Chapter 11- 'Spots that never come off…'
Now that everyone was full, having finished eating Ginny's wonderful Christmas lunch, the children were even more eager- if that were possible- to find out more. Again, the adults resumed their seats, having only just agreed to omit a reasonable amount from their 'tale', but each of them did respect Snape's wishes and had no intention of backing down from the deal.
"Finally!" James said when the parents entered the living room once again. "You're here! Tell us more!"
"Okay, is everyone ready?" Harry asked looking around at the other children, each of whom nodded excitedly.
So Harry continued telling them everything about his sixth year: Horace Slughorn, Draco's suspicious mission and Snape's appointment as the Defense against the Dark arts teacher. When Harry began to tell them about the old potions book he was using, Harry had to pause momentarily to think of what to say, knowing that he couldn't reveal who actually owned it. Eventually he told the children:
"Slughorn gave me an old potions book to use and I noticed it had scribbles on all the pages as the previous owner had tried to improve the potions. So I followed the hand written instructions and ended up making my potions even better than Hermione's." Hermione scowled at Harry and momentarily stared at Snape as if blaming him that she was not the top of potions that year. It became clear to me that the person who previously owned the book was intelligent and well adept at potions. I looked on the cover for a name and saw that the book belonged to the Half Blood Prince."
"Ohhhh, did you find out who he was?" Rose asked, wanting to know who could possibly be more intelligent than her mother.
Harry paused. "No, we never found out as there was no other evidence in the book that indicated who he could have been. But let me just say that although the Half Blood Prince was intelligent, he also seemed to have a nasty tendency towards the Dark Arts," Harry said, realizing that he could make the Half Blood Prince sound mysterious and exciting seeing as his children would never know that the man was in fact sitting right next to them.
"Why, what else did he write?" Albus asked, looking a little worried that this Half Blood Prince person may have caused his father more problems.
"I'll tell you a little later, because I want to talk about the private lessons I had with Dumbledore…" Harry said, wanting to side step the question until he arrived at the moment where he used Sectumsempra against Draco.
So Harry spent an hour telling the children exactly what he saw in each of the memories Dumbledore showed him for he still remembered every detail almost perfectly. He even skipped ahead and told him that he retrieved the memory from Slughorn (without explaining exactly how he did it) and told them, finally, about Horcruxes. Harry thought the looks on the children's faces were priceless, but the expression on Snape's face was truly humorous.
"What? He had six horcruxes? That's… no wonder why he was so… inhuman," Snape said quietly, talking more to himself than anyone else.
"So that's why Dumbledore wasn't trying to kill him in the ministry and why he didn't die when the killing curse back fired!" Rose exclaimed excitedly for the facts now made better sense.
"That's right, Rose, but now do you realise what we had to try and do?" Harry asked, trying to see how much his niece could guess at.
"Well you'd have to find them wouldn't you?" Rose asked, realizing just how big of a task that would have been.
"Yes, that's
right."
"But you would have had Dumbledore to help you so that
wouldn't be too bad, would it?"
The adults all looked at each other, realizing that they needed to explain more before they began to retell the night Dumbledore died.
"Well, before we get to that, remember how I was telling you about Draco and how he was acting strangely? He wasn't going to Quidditch matches and I could never find him on the Marauder's Map and how he seemed really ill and pale?" The children nodded in response. "Well I overheard him talking to Professor Snape one night, I heard Snape say that he made an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy that he would protect Draco."
"Did you really make an Unbreakable Vow?" Rose asked, shocked that anyone would ever make such a vow.
Snape nodded, not quite believing in retrospect that he did something so stupid. But as Snape always told himself, it was to maintain his cover as spy; it had to be done.
"Wow," Rose said.
"What's an Unbreakable vow?" James asked his cousin.
"Well it is where you make a promise to someone and by doing a specific incantation and spell that person is bound to keep that promise and if they don't, they'll die."
"What! That's crazy! So if Draco was hurt or killed, you would have died?" James asked looking wide eyed at Severus.
"I suppose so," Snape answered realizing that Draco did get hurt that year, but that due to him helping Draco recover, he did not die like one would have supposed.
"When I heard this
news, I could hardly believe it, because to me, that showed that
Snape was protecting Draco, a Death Eater's son while risking his
own life and I felt that that showed Snape was definitely on
Voldemort's, as opposed to our, side. Of course, I was wrong
because although Snape protected Draco, he also protected me later
that year."
"What happened?" Lily asked, wanting to know
more about this Draco character and about what happened at the end of
the year.
"The reason why Hermione, especially thought the Half Blood Prince was dangerous was because he had also written some spells in the boarders of his potions book annotated with words like: 'for enemies'. I saw the name of one such spell and told myself that if I saw Draco doing something suspicious I would use it against him. However, I was extremely foolish and didn't know what the spell actually did-"
"Is this the Dark spell you used? The one you were talking about in your talk?" James asked, realizing the story sounded a little familiar.
"Yes, I used the spell against Draco causing him great injury. I couldn't believe what I had done for I never thought the Half Blood Prince would ever create something so terrible. I felt awful because even though I hated Draco, not even he deserved such injuries. He would still have the scars if Snape hadn't arrived just in time," Harry said looking at Snape for an answer.
"What did the spell do to him? What happened?" Albus asked, looking worried.
"The spell was like an invisible sword that slashed several times at the victim. Before I knew what was happening, Draco was covered in blood; long, thin lines were covering his entire body and I was sure he was going to die. But Snape arrived and healed Draco as best he could before taking him to the hospital wing."
"Did you punish Uncle Harry, Professor Snape?" Hugo asked the man.
"Yes; he had detention with me every Saturday for the rest of term and lost several house points," Snape replied remembering too well the moment he found Draco injured and when realised that at any moment, he may die for breaking the Unbreakable Vow he made with Narcissa.
