My greatest apologies for leaving this so very, very long before updating… (About 4 months!)

I'm extremely nervy about it actually, which is partly why it's taken so long to write (that, kitchen fitting and life in general!)
But I have put up a couple of other fics which I hope have kept you entertained… I'm probably going to alternate between this and Duels, Fools & Yule from now on… Especially as I want to get the Christmas chapter of that up for Christmas (unlikely but I can dream!)

This chapter features some of Snape's history – I found it hard to get him to talk while staying in character so sorry if this is naff – after a hideous amount of re-writing, I decided just to get it out there and move on!!! (It took me 3 days on and off just to do a final proof read as I kept changing so much!)

My main plot was decided on before the last book was published (bloomin 'eck it's taken me forever to write this!)… Some of the events are quite similar though and I've padded them out a bit after reading the official story!
However it's not exactly the same so apologies to all of you who will be a bit disappointed with no L/S romance… I did consider just using JKRs plotline but I figured I'd try my twist on it and see…

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Ginny stood in awe of the spectacular display of beauty in the cavern-like room. Her eyes grew wide as she saw countless varieties of plants and flowering bushes flourishing before her, the sound of the water trickling into the tiny pool was like music to her ears.
Having already seen the wonderful display, Hermione merely smiled slightly at her friend's reaction.

"Look Ginny, we need to figure out a way to get outside. Then…" She paused and turned to their companion. "Sorry, but I can't keep calling you 'The Green Man'. Don't you have a name we can call you?

Hermione's casual tone caused Ginny to blanch. "Mione – he's practically a God – don't be so flippant!"

The Green Man burst into rumbling laughter. "Do not fret my flaming beauty… your charming friend cannot offend me so easily." He turned thoughtful for a moment before adding. "I do not normally have need for a name, but some used to call me Viridios if that is acceptable?"

"Perfectly, it's very fitting." Hermione said blushing slightly. "I just felt a little awkward referring to you as a title all the time! Viridios it is… Anyway, as I was saying – if we can get ourselves outside, then Viridios can transport us to wherever we want - we'll be safe Ginny…"

Ginny, keen to get away from Voldemort's lair, looked around carefully for a means to the outside. She thought that she saw something move out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned around there was nothing there. Shrugging off the feeling of being watched, Ginny continued to probe each nook and cranny of the room with her eyes.

"There's light coming through those gaps in the ceiling, could we not try and climb up there somehow?"

Hermione considered it for a moment. "I did notice the light when I was in here before, but it's so high up and I couldn't see a way of climbing there. Oh if only we had our wands."

Viridios cleared his throat in a delicate manner. "Sorry to interrupt my little saplings, but I can be of assistance I think…"

Before either girl could question what he meant, two gigantic shoots had burst out of the loam at the their feet and roots swept the girls' legs from under them; the plant continued to sprout, two little buds burst into life and grew into leafy platforms, which the young witches sat on as they ascended towards the roof, a little too quickly for Hermione's liking.

"It's a bit like Jack and the Beanstalk." Hermione commented once she had stopped feeling queasy.

"Like what?" Ginny queried with a crinkled brow. Being raised in a wizarding community meant that muggle fairy tales, with all their magical wonder, were a little redundant.

"Another time maybe Gin, we're nearly there."

Just as Hermione was reaching her fingertips towards one of the larger gaps, she felt a crackle of magic fly past her. With a loud booming noise, stones and rubble filled in the gaps, showering the girls with dust and debris.

"What the…" Coughing and spluttering, Ginny and Hermione peered down to where Viridios was, but he was looking away from them, seemingly staring into thin air.

"Now why would you do such a thing, little human?" Viridios waved his hand and all of a sudden a very determined looking Severus Snape appeared as if from no-where, wand extended. He looked somewhat shocked at being made visible but recovered quickly.

"With all due respect good sir, they cannot leave!" Snape boomed the words with force, although he bowed his head slightly afterwards.

