Snape's Redemption

Disclaimer: I’m not JK Rowling and I’m not making any money from this. At all. In fact, if you factor my electricity and internet bills, I’m losing money. Sigh.

Chapter Twenty-Two – Absolution

Minerva McGonagall sighed as she leaned back into her chair and covered her face with her hands. She tried to remember when everything had become so complicated. Initially, it had been simple. Severus Snape had revealed his true colours and killed Albus. Then Hermione Granger had voiced the unbearable truth that the Order needed Snape, both his power and intellect. She, Minerva, had rejected that idea, holding fast to the belief that once Albus’ portrait woke up, all would be well and they would once again have a leader. But portrait Albus did not wake, and it was Snape’s advice that had kept the school open and retrieved most of the other Horcruxes. Now Harry had abandoned the Order after their paranoia had almost cost him one of his closest friends. A feline growl erupted from the Headmistress’s throat as she recollected Remus’ report on the whole incident.

Eyes covered, she failed to see the study briefly glow green. She did not, however, fail to feel a wand digging into her throat.

“I do like what you have done with these rooms, Minerva,” Snape informed her softly. “Now slowly lower your hands and pass over your wand. Do not attempt any useless Gryffindor heroics either; I’m quite done with the company of your house.”

Minerva slowly complied, her hands retrieving her wand as her eyes darted around the room, noting that all the portraits of the previous Hogwarts Heads were frozen.

“Thank you,” Snape said crisply as he plucked her wand from her hands and stored it in one of his pockets. “Now, are you going to be cooperative, or difficult? I do not wish to bind you to that chair, but if needs be I will,” he idly promised.

“Distressing as it is for me to admit, Severus, I acknowledge that I could not beat you in a fight,” Minerva retorted. “I am also intrigued enough to find out exactly why you are here.”

Severus smiled as he stepped out from behind her. “Curiosity and the cat and all that,” he murmured softly.

Minerva’s lips twitched as she watched her former student and associate cross the room to Albus’ portrait.

“Severus,” she began cautiously as he tapped the corner of the portrait’s frame, “there have been some terrible rumours in the Order about you and Miss Granger and I …”

She gasped, losing her train of thought, as the portrait of Albus Dumbledore stretched, yawned and opened his eyes.

“Severus, my dear boy,” he exclaimed delightedly, his blue eyes twinkling over his half-moon glasses. “How wonderful of you to finally visit!”

“Albus,” Snape responded, curtly nodding his head to his former employer.

Minerva’s reaction was the antithesis of Severus’. She burst into joyous tears as she raced over to the portrait and lovingly ran her hands over Dumbledore’s painted face.

“Now, now, stop that, Minerva. There’s no need for such a display. Have a lemon sherbet – I’m sure there are some still in the desk drawer.”

Severus rolled his eyes but eventually the histrionics were too much for him. Casting a quick Silencio, he then banished and magically bound Minerva back in her chair. Smirking at her outraged face, he turned back to the portrait of the Headmaster he had martyred.

He cleared his throat and squared his shoulders, preparing to admit his felonies to his former saviour.

“I know, Severus,” Albus stated gently before Snape could confess his crimes, “and I am so very sorry.”

“YOU are sorry?” Severus burst out. “How can you be sorry?”

“I did not listen to you. You tried to tell me as much as you could about the Vow you made with Draco’s mother, but I refused to hear what you were trying to say. Indeed, I did not even believe young Mr Malfoy when he told me of it. Instead I told him that you were working on my orders and implied that you made up the Vow as a cover for watching him. Nor did I believe Harry, when he told me. My blindness caused my own death, Severus, not you,” he finished gently.

Severus gazed at him, speechless, his mouth gaping open in shock. “No,” he finally stuttered, “no, Albus – I killed you. I did it. I pointed my wand at you and I …”

“Hush, child,” Dumbledore soothed, his eyes filled with sympathy. “I know what you did. I also know that there was enough hate in you towards me to be able to do it. Just know, Severus, that I understand and, now that you are here where you should be, I forgive you.”

Severus drew in a deep breath.

“But I need your forgiveness, Severus. I need you to forgive me for not listening to you for so many years. I know how frustrated you were with me – I always seemed to be over-riding your judgements, especially in relation to Harry. Can you give me that forgiveness?” Dumbledore asked softly.

A small smirk twisted the corner of Severus’ mouth. “Of course, Albus. To be honest, a lot of my … frustration at your interference was vented when I killed you.”

