Snape sat on the edge of the flying carpet, his black hair fluttering slightly in the morning breeze. In his calm voice, he recounted everything that had happened over the past two days in full detail.
"That old witch's experiments were utterly evil," he said, his gaze drifting toward Anna, who was huddled in the corner. "This little girl and her family were all victims..."
He spoke for about a quarter of an hour. Everyone listened attentively. Only the sound of wind howled past their ears, occasionally mingled with the hooting of owls.
"Parseltongue," said Mr. Weasley, his tone carrying a distinct note of concern. "It's a very rare ability. Salazar Slytherin himself was a famous Parselmouth."
His eyes shifted between Snape and Nagini, who was coiled lazily around the boy's shoulders.
"Of course I believe you're a good lad," Mr. Weasley said, unconsciously swallowing, his voice turning hesitant. "Though Parseltongue is said to be connected with Dark magic. Many notorious dark wizards in history spoke it, they treated it as a mark of power, such as... You-Know-Who..."
When Mr. Weasley mentioned that name, a flicker of hatred crossed Lily's eyes, and her fingers instinctively tightened around her wand.
"Professor Dumbledore also speaks Parseltongue," Snape said lightly. Noticing their reaction, he deliberately made his tone casual. "There have been Parselmouths among the great and kind wizards too, haven't there?"
As they traveled, Snape noticed out of the corner of his eye that Anna's father's face had gone deathly pale, his lips tinged with a bluish hue, and his chest rising and falling weakly. The healing spell he'd cast earlier was wearing off alarmingly fast.
Snape hurried over to the man's side and touched his forehead, it was burning hot.
"We need to get to a hospital immediately." He cast several more healing spells in quick succession, then turned urgently to Mr. Weasley. "His condition's deteriorating."
At Snape's words, Mr. Weasley fumbled through his robe pockets in a panic and pulled out a crumpled Albanian Magical Travel Guide.
"Found it!" he said, pointing to a small red cross marked on the map. "The nearest magical hospital is fifty-odd miles southeast of here."
The carpet immediately veered sharply in that direction, cutting a swift arc through the air.
Mr. Weasley crouched down and tied a note to the sleepy owl on board, sending it off toward the local Ministry of Magic to report that they had captured a Dark witch.
The owl hooted irritably but nevertheless vanished into the morning light with the message.
When they burst into the hospital carrying the unconscious old witch, the receptionist nearly summoned the Aurors. Only after Mr. Weasley produced his British Ministry of Magic identification did the healer reluctantly believe they weren't kidnappers.
"You English are always so..." the healer muttered, eyeing them warily, "reckless."
They had barely completed Anna's father's admission paperwork when several wizards in immaculate black robes stormed excitedly into the ward. The leader had a carefully groomed handlebar moustache, an exaggerated smile plastered on his face, and he was waving a yellowed wanted poster.
The old witch's black-and-white photo leered from it, occasionally spitting toward the onlookers.
Narrowing his eyes, Snape saw the list of charges written beneath her name: kidnapping, illegal human experimentation, and at least seven cases of missing witches and wizards.
(Special note: extremely cunning, adept at disguise.) The poster promised a bounty of five hundred Galleons for assistance in her capture.
"Department of Magical Law Enforcement!" the moustached official announced loudly, rubbing his hands together, though his eyes remained fixed greedily on the bound witch lying in the corner. "We've been tracking her for three months, you've done us a tremendous favor!"
The assistant behind him eagerly drew his wand, ready to take custody of the prisoner.
"Hold on," Snape stepped forward, blocking his way. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
The official blinked, his fake smile stiffening. "Of course, of course, thank you so much for helping us capture a wanted criminal..."
He tried to edge around Snape as he spoke.
"The bounty," Snape said slowly, blocking him again.
After a tense moment of standoff, Snape finally received a heavy pouch of Galleons. He weighed it carefully, ensuring the sum was correct before stepping aside to let the Albanian Ministry officials take the witch away.
Once they were gone, he turned and handed the pouch to Anna. The girl stared at him, speechless, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Take it. You'll need it more than I do," Snape said, his tone gentler than usual. "And Mr. Weasley has already contacted your relatives, they're on their way to Albania to fetch you."
