“beyond wandpoint” 012 by gingerbred

[beyondwandpoint]

“11 07-08e Fri - Sat - Albus' Answer”

Friday - Saturday, 07-08 November

Albus

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Originally Published: 2017-11-15 on AO3
Chapter: 012

Pairing: Hermione Granger / Severus Snape
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con

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Where does that leave him? There are a number of considerations...

All his research seems to have paid dividends. He has several tasks to accomplish, or which he needs to ensure will be accomplished, whichever. It matters not which.

Not much, anyway.

Identify, locate, acquire and destroy the Horcruxes, presumably two, Tom banking undoubtedly on the Arithmantic stability of three pieces of soul, his and two more. If one doesn't count Harry that is. But then Tom won't have suspected about Harry, or he wouldn't have created a Horcrux out of the snake, the Headmaster feels sure. The familiar, clearly, has replaced the Diary, which had fortunately provided Albus with the clue that Horcruxes were the solution, or at least part of it. But the second... Yes, the identity of the second Horcrux remains elusive.

Identify, find and retrieve the artefacts used to brew the potions, presumably three articles of Salazar Slytherin's and one of Merlin's. Three of the four have been identified. One has been found, he thinks ruefully, looking once more towards his hand. Two more are being sought, the locket and stirring rod, and the fourth has somehow escaped their attention.

Harry, most assuredly with the aid of Miss Granger and young Mr. Weasley, has joined in both of those searches.

Decipher the potions brewing process for the antidote to Merlin's Invincibility Potion. Then gather the ingredients and brew it. Severus is hard at work on that. Albus could wish for no one better. If the Potions Master lives long enough, he will certainly solve this problem. It had apparently taken Tom decades to unravel how to brew the original potion. It will undoubtedly take time to figure out how to brew the antidote. While the Invincibility Potion had required years to take effect, the simple fact of which thankfully had enabled Riddle's defeat in the first war, unfortunately it had been a good deal simpler to brew. But here again, Albus fervently hopes having a true master of the subject at his disposal will make all the difference.

Determine a method for administering the potion once brewed. He and Severus are both working on that. No closer to a solution, of course... He wonders not for the first time if there is anyone in the Order who could help with that, and then discards the notion, as always, due to the risk of discovery. The help is desperately needed, but the added exposure isn't worth the benefits that help could be anticipated to bring.

Beyond all that, Harry obviously needs to be alive to kill Voldemort when the time comes. And he probably needs to be willing to sacrifice himself to do so, which is far trickier to manage. The young wizard at least needs to be willing to put himself in harm's way, where he will almost certainly have to die for this to work. But the willingness to do so will undoubtably make a difference, just as his mother's sacrifice had back in her day.

By and large, manoeuvring Harry isn't too unlike the handling Severus requires. It is of paramount importance to ensure their mindsets will permit them to complete the tasks necessary at the appropriate times. It has always been a delicate balance. And maintaining that balance will become a good deal more difficult in Albus' absence. For Severus, burnt bridges and salted earth will augment a Vow. He won't be able to turn back, that will help him stay the path. Harry, however, is a good deal harder to manage.

In summation, he needs Harry until the final confrontation with Tom, and he needs Severus until he completes his mission to enable that confrontation, most likely very shortly before that encounter to reduce the risk of discovery. All others are expendable as and when... It's a harsh statement, unquestionably, but this is war. He'll make no apologies for realism. No one's survival is given.

Apologising! How absurd!

Balderdash.

Focusing again, with some difficulty, Albus decides Miss Granger might be his best bet to have Harry live long enough to reach that battle.

Mr. Weasley, despite the advantages of his background as a pure-blood, built-in support network and some innate tactical skills, seems to lack both the requisite loyalty and knowledge for the job. He decidedly lacks the drive to learn what is needed, as well as the determination to sacrifice as required. Albus is frankly disappointed in the boy. He had hoped gifting him the Prefect's position would encourage him to realise his potential... If anything, it's made him more complacent. He bears more than a passing resemblance to Remus, really. Sadly not in terms of Lupin's strengths.

