Tangled Web

A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing! They are very much appreciated. Again, thank you, Snapeaholic for being a wonderful beta! It wouldn\'t be nearly as good without your help.


Chapter Two: What Now?


The room was cluttered with chairs, though a small row separated them in the center. A platform at the end of the room held the white casket. There were no pictures. Only a single red rose had been placed on the casket. The gravity of the occasion filled the air as the mass of people filled the room for the private funeral for Albus Dumbledore. There normally would be a grand public funeral for the Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, but times did not allow such displays to be made safely.

Fawkes swooped into the room, landing lightly on the edge of the casket. The bird had been depressed since his friend had passed on, but he had also comforted his new ‘owner’ - Harry Potter.

Harry entered after Fawkes, slightly plodding along as he went up to the platform. His head was bowed, and he knew deep down that it should have been him in the box. True, Dumbledore had told him once that he would give up his life one day to protect Harry, but Harry never believed that day would come. The fate of the wizarding world was now firmly on his shoulders, and Harry felt he would someday break under the strain. He would not break today. He owed it to them all to be strong since, according to Dumbledore’s orders, he was their leader now. He swallowed the lump in his throat and raised his head, looking at the old wizard. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words would not come. He sighed, shook his head, and sat down.

Minerva McGonagall walked to the casket after Harry. “My dear Albus,” she said softly, touching his hand. She, too, shook her head and walked back to her seat. She was to give the eulogy.

Aberforth Dumbledore, a tall, thin man who resembled his brother, approached. The wizard sighed. He had lost the last of his family.

What was left of the Weasley clan entered the cramped room. There were only the four of them: Arthur, Molly, Bill, and Ginny. Charlie was still in Romania. There had been attempts to steal dragons, and he had no choice but to stay and guard the fierce creatures. Fred had been killed by a group of Death Eaters in the battle for Hogwarts in September 1999. The Order had lost. George had descended into a downward spiral after his twin brother’s death, and he was found a month later dead in their joke shop. He had committed suicide with a piece of poisoned candy, which was given to Aurors in case they needed it to prevent telling their secrets.

Percy had died in April 1998 after he was found to be a double agent. In the end, no one was really certain which side he had truly been on.
After graduation, Ron and Hermione were briefly engaged. Ron had swit sid sides, and he was the one who had caused the fall of Hogwarts. He had given Voldemort the information he needed, and in doing so, he secured his position in the ranks. Needless to say, the engagement fell apart.

Hermione entered behind the Weasleys. They had practically adopted her and Harry, and she was profoundly grateful for their support as she was unable to see her own parents out of concern for their safety. She was worried about their fate, but she had faith that Harry would be able to defeat Voldemort. She was worried about him, too.

Other Order members came in, including Tonks, Lupin, and Moody. They each paid their respects in their own way before sitting down to wait for the eulogy. The room soon filled as everyone looked expectantly toward the front. No one noticed the dark figure that slipped into the shadows as Fawkes flapped his wings and sang a song that meant to give hope in these dark times. When Fawkes finished, he flew over to sit on Harry’s shoulder.

McGonagall rose from her seat and stood at the front of the room. She gazed around, her lips were slightly pursed, trying to find the words. “We’ve come here today to show respect and honor to the life of Albus Dumbledore. He was a great wizard, and his many accomplishments are well known to us, including defeating Grindelwald in 1945. He was more than just a leader and headmaster.” She shook her head and sighed. “He would want us to be happy and not sitting here mourning his loss.” She laughed sadly.

“If he were here, he would be offering us lemon drops. I always suspected that he might have added something to those things. They had a tendency to make you relax, but it could have just been him.” She looked over at the casket. “He was eccentric and brilliant, and he liked nothing more than the simple pleasures of life like music and a good warm pair of woolen socks.” She paused as an inaudible sigh escaped her lips. wou would insist that we continue the good fight and support our new leader.” She glanced at Harry briefly before looking at the casket again. She could feel the lump in her throat. “He was a great wizard and a good friend. He will be sorely missed.”

The collective grief was almost palpable in the room as everyone rose to leave. Albus was to be privately buried in the Dumbledore family vault. Aberforth would transport him there once everything was prepared.

