Chapter 21 – Past, Present, and Unforeseen Future

Hogwarts was silent for the time being, which left minds wondering what was going to happen next. Nothing stayed still and silent for long and with evil lurking in the very near distance. It was anyone's guess as to what was going to happen now.

The ever changing staircases weren't moving and the portraits were fast asleep. The soft sounds of footsteps were ignored as nothing more than just normal nightly sounds. The seventh floor was just a seemingly endless corridor that was as black as the night sky. Footsteps continued to quietly echo down the corridor as the figure tried to evade anything and everything that could have still been awake. The silence was eerie and was making the nightly trips down the corridor even harder than usual. It was hard enough not to be spotted every night, but now with nothing making a sound, the figure was sure to be caught.

"To what does the seventh floor owe to you this evening, Severus?"

Severus flicked his wand and watched the darkened corridor illuminate. Standing before him, and the door to the Gryffindor common room, was Isis with her arms crossed across her chest and a large grin on her face. Her hair was neatly tied up and her skin not as pale as he remembered it only a few hours ago. While she was the essence of beauty, he was the beast that was trapped within the castle. He had long ago shed his Poseidon persona for the day and became the man no one knew was within the school. Dressed all in black once again, blending in with the darkness, he wrapped his cape tighter around him and just waited for Isis to say something else.

Isis's smile widened. "I believe that you are on the wrong floor. The Slytherin dormitories are a few floors down. An intelligent wizard such as yourself should know that, especially one who has been at Hogwarts as long as you have."

"I do not owe you an explanation, Isis," he simply said. "I wander the corridors because I wish to. I owe you nothing more than that."

"That you don't." She took a few steps toward him and leaned in close. "But isn't it curious that you always seem to walk the seventh floor more than any other floor in Hogwarts? I believe the rug you pace has paid the price."

Serverus's eyes slightly widened at her knowledge of his pacing the seventh floor corridor. He didn't wish for this conversation to continue and he had to find a way to continue about his business. "What is it that you want, Isis?"

"Nothing really. I just thought that since you were walking the corridors alone that you might wish for some company." She patiently waited for an answer and received none. "Harry is fast asleep and well-protected, Severus."

"I have no cares about what Harry Potter is doing," he rebutted. "I am merely out for a stroll so that I might better take care of my insomnia."

Isis sighed, tired of the same answer almost every time that they spoke. Either the subject was about Harry Potter or about Severus's sordid past. Whatever it was, he was so tight lipped about it that she knew that giving up soon about the entire scenario was the only option.

"You don't owe me an explanation of your constant walks about the corridors at night," she began, still watching him for some sort of hint as to what was going on. "Frankly you owe me nothing, Severus. What I do owe you, however, is an explanation as to why I'm asking."

Severus looked at her curiously. "Continue," he simply said.

"It seems as though I am an insomniac myself – constantly thinking about the events that are looming just around the corridor. There are times I think to myself about the history that brought us to this breaking point. There is always the fact of Voldemort and how he came to power. My father's pensive more than makes up for that aspect if I tweak it just the slightest bit. There are, of course, the Mauraders. I know you know them quite well."

He remained silent, waiting for the right time to stop her. Soon she would be upon the fact of her journey and he knew that he was some how apart of it. If he wasn't she wouldn't have brought it up. He feared what she knew and how much she would reveal. This was neither the time nor the place to reveal anything about the past.

"Then of course there was the night at Godric's Hollow when James and Lily were killed." Severus's gaze left hers and looked down at the floor. "Which is the only time I can't place any of the events that occurred. I know nothing about that night. The only ones who know what truly happened there were the ones who were present and my father. Since my father isn't here, I have no one to turn to." She took a few steps forward as he took a few steps back. "You don't happen to know anyone who was there that night, do you?"

"Besides the Dark Lord?" he snapped. "Why don't you search Potter's memories and see if he remembers anything? Even though he was a toddler, I am sure that there are repressed memories lurking somewhere in his mind. I am sure that a drop of Veritaserum will remedy all of that."

Isis smirked. "Veritaserum is your favorite potion, isn't it?"

"I have many potions that are my favorite. It just happens to be high on my list."

"Veritaserum was Lucius Malfoy's downfall. It pains me to know that I wasn't there to witness it." His eyes met hers once again. "I know that you had a history with him, Severus, and that you don't regret his passing. Neither do I quite frankly. The Malfoy family has always seemed to be a thorn in my side and even though I don't enjoy death I don't miss him."

"You are getting to the point, are you not?" he snapped once again. He ignored Isis's cold glare and folded his arms across his chest. "It is a long night, Isis, and I do wish to go on about my business."

