Change The Fate: The Fallen Angel Arise

By TheUndefeatable

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, if I did, some topics would have been taken more seriously!

Rate: Rated T just to be safe
Summary: There is always a light in the middle of darkness, you just must be brave enough to see it and to embrace it! Then, you will see that you don't need to take the burden all by yourself; you see that you are not alone. A sequel to 'Face The World Alone: Tale Of A Fallen Angel'
Warning: Mention of child abuse and attempted suicide, some violence and bloodshed in later chapters, but not any thing explicit! Don't like it, don't read it!
A/N: Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the late update. Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing. Your reviews gave me motivation to finish this chapter much sooner than I expected. Have fun reading! R&R

Chapter 12: Clarification

Dumbledore left Severus to rest, but Severus could not sleep, even though he was tired. He had lived day to day, trying to not think about the whole ordeal. But after his talk with Dumbledore, the gravity of his situation hit him like the Hogwarts express.

When he politely declined Lucius' offer at the King's Cross station, Lucius told him that they would talk about it later. At the time he didn't think much of it. After all, Lucius seemed to be fine with it. The first two months of the summer were bad, but still tolerable. Severus endured it, knowing that he only had one more month before he could sneak out and go back to Hogwarts. To say that he was surprised that Lucius had visited him at his home was the understatement of the year. Severus felt flattered that the head of the House of Malfoy had brought himself down to visit him, a half-blood, at his home in the slums of the Spinner's End. Well, both flattered and embarressed. But any thought of accepting his offer went out of his head when he saw the gleam in Lucius' eyes. It was then that Severus understood how badly he had misread the situation at King's Cross station. Apparently, Lucius was angry about his refusal, very angry. And because he didn't accept Lucius' offer, he knew that he was going to pay dearly. In a way, by comparison, his father's treatment of him would look like the caresses of a loving father.

So again he refused and when Lucius told him he would regret it, he didn't think much of it. After all, what he had endured at home and at school, what was a little more? He would endure this one month and then he would go back to Hogwarts. He would graduate with highest marks possible and join the Dark Lord's ranks as an accomplished wizard, rather than Malfoy's sidekick, his charity project, or worse… as his slave. But how wrong he was. In a matter of days things got so bad that Severus started to loose touch with reality and time. He suspected that Lucius was behind his worsened situation, but for Dumbledore to confirm that they were paying his father to do that to him for two months, without Lucius checking on him again….well, he could not deny that it hurt. Lucius was one of the first and only people who showed an interest in Severus since he set foot in Hogwarts. While Severus knew that part of it was because of the benefits that Severus might have for him, he thought that some part – however small – was because Lucius liked him. But for him to go to such an extent only because Severus refused his guardianship, it hurt him. After all, he almost died at his father's hands.

It was then that another wave of realization hit him. By accepting Dumbledore's guardianship, he practically threw away any chance of getting accepted by the Dark Lord. On the other hand, he knew that whatever Dumbledore was doing now was out of pity – for it could not have been anything else, since by taking the unbreakable vow, Dumbledore proved to some extend that he didn't plan to use Severus or his money. So it must be pity that made Dumbledore help him, but who knew how long would it take Dumbledore to get tired of his charity case and throw him away like garbage. In other words, by accepting Dumbledore as his guardian, Severus made sure that he would not have any kind of future. There was no way he could make something out of his life or become someone worthwhile.

A lump formed in his throat and tears started to gather in his eyes. He was a crippled useless freak with no parents, no friends, no connection, and no future. The thought made him think of his mother and he was not going to see her again. With that thought, he started to cry silently.

After about five minutes of crying, his tears stopped and he felt exhausted. His eyes were drooping when the door to his room opened and alerted him immediately, only to see that it was Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey. Severus relaxed slightly.

