~~~~~~~~*****~~~~~~~~~
Hermione waited patiently outside of the office, not able to hear a single word the two men were saying, much to her annoyance.
Gods. I can believe I'm so alone. She felt tears well up in her eyes again; her skin already ached from the salt and the way it made her skin crack. She wept openly again. Her stomach held a familiar sickanining twinge, one that you only felt when you were in intense emtotional pain.
" Miss Granger are you all right?" came a soft voice from out of the shadows. She felt a tender hand place it's self on her back.
It was Professor Minerva McGonigall, her head of house and good friend.
" No Professor I'm not." Tears were falling steadily now.
" No you cannot be expected to be all right my dear, I m so sorry for your loss." The kindly professor looked at her star student with high regard and saddened eyes.
"Come now I must get you back to your dorm, its not safe to be out side alone." Placing an arm around Hermione she led her back to the Gryffindor Tower.
~~~~~~~~*****~~~~~~~~~
" Gods Man Don't you relies what this means??!!" Screamed professor Snape.
The old man just looked at him with hopelessness.
" I do Severus, as do all the teachers, we have strived to keep a sense of normalcy during this time, but I know what is going to happen, there is little I do but worry about such things!" Albus looked at the younger wizard in front of him; he could still feel the tears of Miss Granger on his robes. There was nothing more than what he wished was sleep, not a nights sleep but an eternal sleep.
Severus watched as Dumbledore's face seamed to age almost by magic, there was little life left in his features.
It was then that Severus realized just how old the Headmaster truly was. His eyes had lost their twinkle from the deaths that had occurred while under his leadership as headmaster.
It seemed that with this last act Voldmort had officially succeeded in do the unimaginable.
He had broken Albus's spirit.
" We have to do something." Murdered Severus.
Albus sighed looking out the window; there was a deep fall of fresh snow making its way down from the sky.
" I believe that all the answers to the future remain in the past"
Severus just looked at the man.
"Albus, what is wrong with you, you are talking nonsense. I can honestly say that I do not enjoy being on this side of the conversation, it is usually you who is talking sense into me not the other way around."
Albus turned from watching the snow and was now facing the dark hared wizard before him.
" Severus, I'm truly at a loss, all these years I have failed countless times and now I fear that this is one time that I will pay for my failures as a headmaster."
Severus blanched, Gods what was this, he had never known Albus to go down a pity trip. Gods! That what his job!
" Albus. What happened with Miss Granger tonight was not your fault; there was nothing anyone could have done. The Grangers knew what was at stake."
The headmaster cut him off before he could finish.
" I could have stopped him Severus, I could have stopped him before her parents were killed, before Cedric
Digory was killer, before the Potters were killed".
" You know that's not true headmaster."
" It is Severus, I'm sorry but I knew for years what Tom Riddle would amount to, I should have stopped him, I should have stopped the original Death Eaters (Snape winced at this, he was one of the originals) but alas I did not" he gave a heavy sigh. "I guess I always thought that there might have been a glint of hope for us all, that maybe I wouldn't have to fight....I was a selfish old man"
Severus now was getting angry, he couldn't help but think of how after all these years of Dumbledore telling him not to pity himself that the mistakes were in the past, that Dumbledore himself would have the nerve to do the same.
" GET OVER IT MAN!" roared Severus. " You can not dwell in the past, there is nothing that we can do about that. Its over its been written"
The was a twinge of a familiar light that drifted into Albus's eyes.
" Severus did you know anything of the attack on the Grangers? From your sources? No new information."
Severus shook his head. " No nothing was ever mentioned about Miss Granger or her parents, I was asked once how she was in school what was she like, was she a strong person, her achedemic standards.... (Snape gasped in shock) Albus you don't think??! Gods how could I have been so stupid!"
" What is it man!" whispered Dumbledore, his aged face showing signs of concern.
" Hermione ............. ah Miss ........ Granger! Gods how could I have not realized it! She's the perfect candidate that Voldmort would want, Gods just like Lily!"
Now it was Albus's turn to feel confused.
Snape looked at Dumbledore for a moment, deciding to choose his words carefully.
" Albus the night that the potters died, Voldmort had not wished to kill lily." He whispered.
" He did however Severus" Albus was apparently for the first time in his life very confused.
" Yes but that was an accident, she got in the way when he tried to kill Harry. He had wanted her alive."
Now Albus looked thoughtful. " Why did he want her alive Severus?"
"Albus I'm sorry I never told you this but I did not want this to get out but Lily Potter was part of the reason that her Family died that night, Voldmort had been watching her for some time and there was one thing that he himself had never produced in his horrible life."
Albus raised and eyebrow and nodded for Severus to continue.
