Snape strode rapidly through the castle with Snuffles at his heels and an intensely annoyed glare on his face. Anyone they came across got out of their way as fast as possible, wishing to keep all their bodily parts firmly intact. In a very short time, both wizards were standing in front of Albus Dumbledore's office door. Keeping his fears tightly in check, Snape knocked boldly and was told to come in.
Snape and Black entered to find Dumbledore speaking to Minerva McGonagall and Arthur Weasley.
Facing the situation head on, Snape strode straight up to Dumbledore and said without preamble, "Is it true that that imbecile Fudge still refuses to believe that the Dark Lord has returned?"
Dumbledore looked up at Snape and sighed. "I'm afraid that is indeed true, Severus."
Snape frowned ominously. Storm clouds looked cheerier. "Please explain his reasoning, Albus. This continued obtuseness makes no sense!"
Knowing this conversation wasn't going to be easy, Dumbledore gestured for everyone to take a seat, which Snape did with impatience and Black with curiosity.
Dumbledore folded his hands in front of him and announced grimly, "Fudge apparently believes that last night's attack was perpetrated by a bunch of renegade Death Eaters, who are trying to bring back the terror of Voldemort's time. Their use of trolls and werewolves seems to indicate to him that these Death Eaters are few in number, although perhaps strong in allies."
Snape's jaw dropped. "That's insane! How does he explain what happened to his own ministers?"
Weasley spoke up uneasily, reluctant to provoke Snape's wrath. "Fudge believes they were held by these Death Eaters. They never saw any indication of You-Know-Who, nor did any of them ever see the faces of their captors or any details of where they were being held. Minister Eggleson was unconscious when you rescued her. Minister Limpet and Minister Whitestaff were too shocked by the whole thing to notice anything about their surroundings, or about their rescue…except that you had a werewolf under your command."
Snape suddenly heard the loud clang of a metal door slamming shut in his mind. Never in his wildest imaginings had it occurred to him that Lupin's participation in the rescue could be taken as a sign that he was really working for the dark side. Snape frowned ominously at Weasley, who squirmed uneasily under his glare, then he turned and looked at Dumbledore seriously. "Is Fudge trying to blame this on me?" he asked, in a deceptively quiet tone.
Dumbledore gave a deep sigh and nodded reluctantly. "He did say that since all of our information came from you, and you provided the potions for both sides, that perhaps you orchestrated the entire thing for your own purposes."
"Did he indicate what he thought those purposes might be?" inquired Snape, his countenance grimmer by the second.
"He was a bit unclear on that. He does seem to have decided that you're the cause of all that happened last night, however, Severus. I just spent the entire morning convincing him not to throw you directly into Azkaban." Dumbledore regarded Snape with a very sober expression on his face. Wanting there to be no mistake. It was important that the younger wizard should realize just how serious this situation was.
Snape had no problem there, the seriousness of all this was making itself more than abundantly clear. He blanched and shook his head. His thoughts were getting grimmer and grimmer as he tried to make sense of this appalling situation. "What does it take to convince the man?" He found himself asking in a rough voice, utterly disgusted that he should find himself in this predicament now when finally it had seemed that he could put some of this nightmare behind him forever.
Black jumped in, ever eager to impart his take on things. "Has it occurred to any of you that maybe Fudge is really working for Voldemort himself, and that's why logical facts don't seem to matter to the idiot?"
Dumbledore glanced sadly at him. "I admit the thought has crossed my mind, but I have no evidence of that."
Suddenly Snape could envision all the plans that he and Evangeline had spent the last few hours creating disappearing forever into the darkness of Azkaban. He took a deep breath and looked at Dumbledore with a stony countenance. "What's Fudge going to do to me?"
Dumbledore smiled reassuringly at Snape. "For the moment, nothing Severus. He has no proof against you. It's all foolish speculation on his part. He did make me promise that you wouldn't leave Hogwarts for now. And, as I felt that would be wisest for your own safety, I agreed. I hope you'll abide by this restriction."
Snape stared at Dumbledore intently. "So now I'm to be a prisoner, am I? I'm to be condemned! Will they even bother with a trial?"
