You guys get a little bit more Snape POV here... tell me what you think of it, please! ;)
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Chapter 10: Why and How
Snape's POV
I can't believe it. I just can't... Another child? No wonder she looked exactly like Lily. My mind was reeling from the memories I had just witnessed. Questions rocketed through my head like Bludgers: How did they keep her secret? Why did they keep her secret? Did Ha-Potter know? How did the Dark Lord find out?
I sat down on the chair facing the headmaster's desk, condused by all I had seen. I tried to sort out my thoughts, but they were far too cluttered and jumbled to make any sense, every question vying for attention. We sat in silence for five, ten, fifteen minutes before I asked the question that was at the forefront of my mind. "Who knew?"
Albus looked at me sadly. "Only I, Poppy, Sirius, her parents and Remus, who is her godfather."
The silence returned for several more minutes before I whispered "Why?"
"Hm?" he asked, as though snapping out of a trance. "What was that?"
"Why? Why was she hidden so securely? Surely others must have known. Surely others must have guessed. Why was she locked up, hidden, sent away? Why did the Ministry know nothing about her? How did the Dark Lord discover her? WHY?" My questions poured out in a seemingly endless flow.
I was starting to get angry with the headmaster, with his calm demeanor, the stupid twinkle in his eyes. Why- no, how could he send her away, give her away when she so obviously needed protection?
He looked into my face and I could see great sorrow behind those brilliant blue eyes. My anger drained away. "Severus," he started, his voice sounding very tired, "I will tell you what I know. Not everything mind you, for even I don't have all the answers, but I will try. Now where to begin..." He stood and walked over to his study window, gazing out into the night.
The sky was still black though dawn was nearing, the moon reflected in the Black Lake, the millions of stars twinkling and sparkling in the vastness of the heavens. I waited as patiently as I could, watching him as he gazed out over the grounds, his thoughts elsewhere.
Without turning back to face me he began to speak. "When the International Statute of Secrecy was put into effect in 1692 it was an attempt by the International Confederation of Wizards to safeguard the wizarding community from being discovered by the non-magical population. Do not interrupt Severus."
I closed my mouth. I had just been about to ask what the relevance of this was. Honestly, I didn't care. I wanted my questions answered, not a History of Magic lesson. I settled into a stony silence, glaring at the old man in front of me.
"As I was saying, when the Ministry of Magics of different countries were alerted of the Statute, they came up with their own ways of controlling the wizards under their laws. Many came up with ways of hiding underage magic usage or at least detecting it in the presence of Muggles. Britain's Minister of Magic, Johnathan Enderland at the time, instituted the Reasonable Restriction for Underage Sorcery.
"The Restriction included creating the Trace, a way of detecting magical interference around under-17 year olds. When an underage wizard or witch uses magic or an overage witch or wizard uses magic around them, the Trace is activated and the Ministry is able to discipline them as they see fit." He paused.
"But what does this have to do with-with anything?" I blurted out, my temper taking control once more. He gave me a hard stare and his usually kind eyes flashed with anger before he controlled himself.
"I can promise you Severus, this all is relevant. Just be patient." I sighed and sank back into the small, wooden chair, still feeling anger and frustration burn beneath my skin. Finally I calmed down and Albus continued.
"So, this spell has been in use for over 300 years. It is automatically placed on magical persons when they are born. This is the way Hogwarts' magical book of children writes down each and every witch and wizard in the country, however the Trace itself isn't officially activated until they begin school. Now how this corresponds to Miss Potter is that, for some reason, when Leah was born she was born without the Trace."
He let me interrupt this time. "Impossible." I breathed.
"Actually quite possible." he said, his mouth twisting into a grim smile. "I have done some research since I witnessed the phenomenon."
"But how did you know that she didn't have the Trace? I thought there was no way to find out until the child reached school age."
"At first it was just suspicions. When her name did not appear in the book of magical children that Hogwarts possesses, we assumed she was a squib. Squibs, as they contain no magical talent, don't have the Trace on them and so would not be recorded in the book. However, by the age of three months Leah had begun to display small signs of magic. We were baffled.
"When Lily and James questioned me about it I examined the Ministry's record for examples of the phenomenon. I learned that for every ten thousand wizarding children born, one is born without the Trace. It has only been recorded five times in the last five centuries and only two of those times were located in England. So it is rare, but not unheard of.
"Unfortunately, the ministry takes such children away for study in the Department of Mysteries and are locked up and tested until they come of age because they are considered a threat to the Ministry. Naturally, Lily and James didn't want their daughter subjected to a life of being studied, so announced that she was a squib to those who knew of her. I was the only person who knew otherwise. In the ministry records that is how she is listed. That, Severus, is why it is of the utmost importance that the Ministry not discover who she is."
I sat, staring at him as he spoke so calmly, his face passive. The facts he was telling me boggled my mind, and I couldn't help but listen, stunned as I was.
"Lily and James had not even been aware that they were having twins, hence the reason that only their closest friends knew. Leah was a surprise and a blessing. Alas, we knew that if Voldemort or the Death Eaters got a hold of her she would be used either as blackmail or as a weapon, if trained to be on their side, as she is a quite powerful witch."
"But then how could you afford to send her away? Shouldn't she have been watched over by experienced and trusted members of the wizarding community instead of being left at a common muggle orphanage?"
"And that is where you are wrong, Severus." he responded, "The first orphanage she went to, the one where I left her, was run by a witch by the name of April Jones. Leah stayed there until it was about to close due to bankruptcy. When I had learned of the situation from Miss Jones I immediately had Leah transferred to an orphanage in the outskirts of London run by a wonderful woman, a squib, named Martha Fawley. Leah was four years old at the time.
"Miss Fawley kept me posted of happenings at the orphanage and of how Leah was doing until she was killed by Death Eaters and replaced by Ms. Lydia Smith eight months ago. I have been trying to find a replacement for her, someone with ties to the magical world, but it seems that the Death Eaters found Leah before I could." His voice was filled with sadness and regret, his blue eyes swimming with tears of what was unmistakably regret.
"But-"
"I DON'T KNOW Severus. I don't know how they found her." He yelled at first, but then his face softened and he slumped into his high-backed chair. He put his head in his hands, a gesture of utter defeat.
"I don't know..." he whispered and I could tell he was crying softly, his breathing uneven and shallow.
I was stunned. I had never seen the headmaster cry before, perhaps shed a tear or two on occasion, but never openly crying. I finally realized that he felt just as I did for the girl, if not more. I simply looked down at my lap, at my folded hands, unseeing.
Finally, when I realized I could do nothing to comfort the man, who was now still and silent, I got up and left, as quietly as I could, sliding the door shut behind me. I made my way down to my office in the dungeons, barely noticing that the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon. My last coherent thought before drifting off to sleep was: Thank goodness I don't have any classes first period tomorrow.
A/N: Thank you all for reading! Questions:
1. What did you think of Dumbledore's explanation?
2. Did you like Snape's POV? Do you want more? (More is coming, even if it is quite a bit later..., just want to know how often you all would want him to have a say ;)
3. Any ideas for the story? I already have planned how Leah meets Harry (give you a hint... it's coming up very soon!... as in 33x3+(3/3)-99 chapters soon! ;)
So, tell me what you thought PLEASE! More virtual cookies for reviewers! Flamers are welcome (criticism is always welcome, without critique where is growth?), but their flames will be given to my fire ninjas who are planning to take over the world... :)
And on that happy note, I bid you all Adieu! And have a wonderful weekend!
PS: I just discovered I have 1,111 reads! :D Thanks again to all of you amazing readers! Here's a cookie for you! (::)