To do what is right (A Harry/Severus friendship fic- alternate DH ending)

Chapter 3

“Then why did you trust him to begin with? It was a huge risk, especially considering what he did to my dad.”

“Oh!” Dumbledore responded, surprised. “You saw the memory where Severus used Sectumsempra against your father?” he inquired sounding deeply curious.

“Yes, I mean, if I was Headmaster and saw a student do that, I would be very reluctant to trust them in future.”

“Well Harry, while I never truly understood the pain Severus was going through during his years at Hogwarts, I did know one thing: he went into a girl’s bathroom, followed Lily around wherever she went for at least 2 weeks after he called that terrible name and I knew through Legilimency that Severus attacked your father out of anger and disappointment because Lily was no longer his. I knew that he cared deeply for her, but I felt, rather foolishly, that it was an affection rather than true love. I think we both now know that what Severus felt for Lily back then and to this day is much more than some trivial childhood crush, which I regret to admit is what I believed until the day Severus gave me his allegiance.”

“When Professor Snape used Sectumsempra against my dad, you didn’t recognize the curse, did you?”

Albus shook his head. “It is for that reason and for my own curiosity as well, I suppose, that I requested Severus to mend your father. As I had suspected, it was of Severus’ own creation. While it concerned me that a student would create something so dark and dangerous, I also knew that if Voldemort managed to gain his support, Severus would be a great asset to him. I am truly grateful that he is now on our side, otherwise as you now know, I may not have lived at all last year…”

Harry nodded; he completely agreed and could hardly believe that something this significant- that Professor Snape’s life- was more relevant to him than he would ever have guessed.

“One thing I haven’t been able to get out of my mind is when Professor Snape was mending my dad, he was crying and before he left, my dad apologized to him… it was so unexpected…” Harry trailed off, feeling a little guilty that he thought so little of his father.

“Ah yes,” Albus recollected, a small smile on his face. “I remember that well. I believe, though perhaps you should ask Severus himself, he knew he wasn’t truly provoked by James. While he hated the fact that your mother had chosen James, the boy who had humiliated him countless of times in front of the school, he also knew that Lily’s choice was not James’ fault. I believe the Sectumsempra curse was a sign of his anger towards both James and Lily and after he did the damage he felt that even he went too far. Perhaps Severus was upset because he had hurt Lily by cursing James or because he knew that he was going to be in huge trouble for using dark magic on a student who apparently did nothing to deserve it. And yet, I feel we must also acknowledge how much Severus suffered under James’ and Sirius’ tactics, and understand that had Severus been a truly terrible person and no one else been around, he could have killed James with that curse and Severus knew that,” Dumbledore explained rather philosophically.

“And the apology?”

“I feel James’ apology was in response to Severus’ tears. I think it was only in that moment that James truly realized just how much Severus cared for Lily. Obviously James knew why he was attacked; he had taken Lily from Severus, and I suppose he was apologizing for causing him so much pain. What may be of interest to you is that throughout their seventh year, Severus was never humiliated by James and I believe, the only times he was cursed was by Sirius when James was not around.”

Harry smiled. “So my dad backed off after that?”

“Yes he did, but I regret to say that it did not reduce how much Severus hated and despised him.”