After much hassle, Mo finally was able to contact Severus and request a meeting between himself and Teddie. The former Potions Master of Hogwarts was hesitant at first, but curiosity won out and he agreed to meet. It was still summertime, and no students were at the castle, which also meant most Professors, both old and new, were also away from campus.

The meeting was arranged for 7:30pm on July 30th. Teddie was to Floo from Flint Manor, under the disguise of a new student, and return home no later than 9:00pm. Both sides of the Floo were secured for travelling, and Teddie promised that she wouldn't dawdle or take any detours; she understood that times were bad, and what she was asking for was a lot. Neither Mo nor Snape could afford to break anymore rules. Not even for her.

At 7:29pm, Teddie stood in the fireplace of Flint Manor. Her hand clenched around a fistful of Floo powder.

"Severus will be waiting for you," said Mo. "Discuss what you need to, and come straight back. Do you understand?"

Teddie nodded. "What's my cover, again?" she asked.

"Your name is Alice Montgomery," said Ursula. "You're a transfer student from Germany."

"Why do I want to go to Hogwarts while Britain is the in the brink of a war?" Teddie asked. It didn't seem logical, especially with most parents pulling their kids out of school or sending them abroad to continuing their teachings.

Ursula sighed. "I guess you can come up with a reason," she said. "To be honest, we were very surprised ourselves when Severus agreed to meet you."

Teddie nodded. The idea that neither Ursula nor Mo had a plan for this part of the plan was unsettling. What had she asked them to do, and was it worth it now? What if something went wrong? What if she couldn't think on the spot or her lie wasn't convincing enough?

"Hey, stop thinking," said Mason. "You know you don't do well when you overthink. You'll be fine."

Teddie released the breath she had been holding and smiled at her brother. He was right, she usually did her best work under pressure. When things were down to the second, and she had no other choices to go with, that's when she usually produced her best ideas.

"You're right," said Teddie. "I can do this."

Marcus checked his watch. "It's time," he confirmed. "Professor Snape will be expecting you."

"Be careful, Teddie," Mo warned.

Teddie nodded. "I can't thank you enough for this," she said. Taking a deep breath, she dropped her handful of powder and shouted "HOGWARTS. HEADMASTER'S OFFICE!"

With a whirl of green flame, Teddie disappeared.

~X~

Severus looked up from his desk as his fireplace sprung to life. He waited a few seconds for the green flames to disappear and then took in the image of the brown-haired teenager that tumbled out.

"You still need to work on your landings," Snape commented.

Teddie rolled her eyes as she picked herself up, dusting off her jeans with her hands. She straightened and looked around. The office looked exactly has it had before, portraits of former Headmasters and Headmistress hung on the walls, some were snoozing in their frames, others were vacant, but one, the biggest of all, Teddie noted, hung behind Snape's chair. The man in the portrait was watching her, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Professor Dumbledore," Teddie breathed, mesmerised by the painting.

Dumbledore smiled knowingly at her, winked, and then slumped down his seat, eyes closed. For a few seconds Teddie watched him, the slow rise and fall of his chest before she turned to her gaze downward and onto Snape.

He was watching her, a look of familiar sadness in his eyes. He blinked, and it was gone, replaced with fury.

"What is the meaning of this … visit?" He asked. "Do you have any idea of the trouble we could all be in for this?"

Teddie's jaw tightened and she glared at her former head of house. "Oh, I'm sorry," she snapped. "I honestly didn't think you of all people would be worried about anyone safety, but his own!"

Snape grit his teeth. "What do you want?" he bit out.

"I wanted answers!" Teddie argued. "You disappeared at the end of last year. I want to know why you did what you did, why you locked me in your classroom, or why you killed Dumbledore. It's the one thing that has been on my mind all Summer. Everything seems to think that you killed Dumbledore in cold blood, but I don't. I argued your defence."

"I saw," said Snape. "And you shouldn't have."

"Why not?"

"Because it was pointless," argued Snape. "People believe what they want to believe, Teddie, and I'm sorry to say, but Mr Potter's word carries more weight than yours. I have always been a Death Eater to people, and that's never going to change."

Teddie stared at him, tears cresting her eyes. Why did he sound so defeated?

"Was that all you wanted?" Snape asked.

"No," said Teddie. "I came here for answers, and I'm not leaving with some half-arsed answer."

"Watch your tone," Snape warned.

"Or what?" Teddie asked. "Going to reprimand me? Send me home? Hand me over? What will you do?"

