Chapter 64

Albus pulled them both out of the Pensieve and then went to sit behind his desk, placing the device upon the polished top.

"That was the young Bertha Jorkins," he said as he motioned for Harry to sit down as well. "She was Bartemius Crouch's personal assistant for several years when he was Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, officiating as Court Scribe in the trials he oversaw. You must have seen her picture in the Prophet, I think there was an article about her a few months ago."

The boy sat in the guest chair and remained for a moment staring at the Pensieve, lost in thought.

"No," he said. "I think I saw her in a dream, Professor. Last summer. I'm almost sure it was her, although she looked older..."

Albus' eyebrows rose. What was this? Following some instinct, he drew his wand and placed the tip on his temple, extracting a silvery memory that he added to the Pensieve. Then he swirled the device to bring the memory to the surface for the boy to see.

"This memory is from the last time I saw her, two years ago," said Albus when the adult Bertha rose out of the basin.

Harry nodded and gulped.

"Yes, it was her," he said in a trembling voice. "I thought it had been just a dream, but... how could I have dreamt with a person I had never met nor even heard about?"

Albus regarded the boy thoughtfully.

"Is that dream in anyway related to the scar pain you experienced last summer?" he inquired quietly.

"Yeah, I-" he cut himself off and looked at him suspiciously. "How do you know about that? Did Sirius tell you?"

"Actually, it was Remus Lupin who told me," said Albus. "Sirius wrote to Remus last summer after he received your letter, asking him to check on you on his behalf, and Remus came to see me after making sure you were safe at your Aunt's house."

The boy's eyes widened.

"Professor Lupin went to Privet Drive?" he asked in shock.

"Just to check that you were there and that Voldemort wasn't around," explained Albus, feeling conflicted about the hurt expression on Harry's face. He still believed he had made the right decision keeping Remus away all these years, but at the same time he wished he could have encouraged a relationship between them. "Remus didn't mention any dreams, however, I take it you didn't mention that part to Sirius?"

It took a long moment for the boy to recover from the shock and sadness plainly brought on by the news of Remus having checked on him without making contact, but he finally shook his head and focused again on the matter at hand.

"I... no, I only told Sirius about my scar hurting, I didn't want him to think that I was too worried about a dream. I have nightmares all the time, it's the scar pain that worries me. But... now I'm not sure it was just a dream. I had another one today, that's why I wanted to talk to you, Professor. Sirius said that I should tell you if my scar hurt again."

Albus nodded.

"I see. Does that mean that your scar hasn't hurt at any other time this year?" he asked for confirmation. The boy shook his head. "Would you mind sharing with me what your dreams were about?"

The boy gulped again and took a deep breath.

"In the one last summer there was Voldemort standing naked inside a huge cauldron," he began. "Wormtail was close by, crying and bleeding, it looked like someone had chopped off his hand. And the woman —Bertha Jorkins— was tied up to a gravestone, also bleeding although not so much. There was a huge snake around too. I don't remember many details of the dream, but I know Voldemort stepped out of the cauldron and he blasted Wormtail against another gravestone before giving him a new silver hand. He said something about my death, and then he... he tortured the woman. I didn't know at the time, but it was the Cruciatus, I think. That's when I woke up with my scar hurting."

Albus had to remind himself to breathe and to maintain a calm facade. It sounded like Harry's dream had been actually some sort of vision, judging by the fact that there had been unfamiliar elements to the boy, like Bertha Jorkins and the snake. Albus also feared the vision might have been of Tom's resurrection. The cauldron and the blood suggested some sort of gruesome dark ritual, and the fact that Tom had been able to walk and blast people suggested a functional body capable of performing complex magic.

"And today," continued the boy, "when I fell asleep in Divination I dreamt that Voldemort got a letter from an owl and told Wormtail something about his blunder having been repaired. I don't remember exactly what he said, but I'm pretty sure he was talking about Mr. Crouch's death, and that Snape was mentioned. Voldemort told Wormtail that he wouldn't be fed to the snake after all, but that the snake might still get to eat me. Then he tortured Wormtail with the Cruciatus Curse and I woke up with my scar hurting."

Albus nodded slowly. Well, this dream was hardly informative, but it provided confirmation of Albus' latest guesses. Just as he had thought, Barty must have been Tom's prisoner, but he had escaped thanks to Pettigrew's ineptitude as a gaoler. Whoever Tom had infiltrated in Hogwarts had been informed of the escape and had waited for Barty to get here to silence him before he could talk to Albus.

He stood up and began pacing the office to think better. Of course Harry's visions hadn't offered any possibilities that Albus hadn't already considered, but having the possibilities narrowed down and confirmed made the situation more real and dire. Tom already had a body, and judging by Severus' reports about the Dark Mark said body must have already recovered his full strength. He had or had had Bertha Jorkins and also Barty Crouch under his control. He definitely had a spy in Hogwarts instructed to kill or more likely kidnap the boy if he survived the tournament, and possibly also to watch Severus Snape. And Cornelius was being more difficult than ever...

