A/N: Thank you for all of your fantastic reviews. Enjoy~
"What's going on— oh my goodness!"
Severus couldn't bring himself to sit up. He hadn't realized he had been screaming, but he was glad that someone had finally found him. McGonagall would get him out of this nightmare. If it had been a certain Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who had found him first…he might as well prepare for the same fate Dolores had received.
"Severus?" McGonagall asked. She was completely shocked to see him there, and it wasn't like her to call her students by their first name. He was in trouble.
Tears of horror still trickled down his pale cheeks as he slowly pulled his thoroughly-numbed body up and faced her. Contrary to the outraged expression he was expecting, McGonagall's face was full of concern. She rushed forward and gently pulled him to his feet, trying to keep him from getting any wetter, as he was already shivering violently, both from the chilly water and the monstrous fear growing within him.
"What— how— are you alright, Snape?" she asked in a hollow voice. Her eyes remained on Dolores' limp form. Having been a teacher here at Hogwarts for eighteen years so far, she was accustomed to seeing varying degrees of injuries and illnesses among the students. When keeping hundreds of young witches and wizards in a confined area with relatively little supervision, one expected accidents, but a death?
Severus nodded and buried his face into her robes, willing himself not to cry. He was supposed to be a brave and fearless Gryffindor, but seeing a person just seconds after they had been murdered…that kind of situation required more than just bravery. He bit his lip so hard that it began to bleed, but he ignored it. The more he tried forgetting that horrible image of Dolores Umbridge's empty, lifeless eyes, the clearer the memory became in his mind.
McGonagall knew she needed to get to Dumbledore right away, but first she wanted to ensure the safety and mental wellbeing of her student. It wasn't like Snape to fall apart like this, not that she blamed him, as this was a terrifying discovery. Especially for a young boy who had barely reached age thirteen. There were so many questions she had for him, but those would have to wait, as he was presently in no condition to undergo a rigorous investigation. Instead, she patted his shoulder comfortingly when he pressed up against her waist, and forced herself to remain emotionless for as long as he was around. At that moment, she did not feel like a professor, but rather a mother comforting a small child who had just experienced a rather gruesome nightmare. Except this wasn't a nightmare at all; this was real. She would not tell him everything would be okay, because that would be a lie. Darcy Umbridge often went to extreme measures to get what she wanted, both at Hogwarts and in her position in the Ministry. She would not take her daughter's death lightly, McGonagall knew that for certain.
Just when she was beginning to think the situation couldn't get any bleaker, it did: Darcy Umbridge herself showed up in the doorway.
"Minerva, what on earth is going on in here?"
Severus broke away from the Transfiguration professor at once and jumped backward at the sound of his most-hated professor's voice floating into the room.
Three…two…one…
She didn't make any noise when she finally saw her daughter's corpse, laying in a bizarre, distorted position in the murky water that flowed all around their ankles. Her grin remained unchanged, though her eyes bulged as they took in the sight before her. Once her mind seemed to have registered what she was seeing, she numbly walked forward and collapsed onto her knees in front of Dolores' body.
Severus' heart began racing again as he saw the woman's eyes blur over with tears; her only child, her beloved Dolores Jane couldn't possibly be dead. No, this was just a really bad joke…Dolores was merely sleeping…resting her eyes…
"Dolores…wake up. Wake up, darling. I know you're feeling drowsy, but please, just wake up…"
She kept talking to her daughter and excitedly patting her cold hand, feverishly urging her to suddenly come back to life. Her urgent words became nonsensical and frantic, as though she truly didn't understand why Dolores wasn't coming to her senses. After several minutes of tense silence, she began whimpering quietly in between mutters of "wake up, wake up darling." Her mind was slowly beginning to grasp the meaning of the girl's lack of response.
Pitying her colleague's helplessness, McGonagall moved forward to pull Darcy off of the ground. Severus, who hadn't realized he had been holding on to his professor's arm in fear of what Umbridge could do to him, released, however reluctantly.
"She's dead, Darcy," McGonagall said as she put all of her strength into lifting the large woman to her feet.
"SHE'S NOT DEAD! SHE'S PETRIFIED!" Darcy wailed, thrashing around violently and nearly punching McGonagall in the face before she released her, unable to help the utterly distraught woman.
"She's not…she's not dead…she's not dead," her sobs echoed throughout the bathroom.
Severus felt as though the life had been sucked out of him. As much as he hated the Umbridges, Dolores' dead body was one of the most horrific sights he had ever seen in his entire life. He desperately wanted to fall to the ground and blissfully slip off into the land of unconsciousness, but he firmly remained where he was, determined to show McGonagall that he was not weak.
