A Dangerous Game
Challenge Nineteen: Bring Out Your Dead!
Title: A Dangerous Game
Author: ladywhitehart
Wizard/Witch: Severus Snape/Callista Hawkins OWC
Rating/Warnings: G/PG
Genre: Romance/Drama
Word count: Exactly 750
Prompt: #60 a dangerous game
Summary: Dumbledore has been murdered, and McGonagall has called upon Callista and Severus to assist Hogwarts and the Order.
"I don't like this, Severus!" Callista snapped at him, her blue eyes narrowing angrily as she stormed about the main room of the gate house cottage. "How can you possibly pull it off?"
"Don't you see, Callista?" he said, his voice was the firm, commanding one he had used in the classroom. "Now more than ever the Order and the Ministry need someone to inform them of the Dark Lord's plans, and I'm the only one who can."
Severus stood with his arms crossed resolutely over his chest. The heated exchange had been going on for too long. Besides, he hated arguing with her, especially when her argument made more sense than his. Returning to Hogwarts hadn't been an easy decision, but with the news they had recently received from McGonagall, there was no question in his mind it had ultimately been the right one. Callista, on the other hand, didn't agree, and was trying to talk him out of undertaking this latest mission.
"There are several Death Eaters in Azkaban the Ministry could use; why can't they just make a deal with one of them?" asked Callista. "I'm sure Lucius Malfoy would be--"
"There are too many information leaks at the Ministry," he said, cutting her off harshly. "It would look suspicious if all of a sudden the Ministry began releasing former Death Eaters, who returned to the Dark Lord's service."
"And you all of a sudden returning from the dead doesn't?" Callista's hands were on her hips, and it was clear she had no intention of backing down.
And my staying 'dead' was partly your idea! Severus bit back the retort, realizing it would only add fuel to the argument. Instead, he dropped wearily onto the sofa and said with forced patience, "It was Dumbledore's intent that I would return to the Dark Lord after my injuries were healed, so he left me a way to work around that."
"How?"
"He left me this." Severus pulled a small wooden box from the pocket of his robe. Callista, her curiosity overtaking her anger, sat beside him as he opened the box to reveal an intricately patterned silver flask. "It's a Memory Manipulator. When I return to the Dark Lord, my thoughts and memories of the time I was away will undergo intense scrutiny, and he will look for any inconsistency, any hint that I'm lying. Because of the potions I needed to take while I was incapacitated, I no longer have the impenetrable Occlumency skills that I had relied on in the past. It could take me months or possibly years to regain my proficiency. This device will help me compensate for that... lacking."
While she had been listening, Callista had lifted the flask from the box and was now inspecting it with interest. "How does it work?"
"According to the note Dumbledore left me," he began, "I need to use it in conjunction with the Pensieve. As I watch the relevant memories, I need to think of how I want them to be perceived by the Dark Lord. Once I'm finished, I will duplicate the old memories and combine them with the changes in the Memory Manipulator. They will bond into one, making the new memories indistinguishable from the truth."
Callista sat silently, holding the Memory Manipulator. "You really believe it will work?"
"Yes, I do." His long fingers lifted her chin, coaxing her eyes to meet his. They were filled with uncertainty and worry. He hated the thought of putting her through any kind of pain or making her give up their new-found peace and security.
Glancing away, she returned the device to its box and took his hands in hers. Her voice was thick with emotion. "What if something happens to you? Trying to fool the Dark Lord is a terribly dangerous game. We have our freedom; why would you want to risk your life like that again?"
"I want this finished, Callista," Severus said, squeezing her hands. "I don't want us to spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders, constantly fearing for our safety or that of our children. I'm doing this for you... for us... for our future."
He leaned forward to kiss her, and she didn't resist. When they parted, her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "Why is it I can never quite see it that way?"
"Because you're the most stubborn woman on earth," he answered, stroking the side of her face. "And for that, I am eternally grateful."
Author's Notes: Callista is the OFC in my novel-length fic. The story can be found at shadowonmyheart.
Proof-reader: missblane