Disclaimer: The same as the previous chapters. Moonvale swished her wand and fixed this chapter. 😊

Chapter 14

Granger had once again crawled under his skin, Severus Snape noted begrudgingly. The girl had forced him to flip through his short but eventful life without having stared at him with soft, pleading innocent eyes.

After all these years, Severus Snape could vividly remember his court hearings in front of the Wizengamot. He could distinctly classify them into two segments. The first one was definitely right after the First War. After a week-long stay at Azkaban, the gangly young man was tossed in front of a disparaging high nosed bunch of bald wizards and toothless witches to decide his fate.

Then Albus Dumbledore had saved his skin. The wizard had all but dragged him back to Hogwarts and made it clear to him that he was to stay right under his nose while as a Potions Master and continue as a double agent.

"I will be watching you closely Snape, mark my words. You owe it to Lily's son," Grabbing at his arm where his Dark Mark had faded, the Headmaster had expressed his doubt, "Tom Riddle is not dead. I do not believe a toddler could be instrumental in vanquishing him. He will come back and we will have to prepare Harry for that day. You will help me in doing just that. You owe it to Lily. As always, I expect you to be alert. After Horace retires, you will be Slytherin's Head of House. I know you have your eyes set on the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts', but I think you will be too busy, youngest Potions Master of Hogwarts." What else could the grieving man do but accept the offer to wear the invisible leash gifted by one master and wait for the return of the other. Severus had nodded in resignation.

Even during his next brush with the law, it had to be the prominent members of Dumbledore's Army to come to his rescue. It was the second time in a span of a day that he was reliving the memories of his trials. When Harry had spoken highly about him in front of the court, he had felt betrayed and so angry that he wanted to strangle the boy. He would definitely have acted on that thought if he was not so weak and exhausted. At the same time, he could not quite grasp the foreign feelings these beguiling Gryffindors were too determined to invoke within his heart.

His heart had pounded and his nerves were burning with those feelings of belonging. The sense of being wanted, thanked, and applauded by Granger and Longbottom and, lastly, by Potter crashed against his person in unending waves. His stay at Azkaban was ridiculously short and surprisingly hassle-free. Just half a day stay in a cell, with food and water and no one coming to bother him. His trial had lasted for two hours. Once the verdict was passed, they had sent him off with an unbelievable standing ovation.

To keep him away from the clutches of the reporters and to not let him drown in self-pity at his sorry excuse of a house at Spinner's End, Minerva had brought him back to her small cottage in Scotland. After two days of raving at and bickering with the Scottish woman, he had accepted the truth. He was a free man.

As a truce offering in those volatile days, the Transfiguration Professor had provided him with snippets of what all had happened while he was fatally wounded and the smaller details which took place in the background of the battle.

Snape snarled at the cross witch, "Potter must have grown another head to shout it aloud, "Tom, Snape was always Dumbledore's man. He never told you it was not he who was the owner of the Elder wand but I." That boy should go to the muggle Broadway!" At the same time, he did feel a sense of gratitude towards his mentor and former Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. The old man had ensured that his successor would thoroughly be exonerated of the crime he committed during his turbulent tenure as a double agent.

McGonagall had, in the meantime, gone back to the castle several times to make sure the renovation process ran smoothly. He did hear how many had volunteered to join the huge task of rebuilding it. Everyone seemed to be too eager to push the war far away as soon as possible and restart the school in its scheduled month.

"Severus, I will tell you how miffed I was after reading Albus' letter, but my cubs went totally overboard. Miss Granger with her reasons and facts and Harry with your memories," she made a face at that, "Well, Potter never allowed me to see them, said you would find out and when you did, you would cherish gutting him and storing his insides in jars to decorate your lab! Such imagination!"

That afternoon she had brought back a few of the potions magazines that Madam Pince had saved for the Potions Master to read.

The following week she returned from the castle, muttering angrily to herself.

"Unbelievable, utterly barbaric! The castle has gone rogue! First, it keeps shifting the Room of Requirement, deterring its renovation process. Then the ceiling of the Great Hall keeps showering stars on people working below, Flitwick is at his wit's end. Finally, the Gargoyle refused to budge even a millimeter. The Headmaster's office is locked! How will we work this out? The Board of Governors is breathing down my neck!"

