Chapter 21.

6:32 pm, June 27th, 1993

The New Godfather

Severus walked in quiet strides toward his old dungeon office in Hogwarts, black robes billowing behind him, reminiscent of the overgrown bat that he actually was. He made a left turn on a dimly lit stairway that went upward when he should go downward and toward the right hand side, because this way was actually faster for some reason maybe only the Founders could conceive.

The past three days had not been easy for Severus.

The endless questions from Mad-Eye and Madam Bones were hard, but Severus could deal with those easily enough. After all, he had dealt with Mad-Eye for twelve years now; the paranoid auror had a new leg and looked much younger these days, but something about him did get old and predictable, for all his preaching of constant vigilance and avoiding obvious moves. After enough time around him, it became clear how he would act in most situations. Besides, Severus could dodge the more dangerous questions by explaining that they were not to know. It was a small boon to see the grimace of frustration and barely masked suspicion on Mad-Eye's face whenever he evaded a question in that manner.

The problematic part was, Severus had begun to feel for Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

Merlin knew what had been in Lucius' mind when he made himself the fallback godfather for the heir of Nott. When Lucius was 'captured,' Theodore was no longer an orphan ward of Hogwarts, but became a ward of Lucius and Narcissa. And since Lucius had not been clever enough to evade prison, Severus - who was unfortunately the only one who visited Lucius often enough besides the aurors - had been entrusted to deliver some legal documents between Theodore and the Malfoys. Annoyingly, the heir of Nott had failed his Transfiguration OWLS, so the Malfoys would serve as Theodore's guardian for at least one more year, thus extending Severus' trouble for at least one more year.

In the previous meeting with Theodore, the boy had looked taller but much thinner than last year. He might be clever enough to figure out something besides the story on the Daily Prophet, because that lanky boy didn't appear to harbor any anger or disappointment toward Lucius. He just looked at Severus sadly, with some hope, expectation, and begging in his eyes.

-Merlin, if this story cannot fool a thirteen year old Slytherin, how can we fool the world?

And what was worse, Severus knew he could bring back Lord Nott easily enough, but magical Britain, the magical world, simply couldn't afford it.

As for Draco's two minions, Severus had only exchanged glances with them once in a hallway beneath the Ministry of Magic, when the two boys and their mothers were brought in for questioning concerning their fathers' crimes as Lucius' minions. Goyle had seemed thinner, and Crabbe had put on quite some weight. Severus understood enough about adolescent minds to suspect that the two had developed unhealthy coping mechanisms.

And it was the same problem as when Severus had seen Theodore: he couldn't just go ahead and perform the ritual as he liked, even for those Death Eaters that he had preserved.

Severus had thought of trying the ritual on one of the brain-dead muggle corpses to see if Harry's theory was true, but he knew his every move was now under the scrutiny of powerful lords scattered across the globe, even the return of an unimportant muggle could easily prove disastrous.

Sometimes, Severus thought the ritual and/or the patronus had done something to him. But the Boy-Who-Lived was still able to kill thirty-six Death Eaters without so much as blinking, so the ritual couldn't possibly prohibit the performer from killing others. He supposed it was possible that killing would require anger, the wrath he had seen etched onto Albus' face when he faced down Death Eaters and the Dark Lord. Perhaps it was necessary to think that the killings were for some greater good; or to be insane enough like the Boy-Who-Lived. Judging from the expression on the boy's face when he heard about the heads Severus had collected, Harry had probably made some resolution to resurrect the very people he killed. Or at least the ones Severus had been clever enough to preserve.

-And is that the level of insanity required for the "true" patronus?

Severus stopped short, lost in thought. He found himself still wishing the Dark Lord to be truly dead, destroyed beyond the possibility of resurrection, instead of safely transfigured. The ex-Death Eater decided that if insanity of that sort was the secret behind the true patronus, it was not to his current taste.

And then there was the problem of Lucius' safety.

Three days ago, Mad-Eye had been summoned to Hogwarts. After catching sight of Lucius, the no-longer-limping auror had cast a half dozen illegal curses in seconds. Lord Malfoy had escaped without permanent harm, after the Boy-Who-Lived managed to calm the auror down and explain the basics of the situation. After a battery of tests to ensure the identities of everyone present, Mad-Eye had growled that he was "satisfied", but his eye whirled around in its socket,never leaving Lucius, Severus, Draco, nor Narcissa for more than a moment.

The Boy-Who-Lived then asked each of them to go "all dark and paranoid," just to think where Bellatrix Black might be.

Although Severus didn't understand why Harry Potter all of a sudden became so grim and so Dumbledore-ish, but instincts told him that the question was probably asked toward Lucius. Otherwise, the boy could safely ask Severus and Mad-Eye, and neither of them would refuse. Thinking like that, the answer was quite obvious.

