Severus Snape is tired of the lies. (fortiscadere) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-08-23 12:09:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! [1979-08] august, ! npc, aberforth dumbledore, severus snape |
The Prophecy: Severus Snape & Aberfoth Dumbledore
Who: Severus Snape, Aberforth Dumbledore, npc!Dumbledore, and npc!Sybill Trelawney
When: 23 August 1979; Early afternoon
Where: Upper floors of the Hogs Head, Hosmeade
What: Severus sticks his noble nose somewhere not so noble. Decisions are made.
Rating: PG-13
Status: COMPLETE.
Thanks to Dreamless Sleep potion, Severus had one of the first full nights of sleep in a very long time. He slept much longer than he should have and when he awoke Saturday morning, and sat in the rather sparsely decorated room for a long time. He felt rested and more alert than he had for days, and his mind was lost in thought. Everything felt transient to him. He knew that what he'd told Aberforth the night before was accurate. He had absolutes. Recently though, he had pushed against them more and more, and it was leading him to wonder if even those absolutes were shifting in his head. Growing up and finding one's place in the world was difficult at the best of times and Severus was not yet twenty. He had not asked to have his own decisions mean so much so soon. He had read once that a person does not grow up until their parents were dead. And sitting on the bed in the late-morning light, he thought there might be some truth to the statement. It was just him now. Everything about his life from the alliances and friendships he formed to the consequences of his actions would have no bearing on blood relatives. He could make the decision true to himself and not worry over some unintentional consequence for his mother. Whatever part he might have played in her death, she was now beyond harm from anyone including him. It was not a pleasant thought, but it freed him to make decisions as an adult. He felt different. Felt as if he'd gone to sleep in the Slytherin common room and woke up in the Astronomy tower. The landmarks of his life had shifted, but he kept coming back to the one thing that was always there. Lily. Over the years he had embraced it, he had tried to deny it, he had been angry over it, he had hoped a distraction would displace it, but the truth was that no matter how hard he tried, she tugged at his heart, twisting it around, and making him do foolish things. He wanted her, and if he could not have her, he at least wanted her safe. And even now, although he would not admit it to himself, at the bottom of that desire for her safety, was this desperate, fruitless hope that someday he might have a second chance with her. That tore at him too, for he knew for that to happen something would have to happen to Potter and while Severus did not care, he was not so stupid as to believe that it would not hurt Lily. And he hated seeing her in pain. Severus stared out the window watching the shadows and light change on the Hogsmeade businesses. He might not have had a pensieve, but he had spent a lot of time examining his thoughts, his memories, his hopes and his desires. He knew that as long as Lily was alive he would do everything he could to stay alive to protect her. He had joined the Death Eaters for a number of reasons some of which had been revealed to him as idiotic and foolish, but one reason stuck in the back of his mind. He'd thought that Lily might be impressed, yes, but more importantly, had thought to keep her safe by placement high enough within the group to wield some influence. While he knew now that the former was impossible for her - although might she not be somewhat impressed if he were to be giving information to the vigilantes? Helping them, despite the bad choice he had made? - the latter was still valid. He had not been comfortable with many duties over the past few months. If he had his choice, he would convince Lily to leave, and he would go elsewhere, leave England for good and become someone where his name, his father, and his blood would not stand in his way. Where the only thing determining his success would be his own will power and ability. But he did not have that choice, which meant that he stayed. And if he stayed, his original thought had not been wrong. He could do something good here - keep Lily safe, and maybe someday... Sometime in the last few months Severus Snape had lost perspective; He was beginning to get it back. As the light deepened and the sun rose higher in the sky, Sev got up and he got dressed slowly. His mind still thinking about what he wanted to speak to Aberforth about. He was torn about how much to give to Abe when they spoke. He knew he needed to get into the inner circle. Without that layer of protection (even if it was a very thin one) and influence there was probably no possibility for him to provide enough information to help keep Lily safe or to be of much use to the vigilantes. And as he thought about it, he thought he was probably going to have to tell Aberforth about the structure of the organization. As he weighed the pros