Disclaimer – I don't own it, I am not making any money off of it, and I am not trying to infringe upon it.

Chapter 14 – A Slytherin Style Reunion

Albus watched cheerily from his desk. His Potions Master was impressing both Minerva and Hermione with his ability to levitate seven objects at once. It was a party trick of sorts, since very few wizards could manage more than three, but in Severus' case it was a testament to all the long hours he and Ms. Granger had worked these past ten days in learning to control his powers.

Not that he was free of accidental magical surges, not by any means. There had been numerous explosions, unexpected infernos, countless shatterings, and even the occasional injury that saw either Severus or Ms. Granger to the Hospital Wing. But that being said, most of the destruction had been reparable – with Severus becoming even better at building up than he was at tearing down. And it was that last bit that made the Headmaster happier than any other. For Severus, although sharp tongued and acerbic as ever, seemed to take great pleasure in using his new found powers in positive ways.

Originally, the Headmaster had feared that the man would shun the use of his abilities and go back to barricading himself in his dungeon potions work room, content to leave well enough alone. But instead he had embraced his rediscovered magic, as if he had always sensed that it was within him, but it had finally been made available for his use.

There was still the small problem of Minister Fudge, who that very morning had come pounding on the Headmaster's door, demanding to know what was going on with 'that scoundrel Snape'. Apparently the wizarding grapevine was alive and working quite well. Albus had tried to use the usually effective 'confused old man' approach, and was doing quite well with it, until Severus' and Ms. Granger's arrival. Headmaster sat back and smiled at the memory:

"Snape, what is this I hear about 'unusual powers' that you suddenly possess?"

"Minister, I assure you, I have no powers now that I did not always possess."

"You would be willing to swear to that under Veritaserum, I presume?"

Severus nodded, a smirk beginning to grow on his face.

"Very well then," continued Fudge. "I will be in touch. Good day Headmaster, Ms. Granger. I will see myself out."

The smirk grew to take over most of Severus' face. "Allow me to assist you, Sir." With that a jet of light emanated from the Slytherin's eyes and the Minister of Magic was unceremoniously levitated off the ground, and floated indignantly through the doorway of Albus' office.

Headmaster Nigellus applauded from his frame, and Ms. Granger laughed so hard she had to excuse herself from the room in order to recover. Severus, for his part, had looked quite pleased with himself. All in all, it had been a very good – albeit potentially dangerous – performance.

Albus was jolted out of his recollection by Remus' voice coming from the fireplace. He was red faced and disheveled, and calling out the Headmaster's name. The Potions Master lost his concentration at Remus' shouting and the objects all fell to the ground. He fixed those items that broke with a quick, "Reparo" while the old wizard made his way across the room to the disembodied head of his former DADA teacher.

"What is it, my boy?"

"The trap in the middle kitchen pantry went off. I arrived to check it out. Someone…or something's been caught. I tried to enter but the Bloody Baron wouldn't let me. He's blocking the door and I can't pass through him. Not without frostbite, anyway."

"The Bloody Baron?" The Headmaster was confused. He turned to ask Phineas if he had any idea why the Slytherin Ghost would be involved, but when he did so he realized that the deceased Headmaster was now gone from his frame. But he wasn't the only one who had made a quick departure. Severus and Ms. Granger had also left the room.

"Minerva, where did they go?"

"Severus said something that sounded like "bloody hell", and ran out. Ms. Granger followed; I assumed that was because she is the one responsible for Severus today. But she also appeared to be quite upset as well. Is there something that no one has been informing me about, Albus?"

"Yes, but it is the same thing that no one is informing me about either. And I think we are about to find out what that is. Remus, inform the Ministry – specifically Tonks or Kingsley - Minerva and I will meet you afterwards at the middle kitchen."

The Headmaster quickly headed out the office door with the Deputy Headmistress at his heel. It seemed for once he might finally have the upper hand with this Death Eater. School would resume in little more than a week, so it was none too soon. Albus hurried on his way.

When he arrived in the old stone kitchen there seemed to be quite a little disagreement going on between Severus and the now formidable Ms. Granger. Over the summer Severus wasn't the only one who had under gone enormous change. Out from the shadow of her two friends, the Gryffindor girl had shown an independent streak that belied her usually authority pleasing demeanor. Combined with the self-confidence developing success of helping to solve the mystery of the Potion Master's missing magic, Ms. Granger was no longer willing to back off her opinions when challenged. She had shown that side of herself to the Headmaster a few weeks ago in the library, and she was apparently showing that side to Severus now.

Unfortunately, the moment the two of them saw Albus and Minerva enter, they dropped their argument and settled for glaring at each other.

"Have you spoken to the Bloody Baron yet, Severus?" the Headmaster inquired. The pantry door was just beyond the far corner of the kitchen.

Severus looked to the floor and Ms. Granger turned her head to the side, away from the onlookers. "Not yet."

"Why not?"

"I will do it now," Severus replied, conveniently avoiding answering Albus' question. Something that was not lost on the Headmaster.

