Author's Note: So, here is Chapter two, and I would really appreciate it if you would review. There have been many hits and yet not so many reviews…please review, they make me want to write this story so much more. Thanks to those of you who have reviewed, you made my day! Anyway, I know that this story is a little slow in the beginning, but I promise that the next two chapters after this one will be filled with more answers, and Draco will be brought more into the story; he has been rather quiet so far. If you have any ideas on what you would like to see in this story, again feel free to ask. I know there has been no romance yet between Hermione and Draco, not to mention hardly any conversation, but be patient, they will interact more in the next few chapters, and then the romance will be hinted at and come more and more into the story as they get to know eachother and as the war grows worse and worse….so read and review and I will get those chapters up quickly! Ok, read and enjoy!
Disclaimer: Still, unfortunately do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters in the books………..J.K. Rowling is leader of that universe!
"Harry, before you do anything rash, you need to give Snape a chance to explain." Lupin pleaded softly to the boy who looked so like his old best friend.
"Let him Explain? Are you mad professor? He killed Dumbledore in cold blood. I was there and witnessed it through my own two eyes! And as for you sir," Harry glared deep into Remus Lupin's eyes, "Standing up for these death eaters makes you my enemy as well. I thought I could trust you; you have always been there for me. I do not understand how your loyalties could waver so quickly. Or have you been betraying the Order through these two for awhile now?" finished Harry in a noticeably forced calm tone.
"Professor Lupin, I don't understand. We trusted you. The Order trusted you. DUMBLEDORE trusted you." Hermione stated in a dumbfounded whisper. It was as if someone had punched her in the stomach, her breath was hitched and she felt as if she would pass out; Lupin was one of the last members of the Order she would ever have thought to betray Dumbledore's word and place Harry intentionally in danger.
"Yeah, but that is not really saying much though, is it? Seeing how Dumbledore trusted Snape. That didn't prove to be a very promising judgment now did it? As this ugly old bat murdered the one man who could actually stand to be in the same room as him." Ron yelled, turning to Snape while making threatening flicks of his wand in unison with each word leaving his mouth. Snape's face turned if possible, even paler at this statement, and Hermione could almost see a fleeting glimpse of something in his fathomless eyes.
"Harry, be more understanding, give us the same chance you bestowed upon Sirius those years ago. You need to understand; it is crucial to the war." pleaded Lupin.
"HOW DARE YOU COMPARE SIRIUS TO SNAPE AND MALFOY? I saw him kill Dumbledore right in front of my face! And as for Malfoy, I listened as he confessed every murder attempt, his voice dripping with pride. This is not the same as the misunderstanding forced on Sirius. I thought you of all people would know this." Harry bellowed, his anger rising as his thought process was able to function with the sudden shock subsiding.
"It is amazing how you won't believe me, because you SAW me murder Albus, and yet you believed Black when there were more than a few witnesses to his false crime." Snape remarked coolly with an arched eyebrow.
"Harry, it is completely up to you on the action that you want to take. But perhaps it would be wiser to listen to what they have to say; there is nothing that we stand to lose. We have the upper hand, and we are reaching a point where we need all of the information we can come across. If their story is not plausible, we can take action then, but don't let your assumptions get in the way of the overall goal." Hermione stated, in a feeble attempt to push aside her own hate for Malfoy and Snape long enough to gain knowledge for the greater good. "What is right is not always what is easy," she reminded him as an afterthought to her views on the matter at hand.
Hermione watched as Harry stood contemplating the decision as his eyes traveled from Snape's face, to Malfoy's, to Ron's, to Lupin's, and finally to her own. She knew that her best friend was coming to the realization that he wasn't just simply able to act on his feelings, but had to analyze each situation and see how it would effect what they were fighting for. He was not only responsible for his life, but for all of their lives. She knew that the growing maturity in Harry Potter would only strengthen him. He was learning how to allow his emotions to be the fuel to his fire, but not the collapse of his logic. His thirst for goodness, righteousness, and revenge helped him by complimenting each other to corrupt the evil that had overcome so many. He learned how to do this the hard way, not giving in to his emotions, but thinking things through, when he lost Sirius in the Department of Mysteries.
As Hermione looked on with pride at her two best friends, Harry came to a final decision.
With a sense of cool in his voice and a threatening glare in his eye, he flicked his wand and watched with anticipation as tight, invisible ropes bound the three men in question against the far wall of the room.
Upon seeing everyone's questioning glance, he turned to Snape and stated rather coolly, "Explain."
"We should not need to exp….," but Malfoy was cut off by Lupin, before he could finish his sentence.
