Chapter 2 - Knew An Awful Lot About The Dark Arts, Snape Did.

Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise belongs to me. Just borrowed. Will be returned. Snape is welcome to stay, though.

A big Thank You goes to my beta-reader, Maggie, and my beta-reader and brit-picker, Melusin, who both are always encouraging, helpful, and thorough.

Chapter 2 – Knew An Awful Lot About The Dark Arts, Snape Did.

August 10th, 1980

Today was your christening day. You are officially Harry James Potter now. Look at that man in the picture, the one with the silly grin, the one who is holding you. Yes, that's Sirius, your godfather; he can't stop making funny faces at you, to make you gurgle. The other two are your dad's other best friends, Remus and Peter. And that's your dad and me peeking out behind them. There isn't anyone else here; we wanted to keep your ceremony a secret. We didn't want to draw the attention of those bad people.

Harry studied the picture from his christening day, smiling despite fighting back the tears. Sirius looked so young; and the funny grimaces he was making at Baby Harry made him laugh. They all looked so happy – even Wormtail, the traitor. Harry leafed through the diary, scanning it quickly until he reached the last entry.

October 24th, 1981

Lily Potter

Harry put down the diary with trembling hands and tears in his eyes. From the date, he could see that his parents had been killed less than a week after the last entry. He stared at it for a moment, glad that he was alone, glad that Hermione and Ron had gone for a walk to have a little time of their own. It was good to have this time to himself before the guests arrived at the Burrow for Fleur and Bill's wedding, before he and Ron had to share this room with the twins and Charlie. Right now, Harry felt very close to his parents and didn't want to share this moment, not even with his two best friends. He swallowed down his tears and started to search his mother's trunk for anything from his father.

There were several letters, some carefully tied in a bundle; others only single sheets, but none of them ended with 'Your father, James Potter.'

He would have to read them all. He grabbed the letters that were tied in a bundle and started to read.

Dear Lily,

The H.B.P.

Harry dropped the letter as if it were hot coals. "Muffliato." He knew exactly who had invented that spell. This couldn't be... this simply couldn't be true... but the initials H.B.P. could only mean one thing... And, he did recognize the prince's handwriting. Harry started to shake. He paced the room frantically a few times and then sat on the floor and buried his head in his arms.

When Hermione and Ron returned from their walk, both slightly flushed, they found him still like that, shaking and curled into a ball.

"Harry, what is it?" Hermione rushed to him, putting a hand on his arm. When he looked up, he saw her concerned brown eyes looking down into his own, but hatred and anger made him unable to speak clearly.

"Snape," he choked out, grabbing the letters in his fist and shaking them towards her. "Snape wrote letters... Snape wrote letters to my mother." He swallowed hard and tried again. "Snape... they must have been something like friends, maybe even good friends, from the looks of it. And he betrayed her, just like Pettigrew, just like my father's friend did. They were their friends, and they killed them..." His eyes were shining with angry tears that threatened to spill over. He threw the letters at Hermione's feet and went to the window, staring outside and repeatedly hitting the frame with his fist.

"So it's true," Hermione said. "He and your mother were friends."

"What do you mean?" Harry was taken aback. "Don't tell me you knew about this?"

"Well..." Hermione hesitated. "I didn't know if all of it was true, which is why I didn't tell you earlier..." She told Harry and Ron about the visit of Severus Snape to the Evans' home.

"She kissed him?" Ron looked as if he wanted to throw up. "Slimy, greasy Snape?"

Harry shook his head. That was unbelievable... He was even angrier now than he had been when he read the letters. How could she? His own mother... He shuddered.

"Is there anything else in the trunk?" Hermione asked.

"More letters. Read them, if you want. I can't..."

Hermione took the next letter from the bundle and read out loud:

"Lily,

Snivellus

"Oh. What was that all about?" she asked.

Harry flinched. He had never told Hermione and Ron what he had seen in Snape's memories. He shrugged, mumbled, "Promises to murderers don't need to be kept," and told Hermione and Ron about the scene he had seen in Professor Dumbledore's pensieve: of his father and Snape sitting their OWLs, of his father and his friends bullying Snape, just like his cousin Dudley used to bully weaker kids in the past.

Ron gaped, and Hermione looked angry. "How could they have...? That's horrible... And Remus was part of this? And Sirius... Oh no!"

Harry blushed fiercely from embarrassment. "If you remember what Sirius told us... Snape was giving as good as he got. I don't think he was an innocent little angel..."

"Four against one, Harry. That's really low."

