The regular disclaimer stays, I am only responsible for my AU and OC.
Chapter 47
Severus Snape had heard the younger wizards and witches file out of the room and he had heard the older ones arrange themselves in the available sitting area. He had heard the floo come alive and Andromeda returned from her cottage. The old woman had previously dropped her grandson at the shell cottage when she had left to fetch her sister and nephew. Now she had gone back to set the wards around.
With his back still turned towards the room, his eyes fixed on one of the 'Knights of the Undead' he pondered hard on a lot of things. The predicament Hermione was slowly tangling into, those ghostly apparitions hovering just outside, and above all how did this happen, when and where…Nagini's venom had torn holes in his mental shields. Though he could get a lot of those gaping holes fixed, some of the memories were truly lost, and in most of these days, he prayed nothing of great importance was lost forever or else he was truly doomed. Someone touched his shoulder, and turning a bit, he found Molly Weasley holding a cup of hot chocolate in her hand.
Without a word he accepted it and she left him to his musing after patting his back a couple of times. That woman had raised a brood of kids. And here he was, standing in his black clothes, still learning to accept his role as a father to a very sick young woman. Clearing his throat, still watching those tendrils of smoke rising from the cup, he spoke up in a loud voice." Before we even start discussing anything at all I would like to make it clear, Lily, Harry's mother died as a faithful wife."
Molly objected, "Severus, we would never…"
"No, please don't interrupt, nothing of my past is hidden away from anyone of you. You all knew how bullied I was at school, you knew me like a misfit, erudite, genius, but socially awkward. And Lily Evans was the only real friend I ever had. The rest were opportunists, cunning and shrewd acquaintances. I…I loved Lily."
"You don't need to explain yourself Severus, none of us here hold anything against you, friend," the quiet voice of Remus Lupin provided little solace to the stoic man.
"Please, let me say this for once, we…we were together only one time. Hogwarts was attacked, and I found myself pulled into the vortex of the Dark Side. Voldermort himself tutored me into the advanced Dark Magic disciplines. He had also got a potion master appointed, in short, back then it seemed I was finally getting all the required attention to enhance my skills. The only thing that kept me tilted towards the Light side was Lily and the promise I had made to her. The Dark Lord had succeeded in planting moles inside the Ministry and I was certain the whole thing would fall, and of his hatred for the Muggles. I…I had to do something without blowing my cover. I had approached Dumbledore clandestinely and had agreed to pass on vital information to thwart the death eaters attacks in any way possible. He got the required results, several lives were saved, though the Dark Lord had been livid, things still favoured the light side. Andromeda had been appointed as my handler. We would never reveal ourselves in public, and we would meet in highway inns or motels to exchange information."
"Severus would often come with several bruises, swollen lips, black eyes and worse to wear, I could not help myself but provide him with the basics, food, water, and potions. He would be reluctant but did keep quiet while I stitched him up. The death eaters were beasts. And Lucius, a pervert." Andromeda spat at the last words. Severus turned and gingerly lowered himself on the empty side of the couch, which Minerva had transfigured back.
"But that day, instead of her Lily came. And…one thing led to another…that was the last I saw of her…though Lucius would drop one instigating word or the other…but she had vanished from the surface of the earth. I had already established a circuit of minion informants, but each one of them came back with empty hands. The Dark Lord had started teaching me Legilimency. Months passed. Then suddenly he left along with Bellatrix and Nott Sr. We were simply asked to carry on as if nothing had happened. I had finished my apprenticeship with that potion master. Though I wouldn't get a certificate for it. After a year and a half, Tom Riddle returned, and called for me. He said I was to install myself at Hogwarts and try to learn about this vigilante "RED LADY" who was killing my fellow death eaters. Strangely even those killings stopped soon after."
Taking a sip of the hot chocolate, he continued, "Hogwarts opened its doors for students and asked for those who couldn't complete their education to apply for a diploma course. Dumbledore had called for me personally. The ministry had been secured by the Light Side, and Abraxas Malfoy died under mysterious circumstances. The headmaster apologized for the incident at the Shrieking Shack and personally mentored me not only in all the subjects that are taught in Hogwarts but also in Occlumency. He didn't say a word about my improved skills at potions or Dark Magic but arranged for Slughorn to supervise my potions apprenticeship program. Unlike many of the students, I stayed away from the castle, hidden in the Hogsmeade Inn of Aberforth Dumbledore."
"I was seldom called to the Dark Lord's meetings during that time, but Nott Sr. appeared one day with a message from Riddle…he had ordered me to find a way to get the DADA teaching position that was empty, I had already got my certificates and Albus would surely let me apply. It was from Nott that I learnt Lily and James had got married. Dumbledore had by now figured it out I was the snitch from the other end, but he kept his mouth shut so I continued to keep mum. It was by accident I had overheard the prophecy. Aberforth had caught me listening and had dragged me down to the cellar, Albus was informed, and he did exactly what he was good at, manipulating. He had let me go, telling me this was my chance to prove my worth to the Dark Lord and get back into his good books. What a fool I was back then! Only when Peter had delivered the Potter's address to the grinning bastard, did I figure out the key players of the prophecy. I begged at his feet, I asked him to spare Lily, I told him I wanted her…just, just to save her somehow. But she was dead, by the time I could reach Godric's Hollow, and I…I was reduced to a pawn stretched in between two wizards."
When the room remained quiet, apart from few of the witches still sniffling, he looked back at the ghostly figures from the window and wondered," It is an honour, you know Minerva, to be protected by the very spirits of those knights who protected Hogwarts since the day it was built."
A/N: I am not a Native English Speaker, so it is quite acceptable for many to find my language crunchy lacking the smoothness they are looking for.