Chapter Five: In Hell With No Way Out:
A weak had passed since the meeting with Dumbledore and Severus was on edge waiting for the blow to fall from the ministry. At least they had Rita Skeeter on their side, Aberforth had found out that she was an illegal Animagmus and Severus had reported this to the headmaster. Of course instead of reporting her to the ministry Dumbledore had offered the infuriating woman a place in the Order of the Phoenix. Severus was in it as well as he wanted to fight but not publicly, he had his students to protect after all. He had worked so hard to let them know they had a choice in their lives that if they had a sliver of a doubt to not do the thing they had a doubt about. With Voldemort back he knew that he would loose some of them to him and he knew his fellow heads of houses knew they would loose students to Voldemort too. Severus sat in the headmaster's office doing his level best to drink the tea offered but after one sip he knew he could get no more down.
"Severus you don't know he is coming here to take you away." Dumbledore said calmly, "I will vouch for you I know you are no death eater."
"That will matter little to him." Severus said bitterly, his tea cup was rattling as his hand was shaking. "Damn I cannot do this, not again."
"Severus I would fight for you, you know that." Dumbledore said.
"He would use that to have you removed." Severus said bitterly, "then make sure the reporters saw him take away a known death eater."
"Over my dead body human or animal." Sirius said from where he sat speaking up for his friend.
"Even silver will not keep me from defending you." Remus added quietly.
"How Gryffindor of you." Severus said a small smile at his lips, then he groaned and put his cup on the desk and put a hand to his face. "I am sorry, I must seem weak, but I cannot, I cannot go through that place again."
Sirius was alarmed at how upset and rattled Severus was, never was he like this, alright he had broke down badly when James and Lily had died but they all had. Severus had come back after his month in ministry custody a bit worn, terribly thin and shaken but aside from avoiding Moody when he visited to see how his prodigy Nymphadora Tonks was doing he seemed much the same. He had always been reserved and apart from his temper and his sense of humor he was a cool collected wizard. There was a knock at the door to the office, a normal knock of human flesh on wood, not metal on wood. Dumbledore bid the person at the door to enter and Harry came in his green eyes filled with concern.
"Hello Harry what can I do for you my boy?" Dumbledore asked Harry.
"I heard professor Snape was here sir, I um well I was wondering with what has happened and all if he is alright?" Harry turned to Severus, "sir are you alright?"
"Of course I am not bloody alright Potter!" Severus snapped and Harry looked very concerned, his uncle as he saw Severus never lashed out like this unless he was scared or hurting. "The bloody minister wants to make a bloody example of me!"
"Seems damn unfair sir." Harry said calmly. "He will have to get through me sir."
"You don't understand Harry." Severus said, "none of you do what he did to me there."
"Severus you don't have to talk about this." Sirius said wanting to spare his friend this pain.
"It was Moody who bloody arrested me, at Malfoy manner, I had a letter that gave me leave from Nicholas Flamel whom was one of the masters I was studying under to tend to Lucius after his time in the ministry." Severus said bitterly. "He never went through what I did."
"Sir…" Harry began to say kneeling by his professor and putting an arm on his shoulder.
"I was taken to the ministry, they bound me and put a hood on me. I knew it was the ministry because well Azkaban from what I understand is never quiet, this was quiet." Severus said wanting to talk and when he started the pain all those years ago came back to him. "Crouch was there, him and his effing hand, he ah took the hood off and stated he was glad to have me and ah there was much to talk of. I was taken to a cell and they, they took my clothes. Moody wanted to give me a robe but Crouch would not have it, I was kept naked and beaten, hexed and Dementors were used to weaken me. All I had to do Crouch said was to, to say I was a death eater and it would all stop. I begged for Veritaserum and he effing would not give it and he gloated at my begging pleading and sobbing and I can't I can't let him do that again to me I cannot it will be far worse this time!"
Dumbledore looked grave at this outburst that was years in the making, Sirius looked stricken and in shock at what Severus had finally revealed to them. Remus looked ashen and Harry refused to remove his hand from his professor's shoulder. Severus ducked his head behind a curtain of hair hiding his face in his hands, he started to cry and Harry seeing this took him in his arms and held him. It was the strangest thing to see Harry comforting this traumatized man, Sirius saw he was crying too as he did his level best to comfort Severus. Finally Severus stopped crying and looked at Harry with tear stained eyes and gently wiped at tear from the boy's face and felt guilt for his outburst.
