Chapter 26

Snake Bites, Letters, and Conflictions

It was Sunday morning, and Salazar was still asleep because of his late night visit with Emeralda. He was currently laying sprawled out and face down on his bed, with his curtains closed, and his covers half hanging off the edge. He was sleeping so soundly, that he had overslept and missed breakfast.

And that was not sitting well with the other occupant of his bed.

He was rudely awakened by a sharp sting in the fleshy part of his left forearm, and he rolled over and sat bolt upright in the bed.

"Ouch." He mumbled sleepily, as he rubbed at the spot.

With bleary eyes, he peered closer at it and noticed two tiny, evenly spaced holes with blood dripping out of them. His sleepy, foggy mind couldn't comprehend what had happened until he heard a haughty voice next to him.

"Yes Speaker, I bit you." Nora said, as she slithered to the end of the bed with her head held high in a haughty manner.

"You…you bit me?" He asked, still trying to shake the fogginess from his still half asleep mind.

"Yes I did." She huffed. "You have been ignoring me for the last few days and last night you left me here so you could go and talk to that harridan you call...Emeralda." She said with loathing.

"You bit me?" He asked again, still unable to come to terms with it.

"Yes, and now we have missed breakfast because of your horrible snoring and unwillingness to wake up on time. Pigeon is probably worried that you have been eaten by that evil shrew you call…Emeralda." She spat, with a sharp flick of her forked tongue.

"You bit me!" He exclaimed, as he scrambled to his knees.

"Yes, I thought we already established that."

The bite was already starting to swell, and he knew that he needed to get to Poppy soon or he was going to get sick, dizzy, and possibly pass out from the venom.

"Why are you worrying? I may be the deadliest snake in the world, but it's not like you will die." She said in a silky voice. "Or perhaps I should call for…Emeralda. Maybe she can save you!" She spat loudly.

"NORA! I can't believe you bit me!" He cried as he continued to stare at the wound.

If Salazar had already been awake, and was able to think rationally, he would have remembered that he needed to remain calm, carefully get dressed, and make his way to the hospital wing. After all, this was not the first time he had been bitten by a snake, but because his brain was still half asleep, it screamed 'SNAKE BITE', and he began to panic.

He scrambled out of the bed, but got tangled in the messed up convers and hit the floor with a loud thump. He finally wrestled himself free, shoved his glasses on his face, threw on a shirt and a pair of pants, and snatched up Nora before making a beeline for the hospital wing.

He didn't care that he was running through the common room barefoot, with his shirt half unbuttoned and his his pants undone. Nor did he care that his glasses were on upside down. All he could think about was quickly getting to Poppy so she could give him the antidote.

He continued to run down the dungeon corridors, ignoring the curious gazes of his fellow Slytherins he passed, and huffed and puffed up the dungeon stairs until he reached the entrance hall.

Students from the other houses were now whispering about why a wide-eyed panicked stricken 'Harry Potter' was running half dressed down the corridors. Salazar didn't care about them at all though, because he had already spotted Godric talking to Blaise in the entrance hall.

Unfortunately, he didn't see Albus talking to Remus outside the great hall's doors.

"Godric! Godric! Help me! Help me! Nora bit me!" He screamed frantically, as he ran over to the stunned 'Gordy'.

Godric glanced at Albus, who was staring at the odd Sunday morning scene in shock, but then he took a good look at Salazar's disheveled, frantic appearance and started laughing.

"Don't laugh at me you bloody Gryffindor! Help me, I've been bitten by a snake!" He yelled as he leaned on Blaise for support.

"Oh so now I'm just a snake!" Nora yelled.

"Nora what did you do!?" Blaise shouted, as he struggled to hold Salazar up.

"I bit him…obviously." She replied with a huff.

"I don't feel so good." Salazar mumbled, as he collapsed onto the floor.

"Harry!" Blaise cried, as both Albus and Remus rushed over.

"Harry! Harry! Are you all right!? Albus is he all right?!" Remus asked frantically as he rolled Salazar over onto his back.

"I think he will be Remus." Albus said as he bent over Salazar to quickly check on him. "Mr. Roffin, why did Harry call you Godric?" He asked curiously.

"Oh uh, well he says I act like a Gryffindor more than a Slytherin, so he nicknamed me Godric. I think he thinks it's an insult, but who knows with Harry." He replied as he picked up the unconscious Salazar and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "I'm sure that if he had been awake when Nora bit him, he would have gone about this situation calmly. He knows not to panic when a snake bites you."

