Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Please read and review, Love Moon x
Filius started slightly at the knock on his door but called out that whoever it was should enter. He opened the door stunned to see Severus of all people standing there. He didn't mind working with the man and thought his work was excellent. It was really Severus' attitude while teaching which sucked but he was an impressive man none the less.
"Sorry for the intrusion Filius but I needed to ask you something about magic. I realise I could ask anyone but as a goblin I feel you really would know more. Do you know a lot about vows?" he asked sitting down as Filius poured him a measure of oak matured mead and took a glass himself.
"You were right to come to me. I would know more about vows then most given my heritage. At the bank we learn all about vows, how to spot one, their different colours and meanings etc. Have you given someone a vow recently you need to talk to me about?" he asked taking a sip of his drink as Severus looked pensive.
"No I haven't but I may or may not have been witness to a vow and I'm not sure it even was one. The people this concerns may not even be aware what happened. Is it possible to give a vow without a wand?" he asked as Filius smirked. It would seem Harry had done something. He didn't realise of course that Severus also knew Harry had wandless magic. He wondered what the vow was but decided to ask more questions about it. It was possible to do a wandless vow but extremely difficult for most people to perform. Harry wouldn't fall into that category being as excellent at wandless magic as he was. In fact Filius himself was an expert in wandless magic.
"Yes it is very possible to give a vow without a wand but I warn you now only the most skilled in wandless magic such as myself could ever hope to achieve it. If it was a burst of bright colour of some kind then I can tell you it was definitely a vow!" he said as Severus gasped audibly not expecting his guess of it being a vow to actually be correct. He was utterly stunned he'd been right.
"Ok then it was definitely a vow. I won't tell you who it was between because it doesn't really matter what I want to discover now is what it means. I'm just being curious of course you understand. The colour was golden!" he said as Filius spluttered falling from his chair in awe.
"May I please see a memory of you viewing this vow. It is likely I will never in my life get to see a vow like this. These are rare indeed. I Filius Flitwick do hereby swear on my magic to never reveal the contents of this memory to anyone without direct consent from Severus Snape!" he intoned as Severus looked stunned. He'd never seen Filius looking so excited yet utterly stunned at the same time. The expression was a very funny one to see on his face. He didn't normally look this way so it was a bit surprising. Filius went and got his pensive from the cupboard in the corner and placed it on the table while Severus extracted the memory. He placed it in the pensive while amn excited Filius entered the memory.
Liquids swirled all around him until the image he was seeing focused. He was in the potions classroom with the first years. He was intently watching Susan Bones chopping up some knotgrass and admiring her skills with the blade. He glanced around and then in the direction of Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. He was merely watching them for a moment. They seemed to be talking about something he couldn't hear. Suddenly they both smiled, nodded once and shook hands at which point they both glowed golden in colour for a moment. He noticed everyone else was hyper focused on what they were doing. He noticed to his amusement that Draco Malfoy was in the corner complaining that he'd been hurt and promising retribution for Longbottom. He looked rather ridiculous and Filius couldn't help but laugh at it. Severus had obviously looked away from the boys and when he looked back they were still glowing. It was so cool to witness. He'd learned as a youngster that golden coloured vows usually were exceptionally rare and used in a soul bond. The soul bond could be a best friend soul bond or a lover soul bond. He chose to assume that it would have been a best friend soul bond.
If it turned out to be a romantic one later on that would be fine. Each soul bond was unique and usually in a soul bond the participants would gain a shared ability they didn't have before. In the case of Harry and Neville as they would later discover to their mortification their shared ability would be the ability to hear the thoughts of the other person when you actually focus on them. They'd be having some thoughts as they grew up which would be very intimate and they'd need to learn how to navigate them carefully. Filius had a bond with his wife whom he saw several times a year and he could project his thoughts to her at any time. Their bond was a love bond though and not a soul bond. Severus himself had once had a servant bond with Voldemort.
As he watched the golden colour lifted from both of their bodies before forming into two orbs one above each person. These orbs switched places and then sunk back into the other person. This was so magical to behold and Filius felt so honoured he was getting the opportunity to see this process taking place. He'd only ever read about and studied these kinds of vows. He'd never seen one in person. He was very impressed with Neville as you couldn't have a wandless vow with someone unless they too could do wandless magic. He quickly awarded Neville twenty points for an exceptional display of magic. In her office Pomona was stunned as her house point book lit up again. She could see who had gained the points and why. Neville had already earned over fifty points for her house today alone and that was amazing. He'd lost points from Severus for cheating in class which she'd be looking into later on. Severus usually did dock points in his lessons anyway and she'd learned to ignore it for the most part. Someone cheating on the first day of class was unheard of but given the fact that the points Neville had just earned had erased the ones he'd lost she wasn't too bothered. She'd still look into it though.
