My longest chapter yet. I thought of splitting it in two, as there is a natural break point in the middle, but decided to let you have the whole thing this week. Next chapter will be "Harry at Hogwarts."

Chapter Twelve

Trapped

"He's dead, Aziz, but not dead," Severus told Aziz once he got back to his quarters.

"Let me see," the djinn replied, motioning at his master's left arm.

Severus pushed up his sleeve, showing the now-faded Dark Mark. "What does this mean?"

Aziz probed the mark with his finger. "You're right. His body is gone—the mark used to be linked to whichever location he was in, but now the binding is tied to a few different locations. I think they're all here in Britain, though they might be just across the channel." The djinn tapped his chin thoughtfully. "It's uncanny. I've never seen anything like it. If he'd made a Horcrux, I'd feel the binding to the object. But you've got magical links going south—maybe towards London—and southwest and south-south-east and…well, something fairly local. I really don't understand."

"Tell me, Aziz, what is a Horcrux?"

The djinn sighed. "Dark Magic of the highest degree. It's basically a way to store a part of your soul in an object. Then, if your body dies, part of your soul still survives. If you can find a new body to inhabit—through possession, for example—you can continue to work evil in the world."

Severus paced around his sitting room, lost in thought. "An object that holds your soul and makes you immortal…Aziz, I have to ask—is your lamp a Horcrux for you?"

Aziz smiled. "No! But you're on the right track. I suppose that, for the first time ever, I will tell a master my history. It has never been necessary before," the djinn remarked. "A long time ago, in what is now Iran, a king had many sons, all of whom were powerful mages. The second son, Ardashir, was ambitious, and by the time his father died, he had gained control of the army. His elder brother, Shapur—who should rightfully have been king—fled for his own safety, disguised as a shepherd. Shapur found his way to an enclave of mages in Salalah, and there he purposed to spend the rest of his life in peace."

Aziz looked over at his master's raised eyebrow and commented, "It is on the Arabian peninsula, on the coast of the Arabian Sea. Bring down the atlas and I will show you while I tell my story."

Severus obeyed, pulling a large, worn book off his bookshelf and flipping through the pages while Aziz continued. "I was one of the mages there, and Shapur and I became friends. We explored many arcane magics—dabbling in potions, creating new charms. But then word reached us that Ardashir had found a way to become immortal. He had made what was the first Horcrux. Look, master, here is Salalah. That part of the world is not all sand dunes, you know. It is very beautiful and green during monsoon season. And it was always an important port."

"So this Ardashir made a Horcrux."

"And we knew that would make him a potent force for evil. So, too, would be anyone to whom he taught the secret of Horcruxes. You cannot be anything but evil after making a Horcrux, because you split your soul through murder."

"But people can change," Severus said. "I think my father did, at the end."

Aziz shook his head vigorously. "You don't understand. If you really change—through the expression of remorse, through attempting reconciliation, and all that—your soul heals and the Horcrux is destroyed. You cannot be good and still have a Horcrux."

"Oh," whispered Severus, touching Aziz's lamp where it hung on its chain. "Now I see! This is like a Horcrux but—but you didn't split your soul! It's your whole soul in there! And you gave up your body…"

"It was done by shedding our bodies permanently," Aziz added, nodding. "There is now an immortal force for good to fight against the immortal force for evil represented by those who make Horcruxes."

"The Djinni Collective."

"Yes, the Collective. A full half of the Salalah enclave chose to become djinni. The other half were our first masters, and they made sure we were well distributed throughout the world."

"Ardashir's Horcrux was destroyed?"

"Yes, by Shapur and his master. My first master—Samir—and I led the distraction." Suddenly, the djinn broke out in great whoops of laughter. "Oh, this is so ironic! All these years later, who could have known?"

Severus stood, tapping his foot, until Aziz's guffaws subsided. "Care to explain?"

