A/N - some of these words come from the original books, I make no claim on them
Minerva had just sat down at a large rolltop desk in her quarters when a knock came at the door. Sighing, she stood and moved to open it.
"Albus," she greeted the man. "What can I do for you? I thought we were meeting at the Room of Hidden Things after the students had gone to bed. That's still at least two hours away."
"Come with me," he replied. "I told you when I had more information about Lily's sacrifice that I would tell you about it. I have it now."
"Come in," she invited.
"No, I need to show you something before I explain."
"Lead the way then."
He did exactly that, leading her to his office, where a large stone Pensieve sat on his desk.
"I have a memory to show you. It will not answer everything, but we can discuss when we have viewed it."
She nodded and stepped to the desk next to him, facing the Pensieve. A moment later they both plunged their faces into the bowl and were sent swirling until they were standing on a hilltop, forlorn and cold in the darkness, the wind whistling through the branches of a few leafless trees.
A blinding, jagged jet of white light flew through the air. McGonagall thought of lightning, but there were no clouds in the sky.
Looking closer, she saw Severus Snape on his knees and his wand flying away from his hand.
"Don't kill me!" He begged.
"That was not my intention," came Dumbledore's response. He stood before Snape with his robes whipping around him, and his face was illuminated from below in the light cast by his wand.
"Well, Severus? What message does Lord Voldemort have for me?"
"No—no message— I'm here on my own account!" Snape was wringing his hands. He looked a little mad, with his straggling black hair flying around him. "I— I come with a warning—no, a request—please— "
Dumbledore flicked his wand. Though leaves and branches still flew through the night air around them, silence fell on the spot where he and Snape faced each other.
"What request could a Death Eater make of me?"
"The— the prophecy . . . the prediction . . . Trelawney . . . "
"Ah, yes," said Dumbledore. "How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?"
"Everything—everything I heard!" said Snape.
"Severus? It was Severus?" Minerva whispered harshly.
"Yes," Dumbledore replied simply.
Snape continued, "That is why—it is for that reason—he thinks it means Lily Evans!"
"The prophecy did not refer to a woman," said Dumbledore. "It spoke of a boy born at the end of July— "
"You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son, he is going to hunt her down—kill them all— "
"If she means so much to you," said Dumbledore, "surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?"
"I have— I have asked him— "
"You disgust me," said Dumbledore, and Minerva had never heard so much contempt in his voice.
Snape seemed to shrink a little.
"You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child?" Albus sneered. "They can die, as long as you have what you want?"
Snape said nothing but merely looked up at Dumbledore. "Hide them all, then," he croaked. "Keep her— them— safe. Please."
"And what will you give me in return, Severus?"
"In—in return?" Snape gaped at Dumbledore, and Harry expected him to protest, but after a long moment he said, "Anything."
The hilltop faded, and they stood once more in Dumbledore's office.
"What does this have to do with Harry's survival?" Minerva asked.
"We have reached a point where I am guessing, hypothesizing as it were," he said. "As you saw, Severus asked Voldemort to spare Lily. As he came to me for assistance, I can theorize that one of two things happened due to that request."
"The first being Voldemort laughing at him or mocking him. That boy was never capable of any love or even like. He merely tolerated those who followed him when he was in school here. I always knew there was something wrong with Tom."
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, the second possibility is that he told Severus he would not harm Lily."
"And knowing that it was a lie as she is Muggle-born and lower than any save an actual Muggle, Severus came to you. He always was foolish and remarkably angry. It was no surprise that he followed Voldemort once he and Lily stopped being friends. We all noticed him hanging around the others that became Death Eaters. There should have been something else we could have done to help those children see the truth. Severus was distraught after the split with Lily. He seemed to move alone for days before he took up with that group."
"I'm not sure that that group wasn't part of the reason they stopped speaking," Albus commented.
"You may be right. The students were all aware of what was happening. They knew who that group supported. Lily would have been told or figured it out on her own. She and Severus had been drifting apart for a while. She was spending more and more time with Marlene McKinnon, James, Sirius, and Remus. I know she and Remus studied together often. I don't know what caused their final split. It seems so long ago, and yet it wasn't," Minerva said, shaking her head. "This war has made time seem out of order."
"It has at that. Now, I believe the second possibility is what occurred. While Voldemort was wrong in so many things, he was a very powerful wizard. His words may have been taken as a vow or an oath," he explained.
Minerva's eyes darted around as she thought. "So when he killed her, it was broken."
"And that magic, along with Lily sacrificing herself for Harry, is what saved the child. At least, that is my guess. We may never know for sure. All we can do now is keep Harry safe from harm."
"Well, I put a start to that today," she told him.
Albus resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. "What did you do, Minerva?"
"I made the house Unplottable," she replied. "I would have also placed it under the Fidelius, but I needed someone else to be the Secret-keeper, so that will have to wait. Speaking of, have you gone to see Sirius yet?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, and I have no plans to do so."
"You're waiting for his trial then?" She raised an eyebrow.
"There isn't going to be a trial," he replied.
"What do you mean there isn't going to be a trial? Why in Merlin's name would he not get a trial?"
"He was found at the scene of the crime and was the only wizard there."
"So, he's just guilty then?" She scoffed. "That is not how our society works. That is not how our justice system works. Did he admit he'd killed Peter and the Muggles?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"Has he even been questioned yet?
"I told you before that he hadn't," he said.
Minerva shook her head. "So, now we're just tossing people in Azkaban and throwing away the key without following established procedures? I presume this will be happening with all of the Death Eaters that have been captured," she said primly.
"No," Dumbledore answered, "I believe trials have already been scheduled for Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband, Rudolphus."
"Sirius's cousin gets a trial, but he doesn't? What kind of sense does that make? Has Barty lost his mind? He has always been a rule follower. He was the one in school always telling the other students when something they were doing came close to breaking the rules. He might be the only person to come through here during my years and never step even a single toe out of line."
"His son has also been arrested," Albus informed her.
"Well," she paused. "Well. I'm not sure what to say to that, other than he should no longer be working. He should be at home with Eleanor. She won't be taking this well."
"He's determined to not go any easier on his son than anyone else to prove his own standing."
McGonagall closed her eyes and took several deep breaths before gritting her teeth and responding. "I see. I assume we will be back to classes as usual tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"And you no longer require me to meet you in the Room of Hidden Things?"
"No."
"Then, I will be in my classroom preparing."
A/N 2 - sorry, short chapter this week but it was a natural break in the story. I'm trying to stay ahead on chapters but the amount I have already written is dwindling. I will keep typing, but there may come a time where there are longer gaps in posting.