"Well, in the scene I saw, there were only two involved: my dad and Sirius. And now, I don't want to talk about it any more."

The next day, the preparations for the wedding feast began. The Burrow resembled a beehive. The guests arrived, among them several Aurors who went to work immediately, setting up anti-Apparition spells and other protective charms around the house. Harry and Ron made room for Charlie and the twins. Hermione and Ginny helped Mr. and Mrs. Weasley arrange tables and chairs in a large tent in the garden where the wedding reception would take place.

By lunchtime, they were greeted by Professor McGonagall, who had just arrived from the Ministry of Magic to assist with the preparations.

"Hogwarts will not be closed," she told them, after they all sat down for lunch together, "at least not entirely. It will remain open for fourth-years and up. The younger children will stay at home with their parents and learn in small study groups. The Ministry has agreed to assist parents who want to organize such groups."

Harry saw how Hermione listened attentively, but his own mind drifted off. He would not return to Hogwarts; his interest in the reopening of the school was polite at best.

"So, the fourth- to seventh-years will all return?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, many of them want to. We could convince the parents that Hogwarts will maintain its high level of security..." She paused and dabbed her eyes sadly. "Despite what happened in June..."

"Won't parents be afraid of another attack?" Ron asked.

"Of course they will be, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall replied, "But, where are people safe from attacks these days? Even pureblood families can't count on being left alone, if there is something the Death Eaters want from them. The Ministry promised us Aurors for protection around the clock, and that is more than the young people will get at home, many parents realize that. I must tell you, however, that all Quidditch matches are cancelled, and there won't be any Hogsmeade weekends or a House Cup."

Ron shrugged. "It doesn't matter any more. We won't be coming back."

Professor McGonagall frowned. "What do you mean, you won't be coming back?"

"I have a task, something I have to do," Harry said. "Professor Dumbledore started it, and now I have to finish it. It is essential that I do this... but I cannot tell you what it is," he added quickly when he saw Professor McGonagall look at him questioningly.

"And we will go with Harry," Hermione said and Ron nodded. "We will not let him go alone."

Minerva McGonagall looked at them silently, a frown carving deep lines into her forehead. After a while she smiled gently.

"I see," she said and pursed her lips. "I think I understand... Oh, no, I don't know what you and Professor Dumbledore did when you went away together, Harry," she added quickly when she saw Harry's worried face. "But, Albus left me a letter, asking me to support you in anything you do. It was almost as if he were preparing for his own death." She dabbed at her eyes again. "I know that Albus worked tirelessly against Voldemort, and I imagine that is what drives you, too, Harry. Am I right?"

Harry cleared his throat, nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but Professor McGonagall silenced him with a shake of her head. "Let me finish, please. I understand that you need the freedom to do what you have to do, all three of you." She looked around and over her shoulder, smiled and lowered her voice.

"Aurors won't be the only protection in Hogwarts this year. You realize that the Order needs new headquarters?"

"Because you think it isn't safe?" Ron asked.

"Yes, Snape still has access. While he can't bring anyone else, he could still sneak in and kidnap or kill people, or he could just try to find out what we're up to. Besides, we couldn't bring new Order members to Grimmauld Place, with Albus as the Secret Keeper gone..."

Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded, understanding.

"Anyway, the new headquarters will be at Hogwarts. We feel that this offers additional protection for the school. The headquarters is under a Fidelius Charm with me as the Secret Keeper. You will want to join the Order soon, I surmise?"

"Perhaps," Harry said, "if the duties as an Order member don't interfere with my task..."

"Yes, I thought so," Professor McGonagall said. "Well... You will be allowed to join, you know, all three of you, despite still being students. That means you will always have a home at headquarters. And, living at Hogwarts will make you less conspicuous when you want to go and... do what you have to do."

"Won't people wonder what we're up to when we're leaving school from time to time?" Ron asked.

"No, Mr. Weasley, they won't. The school governors have agreed that students may return to their homes every night if they wish. We have set up a safe Floo connection from my office to the Ministry. Every student whose parents wish them to return home after classes will be picked up at the Ministry by a parent at a set time, when the connection will be opened. An Auror stationed at Hogwarts will first Floo there to check if all is safe, and that the parents aren't blackmailed or under Imperio. These precautions may seem a bit extreme, but I feel that the effort is worth it if it means that we can reopen the school. Fortunately, there are only a few families who want to have their children at home in the evenings."

