The Man Who Lied - Part II

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READ BELOW FIRST:

Author's Note: As you might already know, this is the third series in
my altraverse that includes "The Girl Who Loved and "The Boy who Cried."
Timewise, it starts at the beginning of year 6 for the gang, just like
"The Boy Who Cried" does. This occurs after Part III of
"The Boy Who Cried", in fact, it is the next Double Potions class.
"The Girl Who Loved" hasn't started yet, so Harry and Hermione are
a couple. Confused yet? :-D

Note that these three series will eventually combine into one story
describing a 7th year where all three pairings are in full bloom. Watch
for that story, "The Souls That Died," sometime after I finish posting
all the parts of the current three trilogies :-) So yes, for the
skeptical, there IS an underlying plot that entwines all three of these
rather fluffy fics.

Now, about this particular story... I recived a review from "Anonymous
at 8:30" :-D that asked for more detail about "why Snape would do
something like that"- that, of course, being helping Lockhart. So to
answer, this part goes a bit deeper into Snape's mind than I originally
intended to. Please review and tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: THIS IS S-L-A-S-H! This one is Lockhart/Snape in particular,
and trust me, it is going to get weird. But I think I have an okay idea
for it, so please give it a try!!

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Snape seated himself uncomfortably in the ratty velvet encrusted chair
across from Dumbledore. He felt Dumbledore's eyes upon him, felt the
headmasters intense gaze burning into his soul. No longer able to
tolerate the stifling silence, Snape cleared his throat and prompted,
"You needed to speak to me, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Yes. The representative from the Institute for the
Study of Magical Maladies owled again, asking after Gilderoy. They
offered to take him into their care..."

Snape's fists clenched under the sleeves of his black robes and he
gritted his teeth, able only to hiss a single word. "No."

Dumbledore watched the professor almost warily. He suggested
tentatively, "If Gilderoy hadn't responded to your treatment, perhaps
another could help him..."

One look at the expression on Snape's face told Dumbledore that had
been the wrong thing to say. Snape's expression changed to one
rarely seen on his features- a look of indignant hurt, if it could
be called that. He spoke quietly, but there was venom in his tone.
"If you do not think I am capable of caring for... for Lockhart,
than just say so, Headmaster. If that is the case, I will resign
from Hogwarts immediately and petition to the Ministry to have
Lockhart placed under my care at home."

"Why is this so important to you, Severus?" Dumbledore asked
quietly. He'd asked the question many times over the last few years,
as Snape had devoted more and more time to caring for Gilderoy,
but he had never gotten a satisfactory answer.

Snape dropped his gaze. He would like to answer Dumbledore,
certainly, for Dumbledore's tone and expression invited him to confide
in the headmaster. But Snape didn't have an answer to give, so instead
he responded as he always had, "Because it is."

Usually that was answer enough for Dumbledore, but now, faced with
the constant owls of Ministry officials, asking why he hadn't released
the heroic Gilderoy for proper care, he needed more. If Snape had
a reason for keeping Gilderoy here, fine, but Dumbledore was tired
of recieving vague replies to his questions. "That's not an answer,
Severus." He said calmly. "If I am to justify the expense of keeping
Lockhart here, you need to give me reason to."

Unable to meet Dumbledore's eyes, Snape looked around the headmaster's
chamber, his mind blank. In one corner, the rather ragged looking
phoenix, Fawkes, sat watching Snape with the same single minded
intensity Dumbledore displayed. It was almost time for it to be reborn,
Snape realized with a start. The thought gave him some notion of what
he needed to say to Dumbledore. Organizing his mind quickly, Snape
turned back to Dumbledore.

As he looked at the headmaster, Snape's resolve faltered. Lying to this
man was a futile endeavor... but then, who was to say it was a lie?
Snape himself wasn't really sure why he had taken this burden upon
himself. Quietly, he began to speak, "When I served under... under
he-who-must-not-be-named, I destroyed so many people's lives. Caring
for Lockhart is... my redemption. He... I know I can help him!" Snape's
own conviction surprised him. "If I can help him... start his life
over, it will almost be like helping those I couldn't save."

