Chapter 2: Severus

Severus Snape stood in front of a plain wooden cabinet. Plain, except for the fact that it was so heavily warded that it was softly vibrating against the table. Plain, except for what he knew to be inside it.

"Ready?" he asked his companion.

"Do it," the other man replied.

Both men raised their wands to point at the box as Severus undid the complex spells and the latch clicked, the door swinging open a fraction of a centimeter. He waved his wand again and it opened fully, revealing a cauldron, which he reached in and grabbed. The stasis potion inside caused it to resist all magic, even levitation spells. He set it gently on the long table in front of him. Both men peered into the depths of the potion, regarding the inner contents with suspicion.

"What sort of potion did you say this was?"

"A stasis potion of my own making. It should render anything within it totally inert."

"Makes the box seem a bit like overkill."

"Safeguards," Severus replied, gruffly. He stepped back and squared his shoulders, fortifying himself for what would need to happen next. He would need to drain the potion. Once the locket was exposed to the open air, it would be free to exercise whatever defensive mechanisms it may have. Severus had heard Albus describe the compulsion spells that had been placed on the ring horcrux, and he wasn't eager to see if the locket had the same. In his brief experience with it, it had demonstrated no such magic, but these things could not be relied upon.

With a wave of his wand, an empty cauldron floated off the shelf and came to rest on the table next to him. He slipped on a pair of gloves and carefully lifted the full cauldron, tipping its contents gently into the empty one. He poured slowly to ensure the heavy locket stayed in place. When nearly all the potion had been transferred, he reached a gloved hand inside and carefully lifted the necklace by its delicate gold chain.

Since speaking with Harry, Severus had tasked Remus with obtaining a picture of Salazar Slytherin's locket. The academic had found one easily and it lay on the table before them, now. Both men peered at the locket now twisting slowly in the air between them. They didn't need to look too hard, though. They were clearly not a match.

Missing was the prominent emerald and the gold, stylized S. Also, the locket in their possession was far too small. It was old, fancy, and most certainly a piece of heirloom jewelry, but it wasn't an heirloom of Salazar Slytherin. That didn't mean it wasn't still a horcrux, of course, but Severus was of a similar mind to Miss Granger in thinking that the use of two necklaces, in particular two lockets, would be an unusual move for the Dark Lord.

"So, I'll be honest, I was expecting something a bit more sinister," Remus said, shattering the silence, "not some grandmother's keepsake."

Severus hummed in agreement.

"I'm not getting any feelings or urges from it either. Should we test it?" the werewolf asked, raising his wand.

Severus set it down on the table and gestured towards it as he removed his gloves. Cautiously, Remus cast a spell towards it. A jet of aqua-colored light shot towards the necklace, then sank beneath the surface, briefly tinging the entire thing with a bluish glow. Both men waited with bated breath, but nothing else occurred.

Severus followed with a jet of orange light, which also revealed nothing. Then Remus again with a more complicated wand motion. Still nothing. The two traded increasingly complex spells a few more times, before both seemed satisfied.

"I know I haven't yet dealt with a horcrux up close, but I have to say, I'm starting to think this may not be one. That thing has not a single magical trace. It seems completely harmless. From what I've heard of the others, that shouldn't be the case. Am I wrong?"

Severus sighed.

"No. No, there should be more."

"Then…it's a fake."

"It would appear so."

"Why would he place a fake? And go to such lengths to protect it?"

"I do not know."

"Could it have been placed by someone else?"

"It is possible, though I doubt that person would have lived long afterwards."

"Who, though? Who else knew about the horcruxes? Does Voldemort know?"

"I strongly doubt the Dark Lord knows. His anger would have been noticed. The cave would likely have been destroyed, as well. It seems more likely that whoever did this remained undiscovered. Perhaps it occurred very close to the end of the first war and the Dark Lord never had time to find out. As to who else knew…I can think of no one."

"Maybe the locket can provide some clues."

