Just The Dead Are Unsaveable

By The Undefeatable

Disclaimer: Whatever you recognize before reading my story is not mine!

Rate: Rated T just to be safe
Summary: Everyone was pawn in the chess game of Voldemort and Dumbledore. But what would happen if this pawns decide to take matters in their own hand? What if they had their own planing? What will happen when their plans make conflict with others? Rated to be safe...
Warning: There is possibility of violence, bloodshed, and drug abuse in future, not any thing explicit! Don't like it, don't read it!
A/N: Well, just as I found a way to update faster, my crazy life became crazier. So I am afraid I am stuck with one or two chapter per year for each of my stories. I know it is very slow, but bear with me. Read, enjoy, and if you like let me know what you think.

Chapter 10: The War

Severus woke up to the dark. Looking around to find what he woke him up, he found a little elf who was in the middle of calling his name again. Pushing his quilt aside and sitting on the edge of bed, Severus looked at the elf expectantly, knowing they would not have came to wake him if it was not important.

"Professor Snape, Sir, it is the headmaster. He asked Tipy to tell Professor Snape, Sir, to come immediately to his office."

"What happened?" Severus asked as he got up and started to get ready.

"Tipy not know, Professor Snape, Sir, but headmaster sir looks unwell." The house elf said as his ears drooped.

Severus cursed under his breath and quickly got dressed putting on his waistcoat and robe before making his way to his personal lab. If his suspicion was correct, Dumbledore needed the potion he made for him. Fortunately, Severus brewed and stored several doses of that potion. Grabbing a few of them, Severus made his way to the fireplace of his quarter and flooed to headmaster's office, completely forgetting about the little elf.

He found the headmaster in his chair in a reenactment of that fateful day, with his hands dangling from the armrest. The only difference was that this time he was conscious and when he heard Severus come out of hearth, he called his name softly.

Severus moved quickly and calmly to his side. He cast a diagnostic on the cursed hand and he saw his counter spells and potions has weakened. He started casting the spells anew, all the while feeding the potions he had brought with him to Dumbledore, regardless of any protest the old man might have had. After the procedure was finished, he fed a nutrition and pepper up potion to headmaster just to be sure. Only then did he take a step back and let his mind shield come down and anger show on his face.

"What did you do this time?"

Dumbledore who seemed to have recovered his energy, sat straight in his chair, smiled at Severus, and instead of answering Severus' question said, "Thank you, Severus. The portraits said that you were looking for me, has something happened?"

"I cannot imagine what you might have done that weakened the counter measures I took to save your life! Do you understand that you cannot keep doing this? I might not be able to reach you in time the next time! And the procedure doesn't even end here! I have to do the same procedure for the next two days to make sure you stay alive! I'm sure whatever you are doing can be left to someone else! What were you doing? Putting on cursed rings randomly?" Severus said that last bit sarcastically.

Dumbledore stayed silent the whole time, smiling gently at Severus. When Severus was finished he said, "You were called last night, weren't you? Anything to report?"

Severus turned and made his way toward one of the chairs on the other side of headmaster desk, muttering. "Why do I even bother?"

Sitting down, he brought his mind shield up, preparing for the coming conversation. "Yes, Emmeline Vance is dead."

"So Voldemort did have her. Well….that is bad news." Dumbledore said.

"Is that because she had some important information or was on a special mission?" Severus asked.

Severus thought for one moment that he saw a flicker of something in Dumbledore's eyes, but it was gone before he could understand what it was. Dumbledore's next words made Severus almost sure that he had imagined it.

"Every life and every person is important by itself; especially that she was a member of Order and one of the most talented and resourceful ones at that. And she didn't need to have any special mission to make the fact that Voldemort had her, less bad! You were at the Order meetings, you know what was discussed at those meetings and what Voldemort can do with those information!" Dumbledore said sternly.

