Unintended Consequences 2

Chapter 3: A Favor from a Friend

The elegant ballroom was resplendent tonight with the light of hundreds of candles. Their flames reflected off the crystal chandelier and the crystal sconces that adorned the damask-covered walls at regular intervals. The guests, witches and wizards in colorful dress robes, variously stood near tables laden with an assortment of Muggle and Wizarding delicacies, or sat on the padded benches that lined the walls, or gathered near the champagne fountain. The genteel sounds of an enchanted harp drifted in from the adjacent music room.

Severus Snape, standing near the wall on the fringes of a group of guests, felt horribly out of place, a feeling he ruthlessly suppressed. He felt exposed with his hair pulled back from his face, and uncomfortable in the second-hand dress robes he had had cleaned and pressed for the occasion. At least he had managed to find some in black. That he in fact lacked an invitation to this soiree only increased his unease.

Lucius had, actually, invited him verbally, a couple of evenings before the last Death Eater meeting. However, after his public humiliation by the Dark Lord, no paper invitation had ever arrived. It had become clear to Snape after a couple of attempts to meet him that Lucius was avoiding him deliberately. After all, he did not seem able, at present, to reflect any credit back on Lucius, Snape thought, his lips twisting bitterly.

So Snape had changed tactics. He had simply shown up tonight, and informed Dobby, the Malfoys' House Elf, that Lucius had invited him. Snape's status as a regular visitor, and the possibility of offering him an insult which Dobby's master might not intend, must have outweighed the lack of an invitation. Dobby had, after a fearful moment of deliberation, allowed him in. The elf had apparently received no special instructions regarding Snape. The next trick was going to be to get a few minutes of Lucius's time, alone.

Narcissa Malfoy, wearing a shimmering robe in varied shades of blue, swept in from the music room. She stopped to smile at a Ministry official and exchange pleasantries with his wife. When she set off towards the long buffet table at the far end of the ballroom, Snape stepped quickly away from the wall and blocked her path.

"Good evening, Narcissa," he said, with a forced smile.

"Severus," she responded with a smile that did not quite reach her icy blue eyes. "What a surprise. Lucius had not mentioned that you were coming."

"My apologies," Snape responded silkily. "He invited me a couple of weeks ago; it must have slipped his mind. If I might speak to him for a moment, I would not presume to disarrange your guest list any longer." Narcissa gave him a considering look, but apparently she, too, had not been given any specific instructions.

"Lucius is in the cellar, selecting a wine cask to open for our guests," Narcissa said. "You might be able to catch him before he comes back."

"Thank you," he said with a slight bow. "If you will excuse me...."

"Goodbye, Severus," Narcissa said, continuing towards the buffet as Snape headed for the exit.

The one entrance he was aware of to the cellar was accessible from a corridor off the main entranceway for the manor. He made his way briskly thence, stopping once to exchange a curt greeting with a late-arriving guest.

The large oak door swung soundlessly open at his touch to reveal a flight of stone steps, which Snape quickly descended. Turning to his left, he passed a couple of closed doors and arrived at the wine cellar. Lucius was inside, apparently having just made his choice.

"Flagrate!" Lucius said, pointing his wand at an old and dusty barrel. A glowing red 'X' appeared on it.

"Good evening, Lucius," Snape said as he entered.

Lucius spun about, wand in hand. He glared at Snape.

"Narcissa said you would be down here," Snape explained calmly. "I told her I needed a moment of your time."

Lucius lowered his wand, but his expression grew no friendlier.

"I have nothing to say to you, Severus, I am sorry. You will have to leave," Lucius said firmly.

"The business regarding which I must speak with you, Lucius, is not my own," Snape said forcefully. "It is on the Dark Lord's business that I am here."

"The Dark Lord is angry with you, Severus," Lucius said. "I am not stupid enough to try and talk him out of his wrath."

"The attention of the Dark Lord is a double-edged sword," Snape responded. "The price of failure is high, but in the event of a success the rewards are correspondingly greater."

Lucius said nothing, a small, knowing smile playing about on his lips.