"Thank you, sir," Anna said timidly. "May I know your name?"
"Severus Snape," he answered softly.
As they left the hospital, they ran straight into Mrs. Weasley, panting heavily, with Percy in her arms.
Behind her followed Bill and Charlie, both bleary-eyed and their hair a complete mess, clearly dragged straight out of bed by their mother.
"Oh, Severus!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, pulling him into a tight embrace without warning. "Thank goodness you're safe!"
Snape stood stiffly, unaccustomed to such affection, but did not pull away.
Wasn't this sort of thing supposed to happen to Harry instead? he thought.
For the next Christmas, he decided, he'd make sure to send the future little Weasleys a few extra gifts, plenty of wizard robes in all sizes, enough to last for years.
When Mrs. Weasley finally released him, she immediately rounded on her husband, her voice shooting up an octave. "Arthur Weasley! Is this what you call a 'perfectly safe' family trip?"
Her voice trembled slightly from leftover fear.
"If something had happened to Severus, I don't know what I'd have done!"
"I'm sorry, Molly," Mr. Weasley apologized repeatedly, bowing his head like a chastised schoolboy. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault."
No one dared interrupt Mrs. Weasley's scolding.
Bill and Charlie took the opportunity to slip past their mother and surround Snape, bombarding him with excited questions about his adventure. Charlie even reached out curiously to touch Nagini.
Nagini raised her head warily, hissing a warning that made him yank his hand back in alarm.
"She's just a little nervous," Snape said, stroking her head soothingly.
Charlie and Bill exchanged looks of envy.
"When I grow up, I'm going to raise fire dragons," Charlie muttered defiantly. "They're way cooler than snakes..."
Later, at Mrs. Weasley's insistence, they decided to cut the trip short.
On their second airplane ride, the Weasley family was much more composed, though Bill and Charlie still nearly fought over the window seat, a quarrel instantly silenced by one sharp look from their mother.
By the time the plane touched down, dawn was breaking outside the cabin windows.
They dragged their luggage to the parking lot, where Mr. Weasley opened the car's boot and stuffed everything inside.
Yawning, he slammed the trunk shut with a "bang" and prepared to leave.
At that moment, the Muggle parking attendant walked up to the car.
"Parking fee, sir," the attendant said, tapping on the window. "One hundred pounds."
Mr. Weasley nervously pressed a button, and at once all the car windows shimmered into a peculiar shade, to prevent anyone from noticing the magically expanded space and the number of passengers far exceeding legal limits.
Of course, to the Muggle eye, the inside looked perfectly ordinary: Mrs. Weasley sat in the passenger seat with baby Percy in her arms, and Snape appeared to be the only one in the back.
The attendant scratched his head in confusion. He could have sworn he'd seen more people climb into the car earlier.
"Hello!" Mr. Weasley said hastily, stepping out of the car.
As he opened the door, the attendant tried to peek inside, but Mr. Weasley quickly slammed it shut again.
"How much did you say?" Mr. Weasley's voice came from outside, already somewhat familiar with Muggle currency after the past few days. "Why don't you just go rob Gringotts?"
"What's Gringotts?" the attendant asked blankly. "Rules are rules. Let's see... your car's been here over six days. So the fee isn't exactly small."
"No way," Mr. Weasley muttered, glancing toward the car where Mrs. Weasley was soothing Percy. "That's not an expense I can claim."
He gave a subtle wave of his wand, and the Muggle attendant stumbled dazedly back to his booth.
After a long and bumpy ride, they finally arrived back at the crooked Burrow, parking beside the rickety old garage.
The rusty cauldron by the door looked even more worn-out than before. A few plump brown chickens were still pecking in the yard, just as they had been when they'd left.
Bill and Charlie cheered as they dashed into the house. At Mrs. Weasley's warm invitation, Snape and the others followed, planning to have breakfast before heading home.
Eileen and Mrs. Weasley busied themselves in the clattering kitchen. Sausages and bacon sizzled in the pan, and the aroma of toasted bread filled the air.
Snape watched his mother's busy back; her movements were quicker and lighter than usual. Then he turned to Lily, who also looked much better than before.
