Chapter 1 – Dissecting the obvious
"No Hermione, I don't. But I'll lend you the ruddy memory just to see you proved royally wrong for once."
"'Mione, you know you need a pensieve to run this memory by, right?"
"Right, Ron, stating the obvious really helps a lot."
"So then I assume the cost of one is equally obvious to you, right?"
"I have some money."
"You have enough money to buy not just one but TWO top model racing brooms and you're gonna throw them on a pensieve just to prove Harry wrong?"
"Say what you will, both of you. I'm doing it. Something doesn't add up here. It's at least blasphemy to believe that the greatest wizard of all would succumb to…"
"Avada Kedavra cast by a Death Eater?"
"Harry James Potter, you made your prejudiced point crystal clear more times than I have fingers to keep count of. Now stand by and let the less fanatic draw a conclusion, if you will."
"There's no other conclusion. Don't you get it? Why do you always feel the deep unsatisfied urge to dissect facts in order to prove the opposite of what's bloody obvious?"
"'Cause if history is any measure, every time we took facts at face value with Snape, we were royally wrong."
"Dumbledore's dead cold body can be interpreted in one way only Hermione. He's dead."
"I don't reckon he's not. But doesn't it bother you that he didn't put up a fight? He actually let Snape kill him."
"When he had so much of a choice! He was weak, barely standing on his feet, wandless, defenceless and if you ask me, blind enough to never expect Snape turn against him."
"That's my point exactly Harry. He trusted Snape. Trusted him with his life. Like he trusted Hagrid when no one else would. Don't you see there must be solid reason behind this trust? Even Remus trusts Snape."
"Remus trusted Dumbledore, not Snape. And if I was to take a wild guess Dumbledore trusted Snape for a reason equally stupid to the one that made him hire Quirell or be fooled by Moody's impostor. He was not infallible you know. Nor omnipotent."
"Harry's got a point there, you know."
"Won-Won, did it ever register with that thick skull of yours, that the man had managed wandless magic centuries before we were all born? We're talking about Albus all-mighty Dumbledore here. The man didn't even duck."
"He was barely standing on his feet, according to Harry."
"That didn't get in the way of casting a petrification spell, using legilimens on Malfoy and having a lengthy talk with him, did it? And what about innate magic that are supposed to kick in when you're in danger?"
"I don't think he ever truly believed he was in danger. He was trying to convince Malfoy and had every confidence that he will finally succeed."
"He wasn't hit at the back, Ron. He saw Snape. He knew what was coming. And exhibited no reflexes at all? Doesn't make sense."
"Dumbledore begged for his life. And that slimy bastard took all the pleasure he could out of killing him. You weren't there Hermione…"
"My point exactly! I was not. That's why I want to see it with my own eyes."
"Why don't you spare your money and just trust me for once? Besides your stubbornness would be put in better use if you helped me figure out what the rest of the horcruxes are."
"Or where for that matter…"
"Won-Won will help you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a pensieve waiting to be picked up."
And with a louder than strictly necessary pop, the trio's stubborn-mind disapparated, leaving two equally baffled young wizards at her wake.
"I know her for 7 years and I've never seen her that fixated with something so futile."
"I have. And I dearly hope she doesn't ask us to knit Christmas socks for Snape this time round. Saving Previously Evicted Wizards doesn't become me."
"I'm telling you Ron, any other time, even when I didn't whole-heartily agree with her, I could at least see a point. This is such a waste of time."
"And money. She could buy Gryffindor new Firebolts if she so desperately needed to get rid of her bank account."
"Would you please let me be present when you suggest that to her?"
"Having a death wish, aren't we?"