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Chapter 15: A "Memorable" Evening

Melodia and Harry returned to his bedroom and she prepared herself to answer some very difficult questions.

"Please Melodia," Harry almost begged. "I have to know what happened. How did Dumbledore survive the Avada Kedavra? I saw Snape kill him!" She could see that he was excited, confused, happy, and frustrated all at once.

Melodia took him by the arm tenderly, "Harry slow down. It's ok." She said, helping him to his feet. She stepped to the foot of his bed and sat down, patting the mattress beside her. "Sit down here and I will tell you what I can."

"I just can't believe this. I mean its great and all, but I don't understand." he said, shaking his head.

"I know you don't Harry, and that is why I came for you. Uncle Albus and Professor Snape wanted to be the ones to explain everything to you, and that is one of the reasons you are to accompany me back to headquarters." She told him firmly.

"Snape? You mean he is there with you?" he demanded.

"Yes he is, Harry. I told you, he and Uncle Albus will explain everything to you when we arrive back at headquarters," she answered uneasily.

"What are you talking about? I watched Snape try to kill Dumbledore! I thought he had killed him. Why is he there?" Harry was suddenly very angry. "Why isn't he in Azkaban? Or better yet, DEAD!"

The thought of Severus dead or in Azkaban disturbed her terribly.

"Professor Snape," Melodia corrected, "did not try to murder my uncle. This was a carefully devised plan between the two of them, along with a few other members of the Order; however, something did go immensely awry with the timing of it. But I can assure you, it was planned down to the very last detail," she paused anticipating a retort.

"Everyone there witnessed exactly what you did, they had to. It had to be real to everyone that Severus murdered my uncle." Harry sat gazing at her, mouth open, but did not speak.

"And it was! So you see," she continued, "there was no reason for Professor Snape to be jailed, much less killed, Harry," she assured him easily.

Harry's expression didn't change. If what she said was true, I am being 'handled' again, the same way I was the two summers ago! He thought bitterly remembering how secrets were kept from him and lies had been told to him, because everyone was more concerned with keeping him safely in the dark than they were with telling him the truth. God forbid anyone be honest with me. His face was reddening with fury.

Before he could stop himself, he raged, "WHY WOULD EVERYONE KEEP ME IN THE DARK ABOUT SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AS THIS?

DOES NO ONE REALIZE THAT THAT I'VE MOURNED FOR WEEKS OVER SOMEONE THAT IS ALIVE?

HOW ABOUT THAT I FULLY INTENDED TO FIND SNAPE AND KILL HIM, BECAUSE I THOUGHT HE MURDERED DUMBLEDORE!

DOES ANYONE CARE HOW UPSET I'VE BEEN? DUMBLEDORE IS MY FRIEND!

HE'S MY MENTOR, AND I'VE ...I..." his voice broke suddenly. He removed his glasses and began to sob again.

Melodia's heart went out to him. Instinctively, she pulled him into her arms and held him close.

"Harry, I don't blame you for being angry and hurt. Truly I don't." she said truthfully.

"I do know that for whatever reason, Uncle Albus, Severus, and the other Order members involved believed it would be best if you didn't know. I promise you, though that you were not the only person who was 'kept in the dark' as you put it." She tried to comfort him.

Harry sniffled, and collapsed against Melodia in hard sobs again as he clung to her desperately.

Allowing his emotions to flow freely, she tenderly rocked him back and forth in a motherly fashion. "Shhhh, it's alright Harry.

"Listen, there were several members of the Order who learned of this plan only a couple of days ago, during the final meeting of The Order" she soothed as she held his trembling form in her arms.

"They were all just like you, Harry. Every one of them believed Severus to be a murderer or an attempted murderer until he walked into the room and Uncle explained things to them."

"Believe me, they were just as surprised as you are now," she explained smoothly. He sniffled again as his sobs quieted.

"I know this a lot to dump on you all at once, Harry, and no one is sorrier than I am for the misplaced grief and anger you have experienced over the last several weeks," she soothed again.

Harry's anger dissipated as she held him, but was still confused and hurt. He was grateful for Melodia's kindness and warmth. No one had ever been there to comfort him this way.

At last, he released his hold on her, and she gently loosened her embrace and he sat up straight once more.

"Better?" she asked softly brushing his hair away from his tear stained face. Harry nodded wiping his eyes with his sleeve again. He was still speechless, but his trembling had subsided.

He finally found his voice and croaked weakly, "Yeah, I'm alright now, I think." Melodia smiled again.

"Ok, Harry, if you're ready, I think we should visit the Pensive again," she advised knowledgeably.

He didn't know what he would see next, but given the news he had just been surprised with, he felt he needed to be prepared for anything.

She reached over and took him by the hand as she knelt down to the rim of the Pensive again. They swirled around again, only to land in the same house that Dumbledore was in before. This time, however, it was Remus Lupin speaking with Melodia. They were talking about Draco and Narcissa Malfoy! Harry was astonished.

