Chapter 30: The Spy’s Decision
Harry was looking down at the kneeling man in front of him, his red eyes glinting in the darkness. The man’s head was bowed, so he couldn’t see how Harry was fingering his wand, ready to release the curse that was already on the tip of his tongue. But first, before his servant were to receive his punishment, he needed some answers.
“I’ve got to admit, Severus,” he hissed, not once removing his eyes from the dark haired man, “I’m surprised that you’ve returned. After your wife’s flight, I was sure that you would hide with her and your children behind the old fool.”
Severus Snape didn’t look up, but as he spoke, his voice was calm and smooth. “I assure you, my Lord, that my loyalty to you has never once wavered. Whether my wife is held captured by you or not has no influence on which side I stand on.”
“And which side would that be?”
“Your side, of course, my Lord. I serve only one master.”
“And yet word has reached me that you gave that teacher you poisoned the antidote,” Harry challenged. “Look at me, Severus.”
Snape raised his head and his dark eyes met his Lord’s red ones. Harry reached out with his mind, but saw nothing of importance, as Snape answered, “I had no other choice. Potter said that, if I saved his friend, he would save my family. Now, he saved my family first, but to keep up appearances, I had to keep my end of the bargain. Even though I don’t believe saving my family was all Potter’s doing.”
“What do you mean, Severus?”
“My Lord, you are by far more powerful than Potter. I highly doubt that he would be able to stand against you and get away with his life, thus I come to the conclusion that you must have let him and my family go. Whatever your reasons for this were, I thank you very much for sparing my family. I’m in your debt.”
Harry’s lips curled into a cruel, satisfied smirk as he lifted his wand. Snape lowered his head again immediately, gazing at the dark floor. “I’m glad to have you still in my ranks, Severus. Crucio!”
~*~
Harry sat up straight in the bed, his right palm clutching his scar. It was burning like hell. Cursing loudly, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed, but he didn’t get far, as, as soon as his feet touched the ground, Madam Pomfrey came once again bustling out of her private chambers next to the Hospital Wing. She was wearing a deep purple dressing gown over her nightgown and within seconds, before he could even stand up, she was already towering over him.
“Professor Potter, would you care to explain why you think it might be a good idea to get up at this time of the night?” she asked in a no-nonsense voice.
Harry looked up at her. “I need to talk to Professor Snape.”
“Just what the fucking hell is this ruckus? I need my beauty sleep,” Draco grumbled, as he as well sat up in his bed, looking at them with an annoyed look on his face. “Of course, Potter, I should’ve known…”
“Shut it, Draco,” Harry snapped, as he jumped to his feet and was about to storm past Madam Pomfrey. The older witch, however, had her wand at the ready, and before Harry even knew it, she took advantage of his aggravated state and he found himself in a full body bind. Glaring at Madam Pomfrey, he was helplessly levitated back to the bed and dropped rather abruptly.
But Madam Pomfrey was not at all impressed by his glare, as she simply snapped, “Enough!” at a laughing Draco, effectively shutting him up, and then turned back to Harry with her arms crossed over her chest. “Now, Professor, do you promise to stay in bed and do what I say, when I release you from this spell?”
Harry simply continued to glare at her. How was he supposed to answer her? Still, at the very moment he thought this, he found that he could move again. But instead of jumping up again, he carefully sat up, not wanting to risk ending up in the full body bind again, and demanded again, “I need to talk to Professor Snape.”
“Professor Snape is not at Hogwarts at the moment,” Madam Pomfrey answered. “He’s away on the Headmaster’s orders and is expected back on Sunday at the earliest.”
Harry held his throbbing head. Of course, Snape couldn’t be at Hogwarts, when he, at this moment, was tortured by Voldemort. Sunday. That was in two days. So much could happen. Harry dreaded that Snape would not return at all. “Alright,” he conceded, feeling some familiar anger at the Headmaster bubble up again. “Then I need to talk to Dumbledore.”
“The Headmaster is away on urgent business in London and probably won’t return until Saturday,” Madam Pomfrey told him.
Harry groaned. This really couldn’t be true. “Saturday,” he repeated.
