Part 2

Severus Snape had lived in the haunted castle that was Hogwarts for many a year, and so was very much unafraid of ghosts. Even the Bloody Baron had lost all but the merest of notice, as he sometimes went overboard with rattling his chains in the dungeons when people were trying to sleep, thank you very much.

Ah, well, that was nothing a little Muffilatio could not fix.

After a rather tense dinner, in which Severus found out that the staff had gone behind his back and pooled their money and talents to put on a rather obnoxious Christmas display, complete with the highest end Wizarding Crackers on the market, seemingly in a bid to show him up, Severus was utterly fed up with Christmas. The students had predictably erupted in cheers, excitedly chanting the names of everyone on staff except for Snape, who had excused himself at the earliest possible moment with a glowering expression that could have curdled milk.

The festivities seemed to grow louder as soon as the door to the Great Hall shut behind him and he growled "Fekkin' bollocks, the lot of it," as he descended the stairs towards his dungeon quarters, alone.

Now, with the majority of the school's population out for the holidays and the remaining staff and children accounted for in the Great Hall, it was a rather quiet, dark walk to his door, but Snape didn't mind it much. In fact, he coveted his solitude, rare as it was, and instead of wasting the energy to cast a Warming Charm or light the tip of his wand, Severus merely pulled his robes more tightly around himself and kept close to the wall so that he could touch it every so often and confirm he was still going the right direction. He was, after all, used to walking around the castle in the darkness, as it made for sneaking up on rule-breaking students far easier and much more satisfying.

When Severus reached his door, though, he did raise his wand in order to check the wards and lower them in order to enter. He used a special silent spell he'd created for this purpose, which made the door light up as though filling its grain with tiny rivulets of greenish light until he could see all of the complex runes he'd set into the wood. Finally, they pooled up near the top of the door in the shape of a door knocker, which Snape would normally rap three times in quick succession in order to undo the wards and enter his chamber.

Everything worked normally until he reached for the doorknocker. Somehow, though he hadn't seen it change, suddenly it was Albus Dumbledore's head holding the metal ring in his teeth, and not the usual ornate gargoyle head. Severus stared in horror at the visage of the old man with his absurdly long beard and his impish wink, but, before he could do anything, Albus was simply not there any longer, and the customary blank-eyed gargoyle stared back at him. Severus rubbed his eyes and growled low in the back of his throat.

"Tired...that's all," he managed, knocking three times and pushing through the open door into his chambers.

Severus still looked through the entirety of his private quarters, his mind turned more towards unseemly pranks than any true phantom of the long-dead headmaster (that you killed, a tiny voice reminded him from deep within his head), but found nothing. And so, with a small fire in the grate, Severus undressed for bed, sat by the fire in his faded gray nightgown with a cup of tea and a biscuit (for he liked a little something to settle his stomach before bed, especially since it seemed that he might be coming down with a cold) and began to read the latest Potions digest that had arrived by owl that morning.

He nearly jumped when he heard the sound of tiny silver bells next to his ear. The ringing got louder and louder, and as he stood and spun around wildly, his wand pointed towards the source of the sound, he realized that he could see nothing at all that might have made the noise. His stomach churned as he remembered where he'd last heard the sound- for he'd been there when Albus Dumbledore had unwrapped those horrible, garish slippers tipped with tiny silver bells- a gift from the headmaster from the magical school located in Egypt- the one that most people in the English Wizarding World didn't know actually existed whose name roughly translated to something like "Hall of Wonders" in English. Severus felt his lip curl at the memory. The insufferable man had worn those damned shoes all the time, particularly, it seemed, when he'd been forced to spend time with the doddering old fool.

"I should leave them to you in my will," Albus had said, which had prompted a disgusted groan from Severus. "They truly are the most comfortable things in the world. Breathable too! Besides, they were free..."

Snape had made sure to bury the bastard in the damn things.

But if that was the case….Severus found himself frozen where he stood as the sound of something heavy thumped above him, the sound of something heavy dragging down the stone stairs and echoing down the hallway until they finally came to the door of his quarters.

And, then, what Severus had dreaded the most came to pass- a nearly transparent figure with half-moon spectacles and a beard tangled up in chains came into his sitting room dragging heavy boxes behind him.

"So, you've returned, have you? Well, then, out with it, Albus. I don't have all night!" Severus said, screwing up his face in a manner most unpleasant.

The ghost, for that was what he was, stared back with death-cold eyes that somehow twinkled, though it was a cold twinkle like the light of the dying sun reflecting off of a twin pair of faceted diamonds.

"Severusssss," the apparition said gravely, "I have come because you have always been a friend, so you deserve to know. I have much to tell you and very little time to tell it to you, so you must forgive me for dispensing with the niceties."

With that, the ghost sat down in the chair across from Severus', and Severus found himself scrambling to take a seat.

"You don't believe in me, do you?" Albus said, almost cheerfully, despite the horrid clanking chains that appeared to add hundreds of pounds of weight to any of his movements.

