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Chapter 5
Team Dumbledore
"I want ten inches of parchment review of the chapters we covered in this lesson," Severus announced loudly to his class. "And make sure I have them at the start of next lesson."
All the students groaned and packed up their bags to leave the classroom. From his desk Severus could hear them complaining on their way out the door. As soon as the last student had left, Severus motioned at the door with his hand and it slammed shut.
He sighed heavily and cursed himself for his inability to seem to focus. Lily had managed to invade his every thought and now he couldn't concentrate on anything else.
A light knock on the door alerted Severus to the noise on the other side. Students were talking happily and Severus thought he heard Professor Potter mentioned. He crept to the door and listened. Apparently this class, first years he gathered, had just come from Lily's class. He pulled the door open; the sight of Severus' dark form looming in the doorway, tall and menacing, caused the students at the front of the line to gasp in shock. Inwardly, Severus smiled. He had not expected such a reaction and for a reason he could not fathom, their fear excited him.
He stood back from the door and watched as the students found their seats. He closed the door and moved slowly to the front of the classroom where he stood silently and looked around at his class. He made eye contact with each and every student, staring at some until they were squirming uncomfortably in their seats. Finally he spoke, slowly and deliberately in a tone that made the students shiver.
"What do you think you are here to learn in this class?"
There was silence as the students looked around at each other.
"In our world there exists and abundance of evil," Severus continued. "With people who are capable of committing the most heinous of deeds; using spells the mere mention of would give you nightmares."
Severus scanned the class again, piercing them with his cold black eyes.
"In order to adequately defend yourselves from these Dark Arts you must first understand what they are. You must learn to respect the Dark Arts – especially in light of the trouble that exists in the world today where it is a very real possibility. If you are all willing to work hard and pay attention, I will ensure you come out of Hogwarts with the skills and knowledge to succeed in our world."
Severus looked around the class again and unlike before, the students no longer had looks of fear on their faces. They seemed… what, thought Severus. Excited? Happy? He wasn't quite sure what to think of their sudden turnaround. When they first looked at Severus in fear he had enjoyed it, but now he wasn't so sure. He scanned their eyes; the students were keen to learn, buoyed by Severus' introduction and he had to admit to himself that he liked this feeling too.
All his adult life as a Death Eater, Severus had earned respect by demanding it through power and domination. But these children seemed happy to share Severus' passion for the subject. Was this how Lily taught? He shook his head – Lily again. He shook her image from his mind.
"Open your books and read chapter one," he instructed. "Discuss your thoughts with a partner. Do you agree with the author?"
As the class set about their work, Severus sat at his desk. He could hear snatches of what the students were discussing and it was just as much about him as it was their textbook.
"I guess he's not as bad as he looks," one was saying.
"When he opened the door I swear I jumped a foot!"
The corner of Severus' mouth twitched as if trying to smile.
* * *
After class had finished and the students had left, an older student knocked.
"Excuse me, Professor Snape isn't it?"
"Yes." He didn't think he could get used to being called Professor.
"Professor Dumbledore asked me to send for you, he's in his office."
Severus thanked the student and made his way to the Headmaster's office, knocked and entered. He was surprised to see Lily sitting on an armchair across from Dumbledore's desk.
"Ah Severus, come in, sit down."
Severus hesitated. The look on Lily's face showed that she was just as surprised to see Severus as he was her. He sat down beside her on another chair and they both turned expectantly to Dumbledore.
"How have your first lessons been so far?" he asked.
"It's been good," Lily said. "I think I could enjoy it here."
"I do wonder though," Severus mused. "If students today are somehow stupider than years ago."
Lily rolled her eyes.
"I should have known what kind of teacher you'd make. Did you tell the poor kids you thought they were stupid? You can't teach unless you really care about the kids and I doubt there's anything you care about besides yourself."
"In your book then a good teacher should be friends with their students I assume?" Severus spat. "Did you enjoy hugs and hot chocolate in your classes?"
