Chapter 2 – Snape the Sour Grape

Severus Snape emerged out of the light that had only just engulfed him. The travel occurred in what seemed like an instant. It was nothing like he had ever experienced before, not like Apparition or Floo Powder or Portkeys. He was in one place one moment and another, the next, without any of the unpleasant physical effects he was used to with such travel.

Besides and despite the darkness, the first thing he noticed was that his body no longer took the form of a shadow. He was flesh and blood, adorned in his signature black robes once again. Reaching for his face, Snape felt the large hooked nose he had never quite grown into and then he felt his hair. It was as greasy as ever.

He could almost smile at the idea of his life renewed, but then, his eyes caught those surrounding him as their wands lit up one by one. There were twelve in all. Each seemed to have arrived in the same instant as he and most had illuminated their wands, adding to the light provided by the stars.

At the sound of laughter, he lurched back. Two men were embracing each other. He would have known the back of James Potter's head anywhere, his hair sticking up just as annoyingly as Harry's always had in his classroom.

As James proceeded from Sirius to Lupin, it allowed Snape to finally catch a glimpse of the reason he had come here so willingly.

Her sparkling green eyes were just as beautiful as he remembered. Suddenly he was a child again secretly gazing at her, wondering how he would tell her that she was a witch and he a wizard. Then another flashback brought him to his very last memory in life: asking Harry to show him those emerald eyes one last time… his dying wish.

Suddenly Lily returned his gaze. Snape's eyes darted away and he tried to appear as if he was just viewing his surroundings nonchalantly. It was a natural reflex that most people have when they are caught staring, but suddenly Snape found himself genuinely entranced by the landscape before him.

Despite the darkness of night, their surroundings were made visible by the unusual brightness of the stars. It became clear that they were in a valley, with a great river running alongside a mountain range for as far as the eye could see in either direction. They appeared to be in a clearing in a wooded area between the mountains and the river. Looking across the wide river, Snape saw only forest. In the opposite direction, he noticed a faint golden light emanating from far beyond the towering mountains. It was not like any sunset or sunrise he had ever seen. In fact, he could not find the sun or moon at all.

A firm hand on his shoulder brought Snape back to reality. The blue eyes of Dumbledore looked at him with a sense of sympathy behind them. He did not need the old man's pity. Dumbledore's expression changed as if he had read Snape's mind, but it was still one of concern.

Snape looked over Dumbledore's shoulder at the reunion of old friends. Lupin was introducing his wife, Tonks, to his friends James and Lily. Sirius stood by with a massive smile on his face, but as his eyes diverted to Snape his smile changed to a smirk. Sirius whispered something in James's ear, but Snape looked away before giving James the satisfaction of catching his eye.

He looked back at Dumbledore who nodded slowly and opened his mouth to say something when Mad-Eye Moody walked over to the pair. Snape had to do a double take when he realized that Moody had two perfectly normal brown eyes. Along with the return of his once absent eye, Moody had reacquired a missing chunk of his nose and had no signs of facial scarring. He appeared almost twenty years younger than when Snape had last seen him… that fateful night when the famous Auror was killed.

Moody laughed heartily at the expression of awe on both Snape's and even Dumbledore's face. He proceeded to jump into the air and click his heels together displaying the fact that he no longer required a prosthetic leg.

Snape closed his gaping mouth and his face returned to its typical expressionless quality, but there was still a hint of subtle perplexity.

Dumbledore laughed and hugged his old friend as Snape looked on. "Good to see you got here in one piece," Dumbledore said with a wink.

Moody's smile faded slightly as he looked to Snape. "Severus, good to see you," he said extending his hand. Snape shook it and the three of them began to talk about nothing other than Harry Potter. Dumbledore and Moody did most of the talking, of course, with Snape making the occasional derisive comment.

There came to a point where the twelve-member group had seemed to finish their reunions and became very anxious. Cedric, Fred, Colin, and Dobby sat on the ground together looking at their surroundings. Even as James, Lily, Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks stood by talking, Snape could see that there was a quiet anticipation amid the group.

He had remained with Dumbledore and Moody, stealing looks at Lily but not daring to go anywhere near her. He was becoming increasingly restless not only about her, but also the fact that their "host," Ekem, had failed to show himself since their arrival.

