The Sybil's Oracle Book Three

Prologue

By Pigwidgeon37

SOME STRANGE HYBRID BETWEEN AUTHOR’S NOTE AND PROLOGUE

This is the third and last book of “The Sybil’s Oracle”.

It might be wishful thinking, but I suppose that some people (especially WIKTT-ers) will be more interested in this final part of the trilogy, simply because it’s going to be HG/SS. And although it would be possible to start reading here, without knowing the previous two books and the Interlude, the lack of background knowledge would probably make eyebrows rise in understandable bewilderment.

Therefore, I thought it might be a good idea to tell you people what happened so far, including links to certain key chapters of the first two books for those who desire more in-depth knowledge.

Basically, Book 1 tells Severus Snape's story from age 13 (almost 14) to 18. He’s the son of Marcus Snape (mad genius, died in 1960 when Severus was 2 years old) and Aminta Alighieri much younger than her husband and of Italian provenance). Due to various circumstances, Severus grows up in near-poverty, in spite of being as pure-blooded as they come. In this story, Lucius Malfoy and Severus (as well as McNair, Sybil Trelawney and a few others) are all born in 1958 and consequently all start school in 1969, as do the famous Marauders. Lily Evans is one year older.

Until the end of his third year, Severus is some kind of underdog, due to his social and economic situation. Things change when, in summer 1972, Julius Malfoy (Lucius’s father) invites him to spend the holidays at Malfoy Manor. Clarissa Rosier (Evan Rosier is her brother and ten years her senior) is number three of their party, and number four is Narcissa Lestrange.

(A word about the Lestranges: St. John, born in 1947, is Head of Slytherin. Tabitha Al Faruk, one of Severus's classmates and object of St. John’s desires, becomes his wife less than a year after her graduation. St. John has an elder brother, Sinclair, who lives in France with his wife Heloïse and daughter Narcissa. So Narcissa, Lucius’s future wife, is St. John Lestrange’s niece)

This summer proves to be one of the turning points in Severus's life, for Lord Voldemort is another guest at Malfoy Manor. By that time, he is forty-five, powerful, still handsome but already a ruthless manipulator. To everybody’s surprise (and Julius Malfoy’s great chagrin) he singles out Severus—long talks, understanding etc.etc. Severus is completely enthralled.

When the youngsters return to Hogwarts after the summer, Severus's position within the Snakes’ Den has changed drastically.

During the next school year, Severus discovers Lord Voldemort's identity () . At the beginning of 1973, Voldemort strikes for the first time, eliminating the whole McKinnon family. Shortly after the Easter holidays, another attack takes place, in which more than hundred Muggles are killed at Stonehenge. Both times, the Dark Mark hovers above the scene of crime.

However, there is a problem Voldemort hasn’t reckoned with: Sybil Trelawney, who is by no means a fraud but a true seer, had a vision of attack number one. Her Slytherin peers find out by mere coincidence and tell Lestrange (together with Julius Malfoy, he is one of Voldemort's first and most fervent followers). Sybil is lured home for the Easter holidays, snatched by the Death Eaters, and Voldemort performs a complicated spell that prevents her from seeing anything connected with him. But things don't go quite as planned: immediately after Easter, Sybil reads the palm of a Muggle-born student and faints. The Divination teacher, understandably shocked, detects an aura of Dark magic around her. The day after, the Muggle-born student’s parents are killed at Stonehenge—Dumbledore puts two and two together (of course without knowing what exactly happened, he merely recognizes the cause-effect link) and calls in the Aurors.

This is the first of many encounters Severus has with Alastor Moody (he’s an ex-Slytherin). He and the other six Aurors (among them Arabella Figg, and Gordon and Astraea Black, Sirius’s parents) stay at Hogwarts for more than a week, questioning teachers and students. Without any result. Moody’s questioning techniques are debatable, to say the least. Finally, the Aurors have to leave, empty-handed.

Severus, who has been receiving extra tutoring by Lestrange, who is not only Head of Slytherin but also the resident Potions Master, finds himself with a new challenge: Lestrange has received orders from Voldemort to develop the formula for an Imperius Potion (same effect as the curse but undetectable) and enlists Severus's help.

