44

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR:

"What is your full name?"

"Severus Alexander Snape." Snape's voice was smooth as always, making him sound less affected by the potion than others, but that same undertone Amelia had heard in Potter-Black's voice was also present in this man's voice.

"Age?"

"Thirty-five."

"Posts?"

"Hogwarts Potions professor, spy."

"Whose spy?" She was actually surprised that he identified with it so strongly that he would name being a spy as one of his posts.

"I am a spy for the Order of the Phoenix," came the even reply, and Amelia nodded grudgingly.

"When did you become a spy?"

"When I realized that the Dark Lord planned on targeting Lily and her family."

Amelia wasn't sure whether to be surprised or not – she had been at Hogwarts when Snape began his first year, after all, and had seen how attached the little Slytherin was to the feisty Gryffindor, but it did surprise her that they had still been friends after so many years.

"Did you warn the Potters of the danger?"

"They already knew," Snape replied.

"Who warned them, then?"

"Dumbledore."

Amelia pursed her lips – she really wasn't a fan of the old man, despite all the good he had done for their society. "Do you answer to Dumbledore?"

"As a Hogwarts professor, yes. As a spy my loyalty is to the Light, not to any particular figure." A complete and concise answer, to her surprise – she really should have worded that question more precisely. Heartened at the fact that the man had chosen to give her a full answer – for she knew that he could have just as easily replied simply with yes or no – she decided to accept his sincerity.

"When did you and Potter-Black first meet?"

"On Friday February 23rd."

"The same day Potter-Black appeared in this time?"

"The same moment," came the surprising reply, and Amelia leaned forward, intrigued despite herself.

"Explain."

"Harry Potter-Black materialized in the middle of an Inner Circle meeting."

Amelia drew in a sharp breath, looking over to where the young man sat, looking somewhat amused and very much alive.

"How did you survive that?" she asked, wide-eyed. Did he actually manage to fight his way through the entire Inner Circle to freedom?

"I bluffed my way out," he grinned, and she blinked. What? "I let Snake Face believe that I had switched to his side after Dumbledore's death in my old timeline, but that the Light had been winning the war and Snake Face sent me back in time to set things right. Actually," Potter-Black grinned wryly, "I still can't believe he bought it. I even managed to make him think that Malfoy was a traitor, which led to his immediate execution. He won't get Susan this time," he smiled reassuringly, and her heart nearly stopped.

"Susan?" she whispered.

"Ah, sorry!" Potter-Black exclaimed, looking slightly panicked. "It's easy to forget that I'm the only one who knows about things that happened last time." Some of her reluctance to ask must have shown on her face, for the young man grimaced. "You don't want to know."

"No," she said slowly, "I don't think I do." Clearing her throat, she turned back to the Potions Master. "How much do you know about Potter-Black?"

"His entire life," Snape replied evenly, and she sighed. Why was every answer from this man so confusing?

"What do you mean by that?"

"Harry showed me his entire life via Legilimency."

"You know Legilimency?" Amelia asked the twenty-one-year-old in surprise, and his crooked grin and nod were answer enough.

"Does he know yours in exchange?"

"Yes."

Amelia blinked. "Just what is your relationship?" Perhaps it wasn't something she needed the answer to, but she was certainly curious enough to ask.

"Life partners," Snape replied, and both Amelia and Potter-Black inhaled sharply.

"Really?" Potter-Black asked in dawning delight, eyes locked on the taller figure. "Life partners?"

"Absolutely," came the smooth reply, and Amelia could only look on in dumbfounded silence as Potter-Black launched himself at his lover, tears in his eyes despite the huge grin he wore.

"Ahem," Amelia cleared her throat awkwardly when it became apparent that Veritaserum didn't numb Snape's mind enough to keep him from returning Potter-Black's eager kiss. "Can you save it for later?"

"Sorry, Amelia," Potter-Black grinned, slowly extricating himself from his partner's hold. "I thought he would merely answer that we're lovers, so…"

"I do understand," Amelia smiled wryly. "Even so, I must ask you to save it for later. I did have a few more questions to ask before the Veritaserum wears off!"