"Well, if Order meetings are your problem, then you need not worry. I found an opportunity and removed or damaged any memory regarding the Order meetings. Well, actually the memory of any meeting that her mind associated with the Order."

There. That was definitely a flicker of some emotion. Was it dread? Or wariness? Did she have some information that he was not supposed to know? Well, other than that meeting where they discussed finding replacements for him. Because that could have not been that important to get such reaction from Dumbledore – the fact that there was any reaction for Severus to see showed how extreme Dumbledore's reaction was. Or maybe he was reading too much into it and he could easily see Dumbledore's reaction because he was still recovering from his previous ordeal.

Dumbledore's gentle smile and next words, definitely supported the latter idea, but it had been long since Severus believed Dumbledore's grandfatherly behavior.

"Well done, my boy. Yet again you performed well beyond imagination. Am I right to assume you took precautions to make sure Voldemort wouldn't suspect anything?"

Severus nodded saying, "I removed as a few memories as I could. The rest I blurred or damaged, so they did not contain any important information that Dark Lord could use. I did the same with other memories, randomly, so it would seem that her mind was cracking under torture rather than external interference." Severus said while watching Dumbledore closely for any other reaction, but he was unable to detect anything.

Dumbledore nodded slowly before saying, "Thank you, Severus. I cannot imagine how this situation would have gone, had you not interfered. It was such a waste of life, but I'm sure Emmeline would be happy to know that her capture and death, didn't lead to others."

Severus stopped himself from retorting, 'What use would that be to her since she would still be dead.' Dumbledore continued unaware of his thoughts.

"I will call an Order meeting in the morning and we will discuss everything then. For now, I believe we both better go to bed and get a few hours of sleep."

Severus took the dismissal for what it was and with a nod, made his way outside the office and back to his quarters. The discussion had brought up the memory of the night's event again. So he chose to walk to his chambers and use this time to clear his head – as he did few hours ago when he came back from the meeting – before going to bed.

~~oOo~~

She was floating in the darkness, before she forcefully brought herself to the consciousness. It was not what she thought, but recently nothing has been. She woke up with a gasp. She was not hurt, but her limbs ached with tiredness. However, her mind was hyper aware. So the first thing she noticed was that she seemed to be in an open area – because she couldn't see any object in her vicinity. Everything was almost black and her eyes were blurred, so she could only see objects that were in her reach (which were none). So she got on her stomach, knowing she had to take cover before they came. She tried to get her hands under her, but they shook with exhaustion, so instead she used them to crawl. She moved very slowly. After some time she noticed that her eyes had become more clear. She looked around herself and there! She could see a corner. She could take cover there. Forcing her tired limbs to move faster, she got to the corner. She managed to drag herself around the corner and behind something that might have been a garbage bin, before exhaustion caught up with her and everything went black.

~~oOo~~

No matter how much he tried, Severus just couldn't go back to sleep. So after tossing and turning in bed for fifteen minutes, he gave up and got up. After a hot shower, a change of cloth, and a cup of coffee, he was back behind his desk in his office, catching up with some overdue marking. He was in the same position when Dumbledore's Patronus found him and told him that the Order meeting will be in one hour.

Severus continued marking for forty five minutes, managing to finish all of them, before getting up and getting ready for his classes that day. He knew how Order members were going to react to the news of Vance's death and he didn't plan to be there for that. They were going to finger point and accuse (mostly Severus) for some time, before Dumbledore manages to calm them down. It was a time that Severus preferred to spend getting ready for his classes rather than getting shouted at – especially that Severus knew from experience that the meeting would probably be so long that Severus would barely find time to take a bite to eat before the start of his classes, let alone getting ready for the classes.

When he was finished, it was five minutes after seven. Severus calmly made his way across the school's grounds and from there to the edge of the wards to apparate to the Grimmauld Place. When he opened the door of the Grimmauld Place, he could, hear shouting coming from kitchen. 'It seems I came too soon' was the thought that came into his mind before he made his way towards where the noise was coming from.

