In Need

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The Order was called together for a meeting the next evening. One by one, the available members arrived, all of them wondering what had brought them together on such short notice.


When everyone had settled into their places around the table, Dumbledore stood and spoke to the group. “In a spark of brilliant common sense, Severus Snape has thought of a solution to our problem - we now have a feasible idea for planning an attack on Voldemort.”


All heads turned around to look at Severus, but he did not meet their eyes, keeping his own locked on Dumbledore. After letting the gasps and murmurings from around the table die down a bit, Dumbledore continued, “The main difficulty we have experienced thus far in our fight is that Voldemort is elusive. On the rare occasions when we *have* been able to locate him, it has been impossible to confront him because of the difficulty in promptly assembling the necessary reinforcements and attacking with any kind of strategy.


I believe that we have found the perfect solution: The one guarantee of finding Voldemort is to respond to the Dark Mark and apparate to wherever it takes the person being called. This, obviously, is impossible for all of us except Severus - but he believes that he can create a way to link all of us to his Dark Mark, so that when we are ready to face Voldemort, we will activate the spell and wait for the next time Severus is called. Doing this would allow all of us to apparate to the secret location along with him, thus ambushing Voldemort and the death eaters. It will require a combination of highly complicated spells and potions and will be extremely risky to attempt, but after lengthy consultation, we believe that it can work.”


Stunned silence covered the group.


All eyes had been on Snape and Dumbledore, but now they began to turn toward Harry. Each person there had a stake in the fight ahead, but everyone knew all too well that Harry was the one with the highest stakes of all, and each watched him intently. In this light, he took on a new role to them. They all knew him as friend or pupil, but the Boy Who Lived was also about to make preparations to become their liberator.


Harry looked closely at each of the faces around the table. This was it. Turniurning point had been found, and there would be no turning back. His heart was racing, and his head swam with the enormity of the situation. Part of him was petrified to face Voldemort, all too aware of the powerful danger Harry had been called his whole life to face. His fate balanced on the razor’s edge of the prophecy that would only be decided by one of them destroying the other.


Another part of him felt a sort of immense relief. He found it odd that he should feel relieved at such a thing, but there it was - all of the years of dread and anticipation, all the years of playing by Voldemort’s rules and meeting according to Voldemort’s whim - all of that had been taken in hand. They were going to fight back.


Harry’s eyes rested on Professor Snape’s stony countenance. He didn’t like him, but he trusted him. As much as he hated to admit it, Snape was a large part of the reason Harry had even survived long enough to face this battle as an adult wizard. Everyone held their breath waiting, as Harry turned his head to Dumbledore.


He said, “It’s bloody brilliant. Let’s do it.”


Snape was somewhat surprised to hear such ready agreement from Harry, considering their history. He had expected some sort of protest, or at least some kind of negative comment. For as much as Severus still disliked Harry Potter personally, at that moment he felt some sense of camaraderie with him for being sensible enough to recognize a good plan, even one coming from him. Severus privately admitted a grudging acknowledgement of the value of Harry’s Gryffindor courage that this endeavor would require. Potter would not be able to do it alone, but the fact remained that the ultimate outcome rested on solely him.


Harry self-consciously rubbed his scar, saying, “I say that we get on it as soon as possible. This fight has been too long in coming, and I know that I’m not the only one who is ready to end it once and for all.”


Molly Weasley began to cry quietly, and the crowd was hung with heavy silence that was loaded with mixed feelings. They had known all along that the time would eventually come when they would have to face the battle, but tonight’s announcement made it feel more real than it had before. Even while wrapped up in their own thoughts, concerns, and fears, though, everyone started to feel an appreciation of Severus Snape that they wouldn’t have imagined possible before. He was making it possible for them to prepare for the fight ahead instead of just waiting for the fight to come to them as Voldemort continued to gain strength and recruit followers. Now they would be able to plan what they might need, and - unless Voldemort decided to attack in the meantime - they would be able to choose when they were ready to go.


Dumbledore looked at them all kindly as he closed the meeting, “I don’t need to tell you that it is now more important than ever to be vigilantly secret about what we are doing. If the other side catches even a hint of what we are planning, then we lose any advantage it would have afforded us. Be careful, my dears, and be good to each other. We have a difficult task ahead of us, but I truly believe that we can succeed. I suggest that we table any further discussion of the matter until after Christmas. It may be a long time before we can celebrate and rest again, so use this time to be with the people that you love.”


As the meeting broke up, there were several stares as Megan hugged Severus tightly, her face pressed into his shoulder, in their first open display of affection. No one knew what to make of Severus Snape acting like a human being, but their disorientation did not last long - he glared over Megan’s shoulder at the stares, quickly reminding them that he was still him. He took Megan gently by the arm and they left together.