and cons in his mind, he stepped over towards the door. He was getting hungry, and probably Aberforth was awake - despite the fact that the older wizard could very well could still have a headache from last night's escapades. Severus exited the room and pocketed the small key. He stood in the hallway as he thought about his next step. Marcus or Aknot might still be around downstairs and if they were, they could probably help him find food. The other possibility was to go and check on Aberforth. He had nearly decided to do so when he thought he heard voices from downstairs. That made his decision for him and he moved towards the stairs. He was nearly there when he realised that the voices were not coming from downstairs. The voices were coming from the room nearest the staircase, and the voice wasn't the Dumbledore he'd been expecting, rather it was Albus Dumbledore's voice. "I do appreciate your coming to meet me, Ms Trelawney," Albus' voice sounded kind and Severus hesitated by the door. "Oh it is my pleasure, Headmaster." The voice was that of a woman, breathy, and sounding almost as if she would take flight at any moment. "I am so honoured to be considered, you know that I foresaw this moment. Yes, I was viewing my crystal ball merely a month ago, and I saw that I would be meeting with a great wizard... and I said, I do not know how this can be, but then, as you see. Here I am." Severus frowned, and took a step closer to the door. It seemed to him that if Aberforth wanted to sock Albus in the nose every year on this date (and it did not seem as if this had not happened many times before), it was rather foolish of the older Dumbledore to come down to the Hog's Head so close to the date. Nor did it seem particularly like the Headmaster he'd known to meet women in shady pubs, but then Severus realised, one didn't really know much about one's teachers. He was about to step away, continue on his way downstairs when he realised that if he did so, he would be an idiot. He was down to one week before he met with the Dark Lord again, and he had nothing. Although he had tried to speak with Pettigrew, and thought he would speak with Agnes, he still didn't have anything. And if he were standing outside of a door while Albus Dumbledore - who was most probably one of the vigilantes and most certainly a man hated by the Dark Lord - had a conversation with an unknown woman, and merely walked on it would be foolish. As his mind had raced, he had missed Dumbledore's next words, and Severus, careful to not make any noise as he moved, inched closer to the doorway so that he could hear whatever was being said, a bit better. . "Oh yes," the woman's voice was quiet, and Severus frowned slightly, concentrating to hear it through the wood of the door. "I will be happy to give you yet another prediction. This one was from my tea leaves this morning - I do so love a cup of tea, do you not?" Aberforth leaned against the credenza in the main room of his little apartment and squinted into the goblet he was holding as he scratched at his chin through his beard. He grumbled under his breath then quickly downed the last of the hangover potion and put the goblet down. He then closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for the potion to do its work before he ventured out into the rest of the pub. He was hoping that Severus was still here so he could thank the young man for the previous evening. He suspected he would be; he remembered Severus saying something about wanting to talk to him when he was sober. Last night hadn't been as bad as it could have been, especially with Rhisiart still missing. Severus had handled things differently than the vampire did but it had worked anyway. Aberforth had spoken more than he usually would but he couldn't find it within himself to regret it. He felt confident that what he'd said to Severus would remain between the two of them and it felt strangely... liberating to have told someone. Aknot and Marcus knew some of it but not all. Rhisiart knew the whole lot but there really weren't that many more. Elphias Doge, of course. Maybe Minerva McGonagall if Albus had told her. And Severus had been judgemental, hadn't accused either he or Albus of anything... had just listened and said a few words of wisdom. It was odd to find a friend in someone so young but Aberforth wasn't going to dismiss Severus purely based on his age. Then again, Severus struck him as an old soul. His life up until now had made him that way and Aberforth was going to benefit from it. He sighed and pushed himself away from the credenza. The potion had mostly taken effect; food and water would take care of the last of it. And he wanted to make sure that Albus had gotten the room he needed. He knew it was no coincidence that Albus was down here today instead of meeting Sibyl Trelawney somewhere more appropriate like Madam Puddifoots. Albus always found some excuse to wander in on the 23rd to play the big brother and check on him. He wasn't sure if he was touched by that or irritated... or more likely a combination of the two. He'd never asked what Albus did on the 