Ariana was sitting in the courtroom, watching nervously as the aurors led Severus to the chair in the centre where its chains immediately sprang to life and bound him. Despite this, he seemed dispassionate, almost bored.

'Severus Snape,' said the chairman of the council, 'you have been brought here before the Council of Magical Law so that we may pass judgement on you. Harry Potter has already vouched for you, but to avoid any mistakes the council has decided to conduct a full trial. You are accused of the murder of Albus Dumbledore and participation in the torture of Hogwarts students. How do you plead?'

Severus had been staring at the floor, but now he looked at the council.

'I admit that I committed those crimes,' he said and stayed silent for a moment. 'But my intention was to protect Hogwarts students from further harm,' he added almost like an afterthought.

'According to Harry Potter's testimony, you gave him your memories that convinced him of your innocence. Is that correct?'

'Yes.'

'However, you are a known Occlumens and Legillimens,' said the chairman. 'It's possible you modified the memories to convince Harry Potter and win his trust.'

'Modifying memories requires skills that only extremely gifted wizards possess. I do not. And I'm certain that Harry Potter must have mentioned in his testimony that I was heavily bleeding when I was giving him my memories.'

'Indeed.' The chairman looked at a piece of parchment and stayed silent for a while. 'Let's move on to the testimonies of the witnesses,' he said eventually. 'The council calls Ariana Grey to the stand.'

Ariana walked down and sat down next to Severus.

'You claim to know the details of Albus Dumbledore's plan, is that correct?' asked the chairman.

'Yes, I do.'

'How is that possible? You are just a young Squib—why would Dumbledore trust you so much?'

'I beg your pardon?' said Ariana. 'Have you just suggested that I cannot be as smart and trustworthy as a witch or a wizard?'

Severus glanced at her and almost smiled for a moment.

'Well—no, this wasn't my intention,' replied the chairman.

'I hope so. And I'm sorry, I'm just a little oversensitive after the war, I hope you understand.'

'Yhm, yes, I understand. Er—still—you seem young and inexperienced, so it's not entirely obvious that Dumbledore would talk to you about his plans and not with some other—more experienced—members of the Order of the Phoenix. Could you explain that?'

'We were related,' said Ariana. 'He knew me since I was a child. Along with his brother Aberforth, he took care of me since I was fifteen years old. We had a different, much closer relationship than he had with any other member of the Order. What's more, it was my insignificance that made our relationship safer. And he was right, wasn't he? No one, not even this council of enlightened wizards, thought he could trust so much someone like me.'

'Well, thank you. Have you at any point been in a romantic relationship with Severus Snape?'

Severus kept staring impassively at the floor.

'No, we've always been just colleagues,' replied Ariana calmly.

'Thank you. Would you say Dumbledore trusted Severus Snape too much?'

'On the contrary, I believe it was the other way around.'

The chairman looked at her, unpleasantly surprised, and so did Severus.

'What do you mean?' asked the chairman.

'Severus was deeply loyal to Albus. He followed his orders even when they were uncomfortable or unreasonable. That includes the order to kill him.'

'Are you saying that Severus Snape was against killing Albus Dumbledore?'

'Yes,' replied Ariana.

'Then why did he do it?'

'Primarily to save Draco Malfoy from corrupting his soul by murder and also to secure Severus' position among the Death Eaters in order to protect Hogwarts students later.'

'Do you agree with this reasoning?' asked the chairman.

'I admit that they had noble intentions. But I believe that Severus should have refused.'

Severus finally stopped staring at the floor and looked at Ariana with anger in his eyes.

'Can you elaborate?' said the chairman.

'I believe Severus' soul to be more important than the cause. As a member of the Order of the Phoenix, I was ready to give up many things, including my life, for the cause, to save others. But in my opinion Albus crossed the line. He used Severus' own insecurity and demanded something unforgivable.'

'Do you mean what Severus Snape did was unforgivable? That he is guilty?'

'No,' replied Ariana. 'What Albus did was unforgivable. Even though both meant well.'

'Are you suggesting that Severus Snape was Albus Dumbledore's victim, not the other way round?'

'From a certain point of view—yes. I want to be clear: Severus wasn't his slave, he made those decisions by himself, no one forced him to do anything. But you need to understand how Albus operated. He wasn't as selfless as he was believed to be. He surrounded himself with insecure people who owed him something. Newt Scamander, Rubeus Hagrid, Remus Lupin… Severus Snape. He manipulated them with their gratitude, painting himself as a moral leader, even though his hubris made him morally lazy. He always thought he knew better, he never consulted his plans with anybody and he kept justifying his questionable actions by saying that it was for the greater good.' She stopped as soon as she realised there was too much resentment in her words. She couldn't force herself to look at Severus, but she could feel his anger.

'Well, you're certainly not alone in this view. The Ministry has been saying this for years…'

Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic and one of the council members, cleared his throat suspiciously loudly.

'Yhm, well, Miss Grey, you claim you witnessed Albus Dumbledore's phoenix healing Severus Snape during the Battle of Hogwarts,' said the chairman. 'Do you think it could be forced to do so by a new owner?'

'Phoenixes are intelligent and independent creatures that cannot be owned or forced to do anything. They may befriend a wizard and stay loyal to him, but it happens very rarely. If you're suggesting that a Dark wizard controlled Fawkes, then you are gravely mistaken.'

