Proof of Life

Safeguards, Part I



When Severus and Harry left the rooftop garden and made it back to the empty pub, Harry gave Hannah a quick nod, and she withdrew instantly, leaving them alone. Not trusting anything at this point, Harry cast a silencing charm around himself and Severus and sat down. Severus followed suit, watching him intently.



Harry hesitated for a few seconds, debating the wisdom of informing Severus of this new development. Marietta\'s warning about Severus\' need for a stress-free, calm, restful environment was still fresh in Harry\'s mind, but by the same token, he didn\'t feel he had the right to hide this sort of information from Severus.



“What\'s wrong?” Severus asked again, and his gaze took note of the blood stains on Harry\'s knuckles. “Have you been fighting?”



“No, not fighting. Well, not exactly. It\'s not important,” Harry denied quickly, casting a cleansing spell on his hands.



“Well then, what is important?” Severus demanded, with a slight note of impatience entering his voice.



“I just found out something at work,” Harry said reluctantly. There was no easy way to deliver the news, so he opted for the direct approach. “The Death Eaters – the Underground – are conjuring the Dark Marks on new recruits. I think most of them have been marked by now.”



Severus\' face fell slightly. “I see,” he whispered.



“Did you know about it?” Harry probed.



“No,” Severus said numbly. “I would have told you by now. My hosts... did not share much information with me, you understand.”



“I know that,” Harry said quickly. “I just thought maybe you noticed something...”



“Maybe I should have noticed it,” Severus said with a faint note of self-reprimand in his voice. “Or maybe I should have worked it out. But I didn\'t. In any event, it\'s supposed to be...”



“Impossible, I know,” Harry conceded. “Do you understand what that means?”



Severus nodded. “Of course. They need an undetectable way to summon each other, to plan their terrorist activities.” The dark eyes lifted to meet Harry\'s gaze. “I suppose the next logical step for them would be to attempt to recapture me and kill me.”



“Yes,” Harry admitted. “Draco, too, I assume?” Suddenly and belatedly, Harry realized that while busy panicking about Severus, he\'d forgotten all about Draco and his Dark Mark...



“Maybe not,” Severus mused. “Not many knew about Draco\'s Dark Mark. In fact, the only ones who knew were Bellatrix, Pettigrew, and his parents.”



“Why?” Harry asked with undisguised surprise. “Not that I\'m complaining, mind you...”



“At first, the Dark Lord didn\'t reveal Draco\'s Mark because he was hoping to use him as a spy in school,” Severus explained matter-of-factly. “After Draco\'s... failure, the Dark Lord was deeply disappointed in him, and regretted bestowing the honor of the Mark on him. Showing off Draco\'s Dark Mark to others would have seemed like admitting to an error, and...”



“Voldemort himself told him not to squawk?” Harry clarified with undisguised amusement. “He may have saved Draco\'s life.”



Severus smirked unhappily. “The question is, whether Draco himself told anyone.”



“He told Mr. Borgin,” Harry said, remembering the owner of Borgin and Burkes. “But Borgin was killed in cross-fire shortly after the last battle. Some other Slytherins know, I think. I\'m sure that Pansy and Blaise would know, not to mention Goyle...”



“Then you\'d better warn them not to... squawk, as you so elegantly phrased it,” Severus said dryly. “And what about you?”



“What about me?” Harry asked with a slight frown.



“Who did you inform of Draco\'s Mark?” Severus demanded, sounding short on patience.



“Well,” Harry\'s frown became deeper, as he raked his memory. “Not many people actually,” Harry said, surprising himself by the realization. “Dumbledore, obviously, but I doubt he would have told anyone. Hermione and Ron. Ginny. Kingsley. Molly and Arthur know, too,” Harry added sheepishly. “But that\'s it.”



“That\'s it?” Severus repeated irritably. “I can only imagine how far the gossip has spread by now...”



“It hasn\'t,” Harry said firmly. “After the war was over, I asked them all to keep quiet about it, and they did.”



Severus stared at Harry with barely concealed disbelief. “Why did you do that?”