The adults didn't miss Severus' tear streaked face and his red eyes. Poppy opened her mouth to comment, but a light touch to her arm stopped her. She looked at Albus and after a silent communication, nodded. She checked on Severus and gave him his potions. Also, she left some nutrient potion for him to take with his meals. She then told Severus to get some rest and left. Dumbledore, who had briefly left the room while the matron was checking on Severus, returned with a damp towel which he used to clean Severus' face quickly and silently. Then he tucked Severus in, patted him on the shoulder, and left with a "Sleep well". Severus who was exhausted from his emotional ordeal soon fell sleep.

When Dumbledore entered his office, he found the matron sitting in a chair in front oh his desk with a cup of tea in her hands. Dumbledore sat behind his desk and poured himself a cup of tea from the tray on his desk.

"You are aware that as his guardian, it is your duty to make sure that he is well, physically, as well as, mentally and emotionally, aren't you?" Poppy asked.

"Yes." Dumbledore answered shortly, but calmly while sipping his tea.

"Then why you didn't say anything? Why you didn't ask what had upset him?"

"Poppy, this is Severus Snape we are talking about."

"Are you implying that he either doesn't have any feelings or that his feelings are not important?" Poppy asked sharply.

"I'm not implying anything, Poppy. I merely meant that do you think if you asked, he would have answered? Severus is very reserved, if anything, I think it would put pressure on him and make him even more withdrawn. Moreover, I think I know what might have upset him."

Poppy was curious how after two days of spending time with Severus, Albus could come to know how Severus would react, but she let that slide and instead asked.

"What has upset him?"

"Shortly before you came, Severus and I had a talk about his physical condition and limitations. I think that the gravity of everything just caught up with him". Albus was not just guessing. When they entered the room and he saw Severus' face, he briefly touched Severus' mind to see what was wrong. He knew it was not right, but it would be better than messing up in his interactions with Severus, because he had no idea what was going on. And he knew that it would be a long time before Severus would willingly open up to him. Also, in this special case, he didn't need to much; Severus' emotions were practically all over and his mind was bursting from all thoughts and emotions. It was as if his mind was ready to push all those thoughts out to anyone who could receive them.

"But it doesn't mean we should abandon him," Poppy who was feeling calmer said.

"And we are not going to do that. However, as you said before he's had no time to mourn his mother. So I think it is important that we give him space to deal with everything. We will still be there to support him, as well."

Poppy raised her eyebrows and with a smile asked, "Since when you have become a professional in dealing with such situations?"

Albus chuckled lightly and said. "Since Minerva saw fit to buy me a small collection of books on the subject during our shopping two days ago." He motioned to the newest additions to his collection of books on the bookshelves and continued. "I have been reading them during my free time."

Poppy's smile widened and she said, "I'm happy that you are taking this seriously."

"Of course, I – " Whatever he wanted to say was cut off by appearance of a house elf who said that the matron was needed in the hospital wing. Poppy thanked the house elf, who she had assigned to keep an eye on hospital wing and departed quickly.

Albus sat back with a sigh. He had been the headmaster of a school full of teenagers for decades and until a few days ago he thought he knew exactly how to take care of one on a personal basis. But how wrong he was. And how grateful he was that Minerva had bought those books for him.

His thoughts were interrupted when a knocking sound came from the window of his office. He got up and let the owl in. After detaching the letter from the owl's foot, the owl flew out of the window, not waiting for a reply or even a treat.

Albus sat back behind his chair and opened the letter. The letter was from Griselda Marchbanks stating that his request was being processed and they will contact him as soon as they could find some results. Albus sat back and sighed. After much deliberation and consulting with Rosaline, he decided yesterday to put in a private request to Wizengamot to investigate the people who had filed false claims on Severus. He did not do it in the hopes of bringing the guilty parties to justice. He knew that none of those people would get caught. After all, Albus was not naive. Considering the amount of power and influence they had, all of them would manage to slip away. The best result he could hope for was for the ministry employees to get punished and for the followers of Voldemort to get discredited so

that others in the ministry would think twice about associating with them. He had no doubt it would affect their credibility to some extent, but not more than that. No, that was not why he had sent the request.