“Yes, Saturday.” Madam Pomfrey was looking at him sternly, as Harry raised his head again. “You will be able to talk to him then. Now I suggest that you go back to sleep, or I might rethink my decision of letting you leave after breakfast.”
Feeling like a student again, Harry reluctantly sank into his pillow and pulled the blanket up again. He knew that Madam Pomfrey was serious, when she made threats like this, and he really had to get out of the Hospital Wing. Neither Dumbledore nor Snape seemed to be at Hogwarts, but there was still one person he could talk to, as soon as he was released.
Madam Pomfrey nodded approvingly upon seeing this. “Very good. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to go back to bed as well. And no tricks, Professor. Be sure that I will know, if you try to get out of bed again.” Without another word, she whirled around and went back to her private chambers.
However, Harry didn’t close his eyes. He wasn’t sure, if he could go back to sleep again. His head was still hurting, but he didn’t tell Madam Pomfrey that. For one, he was sure that she would have kept him longer in the Hospital Wing if she knew, and then he knew perfectly well that this headache would be gone soon. He just needed to Occlude.
And this was what he was doing for the next few minutes, until a hissing noise broke his concentration. It was Draco, trying to get his attention. With a quiet sigh, Harry answered, “What is it?”
“Tell me, Potter,” Draco whispered. “It was a vision, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was.”
“So… what… what was it about?”
Harry remained quiet for a while, listening for any sound that might come out of Madam Pomfrey’s private chambers. But when he heard nothing, he finally answered, “Severus has returned to Voldemort. Voldemort is torturing him.”
Draco immediately began to curse, but quietly, and Harry was grateful for that. He didn’t know what would happen, if they somehow woke up Madam Pomfrey again. “Dumbledore did this,” Draco hissed eventually, clutching his blankets tightly in his fists. “Dumbledore must have convinced him to go back. You heard what Pomfrey said. He’s away on Dumbledore’s orders.”
“I know,” Harry agreed quietly. “I know.”
~*~
Harry didn’t sleep any more that night, even though he tried. But he wasn’t the only one. While silently waiting for morning to come, he never heard the tell-tale breaths of someone who was asleep. Apparently Draco had just as much a sleepless night as he had and this was not surprising, seeing as Draco and Snape had always had a much closer relationship than many other students and teachers.
Finally, when morning came, Harry had to suffer through breakfast and being watched by Madam Pomfrey to make sure that he really ate everything. But as soon as his plate was cleared away, he was on his feet and pulled over the dirty robes from a couple of days ago. One of the first things he was going to do, when he was back in his room, was to take a hot shower ” even though cleaning spells really did what they were meant to do, it just wasn’t the same ” even before he would seek out the person he wanted to talk to.
But before he could leave, Madam Pomfrey insisted on one last check-up at which end she nodded, apparently satisfied with the results, and officially released him. Harry let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding and got up from the bed. He waved cheekily at Draco, wishing him a good day and left the Hospital Wing, but not before seeing the rude gesture Draco was making with his hand.
There was no one in the common room, when Harry got there. Harry guessed that they were still in class, seeing as it was still Friday morning. But this suited him just fine, because now no one would stop him from going down to the dungeons.
The shower was a quick one, and after having changed into clean and new clothes, Harry was already on his way down the stairs to the dungeons and Snape’s private chambers. He met a few students on his way there, all of them coming back from their common room after having exchanged books or on their way there, and he nodded to them as a greeting. Just before reaching the Slytherin common room, however, Harry took a right turn and found himself standing in front of a dark wooden door. Raising his fist to the wood, he knocked.
It took a few seconds until the door was opened a bit, just enough so that the person inside could see who had knocked. Harry waited until Clara was sure of his identity and a short moment later, the door was opened fully. He had to admit that Clara was again looking a lot better than when he had last seen her, even though she was regarding him a bit warily, which was completely understandable. Smiling comfortingly at her, Harry said, “Hello, Clara. I hope I’m not disturbing you?”
“No,” she softly shook her head. “Please come in.”
