Shack

The warmth in my heart flickered out. James' rescue of Severus had not been for selfless reasons; he didn't care about the boy. It was an act meant to save his friends only.

I rose and left him alone in the room. The afternoon was proving to be as dreadful as I'd suspected it would be.

Professor Flitwick was speaking with a distraught student as I approached his Ravenclaw office. Filius quickly disengaged the young woman, sending her to speak with the head girl.

The two of us walked slowly down the corridor to the rooms set aside for guests of Ravenclaw.

As Filius Flitwick waved his wand at a bare granite wall in an elaborate display of movement, the shape of a portal gradually emerged from the stone blocks. The corridor was so heavily shadowed I found myself squinting in the dim torch light. Flitwick's wand work made me smile despite the severity of the situation.

As I reached for the door handle, I sensed Filius reaching out to stay my movement. With a final wand wave, the small professor pushed open the door.

Sirius Black sat scowling, cross-legged on the seat of the fireplace fender; he was balanced on the narrow brass rail. The moment he heard the door open, he startled and fell back into the opening. Jumping to his feet, he brushed the sooty ashes from the seat of his corduroy trousers. Sirius' manner altered to that of the familiarly pleasant, jovial, and fun-loving chap.

Filius stood beside me, watching the young man with a cautionary eye.

"I'll wait outside the door," the head of Ravenclaw muttered.

"Well, Mr. Black," I said, once we were alone, "there is a dilemma that I just cannot ignore."

The handsome young man looked back at me with a curious lack of concern. My own past behaviour undoubtedly gave him the impression I would be unlikely to closely question him. With some distraction, I waved him to sit.

"Now, I think we can both drop any pretence and admit we know who is in the Shrieking Shack during the full moon. As friends and roommates, I can understand how you all would come to puzzle out the nature of Mr. Lupin's absences.

"The problem is this: someone found his way through the entrance of the Whomping Willow and down the tunnel that leads to the Shack."

A shadow passed over Sirius' face. His fingers wrapped around the edge of the brass fender, smudging the shiny surface. He looked at me unflinchingly and unapologetically.

"What confuses me is how Mr. Snape managed to find his way into--?"

"To be honest, Headmaster, he's always putting his nose into other people's business. For all I know, he could have hidden behind a tree when Madam Pomfrey took Remus one evening," he said with the same cold voice of his cousin Bellatrix.

"Mr. Snape did not hide behind a..." I began to say.

"He's always sneaking around and getting into trouble!" Sirius interrupted me. "You're always giving him detention."

"True, though I find it interesting that those detentions tend to involve the four of you, in some way or another," I pointed out.

Sirius smiled and shook his head. "Well, Snape's always trying to start something with one of us. I mean, he isn't the brightest torch at Hogwarts."

My lunch soured in my stomach. "Mr. Snape is an intelligent young wizard."

Sirius laughed roughly. "That's a matter of opinion."

"He's a perfectionist in his school work," I responded with some equanimity.

Sirius gave his opinion with a loud snort of disdain.

"What has Mr. Snape done to earn your scorn?"

A look of incredible condescension crossed his features. "He breathes!"

That caught me by surprise. My face must have mirrored my astonishment, for Sirius hesitated briefly before speaking again.

"F-from the first moment I saw him I knew he was worthless. That pathetic sycophant has been trying to worm his way into the pure-blood society of Slytherin. He hasn't the brains to figure out he's a joke, even to them. I'm sure the only reason they've tolerated him as long as they have is his one so-called talent--creating hexes."

It was a difficult realization to discover two of the young wizards I'd pinned my hopes on speak so dismissively of another student. True, Severus Snape was certainly flying his broom straight to a disastrous end. But James Potter and Sirius Black were the wind pushing that broom to fly faster. I left the room feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.

xoxox

Filius was waiting for me; he was on a window ledge, meditating. Without my saying a word, the small professor dropped gracefully to the floor. We walked down the corridor to his private rooms.

Flitwick, knowing of my great appreciation for Napoleon brandy, poured me a snifter of the stuff. I swirled the liquid in the glass bowl, enjoying the deep amber colour and the heady scent as it released its fine bouquet. He motioned me to sit.

"You're troubled, Albus," he commented and sat opposite me.

