A/N: Hello again. The trial will be split between two chapters (b/c it's freakin' long...), so this is part one, with part two coming tomorrow. Oh, and the sections in italics are scenes from the past...it'll make sense once you get there...

Chapter 34- Prisoners of War

There are only two ways of telling the complete truth -- anonymously and posthumously.- Thomas Sowell

The next week crawled slowly for Severus. He only had Samantha and Harry for visitors, as everyone else was banned from seeing him. The day of the trial, Severus was woken up early by the burly Auror he had mentally named Bob, and another he had never seen before. Bob roughly pulled Severus to his feet, while the other Auror chained his hands together with the familiar shackles. Severus's feet were also bound by chains. He was shoved towards the open door, where two more Aurors were waiting to sneer at him as he stumbled out of his cell. He saw that Draco, too, was being herded towards the end of the hallway by four other Aurors, none of whom he recognized. Draco looked back at him before being shoved towards the door to the courtroom. Bob pushed Severus in the same direction.

Courtroom Ten was packed. Severus checked himself on the threshold of the room, shocked at the many flashes of light that went off as soon as he came into sight of the reporters. Bob grabbed his arm and pulled him to the chair beside Draco. He pushed Severus into the seat and removed the chains from his hands and feet. The reprieve was short-lived, as the chains on the sides of the chair snaked their way up and locked Severus in place. He could feel his face redden slightly at being chained like a bear at the circus, but he held his head high as he looked up at the many rows of the Wizengamot. He looked over and caught Samantha's eyes. She smiled at him. He saw Rachel wave to Draco from next to Samantha, sitting next to the rest of the Weasleys and the Aurors in the Order.

"Trial hearing for April second," rang a cold voice, "into offenses committed under the Decree for Illegal Activies by Severus Gabriel Snape, resident of-" here the voice paused, continuing in a confused tone, "-an undisclosed location, and Draco Elias Malfoy, resident of 14 Cercle de Marseille, London."

"Interrogators: Rufus Christopher Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic; Robert Michael Dawlish, Head of Magical Law Enforcement; Percy Ignatius Weasley, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Alicia Marie Spinnet. Charges include murder and participating in Death Eater activites. Do the accused wish to present witnesses to refute these charges?"

"Yes, they do," said a young female voice from the side of the courtroom. Ginny Weasley walked confidently out to the center of the room, impeccably dressed in exquisite grey dress robes, her red hair tied back in a low ponytail. Percy's face was frozen in shock. Draco chuckled softly to himself, grinning at Severus. Severus winked at him as Ginny spoke.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, Representative of the Accused," she said to Alicia, who gave her a sly grin as her quill moved across the parchment. "We have just one witness, Minister."

"Only one?" said Scrimgeour skeptically. "Putting all your eggs in one basket, are we?" Dawlish frowned a little at him. "Well, Miss Weasley, call them in. Let's get this over with."

Ginny sneered ever so slightly at Scrimgeour, who shuffled his papers importantly. She turned towards the door of the courtroom. "Please allow the witness to enter."

An Auror pushed open the door, admitting a tall figure dressed in immaculate dress robes, carrying a package under his left arm. The hood of the figure's emerald green robes was covering any distinguishing feature of the person's face. The figure flicked out a wand and conjured a dark green armchair. A woman wearing square glasses on the second row smiled to herself as the figure sat in the chair.

"If you would be so kind as to lower your hood, sir," said Scrimgeour nastily. "Please state your full name and place of residence for the record." The figure smirked as he lowered his hood. The entire press section gasped as one.

"Harry James Potter," said Harry. The photographers went crazy, their bulbs flashing brightly in the dimness of the room. "And I'm afraid I can tell you my current place of --."

"And why not, Mr. Potter?" interrupted Scrimgeour. "Despite you recent exploits, you are still answerable to this court. And stop it with that infernal picture taking or I will have you thrown from this courtroom!" All of the photographers froze. Harry smiled benignly at him.

"As I was about to say," said Harry calmly. "My current residence is under the Fidelius charm. I'm sure you are familiar with how that charm works."

"Only the Secret Keepers can speak the secret aloud," said Dawlish, eyeing Harry carefully. "Naturally, you wouldn't be the Secret Keeper for your own house."

