Summer Fest Fic: The Return of the Slytherins, Part 4

[geri_chan]

Title: The Return of the Slytherins, Part 4
Pairings: Gen, but with a few slashy hints if you look at it the right way.
Rating: PG-13
Word count: ~19,420 total  (~3270 for this part)

Summary: Written for Snapedom's Summer Fest exchange, and based on the_bitter_word's art, Severus Crossing the Hogwarts Lake. Snape survives Nagini's attack, and returns to fight in the battle at Hogwarts--and is surprised when his Slytherins want to join him.

Author's note: For readers of my Snupin stories, the Theodore and Blaise here are based on the canon version of the characters, not the the Theo and Blaise from the Always series, although I did borrow the character of Serafina Avery to help round out the Slytherins. Hope that doesn't confuse anyone.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

***

Cries of "He's alive!" quickly tapered off and a silence settled over the room as Potter and Voldemort locked gazes and circled around each other. An almost palpable intensity crackled through the air like static electricity. So absorbed were the two in each other, that Voldemort had not yet seemed to have noticed Snape, so he took advantage of that, slowly and quietly edging around the room, trying to get in position to make an attack on the Dark Lord if necessary. He motioned for Theodore, Blaise, and Goyle to stay back, but they stubbornly followed him, and he didn't want to raise his voice and attract attention by giving them a verbal order that they probably wouldn't obey, either. And fortunately, the onlookers on both sides were too spellbound by the confrontation between Potter and Voldemort to notice Snape and call out to him as either an ally or a traitor.

Meanwhile, Voldemort was taunting Potter, trying to shake his confidence, accusing him of being a coward, of merely being Dumbledore's puppet, but the boy remained steadfast in his resolve, countering with what Dumbledore had always said--that he had been protected by his mother's love. And now, Potter claimed, he was protecting his friends with his own love. He said that he believed in love, and believed in Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore is dead!" Voldemort shouted triumphantly, wielding his words like a weapon, but Potter did not flinch. "His body decays in the marble tomb in the grounds of this castle, I have seen it, Potter!"

"Yes, Dumbledore is dead," Potter replied calmly. "But you didn't have him killed. He chose his own manner of dying, chose it months before he died, arranged the whole thing with the man you thought was your servant."

"What childish dream is this?" Voldemort scoffed.

"Severus Snape wasn't yours," Potter said. "Snape was Dumbledore's, Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down my mother. And you never realized it, because of the thing you can't understand. You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you, Riddle?"

Snape felt his face grow hot; when he had given his memories to Potter, he had not expected that his most personal feelings and memories would be revealed in front of what seemed like half the wizarding world. Then he realized that he had a bigger problem than mere embarrassment as eyes started to turn towards him and a rippling murmur of shock swept through the crowd.

It took the Dark Lord a little while longer to notice that his former servant was not as dead as he had thought. In the meantime, Potter proudly proclaimed that Snape had loved his mother, and that his doe Patronus was proof of that love. Everyone--Death Eaters and Hogwarts defenders alike--was staring at him in disbelief, and Snape wanted to sink through the floor in humiliation.

Voldemort's red eyes widened as he finally noticed Snape, and he hissed in surprise. "Severus! I see that I should have been more careful and made certain of your death, my slippery friend." For a brief moment, the Dark Lord looked shaken, but then he smiled confidently once again. "But it matters not. I will remedy that mistake once I take care of your young friend. Whether you are dead or not, I defeated you in combat, so I am still the master of the Elder Wand!"

Theodore took advantage of the Dark Lord's distraction to hurl a curse his way, but Voldemort easily sidestepped it and fired back a spell of his own. It might have killed the boy, but Snape threw up a Shield Charm, as did Lupin, who had suddenly appeared at his side; he had not even noticed when the werewolf had joined them. Their combined defense managed to ward off Voldemort's attack, but even so, the backlash sent them all staggering backwards.

"Did you turn into a Gryffindor when I wasn't looking, Mr. Nott?" Snape growled at his student, and Lupin chuckled in spite of the seriousness of the situation.

"You said that the Dark Lord would be mortal once Nagini was slain, and could be killed like any other man," Theodore said unrepentantly.

"He's still the most powerful Dark Wizard in the world!" Snape retorted. "He won't be defeated that easily."

