Chapter Thirteen The Magic of Gryffindor Castle
Snape was disturbed although he did not show it. He was angry that he was in Gryffindor castle with three of his former students; three of the worst of his former students, including Potter. He had just fought a battle with a dozen or more werewolves and managed to come out of it alive and unscathed. Although, he didn't want to admit it to himself, he had done it with their help.
He stood and listened to them talk when they thought he could not hear and pondered what the Potter boy had told him. Horcruxes! he thought with great dread. It explained so much and it genuinely posed a number of problems. Not impossible problems to solve, but difficult ones. And the Potter boy knew what some of the objects were. Dumbledore had helped him with that. Snape thought of the old man and his acute abilities and talents. Dumbledore could very well have had the skills to deduce what Riddle had done and go on a quest to destroy them all, he decided.
What bothered him more was Albus' lack of confidence in him. Hadn't he suffered for him? Lived with pain and torment for him? Snape could still hear Potter's question running through his own mind. Why didn't Albus confide in me? he wondered
Snape also reflected on the remark the Weasley boy had made. It was a simple remark but Potter and Granger's reaction had been immediate. Something about Potter killing the Dark Lord. They knew something and weren't telling him or Potter was just arrogant enough to believe only he could do the job.
Snape squinted in the dark, frowning to himself. They could not see his expression. He wondered if it had to do with the Prophecy, that old prediction that hung about his neck like an albatross. Something about it had driven the Dark Lord to attempt to acquire it; actually spend a great deal of energy and go out of his way to possess it. So much so that he showed up at the Ministry himself. Malfoy had bungled that and Snape had been amused. Every little bit helps, he told himself. You make mistakes Lord, so many mistakes. You show your weaknesses when you think you are invulnerable!
Snape had played the game so long that he felt weary to the bone. Now, not only was he responsible for himself but he was responsible for Potter and his friends. Lupin had been no help at all. Coming out on this night and in the company of these children! That had been James Almighty Potter's and Sirius Black's fault, Snape decided. Lupin was treated like a normal human being for so long that he had begun to believe in it himself. It disgusted Snape. The man had put everyone in danger. Surprisingly, the Potter boy had used his wits and was quick. He had kept Lupin from biting him and had saved his life. Snape grimaced and shifted his weight to the other foot.He tucked that thought away; it was too uncomfortable to dwell on.
He searched the darkness of the castle room with his instincts and senses rather then with his eyes. There was something here, an unidentifiable something that he couldn't pin down. He knew that the castle was suppose to be a trouble spot. He'd just never anticipated being inside it.
The other thing that pressed on him was the doppelganger. Snape had never had any hopes that he would escape the long reach of the Dark Lord or even be able to hide his duplicity for long. He lived almost twelve years believing that the dark wizard was dead and gone. He lived in peace, the first he'd ever had, with just a little uneasiness that he and others were wrong and that Voldemort would rise again. Dumbledore had warned him. Now, he was running from something that the Dark Lord had set upon him. A Doppelganger! It would not be easy to evade.
Snape saw the light of the new dawn through the windows and straightened. It was time.
He walked over to them. They were at it again, he could tell; up to something and he had caught them in the middle of it. They were thinking up something that would get them in trouble and it would take time and energy to get them out of it and most likely would get them- and him- all killed. You are not around, Albus. Don't expect me to coddle him, hesaid to himself and to no one. Still, he found that he did have a little respect for the three of them. After all, they knew about Horcruxes and the Potter boy was still alive.
"We should try to leave now," he said.
They followed him out into the circular stone corridor that spiraled up through the center of the tower and was their exit. They had climbed the stone steps in their headlong rush to escape the werewolves and had found the first open room they had come across.
After the fight, Snape had taken some time to remove the bodies and explore the area a little further. He hoped now that they could take the most direct route, return the way they had come and leave.
He was wrong.
He led them into the corridor and started down the steps holding his wand out to light the area. He immediately noted that the area looked unfamiliar. The steps wound down, turned a corner and instead of continuing; stopped at a wall.
"What is it Professor?" Hermione asked.
Snape grunted and studied the wall without answering. She was not aware that she was still calling him Professor.
