Chapter 25

The Interview

Charity held onto her numbness like a thick cloak in a frigid windstorm while wizards and witches throughout Great Britain grieved. The list of the dead was long. It was especially long for Charity, because she was not only learning of all those who had died in the Battle of Hogwarts but also about the many other deaths that had accumulated during her absence.

Some of Mr. Burbage's colleagues in the publishing industry had been either killed or tortured by Death Eaters as they moved in to control the media. Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic, had been killed soon after Charity went into hiding. The author Bathilda Bagshot had also been murdered some time ago. The most shocking news to Charity personally, however, was regarding her friend Melinda from Preppy. Melinda was one of the girls that Charity she was supposed to meet at Vincenzo's in Diagon Alley on that fateful day. Charity's friend had apparently turned informant to the Death Eaters for a short while before they decided she was no longer useful and violently disposed of her.

It was humanly impossible, even for wizards, to attend each individual funeral resulting from the latest battle; therefore, added to their already crippling emotional distress was the heart wrenching chore of picking and choosing which friends and heroes to officially mourn. The skeletal crew remaining at the Ministry of Magic (once those workers loyal to Voldemort had been either killed or sent to Azkaban) formed a Commission on Mourning and Burying the Dead to determine a way to help ease this burden. For once, a Ministry commission had a good idea and decided that after the individual funerals were completed, a service would be held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a memorial for all those who died in the final battle for freedom. Part of this ceremony would include the funeral of Severus Snape.

Speculation about Snape's loyalties and allegiances had already been raging throughout the wizarding world by the time Charity arrived back on the scene. Apparently Harry Potter had very recently uncovered some sort of confidential information revealing that Snape was in fact working for the Order of Phoenix all along. The trouble was that his undercover work had been so secretive that no currently living member of the Order could verify this fact. Potter was persistent, however, and after a few days of investigation, senior Hogwarts staff and high-ranking members of the Order came out in support of Potter's claims.

Enter Professor Charity Burbage and the case for Snape increased ten-fold. Her only public comments thus far had been that Snape had secretly rescued her from Voldemort's wrath and hidden her in Muggle London. She hadn't provided any further details as of yet, but that was enough to firmly turn the tide in Snape's favor. A matter of days earlier, everyone had believed Snape to be Voldemort's man, but now all sorts of wizards and witches were claiming that they had suspected all along that Snape was a double agent. He was suddenly man of the hour, a symbol of personal sacrifice for the greater good.

Because of her connection with the Weasley family, one of the funerals Charity attended was for Fred Weasley, Charlie's younger brother. He was one of the enterprising twins that had entertained Hogwarts for nearly seven years. It was a magnificent testament to family to see the five remaining Weasley brothers carrying their brother's coffin down the aisle, their red hair trailing like a long banner. Large as that group was, it was obvious someone was missing, especially judging by the lost look on poor George's face.

And dear Charlie. His warm smile and sparkly eyes were replaced by a somber expression of disbelief that this could actually be happening. Charity had heard that Charlie had managed to get all the way from Romania to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts. She wasn't surprised to hear that he'd been a strong leader at that battle. She knew it must be killing him to know that he wasn't able to save his younger brother.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat in the front row, clinging to each other. Mrs. Weasley was very loud in her mourning, while Mr. Weasley remained a quiet bastion of strength for his wife. The pain etched in his face, however, showed that his grief was at least as great as hers. Ron's small sister, Ginny, sat next to her parents with her face buried in the arms of Harry Potter. Charity's eyes welled often during times like this, and the occasional tear escaped, but she was taking the new reality in doses. She didn't think she could stand to feel it all at the same time.

At the end of Fred's services, his twin, George, stood up and explained in a shaky voice that this seemed as good a time as any to introduce a new product to be launched at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the successful joke shop he and Fred had opened in Diagon Alley after they'd left school two years earlier. He was calling it Fred's Flyers, and it was the last of Fred's highly ingenious ideas.

George turned and said to his younger brother, "Ron, would you like a piece of gum?" and held out a pack of gum towards him.

