Dumbledore was annoyed. No, not annoyed; mad. Not even mad… he was totally and utterly pissed off. The Asps, for all their powers, were not supposed to be partaking in battle. They were, quite frankly, supposed to be sitting with their hands tucked behind them, watching the war with the eyes of those fed up with trying to make a difference. Their sudden appearance as a potential power was disturbing, especially now.

His pointedly twinkle-free eyes glanced at the key, through it, almost able to see the true hazard to the Aspian involvement. Not even he could readily face their combined wrath if they learned of what he was doing to their Alpha. The young body was taking the complex augmentations surprisingly well, disturbingly well.

Dumbledore nearly had a heart attack the last time he had checked in on him, only to find the body had somehow ended up on the floor. For a second, the graying man had been sure the Asps had recovered the boy, rendering the headmaster's life effectively forfeit.

The boy's progress, in all honesty, was not only surprising and encouraging, but beyond all else, frightening. If things continued the way they were going, he might end up with a far less dependent puppet than he could have ever expected. A far more powerful one as well, he hoped. He would have, had he had more time. At any rate, with the Aspian involvement, he would have little choice but to push his plans forward, lest they cut him off before he can complete them. It was time to see what his refurbished weapon could do.

With a twist of the key in its lock, Dumbledore entered the room as somberly as always. The body was once again shifted from the clinical position it had been laid in, appearing for all intents and purposes asleep and at peace. Not for the first time, Dumbledore wished the boy had not met this sad fate so soon… so very soon.

The boy was the closest thing he had to an heir, a grandchild, and he did mourn his passing. However, as he could not have prevented the hardships this sable-haired child had faced in life, he could not halt this war… he could not grant him peace, not yet. Not when using the boy once more may very well take years off the war.

"Phoenix," he called softly, lightly shaking the upturned shoulder to wake him as if he were a young child sleeping in; "It is time, Phoenix."

Eyes like the first blades of spring grass, speckled with flecks of black were unsheathed, lasting only a moment before reappearing as swampy green-gray orbs after a lazy blink. The shift disturbed the headmaster more than he wished to admit. He had not expected such vibrant eyes , not even for the brief moment it had lasted.

He Accioed a diamond-tipped staff the boy would ultimately use as a want, helping the boy stand before handing it to him. His weapon was still weak, sagging against the staff before looking to Dumbledore for further direction. Weak, but not for long.

The old man could not help but run his hand gently through the raven locks once, infinitely glad the boy had been able to experience family and attain a glimpse of childhood before the monster killed him. The headmaster was glad he had been able to keep the boy at least partly out of the thick of things until his death. He truly did feel connected to this amazing young man.

At times, Ginny truly wondered if she was doing the right thing. This could very well be perceived as spying against the Order, after all, getting not only her into trouble but her brothers as well. She was still kept far from the Order, and was only able to find out what she knew from what Fred and George told her.

"You wanted to see me, Ginny?"

"… yeah."

"Well, come in then. No point standing out in the dungeons when there are perfectly cozy rooms nearby."

She still felt iffy about entering the Slytherin dorms on the best of days, but she supposed it would be far better to do this among Asp supporters than those loyal to the Headmaster. Merlin, she hoped this was what she should be doing. Brian, the Slytherin who had helped her acclimate back when she first started coming into their dorms, was sitting near the fireplace. He waved at her as she entered, pulling what she knew to be a light blush to her cheeks, making her feel a bit better about being here.

"I spoke to Fred and George recently," she began as Hermione closed the door to her room, "they're in the Order now."

"Are they?"

"I'm serious Hermione; they were asking if you'd have by, chance, told me why the Asps fought in the Death Eater raid."

"And?" Hermione demanded, probably realizing what her brothers had. Yes, Ginny was in a position to lure a few tidbits of information from either side, with potential to quickly gain access to more.

"And I said I'd talk to you."

"Ginny-"

"that's not why I'm here," she quickly insisted, "I came to warn you."

"Warn me?" Hermione echoed, surprised.

"you, them, the Asps…" she confirmed quickly, half-afraid that if she did not say everything now she'd lose her nerve and never muster up the courage to return.

"Fred told me that Dumbledore had gotten his hands on some sort of weapon Hermione; something big."

"How big?" Hermione demanded, suddenly grabbing Ginny's shoulders with a death grip, amber eyes blazing.

"Big." Ginny answered worriedly, "Big enough that the twins were positively giddy when they told me," then, in a smaller voice, "they said it would end the war."

The look in Hermione's eyes drew a chill down Ginny's spine, the cross between fear and something akin to righteous anger.