Viridios looked confused as Snape's words. "Why not just ask us then? Now you have ruined their chance of exiting this place…"

Ginny finally found her tongue and called out, "Viridios - don't listen to him, get rid of him."

The deity looked up at her with a curious expression. "Why need he go? Maybe he can help you find another path out when he has spoken with you –I am enjoying all of this human company very much."

"He's one of the people who imprisoned us." Hermione called down from her leafy perch.

At her words, Viridios frowned deeply and a circle of razor sharp briars sprung from the ground to surround Severus like a cage. "What have you to say about this? Imprisoning your own kind?"

Snape hadn't moved and seemed very calm; he looked from the thorns back to The Green Man. All he would say was that, "It was necessary."

"Don't trust him; he's a traitor and a murderer." Ginny shrieked desperately, "Can't you send him away somewhere?"

But Viridios shook his head slowly. "Surely he must be given the chance to explain himself? He doesn't feel bad…"

Ginny squealed in annoyance but quietened down when Viridios cast a stern glance her way. "Now then, you will explain. I do not like the sound of this at all. You will tell me all – then we shall see if these accusations are true."

Now Snape's face changed from its impassive look to one of anger. He tried casting several spells at his thorny prison, but to no avail. Finally he narrowed his eyes until they were almost totally hooded with the lids.

"All accusations placed against me are true. Now you aren't going to kill me so you may as well let me go." He said, once again seeming calm and collected.

It was Hermione's turn to frown. "You're admitting it, just like that? Why – why so easily?"

"Does it matter?" Ginny asked, although she too seemed a little taken aback at Snape's frank confession.

Viridios looked between the humans and shook his leafy head. "Something goes unsaid – I for one am curious why a human would do such a thing. I would ask for an explanation. Speak…"

Snape glared at Viridios, his unwillingness to speak was obvious for them all to see. However the Green Man held his gaze until finally Severus was forced to look away. "It was… necessary - all of it."

"I think you can do better than that. Come now - you have just looked at me, seen my power, and I can tell that you know what I am capable of. If needs be, I can find out exactly what I want to know without your co-operation; would you not rather speak of your own free will?"

"You wouldn't" Snape's face was a picture. Hermione thought privately that the only times she had ever seen her old Professor this worked up before was when Harry had been involved somehow.

"Why not?" Viridios asked him. "Your kind does worse things to each other all the time. I see no difference."

Severus reddened slightly and pursed his lips together tightly. "Very well. I had hoped to take my reasons with me to the grave, but since you seem determined to drag the answers out of me in any way possible, I shall choose to at least tell my story in a dignified manner."

He stood tall and held his head high, his pointy chin sticking out from under the mass of greasy black hair. "Traitor I am, I have long tricked and betrayed the leader of what was once my cause in life. Long ago I turned from Voldemort and chose to instead give my alliance to Dumbledore. That however is my only treachery."

"He's lying." Ginny interrupted. "He double crossed Dumbledore. He was the one that killed him."

"There are far worse things that death." Snape replied quietly.

"Name five." Ginny snarled back at him.

Viridios made a gesture with his hand, Ginny and Hermione came swiftly back down to the ground and the thorns surrounding Snape retreated back into the soil. Grabbing Ginny's arm, Viridios steered her towards Snape.

"Look at him girl. Open your eyes and truly look. You will see if it be truth he speaks or lies."

Ginny glared at the pale, angular face of the teacher who had tormented her brother and friends; she took in the greasy hair of a person who was unfair and unkind, the large hooked nose of a Death Eater who had murdered one of the most brilliant wizards she had ever known.
However, when Ginny studied him closer, she also saw the dark expressive eyes of someone who had saved the life of his most hated student several times, and the pursed lips of a mouth that once offered to help a young man escape the fate that had befallen his mother.

Why had Snape saved Harry really? Ginny asked herself. And although she knew that Draco seemed to be a favourite of Snape's, were they actually close enough for the older wizard to risk the wrath of Voldemort just to help Draco escape?

