Bunny: Snape threatens Harry with Veritaserum and Harry takes him up on it. Part 2

Snape deliberately moved to the next list of questions. His gambit to prove Potter's Spawn as having atrocious character had thus far failed. He had left himself too far open to character assassination.

He could only hope that the brat's questions would show him for what Snape knew him to be: Worthless, and a stain upon all wizard-kind.

Snape looked at the first question from Potter's list.

"Do you feel you have been guilty of the accusations that I have placed upon you this year, including the reason why you were placed within the tournament or the theft of potions ingredients from my storeroom?"

Snape actually respected that question. It didn't particularly demand that his accusations be refuted directly; it only required Potter's mentality.

"No."

No real surprises there.

"Why did you agree to compete in the Triwizard Tournament?" This also seemed interesting.

"Because I was told by the Ministry and the Headmaster that I had to compete or lose my magic."

"Would you have competed within the tournament if you had not been forced?"

"No."

Snape was actually somewhat relieved so far. The questions seemed fairly innocent and did not show Snape poorly.

The next question was also of interest to him.

"What do you hope to gain from agreeing to this questioning in the manner it is being given?"

"I want people to know the truth and to stop giving false accusations against me."

Well the first four were neutral. Snape started feeling a bit of hope. The next question proved to be a point of interest. He turned to Madam Bones.

"The next question is regarding the incident with Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew at the end of last year. It has already been answered. Should I ask anyway?"

Madam Bones looked at her own copy of the questions. "Mr. Potter's question 5 has already been asked and answered. I certify that it need not be asked again."

Snape nodded. Potter just sat there.

"During your second year, the other students reacted poorly when you spoke to the snake during the lesson or Dueling. What happened before you spoke, what was the English translation of what you said to the snake, and what was the result?" Another question he was interested in.

"When the snake started moving toward Justin Finch-Fletchley to attack him, I said 'Leave Him Alone!' and the snake relaxed and backed off from attacking."

There was a murmuring from the Hufflepuff table. The fourth-year Hufflepuffs looked embarrassed – especially Finch-Fletchley. The other Hufflepuffs looked surprised.

He looked at the next question and decided that he was interested in this as well. He was actually slightly – VERY slightly – impressed with the thought that went into the questions so far. His own questions seemed immature and childish by comparison.

"Without naming the student involved, how was the Chamber of Secrets opened in you second year, who was responsible, and how was it accomplished?"

"A Diary was slipped to a student by Lucius Malfoy in Diagon Alley. When the student innocently wrote in the Diary, it possessed the student to open the Chamber and to order to basilisk to attack the school. The Diary was Voldemort's and it allowed the student to speak Parseltounge."

Snape glanced out and he really didn't like the look that Lucius was now giving him and Potter. The Minister was looking at Lucius with Horror – and an Auror (not one of the three guarding him and Potter) was now standing right behind him. Madam Bones was motioning the Auror.

He really was not happy about exposing such secrets in front of the multitudes. Albus didn't look very happy either. He resolutely looked to the next question.

"What happened to the Diary and the Basilisk?"

"When I was facing the basilisk, the Headmaster's phoenix brought me the Sorting Hat and then gouged the eyeballs out on the basilisk. The Sorting Hat dropped Gryffindor's sword on my head. I used the sword to kill the basilisk. I used the fang that had broken off after entering my arm to stab the Diary after Fawkes brought it to me. This destroyed the shade of Voldemort that was killing the student by draining her life force."

There was shock in the audience. Even Snape was shocked. Potter was bitten by the basilisk? Madam Bones slipped him a slip of parchment. Thank Merlin – he didn't know if he could have prevented himself from asking this question.

"If you were bit by a basilisk, how are you still alive?"

"Fawkes healed it by crying phoenix tears on my arm." Ahh. That would do it.

Snape read the next question on the slip. "How large was the basilisk and was its carcass removed?"

"About sixty feet long and about eight feet around. It's still there." There were many gasps from the audience.

