Chapter 15

Harry gulped at the seriousness of his former Professor. The man had almost a wild look in his eyes while holding his arm out with the Dark Mark. "Snape, I did say it was all theoretical," Harry reiterated. "I've never actually done it. Most Deatheaters were dead or senile and in prison when I finally figured out the magical matrix,"

"Potter, if you get rid of this offending mark from my person, not only will I snog you into next year, I will deliver the Headmaster's downfall on a silver platter. There are many things a spy unearths, even from his own employer,"

"Huh," Harry uttered before it hit him. "Snape you sodding bastard. You've been holding out on me,"

"Mr. Potter, I am a Slytherin. Did you really expect me not to have an ace up my sleeve should the Headmaster get.... Difficult?"

"Okay, but the process will hurt a lot. And I do mean a lot. The magic is literally designed to sear away intrusive magic," Harry explained and while Snape was listening he didn't change his mind. When Snape wasn't dissuaded he motioned for the other to sit down on the chair he had previously transfigured. Harry took out his new wand and with intense concentration started hissing in a low, sultry tone. Snape shivered at the sudden parseltongue while red mist emanated from Harry's wand. The mist started enveloping his left arm and a sharp stinging pain made the Potion Master gasp. The man bit his tongue as the mist entered the Dark Mark once Harry had finished chanting.

"That wasn't so..." Snape said but he stopped when the burning pain in his arm flared up. It felt like being stung by a million fire ants at the same time before his whole arm felt on fire. Snape hadn't even noticed that he had pitched forward and Harry had caught him. Not even Harry's arms around him, trying to calm him down got his attention as the Dark Lord's magic was literally being burned away. His vision shifted in front of him. The sudden split vision caused more disorientation before he ended up fainting.

"Snape! Snape!" Harry shouted quite worried as the man went limp in his arms.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was pacing in his office. It was a sunny day, which was wonderful given the weather in Britain however, he noticed none of that. Instead, he was venting his frustrations to Fawkes as the Phoenix preened. Not only had Minerva been giving him the cold shoulder but Remus had distanced himself from the Order as well. Not only that he needed to find a new Healer for the hospital win since Poppy had quit so suddenly and to top it all off his wand was on the fritz.

He glared at the Elder wand on his desk. Ever since Snape had disarmed him in the hospital wing the damn wand would not work right. Sure it obeyed for minor spells but for bigger ones, it wouldn't budge. He had to dig out his original wand from his room just to be able to do magic. From one of the paintings, Phineas Nigellus Black was laughing up a storm.

"Will you stop that Phineas? Your mirth at my predicament isn't helping," The Headmaster glared.

"Merlin, I haven't laughed this long in a good while." Phineas shot back. "Honestly Dumbledore, with all your scheming you never planned for this to happen?"

"You know something don't you Phineas?" The other questioned.

"Well, I could hazard a guess. Not only did the boy's arrival pull one over on you but you also never even expected something like this to happen,"

"Phineas, I am not in the mood for games,"

"Very well," The portrait rolled his eyes. "Your longstanding obsession with the Deathly Hallows should have you realize that 'the wand chooses the wizard' is truest for the Elder wand. The wand chose you after your duel with Grindelwald and you were its Master however when Potter arrived in this universe, he was its Master as well, though the boy never asserted dominance over the Hallows... yet... but that still wouldn't mean the Elder wand wouldn't obey him as well. Furthermore, your Potions Master bested you in the most ridiculous way and disarmed you, theoretically making him the Elder Wand's Master as well. To put it simply Albus, your wand right now is torn between three Masters. Should it obey Potter as he is the Master of Death? Should it obey you since you won it in a duel? And if so, should it obey Snape since he won it off of you but if Potter is also his Master would that even count."

"Are you actually inferring that the Elder Wand is having an existential crisis?!" Albus exclaimed as his brows shot up.

"Its allegiance might be split three ways right now, lending each of you a third of its power hence why you can't cast larger spells with it. Only you Dumbledore could have overlooked the one way the strongest wand in existence might be rendered useless," Phineas jeered.

"This can't be right," The Headmaster's frown deepened.

