Courtroom Ten
"You must be kidding, Eddie!"
But Eddard Hincks wasn't kidding. Instead, he was standing in front of the door, shoulders squared, and tried hard at an impassive face. He was also blocking Elena's way into Courtroom Ten down in the dungeons of the Ministry of Magic where the hearing was about to take place. It was already packed, as she could see when she peaked over the young wizard's shoulder, there was a hum of voices and noises as people squeezed by one another to get to their seats. In front of the large winged doors, as well, throngs of wizards and witches were waiting, craning their necks. Clearly, the appearance of Severus Snape before the Wizengamot was the high point of the season.
"I don't have to have a seat", Elena tried again, working hard to keep petulance out of her voice, "I'm happy to stand at the back, just so that I can hear. – Come on, the guy is my teacher!"
"I already explained to you!" Eddie looked pained. "The people allowed to go in are hand-picked. Only select members of the wizarding community …"
"And I'm not select, am I?" She couldn't quite resist sarcasm. "No matter that I was attacked along with him, that I was even kidnapped and used as bait?! Oh, and let's not forget the detail that I saved both our arses a tiny little bit …"
"Be that as it may. – If you want to go in there, you should have put your name down on the list in time!"
"Nobody told me about any fucking list!"
"I'm sorry about that." Eddie didn't look sorry at all. In fact, there was something triumphant in the way he straightened up once more to more effectively block the door.
Elena appraised him from head to toe. For a few seconds, she wondered whether she should get the big guns out. Mollycoddle him, flirt with him even, remind him of their friendship and tell him how much it meant to her. However, she decided against it. It was simply not fair, using the weakness he clearly had for her. Also, she had done this way too often, string along the nice guy that you weren't actually interested in, and act aloof towards the one you really liked. It was childish, and in addition she still had her friend Katja's words in her ear – break the pattern. And although she hadn't quite made up her mind yet as to how breaking patterns might look for her, she sensed that it must also apply to her well-established strategies of getting what she wanted.
"Your last word?" she challenged Eddie, looking strict.
"Yes, ma'am", he replied firmly, albeit with a slight flicker in his eyes.
From inside the hall a voice boomed "Close the doors, please, session is about to begin!"
Eddie turned – as did half a dozen of Ministry officials guarding the other doors – grabbed at the wings and pressed them shut. Elena caught a last glimpse of the shuffling bodies inside, heard the whispers as of a large nest of bees and hissed shushing. Her stomach grumbled. So that was it. Around her, people looked almost as disappointed as she probably did, issued rueful sounds and turned away with shrugs.
"Pity", she heard a middle-aged wizard say to who was probably his wife, "I would have loved to see that old turncoat grilled."
Elena cast a dark look in the man's direction, but he didn't notice, merely walked away with his companion. The old turncoat … It reminded her of a commentary she had read in the Daily Prophet – duly delivered to her every day by owl – just the day before, where someone had written that '… observers must not expect too much from this inquiry, because almost certainly Severus Snape will do as he has always done, stay silent, teeter between light and dark, in order to finally quietly slip back into his hole again, leaving the rest of us none the wiser.' As unconceivable as it was to her, this had certainly been a piece that represented quite well a considerable portion of the wizarding world's attitude towards the man. Elena knew how opinions were made, the Muggle tabloids being experts at it. Pick up a shared fear or hidden doubt and play on it – it was ridiculously simple and worked even better if the person to whom the fear and doubt referred was not very lovable altogether. It was enough to make most people disregard all the good that this person had done. – And of course, in the case of Severus Snape, there was a lot of doubt. Specifically, there was a past that many found difficult to forget …
Elena turned away from Eddie – deliberately ignoring the imploring look he cast after her – and she walked the length of the curved wall behind which the hearing proceeded in this very minute. Ministry officials stood at regular intervals, looking grim and watching the people still crowding the corridor. Not all of them had any intention of leaving, in fact, Elena saw not a small number of would-be spectators installing themselves on the marble stone floor, leaning against pillars and obviously determined to wait it out. She went on down the corridor that led around the entire hall in a perfect circle. The hum of voices was too loud to hear anything escaping from gaps in the doors. She had no way of knowing what was going on inside, could only imagine. However, imagining in too great detail made her even more nervous than she already was, and so she tried not to think too much. – Much better to find a way to get in, anyway!
But she saw immediately that it was not going to be easy. After she had walked down more than half circle, she found a door which was sieged by a thick knot of people, hushing each other and leaning in. The official guarding this door was an elderly wizard and he did not seem to take his job quite as seriously as Eddie, but happily sucked at a pipe spreading a sickly-sweet aroma. She saw now that for some reason the door didn't close properly and snippets of what was going on inside could be heard. Her heart started to drum as she came nearer and she managed to squeeze in between the waiting and listening people. Every time a gap opened up, she quickly filled it and in that manner she edged closer and closer until she was able to discern faint murmuring.