Ron looked at George as though he thought he was going a bit soft and whispered kindly, "Uh, maybe later okay," then gestured with his eyes toward the guests as if to remind George that he was in the middle of a speech.

George looked disgusted with his brother and said more forcefully, "RON, would you like a piece of gum?" Through clenched teeth he added, "Take it you git."

"Oooh," Ron said and slid a piece of gum from the pack and opened it. Ron began chewing and his mouth suddenly swelled. A bubble from the gum protruded from between his lips and grew to the size of a large balloon. The gum continued growing and began rising into the air.

Ron, enthralled with the balloon's progress, hadn't realized that he was rising into the air along with it until his mother screamed, "Ronald!"

Charlie and the oldest Weasley brother, Bill, grabbed him by the waistband and brought him down. Meanwhile, the balloon had broken free of Ron's mouth and continued its ascension. It drifted out over the group of mourners. As it centered itself over the crowd, it suddenly burst, and some sort of yellowish foam splattered over everyone. Custard cream by Charity's estimation. After an initial shocked silence, the crowd burst into applause and began laughing, crying, and hugging in the custard creamy mess. Charity felt sure that Fred was laughing louder than anyone.

The time for Charity to tell her story had come. After weeks of avoiding clamoring reporters, Charity's father had arranged for both she and Harry Potter to give an exclusive interview about Severus Snape to Magical Minds Weekly. As Charity's father had predicted, the magazine had gone on hiatus during the past year to avoid being overrun by Death Eaters, as had happened at the Daily Prophet. The Potter/Burbage interview would crown the magazine's re-debut issue, which was timed to hit the stands the week of Snape's funeral.

Since the interview was taking place at the magazine's offices in London, Charity and her mother chose that day to clean out her Muggle flat. The only thing Charity had taken home so far was Bnickel. Her mother was going to pack things up while Charity went to the interview and tied up a few other loose ends around town.

It had only been a few weeks since Charity had last set foot in what had been her home for nearly a year, but it felt like stepping into a distant memory. She made a beeline to the silver picture frame from Snape, which now framed his note. The gift was intensely personal, and Charity wasn't ready to share it with anyone. She inconspicuously grabbed the frame and dropped it into her purse, longing for a chance to stare at it in solitude. As an after thought, she also grabbed her copy of The Wand on her way out.

"Okay, Mum, thanks a ton. I'll meet you back here in a few hours."

"Of course, dear," said her mother, giving Charity a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck on the interview!"

Charity's first stop was to the British Museum. She wanted to explain her absence and say good-bye to Bernie and Marta. She was going to tell them that a family emergency had suddenly come up, and as a result she was moving out to the countryside and leaving London.

Bernie greeted her warmly at the door with a hug as he shouted across the floor, "Marta look who's back from the dead!"

Charity looked at him somewhat suspiciously. Did he know more than he let on, she wondered, or was he just being Bernie? His goofy grin told her that he was just being Bernie. Marta rushed over, and Charity gave them her story.

"No offense, Candy, we love you and all, but, somehow you never really belonged here," Bernie said with a kind wink. "We knew you'd eventually be movin' on to greener pastures."

Charity was going to miss him terribly. When it came time to bring their two worlds together, Bernie was the first Muggle she would bring to Diagon Alley. She figured she'd probably have to prime him with a few pints at the Leaky Cauldron first.

"Do you think you can make it back for this?" Marta asked and handed Charity an invitation to their wedding. Apparently that's what she'd been working on at the information desk.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything!" Charity assured them. Before she left, she handed Bernie her copy of The Wand to pass on to Leanne. She was learning exactly how finite time was and no longer wanted to waste a moment of it.

The magazine's offices were located at a very prestigious address, which was accessed through a section of the wall surrounding the Tower of London. After making sure no Muggles were watching, Charity pressed on a certain bulging stone in the wall while repeating "integrity" three times. A long corridor appeared in front of her. Charity stepped into the corridor and the wall sealed shut behind her. She walked to the end of the corridor, opened a glass door, and entered a sleek, shiny reception area. Her father was there waiting for her.

"You and your mum make it in okay?"

