Chapter 63

"Dumbledore, I'm afraid I don't see the connection, don't see it at all!" exclaimed Cornelius stubbornly. "Ludo says Bertha's perfectly capable of getting herself lost. I agree we would have expected to have found her by now, but all the same, we've no evidence of foul play, Dumbledore, none at all. As for her disappearance being linked with Barty Crouch's death!"

"Barty's last words included both Bertha's and Voldemort's names, Cornelius," insisted Albus. "And given that it's the only existing lead on what might have happened to Bertha I think we shouldn't dismiss the possibility that she might have fallen into Voldemort's hands, same as Barty."

"All wild speculation!" said Cornelius shaking his head in firm denial, "You don't even know if Barty truly said those things, Dumbledore, all you have is the boy's word, and you refuse to let him be interrogated under Veritaserum so it could easily be humbug, as it was all that crap about Black being innocent last year. I had thought the boy was confunded at the time, but I'm beginning to think he might just like to cause trouble making up stuff."

"Mr. Potter didn't lie last year, and he didn't lie now," said Albus firmly. "I have already explained to you that Sirius Black was not the Secret Keeper, and that Peter Pettigrew is alive. The testimony of Harry and his friends is not the only evidence of that, Remus Lupin is also willing to testify."

"Lupin is a werewolf," spat Cornelius. "It can't be trusted anything those creatures say or think or do. Lupin is especially untrustworthy, being an old friend of Black's. I'm seriously concerned about the choices of staff you have made so far, Dumbledore, and the sort of people you keep defending. You have a murderer teaching children, for Merlin's sake!"

"I completely agree on that last bit, Fudge," growled Alastor. "But that only supports what we're saying about You-Know-Who being behind Crouch's murder. Snape's a Death Eater, he obviously offed Crouch following his master's orders, most likely to shut him up. According to Potter, Crouch said something about having escaped, so he most likely was You-Know-Who's prisoner for a while, and he must have seen Jorkins there."

"Severus didn't kill anyone," repeated Albus for what felt like the hundredth time, directing a stern look at Alastor. "But whoever killed Barty no doubt is connected to Voldemort, and like Alastor says the intention was plainly to silence an inconvenient witness."

"You don't know that he was a witness of anything," argued Cornelius hotly. "Potter admitted that Barty was incoherent, and Diggory described him as a madman. For all we know he just lost his mind and wandered off."

"I believe Barty was under the Imperius Curse for months before his death," said Albus. "The dissociated state both Harry and Cedric described suggests he had begun fighting against the curse, which would explain how he managed to escape his imprisonment."

"Speculation!" exclaimed Cornelius again. "You don't have any solid evidence to support all your wild theories, Dumbledore!"

"We have a very solid body," rasped Moody. "I agree that Crouch finally cracking sounds more than likely, given his personal history, but if he was just a wandering madman why would anyone want to kill him, mmm?"

"Perhaps so he couldn't be nursed back to health and resume his role as judge in the third task," suggested Cornelius with a shrug. "I know that Potter has stayed with the Weasleys, no doubt he preferred to have a judge partial to him."

Albus shook his head in exasperation.

"Mr. Potter hasn't killed anyone either," he said calmly.

"He killed a bloody dragon!"

"That is not the same at all."

"Can we wrap up this discussion?" growled Alastor.

"Yes, yes, let's go down to the grounds," said Cornelius impatiently, clearly looking forward to be done with this and put some distance with Albus.

"No, it's not that," said Alastor, "it's just that Potter wants a word with you, Dumbledore. He's just outside the door."

Cornelius tensed. As Albus waved the door open, he regretted not to have raised a privacy ward and hoped that the boy had not been out there for too long. He also wondered how he had gotten past the gargoyle, since Albus had changed the password just this morning and he hadn't yet shared the new one with almost anyone.

"Hello, Potter," said Alastor gruffly. "Come in, then."

"Harry!" exclaimed Cornelius with fake joviality, turning his bowler hat in his hands like he always did when he was nervous. "How are you?"

The boy didn't answer, he just stared at the Minister for Magic with such coldness in his green eyes that it became obvious he had overheard enough of their conversation. Albus glanced at Alastor and saw that he looked smug, so he most likely had purposely allowed Harry to eavesdrop, convinced as always that the boy should not be left in the dark. Really, his old friend could be just as stubborn and rebellious as Severus.

