Chapter 77 - Suspicion & Trust
I looked at the three of them and asked, "And who is it?"
Ron answered immediately.
"It's Snape!"
"Snape was the one cursing Harry's broom! He was muttering and chanting something the whole time during the match, and was staring at him without blinking," Ron said excitedly. "We both saw it!"
He pointed toward Hermione. Hermione nodded quickly, agreeing quickly.
"Yes. And it was me who set Professor Snape's cloak on fire. And right after that, Harry's broom stopped acting mad!"
Ron continued before she could say more.
"Exactly when Snape got distracted, and was not focusing at Harry, the broom was good again!"
Harry looked uncertain, but he nodded too. Ron folded his arms proudly.
"He wants to kill Harry. He's Head of Slytherin after all. And everyone knows Slytherins are all followers of You-Know-Who."
Ron continued ranting about Slytherin House, dark wizards, evil plots, and how Snape was probably the assistant of the "Head Evil Wizard of Evil."
I raised a hand.
"Ron, stop. Keep your voice down."
He stopped. Then I turned toward Harry.
"Harry, what do you think?"
Harry hesitated.
"I don't know, Arthur," he admitted honestly. "But Ron and Hermione are telling the truth."
"And on Halloween, when the troll attacked, Professor Snape's leg was injured too. It looked like something had bitten him. So, maybe he was trying to do something bad."
"So you think Snape wanted to harm you?", I asked for confirmation.
Harry nodded, slowly and hesitantly, as he also remembered few things about our meeting with him a few years back, before I even started at Hogwarts.
Then, I slowly crouched down a little so I could look Harry directly in the eyes.
"Harry. Remember one thing. Anybody in this world may hurt you."
He looked back at me seriously as I continued quietly.
"Anybody except family. Mom, Dad, Dudley, Me. Anybody else may hurt you."
"But not Professor Snape. You have to know this."
The three children stared at me, stunned.
Ron looked horrified.
"What? Why?"
"But he's one of You-Know-Who's old followers! Everybody knows that."
I nodded calmly.
"Ron, listen to me. I know exactly who Professor Snape was, and I know more about him than many people."
Ron looked shocked that I admitted it so openly.
"But I will say this only once," I continued.
"Anybody in this world can harm Harry, except a single person and that is Snape. If there is one person in this entire world who would willingly live and die for Harry Potter, it is Severus Snape. And he will do it without showing anyone what you mean to him."
'He will rather identify and be labelled as evil and villain than rather showing how much he care for Harry. There are people who will die for Harry willingly, but the only person who will live for him and not expect anything from Harry, not even gratitude, is Severus Snape.'
Hermione immediately narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. Unlike Ron who was ready to counter me with rumours about Snape, she focused on the important part.
"Why?" she asked the critical question quietly. "Why would he do that? Do you know something?"
I looked at her for a moment. Clever girl indeed.
"Yes," I admitted. "I know something, but it is not the right time for you three to hear it."
Ron groaned loudly.
"Oh come on!"
Harry also looked curious now.
"What does it have to do with me?"
I shook my head.
"It is related to the previous generation Harry."
"The previous generation?" Hermione repeated softly.
I nodded.
"Yes. Don't think about this or search deeply, but just trust me on this. You will hear many things about Professor Snape in the future. Some true. Some false. But remember this carefully."
I looked directly at Harry again.
"If someday you are in danger and I am not nearby, then you can trust Professor Snape completely."
Ron looked physically offended by this statement.
"Trust Snape?" he squeaked.
"Blindly trust him," I corrected.
Harry still looked uncertain.
"If anything happens and I am unreachable, the only second person you can trust is Professor Snape."
"And Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "We can trust him too, right? Dumbledore comes first, right, then Snape."
I thought carefully before answering.
"You can trust Professor Dumbledore. But if it ever becomes a matter of life and death, then Snape comes first."
The three of them froze. Even Hermione looked shocked now.
I spoke firmly.
"Promise me, Harry. If something dangerous happens and I am not there, you will go to Professor Snape."
Harry hesitated. Ron looked like he wanted to object loudly.
But finally Harry nodded slowly.
"Okay. I promise."
Only then did I relax slightly.
Ron still looked deeply uncomfortable and winced.
"Now the broom," I got back to the topic, "you are right, Snape was muttering something during the match."
Ron blinked. "You believe us?"
"I never said I didn't believe you."
Ron looked confused enough to faint.
"But then you just said he will not harm Har..."
I interrupted him calmly.
"Because Professor Snape was not cursing Harry's broom. He was countering the curse."
The three children stared at me silently.
Hermione recovered first.
"What? How is this possible?"
I folded my arms.
"Think about it logically."
"When somebody cursed Harry's broom, do you think our little seeker could cling to the broom for so long in mid-air and still not fall?"
Harry retorted, "Of course, I would."
then without resistance, Harry would have fallen immediately."
I looked toward Harry.
"Really Harry. Do you think you could truly hang from a violently cursed broom with one hand for that long? Are you so athletic and strong?"
Harry opened his mouth, then paused.
"Well..."
I smiled faintly.
"What are your hands made of? Magical glue?"
Harry blushed slightly. Ron snorted despite himself.
Hermione's eyes widened slowly as she began thinking properly.
"So Snape was actually protecting Harry," she whispered.
I nodded.
"Exactly. He was countering the curse. And because of his efforts, you could cling on to the broom. Otherwise, you would have fallen in seconds."
Hermione countered, "But how do you explain that after the fire incident, Harry recovered instantly?"
I appreciated this clever little girl, "You are right again but you are missing one point. You all have developed tunnel vision and are only looking it through that tunnel and focusing only on Snape."
"What do you mean by the tunnel vision?", she asked frowning.
"You are only focusing on Snape. Now look at it from a larger perspective. After you put that fire on his cloak, he was disturbed and distracted."
Ron quickly interjected, "Yes, and along with it the whole stand got disturbed, all the professors, staffs, everybody on that stand was looking at him. I saw that."
Hermione frowned, thinking it out.
"Wait. The fire disturbed him. The entire teachers' stand got disturbed after the fire. And because of that distraction, the real attacker temporarily lost focus too."
She suddenly looked up sharply, in realisation.
"Exactly," I said.
Ron blinked still working it out.
Hermione gasped softly first.
Then Harry understood too.
Ron remained behind for several more seconds. Then his eyes widened dramatically.
"You mean..."
"There was another person? Another professor who was attacking Harry?"
I nodded slowly.
"Yes. The real attacker was someone else."
Harry swallowed.
"Do you know who?"
I stayed silent for a moment.
"I have suspicions."
"But I will not tell you yet."
"Why not?" Ron complained.
"Because it is dangerous," I answered firmly.
"Very dangerous."
I looked at all three of them seriously now.
"So from today onward, if any of you decide to go on some adventure, investigate mysteries, sneak around at midnight, or save the world-"
Harry and Ron suddenly looked guilty.
"-then you will first inform me."
Hermione immediately nodded.
Ron looked reluctant. Harry sighed dramatically in a very Harry-like manner.
"Fine."
I pointed a finger at him.
"I mean it, Harry."
Harry raised both hands innocently.
"Arthur, when have I ever caused trouble?"
All three of us stared at him silently. Even Hermione looked offended by the question. Finally Ron burst out laughing.
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End of Chapter 77 - Suspicion & Trust