Severus turned toward the taller blond, and cursed his shorter ten year old body. He had grown a good five inches during those all important two years, and he noticed it most when talking with Malfoy. Draco was a year younger than Lucious had been, and yet their difference in height was greater than it had been with the original Malfoy. Draco, of course, didn't notice. Compared to the Professor he was familiar with, Severus could have been sixteen and still been shorter and noticibly younger than he should be. Fortunately, Draco held the Potions Master in high enough regard to disregard their severe gap in age and height.

"Malfoy?" Severus returned, feigning the adult-like aloofness his father often demonstrated. Best not to think about Atticus Snape at the moment, though.

"Father sent this for you." Severus accepted the folded parchment with all the mature reserve he could muster.

"Thank you." He risked only a glance at it. Opened, but an attempt had been made to reseal it. He would have expected better of Lucious Malfoy's son. The wax didn't even match colors perfectly. He frowned. Wondering how far he could take this Professor-worship thing, he turned a hard look on the older boy.

Draco blushed, very faintly. Oh, this was sweet. "I would appreciate it if my letters were given me undisturbed next time," he said in his coldest Atticus-voice.

The blush faded instantaneously into a blanched look of dismay. Severus internally exaulted. What a splendid power he had over the older boy. He wondered if it would work on anybody else, briefly, before deciding no one else had proven they deserved it yet. Draco was Lucious's son, and Lucious was definitely in Voldemort's ranks. Thus making them both the enemy. Thus making power plays expected, if not encouraged. Severus made a small gesture of dismissal he had seen his mother use on a House Elf once, and to his utter astonishment Draco scurried away. That kid was Lucious's? Must've inherited his mother's backbone.

Not having class for another hour, Severus went down to the second year dormitories to read his letter is relative privacy. Sprawling out on his bed, he slid a small finger under the wax seal and began to read.

Severus,
          Your predicament is known to me. Go to the Forbidden Forest when your arm burns tonight. Arrangements will be made to accomodate you.

Lucious Malfoy

Severus read it twice more. So. He was going to be summoned again. And Draco knew it. Perhaps that, rather than the Professor thing, was the cause of his fear and respect. As only a fifth year, Draco probably wasn't initiated yet. If he had, the older boy would likely have been more conspiratorial and less submissive.

Severus looked down at the neat script that, to him, was barely recognizable as the handwriting of Lucious. His heart began to race wildly. Tonight begins his career as a spy. Tonight he proves that his self is his own.

Severus never felt more terrified in his life. Gotta tell Dumbledore. He was halfway to the door when he stopped. Why did he need to tell the Headmaster? His life wasn't the old man's any more than it was Voldemorts. With his parents dea- unavailable for comment, there wasn't any adult he trusted enough for guidance for something of such magnitude. The Headmaster was all fine and good, but he wasn't, he wasn't mum. He wasn't just looking out for Severus. He was looking out for all of Hogwarts and all of the Wizarding World. He might try to protect the school and insist Severus not go. Or he might try to protect the world and insist that he should go. His opinion couldn't be trusted to reflect Severus's best interest alone. Besides, he didn't really understand Slytherins.

Harry.

But he was a bloody Gryffindor, too. Surely Potter's son wasn't any better than Dumbledore.

And yet.

Harry wasn't James. That much was obvious by the simple fact that no jokes had been pulled on him since he woke up in the hospital wing. And the talk last night was definitely something he could never imagine sharing with James. Not to mention, Harry already knew his plans and didn't condemn them out of hand. Most Gryffindors would. James or Sirius wouldn't have understood, he was sure. Remus, maybe. The quiet, sickly boy wasn't so fast to pass judgement.

Professor Lupin? Could Severus trust him? Better than Dumbledore, surely. But he was grown up now. How much had he changed? Severus tried to remember that first night at the staff table. Lupin had been one of the ones being nice, right? Well, sort of. He'd been the first to really believe he was twelve, Severus thought, and he wasn't openly laughing at him. He had DADA next, perhaps he could try to obliquely request advice from his former year-mate. And if that didn't work, there was still Harry.

DADA went reasonably well, but it did offer him an excuse for meeting with the professor. After Lupin dismissed them, Severus turned to Graham and Malcolm to secure his alibi. "McGongall's following the same curriculum she did before, but Lupin's a new teacher. Need to talk to him about what I missed." They nodded, and filed out of the room with the rest of the class. Severus approached the front with mild trepidation. "Remus?" he asked cautiously, not really sure how to address the professor who should have been twelve.