"In order for you to fully understand the situation Harry, you must keep an open mind and disregard any past feelings toward Professor Snape." he supplied calmly. Harry simply nodded in response, not trying desperately hard to suppress a glare directed towards his former teacher.
"Now," continued Lupin, "I will admit that I too believed Snape had betrayed Albus, as well as the Order, but I found him not far from here only a few short days ago, or rather, he found me." Lupin paused, and stared apprehensively at Harry as though looking for trust in his eyes.
"Anyway," continued Lupin, "as I was about to attack, Snape began talking. He told me the story. Now, do not believe for one moment that he did not kill Albus, because he did, but there is more to it than that."
Hermione's eyes threw daggers into Snape's at this.
"But he did not do it in cold blood as you thought him to do."
"Cold blood or not, he still killed him!" Ron shouted all the while staring at Lupin with the same disbelief he reserved for Luna. The look that asked is the human race truly able to create such touched-in-the-head people?
"Yes, but Ron, you see, Snape made the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy." Lupin pressed, "He promised to kill Albus if Draco could not. It was his way of securing himself the position of spy for the Order. You do not understand, there are things worth dying for, and Albus knew this. He was in no way dying, but he was growing old, and his reflexes were not what they used to be as you had witnessed last year. Now, Severus told Dumbledore about the Vow, and he understood fully what implications this would bring about, and what must be done. You see, do you not realize why he instilled so much information upon you last year…he knew what would eventually happen to him and needed to know that you would be well off enough to complete your task."
At this Harry gave a questioning look and said in a barely audible whisper, "how did you know about that?"
"We spoke before that night, upon which he shared with me everything he shared with you. It was his way of ensuring you would be well-informed to continue on with your quest without him. He knew that I would do anything to protect you, my best friend's only son, including sacrificing my own life just as he did." Lupin answered.
"Look, your story makes sense, but how do we know it was not simply well planned out?" inquired Hermione.
"Ah, Hermione, do you not know me better? Do you not think that I would ask for proof?" asked Lupin.
"What proof?" Ron shot out, eager to join the conversation more forcefully. Harry was being unnaturally quiet.
"There is no use in me telling you, you should see for yourselves. Snape has Dumbledore's pensieve, and he allowed me to see the meeting that took place between himself and Albus. And before you ask, I know the memory was not tampered with, because I have witnessed such thought strands, and this was not one of them." Lupin added with a glimmer of hope resounding in his hoarse voice. "Trust me Harry," he pleaded. Lupin looked as if their trust would allow him to breathe his next breath of air, as if without their faith in him, the world was condemned.
Hermione watched as Harry looked deep into Lupin's eyes, and she knew that he saw the same thing as she, herself did. Their favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the cool, collected Order member whose omniscient point of view and understanding was surpassed only by Professor Dumbledore's himself. She turned to Harry and Ron and a look of agreement fluttered between them. Lupin was still on their side. He genuinely believed Snape and Malfoy were as well, but whether their story was not meant to fool Lupin was the question that remained.
As Hermione stood, mind reeling with theories of the situation at hand, she asked the question that had been plaguing the trio since Snape had turned his back on the corpse that had once held the twinkle of Dumbledore, "Professor Snape, sir, although many thought Albus Dumbledore an overly trusting man, his views on the good in people never seemed to falter far from the truth, that is until dealt with the situation of you." Snape looked as though he knew what the intelligent witch was moving towards, and to his horror, he was right. "Above the memory of your conversation with Dumbledore, I would find myself more eager to trust your story if you were to explain to us all what changed your death eater beliefs so many years ago and caused Dumbledore to instill his undying trust in you, that gave you such a respected position in the Order." she finished with an air of finality, as if the correct answer to this question would end world hunger.
The look of horror upon his mentor's face caused Draco to chuckle to himself at the irony of the situation. The skilled Occlumens, who was able to hold a steel, emotionless face in the presence of all, including Lord Voldemort himself, was unmasked by one statement of a young mudblood.
"Severus, just tell them, the sooner we get them to truly understand everything they have an inquiry about, the sooner we can make our next move against Voldemort." Lupin begged.
With a look of defeat, Snape opened his mouth and replied, "If that is the only way to force you three to believe our story, then I have no choice other than to oblige. I fear that the reason Dumbledore kept his mouth shut about my reasoning for so long was because he knew, essentially, that one day if he were gone, this could be used to gain the same permanent trust from you three that he had from me." and without another word, he began.
Ok, there is chapter two, please review…even if it was the worst thing you have ever read, I really want people's feedback on this story, so that I can decide if I want to continue it.