"That's right," said Harry. "My house actually has two Secret Keepers, so you would need both of them present in order for them to tell you exactly where it is. One of them is currently there now, healing from some injuries that he sustained during the battle last week. The other is one of the men you've got on trial." He nodded his head at Severus.

"WHAT?" cried Scrimgeour.

"But we'll get to that in a moment," said Harry. He held out the package towards the bench where Scrimgeour was sitting. "If I may, Minister, this is for you from Albus Dumbledore. I assure you, it hasn't been tampered with since I received it. It is sealed so that only you may open it." Scrimgeour looked at Harry warily. Harry grinned at him. "Any hexes are from Dumbledore, not from me. It will undoubtedly speed things up considerably."

Scrimgeour looked to Dawlish, who shrugged at him. Scrimgeour drew his wand, flicking it carefully at the package. It rose in the air, settling on the table in front of him. Dawlish cast several detection charms on it. He shook his head at the Minister, waving for Scrimgeour to open it. Scrimgeour severed the brown paper away from the box. He carefully lifted the lid. He scowled as he lifted a rune-covered stone bowl out of the box with smaller, similar bowl set inside it. He set these on the table in front of Dawlish. He reached back inside the box and pulled out a handful of glass vials, all numbered in slanted, loopy script. He held up one vial that was bright blue.

"What in the world is this?" asked Dawlish, staring in awe at all the vials. Harry smiled over at Severus, who looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"They're both pensieves" said Harry. "The silver vials are memories to be viewed, while the blue one you have in your hand is more of a narrative account to accompany the memories. At least, that's what Dumbledore rambled on about in the letter he left me along with that box. If you would like, I can set it up down here so that everyone can see it better." Harry conjured a small table in the center of the room.

"Fine, fine," said Scrimgeour angrily as he dumped all the vials back into the box. "What a nightmare. Percy, go stand down there and make sure he doesn't do anything to them." Percy scowled slightly, but did as he was told. He completely ignored Ginny as Harry levitated the box and the pensieves down to the table. Harry rummaged through the box and pulled out the blue vial and the silver vial, both labeled "1." He held them out to Percy, who looked at them and nodded curtly at him. Harry poured the contents of the blue vial into the smaller bowl. He touched his wand to the rim, causing a tall, misty figure to rise out of the bowl. The figure grew larger and larger until the moons and stars on his robes could be seen clearly. Severus closed his eyes as a familiar voice filled the courtroom.

"Good morning," said Dumbledore's figure. "At least, I assume it's morning. If you are viewing this, then Severus Snape is on trial for my murder, among other things, I'm sure. I hope that young Mr. Malfoy is with him as well." Harry shook his head, looking over to Draco. Draco shrugged, giving Harry a "what can you do?" look.

"For the record," continued Dumbledore's voice. "I want it known that these are my own personal memories and they have not been tampered with during or since my preparing them. They were only in my possession and in the possession of Gringott's, as they were stored in a vault to be delivered to Minerva McGonagall to be given to Harry at an appropriate time. Severus has not seen any of these, nor is he aware of their contents. Harry has only seen one of these memories, but he did not see the entire memory. Neither one of them had prior knowledge of this package, or knowledge of its contents, although Harry may have guessed after receiving my letter. Harry has in his possession the documentation from Gringott's certifying that I personally stored this package in its own vault and that it has not been tampered during its residence at Gringott's."

Harry pulled a a scroll of parchment out of his pocket and handed it to Alicia. She handed it down the row to Dawlish, who handed it to Scrimgeour. He slit it open with his wand. His eyes flicked back and forth quickly as he read the document.

"Now," said Dumbledore. "Before Harry continues with the first vial," here, Dumbledore turned to his left to where Harry was actually standing, and gave him a smile. Harry smiled back. "I would like to testify somewhat to the capacity with which I know Severus Snape."

Percy looked nervously back at Scrimgeour, who was scowling fiercely at the figure in the pensieve. Harry sat down in his chair. Ginny sat on the arm of the chair as Dumbledore began.