"What was the name of the spell?" Rose asked, extremely curious.
"Rose!" Hermione exclaimed, surprised that her daughter would care to know any form of Dark magic, even if she had no intention of using it.
"I was just interested to know, Mum," Rose replied innocently, sensing her mother's distress.
"Well you wouldn't have read about it in your books because from what Harry could conclude, the Half Blood Prince made it up himself," Hermione answered, refusing to give her daughter the name of the spell.
Realising that her continued enquiries were fruitless, Rose gave up asking.
"So Draco was still
up to something, but we didn't know what and Dumbledore told me,
since finding out about the Horcruxes that I could come with him to
destroy the next one."
"Awesome!" James exclaimed.
Harry nodded in response, whilst knowing full well that in fact the occasion wasn't 'awesome' at all.
"So had any of the Horcruxes already been destroyed? You told us that the Cup, Locket, something of Ravenclaw's and Nagini would likely be options as well as Voldemort himself, but what were the others?" Rose asked, for she enjoyed solving problems like these.
"Well, do you
remember the diary Ginny found in her first year?"
"Yes!"
All of the children exclaimed simultaneously.
"Well that was one of the Horcruxes," Harry said with a smile on his face, as he watched how excited the children were.
"So you destroyed one, Daddy? That's really cool!" Lily said.
"Yeah and do you remember me telling you that Dumbledore's hand was black and shriveled when he arrived at the Dursley's?" Again the children nodded excitedly.
"Well that injury was caused by a curse that was placed on another one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. So Dumbledore had destroyed one too. And towards the end of the school year, Dumbledore invited me to come with him to find and destroy a third."
The children gasped, realizing how both dangerous and exciting that experience would have been.
"I was really excited about going, but slightly mad at Dumbledore because on my way to his office, I was sure I heard Draco celebrating and I knew that whatever Draco's mission was it seemed like he had finally accomplished it. But despite this, Dumbledore still insisted that we go." Now the children looked scared and worried, but Harry continued, thinking that there was no point in stalling.
"So Dumbledore took me to a cave- the one that Voldemort went to with other children from the orphanage. Dumbledore and I swam in the water to get to the heart of the cave and once we got there, Dumbledore spent a while looking for where the entrance was. It was amazing the way he found it and although he didn't explain it fully, he said he could detect magical concealment and consequently knew where the entrance was. We were required to give a blood donation for it to open," Lily cringed at the image. "And then the entrance revealed itself. The sight before us was pretty amazing. There was a black lake that looked completely still and a small Island in the middle with a basin filled with a green potion. Dumbledore was sure that the Horcrux was in the middle but we had no way of getting over there. Dumbledore eventually found a concealed boat and together we sailed over the lake. After Dumbledore did several tests on the potion, he concluded that the only way to get rid of it, to get to Slytherin's locket that was inside, was to drink it-"
"No!" Rose exclaimed, "That would be extremely dangerous!"
"What happened? Did you drink it?" Albus asked, both curious and a little frightened.
"No, of course not; Dumbledore wouldn't allow me to drink it. He instead made me promise that if, for whatever reason, he was unable to continue drinking the potion that I would force him to drink it."
"Oh no!" Lily moaned, realizing that the consequences of their journey could not have been good.
"Well, after taking his first drink, Dumbledore started having visions of what I later discovered were of his family. I found out the following year that Dumbledore's sister was killed many years previously and that Dumbledore himself felt personally responsible. I am reasonably sure that that grief and guilt was what Dumbledore was experiencing when he was drinking the potion. Then following the vision he had, he would ask me to kill him, saying that he wanted to die and yet I forced myself to keep feeding him the potion just like I promised I would. It was probably one of the most terrible moments of my life because for all I knew, the potion could be killing him. Eventually, after much protesting and yelling from Dumbledore, his words tearing my heart out every time, he managed to drink it all. He was then very thirsty but no other method of procuring water worked unless I dipped the goblet into the lake. When this happened, the water started to stir," the children were listening even more intently now "and soon Dumbledore and I were surrounded by Inferi."
"Aren't they dead bodies that are controlled by Dark magic?" Hugo asked fearfully for he couldn't believe his Uncle managed to survive even seeing them; he would have died from shock.
"Yes, they were, but
luckily for me, Dumbledore was still strong enough to produce fire
which warded off the Inferi. Dumbledore was extremely weak from the
potion and so I used all of my energy and determination to Apparate
back to Hogsmede."
"You Apparated without having passed your
test? That's very impressive, Uncle Harry," Rose asserted.
"Thank you, Rose. I could hardly believe it myself. Anyway, when we got back to Hogsmede, we noticed the Dark Mark over Hogwarts castle."
The children gasped, but kept quiet for they wanted Harry to continue without interruption.
"So Dumbledore and I flew back on broomsticks to see what had happened. We landed on the Astronomy tower and Dumbledore ordered me to get-" Harry stopped suddenly realizing he was going to say 'Snape'. But then changed his wording: "to get help." So I walked towards the door with my invisibility cloak on but then Dumbledore used a freezing charm on me when he heard footsteps. I was frozen to the spot- there was nothing I could do. The person who was walking up the stairs entered the rooftop and used Expelliarmus against Dumbledore, who lost his wand over the battlements.
"Who was it?" Hugo asked. "Was it a Death Eater?"
"Mmm, it was Draco." The reaction was immediate as all of the children realised what Draco's mission must have been.
"Was he going to kill Dumbledore?" Lily asked, with tears in her eyes.
