The Order were looking at each other with mixed reactions. Sirius had been checking on Harry continuously throughout the conversation but there had been no signs of consciousness so far. Harry remained motionless on the floor and the ghost of Voldemort still sat on his plush chair not twenty paces away from him in Grimmauld Place’s Great Ballroom. Wormtail had returned to the scene briefly to refill the whiskey glass and had then been dismissed as Voldemort picked up an old tome.
“Albus, he still hasn’t woken up.”
Dumbledore knelt next to Harry and again swept him with his wand. “There is no change Sirius. He is fine, just in a vision-sleep which is not particularly restful. Waking him forcefully would, I believe, cause him injury.”
“So we just leave him then?” asked Sirius, incredulous.
“For the meantime, yes. Either the potion will go through his system or, more likely, Voldemort will simply go to sleep and so Harry will wake. He is fine Sirius, I assure you, there is no need to alert Poppy. Harry is in no danger.”
Dumbledore conjured a bed with a thick mattress, warm pillows and a cosy duvet covered in swirling green patterns, “Although, it was remiss of me not to have ensured his comfort before. Stay with him and Floo me if anything changes. I am returning to the castle to meet Severus. The meeting is postponed until tomorrow evening.” Remus nodded in understanding for both himself and Sirius and saw Dumbledore to the door.
Moody had moved behind the spectre of Voldemort and suddenly exclaimed, “Merlin strike him! He’s only reading about sacrificial magic; and not the nice protective kind either!” Both his good and magical eyes were focused on the spectral grimoire in Voldemort’s hands, “You should see these drawings. I haven’t seen many more gruesome sights than this, I tell yeh.”
Arthur frowned at Moody’s fascinated tone while Kingsley advised him to step away, “That kind of knowledge is best left in dusty books, my friend.” Moody kept hovering however while Sirius and Remus stayed with Harry. Arthur invited Kingsley to a whiskey in the kitchen and left the ballroom together to confer more privately on the event they had witnessed.
A few minutes passed in silence while Moody read avidly and Remus checked Harry again. “I suppose you’ll both have to admit that Albus has been right all along, now, won’t you?” Remus was smiling rather widely at this fact.
While Sirius snarled, Moody grunted and responded, “He could still be playing both sides off each other or he knew ’bout that potion Potter took and its likely effects. More likely still, he’s You-Know-Who’s loyal servant but just didn’t tell him ’bout the Occlumency ’cause he didn’t want them lessons to go on any longer than necessary; we all know how much he hates being in the same room as Potter.”
Remus looked appalled at this logic and was about to protest when Sirius put forward his opinion, “Yeah, he’s a sly bastard, that’s for sure. He’s probably got some great scam going where he gets the best of both worlds – tea and sympathy from Albus; dark spells and sacrificial virgins from Voldemort.”
“Don’t be so ridiculous! I can’t believe you won’t admit you’re wrong in the face of what we’ve just seen!”
“Oh, come on Moony, he’s always been a sneaky Slytherin –”
“He lied to Voldemort’s face twice! About the Occlumency and that evening. You know he fire-called!” Remus huffed in exasperation.
“As I’ve said all along, he was just covering his skinny arse! I’m with Moody, he’s playing both sides until he knows which side is going to win.”
Any more discussion was halted by the sounds of the front door opening. They exchanged puzzled looks, as no one else was expected that evening, before hearing Arthur saying, “…he’s in the ballroom, Severus. Something bizarre has happened which you’ll want to know about, it’ll be easier to explain in a moment.”
Snape’s scathing reply thanking the senior Weasley for not issuing an invitation to a Black’s Ball was cut short as the pair reached the open doorway. Moments later Snape stood on the threshold speechless, his lower jaw slack if not actually open, with his attention focused entirely on the image of Voldemort sitting on a comfortable chair in the corner of Sirius Black’s ballroom.
The only difference in Snape’s appearance was that he was no longer wearing his distinctive Death Eater outer robe.
No one said a word. Once Snape had gathered himself he took in the rest of the Order and Harry Potter laying prone on a comfy bed. He raised an eyebrow and sneered in Harry’s direction, “I take it that this projection of the Dark Lord can be blamed on Mr Potter?”
“Watch your tone, Snape!” spat Sirius. “It’s not Harry’s fault. He’s been out of it for a couple of hours now, so excuse us for being a bit worried about him!”