"Ardashir was quite a conqueror. After he'd consolidated the local area under his rulership, Samir convinced him that he should head into Roman territory—away from where the Horcrux was hidden, you see. And there he battled the man who was the Roman Emperor at the time. Emperor Alexander Severus, the last of the Severan emperors."

Severus grinned despite himself. "Who won?"

"Neither, truthfully. Both went back to their respective capital cities telling stories of triumph, but no territory was gained on either side. For Ardashir, though, the damage was done. Though he didn't know it, his Horcrux had been destroyed. He died of dysentery a few years later. Now get to bed, master: you look exhausted. Maybe tomorrow we can figure out how this Severus will defeat an evil, ambitious mage."

~~SS~~

Severus slept fitfully all night, plagued by strange dreams: Voldemort, clad in a toga, tiptoeing out of a house holding baby Harry; Lily, standing resolutely with wand raised, facing off against a djinn with a devil's head; and Death Eaters searching for the bracelet that Voldemort had been holding.

He woke up with a sudden realization. "Aziz, I think he was trying to make a Horcrux! He was holding his wand in his right hand, but for some reason he had a bracelet in his left. I was so fixated on casting the spell that I didn't think much of it—only thought it was strange. You'd use something like that for a Horcrux, right?"

"You use something that isn't easily destroyed, so a bracelet would work. He was trying, but did he succeed?" the djinn asked thoughtfully. "Think back. Oh, if only you had a Pensieve—"

"Dumbledore does," Severus interjected. "I'll see if I can borrow it."

Of course, Severus couldn't just ask Dumbledore for a Pensieve; the old codger wanted to talk about the night before in gory detail. The old wizard's initial examination had suggested that the spell was in force, but he thought that quizzing Severus on every last wand flick might help convince him of that fact.

"Can't we just look at the whole thing in your Pensieve?" growled Severus. He was glad when Dumbledore agreed.

~~SS~~

"Yes, yes, perfect."

It was almost breakfast time, but Dumbledore had been insistent on viewing Severus's recollections immediately. As soon as Albus had passed through the gate, he'd paused the memory so he could rush around the entire house, examining the runes.

"You did well, Severus. What are you looking at there?"

Severus had been examining Voldemort's left hand, looking at the bracelet clutched therein. It was relatively plain; a band of gold about an inch wide with no decoration other than runes written on it—though these were obviously not original, as they were inscribed in blood. Voldemort's, no doubt.

"I was looking at his wrist to see if he'd marked himself. Which he hadn't, by the way."

"Hmmm," replied Dumbledore absentmindedly. "Let's see the next phase of the spell."

They entered the house and watched Voldemort facing off with James Potter. Dumbledore focused on Severus's movements first, then momentarily paused the memory again to examine the runes. Severus, meanwhile, focused his attention on his erstwhile master. Voldemort's attention was fully engaged with James Potter; he neither made unexpected wand motions nor paid attention to the bracelet he was holding.

Dumbledore came and stood next to him. "I feel like I should rewatch that part just to make sure, but…I don't think I can watch James dying again."

"You'll notice I'm facing away from him," Severus whispered. "I'll do the same for Lily. It was hard enough going through this once."

"You don't have to come with me," admonished the older wizard.

"I think I do."

Upstairs, Severus couldn't bear to look at Lily more than necessary, so he stood in front of her, as though to shield her from the Dark Lord. Dumbledore was examining the other Severus's every move, which left the real Severus free to watch his master more carefully.

As Lily begged him not to harm her son, Voldemort brought his hands together, whispering under his breath. The idiot, thought Severus grumpily. He ought to be able to do any spell non-verbally. He heard the rustle of Lily turning to put Harry in the crib, moved out of the way so he could watch both and—yes. He was holding the bracelet up as well as his wand. And his wand was pointed not at Lily, but at Harry. Why didn't he just kill Lily first to get a clear shot?

The green light shot out; it should have just missed Lily and hit the top of Harry's head. But a clear golden bubble of energy burst out of Lily's body and impacted the spell, sending it ricocheting back towards Voldemort. The bubble kept expanding, knocking Severus's doppelganger out into the hallway, pushing out the back wall of the room…

…and they were back in Dumbledore's office.

