Chapter One: Knowledge
The gleaming red and gold tomb was sealed several years before and the man who rests with in is long forgotten. Now the tomb, once a monument of great reverence, is overgrown with mosses and weeds, if you were not aware of its location you would never see it until you ran in to it. This tomb is located on the edge of the old Quidditch pitch, long since abandoned. A newer pitch was constructed and the elder pitch was retired. Another tomb is located on the grounds, this one a beautiful white marble, this one lies in perfect condition, the name worn of by the years. The final tomb lies in the heart of the Forbidden Forest, a beautiful onyx marble tomb, this tomb has only been viewed by one man since it was sealed. No one knows of its location, either. This three tombs lie on the grounds of a long forgotten school. Once this school was the greatest school ever known. This school nurtured and produced some of the most powerful and most revered witches and wizards of all time, but know it is overgrown and the Muggles who live near by see only a forlorn castle, they know not of the evil deeds once committed in the castle, they know not of the blood that was spilt on the once perfect lawn. No one remembers, and no one cares of the horrors that were committed on the grounds. To anyone who passes by all they will see is a run down castle which no one it seems can tear down, though it is
long forgotten and no cares anymore of it.
Nearly two hundred years have passed since the red and gold tomb was sealed, the man with in was cause the victory of the most famed wizarding battle known to wizarding kind. Ah, wizards, the very thing this tale is of. With in those two hundred years, wizarding blood disappeared, no more magical children were born and so the school became filled with less and less children until one day no more students walked the halls
and the school ceased to exist. No one knows how this occurred, but we do know that it did.
And so here we are, in a world of Muggles. One Muggle, a little boy made his way to the school, and as he stared at the school, he saw not rubble. He saw the school in its former glory, he wander through its grounds finding all three of its magnificent tombs and oddly enough an ancient Ford Angelia. He made his way inside the castle and wandered through the library. One book caught his attention, its cover bore the words "Hogwarts, A History". He sat down and read the odd book and the last few chapters in particular captured his interest. It spoke of a evil "wizard" Lord Voldemort attempting to take over the world and how a massive battle between him and this boy called Harry. It was odd to him because at the end it mentioned how spells where cast by this "Elder wand" that kept out any and all non-magical folk, and yet here he was a Muggle ( at least that is what he assumed) and inside the school, seeing it for what it truly was. He left the book and returned to the tombs. The red and gold one, that one was that Harry's. He actually existed, this got the boy to thinking maybe these wizards are real. He spent hours it seemed staring at the tomb, and wondering what the odd inscriptions meant. And odd they were "Mischief Managed" and " I open at the Close" and "The-Boy-Who- Lived", "The Chosen one", there were many more but age had worn them so badly that the words were illegible. The boy got back up and walked through the old castle.
He wandered once again through the castle, when he discovered the intricate stairways. As he wandered up the stairways he could have sworn that he wasn't alone, he kept hearing faint whisperings all around him. His journey ended at a dead end. Two gargoyles were placed on either side of a filled in doorway, the boy simply stared at the gargoyles and remembered one of the words on the tomb.
"I open at the close" he whispered and the wall moved. He jumped back, never in his eleven years had he ever seen a wall move, it was almost like….. magic. Stairs appeared and against his better judgment he climbed the stairs. At the top of the stairs was an office, a very elaborate office. There were portraits everywhere and they all appeared to be… sleeping. Over in the corner was a glass case and inside was a beautiful sword inscribed with the words "Godric Gryffindor" and a plaque was placed beside with these words, " This sword was Gryffindor's, a founder of this school, it was freed by a Gryffindor and used to save us all, whosoever bears this sword must always bear in mind, Be brave, Be quick, Be strong, Be loved, Be all you can be. Signed, Harry James Potter (defender of us all)" That name again, this Harry Potter must have been very important man. He turned and there before him was a very large, ornate desk. On this desk were several odd contraptions and many books were stacked on the corner. He looked at the contraptions which were covered in a heavy layer of dust. One of this resembled a lighter; he picked it up, wiped it free of dust and began inspecting it. He wandered over towards the ancient looking lamps and turned it on. He turned the odd looking lighter over in his hand and there, faintly on the back was a name, and what an odd name it was "Albus Dumbledore". He opened the lighter and flicked it. No flame appeared, how odd. He flicked a little harder this time and suddenly the lamp went out and this orange ball flew into the lighter! Timidly, he flicked the lighter again, and the orange ball left the lighter and the lamp re-lit itself. How extraordinary! He couldn't believe it, this meant that magic was real, wizards were real, all of this was real! Then, he heard voices; these voices came from with in the room. Curiously enough no one was there in the office with him; he searched high and low, no one, absolutely no one was there! By chance, out of the corner of his eye he saw a portrait move. He was flabbergasted, portraits couldn't move, could they? This particular portrait was one of a man with long (slightly greasy looking) black hair and a hooked nose. As he turned to completely face the portrait, he screamed! The man (who previously appeared to be sleeping) was staring straight at him, his eyes a deep and never-ending black, the kind of black that when looking at you, you'd feel as if a hole was being bored right into you. It, understandably so, scared him and he jumped back and hit the desk, hard.
"Who are you, and how did you get in here?" the man in the portrait questioned.
"I live down in the village and I got lost. Oh, and my name's Severus" the boy replied in a very amazed voice. He was talking to a portrait, and the portrait was talking back.
"Severus, you say? Curious, curious, curious, well I am Professor Snape, I was once the Potions Master and then Headmaster of Hogwarts" The man, Professor Snape, said all of this with a pained expression, as if he was forced to recall some very painful memories.
"Perhaps you can tell about this Harry Potter, his names everywhere. And perhaps you could also tell what this lighter is, and how it is that you can speak." Feeling a little braver he stepped closer to the portrait.
"That lighter, as you call it, is a putter-outer, it can and will turn off and on any light you so choose to. I am a wizard and as such, I have the capabilities of speech even in death, unlike those in the world you reside in." Professor Snape's voice was low and bitter as if he wished he wasn't a wizard.
"You haven't told me who this Harry Potter is, who was he? Why is his name everywhere?" Severus questioned with much excitement. He had to know, he knew he had to know.