XLII

"Speak up already!" Snape's snarling voice was heard even as Sprout and Kakashi were still at the foot of the stairs. Even Professor Sprout heard him. Her lips pinched in surprise and her steps halted for a moment.

"What's going on up there?" she wondered out loud. "Did you hear that, Dear? Was that Professor Snape's voice?" Kakashi nodded quietly. "What did he say, did you hear?"

Even though he had heard every word, Kakashi simply shrugged. It would've been strange for him to have understood anything. Professor Sprout evidently only heard an unintelligible mumbling, and the same would be true for most people. It was quite convenient for Kakashi that nobody knew how well his senses really worked, and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Severus, please leave the boy a moment to collect himself." That was Dumbledore's voice, gravely and with just a hint of impatience.

"Collect himself? Headmaster, he's clearly mocking us. And he's still maintaining his lies." Snape's voice was high pitched from anger in a way that allowed the voice to travel all the way down the stairwell so that even Professor Sprout heard it more clearly now.

"Oh Helga, he seems to be angry. Maybe we should wait a moment," she suggested, stopping in her steps completely putting a hand down on Kakashi's shoulder. "I'm sure this will only be a moment. We shouldn't interrupt them."

"I fear it's my fault," Kakashi said, continuing his ascend making her follow on his heels.

"Are you sure, my dear?"

Kakashi was certain.

Sourly, he could smell Snape's boiling anger even out here. It was a wonder the man hadn't stormed out with billowing robes yet. Snape would have to be certain, that this was the day when he would finally prove Kakashi a liar, or else he might have already cut this short. Well, Snape had every reason to be confident. Kakashi knew he'd have to give him something this time, that would appease him for now. Both him and Dumbledore. The headmaster had sounded as kindly as ever, and yet his impatient tone, Kakashi assumed was more for Kakashi and less for Snape this time.

"If you're certain," Professor Sprout said unsurely as she stepped forward to open the door at the top of the stairs leading into the headmaster's office. "Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, I have Charlie—"

Her voice died suddenly. She stood blocking the doorway with her short and chubby body, so Kakashi had to stand on his tiptoes to look over her funny little flappy hat into the office. He still remembered the room from the last time he was here, but back then he hadn't seen it clearly. That was probably the reason, why the first thing drawing his eye wasn't the surprised headmaster, or the silently brooding Potions master, never mind his own slightly bored-looking clone. Instead, it was the red and golden bird, perching on the edge of the desk.

He'd never seen such a bird, but he could immediately name it from The Monster Book of Monsters. As the title suggested, the book's contents were focused on the more beastly creatures – which made it mostly useless for the purpose of their current boring Flobberworm lessons – but it had at least a few pictures and basic descriptions of other less-monstrous creatures: Among which this beautiful bird, the Phoenix. It was more stunning in reality than on the page, Kakashi decided, but couldn't focus on the bird for long, as in right that moment, Sprout turned to stare at him and then back to his clone.

"I—What's the meaning of this?" Her eyes bulged out of her head in a way that Kakashi felt sorry, that he hadn't prepared her for this shock. He hadn't really expected to shock her quite so much. Surely magic – that could do just about anything – could create clones too? Yet, from the way Sprout and the two men looked, that wasn't quite it.

"Pomona," Dumbledore was the first to find his marbles again, "that is quite the surprise I might say." His eyes were sparkling with curiosity. "We were just talking to Mr. Major here. I see you were doing the same?"

Professor Sprout turned back toward the headmaster. She finally stepped inside the office, allowing Kakashi to follow her and close the door behind them.

"Albus, I wasn't aware that he was already…" not finding the right words to phrase her thoughts, Sprout swallowed audibly, shaking her head. "I'm surprised by this."

"I assure you, Pomona, you are not the only one. This is quite unexpected."

"Quite unexpected," Snape agreed through stiff lips, jaw clenched and unmoving in a way, he might be cut from stone.

"But fascinating." Dumbledore's eyes locked on Kakashi standing in the door, before leaning back in his chair and looking back at the clone. There was a smile on his lips, easily visible despite the beard. "How did you come to find this Charlie, Pomona?"

"Of course," Professor Sprout cleared her throat. "Well, actually, Charlie found me. He wanted to talk to you about something." She looked at Kakashi as if contemplating whether she should share the entire story. There was a funny mixture of worry, betrayal, and curiosity in her dark eyes. "He was worried about something," she finished, settling on giving Kakashi the chance to explain himself.

Kakashi nodded gratefully.

"Are we just pretending," Snape's voice cut in before Dumbledore could speak again, "that this isn't highly suspicious?" His voice was as cold and cutting as a knife. "What is this? Time-turner shenanigans? Polyjuice? It's highly illegal, that's what it is. We should involve the Ministry. It's not just a laughing matter. Clearly, either he used an illegal time turner, or he helped somebody infiltrate the castle."