"Well, waking up because of a snake bite would make anyone panic." Albus said, as he eyed both Salazar and Godric carefully.

"Nora, why did you bite him!?" Blaise asked, staring at her in disbelief.

"Because he's been ignoring me." She said simply, as she tried to focus on him. It was hard to do though, seeing as she was wrapped around Salazar's right arm, which was swinging back and forth behind Godric's back.

"Where did you bite him?" Blaise asked, just as Hermione and Neville came out of the great hall.

She didn't get to answer though, because Hermione shrieked loudly when she saw a passed out Harry slung over Godric's shoulder, and both she and Neville ran over to them.

"What happened!?" She cried.

"Nora bit him." Godric answered.

"Why?" Neville asked as he began unwrapping Nora from around Salazar's arm.

"Because he's been ignoring me!" She repeated. "With all of this nonsense talk about Speaker setting loose a giant snake, he has been distracted and hasn't spoken a word to me! He overslept this morning and we missed breakfast because of all this stupidity! I am Speaker's only snake, and everyone better remember that!"

"Oh Nora, Harry loves you. You know that." Neville said as he brought her close to his chest. "I'm sure he didn't mean to ignore you, and anyone who thinks that Harry is setting loose a giant snake is an idiot." He said loudly, glaring at Ron and Seamus as they pointed and snickered when they walked by.

"Neville!" Hermione cried. "I do believe the Headmaster thinks that." She said, jerking her head in his direction. "And he's not an idiot!"

"Speaking of which, Headmaster if I may be so bold, why didn't you deny Harry's involvement at the feast last night?" Godric asked, as he raised himself up to his full height and glared at Albus as if the man were a common student.

Everyone quieted down a moment and all eyes landed on Albus. However, Albus took note of Godric's posture, and quickly dismissed it as Slytherin arrogance.

"I believe that is my business Mr. Roffin." He answered curtly.

Godric raised an eyebrow and scoffed, but decided not to push the issue. The two men still glared at each other for a moment though, before Nora diverted their attention.

"I agree with Bottom, Bushy. If Dumbly thinks that Speaker is gallivanting around setting loose giant snakes, then he is an idiot." She said, turning to look right at Albus. "No offense Dumbly, but I can assure you that is not the case because I would not put up with it!" She yelled. Then someone else suddenly caught her attention. "Oh look, it's the overgrown Bat. Quick! Let's run away, before he takes points from Speaker for being unconscious!" She said sarcastically.

"You are in a really bad mood today, aren't you Nora?" Blaise asked as he tried to hide a snicker.

"I missed breakfast so…yes." She hissed loudly.

"No, I do not take offense that you called me an idiot Nora." Albus said gently, as Severus swept over to the group.

He glanced at Godric with raised his eyebrow, but Remus cleared his throat.

"Umm, if I may, perhaps we should continue this, uh…conversation…in the hospital wing." Remus said, glancing pointedly at Salazar, who was still slung over Godric's shoulder. "We don't know where she bit him, or how long ago."

"Oh I can tell you it wasn't that long ago, and I bit him on his left forearm."

Blaise quickly jerked up Salazar's left shirt sleeve, and sure enough, the bite looked swollen, bruised, and it was still bleeding.

Hermione gasped. "Nora, how could you!" She exclaimed, and Nora glared at her for it.

"Oh yes, he does need medical attention." Albus said as he glanced at Remus, and then back at Salazar's arm. "Madam Pomfrey arrived back from Diagon Alley last night, so she should be up and about. Don't worry, she will have Harry sorted out soon."

The group quickly made their way to the hospital wing. Remus asked Godric several times to put him down so that Salazar could be levitated, but Godric refused. Remus didn't like Godric's answer of 'it's no trouble, he's light as a feather', and began wondering how this first year was able to carry Harry so easily.

When they arrived, Godric gently set Salazar down on a bed, as Poppy came rushing over to them.

"What happened?" She asked, as her eyes widened in alarm when she caught sight of the bite.

"I refuse to answer that question again. Bottom, please put me down so I can bask in that patch of bright sunlight by the bed. I wish to contemplate why my stomach is still empty." She said, as she tried to wiggle free of Neville's grasp.

