8. All that Troubles a Tortured, Vulnerable Mind
Harry trudged back into the common room. His spirits could not be any lower. His heart had sunk into the pit of his stomach and his hands felt clammy. He had promised Ron that he would get the letter to Hermione in the morning, but instead of writing any more, he shoved the piece of parchment into his bag and flopped down onto the couch.
"Ron will understand why," he reassured himself. The once alive and roaring fire was dead. Just like Ewan, Harry thought. He ran his fingers through his hair and then cupped his hands over his face. A more sickening thought coursed through his body; who the next Dark Arts teacher will be. All of the sudden, someone walked into the common room, thought not through the portrait hole. It was from the same picture that Malfoy had entered; only it wasn't Malfoy.
"Hermione? What are you still doing up? And where did you come from?" Hermione was in a night gown and she looked exhausted. She yawned and then frowned at Harry.
"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same. I'm still up because I heard someone enter the common room and I came from the Head Girl's bedroom," her glare turned into a look of concern when she saw how distressed Harry looked. "You alright Harry?" He missed Sirius more than ever.
"Ewan.is," he began. The flashback to his last year and the feeling of denial, wanting to wake up and pretend it hadn't happened came back to him. But, only knowing Ewan for a brief time, Harry felt improper to wallow in depression. "He's dead." Hermione dropped her lighted wand. Her jaw fell upon and the color drained from her tired face. She started shaking her head. Then she stood still and closed her eyes.
"You're joking. Please tell me you're joking," her eyes remained shut. Harry took off his glasses and placed them on the table by the couch. He started massaging his eyes.
"No Hermione. I'm not joking."
"Oh Harry, but how?" She took a seat next to Harry as he sat up taking a big, long, deep breath.
"That letter Malfoy got must have said something about Mr. Malfoy taking care of Ewan," Hermione gasped. Harry continued, "I took a walk because I couldn't think-I mean sleep- and saw him go to Professor Renton's office. Renton called him a Death Eater and he killed him." Harry saw Hermione's hand shaking just the tiniest bit. He wanted to hold it so badly, but something held him back. Once he felt she had absorbed most of this information, he went on about Snape and the Veritaserum trial.
"And they want me to go to see if my story matches up with Snape's. Meaning, I get to find out a lot of stuff I'm not sure I want to know," Harry finished with an exasperated sigh. Hermione didn't reply for a while. Instead she quickly kissed Harry on the cheek and hurried back to the Head Girl's bedroom. Harry touched the place where Hermione had just kissed him. It was still warm. He laid back down on the couch and drifted into an uneasy sleep. He didn't dream that much that night. His mind kept replaying images from his late night stroll. Harry still felt a tad bit guilty that he had not written Ron's letter and especially now that Hermione had kissed him again. His troubled thoughts slowly decreased by the hour and Harry finally settled into a deep sleep, only to be awakened by Ron's smiling face.
"So did you write it?" he asked anxiously the next morning on the way to the Great Hall. Harry fixed his blurry eyes upon Ron's anxious ones.
"I see Hermione hasn't told you yet," he muttered mournfully. Ron looked confused.
"I haven't even seen her at all this morning. Why? What did she need to tell me?" Ron started sounding nervous. Harry glanced longingly at the Dark Arts door as they passed it. He saw Malfoy up ahead alone and had the strongest urge to tackle him. Harry quickened his pace so that he was right behind Malfoy. Ron had to jog to keep up, but stopped when Harry pushed past Malfoy.
"I hate you. I really strongly hate you," Harry spat in his face. "I should send you a thank you letter. Saying thanks for making my life a living hell." Malfoy didn't react the way Harry thought. He was looking down at his shoes the whole time. The bruise around his eye seemed lighter. Harry heard him mumble something.
"What?" he asked curiously.
"For goodness sakes Potter this is serious. I don't need your stupid little 'repeat it again' jokes," Malfoy spoke to the ground. He rubbed the back of his neck and started to walk past Harry.
"No seriously, I didn't hear you," Harry said forcing him back. Malfoy looked up, but still did not meet Harry's eyes.
"I said I'm not responsible for my father's actions. Are you satisfied? Can I go because I really need to talk to someone?" He pushed past Harry and, to his surprise, didn't say any crude remarks to Ron.
"What was that all about?" Ron asked.
