The headmaster’s office vanished. Professor McGonagall felt as though she were flying through a whirlwind of shifting shapes and colors before finally landing back on solid ground.
Then Kyle appeared. He was just as curious about what memory Dumbledore had left behind to redeem Snape.
If Snape were here, he would never allow them to view this… it was practically a piece of his dark past.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t in the headmaster’s office at the moment—which was one of the reasons Kyle had agreed to help.
Whether by coincidence or design, they materialized directly in front of Snape.
He was standing atop a bleak, windswept mountain, gripping his wand tightly as though waiting for someone.
Professor McGonagall stood opposite him in silence, her expression grave.
If this weren't a memory, she probably would have punched Snape on the spot.
“Kyle, what exactly do you want me to see…”
Suddenly, a blinding white flash streaked across the sky like lightning. Snape collapsed to his knees with a thud, his wand falling to the ground beside him.
“Don’t kill me!”
“That’s not my intent!”
Kyle instinctively reached into his pocket, only to realize a moment later that he was inside Dumbledore’s memory—he didn’t have his Mokeskin pouch on him.
Not that he’d planned to do anything anyway.
He casually pulled his hand back, pretending nothing had happened… not that it mattered. The only person who could see him—Professor McGonagall—was completely focused on Dumbledore, who had just Apparated in.
Dumbledore stood before Snape, his robes billowing in the wind. The light from his wand lit his face from below, casting a menacing glow.
“Well, Severus… has Voldemort sent you with a message?”
“No, no message… I came on my own… about the prophecy… Trelawney…”
Snape was visibly anxious, stammering and unclear, though it might have been due to the sheer pressure Dumbledore was exerting on him.
At that moment, Dumbledore looked like he genuinely wanted to kill him—the light at the tip of his wand hadn’t dimmed in the slightest.
Professor McGonagall muttered something under her breath, but Kyle couldn’t make out the words. He guessed she was urging Dumbledore to just deal with the traitor already.
But as the conversation continued, her expression gradually began to shift.
“He thinks… the one in the prophecy is Lily Evans!”
“Please, hide them… keep them safe, I beg you…”
“In return… I’ll do anything.”
The wind atop the mountain grew fiercer, so loud that it drowned out their voices. Even as Kyle leaned in closer, all he could hear was the howling wind.
By this point, Kyle realized Dumbledore had likely altered the memory—concealing whatever had been said next.
Professor McGonagall frowned beside him. She seemed to have a guess, but wasn’t certain.
Just then, the mountain disappeared, and they were back in the headmaster’s office at Hogwarts.
Snape sat slumped in a chair, like a wounded beast, sobbing in pain...
“I thought… you would keep her safe…”
“She and James trusted the wrong person!” Dumbledore’s face was equally grim.
“But her son survived… I want you to help me protect him…”
“He doesn’t need protection. The Dark Lord is dead…”
“…The Dark Lord is not dead. One day, he will return!”
The image darkened for a moment, then quickly lit up again.
It was still the headmaster’s office, but it seemed many years had passed.
“He’s back. He’s really back—I can feel it…” Snape said, agitated, pulling up his sleeve to show Dumbledore the vivid Dark Mark on his arm.
“He took Harry, while everyone was watching the third task…”
The image vanished once more.
“That arrogant, conceited fool. Why can’t he ever learn? Can’t he see the Dark Lord lured him to the Department of Mysteries on purpose?”
“He’s as mediocre and arrogant as his father—only more stubborn. He can’t see the bigger picture. Does he think he’s you? That he can defy the Ministry?… In that regard, he’s not even as good as that insufferable Kyle.”
Kyle raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected Dumbledore’s memory to include a mention of him… But “insufferable”? What was that supposed to mean? He thought he was rather well-liked.
The swirling colors resumed, and this time the scene shifted from the headmaster’s office to a different place… a desolate, gravel-covered road.
Dumbledore appeared to be injured, limping along. The faint outline of a footprint was visible on his robe.
“You saved me, Severus, but I don’t think you really needed to go that far.”
