CHAPTER 5

Over the last month, Severus had taken great care to change his handwriting so that it would be markedly different to that of Severus Snape. However, the letter that he had just handed to Andromeda Tonks had been written in Severus' original handwriting and was supposedly a letter from Severus to his cousin, Rennard.

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Dear Cousin

I hope this finds you and your son well, as I am too — in physical health, at least. Emotionally, I am not so sure. I am still in servitude to Albus Dumbledore, who is yet to release me from the Unbreakable Vow I swore to him before the end of the war, almost four years ago. He insists that Voldemort is not dead and will return, and has therefore bound me to him in preparation for this supposed event.

In truth, the defeat of Voldemort at the hands of the Potter child was prophesised just before his birth. And yet, has that not happened already? Did he not defeat Voldemort when the Dark Lord tried to kill him on Halloween 1981? Surely, he has done his part and the prophecy has played out. Should the Dark Lord return, I would have thought it would now be the duty of we adults to protect the boy and deal with the Dark Lord. Surely it should not be a burden placed upon a child? Had Dumbledore and the Ministry acted decisively when Voldemort first began his reign of terror, before he had attracted so many followers, long before the prophecy was made, the war could have ended far earlier, with considerably less loss of life. Instead, we all sat back and waited for someone else to save us. Even now, the emphasis on the Boy-Who-Lived as the so-called saviour of the wizarding world, means that should Voldemort return, we adults, who caused this mess in the first place with our procrastination and equivocation, will all choose again to sit back and let a child do the job we should be doing ourselves. I have no love for the Potter child — he is, after all, the son of one of my greatest tormentors — but even I can see how wrong this is and would not want the boy to be put in that position.

As you know, my home life as a child was a nightmare and my schooldays no better. At school, I was targeted by a group of vicious bullies and no one did anything to rein them in. As a member of staff now, it is my duty to protect all the students but much to my sorrow, I cannot, because my role as spy for Dumbledore means that I must play a part. The younger siblings, children and other relatives of my former Death Eater colleagues report back home and if I were to be anything other than blatantly prejudiced in favour of the Slytherin students, it would mean my life. Not that my life is of value to anyone, as was made clear to me when in my later years as a student at Hogwarts, Sirius Black tried to murder me and the Headmaster treated me as the villain instead of the victim, threatening to Obliviate me if I ever tried to seek justice. Black was never punished and, consequently, has never accepted that what he did was wrong. Apparently, the very fact that it was me, Severus Snape, who he tried to kill made it justifiable homicide in his mind.

Neither has the Headmaster ever shown remorse over his treatment of me. On the contrary, he delights in rubbing salt in my wounds. Neither Dumbledore, Black nor Potter has ever accepted that I am not pure evil. From the moment they met me on my first day at Hogwarts and saw a poor, oddball, child of unprepossessing looks and with no family connections or influence, they decreed, simply because I wanted to be sorted into Slytherin like my mother, who I loved very much and simply wanted to make proud, that I was the devil incarnate. They have never wavered from that belief and no matter what I may do to try and prove otherwise, they never will. It was they who pushed me into the arms of Voldemort. There was nowhere else for me to go, as Dumbledore and his followers of the "Light" made sure no one else would accept me.

My bondage to Dumbledore becomes ever more burdensome. He has now decreed that I must begin to teach the Potter child. Of course, the fact that Potter Senior and Black have decided that my only input in the child's training is to be a human target is of no importance to Dumbledore. When Dumbledore ordered me to attend the child's birthday party, I overheard them saying that my role would be to stand still and let the child throw curses at me. I know the boy is only five and is only now beginning his training, but the curses and hexes will undoubtedly increase in viciousness over time, as he becomes more magically adept and the boy's father and godfather teach him to hate me.

My situation has truly become intolerable. I did not want to admit this to you previously, but Dumbledore refused to let me take up the Prince seat on the Wizengamot and instead ordered me to give the proxy to him. The Unbreakable Vow gave me no other option but to obey, even though it outrages me that he would feel it is his right to demand this. Grandfather finally brought me back into the family and the line of succession and this is what happens! The old man must be spinning in his grave. He must surely be looking upon what has occurred and regretting that decision.

I think I have a means by which I can unbind the Unbreakable Vow, even without Dumbledore's agreement. It is not guaranteed to be successful, however, and if it fails, it will no doubt kill me. I do not regret that. If it should happen that way, at least I will finally be free.

