16

Chapter 16: Search for Information

Hermione walked through Hogwarts' halls with mixed emotions. She wanted to find Nathan and comfort him, but she also wanted to go back to the Potions master's office and hit him hard for causing all of this. If he had told her when she'd asked what had been going on between Nathan and him, she would have been prepared for Nathan's outburst and she wouldn't have to be searching the castle for her son right now.

Nathan's words of accusation came back to her mind. Liar. Yes, she was a liar, but not in the way Nathan thought. Nobody knew of her most guarded secret… until Severus found out. How did this happen, anyway? She'd been so focused on finding out what her son knew that she hadn't stop to think about Severus' side of this story.

But now she was too worried about her son - and too angry with Severus - to think straight. Hermione had been walking for half an hour by the time she turned a corner and finally found him.

There he was, shoulders leaning on the wall framing a big window that revealed the thin snow showering the grounds and the lake. Her heart hurt seeing the lost look in his unseeing eyes… eyes that were spilling silent tears. The landscape beyond the window wasn't the only thing Nathan wasn't aware of. She didn't think he'd even noticed her presence in the quiet hall yet.

"Nathan," she called in a low voice, not wanting to startle him.

He didn't look her way, but raised a hand to his face, trying to wipe away the evidence of his crying.

She went to him. "I've been looking for you," she said.

No answer.

She sighed. "It breaks my heart to see you like this. I don't want you hurting; I never did." His eyes were still focused somewhere outside, unseeing; she wasn't getting through to him.

"Every time we argue about your father it only hurts more. I know it's frustrating for you, but I can't tell you the truth just yet, and you have to trust me that I will, as soon as I can.

"I could lie to you; say things about your father that weren't true, just to make you happy. Is that what you want? Lies? Because I can't tell you what you want to hear, and being mad at me won't help, either. I don't like this situation any better than you."

She saw a new tear run down her son's cheek.

"Don't cry anymore," she said then, her voice stained with sorrow for their predicament. She reached for his face to wipe the tear away, biting her lower lip to try to stave off her own tears. He closed his eyes in an effort to hide his emotions.

She wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry, Nathan. I'm so sorry," she whispered, stirring his hair with her spoken words of regret. He didn't hug her back, though. She closed her eyes and hugged him tighter, trying to express with the gesture what she couldn't say with words. Hermione just held Nathan, resting her cheek on his head.

She felt him trying to move away after a while and released him from the hug. He hadn't said a word yet, and he wasn't facing her, either.

"Nathan," she called softly, trying to make him look at her and talk. He did look at her then, but no words were forthcoming. His red-rimmed eyes were focused on hers now, and although his expression was frighteningly blank, those black eyes were overflowing with anger and frustration.

"Nathan, don't shut me up. It hurts when you don't talk to me. You're all I have, you're my life," she pleaded.

"Tell me his name," he said, quietly and steadily.

She bit her lower lip again, keeping Severus name from slipping from the tip of her tongue. A tear rolled from one of her eyes. "Not yet."

"Then don't even bother talking to me until you decide otherwise." And with that, he left her by the window and moved quickly away. More tears stained her face, and she closed her eyes and let them fall freely.

She regretted the position she was taking, but she couldn't tell Nathan that Severus Snape was his father without knowing what his intentions were towards their son. If Severus didn't care for him, she didn't think Nathan could handle a father who was so close but yet so far. She wouldn't allow this to happen; her heart ached, but she couldn't. It would be too disappointing.

She tried to calm down, observing the snowy grounds. The tears subsided, but not her worries. Hermione had no idea what was on Severus' mind, even less what was in his heart. How did he feel about Nathan, anyway? She wracked her brain, recalling every word he'd told her since he'd looked for her, last week… they were annoyingly ambiguous.

At their first meeting he'd been looking for answers. He'd seemed disgusted with the thought of her keeping his child, and it was clear that, for him, Nathan was the result of a barbarian act. To him, Nathan could be not more than a reminder of that; the materialization of his sins. She sighed at the conclusions she was getting. Oh, how wrong he is.

And then, there was what she'd heard today. He was trying to keep Nathan away from him because he thought himself unworthy; he thought Nathan was better off without him. Was he worried about what kind of father he would be? Does he care, then? He does, she assured herself. She knew it in her heart that Severus was a good man, and that in his messed up, distorted way he wanted the best for Nathan… didn't he?

