Dinner with Harry and his family had gone decently. Though Hermione didn't apologize for her behavior, both her and Lily remained … civil … towards each other, and luckily it hadn't been too awkward. Lily had told James about Severus being in the hospital and apparently at first hadn't cared, which irked Hermione to no end, but Harry had told his father everything Snape had done for him, and though James didn't like it …. He gained a small respect for the man lying in the hospital. Though she doubted that would mean he would be willing to put aside old rivalries so easily.
Hermione lay in bed on her stomach as she thumbed through the records book, making more notes on a pad of paper with a ball point pen. Hermione filled the third page and skimmed over he notes. It was making more and more sense, this latest discovery made sure of it. She got up from the bed and, despite the late hour, ran downstairs to floo Harry.
"Harry …. Harry wake up!" She said through the floo network. "Harry come over I have news!"
A few moments later Harry moved downstairs and sat in front of the floo. "What is it Hermione. It's almost midnight."
"I have an explanation!" Hermione said excitedly.
"Waking me up at near midnight, I'd hope so." Harry said sounding a bit annoyed.
"No, I mean I have an explanation as to how your parents came back to life!" Hermione said. There was silence on the other end, Harry seeming stunned by this news. "Can I come over?"
"What's going on Harry?" Hermione heard James talking from the other side of the floo network.
"Come on over Hermione." Harry said, stepping away from the floo. "Dad, go wake up Mom. Hermione has news on how you guys … came back to life, so to speak." He said as Hermione came through the floo network.
James rubbed his eyes and nodded going back upstairs to get Lily. Despite being so tired, they all wanted to know how it had happened.
Lily came down looking a lot more awake than James and Harry did, she hadn't been able to fall asleep yet and had still been awake when James had gone down stairs to find out what all the commotion was about.
"What's going on?" Lily asked as Hermione sat down at the couch, flipping her notebook and records book open.
"I had a theory before on how you guys had come back based on some research I was doing. I'm now sure about it. There can't be any other explanation." She said flipping a few pages of the book. There were pages marked with sticky tabs throughout the book.
"This book is a records book, documenting every which and wizard that had died over the past seven hundred years. It took some strings to get it and I was surprised I was even able too. Look here …. July 19th, 1302 David Hansbrook killed by the killing curse." She said before pulling out another book which had scrap pieces of paper in it. She flipped it open. It looked like utter chaos, but Hermione seemed to know exactly where to go. "July 19th, 1322 his grave was reported to have been robbed, and his bones were missing. No traces of what had happened to him where found. David Hansbrook was buried with his wand.
"August 4th, 1387, Trina Newfield was killed by the killing curse." She said flipping in the other book to another page. "August 4th, 1407, her grave was seemingly robbed, her remains gone and never found. She was also buried with her wand.
"January 30th, 1422, Richard Hoskins was killed by the killing curse. January 30th, 1442, his grave was entirely destroyed, nothing remained of it, and his body was never recovered. He was buried with his wand.
"October 1st, 1534, Cyril Addams, killed by killing curse. Grave was robbed on October 1st, 1554, buried with his wand. Can you guess what happened to the remains?"
"Missing?" Harry asked, easily catching the pattern.
"August 20th, 1602, William Pratt, killed by the killing curse. August 20th, 1622, Grave was presumed robbed, he was buried with his wand, remains where never found."
"So what's the connection?" James asked pulling her notebook closer to him to look at the dates and names she'd written down. "There's so many of them …." He said. The dates ranged from 1302 to the early 1900's.
"These people's remains all went missing exactly 20 years after they died. To the day. The only ones on record for grave robbings were the ones buried with their wands. I took further research on the matter. Out of all the people killed by the killing curse, the ones here listed where the ONLY ones buried with their wands."
"But look here further still. 1602, William Pratt's wife, Cecile Pratt and their two grown daughters go missing within days of the graves robbery. Months later a family by the exact same description appear in America, with a young man that was at the time described as the two girls brother.
"It all makes sense doesn't it?" Hermione said excitedly but everyone looked at her blankly. "Oh honestly!" She complained. "The killing curse doesn't kill you …. It's a form of a stasis curse! It lasts exactly twenty years to the day and then is removed on its own." She said finally seeing some comprehension on Harry's face.