"… Severus Tobias Snape, born 9th of January, 1960, in Cokesworth, father Tobias Snape, Muggle and factory worker, mother …"
The sound of his voice was so familiar in spite of how faint it was that it sent a shiver through her body. How long hadn't she heard that voice, that low silky timbre of his? And she knew it well enough by now to be able to guess at his mood – he sounded cool and resigned. Elena would have given anything to get a glimpse of him, but all that she could do was wait here in the midst of a restless throng of bodies, hoping to catch as much as possible.
"Not as old as I thought he was", someone remarked, "must have been no more than a puppy when he got into all that mess …"
"Sshhh, shut your gob, Petey!"
From the hall in which the Wizengamot was assembled, a woman's voice rang out. It was much louder than Snape's had been, but also very clear and authoritative. "Would you please explain to the Wizengamot, Professor Snape, how you came to know Pavel Volodimir Leshnikov?"
Elena could hear Severus clear his throat, but when he spoke, his voice was so low she could only discern single words – "… owl … parchments in blood … attack … tongue-tie …"
"What's he saying?" the wizard by the name of Petey lamented. "I can't hear a single damn word!"
"And we can hear even less if you don't shut it any time soon!"
"Hey, people, let's not get into a quarrel here, we all want to listen in …"
"And you better be nice about it", the elderly official snarled, shaking his pipe threateningly, "or I'll have you all carted off! I'm doing you all a favour here."
"Sssshhh!"
There was some commotion, bodies pressing back and forth irritably, before the knot settled down a bit.
" … and you had never had any dealings with Mr Leshnikov before that point? …" Again, the female voice coming from the hall was loud and clear, obviously magically amplified.
"No, Madam Chief Warlock, I had never …" The rest of Snape's words were drowned out by the rustles and whispers coming from the hall. Elena groaned inwardly. Hearing only snippets was worse than hearing nothing at all! With a sigh, she extracted herself from the knot where her spot was instantly filled by a small squat witch squeezing in. Elena was back in the corridor, slowly taking up her stroll along its circle path again.
Every now and then, one of the doors opened because an official went in or a spectator came out. Whenever that happened, she hastened closer, strained her ears. On one occasion, she heard a man's voice from inside, sounding like something rattling in a tin can, but otherwise clearly audible; she immediately recognized it at that of Ansgard Periwinkle. So the man who had taken her testimony was also on the Board of Inquirers? She had no understanding of the law, magical or Muggle, but doubted whether this would have been admissible in her original sphere.
"Tell us more about how that Time Turner came into play, Professor", Periwinkle's was demanding, "I'm wondering what made you carry it around with you? I'm sure you know that all Time Turners were deemed to be turned in with the Ministry after an incident of more than two years ago, when …"
The open door was shut in Elena's face – she had come quite close – by a very large man in Ministry robes. "Sorry, dear. Closed session." He wasn't unkind, even gave her a rueful look.
She shrugged, walked on and came back full circle to the door Eddie guarded.
"I have a proposition!" she accosted him with her brightest smile. Eddie frowned. "It's something you can easily do. Just open the door a tiny fraction and let me stand here beside you. Only enough for me to listen in a bit …"
Eddie's mouth became a thin line. "You just don't get it, do you? I'm a Ministry official and I have orders. I can't make an exception!"
"There's an old geezer over there who doesn't care one way or another, I'm sure you could …"
"I have only been with the Ministry for a year", Eddie said, sounding – alas – quite reasonable. "Old Caruthers can do as he likes, he's been working here forever, but I have to watch my back, don't you see?"
Elena drew up her shoulders and let them fall with a huge sigh. "I understand, Eddie, I do, don't get me wrong, but …"
"Why is it so important for you to get in there, anyway?"
Elena looked up, stared at him. Was she really hearing this?
"You know why!" she said testily.
"No, I don't. I mean, you can read all about it in the Prophet tomorrow. Plus, since you and Snape are thick as thieves, he'll probably let you know how it went down, won't he?" His eyes had widened and searched her face. With a jolt, Elena recognized puzzlement and hope. Again, she heard Katja's voice in her head – Break the pattern. In this moment, she understood it as Be clear. Send unambiguous messages. Elena took a deep breath.
"It's you who doesn't understand", she said to Eddie.
"Understand what?"
"I'm in love with him. I need to hear how he's doing."
Eddie's face fell. He stared at her incredulously. "You're not serious!" he spat.
"I am. Dead serious. – So how about opening that door a bit?"
His face became a mask. After a few seconds, while she held his gaze and didn't allow herself to blink, he slowly shook his head. "No way. I won't."
"Suit yourself then", she said curtly and turned away, acutely aware of the hole Eddie's stare burnt into her back. She was back to square one, of course, standing in the corridor without a plan. At the same time, she felt a little lighter and thought it funny. Was that what owning up to one's feelings could do? Why, she hadn't even admitted that much to herself! However, it was true. She was in love with Severus Snape, her every waking moment was filled with thoughts of him, and her dreams, too. It had been like that for months, and now that she had spoken it out loud, she felt a pleasant sense of orderliness within herself, no shame at all, no embarrassment. She started grinning and was, in fact, so busy with it she almost overheard that someone was trying to get her attention.