Apart from that, the young Slytherins also have a project. By mere chance, Severus and Lucius discovered that Black doesn’t like only girls, and that, despite the mutual hate, he wouldn't say no to a quick shag with Lucius. But he has also set his eyes on Tabitha Al Faruk. Our adorable snakelets think that it would be real fun to lure the Gryffindor into a secret rendez-vous with Lucius, have them discovered by Tabitha, and spread the whole story all over the school.

This is a common project, but Severus is also pursuing his very own ends: somewhere along the road, he has found out that Remus Lupin is a werewolf. And he has a sufficient grasp of human nature in general and Gryffindors in particular to know that what hurts a Gryffindor most is what hurts his friends. Therefore, the Big Prank on Black is merely a means to an end: Severus hopes that Black, already quick-tempered and impulsive, will be under so much pressure after The Prank that only a small effort will be necessary to make him blurt out the secret of Lupin’s hiding place.

The Slytherins are in no hurry to reach their aim and thus postpone the final stage of The Prank until the beginning of their fifth year.

During the summer holidays, Severus has to go home to stay with his mother. This much-dreaded holiday, though, turns out worse than expected. Aminta Snape, far from being the perfect mother at the best of times, has developed a severe addiction to Elisir di Ganimede, a magical drug the effects of which are very similar to those of heroin. Severus soon finds out that the elixir, which is not only highly illegal but also very expensive, has been provided by his maternal uncle, Ettore Alighieri, in exchange for precious books from the late Marcus Snape’s library.

Severus is furious, summons his uncle and demands that he pay Aminta Snape's therapy at St. Mungo's. Surprisingly, Uncle Ettore consents. Considering that Severus is barely fifteen and can’t stay in England on his own, the uncle takes him to his house in Italy, near Turin. Severus is far from pleased but agrees. In the beginning, things don’t seem too bad—he even finds a tiny kitten in the woods surrounding his uncle’s house, manages to feed it and adopts it as his familiar. He calls her Esmeralda.

Trouble starts when the first medical bulletin and payment order arrives from St. Mungo's, and soon it becomes clear what Uncle Ettore wants in exchange for his ‘generosity’. Severus spends two hellish months of humiliation, abuse and self-disgust, and it’s mostly due to Esmeralda that he doesn't kill himself.

During those two months, he receives a letter from Lucius and one from Clarissa Rosier; both hint at Voldemort's new ‘brotherhood’, planned attacks etc. The thought of Voldemort and what he has in store for him gives Severus enough strength to somehow survive until the end of the holidays.

Together with Uncle Ettore, he returns to England, they fetch his mother from St. Mungo's, and, after a last dinner en famille, Ettore goes back to Italy (the only positive thing which can be said about him is that he leaves Severus some money of his own in a Gringott's vault). The next day, which is the last of the holidays, Severus goes to Diagon Alley to buy his school supplies. When he returns home, he finds his mother, unconscious and under the influence of another dose of Elisir di Ganimede. The absurdity of the whole situation almost drives him mad, but he resists, shrinks the remainders of his father’s library and departs for Hogwarts in the morning, leaving his mother to whichever fate is awaiting her.

Unsurprisingly, she is found, arrested and consequently transferred to the Inverness Institute for the Incurably Ill. Due to repeated drug abuse, she also has to pay a fine. There is no money left, and Severus has taken the books; therefore the house has to be sold, and all that remains are 43 galleons. Moreover, Severus needs a guardian—those under the care of the IIII lose all their civil rights, including the guardianship of their children. St. John Lestrange volunteers, Dumbledore agrees, and thus Severus's future seems guaranteed (the Lestranges are as old and rich a family as the Malfoys)

The Prank against Black, or rather the preparation thereof, continues, and the Slytherins decide to land their final coup after the Christmas holidays. Severus spends the break at Monrepos, the Lestranges' family seat; Narcissa and her parents are there as well. Severus and Narcissa get to know and like each other quite well. On Boxing Day 1973, Voldemort strikes again: this time, Harold and Olympia Potter, James’s parents, are killed.

