"Jaken, can you hear me?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes," came the answer, flat and emotionless.
"Tell me why you killed your sister."
"She was protecting him. She got in the way."
"In the way of what? Of Severus Snape?"
"Yes. I came here to kill him. Medea tried to stop me."
Dumbledore glanced over at Snape who showed no emotion as he sat in the chair. His head hung slightly to one side from weakness, staring at a point near the door, but he was listening.
"Why did you try to kill Severus?"
"Severus killed Medea."
"Tell me what happened."
"Meda loved him. She was engaged to him. He was arrested for being a Death eater, but she would not listen to me. She knew what he was and did not care. She said I did not understand. After he was released, he broke off the engagement. She was upset and asked me to come over. I went to her flat after work. She did not answer when I called. I went into her bedroom and saw Severus disapparate. Medea had been stabbed many times. Her blood was all over the room."
McGonagall gasped.
"If Medea was dead, how did she come here?" Dumbledore asked patiently, leaning forward.
"My sister was not dead yet."
Snape's head jerked at this news. His eyes glistened with fresh tears.
"I could not save her, so I removed her memories," Jaken continued. "I placed them in an old penseive she used as a basin. I was able to retrieve many of her memories before she died. I found the dagger which had killed her near the bed and took it. Then I buried her body next to our parents. I did not want anyone to know she had died."
"Why?"
Snape buried his face in his hands. McGonagall stepped over to him and gently lay her arm across his shoulders.
"I searched for years for a way to exact my revenge. I wanted him to feel what she felt. I wanted him to feel the same betrayal."
"So what did you do?"
"I wanted her to kill him, so I created a Golem from mud and placed her memories inside. I had removed enough that the Golem formed itself in her image. It was her in form, but I had to be careful giving it her memories. I couldn't give it her memories of death or it would go insane. It was having nightmares from what it had. I often found it curled up in corners, trying to hide.
"Finally, I gave it her memories from the days leading up to her death. I just needed to add a few more hours, but something went wrong."
"What went wrong?" Dumbledore asked.
"It went insane. I paid a gypsy witch to help me. I had made a mistake."
"What mistake?"
"When I took her memories, I trapped her soul. She could not move on. She was trapped inside the Golem. She was trying to find Severus, but couldn't because of the body. It kept screaming nonsense."
"What nonsense?"
"'He is in danger. Betrayal. Betrayal.' She escaped from my home months ago. I searched for her in secret. I did not want to draw attention to her existence. Finally, I contacted an old friend of hers from the French Ministry of Magic. A man from your Ministry contacted me a few days later. He put me in touch with Albus Dumbledore. I knew he knew where she was. I wrote to him, told him to visit me at my home.
"He came to my home with another man. When they told me where she was, I drugged their tea, but only one drank it. I stunned the other."
Snape's eyes connected with Dumbledore's momentarily before it was broken off by the headmaster.
"What happened when you got to the school?"
"I was hiding near a cottage. The door opened and a large man appeared. He greeted someone, although no one was there. I knew it was someone in an Invisibility cloak. I stunned them both and took the cloak from the boy who wore it. I saw them, Medea and Severus walking outside. I was angry that she would go to him after what he did. But she did not know. She did not yet have those memories. I would give her those memories and so she would kill him herself. Wearing the cloak, I followed my sister into the school unnoticed and to her room. When they entered, I followed. I unarmed the Death Eater, but Medea fought me. I gave my sister her memories."
Jaken continued, showing no emotion.
"I watched her as she relived it all. She felt every stab and cried out in pain."
Snape was shaking, his eyes closed, reliving the night as Jaken told it. He too saw her writhing on the floor as invisible knives stabbed her again and again. McGonagall took his hand and patted it gently. She leaned down and whispered to him, but he shook his head. He did not want to leave.
"What did she remember?" Dumbledore asked quietly.
"It was not him. Severus had not killed her. It was a blond man. I did not want to listen. It was still his fault. If she had never met him, none of this would have happened. I tried to kill him, but Medea stepped between us. I killed her instead."
The room was silent except for the sniffle that escaped McGonagall. No one moved. What else was there to say? Eyes fell sadly on Snape who sat with his elbows on his knees, holding his head. His hair hung forward, covering his face, but the shudders that gripped his body revealed the depth of his wound.
"I think we've heard enough," Dumbledore said quietly. "Seamus, get this man out of my school." Dumbledore's eyes landed in disgust on the Jaken.
"Jaken Colberson," Seamus Figg said, pulling the man up from the chair. "I'm placing you under arrest for the murder of Medea Colberson and the attempted murder of Severus Snape. And I'm sure we could charge you with much more than that. Come on." He pulled him out the door.
Dumbledore asked McGonagall and Lupin to wait outside, but both lingered for just a moment, casting sad glances at the Potions master, who sat unmoving in his chair, before leaving. The headmaster waved his hand and a chair walked silently across the room and stopped in front of Snape. Dumbledore sat in it, leaning down toward Snape's bent figure.
"I'm sorry, Severus, about all of this. I know none of us can possibly know how you feel."
Snape looked up.
"No. You can't possibly." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I lost her twice, Albus. Both times, she died because of me."
"That's not true."
"Yes, it is," he answered sternly, his dark eyes locking with Dumbledore's. "Both times. And how many others were in danger? You and Filius both could have been killed. And Hagrid and Potter. He was the one under the cloak, wasn't he?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"After all we've done to protect him from Voldemort, and he could have been killed by Jaken because he was looking for me."
"Severus-"
"What happens next time someone comes looking for me? You know the things I've done. You know there are plenty of witches and wizards out there, more powerful than Jaken, who wouldn't mind coming to Hogwarts to get a shot at me. My being here is a danger to these students."
"I have always understood the risks. If I honestly felt you placed any of the students or staff in danger, I would not have brought you here. You know that."
Snape sat quietly, staring across the room.
"I'm leaving, Albus," he said quietly. "I am no longer of use to you. Voldemort knows I'm a spy. He knows where to find me, as does anyone else who wants revenge. I am resigning from the school."
"I will not accept it. You will not run away. Certainly not now. If for no other reason, you still owe me your life, and I will not yet relinquish it. I need you here to help protect the school." Dumbledore stood and walked toward the door. "However, I understand that you do need some time. At the end of the term, take a vacation. Travel. Come back in September. Your job will be waiting for you."
"And if I don't come back?"
Dumbledore looked up.
"If you do not come back, I will not come after you. But understand, you will be a fugitive, and I will not be able to protect you." He opened the door, allowing Lupin and McGonagall back into the room. "Remus, please help Severus back to the Hospital Wing. He needs to rest."
Lupin helped Snape from the chair.
"And Severus," Dumbledore said as Lupin wrapped an arm around Snape's waist to support his weight, "don't forget that you have many friends here, whether or not you wish to acknowledge them."
When the door had closed behind them, Dumbledore sat back in his chair and lowered his head into his hand.
"What is it, Albus?" McGonagall asked.
"I fear we may have just lost out Potions master."
FIN