The Death of a Soul

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Chapter Twenty Four

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Hermione Granger sat across from her friend, Harry Potter, and watched him carefully. She knew by the reddening of his face, the way his veins protruded out of his neck and the unnatural shade of green in his eyes, that he was ready to attack anyone who even dared to look at him wrong. Fortunately for her, she knew that she wasn’t going to be one of them. She was his friend. And as his friend, it was her duty to tell him the truth. The truth about the lies that everyone was told …and later believed. Even her.

“Tell me, Hermione,” Harry said, the words growling out of his throat.

She barely nodded and suddenly wished that she wasn’t the messenger. It was breaking her heart to see him this way. If he had ever felt betrayed, this would be the defining moment. Hermione held her breath and slowly released it. He had to know. She had to know.

“The trial was about the Life-Debt and your refusal,” the young witch said rhetorically. Harry gave a curt nod. “Your refusal. Only yours.”

Again Harry nodded but this time narrowed his eyes. Hermione pursed her lips together and looked away. How could she have been so blind? How did she allow herself to believe otherwise? She glanced over to Ron. He too was looking ashamed. Ashamed but at the same time angry. Harry had every right to hate them.

“Tell me,” Harry ordered in a low and dangerous voice.

‘He has to know,’ she repeated in her head. No matter the cost of their friendship.

“After Snape's Life-Debt was revealed and your refusal of it, we were told that the Ministry was called in,” Hermione stated. Harry nodded once in confirmation. Silently, she took a deep breath. “When the Ministry refused to change it,” She paused to take another deep breath. She could do this. “Snape offered to change the Life-Debt.”

Ron and Hermione both swallowed hard as their friend gripped his brass butterbeer mug, turning his knuckles white. The young witch nervously licked her dry lips and continued.

“We were told that Snape admitted that he acted rashly and regretted his decision to force you into something that you clearly did not want.”

Harry began to tremble, but said nothing. Hermione kept herself in check and went on.

“Snape told the Ministry that he wanted to change the Life-Debt marriage to a bonding only.” She paused then whispered, “They said you agreed.”

Ron jumped and Hermione flinched when Harry threw his mug against the far wall. Panting hard, he bowed his head and dug his nails into the palms of his hands and continued to shake. The room fell silent. The redhead shot each customer a look, telling them to mind their own business. However, that would be hard because this was Harry Potter – The Boy-Who-Lived – who just exploded.

Hermione quietly began again. “Cornelius Fudge and the rest of the Ministry denied that, as well. They said that since both of you had refused, the consequences…” the words choked in Hermione's throat. She shook her head. “The consequences of refusing a Life-Debt would be imprisonment in Azkaban,” she said quickly. She closed her eyes and started taking in short bits of air. Hermione slowly opened her eyes. “Imprisonment for both of you.”

Harry clenched his jaw hard and started to shake violently. He was ready to lash out at any given moment. The young witch fought back the tears that were threatening to escape, but one had already fallen.

“There's more, Harry,” Hermione whispered.

Harry’s head stayed down but his dark eyes lifted to meet hers.

“After the trial was over, everyone was told that Snape ordered the marriage to be platonic.” Harry bared his teeth and the young witch tried to ignore it. “The Ministry denied that, as well, and told you both that if you were to refuse again, another trial would commence. They also said that the marriage had to be…” Hermione stopped but Harry nodded for her to go on. “The marriage had to be consummated in order for the bonding to work. They said that if you didn’t, you would both die.”

Another tear fell as she watched her best friend struggle just to stay seated.

“Harry,” Hermione said, her voice just above a whisper. “Snape told us that he had no choice in the matter and hated doing…that…as much as you did. He said Dumbledore was assigned to make sure that…”

Harry had heard enough. He knocked the chair backwards as he jumped to his feet and all but ran to the Floo Network. Hermione and Ron followed close behind. As soon as he reached the fireplace, he spun around.

“Who told you all of this?”

Hermione and Ron exchanged a worried look.

“Dumbledore,” Ron said softly.

“Stay here!” Harry barked.

“No!” the young witch cried. “We’re coming with you!”

“I have to do this by myself,” he hissed.

Ron gently touched her arm. “Harry's right, Hermione. He has to do this alone.”

Harry snapped his head over to the redhead. “Where is she, Ron?” he demanded.

Ron blanched.

Enunciating each word as if Ron was a child, “Where is Ginny?”

Ron's mouth opened and closed. “I can't... I mean I’m forbidden to …”

“No one knows, Harry,” Hermione said.

