The Story of Severus: Chapter Three
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything.
By: Susan
Summary: Snape's past has been left a mystery. Why did he join Lord Voldemort? Why did Dumbledore clear him? Did he have a relationship with Lily Potter? How was he connected to Lily and James? And what about the prophecy?
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Lily huddled in a ball on the ruffled emerald green armchair in the home she shared with James. They'd been married for little more than five months. After their marriage, they'd moved in together into a large house, and she was happier than she'd been in a long time. She missed her childhood friend Severus, but the prospect of being with the man she'd fallen in love with began to fill the void in her heart.
The fire crackled and she leaned her head against the armchair and closed her eyes. She'd been feeling a tad queasy lately, and a bit lightheaded when she stood up.
"Lily?" James leaned against the doorway of the sitting roomand stared at her. "Are you all right?"
"Fine, James," Lily called back to him, smiling at his concern. Lately, she couldn't seem to get enough of him. "I'm fine."
"D'you want to go up to bed before Sirius and Remus come? I'm sure they won't mind." He walked over to her and sat on the arm of the chair, taking her hand in his own. "You don't look fine." She shook her head slowly.
"I am, just a bit tired," She slid over and he joined her, putting his arm around her shoulders. "But I'll stay awake. I haven't seen Remus since before the last full moon."
"He looks awful," James said truthfully, "I don't want you to be shocked."
"I'll be all right," she said, as they heard a crash in the fireplace.
"That'll be Sirius," James said, and began to laugh as a massive cloud of smoke exploded from the fireplace. "Knowing him, he inhaled smoke or something else just as ridiculous." Lily began to laugh as he kissed her and then stood to help Sirius out of the fire.
"Hey mate," Sirius said, standing up and grinning. He was covered in clouds of soot, but his smile was as wide and as bright as ever. "I hope you don't mind, but Dumbledore should be showing up any moment. He says it's important."
James looked at him curiously, "Wonder what that's all about,"
"Ah…It's probably something about the Daily Prophet," Sirius said, shaking his head disgustedly, "The blokes are trying to deny that You-Know-Who has been after Muggles."
James looked angry. "I swear, the idiots! They're oblivious to everything that goes on around here. They get thicker every darn minute."
There was a pop and Remus appeared, looking deathly. His skin, usually pallid, was whiter than chalk, and his hair was messy and needed a combing. His robes were worn and stretched, and the bottoms, where his feet sometimes stepped upon them, were tattered.
"How are you Remus?" Lily asked sympathetically. "I haven't seen you in awhile."
"Fine, Lily," he said, giving her a gentle hug. He was so thin, Lily thought, as she stretched her arms around him. Lily and Remus had always been special friends throughout their schooling. If it was one friend of the arrogant James she could tolerate, it was Remus Lupin. He was so gentle and sweet, and very discerning about the people and the events around him.
"Would you like something to eat?" she said, jumping up quickly. He looked around nervously.
"I'm fine," Remus said, twiddling his thumbs. "Albus…it's just…He said it's important."
The four stood in silence, somewhat awkward. Things were rarely uncomfortable when the two trouble makers and their responsible friend were together, and yet, nobody spoke. There was a popping noise, and Albus Dumbledore arrived; another pop, and he was followed by Minerva McGonagall.
Dumbledore's long beard reflected the light of the fire, and his blue eyes surveyed each standing there. Minerva McGonagall, a tall woman in comparison to most, looked positively dwarfed by the height of Dumbledore.
"Hello, Albus, Minerva," Remus said, shaking each of their hands in turn. "How's it been?"
"Fine, Remus," said McGonagall fretfully. "Dear me, it's been awhile." She placed a soothing hand on the shoulder of his tattered robes.
All the while, Dumbledore had remained silent, thus causing the others to fall into the same awkward pattern.
"Professor?" Lily said softly, "Are you well?"
Dumbledore looked at her; his blue eyes conveying a sadness that Lily hadn't seen since the night she'd fought with Severus.
"We've been alerted that a new Death Eater has joined the ranks of Lord Voldemort," he said slowly, almost wistfully.