This does, of course, not deter the Slytherins from continuing with The Prank, which is carried out successfully in the middle of January 1974.

Triple satisfaction for Severus: due to a major brainwave, he has managed to find a formula for the Imperius Potion, Black has been totally ridiculed in front of the whole school, and he has finally told Severus about Lupin’s hide-out. But instead of a triumph, total catastrophe ensues: Dumbledore believes Black and Potter’s testimony and the circumstantial evidence more than Severus's protestations and presents Severus with a choice: immediate expulsion or an oath to pay back his life debt to Potter (or his children, in case he dies).

Furious and humiliated, Severus accepts the latter.

Since Christmas, a strange friendship has developed between him and Clarissa, which intensifies from that night on. It turns our that Clarissa, too, is a sexually abused child, although by her own father and unbeknownst to her mother and brother.

The sixth and seventh year pass rather uneventfully, Severus obtains 17 N.E.W.T.s and is ready to join Lord Voldemort's brotherhood of Death Eaters.

After their graduation, on their very last afternoon at Hogwarts, the Slytherins laze away the time down at the lake and, on a whim, ask Sybil to make a last prediction for them (this is, BTW, the first chapter of book 1, ) She complies, and has something in store for everybody: Lucius will get killed by his best friend, for Owen she sees an axe, and Clarissa will kill her lover in a fit of jealousy; for others she simply makes something up, either because what she sees is too vague or because she doesn't see anything. Severus is last, and she refuses to tell him anything. But when everybody is already in bed, she sends her familiar with a piece of parchment, on which is written:

Death and rebirth will be your fate

And you shall spend a life in hell.

Love holds the key to heaven’s gate.

Her eyes with yours will meet and tell

You that your soul has found its mate.

This glimpse, this short relief from pain

Will leave its trace within your mind,

Her image, though, will not remain.

Then darkness claims its toll again.

She’s yours if you leave it behind.

Severus tries to shrug it off, but then decides to keep the prophecy.

Book 2 starts the very next day, when Lestrange finally takes him to Voldemort, who rules over his Death Eaters from a house somewhere in Albania. Severus is, of course overwhelmed, because Voldemort spends an entire day with him, talking about the future, life the universe and everything. To his great disappointment, Severus learns that he won’t take the Dark Mark immediately, because he’ll do a two-year apprenticeship with Simon McLachlan, Great Britain’s most renowned Potions Master, who used to teach the best of the very best. Potions being a rather accident-prone affair, Voldemort points out that, by way of a lab accident, the Mark might be discovered. So Severus has to wait.

His training is, of course, paid for, and Voldemort gives him a house, a vaultful of galleons and a House Elf.

Severus might not yet be initiated, but is presented to the Death Eaters as Voldemort's number four (the others are Julius Malfoy, St. John Lestrange and Barty Crouch, who is Severus's senior by 2 years) and he takes part in their missions. One of the first is directed against Uncle Ettore, who meets a rather gruesome end, after having been forced to write a testament in Severus's favour.

During the summer, he also has his first sexual encounter with Clarissa Rosier's aunt, Nathalie Pierson, who is also Chief Editor of the Daily Prophet. He does enjoy it, but views it mostly as another method of manipulation and control, which is OK so long as he’s the one who has the upper hand.

In late July, those of his peers who have been elected by Voldemort are initiated, and at the beginning of August, Severus starts his apprenticeship.

Lucius’s marriage is planned for September (1976) Some weeks earlier, he asks Severus's help, because Voldemort claims the ius primae noctis with Narcissa, and he has no intention to comply—not so much out of love, but because he regards her as his and his only, and he’s well aware of the many uses for a virgin’s blood. Severus is extremely reluctant but agrees to help. So they stage the famous ‘Virgin Prank’, as Lucius calls it: they manage to get some of James Potter’s hair, Lucius takes Polyjuice and rapes Narcissa. Severus's role consists in brewing the potion, and in dissuading Narcissa from telling her parents that she saw ‘James Potter’ lurk near the house a few times.