She sighed. She wasn't getting anywhere. She needed time to think before acting. Hermione collected her thoughts and walked back to the dungeons. She would clean up the lab and would leave Hogwarts. A week would be enough time to come up with a solution for this, so she hoped.

Nathan sat, resting his back on a pillow cushioning the head of his bed, holding an open book on his lap. He was trying to take his mind off the argument he had with his mother. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this hard on her, but he was really tired and too angry to accept her excuses yet again. No, he wouldn't take any more excuses; he had the right to know. It was his father's name they were keeping from him.

And nonetheless, he felt his heart was clenched so tight that his chest was hurting. He knew his mother was suffering because of his actions; he'd done this before, back on one of his birthdays. The image of her crying was threatening to bring new tears to his own eyes. He quickly blinked them away and returned his attention to the words written in the book. He read a paragraph, and his mind wandered once again. He sighed and closed the book, annoyed.

"Oh, there you are!" said Kevin, entering the dormitory with Andy close behind. "We've been looking for you. Guess what? I have a plan to find out what Snape knows about your father," he revealed, excited, waiting anxiously for Nathan's reaction.

Nathan just arched an eyebrow in askance.

"It's a brilliant idea, Nathan," Andy joined Kevin.

"All we have to do is confront him as your mother or one of the other teachers," Kevin told him, "with a little help of a Polyjuice Potion."

Nathan sighed and shook his head at that. "Thanks for trying to help me, guys, but this idea is insane."

"Why?" Andy asked, confused with his friend's response.

"Do you know how hard it is to brew the Polyjuice Potion? My mother was in her second year when she did it, we're just first-years. Besides, I don't think Professor Snape would fall for that," Nathan explained.

"Well, we thought you could brew the Polyjuice Potion; you're good in Potions," Kevin argued, the disappointment showing in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Kevin. I know you're just trying to help me, and I appreciate it. But I don't think fooling Professor Snape is that easy."

"Then we can't use my idea, either," Andy said, sighing heavily and sitting on the foot of Nathan's bed.

"Your idea wouldn't work even if Professor Snape was a first-year, Andy," Kevin said, seeming annoyed with his planning partner.

"I'm sure Peeves could take the information from him. It was a good plan!" Andy retorted, hotly.

Nathan smiled at his two best friends. They were really trying to help him with this. "Thank you, Andy, but I think Kevin is right. Not even Voldemort could take information out of Professor Snape. He was a spy, remember? We could interrogate him, but we wouldn't get any information out of him, not even with Peeves torturing him," he pointed out, although the image of Peeves torturing Professor Snape was amusing. "Even though, it would be funny to watch," he admitted, smirking. Both of his friends laughed at the image.

When they'd sobered from the laughter of the various images they'd conjured of Peeves torturing Snape, Kevin sat on the bed facing Nathan's. "What do we do, then? All of our ideas involved fooling or forcing Snape to talk, but with his spy background…" he trailed off.

"Why don't we spy on him?" Andy suggested.

"Do you think Snape would go around talking about it? We would only find out useless information about his boring life," Kevin refuted.

But something crossed Nathan's mind with that idea. "Wait a minute," he said, "that's a great idea. We can investigate Professor Snape's life and find out something, some information we could use in exchange for my father's name." The other boys could almost see the possibilities running through Nathan's brain, shining in his eyes.

Kevin was surprised with Nathan's idea. "Bribery?" he asked in disbelief.

"I would call it the Slytherin way of achieving information. He's used the fact that I don't know my father against me first, so let's say he brought it on himself," Nathan pointed out. "We just have to find out something he really doesn't want people to know," Nathan added, reclining against the head of his bed again, contemplating the possibilities with a smirk.

"Nathan, you scare me sometimes," said Andy, looking at Nathan as if seeing him for the first time.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Kevin asked, eyeing Nathan with doubt.

"It's perfect!" Nathan assured them. "All we have to do is investigate Professor Snape's past. We can start in the library, and then we can ask the other teachers. He's been teaching here for ages; they must know something we can use." He paused, observing his friends' reactions. "If you still want to help me, that is," he added.

"Of course we'll help you, it's just…" Kevin wasn't totally convinced of Nathan's idea.

Nathan kept talking about the possible ways to get information on Professor Snape, and he finally ended up convincing his two best friends. They outlined plans for the rest of the afternoon, and by dinner time, Nathan's mood had improved enough to make him actually want to eat something.