He was mildly upset that Albus hadn't told him about the basilisk corpse – it was quite valuable. He looked forward to getting Albus to force the boy to help retrieve it.

Madam Bones slipped him another parchment and his momentary elation was squelched. "Are you aware or were you told that you own the carcass of the basilisk by dint of you having killed it in single combat?"

"No."

Albus, who had calmed down somewhat because the last questions had taken the pressure off (Fawkes was his phoenix after all!), was now once again under the disapproving scrutiny of several people.

Well, that was eight of the Spawn's questions. For the most part, they were fairly well reasoned. He must have had the know-it-all's help in writing them.

He looked at the next question. He got a bad feeling about this.

"Before attending Hogwarts, what did you think about the subject of Potions?"

"I was really interested in it. It looked to be fun and quite useful."

The next question gave him a sense of foreboding.

"What is you opinion of the subject of Potions after having attended classes with Potions Master Snape?"

"I despise the subject."

The next question made him inwardly squirm.

"Why do you feel that way?"

"Because I am constantly attacked by the Professor, Slytherin students are allowed to sabotage my potions without being punished, and the Professor refuses to explain anything and only belittles my lack on knowledge."

Damn. And he had been feeling so much better with the audience's attention focused elsewhere. There were a few Ministry officials in the audience which could make his life hell because of this. And none of them looked very happy.

He looked at the next question. He turned to Madam Bones – who looked extremely upset with him. "The next question involved his placement within the Triwizard Tournament and has already been answered. Should I ask it anyway?"

Madam Bones – thank Merlin! – moved her attention off of the Potions Master and to her notes. She reviewed the question and said, "Mr. Potter's question 12 has already been asked and answered. I certify that it need not be asked again."

Snape quickly moved to the next question. Hopefully it would take the audience's mind off of him again.

"Of the stories written in the Daily Prophet about you this year, how many have you seen and did the stories accurately reflect you, your words, or your opinions?"

"I have read eleven. None of the stories were accurate except that Rita Skeeter interviewed me. None of what she wrote that I said was true."

Rita looked at the people around her. She suddenly was not very happy about getting to cover this. And there was a WWN reporter broadcasting this live – and so it wouldn't be easy to give this the proper spin.

Snape looked at the next question. He was curious as to why this question was allowed.

Madam Bones also knew what the next question was. She would certainly be catching flak for allowing it, but she couldn't in good conscience refuse the question as there was nothing that she knew of which negatively impacted security.

"What actions have you seen done by Ministry staff which you found questionable or did not agree with?"

One of the three Aurors had to once again silence Fudge and his toady.

"I received a warning for underage magic when the magic was performed by a house elf, Fudge put Hagrid in Azkaban because, according to him, he had to be seen as doing something, even though Hagrid was innocent. I was not given a warning when I accidently blew up Aunt Marge with accidental magic after she insulted my mother and father. Dementors were placed around Hogwarts last year even though they were far more dangerous to me than my godfather Sirius ever was. I was attacked three times by them and Sirius only attacked twice to catch Peter Pettigrew. Mr. Crouch accused his elf of casting the Dark Mark at the World Cup when we told him that we heard the voice casting it was a human male. He gave her clothes unfairly. I was forced to compete in the Triwizard Tournament by Bagman and Crouch. Bagman tried to help me on the sly, even though I refused. They allowed students at Hogwarts to be placed under the Imperius Curse to see what it was like."

Madam Bones motioned violently. She handed over a slip of parchment. Snape looked at it. "Who placed the students under the Imperius curse?"

"Professor Moody."

"What were you forced to do under the Imperius Curse?" Snape noticed that Madam Bones had sent another Auror who was present over to grab Moody, just like she had grabbed Lucius. Now there were two people present under restraint.

"Nothing."

There was confusion in the audience. Madam Bones slipped another note.

"How do you know that you were under the Imperius if you weren't forced to do anything?"

