Chapter 3 – Incantations of the Immortal

Nine o'clock that evening found Snape in Dumbledore's study, sitting in a plum cushioned chair in front of the large desk. A dozen or so of Dumbledore's trinkets whirred and clicked merrily on a nearby stand. Fawkes let out a low cry.

However, Dumbledore was absent from his study when Snape arrived. He arrived a few minutes later, looking rather cheerful.

'Ah, Severus,' he said upon entering. Dumbledore had a sly grin on his face, much as would a schoolboy who knew a delicious secret. He took his place behind the desk.

'I'm sorry I'm late. I've been engaged in a most interesting conversation with Madam Pomfrey.'

'Is that so?' said Snape airily.

'Yes,' he said. 'She told me about your late night visit, and that you are a rather gifted healer.'

Snape said nothing, and there was silence for a moment.

'She told me you healed Lily's wounds, and I must say, I saw her before and after, and I must ask, Severus, how did you heal her?'

'Dumbledore, I'd really rather not –'

'But I think you should, Severus,' Dumbledore cut across him. 'Poppy said you were very secretive about your methods, but she described the spell you used, and it did not ring the bells of familiarly. I am most curious, Severus. How did you know how to mend her injuries?'

Snape considered Dumbledore in the silence. He really did not want to tell him that he had experimented with the Dark Arts as a student to a degree that had yielded such a destructive creation.

Dumbledore must have noticed Snape's deep look of unease. 'There is probably very little that you could tell me that would come as genuine surprise. Please, indulge an old man.'

Snape sighed and conceded, but in his shame, he did not meet Dumbledore's gaze as he spoke. 'Very well. I recognized her wounds because they were made by a curse that I invented as a student. A curse that is fed by hate and anger to destroy, but not necessarily to kill. I showed it to Voldemort, which I realize was a grave mistake. After I had seen the kind of damage he could do with it, I developed the counter-curse. It took a long time to fine tune it, and that's how I healed Lily. It's a kind of mantra that is fed by love and positive emotion that undoes most of the damage.'

Only after finishing did he look at Dumbledore, whose blue eyes were brimmed with tears.

'I must say, you never cease to amaze me.'

Snape shook his head. 'I'm not proud of what I've done. It was my duty to heal her, not only because it was my spell that hurt her, but because it's my fault she's even in this situation. It's my fault he – he tortured her.'

'Severus, we've had this discussion before. It's all about choices. You chose to join Voldemort, but you've also chosen to be part of the resistance. You chose to relay the prophecy to Voldemort, but you chose to come to me so I could warn the Potters and give them a chance at surviving. Just like you chose to create that spell, but you chose to find a way to undo the damage. There will always be pain, and wrong choices and their consequences are part of life. But even then, we can choose to learn from them and help to reverse the damage we have done. It's not something I mean to harp on, but sometimes you seem to need a friendly reminder. You are too hard on yourself, Severus.'

'I'm sure that you didn't call this meeting to discuss my self-loathing,' said Snape through tight lips.

'No, not entirely,' said Dumbledore. 'But I do want to discuss a mission I have for you.'

Snape sat up, a slight crease appearing between his eyes as he stared at Dumbledore. 'A mission?'

'Yes,' said Dumbledore. 'Based on some of the things you've told me, and information I've gathered from various sources throughout the years, I believe I now understand why Voldemort has become less human in recent years.'

Snape was listening with rapt attention. 'You have?'

'Yes,' said Dumbledore gravely. 'I've been praying that I am wrong, but I just can't deny it anymore. Too much points to it.'

'What does? Points to what?' asked Snape.

'Voldemort, as you have probably already gathered, is terrified of his mortality. If my theories are correct – and I believe they are – he has taken appalling measures to ensure he remains alive, to avoid his inevitable confrontation with death for as long as he can.'

'How?' asked Snape.

'Are you familiar with the concept of the Horcrux?' asked Dumbledore.

Snape thought for a moment. He was sure he had heard the term before, he just couldn't remember where, and he certainly did not know what it meant.

'No,' he replied.

Dumbledore nodded grimly.

'Why? Is it?'

Dumbledore stood up and walked to a nearby bookcase that was lined with several volumes of old books. Snape watched as he waved his hand and the shelf flipped forwards to reveal a hidden shelf, on which rested several books whose leather had cracked. Dumbledore pulled one off the shelf, and rearranged them so the original shelf was back on display.

