Before Harry Met Sevy

Chapter 26: Accidents Happen
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Severus' stomach was in his throat as he approached Melison's office. Pandora's face continued to float in front of him, almost taunting him. The boy tried to shake her visage from his mind as he knocked on his Head of House's door.

"Come in." Melison's voice was strangely hollow, and as Severus entered the room, he noticed his professor seemed older somehow. Nothing in his appearance had changed, but Melison seemed to sag as he stood next to the headmaster. Dumbledore's presence had not been expected, though Severus silently chided himself for his naïveity. Of course Dumbledore's here, a student has just been killed. The headmaster was seated in Melison's chair, and the Potions professor stood to the older man's right. Both men were studying the boy carefully.

"I trust you've heard the news about Miss Pemberton?" Melison inquired quietly. Severus nodded, remaining silent. "I know that you knew her, son." Again he refrained from answering, his eyes focused on an imaginary spot just behind Melison's head.

"Mr. Snape." Dumbledore's soft yet firm voice drew Severus' attention from his invisible spot and to the headmaster's face. "Miss Pemberton ate with you and some of your house mates a few evenings ago, did she not?"

Severus shifted uncomfortably, wanting nothing more than to crawl away from the headmaster's piercing gaze as he nodded silently and resumed his imaginary spot-watching.

"Son, several persons, myself included, spotted you and Narcissa Black trailing Miss Pemberton after dinner that evening." Severus' jaw clenched as Lucius' face swam in his mind, and he again remained silent.

"What happened, Severus?" The use of his given name by the headmaster startled him into again looking towards the older wizard. "If you know anything at all, please, share it with us." His voice was kind, but firm. Severus looked from his Head of House and back to Dumbledore, then braced himself as best he could.

"I don't know anything," he said tonelessly. Both men's eyes remained on him, but Lucius' words of warning rang in his ears, and he remained motionless.

"Did you know there were wards on the owlery windows, son?" This new information nearly had his mouth dropping open. If there were wards, how had she -

"They have always been there, to prevent such an incident from occurring." Despite Severus' best intentions to remain unimpressed, Dumbledore's words elicited a frown.

"But I thought she fell -"

"That, son," interrupted Melison, "is precisely the point. Someone removed the wards. Someone who knew Miss Pemberton was in the owlery. In addition, upon further examination, it appears she was also suffering from a clumsiness charm." Severus' frown deepened as his Head of House continued. "It is a simple matter to discover the caster of a spell, provided you have the wand in hand." He held his hand out expectantly, and Severus felt immensely relieved that he had not been the one to perform the charm. He withdrew his wand from his robes and handed it to the professor.

"We will keep your wand for a time, Severus. Professor Melison will return it to you when we are through." Severus nodded silently. "Now, you're quite sure you do not have any helpful information?" Dumbledore pressed. Severus shook his head. "Very well. Off you go, then."

Severus waited until the door was closed behind him before he breathed a sigh of relief. He'd done just what Lucius and Narcissa had told him to do, and since he hadn't cast anything on Pandora, nothing could be blamed on him. He passed Narcissa on the way back to the common room, and tried to warn her about the wand, but Melison appeared in the doorway before he could say a word.

"Miss Black," Melison acknowledged stonily, stepping aside so that she could enter. Severus had to admire her strength - she walked with her back straight, and never once looked over her shoulder as she was led into Melison's office.

The common room and dorm were both empty - most likely due to the students trying to see the grisly aftermath of Pandora's fall - and after a few moments of agonizing stillness which only served to increase the confusion he now felt, Severus made his way to the beech tree by the lake in an attempt to muddle through his thoughts. The evenings were coming earlier and earlier, and the bitter October wind was whipping through his robes, chilling him to the bone, but he paid it no mind. He looked towards the base of the owlery, but all signs of the accident had been cleared away. Filch, evidently, had been assigned to keep guard, as he stood just past the tower, glaring at the conglomeration of students trying to inconspicuously see the spot where the girl had fallen.

