Resurrection

Resurrection
by Eilan

Prologue: Reappearance

"Some people come into our lives and quietly stay.
Others stay for a while and leave footprints in our hearts and we are never the same."

It was one of the last days before the summer holidays -- the fifth years had just finished their O.W.L.s, the seventh years their N.E.W.T.s. The sun was shining brightly and the air was filled with the excited voices of the children walking around. Minerva McGonagall smiled to herself while observing the scene in front of her. Through the window of her office she could see the Flight lessons field, which now was being used as a place to hang out during breaks and after school. It was a peaceful day, as most of the days during the last year had been.

It hadn´t always been like that, of course. But now that Voldemort was gone and The Boy Who Lived was living with a Muggle family, parents were sending their children to Hogwarts again and weren´t as worried about them being safe as before. This change of mind had rubbed off on the children and they were far more cheerful than they had been in years before.

Minerva wished she could be like that, but there was something inside of her that knew the peace couldn´t last. Even if Voldemort didn´t return, there would be someone else with a desire for absolute power.

Throwing one last look out of the window, she stood up and left her office. The headmaster, Albus Dumbledore had asked her to meet him in his office that afternoon and she didn´t want to be late. Dumbledore hadn´t said what he wanted to talk with her about, but she had a pretty good idea of what the topic would be. Professor Jennig, Head of Slytherin and Potions teacher, would be leaving them that summer and most likely Dumbledore had found someone to take his position but wanted to discuss it with her first. Well, she wouldn´t make him wait.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hello Minerva, please take a seat," Albus Dumbledore greeted her when she arrived in his office. He gave her his usual soft smile which reminded her of the time when she herself had been a student at Hogwarts and he her teacher. How long had it been? About ten, fifteen years -- not very long ago, considering how long most wizards lived. And yet she suddenly felt very old.

"Hello Albus", she replied with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and she took a seat across from him. "So, why did you want to talk with me?" She wasn´t the kind of person to get involved in small talk if there were matters to be discussed, but then, neither was the man she was addressing.

"Well, Minerva, four days ago I received the first replies to the job offer we placed in the DailyProphet. Now I´ve finally come up with my choice. However, I want your opinion of it, because -- well, see for yourself." He handed her a thin, black file that she opened, looked at, and nearly dropped out of surprise.

"Severus Snape?"

Minerva remembered Severus very well. Maybe better than any other student she had ever taught. He had been the black-haired, pale boy who began his education at Hogwarts one year after she began teaching. In his first years he hadn't had any friends and was constantly picked upon by Sirius Black and his friends: James Potter, Remus Lupin, and - to a lesser extent - Peter Pettigrew.

Then, in their fifth year, something happened and he had changed. He had always had a somewhat frightening appearance, but that had been because of his paleness, which had been in sharp contrast with his long, black hair and reminded everyone who met him instantly of a vampire. Of course he hadn't been one, but sometimes just looking at him had sent a shiver down McGonagall´s spine. But from that year onwards, everything changed. Sirius Black had stopped picking on him at every chance he could and Severus became scarier. McGonagall couldn't express it in any other way. His eyes seemed to become darker, his skin paler, his glance emotionless. And he became more self-confident. That wasn't an unpleasant change, but the way in which it happened and in which he showed it was unpleasant to see. He looked down at everyone, didn't seem to care about anything, and talked about things that - when McGonagall accidentally overheard them - scared her. Things about the Dark Arts and power. This was nothing very unusual since Voldemort had been on his way to power then and students -- especially Slytherins -- were fascinated by the subject. But the way he talked about it was different from the childish thoughts of his classmates. He was so... sure of himself, so confident that nothing would happen to anyone who was in favor of the Dark Lord.

She began to keep an eye on him. She sneaked around the castle in cat form, heard him talking to other students in the library, caught fragments of their conversations, but nothing concrete.

Severus had always been a good student, but suddenly even that changed. His marks in Herbology and Arithmancy dropped, whereas his marks in Charms and Potions skyrocketed. In Defense Against the Dark Arts he seemed to grow more interested in Dark Arts than in the defenses against them, although he never openly said so. His teacher, Professor Brown, told her once that he had asked her permission to obtain a book in the restricted section of the library concerning the Dark Arts, but as soon as Brown refused it, he let the topic drop.

After his graduation she had never heard of him again, but she had heard rumors. Rumors that involved Death Eaters and Lucius Malfoy.