There were several reasons behind this decision. The most important reason was protecting Severus. Albus knew that once he had accepted the guardianship of a Slytherin student, it would attract lots of attention and if any of those involved should open their mouth, the most private part of Severus' life would end up on the front page of the Daily Prophet, most probably with all the embarrassing details, painting Severus as either a devious boy or a weakling who had gained the pity of Albus Dumbledore. 'And if tolerating his housemates and students from other houses' a voice in his mindsaid, 'is difficult for Severus now, it would be intolerable after the news spread.' By sending this request Dumbledore hoped to prevent that from happening. This way, all those who were involved would know that those who were leaking information to the news will make the reporters swarm like insects on the case. And it is always possible that the reporters would stumble upon some information regarding the cases involving them (it was not like Dumbledore had not done some thing like this before), while the reporters are trying to find some juicy detail to write about Severus. This would result in them, and by extent, Voldemort being in the spotlight which they didn't want.

But now, Voldemort and all of his associates will make sure that the case would not reach the media. It did not mean that the rumors will not spread, but it would remain as rumor rather than detailed facts published in the newspaper. Dumbledore knew that Voldemort's followers had enough connection and influence to make sure that even the rumors were as few as possible. Of course, he knew that regardless of the outcome of what he did, he needed to speak with Severus about the news spreading and prepare him for the other students' reaction when he returned to the class – Dumbledore grimaced at the thought and how Severus was going to react to the possibility of some of his peers knowing his secret. It was not something Dumbledore looked forward to.

Another reason Dumbledore sent his request was to force Voldemort to lay low for some time and to postpone all his plans – regarding Severus or otherwise – so as to not attract more attention. Truth was that in the Wizarding World's eyes, Voldemort was just one more bigoted pureblood. Most people knew nothing about him except his loud talks about making a better Wizarding World by reviving old traditions or his rare talks about the Statute of Secrecy. Only Dumbledore and his closest associates knew the true extent of his actions. Dumbledore, because he'd known Tom Riddle and his associates since childhood, and because Dumbledore had warned them what to look out for. So Dumbledore knew that putting this much attention on him and his people will still his hand for some time, as Voldemort tends to do most of his actions in the shadows and away from the public's eyes. It would give Severus time to recover without problem and it will give Dumbledore time to proceed with Severus' hearing and to get ready for Voldemort's next plan.

~oOo~

Lily woke up in her bed, having cried herself to sleep. She felt drained, even though she had gone to bed early and had slept the same amount of time she usually sleeps. She felt numb, having no more tears to shed and having no energy to feel anything. She did her morning routine in a daze. At breakfast she nibbled on some toast only, not noticing how her friends were trying to talk to her. Too soon she got up and left the table, without noticing all the pairs of worried eyes which followed her. Mary MacDonald and Alice Prewett, her closest friends, glanced at each other before scrambling to their feet and going after her. They were the first people who entered the Transfiguration class, a good half an hour before the start of the class. Lily sat down rigidly. Her eyes vacant, her mind miles away. After all their tries to engage her or at least bring her out of her thoughts failed, they sat quietly, trying to help her by keeping her company and supporting her in silence.

Not that Lily noticed. Her mind was far away; reminiscing in the past; wondering at the what ifs; drowning in guilt, regret, and the pain of loss. It was like losing Severus a second time. When she cut all ties with him, a small part of her still held on to the belief, to the hope of one day Severus changing, leaving his friends and housemates, and coming back to her. Even when she was being a pessimist, there was that calming thought in the back of her mind that even if Severus was not with her, he was somewhere out there living his life. In those times she hoped….prayed in her mind that he would have a better life than having to live with his - what she thought at the time – grumpy and uncaring father; that he would find happiness. She had imagined the future, different scenarios about how and when their paths would cross. Him, a successful Potion Master or maybe the Ministry's lead researcher and her, a successful Auror, Potion Mistress, or a Charm Crafter. However, now all that was gone. There will be no crossing paths because Severus was dead. She had lost him in a permanent way. Something that can't be changed. And how she regretted that her last words with him had been said in anger. That she hadn't thought twice before cutting him from her life. That she didn't accept his apology. That she didn't give their friendship another chance. That was what bothered most, that Severus' last memory of her had been her rejecting their friendship. That her last memory of Severus was their fight, Severus trying to apologize, asking for another chance and she not giving him that chance.