It seemed this journey, for all its dangers, had revived them both in spirit. Perhaps more outings in the future would do them good.
While they were enjoying breakfast, a voice called from outside.
"Arthur, Molly! Long time no see, you're back!"
Two men with dark-golden hair entered through the door, Fabian and Gideon Prewett. They greeted everyone warmly.
"Severus, Lily, you're here too! And this must be-" said Gideon, squinting a little. "Let me guess, judging by that hooked nose, you must be Severus's mother."
Eileen smiled and conjured two extra plates for them with a flick of her wand.
"We just happened to be running errands in the village," said Fabian, "and saw smoke coming from your chimney. Thought we'd stop by. But why are you back earlier than planned?"
"We ran into some trouble," Mrs. Weasley explained, giving her husband another sharp look. "Albania wasn't half as safe as Arthur claimed."
At that moment, Nagini slithered out from Snape's sleeve, and he affectionately offered her a piece of roast meat.
"Ah, Severus," Gideon said in surprise, eyeing the snake. "So the Daily Prophet article about a Hogwarts student who speaks Parseltongue, that was you?"
"Why would the Daily Prophet report on that?" Eileen asked with a frown, her fork paused midair.
"Bertha Jorkins," Mr. Weasley said disapprovingly. "Has to be her. Used to work for the Daily Prophet, knows all sorts of people, and she's infamous for her big mouth and nosiness..."
Snape wasn't surprised. Bertha's tendency to gossip was well-known. Still, he wondered whether, under the flap of his metaphorical butterfly wings, she might still one day suffer for that very habit.
"Yes," Snape said with a smile, deliberately adding a few hissing sounds, "do I look like the Dark Lord to you?"
"Ha!" Fabian clapped him on the shoulder with exaggerated cheer. "If you're the Dark Lord, then who's You-Know-Who?"
After breakfast, Eileen, Snape, and Lily prepared to take their leave.
As they stood, Gideon suddenly stopped them. "Wait, Severus, Lily, I wanted to talk to you about something concerning Ministry internships."
"Go on home first, Mum," Snape said. He saw Gideon wink at him and immediately understood that "internships" was just a cover.
After Eileen left, Bill and Charlie ran off to play in the backyard, while Mrs. Weasley put the sleeping Percy to bed inside. The rest sat around the kitchen table of the Burrow.
As the conversation deepened, Fabian and Gideon brought up the Order of the Phoenix, and invited Mr. Weasley to join.
"Arthur, why don't you come along?" Gideon said. "With Dumbledore leading us, we're bound to win!"
Mr. Weasley seemed tempted, his eyes flickering uncertainly.
"No!" Mrs. Weasley slammed the table, her voice shaking the dishes. "Arthur, think of Bill, Charlie, and Percy! Think of our family!"
Snape had never imagined that the plump, kind-faced Mrs. Weasley could suddenly look so fierce, like a lioness baring her fangs.
"Molly, the situation is dangerous now, we need more people," Gideon tried to reason with her. "As a Gryffindor, Arthur-"
"Oh, so you know it's dangerous?" Mrs. Weasley's tone was sharp and trembling with anger. "If you ask me, you two ought to quit that organization yourselves! Have you ever thought about how devastated I'd be if something happened to you?"
"But Severus and Lily have joined the Order too," Fabian muttered, shrinking under her glare. "You could back us up..."
"What?!" Mrs. Weasley's eyes flared with fury, her chest heaving. "Why are you two mixed up in this? Do your parents even know?!"
Snape was about to speak, but Lily's voice came first.
"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," she said softly. "My parents were both killed in an attack by You-Know-Who."
"Oh, Lily..." Mrs. Weasley's tone immediately softened; the anger in her eyes melted into compassion. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."
"It's all right," Lily said, shaking her head. "But I do agree, Mr. Weasley shouldn't join the Order. I know what it's like to lose family. I don't want you to go through that too."
Mrs. Weasley walked over and gently drew Lily's head against her chest, still glaring furiously at her brothers over the girl's shoulder.
The family argument ended on that uneasy note. Mr. Weasley, full of apology, walked Fabian and Gideon to the door to see them off.