"All right, Severus?" Lily's voice was soft and her face full of concern as Severus turned toward her. "I had to get away from everyone talking about it," she explained, hugging herself. "Everyone is saying - well, that you were there, Severus."

"So you think I pushed her, is that it?" he retorted sharply, avoiding her gaze as his guilt resurfaced.

"You'd think they'd have wards or something," she said quickly in an attempt to head off his anger.

"I don't know how it happened, all right?" he shot at her, avoiding her inference. "I was mailing my letter to Sebastian, and one minute she was there, and the next-" Pandora's eyes swam in front of his gaze, then quickly turned into Sabine's. "I don't know what happened," he repeated flatly.

"I believe you," she said immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him. "Let's go back inside before you freeze," she suggested, linking her arm in his and leading him to the castle.

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The following day was hell on Earth for Severus. Narcissa and Lucius had not made an appearance for the rest of the evening, and were still absent at breakfast. As he took his seat, his eyes searching the hall for the two older students, Dumbledore rose from his chair.

"As I am sure most of you know, a terrible accident occurred in the owlery last evening." Severus' stomach began to churn as he noticed, for the first time, that the Great Hall had been draped in black. How had he missed it when he came in? Obviously, this was a memorial for Pandora. He glanced around again, and noticed many of the students in the hall were not looking at Dumbledore, but glaring at Severus. He shifted in his seat, then turned his attention back to the headmaster.

"Though Pandora Pemberton was not with us at Hogwarts very long, she has left her mark on everyone who took the time to know her. Witty and unafraid to speak her mind - despite what others may have thought - she would no doubt have accomplished great things." Severus felt electrocuted by Dumbledore's words. Pandora had stood up to Lucius the other night at dinner, had seemingly not cared how angry he'd gotten at her lack of fear and admiration.

But Lucius wasn't anywhere near the Owlery, he reminded himself. Just because Lily and Sebastian don't trust him, that doesn't mean he'd do something like this - does it? He began to think perhaps Lucius knew more about Pandora's death than he had let on, especially considering the information that wards had been on the windows.

"A thorough inquiry is being made into Pandora's death, and I assure all of you that we will uncover the truth. If any of you have any information, or if you know someone who may have information, for Pandora's sake, I urge you to go to your Head of House. The safety of our students is a matter we take very seriously, as I hope you do as well."

The hall remained eerily quiet after Dumbledore had retaken his seat. Severus looked down at his plate, then pushed it away as he realized he suddenly wasn't hungry.

He left the hall a few moments later, doing his best to shut out the buzz of whispers that followed him from the room.

Herbology was not set to begin for nearly twenty minutes, so he made his way to the dungeon stairs, intent on holing up in his dorm until it was time for class.

"Running away, eh?" Severus' eyes snapped from his shoes to the figure coming up the stairs - Melison. "Dumbledore's finished, then?" Severus nodded as the professor finished climbing the stairs and took a seat on the topmost tread. He reached inside of his robes and withdrew Severus' wand, twirling it between his fingers and studying it carefully.

"Your wand is not the one we're looking for, son."

"No, Professor."

"Whose do we need, then?" Severus started as Melison's eyes left his wand and came to rest on Severus' face.

"I- I don't know," he stammered.

"It's no secret that you were in the Owlery, son." The boy's eyes snapped with anger as he realized Lily must have told. Before he could respond, Melison had continued. "That being said - having been there isn't a crime. Perhaps you were simply mailing your own letter - happened to be there at the moment she fell?" Severus remained silent, his feeling of betrayal building. "Even if you don't think it's important, son - every detail matters."

"I've already told you," he insisted quietly, an angry tone edging into his voice. "I don't know anything." Melison sighed deeply, then handed the boy his wand.

"You may find this useful in your classes," he advised as he rose. The Great Hall had begun to empty, and the noise level in the stairwell was quickly rising. "If you think of anything you may have overlooked, you know where to find me." Severus nodded brusquely, his jaw set as he watched his Head of House enter the Hall.