"Obviously," Charity smiled at him. He led her down a hallway and through a glass door marked Magical Minds Weekly and called out, "We're here Mel!"

A tall woman with short, silver hair and wearing a navy blue pantsuit popped her head out of a doorway down a narrow hallway and motioned them in. Mr. Burbage introduced Charity to Melody Harpsinger, the reporter, and stood around making banal chit-chat. Charity knew he was stalling so he could get a good look at the famous Harry Potter, who would be joining them at any moment. The boy was now more of a hero and legend than ever. And why shouldn't he be? He'd taken down the evil wizard who had tormented both the magical and non-magical worlds for more than fifty years.

When Potter arrived, he and Charity greeted each other with an awkward sort of half-hug. What was the proper greeting for someone you hardly knew in the first place? Charity was struck by how little Potter acted like a celebrated hero. There was no swaggering walk or flashing, toothy smile. Instead, the boy seemed shy and nervous. He fidgeted constantly with his fingers, unconsciously clenching and unclenching his fists. During the interview, he kept his focus very much on Snape and never once tried to work in a boast about his own amazing feats. Charity sensed immediately how mistaken her prior impression of him had been. She had never before appreciated this remarkable humility amidst all the heroism and bravery.

Mr. Burbage, whose expression was just short of gawking, stepped up with his hand outstretched to Harry and said, "I hear 'Congratulations' are in order."

Harry gave an unsure smile and said, "Word's spread that fast, has it?"

In response to Ms. Harpsinger's and Charity's questioning looks, Mr. Burbage said, "Scooped you, have I, Mel? Mr. Potter here has just been recruited to the Auror Department at the Ministry. Youngest ever, eh?"

Charity could tell that her father was quite pleased with himself at having this bit of inside information. Meanwhile, Potter looked mildly embarrassed. Charity examined him and sent up a quick prayer that the handsome boy in front of her wouldn't end up as scarred and disfigured as Alastor Moody had done. Ms. Harpsinger, not pleased at being scooped, shooed Charity's father out and began the interview. The reporter had a no-nonsense air about her and got right down to business.

"You two have stories that will be interesting enough to tell on their own – Harry, you'll no doubt have an entire book, if not a whole series of them, written about you. And Miss Burbage, I know your father has already arranged to publish a series of your articles on 'Life as a Muggle' in Wide World of Wizards. However, today we are here to talk about Severus Snape.

"This article is going focus on his final year, but first let me review a bit of his history." Ms. Harpsinger looked down her nose through rectangular-framed reading glasses and rifled through pages of notes as she continued, "Severus Snape joined the Death Eaters just after leaving Hogwarts. Somewhere along the way, he apparently saw the error of his ways and turned spy against You-Know-Who. That is according to testimony by Albus Dumbledore. Snape was, therefore, cleared by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and came to work as a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He continued as a professor there until last year when Albus Dumbledore was murdered. Let's start there. Tell me what you know about the murder of Albus Dumbledore, Harry."

Charity was every bit as curious as the interviewer. Her heart thudded so forcefully that she could feel its beat reverberating into her throat. This would be the closest she'd come to Snape in a very long time.

"Professor Dumbledore was already sick," Harry said. "He'd been cursed during his travels, and Professor Snape was able to contain the damage for a while, but it was only temporary." He turned to Charity at this point and said, "Do you remember when Professor Dumbledore's hand looked all dark and shriveled?"

"Of course," said Charity as she recollected.

"That was from the curse."

"What kind of curse was it?" asked the reporter.

"Erm, I dunno exactly. It was dark magic – something Voldemort had done." The reporter flinched at the mention of the name. She stopped her note-taking for a moment before clenching her eyes tightly and writing a single letter – V – on her paper.

"Go on," she said.

"Professor Dumbledore knew that he had less than a year to live and that he would likely die an excruciatingly painful death. The 'murder' was planned between the two of them."

"Planned between Dumbledore and Snape?"

