Unveiling Secrets: A New Path for Harry Potter

"So, that's what Black told me while you were off getting the aurors."

"Snape lusted after your mother-"

Pansy had to pause for Harry's gagging noises to finish.

"...but he called her a mudblood after which she turned her back on him. Then she started dating your father, a man Snape hated who also saved his life. While that explains why he hates you so much, it does give us a couple of other unanswered questions. We know from what Sam dug up and told us that Snape was a Death Eater who supposedly turned into a spy for Dumbledore. Dumbledore vouching for him is apparently what kept him from being sent to Azkaban. Those things are a matter of public record."

Harry looked over at Pansy as he pondered the confusing actions of the Potions professor before he gave voice to those questions.

"So, if he really had turned to the side of the good guys, why does he still act like a Death Eater? Why has he let Slytherin purebloods like Malfoy run rampant? Why has he let bullying and division get worse?"

"Hell, he has made it worse by blatantly favoring the evil little shits like Malfoy, Flint, and so many others."

"Exactly. And why has Dumbledore let him do it?"

"I don't know, Harry. It's pretty worrying. Is Dumbledore going senile? Even if Snape was able to lie to him and manipulate him into believing he had been redeemed, surely Dumbledore would have made sure he actually acted like someone that didn't want another generation of Death Eaters to grow and thrive. But Snape has done just the opposite of that. With what you've told me about the Dark Lord still being out there somewhere, even in the form of a wraith or spirit, the idea that we have a traitor working right under the headmaster's nose- that's terrifying. Snape has been helping to build a new army of brutes and thugs, evil bastards who have never been disciplined, never faced justice for their misbehavior-"

"And Dumbledore has either allowed it or he's completely blind. Even if Snape had fooled him somehow, he must have had years of complaints from the other teachers and three fourths of the students. It just doesn't make sense."

"No, it doesn't."

There was a moment of silence as they both worried about just what the hell was going on.

"Pansy, I think we may need to do some more research on life debts."

"Why?"

"Well, Snape might have owed my father one."

"Which he almost certainly didn't repay. At least, from what we know."

"Right. And with my father's death, what would happen then?"

"You mean, to the life debt? I'm not sure. You might have inherited it from Snape. That seems likely."

"But I really don't think we can just ask him or cast a spell to find out. We'll need to definitely think long and hard about how to deal with this complication."

"You're right. I hope he does owe you one. We might be able to finally do something about him, and we almost certainly do need to stop him. A traitor and recruiter for the Dark Lord's side blatantly acting right in front of Dumbledore is incredibly dangerous, and if the Dark Lord ever succeeds in coming back, we really, really don't need someone like that so close at hand. We've had more than enough danger this year even after Sam's threats made Snape mostly avoid us."

"Agreed," Harry said as he stood up and began to pace around their little private common room. Snape was dangerous, and Dumbledore's protection of him made that even worse. They needed to get the truth about Snape before they could figure out how to deal with him.

"I've got an idea."

"How's the leg feeling this morning, Hermione?" Harry asked as she came down from the female dorms into the Gryffindor common room.

"It seems fine, although I've been feeling a bit tentative about putting weight on it. I know magical healing is faster, but I guess I'm just not used to it."

"Well, this is the second year in a row that we've both had to end up in Madam Pomfrey's care. I guess I'm rubbing off on you."

"That must be one of the worst ways you could do so."

"And here I was going to offer to carry your book bag as we went down to breakfast, but if you're going to be insulting my amazing ability to get nearly killed repeatedly, then maybe I shouldn't."

Hermione handed the bag over as Pansy rolled her eyes and headed for the door. Just as they were out in the hall, one of her least favorite people came running after them.

"Harry, there you are," Weasley said as he caught up with them. "I didn't see you last night."

"Well, we were busy for part of it."

"I know. I mean, I heard what Hermione told me. Did you really catch Sirius Black?"

"Well, I wouldn't say we caught him exactly. We did have a conversation with him. Oh, by the way, good news, Scabbers isn't dead. However, bad news, Scabbers is actually a Death Eater animagus who will probably be going to Azkaban soon. So you're still going to be ratless, sorry."

Pansy was snickering at Harry's jibe about that traitorous vermin. It was too bad Crookshanks hadn't eaten the nasty thing in a way.

"Really? That's what Hermione said too, but you aren't just pulling my leg, are you?"

"It should be in the paper soon, although they might keep parts of it secret I suppose. I can guarantee you that I did see your rat forced back into his human form."

