Chapter 16: Lies, secrets and agreements
"Stop biting your lip", Ron hissed at his younger sister. Ginny's complexion didn't show any signs of having been sick anymore. Her cheeks were red with excitement and her eyes glittered.
"We know what's going to happen. Snape will follow them, try to get to the Shrieking Shack to find out about Lupin and Harry's dad will save him at the last second. No need to worry and no need to bite your lip bloody."
Hermione threw a doubtful look back at the two Weasleys. She didn't seem to agree with Ron's no-need-to-worry-concept and Harry could see why. He wasn't too keen on seeing Remus Lupin turn into a werewolf again, either. One time, no actually two, if you counted their adventure with the time turner, had been more than enough. The recollection still gave him ideas for some very impressive nightmares today. On the other hand, he would get to see his father doing the one thing that had supposedly earned him Snape's everlasting hatred. Or wouldn't he?
Snape had rested his head lightly against the wall. The muscles in his face were twitching slightly and his hands were clenched into tight fists. Dumbledore seemed to be equally tense and his breathing came somewhat laboured.
The pictures in the bubble swished by at top speed, allowing the spectators, the unwanted as well as the undetected, only short glimpses. The young Snape hurrying through the garden towards the Whomping Willow. A mad rattle of branches. The gap between the roots, through which a terrible howling noise could be heard. It sounded like a human in severe pain. James Potter grabbing Snape by the shoulder and yelling at him, trying to pull him back up through the gap. Sirius Black sprinting along the meadow. A mad row between the two Gryffindors.
Dumbledore's office came into focus. Three boys were standing in front of a desk scattered with papers, empty chocolate frog boxes and picture frames. James was still scowling at Sirius who kept hissing insults at Snape. The Slytherin was bleeding from a cut above his left eyebrow and seemed to be even paler than usual.
Albus Dumbledore stopped talking to Minerva McGonagall, the latter leaving the room with a last angry look at the two students out of her house, and slowly took a seat behind his chaotic desk. He didn't invite the three boys to sit.
"This incident is far from pleasant", he started and let his gaze linger over the three students in front of him. It rested the longest on Sirius Black.
"I was under the impression that we had established the highest security possible to protect Mr. Lupin – and your fellow students. Tell me, child" he turned his twinkling blue eyes towards Snape who met his gaze with as much calm as he could muster, "how did you find out how to get past the Whomping Willow?"
Snape's eyes flicked over to Black. The Gryffindor avoided his gaze, a triumphant smile around his lips. James Potter looked at the smaller boy imploringly. Snape seemed to think for a moment, then he straightened up an answered:
"Black told me, sir."
Dumbledore nodded gravely, turned his attention towards the accused Gryffindor and asked:
"Is that true, Mr. Black?"
Sirius gave a contemptuous snort.
"Of course not, sir. We promised that we wouldn't talk about it to a soul. Besides, I wouldn't even give the time of day to that slimy Slytherin."
Harry was horrified by the ease with which his godfather told a lie directly to Dumbledore's face and also by the disdain he dared to show towards another student. For a moment Sirius had reminded him of Draco Malfoy, who also didn't have any scruples showing his contempt for Harry, no matter who was around, teacher or student.
The frown between Dumbledore's brows deepened.
"I do not hold with such an attitude, Mr. Black. Loyalty to one's house is nothing bad, contempt for the other houses is. I will make sure your head of house will have a lengthy talk about that with you."
He turned his attention towards James Potter, who had been uncharacteristically quiet so far.
"Mr. Potter, can you enlighten us on the matter?"
James looked down towards the tip of his shoes.
"I saw Severus walking towards the tree and looking for a long branch. That gave me the idea that he knew how to get past the Willow's defences. I ran down as fast as I could, but he was already through the gap. All I could do was pull him up again by force."
He looked at the glowering Snape.
"I didn't mean to bash your head against that branch. Sorry."
Snape didn't answer but wiped some blood from his split brow.
"And how does Mr. Black fit into all this?" Dumbledore pressed on.
James didn't have a chance to say anything for Sirius declared:
"I saw the two of them and naturally assumed that Sniv… Severus had attacked James. I just wanted to help my friend."
Dumbledore looked slowly from one boy to the next. Sirius was still smiling his enigmatic smile. James didn't dare to meet the headmaster's gaze. Snape looked at the old wizard imploringly, his fingers nestling with the seam of his cloak. He was obviously dying to say something, but didn't dare to without the headmaster asking him. Finally Dumbledore nodded.
"Very well. Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, please present yourself to Professor McGonagall right away; she is already waiting for you in her office. As for Mr. Snape …"
"You can't just let him go like this", Sirius piped up. "He knows about Remus. He will tell the whole school! You have to erase his memory or something. You have to …"
"Thank you, Mr. Black, I know very well what to do with your classmate. I believe we can trust him to keep that secret as well as anyone of us."
He waved an impatient hand towards the door. When the two Gryffindors had left the office the headmaster got up, drew a chair out of thin air, a soft green armchair with a slightly worn seat, and motioned for Snape to sit. As the child sat down nervously the old wizard touched the split brow lightly with the tip of his wand and murmured something under his breath. Snape shrunk back in sudden fear, but all that happened was that the bleeding stopped and a thin layer of new skin covered the damaged area. Dumbledore pulled his chair out from behind the desk and sat down opposite of Snape. He leaned back comfortably and tilted his head to the left slightly.
