The Snake and the Eagle

Chapter 22 - Come What May, I'm Ready

The day after Professors Snape and Falconbridge's lucky recovery, Headmaster Dumbledore received answer to the owls he had sent to the other Wizengamot members. He left Hogwarts early in the morning to reach London to sit at the important meeting. They were gathered in the circular, stone court on level nine at the Ministry of Magic. The Minister stood up, cleared his throat and declared the meeting open.

"Dear, friends. Your presence here today has been required to discuss the strange events concerning Lord Voldemort's death," the Minister said, and this time his voice did not faltered saying You-Know-Who's name. Of course there was nothing to fear about a dead man's name, now the danger he represented was over for good. He gestured to Madame Bones to take the word, and introduce the main issues of the discussion.

"Dear colleagues, I believe to speak for us all when I say how immensely relieved I was to hear the wonderful news," she happily said, causing several heads in the room to nod their agreement, "but it's not time to celebrate yet," she went on, "there are still too many dark points to clear, trials to take place and mysteries to solve," she said with concern.

"Although we'll have to wait for the coming inquiry to have a full views of the events, it is the Wizengamot's duty to concentrate on the mysterious part of the matter," said Fudge. "Mr Weasley, please, proceed with the reading of the text of the prophecy," he ordered to his personal assistant Percy Weasley.

"What you're going to hear now is the prophecy uttered by Madam Sybil Trelawney, about seventeen years ago, before she began her teaching at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Percy pompously said, puffing his chest out like an overgrown turkey, "and I read..." he went on, "the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

"Well, it doesn't seems to me like it can ever refer to Alexandra Falconbridge," a fat witch sitting on a bottom bench pointed out.

"Yes, it refers to Harry Potter or at least to that other boy. What was his name? Ah, Neville Longbottom," an old wizard said from a top bench.

"But Lily Potter's sacrifice to protect her son marked Harry as the one who would have saved us from Voldemort," Madam Bones wisely said. Fudge strained himself to listening carefully to everything was said, but it was evident he was just getting more and more confused. He was then startled to hear Dumbledore speak after his prolonged silence.

"Madam Bones has made a good point," Dumbledore stated, "the key to the whole prophecy was neither Harry nor Neville. It was Lily who made all the difference," he calmly said, his chin propped on his joined hands, causing the whole room to hang from his every word.

"What do you mean, Dumbledore?" Fudge asked evidently annoyed by the knowing look he was seeing on the older, and wiser, wizard's face. He hated so much when he had nothing interesting to say and Dumbledore always had.

"Lily's love sacrifice was the key to select Harry as the only possible option. It was an act of love, of a woman's love, which is indeed the greatest force on earth, against which even a powerful wizard like Voldemort stood no chance," he exposed his own theory.

"Of course, but what do Lily and Alexandra Falconbridge have in common?" Madam Bones inquired.

"They are both women. Therefore, they share that special kind of love that only women possess," Dumbledore answered without hesitation, "it's a love so strong and so deep, that often leads them to choose to give their own lives to protect their loved ones."

"Well, that makes sense. Though I cannot see where she may have found all that energy," Fudge said with a sarcastic look to Dumbledore. He did not believe a word the old wizard was saying, and was just waiting longingly to see his theory turn into nothing.

"Her love for her dead parents, her endless love for life, and her strong sense of duty gave her the strength to risk it all, the power to overcame evil and give our world a chance to be free again," Dumbledore stated firmly.

"There's still a dark point here," an old warlock chimed in, "Voldemort was meant to be nearly invincible on that night, so how could that woman ever succeed in defeating him?" he asked a little confused. He obviously lacked a very important bit of information the Order of the Phoenix had been careful not to reveal too soon.

"Divination is a very unpredictable branch of magic and, alas, prophecies have often been interpreted wrongly," Dumbledore began his explanation, "it was all a matter of variables, something prophecies always fail to consider," he stated, taking everybody by surprise. That achieved by Dumbledore was a very logic solution, and logic had never been many wizards' best.

"Lily's sacrifice was the first variable to affect the original meaning of the prophecy, confirming Harry as the only, possible candidate," he went on, holding everybody's attention, "and another one was the astute manipulation Severus Snape operated on the potion which was meant to endow Voldemort of immense powers. Luckily, Snape's trick worked perfectly and Voldemort came out greatly weakened, without even realizing it. When the prophecy was first pronounced, there was no sign pointing to Snape's betrayal, as he was first joining the Death Eaters at the time," Dumbledore concluded his speech, receiving signs of approbation from nearly everyone. Of course, what was said during that meeting were just mere suppositions, without any solid base. Anyway, in front of the lack of any other acceptable theory, Dumbledore's opinion was taken in high consideration and no objections were raised. To say the truth, it was not really that fundamental to discover why or how Voldemort had been defeated. The only thing that mattered then was the fact that he was dead, truly dead, and his reign of terror was soon to be just a sad, past memory.