"Oh, well, that's pretty incredible. I must have missed out on the adventure this time," Ron said with disappointment. "But I also wanted to tell you something that happened yesterday afternoon, after Hermione ran off from Divination. Trelawney did something really weird."

"Let me guess, she predicted not just my death, but the deaths of half the school this time?" Harry chuckled, but Ron looked surprisingly serious.

"Well, it wasn't a death, but she did go into this deep voice and say some strange things."

"Do you remember what she said?" Pansy asked.

"Let me see. I think it was something about how the Dark Lord was alone without his followers and his servant was going to be freed after twelve years. And that the servant would rejoin his master and the Dark Lord would rise again, great and terrible, and that it would happen tonight. Er, tonight as in last night, that is."

"You said she used an odd voice. Did she remember what she said, or was it like she was in a trance?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Yeah, the second one. Why?"

"Because that sounds like an actual prophecy. You can't just make a real prediction like all that nonsense she spouted off in class. Real visions are supposedly channeled through the seer and they don't ever remember what they say."

"Where does the prophecy come from then?" Harry asked. This sounded pretty damn strange, even for the magical world.

"No one is sure."

"That figures," Harry grumbled.

"Anyway, I might not have even heard it, but since Hermione ran out in the middle of class, I stayed behind to gather all her things too. That's when Trelawney's weird prediction thing happened. Then I couldn't find any of you before dinner, and it was pretty late when Hermione got in."

"Thank you again for bringing me my bag, Ron."

"Right, um, you're welcome."

"If there is something about Black in the Prophet today, it's bound to be on the front page," Pansy suggested.

Shortly after they sat down and began eating breakfast, Hedwig delivered the paper, and Pansy was proven right. In big bold letters, the headline rang out "Sirius Black Framed? Peter Pettigrew Alive! Trial Soon to Come!"

Over the next week, Harry read the ongoing saga of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew's trials. First there was the matter of Black's original trial, which was eventually proven to have not ever occurred, just as Black had claimed. Once that was revealed, the Wizengamot was outraged. He was the last son of a very old pureblood family and had been thrown in prison without ever even being questioned.

Needless to say, it was a point in his favor, as much of the Wizengamot itself was made up of members of the old purebood families.

That the apparent culprit who had framed him was only a half-blood was another point in his favor, or at least so it seemed to the cynical Harry as he tried to read between the lines.

With Pettigrew's 'heroic death' being obviously false, his Order of the Merlin was rescinded. Since it had been awarded post-mortem, and being alive he clearly wasn't 'post-mortem' there was no way for Pettigrew to challenge this ruling. His mother was outraged, but she was also glad her son was alive.

At least, until she heard the claim that her son was the betrayer of the Potters. Mrs. Pettigrew might have stood by Peter, but he refused to speak to her when she tried to schedule a visit through the ministry.

Sirius, on the other hand, had a number of friends and well wishers coming out of the wood work. The fact that it was rumored that Harry Potter had helped him capture Pettigrew made people see him in a more positive light. Harry wondered who had leaked to the press the idea that Sirius was his godfather.

While technically true, Harry was still not willing to acknowledge Black as anything more than a foolish friend of his father's.

Finally, the next Friday Hedwig came with the Daily Prophet bearing the ultimate decision.

"Sirius Black Innocent! Peter Pettigrew Guilty!"

Pansy noticed the headlines as she was eating her toast. "Give me the highlights, Harry."

"Okay, hold on," he replied as the last of his breakfast was set aside. "Let's see, 'Black willingly took veritaserum, which helped his case quite a bit. Pettigrew tried to avoid doing so, but as he had supposedly died, his right of refusal was suspended.'"

"That's a tricky way they got past that," Pansy offered.

"True. Dead men don't have rights is a quote in the story. Anyway, Madam Bones ran the trial, and the veritaserum testimony made things go quickly from then on. Black wasn't a Death Eater and had not committed any of the crimes they blamed on him. Hmm, that's funny," Harry said.

"What?"

"He must have had a good lawyer- there's nothing in here at all about Black being an animagus. I wonder how he swung that."

"Keep going, Harry," Pansy told him.

"Okay. Pettigrew was given the serum and spilled his guts, it sounds like. He admitted not only betraying my parents, but several other crimes as well. Including three murders, and that's before the muggles he killed in the explosion when he framed Black.

"Pettigrew was sentenced to life in Azkaban as a mass murderer. Black was exonerated and given compensation of twelve thousand galleons."

"That's a fair amount of money, but I doubt it's anywhere near enough to make up for rotting in Azkaban for all those years. Or for abandoning you at the same time," Pansy added.