"Ron," Harry began. He looked over at the Dark Arts door before continuing, "Ewan's dead. Malfoy's father killed him last night. I saw it, well heard it all last night when I couldn't think of things to write in your letter." Ron opened his mouth, but Harry, knowing the question answered for him. "No I didn't write your letter." Ron too looked over at the Dark Arts door.
"I really liked the guy," he mumbled. Harry nodded in a comprehending way.
"Come on; let's go to the Great Hall." The two of them spotted Hermione stabbing her eggs with her fork. The staff table was quite empty. Only Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor Trelawney and Hagrid sat there. By the looks on their faces, it was apparent that they had received the news about Ewan. Even the atmosphere seemed tense and quiet.
"Hi," Ron greeted Hermione. She merely looked up at him, smiled slightly, and then continued stabbing her eggs. Harry and Ron exchanged glances and then sat down. Ron laid his head down in his arms and didn't even bother to eat any breakfast. He let out a very deep sigh.
"So you've heard have you?" Hermione asked him quietly. Ron nodded into his arms and then blindly reached out for a goblet of dandelion juice.
"You know," Ron said after he had a sip of his drink, "they never do seem to last long do they? I just wonder who our substitute is going to be now."
"We may not have a substitute."
"Of course we'll have a substitute! That's probably the most important class! We can't skip it!" he exclaimed.
"What I was going to say," Hermione growled, "was that we may not have a substitute because our full time teacher could have recovered by now." Ron rolled his eyes and did a poor imitation of Hermione. She crossed her arms and glared dangerously.
"Oh come on now. This is not the time to be-" but Harry was cut off by someone's finger being jabbed painfully into his back.
"Ow! What?" he asked angrily. Harry turned around to see Luna Lovegood's smiling face. She was fiddling with something in her hand. "Oh," he mumbled. "Hi Luna."
"Sorry, can't stay and chat," she said dreamily.
"Good," Ron muttered under his breath. Luna's protruding eyes narrowed in Ron's direction. Ron smiled awkwardly and then shrugged at Hermione. She turned back to Harry.
"I have to go. Here!" she shoved what she was fiddling into Harry's chest and then hurried away. He saw that it was a piece of parchment and without bothering to look at it, shoved it in his pocket.
"Well?" Hermione asked.
"Well what? I'm not in the mood to read whatever she has written to me. What's our first lesson today?" Both Ron and Hermione put down their forks and shuffled through their book bags. Hermione, being so over obsessed with keeping things organized, was the first one to pull out their schedule.
"Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins no less, but wait.it says we don't have Dark Arts today," she answered.
"Kinda hard to find a replacement on the spot. Stupid Malfoy," Ron growled. The three of them hurried up to finish their breakfasts and then headed on down to Hagrid's hut. The morning was grey and still. There was still the faintest bit of dew on the grass and a humid touch to the air. Gryffindors and Slytherins shuffled down to Hagrid's Hut all wearing grim faces. Instead of the usual chatter that broke out among the students, today it was silent whispers. Only being there for a day, it seemed that Ewan had definitely left his mark at Hogwarts.
"Mornin' 'Arry," Hagrid welcomed them gloomily. "Ron. Hermione."
"Hello Hagrid," the all said together.
"'Spose you've already heard," Hagrid said looking at his feet. The three of them all nodded. "No one else knows yet, but I 'spect they've all heard, depending on the look on all their faces. Dumbledore asked me ter tell you three not to say anythin'."
"Dumbledore's here?" Harry asked very surprised.
"O' course. Dumbledore wouldn't leave at a time like this," Hagrid told him importantly.
"Then where was he at breakfast?" Hermione asked sounded worried.
"Had some business to handle with Professor Snape. Better sit down now, class is about ter start." Everyone took a seat in the damp grass. The hurried whispers and grim murmurs died down when Hagrid stood up. Harry could barely concentrate. He didn't know if it was the fact that Hagrid had them breeding flobberworms again or that he couldn't help wondering what Dumbledore was up too that kept his mind off Care of Magical Creatures. As Hagrid explained how to feed a flobberworm, Harry pulled at the grass recalling the night's events. His anger towards Malfoy grew intensely.
". . .Come up here and demonstrate," Hagrid said looking directly at Harry. The faces turned to him. Hermione and Ron both nudged him a little when he did not move.
"I'm sorry what.what was that?" Before Hagrid could answer a screech owl streaked past his head and dropped a letter at his feet.