"There were Death Eaters there that night and I don't doubt that Lucius was one of them." She shrugged. "Even though no one will admit who was there and others will tell tall tales of their bravery standing before the Potters along side Voldemort, I know there is one who hasn't revealed his identity. The man who was there that night may have saved Harry Potter's life. Maybe he's just too proud to reveal his name. Maybe he's shy." She paused and glared at him. "But I figure he's just a coward."

Severus stood stoic, letting his anger and his sorrow to boil beneath the surface. "You know nothing of that night."

Isis leaned against the wall beside the Fat Lady's portrait and shrugged. "So then tell me."

"How do you know I was there that night?" he asked curiously.

"I've watched you for weeks now, pace back and forth on the seventh floor. You lurk in the darkness as if you're hiding from something. I can tell something is wrong with you. It helped, a little, that Dumbledore told me that you were always hiding something from him. It only took time to figure out what."

"I'm not a coward," he corrected quickly. "I just found that I needed to suppress some things that didn't need to be said at the time."

"So tell me what happened that night. Tell me why you watch Harry's door so intently."

Severus knew that all of his thoughts were jumbled. He was a man that always had everything in order and never faltered at his tasks. Students called him evil while professors thought him cold. He was a closed off man who wanted nothing to do with the world around him. Was that so wrong? What he knew about that night would make him a different person and everyone would look at him in a different light. What was to become of Severus Snape?

"Isis, I am a Master of Potions and a Master of the Darkness. If I reveal what I know, I will lose everything."

Isis noted the sorrow in his voice but pushed forward, knowing that he needed to tell her the story. "I won't look at you differently – its how you're going to look at yourself in the end that's going to matter."

He looked toward the hidden doorway of the Gryffindor tower. Courage had always been a thing he lacked and something he had been trying to find since his school years. "There is no one that knows what I know, Isis. You have to swear to me that this goes no further."

Isis stuck out her right hand and didn't move it as his tightly grasped hers. Pulling out his wand with his free hand, he pointed it at the joined hands.

"Trust is something I've always offered you in spades," she said as the wand gently touched her hand. "If it is an Unbreakable Vow that you wish, then we will do it."

"I never said…," he began.

"You didn't have to," she finished. "I could see it in your eyes." There was a slight pause before she continued. "Make your vow, Severus."

Without hesitation he asked, "Do you vow that you will never speak of anything I tell you tonight again?"

"I do." Although it was only magic, she grimaced as the red fiery band wrapped around their hands. It had never been done between a wizard and Element before and she wasn't quite sure that the Vow would hold. But for Severus to tell her what happened that night, she would try anything.

He looked at her as she watched the wand and the band on their joined hands. "Do you vow that you will never speak to anyone about what I am going to tell you?"

"I do." She grimaced again as another fiery band joined them. "Severus, please make this quick. This is not magic I am used to."

"That's all, Isis. The vow is solid enough for me."

Just as quickly as the fiery red bands appeared they disappeared. He slowly put away his wand as Isis glanced down at her hand. Red marks, from where the band had joined them, scarred her hand. She wasn't quite sure what had made this so different from anything else, but it had. It didn't matter to her just so long as she knew what happened that night.

"What you have to understand," he began, "is that in some respects I understood what Voldemort did. Being a follower made me understand what it was that he wanted. He wanted nothing more than to be powerful and there was only one family that would stand in the way of that – the Potters. The prophecy was just another nail in the coffin for Voldemort. However, I never thought he would take it as far as he did."

Isis nodded. "I understand. The Darkness that was within you sympathized with Voldemort. I cannot fault you for that."

"What you can fault me for is not helping the Potters when I had the chance." Severus wrapped his cape around him tighter. "I was there that night. I was standing in the backyard in Godric's Hollow for hours before Voldemort even arrived. I wanted to know more about the prophecy. I was merely curious and too young and stupid to know any better."

She remained silent and allowed him to speak his mind without stopping him. He needed to get it out before she asked questions. He needed time to understand what happened that night.

"There was no one else there that night. Voldemort knew that to fulfill the prophecy that he had to do it alone. The Potters' destruction was his task and his alone. It was so quiet that night. All you heard was the rustling of the leaves down the lane. I could feel his presence there before he even appeared. The night sky seemed darker than it ever had been."

"Did you go inside?" she asked. She watched his shake his head. "Then you know nothing about what happened within the walls."

Severus cleared his throat and continued, "I know nothing about that. I don't know how James died or even what happened to Lily. I know as much as you do about that and the stories that were told. I know that Harry was somehow spared and Voldemort disappeared after that. What happened after Voldemort disappeared is more clear to me now and has been every day since."

This had been the part she had been waiting for. She had figured that he knew nothing about what happened inside of the Potters' household. The only man that could have assumed anything about what happened that night was Dumbledore. What had her more curious was what happened after.

"Go on, Severus," she urged.

"You wish to know the reason why I pace the seventh floor corridor every night," he began slowly. "You wish to know why I brave the Darkness when I know that at any moment it could take hold of me once again. The answer is not so simple, Isis."

