DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

Remus had just flooed back to his cottage and Harry and Susan had gone into their playroom where they were currently drawing.

Amelia had just made a snack for them and was currently making some tea for herself.

It had been another long day for her with Crouch's frustration but luckily, it had not been as bad as the previous day.

She had also met Arthur Weasley during the lunch hour and had spoken with him. He had been quite happy to hear about Harry living with her and had said that he wanted to meet him. He had also assured support to her from the Weasley family should it be needed. Amelia had thanked him greatly, quite happy that this was another person who saw Harry as a child and not as a 'messiah'.

Unfortunately, she had also run into Lucius Malfoy, who had proceeded to talk about how 'low' the Weasleys were and about how Harry should not be living with Muggles but with a proper family such as his own.

Amelia had been tempted to yell in his face that he would be victim to her wrath if he ever tried to take Harry from her, but had controlled herself.

If only Harry wasn't known as the 'Boy-Who-Lived', and Crouch wasn't such a ruthless man, she wouldn't have minded bringing Harry and Susan to her workplace. But Crouch was not someone who would be affectionate to children.

It was so ironic that while a Death Eater such as Lucius Malfoy roamed freely, having been declared innocent after claiming to have been imperiused, an innocent man who would never betray his best friends and his godson had been imprisoned in Azkaban without even a trial.

But soon, Sirius would be tried, and he would be found innocent. Amelia was sure of it. He would never kill Muggles or turn on his family in all but blood that had loved him so much.

His love for Harry and his begging Amelia to make sure that Harry was safe made her feel that Sirius was completely innocent.

Just as she had removed the kettle from the stove and was about to pour a cup for herself, she suddenly heard a burst coming from the fireplace in the living room and a voice booming, "Amelia, Amelia, where are you?!"

Amelia quickly entered the living room and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the head in the fireplace.

For the head belonged to none other than Albus Dumbledore.

"Amelia, I must speak with you urgently! Now," Dumbledore spoke impatiently, "please allow me to enter."

Amelia felt her heartbeat quicken with worry. Of course Dumbledore had found out. He would have surely found out sooner or later.

Still, better for it to have been Dumbledore instead of Crouch to find out.

So she said, "Alright, please come in Dumbledore."

Dumbledore's head disappeared from the fireplace and a few moments later, he emerged from the fireplace in a burst of green flames and cried out impatiently and loudly, "Amelia, what have you done?!"

Amelia spoke, "Just what do you mean by that?"

Dumbledore spoke, "You have removed Harry Potter from his relatives. Did I not tell you that he needs to stay there? They are his family, and you, even after being told that several times, have gone and taken him from his aunt and uncle."

Amelia spoke firmly, "I did the right thing, and I don't regret it one bit."

Just then, there was another burst of green flames and another man emerged. He had greasy black hair, sallow skin and a hooked nose.

Amelia knew who this was. It was none other than Severus Snape, a former Death Eater turned spy and now the potions professor of Hogwarts.

Amelia asked, "How did you know that Harry is with us?"

Dumbledore replied, "I questioned the Dursleys to find out who took Harry and developed suspicions about you. In order to confirm my suspicions, I sent Severus here to watch you and see if Harry is truly here."

Amelia asked angrily, "You mean to say that you had Snape spying on us?"

Snape replied, "Only this afternoon, to confirm Dumbledore's suspicions."

Amelia gestured for Dumbledore to sit down, but had a rather cold expression on her face.

Dumbledore sat on the armchair and Amelia sat on the sofa opposite to it.

Dumbledore then spoke, "Amelia, listen, did I not explain that Harry needs to have a normal childhood; that he's better off growing up away from all that fame attributed to him because of that fateful Halloween night?"

Amelia replied, "While the entire wizarding community of the United Kingdom celebrated, an innocent child wept, alone, scared, having lost his parents. Is this kind of fame worth it? What he needed was love and care, and you chose to send him to Lily's sister who despises magic."

Dumbledore said, "Petunia is his family. Surely, she would care for him. She took him in. She accepted him. But now, by taking him away, you have jeopardized his upbringing. Uprooting him from his family was wrong on your part. It is for Harry's well being and safety that he needs to go back to the Dursleys."

