Disclaimer: The following characters, settings and referenced events are, and always will be, the property of J K Rowling.

– CHAPTER TWENTY –

Shattered Secrets

Harry felt his jaw drop. 'But he was Head of Slytherin.'

'And Gryffindor was the Sorting Hat's first choice for you, was it?' Dumbledore watched Harry closely.

Harry felt his face start to grow warm. He shot a quick glance at Snape. 'But he's a Death Eater!'

Snape tensed.

'We have had this discussion before, Harry, and my reply remains the same. I trust Severus,' he said calmly. 'That should be sufficient for you.'

'Well it isn't!' Harry slammed his hand down hard on the kitchen table. He was aware of Snape glaring at him. 'Why? Why do you trust him? He was in Slytherin, he's a Death Eater, he told Voldemort – ' (Snape's eyes flashed) ' – about me, and he's still running around with him. I don't care if he saved your life. One good thing doesn't cancel out a whole lifetime of bad.'

'That's where you're wrong, Harry,' said Dumbledore quietly. 'If the deed is humble enough – '

'He's fooling you!' Harry felt almost like he was going to explode. He struggled to contain his anger.

Dumbledore gazed at him across the charged silence. 'I trust Severus,' he said again.

'Well, I don't!' Harry snatched the ring off the table. 'And I'm not working with him. If he really is the Ravenclaw heir, he'll just have to destroy the Horcrux by himself.' Harry touched the ring with his wand.

'Nitwit, odd – '

'OH, GO AHEAD AND TELL HIM!' barked Snape.

Dumbledore gazed at Snape for several minutes as if trying to assess the sincerity of his offer. Finally, he drew a shaky breath.

'You'd best take a seat, Harry,' the headmaster's quiet voice broke the silence, 'this will take some explaining.' He indicated the chairs on the other side of the table.

Watching Snape warily, Harry sat down. He really didn't think Dumbledore could say anything to make him change his opinion, but if he was going to learn more secrets about Snape, then it would be worth being co-operative.

Once he was settled, Dumbledore began.

'When Severus first came to Hogwarts, he had already been subjected to several years of witnessing his Muggle father abusing his mother because she was a witch.' (Harry glanced at Snape brooding in the corner, remembering the vision from their Occlumency classes.) 'So he began school very eager to prove himself and rise above his circumstances at home. That is why the Sorting Hat placed him in Slytherin.

'The first years placed in Slytherin that year, which was the year both of your parents also started at Hogwarts, included Lucius Malfoy, Darius Goyle, and Bellatrix Black. Severus worked very hard to hide the fact that he wasn't a full-blood wizard in order to win the friendship of his housemates; and after years of being ostracised because of his 'freakish' mother, he was very keen to have friends who liked him.' Dumbledore inclined his head slightly. 'Not unlike your feelings when you began, Harry.'

Harry's eyes narrowed. If Dumbledore was wanting to convince him that he and Snape were the same, then he was definitely fighting a losing battle.

Ignoring Snape pacing near the fireplace, Dumbledore continued. 'This group of friends introduced Severus to the darker side of magic, and between them, they formed a kind of club, running contests amongst themselves, trying to invent darker and darker spells. Severus, because of his ancestry, was always a very bright student and was able to consistently come up with the best, or should I say worst, curses. This led his friends to assume he was as pure-bred as themselves, so they never questioned his background.

'All was' (he paused slightly) 'well until their sixth year. That was when Bellatrix started dating Rodolphus Lestrange, a seventh-year student whose brother, Rabastan, was a Death Eater. Bear in mind, Harry, that Voldemort's Reign of Terror had not long begun, and all the students at Hogwarts had been following events in such publications as the Daily Prophet quite closely, most with increasing concern and fear; but several of the Slytherin students were keen to share in the power Voldemort was demonstrating.

'Unfortunately, they got their chance that Christmas. Sirius's mother – very much a supporter of Voldemort's beliefs, and wishing to further his cause – invited several of Bellatrix's friends to Grimmauld Place for the holiday. Severus was unable to attend, as he was to remain at Hogwarts and we had not received permission from his parents that he could leave.

'When the others returned, they were full of news about how to join Voldemort's supporters. Rodolphus had even been initiated into the ranks of the Death Eaters and had instructions to find out as much as he could about the Order of the Phoenix, since we were starting to make our presence felt.' The silver moustache twitched.

'Now Severus, seeing his friends slipping away from him, hurriedly declared his support for Voldemort, and as soon as he had finished his seventh year, got Lucius to arrange a meeting in which Severus provided Voldemort with more valuable information about the Order than Rodolphus had. Voldemort was impressed with Severus's value as a spy, and he accepted him into his ranks.'

Snape had stopped pacing and was staring distantly into the fire.

'Everything continued along for several years. Voldemort increased in power, and the Death Eaters began jostling for position, trying to be seen as almost, if not as, important and powerful as their master. Most of them relied heavily upon their family histories, having been raised in extremely snobbish environments; so a young man who didn't have a well-known name was most flattered when he was singled out by Voldemort to do some brewing.'

He paused as Snape gripped the mantelpiece so tightly his knuckles were white. Taking a breath, Dumbledore continued.

'Severus was the one who developed the potion which sustained Voldemort's strength despite his deteriorating body.'

Harry was on his feet, across the room and forcing Snape back against the pantry door before he realised he had even moved. 'You kept him alive?' he shouted, hating Snape more in that moment than he had when he chased him through the grounds of Hogwarts last year. Snape just stared at Harry, his eyes daring him to make him pay most dearly for his sins.

'Sit down, please, Harry.' Despite his polite words, Dumbledore's voice held a slight bite which betrayed his intolerance of the interruption.

Giving Snape one last glare, Harry returned to the table, righted his fallen chair and sat down, staring sullenly at Dumbledore.

