Chapter 18: Destroying Hogwarts

For disclaimer and author notes please see chapter 1.

1986-05-22 16:00 UTC, Tonks' residence

Hobby had decided that there was no way Snape would be at Hogwarts by the time Harry reached there. At least not without a complete personality transplant. To be fair to the bastard, he would try, but just once. One chance is all he would get, which is more than he was intending to give anyone to begin with.

To that end, he wrote a detailed note and sent it, as the Phantom of course, to Mrs Tonks.

Dear Mrs Tonks,

I'll be brief. First, I am the so-called 'Phantom' - a terrible name I came up with on the spur of the moment when someone asked me how they should find me. If your husband - as I am led to believe - is a muggle-born, ask him what the phrase 'You never find the Phantom, he finds you' means to a muggle comic book aficionado.

I am writing to you to ask for your help in attempting to curb Severus Snape's behaviour in Hogwarts. You know by now what I mean; if not, just ask your daughter. In fact, ask anyone not in Slytherin! I will only add that he is doing all this with the knowledge and implicit consent of Dumbledore.

What I would like you to do - if you are agreeable - is first try to talk to Snape, explaining from your daughter's point of view what the problem is. If that doesn't help, talk to the headmaster. If that also doesn't help, ask to see the points register - every parent has the right to see this register for her own child, but more importantly, has a right to get summarised data from this register. Talk to Prof Sprout, your daughter's head of house. Count points in 8 categories: points given to / taken from each of the four houses. If that does not prove there is a problem, nothing will.

I freely admit I have a selfish motive in choosing you. The fact is, Snape is the only former death-eater who may (and I say may) have repented his actions. That does not give him a free pass but I wish to at least try the "speak softly" approach - via your good self - first. The reason to choose you for this is that the Black reputation will make it easy to escalate the "speak softly" into a "big stick" if needed, and no one will question it too much - they expect that from you anyway!

Sincerely, the so-called 'Phantom'

Andy Tonks had heard as much about this 'Phantom' as any other member of the public, which is to say almost nothing except he had killed a few death-eaters. Including her own sister. She had been ambivalent about that: part anger that someone had killed her sister, part relief that said sister would no longer be able to do the terrible things she had apparently done in her life. On balance, she reasoned, with Nymphadora growing up, I suppose I should be happy that Bella is dead. I wonder if this Phantom had anything to do with Lucius being defanged too!

Accordingly, Mrs Tonks sent an owl to the deputy headmistress to request a meeting with Prof Snape, with the deputy headmistress and the Hufflepuff head of house also present.

Snape was reluctant to come to any meeting that he (or at best McGonagall or Dumbledore) had not called, but he was eventually prevailed upon. Things in the world outside the relatively safe confines of Hogwarts had been very unsettled, and, while he was not afraid per se, he at least was curious what this woman wanted.

1986-05-24 14:00 UTC, Hogwarts, Deputy HM's office

"Good afternoon, professors; I hope I am not late", said Mrs Tonks as she walked in. She knew she was on time, but the other three were already there, and politeness demanded that she acknowledge it somehow.

"Not at all, Mrs Tonks, not at all. We had just finished up a prior meeting. Now, what can we do for you?"

Mrs Tonks looked directly at Snape. "Professor Snape, I am somewhat concerned about my daughter's potions marks. I wanted to discuss what the problem could be". Speak softly, right?, she thought to herself.

Snape sneered, "Like most of the spoiled brats here, she is a dunderhead when it comes to potions. She is also utterly clumsy and I have known her to make the worst kinds of mistakes when I approach to examine what she is doing in more detail. There is no hope for her, and you are wasting your time and our time."

"SEVERUS!" Prof McGonagall's was livid. Why did Severus always make the same kind of mistake?, she puzzled. "You will not talk about a child in our care in such terms."

Then she turned to their visitor. "I apologise Mrs Tonks; there was no call for that kind of language. However-".

"Prof McGonagall, every potion that she has messed up in school, was either one that she had already perfected at home or one that I asked her to do in front of me and it came out perfectly fine."