Suddenly, everyone heard a loud cry of "NOOOOOOO," and turned to see a small raven haired boy running into the living room and straight into Amelia's arms.

Harry had just drawn a picture and had been coming down to show it to Aunt Amelia. He had just been about to enter the living room when he had heard someone say that he needed to go back to the Dursleys. And now he was horrified, terrified of having to go back and leave his Aunt Ami.

"Don't give me back to them, don't leave me Aunty!" Harry cried as he buried his face into her shoulder and wept.

Amelia held Harry tightly in her arms and glared at Dumbledore as if to say, "Look what you've done!"

Dumbledore had a look of concern on his face. Snape on the other hand looked on with indifference muttering, "So much like his father, spoilt and arrogant, doesn't want to go back to where he belongs simply because of some scolding his aunt and uncle must have given him to discipline him properly!"

Unfortunately for him, this comment did not go unnoticed by Amelia. Upon hearing it, she glared at him fiercely, wanting to yell at him, but instead, she decided to focus on calming Harry down.

Standing up with Harry in her arms, she left the living room and carried him over to the playroom where Susan was building something with blocks.

Setting Harry down and kneeling at his level, holding him in her arms, she whispered, "Shhh, Baby, I've got you. Don't cry my baby; I won't let anyone take you from me."

Harry cried out, "He, he said…" but was unable to say anymore beyond that as his body racked with sobs.

Amelia rocked him from side to side, and Harry calmed down a minute later.

Still sniffing, he said, "No go."

Amelia said, "You won't have to go back to the Dursleys. The man whom you heard is a good man, but he doesn't know everything. No one will ever take you from me, I promise."

Harry hugged her whispering, "Love godmummy."

Amelia kissed his cheek and whispered, "Love baby."

She then noticed a sheet of paper in Harry's hands.

She took it from him and looked at it. There were three stick figures, one taller than the other two. Amelia smiled as she realized whom Harry must have been trying to draw, herself along with her two children.

Kissing the drawing, she handed it back to him and patted his and Susan's heads before saying, "I'll be back Harry. Stay here."

As she got up, she looked at both of them and asked, "Are you thirsty? Do you want some juice or water?"

Harry replied softly, "Juice."

Susan said the same.

Amelia quickly went down to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of orange juice from the fridge. After pouring the juice into two sippy cups, she went back up and handed them to the children before going back down to the living room.

All this while, Dumbledore had been sitting in the armchair and Snape had been pacing back and forth.

Amelia entered and asked, "Would you like any tea?"

Dumbledore said, "That would be good. Thank You."

Snape however, politely declined.

Amelia poured a cup of tea and placed it on the coffee table in front of Dumbledore before sitting on the sofa opposite to him.

As Dumbledore began to sip his tea, Amelia asked, "Tell me, why are you so insistent that Harry has to stay with the Dursleys? If you're worried about his fame, then let me assure you that I have no intention of telling him about his title until he is older, around ten or eleven. And Petunia has no love for him. She pampered his cousin while Harry was absolutely neglected before I brought him here. Why, why, why are you so insistent that he absolutely has to live with those horrible Dursleys?"

Dumbledore sighed and said, "Perhaps I should tell you everything. There is more to Harry than what you know. I will explain everything. Then, you will understand why Lord Voldemort tried to kill Harry, why he failed and why I sent him to live with the Dursleys."

He took a sip of his tea before he started, "It was in the spring of 1980, in the month of March when it happened. I was conducting an interview for the post of divination professor. The candidate, Sybill Trelawney, seemed to possess no true knowledge of the subject. To be frank, I was almost prepared to have divination removed from the list of subjects that students take after their first two years in Hogwarts. The interview was about to end in failure when the most unexpected happened. She predicted a real prophecy. Do you have a pensive?"

Amelia replied, "Yes, I will get it."