"Yes. Since Professor Dumbledore was going to die anyhow, it was one way to make sure that nobody doubted that Professor Snape was a true Death Eater. Also…also, dying from the curse would have been really bad, very painful for Professor Dumbledore, so by killing him quickly, Professor Snape saved him a lot of misery."

"And did you know about this plan at the time?"

"No, I thought Snape, Professor Snape, was a Death Eater, just like the rest of the world."

"And when did you find out the truth?"

"Snape shared this memory with me the night he died."

"And you accept this memory as fact."

"I do."

"Miss Burbage, as a colleague of Professor Snape's at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the time, how did you understand the events of that night?"

Charity's mind was reeling. Finally she understood why Snape had killed Dumbledore! Her heart broke for him. Snape had come to her that night not to bolster himself to do something supremely evil but something supremely courageous and unselfish. Had he realized that the murder was going to take place that very night, or did he simply know the time was approaching?

She answered shakily, "I understood them the same as Harry. I thought Severus had gone back to the dark side."

Snape had given her a sleeping potion that night. He knew what he was going to do, and he'd wanted to make sure she was kept away from it. Charity had many avenues down which her mind needed to wander, but she didn't want to miss any important information, so she forced herself to refocus on the interview.

"Harry, when and why exactly do you think Snape came back to the good side?" Ms. Harpsinger was asking.

"It was at the time that Voldemort decided to go after my parents. So, about seventeen years ago. I think he finally understood what Voldemort was all about."

"Your parents…didn't Snape and your father have a very tenuous relationship."

"Yes, but he and my mother had been childhood friends." This was news to Charity.

"So you're saying that his eyes were opened to the evil now that it was hitting closer to home?"

"Er, yes," Harry answered simply, but it seemed to Charity that he was leaving something out. The interviewer, however, seemed satisfied and turned her focus to Charity.

"Two weeks after Severus Snape murdered Albus Dumbledore, he saved your life right under V-V-You-Know-Who's nose, so to speak. Tell me about that."

Charity went on to tell the story of how Snape had rescued her and set her up to live in hiding as a Muggle. She also told of how he saved the lives of the British Prime Minister and hundreds of Muggles that day at the Underground. Like Harry, she didn't reveal everything.

"Amazing. Truly tragic that we are only learning of these heroic deeds after the man himself is gone. I understand that he also had something to do with the Sword of Gryffindor?" she asked, turning to Harry.

"Yes. Only a true Gryffindor can use the Sword of Gryffindor, like Neville Longbottom did when he pulled the sword from the sorting hat and killed Nagini, Voldemort's pet snake."

"Oh, don't worry about Longbottom – he'll likely be getting his own book as well," the interviewer interjected.

"I hope so. Anyhow, Professor Snape figured that the Sword would be useful to Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and me in fighting Voldemort. When he found out that we were hiding in the Forest of Dean, he brought it to us."

"How did he find out where you were hiding?"

"He found out from Phinaus Nigellus' portrait. There's one in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts and also at Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black's family home. Hermione had hidden the Grimmauld portrait in her bag when we were hiding out there so that he wouldn't be able to report us to Snape in the Headmaster's office. We still thought Snape, Professor Snape, was bad. Right, so we had to abandon Grimmauld kind of suddenly and never thought to take out the portrait and leave it there. Then I guess we just kind of forgot about it."

"Forgot you were carrying around a portrait?"

"Oh, yeah, Hermione put an Extension Charm on her purse. She had all kinds of things in there," Harry said as he smiled and shook his head, remembering.

"Hermione Granger is your age, correct?"

"Uh huh."

"You're telling me that an eighteen-year-old witch was able to perform an Undetectable Extension Charm large enough to hold a full-size portrait?" Ms. Harpsinger had pulled off her glasses and looked at Harry in amazement. Charity made a mental note to look into Undetectable Extension Charms so she could figure out exactly what they were talking about.

"Yup, but she was seventeen at the time," Harry answered proudly. Ms. Harpsinger let out a low whistle and replaced her glasses before continuing.

"So, Snape just showed up out of nowhere and handed you the sword?"

"Er, no. He kept his involvement secret. He couldn't risk anyone knowing he was helping us, so he hid the sword in the forest and led me to it with his Patronus."

