THe Making of a Master Spy II
"It iss true, isss it not, that the old fool hasss approached you" , asked the Dark Lord. "Yes my Lord." said Severus. It was no secret after all that Albus Dumbledore retained some hope that Severus would reddem himself and turn back to the light. He had approached Severus several times, going as far as to offer him a job at Hogwarts.Severus thought it was guilt, at the werewolf having almost killed him at school.Severus cared very little about that these days. werewolves were small fry compared to some of the other things he associated with these days.He'd seen and done far worse himself.The only value that the incident had for him was as another reason to hate the Black-Potter coterie.
But Voldemort was continuing"Nexsst time I want you to take him up on hisss offer." "You want me to spy on him my Lord?" "Precisssely. I need sssomeone sstrong enough to keep Dumbledore out of their mindsss, and you are one of the few capable of that. You shall go to him a penitent and reformed man....spill your tale of woe... swear revenge on me, until the day you die... and worm your way into his deepest sssecrestsss and bring them back to me."
Snape returned to the house which he shared with Regulus. The young Black it seemd was not back yet. All the better then; Severus plotted best when left to himself.
He realised that he could not simple run to Dumbledore. He would have to set things up carefully, so that Dumbledore would welcome him with open arms when the time came. It had to be the ultimate sting operation .Severus decided that he would enjoy himself after all.
He carefully composed a letter to Dumbledore :an application for the position of Professor for the Defense Against Dark Arts. He already knew that the last Professor had left just before the year end... a sudden case of Dragon Pox had left him debilitated and unable to return. Rumour had it that the position had been cursed by the Dark Lord himself, when Dumbledore had refused it to him. Voldemort neither denied nor confirmed these rumours, not even to his most faithful followers...they simply added to the aura of fear that surrounded him.
Regulus returned shortly after dinner, by which time Severus was already working on a new potion, a variation on Veritaserum that caused great pain if the person tried to evade the truth...small improvements that went a long way in establishind his reputation. As a result he was preoccupied and barely noticed that his protege seemed at once shaken and thirilled. The words "cliff... cave... basin...locket..." barely registered. Only on looking up from his work ,nearly twenty minutes later did Severus notice that Black was still sopping wet, and with an irritated scowl sent him off to change and then eat whatever was left over from dinner.
Over the next few days Severus was busy with preparing the groundwork to meet Dumbledore. He let it out, in a small pub in Knockturn Alley, just loud enough for Mundungus Fletcher at the next table to hear, that he was growing increasingly disillusioned by Voldemort's activities. "He's killing as many Pure-bloods as Muggle-borns", he said to Wilkes(who had been let in on the plot, and sat with his head covered so as not to be recognised ) "At this rate there won't be any wizards left in a few years."Wilkes nodded sympathetically. From the brightening in Fltcher's eyes and the hurry in which he left the premises, Snape knew the bait had been taken. The order it seemed was desperate for a spy in Voldemort's ranks.They'd tried before...but the lifetime of a spy was not long under the nose of the Dark Lord and the early examples swiftly discouraged others. As expected in a few days he received an Owl from Dumbledore giving him an appointment at the Hog's Head for 4:30, on Friday.
As a result ofhis own activity Severus failed to note that Regulus was acting rather strangely. He'd never been a very studious boy, but now he was spending almost all his time buried in books. He'd even returned to Grimmauld Place to pick up some more books on the Dark Arts. Severus was pleased though. He took it to mean that his own bookishness was rubbing on to the boy. Perhaps Regulus had at last seen that knowledge was the way to power.
But Voldemort was continuing"Nexsst time I want you to take him up on hisss offer." "You want me to spy on him my Lord?" "Precisssely. I need sssomeone sstrong enough to keep Dumbledore out of their mindsss, and you are one of the few capable of that. You shall go to him a penitent and reformed man....spill your tale of woe... swear revenge on me, until the day you die... and worm your way into his deepest sssecrestsss and bring them back to me."
Snape returned to the house which he shared with Regulus. The young Black it seemd was not back yet. All the better then; Severus plotted best when left to himself.
He realised that he could not simple run to Dumbledore. He would have to set things up carefully, so that Dumbledore would welcome him with open arms when the time came. It had to be the ultimate sting operation .Severus decided that he would enjoy himself after all.
He carefully composed a letter to Dumbledore :an application for the position of Professor for the Defense Against Dark Arts. He already knew that the last Professor had left just before the year end... a sudden case of Dragon Pox had left him debilitated and unable to return. Rumour had it that the position had been cursed by the Dark Lord himself, when Dumbledore had refused it to him. Voldemort neither denied nor confirmed these rumours, not even to his most faithful followers...they simply added to the aura of fear that surrounded him.
Regulus returned shortly after dinner, by which time Severus was already working on a new potion, a variation on Veritaserum that caused great pain if the person tried to evade the truth...small improvements that went a long way in establishind his reputation. As a result he was preoccupied and barely noticed that his protege seemed at once shaken and thirilled. The words "cliff... cave... basin...locket..." barely registered. Only on looking up from his work ,nearly twenty minutes later did Severus notice that Black was still sopping wet, and with an irritated scowl sent him off to change and then eat whatever was left over from dinner.
Over the next few days Severus was busy with preparing the groundwork to meet Dumbledore. He let it out, in a small pub in Knockturn Alley, just loud enough for Mundungus Fletcher at the next table to hear, that he was growing increasingly disillusioned by Voldemort's activities. "He's killing as many Pure-bloods as Muggle-borns", he said to Wilkes(who had been let in on the plot, and sat with his head covered so as not to be recognised ) "At this rate there won't be any wizards left in a few years."Wilkes nodded sympathetically. From the brightening in Fltcher's eyes and the hurry in which he left the premises, Snape knew the bait had been taken. The order it seemed was desperate for a spy in Voldemort's ranks.They'd tried before...but the lifetime of a spy was not long under the nose of the Dark Lord and the early examples swiftly discouraged others. As expected in a few days he received an Owl from Dumbledore giving him an appointment at the Hog's Head for 4:30, on Friday.
As a result ofhis own activity Severus failed to note that Regulus was acting rather strangely. He'd never been a very studious boy, but now he was spending almost all his time buried in books. He'd even returned to Grimmauld Place to pick up some more books on the Dark Arts. Severus was pleased though. He took it to mean that his own bookishness was rubbing on to the boy. Perhaps Regulus had at last seen that knowledge was the way to power.
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