"Yeah, I guess so. Well, Pettigrew is being sent to Azkaban, and in a cell specially prepared for him to keep him from escaping by turning into a rat."

"That's good I suppose."

"Yes. I hope he rots there for a century. That would be a nice thing about wizards being able to live a long time."

"Sounds good to me."

"True. Speaking of hope, with any luck, Black will be getting back to me soon," Harry added.

"You did write to him then?"

"Yes, but I knew a response could be delayed by him getting a trial. Now, he doesn't have any excuses."

"Good. He should be able to give us some more details. We need to know everything we can before we will be ready to plan."

"Agreed. Ready for Charms?"

"I guess. I wish it was Thursday though, so I could get a few more winks in History," Pansy said with a yawn.

Harry snickered before the yawn proved contagious and he joined her.

"And you don't get to complain about being sleepy," she whispered. "It's your fault we were up half the night."

Harry smiled all the way to class as he reminisced about the night before.

As the next few weeks passed on, Harry finally got his wish. May turned out to be the first month of the year with no major stress or danger.

Well, at least for Harry. Pansy was a bit stressed about the up coming exams.

Which meant Hermione was nearly panicking. Harry had to threaten to expose her time turner in order to make sure she was getting enough rest. Since most of her extra lessons were in the mornings, Hermione began sneaking off after lunch and going back three hours for a daily afternoon nap.

While it did help her to be less frazzled, she was now more rested and had plenty of time to bother Harry about how he was preparing for the end of the term.

Pansy, and on one occasion Luna, also prodded him about studying more, so he reluctantly even cracked open his Herbology text one night. He wasn't worried about most of the exams, although he was rather curious to see how Snape would grade him. Pansy too, for that matter. She was pretty good in the class, and he thought she might even be capable of an Outstanding, but because of her connection to him, Harry thought she might be marked down by the greasy bastard.

Not that it would matter in the long run, as the OWLs (and the NEWTs later on) were scored by people who were bound to be more unbiased and competent. Of course, Peeves the poltergeist wouldn't be as biased as Snape. Might even be a more competent teacher too.

It was good that May turned out to be such a quiet month as it took Harry multiple attempts to get as much of the story as possible from Sirius Black. The man preferred to ramble about his youthful exploits- many of them featuring James Potter. Stories of pranks were getting quite tiring; the stories of his father's many failures to catch his mother's eye were somewhat more interesting.

But Harry was a man on a mission, and learning just how much leverage he had over Snape was the end goal.

Towards the end of the month, he called it an early night in part to get away from Hermione's study session. It was only History anyway. Harry wondered how Binns was able to score the exams or if maybe a house elf did it for him.

Pansy was quick to follow him as they retreated to their sitting room. She saw Harry waiting for her on the couch.

"Some rich bint," he said with a smirk.

"Which rich bint are you talking about?"

"Remember at Christmas you suggested it was some rich bint that had sent me the Firebolt?"

"Yes."

"Sirius Black is some rich bint."

"He sent it to you?" Pansy laughed.

"Yeah. Makes me really glad quidditch is over for the year too."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I guess it sort of feels like an attempt to buy my affection. As if a broom, even the best broom, would make up for the years I lost with those fucking bastards."

"I can see that. At least it's over now, though. Besides, you needed a new broom, so you may as well let his rich bintiness spend his money instead of wasting your own."

"Yeah, anyway, that was one of the things Black mentioned in one of his letters. On top of all the lame tales of his teenage years. But, more importantly, I think I've gotten all I can from him about what he knows of Snape. My father definitely did save his life, and Black thinks there's a good chance he owed him a life debt for doing so. Not many sixteen year olds could face a transformed werewolf and live to tell about it."

"That's good news. Anything else?"

"Snape also definitely never repaid the life debt, assuming there was one. He was a nasty little shite to my father in school, and they were on opposite sides of the war after school. At least until Snape supposedly turned spy, but even then, he didn't interact with my parents at all according to Black."

"We really need to make Snape talk."

"I agree, but I think we need to wait."

"Wait for what?"

"Final exams to be over."

"You're thinking of school for once?" Pansy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm thinking that things will be tense over the next couple of weeks. Sneaking around could make it seem like we were trying to steal the answers for a test. Once those tests are all finished, people will relax a bit as the term winds down."

"So Snape will be more vulnerable."

"We can hope. I also figure that if something goes wrong, we'll have the summer to try to deal with any problems."

"So, the night before we leave?" she suggested.

"Sounds like a plan."