As these thoughts fell through her brain, Ginny could once again feel a strange heat build up and start burning within her. Ignoring the roaring and buzzing in her ears, she turned her gaze back to Snape's eyes and finally saw the truth held within them. The truth and a basic goodness of soul which shocked her so much that she stumbled slightly…

Snape wasn't lying.

A hand touching her shoulder caused Ginny to whirl round. Viridios was looking kindly at her Ginny noticed that the leaves which made up his body and face had changed texture and were now hard and spiky like a cactus. She also saw Hermione standing just behind him with eyes as round as saucers.

"Your friend was concerned about what was happening to you but she could not reach you through the heat. It does not bother me however." He smiled and his body started to change back to its previous appearance. "Did you see into his very being?"

Ginny nodded. She swallowed down hard, spared a quick glance towards Hermione and then turned back to face Snape.

"I... I suppose I owe you an apology. But I don't understand - if you were loyal to Dumbledore... why did you kill him? Harry said that Dumbledore begged for your help, b-but you still did it."

Snape's face contorted, he looked furious, but Ginny felt that beneath the anger, she could see a deep sadness and remorse within him.

When Severus spoke, it was in a cold and detached voice. If Ginny had not seen to his soul she would think that he simply did not care, but now she felt that his lack of emotion was possibly the only way he could bring himself to speak at all.

"Dumbledore was begging me... But he was asking me to end his suffering, spare his life by killing him. He wanted me to be the one to do it, so as to spare Draco's life, his innocence if you will.
Dumbledore was... turning; both he and I knew it would have come to the same thing in the end. He preferred death than a half life, than becoming something unnatural. This is why I also altered the Avada Kedavra to throw Dumbledore's body to the ground, I felt that he would not wish for his remains to be mauled or disrespected."

"Was it the ring?" Hermione asked, biting her bottom lip slightly and looking extremely thoughtful. "We all saw what had happened to his arm, was that the start of it?"

Snape looked at her. "No – although destroying that ring did cost him his hand; it was not a progressive curse. However, I think it did have certain unexpected and unfortunate side effects that we weren't aware of...
No, it was the potion in the cave which was the cause. When Dumbledore travelled with Potter, he already knew what the potion in the cave was; he knew what would eventually happen to the person who consumed it. Dumbledore was prepared to die for the cause, just neither of us realised it would be so soon."

"What did the potion do? Was there no other way?"

Snape looked for a long time at Ginny as if judging whether or not to answer her question. "The potion, if it had taken its due course, would have drained Dumbledore's life force and then turned him into an Inferius. There was no antidote known, and no other way we could think of… Someone had already tried, and failed to save a victim of the same potion.
If we had more time, it is perhaps possible, although unlikely, that we may have found another way to get to the horcrux. As we didn't have the luxury of time, Dumbledore decided to go to the cave and attempt to retrieve the locket in the same way the person before him had. The headmaster would let no-one go in his stead – he said he had lived long enough and could not ask such a thing of anyone else."

Ginny wondered if Snape had offered himself; it would take a great deal of bravery to do such a thing – but then he was obviously brave to have lived a double life for such a long time, and she had seen courage and determination in him. Still, Snape was the one standing in front of them and Dumbledore had gone to the cave. Ginny didn't feel quite brave enough to ask the question, she supposed some things were best left unspoken.

"How horrible." Hermione murmured, tears were welling up in her eyes and threatening to overflow, but she swept the backs of her hands roughly over her face and wiped them away. "Poor, brave Dumbledore. He gave his life willingly; it's so much to take in. But why didn't he tell Harry? Every thing would have been so much easier – for you more than anyone!"

Snape gave Hermione a cold look. "Even if Potter had known, I doubt that he could have done a thing to change the circumstances. Dumbledore had often told the impertinent boy that he trusted me, but Potter did not want to believe him. In any case, Albus never said anything until he was ready, not to even me. He always said it was for my own good, that people in general tend to react to information before they had fully thought things through.
I have no doubt that in the end he would have told his precious Potter almost everything before he died, but we were hoping for more time… The other person lasted several days – but the vast strength of Dumbledore's magic, combined with my preventative remedies he took before going, should have protected him for even longer than that, several months at least, a whole year maybe.

