[Prof Umbridge] Chapter 56

“You’ve heard enough, I presume, Mr. Potter?” Snape asked coldly, and Harry nodded.

“Letty,” Marina Nikolaevna called softly, and when the house-elf appeared, she asked, “How did he end up by the door?”

“You told me to keep an eye on him, ma’am,” Letty whispered, “so he wouldn’t cause any trouble or come to harm. But Harry Potter didn’t do anything wrong; he just came here for some reason and overheard the conversation. You didn’t order me not to let him in, and the door…”

“And I forgot to lock the door,” she nodded. “Alright, Letty, stay close just in case. Mr. Potter?”

“Yes, ma’am. I heard everything,” Harry said gloomily. “And… Madam Ingebjorg showed me. I didn’t believe it.”

“And now you believe it? After eavesdropping on us?”

“Exactly!” he burst out. “You… you were being real just now! You told each other everything, honestly—about my parents, about… everything! And with me…”

“And with you, we lied so much that when you finally heard and saw the truth, you couldn’t accept it,” Snape interjected. “Take a seat, Potter. And stop flinching—I’m not poisonous. Not inherently.”

Harry sat down opposite Snape, next to Marina Nikolaevna.

“Why did you come here, Mr. Potter?” she asked, signaling Letty to bring more tea.

“I wanted to ask if I could swap detention with Madam Ingebjorg for something else… even scrubbing cauldrons,” he glanced at Snape, “because seeing… that stuff gives me nightmares.”

“Something like what happened with Mr. Weasley?”

“No,” Harry shook his head. “That time… I became the snake. And then there were other times—I saw through Voldemort’s eyes, I was him! But this… these are just nightmares. About myself, my aunt and uncle, Dudley, and…” He glanced at Snape and added, “And you were there too.”

“No doubt as the boggart from the cupboard under the stairs,” Snape smirked.

“No, no… It was…” Harry hesitated. “You’ll kill me if I say it.”

“As headmistress, I forbid Professor Snape from killing Harry Potter without mutual consent confirmed in writing and witnessed by an official,” Marina Nikolaevna declared, completely serious. “Severus, did you hear me?”

“I am not hard of hearing,” he replied. “So, Potter, what form did I take in your dreams? I do hope they weren’t erotic nightmares?”

“Severus, I asked you to stop joking!” Marina Nikolaevna hissed.

“It was everything I saw in the Pensieve,” Harry said, ignoring Snape’s last comment. “And earlier… accidentally…”

He cast a fleeting glance at Snape, who remained silent.

“It wasn’t me in Voldemort’s memories; those dreams were different, more like watching a film. But when Dumbledore told you I had to die, that… that…”

“Mr. Potter,” Marina Nikolaevna began, “listen…”

“Why didn’t he tell me?” Harry cut her off. “Why couldn’t he just explain that… I don’t know… it’s the way the magical world works, that what’s said in the prophecy has to happen whether I want it to or not? Like Madam Ingebjorg says: ‘Do what you must, and let what will be, be!’ If I’d known, I’d have gone and tried to tear Voldemort’s head off myself—right now, for my parents, for everyone! Maybe I’d die, he’s stronger, but at least I’d know why I was doing it!”

“Wow…” Snape breathed in admiration, earning a kick to the ankle from Marina Nikolaevna.

“And I didn’t even know why I was so… important,” Harry continued. “I survived, and so what? I didn’t defeat Voldemort when I was a baby—my mum protected me! What did I have to do with it? All this time, I was forced into things, or I got involved myself, but…”

“You stumbled into these adventures out of sheer stupidity,” Snape couldn’t resist. “But it’s hereditary—it happens.”

“Severus, one more word and you won’t get off with just a Silencing Charm!” Marina Nikolaevna hissed. “Letty…”

“No need, Madam Umbridge,” Harry interrupted. “Let him… let Professor talk. He’s always said these things, but…”

“But you needed a faint whisper of truth to drift through the keyhole before you’d not just hear but actually think about my words?” Snape said with mock surprise. “Well, I never—I thought I’d waste my breath on you until the end of my days!”