"Oi! Ellie!"
She looked up and realized that the door next to Eddie's had opened a fraction. In its gap stood Hermione Granger, hectically beckoning to her.
Suddenly alert, Elena dashed towards the door. The Ministry official guarding it stepped in, but Hermione glared at him from the gap as if to say 'Don't you know who I am?' Taken aback, the official recoiled a little and made no attempt to dissuade Elena from coming closer.
"Didn't you get a seat in time?" Hermione hissed to her.
"I didn't even know there was a list!"
"Oh." Hermione screwed up her face and it was obvious that she was thinking hard. "Wait here", she commanded after a fashion and the gap in the door closed.
Elena stayed rooted to her spot, skin tingling. If she knew anything about Hermione Granger, it was that she was probably one of the brightest witches in the wizarding world and a true hero at that (not an anti-hero, which was the best description for Snape, but the real deal). If she couldn't think of something, no one could. So Elena stared at the winged door, waited, her breath held.
The door opened again after approximately three minutes. However, it was not Hermione who slipped out, but none other than Harry Potter. He grinned at Elena, then nodded at the guard who straightened up and stood to attention. "Mr Potter, sir!"
Harry came towards Elena. "Come on", he whispered to her, "somewhere quiet."
Together, they crossed the corridor and took an exit that led them to a low-ceilinged anteroom. There was hardly anyone about and yet Harry grabbed Elena's wrist and led her into an alcove for more privacy. She noticed that he was carrying something under his robes.
"Hermione said you want to get in", Harry whispered conspiratorially. "And I have just the thing … we have to be careful, though …"
Elena watched in fascination as he pulled forth a bundle from under his robes. It was a textile of some sort, iridescent and folded up neatly. She had never seen a fabric like that. When Harry spread it out, it seemed almost transparent and Elena noticed that it was a cloak.
Harry looked at her. "Invisibility cloak", he explained matter-of-factly. "Very useful."
Elena suppressed a squeal by clamping a hand over her mouth. "Harry Potter, you are …"
"… a wizard. I know."
Harry helped Elena into the cloak and she watched in amazement how her physical presence vanished. She could even hold up her hand in front of her face, but as long as it was covered by the shiny fabric, it was … well, simply gone.
"That's … great!" she said, very much touched and once again marvelling at the wonders of the magical world.
"Yes, but you still have to watch it. You may be invisible, but not untouchable. Don't bump into anyone!"
"I'll be careful", she promised, revelling in being invisible. This was, after all, any child's dream come true.
Feeling quite light all of a sudden, she trudged after Harry back to the winged doors. The official guarding it bowed a little and opened it for The Boy Who Lived. Harry acknowledged this with a friendly smile, but dawdled on the threshold to give Elena the chance to slip in beside him. Then the winged doors closed behind them.
Elena found herself standing at the back of a large amphitheatre with rows of seats arranged in a semi-circle around a platform on the lowermost level. On the platform stood a chair, or really a kind of throne, and on it the black-clad unmoving figure of Severus Snape was seated. Elena saw his sharp profile and her heart missed a beat. He was facing a pulpit on which a plump grey-haired witch sat, as well as a bench of five witches and wizards with serious faces. Directly behind Snape were the seats of the Wizengamot members, or at least that was what Elena guessed from their very formal black robes and pointed hats. On the side lines, a few people in ordinary robes were scribbling away, or in some cases their quills did the job for them – journalists, no doubt. Behind the Wizangamot members, the so-called public was seated – those at least who had got their names on the list in due time. The light in the courtroom was very dim, only about a dozen torches floated near the ceiling. These were, after all, the dungeons of the Ministry. However, it was hot and due to the packed state, there was a constant hum of whispers, rustling of clothes and squeaks from chairs in which bodies shifted.
"Are you there?" Harry whispered.
"Yeah. Right behind you."
Harry nodded and took the lead, moving down a number of steps in one of the aisles of the amphitheatre. Elena followed closely, careful not to touch anyone in her invisible state, although that was difficult because the rows were so crowded that some spectators had chosen to sit on the steps. This was how the lecture hall of Vienna university had looked like on the very first day of Elena's studies of linguistics. Finally, Harry entered a row and squeezed past grumbling witches and wizards – he did so very slowly to make sure that Elena could follow in his wake – towards an empty seat. On either side of that, Elena recognized familiar faces. One was Hermione's, who grinned over Harry's shoulder, knowing that Elena was there under his Invisibility Cloak. Beside her sat a red-haired gangly boy who looked a bit bored, no doubt the boyfriend she had mentioned a few times (Elena had never been quite able to tell whether she was more fond of him than frustrated with him, or vice versa); and Remus Lupin, leaning forward in his seat and following proceedings with a look of concentration on his face. When Elena passed the werewolf, she couldn't resist ruffling his hair and whispered "Hi, stranger".
Remus looked up in confusion, then cottoned on and grinned. "Why, if it's not our witch-in-the-making", he murmured, "nice rags."
