HP - Shadow Monarch - Chapter 223 - A Conversation with some Clarifications.

[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.] Third Person POV London. ... ... “Lily! It’s so great that you’re okay! We read the news in the paper!” Lily was

[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV

London.
...

...

“Lily! It’s so great that you’re okay! We read the news in the paper!”

Lily was quickly greeted by Molly Weasley as soon as she arrived with Alastor Moody and Arthur Weasley through the fireplace.

They had arrived at the Weasleys’ house, and Lily soon found herself being watched by several members of the Order of the Phoenix.

“Lily, are you alright, my girl?” Professor Alise Longbotton approached her.

“I’m fine, Professor... Hello, everyone.” Lily said to the sea of people who were waiting for her.

She had to tell everyone about what had happened — how she had been captured, how Severus had saved her, and how things went at the hospital and the Ministry of Magic.

Everyone was already aware of what had been in the newspaper, but they certainly listened to the details from Lily’s version that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

“There’s no news about Dumbledore?” Professor McGonagall asked, her heart broken.

“I didn’t ask...” Lily murmured, embarrassed.

“It’s alright... I know your situation isn’t easy... I’m just glad you’re okay... my girl.” Professor McGonagall said at last.

“But Snape’s a bad person, isn’t he?” Peter said from a corner beside the Marauders.

“Of course he is! He killed hundreds of people and wiped out entire pure-blood wizarding families!” Potter said.

“But he also defeated the Dark Lord...” Remus Lupin added from the side.

“He’s evil! He’s the new Dark Lord, one was defeated, but there’s another out there! He is...” Potter insisted.

“Still, he saved me!” Lily interrupted Potter, her voice resounding through the living room where so many members of the Order were gathered. Everyone looked at her.

Lily saw this and took a breath before continuing. “He had no obligation to come for me...” she said, not realizing her eyes were starting to tear up. “He... he still came, even though it was a trap, faced a crowd of Death Eaters and got me out of there, apologized to me for being caught in the crossfire between him and Voldemort. He helped my family by giving a potion that freed them from the effects of the Unforgivable Curses used against them. So I’d rather you not speak ill of him while I’m here...” she said, tears streaming down and with a harsh tone.

“Lily...” Molly approached her and gave her a hug. “You must’ve been through so much... I won’t say I don’t think Severus Snape is a danger to the wizarding world, but I will respect that he saved you.” she said.

“It’s easy for you to say that! You chased after him like a puppy all year long.” Sirius couldn’t resist mocking.

“Sirius! Not now!” Frank Longbotton said harshly to Black, who had the decency to lower his head.

But Lily looked at him angrily. “Know this, someone put love potion in something I drank... Severus and I realized this from the beginning of the year... Still, he kept me away to protect me!” she exclaimed.

“Love potion? Lily, are you sure about that?!” Professor Flitwick, who was also part of the Order, spoke up at that moment with concern.

“Yes! We stayed apart all year after we talked about it. He had found a way to help me as soon as he left Durmstrang with the painting incident...” Lily said with some pain.

“He also helped me heal and said... said that he wasn’t the Severus Snape I knew...” She couldn’t go on, still with tears falling from her face, not knowing what to think. She was very confused and thought it best not to speak about what Severus had said to her that day.

“But, my girl... Who would place a love potion between you and Mr. Snape...?” Professor McGonagall asked in horror.

“He told me... it was... Dumbledore.” Lily managed to make everyone even more horrified with that information.

“No... it can’t be... Are you sure?” Arthur Weasley asked.

“That’s what Severus told me, but I also believe it. Since last year, Dumbledore has been calling me to his office to talk about Severus... He asked questions and even asked me to try to get close to him, and I did that. But Severus didn’t seem uncomfortable at all and tried to push me away or offend me... but then I started feeling in love with him, without explanation, and I tried everything to fix our relationship. I succeeded after a while. It was at that moment the Headmaster began asking more questions, wanting to uncover Severus’s secrets...”

“When school ended, Severus and I went back home together, I saw him fight dark wizards who attacked us and then he left me at home. I haven’t seen him since, he didn’t respond to any of my letters, and then the year started with him returning and Dumbledore gone.” She finished her explanation.

“I can’t believe this... I’m sorry.” Several members couldn’t accept that Dumbledore would use a girl in such a forced way to get information.

Everyone knew how strange the relationship between Severus and the Headmaster had been, and how he had granted him unique privileges just to keep him at school. Dumbledore had been afraid of losing sight of Severus, and some there knew it. He had been right in the end, when the name Severus Snape was now stamped across the newspapers as the Dark Lord. But using Lily as a bridge to uncover the boy’s secrets...

The entire room fell silent for a moment, until suddenly, the fireplace exploded, and someone appeared, surprising everyone there, as Dumbledore himself emerged.

“Dumbledore?!” Molly jumped up, and everyone stared at him, stunned.

“Well...” Dumbledore looked at everyone’s stunned faces and sighed. “I’m back again.”

