26. SNAPE AND HAGRID

I own none of these characters.

He regained consciousness in complete darkness. He knew his

eyes were open,but he could see nothing.

Before he opened his eyes,he recalled the last thing he'd seen-

a very angry man. A very big,angry man with whom he had not

been friends. The enormous hands of the big,angry man. He didn't

remember much else. His head throbbed.

He felt broken.

He raised his head.

The blackness was torn away from him. A mask,he thought.

First, he realized that he was bound to a chair. At least he

felt like he was; he couldn't see any ropes. Second, he noted

that he was in the middle of a huge dark room. Moonlight poured

through the windows in the ceiling.

Third:

The giant man,sitting in the shadows of the retractable bleachers.

With that beard,he could have been a Viking. Yeah, he felt pillaged,

all right. By a huge,hairy, hopefully not horny Viking.

The giant man moved. It was like watching a mountain shift.

"Yer awake," he said. "Professor, 'e's awake."

Footsteps echoed through the dark gymnasium.

"Good." He recognized the voice. "Very good. Now would be a good

time to leave."

"Nah."

"Severus, listen to me-"

Snape patted Lucius Malfoy on the shoulder."I'm afraid you'll be

doing the listening,Lucius. Interrupt me,and I'll pull your

tongue out. I'm not in the mood for any of your games. I'm now an

insensitive, humorless-Hagrid,aren't I the most inconsiderate

human being you've ever met?"

"Oh,yeah," Hagrid said. "Yer the worst man I know,Professor."

"Thank you,Hagrid,that was well said. Bloody brilliant,as Weasley

might say."

"I don't know anything," Malfoy said. "Look, the Granger girl-"

"We used to be Death Eaters,Lucius. You know you can't lie to me."

"Are we still friends?" Lucius asked.

"I'd rather stick my head up a horse's ass than associate with you."

"That answer yer question?" Hagrid asked.

"Torturing and killing innocent people was second nature to us. I

killed more women and children than I could count,and I loved it.

You might say I developed a taste for it,particularly the torture-"

"I still can't figure out how you got a teaching job. "Oh,wait,

yes I can. Bleeding Dumbledore-"

Snape ignored that.

"I admit, for awhile,I dearly loved doing the things I did. The

other Death Eaters were afraid of me. I didn't mind; they

held me in higher esteem than I ever held myself.They saw something

in me I never could. But then,I came to realize that I couldn't

continue with that life. I never expected to be given a chance to

start again-"

"By Dumbledore. Severus Aleister Snape, Dumbledore's-

"Yer middle name is Aleister?" Hagrid asked.

"Snape-"

Snape nodded. "I came quite close to being named Alistair."

"SNAPE-"

"Alistair," Hagrid said. "Good name."

"What's your middle name?"

"Don't have one," Hagrid said. "Giants don't believe in 'em."

"SNAPE!"

Snape knelt down in front of Lucius. He removed a pair of wires

from his pocket.

"Exactly. Even now, the people with whom I work...they have

confidence in me. Sometimes,I don't understand why. I used to be

able to laugh. Then I met you and Voldemort's jolly junior pirates.

I haven't laughed in years. I used to know some real gut-busters,

but I've lost the will for joking. So believe me when I

say that if you don't tell us what we want to know,I'll hurt you.

We are the teachers. You are the student. You will tell us

everything you know. The alternative is torture. It will be slow.

It will be quite methodical. It will be thorough. Most of

all,it will be the most...intimate...experience either of us will

ever have. If you survive,I will ensure you will feel pain with

every breath you have left and every step you walk for the rest of

your life. You know how...carried away...I can get."

He touched the wires together.

Corrosive sparks flew everywhere.

"I think we'll start with some radical surgery on your testicles."

"By radical,d'yeh mean you'll just make stuff up as yeh go?"

"Precisely,Hagrid."

"Listen to me, Granger wouldn't have suffered-I did not want to

hit her-"

"Yeah," Hagrid said,standing up. "Yeh look real broken up 'bout it."

"It would have been quick,but she had to fight back."

His words were nothing. The enormous man was upon him and he

couldn't help babbling.

"I didn't know what to do-I just-"

Hagrid wrapped his hands around the collar of Lucius's shirt and

lifted him up-chair and all-an inch away from his face.

"Shut yer mouth, yeh great pathetic-"

"Careful,Hagrid." Snape said.

