Chapter 12: A Meeting with Dumbledore
Severus Snape made his way from the nearly closed passage hall and into the farthest corner of Slytherin dungeon. He swiftly dashed across the granite flooring and into his room hurried to appear asleep or busy. The duel that ended below could raise questions and Snape had enough attention to annoy the most famous of wizards. He turned on heels dodging every student that glanced his way tenderly slithering his way in between the open gaps until he finally entered his room.
With the door ajar Severus looked almost pale. There in his room stood the Head of Slytherin, and Potion Master, Horace Slughorn. The Professor's gooseberry eyes examined the student with a slight furrow burying its way across his forehead. Snape had a gentle ashen mark of black pressed against his pallid cheek, and what seemed to be burnt clothing, indicating some type of explosion but Slughorn had other items to chat about with his underling.
"Severus Snape, the Headmaster wishes to speak with you."
Severus's heart thudded into his stomach with the weight of a thousand bricks. "The Headmaster wishes to speak with me when Professor?" He felt a cold chill in his voice that spoke of his unsureness and fear.
"Well dear boy, he said now. Beyond that I know nothing else. However if you do so finish early, come down to the Club meeting. The others are getting ready for the Slug Ball. Goodbye Severus." Horace spoke lightly scratching the side of his head with a flick into his golden brown locks. As he moved past Snape in the door frame, Slughorn patted the young student on the arm with his left hand and finally maneuvered out of the way and into the empty hallway behind them.
Severus stood frozen in shock wondering whether or not the practices were discovered ,whether he was to be expelled, whether or not Dumbledore knew. The myriad of choices sent chills down his spine and encouraged him to step into his room. He slammed the door behind him in a slight fury that kept a hold of his mind for the next few minutes. Snape sat down on his bed letting the cushions crunch into his legs and pondered about the situation. How could he know? What does he know? Why me? The thoughts burst through his conscience like a flame at first light. Each flicker letting a flow of new thinking patterns burn and then disappear.
Severus moved to the mirror glancing over himself watching for any singe marks or anything else indicating his duel with Lucius. His whole outfit looked as if it had been through an incinerator momentarily. He undressed quickly and put on his other school outfit. A green and silver tie over a white dress shirt, a gray pullover, and black pants. Snape felt slightly uncomfortable as if he was trying to make himself look normal. He shrugged off the thought and made himself believe what he was doing was going to make Dumbledore less suspicious. Slipping on a pair of black shoes, Severus darted out the door, wand in hand, and made his way to the Headmasters office.
Lily and the rest of the Slug club stood aloof around the Great Hall making quick designs on spare parchments. The group outlined designs of each decoration and possible food items that could be served. As Horace made his way into the room, Lily looked behind him but still no Severus to be found. She felt a hidden sting of guilt that penetrated deeply into her heart. She almost needed his presence to concentrate. He wouldn't put anything into the ideas but he could improve her own. Sev was always good at making something better.
There was a bitter look that fell over her thoughts and blanketed her away from the rest of the group. A fellow Gryffindor came to her side and lightly tapped Lily's shoulder, "Are you alright?"
Alice Kirsch was a gifted young witch with a knack for potions. The girl was short. She wore her auburn hair in a close fitting cut that met at shoulder length. Her eyes were brown and gently looked over every thing before deciding. She had talked with Lily for a while listening to her cry, becoming a shoulder, after Severus saved both of them in Advanced Potions class.
The touch woke Lily from her domineering thoughts and she smiled sweetly, "Oh, I'm fine. Thank you Alice. Just you know." Her smile disappeared and her focus retrained itself on the task at hand. Each stroke of the quill felt as though it were taking longer and longer.
Alice sat next to Lily with a soft hand grasping her shoulder, "Everything is fine Lily. It will all be okay."
Severus shifted in his place as the huge double doors kept him from Dumbledore's office. He felt a surge of electricity dig into his heart and take a hold of his senses. Every sound made his body tremble with uncertainty. He only saw the Headmaster when every other student did. He never was singled out before. Snape wondered what had changed.
The great oak doors opened with a slow creak and out came Professor McGonagall, the transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor. Severus rarely had any respect for the wizards and witches that wore the red and gold but anyone that mastered Transfiguration, only to replace Albus Dumbledore's position, was someone to respect.
"The Headmaster will see you now ." She drifted to the side inviting him to move inside.