Snape offered her a withering glare and then sat back in his seat. The chair looked too big for him, and for a split second she felt a sense of hatred toward him. The only reason he was here was because Voldemort needed someone in power, he needed someone he could trust running the school, teaching the next generation on how to be good purebloods.

"Why did you agree to become a double agent if you planned on complying with Vol -"

"Don't say his name," Snape hissed.

Teddie's eyes widened. "Why?" she asked. "I've always -"

"Think, Teddie," said Snape. "Things have changed. Times ahead of full of danger."

"What as that got to do with a name?"

Snape sighed. "The Dark Lord has put a taboo on his name," he answered. "The same kind of charm that is on any underage witch or wizard that does magic outside of school. It is how the Ministry used to track down troublemakers."

"So, You-Know-Who has used the Trace on his name?"

Snape nodded.

Teddie sighed. "Great. That's all we need," she said. What were the chances that everyone in Britain knew that? There were others, not just herself, that used Voldemort's name out of habit. Did they know that the Trace had been cast on the name? Were they unknowingly bringing danger to themselves and their families by saying it?

"Anything else?" Snape asked. He sounded tense, and it was then that Teddie noticed he kept glancing at the clock above the fireplace. She followed his line of gaze and saw that it was already 08:10pm.

"What are you waiting for?" Teddie inquired.

Snape snapped his gaze back to her. "I, along with Mo and Ursula, didn't want this meeting," he said. "While I can guarantee that there are no students or teachers here, I cannot guarantee that Death Eaters won't be along. They're not down for patrol tonight, but things can change in the blink of an eye."

"I have a cover story should we be interrupted," said Teddie. "Didn't Mo tell you?"

"Yes. But, it's not a very convincing one."

"Maybe not, but all I need is time to get out of here."

"And give away your location," said Snape. "The Floo network is secured from here and at Flint Manor, remember? It's a one-way door. One which anyone could follow."

Teddie sighed. This was starting to become a bad idea. If she were to be caught here, despite her cover story, things wouldn't end well for anyone. Not her, definitely not Snape, and her family? They would've been wiped out completely.

"That still doesn't answer my question," said Teddie. "I appreciate you warning me about the Trace, but it doesn't answer why you would betray Dumbledore. He was already weakened. There was no way he could've fought back."

"Weakened by you, if I recall."

Again, Teddie glared at Snape, tears cresting her eyelids. Yes, Dumbledore was weakened by her, she had forced poison down his throat when they were in the cavern trying to get the locket; she had made it impossible for him to fight back. But, then, neither one of them had been anticipating a fight when they got back to Hogwarts.

"Answer my question."

Snape stood and strode around the desk. He approached the cabinet where Teddie knew that Dumbledore kept the Pensieve. She watched as he removed the bowl, carried it over to her, and set it down.

"What -?"

Raising his wand to his temple, Snape closed his eyes and pulled the tip away, a thin, silvery piece of thought attached to the end. It shimmered as Snape pulled it completely from his head and lowered it to the basin, for a second it clung to the wand but with a light tap it dropped into the shimmery cool liquid.

Teddie looked up at Snape. "You want me to enter that?" she asked. "What is it?"

"You'll see," said Snape.

Teddie hesitated.

"You said you wanted answers," said Snape, motioning to the bowl. "Go ahead. Everything you're looking for is in there."

Gnawing at her lip, Teddie stood from her chair. She hesitantly glanced at the door. What if someone entered while she was under? What would Snape do? If he protected her, he risked giving himself away, but would be betray her and hand her over?

"Don't worry about being interrupted," said Snape, placing a hand on her shoulder. The door is enchanted and will warn me if anyone draws close."

"Then why were you worried just now?"

"Because I'm always worried when you are here," said Snape. "I fear I will not be able to protect you. After all, I have failed so far, have I not?"

Teddie furrowed her brow. She wanted to argue, get him to explain what he meant, but a quick look at the clock on the mantle told her she was running out of time.

Dipping her head into the cool liquid, Teddie felt her feet leave the floor and she tumbled, headfirst, into the shimmering depths.

-Memory-

Teddie stood in the Headmaster's office. It was night-time outside, just as it was when she left the original office mere seconds ago. Only difference this time, there was no grand portrait of Dumbledore behind the Headmaster's desk; the man himself was slumped over in his throne-like chair, while Snape knelt beside him, fussing over his hand.

Stepping closer, Teddie noticed that the hand was the same one which had been blackened and dead looking all of last year. This must've been the memory of how that had happened, how it had occurred. She scanned her surroundings, looking for something that could have done serious damage to Dumbledore, but all she found was an odd, yet familiar looking gemstone ring on the desk.