She departed and turned left into a corridor, which had an office room and a bathroom. Entering her office room, which contained a few tables and shelves, she picked up a pensive which was kept on one of the tables and picked it up before going back to the living room. She set the pensive on the coffee table and sat down opposite to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and brought it to his temple, and a few moments later, pulled it away, with some kind of silver misty thread attached to the tip.

He said, "I urge you to listen carefully to what you are about to hear."

With that, he placed the thread into the pensive.

Just then, Snape cleared his throat and said, "Call of nature. Will you kindly excuse me?"

Amelia nodded saying, "There's a bathroom down the left corridor, just past the living room and before the kitchen."

Snape nodded and exited the living room.

Dumbledore and Amelia entered the pensive to see what was in the memory.

*************************Start of memory*************************

Dumbledore was sitting in a room in the Hog's Head at a desk, facing a thin woman with glasses so thick that her eyes seemed to be ten times their size.

This woman was none other than Sybill Trelawney.

Dumbledore was saying, "Well, I am sorry, but it appears that you do not possess any real talent in the art of divination. I am…"

But before Dumbledore could continue, Trelawney's eyes suddenly bulged and she stood up quickly, stretched out her right arm and being in such a trance, spoke in a high pitched, unnatural voice,

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..."

******************************End of memory**********************

Amelia was stunned after hearing that.

After they emerged from the pensive, Dumbledore then explained, "She made a true prophecy that night, about the one to destroy Voldemort. Unfortunately, a Death Eater managed to hear a part of the prophecy and told his master."

"Who was it?" Amelia asked.

Dumbledore replied, "That is best not told."

Amelia frowned and said, "So are you implying that the child of the prophecy is Harry?"

Dumbledore said, "There were only two couples who had defied Voldemort three times, James and Lily Potter, and Alice and Frank Longbottom. Both of their sons were born at the end of July. As you know, Voldemort is actually a half-blood, and Lily is a Muggleborn."

Amelia gasped and spoke, "But that means, he must have decided that Harry was the chosen one. He will mark him as his equal; that means that as Harry is a half-blood..."

Dumbledore said, "Yes, Voldemort chose the half-blood, instead of the pureblood. Now you know why Voldemort was targeting the Potters."

He then continued, "You must remember about them going into hiding under the Fidelius charm. I offered to be their secret keeper, but James insisted that Sirius Black was the best choice. Unfortunately, they trusted the wrong person. You know how Voldemort found them. Only the secret keeper could have told him."

Amelia spoke, "No, Sirius is innocent. He would never betray his family like that."

Dumbledore sadly said, "Amelia, I know it is not easy considering you were quite close to him, but it is the truth. Sirius did betray them. All this time, he was a double agent for Voldemort."

Amelia quickly replied, "No, Sirius was not even given a trial. I just know that he's innocent. Finally, after two and a half years, Crouch has agreed to try him, but only at the end of July. I am sure that he will be found innocent. He would never turn on Harry like that!"

Dumbledore looked at her for a few moments and said, "Anyway, we must return to the main discussion. The secret keeper betrayed James and Lily because of which, Voldemort was able to enter the house and kill them. First he killed James, who did not even have his wand with him, but still tried to fight him off. Then, he went up to the nursery and tried to kill Harry. He told Lily to step aside, but she refused, choosing to die for her child. She was given a choice to live, and she chose death for her child's sake. And because of that, an ancient magic that Voldemort knows of and despises was invoked. Lily's willingness to die for her child gave him a protection, because of which, Voldemort's killing curse could not harm him and instead rebounded on the caster, causing him to lose his body."

Amelia said in amazement, "So that's how Harry survived."

Dumbledore replied, "Yes, because Lily was given the choice to live or die for her child, and chose death, she gave her protection of love which saved Harry from certain death."

Amelia's eyes were wide with amazement. Hearing all this, she remembered telling Harry, "They didn't let him come and get you, and for that, he murdered them."

Dumbledore then spoke, "Now, I know you will ask me this, why did I not just give Harry to you directly if I simply couldn't trust Sirius, why did I send Harry to live with the Dursleys? At that time, there were Death Eaters out there, who would surely want to get their hands on the boy and harm him. Even though most of them are now in Azkaban, many of them are still out there, having claimed to be forced into Voldemort's service. You know who they are."

