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Ambiguous Allies	By : AuctorRubra Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 1275 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Testing the Waters
- 2-Pomp and Circumstance
- 1
- 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything
else in J.K. Rowling�s magical world. If I did, I would be on some tropical
island right now sucking back margaritas and getting a back massage from my
personal cabana boy. Alas, this is not the case. Instead, I am sitting in my
basement writing fan fiction with knots in my shoulders. HOWEVER�I still have
the margaritas so it�s all good! 8)

A/N: Yes, that�s right, I�m starting ANOTHER story.
Those damn plot bunnies are over running my back yard. It might be time to
pull out the shotgun. All my other stories will continue, Did I mention that
I love you guys for putting up with me?

Beware of HBP Spoilers in this Author Note!!

A/N2 aka Things you should know about this story: Okay,
here are just a few things you should know to help smooth over the transition
into this story. Everything that happened in books 1-6 will remain the same
EXCEPT for: 1.) I will have no respect for cannon relationships�okay
maybe a little, but I�m going to play with them quite a bit so please don�t
complain. Its all in good fun. 2.) Sirius is not dead. He is very
much alive, breathing, hunky, and driving my favorite Potions Master crazy. 3.)
Forget all that BS about Snape killing Dumbledore. I am coping with it in my other
stories and I refuse to do it in this one. I�m just going to close my eyes,
plug my ears, and go �la, la, la� and pretend like none of it ever happened. I
am going to say that Snape made an Unbreakable Vow to Dumbledore many, many
moons ago, which overrode the one he made to Narcissa Malfoy, allowing him to
NOT kill Dumbledore when Draco fails. In short- Draco chickened out so he�s
got a reprieve; Snape arrives and saves the day with Draco and Harry�s help.
Tada! The happy ending that some of us wish we had gotten. (Hey, I know Young
Adult Literature isn�t about happy endings, it�s about ambiguous futures and
angst, but I�m delusional so there.) 4.) Because of Snape saving the
day, he has been discovered to be a traitor by the Death Eaters. He is, of
course, very bitter and cranky about this. (Just the way I love him.) He is
also confined to Hogwarts, thereby giving Sirius the opportunity to rain down
retribution upon him by picking on him about it. (I love watching those two
fight.) On with the show. Read, Review, and Enjoy!

Auctor Rubra

Chapter 1: Testing the Waters

Harry slowly made his way down
into the dungeons, silently going over what he intended to say to Snape. He
knew that the man had given up a great deal by exposing himself, at least in
his own mind. For his part, Harry thought that Snape should be relieved to be
free from spying, but he knew that his potions professor now felt as useless as
Sirius had during his own period under �house arrest�. Besides, he needed to
play the part of a sympathetic ear if he was going to get the wizard to help
teach him Occlumency again. True, even Dumbledore agreed that the last attempt
had been a fiasco, but something deep down in Harry�s gut told him that
training with Snape would serve him best in the end. He just couldn�t count on
Dumbledore to push him all the way, brutally if it was needed. Things were
coming to a peak and Harry needed to be ready for anything.

As he faced the door to the
Potions Master�s office Harry took a deep, cleansing breath, raised his fist,
and rapped twice on the door.

�Enter,� came the curt reply.

Harry pushed opened the door and
peeked inside. Snape was sitting at his desk looking over some parchments.
The sallow faced wizard glance up and sneered. Harry swallowed hard and
gathered his courage, trying to focus on his goal.

�Well, are you coming in or not,
Potter,� the man snapped.

Pushing the door open a bit
further, Harry shuffled inside and then quietly shut it behind him. �Sir, I
was wondering if I could talk to you about a few things.�

Snape fixed him with a calculating
look and then motioned for him to sit. Harry quickly situated himself in the
hard wooden chair. He then began to fiddle with the sleeve of his robes,
trying to decide where to start. �Spit it out, Potter. I have no time to
waste on trying to guess what you may want.�

�Sir, I wanted to thank you,�
Harry said softly.

Snape snorted. �Really? For what
exactly are you thanking me?�

Harry cleared his throat and
groped for the magic words that would show the professor that he was sincere.
�I don�t want to think about what would have happened if you hadn�t shown up
that night, sir. Dumbledore would be dead. I might be dead. Draco would be
dead or worse. We all owe you quite a bit.�

�You owe me nothing, Potter,�
Snape snarled and continued to shuffle his parchments. �And don�t pretend to
care about Mr. Malfoy�s fate. Dumbledore is displeased with me and I see no
reason for you to be grateful if he is not.�

Harry bristled at his words. He
might not have warm fuzzy feelings for Draco Malfoy, but that did not mean he
wanted the Slytherin to become a murderer or one of Voldemort�s cronies. Moreover,
what was this nonsense about Dumbledore not being grateful? Snape had saved
the man�s life for the love of Merlin!