Unconvinced, but knowing he would gain nothing by pursuing the matter
further, Dumbledore stated, "We'll let that suffice, for now. I'll
tell the Institute Gilderoy will be staying here for at least a
while longer.

Knowing he was dismissed, Snape rose and turned to leave when he
heard Dumbledore's voice from behind him once more. "And Severus...
next time I see you, I hope you have a better answer for me."

Snape left without a word.

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When Snape entered Lockhart's chambers once more, Dobby was still
there, helping Lockhart remember how to eat. One look at Snape's
cold expression sent Dobby scampering away, however, and Snape
took over.

The gentleness Snape never displayed to any human showed through
now, when he was finally alone with Lockhart. Snape watched as Lockhart
absently nibbled at his food, and poured him a glass of butterbeer
brought specially from the Hogsmeade pub. As Lockhart drank it, Snape
could almost swear he saw a flicker of recognition of the taste flash
in Lockhart's eyes. But perhaps, Snape thought miserably, he'd been
waiting so long for a sign that Lockhart's memory was returning that
he was seeing things that were not there.

When Lockhart was finished eating, Snape helped him back into his
bed. "Goodnight, Gilderoy." He whispered, wincing when Lockhart
turned away to stare at the wall without even acknowledging him.

Snape rose and left the room, ending the room's light spell as he
exited. Had he turned, he would have seen Lockhart shift slightly
to watch him go.

Had he turned, Snape might have seen, if only for a moment, a
flash of memory light Lockhart's eyes.

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Snape lay alone in his bedchamber, darkness hiding the sparce
decorations of the chamber. He curled up in the bed as a toddler might,
though it was unlikely that there were many toddlers even in the
wizarding world who slept in luxorious silken sheets as Snape did.

Sleep was far from Snape's mind on this night, however, for his thoughts
were on Dumbledore's last words to him. Why did he still want to care for
Lockhart, even when it seemed so hopeless? If someone had asked him a
few years ago how he'd feel about devoting hours each night to a selfish
prig who had no hope of regaining their memory... Snape would have
laughed at the mere suggestion that he would make such a commitment.
And now, here he was.

Deciding that this would all be far easier to contemplate in the
morning, Snape buried his head in his pillow and was soon fast asleep.

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Morning came far too quickly for Snape's liking. As he arranged his
dress robes and engaged for a few minutes in a hopeless battle to deal
with his hair, Snape realized with a groan that it was Tuesday. That
meant he had to teach Double Potions to the Slytherins and the
Gryffindors.

As Snape hustled down the steps to reach his classroom, or rather
dungeon, he mentally reviewed the lesson plan for these twits today.
But the thought of delivering another lecture to these incompotent
fools simply sickened him, and for a moment he was thankful he
had slept through breakfast.

Instead, Snape's mind drifted back to Lockhart, as it often did when
he was stressed. Maybe Dumbledore was right, maybe someone else could
succeed where he had failed. But he didn't see how... only the caster
of a spell had the real advantage when it came to preparing the
antidote, and from what he had heard of the incident it had been
Lockhart himself who cast the spell...

Of course! Snape almost kicked himself for his own stupidity. True,
Lockhart had cast the spell, but it hadn't been with his own wand.
It had been one of the terrible trio... Weasley? Potter? Granger?
Perhaps it didn't matter. If he got all three of them to work on
a potion, then just perhaps... He took the stairs two by two,
just as he had as a boy, in his hurry to reach the classroom. He
had a new lesson to prepare for the day.

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Hermione and Harry walked into potions hand in hand, with Ron trailing
behind them. Neville was already there, sitting with the Slytherins,
Draco and Goyle in particular. Hermione, Harry, and Ron showed their
disapproval of Neville's choice by seating themselves as far away
from the group as possible.

Snape stood at the front of the room, muttering to himself anxiously as
he gathered up some last minute ingredients. When all of the class
were finally seated, he began to lecture in his quiet, snide, manner,
and the class in turn grew so silent to hear him that had someone
dropped a pin you could have heard it hit the floor.

