“Come on mate, it’s us. You can tell us the truth.” Ron clumsily cut the stalk of the Crystalix flower, his silver knife nearly cutting the flower in two but he didn’t even notice. He simply threw it unceremoniously into the basket and bend down to cut a second. The three of them were out in the garden conducting a practical herbology lesson. Somewhere behind them, watching them closely was Professor Sprout. They kept their voices low, making completely sure not to be overheard.

“I am telling the truth, Ron. Things here aren’t too bad.” Harry cut the stalk of the flower slowly, making sure not to injure the delicate petals. The Crystallix flowers were small and transparent, like little sculptures of glass. Harry had the impression that one wrong touch would shatter them into little shards littering the white pathway that circled the perimeter of the garden. Harry was sorry to cut them. They looked so beautiful swaying in the wind reflecting the green leaves all around them. They sparkled under the sun, separating the white sunlight into all the colors of the rainbow. As he cut, he saw a flash of bright red and deep blue followed by a vibrant yellow. They were truly beautiful, too beautiful to be simply chopped into pieces and dumbed into the bottom of a foul smelling cauldron.

“Are you saying that you and Professor Snape are getting along now?” Hermione asked, oddly frowning at the idea. Harry thought that she, at least, would be glad of the news. Hermione had already finished plucking the flowers and now, she was busy separating the petals with an expert touch. Typical. Even in these extra lessons that were really only meant for Harry she was well ahead of him. She drove the tip of her silver dagger into the heart of the flower without the least hesitant as if she had done this a thousand times before.

“Well, you could say that…” Harry started to defend the professor but he was quickly interrupted.

“Of course not! Who could ever get along with that greasy git?” Ron exclaimed, his knife hacking at the plants with extra violence. The flower dropped to the ground and instantly shattered. Glass shards covered the earth at his feet, ready to prick the first person who come near. He ignored Hermione’s indignant shake of the head. “He’s a death eater for bloody crying out loud. What the hell was Dumbledore thinking sending you here?”

“Oh, Ron, why do you always come to such hasty conclusions?” Hermione whispered, turning around nervously to make sure that the professor was still out of earshot. Professor Sprout was pruning some of the more valuable ingredients, shredding the dried leaves, plucking out weeds that grew in between the tall sturdy stems. She seemed so absorbed in her task that she had completely forgotten the three of them. It was just as well. Ron could never keep his voice down when he got riled up.

“I do have strong doubts about him but nothing is definitely proven yet.” Hermione continued.

“Who needs proof? Everyone knows it. That nutter is the bad guy!” Harry smiled, lightheartedly. He had missed this, the familiar sound of his best friends arguing until both their faces had turned bright red. Hermione trying to be fair and reasonable while Ron just ranted on and on, driven by his anger at the injustice of the world. Harry didn’t even bother to let his voice be heard. What did it matter? When the two of them were at it, they didn’t even hear him.

“We don’t know that for sure! Everyone is innocent until proven guilty.” Hermione countered hotly.

“Calling Snape innocent is like calling a dragon cuddly. Only Hagrid would be thick enough to do that!” Ron exclaimed letting another flower shatter onto the ground. If he continued this way, he would have no ingredients left to prepare. Harry wondered what Professor Snape would think if he knew they were wasting his carefully harvested plants.

“There is no need to jump to conclusions. Yes, Professor Snape is not friendly but that does not make him a death eater.”

“Yeah but that great ugly mark on his arm does.” Ron countered with a very smug expression as if he had proved his point beyond a doubt.

“Oh Ronald, why do you have to bring out that mark every time we have this discussion? We have already gone over this. Professor Snape used to be a death eater but now he is working as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix.” Hermione whispered, always the cautious one. Even in her indignation, she never forgot where she was, a few meters away from a woman who trusted Professor Snape completely.

“Once a death eater, always a death eater!”

“I base my opinions only on facts, not on popular saying, no matter how nice they sound.” Hermione stated reaching out to catch another flower that Ron carelessly let drop.

