Chapter 42

Disclaimer: Just because I own copies of them, doesn't mean I own the originals.

0x0x0x0

"Harry, what possessed you to hand out that information?" asked Albus. Albus was sitting at his desk. Severus was standing at the window, staring out it towards the Forbidden Forest. Narcissa sat in a chair next to him. Harry leaned against the wall next to the door, while Etna reclined on a couch that Harry conjured for her.

"Snape treats me like something he has to scrap off his boot, and I get in trouble when I do it back?"

"I am concerned about the fact that charges could be brought against him," replied Albus.

"Then I'm sure," began Etna, "that yourself, Narcissa, and Moldyweenie will ensure he never sees prison, let alone the inside of a courtroom, because of how valuable he is to each of you."

"And why would I be valuable to the Dark Lord?" asked Snape, his voice more even than Harry had ever heard.

"Because he needs an inside track on the castle," replied Etna. "I doubt he's going to trust some idiot child to do it, either."

Snape was silent.

"Besides, this solidifies your cover in Riddle's forces. You and Harry hate each other. Why wouldn't you rat him out, huh? Anything to get the little brat killed, right?"

"That doesn't change the fact that you're attempting to kill him," said Narcissa.

"Trying to kill him?" asked Harry.

"Potter, quit being an insolent brat."

"I'll quit being an insolent brat when you stop being a murderous jackass."

"I have not murdered anyone," growled Snape, shaking with rage.

Etna reached up and took Harry's hand, in a mixture of both calming him, and making sure he couldn't kill anyone.

"I think his parents would disagree," said Etna.

"You know nothing about his parents."

"And neither does Harry, but that doesn't stop you from accusing Harry of being just like his father," commented Etna, smirking. "What other lies do you tell yourself so you can sleep at night?"

Snape's entire body became still, and he turned to face her, rage clearly etched across his entire face.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve?" asked Etna, pouting. "How about the lie you just spouted? That you've never murdered anyone?"

Snape's eyebrow twitched.

"Now, Miss de Malebolge," began Albus.

"How'd you get that Dark Mark of yours, eh?" asked Etna.

At that, Snape stormed out of the office.

"Well, that one ran deep," added Etna.

"It does, for him," said Narcissa, her voice sharp and her glare rivaling McGonagall's. "He never murdered anyone."

"Oh, really?" asked Etna.

"He killed his father in self-defense."

Etna nodded, her hands going behind her head.

"I was wondering where the abuse came from. So, was there anything else?"

"That's it?" demanded Narcissa, glaring at Harry. Harry was ignoring them, his arms crossed, still leaning on the wall by the door. "You throw Severus to the wolves, and then have your pet whore defend you, Potter?"

He turned to glare at Narcissa, and Narcissa swallowed as Harry's eyes glowed with an power. She could feel it flood the room, as though something great and terrible was unleashed. She could feel it in her chest, pressing in from all sides, waiting to crush her.

"Harry, no," said Etna. Narcissa could feel the pressure lessen as Harry took long, deep breaths, and Dumbledore's wand was out, although still hidden behind his desk.

"Fine."

"Go take a walk," continued Etna. "Keep to the upper floors, please. I'll find you afterwards, and we'll talk."

Harry nodded, and left the office, kicking the door shut behind him.

Etna stared at the door, before taking a breath.

"Dumbledore, go comfort Snape with your grandfatherly charm."

"I don't think I should leave you two alone," replied Albus.

"If I was going to murder her, I wouldn't be this obvious about it," replied Etna. "Narcissa needs the facts of life explained."

"And perhaps we can have this conversation at a later date, after tempers have cooled."

"Look, I can either do this here and now, or I can let Harry's mad-on tear this axis of goodness apart."

"You honestly think he would tear apart this alliance just to spite myself and Narcissa?"

"At this point, the only thing keeping Snape alive is me telling him he shouldn't. Why the hell do you think I told him to keep to the upper floors?"

"Perhaps I should talk with Harry instead."

"That'd only piss him off more. Harry has no clue whatsoever what to do with his emotions, and trying that right now will be as constructive as asking a raging dragon to tea."

