Masquerade with Death Eaters

Title: Masquerade with Death Eaters
Author: Dina
Pairing: Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Raiting: R
Summary: Although Voldemort won, the Order of the Phoenix still exists. Its
leader, Harry Potter does his best in fighting against Lord Voldemort.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters but I don\'t make any profit from this, so don\'t hurt me
AN: All my gratitude goes to Laurel and , who were kind enough to beta this story, making it much better than it previously was. All the remaining mistakes are mine.


Harry Potter had never exactly been known for his patience. After pacing back and forth in his room for more than two hours as he waited for Ron, Harry thought he had never felt more impatient - and afraid.

In an effort to rationalize his fear, he hoped Ron had just met some pretty girl on his way back or forgotten about time while peering through the window of some Qudditch supply shop. But as time passed by, these possibilities became less and less probable. He and Ron had worked out the precise details for the success of this mission, and Ron was responsible enough not to miss them.

Harry sighed. He hadn’t wanted to worry Hermione, but she should know about this – and soon – so he left his room and went to search for the intelligent and talented witch who was one of his closest friends and allies.

Hermione was, as usual, teaching. The small, sparely furnished room was barely acceptable as a classroom, but that was all they had had at present. In the previous Headquarters at Grimmauld Place they had had much more space, but that – and most of the equipment needed by young witches or wizards for studying - was also lost to them now.

Eight children, all from families labelled as traitors by Voldemort, turned towards Harry as he entered the room. Hermione must have read something on his face because instead of scolding him for interrupting her class - as she’d be wont to do any other time - she just frowned at him, told the students to keep quiet until she came back, and gestured for him to go outside the room. Never more thankful for her cool headed thinking, Harry followed her into the hall.

\"Ron didn’t come back.\" Harry said without futher ado, the moment the door closed after them. \"He should’ve arrived two hours ago. No, now it’s closer to three.\"

\"Where…\" Hermione had to clear her throat and breathe deeply before trying again \"Where did he go?\"

\"Back to Grimmauld Place,\" Harry sighed \"he needed to bring back…stuff. I had hidden some things in case of emergencies, some special equipment, food ...\"

\"You sent Ron back?!\" her voice was louder than usual, accusation clear in it. \"Haven’t you realized what would await him there? What were you thinking…\" She sank down heavily onto a bench in the hallway. \"Sorry.\" She said much quieter. \"I don’t have the right to question you.\"

That last softly spoken sentence from Hermione wounded him deeper than any shouting could have and Harry sighed. The idea that Hermione didn’t have right to question him or tell him something should have been ridiculous, but he was the leader now, and she wanted to support him. No doubt he needed it, but sometimes he needed her advice more.

\"Listen Hermione,\" he crouched down next to her, \"Ron volunteered…someone had to go back. We needed some things. None of us can go shopping after all. Not even one of our exterior members - the shops are watched, you know – and buying a bigger amount than usual of anything wouldn’t go unnoticed. We had hoped Ron could come and go under my invisibility cloak without any trouble, but something must have gone wrong.\"

\"I’m sorry Harry,\" she said again and there were tears in her eyes. \"I didn’t mean to accuse you…I’m just worried.\"

\"So am I, Hermione. So am I.\"

\"What will we do now?\"

\"Let’s hope he’s just been delayed. Or captured. Not-\" Harry couldn’t complete the sentence.

\"And if he isn’t JUST delayed…or captured?\"

Harry shrugged. They both know in that case they could only mourn their friend.

\"All right.\" Hermione took a deep breath ’’If he is captured…what will we do?\"

\"We have to rescue him and quickly. Ron is strong, but…\"

\"Harry…I hate to say this, but…but you -WE- can’t endanger the whole Order for one person, even for Ron.\"

\"Hermione, after me, you and Ron know most of what’s going on in the Order. The Death Eaters, no matter how strong Ron is, will certainly acquire his knowledge either sooner or later. They’ve got their methods to do so. And that would be the end for us all.\"

Her wide open eyes told him that she hadn’t totally realized this. There was a time she could have easily guessed his thoughts, but lately, as he was keeping more and more secrets, that rarely happened any more. After Harry, Ron knew the most about the network that comprised the Order but even Ron didn’t know everything. If Ron died…

Harry shook his head. No, Ron couldn’t be dead. And Harry would make sure he would stay alive.