'Severus's potion did not keep Voldemort alive - the Horcruxes did that; all the potion did was maintain his strength.' Dumbledore waited for Harry to nod his acceptance of this statement.

Harry obliged grudgingly, feeling he was somehow apologising for his attack.

Dumbledore's quiet voice once more cut through the thick silence. 'Now, Voldemort was beginning to be greatly annoyed by the Order of the Phoenix who, despite being outnumbered, were starting to succeed in reducing the ranks of Death Eaters; a general is only as strong as the army he commands, and if there is no army, he loses his strength. So he decided to place his most successful spy at Hogwarts - both to gather information about the Order, and to try to get at me.

'That is why Severus was at the Hog's Head Inn that evening. He had merely been trying to meet with me and lodge his application for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts; I was, after all, looking for yet another teacher. Little did he suspect that he would learn of the imminent arrival of Voldemort's destroyer.

'Now, part of the deal for placing Severus at Hogwarts was that, if he could eliminate me or enable Voldemort to do so, he would be given his choice of reward. Several Death Eaters were extremely jealous of his favourable position and this, in turn, brought with it dangers he was not prepared to face. The promised reward would eliminate those dangers.

'So when he overheard Sybill, he realised I was no longer the most dangerous threat to Voldemort. Naturally, he couldn't rush back to his master quickly enough to pass on this vital information.

'I, in the meantime, took Professor Trelawney onto my payroll for her own protection and warned both Neville's and your parents of the possible role their unborn children might play in Voldemort's downfall.

'Severus, after telling his master of the prophecy, returned to lodge his application for employment as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, only to find that I had already succeeded in filling the post. Lord Voldemort was not at all pleased to discover that his spy had missed the chance to infiltrate the school and punished him by refusing to allow him to continue to act as spy. As you can imagine, several of the Death Eaters were pleased to witness Severus's fall from grace, especially when Voldemort started to place his trust in them, ordering them to uncover the identity and whereabouts of a male child born at the end of July.

'Almost a year passed before the unfortunate day came when Lucius Malfoy proudly announced to his master that your mother had given birth to a son on the last day of the previous July. While Voldemort did not share this information with the other Death Eaters, or even explain to Lucius Malfoy why his news was so important, he did reveal to Severus that Lucius had succeeded where he had failed, probably to remind Severus of his ineptitude as a competent spy.

'When Severus discovered this, he panicked.' Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Dumbledore raised a blackened finger to stop him. 'As I told you in your third year, Harry, Severus had a life debt to your father; and if James was murdered, as Severus knew he would be (he would certainly fight to the death to protect his son), then Severus would die a thousand most painful deaths.'

Harry stared disbelievingly at Dumbledore. 'So Snape betrayed Voldemort because he was a weak coward?'

Something smashed over in the corner. Turning, Harry saw Snape's hand buried in the middle of a broken teapot on the dresser; he seemed oblivious to the small trail of blood starting to drip to the floor. Harry stared at him, watching countless emotions chase each other across his face, until the Potions master grabbed a tea towel, wrapped it around his hand and stalked wordlessly from the room, slamming the door with enough force it woke Mrs Black; they heard her screams rising higher and higher in pitch.

'You are determined to believe the worst of Severus, aren't you?' sighed Dumbledore, shaking his head as he buried his face in his hands.

Harry felt a slight pang of guilt as he watched Dumbledore struggling to maintain his strength. 'Look, Professor,' he ventured, 'you should really by lying down or something; you don't need to be explaining Snape's actions, not to me.'

Dumbledore lowered his hands enough to gaze at Harry. For a moment, he looked very tempted to accept the offer, but then sighed once more and straightened up. 'No, Harry. You asked a question, I have been given permission to answer, and so I shall; but first let me run a scenario by you.

'You considered becoming an Auror, correct?' (Harry nodded.) 'Imagine that the Ministry has passed legislation that only those who can trace their ancestry back two hundred years without encountering a single Muggle are eligible to become Aurors, and the Ministry does not yet know the details of your lineage. Would you make them aware that you maternal grandparents were Muggles?'

Harry didn't hesitate. 'No.'

Dumbledore went on. 'Your friend, Ronald, also wants to be an Auror, and has been accepted into the training course. Would this make you even more determined to bend rules and keep secrets in order to become an Auror?'

Again, there was no contest. Harry wasn't certain where all this was leading, but he was happy to play along.

'Once you have completed your training, you are placed under the command of Alastor Moody who, you are aware, has well earned the nickname "Mad", and demonstrates this by getting you to engage in some very questionable practices in order to track down Death Eaters and bring them to justice. Would you follow orders?'

'Yes,' Harry replied firmly. 'If it means I would be able to capture Death Eaters – yes.'

Dumbledore waited a moment before continuing. 'Over time, Alastor proves that he has lost all faith in the Wizengamot, the Ministry and Rufus Scrimgeour, and decides to take the law into his own hands. Instead of arresting Death Eaters and bringing them to trial, he starts indiscriminately killing Death Eaters and those doing Voldemort's bidding – including Mr Stan Shunpike and Madam Rosmerta, who had been under the Imperious Curse. 'And he orders you to do the same. Would you?'

Harry stared at Dumbledore. That one was tougher. He would have no objections to killing true Death Eaters if the alternative was letting the fools at the Ministry let them get away, but what about the ones who were enchanted or bullied with threats to loved ones? It wasn't even enough to judge by the house the suspect had been in; Peter Pettigrew hadn't been in Slytherin. And then there was the fact that the Sorting Hat had wanted to place Harry in Slytherin. What if it hadn't been persuaded to change – would that automatically make him evil just because several of his housemates were?

Before Harry had a chance to reply, Dumbledore added, 'Bear in mind, also, that Alastor's mental stability has deteriorated to the point where, if you don't do your duty completely or you try to tender your resignation, he will subject yourself and those dearest to you to an hour each of the Cruciatus curse, before then killing you all. So not only would your own life be forfeit, so would the lives of Ron and Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom.'