"How do you want to deal with him?"

"Dobby?"

The elf appeared and stood before them.

"Yes master Harry?"

"I've got a project I need your help with."

"We've got a project, Harry. You're not doing this alone," Pansy stated, and Harry smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Right. We are going to need to question Snape about some things that happened with my parents years ago. We are going to need to do this privately. I'm thinking maybe you should check to see if we could get into his quarters."

"You'll need to be careful, Dobby. You mustn't get caught," Pansy added. "See if you can check for paintings in his quarters or any sorts of protections he might have, but we cannot alert him to what we are going to do."

"Dobby can do that," the elf said with a huge smile. "Nasty bat man won't catch Dobby."

And with a pop, he was gone.

Harry chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"I think Dobby gets a kick out of being sneaky."

"Alright, well now that that's settled, let's do a little more studying before bed."

"Do we have to?" Harry whined.

"The less time you waste complaining, the more time we have to relax together afterwards."

"Deal," Harry said with a smile.

"Besides, I could use your help with Runes," Pansy said.

"Grab your book and I'll look over it with you," Harry replied. She retrieved the Runes text and he pulled her down to sit in his lap. Harry looked over her shoulder while kissing her neck.

"That isn't helping me study," she moaned. She felt him throb underneath her, and Pansy knew that Harry was unlikely to focus on anything else until this was taken care of. She pressed against him as she adjusted her seat and Harry slid one hand along her thigh up under her skirt.

"We are going to study afterwards," she insisted.

"Of course," he agreed as she sighed.

The week of exams came and went. Harry was pleased overall with how well he thought he had done. Charms and Trasnfiguration were both largely practical in nature, which was where his strength lie instead of writing boring essays. On top of that, he knew he had aced Runes- that was one class where he actually could write as much as he needed if not more, and he was positive that he knew every little rune he was asked to identify on the final. He had probably used at least half of them on his various projects over the year.

Herbology, also being largely practical, probably was going to get Harry a better score than he had really earned over most of the year. Just because he hated gardening didn't mean he had yet forgotten all the time he had been forced to spend toiling over Petunia's flower bushes and yard.

Arithmancy was rather dense and boring, but he thought he probably did alright. Pansy would probably beat his score there, and he doubted either of them would give Hermione a run for her money in what she considered her new favorite class. History was another class that he put forth a minimum amount of effort in; Harry thought with some mirth that everyone should get an Exceeds Expectations if they were able to remember anything more than the sleep inducing drone of the ghostly teacher.

Potions saw them brewing a Confusing Concoction, and Harry and Pansy were both able to produce what seemed like well done samples. Hers was a bit thicker than his, and he knew that she would probably score better because of it, but he was fine with that. Pansy had taught him a fair amount about the class that year; certainly more than the sneering arsehole ever had.

And speaking of the school's worst teacher, despite his usual petty behavior, not even Ron or Neville melted a cauldron. Although both of their potions ended up being rather runny, at least neither of them ended up with something as shockingly orange as the chunky sludge that Crabbe produced.

Astronomy was fairly typical for the class, some looking through a telescope and finding the locations of stars and whatnot. Harry still didn't know why this was a core class at Hogwarts. It seemed to have very little to do with actual magic and was nowhere near as interesting (or useful) as Runes or even Care of Magical Creatures. But at least it was a very pleasant night, with a light cool breeze under the stars.

Care of Magical Creatures ended up being rather easy, especially for Harry and Pansy. They were tasked with feeding the thestrals, and neither of them were at all bothered by the appearance of the winged skeletal horses. Several people in the class were afraid of them, which meant that he knew that they would get better scores than most, although Hermione took to the exam quickly enough and spent half an hour asking Hagrid all sorts of extra questions about the creatures. They were very agile in flight it turned out, but Hagrid was not allowed to let them fly the supposedly horseless carriages to or from school.

Harry was disappointed at that and immediately began planning to take a thestral for a ride. He had a feeling that Pansy would want to join in. Luna too, now that he thought about it.

The last test was Defense with Lupin, which might usually have made Harry groan, but it turned out to be fairly interesting. He had set up an obstacle course full of creatures they had to avoid and faster times would be rewarded with better scores. It might not have been necessary to stun the grindylow, but they had strong grips, and Harry didn't want to even give it a chance as he made his way through the pool. The end was a boggart, and while that was a bit of a nasty little surprise, Harry recovered quickly with a Riddikulus and finished with the fastest time in the class. Pansy did very well too, although she seemed to struggle a bit with the boggart- at least that's what he had to assume.

