A Concrete Task

A Concrete Task

They finally had a concrete task. In two days, on Friday, November 21, they would lure the golden quartet into a trap. Potter, the hero, would be carefully shielded so that the risk to the Death Eaters would be unreasonably high if they tried to catch him. Instead, the Dark Lord had decided to go for Granger. She was the brain of the four, very good friend to Potter and best friend to Ginny Weasley. From what they knew, she was also the girlfriend of Ron Weasley. Without her, the team would be frantic, headless and desolate.

For almost three months, Draco and Severus had prepared for this moment. They both agreed with the Dark Lord's assessment about Granger's role in the team, but this did not fill them with the same anticipation that other Death Eaters felt.

Over their silent breakfast, Draco inwardly repeated their tactics like a mantra.

Use only untraceable curses on persons. Of all the attacking curses, the safe ones are silencing, binding, and...in emergencies...a light cutting curse. It is preferable to render the opponent incapacitated without these. One can very safely blind someone to avoid an attack or numb his feet so that he stumbles as soon as he moves. He would never be able to tell what had befallen him.

Rather than attack the person, transform the surroundings. On a forest path, engorge tree roots so your target will trip. Let branches whip their face, make stones or rocks tumble downhill...possibly explode them.

Deflect curses with a Magical Mirror so that the curse hits a different person than intended. Draco had practised conjuring an invisible Magical Mirror, but it wasn't stable enough yet and not flat enough. It would be too risky for him to try. Severus could conjure straight and stable mirrors, and even a cylindrical deflection dome around himself and a nearby person.

Stay together.

Hide your identity. They would all be wearing Death Eater masking and identical black cloaks. Thus, they only had to avoid being identified by shouting, moving in a characteristic way, or letting their hair or wand be seen.

Refuse to bind, carry or levitate a captive. Draco and Severus would instead propose to 'let the git crawl', which would allow them to flee if they had a chance.

Distract and incapacitate the less capable Death Eaters first.

Hope for Auror reinforcement.

Hide your identity even from the captive. This was a hard demand because Draco had no chance to improve his reputation with the side he was now working for. However, this was essential because every enemy of the Dark Lord could be captured at any time. Death Eaters and their master himself interrogated their captives under Legilimency to press every bit of information out of them.

If they got a chance, they could also provide the Order with the location of what they sought: Draco would report about Merope Gaunt's grave.

As soon as Granger and the other three were out of danger, Draco and Severus would retire from the battlefield.

This was, in short, what they would do in one and a half days. Before that, they had their everyday chores.

__..~^^^^~..__..~^^^^~..__

The task to provide the Death Eaters with standard medical potions had fallen almost totally to Draco, and so they spent the morning in the dark lab at Spinner's End.

In yet another attempt to improve the Wolfsbane potion, Severus added six drops of belladonna extract and used the helix-shaped, wooden stirring stick.

Draco's Blood-Replenishing Potion required the addition of three ounces of powdered gelatine from anteater collarbones and twenty-two drops of formic acid. Remembering how he had extracted it from the red ants, Draco stirred gently for thirty-seven seconds and turned the heat to a minimum. It then needed to simmer on its own for two minutes, just enough to re-shelve some ingredients.

They worked in companionable silence. The supplies in the cellar laboratory of Spinner's End were, of course, extremely well kept, and Severus was now exquisitely equipped with tools. Draco had brought another two cauldrons and stirring rods from the Manor, and their workplaces were crammed. Two people, both brewing two batches in parallel had to operate efficiently and in a perfect working climate.

Draco's timer expired, and the Blood-Replenishing Potion got his full attention, two pellets of pickled porcupine brain as well as a deft stir to dissolve them.

While the potion was cooling down before bottling, Draco silently cleaned his desk.

"When you've finished, prepare for tomorrow's repetition on mirror spells and the theory of the untraceable spells."

Draco nodded.

They went upstairs and prepared the simple, light lunch Draco had grown accustomed to.