22nd and he'd certainly never made any attempt to find out. He'd always thought it wise to keep their individual grief as separate as possible. Oh, he'd joked about having fratricidal feelings to Severus last night but there had been years when that hadn't exactly been a joke. He ambled over to the door and walked out into the corridor then headed for the stairs. It took a moment for the sight in front of him to sort itself out in his mind into something that made sense. Severus was listening at the door of the room he'd set aside for Albus and Sybil Trelawney. Aberforth stared for a moment longer then a wash of emotions flowed over him - confusion, curiosity, realisation, anger and hint of betrayal. The anger sparked in his eyes and he stalked silently down the corridor, his face set and hard and knowing precisely where to step to make sure he didn't set any of the floorboards creaking. It took only moment to come up behind Severus and he brought his hand down hard on the scruff of the young man's neck, grabbing hold of the neck of his robes. As he did, his attention was momentarily caught by an odd voice coming from the room behind the door. It certainly wasn't Albus' voice and it was damned unusual. A woman's voice but low and hoarse and not at all what he was expecting from what he'd heard about Sybil Trelawney. As he dragged Severus upright, the words that were being said in the strange voice came through the door clearly. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies..." Aberforth didn't wait to hear anymore. He dragged Severus down the corridor, giving a flick of his fingers to open the door to his rooms and then all but tossing the young man inside. He stormed through the door in Severus' wake and slammed it closed, another flick of his fingers raising the privacy ward that lay quiescent around his rooms and locking the door. "What in Merlin's name did you think you were doing?" he bellowed, glaring at Severus as his head pounded with the last remains of his hangover-induced headache. "I have trusted you with my home, my secrets, my life and this is how you repay me? Listening at doorways?" He placed his hands on his hips and drew himself up to his full height, his blue eyes blazing. Little though he knew it, at very this moment he bore a extraordinarily strong resemblance to his brother at his most imposing and looked not at all like the disreputable, disgraceful barman that he usually was. "Well? I think I am owed an explanation." To say that Severus had been startled by Aberforth's actions, would be a mild understatement. He had been about to give up altogether, finding the conversation more mundane than what he could garner by stirring up trouble in the journals, and then the voice had changed, and the mention of the Dark Lord, and Severus thought perhaps there was something after all... But then he'd been pulled away, more roughly than he'd been treated for a long time, and he found himself face to face with an angry Aberforth Dumbledore. Almost despite himself, emotions swept through him elation at what he'd been able to hear and anger at being pulled away so soon followed almost instantly by a pang of guilt followed by fear that he'd fucked up yet another friendship. He looked up at Dumbledore and thought that he could have been looking at the Headmaster. It was suddenly very easy to see the resemblance between the two brothers, and Severus swallowed, his mouth dry with actual fear. Severus had dealt with angry people before. Hell, much of his childhood had been him trying to avoid his father or for that matter even his mother, when they were in a temper. In his experience, he didn't usually fare so well. "You've got a hundred privacy wards all over this place," Severus snapped, the tension from the past week and his genuine fear that he would have nothing to bring to the Dark Lord in a week's time triggering the response when a moment's thought and a less antagonizing response might have been smarter. "I know you do, I've seen you use them. If you don't want people overhearing things why not actually use them?" His words were more defensive than he intended for them to be and sounded more like a petulant teenager who had been caught sneaking in after curfew than a man who was going to start playing two sides. Aberforth slammed his hand down on the nearest flat surface with a resounding bang, his anger flaring a little further at Severus' petulant response. The smarter, sneakier part of his brain was warning him o ease up and think a little, think about what might have motivated Severus but the mildly hungover, headachey Gryffindor side of him was a little too firmly in control at the moment and that part angry at what it saw as the breaking of his trust. "I expect to not have to use them with friends," he growled. "I expect friends to respect my privacy and that of my guests without having to resort to wards. In fact I consider it rude to use privacy wards against friends unless it's absolutely necessary." He suddenly sagged and sighed, leaning against the credenza and running a hand down his face. He no longer bore