"Today we are going to try something a little bit unusual, so I'd
like everyone to listen carefully so that it can penetrate your
tiny minds." He said with a sneer. "The entire class will be
devoted to practical potion making, and it is one that everyone
save Miss Know it All Granger is probably unfamiliar with. The
instructions and ingredients are all assembled on the front lab
desk. Form into groups of three and familiarize yourself with
the formula."

With that, the class exploded in movement, everyone gathering into
groups to make sure they wouldn't end up struggling through this
alone. Watching Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, Neville waited for the
inevitable "I'm sorry Neville, but we already have three people.
You don't mind, do you?" But it never came. Instead, Draco stood
and asked Snape, "Proffesor, would you mind if we had a group
of four?"

Snape looked over at the grouping. "Fine." He muttered. Draco was,
after all, one of his favorite students... he at least showed
some inkling of intelligence that wasn't found in a book.

Neville looked up at Draco with an appreciative smile, and the four
got to work.

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As Hermione, Harry, and Ron worked frantically to prepare the
ingredients for their Memorius potion, they were only half aware
of Snape hovering over them. He rarely spoke, instead he watched,
fretting over each of their mistakes. His impatience ate away at
him, he wished he could test his theory now, but instead he was
stuck watching these imbeciles bungle through the fine art of
potion making.

Finally, after what felt like hours to both Snape and the three
young potion makers, the class was over and the potion finished.
With hardly a glance to spare for any of the other groups, Snape
dismissed the class- all save the three. Neville looked back
uncertainly, but was quickly swept with the tide of Slytherins
as they made their way to lunch.

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Snape took a flask from the shelf and with trembling hands reached
to take a few precious drops of the potion within it. He looked
maliciously at the three students around him, who had watched the
professor dubiously, trying to decide if he had finally gone mad.

Holding the potion up to the light, Snape studied it. The consistency
seemed right, and he had watched the three with such hawkish intensity
that he doubted they could have messed up the ingredients had they
tried. "This will do." He said abruptly. "Ten points to Gryffindor.
Now get to lunch."

Deciding it would be best to get out before Snape changed his mind,
the three departed as fast as their legs could carry them. Corking
the flask and covering the cauldron carefully, Snape walked out of
the room and made his way to Lockhart's chambers quickly, not wanting
to wait another moment before he tested this new theory.

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Ron watched Snape head off in puzzlement. Harry and Hermione had
already drifted ahead, too lost in their silly teenage romance to
notice anything else, so instead of catching up to them Ron turned
to follow Snape. The corridors they passed through were unfamiliar
to him, but then, Ron was far less interested in gallavanting around
the school than his brothers or even Harry.

Thankfully for Ron, Snape was far too lost in his own hopes and
daydreams to notice he was being followed. The usually dignified
and uptight professor was practically skipping, knowing that this
latest remedy for Lockhart had some slim hope of success. A slim
hope was infinitely better than the hopelessness that had dominated
the last year.

Snape opened the door to Lockhart's chambers without bothering to
close it behind him. A few moments after Snape entered, a rather
affronted looking Dobby exited and disappeared sullenly in the
direction of the kitchens. Driven by curiousity, Ron crept closer,
peering into the room.

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Snape took the tray of lunch from Dobby and set it aside, taking
an empty glass and pouring the potion into it. His hands trembled
slightly as he once again studied the potion for the slightest
sign of imperfection. Then, steeling his nerves, he offered the
potion to Lockhart.

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When Snape entered, Lockhart looked up warily. How could a day
have passed so quickly? This was not right, it was not the same
as routine dictated. The little colored creature was to feed him
twice before the larger man arrived with the Drink. But still,
Lockhart knew better than to refuse the offered potion. He knew
that the big man had a temper, gentle though the man might be at
times. And after all, these two, plus one older being with wrinkles
as a slight stoop to his hack, were all he knew.

Lockhart drank the potion unhesitatingly. When he finished drinking,
he looked up again at the big man, who was looking down at him
so expectingly.

Frowning, Lockhart looked up at the man. Something so familiar...
but he couldn't put a name to it. Unless...

"Severus." Lockhart said calmly.

