The snake and the lion (Severus x OC)

19- Crystal roses

Lily kept her word, writing to Albus Dumbledore and explaining the details of her cunning plan, and relaying Rose's message to him. The headmaster had seemed surprised by her boldness and the idea that a death eater would want to change sides, but he agreed to meet secretly with Rose and Severus and listen to what they had to say.

After overcoming initial mistrust, the three finally reached an agreement that benefited them mutually: in exchange for this assistance and protection, Rose and Severus agreed to collaborate with the Order of the Phoenix and leak information about Lord Voldemort.

Rose was recruited into the Order and was tasked with contacting other magical creatures that could help in the resistance against the dark side, such as goblins or giants. The job was dangerous, but she was willing to do anything to earn Dumbledore's trust.

Furthermore, whether because he didn't quite trust her, or for her own protection, Dumbledore always assigned another member of the Order as her companion for these missions. Most of the time those companions were James or Sirius, as they were the ones who knew her better, and could tell if she was acting strangely.

On the other hand, the headmaster agreed to hire Severus as a Potions teacher, so that he could have an alibi to justify his stay at Hogwarts, but in exchange, he had to carry out the riskiest job of all: spy on Lord Voldemort.

Fortunately, the Dark Lord fully trusted him, especially after the revelation of the prophecy, so Severus was able to carry out his task without arousing suspicion. His ability to deceive and lie had been perfected over the years, and it was no problem for him to obtain the necessary information.

Thanks to this, the Order was able to recover from the bad streak it had been going through, under the constant harassment of the death eaters.

Weeks passed and the new year arrived. Severus's attention was divided between his dangerous role as a spy and Rose. What worried him most was the woman's health, since she insisted on hiding any type of discomfort she might have, so that it would not interfere with the missions. She had not yet made her pregnancy public, ready to give everything for the cause, and that worried Severus, fearful that she could be hurt.

But his concern was only rivaled by hers, who was well aware of the dangers he had to face. Severus hadn't been tortured again, but that didn't mean he was out of danger.

Rose did everything in her power to hide the true source of valuable information reaching the Order. Only Dumbledore, James and Lily knew the truth, and between the four of them they silenced any type of rumor that pointed to Severus as a spy. At that moment, old enmities were momentarily put aside to fight for common interests.

Another big problem that worried Dumbledore was the content of the prophecy. He was well aware of the power Trelawney 's words contained, and once he confirmed how much information Severus had actually revealed, he began to put his plan into motion.

The headmaster revealed some of the information to trusted people, so that they would be prepared for any attempt by Voldemort to recover the rest of the prophecy or carry it out. A plan was also made to protect those people who were most likely to become the Dark Lord's victims.

There was still no couple who had faced Voldemort three times, but there were several witches who were going to give birth in July, so, as a precaution, Dumbledore tried to warn them to hide and be even more careful not to be prey of death eaters.

During the month of February, the death eaters dramatically increased the ferocity of their attacks, destroying whole muggle populations in a single night. The Aurors and the Order of the Phoenix could hardly do anything against them, among other things, because the attacks occurred improvised, in such a way that Severus found out about them just minutes before they happened, and sometimes even hours later, when it was no longer possible to intervene.