"Wait, that's not the end of it!" Severus complained.

"No, no, of course not. But you got knocked unconscious, right? The next part is a different memory. Give it here; you don't have to come with me."

"Like hell I don't," grumbled Severus as he pulled the silvery strand from his head and deposited it into the Pensieve.

They were in the room again. Lily was motionless on the floor, as was Voldemort. Dumbledore was once again obsessed with Other Severus's wand flicks, which gave Severus just enough time to note the bracelet in the corner. He picked it up surreptitiously and glanced it over. Some of the bloody runes were smudged, but otherwise it was just a bracelet.

"Revelio Horcrux," whispered a tiny voice in his ear. Severus had almost forgotten that Aziz had come along for the ride this time. (Aziz's lamp had been left at Hogwarts on Halloween, just in case. This was the first time Aziz had seen the proceedings.)

"Definitely not a Horcrux," whispered Aziz to Severus. But Severus was not convinced. Something was tying Voldemort to this earth and a Horcrux was the only explanation.

~~SS~~

"What's going to happen with the body?" Severus asked Dumbledore over breakfast.

Dumbledore washed a bite of toast down with tea before replying, "Voldemort? Or the Potters?"

"The Dark Lord, of course. I assume the Potters have someone to bury them—parents or grandparents or whoever." Severus, who for some reason was not at all hungry, poked grumpily at a piece of bacon.

"According to the Muggle news, the police took his body away for examination. If no one claims it—and I suspect no one will—then it will be buried in a pauper's grave. He was an orphan."

"And Harry? Will he go to his grandparents?"

"They're all dead—the Potters of dragon pox, the Evanses in a car crash." Dumbledore shrugged. "He'll go to family, though. Petunia—"

"Tuney?!" Severus roared. "You have got to be kidding me—she's the…"

"Only living relative he has," Dumbledore interjected mildly. "He'll be raised with a cousin who's about his age, away from the fawning and accolades he'll get in the wizarding world."

"He'll be abused!" Severus shouted, causing all of the students in the Great Hall to look up from their food and conversations. He didn't wait for Dumbledore's response; he stomped out of the hall.

~~SS~~

Severus found out later that night that Harry had been delivered to Petunia and her husband. He was under no illusion that Tuney would treat the boy well—she hadn't treated her own sister well! But he could fix that.

After classes finished the following day, Severus stalked down the lawn and out of the gates. He'd bribed Minerva with some very fine whiskey, and she'd told him the location of the village where Harry had been brought. After removing his robes (which left him in jeans and an Iron Maiden t-shirt), he thought of the village called Little Whinging and turned on the spot.

He appeared in a narrow alley bordered by brick walls. Closing his eyes, he sent out his magical feelers as Aziz had taught him, searching for a spell of protection. And—yes, there it was. Following the trail, he left the alley and turned left, walking down a street of completely indistinguishable, boring houses. As he approached Number Four, Privet Drive, he heard the unmistakable signs of an argument. Nearing the front door, he could finally make out what Petunia was saying: "I don't care who he is—he deserves to be in an orphanage!"

"Your own nephew?" This was a male voice—Severus assumed it was Petunia's husband.

"You don't understand. He's a freak! One of THEM!"

Severus rang the bell several times with one hand while knocking with the other. A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing Petunia, who was a skinny and horse-faced as ever.

"Who do you think you are, you impatient—Severus?"

Severus squeezed past her and shut the door with a flick of his wand. "We are going to talk."

"I have nothing to say. Get out." Petunia reached for the doorknob, but Severus slid in front of it and pointed his wand menacingly.

"I said we were going to talk, and that's what you're going to do. You and your husband. Where is he?"

Petunia stomped down the short hall leading into the sitting room. "Vernon, this freak is threatening us. Punch him out."

