Purple-Pink #8

Disclaimer: Not mine; no money.

Thanks go to my beta, Southern Witch 69.

Purple-Pink #8

April 15th, 8:09 pm

Ginny and I Portkey directly into the headquarters of Back in Black.

As I shove the lace doily into a pocket, I suddenly realize that this may be the only domicile in all of Wizarding England that has a fully functioning Anti-Apparition Charm in place that blocks the Pink Party.

Although that's also because the Party doesn't know it exists. I'd still love to know how Snape managed that. I'm starting to think he may actually be even more intelligent than I'd previously realized.

And I always considered him bloody brilliant.

"Hello?" When there's no response, she turns to me and says, "See – I told you Snape is usually out this time of evening delivering potions. It gives us time to chat."

I sink onto the closest chair and groan. "Goddess, Ginny, I don't know how you do it! I thought Pretty Pillows was bad, but Elegant Embroidery! The members are just so ... so ..."

"Proper?"

"Yes, Proper! I nearly cracked when Ms. Ellowby began crying over botching her rose. And she was Smiling all the while! It was so sad that she takes it so seriously, and yet ..."

"You can't help wanting to laugh." She takes the seat next to me.

I sigh out a "yes" and look at her. "It's so good to see you, Ginny, to be able to actually talk to you."

"If I'd known you were going to join Back in Black, I'd have told you to switch absolutely ages ago. But it was easier to pretend without anyone I knew around." She turns her smile on me, her real smile – it's always been too large to be Proper. "But you're here now!"

"Yes, finally!"

We laugh for a bit, and I reach over to hug her.

When was the last time I hugged anyone? Circe – it may have been the day Percy died. I found Molly in the kitchen at the Burrow, and with no one else around at that moment to report us, I hugged her.

I'm not sure which of us needed it more.

As we separate, her smile grows positively mischievous. "Fred and George told me you saw the same phrase on the sign as Snape."

"Yes, Libre Libri, but no one will tell me what it means."

"Well, freedom through books, I'd think." She smirks.

"I sussed as much." I give her a stern mock glare that quickly slips into a grin. "Seriously, what does it mean that Snape and I got the same message?"

"It's something to do with compatibility. Fred and George's sayings were quite close, as you might imagine: Fred had Libre Chaos and George Libre Exlegis. But mine was fairly different, even though we're siblings; I got Libre Feminae. And Lee, he's their best mate, right, but his was Libre Vox."

"And all of that means –"

"It means, Ms. Granger," Snape's voice says from the laboratory doorway as we startle slightly and look towards him, "that you and I share an exact conception of what is the most important freedom allowed to humanity. For two such swots, as I believe we were deemed, access to knowledge, and specifically written knowledge, is our most precious right."

His eyes seem to bore into mine as he continues. "Such goes beyond mere ideas of compatibility."

My heart races, and I pray I'm not blushing, though I do feel a bit warm.

What am I to say to that? He still hasn't fully explained what it means.

As I continue to watch him, he lifts one eyebrow in challenge, but I maintain my silence, waiting for him to continue.

Ginny shifts restlessly in her seat, and I glance towards her, breaking the tension.

When I face him once more, Snape decides to change topics. "And your assignation today – how did that fare?"

"Things went well. The Two-Minute Handshake provided the perfect opportunity. Thank you again for suggesting it."

"It is not me you should be thanking. It was Ms. Weasley who conceived of such a method for the exchange of materials."

I turn to Ginny. "You came up with that? It's brilliant! What do you use it for?"

She grins. "Who do you think dispenses most of the Contraceptive Potion for the resistance? That's actually why I rotate my other community Service Committees so often. I keep Elegant Embroidery for the appearance of stability, but I cycle through all of the others regularly, making contacts with as many women as I can."

"And that works?" My voice expresses the surprise I can feel my face showing. "I'd have thought you'd have been nicked by now!"

"Well, I'm good at reading people." Her smile morphs into a full on smirk. "And I make good use of the variation on Veritaserum Snape came up with. Has he told you about it?"

I nod, looking over to see him smirking and watching me. "Yes – just last week when he showed me his laboratory."

And how absolutely amazing it is – a variation that compels people to speak the truth without direct questions – one that works when absorbed through the skin!

"Using it," Ginny continues, "I can usually find one person per Committee, and typically they have like-minded friends."