No doubt telling Dumbledore everything that's happened, he thought bitterly. He turned and made his way to Herbology without waiting for Lily.

His already bad mood was worsened as James, Peter, and Sirius caught up with him halfway across the grounds.

"Killing off house mates already, Snivellus?" James taunted. With a glance over his shoulder, Severus saw Remus hanging back, almost out of hearing distance, with Lily rushing to catch up to them all. Turning forward once again, he saw that Sirius had placed himself directly in front of the Slytherin, walking backward to keep in step.

"Mind you, James, I'm not surprised, but I did think he'd wait until third year, at least," Sirius responded.

"What'd you do, try to snog her?" Peter giggled. Severus clenched his jaw and reached for his wand, only to be stopped by Lily's hand on his arm.

"You can't hex everyone," she pointed out breathlessly. For a moment, it wasn't clear what she meant, but then he noticed the eyes of the surrounding class mates. Most were looking at him, some trying to be inconspicuous, but too many others with open suspicion. As the Gryffindor boys ran ahead, laughing, Severus wrenched his arm from Lily's grasp. "What was that for?" she demanded.

"You told Melison I was in the Owlery," he accused through clenched teeth, his eyes focused on the back of the group of boys.

"No," she said slowly, "I haven't spoken to Melison at all. Why would you think -"

"Because he suddenly knew that I'd been there! And I certainly didn't tell him!"

"Severus, I - wait, why wouldn't you tell him you were up there? You said you didn't do anything -"

"I didn't!"

"Then what's the problem?" she asked, exasperated.

"The problem is, now that they know I was there, they'll try to blame it on me!"

"You really think Dumbledore would let you be used as a scapegoat if he had no proof?"

"I don't know, but I wasn't going to give them the chance!"

"Well, don't shout at me! I didn't say a word!" Severus stopped walking just short of the greenhouses, his eyes turning to study hers. He could see that she was telling the truth - in fact, now that he thought about it, when had she ever lied to him? Forgoing an apology, he turned back to the greenhouse.

"Someone told him," he muttered, taking his place at the potting table.

He didn't notice until something slimy began crawling up his leg that the Dynamic Duo had placed themselves directly behind where he and Lily usually stood. Lifting the hem of his robes slightly, he saw a large slug happily sucking at his pasty leg. Zapping it off with a flick of his wand, he cast a glare in the Gryffindors' direction. The glare would have been followed with a curse, but Professor Terrarum's icy gaze stopped his wand in mid-air. Severus cast another glare at the boys as soon as Terrarum's back was turned, but vowed to catch at least one of them between classes.

Herbology dragged on, especially when Professor Terrarum grouped the students together in fours to work. The pair of Slytherins that Lily and Severus were teamed with stood as far from Severus as they could, neither of them speaking to him. In fact, the entire class seemed to be casting furtive glances at him as the period wore on.

Even the professors looked at him differently - Professor Terrarum, though far from ever doting on him, avoided their group until the last possible minute, and even then, he simply brushed past with a muttered, "Well done." Later, in Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall seemed to have one eye on him at all times, as though waiting for him to slip up.

The break between classes was no better - students were taking to crossing the hall when they saw him coming, and everyone began to whisper when he was near. The four Gryffindor boys followed him from class to class, taunting endlessly. By the end of lunch, he'd had enough, and was finally able to hit Peter and Sirius with the Fumos Charm, causing smoke to billow from every orifice, the result of which was their being sent to Madame Pomfrey.

Entering Potions in a slightly better mood than earlier, Severus hoped that Melison, at least, would not act differently. As soon as his professor entered the room, however, it was clear that a tension had risen between the two. Severus felt Melison's eyes on him the entire period, watching for any type of reaction. Though the Potions Master made his usual rounds, and did not seem to avoid the boy, he was nevertheless sure that Melison had changed his opinion about him. As the bell rang for the end of class, Melison motioned for Severus to remain behind.