"It's okay sir, you had a lot of pain to get out." Harry said and Severus hugged him tight letting a few more tears fall. "I will do all I can to keep you safe sir, you mean so much to me, you are family."
"I feel so weak and a coward." Severus said.
"Coward you?" Sirius said, "no you are far braver than I am, facing Minerva each day like you do?"
"He has a point, and having for a good friend a creature you fear and hate?" Remus said smiling, "it takes bravery to put a fear aside and be friends with the likes of me."
"Well you are not dangerous." Severus said quietly. "Unlike most werewolves out there, in fact how could you be dangerous when I have pictures of that cute pink jacket Molly made for you in wolf form?"
"It was not pink when she made it Severus." Remus smirked glad to see his friend back with them.
"Sirius must have color charmed it then." Severus said innocently.
"Oi I did not but I will turn your hair pink Severus!"
"You do that and you will be running around Hogwarts naked."
"I can do that in dog form." Sirius countered.
"Someone is coming." Remus said quietly.
Severus quickly dried his eyes and face and Sirius handed him a mirror so he could charm his features so he did not look as if he had been crying. Severus did the same for Harry and Severus stood up to face the door, Harry stood before him as there was a sound of metal on wood knocking at the door. Dumbledore bid the minister to enter and he came into the room. Harry folded his arms and glared at the tall thin man before him who was looking not at him but at Severus behind him. Why could not this man leave Severus alone? Harry was fast getting angry and he would not move out of the way as Crouch made to grab Severus with his metal hand. There were two Aurors behind him and at least they were not Kingsley and Tonks, that would hurt as they really liked Severus.
"Move Harry I have to take him." Crouch said.
"No, I am not moving." Harry said glaring for all he was worth.
"He could have poisoned you, you know what he is."
"What you say he is sir." Harry said. "Professor Snape is not a death eater."
"Take him." Crouch said to his Aurors and Severus paled.
"Yea you do that minister and tomorrow your little affair in Knockturn alley will be all over the prophet." Harry said. "Cheating on your new wife and children?"
"Leave now." Crouch said to the Aurors. "I will call you when I need you."
"Sure you should not have been in Slytherin?" Severus asked Harry.
"No sir too reckless." Harry replied.
"What do you want Harry?" Crouch asked.
"Leave professor Snape alone, don't and your little secret will be in the papers, both of them," Harry said, "I don't bloody care if you make me look like a fool sir, hell far as I know I am but you will not take professor Snape!"
Harry was acting very mature for his age, he was (despite great protest) the hero boy everyone needed at this time. He was grounded and though so very, very young he had more of a adult outlook on things in life than many his age. Maybe that was because he knew what he had to do, that long before the graveyard he knew that he would have to kill Voldemort, either him or Neville or possibly both of them would. Harry had spent a lot of time learning about things from his uncles, about their time in school (they called it a dark time where they had almost allowed great evil to over take them all) and on to life and how some are called to do hard things and must grow because of it. The minister towered over Harry and he looked livid but Harry looked cold and calm as he faced down the minister, he was scared but he would not back down, not he for he was Gryffindor and he knew what that meant after all.
"You trust him with your life then?" Crouch said to him.
"Yes sir, I trust him fully." Sirius said quietly standing by Severus, "he is a bit prickly, rough around the edges true but he is a great man."
"I third that." Remus said, "you know what I am and what he does for me. Ask yourself minister why would an evil man as you call him make a vaccine for Lycanthropy?"
"He is a good man, and wizard." Dumbledore said calmly.
"I see then." Crouch said his jaw working in anger, then he said something really nasty to Severus, "tell me how is it being Lucius lapdog?"
Severus paled in rage his hands clenched in fists, so that rumor still was out there. He knew the reputation of many muggle boarding schools sure but Hogwarts was above that sort of thing. Oh he many have had to deal with hexes and curses shot at him in school and insults and most recently a dark lord trying to get into Hogwarts any way he could but what Hogwarts had done since the earliest days was keep their students pure in one since of the word within the walls of the school. To that end though a student still had free reign over many things sex was clearly not one of them. It may seem medieval in many ways to control the students this way but in fact it was practical in many ways, and clearly the minister did not remember his time in Hogwarts or chose not to.
