Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story (more's the pity--they could help pay my student loans) except for Eve Berger. Nor did I come up with the plot of PoA, and the scenes and dialogue included in that fab book, which I humbly reproduce at certain points herein. All that belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., Bloomsbury, Raincoast, Scholastic...the list goes on!
Author's Note: OK, here it is--the last of the chapters which leans on canon, and by far the absolute hardest to write. I would like to state again, that obviously the dialogue and the actions in this chapter are NOT MINE. JKR wrote it, and it is her text that inspired much of my elaboration on what might have been going through Snape's mind during this scene in PoA. She deserves all the credit, not me. I simply wanted to explore Snape's emotions and thoughts during this scene, and felt that the only way I could do that was to reproduce some of the book here. I've tried to pad it out, fill in some blanks, but it was JKR that drew the picture--I just coloured between the lines. Trust me, doing it this way by no means made it easier.
So again. Not mine. Never was. Never will be. I merely grovel at JKR's feet, praying that some divine entity may bless me enough to bestow upon me even a mere fraction of her genius.
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Chapter 17: Dumbledore's Betrayal
Snape woke with a start as he felt himself land on a marginally soft surface, a fresh burst of pain pounding at his temples with the jolt. Gritting his teeth against the migraine throbbing in his skull, he sat up and opened his eyes.
He was sitting on the lush grass of the Hogwarts grounds, his wand lying a few feet away near the crumpled form of Ron Weasley. How on earth had he got out here? The last thing he remembered was heading down the tunnel he'd seen on the map--the Map. Potter, Lupin, Black in the Shrieking Shack... What on earth happened there? Snape thought. His memory was hazy, and as he stood and fetched his wand, conjuring a stretcher for Weasley, he searched his memory for anything that would explain what had occurred. Small flashes of memory returned to him, an image, a voice. Himself threatening Black at wandpoint, Lupin bound and gagged, Potter standing in a doorway, three voices in unison... Three voices--Potter, Weasley and Granger. That was who had attacked him, he was certain. Lupin had been bound, Black had been wandless, and the fact that Snape was still alive proved to him that Black couldn't have taken his wand. Those three were the only others it could be, only they had wands and it would have taken all three to knock him out, Snape was certain, though he couldn't remember exactly what had happened.
Looking around him he saw the Dementors walking across the lawn, far enough away that they couldn't affect him. It looked as though they were coming from the lake...
Guiding Weasley's stretcher with his wand, Snape hurried around the castle and down the embankment to the lake, moving faster when he saw three figures lying motionless on the grass: Potter, Black and Granger. Lupin was nowhere to be seen, but with the full moon guiding Snape's way, there was little doubt what had happened to him.
Snape reached Potter first, touching the boy's face and finding the skin warm, the eyes closed; he hadn't been Kissed then, only made unconscious by the effects of the Dementors. On further inspection, Granger and Black seemed to be likewise unconscious but still in possession of their souls. None had the cold, clammy skin or the wide, staring eyes and horrified expressions of those that had had their souls sucked out of them. Not that he would have minded Black's being Kissed, but at least this way he would have the pleasure of presenting a live Black to the Ministry.
Quickly conjuring stretchers for the three others (binding Black first, of course), Snape hurried them back to the castle. He was running up the steps to the front doors when they burst open, Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey and Cornelius Fudge all hurrying down to meet him.
"Are they-- Did the Dementors--?" Fudge spluttered, looking at the stretchers in horror, no doubt already seeing the Daily Prophet headlines in his mind. Snape shook his head and both Fudge and Pomfrey sighed in relief. Pomfrey took over the children, guiding them to the hospital wing while Dumbledore turned to Snape.
"We can keep Black in Professor Flitwick's office. Cornelius, I assume you want to inform the ministry of Black's capture?" Fudge nodded. "Use my office then, the password is 'Fizzing Whizzbee'."
"Thank you, Albus. They'll be glad to hear that we've finally got Black under wraps again, a great load off everyone's mind," Fudge said, then, nodding to Snape, hurried up the stairs. Dumbledore waited until Fudge had a long head start before beckoning for Snape to follow.
"What do you remember?" Dumbledore asked, striding up the stairs quickly for a man of his age. Snape was finding it somewhat hard to keep up, due to his headache and the stretcher, but tried not to show it. He couldn't help but sound a little winded as he explained all that he remembered, from his finding Potter's map on Lupin's desk until the point where Dumbledore and company entered the scene. Snape had been expecting some expression of gratitude from Dumbledore about his interference, but if anything the Headmaster simply looked increasingly puzzled, particularly when Snape described his waking to find himself at Hogwarts, and finding Black, Potter and Granger by the lake.
