The Deal with Dumbledore (Severus, Dumbledore) T
Characters/Pairings: Severus, Albus
Ratings/Warnings: T
Summary: Near the end of the 1977/1978 school year, Headmaster Dumbledore receives an unlikely visitor and unlikely request during his office hours.
The following is my challenge response to Challenge 57: Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore.
It will be posted here before being posted on FFN and AO3 at a later time.
Albus hadn't expected a knock on his office door at this hour, at least not from anyone other than a member of staff; even then, he was sure they would be busy preparing for the summer holiday, apart from perhaps Rubeus or Argus. That being said, this was the hour when Rubeus would typically be at the Three Broomsticks or Hog's Head, and Argus would be busy patrolling the lower corridors unless he was bringing a student along.
"Enter," Albus called out, waving his wand to unlock his door.
As expected, at least based on Albus's calculations, Argus stepped into the office. What was rather unexpected was the student accompanying him.
"Headmaster," Argus said with a nod. "Mr. Snape was out of bed after hours."
"I see," Albus replied as he turned to Mr. Snape. "And for what reason?"
"He was on his way to your office," Argus answered.
Mr. Snape glared at Argus before nodding.
"I'll take it from here, Mr. Filch," Albus said. "And I'll make sure Mr. Snape returns to his dormitory after our discussion."
Argus didn't seem sure of Albus's decision on the matter, but he nodded and said, "Have a good evening, headmaster."
"And you," Albus replied, waiting until Argus had left and shut the door. He turned his full attention to Mr. Snape, unsure at first how to even approach this development. The Slytherin boy was someone he'd never been too sure of given his extracurricular activities and the company he kept, and he was as hard to read as another Slytherin he'd known thirty years prior. The only apparent detail was that Mr. Snape, despite having come of his own free will, didn't appear happy to be here. "Please sit, Mr. Snape. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"'Pleasure' is a strong word," Mr. Snape said dryly as he sat down.
Albus hadn't expected much, but he'd at least expected some degree of respect. "What is your reason for being here?" he asked, this time more directly.
There was a long pause between Albus's question and Mr. Snape's answer, but Albus could glean (despite the level to which the boy clouded his thoughts) nervousness. No, 'nervous' was the wrong word to use, even though there was a hint of fear... and of shame, for some reason. Whatever the Slytherin had come to say had to have been important, because Albus wasn't blind to the former's antipathy toward him since the incident with Mr. Lupin, not to mention Mr. Potter's promotion to Head Boy (which hadn't been Albus's best idea when it came to managing the hot-blooded Gryffindor).
"I've...." Mr. Snape paused before he could finish the reply Albus had waited for. "I've heard that there's a group you lead...."
"I'm afraid that doesn't narrow anything down. I find I've joined quite a number of groups that I end up leading, although not on purpose, of course." The Order of the Phoenix wasn't a very big secret, although it surprised Albus that its existence had reached the school; usually, he would've sent letters to graduates whom he believed had the fortitude to fight the Death Eaters. "Would you mind being more specific?"
Legilimency wasn't necessary to see the irritation in Mr. Snape's eyes, and whatever had clouded the boy's mind was gone, granting Albus access to what he could only describe as pure malcontent. "It involves disagreeing with witches and wizards who hold certain views on blood purity," Mr. Snape replied.
"I see." Albus took a sip of his tea. "Well, while that narrows it down, I believe my office is a rather private room. Whatever you wish to say within these walls will stay here."
"Unless it involves talking about what happened in that tunnel," Mr. Snape bit back.
"... I am aware that Messrs. Potter and Black spread rumors of what happened," Albus said calmly. "I was led to believe that they wouldn't act in such a way regarding an event that nearly cost you and Mr. Lupin your lives."
"Oh, it's all water under the bridge, then," Mr. Snape replied sarcastically.
"Sarcasm will get you nowhere," Albus warned.
"Well, I've tried sincerity before, but it doesn't seem to work with you, for some reason."
"I think we would both prefer you to get to your point." Albus hadn't felt this sort of anger in quite some time; never in his time as a professor or headmaster had a student been as spiteful toward him as Severus Snape. Even Tom Riddle, for all his numerous faults, showed more respect.
Mr. Snape, glaring, complied. "I want to help you."
... Albus prided himself on his ability to read people and predict what they would say or do; it was one of the reasons he'd been as successful as he was. Working at Hogwarts had only helped him hone this ability, given that he was charged with educating the future generations of Wizarding Britain, and almost every living Hogwarts graduate was someone Albus had either taught or helped Sort. He even knew which students were most likely to be recruited by the Death Eaters, something he'd tried and clearly failed to mitigate. Out of all the students who didn't already have some connection to the Death Eaters prior to their Sorting, Mr. Snape had been Albus's pick for 'Most Likely to Become a Death Eater'.
And yet, here they were, with Mr. Snape's offer to join the Order of the Phoenix.
"Is that so?" Albus asked, remaining stoic as he processed this development. "And what is your reason, exactly?"
Mr. Snape shrugged, now averting his eyes as he made a wordless sound in his throat.
"What was that, Mr. Snape?"
"No reason," Mr. Snape replied, this time louder.
"I find that quite hard to believe," Albus commented.
"You find me quite hard to believe," Mr. Snape said, as though to correct Albus.