He set her down on the floor, while Albus told Poppy what happened. The Medi-witch couldn't believe what Nora had done, and knew that there was more to it than just Salazar ignoring her.

"It was weird. I've never seen Harry act like that. He's always so calm, but I guess he was still half asleep." Blaise said with a shrug. "He even called Gordy Godric, of all things."

Both Severus and Poppy's eyebrows shot into their hairlines, but neither spoke. Instead, Poppy began cleaning Nora's bite wound, and gave Salazar the same antidote that she had given Ron last year.

"Why did he call you that Gordy?" Hermione asked curiously as she cocked her head to one side.

"It's just a nickname." Godric replied grin. "I think it's funny though. Maybe I should call him Salazar, but that might get on his nerves."

"Yeah because he can talk to snakes just like Slytherin could." Neville said with a grin. "But you do act more like a Gryffindor than a Slytherin."

"Oh that would really fuel the rumors! Harry is supposed to be setting loose Slytherin's giant snake after all. Think about it! Maybe we can prank the school and call him Salazar from now on!" Blaise said with excitement, and Neville and Gordy started grinning.

"That is a prank worthy of the Weasley twins!" Neville cried. "What do you say Hermione?"

Hermione wasn't paying any attention to them though. She was staring off into space, and had a familiar look in her eyes. "Gordy Roffin, Godric…"

Severus immediately knew where that train of thought was going, and quickly decided to put an end to it.

"Miss Granger!" He suddenly shouted, making the girl jump.

"Yes Professor!" She yelped.

"I do believe your name is being called." He said, reverting back to his usual bored tone.

Neville snorted. "There's no telling what was going on in your head, but anyway, we have a prank plan. We'll fill you in later though."

"Oh ok." She said with a nervous smile and glanced at Albus, who was watching them all with thoughtful expression. "Madam Pomfrey, is Harry going to be all right?" She asked.

Poppy had just finished wrapping the bandage around Salazar's arm, then she straightened up and smiled.

"Yes, he will be just fine. He just needs to rest now. If he hadn't panicked, he wouldn't have passed out."

"He was asleep, and we have learned that it takes a little while for him to get going once he wakes up." Blaise said with a chuckle.

"Well, whatever the case may be, he needs rest, so you all need to go." She said gently.

"All right, but can you let him know about the prank we want to play, and also, can you let us know when he wakes up?" Godric asked, giving Poppy a puppy dog look, which made Neville snort loudly.

Poppy sighed, shook her head, then glared at Godric. "I suppose."

"Thank you Madam Pomfrey." Neville said as the children and Godric left.

Once they were gone, Remus turned to Albus in shock. "Albus, you aren't going to allow them to play that prank are you?"

"What's the matter Lupin, are pranks beneath you now?" Severus asked with a sneer.

Remus ignored him, but Severus could see his jaw muscles tighten. "Albus?"

Albus looked at Remus over the top of his half-moon glasses and chuckled lightly. "And how do you suppose we stop them?"

"Well, you could tell them to not do it. What if Harry is against the idea?"

Severus scoffed at the notion. "Oh I assure you Lupin, Potter has inherited some of his father's traits." He said with a loathing glare.

Poppy glared at the two men, cleared her throat, and pointedly glanced at Salazar, before glaring back at them.

They got the hint.

"Well, I think I must be going. I have a meeting with the Minister in half an hour. If we are lucky, perhaps I can convince him to remove the dementors." Albus said, as he smiled and quickly left the hospital wing.

Once Albus was gone, Severus took a seat beside Salazar's bed and Poppy rounded on Nora.

"All right Nora, tell me the real reason you bit him." She huffed, as she glared at the snake still laying on the floor.

"Just as I said. He's been ignoring me because of that shrew in the Chamber."

Severus outright laughed. "She bit him because of the basilisk in the Chamber."

"Emeralda?" Poppy asked, and Severus nodded.

Just then, the hospital doors flew open and Minerva and Godric came bustling in.

"Which snake bit him?!" Minerva asked frantically. "Was it Nora or the basilisk?"

"Is that why you're running so fast? Merlin woman, I could have told you it was Nora. I assumed you knew that." Godric wheezed as he struggled to keep up with her.

"How did you get away from the others?" Severus asked.

"Fred and George." Godric said, as he sat down heavily on Salazar's bed.

