Fallen & Risen 10. Tribute to the Headmasters

Previously…

"Didn't you parents ever teach you to never touch other people's possessions without their permission?" a stern voice said behind her. Heley turned around to see a portrait talking to her. It was Severus Snape's portrait, previous Headmaster of Hogwarts, who was looking down at her with his grumpy face.

'Professor Snape!' Heley thought, eyes wide.

But when Snape met Heley's green eyes in her small face, he slightly jumped in his frame.

'She looks like Lily!' Snape thought.

"Who are you?" Snape barked, disturbed by Heley's striking resemblance to the woman he once loved in the past and still loved after his death. "You're not a student from here. I've never seen you before! What are you doing here?"

Heley didn't respond back. She just watched the portrait of the man who sacrificed everything, including his own life, for the love he carried for her late mother. Severus Snape was once a very fervent and loyal Death Eater and was one of Voldemort's most loyal servants. But when Voldemort murdered her mother, Snape regretted ever joining the Dark Lord and turned to the Light. For the sole purpose of avenging Lily's death, he made himself Dumbledore's spy against the Dark Lord. And during the last battle, even with the knowledge that he would be killed by Voldemort if he brought to the Dark Lord the (fake) Elder Wand, Severus Snape didn't run away and carried out his mission to the last step. And when he died in Harry/Heley's arms, his last thought was still for her mother.

'For the last seven years I knew him, I would never think that he was the kind of man who could carry such a pure love for anyone. He, a Death Eater to the core. But once again, he showed me that appearance can be deceitful,' Heley thought, feeling pain and remorse.

After his death, she found the picture of her mother in his breast pocket, the closest to his heart. He had always carried Lily's picture on his heart. The picture was so crumpled that it was impossible to guess how many times he took it out to look at it. There were also traces of tears soak in the picture, most probably Snape's tears.

'Life was so unfair to him. He didn't deserve the sad life he had before he died. He deserves to know a least a minimum of happiness…' Heley thought, her eyes still fixed on the portrait of Snape.

"Answer me! Who are you?" Snape bellowed at Heley's mute answer, bringing her back to her sense and reminding her of where she was.

"I-I'm sorry, Professor Snape," Heley said. "I had many things on my mind."

"Heh? How do you know my name?" Snape suspiciously asked.

"Er…" Heley hesitated, panicking again. She hastily activated her brain to come up with an answer. Not only was she not supposed to know McGonagall's office location, but she also wasn't supposed to know Snape's name. Then, she had a flash. "Your name… Your name is written under your portrait!" she triumphantly finished, pointing to the metal plaque on the wall under the portrait, which was carved with the writing 'Severus Snape, Headmaster of Hogwarts in 1996-1997' written on it. Snape looked down at the plaque under him, not replying. He accepted her answer. But that still didn't make him forget the most important thing he wanted to know.

"And why do you look so much like Lily?" he fiercely asked again.

"Er, I… Er…" Heley gulped and bit her lips. She was hoping that he forgot about this question, but it didn't seem so. Heley didn't know how to respond to this particular inquiry now. Luckily, someone came to her rescue.

"Ah! Heley, my girl! I can finally meet you!" a joyful voice interrupted them. It came from the portrait next to Snape's. Heley turned her head to see the portrait of an old man with a long and fluffy white beard who wore half-moon spectacles.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Heley happily greeted her first Headmaster.

"Hello, hello, my girl!" Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. It was as if he purposely interrupted the conversation between Snape and Heley. "I see that the charm I cast on you has worn off."

"Yes," Heley said, smiling. "After your death, the magic became unstable. I couldn't do the same spell on myself and I had a lot of problem because of that. It was harder and harder to hide some parts of body, which were progressively changing."

"I believe so, I believe so," Dumbledore said, nodding repetitively while petting his beard up and down. "The spell only works as long as the person who casted it, which is me, is still alive. Once the spell caster dies, the charm can no longer feed itself on its source of magic. Without its magic source, it can only maintain itself for a maximum of twelve month after the caster's death."

"But the charm already started to wear off only half a year after your death," Heley said, her brows furrowed in confusion. "I guess it was probably because I carried a Horcrux on me."

"Probably so," Dumbledore replied. "The Horcrux's source of magic is black magic and black magic is not compatible with white magic. Maybe that was why the magic left in your disguise charm sustained itself for a shorter period of time. And I feared Voldemort would discover the truth about you before you finished him. I was very worried for you, Heley…" Dumbledore uttered the last line with a slightly trembling voice.

"Thank you, professor," Heley said, touched.

"But I'm very happy to see you now," Dumbledore continued on a more happy note. "And my dear girl, you turn out quite a lovely young lady, Heley. You look so much like your charming mother. Ah, she was a lovely woman too. And her eyes, you certainly inherited her eyes, Heley. Such green eyes she had…" Dumbledore purposely trailed as he slipped a glance at Snape. "…Lily…"

"What? Li-Lily…?" Snape repeated, in shock. Up to now, he hadn't said anything. He only listened to their conversation, trying to put together the puzzle information which was provided to him. "Not the Lily I…"

"Ah! That's right! I haven't introduced her to you yet, Severus," Dumbledore said, highly amused. "How rude of me! Let me correct this. Severus, this is Heley Potter, James and Lily Potter's only daughter."

