Changing of the Guard

***

Alissa met with Minerva two days before Harry Potter's transfer to the Burrow. They had much to discuss, but mostly, Minerva wanted to expound on her vitriol against Severus Snape.

"How do you live with it, Alissa?" she seethed. "You worked with him, even were lovers once...rumor has it. How can you live with such a betrayal? Aren't you afraid of Severus revealing your true loyalties to him?"

Alissa rubbed her forehead. "Minerva, I've seen things that were so horrible in my thirty years on this earth, honestly, nothing can truly shock me anymore. I've seen too much death, too much backstabbing amongst friends and comrades...all the worst of humanity. But I want to urge you to remember what Dumbledore always said, 'Not everything is what it seems.'"

The old witch looked exhausted. There was so much to do, and the Order had fallen into shambles. Grief and pain were so strong and palpable that it all seemed unreal. But the courageous Scottish lady would not let it overcome her. There were decisions to be made.

Alissa hated breaking the news to her, but she had no other alternative. "I can't be a part of the transfer, Minerva. There are more than enough Order members to do this. And besides, my just showing up, not being known by anyone, will only throw around suspicion and doubt, not to mention risking my cover! Focusing on the overall mission is paramount. At any rate, I don't know how I can be protecting Potter and trying to help Tom kill him at the same time!"

"I understand," the other woman answered stiffly. "What are we going to do now?" Her huge eyes were so lost, so full of questions, Alissa wished she could just blurt out everything, but she would never believe it, even if she did tell her.

"I have Gregorovitch to find, and unfortunately I will have to execute him." Alissa shook her head. "It's all such waste. I must kill a man just because he once owned that thrice damned wand! And he isn't even the one who has it now!" she exclaimed and then damned herself for spilling that piece of information.

"Why all the running around then?" Minerva asked suspiciously.

"Because I have to wait for Potter to understand. I must wait for all the Horcruxes to be found and then lure the snake here. Here, Minerva! Here is where the Final Battle shall be. I don't know how much contact I will have with you. You may not hear from me often, but know that I do understand what is happening and what shall happen." She reached over and grasped the older witch's hand in a gesture of comfort.

She almost stopped herself, but she needed at least one person in the Order to be aware and prepared.

"Minerva, the ministry will fall and this school..." she looked around the office as she said the words, "will fall to Tom. The school shall go on, although restrictions will be enforced. The Muggleborns will be forced out and must be hidden. They will all be made to register with the new regime. They will not be coming back to Hogwarts. Dark times, my friend. Dark times are coming. But we will prevail. We will!" she said adamantly.

"You are positive the ministry will fall?" the older witch asked incredulously.

"A coup d'état, Minerva. The wheels are in motion and have been for a while. But don't lose heart. I am still working for the Order and shall do my best to help you."

She embraced the older witch and stood to depart. "Minerva, there will be things you will hear; there will be things I must do, but please always remember my allegiance will always be to Dumbledore and this school."

"Goodbye."

***

Alissa was at the Manor when the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters returned from the attack on Potter. The Dark Lord was enraged, and he quickly raced down to the dungeons. Alissa closed her eyes. Ollivander. Of course the bloody wand would not work! When would Potter get the damn Horcruxes and end this madness?

Severus was slumped in a chair, his face exhausted and grim. The ear-piercing screams started to emanate from the dungeons. He was dirty from the battle and exhausted. Alissa approached him and opened the connection between them.

What happened, Severus?

I warned you!

Severus wrapped his arm around Alissa, and together they walked up to his room.

"Let's both have a bath. I think I deserve some extra special attention," he said slyly.

"Always, my love," she replied. "Always."

***

They sat relaxing in the tub. In no time, Alissa was straddling Severus after giving him a thorough scrubbing. They kissed and enjoyed the nearness of each other. Finally, Severus spoke of the latest news.

"Thicknesse has been placed under the Imperius Curse. He will be replacing Scrimgeour once the Dark Lord makes his move," he informed her.

Alissa closed her eyes, "Thicknesse! Damn, I can't keep track of all these people!"

