Open Letter

Chapter Eleven

In the years that followed, Severus trained me to essentially take his place. I would teach his lessons and in that way buy him the time necessary to experiment with new potions. Before long I was teaching all of his classes while he stayed holed up in his workroom. He was able to create many useful improvements upon the potions currently used but his biggest achievement was the Occlumens potion. It made the drinker's mind impervious to the Legilimens spell.

This together with his skill in Occulumency allowed him to continue spying on Voldemort for quite some time. Of course, just because Voldemort couldn't see through his duplicity did not mean that Severus was treated kindly. I had to put his Crucio-wracked body to bed more nights that I would care to remember. I can't count the number of discussions we had wherein I tried to persuade him to quit spying. He always insisted that it was his obligation to do whatever he could for Dumbledore. I was finally able to get him to agree to at least try and find a way that someone else could spy in lieu of him.

That's where Draco came in. Much to everyone's surprise he had not joined the Death Eaters as soon as he graduated Hogwarts. I suppose we have Narcissa Malfoy to thank for that.

The only thing she was ever guilty of was elitism. She believed in Voldemort's cause, but never really considered the means he was using to reach his end. When Lucius escaped from Azkaban shortly after being placed there, she welcomed him back and told no one until Lucius had bribed enough people to convince the Ministry of his being under Imperio at the time of his arrest. Enough gold made the old lie new again.

In Draco's 7th year, Lucius began to make plans for when Draco would receive his Mark. Narcissa was planning a debut for Draco that would rival that of any debutante. She had no idea of what Lucius had in mind as "entertainment." He began to fill up the dungeons with "Muggle-lovers" and was planning various tortures for them, a menu of sadistic delights. Narcissa stumbled upon him in the "wine cellar" one evening.

The next day the Daily Prophet carried a story of her kidnapping by Death Eaters. We could only wonder as to her fate until Draco returned from the winter holidays. He was shaken and had lost the cockiness we all remembered. He broke up with Pansy and distanced himself from Crabbe and Goyle. At meals he was to be found sitting near the end of the table with the Slytherins of lesser repute. I was not informed of the events that triggered his change until I joined the Order but I had suspected the answer.

Narcissa had been shocked to find out how the "war" was being fought and had tried to Floo someone for help when she was hit from behind with a Stunning Spell. Lucius was furious and he snarled at her while using the Cruciatus Curse over and over. He made her writhe in pain on the sumptuous rug in her own living room until she was reduced to a state not unlike the Longbottoms. But Lucius was not done yet. He kept her in the dungeon until he could summon the most debauched of all the Death Eaters to his home. They raped her and only after each man had had a turn did Lucius utter the words of the killing curse. Draco had been in the house the entire time.

After seeing what the Death Eaters were really like, Draco decided to swear allegiance to Dumbledore. He went directly to Grimmauld Place after graduating from Hogwarts and strove to put himself to use. Now he spent most of his time there, only venturing out in disguise to meet with the riff-raff of Knockturn Alley. He formed an important part of the intelligence network the Order utilised.

If Severus could train Draco perhaps then he would not be entirely alone while risking his life. Draco would easily be accepted into the Death Eaters as Lucius thought the reason for his son's move to London was disgust over the way in which Narcissa was handled. Draco wouldn't have to try very hard to win his father's trust, mostly because his father thought him to be capable of very little.

Severus and I presented the idea to the Order and it was decided to have Draco enter the Death Eaters as our double agent. Two spies were better than one, more ears to hear and more eyes to see. Before long Draco was back in his father's good graces as much as he ever was and he was privy to much more information since his father was prone to prideful boasting.

I had hoped that Severus would step back after Draco's position as a spy was firmly secured. Wishful thinking really. Severus felt that he had betrayed Dumbledore once and that he could not do it again by stepping down. I recognised the futility of trying to influence him on this matter and I concentrated instead on teaching the students what they needed most to learn. In my free time I collaborated with Severus on many potions and ideas, yet one collaboration was still absent from our lives--a child.