"He and Dumbledore spoke for a few minutes when all I could do was stand there and listen. And yes, Draco's mission was to kill Dumbledore, but Voldemort didn't genuinely believe Draco could do it and I don't think Draco honestly believed that he could do it either. Dumbledore tried to convince Draco that he was not a killer and that there were other options. Pretty soon, however more Death Eaters showed up and I was horrified as I saw Dumbledore slowly become weaker and weaker. I knew that without his wand, Dumbledore was defenseless and that any one of the Death Eaters standing before him would have killed him themselves had Voldemort not ordered Draco to do it." Harry paused momentarily for he thought of the perfect way for Dumbledore to 'die' seeing as he couldn't tell the truth.
"But Dumbledore died before any of them attacked; the potion killed him." Harry looked around at the adults and children. While the adults were surprised by the story Harry happened to think of, the children seemed to be mourning for Dumbledore and the loss Harry and the rest of the wizarding world must have felt when the greatest wizard of all time passed away. Harry decided to continue when he realised no one was going to speak.
"The Death Eaters took Draco and ran away from the scene after they made sure that Dumbledore was dead. I was freed from the binding curse and ran up to Dumbledore; I couldn't believe he was dead; that potion killed him- I was the one who forced him to drink it and I felt so terrible, I cannot even describe it to you. Then I looked at the locket Horcrux we collected and realised that it was fake; it wasn't Slytherin's locket-"
"What? So it was all
for nothing? Dumbledore died for no reason?" Albus said
outraged.
Harry nodded. "But the locket gave us a clue to where
the real one may be because I found a note stored within the locket
that was signed RAB. At the time however, I was so traumatized by
Dumbledore's death that I didn't care. If we had only known that
beforehand, Dumbledore would never have drunk the potion and then he
wouldn't have died. I felt so hopeless because without Dumbledore I
couldn't see how I- we were going to defeat Voldemort. I felt so
lost without him. After mourning for a few moments, I forced myself
to get up and enter the battle to release my anger. So I started
running around the castle trying to find Ron, Hermione and Ginny for
a battle had broken out. When I saw Snape, I became even angrier
because he was protecting Draco, supporting the Dark Lord and his
plan to kill Dumbledore. In my anger, I failed to realise that Snape
was still protecting me, however subtly. He told the Death Eaters not
to harm me because it was Voldemort's orders not to hurt me in
anyway. Snape fled the school and I was still so blinded by my anger
and grief that I didn't realise until late the following year that
he was in fact protecting me all along."
Harry looked towards Snape, hoping the man liked the way he took the story, making him still sound like a good guy whilst making it clear that Snape was still spying on Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Harry couldn't really read Snape's expression, but thought that he looked somewhat grateful. Harry pulled his gaze away when James asked: "So with Dumbledore gone, how did you manage to defeat Voldemort? Did you find the other Horcruxes?"
Harry realised his son was extremely excited to find out more so he began once again telling the huge and evermore complicated events that happened the first year he left Hogwarts. The children found it particularly amusing when Harry told them about the seven Harrys, but soon were on the edge of their seats (or cushions as it were) when he told them about the many Death Eaters that surrounded them the moment they left the Dursleys. Harry told them in detail about what happened with him and Hagrid, a pang in his heart erupted when he spoke of Hedwig, the first casualty of the flight from the Dursleys. He of course included in detail what happened when Voldemort appeared beside him and the strange thing that happened with his wand. The children were amazed and couldn't believe that Harry had again escaped Voldemort when he was so close to him. Ron and Hermione then told the children and Snape what happened to them in similar detail. Harry had the feeling that Ron was exaggerating slightly because he doubted Ron managed to shoot a stunning spell directly in Rudolphus Lestrange's eye, but still the story was extremely exciting for the children. They then talked about what happened when they arrived at their safe houses, not knowing who was alive or if anyone was injured. Ginny then described how nervous she and her mother were as they waited impatiently for them to arrive at the Burrow. The children were now so anxious to know who survived, it was as if they were in the moment themselves. Ginny then spoke about George and how he arrived with Lupin without one of his ears. The children already knew that their uncle lost his ear during that flight but nevertheless became absorbed with the way in which George acted and how Fred reacted to his twin's pathetic 'holey' jokes. Harry went on to discuss how the adults, especially Lupin and Kingsley reacted when they arrived at the Burrow and Harry emphasised that no one except the Order knew they were leaving that night, so they were antagonizing and questioning everyone to detect an imposter or betrayer. The children had no idea who would have possibly betrayed them and felt Harry was right in saying that he trusted everyone in the order and that no one would purposefully put his life or anyone else's in danger. Hermione continued, saying that there was one casualty and the children were shocked that it was Mad-Eye who died that night.
"Do you know who was responsible for Uncle George's injury?" James asked, curiously "because Uncle George told me it couldn't be healed because it was Dark magic." James continued to look between the adults and eventually the other children joined in. No one wanted to answer, realizing that Snape probably wouldn't want them to know about it, but Harry thought that his children couldn't think Snape was a perfect individual and consequently answered: "We know who did it, but it was an accident and I am sure George has forgiven him."
"Who was it?" Albus asked. "Was it a Death Eater?"
"It was me," Snape replied quietly, causing everyone to turn towards him.
"What!?" The children replied for that was the last answer they were expecting. In fact, Snape was surprised George hadn't mentioned him to his nieces and nephews; he was sure George would have wasted no time telling them all about Snape and the Sectumsempra curse. Apparently, Snape was mistaken and he concluded that perhaps George had moved on from his injury by the time the children were born and consequently didn't feel the need to elaborate.
"As Potter said, it was an accident. Now that Dumbledore was dead, the Dark Lord felt more comfortable battling out in the open. So, he ordered all of his Death Eaters and me as one of his followers to Little Whinging to kill as many people as we could. Of course, I did not wish to kill anyone, so I simply cast curses so that they wouldn't hit anyone on either side. A Death Eater flying in front of me was aiming for George and was very close to him- he couldn't miss. Knowing that he was going to use the killing curse, I aimed for the Death Eater's arm, hoping to sever it off. But it's very hard to be accurate when flying and I missed and regrettably cut off George's ear instead."