"Professor Moody tried to force me to jump on the desk. I fought it off and instead fell and hurt my leg. He repeated doing it four more times until I threw it off completely. All of the other students I saw were forced to do simple things. Their descriptions matched my own."

Madam Bones was looking at Potter speculatively. She then motioned him that she was done and he should move on.

Snape looked at the next question. It looked to be just as bad or worse than some of the others.

"What punishments have you received at Hogwarts that you felt were unfair and why?"

"I've lost points in Potions for not answering a question that wasn't in the book, for breathing too loudly, and for protecting myself when I was attacked by Draco Malfoy. Professor McGonagall took 50 points each off of me and two other Gryffindors for being out of bounds after curfew and only took 20 from Malfoy who was also out after curfew and trying to get us into trouble by telling her we had a dragon. We were sent into the ForbiddenForest after curfew as detention for being out after curfew in order to catch whatever was killing the unicorns. I've been punished for attacking Malfoy when we were defending ourselves after he attacked us or tried to attack us. He was never punished for starting it. Professor Snape has taken points off for asking questions and for not preventing another student from making a mistake when I was trying to work on my own potion."

Madam Bones curtly passed another slip.

"Did you have a dragon?"

"Not when we were caught." Madam Bones started preparing another slip but motioned him to finish the current one.

"Did you see what was killing the unicorns?"

"Yes."

"What was killing the unicorns?"

"Professor Quirrell who was being possessed by Voldemort."

The audience definitely became much louder. There were a few screams. Madam Bones addressed the audience. "Once again, this involved possible High Treason so clarification will be required."

She wrote a few questions quickly. Snape looked at the time. Only ten more minutes. He took the parchment and nodded. "Madam Bones will be acting as my proxy to clarify this."

Madam Bones knew there were only a few minutes left. She didn't want to waste them.

"How do you know Quirrell was being possessed?"

"I saw and talked to Voldemort when I was trying to prevent him from getting the Philisopher's Stone. I also fought him."

"When was this?"

"First year."

Madam Bones briefly paused. "Where was the Philospher's Stone?"

"In the Forbidden Corridor."

"What is the Forbidden Corridor?"

"The corridor that Professor Dumbledore told us not to go to unless we wanted to die a painful death."

"Why did you go to the Forbidden Corridor?"

"When I realized that Voldemort was trying to make a play to come back, I went to stop him."

"Why didn't you get a Professor to stop it?"

"We tried. But Professor McGonagall wouldn't listen to us."

As he wasn't asking questions, he had a chance to look more fully. And Minerva was looking quite pale – and embarrassed.

Madam Bones looked at Harry for a moment. "Before you were caught, did you have a dragon?"

"Yes."

"Where did the dragon go?"

"We sent it to the Dragon Preserve."

"Where did it come from?"

"Hagrid got it when he was tricked by Quirrell into revealing how to get past Fluffy."

"What is a 'Fluffy'?"

"A three-headed dog in the Forbidden Corridor."

"There was a Cerberus in Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

"What else was in the Corridor?"

"Flying keys, Devils Snare, a large Chess Set, a troll, walls of flames and a Potions puzzle, and the Mirror of Erised."

"How did you get past these?"

"I played a flute to lull Fluffy. Hermione used a spell on the Devil's Snare. We flew brooms and I caught the key for the door with help, Ron played the Chess game and sacrificed himself to get me and Hermione through, the troll was already down because of Voldemort, Hermione solved the potions puzzle which got us through the flames, and I got the stone from the Mirror. I also fought Quirrell and Voldemort to prevent him from getting the stone. His skin burned when he tried to grab me. So I put my hands on his face in order to stop him from cursing me."

"Why did his skin burn?"

"Professor Dumbledore said it was because of my mother's sacrifice. It protected me when I was a baby and it protected me again when Quirrell attacked."

Madam Bones knew she needed to talk to Dumbledore. She turned it back over to Snape.