Remus reached out and snatched the locket from the table before Severus could stop him. The recklessness of Gryffindors would never cease to dumbfound him. Though the locket had passed all their diagnostic spells, it did not mean it was completely inert. The Dark Lord was known to employ magics that defied logic and explanation and that often went undetected by traditional methods. Still, the imbecile had not immediately fallen dead at his feet, so at least he wouldn't have to try and explain that to his son.

Remus scrutinized the jewelry through a narrowed gaze as he turned it over and over in his hands.

"It really does look like something James's mum would've worn. Or Sirius's. Old fashioned, handmade, but with good craftsmanship. Probably expensive. I could see some old pureblood witch wearing this. You're sure none of your lot could have done this? No mysterious disappearances or suspicious deaths?"

Severus shot him a withering glare. Remus blinked back at him, unaffected. Severus frowned.

"I am sure of nothing. There were numerous unexplained disappearances, and deaths were not uncommon near the end of the war. I'm sure you remember. However, none stand out as being particularly memorable."

He began running through his memories as Remus continued inspecting the locket. The end of the war was sort of hazy for him. After losing touch with Lily, time had seemed to flow both quickly and slowly simultaneously. It was hard to hold on to memories from that time, and it was even harder to keep them in the right order. He was telling the truth. There had been several disappearances and deaths that had never been solved. The Trunchbull cousins. The Milner brothers. Regulus Black. Silvanus Montague. The entire Rothman family. Several others whose names he couldn't remember, or maybe had never known. Not to mention those that simply went into hiding, presumed dead, only to be later found and incarcerated.

"Okay, I'm sure this is a stupid question, but have you actually opened this locket?"

Severus's thoughts stuttered, then stopped. He regarded Remus with a frown, but said nothing.

"I take that to mean you haven't," Remus continued. "Well, I guess that makes sense if you thought it contained a piece of Voldemort's soul, but I'm about 95 percent sure it doesn't. Shall we risk it?"

He dangled the locket from his chain as he looked at Severus. The offending jewelry twinkled happily, almost mocking him. And, if he wasn't mistaken, Remus looked almost excited. He opened his mouth to protest, to say that this had gone far enough and they should really take this whole charade elsewhere, cast a few more spells, place a few more wards, but before he could utter more than a single syllable, Remus slid his thumbnail between the two halves of the oval, and lifted the top with a soft snick.

Severus mentally cursed the moment this impulsive, idiotic werewolf was sorted into Gryffindor, a house full of hotheads and imbecils, then he cursed himself for allowing such a halfwit into his home.

But nothing happened. The earth didn't start shaking. The house didn't crumble to the ground. No spellfire erupted. No poisonous fumes escaped. No shrieking spirits burst through the opening. He wasn't gripped by malice or haunted by the regrets of his past. It was utterly anticlimactic.

Still, he leveled his best death glare at the werewolf. Such a look could send even the most fortified student scurrying out of his classroom. Remus merely responded with a crooked half smile and a quiet huff. He must be losing his touch.

"Idiotic Gryffindor," Severus grumbled under his breath.

"Yeah, maybe, but where would you be without me?"

Severus didn't dignify him with a response, not that Remus had waited for one. He was already opening the locket the rest of the way and pulling something small from within.

Severus was immediately interested. He stepped forward and took the locket from Remus, ignoring his smug smile. The inside was unremarkable, but the keepsake compartment appeared to have held a small roll of paper. Remus was carefully unrolling it to reveal a handwritten note. Remus raised it closer to their faces as they scrutinized the tiny script.

"'To the Dark Lord,'" Remus began reading aloud, "'I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more. R.A.B.,'" he concluded.

Severus stepped back and pondered. The note was addressed to the Dark Lord, which meant it was likely written by a Death Eater, or some such supporter. Whoever wrote it was likely also dead, if the note was any indication. He went back over his mental list of dead or missing Death Eaters even as he heard Remus muttering "R.A.B," over and over behind him.

Then, suddenly, it all made sense. The note, the signature, the fake locket, Hermione's mention of seeing Slytherin's locket at Grimmauld Place, he even thought he could imagine how he might have pulled it all off.

