Severus opened the almost invisible door to his chambers in the dungeon.
The location so carefully hidden that not even the Slytherins really knew
where he lurked. His room was comfortable, a heavy carpet and fireplace
helped fight off the chill. He had a desk and bookshelves in a smaller
version of the common rooms. Snape also had a small alcove with a floor
and stand set-up for cauldron work lined with cabinets full of his private
stashes. Off of this room was the sleeping chamber. It had a blood red
thick carpet, handsome dresser and chair. A dark wood wardrobe and large
bed covered with warm blankets. A bed that very often sat unused and
pristine.
With a word and a gesture from his wand the fire roared to life. Candles about the room illuminated and a spot cleared on the desk. He set the book down carefully and cleaned off the cover to see if there were any markings. Nothing at all appeared other than the scaled green material it was bound with. Dragon skin and an enchanted lock on top, this had to be the journal of Salazar Slytherin, the founder of Slytherin house! Snape's eye grew intense as he studied the magical lock. A simple potion would most likely physically remove the lock but the book would be damaged. Finally after a few hours of trying various tests he determined it was a code word lock. He just needed to figure out what the right words were. He tried various possibilities, things that might be common. Then it hit him, he read off the name of the house and the school, Slytherin first and then Hogwarts. The lock swirled with green flashing light and uncoiled to form a bar the shape of a tiny dragon.
The first part of the journal was proving fruitless and Severus was beginning to doze when his eyes saw the words: Today I found our guardian. He snapped back awake, jerking in his chair. He winced painfully and rubbed his neck which spasmed with the sudden effort. As he read on through the book he leaned in more intensely over the desk.
Today I found our guardian. We had been having so many difficulties with clearing the forest back and the animals I was starting to think my companions would want to abandon this site. I felt if I could find a suitable place on the cliff face to start a warding spell we could finally tame the area. I had flown for only a short period when I found the cave ledge. I landed and was immediately beset by a pair of large great horned owls. I dashed further into the cave to escape and finally after a short ways they left me be. I could see some sort of pale blue light ahead of me so I chose to investigate. What I saw took my breath away. I entered a room carved out of the cave. There in the center has an enormous owl nest and sleeping in it was a woman. The soft blue light was coming from a filed surrounding the nest. It looked much like a large soap bubble yet when I touched it I felt the cool smooth finish that can only be glass. It seemed paper-thin and yet it was completely unbreakable. Even more remarkable was who the woman would turn out to be. I began to explore and finally found a small box carved to look like part of the nest. Inside was a scroll. At first when I unrolled it, it appeared blank then strange markings began to write themselves on the page and after they were written they began to shift into English and I heard a voice speak inside my head. I learned from the voice that this was the royal guard of Tirna-Lee the last Fairy City before they fled the earth. She had loved our world and her duty of protecting it so greatly she begged the king and queen to let her stay. So they placed her in the cave under a spell to be awakened by one that had noble and honorable intentions to awaken her.
This was what he had been looking for, Severus rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing his sleep worn body to stay awake and find the key to what happened to the guardian and how he could get her back. He scanned through the next several pages, a few months, then a few years passed on the pages and still no sign of why she was no longer around. Finally the opening line five years after the page that started the story he found his answer.
The tragedy that happened yesterday cannot be ignored. When the spiders attacked me in the forest the guardian leapt to my aide without hesitation. She fought them off but in order to keep the poison fangs of the leader from finding me she at the start of the battle she put herself between us and took the full brunt of the bite herself. She will recover she is strong and we were able to fetch her the proper anti-venom but I cannot let this happen again. She isn't a pet or a mindless soldier as I originally thought. She is an intelligent being and she is the last of her kind. She would throw herself upon her own sword if it meant saving any one of us and I simply am not willing to be responsible for another's life. Tonight I will put a stop to this though I confess I feel I may be doing wrong…
When they brought her to her room to rest I was waiting. We had a quiet conversation during which I slipped her some drugged tea. In her weak state she fell asleep quickly and I replaced the spell that had awaken her. I know that a time may come when the school might come under another threat and I know she would never forgive me if she were locked away hopelessly never to be found and thus not allowed to help. So I have made a simple map to the secret door to her chamber within the school. I have removed all references to her name so that only another chosen person will hear it from the scroll to awaken her. Myself, I hope only to forget the entire incident.
Severus straightened at this news, if this was accurate he should be able to find the guardian somewhere near his own dungeon! His back and neck complained bitterly at being pulled upright after curling over the book so long. His eyes burned with lack of sleep and overuse. He pinched his nose again and tightly shut his eyes. He moved to the chair by the fire and dozed off instantly. Severus awoke with a snap, the memory of his discovery coming back to him in a rush. He grabbed the book off the desk and began to flip through the pages until at last near the back he found the map.