"Bah, what would you know of potions?", sneered Snape.

Mrs Tonks was having a very difficult time keeping a civil tongue in her head. Before she could respond, Prof McGonagall said, "Severus, Mrs Tonks is a certified, though not practicing, healer. As such, I am sure she knows more than enough to handle all seven years of the curriculum, and beyond". It seemed she was still angry with Severus.

He glared at her, and said nothing. Though, on second thought, implying that he could be replaced was probably not the way to get him to see reason.

Mrs Tonks continued. "Prof Snape, I have also heard that you are somewhat biased toward your own house, which is detrimental to the child's confidence. And I am not talking about just my daughter here. Finally, her grade in the externally evaluated end of year exam was quite good, which is not consistent with how her class work and home work assignments were graded."

She put on her best, friendliest, face. Speak softly, yes indeed!

"I am requesting you to please consider these aspects".

"There is nothing to consider. This discussion is at an end, as I have better things to do than listen to a proud mother praise her clumsy oaf of a child", said Snape, and got up.

Mrs Tonks was not a Black for nothing. "Well, I tried the 'speak softly' approach, and not only did it not work, it never had a chance to work. So be it. I now formally call for, firstly, a review of all points given and taken by Professor Snape during the time he has been head of house and potions master here, and, secondly, a review of potions grades in classroom assessments against external assessments. Both to be categorised by Hogwarts house. I am a parent, and I know I have the right to this information as long as it is at an aggregate level and does not include any individual student's details".

"You have no right to-", began Snape, spitting fire, before McGonagall said, "Oh yes she does, as does any parent. However, we don't actually need you for that task, Severus, so let us not keep you any more".

Snape looked like he wanted to stay, but could not find a way to do it while saving face, so he stormed out.

Thirty minutes later, having called in Prof Flitwick also, all three heads were aghast. The results were so clear, it was absolutely undeniable that Snape was systematically screwing the chances of any other house to have a fair shot at the house cup.

They even ignored the rule that a parent could only see details of her own child, so Mrs Tonks was able to literally look over their shoulders while they were doing this. She pointed out to them that some of the reasons for point losses were either too flimsy for the number of points lost, like, 20 points from Ravenclaw for showing off, or downright unreasonable: 10 points from Hufflepuff for breathing too hard.

(Later, they heard from the poor third year that happened to. What was not recorded in the points register was Snape's taunt: "Just because you are in Hufflepuff does not mean you have to huff and puff all the time", which the boy said made him very angry. Well, so was Prof Sprout!)

Meanwhile, it became clear where Snape had gone. Just when they were winding up their fact finding, who should walk in - without even knocking - but Dumbledore himself.

"Good afternoon, Mrs Tonks. I understand young Nymphadora is having some trouble with potions."

Again, Prof McGonagall responded before Mrs Tonks could. "Not at all Albus. Miss Tonks, like all non-Slytherins in this school, is only having trouble with the potion master. See for yourself!", and she thrust the worksheet on which they had been tallying the details that Mrs Tonks had formally asked for.

Dumbledore did not even glance at them. "I am sure they are quite normal, Professor McGonagall. I would like to remind you that we do not interfere in how another professor conducts his or her classes, nor do we presume to tell them how they are to run them".

He turned to Mrs Tonks, clearly angry. "I am sorry, Mrs Tonks, but if your daughter needs additional tutoring, I can rec-".

"Prof Dumbledore, as Prof McGonagall reminded Snape some time ago, I am a fully qualified, albeit not practicing, healer, so I know my way around potions. To be honest, I came here hoping to help someone fix a personality problem, but I see from your response that Snape might not be the real problem!

So let me ask you formally, as a parent to the headmaster: Would you please take appropriate action on these statistics we have collected from the points register and from the internal and external assessments of potions students, both before and after Snape took over?"

Albus looked quite unimpressed. "The muggles have a saying, Mrs Tonks. It goes, 'there are lies, damned lies, and then there are statistics'. I am sorry but I do not see the need for any action."