Harry stepped over the threshold with a grateful smile on his face and looked around. He was surprised. The room he was now standing in seemed to be the sitting room and it was quite cosy. Then again, a woman had been living here for the last few days, so maybe she had changed a bit. Clara sat down on the couch in front of a small coffee table and Harry took the armchair across from her.
“Would you like something to drink? Tea?”
“No, thank you,” Harry told her, shaking his head slightly. “I’m not staying long…How are you and the kids doing?”
“We’re fine,” she smiled weakly, almost shyly. “Selvyn is asleep next door and your mother has come by about half an hour ago and is outside with Jocy. She’s really a nice woman.”
“I know,” Harry replied with a small, though he was a bit surprised that his mother had been to visit Clara. “But I didn’t know you knew each other.”
Clara chuckled softly. “Of course I knew her. She was Head Girl, after all, and she’s been known to help younger students, if they had some trouble with their studies, even if they were in other houses. And not to forget her friendship with Severus…”
If Harry had accepted her offer of tea, he was sure that he would have spit it across the table. Instead, he simply looked at Clara, dumbfounded. “Excuse me?” he croaked miserably, and immediately felt his cheeks redden. Clearing his throat, he repeated, “Excuse me? They were friends?”
“Yes, up until the end of their fifth year,” Clara told him. “Didn’t you know? They didn’t tell you? I mean, I was only a third year back then, but I’ve already… liked Severus back then, so it was impossible not to notice.” This time, her cheeks reddened, as she was reminded of her teenage crush.
Harry shook his head and leaned back on the armchair, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No, they didn’t tell me this particular bit of information.” Sighing, Harry lowered his hand and leaned slightly forward again. Now was not the time to talk about this. There were more important things to talk about right now, even though he really would like to hear more about it. “I’m sorry… I’m not here to talk about my mother… Actually, I wanted to ask you, if you knew, where your husband is.”
She averted her eyes from him, staring instead into the fire in the fire place. And this was the answer Harry had dreaded to hear. She knew.
“Why did he go back?” he asked quietly.
“Because he felt he had to,” Clara answered just as quietly, still staring into the flames. “He has come back from a conversation with Professor Dumbledore and told me that he needed to go back. That this was the ideal time to secure his spot as a spy in You-Know-Who’s ranks without his knowing.”
“Didn’t you try to stop him?”
Clara looked at him with tears in her eyes. “What should I have said? I love Severus and I don’t want to lose him. I told him this, but knew at the same time that I couldn’t stop him. Once he’s made up his mind, nothing can stop him.”
Harry knew that she was right. “That was a stupid and Gryffindorish thing of him to do,” he simply said, but couldn’t keep the small smirk from his face. This comment also earned him a quiet giggle and he felt as if he had to assure her that everything would be alright. “I have to admit, I don’t like it at all that he has done this and I promise that I will talk to Dumbledore about this. But believe me, when I tell you that Severus has also been a spy in our time and that he’s still alive. As hard as it is to admit, he knows what he’s doing.”
Clara simply nodded without saying anything and a comfortable silence fell over them. Harry leaned back again in his armchair and took another good look around the room. The walls were, of course, dark and made of stone, but there were huge shelves with books covering most of that space. The couch and armchair were also of a darker colour, not really black, but almost, but they were made of a soft material, and fitted somehow perfectly to the dark green carpet. The fire place emitted a comfortable warmth and several magical lights at the walls lit up the room as if there were a window in this room.
“In your time,” Clara suddenly began, a bit hesitantly, “we’re not alive. I mean, Jocy, Sel and I died, didn’t we?”
Harry nodded gravely. “As far as I know… At least I’ve never heard of you. But I believe that Voldemort killed you in my time, because I couldn’t save you, and that this was the reason why Severus turned his back on him and became a spy for our side.”
“I see,” she sighed and closed her eyes. Harry thought that she was thinking about what she was going to ask him next, and if she really wanted to ask that question. But he didn’t need to wait long, as she opened her eyes again shortly after, and looked at him. “How… how is Severus… in your time? What kind of man has become of him?”