Nodding, I sighed and frowned. "Filius, I've heard something that disturbs me deeply. I thought I understood those boys; now I see I was perhaps mistaken. I thought I didn't discriminate between the different Houses, and now my own folly might just come back to bite me."

"You can't place all the blame on your Gryffindors. Severus Snape has often stoked the fires with his own actions."

I took a sip of the brandy and leaned back into the cushions. "It's true; Snape is no innocent. That boy can be vicious. Yet I am beginning to suspect he wouldn't be quite so creative with his jinxes and hexes if he didn't feel put upon all the time."

Filius leaned forward. "What has changed your perspective?"

I sipped more of the brandy. "I heard Sirius' and James' pathetic excuses and evasions..."

"You thought they were without faults, did you?" he asked in his high-pitched voice.

"I allowed myself to believe that Severus manoeuvred them every time they stood before me. James and Sirius just were so much more believable than he was. They were polite and genuine, whereas he was calculating and barely cordial."

Filius raised a short, stumpy forefinger. "Ah, but Miss Evans has always been friendly with Mr. Snape."

"True, and that is at the core of the problem. Would you be so kind and bring Sirius to my office in fifteen minutes?"

I left to return to my office, well braced by Professor Flitwick's secret stash of Napoleon. Once there, I reached for my quill and three rolls of parchment. After scratching out the brief notes, I called my house-elf to deliver them. He popped from the room with a loud crack.

Some time later, the gargoyle in the corridor below announced an arrival. The oak door swung open, revealing Severus Snape in the company of Professor Slughorn.

"Thank you for escorting Mr. Snape, Horace," I said to the Potions professor.

"Not at all, Headmaster," he said before retreating down the stairs.

"I'd like you to sit there," I told Severus and pointed to a chair. He sat with his arms crossed over his chest. The young Slytherin had a deep scowl on his face.

The sound of Slughorn greeting someone down the stairs echoed up into the office. The boy seated before me began to fidget with a thread on the edge of his frayed school robes.

A moment later, Professor Flitwick shepherded Sirius Black into the room.

"I'll be waiting downstairs," the small wizard said before exited back down the stairs.

Black saw the Slytherin and smirked. With a finger, I pointed to a chair at the far side of my desk. Sirius dropped into it with an unstudied casualness.

Green flames erupted from the fireplace, and Remus Lupin stepped tentatively out onto the hearth. Severus tensed in his chair, and a shadow of a grin crossed Sirius' face. Remus gratefully took a seat beside Sirius.

"What's...?" Remus began.

"I would prefer we wait until everyone has arrived before speaking." My tone brooked no compromise.

The last to arrive was James Potter. He was accompanied by the deputy headmistress. Minerva pushed him into the remaining chair, the one between Remus and Severus. Her face revealed none of her thoughts.

Professor McGonagall exited the room and closed the door behind her. I could hear the stair move downward.

Leaning back in my well-worn chair, I looked in turn at all four boys. Severus had shifted as far to the side of his chair as was possible; he flinched as he met my gaze, but didn't shy away.

James kept his head bowed, his jaw working madly.

"I am going to ask each of you a few questions. None of you are to interrupt each other."

In confusion, Remus looked from his House mates to the Slytherin, and then to me.

Turning to Severus, I said, "I want a direct and concise answer, Mr. Snape. Who told you how to enter the Whomping Willow last evening?"

It wasn't difficult to see the battle going on within the Slytherin's mind. He wanted to round on the boys sitting next to him. At the same time, his school boy pride didn't want to publicly admit to having been bested.

Remus had gasped aloud at my words and looked at Severus with a paling face. Severus met his gaze.

"Mr. Lupin, did you tell Messrs. Black and Potter how to enter a restricted area?"

With the look of an animal caught in a trap, Remus looked back at me with huge eyes.

"Y-yes, sir," he replied in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Did you share that information with Mr. Snape?"

He shook his head in denial. Severus looked appraisingly at Remus.

"All right--" I turned to James, "--Mr. Potter. It would be unbelievable happenstance for you to just happen to be at the right place at the right time. Did you tell Mr. Snape how to enter the tree?'

"No, sir." James was white-faced.

Remus' head turned to look at James, who worried his lip and kept his face down-turned.

"Do you know who told Mr. Snape the way in?"