Severus simply nodded his head to the Professor and timidly took steps inside the huge office. His arms were held respectfully behind his back and the doors were gently pushed shut behind him. The nervousness continued to thicken its way into his mind like a continuous snowfall. It made his thoughts sluggish and jumpy. The area was larger covered in lights and candles. Each corner felt illuminated and real. The shadows were nonexistent and the curtains were opened to full breath to let the sunlight douse the entire office. Snape took a few steps in the room following a predefined path. He watched the walls as each portrait held a previous Headmasters' painting. His pitch black eyes were moving as slowly as the steps he took. There were large honey-oak shelves filled to the edge with books of all kinds. Severus went to the largest one and began a tiny search. Philosophy, Theory, Defense, Potions, Runes..every class had its own section. He took his right hand to the bindings and carefully glided them across the books. Each had a unique and imprinting feel as if the text was being read through the tiniest contact. His hand grazed over one book and immediately stopped. It was cleaner and easier to understand but it was a subject that he was quite familiar with and studied often. Severus cautiously moved his hand from the binding and in bold golden text read the words 'Legilimency'. He swallowed loudly as if his deepest secret had been uncovered. A small shift in movement made Snape turn around abruptly and move deeper into the room, "Headmaster?"
There was no response to be detected but the cagey movements became louder and louder. Each step was careful and precise as Severus was unsure of what was going on around the corner. There was a flicker of flame that stopped his motion and he felt the bleeding anxiety rush through his veins like a drug had been injected into his skin. It absorbed his tender face into a suppressed jumble of emotion. He took a deep breath and continued to stride forward eventually seeing the actual cause. There was a bird perched on a swing. Its feathers were orange-red with tail feathers of a sun yellow. It twitched its head to the side in a curious slant at the entrance of Snape into its dark eyes.
Severus was unsure as to what he should make of this interesting creature. At first he had mistaken it for a common bird. Why would a man of Dumbledore's status keep a common creature such as this? He finally drew the right conclusion as he took a quick examination of the area around the bird. Ashes were scattered across the marble floor and the bird's preen showed a remarkable etching across each individual feather. "A phoenix?"
"Quite right ." The words took Severus off balance and, under his shadowing hair, his curious black eyes finally caught the Headmaster.
Albus Dumbledore was a humble man that commanded the presence of every witch and wizard alike. He stood tall man at 6' 5" with a lithely thin body and tender yet skillful fingertips. A beard hung low on his chin that ended just above his sternum. His hair was a mixture of white and gray that streaked down his head and into his well-groomed beard. Snape noted that there was more pepper colour to his beard than salt. He watched Snape closely with piercing blue eyes that made a person both comfortable and unsure. He was definitely a great wizard but more importantly was that he was a genius.
Severus nodded his head lowly and curled his arms back to a respectful position behind his back, "Head master."
"No need for such formality Severus, if I may call you Severus." The blue eyes shaped in an almond hourglass pierced into the students mind with a furious stroke as if to catch a reaction. Snape noted it felt as though fragments of his mind were being collect into a pool of memories to be easily accessed. This made him feel as thought he should refocus to the most important events of recent occurrence but luckily Snape severed the connection with all his might by purging his topsy-turvy emotions and relaxed into a comfortable and informal stance.
"Severus is fine Headmaster." Snape's eyes averted sideways to the magnificent bird with a slight awe and kept the focus of his thoughts on to the knowledge of unique healing objects as well as their properties. He was almost reciting them like a flashcard in the back of his mind to keep his memories safe from perusing.
Dumbledore's nose tilted upwards with a small reflection beckoning his words, "Well Severus I hear you are quite the hero. Many teachers and students seem to be speaking rather highly of you. I decided it was time I met such a famous boy."
His voice was calm and soothing as if to put the nervous Severus at easy. His stance widened and he moved closer to the Slytherin with carefully placed steps but maintained a distance he felt was right for this particular boy. Snape seemed on edge in front of Albus and more importantly was that he was clearly defending his thoughts from being penetrated. Other people felt a feeling of clarity and togetherness in front of the Headmaster but this student could feel his attempts at Legilimency. Impressive.
"Yes, Headmaster. That is what they are saying. I merely-" Snape tried his best not to try and remember the incident in Potions class. Each time he did there was a painful stinging that locked his body for a moment. Thinking about anything else would also leave him vulnerable in front of the famous Albus Dumbledore and that was not a mistake he was about to make. "I merely played my part sir."