“Hermione!”

“Shut up, Ron! You may have been sworn into secrecy, but I haven’t,” she spat. She turned to Harry. “Right after she was removed from Hogwarts, she was ordered to go to Durmstrang. Two weeks after that, the family took a trip to Hogsmeade to get her new school supplies. No one knew that she had packed up everything she owned. She must have shrunk them down and hid them.” Hermione paused briefly. “She ran away, Harry. No one has seen nor heard from her since.”

Harry’s eyes began to blink, as they welled up with tears.

“Her family and the Ministry looked everywhere. You were under surveillance for a long time, Harry, thinking the two of you had planned this from the beginning and that she would try to contact you.” The young witch studied Harry’s distraught face. “But she didn’t, did she, Harry?” she asked softly.

Harry looked away and shook his head.

“Harry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry that we believed all the lies.” She swallowed hard. “I tried, Harry. I really did. I tried to find a way to reverse the Life-Debt. I studied every book there was.” Hermione looked away. “I couldn’t find anything, Harry.” She started to weep openly. “I really tried. But… I failed you,” she sobbed, covering her face in her hands. “I failed you…”

Harry’s hatred melted as he watched his best friend have a nervous breakdown. He knew she had remained strong throughout this entire discussion, but her so-called weakness to help him had done her in.

“Hermione,” Harry whispered. He tenderly pulled her forward and held her tightly in his arms. “Shh. I’m sorry I doubted you, Hermione.” He looked up at Ron. He also was silently crying. “I’m sorry that I doubted both of you.”

Ron smiled weakly. Gently, Harry pushed Hermione away and removed her hands. He bent down and looked into her heartbroken eyes.

“It’s all right, Hermione,” he assured her. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of everything.”

For the first time in months, Harry smiled at her. And Ron. He turned and stepped into the fireplace. He smiled once more before shouting, “Dumbledore’s office!”


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When Harry stepped out of the fireplace, Professor Albus Dumbledore was already waiting for him.

“Harry, what is the meaning of this? You have just interrupted an important meeting with…”

“Why did you lie to everyone?” Harry bit out.

“Harry,” Albus said, slightly taken back.

“Answer me!”

Dumbledore quickly turned to his guests. “Gentlemen, would you please excuse us?”

The five men nodded and immediately rushed to the fireplace and Floo’d out of the tense surroundings. The older wizard turned back to a furious Harry Potter.

“I don’t know what has provoked this unacceptable behaviour, Harry Potter, but you had better explain yourself,” Dumbledore said, in a low warning voice.

Harry’s fists were at his side and his chest tightened. “How could you have lied to everyone? What reason could you possibly have had?”

Albus’ brows furrowed in confusion and tilted his head slightly. “It would help to know exactly what you are referring to. What did I lie about?”

The younger wizard grounded his teeth together. “The Life-Debt,” he said gruffly. “You told everyone that Snape had offered to change it.”

Dumbledore nodded, though still confused. “Yes, I did.”

“How could you do that?” Harry said, voice rising. “You knew what really happened, but yet you lied to everyone!”

Albus leaned back on his heels and his face hardened. He stared skeptically back and forth at Harry’s eyes then turned and calmly walked back to his desk. After sitting down comfortably, he motioned Harry to join him. When Harry shook his head, Albus sighed.

“Harry, there's something you need to know.”

Reluctantly, The Boy-Who-Lived stormed over and sat stiffly in front of him. Dumbledore steepled his fingers and thought a moment. He studied Harry’s angry face and nodded. No wonder Severus and Cornelius didn’t want him speaking to Harry about this. “It will only make matters worse for him, Albus,” recalling Fudge's exact words. Albus decided to start at the beginning.

“After your refusal, Harry, Severus renounced his Life-Debt. He thought it best to change it to a mere bonding.” He watched as Harry clenched and unclenched his hands in his lap. “He had said that a bonding would be sufficient enough and didn’t want to burden you, your future, or your chance at happiness.”

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Albus stopped him with a wave of his hand.

“Allow me to continue, Harry.” The boy nodded. “Minister Cornelius Fudge denied his recantation and warned him that any attempt to change a prewritten Life-Debt would mean Azkaban for him, as well as for you. I was told that Severus did not care what the consequences would be because he was only thinking of you.”

Harry’s nostrils flared and his eyes widened.