Harry felt like he had been backed into a corner. Yes, he would be prepared to die if it meant depriving Moody of an accomplice, even suffer torture beforehand; but he wouldn't want his friends to suffer the same fate if he had the power to prevent it.

'OK, so Snape might have got himself into something which turned suddenly nasty before he realised it, but all his friends were also Death Eaters, so Voldemort wouldn't have used that threat. Snape was either very happy to do as Voldemort said, or too gutless to face a painful death.' Harry wasn't going to admit defeat.

'Eileen was still alive,' said Dumbledore softly; Harry flushed. 'But we are not discussing the Snapes at present. Now, would you be prepared to sentence your friends to the aforementioned fate?'

Reluctantly, Harry shook his head.

'No,' Dumbledore smiled sadly. 'And what would you do if Alastor suddenly decided, in his paranoia, that the only food he could trust not to be poisoned, were meals prepared by yourself?' He raised a brow in question.

'I'd cook for him.' Harry's voice was flat.

'Now picture, if you will, that Alastor has offered you a way to protect your friends. If you provide him with information which leads to Voldemort's destruction, he will let your friends safely leave the country and not pursue them.

'Here, finally, is a way you can help them. If you do what Moody asks, you will be able to get your friends beyond the reach of Alastor and your colleagues; for several of the other Aurors, jealous of the attention you have been receiving, have begun to pose a threat also.

'You start to throw yourself into your work with renewed vigour, finally seeing an end in sight because, once your friends are safe, you will have no qualms about defying Alastor and risking your own death. It would be a just price to pay for being foolish enough to make the mistake of swearing loyalty to Alastor in the first place. You were young, inexperienced, wanted to keep your friends, and it all was rather like a game to begin with, hunting down Death Eaters. And you do dislike Death Eaters.'

He gave a slight cough. 'Could you please make me a cup of tea, Harry? My throat is rather dry from all this talking.'

Harry waved his wand several times; the teapot repaired itself, accepted some tea from the caddy, then filled itself from the kettle boiling over the fire. Two teacups, a lemon slicing itself as it flew, and cream and sugar soared from their shelves and landed on the table just as the teapot arrived to pour out.

Throughout this ritual, Harry had a closed look on his face. He had been doing a lot of thinking during Dumbledore's narrative. He still wanted to hate Snape, and blame him for everything which had happened, but a niggly voice in the back of his head wouldn't let him do so quite as strongly as before. When he examined the source of this voice more closely, he realised it was pity.

Looking up, he saw Dumbledore watching him closely. 'It's all right, Professor, you can keep telling me the story from Snape's point of view; I'll be able to follow it.'

Dumbledore took a few sips of his tea. 'As you have rightly surmised, Severus was ordered to Hogwarts on the promise that, if he could somehow bring about my death, he would be allowed to get Eileen safely out of Britain. He would probably die, and quite painfully, when he then told Voldemort he no longer wished to be a Death Eater, but at least his mother would be safe.

'That is why he betrayed an unborn child, for that's all you were; Severus did not know at that point exactly who the unborn child was. When he discovered your identity, all he could think of were the thousand painful deaths.

'You've experienced the Cruciatus curse, Harry, as well as the pain when Voldemort possessed you the night Sirius died. Do you think you could endure that again and again, a thousand times over, keeping in mind that the Longbottoms were only subjected to a hundred curses between them to bring them to their present state of mind?'

Harry thought of Neville's parents in St Mungo's. Slowly, as much as he hated to admit it, he shook his head.

'Do you think Neville would be prepared to endure it?'

Harry frowned slightly at the sudden sidestep. 'No.'

'And would you consider him a coward for it?'

So that's where Dumbledore was going with this. 'No,' mumbled Harry, feeling abashed.

Dumbledore nodded. 'And rightly so. Even the strongest, bravest person would shy away from such a death, especially if given a choice. So despite your earlier statement, Severus Snape was neither weak nor cowardly when he made the decision to end it all – as swiftly, cleanly and painlessly as he knew how.'

Swift, clean and painless? Was Dumbledore saying what Harry thought? 'Snape tried to kill himself?'

Dumbledore nodded sadly. 'He would be dead soon, so why postpone it? And this way he would die on his terms, not Voldemort's.

'So it was that I found Severus standing just beyond the Whomping Willow's reach, his wand pressed against his heart, and starting to utter the word "Avada". I was so stunned, I almost didn't disarm him in time.

'It then took some work to get him to tell me why he was trying to commit suicide. He was in quite a state by the time he finished telling me the whole, sorry story; his panic was setting in again.

'But I managed to get him to calm down when I pointed out that, as he had provided me with information which would enable James to go into hiding, thus saving his life, Severus's debt to James was null and void. He, however, now owed a life debt to me as I had just save Severus's life.'

'Why was he near the Whomping Willow?'

'He intended for his death to look like an accident, as any appearance of defiance against Voldemort would place his mother in danger once more. By standing near the Willow, he would fall into its range, ensuring that his body would be beaten severely enough for him to have suffered fatal injuries. His wand would also be broken, making it impossible for his death to be proved as anything other than accidental.'

Dumbledore leant back in his chair and sipped his tea, regarding Harry who didn't quite know what to say.

He tried to look at it from Snape's point of view. If someone whom he really hated, say Malfoy, had a life debt hold over him, and as a result of something which Harry couldn't prevent, he was going to die a thousand 'most painful' deaths, would he opt for a quicker way out? Probably. After all, why should he suffer for Malfoy?

So if something happened to suddenly remove the threat of those deaths, he would be so grateful, he would probably offer his soul to demonstrate his thanks. Narrowing his eyes at Dumbledore, he asked, 'What deal did you cook up?'