" Albus Voldmort wanted an heir."
.
Hermione waited patiently outside of the office, not able to hear a single word the two men were saying, much to her annoyance.
Gods. I can believe I'm so alone. She felt tears well up in her eyes again; her skin already ached from the salt and the way it made her skin crack. She wept openly again. Her stomach held a familiar sickanining twinge, one that you only felt when you were in intense emtotional pain.
" Miss Granger are you all right?" came a soft voice from out of the shadows. She felt a tender hand place it's self on her back.
It was Professor Minerva McGonigall, her head of house and good friend.
" No Professor I'm not." Tears were falling steadily now.
" No you cannot be expected to be all right my dear, I m so sorry for your loss." The kindly professor looked at her star student with high regard and saddened eyes.
"Come now I must get you back to your dorm, its not safe to be out side alone." Placing an arm around Hermione she led her back to the Gryffindor Tower.
~~~~~~~~*****~~~~~~~~~
" Gods Man Don't you relies what this means??!!" Screamed professor Snape.
The old man just looked at him with hopelessness.
" I do Severus, as do all the teachers, we have strived to keep a sense of normalcy during this time, but I know what is going to happen, there is little I do but worry about such things!" Albus looked at the younger wizard in front of him; he could still feel the tears of Miss Granger on his robes. There was nothing more than what he wished was sleep, not a nights sleep but an eternal sleep.
Severus watched as Dumbledore's face seamed to age almost by magic, there was little life left in his features.
It was then that Severus realized just how old the Headmaster truly was. His eyes had lost their twinkle from the deaths that had occurred while under his leadership as headmaster.
It seemed that with this last act Voldmort had officially succeeded in do the unimaginable.
He had broken Albus's spirit.
" We have to do something." Murdered Severus.
Albus sighed looking out the window; there was a deep fall of fresh snow making its way down from the sky.
" I believe that all the answers to the future remain in the past"
Severus just looked at the man.
"Albus, what is wrong with you, you are talking nonsense. I can honestly say that I do not enjoy being on this side of the conversation, it is usually you who is talking sense into me not the other way around."
Albus turned from watching the snow and was now facing the dark hared wizard before him.
" Severus, I'm truly at a loss, all these years I have failed countless times and now I fear that this is one time that I will pay for my failures as a headmaster."
Severus blanched, Gods what was this, he had never known Albus to go down a pity trip. Gods! That what his job!
" Albus. What happened with Miss Granger tonight was not your fault; there was nothing anyone could have done. The Grangers knew what was at stake."
The headmaster cut him off before he could finish.
" I could have stopped him Severus, I could have stopped him before her parents were killed, before Cedric
Digory was killer, before the Potters were killed".
" You know that's not true headmaster."
" It is Severus, I'm sorry but I knew for years what Tom Riddle would amount to, I should have stopped him, I should have stopped the original Death Eaters (Snape winced at this, he was one of the originals) but alas I did not" he gave a heavy sigh. "I guess I always thought that there might have been a glint of hope for us all, that maybe I wouldn't have to fight....I was a selfish old man"
Severus now was getting angry, he couldn't help but think of how after all these years of Dumbledore telling him not to pity himself that the mistakes were in the past, that Dumbledore himself would have the nerve to do the same.
" GET OVER IT MAN!" roared Severus. " You can not dwell in the past, there is nothing that we can do about that. Its over its been written"
The was a twinge of a familiar light that drifted into Albus's eyes.
" Severus did you know anything of the attack on the Grangers? From your sources? No new information."
Severus shook his head. " No nothing was ever mentioned about Miss Granger or her parents, I was asked once how she was in school what was she like, was she a strong person, her achedemic standards.... (Snape gasped in shock) Albus you don't think??! Gods how could I have been so stupid!"
" What is it man!" whispered Dumbledore, his aged face showing signs of concern.
" Hermione ............. ah Miss ........ Granger! Gods how could I have not realized it! She's the perfect candidate that Voldmort would want, Gods just like Lily!"
Now it was Albus's turn to feel confused.
Snape looked at Dumbledore for a moment, deciding to choose his words carefully.
" Albus the night that the potters died, Voldmort had not wished to kill lily." He whispered.
" He did however Severus" Albus was apparently for the first time in his life very confused.
" Yes but that was an accident, she got in the way when he tried to kill Harry. He had wanted her alive."
Now Albus looked thoughtful. " Why did he want her alive Severus?"
"Albus I'm sorry I never told you this but I did not want this to get out but Lily Potter was part of the reason that her Family died that night, Voldmort had been watching her for some time and there was one thing that he himself had never produced in his horrible life."
Albus raised and eyebrow and nodded for Severus to continue.
" Albus Voldmort wanted an heir."
.