Remus Lupin looked surprised but did not correct the name. "What can I do for you, Severus?"

First names. First names were good. Implied friendship. "Um." How to start. He should have planned this better. "Can we talk in private, please?" Good first step. Wouldn't want anyone barging in on this conversation. And it gave him stalling time.

Remus led him into an office filled with books, most of which he had never seen before. Titles like "Vampirism: Truth and Myths" and "Counter Curses". Definitely a library for a DADA teacher. Well, if there was anything he needed a defence against, it was the Dark Arts. They each took chairs, Remus behind the desk, Severus in the guest's chair. Remus cast privacy charms on the door, and tilted his head encouragingly.

Words refused to come, so he just slid back his left sleeve, then peeled off the bandage. "It's going to hurt tonight. I'm supposed to go out to the Forbidden Forest when it does." He looked at his former classmate to gauge his reaction. Horror, disgust, and revulsion were most prominant on his face, with some pity thrown in for good measure. This was a mistake. He refastened the bandage quickly, and reset his sleeve. But it was too late to pull out now. "I don't know if I should."

"Don't." Well, Severus was left with little doubt as to Lupin's opinion on the matter. The fierceness of the word rather startled him though.

"Why?" he asked, fighting back his nerves, and seeking reasons. This had to be a seriously considered decision.

"Why?" repeated Professor Lupin incredulously. "Because Voldemort is not the way to go! Surely, you couldn't have expected any other response from me!"

Severus frowned in confusion, before clarity came. "Not to follow him! To spy on him! Like I used to. The Headmaster told me about it. I told him I'd do it again. I made arrangements with Lucious so I could get to the meetings. But." But I'm scared, he silently finished the thought he would never admit aloud.

"But what?" Remus asked quietly, his face almost entirely devoid of expression. At least he didn't look ready to throw him in Azkaban anymore.

"But what if I'm wrong? What if I can't do it? He already found me out once, and I was grown up then. What if that monster kills me? I don't want to die, Remus."

Remus somehow got from sitting in his chair to kneeling at Severus's side in the blink of an eye. Severus let himself be pulled into a comforting hug. After a moment, his shaking and mind-numbing fears subsided enough for him to see the absurdity of the scene. He started to laugh, slowly at first then hard enough to bring tears. Eventually, that subsided, and leaving him with wet cheeks, red eyes, and unsteady breathing, periodically interrupted by a hiccup. He brushed a sleeve against his face, hoping to remedy at least one of these symptoms.

Remus loosened the hug, and sat back far enough to get a good look at the second year. "Are you all right now?"

Severus nodded, forcing his breathing back to normal. "It was just funny, you know. Little Remus Lupin, letting Slimy Slytherin Snape know everything was going to be all right. Sirius would've hexed us both into next week if he saw us like that."

Remus chuckled, but it sounded forced to Severus. "Is everything going to be all right?" he asked carefully.

Severus shrugged. "We'll know tomorrow morning, I guess."

"You're going then?"

Severus took another deep breath, and thought about it hard. Finally, he nodded. His determined black eyes met concerned blue-grey. "It's my life. But as long as Voldemort's alive, and that tattoo is on my arm, people won't believe that. Voldemort tried to make my decision for me, and he'll pay for that. I was just having pre-mission nerves, that's all. I have to do this. Thank you for being there."

Adult hands squeezed his upper arms assuringly. Strange, to know they belonged to little Remus. "I always will be, Severus."

Suddenly uncomfortable, he shrugged free. Remus let his hands fall to his sides. "Severus, I want you to remember one thing, if nothing else."

"What?" Was this a pep talk, or did he know something about his faulty memory that Severus didn't?

"You're not at all slimy." Having been expecting something of much heavier conesquence, Severus stood very still, trying to process the incongruious statement.

Eventually, he floundered for a rejoinder, though he knew Remus had already won that encounter. "You're not all that little, either."

Remus released the locking and silencing spells on the door, and gave Severus a final appraising look. "Good luck tonight, Severus,"

Severus nodded, "Thank you, sir." Well, that could have gone worse. He was halfway back to the Slytherin Common Room when he realized he hadn't asked about the DADA curriculum at all.

Severus was barely out of the dungeons when Harry called out his name that night. Turning toward the voice, he saw the air shimmer before the cloak fell away, revealing the older boy. "The Headmaster said you were going to answer the summoning tonight," Harry began without preamble. So much for polite conversation tonight.

"How'd he know?" Severus asked before the answer abruptly occured to him. "Remus told him, didn't he?"

