The Death Eater

Severus Snape tuned out the continuing lecture from the Medi-Wizard who had betrayed his Godson. He had read the reports already, and he needed little explanation for the list of injuries, having seen them all too often before. The only point of interest he had so far found was the lack of sexual activity found on the boy, a fact which gave him hope for his Godson.

He was currently reading a letter from said Godson, a missive asking Severus for the one thing he feared he could not give; help on the taming and caring for of one Harry Potter. A part of him wished he could hide the letter and pretend not to have received it, ignore it and hope it would all go away. Thus far he had been unsuccessful in locating his Godson; the one letter he had sent had received no reply and the Manor was warded so that only a pre-arranged entry was allowed. Severus had both feared and hoped that he would never gain a summons to the Manor. His loyalty to Dumbledore and the Order meant that he would have to help in retrieving the missing boy; his budding relationship with the boy’s Godparents only increased this pressure. He had precious little patience for Potter himself, but had forced himself to admit the boy was not as bad as he had imagined. However, this did not change his feelings for his own Godson, a boy he thought of far more as a son than he was certain either Lucius or Narcissa did.

The Medi-Wizard finished his far too detailed lecture on the happy note that Potter had yet to be raped and likely would not for another week, and therefore was not yet pregnant. By the murderous look on some faces, he had no doubt that if they did rescue Harry within the week, his Godson’s life may well be forfeit. Several people in the room, his own partner included, were openly weeping at the abuse the child had suffered, and by the comments few people were taking the time to sort out their feelings for Draco against their feelings for the ones that had actually harmed the boy.

Dumbledore had, of course, noticed the letter he had received, and was giving him the all-knowing look. Severus sighed, pushing down the horrible feeling rising in his stomach that he was finally betraying the one person he had no doubt loved him.

“Draco has written to me.” Never before, and he doubted never again, would such an innocuous and quietly spoken statement silence a room as this one did.

“He has, Severus? What has he said?” Severus looked around the people in the room, noting with no small amount of irritation that there were several glares aimed at him. Of course, if Draco was writing to him then he must be equated with one of them.

“He has asked me to join him in his Manor this afternoon. He feels he needs some guidance in how to handle young Mister Potter.”

“Why you?” Moody snarled, ever suspicious. “Why would he insist on asking you for guidance?”

“Because, as I have already said before, I am the closest Draco has to a true father figure. Certainly if he showed this kind of weakness to Lucius the man would have punished him severely. Also, I believe I am the only one to have offered the advice he needs without seemingly trying to manipulate or condescend him. He trusts me.” And I will betray that trust severely, he did not add. By the look in Remus’ eye, the other man at least could understand Severus’ private feelings on the matter.

“How will we use this to our advantage?” Kingsley asked the room at large.

“I could possibly use a Portkey to remove the boy. Unfortunately any other escape option is closed to us – Apparating without permission would lead both of us to the dungeons, Flooing would have both of us Flooed to the room Draco was in or to the dungeons. If I tried to walk out with him I would be stopped by a House Elf, likely before I had even left the room. However the Malfoy Manor is weakly warded where Portkeys are concerned, and I would be better able to create one strong enough to break the Wards. If I am caught, however...”

“Yes, we are aware that this is our only option. We must do something. Perhaps you can try to talk him out of it?” Dumbledore asked, as ever optimistic to the last.

“You know I can not. He has made it clear that if Harry is not at the least pregnant by next Christmas, then Draco himself will become a Death Eater plaything, and Harry would be passed on to someone else. The risk to Draco is too strong to persuade him not to, and I believe he is too enamoured of Harry to truly fight this. I can not offer him the protection of the Order without revealing myself, and I believe Draco’s pride would prevent him from joining us right now anyway. After the incarceration of his father, Draco sees the Death Eaters as the only way to redeem the Malfoy name.” Severus’ words were bitter and pained, the situation his Godson was in burning him in all too familiar ways.

“So we are forced to use subterfuge, and sacrifice Draco. You realise that when Voldemort finds out Harry is missing, he will likely kill Draco?” Severus wondered briefly if Dumbledore was saying this to offer him the way out that he would not take, or to remind everyone that the process of saving one teenager would condemn another to death. If it was the latter, it was unsuccessful; clearly most people in this room saw Draco now as a Death Eater, not a human and certainly not a seventeen year old boy.

“Draco has chosen his path, and I have no doubt the boy will find an escape. The Malfoy family has survived for more centuries than I care to count; I doubt they will end here.”

“Very well, Severus. Go to him this afternoon and make your arrangements to see him again. We shall hold another meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation further and make the Portkey for you.”

The meeting broke apart shortly afterwards. Severus moved rapidly to his lovers, finding Sirius sleeping soundly on Remus’ shoulder, the potion the men had slipped into his drink obviously working. He sighed and ran a hand tenderly through the other man’s hair, loathing the lines of tension and the loss of weight that had already returned to his frame. They had worked so hard to restore Sirius to his pre-Azkaban state, but just one tension-fraught week had ruined their hard work.

“How is he?”

“Exhausted, upset, guilty, frightened. He hasn’t eaten; barely sleeps and I keep waiting to find empty bottles beside the sink.” Severus flinched. It had taken a long time and a lot of work to wean Sirius from the alcohol that had been his companion the long year of exile after Azkaban. He was equally as worried as Remus that the weak man may return to his solace.

“Why guilty? Surely he does not think he could have protected Harry better?” Severus asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“No, not about Harry, Severus. He feels guilty about you. We both do. We are all asking so much of you already, and now we ask you to forsake your son – and Draco is as much as son to you as Harry is to us, perhaps more so – for us. For him.”

“I...” Severus sat and buried his head in his hands, feeling the weight of his actions and role in ways he never had before. “I feel awful, guilty. Sickened. I made that potion, as much as I hoped it would be for a good cause I knew, deep down inside, what he would use it for. I think I always knew. And yet... I can’t help but hope, Remus...”

“You hope that Draco will get Harry pregnant, that we’ll have to take him in.” Remus stated softly, not judging or deriding Severus. This was one of the reasons he loved this man.

“Yes. Merlin help me but yes, Remus! How can I do this, how can I hope to betray him, to be the one to take Harry from him? When all I can see in this situation is Harry saving him, Harry being the one thing that will draw him to our side. And if I fail in my task... The others have always blamed me for my failures, and I have always ignored them, because I knew I did my best. But what if... What if I fail because subconsciously I want to fail?”

“No! Severus, listen to me! You know yourself better than that. You know what Draco, and what Voldemort will do to Harry. As much as you may hope for Draco’s sake that Harry conceives by him, for Harry’s sake it would be easier to draw him out now. And you said it yourself; Malfoys always have a way out. What if this time, with you and Harry on our side and Voldemort now against him; maybe this is what Draco will need to come to our side? And you know better than anyone that a strong relationship cannot be built on rape.

Severus, whether or not you succeed in your task, I promise you this; we will bring Draco and Harry back to us, we will save them both. And you, you will try your best. It’s all we can ask of you.”

Severus bowed his head, before nodding. He stood up slowly, feeling every one of his years in his frame. His hand hesitated over his pocket for a moment, before withdrawing a vial. He handed it silently to Remus, before pressing and kisses first to his lips, then to their somnolent mate’s. “I must go now if I am to arrive on time. Please, think about that,” he indicated the vial, “for when this is all over.”

After Severus left, Remus turned the vial in his hands over. He gasped as he read the label: “Hermaphrodite draught, male version.”