"Tell me minister how is the fare in Knockturn alley?" Severus said softly, "pity your wife does not know what you get up to, then again maybe for her health I should tell her?"
"How dare you!" Crouch said going red with rage.
"How dare you insult one of my good friends who would never do such evil things." Severus said. "He is Orthodox Christian surely you know what that means?"
"I have no use for your foolish traditions and will not debate with you Snape!" Crouch snarled. "Keep your potions master Dumbledore but rest assured I will have my own defense teacher here."
"Oh good you have found someone to take over that job splendid!" Dumbledore said smiling with a twinkle in his eyes.
Crouch stormed to the door and out and Harry was surprised at what Severus had revealed about Lucius Malfoy. Why on earth would a man who believed in the same God he did join Voldemort and become a death eater? Was he as daft as all that to not understand real eternal life and what his faith meant? Harry was not Orthodox Christian as he was more along the line of the Anglican church accepting the Queen as head of the church and the spokesperson for God if God so chose to speak through her. He knew rumors that did spread about what when on in the dorms without teachers here but if any one read Hogwarts a history they would know that kind of thing did not happen here as the founders had made sure to keep their charges safe from that though still free to make choices which was why Snogging was allowed and Harry nearly went dreamy eyed as he thought of a certain red-headed girl with bright brown eyes.
"Harry you there mate?" Sirius asked him.
"He is just thinking of a young girl with brown eyes and flame-red hair." Remus teased. "Why don't you go and see her?"
"Um yea, sure I would like that yea." Harry said grinning from ear to ear.
"If her brothers give you a hard time I will see to it they do lines." Severus said and Harry grinned even wider and ran out of the room. "That boy is amazing, Sirius, Remus you did wonders in raising him."
"Well you helped and Mrs. Longbottom and of course Andy and Molly and Aberforth was there too." Sirius said.
"Yes by unlearned brother has been happier since he met Harry." Dumbledore said, "seems he has a purpose in life."
"He came to me first sir." Severus said, "talked with me and then with these two and James and Peter, locked us in a room."
"That was fun, he would not let us out and you know what? James saw how hurt Remus was, having three boys yell and you and tell you that you are an ass and evil and what were you thinking finally got through my thick skull." Sirius said. "Man I was a horrible little ass in school."
"So was I." Remus said.
"You didn't do anything." Sirius defended Remus.
"Yet I did not stop you either, we were evil, Severus never really was." Remus said.
"I nearly joined Voldemort." Severus said.
"But you did not and that makes the difference though there are those that did who regret it now." Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "Now why don't you boys go outside, enjoy the sun or in the case of Severus not enjoy the sun."
"Yes sir," they said and left the headmasters office leaving him thoughtful behind them as he was thinking on his brother. "Aberforth what do you know that has you doing all this now?" Dumbledore said to no-one in particular…
Now again Severus is not out of character here, many people who have suffered horrible things either break down right after (as many women do as it is okay for us to cry but it is not in most societies for men to cry) or for years to pass before they do. Severus is a very strong wizard and his breaking down does not diminish this in any way. In fact one should be worried if he did not break down as that would make him a psychopath or a Vulcan (and I don't see any pointed ears on him). His talking about it is perfectly normal and once he started he did could not stop.
Harry is not cannon and I think that is good! He is the caring young man he needs to be and yes he does "act older" than his years some would say. I respectfully disagree, many teens before the twentieth century had to work hard long hours, it was only in the last century that teens were coddled to the extent they are now and as such I think it is the main reason so many cannot deal with real issues. Teens used to have kids, hold down permanent jobs sometimes as young as twelve, nearly all of them no later than sixteen. There were no teenagers before the twentieth century, you went from child to young adult and then adult, childhood was short though apprenticeships did last for years.
As for Harry liking Ginny, well they have become good friends and she is not a star struck child but will proove to be a strong witch in her own right. Yes as far as Harry and Ginny that will stay cannon. However with everyone else that probably will not be the case but I like Harry and Ginny together and that stays the same way here.