Elena giggled and squeezed into the little space that Hermione made between her own chair and that of Lupin by almost sliding on to her boyfriend's lap. Squeezing into the seat, Elena – not for the first time in her life – wished that her hips and behind were just a teensy bit slimmer.
"You haven't missed much", Hermione said under her breath, "it was all about Leshnikov, what he did, what he wanted and all that. Pretty much the same questions they asked you."
"And how is he doing?"
"Alright. He presented the facts, appeared very sober about it." She made a face. "I just wish he wouldn't come over quite so aloof …"
Elena frowned at her, then remembered that Hermione could not see it. "You think that might be a problem?"
"This trial … this hearing, I mean … it's all about character. That's what really made people come here. To form an impression of Snape, or re-evaluate him." She sighed. "I don't know if that's working so well … I'll say one thing for them, though, that at least they didn't bind Snape to that chair as they did with Harry when he had his disciplinary hearing."
"Bind him?" Elena couldn't believe her ears.
"Yeah. They aren't exactly gentle about these things …"
"Who are you talking to?" The red-haired boy suddenly leant in, looking puzzled.
Hermione shushed him. "Elena's here", she whispered to him, "she's wearing Harry's Invisibility Cloak."
"Ah. Her." He didn't look too enthusiastic.
"Elena, this is Ron", Hermione whispered quickly, "my dimmer half."
Ron shot a suspicious look at the place where he guessed Elena was and raised an eyebrow, "Hi there. – And just for the record, I may be dimmer than my girlfriend, but I don't let myself get sloshed on Fire Whiskey by Snape!"
"Quiet down there", someone in the row behind them hissed, "or I'll get an orderly!"
They shut up, Ron with a shrug and Hermione with a smug look on her face. Elena scrutinized the witch beside her from under the Invisibility Cloak. Had she just heard right? Hermione and Severus? Fire Whiskey? She felt a distinct sting and heat coming to her cheeks. Thank God for being invisible …
She concentrated on the proceedings. There had been a small break during which the members of the bench had quietly conversed with one another and shuffled through piles of papers. All the while, Snape had remained seated on his throne, unmoving and staring ahead, face inscrutable. Now Ansgard Periwinkle straightened up and walked towards him, fixing him with a calculating stare.
"When did you join forces with Tom Riddle, Professor Snape?" The tone of Periwinkle's voice was severe, all the more so for its tin-can quality.
Severus Snape, however, replied in his silkiest tones. "In 1977, right after I had finished school." No emotion was discernible from his words.
"Wasted no time, eh? – And how long did your affiliation with the Death Eaters last?"
"Until September 1981, approximately." Even now, having finally made it to the courtroom, Elena had to concentrate hard in order to hear him.
"Is that true?" Periwinkle feigned incredulity. "Because, Professor, I have testimony from a lot of people – ex Death Eaters included – who would swear to the fact that even after that, there could not have been a more loyal Death Eater than you!"
"That is hardly surprising", Snape replied evenly, but with a hint of sarcasm, "since that was the role I had to play, acting as a spy and double-agent. In effect, from September 1981 onwards, I was a member of the Order of the Phoenix."
"Quite a switch, don't you think?"
"I don't know what you mean to say by that."
In spite of the oppressive heat in the courtroom, Elena felt a chill, brought on by the note of impatience in Snape's voice. If Periwinkle was able to rattle him already, where was this inquiry going to lead?
"I mean to say that the role of a double-agent is a very uncertain position. – Dumbledore and his people thought you were with them. Riddle and his bunch of criminals thought that you were firmly on their side. Who would really have known?"
"The uncertainty you are referring to was exactly the point of what I did."
"But who was ever certain of you, Professor?"
"I was." Snape spat out the words and impetuously raised his chin.
Periwinkle issued a derisive snort. "Hardy convincing, you vouching for your own loyalty."
"Dumbledore vouched for it." Snape twitched angrily.
"A pity he is dead …"
A witch stood up from the bench of inquirers. Although her face was still quite young, her hair was snow-white which made it hard to guess how old she really was. Her eyes were large, dark and intelligent.
"May I ask my esteemed colleague to bear in mind that Albus Dumbledore has, in various proceedings before the Wizengamot, confirmed the respondent's affiliation with the Order of the Phoenix. He certainly believed in Professor Snape's loyalty." Her voice was clear and pleasant. "Also I don't see the relevance of this line of questioning for the present proceedings which were arranged in order to gain clarity on issues concerning Mr Leshnikov and on past matters that haven't been sufficiently cleared up to this date. That being so, we must accept what Professor Snape is going to tell us here today. It is not our job to prove him wrong."
She looked pointedly first at Periwinkle, then at the witch chairing the proceedings before she sat down. The Chief Warlock gave a languid nod and Periwinkle looked sour, ordered the pile of papers in his hands and cleared his throat.
"Who was that?" Elena whispered in Lupin's ear. "The white-haired witch?"
