( Hogwarts )
No sooner than he had stepped through the common room door, he found himself immediately intercepted by Terry, one of the few people he called a friend. "Harry! Roger has been looking all over for you. Where have you been?"
Mentally sighing at having to explain himself again, "At the Ministry of Magic, registering my animagus form, remember?" he replied plainly as he turned to face the smaller boy. "Did he say what he wanted?"
"No, he just wanted to know whether I saw you or not," Terry replied, catching up to him so he was keeping in step with Harry.
"Probably Quidditch related then," Harry noted dryly as he climbed the stairs to his dorm room.
...
( Headmaster's Office - Tuesday Evening )
The door to his office opened as Hogwarts' resident potions master silently glided into the room, his gloomy black robes billowing behind him. His face twisted into an expression of annoyance as he sat down. "What is it you wished to speak to me about, headmaster? Is this about my conduct in potions again? Or is this something to do with that idiot's Valentine's Day idea," Severus spat with annoyance as he swallowed a cherry drop.
He chose to ignore Severus' unprofessional remarks about Professor Lockhart's ability to teach, no matter how true they were. It was time to address the issue of why Severus was here. "Something far more sobering, I'm afraid. It is time for you to act on the vow you made to me all those years ago to protect Lily's son." He took another slow sip of his homemade herbal tea, allowing Severus to stew on his words for a couple of long seconds. "What I'm about to say doesn't leave this room, Severus, because if it does, you will be arrested on charges of interfering with an ongoing Auror operation," he stated firmly.
"What's going on, Albus?" Severus asked firmly, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Do you understand what I've just said?" Albus pushed, knowing that Madam Bones would have his ass if he screwed up her operation by misplacing his trust in Severus.
"Of course I understand! I'm not an idiot," Severus spat back in annoyance.
"I'm sorry about this, Severus, but it is necessary," he expressed whilst a tired sigh escaped him, even as his elderly features shifted into one of regret and remorse as he addressed the younger man.
"It turns out that about a month ago Peter Pettigrew turned himself in to the Aurors and made a deal with Madam Bones. Since then he has been spilling his secrets on everyone, including you, in exchange for a lesser punishment for his crimes." Realization started to dawn on Severus at this, as well as a cold, gripping fear.
"So far he has named over 50 of your former comrades. Most of the people he named were never formally charged for treason at the end of the last war. His testimony and shared memories will allow the Aurors to bring them in for questioning under veritaserum.
Once they're interrogated and inevitably incriminate themselves, they'll be charged and arrested under the law for the crimes they committed over a decade ago. If I remember correctly, treason still carries the death penalty via the Kiss or the Veil," his words causing Severus to suddenly sit deathly still, clearly thinking about his own dark secrets that he still harboured, some of which might be known by Pettigrew.
Silently watching the younger man he called a friend, he didn't need to be a genius or a master Legilimens to figure out what was going through Severus' mind. At the moment Severus was naturally trying to work out just what Peter knew or had heard during his time as a Death Eater. He allowed the potions master to stew on his own fears a little longer.
It wasn't due to him being spiteful, or sadistic, or taking a sick pleasure in Severus' worst fears coming true; he just knew from a lifetime of experience and political dealings that one's fears were oftentimes more terrible than the true consequences of them becoming reality. Remembering the words of his wise, but long-dead father, 'There is nothing to fear but fear itself.
Do not allow fear to cloud your judgement, to hold you back, otherwise fear wins the day. Most of the time fear itself is worse than the results.' He knew that first hand. He had been fearful of facing Gellert in battle and, due to his inaction, hundreds had died as a result. But the battle itself had been surprisingly easy.
Fears grew and festered over time; they became rooted in one's mind like stubborn weeds in a garden, their roots growing ever deeper into the soil and thus that much harder to remove. He allowed the man's fears to fester so that when he finally provided a solution to Severus' growing concerns the man would be far more eager to accept his offer of aid. 'It was for the greater good,' he told himself.
Yes, it was manipulative, but it had to be done, he told himself once again as he calmly took another sip of his cooling tea.
Neville was the Boy-Who-Lived and therefore the one destined to beat Tom, if prophecy was to be believed. However, after seeing Harry's own academic prowess, the fact that the boy had accomplished the animagus transformation so young, as well as having the unique ability to speak Parseltongue, he was strongly considering introducing the young Ravenclaw into his wider plans.
After all, James and Lily's son had warned Filius last year of the dangers of Professor Quirrell. The lad had successfully discovered the Chamber of Secrets before anyone else, even himself and Neville, and he had also been a candidate for the prophecy.
So logically, magic was clearly pulling him into the events, involving him for some reason known only to magic itself. Nevertheless, Harry could always act as a spare, a backup saviour in case Neville failed in his task or was killed. And that meant Harry had to be protected as well.
That was another thing he had learnt over the course of his long life. Redundancy was key. Always have backup plans for one's backup plans, then even more backup plans for good measure, even if they were of the extremely vague variety.
He allowed a couple more minutes to pass before he continued his pre-planned speech. "Madam Bones and a team of trusted, hand-selected Aurors have been investigating Peter's claims, finding buried and forgotten evidence such as missing bodies of victims and evidence of bribes paid during and after the war. They've even made deals with a number of lesser offenders in exchange for giving their evidence and testimony," the potions master shuffled uneasily again in his seat.
"Peter has also admitted to his own involvement in opening the Chamber of Secrets and has revealed to the Aurors just who gave him the cursed diary in the first place, along with exactly who hired him to kill young Harry."
Allowing his words to hang in the air for the moment, he continued, "I think you can easily guess who hired Peter?" The office fell into an uneasy silence once again.
He watched as the troubled young man in front of him sunk further into his chair. "Lucius," Severus voiced quietly, almost fearful of the truth.
"Correct," Albus replied soberly, while mightily resisting the urge to reward Severus house points for giving the right answer.
"Madame Bones has enough evidence to ensure that Lucius can be brought to trial for multiple murders and for his part in opening the Chamber of Secrets. I also believe that both Sirius and Harry now know that Lucius was the individual who hired Peter and opened the Chamber," this new bit of information caused Severus to look up, his eyes sharpening at seeing the potential danger.
"I personally believe they are plotting some form of retaliation of their own, or discreetly gathering allies so that when Lucius is finally arrested and brought to trial he does not escape justice this time round. As you well know, Severus, in the days following the end of the war people just wanted to move on and forget about the many horrors they had endured for so long. The Ministry effectively brushed everything aside in the endgame, desperately wanting to distance themselves from their own failings.
After all, the Ministry was effectively broken, on its last legs, almost certainly defeated at the end. Its war chest was empty, its will to fight all but broken. I do not exaggerate in the slightest when I say the Ministry was days away from falling." He lectured, sadness and regret flowing into his voice.
"No one wanted to truly deal with the aftermath of the war; they just wanted to forget and move on, so people were willing to buy into the Imperius excuse and overlook the ridiculous amounts of gold trading hands because no one wanted the war to continue any longer.
But as you know all too well, Severus, true justice was never dealt, even to many of those who were in Voldemort's inner circle and responsible for much of the horror. People who should have been behind bars, or worse, walked free, returning to their positions of wealth and influence in magical Britain.
That has been a festering wound in the side of Britain. That demand for justice has been slowly brewing ever since; people want to know who killed their loved ones, they want to know their fates, they want to know what happened to them. They want answers, Severus.
Those same people then see individuals like Lucius and it just reminds them of all the wrongs and the many injustices that occurred after the war; it fuels this hidden, but brewing anger and rage in their hearts."
...
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