"Minerva, I remember the castle to be sentient, surely the war on the grounds of Hogwarts has made it turn defensive…"

"Look at you! You of all the people are referring to mollycoddling …a…. huge…mediaeval…CASTLE! Well, I will speak to the elves."

She had come back to his room, right before midnight, her eyes sparkling. "Even if the castle is sentient, it did allow Potter and Granger to access the Headmaster's office…now here is what I am thinking. Albus, in his letter, had mentioned that he did see to it that Voldemort appointed you as the Headmaster. The castle will recognize you as one of its allies without any hassle. Albus had specifically conveyed his wishes to the castle. He had made the castle accept your magical signature because it was aware you were loyal to it. Those two fools, while tiptoeing around the battle raging castle, had gone inside the office…"

"And they were carrying my memories which carry my magical signature…this is possible yet there is a folly in this. In which case, anybody carrying a piece of me, figuratively, will be able to access the office."

"Oh! That can be dealt with once you resume your duties. We can renew the wards and make some variations to them."

Without thinking he had muttered, "I suppose that will work," yawning deeply.

A few seconds later, when she had left the room, did it strike a befooled Snape. Minerva had convinced him to accept his post as a Headmaster once again.

Heaving a sigh, he continued to watch the night sky. It was not raining today but the air was damp. The Forbidden Forest had come alive again. He could hear the calls of the creatures hiding in its great depths. Fang had nearly finished his meal which meant he would soon have to tend to the last of the magical creatures - the thestrals.

Severus, for the sake of his own sanity, could not recall the memories he had shared with Harry. He was surprised how no one else knew about his affection for Lily, not even Minerva. But he had still felt uneasy that Granger was aware. That girl was always too intuitive for comfort. He might have caught her staring at him on several occasions and that had unnerved him beyond measure. It had given him another reason to stay away from her when she returned as an 8th-year student.

When he had been reinstated as Headmaster, two unique gifts had made their way to him, right there in front of the entire hall of students. An unfamiliar eagle owl had brought him a bouquet of baby's breath and Potter's Hedwig had arrived with a parcel. People had been curious but no one dared to mock the Headmaster about the bouquet. He had opened the parcel in the confines of his office later that night. It was his memories placed inside a phial that carried golden inscriptions "This belongs to Severus T Snape, Potions Master". All the Heads of Houses had gathered in by then, congratulating him profusely. Minerva had spared a glance at the former headmaster's portrait, but she was still annoyed and didn't feel like acknowledging the dead portrait of her friend.

Not long after he had been shocked to see Fawkes, the phoenix and Dumbledore's familiar, to have arrived with another letter tied to its leg. This one was from the late Headmaster, congratulating him for winning the war and for becoming the new Headmaster. He had assured him that the Potions Master had earned that post rightfully and this was his second chance to live.

Baffled and irate, the young man had turned to Dumbledore's portrait and questioned his intentions. It was then discovered that Dumbledore's portrait could not move, speak or see. It was just like any other muggle painting. On close inspection, they could determine the presence of a very strong blocking spell. Both Flitwick and Minerva had made several efforts but nothing could unlock the former Headmaster's portrait.

A French portrait maker was called in next. Apart from Albus' twinkling eyes, nothing else moved. They couldn't even remove it from its spot. It was stuck there. Under the circumstances, everyone gave up. When Aberforth Dumbledore was asked for his counsel, the innkeeper laughed. Sputtering over a glass of beer, he had said, "Suits the old coot, my brother."

"You know Fang, Albus' portrait still can't speak or hear me. On the other hand, every fortnight the same eagle owl brings a small bouquet of baby's breath without fail. Somehow, I still feel like wanting to know about this secret admirer. I wonder what happened to him or her? After Valentine's Day this year, not a single owl has arrived with that special parcel," Severus patted Fang's back fondly, his eyes trying to find the answers among the twinkling stars overhead.

A/N: I had to explain how come Snape is more approachable than he was before the War.