The dark figure remained after everyone else had filed out. Slowly, he went up he che casket and gazed at the old wizard. A tentative hand went out, lightly touching Dumbledore’s. He stood there, wanting to speak, but unable to find the words to express his grief. A single tear slipped down his cheek, falling softly against the rich clothing of the dead wizard before he could get anceance to wipe it away. He was so consumed in his thoughts that he did not even notice the other person’s presence until he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

“Severus, I need to speak with you when we reach Grimmauld Place,” McGonagall whispered.

Severus slowly nodded. “I’ll be there.” He suddenly turned and left in long strides, feeling the urgent need to get away from everything.

* * * * *

The small kitchen in Grimmauld Place fillfilled with the sounds of laughter as the group told stories about Dumbledore, trying to lighten the heavy mood. Fawkes was perched on the back of an empty chair, and Ginny was leaning against Harry, lazily stroking his hair as they gave each other all the comfort they could before she had to return to her duties. Tonks, Remus, and Moody were sitting around the table with Molly, Arthur, and Bill.

“I can’t believe you and the Marauders pulled that prank on him!” Tonks laughed.

Remus smiled. “He seemed to like the purple beard we gave him. Although, he did pay us back with a prank of his own.”

“What did he do?” asked Bill as he sipped on his drink.

What Remus said was lost as McGonagall motioned Severus to her. “Let’s talk in the library, Severus.”

He nodded and foll her her to the other room. It was more of a study than anything, with two comfortable leather chairs by the fireplace. There was a desk against one wall that was covered in old parchments. A leather couch sat against one wall with an array of books on the shelf above it. McGonagall sat down on the couch and motioned for Severus to do the same. He hadn’t sat down completely before she asked him the question that had been on his mind since Dumbledore’s demise. “You are thinking about leaving us, aren’t you, Severus?”

His dark gaze fell on her. “Surely you haven’t inherited Albus’ talent for being seemingly omniscient?” he asked dryly and then shrugged. “I was here because of Albus. I don’t see many reasons to stay with him gone.” It was not the complete truth. He no longer believed in Dark Lord’s ideals and his ways of accomplishing them, but although he saw that the end was truly nearing, he didn’t have quite the faith that everyone else had in Potter.

“We need you, Severus. Maybe now more than ever. Harry could use all the support he can get. Albus placed a lot responsibility on him.” She had to try to keep his loyalties to the Order, even though she felt certain she was fighting a losing battle.

He scoffed. “I’ve done very little recently. Ginny Weasley is higher in the ranks than I am. Besides, shouldn’t your leader be the one trying to keep me on his side?” He thought Albus’ choice of a new leader was absurd. Potter was only twenty. True, he had faced Voldemort more times and lived than anyone else, and true, there was the prophecy, but there were definitely more qualified people to run this operation than Potter. The boy still ran too much on his emotions, and he was going to end up getting them all killed.

Her lips flattened to an almost indistinguishable line. “Albus did what he thought was best for the Order. Harry has enough on his plate at the moment with all his new responsibilities. Don’t let your dislike for him cloud your reasoning. Do you really dislike him that much to turn your back on the rest of us? There are those that still consider you a friend.”

“Perhaps I do,” he said in a low tone. He stood up suddenly and paced the room. “Minerva, I don’t belong here without Albus. He took me in after all the horrible things I had done. He trusted me more than he should have. I, however, do not back his decision to make Potter our official leader.”

“I’ve questioned Albus’ motives as well, Severus. He trusts the boy to be able to do this though, and I respect and back him for it. He wouldn’t have done it if he thought it would hurt the Order.” She gazed at the tall shadow of the wizard as he paced back in and forth. “What would Althinthink if you left us?”

He paused and turned his head, staring at her for a moment. “I don’t know,” he said, sitting down again and putting his head in his hands.

She reached over and lightly patted him on the shoulder, ignoring the fact that he flinched ever so slightly at her touch. “I think you do know.” He mumbled something through his hands that she could not catch. “What was that?”

He sighed and sat back against the couch. “He would think that I was a coward and would want me to stay.” He wondered a moment if he was a coward. Slytherins weren’t known to be brave. They were known to do what they had to do to save themselves, and he couldn’t be faulted for something so intrinsic.

