Chapter 10

Another Denial

"Oh, here we go again," Dumbledore muttered as he heard the thuds of angry foot falls coming up the spiral staircase. Then it came, the pounding of a strong fist upon the door.

"Come in," Albus called wearily.

"You have much to explain to me," Severus growled through clenched teeth.

"And where, exactly, would you like me to start, Severus?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"What is the secret behind these three girls? Why are they here? What makes one of them "special" as you put it?"

"I've already told you that I cannot give you the answers to these questions, becau-"

"Yes, I know, the prophecy and all of that rubbish, but after what I have just witnessed, I believe you owe me at least one answer."

"What have you just witnessed?" asked Dumbledore, a sharp and interested note in his voice.

Snape then told him of what had occurred earlier that night with Katie. He put a great amount of emphasis on how her instincts seemed to tell her that she could help with the troll.

"What does not make sense here is that the girl had no plan; she just knew that she could help somehow. Of course, at first I thought she was lying, but she has lied to me before. I could tell she believed all she said to be true. What does this mean?"

"To be honest, Severus, I am not sure. I can only venture a guess, but that I cannot reveal to you."

"Is there anything you can reveal to me?" Snape asked impatiently.

Dumbledore thought for a moment. Unless he told Snape something, the hammering on his office door would become a weekly occurance.

"I will tell you one thing," Dumbledore began slowly, "The three girls told me of a set of books that exist that tell of Harry Potter's seven years at Hogwarts. So far, the events in those books seem to be true. Due to this, I told the girls not to tell anyone of the books and to let me read them only after the events in each one have occurred. That is how they knew of Occlumency and also how they knew to jump onto the desks so quickly in their first Potions class."

"Why would you decide to read the books after the events have taken place?"

"I believe that the events in these books are meant to happen. If I were to read them now, I do not think I could stop myself from preventing tragedies."

"Is that not a good thing though?" asked Snape astonished.

"It is not a good thing in the case of Harry Potter's life versus the greater good of the wizarding world."

"Yes," Snape began angrily, "When it comes to that family, preventing tragedies seems to be at the bottom of your list."

"Severus, you know I could not prevent her death. If you wish to blame anyone for it, blame Voldemort."

"I blame all involved, including myself."

A sad look came onto Dumbledore's face.

"Perhaps one day in the distant future the pain from her death will begin to leave you."

Severus felt the grief coming to him agin, quick, strong, encompassing nearly every fiber of his being, leaving only a small portion of his self-control. Not able to voice a proper goodbye, he strode toward the door, flung it open, and rushed back down the staircase. He threw himself into a hidden passage and began to weap bitterly. Dumbledore knew nothing. Pain this deep could never leave him; it couldn't even begin to rise from its barely consealed void within his heart. Why could they not just leave him alone, leave him to grieve his love in peace? Perhaps it would be easier if he was only teaching Potions, but Occlumency, the subject so deeply connected to emothions? And now to know that there was a set of books concerning Lily's son? He wondered what they contained of her life, of his own life.

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"Come in!" she called, quickly stoing her headphones in their case.

"It's Snape again," said Brittany, "He wants to talk to all of us."

"Is this turning into some kind of habit?" Katie asked.

"I don't know, but at least we're all awake this time."

Katie laughed at Brittany's joking implication.

"Yeah, I know that was kind of scary. I'm sorry."

"Hey, at least you apologized to the right person. Now come on before Snape gets even angrier."

"What do you mean angrier?"

"Well," Brittnay began, "When I saw him a couple of minutes ago, he seemed really upset."

"Huh," Katie said. She chose to leave out the comment that immediately sprang to her mind. She thought of how being upset could contain a vast array of emotions, not necessarily anger.

They entered the living room to once again be interviewed by Snape.

"Tonight, I wish to speak with the three of you together. I want you to tell me everything you can about the set of seven books that tell of Harry Potter's life."

The three looked at each other, wondering what to say.

"Dumbledore told us not to tell anyone about the books, so I don't really think we can tell you," said Brittany carfully.

"Yes, I know what he told you," Snape said impatiently, "But he has granted me permission to know what events occur in these books. Now, tell me."

"He's lying," Katie said matter-of-factly to Amber nad Brittany, "Dumbledore never told him this."

Snape simply stared. Even Voldemort had never known when he was lying, so how could she possibly know?

"And what, may I ask, makes you suspect me of deceit?"

"I know you are lying, because I noticed a very slight change to the tone of your voice. You may be able to keep your face straight and your mind blocked, but I can gaurentee that your voice will always give you away. Plus, Professor Dumbledore was very addiment about himself not knowing what happens in the books until after the events have happened here, so why would he tell you at 11:00 at night to come here and find out what is in the books for him? If he really needed to know right now, why didn't he just come here himself?"

Snape thought about what was just said. Logic and intense hearing. Could this gilr possibly help if the Dark Lord returned once more? No, not unless she learns Occlumency. But he would have to work on putting more control into his voice.

"Very perceptive, Ms. Insche," Snape said sarcastically, "While your suspicions may prove true, can you actually proe that the Headmaster did not ask me to come here tonight? Do you really know what he asked of me? Are you so confident in your own abilities that you will continue to support your claim until you are proven wrong?"

"Yes," said Katie without even pausing to think, "I know he would never reveal the contents of the books to anyone without looking to see what they were for himself first."

"So," said Snape heatidly, "Will you tell me nothing of these books?"

"Nothing," Amber replied.

"Wait," Katie said, "What if we make you a deal?"

"And what deal are you speaking of?" Snape asked.

"Professor Dumbledore wants to read each book after each year Harry completes at Hogwarts, because each book equals one year. When he is finished reading it, I will let you read it. Of course, I'll have to get Dumbledore's permission, but I think he will let us do this since the events have already happened."

"This seems reasonable," Snape relented, "I expect to be given the first book over the summer then. Please speak to the Headmaster about this as soon as possible."

"We will," said Amber, "We'll try and go tomorrow."

"Very well. Now, good night."

Snape rose from the firm chair and exited the apartment.

"Wow, I can't believe he went for ti that easily," said Amber.

"I know," Brittany chimed in enthusiastically, "Maybe he's distracted or something. So do we want to go see Dumbledore tomorrow?'

"Yeah, we can go after dinner," Katie stated, "I wanted to ask him about starting something anyway."