"Don't tell me you have them too!" he exclaimed. "I know he was trying to kill Dumbledore!"

"Severus helped them fake their deaths, Harry. They would have died at the hands of Voldemort and his Death Eaters otherwise. Severus is also presumed dead by the 'self proclaimed Dark Lord', thanks to Uncle Albus; otherwise, the lot of them would be hunted down and murdered for real," she said shakily.

Harry remembered hearing Draco say that Voldemort would kill him and his whole family, and that Dumbledore offered to help him. It all made sense now, in a strange sort of way, and although he was feeling a bit better about it all, he still had loads of questions to ask.

The next memory was of Snape and Melodia in Dumbledore's room when he woke from his sleep. It touched and surprised Harry to see how concerned Severus was over him. This was clearly a side of Snape that he had never seen.

Before he realized it, they were alone in his room again.

"May I ask you a favor, Harry?" she asked hopefully.

Harry nodded, "Sure what is it?"

"I think it would be of benefit to me, maybe even to both us, if I could see what happened that night, just as you witnessed it," she suggested cautiously.

"What?" he asked, "Why? How do you think it would help?" he asked curiously. Melodia shrugged and smiled crookedly.

"Well, mainly so that I can see everything just as you saw it happen. I think it would give me insight into your prospective."

She paused for a moment then continued, "You see, I have heard a lot about the events of that night, and although I believe what I was told, it is very difficult to imagine." She lowered her head as she said it.

She looked up at him again, and asked, "Will you take me there, Harry? I mean, it may be easier for you, now that you know what really happened." Harry put a hand on her shoulder, realizing she may be right.

"Yeah, ok. If you really want to, I will take you there." He smiled at her and she hugged him sweetly.

"Thank you, Harry. Here- take your wand, and...." She demonstrated the procedure as she spoke, "bring that memory clearly to the front of your mind, and draw it out."

He took his wand and asked, "Where should we begin?" he wanted to know. Melodia thought for moment.

"Wherever you feel is appropriate, I guess," and offered gently.

Holding the wand to his temple he concentrated on the events of that night, and drew memories from his mind and deposited them into the Pensive, just as he had seen it done, so many times before.

It was an odd sensation, but he found that by doing this, his mind was more at rest. It was actually a relief to get rid of this for a while.

Melodia held her hand out to him, and once again, they knelt over the Pensive and were drawn into the massive swirls of white memories.

She held fast to Harry's hand as she watched her uncle take him into the cave. She saw him shed his own blood to overcome one barrier, and her eyes filled with tears as she heard him refuse to let Harry do this, because his blood was worth more. She heard him instruct Harry to make him drink the potion regardless of what he said to him. She faltered a bit when she watched her uncle drink the Draft of Living Death until he hallucinated as if he were going mad.

Her head was reeling, as they left the cave and reached Hogsmeade. She knew this scene was not about to improve, so she continued to hold fast to Harry's hand. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and they watched the scene on the tower progress....Albus was weak, asking Harry to get Severus, fighting to stay awake and alert to complete his task. She saw the Deatheaters, and trembled violently with rage. So that's the ones, huh? She thought to herself. Those bastards killed my parents, almost ruined my life with Severus she surmised angrily.

Harry felt her tremble and momentarily mistook it for fear. When he looked into her face, he realized that she was not afraid at all. She was infuriated. He said nothing, but continued to watch.

She watched Harry put on the invisibility cloak, and heard Albus tell him to go and wake Severus, and instructed him to speak to no one else.

Then Draco Malfoy appeared, Harry was frozen, and unable to move or speak.

She saw Draco's attitude change from murder driven to frightened child and tears welled in her eyes again as she heard her uncle offer him the deal that he and his mother were eventually persuaded by Severus to accept.

Suddenly, her heart leapt, it was Severus. He looked oddly angry and frustrated. She heard her uncle call to him, "Severus please," and then watched as he delivered the killing curse to Albus and flee.

Her mind was reeling and she had developed quite a headache. No wonder everyone wanted him dead. This play was carried out very efficiently. Everyone played their part to perfection. If it had not been so upsetting, she would have been proud at that moment. But she was not.

The last scene she witnessed was Harry chasing after Severus who had his hands full blocking curses along the way, then the confrontation between them.

Her uncle was right they looked as if they could kill each other.

Melodia let go of Harry's hand and allowed herself to return to his bedroom.

She collapsed to her knees in tears, crying for Harry, her uncle, and most of all for Severus. No wonder he was so grim the night he arrived. Although she had no idea what he did next, she remembered how tired he looked, and how worried he was for Albus and the Malfoys.

"Oh Severus, I am so sorry. I'm so sorry for all of you," she sobbed quietly.

Suddenly a hand rested on her shoulder, and instinctively she reached without looking to pat Harry's hand and assure him that she was fine.

"Oh Harry, that was just awful. I understand now. I don't know what to say." She said still sobbing softly. The hand she touched was smooth and strong.

"Don't cry, Love. Just say that you love me." Severus said as he knelt beside her and took her in his arms.