Albus continued, “Because Severus had refused to retract his new-found decision, Cornelius contacted the Ministry and the trial commenced. After they had won, Severus then demanded that the marriage of convenience was to be altered to a platonic one.”

At this point, the older wizard leaned over his desk. “Harry, you must understand something. I was not present when all of this occurred. The entire conversation was solely between Severus and Cornelius Fudge.” Albus peered over his glasses. Harry was staring at him blankly. The older wizard sighed. “Harry, it was not my place to question Severus or the Ministry. I was instructed to recount the new developments to everyone and the reasons why.” At this point, Albus sighed. “They thought it best that I was to be the one to relay the information - being Headmaster of Hogwarts and all.”

Harry blinked several times. “You mean…you didn’t know what they were doing?”

Albus barely shook his head. “I only repeated what I was told. I was then given the unfortunate task of making sure Severus and you completed the required ritual bonding.” The older wizard sighed. “I felt however, that it was to be Severus’s responsibility. Not mine. I did not want this burden placed upon me, and I resented the fact that I would have to intervene if necessary.”

Harry looked down and blushed. “I-I thought… I assumed… I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t know that,” he whispered.

“Harry,” Albus said firmly enough to get him to look up. “Neither did I.”

Suddenly, Dumbledore rose abruptly and stormed over to the fireplace and tossed a bit of Floo powder in it.

“Severus!” his voice boomed.

In an instant, the Potions master appeared. He followed Albus over to his desk and stood next to his young husband.

“Yes, Albus?” he asked casually.

“Did you lie to me, Severus?” he asked calmly, sitting back down in his chair.

Snape blinked a few times. “I do not understand the question, Albus.”

The older wizard crossed his arms over his chest. “I will only ask you once more. Did you lie to me?”

Severus swallowed audibly then glanced over to a smirking Harry Potter. “Albus,” he began softly. “I honestly do not know what you are referring to.”

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, trying to catch a hint of deception shining out from the onyx eyes. Yes, it was there. He saw it.

“You know precisely what I’m referring to, Severus Snape. The Life-Debt.” The Potions master blinked, hearing his given name. “Did you lie to me?” he shouted.

Harry flinched, but Snape held his head high and remained silent. Albus continued to glare at him then scoffed, and walked back to the fireplace to call in Cornelius Fudge.

Now that Dumbledore was out of earshot, Harry wanted to scream, to yell, to pounce on this smug man who called himself his husband. A thousand questions, a thousand curses flooded Harry’s mind, but all he could manage to say out loud was, “Why?”

Snape looked at him sharply. “I don’t expect you to understand, boy.”

The answer was not what he was expecting. Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Cornelius Fudge appeared next to a seething Albus Dumbledore. Finally behind his desk again, he glared at the two older wizards. He motioned the three of them to sit.

Looking directly at Fudge, “The information I had told everyone regarding the Life-Debt and the new alterations,” Albus started. “Was it the truth?” he asked, trying to keep himself as calm as possible.

Minister Fudge paled. He cast a worried glance in Severus’s direction who was staring straight ahead.

“Answer the question, Cornelius,” Dumbledore snapped.

“W-well… We…”

Snape shot him a hateful glare.

“I-I mean, I thought it would be best if it was believed that young Mr Potter didn’t appear to look suicidal.”

“What?” Harry cried.

Fudge jumped, but continued anyway, still stuttering. “I-I mean, how would it look if the saviour of the Wizarding World would knowingly choose to abandon them, and … and....”

“It would have been the truth!”

“Without any consideration towards them,” Snape sneered, finally speaking up.

“And what was in this for you?” Harry quickly said.

The Potions master smirked but said nothing.

“You wanted it to look like you sacrificed yourself for me, didn’t you?” Harry said, answering his own question.

“I did sacrifice myself for you, Potter. Do you not remember?” he hissed.

A tense silence filled the room until Albus sighed.

Directing his attention to Fudge, Dumbledore calmly stated, “Minister Cornelius Fudge, I will contact the Ministry, and inform them of the misrepresentation you and Severus …”

“I did no such thing,” Snape barked.

“Liar!” Harry shouted.

“Albus,” Cornelius interrupted. “I take full responsibility for any type of misunderstanding there was…”

“Misunderstanding?” Harry snapped angrily and Severus smirked contently.

“…However, this does not change the decision of the trial nor will it have any relevance. And if the public were to find out about this – misunderstanding, not only would there be a question of the Ministry’s incompetence, but yours as well,” he finished smugly.

“That’s blackmail!”