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Harry Potter sat alone in the Gryffindor common room and stared into the fire. Everyone else had long since gone to bed, and even if anyone else had been up, he still wouldn’t have been able to talk about all the things that were on his mind. He sorely missed Sirius tonight and felt his absence more than usual. He had felt so many different things tonight that he hardly knew what to do with all of it. He rubbed his scar absentmindedly and wondered about the upcoming battle. Would they really be able to keep all of this a secret, or would someone catch wind of what they were up to? If the plan worked and he was able to finally face Voldemort to fight him, would he even be able to succeed? Harry knew that he had become a pretty good wizard - but he was going to need to face one of the most powerful wizards there ever had been.


Then Harry thought about something that he had never really given much thought to before - what on earth was he going to do after it was all over? So much of his life had been directed toward this battle, even in his childhood, that he had never planned for beyond it. He had a lot of choices, really. Between the inheritance from his parents and the inheritance from Sirius, he could raise a family and live comfortably without ever working a day in his life. That did not appeal to him, though. Maybe he would be able to concentrate on quidditch and play professionally, or maybe train to be an auror for the Ministry. It was hard to think about, though - whenever he tried to think ahead like that, his thoughts automatically jumped back to Voldemort.


Always Voldemort. Harry hoped that Snape was able to figure out the way for them to go with him quickly. He was very tired of having Voldemort at the center of everything he did or thought about. One way or another, it had to end.


Harry turned around quickly as he heard the soft padding of bare feet cing ing the floor. A very sleepy looking Ginny Weasley had come down the girls’ stairs and was approaching the chair next to his.


“Can’t sleep either, Harry?”


“No.”


Ginny sighed and fiddled with the end of the pink sash of her bathrobe. As much as they both wanted to talk about the meeting that evening and all that it meant to them, they kneat tat they couldn’t. They conveyed understanding to each other in their eyes. Harry went over to Ginny and squeezed into the chair next to her and put his arm around her. She laid her head on his shoulder, and they sat cuddled next to each other, watching the fire.


Whatever difficulties Harry experienced in thinking about his future, he knew at least one thing for sure - he couldn’t bear if it didn’t includes. s. Even though Ginny had spent a lot of time with her own friends this year instead of Ron, Hermione, and him, the times like these when he did get to see her were dear to him. He knew that she had dated several different boys so far that year, and he had dated a few girls himself, but this year he had been harboring an ever-increasing hope that he could date Ginny. Aside from a crush when they were kids, Ginny had never shown any particular interest in him. Ron had been hoping for years that Harry and Ginny would date each other, but they had each had other romantic interests. Now that Harry had started to feel more than a friendly interest in her, he had been too shy to approach her, not wanting things to be weird if she happened not to feel the same way about him.


But tonight’s meeting of the Order had changed everything - it had added an urgency that he hadn’t really felt before. He cleared his throat awkwardly and Ginny looked up at him.


“Are you okay, Harry?”


“Er, yeah. I’m fine. But… well… Ginny, I don’t really know how to say it to you, but especially after tonight I don’t want to wait. What I mean is, I really like you - I mean, I would really like it if we could… I mean, I don’t want it to be weird ‘cause I know we’re friends and all, but…”


Ginny watched him struggle with a growing look of amusement on her face. Finally, she let him off the hook. “I would love to date you, Harry.”


Surprised, he stopped stammering. “What? You would? Why didn’t you say anything then? I thought that you were dating other people.”


Ginny rolled her eyes. “You haven’t exactly shown a lot of interest Harry - I wasn’t going to pine after you all these years, not knowing whether you’d ever like me back. I started to get the idea a couple of months ago that you liked me, but I wanted to wait until you were ready to say it to me. And I’m so glad Harry - I can’t think of anyone I’d rather date than you.”


And then he kissed her. It wasn’t the smoothest kiss that ever was, but it was sweet and tender. He put one hand on her sweet round face and savored the feel of her smooth lips against his. His day had just gotten much better. With a goofy grin, he hugged her close to him, loving the way her softness felt pressed up against him.


“I’d better go back upstairs now, Harry,” she said. “Can I have a goodnight kiss?”


Smiling, Harry gave her one, and she went up the stairs to her bed. He had already been looking forward to the Christmas break, which he was planning on spending at Black Manor, and now he had extra reason for it. He couldn’t wait to have the extra time with Ginny and enjoy their new feelings without the pressure of classes or the crowds of students around them.


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With only days before the Christmas holiday started, the kids were bouncing off the walls. A spirit of merriment reigned everywhere except with the teachers who were dealing with the students who had been to defense against the dark arts class that day. Professors Snape and McGonagall swept into Megan’s office, neither of them looking very happy. Megan was sitting at her desk, grading papers and humming a Christmas carol. The poinsettia on her desk was swaying in time to the music, and reached one of its leaves out toward her like a little hand.


“What - have - you - done?” asked Severus, putting his hands on her desk and frowning down at her.


Looking up at them, Megan looked confused. “What? What’s wrong with you two?” she asked.


With her lips pursed, Professor McGonagall held out a handful of small red balls to Megan and laid them on her desk. “Am I to understand that you have made a contest for the children? To teach them to *juggle* of all things?”


Severus, in the meantime, was eyeing the piles of gold paper boxes that had been delivered from George and Fred’s shop. “What is all of this?” he demanded, picking up one of the boxes.


