That Can't Be My Friend

I wasn't planning on adding this chapter until tomorrow, but I'm leaving pretty early for a long weekend and decided to just go ahead and post it tonight. I plan to do some writing over the Memorial Day holiday so hopefully I'll have plenty of chapters for June to have a look at.

I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read and review this story. I really appreciate all of your wonderful comments.

All canon characters belong to JKR. All I get from this are your lovely reviews and a big smile on my face.

Thanks go to June for all of her help and suggestions.

Chapter 6 – That Can't Be My Friend

Severus spent most of the morning looking over Hermoine's notes on the potion she'd created for Ron Weasley. As he suspected, all of the ingredients she used were correct; however, the order in which they were added to the potion and the amounts used needed some slight tweaking. As he studied the potion, he realized she really was a brilliant young woman. It took some Potions Masters and Mistresses years and years to begin developing their own potions, and according to the date on her notes, Hermione began not two years after receiving her certificate.

He made some notes for her to look at and began to walk to the Great Hall. He thought he would offer to help her fix the potion, and wondered if she would accept his help. If she did, it might be a good opportunity to get to know her better.

As Severus walked to the Great Hall, he remembered that he wanted to check out some books in the library to research the curse he'd been under. He looked at his pocket watch; there was time enough for him to have a look at a few books, and then go to lunch.

When he arrived at the library, it was empty. Madam Pince had a sign on her desk, saying that she was having lunch. Noting the time posted on the sign he realized he had just missed her. This meant that no students were allowed to pass through the doors. Severus smiled; he'd have the library all to himself. He walked to the Restricted Section and picked out a few books that he knew held old dark spells, and sat down on one of the large tables next to the window. There he sat and began to look through the books.

This was the perfect moment for Voldemort to make his move. He was beginning to feel when Severus was relaxed and in a calm state. Voldemort was getting to the point where he felt he would soon be able to control the length of time he took over Severus' body, but he wasn't quite there yet. It would make things easier though once he was finally in fulltime control. Until then, he'd wait; he was good at waiting. Even though he'd managed to speak with "the Mudblood" the night before for a short while, that appearance alone exhausted him. However, he felt himself growing stronger.

Voldemort looked around. He was in the library, and realized he was in the Restricted Section. He looked down at the table and noticed the book Severus had been looking at. He laughed.

"Trying to figure it all out, eh Severus?" He marked the page and then closed the book and replaced it on the shelf, but he left the other books unopened on the table. Books were commonly left on the tables, and he was too lazy to replace all of them. "By the time you realize what's happening, Severus, it will be too late for you, and that pretty little Mudblood."

Voldemort walked out of the library. He noticed the time on the clock sitting on the desk as he left. It was lunchtime and no doubt the castle staff as well as the students would be in the Great Hall. As he walked down the hall, his thoughts were on Ginny. While he hadn't thought about it before, he wondered now why he picked up Ginny's scent earlier. He'd surmised that a day had passed, perhaps two. He knew that he had been at Lucius' home after he encountered Ginny's scent.

He thought hard and realized that as he spoke briefly with Lucius, Ginny had to have been there. Her scent was all over the room; he could smell her as well as the baby he now realized she was carrying. He then laughed. 'Of course!' he thought to himself.

Lucius had always been such a cunning Death Eater. No doubt he talked his way out of Azkaban, just like he'd done in the past. He most probably seduced the young Ginny Weasley and married her in order to look as though he'd reformed.

"Oh, Lucius, you are truly one of a kind," Voldemort mused aloud. There was little doubt in Voldemort's mind that Lucius cared nothing for the woman. It would be easy to take her away from him. As a matter of fact, he was sure that Lucius would most probably offer her freely once he told him who he really was.

Voldemort walked to the Great Hall quickly.

When the doors opened Hermione noticed it was Severus.

Albus also looked up to see Severus stalking down the aisle. He began to feel an odd foreboding suddenly coming over him. Not realizing he'd been ignoring Minerva's question, he stopped staring at the oncoming DADA professor.

"I'm sorry, Minerva, what did you say?" Albus asked the witch next to him.

"Honestly, Albus. I don't know where your mind is today. You've been acting odd all morning. What's the matter with you?" asked a ruffled Minerva.

"Just the usual end-of-school-year thoughts." Albus patted her hand and continued on with his lunch. As Severus walked past him, he closed his eyes. There was a chill in the air. It was an odd thing, Albus thought. He nodded to Severus as the younger wizard looked at him, smirked, and nodded. Albus frowned, and looked back to his plate. Something was off.

"Did you have any luck with the file?" Hermione asked Severus as she took a bite of her fish.

Voldemort looked to her, and then adjusted his seat so that he was a little closer to the table. He tried to remember if there was anything on the table in the library, earlier. 'The file,' he thought. 'Ah, yes.' He did recall seeing something else on the table.

"Yes, I had some luck. Perhaps I might drop it off to you later?" he asked.