Cornelius grinned at the young wizard. “No, my dear boy. That’s politics.”

Harry took in sharp breaths and his eyes darted to each of his elders. Fudge was looking content, Snape confident, and Albus… Albus looked defeated.

Harry had lost. Again.

The Boy-Who-Lived threw his arms up in the air and screamed, “Ah!” and stormed out. Snape followed him, and Dumbledore and the Minister stared defiantly at each other.


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“Harry,” Severus called out. “Harry!”

The young wizard stopped in his tracks and spun around. “What?” he snapped.

Snape caught up to him. “Where are you going?” he asked almost casually.

“Where? Where? Back to our home. That’s where!”

The older wizard raised his brows. “But why?” he asked smoothly.

Harry clenched his fists. “To get ready,” he mocked. “I’m sure you’ll want to celebrate your little victory,” he hissed bitterly.

Severus barely shook his head. “Harry,” he tut-tutted softly. He reached up and caressed the back of his fingers along Harry’s jaw. “I can't believe you said that.”

Harry narrowed his eyes and watched the cold and bony fingers move against his cheek, and then looked back at Snape skeptically. What was going on?

Severus continued to shake his head, and closed in on his young husband till he was towering over him. He gently lifted Harry's chin with his thumb and smiled.

“I can't believe you know me so well,” he said, a small smirk crossing his lips.

Harry swatted the hand away and stepped back. With a growl, he turned and marched in the direction of the dungeons. Snape's smirk turned into a full grin.

“Severus!” Albus roared from behind him.

The smile left.


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Harry pushed his way through the crowded corridors, filled with students clamoring to get into the Great Hall for dinner. He reached the lowest part of the dungeons, cursing all the while. A low drawl stopped him.

“So, Potter. Finally learn the truth, did you?”

“You!” he spat, whirling around.

He grabbed the front of Draco Malfoy’s robe, and pushed him backwards till the blond’s back collided with a wall. Malfoy winced briefly then glared down at Harry’s fists, still lodged within his clothes. He snatched his wrists and roughly pushed them away. He looked back up to the angry Gryffindor.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

Malfoy shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“Then why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

The blond raised a brow. “Me? Do you honestly think that Harry Potter would believe anything Draco Malfoy had to say?” he asked.

Harry grit his teeth. He knew he was right.

“Really, Potter.”

Harry pursed his lips into a tight line. “How did you know?”

Malfoy almost laughed. “He’s a Slytherin, Potter. Plus I know him. All too well. He takes what he wants, when he wants – no matter the cost or the consequences.”

“Like you?” he spat.

The blond advanced on him.

“Don’t you ever associate him with me. I am nothing like him,” he hissed.

“Oh no? You were using me just as much as he was.” Draco narrowed his eyes. “Isn’t that what you were doing? Using me as a poster boy representing the gay wizards? How if the wondrous Harry Potter was gay then it should be accepted,” he said flatly.

Malfoy clenched his jaw tightly, then growled, “Perhaps.”

“And that’s why you kissed me, isn’t it? To show Snape up? To…”

“I did it to show Snape that I was on to him! That I knew what he was doing!” the blond insisted.

Harry took a step towards him. “I think,” he whispered angrily. “That you wanted to show him that you have as much power as he does. I saw the way you looked at him.”

“You know nothing!” Draco hissed. He pushed his way passed Harry.

“So is that what happened underneath the tree, as well? To show him what he was doing? Because Snape wasn’t around then, so why the hell did you do that?”

The blond stopped in his tracks then slowly turned. He walked back over to Harry in what could only be described as hesitant. He paused just in front of him, examining Harry’s soft lips. He lifted up his hand to touch his face but never made contact. He lowered it then looked into the shocked green eyes.

“You know, Potter. If I had thought you were even slightly leaning… that way,” he whispered softly. “You would have learned about my sexuality a long time ago,” he said sadly. “And I would have pursued you properly. I wouldn’t have… taken what wasn’t mine in the first place.”

Malfoy turned away, his head lowered. If he hadn’t had looked up at the last minute, he would’ve collided into the stoic figure of Snape. He backed up a foot then sneered.

Answering an unspoken question, Draco said, “Don’t worry, Professor. I haven’t damaged your property.” Then he smirked, “I was just polishing him up for you.”

Severus glared at him and continued to glare until the blond was completely out of sight. He snapped his head back to a guilty-looking Harry Potter. He walked briskly over to him, and then grabbed his arm before half-dragging his husband back to their ‘home’.


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