"Since you know so much about muggle sayings, I am sure you have heard the phrase 'speak softly, and carry a big stick'. I have tried the 'speak softly' part - you will notice I politely requested you, and before you came in, I had similarly requested Snape. I am quite happy to wield the 'big stick'. Meanwhile, please spend some time deciding if you value your headmastership more, or your death-eater's position more. One of them will be sacrificed unless this situation" - here she pointed to the papers on the desk - "improves immediately and unequivocally".

"Are you threatening me Madam? In my own school?"

Prof Flitwick decided to put his oar in. "Strictly speaking, Albus, the school belongs to no single person, and we are all governed by-"

"Yes yes Filius, I was using a figure of speech", interrupted Dumbledore, giving Prof Flitwick a glare.

Turing to Mrs Tonks, he said "I have nothing more to say, Mrs Tonks. You have skirted the edge of what a parent has the right to do here - I notice that my three heads appear to have allowed you the free run of the points register as well as potions marks of, not just your child, but everyone. Any action you take will include a reckoning of that break in the rules".

Prof McGonagall was livid. "Since that would include accusing all three of us as collaborators, I would like to see you even attempt that without risking much more than one potions master, Headmaster!"

Prof Sprout, who had been silent all through, finally decided to say something. "Even if you bring that charge, Albus, it is a very minor infraction. If Mrs Tonks decides to make this information public, it won't even register on the scale of public awareness and interest. I doubt if the newspaper will even cover it if Mrs Tonks makes these statistics public".

"And before you ask, she has every right to. In fact, the by-laws say we should be publishing the raw data, in aggregate, every year, so that anyone could make the comparison we have just made".

Dumbledore did precisely what Snape did a few minutes ago. He stormed out, his face red with anger.

1986-06-01 20:00 UTC, Tonks' residence

"How did you get Skeeter to publish these statistics, Andy", asked Sirius.

Over the past few months, Sirius had gradually started rebuilding his personal relationships. His being properly exonerated in open court, including Pettigrew's capture, had done wonders for people's reactions to him. Andy, in any case, was pretty much always on his side, and did not take much convincing, but for Ted - always somewhat sceptical of the Black family (except his dear wife of course) - it had made a big difference. As a result, Sirius and his ward were frequent visitors to the Tonks home, especially because Harry enjoyed young Nymphadora's company very much, her metamorph capabilities providing endless hours of entertainment for the child.

"Well, I have no idea. She took one look at what I showed her, and she said 'I'll get right on it, Madam Tonks'. She was almost deferential, if not downright obsequious! I cannot explain it at all!"

"So now the public is up in arms against Dumbles and Snape!"

"Oh yeah! I assume you read some of the letters to the editor from recent Hogwarts graduates - not a single kind thing to be heard from a non-Slytherin!"

"Well, all credit to you for insisting that anyone who wants to write about Snape must declare his or her Hogwarts house in the letter and allow it to be printed. Really showed it to them when Skeeter got the editor's page to print them sorted by house!". Sirius was as close to giggling as a man ever would come.

Together, they re-read the report on Dumbledore's reaction to this coverage.

Dumbledore defends Snape

When this reporter contacted the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, asking him for his reaction to these statistics, he had a somewhat unexpected response.

"Severus Snape has my full and unequivocal support. At Hogwarts, we have always had a policy of not interfering in another teacher's method of maintaining discipline, and I see no reason to violate that policy".

This reporter asked him if that means he thinks these statistics are wrong, or he knows they are correct but irrelevant. Headmaster Dumbledore appeared to dither between the two options - in several rambling sentences he alternately implied one then the other. This reporter was unable to pin him down to one of these conclusions.

Regardless of what Headmaster Dumbledore thinks, this reporter knows that the statistics supplied have been verified by senior Hogwarts staff. As such, the difference between Slytherin and non-Slytherin, especially in terms of in-class versus external assessment results, is damning. The fact that overall numbers appear to have taken a downward trend is also cause for concern. Together, this is a very strong indictment of Snape's deleterious effect on our society.

