"What?" Alexander asked, moving one pawn forward and staring up at his commanding officer. "You're never afraid?"
Sydney Van Ness smiled softly, as he folded his hands and studied the board. "I'm afraid I'm going to lose for the first time since Kaiser played me…"
"You know what I mean…" Rouge snorted angrily.
Jude Remington laughter came from the desk in the corner. The Auror was leaning back with his feet on his desk and a hat over his eyes, and spoke is a gruff sleep-filled voice. "Is Red trying to be philosophical again?"
"Jude, don't move!" Billy shouted over the corner of his sketchbook. "I'm almost finished!"
"Well?" Alex looked over again at Sydney. "Was he ever afraid?"
"Kaiser?" Sydney asked, glancing up. The elder Auror turned to the window and stared out into the gardens with that distant look old soldiers always seemed to get from one time to another. "Yeah, he was scared. For you mostly."
"For me? Why?"
"He didn't want you to follow his footsteps and become an Auror. He was afraid that you'd grow up to find out things weren't like the stories he would read to you from. He wanted you to always believe in heroes." Sydney looked up. "He was terrified that there might be a day when all your dreams turned out to be just that…dreams. They were such beautiful dreams after all."
Since Akel Dama had been built centuries ago, it had housed almost as many secrets as it did humans. The legendary home of the powerful and wealthy Snape family, Akel Dama had stood as a tangible symbol of the Snape prestige. But so many secrets and dark truths seemed to cast a pallor over the home. Entering the grounds, the temperature seemed to drop suddenly. The natural light seemed swallowed up by some invisible force and a dull, smoky gray light lighted the grounds instead. A short walk brought visitors to the main gates that lead into the heart of the entire estate, twin iron wrought gates painted flat black that loom over you.
The gates have the family's crest emblazed unto them; a wolf posed to devour a serpent. The wolf's hind leg is injured from a snakebite. Written in Latin over the symbol, is a sinister promise: "No one assails me with impunity."
As always, the bulk of the house was left unoccupied with only the left wing cornered off to allow the family privacy. The top floor consisted of the libraries and a master bedroom. In the Gray Library, a large room filled to the roof with ancient books of curses and counter charms. The room was supported by large columns, carved with intricate glyphs proclaiming even greater secrets if one understood the language. The right corner column pivoted to reveal a narrow, dangerous spiral staircase.
There waited a man, not yet wise enough to fully understand every secret or every sorrow that this great house held. He was sitting on one of the steps, leaning back and staring up, towards the hidden annex, remembering the secret it had held. He pushed away a lock of his black hair pulling a bit of spider web away at the same time.
"You summoned me?"
Severus Snape rose to his full height and crossed to Jean Andre, passing pictures of his ancestors as he did. "You would die for your cause, wouldn't you Rouge?"
Andre looked up, "If I knew that it could change anything, yes."
"How do you have faith in such dreams even after all you have seen?"
"Because I have to believe that there's still something in this world worth dying for, my Prince, or why the hell are we fighting?"
The Dark Prince seemed to consider this. He inhaled and turned away, walking to a desk and sitting down. Picking up a pen, he began to write something on a scratch of paper. "Do you know where you are at, Kaga?"
Andre looked around. "Gray Library. According to rumors, the Snape family kept its darkest secrets hidden within this room."
"Hmm…" Snape mused, as he continued writing. "I use it as my personal office from time to time, as well. I'm always leaving papers laying around in here…misplacing them." He snorted. "This house is too damn big to keep track of little things." He stood, and turned to look at Andre. "I trust you'll see your way out."
Andre stared at Snape as he disappeared from the library to attend to whatever business occupied a Prince's time. He crossed to the desk out of curiosity and began to leaf through the papers, before resting his eyes on what Snape had just written.
And a slow smile began to creep across his features…
Severus Snape tugged on his robes, and stared at the big house. This place was really too big for it's own good at times. It had too many secrets, too much darkness. He listened to the sound of his footsteps on the wood and thought about Babbitt, wondering if he should get her a pet to keep her company while he was away. His work caused him to be away too much in recent months and he could only sense that it would continue to do that.
Things were becoming more complicated now…and he wasn't quite sure how he was going to pull it all off but he knew he had to try.
That's what heroes did after all, wasn't it?
He passed a certain bedroom of blue and silver, where a portrait of a young man hung over the bed like a shrine. The picture was a boy who was tall, handsome and tanned by the sun with wide shoulders and strong arms.
Severus paused to regard the picture for a long time, half wondering about things unspoken. If he prayed or asked for guidance from this specter, none came from the quiet Muggle painting.
So, he did all he could do in that situation. He closed the doors and continued on his own way.