Increasingly it seems an either / or proposition between the two Gryffindors, Granger and Weasley. It would probably be... beneficial to see to it Miss Granger is... around, at least until Harry no longer needs her. Unfortunately for that plan, she's quite evidently currently already under threat, and not of sufficiently proven value to risk much...

But he has an idea. There's a solution to much of this slowly taking shape in his mind. It has been since he was called to the Infirmary. Coalescing, taking form.

Further considerations...

Minerva can never learn the identity of the boys involved in tonight's assault. That is more than clear. She's far too volatile. He'll have to have Miss Granger take an Oath to facilitate that. Severus won't approve. That might prove advantageous, for a few different reasons, moving forward.

Albus frequently finds himself unable to imagine how Minerva managed to survive as a spy for the Ministry in the last war. He wonders fleetingly if he's doing the witch an injustice, or if Severus has so come to define how he sees a spy that he is no longer capable of recognising any other approach. Nevertheless, Albus is positive, Severus' technique is beyond parallel. And unfortunately currently at risk.

That is the problem that requires his immediate attention. It demands a solution and one that will stick, whether he himself is here to monitor the situation or not. With a glance at his arm he ruefully adds: as is increasingly likely.

Albus is certain that the best possible resolution for his own current... situation is to have his spy appear to 'murder' him, thereby cementing Severus' position within Voldemort's ranks. Wasting away, as he is, is unappealing, and his inevitable death in that fashion would serve no purpose. A foolish end due to a foolish action. That damned ring. It was all so unnecessary... And there's a very real danger, the longer this progresses, the less sound his decisions will become.

But to make that 'murder' believable... Albus can see it in his mind's eye. Somewhat perversely, perhaps, he has it practically scripted. A series of storyboards, perfectly mapped out. It must be just... so.

It needs to be the Avada Kedavra. It can't be anything else but. The Killing Curse, an Unforgivable, is what will sell it. No one will question that. For that to work, he needs Severus to hate him, at least in part. While still wishing to remain loyal, naturally. That loyalty can't just come from force or subjugation by a Vow. If that is the only thing keeping his spy going, the man will cave sooner rather than later. Severus needs to want to continue at any price. And it really is at any price, for the cost is... unbelievable.

Albus would almost feel sorry about that were it all less fundamentally necessary. But it really is. And it's unclear if he could even spare Severus from much of that if he wanted to, given the Dark Mark the Slytherin had taken as a foolish boy.

It was a magnificent stroke of... luck that Albus had a man at his service willing to go to these lengths. Now he needs to figure out how to extend Severus' capacity for doing so. Albus thinks this idea of his could do the trick. If he can get the man to agree to it, and then further somehow... bring him to accept the less obvious benefits of it. That's not to say 'coerce'. That latter is more likely to prove the sticky wicket, which borders on amusing given the improbability he'd ever agree to it.

Poppy's correct; this current crisis is entirely because of Severus' mother. It's more than a little absurd that the man is willing to take lives when called for, but has drawn this tenuous line in the sand. That line is threatening Albus' plans.

It's been useful, no argument there, and there's never been much point in questioning the sense of the man's moral constructs. Particularly not when they have proven advantageous, Albus can freely admit, at least to himself. He isn't some Muggle mind healer. This isn't about healing Severus. There probably can't be any healing the man anyway, and were he somehow miraculously healed, he'd undoubtedly stop being anywhere near as useful. Clearly an undesirable result.

But Albus can't afford to simply take away memories of Eileen Snape. It's far too risky. Doing so might jeopardise the man's motivations, and as inopportune as this crisis of conscience is proving, those motivations, primarily the results of a complex mosaic of experiences with his mother and Lily Potter, are what keep him returning time and again to unimaginable horrors at the wands of Tom and his lackeys.

No, what is required is a way to ensure the status quo. A way to guarantee that Severus can't be forced to cross those arbitrary lines of his. And perhaps, with luck, gain some reliable support for the man.

To that end, Albus is coming to believe, the best solution is bonding him to Miss Granger, thereby hitting two bludgers with one bat.

He expects the idea will go over well. Smashingly...