Albus sighed, before standing and walking to the door. He set his hand on the knob, before turning back to the two women.

"Do try not to kill each other," he asked.

Etna nodded, while Narcissa held her wand tightly.

With that, Albus left.

"Right, then," began Etna. "Do you want us to save your son or not?"

Narcissa looked murderous.

"We have a deal," she said.

"Yeah, and part of that deal is you are Harry's ally. Not Albus's, not mine. Harry's. And so far, you've delivered on a few points, with starting to get Hermione back into the school and getting Sirius off the hook. But right now? Harry's willing to call all of this off."

"Over Severus."

"Over the man who helped murder his parents," clarified Etna.

"And just how did he do that?"

"Trelawney, the divination professor, delivered a prophecy saying a brat born as the seventh month dies would be able to off the Dark Lord. There's more to it, but Snape picked up that much and brought it to Voldemort."

"So Severus delivered a prophecy to the Dark Lord that he didn't know applied to the Potters. He is clearly not at fault."

"Really?" asked Etna. "He handed a prophecy to Voldemort, knowing he'd go off and murder whoever fit the bill, and he's not at fault? I have to wonder just how many children born at the end of July were slaughtered. I know there's only Neville and Harry in Draco's year, but how many are in the year above?

"I doubt he went much higher than that, but I still bet he thought anyboy born around July 31st was fair game, didn't he? Sure, the prophecy said 'would be born' but he needs to be sure, now doesn't he?"

"I..." began Narcissa, but she remembered the rash of attacks that began the year Draco was born. All of them targeted families, almost at random. There were even reports of reprisal attacks against Death Eater families. And given that Narcissa was the Death Eaters' designated healer, she'd delivered their children.

On or before July 31st.

She felt sick to her stomach.

"Are you really that surprised?" asked Etna.

"How did you know?"

"He strikes me as the type."

"You didn't even know he did it," said Narcissa.

"No, but I know Dark Lords. They don't like overlooking things, so they go overboard. So, to answer your question, yes, I can accuse Snape of Murder. He didn't know who he was murdering, but he still did."

"He couldn't have known the Dark Lord would have done that."

"Sure he did," replied Etna. "And maybe he even felt guilty after the fact when the body started piling up. Or maybe he only felt guilty when Lily died. His problem, really, so I don't care. Instead, we come back to you. You've got a choice. Harry or Snape. Pick one."

"And there is no way to pick both?" asked Narcissa.

"You can try. I wouldn't recommend it, though."

"Then I shall endeavor to try the middle ground."

"Alright. Just remember, Harry doesn't care that much about himself, but he'll do anything for his friends. And you called me a whore," said Etna, leaving Dumbledore's office.

Narcissa took a deep breath, before leaning against the window.

When she'd agreed to switch sides, she'd expected to be working with Dumbledore, not Potter. After all, wasn't Potter Dumbledore's scar-headed lapdog?

It seemed he wasn't. Not anymore, at least.

Narcissa could see that Potter and Dumbledore tried to treat each other as equals. It was a frightening thought, to Narcissa, to see Dumbledore treat a not-even sixteen year old boy as an equal. But Narcissa could see the beginnings of it. If he ever managed to rein in his temper, Harry would be a force to be reckoned with, especially with that blasted girl's brain backing him.

She couldn't abandon Severus, though. Even if he was still playing spy for Dumbledore. She'd stay away, she'd not bring him any extra trouble, but she would not abandon him.

But she still needed to get back into Potter's good graces. She'd freed Sirius and she would soon be speaking with the Governors to get Hermione back into the school.

Those were part of the deal, however. Severus had nothing to do with the deal.

She'd have to talk to Potter. It would have to wait a few days, and by then she should have Hermione's expulsion reversed.

0x0x0x0

"Hey," said Etna, stepping into the Astronomy Tower. Harry was leaning against the wall, staring at an empty spot of floor that a few months before contained Nero Jugson's corpse.

Harry nodded, barely acknowledging her.

"I'm sorry I sent you away like that, but tempers were running too high. I didn't want you to get in trouble hurting anyone."

"I know," said Harry. "Doesn't mean I like it, though."

"I figured."