As they spoke they climbed the stairs all the way to the seventh floor and strode down the hall to Flitwick's office, Dumbledore pausing Snape in his narrative only to unlock the door. Snape levitated Black from his stretcher to a chair, then altered Black's bindings so he was tied to the chair's arms and legs.
Moments later, Fudge reappeared, looking well satisfied. "Well, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was very pleased to hear that we'd caught Black at last and gave his personal approval for Black's execution. Good thing we got him when we did--should stop all those letters to the Daily Prophet about how we haven't been doing our jobs and all that. Load off all our minds, eh Dumbledore?"
"Indeed it is, Cornelius," Dumbledore replied, though to Snape he looked suspiciously unenthusiastic, "Someone will need to fetch the Dementors, then. Severus, you should have that cut seen to. I can look after Black for now. I doubt he'll be waking any time soon."
Snape looked closely at Dumbledore, doubt building within him. The headmaster was up to something, he was sure of it. "Are you certain, headmaster? Shouldn't someone stay--"
Dumbledore waved away Snape's concerns. "No, no. Go, both of you. I will be perfectly safe."
Snape turned and walked out of the room with reluctance, following Fudge who was already chattering away.
"Well, all's well that ends well, as they say. Here, come with me, will you? I can see how the children are doing while you're seen to, and then we've only to find MacNair and ask him to fetch the Dementors. MacNair will be glad to hear this news--he was rather disappointed about the escape of that Hippogriff, Black's capture will brighten his day. Tell me, what happened, exactly?"
Snape launched into the story again, interrupted by their reaching the hospital wing. Pomfrey was still hurrying about tending to the children, so Snape and Fudge stood outside, talking quietly.
"This has been a shocking business, simply shocking. It's a miracle that none of them died, I've never heard the like of this, even in all the years I've been Minister of Magic. By thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape. If you hadn't been, who knows what would have come of it?" Fudge rambled.
"Thank you, Minister," Snape said, bowing slightly.
"This sort of action deserves at least an Order of Merlin, Second Class--First Class, if I can wangle it."
Snape swelled with pride and found it hard to keep a smile off his face. The Order of Merlin! No one would be able to doubt his loyalties then, perhaps he would finally get his due...
"Thank you very much indeed, Minister," he replied calmly.
"Only fitting, going beyond your duty, and being injured in the process. Nasty cut you've got there. Black's work I suppose?"
"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, Weasley and Granger, Minister."
The look of shock on Fudge's face was priceless. "No!" he said, horrified.
Again Snape found it hard to keep from smiling as he told Fudge how the children had obviously been bewitched, hinting at how things could have gone dangerously wrong with the children's involvement. "They've got away with a great deal before now, I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves. And of course Potter has always been allowed and extraordinary amount of licence by the Headmaster."
"Ah, well, Snape, Harry Potter you know... We've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned."
"And yet, is it good for him to be given special treatment? Personally I try to treat him like any other student..." Snape was pleased to see the Minister waffling as he did his best to convince Fudge that Potter should be reigned in. With any luck the Minister might mention something to Dumbledore about it.
Fudge asked for the rest of the story and so Snape launched into it again, describing how he'd found the others by the lake, the Dementors retreating. Fudge had started praising Snape's actions again when he was interrupted by a cry within the hospital wing.
Fudge was first to hurry in and Snape followed closely at his heels. By virtue of his height he could see around Fudge, and saw both Potter and Granger arguing with Pomfrey, pleading to see the Headmaster, insisting that Black was innocent. Fudge started talking to the children as though they were half-witted, something Snape found rather amusing to watch. Both of them, though obviously not right in their mind, were still acting like themselves; Potter letting his temper get the better of him while Granger pleaded more calmly. Granger would have had the better chance of convincing Fudge, were she not obviously Confunded as well, something Snape couldn't resist pointing out.
"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Potter shouted, obviously learning nothing from Granger's example.
"Minister! Professor!" Madam Pomfrey interrupted, rounding on the two adults as though she was reprimanding another pair of children, "I must insist that you leave. Potter is my patient and he should not be distressed!"