Amelia spoke, "Lucius Malfoy for instance. He told me this afternoon that Harry should be a 'proper' magical family such as his own. He'd use Harry to be in the Ministry's good books."

Dumbledore replied, "Or harm him, hand him over should Voldemort ever return. Apart from all those followers of Voldemort, the other important thing is that he is not dead. I am sure he will return one day. It could be a few years from now, maybe five, ten, fifteen, maybe even fifty, but he will return. When I found out that the Potters had been attacked and Harry orphaned, I knew that my main priority was to keep Harry alive. In order to protect him, I cast a blood bond charm, adding a layer to the protection. However, for the charm to activate, a blood relative of the protector must accept the one protected into their home. Therefore, Petunia was the best choice."

"She doesn't care about him," Amelia spoke.

"But she took him in," Dumbledore replied, "and in doing so, she sealed the blood protection borne out of love. As long as Harry considers that place to be his home, even if Voldemort returns, he cannot harm him there. None of his Death Eaters or anyone with harmful intentions can enter that place which houses Harry and his family, so long as he considers that place to be home, and until he turns seventeen, this protection will hold."

Amelia looked at Dumbledore in silence as she absorbed all this information.

Dumbledore then continued, "Therefore, now that I have explained everything, please understand, that Harry needs to go back to his relatives. Think, don't you want him to be safe? What about your own family, your niece? Don't you want Harry to be protected from harm? I know the Dursleys may not be the best option, but it is for the best, for Harry's own safety, that he must go back. Please understand; he needs to go back to the Dursleys."

There was complete silence in between them for a few whole minutes.

Dumbledore thought that now, Amelia would agree that it was necessary for Harry to go back to the Dursleys. Of course, he'd try to make sure Arabella Figg kept a closer watch on him, to make sure he was happy, perhaps talk to his aunt and uncle about his treatment, hoping that it would be better. But the main point was that he thought that she was just currently processing all that he had explained and that she would understand why he had sent Harry to the Dursleys and would agree that he needed to go back there.

However, what happened next was completely unexpected.

Instead, Amelia suddenly looked at him and spoke sharply, "Do you think Lily would have wanted her child to be abused?!"

"Amelia," Dumbledore tried to speak, but Amelia stood up to her full height and yelled, "LILY GAVE HER LIFE SO THAT HARRY WOULD LIVE, AND SHE WOULD WANT HIM TO BE SAFE, NOT JUST SAFE BUT LOVED AND CARED FOR. AND WHAT DID YOU DO? YOU LEFT HIM WITH LILY'S SISTER WHO HATES MAGIC, THINKING THAT HE WOULD BE SAFE! HE MAY HAVE BEEN SAFE FROM DEATH EATERS, BUT WAS HE SAFE FROM ABUSE INFLICTED BY HIS OWN FAMILY? AND FOR THAT MATTER, THAT BLOOD BOND CHARM WAS YOURS, NOT LILY'S."

She screamed at him, "DID YOU EVEN BOTHER TO CHECK UP ON HIM?! NO, YOU JUST THOUGHT SENDING ARABELLA FIGG TO WATCH OVER HARRY WOULD BE ENOUGH. WELL, SHE SHOULD HAVE WATCHED HIM MORE CLOSELY, BUT CLEARLY, SHE DIDN'T!"

"Amelia, you must," Dumbledore tried to interject, but Amelia was having none of it.