"Regulus," he breathed.

"Regulus?" Remus questioned. "Sirius's Regulus?"

But Severus didn't answer. He was lost in memories. Regulus, a year behind him in school, being sorted into Slytherin. Regulus, in Severus's third year, crying because his brother had snubbed him in the Great Hall that night at dinner, on the poor boy's birthday. Regulus, two nights later, responding with cruelty when Sirius attempted an apology. Regulus in Severus's sixth year, reeling with the abandonment of his brother–who had very publicly walked out on the Black family earlier that summer and had reportedly spent the entire holiday with the Potters–making a desperate bid to regain his family's influence by aligning himself firmly with the troupe of junior Death Eaters of which Severus was a part. Regulus, the boy Severus had taken under his wing from that moment on, shepherding him through the ranks, showing him how it all worked. They were so similar. Both trying to prove themselves. Both trying to shake off their Gryffindor connections. Both eager to please and uniquely skilled in ways that made them valuable.

Regulus was smart, smarter than the others realized. He saw connections in places where others saw only coincidence. He'd saved Severus's life on more than one occasion simply because he seemed to always be one step ahead of everyone around him. Severus had once teased the boy by telling him he should have been a Ravenclaw, but Regulus had just scowled and said that Slytherin was his rightful place as son of the house of Black. When he graduated Hogwarts and became a full member of the Death Eaters, he rose swiftly through the ranks, faster even than Severus. Having the Black name certainly didn't hurt. Then, one day, he simply disappeared. Severus didn't even find out for a few weeks. He'd been recovering in St. Mungos from a potions accident and had very little contact with other Death Eaters. When he finally learned of it, he was devastated. He'd gone straight to the park to meet up with Lily and seek her comfort, but she hadn't been able to get away. The next night, she waited for him there, but he was on a raid and couldn't sneak off. Thus continued their pattern of missed connections, and he never saw her again.

Yes. The timing was right. Just right, in fact. Regulus's disappearance coincided with the busiest and most chaotic part of the war, when Voldemort would have been hard-pressed to notice anything amiss. And if he'd involved his house elf, then the object very well could have been returned to Grimmauld Place and kept safe, stored indefinitely under the watchful eye of that miserable creature. Sirius often complained about how loyal the thing remained to Regulus, even after all this time.

Yes.

Yes.

It made sense. Perfect sense.

He stumbled shakily forward and leaned his hands on the table, his head dropping and dark hair curtaining around him. It seemed that he and Regulus had even more in common than they had known–they both stood against the one they had once called Master.

"Severus," Remus called, gently, "it was Regulus, wasn't it? Sirius's brother? He's the one that planted this locket. I remember Sirius telling us he'd been killed, or presumed dead, or something, he–he didn't know exactly, but he was never heard from again, so we assumed…could he have done this?"

"Yes," Severus responded, heavily. "Yes, he could have. In fact, I can think of no one who would be more capable."

"Well, that's good, then, right? If Regulus took it, he probably took it to Grimmauld Place. It's been under our noses this entire time. But can it be that simple?"

"When has anything ever been that simple?"

"Never, but surely that means we're due, right? We should go. Now."

"Miss Granger did mention she believed she had seen it there."

"And you're only just now mentioning this?!"

"I believed her to be mistaken."

"That girl is almost never mistaken. Even you should know that. She was the only one who figured out I was a werewolf when you substituted for me that day."

"It is a mistake I will not make again."

"Well, if we know where it is, we should go get it. Right now." Remus began striding towards the door. Severus caught him by the elbow.

"We can't."

Remus was visibly taken aback.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I should inform Harry. He will want to help."

"I thought we were keeping Harry out of this."

"Not entirely. I wish we could, but his agreement to let me take charge of this project was that I not keep him in the dark and allow him to assist when appropriate. If the horcrux is at Headquarters, then it is probably one of the easiest and safest to retrieve."

"So if you allow him to help with this one, maybe you can keep him out of the more dangerous ones." Remus interjected.

"Precisely," Severus replied.

