Chapter 8 - Say what, I can't hear you over the magic...
To one side of the Archives stood a pair of heavy plain brass doors, polished so they gleamed with a light all their own, which opened into a rough hewn chamber. Three hundred and sixty four days of a year the chamber stood empty and silent, except for one day every year the applicants to the Department of Mysteries were initiated in a ceremony that predated nearly every written record in existence. On that one day each applicant would stand before every single Unspeakable to have ever worn the pale grey robes and would be judged to determine if he or she were fit to swear the vows of fealty and silence to the Department; to don the vestments of an Unspeakable.
In neat ranks circling around an inlaid design of five circles and a compass rose were the Unspeakables. Both past and present. Thier gray robes with the hoods pulled up and over their faces faded in and out of the mist rising up from the floor of the chamber. Some looked as solid as the walls and floor of the room they stood so patiently in, others seemed to be merely a wisp of a memory. All were standing, waiting, and humming a monotonous tone that neither echoed nor changed. In the center of the room stood the Ritual Master clad in pristine white robes and three of his four elements dressed in red robes decorated with the signs of their masteries. The robes each wore not only masked their faces but also made them all seem to be exactly the same in height, weight, gender, and each would speak with the voice of their element masking their individual personalities completely. The Ritual Master, Severus had read, was typically the Head of the Department of Mysteries. The element Masters were chosen by the red ritual robes themselves that would simply appear to whomever had been chosen several days before the ceremony.
As Severus walked forward he observed that the person standing to his right in the eastern position, circle laid in yellow representing air, held a naked sword. Light glinted off the exposed blade with each step he took. To his left in the western position, the circle in blue representing water, held in their hands a plain hand molded clay cup that in the opposite effect of the sword seemed to absorb the light that hit it. He didn't see anyone to stand for earth as he walked through the green circle in the southern position, but just behind the shoulder of the Ritual Master stood another red robed figure in the northern position of fire. There was nothing in their hands and he didn't see anything around them to stand for their element the way the others did but that didn't mean anything when you had magic.
The Ritual Master beckoned him forward and he took his spot in the center of the circles on top of a seal that had been masterfully carved into the stone floor of an ax and a shield. He admired the carving for a few moments wondering what it represented before fixing his gaze firmly upon the Ritual Master who nodded at him and the sound of clapped hands rang briefly through the chamber. Immediately without hesitation silence reigned. The Ritual Master lifted upturned hands and spoke
"Be it known to all who have come, all who are present and all who will come that today the twenty second day of the roman calendar month September in the christian year of nineteen hundred and seventy four on this glorious day of Mabon where we honor the gods and the changing of the seasons from growth to harvest. On this day, as all Unspeakable destinies are, it has been foretold that Severus Tobias Snape last of the familial line Prince would submit before this exonerated body to be acknowledge, judged and if worthy in heart and soul embraced as kin. Kneel and be judged scion." Kneeling he kept his head up and stared at the Ritual Master. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the robed figure for air moving forward and seconds later he felt the cold kiss of steel along the side of his neck. A voice that sounded like the edges of time and echoed through the room like the sound of the wind ravaging over untamed lands spoke then,
"How is time best spent young scion?" His answer was immediate, his voice strong cutting through the unnerving echo of the red robed figure.
"Time is best spent living elder." The sword was withdrawn nicking his skin slightly as the figured said
"The Master of Air standing in the Eastern position has tasted the blood of the scion, and tested his mettle and found him worthy of the name he claims. We accept him as brother."
As soon as the Air master was finished speaking a feeling of heavy sleepiness stole through his limbs making it a challenge to keep his head up and his gazed locked on the Ritual Master. A voice behind him spoke, the echo's making his bones ache at the deep rumbling tones.
"Tell me supplicant, where do you find the wealth of the world?" This time his answer took longer, as he had to fight through the fuzziness of his head.
"The wealth of the world is found in kin, elder." He could almost feel his answer being weight before the Earth Master spoke again
"In the Southern position the Master of Earth has tasted the supplicants magic, and tested his integrity. We find him honorable and we accept him as brother." The heavy sleepy feeling dissipated as suddenly as it begain and he found it easier to focus on the Ritual Master.
It was then that a chilling feeling of being immersed in icy black water surrounded him. Cutting off his ability to see and hear. All he could feel was the freezing water, all he could hear were the whispering words of the Water Master
"Hear me well petitioner and answer me true for I am the Master of Water. Eons and ages have come and gone and will come and go again. What is the only inevitability in life?" His lungs burned as he felt like he was drowning, and his answer was hard to find through the panic but his voice was steady when he said
"Death is the only inevitability and the only truth." The Water Master seemed to make a humming noise that sounded like tiny waves bathing a sandy shore before he was asked another question
"Do you fear death petitioner?" Shivering, his vision turning red as he fought to breath and even though he could still draw a breath it felt like he was only sucking in water, his response was no less steady as he said
"I fear a mindless death with no meaning. I fear the deaths of innocent lives taken without reason or thought. I do not fear dying." As suddenly as it had arrived the feeling of drowning disappeared and he was nearly panting with relief. His gaze rested on the Ritual Master once more. The Water Master spoke up saying,
"I am the Water Master who stands on the other side of the veil and hold the Western position. I have tasted the petitioner's spirit and found it strong. I have tested his commitment and found it unwavering. I accept him as brother." It was then that the last red robed Master stepped in front of the Ritual Master and he felt like he had been set on fire as his eyes locked with the red ones of the Fire Master. Words hissed and popped in his mind reminiscent of a log fire on a cold winter day, as the Fire Master held his gaze and brushed right past all of his occlumency shields.