"Ahem, well," said Cornelius uncomfortably as the silence dragged on, "we're about to go for a short walk on the grounds, Harry, if you'll excuse us... perhaps if you just go back to your class-"

"I wanted to talk to you, Professor," cut him off the boy, turning his still hard eyes towards Albus. Behind the anger there was worry, he noticed, and whatever he wanted to talk about must be serious judging by the fact that Harry had come to Albus' office on his initiative when he was supposed to be in class.

"Wait for me here, Harry," he said once he had decided that, while the boy clearly had something important to say, it didn't seem to be too urgent. "Our examination of the grounds will not take long."

The inspection of the crime scene, indeed, did not take long, since there wasn't really much to see. Once removed the body that particular spot looked exactly the same than all other spots in the Forbidden Forest, or perhaps even less likely to have been the scene of a murder given that it was at the very edge where the afternoon sun could easily make its way through the foliage.

They barely spoke while they examined the place, Albus limiting himself to point out where the body had laid and where Harry and Severus had stood when he had found them, and the direction the attacker had fled. Not that Cornelius was paying much attention to him, of course. The fool refused to believe that there had been an invisible attacker at all, instead alternatively accusing Severus or Harry depending on which suspect resulted more convenient to his denial at different points of the argument.

Severus was definitely the most obvious suspect, and it was plain that Cornelius had half a mind of getting him arrested, but it was precisely his connection to Voldemort what was currently making Cornelius more willing to consider any other suspect. And unfortunately Harry, having already proven himself capable of casting the Killing Curse and having a history of aggressiveness, was a good alternative murderer.

Albus could only shudder at the thought of what Rita Skeeter would write about this.

He was glad to see the back of Cornelius, even if it was only for a few hours (the Goblet was scheduled to spit out instructions this evening, so Cornelius would be back by then), and to be honest he was also glad to part ways with Alastor in the Entrance Hall, not wanting to argue again about Severus. It was becoming increasingly difficult to advocate for the former Death Eater, even though Albus was certain that he hadn't been involved in Barty's death. He had had a brief moment of doubt when Winky had not answered his summons, yes, but that only because the situation had reminded him too much of Dobby. While Severus was perfectly capable of murdering anyone, Albus knew he was too smart and careful as to leave a body behind or fail to manufacture a solid alibi, not to mention be found on the scene. And besides it was obvious that the man was still in crisis, if he was considering betrayal he hadn't yet made a decision.

He interrogated the gargoyle before going up to his office, and to his amusement he was informed that Harry had guessed the new password after trying a dozen different kinds of candy. Of course Albus chose always some candy precisely so the members of staff and the Prefects could guess the password if he forgot to tell them when he changed it, but he had not expected anyone to guess "Cockroach Clusters". He was still chuckling when he re-entered his office.

His empty office.

Albus sobered up and looked around, surprized not to see Harry anywhere. Fawkes let out a comforting wail that meant "don't worry" in phoenix slang.

A portrait cleared his throat.

"In the Pensieve, Headmaster," drawled Phineas. "Where else?"

Albus saw that, indeed, the cabinet where he stored his Pensieve was open and silvery light was shining brightly from within. An irresistible pull for a curious boy.

He sighed.

He had been reviewing memories of Barty' trials, hoping that some connection he might have missed would spring on him. He was definitely missing some key piece of the puzzle, but he still couldn't even fathom which shape to look for.

Albus walked through the office and leaned over the Pensieve to verify that it was currently on use. From this distance he couldn't tell which trial was going on at the moment, but Albus had last watched Dolohov's and he had put the memories in chronological order so Harry must have at least watched Igor's trial. Hopefully the boy had not been inside long enough as to hear about the Longbottoms.

He sighed again when he entered the Pensieve and found himself watching the end of the worst trial he had ever attended.

The crowd was jeering, some of them on their feet, as Bellatrix swept out of the courtroom with a disdainful attitude, followed by her husband and brother-in-law. The young Bartemius was struggling with the Dementors and imploring at his father.

"You are not son of mine!" bellowed Barty Snr., his eyes bulging. "I have no son!"

His wife gave a great gasp and fainted, but Barty didn't notice in his fury.

"Take them away!" he roared, spit flying from his mouth. "Take them away, and may they rot there!"

"Father! Father, I wasn't involved! No! No! Father, please!"

Albus could easily remember how horribly conflicted he had felt at that moment. He had been grieving for Alice and Frank, but also for that boy and his mother. For those two broken families. Even though everything had pointed to Bartemius Jr. having been truly involved in the Longbottoms' torture, knowing that the boy might have been lying through his teeth just like many other Death Eaters had lied to stay out of Azkaban, his heart had gone with him. The boy had been so young! And being denied by his own father, convicted to a lifetime of despair by the man who had once cradled him...