"Is being this angry part of being a demon?" asked Harry.

"Nope. Being that angry is part of realizing your life is fate's outhouse."

Harry sighed.

"I liked it better when I could control my temper," commented Harry.

"Really, Harry? You could control your temper?"

"Well, control it better."

"That's better. And to answer that... well... you're not bottling up your emotions as much. Which, obviously, has its good bits and bad bits."

"I don't think I like it," said Harry.

"It's a loss of control until you can deal with it," said Etna. "It has its good points, though."

"Oh? Like what?"

"For one thing, you smile more," said Etna.

"I smiled before."

"But were they real smiles? Were you honestly happy? I know I'm sounding disgustingly sappy and syrupy and sweet, but I'm being serious, here."

Harry didn't have a response for that. He wanted to just say "of course they were," but he didn't know. Had he ever really been happy?

"Think about it," said Etna, taking his hand. "Let's get back to Grimmauld."

"Yeah," said Harry.

0x0x0x0

Severus stared at a cauldron, watching the water boil off.

There weren't any ingredients in the cauldron. He was just focusing on the boiling water, watching it roil and rage and steam.

As he stared, he felt his own rage boil off, dissipate into the air, steam into the air and cling to the stone walls. He could feel the warmth of Hogwarts herself reach out from the walls and pull it away, cleaning out the air and the soul of the room, leaving it fresh.

Albus had taken a seat across the lab bench from him. For once he hadn't conjured an overstuffed chair, and was seated on one of the stools.

Severus cut the flame as the last of the water boiled away.

"Bowling?" asked Albus.

Severus nodded, walking to his quarters to change into muggle clothes.

0x0x0x0

"Luna, I welcome you into the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black," said Sirius for the third time.

Andromeda and Tonks watched the family tapestry as a dashed line formed from his restored picture to "Luna Black (1981)". Already, Andromeda's blackened spot was restored, and her marriage to Theodore Tonks and their one daughter was added as well.

"Welcome to the family, Luna," said Sirius.

"Thank you for welcoming me, Sirius," replied Luna.

"Andi, can you have Ted deal with all the paperwork with the Ministry?"

"Of course. He'll likely file it at the same time as Hermione's adoption."

"Wait, Hermione's my cousin now?" asked Tonks.

"Yes," replied Luna. "I suppose that makes us kissing cousins." She pursed her lips. "I probably shouldn't mention that to her."

"No, muggleborn generally have rules about that sort of thing," commented Andromeda.

"I think Harry said if he knew how related he was to someone, it was too close," added Luna.

"Oh, honestly," replied Andromeda.

"Mum, stop being gross," said Tonks.

"I will when you stop lusting after that werewolf," replied Andromeda.

"Werewolf?" asked Sirius. "You mean Remus? Captain Wolf-and-Whine himself?"

Tonks rolled her eyes.

"Good luck with that," said Sirius. "If you can loosen him up, good on you. Just be prepared for an up-hill battle you wouldn't believe."

"He isn't that bad."

"Oh, yes he is," said Sirius. "'I don't deserve you as friends,' 'you shouldn't be around me,' 'what if I lose control and bite you, I'll ruin your lives forever,' and on and on and on." Sirius shook his head. "I'm sorry, but from the way he talks, you'd think it was a good thing everybody else died."

Sirius fell silent, frowning, dark thoughts entering his mind.

"Sorry, it's just..." he started, then shook his head. "He should have been there for Harry, and he never was."

"Wait, what?" asked Tonks.

"He never visited. Not once. Took me four days to wrangle that out of him."

"His best friend's kid, and he never visited?"

Sirius shook his head.

"What the fuck?" asked Tonks.

"He barely even writes to Harry, now. Hell, Harry had to convince him to admit to knowing James and Lily, and apparently that didn't happen until most of the way through the school year."

"You're not kidding, are you?" asked Tonks.

Sirius shook his head.

"He can be a great friend when you can unwedge his head from his ass, but doing that? It didn't take much work when we were at Hogwarts... but now? I can barely even get him to visit me. Me! Here! Just to have him come over for a bloody cup of tea is like guilt-tripping a goblin out of his coin purse." Sirius's hands went to his forehead. "Sorry, I'm just pissed about it."