Minerva sighed when she saw Salazar. "I'm sorry. I thought he had been bitten by the basilisk. The rumors were that Potter had been bitten by a snake was in a panic. I didn't think he'd panic if Nora had bit him."

"It's a long story on why he did that." Godric answered.

"Gryffindors." Severus scoffed, which caused Godric to grin.

"What time did he get back to the dorms?" Minerva asked, looking at Nora.

"He came in late. I don't know the time, but he was down there a long while." She said with an unconcerned tone.

"Late." Severus answered simply.

Remus just stood there dumbfounded and his eyes bounced between them all. "What?" He asked in confusion.

"We are under an oath Remus, so we can't tell you anything." Poppy said. "I'm so sorry."

"You all might be, but I'm not." Godric said as he stood up. "Remus Lupin, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Godric Gryffindor." He continued, and he held out his hand.

Remus looked at him in confusion, and absentmindedly shook his hand. "What? You can't be serious."

"No, that would be your friend." Godric said, which made Severus roll his eyes.

"He is not going to like this." Severus muttered.

Godric chuckled. "Well then Salazar can be mad at me. He'll get over it." He said, with an unconcerned wave of his hand. "Besides, it's not fair for Sirius to know the truth and Remus to not. I've already told him that."

"What?" Remus asked, still staring at Godric in confusion.

"It's a very long story, but I think the easiest way you will believe us is to see for yourself. Peaky!" He called out.

"Master called for Peaky?" A young male elf with large blue eyes asked, as he popped into the hospital wing.

"Salazar didn't have his robes on when he was running through the castle this morning, so can you pop down to his dorms and grab his mirror?" Godric asked.

"Certainly sir!" The elf exclaimed happily, and then he disappeared.

"Remus, this boy laying in front of you is not Harry Potter." Godric began. "This boy is actually Salazar Slytherin disguised as Harry because of a Polyjuice incident gone wrong. The real Harry Potter is safe though, so please don't be alarmed. He is with James and Lily, and the whole family now lives in a different country. They have been in hiding for the last eleven years."

Remus narrowed his eyes and glared at Godric. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not. Sirius did not escape from Azkaban, he was rescued by my phoenix. I do believe you may be familiar with a certain map of Hogwarts?" He asked, and Remus's eyes widened instantly. "Well, that map came in handy last year when Fred and George Weasley not only discovered Salazar's secret, but the secret of a traitorous, lying, sneaking rat that goes by the name of Scabbers, or more commonly known as, Peter Pettigrew. Sirius did not betray the Potters. He wasn't their secret keeper. It was Peter. Peter was cornered by Sirius that night, and it was Peter who killed all those muggles and framed Sirius. He transformed into his rat animagus form and escaped just as the Aurors arrived to apprehend Sirius. Sirius took the blame of killing the Potters because he was the one to suggest they change secret keepers. He felt that Peter would be the best choice, seeing as Sirius himself would be the obvious choice. Come to find out though, Peter was a Death Eater."

Remus stared at Godric in shock. "How…how do you know all this?" He asked in a shaky voice as he sank down into a nearby chair.

"Well, half the story came from Sirius, and the other half came from James." Godric replied, just as Peaky returned with the mirror.

"Master, Peaky has returned. He also brought you these two letters that Nehum brought back with him. One is a letter for Mr. Severus, and the other is a letter from him for both you and Mr. Salazar." The elf said, handing over the three objects.

"Thank you Peaky." Godric said, and Peaky bowed and popped away.

"He needs to swear an oath." Came a raspy voice from the bed. "And I hate you."

"We will get to the oath, and you can hate me all you want." Godric replied in an unconcerned tone. "You need rest you bloody idiot. I can't believe you flipped out over a bite from Nora."

"I was still half asleep."

"We know." Severus said, taking the letter from Godric.

"You all have my permission to speak freely in front of Remus Lupin." He said with a sigh, slightly opening his eyes and looking at Severus.

"Do you need anything?" The young man asked with concern in his eyes.

"Water." He managed to reply, as Godric told the others that Salazar had given them permission to tell Remus what they know.

"Speaker, I miss my rock. Can you go get it?" Nora asked sweetly, as she slithered up onto the bed and settled down on his stomach. "After you have recovered from my deadly bite of course."

