with his hedgehog in one arm and a pile of books in the other.
"Transfigurations, Severus?" the old wizard asked with a surprised twinkle in his eyes.
"Yes, I might have found a way out of hiring Draco as our agent, but I'll be needing a Transfigurations expert and some time to work it out and be sure." Severus answered gently placing Greenie down on the table.
"Sniff!" declared the little green hedgehog. 'Where are my cornflakes?'
Albus smiled and pushed the milk jug over unasked. He knew the hedgehog's feeding habits by now and that it was best to serve him quickly, unless he wanted to risk finding him with all four paws in his own breakfast. Severus' toast with marmalade completely failed to attract Greenie's interest, which resulted in him going to search for breakfast on other people's plates.
"Do you have any idea what Minerva is up to today?" Severus continued while he poured some milk into the saucer that the house elves had thoughtfully provided as a plate for the hedgehog.
"She promised to write that list of suspicious students I asked her for today." Albus answered around a spoonful of porridge. "And then she was going to continue with the students' letters, I believe."
Severus nodded. "Do you want me to do the first and second years as well? I highly doubt that He would trust any of them enough to give them such a mission."
Dumbldore thought about it for a moment. "If we are going to suspect the Gryffindors, we might as well include them too."
"You do realise that including the first years means that the lists will have to wait until at least a week after the sorting, don't you?" Severus reminded him. "Right now all we know of most of them is their names."
"That's true." Albus nodded. "And the faster we find the traitor the better. The first years are rather unlikely candidates. Yes, stick to seventh to second years for now and report to me on the first years as you get to know them."
"You're planning to give the agent a list of names?" Severus asked.
Albus nodded again. "With no further information to go with them of course. If it falls into the hands of a stranger, all they'll know will be that Draco, or whoever else will be our agent, had a list of names, not even in his own handwriting. He might just as well have accidentally picked it up with his notes after class."
-
-
Severus went straight to Professor McGonagall's office right after breakfast even though he was a little worried about bringing Greenie to that meeting.
The Transfigurations teacher did not like hedgehogs, especially not green ones, and she had the horrible power to turn them into ashtrays. He hoped that she'd respect the fact that Greenie was his pet and not teaching material, though.
As it turned out his worries were unnecessary anyway. Minerva didn't answer his knock. Maybe she was still asleep? If she was sleeping in today it was no wonder she hadn't been at breakfast.
Severus considered trying her private quarters, but decided against it. Disturbing her sleep was no better an idea today than it had been last night.
Instead he returned to his office, put Greenie onto his desk and continued his list of suspicious students. The fifth years were a rather harmless lot, only one real suspect, but there were three fourth years that might be worth watching. The third years were almost as prejudiced as the sixth years were at first glance, but unlike with the sixth years he wasn't sure how much of it was just talk and what was real.
The second year included two muggle born students, which gave Severus a very clear picture of their classmates' attitudes. A gang of three girls and one boy always tormented the two girls, while the rest of the boys didn't seem to care.
With the finished list in his hand and the library books under his arm, but without Greenie this time, Severus went first to the headmaster's office, then to Professor McGonagall's. Neither of the two answered their door.
The headmaster was probably away on order business, but it was too late for McGonagall to still be in bed and according to the headmaster she'd intended to do paperwork today.
Maybe she was working in her rooms?
Severus tried the door to her private quarters after all, but with no success. Grumbling he went on to the library. Maybe he could find out a little more about this on his own until he found McGonagall. If not, he could always start on his list of suspicious Ravenclaws.
And there she was! Minerva McGonagall had taken over the librarian's desk and was frowning at a piece of parchment while next to her an automatic quill was scribbling hastily on another one.
"Good morning, Professor." Severus greeted her cautiously. He'd better not upset her now.
Minerva looked up at him and sighed. Ever since Severus had been turned into a boy accidentally the year before he'd been calling her Professor McGonagall, or at the very least Professor. It seemed that he had completely forgotten that she had once been Minerva to him and no matter how often she asked him to, he wouldn't return to using her first name.
"Good morning, Severus." she returned pointedly. If she kept using his first name he had to get the point and reciprocate sometime, right? "Was this really necessary?"
Severus cautiously stepped closer and found that there were wizarding photos of last years Gryffindor classes strewn all over the desk. "The list of students that might be tempted by the dark side? I'd say it's rather important."
"I can see why you'd want one of your house, Severus, but this is Gryffindor." she gestured at the pictures. "We don't have Slytherin's problems. Our students are from clearly light families and proud to fight against dark wizards."
"Peter Pettigrew." Severus reminded her, just as he had Albus the day before. "I know that Gryffindor isn't as likely to produce dark wizards as Slytherin, but we're looking for only one traitor. A traitor meant to give Voldemort information about Mr. Potter. Remember the damage caused by Pettigrew's betrayal. A single bad Gryffindor right now would be worse than a whole class of Slytherins gone dark. An agent that can sneak into Potter's bedroom any time he likes ..." he trailed off to let McGonagall imagine the results for herself.
"There is something else I wanted to ask of you, though." Severus continued when Minerva finally nodded her agreement.
"Another list?" Minerva sighed.
"No, something a little more complicated, I'm afraid." Severus explained. "A project that would involve a combination of Potions and Transfiguration."
A spark of interest lit up in Minerva's eyes. "A challenge?"
"Sort of. If it works, it will help us to identify our traitor." Severus explained. "But to make it work we will need to find a way to combine Longbottom's potion and polyjuice with a variant of the animagus transfiguration."
"The potion that nearly killed you last year?" Minerva asked incredulously.
"A drop will be all we need of that." Severus assured her. "It will be no problem to combine it with the polyjuice, but the transfiguration seems difficult to me."
"Difficult? Well, I am an animaga, you know." Minerva was hooked. "Now what exactly would be the result of that transfiguration and how can it help us with our traitor?"
Severus smiled and placed his books on her table on top of her still unstarted list. "Oh, simply . . ."