Severus headed off, and Hermione went to follow, but the old wizard called her back. He was not that good at reading Slytherins – no one was, it was the nature of their House – but he could read Gryffindors like an open book. And he knew just how to turn their pages too.

"Ms. Granger, you are hiding something from me. Up until a few days ago I thought you were simply planning your curriculum on the sly – keeping an old busybody like me out of things. But that was naïve of me, wasn't it?"

Hermione blushed.

Remus walked in at that moment and could feel the tension in the room. He was experienced enough with human nature to stay quiet until he knew what was going on.

It was Minerva's turn to have a go. "Hermione, if you expect to be a staff member here then you cannot keep important things from the Headmaster. It is not professional to keep secrets. It is not Gryffindor, either." She put a little extra emphasis on 'Gryffindor'.

"I am sorry Headmaster, but I didn't think you'd approve."

Professor McGonagall harrumphed. "All the more reason to mention it then."

The Headmaster intervened. He did not want this becoming a lecture on the finer points of Gryffindor morality. He simply wanted to know what was happening. "Please, Ms. Granger. Tell me."

"The Death Eater, Sir, I was helping Headmaster Nigellus find a way to get him safely out of the castle."

Minerva nearly choked on nothing more than the air in the room. "You were assisting a Death Eater? You were the one undoing the wards and informing that creature of which rooms held the traps?"

Albus put a hand on Minerva's arm to calm her. Ms. Granger looked near to tears. Just then a voice from a painting of a medieval kitchen intervened. It was Phineas, looking very out of place in someone else's painting – a situation he usually avoided for very long. "No, it was usually I, or the Baron, who informed our guest in which rooms he could safely exit the castle walls. Unfortunately neither of us can open doors, and as nearly all unused classrooms are locked, we were unable to get him out of the building all together."

Phineas paused to make sure that his audience was suitable horrified, and seeing that they were, he continued cheerfully, "At first we weren't even sure he would be able to survive outside the walls, but Ms. Granger was kind enough to find a spell which released the castle's hold on him. You will no doubt be pleased to know that she did refuse initially to help us simply open a door and let him walk out. She claimed she needed to 'think it over'. A real surprise coming from a Gryffindor I must say. I commended her for that. But unfortunately, by the time she had made up her mind to help him," and at this point Phineas paused to give the old wizard a disapproving look, "those ridiculous aurors of yours  had placed so many wards, traps and alarms that it was no longer possible for him to leave. Which if you had given it any thought, Headmaster, should have been your goal."

"Professor Dumbledore, please, let me explain…" Hermione never got the chance. The sound of shouting and thrown objects crashing came from the nearby pantry.

 The four Gryffindors flew to the small room, which was now unblocked, and ran in through the doorway. The Bloody Baron took one look at the approaching Gryffindors, shook his head in disgust, and floated off through the nearest wall. Meanwhile Severus stood with his arms crossed, his eyes emitting the eerie light, and his magic spinning a horizontal Death Eater in midair. The magical trap lay released and forgotten, on the side.

Minerva, Remus and Albus pointed their wands at the rotating figure, but Severus had him completely under his control.

"I promise you Headmaster, he is not harmed. Perhaps a bit dizzy, but not hurt in the least."

The Headmaster was completely confused by now. "I am glad, Severus. But I have no objection to you fully defending yourself if necessary."

Severus broke the magical connection and the man fell to the floor. He immediately began retching from the dizziness, and Minerva called out a quick 'Stupefy'. She ignored the glares she received from both Severus and Hermione.

The Potions Master then turned his full attention on his Headmaster. "Was it not you whose voice still resounds in my head saying 'YOU WILL NOT HURT OTHERS. NOT EVER AGAIN', or am I mistaken?" He gave the older wizard a raised, questioning eyebrow for effect.

The Headmaster suppressed a chuckle. He had said exactly that indeed. Several months ago, right after Severus hit Harry in the face with a wooden horse. Amazing, but he had gotten through to the boy, hadn't he? But he did need to clear one misconception up. "I did not mean in cases of self-defense."

"Ah, well, this was NOT self-defense. Unless you count throwing cans of mushy peas at me to be life-threatening."

By that time Remus and Minerva had already approached the prone figure. The werewolf had cleaned him up with a flick of his hand and he had pulled back his hood. Minerva gave a small gasp. "It's Marcus Flint, Headmaster," Remus reported.

Albus went over to the young man, with the Slytherin Head of House, and Ms. Granger flanking him. He ran a wand over the unconscious form and shook his head. "He is not a ghoul. He is as alive as any of us. How could he have survived in the walls of Hogwarts without being crushed?"

"He was saved by the Baron, Sir," came Hermione's voice, soft, but regaining in confidence. "During the battle he found Marcus being pulled into the walls. He convinced the castle to put him into an air pocket. Then he and Phineas sought me out to find a spell that would allow him exit the castle walls." At Minerva's disapproving glance Hermione looked to Snape for support. His nodded for her to continue. "I had no choice. If I didn't help him he would have died of thirst within a few days! They wanted to free him, let him out of the school to go into hiding, maybe on the Continent somewhere, but I wasn't sure. Finally I met with him. He's not really so bad. He didn't want to be a Death Eater. He had no choice - like so many Slytherins. It was either accept the mark or have your entire family killed as a warning to others."