"True, I could be wrong," Phineas continued to jab at Albus, "However, hadn't you once commented that your wand was feeling off. It was right after Mr. Potter landed in this reality as well."

"I need to consult with a professional," Dumbledore muttered as he walked to his desk briskly and stuffed the Elder wand in his robes before leaving. Fawkes looked up from where the Phoenix had been cleaning its tail feathers and warbled.

"Must you always take jabs at Albus?" a female voice uttered from one of the portraits.

"Well, Dame Creaseworthy, I most certainly must," Phineas shot back. "I can admit now that I may have been a lousy Headmaster, however, I still cared about the students' wellbeing. That however cannot be said about Albus Dumbledore. The abuse students suffered both in and outside of school cannot be overlooked. How many children had he sent back to abusive homes? How many malicious pranks by the Marauders did he brush off?" Phineas argued as the other portraits listened in rapt attention. "If I, given my reputation as Headmaster, condemn the man for his actions then what does that say about him?"

"You have valid points on the current Headmaster's actions," Creaseworthy admitted "But my point is related to the rest of the castle's inhabitants. That sadistic Dark Lord does not attack the school because he knows Albus would be a most formidable foe. If it becomes known that he cannot wield the Elder wand...."

"These walls will not fall!" Dippet exclaimed, angry that a former Headmistress would even suggest that.

"They nearly did in my time!" The lady uttered, shooting out of her chair and glaring at Dippet's painting near hers. "You Sir, had not witnessed the Witch trials!" She shot back angry. "The Witch hunts were rampant through my early life! I've seen friends hanged, drowned, burned at the stake, many of them not even having a lick of magic!" she shot back causing Dippet to take a step back at the fierceness. "I've seen children being brought before tribunals with accusations of witchcraft. When the school year ended I was afraid to go home. What if one of the townsfolk accused me? Would the hangman take me next? Would my nails be ripped from my fingers until I confessed? In my 6th year the Witch hunters came this close to uncovering Hogwarts!" she continued. "Do you know the fear all those children felt? You do not! I became Headmistress to protect these children. If Hogwarts falls....."

"Antonia, please compose yourself!" Headmaster Viridian said as he walked into her portrait to comfort her. "Dippet did not live through our time. Do not blame him Dame Creaseworthy."

"Apologies Dame Creaseworthy, I did not mean to upset," Armando apologized. "I cannot imagine how stressful your tenure had to be."

"While we are on the subject, Phineas interjected. "There might be a way for us to ensure Hogwarts does not fall, whether Albus is here or not. The Castle wards have not been strengthened since my time and I believe it is high time we had the ward stone replenished."

"You know where the wardstone is?!" Dippet uttered shocked.

"Of course I do," Phineas shot back.

"Why did you not reveal the location during my tenure?!"

"Are you really asking that?" Phineas grumbled. "Let's be real here Dippet. You were Albus's puppet and probably one of the direct causes of Voldemort's existence!"

"WHAT?!" Armando looked aghast.

"Granted the boy had just graduated but you needn't have been that harsh when he asked if he could become a teacher," Phineas argued. "At his first attempt he still considered this place his home and I do believe he genuinely wanted to teach. It was Albus whispering in your ear to reject his application outright, citing that Tom had no experience. After your rejection, Tom Riddle spiraled down the path of the Dark arts. We were all here when you and Dumbledore had THAT conversation Armando. He played you like a fiddle, citing that the lad needed at least 5 years of worldly experience before he could even be considered."

"So?!" Dippet shot back.

"So, he hired Severus as a Professor three years after graduating." Phineas shot back "Double standard much? Especially after rejecting Riddle who came back to reapply after 10 years."

"There were extenuating circumstances!" Armando argued.

"Indeed there were," Phineas continued. "But the fact that Riddle reapplied proved that he still thought of this place as his safe haven.... to some degree. No matter how far down the rabbit hole of Dark arts he was at that point."

"So again, no, you did not deserve to know where the Castle's wardstone was." Phineas reiterated, obviously referring to the fact that Dippet would have blabbed the secret to Albus before he was Headmaster. "Thankfully we have a Deputy Headmistress, that may hear us out."