Potter protested, but Pomfrey stuffed a chunk of chocolate in his mouth and tried to lead the two children back to bed. She had almost succeeded when the door opened again. Immediately Potter was back on his feet, and Snape turned to see Dumbledore walk in. There was something about the Headmaster's expression that Snape did not like one bit; his expression was one of concern but there was the ghost of an expression in his eyes that made Snape think he was planning something.
Potter started his protests afresh. "Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black--"
"For heaven's sake! Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster I must insist--" Pomfrey started, obviously losing her temper.
Dumbledore's voice was suspiciously calm. "My apologies Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter and Miss Granger. I have just been talking to Sirius Black--"
Immediately Snape's hackles rose; what cause would Dumbledore have to be talking with a convicted murderer?
"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind? Something about a rat and Pettigrew being alive--" Snape snapped.
"That, indeed, is Black's story," Dumbledore replied, giving Snape a warning look. Though Snape knew it was meant to keep him from continuing, his temper was rapidly building along with the pounding in his head. He certainly wasn't going to give up without a fight--not in front of Fudge, Potter and Granger.
"And does my evidence count for nothing? Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him in the grounds--"
Of course, Granger simply had to butt her nose in where it wasn't wanted, yet again. "That was because you were knocked out, Professor, you didn't arrive in time to hear--"
"Miss Granger, hold your tongue!" Snape said, unable to take Granger's meddling at that moment.
Fudge jumped slightly at the sound of Snape's voice and started spluttering, trying to defuse the situation, but Dumbledore cut him off.
"I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione alone. Cornelius, Severus, Poppy--please leave us," Dumbledore said, his voice forcibly calm.
Snape paid little attention to Pomfrey's protests, too busy analysing Dumbledore's expression. He had seen that sort of calmness on Dumbledore's face before, and knew from experience that it was often deceptive. It was the expression the Headmaster used at moments of great urgency, when other people would have been losing their heads. Usually it was reassuring, a sign that the man in charge was remaining rational while others were panicked. At that moment, however, Snape could only feel a sense of foreboding.
Pomfrey and Fudge left, the latter holding the door open for Snape, but he didn't move to leave. Not yet, not until he had better ascertained what Dumbledore was up to. Not until he'd made one last attempt to make Dumbledore see reason.
"You surely don't believe Black's story?" Snape asked, watching Dumbledore like a hawk. He was well aware that Potter and Granger were listening to every word he said, but for the moment he didn't care.
"I wish to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated.
Snape's sense of foreboding grew, as did the throbbing at his temples. "Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen, you haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?"
Dumbledore stared right back at him, his voice soft as he replied, "My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus."
It was as clear an intimation that their discussion was over as if Dumbledore had said so in no uncertain terms. It wasn't the answer Snape had wanted to hear; naturally the Headmaster remembered the incident, but then he probably remembered his skewed view of the entire affair as well.
Knowing that he wasn't going to get a straight answer, Snape quickly spun around and strode out the door, quickly brushing past Fudge, who walked quickly to keep up. Dumbledore was definitely up to something, though damned if he had a clue was it was.
"Well, that was a shocking business, those children. At least it will be over soon enough--that is, as soon as we find MacNair. I believe he was in the staff room, do you know the fastest way to get there?" Fudge said. Snape nodded, and led the way down the staff room.
They met MacNair on the way and as Fudge had said, he looked well pleased to assist in at least one execution, even if it wasn't the one he had prepared for. MacNair hurried off to fetch the Dementors, a grotesque smile on his face. Once MacNair had left, Snape and Fudge began heading back up to Flitwick's office to wait for the Dementors to arrive. There was no way Snape was going to miss this moment. Usually he disliked the Dementors and their methods intensely, due in no small part to the memories they conjured in him when they approached, but he found it hard to feel distaste at what he was about to see. Not when it concerned Sirius Black. Black had killed eleven people and had endangered the lives of many more. He deserved what was coming to him.
Fudge, of course, couldn't let silence fall between them and prattled on as they made their winding way up to Flitwick's office. "Well, thank goodness no one was seriously hurt, and we'll have Black out of our hair soon. It will be such a relief to not have that threat hanging over our heads."
"Indeed it will be. I only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties. The Kiss will be performed immediately?"
"As soon as MacNair returns with the Dementors. This whole Black affair has been highly embarrassing, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to informing the Daily Prophet that we've got him at last. I daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape. And once young Harry's back in his right mind, I imagine he'll want to tell the Prophet exactly how you saved him."
