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Loyalty	By : Dazzlious Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 5492 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from J K Rowling's fantastic books or films, I'm just borrowing and playing with them for a little while and get no monetary reward for doing so.

Chapter List
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A/N: Thank you to my beta, Mamacita for her sterling work sorting out my punctuation. Dx

After they had arrived back at the school and Snape had made sure the girls got back to their dormitory safely, he headed off to see the Headmaster to tell him what had happened that evening. He was particularly worried by the conversation that he’d had with Lucius and told Albus so.
‘I don’t know if Amber isn’t doing everything he wants, but Lucius seems to be tiring of her already,’ Snape announced.
‘So perhaps he’ll give her a bit of a break now — if he realises she isn’t as easily manipulated as he thought,’ Dumbledore replied.
‘No. He can’t give her a break, that’s why he gave her to his goons. He has to do something with her. But he spoke to me tonight about the final challenge. I got the feeling he’s almost given up. He expects Amber to do what he says regardless and he really doesn’t care what happens to her, but from the way he was talking, I’m not sure he wants to prolong the competition. I thought we’d have a few more weeks at least, but I’m not sure that’s the case any longer.’ Snape scowled deeply as he spoke.
‘Have you spoken to Charlotte about it yet?’ Albus asked.
‘No. I know I need to, but I’d hoped it would be a while before I had to mention it. Although to be honest, I can’t see any other challenges that either Lucius or the Dark Lord would be able to issue except ones that involve pain or death, and I couldn’t possibly order Charlotte to do something like that. I assume Lucius realises Amber isn’t going to be able to do anything like that either.’
‘You are going to tell Charlotte, aren’t you, Severus?’ Albus asked gently.
‘Yes, of course I am,’ Snape replied shortly. ‘How could I not? Even if there wasn’t anything between us I couldn’t keep this final challenge from her; it wouldn’t be fair.’
Albus nodded understandingly. ‘She definitely does need to know,’ he said.
Snape scowled again. ‘Don’t worry, old man, I promise I’ll tell her.’
‘Actually, I’d like to speak to Charlotte,’ Dumbledore mused. ‘I’d like to see how she’s coping with all this.’
‘She’s fine,’ Snape said, a touch of annoyance in his voice, ‘but if you really want to talk to her, I’ll tell her.’
‘I’ll speak to her tomorrow after breakfast, Severus. Can you ask her to come and see me?’ Dumbledore’s voice had taken on a far more serious tone.
‘Of course, Albus,’ Snape replied, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