Voldemort turned back to face Potter, cackling madly with laughter, as if Snape and his companions were insignificant annoyances, as easily brushed off as a fly. "It matters not!" he shrieked. "It matters not whether Snape was mine or Dumbledore's, or what petty obstacles they tried to put in my path! I crushed them as I crushed your mother, Snape's supposed great love!"

"I think that Harry must be the one to defeat Voldemort, as the Prophecy said," Lupin told Theodore, looking more sober now. "All we can do now is wait...and hope."

"And put all our faith in a mediocre wizard?" Blaise grumbled, staring at Potter skeptically.

"Mediocre in his grades, perhaps," Lupin admitted. "And true, not the most diligent of students. But he has an innate talent for Defense magic, and more importantly, he has the strength to risk his life for those he loves."

"And even for those he doesn't," Snape grudgingly admitted, glancing at Goyle, who flushed.

"But most of all, it's the connection forged between them," Lupin continued, as Potter and Voldemort argued about the mechanics of the Elder Wand, and who was truly its master. "I don't really understand it, but the two of them were connected when Voldemort tried to kill Harry as a baby. So Harry must be the one to defeat him." He paused for a moment, then asked, "Um...by the way, Severus...were you really in love with Lily?"

Snape glared at him, and at the Slytherins, who were looking at him with equal curiosity. "It's none of your business!" he snapped, then sighed and relented, "I loved her." He added with emphasis, "As a friend. Perhaps, for a brief time as a hormonal teenager, I was slightly infatuated with her, but that is not why I have spent the better part of two decades living a lie to atone for her death. I did it because she was my first and truest friend, that is all." He added sourly, "But of course Mr. Potter, being a teenager himself, has to turn my life into some sort of melodramatic Romeo and Juliet story out of a bad novel..."

"Loving someone is nothing to be ashamed of, Severus," Lupin said mildly. "Whether romantically or as a friend. I think that Lily would be proud of you for protecting Harry."

"Spare me the comforting platitudes, Lupin," Snape sneered. "It's my fault that she isn't here to protect him herself."

"Perhaps, but there's plenty of blame to go around," Lupin replied evenly. "It was also Peter's fault for betraying James and Lily, and it was our fault, too, for putting our trust in Peter. And maybe it was our fault for not noticing that Peter was drifting away from us. Maybe if we'd paid more attention, we could have stopped him from going over to the Death Eaters, or at least have been forewarned. I don't think that Lily would hold a grudge against you, Severus, and I'm not saying that just to make you feel better. She never talked about it in front of James, but she confided in me once that it pained her that the two of you never reconciled. I think she hoped that someday she could find a way to make things right between you, but..."

His voice faded away, and Snape finished, "But she ran out of time. Though we may be joining her soon enough."

They turned their attention back to Potter and Voldemort, who were done with arguing, and were moving on to the final confrontation.

"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" Potter whispered. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does...I am the true master of the Elder Wand."

The room turned golden-red as the first rays of the rising sun shone through the windows of the Great Hall, blurring the figures of Potter and Voldemort as they raised their wand and cried simultaneously:

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!"

A great boom sounded, like the blast of a cannon, an explosion of golden flames flaring where the two spells collided, exactly mid-way between the two wizards. Voldemort's wand--the Elder Wand--flew out of his hand, spinning through the air until it landed neatly in Potter's outstretched free hand.

And the Dark Lord fell dead onto the floor, glazed red eyes staring vacantly at the ceiling, killed by his own rebounded curse.

The room erupted into deafening cheers and Potter's friends surrounded him, enveloping him in a hug. There were so many people trying to press close to him that Snape hoped that they didn't crush the poor boy to death and ironically accomplish what the Dark Lord had failed to do. Blaise and Theodore threw their arms around each other, laughing exuberantly, and Goyle slowly sank down to his knees and began to weep. Snape awkwardly patted him on the shoulder as he fought back tears of his own. He had not really expected to live to see this moment, the downfall of his former master. Nor had he expected to see Lily's son survive after Dumbledore had revealed the terrible truth of his plan. But somehow, against all odds, Snape had survived--they both had. And though he suspected that he would never truly like Harry, he was very glad that the boy was alive.