In the view of Severus' death, everything else seemed insignificant: their fights, his friends, and her friends. It seemed like everything was same, that nothing has changed, but it had. Everything had changed….because Severus was not there anymore and he died, thinking that Lily hated him and that she didn't care anymore. Lily put her head on her folded arms on the desk and let the tears flow again.

Mary and Alice exchanged a worried looks while trying to comfort Lily and get her to calm down. It took them near a quarter of an hour to calm her down and by then, many of the students had come to the class. They were looking at Lily all the while whispering among themselves. Another thing that other students found weird was the restrained behavior of the Maraudars. They were glancing at Lily from time to time and whispering with each other, but they were too quiet in comparison to their usual behavior.

At her friends insistence, Lily got up to go and wash her face. Mary followed her just in case. At the entrance to the class, they came face to face with a group of Slytherins entering the class, including Mulciber and Avery. One look at Lily's red puffy face and Avery sneered.

"Boys, it seems that the little Mudblood had gotten what she deserved."

"Leave her alone," Mary said boldly, standing up for her friend.

"You better know your place or you might get a repeat of that incident," Mulciber threatened as he made his way forward. Mary paled. Lily drew her wand and said icily. "If you get near her, I'll gut you myself." Her threat would have sounded more intimidating if it was not for her red puffy eyes and tear stricken face.

"You will gut me? The little mudblood who runs crying because the class is to scary for her?" He sneered mockingly.

"Or maybe she just realized how much of a worthless Mudblood she is," One of the Slytherins at the back said which turned out to be Antonin Dolohove. Someone in the group said "No, it is definitely the former."

James jumped from his seat, wand in hand and shouted, "Shut up. Don't speak about what you don't know!" Sirius was right behind him as he said. "She is worth hundreds of the likes of you scoundrels." He too took out his wand, followed by the two other Maraudars. Sometime during the bickering, Mary and all the Slytherins in the group had drawn their wands and were pointing it at the opposite group.

"What is going on here?" McGonagall asked as she appeared behind the Slytherins who were blocking the entrance. Slytherins immediately put away their wands while acting like nothing was out of place. Then Avery said, "Professor, we were entering the class, but they were blocking our way to not let us in. When we protested, they drew their wands. We just took out our wands to defend ourselves in case they attacked us."

"That is not true, they blocked our way and were threatening us." Mary said.

"Mary is telling the truth, Professor," James and Sirius said, backing her up.

"Oh, stop it! You really should be ashamed. You are all almost of age! And yet you are still fighting with each other like children. Ten points from both houses." When she saw that they opened their mouth to protest, she said, "You should know better than to fight! Now all of you take your seats." Then she saw Lily's face and her expression became concerned. "Miss. Evans, are you alright?"

"Yes, Professor. I just wanted to go wash my face."

"Of course, of course." MacGonagal said.

Mary made to follow Lily, but McGonagall stopped her. "Miss Macdonald, please take your seat. I'm sure Miss Evans is capable of freshening up by herself."

Several Slytherins snickered at this, but was silenced with one glare from McGonagall.

Lily washed her face as quickly as she could and returned to the class. Throughout the theoretical part of the lesson McGonagall kept an eye on her, noting the faraway look on her face. If it had been some other student, McGonagall would assume it was teenage daydreaming, but not her. This was highly unusual. That plus her still red eyes and what she had heard from her colleague seeing Miss. Evans crying, meant that something was seriously wrong. This theory was backed up by the fact that she seems to be unable to concentrate enough to get the slightest result from transfiguring her teapot. The look that her friends and Maraudars were throwing her was another sign as well.

McGonagall wanted to ask her to stay behind, but then noticed that apparently Miss Evans had no plan to leave, since she remained in her seat at the end of the class and had told her friends to leave without her.

When the last student was leaving, McGonagall motioned for him to close the door behind him. The boy threw a curious look at Miss Evans before closing the door.

