The Half-Blood Princess

Marked

Harley shared breakfast with her father before he left on his Order business, leaving her alone to peruse the books in the house, and the books in what had been his old bedroom, which was where Harley had slept.

She saw very few Muggle books, but one stuck out because he had mentioned it before: Carrie, by Stephen King. The book about a witch who was bullied, so she killed her tormentors. It was one of Harley's favourites.

Opening the book, a worn photograph fell out of the front. Harley picked it up and saw it was of her parents on their first day of Hogwarts: Severus already in his hand-me-down robes, and Lily, looking very uncertain even as she smiled.

There was an inscription inside the book. "I think this is something you will relate to. Just don't go getting any ideas, love! Lily."

As she was looking at the book, she heard the distinctive crack of someone Apparating. She went back into the living room and saw her father standing there, an expression of intermingled horror and hate on his face.

"Father?" Harley was still getting used to that word on her tongue. "What happened?"

"Sit." He leaned on the back of his armchair. "Dumbledore is dying."

Harley shot up from the seat she had just taken. "What?"

"You will see him soon, at the next Order meeting. I can control the curse put on him, but it will take him eventually. I can only do so much against such an evil curse as this. He and I...came to an agreement upon his death. The Dark Lord wants him dead, that is obvious. Albus believes that he will make one of his Death Eaters do it, and he was right...partially.

"I went to his headquarters after I left Albus. He does indeed want someone to kill Albus: Draco Malfoy."

Harley's mouth dropped further. "How on Earth does he think Draco is capable of killing Dumbledore? That's like asking a bumblebee to kill a hawk!"

"Punishment, for Lucius Malfoy's failure and subsequent imprisonment," Severus told her. "He knows Draco will fail, and the boy's death will be punishment for the elder Malfoys. After that, the task will obviously fall to me, to ensure that it gets done.

"Albus has already asked me to kill him. Before you protest, he understands that his death might complicate things, but even that is necessary to the plan. If I kill him, it will be public. I will have no choice but to make everyone think I am a Death Eater, and not a true part of the Order. It is necessary for the Dark Lord to trust me, and I am well prepared for ostracisation from the Order. ...It is not as if they didn't already want to get rid of me."

Harley met his eyes and saw the resignation and determination there. Her protest was swallowed back, seeing as it would do no good to voice it. "I understand, and if I were you I would do it. That does not mean I am not hurt by the fact that people will think you are evil, when I know otherwise."

He nodded. "You must keep quiet about it. One slip, and the Dark Lord could find out. After that...it will all be over and he will have won. You will have to take my place as official double agent, without letting anyone on either side know what it is you are doing. I trust you to be able to maintain the link between the organisations."

She stood up and faced him. "Thank you for putting your trust in me. I won't let you down, Father, I promise."

He sighed. "That brings me to my next bit of information. Before I tell you this, please know that I do not think you should agree to the offer that was extended to you. I understand I cannot stop you, but I do not think it's a good idea in the slightest. If you are anything like Lily, however, I know you will agree thanks to your Gryffindor sense of heroism, and it breaks my heart to think this.