She smiled at them, eyes bright in excitement and continued, "The teachers will be away part of the time, too, in order to assist with the study groups, or to be with their own families. So, you and your friends will not appear conspicuous at all when you aren't at Hogwarts at all times, or when you miss some classes. Returning to Hogwarts would offer you protection, Harry. No one would wonder what you're up to, and I can arrange it so that no questions will be asked by the teachers. Besides..." she smiled again, "we will have an outstanding Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year."

Harry frowned and looked at Ron and Hermione. He could see from Hermione's expression that she would love to go back. Ron looked undecided.

Harry thought it over carefully.

"I am a target," he said. "Won't the other students be in danger if I come back?"

"We are all targets; there isn't a safe place anywhere. Our choice is between cowering in fear and hiding, or trying to lead as normal a life as possible, despite the threat. I am glad to say that most people have chosen to refuse to hide." Professor McGonagall looked persuasively at Harry. "Hogwarts can offer you a home – and you can complete your education. I am not willing to jeopardize children's education because of this war. Your education is an investment in the future. I refuse to allow that future to be stolen from you by these murderers." She sat very straight, stern and determined.

Harry felt very tempted to accept the offer. Hogwarts had always felt like his real home. He looked at Ron and Hermione. Even if he considered his own survival as rather unlikely ... these two should have the chance to sit their NEWTs. He knew how much it meant to Hermione – and Ron wanted to become an Auror; he needed his NEWTs for that.

"All right," Harry said. "I will return to Hogwarts – for the time being."

Professor McGonagall nodded, and Hermione and Ron looked surprised, but happy.

"If it turns out to interfere with my task, I may leave, though," Harry warned.

"Of course. This is a very wise decision." Professor McGonagall smiled.

"This is brilliant, Harry." Hermione beamed. "Some people would wonder what you're up to, you know, if we wandered around and weren't at school. And, this way, we will have the library at our disposal... Just imagine, tens of thousands of books... Somewhere in there, there has to be the information we need." She looked dreamily at him.

Harry grinned. "We couldn't do without the library. And the food and all those house-elves..."

Hermione laughed. "Of course, and I couldn't abandon S.P.E.W. now, could I?"

They giggled together while finishing their meal and decided to move to Hogwarts after Harry's birthday. He would have enough time to visit Godric's Hollow after the wedding and enjoy a little more time with the Weasleys.

"What will become of Grimmauld Place?" Hermione asked Harry.

"I don't know," he said pensively. "As long as Snape lives, it won't be safe. Perhaps, I could use it to trap him..."

Professor McGonagall shook her head. "It won't work, as much as I'd like to help you catch him. He will know that the Order will move somewhere else and suspect a trap. Severus Snape may be many things, Harry, but he isn't a fool."

Harry shrugged. He would deal with Snape when he met him next time, and meet him he would, he was certain about that.

The afternoon saw them busy with more wedding arrangements. While not many of the guests would stay overnight, room had to be made for Fleur's family, who would be arriving in the evening and staying for a few days. Old Aunt Muriel was expected the next day, and she and a few other relatives, who either were too old or lived too far away for easy Apparition, had to be accommodated.

When Fleur's relatives arrived, most of the Weasleys went to welcome them and help them get settled. Bill Weasley, who had arrived with the group, left the Delacours to his family and sat down in a quiet corner where Harry, Ron and Hermione had found refuge from the crowd. Bill looked very tired.

"How do you feel?" Ron asked. "All nerves yet?"

"Oh, no ― I'm looking forward to tomorrow, it will be wonderful." The formerly handsome, now terribly scarred face of the young man split into a dreamy smile.

"But today was a bit much," he conceded. "Before I went to France to pick up the Beauxbatons carriage and the Delacours, I went to Aunt Muriel and picked up the tiara." He took a parcel out of his pocket.

"Look at this. Isn't it beautiful?"

Carefully he unpacked the tiara and put it on the table before him.

Harry bent over it and looked closely; the tiara was a beautiful piece of jewellery. A fragile frame of white Goblin gold was adorned with narrow strips of bronze. Many small, dark blue sapphires were set in a straight line, and in the centre a large, pale blue diamond shone.

"Merlin, how lovely," Hermione breathed. "It will look beautiful with Fleur's blonde hair and blue eyes, and it almost looks like the Ravenclaw colours..." She stopped and looked at Harry who frowned. A thought had just started to form in his head.

"Remember how I told you about the rumour that the tiara was connected to one of the founders?" Ron mused, but Harry and Hermione shook their heads.

Bill smiled. "Family rumour has it that this actually once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. You know how the Prewetts always claimed to be her descendants?"