"It's a trap," Ron answered. "I told you. This place is bad business. Once you are in you can never get out."
Snape held his wand up to shine it on Ron's face. The three of them looked up at him and he noticed that Potter was the only one of the three that didn't look frightened. Is it bravery? Courage? Snape wondered. He was thankful that he could not see Potter's eyes. The reflection of the light from his wand which shone on the pince-nez hid his eyes. Snape was thankful for that. He didn't think he could tolerate seeing those green eyes; those eyes that looked so much like Lily's.
He turned and climbed the stairs again and went down a short corridor, passing the room piled high with carcasses. A window in the hallway shown out onto the world and he could see the first light of day. Lupin got out, he told himself.
He found a trap door at the end of a dead end. He raised his wand and studied it. A maze! We have been caught in a maze. Would it be worthwhile going further, he wondered. They could run around inside the castle for days, maybe longer and never find their way out.
Potter walked up and stood next to him staring at the trap door. Snape could hear the other two coming up behind them. They were arguing, having a lover's spat.
"I never said I would marry him, Ronald," Hermione groaned. "I don't want to marry right away. I think we have enough to worry about without adding to it." The two joined them.
Ron saw the trap door and moaned. "Look! A trap door!"
"That's rather obvious, Ron," Hermione said crossly. "Are we going down?"
Snape stared at her and then waved a hand and threw the door open. It dropped to the ground with a resounding bang. The hole was a well of bottomless darkness. He could not see a ladder or a means to descend. He thought it might have been comical to see them all standing around looking at a hole except that they were caught with no exit.
"You don't have a pocket watch you can transfigure into a ladder, do you Harry?" Ron asked, staring down into the hole.
Snape, Harry and Hermione looked at him with quizzical expressions.
"It was just an idea," he mumbled.
"The castle is not ready to let us go," Snape said and wandered off down the corridor.
"What did he mean by that?" Harry asked.
Snape found the stone bench and laid down and closed his eyes. He was used to going for a long time without sleep, even fighting a battle and going without sleep. Now, he wanted to close his eyes, become part of the stone bed he was lying on and pretend that he was alone. He was tired.
However, his rest was interrupted because he heard them moving around and talking. They were trying to stay quiet but his hearing was exquisitely sensitive.
He felt a presence after awhile. "What are you doing?" he asked, his eyes still closed.
"I'm...I'm looking for a hidden panel or door, Professor," Hermione answered in a whisper.
"You do not have to whisper. Obviously, I am awake," he said and opened his eyes. He turned his head and noticed Weasley moving up and down the corridor examining each section with his wand. The Potter boy was staring out the window, motionless. Let them waste their time, he thought. It'll keep them from bothering me. An hour later and almost asleep, Snape felt another person standing nearby.
"Professor?' It was the girl again.
Snape let a heartbeat of time pass before speaking. "Miss Granger, not everything you see is real and not everything that is real can be trusted." That should keep her occupied for awhile, he thought. He didn't move, waiting for her to speak again or leave; she left.
A half hour later, his rest was interrupted again.
"Our situation will not be improved by asking me questions. I don't have any answers," Snape said to whoever was standing over him. He refused to open his eyes although the stone bench was fast becoming uncomfortable.
"I'm not here to ask questions." It was Potter.
Snape sat up and grumbled, "I have not failed in finding a solution yet, Potter. I have, however, found a thousand or so obstacles that stand in the way. If left alone long enough I may find a thousand more or I may find a way out of here. What I know is that part of the solution is patience."
The boy stared at him, the old-fashioned cap was off his head, the pince-nez spectacles transfigured to his normal glasses and the green eyes looking down at him. "I'm not concerned about getting out of here," Harry said.
That stopped Snape from making any further sarcastic remarks. There was something different about the boy. There was steely determination in his attitude and a aura of fierceness, he was not afraid. Snape was impressed. "I have nowhere to go, Potter. I'm listening."
"We don't need your help to find the Horcruxes and destroy them," Harry said. He sat at the end of the stone bench and leaned over, elbows on his knees, staring at the opposite wall. "It'll be a difficult task but not impossible. Dumbledore gave me enough clues before he died. If you choose to help us, and any of us survive, we will stand beside you and tell the Ministry and the Wizengamot the truth. That may not keep you out of Azkaban."
