LOST PERSPECTIVE 7
PAYBACK TIME
By Bellegeste
CHAPTER 6:Avoidance Tactics
The second the dungeon door closed behind Hermione, Snape seized his outdoor cloak and flung it round his shoulders. He also pulled the long, black scarf down from its hook and wound it, rather more carefully, round his neck. Then he reached for the pot of Floo powder on the mantelpiece.
"Going somewhere, Severus?"
"Headmaster!"
The bent figure of Professor Dumbledore clambered stiffly out of the fireplace, brushing off a few stray, green Floo sparks, allowing his beard to unravel from his fist where he had it coiled up safely out of the flames' way. With one gnarled hand pressed into the small of his back, he cranked himself upright.
"Oh dearie me. I'm getting too old for this cramped 'economy' travel. One of these years we'll have to install walk-in Inglenooks…"
Considerably put out, Snape stepped aside, letting Dumbledore shuffle past him into the room.
"Good morning, Headmaster," he said coolly.
"And the top of a very fine morning to you too, Severus. Up with the lark as usual, I see. I thought you might have permitted yourself the luxury of a lie in, today of all days. How are you feeling? You were just off out?"
"I was." Until you arrived.
"Dressed for the weather, eh? Planning to take advantage of the winter sunshine? We see precious little of it at this time of year. It's deceptive though, I fear, you should wrap up - there's a nip in the air. I might go so far as to say the atmosphere has become decidedly chilly…"
Dumbledore studied the Potions master, analysing his discomfiture, and shed the joviality.
"Where were you going, Severus? You were not, perchance, trying to avoid me?"
"Don't be absurd!"
"Forgive me if my suggestion appears uncharitable. But, from where I am standing, it is far from absurd. I may be wrong - alas, I increasingly am - but last night I asked you a question, and it seems to me, Severus, that you are indeed doing everything possible to avoid answering it."
Snape could hardly refute the accusation. Cringing inwardly, he had excused himself the previous evening on the pretext that his throat was still too painful for talking, and had left Dumbledore sitting before the dying fire, suspicious and dissatisfied. And yes, this morning he had hoped to leave before the inevitable confrontation. If only he hadn't been delayed by the interview with Granger.
Yet, it had been imperative to secure the girl's silence. That done, he had more important things to do than talk. He needed to think.
"I was merely intending to Floo to the Cottage. To inspect the damage," he told Dumbledore smoothly. And see Quig, and Braque… and check the wreckage for evidence, for any indication as to whether or not the Death Eaters and their mob had found what they had come for.
He had lain awake for hours - in the hospital and again last night – attempting to rationalise the attack on the Cottage. The assault on his person was, he reasoned, of less overall significance. He'd suffered worse. You couldn't associate with Death Eaters without coming up against physical violence. It went with the territory. Until he had proof, one way or the other, he was unwilling to alert (and, in all likelihood, panic) the Headmaster. It might be a false alarm. On the other hand, if his theory was correct, then they could have a problem.
With Dumbledore's parting "Sleep well, then, Severus" still sounding in his ears, Snape had headed for his rooms the night before, sick with exhaustion and yet knowing that he would be unable to sleep if he did not first check something out. Instead of ceding to his body's demands and collapsing into bed, he had fetched his Pensieve (1) from the cupboard…
x x x
"A few minutes of your time, Severus…" requested Dumbledore - except that it was an instruction, and one which Snape had no choice but to obey.
With a small huff of annoyance, he replaced the Floo powder, unopened, on the mantel. Pointedly he let the clasps on his cloak remain fastened. The scarf he kept on anyway, taking comfort in the extra warmth around his bruised neck.
"Headmaster - "
"No, let me say my piece. I don't want there to be any misunderstandings." In physical terms the old wizard was shorter, frailer and far weaker than Snape, who could have swatted him aside at any moment. But his magical stature was unrivalled and commanded respect. He lifted a sorrowful face to meet the younger man's eye. "Long ago, Severus, I placed you in a position of trust at Hogwarts, and I have never had reason to regret that decision. You do know that?"
Snape inclined his head.
"I understand that you might be reluctant to discuss the details of what happened at St Mungos - it must have been a terrible shock for you. Most unpleasant…"
A dismissive shrug this time.
"But try and see it from my point of view. From any outsider's point of view. This reticence of yours could be construed as obstruction. Do you not want the criminal to be brought to justice? I would have thought that you would have been the first to want him behind bars. Your behaviour is, quite frankly, less than cooperative. It begs a question, Severus - are you being totally honest with me? And, I'm afraid, the answer would seem to be 'no'."
Dumbledore paused, leaving the opening wide for an explanation, but none was forthcoming. Snape avoided meeting the old wizard's gaze - he could never be sure quite how accomplished a Legilimens the headmaster really was and he suspected that today his own powers of Occlumency would be diminished. His frown tightened, stretching the recent scars into white weals across his face. But Dumbledore was not to be discouraged; he persevered: "What is it, Severus? Don't you trust me? Can't you see that your desire to maintain the anonymity of your attacker is - not to put too fine a point on it – downright suspicious! Whom are you trying to protect? Your links with the Death Eaters were severed the moment Harry betrayed you to Voldemort. Weren't they? Look, my boy, if it was someone you recognised from your time in his service… I can appreciate that an element of, what shall we call it, 'camaraderie' may linger… or that you may see it as a personal score you wish to settle… But this isn't something you can take into your own hands! For all we know, it could be the start of a targeted campaign against members of the Order. Merlin knows, I'll do my utmost to support you on this - just give me something to go on. Put an old man's mind at rest. Severus?"
Perplexed and impatient, Snape ran his fingers through his hair. The patches where the flames had singed it still felt crimped and rough to the touch. He was anxious to get going, and yet loath to leave the old wizard plagued by injurious assumptions. He uttered a sigh of resignation - he was going to have to tell him now, and think through the ramifications later.
"My assailant was not a Death Eater. Headmaster, I think you had better sit down."
End of Chapter.
Next chapter: PROTECTIVE MEASURES. How does Snape swear Hermione to silence?
1 Pensieve – I have taken the liberty here of giving Snape his own Pensieve.