"I trust you have not forgotten your extra lesson for tomorrow evening?" Severus gaped at him, then grimaced.

"I had, actually," he admitted. "With everything that's happened since last night -"

"All the more reason we should start as soon as possible. Perhaps it will take your mind off things."

"I also have detention with Professor Burtram at six o'clock," he confessed quietly.

"Whatever for?"

"I was tardy yesterday."

"I see." Severus waited, expecting his Head of House to be more inquisitive, but he surprised him by instead saying, "I will accept you being late this one time, Severus. Be sure that you do not give me reason to regret giving these lessons."

"I won't, Professor," he promised.

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Narcissa and Lucius were in the common room when he returned, and though all other eyes were fixed on him, he made his way over to where they sat with the rest of the group.

"Where have you been?" Severus demanded, dropping his bag on the floor.

"That isn't important," Lucius said quickly. "What did you tell them?"

"Nothing. I just handed over my wand when they asked." Lucius nodded his approval. "But Narcissa - how -"

"I used some first-year's wand," she explained quietly. "Even if they check every one, they'll never know it was us. We're in the clear."

"Why'd you think to use someone else's wand?" he questioned after a moment. "We were only tracking her."

"And it's against school rules to use those spells on students," Lucius broke in. "Narcissa was right to do it - whenever you do something you may get caught at, Severus, be sure that you cannot be linked to it." The words made sense, but the thoughts brought on by Dumbledore's speech were still nagging at Severus' mind.

"What about the wards?" he asked softly, staring at his hands.

"Wards?" Lucius' confusion sounded sincere, causing Severus to look up at his friend.

"On the owlery windows," Severus explained. "Dumbledore said they've always been there."

"How am I supposed to know what oaf took off the wards?" Lucius demanded. "It was probably the Gryffindor quidditch team, practicing maneuvers. I've seen them fly through there a hundred times." Severus' eyes remained fixed on his friend, unable to discern the amount of truth in his words. His explanation made sense - and now that he thought about it, Severus could remember seeing the quidditch players himself on occasion.

"Dumbledore knows all about it," Evan remarked. "McGonagall's been letting them do it for ages."

"I'll bet that's why she was wanting me to slip up so badly!" Severus exclaimed, remembering her piercing gaze. "She doesn't want anyone in her house blamed for it!"

"See? It was an accident, Severus. And nobody can prove otherwise." Severus' gaze shifted from Lucius to Narcissa, who had remained quiet throughout the exchange. He thought he saw a sadness pass over her face, but it was gone in an instant, to be replaced by a smug smile.

"I suppose this means Minch is our new cohort," she said with a snort. "He'll certainly give Walden some competition for being thick." Their laughter at Walden's expense helped to push Pandora Pemberton from all of their minds.

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Pandora was not, however, far from the minds of others. The following day was a repeat of the last, with the whispering more frequent and less guarded. It seemed that everyone was eager to find out what really happened, not the least of which was Professor Burtram. Severus showed up for his detention early, on the hopes that whatever he was assigned could be finished early, thus enabling him to get to his second lesson with Melison. Professor Burtram, however, seemed more interested in talking about Pandora than allowing Severus time to focus on the lines he had set.

"Most remarkable," he muttered, perched on the edge of his desk. "That's only the second death at Hogwarts in the last century, you know. So much more cautious, these days. And who wouldn't be? If one student is killed, parents believe another could be just as easily killed. There's talk of walling up the owlery, you know." Severus looked up in alarm.

"How would we send out letters, sir?"

"Don't be ridiculous - they wouldn't close up the whole tower! Just the lower archways, so that children can't fall - even with help." These last words, he knew, were directed at him, but Severus ignored them, focusing instead on his lines. As Burtram prattled on about how it always seemed that preventative measures were taken too late, Severus finished his last line, handed it to Burtram, and gathered his things together.

"May I go, sir?"

"Fine, fine. I expect punctuality in the future, Snape!" Burtram called down the corridor as Severus raced to Melison's dungeon office. He knocked on the door, expecting the customary greeting of entrance.