"Awesome. I had no idea she was that good - I couldn't have written it better myself!", said Ted, who had just walked in and read it over their shoulders.

"But nothing has changed. Time to up the ante...!", said Sirius.

1986-06-02 07:00 UTC, Hogwarts, headmaster's office

Dumbledore was staring at the newspaper. Things were just going from bad to worse. The Daily Prophet had a very provocative headline that directly insulted him, yet far from pulling it completely, as would have happened even a few months ago, he had not even been approached for his side of the story! (Dumbledore conveniently forgot - or truly did not realise - that his defence of Snape yesterday was his side of the story!)

It was the last two paragraphs of the lead news item that had Dumbledore sitting with his head in his hands, a massive headache vying for top spot with a vague feeling of dread that appeared to be rooted deep in his stomach.

Lord Black declares no confidence in Dumbledore; Boy-who-lived will not attend unless "things change"

Lord Sirius Orion Black, godfather and guardian of Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, has responded to our request for an interview asking for his opinion on what is being called the "Snape controversy". Lord Black had this to say:

"Firstly, it must be obvious to everyone who has followed my court case against him that I do not trust Albus Dumbledore to make me a cup of tea, leave alone make sure my godson is educated in a safe and sane environment. As such, I have started looking at other schools, as well as private tutoring, as alternatives. Harry will definitely not be attending Hogwarts as things are today".

On being asked if he considered all of Hogwarts to be a problem, he was very quick to clarify: "Not at all! I have the greatest respect for my old head of house Prof McGonagall, as well as Prof Flitwick, Prof Sprout, and indeed pretty much all the others. But as long as Snape is still around, and being protected by Dumbledore, my godson will not be going to Hogwarts.

Lord Black also revealed that at least two of the other seven or eight professors have told him they would be willing to leave Hogwarts and take positions as private tutors for the boy-who-lived if Lord Black were to approach them. They also hinted that some more professors may be willing to join the exodus. The Daily Prophet asked Lord Black if this was fair to the other students, who would suffer needlessly due to his need to find a perfect tutor for his ward. His reply was stunningly ambitious:

"Hmm, that is indeed a conundrum. I think what I will do then, is to convert one of my larger, but currently unused, properties into a school building, and invite all the students who are affected to join us, which will hopefully entice all the remaining teachers - except the two troublemakers of course - to also join.". As an afterthought, he added, "Well... all students except for those whose father or mother carried the dark mark of course."

We asked if this was not too ambitious, and would he feel comfortable destroying a millennium-old institution like Hogwarts. Lord Black's reply was very insightful: "What is Hogwarts? A specific building? A specific location? I would say it is simply our youth, being taught by competent, fair teachers who have the students' best interests at heart. The way I see it, by refusing to control or dismiss Snape, Dumbledore is the one destroying Hogwarts, and if I am forced to do what I just proposed, I say I am preserving the spirit of Hogwarts rather than destroying it".

Try as we might, we at the Daily Prophet could not find fault with that line of reasoning, especially after having heard from old students of Snape, and/or their parents following yesterday's edition.

1986-07-14 10:00 UTC, location unknown

"Good morning, Hobby, how are things at the Malfoys? Things have been quiet again aren't they?"

"Yes very quiet, Penny. And it appears that, for the second time in history, Dumbles and Malfoy are seeing eye to eye on something: protecting Snape. Though of course Malfoy is going about it covertly, because despite what he claims, he is afraid of the Phantom!"

"Meanwhile, Sirius is incensed that the furore over Snape has died a quiet death. No doubt it is because Harry is nowhere near school age yet, so all that discussion we had a few weeks ago is moot, which means the story has no teeth, and the public ignores it. Young Dora Tonks has apparently been saying that Snape will, if possible, be even worse than he was before that controversy erupted, because of the lack of any action against him".

"OK I understand about Sirius's statement being premature, but what about the statistics - aren't those telling people anything?", asked Hobby.

