Good and Evil

Ok, here is another chapter. Probably not one of my best, but I had to have a couple of things happen, and even a month later, I still can't think of a better way. Forgive me if it is trash and keep reading. The chapters coming up are going to get pretty intense.

Please read and enjoy and review if you like. I enjoy the feedback. For those of you that are pleased I keep people in character fairly well, I should probably apologise for parts of this chapter.

Happy reading.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I am only playing with JKR's toys, and will put them back the way they were when I am finished, which will be in about 13 chapters time!

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It was sunny outside and there was a large black bird sitting on the windowsill. Jane looked at the bird, and then at the beautiful day outside, wishing she could leave her practice and enjoy the sunshine. For some reason, Jane got the feeling that the bird was looking back at her, and she wondered if it was some type of magical creature from the Forbidden forest inviting her to come out and play.

As agreed, she had gone to the library to practice the letters A through to K for Hermione who was meeting her between classes to teach her L through to Z, but seeing the glorious sunshine had made her regret her choice. While the thought of being able to write filled her with excitement she desperately wanted to escape the claustrophobic walls of her self-imposed prison.

Sighing, she put all thoughts of escape out of her mind and took out her quill and parchment. She was lost in concentration, endeavouring to get the lines of her capital E perfectly straight when a voice behind her made her freeze mid stroke. Malfoy! Putting her quill down, she reached for her knife.

"Don't worry, you won't be needing that." He hissed.

Jane moved her hand from her pocket and turned to face the blonde haired boy. "How can I help you Mr Malfoy?"

"I have come to tell you that I have reconsidered my behaviour from two days ago and I feel that I may have been unnecessarily harsh in my treatment of you. I would like to apologise." He held out his hand.

Jane looked at it sceptically then stood up and took it. "Thank you. I'm sorry I threatened you too."

Draco nodded and disappeared from the library to wash the Muggle germs from his hand. Snape would pay for that; he would pay dearly.

Jane couldn't write after the encounter with Draco, her hands were shaking too much. Hermione found her lost in thought when she arrived a short time later.

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"Hey, Jane, wait up." Reaching to the pocket of her coat for the knife, Jane stopped and turned around. It was Harry, Hermione's friend Harry. He would probably be safe she decided. He was running towards her. She let the knife drop back into her pocket and waited.

"Hi, I'm Harry."

"I guessed as much. Hermione has told me all about you. There's a Ron too right?"

"Yeah, he's the one with red hair. We normally hang around together, but he's in the Great Hall waiting for me. We're going to have a game of wizards chess, do you want to come?"

Jane looked at the dark haired boy with such green eyes. He seemed sincere. "I'd like that, thanks." Jane didn't know what wizards chess was, but it didn't matter. A student was making an effort to be her friend. He was the second friend she would have, excluding Severus of course. It was a pleasant change from being attacked.

Harry smiled. "Great, come on then." Jane followed Harry. "Hermione told us you had some trouble with Draco Malfoy."

"Yeah, I did, but it's all sorted now. He saw me in the library before lunch and apologised."

"Draco? Apologised? Wow." Harry was unbelieving.

"I think Severus spoke to him." Jane said by way of explanation.

"I guess he must have. Draco never apologises for anything, and he hates Muggles." Harry noticed Jane stiffen. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I don't care either way. My mother's parents were Muggles, so I guess I am at least a quarter Muggle, Hermione's parents are both Muggles too. Ron's parents are pureblood though, and they are ok. Some purebloods aren't. A lot of them turned bad and supported Voldemort. Draco's father was one of them."

"Draco's father supports Voldemort?" Jane was rapidly storing all this information for future reference. Severus seemed reluctant to talk of Voldemort, he obviously had his reasons, and Hermione must have been told not to talk about him, but Harry seemed to have no such qualms. This was her opportunity to find out as much as she could about the man who had hurt Severus so much.

"Yeah, he's a Death Eater, that's what Voldemort's supporters are called. Snape was one too."

"Was? So that's why Voldemort hurts him." Jane said quietly, quickly putting the pieces together.

"No." Harry answered rather abruptly.

Jane looked at Harry, surprised, but he didn't seem to be about to expand on his strange and short answer.

"Harry, how did you get that scar?"

"Voldemort." He answered quietly.

"You've met him?" Jane was incredulous.

"A couple of times actually. It's a long story, but he seems to turn up every year now that I am here at Hogwarts. He gave me this," Harry lifted his hair and showed Jane the lightning bolt scar above his right eye more clearly. "When I was a baby and he killed my parents."