"Who found her?" Darcy asked after she had no tears left to shed. Her voice was unnaturally clear for someone who had just lost her daughter; eerie and alarmingly calm. Her head was bent low over Dolores' body so that neither Severus nor McGonagall could see her face.
"Who found her?" she repeated more forcefully this time. Severus wondered why she wasn't asking how this had happened.
Perhaps she knew there was no answer to that.
Perhaps she didn't want to know the answer, even if there was one.
She only wanted to know who had found Dolores.
Knowing this was a rather foolish thing to do, but not wanting McGonagall to take the blame for him, Severus quietly whispered, "I did."
Although he and James and Sirius had been wishing for the Umbridges' deaths all year, he never once thought his wish would actually come true. As Severus surveyed the scene in front of him, he realized now that he wished he had kept his mouth shut.
Darcy got to her feet and turned around. She looked like she had aged twenty years, and she wore a strange, manic expression. Severus immediately recognized that look, and it chilled him to his core. It was the same look his father always had when he was really, really angry. However, he was usually driven by alcohol, and not once did Severus recall seeing him so infuriated that his eyes turned scarlet, as Darcy's eyes were…
With a shriek of rage that would undoubtedly awake the entire castle, Darcy pulled out her wand and readied herself for battle. Driven by hysteria, she lunged at Severus, ready to attack him…ready to make him pay for what would become a lifetime of grief for her at the loss of her only child. She had already lost her husband, but unlike him, Dolores meant the world to her. She loved that girl more than any other mother could love their child, and she wanted revenge. Further mourning could come later, but right now…the boy was right in front of her…wandless…she may never get this golden opportunity again…
"DARCY!" McGonagall roared as she pulled out her wand faster than an international duelling champion could have managed. She blocked the path that led to Severus and forcefully jabbed her wand into Darcy's thick neck, daring the woman to harm a student in front of her.
Darcy remained still. McGonagall glared at her icily, feeling a surge of satisfaction at her colleague's panicked expression. She hadn't failed to intimidate her.
Severus wasn't stupid: if McGonagall hadn't reacted so quickly, he might have been in much worse shape than he was right now. Umbridge was fully capable of using any of the three Unforgiveable Curses, and she had been preparing to use one of them one him.
"Minerva!"
Severus, who was barely conscious at this point, turned around to see Dumbledore running into the bathroom, followed by Professors Slughorn and Flitwick. As he expected, their concerned expressions dissolved into horror as they took in the scene: McGonagall threatening Umbridge, Dolores' dead body at the women's feet, Mary's Petrified form not too far away, and Severus, who was struggling tremendously just to stay on his feet.
Madam Pomfrey and a few other teachers later followed, but by then, the world had become a blur for Severus. At long last, his shaking knees gave out, and he fell to the ground with a faint splash. Then blackness.
xXxXxXxXx
"Although I cannot say that I believe you did it, you must know the circumstances are working poorly in your favour."
Severus nodded mutely. He had just left the hospital wing this morning, and already the headmaster was grilling him for answers. Dumbledore was being careful not to reveal certain information to him, which normally would have infuriated Severus, but today he was too exhausted to care. It had been a long night, and things would only get worse from here: he still had to face his peers.
He wondered what everyone was thinking about him. He knew they all thought that he killed Dolores; there was no evidence to the contrary, anyway. The other students knew he and the Umbridges were constantly at war with each other, especially after they all witnessed Dolores' defeat in the duel several months ago. But how could they possibly think that Severus, a mere second year, killed a powerful, seventh-year witch? He had been wandless at the time, and there were no indications of a brawl…
With a sinking feeling in his chest, Severus suddenly remembered: the monster of Slytherin. Apparently it could kill people as well as Petrify them. Since nobody knew the true characteristics of the creature, it was easy to pin the blame on him, saying that he ordered the monster to destroy her. There would be no need for the Avada Kedavra that way, and this theory offered everyone a perfect opportunity to accuse Severus, as he had been caught in the middle of nearly every Chamber-related incident so far.
"Are you alright, Severus?" Dumbledore asked softly, noticing the young boy fidgeting in his seat.
"Fine," Severus snapped, feeling irritated with Dumbledore for having the nerve to force the necessary answers out of him before pretending that he cared about Severus' welfare. Still, he had provided the information the headmaster needed as he was supposed to, not caring about whatever hidden agenda the man was going to fulfil with it. If it would prove him innocent, then he felt it was best to side with Dumbledore until he proved himself unworthy of Severus' trust.