"Severus Snape was a student in Slytherin House between the years of 1970-1977, during the first rising of Lord Voldemort." The courtroom shivered at the name. "He was a good student, achieving very high O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. scores. The only times I remember him from those days are when he would get into rather physical arguments with certain students in Gryffindor House and was brought to my office for disciplinary reasons." Dumbledore smiled. "It was during these same years when I founded a resistance group called the Order of the Phoenix, which was committed to fighting against Voldemort and his followers, and began recruiting members. Among these were Marlene and Jacob McKinnon, parents of Severus's best friend Samantha McKinnon-Ives."

Severus looked over to Samantha. She mouthed the words "I love you" to him. He smiled at her and mouthed them back to her.

"The summer after Severus and Samantha's sixth year," continued Dumbledore. "Severus's parents were murdered by Death Eaters, threatening to also kill Samantha if Severus refused to take the Dark Mark and become one of Voldemort's followers. He immediately went to the McKinnons to warn them of the danger Samantha was in. Harry, if you will prepare the first memory please. This is part of the meeting I had with the McKinnons after Severus left their house, where he stayed for a few weeks after the end of that term. I apologize in advance to Samantha if this is painful for her to watch."

Harry glanced up at Samantha as he poured the silvery liquid into the other bowl. He prodded the memory with his wand, causing the figures to rise up out of the bowl. A woman with curly blond hair rose up, next to a man with dark brown hair. They were sitting in front of Dumbledore's desk in his office at Hogwarts.

"Severus was so concerned about Sam, Albus" said Marlene. "He almost seemed appalled that we weren't going to let him take the Mark for her. As if we were just going to tell him to become a Death Eater when we have other ways of protecting her! Severus is not the kind of person who would go around killing people and then write threatening messages on the walls in his victim's blood! He deserves better than that, Albus. We have to do something to help him."

"We told him to come to you," said Jacob. "Did he?"

"No," said Dumbledore sadly. "I haven't seen him at all this summer. I fear he may do something rash before we can contact him." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "I'll talk to Alastor about putting up protective wards around your house. They aren't foolproof, by any means, but they will provide you with some protection while Samantha is at home. We will simply have to hope for the best when it comes to Severus. I will keep an eye on him and Samantha both over the next year."

The memory faded. Harry muttered a spell, lifting the silver strand out of the bowl and placing it back in the vial. He set it next to the box, gazing back up at Samantha. She closed her eyes as tears streamed down her face.

"That was the first clue I had that Severus had been recruited by Death Eaters the previous year," said Dumbledore. "I had noticed an increase in the amount of post he got, but didn't think much of it at the time. I see now that I should have. Severus returned for his seventh year along with the other students. I could detect no significant change in him, although he seemed more callous towards his nemesis in other houses. I watched him carefully that year as he graduated with the rest of his class. The night the Express left, I received an owl from Lily Evans-Potter, who was one of Samantha's best friends, saying that the McKinnons had been murdered. Lily informed me that Samantha was going into hiding and that one of her good friends would be helping her. After watching both Samantha and Severus closely that year, I deduced that it was Severus who helped Samantha to hide in muggle London to escape from Death Eaters who were trying to kill her."

Dumbledore sighed. "It was a great loss to everyone who knew the McKinnons. I had no way of contacting Samantha in order to help her, as she had completely and thoroughly disappeared. I thought of her often, periodically asking Lily if she had heard from her. The Potters became members of the Order after their wedding, along with their good friends Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Frank and Alice Longbottom also joined at this time, along with the Prewett brothers and many others who are now no longer with us. The war escalated quickly around us. The Order was gathering information from our sources inside the Ministry, but we had no real way to gather information outside of that. Little did I know that a way would soon be provided. Harry, the next memory please. This memory is from the spring of 1980 from an interview I had with a prospective Divination professor. The prophecy it contains is the one that was fought over and destroyed right down the hall from this courtroom."

Harry poured the vial's contents into the bowl and touched his wand to the edge of the pensieve. A woman with very frizzy hair and copious amounts of jewelry appeared, sitting across from Dumbledore.

"So, Miss Trelawney," said Dumbledore. "What is your current occupation?"

"Well," said Trelawney nervously, her voice lacking any of its current wispiness. "I am currently unemployed. I used to work for –" Trelawney froze, her eyes rolling back into her head. Dumbledore sat forward in alarm.