Kakashi still remembered that Snape had thought him to be in league with Sirius from the start. No wonder, that this was the first conclusion he jumped to. More curious was the other suspicion: a time-turner?

There was a sudden flurry of movement, billowing robes, then Snape had his wand at the ready, though he didn't seem decided which Charlie to direct it against, so he held it somewhat indecisively in-between Kakashi and his clone. Which was a mistake, Kakashi thought a little exasperated. If Kakashi really wanted to, disarming him would be much easier if he didn't even properly aim the wand at anything. He had no intent to disarm him quite yet, though. He didn't even flinch, unlike Professor Sprout who jumped in surprise, and – the great sage bless her soul – then took a step in front of her student.

"Professor Snape! You wouldn't dare direct your wand against my student, would you?" she screeched in a trembling voice. Kakashi could hear her heart hammer. The poor woman. He was about to put a hand on her shoulder and tell her that it was alright when he remembered that in her eyes, he was just a fifteen-year-old kid. She wouldn't listen to him.

"Step aside, Pomona," Snape's voice had taken on a dangerously hissing qualitiy. He truly meant to curse Kakashi if he so much as made a threatening gesture, Kakashi realized, but clearly, Professor Sprout didn't take him seriously.

"Don't be ridiculous, Severus. Take that wand down and don't point it at me or the child or…that other child." She hesitated just for a moment, before including the clone too.

"If this is the work of a time-turner," Snape insisted, "he's breaking the rules not just by using it, but endangering reality by those two seeing each other."

Bummer, Kakashi thought. Time-turning sounded quite interesting, but it seemed to be a very fragile theory if reality was threatened just by the time traveler and their original meeting.

"If it's not a time-turner, if instead, he's helping Black—"

"Please, Severus," Sprout had heard enough. "You see Sirius Black around every corner now."

Snape bristled visibly.

"Put down your wand, Severus," Dumbledore finally ordered, and while Snape had been standoffish and aggressive with Professor Sprout, he followed the headmaster's command like a well-trained lackey.

He did still insist on his being correct, though: "Headmaster, I implore you!"

"I think we've heard your concern," Dumbledore nodded gravely. "But I fear if this is indeed the work of time manipulation, then it's too late now to prevent them from seeing each other. The potion's already spilt. If this is not the result of Mr. Major here using a time-turner, I think the best way to find out the truth behind it would be to just ask him, don't you think?" Pale blue eyes settled on Snape.

The Potions teacher grumbled. "I told you, he was using something… I told you!" His face turned a bright shade of red. "If the potion is spilt already, then it's only because you didn't heed my warning before."

"If indeed you were right," the Headmaster agreed finally turning back to clone-Kakashi, "then I will apologize. However, I do not think this is the work of a time-turner, is it, Charlie? I see no sign of you going mad, which is supposedly the biggest risk when a time traveler meets their past version," he glanced up at Snape shortly, "or do you see the boy going mad?"

Slumping a little, Snape had to relent. "What is it then?"

"Professors," Kakashi finally spoke up, still standing at the door, "I don't know what you mean with time-turner, this is no time travel." He walked past Professor Sprout to stand next to his clone. He looked the clone up and down, deciding that its Charlie-disguise was quite convincing. Brown eyes were staring back at him through a fringe of brown hair. The hair had started growing again, Kakashi realized not for the first time. He already had to use some hair spray to fight its gravity-defying nature.

"So, it's Polyjuice," Snape hissed. "Who's the real Major, and who's hiding behind the fake?" His eyes were gleaming. Did he really think, he'd find Sirius that easily? That he'd already caught him?

Glancing up at Snape, Kakashi considered the angry pink flush, the gleaming stare, and the tightly locked jaw. This man was far too obsessed with finding Sirius. It wasn't the first time, that Snape suspected him to be in league with the escapee, but it was the first time Kakashi noticed how much Snape wanted it to be true. This man was dangerous. Not because he was smart, but because he was tenacious. Their interests clearly didn't align, so Kakashi couldn't trust him. Sadly, that meant having to cut out the other teachers too. He didn't know how much of their knowledge they shared.

"I think you accused me of using Polyjuice before," Kakashi agreed. "I'm writing an essay on it currently, so I know about it now. But this isn't Polyjuice. It's my clone." He said it completely casually as if it was the most normal thing in the world; which for him it was.

The way Dumbledore's eyes widened, it wasn't normal for wizards, though. Snape bristled once more, shoulders squaring up. "You're mocking us!" he exclaimed. "Headmaster, please! I have some Veritaserum in my stock. I can bring it here, and then we can ask this boy what he knows about Sirius Black."