"Professor?" said Harry quietly after a couple of minutes.

Albus stopped pacing, suddenly remembering that he wasn't alone.

"My apologies," he said sitting back down at his desk.

"Do you... do you know why my scar is hurting me?"

Albus looked intently at the boy for a moment, trying to decide what or how much to say. This sort of questions were the reason why he avoided meeting in private with Harry as much as possible, even though apparently talking to the boy could render a great amount of useful information.

"I have a theory, no more than that..." he said carefully. "It is my belief that your scar hurts both when Lord Voldemort is near you, and when he is feeling a particularly strong surge of hatred."

"But... why?"

Because you are a Horcrux, most definitely, thought Albus sadly.

"Because you and he are connected by the curse that failed," he said, hoping that the boy would not press the subject. "That is no ordinary scar."

Harry looked at him as if he wanted to insist on a less vague answer, but Albus' uninviting demeanor made him just sigh in frustration and drop the scar subject.

"Those things in the dreams really happened, didn't they?" he asked instead.

"It is possible," conceded Albus. "I would say very probable, although given that they came to you as dreams we should not rush to interpret what you saw as facts. The sleeping mind has a way to distort things." Albus felt tempted to use Legilimency on the boy to catch a glimse of his dreams himself, but he refrained. He had promised not to do it again unless it was absolutely necessary, and besides hunting for dreams in a mind constantly haunted by nightmares was a sure way to get himself a horrible headache in addition to nightmares of his own. Better to just ask. "Tell me, Harry... did you see Voldemort in your dreams?"

"I... I'm not sure," said the boy with a frown. "I think so, but... I don't remember what he looked like. That's odd."

Not so odd, reflected Albus, if Harry had been Tom in the dreams and there hadn't been any mirrors around. Fortunately the boy didn't seem to remember the visions well enough as to recall that crucial detail that would set apart a human Horcrux from a Seer or a Clairvoyant.

"So... Voldemort is back, then?" asked Harry after another silent moment.

Albus sighed.

"I'm afraid it seems that way," he said. "We already knew that he was getting stronger, and there are more than enough indications that he is already working in the shadows. The years of Voldemort's ascent to power were very similar, also with mysterious disappearances or deaths that couldn't be easily connected. And of course your involvement in the Triwizard Tournament is highly suspicious."

Harry looked more resigned than anything else.

"Snape said that if I survive the tournament then someone will try to finish me off," he said casually.

Albus nodded.

"We can expect something to happen at that point, yes," he agreed, wondering when Severus had engaged in such a conversation with Harry. "For that reason, from the moment the Goblet of Fire turns off you are not to go anywhere with anyone different than myself, Professor Moody or Professor Snape. Not even with your friends, Harry, nor any other teacher, do you understand? Stick close to one of us."

"Snape said it would be stupid of me to go anywhere near a Death Eater then," pointed out Harry.

Albus chuckled. Then he sighed and tried to make a decision about Severus. He couldn't continue wavering between trust and mistrust, he had to decide and stick to his decision. The last few months had given him many reasons to doubt, and the consequences of trusting a possible traitor would be so severe that some part of him shied away from taking the risk, but Albus couldn't fool himself: he might not trust Severus, but he still would not hesitate to put Harry's life in his hands. Having just re-watched that memory of the grieving Death Eater, Albus found the idea of that man ever hurting any part of Lily simply unconceivable. If he was wrong about that aspect of Severus Snape then he could not trust his own judgement anymore and it was time for retirement.

His decision made, he placed the tip of his wand on his temple again and extracted another brief, carefully cut memory. A moment later Severus' hard face the day when he had come to Albus' office to show him the Dark Mark last summer had appeared on the surface of the Pensieve.

"The Dark Lord knows that I was protecting Potter during the Quirrell year," said the man angrily. "And I must have really pissed him off, thwarting and threatening Quirrell all the time. He will kill me for that, really slowly."

The boy remained silent staring at the swirling memories after Severus' face had vanished, a hundred different shades of conflict flashing through his green eyes.

"I know you have been under a lot of pressure this year, Harry," said Albus gently, "being a champion with everything that entails. It's been hard for you. But I want you to know that this has been a really hard year for Professor Snape as well. He has known since last summer that Voldemort was growing strong, and that therefore he would soon have to resume his role as spy. It is a question, however, whether Voldemort will accept him back, knowing that he was protecting you from Quirrell in your first year. The fact that he hasn't been contacted yet suggests that he is not trusted, and that is not encouraging."

"Why would Snape go back to Voldemort, then?" asked Harry with a frown.