The file Albus had handed her contained Severus's O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. certificates, which she knew, since -- being made Deputy Headmistress in 1976 -- she had either given him his marks in Transfiguration or recorded them all. And she never forgot the marks she handed out. He had ten O.W.L.s: including Intermediate Transfiguration, Charms and Defense Against Dark Arts; Advanced Potions; and Basic Herbology. Then there were his eleven N.E.W.T.s - a very rare number, as most students succeeded in only acquiring eight or nine. He had accomplished Basic Herbology and Intermediate in both Transfiguration and Charms; but now he had passed Advanced in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Indeed, a very impressive student.

The other two parchments in the file were the recommendation of his former employer at a wizard laboratory in Dublin, and his official reply to the job offer in the Daily Prophet. Nothing there surprised her. There was a reason he had gotten his N.E.W.T. in Advanced Potions.

She looked up and met Albus's eyes. The question he wanted to ask her was clearly visible in his face and so was the answer he wanted to hear.

But she wasn't yet ready to give it to him.

"So, Severus Snape. Why?" She tried to keep her voice even and unaffected by her personal opinion, but didn't succeed.

"He was in Slytherin and he's very good at Potions," was the immediate -- too immediate -- answer. Her eyes fell on Dumbledore´s hands now; they were restless, something that wasn´t seen very often.

"Albus, we both know there is more to your choice. The Head of House doesn't have to have been in that house and there are a lot of people who are good at Potions and would be a better choice as a teacher." She couldn't quite imagine Severus as a teacher. No, she didn't want to imagine him as a teacher. He probably wasn't the nicest person to be around, but then, neither was she. It was just that she had a hard time imagining him being fair.

"Well, you're right, there is indeed more to my choice." Dumbledore took a deep breath. "I visited him and talked to him, Minerva. He has changed. Or he is on the best way to change. We always suspected that he was a follower of Voldemort and I'm fairly confident that is true, although he never said it directly. But now that Voldemort has been defeated, I think what he needs to finally change his mind is just a stable life."

"And you want to give him that life by letting him work here?"

"Yes, that is my plan."

She sighed. "Albus, think about the kids. Do you really want them to be taught by a follower of You-Know-Who? Do you want them to be taught by someone who doesn't have the proper education to teach?" If he got the job, Severus would be older than she had been when she began teaching, since she had been 23; he had to be at least 24 by now, but she still doubted his ability to be a patient and fair teacher. Had Severus ever been patient with or fair towards anyone?

"Honestly, Albus," she continued, "I see your reasons, but I don't like your plan. But I can see that your decision is set and there seems to be nothing I can do to change it."

She looked defeated, something she rarely did. Like a cat, she usually fought until the last second. Dumbledore rightly guessed that maybe she wasn't as upset about his plan as she pretended, she just wanted to voice her opinion so that she would not beat herself up about keeping quiet if everything went to hell.

"No, I don't think there is. Do I have your blessing?"

"Yes, you have."

She rolled her eyes a bit, but she meant what she had said.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After Minerva left, Albus felt horrible. He wasn't proud of having lied to his best friend, not at all. Of course, he hadn't really lied, just twisted the truth a bit. He wasn't sure if Severus Snape had been a Death Eater. He knew Severus Snape had been a Death Eater.

Or rather, he knew that he still was.

But not as he had been years ago. Severus Snape was now a spy for Dumbledore and informed the Headmaster of what Voldemort and the Death Eaters were up to. But he couldn't tell Minerva that; the less people who knew about it, the better.

He shared her doubts about Severus's ability to be a teacher, but at Hogwarts he could stay in contact with him the best. One might have thought that once Voldemort was defeated, Dumbledore didn't have to rely on a spy within the Death Eater's ranks, but he needed Severus's resources more than before. He didn't trust the peace, and even if Voldemort were dead, the Death Eaters were still out there.

His decision to give the job to Severus had been set even before he placed the job offer in the Daily Prophet. The job offer had been a fake and - just like Severus's answer to it - had existed because he had to make his choice unsuspicious.

Severus had only agreed hesitantly to it and then he proposed to take over Defense against Dark Arts instead. Dumbledore thought this would've been too suspicious, and since Professor Jennig had wanted to retire anyway, he now had the perfect opportunity to make Severus a teacher.

Now he was just nervous about whether he was correct in his course of action. He wasn't as sure of himself as he wanted Minerva to believe.