"THEY HATE HIM, THEY SEE HIM AS A BURDEN TO THEM; THEY CALL HIM A FREAK! WHILE THE WIZARDING WORLD WAS REJOICING, HARRY WAS BEING ABUSED BY LILY'S OWN SISTER AND HER HUSBAND, THOSE VILE DURSLEYS! THEY KEPT HIM, A BABY, IN A CUPBOARD FULL OF SPIDERS! THEY SHOWED ALL THEIR AFFECTION TO THEIR OWN SON DUDLEY AND TREATED HARRY WITH SCORN! THEY CALLED HIM A FREAK, THEY ABUSED HIM, THEY TOLD HIM THAT HE DIDN'T DESERVE TO BE LOVED AND THAT NO ONE WOULD LOVE HIM! DUDLEY HIT HIM AND FRAMED HIM AND WHAT DID PETUNIA DO? INSTEAD OF HUGGING HIM AND LISTENING TO HIM, SHE CRUELLY PUSHED HIM AWAY AND SLAPPED HIM! THEY STARVED HIM WHEN HE NEEDED FOOD! DO YOU THINK THAT'S HOW LILY WOULD HAVE WANTED HER SON TO LIVE HIS CHILDHOOD? A NORMAL CHILDHOOD, INDEED! EVEN A CRUEL, HORRIBLE, DESTROYED CHILDHOOD IS NORMAL FOR YOU, ISN'T IT, ALBUS DUMBLEDORE?!"

"Amelia," Dumbledore yelled, but even that had no effect.

Amelia screamed, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, "I SPIED ON HIM FOR A WHOLE DAY BECAUSE SIRIUS BEGGED ME TO WHEN I INFORMED HIM ABOUT HIS UPCOMING TRIAL! AND THERE WAS NO SIGN OF LOVE FOR HIM! I'LL SHOW YOU MY MEMORY OF WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY! I'LL SHOW YOU MORE IF I HAVE TO! THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHY I REFUSE TO LEAVE HARRY! THAT'S AS GOOD AS INFANTICIDE! I'LL SHOW YOU! THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHY I REFUSE TO ABANDON HARRY!"

With that, she left the living room and rushed upstairs into the playroom. She saw Snape at the end of the corridor, but did not think much of it. Perhaps he was just watching Harry to make sure he was okay and nothing went wrong.

Amelia entered the room and approached Harry who was playing with a plush lion.

Kneeling down to Harry's level, she cupped his face in her hands and said, "Harry, there's something I need you to do. I know you will not like it, but you need to trust me. After it is done, everything will be okay. Can you do it?"

Harry looked up at her and said, "Okay."

Amelia said, "Good, now all that you need to do is to think about something that happened while you were staying with the Dursleys. How about we start with what happened when you wanted Aunt Petunia to hug you?"

"Okay," Harry replied.

Amelia said, "Just close your eyes and think about what happened."

Harry closed his eyes and thought about an incident where he had tried to hug Aunt Petunia. A few moments later, Amelia warned Harry that he might feel an odd sensation and putting her wand to his head, extracted the memory. She repeated the process until she had extracted ten memories. Afterwards, she kissed Harry and whispered to him not to be afraid. Of course, she kissed Susan too, who was feeling afraid that Harry would go away and assured her that it would never happen.

She carried the memories in a flask to the living room where Dumbledore was still sitting. She poured the memories into her pensive before adding her own memory. She looked at Dumbledore and said, "Now, I want you to watch very carefully. Don't think that we are lying."

And then, they both entered the pensive and into a memory, Harry's memory.

*************************Start of memory*************************

Harry, looking no more than three years old was in the living room near the kitchen, staring at Aunt Petunia who was kneeling down and hugging Dudley who was playing with a toy car.

"Come here my beautiful Diddydums," Petunia cooed, "Mummy's going to eat your fingers."

Saying so, Petunia took Dudley's right hand and tried to 'eat' his fingers. Dudley made a loud noise and pulled his hand away.

"Oh, so strong," Petunia cooed, "You're so strong that even Mummy can't eat your fingers! Come here Duddykins!"

With that, Petunia hugged Dudley and kissed him before standing up and watching him play with his toys.

Harry had been staring at them the whole time, rooted to his spot. After Petunia had stopped hugging Dudley, Harry had looks of longing written on his face.

Slowly, he stepped forward but then stepped backward.

He watched his Aunt Petunia for a few moments and then slowly moved forward.

He reached her legs and wrapped his tiny arms around them, looking up longingly at her.

Aunt Petunia chose that moment to look down to see who was holding on to her, and when she saw Harry, instead of hugging him back, she shrieked and pushed him away.

