Wednesday, April 8
Interesting.
Severus had climbed down the jagged cliff, fighting to find footholds, swam across a portion of the cold ocean water that flowed through it, and stood now in the mouth of a large cave.
Very interesting.
Entrance to the cave seemed closed off, inaccessible to Severus, just as it seemed to have been inaccessible to Albus who had been at these exact coordinates nearly every day in the past week, avoiding Howlers and working on whatever path he was on. However, if Severus was not mistaken, he believed he knew of someone who could grant him access to the cave. Someone who had been there before.
Someone that Albus would never have known to speak with.
Severus was unsure how Albus deduced this location to be one where a horcrux used to be, but, judging on the length of time Albus spent attempting to gain access to the cave, Albus certainly was unaware that there was nothing more than a decoy locked inside the cave.
Barty had long since destroyed the horcrux that had once been hidden within the cave.
With the realization that this assistance could be the answer Severus needed to his current problem, Severus apparated away, back to Hogwarts.
"Black, I require a favor," Severus announced as he strode in to Black's office only a few minutes later.
Black looked up from the messy stack of parchments he undoubtedly allowed his students to turn in as homework and twisted his lips at Severus. "What kind of favor?"
Severus tapped his lips thoughtfully as he debated with himself. On the one hand, Black was quite annoying. On the other hand, perhaps Black would appreciate knowing the details behind his brother's death. Not all the details, mind you, because Black had no grasp on occlumency, but some could not hurt.
And, Severus could begrudgingly admit, Black had proven himself to be mildly useful upon Harry's release from Azkaban as he attempted to nurse the child back to a stable mental presence.
"Kreacher," Severus told him. "I would like to borrow Kreacher for the afternoon. And, as he has never been fond of me, I would appreciate it if you could order him to be compliant and truthful to me."
Black dropped the quill in his hands, carelessly leaving a large droplet of navy blue ink on the topmost parchment, and sat back in his chair as he contemplated Severus' request.
"You want to borrow Kreacher?" Black repeated. "Why?"
Severus took a step further in the room and silently warded the room against eavesdroppers.
"What do you know of Regulus' death?" Severus asked evenly.
Black did not seem to take it as an innocent question. Instead, he narrowed his eyes quite harshly and seemed rather inappropriately angry.
As if Severus had talked Regulus into joining the Dark Lord's followers, as opposed to the truthful opposite.
Regulus had been the first of their group of friends to join, pushed in to it by his parents. And it had been Regulus who convinced Severus to join, citing his dreams of obtaining a potions mastery and the strength and power to be free of his miserable life.
And it had been Regulus who had abandoned the Dark Lord first, shortly followed by Severus, and a decade later by Barty.
"I know he got cold feet and left Voldemort," Black said sullenly with defensively crossed arms. "Killed for his cowardice, that's the line I was fed."
"You were fed a lie," Severus said. He nodded towards the open chair across from Black and waited on his curt nod before taking it. "I cannot tell you all I know, at present," he stressed when Black appeared mutinous, "but Regulus sacrificed his life in an effort to bring down the Dark Lord. A task your godson is now attempting to complete."
As irate as Black had looked, his face suddenly lost all color.
"You're lying," Black said softly. His eyes went unfocused, undoubtedly drawing up the past in his own mind. "Reg was thrilled to join."
That was undeniable. Regulus had been thrilled and honored when he accepted the mark. Truly, Severus had no inkling of what had caused him to switch sides so suddenly, or so secretively, though he suspected that Kreacher may hold that secret. Barty left notes indicating a little of what Kreacher knew, how Barty came to acquire the horcrux locket, but that was a mystery Severus did not need to solve.
He merely needed the elf to gain access to the cave.
He needed the elf to find a way for Harry to kill Albus.
"May I borrow Kreacher or not?" Severus asked Black, impatient now and unwilling to wait for Black to readjust his views on his brother.
Black shook his head and his eyes refocused on Severus with a sudden fervor in them.
"You said Reg sacrificed his life to bring down Voldemort," Black said, his eyes intense as they fixed unblinkingly on Severus'.
"Correct."
Black leaned forward and rested his chin on his interlocked hands, the intensity in his eyes increasing tenfold.
"If you set Harry up to sacrifice himself to kill Voldemort, I will kill you," Black swore.
Severus felt his lips curl up in a small smile as he offered Black his hand.
"If Harry dies in an effort to kill the Dark Lord, I will present myself to you for death immediately," Severus said.
They shook on it.
And then Black summoned Kreacher and ordered him to be compliant and truthful for Severus. He also ordered Kreacher to never speak of what Severus had him do that day, at Severus' hasty request.
Severus looked down at the surly elf as soon as they exited the Hogwarts gates.
"I regret that I must do this, as it will undoubtedly be unpleasant for you, but it is quite important," Severus told him truthfully. Severus was no crusader for house-elf rights as Harry was, and he had no sentimental attachment to Kreacher, as Barty did. Though he would prefer not to traumatize a creature of any sorts if it could be avoided. Unfortunately, this could not be. Severus grabbed the elf's shoulder and apparated them both to the cave entrance.