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled over his half-moon glasses. 'Nice to see your brain has finally decided to start working again; you were being led so strongly by your emotions, I thought I would never successfully explain things.'

He took another sip. 'An unhoped-for opportunity lay before me. Here was a Death Eater from Voldemort's inner circle, whom Voldemort himself had previously ordered to Hogwarts, offering himself to me. He would have the freedom to go between the two without rousing his former master's suspicions and thus was perfectly placed to be a double agent.

'So, letting Voldemort think that I merely remembered that Severus had expressed an interest in teaching when I was looking for a new employee, I took Severus onto my staff, but teaching Potions – I thought it would be tempting fate too much to let him too near the Dark Arts.'

Harry snorted into his teacup. 'And you didn't want to lose him after a year.'

'Actually, I believe Voldemort may have made an exception and lifted his curse for the duration.

'Anyway, I also realised how imperative it was to hide you. James and Lily were most anxious to protect you since you had recently started to suffer nightmares and were therefore willing to act upon any suggestion I put forward which might increase that protection.'

Briefly, a little boy reached up shakily from Harry's memory; the night at his parent's grave seemed a lifetime ago.

'So your parents agreed to a Secret Keeper.' Dumbledore's voice cracked slightly; he took another sip.

'I offered to take on the role, but James wouldn't hear of it. He said he couldn't think of anyone better than Sirius. Even though I suspected that there was a spy in the Order – information Severus was supplying me with from Voldemort's end pointed to it – James was adamant that Sirius was above reproach.

'As history has since revealed, events did not follow as originally planned.'

Harry felt his heart tighten slightly. 'Why didn't Snape tell you about Wormtail, if he was spying for you and not Voldemort?' He still tried to hate Snape for the fact that his parents were dead.

Dumbledore sighed. 'Because Severus was unaware of Peter's allegiance to Lord Voldemort. He hadn't been an overly important Death Eater, and was only promoted to Voldemort's inner circle once it became necessary to discover your location. He was also a means for Lord Voldemort to check the accuracy and authenticity of the information Severus was starting to pass to him.' The moustache twitched yet again. 'As I told you last year, Voldemort trusts no one.'

Harry still wasn't totally convinced. 'But how do you know you can trust Snape? How do you know he hasn't been playing you all along, on Voldemort's orders?'

'Because he made an Unbreakable Vow, swearing allegiance to myself: to be my agent within the ranks of Death Eaters, and to bring me every piece of information he could, no matter how insignificant it might seem, and to do everything within his power, whilst guarding his position as a double agent, to protect you.'

Harry stared, stunned, at Dumbledore. He couldn't … wouldn't … believe this last revelation. There had to be some argument against it. Unbreakable Vow? 'But he made an Unbreakable Vow with Malfoy's mother that he would protect Malfoy while he was trying to kill you –'

'The Unbreakable Vow' Dumbledore cut across him, 'does not work by invalidating previous Vows. The oldest Vow stands true until the circumstances which it governs no longer exist, one of the parties dies, or both parties agree to dissolve the Vow.'

Realisation dawned on Harry's face. 'So that's why ...'

Dumbledore frowned quizzically. 'That's why what?'

Harry flushed guiltily; Dumbledore's eyes narrowed suspiciously. 'Er, Hagrid told us he overheard you and Snape arguing last year; Snape said he didn't want to do something anymore, and you told him he'd agreed to it and that's all there was to it. That's what you were arguing about, isn't it? Snape wanted to back out of the Vow.'

Dumbledore nodded. 'Yes, Severus was feeling a little reluctant to continue following my orders. But as I reminded him at the time, he had promised, and that promise still held true as much as when he first made it, no matter how much time had passed. I wasn't aware we had an audience,' he muttered, running his finger around the rim of his empty teacup.

'And you still trust him?' asked Harry. 'He wants to back out of having to do as you say. The only reason he would want to do that is so he can properly work for Voldemort.'

'That's where you're wrong, Harry.' Dumbledore was still gazing at his cup. 'It was only one specific order which Severus did not wish to follow and the only way he could avoid doing so was to terminate our agreement.'

Harry snorted. 'What did you tell him to do – stop Malfoy?' He could easily see Snape being reluctant to bring Malfoy to task.

'No,' Dumbledore looked up and held Harry's gaze. 'I ordered him to kill me.'

Harry looked dubious. 'And he didn't want to?' then answered himself, 'Of course – the life debt.' The coward!

Dumbledore seemed to read his mind. 'He wasn't being cowardly. He was trying to protect you.'

Harry's jaw dropped. 'Snape doesn't want to protect me. He's made my life a living hell since we first met. He hates me, just like he hated my father. He's hated me since I started at Hogwarts.'

Dumbledore smiled, indulgently in Harry's opinion. 'And when exactly has he ever done you harm?'

Harry stared at Dumbledore, momentarily dumbstruck. 'All those detentions he gave me; all the points he took off Gryffindor; turning a blind eye whenever Malfoy tried to hurt me or Ron or Hermione –'

'That is not what I asked you, Harry,' Dumbledore interrupted. 'I did not wish you to regale upon all the times Severus used his position as professor to indulge in a little revenge for your father and his friends causing him grief when they were younger. What I asked was when has he ever done you harm?'

'When hasn't he?' argued Harry.

Dumbledore gazed at Harry for several moments, a slight spectre of disappointment in his eyes.

Sighing, he said, 'I see you are going to let your emotions win this round. Very well, I shall spell it out for you.

'Firstly, in your first year: when Professor Quirrell tried to make you suffer serious, if not fatal, injuries by trying to get your broomstick to throw you from a great height, you did not come to any harm because Professor Snape was casting the counter-curse.