You, of course, will inherit everything. You are under no obligation to Dumbledore and I implore you either to take up the seat yourself or to employ an alternative proxy. I know you have not spent much time in Britain and may not know who best to choose, so if you would permit me to make some suggestions, I would recommend Andromeda Tonks of the Tonks & Tonks legal firm. Although she is a cousin of Sirius Black, she is nothing like him. Unlike her cousin, she has honour and integrity. Since I began my research into breaking my bond of slavery to Dumbledore, I have been watching her law career with interest. I believe I can honestly say that she does not choose her clients according to who can pay the most but according to who has right on their side. Madam Tonks believes in justice and equality, more often than not representing the underdog. Although she was disowned by her family for marrying a Muggleborn — who has the same honour and integrity as his wife — she was nevertheless born and raised a Black and will know how to engage with the Wizengamot to produce results.

If Madam Tonks would prefer not to become your proxy, the only other person I would suggest is Augusta Longbottom, since her son has now taken up the Longbottom seat. Madam Longbottom has as much honour and integrity as Andromeda and Ted Tonks and she will have no qualms about standing up to Dumbledore. My only concern is that her son is very close to Potter, Black and, therefore, Dumbledore and I do not know how this might impact upon her — if at all. This, you must decide for yourself once you have met her.

I truly hope, Cousin, that I will be able to free myself from my shackles but, if not, accept that my death was meant to be and was truly for the best. Claim the Prince seat back from Dumbledore, so that I may rest easy, and appoint a man or woman of principle as your proxy. Should neither Madam Tonks nor Madam Longbottom be able or willing to take up the proxy, then ask for their recommendation as to who else to appoint. Griselda Marchbanks and Amelia Bones are the only other members of the Wizengamot who I would deem to be worthy of consideration. Mesdames Tonks, Longbottom, Marchbanks and Bones — women all, but far better and more decent people than any other persons sitting on the Wizengamot today.

Be well, Rennard. Live well, and raise your precious son to be a man of upright character, just like his father.

Your cousin

Severus Snape

PS I have instructed my raven, Bran, to remain with you should the worst happen. I hope you will take care of him as he has been a faithful friend. Do not worry, he will not hurt your son in any way; rather he would protect him to the best of his ability from those who may try to harm him.

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Andromeda finished reading and handed the letter back to Severus. As she had read the letter, Andromeda had lost all colour, clearly shocked and horrified by what she was reading. Severus could hardly blame her, given the scathing indictment on Albus Dumbledore, James Potter and Sirius Black that he had penned. The former Potions Professor decided to stir the cauldron further.

"Madam Tonks, were you aware that in every member country of the International Confederation of Wizards, apart from Britain, it is illegal to bind someone to an Unbreakable Vow? It's regarded as being as bad as putting that person under the Imperius — nay, worse! For at least if you are subjected to the Imperius, there is a chance you may be able to fight it off, or someone might realise what has happened and break the curse for you. With an Unbreakable Vow, you either submit or die, there are no other options, and in the hands of the unscrupulous, it can be severely corrupt. And yet, Albus Dumbledore is the only representative to the ICW who has not implemented this ruling in his home nation. He has not even brought it to the attention of the Wizengamot. Au contraire, he still uses it himself to enslave others. And he is no mere representative to the ICW but the Supreme Mugwump, no less!"

"Do you have proof of this?" she asked and Severus, who had expected the question, produced the ruling of the ICW regarding Unbreakable Vows. Severus had a feeling that Andromeda intended to raise that in the Wizengamot and he looked forward to the fall-out. At her request, Ironfist also produced a Gringotts certified copy of the letter from Severus Snape, which she added to her file. Severus had a feeling that Dumbledore was going to be facing some very awkward questions in the Wizengamot Chamber very soon and his lips curled at the thought.

An hour later, the deal was done. Severus had made it clear that he wanted his proxy to vote according to what they felt was right, not according to whether a proposal was raised by one who was regarded as Light or one who was regarded as Dark. Andromeda liked the way Rennard Prince thought and had agreed to be retained as proxy for the Prince seat on the Wizengamot. The astute lawyer was quite looking forward to stirring up James Potter, Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore and her brother-in-law, Lucius Malfoy; she resolved to reach out to the other women Severus had mentioned in his letter, agreeing that they would be very good allies. Severus gave Andromeda one half of a pair of two-way mirrors, to allow for instant communication in case of need. "I also intend to employ a personal house elf in the not too distant future. When that happens, I will instruct him to answer your summons as another means of speedy communication," he informed her.

After Andromeda had portkeyed back to her place of business, it was time to meet with Ironfist and Sharpspike for an update regarding the Horcruxes. Sharpspike produced the quill which now contained the Horcrux which had been housed within Harry. The Curse Breaker uttered a few words in his own tongue, waving his hand over it as he spoke and a number of balls of light rose to surround the quill. Five of them were red and one was black.

"The red lights indicate Horcruxes and the black light is the remains of the original soul," Sharpspike explained.