Severus smirked as he flicked his wand at Petunia's fat husband, turning him into a pig. He gave Petunia a full thirty seconds to shriek loudly, then flicked his wand again to undo the spell.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" sputtered the Muggle indignantly.

Severus spoke in a quiet, menacing voice. "Dumbledore has decreed that you will take Harry, and so you shall. Did you like being a pig, sir? I hope so. Because I am about to cast a spell on your house that will make sure neither of you ever lay a hand on that child. That you will make sure he's fed and clothed. You will stand in place of his parents until he comes of age. Because if you fail to do that, you will both turn into pigs. Do you understand?"

"You won't get away with it," snarled Petunia venomously. "You know if another wizard comes by they'll end the spell, because you aren't allowed to do magic around normal folks."

"It's a protection spell," said Severus arrogantly. "Your sister died putting a protection spell on Harry. They won't know the difference."

Petunia was fuming; Mr. Dursley's face was purple with rage. "Fine," they both growled.

Severus smiled what he hoped was his most evil-looking smile and waved his wand around. A few flashes of light; a slight shaking of the house—he knew what he'd experienced a few days before, and he did his best to replicate it for the Dursleys. There was, of course, no spell that would do what he'd threatened, but they didn't know that.

As he turned to leave the house, he heard the padding of little feet. Little Harry entered the room holding a block in each hand and ran to him. "Sevus! Sevus pway wif bwocks?"

Severus knelt and gave the toddler a quick hug. "Gotta go, little fellow. I'll see you when you're grown up. Be a good boy for Uncle Severus, will you?"

Harry nodded. "I good boy."

~~SS~~

So now Harry was safe—sort of, anyway. It would be sixteen years before he came of age, and Severus could enjoy the time between now and then. Or so he thought. There was the small matter of not wanting to leave Dumbledore in the lurch during the middle of the school year, but at least there was light at the end of the tunnel…

"I can't wait until I can quit this damn job," he said to Aziz. "Eight months to go."

"No, no, no," said the djinn quietly. "You're going to need to stay."

"FUCK!" growled Severus. "You're kidding me."

"I can't explain it," Aziz replied, shrugging. "I just feel like we're going to be at Hogwarts for a while yet."

~~SS~~

Two weeks later, a screech owl landed next to Severus's breakfast plate and extended its leg, revealing a scroll sealed with an official Ministry seal.

Damn.

He'd heard that Lucius had been charged for crimes committed as a Death Eater, and this was probably something of the sort. Scowling, he broke the seal and unrolled the parchment.

Severus Snape:

You have been charged with committing the following crimes:

Murder of Muggles

Murder of a Wizard

Torturing a Wizard

Wanton destruction of property

Your hearing will occur in Courtroom Ten, Ministry of Magic, on December 1st, 1981 at 10 am. Present yourself at the front desk no later than 8:30 am to fill out pre-trial paperwork.

Severus, who was sitting next to Dumbledore, saw the older wizard looking at him quizzically, so he handed over the scroll. Albus perused it, frowning. "I'll get someone to cover your classes. Do you want a barrister? I can find you one. And I will certainly testify on your behalf."

"Thanks. Your testimony will definitely help. Let me think about the barrister."

After breakfast, Severus consulted Aziz while pulling ingredients out of the storeroom for his first class.

"No, no barrister," Aziz said. "Lucius used one and everyone says it made him look guilty. They'll give you Veritaserum."

"Should I tell them I relocated the Muggles?"

"No, no. Those poor people aren't safe yet. Just go with the flow, tell as much of the truth as you can under Veritaserum. It's no different than building a liar's palace for Occlumency. You'll do fine. Remember, I sense us being at Hogwarts for many years—you won't go to Azkaban."

~~SS~~

"Severus Tobias Snape. You are charged with telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Will you willingly drink the Veritaserum before you?"

"I will."