I never knew she was this devious! How wonderful!

My gobsmacked expression must be amusing because she laughs and says, "You see – I've always been able to get away with more than the twins. People don't suspect me because I'm a 'girl.'" The last is said with a note of scorn.

"Indeed, Ms. Weasley is our most successful operative." He pauses to allow his smirk to grow to full force. "Although, one could say that her numbers are artificially inflated due to the fact that she seems to use a fair amount of it personally ever since Mr. Jordan entered the picture."

I give a surprised bark of laughter and notice Ginny fingering her wand somewhat purposefully.

Shifting his attention to me, Snape offers, "In fact, you may very well be as successful some day."

"Not very likely," I reply. "I don't think I'll ever be as good at interacting with people as Ginny's always been."

Do it, Granger!

"Having said that, I do realize that I have talents in other areas." I take a breath and continue. "I'd like to go ahead and tell everyone my plan."

His eyebrow cocks again, but he gives a small nod. "Very well, if you will allow me one half hour, I will gather the more troublesome members."

I watch him as he swoops out of the room, black robes aflutter.

When I turn to her, Ginny looks as if she's about to say something, so I speak quickly. "All right, Ginny, you've got to tell me absolutely everything you do for Back in Black! And what's this about you and Lee?"

She blushes prettily, and her smile is blinding. "Well, he's got to practice that voice of his on someone, now doesn't he?"

~~~

Lee Portkeys in and joins Ginny at the table, giving her a kiss on the cheek and whispering something into her ear that causes her laugh to ring out and fill the room.

The twins' protesting "Oi" is quickly silenced by a particularly fierce glare from Ginny.

As the noise of their bantering conversation fills the room, Snape must have come from his laboratory because suddenly he's behind me. His hand pulls my hair back away from my right shoulder, lingering to trace my upper back, and he leans in towards my newly exposed ear. "Do you consider that this qualifies as breaking Decree 49, Ms. Granger?"

Goddess!

I nod as I feel a tingling warmth rush through me.

After a brief moment, he continues past me to stand at the head of the table, his profile affording me a view of one side of his lips – they're quirked.

And I'm staring – at his hands, his legs, his shoulders – my awareness of his physicality as a man suddenly activated – electricity running through a circuit left dormant for years.

My whole body hums with energy.

Focus, Granger – there's no time for this now!

George chooses that moment to begin the meeting in his own particular way. "Oi, now, Snape, you wanker. What's the hurry?"

"Why'd you effing call us all in on a sodding –"

"– off day. We had Voluntary Extra Community Service –"

"– we did. Pretty Parks. We were to plant some more –"

"– bloody bushes – roses, of course – Pink ones."

"Yeah, Snape," adds Lee in his rich rumble, "we had another hour to go tonight, and all of us using the Puking Pastilles at once looks dodgy. You know the Extra Service is supposed to be our main way of avoiding suspicion, not adding to it. What's worth compromising that?"

Snape says nothing, merely raising an eyebrow and stepping away from the head of the table to take a seat.

All right – the speech has been memorized for two days – show time.

I move forward to take his place. "He didn't do it for himself – he did it for me. And I hope you all agree that what I have to say is important enough for me to have called this emergency meeting." I pause to take a deep breath. "It's been over two years since the Pink Lord rose to power due to the Final Battle deaths sustained by the upper ranks of the Ministry. Who would have ever guessed at that time that Scrimgeour and the rest joining in would be a negative, eh?"

Everyone chuckles a bit, but it's a bitter sound.

"The twins have been saying that something drastic has to occur in order to rouse the populace to action. As we all saw, Decree 309 failed to inspire the hoped-for public resistance. Therefore I agree with them."

I pause to make eye contact with every person, and all restless fidgeting stops.

"You see ... over the last two weeks, I've heard your stories, been reminded of your strengths, and I've spent the last week putting it all together." I flick my wand to reveal three large charts that diagram the plot that's been forming in my mind and keeping me up nights. "I won't lie to you – timing on this is going to be very tight. But I have a plan." I pause and catch their eyes again. "A major plan."

They all watch me intently.

"I know how we can bring down the Pink Lord."

AN: What does all that Latin mean? Well, chaos is the same as in English, exlegis = lawlessness, feminae = women, and vox = voice.

Please review – it'll save me from Thinking Pink!