\"I’ve got a plan.\" Harry spoke, even if that wasn’t quite true. \"Please don’t tell the others yet what happened. I hope that soon I will have everything under control.\"

\"Harry…\" she hugged him as he sat down next to her \"Please, tell me if I can help you with anything, all right?\"

\"Of course, Hermione.\" He lied.

~*~

Harry reflected, after Hermione left, that the problem was although everyone expected him to be a natural at the job, he was not naturally a good leader. He didn\'t have the necessary experience to do so easily. Dumbledore\'s Army could never have prepared him for this. Since the age of eleven he had fought against Voldemort in some form or other, but always alone. Suddenly every weight of leading a secret organization fell to him. For more than a year now he had struggled with the dilemma of keeping the group functioning smoothly and effectively.

It was in the last week of his final year at Hogwarts when everything went to hell. Voldemort, who was slowly but steadily gaining more and more power, and with that more and more followers over the years, chose that day to strike. Those at Hogwarts were totally unprepared. The Death Eaters had never before made such an open attack and the Order hadn\'t seriously contemplated they would ever dare to try such thing in the very midst of Hogwarts. For the thousandth time, Harry cursed all of them for not listening to Moody and Snape, who had insisted they should be prepared for such an occasion as well. At the end they had just formulated some simple plans for emergencies, but even then, most of the members didn\'t take them seriously.

They should have, of course. The Death Eaters were far greater in number than they realized and there were more students whose families were sympathetic towards Voldemort than they had suspected. Lots of them helped the Death Eaters; very few fought against them.

Dumbledore had died in the battle and so did a great number of Order members who were present that grim day. It was McGonagall, who, after seeing the Headmaster fall, gathered everyone she could and using the \'just in case\' evacuation plan, led them to Grimmauld Place.

After his attack against Hogwarts, Voldemort quickly took over the Ministry and within days he had become the legal ruler of the British Wizarding World.

Those who didn\'t want to accept him were killed, fled the country or joined the Order of the Phoenix, now an illegal, underground organization whose every member - if caught - was under an automatic sentence of death as decreed by the new Minister of Magic: Voldemort.

Hogwarts reopened the next year, with mostly new teachers, and now only accepted children from pureblood families who supported Voldemort.

McGonagall, who had lead the Order for almost two years, had at first hoped for assistance from abroad, but soon it become obvious that other wizarding countries preferred to remain secluded from England rather than do something openly against Voldemort\'s regime.

The former Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts set the Headquaters of the Resistance at Grimmauld Place, hoping that the charms on the house would remain strong. If she found that directing a school full of children hadn\'t quite prepared her for directing a group of hunted people, she never showed it.

The Order survived, and fought against Voldermort wherever and whenever it
could. They even made progress, until the day, now almost a year ago, when McGonagall was captured. Harry only got the information that she killed herself with poison before the Minister\'s men could bring her to be \'interrogated\' which in the case of Order members
meant torture, Veritaserum and a painful death at the end. This was more or less a common knowledge as Voldemort never kept it a secret what fate waited those who resisted him.

Harry didn\'t even have the time to grieve her death, as the Resistance thought him the only possible candidate for a new leader, something he never wanted to be. But as usual he didn\'t have a choice. He had tried to do his best, but he was still struggling with his massive, seemingly never ending tasks and responsibilites.

The pressure had increased almost exponentially two weeks ago when Grimmauld
Place had been discovered. Harry had a plan prepared for such an event - he couldn\'t afford to have what had happened at Hogwarts reoccur - so they escaped with minimal personnel losses but most of their reserve supplies and equipment remained behind.

Harry sighed. Thoughts like these got him nowhere. He needed to act to get Ron back and for that he needed information; Harry had to talk with Snape, as soon as possible.