When he opened the door, everyone fell silent. All eyes were on him as he made his way toward the only empty chair. As soon as he sat down, Moody started in, "Finally, his Majesty has graced us with his presence. Why we don't ask him, Albus, why we were not told that Death Eaters had Emmeline. "

"Alastor," Dumbledore started to say before Diggle interrupted.

"But, Albus, he has a point! This kind of information is exactly what we need. And he is our main source of information." He gestured toward Severus.

When it seemed that Dumbledore was not going to come up with a defense or an answer, Severus said, "Since his return, the Dark Lord has become very cautious. He does not share his plans. Only those who are absolutely necessary will be informed. And only the part of the plan that they need to know to accomplish their tasks. Everyone not important enough will be disposed of after their tasks are done. This in turn has made his followers even more cautious. They are doing everything so that they won't be the next ones."

"Including you," Moody snapped.

Severus sent a scathing look at him before saying, "Think what you want, but if there was anyway that I could have gotten the news, I would have done it."

Kingsley coughed to get everyone's attention. There was sorrow and grief in his eyes, but when he spoke, he was calm. "Do we know what information has been revealed?"

"As far as I know, she didn't reveal anything." Severus said, his face expressionless.

"Doesn't mean they could have not gotten the information some other way." Tonks said.

"From what I saw last night, it was the first time that the Dark Lord was interrogating her personally, any Veritaserum that they might have used, had to come from me. So I know that they didn't get anything out of her," Severus said matter of factly.

Dumbledore immediately continued where Severus left off. "And fortunately for us, Severus managed to get a few minutes alone with her and removed any important information." Severus looked at Dumbledore, confused. What was he playing at? The way he jumped in before Severus could voice that piece of information and his wording were suspicious. His musing was interrupted by Moody's voice.

"What? If he had the opportunity, why did he not save her?"

Severus was close to loosing his control, but before he could say anything, Minerva McGonnagal said, "Alastor! We are all grieving the loss of a friend, but it doesn't mean we should talk or act irrationally. If Severus had saved her, what was he supposed to say to You-Know-Who? As Dedalus said just few minutes ago, Severus is our best source of information."

"What use is that source when he supposedly doesn't have access to the important information we need?" Moody said.

That jab was the last straw. Severus got up fast and said, "Since it seems that no new information is going to be discussed, I'll leave as I have to prepare for my classes." With that, he made his way to the door.

"Please sit down, Severus. We still need to discuss the actions we need to take," Dumbledore said. Any consideration Severus might have had evaporated the next moment when Moody said,

"Let him go. It would be better to discuss them when he is not here. What he doesn't know, he can't report to his master."

That was it! Severus sent a scathing glare to Moody before quickening his steps and leaving the room. He exited the building, not bothering to keep quiet and waking up the Mrs. Black's portrait in the process.

Severus knew how they all felt about him. So their words should not have hurt, but they did. It just proved once again that he has never been part of them and no matter what he does, he will be never be one of them. They just were lucky that he was not doing this for them. Otherwise, considering how they were acting, he would have just left them to fend for themselves. He thought about it and then decided he definitely would not have left them despite their treatment. Enough people had died already, there was no need for more blood to be spilled, regardless of the fact that it would be the blood of a bunch of ungrateful Gryffindors.

With a sigh Severus pushed down his anger and brought up his shield. This situation was nothing new and there was nothing he could do, so it would be a waste of time to think about it any further. He quickly made his way to his quarters, where he had left the list of potions the Dark Lord had requested. Looking through them, he saw a few simple healing potions that he could easily brew. Looking at the time, he saw that he has exactly enough time for making one of the healing salves before going to his morning class.