"Charlie, maybe you can explain what you mean by clone," Professor Sprout asked, eyeing Snape wearily.

"A double, Doppelganger, an image of myself." Kakashi kept his voice light and innocent. "You can't use clones?" Instead of releasing the Jutsu with a hand sign, he rammed his elbow in the clone's side. The clone huffed, doubled over, and then glared at Kakashi before it dissolved with a plop and a puff of smoke.

Snape and Sprout jumped in surprise – though Professor Sprout might have also just moved to stop him from further abusing the clone, the poor woman. Dumbledore's surprise only showed in the raise of his eyebrows.

Kakashi kept quiet as the clone's memory came rushing back to him. Not much had happened, apart from Snape asking a lot of questions that the clone hadn't answered. "It's not real, you see," Kakashi explained to Snape. "No Polyjuice. Just a clone of myself, that helps me get done with all the homework."

Snape glared down at him past his huge nose. He huffed. It sounded like disappointment. "You are supposed to learn from your homework. And not cut your work short, by letting others do it."

"I think, you should be relieved, Professor Snape," Kakashi replied with a shrug. "After all, your theories were reality-shattering illegal time travel and harboring a known fugitive. Yet, now it sounds as if you're disappointed that I didn't actually break the law."

Dumbledore chuckled lightly at his words. Kakashi needed no encouragement to continue, as he knew exactly what he wanted to say, but it was good to know that Professor Dumbledore shared in his humor.

"And rest assured, whatever my clone learns will end up in here," he poked with his index finger against his forehead. "And if you think I'm going the lazy route, my clone's exhaustion also effects me." He yawned demonstratively.

"That's quite curious," Dumbledore finally spoke up again. "Where did you learn this convenient spell?"

Kakashi blinked owlishly at the headmaster. "I was always able to do it, Professor. It seems a rather basic spell to me. I'm surprised you don't seem to know about it." He was pushing it a little, he feared, but if he wanted to make them believe, that he was using normal magic, he should at least make it sound as if he himself thought it to be a quite basic magical spell. Of course, in reality, Shadow Clones were neither magic nor basic.

"A rather basic spell," Snape huffed disbelievingly. "Headmaster, clearly he's hiding things from us, never mind what about his language?"

"Ah, right," Professor Dumbledore nodded. "Charlie, it has come to my attention, that you speak Japanese."

Kakashi glimpsed at Professor Sprout. "Yes, I speak Japanese. That's what I came here to say. I realized I wouldn't be able to keep up the pretense any longer. I'm not from South Africa."

"You're Japanese?" Dumbledore asked to make sure.

Kakashi nodded. It was as much of a lie as the South African one, but one he could easier keep up.

"I see," Dumbledore's brows furrowed. "Are those your natural looks, Charlie?"

He shook his head, eliciting a triumphant snort from Snape. Kakashi looked up at the black-clad man.

"I'm not using Polyjuice, but…" He indicated at his eyes, "a basic transfiguration." Dumbledore nodded sharp eyes searching Kakashi's.

"Would you drop the disguise for us?"

Kakashi nodded easily and with an entirely useless wave of his wand he dropped the partial transformation, revealing his natural eye shape and color, and the scar. He kept the Sharingan closed.

Professor Sprout squeaked in shock at the scar bisecting his eye and eyebrow. "Oh, my dear boy, what happened to you?"

"A man cut my eye with a knife. It's destroyed. I got a fake one, but it's very exhausting for me to use." He opened the Sharingan briefly, revealing the blood-red eye for just a second, not long enough for the people present to see the distinct drop-shaped tomoe patterns. Dumbledore might have seen it, he thought, judging by the curious spark in his eyes.

"And your name, it's not Charlie Major, is it?" Dumbledore asked in a tone as if he already knew the answer. "In fact, I'm almost certain, it's Kakashi Hatake. Am I right?"

Kakashi's single eye widened in surprise. Snape sputtered.

"Headmaster! You knew, he was faking his name?"

Dumbledore inclined his head. "It came to my attention when I included Mr.…Hatake in the wards, that there is nobody by the name Charlie Major in my school." He smiled knowingly, stroking his long silvery beard. "You see, the wards can recognize people within their reach. Muggles, Wizards, Magical creatures. There are quite a lot of living beings here, that I tend to lose track of everybody." By his gravelly tone of voice, Dumbledore sounded serious, but Kakashi was certain that if he wanted to find somebody in the castle, Dumbledore could do so any time. That he had found Kakashi without trouble spoke volumes.

If he intended to help Sirius into the castle, he'd need to find a way to fool the wards after all or trust that Dumbledore would not care… which Kakashi had no reason to believe.

"Why didn't you tell me, Headmaster," Snape reared up angrily. "I've been running around all month, making a fool out of myself. Were you mocking me?"