“We have facts too, Hermione, or have you forgotten about them?” Ron exclaimed indignantly as Hermione yanked the silver dagger from his grasp and started cutting the flowers herself. She couldn’t stand to see the damage of perfectly good potion ingredients just because Ron didn’t know how to channel his anger. Behind them, they could hear the steady clip clip of the shears as Professor Sprout went about gathering the blue tinged leaves often used for sleeping draughts. She was moving closer. Soon she would pass right by them and Harry had the feeling that she would not like this conversation.

“I admit that we have some incriminating evidence against him but it is not enough. We cannot form a valid conclusion from what we have learned. We need more facts.” Harry perked up his ears at Hermione’s words. What incriminating evidence? When had they found out? There was definitely something he was missing here. They had spent the entire morning learning different spells in both charms and transfigurations and although Harry was glad to have his friends there with him, they didn’t have a chance to talk in private. Harry found out that Hermione had spent the last week at the Burrow with Ron but she refused to say what they had been up to. Something against the rules, since they seemed strangely reluctant to speak of it in front of their herbology professor.

“Guys what…?” Harry’s reluctant voice was drowned out by Ron’s sharper words.

“For once I agree with you, Mione. We need to know more. If not, old Dumbledore would never believe us and that greasy git will win.”

“What are the two of you talking about?” Harry exclaimed loudly, trying to get himself heard. Professor Sprout looked up from her work and for a moment, the three of them held their breathe. Don’t come over here. Harry thought crossing his fingers behind him. He really wanted to know what they were talking about. Snape wasn’t evil. He couldn’t be. At least, that is what Harry wanted to believe. He wanted them to get along but there was a doubt in his mind, a feeling that he couldn’t quite shake off. Harry had gone over Snape’s behavior when he told him of the door and he felt that Snape had gotten him exactly where he wanted, storming off angrily and forgetting all about that door. Was there really something behind it, something that Snape didn’t want him to see? Thankfully Professor Sprout only waved a gloved hand at them and continued to chip away at the plants.

“What did you find out?” He asked again, anxious for an answer. Hermione and Ron exchanged a meaningful glance. Harry couldn’t help feeling a pang of jealousy. The thought of the two of them going on adventures completely forgetting about him was not exactly pleasant.

“Harry, we need to tell you something important but I don’t know if we should talk here…” Hermione’s eyes darted to Professor Sprouts back.

“Oh, come on. She can’t hear us. Besides, who knows when we’ll have another chance.” Hermione nodded at Ron’s words and pursing her lips, she started to talk in a very serious tone, something that did not reassure Harry.

“Do you remember the Malfoys, Harry?”

“You mean the pointy faced git who’s always trying to get us expelled. Yeah, I might vaguely remember something about him.” Harry stated sarcastically.

“We’re not only talking about that brat! The whole family is connected with You-Know-Who. Dad even thinks Lucius Malfoy might have been his right hand man. And we definitely know that the Malfoy in our class is a foul git. They are evil, those Malfoys, and Snape along with them.”

“Nobody is doubting the fact that Malfoy senior is a death eater. What I’m saying is that this doesn’t automatically make Professor Snape one too.” Hermione stated, looking very exasperated.

“Hermione is right Ron. Why would that make Snape a death eater?”

“Because of Diagon Alley.” Ron looked at Harry’s blank expression. “Oh, that’s right. We didn’t have a chance to tell you about that either.” Harry shook his head, feeling queasy. Now that they had come to it, Harry didn’t really want to know what they were talking about. Was it really that important to know whether Snape was hiding anything? Everybody had secrets but that does not mean they are working for Voldemort.

“Hermione and I went to Diagon Alley yesterday to check out a pet for her when we saw Snape walking down the road, billowing robes and everything.” Ron picked up a flower from the basket and started twirling it in his hand. The glass petals glistened as they spun around, faster and faster. They clinked together to form a strange melody like that of wind chimes dancing wildly in the harsh wind. “Then, of course we had to follow him.”

