Harry stared down coldly at Snape, the man who had made sure he had no parents. Finally, finally he would be able to get all the answers as to why and how this had come around. And, quite possibly, he would get a lot of clues as to the final Horcruxes.
Lupin propped Snape up against the table and held open his mouth. Uncorking a small phial, he put exactly three drops of Snape's Veritaserum in his mouth.
"Everyone stand back a little," said Lupin. "We don't know how he will react, exactly, from being stunned and then given Veritaserum."
Lupin took two long strides back from Snape, pointed his wand at him, and muttered, "Ennervate."
Snape jerked up suddenly and stared at them all warily.
Lupin took a cautious step forward. "You are Severus Snape, are you not?" he asked.
"Yes," answered Snape, now sounding half-asleep.
"Were you working for Voldemort at the time of the death of Lily and James Potter?" asked Lupin.
"Yes."
"Will you please describe the role you played at the time of the height of Voldemort's powers?"
"Of course," replied Snape. He began to talk, his voice sounding dull, as if he had readily prepared what he was about to say. "I wasn't with Voldemort from the beginning, despite what everyone thought. At first, when he was all about killing Mudbloods--" everyone at the table flinched, "--we all supported him, to a degree, of course, but we let him get on with it. We all figured he would get caught eventually, and we didn't want to get the blame on our shoulders. However, it became apparent that he would never get caught, and a rumor circulated about him and his Horcruxes."
He glanced around the room, looking slightly puzzled at the room's reaction to the word. "That's when I joined him. Even an idiot could tell he was gaining power and would soon be more powerful then almost every other wizard in the world, and I was no idiot. I quickly progressed through his ranks, and I was granted a most curious assignment. The Dark Lord trusted me more than any other of his supporters, and I was second only to his snake, Nagini. He told me to apply for the job of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He wanted a spy in Dumbledore's ranks, and he knew that Dumbledore's greatest weakness was trust."
Harry felt something in his throat catch. He had not been expecting that, and it had caught him off guard. So Voldemort knew, he thought. It was just as apparent to him as it was to everyone else. Harry shook himself; he needed to pay attention. Snape's confession could be laced with bits of information he, Ron, and Hermione would need to find Voldemort's Horcruxes.
"Dumbledore, of course, believed me," continued Snape. "He always believed in second chances, and he welcomed me openly into the school. He didn't, however, give me the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. He thought it would cause a relapse into the ways of Voldemort. I received the post of Potions Master, because of my prowess at potion-making when I was at school. And so I spied for Voldemort, and that led to the beginning of the downfall of his army. I heard Sybll Trelawny's prophecy concerning the Dark Lord and Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom, and I reported it to him. That's why both Potter and Longbottom's parents were, erm, eliminated. Either of them, with their parent's help, could have overcome the Dark Lord."
Snape sat silently, awaiting further questioning. Everyone else in the room, however, was stunned into silence, and no one spoke for a while, simply staring across the room.
Eventually, Hermione broke the silence. "Were you ever un-loyal to Voldemort, even through the years you worked for Dumbledore, or did your allegiance always lie with the Dark Lord?" she asked timidly.
Lupin nodded his approval. "Good question, Hermione," he said.
"I have always been, and will always be loyal to the Dark Lord," Snape proclaimed proudly.
"What about Voldemort's Horcruxes?" asked Harry. "What do you know about them?"
"He made seven in the belief that seven was the most powerfully magical number," said Snape. "He told me, his most loyal servant, where he hid them. One was a ring of his grandfather's--the wizard one, of course--, one was in Salazar Slytherin's locket, one in a diary from his Hogwart's day, his snake, Nagini, was one, and so was Rowena Ravenclaw's pendant."
Harry gasped inwardly. So most of Dumbledore's suspicions were true. "Was there anything else? Did he mention anything about another Horcrux?"
Snape screwed up his face with concentration. "He only ever mentioned riddles about his seventh Horcrux. He was always changing them up, trying to make it hard for me, and anyone else he might have told, to figure them out. That way if someone was spying on him, they wouldn't know all of his Horcruxes, only some."
"Were there any riddles that stayed the same," asked Hermione, "or were they always changed?"
"There was one that he never changed. He seemed almost fond of it; like it was a favorite rhyme, or something."
"Could you tell it to us?" asked Harry. This could be it. If they could decipher the riddle, they would have the location of all seven of Voldemort's Horcruxes; he was practically hanging off of his seat in anticipation.