***

Summer was creeping over the castle grounds. The sky and lake alike were turned periwinkle blue, and flowers large as cabbages burst into bloom in the greenhouses. Now that the Second War was finally over, Hogwarts could peacefully go back to his ordinary school routine. Headmaster Dumbledore had been sending hundreds of owls to inform the students that, in a week's time, classes would start again. The wounded fighters were going back to their families, completely healed, slowly emptying the Hospital Wing and the rest of the castle. Professor Snape was recovering very quickly, and soon he would have been ready to go back to teaching, although he felt a certain unease at the thought of facing his Slytherins again. Professor Falconbridge's health was improving day after day, though her conditions did not allow her to go back to work very soon. Tiny Professor Flitwick kindly offered himself to teach her classes until she was fully recovered, and insisted that she should bring the students on to the end of term. He was really satisfied with her work.

The rest of the faculty had come back, and was busy reorganising their classes. After the recent events, it would have been useless to go on with their normal schedule, so they chose to dedicate a week or two to revision. Before the end of that week, Dumbledore received an owl back from each student's family. There was a general sense of excitement around their coming back, but something strange, though not unexpected, caught Dumbledore's attention. It seemed that, apart from Pansy Parkinson, who was already on her way back, the whole Slytherin House had made request to be moved to another wizarding school. "Family reasons," they said! Dumbledore was shocked and deeply hurt by that realization, and saw himself obliged to urgently summon Snape to his office.

"Good evening, Headmaster," Snape greeted him emerging from the gargoyle staircase.

"Good evening to you, Severus. I'm sorry to disturb you, but there's something I need to show you," Dumbledore said pushing a big bunch of rolls towards the Potion Master.

"It's absurd! The Department of Education can't possibly let sixty-nine students leave Hogwarts! Not a whole House!" Snape shouted scandalised.

"You're perfectly right, my son. I was about to send an owl to Fudge about the delicate situation, indeed," he calmly said.

"Maybe I should resign from my position of Slytherin Head," Snape bitterly whispered, staring at his own feet.

"This is out of the question. By the way, no one else would want it. I will be honest, Severus. Nobody can keep them under control like you do. We can only wait and see," Dumbledore sighed before dismissing him.

Students had just arrived to Hogwarts, and were now heading to the Great Hall for a welcome back feast. A sea of black robes and hats was merrily taking seat at their own House table, but they looked alarmingly fewer than usual.

"Hi, Harry!" said Neville cheerfully.

"Hello, Neville. Good to see you!" Harry beamed.

"I've just arrived with the train, and would you know something funny? I haven't met a single Slytherin all day!" he said with unmasked relief.

"Now that you tell me, I've met only Pansy so far!" Hermione said a little perplexed.

When the last students took seat, a stunning scene showed under their eyes. Each house table was surrounded by its noisy occupants, all except one. The long Slytherin table was occupied only by a stunned Pansy Parkinson. Dumbledore and the other teachers were flabbergasted by that sight, and Snape's jaw drop when he came in from the antechamber. A great muttering spread through the hall. "Where are the Slytherins?" seemed to be the only question running in their minds, and the funniest rumours were spreading like wildfire. Dumbledore stood up for his speech and silence fell at once.

"Welcome, welcome back to Hogwarts. You don't know what joy it is to me to see you again, safe and sound. Alas, some of you haven't still joined us, but I hope they'll soon change their mind," he said glancing to the deserted table.

"As the sad, recent events have probably filled our heads of air, dead flies and bits of fluff ..." he said quoting the School Song, "your final exams will be cancelled, and the first weeks of the last term will be dedicated to a general revision of the things studied so far. As for the House cup, I'm afraid it would be impossible to be awarded until the members of the fourth house come back. By the way, I'm glad to inform you that school rules have been temporarily changed, and you'll be given a Hogsmeade week-end a week. That's all for tonight, now tuck in!" he cheerfully concluded.