Remus looked up startled, then remembered her invisible presence. "Her name is Nell Nolan. I don't know her personally, she hasn't been with the Wizengamot very long. However, from what I heard she is very gifted."
"I don't understand how all this works", Elena said in as low a voice as she could manage, "it does look awfully like a trial."
"Much of the proceedings is inspired by the olden days", Lupin explained, looking doggedly ahead so as not to alert anyone to the fact that he was talking to someone sitting next to him and hiding under an Invisibility Cloak, "when we still had Wizard Councils. When anything came up – not necessarily a crime, but any kind of bother really – the elders of the wizarding community would meet and try to sort it out in what was basically quite an informal gathering. This is why a simple hearing can sometimes have the aspects of a trial. It doesn't depend so much on charges brought forward – which, I think, would be the basic prerequisite for a trial in the Muggle world – but more on the extent of, well, worry and unease the issue would cause to our world. – Ask Harry. He knows all about it."
"But how does it work?" Elena asked, still puzzled.
"As you can witness right now. The 'offending subject' is invited and asked all sorts of questions that cause concern to his or her peers. One witch or wizard will act as a kind of prosecutor, while another will come to the subject's defence, if appropriate. – As you have seen, that's Nolan's job."
"So the reason they really called in Sev… I mean, the Professor … is not because they want to pin anything on him, but because they want to control him?"
Remus answered only after a few seconds. "I guess you could put it like that. You see, I think a lot of people have started to realize that now Dumbledore and Voldemort are gone, Severus may well be the most powerful wizard in the country. It's not surprising they want to keep track of him. We all know very well what happens when a wizard becomes too mighty."
Elena digested Lupin's words. She had never really thought of this. Of course, Severus Snape seemed awfully powerful to her – the man was able to fly without a broom! – but so did any other witch and wizard she had met in the past few months. Now it suddenly made sense that the wizarding world would be wary about Snape's movements and what he was up to, particularly after the experiences of the last decades. However, it didn't make her any more sympathetic to the event she was now witnessing.
Ansgard Periwinkle had taken up his thread again. "Let's talk about Albus Dumbledore some more, Professor Snape."
Snape's body stirred very slightly and Elena sensed that he was bracing himself. He lifted his chin a bit while his eyes became narrow black slits in a very white face. Elena noticed that he had taken some pains with his appearance. His hair didn't look quite as greasy as it usually did, and instead of robes – which she always called 'priest frocks' to wind him up – he wore a Victorian-looking suit with a rather well-cut coat and an elaborate necktie over a stiff white collar which effectively hid the scar on his neck, the one of the Horcrux snake.
"Quite the benefactor he was to you, Dumbledore, wasn't he?"
Snape credited Periwinkle's statement with no more than a curt nod.
"As a courtesy to the Wizengamot, Professor", Periwinkle snarled menacingly, "would you please state your answers clearly and audibly?"
"Yesss." It sounded like an indignant snake spitting.
Periwinkle fixed the younger wizard with stare. "Is it true that you killed Albus Dumbledore?"
There was a silence of two, three, four seconds. Then, another nod and another "Yes".
Complete silence fell in the courtroom and Ansgard Periwinkle made a huge show of raising his eyebrows.
"So you admit that you are responsible for the death of the man who protected you for decades, one of the most gifted and powerful wizards our world has ever seen at that, and that you put him to death without hesitation?"
Elena bit her lip. When Periwinkle stated it like that, it made Snape look like a monster. Of course, she knew why Albus Dumbledore had been killed and most of those present in this gloomy amphitheatre today knew the story, as well, in the version rendered by Harry Potter which had been printed in all the wizarding tabloids. However, she sensed that the story would be told anew today, and much depended on the way Severus would render it. She prayed that he would not reply in one of his monosyllables again. – And in the next moment, he did just that.
"Yes."
A murmur flared up from the ranks. Not a small number of people scoffed and the atmosphere was so thick one might have cut off a piece. Beside Elena, Remus sighed. Severus Snape, however, sat unmoving, an angry furrow above his nose.
Again, Nell Nolan stood up from the bench. "If my esteemed colleague allows …", she said brightly, earning a sour look from Periwinke, before she addressed Snape. "Tell us, Professor, was it your idea to kill Albus Dumbledore?"
"No", was the dead-pan answer.
"Whose idea was it then?"
"Dumbledore's."
Another wave of murmurs came from the ranks.
"Could you explain to us how that came to pass?"
Severus Snape sat up a little, cleared his throat. Then he proceeded to explain how, at the start of school year of 1996, Albus Dumbledore had appeared in his quarters one night, obviously in pain and with a badly marked hand which Snape had recognized immediately as the effect of a powerful dark curse. Seemingly without sympathy, he told the inquirers how the erstwhile Hogwarts headmaster had given in to the temptation of putting on the Gaunt ring and thus sealed his fate. "Dumbledore admitted that he had been foolish", Snape explained, "and the only thing that I could do was to concoct a potion that would temporarily keep the curse from spreading."
"Temporarily?" Nolan repeated.