"Just a moment," came the muffled reply. With a frown, Severus stared at the door. After a moment, he raised his hand to knock again, only to have the door opened before he had the chance. Dumbledore swept through the doorway, nodding a greeting to Severus.

"Ah, Mister Snape. Are you enjoying your extra lessons with Professor Melison?" The boy managed a weak nod, then watched as the headmaster turned back to Melison's office. "We will speak again later, Professor. If you do hear anything, please let me know immediately."

"Of course, Headmaster," Melison replied from behind his desk. Severus watched as Dumbledore nodded at him again, then left the dungeon classroom. "Severus? Are you ready to get started, son?" Melison's voice prompted him to turn his eyes from the path of the headmaster, and he hurried into the office.

"I'm ready," he replied, suddenly not feeling at all as though he were.

"Good." Melison stood from behind his desk, passed by Severus to shut the door, and then turned again to the second year.

"Occlumency is not something one learns overnight, as I'm sure you've realized," he began, walking in circles around the boy and tapping his wand against his open palm. "The simple act of clearing one's mind tends to prove the most challenging concept for beginners. Although it does tend to come easier in the - shall we say less promising - students. That being said, I do not expect you to get it perfect the first time. I do, however, expect your full cooperation and commitment to these lessons. Is everything clear, son?" Severus nodded, eager to begin. "Right then. I want you to clear your mind. We shall allow you to try your own method and see how effective it is before we continue. Are you ready?" Severus nodded again. "Legillimens!"

The spell seemed to knock the breath of him as it hit - and he was suddenly assaulted with images from his memories, focusing at last on Pandora Pemberton's eyes as she fell from the owlery. As Pandora hit the ground, so too had Severus. His eyes flicked open, and he was surprised to find that he had backed himself into the wall, his breath coming in short, uneven gasps. Melison stood where he had started, concern in his eyes.

"Evidently, your mind was not clear enough," he intoned after Severus had caught his breath. "We'll try again. Try to imagine a circle of blackness, and let it envelope everything." Severus nodded, coming back to the center of the room and attempting to do as his professor instructed. Before he was quite ready, Melison had cast the spell again. This time, Pandora's body was the first image he saw. In seconds, the form of his housemate was transformed into that of his infant sister, and his eyes snapped open instantly. Again, though the interim had been shorter, his breath was ragged, and he had backed himself into the corner of the room.

"Focus on what you read, son," Melison pushed, raising his wand again. Severus focused on a small black circle in his mind, and when Melison's spell came again, he was able to delay it for a few moments before those eyes reappeared. They were not, however, Pandora's eyes, but Sabine's. As he became aware of his surroundings again, his thoughts strayed to the letter he had sent the day before. Would Sebastian tell him if something were wrong? Or would he think it best not to worry him?

"I think that's enough for this lesson," Melison commented softly, his eyes not leaving Severus' as he handed over a chocolate frog. "This will take care of the light-headedness," he explained. Severus took the proffered chocolate with a mumbled thanks. "You did fair enough that last time. Continue to practice that technique of clearing your thoughts, and we should progress quickly." Severus did not answer as he munched on his frog - wasn't Melison going to broach the subject of what he'd seen?

"You are free to go," his Head of House intoned. With a nod, Severus obeyed, leaning on the closed door once he'd left. He was grateful, and yet disappointed, that Melison hadn't mentioned either Sabine or Pandora.

"Severus! There you are - how'd it go?" Severus turned his head to see Lily standing in the corridor, a smile brightening her features. "I thought it best to find you first - I didn't know whether you'd try to find me tonight or not - and I so want to hear about your lesson!"

"It went okay," Severus shrugged as he joined her in the corridor. "I'm to practice being a brick wall."

"Well, you're certainly good at that," she joked. Severus didn't smile. His mind had already wandered back to Sabine - he was sure something was not right, and by the time he'd receive a response from Sebastian, it would be too late.