Snape couldn't hide a small smirk. "No doubt. Though I should certainly hope that any other teacher would do as much in a similar situation. We are charged with guiding and protecting these children, not just educating them, after all."
"Indeed, indeed. I'm certain that the parents of all these students will be reassured to read that in the Prophet, to know that their children are under your care, er...Severus, isn't it? You're a head of house, are you not?"
"I am, Minister."
"Which one, again?"
"Slytherin."
Fudge's brows furrowed and he turned to look at Snape as they reached Flitwick's office. "Really? Quite a challenge I imagine, that group. Must keep you on your toes."
"No more so than the Gryffindors, certainly," Snape replied, perhaps a little testily.
Fudge seemed to have picked up on Snape's unspoken response, and kept his mouth shut, instead turning to look down the corridor, apparently waiting for the others to show up.
Dumbledore arrived a few minutes later, looking oddly relaxed, as though some worry had been taken off his mind. Snape would have taken a more careful look but MacNair and the Dementors appeared down the corridor a moment later, and Snape instead had to quash any pleasant thoughts, putting thoughts of the Order of Merlin and the Daily Prophet out of his head. He didn't want to fall to pieces in front of the Minister of Magic. Luckily, there was little pleasure for them to feed on, and so had little effect on anyone at the moment. A few formalities were dispensed with, Fudge and Dumbledore checking over the Order of Execution. Finally Dumbledore lifted the wards on the door and walked in, followed by Fudge.
Snape hurried in after, ready to see Black's terrified face staring up at him, but stopped in his tracks as he saw inside the room.
Black was gone.
The ropes that had bound him to the chair lay on the floor intact, the mullioned window swung open.
Black untied, window open, a hippogriff missing... The evidence added up in his head as quickly as the simplest mathematical problem, leaving the only possible answer: Potter.
Snape stood there for one moment, his opportunity for recognition crumbling before his eyes, his headache intensifying, before he let out a roar of frustration and turned on his heel. He quickly strode out of the room, barely aware that Dumbledore and Fudge were following hard on his heels, one thing running through his mind: This is Potter's doing!
"Snape, where are you going? Black can't still be in the castle--" Fudge said as they neared the hospital wing.
"He's not in the castle, and he had help getting out of it!"
"He must have Disapparated, Severus, we should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out--"
"He didn't Disapparate! You can't Apparate or Disapparate inside this castle! This has something to do with Potter!"
Snape reached the door to the hospital wing and threw it open as Fudge prattled on. Snape paid little heed, instead making a beeline for Potter's bed. Potter was looking up at him with an innocent expression, which only served to make Snape even more furious.
"Out with it Potter, what did you do?" Snape yelled, wanting nothing more than to grab Potter by the throat and choke the truth out of him. He no longer cared what Fudge thought, couldn't spare the consideration as to how this would appear. His moment had been yanked out from under his feet, his vindication, and someone was going to answer for it.
Fudge and Madam Pomfrey both attempted to dissuade him, tell him that there was no way Potter and Granger could have done anything, but Snape wasn't listening.
"They helped him escape, I know it!" He pointed at both the children, looking back at Fudge and Dumbledore with wild eyes.
"Calm down, man! You're talking nonsense!" Fudge snapped, looking rather alarmed.
Dumbledore spoke up, his voice deceptively calm. "That will do, Severus. Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?" Pomfrey insisted that they hadn't. "Well there you have it, Severus. Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione can be in two places at once, I see no point in troubling them further."
For a moment Snape looked at the others, dumb with frustration. How on earth can Dumbledore believe--
Then he saw it: that damned twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes. The truth hit him like a rampaging hippogriff: Potter had set Black loose, and Dumbledore had helped him do it!
Anger and betrayal fought for supremacy within him, and after a moment of seething, Snape stormed out, hastily beating a retreat to his sanctuary in the dungeons. He had half a mind to write his resignation letter then and there. Dumbledore had always made it seem that he trusted Snape, that he listened to his opinion, but instead he didn't trust him at all. After everything he had done to prove himself to Dumbledore, after all his work, all his attempts at persuasion over the past year, Dumbledore still sided with his Gryffindors, over someone who had risked their own life in the Headmaster's cause.
Casting aside the wards on his room, he pushed the door open with more force than was really necessary, slamming it behind him before setting the wards again. Unlocking his personal store cupboard, he fumbled among the various bottles before grabbing one that held a strong painkilling potion. He poured a little into a nearby goblet of water, and downed it quickly, ignoring the taste. He didn't care that it tasted like week-old socks, all he was concerned with was dulling his headache enough to sleep. It was easier said than done, particularly with the fury that still coursed through him. He hadn't felt this betrayed, this angry since that night when he was sixteen and Black had tried to kill him. Here he was, almost twenty years later, and nothing had changed.