"Why did it react so quickly then?" Ginny asked. "What went wrong? Was it the ring?"

"I cannot be a hundred percent sure, but I think the ring's magic altered the potion and sped up the process of the reactions. I have thought long and hard about this, and it's the only plausible explanation. Now, if we are quite done with this subject?" Snape drew his cloak about him haughtily.

But Hermione had a question left. "You mentioned someone else who had been poisoned? Who were they?"

Colour flushed to Snape's normally pale cheeks, his breath caught and he clutched at something in the breast pocket of his robes.
When he finally spoke, it was just three words. "Regulus Arcturus Black"

"Sirius's brother..." Hermione whispered. "R.A.B!" She gasped excitedly as she quickly connected the name to the initials from the letter Harry had found in the fake horcrux locket.

"Sirius told us that his brother tried to back out of the Death Eaters and so Voldemort had him murdered? That doesn't tie in with his dying from the potion, unless that was his punishment..."

Severus frowned; he had hoped to skip this part of his story - however he resigned himself to telling them everything, for better or worse. After all, it would be dragged out of him forcibly otherwise…
He conjured several black leather chains and signalled for everyone to take a seat. Viridios nodded his head amicably, but instead of making use of the chair, he moved his hands together and a large mound of earth piled itself underneath him.

Snape shrugged and began. "At the start of my second year of Hogwarts, I was informed that I would be partnered in transfiguration to help my pick up my grades. Well, my new partner and I worked well together and we started to seek each other out in breaks, after school and so forth. My new friend also often met with a girl in the year below us, who in turn was a classmate and companion to Regulus.
So through those tenuous links, we all ended up spending most of our free time together and the four of us formed a close group; me, Regulus, Anna Sawyers and my partner Lily.

Hermione, again quick to grasp matters asked, "Lily Pot – I mean Evans?"

Ginny gasped. "Harry's mother!"

Snape nodded. "Yes, Potter's mother, Lily Evans. Hard as it may be for you to believe, Lily was once as close to us as her son now is to your group of trouble makers. I am certain that Regulus was very much in love with her, however he did not have the confidence to show her how he felt – he did not have much self-belief at all when he was younger. Regulus had always felt insecure and unattractive compared to his older brother.
Yes Regulus and Sirius Black were very different people and there was an inordinate amount of rivalry between the two. My friendship with Regulus was the main reason Sirius and his group started to fight with me and take notice of Lily. Sirius liked to toy with his little brother's emotions – I think he also knew how Regulus felt about Evans, so he flirted and tried to woo her. But as he also did the same thing to half the female population, Lily did not take his efforts very seriously."

Hermione pulled a face, she didn't like hearing bad things about Sirius, but she knew from Harry that he had been a bit of a rogue at school - especially where Snape and presumably Regulus had been involved.

"Regulus was a good person deep down, better than I was at any rate. But, he was scared of his parent's attitudes towards Sirius and his actions. Regulus wanted so much to be accepted by his family; he was terrified of his father, Orion, but loved him at the same time. More than anything in the world, Regulus wanted to make his father proud.

"The summer after my fourth and Regulus's third year, Orion introduced us to the circle of The Dark Lord's followers… You have to understand – we were already aware of them, and I in particular already felt drawn to the dark arts, but one does not tend to enter that group without being introduced to it."

Snape paused; a look that Ginny could not decipher flickered quickly across his face. Viridios seemed to know what it was though, as he looked at Snape sympathetically.

"Lily grew withdrawn and took to spending time with other people – she did not like our new hobby. Anna followed out of loyalty to Lily. The more involved Regulus and I became with the Dark Arts, the more our friendship with the girls waned, and the more Potter's gang clashed with us.