It took only a few moments of careful study to puzzle out the location of the door and he was off through the dungeon halls. He strode with his full gait causing his fine hair to billow out behind him as he went. He reached one of the back rooms he had thought was merely a broom closet and examined the back wall. He found no obvious switch so he pointed his wand at the wall and spoke a spell of opening sharply. The wall shimmered and shifted before him. Stone melded into wood in a twining pattern until he faced a cherry wood door.
With a word and a gesture from his wand the fire roared to life. Candles about the room illuminated and a spot cleared on the desk. He set the book down carefully and cleaned off the cover to see if there were any markings. Nothing at all appeared other than the scaled green material it was bound with. Dragon skin and an enchanted lock on top, this had to be the journal of Salazar Slytherin, the founder of Slytherin house! Snape's eye grew intense as he studied the magical lock. A simple potion would most likely physically remove the lock but the book would be damaged. Finally after a few hours of trying various tests he determined it was a code word lock. He just needed to figure out what the right words were. He tried various possibilities, things that might be common. Then it hit him, he read off the name of the house and the school, Slytherin first and then Hogwarts. The lock swirled with green flashing light and uncoiled to form a bar the shape of a tiny dragon.
The first part of the journal was proving fruitless and Severus was beginning to doze when his eyes saw the words: Today I found our guardian. He snapped back awake, jerking in his chair. He winced painfully and rubbed his neck which spasmed with the sudden effort. As he read on through the book he leaned in more intensely over the desk.
Today I found our guardian. We had been having so many difficulties with clearing the forest back and the animals I was starting to think my companions would want to abandon this site. I felt if I could find a suitable place on the cliff face to start a warding spell we could finally tame the area. I had flown for only a short period when I found the cave ledge. I landed and was immediately beset by a pair of large great horned owls. I dashed further into the cave to escape and finally after a short ways they left me be. I could see some sort of pale blue light ahead of me so I chose to investigate. What I saw took my breath away. I entered a room carved out of the cave. There in the center has an enormous owl nest and sleeping in it was a woman. The soft blue light was coming from a filed surrounding the nest. It looked much like a large soap bubble yet when I touched it I felt the cool smooth finish that can only be glass. It seemed paper-thin and yet it was completely unbreakable. Even more remarkable was who the woman would turn out to be. I began to explore and finally found a small box carved to look like part of the nest. Inside was a scroll. At first when I unrolled it, it appeared blank then strange markings began to write themselves on the page and after they were written they began to shift into English and I heard a voice speak inside my head. I learned from the voice that this was the royal guard of Tirna-Lee the last Fairy City before they fled the earth. She had loved our world and her duty of protecting it so greatly she begged the king and queen to let her stay. So they placed her in the cave under a spell to be awakened by one that had noble and honorable intentions to awaken her.
This was what he had been looking for, Severus rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing his sleep worn body to stay awake and find the key to what happened to the guardian and how he could get her back. He scanned through the next several pages, a few months, then a few years passed on the pages and still no sign of why she was no longer around. Finally the opening line five years after the page that started the story he found his answer.
The tragedy that happened yesterday cannot be ignored. When the spiders attacked me in the forest the guardian leapt to my aide without hesitation. She fought them off but in order to keep the poison fangs of the leader from finding me she at the start of the battle she put herself between us and took the full brunt of the bite herself. She will recover she is strong and we were able to fetch her the proper anti-venom but I cannot let this happen again. She isn't a pet or a mindless soldier as I originally thought. She is an intelligent being and she is the last of her kind. She would throw herself upon her own sword if it meant saving any one of us and I simply am not willing to be responsible for another's life. Tonight I will put a stop to this though I confess I feel I may be doing wrong…
When they brought her to her room to rest I was waiting. We had a quiet conversation during which I slipped her some drugged tea. In her weak state she fell asleep quickly and I replaced the spell that had awaken her. I know that a time may come when the school might come under another threat and I know she would never forgive me if she were locked away hopelessly never to be found and thus not allowed to help. So I have made a simple map to the secret door to her chamber within the school. I have removed all references to her name so that only another chosen person will hear it from the scroll to awaken her. Myself, I hope only to forget the entire incident.
Severus straightened at this news, if this was accurate he should be able to find the guardian somewhere near his own dungeon! His back and neck complained bitterly at being pulled upright after curling over the book so long. His eyes burned with lack of sleep and overuse. He pinched his nose again and tightly shut his eyes. He moved to the chair by the fire and dozed off instantly. Severus awoke with a snap, the memory of his discovery coming back to him in a rush. He grabbed the book off the desk and began to flip through the pages until at last near the back he found the map.
It took only a few moments of careful study to puzzle out the location of the door and he was off through the dungeon halls. He strode with his full gait causing his fine hair to billow out behind him as he went. He reached one of the back rooms he had thought was merely a broom closet and examined the back wall. He found no obvious switch so he pointed his wand at the wall and spoke a spell of opening sharply. The wall shimmered and shifted before him. Stone melded into wood in a twining pattern until he faced a cherry wood door.
