Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"A keepings box?" Hermione asked, opened mouth in stunned disbelief. It was nothing she had ever read about.

He waved his hand nonchalantly, ignoring her disbelief. "Severus should know what it is if you are not familiar with them. Perhaps Minerva knows what happened to my possessions, or you may have to ask Bernard."

"And what do I have to do with it when I find it?" she asked cautiously, recalling that opening the Snitch was not straightforward.

"Nothing." he said smugly, settling back into his painted chair. "You have demonstrated what is necessary to open it and get the proof that you seek. Good luck, Miss Granger."

Feeling much better and a bit surprised that she had gotten a seemingly straight answer out of the old man, she headed back down to Minerva's office.

"Did you get your answer?" Minerva asked optimistically.

Hermione paced as her mind reeled, trying to make sense of the conversation with the old headmaster. "It took some doing, but after a while, yes. Do you know what happened to his possessions after the office was emptied?"

Minerva thought for a moment. "I'm afraid that I don't. One of the house-elves may know. Eppy!" Minerva called out.

In a flash, a house-elf in a Hogwarts' tea towel appeared before them. "Yes, Professor? What can Eppy be doing of service?"

"Do you know what became of Professor Dumbledore's personal effects?" Minerva asked.

The elf dipped her ears. "No, Professor, but Eppy will ask the others."

In a matter of minutes a different house-elf popped into Minerva's office. "Kab is knowing where Professor Dumbledore's things went. This way, Professor," the elf said as he moved towards the door.

"You will show Miss Granger, and she will be allowed to remove whatever she needs," Minerva instructed.

"Yes, Professor. Come, come, Miss. This way. Kab will show," the elf gestured for Hermione to follow him.

He led her through parts of the castle she had never seen, which given the amount of exploring she had done with Ron and Harry was saying something. After fifteen minutes of walking, he pulled open a heavy wooden door.

Behind it was a cramped store room lined with shelves. At least everything was stored neatly, she thought as she started perusing the possessions of the old headmaster. Of course, she wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for, so that complicated matters. Not to mention it appeared as though some objects had been down here for decades. She got the impression this storeroom had more than just Dumbledore's old possessions.

Kab watched her from the door. "If Miss knows what Miss is looking for Kab can find it," he offered helpfully.

As she looked at the shelves full of various magical instruments and boxes she was quickly becoming overwhelmed. "I don't know exactly what I'm looking for, but thank you for showing me this room." As she looked around, she knew that she had to get Severus. After all, the portrait had indicated that he would know what the keepings box looked like.

It took her a while to find her way back to Minerva's office, and she took several wrong turns along the way.

"Did you find it?" Minerva asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No. There is far too much stuff down there for me to determine what exactly I need. He said that Severus would know what it is, so I'll have to return with him." She knew that the letter from the Ministry had said there would be a possibility that Severus would have to return to Hogwarts and that Minerva seemed to want to believe in his innocence. "That area is well away from where any students should be," Hermione offered.

Minerva raised an eyebrow, knowing full well there were always those students who went exactly where they were not supposed to be. "I'll do what I can to seal off the area, but I will ask that the two of you be as discreet as possible. He is not exonerated yet, and if word were to leak out that he had been here..." She trailed off knowing that Hermione understood the ramifications.

Hermione nodded. "I know. We should easily be able to slip in and out of the castle without being seen. Something tells me Severus knows a lot more about the castle than most of the rest of us."

"Indeed," Minerva remarked. "As you will be coming during dinner, I don't expect to see either of you, and if the headmaster returns, I will inform him of your presence. If you will require more time, please let me know. I'll have the Gamekeeper let you through the gates."

"I will." Hermione knew that Minerva was thinking what she was: that Dumbledore had had so many possessions they might not be able to go through everything in one evening.

Severus was pacing restlessly. He did not have a lot of faith in Hermione's plan. After all, he had been left to rot in Azkaban by that scheming, old tyrant. If the old man's portrait wouldn't help him for his trial, why should it help him now? Yes, he had his freedom and his wand, but what was that without a reputation?