"Jus' a second," Hagrid grunted into his beard as he torn open the letter. "Oh! Er.Harry, ya need to go to Professor Snape's office now." As best as Hagrid tried to hide it, there was the faintest flicker of distraught in his beetle black eyes. Harry stood up and looked at Ron's questioning face to Hermione's, which with kaleidoscopic swiftness, changed from nervous, to understanding, to slightly excited, and finally set to troubled. He waved goodbye and started towards the castle.
It was bizarre seeing the castle hallway's so deserted. Normally, the halls were filled with chattering, gossiping, students and seemed like a claustrophobic's nightmare. Now that no one was walking in them, Harry realized how spacious they were. When he knocked on Snape's dungeon door, it opened almost instantly and a hand pulled him inside. Snape was strapped into a chair and was surrounded by Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge, and to Harry's horror, Professor Umbridge. His jaw dropped at the sight of her. When Professor Umbridge saw him, her toad like face contorted into a tortured smile and for a second, Harry thought her eyes flickered red and green.
"Hello Harry," Dumbledore smiled wearily. Harry had not forgiven him enough since last year to say hello. Instead he just nodded his head in Dumbledore's direction. Dumbledore indicated a chair for Harry to sit in and he shuffled over and plopped himself down. "Now that you're here, we can give Professor Snape the Veritaserum while you tell Miss Dolores Umbridge what happened." Harry forced a reluctant smile as Umbridge strode towards him. Her leg was heavily bandaged.
"Potter."
"Umbridge."
"Let's make this quick okay? Just tell me your story and you can go," she grumbled. "Now what happened?" Harry drew a long breath and began to tell what happened.
"I had to finish a love-an essay, but couldn't think of anything to write so I went for a walk."
"After hours when you were supposed to be in bed?" Her smile grew larger as she jotted that down on her piece of parchment. Harry ignored her. He didn't care what she wrote; he just wanted to get this over with.
"I went out to the lake and saw Lucius Malfoy run up to the castle in a hurry so I-"
"You stuck your nose into other adult's business when you really ought to be finishing your essay? Tut tut Potter," she interrupted him. Harry fidgeted in his seat. He was not about to let Umbridge have the satisfaction of making him the antagonist as she had tried to do when she gave him detention.
"I followed him into the castle and saw him enter Doctor Renton's office. From there-"
"Doctor?" she cut him off once again. Oh no.what have I just done?
"I meant Professor," he said quickly. "I saw Lucius Malfoy enter Professor Renton's office and-" he froze as Umbridge's smile grew so large it might pop right off her face.
"Only one of 'Doctor' Renton's patients would know he's a doctor. Could this mean that you had been seeing Doctor Renton? Meaning that you could have imagined Lucius Malfoy killing Professor Renton? Meaning that you truly do have a precarious mind? If you had needed professional help, and I say it was about time," she laughed and then continued, "Could this possibly mean that you were having visions?"
"I wasn't having visions! I saw it!" Harry shouted.
"Prove it Potter!" She started scribbling away madly on her piece of parchment.
"Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater! He killed Professor Renton because Professor Renton kept calling him one!" Umbridge's scratching stopped.
"Lucius Malfoy is not a Death Eater! He is Cornelius Fudge's personal assistant and runner up for the next Minister of Magic after Mr. Fudge!" They heard a bottle break. Snape started thrashing in his chair. His eyes rolled back into his head and drool started spraying out from his mouth. Then as suddenly as it had happened, he stopped. Snape's eyes rolled back into place, only they had a misted over appearance to them. In a monotonous voice he began to speak.
"My real name is not Severus Snape. If you were to switch the letters around, it would spell Perseus Evans. I am Lily Evan's and Petunia Dursley's older brother. I hated my childhood. Before my two younger sisters were born, my parents fought quite often. When my mother was gone, my father used to beat me for being so 'abnormal.' I thought I was the only one who hated their father. Who despised everything their family stood for, but I had thought wrong. I later found it easy to confide in Tom Marvolo Riddle because he too hated his family.
"I became a Death Eater because I hated being a mudblood. I changed my name to Severus Snape so that no one would ever know I was from a mudblood background. I was never popular in school and constantly being abused by James Potter, and Sirius Black. I hated them. I wanted to kill them. I wanted to murder everybody who had laughed and made jokes about me, but most of all, I wanted to kill my father. I wanted him dead because he had certainly beaten the life out of me. I hated how every time my mother went out to 'run an errand' my father kicked me, bruised me, neglected me, and abused me. Run an errand. Run an errand? Sure my mother was running errands. Ha. I laugh at that. It is such a pathetic excuse for being passive aggressive! How could she not see how badly I had been hurt? I soon grew to despise her strongly. After my father, she was the second person I killed."
