Chapter four

The Great Hall was deserted when Snape entered it for breakfast the next morning. He had always thought it stupid that the teachers should eat their meals in the large empty room when there were no students and in the morning no need to get up early. He sat down in his usual chair and seconds later he was joined by professor Trelawney who looked in excellent mood. "Good morning Severus" she said in her usual airy and far away voice. "Morning Sibyl", Snape mumbled. He was in no mood to talk to her at the moment. He was anxious about meeting Dumbledore again and had no patience for her ramblings. He had always thought that Divination was the most pointless subject and seeing as fortunetelling was al the Sibyl ever talked about he had much preferred her to leave him alone.

Snape was not very hungry and it was more out of habit than anything else that he had breakfast at al. He poured himself at large cup of tea and buttered some toast. On the pretext of reaching for the milk jug he shifted his chair a little so he didn't have to sit so close to Sibyl whose breath even in the morning always smelled strongly of cocking sherry. Snape began to eat and concentrated very hard on his plate in the hope of not having to talk to her but Sibyl of course didn't understand this and rambled on. He nodded once in a while but didn't listen to her until she mentioned Dumbledore's name. Snape looked up. "What did you say again?" he asked her. "Well, I saw the Headmaster leaving the school as I went down the stairs. He said something about having some important business to deal with. He properly had to see the Minister." Snape knew perfectly well that Dumbledore and the newly appointed Minister of Magic wasn't on very good terms, and he couldn't imagine that it was of the Minister that Dumbledore had left so early. "Did he say when he was coming back?" Professor Trelawney shook her head and continued her pointless chitchat.

It surprised and angered Snape a bit that Dumbledore had left without a word of explanation, but he knew that in times dangerous times the safety of the wizardring community was more important to the Headmaster and indeed to everybody than Snape's difficult love life. He was sure that Dumbledore would come back as soon as he could.

Hurriedly finishing his breakfast Snape got up from the table, excused himself from Professor Trelawney and left the Great Hall with her loud farewell following him through the room. Outside the Great Hall he wondered how to spend the day. He decided that the best thing for him to do would be to empty his office and move his things up into Dolores Umbridge's old office so that Professor Slughorn could use the office. He went down into the dungeons, past the entrance to the Slytherin common room and a few minutes later he pushed open the door into his study. Snape knew that it would take him hours to get everything sorted into boxes and moved upstairs. He had had this office for so long that the room was full of things and it was also very chaotic. Heaps of old potions essays lay on the shelves along with uncountable books on al subjects and numerous glass containers with al sorts of potion ingredients stood pilled up in a corner.

As he began to put everything into boxes the image of Harry Potter drifted into his mind, but he pushed it away and tried to focus totally on the job that he had to do. It worked quite well and for a couple of hours he was completely absorbed in the work. He found a lot of things, especially books he had thought he had lost and when he found a book called "Old and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charms" he felt that it was time for him to take a break. He sat down on top of his writing desk with the book in his lap and looked through it. Dumbledore had given him this book the first Christmas after he joined the Order of the Phoenix. Snape thought he had lost it but here it was. He knew most of the charms very well, but the book was richly illustrated and he always enjoyed looking at them.

When he reached the end of the book and looked at the clock on the wall he was surprised. It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon and he had wasted several hours on the book. He shook himself and was about to return to the packing when a knock at the door disturbed him. "Enter! The door is open". Snape looked towards the door wondering who it could be, hoping it was Dumbledore but it wasn't. "Sir" said the squeaky voice of a house-elf "You are needed upstairs in the Entrance Hall quickly!" Snape looked at the elf who seemed to be terrified and hurried upstairs.

In the Entrance Hall he found Dumbledore lying on the floor with closed eyes and paper white skin. A thrill of horror went through Snape's body as he saw the Headmaster. Was he dead? Snape ran to his side and knelt down. There was a pulse, thanks heaven for that but his breathing was shallow and his face was twisted in agony. He looked around for someone to help him and saw the frightened elf standing a few feet away. "Hurry out and find a teacher, anyone except professor Trelawney and then go down to the kitchens and get me some hot water and towels. I'll be in the dungeons!" As Snape said this he gently lifted Dumbledore's limp body up and carried it downstairs. He went inside the Potions classroom where he laid Dumbledore down on the teacher's desk. He started examining him and after a few moments he found the source of the problem. On Dumbledore's hand sat a large ring with black stone. Just looking at the stone Snape felt its power. This ring was dangerous and evil.

Seconds after his discovery Minerva McGonagle came panting into the room looking very frightened. Snape was happy to see her. She was the very person he had hoped for. "Severus, what has happened? The minute I stepped into the Entrance Hall a house-elf comes running telling me to get down her as fast as I can" said she but then seeing Dumbledore lying on the desk her face grew pale and she looked as if she was about to cry, something Snape had never seen before. "Dumbledore!" she exclaimed "Is he dead?" Snape shook his head. "No he's not, but he will be soon if you don't hurry up and help me with him." Snapes voice was shaking slightly and this sign of fear coming from him made Professor McGonagle pull herself together.

"Look at this ring, Minerva. We need to get it of him. If we don't him I don't think he will survive the next hour." She stepped closer, looking at the ring Snape pointed to. She bent down and looked at it closely. "There is some sort of spell on it and it won't come of. I've already tried, but I don't want to touch it, so I used dragon-skin gloves and they make it harder to get a proper grip." Snape was clearly at a loss of what to do.

The door opened and hoping to see someone coming to the rescue, they were both disappointed when an elf appeared with towels and a kettle full of hot water. The elf placed its burden on a stool near the desk. "Is there anything else I can get you?" it asked bowing its head. "No, but thank you for asking" Minerva said in a small voice. She took a towel and laid it carefully under Dumbledore's head.

Then taking out her wand and closing her eyes for concentration Professor McGonagle said a few hasty words and looked at the ring. Nothing happened. She did this four times each time saying a different incantation, but none of them worked. In the mean time Snape had just been standing observing her. They then looked at each other. "What should we do?" she asked him. "I've just tried transforming his finger into thin objects but it doesn't work. Have you tried to charm it of?" Snape just nodded. They both looked down at the ring. Dumbledore's hand was getting black and it was also beginning to wither in front of their eyes. "Perhaps we should try to fetch Madam Pomfrey?" suggested Minerva the desperation in her voice was now audible. "She's not here. She's visiting her mother. She told me just before term ended."

For a few minutes they just stood petrified staring at the Headmaster's hand as it blackened, then suddenly Snape was struck by an idea and left the room running. Two seconds later he returned with a bottle of crystal clear potion that smelled strongly of acid when he removed the cap. "Why didn't I think of this before?" said he as he picked up a second towel and carefully wet it with the potion. He took on the dragon-skin gloves again and rubbed the finger where the ring was stuck. He waited a couple of seconds and then removed the ring. He placed it on a nearby table, took of the gloves and looked back at Dumbledore's hand.

"What on earth was that?" Professor McGonagle asked looking in wonder at Snape. "Something so simple I can't believe I didn't think of it before. It is a potion that makes swellings disappear. I made a whole lot of it at Madam Pomfrey's request some months back. She uses it when students can't get their jewellery of. I don't know why I didn't think of it before." "Well that doesn't matter now" Minerva said "The important thing is that the ring is gone and that Dumbledore is saved." Snape went to look at Dumbledore's hand again. "I'm afraid," said he "that Dumbledore is not saved yet."