Severus smirked as he tickled her pert nose with his own. "Well, my dear, after you disposed of Madame Bones, Pius Thicknesse became the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad. Now, he has been chosen to be the new Minister of Magic when we...oh, my apologies...you assassinate Scrimgeour," he said with dripping sarcasm.

"Such cheek!" Alissa teased as she smacked him on the chest. "I shall have to punish you for that, Headmaster Snape. Now that you are the Headmaster, I shall be the only one to dispense punishments upon you," she said huskily as she went to capture his mouth with her own. "Well, at least punishments that you will enjoy," she added darkly.

"Mmmm," he replied. He broke the kiss and said wistfully, "If it were not for the fact Scimgeour is the most odious wretch in the Wizarding world, I'd actually feel bad for his death."

"Who placed Thicknesse under the Imperius?"

"Yaxley."

Alissa snorted in derision. Then she flashed her perfect smile and changed the subject. "Are you ready, Headmaster, to take your post?"

He raised an eyebrow. "No, I am not! I am not looking forward to all the happy horseshit that comes with the job, although it does have its rewards and honors. I am not looking forward to having the majority of my staff wishing for my death. As it is, I shall have to employ a house-elf to taste all my food before I eat it! But, what is worse is being parted from you. Promise me you will be cautious!" he demanded.

"I promise," she whispered as she began to move seductively around his semi-erect penis. Soon he was groaning and she felt the hot stiffness against her core. She sighed as she slid over him and welcomed him inside. Soon the war was lost to them again. All the roles and deceptions, the fears and the potential losses, all was forgotten...

***

A week later, when all the good and noble were celebrating the wedding of a young and brave Wizarding couple, Minister Scrimgeour sat in seclusion, awaiting the moment for Lord Voldemort to make his move. When the fighting outside his office began, he was prepared. He was faced with a black-haired witch who was obviously the leader of the group. He braced himself for the torture to come, but she refused to allow it. Before the others could disobey her, he was dead.

***

Immediately after Scrimgeour's death, Alissa and her band of Death Eaters Apparated to the Burrow. She took the time to hold the group back far enough and cast a Disillusionment spell around them. She called Draco forward and had him point out the people he knew. She only knew the Order members by name, but not by face. She needed to know who was who so she could stave off any deaths. She wished she could have had longer. Draco had only gotten as far as Granger, the Weasley twins, his parents, Molly and Arthur, Tonks, Lupin (whom she already knew)...but just then a Patronus came bounding into the middle of the reception and announced the ministry had fallen, and Scrimgeour had been assassinated. There was no time to lose. They pounced upon the crowd, and the Death Eaters were furious to find Potter nowhere among the number. The Aurors put up a good fight, and Alissa made sure the Granger girl escaped. She was, according to Severus, the cleverest witch Hogwarts had seen in decades and was the brains behind all of Potter's success, even if she was, in his opinion, an insufferable-know-it-all! She was also the youngest Order member. So Granger was priority number one, after Potter, of course.

After the wedding party was sequestered and most of the guests had escaped, Alissa had the family taken inside the house, and she gave her orders to the others before going to face the Weasleys.

"Right then, we are here to search the house so leave nothing unexamined. The blood traitors are to be questioned, but NO TORTURE! Try to use persuasion. Remember that these are the people closest to Potter."

The orders were to then to splinter off into groups of twos and threes and interrogate anyone they knew now to be a part of the Order who could bring Potter to the Dark Lord. The first thing was to get Draco out of the area, so she dispatched his group of three immediately. Alissa stayed to oversee the search and interrogation of the Burrow and its residents. She had the family rounded up, and they all sat cramped in their main room while Alissa stood in the background. She kept her mask and hood on at all times and did not speak to the family, only in whispered tones to the Death Eaters when it was absolutely imperative. Lupin was staying with the Weasleys as well, and she could not risk being seen by him. She got a good look at the Weasley clan and knew they were in the Order. She hated that she had to do this to them but it could not be helped.

As the house was torn apart upstairs and down, Avery and Rodolphus took care of the interrogations. Alissa leaned over and whispered in Avery's ear that she wanted the interrogations to be done separately, in different rooms, so they might be able to catch someone in a lie. She would stay with the others as they took turns interrogating. In truth, though, she wanted to make sure one of them was able to make sure a message was sent to the Granger girl to find Potter and stay put.

