Chapter Text
July 1996
Severus Snape stood in the corner of the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld place. An Order of the Phoenix meeting well underway, but he’d stopped paying attention once he’d given his report regarding the events of the Dark Lord’s last summoning.
The other Order members were arguing over yet another pointless “strategic” decision. Their reluctance to use unsavory tactics against the Dark Lord and his forces gave Severus pause. He wondered how exactly they thought they were going to fully and finally defeat the Dark Lord. The things Death Eaters did, and took pleasure in doing, were harrowing to say the least.
Molly Weasley’s angry shouting broke Severus’ trance from his wandering thoughts, keying him back into the present meeting.
“She’s still only a child,” The Weasley Matriarch’s motherly outrage and protectiveness clear in her tone. “You cannot possibly expect her to do a task like this! She isn’t even a member of the Order yet, Albus!”
“Miss Granger will be of age shortly after the start of term, Molly,” said Albus Dumbledore calmly, taking a sip of his tea. He was seated at the head of the long table, presiding over the meeting. “She will, in the eyes of the Ministry, be able to make this decision for herself, and be responsible for any and all actions as a result of it. Her magical age, however, puts her at nearly eighteen already if I’m not mistaken. Minerva?”
At that, the stern professor’s expression turned utterly indignant. After over a decade as colleagues, Severus knew Minerva McGonagall’s protection of her lions rivaled that of Molly’s children, Hermione Granger being her most prized pupil.
“I knew you never should have allowed her to use that time-turner, Albus,” Minerva cried, springing from her seat, placing her hands on the table as she leaned forward. “The poor girl nearly put a whole year onto her life trying to study for classes while almost killing herself from exhaustion in the process!”
Severus thought back to the year in question, remembering exactly how many issues that blasted time-turner had caused. It shouldn’t have surprised him to learn Miss Granger – the over achieving little swot – had added so much time to her age. Then again, he had never really given the girl more than a cursory thought beyond marking her potions essays and fixing the troublemaking trio’s mistakes year-to-year.
That same year, the time-turner – with the help of Potter and Granger – had allowed the mangy dog-of-a-man currently sitting across the room from him to escape from Auror custody and the Dementor’s kiss. Not that he still thought Sirius Black was guilty, Severus just utterly reviled the man for using him as a punching bag and source of comic relief for years while they were in school. However he also blamed Black for being the reason he was nearly mauled by a werewolf. Twice.
Said werewolf was leaning against a wall near the kitchen’s fireplace, watching the conversation with a concerned expression. Severus had made his peace with Remus Lupin at that time, even going as far as personally brewing his monthly Wolfsbane potions and taking over his classes when needed after the full moon. He didn’t blame the man for his actions whilst transformed and Remus was the most tolerable of the remaining Marauders (if Severus was being honest with himself). Since then, the two wizards had entered into an unofficial truce.
“This is madness, Albus,” Minerva continued. “She is still recovering after the events at the Ministry. Poppy hasn’t even cleared her to return home from the infirmary!
Hermione Granger still lay in the Hospital Wing, two weeks after the end of the school term. Severus had brewed several experimental remedies for the Gryffindor know-it-all’s injuries after she had taken a particularly nasty curse to the chest courtesy of Antonin Dolohov.
Severus straightened from his slouched position on the wall, listening intently to ascertain the context of the current conversation. Obviously, Dumbledore was moving his pieces around on his metaphorical chessboard again, he thought to himself. This war was slowly taking what was left of the old wizard’s compassion and humanity with each day that passed.
“What other choice do we have,” growled Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody. “We have no other options to convince the boy to join the Order. He is at a proverbial crossroads and the more eyes we have on the inside, the better we will be able to anticipate our enemy’s movements.”
Moody’s unnaturally-blue magical eye swiveled in its socket, eventually resting upon Severus. Mad-Eye always gave the impression that he could stare into people’s very core and it unnerved him to no end.
“Alastor, you know just as well as I that the Malfoy boy won’t defect. He has no good reason to risk his or his parents’ lives to spy for the Order,” Kingsley Shacklebolt interjected in his deep voice. “That Malfoy self-preservation will keep him in the most advantageous position to survive this war; he has no reason to care what happens either way.”
Ah so they’re talking about recruiting young Draco, Severus thought to himself. It wasn’t a horrible idea, but it would most assuredly be an uphill battle. Not only was the young boy thoroughly indoctrinated in the ways of pure-blood supremacy, but his cowardly sense of self-preservation was a hurdle they would all have to overcome.