Upstairs in the office Filius emerged from the memory looking stunned and lost for words totally. He told Severus that he was forever grateful he'd gotten the chance to see a vow like that even if it was second hand. Severus collected the memory once more in a spare vial he'd pulled from his robes.
"Filius I am also suspicious of Quirrel. I have told Albus of my suspicions and he has called me overly cautious and ridiculous. I need a second opinion. Do you think I'm wrong as Albus has told me?" he asked sitting back down as Filius looked at him very seriously.
"I will say this Severus. In the bank if someone is suspicious about something or someone it is always investigated. If it turns out to be wrong you will only be annoyed about the time wasted. If however it was right and you ignored it you truly do suffer down the road. I have never ignored something I feel in my life and no offense but screw Albus I'm not about to start doing so now either. I have also had my suspicions about him myself. For one thing that stutter isn't remotely real. As a goblin we're trained to notice these things and I would be remiss to my training if I didn't notice it. I can but assume you saw this too!" he said giving Severus a knowing look. Severus sighed in relief. He'd not been alone in thinking something was wrong with Quirinous. He was rather surprised that Filius had also noticed the fake stuttering but then realised with a little guilt that he shouldn't have been. It was like Filius knew what he was thinking and gave him a knowing smile.
"I am surprised you noticed this but I am aware I shouldn't be. I'm sorry I just know I observe sometimes more then others do. It's a habit I garnered from the intensity of potion making. It just comes with the job I guess. Yes I noticed it's definitely fake. I still don't understand why he's putting it on but maybe Albus knows? Although to be honest when I brought up how he speaks casually in conversation and I didn't mention the stutter Albus seemed very confused as to why I'd be mentioning it at all. I think he has no idea about the stutter being fake. I understand he's too busy running the school but sometimes it would be nice to be listened to. I will be telling him I told you so when it blows up in his face later too. I don't care!" he said seriously as Filius nodded.
"Yes that can be very annoying. I will mention the stutter to him myself separately and see how he responds to me. I am interested to see if he only responded that way with you or if he might respond differently to me. I sure hope he doesn't though because that will look very bad indeed for him. I intend to ask Minerva too if she has noticed anything odd about his stutter and I'll let you know what she says when I do!" he said as Severus thanked him and bid him goodnight.
Albus was stunned as Severus entered the room with the mirror of erised in it. He'd not intended for anyone other than Harry and Quirrel to ever see it. This would be interesting. He watched as Severus approached the mirror from the shadows. He needed to be sure Severus didn't see him watching. Severus approached the mirror and cast a silent spell he didn't see.
"Come out Albus! What is this mirror and what does it do?" he intoned impatiently as Albus stepped forward.
"It is designed to show someone their truest desires. What do you see in it my boy?" he asked as Severus looked at him dubiously but looked into the mirror. There he saw a loving family at home with two parents who actually adored and loved him the way parents actually should. He saw a supportive father who loved him and felt tears streaming down his face at the life he could have had but was denied because his father was an abusive drunk who hated him with a passion and always had done. He saw a woman enter who looked a lot like Lily who was pregnant and so very happy with a gold ring shining on her finger. She was telling him she loved him so much and it was too much for him to take. He closed his eyes a sob escaping his lips as the power of the mirror left him. He turned to Albus with a grimace. He still had tears streaming down his face but at this point he didn't really care.
"I saw a family. A loving family. What do you see?" he asked as Albus said the spiel about socks and frowned when Severus didn't just buy it as he expected him to.
"Arianna I see Arianna ok! Leave me be now!" he snapped in fury waving his wand as the door burst open and he quickly exited through it himself. He'd been vulnerable and he didn't like it one bit. Severus idly wondered who Arianna was but didn't get the opportunity to ask him about it as he was gone before he could do so. Not many people knew of Albus' sister and none of his staff did. He insured they'd never find out until this moment. Damn Severus and his questions. Severus realised that Harry likely hadn't had what he saw in the mirror either and shed another tear for that reason. He may have hated James Potter with a passion but that didn't extend to Harry. He was learning that it didn't need to. He would need to deal with the stress that was Lucius Malfoy he realised when he entered his office and saw him there looking less then pleased. He just really wanted to go to bed and recuperate after all he'd just seen but now he couldn't. What a day!