Salazar rolled his eyes, but took the offered water from Poppy and drank it in one gulp. "Thank you Poppy." He said with a small smile, but then he turned to Nora. "I might consider it Nora, if you apologize to me." He replied in English, knowing that Nora would know just how upset he was with her.

"Speaker, I'm very sorry. I guess my jealously got the best of me. Perhaps that shrew is kind of important right now, considering she almost killed someone." She said begrudgingly.

"I suppose I'll get your rock then, but please give me a few days." He said with a sigh. Godric tried to hide a snort, but Salazar glared at him. "Shut up Godric."

Godric chuckled, but then he turned back to Remus and held up the mirror. "I do believe you know how this works."

"Just ask for James." Poppy said with an encouraging smile.

Remus nodded and took the mirror with shaking hands. Only a small part of him held a shred of hope that James would answer, because he just hadn't come to terms with the notion that they were still alive yet.

"J-James P-Potter." He said in a shaky, quiet voice.

It took a few breathless minutes, but James's face finally appeared in the mirror, and Remus almost dropped it as he slipped off the chair and hit his knees.

"J-James!" He exclaimed with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Remus! Lily come quick! It's Remus!" James shouted happily. "I'm so glad to see you. How are you?"

"I-I-I'm ok." Remus replied, still in shock.

"You look good Remus." Lily said with a bright smile as she too appeared in the mirror. "And I take it they have told you. Salazar didn't want to, because he said too many already knew, but it looks like he did anyway."

"Actually Godric did." Minerva said with a smile.

"Yeah, Salazar was knocked out in a hospital bed." Godric said with a smirk. "He didn't have a say in the matter."

"And I hate you for it." Salazar said with a glare.

James snorted. "What, did Nora finally bite him or something?"

"Yes." Several people said at the same time, which caused James to laugh loudly.

"So Remus, how have you been? You still looked shocked."

"I-I just can't believe it." He said as tears welled up in his eyes. "All this time, you've been alive and I…" His voice trailed off as a sob escaped his throat.

"No one knew the truth until last year." James said quietly. "It's a long story so, why don't you sit down and I'll tell you."

It took almost an hour for the full story to be told and by the time it was over, Remus was angry. He was angry at Dumbledore, Voldemort, Peter, and himself.

"I'm so sorry. I should have…"

"Remus there is nothing you could have done." Lily said gently.

"But Sirius was innocent the entire time."

"We didn't know about Sirius's situation until last year." Salazar said quietly. "Nicholas and I thought of every scenario to try and get him a trial, but all of them required tipping off Albus and/or Voldemort, who was here last year firmly planted in the back of Quirrell's head." He said with a sigh. "There was nothing we could do, until Godric and our mutual friend used Nehum to break him out."

"But I tried!" Remus jumped up and shouted angrily. "I tried to get him a trial so many times because I wanted answers! I wanted to know why he did it! When Albus took the Chief Warlock position, he denied him a trail even after I brought it to his attention! I knew he was there without a trial! I knew…I knew…and he was innocent." He said, finally collapsing into the chair again.

Sobs were racking his whole body as he sat there and shook his head, but it was Lily who finally pulled him out of it.

"Remus, the main thing is that you tried. You did something that none of us could do. You tried. That is what you have to remember."

It took a few more minutes for Remus to calm down, but he finally took a deep breath and nodded.

"So what do we do about Peter?"

"He is still here." Salazar said, as he shifted around in the bed so that he could sit up. "But…"

"…but he has sort of escaped." Godric interrupted with a sigh.

"Escaped!" Everyone cried loudly.

Godric nodded. "Sort of." He repeated. "Fred and George told me, before Minerva and I arrived, that Peter has left Gryffindor Tower and Ron is in a panic looking for 'Scabbers'. However, he is still on the grounds, and is hiding out around Hagrid's hut."

"What do we do then?" Minerva asked.

"I suspect that he will not leave the grounds as long as the dementors are here." Severus said. "Not to mention, there is plenty of food and water here. I say we leave him be, until we think of a way to oust him."

"I agree with Severus. I do not think he will leave the grounds." Salazar said with a nod. "The twins can keep an eye on him via the map."

"But what if he does escape?" Minerva asked with concern. "We need him to prove Sirius's innocence."

"He's too much of a coward." James said with a scowl. "He will stay where it's safe. He doesn't know that we have the map, so he will stay put for now."

"I agree with James." Remus said.

