Chapter 187. The End of the Ball and the Start of the Operation.
Severus returned to his seat and felt two pairs of curious eyes on him at once: Regulus and Layla.
"Did no one teach you that sticking your nose into other people's affairs is generally a bad idea?" He gave the pair an amused look. The girl looked slightly embarrassed and glanced away, while Black gave a wordless shrug that said plainly: If you don't want to talk about it, don't. He turned to watch the dancers, sipping his juice.
She had surprised him, though. He couldn't suppress a small, private smile. Lily hadn't been looking into his eyes throughout the conversation without reason: her intent was clear. She had been trying to read his thoughts, and to his genuine surprise he had to acknowledge she had developed a rather impressive proficiency in Legilimency.
Severus had chosen not to show that he noticed, and had allowed her to read precisely the thoughts he wanted her to read, and no more. At the same time, he had slipped into her own mind, wanting to understand what she had actually been after, and who had suggested she take this approach.
At first, Evans had simply been worried about "Severus": afraid that someone had seized control of his mind and was using him as a puppet. But the more she watched him, taking in his actions, the sharp shift in his character, and his appearance, the stronger her interest in him grew. And the more he ignored her, the more that feeling intensified: only recently had she admitted to herself that she had fallen for him. For the new Severus.
It was for that reason she had studied Legilimency, copying several books from the Potter family library during a visit. She had wanted to know the truth: was this still her childhood friend, or someone else entirely inhabiting his body?
She had received her answers. They simply weren't the ones the Gryffindor girl had been hoping for. She had believed some feeling for her still remained in him, and had lied about accepting James's proposal, hoping to provoke at least a flicker of jealousy. That Severus had barely reacted and simply offered his congratulations had been a genuine blow.
Severus didn't dig further into her thoughts: it had all become rather tangled in there, and he had found what he had come for. Beyond that, he had also put an end to the relationship, which was a considerable relief. She would finally leave him alone and stop pursuing him.
The rest of the evening passed in much the same spirit as it had begun. Everyone had grown somewhat tired, but they were wizards and had at least a modest reserve of endurance, and by the end of the celebration nearly all of them were seated at their tables talking cheerfully. The exception was the Gryffindor table, which had again been stripped of every last piece of meat, and whose occupants were casting unfriendly glances at a particular group that had somehow been closest to the food all evening.
Meanwhile, an unnaturally round kitten lay on Severus's lap, sleeping with a contented wheeze after a particularly generous dinner. Only Regulus eyed the small creature suspiciously, having noticed Lucky's sudden reappearance and the faint trace of sauce on his little face. He chose to dismiss the thought. How could Lucky possibly have eaten that much?
After one final address from McGonagall and a closing dance that drew nearly every student onto the floor, the evening came to an end. The students were sent back to their common rooms, with permission to stay up an hour later than usual so that everyone had a chance to finish celebrating.
Severus himself didn't linger in the Slytherin common room. He wished his housemates, Regulus, and Layla a Merry Christmas, then left for his room and went straight home from there, continuing the celebration in far more comfortable company. He made sure to leave small gifts beside everyone's beds before night was out.
The next morning, Severus woke at five forty-five. Outside, it was still completely dark, and though he would have preferred to sleep longer, he forced himself out of bed. Careful not to wake Nagini, he pulled on a white undershirt and black shorts, slipped quietly out of the room, and made his way downstairs.
"You're up early," Eileen said, her voice mildly surprised, as she came through the front door. Being undead, she had no need for sleep and simply couldn't manage it: she typically spent her nights outdoors or in front of the television.
"I need to keep an eye on someone." He vaulted over the sofa, dropped onto it, leaned back against the cushions, and swept his palm through the air. A transparent screen appeared before him, divided into fifteen cells.
"Something's happening today?" She glanced at the screens: not individuals, but groups of ten to fifteen, every face among them serious and grim, without a trace of celebration. Among the wizards, she began to recognize faces. "Malfoy, Yaxley, Goyle, Mulciber. How they've changed." She settled down beside him with a touch of nostalgia, studying the figures with interest. "Even Minchum."
