Chapter 16: The Lamentations of Severus Snape
Painfully, slowly, Hermione, Ron, Frodo, and Sam passed through the Hogwarts gate and up the great lawn. They went to the infirmary and woke the nurse, Madame Pomfrey. She repaired Ron's broken hand, and gave them all magical chocolate, the kind that warms, heals, and cheers. They could not speak to her of what had happened. As their shock faded, grief overcame them; they embraced one another and wept. Realizing she could do no more for them, Madame Pomfrey withdrew.
Her arms about him, her tears falling into his hair, Hermione said to Frodo, "At least there is one good thing that has come out of all this. The Ring is gone. It melted in Lord Voldemort's evil fire. You are freed from your Quest. You can go home—or stay."
Frodo hugged her tightly in reply, and wept. He still felt a weight upon his chest; but he supposed it was his grief that pulled him down.
Several hours later, having narrowly survived Lord Voldemort's search and interrogation, Severus Snape began a long and weary journey. In moonless darkness, he passed through the Hogwarts gate and up the great lawn, bearing in his arms a heavy burden: the body of Harry Potter. Snape could have cast a spell to make it feather-light. Or he could have used the Mobilis Corpus spell to make it walk on its own. But somehow the aching in his arms and back, and the great effort of every step distracted Snape from the fury in his heart.
He got as far as the front steps; and then great fatigue overcame him and he had to sit down. He still held Harry in his arms. His dark eyes hollow with exhaustion, Snape stared for a long while into the bleak night.
"Harry," Snape said aloud. "How very like your father you are…you were. Neither of you considered yourselves mere mortals. I remember how your father used to strut about in school, considering himself a cut above us all." His lips curled into a sneer. "And when he left Hogwarts, that vain, foolish boy thought that a hero on the Quiddich field could be a hero in the real world."
"You, Harry," Snape continued, grimly, "you repeated his mistakes." Snape's sharp features twisted in anger. "Over and over again I told the Headmaster that the latitude he gave you only encouraged you to take further risks. Gave you a swelled head, made you think you were invulnerable! Well, I was right. I was right all along. I always knew it would come to this!" Snape gave a great sigh, and then bowed his head. "You did too, I suppose."
Hollow-eyed, Snape looked down at the lifeless boy in his arms. "I hated James, it is true. Hated him for his arrogance and his folly. Hated the senseless way in which he died, and the anguish it caused so many people. I did try…." Snape closed his eyes. "I did try to warn him. But it was not enough. In the end, I could not repay my debt to him…."
He sat there for a moment, eyes shut, still clutching Harry's body in his arms. Then, in an anguished whisper, he muttered, "I am so very sorry, Harry. I could not protect you. I would not have survived a duel with Lord Voldemort. And everyone would have been killed in the crossfire."
Snape broke off and remained still. He opened his eyes and stared into the gloom, his mind crowded with thoughts and memories. Then, lifting Harry's body, he struggled to his feet again. He gazed at Harry's face and said, "I did not choose my burdens, Harry. But I bear them as best I can." And Severus Snape carried inside the body of Harry Potter.
Snape went to the infirmary. As he walked inside, he was greeted with cries of astonishment and grief. And some of reproach. He ignored them. He laid Harry's body down gently on one of the beds, and went to rouse Madame Pomfrey. Perhaps he had some vain hope that Harry could still be saved. The nurse ran to his bedside, and applied many powerful reviving charms, but to no avail. Harry was quite dead.
"Madame Pomfrey, thank you for your efforts. I must ask you to leave us, now," sighed Snape, as he collapsed into a chair beside Harry's bed. "I must also ask you not to raise the alarm or tell anyone about this, for now." She assented and left. Snape turned to face Frodo, Sam, Hermione and Ron. They stared at one another for a long time.
Ron broke the silence. "Traitor," he said. "You brought Sam to be tortured. You got Harry killed. You almost got us all killed. You delivered the Ring into You-Know-Who's hands!"
"If he wanted us all dead, why did he give us back our wands?" observed Hermione. "Besides, the Ring melted."
"You are both partially right," said Snape. "I brought Sam to the Dark Lord's house, but only to get to Frodo, and rescue them both. Voldemort would have gotten the Ring, and it would have melted. I have known the Dark Lord for many years. I know his mind and his sense of humor. His ego would have been fed by the thought that his own magical fire was powerful enough to melt Sauron's Ring. He would have been amused by the look on Frodo's face when the Ring melted. It would not have been at all difficult to persuade him to let the Hobbits go. He has no need of them, and they present no threat. Despite his reputation, he only kills when he has a reason, usually.
"But then the three of you showed up, in his house, under his nose. Harry actually hit him with a curse and injured him. He was infuriated and embarrassed. Imagine! The Dark Lord Voldemort, surprised and ambushed in his own house by three teenagers. At that point, he became angry, dangerous, and unpredictable. Your actions were brave but misguided." Hermione began again to weep. Ron put his arm around her.
"Why did you turn Harry's wand on yourself?" asked Sam.
"To maintain my credibility as a spy. I pretended to have been knocked out by a small fraction of the same blast that felled Voldemort."
"I have a question," asked Frodo. "How did you know the Ring would melt?"
"Ah," said Snape. "Look at the package I gave you."
"The package?" said Frodo. "I had forgotten about it." From his tunic pocket, Frodo withdrew a small package, bound up in brown paper and string. He unwrapped it slowly, and drew out a shining silver locket. He opened the locket. The Ring, the true Ring, the One Ring glittered within. Frodo at once felt its power and weight. He shut the locket abruptly. "Then the other ring was…"
"A decoy," said Snape, smiling grimly. "We've learned a thing or two since the Third Age. At that time, Sauron believed that Aragorn of Arathorn had the Ring, and did not suspect that a couple of Hobbits would be trying to destroy it. This time, Lord Voldemort knew that Hobbits had the ring, and that we would most definitely be trying to destroy it or send it back. You two were very vulnerable targets. So we switched rings without telling you; we feared you would not give up the Ring willingly."
"But," said Sam, "We saw the Elvish letters glow."
"It was a very good decoy. Professor Dumbledore stayed up all Friday night making it after you went to bed. Not only did it glow Elvish runes when heated, it also would have turned you invisible had you put it on. We did not think Lord Voldemort would be fooled by any old ring."
"When did you exchange the lockets?" asked Frodo.
"After you fell off the broomstick Saturday morning," Snape replied. "I had planned to switch them while you were sleeping, but your fall provided a perfect opportunity. The Ring was seeking a new owner, I suppose. It got one, temporarily."
Frodo looked at Snape. "Then you have borne the Ring."
"For a little while," Snape answered quietly.
Frodo sat and held the locket for a while in his hands, lost in thought. Then he said, "This means I have to go back. I have to finish the Quest."
"Oh, Frodo," said Snape, gently. "Yes. Yes, you do." Hermione began again to weep. Snape looked down at the foot of Frodo's bed and saw the silver ewer and basin. "I see that you have the Mirror here. Dumbledore will likely send you back tonight."
Snape rose. "I told Lord Voldemort that I would use a memory charm on you all to erase what happened last night. I will not do that. I will trust you to speak to no one about this except Professor Dumbledore. Harry's death must remain a mystery. There are spies everywhere; a careless word from any of you could be carried back to Lord Voldemort." He turned to go.
"What would you have done if Frodo had been killed?" Ron asked.
"He was not killed, so let us not think about that," said Snape, as he closed the infirmary door. But as he walked towards his rooms, the answer to Ron's question floated in his mind: "I would have borne my Burden and followed my path."
