Lord Voldemort was having the time of his life.
The news about a strange avian creature attacking Hogwarts was the talk of everyone even after nearly a month, including his Death Eaters. Many had looked at him in much more admiration than before, and were truly convinced that he had set it up to show off his magical prowess.
But of course, only he and Lucius Malfoy knew the real perpetrator was someone else.
Malfoy had regaled him with many stories about Severus Snape's feud with a stinking group of Gryffindors who called themselves the Marauders, and even though he was supposed to be the Dark Lord, an inspiration to other purebloods to rebuild the wizarding world, he nonetheless couldn't help but to adore the young Slytherin's fierce determination to prove them wrong and fight back.
And so, he was not surprised upon reading how James Potter, Sirius Black-Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, having countless hexes and curse inflictions on practically everywhere on their bodies. He still smirked when he remembered the disgraced Black's previous condition.
"Lucius," he called.
The blond man bowed down in front of him.
"Can you find out when is the next Hogsmeade visit? I'd like to meet our dear friend soon."
Lucius frowned. "I would say the nearest time would be the day before, or on St. Valentine's Day, but…"
There was a short pause.
"…It's not a date, Lucius," the Dark Lord said.
Lucius quickly looked downward, knowing well he would be severely punished if he ever told anyone else about what he saw just then.
"…I will ask Evan Rosier when it will be, my Lord," was what the blond said instead, and much to his relief, the other man nodded and dismissed him.
Lord Voldemort sighed and turned to the table next to him, where another copy of his black book was placed. He dipped his quill lightly into the ink bottle and wrote about his earlier question in one of the pages.
His words slowly faded before they were replaced by a spiky yet almost feminine handwriting, telling the same answer as Lucius Malfoy had given him.
The supposedly fearsome Dark Lord closed his eyes and mentally groaned to himself.
Albus Dumbledore was not a man he once was.
Currently, he was back in his Headmaster's room, thinking deeply about what happened during his visit to St. Mungo's earlier that day.
Simply said, it was terrible.
The thrills of his pet phoenix, Fawkes didn't even cheer him up as he pulled out his half-circle spectacles and closed his eyes, sighing as he lightly massaged his creased forehead. The memories of what occurred a few hours ago were appearing subconsciously in his mind…
Albus arrived at St. Mungo's with only one reason, to find out the information about the bird spirit's attack from the victims themselves. Pressing the elevator button to the fourth floor, the great wizened wizard stroked his bearded chin absent-mindedly. Just why exactly the four boys were targeted? Even after hearing Minerva's story about what had happened on Christmas Eve, he still couldn't believe it.
How can a creature not affected by any spells, especially the Killing Curse? And a stranger fact was that it seemed capable to cast magic as well. He had a suspicion on who had sent it but brushed the thought away immediately, instead focusing on a more possible suspect.
Tom Riddle. Or what he was known as these days, Lord Voldemort.
Albus knew the boy was powerful, managing to peruse through anyone's mind with even the slightest eye contact. So after hearing Tom's return to wizarding Britain, Albus was troubled by the fact that he had worked his way into the politics by gaining his supporters from the Dark-aligned families. And thus, it was much more plausible that Tom, a boy Albus had known well since he was the Transfiguration professor, would be the creator of the spectral beast.
The ding that marked his destination entered Albus' ears and he sighed as he stepped out of the elevator and glanced at the ward's name before entering the room.
Janus Thickey Ward
The ward was mostly empty with the exception of four beds; all were occupied next to each other. One of the patients got up and grinned widely upon seeing Albus.
"Professor Dumbledore!" said James Potter, and the headmaster couldn't help but return the gesture. The boy was his godson, after all.
"Hello, boys; how are you feeling?" The old wizard took his seat near to James' bed, facing the other three students as well.
Sirius Black grunted as he rose from his bed, "Awful, but don't worry. We'll get out in about a week."
Albus nodded in relief. It was good news, but he had a more pressing matter at the moment. "Do tell, Mr. Potter; just what exactly had happened on Christmas Eve?"
"…Well, that's the problem, sir," James briefly turned to his friends, who all shared a look before answering, "…we can't remember a thing."
Albus blinked.
"I mean, the only thing we can recall was we're having Christmas dinner, sir," said Remus Lupin. "And before we knew it, we're here." Peter Pettigrew merely nodded.
The great wizard stroked his beard thoughtfully. "May I use Legilimency on you?" he asked. Upon seeing the frowns on their faces, he continued genially, "There may be a barrier inside your mind that stops you from remembering that night. With Legilimency, I can try to break it, and hopefully, see the event from your perspective."
James quickly nodded, giving him the permission to enter his mind. Albus then made eye contact with the boy and gently perused through his memories. Sure enough, he found a barrier and used his mental might to break it.
A shriek suddenly entered Albus' ears and he quickly withdrew himself from the boy's mind, staring in horror as practically all the curses he previously got inflicted appeared again. His other friends were scooting themselves away from the hysterical patient.
"Oh, Albus!"
The great wizard turned around only to see a red-faced Healer was fuming at him.
"We've spent hours to undo those horrible spells and now you're made it happen again?! I never thought I have to say this, but get out! You only made it worse!"
Just like that, Albus Dumbledore was casted out of St. Mungo's with many eyes followed him in disapproval and suspicion.
Albus sighed once again and put on his glasses before looking at the Invisibility Cloak James Potter had lent him after the awful incident. Perhaps it was time for a night stroll. Putting the cloak on, he then walked out of the Headmaster's room and began exploring the castle.
He was walking along the third floor corridor when he saw someone appear from another hallway. The sheen on the boy's black hair already told Albus much about who it was.