Harry paused a bit, before answering. How was he to tell her how Snape really was, how much almost every student hated him and how much he himself hated the world and almost everyone on it. “He… He’s become bitter. He barely seeks the company of others and spends most of his time down in the dungeons with his Potions. He’s still a teacher at Hogwarts, but not many students like him, because he quickly loses his temper and ridicules students during his lessons. But he can be a good teacher, when the students show promise and are really into the stuff. He certainly knows what he is teaching, that’s sure.” Harry ran a hand through his hair and let out a deep sigh. “I really wish I could tell you more positive things about him, but that’s the way he is. His work as spy has hardened him and I think that the pain of his great loss has forced him to build up a wall around him so that no one, no feelings can get near him. Still, I’ve worked at his side in the war for many years now, and I believe that, deep down, he’s a good man.”
~*~
When Harry returned to the time travellers’ common room, much later than he had intended, Ron was there, revising the schedule for the upcoming Quidditch matches this term. His friend looked up, when Harry stepped into the room, and a bright grin flashed over his face. “She let you out, mate! Finally! Kept you in there long enough!”
“Yeah,” Harry replied, a bit absentmindedly. His mind was still reeling from the conversation he’d just had with Clara. He had really hoped that he could help her some more, but she had said that she was glad that he could at least tell her that much. On his way out, he had met his mother, as she was bringing Jocy back for lunch, and they had left the dungeons together, filling the silence with small talk. Harry wasn’t sure, how and if he should breach that subject of his mother’s and Snape’s friendship at all. They parted in the Entrance Hall and then Harry had walked to their chambers.
“Harry?”
Harry’s head shot up, almost painfully, as something cracked in his neck. He winced and rubbed the sore spot with his hand. “Sorry… what was it?”
“Are you sure, you’re alright?”
“Yeah,” Harry told him. “I’m sure… It’s just been a busy morning.” Sitting down on the couch across from his friend, Harry began to tell him about his vision that night and his visit to Clara, even though he didn’t tell him everything about it.
“Bloody hell,” Ron summarised, what he had just heard.
“That’s about it,” Harry said with a slight smirk. “I will talk to Dumbledore about this. Severus didn’t have to do this.” Another sigh escaped his lips and he closed his eyes briefly. “Will you please tell Hermione what I just told you? I’m going to retire to my room. There are still plenty of essays that have to be graded and I’m also completely knackered.”
“Of course, mate,” Ron told him and watched Harry go. However, before Harry was through his door, Ron said, “Harry, do me a favour, will you? Please Occlude tonight. You really look like you could use a full night of sleep. It’s a wonder Madam Pomfrey released you with those bags under your eyes.”
“Thanks, Ron,” Harry told him with a grin and closed the door.
Once inside, Harry leant against the door for a moment. A busy morning had been a small understatement. He had no idea just how many hours of sleep he had gotten and then this conversation with Clara had been draining him of the rest of his energy. His hands were shaking slightly and Harry pushed himself away from the door. He walked over to his bedside table and pulled the first drawer open, where his beloved cigarettes were lying. After having taking one of them out of the packet, he opened the window and sat down on the windowsill. He pointed his wand at the cigarette in his mouth and a split second later, it was glowing. Smoke filled his mouth and his lungs and he closed his eyes, relishing in the feeling as his body slowly calmed down.
There was so much he had to do. So many things he had to talk to people about… Dumbledore, his mother… Then he had thought long and hard about it during his stay in the Hospital Wing and come to the conclusion that he had to do what Barty Crouch Jr. in his role as Mad-Eye Moody had done. He needed to prepare the students for the worst. They needed to learn everything about the Unforgivables. There was only one problem ” Harry had only once used the Killing Curse and never one of the others. But apparently, he now had no other choice. He only needed the permission from Dumbledore.
Determined that, if Dumbledore gave him permission, he would begin to teach them starting the following week, Harry threw the cigarette out of the window and sat down at his desk with an empty roll of parchment in front of him. He dipped the quill into the ink and began to outline his lesson plans for all seven years.