'So why do you think the phoenix healed Severus Snape?'

'Because he was loyal to Albus Dumbledore,' replied Ariana. 'It's the only possible answer.'

'Thank you, Miss Grey, you may return to your seat.'

Ariana came back to the bench and looked finally at Severus. He was still staring at the floor, but he wasn't dispassionate anymore. Although he seemed cold, she could tell he was angry.

'Well, I think it's time for the verdict,' said the chairman. 'Who finds the accused guilty?'

One member of the council raised his hand, but having looked at the rest, lowered it quickly.

'Since we are unanimous, the verdict is clear: Severus Snape is acquitted of all charges. You are free to go.'

The chains that had been binding him fell down. He got up and quietly left the room. Ariana quickly followed and met him in the corridor. She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the nearest lift.

'Would you care to explain—' he started, sounding rather outraged.

'Later.'

When the lift's door closed, she turned into the phoenix and disappeared into the flames, taking Severus with her.

They reappeared in a small living room. Severus looked around impatiently and stared furiously at Ariana.

'You lied to me,' he said angrily.

'What do you mean?'

'You told me it was for Dumbledore.'

'And?' She eyed him defiantly.

'I thought we were to clear his name. Not to destroy his reputation even further!'

'Calm down, he's dead, he doesn't care.'

'Do you think I don't know that?' said Severus. 'I see his face every time I close my eyes! Why did you do that? Why did you tell all those lies?'

'I didn't tell any lies. Listen, I've never cared about clearing his name and actually I think he would be pleased that he doesn't need to care about his reputation anymore. In his imperfect way he cared for you, so right now your freedom would be more important for him than his reputation.'

Severus was still visibly exasperated but didn't say another word and looked around more consciously. The room was small but cosy. There was a fireplace, a sofa, a piano and lots of books.

'Where are we?' he asked.

'In my house.'

'Why have you brought me here?'

'I thought you'd like to avoid unnecessary attention at the Ministry,' replied Ariana.

'I have a place to live. I don't need your pity.'

'This isn't pity, Severus. We're friends.'

'Are we?' he said harshly.

They stared at each other for a while without saying a word.

'Look, I know you must be terribly exhausted,' said Ariana finally, 'so why don't you eat something and rest, and we'll talk tomorrow.'

'Why, you think I'm irrational?'

'Well, maybe a little.'

Severus opened his mouth to protest, but Ariana was faster.

'I don't really feel like arguing right now,' she said quietly. 'Just stay one night and I'll come back tomorrow, and we'll talk.'

Severus didn't answer and Ariana took it as a very reluctant consent.

'This is a living room,' she said a bit more cheerfully and opened the door to a dim, narrow hallway. 'Bathroom, kitchen,' she pointed to other doors. 'Bedroom is upstairs.' She walked past the steep stairs, opened the main door and went out onto a wooden porch.

The view was breathtaking. The house was situated in a clearing surrounded by dense forest. In front of the porch, the ground lowered slightly and in the distance there was a small lake.

'Where are we?' asked Severus.

'In the Forbidden Forest,' she replied carelessly.

Severus eyed the trees suspiciously.

'Don't worry, the house is entirely safe. It was Albus who made it for me.' She smiled. 'He casted on it every protective spell he knew.' She stayed silent for a while. 'I moved to Aberforth, so make yourself at home. I'm coming back tomorrow.'

Severus nodded.

She turned into the phoenix and flew away.

— — —

Severus was lying in bed, but he couldn't sleep. Not that it was surprising in any way: he'd had trouble sleeping for years. It was even more difficult now in this unfamiliar house with the trees creaking outside. He was a little afraid and it was weird because in the last several years he had many moments he wished to be dead. However, being killed by some creature in the middle of the Forbidden Forest after so much hustle would be terribly stupid. But perhaps he didn't deserve a more dignified death.

He checked the time. It was only midnight. There were many restless hours ahead of him. He sighed irritably and got up, lighting the way with his wand. He went downstairs and made tea.

He went to the living room. While the bedroom was quite empty as Ariana had taken most of her personal belongings and the kitchen was very tidy, this room, with the piano, books and photographs, seemed more cosy and personal.

There was one painting on the wall showing a middle-aged woman with black hair in a bun. She was beautiful but formidable and Severus thought this was Ariana's mother. There were also a lot of photographs showing mostly Ariana, Aberforth and Albus. Severus recognised one of the photos—it was taken at Christmas nine years ago and he was forced by Dumbledore to be there. It showed happy Ariana, smug Albus Dumbledore and himself looking like he wanted to run away. He felt somewhat nostalgic but also couldn't look at his ridiculous self.

Another photo showed Dumbledore in his office with the empty perch that Fawkes usually sat on. Severus wondered if Ariana had taken this photo. He felt a little embarrassed. What had Ariana witnessed there? In that office he had been the most candid and pathetic. What had she thought about him when she had seen him like that?

He walked away from the photographs. Looking at Dumbledore was too painful and he started occluding with all his might until he felt—well, not peace since it wasn't possible, but familiar emptiness. He came up to the bookshelf. The amount of books Ariana possessed was weirdly comforting. Browsing through the titles, he found a whole section about Obscurials. While he had a general idea of what they were, he had never studied this topic thoroughly. Intrigued, he started reading.

After some time he felt very sleepy and checked the time again. It was two in the morning. He put the books back and returned to bed.