14 – Journey into the Forbidden Forest

Snape looked at Dumbledore's words as if they were an ominous reading from a fortune teller.

Two more doppelganger roots needed for the 4th curse, The Dark Tourist.

"Is this real?" He turned the book over in his hands, looking closely at the spine and cover, satisfied that it was authentic only after seeing the Merlin's Quill Publishing seal. "The Uncharted Forbidden Forest by Ava Rose," he read aloud. "Who is Ava Rose?"

Lily shrugged. "Look at the author section."

As they started walking in the direction of the Forbidden Forest, Snape opened the book.


About the Author

Ava Rose is known for her contributions to Hogwarts, A History and this unfinished work. In The Uncharted Forbidden Forest, she gives us rare insight into a land few have ventured into—a land populated with beautiful and terrifying creatures, breathtaking waterfalls, underground volcanoes, and other secrets beyond your wildest imagination.

The origins of Ava Rose are shrouded in great mystery, but historians believe this could be her penname, and she was really one of Hogwarts's most preeminent students. Some suggest she invented the Banishing and Summoning Charms, Bedazzling Hex, Flying Charm, and Colloportus spell.

Rumors abound over why Ava Rose left this work unfinished, literally in mid-sentence in Chapter 9.


"I don't get it," said Snape. "Why would Dumbledore be reading this book?"

"I think we already know the answer."

He frowned. "How do you mean?"

"Remember? Professor Slughorn said that Dumbledore hunted down the blue unicorns. They were Grindelwald's creation gone wrong from the doppelganger root, so he was probably looking for more information."

"Do you really believe there are blue unicorns?" Snape scoffed at the idea, rolling his eyes. "Seems like a load of witch's brew to me."

"Well, we know that Dumbledore believed, so he naturally could have been researching the doppelganger, since the blue unicorns protect it. Or at least he believed they did."

Slughorn's story was starting to come back to him, and it did make sense that Dumbledore would have looked for such information in the Restricted Section of the library.

"And, like me," Lily continued, "he would have found very little on the doppelganger. Willow Gorge was probably his next search."

Behind them, the morning sun looked like an orange ball resting on the black lake. As they moved further into the forest on the bumpy trail, the thick canopy of trees blocked the sunlight, making the surroundings look like a dimly lit room; Lily pulled her arms closer to her chest, since the air started feeling like a cold basement. "I think the real question is what Dumbledore knows about the Fourth Curse."

"That's why this note confuses me. How could he know and why would he write it here? The only person who knows is Vol—" Snape stopped before he said Voldemort's name.

Lily waited for him to finish, her eyes asking him, "Well?" When he didn't say anything, she grew more serious. "You were going to say somebody's name, weren't you?"

"I—I was just going to say it was someone that I… read about."

Lily sighed.

For a long stretch, neither said anything to one another, and the only sounds were those of the Forbidden Forest. There were a few singing worms, poking their heads through the black soil, humming a song fit for a funeral parlor. The black swans, wading in a small pond in the distance, didn't help the mood either. Several hippogriffs flew past, a few crying out, and Snape watched them as far as he could see, before they disappeared into the forest's green ceiling.

Right then, he wished that he could fly away with them. He didn't want to hide the truth from Lily. He wanted to tell her about his meeting with Riddle in Hogsmeade, how Riddle had recounted the tale of the original Voldemort, a man named Cyrus, and it was Cyrus who invented the Dark Tourist with the doppelganger root from a tree in his backyard. He wanted to tell her how Cyrus had used Voldemort as a symbol and secret identity for justice, and how Riddle would now carry on this work bringing wizards and witches to their rightful place in the world. But it was too soon to share all of this information with her—he needed to keep his secret pact with the new Voldemort and finish this first mission. If he and Lily were successful, Voldemort would surely entrust himself to both of them for having made such a risky journey.