'Secondly, in your second year: Professor Snape was the one who suggested that you and your friends were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time when Mr Filch's cat was Petrified. He knew that, after your severe infraction on the first day of school, I would have no choice but to suspend you from Hogwarts if there was even the slightest hint that you were still committing serious offences, and once you were no longer under my protection at school, you would be at great risk. So, to ensure your continued safety, he came to your defence.

'Thirdly, third year: it was Professor Snape who ensured that both yourself and your friends were safely taken to the hospital wing for treatment after your encounter with Peter Pettigrew and the Dementors.

'Fourth, in your fourth year: when your name was ejected from the Goblet of Fire, Severus argued against you competing in the Triwizard Tournament. He knew, as I did, that you were still too young to be skilled enough to have much chance of surviving the contest.

'Fifth, when Cornelius Fudge displayed a definite reluctance to believe you when you said that Voldemort had returned, Severus showed Cornelius the Dark Mark on his arm as proof that you were indeed speaking the truth. That act, especially, was extremely brave, as Fudge could have promptly ordered the Dementor to kiss Severus in an attempt to both protect himself from a Death Eater and remove a piece of solid evidence that our world was once more about to be plunged into great turmoil.

'Sixth.' Dumbledore counted his fingers. 'In your fifth year: after I had left Hogwarts (and was therefore no longer around to watch Severus and ensure he behaved properly), he deliberately gave Dolores Umbridge plain water when she requested a beaker of Veritaserum, correctly suspecting that she would use it upon you in order to discover both Sirius's and my whereabouts. He also was most unco-operative when she had yourself and your friends cornered in her office the day Sirius died. And he was the one who checked to see if Sirius was still here, and warned the Order of your possible movements, after you failed to return from the Forbidden Forest.'

'Even when you were chasing him through Hogwarts after my murder, Severus was still protecting you. After all, who was it who ordered the Death Eaters not to kill you, and claimed that you were to be kept alive for Voldemort? Certainly, Lord Voldemort would love the pleasure of being the one to kill you, but as he has now failed to achieve this on several occasions, I do not believe he would be too disappointed if someone else were to deprive him of that privilege. You would be dead, and that would be the important factor; not who had finally achieved the feat.

'And then, in July, even though Severus performed the Imperius and Cruciatus curse upon you to prevent both Voldemort and the other Death Eaters suspecting that he is anything but loyal to their cause, he was the one who secured Draco Malfoy's Portkey and enabled you to escape.'

'Although he presents a hard and emotionless face to the world, underneath he is very caring and concerned for other people's welfare.' Dumbledore gazed intently at Harry. 'I wish you could see Severus as I have, Harry. He demonstrated great care when treating Miss Bell after her accidental brush with Draco Malfoy's necklace, and the night I returned to Hogwarts after I had destroyed Lord Voldemort's ring Horcrux, he could quite easily have left me alone and allowed the curse I had encountered to destroy all of me, not just my hand. Instead, he halted the damage spreading through my body and was frustrated and angry with himself when he was unable to find a way to repair my hand, all the while being most gentle in his treatment of me. Most gentle.' Dumbledore's pale blue eyes misted and he smiled slightly as he allowed himself to sink into remembrance.

Even though part of his mind was telling him that what Dumbledore had just said was true, Harry still stared at the former headmaster stubbornly. 'But he's still interested in the Dark Arts. You didn't hear his speech at the start of sixth year - he loves that stuff.'

'Severus does not actually love the Dark Arts; what he loves is his brilliance at it. It took me a while, but I managed to prove to him that he is just as brilliant at Defence, helped immensely by his first-hand knowledge of the Dark Arts. Severus is very like Miss Granger. He needs to know not just what, but also why, how, what if, counter … basically everything there is to know about a topic, no matter what it takes to acquire that knowledge.

'That is why he was so angry during our discussion,' Dumbledore explained. 'He was already disgusted with himself because he had not been able to discover Mr Malfoy's plans – he hates failure,' (that certainly rang true) '– and then I ordered him to murder me.'

'If you think Snape is such a great Defence teacher, why did you deny him the job for so long?'

'Partly to protect him from the curse – Voldemort was no longer around to be able to lift it – but mostly because he really is brilliant at Potions, even better than Professor Slughorn.'

He sat back, quietly watching Harry and letting him mull over everything he had just learned. Harry, for his part, tried desperately to find some flaw, some reason to keep believing Snape was dangerous and had hoodwinked Dumbledore into trusting him.

But he couldn't find it. If Snape really was doing Voldemort's bidding, he wouldn't have let the opportunity of killing Dumbledore slip through his fingers. He wouldn't have even had to worry about the thousands deaths, because he would have cancelled out the debt when he saved Dumbledore from the ring's curse.

Determined not to let Snape win easily just yet, Harry jumped on the only thing which still showed Snape was only obeying Dumbledore because he was too afraid to face the consequences. 'I bet he wasn't too happy when you made him swear that Vow to ensure he wouldn't double-cross you.'

Dumbledore inclined his head quizzically. 'Actually, it was Severus's idea. He felt, after following Voldemort for so long, that it was necessary to prove to me that my trust in him would not be misplaced.'

He sighed tiredly. 'The Ravenclaw Horcrux can wait until tomorrow. Now, if you will excuse me,' he stood slowly, 'I need to find Severus and apologise for airing his dirty laundry so intimately.'

Allowing Harry to hold the door, he waved off any further assistance and began slowly to make his way up the staircase.

When Harry did finally get up to his room, he found a steaming goblet standing by his bed. 'Drink,' the card perched against it said.

Harry eyed the goblet warily. Was this some kind of test to see if he had believed Dumbledore or not?

Every instinct was telling him not to touch the brew, but that niggly little voice at the back of his head was making itself heard as well. Snape hadn't ever done him serious harm and had even helped on several occasions. Then there was the fact that Snape had saved Harry's life after he had destroyed the Hufflepuff Horcrux. Why would he have bothered to do that if he was then going to poison him at the first opportunity … and right under Dumbledore's nose? Snape would also take it as a personal affront that he might be thought incapable of brewing a Sleeping Potion correctly.