"No, I wasn't aware of that, I only knew the rumour about a founder. You don't mean..." Ron looked delighted. "You are saying that Rowena Ravenclaw was our ancestress? We are descendants of the Prewetts, after all."

"Could be," Bill said. "Though looking at you, Ron, I think it can't be more than a rumour." He laughed.

Hermione didn't laugh. She narrowed her eyes and looked at Harry. Harry nodded, swallowed and asked, "So, if you really wanted to know if this had belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw, what would you do to find out?"

"Oh ― according to Aunt Muriel, this is genuine," Bill said. "Just let her tell you the legend surrounding it when she gets here. But, to find out if it is... That would be difficult. It's rather simple to find out if the age fits, you just cast an age-revealing charm on the item. But, an heirloom this old... Chances are that there are some other spells woven into the object. If you know what they are, you can look for them. But, some of these old objects are cursed, mind you. You'd want to be careful when using any detection spell."

"Well, for you that would be easy, I suppose?" Hermione smiled at him. "As a curse breaker that sort of thing would be routine for you, wouldn't it?"

"Somewhat," Bill said. "But, you can never allow yourself to fall into a routine in this job; that would be far too dangerous. Each and every artefact is different, and you have to tackle each one with an individual approach." Clearly he liked to talk about his work.

"And, how do you find out if there are any blessings or curses on an old treasure like this?" Harry asked.

Bill smiled. "There won't be curses on the tiara; it's been in the family for ages. Someone would have found out. There might be a love blessing, or a spell for fertility..." He winked.

"So, how do you detect it?" Harry repeated. "Are you looking for traces of magic? I saw Professor Dumbledore do that once and always wanted to know how he did it..."

"Did you, now?" Bill said, impressed. "That's not a very common thing to watch. It's a lot more complicated than the spells the Ministry uses to track underage magic or registered wands... You basically call out for it, you feel it. It's very advanced... Or very basic, depending on the way you look at it."

Harry, Ron and Hermione listened, captivated.

"Is it like the feeling you have when someone is watching you?" Hermione asked. "When all the hairs on your neck stand up?"

"Yes, very good!" Bill said. At their attentive faces, he smiled, a rather horrible sight with his many scars. However, his voice and demeanour had lost nothing of the charm that had always made him so well liked.

"Feeling watched is a very basic skill; all witches and wizards have it, and even some Muggles. It is the attraction of like for like, and when developed properly, a highly skilled sorcerer can use this to detect when another sorcerer is close, even when the other one wears an invisibility cloak..."

"So, that's how Professor Dumbledore always knew when we were there?" Ron wondered.

"And Snape, come to think of it," Harry said. "I always thought they did it with Legilimency..."

"Legilimency is developed from the same basic magic," Bill said. "But, it is so complex that only very talented wizards can use it efficiently. And, you need an aptitude for it. All these skills will sharpen a witch or wizard's senses, attuning him, or her," he smiled at Hermione, "to the many dangers surrounding them."

"So, how do you do it? Can you show us?" Ron asked.

"Hmm, yes, but if you want to use it, you will have to practice. As a matter of fact, that is part of the seventh-year curriculum in almost every subject, especially Defence... if you have a decent teacher, that is..."

"Oh..." Harry said, slightly disappointed, "I had hoped that it might be you..."

"Not me, I'm of more use where I am right now." Bill lowered his voice. "Had you forgotten that Professor Dumbledore was very interested in keeping good relations with the Goblins? But, I should be going..." He looked over to the group of Fleur's family, still happily chattering with their daughter and Molly Weasley.

"Looks like they don't need me, yet," he smiled. "So, I'll complete your little lesson in the detection of magic. Where were we? – Ah, yes, how to do it... You empty your mind and focus on your senses. Just feel. A revealing spell will help in the beginning. This spell isn't very precise, but when you practice, it can help you find out which of your senses respond best... it will not tell you if the magic is dangerous or beneficial, but you will find out if there is something."

Hermione frowned. "I just tried it... I can't feel anything..."

Bill laughed. "These aren't good conditions for practice, far too crowded and too noisy. And, there won't be much on the tiara, if anything. Let me show you..."

He closed his eyes and lifted a hand towards the tiara. A coppery-green shimmer surrounded it like an aura. He scrutinized the aura thoroughly. "Nothing. No blessing, no charm, nothing. If there were anything, it would look like boils erupting, or a vortex... there would be something. But, there isn't." He looked slightly disappointed. "Don't tell Aunt Muriel when you meet her tomorrow. She is convinced that there is a love charm on it that gives the wearer a happy and long married life..."

