Memories of a death eater (Severus x OC)

9. Day 7

A middle-aged dark-skinned woman appeared before him, looking at him in amazement, perhaps because of the late hour, or because of the headmaster's extravagant appearance.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I want to speak to Mr. and Mrs. Letter," said Dumbledore. The woman's face seemed to transfigure into a very strange expression.

"I'm sorry, sir, but Mr. and Mrs. Letter died last week."

"Who are you?"

"Clarise Wood, the landlady. The Letters rented this house."

Dumbledore tried to explore her mind with Legilimency, but something stopped him. Surprised, he looked carefully at the woman. She wasn't defending herself with Occlumency, but there was something that prevented him from penetrating her thoughts. Could it be magic?

"Could I take a look at the house?" he asked, insisting with his mind on what surrounded the woman. Yes, there was magic around her. Could that woman be a witch?

"It's not a good time," she replied, looking around. It was evident that she distrusted him, his attire and his strange questions.

"Mrs. Wood, my name may not be familiar to you, but I am Albus Dumbledore, and it is vitally important for me to speak with Mr. and Mrs. Letter."

"Gentleman, I don't care who you are, but I repeat that the Letters have passed away," Clarise insisted, trying to control her nervousness. "I would appreciate it if you leave, or I will call the police."

But Dumbledore had done a few spells and had realized several things: that Clarise Wood was not who she said she was, that that building was protected by magic, and that there were more people inside it.

"I beg your pardon, madam, I assure you that I would not do this if it were not really necessary," and taking out his wand he cast a spell on the woman so that she would not speak and forced her to move away from the door.

When he tried to enter the building, he felt like he was walking through a wall of gelatin. He recognized that spell, as it was very similar to the ones used to reinforce the protection of Hogwarts, so it was easy for him to undo it and cross the barrier.

Once inside the house, Dumbledore could hear things that he had not been able to hear before, because of the shield. There were people rushing through the rooms, and running up the stairs. Putting himself on guard, Dumbledore prepared to climb them, but then a woman stood behind him and pointed a wand at his back.

"Do not move!" she shouted. "Raise your arms and do nothing else."

"Laura Snape?" Dumbledore asked. He had recognized her voice. Turning towards her, he saw the same woman who had appeared in Snape's last memories.

"What do you want?" she asked. The hand holding the wand trembled, but her expression was very serious and determined. If he did something unexpected, she would attack him. Although, on the other hand, the headmaster was almost sure that she would not be able to do excessive damage.

"I'm Albus Dum–"

"I already know who you are! I want to know what you're doing here."

"I have come to find out why an innocent man is about to be executed for a crime he did not commit," he replied, calmly.

"What? What do you mean?" the woman opened her eyes wide.

"I'm talking about your brother. He is in Azkaban, accused of murder."

At that point, Dumbledore heard a gasp behind him. He turned, being careful not to turn his back on Laura, and saw that Mary-Anne was upstairs. The current Mrs. Snape was deathly pale, covering her mouth with her hands.