James looked as if he'd be ill, but I didn't let up the pressure.

"I am waiting for an answer, Mr. Potter."

The Gryffindor squirmed and glanced at Sirius. He took a deep breath and muttered, "Yes, sir."

Sirius sat as still as a statue before he turned and looked at his two friends. He then glanced at Severus Snape contemptuously.

"So, it comes down to you, Mr. Black. I want the truth: did you tell Mr. Snape how to enter the Whomping Willow?"

Snorting dismissively, Sirius slouched in his chair. "Why would I tell that git anything?"

"I am sir, Mr. Black; kindly remember that fact."

With an expression of complete disbelief, Severus turned back to look at me. He hadn't expected me to interrogate the Gryffindors this strongly.

"Don't play me for a fool. We both know you told Severus how to enter the tree. I want to know the reason for your actions," I said, trying to hold my temper in check.

Sirius' face once again had the harshness of his cousin Bellatrix. Calculation was evident in his body's position on the chair.

"Siri..." James began.

"I was quite clear when we began that there were to be no interruptions," I snapped at Potter.

He blinked rapidly and returned to studying his lap while Snape sat watching me with a finger thoughtfully tracing his mouth.

"Sir, if I might--?" James asked me in a rush.

One of my eyebrows rose; James took it as permission to speak.

"Why'd you do it?" he asked his friend.

"Because he keeps getting in the way!" Sirius exclaimed.

Remus whimpered. Severus returned to his intense study of the distraught teenager.

"So what? He's always been a prat," James retorted, with a confused face.

A contemptuous sneer settled on the Slytherin's face when he turned his attention back to James and Sirius.

"So what? Evans won't give you the time of day because of that big-nosed git. She'd go with you in a heartbeat if he wasn't always sniffing around and distracting her!" Sirius said in an impassioned hiss.

"I could do without your interference."

"I was trying to help you!" Sirius cried.

"I don't need help like that. Lily doesn't like him that way, she told me that herself."

"He might be able to convince her otherwise."

"She doesn't like him."

"She's always talking to him," Sirius argued.

"Only because they're Potions partners!" James cried out.

"I was trying to ensure he'd stop sniffing around her!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this: Lily said he is polite to her," James admitted grudgingly. "But nothing more than that."

"Pretending to be nice to someone is the oldest trick in the world!"

"I'm beginning to think you have something for Evans," James said.

"The only thing I have is making certain you get her, not him! And if I have to scare off Snape to do that, I will."

"So you just told him to take a stroll up to the Shack?"

"Of course not! I had come up with something really creative. He may be stupid, but he's not an idiot. The only way to get Snape to go in was to tell him I'd seen Evans go into the Whomping Willow."

"What?" James cried out. "You told him Lily was in the tunnel? You've probably just ruined any chance I had with her. Once she hears of this, she'll never speak to me again."

Severus sat and watched his nemeses intently. Slowly, his perusal turned on me. It was easy to imagine his mind whirling with possibilities at Sirius' admission. He was nothing if not calculating.

I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the desk before me.

"Well, Mr. Snape," I said. "You have been remarkably reticent. Surely you must have something to say?"

James and Sirius grew silent when I turned the conversation to the wizard they each loathed.

"As I have said before, Headmaster, they are not the innocents you have always claimed they are. Now you're seeing the other side--the true side of their natures," Severus said venomously.

"You're one to speak of true natures, Snivellus!" Sirius said scathingly.

James shook his head in disbelief.

"...Says the person who sent someone in to face a werewolf!" The Slytherin's voice was strident and firm.

"You froze in there, didn't you? Coward! And you claim to be so good in the Dark Arts."

Fury was evident on Severus' face. "Don't call me a coward, you murderer!"

"You've always been and always will be a coward, Snivellus," Sirius said dismissively.

"Enough!" I cried out. "Mr. Black, your blatant disregard for a fellow student is beyond unacceptable. You will be returned to your parents' home this evening; I have already written explaining the reasons. Any possible return..."

"You'd let a murderer come back?" Severus cried out in outrage.

"Silence!" I ordered. "As I was saying, your return depends on your conduct, Mr. Black. I hope that during the time you are at home, you will reflect upon your rash action. When you return, I expect you to issue a contrite, heartfelt apology to these gentlemen and to Mr. Lupin.