Dumbledore laughed delightedly. “Oh my dear boy! It is good to see you again!”

Still smirking, Severus turned and released Minerva from her bondage. She rose from her chair and stalked over to Snape, slapping him sharply across his face.

“Enough!” Dumbledore ordered. “I have forgiven him, Minerva. It is not your fight!”

“You don’t know what he has done to Hermione Granger,” she hissed, curling her hands into claws and preparing to attack.

A look of ineffable sadness crossed Albus’ face as he turned to Severus.

“She was the only one?” he asked gently.

Snape nodded curtly.

“Was she … willing?”

Snape looked away. Albus closed his eyes briefly, before continuing.

“The cup?”

“Retrieved.”

“You have made provisions for her?” Dumbledore continued with his gentle interrogation.

Once again, a silent nod was his answer. Dumbledore turned his painted eyes to Minerva. “It was necessary, Minerva.”

McGonagall opened and closed her mouth in speechless rage before puckering up her lips tightly. Severus reflected that her mouth looked remarkably like her arse in her Animagus form.

“Well then, I think it’s time that you filled me in on your actions, Severus,” Dumbledore instructed. “Would you also please release the other portraits – they may have contributions to make.”

Severus complied, turning widdershins and dropping all the wards.

“You will not be able to leave these frames,” he hissed as two of the Heads, Dilys and Everard, made motions to fetch help via their other portraits. Phineas Nigellus merely sneered and leaned against his frame.

Snape turned back to Dumbledore. “I have retrieved all but one of the Horcruxes and, with the help of Miss Granger, have neutralised them all.”

“Neutralised?” Minerva interjected. “Why did you not destroy them?”

“Because, unlike some, I have respect for the history of these objects,” he spat back at her. Slanting a glance at Albus, he continued, “None of them needed to be destroyed in order to make them useless to the Dark Lord. They only required the soul to be removed. Once the soul had nothing to cling to, it dissipated.”

“So, you were correct and once again, I did not believe you,” Dumbledore murmured.

“Do you mean to say,” Phineas drawled, “that you did not need to destroy Marvolo’s ring?”

“Yes, Phineas,” Dumbledore snapped, shooting an angry glare at the Slytherin. “Fine, you were right as well!”

Phineas smirked and nodded at Snape to continue.

“However, there is the problem with the last Horcrux,” Snape continued. “The potion that Miss Granger and I developed removes any vestige of soul from the object it covers. As the last Horcrux has a soul of its own, both the soul of the Dark Lord and the Horcrux will be removed.”

“It’s only a snake,” Minerva snapped, still unwilling to forgive. “A truly horrid snake, at that.”

“If it were Nagini, I would have no qualms in destroying it, you stupid Gryffindor,” Severus bit out.

“Of course it’s Nagini,” Dumbledore interjected. “Voldemort has held nothing else closer to him than that creature.”

“Are you really such a fool?” Headmaster Dippet exclaimed. “I never thought you actually believed that story you fed to young Potter!”

Dumbledore, together with many of the other portraits, frowned. Headmaster Dippet laughed delightedly. “Oh, what a fine day for me! Albus Dumbledore finally finds out he is not omnipotent!”

“Who do you think it is then?” Dumbledore challenged.

“Why it’s obvious, is it not?” Dippet beamed, looking at the other portraits. “Harry James Potter!”

A cacophony of voices filled the room, mocking and deriding one of the most useless Heads in Hogwarts history.

“He is correct,” Snape’s assertion rang out over the noise. “Well, to be more concise, Potter’s scar is the actual Horcrux.”

Minerva collapsed weakly onto her chair. “Oh, Severus,” she gasped, her Scottish burr heavy in her distress. “Are you absolutely sure?”

Snape nodded once.

“What makes you believe that?” Dumbledore questioned.

Severus sighed. “Lily,” he answered simply. “The Dark Lord did not want to kill her. Although you do not believe it, Albus, he did understand the power of a mother’s love. He knew that if he killed her, it would weaken him gravely. So when he killed her, he used her son as his vessel.”

“How do you know this?” Headmistress Dilys demanded, waving her wand threateningly.

“Legilimency,” Severus answered shortly. He did not want to confess to the room that when Voldemort had been distracted torturing and raping him, he had been able to probe the Dark Lord’s mind. Only two people knew that, and one was now looking down at him with tears in his eyes.

“Severus,” Dumbledore whispered brokenly.