The children remained frozen; although they believed Snape's assertions, they couldn't believe that after George telling them about it and after seeing the gaping hole every time they met, they couldn't believe it was Snape's doing, even if he did have good intentions.
Harry continued so that hopefully the children would understand the situation a bit clearer.
"At the time that George was injured, all of us thought that Snape was a true Death Eater because he fled with them the year before and was fighting against us. We didn't know his intentions and therefore believed him to be as bad as any other Death Eater, but this assumption was again false."
The children seemed to relax a bit more now and didn't seem so repulsed by Snape, but they still eyed him every now and then. It was, after all his first serious offence in their eyes and consequently it wasn't easy for them to accept it within a few short minutes.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny told the children about Bill and Fleur's wedding, meeting Luna's father and Kingsley's Lynx which arrived informing them that the Death Eaters had taken over the ministry and that they were coming to the wedding. Ron, Hermione and Harry told the children how they fled to a nearby muggle area and Hermione's amazing bag that held all of their things. They then started to elaborate on their journey around various areas trying to think of where the remaining Horcruxes may be hidden.
"So how did you find them? It must have been close to impossible; he could have hid them anywhere," Rose asserted, because although Uncle Harry had seen the important memories Dumbledore showed him, there were still so many places he could hide them.
Harry continued telling the children about going to Grimmauld Place, discovering who RAB was and then the conversation they had with Kreacher. Lily was traumatized by it; so shocked that Kreacher was forced to do something so terrible and that Voldemort truly treated the house elf like an unfeeling animal. Hermione was particularly passionate about the whole ordeal and told the children how they did manage to track down the locket. The children couldn't believe that Umbridge had it all that time and were amazed by the creative skills needed for them to get into the ministry and steal it from her. Rose thought it was ingenious and James thought it was a great adventure, but the other three kids thought it must have been a terrifying experience now that the Death Eaters had taken over the ministry. Harry, Ron and Hermione then described their own experiences with the locket, reflecting on how it affected their mood and behaviour and how there was no doubt that it was a Horcrux for at times it seemed to have a mind of its own. Ron then elaborated on his experience, telling the children that he left Harry and Hermione because he was so angry and frustrated by the situation. The children seemed annoyed at Ron for doing such a thing, but Ron attempted to explain that he wanted to come back almost immediately after he left and spent day after day trying to track them down with help from the deluminator Dumbledore gave him. When Harry further enforced that Ron saved his life after he jumped into the icy cold lake with the Horcrux around his neck, the children forgave him immediately and realised that Ron was loyal, but a little afraid perhaps. Ron refrained from telling the children exactly what he saw when he went to destroy the Horcrux with the sword because although he thought the children would think it lovely, he didn't particularly wish to give Snape the satisfaction of knowing his worst fear. Harry didn't mention the doe Patronus having remembered that Snape didn't want them to discuss it, he pretended that he happened to be walking past the lake when he saw the sword at the bottom of it. Of course, they explained why the sword was so important to their goal and how it could possibly be there when it was supposed to be locked away at Hogwarts.
Harry then recalled the very vivid visions he would have regarding Voldemort: his feelings and exactly what he was doing at any particular moment. The children began to realise that Harry really did have a very powerful connection to the Dark Lord; being able to see the actions of another person in both the past and present is not normal and according to Rose, completely impossible. Of course, Hermione explained what happened at Godric's Hollow and although they never strictly said it, Harry had the impression that the children would never want to go to the village again. Of course, the Deathly Hallows were mentioned once again and the children were particularly interested in what the objects really did and where they were now. Harry continued telling the lie he told at Hogwarts, stating that the wand and the stone were destroyed by him on Dumbledore's request from his portrait in the Headmaster's office, but that he still had his invisibility cloak. The children were absolutely amazed that the cloak actually existed and that it was rightfully Harry's. They begged Harry to bring out the cloak and the five of them played with it, taking it in turns for over half an hour. Eventually, however they lost interest and wanted to know more about the Horcruxes they had yet to destroy. Hermione told them about the snatchers and Voldemort's name being cursed and what happened when they were captured and taken to the Malfoy manor. She described how Harry very cleverly deduced that a Horcrux was likely in Bellatrix's vault because of the way she reacted to them finding the Sword of Gryffindor. After describing the strange death of Pettigrew (an occasion the children cheered about), their escape and the torture Hermione went through at the Malfoy Manor, as well as carefully detailing the wrestle Harry underwent with Draco, Hermione concluded this section of the tale when Dobby had safely Apparated them to Shell Cottage. Then Harry informed the children that Dobby was killed to which all the children groaned and momentarily mourned for the loss of the house elf.
Hermione then told them how they broke into Gringotts by using the Polyjuice potion, the invisibility cloak and Harry's effective use of Imperio. After gathering a better understanding of the circumstances, the children seemed content with the reasons for Harry's use of the Unforgivable Curse, even if it is illegal. Ron had fun describing how they managed to escape from Gringotts on the back of a dragon but still seemed annoyed that they were tricked by Griphook with regard to Gryffindor's sword. Then Harry told them about the very vivid image he had of Voldemort looking for all of his Horcruxes and the reaction he gave, the anger and worry he felt when he realised some of them were missing. Harry told the children that it was a race against time to find the last Horcrux before Voldemort got there first. It was thanks to his visions, he told the children, that he knew the final Horcrux was at Hogwarts, so together he, Hermione and Ron went to Hogsmede, where they met Aberforth Dumbledore and they spoke briefly about Dumbledore and his relationship with his brother, sister and Grindelwald. The children were horrified that Dumbledore actually befriended Grindelwald in the first place and never thought Dumbledore could possibly have any faults. However, Harry asserted that Dumbledore was only trying to make the world a better place and when he grew older and wiser, Dumbledore realised it was best that he didn't obtain the power that came with combining the Deathly Hallows. The children respected Dumbledore for this choice, but couldn't believe that Harry didn't take the opportunity to join the three objects for they would have loved to know what would have happened if one were the master of Death. But knowing that two of the objects were already destroyed, none of the children considered the possibility that they would one day attempt to combine the Deathly Hallows.