~*~
The following day, Harry kept his eyes and ears open the whole time, waiting for any news that might tell him whether Dumbledore was back already or someone knew when he would be back. But until dinner that night, he heard nothing. However, waiting for Dumbledore was not the only thing that kept him distracted. More often than he liked, his thoughts wandered back to the unexpected revelation that his mother seemed to have been friends with Snape, and he still had no idea, what he should to about it. Ron and Hermione, who appeared to be worried about him, tried to find out what it was that kept him distracted, but Harry thought that they bought his excuse that he was simply waiting for Dumbledore to show up so that he could talk to him about Snape.
But finally, a few minutes after Harry had sat down at the High Table for dinner, Dumbledore strode into the Great Hall and Harry let out a relieved sigh and, after greeting the Headmaster, returned his attention back to his meal. However, as soon as Dumbledore rose again from his chair, Harry stopped him. “Albus, can I talk to you. In private?” he asked quietly.
Dumbledore nodded and together they left the Great Hall. They didn’t speak a single word the whole time they were walking towards the Headmaster’s office, but Harry every so often noticed the older wizard’s eyes upon him, while he was simply staring ahead. He was still wondering, how he could breach the two subjects he wanted to talk to the Headmaster about. Snape and the Unforgivables. How to begin? How would Dumbledore react? And yet he was determined. Determined to make the Headmaster hear him out.
Once they had both sat down, Dumbledore in his chair behind his desk and Harry in one in front of it, and Harry had declined the Headmaster’s offer of a Sherbet Lemon, Dumbledore asked, “What is it you wanted to talk to me about, Harry?”
“Actually,” Harry began, “it’s two things I wanted to talk to you about. The first one is… Severus Snape. And why he has decided to become a spy. I wanted to know, if you could tell me more about it.”
“I see,” Dumbledore simply answered, looking at Harry. There was no twinkle in the blue eyes that gazed at him over the half-moon spectacles. Albus Dumbledore was completely serious and Harry returned the gaze with the same seriousness. “I hope you understand that Severus’s reasons for this decision are personal and not for me to tell you. However, I believe what I may tell you, is that he feels great remorse for his actions in the past and wants to redeem himself, but I’m sure you have already worked that out yourself.”
“And I’m sure that you have encouraged him to do this.”
“I do admit that you are correct with this assumption, Harry. Severus is a great asset to the Order in his role as double agent. He is one of the few Death Eaters that Voldemort has allowed in his inner circle and the information he will provide us with could be of tremendous help to prevent attacks and save lives.”
Shaking his head, Harry replied, “There was no reason for him to go back. His family is alive and safe. It’s not like he has nothing to lose. No matter how great his remorse, no matter what he feels he needs to do to redeem himself, and especially no matter how much of an asset he is, he should always think of his family first. They should be more important to him. He shouldn’t risk his life like this.”
“Sometimes,” Dumbledore said calmly, “there are things more important than blood ties or even friends, if it serves the greater good, Harry. The people close to you might give you the strength you need, but in the end you will do what you have to do. I believe you know what I’m talking about, don’t you? You still haven’t told your friends of the Prophecy, if I’m correct.”
Harry gritted his teeth, his green eyes blazing. “It doesn’t matter, whether they know the contents or not,” he said, trying to sound as calm as Dumbledore, but some of his anger still seeped into his voice. This was already the second time that Dumbledore pointed out this fact and still Harry didn’t want to talk about it. “Everyone knows that in the end, it’s going to be me.”
“Everyone assumes that it’s going to be you,” Dumbledore corrected him. “You have many reasons for wanting to kill him and I believe that your status as The Boy Who Lived in your time might support their theory that you are the only one who is able to kill him. But still, you are leaving your friends in the dark, and you will fight Voldemort alone, when it’s time. You could have turned your back on the Prophecy, ignoring it completely, but you know that you have to do it.”
“You have no idea, what you are talking about,” Harry told him, even though he knew that Dumbledore’s theory was spot-on. He cursed inwardly. How was it that the older wizard always seemed to be two steps ahead of him? This was highly infuriating! A deep sigh escaped his lips and he ran a hand through his hair. Some of the messy strands fell out of the elastic, much to his dismay. “Whatever,” Harry said eventually, “I see that you cannot tell me more about Severus. However, as I already said, he was not the only reason, why I wanted to talk to you.”