Harry assumed that was what had been left for him. Snape would surely have realised that, after everything Dumbledore had just told him, Harry would be spending the night tossing and turning.

He thought again about the test of faith. He had never yet successfully passed a test which Snape had set for him and Harry wasn't keen to add to the list.

Squeezing his eyes shut tight, he reached for the goblet and tossed the fiery liquid back in one gulp. As his eyes watered (it was almost as hot as Firewhisky), Harry's disquiet wasn't eased at all by the sound of Phineus Nigellus's portrait sniggering in the background.

Even though it was late-May, the next morning dawned dark and gloomy, almost as if the day knew what was about to happen and didn't want to be left out.

Snape greeted Harry with a cup of his special Wake-Up Tonic and the familiar sneer, his eyes darkening with angry disappointment as they fell upon the empty goblet from the night before but, since Dumbledore chose that moment to shuffle in on his way to the bathroom, there wasn't anything Snape could do about it except scowl.

Breakfast didn't improve the general mood. Snape refused to eat anything while trying to force Harry to consume a banquet only Hagrid could have gotten through and when Dumbledore came to Harry's aid, Snape exploded with such ferocity, even the former headmaster appeared frightened for a moment. So much for Dumbledore's assertions that Snape was 'most gentle'.

Harry gaped at Snape's retreating back as he stormed from the kitchen and it suddenly struck him.

Snape was scared.

As satisfying as this knowledge should have been – Snape really was human like everyone else – Harry couldn't feel any elation. The cold lump firmly embedded in the pit of his stomach was hardening at an alarming rate; now that breakfast seemed to be over, the moment when he would have to confront the Horcrux loomed ever nearer.

'I don't think he got very much sleep last night,' Dumbledore remarked with a heavy sigh. He reached across and gave Harry's hand a gentle squeeze. 'Come. We need to get upstairs or Severus will try to begin without us.'

When they entered the drawing room, Harry's jaw dropped.

'Where's my stuff?' he demanded, staring accusingly at Snape. Not the wisest course with Snape's temper on such a short fuse.

'It's all right,' Dumbledore moved between the two foes, 'everything is, at present, safely stored downstairs in the dining room. Less chance of any injuries.'

The drawing room had been stripped of all its contents – furniture, lamps, rugs … everything. The walls and windows were completely covered with thick mattresses, so that the only light shone from the end of Snape's wand, and countless duvets stretched across the ceiling and floor. The only loose items were the sword, eagle, a silver knife and an extremely tall jug.

'Where did all this stuff come from?' Harry didn't recognise any of it.

'Remus has control of my estate. He used some of the money to purchase the items you see here at Muggle stores. So there is very little chance of it reacting to the magic in this room and attacking us.' Despite the silvery moustache twitching at the joke, the grave anxiety in Dumbledore's eyes spoke louder than his words, stressing the need to minimise risks as much as possible.

Confident that Dumbledore's presence would keep Harry under control, Snape had just helped his mentor to sit comfortably upon the well-padded floor when the doorbell echoed through the house, waking Mrs Black. Snape exchanged a wary glance with Dumbledore before moving a mattress a fraction and peering down at the street. His back tensed.

'It's Lupin,' he informed Dumbledore through very stiff lips.

Dumbledore visibly relaxed. 'The more, the merrier,' he said.

Snape's face darkened as he strode from the room. Harry was pretty sure he had wanted to keep Lupin languishing, ignored, on the doorstep.

Once they returned upstairs, Remus explained that he had some news for Dumbledore, but didn't sound very sure of himself as he gazed around the room.

'It's all right, Remus,' said Dumbledore. 'We were about to have another go at the Ravenclaw Horcrux, so it is rather fortuitous that you are here in case you need to rescue us again.'

Snape's lip curled as Lupin settled himself next to Dumbledore, then he knelt in the centre of the room, signalling for Harry to kneel opposite him, the sword and eagle between them. Watched closely by Dumbledore, Harry and Lupin, Snape shook back the sleeve of his robes and cut a long gash along his arm, allowing his dark blood to spurt forth into the jug. Once he was satisfied that he had donated sufficient blood, he quickly healed the wound with a touch of his wand.

His newly-healed arm shot out and grabbed Harry's in a tight grip, the other pushing the sleeve up and slashing the skin before Harry had a chance to even offer, let alone take care of the task himself.

'Aargh!'

Snape's smile was cruel, smug.

'Severus,' Dumbledore's voice held a warning tone. Snape ignored him, turning his attention to swishing the jug which Harry had just bled into.

Harry threw Snape a sour look as he picked up his wand and healed the cut with the charm Dumbledore had taught him at Easter.

Snape halted mid-swill. 'Where did you learn to do that?'

'You are not the only teacher to have been employed at Hogwarts, Severus.'

Snape's furrowed brow turned towards Dumbledore. For a moment, Harry thought he might try to use Legilimency to discover Dumbledore's meaning.

'That spell is not on the curriculum.'

'Neither is Sectumsempra,' Dumbledore held Snape's gaze. 'Yet at least two students had learnt to perform it while studying at Hogwarts. As a teacher yourself, you should know that curriculums contain only a very small portion of everything which we shall ever learn. Life teaches us also.' He leaned forwards. 'And the lesson you need to learn from life today is how to happily work with Harry towards a common goal.' The moustache twitched.

Harry thought Dumbledore was asking the impossible. He might be able to order Snape to work with him without stuffing up but ordering him to be happy while he was doing it was going too far. And judging by the murderous look on Snape's face, he thought it was an impossible ask, too.

'Look upon the Horcrux as a Dementor, gentlemen.' Dumbledore beamed at them. 'Happy thoughts.'

