Chapter 2: Unexpected
With his back literally against the wall, a very angry Mad Eye Moody at his throat and Dumbledore openly taking sides with the rest of the group there was not much left for Snape to do.
"Don't beat about the bush, Albus, it doesn't suit you", he said defiantly, trying to regain his composure by straightening his back and thereby manoeuvring his neck out of Moody's range. "What do you want of me?"
On the landing above Harry quietly slipped away from the others and back into the room he shared with Ron when staying at Grimmauld Place. Somewhere in his trunk had to be his father's invisibility cloak and he had the feeling this extraordinary heirloom might come in handy once more. His set of wizards' chess was unceremoniously thrown onto the bed, followed by several books, an arrangement of remarkably ugly socks, a couple of chocolate-frog-boxes and his broomstick servicing kit. Of course, there, at the bottom of the trunk the cloak glistened like folded up layers of silvery liquid. Quickly he grabbed it and darted back towards the others, leaving the room in considerable disarray.
"What happened?" he asked slightly breathless. Ron shot him a curious look. "Where have you been? You missed Snape trying to dash towards the door and being pinned against it by Moody. Didn't think the guy could be that fast with his wooden leg." Ron grinned all over his face, making his freckles dance in a most particular way.
"Apparently the Order had planned some sort of attack against a known meeting place of the Death Eaters, but it didn't work out because by the time they got there no one was left inside the building. No information was to be found, either, and now Moody suspects Snape of having warned his fellow Death Eaters. The rest of the Order is getting suspicious, too, and Professor Dumbledore doesn't seem to be able to allay their notions just with his word. Can you be quiet now, otherwise we'll miss some important details." All of this had been distributed in under 15 seconds and with a minimum amount of air. Sometimes Harry envied Hermione her efficiency.
The entrance hall was filled with people by now. Harry could spot Tonks, who wore her hair in blonde Rasta curls today, Bill Weasley, Mundungus Fletcher, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hestia Jones and surely there were many more he couldn't see from where they were sitting. He knew that Lupin had to be there, too. They'd had supper together and he hadn't heard anyone leave before the others had arrived. Mad Eye Moody was just taking an enormous pleasure in staring daggers at Snape, forcing him to move away from the door and into the middle of the group just by walking menacingly towards him.
"Alastor, that's enough", Dumbledore said. "I really do not believe that Severus gave word to the enemy." The murmurs got louder as people started to discuss this statement quietly with their neighbours. Moody's only reaction was a discontented grunt. He didn't dare to utter open disagreement with a wizard as powerful and respected as Albus Dumbledore. He didn't move away from Snape either, though.
"If they move back into the kitchen we will never hear the end of the story", Ron moaned. "It's already hard to hear what they say."
"That's why I went and got this one." With a triumphant smile Harry held up the invisibility cloak. "If we stick very close together, we should all be able to fit under it."
"Trelawney would be proud of you for having foreseen this", Hermione said without the slightest hint of a smile. She was already carefully moving down the stairs, gliding down one step at a time on her rear, dragging the cloak, and thus also Harry, after her.
Shortly before they had reached the bottom step they drew the cloak over their heads, disappearing from everyone's view – except …
"Moody can still see us with his magical eye." Harry knew that for a fact, having run into the fake Moody carrying the real magical eye three years ago.
"Do you really think he feels like gazing around the room right now?" Ginny asked dryly. She had a point. It seemed like nothing short of an earthquake combined with a major explosion would make the man take his eyes away from Snape's face, which had turned a shade of pale his students had never seen before.
"We all know you risk your life every time you attend one of the Death Eater meetings", Dumbledore said while moving in between the two glaring wizards, giving Snape some more room to move at the same time. "You have to remember, however, that the others trust you solely based on my word, because I assured them you would never betray us."
Snape remained silent. He eyed Dumbledore apprehensively and seemed to be waiting for some sort of blow.
"When they asked me yesterday on what grounds I believed you wouldn't return to Voldemort's service," - several of the witches and wizards flinched – " I couldn't give them an answer. At least not one that would have satisfied them."
A wide circle had formed around the two. Even Moody had retreated and watched Dumbledore as curiously as all the others. Ron's and Ginny's eldest brother Bill had his arms crossed over his chest and tapped his foot nervously on the ground. Beside him his mother had grabbed his father's arm and started chewing her lower lip. Tonks was playing with a tress of her hair, turning it from blond to black to pink back to blonde again, avoiding everyone's eyes. The others seemed to be frozen in waiting for Dumbledore's next step.
"Is that supposed to be reassuring?" Snape's voice was cold and he met the headmaster's gaze without blinking. "That your word is not good enough for them either? What do you expect me to do?" With that he turned to face each of the other wizards and witches in turn. "Do you want me to swear some sort of oath? Do you want me to drink veritaserum, so you can question me again, like you did in there for the last hour?" He pointed towards the open kitchen door with a shaking hand.
Harry wasn't entirely sure whether the shaking resulted from fear, for the look on Snape's face was one of untamed anger, bordering on wrath.
"If the information you get from me counts for nothing and so does the word of Albus Dumbledore, then I'm afraid our union will come to an end here, because I sure as hell have nothing more to offer."
"Yes, you do", piped up Tonks, who had been struggling to free her index finger from some tangled tuft of multicoloured hair for the last minute. "Just tell us how you ended up with the Death Eaters and how you came to turn against them. Trusting is so much easier when backed up by knowledge", she finished with a very uncharacteristic air of wisdom to her voice.
"Oh, that's all?" Snape sneered. "Unfortunately you happen to be the very last group of people on this planet that I wish to share this particular piece of information with."
"We are, nevertheless, the one group of people who need to know, Severus." Dumbledore tried to put a comforting hand on Snape's arm, but the younger man took a hasty step backwards, unfortunately thereby re-entering the range of Mad Eye Moody. The auror immediately seized the opportunity and both of Snape's arms, locking them in a one-handed grip behind the Potion Master's back while quickly rummaging the man's cloak for his wand.
"Let go off me!" Snape was beside himself with fury now. Forgetting his usually dignified composure he struggled hard to free himself, an effort that only resulted in Moody intensifying his grip while handing the attained wand over to Bill Weasley.
"You know, I liked the idea with the veritaserum."
When Dumbledore moved forward Harry was sure it was to interfere. It had been unusual for the headmaster to watch this display of physical aggression against one of his staff for so long.
"Here it comes", Ron breathed quietly, blowing a strand of Hermione's curly hair into Harry's face in the process. Absentmindedly Harry waved it away, nearly poking Ginny in the eye.
"Severus, I would have spared you this. I would have told them everything and you would never have needed to know." Harry knew this tone in the headmaster's voice. It was a combination of apologetic and accusing, a very special kind of resonance that normally only a mother knew how to create. By now his voice was down to a whisper and Hermione nearly slipped out from under the cloak in an attempt to catch every word.
"I never asked you about the beginning, because I never needed to know. Had you decided to relieve your heart and tell me anyway, I would have been only too willing to help you deal with the things that haunt you in the night."
Slowly Dumbledore reached inside his robes and brought out his wand. "From them", he nodded towards the people standing in the circle around him and his Potions Master, "I cannot expect the same. And I need them as much as I need you. I cannot afford to lose anyone right now, we are so few anyway. Can't you try to trust us all? And make it easier for them to believe in you like I do?"
Snape had stopped struggling and stared at Dumbledore disbelievingly. "You don't know what you're asking", he whispered. "I cannot and will not do it and nothing you threaten me with will change my mind."
"It is not my intention to threaten you, Severus." The old wizard raised his wand. "And since I obviously stand no chance to persuade you, I will have to force you."