“Both of you?” Harry asked astonished. “You spied on a teacher, Hermione?”

“I didn’t like it at all but I had to, Harry. I hope that Professor Snape is not working for You-Know-Who but I can’t know that for sure, not unless I have some definite proof.” Hermione went on. She had suddenly gone very serious. The mild irritation at Ron had given way to real concern. “I will not say that he is a death eater, not without a solid reason but I am still scared, Harry. If he really is working for the dark side then you are in great danger here. You are in his house and if he wanted to, he could hurt you.”

“Don’t worry, Mione. Really, I’m fine here. Snape isn’t exactly easy to live with. He gets angry unexpectedly and he still insults me from time to time but he is getting better. Just this morning, I had an almost normal conversation with him. He did not once hurt me, Hermione. He could have, and I think that sometimes he even wanted to but he didn’t.” Hermione nodded with a small smile but the look of concern never left her eyes.

“Maybe he’s just waiting for You-Know-Who to get stronger so that he can hand you to him and get all the glory.” Ron added.

“It’s really sweet of you guys to look out for me but there’s no need to spy on Snape.”

“There is every need, Harry.” Hermione pointed out firmly. “Believe me, if there was no need, I would not be doing it. You know how much I hate breaking the rules. Spying on someone else goes against everything I believe in but we need to find out the truth. Your safety depends on it.”

“Are you telling me you’ll continue to spy on him?” Harry felt uneasy. Snape was a complicated man, hard to understand and even harder to live with but he didn’t want to throw away the possibility of them growing closer. When Snape spoke about his students Harry had felt the desire to be considered like one of them. He wanted to have someone looking out for him. A silly idea. His friends were right, Snape could be a death eater. Besides they still can’t spend a day together without major drama breaking out. He was being silly but he couldn’t help it, he didn’t want to give Snape a reason to be angry at him.

“Just listen to what we already found out about him and then judge for yourself.” Ron pointed out. Harry nodded and sat up straighter. He really was being silly. If Snape was working for Voldemort, it was Harry’s duty to find out. People’s lives could be put at risk. It’s like Hermione said, he doesn’t like it but he had to do it.

“Go ahead then. Where did Snape go?”

“He went into Knockturn alley where he met Malfoy and another man whose face was completely hidden by a large black hood. Together the three of them entered into a pub. We tried to follow but we couldn’t. There was a magical barrier that protected the place. Whenever we went near the door it glowed red and refused to open.” Hermione said.

“That isn’t really a big deal. You guys told me that Snape is a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. If he’s a spy, wouldn’t he hang out with death eaters to see what they’re up to?” Harry countered.

“That is what I thought, Harry, and I did tell you we didn’t have definite proof. Only bits and pieces that appear suspicious.”

“We have enough to know the truth! Really, Mione, what else do you want? A big sign on his chest saying, ‘Arrest me, I’m a death eater.” Ron shook his head.

“Anyway, after we saw him with Malfoy in Knockturn alley we thought of a way to find out more about their connection.” Hermione continued, shooting a glare in Ron’s direction.

“We tried asking my Dad but he didn’t know anything and he didn’t like us asking questions about Snape so we tried this other bloke, Mr. Lowald. He’s one of Dad’s close friends from work. He has been working for forty years in the Department of magical law enforcement so we hoped he’d know something about Snape’s crimes.” Ron continued. “It turns out, we were more than right. We didn’t ask him why but it’s obvious that this guy hates Snape even more than we do. I think that he knew Snape better than he let on.”

“Harry, Snape has a criminal record. A very long criminal record. He has been through many different trials but he was found innocent every time.” Hermione said, lowering her voice to a nearly inaudible whisper. Professor Sprout has moved closer, the steady rhythm of the shears the only thing keeping their voices from reaching her ears.

“He was tried more than once?” Harry asked, curious despite himself to know something about the man’s past.