“Whose end?”

“What difference does it make? One way or another, one of us will fall silent. Maybe both.”

There was a pause.

“I’m probably not very smart,” Harry said suddenly.

“You’re not stupid, just underdeveloped,” Snape complimented. “And that’s not your fault—growing up in your conditions is something I wouldn’t wish on an enemy…”

“Right! And Voldemort grew up in an orphanage, and look what he managed to do!”

“Mr. Potter, are you suggesting that if you’d been sent to an orphanage instead of your aunt and uncle, you could have outdone Voldemort?” Marina Nikolaevna asked.

He shook his head.

“No. In those memories… there was so much, it’s hard to make sense of it. But I got the impression he was very… very…”

“Ambitious?”

“Yeah! And I just wanted to be left alone and live quietly… that’s all.”

“That’s what you say now,” Snape sighed. “But if you’d lived in an orphanage from the start, who knows what kind of monster you might have become.”

“Ingebjorg always says there’s no point in speculating about what didn’t happen,” Marina Nikolaevna reminded. “Mr. Potter, I understand it’s difficult for you to put your thoughts into words, but do try. I’m afraid we don’t have much time.”

“I don’t know what else to say,” Harry admitted after a pause. “Everything… everything turned out different from what I thought. You… I’m sorry, Madam Umbridge, but I couldn’t stand you! I hated you…”

“I’m not surprised,” Snape interjected, “her character is abominable—not every witch is that unpleasant.”

“You should talk, Severus, with your angelic disposition,” Marina Nikolaevna sighed. “Now let Mr. Potter finish—you're distracting him!”

“I’m saying, I don’t know what else to say!” Harry sniffled, staring at his hands before lifting his gaze to meet Snape’s. “Everything was wrong. You wanted to save me, not get me killed, but it was all for nothing. You didn’t know I’d have to die, did you, sir?”

“I didn’t know,” Snape replied after a long pause, holding Harry’s gaze. “If I had, I would never have sworn that oath. But, Potter, my catastrophic mistake at least has an excuse—and it’s not my age.”

“You… you…”

“I was an idiot,” Snape declared with relish. “Not intellectually, mind you. I just let emotions override reason, and here we are!”

“Severus, you loved Lily Evans, didn’t you?” Marina Nikolaevna reminded.

“In the past tense, Dolores,” he said seriously. “In the past. Yes, I suppose I did. But truthfully? I wanted her to be mine and only mine, like back before Hogwarts, maybe that first summer. Following me around, hanging on my every word, asking me to teach her something new… And then our paths diverged, only I didn’t realize it in time. Neither did she, probably. We were the same age as this young man here,” Snape nodded toward Harry, “and every insult felt fatal, every argument permanent…”

Marina Nikolaevna double-checked the tea—no unexpected additives inducing openness.

“I’m the spitting image of my father, aren’t I?” Harry spoke up. “Is that why you took it out on me?”

“Of course,” Snape replied seriously. “Unfortunately, punching him in the face is no longer an option. A pity. And you—too young. Even now, I could take you down with one blow, Potter, no wand needed.”

“You were just waiting for me to grow up… sir?” Harry raised an eyebrow.

“What’s the point? Your father, as arrogant as he was, could hold his own in a fight. You? Without Madam Umbridge’s lessons, you’d have been useless. Though who knows if your dad could have managed against me without magic; where I grew up, we practiced... well, let’s call it no-holds-barred combat.”

“Gentlemen, you’re getting sidetracked,” Marina Nikolaevna reminded them. “Perhaps you could discuss Mr. Potter’s parents and everything related to them some other time?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Harry said. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it because… because Professor Snape—”

“Can provoke even a stone statue,” Marina Nikolaevna finished. “Get used to it; he’s too old to change.”