On the day of the Malfoy wedding, Julius performs the revealing spell, as the ritual demands, and it turns out that Narcissa isn’t a virgin anymore. Of course, Lucius agrees to go through with the ceremony all the same, and afterwards Voldemort's Trusted Four Apparate to Albania to give Voldemort the bad news. As is to be expected, he’s furious, and both Severus and Lucius get their first punishment by Cruciatus.

Severus and Clarissa, whose relationship is gradually turning into a little more than friendship, are invited to Malfoy Manor for Christmas (still 1976). But things turn out very differently: Before their departure, Clarissa finally finds the courage to defend herself against her father, only she overdoes it and kills him. And she fires the Dark Mark into the sky in her euphoria, before she Floos over to Severus. He understands immediately that this means big trouble and hides her in his uncle’s (now his) house in Italy. (Afterwards, Lucius provides enough money for her to go to the US and start a new life in the Muggle world. She and Severus exchange letters from time to time)

This event makes Severus think of Sybil’s prophecy, and he recognizes that what she predicted for Clarissa was essentially true. The ‘lover’ was her father, and the emotion that made her kill him was rage, not jealousy. From now on, he considers the prediction she made for himself in a new light.

Usually, all DEs have the perfect alibi for the time of the attacks, so that the Aurors can’t do much harm when making their round of the usual suspects. This time, though, nobody has an alibi. And when the Blacks come to Malfoy Manor (Julius has a bone or two to pick with them already), Julius Malfoy draws his wand, Gordon Black casts a disarming spell, and Malfoy crashes full force with his head against the marble banister of the great staircase. He is dead on the spot.

Lucius takes his place among Voldemort's Trusted Four now.

The Four don’t have an easy time, as Voldemort is keen on having more allies within the major institutions, most of all Hogwarts. So the Potions Master at Urqhart University is the next target: he and his family are killed, Lestrange applies for his position, and Karkaroff becomes Potions teacher at Hogwarts. Not for long, though, because Sirius Black, who has finished his Auror training, is hired as DADA instructor, spies on Karkaroff and finds out about him at the beginning of fall term 1977. Karkaroff flees, and Dumbledore refuses to hire another Potions Master.

To increase the general fear and insecurity, Voldemort gives orders to kill the Minister of Magic. The DEs succeed, and even manage to spread the rumour that Dumbledore might have something to do with it, which means that Dumbledore can’t become the next Minister. As nobody wants the position, the Ministry decides that the Heads of Department will, from now on, take it in turns to act as Minister for two months each.

Shortly before Christmas 1977, Severus accompanies Narcissa, who is 6 months pregnant, on a shopping trip to Diagon Alley, where she means to buy a Christmas present for Lucius. Unfortunately, they are out in the street when a fight erupts between a group of Aurors and some suspicious-looking individual, Narcissa gets hit by a curse and loses the child. She barely survives the incident. Severus manages to dissuade Lucius from taking immediate revenge, which would only get him in trouble.

But in February 1978, Lucius finally gets what he wants: the DEs carry our a massive attack against the Aurors’ Academy, where they kill all the apprentices and most of the staff. However, they hadn’t reckoned with Crouch Sr., who is acting Minister. The repressions are terrible, Aurors and Law Enforcers drag people to the Ministry for questioning, regardless of whether they are guilty/suspects or not. The situation gets completely out of hand when some Law Enforcers (due to the rapidly escalating situation, the Ministry is now hiring whoever is ready to take the risk of being killed, without any previous selection) raid houses and behave more or less like a band of brigands. Severus's house is among those which are damaged; his raven and House Elf manage to escape, but his cat Esmeralda is killed.

In June 1978, Severus has finished his apprenticeship and takes the Potions Master exam at Urqhart University. Some days earlier, he has fulfilled Voldemort's orders to kill McLachlan.