“What happened?! Where were you?!” Moody immediately stepped forward, walking with his cane, eyeing Dumbledore with his magical eye to make sure it was really him.

“I had some trouble... I was trapped somewhere.” he said with a tired tone.

“Did Snape do something to you?!” Sirius asked.

“Yes and no... We fought each other and I lost.” Dumbledore admitted, while many there stared as the color drained from their faces — even though Severus had already defeated the Dark Lord the night before.

“It’s a bit complicated to explain, but I will clarify it soon... first we need to talk.” He said in a more serious tone.

“First, I must admit... what Lily Evans just said is true...” He confessed, even catching Lily by surprise. “I made a grave mistake here, I placed her under the effects of a love potion to have someone spying on Severus and gathering his information... She’s right in everything she said, and I must admit my great error here.” He said in front of everyone, who stared, surprised and shocked.

“I apologize for everything I did to you, perhaps I don’t even deserve forgiveness. Severus tried to kill me as soon as he found out the truth. He only failed because I was extremely lucky.” Dumbledore murmured in a regretful tone, while Lily didn’t know what to do after the Headmaster came before her to apologize.

“I...” She couldn’t go on.

“You don’t need to say anything. I was wrong, and I hope you’ll forgive me for all I’ve caused you.” Dumbledore said at last before turning back to everyone.

“I’m a worse person than I seem, and I apologize to all of you as well...” he added.

“Wait, Albus! Where have you been all this time?” Professor McGonagall, despite the shock of Dumbledore’s revelation, wanted to understand that before any other matter.

“I... I was trapped in a portal someone had created precisely to save me from Severus’s wrath... It sounds strange, but that’s what happened. I’ve been inside it for months... and I saw some things.” Albus said carefully.

“What did you see?” Professor McGonagall asked.

“I saw war... One that will be worse than any other that has ever happened in this world... we’re doomed to have our world become a battlefield.” He said, and everyone saw Dumbledore himself shudder at the memory.

“Severus is going to cause this?!” Flitwick asked, worried.

“Not directly, actually, but he will be involved.” Dumbledore said.

“Then we must find a way to defeat him!” Potter said.

“How can we fight someone stronger than You-Know-Who, Death Eaters, and even Dumbledore?!” Peter shrank as he said it, and everyone seemed concerned as they grasped the gravity of it.

“There are things I cannot say, but I was speaking with Severus Snape before coming here, without him actually trying to kill me outright.” Dumbledore revealed, once again drawing surprised looks from everyone.

“In any case, Severus is not a danger to the magical world — I’ve come to that conclusion, and we need him for what’s to come. Something is going to happen in this world that could lead to the destruction of all humanity.” Dumbledore lamented.

“To trust him after everything that’s happened... Albus, are you alright?” McGonagall looked deeply worried.

“I know it’s hard to understand, Minerva. But let’s continue clarifying things — either way, we still need to act. The Ministry is going to be the target of an attack.” he said.

“Who’s going to attack the Ministry?!” Alastor asked, raising his voice.

“From what I saw, the current Minister has just offended a very powerful vampire family, so a group of vampires is about to head to the Ministry to attack them. We have to try to stop this. I know that with the mistakes I’ve made, I’m no longer worthy of leading and guiding you, but we still need to act so that innocent people aren’t caught in the crossfire between the vampires and the Minister of Magic and his mistakes.” he said, knowing that Vujin had given him this information. Dumbledore paused before continuing.

“Before we move on... Could you return my phoenix to me...” Albus spoke to no one in particular, looking around the room.

“Tsk. Fine.” A new voice echoed, and someone suddenly appeared behind Dumbledore, startling everyone.

“Him?!”

Exclamations erupted from the group as Severus Snape stood there, walking behind Dumbledore.

Severus looked at Lily, catching her off guard, as her shadow began to stir and a black phoenix with violet flames emerged, flying to Severus.

“Release.” Severus said to the phoenix, and it began to unravel its shadow. A final farewell cry from Fawkes was heard before she vanished completely like smoke, leaving behind a pile of ashes where she had been.

A small red chick began to rise from the ashes — she had returned to her resurrection process, which Severus had interrupted to turn her into a shadow.

Severus managed to bring her back to life thanks to the phoenix’s innate power to always be reborn.

“With that, I’m leaving.” Severus simply said and began walking away, ignoring all the stunned stares and wands pointed at him.

He simply Apparated without using a wand, vanishing from sight and leaving Dumbledore to handle the rest, while he even noticed that Lily wanted to say something else to him, but couldn’t.

It seemed hard to swallow the relationship they had now after Severus nearly killed Dumbledore, but Vujin had been a bridge so that, in the end, they could reach an understanding.

Something that had been resolved between them in a rather long conversation before they came to the Weasleys’ home.

In any case, Severus appeared at Gringotts, arriving in the reception hall, catching some people by surprise, and screams of horror began to rise as they realized who was among them. People started running, and the goblins looked furious — until they saw who Severus was.

“I’m here to take a test to inherit the name of a family with no heirs.” Severus announced.

It was time for him to take on the name Prince as his surname and assume the family.