'What I am about to do goes against everything I believe. But you need certain information if you – we – are to be successful in our mission. I only ask one favour, well three small favours, actually. That these books never leave this room. Any reading is to be done here. That you not repeat a single word to anyone about what you read. And that you do not attempt to perform any of the magic you discover within these pages under any circumstances. I do have you word, Severus?'

Snape gazed into Dumbledore's grave face. He could hardly believe that what he was about to learn could be as bad as to warrant such a set of conditions. Nevertheless, he nodded.

'Yes.'

Tentatively, Dumbledore handed the book to Snape. The cover was brittle and lined with age. The book's title, which must have once been cast in bold silver letters, was badly faded.

'Incantations of the Immortal,' Snape said aloud.

'Yes, dreadful book,' said Dumbledore, as though he had a bitter taste in his mouth.

Snape had still not opened it. He merely stared at it, wondering whether he really wanted to know what its pages contained.

'I must apologize in advance for this, Severus. I am truly sorry that you must be subjected to this, but to begin, I would like you to read the chapter titled The Horcrux Process. That should give you a fairly firm understanding of the scope of what we are dealing with.'

Snape tore his eyes from the book's cover. 'You want me to read it now?'

'Yes.'

Snape gazed uncertainly at the book. He opened it to the contents page, found the chapter title he was looking for, and flipped to the appropriate page. Dumbledore resumed his place at his desk, pulled out a sheaf of parchment, dipped his quill into the ink and set to writing. Snape began to read:

Another less popular and much more painful way of cheating death is to create a Horcrux. To review the term, a Horcrux is an object in which a torn part of a person's soul is concealed. While the first body (i.e. the one in which you are born) will die using this method, as long as a portion of the soul remains earthbound, the person cannot die. Through a ritual called Rebirthing, the person can regenerate a physical body containing that piece of soul.

The Horcrux method was not widely used until the year 376, when Cassius Horcrucius discovered the manner in which to extract the portion of the soul without dying in the process. The method was repeated by those who flocked to him in search of extended life, if not immortality. Naturally, the term Horcrux is a derivative of Cassius's surname in honour of his discoveries and work surrounding what was believed to be an impossible branch of magic.

Eventually, in 385, he was murdered in his sleep. However, his group of faithful followers knew of his Horcrux, and by reading through his research on Rebirthing (which, at the time, was entirely theoretical), he was brought back to life as a human adult. However, he was reborn into a body that lacked eyes and reproductive organs (both internal and external), his skin lacked tactile sense, he could not taste or smell, and he died within a month from a weak heart.

But this failure was not enough to deter his followers from perfecting the deeply flawed method. Those who had created Horcruxes were murdered and subject to experimentation. Finally, after nearly two centuries of refinement, the method was perfected and does not vary from the method used today.

The Horcrux Process

Three things are needed to create a Horcrux

1 – to commit the supreme act of evil. Murder using the Avada Kedavra is most widely used. This act, when performed under conditions of hatred and malice, rips the soul.

2 – the incantation (see page 325) that will remove the torn portion from the body. It is this step in the process that is the most dangerous and is excruciatingly painful. But to the wizard on the path to immortality, it is necessary. Most often, the soul fragment is either extracted from the eyes (often causing permanently reptile-like alterations to the eyes regarding shape and colour), the mouth (causing vocal damage, such as permanent rasping), or through a hole seared into the skin above the heart (causing a wide variety of effects to the skin). No one course seems to prove more effective than another.

3 – the soul must be transferred to the object relatively soon after removal from the body. Having your object close by for immediate transferal is ideal. The spell for concealment can be found on page 325.

Often, wizards choose to give additional magical protection to their Horcrux, ensuring against destruction such as fire, theft, and tampering.

Snape closed the book abruptly. He didn't want to read another word. He was horrified by what he had read. Horrified that magic could really be this dark, and horrified by where he was sure Dumbledore was going with this.

'Where did you get this?' Snape asked.

Dumbledore looked up from his writing. 'That book along with all the others' – he indicated the concealed bookshelf – 'used to be here in the school library. Once a long time ago, I caught Tom Riddle with the one you are holding now. I confiscated it, along with all the others. But the damage had been done.'

'Tom Riddle?' Snape asked.

Dumbledore nodded. 'Surely you didn't think Lord Voldemort had been born with such an egoistic name? I don't know how astute your grasp of French is, Severus, but even his chosen name reflects his life's motivation – Vol-de-mort. Flight-from-Death, or Flight-of-Death. He was born Tom Marvolo Riddle.'