"I have some free time before my final class." Hermione was excited. It seemed he'd found where she could improve on her potion for Ron. "Is three o'clock all right?"

"I have no other plans, three is fine."

As Voldemort began to fill his plate, Lucius' hawk flew into the Great Hall. Instead of landing on Severus' shoulder as he had done previously, the hawk landed on the edge of the table. He looked at the dark wizard as though he wasn't sure who he was. Hermione looked from the hawk to Severus. After several moments, Hector approached Severus. He knew that there was something odd about Severus, but couldn't quite grasp what it was. Animals were very much attuned to those close to them. This man had the body and face he recognized, but there was something about his aura that bothered Hector. Still, he was here to deliver a note, and that's what he would do.

"Hector is acting a bit odd," said Hermione. "What do you suppose is wrong with him?"

Voldemort narrowed his eyes at the bird, and slowly reached for the note. Hector held out his leg and allowed the man to take the note, then hopped back away slightly.

"Perhaps he's under the weather." Voldemort knew perfectly well what was wrong with the bird. He knew who it belonged to, and he also knew that the hawk was suspicious of him. He unrolled the small scroll and began to read its contents:

Severus,

Lucius

Voldemort looked to Hermione. "Might you have something to write with?"

"Yes." Hermione reached into her pocket and took out a pen and handed it to him.

"Lucius has asked me to accompany him to Hogsmeade. It seems he wishes to avoid being dragged about the town by his wife and mother-in-law." He wrote a note to confirm that he would meet Lucius, and placed the note carefully back onto the hawk's leg. Hector immediately flew away, not looking back.

"Oh, that's fine. Maybe we can meet this evening?" she asked hopefully.

He slowly turned his head and looked at her, his eyes resting on her lips, which she was unconsciously licking.

"Yes, this evening would be more...convenient." He would have to make it a point to be there. He looked down at his place and decided it was best to get back to the library. He didn't want to push his luck, and he felt his control of Severus' body slipping.

"I just realized that I have forgotten something in the library. I shall see you this evening, Hermione." Voldemort made sure to let her name roll off his tongue with a slight rumble, one she instantly felt in her belly. He thanked the gods that Severus had the kind of voice that could turn a woman's insides into a volcanic inferno. Voldemort could almost see the heat rising off of Hermione's skin. He stood and walked quickly out of the Great Hall, with two pairs of eyes watching him but for different reasons.

Voldemort quickly walked back to the library. He went directly to the Restricted Section and took out the book Severus had been looking through and opened it to the page he'd had opened. He then sat down. He felt himself growing weak and briefly wondered if he should scroll a message down to alert the real Severus of his meeting with Lucius. Unless he gave him some notice about it, no doubt Lucius would mention something about him not showing up. "Think, dammit, think," he muttered to himself. He quickly conjured a piece of parchment and wrote a note

Remember to meet Lucius at the Three Broomsticks today.

He then placed the note into his pocket next to the pocket watch. Not bothering to think more of it, and hoping that Severus would just think himself getting forgetful, he sat quietly until the real Severus took over.

Severus was in control of his body once more. He stared down at the page and decided to check out the book. It would probably serve to at least steer him in the right direction. He put the other books back on the shelf and took Hermione's file along with the book to check out to Madam Pince's desk. He was going to write her a note but as he approached the librarian's desk saw that she was back.

"I was going to leave you a note," said Severus. "I thought you had gone to lunch already."

The witch looked at him over her glasses. "I did go to lunch, I've returned."

Severus looked at her oddly. He knew he couldn't have been there for more than a few minutes, and her sign indicated that she had just left. 'She must have inhaled her food,' he thought.

"Well, I'm checking this out. I will return it in a few days." He showed her the book and she made note of it. Severus turned to leave and decided to look at the time. He was shocked to see that it was twenty-five minutes past the time he'd arrived at the library. He stopped and leaned back against the wall next to him. He then looked down and saw a note on the ground next to him. He picked it up and read it.

"I don't remember writing this." He felt a chill run down his spine. Something strange was happening, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He was losing time, yet he didn't feel like he'd blacked out, not like when he was at Lucius' home.

"What's happening to me?" he whispered to himself. He walked to his rooms and decided to write Hermione a note. He'd take her file and leave it in her office, with a note on top the file. He felt off-kilter and didn't want to talk to her at the moment. He scribbled a note that he was going to meet Lucius and that he would talk to her about the potion that evening.

Thinking that a walk around Hogsmeade might do him some good, Severus left quickly. He needed to get away from Hogwarts for a few hours and get his head straightened out.

Severus Apparated to the Three Boomsticks. He ignored the stares and whispers and walked to a table in the back, and immediately ordered a firewhisky. Lucky for him Rosmerta wasn't there or else she would have talked his ear off, and he certainly wasn't in the mood for that.

After nearly half an hour Lucius walked through the doors. He looked around and spotted Severus in the back and walked towards him.