Harry then continued, describing how they entered Hogwarts castle, who was there to meet them and how he managed to track down Ravenclaw's Diadem. Rose, Albus and James had all seen the Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron and could hardly believe Harry when he told them about the history between the two ghosts. Rose was especially interested that the Grey Lady was Rowena's daughter. Harry then told the children that Alecto and Amycus were teachers at Hogwarts because Voldemort had also taken over the school, but refrained from telling them that Snape was the Headmaster because he thought that at least Rose would work out that Snape was one of the people after whom Albus was named. He then reinforced the fact that Alecto and Amycus were there the night Dumbledore died and that Greyback, the werewolf and one of the snatchers was also there to witness Dumbledore's death. Harry then described the circumstances in which he used Crucio on Alecto and the children actually cheered because they now understood Harry's reasoning for using the spell, unlike a few months ago when he told them during his talk.
Of course, the children then wanted to know how they destroyed the diadem and cup and Ron told them how he and Hermione went to the chamber of secrets to destroy the cup with the basilisk's fang. Harry then went on to describe the ordeal that occurred within the Room of Requirement and how Crabbe's fiendfyre destroyed the Horcrux and would have killed Goyle and Draco had Ron and Harry not saved them. The children were surprised that Ron and Harry risked their lives for people they always hated and Ron blatantly agreed with them stating that he very reluctantly helped Harry rescue them for he didn't care if all three of them died. Harry expressed that he had no regrets that Crabbe died and the children seemed to agree; he was trying to kill them after all.
"So now we only had two Horcruxes left, or so I thought…" Harry said, realizing that this would probably be the most surprising information the children would learn that day.
"What do you mean, Dad? Was there another Horcrux?" Albus asked, worried.
"Yes, but it was only thanks to Professor Snape that I found out about it."
The children looked towards Snape, interested to know how the man found out about a Horcrux that not even Dumbledore told Harry about.
"I promised Dumbledore, before he died that I would tell Potter the most important information when the right moment presented itself. That night, I realised that time was running out and that Potter needed to know the information before he went after Nagini and the Dark Lord. So I found Potter and told him what I needed to say, though at first he did not believe me," Snape said staring at Harry, indicating that he should explain. Harry was surprised that the children didn't ask why Harry did believe Snape after he thought Snape cursed George's ear off, but didn't want to bring up the memories he saw in the pensieve seeing as all the interesting things he discovered about Snape that night he wouldn't be able to say anyway.
"So, Snape caught me
and I was certain he was going to bring me to Voldemort, after all he
did curse George and because I knew no better, I made the assumption
that Snape was indeed on Voldemort's side. Contrary to my beliefs
however, Snape informed me that he was not going to take me to
Voldemort like he was ordered to, but was going to return without
me-"
"Wouldn't Voldemort have tortured you for that?"
James asked.
Snape nodded and was surprisingly greeted with admiration from the children who stated he was brave. Snape couldn't help but smile slightly; grateful that they seemed to appreciate his actions.
"When I finally accepted that Snape must be on my side, I allowed him to tell me that…" Harry continued, taking a deep breath. "The night Voldemort tried to kill me and the Avada Kedavra curse backfired, a bit of Voldemort's soul broke off from the whole and connected itself to me-"
Instantly there was an outbreak of gasps from each of the children and Rose asked: "So you were sort of like a Horcrux?" She asked her eyes wide with worry.
"Yes, and Snape explained that Voldemort couldn't die until that piece of Voldemort's soul was destroyed-"
"So basically you had to be killed first and then someone else would have to kill Voldemort?" James asked, not sure if he fully understood the situation.
"Yes or that's at
least what I and Snape thought at the time, but obviously we were not
entirely correct."
"What happened?" Hugo asked in wonder.
Harry then went on to explain what happened in the forest and at King's cross where he spoke with Dumbledore and saw the last part of Voldemort's soul. The children could hardly believe Harry survived another Avada Kedavra curse and honestly had no idea how he survived it. Although Harry was still speculative about it himself, he did state that because Voldemort had his blood, he was keeping his mother's sacrifice alive and therefore protecting Harry from death.
"So when I returned back to consciousness, Voldemort ordered Narcissa Malfoy to check my pulse. I knew she could feel my heart beating but instead of telling the Dark Lord I was still alive, she asked me if Draco was alive. I told her he was and to my surprise she lied straight to Voldemort's face, insisting that I was dead. I couldn't believe it, but was delighted because I would be able to catch Voldemort off guard. When I eventually got into the open, Hagrid was ordered to carry me and laid me on the ground. Voldemort then began preaching to those at Hogwarts about how I had selfishly tried to save myself and that he was now the victor. Neville was there and despite thinking that I was dead, he was the one who killed Nagini, much to Voldemort's horror. I then disappeared under my Invisibility Cloak and I think it was then that Voldemort became worried that he may actually be defeated this time. We had the final showdown in the Entrance Hall…" and Harry regurgitated the conversation that took place between him and Voldemort. He then went on to explain in more detail about the Elder Wand and how he became the master of it, elaborating more fully on the talk he gave at Hogwarts. The children couldn't believe the way in which Harry defeated Voldemort and they even laughed a little at the irony that Voldemort ultimately killed himself. But when Harry got to the part where he found out Snape was dead, however, he felt a special need to emphasise this point for it would provide the children with the answer as to why he and his friends were so surprised to see their old Professor.
