Angelinus

Chapter 11

Conspiracy Interlude

"'Lolly gobble bliss bombs' you have to be joking!" Severus winced and the gargoyle seemed to smirk back at him as it allowed him access to the headmaster's study. As he approached the door, he felt the presence of a number of people behind it, waves of low level hostility seeping through the bricks and timber to lick hungrily at his senses. Eyes narrowed, he laid a long sallow hand on the door panel and concentrated, attempting to interpret what he was feeling. By the tone, he knew the anger and malice were directed at him although the why was not clear. He could feel Albus' presence there too, moderating the major waves in his own inimitable style. On the other hand, if Albus had not wanted Severus to be forewarned, not a single hint of anything would have leaked through the door! Taking the hint, Severus pulled his personal talent for 'unnoticability' about himself and quietly slipped into the room.

Albus held court at the top of a conference table, looking regal and sane in a midnight blue robe. The office had been transfigured into a much larger meeting place to accommodate the six extra people seated around it. A number were arguing between themselves, two quite heatedly, the others spectating. They were so engrossed in their petty dispute they did not register the Professor's entrance. Albus did of course. The carefully cultivated air of stealth Severus had learned over the years not fooling him for an instant. A flick of a white eyebrow indicated that Severus should take the chair on his right hand and Severus slipped silently into place without being noticed.

Opposite the indicated place, Ron Weasley glanced up, his eyes narrowing for a second before he nodded his greeting. He had not really registered Severus' entry and was disturbed by his lack of vigilance. While he had grown distinctly less hostile toward his former professor over the years, especially as his children and friends' children seemed to adore the man, he was still not comfortable with his ability to appear and disappear seemingly at will, without magic!

Albus leaned forward and tapped his spoon on the edge of his teacup to call the unruly meeting to order. For a moment it looked like the grey haired wizard at the far end of the table was going to ignore the summons but then he noticed the black clad man on Albus' right and stiffened perceptibly, his hostility meeting a new target.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, now that we are all assembled, I will call this meeting to order and..." Albus began only to be cut off rudely.

"This is not a bloody board meeting Headmaster Dumbledore, this is a serious accusation levelled at our school and that, that 'professor' you insist is as innocent as driven snow. Well, this time he has gone too far!"

"Now, now Hannibal, you must remember your blood pressure and try to remain composed," Albus said gently. "I think it only fair to table our agenda for the day so that everyone knows what subjects we are actually discussing. First of all we have Hannibal McDermott, representing the school board and trustees. Seamus Bonnar represents the Civil Rights of Prisoners movement and Morton Fletcher of Gryce, Fletcher and Jones representing their clients the Goyle family. I believe Morton; you would like to speak first?"

Morton Fletcher was a powerful wizard in the legal community and had represented some of the oldest families to survive the SVW. He smiled briefly at the Headmaster before unrolling the parchment that had lain near his left hand.

'Southpaw,' Severus noted, fit, middle aged, not more than eighty, good health, well fed, not a powerful opponent but cunning. The instant weighting of an adversary was not something Severus did as a matter of course any more but in this hostile environment, he went automatically onto his war footing.

"Thank you Headmaster. My client has asked me to raise a question of ethics in the forced, not to say experimental, nature of the treatment handed down to one of his nephews right here in the school infirmary. No-one was asked permission to have the child take part in this experiment and indeed, no parent or guardian would tamely submit their child to such a dangerous, destructive treatment as the boy seems to have suffered at the hands of one he trusted." The man was good, his tone a mixture of sadness and grave respect as he tapped the re-rolled parchment against his nose. "If no restitution can be made at this time then I fear this matter will have to go to a formal hearing."

"Restitution for what?" Ron Weasley asked softly, no longer the bellowing blustering boy he once was but a skilled orator and interrogator.

"Why the child is damaged beyond all recovery, reduced to a mere Squib by his treatment at Severus Snape's hands," Fletcher said in shocked tones, aiming for sympathy from his audience, and getting it in the form of shocked gasps.