Dumbledore clapped his hands once, and the golden plates and goblets before them filled with food and drinks. The Hall echoed with talk, laughter and the clatter of knives and forks. Only one student was not touching anything, Pansy Parkinson. She was staring blankly at her plate, and seemed to be badly on the verge of tears. Snape took notice of her distress, and felt a pang to his heart. He then suddenly stood up, took his plate and goblet, and marched down to the Slytherin table to take seat on the bench next to her. He gave her a warm smile and she gratefully smiled back. After Snape's example, Hermione, Harry and Ron left the Gryffindors and went to join them, shortly followed by the rest of the sixteen students who had been at school with her, during the first two attacks. Snape was amazed by the sight of the approaching students, and when they took seat all around them, he stared at them full of pride. From the High Table Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall looked down at them beaming.

***

After that show of open hostility, Dumbledore had to personally pay a visit to Minister Fudge in order to obtain from the School Governors, no longer under Mr Malfoy's influence, to forbid such unprecedented mass escape of students. So the Slytherins, in spite of themselves, arrived at Hogwarts on Sunday evening with only one week of delay. Although they had missed life at school, many of them were not happy to be back at all. They kept looking daggers at Dumbledore and Snape. Some were even so foolish to think they could even take revenge on them for what their Death Eaters parents did. One night in the Slytherin common room, Pansy Parkinson had an outburst against her schoolfellows.

"How dare you talk of Professor Snape like that, after all the things he's done for us!" she shrieked hysterically at hearing another bad comment on him, "He cares for us and you know it! Who was there when we most needed someone to talk to? Him! Whenever we were ill or had a problem, who was there to take care of us? Him! Who covered our pranks against the Gryffindors, sparing us detention? Him!" she told them off, "Do you know which was his greatest fear during the war? He was scared to meet some of you on the battlefield as junior Death Eaters!" she bitterly spat. Her words seemed to have the wanted effect, because they now looked at her with guilty expressions. No matter on which side Snape had fought, nobody could deny he cared for his little snakes.

Only Draco Malfoy seemed to still hate him. His father was locked at Azkaban thanks to him, after all. He probably did not know his father had been the first to betray Snape, a thing that could have resulted in his death, while he had refused to kill Lucius on the battlefield. Crabbe and Goyle stood by his side as usual, but they did not seem to fully agree with Draco, although their fathers were imprisoned too. Many things had changed, but not Slytherin's main rule: you could be with Malfoy or against him, only that this times it was Draco to be the outcast. His hatred for Potter had increased, but this time poor Harry had nothing to do with all that, as he had been knocked down right by Draco's father himself.

During a Slytherin/Gryffindor Potions class, Draco dared openly show his hostility to Snape. His teacher was explaining the various properties of verbena in healing potions, when he noticed that Malfoy not only was not paying attention, but he was shamelessly reading the latest number of Which Broomstick.

"Mr Malfoy, the lesson is not yet over. Put that magazine away," Snape idly said, and went back to his explanation. Draco just ignored him. "Mr Malfoy, explain why you're not paying attention!" Snape whispered coldly.

"Well, I'm not interested in healing potions. I won't become a mediwizard, so I'll buy some from someone else if I need to," he said in his cold drawling voice. "Why don't you teach us something less boring for a change? Poisons, perhaps, or some of those dark, forbidden potions you know so well," Draco sneered maliciously.

"As I happen to be the teacher here, I don't think it's up to you the choice of the subjects taught. Ten points from Slytherin for disturbing an explanation," Snape hissed, evidently trying to keep his rising temper at bay.

"And ten points from you for being a git!" Malfoy snarled back.

"This is the final straw, Malfoy! Detention! My office, six o'clock," Snape roared furiously. Snape was utterly fuming for the boy's insolent behaviour. The other students were shocked by Malfoy's behaviour, and the Slytherins even gave him bad looks. No one had ever dared take such liberties with a teacher, imagine with Snape. The Potions teacher managed to get some self-control back and went on with the lesson ignoring the boy.

"Class dismissed," he announced as the bell rang.

At six o'clock Snape was in his office waiting for Malfoy, who arrived with half an hour of delay.

"Why are you late?" Snape asked irritated.

"I dozed off," the boy carelessly said.

"I've never seen such an insolent behaviour before," Snape told him off.

"Maybe, because you haven't met a student whose father is at Azkaban thanks to you," Draco spat icily.

"Your father has been imprisoned for his crimes," Snape hissed.

"You did the same things, but you're still at large!" Malfoy retorted.