that striking resemblance to his brother. He felt weary and old, his head was aching a bit and he was beginning to wonder whether he'd been right to trust Severus. He gave Severus a weary, slightly sad look and asked one simple question. "Why?" Severus eyed him warily, but it seemed as if the worst part of Dumbledore's anger had past. He swallowed and breathed out nervously. "I need information," he said, his voice less petulant, and more desperate. "I didn't-" think? But, oh yes, he'd thought, and the thought had been a reasonably intelligent one: That he might gain useful information - and he had - Severus was fairly certainly of that. But it was incomplete now. He looked down at the floor and shook his head slowly. This was not how he had pictured this conversation working, and Severus was uncertain what to tell him. The truth was, that whatever he might wish, there was no simple moving to the other side. He was still a Death Eater and he still had orders there. "I heard it was the Headmaster and I thought he might be talking to someone interesting. As it turned out, it didn't seem particularly so until-" Severus didn't finish the sentence. He was pretty certain Aberforth had heard the odd voice and the words as well. "I've got orders," he added, his eyes falling downwards again. Aberforth stared at the young man in front of him silently for several minutes, his mind racing. His anger was still there, still simmering under the surface, but the more logical, perhaps the more Slytherin part of his brain, could understand what Severus had done and why. Finally he turned on his heel and stalked into his bedroom and then into the small bathroom. He needed to be able to think clearly and that meant dealing with the remnants of his headache. Since food didn't seem to be an option right now, a potion would have to do. He rummaged around in the cabinet under the sink until he found a headache potion and quickly downed it. He left the empty vial on the bench then stalked back out into the main room. He leaned against the credenza again, crossing his arms over his chest and faintly relieved when the throbbing in his head finally faded to nothing. "Did you think I wouldn't understand? That I wouldn't help? I've already told that I will do everything I can and yes, that does include the judicious use of information. I understand more than most the necessity of making sure you don't suffer because of this. I also understand that is important both for your safety and in terms of what you can do for my little group of vigilantes that you be as highly ranked as possible." He dragged a hand down his face and beard again. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, forcing his temper back down. He'd heard that strange voice and he knew what Sybil Trelawney claimed to be. He certainly knew that her great-great-grandmother had been very gifted Seer though he had no idea if Sybil was the same. But he'd read that Seer's giving a prophecy often had voice changes. Could what he'd heard be a prophecy or part of one anyway? "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies..." As he ran through those words in his mind, he suddenly realised what a powderkeg they were. Sometime soon... next July if the prophecy was to be believed... a child would be born who could defeat Voldemort. But... a child? How could a baby defeat Voldemort? Or were they destined to spend years fighting this war until the child grew up? That was an ugly thought. A potential minimum of fifteen or sixteen years, maybe longer, of battling Voldemort and his Death Eaters with only the dim light of a prophecy in front of them. And who was this child? Born to those who have thrice defied Voldemort? Who the hell could that be? And was it even someone in the wizarding world? There would be a certain vindictive symmetry in having Voldemort be defeated by a Muggleborn. But then... what Muggles had thrice defied Voldemort? No, it had to be someone in the wizarding world. He stepped forward and collapsed into his armchair. "Sit down," he said with a hint of exasperation. "You..." He pointed at finger at Severus. "Are going to be the death of me. Either that or I'm going to end up plucking myself bald. Dammit." The last was muttered to himself. He was going to have to tell Albus. If for no other reason than to find out the rest of what Trelawney had said, to find out just how deep into this they were. Not to mention whether Albus believed that the prophecy was valid. And that was going to cause problems. Albus was an inveterate meddler and he didn't want his idiot brother trying to manipulate Severus into doing more than was safe. When Aberforth had left the room completely, Severus' heart had sunk. He honestly did believe that Aberforth was the best chance he had to get information into an organization in a way that would not lead back to him, so that he could keep Lily alive, and possibly, occasionally, manage to save the a few other people along the way. And while on one hand Severus could not find it in him to be sorry - he'd done what he'd done for good reasons - he knew that Dumbledore