"Humm and I suppose the fact that 'the child' was under arrest for dealing in direstium while under the influence of that drug, played no part in his presence here? Also the fact that the drugs in his system were destroying him and if Severus had not acted to save his life he would not have lasted another day?"

"But to fill him full of an unauthorised and indeed highly experimental potion without his permission or that of his guardians is a breach of all the ethics the Ministry and indeed the Society for Equal Rights has been fighting for, for years!" Bonnar protested bitterly. "What more can you expect from the Aurors!"

The fourth man at the table raised his head and snarled wordlessly at the younger man. "How dare you insult the Aurors? If filthy brutes like direstium dealers cannot be forced to give up the particulars of their dealings in perversion by any means possible then our society will be destroyed from within. Prisoners do not have rights! They deserve everything they get! Equal rights? Civil liberties! What rights do the kids have who are given their filthy drugs and have their lives destroyed by these predators. Crucio the lot of them until they babble their plans wildly, I say." Fergus McTavish was almost foaming at the mouth as he spat his own brand of poison.

There was a stir of discomfort around the table then Seamus Bonnar shot to his feet. "Its people like you who condone the destruction of our society, you poor excuse for a sewer digger! Next you'll be telling us that we should all go back to the dark ages before the SVW and just allow people to be tossed into Azkaban with no regard to their guilt or innocence, only their inconvenience to the status quo!"

Both men were on their feet screaming at each other, spittle flying across the polished mahogany when a deep, velvety voice cast, "Silencio" almost lazily. Mouths worked, hands shot to throats and both men flopped down into their seats, staring in horror at the black haired wizard who had taken them both out so easily. Severus smirked at their shock and tapped his forefinger thoughtfully on his chin.

"And what are we going to do with you both? First of all, Mr Fletcher, you 'child' was twenty-one, well over the age of consent and therefore no permission from friends, guardians or family needed to be sought in his treatment. Secondly, while the potion I had devised was indeed experimental, it was also successful and did indeed save the man's life. With some refinements, Mr McTavish, I believe it will go a long way to alleviating the distressing effects of direstium on the addicts who encounter it. And lastly, Bonner, the man was brought to me by courtesy of his cousin Lord Draco Malfoy who's only desire was to try and help a youth he felt partially responsible for. If the family Crabbe has a problem with this, I would suggest contacting Lord Malfoy and taking it up with his representative whom I believe is the senior partner in Mr Fletcher's own firm."

Morton Fletcher's nostrils flared almost as widely as Severus' then he bowed jerkily, acknowledging the hit the professor had scored. "Very well, I will do that."

"Was that all Headmaster? I do have classes to teach," Severus asked in bored tones, turning to his principle.

"No, not quite Severus, there are a few other matters we need to discuss briefly." Albus sighed before nodding to the two men who were still struggling against the hex Snape had tossed so lightly. "Please release them, Severus."

"Oh very well, if you insist, Finite Incantatem. Oh do be quiet, both of you," he added as they both drew breath to start screaming again. "What else am I accused of this time?"

Ron stirred. "Misuse of magic, in particular, the Dark Arts," he rumbled. "I'm sorry Severus, but the ministry had authorised me to do a priori Incantatem on your wand."

"Have they indeed?" The ice fairly dripped from the velvety tones as obsidian glittered through slitted eyes but it was not Ron who was the subject of that hard, hate filled glare.

Fergus McTavish withered as the black eyes bored into him, finding his soul. "Don't you try your Legilimency on me, you, you Death...."

"That is enough Minister! I will not have my people insulted and despised in my own office," Albus said in level, measured tones that were even more threatening than bluster and anger.

"Oh no, Headmaster, let him go his length," Severus purred. "After all, the sanitation inspector from the wilds of Northumberland merely vocalises what the majority of the wizarding world is too terrified to say. Of course, if it was so, his recklessness would be his undoing, would it not?" Dismissing him with a haughty stare, Severus turned to Ron again. "Very well, do you have the order there? Ah, it is legitimate. Very well, here is my wand."

Three of the six at the table flinched back as the long fingers flicked then gaped incredulously as the tiny, curved wand was laid on the table. The only woman in the room leaned forward slightly and blinked in surprise.