Somehow, this is the last straw: whereas, in the beginning, Severus was full of guilt and remorse because he had betrayed Voldemort by helping first Lucius and then Clarissa, it now slowly dawns upon him that Voldemort isn’t the perfect being he always imagined. He realizes that he’s being used, and that his master will never share the power once he has obtained it. On the other hand, the love and admiration is rooted deeply within him, and so he’s just miserable, without a clue about what to do. Most of all, he’s afraid, because Voldemort's orders and actions seem to become more and more erratic—DEs are sent on suicide missions, punishment for whichever imaginary fault becomes harder and harder…

(While still an apprentice, Severus has made an important discovery: he succeeds in developing an antidote to Veritaserum. Voldemort is enthusiastic, and from January 1978 on, DEs always receive a vialful of it before an operation starts; they have to drink it without knowing what it is, for the existence of the antidote must remain a secret)

And then, in summer 1978, it finally becomes clear what Voldemort really wants (although it takes Severus some time to put the pieces together): immortality. In order to obtain it, he has to undergo a ritual involving the Philosopher’s Stone. It's an ancient Dark ritual, which some have tried, but nobody survived. Why? Because they lacked the necessary strength, both magical and physical. So, Severus's next task is to develop a potion that enables one wizard to absorb the magical power of another one.

For some time, Severus tries to shoulder the burden on his own, but finally decides to tell Lucius, who is alarmed, to put it mildly.

One fine evening in November 1978, Lucius comes to Severus's house together with Owen McNair, to propose that the three of them become secret allies against their Master (Owen has taken Barty Crouch’s place some time ago, for Barty didn't live up to Voldemort's expectations anymore). At first, Severus is shocked and appalled, but in the end he agrees. The Order of the Phoenix is born, based on mutual knowledge of the skeletons each of the three has in his closet. Severus tells them about the Veritaserum antidote. And this is their plan: Lucius, who is going to turn 21 in March 1979, will take his father’s place in the Hogwarts Board of Governors next year. Severus has to contact Dumbledore ASAP, offer his services as a spy, and persuade Dumbledore to hire him as Potions teacher. At the first meeting of the governors, Lucius will then make a great show of demanding that the position of Potions instructor be finally filled, Dumbledore will ‘yield to the pressure’, and so Severus will be in a perfect position to spy.

In the meantime, Severus and Lucius find out that, once the potion (aptly baptized Liberatio Potion by Voldemort, because it liberates the ‘donor’ of his magical powers, not to mention his life) is ready for use, Voldemort won't use just any donor. What he needs is a child born under the influence of a magical conjunction between Mars and Jupiter. The next conjunction will occur on 31 July 1980. Which at least gives them some precious time. Plus, they find out (some time later) that it would be even better if said child, or children, were exposed to this conjunction twice. The second one will take place on 31 October 1981. More time for them.

Severus starts teaching in May 1979, so as to give the seventh-years the possibility of taking their Potions N.E.W.T.

At Christmas 1979, he visits Lucius and Narcissa, who tell him that Narcissa is pregnant again. Birth scheduled for the end of July 1980. Severus is, of course, furious, but as Narcissa refuses to undergo an abortion, they have to devise a plan. The child must be born earlier, but without rousing any suspicions. They succeed, and Draco is born on 8 July.

But the Malfoys aren’t the only ones looking forward to parenthood: James and Lily Potter are expecting a child as well, birth scheduled for the end of July. Every attempt to persuade them to go into hiding etc. fails because of James’s stubbornness, and thus Dumbledore has no other choice than to ask Severus to try and come up with a protective potion, which will hopefully deflect a Killing Curse (the ‘donor’ for the Liberatio Potion doesn't have to be dead, but Severus is going to attempt to convince Voldemort that it’s better if he is) And then, there's of course our lovely Lestrange couple: St. John has been trying to outmanoeuvre the other three for quite some time, and not without success, and now Tabitha is pregnant. No trouble ahead there, for the child is due in mid-September.

Severus succeeds in finding a formula—it works in a way similar to the Imperius Potion (for the I.P., Voldemort has to extract his will like one would extract memories to put them into a pensieve, and for the P.P., Lily has to do the same with the love for her child). That’s not the only thing he develops, though: due to a sudden inspiration (a Muggle-born student mentions vaccination) he manages to alter the Veritaserum antidote, so that its effect is now permanent. He, Owen, Lucius and Narcissa take it, just to be on the safe side. But Dumbledore never learns of his existence.