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Elsa - I couldn't have done Sevi's Potions quiz, if I hadn't kept Draco at Hogwarts. (Yes, that was the only reason.) ... More power to Greenie? He's already in complete control of everything I write!
annakas - It was hard for me to end RD too. Harder than it was for MNS and HPHC. I spent so much time working on that story, but even before I started RD, I'd already been planning this one. It was time to write it down. ... And as you can see, yes, it is the sequel to MNS.
aurielo - RD had to end, I'm afraid and I worked on it for over a year saving all my other little plot hedgehogs for later. It was time Greenie's other babies got a chance to play and here are the first ones.
kpstar25 - Erm ... Kpstar, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but ... that was the end. I thought I'd said so.
Thistle - I'll try to make this fic shorter, so I can get to the sequel, but don't count on it. These things have a way of running away with me!
Ruhgozler - Hey, I've been meaning to tell you I like your fic 'For 16 Galleons', love it actually, but since I usually find the link to the FA version first and absolutely refuse to use their review system, I've never gotten around to telling you. *big fox-puppy-eyes* Can you ever forgive me? ... I can't quite see Dean overcoming his hate of Slytherins anytime soon, but maybe he'll start his own Gryffindor Soccer club. Then Draco could even challenge them to an actual game once he gets a real team going. ... As you can see it's not Sevi and Lily and ... Nope, can't tell you, yet!
Kayla Hemlock - Which sequel? This one or the RD one? ... Don't worry, you'll get both, but one after the other.
Arafel - Uh, sorry, but RD's finished. No more updates.
K. R. P - Ups, another one! Sorry, I thought I'd stated it clearly: That was the final chapter of RD. No more updates of that fic.
Devi - I said, I'd write a mini sequel to RD after this fic. Maybe that's what you read?
Laughing Cat - Thanks.
ER (clicky pen lover) - Sorry, my friend, but it is over. I had to start writing this sometime. I've been saying I would since I finished MNS. There'll be a mini sequel to RD once this one's done, but Draco will already be out of school by then, I'm afraid.
Fyredra - Ah yes, Hermione knows Sevi cheated somehow, only how? ... The mini sequel might take some time, though. I'm currently not willing to hazard a guess at how long this fic's going to be ...
Ri Maccis - Draco has changed, but Harry hasn't. Draco still doesn't like Harry, but isn't as fixed on that as he used to be. To Harry Draco is still the same, of course and his feelings and actions won't change.
rob * bob - Update what? All my posted stories were finished until I started this.
Pam Briggs - I just had to use that Potions quiz idea. That's why he had to go back. ... Aurelia Longbottom is more angry at the school that allowed the students mid-air snowball fights, than at Draco. It was just Dumbledore's idea to calm her by expelling somebody.
Snape coolgirl - I'm still a little sad about this myself, but I had to start this sometime.
JerseyPike - You thought we only learned the History of Austria? No way! First comes the Stone Age, then Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages ... and then we first take a closer look at Austria, then back at Europe and then the rest of the world, though Europe gets more attention than other continents, of course. No, the subject just doesn't have that kind of status that the main subjects do (= you only have two hours a week for eight years). ... Sevi and Greenie are back! Hope it wasn't too long a wait.
TheBloodDoll - Thanks! Yes, ff.net sometimes does these things. I remember it once insisted I had already reviewed, even though I hadn't and absolutely wouldn't let me review my favourite fic. Still I like the site. It's usually the most uncomplicated one I know.
Manuelito - Oh well, nobody said your review had to be in perfect English. I just don't know any Spanish at all. (They gave me the choice between French and French as my fourth language, French and Latin as third ...) And yes, I understood your English just fine. It doesn't seem that bad at all. ... Here's the second part of MNS for you. I hope you like it. (I'm a bit nervous, because I'm trying something new.)
kat-tak - Mini sequel will come right after this fic here, promise!
i've/gone/crazy/help - Sorry, but I can't write as fast as you read. I'd need a time turner to get it done that fast. ... Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where I can get one really cheap?
BlackRose1356 - Update what? I had to actually post this first. Now I'll e able to update it from time to time ... *innocent look* What do you mean: What time?
EriksKitty - Really? If you ever write any of it down, please let me read it! ... I'll try, I'll try. As fast as life and Greenie will let me. (Work has such an annoying way of getting in the way.)
Finn-the-Cat - MNS sequel started, as requested. RD sequel will take a little longer, though, since I have to finish this first. As for Draco's future: Wait and see!
Cat - A skyhawke review alert! My very first! Yay!!! ... Unfortunately it didn't tell me what chapter exactly it was for, so I don't dare comment too much for fear of giving the plot away too soon.
LadyK - Uh, thanks. *blushes all over*
Midnight Tiger - Thanks. Well, the Soccer club didn't ever reach up to the West Hogsmeade team while Draco was still in school, but they did manage to have four house teams in his seventh year.
Amethyst D - Which sequel? This one or the RD one? ... I'm afraid I don't do individual alerts. I'm just too forgetful and hey, there must be some reason I'm paying for AuthorAlert, right?
Brink - Um ... the mini sequel will be set the year Billy starts wizarding school, so Draco will be long out of school himself. West Hogsmeade will play its part in the sequel, though. (And that's all I'm saying.)
Mala Zloca - Oh, he'll definitely see them on every Hogsmeade weekend. And then there's the Easter holidays. Also Sevi often goes home on the weekends and might occasionally be able to take Draco along.
KochanMikono - Shh, it's okay. Bad, bad Gilderoy can't get to you, I promise. ... No, you were quite right there. They'd get married, if it weren't for the female fans they are afraid of losing. I don't usually write slash (Hell, I already have trouble with het romance.), but I wanted a gay couple in there. I guess, just in order to demonstrate that I don't object. ... And I don't think that all gays are as horrible as those two. I just needed a good reason Draco couldn't stay with them! ... Well, here's another fic, if you'd like ...
Lorelei Wood - No, everybody cared about P.E. (Well, the parents didn't give a damn, of course, but the kids did.) ... Well, lucky you, then. Here the school gives you a schedule and assigns you to a class (and that's not a group that you have one subject with. You have all subjects with that same class.). Different classmates probably wouldn't have helped, though. It was my own low self esteem that made people dislike me.