Finally, Lily spoke. "Do you know how to do the Dark Tourist? I thought getting the doppelganger root was for the Christmas Challenge. Nothing dangerous like—"

"It is." He added "mainly" to the end of his statement under his breath and avoided eye contact with her.

"Sev, you can tell me. I'm not going to be upset. I just don't want you getting mixed up in something that could be dangerous."

"It's fine. It's just—it's just for the Christmas Challenge."

"Sev, look at me."

Snape forced himself to look into her green eyes. The usual warmth was there, but today they looked more like jade spears.

"Is someone asking you to do this? You were going to say someone's name. Someone who knew how to do the fourth curse."

"It's no one."

"What do you mean, it's no one? Is someone asking you to do this?"

He looked at the green ceiling of the forest again, searching for the hippogriffs, searching for anything that might help him escape this conversation. "I can't tell you."

Lily stopped walking. "Fine. If you can't tell me what this is all about and who's asking you to do this, then I'm not going any further."

"It's just—I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, at least not right now."

Lily turned in the opposite direction and started heading back to Hogwarts.

"Hey, come on! Lily, don't do this!"

"Do you even know what this person's using the doppelganger for?"

"Yes, of course. He—" Actually, Snape wasn't exactly sure what Voldemort planned to do with the doppelganger, but he figured it would be used to carry on the original Voldemort's work, with the revised aim to help the magical community.

"What are you using it for?" asked Lily.

"The Christmas Challenge."

"Don't lie to me, Sev!" She raised her voice, a redness flowing into her cheeks. "Are you trying to use the Dark Tourist?"

Snape put his hand on her shoulder and was relieved when she didn't push it away. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm using the doppelganger for the Christmas Challenge… mainly. And, the other part was for a Christmas gift for you. Honest." He could feel her shoulders relax a little. "And yes, of course I'm interested in learning magic that no one else knows about. But that doesn't mean I want to use the Dark Tourist on anyone."

"Then what are you going to use it for?"

"Nothing. I'm just curious to learn something new."

Lily weighed his words carefully. "And this person you're getting the doppelganger for—what's that all about?"

"I'll introduce you as soon as I can. I expect it to be for a good cause, something that will help our kind."

She didn't say anything for awhile, leaving the suspense in the air until she pointed at his black, leather sack. "We should probably look at your map. How far are we from Willow Gorge?"

Snape smiled. "Thank you for staying." He took out the map he'd drawn the night before. "We still have a ways on this trail before we get to Boggarts Cave."

"Boggarts Cave?" A worried look came over Lily's face. "I've never heard of that."

"We have to pass through a volcano before we get to Willow Gorge. The only way through it is Boggarts Cave."

"And real boggarts are in there? The shape-shifters that turn into your worst fear?"

"Are there any other kind?" asked Snape. "If there are boggarts, we know the Riddikulus charm, so we'll be fine."

They started walking the trail again, and, after an hour, reached the volcano, if it could be called that. Instead of appearing as a regular, jagged mountain that cut through the land with swirling lava at the top, this volcano looked like a black meteorite that had crashed from space. It was more of an enormous cauldron that seemed to stretch miles wide and miles tall, curving in the shape of a trophy cup. At the very bottom, there was a tunnel going into the volcano; from their vantage point, no light showed at the end of the cave.

"Sev…"

"It will be okay," reassured Snape.

"What if there are boggarts in there? I just know mine will take on the shape of a troll. I've been afraid of trolls FOREVER."

"Don't worry. Just do the Riddikulus charm and picture Slughorn dancing, and they'll become a jolly old man instead. Completely harmless."

Lily laughed nervously. "What shape will they take for you?"

"I don't have any idea."

"Really?"

"Really." Snape hadn't given his own fears much thought.

They both said, "Lumos," and the ends of their wands illuminated. As they stepped into the cave, Snape wasn't sure the boggarts would shape-shift into anything for him because he couldn't think of anything he really feared. "It'll be fine," he whispered to Lily, but suddenly he wasn't sure if he'd said that for her or for himself.