In the early afternoon of the next day, the Headmistress placed her wand on Harry's temple and withdrew the memory from his mind. The long silvery thread hung from her wand like cobwebs and glittered faintly as she moved towards the Pensieve. Lastly, she let it drop into the swirling mist inside the stone basin.
"Are you ready?" she asked the assembled witches and wizards.
Minerva knew that she herself was anything but ready to go through with this; that she would, in fact, never be ready to witness Albus's death – yet all around her, heads were nodded. Molly Weasley shot one last desperate look at Ginny, but the young red-head fiercely shoved her mother aside and moved to stand next to Harry.
"Yes," Ginny declared quietly. "Let's do it."
"Alright, then," Minerva said tersely.
She pointed her wand at the Pensieve again and lifted some of the silver mist out of it. Like a glittering fog, it now hung over the basin.
"I have enlarged the surface of the substance," she explained. "That way, we will be more comfortable when we enter the memory together. Form a circle around the Pensieve, and then we will step into the mist. It will be sufficient if we dive in our faces."
They entered the scene quietly. Once all of them had been plunged into the memory, they formed a small group on the edge of the Astronomy Tower. The memory had started immediately after Harry and Dumbledore had landed on the platform. Only Dumbledore was visible to them. Harry was hidden under his Invisibility Cloak.
Dumbledore ordered Harry to go and fetch Snape, and then the door to the ramparts burst open. Dumbledore immediately turned to where Harry presumably stood and muttered something – this must have been the immobilising spell.
"Expelliarmus!" Draco Malfoy's voice rung through the night.
Harry had been right. Draco had used that very second to disarm the Headmaster. Minerva shook her head while she mustered Albus closely. She had never seen him that weak, not even after he had destroyed the second Horcrux – and yet, even in that weak state, it seemed so out of character that a mere student had succeeded in disarming him.
They watched the conversation between Draco and Dumbledore in silence. Minerva smiled sadly. This was the man she had know and loved. Pale and feeble, he still talked to Draco in his usual, friendly manner. Even when the other Death Eaters and Fenrir Greyback arrived Dumbledore remained this pleasant gentleman, ever polite, and ever aware of what he was doing.
The scene changed subtly when Snape arrived at last. Minerva listened how squat Amycus complained about Draco's inability to kill, but what caught her attention was the expression on Albus's face. The old wizard's features showed both relief to see Snape and a hint of desperation.
When Minerva turned to look at Snape again he had already pushed the others out of his way and gazed at Dumbledore. Even in the memory, Minerva sensed the power radiating from him. Draco, the three Death Eaters, and the werewolf stood back as if he was their master. Snape's face was a mask of anger and hatred. Even in their fiercest arguments Minerva had never seen him so enraged. She had the impression that Snape wanted nothing more than punish the pleading old man.
Pleading? Minerva's attention snapped back to the Headmaster. Yes, Dumbledore was pleading. She had barely registered when Dumbledore had first spoken Severus's name, but now she became fully aware of what was going on between the two men. Dumbledore was pleading, begging in fact, and Snape stared at the old wizard, his face twisted with hatred he felt because of the Headmaster's appeals.
And suddenly, Minerva understood. Watching the two men closely was the key to understanding what had truly taken place that night.
After this realisation Minerva felt nothing but deep gratitude that she did indeed witness this scene and could finally understand what had happened – but even this did not prepare her for the shock of actually seeing Snape kill Dumbledore. When the old wizard's body fell from the tower, Minerva was in pain as if the spell had been directed at her. She felt her knees grow weak and thought for a moment that she might faint.
Harry's memory broke off after Draco, Snape, Greyback and the other Death Eaters had rushed from the platform and he had thrown off his Invisibility Cloak. The real Harry withdrew his head from the mist of the Pensieve and watched the others do likewise.
Slowly, all the members of the Order of the Phoenix drew back and exchanged uneasy looks. Molly Weasley took a handkerchief out of her pocket and blew her nose forcefully. Tonks and Hermione were crying openly, and Ginny's face showed a mixture of defiance and grief. Minerva felt weak and sick. She knew that she would dream of this dead-bringing green light many times.
"So that's how it happened," Ron said throatily. "Harry, mate, this must have been so –" he broke off and gripped Harry's shoulder.
Molly now swept Harry in a motherly embrace.