Colibi - Already? I think I was working on that fic for almost two years. ... I've written only one Harry POV fic and that's HPHC. Can't really call him a hero in that one.
Teri - I was sad to see the end of RD myself, but it was time. It's the by far longest story I've ever written and I needed to go on to other things. Like this for example. I'm glad you liked RD so much and hope you'll give this one a chance as well.
Delfeus - Oh, I will write that mini sequel, no doubt about that. It might just take me as long to get started as it did for this. ... A game of the Rakers against the Hogwarts team? But then, what team would Draco play on? Actually, Hogwarts won't catch up to West Hogsmeade that fast. They'll play someday, but long after Draco's out of school.
Weasleylover - Well, it was Draco that hit Neville and Harry and Neville never were particularly close. With all his Dursley trouble Harry just forgot about Neville after a while. ... Here's that next story. Hope you like.
Kauz - The books only show Draco as Harry sees them and Harry doesn't really know him well. He just sees him as a thinner version of Dudley, I think. ... The Hogwarts team will take years to build up to a point where it has players good enough to take on the West Hogsmeade kids. (Think of Mely here. She's been training since she was five. Most of the Hogwarts kids in the future will start when they arrive at Hogwarts at eleven, but only the higher years that have been training for a while will be able to handle kids like Mely. ... Yes, I suppose the memory of his mother's death will come back to haunt Draco from time to time. He's suppressed that a bit and as long as there's nothing to particularly remind him of Narcissa he's okay, but meeting someone who looks like her or going back to a place he's been with her will probably give him problems.
-
-
-
-
A/N: So did you like it? Will Lucius get away free as Albus assumed? Any guesses at the identity of the traitor? (Those last ones will be read with great interest, but not answered, yet. This is partially Mystery after all.) Please R/R.
-
-
Next: Sevi's plan is revealed, Draco returns to school and Lucius is in a bad mood.
Disclaimer 2 - Draco drawing dragons belongs to PikaCheeka. Sorry I forgot to mention that in the first chapter. I sort of adopted the idea subconsciously.
Disclaimer 3 - Severus' raven belongs to J. L. Matthews. I just borrowed him because he's such a perfect pet for Sevi and promise to return him unharmed.
The catar however are all mine and I love them so please don't use without asking me first.
-
-
A/N - Yes, here it is. Almost exactly two years after I posted the epilogue of My Name's Severus here is the sequel. I wonder how many of you still believed they'd live to see this. The French translation of this chapter by Leena will most likely be up only a few hours after this original version, by the way.
-
-
Double O Seve . . . rus
-
-
Chapter 1: The Traitor
-
-
Albus Dumbledore was lying the sun in his great grandson's garden. It was rare enough that he got a chance to truly relax, but he'd taken this weekend in the middle of the summer holidays off to visit the boy and his family.
Even though he'd never admit it openly, Albus knew that he needed the rest after nearly breaking down from overworking during the school year. Much as he hated to admit it he was getting too old to juggle five different jobs at the same time. He had to learn to delegate any additional jobs that came up to others.
But for this one weekend he didn't have any job at all. He was not a headmaster, not a politician, not a general at war against the darkest wizard of his time. He was just an old man visiting his family and enjoying the summer sun and the tray of sweets lying next to him in the grass. Occasionally he looked up at the sky to watch the clouds or birds fly over his head.
Wait a minute! What was that?
One of the distant flyers was getting larger and larger as if he were intending to land right on top of the wizard. Maybe there was a nest somewhere around here?
But this was a big bird, too large for a blackbird, too dark for a pigeon, too fast flying in this light for any kind of owl.
That last fact was a relief. No letter to call him away to his duties.
'A lone crow?' Albus wondered to himself. Crows were very social birds that usually flew in groups, though and this bird was getting bigger and bigger, too big for a crow even.
Albus cursed under his breath. This was definitely a raven and he had a feeling he knew him.
When the bird swooped into an elegant landing on the arm of Albus' chair, the wizard was sure.
"Corvus." he acknowledged the familiar of one of his most trusted teachers and friend.
"Crushed frog livers. One ounce." declared the raven holding out the piece of parchment tied to his leg.
"I very much doubt that." Albus answered as he gently untied the message. "Severus wouldn't send you to me to do his shopping."
"Lemon drop?" Corvus asked watching Albus unroll the parchment.
"That's more like it." Albus agreed. "But I don't think that'd be particularly healthy for you. Take one of the biscuits instead." he offered pointing to the tray.
Corvus did indeed hop down and pick up an orange biscuit. That shouldn't be too bad for him. With a smile Albus turned his attention to the message.
"Big news. Lunch at Hogwarts?" he read out loud.
That wasn't an innocent invitation. Severus had scribbled that down hurriedly and not even taken the time to seal it. If he hadn't wanted to waste time on full sentences it had to be extremely urgent.
And urgent news from his head spy were rarely good. Albus sighed. His holiday was over and he had exactly two hours to say good bye to his relatives and get back to Hogwarts.
-
-
About an hour later Albus aparated to the Hogsmeade train station and picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet at the local news stand. He could have apparated right into Hogwarts, if he'd had to, but overcoming the anti aparition wards at this distance was draining and he still had a full hour until his meeting. A nice walk up to the castle seemed just the thing to pass the time with and he'd have a few minutes left to skim the paper for any important articles.
Corvus, who'd been riding on his shoulder seemed to agree as he gave no signs of departing to return to his wizard.
Albus glanced at the front page of the paper as he walked out of the station and almost missed the first of the three steps that led out onto the road in surprise.
'Lucius Malfoy suspected of extortion' it said in huge letters. 'Trial next Wednesday.'
They had to be really sure of their case, if they intended to call the Wizengamot together on such short notice. Or maybe this was Lucius' doing? Maybe he was hoping to fend the accusations off before they found any proof.
Albus sat down on the next bench he found to read the article. So the ministry had been alerted by an anonymous owl sent to the minister's office itself? Including wizarding pictures of Lucius threatening a Muggle farmer with a display of magic?