He made his way towards his lab in the dungeon. Even though he was not teaching potions anymore, he still had his private store and lab, since Slughorn didn't have time to brew hospital wing potions. Entering his lab, he made his way to the door connecting his lab and his stores. Taking the ingredients he needs, he came back to the lab. Filling his cauldron and putting it over the flame, he lost himself in the rhyme of preparing ingredients, adding them, and stirring. Brewing always calmed him down.

When it was time for his classes, he was calm and collected; ready to spend about two hours with a bunch of idiotic teenagers. And one of his favorite classes at that: first year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs!

~~oOo~~

That night just after dinner, Severus was summoned again. He glowered in frustration as he made his way toward the edge of the wards. Apparently the Dark Lord didn't care anymore about him keeping his cover because he was summoning him more frequently, even on school nights. Reaching the wards, he tightened his mind shield and apparated to his master's side.

He ended up at the edge of the wards of Malfoy Manor. Even after all these years, Severus still had not gotten used to the feeling. There was no getting used to the disorientation and dizziness that comes with apparating without a destination and letting the mark guide him to the place where the Dark Lord wants to meet them.

He shook his head and made his way toward the front gate of the manor. As he made his way inside, his mind started to wander. The number of Death Eater meetings has increased recently which as a result causes the number of meetings with Dumbledore and the Order to increase. It was putting even more pressure on Severus who had teaching, marking, and brewing on top of everything else. 'If tonight I have been called again to participate in their raids or as they like to call it a 'party', I'm not going to stay', he promised himself.

Entering the manor, he made his way to the drawing room where the Dark Lord usually held the meetings. The drawing room's door was ajar, when he reached it and there were sound of voices coming from inside, none of which belonged to the Dark Lord. A discrete look inside, confirmed that the Dark Lord was not present in the room, and neither were any of the inner circle. In fact, it was a session, where they explain and justify why Dark Lord's cause is noble and right. These sessions were usually held to brainwash people into joining and as a matter of fact, the audience mostly seems to be some youngsters who it seemed had just finished Hogwarts last year. A closer look showed that, none of them were his ex-students. Severus quietly stepped away from the door and made his way towards the ballroom, in hopes of finding the Dark Lord. Nearing his destination, he heard sounds of cheers and laughter; the telltale of an ongoing party. He opened the door and entered. A sweeping look showed that again, the Dark Lord and his inner circle were missing. He made his way out and was contemplating other places he could check, when he heard footsteps coming toward him. Turning, he saw that it was Narcissa who was coming toward him.

"Ah, Severus, I came as soon as I felt you entered the wards yet by the time I reached the front entrance, you were gone. Come, the Dark Lord wants us to meet in his study." She said the last part with barely concealed resentment which meant most probably it used to be Lucius'.

"Why couldn't you have sent a house elf to receive people?" Severus asked curiously.

"For some reason, the Dark Lord doesn't want them to guide anyone in the inner circle. They will receive other guests, but for the members of inner circle, I am supposed to go and receive them." Her tone showed how beneath her she considered the task.

It was an interesting development. Was this and the Dark Lord's move into Lucius study, a part of a repercussion for Narcissa's attempt to run away? Or had some new development with the Malfoy house elves occurred? If it was the latter, it definitely won't be the first time. Severus knew that at this stage, it won't be possible to get anything out of Narcissa. She will not entrust him with any information, after what happened last time. However, Severus knew it might be something that needs to be looked into, both for what Narcissa revealed to the Dark Lord and any possible use the house elves might be.

Pushing those thoughts aside for now, he followed Narcissa as she made her way toward the second floor where Severus knew Lucius' study was located. Entering the room, Severus saw that most of inner circle who were out of Azkaban were present, while the Dark Lord was, yet again, absent. Taking a seat around the new long table added to the study, he listened to the low chattering of others, hoping to hear something of value.

In the next few minutes, McNair and Yaxely joined them (guided by Narcissa), before they were joined by the Dark Lord himself. The Dark Lord immediately started the meeting by asking for a report from everyone. McNair reported that Fenrir Greyback, has managed to bring another pack of werewolves to their side, this time it was a bigger pack. Severus was surprised since he has not been aware that there was one pack, in the first place, let alone the second one. That pack has apparently joined one week ago.