"How could he just kill his parents without remorse?" Harry heard Fudge whisper. Dumbledore held his finger up to his lips indicating for Fudge to be quiet. He then urged Snape to go on. Snape's head lolled on his neck before continuing.
"I convinced Peter Thomas Pettigrew to join Voldemort's clan. I noticed how pitiful and puny he was. He was also the silent type. I knew that the silent ones always crack first. I corrupted him. I made it look like James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin were not his friends and that they kept him company out of pure sympathy," a smile flickered on his face. "I remember that night. I remember how Pettigrew's eyes filled with tears, how he asked me incredulously how I knew, how the first gleam of evil shown in his eyes.
"Then I remember the news I had received later that week," Snape's smile was replaced by a thin line of lip. "Lily was pregnant. It was then when I realized what I had gotten myself into. Peter had hated James, Sirius, and Remus since that day forward.he was going to get revenge. Fortunately Sirius had been Lily and James's secret keeper long enough for Harry Potter to be born. I stopped supporting Voldemort when I found out Lily, my sister, was pregnant. I hated her, but she had never abused me like my parents had. I couldn't let her die. James. . .yes, but not Lily. I already had made the fatal mistake of convincing Pettigrew to join, I couldn't make another one. I sought out after Professor Dumbledore for help. He of course knew that I was, and still am, Potter's uncle. That's why he trusts me so much with him. To make sure Potter would have a safe future, he gave me the job of Potions master so I could keep an eye on him. Though, I still don't understand why Professor Dumbledore didn't send Potter to live with me. I always thought that it was because I had been a Death Eater. He has never told me." Snape's head rolled again on his neck. For a split second his eyes looked in different directions and then settled back into their regular spots. Snape inhaled and was about to begin when Dumbledore cut him off.
"Tell us Severus what happened on the night of Professor Renton's death," he ordered softly. Snape's nostrils flared and he began to talk in the same monotonous voice.
"I had just finished grading my essays that I had assigned over the summer. None, of which, got high marks, except of course, Miss Hermione Granger's. I heard someone enter in through the front doors, but didn't put much thought into it because I must admit; I only thought it was Rubeus Hagrid. I began to clean up work space and put the last of the cauldrons away when I hear shouting and yelling. I would have dismissed this, but the words being shouted were 'Death Eater.' I grabbed my wand and tried to find the room which this commotion was coming from. The shouting had stopped briefly and then was louder than ever. I heard it the loudest in the hall were the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were being held at. I approached the door cautiously, but before I could stop the culprit, the ultimate Unforgivable Curse had been used. I walked in; saw Professor Renton dead and Lucius Malfoy standing in the frame of the window. He told me that if I told anyone, he would have my life too." All this information Harry never knew about Snape had practically knocked the wind out of him. His mouth was very dry and his tongue seemed glued to the roof of his mouth. Harry stared into Snape's emotionless eyes with a strange feeling inside him. He didn't know if this feeling was far behind hate, or a sort of sorrow for Snape's earlier years which had been a living hell. Once Harry had pried his eyes away from Snape's, he cast a glance around the room. Dumbledore was writing something on his parchment, Professor McGonagall's eyes were filled with a frantic fear, Cornelius Fudge was shaking his head, and Umbridge's smile was no longer.
"Thank you Severus. Well m' ladies and gentlemen, this proves that Professor Snape did not kill Ewan Renton. It was, in fact, Lucius Malfoy," Dumbledore announced to the silent room.
"It.it couldn't be Lucius. I've.I've.well he's been my assistant all this time. I need Weasley back. Oh my! What have I done?" Fudge panicked.
"There there Cornelius," Dumbledore comforted. "We'll have Lucius in Azkaban before anything can happen." Fudge was shaking his head more frantically. Dumbledore turned to Harry.
"Thank you Harry for cooperating."
"Welcome," he replied sourly as this fresh information was still sinking in.
"You may have the rest of the day off. This all must be hard to relive, and plus." Dumbledore trailed off. Harry just nodded and was about to leave when Dumbledore cleared his throat to catch his attention.
"You cannot let anything you just heard get out to anyone else, even if they are your closest pals." Harry knew he was talking about Ron and Hermione. Once again Harry nodded and left, that unknown feeling still licking his insides.
