The Trio Who Returned
Chapter 02
by Technomad
Minerva McGonagall was very worried. She hadn't heard from Harry, or his friends, in several days, until they Flooed into her office with only the briefest advance warning. As they took seats, she noticed that they seemed to have changed.
Where Ron, Hermione and Harry had once been so full of energy that sitting still was an effort, they were all now as still as a spider watching a fly blundering toward its web. Their eyes burned in completely expressionless faces that seemed unnaturally pale and drawn, and there was something feral and predatory about them.
"Would you like tea, or pumpkin juice? Or butterbeer?" she asked, hoping to break the stillness.
Harry seemed to be the spokesman. "No, thank you. We...we're off those things."
"Then, some wine? You're all seventeen, and old enough to drink wine."
Hermione chuckled, a strangely grating sound. "Thank you, Professor, but we never drink...wine." At this, Harry laughed, while Ron, for the first time, showed a trace of expression. Plainly, he was as puzzled as McGonagall was.
"Did I say something funny?"
"It's a Muggle joke, Professor, and would take too long to explain. Can you tell us the latest news about the Death Eaters?"
"First, I should show you this. It's a letter from Professor Dumbledore, dated a few days before he left to find that locket. He said that in the event he didn't survive, he wanted me to know that Severus Snape was operating at his orders, and what he did, he did at Professor Dumbledore's command."
"You mean he's on our side?" Hermione leaned forward, her gaze almost hypnotically intense. "Have you proof, other than Dumbledore's word?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. Severus?" All turned as a hidden door opened, and Severus Snape stepped forth into the office. Instantly, three wands were trained on him. He raised his hands placatingly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, but I do have a taste for the dramatic," explained McGonagall.
The trio relaxed, but they still reminded McGonagall of predators watching prey. Snape seemed to sense it himself, eyeing the three friends warily. Not taking his eyes from them, he sat down, poised to spring up at a second's notice. He pulled out his wand. "I, Severus Snape, solemnly swear that what I am about to say is the truth." His wand's end flared brightly for a second, marking that he had sworn truly. "I've been working for the Order of the Phoenix since before you were born, Mr. Potter. While I bear the Dark Mark..." he rolled up his sleeve, showing the black skull-with-snake on his left forearm..."the Dark Lord does not hold my allegiance."
Rolling his sleeve down, he went on: "On top of the tower, on that night you remember so well, Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore and I conversed via Legilemency. It serves as a very quick way for two Legilimenses to communicate privately." Snape looked at the floor. "We both knew that Professor Dumbledore was dying, and had been since before the beginning of the school year. That damned ring...one of the magical traps wasn't as disarmed as we had thought it was, and his hand was merely the most visible symptom of what was going on." The former Potions professor closed his eyes, massaging the bridge of his nose with one hand. "He was in so much pain...all the time, pain…" He shook his head, visibly gathering himself. "By the time he came back from that cavern, Mr. Potter, he was keeping himself alive through sheer force of magic, and nobody can do that for long. When I cast that false 'Killing Curse,' all I did was to knock him backward, allowing him to relax his grip on his magic; he was dead before he hit the ground."
"But why..." began Hermione. Snape looked at her steadily.
"Why? I would have thought, Miss Granger, that a witch of your intelligence...and, paranthetically, let me say that a teacher prays to encounter an intellect such as yours, just once in his career...would be able to suss out exactly why. Professor Dumbledore and I both knew of the curse on the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's position, and that it would light on me. I must say," and here he gave his audience a rather haggard grin, "that I didn't expect my doom to come in the form of that silly little blighter."
"Draco?"
"Yes, Draco!" For an instant, Snape's façade cracked, and McGonagall could see the exasperation he held in check. "If poor Salazar were alive to see that prat-and-a-half in his House, he'd roll over in his grave!"
For some reason, Harry, Ron and Hermione all smiled at that. It was the first time they'd smiled since they had Flooed in, and it wasn't reassuring. Sitting there with them, McGonagall felt rather like a swimmer, too far from shore to swim back quickly, who had just seen some sharks gliding past.
"We believe you," Harry said, after he and his two friends had appraised Snape for a few uncomfortable seconds. "What can you tell us about the Death Eaters? I rather think that, as Professor Dumbledore's 'murderer,' you'd be well up in their ranks."
"I am." Snape looked pleased. "At the moment, they're hiding in various locations. When the Dark Lord wants to summon us, he uses our Dark Marks to call us. We know where to go, and Apparate to that point."
"Give us some of those locations," directed Hermione. Snape nodded and pulled out a map of Britain, with notations on it showing where Death Eaters' hideouts were.
When they had the information they needed, they stood at an unobtrusive signal from Harry. "Thank you for seeing us at such short notice, Professor," said Harry, taking McGonagall's hand for a shake, "and thank you, Professor Snape...or is it just Mr. Snape, now?"
As they Flooed out, McGonagall shuddered. There had been something about them, something strange, something unsettling…and when she had shaken Harry's hand, it had been very cold.
END Chapter 02