Jane gasped. Hermione hadn't told her that. She reached out and touched the scar with her fingers. Harry didn't move away, her touch was light like a feather. It was no wonder Snape liked her so much. She was very gentle, surprisingly gentle given what he knew of her background, and it would have been soothing, particularly after the punishment Snape had received at Voldemort's hand. No wonder he had wanted to save her from her impoverished existence, she must have seemed like an angel to the injured Potions Master.

"Your parents are dead? I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Sadness pierced Harry's heart briefly as he thought of his Mother and Father. "That's ok, you are probably the only one at Hogwarts who didn't know. I live with my Uncle and Aunt now. They are terrible, but better than nothing."

"You mean better than living on the streets like I did?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, I can't imagine what it was like."

Jane shrugged. "You get used to it. I mean it isn't bad not having anyone telling you what to do, but there are other disadvantages. I have Severus now though and things are much better."

Harry shuddered at the thought of living with Snape. He couldn't imagine it being better than anything except, possibly, living on the streets. No, he would take the Dursleys over Snape, any day. Jane noticed his repulsion.

"He's not as bad as you think. He is very different out of class." She thought about that for a moment. "I can't believe he is the same person. Everyone seems to hate him."

"You've seen him in class. He hates everyone, and he is unfair because he favours the Slytherins, so everyone hates him in return except for the Slytherins."

Jane shook her head. "I think that is because of Voldemort. You know he won't speak about him. I asked him once and he got all tense and angry. I think it worries him. I just can't imagine why he goes back, I hope he doesn't ever have to again. Voldemort nearly killed him last time."

Harry wasn't too comfortable discussing Snape's private feelings with Jane. He really didn't care and he certainly didn't want to know how the Potions Master felt, particularly about his role as a spy, it was simply too much information. The dreaded Potions Master hated him, and he had similar feelings in return, even though he recognised how important Snape was in the battle against Voldemort and respected him a little more because of the tenuous nature of the role he played.

For some reason he felt compelled to explain what he could to Jane, she seemed to care for Snape, probably more than he deserved, and he felt it was unfair for her not to be aware of at least some of the danger he faced. Harry looked around then grabbed her arm, feeling her tense, and pulled her into an empty classroom. "You can't say a word, not even to Snape alright."

Jane nodded. "What?"

"Snape goes because he's a spy for Professor Dumbledore."

"What?"

"He's a spy for Professor Dumbledore. I don't know the full story, but Snape started to spy before Voldemort killed my parents and fell from power. Voldemort tried to kill me too but failed, and he nearly lost all of his powers."

Jane couldn't imagine why Severus would go back just to be hurt. It made no sense, but if Dumbledore sent him, then he was responsible instead. How could he? How could he send Severus off to be hurt like that?

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, concerned at her silence.

Jane looked at him. "Yes. I just can't imagine how anyone could send a person off to be hurt like that." The sound of thinly veiled anger was thick in her voice.

"I'm sure the information he brings back is vital in the fight to defeat Voldemort."

"Nothing is worth that. Don't forget, I have seen what happens to him." Jane shook her head in disgust.

"Dumbledore is responsible for the safety of everyone here. Voldemort would love to destroy the school and many of the people who live within its walls." Harry explained.

"Well if he is responsible for the safety of everyone here, that would include Severus, not exclude him wouldn't it? How can he protect some at the expense of the safety of others?"

Harry looked at Jane. He had never thought of that before. Of course, on one level, sacrificing one to save many, made sense, but on another level it just seemed hypocritical. How could anyone choose to sacrifice someone, and just how did Dumbledore decide to sacrifice Snape in the battle against Voldemort? If the light was truly better than the dark, then EVERY person should be equally valued, and the expense of sacrificing one to save the rest was just too great.

Harry realised, with a shock, that he himself was in the same boat as the Potions Master, after all, it was the prophecy that said only one of them would survive. That meant that it was just as likely that he would die as it was that Voldemort would be the one to die, and so far, Dumbledore had had no misgivings about sending him off, unaware, to meet the Dark Lord. Harry shuddered. So far he had been lucky, but surely his luck couldn't hold out forever could it?

Harry wasn't sure if he was ready to make that sacrifice, but what choice did he have? His friends' survival was at stake. So why did Snape risk his life? He had no friends, and had been shunned by those in the wider wizarding community. They didn't know of his activities for the Order, and would never forgive him for joining Voldemort's forces in the first place, regardless of his current allegiance. Harry had a feeling that only the Potions Master's death would bring him redemption, and that thought didn't bring him much happiness, despite the fact that he hated the man.

Reluctantly, Harry agreed with the girl. "I think you have a point there but there isn't much we can do about it."

"Perhaps." It was Jane's turn to give a one-word answer that left Harry questioning her intentions. "Now, tell me about wizard's chess." She encouraged, changing the subject quickly.

Harry explained the rules as they left the classroom for the Great Hall.