Harry trudged back into the common room. His spirits could not be any lower. His heart had sunk into the pit of his stomach and his hands felt clammy. He had promised Ron that he would get the letter to Hermione in the morning, but instead of writing any more, he shoved the piece of parchment into his bag and flopped down onto the couch.
"Ron will understand why," he reassured himself. The once alive and roaring fire was dead. Just like Ewan, Harry thought. He ran his fingers through his hair and then cupped his hands over his face. A more sickening thought coursed through his body; who the next Dark Arts teacher will be. All of the sudden, someone walked into the common room, thought not through the portrait hole. It was from the same picture that Malfoy had entered; only it wasn't Malfoy.
"Hermione? What are you still doing up? And where did you come from?" Hermione was in a night gown and she looked exhausted. She yawned and then frowned at Harry.
"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same. I'm still up because I heard someone enter the common room and I came from the Head Girl's bedroom," her glare turned into a look of concern when she saw how distressed Harry looked. "You alright Harry?" He missed Sirius more than ever.
"Ewan.is," he began. The flashback to his last year and the feeling of denial, wanting to wake up and pretend it hadn't happened came back to him. But, only knowing Ewan for a brief time, Harry felt improper to wallow in depression. "He's dead." Hermione dropped her lighted wand. Her jaw fell upon and the color drained from her tired face. She started shaking her head. Then she stood still and closed her eyes.
"You're joking. Please tell me you're joking," her eyes remained shut. Harry took off his glasses and placed them on the table by the couch. He started massaging his eyes.
"No Hermione. I'm not joking."
"Oh Harry, but how?" She took a seat next to Harry as he sat up taking a big, long, deep breath.
"That letter Malfoy got must have said something about Mr. Malfoy taking care of Ewan," Hermione gasped. Harry continued, "I took a walk because I couldn't think-I mean sleep- and saw him go to Professor Renton's office. Renton called him a Death Eater and he killed him." Harry saw Hermione's hand shaking just the tiniest bit. He wanted to hold it so badly, but something held him back. Once he felt she had absorbed most of this information, he went on about Snape and the Veritaserum trial.
"And they want me to go to see if my story matches up with Snape's. Meaning, I get to find out a lot of stuff I'm not sure I want to know," Harry finished with an exasperated sigh. Hermione didn't reply for a while. Instead she quickly kissed Harry on the cheek and hurried back to the Head Girl's bedroom. Harry touched the place where Hermione had just kissed him. It was still warm. He laid back down on the couch and drifted into an uneasy sleep. He didn't dream that much that night. His mind kept replaying images from his late night stroll. Harry still felt a tad bit guilty that he had not written Ron's letter and especially now that Hermione had kissed him again. His troubled thoughts slowly decreased by the hour and Harry finally settled into a deep sleep, only to be awakened by Ron's smiling face.
"So did you write it?" he asked anxiously the next morning on the way to the Great Hall. Harry fixed his blurry eyes upon Ron's anxious ones.
"I see Hermione hasn't told you yet," he muttered mournfully. Ron looked confused.
"I haven't even seen her at all this morning. Why? What did she need to tell me?" Ron started sounding nervous. Harry glanced longingly at the Dark Arts door as they passed it. He saw Malfoy up ahead alone and had the strongest urge to tackle him. Harry quickened his pace so that he was right behind Malfoy. Ron had to jog to keep up, but stopped when Harry pushed past Malfoy.
"I hate you. I really strongly hate you," Harry spat in his face. "I should send you a thank you letter. Saying thanks for making my life a living hell." Malfoy didn't react the way Harry thought. He was looking down at his shoes the whole time. The bruise around his eye seemed lighter. Harry heard him mumble something.
"What?" he asked curiously.
"For goodness sakes Potter this is serious. I don't need your stupid little 'repeat it again' jokes," Malfoy spoke to the ground. He rubbed the back of his neck and started to walk past Harry.
"No seriously, I didn't hear you," Harry said forcing him back. Malfoy looked up, but still did not meet Harry's eyes.
"I said I'm not responsible for my father's actions. Are you satisfied? Can I go because I really need to talk to someone?" He pushed past Harry and, to his surprise, didn't say any crude remarks to Ron.
"What was that all about?" Ron asked.
