Author's Note: A missing moment from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 19, The Silver Doe. Severus Snape discovers what the trio are actually doing.


Missing Moment: Discovery


He did not tell anyone that he was leaving for the night. The Carrows would simply take advantage of his absence if they knew he was gone, so he instructed the gargoyle that he was not to be disturbed and sealed the headmaster's office so no one could enter. Then he cast a Disillusionment Charm over himself and proceeded through the quiet castle.

When he descended the marble staircase, he could hear the clinking of cutlery on china, but no conversation from the Great Hall. The Carrows forbid such, and it was one rule he had allowed, if only because there were a number of other requests the Carrows had made that were far worse than no talking during meals.

He did not bother to look into the hall but went straight through the oak front doors and down the lawn, and past the spells and enchantments that guarded the gate. Once he was beyond the bend in the path and the castle disappeared from view, Severus Snape glanced about him warily, then twisted and Disapparated.

When he opened his eyes, night was descending quickly within the Forest of Dean.

It was quiet here, the snow ankle deep and undisturbed. He breathed the cold air deeply, allowing the frozen temperature to sear his lungs. The quiet was different from the oppressive silence at Hogwarts; it was peaceful, yet haunting. It reminded him of long walks in the snow with Lily during their first four years at Hogwarts, finding secret places in the castle grounds to sit and talk without anyone who could overhear. Without anyone who would tease a Gryffindor and Slytherin for daring to be friends.

He cast a charm so he wouldn't leave footprints in the snow and set off through the trees. Granger had undoubtedly set protective charms around their position to prevent detection. She was too intelligent not to do so. And while that would work for snatchers, he knew the sort of magic to look for. Magic always left traces, and Granger had a particular, brilliant style that had been evident in her potion making and spell casting - perhaps more than any other student he'd taught.

And then, he suddenly felt it. It was as though an invisible hand kept him at bay, as though something kept him from wanting to go further. He could sense Granger's magical signature in the effect and he inhaled with satisfaction. He had found them, even if he couldn't see them. Now he just needed to find a pond nearby that would serve the purpose he had in mind.

The idea had been born of Sirius Black, and though Severus was normally loath to do anything Black had ever suggested, it was hard not to in this instance. Back in their sixth year, Severus had inadvertently stumbled into Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew at the lake on a cold Saturday afternoon. The resulting duel had ended when he slipped on a rock and fell in the icy water. It had been as humiliating as anything else, but Professor McGonagall had passed by and witnessed the incident. She had put a quick stop to it before things went further - before Black and Potter tried to drown him, for instance. He grit his teeth at the memory and continued his trek through the forest, until he found what he was looking for.

It was fortunately a shallow pond - only a few feet deep and icy black and grey in the night. The trees around were thick; one in particular was forked. He strode to it and found a bare patch of earth behind the tree, shaded from snowfall and barren of frost. It was the perfect height and width to block him from view, but at the same time allow him to watch the scene and assist if something went dreadfully wrong. He couldn't imagine that anything would go wrong, but knowing how trouble followed Potter, it was a possibility, and he could not afford mistakes. He would absolutely need to make sure Potter surfaced and didn't drown in the attempt to retrieve the sword. Just Severus's luck, Potter mightn't know how to swim at all - Severus rather doubted Petunia had ever allowed him swimming lessons.

It took little effort to cast the spells - the pond cracked, the sword sank to the bottom, and ice immediately reformed at Severus's wordless command.

Then came the hardest part.

He cast his Patronus, and the doe swirled into being in front of him, its large eyes watching him benignly. He felt a stab of sadness as he stared at the beautiful creature. She watched him silently, as if understanding why it was so hard for him to gaze upon her. He finally whispered, "Find him. Bring him here. He will know what to do."

The doe blinked once, then turned and moved like a ghost through the forest, her light shimmering between the trees until it was gone, leaving the night somehow darker than before.

Still under the Disillusionment Charm, Severus took his place behind the tree, watching the frozen pond.

The wait was not as long as he expected, though long enough. Despite a simple warming charm, the cold still began to seep through his boots and cloak, and he started to wonder if he had miscalculated. Maybe he had not found Potter and the others, but Snatchers instead? That would be just his luck - even if he could deal with them easily.

But then the doe's light cut through the trees, dazzling and glittering. He immediately straightened and watched through the tight fork in the tree as she picked her way across the snow towards the pond. Potter appeared behind her, the light of his wand and the Patronus both reflecting off of his glasses.

The boy looked much worse for the wear than when Severus had last seen him. His hair was longer and he looked even more gaunt than usual, as though he had not eaten well these past few months.

The doe suddenly vanished, having completed her task, and in her sudden absence, Potter looked about nervously, before hurrying to the pond. His wand remained out, gripped tightly in white knuckles, but Severus knew the moment the boy saw the sword. Potter's breath caught and he froze, staring down at the thing. He knew what it was. He was expecting it, just as Dumbledore had said.

Potter glanced about the bank in confusion, and then resumed walking about the perimeter of the pond, his expression grim. Severus couldn't help but feel slightly sadistic. Served the boy right, having to jump in cold water. But Potter wouldn't ask Granger to do it, that was certain. Gryffindors were horribly predictable.