Lucius was clever enough to figure out that point as well, for the fully-bounded white-haired aristocrat offered politely, "Lord Potter, I think I might be a good bait for Bellatrix. I suggest that we publish on the newspaper that because of my reluctance for the sacrifice the Dark Lord asked, his ritual failed. And my silent rebellion was probably one of the biggest reason for the backfire that vanquished him temporarily. Afterwards, I knew that my Dark Mark was still there, and I was so afraid of retribution from him that I went into hiding. We may slip in some true and false interesting details into it by various ways later for the interested ears. If my speculation is correct, Bellatrix is probably looking for the blood for the Dark Lord's enemies. Since Lord Potter and Auror Moody's blood is not that easy to get, I may qualify as a lesser substitute."

The Boy-Who-Lived then appeared to be quite hesitant, as if he really wanted to refuse Lucius' offer, and then accepted with reluctance after snarls from Mad-Eye. The performance of that boy still needed quite some perfection, if he wanted to become the next Light Lord who could lead people to willingly sacrifice their own lives.

Then Potter's next line almost completely blew away his benevolent cover. "And we are also going to include the following contents in the Daily Prophet: the Boy-Who-Lived said, the fact that a running Death Eater like Lucius had been brought back for the jurisdiction of law, proved our determination and strength. The Boy-Who-Lived also said, if Bellatrix Black had any sense in her at all, for the sky above, she should turn herself in."

And the Boy-Who-Lived's promise something that could really send Mad-Eye into roars if not spoken in Parseltongue, yet it negated his determined Light Lord image in front of Severus and Lucius nonetheless. "Lord Malfoy, I promisse I will bring you back if anything happenss to you. No matter what. "

By this point, Severus was completely speechless toward the boy's lame performance. Obviously, the boy had a long way to go.

In the meanwhile, Severus was also quite confused: from the odd "for the sky above" message he sent to Bellatrix, the Boy-Who-Lived was probably involved in the Azkaban breakout. But, is it to his advantage to spill this thing out? Or, did he just learn some details about Bellatrix from the Dark Lord, and he is trying to play one level higher?

However, whatever really happened in the Azkaban breakout, it was not Severus' place to question, because even if the boy - instead of Voldemort - was the mastermind behind it, there was still a Prophecy that if things around the boy went wrong, the world might end.

Therefore, Severus would only act his part, making sure that Draco and Narcissa were safe, and trying to instill all the potion lore he knew into the minds of Harry Potter and his two friends.

As for poor Lucius, a constant stream of family members of deceased Death Eaters were brought into the Ministry to counter Lucius' testimony, or so it seemed.- Of course, the real reason was to see if Bellatrix would try something blatantly stupid such as polyjuice potion.

And regarding Lucius' request for a secret wand or defensive magical artifacts, Mad-Eye gave a wolfish smile and answered simply: "You can physically wrestle Bellatrix if you need to. I am sure you can outpower an one-armed woman."

From the tone of it, Severus was quite sure that the old auror dearly hoped that Bellatrix would send Lucius a slow lethal curse and Lucius would choke Bellatrix to death in the meanwhile. And the sentiment was pretty much the same among other aurors. Therefore, Severus had no choice but to try to stick around Lucius, and to start planning how to preserve Lucius' head amidst flying curses.

The only good news for Lucius was that Karkaroff disappeared the moment the news about Lucius was deliberately leaked into some ears. -Probably, that guy knew that if Madam Bones figured out who killed her brother's whole family and conducted hideous acts on her great nephew, the old witch would tear him into pieces. And since some Scandinavian newspapers began to dig stories between the Headmaster of Durmstrang and a number of boys in the Quidditch teams that were unsuitable for the sensitive ears, Karkaroff would have a hard time hiding anywhere in Europe.

Besides worrying about his own neck, Lucius at least had one comfort: Madam Bones no longer held him as the primary suspect for the slaughter of her brother's family. Therefore, now Lucius was allowed some privileges suitable for Lord Malfoy, such as signing certain legal documents that Severus needed to deliver.

-Maybe I should beat some common sense into that beautiful head of Lucius', that I am not his owl, and my guardianship for his son will end tomorrow!

Severus made a last turn, and his former office - which was now Draco and Narcissa's temporary residence - was just steps away.

-It is a good thing that the old fat armchair with the name of Slughorn preferred an office on the third floor when he came back as the Potions master and Head of Slytherin. At least, I still have a some place in the castle that I have already put some defensive wards up. Spinner's End is neither safe nor suitable to have Narcissa and Draco over. And I need to move faster in setting up the wards in my own temporary bedroom, who knows what may happen in the next minute.

Severus stopped his thought, knocked on his office door as a polite gesture, and spoke the password. "Serpent and wyvern."

The office door opened. As Severus walked through a brief Thief's Downfall, he wanted to roll his eyes.