"Ron," Harry began. He looked over at the Dark Arts door before continuing, "Ewan's dead. Malfoy's father killed him last night. I saw it, well heard it all last night when I couldn't think of things to write in your letter." Ron opened his mouth, but Harry, knowing the question answered for him. "No I didn't write your letter." Ron too looked over at the Dark Arts door.
"I really liked the guy," he mumbled. Harry nodded in a comprehending way.
"Come on; let's go to the Great Hall." The two of them spotted Hermione stabbing her eggs with her fork. The staff table was quite empty. Only Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor Trelawney and Hagrid sat there. By the looks on their faces, it was apparent that they had received the news about Ewan. Even the atmosphere seemed tense and quiet.
"Hi," Ron greeted Hermione. She merely looked up at him, smiled slightly, and then continued stabbing her eggs. Harry and Ron exchanged glances and then sat down. Ron laid his head down in his arms and didn't even bother to eat any breakfast. He let out a very deep sigh.
"So you've heard have you?" Hermione asked him quietly. Ron nodded into his arms and then blindly reached out for a goblet of dandelion juice.
"You know," Ron said after he had a sip of his drink, "they never do seem to last long do they? I just wonder who our substitute is going to be now."
"We may not have a substitute."
"Of course we'll have a substitute! That's probably the most important class! We can't skip it!" he exclaimed.
"What I was going to say," Hermione growled, "was that we may not have a substitute because our full time teacher could have recovered by now." Ron rolled his eyes and did a poor imitation of Hermione. She crossed her arms and glared dangerously.
"Oh come on now. This is not the time to be-" but Harry was cut off by someone's finger being jabbed painfully into his back.
"Ow! What?" he asked angrily. Harry turned around to see Luna Lovegood's smiling face. She was fiddling with something in her hand. "Oh," he mumbled. "Hi Luna."
"Sorry, can't stay and chat," she said dreamily.
"Good," Ron muttered under his breath. Luna's protruding eyes narrowed in Ron's direction. Ron smiled awkwardly and then shrugged at Hermione. She turned back to Harry.
"I have to go. Here!" she shoved what she was fiddling into Harry's chest and then hurried away. He saw that it was a piece of parchment and without bothering to look at it, shoved it in his pocket.
"Well?" Hermione asked.
"Well what? I'm not in the mood to read whatever she has written to me. What's our first lesson today?" Both Ron and Hermione put down their forks and shuffled through their book bags. Hermione, being so over obsessed with keeping things organized, was the first one to pull out their schedule.
"Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins no less, but wait.it says we don't have Dark Arts today," she answered.
"Kinda hard to find a replacement on the spot. Stupid Malfoy," Ron growled. The three of them hurried up to finish their breakfasts and then headed on down to Hagrid's hut. The morning was grey and still. There was still the faintest bit of dew on the grass and a humid touch to the air. Gryffindors and Slytherins shuffled down to Hagrid's Hut all wearing grim faces. Instead of the usual chatter that broke out among the students, today it was silent whispers. Only being there for a day, it seemed that Ewan had definitely left his mark at Hogwarts.
"Mornin' 'Arry," Hagrid welcomed them gloomily. "Ron. Hermione."
"Hello Hagrid," the all said together.
"'Spose you've already heard," Hagrid said looking at his feet. The three of them all nodded. "No one else knows yet, but I 'spect they've all heard, depending on the look on all their faces. Dumbledore asked me ter tell you three not to say anythin'."
"Dumbledore's here?" Harry asked very surprised.
"O' course. Dumbledore wouldn't leave at a time like this," Hagrid told him importantly.
"Then where was he at breakfast?" Hermione asked sounded worried.
"Had some business to handle with Professor Snape. Better sit down now, class is about ter start." Everyone took a seat in the damp grass. The hurried whispers and grim murmurs died down when Hagrid stood up. Harry could barely concentrate. He didn't know if it was the fact that Hagrid had them breeding flobberworms again or that he couldn't help wondering what Dumbledore was up too that kept his mind off Care of Magical Creatures. As Hagrid explained how to feed a flobberworm, Harry pulled at the grass recalling the night's events. His anger towards Malfoy grew intensely.
". . .Come up here and demonstrate," Hagrid said looking directly at Harry. The faces turned to him. Hermione and Ron both nudged him a little when he did not move.
"I'm sorry what.what was that?" Before Hagrid could answer a screech owl streaked past his head and dropped a letter at his feet.