Unable to wait for the potion to take effect, Snape poured another gobletful of water and rummaged through his cupboard again, removing a bottle of powdered valerian root. Two pinches should do the trick--he used less in most of his sleeping potions, and this was in its purest form. Adding the powder to the water, he swirled it around for a moment before gulping it down. Within seconds he could feel the fatigue creeping up on him, and he barely managed to dress for bed and crawl between the sheets before he nodded off.
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"Enervate!"
Snape woke with a start, eyes snapping open, his heart racing. It took him a second to realise that Dumbledore was leaning over him, wand out, concern lining his face.
"Wh-what is it? What's happened?" Snape said, expecting that some emergency had occurred, half wondering if Black had turned up again.
"Nothing is the matter, except that I was worried when you didn't wake. You have a concussion, Severus, and a rather bad one by the look of it. You shouldn't sleep more than an hour or two at a time," Dumbledore said, straightening a little.
Snape wasn't in the mood to control his sarcasm. "How good of you to be concerned on my behalf," he replied, rubbing his eyes as he began to sit up. Dumbledore stopped him, however, gently touching his shoulder. Snape took the hint and lay back; considering his head has started pounding even harder as he'd moved, he was more than willing to rest his head on his pillow. Dumbledore had seen him in much worse shape on many other occasions, after all. Besides at this point he had so little dignity left that it seemed useless to try and conserve it.
Dumbledore looked at Snape seriously for a moment. "I know you...disagree with me in regards to Sirius Black."
Snape let out a small snort. "That would be a gross understatement. Sirius Black has proved himself capable of murder before. Why did he slash the portrait, then? Why was he looming over Weasley in the middle of the night brandishing a knife? Furthermore, how did he even escape in the first place? Even I don't know a spell that would allow one to sneak past Dementors."
"Severus..."
"And after everything he's done, you set him free, simply based on his word?"
Dumbledore gave him a hard stare. "Alastor Moody said the same thing about you."
Snape kept his mouth shut, though it took some effort to do it. Perhaps there were similarities, but then Snape hadn't acted as Black had. For one thing he'd never tried to kill anyone as a teenager. And he certainly hadn't acted like some bloodthirsty lunatic when he came looking for justice.
"Severus, I know there is little I can say to change your opinion. I believe Black for the same reasons I believed you when you came to me fifteen years ago. His actions may not have been very intelligent for those of an innocent man, but remember that he has been locked up in Azkaban prison for fourteen years. Would you have been able to act rationally in his situation?"
Dumbledore sighed, his eyes flickering upward for a moment. His face seemed to sag for a moment, as though a large weight had just dropped on his shoulders, and for once he truly looked his age.
"I know that for a long time you have held the belief that Black and his friends tried to kill you, but that was not the case. It was solely Black's doing, and it was a stupid, thoughtless, dangerous prank. Even if you cannot believe that Potter was not involved, you should at least absolve Remus Lupin. Do you know what the penalty is for a werewolf that kills someone? Can you believe that Lupin would seriously take that risk?
"But even as a juvenile prank it was extremely foolish, and I...handled the situation badly. That is something I have regretted many times since that day, not least when I learned that you had joined Voldemort's forces."
Dumbledore sighed again and when he spoke it was with finality. "I trust you, Severus, and I value your opinion. But in this case you did not have all the evidence. All I can ask is that you, in turn, trust me."
Snape closed his eyes before Dumbledore could meet his gaze. It would be easier to hide his emotions from the Headmaster if he didn't make eye contact. Not that Snape was about to give up his position so easily. At the moment, he didn't even want to think about anything that had happened, he simply wanted to roll over and escape back into sleep.
There was a long, uncomfortable silence, before he felt Dumbledore place a hand on his shoulder once more. "You should get some more rest; I will wake you again in a couple hours." He could hear Dumbledore moving over to the fireplace, hear him mutter a spell and the rush of flames being conjured into existence.
Despite what Dumbledore said, he could not yet believe Black to be an innocent man. But it was more than clear that discussion on that subject was closed as well.
With a sigh of his own, Snape turned onto his side and attempted to drive all thought of Sirius Black from his mind, eventually falling asleep once more.