A young new recruit, Madison, came down with Pearson, another green recruit, to report to Alissa.

"We saw the Weasley boy in bed. He looks really bad off. Didn't want to get too close, but he's definitely ill," said Madison.

Alissa nodded and told them in mumbled tones to go Apparate to Grimmauld Place and keep watch over the comings and goings there. Can't have anyone who has any wits about them taking that post. The Granger girl may be hiding out there this minute! she thought.

Once they Disapparated, Avery took Lupin into one room and Rodolphus took Ginny into another. As he walked past with the young woman, Alissa pointed her wand at him and whispered "Legilimens." She easily saw his intent to torture Potter's girlfriend into submission, and if she did not comply, he would rape her. She used a very dark and ancient spell on him that translated into his mind what she would do to him if he harmed the girl. His eyes grew wide with fear, and she released him when she felt he had understood her point. Verbal threats against men like Rodolphus Lestrange did nothing to deter them. Force of skill and displays of power worked best.

Finally, when she was alone with the remainder of the family, she averted her eyes, turned away from them, and allowed them to whisper and send covert signals nonverbally to each other. She watched them without their knowing. Once, she stepped into the adjoining room while she watched secretly through a mirror. She saw as quick as lightening, Arthur Weasley send his Patronus. Good, she thought. Perhaps the Potter boy can get a head start!

She walked back into the sitting room and sat in a chair in the farthest corner possible. One by one, each member of the family and few remaining guests were interrogated. It was a long and weary night.

***

She had been ordered by the Dark Lord before they left the manor to dispatch other groups to Order members' homes once the Burrow had been secured. Later, she would learn that Diggle's house had been set on fire, and the Tonks family was put through the Cruciatus Curse. It was all beyond her. There was no choice for her any more. The Dark Lord and all his Death Eaters (which was now not a huge difference between ministry workers and those who bore the Dark Mark!) had the entire ministry's wealth of information at their disposal. Protective charms were breached and all the Order members outed. Lists of pure-bloods, half-bloods, and Mudbloods were made. Nothing was sacred. She was not even privy to all the orders the Dark Lord was handing out. That frustrated her to no end, for now she could not help those who might be saved!

After an exhausting night that proved to be a waste, Alissa and her band were brought before the Dark Lord again. She was given praise for her execution of Scrimgeour, but he was very displeased with Dolohov and Rowle, as they had let Potter, the Mudblood Granger, and the Blood Traitor, Weasley, escape. Apparently, there had been a skirmish at a café on Tottencourt Road. Potter had been there at the wedding, just in a Polyjuiced form. Also, the Weasley boy was with them. Potter had started to regain his natural form, the fighting ensued, and they had been bested by the Trio. Again, Alissa had evaded punishment for not discovering Potter at the wedding, nor discovering the fake Ronald Weasley at the Burrow. She felt a huge wave of relief wash over her. She felt she had endured enough for a lifetime already. Yet, she had to watch the two Death Eaters meet their fates.

The Dark Lord put Dolohov through his punishment himself, as he had years of faithfulness behind him. But unfortunately, Rowle did not. Alissa was stone-faced as she watched as the young Draco Malfoy was placed under the Imperius Curse and then tortured Rowle with the Cruciatus Curse for what seemed like forever. Finally, after an eternity, Draco ended it by killing him. Nagini slithered towards the body, and Alissa felt her mind disassociate from the scene.

After they all were dismissed, she climbed wearily to her room, and when she opened the door, she burst into tears to find Severus waiting for her there. He reached out for her, and she collapsed into his arms, losing herself in his voluminous robes. She felt so safe with him that she never wanted to leave his embrace! They held onto each other for as long as they could. For tomorrow, she would be gone to finally face Gregorovitch, and Snape would be returning back to Hogwarts to settle in as the new Headmaster of the Wizarding school.

***

A/N: I know according to canon that Rowle is not killed here, but I took the liberty of changing it anyway.

Up Next: Gregorovitch is found and executed. Voldemort and Severus have an enlightening conversation and some lemons for y'all!:) Please review!