The Dark Lord who didn't look surprised turned to Bellatrix and said, "I believe the Lestranges have a manor near Norwich which is near a forest, is that right?"

"Yes, My lord. But it has been unused for many years." Bellatrix answered.

"Ready it for use and add Greyback to the wards. Then contact him to take both packs there. They are to stay there and they can feed from animals in the forest. Tell Greyback to take any other pack that joins, there."

"Yes, My lord," Bellatrix said with sickening obedience.

The next people who reported were Yaxley, the Carrows, Goyle, Dolohov, Bellatrix, Troves, Rowels. All reported that their tasks were almost complete. And all of a sudden, the meeting changed from a regular meeting to a war meeting. They put a map of UK on the table where they were all sitting. Each person talked about their properties that they had prepared. How much food, potion ingredients, and potions were stored there. How many people could reside there. The advantages and disadvantages of the location of the property. The amount and types of the wards they have. How well they could be defended.

Some of the properties that Dark Lord was not satisfied with their wards, he ordered Bellatrix or Dolohov to ward them more securely or he told them that he would ward them himself. As he put it "our bases must be impregnable". The only problem all bases had in common was that they were a little low in potions. At which point, everyone were looking between the Dark Lord and Severus. But before Severus said anything, the Dark Lord answered cryptically that "it will be taken care of."

To be honest, it was fortunate that Dark Lord had answered then, since Severus could not say anything at that moment. While his face was expressionless as always, his mind was reeling from all the information he had heard. He knew that Dark Lord had not been as idle as it seemed and that he was up to something. However, the sheer magnitude of what he was doing was not something he even could imagine. The Dark Lord was setting up bases which meant he was preparing for an all out war. Not some raids to some muggle villages here or there, but he was going to target the core of the Wizarding World. And he was preparing to take all the might of Order and Ministry. And it would be different from the first Wizarding War, as well. Dark Lord was more organized. He was going to do this methodologically.

The enormity of that step was mind blowing, but what was worse was the fact that this has been going on for who knows how long and Severus had not been, even remotely, aware of it. No one had given him the slightest indication and he had not picked up on the clues – the absences, the high demands for potions, etc.

Then Dark Lord started to give instruction to the owners of the properties. Choosing who will be in charge of each property, how many Death Eaters they should take with them and how many people they should recruit there. Afterwards, there was a few moments of silence, before Yaxely started to speak.

"My lord, one of my connections knows a spell crafter. He said she is in need of money since she had been disowned from her blood traitor family. So we can probably bring her easily to our side. Should I contact her?"

"No, Corban. Tell your connection to contact her and bring her to one of our safe houses. If she agrees and is shown to be trustworthy then send a junior member to bring her to one of our bases. All of you should do the same thing. Contact your connections, make new ones, try to find people who are talented in any field, but the priorities are with people who have talent in crafting offensive and defensive spells. Let them know that if they join us, we will provide them with lodging and basic necessities. Also, tell them that we will also fund their research. We have already found a few people who can teach spells or brew potions, but what we need are talented people who can create new ones. For potions, we have Severus, but we need people who can craft spells."

"But my lord, Snape can craft spells, as well. He could craft spells when he was in school," Dolohov said. Hearing that, everyone turned to look at Severus. Severus wanted to hit Dolohov in the face for that remark.

Dark Lord answered. "I am aware how talented Severus is. He had created spells for me before. One of my few followers who has helped our cause in many different ways."

The compliment made disgust roil in Severus stomach. The looks of envy that others – especially Bellatrix – were throwing at him didn't help the revulsion he was feeling. Fortunately, the Dark Lord began speaking and turned the attention of everyone away from Severus.