"I recognised my mistakes in time, and did something to remedy to them," Snape calmly said. He was aware of the storm of emotions swirling inside the boy, and was letting him give vent to it, just like Dumbledore had done with him many times. "Tell me, Draco. Did your father ever tell you what Death Eaters really do?" he whispered staring at him straight in the eyes.

"They fight for the supremacy of pureblood," Draco proudly said.

"Yes, that was the general idea. But did he actually say which means they used to support their ideals?" Snape went on. Draco seemed to be forcing his mind to recall something, but then shook his head in defeat.

"I can show it to you, if you want to know, if you're ready for it. But I assure you it won't be pleasant. Dumbledore would want my head, if he comes to know I suggested this to you," he softly said, then paused.

He was giving the boy the time to consider it. He knew Draco from his birth, as he actually was there helping Narcissa to give him life. It had been on a stormy night, and he was their guest when the time came. They could not find a mediwizard available, so he was the only one with enough competence. Therefore, he had always cared a lot for the blond brat. Draco thought things through, and made up his mind.

"I'm ready, sir. I believe I have the right to know," he seriously said.

"I've warned you, you're going to see unpleasant things, scenes in which your father is involved too," Snape explained once more to give him some more time to reflect on the consequences. Draco took a long breath, then nodded his approval. Snape stepped in front of the boy, stretched his right arm and rested his right forefinger in the middle of the boy's forehead, and then his left one on his own forehead.

"Memoriae Video," Snape shouted, and he began to send a stream of his own memories to the boy's mind, who was watching it like a black and white Muggle movie, only that those things were real.

He saw when his father first told Snape about a secret group of supporters of the purity of the wizarding blood. Then he saw Snape's initiation to the Death Eaters, and heard him scream when Voldemort burned the Dark Mark on his left forearm. He saw Muggle raids, beatings, tortures, killings and many other forms of violence. Their victims were men of every age and race, women and even children. Draco was taken aback by the cruelty and sadism of those men, of his own father. On the contrary, he saw how Snape seemed to feel no satisfaction in what he was doing. He seemed to be projecting on his victims his hatred for someone else. He also refused to take part in many raids, and even saw him cry after having witnessed a Cruciatus on a small child. Among the last things he saw was the scene in which his father betrayed Snape, and his long cavalry of tortures at the hands of the Death Eaters, the final attack, and how Snape had spared his father's life. When Snape released him from the spell, Draco dropped to his knees and began to cry.

"I know it hurts, my boy. I could have spared you the pain, but you asked for it," Snape soothingly whispered, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder, "forgive me if you can, and most of all, don't hate your father for what you saw. We were young, foolish and highly ambitious. We really didn't realised the entity of what we were doing, until Voldemort was first defeated," he softly told him. "Your father was blinded by power, but he wanted to achieve it for you," Snape said.

"My father's never cared much about me," Draco said in a low, sad voice.

"You're wrong, Draco. He loves you, but he has his own way to show it," Snape readily contradicted him. Nonetheless, the man wondered if he would have been a good father or a pitiless bastard like his own. "You can go now!" said Snape helping the boy to his feet.

"And my detention?" Draco muttered uncertain.

"I think you've been punished enough tonight. Please, promise me you'll keep it secret," Snape said staring at the boy. Draco nodded and left the room. There was no doubt he was going to keep his word, he did not want anybody to know about the terrible things his father did, because he was too ashamed of them to talk about it himself.

***

Shortly after things were back to normal, Snape received an official communication from the Ministry of Magic, while he was having breakfast in the Great Hall. The Ministry was running an accurate investigation on the Death Eaters activities in the period between the two wars, and on the events which took place up to Voldemort's final death. They now wanted Snape for a public hearing to examine his role in the whole matter. Therefore, from that moment on, he was kindly invited to remain within Hogwarts Castle. The Aurors would have soon come to take him and lead him to Azkaban, where he was going to wait the day of his trial. Snape did not liked the tone of that letter, not at all. It sounded too much like they had sentenced him, before even listening to his side of the story, or else why should he spent even a second locked in the wizarding prison? To say the truth, now that the Dementors had left the place, imprisonment there was much more bearable, but the loss of one's freedom is always hard to stand. Snape stood up and showed the letter to Albus and Minerva.

"Don't worry, Severus. I'll be there by your side, I swear it. Everything's going to be all right," Dumbledore told him with concern. "If you don't feel like teaching today, I'll understand," he kindly suggested.

"No, Headmaster. Thank you, but teaching will be a good diversion," he stonily said, and left the room without finishing his morning meal.