"Do you know what this means Harry?" Hermione said excitedly. Harry looked up at her.
"It means we didn't lose as many people as we thought we did." Harry said. "We just need to find the correct time and date and notify the Ministry. They'll wake up again!"
"And it also means that Snape didn't actually kill Dumbledore!" Hermione said, thinking nothing of the statement.
"What?!" James practically bellowed. Hermione looked at James stunned a moment, before turning to Harry.
"You didn't tell them?!" She asked. Harry shrugged.
"I uh …. Well it sort of slipped my mind." Harry said. "I told them Snape would have a court case after he woke up but uh …. Sort of neglected to tell them why."
"Oh honestly Harry!" She said, looking at James and Lily who looked both stunned and furious. "It's really a long story. Severus is innocent." She said as James sat back in his couch, still not looking convinced. She told them all about Voldemorts plot to have Draco Malfoy kill Dumbledore. About how Dumbledore had made a plan to have Severus do it, to ensure that Voldemort would not have his wand, and to ensure Snape's place inside the school where he could protect the children.
"He could have refused." James said angrily.
"Don't you see? There was no choice! Dumbledore would have died either way, whether it be by Snape's hand, Malfoy's hand, Bellatrix or Fenrir, Dumbledore was as good as dead. If it wasn't for Severus Dumbledore would have died nearly a year before! Had he not killed Dumbledore he would not have been placed at the school, Voldemort would have called him away. Would have questioned his loyalties … the death eaters WOULD have had FULL run of the school and a lot more students would have been tortured or worse … killed, simply for being muggle born. Ginny and our friend Neville during Snape's time as headmaster had even broken into his office, stolen the sword of Gryffindor and was caught by Snape. While the death eaters where there, punishment for theft of a teacher was punishable by the criciatus curse, and detention with the Carrows, which was not a fun event I promise you that. Snape did neither! He sent them for detention with Hagrid! Hagrid!" She said.
"They could have compromised Dumbledore's whole plan by stealing that sword, and he only gave them detention with Hagrid. Which at the time was a reprieve, not a punishment! He didn't WANT to kill Dumbledore …. If he had had a choice he would have chosen not to. But he had no choice! A lot more people would have died had he not."
Harry put his hand on Hermione's arm to stop her. "Dumbledore isn't dead though, is he?" Harry asked. "His body is still in its tomb on the island by Hogwarts. He'll wake up in about fifteen years. Snape killed him with the killing curse …. So …. If we can convince the Ministry of this, then we might be able to clear his name before he even wakes up." Harry said with a grin.
James stood up and moved across the room, heading towards the stairs to go back to bed. He'd heard more than enough.
Lily looked down at the files. Severus killed Dumbledore …. Even if they knew now that he wasn't really dead, Severus had used the killing curse on Dumbledore with the apparent knowledge that Dumbledore would die. She knew Harry said he hadn't wanted to do it but …. She was torn between hating him for doing it and feeling pity for him … for being forced to kill the only man who had given him a second chance. To kill the only man who had ever truly trusted him. To willingly put himself in a position where the people he was fighting for would be fighting against him every step of the way. How lonely he must have been that last year.
"I'm going to head back to bed as well." He said turning her eyes away from the documents.
"Yeah." Harry agreed. "Hermione, you should go home and get some sleep. We'll get together tomorrow after I'm off work, compile a list of the people who died in the war, and within the last 20 years from the killing curse." He said, saying nothing about Snape. He could tell it was clearly upsetting both of his parents.
"Mrs. Potter." Hermione said. Lily stopped on the stairs and turned to her. "I'm really sorry I had brought it up like that. If I knew you didn't know, I would have explained first instead of shocking you both like that. I had no idea."
Lily nodded. "It's okay." She said. "It's just … a lot to think about." She said before heading up the stairs.
((A/N – and there's … chapter …. Whatever chapter this is …. I've written so much the past two weeks I've lost track of what I'm doing …. What am I doing? Where am I? What is this? What is that? What are those?))