He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder in a firm, comforting grip, and he turned to see a teary-eyed Lupin smiling at him. "Harry did it, Severus!" Lupin said, shouting to make himself heard over the roar of the crowd. "And you did it, too! You repaid your debt to Lily, and I believe with all my heart that she would thank you for it!"

"That's because you're a sentimental Gryffindor," Snape retorted, but Lupin just grinned at him with a look of idiotic glee. Snape couldn't really blame him; he felt a little hysterical himself.

He looked across the room, and saw that Lucius and Narcissa had found Draco, and the three of them were huddled together, looking uncertain as to whether they should be celebrating or not. For the moment, the Hogwarts defenders were leaving them alone, still caught up in their victory. Narcissa looked up and noticed Snape, and she managed a weak smile and mouthed the words, "Thank you, Severus," as she hugged Draco closer to her.

And suddenly Slughorn was at Snape's side, clapping him on the back and shouting, "We've done it, my boy! We've defeated the Dark Lord!"

"'We'?" Blaise echoed sarcastically. "Wasn't it actually Potter?"

"Give him a break," Theodore laughed. "He did come and fight with us, and he did actually duel with the Dark Lord!"

"True," Blaise conceded.

McGonagall and Shacklebolt were also there, the former staring at him in amazement, and the latter with suspicion.

"Severus?" McGonagall whispered, looking hopeful, and a little ashamed at the same time. "Is it true? You were working for Albus all along?"

It was true, as he had told Lupin, that he had wanted his fellow Order members to believe in his betrayal, but it had still hurt nevertheless. So he replied, a bit more curtly than he had intended, "Yes. His apparent murder was all part of his plan."

"I don't know," Shacklebolt said warily. "This could be a trick. After the first war, many of the accused Death Eaters claimed that they'd been under the Imperius Curse..."

"But I saw him fighting the Death Eaters," Lupin argued. "And we all heard what Harry told Voldemort!"

"Harry is a good lad," Shacklebolt said. "But he's, well..."

"Not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed?" Blaise suggested helpfully, and McGonagall glared at him.

Shacklebolt's lips twitched slightly, as if fighting back a smile, and he continued, "I was going to say, a little inexperienced and naive."

Lupin shook his head. "He's no longer a child, Kingsley. He's never tried to pass off his responsibilities to others, in spite of his youth." Lupin smiled. "Even when some of us told him to let those of us who are older and wiser help him. He willingly faced down Voldemort, knowing it might cost him his life. I trust his judgment."

Snape wasn't sure that being suicidally brave was really proof of good judgment, but decided that it would probably be better not to point that out to Shacklebolt.

Others were gathering around him now, a few of them calling out for the traitor to be killed or arrested, but most of them appeared to be as hesitant as Shacklebolt, confused by Potter's defense of him.

"Snape's on our side," Slughorn said firmly. "He could have fled after You-Know-Who tried to kill him, but he came back to fight, and so did my--our--Slytherins!"

"It's true!" Charlie said emphatically, emerging from the crowd to come to Snape's defense. "He appeared in Hogsmeade to rally the Slytherins and the villagers!" While that wasn't precisely what had happened, Aberforth and the villagers chimed in their agreement, and the Slytherins began shouting in very vocal defense of their leader.

"He risked his life to fight for you lot, even though you never trusted him!" Millicent cried.

"What about you, Parkinson?" Seamus Finnigan retorted, gazing at Pansy with suspicion and hostility. "You wanted to give Harry to your Dark Lord!"

Rosmerta came to Pansy's defense, resting her hands protectively on the girl's shoulders. "Because she was scared," the innkeeper said, gently but firmly. "Her family had been threatened by the Death Eaters, but still, she risked her life and theirs to come and fight beside you."

"I trust Professor Snape," Luna declared, stepping forward to place herself between him and Shacklebolt, as if she were trying to shield him. "He saved my life earlier, out there..." She gestured vaguely towards the castle entrance, and the courtyard beyond it. "...when the giants appeared. Why would he do that if he wasn't on our side?" She smiled dreamily, her eyes growing distant and unfocused, as they often did when she was lost in thought. "It's really obvious, now that you think about it," she murmured, more to herself than to anyone else.

"What do you mean, Luna?" Finnigan asked, giving her a doubtful look that seemed to say, "There goes Loony Lovegood again."