Harry wasn't too thrilled at being included in the order. He was also pretty sure his idea of a happy thought was completely opposite to Snape's. All he wanted was for this to be over. If that qualified as a happy thought, so be it. Personally, Harry wasn't sure he was even going to be there when it was all over. He had only just scraped through last time and this was gearing up to be even worse.

Meeting Snape's eyes, Harry was surprised to see his doubts reflected there.

'Is everything ready, Severus?'

At Snape's curt nod, Harry gripped his wand tighter.

'Then begin.'

Happy thoughts were the last thing Harry cared about as he dipped Gryffindor's sword into the tall jug. He felt the first waves of pain as he repeated the words of the Drawing Charm and aimed the ancient sword above the golden bird's neck. His scar burned as he swung the sword towards the gold feathers, the pain almost as bad as the night Voldemort had possessed him.

Horcrux Exsilium!

Harry's vision blurred. At first, he thought it was because of the pain, but then he realised he was peering through artificial lenses. He impatiently snatched a pair of spectacles from his nose and his surroundings came into focus. His eyes narrowed as he gazed at the two men before him. Anger boiled deep inside him as he knew betrayal.

'Traitor,' Harry spat at Snape. 'So this is the payment I receive for keeping you hidden from those who would do you harm. Treachery and deceit. You are as worthless as your weak mother. And as foolish. She did not know the true meaning of loyalty, but she learnt it before I killed her. As shall you.'

Harry glanced lazily across at Dumbledore. 'You think you own him? You have made many mistakes in your pathetic life, old man, but this is the biggest. He belongs to me. And here is the proof!' He grabbed Snape's left arm and tore the sleeve, ripping it along the seam until he found it, the most beautiful piece of artwork burned into the pale skin like a brand. He pressed his wand against it, making it burn hotter, summoning those who were loyal to him. Snape's screams echoed in his ears as Dumbledore, in a display of strength which belied his frailty, kicked out, making his wand fly across the room.

Harry dived at Dumbledore, hands squeezing the old fool's throat, as the sound of strangled choking mixed with Snape's screams and Harry's high-pitched laughter.

'Harry.'

Somebody slapped his cheek. 'Harry.'

Harry slowly opened his eyes. Remus Lupin's pale face swam into view. Harry frowned. Did Lupin just hit him? And what was he doing on the floor? He tried to sit up, but fell back with a groan as his head felt like it was going to explode.

'Stay down, Harry.' Lupin gently pressed a cool cloth against his forehead.

Harry closed his eyes. This was becoming too familiar, waking up to find either Lupin or Snape leaning over him.

'Snape?'

'He's fine. You just concentrate on getting yourself better.'

'How long were we out for this time?'

'Only a few minutes.'

Harry's eyes few open. 'What?' He struggled to sit up again.

'Keep him over there!' barked Snape.

Harry blinked at the scene in front of him. Snape was over near the far wall, his back to them, leaning over a prostrate body wearing deep purple robes.

'Dumble –'

'Stay back!' Snape pointed his wand at Harry, pure venom in his eyes. Harry shrank back, startled.

'Dumbledore is still alive, Harry; you didn't kill him.'

Harry gazed at Lupin in bewilderment. 'What do you mean I didn't kill him? Didn't the eagle explode again?' He glanced around for the statue and spotted the severed head several feet away; of the body, there was no sign.

Before Lupin could explain, Dumbledore groaned, 'How much do you remember, Harry?'

'Don't talk!' snapped Snape, unscrewing the lid of a wide jar and starting to smear copious amounts of a thick yellow paste onto Dumbledore's neck.

'I remember saying the first line of the spell and my scar burning like crazy.' Harry answered Dumbledore, earning a murderous glare from Snape. 'I take it we managed to destroy the Horcrux?'

Nobody answered him. Snape slowly helped Dumbledore into a sitting position, being careful to keep himself between the former headmaster and Harry.

Harry wondered why Snape was in such a sour mood. Was it because his family's heirloom had been destroyed? Or because Harry knew Snape's deepest secrets? He glanced at Lupin confused.

'What happened?'

'You really don't remember?' Lupin watched him closely.

'Remember what?' Harry threw back, starting to feel angry. 'Why is everybody acting like I just tried to kill Dumbledore?'

'Because you did just try to kill Dumbledore,' Lupin said softly.

Harry stared at him. He had to be joking, surely. 'What? Why would I –?'

'Here, let me at him.' Snape roughly pushed Lupin aside and gripped both sides of Harry's head tightly. Harry glanced uncertainly at Dumbledore.

'Don't fight him, Harry.'

'Don't talk!'

Dumbledore rolled his eyes behind Snape's back, making Harry grin; not very wise considering Snape was about to dive into his mind.

The room shimmered before his eyes. Every instinct wanted to throw up massive barriers between himself and Snape but Dumbledore had said not to. He fought hard not to cringe as memories of the Dursleys abusing him as a very small child, memories buried so deeply he had long forgotten them, flashed before his eyes. Then he was diving at Dumbledore, pure rage coursing through every vein –

Harry jumped, making Snape let go. No wonder Snape had been treating him like a pariah. He had attacked –

'It wasn't your fault, Harry.' Lupin was squeezing his hand. 'You weren't yourself.' He smiled reassuringly.

Past his shoulder, Harry could see Dumbledore writing something on a sheet of parchment and wondered what was going on.

Lupin noticed him frown. 'Snape won't let him talk yet,' he whispered as Dumbledore tore the note in two and passed it to Snape and Lupin.

'Why am I being confined to this house?'

'Probably because Voldemort knows you're not really working for him,' Lupin told Snape as he read his own note. Harry peered over his shoulder, but Dumbledore merely wanted Remus to explain what his news was. So, as Snape stood near where the tapestry had been, his face darker than the souls of the people whose embroidered names had once hung behind him, Lupin told them what was going on.