Within three days of time amidst dealing with political repercussions and worrying about her newly revived husband's life, Narcissa had somehow managed to turn Severus' gloomy office and bedroom into something more suitable for the aesthetics of British aristocracy. The bare stone floor was now layered with carpets - Severus couldn't even name the things that Narcissa put between the top carpet and the stone floor to make the top carpet fit better; the dim torches designed to preserve potion ingredients better were replaced by bright crystal chandeliers; the best furnitures the house elves of Hogwarts could find were obviously not good enough for Lady Malfoy, for she brought quite some unused furnishings from the storage room of Malfoy Manor. In short, she had converted Severus' old office and bedroom into a miniaturized Malfoy Summer Villa.

Women were surely peculiar creatures that Severus had a hard time comprehending. Severus had thought Lucius was enough of a brat, but Lucius never uttered a word of complaint about the decor of the farm house in Nevada, or the fast food Severus bought from KFC and McDonalds. And Draco was surely spoiled first by Lucius, then by Narcissa, but that boy seemed to have enjoyed the stash of Coca-Cola Severus put in the grey suitcase quite a bit, and only could be stopped by his concerned mother who unfortunately knew Coke contained too much sugar and phosphate. However, the female Malfoy had to redecorate her temporary residence, and insisted on baking cookies herself in the kitchen of Hogwarts. Severus could only imagine how desperate the Hogwarts house elves must be watching Lady Malfoy do culinary works in front of them.

What was worse, Severus had to deliver her cookies to Lucius and to the aurors guarding Lucius. Obviously, Lucius didn't even get a single piece of the sweets. In the meanwhile, with scraps of biscuit on her face, Trainee Auror Tonks happily said that they would like to inspect more of Lady Malfoy's cookies. Severus casually mentioned this to Mad-Eye, and he was sure the metamorphmagus and her colleagues would get quite some stern lectures and hideous threats in the near future.

And there came the beautiful and strange creature who presented more mysteries than her eldest sister Bellatrix, whom Severus could sort of understand. "My dear Severus, it is such a delight to have you here. How was your day?"

Severus was glad that her worry had taken away some of her niceties, so that he could cut directly into the topic. As he was ushered to the elegant dining table embroidered with carved serpents in the office-turned-dining room, Severus nodded to Draco on her side, and answered, "Rather well. Lucius is in good spirits, the aurors ate all the cookies for him, and Mad-Eye bombarded us with questions. Before I came back to Hogwarts, I have visited Nott Manor. The heir of Nott was quite pleased to have you as his guardian and signed all the documents."

As Draco was pulling out her chair for her, Narcissa said sincerely, "Severus, you are such a wonder. I don't know how we can manage without you."

Severus wanted to roll his eyes again: have all the purebloods received the same training as to appeal to other's chivalry and vanity? If so, Lady Malfoy definitely doesn't do it as subtle as her husband.

Severus nodded his head toward his godson who was pulling out his chair for him, and jumped to another topic. "Draco, the animagus meditation potion is ready. I will watch your first meditation tonight." As he sat down, a smirk appeared on his face. "If you become an illegal animagus tonight when you are still underaged, the punishment for such juvenile misdemeanor is only two hundred galleons in fines, instead of five hundred galleons in fines or two years' imprisonment."

Draco smiled nervously. "Thank you so much, Godfather. Tomorrow's ceremony, I mean, can I see Father -"

"No." Severus cut the boy off briskly. "Lucius has signed all the documents today, and you are not to leave Hogwarts until Bellatrix is caught. -And neither are you." Severus sternly eyed the blonde who was hiding her brief distress, then soften his voice a little bit. "Narcissa, I would not expect Bellatrix to remember much of either you or Draco. And if somehow I was mistaken in your sibling relationships and Bellatrix does remember you, that is just one more reason not to venture anywhere near Lucius. If you two need any other reasons, Lord Robert Jugson was arrested today for his attempt to curse Lucius when he was called in for questioning regarding his father's crimes."

Both Malfoys' faces turned white.

Severus waved his hand impatiently, "Lucius was unscathed. The aurors wouldn't let such lame and unplanned attacks to really hurt their valuable bait."

Yet Narcissa's face was still as white as ash. "Severus, you may call this superstition, but I have some very bad feelings today. I felt the same thing the day Lucius died one year ago."

Severus had known better than to dismiss such feelings from witches and wizards, because some of them were indeed related to true seers. "What do you feel specifically? I can give Mad-Eye some warnings."

Just as Narcissa was about to answer, Severus felt a slight twinge in his left arm, which also happened in April, 1991. He quickly pulled up his sleeve, then uttered something completely unsuitable for the delicate ears of his still-underaged godson and the uppermost noblewoman in wizarding Britain.

"Expecto Patronum! " As his bright ball-shaped patronus jumped upwards and vanished in air, Severus turned to his godson who started to show some horrible comprehensions. "Draco, I am afraid we have to cancel tonight's animagus training. There might be quite some discussions going on with the Boy-Who-Lived."

The next chapter will be up at 6 pm (EDT), 04/21/2015.