Before long the young man was back in his own chair, and Amelia was able to continue the questioning, though she didn't have many more questions to ask. "What are your plans for the future?" she asked despite having a pretty good idea now that she knew of the two men's relationship.

"I hope to travel the world with Harry and work on potions development, specifically of a potion enabling the temporary ability of Parseltongue."

"You don't intend to continue teaching at Hogwarts?"

"No." To her surprise, the man added, "I am a terrible teacher."

"Why did you apply for the post of Hogwarts professor, then?" Amelia couldn't hide her irritation when the poor things she had heard from her niece were confirmed by the very person the young girl had complained about for years.

"I did not," came the surprising reply. "Dumbledore insisted I take the post so that he could have his spy near at hand."

Amelia was surprised at the note of anger that bled through despite the Veritaserum. It sounded as though there was bad blood between the Hogwarts professor and his headmaster.

"Do you have a grudge against Dumbledore?"

"Yes." The answer was surprisingly cold, and Amelia's curiosity was piqued.

"Why?" Unexpectedly, the answer didn't come from the Potions Master, but rather from his younger companion.

"Dumbledore likes using potions and spells to influence people," the young man spat, and Amelia stared. "Yes, even on me. Especially on me," Potter-Black scowled. "Through the use of spells, Dumbledore completely changed several people's personalities, including mine, Severus's, Hermione's, Ron's… I don't know if he has any on you, but during your time at Hogwarts he most likely had you dosed on fealty potions just as he does all current Hogwarts students. Excepting the Slytherins, of course."

"Do you have proof of this?" she asked weakly; she had never liked Dumbledore, but to accuse him of such crimes…

"Absolutely," came the unwavering answer. "In fact, we even interrogated him under Veritaserum – I can show you the notes we took. We obliviated him afterwards, though, so it's no use asking him about it."

"I would very much like to see those records," Amelia said, her voice still somewhat faint. To think that the Hogwarts Headmaster would do such things… "Does he have Susan under anything?" The thought that Susan might actually be a very different person hidden under a series of spells chilled her to the bone.

"Nothing more than the fealty potion and a loyalty spell to Hufflepuff House," Potter-Black assured her. "Poppy checked her in the future and didn't find anything else in her system, as far as I know."

"How did you find out about the spells and potions?"

"After Dumbledore's death some of us noticed our personalities slowly changing, and Poppy gave everyone a thorough inspection. She, too, was under a lot of spells."

Amelia inhaled sharply – did Dumbledore not know how dangerous it was to influence a mediwitch? Had she violated her Hippocratic Oath because of something Dumbledore had done she would have lost her life, and Dumbledore could have been rightly charged of murder. As it was, he could be charged with a lot of other things, and Amelia intended to see justice done.

"We want him to undergo a public trial to reveal to everyone what he's done," Potter-Black continued, and she nodded grimly. "Unfortunately, it will have to be done soon – he'll be dead within a month."

"Excuse me?" Amelia exclaimed. "He's dying?"

"He put on a cursed ring," Potter-Black snorted, "and though Severus did what he could to prevent the curse from spreading he doesn't have much longer to live."

Amelia gaped at the man.

"All in due time," a deeper voice said, and both turned to Snape, whose dose of Veritaserum had apparently worn off. "There are more important things than Dumbledore to be dealt with."

"Very true," Potter-Black agreed. "The most important thing right now is to prove to the world that Voldemort was back and is now dead for good, and get a new Minister in place. The Ministry needs to be cleaned of corruption, all remaining Death Eaters found and put through trials… there is much to do." Rising, the man inclined his head to Amelia with a serious look. "We will take our leave now, and I will be in touch tomorrow morning. Should I come to you in the Ministry? If you could invite some reporters we can get the news out of the way first thing. From now on everything should be made as public and transparent as possible; we have nothing to hide."

"We are in accord, Lord Potter-Black," Amelia stood and held out her hand to the young man. "Please join me in my office at 10 AM – I will be ready and waiting."

"See you then," the enigmatic man gripped her hand with a smile before stepping back, allowing Snape to shake her hand next. Then both man walked away side by side, silently making their way to the entrance hall and apparating out, leaving Amelia with the prospect of a long and sleepless night preparing to change wizarding Britain.