That morning Potions classes were very uneventful. They were still doing revisions, so the only thing Snape had to do was write the ingredients on the blackboard and point out the more complicated passages. That done, he spent the rest of the class sitting silently at his desk. He looked deep in thought, and his eyes were staring blankly ahead of him, instead of running watchful around the room as usual. When Neville's potion unsurprisingly exploded, Snape mechanically cleaned the mess with a wave of his wand.

"From the beginning, Mr Longbottom," he idly said, and went on with his musing. Neville and the other students exchanged astonished looks. They were really shocked by that unexpected lack of a waspish remark from Snape. Moreover, it looked like the end of the world that Snape would not even hint at docking points from Gryffindor, or did not bully poor Neville.

When Snape later visited Alexandra in the Hospital Wing, he was wearing his usual mask of coldness, but she noticed something was wrong with him.

"He must be worried about something, it's clear. Though, I'm sure he won't tell me," she thought while observing him carefully. "No roses today, Severus?" she suddenly asked, taking him a little off guard.

"Sorry, I forgot. I've been quite busy today," he lied to her. Obviously, he could not tell her he was not allowed to leave the castle. It would have make her too suspicious, and Madam Pomfrey had sternly told him to keep her calm and cheerful, so to speed up her recovery.

"Alexandra, I may have soon to leave Hogwarts for a few days for some important matters of mine," he matter-of-factly said, announcing her his departure.

"So, I won't see you. I hope you'll be back soon," she sadly whispered, avoiding to ask him questions about the nature of those important matters.

"So do I," was what his heart longed to say, but he simply bowed his head.

She respected his privacy, a thing he had always been really grateful to her for. He then left the Hospital Wing and headed to one of his favourite places of meditation, the solitary Astronomy Tower. The place was the best choice when one needed to spend sometime by oneself, because it was used as a class only at night. He was there perched on the parapet, his back against the wall, when the door opened and three students came out.

"What are three young Gryffindors like you doing up here at this time of the day?" came a cold voice.

Harry, Ron and Hermione gasped and nearly jumped on the spot at that sound. They had not realized there was somebody else out there. They slowly turned their backs and saw Snape smirking at them. They were really surprised to see him there, and in such an unsnapish, childish position.

"Oh, it's you Professor Snape. We didn't see you," Hermione sighed, taking a breath of relief from the fright he had given them.

"I asked you a question," Snape sneered, hardly hiding his amusement at the effect his voice always had on students.

"We've come to watch the sunset. It isn't against school rules, is it?" Ron said defensively.

"No, Weasley. It isn't. As a matter of fact, I'm here for the same reason," he said and stared away at the setting sun. A glance at the melancholic expression in Snape's eyes told Harry that something was seriously wrong.

"Professor Snape, sir. Is everything all right?" Harry awkwardly asked. Snape turned his head to stare at the boy.

"I may have gone soft with time, if a student can easily read my mind!" Snape smirked, "No, Potter. Everything isn't all right," he admitted.

"I've just received an owl from the Ministry of Magic. They're investigating on the Death Eaters activities and the events of the Second War. The Aurors will soon come to take me to Azkaban, where I'll wait until the day of my trial. Up to then, I'm not even allowed to leave the castle. I think they're going to call the whole Order of the Phoenix to discuss the matter, you too," he calmly told them. For some strange reason, he was finding it rather easy, even somewhat comforting, to confide his troubles to them. It was like the days spent in the Hospital Wing with those kids had created a new balance between the four of them.

"Why should they take you to Azkaban? I mean, I've never heard about an Order member being sent there!" Hermione pointed out scandalised.

"It sounds like they're saying you're guilty, before even giving you the chance to speak!" Ron protested .

"I know it. I was a Death Eaters, and that's all that matters to them," Snape softly whispered.

"Dumbledore will help you! He won't let this happen, not after the good things you've done for the Order," Harry shouted. Snape was surprised but at the same time pleased, by such an open show of solidarity from the wonder trio.

"Yes, Harry. I did good things, yes. But don't forget I've done bad things too, terrible things. I'm well aware of my situation, and I'm not afraid to take the responsibility for the my actions," he whispered.

"What if they sentence you to life imprisonment in Azkaban?" Hermione anxiously whimpered.

"Come what may, I'm ready," he sternly stated, and smoothly came down from the parapet. "Thank you for your support," he quickly said and went back inside.

***

Later that same afternoon, Dumbledore received an urgent letter from Nymphadora Tonks concerning Snape's trial. He summoned Snape at once, who arrived there almost panting.

"What's new, Albus?" he curtly asked, forgetting good manners for once.