"Oh…goodness," Lily whispered, putting a pale hand to her mouth. The Dark Lord hadn't taken a new loyal follower since before she and James had been married, and there hadn't been any attacks upon Muggles since then, either.
"Who is it?" Sirius asked curiously, looking around at the others.
"None other than the man that many of you suspected yourselves," Dumbledore replied slowly, "Severus Snape."
Lily tried to act indifferent to the news, faking a shrug that almost looked like the beginnings of a seizure. Lupin looked at her curiously, but said nothing.
"I knew it," Sirius said, beginning to laugh bitterly, "The slimeball turned to the dark side. Old Snivellus, using the dark magic he's been taught since he was a child."
"We always knew the git wouldn't be anything after Hogwarts," agreed James, "The slime, joining with Voldemort and out parading for the deaths of innocent Muggles."
"You two," Lily said, anger rising up in her like the mercury of a thermometer, "Really, don't you think that you're being a bit harsh? You're acting like children!"
James and Sirius looked at each other, raising their eyebrows.
"With all due respect, Lily," Remus interposed, "We don't have time to battle about an old peer, we have a bit more complicated things to speak of."
Lily looked at him strangely, and was about to ask him what he was talking about, when Dumbledore sighed, then nodded.
"Lily, I'm afraid Remus is right. It seems fitting for me to ask for yours and Remus' presence in the next room, if that's to the wishes of James."
James raised his eyebrows curiously again, but didn't respond, only nodded halfway.
"Good," Dumbledore said briskly, "Remus, Lily?" He slowly walked off towards the kitchen, shut the door behind them, pulled out his wand, tapped the wall and calmly said Cessare Sonus."
"Professor Dumbledore, with all due respect, is there any reason we need a soundproofing charm? What do you wish to speak of that does not concern my husband?"
"I wish to speak of Severus Snape." Lily averted her sparkling green eyes from Dumbledore's own pale blue.
"To me?" Lily squeaked, "I barely know him…"
Dumbledore looked at Lily carefully through his glistening half moon spectacles.
"Please, Lily, telling lies doesn't alleviate the situation." Lily stared at him, this time feeling she should meet his eyes.
"Professor, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Remus?" Dumbledore asked slowly.
"Lily, forgive me, but I've known for a long time."
"Known what?" she asked him defensively.
"Lily…You and Severus," Remus said slowly, "Your friendship?"
"How long have you known?"
"Ages," Remus replied. "Since I saw you leave the Gryffindor Common Room one night in our first year at Hogwarts."
"I don't-" she sputtered.
"I know you've stolen James' invisibility cloak countless times, and some nights you even went without it, just to meet Severus Snape up in the North Tower."
"Remus-"
"Lily, it doesn't do well to deny it," Dumbledore said slowly, "I know you've kept it a secret for quite some time, but it's important for us to know-"
"Please, I don't want to talk about it," she said softly, but she knew quite well that they'd know everything soon.
"Lily…" Remus said, putting an arm around her soothingly, "We've known for years, and it's never put me, nor Albus against you."
She looked at him sadly. "Remember, ages ago, before James and I married, when we talked about prospective Death Eaters?" She looked around at them, wanting their approval to continue. Each nodded.
"I went to Severus after we'd had the meeting…And I told him that I was to be married and that we could no longer correspond. He took it hard, and well, we had a bit of a row."
Dumbledore, Lupin, and Lily were all silent as Lily tried to hold back her tears. She hadn't spoken about Severus since she'd seen him, and she'd thought she'd healed. Truth be told, speaking of Severus again had opened the wound even wider than it had been that night.
"I thought you might find out, and think I was a traitor," she said softly. "Or James might…I mean, you saw him and Sirius when you mentioned Severus. They went back into schoolboy mode, when they used to insult him…"
"You didn't want to lose James," Dumbledore said slowly, "Understandable."
"How did you find out?"
"I told Dumbledore one night, though he'd known for awhile," Lupin said softly, "It wasn't to get you lot in trouble, but to tell him that you'd been one of the first Gryffindor and Slytherin…er…pairs…ever."
"We were never a pair!" Lily started defensively, but then stopped. "I mean…I never felt…" She trailed off and turned away.