"But when I told Voldemort that Snape was not truly loyal to him and was only pretending to be a Death Eater on Dumbledore's orders, Voldemort informed me that he killed Snape-"
As if by some strange phenomenon, five pairs of eyes looked towards Snape as if demanding answers; they never met Voldemort but were pretty sure that if Voldemort said he killed someone then surely that's what he did?
"Which is why," Harry continued, "I was so surprised when I saw Snape at Hogwarts that day because for the last nineteen years, I thought he was dead," Harry explained, extremely amused by the expression on the children's faces.
"Nineteen years!" James exclaimed. "How come you never saw Professor Snape, Dad?" James asked, finding it hard to believe that Snape could have existed without Harry or anyone else never seeing him.
"After the Dark Lord
told Potter that I was dead and assuming that Potter told the entire
wizarding world as such, I thought it would not be appropriate for me
to show myself in the wizarding world except on rare occasions. After
being involved with the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters, I did not
want to be sent to Azkaban and consequently, I stayed hidden."
"But
that's such a long time. Didn't you get lonely?" Lily asked.
Snape paused, considering the question. The truth was that he did get lonely, but at the time he told himself that it was worth it because he'd rather that then face Harry and his anger and his eyes…. Of course Snape wasn't about to tell Lily this, so he answered: "I did feel lonely at times, but I do enjoy being by myself most of the time, so it did not bother me as much as you would think."
"How did you survive, Professor Snape?" Albus asked, completely amazed that Snape wasn't killed for failing to bring his father back to Voldemort nineteen years ago.
"I suspected that the Dark Lord would kill me for not bringing Potter back to him and Dumbledore's portrait suggested that Voldemort would order Nagini to kill me rather than him spending the time to do it himself. So I took some blood replenishing potions and anti-venom with me just incase Dumbledore was right. The Dark Lord used the Cruciatus curse against me several times and eventually, when he saw Potter walking into the forest, he left Nagini with me to finish me off. She only had the chance to bite me once, however, before the Dark Lord summoned her to him. Consequently the Dark Lord did not know that I was still alive and with Nagini gone, I was able to slow down the bleeding and swallow the potions. I was, however very weak and collapsed on the grass outside the Whomping Willow where I was found by Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy-"
"Did they turn you in?" Hugo asked, wide-eyed.
"No, as a matter of fact, they did not. Instead, Narcissa convinced her husband to take me back to their manor and when we eventually arrived there, their house elf attended to me. It was only five days after the Dark Lord's downfall that I was well enough to leave the Malfoy Manor and by then I thought it would too strange to enter the wizarding world again. I told the Malfoys to keep my existence a secret and it was not until Lucius confronted me a year ago that I considered coming back into the wizarding world as a teacher at Hogwarts again." Snape finished speaking and couldn't help but smirk a little at the expression on the children's faces for they seemed completely bamboozled by his story, not quite believing that a wizard could last two days away from the wizarding world let alone nineteen years.
"So- so prior to the huge battle, what were you doing all year, Professor Snape?" Lily asked a little nervously.
"I was at Hogwarts; the Dark Lord gave me the position of Headmaster for be believed I was an extremely faithful servant. I spent most of my time talking to Dumbledore's portrait and trying to help the Order whenever I could for none of them trusted me so I could only do so much, but mostly I kept up appearances and pretended to support the new rules the Dark Lord was putting in place."
"Wow, it must have been so strange being Headmaster when you had both Death Eaters and Order members as members of staff," Rose asserted.
"Well I must admit I strongly disliked the way Professor McGonagall would always look at me, for she believed, like all of the teachers, except Alecto and Amycus, that I was loyal to the Dark Lord otherwise I wouldn't be the Headmaster would I? But because I knew which side I was truly on, it became burdening that they didn't know who I truly was…"
"Couldn't you have just told them?" Albus asked, realizing how much it would pain him if his colleagues believed him to be someone he wasn't.
"No, because if Alecto, Amycus or the Dark Lord found out I would have been killed and then no one would have contact with Dumbledore's portrait for the Dark Lord would promote a different Head who would not have heeded Dumbledore's advice like I did," Snape explained to Albus, who nodded in reply.
Harry was listening to the conversation and realizing that their story was practically finished, he was surprised that Albus hadn't yet asked who he was named after. Eventually, Harry couldn't take it anymore and had to at least approach the topic; he was extremely anxious to see how Albus would react.
"Al, I am surprised at you; I would have thought you would have been pestering your mother and I to tell you who Albus and Severus are," Harry said smiling at his son. Albus sat there and by the look on his face, it seemed like he only just realised how strange it was that he hadn't asked.
"The story was so exciting that I hardly thought about it!" Albus replied, smiling too.
"So who are Albus and Severus?" he asked staring between his mother and father.
Harry nudged Ginny, indicating that she should reveal who Albus is.
"Well Al, you have probably gathered who Albus is; your father has given you enough clues, I think," Ginny said glancing briefly at her husband.
"Like what? What has
he said?"
"That you were named after Headmasters of Hogwarts,"
Ginny replied, hoping that the realization would eventually fall on
her son. Sure enough, Albus' face lit up and he looked at his
parents; he could hardly believe it.
"Dumbledore?" He asked smiling so broadly Harry laughed.
Ginny nodded, smiling; she was glad her son approved of the name she and Harry had given him.
"So who was Severus, then?" Albus asked, realizing that he had no idea who the man would be because his parents had always implied that both Albus and Severus were dead.
"Severus is…" Harry paused to look at Snape and realised the man looked pale and strangely still as if he were embracing himself for what was about to occur.
"Severus is sitting next to me," Harry stated, hoping against all hope that despite the seemingly terrible things Snape had done in the past, that Albus would also feel honoured to be named after Snape, because if he weren't, Harry shuddered to think how Al would react if he ever found out the whole truth.