"Forgive me for saying this, but I'll need a better reason from you for why I should even entertain whatever idea it is you have. No one volunteers to take part in a war 'for no reason'."
Mr. Snape was once more glaring at Albus, taking a few slow breaths before standing up from his seat. "This was a mistake."
Albus raised his hand. "Let me ask again," Albus said quickly; he wasn't about to let Mr. Snape leave after coming this far, and if he was honest with himself, he'd say he was now invested in his motivations. "Whatever reason you may have, I'd like to hear it before I make a decision."
Mr. Snape looked like he wanted to leave the room, only for Albus's words to stop him in his tracks. Another long silence followed, and Albus could see that the boy before him was fighting with himself on whether or not he should answer. Eventually, the silence was broken.
"... I have my reason," Mr. Snape admitted.
'Reason'. Usually, such a phrase ended with 'reasons', plural, but Mr. Snape's language was too specific for it to be a mistake. "Your reason?" Albus asked.
Mr. Snape nodded.
"... and that would be...?"
"I've been doing research," Mr. Snape said quickly, the remainder of his answer a clear deflection. "In the library. Not the one at school, though, at Lu-- at one of my friends'-- at one of their home libraries, and I think I know why the Dark-- why You-Know-Who is so powerful--"
"I don't doubt your competence," Albus cut in, although he definitely wanted to hear the remainder of what Mr. Snape was talking about. "However, I find that I put more faith in those who are trustworthy rather than competent. And so, I have to know what your motivations are for joining."
Mr. Snape looked frustrated, moving away from where he'd been standing and performing a small pace, as though to calm himself down before turning back to Albus. "I...." Another pause, before the words finally came out. "I want Lily to live."
... Albus blinked. "Miss Evans?"
Mr. Snape nodded stiffly, his face now reddening.
Albus couldn't help but blink again. "You wish to fight against Lord Voldemort... for the sake of one Muggle-born?"
Mr. Snape didn't nod this time, instead sticking his hands in his pockets to hide the fact he was fidgeting with his fingers.
"I see." Albus was starting to suspect this was all an attempt to win Miss Evans from Mr. Potter. "Well, I'm sure she'd be rather surprised to see you at our meetings--"
"What?!" Mr. Snape's voice all but startled Albus. "She's-- no, she can't know!"
"I'm sorry?"
"She can't find out!"
... this was the third time within a single evening, within a single hour, that Mr. Snape had stunned Albus. "You don't want the person you wish to protect to know you're protecting her?"
Mr. Snape nodded.
"I feel like I need you to explain that to me. Wouldn't you want her to know?"
"If she finds out, she'll just think I'm trying to 'win her back'." Mr. Snape sounded bitter in his answer. "She can't criticize me for something she doesn't know about."
"How exactly am I supposed to hide your involvement if you plan on joining? It would involve attending meetings--"
"Then I won't join your group."
"Pardon?"
"I'll help you without joining your group. The less people who know I'm involved, the better."
"And you don't want any recognition for your efforts?"
"I'm not some bloody Gryffindor!" Mr. Snape almost sounded offended.
Albus waited before responding, weighing everything that had been said so far. He'd never personally known a case of someone wanting to do the right thing for selfish reasons and not personally benefit from it, which made him question whether Mr. Snape's motivation was actually selfish or not. Lily Evans was one Muggle-born among many who faced persecution at the hands of the Death Eaters, and she also happened to be the only one Mr. Snape had been friends with (to what degree, Albus couldn't say); she also happened to be the fiancée of someone whom Albus knew Mr. Snape despised, which was what had initially made him suspicious. But if Mr. Snape had no intention of Miss Evans learning of this arrangement, even though revealing it would most certainly be entirely to the Slytherin's benefit.... There was only one way to confirm his suspicions.
"Before I make my decision," Albus said, "would it be inconvenient for me to ask something of you?"
"That would depend on what you're asking," Mr. Snape replied.
"Can you produce a Patronus?"
Mr. Snape went pale, paler than Albus thought the boy's complexion would allow. "Why?"
"I find that seeing you perform a corporeal Patronus would help me come to my decision." In truth, Albus was aware that Mr. Snape had failed this particular lesson, and so the ability to perform such a task would reveal everything.
Mr. Snape looked away, his hand slowly moving out of his pocket as he allowed the wand within his sleeve to slip out. He turned and raised his wand, glancing at Albus nervously before controlling his breathing and performing the proper wandwork, chanting, "Expecto Patronum!"
Albus watched with wide eyes as a silver doe sprang forward from the tip of Mr. Snape's wand, prancing around the office until it came to a halt, walking slowly beside Albus. At first, Albus thought it was a coincidence that the boy had a similar Patronus to that of Miss Evans, but the eyes of the doe, identical to those of Miss Evans's, told another story. Lovers tended to develop complementary Patronuses for each other, which was the case with Mr. Potter's stag and Miss Evans's doe, and it wasn't unheard of for individuals to have the same animal as a Patronus, provided that there were a few differences. Mr. Snape's, however, was exactly identical to Miss Evans's in every single detail; his Patronus was not his own, but that of another, and such a development could only mean one thing.
Selfless love.
"... Mr. Snape," Albus said slowly. "Let us go over the details of our arrangement...."
