Knowledge is Power

Chapter 47

If Severus had known exactly how stressful his summer would be, he may have tried to remain in Egypt until the next school year began. It was two weeks after he and Albus visited the goblin healer for the blood work when the first Death Eater meeting of the summer was called. He and Nightshade apparated to him at once, and Severus was surprised to see so few people present.

People...That was an interesting concept. Could those who truly followed the mad man be called people? Did they have any real humanity from a psychological standpoint? Perhaps it was the danger he felt for Mag due to this new relationship, but he found himself over analyzing even more than usual. At times like this, it wasn't always a good idea.

He could practically feel Nightshade's mind wanting to comment on that one, but the owl wasn't interested in risking even a shared thought just in case it was somehow noticed. In this case, Severus definitely agreed with far better safe than sorry, because Voldemort would make one sorry in a very special way...and that was special in the very worst sense of the word.

As it turned out, the meeting was small because it was only comprised of those who would be set to the task of killing Albus Dumbledore, or in Severus's case, tasked with the lack of interference when the others made their attempts. Draco Malfoy was even present. Apparently he was Voldemort's newest addition to the Death Ranks as it were. He was given the order to kill Dumbledore and unlike the others, not even given a structured plan as to how to accomplish the act. This told Severus that the dark lord wanted him to fail and get himself killed. The panic and fear rolled off Draco Malfoy in waves, and if he wasn't so insufferable, Severus would've felt for the boy.

To his credit, Severus didn't show any sort of emotion at the alarming concept of several people being set to assassinate Albus. This was in part due to being too shocked to react, he supposed. The only good thing about Voldemort wanting Albus dead was that he obviously considered Albus a threat. He was quite frightened of the Hogwarts Headmaster, and Severus was a little surprised that he made this fact so obvious to anyone who was looking. Granted he doubted the others were smart enough to look or notice.

As soon as the meeting was over, he went home, and wrote Albus. For once, Nightshade actually took the letter without arguing. Severus didn't dare visit Albus directly after the assassination orders in case Voldemort didn't trust him as much as he thought. Though unlikely, it wouldn't be above the dark lord to spy just to see if Severus reacted in a suspicious way. He wanted Albus to be on guard, though, so settled for a carefully warded letter that only Albus would be able to read. The headmaster's response was calm and reassuring, so Severus's mind was put at ease for the moment.

Of course that ease of mind was to be short lived. This was turning out to be the summer of hell. The next shoe fell when Narcissa Malfoy showed up at his home at Spinner's End. He and Mag were actually in bed at the time, but fortunately not in the midst of any act unless the afterglow counted. They were both startled by the knock, simultaneously sitting up in bed and reaching for clothing.

"You stay here until I know who it is," Severus said firmly.
"Who could it be," Mag asked as a second knock came at the door causing Severus to scowl.
"I have no idea," he said, tugging on his black robe, then reaching for his underwear that had somehow ended up on the other side of the bed from said robe.
His first thought was that it was Albus. Hoping he wasn't having some sort of relapse of symptoms, Severus shoved his feet into black shoes and hurried to the door.

Needless to say, Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were the last two people he expected to see upon opening the door. Rather than giving them the satisfaction of looking surprised, he simply deepened his scowl. Though they were technically all Death Eaters, Severus had never liked either woman much. He didn't know either well, as they were both older than he by several years. Narcissa was the younger of the two sisters, and she was five years ahead of Severus at Hogwarts so it wasn't exactly as if they moved in the same social circles.

He couldn't imagine what would bring them here. When Narcissa explained that the dark lord was making Draco do something at which he would likely fail to punish Lucius, Severus wasn't in the least surprised. This was in part due to the fact the dark lord was dreadful on all fronts and in part due to Severus's being aware of the assassination attempts on Albus.

When Narcissa asked him to make an unbreakable vow to help Draco, Severus once more kept the surprise from showing on his face. He was getting rather good at that, he thought, feeling a sudden rush of pride. Albus had told him when he was around twenty that he showed too much of what he thought on his face. He'd worked diligently to hide his important feelings ever since.

What perplexed Severus about this current situation, though, was why Narcissa felt she could count on him to help when they weren't at all close. Why she trusted him with information he could use to get her killed if he reported it to the dark lord was also baffling. Bellatrix being present was equally puzzling, and Severus tended to be annoyed about this sort of puzzlement. Bellatrix accused him of not being loyal in one breath, yet helped her sister with something her precious dark lord would not approve of in the next.

In truth, Severus almost refused Narcissa if only to look good in the dark lord's eyes. He could use all the looking good in the dark lord's eyes he could get, after all. On the other hand, this gave him an opportunity to be involved in something that may be even more useful if Albus was willing. If the dark lord believed Albus to be dead, he may be more careless. As Severus planned to make sure Albus Dumbledore remained very alive instead, he would be able to work against Voldemort freely with the dark lord suspecting nothing. Not to mention if Albus was believed dead, the assassination attempts would stop. Severus needed them to stop, because Albus only had to miss one of the several attempts to be dead. Severus had just gone through a lot due to that bloody cursed ring to ensure that didn't happen, and now it was almost a challenge to keep the old man alive.

As Bellatrix performed the spell for the unbreakable vow between he and Narcissa, Severus gave her a smirk. Now he had something on her, and that felt good. Lestrange was obnoxious and always loved to lord it over the others. She'd better know not to push Severus now, because after what she'd just done, he would most assuredly push back. After being bullied by gits in school, he took shit from people as an adult as little as possible.

Sadly being an under cover Death Eater meant he had to take more than he wanted, but that wouldn't last forever. When it all ended, he would be the one on top looking good while the others rotted away in Azkaban. That went for Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband along with her brother in law, the Malfoys, and all the other gits who believed shapeless snake eyed masks to be the height of fashion.