He could see the same horror in Harry's face as he watched the prisoners being dragged away.

Albus considered what to do. He probably should remove Harry from the Pensieve before the next trial began —if he remembered correctly Rookwood's was next, and he would rather the boy not to know anything about the Department of Mysteries yet—, but something made him hesitate.

Both Severus and Harry were under so much pressure this year that they were losing all restraint and taking their frustrations on each other, their relationship quickly progressing from dreadful to dangerous. Albus knew that Severus was the main problem, but the conflicted Death Eater was proving to be immune to all attempts to reason with him and even to any subtle threats. Perhaps the boy would be more receptive, and with any luck if Harry stopped taking the bait and feeding the circle of hate with his volatile temper Severus might be able to come to his senses before he lost himself completely.

So instead of pulling Harry out, Albus flicked his wand and shuffled through the memories currently in the Pensieve, searching for one in particular and bringing it forward with a little mental prod.

It was when the previous memory began to fade that Harry noticed Albus' presence next to him. The boy started and looked at him with wide eyes, plainly trying to figure out whether he was real or just another memory.

"I am the real one," said Albus kindly as everything besides their bodies swirled into darkness.

"Professor," gasped Harry. "I didn't mean... I'm sorry, I-"

"I quite understand," assured him Albus. "Curiosity is not a sin, Harry, although we should exercise caution with it. I must not have fastened the cabinet door properly, it is only natural that the Pensieve attracted your attention."

"Pensieve?" asked the boy in puzzlement, his attention divided between Albus and the new memory forming around them. The courtroom was not nearly as crowded as it had been in most of the other trials, there was actually only the jury and a few select witnesses in attendance.

"The stone basin," explained Albus. "We are inside at the moment, as I'm sure you have realized. Taking a look at some of my old memories."

"We're inside your mind?" asked Harry with a mixture of fear and awe.

Albus chuckled.

"Not exactly. Only inside certain memories that I extracted from my mind and poured into the basin to examine them at leisure."

"It's like Riddle's diary, then?"

Albus hesitated. For a moment he had forgotten that Harry already had experience viewing memories. According to the boy's description, Tom's diary had, indeed, been a sort of Pensieve, although a live one. It had not had simple memories stored there, but most likely a piece of soul, a mind capable not only of accessing the memories of the young Riddle but also of generating new thoughts.

"Something like that," he replied vaguely. "Although this is completely safe, and we can leave at will."

"Are you getting us out, Professor?"

"Not just yet, Harry. I think we have time to watch one more trial, if you wish to."

Harry nodded. He was about to ask some other question when the door of Courtroom Ten opened and the boy seemed to forgot all about it as he recognized the next person to walk in.

The post-war Severus Snape looked terrible. At only twenty one years old, his youth had definitely come to an end after a long year of torment culminated with the loss of everything that he had held dear. He had lost a frightening amount of weight, his skin looked less healthy than ever, and his black eyes were those of a man lost in hell. Albus heard Harry's intake of breath at the sight.

"Was he in Azkaban too long?" asked the boy in a low whisper, as if he feared Severus might hear him.

"No, Harry, Professor Snape was never in Azkaban," said Albus softly.

"He looks... bad."

"He was having a bad year," explained Albus as he watched the young man walk forward escorted by two Aurors and take a seat. The chains immediately wrapped themselves around his arms, but Severus didn't seem to notice or care. "And a particularly bad week."

Albus had arranged for Severus' trial to be one of the first, wanting to ensure his pardon before any other Death Eaters had a chance to testify against him and complicate his situation, so grief had still been too fresh at the time of the memory.

"Severus Snape," began Barty, "you are suspected of Death Eater activity and have been brought here before the Council of Magical Law so we may clarify the charges against you. For the record," he added with a nod at the Court Scribe, "the accused did not resist arrest and willingly surrendered his wand. Also for the record, Albus Dumbledore has volunteered himself as witness for the defense."

"Mr. Snape," continued Barty in his usual implacable tone, "you were under investigation of the DMLE for over two years before the fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named due to your association with known Death Eaters such as Wilkies and Rosier. You are suspected of Death Eater activity yourself, what do you have to say about that?"

"I was a Death Eater," admitted Severus without feeling. "You already have confirmation of that, Crouch, else this wouldn't be a closed trial. You know I was a spy."

The memory Albus rose to his feet.

"Severus Snape was, indeed, a true Death Eater at some point," he said, "but he changed sides over a year ago and worked as a spy for our side until the moment of Voldemort's downfall. At great personal risk, I must add, since being discovered as a traitor would have meant a very painful death for him."

