Ch 3 xxxxxxxxxxxx Half Time show part 2.
Xxxxxxx Order of the Phoenix headquarters, second year of the war xxxxxxxx
Dumbledore was preparing to meet with a mysterious guest that had send a patronus that he had never seen before and he was both eager and curious as to who it was.
And then a young man dressed in a muggle trench coat, fedora and sunglasses walked in the old wizard smiled with joy at seeing a familiar face.
"Severus, my boy! I saw your game last night, you played well."
"A pity that was not enough versus the Pistons."
"You did finish second place in the finals, that it no small feat and it is worthy of praise and pride."
"And do you know what second place means? First loser, why should I be proud about that?" Severus snapped back and Dumbledore smiled and gave a soft laugh at that.
"Lemon sherbert?"
"Yes!" Severus said and took a fist of the candy surprising his old headmaster.
"The worst part of my job is that I must abstain from anything that taste's good, now with the season over I may indulge in life's few pleasures!" Severus said through a second mouthful of candy.
"Understandable, life often ask of us to make sacrifices for out benefit."
"That is why I am here." Severus said and pulled a muggle suitcase from his pocket and place it before Dumbledore.
The older wizard opened it and was astonished by its content, it was full of money.
"1.000.000 dollars. Two thirds of two years' worth of salary plus various performance bonuses."
"Severus….this is a most generous donation for our cause."
"Donation? Donation?!" Snape said in controlled outrage as Dumbledore was surprised by the scowl on his face.
"This….donation…..has two conditions in it. One is that you may not tell anyone where the money comes from and two, you shall protect me from any reprisals on my person from any member of your faction after the war. I am in no mood to survive the Dark Lord only for the so called 'fighters of the light' to come and hang me after it and that includes protection from Potter, the mutt and their pet werewolf." Snape said as he composed himself and controlled his rage, much more self control than he showed in his school days, surprising Dumbledore and making the old man be pleased with the new maturity of his former student.
"Severus, I shall gladly accept this donation for our cause but you need not fear such reprisals, I know that James and his friends….treated you badly but they would never come to do you harm like you describe, they would not attack you for no reason." Dumbledore said intentionally telling the truth and testing Severu's reaction to such a statement.
The young Slytherin's face remained in a scowl and Albus could see how it was clear that rage and hatred boiled beneath, yet the young man manage to control himself and calm down.
"The condition remains the same, anonymity and protection, do we have an agreement?" Severus said and Dumbledore felt pride in his former student.
"Very well, but will you not allow me to at the very least allow me to tell my inner circle of this, such a generous donation shall help us greatly and it deserves praise."
"And if you lose the war and the Dark Lord hears of this, do you imagine what kind of praise he shall heap on me? I shall be lucky to only be cruciated to death!" Severus said as fear creeped inside his voice.
At that Dumbledore felt a tinge of pride in his student, he saw the big picture and all it's outcomes and how to navigate them.
"Severus, you have changed a lot since we last met, I fear that I have misjudged you and the path you took in life greatly. I know that it does not mean much, but will you accept an old man's apology for his folly?" Dumbledore said and extended his hand.
Severus looked at it for a moment before he leaned forward and shook it.
"To bear an unnecessary grudge is beneath a proper Slytherin." Severus said and Dumbledore smiled at that, Severus seem to represented what Slytherin could be instead of what it was. Ambition tempered by self-control and a conscious.
"There are others who also feel they have misjudged you. Would you not meet with them so they could offer their apologies?" Dumbledore asked as images of Remus, James and especially Lilly came to mind.
"The past is the past, I care not for the opinions of people that judged me then, their apologies mean nothing to me." Severus said harshly and opened his coat and started to search for something inside of it.
"Does that include Lilly as well?" Severus froze at that, before he continued to rummage and found what he was looking for.
"A bottle of fire whisky that I brewed in America. I would be grateful if you would bring it to be served to the bride and groom at the reception." Severus said and put the bottle on the table.
"I shall give Lilly your congratulations."
"You shall tell the future Misses Potter nothing!Please….tell her nothing…..I cannot bear to face her….or send her a gift…..not after how….Merlin…..Lilly…why did I…."Dumbledore saw how guilt and shame ravaged the young man before he recovered his composure and rummaged trough his coat again before he produced an envelope.
"Season tickets for the Celtics." Severus gave Dumbledore an envelope that contained at least 10 tickets inside.
"Leaving so soon Severus? Would you not join me for a drink?"
"I am afraid that I have other duties to perform this night. I must deliver season tickets to other various peoples in high-ranking positions and they like it when one of the players delivers them personally." Severus said in annoyance at his task.
"Greatness often demands much of us all." Dumbledore said in sympathy.
"Greatness? I run like a dog after a ball for 3 hours! You call that greatness? I graduated early, I have written several articles that where universally praise, I literally rewrote the entire potions curriculum while still a student and the only praise I receive is for this!" Severus said with rage as he grabbed a piece of paper from the table, crumbled it and threw it into the waste bin that was 5 meters away on the other side of the room.
"Fame, money, my name being recognized….I have it all…. And not one of them brings me joy! I cannot even walk in the muggle streets with my face in the open without being bothered by random strangers and I have to smile and be polite to them for it is in my contract!"
"A pity they do not allow players to hide their faces with masks, perhaps you should petition them so."
"The board keeps rejecting me on that!" Severus said before departing an amused Dumbledore.
Severus Snape had been many things, while not a pleasant man, he had proven that he was not an evil man. Albus speculated that it was the change in environment that young Snape managed to not fall into darkness and as for his more unpleasant side.
Hid tendency to mock and humiliate others, destroying those around with his harsh words and harsh voice was something that earned him criticism in the past as a student, but as an athlete the same thing brought him praise and respect when facing other athletes.
How much a change in one's environment mattered.