"But why did he run in the first place?" Poppy asked. "I don't understand."

"My guess is because I'm here now." Remus answered. "With Sirius 'on the run' and possibly coming here, and with me already being here, he knows that if one of us spots him in his rat form we will recognize him."

"That right!" James exclaimed. "He knows that Remus is rational enough to put the pieces together, even if Sirius is 'deranged' and 'mad' at this point. Peter also knows that if Sirius finds him first, that Sirius is likely to kill him because as far as Peter knows, Sirius is the only one that knows the truth."

"It's logical." Salazar said with a nod. "But we also need to figure out a way to bring Peter's crimes into the open."

"Why not just give Remus the map, have him track down Peter, and turn him over to Albus?" Godric asked.

"Because that is how a Gryffindor would look at the situation." Salazar said, rolling his eyes. "I swear, the answer does not always have to be…run head long into a situation without thinking about all the consequences."

"Well it gets the job done faster." Godric replied with a smirk.

"And it often gets people killed." Salazar replied with a glare. "No, what we need to do, is make Albus come to the conclusion that Peter is still alive 'on his own'. When that happens, Albus will start digging, and then we can have him do all the work. He will start to realize that things aren't what they seem, and he can start looking at what happened that night. Then he can call for a trial to get the truth. After all, he would want to be seen as 'Harry Potter's' hero. This will give Albus the opportunity to get justice for 'the murders of his parents' and 'look good in 'Harry's' eyes'."

"You're talking about manipulating Albus!" Minerva asked in shock.

Salazar shrugged. "I promised you all last year that I would teach you how to manipulate and old manipulative Gryffindor, didn't I?" He asked with a triumphant smirk. "And now the opportunity has presented itself."

"But how do we do that?" Poppy asked in an excited tone.

"I have no idea." Salazar admitted. "I guess we'll have to think of one."

"I have an idea." Lily suddenly said with an evil grin. "Salazar, remember what you told me you did last year? You told Albus that when you got your letter, Peter was the one who showed you where Diagon Alley was, and you also told Albus that you saw Peter turn into a rat."

Salazar stared at her, and then smacked his forehead. "That's right! I did! I had completely forgotten about that! Lily that is brilliant!"

"And that is our starting point." Severus said with a smirk.

"So what do we do?" Remus asked with a smile, as he saw James give Lily a tight hug because of her quick thinking.

"Well…" Salazar grinned.

Dear Severus,

I know hearing from me is not what you really expected, but there is something that I need to tell you. I know that I do not need to go into what a dementor does, or how it effects people, but I want you to know that I am very sorry for sending you into the Shrieking Shack that night.

I don't expect you to ever forgive me, but I do hope that someday you do. I want you to know that every day I lived the nightmare of what could have happened that night. Sending you into the shack knowing full well that Remus was in werewolf form was the stupidest thing I have ever done, and I am so very, very sorry for it. (Well, second stupidest thing if you count trusting Peter.)

I am thankful that James had the common sense I did not. I am thankful that James is a better man than me. I could come up with a thousand excuses on why I did it, but they are just that, excuses. They mean nothing and they do not justify what I did. Nothing can ever justify what I did.

As I said, I do not expect your forgiveness, but I hope that one day you can find it in your heart to do just that, because I am truly very sorry for sending you into that shack.

Sincerely,

Sirius

Severus glared at the letter, tossed it aside with a scoff, and stalked over to his cupboard to pour himself a drink.

How dare he?! He thought bitterly as he drank the whiskey in one gulp. He tried to feed me to a werewolf, and then he has the audacity to ask for my forgiveness!? NEVER!

Severus paced back and forth across his office in a rage. Black had been the bane of his existence since the age of eleven, and oh how Severus hated the man. The fact that Black was asking him for forgiveness was laughable at best.

Severus had forgiven James for obvious reasons, and his rational mind knew that Remus was not in control of himself that night. The werewolf would have torn anyone apart, and wouldn't have cared who it was that entered the shack. Severus knew that out of all of them, Remus had tried to be the peacemaker, but he didn't try all that hard for fear of losing his friends because he was afraid that no one would ever be his friend again.

On a small scale, Severus could relate to that. He had forgiven the werewolf, but he was still leery of him and he would always be cautious around him. After all, that was just good common sense.

But Black? No. He could never, ever, forgive the man.