Snape. Now he had caused a bit of a surprise for Harry after McGonagall\'s death. The Order viewed him as a traitor, someone who helped Voldemort to achieve a triumphant return to power. Everyone said they suspected him from the beginning and that Dumbledore was a fool to trust him. But three days after McGonagall\'s capture, around midnight Snape had Apparated to Harry\'s room at Grimmauld Place. Harry\'s first, still sleep-dulled reaction was to shield himself against Snape\'s attack rather than capture him. But Snape hadn\'t tried to attack. He shot Harry a glare that spoke clearly what he thought of his intelligence, not to mention his \'foolish wand waving\', sat down in Harry\'s armchair and waited impatiently for Harry to gather his wits.

Snape then related to Harry how Dumbledore, McGonagall and he, himself had planned out strategies while still at Hogwarts about what to do in such a situation. Specifically, Snape was to go back to Voldemort and deceive him into believing Snape remained completely loyal to the Death Eaters. Snape also told Harry he was severing his connection to everyone on their side, except the Order\'s leader; and as that title belonged to Harry now, Snape had come to volunteer his services.

Harry, of course initially didn\'t believe him. Snape pointed out how he knew all along about Grimmauld Place, but they had remained safe there. Snape was willing to take Veritaserum, and he did so. Under its effects, Snape\'s statements were a repetition of his original revelations, although with fewer insults about Harry\'s intelligence, bloodline and former House. Snape also told Harry where to find McGonagall\'s personal journals, to further prove his statements. Later Harry did locate the diaries as well as additional evidence verifying both Snape\'s role and loyalty within the Order of the Phoenix.

Still, at first Harry handled the information supplied by Snape very carefully, but it always proved to be true and saved so many lives, Harry began to trust Snape more and more. It was at Snape\'s warning they started to evacuate Grimmauld Place in time, so the Death Eater\'s raid on the house hadn\'t proved fatal. Harry knew then that he no longer had the right to doubt Snape\'s loyalty.

Their relationship was now stranger then ever: Harry didn\'t like Snape any better then before, considering him to still be the greasy, mean, sarcastic bastard who hated him for reasons probably now forgotten even by Snape. But on the other hand, Harry had trusted him with his life, and more importantly with his friend\'s life; so far Snape hadn\'t disappointed him.


~*~


Successfully connecting with Snape was a tricky business. They used mirrors similar to that he had once been given by Sirius. The problem was that Snape didn\'t always carry his with him due to his fear of being caught by Voldemort. Usually they could only speak after Snape finished work. Instead of trying to teach a whole class of dunderheads about the subtle art of potion making single-handedly, Snape had apprentices now who assisted him in his classes. Harry waited impatiently for night to fall and got lucky - Snape answered after the first summons.

\"Ah, Mr. Potter,\" Snape said, staring at the surface of his mirror disdainfully. \"I was waiting for your call. Open your Floo. I\'ll be there in a minute.\"

The only fireplace at the Headquarters which could be connected to the Floo Network was located in Harry\'s room, but even then it was usually closed. Snape and the other undercover members could only use Harry\'s Floo, as they as they didn\'t know where the new headquarters for the Order was located. Harry\'s own safety rules seemed a bit too paranoid even for him sometimes, but he didn\'t want to risk what had happened at Grimmauld Place ever again.

So, Harry opened up his Floo and shortly afterwards Snape stepped out. Harry noticed somewhat nervously that instead of the usual expression of irritation, his former teacher looked troubled. Going straight to the point, Harry inquired what, if anything, Snape knew about Ron.

\"So... it is Weasley,\" sighed Snape. \"I didn\'t knew who it was,\" he explained, \"just that Draco had captured a valuable prisoner.\"

\"Malfoy?!\" \"Harry\'s feeling about the little ferret were perfectly expressed as he spat the word. \"What did that bastard do with Ron? Where is he?\"

\"Calm down, Potter,” Snape said coolly, \"To the best of my knowledge, Weasley is being detained at Malfoy Manor and he won\'t be questioned until Monday or Tuesday.\"

\"Today is only Friday.Why wait so long?\"

\"The Dark Lord is presently in Germany, and a prisoner of Weasley\'s importance can only be
interrogated in his presence.\"