"So, Sirius Black told you how to get past the Whomping Willow."
"Yes, sir", Snape answered, even though it had not been a question. "He gave me the impression that he and Potter were … doing something to Lupin. He … he dared me to follow them."
Judging from the look on the boy's face the explanation sounded stupid to him suddenly, like many things that made more sense when thought than when uttered out loud. Dumbledore, however, just looked at him encouragingly, his fingertips pressed against each other. Snape took a deep breath.
"You know that I had noticed Lupin's injuries and I assumed … well, I thought that Potter and Black were hurting him. Like …"
He didn't dare to finish the sentence. Dumbledore sighed heavily.
"I know that there is a certain animosity between you and those particular two Gryffindor classmates of yours. It's not that hard to see and many teachers have reported on it. However, since you told me quite clearly in your first year that you preferred to fight your battles alone, I advised the staff to interfere only if they saw the situation get out of hand. Maybe they, and me as well, have committed some misjudgements over the past few months."
The boy relaxed visibly.
"Then you believe me? That Black told me how to get past that tree?"
"Of course I believe you, child. Why would you lie to me? I would even have insisted on Mr. Black apologizing to you, but I gathered that you wouldn't have cared for it anyway, since there was little chance that it would have been genuine. It also might have created additional problems for you in the consequence."
The boy didn't answer.
"Unfortunately you have been pushed to stumble over a secret that you were not supposed to share. Next time, maybe, you should trust my judgement and just take my word if I tell you, that there is no need to worry. You do, of course, understand that what you have learned about Remus Lupin's condition tonight has to be kept a secret, don't you? No one must know."
He looked at the boy intensely and it seemed that his blue eyes radiated something. Snape frowned slightly.
"You will leave a werewolf in the school? What if someone gets hurt? What if Black plays a joke like that again?"
"Since Mr. Lupin started attending this school two years ago no major incidents have occurred. Nobody got hurt and nobody will get hurt, I assure you that."
Snape didn't seem convinced. As a matter of fact he seemed to be really angry.
"What about me, then? What would have happened, if I had got through to the end of that tunnel? I'm sure I would have received more than a split brow."
Dumbledore rested a hand on the boy's knee.
"But nothing did happen. James Potter interfered and kept you from getting into that tunnel. Maybe you should think about that as well."
The kindness that radiated from the headmaster seemed to infuriate the young Slytherin even more.
"Does that mean they will not get punished?"
"Mr. Black will be punished – for endangering you as well as for not keeping the secret. But I wouldn't know what to punish Mr. Potter for."
He looked down on the boy curiously. When there was no answer apart from a pair of fiery dark eyes staring back at him he added:
"You should consider getting a little bit more social with your classmates. As far as I understand it most of your current friends will be leaving the school after this term – even though there is a slight chance that Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle might join us again in the coming year."
The old wizard chuckled to himself but stopped quickly when he saw the boy in front of him frown. He sighed.
"I am not trying to criticize your choice of friends, Mr. Snape. In fact, I'm glad that you found a group to feel comfortable in. However, they will leave school soon and you will stay with us for another four years. Give the other students a chance to find out about your qualities as well; it would be a pity for them as well as for you, if you didn't."
The young Slytherin had started fiddling with the cloth of his robes again, staring down at his own hands, trying to hide the blush that covered his face. Dumbledore placed a hand under the boy's chin and raised it, smiling affectionately.
"I know I can trust you, Mr. Snape. You will not talk about the things that have been revealed to you tonight to anyone. You will be a better secret keeper than a certain Gryffindor, I'm sure of that."
Snape dared to smile back at the older wizard. He seemed a little disappointed when the headmaster drew back his hand, but pulled himself together quickly.
"May I go now, sir?"
Dumbledore nodded and Snape climbed out of the oversized armchair with a little difficulty; his feet had hardly been able to touch the ground while sitting in it. The boy was already on the first step leading down and out of the office when the headmaster said calmly:
"My door will always be open for you, child."
Snape smiled back at the old man, this time with genuine warmth and gratefulness. Then he stormed down the stairs all the way down into the dungeons.
Harry didn't know what to think. The picture of his godfather had already suffered irreparable damage before, so that part was less dramatic. He had known before that this childish yet immensely dangerous prank had been Sirius' idea. Yet somehow he had imagined his father to be a little bit more heroic in that episode, Snape a lot more nosy and disagreeable, Dumbledore more just.
It would have been right to call Sirius upon his lie. Harry understood that his father wouldn't do it to his friend, but Dumbledore shouldn't have accepted this dishonesty right to his face.
It would also have been right to make Sirius apologize to Snape for that verbal abuse. How often had he wished someone would make Malfoy say "I'm sorry" for one of the innumerable insults, no matter if he meant it or not? The main thing would have been to see Malfoy humiliated for a change.
And what about the punishment? After all, Snape could have died, had he made his way to the end of the tunnel and met Lupin as a fully grown werewolf.
Suddenly Harry wondered if Lupin had ever been able to forgive Sirius for this. He had nearly been made to kill a person.
At the table beside Tonks Remus Lupin had raised his head and was staring at Snape with an expression of wonder on his pale and tired face.
"My God, he was worried about me", he whispered quietly. Tonks started stroking his dishevelled hair until tears rolled down his face freely.