In the meantime, Voldemort continues ingesting an enormous variety of strengthening potions, mostly prepared by Lestrange and based on snake venom. It does nothing to improve the Dark Lord’s mental health. On the contrary. He becomes more and more unpredictable, one day going on about how lots of small attacks would be the best strategy, and the next claiming that few, massive attacks are the solutions to all problems. (In order to have even more powerful venom at his disposal, he orders—and gets—a crossbreed between a Peruvian Vipertooth and Giant Anaconda, which is a descendant of the highly poisonous Amazonian Waterdragon. He calls it Nagini)

As already mentioned, Draco is born on 8 July—big event, big namesgiving ceremony etc. On 19 September, Tabitha gives birth to a daughter, Nimue Hermione (yes, Hermione). One week later, her namesgiving ceremony takes place, Severus is among the guests. He sets eyes on the baby and almost faints with shock, because, as predicted by Sybil, he immediately recognizes his soul mate. Torn between joy and desperation, he returns to Hogwarts, where a fight has erupted in the Slytherin common room. He gets hit by a stray Expelliarimus, falls, hits his head, and loses his memory of the evening. All he remembers is that he arrived at the Lestranges’, from there on—complete blackout. But, true to Sybil’s prediction, he somehow knows that he has met his mate. Only who is she? There were 500+ guests at the namesgiving, so it’s impossible to find out who she was.

When, on 24 December 1980, the DEs carry out a major attack in Diagon Alley, in which he has to participate, he suddenly realizes that She might very well be among the victims. So, after a long internal struggle, he decides to write to Sybil (who is in her fourth year at Baton Rouge/US, where seers are trained) He’s aware that this might be the most foolish thing he has ever done, for she would merely have to forward the letter to the MoM. However, she doesn’t, and reassures him that She is still alive.

On 1 September 1981, there’s another DE attack, this time on the Hogwarts Express, and this time there's quite a lot of dead DEs, too.

Sybil, who has finished her training at Baton Rouge in summer, replaces the previous Divination teacher, Prof. Coleridge.

James Potter finally agrees to go into hiding but refuses to use the protective potion. Lily, however, pays a secret visit to Hogwarts and asks Severus for the potion—she wants to protect the child in spite of her husband’s reluctance.

The three Phoenixes have been suspecting for some time that there must be a spy among Dumbledore's resistance group, because Voldemort keeps receiving intelligence nobody else could have provided. When the Dark Lord is pretty nonchalant about finding the Potters in spite of the Fidelius Charm, this suspicion becomes a certainty, and Severus finally tells Dumbledore. The latter is shocked and half suspects Black, who has been acting peculiarly for some time. But it’s too late to change their plan now. The plan being that, if everything fails and Voldemort succeeds in finding and killing Harry Potter, his next step will probably be to get hold of the Philosopher’s Stone. It has been brought to Hogwarts, where, on 31 October, the whole resistance group plus some loyal Aurors and Law Enforcers will expect the Death Eaters for the final battle.

31 October comes, and one by one, the Aurors arrive. Pettigrew, who joined the Law Enforcement (not good enough for Auror training) doesn’t come, though, and Black volunteers to go get him.

Lestrange, Severus, Lucius and Owen meet Voldemort in Albania. And there’s a sixth person, hooded and masked—the traitor. They proceed to the Potters’ house, Lestrange kills James, while Lily flees upstairs to get the child. Severus follows her and asks her who the Secret Keeper was, but too late. She is killed by Lestrange. Then, Voldemort pronounces the Killing Curse against Harry, but the protective potion works. The curse ricochets and nothing is left of Voldemort except for his clothes and wand. Everybody is in shock (if for different reasons). The traitor, though, is the first to recover, snatches Voldemort's wand and Disapparates. The three Phoenixes regain their composure and stun Lestrange.