\"Voldemort is in Germany?\" Harry frowned. \"What is he doing there?. …and why didn\'t you tell me he was away?\"

\"Because, Potter,\" Snape flashed him a glare that told Harry how very displeased he was with Harry\'s question, \"he left only this morning and since then I have been too busy trying to ascertain the prisoner\'s identity in addition to obtaining knowledge about his whereabouts in my free time. As such, I was just a tad too busy to come and chat with you. But if you think my job is so easy that it is unacceptable for me not being...\"

\"All right, all right, I\'m sorry.\" interrupted Harry, before Snape could really warm to his usual self-pitying monologue, \"Just tell me what is he doing there, please?\"

\"It\'s some kind of political negotiation - I am not sure about its exact purpose. He IS the Minister of Magic now, you know.\" He added as an afterthought.

\"Minister, my arse,\" snorted Harry. \"All right. Get back to Ron.Where is he?\"

\"As I already said - and you would have noticed were you not questioning my loyalty and trying my patience - Weasley is currently being held in the dungeon of Malfoy Manor. They have a lovely prison maintained especially for cases like Weasley and other who are to be presents for the Dark Lord.\"

\"Lovely. Do you find this situation amusing?\"

\"No, Potter,” sighed Snape. \"I have a plan.\"

\"To free Ron?\"

\"No, to turn my hair blonde! What do you think?\"

\"And this plan would be...?\" asked Harry, deciding to ignore everything else
but the information contained in Snape\'s speech.

\"It is rather.risky, and I\'d rather not to do it, but I couldn\'t come up with anything better.\" For the first time since the conversation began, Snape lost his arrogant posture and seemed uncertain. This unnerved Harry much more than anything Snape might say.

\"Yes?\" he asked.

\"I\'ll need an assistant … a young man, preferably, someone from the Order you trust enough to reveal my true position.\"

\"For what?\"

\"There will be.a Masquerade at Malfoy Manor tomorrow evening. A party to celebrate Draco\'s 21th birthday. Costumes and masks are obligatory – this would help us greatly.\"
\"And you need a young man for what?\"

\"To play the role of my companion - and to help me free Weasley, of course.\"

\"I don\'t understand,\" Harry confessed, \"you will need a woman then, won\'t
you?\"

\"No.\" Snape seemed decidedly uncomfortable now. \"I\'m… My sexual preferences are well known among the Dark Lord\'s closer circle, and they do not run towards women.\"

\"Oh.\" With great restraint, Harry resisted saying anything rude or stupid; insulting his spy wouldn\'t help matters. \"I see. So, do you often show up at parties like these with a … boy?\"

In response, Snape abruptly stood up and stepped in front of the fireplace, with his back to the room, as if hoping that staring at the flames instead of Harry would make this conversation easier.

\"If you are asking,\" Snape said, \"if being queer,” ha all but spat the word \"is accepted and well tolerated among Death Eaters, the answer is no. I\'m also not in the habit of \'showing up with boys\' anywhere, but if I do so now, they would simply put it down to my advancing years. Certainly no one would ever actually believe I\'m… sexually intimate with a woman.\"

Not quite believing he was actually having this conversation with Snape, Harry tried to organize his thoughts. So what if Snape was gay? It wasn\'t as if it bothered him, not really. Harry had certainly been called a freak often enough, and he hesitated to fall into the same mistake concerning someone else. That Snape had revealed such intimate information about himself meant he thought his plan might work.

\"Tell me more about your plan, please,\" Harry asked. \"How do you plan on rescuing Ron?\"

\"These kind of celebrations,\" Snape addressed the flames, \"all have the same script. We talk, we dance and we drink and those who have reached a certain level of intoxication go away earlier to have some private fun. The task of whoever will accompany me will be to be seen with me in a situation.as if we were to leave soon. I know where the dungeon is - I know the Manor rather well. There might be some problem with the guards, so it would be preferable if my companion were skilled and powerful enough to help me if necessary. So,\" he took a deep breath, \"think of someone who will tolerate my presence for this mission as well as be totally trustworthy.\"

Harry smiled softly. He realized who would accompany Snape about halfway into his speech.