"I never expected it to be," she said, trying to reassure him that she understood. "There are vows and promises that one can break. I know this from experience. There are very few who know of my past, Severus. Dumbledore made a vow that he would never tell a soul of what I had done. Don't think that every day it doesn't eat away at me. I can hear the screams and sometimes feel death all around me. Every day I fight the Darkness that continues to beckon me. You and I are more alike in more ways than one."

"There was a blinding light," Severus continued, trying to ignore the feelings that were stirring within him and ignoring what Isis had just said. He didn't like the thought of being like someone else. Feeling alone in his suffering felt more comforting. "Twice I saw it through the windows. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was then that I knew Voldemort had completed the prophecy." He took a deep breath. "Three hours I stood behind a tree and waited for Voldemort to emerge from the house, but he never did. I took a chance and approached the house in hopes of someone still being alive."

Isis thought she saw sadness in Severus's eyes but he turned his head away too quickly. "You went inside?"

"I couldn't just let her lie there!" he shouted. The portraits stirred but quickly went back to sleep. "I couldn't leave her alone."

Her eyes went wide in realization. "It was Lily. Lily is the one you loved and she never reciprocated. You have known love, but you could never admit it."

Severus shook his head and quickly turned away from Isis. "She was the only one who ever understood me. Even that horrible memory that always haunts me, she is the one who stood up for me. I always pushed her away."

"You pushed everyone away," she corrected. "Don't think I didn't notice that year. Lily did try to be your friend, but you pushed and shoved her away. Were you afraid of what would happen?"

"She loved Potter," he spat. "How was I supposed to compete with someone like him? He practically ruled Hogwarts when he was here. James and all of the other Mauraders took over everything. I couldn't just become someone I wasn't. I was a loner and was expected to be in the dark all of the time. I enjoyed things other students didn't. I wasn't even up to her standards. Don't think I didn't hear what they called me behind my back. I might have been immune to all of their little jokes and pranks, but I wasn't immune to their little outbursts of affection."

"So you shunned them all. You became the Half-Blood Prince. You wanted to become better than all of them so you became something that no one expected. You showed the Mauraders that you were more powerful even though the Darkness had already captured you. You let it take hold because of your jealousy and hatred toward James. Severus, you could have saved yourself long ago."

Severus shook his head. "I was lost long before I ever came upon Hogwarts. My hatred of Potter and his troupe just helped pushed things along."

"So what happened after Voldemort's vicious act? Tell me what happened."

"I walked into the house that was nearly destroyed. Everything had been ripped apart by what appeared to be a curse. Family portraits and anything that showed the Potters happiness were ripped to shreds. There was a lone portrait along the staircase that was the only one that was almost intact. I did what I could to repair it and save the legacy that was the Potters." Severus turned to meet Isis's gaze. "I might have hated James but I never wished for anything like that to happen to them."

"It's called remorse," she simply said. "Anyone that walked into the house would have felt it."

He nodded in acceptance but continued on with his story. "Potter was face down on the floor near the front door as I walked into the foyer. His eyes were still wide and his body unmoving. The killing curse that Voldemort used, I had hoped, was quick and painless. Potter had died fighting. The wand he used was still in his hand."

Tears were pooling in Isis's eyes. She had known James and Lily for years and couldn't imagine walking into the house to see what had happened.

"I quickly climbed the stairs and raced into the Harry's bedroom. The moon had finally illuminated the tiny room. The wooden crib was the only thing still intact. The mobile that had been above Harry's crib was hanging by a thread. It was when I looked down on the floor I saw the one thing I never wanted to see."

Isis stepped toward Severus but he quickly held up a hand stopping her in mid-step. Seeing the person you love unmoving was hard on anyone. Isis had seen it too many times to not know the feeling. She wanted to reach out to him but she knew he would never allow it.

Severus shook his head, trying to be rid of the feelings and memories. "Something came over me and to this day I still don't know what. All I saw was Harry lying quietly in the crib and Lily's lifeless body on the floor. The lightning scar on Harry's forehead was still fresh and raw. I did what I could to lessen the pain. The house was groaning under the stress of whatever curse Voldemort had laid upon it. It would only be moments before it was destroyed."

"Severus, what did you do?" she asked quietly and curiously.

"I did what Lily had always done for me – be kind." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "The memorial at Godric's Hollow is James and Lily's gravesite. Dumbledore asked me, later on, what happened to James and Lily and all I could fathom to say was that they were at peace. I might be cruel and unrelenting, Isis, but I do respect the dead."

Isis laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure no one told you thank you so I will."

"I don't want it," he said more harshly than he would have liked. "I did what I had to do in order for the Muggles to leave them alone. I did it…"

"To save Lily from embarrassment and disgrace," she finished for him. "The house was destroyed. When we went to Godric's Hollow it was intact. Do you mind explaining that?"