"Of course," Snape said. "A possession of mine, the only one with a brother, hides a Horcrux, different from all the others. Long and narrow, commonplace and plain, something a Muggle would throw away. Often in use, yet just as often not, it is carried for safety, but often it's not. Held in the hand and yet dropped on the ground, neglected, by itself, it cannot make a sound."
The whole room sat, confused, where they were. The clues didn't seem to fit together at all, and they seemed to have nothing in common whatsoever. The only person moving, and not paralyzed in thought, was Hermione, who was quickly scribbling the riddle down on a piece of parchment.
Lupin, who was looking rather pale, stood up. "Is there anything else any of you would like to ask Severus?"
Harry, on a whim, made a non-committal sound in his throat, and stood up. "Can I ask one more question, if it's okay?"
Lupin nodded his approval. "Is it something you would like to ask in private, or is it okay if everyone hears it?"
Harry looked around at the people sitting in a semicircle around the kitchen table. Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Lupin, Tonks, Fred, and George were all looking at Harry curiously, wondering what more questions Harry had to ask.
"Yeah, it would be better if it was in private," muttered Harry. "It's not something I want everyone to hear."
"Okay," said Lupin. "If everyone could move to the perimeters of the room, I am going to put a Silencing Charm around the table."
Everyone obediently scooted their chairs to the edge of the room, and Ron and Hermione kept shooting puzzled looks in Harry's direction. He smiled grimly at them, and moved his chair right up to the kitchen table.
"Are you sure that you'll be safe in there with him?" asked Lupin. "The Veritaserum is due to wear off any moment, and he could wake up any time now."
"I have my wand," said Harry casually, "and I'll probably be able to fend him off right as he wakes up."
"Okay, Harry," said Lupin, still looking worried. "I'm going to put the Silencing Charm around the table. If we can still hear you talking, we'll tell you."
Harry nodded and folded his hands on the table. It wasn't really an important question, but he really wanted to know; he felt he had to know before he set out to avenge his parents.
He heard Lupin say, "Silencio," and all the sound was immediately blocked out. It felt as if a giant bubble had placed around him, Snape, and the table. Snape was looking expectantly at Harry, waiting for his question.
"How did you feel about the Potters?" asked Harry. "Lily and James, I mean."
"James I could have cared less about. I actually celebrated his death, in a way," Harry's insides burned and writhed with anger, "and I was happy to see the man who had made my school years horrible die. I was subject to extreme forms of curses, jinxes, and charms everyday when I walked down the corridor. I wasn't even safe when James was in the hospital wing, because Sirius would assume I had done something to him, and he would come after me. No, I had no feelings of remorse whatsoever towards James Potter after his death, and I didn't feel any regret towards betraying him to the Dark Lord.
Harry was mad. He was angrier than he had ever been in his entire life. He had heard Snape vent about his father before --had even seen what James and Sirius had done to him at school-- but he had never heard this before. Snape was actually happy because he had betrayed his father to Voldemort? He had celebrated his father's death?
This was practically too much to take for Harry, but he had to know how Snape felt about Lily. The rumor's of Snape's feelings towards her had always been in his mind, but no...surely not. Lily was a Muggle-born. Surely that had to mean Snape hated her just as much or more than his father?
"And how did you feel about Lily Potter?" asked Harry, his voice shaking slightly, almost frightened of what Snape's words might confirm.
A melancholy expression crossed Snape's face as he answered Harry. "Lily was the world to me. I don't think she knew how I felt about her, but as soon as she started defending me from James, I felt something for her. Maybe I thought she loved me, so I started trying to hang out with her. She was very sympathetic, and always listened when I talked about everything that was going wrong with my life. She was the only person I ever loved."
Harry sat there, staring numbly into the wood grain of the table. Snape had loved Lily...but had Lily loved Snape? Harry certainly hoped not, but he would have to find out, somehow. He promised himself he would use the Remittomission Charm Lupin had told him about to summon up his mother, and talk to her.
Harry walked out of the area surrounded by the Silencing Charm. He burst past Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, who were trying to see what was wrong with him; past the concerned-looking Mrs. Weasley who was trying to comfort him; and past Remus Lupin, who was standing, stunned, watching Harry leave the room, wand in his hand.