\"There\'s no need to think of anyone,\" he said. \"I\'ll go with you.\"

This statement made Snape turn around at last. He glared at Harry as if suspecting him of only making a bad joke, but after realizing Harry was serious, Snape strode back to a chair and sat down again.

\"Don\'t be ridiculous, Potter. Of course you won\'t come with me.\"

\"I can\'t endanger anyone else this way, Snape, and I can help you if it comes to that. You said Voldemort won\'t be there, and only he can sense my presence. I won\'t be in any more danger than anyone else would be.\"

\"It may have escaped your notice, Potter,\" Snape said, reverting to his usual tone of voice, \"but you are the leader of this organization. And though I never thought I would say this, you are good at it. The resistance can\'t afford to lose you. Everybody else is disposable\"

Harry shook his head. He could never think of anyone with whom he worked with against Voldemort as disposable, but Snape\'s brain followed a different, much more clinical path. And while Harry was oddly warmed at Snape\'s off-handed praise - he didn\'t remember Snape ever saying he was good in anything especially not something this important - his decision was firm; Harry would accompany his spy on this mission.


~*~


Turning from one side to another for the hundredth time in his bed, Harry gave up on sleeping before Snape came. They had agreed (Snape still not totally convinced) that the Potions Master would bring Harry clothes, a mask and help him with his disguise before they went to the ball.

Having more than an hour until their meeting Harry took up a book and without really reading it, started to turn its pages. He was nervous, which was to be expected, but that didn\'t make it more bearable. He couldn\'t get it out of his head, that Snape would be taking him to a house full of Death Eaters, right into the den of the enemy; that he was the one who volunteered didn\'t help matters at all.

Finally the time came, and Harry went to open up his Floo. Precise as ever, Snape stepped out of it at the agreed time. Snape was dressed much more elegantly than usual. He wore a black dress robe, with dark green silk lining. It was quite old fashioned but it still suited him more than his habitual loose, bat-like robes. He also carried two bags with him.

\"So, are you still clinging to this stupid idea of accompanying me personally?\" Snape asked while ignoring Harry\'s scrutiny.

\"Of course,\"said Harry and oddly his nervousness faded a bit, probably because of the familiarity of Snape\'s abrupt manners.

\"Yes. Of course. Merlin forbid you actually back down from something you decided. Here -\" he thrust one of the bags to Harry, \"you will find clothes in here.\"

Harry went to his bedroom to change. The robe he found in the bag was much ore decorative - and probably more expensive - than any he had ever worn. Its main colour was a rich, dark blue and it fit more closely than typical robes did.

\"It\'s a bit small.\" Harry said, coming out of the room while pulling the material away from his chest as far as he could.

\"No, it\'s not,\" Snape denied, inspecting Harry from head to toe.
\"Don\'t forget you are supposed to be my conquest for now. I\'m expected to show you off.\"

Harry reddened; he had actually tried to forget that part. Snape circled him and \'hmm\'-ed, not satisfied.

\"What\'s wrong?!\" Harry snapped, feeling uncomfortable, not only with Snape looking at him like THAT, but especially with the knowledge that soon more than a dozen Death Eaters would also think he was regularly buggered by Snape. Except they wouldn\'t know it was Harry Potter.

\"You are too.small. I hope they won\'t think of me as a child-molester from now on.\"

\"I\'m not THAT small!\" Harry protested, now angry at Snape.

\"Well.you\'ll have to behave very maturely to convince everyone, certainly.\"

\"Are you really worried about what they’ll think? Just hope they won\'t recognize me!\"

\"Unlike you, I still have some reputation in the Wizarding World to uphold. And I will make sure you won\'t be recognized. Here,\" he said, pulling out two vials from the other bag, \"the disguise potions. This is for your hair.\" Said Snape, presenting the larger one to Harry. \"Massage it into your scalp thoroughly.\"

Stepping in front of his mirror, Harry did as he was told and watched in fascination as his hair lengthened till it was past his shoulders and become light brown and a bit wavy.