"Yes, so you have claimed, Dumbledore," said Barty coldly. "But I must wonder how he managed to avoid that painful death for over a year, if he truly betrayed his master. We know that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was a powerful Legilimens, and that all attempts to infiltrate his dark organization ended up in disaster due to his habit of checking his followers' minds on a regular basis."

"I am a powerful Legilimens and Occlumens too," said Severus with an indifferent shrug. "More powerful than the Dark Lord. I was the only one who could lie to him, hence my value as a spy."

A wave of whispers rose in the courtroom, awe and skepticism warring in most faces. Barty held up a hand to ask for silence.

"Can you confirm this?" he asked to memory Albus.

"I think that the fact that Voldemort never suspected his treachery is enough confirmation," said Albus. "Like you said, he checked his followers' minds regularly."

"He would not have had anything to suspect if Snape had never stopped being loyal to him," pointed out Barty with a suspicious look at Severus. "You are a powerful Legilimens as well, Dumbledore, as powerful as You-Know-Who by your own admission. Can you access Severus Snape's mind?"

"I can't," admitted Albus.

"Then how can you be sure that it wasn't you he was lying to during his time as a spy? How can you be sure that You-Know-Who didn't send him to infiltrate your organization?"

"I'm sure because Severus Snape's remorse when he approached me over a year ago begging for my help was genuine. He had come to deeply regret his youthful decision of joining Voldemort and the things he had done during his brief time as a Death Eater, and he was willing to do anything to make up for his mistakes."

"Death Eaters are not capable of remorse," argued Barty harshly. "And it's ludicrous to think that any of them would truly want to atone for what they did. They are rotten inside, thoroughly corrupted. This man can't even hide his grief for his lost master-"

"Fuck you, Crouch," spat Severus, seeming to emerge from his hell and fixing his prosecutor with a terrible look. "You don't know shit about me, you can stick your judgement up your arse!"

"Severus," warned memory Albus.

"I would never grieve for that fucker!" roared Severus. "I know better than any of you what that twisted bastard was capable of, I have lost enough at his hands myself as to want to piss on his fucking grave if he had one. And you," he added breaking his right arm free from the chains with a violent outburst of wandless magic to point a long finger at Barty, "you have no right to judge me! You have also made plenty of bad decisions that you will come to regret before you know it, but unlike me you truly are a remorseless piece of shit so you won't give a damn."

The courtroom was temporarily thrown into chaos, everyone panicking and some drawing their wands when they saw the prisoner so easily shaking off his restraints. Severus didn't move from his chair, however, simply using his free hand to clear the hair from his face before allowing himself to be chained again, his furious black eyes never leaving Barty's.

Albus had already watched this memory earlier in the day, but he took the opportunity to watch Severus closely again, trying to figure out what the young man had been thinking at the time and whether his words had been a reference to Barty's son status as a still unexposed Death Eater. When Bartemius Jr. had been caught with the Lestranges a few weeks later, Severus had claimed not to have known about the boy, but Albus wondered. He had lied about the Dark Marks, after all.

Barty was furious himself, an angry vein pulsing on his temple while he pursed his lips tightly in an obvious attempt not to shout back. Albus remembered having feared to have made a grievous mistake scheduling Severus' trial so early, when the man had still been half-mad with grief and not caring much about what happened to him. If Albus had not been there as a witness for Severus, he was certain that Barty would have sentenced him on the spot to a lifetime in Azkaban.

Now, however, he could see in retrospect that scheduling the trial so soon after Lily's death had actually worked on Severus' favour, since the man had been too hurt and angry as to bother concealing his humanity behind the usual mask. His violent outburst and offensive vocabulary had not won him the sympathy of the jury, but it had at least convinced everyone that Severus hated Voldemort with a passion.

"With the exception of psychopaths like Lord Voldemort, any Human Being is capable of remorse," said Albus when silence had been restored and Severus had been warned not to break himself free again unless he wanted to be stunned. "And Severus Snape is definitely not a psychopath. He is just as human as any other person present here, a human that made mistakes but that eventually saw the error of his ways, tempted by darkness in his weakness but strong enough as to find the light again." Severus was shaking his head, anger again replaced by torment in his haunted eyes that screamed unmistakable remorse. "Not only he was brave enough to change his own course, he also risked his life helping our cause in a way that no one else could. The inside information provided by Severus Snape saved multiple lives —both Muggle and magical— during the last year of the war, and allowed us to make key strategic decisions to protect our remaining institutions. Amongst many other contributions, he was who informed me that Voldemort had decided to target the Potters, allowing me to send them into hiding, and who brought to me the rumour of there being a traitor on our side, close to the McKinnons."

