Don't Be Shocked, Severus
for Duj
Characters and basic plot belong to JK Rowling. All the words in italics were spoken by Dumbledore in chapter 33 of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'.
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Sometimes the old man in the portrait watches me in silence while I work, his eyes boring into my back. As long as he is silent, I can bear it.
If he speaks, I pick up my books and carry them down to the dungeons, where he can't haunt me. No way I can concentrate with Gryffindor nattering about courage, remorse and sacrifice.
"Part of Lord Voldemort lives inside Harry."
The books I need have mysteriously vanished from the Headmaster's office.
"Miss Granger took them," he informs me with a twinkle.
I went to Knockturn Alley and purchased books on every dark subject possible. Better not be too obvious about what I am really looking for.
"While the fragment of soul, unmissed by Voldemort, remains attached to, and protected by Harry, Lord Voldemort cannot die."
The boy is a Horcrux.
I should have known. The signs were clear.
Sometimes one doesn't want to see.
"Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential."
The diary was a Horcrux. Dumbledore didn't even bother to deny it.
"What else?" I asked him.
He pointed to the ring with the broken stone. There is something else to that ring, but he will not tell me.
"Any others?"
He gave me his steely, hermetic I-know-what-you-mustn't-know look.
I fear the worst.
"If there comes a time when Lord Voldemort stops sending that snake forth to do his bidding, but keeps it safe beside him, under magical protection, then, I think, it will be safe to tell Harry."
Nagini, a Horcrux?
Why wait till the Dark Lord fears for her life?
Because that will mean the other Horcruxes will be destroyed.
Dumbledore must have passed on the knowledge about Horcruxes. Doge and Moody strike me as the most likely candidates. Doge as secret keeper and Moody as Horcrux destroyer.
And now that Moody is dead... Kingsley, Weasley, Lupin?
Please, not Lupin.
"If I know him, he wil have arranged matters so that when he does set out to meet his death, it will truly mean the end of Voldemort."
"Dumbledore, did you tell the boy that Nagini is a Horcrux? Does he know what a Horcrux is?"
"Oh, yes."
"Why wait till the Dark Lord fears for his snake's life?And what did you mean when you said he will have arranged matters?"
Dumbledore has left his portrait.
"Don't be shocked, Severus."
Is the sword of Gryffindor intended to kill Nagini? Surely he doesn't expect the boy to do it.
"Be sure to play your part convincingly."
I am a Death Eater. No one questions my studies of the Dark Arts.
"I am counting on you to remain in Lord Voldemort's good books for as long as possible."
No bookmarks, no notes. My memory is enough.
"Or Hogwarts will be left to the mercy of the Carrows."
How is it possible to destroy a Horcrux without killing its carrier?
Fiendfyre would kill the boy.
Basilisk venom can be counteracted by Phoenix tears, but they would revive the Horcrux.
"Voldemort himself must do it."
Remorse on the part of the Horcrux maker can reunite the soul that has been torn apart.
No hope of that.
No one else's remorse can be useful.
"Voldemort must do it."
There has to be a way to keep that little idiot alive.
"Don't be shocked, Severus."
There has to be a way.