Severus was sitting in the center of what felt more like an arena than a courtroom. His chair had a high back and shackles were attached to the arms and the legs—though, luckily, the powers-that-be hadn't felt him dangerous enough to warrant restraint. Severus looked to his left, where Albus and Minerva were sitting on the witness bench. Aziz's lamp had been left in his desk drawer at Hogwarts. He always felt a little out of sorts when his djinn's presence was not nearby, but today he felt worse. At least, with Albus and Minerva both present, he wasn't completely alone.

Severus clenched his teeth, reached to the small side table, and picked up the crystal vial set there. He uncorked it and sniffed—Veritaserum was a very easy potion to mess up, and results had been known to be fatal—and breathed a sigh of relief when the scent seemed acceptable.

"Drink up; Greengrass brewed it, so it's perfectly all right," commented one of the Wizengamot (Hopkirk, if Severus remembered correctly). Severus gulped the potion, noting the flavors of bergamot and sage. He was glad that his former master was still trusted by the Ministry.

"Severus Tobias Snape. You have been charged with the murder of wizard Adam Bones. Did you kill Adam or participate in his murder?" The prosecutor today was Warlock Tiberius Ogden, whom Severus mostly remembered as an O.W.L. examiner.

"I did not."

"Have you ever killed any wizard or witch?"

"I have not."

"Did you torture Adam Bones or any other wizard or witch?"

"I did not."

"You have also been charged with the murder of the following Muggles: Henry Chapman; Cordelia Chapman; Sarah Chapman; Simon Holmes; Emily Holmes; and Allan Payne. Did you kill, or participate in the killing, of any of these Muggles?"

"I did not."

"Have you ever killed any Muggle?"

"Yes. My father, Tobias Snape."

Loud murmurs filled the chamber as Wizengamot members turned to consult with each other. Dumbledore had somehow managed to make this a closed hearing, and Severus was infinitely glad that there were no press members taking notes. (Rita Skeeter had written a rather horrible column about Lucius's trial.)

"You admit your guilt in his murder?"

"I am responsible for his death, but I acted in self-defense. I don't think of it as murder."

"Explain."

"My father routinely beat me. He hurt my mother, Eileen Prince Snape, even worse. Minerva McGonagall can testify that she helped my mother escape our home and the extent of her injuries at the time."

Albus Dumbledore was the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, but due to his connections, he'd yielded the presiding chair to Griselda Marchbanks. The tiny old witch stood up now and banged her gavel. "Defendant, move to the witness bench. Minerva McGonagall, please take the floor."

Minerva sat down and questioning began, but Severus couldn't listen. Albus had nudged him gently with his elbow and was now whispering: "Huh. You really didn't kill anyone."

"I told you I didn't, old man. I only made it look like I did. Why didn't you believe me?" Severus looked at the frown on his supervisor's face and grinned. "I see. You don't trust anyone you can't use Legilimency on."

He turned his attention back to the trial. Minerva was telling the court about the bruises she'd seen around Eileen's neck, of the Secret-Kept cottage and how Eileen refused to leave it for more than a few minutes until after her husband died. After she concluded her testimony, there was more whispering amongst the Wizengamot. Finally, Marchbanks thanked her for her time.

"Severus Tobias Snape, return to the floor."

Severus sat down in the chair again and looked Tiberius Ogden straight in the eye.

"Your mother was out of the house. She was not in mortal danger when you killed your father," Ogden stated confidently.

"When I visited her over Christmas, she was talking about going back to him," Severus replied. "She was, and still is, a very loyal witch. But I knew him. I knew if he ever saw her again, he would hurt her even more to punish her for leaving."

"But you, yourself, were not in mortal danger. You were at Hogwarts."

"I went back to confront him about my mother. He picked up a piece of firewood and swung it at my head," Severus countered. "Is that mortal danger? I don't know. It's a physical attack. A hit to the head can do serious damage, and it was a hefty piece of wood."

"Did you kill him as a Death Eater?"

"I was…provisional, sir. You were given a temporary mark and needed to kill to make it permanent. Death Eaters accompanied me."

"So it wasn't a one-on-one fight, then."