There was a few moments of silence before McGonagall cleared her throat and said. "How can I help you, Miss Evans?"

There was another few seconds of silence, before Lily got up from her seat and approached the teacher's desk. Her head was bowed, so McGonagall could not see her eyes. When she reached the desk, she touched the desk lightly with the tip of her fingers in way that was clear she was using it to ground herself and prepare mentally for what was coming next. Then she took a deep shaky breath and brought her head up. McGonagall noticed that tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Professor, I know what has happened to Severus."

Whatever McGonagall imagined to be the cause of her distress, this was not it.

"What do you mean, Miss. Evans?"

"I…I know that he is gone. I went to the hospital wing and saw that his bed was empty." She was crying again.

"Yes, well, we had to move him." MacGonagal said confused.

"I know," there was a sob. "But I wanted to see him before that."

McGonagall looked at her even more confused about her distress.

"I'm sure there will be time for you to see him, Miss. Evans, there is no need to cry."

"But I wanted to see him before the funeral."

"Funeral? Whose funeral?"

"Severus'. Severus' funeral."

Understanding lit McGonagall's eyes. She got up and directed Lily to the nearest chair, and then she put her hands on Lily's shoulder and bent so that she was eye level with her. She looked calmly in Lily's moist green eyes and said, "Miss. Evans…Lily, Severus is not dead. He is alive."

"What?" Lily exclaimed, her jaw dropping.

"He is alive." McGonagall repeated, her tone gentle.

"But then why he was not in the hospital wing?"

"It will take Severus months to recover completely. Did you think he would stay all that time in hospital wing where students come and go?" She asked gently. A thoughtful look took over her face for a few seconds before she continued. "Also, since the headmaster has become Severus' guardian, it was decided to move him to a room in the headmaster's chambers."

McGonagall knew sooner or later the news would spread and everyone would know. So, by telling Miss Evans now, she was not risking anything. Also, if Miss Evans wanted to visit Severus and help him in his recovery, she would need to know anyway.

"What?" Lily asked shocked. For the second time in the last few minutes, she felt like the rug has been pulled from under her.

"It is true." McGonagall said with a small smile.

"When Severus wakes up, he will not be happy about that." Lilly muttered, completely aware about how Severus felt about the headmaster.

"Miss. Evans, Severus did wake up. He gave his consent to headmaster to become his guardian. Without his consent, it would not have been legal."

"What? Why is his consent needed? And you are saying that Severus willingly gave his guardianship to headmaster?" At the look McGonagall gave her, she quickly added. "Ma'am?"

McGonagall straightened and said, "Yes, he did and his consent was needed because Severus is almost of age."

"Oh." That was all Lily could say after the shocking news that she received.

"Now, I need to ask you to not share what you heard today with anyone," MacGonagal said.

"Of course...um...can I see Severus, Professor?"

"Not now, but you can visit him when he is feeling better and is ready to see visitors."

It still looked liked Miss Evans was having difficulty trying to come to terms with what she heard, but she looked calm, so McGonagall said, "I believe you have Herbology now, is that right?"

Lily nodded and said, "Yes, Professor."

"Then you should leave now so as to not to be late for your class."

"Yes, Professor. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Miss Evans. Remember, if you have any questions or concerns, my office's door is always open."

"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you again." Lily said. She seems to be back to her energetic self. Her eyes were bright and there was a smile on her lips, as she made her way to the door.

"And Miss Evans?"

"Yes, Professor?"

"Don't forget to clean up before your next class."

Lily who was at the door unconsciously brought her hand up and wiped at the drying tears tracks on her face. "Yes, Professor."

"And Miss Evans?" McGonagal called with a small smile.

"Yes, Professor." Lily asked a little bit confused.

"Do not forget your bag." McGonagal motioned towards Lily's book bag which was still on her desk. Lily ducked her head and chuckled softly as she hurried toward her desk and picked up her bag. Then with a "Thank you, Professor", she was out of the door.