As Harry burst into tears, she yelled, "How dare you touch me! How dare you try to hug me you freak! You don't deserve what Dudley gets because you are a bad boy and a freak! Go away from me!"

Just then, Uncle Vernon entered the room and asked gruffly, "What's going on here Pet?"

Petunia spoke angrily, "This little freak tried to hug me, when he knows that he doesn't deserve it like Dudley does!"

Vernon growled viciously, and as Harry tried to hide behind Petunia, Vernon yelled, "COME HERE BOY!"

Harry whimpered and kept on trying to hide behind Aunt Petunia, even though she was constantly pushing him away and exposing him.

Uncle Vernon moved towards Harry and with a meaty hand, he grabbed Harry by his neck and dragged him away from Aunt Petunia yelling, "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE TOLD YOU THAT YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE HUGGED YOU FREAK! YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO OUR FAMILY!"

Harry cried out, "Unca Vernon, please, I be good!"

Pulling him towards his cupboard even as he screamed and shed tears, Uncle Vernon hissed cruelly, "Now listen here you little undeserving freak, you will not ruin Christmas for Dudders! You are not a part of this family! You are a freak and no one will ever love you!"

And with that, he pinched Harry hard, causing him to cry out in pain and pushed him into his cupboard, sporting an evil smile as Harry cried.

******************************End of memory**********************

This was just one memory.

They saw all the other memories, including one where Harry had been hit multiple times by his cousin and had then been screamed at because Dudley had flown back due to accidental magic. Finally, Amelia showed Dumbledore her own memory, fast forwarding so as to view the main parts without taking a whole day.

They then emerged from the pensive.

Amelia's blood was boiling and her heart was broken, seeing how cruelly Harry had been treated.

As for Dumbledore, there was horror written all over his face.

Dumbledore muttered, "I knew I was condemning him to dark years, but now, after seeing just what it was like… What have I done?!"

And then, he collapsed in the armchair and burst into tears, his face buried in his hands.

"James, Lily," Dumbledore cried out, "I have failed you!"

And Amelia, seeing Dumbledore's tears, did not feel anger towards him.

And then suddenly, they heard screams coming from upstairs.

Harry had just stepped out of the bathroom after attending to his call of nature and washing his hands and was heading towards the playroom when he suddenly bumped into someone.

He looked up to see who it was and saw a man dressed in black, with greasy black hair, sallow skin and a hooked nose. His face did not look friendly and his posture seemed intimidating.

Snape snarled, "So the Potter brat stands in front of me. So pampered you are by your aunt and uncle, so spoiled that you can't even stand a simple punishment. Well, this will soon be settled, and you will be sent back to the Dursleys."

"No," Harry cried out, "Aunty won't give me back to them! They mean! They said I'm a freak! They said I am a bad boy! They pushed me!"

Snape commented, "Potter's spawn being so demanding, so spoiled, of course, the celebrity, Prince Potter."

Even as Harry continued to back away from him, towards the playroom, Snape moved closer slowly. He then said, "You're just like your father, spoilt, arrogant, weak…"

Harry suddenly cried out, "Daddy good! He loved me! Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon said Daddy and Mummy hated me but they loved me! Daddy and Mummy good!"

Snape raised his voice yelling, "Your Daddy was a swine! And your Mummy should not have been with him! In fact, you are a bad boy, just as your aunt and uncle said! Your Mummy died because of you!"

Suddenly, he heard a cry, "Leave Harry alone mean man!"

He looked forward to see who it was.

Sure enough, it was Susan standing right behind Harry, having heard what was going on and angry that this man in black was being mean to Harry.

Snape shouted, "Shut your mouth child! You do not call your elders names!"

Suddenly, Harry shouted, "NO, YOU BAD MEAN MAN!"

Snape looked at Harry with shock for a moment, not having expected the latter to suddenly stand up to him. But then he glared at Harry and strode towards him yelling, "WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU IMPUDENT CHILD?!"

Harry screamed in terror even as Snape strode towards him. Snape was right in front of him, glaring down at him and ready to hit him.