"Drink this," said Snape, tilting Dumbledore's head back and pouring a goblet full of golden potion down his throat. Dumbledore moaned and then stilled, his chest continued to rise and fall steadily, but his eyes remained closed for the most part. Then, with a heave of his chest, his eyes fluttered open.

"Severus…" he breathed.

Snape set the goblet back on the desk and prodded Dumbledore's hand with his wand. It hung limply over the arm, blackened fingers splayed towards the ground. "Why, did you put on that ring?" he asked. "It carries a curse, surely you realised that. Why even touch it?"

Marvolo Gaunt's ring lay cracked on the desk. Gryffindor's sword lay next to it.

"I was a fool. Sorely tempted," Dumbledore grimaced.

"Tempted by what?"

Dumbledore did not answer.

"It is a miracle you managed to return here," said Snape. He sounded furious. "That ring carried a curse of extraordinary power, to contain it is all we can hope for; I have trapped it in one hand for the time being."

Dumbledore raised his blackened, useless hand, and examined it with an expression of one being shown an interesting artefact. "You have done well, Severus. How long do you think I have?"

Snape hesitated. "I cannot be sure," he admitted. "Maybe a year. There is no halting such a spell forever. It will spread, eventually. It is the sort of curse that strengthens overtime."

"I am very fortunate that I have you, Severus," said Dumbledore with a smile.

"If you had only summoned me a little earlier," said Snape, furious once more. "I may have been able to do more, to maybe buy you more time." He looked down at the broken ring and sword. "Did you think that breaking the ring would break the curse?"

"Something like that," Dumbledore nodded. "I was delirious, no doubt. But, this does make matters much more straightforward."

Teddie cocked her head with a frown, watching as Dumbledore straightened himself in his chair. He was still weak from whatever had happened previous to this. Why had he used the Sword of Gryffindor to open the ring? Why not magic? There were tons of spells and charms out there that could've done more damage, and they offered him a vantage by putting him as far away from the blast site as possible.

Dumbledore smiled at Snape's perplexed expression. "Lord Voldemort has plans for the Malfoy boy," he said. "He plans to have him kill me this term."

Snape sat in the chair opposite Dumbledore. It was obvious that he wasn't finished discussing the topic of Dumbledore's hand, Teddie had spent enough time with him in the past to recognise his facial features and decipher what they meant without many issues. But she also knew that once Dumbledore had changed the subject, there was no going back.

"The Dark Lord does not expect Draco to succeed," said Snape, scowling. "This is merely a punishment for Lucius' recent failures. Slow torture for Draco's parents, while they watch him fail and pay the price."

Teddie felt her heart drop. All last year, Malfoy was fighting not only a momentous task of killing one of these greatest wizards of all time, but also fighting off the Darkest Wizard of all time.

"No wonder he looked so ill towards the end of term," Teddie murmured to herself.

"In short, the boy has a death sentence pronounced upon him as surely I have," said Dumbledore. "Now, I should have thought the natural successor to the job, once Draco fails, is yourself?"

There was a short pause, one where Teddie felt her gaze widen of its own accord and turn toward Snape. Is this what she had been sent to see? The reason behind why he and killed Dumbledore?

"That, I think, is the Dark Lord's plan," Snape confirmed.

So he did just comply with Voldemort, Teddie thought, sadly. Wait, did that mean he was a traitor? Was this just some trick to get her to stick around past 9pm? Was there going to be an office full of Death Eaters waiting for her when she resurfaced?

Panic gripped at her core, and Teddie almost missed what Dumbledore said next.

"- foresees a moment in the near future where he will not need a spy at Hogwarts?"

Wait, what? Teddie sucked in a deep breath and turned back to the scene playing out before her. Snape was still a spy for Voldemort? Or was he a double agent for Dumbledore? She was confused.

"He believes the school will soon be in his grasp, yes," Snape confirmed.

"And if it does fall into his grasp," said Dumbledore, almost, it seemed, as an aside, "I have your word that you will do everything within your power to protect the students of Hogwarts?"

Snape gave a stiff nod.

"Good. Now then. Your first priority will be to discover what Draco is up to. A frightened teenage boy is a danger to others as well as to himself. Offer him help and guidance, he ought to accept, he likes you -"

"- much less since his father has lost favour. Draco blames Teddie for his father's imprisonment and believes I have usurped his position as the Dark Lord's favourite."

"All the same, try. I am concerned less for myself than for accidental victims of whatever schemes might occur to the boy. Ultimately, of course, there is only one thing to be down if we are to save him from Lord Voldemort's wrath."