“Well – Draco wasn\'t exactly in the Ministry\'s good graces, and I… didn\'t want to make things more difficult for him than they already were,” Harry said hesitantly.



“I see,” Severus said quietly, and something softened in his eyes. “That was... good of you, Potter.” For a moment, Severus looked like he was about to say something else, something more than that, but he obviously changed his mind, and gave Harry a barely noticeable, mild smile.



Harry offered back a small smile of his own, and for a while, they simply sat in silence, immersed in thought. Resting his elbows on the table, Severus folded his hands, and rested his chin on them. The expression on Severus\' face was still remarkably calm, with only a small hint of worry evident by the slightly deepened frown on his forehead.



“Potter,” Severus said softly. “However it works out in the end, I should thank you for your efforts.”



For a brief moment, Harry had almost missed the hidden subtext in those words, but when the full meaning of Severus\' statement reached him, he felt his stomach drop.



“There\'s no however,” Harry said flatly, indignant at the suggestion. “They won\'t recapture you.”



“You don\'t know that,” Severus pointed out. “My... colleagues can be very persistent, and resourceful, when sufficiently motivated.” The dark eyes flashed with pure terror, in contrast to the measured tone of voice and the impassive expression on Severus\' face.



“We\'ll work it out,” Harry said calmly. “We\'ll up the security on my house, as well as the homes of everyone who\'s helping. Speaking of which, we need to ask Hannah about how secure the rooftop garden here is. Do you still want to work here, or would you rather just stay home?” Harry checked.



“I want to work,” Severus snapped irritably, and Harry was almost relieved to see the panic in his gaze give way to genuine rage. “I hope you don\'t suggest that I remain shut up in the house...”



“I would never suggest that,” Harry said with a small smile. “Nobody likes being locked up.”



He\'d learned that much after Sirius\' foolhardy rush to the Department of Mysteries, after the cabin fever of staying at Grimmauld Place had set in. All in all, he suddenly thought that Sirius and Snape were probably more alike than either man would have wanted to admit, but seeing the still murderous look on Severus\' face, held back from voicing his observation.



“Let\'s talk to Hannah,” Harry said, taking off the silencing charm.



Hannah walked in the moment he called for her, and gave Harry a small smile.



“What\'s going on?” she demanded.



“There\'s been a new development,” Harry said. “I can\'t go into details, but the short version is that the Death Eaters are planning to recapture Severus.”



She winced slightly, but didn\'t appear to be especially shocked by the news.



“I imagined they might,” she said reluctantly and looked at Severus. “I suppose losing you was quite a blow to their ego.”



Severus snorted derisively.



“How secure is the Leaky Cauldron?” Harry demanded.



“Very,” Hanna said seriously, joining Harry and Severus at the table. “There are strong wards on the entire space, including the rooftop garden. Flitwick and McGonagall helped us put up the wards six years ago,” Hannah explained. “They taught the technique to Neville and me as well. We re-examine them every month, and modify the configuration at random to prevent tampering.”



Harry\'s mouth opened wide in shock as he stared at Hannah. The hostess of the Leaky Cauldron was all childlike innocence on the surface: pink round cheeks, blond hair gathered into pigtails, a sweet smile... but the note of steel in her voice as she spoke about the protective wards made Harry realize very quickly that he\'d underestimated his friend.



“I had no idea,” Harry said. “Not that I\'m complaining, mind you – but why such security measures? Was someone after Neville, after the war?”



Her eyes darted quickly in Severus\' direction, and she took a deep breath.



“You won\'t tell anyone, will you?” she asked softly. “I really don\'t want it to be public knowledge.”



“Of course we won\'t tell anyone,” Harry assured her quickly, and Severus gave a firm nod as well.



“Neville\'s parents,” Hannah explained. “They\'d made a lot of enemies back in their time.”



“How?” Harry blurted out in spite of himself. For as long as he\'d known Neville, his parents were the epitome of harmlessness, two mild-spoken, gentle people, with retrograde amnesia, and inability to form new memories. For the life of him, Harry couldn\'t imagine them having enemies.