"Well wouldn't it be more productive to be respected by the kids than hated by them? How effective could you be with your students cowering behind their desks?"
"And what makes you think they would be scared of me?"
Dumbledore, who had been watching silently, raised his hands.
"If you do not mind me interrupting," he said. "I would like to tell you why I have asked you both here. Unless of course you would prefer to continue your discussion?"
Severus and Lily sat back against their chairs; Severus crossing his long legs at the heels and Lily folding her arms across her chest.
"Rather a good choice," Dumbledore said. "I would like you Severus and you Lily to be on my team."
"Team?" Lily asked, confused.
"Yes. At the last meeting for the Order of the Phoenix I mentioned that I was formulating a plan of my own and would need help. Do you remember?"
"You want us to be your… team?" Severus scoffed. "And what would we call ourselves – Team Dumbledore?"
"Why us?" Lily asked.
"Who better to help me bring upon the downfall of Voldemort?"
"The Cloaked Crusaders perhaps?" Severus continued, smirking.
Lily frowned at him then turned back to Dumbledore.
"I am honoured Albus that you would consider me. Who else-"
"This is it," Dumbledore said holding out his hands. "Just the three of us."
"Ah," Severus beamed. "The Terrific Trio!"
"Do I take it this means that you are not interested Severus?"
"Excuse me Headmaster, but three of us bring down the Dark Lord? It is a little hard to take seriously."
"I believe I have discovered the only way to destroy Voldemort and at least for now we need to be quiet about it. What do the two of you know about horcruxes?"
Lily shook her head.
"Never heard of them."
Severus face went a lighter shade of pale than usual.
"Do you think the Dark Lord has made one?" he asked.
"Most likely more than one."
Severus frowned.
"I do not understand how," he said. "One would have caused so much damage…"
"WHAT IS IT?" Lily yelled. "Would someone to fill me in on what on earth you're talking about?"
"They are an object," Dumbledore said. "Something that serves as a vessel that is used to hide part of one's soul."
"What do you mean 'hide your soul'? You can't remove your soul."
"Sadly you are incorrect," Dumbledore said. "This horcrux, this object is used to obtain immortality and if Voldemort, for instance, were killed, he would not really be dead if part of his soul still existed somewhere."
"Then there are ways to use that piece of soul to bring you back to life?"
"In theory, yes. But until recently I thought the whole idea of a horcrux was just that, a theory."
"What I do not understand," Severus said. "Was how you think the Dark Lord could have created more than one horcrux. The damage to his soul after just one would have been devastating."
Dumbledore nodded and addressed Lily.
"In order to create a horcrux you would have to commit the most atrocious of all crimes, murder. The act of taking another life is so unnatural, so barbaric, that it is said to tear any soul in half. Of course then the thought that Voldemort could have made more than one…"
"It is impossible!" Severus said. "There would be nothing of him left."
"Then I ask the two of you, you have both seen Voldemort more recently than I; how did he seem?"
Lily shivered, her eyes going wide and skin pale at the memory of the night Voldemort burst into her home.
"Evil," she whispered. "Pure evil… not an ounce of humanity."
"I expect you wish for us to locate these horcruxes then?" Severus asked. "How many do you think he has made?"
"Seven," Dumbledore said matter-of-fact. "Though that is just a guess mind you."
"Seven!?" Severus and Lily exclaimed together.
Severus shook his head in disbelief.
"And just how did you come up with that number?"
"If I know Voldemort, and I think I am beginning to very well, he would have been infatuated with the number. After all, it does have powerful magical significance."
"That's a bit of a stretch isn't it?" Lily asked. "To have made that many, even for Voldemort seems a bit outrageous."
"There would be six objects," Dumbledore continued. "With the last part of his soul being the withered remains inside Voldemort's own body."
"I plan for you both to find and destroy these horcruxes before we can even think of going after Voldemort himself."