"Ah, there you are. I've been looking for you, Severus." Lucius sat down and motioned for the waitress. "I gather you didn't get my last message on when to meet. I was here earlier and thought you might be walking around." Lucius draped his cloak on the chair next to him and set his cane against the table.

Severus shook his head. He wondered if he should tell Lucius something odd was happening to him. But then he thought better of it. Lucius would worry, and he had enough to worry about with Ginny getting so close to having the baby.

"You know, Hector was acting a bit odd when he came back from Hogwarts." Lucius ordered a vodka martini then looked back to Severus. "Did you notice anything strange about him when he delivered your note?"

Severus gulped down what was left of his firewhisky as he realized that whatever note Lucius had sent with Hector, he didn't remember getting it.

"He...he seemed fine." Severus tried to keep his cool. He'd been a spy for many years, so he had that on his side.

The two men sat and talked for several hours, after which Severus decided it might be a good idea to ask his friend if he could confide in him. Before he could have the chance, it was time for Voldemort to make another appearance.

When Voldemort came through, he'd hoped to be with Hermione, but he'd miscalculated the time. As it turned out he was sitting once again with Lucius.

"I almost forgot to tell you, it turns out that I'm going to be a grandfather after all," said Lucius as he swirled his olive in his martini glass. "Draco and Harry are adopting a baby."

Voldemort spewed the contents of his mouth all over the table.

"Severus, are you all right?" Lucius stood and began patting Severus on the back as he coughed.

'What the bloody hell?' thought Voldemort. He managed to control his coughing and wiped his mouth along with his coat.

Lucius cast a Scouring Charm on the table and sat back down.

"I'm sorry; it must have gone down the wrong way." Voldemort cursed himself. Another reaction like that and Lucius would surely think something was amiss. "A baby, you say?"

"Yes, a little orphan. His parents died last month in some cruise ship disaster in the Muggle world. It turns out the little one is a wizard. He was found by the Ministry Child Services Department."

Severus' face twisted in disgust, something Lucius immediately noticed.

"How...nice for the little...child," managed Voldemort. He waved his hand and called for a drink. The waitress set down another firewhisky in front of him and he took a long sip. "Although, I'm a bit surprised at you, Lucius."

Lucius set down his glass and leaned back in his chair.

"And why is that?"

"A Muggleborn child? I thought you of all people would want only a Pureblood in your family."

Without realizing what he'd just done, Voldemort succeeded in alerting Lucius for certain that something was going on with Severus.

The Severus that Lucius knew would never talk like that. But Lucius had no idea just exactly what was happening; perhaps this was just a side-effect of the unknown curse Severus had been under for ten years. Thinking it would be best to just let the conversation run its course; Lucius did what he did best. He skirted around the subject entirely.

"Well, you know, we must all do what we must when we live in the public eye." Lucius smiled and called for the check.

At that moment, Ginny was walking in. Molly had to Floo back home immediately, after Fred and George managed to find her and told her that both their twins had set fire to the Burrow's garden.

Happy with Lucius' explanation, Voldemort noticed Ginny approaching them. Both men stood when she reached the table.

"Back so soon?" asked Lucius, trying to sound unperturbed.

"Well, something about the two twins and fire. Mother had to go back home." Ginny kissed Lucius on the cheek, and looked to Severus.

"Ginny," said Voldemort. His eyes grew darker for a moment, as Ginny reached to take his hand.

"Severus." She looked at him questioningly. For a moment she thought she had seen something in his eyes. She felt a shiver as he took her hand; coldness filled her body.

Lucius noticed her face pale slightly.

"Ginny? You don't look well," he said to his wife.

"I'm just a bit tired, that's all. Maybe I should be getting home." Ginny wrapped her cloak around herself tighter as Lucius held her close to him.

"Severus, I'm sorry, but I should take her home." Lucius gathered his cloak and cane. "I'll speak with you this week." He turned and walked away with Ginny in tow. He paid their bill on his way out.

Voldemort followed them out the door soon after. He walked down to the Apparation point and went back to Hogwarts. He knew that Severus would no doubt wonder how he'd gotten back to school, but a bit of firewhisky on his cloak should do the trick. Severus would assume he'd had too much to drink, that's all.

When he returned to Severus' rooms, Voldemort realized he would most probably not be able to make the meeting with Hermione. He was surprised that he was still there; this was the longest time that he had actually been in Severus' body. But he was tired, and knew that Severus would emerge soon and he would have to fall back once again. Voldemort wondered why Lucius would allow his son to adopt a Muggleborn child. What's more, he couldn't understand the fact that Draco Malfoy was gay and with Harry Potter of all people. No matter. When he took over Severus' body for good, all would be righted.

By his calculations he would be in full possession of this body before long. And when he did, there would be no stopping him this time.

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I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and that the changing back and forth isn't too confusing. I'm trying to keep it as clear as possible.

Thank you for reading.