"The curse could only be contained", Snape confirmed, "not lifted. It would have killed him eventually."
"How long, in your view, would that have taken?"
"A year, at most."
"So Albus Dumbledore was going to die within the year", Nell Nolan stated, looking up at the rows where the members of the Wizengamot sat. "And what kind of death would that have been, you think?"
"An agonizingly painful one." Again, Snape looked as if he was not going to say any more, but Nell Nolan stared at him as if she was willing him to talk. And in fact, after a few seconds had passed, it appeared to dawn on Snape that the woman was on his side and he began to elaborate. "Dumbledore knew it. I guess that's what gave him the idea."
"What idea?"
"That I should kill him. It served his plans, too, for which he cared much more than for his own life."
Nolan said nothing for a few moments to let the words sink in. "What plans?" she asked eventually.
"His plans for Harry Potter. Dumbledore revealed to me then that he knew that a Death Eater had been ordered by the Dark Lord to kill him. He was prepared to die, thought it necessary even to create the illusion for Voldemort that he would have Hogwarts under control."
"Under control with you as a proxy, because in the event of Dumbledore's death, you'd follow him as headmaster?"
"Yes."
"Who was the Death Eater ordered to kill Albus Dumbledore?"
Snape didn't reply to that, just twitched.
"You must tell the truth in front of the Wizengamot, Professor Snape", Nolan reminded him kindly.
Snape gave another uncomfortable twitch before he spoke. "Draco Malfoy", he said eventually and with a little sigh. Nolan opened her mouth to ask another question, but Snape broke in unexpectedly. "By that time a student of only sixteen years, commissioned with a task that was way above his head."
Ansgard Periwinkle jumped in. "Draco Malfoy", he snarled, "the son of Lucius Malfoy, a known Death Eater and a good friend of yours, am I right?"
Snape nodded and volunteered some more. "Most of all, Draco Malfoy was a student of my House and thus under my protection."
"Do I understand you correctly", Nolan took over again, "that Professor Dumbledore sympathized with the weight put upon Mr Malfoy's shoulders?"
"Yes", Snape inclined his head. "That's what gave him the idea that in the event that Draco Malfoy failed, I must finish the job."
"Which you readily did", snapped Periwinkle.
"Not readily, no." Snape shook his head ever so slightly.
"You didn't like it?" asked Nolan. It was a naïve question – purposely naïve, perhaps – and it made Snape scoff.
"Of course I didn't."
"Did you try to get out of it?"
Now Periwinkle scoffed – suggesting that Snape had done no such thing – and this time, the wizard in the respondent's chair showed a visible reaction, sat upright and an angry frown appeared on his forehead.
"I tried to dissuade Dumbledore many times", he said, and suddenly his silky voice carried – as it always did when he wanted it – to the last corner of Courtroom Ten. "I told him he took too much for granted. I questioned him on the effects such a deed would have on my soul. I called him stubborn. Arrogant. Impetuous. – He would not listen."
"Why didn't you just walk away?" Nolan asked quietly.
"I couldn't. I had given Dumbledore my word."
Nolan's eyes became wide. "Your word, Professor?"
Severus Snape fidgeted on his chair. Elena saw him staring at his lap where his white long fingers rested. "I had promised Albus Dumbledore that I would do whatever it took – even if it was my own life and well-being – to ensure Harry Potter's victory over the Dark Lord. It was only for this promise that Dumbledore had taken me in. Accepted me as a member of the Order. Let me stay on at Hogwarts as a Potions Master. – I could not go back on that promise, however much I would have liked to."
"And that's why you agreed to kill him."
"Yes. I had no other choice."
Nell Nolan nodded, smiled, but said no more before she sat down again.
"Nolan's doing a good job", Remus Lupin whispered to Elena. "See how she's trying to make Severus talk?"
"Periwinkle's not all that bad, either", Elena murmured darkly.
"He's waited for this day for decades. He won't let the opportunity slip away so easily …"
In the row in front of them, a middle-aged red-haired witch turned around. "Who are you talking to, Remus?"
Lupin shushed her and leant forward, whispering a few words, upon which the woman smiled self-consciously. "Oh! Hello, dear …"
"This is Molly Weasley", Remus explained to Elena. "She used to be the rock of the Order of the Phoenix …"
"Get off it, Remus …" the witch murmured and her cheeks approximated the colour of her hair. Beside her, a girl turned around that Elena recognized as Ginny Weasley. "Hi Ellie", she said with a mischievous grin and nodded at a point where she assumed Elena to sit, "good to … well, not see you."
"Turn back", Remus said to her, "before someone notices …" Beside him, an elderly wizard was giving him dirty looks, then turned to his neighbour on the other side and hissed something.
Down in the platform, the inquiry took its course.
"So we are to believe, Professor Snape", Periwinkle took up his interrogation again, "that you killed Albus Dumbledore as the result of a death pact? Not the least bit of pleasure for you in that, eh?"
Snape looked up as if stung and opened his mouth, but Nell Nolan shot out of her seat. "What is my esteemed colleague trying to suggest?" she asked. "This is a court of magical law, not a parade of wild presumptions."