had every right to be angry with him. And as new as the friendship had been, Severus had appreciated it. He turned and paced slowly to the other side of the room, his own thoughts on what he'd heard. It was important. He was certain it was important. Perhaps in the listening, he'd gotten more than he had bargained for. Someone with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord... , he turned around as he heard Aberforth entering the room again, and Severus looked at the other man, his eyes still more wary than he had ever been before around Aberforth. And as Abe began speaking, Severus looked down. Yes, he knew what Aberforth had said. He also knew that people didn't always follow through on things, While Aberforth hadn't seemed the type to not do so, Severus was used to working by himself. Doing what had to be done by himself because you couldn't trust people to do it for you. He followed Abe's command and he sat down in the same chair he'd sat in the night before. He sincerely that it would be the latter, not the former, although it seemed an inappropriate time to make light of the comments. "I have one week," Severus offered, quietly. "I had two, but one has already passed and has been singularly useless." He wasn't certain how much he wanted to tell Dumbledore, but the other wizard couldn't help him if he didn't know, and it was unfair to expect help without offering something in return. "Right now I'm still in the outer circle. I'm towards the higher ranked of the outer circle, but it's still outer circle. And I've worked damn hard to get there but it's slippery, and I'm afraid-" Severus shook his head, he was afraid of a lot of things, but right now the relevant item was his rank. "If I don't come back with something I'm back down again. And it's too difficult to get back up. So I stopped: I listened. It's difficult for me to get information. Your vigilantes may be leaky cauldrons but unfortunately for me they aren't quite leaky enough to be useful." He sat for a moment before adding. "And I do believe you. I'm not... I wasn't trying to discount that." Aberforth grimaced and scratched his chin through his beard. "Merlin, lad, why the hell didn't you come earlier?" he grumbled. "You knew I was home." He thought hard; Severus needed information. That was a bald fact and he didn't particularly want to think what the penalty would be if he didn't have that information. But he also knew that revealing information about the Order without speaking to Albus or at least Moody was not a particularly good idea. And that would need some time. Moody was out of action for the moment and Albus would need time to think about things. That left that snippet of prophecy that they'd both heard. How much danger would there be in letting Voldemort know about it? Especially if they weren't able to figure out who this couple was that had defied Voldemort three times. "We're going to have to talk to Albus," he said finally. "Or at least I am. Frankly I'd rather keep a little distance between the two of you for the moment. My brother is a manipulative old fart at times and I don't want him playing his games with you." He gave Severus a long, penetrating look. "As much as I'd rather keep you separate for your own safety, it may be best to bring you into the Order. Not that everyone needs to know about that. Albus by necessity. Moody would be useful since he's a paranoid old bastard who knows I've met with you anyway. If we're going to do this properly, you need the protection the Order... or rather Albus... can give you." He grimaced again. "I also need to talk to him about how much information and what kind of information we can feed to Voldemort though you." Severus couldn't answer the first question. He'd hoped, he supposed, that he'd get information on his own. He'd been working long hours, and sleeping very little. He was tired and he felt far older than he actually was. "I don't know," he said finally. "I did. I guess I'm not used to bringing other people into things." Severus sat quietly for a moment, his mind running over the meeting with the Dark Lord from last Sunday. How much was he willing to tell Aberforth? Getting pulled into the vigilantes - Order? - was something that had occurred to him. He'd even suggested the idea to the Dark Lord himself, and if he could pull it off, it might be at least a beginning point. But he was going to have to work very carefully. "If I need to speak with him I will," Severus said finally. "But if I don't have to, I'm rather all right with that." His experiences with Albus Dumbledore had proven precisely what Aberforth had said and he hadn't quite forgiven the Headmaster for the way the incident with Lupin had been handled. "Will he be willing to trust me?" Severus asked aloud. He looked over at Aberforth. What did he tell him? "Currently," Severus said. Having made up his mind, his voice was rather determined. "Currently I'm in the outer circle. Luckily for both of us, I'm among the higher ranked of that circle. Right now I'm the highest ranked of anyone my age," and there was a touch of pride in his voice, because