Trials and Tribulations

Chapter Eight - Lie With Me

Hermione was stood wondering why Harry insisted on employing such complete idiots. Her arms were folded and her expression showed that she had gone into teacher mode, as she waited for the bubblegum blonde airhead to come back and tell her she could go and see Harry.

The bimbo tottered back into the small reception room and sat back behind her desk. “I’m sorry, Miss Grady,”

“Granger,” Hermione interrupted. “Hermione Granger.”

The bimbo smiled and wrinkled her nose. “Whatever. Anyway, he says that you’ll have to make an appointment.”

“And I am telling you he wouldn’t mind if he knew who was here.”

The bimbo raised an eyebrow. “I’m very sorry, Miss,” she said in her thick Essex drawl, “but it’s a rule of the Department. If you don’t have an appointment, you can’t just take one.”

Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Well, screw this!” She exclaimed, and turned on her heel, heading for Harry’s office.

“Miss! Miss, you can’t do that!”

“Watch me,” Hermione growled as she pushed open the large oak door. She heard the bimbo racing after her, but had the door open before she had a chance to catch up. “Harry, I’m sorry, but…”

She trailed off as she took in the sight before her. Harry was leaning against his desk, looking stressed and harassed. This was nothing new – it was the way Harry usually looked at work. Stood opposite him however, was a tall, feminine figure dressed all in flowing forest green robes and with long platinum blonde hair. She turned to look over her shoulder at the intruder and fixed Hermione with pair of eyes such an incredibly pale shade of green, they almost melted into the whites. Peeking through her hair were a pair of pointed ears.

“I tried to stop her, Mr Potter,” the bimbo said from behind her.

Harry blinked and dug his hands into his trouser pockets. “Um, that’s alright, Melanie. She’s here now, and we were just finishing anyway.” Harry shot Hermione a look and half-smiled at her.

Melanie-the-bimbo nodded and left, closing the door behind her.

“Could you just give me a moment, ‘Mione?” Harry pushed off of the desk and walked towards the other woman.

Hermione nodded wordlessly, and turned away to look out of the window down at the Portobello market. She listened closely, however, as Harry spoke quickly in a language she didn’t recognise. It sounded like Welsh and Gaelic and Old English and Latin, all jumbled into one. Then the woman spoke back. Hermione tried to pick out individual words, but the pair were speaking too quickly and the words seemed to melt together like a cocktail. Eventually, she heard a word she recognised. The woman spoke it: ‘Snape’. Hermione frowned deeply and watched their reflections in the glass, playing with the rose quartz crystal that hung on a chain round her neck.

“It was…nice to meet you, Miss Granger,” her voice was halting and uncertain when it came to this alien language.

Hermione turned to look at the woman again and smiled distractedly. “It was nice to meet you too.”

The woman smiled, then the air around her shimmered a little, and she disappeared. It was as though the air had simply swallowed her up. No apparation spells, no invisibility cloak. Just gone. Hermione blinked twice, then looked at Harry, who didn’t seem at all surprised that a strange creature had just vanished into thin air.

Harry sat behind his desk and smiled. “Now, Hermione. How’re you?”

“Bugger ‘how am I’, what on earth was that woman?” Hermione collapsed into the chair on the other side of Harry’s desk.

Harry frowned, and magicked a pot of tea onto his desk. “You know I can’t talk about work, ‘Mione,” he admonished.

“Harry,” Hermione leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “was that an…an elf? A real one, I mean.”

Harry stared very hard at the teapot and smiled stiffly. “I thought real elves didn’t exist? That’s what you’ve always said.”

Hermione smiled triumphantly. “Oh, yes. That’s what they all want us to believe! The Ministry and the text books and the education facilities.”

“So I suppose it’s a big conspiracy?” He began pouring into two enchanted teacups.

“Naturally. Everything is these days.” Hermione picked up her cup of tea and stirred it with her wand, magically adding milk and two sugars.

“Perhaps books aren’t as trustworthy as you’ve always made them out to be.” Harry rested his chin in his hand, and his elbow on the desk. “Seriously. You weren’t here. You saw-“

“I saw nothing, I know the drill. Anyway, to business. Where did you disappear off to? I hope you haven’t been enjoying yourself when you’re meant to be working.”