__..~^^^^~..__..~^^^^~..__

Idly reading, they allowed their stomachs time for digestion. Draco picked up one of the Muggle books from Severus' shelves...literature not available at the Manor. Later they resumed spell training in the woods nearby. Draco was to chase Severus and, in full run, transform objects to make him trip, force him to change path, or simply hit him. It was an innovative way of thinking and had taken some time to get used to. Severus had set himself the goal not only of avoiding being injured or distracted, but also casting objects out of his way and regularly emitting protection domes. Further, it was his task to keep the two of them from Muggle sight.

This training concept effectively challenged them both, as it was based on the huge difference in their experience and knowledge. Considering the risk for accidents, they would not exchange roles for a long time to come.

Their physical performance had profited from their chase practice as well as their wandwork. Their speed had increased so much that the little woods felt smaller every week.

Two men in trainers and light track suits didn't raise any suspicion in the Muggle town. On the contrary, they met fellow runners. Only their wands had to be hidden when they were out in the open.

Panting heavily, they arrived back at Spinner's End. Draco had seen the Muggles do some stretching after a run, and he did so while Severus had his shower. Lying on one leg, he noticed that this was more remarkable than one would think: a Malfoy copying Muggle habits!

They had dinner...the same chicken salad as yesterday.

Before Draco could cotton up on the discussion they had started outside, Severus left the sitting room announcing an early repose and proposing to Draco to do the same.

This early in bed, Draco could not calm down easily. With his thoughts fixed on the two brave Lycanthropes who had shown an interest in testing the new Wolfsbane, Draco drifted into sleep. Those two had not given up; neither would he.

__..~^^^^~..__..~^^^^~..__

Friday morning they took up their training with the secondary wand. This task was far from a favourite to either of them, but the Dark Lord had insisted that his Death Eaters become accustomed to a replacement wand. The Inner Circle was to be the glowing example, and Draco's position in the group of ascenders could only benefit from showing eagerness and success. The latter they lacked so dearly that their will was also strained.

The barriers and protections well in place, Friday and the weekend were ideal days to train with the second wand they had been provided with by Ollivander. The old man had his own logic about which wands to present to a wizard or witch. The new one was hardly ever the same coating wood, nor was the length necessarily close to what they were used to. Merely the core usually remained, but he had only three choices anyway, hadn't he? Also, he had run low of Phoenix feathers, leaving only Unicorn hair and Dragon heartstring available. Faced with their frustration, Ollivander had given them verifiable proof in the form of a seventeen-hundred-year-old, bleached parchment on wand-making, Know Thine Wand Family, by E. Ollivander. Yet, this confirmation had not improved their results the least bit.

Suppressing a sigh, Draco put his primary wand into his wand pocket and took the secondary wand in his hand. It felt warm and active, though different from his old friend. Feeling increasingly silly, he once again performed first year spells, hovering feathers and small pieces of parchment, hoping to proceed to transforming a match into a pin. The first two hovering attempts went nicely, but then his wand hand started shaking. He lost all will to keep on with his new wand while his hand was magically drawn to the wand pocket. After four spells, he could not resist anymore and angrily dropped the second wand to the sideboard to get a hold on his old, familiar wand again.

"What if you deposit your wand on the corner shelf and move to the other end of the room?" his teacher asked.

There were many uncomfortable things Draco would prefer to do, but he tried anyway as Severus proposed and had three nice hovers before his hand itched. His fourth attempt was feeble, the fifth abysmal. At the sixth attempt, the feather exploded, smoke filled the room, and Draco gave in to the pull to cross over and take hold on the old wand. His wand, that is. In near-physical pain, he gripped it, letting his thumb glide over the familiar surface. It felt for the well known small dents and scratches, and Draco's heart slowed down. "Would you believe it?" he grumbled. "Last Saturday I still got five good ones before I had to pass. Now you try! Set me an example, Mister Inner-Circle-Right-Hand-of-our-Master."