Severus Snape.
An enigmatic boy, he sure was. Just about two years ago, he was frightened of a werewolf (and of course, what a terrible way to know of it before one's possible death) but in merely two months he had managed to pull off one of the greatest tricks to expose the truth. And what a performance it was, that Albus couldn't help admiring his determination to bring in justice to others.
He was both intrigued and worried of the Slytherin boy. And so, he quietly followed the stand-in Prefect who had gone down to the second floor, wanting to know more of his nightly routines.
He should have paid more attention to his surroundings. But as it was, he was just a man whose senses had somewhat dulled due to old age.
There was a red flash of light, which was immediately followed by a strong gust of wind that almost knocked Albus off his feet. When he came to his senses, it was much to his horror that Severus Snape had held his wand out; both his wand and the Invisibility Cloak were in his other hand.
"…Headmaster," the boy greeted with a frown, slowly lowering down his wand arm.
Albus could only blink, barely managing to calm himself down. How could he be so careless? Severus Snape was well-known by others to be the most paranoid student, and now he had to pay the price.
"Severus… How unexpected it is to see you here," he began, discreetly staring at the two valuable items in Snape's hand. He knew he could forcefully take the cloak, but what about the wand? He didn't dare to take the risk of losing the boy's trust (if it ever existed in the first place).
The Slytherin stand-in Prefect simply quirked his eyebrows in an uninterested look at him. "Why were you sneaking on me, sir?" he started, sarcasm dripping heavily in his voice.
The headmaster was speechless at his words.
"I wasn't sneaking, Severus; I do like the atmosphere here at night. It's very calming, isn't it?"
"Indeed, sir. But you still didn't answer my question."
Albus took a deep breath. For a moment, he was reminded of his first encounter with Tom Riddle.
"I want to see on how you are doing, Severus," he started, carefully choosing his words, "I've heard from Horace that you're taking ten N.E.W.T subjects, and added with your unofficial Prefect position; wouldn't they be a burden to you?"
Snape blinked. "I'm used to arrange time to fit my schedule, sir. And if I were to be honest, I'm actually glad being busy," the boy explained, still not looking convinced.
Albus gulped silently; this was one tough nut to crack. "I must say, for you to manage finding fault in my decision to allow Remus Lupin entering Hogwarts was entirely unexpected," he tried angling for praise instead. Children really do love attention, after all.
This time, Snape grimaced as he subconsciously folded the Invisibility Cloak, "I only did what it's supposed to be, sir. If you really want people to be accepting toward werewolves, why didn't you just say it during the Welcoming Feast? You see how it is now, Headmaster. No one really gives a damn toward Lupin's condition; they were just sympathetic of him."
"Surely you know there are some prejudices about them, Mr. Snape."
"It's not like children aren't malleable, sir."
For once, Albus could finally see why the younger students adored the stand-in Prefect. "This certainly has been a great conversation, Severus. Now, give me the wand. I do believe it was mine." There was a slightest hint of plead in his voice. Yes, he had come to peace that he would only lose the cloak. The Potters would be mad of him for sure. The wand, however…
Snape looked down at the long wand in his hand, his onyx eyes were glinting curiously.
"I'm afraid I can't, sir," he finally said and just like that, Albus' hope crumbled into dust. "Your wand has changed its allegiance to me, and might I add, was actually legal since I disarmed you. And besides, surely the great Albus Dumbledore can live well without a wand, right? As for this cloak, I felt it somewhat resonated with me, so I apologize for taking it as well."
"Don't worry sir; I will take good care of them." With that, Severus Snape left him with a billowing of his school robes.
Yes, it was indeed a terrible day for Albus Dumbledore.
As soon as Severus got into his dormitory room, he quickly used the Prince Manor's pendant to teleport to the mansion.
His ancestors' curious eyes followed him along the corridor as he called for Septimus Prince, who he found out was the only ghost amongst the numerous portraits in the family home.
"Yes, Severus?" the man's spirit spoke as he appeared in front of the panic-stricken boy.
"I- I need a place to hide these two things," Severus started, showing him the items he got from the headmaster. He really couldn't believe it himself; did he actually manage to disarm Albus Dumbledore?! He had to thank the resurrected Rogue for giving him some of its senses. That potion was certainly bloody helpful too, and he was forever grateful to his blackthorn wand.
Septimus raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything else before he beckoned Severus to follow him to the third floor and pointed at the farthest room.
"Only a true Prince can open it," the ghost said and Severus immediately touched the doorframe. It shone in a blue color and vibrated before it was swung open. He could barely hold his gasp upon seeing the countless manuscripts and heirlooms hidden inside the room.
Severus quickly put both the wand and the cloak behind some inconspicuous books and shut the door again. "It's really safe, then?" he couldn't help asking.
"Almost on par with Gringotts' security system, I dare say," Septimus explained as they walked down the stairs, "Even if there were some distant descendants of the Princes managed to enter the mansion, only the real heir can fully unlock and see everything. Surely you remember our family motto, right?"
Severus nodded eagerly with a wide grin.
"Thanks a bunch, Septimus!" he called out and bade everyone goodbye before he went back to Hogwarts.
As Severus lay on his bed that night, he thought about what he had felt of the two items. He was pretty certain that the Invisibility Cloak was James Potter's, and couldn't help but wondering of its sensation. The magic within it felt ethereal, just like when he touched the resurrected Rogue's feathers.
The wand, however had given him the shivers of his life. Why would Albus Dumbledore possess such a thing? Had the wand be the reason why the man was so cruel to Slytherins? Was it even his in the first place?
Severus fell into a fitful sleep.