“I didn’t have time to think,” Snape replied. He seemed to be in a good mood, walking with a light step. “If I’d known you had a magical contract with Kyle, I wouldn’t have bothered helping you.”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect Kyle’s binding magical contract to end up saving my life… But I still have to thank you—you snapped me back to my senses.”
“Let me keep that ring.”
“I have to refuse, Severus. It’s for your own good. Without the protection of a magical contract, resisting its temptation would be… difficult.”
“So you don’t trust me…”
“This has nothing to do with trust. I simply know how powerful its allure is…”
The narrow path gradually became shrouded in thick fog. Once they passed through it, the scene shifted again...
“That Kyle—he’s far too careless. And that stupid dog. Don’t they realize how important the thing they took was?”
Snape spoke angrily. “The Dark Lord assigned me to deal with it. I erased that goblin’s memory, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough to fool him.”
“It should be,” Dumbledore said, seated across from him. “Tom’s attention has been elsewhere lately.
“But still, Severus, I didn’t expect you to take the initiative to help Kyle.”
“I just didn’t want his carelessness to ruin the original plan,” Snape replied. “Have we found all the Horcruxes?”
“If the count is correct, we should be close,” Dumbledore said thoughtfully. “Aside from what we discussed earlier, keep an extra eye on Tom himself.
“My guess is he’ll keep the final Horcrux close for protection.”
“What is it...?”
“I don’t know,” Dumbledore shook his head. “I had a theory, but someone took her away from Tom.”
“But knowing Tom, he’ll likely choose another snake-like magical creature. Maybe a Horned Serpent… or a Runespoor.”
...
After the image faded, Professor McGonagall slowly rose from the Pensieve. A moment later, she was back on the floor of the headmaster’s office, her expression a complex mix of shock and disbelief.
She had never imagined that Snape had been a spy working against Voldemort. Up until now, she had never questioned his loyalties, and had been utterly convinced he was a Death Eater.
Clearly, Snape’s disguise had been flawless. But that was also what had kept him hidden from Voldemort all this time.
Professor McGonagall tried to reason through it, but the more she thought about it, the more agitated she became.
By Merlin’s beard… How could Snape possibly be on their side? Was that classic Death Eater behavior of his all an act?
She even began to suspect that this memory might be a fake.
“You’ve known about this for a while, haven’t you?” she asked, looking up at Kyle.
“More or less,” Kyle said. “Professor Dumbledore hinted at it before, but I only understood what he meant recently.”
In situations like this, blaming everything on Dumbledore was the safest bet. Whatever she said, it wasn’t like he could jump in to contradict him now.
Professor McGonagall pressed her lips together, not doubting Kyle’s explanation.
Dumbledore’s hints… They really could be impossible to understand. And without a clear explanation, even she couldn’t have guessed Snape was actually undercover.
“Then what about this bottle of memories?” she asked after a moment. “You seemed to know exactly where to find it. Who told you—Severus?”
“No, it was Professor Dumbledore,” Kyle replied calmly. “After the war, Fawkes told me everything.”
“Is that so?” Professor McGonagall didn’t question it.
Fawkes was very close to Kyle—something that wasn’t exactly a secret among the professors at Hogwarts. With the intelligence of a phoenix, that kind of connection wasn’t hard to form.
What Professor McGonagall couldn’t understand was why Dumbledore hadn’t just told her directly.
After thinking it over without reaching any conclusions, she turned to look at Dumbledore’s portrait on the wall.
But just like the other former headmasters, the Dumbledore in the portrait had his eyes closed, feigning sleep. When Professor McGonagall stared at him, his eyelids even twitched slightly now and then.
Getting an answer out of him seemed impossible. McGonagall let out a sigh.
Technically, this memory should be enough to clear Snape of being a Death Eater.
With this as evidence, all warrants for his arrest could be dropped. If he wanted to stay at Hogwarts as a professor, there would be no issue.
And if that were the case… then the Voldemort he rescued hadn’t left either...