With a sad sigh, Dumbledore told him he could go. Severus left at once, not wanting to remain behind with him and McGonagall as they discussed what to do now that the governors who were in charge of Hogwarts were planning on shutting the school down.
Although Severus tried to ignore it, he could feel every eye on him as he quickly shuffled down the corridors, back to Gryffindor Tower where at least three people would know he didn't kill her. Several Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws whispered amongst themselves as he passed them; he could only hope the Gryffindors still believed he was innocent. The Slytherins laughed and called out their insults as they normally did, though this time they were also demanding to know why he wasn't in Slytherin if he knew how to control Salazar's beast.
Just keep walking…just ignore them…just get back to the dormitory…
He noticed several first years flee as soon as he got within a ten foot radius of them. Nobody wanted to be Severus Snape's next victim.
"Severus!"
He looked up to see James, Remus, and Sirius crawling out of the portrait and running over to him. At least they weren't scared of him.
"Is it true about Umbridge?" James asked, managing to conceal the excitement he probably felt underneath an uncharacteristically serious expression.
"Yes," was all that Severus could say. He didn't want to talk right now, he just wanted to go up to his comforting bed and sleep through the next week until this nightmare was over.
"Although we wish you really did do it, we believe you didn't kill her," Sirius said, trying to make him smile, but his comment only made Severus feel worse.
"Thanks," he mumbled miserably as the foursome climbed through the portrait. The common room was noisy today, but it immediately fell silent upon Severus' arrival. They all stared at him as though he were brandishing a Muggle rifle and the Muggleborn Spyr sisters actually jumped behind the couch to hide from him.
Inside him, something shattered. Severus' own house thought he was a murderer. During this difficult time, he thought he'd at least have his Gryffindor housemates on his side, but they, too, weren't so keen on trusting him anymore.
The next couple of days went horribly for Severus. Except for Lily and the loony Ravenclaw, Muse Lovegood— who thought Dolores' death was a part of the 'Quasi-Duck Conspiracy,' whatever that was— nobody in the other three houses believed that Severus was blameless.
"Of course I know you didn't do it," Lily whispered to him one day in Potions. "Unless you have some unknown hatred for Muggleborns that I didn't know about—"
"I don't," Severus cut her off a little harsher than he was intending to. He wasn't in the mood for joking, and even if he could prove that he didn't hate Muggleborns, that wouldn't help his case, since the monster was attacking people from all kinds of backgrounds, even purebloods.
To get his mind off things, he shut himself away in his dormitory whenever he wasn't in class. He rarely went to meals anymore, and he was barely even talking to his friends. They grew increasingly worried about him, but Severus couldn't bring himself to speak to them for more than a few minutes at a time. The latest attack was still fresh in their minds, and Severus didn't want to give them the opportunity to bring it up. Isolating himself from others was simply how Severus dealt with his problems. He was not one to speak his mind, and he had given up trying to convince others he was guiltless days ago. If they weren't willing to listen, then he wasn't willing to redeem his ruined reputation.
"You have to eat sometime, you know," James said after he, Remus, and Sirius returned from dinner a week after the murder to find Severus still sitting on his trunk, pointing his wand at a lizard and muttering something that sounded like "Seck-Tums-Emper-Ah."
"Here," Sirius tossed a rather large bundle of food onto his bed, startling him slightly. "Eat this."
Severus slowly put the reptile down and glanced inside. "Where'd you get this?"
"Nicked it," James said proudly. "From the elves in the kitchen."
Severus wanted to refuse it, but he grudgingly ate some after his stomach released a monstrous roar. He hadn't eaten a full meal in days.
As angry as he was about his fellow students turning on him, Severus felt a sudden rush of gratitude for his friends. Even if he didn't care about his body wasting away from starvation, they did. He was lucky to have friends like them.
xXxXxXxXx
"Lily's back!"
Lily laughed nervously as nearly everyone in the common room ran over and completely surrounded her, waiting anxiously for her to speak. She had just gotten back from a not-so-secret meeting with Severus, who had asked her to meet him in the old broom closet in the Arithmancy corridor on the third floor around nine o'clock. When she had asked why they needed to meet together in private, he would only say that there was something very important he needed to tell her. He had made an incredible discovery the other day in the library, and he was desperate to tell her about it.
Naturally, everyone in her house found out about Lily's plans to meet up with 'Slytherin's Heir' and wanted to know what the boy said to her. They immediately cornered her upon her return, demanding for information.
"He thinks it's a basilisk," Lily informed them once the chatter had died down. "It's a giant snake controlled only by a Parselmouth."