"Meanwhile, Orion was growing unhappy with the teachings Dumbledore was giving, I know now that the Headmaster was trying to give us choices, show us that maybe there was another way… but we were children still really – and the Blacks were very persuasive people. Anyway, Orion and his wife Walburga wanted both of their sons to transfer to Durmstrang where they were teaching 'their kind' of lessons…"

"Sirius never went to Durmstrang…" Hermione pointed out.

Snape nodded. "Regulus – of course – agreed to his father's wishes, though it saddened us both. Sirius refused his family's wishes and moved in to the Potter family home.
I am sure that Potter Juniorhas as much difficulty keeping his mouth shut as his father did and so you must know of the final falling out between Lily and me. After that, I threw myself whole-heartedly into doing all I could to make myself worthy for Voldemort.
As you are undoubtedly aware, my last couple of years of school were not superb, but finally I graduated and was marked as a Death Eater."

"Did it hurt?" Ginny asked, absently rubbing her arm in the place where the Dark Mark was branded onto Voldemort's followers.

Snape merely shrugged. "Not as much as some of the things we were subjected to… After a year of following His wishes as an official follower, I was reunited with a newly graduated Regulus. He had already been marked as Durmstrang did not really look down upon such a thing.
Our time together was short however… within a year Regulus had disappeared. His body was never found so some people said that he had lost his courage and run. I couldn't believe it of him, and shortly after he vanished I found out that the rumours were completely unfounded."

Snape reached into his robes and withdrew a wad of pages, held together with the scraps of a spine, what looked to have once been an expensive cover and presumably several spells. He stroked it lovingly, the anger he had previously been radiating now replaced by sadness.

"One night, shortly after his disappearance, I had a visitor, a house elf that you are most aware of… Kreacher. He told me that his master had ordered him to deliver this diary to me upon his death." Snape's face was a cold mask as he relived that night.

"After Kreacher left, I secured my house with every spell I knew and settled down to read his journal. Parts of his story I knew and parts were new to me, however Regulus's words changed my life forever; they made me see that the side of the Dark lord was the wrong one…
Regulus had grown to be much more confident in his time at Durmstrang; he had become skilled in finding out information, mainly due to his immense desire to know every single thing about Lily. He was so obsessed with her that he learned the art of spying; however this gave him the habit of poking his nose in where it was not wanted. He found out that Voldemort was a half-blood preaching about pure-blood supremacy, amongst other things…"

Gripping the book a little tighter, Snape shook his head slightly. "I still cannot understand how Regulus came by all the information he reveals in here… at least not without an invisibility cloak - which he did not have, or being a master of legilimency - which he was most definitely not.
He discovered that the Dark Lord was trying to turn members of the Order of the Phoenix to his side – those who would not comply would be murdered in a very public way as an example. The Dark Lord had already been refused twice by Lily and James Potter; He was greatly frustrated at this as they were rather an influential couple at the time."

Snape said it sarcastically, as if he thought it was a ridiculous thing to be saying, but Hermione knew that they had been very open and vocal with their protests against the Death Eaters.

"Although Regulus always blamed and hated Potter for stealing Lily away from him, the thought of their possible death shocked him and caused him to think about the paths he had chosen in life, wondering whether he would have been able to protect Lily better if had he not pushed her away with his desire to fit in with his family's wishes.
Regulus started taking risks, leaking information to people that he shouldn't be talking to and eavesdropping on private meetings. When he discovered – through whatever sources he was getting his information from – that Lily was trying for a baby, he decided that he could not stand by and watch her die. He contacted our old friend Anna and asked her to convince Lily to either agree to Voldemort's wishes or to hide herself from the outside world as completely as possible.

"Anna did as he asked; but while Lily – and her husband – were thankful for the warning, they both chose to be brave, although I would call it foolish, and continued to flaunt their aversion to the Dark Lord, renouncing his offer for the third time. Voldemort somehow discovered about Anna's meeting with them and murdered her. Before her death she was tortured terribly, but she never gave Regulus away, having obliterated her own memory before the Death Eaters who came for her could take her wand."