That was almost a prank worthy of the marauders, Albus thought. He knew for sure that Lucius would never risk doing anything like that while Voldemort was preparing for his big attack. He just wasn't this foolish. And that meant that he'd been framed.
If James Potter were still alive he'd know who'd done this, but Remus was too mature to play those kinds of games on his own.
A slight shift of weight on his shoulder reminded him of another prankster who had a bone to pick with Lucius however. He'd better get going now.
-
-
Severus was already there when he arrived at the table. Unfortunately so were professors McGonagall and Trelawney. Minerva wasn't a problem, of course. She knew Severus was a spy and Albus trusted her with his life. Sybil however was an unpleasant surprise.
The Divination teacher usually didn't come down from her tower for meals and Albus therefore hadn't expected her presence. She was unlikely to remember that he hadn't planned to be back before Monday, if she even knew what day of the week it was at all, but she was incurably nosy. Under no circumstances could he allow her to hear Severus' report.
Severus apparently was aware of the problem as well. He unobtrusively turned the little green hedgehog that had been happily munching away on a potato from Severus' plate to face in Trelawney's direction.
Greenie blinked at the sudden disappearance of his potato, sniffed his tiny green nose and smelled more potatoes right ahead. With another happy "Sniff!" he shuffled along after the smell, soon reached Sybil's plate and took a huge bite out of her steak.
"Ahhh!" shrieked Sybil. "Raaat!"
Greenie blinked up at her in surprise and considered whether he'd better roll up into a spiky ball to protect himself from whatever had made the funny woman scream.
"Why really, Sybil." Minerva scolded despite her own dislike of Severus' pet. "That is a hedgehog. Who ever heard of a spiky rat without a tail?"
"Greenie has a tail." Severus corrected her, but neither of the witches paid him any mind.
"Whatever it is, it's on my plate!" shrieked Trellawney. "Vermin in my food! Take it away! Take it away!"
"It's Severus'." Minerva shrugged. "He always lets it climb around his food. Just hand it back to him."
"You can't possibly expect me to touch it!" Trelawney protested.
"Why not?" Albus twinkled at her. "It's only a hedgehog."
Sybil looked insulted. "Hedgehogs have flees." she declared haughtily. "I refuse to touch that thing."
"I assure you that Greenie is absolutely clean and healthy." Severus commented equally insulted. "Really Sybil, such a fuss over a cute little pet."
"I refuse to share my lunch with filthy rodents and insensitive idiots!" Trelawney declared jumped to her feet and headed towards the door.
Minerva smirked. "Wait Sybil!"
Trelawney stopped in the door probably hoping for an apology to her genius.
"Didn't your crystal ball warn you there'd be a green hedgehog at the table today?" Minerva asked still smirking.
Trelawney angrily threw her shawl over her shoulder and scoffed: "Ignorants!"
The shawl slid off her back and to the floor as she stalked out.
"I think I'd better bring her her shawl." Minerva told the two wizards. "And rub it in a little."
"Not one of her better excuses." Severus remarked as Minerva closed the door behind her.
"Well, it wasn't really needed, was it?" Albus smiled. "So what's the important news?"
"There was a meeting this morning." Snape reported calmly. "The usual hick hack at first and Lucius was in a very bad mood today, but then He made an appearance and He was in a very good mood, almost triumphant."
"About what?" Albus asked nervously. "Did he say?"
"Apparently he has managed to gain another agent. A death eater able to get at Harry Potter here at Hogwarts."
Albus' eyes narrowed. "I haven't hired any new teachers this year and I'd swear to the loyalty of all the old ones."
"Is that why we just chased Sybil off?" Severus remarked.
"Sybil's a fool that might well go talking to the wrong people, but she'd never join the death eaters." Albus shook his head. "Do you think He'd trust that much in a house elf?"
"Never." Severus said without hesitation. "No, from what He said it appears that we're looking for a student. Most likely, but not necessarily, in Potter's year since He said the agent was 'close to Potter'. I assume that He was referring to them sharing classes."
"A student." Albus mused. "Considering how much trust He appears to be placing in the traitor, it will probably be the child of one of his older followers, someone well versed in the dark arts, most likely a Slytherin as he relies on his own house the most. What do we know about the Slytherins in Harry's year? There's your friend Malfoy for one."
"Draco isn't dark. He can't stomach torture any more than I can and his girlfriend is a Weasley. I also know that Lucius has repeatedly told Him that the boy is still too immature to be used in His plans." Severus shook his head. "Draco is on our side, but Lucius doesn't realise that, yet. He would never trust the boy with an important mission as long as he hasn't proven his worth and, as I said before, he doesn't have the nerve."
Albus nodded. "Who are his classmates then?"
"Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe have death eater parents, but Gregory lacks the intelligence to work independently and you have to know Vincent well to realise that he's any more intelligent than his best friend. He has always used their fathers for 'beater duty'. He probably doesn't see anything more in Vincent, but he's not completely out of the question, I admit. Then there's the Zabini boy, Blaise." He paused.
"What about Blaise?" Albus pushed when Severus didn't continue.
"I don't like him." Severus admitted. "He tried to frame me once to get between me and Draco and he can be devious, but his parents aren't death eaters as far as I know."
"How well do you know? They might be among the lower ranks."
Severus nodded. "Yes, they might. It is quite possible, even though Mr Zabini was a Ravenclaw, if I remember correctly. Unlike the Malfoys, Crabbes and Goyles the Zabinis are not traditionally a Slytherin family. He spoke of the agent as 'he', but maybe we should consider the girls anyway. Pansy Parkinson's father is high in His favour at the moment and the girl has the intelligence and mean streak required for the job. She's also currently Blaise's girlfriend. Her best friend Millicent Bulstrode qualifies as well, though she doesn't quite have Pansy's talent for strategy. Estella Rashton is highly unlikely. I'd place her firmly on the light side. Her family is definitely safe and she's always been a bit of an outsider among the group. That leaves Alice Mortimer and Juliana Carlson. Alice's father is a Muggle and Juliana's mother a Hufflepuff. both girls put up a mean front, but that's probably mostly for the sake of acceptance. I'd narrow it down to Blaise, Pansy and Millicent as the main Slytherin suspects."