He smiled wryly. “Fun? What’s that?” The pair grinned at each other over their teacups. Harry shook his head. “I was following a lead Snape gave me. He asked me to go and get something that should help us out, and I complied as quickly as possible. Sorry I didn’t tell you, but I wanted to leave ASAP.”

Hermione nodded. “I take it your meeting was fruitful, then.”

It was an innocent question, but it made Harry pause. “You could say that,” he flashed a brief smile, then put down his cup and opened his desk drawer. “We discussed the first prosecution witness, and how we’re going to get around whatever crap Lucius has been feeding him.”

“What did you come up with?”

“I’ll be brief, because I’m only telling you things you already know. Draco’s taken up residence in cloud cuckoo land, so they’re going to dose him up with Veritaserum and hope for the best.” Harry pulled the large book out of his desk drawer. “The problem with Veritaserum is it makes you speak what you think is the truth, rather than what is the actual truth, so if Draco truly believes whatever Daddy dearest drummed into his head, then we’re more buggered than a particularly pretty rent boy.”

Hermione smiled at the analogy. “Right. So what did Severus suggest we do about it?”

“Well, we didn’t quite get that far,” he smiled guiltily and slapped the book down onto the desk, pushing it over to Hermione. “He told me to get this and give it to you. Said you’d know what to do with it.”

Hermione’s face lit up at the sight of a book. She picked it up and examined the cover. For the second time in twenty minutes her jaw dropped.

“What’s wrong?”

“Harry, where did you get this from?” She opened the cover carefully, as though holding it too firmly would cause it to disintegrate.

He shrugged. “Snape’s library. He gave me the key to his house, as it were. Why, is there something wrong with it?”

“Harry, this book is by Claudius Lethaby, one of the greatest and most controversial potions masters that ever lived. Only about five copies are still in existence, and three of them are in museums!”

Harry had the decency to look impressed. “OK, so we’ve established that Snape has rare books. Can we establish that he also has useful books?”

Hermione’s eyes were scanning the contents pages rapidly, looking for anything of use. “I’m not sure. Did he give any clue as to what exactly I should be looking for?”

Harry shrugged. “Anything to do with Veritaserum and truth potions. Maybe something to reveal the true truth? Does that make sense?”

Hermione had began flipping through the pages. “This particular volume seems to have quite a lot about truth in it. Would figure, really. Lethaby wrote during Grindelwald’s time. He was a bit obsessed with truth and justice. I think he did a lot of work based on court cases, things like that.” Hermione closed the book carefully, and smiled at Harry. “I’ll take it back to Hogwarts and keep looking tonight. I’ll send a fire message if I find anything really important. If nothing else, you have to thank him just for letting me get my hands on this book.” Her eyes went misty for a moment, “I wonder what else he’s hiding in that library of his,” she smiled broadly at Harry. “You don’t think that we could just…”

“I am not taking you to North Wales to flit around Snape’s library while he’s sitting in prison twiddling his thumbs!” Harry smiled wryly. “Now you’d better be off. I need to go home and think about what the heck I’m going to do.”

Hermione nodded. “You’ll hear from me if I find something. If not I’ll drop in tomorrow, so please sort out that idiot you’ve got working as a receptionist.”

He grinned. “What, Melanie? She keeps the big cheeses happy, which keeps me happy.”

Hermione nodded and waved as she left.

***

Harry was sat in a large armchair in the living room of his small London flat. In his lap were the case notes he had been given, and in his hands was the small dark red diary. He caressed the worn leather with his fingertips, once again battling with his conscience as to whether or not he should open it.

“Harry? Harry!”

Harry jumped and turned quickly towards the fireplace, dropping the book into his lap. He smiled, relieved. “Hello, Remus. How’re you?”

The familiar face in the flickering fire flames smiled. “The better for seeing you again, Harry. Are you busy, or can I drop in?”

Harry made a face and lifted up the notes to show his old teacher. “I am busy. But I’d appreciate an excuse not to be.”

