A/N: Once again, a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed and to RenitaLeandra who has put so much work into making this story better that it would have been.


Chapter 3

"TRAITOR!"

"Murdering bastard!"

"Death Eater!"

The shouts echoed across the Great Hall. Hermione managed to raise her eyes only to witness Ginny staring up at Snape, her eyes narrow angry slits.

"Have they lost their minds?" she hissed at Hermione. "What is he doing here?"

Hermione found that she couldn't open her mouth to answer. It seemed that all her words were lodged in her throat. Suddenly she heard another shout, coming above the rest.

"Harry, NO!" shouted Remus. Harry was lunging toward Snape, his hands outstretched as if he was going to choke him. Remus managed to grab one of his arms, pulling him away.

"Get off me!" shouted Harry trying to pull his arm away. For such a frail-looking person, Remus had incredible strength, as a result, Harry could not free himself. Instead he turned around to Remus and began to shout.

"What is he doing here? Have you lost your bloody minds? He killed Dumbledore!"

"Harry," Remus said, his voice as steady as always, "There are certain things that you are not aware of regarding Dumbledore's death. You need to hear the entire story."

"I don't need to hear anything. I was there! Or have you all forgot? I watched him point his wand at Dumbledore and murder him!" He turned back around resuming his struggle to get to Snape.

"I will curse you the first chance I get!" Harry yelled at him.

"And how do you plan to do that without a wand, Potter?" Snape asked, barely raising his voice. Harry's face flushed. While being held captive by the Death Eaters, his wand had been taken from him by Voldemort and he had not been able to visit Diagon Alley to purchase a new one. The situation had caused the Order to put him under twenty-four hour guard, much to his dismay.

"Just as soon as I get a wand, I will make you sorry for the things you have done!"

"Well, Potter," Snape said walking slowly toward him, "let me give you that opportunity right now."

He reached into his robes and pulled out a wand. For one moment it seemed that the entire room was holding their breath wondering if Snape would hex someone who was unarmed. And then he held the wand out, the handle pointing away from him. Harry looked down and recognized his own wand being handed toward him. He looked up at Snape, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"What have you done to it?"

"Nothing. As I said, you are free to try it out, assuming you will not be using any of the Unforgivables." He stood still staring straight at Harry.

Harry gave him a long hard look and then muttered, "Lumos." The tip of his wand lit up, and he looked over to Professor McGonagall and Remus.

"I want to know what's going on," he said through clenched teeth.

"I understand," Professor McGonagall said, nodding. "We intend to explain it to you, however, there are some sensitive issues involved. Come with me." She motioned Harrytoward the door that she and Snape had appeared from. Then she looked past Harry to Hermione. "Perhaps, under the circumstances, you should come as well."

Harry gave Hermione a questioning look which she determinedly ignored. As they walked toward the door, they heard McGonagall whisper to Remus, "I hope you can keep Severus from the firing squad until we return, yes?"

Remus nodded, while something close to a smile played across his lips. "I'll do my best."

Professor McGonagall ushered them through the door and into a small room. Hermione immediately noticed the presence of a Pensieve that had been set up on a table on the far side of the room. She stared at it with a small amount of nervousness. Although Harry had told her all about them, and she had even gone so far as to study the concepts behind it, she had never personally used one.

"There are several memories that I believe would be helpful to understanding the situation," Professor McGonagall said, closing the door behind her. "They were found after Professor Dumbledore's death. Mister Potter, I understand you have used a Pensieve with Professor Dumbledore in the past, correct?" Harry nodded and she turned to Hermione. "Miss Granger, have you ever used one?"

Hermione shook her head, continuing to look at it warily.

"Very well, then. Perhaps it would be best if you went first since you look a little unsure." She reached over and poured a silvery memory into the Pensieve stirring it with her wand. "Just lean over until your face touches the memory. Then it will do the rest for you."

Hermione walked over toward the Pensieve but when she leaned over, it no longer was silvery. Instead it looked like the inside of the Headmistress's office, as if she were viewing it from the ceiling. She hesitated only a moment before bending her head down to touch the smooth surface. As soon as she did, she felt as if she were falling down into the office. When she landed, she began to survey her surroundings. Her heart gave a little jump when she saw Professor Dumbledore sitting at the desk, calmly writing on a long piece of parchment. After only a few moments, she saw Harry and Professor McGonagall appear next to her. Harry was looking around with curiosity; however Professor McGonagall appeared to be well aware of what they would see.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Enter," Dumbledore said standing and moving away from the desk. A younger version of Severus Snape walked in. He could not have been more than in his early twenties and had a nervous, twitchy look to him. He was pale and skinny, and looked to be in desperate need of a good meal and bath.

"Severus," Dumbledore said smiling, "you're right on time. Why don't you have a seat? Our third party appears to be a little late. Have you given thought to everything we discussed?"

Snape nodded his head but said nothing, nor did he meet the older man's eyes. This did not appear to concern Dumbledore however and he continued talking.

"You have done the honourable thing, Severus, coming to me right away. Hopefully we will be able to stop him before it's too late." Again, Snape jerked his head in a motion resembling a nod. There were several long minutes of silence where Dumbledore was studying Snape, and Snape was studying the floor before there was another knock on the door.

"Come," Dumbledore said. The door opened again and both Hermione and Harry gasped. Even Snape was looking at Dumbledore with an incredulous expression.