"Do you have anywhere to be today, Ginny?" Hermione asked her quickly, gathering a few things from around the room. Then, stopping as if she'd hit an invisible wall, she asked "You are telling the truth, right Ginny?"

"Of course I am." she huffed indignantly,

"And you're sure they told you the truth?"

"I've lived with them long enough to know when they're lying." she assured, the words seemingly spurring Hermione into action.

"You've no plans?" Hermione repeated, this time not slowing in her rush.

"No."

"Good." Hermione nodded, grabbing her arm as she hit the full-length mirror with a small glass orb.

"Wait!" Ginny yelled, yanking back, "where-"

Too late, she'd been pulled into the glass, only to emerge in a room that made her gasp. She felt as if she could spend all week staring at it, but the pulling did not stop, and she soon found herself tugged along the hallway.

"Where are we?"

"Snape Manor." was the short answer, just as they rounded a bend and Hermione waved two Asps over.

"Where's Draco?" Hermione demanded of Dean,

"In his room. What's sh-"

But Ginny was being pulled again, and Dean had to trot up to ask his question.

"What did you bring her here for?"

"I'll tell you both at the same time, Wolf."

Once again, the authority Hermione wielded in what was essentially the Asp headquarters took Ginny by surprise. All too soon, they were knocking on a door, which opened to reveal Malfoy in all his blond snootiness.

"Dragon," Hermione greeted, walking right in, "we have a problem."

"Erm…" Malfoy did not quite manage to reign in the noise, his earlier snootiness flaking away as he looked at her uncertainly. It was, Ginny was sure, the first time she had witnessed such an expression on the Asp. "What's she doing here?" he asked, turning his eyes onto Hermione, "you know how big a security risk she presents…"

"Security risks be damned, Draco, what she's just told me is far more pressing."

"And that would be?" he asked, rubbing his temples,

"Dumbledore just told the Order he's found himself a weapon. The weapon."

Ginny hated how Malfoy and Dean's eyes focused on her; Hermione's joining theirs more calmly.

"And how, exactly, do you know what the Order had been told?" Dean demanded, knowing she would not have been allowed in.

"Fred and George were allowed to join at the beginning of the year," she started slowly, cowed under their stares, "they told me."

"And you expect us to believe they just did this, knowing who you associated with Weaslette?" Malfoy demanded, towering above her.

"Tell him what you told me, Ginny."

Dead. What the hell was Hermione thinking? Malfoy was already wary of her being here… and she was supposed to say th-

"Now, Ginny." Hermione huffed, "we don't have time for this."

"They wanted to… to get me to change sides; change sides and…"

"And spy on us." Hermione finished, and for a split second Ginny was sure Hermione believed her to have agreed, before Hermione asserted "which she won't."

"You trust her?"

"Would I have brought her had I not?"

And just like that, Malfoy nodded and the matter seemed instantly dropped. He only ran a hand through his hair and turned to her once more;

"So, what else did they say?"

Durmstrng was lucky that it stored all its rare and expensive ingredients in a warded cabinet far away from where Severus was, and its wards included ones that prevented enraged individuals from entering… even if they were otherwise keyed in. The school was also lucky that Severus was prudent enough to lock all overly-volatile substances in his private lab with similar wards, for no glassware had survived his rage as he barged through his office and lab after speaking with Draco.

Draco. That boy was lucky he still had his hide attached… though he did know of several only slightly-illegal potions and spells that skinned a subject with wonderful efficiency. How, how could he have allowed their situation to degrade so quickly? Not that Severus was fooled, mind you; he was well aware Draco had not told him everything. Hell, Draco had probably only said what he knew he could not get away with not revealing… and it had been hard as hell not to demand answers to it all. He had to allow the boy to learn to deal with things, he knew, even if doing so forced Severus to remain behind on things… at least as far as Draco was concerned. Severus fully intended to interrogate a few 'associates' as to the relevant happenings at Hogwarts and Britain in general.

Taking care of things on his own was a good sign, as it proved Draco was finally accepting his leadership role, but Severus was still annoyed as hell. There were Death Eaters held up in his dungeons, for Merlin's sake, and due to a lack of any alternatives there they would remain. Not only that, but the boy had let Dumbledore see him! Had Draco listened to him at all when Severus had trained them? Had the truly failed to understand the importance of secrecy in his actions?

Dumbledore had fire called him not half an hour after Draco, demanding to know what Severus thought he was doing by entering his battles. Only thanks to Draco's rundown of events was he able to point out that the Asps left before the Order even arrived. It took far longer to make the old coot accept that Severus was not controlling them, especially with the manipulator constantly alluding to the Asps being viewed as helping the Death Eaters by most of the others… omitting the obvious fact that the view was most likely encouraged by Dumbledore himself.