Lupin nodded, and the head disappeared. Harry got up from his seat, placing the contents of his lap on the coffee table. He brushed himself down and ran his fingers through his hair. The flames in the fireplace flared green and out stepped Remus Lupin, as shabby as ever.

Harry grinned and shook his hand firmly. “It’s good to see you again, Remus. How’s life treating you?”

The werewolf nodded. “Admirably. I’m finding that life as a gentleman of leisure suits me very well. And you, Harry?”

“Not too bad. Just getting a bit stressed about all this court business.”

“Ah,” Lupin grimaced. “Yes. How’s that progressing?”

Harry sighed and gestured for the other man to sit. He himself slumped into his armchair and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s a nightmare. The whole court seems to be biased against him, and Ron’s heading the prosecution, and I’m not allowed to ask anyone who really knew him for help, and he’s being all resentful that it’s me defending him and it’s all going to end in a big fat splatty pile of crap!” He paused for breath. “On top of that, my own head’s messed up and I’m starting to feel like a school boy again.”

Lupin sat patiently listening until Harry was finished. Then he said, “In response to your tirade, I am sure the court is not entirely biased, or they wouldn’t even give him a trial, I think you’ve already been asking Hermione for help, and she knew him as well as anyone that’s not behind bars, and he’s being resentful because that’s the only way he knows to react,” Remus smiled his fatherly smile. “As to feeling like a child again, Snape has that effect on people.”

Harry lowered his gaze and said very quietly, “That’s not what I meant.”

He glanced up at Remus through his lashes, and saw now that the older man looked very serious. “Oh.”

Harry half-smiled. “Exactly. ‘Oh’.” He shrugged and leaned back in his chair again. “It’s just, being close to him again. I thought that it would have gone away by now, that I would have changed, or he would have. But it’s all exactly the same as it was when I was eighteen.”

“Harry, is this the reason that you took up the case? To try and prove something to a childhood crush?”

Harry stood quickly and began pacing the room. “No, it’s not that at all. It’s just…he did so much for the cause and put himself in so much danger, and people never knew. I don’t think a single person outside of the Order thanked him for it. If that weren’t bad enough, they then try and stick him in Azkaban for it. It’s just not fair, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that he gets the thanks that he deserves.”

Remus had a faint smile playing on his lips. “Well, if nothing else you’re passionate about the man.”

Harry smirked. “You could say that.”

“In all seriousness, Harry, you are an adult. You have been through more than many people, and so has he. If you want to pursue something with him, it’s perfectly within your rights to do so. But leave it until after all of this is over, because if they find out that there’s something going on you will be pulled from this case so quick you won’t know what hit you.”

Harry nodded. “I know that. Don’t worry; I do have some self-control. As for it going any further,” he shrugged. “I don’t even know what his feelings are on the matter. I never have. I’m not even sure he gets feelings.”

This made Lupin chuckle. “I can see you didn’t know the old Severus Snape.”

Harry smiled at the implications that statement gave rise to in his mind. “Has he changed a lot from when you knew him?”

“Oh, yes,” Lupin replied. “All this war and spying nonsense has changed him beyond recognition. When I knew him he was enthusiastic for knowledge. That’s partially what pushed him into the Death Eater path to start off with. He was too ambitious for his own good. But now,” the werewolf sighed. “He really needs to learn to feel again. He’s kept everything hidden for so long, he’s just forgotten how to let go.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking,” Harry said enthusiastically. “It’s like he wants to talk to people and he wants to trust them, but he keeps testing them by pushing them away and hiding behind sarcasm.”

A small smile was playing on Lupin’s features. “When we get through this, I think spending time with you could be exactly what our Professor Snape needs.” He stood slowly and folded his hands in front of him, looking more like a teacher than ever. “You’re a lot better at reading people than you let on, Harry Potter. I can see exactly why they shoved you into the line of work they did.”

Harry frowned. “You’re not meant to know about that.”

“And to the rest of the world I don’t, dear boy.” He smiled and leaned forwards and placed a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder. “Now I’m afraid I must away. Things to do, places to see. I shall perhaps come and visit you again in a few days. See how you’re getting on with…well…everything.”