"You've brought the bartender of the Hog's Head?" he asked. Dumbledore merely smiled.

"Well, I thought under the circumstances, it would be best to keep all this between us. I don't think you have ever been properly introduced to my brother."

Again Hermione and Harry exchanged a look of surprise. Dumbledore continued to speak.

"Severus, this is my brother Aberforth. Abe, I think you are already familiar with Severus." Aberforth just nodded and turned to Dumbledore.

"Are we ready to get on with this then?" he asked, his voice was low and grave, as if it did not get regular use.

"Yes, did you bring your wand?" Dumbledore asked and the other man withdrew an old, well used wand. "Good." Dumbledore stood in front of Snape and grasped his hand. Aberforth reached out and touched their clasped hands with the tip of his wand. Hermione realized Snape was about to take an Unbreakable Vow, having taken one herself when she joined the Order. They were now required for all Order members after the apparent defection of Snape.

"Severus, will you follow the directions of the Order of the Phoenix in order to facilitate the downfall of Lord Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked.

"I will," Snape said quietly. A tongue of flame wrapped itself around their clasped hands.

"Will you follow any direct orders from myself, regardless of your personal feelings?"

"I will." His eyes followed the second tongue of flame.

"Will you do whatever you must to protect the child in the Prophecy?"

"I will."

"And will you refrain from divulging any information to Lord Voldemort, or the Death Eaters, that could harm any member of the Order of the Phoenix?"

"I will."

Dumbledore stood still for another moment as if studying the man,and as they watched, the scene slowly faded away and another one took its place.

They suddenly found themselves in the Potion's lab. Before them was an older Severus Snape bent over a cauldron, his face creased with concentration. He looked very similar to how he did now, so Hermione guessed that this memory could not have been too far in the past. He had just added some powdered unicorn horn when the door flew open and Dumbledore stumbled in. He was clutching his right arm and appeared to be in obvious pain.

"Severus," he gasped as the door shut behind him, "quick!"

Snape looked up in alarm and quickly ran over to a shelf where he seemed to have a line of potions made up and waiting for some purpose. He grabbed a vial of dark green liquid that appeared to be smoking and brought it over to Dumbledore, who quickly drank it. Snape then pulled the sleeve away from Dumbledore's hand. The hand was black and dead looking, just as Hermione had remembered it from her sixth year, but in this memoryit seemed to be spreading up his arm. He had pulled out his wand and was murmuring a series of spells, touching various points along Dumbledore's wrist and arm. She could not make out all of the words, but they did not sound familiar. He ran back and forth several times to that shelf, each time pulling down a new potion that Dumbledore would swallow. He would then perform the same spell with his wand. Each time it appeared that the blackness would recede a bit down his arm, until finally it was only his hand that remained black Heput his wand away and Dumbledore sank down into a chair.

"There is nothing more I can do," Snape said wiping a line of sweat from his brow. "I'm afraid the hand is beyond repair."

Dumbledore just nodded with a faint smile. "You have done much, Severus. Thank you."

"What happened?" Snape asked as he began putting away the empty vials that had contained the numerous potions.

"The ring," Dumbledore said. "I was not expecting the curse that was on it."

"But it has been taken care of?"

"Yes, another Horcrux has been destroyed."

Hermione heard Harry gasp next to her. Dumbledore had not even told McGonagall about the Horcruxes before his death, yet apparently he had told Snape.

For a moment, it appeared that the creases in Snape's face relaxed, however it was hard to be sure as this memory now faded away again to be replaced by a new one.

They were standing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and it felt like a cold spring evening. As they stood there, Dumbledore and Snape came out from the forest. They stopped several feet away and Harry and Hermione moved closer in order to hear them better.

"Absolutely not!" they heard Snape say, his voice hard and angry. "This is insanity. We need to be taking care of Malfoy now. He should not be allowed to continue."

"Severus," Dumbledore's voice sounded patient but firm, "you know what will happen if we do that. You know what Voldemort will do to his family. We must allow this to play itself out."

"To what purpose? What will happen if he succeeds? What will happen if he doesn't?" The last words were said in a hiss. "You cannot allow me to fulfil my vow to Narcissa."

"I trust that everything will work itself out," Dumbledore said. His face was calm but his voice sounded tense.

"You are taking your safety for granted, Albus."

"Severus, you know what you have sworn, and you know what will be required of you from myself, and Narcissa as well. You must fulfilDraco's mission if he cannot. It is imperative that you continue your work as a spy, regardless of what may happen to me," Dumbledore said, his voice beginning to rise Hermione could tell he was quickly losing patience.

"I don't want to continue this anymore, Albus. Remaining a spy will do no one any good if I am imprisoned in Azkaban."

"Will your courage fail you now?" Dumbledore asked. He sounded both desperate and angry at the same time. As if he would say anything to force Snape to do what he was requesting. "You have made an Unbreakable Vow, Severus. You have no choice."

He turned toward the forest where there had been a rustling of leaves, before looking back at Severus. "This conversation is over. You know what is expected of you. I want a report about the investigations into Slytherin by the end of the week."

Hermione stared in surprise as Dumbledore walked off toward the castle. She had never seen him angry before. After several long minutes, Severus followed in the same direction. As the scene faded away, Hermione saw the large outline of Hagrid, hiding in the bushes.

The next thing she saw was the small room off of the Great Hall, the Penseive, and Harry who sat down heavily in a chair, burying his face in his hands.