"Yeah, that makes sense. I assume he's at the Weasley's again."

"Yes."

"Should we wait for him here or go get him?"

Severus thought for a moment before replying.

"We should retrieve him. He will doubtless ask to bring his friends along, but as it was Miss Granger and Miss Weasley who found the object in the first place, it may be prudent to have their assistance."

"To be clear, we're going to recruit four teenagers, two of whom are still underage, to help us search an old, probably still cursed, pureblood home for a dangerous locket that contains a fragment of Voldemort's soul?"

"What else would you have me do?"

"Nothing, I'm just making sure we're on the same page."

"I hate you."

"No you don't," the werewolf replied as he danced out of the room. "Oh! We should probably try and grab Bill while we're there, too."

Severus was growing more confident by the day that his erstwhile companion might be a bit touched. Or maybe it was some mold that grew only in the Gryffindor towers that altered the minds of its residents. Or maybe it had to do with the dubious company Remus used to keep.

Whatever it was, Severus was quite sure it was going to be the death of him.


Severus stepped out of the floo at the Burrow, brushing himself off in the sitting room and showing himself out the back door. If you'd told him a year ago that he would have visited the Weasley's home enough times to become familiar with the layout of its ground floor, he would have sent you to Madam Pomfrey to have your sanity checked, but such was the state of his life, these days.

Remus was already a few steps ahead of him, greeting the Weasleys with smiles and handshakes. It pulled at him strangely when they unerringly turned those same smiles to greet him, even knowing, as they all did by now, that he wasn't going to smile back, though he did shake their hands, of course.

He might never get used to this.

Before he could be pulled into any small talk, which he still very much despised, Severus inquired as to Harry's whereabouts and set off to retrieve him.

Blessedly, he found him not in a romantic entanglement with his girlfriend (again), but instead working in the garden. Miss Weasley was there, but so were Mister Weasley and Miss Granger, and all appeared to be engaged in their tasks, though with varying levels of sincerity. Upon hearing him approach, Harry sat back on his heels and raked the back of his hand across his forehead, inadvertently smearing a line of dirt across it.

"Good afternoon," Severus greeted.

"Hey," Harry returned. He furrowed his brow and consulted his watch. "Bit earlier than usual, isn't it?"

"It is. There's a matter I must discuss with you."

Harry gave a short sigh and began to rise as if to walk with him. Severus reached out a hand to stop him.

"No, you may stay. Doubtless you will insist on telling them anyway."

"Oh," Harry said. His companions turned their heads curiously in his direction and set down their tools.

"What is this about, sir?" Miss Granger inquired, dusting off her hands.

"Harry informed me that you had some doubts as to the locket's validity as a horcrux. When he mentioned this to me, he unknowingly echoed some of my own thoughts. Today, I conducted some experiments and discovered that we were correct. The locket is not what it appeared to be. In fact, it was a decoy, substituted for the real locket, which was taken and hidden. I have reason to believe you know where it is."

"It's at Grimmauld Place, isn't it?" she asked, rhetorically. "I knew that picture looked familiar. Ginny, it's the one we found that day we were cleaning, do you remember? I knew there was something funny about it. It was almost like it wanted to be found. Well, I guess it probably did, now that I think about it. I remember it because it was just so gaudy. And more expensive-looking than most of the other jewelry we'd found so far. And–"

"Miss Granger," Severus interrupted, "may I continue?"

"Oh!" she squeaked. "Yes, sorry!"

Severus nodded and continued.

"We do believe the locket you discovered to be the true horcrux. Remus and I were going to go there now to secure it. As you have seen it before, we felt that your assistance would be beneficial. And yes, Harry, before you ask, I also came to retrieve you, as per our agreement."

Harry lowered the finger he had raised in protest and closed his gaping mouth. Miss Granger was already nodding and agreeing to come.

"I'm coming, too," Mister Weasley asserted.

"And me!" Miss Weasley added. "I was there when Hermione found it, so I know what it looks like, too."

"Yes, I would like both of your help as well, though we will have to take it up with your parents," Severus said.

