Chapter 13: The Pensieve of Lies and the Potion of Truth part- 2
The room was warm, lit by floating candles and a roaring fireplace. It smelled of earl grey tea and old leather. In the center of the room, sitting on a plush velvet sofa, was Lily Evans. She was beautiful, her red hair cascading over her shoulders, but her expression was one of horror and sadness.
Sitting entirely too close to her was Lord Blackwood.
Blackwood was the definition of a "Gary Stu" Transmigrator. He had silver-blonde hair that always seemed to catch the light, a jawline sharp enough to cut diamonds, and he was wearing robes made of Acromantula silk that probably cost more than Snape's entire year's salary.
Floating between them was a silver basin—the Pensieve. shimmering with a silvery-blue liquid.
"I am so sorry, Lily," Blackwood was saying, his voice low and practiced. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I did not want to be the one to show you this. But when I saw Severus in the courtyard... with that poor beagle puppy... I knew you had to know the truth about his nature."
Lily wiped a tear from her eye. "I... I just cannot believe it. He kicked it? Into the Black Lake?"
"And laughed," Blackwood added solemnly. "He laughed, Lily. It was chilling."
(Oh, this guy is good,) Ethan observed with disgust. (He is really selling it. Look at that fake empathy. It makes me want to vomit ectoplasm.)
Snape stepped into the room. He did not slam the door. He closed it softly, the click echoing like a gunshot in the quiet room.
"Professor Blackwood," Snape said, his voice smooth and cold like oil on ice. "Lily."
Lily jumped, looking up at him. Her green eyes, usually warm when she looked at him lately, were now filled with fear and betrayal. She actually scooted closer to Blackwood.
That movement—that small recoil—hurt Snape more than any Cruciatus Curse ever could.
Blackwood stood up, positioning himself protectively in front of Lily. He drew his wand, a polished piece of white holly, but held it low. "Severus. I did not expect you to show your face here. Not after what you did."
Snape walked forward slowly, his hands visible and empty. "And what, pray tell, did I do? Besides grading dunderheaded essays on the properties of Moonstone?"
"Don't play dumb," Blackwood said, his eyes narrowing. "We saw the memory, Severus. We saw what you did to that puppy."
Snape raised an eyebrow. "A puppy. How... domestic. Tell me, Blackwood, what breed was it?"
Blackwood blinked. "What?"
"The puppy," Snape pressed, taking another step. "If I kicked it, surely I recall the breed. Was it a Beagle? A Terrier? Perhaps a Golden Retriever?"
"It... it was a Beagle," Blackwood said confidently.
"Fascinating," Snape drawled. "Because I am allergic to dog dander. If I had been within three feet of a Beagle, I would be sneezing uncontrollably. Lily knows this."
Lily paused, looking confused. "That... is true. Severus breaks out in hives around dogs."
Blackwood panic-corrected immediately. "He used a Bubble-Head Charm! To protect himself from the allergies while he abused the animal! That just shows how premeditated it was!"
(Wow,) Ethan laughed. (That was a stretch. He is flailing. Keep him talking, Snape. I am currently bypassing his firewall. This 'Director's Cut Pensieve' has a nasty encryption, but I have brute-force algorithms. give me sixty seconds.)
"A Bubble-Head Charm," Snape repeated, his lip curling. "You claim I walked through the courtyard, in broad daylight, wearing a giant bubble on my head, just to assault a canine?"
"You are a twisted man, Severus!" Blackwood shouted, trying to regain the moral high ground. "Stop trying to confuse her with logic! The memory is right here! The camera never lies!"
"Pensieves are not cameras," Snape corrected softly. "They are repositories of thought. And thoughts... can be manipulated."
"Are you accusing me of forging a memory?" Blackwood gasped, clutching his chest theatrically. "Me? A descendant of the Noble House of Blackwood? I am a philanthropist! I donated three thousand galleons to St. Mungo's last week!"
(Forty seconds. I am in the subsystem. I see the file 'Snape_Kick_Puppy. memories'. It is a crude edit. He spliced your face onto a caretaker's body. Also, I found his 'Rejected Edits' folder. Oh, this is gold. Stall him a bit more!)
"I do not care about your money, Blackwood," Snape said. He looked at Lily. "Lily. Look at me."
Lily looked at him. She was trembling. "Severus... I want to believe you. But the memory was so real."
"Lies often feel real because they appeal to our worst fears," Snape said, surprisingly philosophical. "You fear that I am beyond redemption. That I am the monster everyone says I am. This man is exploiting that fear."
"Enough!" Blackwood roared. He raised his wand. "I will not let you manipulate her anymore! Stupefy!"
A jet of red light shot toward Snape.
Snape didn't even raise his wand. He simply sidestepped. The spell scorched the wallpaper behind him.
"You missed," Snape noted dryly.
(And... hacked!) Ethan shouted. (System Override: Initiate 'Truth Bomb' Protocol. Replaying the metadata of the Pensieve. Watch this!)
Suddenly, the liquid in the Pensieve began to boil. It turned from silvery-blue to a violent, angry purple. A beam of light shot up from the basin, projecting a large, holographic image into the center of the room.
It was not the memory of Snape kicking a puppy.
It was a memory of Blackwood, sitting in his office, holding a wand to his temple.
[Projection Scene Begins]
In the projection, Blackwood was muttering to himself.
"Okay, take two," the projection-Blackwood said. He waved his wand. "System, insert Snape's face model. Make him look... I do not know, grimier. Add more grease to the hair."
The projection showed a 3D wireframe of Snape being overlaid onto a generic figure.
"Now, bring in the puppy asset," Blackwood commanded. A cute, slightly cartoonish beagle appeared in the air. "Okay, now make Snape kick it. Harder! Add a whimpering sound effect. Yeah, that will make Lily cry. She is such a soft touch for animals."
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