The grey-haired witch in her pulpit gave Periwinkle a stern eye before turning to Snape. "You need not answer that question", she said matter-of-factly, and Snape shut his mouth although it was obvious that he would have liked to give Periwinkle a piece of his mind. "Mr Periwinkle", the chairing witch went on, "I must implore you to stick to the facts, not get lost in emotional speculation."
Periwinkle bowed his head stiffly, but his face was a mask of indignation.
"Who's the judge?" whispered Elena.
"Eve Fawley", said Remus. "The Fawley family belong to the Sacred Twenty-Eight, they're as pure-blood as you can get. Beyond reproach, though."
Elena had no idea what the 'Sacred Twenty-Eight' were, but this was not the time to ask. She watched Periwinkle who had returned to the bench, picking up another pile of papers – he appeared obsessed with papers, holding on to them as if to a straw – which was handed to him by a white-bearded wizard who'd been taking the notes.
"That's Aeneas Crowley, by the way", Remus informed Elena. "Did I tell you about him?" Since he could not see Elena shake her head, he went on. "He's very wealthy and has recently gained a lot of influence in the wizarding world. He's all set to become a very prominent figure. I've spoken to him a few weeks ago, and Severus is very lucky that for now Crowley is only allowed to take the minutes …"
"Quiet now, man!" the wizard sitting on Remus' other side snarled. "Who are you talking to, anyway?"
"Who would I be talking to?" Remus shot back irritably. "Don't you know Hermione Granger of the Golden Trio?"
Hermione who'd overheard the words leant forward and gave a dazzling smile to the complaining wizard. Beside him, a thick-set man with red-blond hair was looking suspicious. Elena realized that she had met him before. Marlin, if she wasn't quite mistaken, the one who had referred to Severus Snape as a 'murderin' bastard' …
Lupin shrugged and turned his attention to the events on the platform, and so did Elena. Ansgard Periwinkle was just clearing his throat, preparing for a new attack.
"Professor Snape", he started and tried a false smile, "my esteemed colleagues have made it clear that they do not wish to wallow too much in the past." He shot Nolan a dirty look. "However, I cannot quite agree. After all, in past years and decades even, you have never spoken out publicly, neither on your past affiliations, nor on the events leading up to the recent victory. – Which, by the way, brings me to a most pressing question: why, after the victory and your mysterious survival", from the way he spoke the words, they sounded fishy, "have you never come forward to talk to the authorities?"
But Snape was prepared for this. He turned a stony face on Periwinkle. "The Dark Lord had set his snake on me, to bite and kill me. It almost succeeded, for quite a while I was closer to death than to life. So you may understand that when I woke up I was in a state of shock, with no other wish than to leave the scene of my … demise. I was badly injured, too. Confused, not quite sure whether I had really woken up or was just … hallucinating. I have to admit that helping the authorities was at that point the least thing on my mind."
"And a few days after that?" Periwinkle snapped. "Surely you came out of your … confusion after a while?"
"Yes, but I was still badly injured. It took me days, weeks in fact, to regain my strength."
"You look well enough now", Periwinkle observed, tilting his head sarcastically. "Are you sure that snake really got you as badly as you claim? Maybe your survival wasn't all that mysterious?"
"What's the fucking bastard suggesting?" Elena exploded in a hiss.
"Sssshhh!" Hermione, Remus and Harry turned on her all at once and there were a few raised eyebrows from adjacent seats.
However, in that moment something happened that caught the attention of everyone in the courtroom. Snape who had so far hardly moved, sitting in his seat like a statue, suddenly reached up angrily and tore at his necktie. Buttons popped, the starched white shirt rustled, and in the next moment, Snape had bared his neck and tilting his head to one side presented the large bite scar to the bench. There was a roar as spectators inhaled sharply. The scar looked horrible, an angry swollen red, the traces of huge snake fangs clearly visible, and there were spots of blood on the shirt's collar. The members of the bench gazed at Snape's neck with fascinated concentration, and even Periwinkle wrinkled his nose at the sight. After a few seconds, Snape began to calmly button up his shirt again and redid the necktie rather sloppily. His face was once more a cold mask as he settled back in his seat, again very still. The atmosphere in the courtroom was chilly, as well.
"Clever move", Hermione whispered, "if they don't believe him now …"
"Thank you for the dramatic demonstration, Professor." Ansgard Periwinkle had regained his composure rather quickly. "Can you provide any explanation as to why you survived an attack like this?"
"No."
Periwinkle scoffed. "That's hard to believe, if I may say so! A wizard of your status and experience – particularly where the dark arts are concerned – must certainly have an idea why he survived the bite of a snake carrying the fragmented soul of one of the darkest wizards known in our time?"
Severus Snape remained silent for a few moments. "I can only guess", he ventured after a while, and it was with a dejected sigh, "that it had something to do with the beheading of the snake with the sword of Gryffindor at some point. My theory is that at the moment that happened, the snake lost its magical powers and at the same time, all its recent actions were annihilated. I may have been as good as dead by then, but since the snake venom lost its effect after the beast was killed, it may have been just enough for me to scrape by." He made a noncommittal gesture, emphasizing that it was only a theory.