Hanna bit her lip slightly, and winced painfully. Severus, however, didn\'t ask anything.



“Before their current state, they used to be Aurors, Potter,” Severus reminded him evenly. “Aurors tend to make enemies.” In spite of the calm, there was a slight note of venom in Severus\' voice that Harry couldn\'t quite figure out the reason for.



“Especially such as Alice and Frank,” Hannah said softly. “They were excellent at what they did, but... quite ruthless. Not unlike Mad-Eye... well you can imagine.”



Harry frowned, remembering what he knew about the First War. “I know that the Aurors were authorized to use Unforgivables,” Harry said. “So -”



“So, they did. Harry, we\'ve requested their classified work records from the First War, and... well, they\'d tortured and killed a number of Death Eaters and suspects at one time,” Hannah said. “A large number. At this point, I\'m not entirely sure if what Bellatrix did to them was as much about interrogation as it was about revenge. And you know, old grudges die hard. Once we brought them home, we knew that it might be only a matter of time until a disgruntled family member, or an embittered survivor, decided to exact his final revenge on them. So, we set up the wards,” Hannah completed her tale matter-of-factly.



“You never told me,” Harry said quietly. “Why not? Hannah! Ron and I could have helped with the wards, and...”



Hannah smiled ruefully. “I know, Harry. We don\'t really talk much about it. You won\'t tell anyone, will you?” she asked with new worry on her face.



“Of course not,” Harry said quickly, only to realize that she was addressing her question to Severus, and not him.



Severus stared at her grimly for a few minutes, and shook his head. “No. I won\'t.”



“I\'ve often wondered if you and them had a history,” Hannah said quietly, and hesitantly. “You know, the way you took a dislike to Neville right away, back in school... No offense, Sir, but it made me wonder later on, maybe you had something against his parents...”



Severus rewarded her with a raised eyebrow.



“Yes, I had something against them,” he said with a touch of loathing in his voice. “People like them, and Moody, their methods, and their gleeful performance of their duties, made it very difficult for me to believe that one side was qualitatively different from the other, where the war was concerned, and that I had made the correct choice by changing loyalties.” The angry spark in his eyes lingered for a few moments before vanishing. “However,” he added more softly, “maybe it\'s time to allow the past to remain where it belongs. At least where Alice and Frank are concerned.”



“Yes,” Hannah said with a deep sigh. “It can\'t go on like that, can it? Revenge and cruelty without end... it has to stop somewhere, somehow.”



Harry scowled slightly, as he briefly remembered his own behavior earlier that morning, and beating the prisoner into unconsciousness, before running out to look for Severus. Hannah\'s words weren\'t quite enough to make him feel guilty about it, but he was feeling slightly uneasy.



“Look, I\'ve got to go,” Harry said, standing up abruptly. “I need to get back to work. Nobody knows where I went, and...”



Severus stared at Harry with a half-amused smirk. “You\'ve left work without informing anyone? Just to rush to my rescue?”



Harry shrugged with slight embarrassment, realizing how foolish his dramatic entrance must have looked to both Hannah and Severus. “It\'s nothing. Nobody will even notice I was gone.”



“Lovely workplace you have there, Potter,” Severus said snidely. “They must value you very much.”



“Jealous?” Harry dared to tease back. “We\'ll see about getting you a job with the Ministry then.”



Severus shuddered slightly. “If that\'s your plan for me, just auction me off to the lowest bidder and be done with me,” he said dryly, causing Hannah to chuckle insanely.



“Don\'t even hope for something like that,” Harry said softly, grinning ear to ear. “You\'re stuck with me.”



~ * ~



His reassurances to Severus notwithstanding, by the time Harry made his way to the Auror Office, his absence had been noticed, and everything had already hit the proverbial fan. He heard whispers of concern in the hallways, but didn\'t stop to talk to anyone. Instead, Harry made his way to his office as fast as he could, eager to get the nonsense over with.