"I see." Albus nodded. "He has several Ravenclaws in his service as well, though. Do we have any death eater children in Ravenclaw entering sixth year?"
"Filius knows them better than I." Severus reminded him. "But Miranda Deering's father is in Azkaban for practising the dark arts and Eric Farran has shown strong anti Muggle prejudice before. Other than that, I can't think of any suspects."
"The Patil girl?" Albus suggested. "We know practically nothing about the family, but they appear to be pureblood."
"Immigrated from India after His fall. It's very unlikely they've had contact with death eaters before then and both girls get on well with their Muggle born classmates."
"I didn't get the impression that Ms Granger and Ms Parvati Patil were that close." Albus pointed out.
"That's mostly due to their very contrary interests, I believe." Severus argued. "Ms Granger has a very logical mind and idolises Minerva. I believe I heard she even walked out of Divination class, because she despises Sybil. Ms Patil to the contrary idolises Sybil and Divination is her favourite class. The dislike the two teachers have for each other has carried over to the students, I believe."
"Alright, not Padma Patil, then. What of the Hufflepuffs?" Albus asked.
Severus thought for a moment. "Nicodemus Hanson. He's a prejudiced loner who probably got into the house on the merit of his dedication to his work alone. He's rather discontented with the social ways of his housemates and tries to keep his distance as much as he can."
"He's Muggle born, though." Albus commented.
"But still the most likely candidate Hufflepuff has. The house has the largest number of Muggle borns and the pure-blooded members all associate freely with them. Hufflepuff has produced very few death eaters or Aurors. Fighting over ideals or for personal advantages is just not their way."
"They like to make the world better for everybody, though."
"But not by fighting. They'll invest their time and work in social services or medical research that will prove a more real and immediate help to people. No, we'll most likely find our traitor in Slytherin or Ravenclaw. What of the Gryffindors, though? So far we've only cleared Ms Patil."
Albus laughed. "The Gryffindors, Severus? They're the white knights in shining armour. Their house has produced more aurors than any other and no death eaters."
"Peter Pettigrew." Severus stated dryly.
"Fine, fine." Albus sighed. "Your thoughts on the Gryffindors then?"
"As I said, we've cleared Patil. Granger is out of the question. She's Muggle born and a close friend of Potter's. Ms Brown's mother is Muggle born as well, which makes her an unlikely candidate. Neville Longbottom's seen his parents tortured into insanity by death eaters. Dean Thomas even still prefers the Muggle game of Soccer to Quidditch, Ron Weasley is Potter's best friend and... well, a Weasley. That leaves Seamus Finnigan as the most likely candidate."
"A half blood." Albus pointed out. "See, there was no need to suspect the Gryffindors."
"No more, than to suspect the Hufflepuffs, but we should consider the other years as well, just in case."
Albus sighed. "We don't have time to go through the whole student body right now. Make me a list. Starting with the Slytherins of course. I'll ask the other heads to give me similar lists on their houses, but if you have the time, I'd like to have your opinion on their students as well. You've always been best at predicting these things."
"I know the dark side the best." Severus reminded him. "And the people on it."
"Which reminds me." Albus said deliberately lightly. "I've read the most interesting headline in the prophet today."
"Oh?" Severus asked.
Yes, he definitely knew what Albus was talking about.
"Apparently somebody sent the ministry an anonymous letter accusing Lucius Malfoy of extortion." Albus continued.
"Oh?" Severus repeated.
"It's the strangest thing, because I'm sure good old Lucius wouldn't do this while playing such an important role in Voldemort's current plans." Albus mused. "Someone framed him."
"Oh?"
"Severus." Albus said sternly.
"It's not like he doesn't deserve it Albus." Severus volunteered. "He may not have done it since Voldemort's return, but I know he did it before then. When we were younger I sometimes even helped him with it."
"Severus!"
"He has done much worse things than that, Albus."
"SEVERUS!"
"All right all right, I won't do it again. Happy?"
"You are incorrigible, Severus. What do you think will come of it? Lucius will buy himself out of going to Azkaban and end up with a slap on the wrist. That won't help us any."
"But it will anger Lucius." Severus commented. "Which is all I really intended to do. We have more important issues to discuss however." he quickly changed the topic. "What are we going to do about that new agent? We can't allow him to run freely around the school."
"Indeed, we might have to expel him unless we can find another way to neutralise him." Albus said sadly. "I hate to see a child expelled for an error made by his parents. Maybe, we can turn him around to our side, or feed him false information. We would need to warn Harry of him, of course and rearrange the schedules to keep the two apart."
"To do any of that we'd have to know for sure who it is." Severus reminded him.
"Right. Our first goal must be to identify him. We need a counter agent to ferret him out." Albus decided.
"I can only supervise the students so much. Even if he is a Slytherin, he'll get suspicious, if I hang around the common room too often, search trunks, or follow him in the hallways." Severus reminded him. "Any other staff member would be even more suspicious."
"And that is why we need a student to do the job." Albus announced brightly. "As we are most likely dealing with a Slytherin a Slytherin will have the best chances to catch him and will also be the least suspicious. The traitor will be very distrusting of the Gryffindors, of course."
"You want to recruit one of my students as a secret agent Albus? Are you out of your mind? They're children. All of them have at least friends on the dark side. They aren't innocent white knights like your Gryffindors, Albus. Slytherin has all shades of grey, scarred children that don't trust easily, if at all."
"You said not all of them were dark." Albus said almost accusingly.
"They aren't." Severus confirmed. "But that doesn't mean that they'll stand against their friends and family. Slytherins stick together. Nobody outside their house will stand up for them so they must present a united front at all times. Most of them are neutral, Albus and that's as good as they're willing to give you."
"You said the Malfoy boy was on our side, though. He trusts you and being Lucius' son he will not likely be suspected of working for us." Albus stated.