Snape bowed his head and was silent for a moment, obviously thinking about the girl who had been close to him, and her cruel and untimely death. Viridios moved slightly, whether he meant to comfort Snape was unsure as the potions master quickly raised the book slightly, thumbing through it as if to make sure he was getting everything correct.

"My friend was obviously very clever, for not even I knew of his role as traitor… Not until it was too late. After Anna's death, Regulus grew furious at the Dark Lord - he vowed to destroy the objects holding pieces of Voldemort's soul and then kill him… Murder the very person that Regulus himself had once admired and looked to for approval…
Between his last few frenzied entries, and the garbled information I could gather from Kreacher, I managed to piece together Regulus's demise and tie it to the potion from the cave. Kreacher was not making much sense, but managed to tell me that he had cared for his master for several days. He used some sort of fire shield to keep the Inferi away and tried with all of his Elfish magic to cure Regulus… however eventually his master turned into an Inferius and sunk below the water with the rest. Obviously distraught over his favourite master's death, all the elf kept muttering was that 'it couldn't be broken'."

Snape stood from his chair and paced behind it while talking. "Indeed, the news of Regulus's death also affected me. I had loved him more than anything in my life; he was my only companion – my brother, more so than he ever was Sirius's. His death and his words shook me to the core."

He turned away from the captive audience for a moment, breathing heavily.

"Is that when you came to Dumbledore?" Hermione asked curiously.

Snape remained facing away from her, but he shook his head. "No. Not then, although I started to re-analyse my life and doubt my actions. It wasn't long before Voldemort had me move to Hogwarts; he needed a spy and I was the most qualified and least suspicious of his followers – to be honest I was glad to get away from him.

"While there I overheard part of Trelawney's vision and, as you know, informed Voldemort. As soon as I discovered he planned to destroy the Potters, I knew I could not stand idly by. It would have been an insult to Regulus's death… so I went to the only person I could – Dumbledore.
Our hopes were shattered when Pettigrew leaked the Potters' whereabouts. Since then, I have been leading a double life… It is always dangerous and most often demanding, but I deserve no more than that for my sins."

Viridios stood up, walked beside Snape and lay a hand on his shoulder. "I could see that you were not rotten in your core."

Snape turned to look at The Green Man; they kept eye contact for a while, but for the second time, Snape broke the gaze first. "When Dumbledore and I discussed the horcruxes, I explained my assumption that Regulus was unable to retrieve the locket. We tried to find out more, but Kreacher seemed incapable of giving us a clear story, which is why Dumbledore decided to go to the cave himself to find and destroy the horcrux.
From there you know the story; Dumbledore returned in a weakened state, but in the mean time an attack had begun on the castle. I did all I could but as soon as I saw the headmaster, I knew there was no hope for him. He was a superb Wizard and did a great many wonderful things with his life. I wish I had seen that from the very start."

Hermione looked decidedly unhappy; she twisted her fingers together awkwardly before blurting out. "Regulus did take the locket – he swapped it for a fake and gave the locket to Kreacher to destroy and told him not to tell anyone about it… Kreacher couldn't break it, which was obviously what he was muttering about; not being able to serve his master's final order must have sent him insane. Oh – if only he could have said something, you could have taken it from Kreacher that very night and, and Dumbledore may have oh, oh, I'm so sorry. But Kreacher kept it and then Mundungus stole it, and we don't know where it is…" Hermione heaved a big shaky breath and fought back her sadness and disappointment.

Snape turned slowly, his cloak billowing with even that small movement. His face was totally impassive. "I do..." He reached inside his shirt and pulled out a long, golden chain, on the end of which was a large intricate locket of the same metal, with a snake-like S of emeralds on the front.

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Viridios was (I believe) the Celtic name for a version of the green man ('the deity of verdure' is pretty much all I could find in my quick look online).

I was going to use Silvanus (the Roman equivalent) as I thought he would be better known but it was too similar to Severus (and Sirius lol!)

It's actually been such a long time since I read the last 2 books (and my story!!!) that some of the details have slipped my mind. I've done the best I can with wiki etc. but let me know if I've made any huge blunders and I'll try to change them.