Albus' jaw fell open. He couldn't help it. But not only was Al in shock but so were his siblings and cousins. Although Rose had no problem guessing who Albus was, for she had read about Dumbledore in several books, but not want to spoil her Aunt and Uncle's surprise by telling Al, she kept it a secret. But as to Professor Snape being Severus, this fact completely surprised her. James was also a little disturbed because he had seen the way Snape acted towards his father when they met at Hogwarts that day and also how he treated students and even though he wasn't that bad, he seemed like an unpleasant person. Albus continued to look at the man after whom he was named and couldn't believe that Severus was still alive for he accepted long ago that he would never meet the men after whom he was named. But now that Severus was sitting before him, he couldn't help but be happy that he would at leasthave the opportunity to get to know the man.
"Wow," was all Albus could say in response and Snape didn't know if that was a good or bad thing, but continued to sit idly waiting for something to happen.
Eventually Albus asked his father: "So when you told me that one of the men I was named after was in Slytherin and probably the bravest man you ever knew, were you talking about Professor Snape?" Al could hardly believe he could now put a face to that person.
Harry nodded, glad that his son seemed to agree that Snape was indeed very brave.
"Perhaps being in Slytherin would not have been so bad after all," Albus whispered to himself, but still loud enough for everyone else to hear. A loud silence occurred after this statement and Snape couldn't quite believe what he had just heard. He honestly never expected Albus to react so positively towards him and what he had done and began to wonder if these children really were capable of understanding the entire truth, but then decided against it; he would rather things remain the way they are; he didn't want to risk his reputation among the children.
Harry decided to break the silence because he could see that Snape was feeling uncomfortable; the scrutiny of the children's gazes were slightly disturbing.
"When your mother and I named you Albus, we thought Severus was dead and never did we think you would get the chance to meet him, let alone be taught by him, so we hope this isn't too huge of a shock for you-"
"No, it's great Mum- Dad," Albus replied, pulling his eyes away from Severus'. Then, facing his parents he continued: "Thanks for naming me after such awesome people," Albus stated excited that finally he understood what his name meant to his parents and especially his father. He was more than happy that he was named after Severus, who according to his parents was a good person who had honorable intentions even if he wasn't very nice and always put students on detention.
Snape was relieved that Albus didn't seem to be disgusted that he was named after him and became much more relaxed in his chair. Ron decided that it was probably time to have dinner because it was almost seven o'clock, but before they ate, he wanted to know what the children thought about the story.
"So what did you five think about our story?" Ron asked.
"I thought it was amazing! It would have been so awesome to ride on a dragon or see Merpeople or ride on a Thestral," James exclaimed, a little jealous that he would probably never get that opportunity and if he did, he didn't think he would survive it like his parents, Uncle and Aunt did.
"What did you think, Albus?" Hermione asked, smiling because Al seemed to be very pleased that he was named after Albus and Severus.
"I thought it was also really cool, though perhaps a little scary… I thought you were all so brave, I couldn't have done what you did," Albus said in awe.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Al. If you were in the situation we were in, I am sure you would have stepped up to the task like a true Gryffindor," Harry asserted. Al beamed at his father, hoping that would have in fact been the case.
"Hugo, what did you think?" Ginny asked her nephew who had been pretty quiet for the last few minutes.
"I think it was a huge adventure and I just can't believe Uncle Harry and all of you actually helped defeat Voldemort. I feel like I know famous people," Hugo asserted, still thoroughly amazed that the story he just heard actually happened.
Lily then spoke, thinking she would give her opinion: "Well I am just so happy you all survived it. So many people died, like Uncle Fred, Mad Eye Moody and Teddy's parents that I'm just so amazed you managed to defeat Voldemort and survive to tell us about it. I loved the story, even if it was a little frightening," Lily admitted and Harry scooped her up and sat her on his lap.
"What do you have to say about all of this, Rose? I think your mother has been giving you some books to read," Harry said, looking at Hermione, who blushed a little.
"Well I thought it was a really interesting story, but I still wish we knew who the Half Blood Prince was; he sounds like he was really intelligent- I mean it wouldn't be easy to create your own potions and spells, would it? As long as he didn't use dark magic against me I'd like to meet him and talk to him," Rose asserted bravely, knowing that her parents would likely not approve of her sudden fascination with such a dangerous character.
"Yes, it is a shame we couldn't work it out," Hermione answered seriously, maintaining the cover the adults promise they would keep. It seems that all the adults were watching Hermione intently, making sure she did not break their promise. Everyone, that is, except Ron who was becoming impatient with a piece of cotton fraying from his robes; it kept tickling his leg and it was driving him crazy.
"Are you sure you don't have any idea who he is?" Rose pressed on, not quite believing her mother had no idea whatsoever.
"Yeah, it was Snape," Ron said without thinking for he was becoming evermore frustrated with a portion of his robes that were fraying. He couldn't reach his wand which was sitting on the kitchen table so began pulling on it. In all the cottoned mess and frustration he answered without thinking and realised too late that what he said was wrong.
Everyone in the room froze and Ron was slowly turning green because he could see Snape's face directly opposite him and never before had he seen Snape so angry and that's saying something.
Rose's immediate reaction was "wow" for she didn't genuinely believe she would get to see, let alone meet and talk to the Half Blood Prince. If the situation wasn't so serious and worrisome, she would have asked Snape about the other spells he created. But after her original outburst, she remained silent and began to realise the implications that arose due to this new revelation her father had accidently revealed.
After what felt like years of silence, Albus asked in disbelief:
"You are the Half Blood Prince?" And Harry noticed his youngest son seemed deterred by this new piece of information.
"So you created those dark curses?" James asked, wondering what else the adults had hidden from them with regard to Snape.