"Oh, quite the contrary. I was very fascinated by your advance in the investigation, Severus. You even managed to learn something I had missed. This clone-matter is far more exciting than the Japanese thing, don't you agree, my friend?"

Snape pursed his lips, clearly not accepting the headmaster's explanation.

For a moment, the spark disappeared from Dumbledore's eyes, and he looked far more seriously at Snape. While he'd sounded light and careless until now, from one moment to the next his tone became a lot sharper. "And Severus, I'm sure Professor Lupin too appreciated it, that you were too distracted to investigate him this month. I told you, finding Sirius Black is not your responsibility."

Snape's lips flattened against each other, but neither he nor Dumbledore seemed too eager to talk about this – whatever it was – in Kakashi's presence. Why would Snape investigate Remus Lupin though? How was Sirius connected to either of them? There were quite a few questions Kakashi still wanted answered.

"Well then, Kakashi, would you tell us, why you lied about your name and country of origin?" Dumbledore turned back to Kakashi, peering at him over his half-moon glasses. "It couldn't have been easy."

Kakashi ducked his head in a show of guilt. "I didn't know what to do, Professor. My… Before I came to England, my experience at home wasn't…easy. I'm an orphan, and my best friend died just over a year ago."

Professor Sprout moved closer to him immediately, to put a hand around his shoulder. "Oh, you dear boy. Headmaster, I'm sure we can do this in a more…" she glared at Snape, "private manner."

"No," Kakashi shook his head, but he shifted minutely toward her, willing to take her protection. She was the most likely to believe this sob story that he was about to dish out. "It's alright… It was just difficult. I came to England in a moment of…unrest. I don't know how it happened. I just suddenly appeared here. I didn't want to talk about my home with Harry, so when he guessed I was from South Africa, I just took it."

"You mean you apparated?" Snape sounded unconvinced, and even Sprout's angry glare didn't stop him from asking his questions. "I'm sure we can learn the truth of this. As I offered before, I have Veritaserum in my office."

"Severus!" Sprout exclaimed in loud shock. "You can't be serious. This poor boy lost his friend, his parents, and you want to force him to tell you every detail of it. What reason would he have to trust you with that story?"

Snape rose to his full height, sneering down at the short woman, but Kakashi had to give it to Professor Sprout. The Herbology teacher didn't back off.

"That is hardly relevant," he hissed eventually. "My potion will make him share the truth, whether he trusts us or not."

Sprout squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. "He's my student, Severus. I won't have it! You can do this to your Slytherins, Merlin beware, but you won't force my Hufflepuffs to tell you every detail of a clearly traumatic experience!"

"You are too naïve," Snape growled, pointing a finger at Kakashi. His face was red in anger, his hand trembling slightly. "He's lying to you, again, and you're eating it up."

"And you are too suspicious! You wouldn't believe anything he said. He's a child, Severus, no more! And my student, so you won't do anything without my say-so."

"Headmaster!" Snape exclaimed turning at Dumbledore but seeing immediately, that Dumbledore had no intention to give Kakashi any of that so-called Veritaserum.

"Kakashi, can you tell me the name of that friend?" he asked in a cautious tone, ignoring the teachers' banter for the most part.

"Obito, Professor."

Dumbledore nodded. "That is in line with his Boggart, from what both you and Professor Lupin told me, Severus."

If he hoped to get Snape's final approval, it wouldn't be so easy. Snape huffed dismissively. "Of course, Albus. Whatever one might say about his Potions talent, he's not stupid. He knows we saw his Boggart."

Kakashi didn't even bother to deny it. "If this Veritaserum can prove that I'm telling the truth, I can take it." He nodded at Sprout.

"Great!" Snape jumped up and was already half at the door when Dumbledore called him back.

"Wait, Severus," his voice was silent, his eyes still focused on Kakashi. "I pride myself on being able to tell when somebody lies to me. I don't think taking the potion shall be necessary." Blue eyes rested on Kakashi with a gaze that seemed all-seeing to him. No doubt, Dumbledore knew that he hadn't told everything. But he seemed to enjoy keeping the riddle unsolved. Or maybe he was just patient and willing to wait for the full truth rather than trying to force out another lie.

"Say, Kakashi, would you like us to refer to you as Kakashi as of now? Or do you prefer the name Charlie Major?"

Kakashi thought about it for a moment, but in truth, he didn't really care. He didn't dare drop his disguise entirely, because he didn't know if the Ministry was searching for the silver-haired boy who had freed Sirius Black. So he was still in disguise anyway and he'd gotten quite used to the name Charlie.

"Whatever works better," he said eventually. "I don't want to make a fuss, but I fear the ministry might not take too kindly to…"

Had he said something wrong? Because as he spoke, Sprout's arm tightened protectively around him.