And, as Severus suspected, Kreacher looked immediately miserable upon arriving at the cave.
"Why is Mister Snape bringing Kreacher here?" Kreacher muttered while pulling on his ears in distress. "Kreacher is not wanting to be here, no he is not. Kreacher would be leaving if Master Black was not a nasty man with nasty orders."
"All I require from you, is to be shown how to enter the cave," Severus said as kindly as he could. "Once that is done, you may return to Moon Lodge."
Kreacher squinted up at Severus and suddenly smiled rather viciously. "Oh, Kreacher will be showing Mister Snape how to enter the cave. And then Kreacher will be leaving him here to be dying alone, yes Kreacher will."
Severus rolled his eyes up to the cloudy sky and nodded. "As you wish," he told the elf. He held a hand out to the cave entrance, "After you."
Kreacher made a scoffing type of noise, but he led Severus to the mouth of the cave despite his trembling legs.
"The Dark Lord is requiring only a powerful wizard, like my Master Regulus, to enter," Kreacher said reverently. He gave Severus a look of disdain, obviously believing him to not be of any particular strength. "Kreacher is not knowing the spells to gets inside, but Kreacher is knowing the tricks on the inside."
Severus sighed and brandished his wand. It was tiresome, attempting to untangle the web of dark magic laced across the cave entrance, though it was a mild vindication of Severus' magical prowess, particularly his knowledge of dark magic, to see the elf look shocked when he had eventually unwoven the curses. Severus' hair was clinging to his sweat drenched forehead as he mockingly bowed toward the entrance. Kreacher gave him a distrustful look and edged around his arm, staying carefully out of reach, before quickly stepping inside the cave.
The inside of the cave was dark, nearly impossible to see in before Severus lit his wand. The water from the raging ocean outside flowed more calmly within the cave. It's darkness carried an eery feeling though, one that spoke of death and destruction. Severus held his wand high and saw that far within the cave, there was a small island surrounded entirely by the water. A small island that emitted a magical green glow; a glow meant to draw in interest.
"How do we reach the island?" Severus asked Kreacher quietly.
Kreacher inched over slowly to a large black boulder on the edge of the water, the edge of where the cliff floor dropped off and the bottomless water began.
"Blood," Kreacher croaked. "You will be needing to use wizard blood on the rock to get the boat or else the inferi will be dragging you to death."
"Inferi?" Severus' eyes snapped from the boulder to where Kreacher was peering down at the water in utter terror. "The water is filled with inferi?"
Kreacher nodded slowly and reached a hesitant hand down to the water, nearly touching the surface without actually breaking the water. "Kreacher was in there," he said. "And- and Master Regulus is in there."
Severus closed his eyes and felt so momentarily ill that he had to press his hand to his mouth to keep from spewing the contents of his stomach.
"The island holds Regulus' decoy locket," Severus said, startling the elf with his knowledge. "What are the protections on the island?"
"Poison," Kreacher rasped out, misery laced in his every syllable. "Poison fills the basin, makes you see and hear horrible things. Terrible things. It doesn't kill you, but you will be wishing it did."
Severus nodded slowly as he thought it through. "Very well," he finally said. "Let us leave."
Severus no more finished his sentence than the elf disappeared with a loud crack.
He should have expected that, really.
Severus followed shortly after, after he rebuilt the web of curses preventing Albus entrance from the cave. Albus would remove them eventually, but Severus had no desire to inform him that anyone else knew of the caves location.
Severus saw no reason for Albus to know that someone else had visited the place that Severus was certain would become Albus' tomb.
***
Thursday morning, Severus arrived to breakfast to find Albus was, unsurprisingly, absent.
Since Skeeter's book had been released, Albus had been spending minimal time outside of his office. The morning after it had been released to the public, and the students themselves all seemed to own a copy, Albus had received such a number of howlers at breakfast that Severus had personally never seen before. Since that morning when the students all witnessed Albus' character being ripped to shreds by dozens of angry citizens, Albus had taken all meals within his office.
The surprise on Thursday morning came from the Daily Prophet.
SCHOOL BOARD DEMANDS REMOVAL OF DUMBLEDORE FROM HOGWARTS
"Unfortunate," Severus drawled when Minerva slid the paper to him. "I presume you will be offered the position once he is removed?"
"I plan on attending the meeting next week and requesting that Albus remain Headmaster," Minerva said stiffly. "I believe that a misguided youth, no doubt embellished by Rita Skeeter, is of less importance than the safety that Albus provides our school."
Severus tilted his head in silent agreement. Hogwarts was out of the Dark Lord's reach by Albus' presence, but Severus would burn the castle down himself to allow Harry to live.
It was a treacherous thought to have, yet Severus had never claimed to be a good man.
"I wish you luck then," Severus told Minerva diplomatically. "When will the board be meeting?"
Minerva pointed to the article that Severus had skimmed and he read the date of the hearing, the fifteenth.
Which left Severus with six days to kill Albus.
"Pardon me." Severus pushed his untouched breakfast away and scanned Harry's group at the Slytherin table. "I believe that Harry forgot of his appointment with Lupin today," Severus lied.