Charlotte headed toward the Headmaster’s office feeling a little worried. Severus had sent her an owl to tell her Dumbledore wanted to see her after breakfast and she couldn’t imagine why. Was it something to do with the conversation she had overheard between Lucius and Severus last night?
She hadn’t really had time to think about what she had heard, but she knew that whatever it was they had been discussing, it wasn’t good. However, she was confident Severus wouldn’t keep her in the dark. Whatever it was, he would tell her about it when she needed to know. At least she had that assurance. Poor Amber had no such possibility.
Charlotte reached the gargoyle at the entrance to the Headmaster’s office and quickly muttered the password Severus had given her in his note to gain entrance to the stairs. She wasn’t surprised to find the Headmaster waiting for her when she reached the door to his office atop the revolving stairway.
Albus Dumbledore smiled at her brightly, his blue eyes twinkling.
‘Come in, Charlotte,’ he said in a friendly voice and ushered her into his office.
Charlotte entered the room and moved toward his desk, intending to sit in the chair there, but Dumbledore called her over to where a pair of more comfortable chairs stood near the fire. She sank into one of them, then looked at the Headmaster enquiringly.
‘Do you need anything? Tea, coffee, pumpkin juice?’
‘No thank you, sir, I’m fine,’ Charlotte replied politely.
The Headmaster looked at her for a moment before speaking. ‘Charlotte, I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve asked to speak to you.’
Charlotte nodded without saying anything.
‘I wanted to discuss with you how you’re feeling. About everything that’s going on.’ He looked at her keenly.
Charlotte returned the look. ‘I’m fine,’ she replied blandly.
Dumbledore nodded. ‘Charlotte, I know this can’t have been easy for you, being thrust into a competition that you knew nothing about and didn’t want to participate in . . . .’
Charlotte cut in. ‘Sir, I think maybe Amber has more problems than I do. I was lucky in my choice of Severus as he’s been very considerate toward me, something that can’t possibly be said of Lucius Malfoy. Obviously, in other circumstances, Severus wouldn’t have been my first choice for a lover, nor I his, but I think we make a good couple and I wouldn’t change anything that’s happened for anything in the world.’ She gave a small smile as she thought about Severus.
‘I will be speaking to Amber later this morning. You need have no worries on that score,’ Dumbledore confirmed. ‘However, is there nothing that worries you about the situation you are in?’
‘I overheard Severus and Lucius talking at the meeting. Lucius was saying something about the last challenge. It sounded pretty bad. I’m a bit worried about that, but I’m sure Severus will tell me about it when he’s ready.’
‘Yes, Severus will be telling you about it soon, I think,’ Dumbledore assured her, his voice gentle.
‘Do you know what it is?’ Charlotte asked, frowning.
Dumbledore sighed expressively. ‘I do, Charlotte, but it’s not up to me to tell you about it.’
Charlotte nodded. ‘I know that,’ she said, ‘but it is bad, isn’t it? Severus told Lucius he didn’t care if I obeyed him in it or not — and he’s always made it clear how important it is that I obey him completely.’
Dumbledore looked interested. ‘He said, that did he?’ He smiled, his bright eyes twinkling again. ‘Well, I think everything’s probably going to work out just fine, then. Now, I’ve kept you long enough; I should let you get back to your lessons.’