"However, we cannot put everything on his shoulders. We need other people who, if not in the same level, can at least do the more simpler tasks for us. Walden, I have a mission for you. Try to contact the Giants and negotiate with them. See what they would want to join us. Also, contact your vampire friend and ask him to speak with others of his kind about joining us. Tell them that for the time being we will provide them with food and shelter and when we are in power, we promise to create a community for them. Their own community where they can reign freely and feed from the Muggles without any repercussions."

Goyle asked stupidly. "My lord, why will we do that?"

"We need to show them that we are different from Ministry. After they join, whether they have their own community or not, they will be under our command where they belong," the Dark Lord answered as if he was explaining to a child. Everyone, except Severus, nodded their head and appeared satisfied with this answer.

Then Dark Lord turned back to Yaxely and said, "Corban, use your people in the Ministry to find reporters who write articles for the Ministry. Check their background, look for someone who will write for us. Also, look for reporters and authors who have written against Dumbledore and his cronies before. Check their backgrounds as well. When you are certain about someone, use your men to contact them." Then he turned to the room in general and said,

"It is important that our movement remains undetected." At that Bellatrix glared at Severus. The Dark Lord noticed the look, but continued without commenting on it. "So far, we have managed to stay one step ahead of our enemies, but we must not let our guard down. That fiasco in the Ministry last June has cost us many of our brothers and fellow comrades. So, when doing your tasks, do not contact people you do not trust directly. Even contact your connections with caution. There should be nothing that can be traced to you. Do not bring new recruits or new connections to our bases. First take them to one of the safe houses. If they prove themselves trustworthy and it is necessary, take them to our bases. Do not engage in fights or raids without my expressed command and emphasize it to the people under your command. Regarding the people under your charge in the bases and the new recruits, do not tell them more than they need to know at all times. And make sure that they know not to share what they know with others. Take care of anyone who knows too much, immediately. When staying at the bases, always stay alert. Your people must know the procedures in case the base comes under attack. Is that clear?" The Dark Lord asked as he made eye contact with everyone. There was a low chorus of, "Yes, My lord."

"Also, I want a weekly reports from the heads of our bases." He looked around and when he was sure everyone understood, continued, "My friends, we are very close to reaching our goal. With your help, we are going to make the Wizarding World as it should be."

Everyone took that as the indication it was; an end to the meeting. They stood up slowly and trickled out of the study one or two at a time. Severus whose mind was still reeling from the information discussed and their implications, was one of the last ones who stood and made for the door. He couldn't believe what he had heard. All this had been going on and he was oblivious to it. It caused a dread to rise up in his mind. What it could it mean that the Dark Lord who had kept Severus in the dark for who knows how long, was now sharing everything with him? Did it mean that the Dark Lord now trusted him completely? Severus believed that had done nothing to earn such trust, but Dark Lord's words after he killed Emmeline Vance indicated otherwise. But it was not the only way to interpret these events. There was also the possibility that Dark Lord was including Severus because his plans have advanced enough that even if he relays everything to the Light side, there would be nothing they could do to stop the Dark Lord's plan from coming to fruition. That was a dangerous idea because for all his flaws, the Dark Lord was not stupid and after his rebirth, he had been acting more cautiously and cunningly. So if the latter was the case, it boded ill for the Light side because it would mean that the Dark Lord had a foolproof plan. Of course, a third option, which always could be a possibility, was that the Dark Lord included him to test his loyalty.

These thoughts were circling in his head when the sound of some one calling his name interrupted them. He was two steps from the door of the study and the one who called him was none other than the Dark Lord, himself.

"Severus, please stay back for a few minutes." When everyone were gone, the Dark Lord motioned to him to close the door and sit down at one of the chairs closest to Dark Lord's chair. "As I mentioned during the meeting, we have found some recruits to brew potions for us. I want you to test them to see how strong they are."

"When do you want me to meet them, my lord?" Severus asked.