"The current Minister of Magic."
"What?!" She stared at him.
"Hm? You know him?" He raised an eyebrow, though her reaction made it obvious she did.
"Yes. He was my classmate. Malfoy was two years above me. Yaxley was a prefect when I first arrived at Hogwarts. Even Dumbledore." But after a moment, her gaze stopped on a pale, bald man without a nose. "And who is that?"
"Tom Marvolo Riddle."
"WHAT? That handsome boy became... THAT?!" She stared at the screen in complete disbelief. Severus couldn't hold back a smile: her expression was simply too absurd: eyes wide as Galleons, mouth open, disbelief and shock mixed together in equal measure. "I was once even a little in l..." She caught herself and fell abruptly silent, a tiny flush of embarrassment crossing her face. Liches were ordinarily far less expressive than humans, but apparently the transformation of Hogwarts's most celebrated heartthrob was enough to genuinely shake her. "Oh, look: there's Rosier!" She attempted to change the subject, caught Severus's amused look, and directed her gaze pointedly elsewhere.
"A very large battle is about to take place. I don't want to miss it, and I need to keep watch on certain people." On the first half of the screens, the image narrowed to four specific wizards: the ones Severus was not willing to lose.
"That's Dumbledore." She studied them with curiosity. "Minchum. That one looks very much like Malfoy, Abraxas's son?" Severus gave a silent nod. When her gaze settled on the girl with long dark hair standing apart in a corner of the room where dozens of wizards had gathered, staring fixedly in one direction, something lit up in the former Slytherin's eyes, and an interested smile touched her lips. "That's her, isn't it? I'm right?" No great genius was required to understand what she meant, and Severus gave another silent nod. "Good. Though I'm sure I could have found someone better. Still, I'm glad you understand that the family line needs to be continued."
"Hmm?" He looked at her in genuine puzzlement, because the thought had honestly never crossed his mind. Had it not been for the inheritance, he doubted he would ever have given the question of a surname a second thought.
"Don't play the fool. Though personally I believe two wives will be too few to restore a proper family line." She gave him a reproving look, and he stared back at her with the blank, blinking expression of someone who had entirely lost the thread.
"Two?"
"Her, Bella, and Nagini. I'm certain that you and Nagini will have exceptionally powerful children once you lift her curse, and she'll make a wonderful mother: her gentle nature is perfectly suited to it. As for Bella, I would like to meet her and speak with her first. I trust you can arrange that?"
Severus simply didn't know whether to laugh or be alarmed. He had been paired off, given a detailed future, and was now being offered a third wife, all while he had not a single official relationship to his name.
"Let's discuss this another time," he answered with a composed smile, but whatever calm he projected outwardly, his mother's words had already set something turning quietly in the back of his mind.
"Everyone Apparate out!" The hissing command from the screen pulled his attention back sharply. The image shifted to a nighttime London street. Through the eyes of one of his informants, he saw a barrier slowly encircling them and a large building.
"So many wizards in one place." With nearly all of his marked wizards standing in the crowd, an exact count was impossible, but the number was clearly enormous: large by any standard and striking for Britain, where wizards were already scarce.
Inside that building are members of the organization called the Black Star: the group that attempted to take over this country by eliminating all its leaders and its principal military strength. As you can see, it didn't work." A second screen appeared beside the first, showing people in green and black leather. Panic was plain on their faces as they pressed against the windows, staring in shock at the crowds of wizards surrounding their base. "I doubt they'll surrender quietly. So we're about to see a very interesting show." Severus smiled, separated the four key screens, enlarged them, and arranged them slightly above the rest to keep those particular wizards clearly in view.
He had no particular concern for the lives of the Steel Division members: they had brought this on themselves. Two weeks earlier, he had provided the completed potion formulas that the organization's leader had demanded as a test of his fitness for the position of Copper Division commander, and he had submitted his reports directly to the leader himself. That meant Severus had been able to establish the leader's exact location and mark him: at any point now, he could travel to China and pay the leader a visit. He intended to do exactly that, but during the holiday break, when he would have two full weeks free.
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