whatever it had meant to get there, he had done it and he'd done it almost entirely through his own abilities. He was beginning to realise, however, that staying there might take a bit more. "You've got the inner and outer circle, and then you have ranking, which is separate. There's," he frowned and tried to think back to the list of Death Eaters. "I believe about two or three people higher than me, right now, until we get into the Inner Circle. The Inner Circle," Severus hesitated. "That's where I'm the most useful to you. They are the people who make the decisions. They're the people who are the mentors. They're the people who are closest to the Dark Lord and they have the most information about what is happening, the plans, the projects, the hit lists. And so far as I can tell, the information is far less need to know. These are also people who have been following him for longer, so getting into that..." Severus shook his head. "It'll be difficult. But for me to be any use to those of you fighting against him, I've got to get there. Whether I want to or not." And Severus was not certain he wanted to but he was confident he no longer had any choice. "Additionally," he added. "the Dark Lord wants information on you. Not you specifically," he waved a hand. "But the group, the vigilantes. And ironically enough it's the lack of information I've given him about you that's putting me on the edge of possibly getting pushed back further down the tiers where I won't be any help to you at all. So I think we have a bit of a conundrum. And I should have come to you sooner," Severus frowned. "When it's the well being of this group I'm putting on the line with what I share, I should have come to you sooner." "And the small piece of good news in all of this," he added thoughtfully. "Is that I'm here talking to you. Because if I hadn't been able to keep him out of my head, I wouldn't be. Essentially, your secrets are secret," and Severus was not merely talking about Order secrets when he looked up at Aberforth. "Although more practise with Occlumency would not be a bad thing." Aberforth thought long and hard before answering. Severus deserved a proper answer, not a glib one. "If I'm the one vouching for you, I think he will," he said thoughtfully. "He knows I don't do that sort of thing lightly. You should probably meet him at least once so he can see you on a better footing than simply student and Headmaster. You're not a student anymore and he needs to know he can't treat you like one. Just stand your ground with him. He'll respect that. It'll probably irritate him but he'll respect it nonetheless." He nodded as he listened to what Severus had to say about the organisation of the Death Eaters. It didn't escape his notice that Severus didn't name names but he didn't press on that for the moment. There would be time for that later once he had a better idea of what information Severus could pass on to Voldemort. Quid pro quo was probably for the best this early. Once Severus was more certain that they weren't going to leave him hanging, he'd probably be more willing to give them information without demanding anything in return. He tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair as he considered matters, an idea forming in his head. "Tell Voldemort you've managed to become friendly with me. Use the appropriate distaste and complain about goats and the smell and so on. But imply that you believe that I am more deeply involved than anyone else you've found and that I'm foolish enough to talk after a few drinks. Merlin knows I have a reputation for being a disreputable fool and I know Albus has said a few times that he's not sure if I can read." he snorted. "Annoying but useful which is why I haven't taken umbrage with him about it. Say that you've only gotten a few things at the moment but that you believe I'm trusting enough to let things slip." He considered it from a few angles. There were holes but he felt they could stay as they were for the moment. "Imply that you think you can ingratiate yourself with me enough to have me recommend you for the Order but that you'll have to handle it delicately since while you know you can fool me, you'll have to tread lightly with Albus. Hopefully Voldemort's not that much of an idiot that he'll understand you'll need the time. He's afraid of Albus and with good reason." He grimaced. "I'm a good Occlumens but I've got no talent with Legilimency. Albus says it's mind over matter and I think I agree with him. I'm just not comfortable invading another person's mind." He sighed. "Albus is however an excellent Occlumens and Legilimens." He left it at that. He wouldn't voluntarily invite Albus into his mind unless it was necessary but that was him. Severus nodded, uncertain what he felt. It was not excitement exactly, but he hoped that it would be enough to be helpful. Enough to keep Lily safe. "Then, I suppose I must wait for you to talk to him before we go any further," he looked up at Aberforth. He hoped he was making the right decision this time around. He felt as if it was - certainly it suited his