Hagrid didn't let go of the guy,but he did pause, staring into

their captive's eyes with frightening intensity. Snape had never

been afraid of Hagrid, even when he was a student. Right now,

though, he would not want to be Lucius Malfoy. And when

Hagrid spoke next, it was the deepest voice Snape had ever heard.

It made his bones vibrate. "Didn't even think twice 'bout stranglin'

her, I bet. That girl...she's like the daughter I never had...yer

lucky,yeh are..."

"I've heard what giants do to people. I read that article Rita

Skeeter wrote. Albus Dumbledore really must be senile,allowing you

near children-"

Hagrid growled.

Snape was glad his bladder was empty.

"Everything yeh've heard 'bout giants, yer maid prob'ly read to yeh-"

He lifted the man in the chair over his head and brought it

crashing down against the floor.

"You've been watching professional wrestling," Snape said.

"Oh,yeah," Hagrid said. "Chokeslam's a real stopper."

He knelt over Malfoy. "Now," he said,"Apologize."

Instead of speaking,their prisoner laughed. He laughed until

he started to choke.

"What's so funny?"

"You did that to Karkaroff..."

"You've seen Karkaroff?"

"He said this one introduced him to a tree after he insulted

Dumbledore.You still want me to ap-"

Hagrid pulled him up off of the floor, chair and all.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeh still better apologize. One,for insulting

the Headmaster. Two,for...Professor,what exactly did he say?"

"He implied you shouldn't be allowed near children. Which is

definite grounds for a sincere apology."

"You don't fool me. The both of you were in Azkaban. I don't think

they'd mess with you,big guy,but..."

he looked over at Snape. "-whose bitch were you in Azkaban?"

"In Azkaban, everyone was a bitch. The Dementors were ravenous."

"Have you ever seen a Dementor without a robe? I have."

"Disgusting," Snape said.

"YOU,of all people, find ME reprehensible?"

"Extremely," said Snape. "I'm considering leaving you alone with

Hagrid. He truly does want to hurt you."

"He already hurt me."

"Good," Snape said.

"I tell you,the Granger girl wouldn't have suffered. Just one

name to cross off of the list-"

"What list?"

"Blast it. I shouldn't have said that."

"What list, Lucius?"

"We have an extensive pool. Hermione Granger figures prominently."

"Why?" Hagrid asked. "Why d'yeh-"

He frowned,figuring it out.

"Because she's Muggle-born," he said.

"Congratulations," Lucius said.

"Where is this list?" Snape asked.It's here,isn't it?" Snape

asked. "A list of MuggleWhat kind of a list is it? Tell me or I'll do things that would

make Andrei Chikatilo-"

"It's a death pool," Lucius said.

Hagrid scowled.

"So,if I were to look in your pockets,one of the things I'd find

would be a list of children-"

"Not just kids,teachers,too."

"-who are most likely to die in the near future."

"We concentrated on the muggle-borns."

Snape pointed his wand at Malfoy.

"Accio," he said.

A piece of paper flew out of Malfoy's left pants pocket.

Snape caught it,unfolded it,and examined it.

His eyes flicked from the paper to Malfoy.

"My name is on this list," Snape said, in a voice that

regularly turned his students to jelly.

"Oh,yes. Most of them,we cast runes to select. But you're an

obvious choice. There's more than one list. You and Granger are on

all of them."

"Who has the others?"

"Whoever else is involved. I don't know them. I know our

Springfield contact has one."

There was a moment of silence.

"Someone native to Springfield is involved with Voldemort?"

"Everything's a shambles. It's hard to say what's really going

on..."

"What about Ralph Wiggum?" Hagrid asked.

"The Dark Lord had his eye on Ralph Wiggum. I know nothing else."

"You've been quite helpful, in spite of all the confusion."

"Have I? Is there anything else I can do?"

"That'll do," Snape said. Then he took something out of one

of his pockets.

"What's that?"

"It's called a tape recorder," Snape said. "The Ministry's going

to be very interested in its contents,I think. They'll be even

more interested in you. I hope they bury you in a nameless grave

next to a sewage treatment plant."

He waved his wand.

One of Malfoy's arms sprang up.

"How are you going to get-"

Snape slapped the tape recorder into his hand.

"How are you going to get me to the Ministry of Mag-"

He vanished in midsentence.