"And if I said yes?" Snape momentarily hoped that perhaps this would be enough to make the damnable man stop haunting him from beyond the grave.

"I would still be here to give you the information I have been tasked in providing to you."

"And why should I listen to anything you have to say? After all, it's possible that my nightly snack has disagreed with me," Severus replied, trying to think of any other reason why he might be sitting across from a man so long dead. "And I did visit the Potions classroom the other day. Perhaps the fumes have stuck with me and only belatedly went into effect. Professor Granger may have slipped something into my pudding out of spite. After all, I was a right arse to her this afternoon."

"You are the same as ever, Severus," Albus replied mildly, though it was obvious that he was disappointed, "Has it not occurred to you that you survived Nagini's attack for a reason? That your place in life is not to stay as you always have been, doing the things in the stunted way that you always have?"

"Get to the point, Albus," Severus replied, crossing his arms. "You obviously didn't rise from the grave for some idle chatter about my wellbeing. I must say that I am a bit disappointed. I'd thought a spirit of your stature would be more...spirited."

Albus fixed Severus with a strange look and pulled one of his arms off, pointing it at Severus with his still-attached appendage. "You think that this is funny, but you must heed my words Severus, less you suffer the same fate that I do. For, you see, I am saddled with the chains of pain and suffering that I forged in life- many of which were forged in the name of the Greater Good. I take responsibility for my mistakes and the deaths that I caused, but you….you are the same as ever. Deflecting your self consciousness and cruelly bullying those who have less power than you do. Severus Snape, if you find my chains to be unsightly, perhaps you ought to be more concerned about the chains that you forge even now with your abhorrent behavior. You are a miser of the worst order- a man who sees the world in such narrow ways that nothing but your own beliefs can ever be considered correct. In short, Severus, you are doomed if you continue to refuse to see the error of your ways."

Severus shrank back against the chair, momentarily cowed. "You...surely….you are not here to punish me?"

"No, Severus. Judgement is not for me to bestow upon you. Just think of me as a friendly messenger with a familiar face here to tell you what is to come, for there is yet some hope for you in the years of life that remain yours to live, one that I greatly hope you will take in order to be free of the eternal misery of walking this earth under the weight of your life's sins."

Severus felt a stab of familiarity in the words, as he remembered the moment he'd defected to meet Dumbledore and pledge his allegiance to the Order.

"My time grows short, Severus. Please...let me explain what is to happen." Albus seemed to flicker for a moment, almost as though he were about to go out like a candle.

"Well, then, don't be flowery about it. Get to the point and tell me what I need to know." Severus grumbled, but his eyes were focused on the ghost before him as Albus stood with great effort, gesturing to Severus with an outstretched hand.

"You will be visited by three spirits tonight, Severus Snape. The first spirit shall guide you through your past, the next the present day and the last...will provide you with shadows of what may be yet to come. Each will be heralded by the chiming of the grandfather clock on each hour, beginning with the stroke of midnight." Albus' voice was commanding, now, and Severus stood frozen at attention, a creeping sensation running up his spine as the apparition continued to speak. "I sincerely hope that their visits will be met with less...scrutiny and wisecracking than what I have endured here tonight. Look upon me, Severus, and know that even with all the good that I had done in life, my chains are still heavy enough to make the soul ache with eternal weariness. You must ask yourself how large your chains will be, for I can see them hanging from your soul, though you cannot, and they are ten times more massive than mine are."

Severus paled. "You're joking."

"It is unfortunate that I am not," Albus replied sadly. "I do have a bit of good news, though."

"And that is?" Severus asked dubiously.

"You shall not see me again after this, a relief I am sure, as far as you are concerned," Albus replied, laughing jovially as he reattached his ghostly arm. "I have others that I must visit and offer my counsel to in this world, for this is part of my penance for the wrongs I have committed." With a wink, he turned towards the fireplace, pulling something black that glittered like stardust from his ghostly pocket.

"Wait...sir...I…."

"It's fine, Severus, I don't expect you to apologize," Albus replied, holding up a transparent hand. "But do try to be on your best behavior. I daresay that many of the spirits do not understand your particular sense of humor, and i would hate for you to doom yourself for all of eternity simply because you couldn't stop yourself from making some sort of insulting quip."

"Point taken, sir," Severus replied, deadpan.

"Farewell, Severus. May you find happiness on Earth in the time you have left to you." Dumbledore threw the powder in the grate and the fire went black and starry as well. "Good luck!"

He waved and stepped into the fire without a word, his body disappearing instantly. In less than a moment, it was over, and the fire burned a cheery yellowish glare around the small room.

Severus stood stiffly, finding that, despite the dire warnings he'd received, he had grown unbelievably tired in a short period of time.

And so, though he was uneasy about all that Albus had told him, it was with very little effort that he found himself falling into a deep and dreamless sleep.