conscience better than most of what he'd done for the Death Eaters, but he wasn't certain how helpful it would be to them. Still, if he could keep Lily... "You're certain about that?" Severus asked, his dark eyes met Aberforth's blue ones. "You've already been roughed up once, and if I give him your name, that puts you back in his line of sight, which means he notices you again. I can play on distaste," hadn't he done so already when questioned about his love for Lily? "I can play that well enough to probably fool anyone, I think, but the instant I give him your name, you've become a target." Severus hesitated thinking through what Aberforth had said. It was not direct information, which meant that it might not be enough, but it had possibility He would need to think through how to share it in a way that would be believable considering he had not mentioned anything of it to Voldemort the last time they had met. "More of a target than you already are, that is. I'm not saying it wouldn't work, I think it might," particularly considering the idea that Severus had suggested during their last meeting. "He knows, unfortunately, that I've been speaking with Agnes, so it would be possible to weave a tale of me meeting you through her since she was here for a while," Severus grimaced slightly. He still felt badly that he'd given the Dark Lord that information, however unwittingly it had been. He perked up slightly at the information about Professor Dumbledore being an Occlumens and a Legilimens. That was something to tuck away for later because there might be a point it would be useful to have lessons from someone other than Bellatrix Lestrange. His mind was becoming a much more dangerous place. There really was just one other question. "What do I tell him about what I heard?" Aberforth nodded and made a mental note to head up to the castle either tonight or tomorrow night. He could get up there without being seen and that would be for the best for now. He leaned back in his chair and nodded. "If you sell it well enough, I won't be in any more danger than I am now. Assuming that Voldemort isn't fool enough to put a source at risk, he's more likely to ease up on any intimidation of me than make it worse. Besides I do have one piece of natural protection - Albus." He arched an eyebrow at Severus. "I'm not kidding when I say that Voldemort is afraid of Albus. He doesn't want Albus coming after him and he's got to assume that doing anything to distracted to me would bring that regard right down on him. I'm not saying that'll last forever. If Voldemort ever considered himself in a position of strength then he'd have no fear of Albus but he's not there yet and may never be." He nodded, a flash of irritation flowing through him at hearing that Severus had given Agnes' name to Voldemort. As if the girl didn't have enough on her plate as it is. He got that irritation under control quickly enough. It was done and couldn't be undone and he suspected Severus may regret it. And Agnes was as safe as she could be at Godric's Hollow. "And given that you can truthfully say that Agnes is out of reach, I can easily become the new contact. Perhaps say you pretended to bond with me over the absence of Agnes and realised from a few of my comments that I was involved with the vigilantes. Play the dirty old man card in regards to me if you think it'll work." He honestly didn't care what Voldemort thought of him and the more he was underestimated the better as far as he was concerned. "I'm not going to weep at night if Voldemort thinks I'm utterly disgraceful." He sighed at Severus' final question and grimaced. "You're going to have to tell him. If I know Albus, he'll make an official report if he thinks it's a genuine prophecy. Given Trelawney's pedigree and that odd voice she was using, I'd say it may well be. Once it gets into the Ministry, there's a fair chance Voldemort could find out about it. Just as there's a fair chance he could find out you were here. It's completely illogical to put those two together and insist that you must know but let's assume that he will be that irrational. Always best to plan for the worst." He paused and tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair again. "That and telling him what we both heard will raise you in his estimation. I dislike the idea of doing this without Albus knowing but if you're not meeting Voldemort until next weekend then we have time to manouevre." He arched an eyebrow and a small smile played around his lips. "And I think we might well try for some veritisimilitude. Let me out this scenario out in front of you for consideration. You report what you heard, your opinion that it is a genuine prophecy based on Trelawney's heritage and the established knowledge that Seer's often speak in an unnatural voice when prophesising and your added opinion that my reaction confirms that you were not meant to know what was going on, let alone that Albus was meeting with a Seer. We'll conveniently ignore the fact that Albus is meeting her in regards to the teaching position at Hogwarts. That woman's great-great-grandmother was a