The snarky comment earned Draco a raised eyebrow, where two months ago he would have been on the floor, toothbrush in hand. Or, in fact, he would have fainted before such a sentence had escaped him. Equipped only with his new, unfamiliar wand, Draco always felt more exposed than unarmed, and he assumed Severus would have similar problems. However, his mentor's stern face gave nothing away as he said, "We must try. In earlier days, wizards had less of a problem with the concept of two or even three rivalling wands."

His old wand at the other end of the room, Severus Snape held a parchment hovering perfectly for a minute. Releasing his breath, he let it down and tried again. The feather, however hardly turned over. Pathetic, even for a Goyle, Draco thought, but could not feel any glory. The third, more violent attempt set the slip on fire, and with a leap Severus crossed over, connecting painfully with the armchair, grabbed his wand and shouted "Aguamenti!" A load of two buckets of water drenched the sofa and floor where Draco had already extinguished the flames.

"Did you rush to your wand because of the fire or did you rush over due to a general need, and the wand came handy to extinguish the flames?" Draco asked, throwing drying spells around until they stood in a warm mist.

"I don't know," Severus replied while Banishing the steam. "But I do know that I was better last weekend."

Against his feelings of naked exposure, Severus now dropped his wand on his bedside table and returned to the sitting room. Even without trying any magic, he felt bad. He picked up the new wand. The warmth and prickling felt like a feeble attempt to be reassuring, that didn't quite reach the subconscious parts of his mind.

Thrice he managed to hover the parchment well. Then he failed. The second failure brought him to the door to his sleeping room, and a third attempt was just not possible. The urge to reach out for his old friend was overwhelming, and he had it in his hand before he could think straight again.

"Distance seems to improve the results." Determined now, Severus commanded Draco to stand guard most attentively. "Remember you've sworn the oath also to my benefit!" With a last glare at Draco, he dropped his old wand again, left and closed the door to the sleeping room.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" The feather hovered. Severus steered it in a circle around himself. He chanced a glance at Draco, who watched in vigilance. The feather found the table, and Severus repeated the charm with the parchment. This time, he had to complete the round with haste, tossed the substitute tool most unceremoniously and even kicked it while running to the bedroom. He wrenched the door open as if someone was drowning inside and dived to the bedside table to grab his wand.

Severus regarded both his wands: his old friend and the new stick of wood. Never would he treat his familiar wand the way he had just treated the secondary wand.

Draco tried again with very similar effects. The distance improved the first two to four spells, but made the urge to reach for the old wand even stronger afterwards. "It is no good."

"We seem to be approaching it in a wrong way. I will owl Goyle to bring Ollivander this afternoon. He will have to explain it once again. Maybe it will make sense this time. We at least have a distraction for the day before we catch Hermione Granger."

After Pöllö, the elderly owl, had left with the missive for Goyle, Severus went to the cellar, and Draco tried to concentrate on his reading on the topic of Transforming solid objects into animal forms. He might try and Transform stone into a beast just before Crabbe junior stepped on it. Preferably into a Blast Ended Screwt, he joked inwardly. Crabbe had been terrified of them. Slytherin house ethics had made them cover up for their house-mate, to not let show any weakness to that Gryffindor lot, but once in the common room, he had felt the teasing and shame all the same.

For four months, Draco had hardly seen the two bodyguard-like companions he had been tied to at Hogwarts. Together with their fathers and mothers, they performed minor tasks for the Dark Lord. These families will never mount high in the ranks, but then again they were also safe from dropping low. At school they had learned their mutual roles, Draco leading, the others obeying. With a wide grin, he remembered their embarrassment at being transformed into girls while standing guard for him. Draco the maker. No, it had been Malfoy the maker. He had inherited the status together with his blond hair. Undeserved, and today he could say, unwanted.

Draco wondered if those two, or their parents, had been given second wands, and if so how they managed with them. If their magical forefathers had fared better than this, then possibly simple-minded people could have an advantage here? What a thought from a Malfoy!