'Borgin has been murdered,' he began without preamble. He waited a moment as each of them reacted in their own way. Snape stiffened, his black eyes darting to Dumbledore, who had gone quite still, the pale blue eyes wary as he gazed up at Lupin. Harry felt like someone had dowsed him with ice water. He kept thinking of what Dumbledore had told him about Borgin's partner, Burke and wondered if this had also been retaliatory.

'Was the Dark Mark above the store?' whispered Dumbledore with a sly glance at Snape's thunderous expression.

'No.' Lupin frowned. 'The Ministry is treating it as a robbery gone wrong. The place was like a disaster zone; whoever broke in obviously set off that alarm you mentioned. That's probably what woke Borgin. He was found near the door leading up to his flat.'

'Was anything taken?'

'The Aurors are currently going through the shop's records, but the only thing unaccounted for so far is that.' Lupin pointed at the eagle's severed head. 'They seem to think that the burglar broke in, grabbed the bird first because it was the most valuable thing in the place and set off the alarm. Then Borgin turned up, the burglar panicked, killed him and took off before the authorities showed up.'

'And the Ministry's suspicions are not being drawn elsewhere?' Snape's eyes narrowed.

'No,' said Lupin. 'They're convinced Death Eaters weren't involved because there wasn't any Dark Mark. The only thing which puzzled Scrimgeour, to begin with, was why anybody would rob the place since Borgin never had any qualms about selling to criminals, until someone pointed out that the price of the eagle would have been pretty prohibitive. Scrimgeour has now got a team researching the bird to try to pinpoint its potential market.' Lupin locked eyes with Snape. 'So don't be surprised if they try to pin Borgin's murder on you.'

Snape glared back but said nothing.

'Then there's a matter which seems to have completely escaped Ministry notice,' Lupin continued. 'A couple of Muggles were found dead at the base of a cliff down in Essex nearly a week ago. The Muggle authorities believe they fell; there was climbing equipment amongst their camping gear at the top of the cliff and their bodies were pretty broken, as if they had fallen from a fair height.'

'But?'

'Things don't add up. They were both professional climbers, so knew how to minimise risks, and their equipment was in top condition, not that they had a chance to use it. Even though the police concluded that they slipped while standing on the cliff's edge, assessing how best to proceed, there was no evidence of recently-loosened rocks or soil anywhere along the area above where their bodies were, the type of bruising suggests that they were dead before they hit the ground but the coroner could determine no other cause of death, there was no evidence of anybody else having been in the area which there should have been if their bodies had been dumped, and a merchant ship passing some distance out to sea reported seeing a bright green light.'

'In all, a very wizarding murder,' remarked Dumbledore, frowning. 'Anything else?'

'Yes. The location.' Lupin removed a page torn from a newspaper from his pocket and handed it to Dumbledore.

'What is it?' Harry gazed at it curiously. From what he could see of the back page, it looked like it had come from a Muggle newspaper, something called The Faringdon Gazette. 'Where's Faringdon?'

'It is a village where a group of orphans were taken on an outing.'

Harry felt a jolt of excitement as he gazed at Dumbledore. 'He's checking if the Horcruxes are OK.'

Dumbledore didn't beam back.

Harry's grin slipped a little. 'Aren't you happy? Voldemort's walking into our trap.'

Dumbledore squeezed his eyes closed and Harry was surprised to see a tear escape the corner. 'No, Harry,' he sighed softly, sounding extremely old. 'While I am pleased that our plan appears to be working, I am not happy.'

'Why not? We're a step closer to getting Voldemort.'

'And a step closer to Lord Voldemort possibly killing you,' whispered Dumbledore.

Harry stared at the old man sitting opposite him, suddenly cold. For almost seven years, Dumbledore's faith in him had never once faltered. Yet now, on the cusp of victory, he was stating … out loud … that Voldemort might succeed in killing Harry. Suddenly, all of Harry's own doubts about his ability intensified like crazy. He had always known that there was a chance he wouldn't survive this, especially in light of the last line of Professor Trelawney's prophecy, but to hear Dumbledore actually put it into words …

Harry backed away.

'What is it?' Lupin still had his arm behind Harry's back.

'You don't believe I can do this, do you?' Harry stared at Dumbledore.

'That is not what I said.'

'Not very like a Gryffindor, Potter, being … afraid.' Snape's eyes glittered maliciously.

'Go easy, Severus.' Lupin leapt to Harry's defence. 'You didn't have death bearing down on you when you were seventeen.'

'No, only when I was sixteen.' Snape's voice was the most dangerous Harry had ever heard it sound. The colour drained from Lupin's face so quickly, Harry was surprised he didn't faint.

'That will do!' croaked Dumbledore; his throat apparently hadn't completely recovered from Harry's attack. While this brought about a fresh wave of embarrassment for Harry, it also dragged Snape's murderous glare away from Lupin.

'I told you not to talk!'

'It might be better if you leave, Harry,' said Remus quietly, throwing Snape a cautious glance.

Harry weighed his options. He would prefer to stay so he could talk to Dumbledore about the next step now that Voldemort knew about them, but he really didn't want to be in the same building as Snape, especially while he was in his present mood; he had enough of that for six years. He decided to err on the side of cowardice.

Checking that Snape was definitely occupied with Dumbledore, Harry gathered up the sword, slowly got to his feet and allowed Lupin to lead him down to the kitchen.

'Is he going to be OK?' Despite knowing that this was the best course of action, Harry still felt guilty about leaving Dumbledore, especially in Snape's hands.

'Definitely.' Lupin grinned. 'Snape's always been happiest when he's madder than a wet Hippogriff.'

'I meant Dumbledore.'

'I know,' said Lupin. 'And the answer is the same. You just worry about yourself. And Harry –' he added as he gathered up the ring from the table and passed it to him, ' – good luck with your NEWTs.'