Harry burst up the stairs, went into the small room that he shared with Ron, slammed the door shut, and locked it. The whole while Snape's words kept repeating, over and over, in his head.
"I loved her."
"I loved her."
"I loved her."
"Harry, we know something's wrong with you, even if you won't tell us."
Hermione, Ron, and Ginny had been trying to convince him to tell them what was wrong with him for nearly an hour, but to no avail.
"I'm telling you guys, nothing is wrong with me!" Harry burst out angrily. "Other than you guys messing with me, that is!"
Hermione sat down on Harry's bed, looking abashed, but determined. "You look just like the day you broke up with Ginny. We know something must be wrong with you when you look like that."
Harry sat up and put his head in his hands. "Snape loved Lily."
Sudenly everyone in the room was paying attention.
"What?"
"Yeah, I said what I meant. When Lupin put Snape and I under the Silencing Charm I asked him how he felt about my mum and dad. Obviously he told me how much he hated James, but then when I asked about Lily, he told me how much he loved her," muttered Harry, his face in his pillow.
"There was something faulty with the Veritaserum," said Ron immediately, disbelief etched across his face.
"Ron, the potion was made by Snape himself," said Hermione. “What are the chances of it being wrong?”
"I don’t think Harry is enjoying this argument,” said Ginny quietly. “Maybe he wants to be alone right now. He just learned a lot, and he might want to think it over in his head.”
Hermione sighed and left the room, closely followed by Ginny, who shut the door with a snap. While they had been talking, the sky outside had slowly faded to a velvety blue, and it was late at night.
Harry looked out the window, eyes half-shut, at the moon. Did Lily really love James, or had she loved Snape? Had she played a significant role in both her and James’ deaths?
Wild ideas, becoming more absurd by the second, filled Harry’s brain until he finally sank into a troubled sleep.
The next few days passed practically without conversation, and everyone was particularly quiet around Harry. Though the only people who knew about his private conversation with Snape were Ron, Ginny, and Hermione (all of which he was sure would never tell anyone), everyone else seemed to guess that something was wrong with him. It felt, to Harry, as if he was on his death bed; people only spoke in quiet voices around him, gave him practically anything he wanted whenever he wanted it, and he continuously caught pitiful glances from the others out of the corner of his eye.
The entire day seemed planned: eat breakfast, clean the house, eat lunch, clean the house, eat dinner, attempt to unravel Voldemort’s Horcrux riddle, and toss and turn practically all night long. Finally, Harry had had enough.
"Why is everyone treating me this way?” Harry burst out in anger one afternoon and he, Ron, and Hermione scrubbed the wooden floors of the attic until they shone. “I’m not on my death bed or anything.”
"Well, Harry, I think it’s just that everyone can sense that something is wrong with you,” said Hermione reasonably. “You don’t sleep,” Harry shot an accusing look at Ron, “you barely eat, and you don’t look at Ginny nearly as much as you normally do.”
"How do you know I’ve been looking at Ginny?” asked Harry defiantly. “Maybe I don’t want to look at Ginny, anyway.”
"Harry, mate, don’t say that,” said Ron quietly. “I know you’re just trying to be right, but don’t say that. I know you love Ginny, and I know she loves you right back.”
"Yeah, after I dumped her so she would be safe, I’m sure she still loves me.”
"She asked me to talk to you, and to tell you how she feels. I may not have much experience in these matters,” said Ron, “She told me how she feels, and I know how you feel, and you need to get back together.”
"Harry, it’s true, you know,” said Hermione. “Go talk to her. Now.”
Harry gave her an analytical look. “Are you telling me to stop working in favor of my personal life?”
"Oh, forbid that I have a heart,” she said scathingly. “Go talk to her or I’ll hex you.”
With the threat of Hermione’s spell work pushing him along, Harry walked as slowly as possibly to Ginny’s room.
When he finally got there he stopped. He couldn’t do this. He had already dumped her, and now he was going to beg for her forgiveness. Did that seem even remotely right?
"She loves you, and you love her. So you were stupid; it probably won’t be the last time you make a mistake. Talk to her, Harry, and she’ll talk to you, too.”
Harry spun around, worried that what he had heard might have been out loud. Having no idea where the voice had come from, he peered around the corner, looking for a source.
Harry gasped. Sitting on a handsomely carved oak-wood stand was a milky-white orb, filled with swirling silver clouds. And on the surface of that orb was a highly familiar face: the face of Sirius Black.