"Beggar child of the dead kings, you are unworthy to stand before me. Your soul is tainted with unclean magic, with the desire of a woman, with the need to belong. Tell me, beggar child, who holds the strings to your heart?" Nearly crying with the pain he said
"Elder, it is true my soul has touched dark magic and in great quantities, that my body yearns for the touch of a lover, and my mind wishes only to find somewhere to be accepted, but my heart belongs only to myself and I belong to the Department." The feeling of being set on fire faded until all he could feel was the cold stone of the floor and the carved motif digging into his shins. His gaze was still held captive by the Fire Master and he heard whispered in his mind
" The future is perilous beggar child, guard you mind and magic well." He did gasp then as a very fine, excessively strong shield wrapped around his mind sealing it from even the enchanting gaze of the Fire Master before the red Robed figure said to the entire assembly
"In the Northern position the Master of Fire has tested the hopefuls mind. We find him loyal without fault and we accept him as brother." The white robed Ritual Master nodded and said
"Arise scion, and be embraced as kin." Severus rose and before anyone could move the motif that he had been kneeling on lit up and glowed as he was engulfing once more.
This time he was not subjected to the pain of the Elemental trials. His eyes opened on an empty place of white with only one other being with him. A shadowed viking dressed for battle carrying a shield and a battle ax approached him and said
"It has been nearly 100 years since any worth has stood upon my seal and passed the tests of strength, integrity, commitment and loyalty as you have young Prince. I have known decades of your ascendant's, but you are the only one who could raise your name from ashes in the manner bespeaking of a Phoenix. I judge you one final time and find in you the moral integrity to do what is right before what is easy, I see in you a Darkness that will be put to great use, though I caution you young Prince to always remember the Light. I give into your soul the gift of Shadow to smooth your path for it is a long and difficult one. Hold out your sword arm, kin." Severus reached out with his right arm and it was fiercely grabbed by the shadowed warrior seconds before a very powerful, very immense, very old presence ripped through his entire being. He felt as if he were being taken apart and remade in the image of the shadowed viking before him. Magic poured through his veins burning out the light and the darkness, leaving only shades of grey and shadow behind. The pain seemed to go on forever before settling into a fierce burning on his right arm that slowly subsided. When he blinked again he was back in the Ritual chamber with the other Unspeakables. Only now as he looked down on his right arm, to find an exact replica of the shadowed warrior he had spoken too. The edges were slightly red and swollen and even as he and the Ritual Master watched the image faded into soft lines and grey tones mimicking a warrior in shadows. The Ritual Master stepped forward and said
"Severus Tobias Snape, we bid you welcome as kin and an Unspeakable. May the trials of tomorrow guide you today." And with those words it felt like a spell had been lifted and a great cheer went out around the room. Hoods were thrown back, and familiar faces were revealed. He could see Anders, who had trained him in dueling flirting with a green haired witch. In front of him pushing his hood back, and revealing that the Ritual Master was indeed the Head of the Unspeakables, Mirach Malfoy, who smiled down at him. The Elemental Masters were revealed to be Dana Kidds, the shortest woman he had ever met who kept everyone on their toes with her sharp wit and sharper blades, Kennith Smith who was head of the Potions Guild, Druella Rosier who he knew only by name and made a mental note to speak with her later as it was clear to him that she could teach him how to be a better occlumens. He looked around for the Water Master only to have Kennith sneer at him saying
"The Water Master has always been, and always will be an Unspeakable that has passed beyond life. They step across for a few brief moments to assist in inducting new members and then fade back to the other side. You might see them again on Halloween night when the distance between life and death is shortened but don't hold your breath." Sighing Severus replied
"It's ok Kennith, I used to believe in things too." For a brief moment he thought that Kennith was going to belittle him for his decidedly snarky turn of phrase but in the end the other man shook his head and laughed. Severus watched as he turned away calling over his shoulder
"I'll expect the list I left in your chambers to be accomplished in two weeks Snape. If you can manage that, and school, then we will talk about this upcoming summer and your apprenticeship."
Looking around Severus sighed in contentment, he had been accepted all that was left were the unbreakable oaths of silence to not disclose what he saw and did for the department of mysteries then he would be returned to Hogwarts to continue his fourth year. The hardest part would be to not use his knowledge of potions and spells in class, he wasn't suppose to be more competent than the professors.