\"Now, tie it back,\" ordered Snape, who had followed Harry and now gave him a blue velvet ribbon. After Harry had arranged his new hair as requested Snape pushed the smaller vial into his hand. This time the instruction was \"One - and only one drop - into each eye. You won\'t need your glasses while its effects last.\" It also changed Harry\'s eye colour to a deep blue.

\"To match my robes.\" Harry snorted. \"Hey, Snape, are you trying to change me into the love of your life?\" he asked jokingly, but immediately regretted it, as Snape sneered at him and answered,

\"Hardly. Even I can\'t perform miracles, after all.\"

Making a firm vow of trying not to make an ass of himself again this night, Harry took in his appearance. He had changed, but not so much that someone who knew him wouldn\'t recognise him.

\"How much will the mask cover? Wouldn\'t I be better off with Polyjuice?\"

\"The mask will cover most of your face and remember, Polyjuice wears off after an hour. The Disguise potion\'s effect lasts almost a day. Now, you should also change your voice. Do you know the spell for it or should I do it?\"

\"No. I know the spell.\" Abstaining from mentioning to Snape he had not been twelve years old for quite a while now, Harry cast the spell. \"If anyone bothers to check,\" he asked
in a voice higher and more tuneful than his own,\"wouldn\'t they find it quite strange I use potions and spells to hide myself?\"

\"The Disguise potions are my own inventions so I know for a fact they can\'t be revealed by spells. Or without specific potions for that matter,\" answered Snape, pride evident in his voice. \"As for your voice, this will be a masquerade, after all. People hide themselves. At most they will think you don\'t want to be connected with me in everyday life.\"

\"Imagine - why might I want that?\" Harry muttered, but if Snape heard him, he didn\'t
show any sign of it. \"Time for our masks, I suppose?\" Harry asked out loud.

The masks were the last items in Snape\'s bag. Harry\'s was a fancy piece: dark blue velvet, the same colour as his robe, richly decorated with gems, golden filament and with two beautiful feathers attached on the right corner. Harry had no idea from what kind of bird they had once belonged to, but imagined it was a stunning creature. The mask left his mouth and chin uncovered.

On the other hand, Snape\'s mask didn\'t hide his identity. Quite the contrary, it was rather like a parody of the Potions Master face. It was made from black leather shaped into a huge, hooked nose and deeply drawn down eyebrows. Harry wondered why Snape chose such an unflattering piece for himself, but then he had never been known for giving much concern about his physical appearance.

Looking at the mirror, Harry saw Snape approaching and only by conscious effort he didn\'t flinch when the older man put his hand on his shoulders and leaned in close to whisper in his ear. If Harry was to play being very close to Snape after all, he\'d better start now.

\"Last minute instructions. You should stay quiet the whole evening. Speak only if you are directly asked a question, and then speak respectfully but vaguely. It\'s better if they think you are stupid, rather than be suspicious. Never lose me from your sight. DON\'T forget where you are, not even for a moment. Don\'t drink ANY alcohol, it might loosen your tongue, though act like you are drinking.\"Snape sounded just like he was in the classroom, listing safety instructions before letting them made a volatile potion. Harry bit back every sarcastic comment he wanted to add and just nodded.

\"One last thing. If we are discovered, you should flee and immediately evacuate this place.\"

\"You don\'t think I would just leave you there, do you?\" Harry was indignant. Snape just looked at him, like he didn\'t understand what Harry had said, but then just shook his head and continued.

\"And in case even you can\'t escape,\" he pulled out an ampoule from his pocket \"Here. Poison. It kills immediately and painlessly.\"

Harry took the capsule enclosing the blood red liquid and watched it soundlessly for a moment.

\"Is this,\" Harry had to take a deep breath before continuing, \"Is this what McGonagall took? Did you giveit to her?\"

\"Yes.\" Snape nodded. \"It gives you a better end than what you\'d receive at the hands of the Dark Lord.\"

\"A better death if we can\'t have a better life, is it?\"

\"At least in some things we have choice, Potter.\" Snape nodded seriously.