"Normal speech"
Thoughts
"Mental speech"
"Non-English speech"
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling, her publishers, and Warner Brothers own Harry Potter.
Chapter 25
After Severus's dramatic departure from Order headquarters, Albus Dumbledore excused himself to consider what had happened. Severus, what are you doing now? Who are you going to rescue? What terrible deal have you made?
He regretted, now, stopping Moody's interrogation. At the time, it had seemed like the right thing, the humane thing, to do. But he was a war leader now, not a mere teacher. There was too much as stake to allow for uncertainties. If nothing else, I should have confirmed whether or not Severus is a seer.
Albus returned to the pensieve, reviewing his past conversations with his temperamental spy. To his chagrin, he confirmed that Severus had indeed told him about the nature of his relationship with Voldemort.
Dumbledore watched as his past self asked a much younger Severus Snape, "What are your typical duties for Voldemort?"
At the name, his newly turned spy flinched. Nevertheless, he replied, "I joined the Inner Circle nearly two years ago. Occasionally, I am sent on raids, but I mainly provide him with new inventions – potions, primarily, but also some spells. The Dark Lord sometimes also has me come to him . . . intimately." Dumbledore watched as splotches of color appeared on the pale cheeks. Now, Albus could see that Severus seemed highly uncomfortable, embarrassed to be admitting this information. Yet in the memory, Albus had simply waved it aside.
"I know that Voldemort can be highly charismatic, that he may appear to favor certain of his followers. But, my boy, do not fool yourself into thinking that he cares for you."
Albus had thought that Severus researched new potions, perhaps found forgotten spells in old books. He had not given Severus the credit he deserved. He had labeled Voldemort as asexual, and therefore assumed too quickly that the young man was simply bragging that Voldemort trusted him enough to let him into his confidence.
What else have I missed?
Quite a lot, it seemed. He saw again how, near the end of his second year at Hogwarts, the young Severus had asked to remain at school over the summer holidays. Albus had gently refused, explaining that it was against Hogwarts policy. The child had pleaded with him to let his cat, at least, stay behind. Yet Albus had denied that, too. Watching now, Albus could see the dead, defeated look in the child's eyes when he was refused. But at the time, he had only seen another Tom Riddle, dark and manipulative.
When Severus returned for his third year, he was too pale, too thin. He did not have a cat.
Albus was about to enter a third memory when he Arthur Weasley's patronus suddenly appeared.
"Grindelwald has escaped from Nurmengard. The Ministry's in an uproar.Fudge is claiming you were involved."
Albus felt his heart flutter. Gellert? Why now, after all these years?
And then realization hit. Severus, what have you done?
-DVDVDV-
DARK LORD GRINDELWALD ESCAPES NURMENGARD!
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE IMPLICATED
July 31, 1995
Nurmengard, Germany – Notorious Dark Lord Gellert Grindelwald escaped from Nurmengard Prison late afternoon yesterday. Rising to power in the 1930s, Grindelwald led a reign of terror throughout Europe that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of witches and wizards, as well as the demise of countless muggles. His meteoric ascent was only halted in 1945, when Albus Dumbledore defeated him in the duel that launched him from an eccentric academic to a major power on the world stage.
And yet, incredibly, it appears that none other than Dumbledore is implicated in the escape from Nurmengard, the prison that Grindelwald himself built and which kept him safely confined for nearly five decades.
Sources inside the German Ministry of Magic report that aurors stationed at Nurmengard met with Dumbledore yesterday afternoon. Accompanied by his distinctive phoenix familiar, Dumbledore requested a meeting with his former nemesis. By virtue of his status as Chief Mugwump and the vanquisher of Grindelwald, he was granted access.
Shortly thereafter, there was an explosion at the top of the prison. By the time reinforcements arrived, both Dumbledore and Grindelwald were nowhere to be seen.
Not much is known after this. One of the aurors on duty was reportedly found unconscious in Grindelwald's cell, which had one of its walls destroyed by a powerful blasting curse. Mediwizards found traces of a sleeping potion in the auror's system, which they believe was administered through a lemon-flavored muggle candy.
"A single phoenix feather was discovered at the scene," claimed one German Ministry official, who asked to remain anonymous as he was not cleared to speak about an ongoing investigation.
Due to concerns about rising senility, Dumbledore was recently forced to step down as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and calls have been made to replace him as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. Could Dumbledore have freed Grindelwald in an attempt to relive his glory days?
"It is entirely possible," Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge confided to this reporter. "Why, just last month, he tried to sell a yarn about You-Know-Who being back! Given that obvious falsehood, he must have felt he needed to resort to more desperate measures to cling to power."
Albus Dumbledore set down the Daily Prophet with shaking hands. After fifty years, Gellert had finally escaped from Nurmengard. He had not seen his former friend – his former lover – in nearly forty-five years. He had stopped visiting after the first few years. He had had too much to do, and the memories raised were too painful.
He had spent the previous day desperately trying to salvage the situation. He had been very well framed indeed. Severus's betrayal was a masterpiece. No one will ever believe it was an impostor because no impostor would have a phoenix. He remembered what Severus had said when bottling the boggart: "I can envision several uses for this particular specimen." Polyjuice and a boggart . . . how long did you plan this, Severus?
Why, Severus? Why did you do it? I know that our actions yesterday hurt you, but surely you could understand how they were necessary?
It had taken all of Albus's considerable skills at diplomacy to avoid being charged. He had – barely – managed to convince the German Ministry of Magic that he, too, had been rendered unconscious by a tainted sherbet lemon. He claimed that Fawkes had transported him to safety, and that he awoke back in England to the news that Grindelwald had escaped.
Will Gellert join Voldemort? Or will they set themselves against one another, leaving the world to burn in their wake?
Fawkes flew from his perch and settled on his shoulder.
"Oh, Fawkes, what am I to do?" Albus murmured.
"Fight the good fight," the phoenix replied. "Remember, it is always darkest before the dawn."
"Everything I have worked for is falling apart. Gellert is free, and I do not know if I can bear to fight him again. Voldemort is as strong as ever. Our best-placed spy has betrayed us and destroyed my reputation in the process. We lost so many in the last war. Without Severus's knowledge of Voldemort's plans, we may not survive this time."
"Are you certain he will not return to you?" Fawkes asked gently. "You may be underestimating his character."
Albus thought again over his actions yesterday, of what he had seen in the pensieve. He had treated Severus terribly. Worse, he had done so publically, before those whom Severus loathed. But we needed to be certain. Surely, Severus, you must realize that we didn't want to invade your privacy. We simply needed to know.
Will you return to the Light after this? Or will you go back to Voldemort? Do you love him, in your way?
Why did you go to Gellert? To hurt me? To help Voldemort? Or do you simply seek a new master?
What do I do now?
A/N:
For some reason, with chapters 23 and 24, reviews are not showing up directly on fanfiction dot net, nor is it letting me send PMs directly from your reviews. However, I am still able to view them (and read them) in my email alerts. Please don't let this discourage you – I love seeing your comments!