"Professor Flitwick is waiting downstairs to escort you to Hogsmeade. You are dismissed," I said with chilliness.

Sirius slowly stood in disbelief. He glanced down at James; his friend refused to look at him. The teenager walked out the door like a dog that has its tail between its legs.

James barely seemed to breathe. His black hair fell in a neglected wave over his forehead.

"Mr. Potter, you will be rewarded seventy-five points for your actions."

"You're rewarding him for being in on Black's plot?" Severus cried out furiously. He looked ready to lash out physically.

"I found no evidence that Mr. Potter had anything to do with this matter other than rescuing you, Mr. Snape."

Severus looked like Christmas had been cancelled, and wilted into his chair. Poor boy, he undoubtedly thought his enemies were getting off lightly.

I caught James' eye and said, "So now, Severus is in your debt for his life. I feel compelled to point out that Mr. Snape thought Miss Evans had gone into the Whomping Willow and went in to save her. I want you to think about his selfless act. Do not be so petty as to abuse the debt he has incurred. You are dismissed."

Severus looked completely crushed as James left my office.

"Mr. Snape," I began. "I am convinced that Sirius Black acted on his own volition and that the others had nothing to do with it."

The young wizard's face couldn't hide his contradictory opinion. His hair lay in a greasy rope across his forehead as he shook his head, denying my conclusion.

"While I can appreciate that you resent Mr. Potter being rewarded, you should be grateful for his timely appearance."

"He was only saving his friends," Severus snapped cantankerously.

"No matter; he did save your life."

"And now I am to be indebted to him?" He looked as distraught and vulnerable as I'd ever seen him.

"It's seems unfair, I know. But at the same time, it would please me if you would consider Mr. Lupin's position," I said, knowing I was rubbing salt into the wound.

Severus' face grew angry. "He'll leave Hogwarts."

"I can understand that you dislike his friends; they have done nothing but caused you great frustration. But do you really think it is fair to punish him for what someone else did?" I asked.

"No, but then I have always been the one punished for what they began. All I want is Black gone. However, I know I won't be granted that pleasure, so I'll settle for the werewolf's removal," he said firmly.

"Then I'm afraid I must disappoint you. Further, I must request that you swear on your wand that you will never speak of this incident or reveal Mr. Lupin's malady, or you will face expulsion."

Severus' mouth fell open; all colour left his sallow face. Righteous anger seeped from his every pore. "He nearly killed me; you expect me to say nothing?"

"I repeat, you must swear to never speak of this or reveal Mr. Lupin's malady, or you will face dismissal from Hogwarts."

"That's not fair!"

"It may not be fair, but Mr. Lupin is as much a victim as you are. Need I remind you that you were in an area prohibited to students?"

"But I was trying to save Evans!"

I felt a hypocrite for putting the onus on this teenager when he had been victimized.

"I appreciate that, Severus. I am awarding you fifty points for your bravery. At the same time, I would like you to note that I have punished the perpetrator harshly," I said, defending my actions.

"Really? Black was sent home for two measly weeks; Lupin is allowed to remain at Hogwarts, and Potter was awarded seventy-five points. You're threatening me with dismissal if I say anything. I shouldn't have expected you to do anything to them," Severus spat angrily.

How could I tell him that I believed that if Sirius was expelled, he would succumb to family pressure and turn to the Dark Arts? He needed to remain under the influence of Gryffindor.

At the same time I feared Severus had already been lost. Yet last night I had seen that Severus didn't blindly follow Slytherin House dogma, but was able to think for himself. I felt an odd sense that perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps there was still a glimmer of goodness buried deep inside of him. I was sickened by the thought that I might be sacrificing one vulnerable boy's future for another's.

Looking at the teenager, I could see he needed more than just empty words; he needed to understand that I did care about what happened to him.

"No, it's just an admission that I have been unkind to you in the past. I will try to be more even-handed in the future. If you ever want to talk to me, I will listen to you. Don't allow your anger to rule you. Don't waste your soul just to soothe your bruised ego."

He, again, had that look of amazement. "Is that supposed to make up for six years of being bullied by your favourites? Do you really think that just by sitting down for a chat will make this less unfair? Don't waste my time pretending to care about me. You're only sorry that your precious Gryffindors have finally shown their true colours, Headmaster."