The Dark Lord had, of course, good reason to replace wands or have second ones in use. The Ministry registered all the wands sold in Britain. Their slothful arses securely anchored in their chairs in the Ministry, they would not regularly trace down every single wand in action, but if they got hold of the cursed objects they could find some characteristics of the spell and the wand. Also, they can prove the origin of a curse if the wand is available. Death Eaters have already been convicted with Priori Incantatem or similar revealing spells executed on their wands.

The other, trivial reason was, of course, that in the battlefield a wand might get lost, and a second working one is an asset. Draco had no inkling of experiencing this too soon. His secondary wand didn't feel wrong, but it certainly didn't feel right, either.

Draco prepared their well-known sandwiches with roast beef and cheese, added red pepper and called Severus to take a break. They had lunch in silence, as Severus preferred it.

They started their afternoon with brewing in the cellar. Draco strained his eyes to identify his ingredients. If there was something he would still change here, it was the light. With a sneer Severus pointed out that a Potions master had more means than his eyes to know a brew.

The house-guard spell announced the approach of someone, calling Draco out of his thoughts.

__..~^^^^~..__..~^^^^~..__

Mr Ollivander was a poor sight. The old man was weakened, yet still gagged and roped. While Goyle junior grinned at Draco, Goyle senior hovered their captive into the sitting room where Crabbe senior had already taken a seat. None of the three bothered about easing up with the confining spells. Severus took out the gag, loosened the ropes and allowed the man to sit. Draco returned from the kitchen and handed Ollivander a glass of water, which the old man thankfully accepted. His eyes went momentarily wide, but then he noted with an indifferent voice that the water did well on his dry mouth and against his nausea from the Apparition.

Severus asked the three Death Eaters about their experiences with a second wand. Goyle shook his head in frustration and eyed Ollivander in suspicion. So did the other two, although they had not replied to Severus. His voice more even now, Ollivander said, "Ah yes, they cannot operate two wands, and it is of course my fault. I assume you did not listen, or at least you did not understand me."

When Severus and Draco started telling the wandmaker about their experiences, he cut them short, anticipating their report. "You increased the distance to the first wand and worked with the second wand alone? No wonder it won't work. I assume it went well a few times then worsened? And fewer successful spells with each day? Yes, just what would be expected." The man knew more than he told them. However, since this wasn't information one could grasp with snatched pictures, Legilimency wasn't going to help them. Which, Draco reminded himself, was a good thing since it was valid for all Death Eaters.

Looking from one to the other, the wandmaker shook his head. "Hand me all your wands. I'll prove that they work. Oh, no, I didn't assume you'd do it simultaneously."

Draco knew instinctively that he would have to be the first to surrender his wands to Ollivander. His mentor, as the master of the house, would not do so, and their guests weren't going to make a start either. The old man requested his own wand that Goyle produced out of a pocket, pointing his own to his captive's heart.

Ollivander cast simple sparkling spells with his own and Draco's two wands. A Lumos on each of them followed. Then he used one after the other to levitate a book. In the end, he transformed the book into a waste basket with Draco's first wand, into a roll of empty parchment, using Draco's second wand and after using his own wand, he returned the fully restored book to Severus.

"You must understand the needs of all your wands. None of them wants to be excluded. Only that the wand you have owned for a long time already knows what you can give it, while the newer one has no such inclination yet." At their dumb looks, Mr Ollivander continued, "Tell me, Mr Snape, Mr Malfoy, do you have siblings?" They shook their heads.

"Stop babbling, old man or I will..."

"Stop that, Goyle! We need to learn this, as our master has demanded it. Mr Ollivander is the one and only person who seems to know what it is we don't understand." Severus, furious that he could not do more for the old man, had finally found an outlet of his anger. "You'd better not mistreat him in any way. I do not like the stench of blood in my furniture either. Hand him your two wands! NOW!"