They decide to leave everything as it is, and to ‘visit’ their fellow Death Eaters and simply obliviate them, so as to avoid accusations that would be difficult to disprove. When they are done, they meet again at Godric’s Hollow. Lucius and Owen take Lestrange and transport him back home, whereas Severus returns to Hogwarts, where Dumbledore is anxiously waiting for news. Harry is left behind, under a sleeping and warming spell.

Apart from being relieved, Dumbledore also emphasizes the need to use this situation to their favour: it is rather obvious that Voldemort is merely gone, not dead, so there is no dead body to prove anything. However, after ten years of increasing terror, people need something to cling to, and thus Dumbledore chooses to create the myth of The Boy Who Lived. Although this means that Severus, Lucius and Owen’s merits won’t be acknowledged, it seems the best strategy. So they make the following plan: Dumbledore will go to Crouch Sr. and tell him peremptorily that he has to send out the Aurors to get the usual suspects, though without telling him why. Then he’ll go to the Dursleys’ house to put up wards etc., in order to protect the child (after all, some DEs might not be apprehended). He also needs to procure a Muggle birth certificate for Harry. Severus is to stay at Hogwarts during the day. At 10 a.m., he’ll return to Godric’s Hollow, blast the house into pieces and wait—covered by James’s Invisibility cloak—until Hagrid arrives, to whom Dumbledore will write a short notice, to be opened at 10 p.m., which orders him to go and retrieve Harry. Hagrid can’t Apparate, so he’ll have to travel by broomstick, which leaves enough time for Severus to do his work. Dumbledore chooses Hagrid because 1) he's trustworthy and 2) he’s such a gossip that he won't resist temptation and tell the story of the wondrous rescue to whomever wants to hear it.

Things go more or less according to plan. The DEs are caught, but the Aurors who questioned them can’t keep their mouths shut. So the story about Voldemort's disappearance leaks out in the early morning. Hagrid is too curious—he opens Dumbledore's letter already in the morning and tells McGonagall. She gives him a severe dressing-down, and threatens him with the worst hexes she knows in case he tells anyone else. But she's worried, and so she goes to Privet Drive No. 4 to wait and watch.

Sirius returns to Hogwarts in the late morning, nervous and worried, because he couldn't find Pettigrew. In the evening, he runs into Hagrid, who’s about to leave for Godric’s Hollow and coaxes the destination out of him.

Severus, who has completed his mission, prefers to stay near the Potters’ house, just so he can watch Hagrid and see whether he does his job properly. Hagrid arrives, finds the child amidst the smouldering ruins and is about to leave, when Sirius arrives on his motorbike. When he sees the ruined house, he's completely destroyed and claims that it’s all his fault. This confirms Severus's conviction that he's the traitor. He briefly ponders whether he shouldn't kill him, but then decides to leave that to the Aurors.

The only problem left for our three Phoenixes are now the Lestranges, and so they decide to set them a trap: one of them will casually mention that Frank and Eleanor Longbottom have caught the traitor (without giving his name, just to be on the safe side) who has revealed, during the questioning, that he knows Voldemort's present whereabouts. Lucius suggests that, while they're at it, they could also include young Barty, as it would be better to get rid of him too. With the use of a time turner and Invisibility Cloaks, they manage to let the Lestranges plus Barty do the dirty work, then go back five minutes, obliviate them and Disapparate. The Aurors find three Death Eaters in full regalia, muttering complete nonsense, two Aurors with fried brains and their little son Neville.

As for little Nimue Lestrange, the Phoenixes decide to imitate what Dumbledore did with Harry (in spite of Narcissa's pleas, Lucius refuses to raise Lestrange's spawn in his house): they leave her on the steps of a Muggle orphanage, with nothing but a piece of parchment, on which her middle name Hermione and her date of birth are written. This is where Book 2 ends.