There was a collective gasp amongst the group. She told them everything Severus had told her, from the monster's deadly gaze to the usage of mirrors as protection against the basilisk.
Severus had a theory that all of the people who had been Petrified had been looking into a mirror or water reflection of some sort, while Dolores had directly looked into the creature's eyes, thus causing her death. Most of Lily's friends were highly doubtful about this, but at least Regulus and Narcissa believed her.
"I don't remember much…but I think I did see yellow eyes in the mirror when it happened," Narcissa whispered. She shivered, realizing just how close she had been to death on that fateful night.
"So Severus can't possibly be the culprit if he's trying so hard to figure out what really happened," Lily concluded.
"What if he's just trying to frame someone?" Evan Rosier asked darkly. "Going on about how much research he's doing to clear his name looks suspicious, if you ask me."
"Sev's not a Parselmouth!" Lily shot back furiously.
"How do you know?" Peter Pettigrew asked quietly. Laika and the Carrows nodded in agreement.
I…don't know, Lily thought silently. But Sev would have told me if he was…he's not the Heir of Slytherin…there's no way it could be him…
But if it wasn't Severus, then who was it? Lily felt the hair on the back of her neck raise uncomfortably as the large group continued watching her. Was it one of her friends? It obviously wasn't any of the Blacks; Bellatrix adored her little sister and would never do anything to harm her. Regulus was out of the question too. But what about Laika? She had a gift for hiding the truth, but even then, Lily found it extremely difficult to think it was her.
Still, it made her uneasy to think that someone she probably trusted wanted to kill her. Lily hoped that after the latest tragedy, the perpetrator would finally give up; the school year ended in just three weeks, after all. Perhaps murdering Dolores was the final task for the basilisk and its master…
xXxXxXxXx
"I don't understand why you had to tell Evans," James said grumpily during breakfast the next day. "She's going to tell everyone she knows, obviously."
"I think that was the point." Remus said quietly as he watched Severus out of the corner of his eye. He had finally come down to the Great Hall for a meal the first time this week, but he still refused to eat anything.
His friends knew what he was dreading: hearing what Umbridge was going to do to avenge her daughter's death. She had left Hogwarts the day after Dolores died to return to London. Dumbledore had told the school that she would not be returning to teach for the rest of the year, and a replacement teacher had been hired.
As far as the boys knew, Dolores had had a private funeral at her home, and after it was all over, Darcy had gone back to the Ministry to resume her post as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. While everything appeared to be calming down and getting back to normal, Severus knew it wasn't over just yet.
He continued staring unblinkingly into his pumpkin juice, even as the morning owl post arrived. He knew nothing in the Daily Prophet would cheer him up, so only when the little screeching owl bit him harshly on the nose did he untie the newspaper and tell the bird to get lost.
"Anything interesting today?" Sirius asked casually, trying to keep the conversation away from any topic that might upset Severus.
With a bored and wholly disinterested sigh, Severus unfolded the paper and stared down at the front page. It took him several seconds to take in the day's big headline:
MINISTRY'S SENIOR UNDERSECRETARY TO PRESS CHARGES AGAINST DAUGHTER'S MURDERER
His eyes quickly scanned through the article, and once he finished, he swore so loudly that most of the teachers turned their heads in his direction.
That was just what he had feared. Umbridge had finally gone public with her grievances, and was apparently trying "…to have the killer put in his rightful place in Azkaban for brutally murdering Dolores Jane Umbridge and attacking several other students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Although he wasn't mentioned once in the article, Severus knew it was referring to him. The thought of going to Azkaban made him feel quite ill, as though he was going to throw up what little food he had left in his stomach. He had never seen a dementor in his life, and he was quite keen on keeping it that way.
Horror-struck, he put the paper down and stared across the table his friends.
What's wrong? their eyes seemed to ask him silently.
"If we don't find out who really opened the Chamber of Secrets soon," he whispered slowly, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. "I think I'm going to Azkaban."
A/N: At first, that might sound utterly impossible and perhaps a little ridiculous, but if you take into consideration that Darcy Umbridge is just below the Minister with countless Ministry connections, AND she's extremely upset with the death of her daughter (and she's 98% certain of who it is), then it might not sound so crazy after all. Also remember that the Ministry convicted Sirius for killing the Muggles and Peter Pettigrew in canon without a trial (simply based on the overwhelming amount of evidence). If Darcy went as far as trying to convict the person responsible, at least they'd get a trial.
But there might not even be a trial at all: next chapter is the big showdown we've all been waiting for, and I certainly hope it does not disappoint.
Thank you for reading and reviews are greatly appreciated, as always :)