Snape sat in shock. 'So you believe that the Dark Lord has created a Horcrux?'

'Yes, that is my theory. Based on the physical side effects of soul extraction described in that book and the transformation Voldemort has undergone since his days as a student, do you agree that the theory has some merit?'

Snape saw Voldemort in his mind's eye. The thin, narrow slits of pupils, the red iris, the permanently bloodshot sclera, the rasping voice, like death itself – a Dementor, even, and his blurred wax-like burnt skin.

'Yes,' Snape finally replied.

'If that's not bad enough,' Dumbledore said, 'given the degree of Voldemort's physical changes, I believe that there may be more than one Horcrux.'

Snape felt a hot ball of disgust forming in the pit of his stomach. 'More than one?'

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. 'So, based on this information, I can assume you have begun to piece together what this mission will involve that I am going to assign to you.'

Snape's eyes seemed to slide in and out of focus. What he had just read made his creation of Sectumsempra seem like harmless play. 'Something involving determining how many Horcruxes and where they might be.'

'You are a brilliant man, Severus. Do you think you can do it?'

'Do you think I can?' Snape asked. For the first time, he wasn't sure if he would be able to see to completion a task set before him.

'Of course I do. You have the Dark Mark, which will actually be to your advantage, for a change. You are still young enough to not be so permanently damaged by what you have experienced. You have amazing deduction abilities and common sense, and based on your recent acts that revolve around your love for Lily, you have a weapon that Voldemort has never – and will never – possess. Yes, I believe wholeheartedly that you can do this.'

Snape sat in silence for a moment, contemplating the mass of information he had just been given to assimilate. 'I thought you were going to tell me how Lily and her "needing me in the end" fits into all this.'

Dumbledore smiled. 'How do you think Lily is going to feel when she wakes up and remembers what has happened?'

'She'll want revenge,' said Snape.

'Exactly. Her love for her son and husband will compel her – blind her, even – to hunt him down. While she is highly gifted, her emotions may get in the way and override her reasoning. She will need you to keep her grounded and comforted, at the very least, and she needs to know that you and I are doing everything we can to destroy him once and for all. For her loss and for all the damage he has caused during his reign of terror.'

'Why me?' said Snape.

'I can't just stroll into a Death Eater rally and hope Voldemort won't notice,' said Dumbledore. 'But I know Tom. He likes to boast about his achievements. If he really has created more than one Horcrux he's the first in wizard history to have done so, and I'll bet the Sorting Hat that he has dropped hints about it. However, without the proper knowledge in which to interpret his words, there is no context, and most of it will fly over the others' heads. But you are aware now. And you need to keep your eyes and ears open.'

Snape nodded. He rubbed his left arm through the sleeve of his cloak. Dumbledore noticed and smiled. 'Only when he is really gone can you and everyone else enslaved by Voldemort be free. If nothing else, isn't that worth fighting for?'

Snape wasn't sure how to answer. In joining the Death Eaters in the first place, he thought he was free. Above wizarding law, above the limits of someone else's idea of 'appropriate magic'.

He looked directly at Dumbledore. 'But what is Lily's part? I really hope you don't intend her to be part of this mission.'

'Of course not, not in the way that you and I will be. But I have an idea and I will discuss it with her in due course.'

'What it is?'

Dumbledore smiled. 'Patience is a virtue, Severus. Surely as our Potions master you have come to appreciate the quality.'

Snape shook his head slightly. The old man could be so cryptic at times, and it was maddening.

'Speaking of potions, I am also told you brewed the Lavendulus Potion for Madam Pomfrey before retiring in the early hours of this morning.'

Snape nodded.

Dumbledore smiled and resumed his writing. 'I think you should get some rest, Severus.'

Understanding himself dismissed, he placed the old book he was holding on Dumbledore's desk and left the office.

Even though his bed was calling him from the dungeons, he had no idea how he was going to sleep with so many dark thoughts and twisted concepts slithering through every corner of his mind.

He buried them as best he could for the time being and settled his thoughts on the sleeping beauty in the hospital wing. He found himself smiling as he settled into bed and was asleep within minutes.

NOTE: I know that 'Vol-de-mort' can also be translated 'theft of/from death' but I don't think he wants to 'steal' death but rather escape it, hence the 'flight' interpretation.