Apparently thinking the
same way as her cousin, Rose asked:
"Didn't you tell us
everything that Professor Snape did?" staring at her parents as if
accusing them of not telling the whole truth.
"Weasley!" Snape yelled as he stood up; this was not how he wanted the night to end; everything was going smoothly until Ron momentarily forgot their deal.
"Sorry, Snape," Ron replied cowering under the gaze of the man before him. Though if Ron were completely honest with himself, he wasn't too sorry for betraying Snape's trust because Ron never fully forgave Snape for everything he did to his friends and felt that even though he was ultimately on the side of good, he would never forgive Snape for being a slimy git.
Snape quickly withdrew his wand, intending to ward off Harry if the man tried to stop him from leaving. The moment Harry saw the wand; he stood up too, even though he knew Snape had no intention of hurting any of those present.
"Snape, calm down, we'll explain it to them- they'll under-"
"You know they won't,
they're just like you when you were their age. You believed that I
was obsessed with the Dark Arts and that my ruthless actions
indicated that I was a terrible person and may be I am, but don't
stand there and try to convince me that they will understand what you
understand! They are children and until they realise that there is
more to a person than their actions, trying to convince them
otherwise is pointless!"
"But if we just explained to them-"
"Please Professor Snape, I want to hear what you have to say-" Albus interrupted.
"Speak for yourself, Al," James jutted in. "He experimented with the Dark Arts; he may have been a true Death Eater after all. Maybe he lied to you," James announced, looking at his father.
"James!" Ginny exclaimed; shocked that her son would ever say such a thing; that was not the way she and Harry raised their children.
"But Mum, he could have been a Death Eater; he could have lied to you. He can do Occlumency, right?" James pressed on, trying to make his point.
"Professor Snape was not a Death Eater," Harry said, realizing that this was all going terribly wrong.
"But if you knew Professor Snape liked the Dark Arts, why did you name Al after him?' James accused his father.
"James!" Ginny exclaimed again and if Snape wasn't holding a wand in her living room she would have dragged James away from the situation and scowled him in private.
"One day you will realise, James, that there is more to people than their hobbies, likes and dislikes," Harry told his son, getting a little annoyed that James was proving Snape's assertion to be correct. Perhaps his children, or at least James, would not understand Snape's actions.
Throughout this conversation, Snape continued to stand on the spot with his wand, but Harry could tell, by looking in the man's eyes that he was extremely angry and upset.
Having heard his father's last comment, James had some sense to stop arguing and Harry brought his attention back to Snape.
"I don't care what
they say to you or how much they beg; you will not tell them anymore
than what they already know!" Snape said in a deadly whisper filled
with rage.
"But Snape-"
"I told you this would happen,
Potter! They find out that I like the Dark Arts and automatically I
became a bad person, even though they know I saved your life, they
fear me- look at the way they're staring at me!" Snape yelled
hysterically, pointing at the children, all of whom looked like they
were ready to flee the room.
"But that's only because you're yelling-"
"No it isn't, do you realise that for the rest of their schooling, if I am still their professor, they will think I am dangerous, a pathetic person who loves the Dark Arts and they will do anything to get away from me because they think I'll curse them or use Sectumsempra against them or-"
"Snape, you're been irrational about all of this, they're not going to-" Ginny tried to reason with the man as she too stood up next to her husband.
"I am not being irrational- you think you understand your children so well, but let me inform you that I have taught children for a long time and I know that first impressions mean a lot and now your eldest son has just proven it-"
"But if we just explain it to them-" Harry suggested.
"No Potter! I told you this was a bad idea; I cannot believe I was stupid enough to agree to this. I hope you all have a good Christmas; I am leaving." Snape exclaimed angrily as he made his way towards the door, but was soon confronted by Harry who was surprisingly faster than Snape and stood in front of the man.
"Daddy!" Lily exclaimed, as she saw the look on Snape's face and knew it was a bad idea to try to stop the man.
"Get out of my way, Potter!" Snape yelled, pointing his wand at Harry's chest. The man was so upset and so disappointed that the children no longer thought him to be a good person that Snape didn't want to be there anymore. After seeing the look in Albus' eyes, the disappointment and worry Lily's eyes showed him, the thing he desired the most was to leave. He had no intention of hurting Potter, but rather to show him that he was not to be messed with; he wanted to leave and no one should try to stop him.
Harry put his hands up in response to Snape's threat. The other adults were looking apprehensively at the two men. All of them had their wands at the ready just in case a duel broke out.
"We can work this out, Snape," Harry whispered so only Severus could hear. "Please don't go yet."
"You know that these are your children, Weasley's children; they are never going to understand unless they see it for themselves and even then they may not believe it," Snape whispered aggressively back.
"Why don't you show them then?" Harry pressed, thinking that it may actually be a good idea.
"No, I will not have them parading around my love for Lily," Snape said, stopping abruptly as he realised that that was the first time he had ever asserted his love in front of Potter. Harry also realised this and stared at Snape not quite believing how much the man in front of him must really have loved Lily Evans.
"We don't have to
tell them about that; if you just took the time to explain that you
were fascinated by the Dark Arts, but never sought to really hurt
people-"
"But I did, Potter. If I had the opportunity I would
have used Sectumsempra on your father because that's how
much I hated him. I am not a good person and I think you are a
fool for naming your child after me!"
Snape stormed past Harry and let himself out of Grimmauld Place, slamming the door behind him.
A/N: Sorry for making Snape so angry at the end of this chapter but I don't think ut was unjustified. Any comments on the way the plot line is heading, please feel free to review or write me an email to make any suggestions or critiques.
A/N: You can make the assumption that the children now know everything Harry knows except those things that regard Snape's love for Lily and his murder of Dumbledore (see end of previous chapter).
A/N: The next chapter: 'friendship and bravery' will be posted up soon.
Happy reading and please review!