fine and accurate Seer and we can play with that a little, I think. I have no idea how Voldemort will react to the news but he will react - we then just have to hope that we can control the consequences." He paused and wicked twinkle grew in his eyes. "Oh, and my reaction? I was grossly angry and booted your arse out of the Hog's Head. If you're up for a little play-acting, we could even make that verisimilitude work for us. Of course then you'll need time to work your way back into my good graces but you're sure that you can. I'm a foolish old man who can be manipulated after all. That should buy us both some time to make some more plans." Severus nodded. It was true that the Dark Lord feared Albus Dumbledore and it could certainly work in their favour. "It's possible that fear will work for us in more than one way," Severus suggested. "It's possible that he'll think my getting close to you might provide him with some information about Professor Dumbledore, so I think it's a good plan. At least it is a beginning point, and it'll give you protection, while giving us time to get a bit more organised. I additionally did make a remark to the effect of Agnes being out of reach, and so far as he knows I have not seen her again, so that's completely believable. If he underestimates you as a threat, he'll be less likely to pay attention to you." "And short of hearing otherwise from you sometime in the next week, I'll give him the information about the prophecy. If it is reported, it's the only safe thing for me to do because irrationality is likely I think," he shrugged. "At least, I would rather assume irrationality and have him pleased with information than not assume and end up back down in third tier." Severus gave Aberforth a wry grin. "The time is a good thing for both of us." He looked over at Aberforth. He didn't seem particularly angry now, and Severus felt a sense of relief that the older wizard did not seem to be actually ready to boot his arse out of the Hog's Head. "And the story gives me a cover to be here," Severus added. "Which will make that element, at least, somewhat easier. And that's one less thing for either of us to worry about," he let out a breath. He was doing this. He had no idea how he had gotten himself to a point where he was crazy enough (utterly insane, really) to turn the Dark Lord's orders around on him. And he still was not certain he was the right man for this task, and he was afraid it might all fall to pieces, and he was terrified, truth be told, but there was only one thing to do - and that was to go forward. Right now he was in such a position - on both sides - that he could not do otherwise. "He may well think that," Aberforth said with a nod. It wasn't well known that he and Albus didn't speak a great deal but irrespective of that, they did speak so ti would work well enough. And I think that will be fine. I don't know how long Albus will need to think about this. He tends to think in a far wider and broader way than I do but he also understands the need for quick decision when necessary. But yes, failing any instructions to the contrary, tell him. Whatever the fallout from that, well, we'll just have to deal with it." He got to his feet and grinned at Severus, flicking his fingers to take down the privacy ward and unlock the door. "Shall we get this show on the road? I'll boot you out the front door if you don't mind. Might as well have as many witnesses as possible. Then I'll have to settle Marcus and Aknot down so they don't go after you. I won't tell them the details. It'll be enough for them to be told that we have a plan and that they're not to interfere. They trust me though expect them to play the suspicious, protective friends if they're here when you are." Severus nodded. There might not even be any, immediately, but there probably would be eventually. He breathed out and stood. "Thank you," he said to Aberforth, slowly, but with a touch of respect. The mistake he'd been caught with today, had it been for the other side, would have had far more serious consequences, but Aberforth seemed willing to still trust him, and in fact, put himself in some personal danger to make certain that this succeeded. "I would expect no less from your friends," Severus said with a small smile as he stood. "I believe I can handle suspicion. It won't be the first time it's been directed towards me. "Well," he looked at the door. "Showtime then?" And the show was pretty damn good, Severus thought, after the door of the Hog's Head slammed behind him. Both Aknot and Marcus had been behind the bar, when Aberforth had practically thrown him down the stair, the yelling easily rivaling his comments from behind the privacy wards in his room, and Severus had, for his part, acted as terrified as he had felt originally when Aberforth had pulled him by his collar into his living quarters. And equally useful were the three people on the street when the door slammed behind him and Severus glared at them all, his eyes dark and looking nearly mutinous as he turned and headed towards the Apparation point so he could go head back home. |