"Jus' a second," Hagrid grunted into his beard as he torn open the letter. "Oh! Er.Harry, ya need to go to Professor Snape's office now." As best as Hagrid tried to hide it, there was the faintest flicker of distraught in his beetle black eyes. Harry stood up and looked at Ron's questioning face to Hermione's, which with kaleidoscopic swiftness, changed from nervous, to understanding, to slightly excited, and finally set to troubled. He waved goodbye and started towards the castle.
It was bizarre seeing the castle hallway's so deserted. Normally, the halls were filled with chattering, gossiping, students and seemed like a claustrophobic's nightmare. Now that no one was walking in them, Harry realized how spacious they were. When he knocked on Snape's dungeon door, it opened almost instantly and a hand pulled him inside. Snape was strapped into a chair and was surrounded by Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge, and to Harry's horror, Professor Umbridge. His jaw dropped at the sight of her. When Professor Umbridge saw him, her toad like face contorted into a tortured smile and for a second, Harry thought her eyes flickered red and green.
"Hello Harry," Dumbledore smiled wearily. Harry had not forgiven him enough since last year to say hello. Instead he just nodded his head in Dumbledore's direction. Dumbledore indicated a chair for Harry to sit in and he shuffled over and plopped himself down. "Now that you're here, we can give Professor Snape the Veritaserum while you tell Miss Dolores Umbridge what happened." Harry forced a reluctant smile as Umbridge strode towards him. Her leg was heavily bandaged.
"Potter."
"Umbridge."
"Let's make this quick okay? Just tell me your story and you can go," she grumbled. "Now what happened?" Harry drew a long breath and began to tell what happened.
"I had to finish a love-an essay, but couldn't think of anything to write so I went for a walk."
"After hours when you were supposed to be in bed?" Her smile grew larger as she jotted that down on her piece of parchment. Harry ignored her. He didn't care what she wrote; he just wanted to get this over with.
"I went out to the lake and saw Lucius Malfoy run up to the castle in a hurry so I-"
"You stuck your nose into other adult's business when you really ought to be finishing your essay? Tut tut Potter," she interrupted him. Harry fidgeted in his seat. He was not about to let Umbridge have the satisfaction of making him the antagonist as she had tried to do when she gave him detention.
"I followed him into the castle and saw him enter Doctor Renton's office. From there-"
"Doctor?" she cut him off once again. Oh no.what have I just done?
"I meant Professor," he said quickly. "I saw Lucius Malfoy enter Professor Renton's office and-" he froze as Umbridge's smile grew so large it might pop right off her face.
"Only one of 'Doctor' Renton's patients would know he's a doctor. Could this mean that you had been seeing Doctor Renton? Meaning that you could have imagined Lucius Malfoy killing Professor Renton? Meaning that you truly do have a precarious mind? If you had needed professional help, and I say it was about time," she laughed and then continued, "Could this possibly mean that you were having visions?"
"I wasn't having visions! I saw it!" Harry shouted.
"Prove it Potter!" She started scribbling away madly on her piece of parchment.
"Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater! He killed Professor Renton because Professor Renton kept calling him one!" Umbridge's scratching stopped.
"Lucius Malfoy is not a Death Eater! He is Cornelius Fudge's personal assistant and runner up for the next Minister of Magic after Mr. Fudge!" They heard a bottle break. Snape started thrashing in his chair. His eyes rolled back into his head and drool started spraying out from his mouth. Then as suddenly as it had happened, he stopped. Snape's eyes rolled back into place, only they had a misted over appearance to them. In a monotonous voice he began to speak.
"My real name is not Severus Snape. If you were to switch the letters around, it would spell Perseus Evans. I am Lily Evan's and Petunia Dursley's older brother. I hated my childhood. Before my two younger sisters were born, my parents fought quite often. When my mother was gone, my father used to beat me for being so 'abnormal.' I thought I was the only one who hated their father. Who despised everything their family stood for, but I had thought wrong. I later found it easy to confide in Tom Marvolo Riddle because he too hated his family.
"I became a Death Eater because I hated being a mudblood. I changed my name to Severus Snape so that no one would ever know I was from a mudblood background. I was never popular in school and constantly being abused by James Potter, and Sirius Black. I hated them. I wanted to kill them. I wanted to murder everybody who had laughed and made jokes about me, but most of all, I wanted to kill my father. I wanted him dead because he had certainly beaten the life out of me. I hated how every time my mother went out to 'run an errand' my father kicked me, bruised me, neglected me, and abused me. Run an errand. Run an errand? Sure my mother was running errands. Ha. I laugh at that. It is such a pathetic excuse for being passive aggressive! How could she not see how badly I had been hurt? I soon grew to despise her strongly. After my father, she was the second person I killed."