"Dear, witnessing this again must have been so hard on you," she whispered. "You were so brave to go through with this. But now we all can share this, you know you're not alone any more… the nightmares will go away…"
Minerva nodded. She tried to point her wand at the silver mist and push it back into the basin, but found that she had trouble holding the wand. The shock of those new realisations now fully kicked in. She was trembling from head to toe and had to clutch her hands over her nose and mouth to stop herself from crying out loud.
"How I hate this man," Ginny spoke up. Her voice was surprisingly clear and cold as ice.
Some of the others murmured agreement and heads were nodded.
"Bloody rotten traitor…" Tonks whispered helplessly.
Minerva stared at the young witches. She had not been prepared for that reaction.
"No!" she exclaimed. "No, don't you understand? He is no traitor."
She still stood next to the Pensieve, in fact she used it as support to lean on. Tears were streaming from her eyes. Minerva's emotional agony was so intense that she could feel the pain physically burning inside herself. She would never forgive Snape for killing the man she had loved. But she also understood that he still was her ally.
"He is no traitor," she whispered again.
"Harry, why didn't you tell us earlier that this is how it happened? Are you aware that every Auror in this country is looking for Severus? I myself have increased security on Hogwarts so much that it is impossible for him to contact us."
Minerva searched the pockets of her robes for a handkerchief and finally found one. With shaking hands, she dabbed her eyes and tried to calm herself. All the while, she was aware that the others exchanged a new round of uncomfortable looks. Obviously they had not understood her.
"Minerva, what are you talking about?" Remus Lupin finally asked.
"Severus… it's obvious in this memory. He is no murderer, didn't you see that?"
Minerva stuffed the lace handkerchief back into her pocket. She desperately tried to read the faces of the others.
"We were wrong to think him a traitor. He is on our side."
Molly let go of Harry and surveyed Minerva closely. Moody also stared at her, watching her intensely both with his real and his magical eye.
"She's in shock," he finally decided.
"What are you talking about?" Minerva snapped back.
The expression on Moody's face grew strangely calm and kind. He and Lupin carefully came closer to Minerva.
"Minerva, we all witnessed this memory together. We saw Snape do it. There can be no question about it."
"Of course he did it, but this was no murder," Minerva replied excitedly. "Don't you understand this?"
Molly now pushed Moody aside and walked up to Minerva. She took her right hand and tried to nudge Minerva towards the next chair.
"Minerva, dear, do sit down. You are trembling and pale as a ghost. This has all been too much for you. We are aware that seeing Albus die must have been harder on you than on anyone else."
Minerva first allowed Molly to lead her a few steps, but then she withdrew her hand with a sudden movement.
"You do not believe me."
"Dear, I'm not saying you are wrong. You are simply confused. This was a great shock for you."
"It certainly was a shock, but a positive one. We all thought Severus was a traitor, but now we know that he is not. Goodness, we need to convey a message to him somehow."
Minerva stared at the disbelieving faces of the others.
"You don't believe me," she repeated.
"She's lost her mind," someone whispered – Ron? Minerva was not sure, but she saw Hermione nod and whisper urgently to Harry.
"She's in shock. She doesn't know what she is saying."
The situation was awkwardly embarrassing.
Obviously nobody had seen what Minerva had seen – yet she was absolutely certain that her perception of the scene was correct. After all, who had known Albus Dumbledore better than she had known him?
And on the same matter, who of the others had known Snape better than her? None of them had ever cared for his companionship, but she had at least shared something like a rivalling friendship with the young wizard. He had not just been a fellow Head of House and member of the Order of the Phoenix, he had been a friend, a true and loyal friend, as she now realised.
"Minerva, please do sit down," Lupin tried again. "Do sit down and take a potion to help you calm down, then you can tell us why you think we are wrong."
"I don't need a calming potion, I need you to listen to me!"
"Alright," Molly answered reassuringly. "Tell us what you think."
Tonks had moved to the door and nodded to Molly. Minerva saw her mouth something that looked like 'Poppy' – so now they thought her so deep in shock that they were going to fetch the school nurse.
"Yes," Lupin played along with Molly. "Why do you think we don't understand?"
Minerva drew in a deep breath. She realised this was her only chance to convince the others of her opinion.
"Albus's behaviour," she said slowly. "Albus would have acted differently if this had been a murder."
She looked around, but only saw disbelieving faces. Harry had turned away from her.
"Albus had convinced Draco not to kill him, right?" Minerva continued urgently.
Moody nodded. "Aye, I do think so."
"You all know that Albus would have protected Draco then, wouldn't he? When the others entered the platform, he would never have allowed them to harm Malfoy; he would have protected the boy."