Hermione though, nearly botched the whole test. She came away screaming from the boggart, which in her case had turned into professor McGonagall telling her she had failed all her classes. Harry really struggled not to laugh at her, something that Ron was unable to stop himself from doing. Once he saw how upset that made her though, Harry was again reminded that he really needed to find something else to help her calm down. It was ridiculous to think that Hermione of all people would fail any of her tests, let alone all of them. She was entirely too high strung.

After lunch, they had a free period as Hermione went off to Muggle Studies and Ron headed for Divination. Harry kicked off his shoes when they got back to their quarters. He sat down on the couch and put his feet up. Pansy soon joined him stretched out on the couch, then put her head in his lap.

"All done," he exhaled and rolled his neck back and forth. "I am so ready for summer."

"Me too," Pansy sighed.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. I just didn't like running into that boggart."

"Agreed. What was yours?"

"You first, Harry."

"Okay," he agreed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Harry hadn't enjoyed that part of the test either. "I saw your father standing over you casting the Cruciatus Curse. That sucked, but at least I knew..."

"You knew it was over with. You took care of him for me," she answered after Harry trailed off.

"Yeah. I don't think Lupin would have approved of what my Riddukulus did to the boggart."

"What did it do?"

"It changed to your father gurgling and choking after I made him slit his throat. It felt just as satisfying too."

"Good."

Harry waited, but Pansy didn't seem to eager to share whatever she had seen. He closed his eyes as he played with her hair. Pansy's breathing slowed, and finally she spoke.

"I saw Death Eaters kill you. Then they stepped over your body and came for me. They were reaching out to grab me. I was able to draw my wand, but it felt too close."

"You were able to cast Riddikulus though?"

"Yes. You got up and slaughtered them all before they could get to me."

Harry chuckled. "I doubt any of our classmates had such violent responses."

"I know none of our classmates has humors as black as ours."

"That's definitely true."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence.

"Just a few more days, Harry. We need to talk to Dobby tonight."

"I know. But I think I could use a nap right about now."

"Sounds good. Let's go to bed."

The last days of term passed quietly as Harry spent a bit of time socializing with his friends and made some tentative plans to see Hermione and Luna over the summer break. Ron mentioned something about inviting him over as well, but Harry strongly doubted that would work. He was pretty damn sure the Weasleys would not allow him to share a room with Pansy, and that's assuming they even had a free room available. Not to mention the fact that Ron did not say anything about Pansy being invited in the first place, which was no surprise.

Even after his lame attempts at restarting a friendship with Harry since the quidditch cup victory (and without ever bothering to apologize for his behavior), Harry just wasn't feeling too accommodating to Ron anymore. While he did give a half-hearted apology to Hermione, he never said a word to Luna, and he certainly never tried to befriend Pansy. Admittedly, Pansy wouldn't have made it easy on him as Harry knew she couldn't stand Ron, but it had been nine months now, and Ron still almost acted as if Pansy just didn't exist most of the time.

In the long run, Harry knew that he would always choose Pansy over Ron. A friendship of three years, and a very strained one over that last year, would never stand up against the girl he loved. If Ron didn't start to grow up soon, it would be a very easy choice too.

It was the last Thursday night when they put their plan into action. The older students had finished their OWLs and NEWTs and the Leaving Feast would be the next night. Saturday morning would see the return trip on the train, and Pansy was greatly looking forward to the end of the year. It was a huge improvement over the first two years at Hogwarts, although at least the year before, she was looking forward to scheming with Harry about getting away from her parents. What a difference a year could make.

They took a nap that evening and woke with an alarm after midnight. She and Harry both dressed and grabbed their wands. Harry retrieved his invisibility cloak while Pansy spread the map out over the bed.

"He's in his quarters. It looks like he isn't moving either," she said.

"Good. Dobby?"

The elf popped in just after Harry called for him.

"Have you checked everything?"

"Yes, master Harry sir. No talking pictures on the walls. Dobby can get master and miss right in."

"Great. Here's the plan. We're going to wake him up and restrain him immediately. Pansy is going to focus on making sure he can't break free, and I want you to help her Dobby. I'm going to get some answers from Snape.

"Okay, everybody ready?"

"I'm ready, Harry."

"Dobby is ready, master Harry sir."

"Alright. Get in close," Harry said as he covered them all in the cloak. "Let's make sure we don't get caught. We get the information and get out. Dobby, take us there."

The elf took a hand from each of them and seconds later they were in a dark room. There was a desk against one wall by a door and on the opposite was a bed. Asleep in it was the detestable man who "taught" Potions.

