Chapter 5: Good News and Bad

Severus picked his way blearily along a forest path back towards the castle. The night had passed with no word from Dumbledore or the Dark Lord, and with no further signs of Potter in the forest. The latter had not concerned him overmuch, for he had grown increasingly certain that Potter had flown to the Ministry by thestral. The former had plagued him all night, as he endlessly revisited the same fevered speculations. When had Potter arrived? When had the Order? How long could a battle have raged? Knowing the futility of it, yet unable to stop himself, he had marshaled arguments explaining the silence from both sides. Did it mean he had acted in time? That he had failed?

He had kept his fears at bay initially, by reminding himself that such things could indeed take time. But by even the most generous estimate he had constructed in the dead of night, whatever had happened, it must have been over before dawn. The golden morning sunshine streaming through the branches overhead hurt his weary eyes, but it was as nothing compared to the dread of what he might learn shortly, when he returned to the castle.

“Good morning, Severus!” he heard, and looked up to see Dumbledore, hastening up the path towards him. He saw with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, that Dumbledore’s expression was grave.

As Severus raised his eyes from the path, Albus took in the dark circles under his eyes, and the bits of leaf and twig that adorned his hair and rumpled, bloodstained black robes.

“Good morning, Albus,” Severus replied, forcing himself to comply with the expected niceties rather than jumping straight to the question that had occupied him all night.

“Kingsley led me to believe I might find you here, scouring the Forest for Harry,” Albus said.

“Potter went to the Ministry, I presume,” Severus said, his own nocturnal activities being, in his view, evident at a glance.

Albus confirmed this with a solemn nod.

“Did – did the Order make it to the Ministry in time?” he asked. .

The black eyes fixed him with a mute appeal. Dumbledore realized, with a jolt of surprise, that Severus had not heard of the night’s events. Dumbledore pushed his own curiosity aside for the nonce; it would not be right to keep Severus in suspense any longer, especially in light of the part he had played in averting the disaster that might have been.

“The Order were in time, Severus,” Albus told him with a slight smile. There had been losses overnight, true. What could have happened, had Snape not realized Harry had left for the Ministry, did not bear thinking on. “Harry and the others are all safe, though Miss Granger fell victim to a powerful curse, and Mr. Weasley sustained a serious injury – they are in the infirmary. The prophecy shattered, unheard, and eleven Death Eaters, Lucius Malfoy among them, are in Ministry custody. Lord Voldemort himself came as the battle turned against him, and Fudge himself saw this. I am, therefore, back at Hogwarts, acknowledged to have been correct in my claims about Voldemort’s return.”

“Eleven in custody, and the prophecy destroyed!” Severus repeated. That was quite a victory. So why the grave expression? The answer had to be other losses. “How did the Order fare?” he asked.

Dumbledore’s voice was grave. “Emmeline Vance is missing. She was not at her post when the others arrived. Sirius Black is dead. He was killed as he battled Bellatrix Lestrange, the only Death Eater to escape.”

“Black?” Severus exclaimed, surprised. “I thought he would stay behind, to apprise you of events once you arrived at Headquarters.”

So, Black was dead, Severus thought. He had once believed this to be the thing he desired above all others. When Black had proved not to be the villain all had believed him to be, Severus had accepted the facts, but it had not made him any fonder of the man. Faced with the actuality of his death, Severus was not sure what to feel. He realized he was not following Dumbledore’s response.

“No, I learned what had happened from Kreacher, the House Elf,” Dumbledore was explaining. Severus refocused his attention on the Headmaster.

“Kreacher actually spoke to Harry as he Flooed to check on Sirius, and told him Sirius had left the house,” Dumbledore continued. “He has been cooperating with Narcissa Malfoy in this.”

So Potter’s departure had been a hair less idiotic than Severus had at first believed – he had, at least, some reason to suppose Black in danger. Though what Potter thought he would have done about it alone…Severus shook his head. Lack of sleep was making him think in circles.

“Vance and Black,” Severus repeated. “Despite the Order’s losses, it was a fiasco for the Dark Lord.”

“You had not heard?” Albus asked, feeling he could now satisfy his own curiosity. “I had hoped you might have some definite news regarding Emmeline Vance.”

