Sunrise – Chapter 2
The forest was covered by a dark inky blue sky speckled with glittering stars. The air was still and Snape could hear nothing but the beating of his heart and the rustling of animals moving in the distance.
He trekked across the uneven forest ground cursing continuously as he went.
"Ridiculous. Ridiculous. Ridiculous," he mumbled to himself quietly as he felt for his way on uncertain footing.
He had spent the last three days contemplating whether to do anything about the prophecy.
Snape knew the moment he saw the prophecy that Dumbledore, being the cunning old wizard he was, had intended to deliver it for some time.
He thought back to the day when Dumbledore, shivering in pain, had asked him if he could produce a potion to slow the progress of Voldemort's curse. Snape had conflicting emotions. He didn't like seeing the old wizard in pain but equally his logical side knew there was little he could do.
He had muttered about needing Midnight Flower, a rare pure white lily which only bloomed where fairy dust had been spread in the midnight hour of the full moon. Snape had always assumed it was a myth. Fairies didn't exist so how could the flower?
Dumbledore had shocked him when he had declared that the flower grew at the Lake of Erised, a small enchanted lake in the mountains of central Europe. Its exact location wasn't included in any wizarding maps or book. Even Dumbledore could only tell him its approximate location as it was only revealed to those who really wanted to find it.
Snape had carefully crept through the woods, thoughtful of his enemies and his friends. He had not been sure what he would find and had been relieved to only see the tiny white flowers he needed blooming on the lakeside in the silver moonlight. He had been thankful, when the potion had worked, at least for a time.
He remembered the lake as being calm and peaceful. He hadn't been in a place to enjoy it at the time but he thought now, perhaps, if nothing was there, he could at least take a moment to appreciate the beauty of his surroundings.
An owl hooted above him causing Snape to flick his eyes up. He squinted in the moonlight and recognized two grand oaks which entwined into each other. He stopped and pushed back his hair. He remembered those trees from before. The lake was just beyond them. He exhaled slowly. He still wasn't sure he should do this.
He chastised himself for being indecisive. Years of living on his wits and suddenly he was a blabbering mess. He strode forward purposely.
The gentle waves shattered the moonlight as the lake reflected the magnificent night sky. The stillness was only broken by an owl hooting as it took flight, no doubt hunting for mice.
Snape let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding as his eyes flicked over the lake, rocks, grass and trees. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Had Dumbledore just sent him to find the Lake of Erised again? But he had already been made aware of its existence. It made no sense.
Perhaps the old wizard had just been a fool, believing in some other soothsayer's mumbo jumbo nonsense. Snape turned to leave when a small movement caught his eye.
There was a small soft white bundle near one of the rocks. It was moving steadily upwards and downwards in what looked like breaths. Snape was confused. Were those blankets? But the person under them would have to be small, a child or a house elf possibly.
He took some further steps and stopped in astonishment. A small girl lay there, coddled in fine white blankets. She had blonde curls pinned up with tiny blue flowers and flawless pale skin. What in Merlin's name was she doing here? This wasn't any place for a child to be. She had to be with someone, didn't she?
Snape turned and was left astonished once again as his eyes focused on the wand which was steadily held at the level of his eyes.
"Move and I'll hex your brains out."