"No meeting. Provide me with a list of potions of different levels. They will brew them under supervision of one of our trusted junior members. He used to be your student and had received an O in his potion OWL, so he can supervise them. We will put the samples of their potions in your lab down stairs for you to check."

"Yes, my lord. I will bring the list as soon as possible." Severus said.

"Mmm. Have you started brewing the list of potions I gave you yesterday?"

"Yes, my lord. I have started two of the potions, just before you called this meeting. I had to put them under Stasis Charm. I'll continue the brewing when I return to the castle."

"Well then, I'll not keep you any longer."

With a nod of head and a murmured, "My lord" Severus made his way out of the study and the manor. What he had told the Dark Lord about starting potions was a total lie, but any other response would have gotten him the Cruciatus. He could not very well tell the Dark Lord that 'where was he supposed to have gotten the time for that'. Well, actually he could have, but then a few rounds of Cruciatus would have been the least of his worries.

Speaking of worries, the fact that the Dark Lord had found people to brew for him was concerning. So far, Severus had greatly taken advantages of the fact that he was Dark Lord's sole potion brewer. The Dark Lord's followers might have procured some simpler potions from elsewhere on occasion. However, when it came to more important and tricky potions or potions that they needed on large scale, they came to Severus. It was advantageous because not only does he control the timing when the Dark Lord would receive important potions, but also he had a rather accurate list of potions that Dark Lord had at his disposal and he could warn the Order about some of the more dangerous potions like poisons or combat potions. But if the Dark Lord finds people who could brew complicated potions then Severus would loose this advantage.

Also, considering the fact that the Dark Lord believed that soon he would not need a spy, if Severus were to loose his position as the Dark Lord's Potion Master, then he would become expendable. And that would mean that Severus would be of no use to the Light side. Severus could only pray that those who the Dark Lord has found would not be capable of brewing complicated potions – or Merlin forbid creating new ones. Because while Severus could choose tricky and very complicated potions as high level potions to brew, he could not mark them unfairly. Dark Lord was not a potion master, but he was a very talented and knowledgeable wizard. And Severus had no doubt that the Dark Lord would look at both the list and the potions before passing them on to their recipients.

So, with dread in his heart, Severus started to think about possible potions that he could choose. They should be potions that are useful for Death Eaters, if not frequently used. Also, they should be very straightforward and at the same time hard to brew. Severus started to think about sixth and seventh year potions. The fact that these potions are in school syllabus gives logic to the choice. For if the brewers cannot brew a potion that was taught in school, then they might not be suitable for brewing important potions, complicated or not. Also, since Severus had taught potions for more than a decade, he knew exactly which potions most of the students had problem brewing. A plan started to form in his mind, before another thought distracted him; his students. He had been the Potion Professor for sixteen years. Almost everyone who had gotten an O on their NEWT potions were his students. Which one of them has agreed to work with Dark Lord?

There was the matter of this student of his, as well, who the Dark Lord mentioned, but refrained from saying their name or even their Hogwarts house. Contrary to what people believed, the number of students who had gotten O's and E's in potions for theirs OWLs and NEWTs have increased dramatically since he started to teach. It was one of the reasons that neither the headmaster nor any of the heads of houses had much complaints regarding his teaching techniques. So the fact that this person who had joined Death Eaters was his student and had gotten an O didn't help. But it did make his heart sink, because it only showed that he failed one more student. And that was not all. Severus didn't know every person who had joined the Dark Lord's ranks. None of the Dark Lord's followers did. How many of his previous students have joined the ranks? Were the brewers the Dark Lord has found, once his students? Or are they from the few children who had been home schooled? Was it possible that they came from somewhere outside of Britain? Was the Dark Lord looking outside for recruits and followers outside of Britain?

Severus sighed tiredly. He didn't know which prospect was worse, but he knew that it was the start of a new type of hell that was the second Wizarding War. With a heavy heart, Severus made his way toward the castle.

TBC….