Albus noticed that Harry's green eyes, already wide and conflicted, were staring at Severus in shock. He wasn't the only one surprized. People had began to whisper again, louder than before..

"If he knew about Black, why didn't he report that to you?" exclaimed someone angrily. "What use is a spy if he doesn't tell you things like that?"

"Severus only knew that Voldemort seemed to be acting on a mysterious source of information," said memory Albus firmly, "and that Rosier had overheard another Death Eater talking about a spy that had provided the information required to ambush the McKinnons."

"It seems a bit suspicious," said someone else, looking at Severus through narrowed eyes. "No doubt Snape had crossed his path with Black during their Death Eater meetings."

"If I had, you can be sure the asshole would not have had a chance to betray the Potters," spat Severus, his face once more contorted by fury. "You don't understand shit. The Dark Lord didn't trust anyone completely, and neither did us, so no one knew everything and we ignored the identities of many of our fellow Death Eaters. That's one of the reasons for the hoods and masks. I doubt Black ever attended a general meeting, anyway, the jerk probably was too coward as to meet with the Dark Lord in person so it wouldn't surprize me if he had done all his betrayal by letter."

"You must have had some suspicion regarding the traitor's identity," insisted one of the interrogators.

"I had, yes. I thought the traitor was Remus Lupin," said Severus, his eyes flashing darkly. "He seemed to me a much more likely traitor than anyone else close to the McKinnons. I honestly never imagined Black could have in himself to betray any of his Gryffindor friends and especially not Potter." He glared at everyone. "But I don't see why I'm even being questioned about this, if I had wanted the Potters dead I would have simply neglected to tell Dumbledore that the Dark Lord was after them."

"Severus is right," intervened the memory Albus. "He did everything in his power to protect the Potters, he even suggested —rather strongly, I must say— that I should be the Potters' Secret Keeper. Unfortunately the Potters decided to place their trust in a family friend."

They all made a minute of silence, a minute full of grief, and anger, and also in most cases no doubt secret relief, since without the Potters' tragedy they would still be fighting a war instead of celebrating the end of it.

"There is still the matter of the crimes that Severus Snape committed before he turned around," said Barty finally. "While his... change of heart is commendable and his work as a spy seems to have been helpful, none of that erases the damage he caused and he should answer for it."

"You have no evidence of any crime committed by me, Crouch," said Severus with cold certainty. "For all you know I am only guilty of following a sick bastard and the only damage I caused was to my conscience. I did things I regret, yes, but who is to say I hurt anyone besides myself? Whatever reasons I have to feel remorse are my own business. Even if I had killed people I think I have saved enough lives with my espionage as to have earned a bloody pardon. You wouldn't even know for sure I was a Death Eater if Dumbledore had not told you, and he only told you so I could be officially pardoned and move on without worrying about being followed around by a bunch of annoying Aurors."

Barty glared at Severus with an unhappy frown on his stern face.

"There are plenty Death Eaters still out there to catch and convict, Barty," said memory Albus. "Severus is not one of them. He has been firmly on our side for a while now, and he has earned his peace as well. This last year wasn't easy for him, spying is a very stressful job and it has taken its toll. You can be sure that Severus Snape will continue punishing himself for his past choices and trying to make up for them, but from us he deserves recognition and gratitude. He also is entitled to certain protection, since his betrayal would not be appreciated by his former colleagues and even less by Lord Voldemort in the eventual case of his return. That is why in addition to a full pardon for Severus Snape I request the records of this trial to be sealed and all attendants to be sworn to secrecy."

Barty held memory Albus' eyes for a long moment before sighing in defeat and turning towards the jury.

"Considering that there exists no evidence whatsoever against Severus Snape," he said with obvious irritation, "and that Albus Dumbledore vouches for him, I suggest this man to be fully pardoned and all details of this trial to be kept secret. Those in favour?"

All hands rose in the air, everyone plainly unwilling to go against any suggestion on which both Albus Dumbledore and Bartemius Crouch agreed. Barty shook his head in disapproval and threw Albus a look that clearly meant 'on your head be it'.

"Add the final ruling and then make copies and go through the sealing procedures," he instructed to the Court Scribe as the Aurors escorted an indifferent Severus from the room.

"Yes, sir," said the young Bertha obediently, writing a final note before turning to memory Albus. "I will need you to sign as witness, Professor."

Albus heard Harry gasp at his side.

"I know that woman!" the boy exclaimed.