What's Said, Is Said

Disclaimer: you know the drill. This is the beginning of the end. We thought we could do it in one chapter, looks like it'll be two. -GF and The Frau

Chapter 44: All Bets are Off

Albus Dumbledore sighed heavily. The 'Greatest Wizard of his time' was at a loss. How had he lost control everything? Voldemort had been destroyed, without his aid, and most of his inner circle of Death Eaters with him.

And now the ministry was in an uproar. Many of its employees, mostly pure-bloods in positions of power, hadn't reported to work that morning. Adding insult to injury, Severus and his apprentice had disappeared without a trace. Who was the strange wizard with them at Riddle Manor? And to top it all off, the goblins had, for the first time in centuries, closed the doors of Gringotts!

Cornelius Fudge, being his usual inefficient self, was making and breaking legal decrees right and left. He was desperate to be seen as working to end the financial problems caused by the closing of Gringotts. It would have made Albus' day to see the man so flustered if not for the fact that the whole situation was a financial disaster waiting to happen.

With a weary sigh the 'Great Manipulator, the Leader of Light' started writing. Hogwarts owls would earn their keep this day.

First on the list this morning was to get the bank open for business as soon as possible. It would be a definite feather in his cap, if he could find a way to earn the cooperation of the Goblins. To that end Albus sent Arthur Weasley to Gringotts at first light. Arthur's son, Bill, worked there and might prove helpful in dealing with the recalcitrant creatures. Arthur had yet to return.

Second was the crisis at the Ministry. There was nothing Albus could do about the missing workers, but he strongly suggested to Cornelius that Aurors be sent to find the reasons behind the no-shows. For now, that was all he could do.

The first reports were disheartening. For some unfathomable reason many of the missing workers had been reduced to squib status and a few were found dead in their homes. Those still among living couldn't get their wands to function enough to summon the Knight Bus and were stranded in their homes.

Many Aurors found children taking care of their squib parents. Several had already called in healers from St. Mungos for help. Reports coming in said most of the living parents were magically exhausted, their magical cores irreparably damaged. The deceased were found to have been totally drained of all magic at which point their hearts stopped.

Albus suspected that these people had taken the Dark Mark and, it would seem, were now paying the price for their choices.

Severus' disappearance was puzzling as well. His unusual behavior prior to his disappearance was even more so. For that Albus blamed Severus' apprentice, Garion Williams. Everything within Albus had screamed that the boy was a threat to the plans he had for the Wizarding World and therefore not to be trusted.

In the old wizards opinion it must be true, the boy was dark. How to prove it? The slaughter of Voldemort's followers alone was an alarming indication. Surely their deaths were unnecessary? They should have been given the chance to reform! Only a being of true darkness would have denied them a second chance.

And lastly, that strange wizard who took Williams away. Just who was he? And more importantly, the power he radiated seemed very ancient and dark.

0o0o0o0

Fudge paced his office, questions whirling round and round in his head. He had issued a warrant to arrest and detain Garion Williams and Severus Snape that very morning – for questioning. To say he was uneasy would be an understatement.

Just how much power did the boy possess? How much of a threat was he, how did he manage to destroy one of the darkest lords in recent history without aid? Who was he, the boy appeared from out of the blue and the only information Albus could find on him was sketchy, at best. No, Williams had to be dark, if he could draw out and command Severus Snape as he did.

0o0o0o0

Arthur finally reported back by mid afternoon. Gringotts had closed due to the mistreatment of one of its own, thus breaking the 1507 treaty. They had the legal right to close their doors when the Wizarding World decided to lay its hands on a Goblin Friend – one Garion Williams.

Albus groaned. It would be days before the goblins would relent, if ever.

0o0o0o0

Severus stepped out of his room, nearly stumbling over two goblins chasing a chicken. He rolled his eyes as he walked across the hall to knock on his master's door.

Garion's half of the contract they had signed was now fulfilled. Garion was to apprentice himself until Halloween, when he would take down Tom Riddle. After that, he would be free.

Severus however, wasn't. He was still a Bardic Apprentice and still had many things to learn to control his gift. The best thing about this apprenticeship, he had more control in his life.

The fact that Garion took down Tom with nothing but a guitar and a direct appeal to magic itself appealed to Severus' sense of justice. No blood, guts or gore had ensued, quite different than either of his two former masters' methods. Severus, Slytherin to the core, had been suitably impressed and wanted that kind of power himself. It called to something deep within his soul.

A very exhausted young man lay sleeping beyond the door in front of Severus. Appealing to magic wasn't without its price or due. That type of magic required a Master Bard to expend his own magical energy to keep the focus and control over what he was asking.

Even now, the magic that had been sent back to the Underground was being assimilated into the very fabric of this plane. Severus glanced out at the Labyrinth and saw it was more vibrant and some of the decay was repairing itself.

This was a Bard's true calling, to cleanse magic so that it could be used by all. The cleansing that both he and Garion had done at Hogwarts was only a drop in an ocean of lost magic. The amount of work that needed to be done was staggering.

He knew, once Garion was awake, he would have to return Above ground to the seemingly endless work of returning all the wild magic back to its source. It would take centuries to do all the cleansing if Garion had to do it alone, which is why he took Severus on as an apprentice.

Severus knew that he too would have to return, but he wasn't sure what his fate was going to be. He knew that the Wizarding World would not allow him to walk away Scot- free. He was sure Albus would do everything in his power to keep him at Hogwarts and under his thumb..