"Miss Trelawney?" cried Dumbledore. Trelawney began to speak in a strange voice.

"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…THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES..."

Trelawney shook her head, blinking rapidly. Dumbledore opened his mouth, but was interrupted by loud shouting in the hallway. He stood and opened the door to find Severus trying to loudly explain himself to the barman, who looked strikingly similar to Dumbledore.

"I caught him trying to listen in," said the barman. "I'm throwing him out right now, Albus."

"Headmaster," said a very young Severus. "I would like to speak with you immediately." Dumbledore stared at him for a minute before nodding.

"Wait outside for me, Severus," said Dumbledore. "Aberforth, escort him out if you would, please." The barman grabbed Severus's arm and led him down the stairs. Dumbledore turned back to Trelawney, who had watched the whole exchange.

"Well, Miss Trelawney, you have the job if you're still interested," said Dumbledore. "I'm terribly sorry to cut this short, but I have some urgent business to attend to. I will owl you the specifics this summer. Good evening." With that, Dumbledore swept out of the room and down a set of stairs. He nodded to Aberforth, who gave him a wave. Dumbledore went out through the door of the pub and looked around, slipping his wand into his sleeve. A cloaked figure stepped out from behind the edge of the building.

"We will go to my office," said Dumbledore. "I'm sure you remember the way." Dumbledore waved his hand, indicating that Severus should lead. Severus hesitated for a second before taking off towards the school at a brisk pace. Dumbledore kept one step between him and Severus as they approached the gates and climbed the path to the entrance hall. Dumbledore smiled softly as Severus slowed his pace, looking up at the towering turrets of the castle. As they reached the front doors, Severus reached out a hand to grab the handle. A small flash of light leapt from the handle to Severus's hand, causing him to recoil and curse softly under his breath. Dumbledore sighed heavily as he drew his wand, pointing it at Severus.

"If you want to proceed any further, I will need your registered wand and any others you are currently carrying," said Dumbledore. "I will be scanning your person to make sure you are not armed before we enter the castle, so it would be in your best interests to offer them to me now."

Severus pulled his wand out of his inner pocket of his cloak, offering Dumbledore the handle. Dumbledore took it as Severus bent down and pulled another wand from his boot. He also handed this one over to Dumbledore, handle first.

"I just have the two," said Severus softly from beneath his hood. Dumbledore pocketed the two wands and cast a spell on Severus, moving his wand down the young man's body. It detected nothing. Dumbledore stepped around Severus, opening the door and ushering him through. Severus walked in, treading through the very familiar hallways to the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore said nothing until they reached the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to his office.

"Chocolate Frogs," said Dumbledore. Severus gave a soft chuckle as he stepped onto the moving staircase in front of Dumbledore. Dumbledore opened the door and waved Severus to a seat. Dumbledore sat behind his desk as Severus sat nervously in the chair,keeping his hood up over his head.

"Lemon drop?" asked Dumbledore, offering Severus a bowl of yellow candies. Severus took one, popping it into his mouth quickly. Dumbledore sat back, bringing the tips of his finger together in front of him and gazing at Severus for several minutes.

"I must say, Severus," said Dumbledore. "I'm rather surprised to see you after all this time. You said that you wanted to speak to me. Well, I have all evening, child. Speak."

Severus crossed his arms in front of him, almost as if he was cold. He spoke in barely above a whisper.

"I don't want to do this," said Severus softly. "I don't want to be this monster anymore. I want out, but I don't know how to get out. Regulus—Regulus was murdered. I found him in his apartment a few months ago. I –" Severus shook his head. "I made a huge mistake. I will do whatever you want me to do but I cannot do this any longer." He held his hands in his lap. Dumbledore could see them shaking slightly.

"Why didn't you come to me after you went to Jacob and Marlene?" asked Dumbledore gently. "I would have done everything for you and Samantha."

"I don't know," cried Severus in agony. He pushed his hood back, revealing a skeletally thin, pale face with dark, black eyes rimmed with huge circles. He held his head in his hands. "Mr. and Mrs. McKinnon didn't understand! I didn't leave their house for two weeks, but I would peek out the windows and see glimpses of Death Eaters watching the house! I couldn't let them get Sam. I did what I thought was necessary for her! I never wanted to join them."