"You want me to recruit Draco for your plans?" Severus demanded angrily. "I already told you he can't stomach it, Albus! He's a surprisingly sensitive boy, once you get a look behind the mask."
"He won't have to watch or participate in any kind of torture, Severus." Dumbledore reminded him. "All he'll have to do is watch his classmates and report to us, if any show signs of working for Voldemort. Watch, listen and continue to pretend to be on the dark side. That's all I expect of him. He'd most likely do that anyway."
Severus shook his head. "I don't want to see him put into danger. He has no experience with spy work and his own father would kill him for it, Albus."
"If you have a better suggestion, I'll gladly accept it, but I can't think of anyone more fitting for the job. Everybody else we can trust will be at the very least suspicious to the traitor and the traitor himself will be the only one with any spying experience." Dumbledore decided. "We have to use Draco."
Severus sighed again and nodded his head sadly. He had no problem risking his own life spying, but risking that of his young friend was a very different matter. He was proud of the hard won trust of the boy. He just couldn't abuse it this way, but what other choice did he have?
If only this had happened last year while he'd still been a boy himself! Then he could have taken the spying job instead of Draco. He could probably have done it easily with all his experience.
Those worries wouldn't leave him alone all day and by dinnertime he caught himself wishing that he'd never changed back at all. He even considered using Neville Longbottom's youth potion again, but that wasn't an option. The potion was extremely dangerous after all and he might be needed as an adult at any time. There was no telling whether the antidote would still work a second time. According to its inventor it hadn't worked again on a rat that had been given a too weak version at first and aged only a few months instead of two years. The second dose had only made the rat sick for a day and not changed it's age at all.
It was predictably just when he'd gone to bed that night that he came up with a new idea that might present a solution.
With that on his mind there was no chance at sleep, of course. He absolutely needed to find out whether this could be done, but the books available in his rooms couldn't answer his main question. He'd have to go to the library for that.
Tomorrow, he promised himself, now he needed his sleep.
He climbed back into bed, but the question still wouldn't leave him alone. After about one hour of hopelessly trying to sleep he finally gave in, got up and, after getting dressed hurriedly, went up to the library.
The halls were dark and the door closed, but fortunately during the holidays it wasn't locked.
Severus entered and cast a quick spell to light a few candles at his favourite desk, then lit his wand to be able to search the shelves for the titles he needed.
The Potions texts he could find blindly, but the Charms ones took him a moment to locate. Soon however he was back at the desk with the books and started his search. The Potions part was easy enough, but it seemed that Charms didn't provide the solution he needed.
Deeply disappointed he closed the books again. Now there was no other way, but to look to Transfigurations for help. And that meant he'd require the help of another wizard or witch to cast the spell for him.
Severus checked a few Transfigurations texts and in one of them he found an advanced spell that might provide a basis to work on. It would need adapting, though and that excluded Sybil Trelawney and even Madame Pomfrey from the list of possible helpers. Dumbledore was much too busy to bother him with such a big problem. It would have to be McGonagall.
Severus grimaced. That was just what he needed, to have to ask Minerva for a favour! Well, there was no way around it either.
A glance at the clock warned him not to bother the Transfigurations teacher at this hour. That would probably result in a very fast end to his plans.
Once again he returned to his bed, but still wasn't able to sleep. His relationship with Minerva McGonagall hadn't exactly been the best during the time he'd been her student last year and he was still nervous around her. What if she turned him down?
He finally got up a third time and started writing his list for Dumbledore, starting with the seventh years. The three members of the Quidditch team were suspect, he decided, but the girls were all right. The thought of the Quidditch team made him even more nervous, though. They'd get to play against Potter. Maybe that was what Vodemort had meant when he'd said that his agent could get close to Potter.
The things a Quidditch player could do to another, if he wasn't afraid of losing the match as a result were frightening. Was Voldemort's agent meant to get information on Potter, or to kill him outright?
He went on to list the sixth years he'd already mentioned to the headmaster, then did the fifth year as well, before he was finally tired enough to sleep.
The next morning he took the books from the library with him to breakfast in the hopes of catching McGonagall right away, but he only found Dumbledore in the great hall.
The headmaster looked up in surprise when Severus entered with his hedgehog in one arm and a pile of books in the other.
"Transfigurations, Severus?" the old wizard asked with a surprised twinkle in his eyes.
"Yes, I might have found a way out of hiring Draco as our agent, but I'll be needing a Transfigurations expert and some time to work it out and be sure." Severus answered gently placing Greenie down on the table.
"Sniff!" declared the little green hedgehog. 'Where are my cornflakes?'
Albus smiled and pushed the milk jug over unasked. He knew the hedgehog's feeding habits by now and that it was best to serve him quickly, unless he wanted to risk finding him with all four paws in his own breakfast. Severus' toast with marmalade completely failed to attract Greenie's interest, which resulted in him going to search for breakfast on other people's plates.
"Do you have any idea what Minerva is up to today?" Severus continued while he poured some milk into the saucer that the house elves had thoughtfully provided as a plate for the hedgehog.
"She promised to write that list of suspicious students I asked her for today." Albus answered around a spoonful of porridge. "And then she was going to continue with the students' letters, I believe."
Severus nodded. "Do you want me to do the first and second years as well? I highly doubt that He would trust any of them enough to give them such a mission."
Dumbldore thought about it for a moment. "If we are going to suspect the Gryffindors, we might as well include them too."
"You do realise that including the first years means that the lists will have to wait until at least a week after the sorting, don't you?" Severus reminded him. "Right now all we know of most of them is their names."
"That's true." Albus nodded. "And the faster we find the traitor the better. The first years are rather unlikely candidates. Yes, stick to seventh to second years for now and report to me on the first years as you get to know them."
"You're planning to give the agent a list of names?" Severus asked.
Albus nodded again. "With no further information to go with them of course. If it falls into the hands of a stranger, all they'll know will be that Draco, or whoever else will be our agent, had a list of names, not even in his own handwriting. He might just as well have accidentally picked it up with his notes after class."
-
-
Severus went straight to Professor McGonagall's office right after breakfast even though he was a little worried about bringing Greenie to that meeting.
