Shadows || A Severus Snape Fanfiction

Chapter 24 - The Lies of Albus Dumbledore

Dumbledore stayed very quiet. Asha felt embarrassed to have shared her farfetched theory and hastily moved on.

"But that's not what's important," she said, staring determinedly at her shoelaces, "it's everything else! I've tried so hard to ignore it and to keep going, but I can't take it anymore. I think... I think I'm going insane." At the last word, her voice broke. She risked a glance at Dumbledore and found his expression was one of profound concern. Her heart was pounding again. Everything felt surreal. What was wrong with her?! Asha heard the rustling of robes as the headmaster simply stood up and turned to face the wall of portraits behind him. Her anger stirred.

"Albus," Snape began in a calm, drawling voice from the back of the room, "Miss Winters has just been in my classroom where she used wandless magic to shatter every jar of ingredients that lined the walls." Dumbledore showed no sign of having heard him. Snape's tone became wry and conceited; "I was unable to rectify the damage."

Now Dumbledore visibly tensed; both he and Severus understood the gravity of this fact. Only items broken by a powerful curse were unable to be mended with magic.

When Dumbledore still didn't reply, Asha's anger burst from the cave in which it had been lurking. She jumped to her feet and yelled: "SAY SOMETHING!" The headmaster slowly turned around. To Asha's horror, she saw he had tears in his eyes.

Severus was shocked and repelled. He had gathered that this was a serious and potentially dangerous matter, but the sorrow in the old man's eyes... What on earth had Albus done?

"I wish you had come to me sooner, Asha," said Dumbledore. "I had no idea things had deteriorated to such an extent. I'm so sorry you didn't feel comfortable to confide in me."

Asha's breath caught in her throat and she backed away from his desk.

"What do you mean?" she asked in a voice that didn't sound like her own, "tell me what you know!"

"Asha, I think you should sit down," Dumbledore said gently.

"STOP TELLING ME TO FUCKING SIT DOWN!!" Asha yelled, her fear and anguish boiling over the top, "JUST TELL ME THE TRUTH!" Her desperation for answers outweighed the suffocating dread that screamed at her to run from whatever those answers might be.

"In order to explain, I need you to answer a question for me," said Dumbledore, stepping around his desk to approach her.

Asha almost screamed in frustration. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth with such force she felt sure her jaw was about to snap. At the same time, she clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms in an effort to fight back the tsunami of emotion.

Crack!

The ground lurched violently. Asha didn't have to open her eyes to know what had happened, but that didn't make what she saw any less shocking when she did. A deep fissure, about a meter long, ran through the stone floor between her feet. Snape stiffened and cautiously brought his wand to his side. Dumbledore just looked at Asha with what she could only describe as pity. She hated him for it.

"Asha," said Dumbledore softly, "I will not talk to you while you are in this state. You need to calm down."

Coincidently, Asha already felt much calmer than she had a second ago. The release of magic had dulled the intensity of her emotions, leaving her numb. She turned away from Dumbledore and Snape and crossed her arms as if to stop herself from doing any more damage. Focussing on the flame of a flickering candle, she attempted to dissociate from herself; to observe her thoughts and emotions as an outsider. It was something Asha did often when she felt herself beginning to sink into the depths of her grief for Cole. She was aware of Snape still standing silently behind her and could almost feel the anchor of control he represented. She took a steadying breath, relaxed her arms by her sides and turned around.

"Okay," she said, looking Dumbledore in the eye, "what is your question?"

Dumbledore also seemed to be steadying himself and took his time before speaking.

"On your first day at Hogwarts, you told me why you and your brother were given your names," he said slowly. "Please, remind me."

Asha bit back her exasperation and replied stiffly, "Because we were found on the doorstep of St Andrews on the day of the Winter Wildfires." Then, unable to contain herself, "Why is this relev-"

"I don't believe that's the full name of the event," interrupted Dumbledore. Meanwhile, Snape was utterly perplexed. He knew Albus would have a purpose for bringing this up.

"Look," Asha snapped, "Just stop. I don't see what this had to do with-" Her words died in her throat. She stared at the wall with unfocused eyes as her mind tried to piece things together. No... "I don't understand..." she murmured, "...1974."

She met Dumbledore's knowing eyes. He gave a tiny nod.

"The Winter Wildfires of 1974," she breathed, "but... that's impossible." Her moment of suspended disbelief was abruptly ended:

"What have you done, Albus?" came Snape's growling voice.

"It was the safest option," said Dumbledore.

Asha hardly heard the conversation. Her malfunctioning mind was unable to comprehend what Dumbledore was telling her. She couldn't wrap her head around it.

"How many years have you stole from her?!" barked Snape.

"Not stolen, Severus. They are not lost. She still holds them."

"You must remove whatever ridiculous experimental magic you've placed on her this instant!" said Snape, almost at the point of yelling. "It's not strong enough. She is breaking through and it is breaking her. You must return them."

"What have you taken from me?" Asha asked in a trembling voice, refusing to believe what her foggy mind had finally pieced together.

Snape and Dumbledore fell silent. Asha felt like she was about to pass out. She looked pleadingly into Snape's hard eyes. His face twitched and he turned away, stalking to the other side of the room.

"Memories, Asha", Dumbledore said softly, "Five years of memories."

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A/N: Oh shiiiiiit... drop a vote if u saw that coming lol