"But how could he have done that, Minerva? Draco had his wand. Albus was defenceless."
Lupin's voice was very sad.
"Remus, you knew Albus. He would have fought to protect Draco with his bare hands – and he was capable of some wandless magic. Only one thing could have stopped Albus from fighting in such a situation, and that was if he knew there was someone else present who could offer Draco better protection. He still trusted Severus not to be a Death Eater, and that Severus would care for Draco."
"Maybe. Minerva, sadly enough, we all trusted Snape until that evening."
Lupin chose his words carefully.
"Albus was weak, and he may have been a bit confused. Maybe he chose not to fight because he saw Snape entering the platform and first thought Snape would protect him and the Malfoy boy. But that does not change the fact that Snape betrayed his trust only seconds later."
"Dumbledore realised Snape was a Death Eater," Harry interjected. His voice was shaking with grief and hatred.
"He was begging. I never thought I'd ever see Dumbledore pleading for his life…"
He broke off and furiously wiped tears from his eyes. Hermione squeezed Harry's arm reassuringly.
"But Harry, that's precisely it," Minerva said urgently. "That is why I know I am right. Albus would never have begged for his life. Had he for one second believed Severus to be with them, he would not have pleaded. He would have been utterly disappointed, sad, and maybe angry. But he would never have begged Severus to spare his life."
"Minerva, in that situation, every one of us would have been afraid," Molly said quietly.
"I know you loved Albus. You would only think the best of him. But there is nothing shameful in begging for one's life. Not in a situation like that."
Minerva's anger flashed up again when Molly mentioned her feelings for Albus. Their relationship had never been anything official. It was not Molly's business to evaluate how Minerva felt. Irritably, she cut Molly off.
"This has nothing to do with pride and shame. I am simply saying that Albus would never have pleaded for his life if he had believed Severus to be with the Death Eaters. He knew until his end that Severus is on our side."
"But then why did he plead?" Arthur Weasley asked carefully. "I am afraid that makes no sense if he believed in Severus."
"Isn't that obvious? He begged Severus to kill him."
"Minerva, you don't know what you are saying!" Arthur was firm. He raised his voice when he continued.
"I am aware that watching this has shocked you, but do be careful what you're suggesting. Why would Dumbledore have done such a thing?"
Minerva followed Arthur's gaze and looked at Harry before she answered. The young man now stared at Minerva with an expression of utmost disbelief and beginning anger.
"That I don't know," Minerva replied as calmly as possible.
"Honestly, I wish I could explain this better. All I am saying is that Albus's behaviour makes sense only if he knew perfectly that Severus was on our side. He trusted Severus until his end. Had he for only one second doubted him, he would not have begged. He would have expressed his disappointment, and he would have fought."
"Minerva, it is alright to beg for one's life," Molly whispered again. "I am sure that even my brothers did that in the end…"
The door was opened again and Tonks came into the room accompanied by Poppy Pomfrey. Minerva shot one sharp look at the school nurse.
"I do not need medical attention."
"Alright, alright. I just came to check on you," Poppy replied.
She passed through the room and went into the living room behind the Headmistress's office. Minerva noticed that Molly Weasley and Tonks exchanged one short look and that the younger witch nodded just a tiny little bit, but she thought nothing of it.
"Minerva," Molly slowly said, "maybe what you're saying is true. Maybe Albus died believing Snape to be on our side. He was such a good-hearted, gentle man, he might very well have trusted his protégé until the very end. But the fact remains that Snape murdered him."
"Killed him, yes. But that was no murder. Didn't you see the hatred on Severus's face? He hated himself for doing it. And the pleading only makes sense if he wanted Severus to do it. Even Albus could not have ordered Severus to do such a thing – but he could have asked him, begged him..."
Minerva did not know what else to say or do. Now that she had finally understood what had happened in that night, she wanted nothing more than contact Snape and hear his account of events. But she had to convince the others first.
"If I may interrupt you for a moment…"
Poppy came back into the room. She carried a glass of water she had fetched from the living room.
"Here, Minerva. Do drink some water at least, your voice is all hoarse from all that shouting. And then you can explain all of this again. After all, you did know both Dumbledore and Snape better than most of us did."
The nurse handed Minerva the glass. Exasperated, Minerva took the water and drank a small sip of it.
"Thank you," she said irritably and turned to place the glass on the table next to her.