He tried to kill me! He thought, as he poured himself another drink and began another round of pacing his office.

But Severus, haven't you ever wanted forgiveness for something you have done?

The thought made him pause in his tracks, but he pushed it away bitterly. He was just too full of hate and loathing right now, and he didn't want to think about it. He glared at the letter once more, crumpled it up, and threw it across the room.

Forgive Black?

Never! He thought, as he slammed his glass down on the desk.

A very shaky and disturbed Albus sighed and reached for a bar of chocolate as he sat down in his office chair. He had just gotten back from a very pointless meeting with the Minister, who was no closer to removing the dementors than he was to catching Sirius.

Albus had spent most of the morning at Azkaban inspecting Sirius's cell, talking to Cornelius Fudge in one of the offices at Azkaban, and trying to make sense of it all. They had no idea how Sirius escaped, what his motives were, and seeing as Albus had previously voiced his concerns for Harry, the Ministry was not willing to call the dementors away from Hogwarts just yet.

The only thing the dementors were able to tell them was that there had been a brief moment of pure happiness coming from Sirius's cell just as he disappeared. Beyond that, they couldn't tell Albus or the Minister anything else. Most of the other prisoners were unwilling to cooperate with them, or they hadn't seen anything. However, there was one prisoner, Bellatrix Lestrange, whose cell was right across from Sirius's. She cackled madly and said that Sirius had disappeared in a bright ball of flames.

But she is mad, isn't she? Albus thought as he called for an elf to bring him a cup of tea.

The only thing Albus knew of that could disappear and reappear in a ball of flames was a phoenix.

Surely a phoenix didn't do this. Sirius is a murderer. He thought, but his mind suddenly went back to the mysterious phoenix that had shown up the other night. That couldn't be…no, no. A phoenix wouldn't break a murderer out of Azkaban. That is ludicrous Albus!

He dismissed the disturbing thought and sipped the tea that had been placed on his desk, and his thoughts turned to other pressing matters.

The Chamber of Secrets.

Minerva had stormed into his office late last night and demanded to know why he hadn't denied Harry's involvement in the matter. He told her that he hadn't denied it simply because he wanted to see how Harry would react. She had argued that the whole school would think he had done it, but Albus wasn't worried about it. He still told her he wanted to see how Harry would react to the pressure. Minerva had been livid and stormed out of his office.

His answer had only been part truthful though.

Truth is, he knew Harry was involved somehow. Truth is, he was starting to suspect that Harry was dark. Not necessarily evil…yet…but dark none-the-less, and if Harry was left to his own devices, he would no doubt turn out just like Tom.

Albus sighed as he nibbled on his chocolate bar and sipped his tea. Harry was too much like Tom as it was. He was certain that Harry was manipulating his teachers into thinking he was a 'good boy', just like Tom had done. He was smart, near the top of his class, just like Tom. He talked about some things the way Tom did. He had a small close group of friends, just like Tom. However, where-as Tom's friends were all Slytherins, Harry's friends were a mixture of both Gryffindors and Slytherins.

And that didn't sit well with Albus.

Unlike last year, he was beginning to think Harry being friends with Gryffindors wasn't such a good idea. He was beginning to fear that Harry's Gryffindor friends would be influenced by Harry, instead of the other way around, and he would not let another Gryffindor slip into darkness the way Sirius had done.

Maybe it's all a ploy. Albus thought with sudden alarm. Maybe it's a trick to make everyone think Harry is a nice boy by being friends with Gryffindors.

The thought made him shudder. Tom was like that too. Tom had 'friends', but Albus knew that they weren't really his friends. They were just tools he used to do his bidding.

Are Harry's friends really his friends? Albus asked himself.

If he was honest, that was where Tom and Harry differed. It seemed like Harry's friends really were his friends. Tom would never help his friends the way Harry did. Tom would have never taught his friends the spells he knew, or patiently taught his friends a difficult language like Parseltongue. Harry and his friends liked to laugh, play pranks on one another, and they all studied together. Tom wasn't like that at all.

Albus rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He knew his thoughts about Harry were conflicted at the moment. Maybe it was the lingering effects of the dementors, or maybe it was because so much was happening at the moment. He just wasn't sure.

He would be watching Harry extra carefully from now on though, that was for certain. He wanted to see what Harry knew about the Chamber. Albus just knew that Harry was involved somehow, and he was determined to figure it out.