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He watched the students as they passed below his window, all moving in unison, the sky grim, overcast, and it matched his mood perfectly. It was hard, walking this path, lonely. Minerva despised him, the students feared him, and he had done it all in the name of Albus Dumbledore. The last line of defence he’d had was gone, leaving him drowning in a sea of people that hated him, wished him dead.
Yes, he had cemented his position as firmly on Voldemort’s side, elevated to his right hand man, gifted with the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts. It had all gone exactly as Dumbledore had planned, his placement in the school giving him chance to protect the students where he could, sending them to detention with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest instead of letting the Carrow twins torture them to within an inch of their lives.
Phineas Black’s portrait had been feeding him information for weeks on Potter and his cohorts’ movements, he, in return, giving former Headmaster Black the snippets needed to keep them on the right track. There was only Potter, the diadem and the snake left now. One of them was within the walls of Hogwarts and Potter was coming to the castle to find it.
Arianna had been informed, the tunnel through her portrait cleared so the three could gain access to the school. Severus had no doubt that the boy would try to kill him the moment he had the chance, but he still had a part to play. As soon as word reached him they were walking the halls of Hogwarts, Severus ensured Granger was captured and brought to his office. Her face was bloodied and bruised, despite his best efforts, the Carrows had been the ones to find her, her muscles trembling from use of the Cruciatus curse.
He dismissed the twins, snarling at them when they refused to go, the pair seeming to realise they were no match for him. He offered Granger the muscle relaxant that would counteract the curse, her eyes wary, but she nodded, downing the potion. Next was bruise paste for her face, the black and blue mottling her flesh disappearing in seconds.
“Why are you helping me?” She asked.
Severus sighed and perched on the edge of his desk. “All is not as it seems, Miss Granger.”
“You killed Dumbledore.”
“Yes.”
“How could you? Dumbledore stood beside you even after everything you did, he cleared your name after the first war, put his trust in you, stayed loyal to you even when the likes of Mad-Eye Moody said you were still a faithful Death Eater!”
She was screaming then, her face red in her anger, her hair crackling with magic, the sparks making her hair frizz up more than it’s usual uncontrollable mess. “Never think I don’t understand loyalty just because there is no one left I am loyal to.”
She opened her mouth, then paused, her eyes clearing, a familiar look crossing her face he knew was the look of her working something out. “No one left you’re loyal to…but he is still alive…oh my god…you are on our side!” She whispered.
“Ten points to Gryffindor, Miss Granger, for spectacular use of deduction skills. When the time comes, and it will, soon, there is something Potter must know.”
She nodded, listening intently, her eyes tearing up when she knew the fate that awaited her best friend. “So…this was Dumbledore’s plan all along? Raise Harry only to send him to his death? Is that all we were? Chess pieces?”
Severus was surprised she’d made the same analogy he had done just a year ago. “Yes. Miss Granger, much as it will pain you, you must make sure Potter follows this path, to the very end. It is essential that the Horcrux inside him is destroyed before the Dark Lord can be killed, do you understand? It does not matter the cost of success.”
The girl nodded, her small hands clenching the armrest of the chair with a crushing grip. “I understand, sir.”
She got up to leave, Severus watching her closely, his heart heavy in the knowledge that although Dumbledore expected the boy to survive, Severus was not so sure. And he had been honest with her, Granger had deserved that.
“You’re a brave man, Severus Snape,” she whispered.
“I owe a debt.”
She looked back and smiled sadly. “Maybe, once upon a time. I think you were loyal to someone other than Dumbledore,” she whispered.