“Oh, yeah. He has been charged with so many crimes, it’s hard to remember even half of them.” Ron scrunched up his face, trying to recall what he had heard. "Experimenting with dangerous potions, using the unforgiveables, kidnapping, using dark magic, messing around with people’s minds and even poisoning a few poor blokes. And there was a heck of a lot more too.”

“That definitely is a big list.” Harry turned towards his basket of ingredients and picked up a flower. He had to cut it right along the middle and extract the seeds without damaging the petals. A hard task, something that required great concentration, something that Harry was only too glad to give. This conversation was making him highly uneasy. “But didn’t you say he was found innocent of the crimes.”

“Yes he was but only because Lucius Malfoy was his lawyer and, as we said before, he has a lot of power and influence. Mr. Lowald says that the evidence against Professor Snape was overwhelming but most of the Wizengamot were too afraid to speak out for fear of their lives.” Hermione stated, watching Harry closely. She looked worried as if she could sense the turmoil in her friend’s mind. She had always been very perceptive.

“I thought it was Dumbledore who kept him out of Azkaban.” Harry carefully sliced through the flowers. A deep red juice seeped out of it and flowed onto his fingers. He had forgotten to put on his gloves. The juice stuck onto his fingers making them sticky and uncomfortable.

“There was one trial which was worse than all the rest put together. He and three of his fellow death eaters were accused of torturing a man who had been a valiant member of the Order of the Phoenix. They used the cruciatus curse until he were driven to madness. After they were done with him, they tortured his wife until she was begging for death. Then they locked the doors and set fire to the building leaving the two of them to roast to death.” The silver knife slipped from Harry’s fingers and tumbled to the ground, its sharp point leaving a small cut on his leg. Harry didn’t even notice the pain. His head was spinning with the image of a woman screaming while fire licked at her skin, melting it away.

“Professor Snape and the three other death eaters were arrested and it looked like they would be sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. This time, not even the great Lucius Malfoy could help him, no matter how hard he tried. Then Dumbledore appeared. He said that Professor Snape had been with the death eaters only as a spy for the light side. He stated that Professor Snape was unfortunately unable to save the family since he was outnumbered three to one. Then he vouched for his potions master, saying that he would never commit such a crime. The people believed him. After all, the most powerful light wizard had proclaimed his innocence. Nobody thought to doubt him.”

“But then he must be innocent! Dumbledore wouldn’t just lie. If he said that Snape was innocent then he probably was.” Harry exclaimed.

“I don’t know, Harry. Professor Snape has been tried for so many crimes. He can’t just be innocent all the time and the worst part is, the trials didn’t stop after the family burned. Only three months after that major trial he was accused again of poisoning a man, every scrap of evidence pointing towards him.” Hermione sighed. She closed her basket with a snap. Her work was done. Seeds and petals were resting neatly inside two separate containers.

“Weren’t you the one who was trying to say that Snape was innocent, Hermione?” Harry pointed out.

“No. I was only saying that we have no definite proof that he is a death eater, not yet at least. All we have are theories and conjectures. I don’t want to believe that a man Professor Dumbledore trusts so completely could be evil. It seems unlikely that he would’ve made such a big error of judgment but…” Hermione bit her lip thoughtfully. It was odd seeing her so conflicted. “What I heard from Mr. Lowald was very disquieting.”

“Dumbledore can make mistakes. He let a man with You-Know-Who sticking out the back of his head teach Defense,” said Ron. “Who’s to say he didn’t make the same mistake with Snape? The man’s a sadistic evil bastard, everybody knows that. Dumbledore is just wrong this time. If you ask me, he’s getting too old for his job.”

“I think I’ll interrupt you there.” A voice right behind them called out. All three of them jumped to their feet and turned around, their guilt written all over their faces. Professor Sprout was looking at them oddly, a plant clutched on one hand and a scissor in the other. Dirt marked every inch of her, from her gardening boots to the grey hair on her head. Harry gulped, shuffling his feet awkwardly. How much had she heard? Did she know that they had been spying on Snape?

“Are you three finished separating the Crystallix flowers?” She said evenly. There was no trace of a smile on her face.