"He made that many Horcruxes?" Severus whispered in horror. "How can we find them? Can we use this one to track them?"

"Not only can we, but we already have," said Ironfist, producing a large map of Europe, which he magically laid out on the floor. Sharpspike placed the broken quill on top of the marking for London. Looking at the map, Severus realised that the balls of light were all over specific locations. The black light was hovering over Albania but the others were all in Britain.

"We used increasingly more detailed maps to narrow down the locations further," explained Ironfist. "One is at Hogwarts and one at Malfoy Manor. There was one in a village called Little Hangleton and another in Gringotts, both of which have already been dealt with. The one here was in the Lestrange vault, which has now been confiscated for the crime of using Gringotts to house such an abomination. The final one is at the Black home in London." Severus raised his eyebrows at this and Ironfist continued. "As you may know, Orion and Walburga Black have both passed way, as has their younger son, Regulus. Their remaining son, Sirius, has no interest in the family home. We have contacted Mr Black to inquire if he would be willing to sell the Black library, as we have a buyer who would be interested in the books. He has agreed to let us into the house, first to assess the value of the library, and then to pack it up."

"Giving you plenty of time to locate the Horcrux at the same time," Severus said approvingly. "I would certainly be willing to purchase the library. Please assure Mr Black that your client, whose identity you can't reveal but who is most assuredly a 'Light' wizard, is willing to purchase the entire collection and will take the appropriate steps regarding the dangerous volumes. If we don't give him that assurance, he may not go through with the sale."

"That's nicely ambiguous," commented Ironfist wryly.

Severus sighed. "I'm reluctant to destroy any books, that smacks too much of Hitler in the Muggle Second World War. Besides, knowledge, once lost, cannot be regained. I'll go through them all and add anything benign to my library. As for the rest, I certainly don't want Dark and dangerous magic books around Harry, so I'll open another vault in Gringotts Geneva to store those volumes there. The information contained in them, in particular how to counter and combat Dark magic, could be vital one day. However, while the books will technically belong to me, and my heirs, I will entrust Gringotts with the safe-keeping of them. Anyone wishing to access these books will have to satisfy Gringotts as to their need to do so, and we'll set out strict protocols to establish what constitutes sufficient need."

Ironfist had raised his eyebrows when Severus had said that he was not sure if he would destroy the Dark volumes. The Sacred Blue Moon Fire would not have cleansed and purified Severus if he still had the desire to pursue Dark arts. However, when Severus explained his reasoning and, in particular, that he had no desire to house the Dark tomes in his home, Ironfist nodded in approval. There were those who would not hesitate to use the foulest of magic and Severus was correct that information as to the means of countering this should be available when needed. Ironfist would work with Severus and Sharpspike, who was the Head of the Curse-breaking Department, to ensure that the conditions to be met in order to access the books would be the strictest possible. Although all Severus' holdings were now in Switzerland, Ironfist was still the Prince Account Manager.

"Right. We'll pursue the purchase of the library — and don't worry about paying for it, we'll use monies from the Lestrange vault for this — and will take the opportunity to find the Horcrux."

"That's very generous of Gringotts and the Goblin Nation," said Severus in surprise.

"We wouldn't have known that this abomination was stored in our bank were it not for you. This is a fair recompense," Ironfist explained and Severus bowed his head in thanks. "But we still don't know how to obtain the Horcruxes in Hogwarts and at Malfoy Manor."

Severus thought for a moment. "Dobby!" he called and the little elf appeared with Harry and Lumi in his arms.

"Dobby did not want to leave Master alone," he explained, looking at Severus anxiously.

"You did exactly the right thing in bringing Harry with you," Severus reassured him. "Dobby, can you still enter Malfoy Manor?" he asked.

"Yes, Master Prince," said Dobby, wide-eyed.

"Dobby, there is an item in Malfoy Manor with the same Dark magic that was in Harry's scar."

Dobby nodded vigorously. "Dobby knows where it is," he said, and handing Harry over to Severus, promptly disappeared. Three minutes later, Dobby returned with an old, Muggle notebook in his hand.

Sharpspike gingerly took the notebook from Dobby and examined it carefully. "It's the Horcrux," he said with relief. "It appears to be a diary belonging to TM Riddle. I think we need to investigate the name," he said thoughtfully. "The original piece of soul is in spirit form, hence it showing black, and it can therefore be dealt with through a banishing ritual, after the Horcruxes have all been destroyed. It's important to address the spirit being banished by name. We know Lord Voldemort is an assumed name but we don't know his true name. This may lead us to that information."

"What about the Horcrux in Hogwarts?" asked Severus. "I can't go back there myself now."