Gritting his teeth, Gregory's father obliged, and Ollivander performed the same series of spells again.

"You see, I was five years old when my parents declared I was now a bigger brother who had to always love the little red crying bundle that lay in the cradle at the window because that was my brother, and brothers love each other. Well, I can tell you, I had a hard time. My mother had to tend to him all the time. She didn't seem to spend any time with me at all, and when she did, she wanted me to help her with stuff I didn't like."

"What has this got to do with wands?" This time it was Crabbe with the question and quite an intellectual achievement for the man.

"Coming to it, coming to it, young man. Don't be so impatient."

Severus shot a warning look at Crabbe, and Ollivander continued, "As I was saying, two children want each to get a fair share of their mother. Similarly, two wands want their fair share. When my mother got furious, she closed the door in my face and demanded that I should 'behave' before she would let me out again. This went all right when I knew her to be cleaning the kitchen or mending robes. When she used the time for my brother, though, I got furious and banged at the door, cried and even harmed myself, until she fetched me, telling me that she loved us both equally and the like. You get it?"

They did not. Draco was again thinking of the little sister he had not been allowed to have, and he doubted seriously he would have ever been jealous. No, he would have carried her around, played with her, and later, so much later, he might just have been jealous of her first boyfriend. Yes, that he could imagine. But then again, if she had lived, he would not have known the emptiness of a life without her. Just like now, he didn't know what it meant to have siblings.

He certainly didn't know what siblings and wands had in common. "Can you give us a more practical tip of what to do, please?"

"Not quite. Do them all justice and you can manage half a dozen wands. It is a matter of feelings."

Feelings, comparisons with feelings towards people...these were lost thoughts for Severus. It didn't help that the Goyles and Crabbe didn't understand it either. Draco tried his best to at least look a little less thick than them, but he did not succeed. Severus addressed him rather sharply. "Draco, fetch up today's healing potions. Goyle can take them along when they leave," Towards them, he added, "but please be my guests for a light dinner."

When Draco returned, Severus had engaged Ollivander and his two guards in a conversation on the most recent onslaught. With a cushioning charm around the tins and phials, Draco delivered his two-days' work to Gregory Goyle and proceeded into the kitchen. He set the whole pot of soup on to boil and returned with glasses of drinks for Ollivander as well as for the others.

Crabbe and both Goyles relayed some details Severus had not known. They had reinforced spells and took turns guarding a deserted place in Cornwall...a rock off the coast. Was it the position of a Horcrux?

Crabbe eyed the potions greedily and asked if he could possibly get his share immediately. "Our master distributes the potions as he sees fit." Severus reminded him, while, as Draco noticed, Gregory Goyle had a very strange expression on his face. As if he was thinking! Can't be, Draco decided and headed back into the kitchen.

He returned, levitating six soup bowls, spoons and the pot. He measured a good portion for the old wandmaker, ladling or magicking the best pieces of meat in there. His guards got a ladle of soup as well. It could not really be avoided. Severus' face took on a weird expression while he eyed them, one after the other, his wand barely protruding from his sleeve. They ate with little discussion. Neither Crabbe nor the Goyles asked for second helpings while Ollivander got his bowl refilled.

The unpleasant group gagged and bound Mr Ollivander and turned to leave. Severus accompanied them to the door and murmured three spells.

Back inside, he turned to Draco: "What have we learned today?"

"That operating two wands would be easier if we had had two siblings?"

"Something like that," Severus agreed with a sigh.

__..~^^^^~..__..~^^^^~..__

Clearing away dishes, Draco mused over the subtle change in his relationship with Severus. He had not delivered water to Mr Ollivander, but a nourishing potion first, and a Pepper-Up later. Severus had of course noticed and not reacted.

Then there had been the impromptu dinner. They had not planned to beforehand, but they had both found it necessary to provide the old man with some comfort, a nourishing, warm meal, if nothing else was in their hands. However, they had made the huge pot of soup to be free from cooking lunches over the weekend. Neither of them had hesitated to share it. What was more: they had both known that the other would agree.