He shook his head. "I had nothing to do with that. I believe that was your father's doing. He wanted Harry to have a home to go to. The Potters' house is no longer in ruin because of him."

Isis nodded in acceptance of his statement. "Fair enough, Severus. However, there is still one matter you haven't touched on. Why do you pace the seventh floor corridors at night?"

"Who do you think told Dumbledore that the Potters had been killed? Who do you think watched after Harry until Hagrid arrived?" he asked angrily. "I was there, Isis. I took care of Harry Potter until help came." He sighed and turned away from her gentle touch. "I was the one who lied to the Muggle authorities and told them that Harry was mine to protect him. I was the one who gave the explanations as to what happened to the house when it finally came crashing down. But I made sure I disappeared as soon as Hagrid arrived. No one needed to know I was there."

"But Dumbledore did," she simply said.

"Dumbledore was the only one until now." Severus turned back around and looked at Isis's tear filled eyes. "I vowed to Lily that I would watch over her son. It was the only way I could repay her for the kindness she bestowed upon me while we were at school."

She now understood everything. "You're hard on him because you don't want him to know. You're cold and demeaning because you refuse to let anyone see the kindness in you. You gave Harry Potter a fighting chance, Severus. You protected him until Hagrid got there. You protected James and Lily's names from ridicule and disgrace. You shun everything that is Harry Potter because you're embarrassed."

"Not everyone can be kind to him. How is he to grow into the man he needed to be without someone giving him some backbone?" He smirked the slightest bit. "The Darkness surrounds him and calls to him because of what Voldemort did that night. In order to make sure he never strayed, I used my coldness, as you call it, to keep him on the side of the Light. Do I wish for Potter to ever know what I did for him? No. Do I want him to find the Light and not the Dark? Yes."

"Tell me about the vow. Tell me what you vowed to Lily that night?"

Severus gestured to the hidden Gryffindor entrance. "Every night I watch over him because I know no one else will. Lily can't be there for him and neither can Potter. Who else is there?"

She smiled. "No one."

"That night I told myself that when Harry Potter walked through the doors of Hogwarts that he would know nothing about what I did that night. The only way for Harry to hate me enough was for me to put up the same front I always did. I am the horrible Potions master and no one slides through my class. Potter became stronger for it. His hatred for me grew but at least I knew that I was keeping my vow to Lily."

"You do know that the professors and most of the students think that you lurk in the corridors at night because you're a vampire?"

It had been the first time that Isis had ever heard Severus laugh. He shook his head in disbelief. "Let it stay that way. It will give me an excuse to continue what I do."

Isis nodded in agreement. They both stood there for a moment, letting what had been already said sink in. A lot had been covered in the few moments they had spoken to each other. The events at Godric's Hollow were intricate and more than anyone thought. She had made a vow that she would never speak of what Severus had told her, but everything within her was telling her to tell Harry so that he might understand. Harry would find out one day and she hoped it was from Severus himself.

"Do you regret not being able to help Lily and James?" she asked him curiously.

"I know that Voldemort would have killed me and it would have only prolonged James and Lily's demise. There are still nights that I feel as though I am a coward, but I know I could have done nothing." He paused for a moment. "I know I did better by protecting Potter for the time I did."

Severus noticed something in Isis's eyes: remorse. He began to wonder what it was all about. "You can't possibly think that you could have done something to help."

"No," Isis said, shaking her head. "I wasn't anywhere near Godric's Hollow that night. But I was nearby when Sirius confronted Pettigrew."

"Sirius," he said, barely above a whisper. "He's not a man I hold in the highest regard."

Isis rolled her eyes. "I know the rivalry the two of you had. It didn't go unnoticed by me. I know you still hold hatred in your heart for him. But like you, I feel guilty because I didn't save Sirius from his fate."

Before Severus could say anything, a distant noise echoed down the corridor. He shone his wand toward the darkness and saw nothing. Isis, however, knew there was something down the corridor that didn't want to be seen. The flames in her eyes grew as she stepped toward the darkness. Severus watched Isis as she walked back and forth three times in front of a barren wall. The wall suddenly disappeared with a door appearing in its place.

"Find your flask," Isis said, not looking back at Severus. Instead she grasped the doorknob and turned it. "When you change back into Poseidon, think about finding me. The door should reappear."

Severus tried to say something but watched as Isis stepped through the door. The barren wall quickly reappeared. He noticed the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy across from the wall and realized where Isis had gone: the Room of Requirement.

Isis stepped cautiously around the room and noticed different things about it. Before she could take everything in, the same sound that she had heard before sounded again. As she peered toward the noise a figure popped up.

She smirked and shook her head. "You weren't the person I was expecting to find in here."