“This concludes the meeting,” said Minerva McGonagall tiredly. Selena could not blame her for sounding so weary. McGonagall had done her best to come up with several plans to assist in the war against Voldemort, and she had just learned that one of them had completely failed. Selena, Moody, and Remus had all failed in their attempts to capture Death Eaters and eradicate dementors “ and so had all the other groups. For the most part, everyone had come back with no real scars or bruises, but they all had still failed none the less.
Selena wasn’t sure if she saw her mission into the forest a failure, but she kept quiet: now was not the time to speak of it.
Several apologies were thrown at McGonagall, who merely repeated over and over that she was the only one to blame for setting things up so poorly. While these exchanges occurred, Selena quietly observed the Order’s newest members, whom had just joined around a week ago. Two teenagers whom she believed to be called Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, and another: Harry Potter. The Chosen One. The Boy Who Lived.
The Boy Who She Needed To Talk To.
Soon the meeting did come to an end. “I’ll see you later,” Selena said to Melissa.
Melissa raised her eyebrows. “We’re both going back to St. Mungo’s…”
“I’ve got a few things I need to do first,” said Selena, hoping that a note of uncertainty did not show in her tone. But she couldn’t tell Melissa about what had happened. She had, of course, told her about being attacked by dementors, but she left out the events following. She couldn’t tell her. At least not right now.
“Okay, sure,” said Melissa, smiling awkwardly. “Bye.”
“See you in a bit.”
Melissa strolled out the door. Selena silently thanked Melissa for being such a good friend as to not press her into saying what was going on, then she turned to spot him.
He wasn’t difficult to find “ was over talking to Moody. She moved towards them. Moody gave her his usual grunt of a greeting, and Harry Potter smiled politely.
“Can I have a word?” she asked him.
“Okay,” Harry replied. He bid a quick good-bye to Moody, who nodded and left.
And then it was just her and Harry Potter.
Well, technically not, because other Order members were still milling around. But it certainly felt that way.
“It’s good to have you in the Order,” said Selena, sticking out her hand.
“Thank you,” said Harry, putting out his own to shake with her. “Harry Potter, by the way.” He cringed as soon as the words left his mouth. “But then, you probably realized that.”
“Yes, I had, but a proper introduction is always polite. Selena Snape.” She said her name rather fast so she could get it out of the way.
Harry did a very good job of disguising most of the reaction he might have had upon hearing that her surname was Snape, the only noticeable trace was his green-eyed gaze suddenly becoming sharper. “Ah.” He released her hand.
She knew she had to say something quick. “Sometimes I wish that were a common last name,” she said, and attempted a feeble laugh. Harry smiled; she could not tell if it was genuine or forced. “But I don’t want to talk about my blood relations with you. I have a message, actually, that I am supposed to pass on to you.”
“Alright,” said Harry.
Watching him closely, she said slowly and deliberately, “There is one where his father is buried.”
She watched his face go through a series of emotions: confusion, shock, skepticism, back to confusion. “I “ do you…is that all?”
Selena nodded.
“Um…alright…thanks…?”
“You’ll carry it out, then?” she inquired carefully.
His expression was just as unreadable as hers, his tone just as precise and casual. “I will look into it.”
She nodded again, smiling now. “Okay.”
This time Harry offered his hand first. “Thank you,” he said.
“Don’t thank me, I’m merely the owl here,” she chuckled, shaking it.
“May I ask who the sender is?”
She raised one eyebrow. “Yes, you may ask, but I think you already know,” she said cryptically. She glanced at her watch. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll see you at the future meetings, then?”
“Y-yes,” Harry stuttered, observing her carefully. Selena bid him good-bye and Apparated to St. Mungo’s.
Do you even really know who the sender is, Snape? she found herself thinking as she walked through the familiar hallways of her workplace.
It was the question she had asked herself since she was a child, over and over.
Yes, of course you do, she answered herself sharply.
Who? Who is he?
She paused, unsure how to answer herself. As she slid on her Healer robes and began moving towards the wards she needed to cover that day, she was still thinking of a response. Then suddenly the answer came, and she smiled to herself.
Someone you can trust.
A/N: Thank you for reading this far into the story! I'm not totally happy with the end result of this, but quite honestly I am getting a little sick of this story. So, as always, reviews are welcome, even if you have never left one before. *nudges silent readers* :) Again, thank you for reading, I hope you liked!