If a Great Wave Shall Fall (Severus Snape & Lily Evans)

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Freaking Potter or any of the characters in that magical world

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A few days had passed since his mother's abduction and Dumbledore stayed true to his word and taught Severus Occlumency. In the short time that Severus had been there, he had come a long way, very nearly mastering the complex mind magic.

As of right now they were sitting at the kitchen table with Dumbledore trying to get past Severus's walls; their eyes were locked together, Severus's seemingly focused, but that was not entirely the truth. He had found that he was able to see clearer and actually interact with others if he used water as his barrier around his mind, his emotions... his memories. He had also found that it helped to anticipate where the "intruder" was going to attack next, mentally reinforcing that area beforehand.

The not so overwhelming pressure of another in his mind lifted, alerting him that Dumbledore had retreated from his mind. "Come out, Severus, I am done for now," he heard Dumbledore's slightly warbled voice say from behind his cascading waterfall.

He left the safety of his bubbling stream, keeping them up at a third of strength that he would under attack, knowing that it would do him good to get used to doing so. When Severus's senses fully cleared, he saw the headmaster sitting back in his chair with a sheet of sweat on his forehead.

"You have progressed at an incredible rate," the older stated, pulling a handkerchief out of one of his many pockets, dabbing at his forehead with it. "Far better than I could have hoped for," he added, smiling, "I think now, I will teach out a few defensive spells and tactics."

Severus nodded tersely, just when would he be able to send his letter to Malfoy? "I hope you know that the longer we delay my sending the letter to Malfoy, the less of a chance my mother has of living." His voice was soft, yet commanding attention.

Sighing slightly, Dumbledore looked sadly at the seventeen-year-old. However much the Order needed a spy, he only wished that they could send a more experienced wizard in the youth's stead. "Then what I wish to show you can wait until term starts again," he decided, knowing what Severus had said was true.

He looked slightly shocked at the headmaster for a moment, before he nodded and rose from his seat without another word and strode out of the kitchen and over to the stairs to climb up to the room he had been assigned. The crooked house was much larger than it looked from the outside; it took Severus a solid minute to climb to the top. On the desk he found a spare bit of parchment, a not so respectable quill and a near empty inkwell, sitting down at the cramped desk, Severus set out to write his letter.

Lucius
I apologize ahead of time for my lateness; I've no proper excuse for it.
I wholeheartedly accept your gracious invitation to join the Dark Lord and his noble quest of ridding our world of filthy little Mudbloods and Muggles.
Severus

Looking over his short letter, Severus once again tapped his wand to the parchment and whispered, "Send to Lucius Malfoy, Lord of Malfoy Manor." It was gone in the blink of an eye. It was gone.... Realization hit Severus like a brick wall. He had basically just sold his freedom. "What have I done?" was one of the few coherent thoughts swirling around in his head, "What have I done? What will I become?" There was no going back now, he would be dead before the sun set if he disowned the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord.

Ever so slowly, he rose from his chair and stood there, with his hands flat on the small desk. He needed to inform Dumbledore that it was done, that he would most likely be one of them before term started again. Hurriedly, he turned and started shoving the few belongings that he had taken out of his rucksack and trunk back into their proper places and left the cramped room for what he hoped to be a long time. Descending the rickety staircase took much longer than ascending it, or so it seemed to Severus.