"Give it another couple of weeks and it'll be overrun with little monsters." Severus retorted, deciding to head back in himself. His plan had failed. He was no further forward on finding out what it was that was bothering him about the death threat.
"I know," Moody grimaced, his scarred face twisting, "I have no idea what I was thinking when I agreed to this. In fact, I'm almost certain that Albus confunded me."
"I have often felt that way myself after speaking with him." Severus agreed and almost flinched as he realised they had managed a civil exchange.
They settled into a surprisingly comfortable silence as they walked back and Severus found himself politely altering his stride to keep pace with the limping ex-Auror rather than striding ahead. His mind darted back to his thoughts before he had left his quarters; he had wanted a sounding board. Moody was a former Auror who knew the Death Eaters very well because he had hunted them. Perhaps…
"The reason why I was at the lake was because I was considering Potter's death threat." Severus said cautiously.
"Oh?" Moody looked at him suspiciously.
"An alternate point of view may be appreciated in reviewing my thoughts on the matter." Severus said smoothly as though he had no hesitation in asking Moody for his help.
Moody nodded slowly. "The staff room?"
It was a good suggestion; neutral ground for both of them.
"I will need to recover something from my quarters." Severus said stiffly. "I will meet you there."
As soon as Moody acquiesced, Severus whirled away, heading to the dungeons where he grabbed the parchment he had prepared earlier. He arrived at the staff room to find Moody already sat in one of the seating arrangements that gave him a good view of the room and importantly the exits; Severus usually sat in the same chair. He made his way over and sat down, pulling his black robes close to him.
Moody waved his wand to place a privacy bubble and lifted his flask. "Ogden's."
Severus was about to refuse when he decided that sharing a drink with the man might make their discussion more convivial. He gave a sharp nod.
Moody conjured two glasses and poured the drink. They saluted each other silently before they knocked the drinks back.
"So," Moody said, "what's this about?"
"Since I spoke with Albus about the specifics of the death threat, I have been unable to get the feeling that I should recall something, something useful, but despite my efforts my memory refuses to give up the information." Severus confessed. "I prepared this list hoping it would prompt something." He handed it to Moody.
The grizzled wizard scanned it, his good eye taking on a calculating look as he registered the initials and put names to them. He frowned as he neared the end of the parchment. "Why've you got dead Death Eaters on the list?"
"What I am trying to remember is something in my past, I therefore thought it prudent to have them all listed." Severus answered obediently and his eyes widened before they narrowed on Moody. He picked up his discarded glass and sniffed. "Veritaserum?"
"A variant." Moody replied after a long moment.
Severus's eyes widened again. "You dosed us both." He had poured them drinks from the same flask.
Moody nodded. "Mild dose. Just enough to suggest you should tell the truth rather than to compel you." He scowled at Severus. "Didn't think you'd fall for it but you did."
"And what makes you think I won't just get up and leave?" snarled Severus angrily, stung by the criticism since it was deserved. He had let his guard down and the former Auror had taken advantage of it.
"Because the serum may help provoke your memory into recall." Moody pointed out briskly.
Unfortunately, Moody was right. Severus rubbed his forehead tiredly.
"Do you follow the Dark Lord?" Moody asked bluntly, obviously determined to take full advantage of Severus's stupidity.
"No." Severus said brusquely. "I intend to see him dead."
"Hmnpf." Moody said surprised. "Well, I guess that's good enough for me." He gestured. "Tell me about when you found out about the death threat."
Severus wrestled with whether he should just give Moody the finger and leave, but his need to know what was nagging at him overruled his want to tell the other wizard to piss off. "I found out about it in the Prophet," he replied tersely, "and, frankly, the only thing I thought at that time was that the article reeked of simpering mediocrity."
Moody laughed. "Skeeter does have a turn of phrase." He motioned at Severus. "So, tell me about when you started feeling that it rang bells."
"Albus called me into his office to update me about various matters," Severus said, "one of which was the death threat. He had been able to retrieve a copy from Director Bones. He handed it to me to read and informed me of the results of the magical forensic tests…"
"And bells rang."
"Like now." Severus said dryly.
"What did it remind you of?" Moody asked directly.
Severus felt the tug of something but it failed to reach his lips and his mind remained blank. "I can feel that I know but I cannot say why and what." He frowned in concentration but shook his head.
"Interesting." Moody's magical eye spun. "The only time I've seen a truth serum fail to retrieve memories is when the individual has been a Secret Keeper or when they've been obliviated or some other form of memory spell has been used."
Severus stiffened. He definitely wasn't a Secret Keeper which meant memory charms but his Occlumency should have caught someone playing about with his memory. "I'm a Master Occlumens…" he began.
"So?" Moody challenged. "You had to sort through memories during training and you obviously sort through memories since as a matter of routine, yes. But it only means that the likely timing of your memory issues is during the period when you were training and gave someone access to your head."
"Bellatrix!" Severus growled furiously. His hands clenched into fists again as he attempted to control the surge of magic that erupted through him.
Moody's eyebrows shot up. "You gave that lunatic bitch access to your mind?!"
"I didn't have a choice in the selection of my tutor!" snarled Severus. He took a deep breath trying to get himself back under control. "I stayed for a month at the LeStranges."
"Then, whatever rings your bell about that death threat must have taken place during that month." Moody pointed at him. "A galleon says LeStrange placed a notice-me-not on the memories. Probably convinced you you'd already sorted through them and put them away."
"Yes." Severus said stiffly; he had already come to that conclusion himself. But it was a major step forward from his previously frustrated efforts to remember. "Now I am aware of the problem, I shall address the issue in my next Occlumency session."
"Also explains why you listed the dead Death Eaters." Moody mused out loud. "Your subconscious was trying to give you a clue."
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