Snape raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Are you intending to let him kill you?" he asked.

"Certainly not," said Dumbledore. "I intend for you to kill me."

WHAT! Teddie's voice screamed inside her head.

Silence seemed to descend over the scene, and for a split-second Teddie thought it was over. But in reality it was her own blood pounding in her ears that had deafened her. She couldn't hear anything beyond the revelation that Dumbledore had asked Snape to kill him. They had planned it from day one, and all of last year Snape had lied to her about it. He had locked her in his classroom, run off with his potions bag not to help Dumbledore, but to put an end to a plan they had concocted many months before.

Through the haze, Teddie watched as Snape nodded curtly. She could only guess that he was agreeing to kill the Headmaster. She felt her heartbeat unnaturally fast in her chest, her breath coming in short gasps as she hunched over, hands pressed against her knees and her eyes closing. Was this a panic attack? Why was she having a panic attack? This was a memory, what she was witnessing had already happened. Why did it matter that Snape had agreed? He had already killed Dumbledore.

Besides, this is what she had been searching for all these months. Trying to understand why Snape would do what he had been accused of, especially when she knew he was a good person.

The office disappeared.

-Memory-

Raising her hands, Teddie braced against the desk as she stumbled forward. She was still gasping for breath and even shrugged off the hand that grasped her shoulder. She glanced around, expecting to see a horde of Death Eaters behind her, but instead found Snape staring at her with a look of concern.

"Are you okay?" Snape asked, guiding her into a chair. He knelt beside her, peering up her like a parent checking on their child.

Teddie pressed a hand to her chest, her breath still coming in short gasps.

Understanding, Snape nodded, and produced a vial of blueish liquid from his pocket. He uncorked it and handed it to Teddie.

Teddie downed the vial in one. For a moment they sat in silence, and then, her breathing returning to normal, Teddie met Snape's gaze. "You didn't kill him of your own accord," she said.

"No, I would never do that," said Snape, shaking his head. "I wanted to tell you," he added, second guessing her next question. "I wanted to tell you everything, but Dumbledore made me promise."

"Like you made the Unforgivable with Narcissa Malfoy?"

"Sort of," said Snape. "Dumbledore believed that the bond you and I share would cause conflict in my task of stopping Draco. He believed I would give up everything for you."

Teddie searched his eyes. "Would you?" she asked, quietly.

Snape remained silent, his eyes boring into her own. He wanted to confirm her suspicions and say yes. He wanted her to know that everything he did, had done, and would continue to do was in defence of her. She was more than a student or a neighbour to him, she was like the daughter he had never had and protecting her was his life's commitment.

Instead, he tore his gaze away and stood. "Did you find the answers you were searching for?" he asked.

"Uh, I -" Teddie blinked, confused at the sudden change in topic. Snape had gone from caring to aloof, his whole personality changing with a mere snap of his fingers.

"Use your words, Miss Green," said Snape, striding towards the fireplace. He took down the pot of Floo powder and motioned for her to join him. It was already 8:55pm. She had five minutes left before she was to return home.

Shaking her head, Teddie jumped up from her seat and followed Snape to the fireplace. "Yes," she said, biting back the thickness in her voice. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay a little longer, even though there was nothing left for her here.

"Good," said Snape, handing her the Floo powder. "Mo will be expecting you."

"So that's it?" Teddie asked, stepping into the great.

"Yes?" Snape asked, sounding confused. "What else is there?"

Teddie glared through her unshed tears. "Oh, I don't know? Maybe a warning about what is coming? Good luck for what I need to do next? A suggestion? A…" she choked, tears spilling down her cheeks. She couldn't get the word out, what if this really were the end and she never saw him again? Could she live with herself knowing she didn't do something to show him how much she cared?

"There is one thing before you go," said Snape, setting down the Floo powder. He walked around his desk and opened the top draw - he had to tap it with his wand, but due to wordless magic, Teddie wasn't sure what spell he used to open it - and withdrew a black book.

Teddie furrowed. "What's this?" she asked, taking the book he offered her. It was leather bound with gold accents on the bottom corner. She flipped to the inside page, her brow furrowing further at the empty pages.

"This is for your brother," said Snape. "If he can decode it before time runs out, you'll have a fighting chance in the upcoming war. Good luck, Miss Green."

Opening her mouth to argue, Teddie gasped as Snape threw a handful of Floo powder into the grate and said - "FLINT MANOR!"

With a flash, both the Headmaster's office and its new Headmaster, were gone.