“Oh, damn it…” McGonagall instinctively drew her wand.
Kyle flinched in surprise. “Professor, what are you doing?”
“I asked you a question,” McGonagall said sternly. “When you saw Severus, what was he doing? Was there anyone else with him—or any animals nearby?”
Kyle quickly understood what she was getting at.
“No,” he shook his head. “When I saw Snape, he was alone. And he was looking for you.”
“Looking for me?”
“That’s right.” Kyle pointed to the Pensieve on the table. “I’m guessing he wanted to explain this.”
“But I figured it wasn’t appropriate for him to show up in the headmaster’s office before you saw the memory, so I convinced him to wait somewhere else.”
“Well… I have to say, that was the right call.” McGonagall gave Kyle an approving glance.
If Snape had come straight here, she might not have bothered watching the memory first.
She rubbed her fingers along the rim of the Pensieve. “Kyle, could I trouble you to bring him here… No, never mind. I’ll go to him myself.”
She remembered there were still others in the castle. If Snape were spotted on his way here, it could trigger a battle instantly.
After all, the contents of the memory hadn’t been made public yet, and in everyone else’s eyes, Snape was still very much a Death Eater.
Waltzing into Hogwarts like that would be no different from walking to his death.
“Where is Severus?” Professor McGonagall stood up.
“In the Hospital Wing. I suggested he speak with Kanna first, and he agreed,” Kyle replied, pulling open the oak door beside him and stepping out.
“Miss Prince...” McGonagall halted mid-step.
Kyle waited by the door for a while, but when he heard nothing, he leaned back in to check.
“Professor McGonagall, weren’t you going to find him?”
“Yes, of course.” McGonagall gave a small nod and finally exited the headmaster’s office.
The two of them made their way through the castle, and along the way they ran into Slughorn, who was just returning from outside.
After exchanging a few words with him, McGonagall changed direction and led Kyle off to the other side.
“Poppy’s treating a few wizards who were hit with Dark Magic. They needed a more spacious, well-ventilated area, and Miss Prince is helping out there as well.”
The location she mentioned was near the Quidditch pitch. When they arrived, McGonagall quickly spotted Kanna—and beside her, a middle-aged wizard she recognized immediately as Snape in disguise.
She knew that wizard. He should have left the school ten minutes ago.
Transfiguration? Or Polyjuice Potion…
McGonagall stood there in thought.
“Aren’t we going over?” Kyle asked in a quiet voice.
“There’s no need to rush now that we’ve found him,” McGonagall replied with a shake of her head. “If anyone deserves to hear the truth first, it’s Miss Prince.”
“Severus will likely be busy for a while after this. Before that happens, we should give him a bit of time—to explain everything to Miss Prince properly.”
She turned away, surveying the area around them.
“And we still need to carry out a thorough check of the castle.”
“Kyle, could you find Sir Poppington and the Fat Friar for me? I’d like them to lead the other ghosts in inspecting the castle and the surrounding grounds.”
“Also, go speak with the Aurors in charge of security. Have them ease off on Hogsmeade for now and focus their attention on checking the Forbidden Forest.”
“Understood.” Kyle knew McGonagall was worried that Voldemort might still be nearby.
He was fairly sure that was impossible, but... how was he supposed to explain it?
Tell them Voldemort had been killed by him and Rosier, a Dark wizard from seventy years ago? Or that Grindelwald had left Nurmengard and resumed his decades-old conflict with Dumbledore?
There were too many tangled characters involved. Even if someone had seen it with their own eyes, they might not believe it—let alone just hear about it secondhand.
By the time he got through explaining all that, the Aurors and Hit Wizards would probably have finished sweeping the forest anyway.
So best leave it for now. Or let Snape do the explaining—Kyle didn’t have much else to do in the coming days.
“Professor, anything else?” Kyle asked.
“That’s all,” McGonagall said quietly. “I need time to think about how I’m going to explain all this to Amelia.”
“The last Death Eater… turned out to be one of us. It’s almost too incredible to believe.”