Penny gave a wry smile. "They are, but the people are sheep; they are indignant, but they want someone else to do something about their indignation", she sighed.

1986-07-28 21:00 UTC, Hogwarts, Snape's office

Hobby observed Snape's habits quietly and invisibly for a few days, confirming one specific habit that he had noticed from the occasions when Snape had stayed over at the Malfoys.

Then he picked a day when Snape had ordered his usual 9pm cup of coffee, but was occupied in tending to a very critical potion and was not paying attention. When the Hogwarts elf brought a cup of coffee and left, he quickly poured a little of the liquid imperius into the coffee and hid himself.

Snape came back to his desk, sat down, and took a deep draught. Naturally, being a potion master, he knew immediately what he had been given, and that he would have no way to counter it. The potion did not prevent him from thinking. He knew of only one other person who could brew this: Dumbledore. The question therefore was why he had done this.

1986-07-29 07:00 UTC, Ministry of Magic, DMLE offices

A visibly angry Dumbledore stormed into the DMLE offices. "Kingsley, what is this I hear about Severus being arrested last night?"

"He was arrested while trying to molest Patricia Pensburg, who had just closed up her book shop and was walking toward the apparition point. He grabbed her and activated a portkey to a rather romantic rose garden somewhere on the Malfoy estate. And before you ask, I have no idea who she is, except that she has recently moved here from the US to take care of her aunt who had fallen ill, and that this aunt owns a book shop in Diagon which this young lady is now managing. Anyway, he is being tried in an hour, and is incommunicado till then, so you may as well wait for the trial to start".

"I wish I were still the Chief Warlock", muttered Dumbledore.

Not quietly enough, it seemed. "Wouldn't have done any good. The way you stood behind Snape, you'd be forced to recuse yourself from this trial anyway."

"That's alright. I will of course be arguing for the defence. I am sure this is all a big misunderstanding".

Yeah, right, thought Shacklebolt. My aurors don't make those kinds of mistakes!

1986-07-29 08:00 UTC, Ministry of Magic, Courtroom 10

"Bring in the accused", said Madam Longbottom. Snape was brought in, magically cuffed, and placed in the chair in the centre of the room.

"Senior Auror Shacklebolt, could you read out the charges please?"

"Yes Madam Chief Witch. The charges are very simple, actually. Severus Snape was caught red-handed trying to molest a young lady called Patricia Pensburg, at about 10:30 pm last night. Ms Pensburg, luckily, is no slouch at defense, plus a couple of aurors happened to be right there, so things were well in hand before any damage - other than to the accused himself, from Ms Pensburg's boot heel - could be done."

Was that a grin threatening to break out on Kingsley's face?, pondered Dumbledore. If so, he was very disappointed. Yes, very disappointed indeed, that Kingsley should take pleasure in the misfortunes of a fellow order member. I will need to speak to him soon.

"Is Ms Pensburg in the court?"

"We did not deem it necessary, Madam Chief Witch, since two of my aurors happened to be barely a few feet behind the accused when he did this and saw the whole thing. However, she has said that she is available and can be here in less than five minutes if summoned".

"Very well. We shall hear the statements of the aurors, then the accused".

Dumbledore piped up. "Madam Chief Witch, I would like to stand as a character witness to Severus, if I may".

"I thought you might." I certainly don't know anyone else in the whole damn world who would care to! "Aurors, please take the stand one by one and describe what you saw".

Agatha Noakes took the stand first.

"We were walking on our patrol as usual. When we were a few dozen yards from the apparation point, we saw the accused apparate in. At that time Ms Patricia Pensburg was walking towards the apparation point.

The accused stepped out very quickly, walked briskly towards Mr Pensburg, and grabbed her and portkeyed away. It took us about two to three minutes to trace the portkey and follow him, by which time he had apparently attempted to undress the young lady while she did her best to resist. She actually put up a good fight - I do not think the accused will ever be able to have children".

