Four

Snape's lips pulled back in something resembling a smile as his wife brought him breakfast. Despite the almost friendly evening they'd passed the night before, he'd half-expected her to send in the elf this morning. He looked at the tray in her hands. Pumpernickel with marmite – his usual fare. After a few moments of silence punctuated by chewing and swallowing, he asked "What are your plans for the day?" He didn't want to be too caustic. Not yet. But he would twist the knife just a little bit. Just enough to make her feel a twinge of guilt that she was running around while he was confined to his bed.

"I'm, uh, going out for a while. I've got a lot of, uh, errands to run. And Ginny's invited me to dinner tonight." She paused a moment, offering him the last bite of his breakfast. "I'll try to make an early night of it."

"I'm sure Delky will be able to manage. He's been taking care of things for the last several years after all." Does she take me for a fool? he wondered. She doesn't stammer unless she's trying to hide something. That business about having errands to do is so obvious a lie that a first-year Hufflepuff could see through it.

She kissed the top of his head. "You're being very understanding." Then she swept out of the room, her robes billowing around her. He was so used to hearing the door slam when she left, that he almost missed the soft sound of it closing.

Once he was sure she'd gone, he called, "Delky!"

The elf appeared looking a bit nervous. "Yes Master? How is Delky to help?"

Snape pasted a smile on his face and softened his voice. He didn't want to frighten the creature. Yet. "Did we get any owls last night?" He distinctly remembered hearing the tapping on the window at least twice.

"Yes, Master. There is one from the sad place, and one from Mrs. Harry Potter, and one from the talking stones."

"Let me see them." As the elf began to demur, he continued, "Come, Delky. Hermione's my wife. Has she told you to keep any of these secret?"

"No, Master. Delky will get them." The elf was back almost instantly with two pieces of parchment. "The one from the talking stones, the Mistress has taken with her."

"Show me the one from the sad place." Snape snorted as he recognized the St. Mungos seal. "What do they want?" Delky held the page so that Snape could read it. "A begging letter. Short sighted of the Ministry to cut their funding. Show me the other one. Thank you. So Mrs Potter did invite Hermione to dinner tonight. That's convenient." He thought for a moment. "I want to plan a surprise party for Hermione, and I need your help. It's a surprise, so you can't tell her anything about it. Understand?"

Delky bounced up and down on his toes delightedly. "Yes, Master! Delky understands! Delky will help! Mistress will be surprised!"

"Excellent. First, I need to send some messages."

"If Master will tell Delky, Delky will write them and send owls. Delky would go instead, but Master is not to be left by himself."

"Very well. Send an owl to Gringotts and ask for an inventory of our shared vault." He gave the elf a conspiratorial wink. "I need to know how much I can spend after all. Make sure Hermione doesn't see the reply."

"Yes, Master! Delky will do this. What else?"

"Since Hermione doesn't want me left alone, I'm going to need someone to run a few errands for me – buy a few little trinkets. Send an owl to Maxwell Sebastian and tell him I need to see him. Ask if he is available this afternoon. And Delky..."

"Yes, Master?"

"Thank you. You're being quite helpful."

As soon as the elf had popped off to send the owls, Snape settled back on the pillows and let his customary scowl take over his features while he polished his plan. Hermione had simply transferred the contents of her vault to his when they married, and she hadn't actually visited it that he knew of. He'd kept very little in actual coin; all his accumulated wealth was sitting in an old tin box engraved with the name of Eileen Prince. This, in turn, lay at the bottom of a crate filled with what appeared to be sentimental keepsakes. It was the sort of thing that Hermione would never search through as long as he was alive. At any rate, the vault inventory should tell him if Hermione was raiding it for her move across the Atlantic.

If she was, or even if she wasn't, well, he was making other plans for that. Plans that involved Maxwell Sebastian's legal expertise. Max was the solicitor that people went to when they needed problems fixed quickly and quietly. It was Snape's opinion that his current problem was one that Max would be able to take care of – by one means or another.

He stopped and considered his actions for a few minutes. "Let's obfuscate my plans a little more," he muttered to himself. "A party for Hermione would have to include the Boy Who Should Be Smacked and The Ever-Present Sidekick. And their progeny, of course." He pasted his false smile back on and then called for Delky again. "I need to send some more owls. To Mr. Harry Potter and to Mr. Ronald Weasley. Tell them that I am hosting a surprise party for Hermione next week to thank her for everything she's done for me. Tell them I would appreciate their presence along with their families. Also, ask Mr. Potter if he can stop by tomorrow afternoon, and Mr. Weasley the day after."

"Delky will do this right now for Master!"

"Very good. Now Delky, Hermione has ordered you not to leave me alone, is that right?"

"That is right, Master."

"But you could take me somewhere, right? That way you wouldn't be leaving me."

The elf hesitated. "Delky is thinking Mistress didn't have that in mind."

"Surely Hermione wouldn't mind my getting out for a little while, as long as you're with me."

"Yes, Master. Delky can do this."

"Very good. First, I want a shave, and then to be properly dressed. I can't go out in this nightshirt."

"Delky will help Master!"

Snape almost laughed at the little creature's excitement. It actually felt good to remove the three days of grey-black stubble on his jaws and throat, to get out of the nightshirt and back into proper wizard robes. The elf had assisted him with his other ablutions before breakfast. He almost felt like his old self again, especially when Delky got him out of bed and into a wheeled chair. It was slightly strange to be completely upright again.

"Where is Master wanting to go?"

Snape's first inclination was to have the elf take him to Knock Turn Alley. But that might frighten the creature into talking to Hermione. Plus, he really didn't want to go there without being able to defend himself. He decided that something completely innocent would best serve his purpose. "Just out into the garden. I've been inside too long." From the way the elf beamed, he knew he'd made the right decision.

And it was good to be outside, to feel the wind in his hair and the sun on his face. He looked around noting that the plants were well-tended. "Who takes care of this?" he asked Delky.

"Delky does, Master. Mistress has showed Delky how. Which plants need sun, which need shade, and how much to water them. Mistress said it was important, so Delky works very hard on it."

"You've done a fine job." He'd never heard of a house-elf with an affinity for plants before. Perhaps Delky would be worth keeping around. "Do you know how to brew potions?"