"Well, the Carrows punished people with Cruciatus Curses for detentions," Luna replied reasonably, not looking at all offended. "But when Ginny, Neville, and I got caught doing something really serious--trying to break into his office to steal the Sword of Gryffindor, all Professor Snape did was give us detention with Hagrid in the forest. I mean, that wasn't really much of a punishment, was it? Hagrid's our friend, so the Professor had to know that he wasn't going to do anything mean to us."

"That...makes sense," Longbottom said slowly, staring at Snape with a look of dawning recognition and new respect. "He could have done much worse to us--tortured us, or even killed us."

"Well, I don't trust him!" Molly Weasley shouted, still looking wild-eyed, as she had during her fight with Bellatrix. "He wounded and maimed my George, and Fred..." She began to sob, and Ginny wrapped her arms around her mother, trying to comfort her. "My poor little boy is dead!"

"Yes, but that's not his fault, Mum," Charlie said gently. "He didn't have anything to do with Fred's death."

"And he didn't mean to hurt George," Lupin added. "He was aiming at the Death Eater who was chasing us. He was trying to protect us. He's been protecting Harry, and all of us, all along. If you want to blame someone, blame Voldemort. He is the one who was responsible for all of this."

But Voldemort was dead now, and the public would want a living scapegoat, Snape thought grimly. There was little chance of escaping now, with the anti-Apparition wards on the school, and so many people standing between him and the exit. He didn't fear death, but he would rather die than have his soul sucked out by a Dementor, or spend the rest of his life rotting in a cell in Azkaban.

The crowd stirred restlessly, and Snape's Slytherins surrounded him in a defensive ring, raising their wands. Potter, who had temporarily vanished--the boy seemed to be making a habit of it--suddenly reappeared, running towards them, followed by Weasley and Granger.

"Stop, stop!" he cried. "Didn't you hear me before? Snape is on our side! He's been on our side all along!"

"Are you sure, Harry?" Shacklebolt asked. "He could have deceived you."

"He gave me his memories," Potter insisted. "I viewed them in Dumbledore's Pensieve. It showed how he turned against Voldemort and went to work for Dumbledore. You can see for yourself if you like!"

Snape clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, filled with anger and humiliation at the thought of strangers viewing his memories. Potter noticed, and gave him an apologetic look.

"Uh...I'm sorry, Professor," Potter said awkwardly. "I know those memories are private, and I don't mean, pass them around to everybody. But maybe just to Kingsley, to clear your name with the Ministry?"

"Pensieve memories can be altered, Harry," Shacklebolt said. "It's very difficult, but not impossible--especially for a wizard skilled in Occlumency and Legilimency, as Snape is."

"He fought for us; he gave me his memories--what more do you want?" Potter demanded in frustration. "What will it take to prove--"

His words were cut off a by a sudden trill of music, so beautiful that it brought tears to the eyes of everyone in the room. Without words, the music seemed to convey sorrow for the fallen, along with the triumph of victory, and hope for those still living. It washed over them all like a wave, soothing them with feelings of comfort and healing. Snape could see tears running down the Slytherins' faces, and Lupin's as well. He felt a wet trickle running down his own cheek, and only then realized that he was crying, too.

Fawkes landed gently on his shoulder, and bowed his head and wept, the tears falling onto Snape's neck and soaking through the bloodstained bandage. With trembling hands, Snape reached up to unwrap it, then touched his exposed neck, feeling smooth skin unblemished by any wounds, and the pain in his throat had disappeared as well.

"Is that proof enough for you?" Potter asked, smiling widely although tears were still running down his face. Shacklebolt and Snape's other detractors nodded, dumbfounded into silence.

Fawkes affectionately rubbed his face against Snape's cheek, and chirped softly. You are forgiven, he seemed to say. You are redeemed.

"Idiot bird," Snape said gruffly, although he could not stop the tears that were flowing from his eyes. "You couldn't have shown up a little earlier, before the crowd was ready to lynch me?"

Fawkes chirped apologetically and nuzzled him again, and Snape reached up to scratch the top of the bird's head, as he had often seen Dumbledore do. Fawkes uttered a purring little trill of pleasure, and Snape sighed quietly, feeling at peace with himself for the first time in over twenty years.

Part 5