Harry's brows rose in surprise. "How'd Remus know?"

Severus shrugged. "I told him."

"But not the headmaster." Harry's voice held a hint of censure.

Severus shrugged. "He found out anyway. I'd've gone to him afterwards at any rate." Pointless to spy if you didn't report what you found to anybody.

They walked the halls in silence for a short time, each lost in their own thoughts. Harry broke the companionable silence first. "You should trust him more."

"Dumbledore?"

Harry nodded.

"I do trust him. I just, he's not, I can't go to him for advice, you know. He's Dumbledore. Remus was just easier to talk to. He's more . . . I don't know. Less perfect or something. You gotta be strong for Dumbledore. You can just be yourself for little Remus Lupin."

Harry looked at him oddly. "Little Remus Lupin?"

Severus shrugged, not wanting to go into it. "Yeah."

Silence stretched between them again. "Scared?" Harry asked suddenly.

Severus laughed shortly. "Petrified." Now why could he admit that to Harry but not Remus? He dismissed the question as pointless.

"When you're facing him, you just need to remeber one thing."

"I'm not slimy."

Harry gave him a searching look, as though trying to decided if a visit to St. Mungos was in order. "Ok, that, too," Harry agreed, dimissively, and obviously humouring him. "But also keep in mind why you're doing this. It'll help keep your focus."

For a straight out confrontation, that was a reasonable suggestion. For a spy dangerous. "Can't let him see me angry though. Gotta seem to agree with him."

Harry looked at him for a long moment. "Then just remember you're not slimy."

Severus smirked. Granted, it was nice to hear Gryffindors say that, but surely there was something else more important to remember during all this. "When the call comes you'll tell Dumbledore, right?" Severus wasn't sure it that was a request or accusation.

By the look on Harry's face, he wasn't sure either, but he nodded. "I will."

Severus nodded, inexplicably glad. "Thank you."

"For what?"

Severus shrugged. "Talking to me, I guess. I'd be a basketcase, if I was waiting alone now. Tell me something I don't know."

Sending him a sidelong glance at the abrupt demand, Harry considered his options, and eventually decided on, "Sirius Black is my godfather."

"I don't think I wanted to know that."

Harry grinned at him. "Tell me something I don't know, fair's fair after all."

"Um. Graham Prichard has a crush on Madam Hooch."

Harry groaned, "I did not need to know that."

"Fair's fair. Something I don't know that I care about."

"In my first year, Voldemort possessed one of the Hogwarts faculty and tried to curse me off my broom. You saved my life, though I thought you were the one trying to kill me at the time."

Severus stared at him for a moment. Well, he was right on all counts about that one. He hadn't known, and it was certainly interesting. "Why?"

Harry shrugged in embarrassment. "Seemed a reasonable conclusion at the time. You hated me, and Quirrel was just," he shrugged, "s-stut-tering old Quirrel. You can do a very good impression of a bad guy when you set your mind to it, Sev."

"Good to know," he smirked.

"Now. Tit for tat. Something I don't know that I care about."

Something about Lily or James, then. Preferably something good. "I was planning to give your mother a set of wizard illustrated Lord of the Rings books for Christmas this, um, that year. Anonymously, of course."

"Why anonymously?"

"Deniability. I'm Slytherin. She's Gryffindor. She'd know it was me, anyway. Maybe."

Harry grinned at him with a decidedly malicious light in his eye. It reminded Severus uncomfortably of James. "You weren't being shy, were you, Sev?"

"No!" Surely the insufferable brat wasn't suggesting that he liked Lily, was he? His own mum!

"I think -"

But whatever nonsense it was that Potter thought, Severus didn't hear it. With a pain-filled groan he clutched at his arm and hunched over it. It was all he could do to keep from falling over. Harry was at his side instantly, offering support. "Gotta go to the Forest," he remembered through the fog of pain.

"I'll help."

Severus shook his head. "No. By myself."

"You can barely stand, Sev."

Severus forced his pain closed eyes open, and met Harry's worried green gaze. "By myself," he grated. "Don't know who might be watching."

Harry hesistanted, then reluctantly agreed. "I'll go tell Dumbledore."

Severus nodded, and made his way to the castle exit and then across the grounds to the forest. The pain lessened considerably the moment he passed through the invisible barrier that must have been the Apperation boundry. Then, without warning, the world jolted under him, and he was suddenly in the center of a circle of Death Eaters. Movement caught his eye, and he watched two Death Eaters step aside to allow the white skinned monstrosity to enter.

Severus knew then that he had made a terrible mistake.