It was no great surprise that Percy was already waiting for him there, with a menacing scowl on his face, and his arms folded on his chest.



“Harry, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Percy snapped at him, the moment the door shut behind Harry. “You brutalize a prisoner, and just disappear? Harry!”



“Brutalize a prisoner?” Harry retorted mockingly, as a fresh wave of rage welled up of its own accord. “He\'s lucky I didn\'t kill him on the spot!”



Percy groaned. “Harry, that\'s precisely the reason that the field officers who take part in capturing the prisoners aren\'t allowed to conduct interrogations. You see things that cause you to react emotionally, and...” Percy shook his head with disgust. “You promised, Harry. You promised you wouldn\'t do anything stupid. I don\'t know why I actually believed you. Now, I\'m in hot water, Diggory is on the warpath, and your own job is hanging by a thread...”



“I realize all that,” Harry cut him off abruptly. “And I\'m sorry I\'ve caused you trouble. But it was still the right thing to do, and you know it. You\'ve reviewed the interrogation record, haven\'t you?”



“Yes,” Percy said. “The Dark Mark spreading through the Underground. It\'s really something.”



“I say this information is worth a few broken rules, or noses,” Harry pointed out. “This is big, Percy. It\'s probably the biggest thing about the Underground we\'ve uncovered in the last two years.”



“I know,” Percy said unhappily. “That\'s probably the only reason Diggory didn\'t owl you with an order to pack your desk and get out.”



Harry smirked. “I wish I was there to see the look on his face when he heard the news,” Harry said.



Percy\'s face was paler than usual, and his lips were pressed into a thin line. For a second, Percy looked like he was thinking something over. Eventually, he worked out in his own mind whatever was troubling him, pulled out his wand, and cast a silencing charm on the office door.



“About the look on Diggory\'s face,” Percy murmured, bemused. “He seemed surprised. But... not as surprised as I thought he would be.”



“Oh.” Harry scowled in spite of himself. “You think he already knew?”



“It\'s possible,” Percy said noncommittally. “I don\'t know. Maybe.”



“He wanted to keep the information from the Auror Office,” Harry said with confidence. “The bastard is sabotaging our work. I knew it!”



“Don\'t jump to conclusions,” Percy warned instantly.



“I\'m not jumping to conclusions!” Harry protested. “That\'s why he was in such a hurry to get the other prisoners Kissed... he didn\'t want me to know about the Dark Mark spreading through the Underground.”



“Maybe,” Percy said, still sounding reluctant. “Maybe he\'s taken matters into his own hands. Maybe he has a plan of his own, that he doesn\'t want anyone else to know about...”



Or maybe he doesn\'t care if the Underground is thriving, Harry thought grimly. Maybe all he wants is political power, and what better way to grab power, than when the world is falling apart...



“Maybe,” Harry said out loud. “All right, thanks, Percy.”



“You\'re welcome,” Percy said. “Take the rest of the day off, Harry. I imagine you\'ll need to up the security on your home. Install new wards and all, to make sure Snape is safe.”



Harry couldn\'t conceal the shock at Percy\'s words.



“Since when do you care about Snape? I thought you didn\'t believe him...”



Percy shrugged. “I don\'t. Your blind trust in him is heartwarming, but I\'m still convinced he was playing both sides and it backfired. But... He\'s the only one with the Dark Mark that you, and by extension, the Auror Office, has got access to. And while I don\'t trust Snape, I don\'t trust Diggory anymore, either.”



Harry smirked unhappily. “You really are a git, Percy.”



“You\'re welcome, Harry,” Percy said, unamused. “Oh and before you go home, I want my Portkey back.”



With a resigned sigh, Harry produced the Portkey and tossed it to Percy. “Here,” he said. “Thanks again.”



To Be Continued...

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Author\'s Note: Many thanks again to my wonderful beta, whitehound; and I\'d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge her essay that influenced not only this chapter, but also some of the chapters about to come.



Link to essay (remove spaces): www. whitehound. co. uk/Fanfic/good_or_bad_Snape. htm