"You didn't know it was Snape's Patronus?"

"No. I didn't even think he could conjure a Patronus, because I thought he was a true Death Eater. Patronuses come from good thoughts and love - I don't think a real Death Eater has enough of either to make a decent Patronus."

"So you knew the Patronus must be coming from someone good and you followed."

"Er, actually I didn't really think about it all. I don't know if I even realized at the time that it was a Patronus. It just seemed…familiar…" was Charity imagining it or did young Potter's eyes mist over as he thought back? "And somehow I knew I could trust it."

"Okay," said the interviewer. "What shape was Snape's Patronus."

Potter's mind had definitely wandered elsewhere. He answered distractedly, "It was a doe. A deer."

"A female deer? Unusual," Ms. Harpsinger murmured as she wrote the information down.

This conversation was sounding too familiar…so, Snape had taken Charity to The Forest of Dean that night. Unless, of course it was a frequent habit of his to go shooting off his Patronus in random forests. Charity's mind went skipping down this avenue while Potter described in more detail how he had retrieved the sword.

"Very good." The interviewer said as she scribbled down these details in her notes. "Let's talk about Snape's last moments."

Charity's mind snapped back to attention, and she unconsciously moved to the edge of her seat. Her thudding heart was back, and this time she felt as if it might leap right out of her. The pounding beat was so loud in her ears that she had to take in several slow and silent breaths in order to calm herself so she could catch every syllable.

Harry told of Voldemort's mistaken reasons for killing Snape and of how Voldemort's snake had descended on him with the crushing blow of its fangs. He also explained that he had crawled out of hiding after Voldemort had departed, and he had sat by Snape's side as he died.

"What were his last words?"

"Look at me,"1 Harry said sadly. Charity felt sorry for Potter having to relive what must have been a horrid experience. Charity could see his eyes flicking slightly back and forth, remembering much more than he was saying.

"Look at me?" clarified the interviewer.

"Yes. Then I looked at him, and he was looking at me, right into my eyes, and then he was gone."

Charity found this last request of Snape's to be very odd. He had never seemed altogether fond of Harry Potter, despite this newly revealed friendship with his mother. Why would he want spend his last moments looking into Potter's eyes?

Harry's eyes…it was common knowledge around Hogwarts that Harry had his mother's eyes…...his mother's eyes…'Look at me'2…Snape and Harry's mother had been childhood friends…Snape had turned to the good side at the time when Voldemort killed James and Lily Potter...didn't Harry also say that there was something familiar to him about Snape's Patronus…Snape's Patronus…the one he had lost to Voldemort…Harry had his mother's eyes…of course! Lily Potter was the one Snape had lost to Voldemort! And his last wish was to look into her eyes…His last wish was to look into her eyes...

It hit Charity like a powerful punch to the stomach, and she inadvertently let out a gasp. Harry glanced toward her, but she tried to play it off as just a small sob of sadness. She felt like such a fool! How could she have actually believed that she - stupid, silly Charity Burbage - could have been the object of devotion of a man like Severus Snape, the only man intelligent and skilled enough to have earned the complete confidence of both Dumbledore and Voldemort, the two most powerful wizards of their time? Lily Potter was an amazing witch by all accounts. Of course she would be the kind of woman to capture Snape's heart and keep it, even if she did run off and marry someone else.

"Miss Burbage?"

Charity was brought back to the tiny room with Harry and Ms. Harpsinger, who were both looking at her with concern.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked quietly, looking at her with his eyes. His mother's eyes.

Charity looked quickly away from him and said, "Oh, yes, fine, fine. What were you saying Ms. Harpsinger?"

"Well, if you're up to it dear, I'd like hear about your final experience with Severus Snape."

That was the last thing Charity wanted to think about right now, but what choice did she have? At least she'd known this question was coming, so all she had to do was give her prepared answer.

"He came to my flat about two months before the Battle of Hogwarts. He seemed very tired and full of anxiety. I think he was just looking for some comfort, a little respite from the stress he was under."