"The Dark Lord has given me an important assignment-"

"I cannot help you obtain the Defense position at Hogwarts, Severus," Lucius said. Indeed. Lucius might have no use for him at present, but he was still, it seemed, a worthwhile audience for Lucius to impress with his secret knowledge of the Dark Lord's plans. A chink in Lucius's armor that Snape would be happy to use against his unreliable friend.

"You are, as always, well-informed about the Dark Lord's intentions, I see," Snape said, with a condescending smile. If he was going to make Lucius hear him out, he could show no uncertainty. For the first time, doubt crept into Lucius's eyes. Lucius had clearly expected his last remark to be an unpleasant surprise, Snape deduced, and was puzzled at his reaction.

"I have no influence with Dumbledore," Lucius continued in a lecturing tone, "and the Board, alas, does not involve itself in the hiring of instructors." He fixed his eyes on Snape, waiting for his meaning to sink in, Snape surmised.

"That Dumbledore has already filled that position," Snape said, raising an eyebrow, "would seem to me a greater barrier."

"He has?" Lucius asked, startled.

"Indeed yes, his offer was accepted just this week. He told me so himself, during my interview," Snape informed him. He could not resist adding, "I suppose he does not bother the Board of Governors with such details."

"Then what is it you want with me?" Lucius asked, now frankly curious.

"Dumbledore's staffing problems," Snape began, "are...different, than the Dark Lord supposed." While he knew something Lucius did not, he had the upper hand, and he would not relinquish it easily. He had proved to Lucius that he was not, as Lucius had believed, approaching him entirely from a position of weakness. Now he chose his words carefully, for he needed further to convince Lucius that he could again be useful.

"Indeed?" Lucius asked with a smile. "How so?"

"You were correct in surmising that Dumbledore would not be keen on the idea of hiring me for Defense," Snape said with a nod at Lucius. "But on such short notice, he fears he will not find anyone nearly as qualified as I am for the other position he needs to fill. It seems Horace Slughorn has abruptly tendered his resignation," Snape said with a curl of his lip. "He has been plagued by ill health recently."

"True, Severus, you have a talent for Potions," Lucius agreed. "I still do not see what that has to do with me. It would seem you have the matter admirably in hand."

"The school also needs an acting Head of Slytherin. It is the reason he will take me. No former Slytherin presently on the faculty will take the position, and no one who knows a Potion from a pot of soup among his Defense applicants was in Slytherin. Dumbledore will ensure that his friends on the board will vote to confirm me-but he expressed a worry that there is an oppositional faction...all I need is for you not to oppose that appointment."

"Head of House. That's...quite the accomplishment," Lucius observed with a smile. "Some of my friends on the board are a trifle, shall we say, conservative? You are very young, for such a responsibility." Lucius, at his age, had been on the Board of Governors, Snape did not say. For a Malfoy, the rules were different.

"I am sure it is within your power to reassure them regarding my...politics, Lucius," Snape said. "As for my age," he shrugged, "my appointment is a stopgap measure. Dumbledore plans to conduct a search for a new Head over the course of the school year."

"But the Dark Lord ordered you to secure the Defense post," Lucius said.

"The Dark Lord ordered me to get close to Dumbledore so that I might be a useful spy, Lucius," Snape contradicted him. It was exceedingly unlikely, he judged, that the Dark Lord had repeated his conversation to Lucius verbatim. "The Defense position would have been a means to that end; I found another."

"True," Lucius agreed. "I have no wish to be an obstacle in this matter. I will see what I can do."

"When wizard of your influence says that, Lucius, I am confident of the result," Snape said. "Thank you."

He had convinced Lucius that his assistance was what the Dark Lord would wish. It would not hurt, however, to remind Lucius that this was also a personal favor to a protégé. The gratitude of a Hogwarts Head of House would be potentially a far more useful commodity than that of an apothecary's assistant.

"Well, Severus," Lucius said, walking out into the corridor, "my guests must be thirsty by now. Why don't you come up and join us?" Ah yes, he was back in favor for the moment.

"I am sorry, I would not risk Narcissa's wrath at the ruin of her seating arrangements," Snape replied smoothly, as he and Lucius walked up the stairs.

They walked together out into the grand entrance of the manor.

"If you are certain...?" Lucius said.

"Yes," Snape nodded.