Harry nodded and leaned against the mantle piece as Lupin took some floo powder from the pot and threw it into the flames. He stepped into the fireplace, nodded once at Harry and said, “Norton’s Creek.”

Within moments he was gone, and Harry was once again alone. He looked around his empty flat and felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness. “I need to get a dog,” he said to the fireplace. From the mocking flicker of the flames, he thought the fireplace probably agreed with him.

His eyes fell onto the diary as he slumped back into his chair. He picked it up and deliberated the ethics behind taking another quick peek. Lupin’s words kept running through his head: ‘You didn’t know the old Severus Snape’.

“Well, I suppose if I’m to help him get back to that, I’ll need a goal to work towards…” The diary had been opened before the end of the sentence had left his lips.

He opened the diary, this time, to an earlier page. He read the date aloud, “September the third, 1977. Let’s see what you have in store,” he drew his wand and placed it against the page. “Revello!”

Black lines started to scribble themselves across the page, filling in colour as they went. Eventually, Harry was left with a scene depicting a line of seven or eight teenagers in a dark torch-lit room that he recognised as the Slytherin common room.

***

Snape was stood right in the middle of the line of fifth year Slytherins. They had been called together by their head of year, without explanation of the whys and wherefores. A head taller than any of the others in his year, Snape was painfully aware of how much he stood out, but held his head high nevertheless.

Gabriel MacNair entered the common room and took in the small assembly with a critical eye. She was a large woman, nearly six foot in height, and with a build to match. Her long, black hair was scraped into a tight bun on the top of her head, and her piercing blue eyes studied each student individually.

“I will not keep you from your evening studies and homework, although I am sure that will disappoint you. I have called you together to introduce a new student.” She gestured to a small boy who stepped from behind her. Snape’s heart skipped a beat, although he wasn’t entirely sure why. Something struck him as…intriguing about this new boy.

“This is Lucius Malfoy. He has transferred from Durmstrang Instution. I trust you will welcome him into our house and treat him as one of our own.” She rested a hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder and pushed him forward gently. “That is all.”

She turned and walked briskly towards the exit. There was a moment’s silence before the majority of the group disbanded and went their separate ways, until only Snape and Lucius were left.

Snape had always been a quiet child and found new meetings quite difficult. He felt, however, that in this case it would be worth making the effort. He stepped forward and smiled, ducking his head slightly in a nervous attempt to hide his height. “Hello. I am Severus Snape.”

The boy raised his eyes from the floor slowly. They were a stormy shade of greyish-blue and flashed when they caught the light of the torches and candles. His hair, which was pale ash blonde and fell past his shoulders, fell in front of his eyes, and he lifted a slender hand to push it back. Snape watched every movement, wanting to take in every element of this new person. He studied him as an astrologer studies the beauty of the night sky.

Lucius smiled, showing a set of perfect teeth. “I’m Lucius. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He spoke in a very crisp English accent, which made Snape smile. “I thought you might be German, coming from Durmstrang.”

The smaller boy shook his head and looked up at Snape from beneath long pale lashes. “No. My father sent me there because he thought I would have a better education.”

“Did your father change his mind?”

“Not really. But I had a tendency to get myself into trouble, and mother missed me when I went away. So, my father requested a place at Hogwarts and it was granted.”

Lucius twisted his hands nervously, causing Snape to smile reassuringly. “I am glad for it,” Snape felt his cheeks grow hotter and bent his head again quickly. “That is to say, I am glad…that your mother will not have to miss you anymore.”

Lucius smiled widely and extended his hand to Snape. The taller man took it and shook it. “I think we shall be very firm friends.”

They each noticed that the other held on a little longer than was perhaps strictly prudent.

“Yes, I think we shall.”

***

AN: You've read, now go review, or it'll be another six months before you get the next installment! I know I'd promised an encounter between Snape and an old friend, but I couldn't remember what that was all about. Hope that what I've done will do! Next chapter should, memory permitting, include Snape getting lots of visitors. He never knew he was so popular!