"Whoa!" Ron Weasley breathed. "What's Neville going to say when he hears this?!"
Hermione grinned, then turned slightly in her seat towards Elena. "Neville Longbottom and Snape … they didn't get on very well when we were at school."
"Not get on very well?" Ron scoffed and cast a dirty look in the direction where he supposed Elena was sitting. "Neville was Snape's favourite whipping boy!"
Elena said nothing. The last thing she needed right now were stories on Snape, the bully. She'd heard way too many of these already, and at the moment she was still trying hard to digest what she had just seen, Severus Snape of all people baring his neck to the full Wizengamot assembly and to the observing public. However, Ron was obviously on a rampage. "I'm pretty sure the greasy git would never stoop so low to say a 'Thank you' or anything like that", he hissed.
"Be quiet, Ron!" Hermione stared worried at the other end of their row where the red-blond wizard called Marlin had gotten to his feet to squeeze by towards one of the aisles.
"You know, it's really getting on my nerves like … big time", Ron ranted on, "all this romantic drabble about Snape because he was in love with Harry's mom! Suddenly, nobody seems to remember what a horrible person he really is anymore."
Now that was too much. Elena fixed the red-haired young wizard with an angry stare that he – alas – was not able to see. "Nobody's giving him a break, either!" she hissed.
However, it was easy for Ron to ignore her since he did not see her, and he merely shrugged.
"Get off it, all of you!" Remus commanded in a nervous whisper. "Eusebius Marlin's up to something …"
Elena turned around nervously, her glance sweeping over the rise of rows behind her. She saw the thick-set wizard – Eusebius Marlin – talking to an orderly and pointing at the row in which they were all seated. The orderly made a suspicious face and followed Marlin down the steps of the aisle.
"Oh, no!" she moaned.
The orderly squeezed into their row and stopped in front of Remus Lupin.
"Sorry, sir", he said in a constricted voice, "I have just been alerted to the fact that an unauthorized person might have been brought to this courtroom."
"Really?" Lupin raised his eyebrows in a show of humorous innocence. "Can you see anyone?"
"No, sir, I can't", replied the orderly and sarcasm was dripping from his voice, "but that's exactly the point of an Invisibility Cloak, isn't it?" He pointed his finger at the telling space between Remus and Hermione. Under the cloak, Elena felt her face becoming hot.
"Why would anyone take an Invisibility Cloak to a Wizengamot hearing?" Lupin asked reasonably. Sitting on Ron Weasley's other side, Harry Potter stared ahead as if oblivious to the exchange.
"Please", the orderly spoke to the seemingly empty seat, "show yourself. Or I will have to take measures."
"Don't", Remus hissed under his breath.
"Leave it. It's no use." With a sigh, Elena got up and let the Invisibility Cloak glide from her shoulders. There were slight noises of surprise from all around. She folded up the cloak leisurely, then threw the bundle towards Harry. "Nice idea", she mouthed to him.
"Ma'am, I have to ask you to leave this courtroom", the orderly said stiffly. Behind him stood Eusebius Marlin, appraising Elena from head to toe in a knowing manner that was nothing short of intrusive.
Harry piped up now. "She came in with me", he whispered agitatedly. "It was my idea, so won't you make an exception?"
"The wizarding world cannot forever make exceptions for The Boy Who Lived", Marlin sneered from behind the orderly's broad shoulders.
"It's alright, I'm coming", Elena said hastily, not wishing to cause any troubles to her acquaintances, and made to squeeze out of the tightly packed row, accompanied by the orderly.
"Quiet, please!" roared the voice of the Chief Warlock, Eve Fawley. "This is an official session of the Wizengamot, and anyone who does not comply with common manners will be removed from this courtroom!"
Obviously, the process of detecting Elena under her cloak had caused quite a flurry and many pairs of eyes were on them now, surprised and malicious whispers had ensued. Elena followed the orderly with a stiff back. As she left the row, she looked over her shoulder, down onto the platform. Severus, too, had turned in his seat and seemed to peer up to the rows to find out what was going on there. Elena willed him to look up, to notice her, but it was futile as from the place where he was seated the rows of spectators were probably nothing but a squirming darkness.
Only then did she realize that he was really staring in a completely different direction. In fact, his black eyes were firmly glued to a point somewhere among the lower rows. His face had blanched and there was a look of disbelief on it. What or who was he looking at? Had he recognized someone?
"Ma'am, please." The orderly tugged at her sleeve.
Elena murmured assent and let herself be ushered out of the courtroom. She felt a little like a criminal while this was happening. Witches and wizards stared at her, trying to guess at who she was and why she had crashed the event. Elena caught the eye of a witch about her age, sitting in a seat close to the aisle and giving her a commiserating look as well as a brief smile. Then the winged doors opened and she was gently pushed out onto the corridor again.