"Why?" Lily asked.
"Whenever we choose to attack him," Dumbledore said. "We could potentially sustain heavy losses. If we did succeed in destroying Voldemort, how do we know there aren't instructions for the horcruxes to be used to bring him straight back?"
"But if we destroy these horcruxes first then that's the end of it?" Lily asked, looking from Dumbledore to Severus. "Voldemort's dead and stays dead?"
"That is the plan," Dumbledore said.
"Do you have any idea where these horcruxes could be?" Severus asked. "Or even what they could be?"
"A valid question," Dumbledore said. "I have been thinking about what I know about Voldemort so far, for places or objects that would have been meaningful. I would like the two of you to start with research on Voldemort's childhood – when he was better known as Tom Riddle."
Lily looked defiant.
"I'll do whatever I can Albus, but I can do it without his help."
Severus rolled his eyes and stood up.
"If I am not needed then I will leave your team to get to work."
"Do not go anywhere!" Dumbledore ordered loudly. "I have brought you both here to Hogwarts for this very reason. I have asked you both to help me because I need and value you both; I do not care how you make this partnership work only that I demand you do."
Lily shrunk back into her chair, looking at her feet. Severus sat back down beside her.
"Well then," Dumbledore continued. "What I want you to do first is find meaningful places or people that Tom Riddle, Voldemort, might have cared about."
It was after dinner several nights later when Severus knocked on the door to Lily's dungeon classroom. When he entered, he found Lily at her desk marking parchments. Clearly surprised to see him, she put down her quill and asked him what he wanted.
"I was keen to go to the library to begin some research for the Headmaster if you interested in coming?"
Lily contemplated him, saying nothing.
"Fine," Severus said, heading to the door. "I can see you are busy."
"Wait," Lily called. "I could use a break from these; I'm beginning to think you were right about how daft some of the kids are."
Severus grinned.
"You expected better?"
"As long as I wasn't that bad when I was a student."
"You were brilliant," Severus said before he could stop himself.
He dropped his eyes to the ground and Lily stopped smiling, as if for a few seconds she had forgotten to hate him. They walked in silence to the library and once they entered Severus lit two torches and handed one to Lily.
"Do you have any idea where we should start?" he asked.
"We could look through some old Hogwarts yearbooks. If Tom Riddle was a student here then they might offer some clues."
They found the right shelves and Severus helped Lily reach the volumes they needed.
"1940, does that sound right?" Severus asked.
"Albus said he was here 1938 to 1945."
Severus handed four thick, dusty volumes down to her and Lily placed them on a table. They sat down next to each other and started flicking through the pages.
"I am not sure what I am looking for," Severus said. "I understand Dumbledore's logic with the horcruxes but I would just like to attack the Dark Lord now and get it over with."
Lily nodded.
"The things I'd like to do to him…" she trailed off, lost in thought.
"Does that mean you would rather kill him than me?"
Lily grunted.
"You'd better believe you'd be second on my list! I'm still having trouble understanding what you did, how you could have betrayed me so easily."
"I could not have predicted the consequences. As much as I disliked James I could never have let that happen to you."
"It's so hard living with all this anger and hatred and I need to aim it at someone."
"And I am here and the Dark Lord is not?"
Lily nodded.
"But it's not like you don't deserve it! I'm still furious with you so don't think that because Dumbledore's making me work with you that I'm happy about it."
They continued reading through each book silently until Severus closed his book and rubbed his temples.
"Professor Dumbledore said that Riddle grew up in an orphanage?"
"Yeah," Lily agreed. "I don't think that was ever much of a secret though."
"I wonder how many places or people could have been special to a boy who spent most of his childhood in an orphanage."
"You could be onto something," Lily contemplated. "Wouldn't a boy like Riddle wonder about his family? At the very least be curious that they could be magical like him?"
"Do you think he could have found out who his parents were?"