And then suddenly, someone slapped Snape.

He looked above Harry to see who had slapped him and found himself looking into Amelia's eyes which were blazing with fury.

"How dare you, how dare you treat my child like that!" Amelia yelled.

Snape spoke indifferently, "I was simply teaching him some manners and telling him how he is spoilt like his blessed father who saw it fit to bully me! He was nothing more than a swine!"

Amelia yelled, "How dare you judge Harry like that! My baby boy was neglected and abused for two and half years by Lily's own sister and her husband! And as for his father, at least he never became a Death Eater like you! James was better than you! Just because he bullied you doesn't mean you get to bully his son like that. He's only three! How can you be so heartless?"

Snape commented, "James saw it fit to push me down and call me names such as 'Snivellus'! He never apologized. In fact, he and his friends were delighted when it came to harassing me."

Amelia retorted, "James changed for Lily in the first place. It's true that he was a bully, but then he changed and became a responsible person and stopped bullying people. It was only after that that Lily started dating him!"

Snape said, "He never stopped hexing me!"

Amelia retorted, "You were not willing to give up your Death Eater friends. James on the other hand was willing to change himself. Sirius changed too. In fact, James would have apologized to you if you hadn't joined Voldemort."

Snape raised his voice saying, "As if he ever would have. And do not speak the Dark Lord's name!"

Amelia retorted, "Why shouldn't I? You may have been a spy, but before that, you willingly joined that monster who slew my entire family plus James and Lily. James and Sirius may have been bullies, but they changed for the better. You on the other hand don't seem to have changed. Look at the way you spoke to poor Harry, a baby!"

Snape drawled on, "And look what your precious boyfriend Sirius Black turned out to be, a spy for the Dark Lord and the traitor who willingly sold the Potters' location for glory."

Amelia yelled, "EVEN YOU DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING! SIRIUS WOULD NEVER BETRAY JAMES LIKE THAT! HE WAS NOT EVEN THE SECRET KEEPER! HE DID NOT BETRAY THEM!"

She looked at him for a moment and then spoke, "But yes, someone did betray them, Peter Pettigrew. But apart from him, someone did betray Lily, you."

Snape's face flushed with anger and confusion and he was about to say something.

But Amelia suddenly said, "Don't think I don't know that you were once friends with Lily Potter nee' Evans."

Snape looked like he had been slapped hard upon hearing that. He looked at her, stunned.

Amelia continued, "She was your friend, and how did you repay her? By using a deplorable term for Muggleborns towards her, and by joining a group that condones murder and prosecution of Muggleborns and Muggles, despite the fact that she herself was Muggleborn."

Snape opened his mouth to say something, but closed it.

Amelia, still glaring at him, said, "You know, Lily once told me about you. She spoke about how responsible you were as a student. She said that if you had not joined Voldemort and his followers or hung around them, she would have forgiven you. Already, she had forgiven you for calling her that 'title'. James would have apologized to you, because Lily would have made sure he did."

Taking a deep breath, she continued, "She would have probably made you Harry's godfather, but now you don't deserve it. You went and joined Voldemort."

She was silent for a moment before she hissed, "You were her friend, and you betrayed her."

Snape, horrified at that statement, whispered, "No."

Amelia waited for a few moments before screaming, "IF YOU DARE TO TOUCH HARRY AND HARM HIM, YOU WILL FALL VICTIM TO MY WRATH! IF YOU DO HIM HARM, I SHALL DO YOU HARM! NOW LEAVE BEFORE I HEX YOU! GET OUT!"

Snape did not need another threat to make him turn on his heel and head straight to the fireplace in the living room and head back to Hogwarts.

Amelia turned around but did not see Harry or Susan in the hallway. She rushed into the playroom to find Harry crying with Susan sitting next to him and hugging him, and Dumbledore kneeling next to him and trying to comfort him.

Upon seeing Amelia, Dumbledore gave Harry a pat on his back and stood up.

He said, "Amelia, I'm so sorry."

With that, he left the playroom and went downstairs without saying a word.

He left the house through the front door, his heart filled with grief.