“I am.” Hermione’s voice was more high pitched than usual but it was steady. “Ron has just finished cutting the flowers and Harry is halfway through separating the parts.” Professor Sprout nodded once. They had never seen her look so serious. It made Harry squirm with discomfort.

“I think that’ll be enough for today. Let’s go back inside. It’s going to rain soon. These large grey clouds don’t seem very friendly.” Without another word she led them away from the small hedged in garden they had been working in. They followed the twisting pathways, passing through different gardens all decked with strange plants growing in neat lines and circles. Soon they had lost all sense of direction. They just followed in their silent professor’s wake, not daring to open their mouths. Harry wanted to speak and apologize but he wasn’t sure how much she had heard or why she was this upset. She seemed more sad than angry as she walked slowly along the road, not looking left or right. Was she sad that they had spied on her colleague or that they didn’t trust Dumbledore? Is it possible she had heard something about Snape that upset her? Harry couldn’t tell what the matter was. He tried to catch Hermione’s eye but she was looking straight ahead, her chin high and her lips pursed. She looked oddly determined as she walked with her basket dangling from her arm and her locks of brown hair bouncing all around her head.

They arrived at room where Harry had first seen the four of them emerge out of the fireplace. It had only been a few hours ago but it seemed a lifetime away. They had all been filled with smiles and laughter but now, only solemn faces were seen. Hermione was still looking as impenetrable as stone while Ron just looked plain uncomfortable. He kept clearing his throat and shuffling his feet. He didn’t seem to know what to do with his arms either. He kept moving them, crossing them over his chest one moment, only to join them behind his back the next.

“Well, kids. It’s time you two went home.” She looked weary as she took the basket from Harry’s hand and moved towards the fireplace. They were leaving. This soon. Harry felt a lump in his throat. He didn’t want his friends to ever leave. An impractical idea but it didn’t prevent him from wishing they would remain by his side, at least for a little longer. He had a lot to digest and their friendly words would’ve been a great help. Harry forced himself to speak, to attempt to make things right.

“Professor, I’m sorry about what you overheard at the garden.” Harry stated, willing Professor Sprout to be more open than Snape. “We shouldn’t have been saying those stuff about Professor Snape. You don’t have to leave early, professor.”

“Oh, Harry.” Professor Sprout gave him a sad little smile. “I’m not leaving because of what I heard you kids saying. Your friends and I only meant to stay until dinner, I told you that when we first came here. Molly will be waiting for them to come home with the table already set. It wouldn’t do to keep her waiting.”

“Oh, I didn’t know it was that late.” Harry said, feeling slightly foolish. “So you’re not angry about earlier?”

“I more sad than angry, Harry. Professor Snape leads a very hard life, constantly risking his life for the light side. The least he deserves is a bit of respect. I know well that students talk ill of him behind his back and it always makes me unhappy. He is a good man at heart but there are not many who see this.”

“But he has done…” Ron interjected.

“That does not matter, Ron. It does not matter who he has been but who he is now. He does his best to protect all his students from coming to harm and what does he get in return? Scorn, distrust, even hatred. Does that sound fair to you?” They were silent. What could they say to that?

“I don’t think I need to remind you of the number of times he tried to save your life last year, Harry. I think that adding to the cruel rumors that are already flying around the castle is a bad way to repay him.”

“But he’s not…” Ron’s words turned into a groan of pain as Hermione elbowed him in the ribs, hard.

“We’re sorry, professor.” Hermione stated but her determined expression hadn’t changed. She was a girl on a mission and no amount of honey coated words would change that.

“I know you don’t mean any harm, dears.” Professor Sprout gave them a genuine smile. Her checks covered with patches of dirt were flushed pink from the chill outside air. “He can be a little scary sometimes but that doesn’t make him a bad person. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid and not to mention myself completely trust him and we have good reason to. I can’t tell you the reasons since it deals with his private life but just for once, can’t you trust us, Harry. After all, we know him much better than you do.”

“Yes, professor.” The trio stated in unison, their voices little more than a whisper.