Oddly enough, it seemed no one had brought up Ekem in conversation, but Snape was certain it was on everyone's mind. Finally he looked at Dumbledore. "What are your thoughts on this Ekem character?"

Dumbledore furrowed his brow and took a breath. "I would say he seems well intentioned. I always like to give people the chance to act on their good intentions."

Snape shook his head slightly. "I am not so sure his intentions are as pure as you make them out to be."

"I like to believe that most people, when given the chance, will do the right thing. If they prove unworthy of my trust, they will no longer have it, but that will not prevent me from freely giving my trust to the next person who asks of it."

"But we cannot just blindly trust him. Trust must be earned," retorted Snape.

"And who has everearned your trust, Severus?" Dumbledore said in a friendly tone but with all seriousness behind it.

Snape glanced over at Lily, hoping that it was quick enough so that neither she nor her companions noticed.

He looked back at Dumbledore. "There is something untruthful about his demeanor, I can feel it."

"Well, at this point, we do not have any other choice but to trust him, do we?"

Moody jumped in, "Well, I trusted him when he said we'd be taking on some considerable evil, but he hasn't even bothered to turn up… nor has the evil."

"That's exactly why we shouldn't blindly trust him," said Snape glancing from Moody back to Dumbledore. "The man is shifty. He told us exactly what we wanted to hear."

A remote voice suddenly said, "So why then did you come, Snivellus?" The question startled Snape. Sirius had apparently overheard their conversation and thought nothing of butting in.

Suddenly Snape no longer felt like the looming Hogwarts professor he had been for seventeen years. No longer could he belittle and rebuke those he detested from a position of power. He was on the same level as the rest of them and he felt like he had when he was a student at Hogwarts. The memory of being laughed at as he continuously failed to mount a defiant broomstick came to mind.

Sirius's smirk grew to mammoth proportions. "Oh… I bet I know why…," he said as he turned his head towards Lily, who immediately began studying the ground.

Whether she looked away out of embarrassment for herself or for him, Snape did not know, but he did not want to give Sirius the satisfaction of causing two people to blush. He withheld all emotion from his face. It was a skill he had become quite adept at over the course of his life.

Just when it appeared that Sirius and James were about to pounce, a noise from the woods made everyone come to a halt.

Snape had his wand in hand in an instant, listening and watching intently. There was a faint voice in the distance. It might have been Ekem's, talking to himself quietly.

Whoever was out there was starting to walk towards them, evident by the sound of snapping sticks under staggering feet. It was definitely Ekem, and apparently the daft moron had disturbed a bird's nest because the flapping of large wings could be heard, loud at first before fading into nothing.

When Ekem emerged from the forest and began to dust off his robes, Snape hesitantly lowered his wand. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed others doing the same, although not Dumbledore. It appeared that he had not even drawn his wand in the first place.

Everyone stood there in a silent, perturbed anticipation.

Ekem looked up at the group as if just noticing them. "So, I guess you all probably have some questions."

The now thirteen-member group had hastily conjured tents and a campfire surrounded by rather comfortable bench seating. Like the rest, Snape was very curious, but he doubted that this dolt of a wizard could answer any question to his satisfaction.

It had become darker by now, the only light sources being the fire, the stars, and the faint silver light originating from far beyond the mountains. About half an hour ago soft silver light had begun to appear enmeshed in the golden light Snape had assumed earlier was the sun setting. Gradually the golden light waned as the silver light became enhanced. How peculiar, he had thought.

They were relatively settled now, sitting on the benches, all eyes on Ekem. Snape watched as the firelight reflected in the strange man's eyes. He could almost hear Ekem planning a speech in his mind.

Finally, Ekem stood up. He cleared his throat and looked around at each of them. "When I first embarked on my quest, I had not thought for a second that I would be able to convince all of you to help me. Of course, you twelve are no ordinary people. Each of you has risked your life in one way or another and each of you has faced death courageously."

Snape could not help but think the man's flattery was not genuine. However, he hoped to learn why they were brought here and so decided to keep quiet.

"But how did you get that stone?" Lily apparently did not feel the same way Snape did about keeping quiet. He had to admire her tenacity.