He knew that he should be working on the report for St. Mungo's on the poison and antidote, but he could not force his mind to concentrate. Especially after having read the Daily Prophet. There had naturally been an article about the final victims of the war being healed. Hermione and the healers were mentioned, but he was not specifically named – at least not on the first page. Buried at the end of the article on page seventeen, it was mentioned he had rendered assistance. 'Rendered assistance! Bloody fools! Everyone would have died without my knowledge,' he seethed. It also mentioned that he was being pardoned for his services rendered. He knew it was not likely most people would make it that far in the article.

If only they knew the full extent of what he did to help Potter bring down the Dark Lord. Oh, they did know, but they wanted to cover it up, chose to believe he was weaving a web of lies to save his own skin. After all, they needed some Death Eaters to throw in prison, and the old man wasn't there to vouch for him this time. Since he had no family and no social standing, he was the perfect scapegoat to let rot in prison.

Checking the clock, he saw that it was nearly noon and that he should eat something, but he was not hungry.

"It's foolish to get your hopes up," he chided as he nervously paced.

When the front door opened, he stopped and watched Hermione expectantly. "Well?"

She entered the room and stood near the fireplace. "I spoke with the portrait, and he told me that what I need is in a keepings box, but well, I don't know what that is. He said that you would. We can go to Hogwarts this evening and start searching his possessions."

"A keepings box?" Severus asked skeptically. "That devious old man," he muttered.

"What is a keepings box?" she asked as he resumed his pacing.

"It could be anything," Severus replied, waving his hands in exasperation. Even now the old man was playing his games with him. He saw the look of puzzlement on Hermione's face. "It's a magically sealed object that will open when the time is right."

"Oh! So it's like Harry's Snitch. It would only open when he was facing Voldemort," she said excitedly.

He did not really know what she was talking about. "You have seen his possessions?" he asked as he stopped in front of her.

"I did. They are stored in a remote part of the castle. I was never really in his office, so I wouldn't know if everything was there."

He nodded. That was something; they were all in the same place. He resumed pacing, hands clasped behind his back as he racked his brain trying to remember if there was anything in the office that appeared to have some sort of secret compartment or that would not open when he examined it. He thought about trying to get more information from the portrait. "What exactly did he say about the box?" he asked as he watched her expectantly.

Hermione paused a moment, recalling the encounter. "He said that I had to find the keepings box and that you would know what it was if I didn't, which I don't. He also said that I already demonstrated what is necessary to open it, whatever that means."

Severus arched an eyebrow at her.

She raised her hands in exasperation. "You knew him better than I did."

Severus started pacing again. She'd already demonstrated what is necessary to open it. He had no idea what that meant either. "Did you discuss anything else with him?"

"It was all about you and trying to find out if there is evidence to prove that you were completely faithful to him. You know what it's like trying to get a straight answer from him. He brought up Fawkes and the sorting hat and the sword of Gryffindor."

"In what context?" he interrupted.

She took a deep breath as she watched Severus pacing back and forth. "He was talking about the importance of faith. That it was Harry's faith that allowed him to call Fawkes while in the Chamber of Secrets."

Faith. Severus assumed that must mean that she had demonstrated the proper amount of faith in his innocence. "Anything else?" He knew that every word the old man spoke could have hidden meaning.

"No, that's pretty much it."

Now all they had to do was wait until they could go to the castle and begin their search. He should be used to waiting by now. His entire life had been full of waiting, but seeing that he was so close to being free, he found it exceedingly difficult.

After lunch, Hermione had decided to do some reading before they went to Hogwarts. Unfortunately, Severus had decided to continue pacing. "Must you?" Hermione asked as she was trying to focus on a book and found his constant movement distracting.

He shot her a glare that would have made her wilt in times past, but she merely met his gaze for a few seconds before returning her attention to her book. He flopped into the other chair and thought about trying to read, but he knew that he would never be able to focus. He was still mentally cataloguing every obscure magical artifact that had festooned the old man's, and later his, office. Nervously he started tapping his foot without realizing it.

"Severus!" Hermione said sharply.

He glared at her again. "I am mere hours from having the opportunity to prove that everything I have been trying to tell the Ministry since the end of the war is the truth, and you ask me to sit still?" he asked in exasperation.

She sighed and put down her book. There were several long seconds before she spoke. "I can understand you're nervous about this..."