Arriving at the Great Hall, Nathan instinctively searched the Head Table for his mother, but she wasn't there. She must have gone home already, he thought with a sigh.

Nathan wasn't the only one to notice Hermione's absence at dinner. Remus Lupin approached the Headmistress and asked, "Isn't Hermione coming for dinner?"

"I'm afraid not. She had to go back to London for some work, apparently," Minerva answered.

Remus nodded and took his usual seat. Hermione had left Hogwarts without looking for him as he'd asked. He mused on the reasons why she might have avoided the meeting. He knew the paternity of Nathan was a delicate issue for her; he was almost certain that she'd never revealed the man's identity to anyone, not even Harry or Ron.

He looked along the table and found the Potions master eating his meal quietly. Should he confront Severus? Would he admit the truth? He'd never said he had a son, or revealed he had had a relationship with Hermione. But Severus wasn't one to go spreading his personal life to the seven seas. Remus didn't know what to do. In fact, he wasn't one hundred percent sure of his suspicions. What if he was wrong and Nathan wasn't Severus' son?

He searched the Gryffindor table, then. Nathan was eating and talking with his inseparable friends. He observed the boy for a while. Lupin was almost sure… almost. The similarities between Nathan and Severus were many; mostly behavioral, but there were also physical ones. Black hair, black eyes, lean body; they were characteristics of Nathan's father, for none were Hermione's, and Severus fitted well for all of them.

Nathan lifted an eyebrow at that moment. There, Lupin thought. It's like watching the eleven year-old Snape all over again. He sighed and turned his attention back to his meal. It would be better if he talked with Hermione first, to be sure. She would be at Hogwarts next weekend, but then he remembered the lunar calendar. Remus wouldn't be at Hogwarts next weekend; it was the full moon. He looked at Severus again, contemplating, and decided he needed to be sure before confronting the sour man.

Nathan was surrounded by Gryffindors when a group of Slytherins, lead by one very blond first-year, approached close behind him in the halls. It would have been an everyday occurrence if Devon Malfoy hadn't chosen that moment to open his mouth.

"Professor Flitwick must be wondering where Granger learned that little trick he so expertly showed us today in class. What do you say, Granger?" Malfoy asked, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Nathan ignored him, so no other Gryffindor gave Malfoy any attention, either.

"That would be something my father would have taught me. Did your father teach you that spell, Granger?" Malfoy continued.

Nathan kept walking, pretending not to listen what the Slytherin was saying, until…

"Oh no, wait a minute, I forgot that you don't have a father."

Nathan's eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks. The group of Gryffindors walking with him stopped, too. He turned to face the smug Slytherin and glared at him.

"I have a father," Nathan said tightly.

Devon smirked. "Of course you have; you just don't know who he is."

Nathan didn't have an answer for that, besides, "Shut up, Malfoy."

"Why, I wasn't supposed to tell? I didn't think it was a secret. Your friends were discussing it freely in the library the other day," the Slytherin said with a mocking, innocent expression.

Nathan was shocked. He looked at the two friends who Malfoy was certainly referring to with disbelief. Those listening to the interaction were looking at Nathan speculatively, and he could feel their eyes on him.

"Well, it was a very good wand trick, anyway. See you in Defense, if not earlier," Devon said and moved ahead along the corridor, followed by the group of Slytherins, who also looked at Nathan, but with malice the Gryffindors lacked.

"I can't believe you!" Nathan hissed at his supposed two best friends before striding away.

Friday evening, Severus was finishing some potions for the Hospital Wing when the hidden door connecting his laboratory and office opened for Hermione Granger. For a moment, she seemed unaware of his presence in the room.

"I wasn't expecting you today, Miss Granger," he said, startling her as intended.

"Good evening, Severus," she answered, but said nothing else.

He observed as Hermione approached one of the ingredient cabinets with a parchment in hand. She browsed its content and made notations on the parchment. He went back to stirring the bubbling cauldron in front of him, but glanced from time to time at the woman sharing the room with him.

Time passed in silence, and she seemed to be rechecking whatever list she had in her hands now. He was pretending to read a journal while waiting for the draught he'd brewed to cool enough to be bottled.

"You were right about Nathan." She broke the silence, and Severus was the one startled this time. "I shouldn't have gone after him that day."