"But that's too small and not even finished!" Janet Crow exclaimed in surprise.

"Not exactly what you'd expect from a Death Eater, humm?" Severus snorted sarcastically. "I don't need a wand for most things; I am a Potions Master not a charms caster."

"We will see!" McTavish gloated eagerly. "Well Auror Weasley is that his wand and if so, do get on with it!"

"'Wand registered to Severus I. Snape of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one six inch white rowan with a mermaid hair coiled core. Distinguishing details, no grip, exposed core, curved, made in Germany.' Is the Minister satisfied that this is the correct wand? No! Minister, no-one must touch the wand once it has been presented or it may contaminate the reading!" Ron warned grabbing the man's reaching arm with his damaged hand. McTavish yelped and snatched his limb back hastily, making Ron smile grimly.

Taking out his own wand and holding it carefully against the skin of his fingers that was exposed by the removed ends of his glove fingers for contact, Ron cast priori Incantatem on the tiny wand and all watched with varying degrees of eagerness as the rolling list of incantations appeared. Albus and Severus leaned back and watched as the eager, gloating expressions slowly grew puzzled then confused and finally disgusted as the list of cleaning spells, light spells, fire, water and everyday household charms rolled out of the wand. "But, but this is all domestic," Bonnar said in bewilderment.

Ron finished the list and removed the spell, handing Severus his wand. "Are you satisfied that the wizard, Severus Snape has cast no Dark Magic nor has he used any Unforgiveables in the last year? Are there any further questions on this matter? Thank you Minister and that ends my part in your query. I turn the meeting back to the chairman."

Albus nodded graciously. "In that case, I would ask that we break for some refreshments before our guests leave and the second meeting begins. Meeting adjourned."

"A second meeting? Headmaster! I have classes to give, for Merlin's sake!"

"Oh, settle down Severus, I sent Professor Halfpenny to cover for you!"

"What! How could you do this to me Albus? She is absolutely useless, as effective as a wet noodle, and we have Slytherin/Gryffindor classes today. That silly chit will let them blow my dungeons up!"

"The place could probably use some new decorations. After all you don't have Neville to clean the rafters for you anymore," Ron put in softly, a wide grin making him look all of twelve himself as he laughed at his former professor's distress.

"One can only be thankful for small mercies." Severus glared but it was a resigned sort of expression as he sipped tea and casually appropriated all the hazelnut truffles off the bon-bon selection. "So what is this other matter we are inquiring into?"

"Madam Pomfrey and Madam Director Adrienne Ladoux of St Mungo's will be joining us before we go any further. We will also be losing Mr Bonnar and Mr Fletcher so please try not to hex them into next week before they leave."

"I assume this means McDermott and McTavish are to continue to grace us with their company?" Severus snorted in disgust.

"Afraid so Professor," Ron murmured in a quiet aside. "By the way, what happened to your duelling wand? I often wondered where you got that one from."

Severus pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Long gone, I'm afraid. I change wands when I change career paths, don't you know."

"Ah, I thought it was something like that." Ron nodded gravely, eyeing his ex-professor's left arm suggestively. "How stable is your treatment for direstium addiction Professor? Have you made any progress in the application and dosages?"

"You'd have to talk to Madam Director about that when she gets here. She has been holding trials of the potion in the addict wards under proper clinical conditions for the last month. I believe Draco arranged it with Hermione and Poppy; I've had too much on my mind to bother with something so trivial. Tell me Ron, does Kathleen insist on dividing her food into colour groups before she eats it? Angelinus had developed that distressing tendency and also of trying to build castles out of her mashed potatoes, with her fingers no less. It is disgusting."

Leaning back in his chair, Ron burst out laughing and almost choked on his own tongue. "No, Kathleen is not into colour sorting, she prefers to line the bites up in size and shape order," he managed to gasp between guffaws.

"Well I didn't think to provide you with such amusement Weasley but one must garner information where one can." Severus sniffed in distain.

