The cellars of Hogwarts were not the usual ones Muggles knew about. There were more than wine bottles and barrels in the lowest depths of the famous school and there was generally more activity than otherwise. Cadmus heard the waters of Hogwarts Lake press on the roof of the cellar as they churned about. Some Walking Bottles pointed to their corks and bobbed up and down but the wizard simply flicked them aside as he faced a large wall with the edifice of a large, bearded man with spread out hairs coming from his chin. The stone structure had large rounded eyes that resembled a recently dead corpse and a stone ring that hung on a small hook underneath the man's brow.

A slogan hung overhead, etched in the stone arch that was over the statue. A cold wind made the stones jiggle but they stood there unmoved nonetheless. The echoes of old ghosts seemed to linger in the air, but this was unsurprising to Cadmus Pendragon as these were the Hogwarts Dungeons, built since the time of the Founders and a special place for Salazar Slytherin himself, who designed most of the dungeons and claimed it for his House. It was not really a prison; Hogwarts was originally a medieval castle and this was a holdover from earlier eras. The fact that green lights illuminated it brightly dispelled the classical notion that a dungeon should be a dark, damp place. A small slit opened in the old man's eyes and a pair of dark eyes looked left and right, and then focused on the man standing in front of it.

"Password, speak the password or stay out there in the cold," an unusually young voice called from behind the eyes.

"The password is Pure-Blood," Cadmus put his hands on his hips and shook his head, "I should have guessed that Slytherin would have kept that stupid password until now."

"Correct," the boyish voice resonated behind the stone. The wall grumbled open with a quick shift, a fissure opening up in the middle where there was none before. The insides were even brighter than the outside, with young boys and girls scurrying about like their very parents had walked in. They were all dressed in Slytherin black and green, some in the robes required outside, some in simpler outfits, some in Quidditch uniforms covered with mud. This was, after all the Common Room for the Slytherin House of Hogwarts, under the entire campus and partly under the lake. The green waters of the lake lapped about near the top windows, moving silently past the enchanted glass. The décor was dark ash wood complemented by green chairs and sofas that surrounded giant black pillars of obsidian. The Bloody Baron swooped into the room, startling some second years as he faced the new entry.

"Why, it's Cadmus Pendragon, one of our finest!" the house ghost threw his arms wide open. "I haven't seen you since you blew that Gryffindor blowhard through the walls of the courtyard! Billowing fellow, he was…what was his name, I wonder?"

"Sirius Black," Cadmus weaved his hand through the ghost, who chuckled slightly like he was being tickled.

"A blood traitor and deserved to die," Draco Malfoy leaned back on his plush sofa and gave himself a satisfied grin. "Sir," he belatedly added.

"He did not deserve to die like that, young Malfoy," Cadmus waved his index finger, trailing lightning from its tip. "I was there at the Department of Mysteries when he died. The Black Family is gone forever, and that is a great loss. He was brave and loyal to the end."

"Come on, sir, he escaped Azkaban! He was a criminal!" Vincent Crabbe entered the conversation.

"He was innocent of everything they accused him of; Master Crabbe and I will have no more mention of that great man!" Cadmus closed his fist and the lightning coalesced around his knuckles. "I myself have escaped Azkaban, even if it was only a test of the Dementors' effectiveness."

Draco and his two cohorts stepped back, eyes wide with amazement. "You faced the Dementors?"

"They proved to be very effective, ," Cadmus shifted the lightning to his eyes. "you would have learned something about them at Durmstrang. It was your loss for not joining us in your first year."

"His Mum wanted him closer to home," Crabbe giggled to himself before Malfoy whacked him across the arm with his wand.

"Don't forget that your mother was the sister of Sirius Black either," Cadmus slowly walked towards them, seeming like a looming shadow. "Where is Professor Snape?"

"I see you still like intimidating people, Pendragon," Snape's sharply grating voice came from a side entrance to the common room. The two men spread their arms round each other, patting each other heavily on the back and even laughing. The three boys and the other students were surprised to see Severus Snape being so friendly but they said nothing as the two men headed to the space allocated for staff, already in heavy conversation. Their words were lost in the Confidentiality Bubble that drowned their words in liquid silence.

"What are you doing in the Common Room? I heard you'd moved up into your office."

"Some tuition for the weaker students in our House," Snape took a piece of paper handed to him by one of the boys and promptly hit the messenger on the head. "Try again, Barnabas. Mind the pointed tree root in the formula!"

"I always thought your Slytherin students were the best in your classes," Cadmus rubbed the boy on the head as he sobbed.

"It is an unfortunate combination of poor study habits and better rivals. No matter what I say or think, the students who do best in my class do the best. This year it's that Potter boy and his gang members," Snape crossed his arms and exhaled sharply. "I gave him Exceeds Expectations, but his lady friend Granger scored Outstanding in the O.. Lucky for me that Weasley boy barely scraped through."

Cadmus sat on the larger sofa meant for teachers and motioned for Snape to join him. "Come on, why the attitude? Let's talk about better times, not bitter times. How have you been these years? Are you seeing anyone? Why didn't you invite me here sooner?"

"It's been terrible, very terrible," Snape replied, eliciting a roll of Cadmus' eyes, "the students are more rebellious and annoying."

"Nothing's changed, then," Cadmus negotiated a cup of tea from the floating teacup, "but you know that's not what I'm asking."

Snape tightened his face and came in closer, his eyes burning with black fire, "That is not something to discuss here," he looked around, "there are dangerous ears, even down here."

"And annoying busybodies," Cadmus blew two curious Slytherin boys into a bookcase.

"At least Potions aren't going to be my problem anymore soon. Dumbledore has seen fit to re-recruit old Horace Slughorn to teach the subject for some reason. I have no idea why the old man is coming back, but I've been given the DADA post after all."

"Um…congratulations?" Cadmus shrugged, "I heard that job was cursed, though. Not a year's finished without it being left empty by someone or other."

"Don't be silly, do you remember who you are speaking to?" Snape's mouth crooked into a strange smile.

"Indeed I do," Cadmus patted Severus on the shoulder, "I bet your old book is somewhere in the class as well!"

"I have no need of it," Snape patted his head, "the book is so withered anyway no student will want to read it."

"I remember when the Slug caught you writing in it. Made you brew his big pot of Felix for three months!" Cadmus made a mini-hurricane between his hands.

"I must have inhaled it the wrong way, because things went sour after that," Snape sighed and parted the hurricane with his wand. "Lily never spoke to me soon after and on top of that you left as well…at least one of you is back…" Snape sunk into the green sofa and closed his eyes.

"I am back, that is for sure," Cadmus made his lightning fist, "and…I am still your Secret Keeper."

"I will see you tomorrow during recess, then?" Snape's voice seemed to leave his lips without them moving as his body dozed off.

"It will have to be dinner, Severus. Dumbledore wants me to accompany him to get the Slug out of retirement. Says I have leverage with him, though I don't know why he didn't send his best student- you!"

"So he is replacing me as House Head…enjoy your trip to the Muggle world, Caddy. I do need to take a little nap, if you'll excuse me."