The Transfigurations teacher did not like hedgehogs, especially not green ones, and she had the horrible power to turn them into ashtrays. He hoped that she'd respect the fact that Greenie was his pet and not teaching material, though.
As it turned out his worries were unnecessary anyway. Minerva didn't answer his knock. Maybe she was still asleep? If she was sleeping in today it was no wonder she hadn't been at breakfast.
Severus considered trying her private quarters, but decided against it. Disturbing her sleep was no better an idea today than it had been last night.
Instead he returned to his office, put Greenie onto his desk and continued his list of suspicious students. The fifth years were a rather harmless lot, only one real suspect, but there were three fourth years that might be worth watching. The third years were almost as prejudiced as the sixth years were at first glance, but unlike with the sixth years he wasn't sure how much of it was just talk and what was real.
The second year included two muggle born students, which gave Severus a very clear picture of their classmates' attitudes. A gang of three girls and one boy always tormented the two girls, while the rest of the boys didn't seem to care.
With the finished list in his hand and the library books under his arm, but without Greenie this time, Severus went first to the headmaster's office, then to Professor McGonagall's. Neither of the two answered their door.
The headmaster was probably away on order business, but it was too late for McGonagall to still be in bed and according to the headmaster she'd intended to do paperwork today.
Maybe she was working in her rooms?
Severus tried the door to her private quarters after all, but with no success. Grumbling he went on to the library. Maybe he could find out a little more about this on his own until he found McGonagall. If not, he could always start on his list of suspicious Ravenclaws.
And there she was! Minerva McGonagall had taken over the librarian's desk and was frowning at a piece of parchment while next to her an automatic quill was scribbling hastily on another one.
"Good morning, Professor." Severus greeted her cautiously. He'd better not upset her now.
Minerva looked up at him and sighed. Ever since Severus had been turned into a boy accidentally the year before he'd been calling her Professor McGonagall, or at the very least Professor. It seemed that he had completely forgotten that she had once been Minerva to him and no matter how often she asked him to, he wouldn't return to using her first name.
"Good morning, Severus." she returned pointedly. If she kept using his first name he had to get the point and reciprocate sometime, right? "Was this really necessary?"
Severus cautiously stepped closer and found that there were wizarding photos of last years Gryffindor classes strewn all over the desk. "The list of students that might be tempted by the dark side? I'd say it's rather important."
"I can see why you'd want one of your house, Severus, but this is Gryffindor." she gestured at the pictures. "We don't have Slytherin's problems. Our students are from clearly light families and proud to fight against dark wizards."
"Peter Pettigrew." Severus reminded her, just as he had Albus the day before. "I know that Gryffindor isn't as likely to produce dark wizards as Slytherin, but we're looking for only one traitor. A traitor meant to give Voldemort information about Mr. Potter. Remember the damage caused by Pettigrew's betrayal. A single bad Gryffindor right now would be worse than a whole class of Slytherins gone dark. An agent that can sneak into Potter's bedroom any time he likes ..." he trailed off to let McGonagall imagine the results for herself.
"There is something else I wanted to ask of you, though." Severus continued when Minerva finally nodded her agreement.
"Another list?" Minerva sighed.
"No, something a little more complicated, I'm afraid." Severus explained. "A project that would involve a combination of Potions and Transfiguration."
A spark of interest lit up in Minerva's eyes. "A challenge?"
"Sort of. If it works, it will help us to identify our traitor." Severus explained. "But to make it work we will need to find a way to combine Longbottom's potion and polyjuice with a variant of the animagus transfiguration."
"The potion that nearly killed you last year?" Minerva asked incredulously.
"A drop will be all we need of that." Severus assured her. "It will be no problem to combine it with the polyjuice, but the transfiguration seems difficult to me."
"Difficult? Well, I am an animaga, you know." Minerva was hooked. "Now what exactly would be the result of that transfiguration and how can it help us with our traitor?"
Severus smiled and placed his books on her table on top of her still unstarted list. "Oh, simply . . ."
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Elsa - I couldn't have done Sevi's Potions quiz, if I hadn't kept Draco at Hogwarts. (Yes, that was the only reason.) ... More power to Greenie? He's already in complete control of everything I write!
annakas - It was hard for me to end RD too. Harder than it was for MNS and HPHC. I spent so much time working on that story, but even before I started RD, I'd already been planning this one. It was time to write it down. ... And as you can see, yes, it is the sequel to MNS.
aurielo - RD had to end, I'm afraid and I worked on it for over a year saving all my other little plot hedgehogs for later. It was time Greenie's other babies got a chance to play and here are the first ones.
kpstar25 - Erm ... Kpstar, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but ... that was the end. I thought I'd said so.
Thistle - I'll try to make this fic shorter, so I can get to the sequel, but don't count on it. These things have a way of running away with me!
Ruhgozler - Hey, I've been meaning to tell you I like your fic 'For 16 Galleons', love it actually, but since I usually find the link to the FA version first and absolutely refuse to use their review system, I've never gotten around to telling you. *big fox-puppy-eyes* Can you ever forgive me? ... I can't quite see Dean overcoming his hate of Slytherins anytime soon, but maybe he'll start his own Gryffindor Soccer club. Then Draco could even challenge them to an actual game once he gets a real team going. ... As you can see it's not Sevi and Lily and ... Nope, can't tell you, yet!
Kayla Hemlock - Which sequel? This one or the RD one? ... Don't worry, you'll get both, but one after the other.
Arafel - Uh, sorry, but RD's finished. No more updates.
K. R. P - Ups, another one! Sorry, I thought I'd stated it clearly: That was the final chapter of RD. No more updates of that fic.
Devi - I said, I'd write a mini sequel to RD after this fic. Maybe that's what you read?
Laughing Cat - Thanks.
ER (clicky pen lover) - Sorry, my friend, but it is over. I had to start writing this sometime. I've been saying I would since I finished MNS. There'll be a mini sequel to RD once this one's done, but Draco will already be out of school by then, I'm afraid.