"No, no, don't mistake me." Ron snickered, endeavouring to sit up sensibly. "It's not your concern I am questioning, it's your priorities. You dismiss one of the major breakthroughs in the treatment of drug addiction of this decade as of less importance than a child's eating fancies. And you are being such a feared and fearsome Death Eater in so many minds? It's just kind of incongruous, don't you think?"

Snape shook his head pityingly. "My dear Ron, it is a lot easier to be a Death Eater than to be a father, let me assure you. As a Death Eater the choices are simple, kill this one, and torture that one, obey the Dark Lord. As a father, the choices are myriad and the consequences of making a bad choice are both far reaching and often ear piercing. You try making a five year old wear the wrong robe and see how long your peace of mind lasts! Do you know how devastating it is to be told how hated you are with such conviction and passion. And I know what all the books say, it's not meant, just the child lashing out, but honestly! If any future Dark Wizard learns to harness that sort of conviction, we are all doomed!" Snape lectured earnestly.

"You spoil that child Severus," Poppy said firmly from behind them, her step silent as she approached, Madam Director Ladoux hard on her heels.

Stiffening and flaring, Severus refused to grace the comment with an answer. Ron managed to contain his amusement as he rose and bowed to the venerable old witch behind his favourite medi-witch, offering his arm to guide her to a seat. She had to be at least as old as Dumbledore but was nearly as small as Professor Flitwick.

Adrienne Ladoux smiled up at the tall man who towered almost a yard over her and accepted the seat as well as the footstool he slid under her feet. "Albus," she murmured in her tiny, high voice, a quirky little smile adding a twinkle to her eyes. "Such a beautiful day, it's a shame to be cooped up inside. Hannibal, my dear fellow, how are you now? Has your mother recovered from her bout of shingles? And Fergus how is your ulcer? You really should not be indulging in that awful lemon cake, I have told you a hundred times before." Cooing and nodding, she reduced the still bristling combatants to unruly schoolboy status with a few softly placed words and smiles before turning her wide violet eyes on Severus. "My dear boy, you look tired. How are the children? Such a delight! And you are coping with fatherhood? I have spoken to Harrison Flamel about the twins' dilemma and he has been looking into it on your behalf. You should contact him soon and see what he has for you. Well Albus, shall we get started?"

Albus bowed acknowledgement as the others hastily took their places and turned attentively to the small woman. She sighed and nodded to Poppy with a smile of pure delight. "We at St Mungo's have been conducting trials of the potion patented by Severus Snape and first tested jointly by Severus and Poppy. Working on the initial calculations made here at Hogwarts, we are now able to affect a cure for direstium addiction commensurate with the debilitation of the addict. Hannibal, you are so lucky to have such a pair of brilliant minds working right here in your school, just wonderful!" She cooed, making the man bask in her praise, forgetting his hostility to the Potions Master almost instantly. "In plain English, this means that the sooner we get to the addict and give them the potion, the better they are able to recover. Each cured addict needs to come back every two to three days for a booster dose of potion as direstium does have a terrible habit of multiplying in the magic stream in an addict's body. Once the Acclaro spell shows no sparks, we need to test once a month then once in three months, and so on."

"And how much damage do these 'cured addicts' have? How much of a burden will they be on wizarding society?" Fergus McTavish asked harshly.

"If they get treatment early enough then their magical function is barely impaired. If the addiction is too far advanced, then the addict will die, or be reduced to the level of a Squib. We have considered this and we feel the special mental unit at St Mungo's can formulate a program to help the newly recovered addicts cope with life as a Squib." She bowed her head sadly. "It will be Seamus Bonner's task as Advocate to help these unfortunates reintegrate with their families and to be granted basic rights of survival, particularly those who come for Pureblood families." The way Madam Ladoux spat the words 'pureblood' was an insult in itself. "Now we come onto the worst part of this whole business. Albus, would you call in Lord Malfoy? Thank you."

