Harry may have flinched harshly at the unexpected arrival of his professor but hurried to follow after the potion's professor. Severus spelled the door shut behind the boy and spelled privacy wards before he spoke.
"Potter, did you mean what you said to Ms. Granger?" Severus snapped.
"I-I don't know what you mean, sir," Harry admitted but at the man's harsh glare he decided it would be prudent to elaborate. "I just mean that I can't say I believe Voldemort to be innocent, sir. So, if you're asking me if I'm ready to make a confident public declaration of Mr. Riddle's innocence that would be a no, sir. However, if you're asking in reference to the inconsistencies that give me a feeling that something has been falsely represented somewhere, I would answer yes. Something isn't adding up, sir, and I won't apologize for doubting.
Severus raised an eyebrow at the boy, "That's some impressive research, Mr. Potter."
"I was looking for the records of my parents' death, sir. There are records kept of death by the year. It wasn't hard to tell the books covering the years of the war weren't nearly as thick as they should have been. In my parents book alone there were only 20 deaths recorded and only 2 of those people were killed by magical means. Not the numbers you'd expect in a time of war, sir, so it raises the question, who's lying and why?"
"And have you found an answer to your question, Potter?" Severus inquired.
"Well, I've found very little more than circumstantial evidence, sir, but I do have a hypothesis. In muggle history, dictators would create an environment of fear any way they could to gain more power for themselves. There are articles written by Mr. Riddle which articulate his beliefs. Beliefs that muggle born wizards and witches are at a disadvantage and needed to be assimilated into the wizarding world much earlier than they have been, and he never mentioned anything hinting at violence towards muggles. But then there are articles from a different source which manipulated Mr. Riddle's words into evil. It doesn't take a genius to see the opportunity to use something like this as an opportunity to create fear. When a city was wiped out with disease, a group of wizards burned the city so that the disease would not spread, but a source framed that situation to represent coldblooded murder. Unfortunately, most of the people who were involved were known associates of Mr. Riddle allowing the source to strengthen his power and create more fear-based power and control over the people," Harry explained.
Severus was impressed with the boy's insight and desired to see how far that insight went.
"Who would go to such lengths, Potter?"
"Headmaster Dumbledore, sir."
"Hmm, a serious accusation. How do you explain his working so hard to keep you safe after the death of your parents?" Snape pushed.
"He didn't. He gave strangers a portion of my funds as an incentive for them to keep me alive. Nothing more. He's done the bare minimum to keep me alive. And he lied about the nature of my presumed parents' death. James Potter died of a building collapse during an undercover auror mission in America-far away from Mr. Riddle's stomping groups-so to speak. Lily Potter died of a muggle disease known as cancer," Harry answered callously. Then his voice softened as he continued, "You've worked hard to keep me safe, professor. It was you who identified Quirrel as a threat and tried to protect me-and the entire student body-from him at every turn. You were the one who confronted Lockhart about the...uncomfortable way he was treating me. You were the one who protected Hermione, Ron, and I from Professor Lupin during the full moon. Bloody hell, you were protecting the entire student body by brewing the wolfsbane potions on top of your already heavy load. I've heard about how you screen your students, Professor. I've heard about how you provide supplemental instruction for muggle born students and anyone else who requests them, Professor. That, sir, is working hard to keep people safe, not dumping an infant with people who hate him and expecting him to fight your battles for you before he even reaches the age of maturity."
Severus could only stare at the boy who looked young beyond his years.