"That's all?" Harry asked. "But... when I got my Firebolt, it took the teachers at Hogwarts weeks to find out if it was jinxed..."

Bill nodded and gently stowed the tiara away again. "Of course. What I showed you was a simple first step. But, a broomstick, and a Firebolt to boot, is so filled with charms and spells – it is easy to hide curses and jinxes in there. You need to take every little piece apart to be certain that each component only does what it is supposed to do – and it can be dangerous, too, if the object is jinxed."

"How so?" Hermione asked.

"Do you want to become a curse breaker?" Bill asked, smiling again. "The basic magic detection process is harmless, it won't cause a reaction, even if the object or room is cursed. It only tells you that something contains magic. But, as soon as you try to find out which kind of magic, you can trigger a powerful reaction. That's why we always use a variant of the Imperturbable Charm; the kind that is used at Hogwarts, too."

This was news to Harry, but Hermione nodded knowingly.

"Now, this is very difficult, because you want your spells to go into the containment field the charm created without letting any curses, or other potentially dangerous spells, get out and harm you. This is something that, again, requires a lot of practice and determination. So, pay attention in this year's DADA class, and you'll be able to do it when you sit your NEWTs. It shouldn't be a problem for any of you, even my useless brother here." He ruffled Ron's hair affectionately. Harry saw with surprise that Ron took it with a smile; there was no awkwardness or embarrassment. He clearly was fond of his oldest brother.

"Finally, the last step, after detecting the kind of magic that has been used, is to neutralize the spells," Bill continued. "At least, when you want to get at the booty hidden in a tomb, or treasure chest... Neutralizing can be as simple as destroying the object – which isn't advisable if you don't want to destroy what's inside your object – or, it can be as complicated as chanting a sequence of banishing spells and deactivating every little component of the spell or curse."

"And, that is your specialty, isn't it," Ron said.

"Yes, I have quite a bit of experience with that," Bill said wistfully. "And, to tell you the truth, that is something I have to thank Severus Snape for..."

"Snape?" Hermione briefly glanced at Harry. "What does he have to do with it?"

"Well, when I went to school, I had no way of knowing that he was a Death Eater and a murderer, did I? Snape taught Potions, but he assisted in Defence Against the Dark Arts. I don't know about your teachers, but ours never lasted longer than a year – and some of them were... less than competent. But, Snape was always there, usually presented as an assistant. Rumour had it that he put up with it because he wanted to show Dumbledore that he would be the ideal man for the job..." He looked at them questioningly. "You know how he always applied for the Defence position?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, he was an assistant for study groups in Defence in my seventh year and, you know, as unpleasant as he is, Snape can be quite a teacher when he has students who are interested in the subject..."

"Are we talking about the same bloke?" Ron said, in disbelief. "Greasy hair, big nose, volatile temper?"

Bill chuckled. "Yes, the same. And, he taught me several of the enchantments that made me such a good curse breaker. He knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape does. He shook his head as if wanting to clear it. "And now we know why... It's such a loss to our side, if you think about it, because he is such a powerful wizard..."

"He's a murderer; that's no loss..." Harry snarled, but before Bill could answer, they heard a woman's voice call.

"Bill, where are you 'iding?" Fleur Delacour, Bill's fiancée was looking around, and when she spotted him, came over to their corner.

"Right here, sweetheart," Bill said. "Do you need me?"

"Always," she cooed. "We 'ave to go through some parts of the ceremony with our families. No more 'iding."

She winked at Ron, took Bill's hand, and dragged him away. The three friends noted with amusement that Bill showed no resistance whatsoever.

"So, the tiara isn't the 'Something of Ravenclaw or Gryffindor.'" Harry said, disappointment in his voice.

"Doesn't look like it," Hermione said, deep in thought. "Although... I still would like to hear this legend and meet your Aunt Muriel, Ron."

Ron rolled his eyes. "If you have to... but you won't need me for that, will you? She's a bit clingy, you know?"

Harry grinned, remembering what Ginny had told him. "She's quite a kisser, your aunt, isn't she?"

"Oh, shut it..." Ron flinched and stood up. "I don't want to talk about it."

Laughing, Harry and Hermione followed Ron back to the house, where they had one of the legendary Weasley dinners, only occasionally interrupted by exclamations by Fleur's French family: "Meat done a bit too long," or, "We don't cook our vegetables like dis." Then they fell into their beds, exhausted and full of anticipation for the next day.