As if on cue, Potter exhaled and set his wand down. He began to undress, placing his clothes nearby. When he was clad only in his underwear, he used his wand to crack the ice; then he jumped in and promptly went rigid with cold shock.

Severus frowned slightly as Potter's teeth clattered. There was something around the boy's neck - a necklace of some kind? That was odd. He didn't think Potter had many personal items of note; it wasn't as if the Dursleys ever gave him gifts. Perhaps the Weasley girl had given it to him, though it was a strange choice of parting gift - most men did not wear large, old-fashioned lockets as what was around Potter's neck. But before he could reflect further, Potter dived beneath the surface. Severus momentarily forgot about the necklace as he waited.

And waited.

After a few seconds, he started to grow uneasy. The boy should have been able to find the sword quickly, within ten seconds, really. It was right on the bottom of a pond that was only one and a half meters deep at most. Potter had obviously seen the sword through the ice and knew its location at the bottom. What on earth was taking so long?

The seconds stretched on and the hair on the back of his neck prickled ominously. Damn it, something had gone wrong, and he would have to save the boy, again...

And then, just as he started to move, Weasley rushed forward out of nowhere.

Severus started in surprise. According to Phineas Nigellus, Weasley had left the group some time ago. How on earth had he managed to find them again? And when? Or...was it really Weasley? Was it someone in disguise, impersonating Weasley?

But Severus had little time to figure out what had happened, for Weasley jumped in after Potter and dived, surfacing a moment later with Potter and the sword. That action alone confirmed that the boy was Ronald Weasley and not someone in disguise - but it was still very vexing. Weasley dragged Potter to the snow-crusted edge and threw his friend roughly onto the bank.

Then Severus's eyes were immediately drawn back to that odd, old locket. It was no longer hanging around Potter's neck, for Weasley was gripping the now-broken chain between cold, wet knuckles. As for the locket itself...it was positively dancing and writhing and jumping like a living thing, like a cockroach under a Cruciatus Curse, bouncing every which way as though utterly panicked.

Severus stiffened and inhaled sharply. Bloody fucking hell. That necklace was no parting trinket at all. It was something much, much worse, given its bizarre movements. Severus was an expert on Dark magic. He knew it when he saw it, because he had seen so much of it, and that necklace was dangerous... as though it were alive...

Severus sucked in a cold breath of horror. Surely not... he thought, his mind reeling. It should have been impossible, but...

Weasley was now shouting at Potter, who was hurriedly redressing, his teeth chattering loud enough for all of Britain to hear. Their tense conversation went on for a few minutes, but Severus never took his eyes off the locket, which never stopped moving.

And then Potter looked right at him.

He swore to himself and cast a silent levitation spell, lifting from his position and gently rising into the branches of the tree, as though nothing more than a ghost. He couldn't let Potter discover him, but the necklace was too intriguing to leave just yet. He had a sneaky, horrible suspicion of what it was, and that it had likely tried to drown Potter deliberately. He wanted to see if his theory was correct. Hopefully the two idiots before him wouldn't go back to the tent with the thing, where he would be unable to follow.

Potter hurried to check behind the tree, guessing that the person who had left the sword of Gryffindor would use the fork as a lookout. But finding no one, and not bothering to look up (though it wouldn't have mattered) he returned in disappointment to Weasley. Severus exhaled and drifted back down to the hiding spot to continue watching. Dumbledore would be angry if he knew that Severus was still hanging about, but Dumbledore was dead, so that was a moot point, really.

He was darkly excited when Potter told Weasley that he was going to open the locket and allow the thing inside to come out. Weasley protested vehemently, claiming the locket affected him differently than it affected Potter and Granger. Potter insisted that Weasley had to be the one to kill the locket, because that was how the Sword of Gryffindor worked, and because Weasley had been affected the most by the bloody thing.

One word stuck in Severus's mind: kill. It hinted that the locket was, in fact, alive - and that Potter knew the locket was alive. Ominous indeed, adding more confirmation to his suspicions.

Moments later, the unthinkable happened.

Potter spoke in Parseltongue. The locket sprang open. Weasley was just about to stab it with the Sword of Gryffindor when he suddenly froze - and the locket started speaking. Severus felt as though he had swallowed a block of ice. He immediately recognized Voldemort's voice, and his mind made the final leap. This was the darkest magic of all. No wonder Dumbledore had kept it from him. No wonder Potter was the only person who could complete this nearly impossible task. Voldemort had made himself as close to immortal as was possible, and Potter had been marked from the very beginning by Voldemort himself as the only one who could destroy the darkest wizard of all time. Neither Severus nor Voldemort had truly understood Trelawney's prophecy all those years ago, but now it made horrible sense.

But there was a much more disturbing problem than just the locket. Voldemort wouldn't have been so careless as to allow such a dangerous liability to fall into Potter or Dumbledore's hands. Did that mean that he had likely made additional safeguards? Was this just one of many?

Severus felt his body stiffen. Fuck... How many? How many Horcruxes existed? Merlin, he had no idea...! And he thought he had the Dark Lord's confidence! Did Potter know how many? Had Dumbledore known how many? Did anyone besides Voldemort know how many?