Mister Weasley groaned and dropped his head back. He certainly was the most dramatic of Harry's friends.

"Well, let's get it over with, then," Miss Weasley stated, lifting a basket of freshly-picked tomatoes and striding forward with confidence. "Mum's in the kitchen."

They fell in step behind the young redhead as she led them back into the house. She walked straight to the kitchen and plonked her basket of tomatoes down on the table with a thump. Molly turned to them in surprise.

"Hello, Severus, I didn't know you were–"

"Mum, we're going to Grimmauld Place," her daughter boldly interrupted. "There's a special project Harry needs our help with."

"And what is this project, exactly?" the matriarch returned, placing her hands on her hips in a stance Severus had previously thought only existed in children's books.

"There's something there he needs to find. It's important."

"Why is it important? And why does he need you to find it?"

"Because I've found it before. I saw it when we were cleaning. I know what it looks like."

"Well, why don't you just tell him where you put it?"

"It's bound to have been moved by now."

"Harry's a smart boy. I'm sure he can figure it out. Besides, you're needed here."

"I already got all the tomatoes like you asked. My dress has been fitted three times in the last two days. My hair has been done in a dozen different styles. I've practiced walking down the aisle. I've arranged the everlasting bouquets. The place cards have been sorted alphabetically. I've organized the cupboard and cleaned out the ice chest. I've done so much, Mum. And in a few days, it'll all be over and done with and I'll have nothing to show for it. But this is really important, and it's something I can actually do that might still matter after the wedding is all said and done. Please, Mum. It's Order Headquarters. It's just about the safest place there is, right now."

Molly regarded her daughter silently, then met Severus's eyes.

"Is it safe?"

No less so than hosting a wedding during war, he thought. But he knew better than to say that.

"Harry is also accompanying me. I would not willingly endanger my son," he said, instead.

Molly looked torn. She regarded her children warily before casting a trusting look towards Severus. He felt both honored and terrified. There were few Molly trusted with her children. He wasn't entirely sure he was worthy of such a thing. Especially given their propensity for troublemaking. What, exactly, had he gotten himself into?

"All right. Go. But I want you back before supper," she addressed her daughter. "If she isn't," Molly turned and brandished her wooden spoon at Severus's face, "I'll hold you personally responsible for her safety. I don't care who you are."

"Thanks, Mum!" the girl replied, cutting off whatever Severus was about to say, which was probably wise. She grabbed Harry's hand and led him swiftly out of the kitchen before her mother could change her mind. Severus and the others followed.

Truly, that young witch was remarkable. He'd rarely seen Molly Weasley cowed in the decades that he had known her. Granted, until recently, they only interacted at Order meetings, but his observations had led him to believe that her stubbornness could not be matched. Clearly, though, she was no match for her own daughter. Severus hadn't missed the way she had expertly dodged questions by answering others. The more he got to know her, the more he appreciated her cunning mind. If it wasn't for her tendency to dive into things headfirst, she would have made a formidable Slytherin.

The company wasted no time in assembling before the fireplace. An urgency and excitement had seemed to bubble out of them the moment they began moving. Severus was beginning to see how Harry managed to get into so much trouble over the last few years. One hint of righteous purpose had them all buzzing with energy. Severus kept himself rather more contained. Someone around here had to maintain a level head.

As the last of the children spun away into the flames, Severus grabbed his own handful of floo powder, tossed it into the fire, and whooshed away. As he slid from grate to grate he hoped that Remus had successfully recruited Bill. He'd had no time to check back in with him after he met up with the children. Keeping up with his son and his friends was going to require all the energy he had left.

Merlin help him.


A/N: Well, Severus chapters tend to be shorter, but I do enjoy writing them. I also think that Remus gets short shrift in the books in terms of character development. There had to be a reason the Marauders liked hanging out with him. I like to think that he's rather more mischievous than he appears in the books. He's a good foil for Severus. Anyway. I am still working on this story (as you can see) and am excited to keep posting more. Hope you enjoyed reading it!