"Well…" Ekem stumbled over his words as the speech he'd intended was interrupted, "I… retrieved it from the Forbidden Forest outside of Hogwarts."

"But you told James and Lily that it was given to you!" Sirius yelled.

Lupin then added, "Yes, you did. You told them it was given to you as part of your quest." Lupin and Sirius stared at each other, apparently astounded at what each of them had just said.

As Snape thought about it, he too "remembered" Ekem telling James and Lily the exact same thing. How could he, though? He had not been there, after all. He… he had been dead.

In his confusion Snape looked at Dumbledore, who was sitting to his left, and wondered if he was just as confused as the rest of them. It was clear Dumbledore definitely did not have the answers, but his expression was less confused and more inquiring.

The noise level rose rapidly as people around the campfire began talking amongst themselves. Ekem tried to simmer them down repeatedly, but to no avail. Snape looked on with a smirk, enjoying the would-be leader's feeble attempts to gain control of the group.

Finally, from beside him, Dumbledore yelled, "Silence!"

Dumbledore's command brought the noise level back down to a minimum as Ekem looked simultaneously pleased and embarrassed. "All right, I know you all have a lot of questions and I want to answer them. I really do. I guess there is just nowhere else to start but at the beginning.

As Ekem continued to talk about the creation of the universe, Snape could not help but think he was listening to a children's story. He had no idea how the Valar, the angelic beings which Ekem was droning on about, had anything to do with why they were here.

It was Colin who broke the monotony at last, "Wait a second, what is this Ill-oo-fatar?"

"Iluvatar?" Ekem said. "Iluvatar is the Elvish name for 'Allfather.' Iluvatar is God."

At the word "Elvish," Snape noticed that Dobby perked up, but Colin continued with a follow-up. "Okay, so God created the Valar and told them to create the world based on his heavenly music?"

Ekem nodded.

"And then Melkor, the most powerful… Vala?"

"Right," Ekem said.

"This Melkor bloke decided he wanted to destroy it all?"

"Not exactly. You see, Melkor was attracted to the worst parts of creation, like earthquakes, volcanoes, and things like that. He didn't want to destroy creation; he just wanted to make it over in his image. So his music corrupted that of the other Valar. He even corrupted some of the Maiar to serve him."

"Maiar?" It was becoming obvious that Colin was getting perturbed by Ekem's inability to adequately explain himself. Snape was just perturbed by Ekem's inability to talk about anything relevant.

"Sorry, yes, the Maiar were spirits of a lesser degree than the Valar. Seduced by Melkor's power, many of them became Balrogs, like demons. But don't worry, they've all but disappeared nowadays."

"Hold on a minute," yelled Sirius. "You mean to tell me that everything you're saying is true!"

"It sounds like a load of rubbish to me," Snape muttered under his breath.

"Well… yes," Ekem said in response to Sirius, clearly not having heard Snape.

Sirius laughed mildly. "And I suppose you just want us to take down this all-powerful Melkor then, is that it?"

"He's not exactly all-powerful, especially now. You see… when Melkor corrupted creation, he dispersed part of his magical being throughout the world. He tainted its very fabric, but in the process he also became weaker. This allowed the other Valar to capture him."

"Ah hah, so our job is done." said James mockingly.

Ekem's blushing did not lessen any the more he was insulted, it was more of a kindling effect. "Well, he escaped."

Sirius laughed, "Of course he did."

"He is all powerful, Sirius," James instructed.

"No, listen," Ekem said pleadingly. "Melkor had already diminished his power greatly when he tainted creation, but he didn't stop there. When the Elves first appeared, Melkor captured some of them and began to corrupt them as well."

"Oh, you know how those Elves like it rough." Sirius's comment got a rouse out of James, Cedric, Colin, and even Fred, who teasingly slapped Dobby on the back. Even Lupin and Tonks laughed silently. Lily, however, gave her husband a death glare. Apparently, she wanted to hear what Ekem had to say uninterrupted.

"Let the man speak!" said Lily.

Although Snape was getting a bit tired of Ekem's nonsense, he liked nothing more than hearing Lily Evans put James Potter in his place.