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Snape smiled, a smile that was not at all like his customary
smirk. "Gilderoy... you remember me?"

Lockhart frowned, staring up at him. "Yes. And no. I don't know."
For the first time since he had been struck with the amnesia
inducing spell, Lockhart remembered what it was like to panic.
"Severus, what's wrong with me?"

A tinge of worry appeared on Snape's face. "It's hard to explain.
You've been unable to remember anything for... several years now."

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Ron's gasp was ill timed and, most unfortunately, quite audible
to the two men. Snape whirled around, and before Ron could back
away he grabbed the boy and dragged him into the chamber. His
face was almost contorted in anger. "What were you doing
eavesdropping on us?" He asked maliciously.

Lockhart looked up at the newcomer, the first new face he had
seen in years. "Ron?" He asked. Ron nodded mutely, preferring
to face Lockhart over Snape any day.

Snape's expression relaxed slightly when Lockhart spoke again.
True, Ron was a nuisance, but the boy was after all at least
partly responsible for Lockhart's progress. Snape was willing
to overlook the eavesdropping this once.

Meanwhile, Lockhart studied both of them impartially. "I don't
remember." He said with a tone of resigned finality. "I mean...
I know your names, I know your faces. But I don't remember...
I don't remember who you are. Or who I am."

Snape frowned, but said weakly, "But this is still progress.
Before, you didn't know anything. Perhaps with more potions..."
Much as he dreaded the thought of dealing with Weasley, Potter,
and Granger as a potion making team again, if it would help
Lockhart...

A sudden realization struck Snape. "Gilderoy, I need to discuss
something with Weas.. with Ron for a moment. I'll be back in a
moment. Lockhart nodded mutely, and Snape exited the room with
Ron in tow.

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Once they were outside, Snape closed the door to Lockhart's
chamber... cell was more like it, Ron thought rather grimly.
"I need to know what happened the day you went below
to the Chamber of Secrets with Harry." Snape said firmly.

Ron tried to think back. "You mean you need to know how
Gilderoy ended up like this?" He asked. Maybe Ron wasn't as
smart as Hermione, but he could put two and two together,
and it was afterall fairly obvious when you gave it some
thought. When Snape didn't answer, and instead regarded
Ron rather impatiently, Ron continued hastily, "Well, he
was using my broken wand, and the spell bounced back and
hit him instead..."

Snape cut him off there, "Fine then. Listen Weasley, this
area is off limits to students. If you don't want me to
take points of Gryffindor, you're going to help me out."

Raising his eyes, Ron nodded mutely. "Good." Snape
muttered. "Go to lunch now, but report to me after
your last class today." Relieved to finally get away, Ron
scampered off to see if he still had time to get even a
bite of lunch before Transfiguration.

Snape watched him go before he turned around to return to
Lockhart.


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To be Continued....

Longer than before!!! Actually, I think this is my longest yet in these.
:-D I really want comments on the storyline in this one and
on Snape's character, so if you have a moment... anything you say
will be used when I start writing the next part!!

Thanx to everyone who reviewed Part I, individual replies to reviewers
are below:

Minx- I think you've reviewed nearly all my fics, thank you so much!
This is going to be a love/hate relationship once Lockhart
revives... but I wouldn't say they are exactly opposites :-D

Hermione Williams- Thanx, I'm hoping this will work, somehow. A new
part of The Girl Who Loved will be up soon too, after midterms.

Raggona- Well, since I'm a gay person myself, I hope someday they
are universally accepted.

Micki- My goal with these is to make them just like any romance fics
out there to some extent. I don't think slash needs to be explicit
to be enjoyable, just like hetro fics don't need to be explicit.
Glad you are enjoying all three series, they should be overlapping
soon... :-D

r i d d l e- Thanx, I hope you liked this part too.

Knight Smeg- Okay this is off topic, but I really love your stories! :-)
I wrote the first bit with Lockhart as very lively and entergetic,
but I think my storyline will work better with him as brooding
and unresponsive.

Ginny .H. Weasley- I know the parts I post are short, but that's because
I rely on feedback on each smaller part to try to improve the next.