The trio quietly crept over to the bed.

"On three. Ready?" Harry asked in a whisper.

"Ready," she answered, raising her wand against the Death Eater.

If she had ever had any reservations against doing something like this, they died when she imagined him standing side by side with her hated father among the other Death Eaters. They were all evil bastards. Hell, they not only killed Harry's parents but also her grandfather and her uncle. Both purebloods, just like Harry's father. So much for pure blood supremacy, if the Dark Lord was so willing to shed so much of it.

A thought of her grandmother describing her chevalier flashed an almost forgotten image to her mind, the older man Pansy never got to meet as he died years before her birth. She just knew he would have been proud of her choice for a boyfriend, someone willing to kill for her, just as he had rescued her grand-mere all those years ago. And prouder still of her, standing by Harry's side.

Those thoughts slipped away as Harry woke Snape with a spell which she quickly followed with a Petrificus Totalis.

"Legilimens!"

They had discussed a couple of options of how to get the information they wanted from Snape, and this was the eventual winner. Veritaserum probably would have worked just as well, but they would have needed to figure out exactly which questions to ask. Harry also briefly considered using the Imperius curse, which they knew from his dealings with her father would probably work, but Pansy didn't want any chance of Harry getting caught using an Unforgivable and he agreed. Tearing straight into his mind, Harry should be able to get to whatever he wanted.

Pansy knew there was a possibility that Snape knew Occlumency, especially if he really was a spy and not just pulling the wool over Dumbledore's eyes. But startling him awake in the middle of the night would not give him a chance to put up any sort of defense. Not even a master at it could keep their mind closed in their sleep.

She watched carefully as Harry stared into the black eyes of the head of Slytherin. Her wand was ready in case he should try to fight back. The minutes stretched on, and she bstarted to worry as Harry began to sweat. His focus seemed strained, but he held the gaze, still unblinking.

Harry tore into those black eyes and slipped past images moving faster than he could keep up with. Eventually, he thought of his father and found the images slowed as he watched memory after memory of them clashing as teens at Hogwarts.

Harry then thought of his mother as well, and a scene played out of Snape firing a cutting curse at his father's face. Although his father's reflexes were good- to be expected from a quidditch star- he was unable to dodge completely out of the way and Snape drew first blood.

James Potter retaliated with a hex that turned the greasy bastard upside down, and Harry smiled at the humiliation of the future Death Eater.

Until his mother showed up and started to defend the loathsome Snivellus. Harry chuckled at the remembered nickname as Sirius was there as well, laughing along. But Lily's defense was quickly ended as he called her a mudblood and she turned an icy gaze of contempt and hatred towards her now former friend.

Harry loved her in that moment of scorn towards Snape.

The memory faded and Harry let it go as he then found the night when James Potter had stopped Snivellus from reaching Lupin down the secret tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack. The event played out much as Black had described it, so Harry once again stepped back and searched for a later memory.

What he found shocked him.

Snape was now a proud Death Eater, with the tattoo marking his left forearm. He was relaying the words he had heard of a supposed prophecy. Harry realized at once what this meant. Who else was born as the seventh month died?

This fucking bastard had led the Dark Lord to attacking the Potters.

An image flashed again, and this time, Snivellus was asking Voldemort to spare his mother. He wanted her for his own, and the Dark Lord chuckled about giving Snape a pet mudblood for his amusement after he ended the Potter line.

That was all it took. Snape's fate was sealed.

Harry fled from the twisted, evil mind as fast as he could.

Pansy finally relaxed as Harry stepped back from Snape, panting and closing his eyes.

"That fucking bastard," he muttered.

"Are you alright?"

"I will be," he answered with his eyes still closed as he tried to slow his breathing. "Cast the spell to check for a life debt between us."

Pansy complied. "He does owe you one."

"Good because I'm going to make him pay and pay dearly," Harry said with his teeth grinding.

"What's wrong?"

"This piece of scum is the reason my parents are dead."

Pansy's heart ached for Harry and before she even realized she was doing it, her wand fired a cutting curse at Snape.

Harry's reaction was just as fast, though, and he swept her arm up, making the spell fire into the wall above the bed.

"What are you doing? Let me kill him. He doesn't deserve to live," she argued as Harry pulled her into his arms.

"I know, but I can't let you get in trouble over this Death Eater filth. You are worth so much more than him."

Harry kissed her forehead, then turned back to Snape while Dobby repaired the wall.

"Besides, there must be a more fun way to kill him than just slitting his throat in the night. And we all agreed that not getting caught tonight was important."