"Anyways," Ekem said before clearing his throat again, "from the corruption of the Elves came an entirely new breed: Orcs. These miserable creatures were merely tainted imitations of Iluvatar's creations, lacking true souls, but dangerous nonetheless since they were bound by the bidding of their Dark Lord. However, once again, creating these creatures cost Melkor some of his power."

"So what happened?" asked Colin, genuinely interested. At this, Fred began to mock Colin behind his back to Cedric's delight.

"Well, this all took place in Middle-earth, where we are now, in fact," Ekem said while indicated their surroundings. "But when the Valar heard about the Orcs they asked the Elves to come join them in the continent of Aman, to the far west of here, where they would be protected. The Valar eventually returned to fight Melkor and after years of war, he was finally defeated, captured, and imprisoned. Until recently, that is."

Colin gasped. Fred clutched his heart and pretended to faint. Snape was surprised to see that the mischievous Weasley was back at it after having spent most of his time moping around since they arrived.

"After three ages of imprisonment, the Valar decided to release Melkor from the dark Halls of Mandos. I have been told that his chief servant, Sauron, has been secretly breeding Orcs in their fortress at Angband, awaiting his master's return. Melkor will most certainly try to meet up with his lieutenant and continue their dark work. Therefore, it is our duty to stop the Dark Lord at all costs."

"Hmm…." Lily's sound made everyone turn to look at her, a trend Snape was happy to fall in line with. "So… how did you get that stone?"

"I think what Miss Evans is trying to say is…"

Snape was interrupted by a disturbingly loud cough from James. "I think you meant to say 'Potter,' Mrs.… Potter."

Ignoring his nemesis, Snape continued, "I think what Lily is trying to say is… enough with the fairy-tales and tell us what the hell is going on here!"

Snape could tell Sirius wanted to comment on Snape's outburst but, for this moment only, they were on the same side. Sirius yelled, "Right! We want to know how you really got that stone. And how both Lupin and I remember you telling James and Lily about it when we weren't even there! And how Moody over there got a full body transplant." He turned to Moody lightheartedly. "You look great by the way." Turning back to goad Ekem he said, "Well…?"

"All right, all right," Ekem conceded. "If you would have just let me continue, I would have gotten there eventually…"

After remaining almost unsettlingly quiet, Dumbledore had apparently decided it was time for him to say something. "I think it would be most prudent if you put all of our minds to rest at this time, rather than later." No one, not even this ninny, could argue with Dumbledore.

Ekem took a deep breath. "As you all know, I brought you back from the dead. While it may be a bit fuzzy to remember right now, while you were dead you had a semi-omniscience of sorts." He stared blankly at the faces of bewilderment before him. "You have all heard people say that the dead live on through their loved ones. Well, that is exactly right. In death, you were able to share the experiences of those you loved while they were still living."

Snape realized that is why he had expected Ekem to come for him. He had seen Ekem through the experiences of Lily and later Dumbledore. These were the only people he actually cared about in this group. Come to think of it, they were the only people he cared about in any group.

Ekem grinned as it became clear that everyone was grasping what he had just said.

"That is why I saw you talking to James and Lily, Sirius, and then Dumbledore before coming for Nymphadora and me?" Lupin said astutely.

Moody added, "And that's how I knew he was coming for me, because I had seen him talking to Dumbledore." He laughed. "You sure gave him hell, eh Dumbledore?" After Dumbledore chuckled, Moody continued. "But what about all this, then?" he said as he rapped on his leg with his knuckles.

"I thought that would have been more obvious." Ekem smiled smugly.

"Yeah, revel in your smug ignorance, you prat," Snape thought to himself.

Ekem continued, "Well, didn't you all notice Dumbledore's hand?"

Looking next to him, it appeared Dumbledore himself had not even noticed as he stared at his once charred hand in disbelief. Then the old wizard felt around on his face and gave his nose a squeeze. With a smile on his face, he whispered, "my old broken nose…."

Out of the corner of his eye, Snape could see Dobby similarly feeling around on his chest.

Snape then looked down at his own left forearm, noticing no remnants of the Dark Mark which had once lain their.

"I know it's a bit fuzzy," Ekem said, "but it will all come back to you."

Sirius laughed. "And Lupin, you old werewolf, you aren't so haggard anymore, are you?"