"They were watching, not confronting, when he swung the stick I was afraid to go alone. I know you think that all Death Eaters are twisted people who revel in killing and torture, but some of us…some of us were alone and afraid, and just wanted back-up for a scary situation."

A loud buzz of conversation echoed through the chamber. After a few minutes, Marchbanks banged the gavel to bring the court back to order. "Please continue the questioning, Tiberius. We only have twenty minutes left on the Veritaserum, and I'd rather not bring out another dose."

"Did you participate in wanton destruction of property?"

"I did," Severus admitted. "It was necessary to make the other Death Eaters think I was still one of them. I…I was an official Death Eater for about thirty seconds before I wished I were not one. I have always felt that way since. Dumbledore will back me up on this."

Marchbanks indicated for Dumbledore to take his place on the stand, and Severus headed to the witness box to sit with Minerva. "You're doing fine, Severus," she whispered as Albus was sworn in. (Severus noted that no one asked Dumbledore to take Veritaserum, even though the old codger was slippery as an eel.)

"Snape says you will testify on his remorse at becoming a Death Eater," Ogden began. "But I don't see how you can possibly know his state of mind."

"I'm here to testify of his actions," Dumbledore said mildly. "Severus Snape showed his remorse by becoming a spy on my behalf. Because of the information he was able to feed me, many lives were saved. For example, the Prewett brothers' families were at a hotel in Brighton when their homes were attacked. Gideon and Fabian wanted to confront the Death Eaters, and we had made arrangements for several people—Alastor Moody among them—to give them support. But unfortunately, our team was ten minutes too late."

"And how did you know that he didn't betray the Prewett brothers by telling the Death Eaters to be early?"

"Because he made an Unbreakable Vow," Dumbledore said calmly, prompting the Wizengamot to erupt into loud discussion.

Severus was back in the central chair next, facing off again with Ogden. "Tell me about the Unbreakable Vow," the latter said now.

"I pledged to obey Dumbledore's commands and to keep his secrets."

"Just Dumbledore? Not the Prewetts, for example?"

"It was Dumbledore who arranged for the team that was to back up the Prewetts; I could hardly tell a Death Eater that without dying."

Ogden nodded, then looked up at Marchbanks, who nodded back.

"Thank you, Master Snape. Please wait outside while we deliberate."

~~SS~~

Albus and Minerva had to wait outside, too. They stood calmly next to the door while Severus paced frantically back and forth. After a few minutes, Lucius Malfoy came clattering down the stairs. "Oh, they're deliberating already! How are you holding up, Severus?"

Severus shrugged. "I think I'll be okay."

"You're not shackled and you're out here without a guard. I'm pretty sure they'll let you off. Did you hear about Barty Crouch? And Bellatrix?"

Severus shivered. "Bella is a monster. She deserved to be shackled."

"Hey!" Lucius smacked him playfully. "She is my sister-in-law, you know."

"And how she and Narcissa came out of the same womb, I'll never know."

The door opened then, and Tiberius Ogden gestured Severus into the room while shooting a dirty look at Malfoy. "And you too, Albus. You may come if you like, Minerva, but we definitely need Albus there."

Severus walked in and stood behind the chair (he didn't want to look at the shackles). He tried to look confident as he faced the Wizengamot but felt he was not succeeding.

Griselda Marchbanks stood up. She was so tiny that she was barely higher than she was while sitting in her chair, but somehow she managed to look regal all the same.

"Severus Tobias Snape," she said in a voice quavery with age. "You have been cleared of most charges brought against you. We have reduced the remaining charge to manslaughter. Normally this would be punishable by a year in Azkaban, but we feel that being under the influence of Albus Dumbledore is a positive influence on you. We therefore sentence you to serve twelve years on parole under supervision of Albus Dumbledore. We require you to remain at Hogwarts during these years, serving in any position that Dumbledore finds appropriate for you. If you do not like these terms, you may choose Azkaban instead. What is your choice, Master Snape?"

Severus closed his eyes. Aziz had been right, as he always was. "I choose Hogwarts," he said quietly.