“What was the other reason?” Dumbledore asked, apparently not at all bothered by Harry’s accusations. As a matter of fact, he seemed to be sincerely interested in what Harry wanted to say now.
After having taken a deep breath, Harry explained, “After what happened to Charlie Weasley, I’ve been thinking. I mean, I’ve noticed it before, but I’ve never thought much about it, even though I probably should have… The students are not at all prepared for the Unforgivables.”
Dumbledore nodded slightly, as he replied, “Yes, I’ve been thinking about this as well. What do you think should we do about it?”
Harry was relieved to hear this. If Dumbledore had really thought about this problem as well ” and Harry had no reason to believe that the Headmaster was lying to him about this ” then he might be really open to his idea. Encouraged, he continued, “In my fourth year, our Defence professor taught us everything we needed to know about the Unforgivables. He demonstrated with spiders what they did, how cruel they are. Some of my classmates were visibly shaken after this demonstration.” Harry thought of Neville, but also about his own feelings about seeing how his parents had died. “He even performed the Imperius Curse on us, so that we would know how it feels like and learn to shake it off. I want to follow his example, but for this, I need your permission.”
Dumbledore regarded him calmly for a long moment, his eyes thoughtful. “Do you plan to organize your lessons like this, or how did you plan to teach your students?”
“Something like that, yeah, but with a few differences,” Harry told him and pulled a roll of parchment out of his robes. He gave them to Dumbledore, who carefully unrolled the parchment and began to read. Harry tried to lean back in the stuffy armchair, but he was too tense to relax. So he felt a small grateful grin on his face, as Fawkes flew into the office through the open window and sang a few uplifting notes, before settling down on his perch.
“You have really put a lot of thought into this, I assume,” Dumbledore said at last, when he had finished reading and returned the role of parchment to Harry. Harry simply nodded, not trying to let it show just how nervous he was. This really meant a lot to him. He didn’t want that something like what happened to Charlie happened again. “It’s a delicate subject, especially in the current situation. I’m sure the Ministry will fear that teaching this will make the students more susceptible; however, I don’t think that. I believe that it will teach them to be wary.”
“So, I may teach them.”
“Yes, Harry,” Dumbledore told him. “You may. But,” he added, this time with a bright twinkle in his eyes, the one Harry was used to, “before you leave, I also want to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?” Harry asked curiously.
“Oh, I’m sure you will like it.” The twinkle got, if possible, even brighter and also a bit more mischievous. “I would have told everyone at the staff meeting on Monday, but seeing as you are already here… Ron approached me last Thursday with an excellent idea. He noticed that morning how a subdued mood has settled over the majority of the students, after they had heard of what had been done to Mr. Weasley. So he thought that they might need something to lift their spirits and told me of his idea.”
Harry grinned slightly and shook his head. “Please, don’t tell me it’s another ball.”
“No, no, Harry… this is much better.”
~*~
Harry left Dumbledore’s office in a better mood than he had expected, especially after the first part of their conversation. He was still grinning at Ron’s idea. This was perfect and he couldn’t wait until the students were told.
His mood improved even more the following morning, when Harry went to breakfast after a fun night with him and Ron talking about his friend’s brilliant idea. Even Hermione had joined in now and then, when she glanced over the rim of the thick book in her lap. They had to fill her in, because she had returned from the Hospital Wing, just as they were in the middle of a laughing fit, and she had wanted to know what was so funny.
He was still grinning brightly, and chuckling every now and then, especially when a particularly funny suggestion from Ron shot through his mind, as he entered the Great Hall. The already wide grin turned into a bright smile, when he saw Severus Snape, along with Clara and Jocy sitting at the High Table. The heavy weight of worry he had felt ever since he’d had the vision dropped from his shoulders and he greeted the family with a friendly smile. “Good morning, Jocy, Clara… Good morning, Severus, I hope you are well?” he asked, as he sat down next to his colleague.