Fyredra - Ah yes, Hermione knows Sevi cheated somehow, only how? ... The mini sequel might take some time, though. I'm currently not willing to hazard a guess at how long this fic's going to be ...
Ri Maccis - Draco has changed, but Harry hasn't. Draco still doesn't like Harry, but isn't as fixed on that as he used to be. To Harry Draco is still the same, of course and his feelings and actions won't change.
rob * bob - Update what? All my posted stories were finished until I started this.
Pam Briggs - I just had to use that Potions quiz idea. That's why he had to go back. ... Aurelia Longbottom is more angry at the school that allowed the students mid-air snowball fights, than at Draco. It was just Dumbledore's idea to calm her by expelling somebody.
Snape coolgirl - I'm still a little sad about this myself, but I had to start this sometime.
JerseyPike - You thought we only learned the History of Austria? No way! First comes the Stone Age, then Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages ... and then we first take a closer look at Austria, then back at Europe and then the rest of the world, though Europe gets more attention than other continents, of course. No, the subject just doesn't have that kind of status that the main subjects do (= you only have two hours a week for eight years). ... Sevi and Greenie are back! Hope it wasn't too long a wait.
TheBloodDoll - Thanks! Yes, ff.net sometimes does these things. I remember it once insisted I had already reviewed, even though I hadn't and absolutely wouldn't let me review my favourite fic. Still I like the site. It's usually the most uncomplicated one I know.
Manuelito - Oh well, nobody said your review had to be in perfect English. I just don't know any Spanish at all. (They gave me the choice between French and French as my fourth language, French and Latin as third ...) And yes, I understood your English just fine. It doesn't seem that bad at all. ... Here's the second part of MNS for you. I hope you like it. (I'm a bit nervous, because I'm trying something new.)
kat-tak - Mini sequel will come right after this fic here, promise!
i've/gone/crazy/help - Sorry, but I can't write as fast as you read. I'd need a time turner to get it done that fast. ... Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where I can get one really cheap?
BlackRose1356 - Update what? I had to actually post this first. Now I'll e able to update it from time to time ... *innocent look* What do you mean: What time?
EriksKitty - Really? If you ever write any of it down, please let me read it! ... I'll try, I'll try. As fast as life and Greenie will let me. (Work has such an annoying way of getting in the way.)
Finn-the-Cat - MNS sequel started, as requested. RD sequel will take a little longer, though, since I have to finish this first. As for Draco's future: Wait and see!
Cat - A skyhawke review alert! My very first! Yay!!! ... Unfortunately it didn't tell me what chapter exactly it was for, so I don't dare comment too much for fear of giving the plot away too soon.
LadyK - Uh, thanks. *blushes all over*
Midnight Tiger - Thanks. Well, the Soccer club didn't ever reach up to the West Hogsmeade team while Draco was still in school, but they did manage to have four house teams in his seventh year.
Amethyst D - Which sequel? This one or the RD one? ... I'm afraid I don't do individual alerts. I'm just too forgetful and hey, there must be some reason I'm paying for AuthorAlert, right?
Brink - Um ... the mini sequel will be set the year Billy starts wizarding school, so Draco will be long out of school himself. West Hogsmeade will play its part in the sequel, though. (And that's all I'm saying.)
Mala Zloca - Oh, he'll definitely see them on every Hogsmeade weekend. And then there's the Easter holidays. Also Sevi often goes home on the weekends and might occasionally be able to take Draco along.
KochanMikono - Shh, it's okay. Bad, bad Gilderoy can't get to you, I promise. ... No, you were quite right there. They'd get married, if it weren't for the female fans they are afraid of losing. I don't usually write slash (Hell, I already have trouble with het romance.), but I wanted a gay couple in there. I guess, just in order to demonstrate that I don't object. ... And I don't think that all gays are as horrible as those two. I just needed a good reason Draco couldn't stay with them! ... Well, here's another fic, if you'd like ...
Lorelei Wood - No, everybody cared about P.E. (Well, the parents didn't give a damn, of course, but the kids did.) ... Well, lucky you, then. Here the school gives you a schedule and assigns you to a class (and that's not a group that you have one subject with. You have all subjects with that same class.). Different classmates probably wouldn't have helped, though. It was my own low self esteem that made people dislike me.
Colibi - Already? I think I was working on that fic for almost two years. ... I've written only one Harry POV fic and that's HPHC. Can't really call him a hero in that one.
Teri - I was sad to see the end of RD myself, but it was time. It's the by far longest story I've ever written and I needed to go on to other things. Like this for example. I'm glad you liked RD so much and hope you'll give this one a chance as well.
Delfeus - Oh, I will write that mini sequel, no doubt about that. It might just take me as long to get started as it did for this. ... A game of the Rakers against the Hogwarts team? But then, what team would Draco play on? Actually, Hogwarts won't catch up to West Hogsmeade that fast. They'll play someday, but long after Draco's out of school.
Weasleylover - Well, it was Draco that hit Neville and Harry and Neville never were particularly close. With all his Dursley trouble Harry just forgot about Neville after a while. ... Here's that next story. Hope you like.
Kauz - The books only show Draco as Harry sees them and Harry doesn't really know him well. He just sees him as a thinner version of Dudley, I think. ... The Hogwarts team will take years to build up to a point where it has players good enough to take on the West Hogsmeade kids. (Think of Mely here. She's been training since she was five. Most of the Hogwarts kids in the future will start when they arrive at Hogwarts at eleven, but only the higher years that have been training for a while will be able to handle kids like Mely. ... Yes, I suppose the memory of his mother's death will come back to haunt Draco from time to time. He's suppressed that a bit and as long as there's nothing to particularly remind him of Narcissa he's okay, but meeting someone who looks like her or going back to a place he's been with her will probably give him problems.
-
-
-
-
A/N: So did you like it? Will Lucius get away free as Albus assumed? Any guesses at the identity of the traitor? (Those last ones will be read with great interest, but not answered, yet. This is partially Mystery after all.) Please R/R.
-
-
Next: Sevi's plan is revealed, Draco returns to school and Lucius is in a bad mood.