"I'm not nervous!" he interrupted. Admittedly he was a tad nervous that this keepings box was nowhere to be found, that something had happened to it. She gave him a look that said she didn't believe him. He crossed his arms and hunched back into his chair. "Fine. I'm nervous. Happy?"

She did not look happy. "The house-elf I spoke to did not indicate that any of Dumbledore's possessions weren't stored away. He was in fact quite eager to help me find whatever it was I was looking for, but since I had no idea what it was, he wasn't going to be of any help."

They stared at each other in silence. She finally broke the uneasy quiet. "Look, let's just get out of here, go for a walk somewhere and then have an early dinner before going to Hogwarts."

He most certainly did not feel like eating and going for a walk had never been one of his favorite activities, but anything was better than being cooped up here, so he gestured for her to lead the way.

He was a bit taken aback when she suggested Hogsmeade, but he knew that it would be less crowded there then in Diagon Alley or one of the other wizarding enclaves, and he was most definitely not dressed properly to be seen by Muggles.

They walked in silence in the countryside by the village, his gaze unconsciously drifting up to the castle and the secrets held within. If there was one thing, Hogwarts had no shortage of secrets.

"Severus, we should head into the village to get something to eat," Hermione said, interrupting his thoughts.

"I'm not hungry," he replied shortly.

"You may not be, but I am."

He looked at the determination in her face and knew that she would not let him go up to the castle until they had dined. He resigned himself to following her direction – at least until this ordeal was ended and he was exonerated. After all, she was the one who had access to the Minister.

Even though he did not order anything to eat, she took the liberty of ordering him a sandwich and making him eat it. He hated that he was once again someone's pawn, though he knew this was different. Still, he longed to once again be his own man. He ate it as quickly as he could because he knew that the other patrons were whispering about him. Something told him that even once proof was found, there would always be whispering. He would forever be the man who killed Dumbledore. It would never matter that the old man would have died within the hour.

When they left, Hermione reprimanded, "If you wouldn't act like a child, you wouldn't draw so much attention."

He snapped back, "If you would let me lead my own life and stop trying to mother me..."

She interrupted, "I'm not mothering you. You refuse to look out for yourself, so someone has to do it. Since the list of people who cares for you is exactly one, that job falls to me. I don't know about you, but I don't perform at my best when on empty stomach. For all I know we are going to be searching that room all night."

"In case you have forgotten, the castle is staffed with house-elves eager to serve. When hunger strikes, it would be quite simple to ask one of them to bring something to eat," he replied defensively, trying to hide his surprise at her admitting she cared for him.

"Oh, right," she replied as though that thought had never occurred to her, and her cheeks flushed. "I never thought of that. I mean as students you just don't go around calling for the house-elves. I know I didn't even know about them the first couple of years."

He couldn't help the smug grin that spread on his lips.

"What's that for?" she asked suspiciously when she saw it.

"I suppose that I still enjoy bringing a know-it-all down a peg or two," he replied playfully.

Hermione considered the enigma that was Severus as they walked up to the castle. There was much that she did not know about him. She had not expected him to be courteous to her as he worked, let alone solicit her assistance. There were also the small acts of kindness such as preparing her breakfast. She tried to reason that his behavior was calculated to gain her sympathy and support, that he was just being a scheming Slytherin, but she was not entirely sure. His last comment about bringing her down a peg had not been malicious in the least.

"Why were you so hard on me in school?" she asked cautiously.

Her question caught him off guard, and he stopped dead in his tracks for a few seconds. She turned to watch him.

"You are incredibly bright with a great deal of book knowledge, but that is never enough. You needed to learn something of the world."

"So you bullied me? Do you think that was the first time I was bullied? I am Muggle-born and never fit in. Surely you would understand that," she snapped back.

"I do understand it," he replied sympathetically, "and that's why I behaved how I did towards you. I did not want you alone with your books." He started to lift his hand, as though reaching for her, but then thought better of it and let his hand fall back to his side before resuming their walk, leaving her to follow. "And on that subject, why did you let Weasley and Potter copy your work? Were you that starved for friendship that you would give away your best asset for nothing?"

Hermione looked at him in disbelief. "You think friendship is nothing? Without that friendship where would we be? Would Harry have been able to defeat Voldemort on his own? Love is an emotion you could never understand," she retorted.