"It's alright," said Luna. "Sometimes our friends need swift kicks in the rear. At least now you can personally deliver that swift kick."

Sirius smirked.

"Yeah. First thing to do as a member of the house of Black. Kick a werewolf in the arse. Right, Andi have Ted stop by with the paperwork tomorrow morning so we can get it filled out. I'll have Narcissa fill it out if she's hiring Ted, as well."

"Has Dad even agreed to this?" asked Tonks.

"You say that like he has a choice," replied Andromeda.

At this, Tonks smirked.

"Good luck with Remus," said Tonks.

"Thanks. Come on, Luna. We have boots to plant."

Luna nodded, and the pair of them went out the front door and disappeared with a crack.

"That will go over well," said Andromeda.

"The newly freed head of the House of Black and his newly adopted sort-of-daughter kicking a werewolf? I'm sure Rita Skeeter will have a field day."

0x0x0x0

Three games later, Severus and Albus were both seated at the muggle pub attached to the bowling lanes.

"He has Lily's temper," commented Severus, after taking a long pull of his mug.

"He doesn't have Lily's eloquence with words, thankfully," said Albus, considering whether or not a cleaning charm would add or detract from the beer's flavor. He decided he wasn't drinking at a pub attached to a bowling alley for the quality of the beer.

Severus recalled the rather one-sided conversation he had with Lily two days after he called her a mudblood. At which point, he wished he'd rather hadn't. When Lily hated someone, they knew. He knew when she compared his father to an ugly rabid dog, and him to the rather descriptive foul excretions the dog left behind.

"I can only hope he never does," replied Severus, wishing to put the thought from his mind.

"Quite," replied Dumbledore.

"He will kill me once Voldemort is dealt with," said Severus, resigned to the fact.

Albus wanted to say Harry wouldn't, but the rage that was held in check only by Etna was something he saw. Instead, Albus gave only the silence of confirmation.

"I know you have plans, Albus," added Severus.

"Forgiveness," began Albus, "is a very hard trait to learn. You are very aware of that."

Severus nodded, acknowledging his unending hatred of Sirius. It was a sore point for Albus.

"I hope to talk with him after he defeats Voldemort," continued Albus. "Now that I understand him better, I have come to realize he is in a precariously balanced emotional state, and only Etna is preventing him from tipping into darkness."

"Trusting the demon, Albus?"

"Trusting a demon is one more thing in my life I never expected to do. Of course, she is performing this task for her own selfish reasons, but... they are pure selfish reasons."
"Oh?"

"Yes. She's in love with him."

"And love conquers all, does it?"

"Except when it doesn't," replied Albus, before draining his glass. He motioned for a refill. "And that is the rub."

They were both silent for a time.

"You worry what will happen when the demon is called back?"

"Correct. Potter's life is already incessantly unfair. Between how he was raised, his treatment the school, and now this, I can only question what state his mind will be in once Voldemort is defeated."

"You worry we will have to kill him, don't you?"

Albus took a deep breath, before nodding, tears in his eyes.

Author's Notes: I'm a dick for ending on that note, but logical extremes are logical extremes.

There were so many good lines that I couldn't use for the opening argument. SO MANY.

I think there's been a number of different explanations as to why it took so long for Voldemort to hunt down James and Lily and Harry. I don't think I've ever come across the "Voldemort was busy killing everyone else born on July 31st" idea before. I doubt Riddle takes as much stock in divination as everybody else does, so why keep it to when the prophecy was spouted? Besides, the whole thing smelled of a set-up... and Voldemort could easily imagine reproducing the prophecy after the child has been born to throw Voldemort off the scent.

Granted, this interpretation might work better if there were multiple schools, rather than my present "There's Hogwarts or nothing" interpretation.

Beta's Note: I was about to scoff at this interpretation, but then I thought of how Riddle's real education was interrupted and how Hogwarts was a trade school with virtually nothing taught beyond the minimum. Tom Riddle may never have heard the story of Oedipus and may not be familiar with the notion that a prophecy comes true only when people work to make it happen.