Sub Rosa

Chapter 6 – An Interesting Proposition

Kathryn was finding that her brief conversations with Severus, more like friendly mini sparring bouts than actual conversations, were the balance for the delicate maneuvering required to deal with the other staff.

Flitwick was friendly, but so filled with a hummingbird-like intensity, that it was almost impossible talk to him in anything other than disjointed fragments.

Hooch, with her hearty handshake, boisterous old boy camaraderie and tendency to be outdoors at all hours of the day and night, was so foreign to Kathryn that she was at a loss to do anything but smile and nod.

Vector was vague and smiling, but Kathryn’s doctorate in the subject Vector taught made her acutely uncomfortable, as if Kathryn would suddenly launch into all the reasons Vector was wrong about this equation or that.

Poppy Pomfrey and Sprout were as thick as thieves, their friendship exclusionary, rather than inclusive.

Hagrid was incredibly friendly and she found herself becoming fond of him, but she couldn’t make the walk out to his hut unaided and he wasn’t in the castle all that much.

Trelawney required a level of patience that drove Kathryn nearly to tears and she would rather grind broken glass into her own flesh than talk to her for more than ten minutes.

Which left Kathryn with Minerva and Albus, both of whom were far older than herself. They were more inclined to quiet evenings and sedentary pursuits, which suited her leg just fine.

Which is how she came to be sitting in Minerva’s parlor, drinking tea and working out a tricky equation while watching them play chess.

“Check, Minerva.” Albus said with his gentle voice. He leaned back and sipped his tea, waiting for her move.

“Oh bother.” Minerva’s expression was less annoyance than deep concentration, they won and lost with fair equality, so there was little ego in their games, merely two old friends passing time pleasantly.

“How is Severus coming on a cure for you, Kathryn?” Albus’ attention turned to Kathryn, where she sat on the very Victorian love seat, leg outstretched to ease the muscles after the long day.

“Last he mentioned it, he had gathered the last of the rare ingredients and began working on a base. He sounded quite hopeful.” Kathryn replied, her smooth tones covering the frantic desires she tried so hard to push down.

“Good, good.” Albus replied. Minerva snorted and glared at her opponent briefly. “How are your classes?” He watched her over the brim of his half moon glasses.

“Well, aside from trying to get the Hufflepuffs to actually hex someone, getting the Slytherins to only hex their partners, the Ravenclaws to put down their books long enough to pick up their wands and the Gryffindors to actually dodge when someone is hexing them, I’m doing great. Though some of the students seem determined to kill themselves and give me gray hairs in the process.” This recitation elicited a chuckle from Albus and a snort from McGonagall.

“Well, if you are not overwhelmed by the labors of your Herculean task, do you suppose then that I could use you dreadfully for other things as well?” Kathryn’s attention snapped back into focus and she turned to study the deceptively genial man before her.

“Albus, I took an oath when I became an Auror and no one has released me from that yet.” Her voice was under control, but excitement raced through her body.

“I have sources of information besides Severus, you know.” She nodded and Minerva sat back from the chessboard to watch Albus with sharp eyes. “I receive messages and scraps of news from all over. I am also running the school, working with the Ministry and involved in various organizations.” She nodded again, starting to see where this was leading. “I would like you to join the Order of the Phoenix as an analyst.”

Kathryn’s jaw dropped. The Order of the Phoenix, she had heard rumors, had sideways conversations with the Longbottoms, but to join it?

“Albus, that is a great honor and I will of course help you with the raw data, but I simply cannot join the Order.” She replied, when she could finally get her brain to function again.

“Why not?” That was Minerva looking at her in astonishment.

“Because I work for Madam Chanel and the Magical Security Administration. I swore my oath to them and to join the Order would be a conflict of interest.” There was honest regret in the statement, the Order was almost mythical and the honor was great. To be on the frontlines of the war against Voldemort would be incredibly exciting.

“What if Flora agreed to it?” Albus asked her, with no hint of the absent-minded wizard act about him at all. He radiated a suppressed power that made Kathryn’s threat assessment of him go up a few notches. This really was the one wizard that Voldemort feared.

“If Madam Chanel instructs me to join I will, of course, obey and with pleasure.” She smiled then, to let them know how much she appreciated the offer. Albus relaxed and the pleasant façade slid back into place.

“I am certain you would have been sorted into Gryffindor, your loyalty is commendable.” Minerva said calmly. Kathryn laughed then, the first time she had laughed in many months.

“Whereas I am convinced I would have been either a Ravenclaw, or more likely a Slytherin! I am a spy and a scholar, not a warrior, Minerva.” She grinned at the other woman with her eyes alight. Minerva chuckled, but shook her head.

“Gryffindor, most certainly, Gryffindor.”


The next day found Kathryn in the library researching some materials for her class. In a corner Harry and his court, as she was coming to think of the group, were whispering quietly and pointing out things to each other in the books that lay piled around them. At first, she thought they were doing homework, but the furtive glances Neville cast her way, the frown on Hermione’s face and Luna’s foot, tapping in irritation, told her that Harry’s little group were up to something.

She made a note to herself to keep an eye on them. Pity she couldn’t split herself in two, because as it happened, she had no opportunity to watch them at all.