"And you believe him?" It was Remus' voice, but it wasn't critical. He was merely questioning.

Hermione nodded.

Severus' deep voice filled the small pantry space. "She was right to believe him. None of the Slytherins in the last half dozen years had a choice. Mr. Flint initially tried not to join. After graduation he went to France to apprentice for a broom maker, but his parents insisted he return. The Dark Lord was becoming suspicious of their loyalties. He was initiated last year. He wasn't a very enthusiastic … participant." He paused for a moment as if considering whether to say what was on his mind or not. Then he looked directly at the Headmaster and took a deep breath. "Slytherin House was filled with students that had no choice. The few who were lucky enough to be at the school at the time of the battle were finally given that choice, but that can not be said for the ones who came before. There was no choice, and no second chances, for any of them…except me."

Albus noticed that Minerva had uncharacteristically closed her eyes as Severus had spoken. He realized she was probably reliving those horrible moments from the battle. The horrific deaths of those Death Eaters who had been pulled into the castle's stone was something most of them had pushed out of their minds. Why was it always so much easier to push the deaths of Slytherins to the side, than it was the deaths of those from other houses?

"It has been my personal experience," the Headmaster began, "that Slytherins do well with second chances. Do you think if we wake up young Mr. Flint he would accept our offer?"

Severus snorted. "If he doesn't, I am sure Headmaster Nigellus and the Bloody Baron will help persuade him."

And so Albus enervated the young man, and brought him to his office. Remus dealt with the arrival of Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt, while Severus, Minerva, Hermione, Phineas and Albus spoke with the young Slytherin. Sometime before midnight, they arrived at an agreement which satisfied everyone.

****

Albus and Severus were making their way up to the castle from the gate. They had just apparated back to Hogwarts after Severus' interrogation with Veritaserum. The questions had been posed by Fudge himself. And since the man was even less competent at questioning than he was at governing, the Head of Slytherin had no difficulty satisfying the specially appointed Commission to Investigate Unusual Magical Phenomena. Indeed, by the time the crafty Slytherin was done, he had them practically convinced that while his magic had always been present, he had purposely limited it to keep the Dark Lord from attempting to use it to his advantage. Albus mused, and not for the first time, that it took quite a bit of brilliance to manipulate the truth into a self serving fiction while under the influence of Veritaserum. Apparently he was the only one who noticed just how much the Potions Master was blinking.

Figuring he would take advantage of any bit of the truth serum that still flowed in Severus' veins, the Headmaster ventured a question.

"So, what was it you and Ms. Granger were arguing about the day we discovered Mr. Flint in the middle kitchen pantry?"

Severus sighed. "She wanted me to free Marcus from the trap and send him back into the walls. She thought that now that I was 'returned' to being myself, the two of us could find some way to spirit him out in the middle of the night with no one noticing. I suppose she was romanticizing the idea of his staring a new life on some other continent, foolish Gryffindor that she is."

"And what did you think should be done?"

"I wanted Mr. Flint to stop running, and to speak to you."

They both paused in their walking and looked directly at each other. Albus felt honored that Severus trusted him on that level. He wondered if maybe someday Marcus Flint might feel that same sort of trust. "I am glad you took the stance you did, my boy."

The Potions Master nodded and turned to continue walking. "I have always believed in facing your difficulties and not running away."

The Headmaster was so dumbfounded by that statement coming from Severus, that for a moment he forgot to walk. He had to run to catch up to his Head of Slytherin, and when he did so, he finally heard the hearty laugh that was coming from deep in the younger wizard's throat. Apparently the Veritaserum had worn off.

Author's Note:

Okay, that's all the mysteries solved (I hope). It also brings me to the end of the main story. If you think I forgot to solve any mystery or resolve any situation, please let me know ASAP so I can get it taken care of. I will have one more chapter, which will be an epilogue that takes place about six months later.

I put some comments below for specific reviewers, but to everyone who has reviewed, a tremendous thank you. I really appreciate your taking the time.

Vekura – He is definitely an adult now, with an adult mind and an adult body. The ceremony that took place in the last chapter was the reverse of the one from the first chapter. Maybe it was the Somnus charm that confused you because it seldom works with anyone over five? It was simply that the force of habit to fall asleep to that spell was so recent in Severus, he could not fight it off.

Chickens – I read a fic that had Severus' older self meeting his younger self, once. That would have been an interesting idea. Cool guess.

Lucidity and Marie – Have no worries about this turning into a HG/SS story. This is not going to be a romance story at all. No ships sail in this fic.

RandiWeasley – I sort of skipped over their "first meeting" as you can tell. But Hermione did have a big part to play in this chapter and I think she and Severus will be able to pull off a working relationship in the future. It is hard to be too snarky and arrogant with someone who babysat you. ;o)

Theox – You meant all the apostrophes, right? I don't know why I always do that. I know they don't belong there. Thanks for reminding me.