AUTHOR NOTE – Book 2

Severus Snape was in an exceptionally good mood. He had just managed to take the Potter brat down a few pegs, and all before his first Potions class of the year with the devil spawn. Oh, he knew that he wasn't lucky enough to be done with the boy permanently, but he allowed himself to revel in the thought. The joy would last until Dumbledore pulled whatever strings he needed to ensure his precious golden child was kept safe.

As he made his way to Dumbledore's office, he strengthened his occlumency shields. He needed to hide his joy, and make sure he looked appropriately contrite when the old man expressed his disappointment. He wondered if Dumbledore would take the approach of saying "you must let go of your grudge" or the classic "allowances must be made for Harry".

"Come in Severus" called Dumbledore from the other side of the office door.

"You wanted to see me Headmaster?"

Dumbledore looked up tiredly. "Indeed. Would you care to explain your actions?"

Severus held back on his desire to smirk. "Which actions would those be, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore stared intensely at Severus, before finally leaning back in his chair. When he spoke, his tone contained a weariness that Severus had not heard since the war.

"I have just finished talking with the Board of Governors. Apparently, they have voted to expel Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley from Hogwarts. I was informed that they decided this based on the insistence of both Lucius Malfoy and you. It was decided that the boys' flying of a car in London was sufficient reason to see them expelled from the school. Minerva was already contacted by Lucius, so the boys were informed of the verdict before I was. Now, I know I made myself clear that they were to receive detentions and a severe warning, but you took it upon yourself to go over my head. Now, I repeat, would you care to explain your actions?"

Severus sneered. "I know that you believe precious Potter needs to be coddled, but I felt that we would inflate his sense of ego too much if we let him get away with such a flagrant violation of the Statute of Secrecy. The boy needs to know that his stupid actions have consequences, and I appear to be the only one willing to show him that. Not that it truly matters. You will pull some strings and he will come back to the school before I can become accustomed to his absence. I just hope that this incident will manage to puncture his oversized ego."

As Severus awaited the typical Dumbledore plea for learning forgiveness, he noted that the portraits in the office were oddly empty of their occupants.

"Were it just the Board of Governors, then perhaps I could… pull strings. However, Lucius was very thorough, and he has already convinced Minister Fudge to make an example of the boys. I am expecting a troupe of aurors to arrive within the hour to arrest Harry and Ronald."

Severus was shocked. He reinforced his occlumency shields yet again, lest he show how giddy he felt. "Well, I am sure that the precious Boy-Who-Lived will get away with a slap on the wrist. As for Weasley, that's no great loss. Perhaps Molly Weasley will appreciate the money they will save without an extra mouth to…"

Severus did not complete his sentence, as he was too busy being slammed into the wall by a wave of magic. After overcoming that shock, he was disinclined to continue his insulting tirade, as his mouth had been sealed shut and his body stuck to the wall. It was at this point that he was reminded of why Albus Dumbledore was the only one the Dark Lord had ever feared.


Albus looked into the panicked eyes of Snape and sighed.

"I had truly hoped that you could somehow mature past the point of being a petty 13-year-old child. I had even allowed myself to believe that your outward immaturity was all an act to keep in good standing with the Death Eaters. I wanted to believe that no one could be that small-minded, that actively incompetent at teaching, that needlessly cruel. But I was wrong to believe any of that, wasn't I?"

Albus stood up and walked slowly towards Snape.

"For the longest time, I thought it was all an act. How you strutted around the school, how you bullied the children for what house they were in, how you used the Slytherins as your minions to support your mean-spirited 'pranks'. It was like watching someone choosing to take on all the worst qualities of a young James Potter and his friends and then amplifying those qualities to ridiculous levels. I honestly couldn't believe that you would subconsciously become your stated stereotype of James, I was sure it had to be a conscious act. But, sadly, it wasn't an act. I am baffled that a man as intelligent as yourself could possibly miss that transformation."

Albus ignored the shock and outrage filling Snape's eyes as he walked over to an unremarkable spot on the wall, tapping it to reveal a hidden cabinet. He began to work with the items in the cabinet.