Snape remained silent.
Harry glanced down the hall watching his friends and then spoke again, "I know that it was you that overheard the Prophecy at the Hogshead Inn. You told it to Voldemort and that's why my parents were murdered. I know because Trelawney told me. She let it slip the night that Dumbledore was murdered."
"I confronted Dumbledore and asked if it were true. Everyone was always keeping secrets from me as if somehow that would protect me. I'd had enough of it, I felt I had a right to know. What he wouldn't tell me was why he could trust you after he knew that you betrayed my mother and father. Afterwards, it was too late to ask because he was dead. You answered my question correctly and the double couldn't. I keep wondering if he trusted you because it had something to do with my mother."
Snape stood, feeling uneasy at where the conversation was headed. The boy looked up at him with a steady gaze and changed the subject. "I suppose you could runaway," he said. "I don't see you as the type but I can see why that may be the best option you have. When I was running after you...the Double...that night on the grounds of Hogwarts and I thought it was you that killed Dumbledore, I called you a coward. That's not what I think of you now."
"Really? What changed your mind, Potter?" Snape asked coldly.
Harry continued to gaze at him and Snape suddenly felt that he was going to hear something he didn't want to hear. He watched and it seemed that the moment passed. It was there into the boy's face and then gone as if he had decided not to speak; but then he stood and faced him squarely. "You know my first night at Hogwarts when I was sorted by the Sorting Hat? It wanted to put me in Slytherin and I begged it not to. Dumbledore seemed to think that only a Gryffindor could pull the sword out of the hat, but I wonder about that, especially since being in this castle. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm not becoming more and more like you everyday and that worries me."
Snape was taken back by the remark but dared not show it on his face. He was about to make a snide comment when out of thin air a house-elf appeared at Potter's knee, dressed in Hogwarts clothing and tugging frantically on the boy's robes.
"Dobby has found Harry Potter! We have looked long and hard. Professor Lupin has asked us to find Harry Potter and Dobby has found Harry Potter!"
"Hello, Dobby," Harry said smiling down at the elf. Hermione and Ron hurried up. "Fancy you finding us here. Do you know where you are?"
"Dobby KNOWS Harry Potter. It is a very magical place. It is Gryffindor castle." The elf was clinging to Harry's robes and glancing about nervously.
Snape recognized the elf, it had been a servant at the Malfoy mansion for many years and the Potter boy had freed it. The act had almost sent Malfoy over the edge. There was little that kept him from killing the boy then and there. Snape knew because he'd listen to Lucius rant and rave about it for weeks afterward.
"Dobby we've been trapped here," Harry said. "Werewolves attacked us and then it seems the castle hasn't wanted t let us go. Can you help us?"
"Dobby can help Harry Potter and his friends," he said happily and then stared up at Snape. The expression changed and he cringed and pulled Harry's robes up to cover his face. "Dobby is afraid of the dark Professor."
"It's alright Dobby," Hermione crooned consolingly. "Professor Snape saved us from the werewolves."
"Let's leave while we can," Snape said quickly. He looked down at the elf. "We need your assistance to leave the castle, to find an exit. Can you find one?"
"If Harry Potter asks us we will do it?" Dobby answered.
Harry glanced once at Snape and then down at the elf. "Then do it Dobby."
The elf led the group once again down the hall past the room that began to have a strong odor and then down the stairs. Once again they turned the corner but found the stairs open and the sun shining at the end like bright eye at the end of a long tunnel. They hurried out and into the sunlight. Hermione and Ron continued down the stairs with the elf and Harry stopped and turned back to Snape.
"I would like your answer now," he said.
Snape paused and then nodded once. After all, he thought, until I get rid of my double I can go anywhere in the world and not be safe.
Harry turned to go and the stopped and turned back. "Gryffindor castle would make a good place to trap a wizard I think. I doubt it would know the difference between a dark one or a good one."
Snape gaped at him even after he turned back and started down the stairs. Does he mean to trap Voldemort here?