He looked up from the journal to observe her openly. She seemed deep in thought, and there was something… different about her. He'd seen her on a few occasions in the last months, but he couldn't remember ever seeing her this… lost. Her words and a memory of their last argument crossed his mind. Did she reveal the truth to the boy?

"He's not talking with me. He avoided me all afternoon. He did this once before, on his eighth birthday, but this time it's different." She toyed with the parchment in her hands, her eyes fixed on it.

This only confirmed his suspicions. But Nathan hadn't been any different around him this week. He saw her take a deep breath.

"I want to tell him, Severus," she stated, and raised her eyes to look at him. "I want to tell him you're his father and end this once and for all. I don't know if I can meet him for breakfast tomorrow and have him ignore me again."

"You'll do no such thing," he said. He was relieved she hadn't told the boy. Yet, he added mentally.

"He won't give up until he gets what he wants," she argued, urgency in her voice. "I wanted to wait until you came to terms with it, but I don't think I can. Nathan is my life, Severus; he's my everything. When he looks at me the way he did today, it hurts too much."

"You won't tell him," he said. He was starting to feel uneasy in the face of her obvious despair.

"I'm telling him," she affirmed.

"He'll hate you," Severus stated blatantly, and silence fell in the room. He could see in her expression the possibilities running through her head. "Go ahead and tell him that I'm his father, but he'll never forgive you. You'll make his life a living hell; his friends will treat him with indifference. He'll never talk to you again."

"You're wrong," she retorted, holding her chin high. "He'll be happy to know you're his father; he admires you. You'll get to know each other better, and you'll learn to love each other."

He snorted. "You've lost your mind, Granger. I don't like him; I don't want to get to know him better. He annoys me," he said, knowing in his heart it wasn't true. "If you tell him, I'll deny it. If you insist, you won't like what I'll do," he threatened, walking closer to her until he loomed over her intimidatingly.

"You're bluffing!" she defied. "I know you're just saying that. I've seen you with Draco. I know who you really are, Severus. You wouldn't hurt your own son."

"If you're so sure, then try me," he said, arching an eyebrow.

Their eyes locked and they fought a silent battle; one which was won by him when she turned away abruptly and growled in frustration.

He was relieved.

After Malfoy's declaration last week, Nathan had been questioned by all Gryffindor first-years, and some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, too. Every student that looked for him with indiscrete questions or - even worse - pity, added to his indignation over his mother's position, giving him strength to withstand his tantrum. He would not talk with her until she had a name to tell him.

She had looked for him when she arrived for the weekend on Friday, and he bravely ignored her, turning his back to her and walking away. He was glad she hadn't shown up for the evening meal that day, or for breakfast the day after. He was still angry with her, but resisting her pleading tone and sad face was very hard.

Nathan had forgiven his best friends, though. After that first encounter in the halls with Malfoy, he'd shut the boys out for a while, but then had forgiven them, for they proved they didn't know the blond boy had been listening to their conversation. Nathan believed them. He knew now that it had been a Slytherin move of Malfoy, and Nathan was only left to lament the consequences of that move.

But this week things had been different. Less and less students looked at him weirdly, and their plans to get information on Professor Snape's past were being applied. His friends and he had been spending most of their free time on the task. That was why he was currently standing in front of Professor Lupin's office. He took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts, and knocked.

"Nathan," Lupin acknowledged, answering the door.

"Hello, Professor. Do you have a minute?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, I do," the professor answered, frowning slightly. He stepped back and motioned for Nathan to follow him inside, closing the door. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, not really," Nathan hurried to answer. "I just want to talk about Professor Snape, sir."

Lupin stiffened a bit. Talking with Nathan about Snape was not something he looked forward to, especially now that he suspected their blood connection. "Take a seat, Nathan."

Nathan took the indicated chair.

"Tea?" Lupin offered, and Nathan nodded. Lupin took the tea set and placed it on the table. He warmed the water with a charm and added the tea bags. "Sugar, milk?"

"Sugar." Nathan took the cup. "Thank you, sir."

Lupin, with a cup for himself in hand, took the seat across from his student. "Professor Snape," he stated with a sigh, looking tired and older than his age.

Nathan took a sip of his tea. "I know you've explained before, sir, but I wanted to understand why Professor Snape acts the way he does."

"Why Severus acts the way he does," Lupin murmured to himself, sighing again. "Nathan, Professor Snape has been through a lot in his life," he began. "A war can affect people in many ways. I don't know what your mother told you about what happened back then, but the war was particularly hard on Professor Snape.