“That’s not true—I’m in my prime, as you yourself said,” Snape couldn’t help but interject. “Ahem... Potter, as much as it disgusts me to say this, I regret my part in all of this. I truly didn’t know you were being groomed as a sacrificial lamb. Had I not sworn to protect you... Well, you’d have likely broken your neck during your first Quidditch match when Quirrell knocked you off your broom. Then again, you’ve had plenty of opportunities to get yourself killed since then…”

“I remember, sir,” Harry smirked crookedly. “But it wasn’t time yet, was it? Is that why the phoenix came?”

“I have no idea.”

“I can’t kill Voldemort,” Harry said seriously. “He… I don’t know if he’s stronger, but he definitely knows more. I might not get lucky again, right? Not like with the phoenix, or at the cemetery…”

“Potter remains as modest and self-critical as ever,” Snape remarked. “And stop kicking me, Dolores!”

“One more quip, and I’ll ask Letty to gag you,” Marina Nikolaevna said.

“For what purpose? Do you think my turning Potter’s dramatic self-sacrifice into a farce—because that’s what it is—changes anything?”

“A farce?” Harry echoed.

“Yes, Potter, a farce! Surely you understand that one of you must die? But he won’t die as long as you live because you’re a Horcrux. Did Ingebjorg explain that to you, or not?”

“She did. Voldemort can’t be killed while I’m alive. But if the part of him inside me—the Horcrux—is destroyed, then it’s possible. But I…” Harry shut his eyes. “I’m scared… Dumbledore wanted me to go willingly; I understood that much. But I… I can’t. Please, if there’s a way to remove it so I can survive, do it!”

“And if there isn’t?” Marina Nikolaevna asked softly, hugging him by the shoulders.

“Then at least I’ll know I didn’t die for nothing!” Harry buried his face in his knees. “And you’ll… finish it. I’m useless anyway; I can’t do anything. Everything I’ve done… someone helped me!”

“That’s not true. You’ve performed well in my classes.”

“In class, not against Voldemort! I can’t do it alone, I—”

Harry broke down, crying like a child. Marina Nikolaevna was struck by his gesture—first, he pulled off his worn glasses and placed them on the table before letting himself cry.

“Mr. Potter… Harry!” She pulled him into a hug. Snape stared at them, clearly trying to compose himself. “Letty, fetch Ingebjorg. We can’t figure this out without her…”

The house-elf vanished, and Marina Nikolaevna stroked Harry’s messy black hair.

“Harry, this wasn’t our plan,” she said.

“I know…”

“We don’t want you to die. Truly. Even Professor Snape.”

“That, I don’t believe, ma’am!” Harry laughed involuntarily. “I don’t believe it…”

“I’m not kissing him,” Snape remarked dryly.

“No need. Oaf,” Marina Nikolaevna said gloomily, gently holding the young man.
Had anyone ever hugged him before? Not his friends after a Quidditch win, not his godfather—oh, his godfather was a fool himself!—but someone…

“Dolores?” Snape’s eyes were wide with fear, but she silently pressed a finger to her lips.

He nodded and fell silent. He might have sat down next to them, but… At least he bit his tongue!

“I… don’t want to die…” Harry managed to say after some time. “I know I have to, but I don’t want to! I… I’m scared! But you’ll help, won’t you? You…”

“We won’t promise anything,” Ingebjorg said, stepping out of the deep shadows. “Sorry, boy, but that’s all we can offer. Prophecies fulfill themselves, one way or another.”

“And the sooner, the better?” Harry asked quietly. “Yeah, true. Let’s just get it over with, please! Otherwise, I’ll… I’ll get too scared and run away. I…”

“You fear death,” Ingebjorg nodded. “Don’t be afraid. It’s not yours. Come on… And you too, what are you standing around for?”

Marina Nikolaevna glanced at Snape—his expression was strange. Calm and even satisfied, but so detached it worried her. He asked:

“Lady Ingebjorg, we’re doing this right now, all at once?”

“Do you have any other ideas? No? Then let’s proceed…” The old witch placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder, looked him in the eye, and asked, “Are you ready, boy?”