"Dobby can get it," said the elf, bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Can you get in and out without being caught or even sensed by the Hogwarts elves?" asked Severus. "I know you did it once before but you were only in my chambers then, and the Headmaster was away at the time. You might need to search the entire school in order to find this."

"Hogwarts elveses might know Dobby is there but they won't tell Headmaster Whiskers. Hogwarts elveses are bound to the castle, not to Headmaster Whiskers. If bad magic is there, elveses will know where it is and will be glad to see it go. Castle won't like it being around childrens," Dobby replied confidently.

"All right, Dobby," said Severus. "But be careful. And tell the Hogwarts elves that you're bringing the bad magic to Gringotts for the goblins to destroy, so they won't think you're taking it to give to a Dark wizard."

Dobby nodded and disappeared again with another pop. It took longer than when he went to get the diary from Malfoy Manor but, twenty minutes later, he was back, holding a tiara.

"That's Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem," said Ironfist with interest. "The Horcrux in the Lestrange vault was Helga Hufflepuff's cup. We removed the Horcrux from the cup into a mouse and killed the mouse. The cup has now been cleansed. We will do the same with Ravenclaw's diadem."

"What will you do with the Founders' items? Are there Founders' vaults they could sit in?" asked Severus.

"No, there are no Founders' vaults. Gringotts Wizarding Bank was not established until long after the Founders' time."

"Perhaps you should donate them back to Hogwarts? To the school, of course, not the Headmaster. If you contact Andromeda Tonks, I'm sure she'll be able to ensure the Headmaster can't appropriate the items. Madam Tonks can also help you get as much positive publicity as possible from that gesture."

Ironfist smiled appreciatively. "That is a good suggestion, Mr Prince. I will take it to the Director."

"Gringotts has done much to help me and my son and I am only too pleased to reciprocate," Severus answered. After a moment's thought, he continued. "Dumbledore heard a prophecy before Harry was born that would indicate Harry has to be the one to destroy the Dark Lord. He has done so once already but perhaps he could be involved in the banishing ritual in some way? We would, of course, have to ensure his absolute safety before I would permit it."

Ironfist and Sharpspike exchanged uneasy looks. "We can set up a containment shield, trapping the spirit. It is not a recommended way of dealing with spirits, as sooner or later, they escape the trap. Banishing is a more permanent solution. However, we don't intend to keep Voldemort's spirit there indefinitely, so it should be sufficient to protect Harry. The ritual is quite wordy, though..."

"But Harry would only need to say the final words of the ritual, abjuring the spirit to begone," Severus suggested.

"That could work," Sharpspike confirmed. "Well, there's time to work out the details of the ritual. The Horcruxes must be dealt with first."

Severus and Ironfist both agreed. With the reassurance that Severus would be contacted when the Horcruxes had been destroyed and the goblins were ready to pursue Voldemort's spirit, Severus, Harry and Dobby returned to Prince Manor.

The days passed by lazily. Dobby found two nice house elves couples, Kizzy and Jibbs, and Lolly and Hoppo, who were in need of a Master. Jibbs became Severus' personal elf and was happy to help spend time in the greenhouses, as Severus himself did not generate much work for a personal elf — Severus preferred to clean his potions lab himself, not liking to let anyone in there. Jibbs was very dignified and suited Severus' personality well, so Severus was pleased to appoint him head elf, as well as his own personal elf. Hoppo was in charge of the grounds while Kizzy and Lolly divided the cooking, cleaning and laundry between them. In this, they were aided by Flippity, Dobby's new mate. All the elves were very happy to have been bound to the House of Prince and were thrilled to hear that they were welcome to have elf babies, as not all Masters were so generous in this respect. Flippity was ecstatic to hear that it was planned for her to become the personal elf of Harry's wife when he eventually married, as this meant that she and Dobby would be able to stay together, something which was not always possible for elf couples. As that prospect was some years down the line, Severus planned to assign Dobby's mate to care for Harry's tutor when he felt that Harry would be ready to begin a more structured education. Flippity would also be responsible for teaching the elf babies when they were born.

To begin with, Severus was focusing on Harry's speech and social skills. He was also teaching Harry his numbers and to read and write. The little boy loved it when he cuddled up to his Daddy while Severus read stories to him and was keen to be able to read the books himself. Severus mentally thanked the helpful shop assistant every day for her recommendations as to what toys to buy for Harry and, in fact, frequently bought more Lego, Duplo, puzzles and colouring books, as these all kept Harry very happily occupied for hours. However, Severus also made sure that his son had plenty of time to run around in the fresh air and get some sunshine and exercise. With all the attention paid to Harry by Dobby — indeed, all the house elves, who were delighted to have a young master to spoil — and, most especially, his Daddy, who was surprisingly patient with the little boy, he was flourishing in his new life.