"Good night, then," Lucius said.

"Good night," Snape replied, and walked out as Dobby opened the door for him. Behind him, he could hear Lucius's raised voice, instructing the House Elf to fetch the wine he had selected, before the door swung shut.

The back room of Madam Sophronia's was almost unbearably hot, despite both doors being open, and the enchanted ceiling fan circulating the air. The proprietress herself was standing on a tall stool and stirring a cauldron, a peculiar habit made necessary by her short stature and the size of the cauldron. Her plump face was covered by a sheen of sweat, at which she dabbed with a lace-edged handkerchief. The large leather apron she wore when working in the back room covered her old-fashioned robes, trimmed with lace that matched the handkerchief.

It was her usual habit to leave most of the work to Snape while she waited on the customers, but the heat must have been keeping them away. Since lunch, there had been none. Snape himself stood at the workbench across from his employer. He was meticulously cutting up roots that she would need in the next stage of her brewing.

A large eagle owl, which had flown in through the front door, interrupted their work. It landed on the table next to Snape. Irritated at the bird's stupidity, he frowned, and removed the thick envelope it carried, thinking to hand it to Madam Sophronia. It was, he saw, addressed to him. As he turned it over, he realized with a thrill of excitement, that he knew what the contents regarded, for the wax seal was embossed with the arms of Hogwarts School. He opened the letter.

Dear Professor Snape:

It is my duty to inform you that Headmaster Dumbledore has appointed you as Potions Master at Hogwarts, and acting Head of Slytherin House, effective 1 September. As required by the Hogwarts charter, the Board of Governors has approved the latter appointment.

Due to the unanticipated departure of your predecessor Professor Slughorn, you will need to use the books and materials he had selected. I included his required textbooks and materials in the lists I sent to the students earlier this summer. These lists are enclosed.

Your office and apartment are available immediately. Please let me know when you intend to occupy them, so that the Staff might have them ready for your arrival.

A prompt response by return Owl would be appreciated, as the term begins in just over a week.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

He had been sure this would be coming after his conversation with Lucius. To his surprise, he realized, now that he was actually holding the letter in his hand, that he was smiling.

"Good news, Severus?" Madam Sophronia asked, her beady eyes aglow with curiosity.

He had not warned her of this possibility, he realized with a slight pang. Though he had never hidden the fact that his job as her assistant had not been his first choice, he reminded himself.

"Indeed it is," he confirmed, the fleeting smile now gone. "It means, though, that I must give you notice. I need to leave at the end of the week." Her face fell at the news.

"So, is it the Ministry then, or St. Mungo's?" she asked gamely.

"Neither, actually. It's Hogwarts," Snape replied. Madam Sophronia' plump little face looked grave.

"I know you'll take it anyway," she began hesitantly. "But, well, there's something uncanny about the Defense Against the Dark Arts job, Severus. No one has kept the position for more than a year since...Merlin! Since before you were born, I reckon!" she finished.

At that, a grin came unbidden to his face.

"That's not the position I was offered," he answered.

"Well, then," she said, her curiosity again taking the upper hand. "What is it?

"Potions Master," he answered proudly. "And acting Head of Slytherin House."

"Potions Master, is it?" she said, placing her hands on her hips. "Then I had better find someone to replace you sooner rather than later. If I hire some pimple-faced young wizard fresh out of Hogwarts next summer, he'll be putting goodness-knows-what into his Potions!" Snape shrugged his shoulders. His unconventional potions recipes had been the largest source of friction in their relationship. The NEWT students might be stuck buying Borage's old text, but no one was going to make him teach out of it.

"They're asking me to respond by return Owl. If you will excuse me for a bit-"

"Yes, yes, of course," Madam Sophronia agreed with a wave of her hand. "And...congratulations." She returned to her stirring. "I didn't really expect to keep him for very long," she muttered to herself as he left.

He had done it, then, Snape thought, as he strode down Knockturn Alley towards the boarding house, the owl perched on his wrist. Yet the greatest danger still lay ahead, for he would have to report his success to the Dark Lord. Would the ruse of Professor Slughorn's retirement be enough to explain that success, or would that success merely rouse the suspicions Snape feared?