The Headmaster had once again tried to "offer the Order's protection" to Draco and the rest, noting how such an "alliance" would alleviate all those nasty accusations. This, of course, translated to the Asps being offered a new master who would at least strip them of their magic once their usefulness had passed… at worst have them discreetly eliminated "for the good of all wizards". Thankfully, as foolish and brash as Draco was, his father had at least taught him to see through such attempts at manipulations.

Severus had, of course, assured Dumbledore he would pass the offer on to Draco… mostly to subtly enforce his earlier removal from the position of power. He knew he held quite a bit of it, more than he honestly wanted, but he would be damned if Dumbledore knew it.
Damn it, Severus missed his son.

Somehow, Horris always seemed to know what to do… not only to seemingly dissolve almost any situation, but he also knew how to sooth. Like Lily… so like Lily. Horris…
Severus stopped his train of thought with a stiff shake, knowing full well once he truly began he would be hard pressed to stop himself.

Still, the fact remained that where Horris was a leader, Draco is a follower. Where Horris learned to be self-sufficient and independent Draco had been spoiled and doted on. Unfortunately, the Asps needed a leader… and Severus could only hope Draco would be able to adapt before it proved too late. He was mad at Dumbledore, not Draco, though he would be sure to give the boy a few choice words once he returned for the winter solstice. Merlin, the holidays could not come soon enough. Something was brewing; something important. Dumbledore had sounded disgustingly pleased with himself… and Severus was nearly positive it could not have bee caused by his excuse to once more pressure Severus due to Draco's screw-up.

"I am definitely becoming too old for this," he sighed, his earlier anger leaving him annoyingly drained. Damn Dumbledore and his ever-scheming twinkle!

Dumbledore laid the boy on the bed, allowing sleep to overtake the still-frail form. Not real sleep, no, but as close to it as Dumbledore could define. Had he been a Muggle, he might have compared it to a computer going on 'standby'… but as he knew nothing of such technology, 'sleep' it was. He had attained enough blood now to run his tests, even if doing so temporarily halted the 'recovery'. He needed to know; know which abilities from Lily's serum manifested or would manifest, which Asp abilities had (hopefully) remained. He needed to analyze the boy's magic levels, and above all else, make sure he did not retain his Soulshadow.

The quality of Severus's replacement was definitely lacking, however even without being a Master of potions, the diagnostic serums should still be well within his grasp. Poppy would have been more reliable, perhaps, but she would insist on running the tests herself… and that might lead to far too many problems. She might have connected the results to either the 'hidden' Harry or the 'late' Horatius… or even more both, in the most disturbing scenario.

As he had requested the potions a good two days ago, most should be ready to be picked up from the dungeons, allowing for the Headmaster to perform several of the tests today.

"Yes?" answered his knock, the voice within laced with a complaisance Severus had lacked by age eleven.

"My boy, I trust the children did not wear you down too much…" he greeted, walking into the office.

"Not at all, Headmaster, Mother made sure I was not ill-prepared for them."

"Yes, Minerva is well accustomed to their presence, certainly." he nodded, smiling fondly at the young man. His young wife's family skills at brewing had rubbed off enough onto the boy for him to be competent as a teacher of the subject… and to brew his serums. Oh, if only Albus could trust the young Abdicattera directly. Alas, with her title restored and mended familial ties he was not about to give her any direct authority. And here he was so hopeful to finally attain the girl's loyalty.

Severus, for all his aid, had never fooled Albus into believing he retained the Snape heir's unconditional allegiance. The young Snaps aided him closely, yes, but his first priority was always Severus… not the cause. Abdicattera, isolated from her family and eager to do something meaningful, on the other hand, would almost certainly have done so. If Severus hadn't' meddled with things, that is. As it stood, Albus had nearly as little chance winning Abdigale's loyalty as he had Severus'.

"Do you need me to analyze their results, Headmaster?" Randolph's voice pulled him back to the matter at hand, "though I can't guarantee my interpretations would be infallible, having never dealt with such diagnostic potions before."

"That's quite alright, my boy, I am sure I'll be able to manage." He had dealt with such things before, after all, and he certainly did not want to inspire the boy's suspicions… especially if the results proved that some of the young Snape's particularities lingered. Merlin help him, after all, if Albus's sample revealed Soulshadow or its shadowed form.

"Are those all of the vials I'll need?" Albus asked before gathering the afore-mentioned containers, already knowing which was which.

"Yes sir, and I saved a little extra in case you wish to double-check a result."

"I appreciate it, my boy, and the work you put into these brews."

And with that, Albus went into an unused lab and began testing the qualities of his weapon's blood.