"Of course, I knew that you would have a problem with Harry. He's a reminder that you destroyed your relationship with Lily, and your enemy won her affections. However, I had hoped that you would recognize that abusing Lily's son is the same thing as spitting on her grave. I should have known better. I should have recognized that you were in love with the idea of Lily, but not in love with the actual woman. My optimism tends to bite me in most uncomfortable ways. Unfortunately, Harry and Ronald are paying the price this time."

Albus walked over to Snape, carrying a vial of red liquid and a green pulsing stone.

"As for the current predicament, I blame myself. I gave you too much freedom in how you ingratiated yourself with the Death Eaters. You knew your place in my plans for defeating Voldemort, and I let you become arrogant with the knowledge you had my protection. I ignored your incompetence as a teacher. I ignored your bullying. I ignored how you made a mockery of the points system. I should have reined you in. I let you believe that there was no limit to my protection. I am sorry about that, as there were limits, and you ran well past those limits before I could stop you."

Albus placed the green pulsing stone on Snape's forehead, where it stuck fast.

"You have left me in the unfortunate situation where I have only one chance to exonerate Harry. Someone else needs to take the blame. And since I can no longer trust you, you no longer can have a prominent place in my plans, and hence you have been volunteered. When the aurors arrive, you will have a clear memory of casting the appropriate spells that caused the boys to believe they couldn't go through the barrier at King's Cross Station and convinced them to fly the car to Hogwarts. Luckily your well documented hatred of Harry offers a ready-made motive."

Albus looked into Snape's eyes and saw a sense of smugness. He smiled sadly as he uncorked the vial of red liquid.

"I know what you are thinking. It is nearly impossible to insert a fake memory into a person that will pass professional inspections. Your skill in occlumency changes that to a certain impossibility, and there is no potion that can change that simple fact. Luckily, if one is exceptionally skilled in alchemy and is aware of a certain use for dragon's blood which I never shared, then the impossibility becomes a quite possible."

Snape watched in horror as he watched Albus levitate four drops of dragon's blood out of the vial. He couldn't see the intricate patterns that were applied to the stone, nor did he feel the stone melt into his forehead and disappear without a trace.

"I am sorry about this Severus. When the aurors arrive, I will have to regretfully remove my protection and allow them to prosecute you for your crimes as a Death Eater. If it makes you feel any better, you will have a subconscious overwhelming desire to insult Voldemort to his face. You need not worry about being corrupted into rejoining the man who killed Lily. Your part in this war has come to an end."

Albus waved his wand, and Snape felt his mouth unseal.


Severus was still in shock, so he didn't immediately speak.

"Well, Severus, once I cast this, you will obviously forget this conversation. You will remember walking into my office and accidentally revealing that you framed Harry and Ronald, at which point I stunned you. Do you have anything you want to say before we part ways?"

Fear coursed through Severus's blood. He had long since stopped being too proud to beg. He knew what memories the Dementors would use for his torment. He never would bother begging with the Dark Lord, but Dumbledore was all about forgiveness. This couldn't be happening! "Please, Headmaster… Albus, you don't need to do this! I'll change! I'll treat Potter like a son if you want! I'll have Lucius call off Fudge. We can spin this in a way that will make me an even more effective spy. Please!"

Dumbledore's expression grew softer. "I'm sorry Severus. If it had just been Harry, then maybe we could have tried that. I could have used Harry's fame to save him. But you included Ronald in your plots, a boy that Harry considers to be a brother. Harry is not one to lightly forgive those who attack his chosen family. If you go free, Harry will never trust me. If he sees that I have taken you down, he will be more inclined to trust me. And I need him to trust me."

Anger flashed in Severus's eyes. "You need him to trust you? Well, when the Dark Lord returns, you will need me to be your spy!"

Dumbledore sadly shook his head, as he placed his wand tip on Severus's forehead.

"It appears I failed you again. I had just assumed you understood. I desperately wanted you to be a spy in Voldemort's ranks, that would have been immensely useful. But Harry is needed to achieve final victory. You have forced me to choose between what I want and what I need. In this war, I will always choose my needs over my wants. Goodbye Severus."

The next thing he knew, Severus Snape was waking up in the Headmaster's office, wondering how he could be so stupid as to let slip that he had framed the Potter brat. It was only after he loudly cursed his stupidity that he noted the presence of the aurors and Minister Fudge. They did not look overly friendly.