The locket suddenly blossomed, and the fragment of Voldemort's soul emerged, disguised as Potter and Granger intertwined to torment Weasley. Under normal circumstances, Severus would have been dispassionate at best, completely unconcerned at the least. What did he care if Weasley fought inner demons? Everyone had inner demons; that was nothing new. But this was a little different. This was Voldemort tormenting Weasley, playing on Weasley's darkest fears - as Voldemort always did with his victims. Agonizing the boy with the idea that Potter and Granger were romantically involved - as if anyone who knew them at all couldn't tell Potter and Granger were just friends. Yet, it conjured images of Lily Evans and James Potter, and Severus could taste the bitter disappointment on his tongue. He knew what Weasley must have felt as he listened to that horrific voice. It was worse than Crucio - it was emotional agony.

For a brief moment, he thought Voldemort was going to win - that Weasley was going to turn and kill Potter instead of the locket. Severus even raised his wand in case he had to step into this horrific mess and sort it out - but thank Merlin for bloody Gryffindor chivalry winning out in the end. Weasley suddenly brought the sword point down on the locket, piercing the glass, and a horrible scream rent the air as the Horcrux died. Dark, sticky tar seemed to ooze from the windows onto the snow, staining everything around it black. Then all was motionless.

Severus realized he had broken into a cold sweat; that his skin was both hot and icy, that it felt as though he had swallowed a barrel of eels that wriggled menacingly in his gut. He desperately wanted to ask Potter how many? But they would likely duel with him if he dared reveal himself. It was far too risky. So he silently followed them back to the perimeter of Granger's protection spells, where they vanished from sight once they passed into the barrier.

Severus inhaled sharply, listened to the quiet stillness for a moment longer, and then Disapparated back to Hogsmeade and hurried to the castle. Only once back inside the dark, quiet headmaster's office did he allow himself to let loose a shaky breath.

Then he rounded on Dumbledore's portrait.

"Horcruxes?" he snarled furiously.

Dumbledore jerked out of a light doze and stared at him with a most guilty expression; the other portraits woke as well, grumbling and talking over each other.

"He wasn't supposed to find out," one of them wheezed anxiously, while another demanded, "Did you go against your orders, Severus?"

"Blatant disrespect!" the corpulent one bellowed, and several others agreed.

Severus ignored them and stormed up to Dumbledore's portrait. "How many?" he snarled. "How many are there?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I won't tell you, Severus. Harry knows, and that is all that matters."

"But there could be several!" Severus raked his hands through his hair in horror and panic. "What if you're wrong? What if you guessed four and there are actually five? Or six and there are actually -"

"I highly doubt I was wrong in my estimation, and Harry agreed with me on the number. There is a sort of deductive logic about the whole thing, really. The Dark Lord is highly predictable."

Severus stared at the portrait in shock. "But where on earth are they?"

"That, too, was something between myself and Harry." Dumbledore looked anxious and worried; his portrait hands fidgeted a bit.

"You don't know where they all are, do you?" And when Dumbledore didn't answer, Severus went on hatefully, "He's damned lucky the Sword of Gryffindor destroyed it! There is precious little that can destroy a Horcrux, Dumbledore -"

"Which one was it? Which Horcrux?"

"It was a locket! Big, old-fashioned -"

"Really?" Dumbledore's eyes looked intrigued. "But the locket Harry and I found last year wasn't the real Horcrux...! That means he found the real one without me! Oh, but this is excellent news, indeed!"

Severus sputtered in shock and fury. "You mean to tell me you found a locket that wasn't the real Horcrux and died, and Potter had to find the actual Horcrux without you?"

"Yes, that's precisely it!" Dumbledore beamed. "And he did, which is simply marvelous. That means at least three have been destroyed!"

To hear an actual number made Severus's body go numb. He sank into the headmaster's chair, his mind reeling. Three? Oh, Merlin...how many others?

"This is madness," he whispered. "Dumbledore, surely you know this is madness."

"We are dealing with the Dark Lord, Severus. It would be astounding for this not to be madness."

Dumbledore gave him a grim smile. Severus could not return it. The nightmare was so much worse than he had ever imagined. He could only hope that Potter would be able to succeed at such a daunting, horrible task.

A sudden, terrible thought occurred to him. Without thinking, he blurted, "Potter. Potter is a horcrux too, isn't he?"

Dumbledore's portrait suddenly looked shifty; the other portraits on the wall hissed and whispered at each other.

"Yes, Severus. Do you remember I asked you to tell him, when the time was right, that...?"

Severus nodded curtly. His entire body felt numb. "Yes. I still remember," he snarled. He rose abruptly. He couldn't process it all. "I'm going to bed. I'll discuss this with you later, Dumbledore."

The portrait did not call him back as he stormed out of the office to his chambers.

Once he was in the corridors beyond the headmaster's office, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

Calm the mind. Lock everything away, everything you know. Do not let the Dark Lord know you know.

But it was getting harder and harder to do just that. And yet, he knew he must; his role in this nightmare had to remain absolute for everything to work.