He turned on her and stopped her in her tracks by placing his hand on her shoulder. "I understand more about love than you ever will," he said coolly.

She crossed her arms, waiting to hear more.

Severus turned to continue the walk to the castle gates. When he realized that she was not following he turned an asked impatiently, "Are you coming?"

She remained rooted on the spot. "No. I think you owe me an explanation." She had been handed this golden opportunity to find out more about Severus Snape, and she intended to take it.

"I owe you nothing," he retorted sharply, standing a few feet away from her, obviously impatient to be going.

She stood her ground stubbornly, unmoving until he answered her. "I think that you do, and I think you know why you do."

He took three steps towards her so that there was very little space between them, glaring at her from his slight height advantage. "What I tell you is for your ears alone. You are never to speak to anyone, especially Potter or Weasley, about this. Is that understood?"

While she did not think he was in a place to bargain, her curiosity had gotten the better of her. "Alright. This is between the two of us."

He seemed to shrink into himself and didn't look directly at her. "As you are aware, I am half-blood. My Muggle father was a despicable man with no ambition. He despised what my mother was and ordered her to sever ties with the wizarding world if she expected any assistance raising me." He looked away toward one of houses or the trees beyond it. "It was a horrible childhood of poverty." His gaze shifted toward the castle in the distance. "Being able to come to Hogwarts was the most amazing thing that had happened in my life – at least until James Potter and his gang decided bullying me would become their primary form of entertainment. I was poor, bookish, friendless and Slytherin, presumably the only reasons they needed to torment me."

He finally looked at her, but there was something in his eyes, a deep hurt. "There was one person who showed me kindness through all that. Lily. She would defend me, study with me. She was my friend." His eyes turned downcast. "For me that friendship turned to love, though I dared not let her know that for fear of losing her friendship. I knew that someone like her would never love someone like me." He pulled out his wand. "Expecto Patronum! A silver doe shot forth from his wand. "It was her Patronus as well," he said quietly.

Hermione stared at him in utter disbelief. "So Harry... Turning to Dumbledore..."

"It was all for Lily. When I learned that the Dark Lord was going to kill her son, I knew I could not let that happen." He watched as the Patronus returned to him. "While she had chosen life with another, I never stopped loving her," he said as the Patronus faded. He finally turned away from her.

"That's why you were so tough on Harry, to push him, to prepare him, to protect him?" She was still trying to assimilate this new depth she had discovered to her former professor.

"In part. It also pained me to see Lily's eyes on the face of someone who so closely resembled James Potter," he said with emotion she couldn't differentiate, a loathing, yet sad and remorseful. "In the end, he was prepared, so does it really matter what my motivation was."

She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Without you, we never would have succeeded. I know that we'll find the proof we need and the wizarding world will know how instrumental you were," she said softly.

He turned and looked into her eyes, as though trying to determine what she was thinking. Recalling that he had been the one to teach Harry Occlumency and that he knew Legilimency, she looked away.

Severus took hold of her chin and forced her to look at him. "I would never look into your mind without permission," he said quietly and then released her chin.

This time she did not look away, but stared into his dark eyes with a newfound understanding of the man behind them. After a silence that seemed to stretch to eternity, she said, "I think we should get up to the castle."

After they had been walking a short way, he said, "You never did answer my question: Why did you let Potter and Weasley copy your work?"

"They didn't normally copy my work. I just... helped them out a bit," she replied sheepishly. She had tried to discourage out and out copying, but there had been times when events had led her to do so.

"A bit?" he asked arching an eyebrow.

"Well, they still had to pass exams in the end, didn't they?" she replied defensively. "And they did pass."

"Indeed they did, but why help them?" Now that he had bared his soul to her, he wanted to learn more about her.

She gave him a quick glance. "I think you know why. But there was more to our friendship than me helping them academically. They're the family I never had."

By now they were approaching the gates and greeted the new gamekeeper with a nod as he let them through the gates and escorted them up to the castle. They finished their walk to the castle in silence, neither one of them sure what to say after the evening's revelations, especially not with someone possibly listening to their conversation. When they entered, they could hear everyone in the Great Hall.

"This way," she said as she led him into the depths of Hogwarts to the storage room where Dumbledore's effects were.