“No,” Severus said, shaking his head. “Once I confirmed to my satisfaction that Potter had truly left, I expected I would be summoned sometime tonight. Yet I have felt nothing.”

“Surely, Lord Voldemort will want to know how the Order came to be at the Ministry,” Albus said. It was a sign of the extent of Snape’s exhaustion, Albus supposed, that this time he shuddered visibly at the name.

“Indeed,” Severus agreed. “I anticipated a summons all night, and had planned to feign ignorance. My warning is not something he would forgive, especially given how badly things ended for him. If pressed, I might have offered some reasonable hypothesis – a guard who sent a warning, or the like.”

“No one heard anything from Emmeline,” Dumbledore said gravely.

“Well, yes, now I know that,” Severus agreed. “I will have to invent a definite answer anyway, since the Dark Lord is sure to summon me sooner rather than later. Now that we have met, he will expect me to know what happened. Coincidence seems the safest bet. How about – someone, let’s say Shacklebolt, went late to the Ministry, to fetch something from his office. For some reason he checked on Vance, found her absent, and gathered the Order.”

“The night guard was found by Aurors, Stunned, and locked in a closet,” Dumbledore said. “You can claim that Kingsley noticed his absence, and this was why he checked on Emmeline. Kingsley is a good choice, he was actually at Headquarters for some time that night, and so only people already aware of your role in events could break the alibi. This story does not increase your exposure. But do you think Voldemort will believe it?”

Severus rubbed the bridge of his nose, considering the question.

“I don’t know whether this newest suspicious circumstance will swing the balance decisively,” Severus replied. “I believe the Dark Lord remains of two minds about me. Perhaps if I could provide some evidence of action on his behalf….”

His voice trailed off, as his sleep-deprived brain, still giddy with relief, failed to provide an immediate suggestion. Perhaps it was fortunate that the Dark Lord had not summoned him, he thought disgustedly. Albus, he saw, was also lost in thought.

“What about the failure of Potter’s Occlumency lessons?” Severus said, as an idea finally suggested itself. “He does not know about them, but as they failed to prevent the night’s events, I may as well claim credit for that failure.”

“Do it, if you believe it will help,” Dumbledore agreed. “Actually, it is a good way to insert some misinformation. I have in mind that memory you told me you saw in Harry’s mind, of Voldemort speaking to Rookwood. You could present it as a valuable discovery, that Harry is able to access his thoughts without his knowledge.”

“I have been insisting steadfastly on the boy’s utter mediocrity,” Severus objected.

“Voldemort must be aware of the link they share,” Dumbledore said. “He knows even he could not enter the mind of a person miles away from him, under ordinary circumstances. He should recognize that this may also work in Harry’s favor. It could inspire Voldemort to block Harry out, which would in turn prevent him from entering Harry’s mind.”

Severus nodded curtly.

“Very well. I must go see what I can do about extracting Dolores Umbridge from a doubtless irate herd of centaurs,” Dumbledore said. “I suggest you return to the castle and have a strong cup of tea before classes.”

“Oh, you know already,” Severus said. Of course, Albus had doubtless already spoken to Potter, who would know the exact circumstances of her capture. “While you are at it, offer the centaurs my excuses. I may have destroyed a couple of their bows earlier tonight. Of course, you might point out that they caused potentially serious injuries to a thestral in the school’s herd. I hope your return means Hagrid will be back as well. He should really take a look at that hind leg; I’m no expert on the anatomy of thestrals.”

“You weren’t, by any chance, riding the thestral in question, Severus?” Dumbledore asked, with a twinkle in his eyes.

“I was,” Severus confirmed. “My first guess based on what I found in the forest was that Potter and the others had been captured. I did not fancy trying to escape a herd of centaurs on foot.”

“Fair enough. If they complain, I shall object to their attempt to make a pincushion out of one of my teachers,” Dumbledore said. “Well, I have a busy day ahead of me after I deal with Dolores Umbridge, and you need to get back to the castle. Do clean up a bit before class – you are liable to scare your students in your present state.”

Severus did not doubt it. “I will,” he replied with a curl of his lip, as Dumbledore walked off briskly towards the centaurs’ encampment. Severus turned on his heel and strode back towards the castle.