"Do continue," Dumbledore said prodding her.
"Severus…As much as he hated muggle-born wizards…He never felt that way about me.
I think…I mean, I know- It was a bit more than that."
"What do you mean?" Lupin asked softly.
"I mean that he thought of me as a bit more than friends. And I never felt that way about him." Lily started tearing up, and Remus patted her back, trying to comfort her. "Don't tell James, please," she said through her tears. "I couldn't bear it if he was angry with me too."
"Don't worry," he said soothingly, "I won't say a word." She quickly gave him a hug and thanked him in his ear, then wiped her tears from her face.
"We need to speak with James," Dumbledore said to Lupin, "Come now," he said, beckoning Lily. "Do dry those tears, please. James needn't think we've hurt you in any way."
She forced a laugh and followed them out of the kitchen, wondering what on earth could possibly concern James. She hoped desperately that Dumbledore wouldn't feel the need to tell what she'd said.
"Now, Lily," Dumbledore said as they made their way back into the main room. Sirius and James were chatting with Professor McGonagall, but James jumped up immediately when he saw Lily and interrupted him.
"You've been crying," he said accusingly, "What happened?"
"I'm fine," she said, collapsing upon the couch where he had been sitting a moment ago.
He sat down and put his arm about her shoulders, gently and lovingly stroking her.
"James tells me you've been feeling a tad under the weather?"
Lily looked at him strangely. "What's that got to do with-"
"It has plenty to do with everything," Dumbledore replied calmly, the twinkle reappearing in his eyes. "Do tell."
"I've been feeling a bit queasy lately but-"
"When was the last time you and James…" Professor McGonagall said, trailing off.
"James and I what?"
"Er…You know," Lupin said awkwardly.
"But we don't," James said coolly, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
Sirius had caught on quicker and had begun to laugh. "Really, James, er…the old horizontal tango?" Lily looked at him, shocked, and James laughed cynically.
"Sirius, please, we don't need you soiling our minds any more than you already do," he said laughing, "That isn't even remotely close to what they meant." He turned back to Lupin and Professor McGonagall, who found that time as good as any to stare uninterestedly at the ceiling.
"Are you mad? What's that got to do with anything?"
"Plenty," said Dumbledore. Lily noticed at that instant that Dumbledore seemed a bit more reserved than he was usually, and it frightened her. Dumbledore, while not always the most outwardly emotional man she'd ever met, never seemed quite so detached.
"You want to know the last time I've…er…We've slept together?"
"When was the last time you lot got all sweaty together in bed and-"
"Sirius, that is completely unnecessary," Lily said, turning a shade of magenta yet unknown to man, but even she let a smile escape through her pursed lips.
"As we all know, Lord Voldemort has been gaining strength quickly, beyond the intelligence of the Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore said quietly, "He has been thought to have tortured countless innocent Muggles, and-" He stopped. "What I mean to say is that I, while interviewing a candidate for the position of teacher of Divination a couple of nights ago…"
"Albus…" Minerva McGonagall said softly, touching his arm.
"I wasn't prepared for this candidate to have been, ah, shall we say, as prophetic as she was," he said slowly, "but she said something that has caused me to alert not only you, but many of the other wizarding couples of."
Lily surveyed Dumbledore carefully. His white beard shimmered as always, but his blue eyes seemed bleaker than normal.
"This candidate made a prophecy that will one day be of great importance to the wizarding, as well as the Muggle world. And, so I ask you, Lily Potter, do you think that perhaps you are pregnant?"
Lily looked at him, obviously taken aback. James' eyes widened.
"She can't be pregnant," he said quickly and defensively.
"Well, James, it only takes once," Sirius said smirking, "Only one night of-"
"Sirius-" Lily hissed, "Would you stop it?"
"Lily, I assure you, Sirius is correct," Dumbledore said, letting a hint of a smile slide through his beard. "Now, James," he instructed, "Take your wand, place it against her stomach, and say Fertilitas Verifien. It will glow red if so, and glow green if not."
James looked at him oddly, and twitched slightly, while Sirius was still controlling his intense urge to burst out into a fit of raucous laughter at the discomfort of his best friend. James didn't protest just whipped out his wand and did exactly as Dumbledore said.