"I presume you know he was a spy," Lupin said, and Nathan nodded. "Very well. To be convincing as a Death Eater, he had to play a flawless role, and he did just that. His interpretation was so good, and he played the role for so many years, that it became part of who he is.

"I know that it's not easy to agree with the way Professor Snape acts most of the time, but I want you to know that it has nothing to do with you or anyone else specifically. Do you understand what I mean?" Lupin asked.

"Yes, sir," Nathan answered, and they went quiet, contemplating that for a while. Then, breaking the silence again, he asked, "Do you think he regrets anything?"

Lupin put his empty cup on the table. "He may regret a great many things. We all do, Nathan. You see, in a war there are decisions that must be made regardless of our feelings about them. Most of the time, you have to put your personal opinions aside to favor the common good."

Nathan rubbed his cup. This was not what he'd expected to hear, and he went quiet again. He didn't know what to ask next.

Professor Lupin watched Nathan, and interpreting his thoughtfulness, he affirmed, "Don't try to understand him too soon, Nathan. Professor Snape is a very complicated man. You'll understand his actions, eventually."

"I hope so," Nathan murmured, nodding. He finished his tea, talking about less complex subjects, and left Professor Lupin's office knowing a little more about the mysterious Professor Snape, but nothing of use to his plans.

Nathan was walking down to the dungeons. He had left his friends playing and studying in the common room, after deciding he couldn't ignore his mother any longer.

That afternoon, she had looked for him in the library, asking him to talk to her again. Images of his mother's sorrowful eyes and the sound of her pleading voice had invaded his mind constantly during the day.

He was almost at his destination, now. He was very close to Professor Snape's office - the only way to get to the man's private laboratory. He knew that his mother would be working there right now.

He knocked on the office's door; no answer. He knocked again, waiting. When there was no answer after his third knock, he opened the door slowly. As he presumed, there was no one in the room, but he could see light coming from the laboratory's hidden door, left ajar. Nathan took a deep breath and entered. It was time to talk with his mother again.

However, when he was halfway from the door, he heard Hermione's voice speaking conversationally; she wasn't alone. He stood there for a moment, contemplating whether he should go on or come back later, when he heard the voice of the second person with her in the room – Professor Lupin. Nathan frowned in confusion; he didn't know his mother and Professor Lupin were close friends, but there wasn't another reason for the presence of the Defense instructor in a potions lab.

Nathan moved towards the lab cautiously. He could hear what the professor was saying now.

"… but I didn't want to look for him without speaking with you first, Hermione."

"I don't understand, Remus. You're not making any sense."

"Hermione, watching Nathan is like going back in time, back to when I was a student here. The resemblance between the two of them is very strong," Lupin insisted.

There was silence in the room ahead, and Nathan frowned in confusion. What does Professor Lupin mean?

His musings were interrupted by the sound of his mother's voice coming from the lab again. "Remus, I…"

"Don't worry, Hermione. I know this is a delicate issue for you. If I'm not mistaken, Nathan doesn't know," he heard Lupin say.

"No, he doesn't," his mother confirmed.

"What about-" Lupin said, but Nathan didn't hear the rest of the question.

"Spying on your mother?" came a voice from behind, startling him.

The conversation within the lab stopped and the door suddenly opened fully. Nathan saw his mother, wide-eyed, looking from him to Professor Snape. "Nathan," she murmured, looking stricken.

"I was-" Nathan tried to explain, but was interrupted by Professor Snape.

"You were inside my office, listening behind the door to a conversation you were most definitely not invited to." The voice of the Potions master had an accusing tone.

"It's all right, Severus. I don't think Nathan was eavesdropping on anyone's conversation, right?" Professor Lupin came to his rescue… sort of.

"I… I was…" Nathan locked eyes with his mother, who still looked worried.

"Nathan," she said, quietly.

"Yes, I was," he admitted. "You were talking about me, and I know exactly what you were talking about." Nathan held his mother's gaze. "Do the other teachers know, too? How many people will you tell before I'm finally allowed to know?"

Nathan was so focused on Hermione that he missed Snape's sharp shift of attention, which was now fixed on Lupin.

"Nathan, that's not-" Hermione tried to explain, but Nathan didn't want to listen.