"Having a spy on the enemy side could be decisive in the upcoming war," explained Albus, "and Severus is the only one who would stand a chance of fooling Voldemort, so if at all possible we need him to win back Voldemort's trust. Professor Snape is excellent at deception, Harry, and he has kept up the pretence of still being a true Death Eater rather well, to the point that no one was surprized to hear about his past when Rita Skeeter exposed it. As to the Quirrell incident, the idea is for him to claim that he was just following my orders and working to keep my trust, but that he didn't really want to protect you."

"Well, Snape won't have to lie about that," said Harry dryly.

"Perhaps not," agreed Albus with a smile. He sighed. "It has been a very stressful year for Professor Snape. He knows all his movements are being watched with mistrust, both by Voldemort or his agents and by Professor Moody." And by myself. "His public exposure made things even more stressful for him, being such a private person with a spy cover to maintain, and his altercation with Sirius was the last straw. Being now suspected for a murder he had nothing to do with is not helping with his anger issues, nor did it help being attacked by you when he was trying to make sure you were safe."

The boy squirmed under Albus' stern gaze, his eyes suddenly filled with guilt.

"I... I wasn't thinking straight, Professor," he mumbled. "I just reacted."

"I understand, Harry," said Albus gently. "So does Professor Snape, even if he's angry. But it worries me that you consider him a threat when he should be a source of reassurance for you. I don't expect you two to ever get along, Harry, nor for you to trust him in the day-to-day, but when things get serious I want you to remember that you are both on the same side and that you can count on him to protect you. In a life or death situation, you are to trust Professor Snape and obey without question any instructions he gives you, do you understand?"

The boy didn't answer, new understanding and old mistrust warring in his eyes. His natural compassion predictably trying to break through his long established resentment.

"Did he really help protecting my parents?" he whispered after a silent minute.

Albus nodded.

"Yes, Harry." He also helped bringing about their deaths. And he would have left you and James to die if it had been for him. "While Professor Snape probably would not have had objection to your father dying, slaughtering women and children was not what he had signed for when he had joined the Death Eaters. It was actually Voldemort's decision to target your family what made him understand his mistake and become a spy." Albus sighed. "And that is also the reason why it might not be possible for Professor Snape to resume his role as spy, after all. As you saw in the memory of his trial, on that occasion he not only addressed his previous master in a rather disrespectful way, he also admitted to have been the one to tip me off about the Potters. The records of Severus' trial are sealed, but both Bartemius Crouch and Bertha Jorkins were present, and everything indicates that the two of them were held prisoners by Voldemort in the last year. It is highly likely that they were interrogated, and possible that Voldemort gained access to the memory of that trial."

Slow understanding and horror appeared on Harry's face.

"He can't go back, then," he said firmly.

Albus smiled at the genuine concern in his voice. Even after years of animosity and after the last few months of intensive mistreatment, the boy had a good enough heart as to want to protect his most hated teacher from a painful death.

Unfortunately it wasn't as easy as to decide not to send Severus back, having a Dark Mark still branded on his arm, but Albus would still discuss options with his Potions Master. Expert lying could only go so far, after all. And it might even be better, considering the man's current crisis, not to sent him back to his manipulative master. Not having a spy was preferable to having a spy he couldn't trust.

He sighed. The present situation was messing with his head and with his heart. He missed the days —days like the one of his trial— when he hadn't had any doubts about Severus Snape.

"Is that why Snape is such a bastard?" blurted out Harry suddenly. "He's just pretending to be a true Death Eater?"

Albus sighed again.

"I'm afraid Professor Snape's behaviour can't be so easily justified, Harry. There are things he must do to maintain his Death Eater cover, yes, but I doubt even he could distinguish clearly between those things and the ones he does simply because of his bitter disposition. He could never afford to appear to favour any Gryffindors and even less to be kind to Harry Potter, but given his Slytherin personality and his history with your father and godfather he doesn't need to pretend to abhor everything about you and your House. He is a complicated, tormented man, difficult to deal with even in the best of circumstances, and all the stress he is under this year is definitely bringing out the worse of him." He took a deep, tired breath. "I don't ask you to stop hating Professor Snape, Harry. In fact it would not help his cover if Harry Potter suddenly stopped hating him. I merely ask for you to try not to stress him out even more than he already is, and to remember that he is ultimately on your side."

It might help if Harry stopped hating Severus, though. If those Lily eyes looked at the man with as much compassion as they had looked at the merpeople after the second task. No one could resist caring about the boy after being blessed with that look.

And if Lily's son ever smiled at Severus... Albus was ready to bet that that would be enough to instantly put an end to any crisis.

Harry didn't look as if he would be smiling at his Potions Professor any time soon, but at this point there was more uncertainty than mistrust in his eyes and after another silent moment he finally nodded.

Albus really hoped he hadn't made a huge mistake encouraging the boy to trust the conflicted man.