MCGonagall shook her head at the antics of her students and made her way toward the staff lounge to drink some tea before her next class. She thought about mentioning the conversation to Albus and seeing when Severus might be ready to see visitors, but it flewfrom her mind when she entered the staff lounge and was dragged into Horace and Filius' argument about the effects of spells on potions.

~~oOo~~

Mary was the first one who noticed Lily has entered the greenhouse. She instantly noticed the change in her friend. Something has happened when Lily stayed back to talk with McGonagall and Mary was glad that Lily's talk with their head of house has apparently helped.

She exchanged a look with Alice and saw she has noticed the change in Lily's behavior as well. But before they could ask Lily anything, Professor Sprout came and the class started. She tried to talk with Lily (who was working on her plant beside her) about it, but she just shook her head and shut down any possible conversation by motioning toward their professor.

Mary promised herself that she was going to get to the bottom of this after class.

~~oOo~~

Mary was not the only one who noticed Lily's change in mood. The Maraudars were following Lily with their eyes since she had set foot inside the greenhouse. And while it was a relief for Mary and Alice to see the peaceful expression on Lily's face, for Maraudars, it was confusing.

"Maybe she was just upset about something else and doesn't still know about Snape," Sirius said.

"What would have upset her so much? You saw her at Transfigurations. She looked bad!" James said.

"Yes, and now she doesn't!" Sirius said motioning towards her with his hand and continued, "You are saying that she was crying over Snape, because he is dead, and after one talk with McGonagall, now she is fine?"

"I don't know! But what could have upset her so much that she would cry like that?" James answered.

Sirius shrugged. "Well, she won't be the first girl who has cried over stupid stuff."

"She is not like that! If she was upset, then it was definitely something important!" James said in defense.

This exclamation was followed by Remus shushing them and Professor Sprout coming over so their conversation was stopped. However, James promised himself to get to the bottom of the matter. Another thing that was bothering James was that, if the reason Evans was crying about was not Snape then she still didn't know about him. Should they tell her about it, since it seemed the professors hadn't yet? She definitely would want to attend his funeral. His thoughts were interrupted as the plant he was working on nipped his finger. He drew his hand away and noticing the small droplet of blood, took Remus' offered handkerchief and wiped at it. Seeing that it stopped bleeding already, he went back to his work, trying to copy whatever Remus was doing.

~~oOo~~

The whole day, Mary and Alice tried to get Lily to talk, only to be dismissed. The best answer they got was that she was mistaken about something which upset her. It was unclear whether what she wrongly believed had upset her or the fact that she was mistaken about something. The onlookers noticed the whispered discussion between three witches and how it seemed one or more members of Maraudars where always nearby to eavesdrop.

Some other students who always enjoyed gossip were interested. They had some theories, as well, which varied from Lily getting dumped by her secret boyfriend, to her being pregnant, or to her getting expelled for some offense. Some Slytherins commented that it was because she found out what a worthless mudblood she was and she was okay now because McGonagall probably told her that the school doesn't care about worthiness anymore.

Lily was unaware of all the gossip that was following her. She was just a little annoyed with her friends' insistent queries, but she did not have it in her to show her annoyance. The news that Severus was alive, that they still could make up, caused a feeling of peace to engulf her. When McGonagall told her, she could not believe it. At one point, she even speculated that probably she was still in her bed in the dormitories and is dreaming about all of this. A few pinches put an end to that theory. But she still couldn't believe it. It was like someone had heard her wishing to have another chance to patch up things with Severus and just made it come true. And now, nothing could bring down her mood.

She just kept thinking and thinking about when she visits Severus. How they would probably both apologize and they would make up. How this time their friendship would be stronger, unbreakable. Because Severus cannot be totally lost if he agreed to allow the headmaster to be his guardian and also, because now that Dumbledore was Severus' guardian, he would keep him from the bad influences of his housemates. He will show Severus that it is wrong to use dark magic. And once Severus changes, stops using dark magic, and quit hanging around those bullies then her friends would stop pestering her about being friends with Severus. They might even befriend her Slytherin friend and then all the problems would be solved. Severus would have other friends to hang around with and she wouldn't need to choose between her friends.

TBC….