"Look who's talking, Sirius, it looks like dying was the best thing that could have happened to you," James joked.

As James and Sirius laughed, Lupin did not. "Ekem? If everyone has been healed of their afflictions… does that mean… does that mean I am no longer a werewolf?"

The crowd hushed.

Ekem frowned sympathetically, "No, I am sorry. It appears that the werewolf condition, being magical, almost seems to bind one's soul. Even death can't separate it."

Lupin nodded slowly as his head gradually dropped. Tonks put her arm around him as James patted him on the back consolingly.

"I must tell you, though." Ekem's face suddenly turned to a grin. "You will not have to worry about turning into a werewolf anytime soon."

Lupin looked up in surprise.

"Haven't you noticed the sky? In this world… there is no moon."

Ekem had explained how there was neither sun nor moon over Middle-earth. Instead, the Valar had created the Two Trees of Valinor on the continent of Aman, to the far west. Laurelin, the first tree, gave off golden light half the time and the Telperion, the second, gave off silver light the other half of the time.

Snape realized that what he had seen earlier at "dusk" was actually the light of Laurelin waning as Telperion grew brighter. Since the western lights had come from beyond the mountains, he could use it to work out his bearings. Knowing now that Aman was in the west, he extrapolated that the mountains were also to the west and ran north-south, while the river was to their east running north-south as well.

He had always been interested in astronomy. It was a hobby he had picked up to escape from his parents' constant bickering. It was certainly better than sitting alone in his bedroom shooting down flies with his wand. Right now, however, there were more pressing matters than the stars and the Two Trees.

Snape cleared his throat, "I think it's time you finally answered Lily's question. I, for one, have had enough of your evasions."

Would Lily notice how he was standing up for her?

Ekem's eyes widened. "The stone was given to me."

"First you say it was given to you, then you say you found it in the Forbidden Forest, and now you're back to your original story. How do you expect us to believe anything you say?" Lily retorted.

Us….

"Enough of your doubletalk," Snape said to Ekem. Turning to Dumbledore and Moody he continued, "I knew he was a liar from the beginning."

Even with nothing but the light of the stars, it was apparent that Ekem's face had turned red. Embarrassment gave way to anger. "I did not lie! The location of the stone was given to me and I found it in the Forbidden Forest."

Lily looked beautiful when she was deep in thought. Snape flashed back to similar expressions while they were in Potions class together. He had always worked so hard in that class, trying his best to impress her. She was his muse when it came to creative ideas for potions and incantations… ideas he had jotted down in his potions books… a book that her son would later find… her son….

"Harry!" Snape shouted as everyone turned in surprise. "Only Harry knew about that! He dropped the stone in the forest and said he hoped no one would ever find it again. He only told Dumbledore's portrait about it in the headmaster's office. No one could have told you where it was."

Ekem looked like he was choosing his words carefully, but before he could respond Sirius jumped in. "Wait just one moment." He was looking directly at Snape. "How could you know all that about Harry? You were dead at the time. Unless…." Suddenly a realization swept over the group, as if the answer occurred to them all simultaneously.

Snape looked in horror from face to face until he came to that of Lily. She had never looked at him so sweetly, not even before that dreadful incident in school when he called her a "Mudblood." Her knowing look sent shocks through his system as his heartbeat quickened.

"Yes… well…." Ekem, for once, was trying to get the conversation back on the topic of the stone. "It was Iluvatar."

"What?!" said almost the entire group in unison as Snape's heart tried to return to normal.

"It was Iluvatar who gave me this quest and told me where to find the stone."

Fred cleared his throat. "Wait a second, mate… you mean to tell me that God chose you – you – to be his champion… in the fight against Melkor… and his army of darkness?"

"Well…."

Fred just laughed. "I knew your story was a bit dodgy, but you? Captain Twitchy?" At that, Cedric started laughing, then Sirius and James. Tonks tried to hold back a giggle, as well as Colin. Even Dumbledore's chest was heaving from a restrained laughter. Moody held nothing back.

Snape did not laugh and, as he looked across the fire, he saw that Lily was not laughing either. Instead, she just stared at him curiously.

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A/N: Thank you for reading my first fanfic. Please review; both good and bad are welcomed.

Next Chapter: Dobby Gets a Hobby