Then, under her breath, she muttered, "Which may be a good thing for the world!", raising some laughter from people nearby.

"I have a question, Madam Chief Witch. Could it not have been that Severus and the young lady knew each other and this was normal for them? Why did the aurors assume foul play?"

Madam Longbottom looked at Rhodes Pellville for an answer to Dumbledore's question.

"Well, she was shouting, 'who the fuck are you? If you don't let me go this instant I will cut off your ba-'"

"That will be quite sufficient, Auror Pellville", said Madam Longbottom. "Aside from those colorful quotes, do you have anything to add to Auror Noakes' testimony?"

"No Madam Chief Witch; that is exactly what happened".

"Alright. Let's hear what the accused has to say."

Snape stood at his place, still cuffed, and started to speak. His normal arrogance and the sneer that people had associated with his face were nowhere in evidence. Rather, he looked shocked and hurt - like a puppy whose loving master of several years had suddenly kicked him.

He spoke in a somewhat defeated voice. "The last time I had control of my actions, before waking up in the cell this morning, was at 9pm last night, when I picked up a cup of coffee which a house-elf had placed on my desk. I took a large swig, and instantly felt myself under the grip of a very rare potion called the liquid imperius. After that I only have vague memories of what happened."

"Ah, I see pleading the imperius is still in fashion", said Madam Bones from the side. Ever since Malfoy's unsuccessful attack on her, and the spectacular way it backfired on the death-eater, she had become much more blunt, and often made such pithy comments. And now she was the minister for magic, she had a lot more leeway too.

"Would you be prepared to swear to that under veritaserum, Mr Snape?", asked Madam Longbottom.

Malfoy rode gallantly up to the rescue. "There is no need for veritaserum; we should be able to take the word of one of our most outstanding potions masters at face value!", he proclaimed magnanimously.

Dumbledore also spoke up. "Indeed. That should not be necessary, Madam Chief Witch. I am willing to vouch for his character, and I assure you all that Severus would never do such a thing. He has my utmost confidence", he completed sanctimoniously.

"Unfortunately, Dumbledore, this case is being heard in a proper court, not on the pages of the Daily Prophet, where you can blithely ignore all evidence to the contrary and continue to spout your own brand of delusional reality. Nothing less than veritaserum will do if we are to accept what Snape is claiming", said Madam Longbottom.

Dumbledore was clearly distressed by that. For some reason, he did not seem to want Snape to take the veritaserum. And once again - curiously - he found himself on the same side of an issue as Malfoy! Is this the third time?, he asked himself. Luckily for him, the shame he felt the first time was not much in evidence - perhaps he was getting used to it?, he thought. Of course, that thought brought with it its own shudder.

Amelia then addressed Malfoy, "I would have expected that support from you of course, Malfoy. You are worried that if this happens, we may re-open old cases, without waiting for any fresh screw-ups, as promised till now. Don't worry; we won't do that!". Madam Bones appeared to have developed a long term grudge against Malfoy. (Well, he did try to curse her for speaking her mind!)

Then she continued, "I seem to recall that the accused is also a death-eater, and that too a death-eater who was not even tried. I say we use-"

Dumbledore was very quick to interrupt. "Madam Bones, I assure you that, regardless of whether he did it willingly or not, Severus deeply regrets his death-eater days. I know for a fact that he has repented".

"Oh really, how do you know this? What made him repent?"

Dumbledore thought for a few seconds. If he is classed as a death-eater and pumped full of veritaserum, his role in conveying the prophecy to Voldemort may come out. That would be the end for both of us, and must be prevented at all costs - even the cost of losing a spy, which may happen anyway, he mourned. But Severus will be really hurt if they find out about his unrequited love, plus there are enough people who thought very highly of Lily who will resent that he even thought of her that way... aha! Brilliant, I know just how to spin this!, he thought.

Pasting a pious look on his face, he said: "I hesitate to air his personal life here, but if it makes the difference between his being in prison and being a free man, I think the choice is clear. The fact is, Severus was a childhood friend of Lily Evans, having grown up in the same town, and loved her like a sister. When she and her husband were targeted by Voldemort, he turned himself over to me, and swore to do whatever he could against the cause".