"Let's go," Snape said. "I need some air."

----------

It was still a beautiful night. The stars were out. They weren't

nearly as clear as they were over Hogwarts,but the fact that

they were there was comforting. Snape leaned against the slide,

and glanced down at Hagrid,who had stretched out in the grass.

"Hagrid?"

"Yeah."

"May I ask a personal question?"

Hagrid nodded. His eyes seemed as deep as the universe. "Go ahead."

"Do you regret not graduating?"

Hagrid thought for a moment.

"Nah," he said.

"Then...if you could live your life over again-"

"Wouldn't change nothin'. 'Cept,my mom and dad'd live longer."

"You miss them, don't you?"

"I...yeah. I miss 'em. But yeh know,I'm glad they didn't 'ave to see

me expelled. Woulda broken his heart."

"I never knew my father."

"Yeh didn't?"

"My mother raised me. She tried, at least. I wasn't the greatest

son. You remember me when I was at school?"

Hagrid sat up.

"I remember yeh. Curious,real smart-"

"I was a loner. I listened to a lot of heavy metal.

"Metal,huh?"

"Oh,Europe is full of metal...Czechs are maniacs when it comes to

grindcore. You can't throw a stone in some towns without hitting a

band. I think music is what got me through school...then,going

home,I'd stay out of my mother's way all summer.The closest thing

I've ever had to a father is...Professor Dumbledore. Don't tell him I said that."

"I won't say nothin'."

Snape sat beside Hagrid. The grass felt soft.

"He knew the things I'd done...and...what Lucius said was

the truth,Hagrid...the Headmaster was well aware that I was a

murderer and he welcomed me."

"Great man,Dumbledore."

"I have done things for which there's no hope of redemption."

"I believe yeh'll find it yet."

"If there is a Hell...I'm going to burn, Hagrid. I appreciate your

optimism on the part of my character...the truth is,I don't deserve

your friendship-"

"Yeh got it anyway,wether yeh like it or not."

"...thank you."

"For awhile,yeh were immersed in darkness. Everybody's got a dark

side. Nothin' wrong with that. But yeh've got something good in

yeh,overpowers the dark,even if yeh don't want it to. I see it.

Professor Dumbledore sees it. Yeh'll find it. I know yeh will."

"Do you believe that?"

"I believe it. And I'm not gonna give up on yeh. I'm willing

to wait."

An airplane sailed over their heads. They watched its lights

fade into the night.

"Ever been on one of those?" Hagrid asked.

"Why ride in a plane when you can just jump on a broom?"

"Right, right..."

"Wasn't there supposed to be a lunar eclipse this week?"

"Was there?"

"I don't remember," he said. Then a question occurred to him.

"Whatever happened to Madame Maxime?"

"Olympe? Why do yeh bring her up?"

"Come now,Hagrid, it did everyone good to see you two together."

"She wasn' attracted to me," Hagrid said.

"Why not?"

"Because she...well, she...how can I say this..."

"She's stark staring mad?"

Hagrid chuckled. "She's not into men."

"...oh. Well-"

"Yeah," Hagrid said,laughing again. "Took me enough time ta find out."

"Sprout-"

"Sprout's different. She's got this...what's the word..."

"It doesn't matter what the word is. Look, you're possibly

the kindest being I have ever known. You take excellent care

of the grounds. You love animals and children,and they adore you.

Sometimes I...envy you."

"Draco Malfoy hates me."

"Mr. Malfoy hates everybody. Gets it from his father."

"Yeah,that's true."

It got quiet again.

Somewhere in the silence,Snape said "Karkaroff..."

"Could be worse," Hagrid said.

"How?"

"Gilderoy Lockhart."

"Oh," Snape said,putting a hand to his forehead. "Yes,I suppose.

He just had a new one published."

"What,DIDDLING WITH DEMONS?"

"No..."

"MOANING WITH MINOTAURS,then? SCREAMING AT SKIN-EATERS?"

"No," he said,allowing the corner of his mouth to curl upward."It's-"

A dog began barking; the echo traveled.

Hagrid got to his feet.

"Fang?" he called. "FANG-"

"Doesn't sound like Fang."

The barking turned into a long,baying howl.

"That doesn't even sound like a normal dog," Snape said.

"What?"

"Wolves," Snape said. "Werewolves."