In the years since the first war, Albus had taken Severus' devotion for granted. His causal use of Severus' skills as a Potions Master and spy had frustrated him. He knew very well that his talent with potions was being wasted teaching young minds the absolute basics of brewing. He was poorly suited to teach the ignorant brats, being more of a researcher with little patience for restive, careless students.

There was good money in research but Albus would not allow Severus that much freedom from his control. Now, with this contract with Garion, Severus has hope that he could and would be free - free to be himself at last.

0o0o0o0

School was still in session. Halloween was only a week ago and with it all hell had broken loose. Many of the pure-blood children were now facing a bleak winter, so it was safer to keep them at Hogwarts where they could be monitored.

O0o0o0o

Albus sat at his desk going over last week's report. Severus was still missing and a warrant had been issued for him. He was wanted for questioning on the death of Riddle and his inner circle.

Gringotts was still closed. Financial ruin was on the horizon for the Wizarding World of Britain. The goblins were in negotiations with Amelia Bones. The talks looked promising as long as the Minister and Albus stayed out of it, per the goblins demand.

The floo behind him flared. "Albus! The goblins have informed us they have Severus Snape! They claim he came to them asking for sanctuary!" Cornelius Fudge shouted. "They refuse to turn him over to us and Amelia won't force the issue. She insists that the bank is sovereign territory and her Aurors have no jurisdiction within it. "

0o0o0o0

The court room was packed. Severus Snape stood by his goblin barrister, stoic as usual. The goblins enjoyed causing chaos within the Wizarding World. First they close the bank, second, they announce that Severus was a Goblin Friend and no, they won't turn him over to the Aurors on some trumped up charges only to have him thrown in Azkaban before a trial can be held. Or worse – Kissed.

If they want the bank to open and Severus Snape to face a trial they will have to play by Goblin Rules. The Minister threw a king-size hissy fit that resulted in several sackings and the destruction of his office on being told the terms the Goblin Nation was demanding.

Through it all Amelia Bones had been a voice of reason and a pillar of strength. She refused to play games and went straight to the heart of the matter. She got a firm declaration of intent and a long list of demands from the Goblins. For the most part, many of their demands were reasonable. One or two raised her eyebrows.

One of such was that Albus Dumbledore had to retire. He was to bow out of public life or face charges of malfeasance both as head of the Wizengamot and Headmaster of Hogwarts. The man had made too many mistakes and grown careless in his later years. The Goblins had documented a body of hard evidence and were not loathe to present it publicly. The magical beings had had enough. They were more than ready to strip the blinders from Wizarding eyes, their beloved 'Leader of the Light' wasn't quite as infallible as they thought.

The second was a vote of no confidence against Cornelius Fudge for his lack of foresight, failure to uphold the laws of Magic and knowingly allowing one of his employees to use dark artifacts against minors.

Thirdly, the goblins wanted all the Dark Creature laws that had been passed in the last 15 years to be repealed.

Severus Snape's trial was to highlight the goblin's anger against the Wizarding World.

Amelia stood up and banged her gavel to silence everyone. She had the court bailiff read off the document. He read the manuscript of the professor's questioning by truth spell, as he was a potions master therefore Veritaserum could not be used.

An uneasy stirring echoed through the chamber as it was made known that yes, Snape had been a death eater, but had turned spy for Albus Dumbledore shortly after taking the mark. He risked his life for many years, during and later after the first war and through most of the second. It was noted that his primary involvement during the years Harry Potter was at Hogwarts was as the boy's protector. How, despite the danger, he kept his cover to protect Potter, as well as spy on Death Eaters and their children.

Lastly, the bailiff read how Severus Snape had his dark mark removed. He'd wanted out of the war and his spying duties because he had lost faith in Albus Dumbledore's promises and could no longer tolerate his manipulations of Harry Potter and others around him.

As the uneasiness grew, no one noticed the guitar playing softly from a darkened corner in the upper tier. Or the subtle underlying magic woven through it. 'This is the truth, believe.'

Severus could feel the bardic magic flowing through the room and hid a smile. His barrister, The Honorable Nickleplick chuckled softly. "Seems we are in for an interesting time, Bard Snape."

"Indeed. If I know one thing about my master, it is that he is a Gryffindor through and through. He always keeps his promises."

"Indeed."

Madam Bones banged her gavel again calling everyone's attention back to her. "Professor Snape. Can you tell us what happened the night you and your apprentice Garion Williams entered Riddle Manor?"

"There isn't much to tell, Madam," Severus replied. "My Apprentice called upon the ancient magicks and asked for justice and to cleanse Riddle Manor of the tainted magic within it. His plea was answered."

There was a gasp that ran through the crowd. Many of the old pure-bloods knew that one did not just call upon magic for judgment, it was too dangerous and unpredictable. It had a tendency to judge the summoner along with the one upon whom judgment was called.

"And the Goblins? Why did they get involved?"

"Madam, I can not tell you as I am bound by an oath," Severus smirked.

"How convenient," commented someone on the wizengamot.

"Do you know what they are demanding?"

"Yes, Madam. I find most of their demands to be quite reasonable."

"Reasonable!" Cornelius Fudge shouted and stood.

"Silence!" Madam Bones snapped, banging her gavel. "You are out of order, Minister Fudge!"

She turned to the Wizengamot and said. "You've read the reports and Potions Master Snape's own statement. What say you?"

0o0o0o0

And I lost the bet between Frau and myself for this to be the last chapter and there's no quotes or songs in this one. How did we manage that?

Well now that NaNoWr is over, and we did a whopping 50,560 words and the fact we were able to finish off this story to boot, we can do a big cheer!

Thanks for all the support and reviews.

Until next time –GF and the Frau