“I require a more knowledgeable mind than Miss Granger’s to help me with this conundrum,” Snape continued, ignoring the sympathy emanating from Albus. “I need Slughorn.”

“I’ll go and get him,” Minerva murmured and hurriedly left the room.

Snape paced restlessly under the benevolent gaze of Dumbledore as the other portraits murmured to each other until Minerva returned with Horace Slughorn in tow. He was disarmed as soon as he entered the room.

“What … Minerva …” he sputtered, his hands futilely flapping in the air.

“Horace, welcome,” Dumbledore beamed at the flustered Potions master. “Please, take a seat.”

“Albus,” Slughorn gasped, collapsing into a chair. “What is all this about?”

“Voldemort, of course,” Albus answered cheerily. “We need your help to stop him!”

Snape smirked at the portrait, amazed once more at the acting skills of the old man. Dumbledore’s ability to morph from concerned father figure to barmy old codger within the blink of an eye never failed to surprise him.

As Dumbledore explained what was required to Horace, Severus watched the fat professor intently. A feeling of dread crept up his spine as he saw his old teacher’s expression changed from confused fear to smug satisfaction.

“What have you done?” he hissed, cutting through Dumbledore’s dissertation.

Horace smiled smugly. “You are not the first person to figure this out, you know. I have already developed the potion you require to remove the parasite soul without harming the object’s own soul.”

“YOU discovered who the last Horcrux was?” Phineas snorted disbelievingly.

“Not me,” Horace frowned. “But a close friend of Mr Potter’s. A very close friend,” he finished archly.

Suddenly, various thoughts and observations snapped into place in Severus’ head, creating a clear but disturbing picture.

“Weasley,” he hissed. He spun to Minerva. “Get Ginevra Weasley here now!”

“Well done, Severus,” Horace beamed. He turned to Minerva. “She’s in my private lab at the moment, working on the potion we have concocted together. Really, this crop of Gryffindors is amazing. First Potter with his mother’s natural gift for Potions, and now young Miss Weasley. Instinctive, you know…” his voice trailed off as he watched Snape swoop out of the study, McGonagall close behind him.

“What’s all that about?” he asked Dumbledore.

“Oh, Horace,” Dumbledore sighed. “Quick, go and follow them. Hopefully there will be something left to salvage.”

“Salvage? What do you … oh dear!” Slughorn hauled his bulk from the chair and hurried from the room.

Leaving Dumbledore to explain to the other portraits the duplicity of Ginevra Weasley.

*~*~*~*~*

Severus and Minerva surveyed the wreckage of what used to be Professor Horace Slughorn’s private laboratory. Both whirled around as footsteps echoed down the hallway. Snape whipped out his wand, handed Minerva hers, and prepared for an attack.

“It’s Horace,” Minerva stated as she returned her wand to her pocket. “I would recognise that wheezing anywhere.”

“Oh my,” gasped Slughorn as he peered around the doorframe into the room. “She certainly did an excellent job at destroying it all.”

Snape calmly reached out and grabbed his old teacher by the robes before digging his wand into the folds of flesh that comprised Slughorn’s chin.

“Where’s your private back-up potion?” he demanded.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Horace squeaked. “Minerva, help me!”

“You always concoct a separate potion to the one you are working on with a student,” Snape stated calmly as his wand shot sparks into the fat wizard’s neck. “Then you sabotage the student’s work so you can present them with your perfect potion and make them believe you are a genius. Remember, you tried doing that with Lily once and she caught you. So, where is it?”

“In my rooms,” Slughorn gasped.

Severus threw him aside and stalked off to retrieve the potion, casting orders behind him. “Minerva, call the Order. I may need them.”

“What are you going to do?” she called out after him.

His snarky response drifted back to her.

“Rescue Harry bloody Potter. Again.”

*~*~*~*~~*

A/n: I’m so sorry this has taken so long to update and I’m also sorry that I haven’t been responding to reviews. The climate change from Australia (40 degrees Celsius) to London (minus 1 on the morning of our arrival) caused me to catch the dreaded lurgy. I have been bedridden for nearly two weeks and had no energy whatsoever. However, I am feeling better, so here is a nice long chapter for you. Enjoy!

And of course to my wonderful Betas – JuneW and her remarkable donkey paraphernalia; GinnyW who finds the time to Beta, write and have an amazingly hectic life; and Claraminutes who is creative in so many fields – I wish I had a Snape to send you all!

Oh and the duplicity of Miss Ginevra Weasley will be explained next chapter. Hehehehehehehehe….