Then suddenly she grew dizzy and disoriented. Of course, the water… never accept anything from a doctor when others think you insane. Minerva tried to focus on Poppy Pomfrey, but the last thing she knew was that someone caught her before she fell on the floor and everything around her grew black.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Minerva awoke a couple of hours later lying comfortably in her bed. Someone had taken off her shoes and opened her outer robes before tucking her under the blanket. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked around in the room. Poppy Pomfrey was sitting on a chair next to her bed.
"Don't get up," the school nurse ordered quietly. "That potion I gave you was quite strong, you will be dizzy for a while."
True enough, Minerva felt the room start spinning around her immediately. She let herself fall back on the pillows.
"That was absolutely unnecessary."
"I am afraid I don't agree. Minerva, you were suffering from a severe shock. I needed to give you something to make you calm down."
"Alright, but knocking me out like that in front of everyone watching? That was quite embarrassing."
"The whole scene was embarrassing enough. Do you remember what you said?"
"Every word of it."
"See? Everybody realises of course that this was the shock speaking out of your mouth, but I am afraid young Harry still was taken aback quite a bit. You will have to talk to him to restore his faith in you."
"But I wasn't wrong!"
Minerva sat up again and willed the instant dizziness to go away. She reached for her spectacles on the bedside table and made to get up from the bed.
Poppy pushed her back.
"Minerva, please, let's talk about this first. You really believe what you said? The others told me all about it. Do you really believe Severus Snape is not a traitor?"
"Yes. It's obvious. Poppy, watch that memory. It's obvious when you know both men."
"I have watched that memory in the meantime. I needed to know what this was all about."
The two witches stared at each other for a few seconds. Then Minerva turned away from her friend.
"You also don't believe me."
This time, her voice was all resignation.
"You think me insane."
Minerva avoided looking at Poppy and stared out of the window instead. Poppy reached for her hand and squeezed it softly.
"I don't believe you are insane, Minerva. I know that you are not. But I do believe that you have suffered a shock, and that you may be mistaken in your perception of events."
Minerva did not reply.
"Dear, these past few weeks were incredibly hard on you. And you refused to speak to any one of us. I know you grieve for Albus. You spend hours by his grave almost every evening. And I know that it was a terrible shock for you that Severus killed him."
"Severus…" Minerva repeated. "Yes, that was a shock. For all of us, I would have thought."
"Of course. But you and Severus, you were friends – or at least you must have thought so. He never socialised with anyone here except for you and Albus."
"We were friends, of a sort," Minerva agreed.
"I mean, we were never close like you and I are, but I thought he was more open to me and Albus than to anyone else. I thought I knew him. And I knew Albus. Poppy, everyone keeps telling me that I knew these two men better than anyone else, but now that I dare to interpret their behaviour on that certain evening – no one believes me."
"It's one thing to say that you knew them better than we did. But can't you see what you are saying? If Albus and Severus had planned his death, don't you think they would have told someone – told you, most likely? And how could they have planned ahead for events like this? Could they have know that there would be a battle at Hogwarts?"
"No. I don't know. Albus would never have planned a battle here. Not with all the students around."
"See? I know it is hard to accept, but what you are suggesting just makes no sense. There was no plan. Albus died because Severus murdered him."
"No." Minerva vehemently shook her head.
"I know it does not make sense based on the facts we know, but I also know what I have seen. Severus killed Albus, but he did not murder him."
Poppy remained silent for a while. She studied the stubborn expression on her friend's face.
"Minerva," she finally asked, "may I make a suggestion?"
Minerva shrugged.
"Do think this over for a few days before you speak of the matter again. I know it will be hard, but maybe you should watch the memory once more. I will do it with you. Don't jump to any conclusions. Take your time to think it over. I'll be there for you if you want to talk."
"Alright," Minerva agreed reluctantly. "After all I can see why the others were so surprised. Harry, especially… I will talk to him."
"Good."
Poppy openly showed how relieved she felt. Minerva raised her eyebrow and shot a critical look at her friend.
"I did not say I would change my opinion."
"I trust you to make the right decision. And for now, you will lie down again and sleep some more. Believe me, it's best if you sleep through the after-effects of that potion. Don't think I haven't noticed that you lost a lot of weight in the past few weeks. All that grieving has made you grow weak."
Obediently, Minerva did lie back again. She had to admit that the potion had left her with a dreadful headache. Poppy got up from her chair.
"Sleep well. I will check on you again in a few hours. And in the meantime, I'll go and tell the others that you are feeling much better by now, and that you have understood why your statements shocked them so much. They will be very relieved."
Minerva pulled a face, but then she smiled at her friend.
"Do what you think is best."