"Yet you didn't believe I could help you," said Dumbledore calmly. "You didn't trust me." Severus looked up at him in anguish.

"No," whispered Severus. "No, I didn't trust you at all. And then they died." Severus's voice became louder and louder as he continued. "They were members of your precious Order and you just let them die! What if Sam had been at home? WHAT IF SHE HAD DIED?" Severus growled in frustration, but seemed to calm down slightly. "I could not allow her to be hurt. I did what was necessary."

"I see," said Dumbledore. He leaned forward, clasping his hands together on top of the desk. "You will someday come to terms with the fact that I am but a mortal man, who makes mistakes. Those mistakes are my responsibility, as you are right in pointing out. But you must also temper this opinion with the knowledge that I cannot prevent all deaths from happening." Dumbledore paused for a moment, staring at the bitter anguish written on Severus's face. "I want to help you, but you are going to have to trust me. Are you willing to trust me now, Severus?" Severus slumped defeated in his seat.

"Yes," whispered Severus. "Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it. I don't care about the cost, as long as Sam is kept safe. I have nothing left to live for now."

"Oh, my dear boy," said Dumbledore softly. "You have everything to live for, child. Samantha needs you now more than ever." He paused, stroking his beard in thought."I think I have a plan. It require a great deal of sacrifice on your part, but if we play it right, we may be able to defeat Voldemort." Severus shuddered at the name.

"What is your plan, sir?" asked Severus. Dumbledore took a deep breath, exhaling softly.

"I want you to go back and be a spy for my Order," said Dumbledore. "I want you to continue feigning loyalty to Voldemort while reporting everything to me personally." Severus stood up from his seat, pacing in front of the fireplace.

"I don't know about this, Headmaster," said Severus. "The Dark Lord is not one to suffer fools. I'm not at all prepared to trick him into believing that I'm just casually acquainted with you if I'm coming here every week." Dumbledore smiled at him.

"That's why you are going to become Hogwart's new Potion Master, beginning next term, and begin training with me," said Dumbledore. Severus froze.

"Potions Master?" whispered Severus. He spun around slowly to Dumbledore, staring at him in shock. "Potions Master? You've got to be kidding me!"

"No, Severus," said Dumbledore. "I am quite serious. Slughorn has been after me to let him retire for years. He'll be thrilled one of his prized students will be replacing him. You will go back and tell Voldemort that you have wormed your way to a position under this old fool's nose." He smiled at Severus. "He'll be very pleased with you, I think. He's tried to get me to hire him for years, but I thought he was lacking in relational skills."

Severus sat heavily back down in the chair, shaking his head in disbelief. "I—I don't know what to say, Headmaster. It's – it's -- thank you, sir."

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Severus," said Dumbledore. "Always remember that. However, I will require you to give me your word on a few things."

"Anything, sir," said Severus. "Name your conditions."

"One," said Dumbledore. "You will obey my every order, no matter how much you disagree with it. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir," said Severus. Dumbledore held his gaze for a second.

"Two," said Dumbledore, "You will pass only what information I deem acceptable to pass to Voldemort. No more, no less. However, you will not withhold any information from me if I ask it of you." Severus shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but nodded his assent.

"And third," said Dumbledore, with a twinkle in his blue eyes. "You will call me Albus unless there are students present."

Severus relaxed and smiled at him, which Dumbledore returned.

"Now, Severus, let's talk about what you heard tonight."

The figures faded away to a completely silent and shocked crowd. Draco's eyes were huge, staring open mouthed at Harry's resigned face.

"As I'm sure this memory will cause some questions to arise, my narration will pause here," said Dumbledore. "There are many memories in the box of meetings I had with Severus after various Death Eater meetings he attended, each one detailing attacks on prominent members of our community, both within the Order and outside it. There are also some from meetings I had with him after Voldemort was resurrected a few years ago, when I asked him to risk his life yet again and continue his espionage for the Order. If you need more evidence of Severus's character, Harry will be glad to replay them for you. My narration will continue with the events of the year prior to what I'm afraid will happen the day after this recording is made. Harry, when you're ready, there should be another blue vial in the box." Dumbledore's image faded away quickly, the mist disappearing into the air.