(Hobby, listening to this quietly and invisibly as usual, grinned to himself. Oh boy, Dumbledore is playing some deep game, but of course it is bound to backfire spectacularly. Oh well, just watch the fun I guess...)

"Sister, you say?", asked Madam Bones.

"Yes indeed. He has personally assured me of this, with tears in his eyes at her loss".

The Minister for Magic turned to the Chief Witch. "So far, we have not produced the victim in court, nor described her in any way; we only gave her name.

The fact is, Mr Pensburg is a strikingly pretty red-head, with brilliant green eyes. A very rare combination, I believe. It is pure coincidence of course - we already checked to make sure she was not related to the late Mrs Potter.

Clearly, Snape is at best a very disturbed individual, and at worst he is downright dangerous to allow around young girls. If this is what he does to someone who looks like his 'sister', I shudder to think what he would do to some of the girls in the 6th and 7th years, or maybe even younger.

As we have already seen that Dumbledore will not listen to one word against him, expecting anything from that quarter is useless. Several of us have, or will have, children in Hogwarts soon, and I for one am with Lord Black now - as long as Snape and Dumbledore are both at Hogwarts, I am not sending my niece there.

Whatever punishment we decide, it should include his removal from Hogwarts, for the collective good of our children."

Dumbledore was catatonic. Red hair and green eyes? Oh no oh no oh no! How had he not thought to check on who the victim was? Why oh why did Snape do this? Even if he wanted to relieve himself in some way, weren't there any number of safer alternatives that would not raise a eyebrow, leave alone invite auror action?

Meanwhile, Snape turned to Dumbledore. He spoke in a dull monotone, a voice devoid of hope and power, a voice of one who had resigned himself to what the fates will, and was not even remotely entertaining any thoughts of revenge or retribution.

"Albus, you and I are the only ones I know in Britain who can brew that potion. It was a Hogwarts house-elf that gave me the coffee; they only listen to you, as far as I am aware. As near as I can recall, it was you who gave me my instructions - where to go, what to do. You even gave me the portkey to the Malfoys' rose garden. I admit the potion does not allow me to remember with full clarity, but as far as I could tell from behind the potion-induced haze, it was you.

I am sure that, deep in your sick, twisted, mind, you have some 'greater good' reason to ruin me like this, just as you had for Black's false imprisonment, and for the Potter brat's treatment at the hands of Lily's sister. I have no idea what game you are playing, but I am happy to be rid of you and your manipulations. This is an open court, and I say to you openly: may you rot in hell for all eternity. Azkaban has to be an improvement on being in your control".

And after that he said not a word to anyone in the court. He just clammed up completely.

Stunned silence greeted this. No one had any idea what had happened - these two were so close some had joked that they were lovers! And yet, one had apparently induced the other to commit indefensible crimes, and the other had called him out on it. There could not be a statement stronger than saying "Azkaban has to be an improvement" on someone!

Curiously, Snape's dull, toneless cursing at Dumbledore actually made him, in people's eyes, a victim. Not so much as to let him go, but there appeared to be sufficient pressure that the possibility of Azkaban receded rapidly. In the end, he was put on twelve years of probation and house arrest. He would work for St Mungos making potions during the day, and be housed during the night in a ministry appointed flat with magical protections against his leaving - basically a prison "suite", if there were such a thing.

Why twelve years? Well, no one openly questioned it, but it was well known that - by a very curious coincidence - many of the powers in that courtroom had children who would finish their Hogwarts years just about that time!

Later, Andy asked Sirius, "Why the heck did Dumbledore do that to one of his own?"

"Who knows how that twisted mind works? Remember I was also one of his own at one time! But if Snape himself says he is the only other wizard who could have made it, there can be no doubt".

Curiously, both of them seemed to forget that an alchemist is also a potioneer, and Dumbledore was not the only alchemist around.