Ms. Harpsinger tilted her head forward and looked over the rim of her glasses at Charity. She gave her a piercing look as she asked, "Did he find that with you?"

Charity was taken aback at the directness of the question and said, "I think so, well, I thought so, but…I don't know." At these last words, Charity's voice cracked and it took a tremendous amount of effort to hold back her tears. The emotions evoked during this interview had pierced too many holes in her protective cloak and it fell completely away.

Ms. Harpsinger took on a very soothing, motherly tone as she said, "What was the last thing Severus Snape said to you?"

Charity thought back; she honestly couldn't remember.

"He didn't really say much. He had to leave in a hurry because his Dark Mark was signaling him. But I told him…" Her stomach lurched as she thought of everything she had said to him. Her tears were dangerously close to the surface and Charity closed her mouth and choked them back. She shook her head and Ms. Harpsinger very kindly didn't press her to continue. Until this moment, Charity had taken great comfort in knowing that she had told Snape all of those things before he died, but now she only felt foolish for having said them.

Charity walked out of the interview raw. She'd managed a decent good-bye to Harry and Ms. Harpsinger and left her father with a peck on the cheek in a haze. She stared absently at her reflection in the window as she bumped along on the Underground with huge tears streaming warmly out of the corners of her eyes. She couldn't even recollect her walk from the station to Doughty Street as she stood in front of her door.

Everything she'd thought she'd had with Snape was completely false.

She unconsciously opened her door and stood still in the doorway. She gazed across the room to the place where he'd tenderly held her face in his hands and where she'd fervently dug her fingers into his back. How could none of that have been real?

Mrs. Burbage was at the fireplace, stuffing in a large cardboard box full of Charity's belongings. She shouted, "One-twenty-eight Highbury Street," into the flames. When she turned and looked over her shoulder, she saw Charity and said, "Oh you're back." She saw immediately that Charity was upset.

"Oh, don't worry dear," her mother exclaimed in a somewhat panicked voice. "The Ministry approved temporary floo privileges to get you moved back home!" Charity's throat constricted, and she couldn't find her voice, so she shook her head vigorously back and forth to let her mother know she'd misunderstood.

"Was it the interview, then?" her mother asked, and Charity shook her head vigorously up and down as tears streamed down her face. She began to sob in little squeaks. Mrs. Burbage bustled over and enveloped her daughter in a much needed hug.

"It was that Harpsinger woman wasn't it? Oh, your father's going to hear about this. I've been telling him about that one for years. Honestly, I don't know what kind of witch walks around wearing pants all the time!"

Charity's misery had very little to do with Ms. Harpsinger's pants. It had a lot to do with Severus Snape and Lily Potter, but that wasn't everything. Charity was suffering from disillusionment with everything she thought she'd understood. She'd left the magical world in a perilous enough state, but she'd always assumed she'd return to find the danger gone and everything else pretty much the way she'd left it. Instead, she'd found scores of great witches and wizards erased from the earth and their survivors left behind in terrible grief.

These were the harsh realities she'd been emotionally shielding herself from for weeks. When she'd walked into the flat and seen her mother shoving her entire Muggle life into the fire, it was as if she'd taken all of Charity's naive hopes and dreams, the ones she'd had while living here in her Muggle flat, and thrown them into the fire to combust.

While she was at it, Charity let incoherently loose on all of her emotions. She had felt another sense of loss as she watched her belongings sent on their way to her parents' house. While living in this flat she'd learned exactly what she was capable of. She'd taken care of herself while she lived here and had never been more independent in her life. As much as she was grateful to be returning to her parents and the magical world, she felt her independence slipping away. The thought of returning to her childhood home became stifling to her, and the tears continued.

Her next wave of tears turned into those of guilt for her selfishness at resenting the gift of her parents. Harry Potter had talked about his parents dying when he was just a baby. He'd never know the warmth and comfort two doting parents could give. So, added to the multitude of other tears, were tears for poor little Harry, who never knew his parents and for the newborn baby that she'd heard had been orphaned when both of his parents had died in the Battle of Hogwarts.

1 Quote from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling, pg. 658

2 Ibid