Snape, who had hardly been jumping around the place beforehand, now stilled completely, his eyes boring into Black’s. “I see.” And he clearly did, as he visibly seemed to be remembering the last couple of hours until, at last, he looked back at the gathered Order members to find the confirmation he needed on everyone’s face. “I do hope this clears up any further questions about allegiances?” There was an arrogant slant to his eyebrows.
“Hardly, Snape!” exclaimed Sirius which was echoed by a grunt from Moody as he moved to take a more confrontational stance in front of Snape. Remus offered a timid smile while Arthur and Kingsley nodded solemnly.
Snape was scowling again at this mixed response. Arthur was about to say something but Snape spoke over him, “Regardless, I came here expecting Albus, as his orders would be carried out without question. However, Shacklebolt, the message is actually for you –”
“We know about Meddlehurst, Snape. We watched that pretty play, remember?” Moody’s rudeness at interrupting him caused Snape’s scowl to deepen.
“That was not the message.” He paused significantly, “There is a raid planned for the early hours at a Muggle village called Stockhill in Devon. As this is not so far from Ottery St. Catchpole it is possible that this raid is a cover for an attack on either the Weasleys or the Lovegoods. Although, as I understand it, the number of attackers should not exceed six or so under Selwyn.” Arthur looked concerned and was about to speak when he was beaten to it.
“How do you know this, Snape?” questioned Moody roughly. “You weren’t told any such thing by that monster in the corner there.”
Snape looked at him as if he were an OWL student asking a first-year question. “Indeed. The Dark Lord is, I believe, ignorant of the plan but has given his blessing to such tactics and diversions. And you hardly need to know how I obtain my information. I know nothing of specifics but activity of some sort will occur in that area early in the morning.” He paused before scowling and speaking deliberately slowly, “Although I have taken precautions, do make sure that you have a reasonable explanation for a team of Aurors, or whatever protection you provide, being there.”
“I want to know how you got this information, Snape. And what ‘precautions’ you’ve taken,” growled the old Auror.
“No, Alastor,” said Arthur, “that is not important. Thank you, Severus, for warning us. I’ll go home now with the boys and we’ll invite the Lovegoods over for the night. And I wouldn’t mind having a couple of Aurors around if they’re available Kingsley.”
Snape spoke up again, “As I said, this could just be a raid on another Muggle village. I do not know of any actual plans to take either The Burrow or the Lovegood home.”
Arthur nodded his understanding and left to collect his sons. Kingsley also moved to the door, saying that he would monitor the situation by stationing himself personally in the area with a couple of reliable Aurors. He left with a final word of assurance to Snape, “And don’t worry about any leaks, I’ll make the trail look believable.”
Snape moved over to Harry, appearing not to notice the silent belligerence of Moody and Sirius. Frowning over the still form he directed his question to Remus who looked most likely to satisfy his curiosity.
“Lupin, what happened here? I was not aware of Mr Potter creating outward projections of his visions.”
“No, as Albus said earlier they normally stay in his head.” He sighed as he laid a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “He drank a potion devised by Fred and George to create daydreams in one’s surroundings. As far as we can tell he was struck by the vision while still within the Daydream and the two became one until the intended dream ended naturally.”
Snape did not look overly happy at this tale and had soured at the mention of the Weasley twins. “If there is any potion left, I shall take a sample to analyse. You said Albus was here?”
“He left for Hogwarts as soon as you’d finished your business over there with your lord,” answered Sirius. “No doubt he wanted to check your story against the real facts.”
Before Snape could sneer back a reply, Remus rushed in with further details, “He checked Harry and said he would be fine. He believes Harry will wake up when Voldemort goes to sleep.”
Snape had flinched at the name but said nothing; instead, he, like the others, turned to regard the pale and snake-like figure still reading his ancient tome. At length Snape responded, “Alas, the Dark Lord does not require much sleep. He frequently uses the night hours to read and plan his strategies privately. It may be some time before he rests.”
With a final cursory look in Harry’s direction, whose breathing was now regular and calm, Snape looked expectantly at Lupin and received a vial containing only traces of the original potion in return. Giving the room a final sweeping look, and bestowing a practiced sneer in Sirius and Moody’s direction (and being gifted in kind), he left the room. Soon after it became evident that he had made no effort to leave quietly and Sirius had to run out to quieten the enraged portrait of his harridan of a mother.