"Yes, your part. That is precisely what I wish to speak to you about. Everyone else has given their own account of what happened other than you. Do you remember anything at all Severus?" Dumbledore moved from Severus' side and around the corner of his desk. He slowly sat down with a easy thud. His blues eyes seemed to be moving their way deep into the students' somewhat trained mind.
"No sir. Nothing at all. Every attempt I make to recall the events ends with a rather terrible headache and no useable memories come of it." Snape let his guard down temporarily as he searched the back of his thoughts for something important. The only thing he could remember is a boy leaving the classroom before he lost consciousness. He pressed his right palm against the top of his forehead letting the middle finger and thumb massage his temples with a firm grasp. The pressure from trying to remember caused a migraine to shoot into Severus's spine and to the base of his skull with a stabbing motion that kept trying to poke at his senses.
"I see. That can mean many things but perhaps, Severus Snape, you are not ready to see what is needed to be seen. Protecting yourself and someone else?" Albus pulled at the students heartstrings and that seemed to loosen his mind to closer examination. Dumbeldore saw images of Lily Evans and how happy Snape seemed to feel whenever she was around. She was his first love and the only one that seemed to understand his true nature. His capacity for good.
"Perhaps you are right Headmaster." Severus let his hand outstretch to the phoenix and let it rest midair until the bird brushed the long and pallid fingertips across its neck. The phoenix looked anxiously at Snape wanting to communicate with the unusual boy but had no way to do so. Instead, the bird stared at his master Albus and immediately flitted away and out of sight. Severus let his hand fall away and to his side once again. He let his mind wander back to the healing properties of rare items.
Dumbledore smiled momentarily at his pet and finally returned to the conversation at hand, "Fawkes is quite a cunning bird. Brave and loyal. Some qualities I think you might possess . Perhaps you can do me a favor dear boy. If you remember anything at all, do not hesitate to communicate it with me. Now, I have another appointment today. Right now in fact. Perhaps you can kindly let the other student in?"
Severus nodded lowly to Albus with a courteous bow and headed to the great oak doors letting his mind and heart feel excited to be rid of these surroundings and feel free. A tension lifted from him his shoulders but he still kept his mind occupied with studious vigor if only to keep his mind safe. As Snape pushed open the doors with little force a sudden pressure fell upon him again. It felt as though the world had been lifted up and then crashed down upon him. There in the doorway stood James Potter.
Severus was unsure of what to say, if anything, and as he remained frozen in the door frame, the Gryffindor made his way into Dumbledore's office. Their eyes met in a clash of emotions that felt as if they would kill each other at the right moment. As James finally passed through the doors, and into the Headmasters office, Snape could have sworn there was a smirk upon his face. One that indicated he knew everything.
"Alice." Lily said with a plain tone as they began to wrap up for the day. The Slug Club had gotten some remarkable work done and within the next week, the Ball would be planned and ready.
"Yes Lily?" Alice was curious as to why her friend was so unfeeling. The words pulled out of Lily were uninspired and not what she expected from her newest, rather talkative, friend.
"Has anyone asked you to the Ball yet? I know it is not official official, at least not until we put up the fliers tomorrow", Lily's smile opened widely to a tender grin, "but I was wondering you know. Curious and all."
Alice tried to sigh away her grinning face. Her dimples were pronounced showing slightly worn face muscles but Lily thought it was nice to see the reflection of happiness, "Someone did ask me and I said yes." Alice laughed lightly again letting her white teeth glisten temporarily.
"Oh?" Lily's right eyebrow quirked upwards in an inquisitive glare that was a tender jest. "And who is this?"
"Frank. Frank Longbottom." Alice chuckled again as if her body could not handle the truthful ecstasy she was feeling from saying his name out loud. Lily smiled widely with her and they both stood up from their seats in the now empty Great Hall. "Has anyone asked you Lily?"
"Uhh, no, not yet." Lily stammered out the words with a feeling of doubt in the back of her mind. Her back was facing the entrance to the dining area.
Alice simply smiled to her friend with a gentle but reassuring pat to the side of her arm, "Not to worry. I am certain someone will ask you before too long." And as she dodged around Lily, picking up the plans for the Slughorn Ball, Severus appeared in the huge threshold with a slightly concerned look pressed into his cold, dark eyes. Alice slipped passed him with a tender overhanded wave to Lily and maneuvered her way towards the Gryffindor common room.
Lily had seen that face a thousand times on Snape's face but never this intense and never this afraid, "Sev, what is going on?"
Severus swallowed loudly and rushed close to her leaving a small gap between them, "It was Potter. I know it."