Draco was obviously on his high instep, peering down his nose as he strolled casually into the meeting, pulling dragon hide gloves from his hands with an air of disdain. He nodded to various people with different degrees of respect, lastly giving a full bow to the small Director of St Mungo's. He took the indicated seat and smiled blandly down the table as he retrieved parchment from his briefcase. "A month ago, my godfather, Severus Snape, asked me to gather samples of a particular Muggle compound sold freely across the country and indeed, overseas, across the counter to Muggle mothers of small children. In essence, it is a painkiller and soothing compound, guaranteed to help children through the pains of teething troubles. I sent my operatives out to one hundred and fifty locations scattered around Britain with instructions to purchase a bottle of the medicine from the first available outlet they came too. Our operatives apparated in, made the purchase and apparated out, bringing their purchase to me. A number of students here at Hogwarts participated in the testing procedure as part of their ongoing NEWTs assignment and were very successful in both the brewing of the diagnostics potion and the dealing with the results. Only one person was required to be treated for accidental direstium poisoning, a complete recovery, I might add and a tribute to Severus' cure. Of the fifteen hundred samples we acquired, nine hundred and fifty two were contaminated with direstium. Here is a map of the areas the samples were taken from, the contaminated samples marked in red. You will note that the larger towns have the bad samples and by comparing batch numbers, a purely Muggle invention and most useful, we have decided that this insidious plan was only instigated in the last two months."

"So what? How does a contaminated Muggle medicine affect the wizarding world?" Minister McTavish asked querulously as he rubbed his nose in a disinterested haze.

Janet Crow was suddenly galvanised, straightening abruptly. "It doesn't in the short term but in the long term, we do not get candidates for Hogwarts, Beauxbatons or Durmstrang or anywhere from the Muggle community. No more Mudbloods or half bloods," she said with a crudity that only emphasised the seriousness of the situation.

The men around the table were slow to realise the implications but eventually they were all staring at each other with wide, shocked eyes. "Merlin Preserve us, that is the most insidious and devious plot I have ever heard of," McDermott muttered slowly.

"But who would concoct such a plan? Who would be responsible for such a travesty of...?" McTavish broke off as the further implications flowed over him.

"Well, that's the question, isn't it?" Ron purred softly. "Have you any ideas Draco?"

"Not at the moment, I'm afraid. My people have talked to the Muggle press and had the batch numbers we have found contaminated so far recalled but it is not enough. Unfortunately, Severus has discovered that this direstium poison has a bad habit of multiplying in the system unless completely neutralised. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, Malfoy Enterprises has not managed to purchase any significant stock in the company that makes the potion. It is part of a huge, international conglomerate and even my people have not managed to dig through the layers of legal obfuscation to find the root owner, as yet. However, we are making some progress and may yet succeed." Draco slapped his gloves into the palm of his hand. "Unfortunately, by doing the recall, we may have tipped our hand and we may never find the culprits but I am not lost to all hope yet." He glanced up sharply, his grey eyes icy cold with the determination of his convictions. He looked very much his father's son in that moment and not a few men shivered in remembered terror.

"Thank you Lord Malfoy. Does anyone else have something to add to this problem?" Albus murmured into the appalled silence.

No-one spoke.

Eventually, Janet Crow stirred. "Any ideas of how many former Death Eaters or Voldemort party supporters are left out there?" She asked into the general silence.

"My extended family are pretty much neutralised," Draco stated softly.

"My extended family is more concerned with Dark Creature rights at the moment." Severus muttered in disgust. "Give them any self serving crusade and they will all jump on the band wagon, you just have to make sure it is a band wagon you want pushed."

Draco sniggered. "How very cynical, I must try that solution," he murmured.

"My department has been tracing down as many known supporters of the Voldemort party as they can, hopefully to find them inactive, but occasionally to encounter current active hostility." Ron muttered, no longer terrified to say the name, as he had been when he was younger.

"Do we know where the potion is manufactured?" Albus asked softly.

"There are a couple of factories where it is made, we have to decide which one is contaminated, or if it is both. Then we have to track down the Potions Master who made the potion in the first place. Then we have to figure out how it is being slipped into the Muggle medicine for distribution." Draco recapped softly into the intent silence. "So, do you have any further instructions Headmaster?"

"No Draco, just keep up the good work," Albus murmured as he closed the meeting gently.