"I came here to talk to you because I thought you were telling the truth the other day. You almost got me again with your sorrowful face and whiney voice, Mum. But don't expect me to forgive you after this!" Nathan said, ignoring the two professors. He grimaced at his mother and hurriedly left the room.

Only then, Hermione noticed there was another pair of black eyes fixed on her, impassible and accusing.

"Severus, Remus noticed-" she began, only to be interrupted once again.

"I'm sure he did," Severus said, and held her eyes a moment longer before addressing Lupin. "What will you do with the information, Lupin?"

"Severus, I won't tell anyone else, if that's what you want to know. I know you've never said anything before, and that you're very reserved about your personal life," Lupin assured the other man.

Severus nodded. "He must not know."

"I wasn't planning to tell him, but I want to suggest that you do," Remus said, looking from Severus to Hermione.

"Your opinion is neither requested nor welcome, Lupin. This is between Granger and I, and I'd appreciate if you would take care of your own business, otherwise-"

"Enough, Severus!" Hermione surprised him with her strong reprimand. "Remus is a friend. I'm sure he will do what's best for Nathan. He was just trying to help."

"Very well, you know my position," he told Hermione, and then turned to Lupin. "I'll keep an eye on you, Lupin." And with that, he was gone in a flare of black robes.

"Don't worry," Lupin assured Hermione, who sighed.

"I don't care what your father does or doesn't do, Malfoy!" Nathan stated.

They were in the middle of the Entrance Hall, leaving from dinner. Devon Malfoy was surrounded by Slytherin first-years, and Nathan had his friends with him, too.

"I was just talking with my friends, here." Malfoy smirked and added, "I'm sorry if you're jealous because I have a father who likes me."

Nathan closed his hands into fists, trying to contain his rage. He scowled at Devon.

"Are you still looking for him, or did you give up? Have you looked in Azkaban?" Devon asked, making the Slytherins laugh.

But that was only until Nathan reply, "If my father is in Azkaban, Malfoy, yours should be keeping him company."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. "My father is not a criminal!" he said indignantly.

"Well, that's not what I've heard. Maybe you don't know your father all that well," Nathan said, and didn't wait for a reply. He turned from the Slytherin and went up the marble stairs with his friends.

"You'll eat your words, Granger!" Devon threatened.

None of them noticed the presence of Professor Snape in the shadowy corner behind the House points hourglasses. Then Devon knows of Nathan's situation, he mused, frowning. That wouldn't help things in any way.

He sighed, making his way to his office.

Nathan was in the library; it had been part of his routine since planning to investigate Snape with his friends the other day. They had been spending most of their free time on the task, and Nathan was running out of sources of information. He and his friends had searched every book about recent wizarding history, old school yearbooks, genealogy, and there was nothing of use against Professor Snape.

Their attempts to persuade the other teachers to talk about the Potions master were proving to be just as unsuccessful. It seemed that nobody knew enough of the reserved man, and those who did weren't willing to share.

Malfoy had pointed out Nathan's lack of father at every opportunity. Nathan was ignoring the Slytherin, but he was also getting tired of it. This only frustrated him more! He closed another useless book and sighed heavily.

"Let's take a break," he suggested, and the boys across the table leaned back on their chairs. "This is getting nowhere," he admitted.

"I agree," said Kevin.

"What do we do, then?" asked Andy. "Are we giving up?"

Nathan sighed.

"We don't give up, Andy. We're Gryffindors. We just need another plan," Kevin said to the boy next to him, and turning to the one across from him, added, "Isn't it right, Nathan?"

Nathan didn't answer right away. He was trying to figure out where their plan had failed. "Yes, that's right. We need another plan. What are we missing?" he asked rhetorically. "Who haven't we talked with?"

"I don't know," admitted Andy. "I'm out of ideas to make the teachers talk. Unless we shamelessly ask: What sordid secret you know about Snape? I don't know how we'll make them talk."

"Okay, then. You take the Headmistress and I'll take Professor Flitwick," said Kevin.

Before Andy could come out with his surely indignant retort to the choice of assigned teachers, Nathan blurted out, "The Headmaster!"

"Who?" Kevin asked.

"Of course, how could I've forgotten him? He must know all about Professor Snape, and he must be willing to talk, since he was killed by him," Nathan babbled, lost in the possibilities. He focused his eyes on his friends again; they were staring at him. Nathan smirked. "We need access to the Headmistress' office. I need to have a chat with a portrait."