"How could he just kill his parents without remorse?" Harry heard Fudge whisper. Dumbledore held his finger up to his lips indicating for Fudge to be quiet. He then urged Snape to go on. Snape's head lolled on his neck before continuing.
"I convinced Peter Thomas Pettigrew to join Voldemort's clan. I noticed how pitiful and puny he was. He was also the silent type. I knew that the silent ones always crack first. I corrupted him. I made it look like James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin were not his friends and that they kept him company out of pure sympathy," a smile flickered on his face. "I remember that night. I remember how Pettigrew's eyes filled with tears, how he asked me incredulously how I knew, how the first gleam of evil shown in his eyes.
"Then I remember the news I had received later that week," Snape's smile was replaced by a thin line of lip. "Lily was pregnant. It was then when I realized what I had gotten myself into. Peter had hated James, Sirius, and Remus since that day forward.he was going to get revenge. Fortunately Sirius had been Lily and James's secret keeper long enough for Harry Potter to be born. I stopped supporting Voldemort when I found out Lily, my sister, was pregnant. I hated her, but she had never abused me like my parents had. I couldn't let her die. James. . .yes, but not Lily. I already had made the fatal mistake of convincing Pettigrew to join, I couldn't make another one. I sought out after Professor Dumbledore for help. He of course knew that I was, and still am, Potter's uncle. That's why he trusts me so much with him. To make sure Potter would have a safe future, he gave me the job of Potions master so I could keep an eye on him. Though, I still don't understand why Professor Dumbledore didn't send Potter to live with me. I always thought that it was because I had been a Death Eater. He has never told me." Snape's head rolled again on his neck. For a split second his eyes looked in different directions and then settled back into their regular spots. Snape inhaled and was about to begin when Dumbledore cut him off.
"Tell us Severus what happened on the night of Professor Renton's death," he ordered softly. Snape's nostrils flared and he began to talk in the same monotonous voice.
"I had just finished grading my essays that I had assigned over the summer. None, of which, got high marks, except of course, Miss Hermione Granger's. I heard someone enter in through the front doors, but didn't put much thought into it because I must admit; I only thought it was Rubeus Hagrid. I began to clean up work space and put the last of the cauldrons away when I hear shouting and yelling. I would have dismissed this, but the words being shouted were 'Death Eater.' I grabbed my wand and tried to find the room which this commotion was coming from. The shouting had stopped briefly and then was louder than ever. I heard it the loudest in the hall were the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were being held at. I approached the door cautiously, but before I could stop the culprit, the ultimate Unforgivable Curse had been used. I walked in; saw Professor Renton dead and Lucius Malfoy standing in the frame of the window. He told me that if I told anyone, he would have my life too." All this information Harry never knew about Snape had practically knocked the wind out of him. His mouth was very dry and his tongue seemed glued to the roof of his mouth. Harry stared into Snape's emotionless eyes with a strange feeling inside him. He didn't know if this feeling was far behind hate, or a sort of sorrow for Snape's earlier years which had been a living hell. Once Harry had pried his eyes away from Snape's, he cast a glance around the room. Dumbledore was writing something on his parchment, Professor McGonagall's eyes were filled with a frantic fear, Cornelius Fudge was shaking his head, and Umbridge's smile was no longer.
"Thank you Severus. Well m' ladies and gentlemen, this proves that Professor Snape did not kill Ewan Renton. It was, in fact, Lucius Malfoy," Dumbledore announced to the silent room.
"It.it couldn't be Lucius. I've.I've.well he's been my assistant all this time. I need Weasley back. Oh my! What have I done?" Fudge panicked.
"There there Cornelius," Dumbledore comforted. "We'll have Lucius in Azkaban before anything can happen." Fudge was shaking his head more frantically. Dumbledore turned to Harry.
"Thank you Harry for cooperating."
"Welcome," he replied sourly as this fresh information was still sinking in.
"You may have the rest of the day off. This all must be hard to relive, and plus." Dumbledore trailed off. Harry just nodded and was about to leave when Dumbledore cleared his throat to catch his attention.
"You cannot let anything you just heard get out to anyone else, even if they are your closest pals." Harry knew he was talking about Ron and Hermione. Once again Harry nodded and left, that unknown feeling still licking his insides.