“No. I’m scared,” he repeated.

“Of what? Death? You’re nodding? What exactly in death do you fear? Pain? Agony? You’ve felt those more than once; you know they’re not so terrible.”

“True… not terrible,” he admitted. “But…”

“Afraid your friends will forget you? That won’t happen.”

“Yeah… they won’t forget. Never. Neither friends nor enemies!” Harry smiled.

“Then what are you afraid of?” Ingebjorg asked quietly. “Not seeing the so-called Dark Lord defeated? Hardly a reason…”

“He’s afraid of being alone,” Marina Nikolaevna said, stepping closer. “He’s been alone his entire life. Friends, his godfather… it’s not the same. They don’t know everything.”

“Tell Sirius I love him very much, and our fight—it happens,” Harry blurted out. “And Ron… give Ron my broom; he’s always dreamed of it! And the cloak—to Hermione, when the time is right. That’s all… And please, let’s do it quickly, or I’ll… I’ll change my mind…”

“Letty, take us all to the hospital wing,” Marina Nikolaevna ordered. “And inform the Aurors so they don’t panic. Is everything ready?”

“It’s been ready,” Ingebjorg replied and gestured to Hrafn. He approached and gave a signal—everything was set.

“As long as it’s not in vain,” Harry said, sitting on a cot and habitually removing his glasses. “Sir… My dad was a complete idiot, wasn’t he?”

“No,” Snape replied after a pause. “He was intelligent, unlike you. But a real scoundrel, just like your godfather.”

“Thanks, sir… I won’t ask about my mom. Let’s just do this…”

“If you can’t, let Ingebjorg handle it,” Marina Nikolaevna said softly. “Letty, bring Professor Snape…”

“I’ll do it myself,” Snape said when the house-elf returned. “I swore…”

A song filled the silence—a beautiful melody that seemed to resonate inside rather than out. Light spread everywhere…

“I am not giving him up!” Marina Nikolaevna heard a fierce cry after being knocked to the ground. “Get away!...”

“Sir, wait!”

“Boy, don’t—”

Three voices merged into one; the sound of shattering glass, a scream…

Silence fell.

Marina Nikolaevna got to her knees.

"Severus..." she whispered.

"Yes," he smiled, tying a bloodied cloth around his wrist. "How absurd, Dolores... A shard of a basilisk venom vial... Just one sliver of glass was enough!"

"No, this can't be happening... it can't..." She stopped herself. "Where is Potter?"

"He was carried off by a winged seraph," Snape replied. "Heading straight for Voldemort, I imagine. Maybe you'll still have time to save him." (1)

"Severus!"

"What? I protected him with my life, as I swore I would. Shielded him... and you, by the way. 

That's it. I can't do anything more, Dolores. But I do have one last request for you..."

"Well?!"

"Kill that bastard and spit on him on my behalf," Snape said seriously. His eyes were already rolling back, his speech slurred. "And one more thing, Dolores..."

"What?"

She leaned closer to hear his faint whisper, and was rewarded for her effort.

"You're incredible in bed..."

‘Why, you son of a bitch,’ Marina Nikolaevna thought, straightening up. She called out,

"Ingebjorg! Are you alive?"

"Apparently," came the response, accompanied by the clattering of something in the corner.

"If this bastard dies," Marina Nikolaevna nodded toward Snape, "I'll fire you and Hrafn together. 

Try your methods on this body!"

"And what will you do?" the seer asked curiously, tapping her staff none too gently against the professor, who muttered a faint curse.

"I’ll move on."

She unfastened the clasp of her cloak at the neck and let it drop.
"Letty, find Orford Umbridge. Tell him it's urgent."

"Yes, madam..."

A few more steps down the corridor—her footsteps echoed, someone following behind.
"Father?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you."

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(1) Yep, it is a sconfusing in the original as here. Comments from other readers interpret this scene as Dambledor being the one to shout “I am not giving him up”, and instead of “seraph” it should be phoenix. The next chapter confirms that.