“He probably would, but I also know he would definitely want you to stay.” She stared into his eyes, making him return her gaze. “Give it some thought, Severus, before you do anything that you might regret. We don’t want you as an enemy. We’ve already lost too many, and we can’t afford to lose you, too.” She patted his leg and stood up. “Please, think it over and tell me your decision before you leave here.” She exited then, leaving him to his thoughts.

Severus sat there, uncertain of what he would do. She had made some good points, but he didn’t want to be on the losing side. He knew what the Dark Lord would do if the Order lost. He also knew what the Order would do if they won. Personally, he liked his chances with the Order. They would either kill him quickly or send him to Azkaban, but the dark side did seem tempting.

His thoughts were interrupted as a sound came from one of the leather chairs by the fireplace. As quickly as a serpent, he had the woman pinned against the chair where she sat. “Miss Granger, what the hell do you think you are doing?! Were you listening to my conversation with McGonagall?”

Hermione trembled slightly as she felt his fingers digging into the flesh of her upper arms. The book in her hand dropped, falling face down on the rug. “I…I heard what was said. I had fallen asleep in the chair. I didn’t mean to be here.” Her pink tongue darted out nervously to wet her lips. She had thought that he had left, which was the only reason she had stirred.

He slowly released his grip and stood to his full height. He chided himself for not checking to see if the room was actually empty before they started. He turned to the fireplace and took the poker, stirring the hot ashes to stoke the fire. When he had grabbed her, he noticed that she felt cool. “I suppose you will be giving me your opinion on the situation,” he sneered.

She reached over and picked up the book she had dropped, lightly smoothing down a few pages that had gotten bent in the fall. “Well, I do think that you should stay, Professor. We’ve already lost many to Voldemort’s side either by death or willfully joining.” She thought of Ron briefly which was still a very sore spot with her. She got up and stood beside him. “Harry could use your help. You know Voldemort better than anyone else. He needs your opinions on things. In the end, it’ll come down to him and Voldemort alone, but he can’t get there without everyone else.”

His dark eyes glanced over to her. “Would he take my advice?” he inquired skeptically.

She nodded fervently. “Although you and Harry have had your differences, he would take your advice on the situation. He…he’s rather lost at the moment, and he’s looking for all the help he can get.” She wasn’t pleased with talking about her friend like this, but she knew it was true. She had seen Harry’s gaze, and it reminded her of a lost puppy that you just wanted to pick up, love, and give it a home. “We need you, Professor. You are a valuable member of the Order whether you see it or not.”

He gazed down at her, noticing how her bushy hair was lightened by the glow of the fire. She seemed too good…too pure. He knew the Dark Lord would destroy her if he got his hands on her. He did say that he would consider it. Would it be too hard to remain the spy? No, it wouldn’t. Besides, he also always thought of it as an opportunity to cover all his bases. In the end, he guessed it wouldn’t matter who won as long as each side thought he was on theirs. Wasn’t that the point of self-preservation? “Perhaps I will stay on with the Order.”

Her face seemed to light up slightly when he said that. “Good. I really do think you should, Professor. The Order does need you.” She touched his arm for a brief second in support, and then she realized that it was Professor Snape. She blushed and quickly removed her hand. “Sorry, Professor.”

He had stiffened slightly when she touched him, although he smirked as he considered how fast she had removed it. “Yes, I suppose so,” he said in a low, silky voice. He would stay right where he was for now and see which way the war would turn. It honestly did not look well for the side of the light now, but he would give it time. In the end, he hoped that the Order would win. The other possibility was too horrific for him to even consider.

He suddenly realized how close she was to him, and he quickly moved away. She seemed startled by this, and he noticed her blushing again. Silly girl. She had been good in the battle, although he could tell she hated what she had had to do. However, war was war, and sometimes you had to do unpalatable things to survive.

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again and lightly chewed on her lower lip in thought. “Have you made your decision?”

“Yes, I have for the moment. I need to let Professor McGonagall know that I will stay as a spy for the Order.” He ignored her smile and gave her a curt nod before leaving to find McGonagall. He did not want to be part of the Order without Albus there, McG McGonagall and Granger were right. The Order needed him still. Somehow it was just enough that he was needed that made him want to stay rather than being just an expendable peon for the Dark Lord.


A/N: Please review!!!