In that moment, Harry Potter couldn't help but recall Snape's biting sarcasm, the kind that had haunted his nightmares since their very first Potions class. Those subtle, pointed jabs echoed in his mind.
He and my mother were good friends when they were at school?!
Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he processed the words, a torrent of questions flooding his thoughts. But seeing Roger's calm, confident demeanor and Snape's increasingly twisted expression, something clicked.
Could it be true?
A moment of stunned silence passed as Harry's mind raced, filled with bewildering questions and a sense of disbelief.
"...Roger!"
Unlike Harry, whose shock was obvious, Snape's pupils blazed with rage, his anger bubbling to the surface like a dragon whose scales had just been touched.
"Hmm?" Roger asked, feigning innocence as he raised an eyebrow.
Harry watched, wide-eyed, as Snape's lips curled into a snarl. He began slowly drawing his wand, as if preparing to duel. Roger, however, merely waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't misunderstand," Roger said quickly, sensing the tension in the air. "I didn't come here looking for trouble."
Even so, Roger took a small step back, prepared to defend himself if needed.
"I just wanted to help Harry understand more about his family," Roger continued, his voice steady. "You know his situation. Not just you, but there are other faculty members at Hogwarts who have memories of Harry's family. I'll be visiting them one by one later."
He paused, looking at Snape. "But you, Professor, are probably the one at the school who understands Harry's mother the most. After all, you knew her before her Hogwarts acceptance letter even arrived. So, I came to visit you first."
Snape's lips parted, a low growl rising in his throat. "I—"
"Silence!" Snape suddenly bellowed, cutting Roger off. His voice filled the room, sharp and commanding.
Snape's face flushed red with fury, but as the words sank in, his expression changed. The anger began to fade, and his face turned ashen, almost ghostly pale.
Memories long buried deep in his heart stirred, resurfacing with Roger's words, pushing the walls of his restraint to their breaking point. Every emotion, every thought he'd tried to suppress came rushing back in a flood—those bittersweet, unresolved feelings twisted in his chest like a knife coated in poison.
Snape raised his wand, his eyes narrowing with dangerous intent.
Roger met his gaze unwaveringly, his calm composure unwavering even under the pressure of Snape's anger.
In the end, however, Snape's wand did not point at Roger. Instead, it pressed against his own temple, as if the anger inside him could only be expended on himself. With a flick, a strand of shimmering silver memory was pulled from Snape's mind.
"You detestable seer," Snape spat, his voice low and heavy with hostility, "close your prying eyes, take these memories, and leave my office. Immediately."
The silvery-white memory floated into Roger's Pensieve, and Roger, calm as ever, flicked the surface of the Pensieve with his finger, inspecting the memories inside. Then he paused.
"…Professor Snape," Roger said, his tone tinged with amusement, "You've even included a bit of resentment in there."
Snape's lip curled in a sardonic smirk, his face inches from Roger's. "Is that not allowed?" he mocked. "They can do it, but I can't say it?"
Roger nodded as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. "Of course."
Snape, however, had a different reaction. He watched in growing disbelief as Roger reached into the Pensieve—literally pulling the memory out with his hands. With swift, precise movements, Roger 'edited' the memory like a silkworm spinning silk, carefully removing the parts concerning James Potter, Harry's father.
Before Snape could fully react, Roger threw the edited memories back into the Pensieve, one by one.
Snape's gaze faltered. He couldn't comprehend Roger's actions. Why would Roger remove those parts?
Roger, never one to leave anyone in suspense, explained simply, "Everyone is multifaceted, complex, with both good and bad sides. I want Harry to see the more real side of things, not just a grand, idealized painting of his parents."
He paused, letting the words sink in. "Of course, I'll have Harry watch the more controversial memories last, so he can make his own judgment on the matter. I won't interfere."
For Roger, the deal with Harry was simple. Harry would become Roger's "technical miner," helping him uncover the mysteries of time and space, while Roger would help him revive his parents. But for that to work, Roger couldn't afford for there to be any deception. Harry had to know the full truth—especially before embarking on a journey that could distort his perceptions and motivations.
If Harry's progress ever faltered, or if he discovered something during the time-space journey that made him doubt everything, that could be disastrous. It was better to clear up any hidden dangers from the start.
This was Roger's true purpose in bringing Harry to Snape.
Even if Snape hadn't given him memories of James Potter, Roger would have eventually asked for them. There were no secrets here—only the truth.
Snape and Roger locked eyes again. Roger's gaze remained open, calm, and genuine, while the hostility in Snape's eyes gradually ebbed away. As he studied Roger, Snape realized something that he hadn't before: Roger wasn't like other people. There was something different about him—a quiet resolve, a clarity that reminded Snape of another person from his past.
Even though Snape was wary of Roger, even hostile toward him, there was no need to suspect him. Roger was a person who could be trusted, even if he didn't make things easy.
"Hmph," Snape muttered as he turned away, his anger still simmering under the surface. "When you leave, close the door tightly."
Roger smiled slightly, unfazed by Snape's curt dismissal.
"Thank you, Professor," Roger said with a nod, and then, with a flick of his wrist, he closed the door behind him.
Snape stood alone in the office, his mind churning with old memories, and a sense of quiet bitterness clinging to him like a shadow.
Detestable seer.
"So… Snape really was good friends with my mother?" Harry asked, his voice laced with disbelief as he and Roger exited the Head of Slytherin's office. It was only now, after the shock had worn off a little, that Harry began to process what had just happened.
There was no avoiding it—this was a bombshell. Snape?
In the eyes of most Gryffindors, especially Harry, who had been the target of Snape's hostility more times than he could count, the man was almost synonymous with the Dark Lord himself.
"Their relationship is more complicated than you think. You'll understand more after you see the memories," Roger replied, his tone casual. He had no intention of sugar-coating things. The truth inside was tangled with so many other stories—James Potter, Sirius Black, and all the other messy details—that if Roger tried to explain it, it would turn into a never-ending retelling. It was simply too exhausting to go through.
"Then why is he so mean to me?" Harry muttered, his head lowered. His thoughts were a whirlwind, a chaotic tangle of confusion. In the span of just a few minutes, everything he thought he knew about the world had been turned upside down.
"It's also tied to your parents," Roger began, turning his gaze toward Harry. "But don't think that Snape's animosity toward you is the whole story. Despite the way he acts, he's one of the few people in the world who would risk everything, even his life, to protect you."
Harry stopped walking, his mind still reeling, his face frozen in a mask of disbelief. He looked like he'd just been hit by something too big to comprehend all at once, as if he'd been struck dumb by a revelation that was simply too much to take in.
Roger smiled faintly at the sight. "It's true, Harry. Don't forget—I'm a seer. I can see the future."
He paused, watching Harry's expression shift from shock to intrigue.
"Want to see it? A glimpse of the future?"
... patreon Seasay