Not at all.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

One day after the school year ended Severus was expected to come to the Hogwarts´ grounds in order to speak with the Headmaster and the Deputy Headmistress. Of course he knew both of them from his school years, and Dumbledore from his actions as a spy for him, but this would be something else entirely. He would now be a teacher at Hogwarts. He was less than thrilled by that prospect, however. To say that he was looking forward to teaching annoying eleven years olds would've been more than a lie. It would've been downright hilarious to everyone who knew Severus Snape. But since there weren't many people who knew him, no one laughed at the irony of the situation but himself.

He also thought it quite funny that he now returning to the grounds he had hated most in the world. The place where he had been nearly killed by a werewolf, where he had been recruited to serve the Dark Lord, and where the Dark Lord's fiercest enemy yet lived. Even now that he wasn't loyal to Voldemort anymore, he didn't feel comfortable going back to Hogwarts to be under Dumbledore's supervision.

It had been hell explaining to Lucius why he was returning to Hogwarts. In the end, he had settled on saying that if he was near Dumbledore he could find the Headmaster's weaknesses. Luckily for Severus, Lucius had not bothered to ask any further questions.

Narcissa Malfoy, on the other hand, was not that trusting. She had eyed him as if she knew he was lying. Narcissa Malfoy wasn't a Death Eater per se, but she knew a lot more about Lucius's 'activities' than she was supposed to. Severus guessed that was merely because she had to raise their son, Draco, to be a servant of the Dark Lord. The Malfoys were sure that he would return and regain his powers soon, and until then Lucius was to be the one 'in charge'.

Even though he wasn't happy about that, Severus hoped the Dark Lord wouldn't return. Being a double agent for two years before Voldemort's downfall had been hard enough.

The familiar scent of the grass around Hogwarts brought him back to reality. Then, as the castle came into view, he stopped his pace for a moment. So, here he was.

Hogwarts Castle was an impressive sight even if you had lived in it for seven years of your life. Its thick walls seemed to be able to block out everything evil and let it look like it was built to resist everything. It was indeed a fortress. At that time of day, the grey color of the stones sparkled and the windows reflected the light of the sun. He had to admit that Hogwarts was a beautiful place. Just not a place that let good memories resurface.

Severus quickened his pace.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The dining room was huge, much too big for the two people currently sitting in it. It was breakfast time and the house elves had prepared the meal well, as they did every day. Still, Narcissa Malfoy couldn't enjoy it. She watched the man opposite her. Lucius Malfoy was reading a newspaper, his face not showing whether he thought the news were satisfying or not. She would read the newspaper later that day, after he was finished. Even then, she would have preferred that he didn't know she was reading it. He didn't like that too much.

It was really quite ironic. The intelligent, pretty Ravenclaw who had been best in her year since her third at Hogwarts, not even daring to read the newspaper because her husband didn't approve of it. If she wasn´t in that position she would've laughed about a woman who gave up so much of herself. But she was in just that position and so she didn't. Instead, she just silently drank her tea and continued to watch Lucius.

Lucius was well aware of his wife watching him. She was doing that quite often and he didn't like it, but restrained himself from saying anything. It would do no good and wasn't worth the effort. Inwardly, it annoyed the hell out of him. He knew that - if she didn´t hate him -- she barely tolerated him, just like he did her. He had needed an acceptable wife to create an heir and now he had her. He knew she had been hurt when she found out that she had only served a purpose, but she never complained. He had given her a high position in society through marrying her, which was what she had always wanted.

That day there were no interesting articles in the newspaper and he decided he could leave it for Narcissa to read without changing any of its contents. He didn't trust her. The Dark Lord had seemed to like the idea of the two of them getting married, and so Lucius did marry her; the Dark Lord also seemed rather fond of Narcissa, and if she hadn't been pregnant at the time, he would probably have made her a Death Eater. Lucius, however, didn't think women should be Death Eaters.

If it had been anyone but Narcissa he would've probably talked to the person opposite him after finishing his reading - about the fact that this was the day Severus would arrive at Hogwarts or something. But Lucius had no desire to speak with his wife.

"Sir?" a deep voice behind him said. He hadn't realised anyone had entered the room, but apparently one of his servants had.

"Yes?" He could now see that Narcissa had nearly dropped her tea when the servant had addressed him and he restrained the desire to laugh at her. She was too sensitive when it came to noises.

"Mister Nott wants to talk to you, Sir. He says it's about Bartemius Crouch Jr., Sir."

To be continued...