Megan answered them both at the same time. “Well, you know the concern I had about the students not being able to perform in a tight situation and how to fit it into their curriculum? Hand-eye coordination has got to be the start of it, and I can’t think of a better exercise to teach that than juggling. The boxes here are teaching incentives - I can’t actually make them learn something like that for class, so I made it into a contest. Anyone who can do it gets a prize.”


“Teaching incentives?” scowled Severus. “I have always understood that children learned their tasks because they were supposed to, not because they were bribed into it. Not to mention that the students are in such a frenzy about it now, that they are taking the activity everywhere with them.”


“And Peeves is trying to make it into his own game now,” said Professor McGonagall, closing her eyes and pressing her fingers to her temples, trying to rub away the throbbing that was beginning there. “I have caught him three times today trying to juggle the ornaments on the Christmas trees - one time he was actually using a bunch of fairies, and it upset them terribly.”


Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Severus interjected, “Please, love, do not ever make it necessary for me to rescue hysterical fairies from an idiotic and malicious poltergeist again.”


Megan warded her door for silence, looked directly at both of them, and said, “I apologize that it has interfered with your class time - I’ll remind the kids to only practice when they are supposed to, but do not question my methods. These children need to develop their physical skills, and it sounds like my plan to help them do that is working. With the silly facade of this exercise, it will be above suspicion, while at the same time will really improve their coordination. If I had a group of kids out doing target practice every day, that would gain a hell of a lot more attention than a bunch of kids learning a goofy parlor trick will. Besides, I admit to designing a biased exercise - all of the students have an equal opportunity to try it, but not all students will accept this challenge. Most of them that I hoped would try it are, and I don’t regret that the rest are not taking this opportunity and gaining extra training of their own.”


“And you,” she said, turning to Severus and glaring at him, “you definitely have your own flair in the classroom, but don’t you go implying that I need to bribe my students to get them to learn - you know that isn’t true. They work hard and some of them are going to have to face challenges that no one should ever have to, let alone as kids. I expect a lrom rom them, and I don’t think it is at all inappropriate to reward the ones who accept the extra challenges I give them beyond their regular work.”


“Well,” said Professor McGonagall, relenting, “now that I know what you’re doing, I will live with it. I only wish that it were already the end of the week so they would be able to have at it without driving me crazy in the process. I think we are all in great need of a holiday. I’ll see you later, dear.”


“Thanks, Minerva, see you at dinner.” Megan saw her to the door and closed it behind her.


She turned around and saw Severus sitting on the edge of her desk, looking at her. She walked up to him and said, “Sorry if the kids were being a pain with the juggling practice. When I offered it as a challenge, I didn’t think they would take to it quite that enthusiastically.”


“They are not terribly coordinated, you know. One ball nearly hit me in the eye after ricocheting off a suit of armor. The children will be lucky to have any house points at all left after this.”


“Yeah, well, that’s the point. Coordination, I mean, not hitting you in the eye.”


He shook his head and suppressed a half smile. “I sometimes wonder if you are not as bad as they are.”


“Does that mean I have to serve a detention with you? Can you even do that to a professor? I’ve heard that you’re pretty mean in detention, you know,” she said playfully to him, standing between his legs and unfastening his robe.


“Oh, you have no idea,” he growled into her ear, as he pointed his wand at the door, locking it. “I am very demanding indeed…”


Severus crushed her mouth to his in a kiss, pulling the fastening of her teaching robes open. He wanted her urgently. Her robes fell to the floor, leaving her in a pair of red velvet panties and matching bra. “Gods,” he muttered under his breath, feeling out of control with his lust for her. He took her shoulders, turned her around and pushed her forward, bending her over her desk. Her purrs of encouragement only fueled him, and he ripped her panties from her, flinging them to the floor. Nudging her legs apart, he unfastened his trousers, freed his raging erection, and thrust roughly into her from behind. She arched her back and pushed hard against him, feeling him pounding into her and claiming her once again. She was always ready for him - even without touching her, his look and his voice were enough to get her going.


He held her hip tightly with one hand, his fingers digging into her flesh, and he pressed his other hand against her back, pinning her down against the desk. She was crying out loudly now, lost in the abandon of her need for him, and he was very glad for the silencing wards that she had done earlier. She had her face turned to the side now, and he watched the intensity build in it as her eyes closed tightly and her mouth opened as her breathing quickened. His eyes traveled down her body, and he looked at where they were joined. He was now moving into her in deep and rapid thrusts, and he felt himself tightening for his release. As she moaned again to him in pleasure, he cried out and came into her, taking her over the edge with him.


He lay against her for a moment, regaining his composure. When they stood up a moment later, she kissed him and said, “Wow, if we get to do that every time, I’ll have to cook up some more ways to get my classes to interfere with yours.”


“Wicked girl,” he said, nipping her on the lip. “You do try to vex me. You know that I can’t get enough of you - you intoxicate me.”


“Don’t worry,” she said, running a tongue along the edge of his ear and making him shudder with pleasure, “I will try to use my powers responsibly.”


“Vixen.” He drew her into a tender embrace.



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