"How could he? No… wait! Shouldn't Dumbledore know about that? He said he was the one who went to the orphanage to tell the boy that he was a wizard so he might have known something."
"If he knew something that could be useful wouldn't Dumbledore have told us already?" Severus asked.
Lily raised an eyebrow.
"Who knows with that man."
Minutes later Severus and Lily were back in Dumbledore's office, watching the Headmaster as he stood at the window. He stroked his long grey beard as he stared out.
"So you must know something about his childhood Albus," Lily said. "Something that can't be found in these books?"
"You mean something about his family?"
"All we've managed to find about Riddle are some of the clubs he was in, teacher comments, that kind of thing."
"Ah yes," Dumbledore said. "He was an extraordinary student."
Severus frowned.
"That does not help us Professor," he said.
"As I have already told you both, I was the one who first visited Riddle in the orphanage. Professor Dippet, who was Headmaster at the time, had instructed me to find the boy to tell him he had a place at Hogwarts should he want."
"Did he know anything about his family?" Lily asked.
"Did he mention them, ask about them?" Severus added. "Or show any interest at all?"
Dumbledore contemplated.
"Riddle came from an interesting background to say the least," he said. "His, shall we say, magical family, was the Gaunts. Riddle's mother lived in the tiny village of Little Hangleton with her father and brother. The boy's father, a Tom Riddle Senior, lived not far from them; he was a Muggle."
"So what happened to the boy, why did he end up in the orphanage?" Lily asked.
"His mother, Merope, was a poor confused young woman who, it seems, died shortly after Tom was born. She had run away from her father with Riddle Senior. I do not believe Gaunts ever knew of the baby."
"So what about Riddle's father?" Lily asked.
"Rumour has it," Dumbledore mused. "That the poor man had been under the spell of a powerful love potion all along. Some time before his son's birth he realised the enchantment and fled back to his own family, leaving Merope alone and pregnant."
Severus stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"Do you think the family, the Gaunts, could have some clues that would lead to a horcrux?" he asked.
Dumbledore shook his head.
"Voldemort's family is all dead now, all the Riddles and Gaunts."
Severus and Lily both looked to the ground, disappointed.
"But that doesn't mean we can't visit their homes though, look for clues as it were," Dumbledore smiled.
"Go where?" Lily asked. "The Riddles or Gaunts?"
"I do not believe Voldemort would have felt a connection with his Muggle heritage," Dumbledore said. "If anything he would have been repulsed by that side of his family."
"So if the Gaunt home was the only link to Riddle and his family there is a strong possibility that we could find something there." Severus surmised.
Dumbledore nodded in agreement.
"But what about the orphanage?" Lily asked. "Didn't he grow up there? That would have to be a more likely place to find clues."
"That building no longer exists," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "And I doubt it is a place Voldemort would have felt personally connected to."
"And this Gaunt house," Lily asked. "Why would it be significant if Voldemort had never even been there?"
"He would have felt the connection with his Wizarding heritage more than anything else. It is believed that the Gaunts were direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin himself."
Severus and Lily looked at Dumbledore in shock.
"And you did not think to tell us this before?" Severus asked, annoyed.
"I only just thought of it."
"So should we go find the Gaunt house now then?" Lily asked.
"I am not quite ready just yet," Dumbledore began. He moved to a cabinet full of glass phials and gestured to them. "Memories," he said. "Before we go running off anywhere, I want to go through some of my memories; just to be sure we're on the right track."
"And suppose there is a horcrux hidden there," Severus wondered. "How would we know?"
"The theory is simple enough," Dumbledore answered. "It states that magic dark enough to surround such an object as a horcrux would be impossible to conceal; we would be able to find traces. Now I suggest the two of you leave and let me get to my memories."
"What would you like us to do in the meantime?" Severus asked.
"Give me a few days to gather my thoughts. You two rest up; I have a feeling that any journey to seek out a horcrux will not be an easy one."