The Interlude, consisting of letters, diary entries and newspaper clippings, illustrates the years from 1981-1993. We see that Hermione is adopted by the Granger couple, that the Lestrange family gives up the search fro Nimue who has vanished without a trace; Severus finds Clarissa Rosier in the US, but only to see her die; Severus's mother dies; Sirius Black’s parents leave the country; Remus Lupin, too, leaves, trying to forget (he's the one who first alerts Dumbledore when, by pure chance, he comes across Voldemort's house in Albania in 1990 and finds the atmosphere somewhat strange); Owen starts working for the Ministry (which his companions find very funny) etc.etc.—bits and pieces from the main characters’ lives, but there's also the odd information about secondary characters. We learn, e.g. that Owen McNair was the one who provided the three-headed dog, which would otherwise have been slaughtered. We also learn where Quirrell got Norbert’s egg from. Last but not least, it becomes clear that Draco might be a spoiled brat, but that most of his hateful behaviour is just an act: for his own (and for the family’s) safety, he has to play the arrogant bastard, enough to be convincing but without overdoing it (when he calls Hermione a Mudblood, he gets a lecture from Severus, and Lucius makes him stay at Hogwarts over the Christmas break as a punishment)

Maybe the most important information concerns CoS: much to our surprise, it turns out that it was by no means Lucius who put the diary into Ginny’s cauldron. During the summer holidays (1992), and due to Arthur Weasley’s increased raid activities, Lucius thinks it better to sort through all the Dark stuff accumulated at Malfoy Manor. Together with Severus, they work for weeks, most of the time irritated by curious Draco, who keeps snooping and looking over their shoulders. More than once, Lucius catches him red-handed, while he tries to filch some particularly attractive object. Then, Severus and Lucius come across some well-hidden but quite innocuous-looking objects, among them the diary. Which Draco manages to ‘borrow’, this time successfully. And although Lucius is by no means an abusive father, Draco is sufficiently afraid of the punishment for this theft that he constantly carries the book with him. When they meet the Weasleys at Flourish & Blott’s, he decides that it is better to get rid of the thing and slips it into Ginny’s cauldron while Arthur and Lucius are fighting. So, what about Dobby? Well, Dobby bears Lucius a grudge (in order to stage Draco’s premature birth in 1980, a House Elf called Skimpy had to be killed). Plus, he might be less subdued than your average House Elf, but he isn't very bright. During the summer holidays, he overhears a few conversations between Lucius and others, who are discussing the events of the past school year. Only the elf thinks they are discussing the future and plotting against Harry Potter.

When, by mere chance, Lucius finds an inventory of a few possessions Voldemort left at Malfoy Manor, he realizes that the diary is missing and writes to Severus. But the book can’t be found anymore. And although both have a suspicion that there might be a connection between the missing diary and the opening of the Chamber, there's nothing they can do without risking a scandal.

The Interlude ends in July 1993, with a page from Narcissa's diary. She’s very happy, because pregnant with a daughter.

Now, this is merely the skeleton of the plot, without any subplots etc. Besides, it doesn't allow any insight into the characters. I was a little unsure whether I should or shouldn't include a brief character description, but finally decided that I won’t. It doesn't seem to make much sense, mainly because all those characters have been built up slowly and carefully, so that a brief description wouldn’t do them justice. From the re-told story, it should be sufficiently evident that Lucius isn't a perverse monster, Severus isn't an eternally suffering penitent, Dumbledore isn’t all good, wise, and god-like, and Voldemort hasn’t always been a disgusting snake-man.

However, it might be a good idea to give you the links to a few chapters, which somehow cast a very significant light on our protagonists’ characters. If you have read the plot, you shouldn't have any difficulties understanding what's going on. So here they are, hopefully you enjoy:

(Book 1, some Slytherin interaction, and lots of Severus characterization)

(more Slytherin interaction, Lestrange and Clarissa/Severus)

(The Prank on Sirius Black)

(The first meeting with Voldemort in Albania)

(Severus loses his virginity to Nathalie Pierson)

(Lucius’s wedding, and the Virgin Prank)

(The first doubts—Severus kills McLachlan, Severus's initiation)

(The Order of the Phoenix is born)

(Severus starts teaching)

(some insights into the relationship between Severus and Dumbledore, strategic planning)

(Severus meets baby Hermione)

(The attack on the Potters)

(The aftermath)