Snape read the next question. Four more.

"What do you know about Voldemort and how did you find it out?"

"He attacked me as a baby. Hagrid told me that when he told me I was a wizard. He possessed Quirrell and tried to steal the Philisopher's Stone from Hogwarts after failing to steal if from Gringotts because it was removed. I saw the story in the Prophet about the failed robbery. His name is really Tom Marvolo Riddle. He rearranged the letters in his name to make 'I am Lord Voldemort' because he wanted to get rid of his muggle father's name. The shade from the Diary told me. He's using the Triwizard Tournament to attack me. I saw it in a vision before this year started, even though I didn't know at the time that it was a vision instead of a dream. He's trying to get a body back. He killed a man who found him and Pettigrew in some old house."

Madam Bones wanted to clarify – but time was running out. She motioned Snape to continue.

Three more.

"What houses did the Sorting Hat consider placing you in?"

"It considered all of them and said I had the traits needed. It wanted to put me in Slytherin."

Damn. That made a lot of sense. Potter had used the law to destroy many people tonight. Quite cunning really. Even if one was himself. He was at least THAT honest with himself.

"Why did it place you in Gryffindor?"

"Because I refused to go to Slytherin because Draco Malfoy went there and he was a bigoted snob toward me and Ron. I wanted nothing to do with him."

He didn't know whether to curse his godson or reward him. Potter would have made a good Slytherin – especially on the quidditch team. But he would not have wanted to deal with him as one of his own.

Snape looked at the last question. Before he could ask, Madam Bones interjected. "Mr. Potter's question twenty was, ironically, exactly the same as Mr. Snape's question 20. As it has been asked and answered, I am certifying that it does not need to be asked."

Snape nodded and backed away. One of the Aurors administered the antidote.

The boy looked around and saw the various looks that he was being given. Very few were happy. He turned to Madam Bones. "Can I be excused now?"

Madam Bones nodded. "Yes. But I will be back tomorrow to speak to you, around five. I will be up late tonight dealing with a few things that have been revealed. You didn't embarrass me and I thank you for that. You did embarrass pretty much everyone else. I'd stay under the eyes of close friends. And if anyone tries to talk to you before me, tell them I said not to. Any questions?"

"None." Potter stood and motioned to his lackeys. They and the chaos twins joined him and they all moved out, heads held high.

Madam Bones turned to the audience. "All students are excused. The rest of the audience – we have a few things to go over before we're done. Make yourselves comfortable. This will take a while."

The fallout from The Questioning (it was being capitalized) was extreme. Very few people came out unscathed. Lucius Malfoy was put in prison after a hasty trial. Fudge didn't last long either – and his toady went with him.

Severus Snape barely survived – but was under strict probation both at Hogwarts and with the Ministry. He was not allowed to teach students who weren't NEWT level and another Potions Mistress was retained to teach the first five years. He was also replaced as head of house. He had a restraining order placed on him which prevented him from interacting with Potter – he was happy to comply.

Minerva McGonagall received a scathing reprimand for her records.

Draco Malfoy was transferred to a school unknown. Harry was happy just to not see him.

Dumbledore barely stayed out of jail – but didn't last very long in his positions of power. He only remained Headmaster because the Tournament required it. All other duties were turned over. He would disappear after the year was over - after having been seen entering Gringotts. He wasn't seen leaving. No one wanted to enquire.

Alastor Moody was rescued – after the fake was prevented from drinking his polyjuice. His capture led to Pettigrew and Voldemort being caught – the Department of Mysteries put the homonculous under the Draught of the Living Death until they could figure out how he survived.

Sirius Black was pardoned – and then took custody of his godson. Sirius also backed his friends in their joke shop.

The Dursleys were forcibly moved and placed under protection – there were now many magicals who wanted them dead. They had a very uncomfortable life for the next several years.

All in all, it was a much more pleasant Hogwarts career for Harry after The Questioning. All because Snape threatened him with Veritaserum