Charlotte had intended to mention to Severus that she had overheard his discussion with Lucius, to see if it would prompt him to tell her about the final challenge, but she had no need to mention it. As soon as they had finished their first kiss Severus released her from his grasp, holding her hands and gazing intently at her with a deep scowl on his face.
‘Charlotte, I need to talk to you.’ His voice was soft but more serious than she had ever heard it.
‘Is it about the final challenge?’ she asked, her heart suddenly pounding.
Snape nodded. ‘Yes. I need to explain to you what it will involve.’
Charlotte was feeling a bit worried now; his voice sounded so serious. ‘Hold me, please?’ she asked quietly.
He smiled at her briefly and pulled her into his arms. They sat on the sofa together, Charlotte’s head resting on Snape’s shoulder as he held her close with one arm, the other hand gently stroking her hair.
‘The last challenge is bad, isn’t it, Severus?’ Charlotte asked quietly when Snape remained silent.
‘Yes.’ Snape’s rich voice was husky. ‘Charlotte, this isn’t the first time this competition has been held, and unfortunately, I’m not sure it will be the last. However, the last challenge is always the same.’
‘So tell me — what do I have to do?’ Charlotte asked. She leant over and kissed Snape on the cheek.
‘The challenge will likely take place at the very next meeting. You will be given — no — I will have to give you two potions to drink. One will be poison. The other should be the antidote.
‘You will remember that it was originally anticipated that Lucius would have both you and Amber under his control. Therefore, the idea was that one of the antidotes would be real, the other fake. You would both drink an antidote, but could you both drink the poison? Would you be obedient and loyal enough to Lucius to drink it knowing that yours might be the fake antidote?’
Charlotte listened in horror to what Severus was telling her, her mind already picturing the dreadful possibilities.
‘Of course, you chose me instead, so that changes things a bit. It’s still likely that one of the antidotes will be fake, or both could be fake, but of course, we won’t know until you drink it. The problem is that if you don’t drink it, then you will have lost and will have to pay a forfeit. In the past, this has always been death. As you can see, it’s not really a good deal either way.’ Snape gave a small bitter chuckle.
‘You said this has happened before?’ Charlotte asked, her voice shaking.
‘Yes. But I don’t know the details. It was before my time as a Death Eater. However, I’m sure your grandparents would remember even if your parents don’t.’ Snape scowled. ‘What I don’t understand is why they would let you be entered into the competition in the first place. They had to be aware there was a possibility that you’d end up dying.’
Charlotte thought for a moment and then replied, ‘I’ve never really wanted to be a Death Eater. I’ve just never believed in all that Pure-blood stuff. Sometimes I thought my family realised and hated me for it. Perhaps this is their way of getting back at me. If I died doing this challenge, then they could be free of me without having to do anything themselves. I’m so sorry, Severus.’
‘Why are you sorry?’ Snape asked.
‘Because I’m not what you thought I was. I forced you to take part in this competition with me and I’m a fraud, not even a proper Death Eater.’
Snape pulled her close to him. ‘I don’t care what you are, Charlotte. I’m pleased you don’t want to be a Death Eater. It’s not something an eighteen-year-old girl should aspire to. But it’s still a mystery to me why your family would do this to you. And please stop worrying about how you forced me into this. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.’ He kissed her tenderly.
‘I understand completely if you don’t want to drink the potions. I’ll stand by you in your decision. But I don’t know what that will mean in terms of a forfeit.’
‘I don’t really have a choice, do I?’ Charlotte said miserably. ‘If I drink the potions I have a slim chance of survival, if I don’t, I’ll probably be killed anyway. Not much of a choice.’ She laughed. It sounded brittle and hollow.
‘I’m sorry,’ Snape said. ‘I could have told you earlier, but it wouldn’t have helped.’
‘No, it wouldn’t. You were right not to tell me.’ She smiled at him. ‘Will you know if it’s the real antidote or not?’
‘I’ll be able to tell if I taste it,’ Snape replied. ‘However, I won’t be told if it’s real or not; that’s part of the test.’
‘Will you taste it for me?’ Charlotte asked.
Snape gazed at her for several seconds as if weighing it in his mind, then nodded. ‘Yes, if that’s what you want.’
‘I’d rather know. Do you think that’s weird?’
Snape shook his head. ‘No. I can understand that. But as I said, the choice whether to drink or not is still yours.’
‘Lucius isn’t going to tell Amber, is he?’ Charlotte asked frowning
‘No, I don’t think so. But you can’t tell her, either,’ he warned.
Charlotte sighed. ‘I won’t say a word,’ she promised. ‘But I can’t help feeling so very sorry for her.’
‘My worry is for you,’ Snape replied. ‘I wish I could think of some way out of it, but I can’t.’
Charlotte smiled and stroked Snape’s face tenderly. ‘We’ve faced everything else and got through it,’ she said bravely. ‘I’m sure we can manage this.’
Snape pulled her to him and kissed her passionately.

Snape was in a dark mood when he went to visit the Headmaster after his discussion with Charlotte. He was impressed at how well the girl had taken the news, but he was worried that maybe she had been trying to cover up her feelings to spare him.
He voiced his fears to Dumbledore, especially his worries that Charlotte’s family had indeed, engineered this in order to get rid of her, and admitted his frustration at being unable to think of a way to prevent the final challenge.
‘I understand you told Lucius you didn’t care if Charlotte obeyed you or not in the final challenge,’ Dumbledore said carefully.
‘So what? I don’t care.’
‘You didn’t mention that to me when we last spoke.’
‘Really? Do I have to tell you everything I think?’ Snape’s voice was sarcastic.
‘Wouldn’t that make you forfeit too?’ Dumbledore persisted, his face serious.
‘Yes. But Charlotte doesn’t need to know that.’ Snape’s face was a dark scowl. ‘She needs to make the decision of her own free will, not because she feels guilty about putting me in the line of fire.’
‘I never realised your feelings for Charlotte were so strong, Severus,’ Dumbledore said gently.
Snape gave a sharp laugh. ‘Of course they’re strong, Albus. I’ve fallen in love with her. I just wish I didn’t feel so helpless. I’d do anything to save her.’
‘I’m sure something will present itself. These things usually have a way of working out,’ Dumbledore said soothingly.
Snape just scowled darkly and hoped the Headmaster was right.
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Loyalty