"Er…Fertilitas Verifien," he said quickly, and his wand glowed a deep shade of crimson on the end.
Everyone looked at each other awkwardly.
"Well, that settles it then," Dumbledore said briskly.
"Settles what?" Lily said, incredibly shocked at what had been thrown at her in the past hour or two. First being questioned about Severus, now she had the beginnings of a child living inside of her?
"Your pregnancy, obviously," Sirius said. "The fact that you and James did a little something in the bedroom!"
"Sirius-" James started, blushing furiously.
All the while, Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore, and Minerva McGonagall were silent.
"Sir?" Lily asked quietly, "Sir, what's going on?"
"Lily, dear," Dumbledore said gently, "The prophecy that was made, was about the unborn child that sits inside of either you, Mrs. Alice Longbottom, or someone yet unknown to us."
"But what was this prophecy?" Lily asked, confused.
Dumbledore shook his head slowly, "Now isn't the time for this."
"Albus, they need to know," Professor McGonagall said slowly, "This concerns them. We've spoken to the Longbottoms. It's now their turn."
Dumbledore took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly began to speak. The words were rhythmic, and caused everyone to go silent, without even a breath.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not, and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives."
Even Sirius was silenced by his words, and the friends stared at each other.
Lily pointed to her stomach. "And the equal of the Dark Lord…He may reside here? Inside of me?"
"It is probable that the one with that power resides inside of you, or Mrs. Alice Longbottom."
"Oh my…" Lily shook her head, "I can't even fathom…"
"It's obvious, the reason why I did not wish to speak of this," Dumbledore said, all hint of a smile or a twinkle in his crystalline eyes had vanished.
"Maybe we should go," Remus said slowly, motioning to Sirius, who immediately followed. "Lily, James," he said softly, "Be strong."
"You'll be all right?" Sirius asked them.
"Fine," James said, waving him off, obviously engrossed with Lily's emotions and trying to soothe her. He smoothed her hair, and then turned to the rest of them. "I think you're right, you'd best be off."
Dumbledore nodded, and turned to Professor McGonagall. "Ready, Minerva?"
"Yes, Albus, ready." There was a pop and she vanished, followed by Sirius, who had rejected his original plan of using Floo Powder once more, possibly because of the liberal amounts of smoke and dust he'd inhaled from the filth inside the Potter's fireplace. Lupin followed, disapparating.
"Albus?" Lily said weakly.
"Yes, my dear," he said quietly, "Anything."
"Thank you," she said sincerely, meeting his eyes. He looked back at her intensely.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, then disapparated to meet Minerva McGonagall just outside of the grounds of Hogwarts.
"Dear me," Dumbledore said to her. "I still can't believe…"
"What did she say about Severus Snape?" McGonagall asked quietly.
"He'd thought of her as more than a friend," Dumbledore replied.
"We've known that for ages," McGonagall said bitterly.
"Minerva, dear, I couldn't bear to question her any more than that," he hesitated, then said, "She has quite a lot on her hands right now."
"But we won't know his reasons for turning to Voldemort-"
"Isn't it obvious, Minerva? The fact that he was a Slytherin and that hatred of muggle-born wizards has been programmed into his blood, and then he found a muggle-born he cared deeply about, and was rejected by her because she didn't feel the same. Perhaps he wanted to escape from his problems. Perhaps he wanted to make muggle-borns pay. Perhaps he wanted to make James and Lily pay. There are so many reasons."
"Oh, Albus," McGonagall whispered, placing her hand on his shoulder, "Oh dear."
"The future will bring many problems our way, Minerva, and we will have to be careful of them. But we now have a chance. The child that resides inside of Lily or Alice is that chance."
"Only a chance, Albus. It's not certain. Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives," she quoted.
"Minerva, life is always a chance. Life is never certain, nor will it ever be. The only thing for certain is hope."
And following these wise words was silence. Silence in the forest, silence on and around the grounds of Hogwarts. Silence on all sides of the castle, the only truly safe place in the wizarding world. But with that silence came the only thing that was truly for certain in this life; hope.
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