"Alright, but I want to be there when we get our revenge," she replied.

"Of course. But first...

"Obliviate! Confundo! You had a bad dream about how you betrayed the Potter family, but that's all you remember. Go back to sleep."

Snape's eyes clouded over for a second then his eyelids drooped and he dozed off.

"Dobby, back to our room," Harry said quietly, and with that they were gone.

Neither of them got much sleep that night. Plans were formed and discarded as they were all too violent and outlandish. Crucifying and gutting the greasy bastard might have been fun and painful, but they would never get away with it.

The night finally ended as Dobby sent them off to the bath for a nice hot soak. He knew his family well, and that did finally act as a remedy for their upset minds.

They awoke the next morning a bit stiff and very pruny. The water was still warm though, something that Dobby must have taken care of. He had a hot breakfast waiting for both of them after they dressed as well.

Harry and Pansy both thanked him and suggested that he sleep for the rest of the day. The elf agreed but only after they both promised not to go near the evil greasy one without him there to watch over them.

The lack of lessons that day was a good thing. Harry and Pansy packed their belongings slowly. When they emerged for lunch, Harry only muttered about not sleeping well the night before. Hermione had obviously noticed his lethargy. Pansy's brooding that day was less noticeable.

Luna tried to cheer them both up that afternoon. Since they were all free that afternoon, she eventually managed to talk Harry into going to visit Hagrid.

Heading towards his hut near the forest reminded Harry of an idea.

And Hagrid was all too pleased to help them take a few thestrals out for a ride that afternoon. Despite their gaunt appearance, the beasts were more than strong enough to fly with riders on their backs. Harry was even able to get Pansy to join him for a flight over the Black Lake. She wasn't much for flying usually, but she did start to relax while pressing herself up against his back.

They both sat quietly soaking in the atmosphere that night at the Leaving Feast. Gryffindor had won for the third year in a row, and Harry had once again been largely responsible. Between the quidditch victory, driving away the dementors, and Snape not being able to take points off of him for things like breathing too loudly, he helped them to come out way ahead.

Pansy was glad that Slytherin lost that night, just so she could see the pained look on that evil piece of shite as he reluctantly clapped for Gryffindor. She knew Harry was treasuring that feeling just as much. The meal was delicious, and the dessert tasted that much sweeter, but Pansy was waiting for tomorrow's final course.

Harry awoke the next day feeling very energetic. They got dressed together and grabbed their wands while Dobby made sure nothing was left behind, double checking that they hadn't missed anything when they packed.

Pansy followed him down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Hermione and Luna were soon to join them and they made small talk over the eggs and sausage- the bacon of course being reserved for Hedwig. Luna noted how Harry looked particularly free of Nargles today, and he thanked her for noticing. He held up a plate full of greasy treats for his owl, who soon swooped down with the day's paper.

Harry smirked thinking that tomorrow would have a much more interesting headline.

He and Pansy had both finished eating by the time Ron came hurrying to sit down near them. Of course, he had waited till the last minute to pack and was now shoveling a mountain of food onto his plate. Harry shook his head at that, wondering if Ron would still have his appetite in a few minutes.

Looking up to the head table, the teachers were almost all there, although Harry hadn't seen Lupin for a couple of days. He only briefly noted that before scanning down the table to his prey.

It was time for Snape to pay the piper.

Pansy gave him a wicked grin as Harry stood from the bench and stepped into the middle of the aisle. He took a few steps towards the teachers, and raised his left hand. The Potter ring began to emit a faint glow.

"Severus Snape," Harry bellowed out and the head of Slytherin looked up.

"What do you want, Potter?" he snarled.

"As head of House Potter, I am calling you forth." There was a round of gasps as Snape stood.

"What do you think you're doing, you foolish boy?"

"I am calling on magic to make you pay for your crimes, Death Eater," Harry hissed out. The ring flashed brightly and Snape stumbled as he had tried to make his way down the aisle to Harry's position. "Many of you may not know this, but Snivellus here went to school with my parents. And while they were both students, my father saved his life."

"Harry, stop this-" Dumbledore began.

"This is out of your hands, headmaster. This Death Eater filth should have paid for his sins years ago, if not for your interference.

"As I was saying, my father saved Snape's life. And how do you think he repaid this?"

People were now staring shocked as the light from the sapphire gem glowed darker, almost a midnight blue. Snape was on his knees, obviously in pain, but unable to move.