“Yes, thank you,” Severus replied and Harry could hear in his voice that he was sincere.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Harry told him and opened the Daily Prophet that was lying next to his plate. He scanned the pages quickly, while filling his plate with eggs and bacon, hoping to find something interesting to read. However, he realized quickly that he shouldn’t have done this, as his eyes read one of the headlines.
Unforgivables taught at Hogwarts!
Harry growled and abruptly closed the newspaper, turning his full attention to his breakfast and began to angrily glare and stab at his eggs. Just how the bloody hell had the Daily Prophet found out about this so soon, just a few hours after he had talked to Dumbledore about this?
“Harry, what’s wrong?” he suddenly heard Hermione’s worried voice next to him. He looked up and saw her and Ron standing there.
“This,” he hissed and showed her the article in the newspaper.
Hermione’s brows furrowed, as she read the article, but she was calm, as she closed the paper. “Don’t let this bother you, Harry,” she told him firmly, already filling her plate. He could see the look in her eyes, as she did this, and he knew the look. Hermione was already planning something, and he got the vague feeling that she would be on her way to the library at the latest after her classes. “I’m going to take care of this.”
And he had been right. Not with his assumption that she would head to the library as soon as possible, but that she was a woman on a mission. He only wondered, what his friend was planning. He exchanged a questioning look with Ron, but he only shrugged and shook his head. With a slight grin, Harry returned his attention to his breakfast. Hermione would tell them eventually… She always did, after all.
When Harry left the Great Hall, he was surprised to see Severus standing there, apparently waiting for him. “I would like to speak with you for a moment,” Severus simply said, when he saw Harry.
“Of course,” Harry answered and without another word Severus led him into an empty classroom. Harry closed the door and then turned to face Severus, who looked a bit uncomfortable. Hoping that he might be able to ease him into this conversation, Harry said, “I’m really glad that you are okay… I’ve been worried, when I heard that you returned to him.”
“The Dark Lord didn’t… punish me as much as I had expected,” Severus told him stiffly. “But I’m back in his inner circle and he trusts me as much as he trusts any of his Death Eaters. He believes that I’m a spy for his side...”
“While he thinks that Dumbledore believes you’re working for the Order,” Harry completed the sentence thoughtfully. “I’m sure Clara told you that I’ve been to see her? Well, I’ve also talked to Dumbledore, and even though I still don’t understand why you’re doing this, I think that you do have your reasons. And I know also that you can do it.”
“You’re correct. I have my reasons… I’m glad to see that you have realized this. However, this is not what I wanted to talk to you about. Clara said to me that she told you some information you hadn’t been aware of before. Some information about your mother and me having been friends.”
Harry’s throat suddenly felt dry. “Yes, she told me.”
“And am I correct to assume that you have not talked to Lily about this, yet?”
“Yes,” Harry answered. “I didn’t know how to“”
“Then, heed my advice,” Severus interrupted him. “I’m not at liberty to tell you about our friendship, but if you really want to know more about this, go, talk to her. Lily will tell you everything you might want to know. You’re supposed to be a foolishly brave Gryffindor, so act like it. Lily certainly won’t kill you for asking a simple question.”
Harry allowed a small sheepish grin on his face and had to resist the urge to scratch the back of his head. “You’re right,” he admitted. “I will talk to her.”
“Very good,” Severus replied. “If you will excuse me, I’ve got some lessons to prepare for tomorrow and I’m sure you will also need some more time to finalize the plans for your new lessons.” A smirk crept on Severus’s face. “I’m looking forward to hearing how the students will act after your lesson, but believe me, I will assign many detentions, if they disturb my classes with their excited and annoying chatter.”
Without another word, Severus left the classroom, but the moment he was gone, Harry snorted loudly. He guessed that he had just gotten Severus Snape’s approval of his new lessons.
Harry Potter and the Impossibility of Time Travel by ChibiChibi
Chapter Notes: Again, I won’t say much. You know that I’m really busy at university, so that’s my only excuse… I hope you understand and will still continue to read this story, even though my updates are really, really slow, while I have so many other things to do… But don’t worry, I will never abandon this fic!!!
And now, before we go on to the story, I wanted thank you all very much for your reviews and critics! It’s always great to see that your work is appreciated. :)