�He must be, sir. You saved his
life!� Snape gave Harry a sharp look as his volume elevated and Harry tried to
calm back down. �And for your information I wouldn�t want anyone to feel like
they had no choice but the Death Eaters, even ferre�Malfoy.�

Snape just stared at him for a
moment and Harry got the feeling that he was searching for some hint of
falsehood. Soon the dark eyes dropped back down to the desk and when Snape spoke,
his voice was still rough, but quiet. �I disobeyed his orders, Potter. I was
to protect my position as a spy at all costs and I have failed.�

The young wizard�s green eyes grew
wide. �Surely he couldn�t have meant for you to kill him to meet that
end? That is insane! None of us would have listened to you anymore anyway.
It would have been for nothing!�

�Calm down, Potter,� the Potions
Master snapped. �I came to many of those same conclusions, hence the reason
our headmaster is still with us. Regardless, he is upset that we will no
longer have a spy amongst the Dark Lord�s ranks.�

�No,� Harry said firmly. �No,
he�s wrong for thinking that way.�

�You presume to have better judgment
than one of the most powerful wizards our world has ever known?�

Harry rolled his eyes. �Of course
not, but power doesn�t make him infallible. He told me that himself once! He
was focusing too hard on his goal and didn�t think about what it would have
done to you.�

Snape sneered at him then and
Harry bit his lip and wondered how far he could push his point. �Oh? And just
what would it have done to me, Potter?�

�You would have been separated
from us completely and there would have been no way we would continue to accept
your help. You would have been an outcast throughout the magical world. Even
if you survived the war you would have been hunted and, if caught, given the
dementor�s kiss.� Harry paused and took a slow breath. �Did the headmaster
have some secret plan to save you from all that?�

�Have you considered what my
having the Dark Lord�s complete trust might have been worth?� Harry nearly
growled in frustration as his professor evaded his question.

�It couldn�t be worth it. Not if
you had to sell your soul for it,� Harry grated out. Didn�t the man see? He
knew that the older wizard was not a pleasant, happy, or kind person, but there
must be something good in him if Dumbledore had trusted him for so long.

Snape�s obsidian eyes were boring
into him. �I sold my soul a long time ago, Potter. Perhaps that is why I was
best suited for the job.�

It was Harry�s turn to snort.
�Sir, with all due respect, you may be a bastard most of the time, but you are
not a soulless bastard. You have saved me more times than I care to
consider. You�ve risked yourself for the Order, for the light. You have a
soul, sir, whether you acknowledge it or not.�

�And what of those I didn�t save,�
Snape asked softly. He was no longer looking at Harry, but staring off into
the flames in his small fireplace.

Harry sighed. Of course, he would
have to bring that up just as Harry was convincing himself that he could ignore
it. �I won�t lie to you, I don�t know if I can ever forgive you for the fact
that you are the one who told him, but you didn�t do that to me directly. You
couldn�t have known that it would be my parents. I wanted to hate you for it.
You are the reason for just about every bad turn my life has taken�or at least
the reason that it was destined to be a dark path. I won�t believe that you�re
sorry my dad died. He was an arse to you, not that he deserved to die for it,
but if I were in your shoes, I wouldn�t be sorry. I do believe you�d be sorry
for my mom.�

�What is it that you want,
Potter. Why are you telling me all this?� Snape�s voice was strained and he
still refused to meet Harry�s gaze.

�I need your help, sir,� Harry
said in a soft, desperate voice. �I need to learn Occlumency from someone who
won�t go easy on me. I need your insights into how Voldemort might be
planning. I need you to tell me what I�m really going to face.�

Snape had flinched when Harry said
�Voldemort�, but he didn�t scold him. Harry waited anxiously while the
professor allowed the silence to grow. Just as he was about to give up hope
and slip out of the room, the dark eyed wizard spoke. �Very well, Potter. I am
aware of the fact that the headmaster has agreed for you to split your summer
between Hogwarts and Grimmauld Place. We�ll discuss a schedule at a later
date.�

Taking the dismissal for what it
was Harry slipped out of his chair. �Thank you, sir.�

Snape waved his hand in a dismissive
gesture and Harry hurried from the room, eager to let Ron and Hermione know
that he had succeeded and anxious to sort out how he felt about Dumbledore�s
cruel demands of Snape.

_______________________________________________

Severus watched as his office door
closed and let a sigh of relief slip past his lips as it clicked shut. He had
been surprised at Potter�s defense of him and the boy�s honest and earnest
statements. Though he did not look forward to once again attempting to pound
Occlumency into the boy�s thick skull, he was glad to feel needed. Even if it
was Potter who needed him.

The last week had made him quite
miserable. Between Dumbledore�s quiet disapproval, the other Order members�
annoying praise and thanks, being told that the mutt would replace him as the
Defense teacher while he went back to potions, and realizing that he was now
useless in the war effort, Severus was prepared to go stand in the middle of
Diagon Alley and wait for the Death Eaters to come and take him away.

Well, you have a purpose now,
don�t you?