"Tonks just informed me the Aurors will come this evening at 9 o'clock. We still don't know anything about the date of your hearing, but Shaklebott managed have him appointed to escort you to your destination. He's a good friend, and he will have his men to treat you well," he calmly said and Snape nodded. "I suppose it would be better if you have your dinner in your office. This way, nobody will see you when you leave."

"Thank you, Albus," Snape whispered, he turned on his heels and marched out of the Headmaster's office.

He quickly reached the dungeons and took seat behind his working desk in his office. He did not feel like eating, all the same, he asked the house-elves for some sandwiches and something to drink. He unnecessarily put his things in perfect order. He extinguished the fire beneath some experiments he had been working on. He opened a side drawer of his desk to look for a sheet of parchment to write down some notes on the subjects of the next classes for the person who was going to take his post, while he was away. He wondered how long was he going to be away. Days? Weeks? Months? Years? ... Or forever?

Searching for a blank sheet he came across the two letters he had written that night he left for his last meeting with Voldemort. He stared at the envelope containing his last will. He still meant everything was written in there, especially the part concerning his heritage for Hermione Granger. The girl had been of vital importance in the process of saving Alexandra's life, and that deserved his life long gratitude. His stare then fell on the letter he had written to Alexandra, the letter where he declared his love to her.

"I don't need this one anymore," he muttered to himself, and burnt a corner of the envelop with the flame of a nearby candle, letting it burn in the empty fireplace of his office.

Now that his life was not in danger anymore, he wanted to tell her himself all the words he had written down on that sheet. But what if the trial went wrong and he was sentenced to life imprisonment at Azkaban? He could not stand the idea to be separated from her forever. But all the same, he felt so ashamed of the terrible things he had done, that he believed she would refuse him as soon as she came to know them as well. Maybe one day, if things went the right way, he would find the courage to do his declaration, but not yet.

At nine o'clock Snape heard someone knocking on his door, he opened to find Albus Dumbledore, accompanied by Shaklebott and four young Aurors. He let them in, closed the door behind them and went to stand beside the Headmaster.

"Mr Severus Snape, actual Potion Master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You're kindly invited by order of the Ministry of Magic to follow us to the wizarding prison of Azkaban, where you're going to wait for the day of your trial about the matter concerning the past and recent Death Eaters activities," Shaklebott read the order in his authoritative, military tone.

Snape curtly nodded. He could see the four young Aurors give signs of uneasiness to be face to face with a so-called ex-Death Eater. It was probably their first charge. Shaklebott gestured to a rosy-cheeked, blond boy who nodded, and clumsily took a step towards Snape taking a pair of charmed handcuffs out of his pocket. Snape turned his head to Dumbledore staring at him pleadingly.

"I don't think you need those," Dumbledore kindly said to the boy, "you have my word that Professor Snape won't try to escape," he calmly said in a soft voice. The young Auror gave a confused look at Shaklebott who nodded, so the boy put the handcuffs away.

"Please, surrender your wand," the chief Auror ordered to Snape, who readily handed it to the boy with a small bow of his head, holding it by the tip. Dumbledore followed them up to the Entrance Hall. The place was empty as everyone was in the Great Hall having dinner. They could hear a distant chattering noise and the unmistakable sound of cutlery and plates. The four Aurors assumed a square formation, in the middle of which stood Snape. They did not seem to trust that man in black, and walked pointing their wands to him, just in case.

Shaklebott lead the group out of the castle and towards the Ministry carriage waiting for them outside. In the meantime, Professor Falconbridge was staring out of one of the windows of the Hospital Wing. The sight of Snape on the ground below shocked her. She had noticed the Ministry emblem on the carriage, and was wondering what could do one parked just outside the castle. Her eyes opened wide when she recognised the particular formation of the marching Aurors. She knew it too well, as she had been teaching it all summer at the junior Aurors training camp. It was the one used when escorting a dangerous prisoner to Azkaban.

"Severus!" she desperately shouted, beating her fists against the unbreakable windowpane. Snape took notice of a noise above them, and suddenly came to an alt to look up to the third floor. The Aurors froze on the spot, alarmed by their prisoner's sudden movement, but could not help lifting their eyes in the direction Snape was looking at. Snape easily found Alexandra behind a window of the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey had appeared at her side and was trying to calm down her agitated patience. He gave her a small reassuring smile to tell her that everything was all right.

"Let's go!" Shaklebott ordered and the group moved on, they silently mounted on the carriage and left.