Severus must have modified the minds of Ollivander's guards on their way out. And he had made little effort to hide this fact from his young charge.

__..~^^^^~..__..~^^^^~..__

Much later, already in bed, Draco considered more details. Some memories of his recent life played through his mind's eye as vivid pictures.

In their many quiet evenings, they had returned several times to their future perspective.

Severus didn't expect anything from life. He would shock Draco with statements like, "Friendship is a hollow concept. The Dark Lord binds his followers with the Dark Mark, with fear and pain. Dumbledore bound me with an Unbreakable Vow for endless years before he began to trust me. I bound you, as I cannot trust you either."

On more than one occasion, Severus had returned from his operations complaining vehemently about the Sands, the Parkinsons or other couples that stood in their master's service. He would equally mock the Carrow siblings or Paul Nott who overprotected his son Theodore.

Draco had tried to reason that they would naturally protect their spouse or close relatives even if it made the task as a whole more difficult, but Severus showed no sympathy for any mention of the word love. "Love," he would spit, "what is it good for? You'd better keep yourself free from such nonsense and remain in control of your wits." From all Draco could tell, Severus didn't know what any kind of love felt like, and had never been on the receiving end of it either.

If the ten weeks Draco had spent at Spinner's End were an indicator, Severus did not feel the physical need for a sex life either. The inappropriate remarks and snide questions directed at Draco during Death Eater gatherings pointed the same direction.

Severus and Draco had also discussed the wards of Hogwarts castle on which they had complementary experiences. Besides the external wards...which protected rather well against intruders...the different sections were protected individually. The ingredients cupboards in the potions lab must not allow unauthorised access. The wards cannot be absolute though, allowing for the case that a colleague needed to fill in for a lesson or wanted to brew for himself. This permission had included an impostor like Crouch, unfortunately.

And there was always the clever student who broke the wards. One of them had been Severus Snape, which explained why in the last eighteen years there had not been many others.

It was easier to set up strong wards on a teacher's private quarters because they could be personalised. Severus' private rooms were most likely as safe as the headmaster's. "I have set up four layers. The first isn't really a ward, only an empathy check. It allows passage only to those who really want to reach my personality and who empathise with me. Then there are two normal wards. Breaking them must not take too long though, because there is another empathy check inside them. It is linked to the outer one such that the empathic feeling must have held all through the way. Otherwise the wards snap back into place. And even if someone ever passes through, the study cannot be left open for long. The four wards replace themselves."

With his eyebrows raised, Severus had noted, "The greasy bat of the dungeon, the nightmare of generations of Potions students does not get empathic visitors, you see. Not even Slytherins come to me for personal reasons. Do not lie; I have seen your mind. This barrier is invulnerable."

Draco had asked if the inside could not show Severus' true nature as a spy for the good side, for Potter and for the Order. Severus had not denied that. This was what the half year in Draco's Vow was for. Severus would attempt to open his quarters and give the Order or Ministry the proof he had, together with explanations. "I simply have too many enemies...in each group...to allow one of them to destroy this last chance of proving my position. But again," he insisted, "this is purely hypothetical. I took these precautions more to keep the headmaster from nagging me than for anything else."

Draco's ears had burned red at the mention of Albus Dumbledore.

Draco checked the clock. It was midnight, and tomorrow they would have to play pretend, catching Hermione Granger. He needed to sleep.

__..~^^^^~..__..~^^^^~..__

__..~^^^^~..__..~^^^^~..__

A/N: This is the end of this little story. The next day they go out and they make a catch indeed. Find this adventure and its consequences in my story Three Options for Ginny. But if you don't mind too much, please leave a review here before you leave. Thank you!!

Greengecko and cnjstout made this story what it is today. They pushed Snape back in character and my sentences into standard-English. I owe them so much. Thanks girls, you were great!!!