Severus snorted. Teaching Potter
was hardly his first choice of things to do in order to be considered useful.
Still, if he could just get the boy to focus and take his task seriously it
would all be worth it in the end.

�Severus?� Turning to face the
fire, he saw the headmaster�s face floating in the flames. �Severus, could you
come to my office please? I have some things I would like to discuss with
you.�

�Of course, headmaster,� Severus
said with a curt nod.

He rose from his desk and made a
swift exit from his office. Sweeping through the halls, he was grateful for
the absence of students. Potter and his friends were still lurking about, as
were the mutt and werewolf, but they had remained blissfully out of sight for
the past few days. Lupin had been one of the Order members to come and thank
him for saving the headmaster. Severus understood where the gratitude came
from. Dumbledore was the werewolf�s protector, just as he was his own in so
many ways. It was the one similarity between himself and the beast that
Severus would admit too. Luckily, the Gods had been kind enough to keep Black
from feeling obligated to give thanks.

It would have killed him.
Wouldn�t he just choke on his own arrogant pride if he knew that Dumbledore had
ordered me to do the deed and I chose not to?

When Severus arrived at the
gargoyle guarding the headmaster�s staircase, he muttered the password with a
roll of his eyes. Would the man never get over his obsession with sweets? What
the devil was a tootsie roll any way? He tapped on the oaken door and waited
to be summoned inside.

�Come in, Severus.�

The door drifted open and Severus
slipped smoothly into the headmaster�s bauble filled office. There was a
cloaked figure standing before Dumbledore�s desk speaking softly. Judging from
the short height and slight frame, Severus figured it was either a woman or
young man. The voice was so low that he could not determine if it was of a
masculine or feminine quality. He did, however, manage to catch the tail end
of the conversation.

�I will speak with them, but I can
guarantee nothing,� the figure said softly. �My opinion is ignored by most.�

�But they will hear what you have
to say,� the headmaster said while peering over his half moon spectacles.

�Yes. If they deem the threat to
be substantial they will probably negotiate, but you must realize that we are
presently fighting our own battles.�

�We may soon share enemies. Do
not underestimate who Voldemort will be willing to align himself with.�
Dumbledore�s tone was stern, though Severus could see the ever-present twinkle
burning brightly.

He was surprised when he heard the
figure let loose a quiet snort. �He will be lucky if they are willing
to align themselves with him. Do not forget the way they think. It is
definitely a possibility, but from what you have told me this Voldemort does
not seem like one who would be willing to be considered anything but superior.
They would think him to be a pawn.�

�And he would use it to his
advantage I�m afraid,� Dumbledore said with a soft sigh. �Very well, I trust
you to do your best. Please let me know if a meeting can be arranged.�

Severus saw the figure nod and
waited to see if he could catch a glimpse of its face as it left the office. Unfortunately,
its hood hung low shadowing the face completely and the rest of the cloak hung
loosely, giving no hint to the shape of the body beneath. The figure brushed
past him and out the door without a word or sign of acknowledgement.

He walked up and sat down before
the headmaster�s desk then. The elderly wizard was shaking his head with a
small smile on his lips. �You�ll have to forgive Sureblade. Not one for
introductions I�m afraid.�

Severus cocked a brow, not missing
the fact that Dumbledore had managed not to give a hint of his guest�s gender.
Sureblade was not any wizard name that he had ever heard.

�You�ll know soon enough, Severus,�
Dumbledore said with a smile. �I have decided that after our failure with the
giants it was necessary to begin to seek out other allies, particularly ones
who would have no interest in serving Voldemort.�

�And was your guest one of those
allies,� Severus asked.

The headmaster cocked his head
thoughtfully to the side. �In part. Sureblade has promised to try to convince
the elves to have a meeting with us. They are beings who faithfully follow the
light. I doubt if they currently feel threatened by Voldemort, but that may
change. In any case, they might be willing to join us against him purely on
principle.�

Severus shook his head. What was
next? First they tried to form an alliance with giants and now they were going
to try to sway the most vain and arrogant creatures on the Earth to their aid.
Elves held no love or consideration for humans. �Are you sure this is wise,
Albus? You know the opinions they hold of us.�

�I believe that we may find strong
allies amongst them, Severus. Even a handful of elves could sway the course of
a battle.�

He couldn�t argue with that.
Elves were notoriously powerful beings. Wielders of nature and blessed by some
ancient god because of their crusade against all evil. �Do you think we will
gain something more significant?�

The headmaster grew thoughtful.
�They are still waging their ancient wars, but I believe the time is coming
fast when our two enemies will join together as one.�

Severus sucked in his breath.
�The dark elves will join Voldemort?�

�There is a chance.�

This changes the perspective a
great deal. Neither of the two dark forces would be truly loyal to the other,
leaving the alliance weak, but it could still be deadly for the wizarding
world. �So we are going to join forces with the elves?�

�We are simply testing the waters
right now, Severus,� Albus with a smile. �Only time will tell.�
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