“So we give him a reason to care,” Black interjected. “Teenage boys can be easily convinced when their hormones are involved and love is a powerful tool for change. If anyone could convince Draco to come to the Order’s side, it's our Hermione.” The man gave a dog-like grin as he sipped his firewhiskey.
Severus was taken aback as the full meaning of the present conversation hit him. They were planning to recruit Draco Malfoy into the Order of the Phoenix by using Hermione Granger as a sacrificial love interest. Was Dumbledore out of his blasted mind?
Molly rose from her seat and looked close to hexing Black for his cavalier commentary. Severus didn’t blame the older woman one bit, rivalries aside; these were adolescents.
“How can you sit there and advocate to put a girl, who you claim to think of as family, directly at the mercy of her childhood bully, who is also the child of a known and active Death Eater?!” Molly shouted at Black. Looking pointedly at Severus she added. “We all know how well the bullied and former bullies get along after the fact.”
Snape scowled at Molly for her implication, but quickly schooled his features into a mask of indifference. He looked down at his hands, inspecting his fingernails for invisible dirt as he allowed the debate to continue without his interference or commentary.
“Well, we have to come up with something, Molly,” Black shot back, appearing unbothered by her accusations. “Those of us who were actually at the Ministry last month are lucky to be here today. I nearly died at the hands of my bat-shit cousin, Harry fought Voldemort again, and Hermione almost bled to death on the floor! This is war and it's about damn time we started acting like it!”
Although he was loath to admit it, Black was right. The Order of the Phoenix were too reluctant to embrace any darkness, even if it was for their own good. Severus knew first-hand the lengths the Dark Lord and his followers would go to secure the world they envisioned.
The population of Wizarding Britain had gotten lucky 15 years ago with the Dark Lord’s fall, a fact many seemed to forget when strategizing against the impending darkness. We didn’t win the war last time, Severus thought to himself. We lost nearly the entire Order before the Dark Lord’s attack at the Potter’s. We need to come up with better ways to take apart Riddle’s forces than what we did last time.
“That is enough,” said Dumbledore, interrupting the inevitable hexing that would have ensued. “Regardless of our personal feelings on the situation, we must take action for the greater good.”
Snape suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Albus and his blasted ‘greater good’; how he expected everyone to just blindly follow his plans was beyond Severus’ comprehension.
“We need more intelligence from the inside of Tom Riddle’s circle, especially the things that Severus is not privy to.”
At this, the entire room turned to look at Severus, still leaning against the wall with a cocked eyebrow. Most of the Order members still weren’t truly convinced he was loyal to the light – the downside of being a good spy he supposed. He often considered fleeing the country to be rid of this entire conflict altogether.
“That being said, what do you make of this, Severus?”
Severus stepped away from the wall and walked to the table to be heard properly by the gathered Order members.
“While this is a pragmatic choice, do you honestly believe that young mister Malfoy will be so easily swayed to abandon the Dark Lord’s service? Turning him to our side will most assuredly mean opening ourselves to the potential of granting sanctuary to himself and his mother.”
Crossing his arms at his back, he began to pace at the head of the kitchen table as if he were lecturing a group of his students.
“He is going to have to go through a major ideological change if we intend to see this plan come to fruition,” Severus said, turning back to the group. “Those of us who spend a majority of our time observing Mr. Malfoy’s interactions with students of a different house or blood status can attest to the fact that he does not expand outside of his societally acceptable group of friends.”
Minerva scoffed from her seat down the table.
“That’s an understatement, Severus. The Slytherins know better than to try that stuff with me, but I’ve heard talk in the staff room about your snakes,” Minerva said. “It goes past house rivalries, their antics are just shy of criminal!”
“Indeed, Minerva, that does tend to happen when your parents are affiliated with Death Eaters, doesn’t it,” Severus replied evenly. “However, in my observation of the young Slytherins, there is a distinct difference between those who fully believe in their parents’ pure-blood mania and those who have their doubts.”
Severus began stroking his chin in thought, this isn’t a horrible idea.
“Given the right pressure, I believe that some of them – including young Mister Malfoy – may be turned into helpful assets against the Dark Lord’s forces, but the decision is ultimately up to Miss Granger.”
Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled mischievously over his half-moon spectacles. Rising from his seat at the table, he addressed the rest of the room, including Severus.
“I’m glad we are in agreement, Severus,” Albus replied. “Because you will be her handler.”