the_debt_of_time

"Don't listen to him, Lils," Sirius insisted. "He's just trying to manipulate his way
into the Order. How do we know that this prophecy even exists?"
"Because it was given to me," Dumbledore answered. "A young Seer approached
me for a job interview at the beginning of this year. In the middle of her interview, she fell
into a trance of sorts and began speaking about the downfall of Voldemort." Half the room
flinched at the name, but no one more than Snape, who briefly looked terrified at the word
being spoken aloud.
Though he had not used it much in the past himself, Sirius made a mental note to
say the name as often as possible, if only to get that reaction out of Snape.
"Why didn't you tell us, then?" Marlene McKinnon asked, looking up at
Dumbledore with hardened eyes. She had been known to get quite irritable when secrets
were kept from Order members. While Sirius had not agreed with her much in the past, he
felt just a touch vindicated at the look of irritation on her face aimed at Dumbledore.
"The prophecy speaks of Voldemort choosing his own rival," Dumbledore
explained. "There are at least two children due to be born toward the end of July," he said
as his eyes briefly glanced at Alice, who—up until that moment—had clearly not made the
connection. Her hands protectively encircled her stomach, and Frank was immediately by
her side, glaring daggers at Snape. "I intended to keep the prophecy contained in the hopes
that, if left unheard, Voldemort would not take action to fulfil it. Regrettably, I was wrong,
and he is now fully aware of the contents of the prophecy."
Everyone else was too busy watching Dumbledore to notice the brief flash of guilt
that fell across Snape's face. Sirius, however, caught it.
"While we take care to keep both the Potters and Longbottoms protected, we still
have a war to fight, and now have a new ally on our side," Dumbledore stated, placing a
hand on Snape's shoulder. "Unfortunately, because he must remain in the good graces of
Voldemort, should any of you come into contact with Severus on missions, I would ask
that you do your best to keep up the ruse of his status, while also attempting to keep him
from harm."
"How much harm should we keep him from? You expect us to just sit back and not
throw hexes back if he attacks us?" Sirius challenged, glaring at Snape.