"James' and Lily Potter's…" Snape repeated again. "But… They never had a daughter! Their only child was that bloody cocky, insufferable and impossible brat who ran around by the name of Harry Potter!"

"Ah yes, that's right," Dumbledore agreed, nodding his head and petting his beard again. "Harry Potter was James' and Lily's son. But James and Lily never had a son," he finished, as if it was the most logical thing to say.

"WHAT? What kind of nonsense are you babbling about, old coot? Your senility has still yet to be cured?" Snape said.

"I wasn't senile when I died and I believe my mind is still the same as the last time I saw you alive, Severus," Dumbledore said.

"Which still means you're senile, because you were so when I killed you," Snape said. "I was hoping that killing you would also kill your senility and give you some sanity, but I guess I was asking too much from Merlin." Dumbledore only chuckled, making Snape more furious.

"You!" Snape jerked his finger to Heley, "Explain to me!" he imperatively ordered. "And make it more logical than this old coot!" Snape finished, jerking his finger in the direction of the portrait of Dumbledore. Dumbledore chuckled in his beard while Heley sheepishly smiled.

"My name is Heley Potter, Professor Snape," Heley said. "James Potter and Lily Potter, née Evans, were my parents. They were murdered by Voldemort when I was still a baby. I was raised by my mother's Muggle sister. I came to Hogwarts disguised under the name of Harry Potter. And that was how I met you, as my last Potion teacher, Professor Snape."

At each of Heley's words, Snape's face became whiter and whiter, contrasting badly with his black hair and clothes. He looked like a ghost.

"B-but how…" Snape stuttered. "How come you were a boy when you are a girl…?" Snape seriously had the impression that he was becoming senile (certainly Dumbledore's bacteria of senility must have infected him somehow!) "Are you a girl or a boy? Which is your true gender?"

"I was born a girl, Professor," Heley said.

"Then how come you were a boy before?" Snape asked.

"It was a charm casted on me by Professor Dumbledore," Heley answered.

"What?" Snape turned to Dumbledore. "You knew? Why didn't you tell me?"

"But I did, Severus," Dumbledore calmly replied, "just a few minutes ago."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"It was a secret, Severus, and a secret is meant to be kept secret," Dumbledore said. Snape humph-ed.

"Old coot!" the ex-Death Eater grumbled. "I'm still wondering why I came to you. It was the stupidest thing I did in my life. And I regret it!"

"Of course, of course, Severus. I understand, I understand," Dumbledore pleasantly responded, chuckling and petting his beard again, knowing that the old Potion Master didn't really mean it.

"Professor Dumbledore," Heley interrupted them. "I have something to give you." Dumbledore and Snape brought their attention back to Heley.

"What is it, Heley?" Dumbledore said. From the sleeve of her robe, Heley pulled out a wand.

"Your wand, Professor, the Elder wand," Heley said. "I fear that if I left it in your tomb, someone would try to steal it again. I know I'm its master, but I prefer my old wand. So I thought that I would just give it back to you."

"How thoughtful of you, Heley," Dumbledore stated. Heley put the wand in the portrait and Dumbledore took it. "Thank you," Dumbledore said. Then, Heley turned to Snape.

"Professor Snape, I also have something for you," Heley explained. Snape raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Snape retorted. Heley conjured a small book covered in black leather. A diary. She looked at the little black object with moistened eyes, her hand caressing the cover of the diary. Then, determinedly, she looked up at Snape and handed it to him.

"Professor Snape, this is a diary…" Heley hesitated, "…my mother's diary…" she softly finished. Snape opened his eyes.

"Li-Lily's… diary…?" Snape repeated.

"Yes, my mother's diary," Heley said again. "She started it from the first day she had her first magical accident until that night she…" Heley couldn't finish her sentence, but everyone in the room knew what she meant. "Inside, there are many mentions about you, Professor Snape. She loves you too. Even though she chose my father, she never forgot about you."

". . ." Snape was biting his lips, stopping them from trembling.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't want to give it to you, since it is a souvenir of her," Heley said, her fingers clenching around on the small diary. "But I believe you have more right to possess it than me. I believe that there are many things inside that you have the right to know. So, here I give it to you!"

For a very long moment, Snape watched the little book in Heley's hands with hypnotized eyes. Then, with a trembling hand, he extended his hand out of the frame of his portrait and slowly took the diary. He brought it inside the portrait and, slowly again, he brought it to his chest.

"Lily…" Snape muttered, hugging the diary against his heart. After a minute of silence, he turned his attention back to Heley. "Th-thank you…" he stuttered, his lips trembling with emotions. Dumbledore's lips curled up in a smile as he watched the two of them, petting his beard.

"That was very honorable from you, Heley," Dumbledore said. "James and Lily would be proud of you." Heley slowly nodded, biting a little bit her lips, which were trembling with emotion, just like Snape's.

"Ah, Miss Potter," someone came in the room. It was Professor McGonagall. Heley immediately swept her tears. "I'm sorry for making you wait. We can start now. Please, take a seat," Professor McGonagall showed Heley the seat in front of her desk.

"Yes, professor," Heley said and sat down.

Post on Saturday January 2, 2010.