Chapter Twenty-seven
Sins of the Father
Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; Psalm 79:8
Malfoy, Ginny and Draco ran head on into Snape, Hermione and Ron. It appeared as if the magic-imbued castle of Godric Gryffindor had forced their unification.
"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Malfoy," Snape said in greeting without reacting.
They all stopped.
"Where is Harry?" Ginny asked.
"Why are you with him?" Ron asked, drawing his wand. "And him?" He looked first at Lucius and then at Draco.
"He's trying to help," Neville said hesitantly. "At least I think he is. He helped me kill the snake, Nagini."
"He did!" Hermione breathed in surprise. She turned to Neville with renewed interest. "It worked? Did it work, Neville?" The young man nodded and produced the Gryffindor sword.
"Is this the Doppelganger? Lucius asked, raising his wand. At that everyone had their wand out.
"This is Snape," Hermione said. "The Double went after Voldemort and Harry went after the Double"
"What?" Lucius whirled on her.
"We are trying to find them," Hermione explained staring down the length of the wand.
"What about the Horcruxes?" Ginny asked.
"You told him?" Ron asked nodding to Malfoy.
"Yes. We have one with us."
"You do?" Hermione stuttered, dumbfounded. "The cup. Is it the cup?"
The four nodded in unison.
"Snape is Harry's real father and Snape put a charm on him. If Voldemort tries to kill Harry he'll lose his body like he did when he tried to kill Harry the first time. Snape's double is suppose to transfer the Horcruxes to himself and sacrifice himself. When Snape's double dies, then the Horcruxes are destroyed. Harry's trying to rescue the Double to stop him. But if the Double dies, Harry will lose his father because he (pointing at the real Snape) and the Double are becoming one person. WE think that the locket which was supposed to be a Horcrux has already been destroyed. That only leaves the cup."
They stood in silence. Ron glanced around, "What? It's true." They all lowered their wands.
"Now that we have them all and the snake is dead..." Hermione said, thoughtfully.
Lucius broke the silence. "All of you go ahead. I want to talk to Severus."
"It will do you little good to speak to him," Hermione said, stopping before joining the others. "The essence of Snape is now mostly in the Double. I think that he stays on his feet and is focused because he has promised to protect Harry."
"Harry stunned my Double, just now, but he is awake and following close behind." Snape mumbled, stone-faced. " I believe they will meet with the Dark Lord very soon,"
"We'll go ahead, "Ron suggested and the younger people moved off into the darkness while Lucius faced Snape. "How much of you is still in there? How much does the Dark Lord control?"
"He has little control of my Double now," Snape said staring off into the dark. "He is hardly human. Nevertheless, he is still formidable." Snape was as wooden as a puppet.
"Is it true?" Lucius asked. "Are you the boy's father?"
Snape nodded.
"Then you must do something for me." Lucius pulled out the box that held the cup. It had been very easy to nip it from the Weasley girl while they stood in the dark. After all Lucius was a master of magic and he could not let her keep it in her possession. Not with what it contained.
"You have the last Horcrux," Snape said, staring at the box. "Do you intend to use it to revive him?"
Malfoy studied the dark eyes and the absence of the complete Snape within. "No. I want him dead. He forced Draco to take the dark mark and I will not let him use my son. He killed my wife and he will kill us all. That is not what I wanted. Now that you know that you have a son do you understand?"
The real Snape didn't move.
"It doesn't matter. I want you to take the Horcrux out of the cup and put it in me." Lucius opened the box and held it up in the light.
"Very well," Snape said. There was no resistance, no emotion. Snape waved his wand and the deed was done.
Malfoy stepped back, his hand to his chest as if he had been dealt a mortal blow. The box with the cup dropped from his hands and rolled out into the dark, off a precipice and into a deep abyss. Lucius looked stunned momentarily and then recovered. "Let's go."
...
Lupin heard them speaking. Somewhere in the wolf lived a human being. The night was dying and soon it would be dawn although in these depths one could not see the pink light of the new day. The huge snake seemed to wander aimlessly around the cavern. It held its wand awkwardly but it was lit and shone on the walls.
The cavern resembled an ancient temple of sorts. One made by druids or old wizards. Many of the symbols were enigmatic, the meaning lost to the ages. Monolithic stones lined an avenue and in the end a enormous Lion was chipped from the granite. Beside it were figures representing the other Hogwarts houses; the eagle, badger and serpent.
The light did not reach the ceiling of the cavern nor the far reaches of its borders. One could easily believe that no living human had entered these depths in a millennium. Perhaps, the beginning of magic originated in this place. If a person were to stand at the alter below the Lion and the other symbols they might hear the echo of tribal drums; ancient wizards performing a magic that they had yet to understand and control. There would not be good magic or dark magic; just magic, in its rawest and purist form.
Perhaps the ghosts of those ancient wizards surveyed the scene taking place in the cavern. Perhaps even Godric Gryffindor and his companions, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. If so, they remained unseen.
Two people entered the cavern and were stunned by the sight before them. It was not the temple that froze their breath in their lungs and forced their hearts to beat hard. It was the sight before them; the last vestiges of a wizard now become a monster. That which was evil inside had been made manifest. Tom Riddle cum Lord Voldemort was now a snake; a huge, gigantic snake.
The face was no longer human although there was still the form of a head and the slope of shoulders that became ever more narrow on the elongated body. There were arms but no legs. The legs had become a tail that whipped and rattled furiously in the air. It was the only sound reverberating through the lair.
The snake stood at the alter mesmerized by the stone snake on the wall above its head.
It was speaking in parseltongue. "We shall rule the world once again Lord Slytherin. I shall take your place. This time there will be no others to interfere with our destiny."
Only Harry could understand what the snake was saying.
"Your time has come to an end Riddle," Harry hissed.
The Doppelganger of Snape came from behind to grab his arm. "No!"
But it was too late. The snake turned and coiled.