His glare intensified as his rage increased and his frustration mounted. His voice remained soft but the bitterness in it hung in the air around their heads like acrid rings of smoke. "I give myself away to Voldemort and Malfoy as a traitor to their cause. I put my life on the line to foil their plots and schemes, and to save the lives and comfort of those who despise me. I endanger Evangeline's life by not being here to help her, when she needs me the most, so that I can be the good spy and learn all we need to know about their plans. And this is the result. I am blamed for this monstrous act, and Voldemort gets away to plot another attack free from our observation."
The Potions Master rose to his feet with a look of deep disgust on his face. "Suddenly, friends and enemies seem all the same to me, Albus. Don't worry, I won't leave Hogwarts…but one prison is much the same as another." Without another word or glance at anyone he turned on his heel and strode out of the room.
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Evangeline opened the door to find Minerva McGonagall standing in the corridor. She smiled welcomingly at her. "Come in, Minerva."
McGonagall entered and took note of Evangeline once more wearing the leaf green robe she'd seen frequently of late. "My dear, I think we need to get you some more clothes."
Evangeline smiled ruefully. "Yes, I'm afraid so. I'm down to only a handful of items. Death Eaters have been very hard on my wardrobe."
McGonagall nodded grimly and got down to the purpose of her visit. "Is Severus here?"
Evangeline shook her head. "No, he went to a meeting with Albus."
McGonagall sighed. "I was afraid of that. I was at that meeting, and I felt you should know about it. I wasn't sure if Severus would come and tell you himself or not."
Remembering Sirius' concerns, Evangeline's stomach suddenly clenched in fear. "What happened, Minerva? Is that fool Fudge trying to blame what happened on Severus?"
McGonagall nodded reluctantly. "I'm afraid so, dear."
All their hopeful dreams of a future together suddenly shattered into a million pieces and blew away with the winds of fear. Evangeline paced over to the fireplace and put her hands over her face. "Oh, god, are they going to put him in Azkaban?" she whispered hoarsely.
McGonagall's heart dropped, and she quickly went over to put her arm around the suddenly terrified young woman. "Fudge wanted to, Evangeline, but there's no proof of anything against Severus, so Albus was able to stop him."
"No proof? Of course, there's no proof! Severus isn't guilty of anything except trying to help, and saving countless lives, not to mention Gringotts itself!" Evangeline yelled in exasperation as she began to pace back and forth. "I'm beginning to agree with Sirius. Maybe Fudge is in Voldemort's camp, after all."
As appalling as she found that thought, McGonagall couldn't discount the idea completely. "We've all considered that, but there's no proof."
Evangeline sighed and threw up her hands. "Once more there's no proof, so Fudge gets the benefit of the doubt. Why doesn't Severus? Why is he presumed guilty?"
McGonagall tried once more to comfort Evangeline with an embrace. "Please, don't worry, dear. We won't let anything happen to Severus. He's not going to Azkaban. Fudge has requested that Albus keep him here for the moment, that's all. For Severus' own protection, he's agreed to this. It'll be all right. We'll get this whole situation cleared up in no time, you'll see."
Evangeline put her hands over her mouth and stared morosely into the fire. This morning things had looked so promising. The future had been something to look forward to, now it appeared to be something to fear…to dread. How had circumstances changed so drastically, so quickly? Why were the rocks in the road ahead always so incredibly huge?
As she watched her young friend struggle with her fears, McGonagall noticed the lovely ring on Evangeline's finger as it sparkled brightly in the firelight and smiled gently. "Evangeline, is that what I think it is?"
Evangeline's lips twitched faintly, and she brought her hand down to stare longingly at her beautiful ring. She spoke in a wistful tone. "You're the second person to use exactly those words. Yes, it's an engagement ring. One I'm sure that Severus is regretting giving to me right now. Not because he doesn't love me, but because he'll want to protect me from all this mess. It's so unfair, Minerva. He's finally free of the spying. He should have some freedom, have a life, instead it could all be snatched away by a petty tyrant with the brains of a rodent and the power to destroy all of our lives."