"He became a follower of the Dark Lord as soon as he graduated Hogwarts. He overheard a prophecy of a child who would be powerful enough to slay his precious Dark Lord, and this led to the Death Eaters hunting my family. Of course, that would be bad enough, but Snivellus here took it a step further.

"When he realized which family Voldemort was after, he pleaded to spare my mother's life. You see this cretin was obsessed with her and wanted her for his own. The Dark Lord agreed to give her to Snape like a prize after he ended the Potter line by murdering my father and I.

"That was how this piece of scum repaid my father for the life debt he owed.

"I call on magic to hear my plea. Punish this betrayer of House Potter. End his line as he tried to end mine."

Dumbledore was attempting to reach them, but the magic pouring out of the Potter Ring was pushing everyone away from Snape, who was now collapsed on the floor. Blood was leaking from his ears.

Harry could hear nothing over the roar of magic itself singing to him.

Pansy was grinning ear to ear as she watched Snape writhing on the ground in pain.

Dumbledore called out once again, but his voice was unable to reach either Harry or Snape. The reactions from the students were varied and loud. Some were actually cheering, including Weasley Pansy noted, who was still stuffing his face with food. Granger looked horrified by what was going on. Luna had her usual wide eyed expression, which could have meant almost anything. Pansy had basically given up on trying to comprehend the little blonde.

She looked back over to Snape, with blood now streaming out of his mouth, nose and eyes as well. He was clearly wracked with pain, and Harry stood over him serenely. The glow from the ring flashed brightly and there was a whoosh that swept through the crowd.

Snape was no longer moving, his black eyes now lifeless.

Dumbledore crouched down by the former Potions professor and felt for a pulse.

"Harry, what have you done?"

"I made a Death Eater pay for his crimes. Something that should have been done years ago. That bastard should have never been allowed anywhere near children. He should have been rotting in Azkaban.

"You know, Sirius told me how he had worked for you all those years ago, fighting Death Eaters at your side. Despite that, you did nothing when he was thrown directly in prison. But then, you stood by and defended this scum," Harry said as he kicked at Snape's leg.

"Some loyalty you showed to your Order of the Phoenix. One man not even allowed a trial. Two others murdered, and yet you stood by this traitor. If that is your idea of justice, then you should be removed from the Wizengamot immediately.

"After all, you're going to need more time this summer to find a new Potions professor. Might try for one that actually knows how to teach this time, instead of this pathetic, petty little man who did nothing but bully and terrorize children. Children supposedly under your care."

Harry stopped himself in the middle of his rant. The old man was actually weeping over Snape's corpse. It made him shake his head in disgust. He had more to say, a lot more, about how Dumbledore's interference had shown just how little he cared for Harry when he took him to the Dursleys.

But today's revenge, today's justice, was enough for now.

"Pansy, I think it's time to leave."

She stood and followed him as they left the Great Hall. There were many whispers left behind in their wake. It was an end unlike any other year at Hogwarts.

But Harry and Pansy were just getting started.

End of Year 3

Notes:

Author's Note: I know that I've pushed the life debt idea a lot further than in canon, and I want to assure everyone that it will not be nearly as important in later years. Harry saving Wormtail in the Shrieking Shack just as James had saved Snape almost twenty years before was an important part of PoA though.

Ultimately, it seems like both cases of mercy were poor choices as Snape's later actions cost James his life, and Wormtail's freedom directly led to Voldemort's return and untold amounts of death, starting with Bertha Jorkins and Frank Bryce, both victims long before Cedric Diggory, and both often forgotten.

Now, about Snape: Harry & Pansy looked at him in the worst possible light. Snape fans can argue that he wasn't completely evil, but neither of our lead characters would care about that, and once his role in the deaths of James & Lily came to light, there was absolutely no way in hell Harry would let him live.

And while Snape might have lamented the death of Lily, he never cared one bit about his part in James Potter's death. As evidence, see six books of how incredibly shitty he behaves towards Harry just because he looks like his father. A father Harry had never even seen until the Mirror of Erised- and all because of Snape.

That is unforgivable in my book, and it was not Dumbledore's place to offer him redemption, especially not while allowing the petty man to torment Harry unchecked for six long years.

Strategically, it would have been better to keep Snape alive. Both for Harry to use him to force him to try to repay the life debt in the future, and for Dumbledore, who has now lost his spy for the Dark Lord's eventual return. Snape's death removes an important character from the board and will drive this story further from canon in later years.

Despite not being labeled as an AU, the further the story goes, the more things will diverge from the books. Harry and Pansy's actions will cause ripples, some deeper than others.

Until next time!