“Well,
we’d best be going, dears. Goodbye Harry. We’ll be seeing you on Monday.”
“Bye, professor.” She threw the white powder into the fireplace and the flames hissed in protest, their color turning emerald green. She stepped into the fireplace and yelled ‘The Burrow.’ With a wave and a smile, her body shimmered out of sight, leaving the three of them alone in the room, if only for an instant. Hermione turned around suddenly and placed a hand on each of Harry’s shoulder. Her chocolate brown eyes pierced through him, strong and sharp as ever.

“Harry, we cannot stop this. We need to learn more about Professor Snape’s personal life.”

“But…” Harry was shocked. He was certain that after Professor Sprout’s words they would let it go.

“No ‘but’s. The three of us need to work together and make a plan to gain more information about him.” Hermione said firmly, her gaze still fixed on his face.

“You mean you still want to spy on him.” Harry certainly did not like where this was going.

“Yes, Harry, that is exactly what I mean. Trust me, I do not want to do this and until I have definite proof, I will not believe that Professor Snape is working for the dark side. However, we must consider the possibility that it might be true and if it is, we need to get you out of here, fast.”

“She’s right, mate. The greasy git could be dangerous.” Ron interjected.

“But guys, this is Snape we’re talking about. What do you want to do? Bug him, follow him into death eater meetings? That’s dangerous and probably not very useful. Snape is much more powerful than we are and he’s extra paranoid. He has protective spells on everything. There’s no way to spy on the man.” Harry didn’t mention the other reason why he was so reluctant. He didn’t tell them how he had begun to trust Snape even more than Dumbledore. They’d think he was mental if they knew that if Harry wanted the plain truth, the first person he would consider asking was Snape.

“I don’t how, Harry, but there is always a way. We will find it.” Harry was astonished at Hermione’s strength of will. Usually they had to practically drag her along if they wanted to break the rules but now their roles had reversed. It was Harry that drew back as Hermione pursued the truth, heedless of any danger. Hermione must have sensed his thoughts because suddenly she was answering them.

“So many people that have dared to come close to Snape have ended up dead or tortured or even insane. I’m terrified, Harry, that you might be the next victim. You won’t be just another victim. I will not let that ever happen to you.” Her eyes were watery all of a sudden. Harry felt a warm surge of affection for Hermione. All his life, he had been alone and it was in moment like these that he realized how lucky he was to have such loyal friends. They were probably wrong and they could get him in big trouble with Snape but right now that didn’t seem to matter. All that mattered was that they cared enough for him to go through such lengths to ensure his safety.

“We’re just looking out for you, mate.” Ron thumped him on the back.

“I know, guys.” He smiled at them and gave Hermione a brief hug. “I hope there’s nothing to worry about but I’ll keep an eye out for anything suspicious.”

“And watch out for ours letters, Harry. When we find out more information about him, we’ll send you an owl.” Hermione said, moving to the fireplace and lifting a handful of floo powder from the grey pot sitting on the mantelpiece. The dust slipped between her fingers and slithered onto the carpet in a fine trickle. “We think that it will be dangerous to send information openly in case Professor Snape might read your letters so we’ll be using invisible ink.”

“But we can’t use magic outside of school. How am I supposed to read it?” Harry said. Hermione threw the powder onto the flames, calmly but clearly stating her destination.

“I’m talking about the muggle version of invisible ink. In other words, lemon juice. We’ll be writing any compromising information on the envelope itself and the letter will just be about normal things.”
“If Snape gets suspicious, he’ll just examine the letter. He probably wouldn’t give a second thought to the envelope. That’s brilliant, Hermione!” She smiled as a faint flush crept across her cheeks. The three of them exchanged a brief goodbye and then, entirely too quickly in Harry’s opinion, his friends were gone, transported far away by the hissing flames. The sudden quiet that descended once more on the house seemed to close in on Harry, bringing him a sense of deep unease, reminding him forcefully of what he had learned today. The picture of the burning woman returned to his mind with a vengence.