"Oh?" Minerva followed Severus' eyes and smiled slightly when she caught sight of Harry. "How is he doing? He seems better."
"He is much improved," Severus said, honestly this time. He gave Minerva an appreciative look. "No doubt partly thanks to the focus you have provided him."
"Oh, bah." Minerva waved Severus' praise off with a humble flick of her hand. "Harry's an intelligent young man, I merely pointed him towards a goal that he could truly apply himself to reaching."
"Regardless, it was well appreciated," Severus told her with a nod. "If nothing else, it has kept him in the library and out of trouble recently."
Minerva laughed and regarded Harry with something akin to maternal affection. "That won't last long," she said. "Harry will finish the research I pushed him towards, I'll provide him with the ingredients to achieve the transformation, and then Harry will torment us all as both a human and animal of some sort."
Severus snorted before getting to his feet. "Let us hope that his animal is something we could spot from a distance then, hmm? A hippogriff or horse, maybe."
"Oh, he'll be a snake, poisonous I believe," Minerva smiled. "And then nobody will be safe ever again."
Severus chuckled quietly as he made his way to Harry's table, hoping to snag him before he made any plans for the day.
With Potter luck in play, Harry would likely be some sort of destructive or venomous creature- it was one of many reasons why Severus would never have given the child the idea. Minerva was a much braver witch than Severus was wizard.
"Harry, Harry's misfits," Severus nodded at the group of students who gave him curious looks at his approach. "Harry, I require your presence today."
Harry tilted his head slightly as he watched Severus for a long moment.
"Why?" Harry eventually asked.
"Your appointment with the optometrist," Severus lied with a pointed look.
Draco made a scoff of disbelief while the others looked similarly skeptical.
There had once been a day, seven years ago, where Severus could tell students that the grass was purple and they would be too afraid of him to question it.
Severus missed those days.
"I don't have an appointment for my eyes," Harry said slowly. "The contacts are new, and magical, they told me to come back next summer?"
Severus sighed. "Harry, would you like to skip classes today?"
That had been the key, apparently, as Harry leapt to his feet with a eager expression.
"Yes, sir," Harry said. He grabbed his bag off the floor and slung it over his shoulder before hesitating as he looked at Bones. Bones raised her brows at Harry and Harry shook his head, apparently they had mastered silent communication. Harry turned back to Severus and lifted his chin stubbornly. "Susan would also like to skip classes, sir."
Severus refrained from sighing again. He had already accepted Harry's exceedingly poor decision to tell Bones of their plans, it would do him no good to keep the girl from the plans now.
"Certainly," Severus said, loathed to appear backed in to the corner Harry put him in. He smirked as he studied the duo though. "If anyone asks about your absences, I have informed Minerva that Harry has an appointment with Lupin. I will tell her that you needed to go as well, Miss Bones."
Bones smirked at Severus. "You might have missed it, sir, but over half our friends see Remus at least once a month. It's hardly something to be ashamed of," she said with a flip of her hair.
Touché.
"Five points to Hufflepuff," Severus said instead of agreeing aloud with the cheeky girl. "Come along, now."
Harry and Bones murmured quick goodbye's to their friends and hastened to follow Severus as he strode from the hall.
"Which teachers do you have today, Bones?" Severus asked as he walked towards his office.
"McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, and Burbage," Bones said.
Severus nodded and summoned his patronus. "Miss Bones will be with Remus Lupin today for an appointment. Kindly excuse her from her classes." Severus sent the fox on its way to the four professors with a flick of his wand.
He waited until he entered his private office to send an additional one to Nymphadora, requesting her presence if she had time.
"What are we doing?" Bones asked as she dropped her bag inside Severus' office door and took one of the chairs Severus conjured for their abrupt meeting.
"Plotting something," Harry smirked as he too tossed his bag on the ground and took a chair.
"Indeed," Severus agreed. He took his seat and fixed them both with a steely look, waiting for them to give him their rapt and solemn attention. "We have six days to successfully kill Albus," he said. "I believe I have the outline of a plan, though I am of course open to input."
And, once Nymphadora arrived- input he received.
It was rather surreal, sitting in his office, plotting the murder of the headmaster over tea and scones with two teenagers and an ex-auror, but Severus had been through more surreal moments in his lifetime.
Harry threw out the idea of poisoning Albus, which was quickly shot down.
"Albus is of a much higher level of intellect than Dolores," Severus told him. "He would simply apparate away and find an antidote."
"Wait." Nymphadora gave Harry an incredulous look. "Did you kill Umbridge?"
"No," Harry lied immediately. "Heart failure they said, didn't they?"
"Moving on," Bones said with a quiet cough. "I think the real trick will be not letting people know he's dead. He's been harassed almost every day, hasn't he?" Harry and Bones both looked incredibly smug despite the fact that they were both more dark now than Albus had been in his youth.
"We'd need to hide the body after we kill him," Bones went on. "It can't be found."
"I believe I have the perfect location for that," Severus said. He filled the others in on the cave that Albus had been frequenting as of late, leaving out the supposed treasure inside that Albus sought. While Nymphadora and Harry were aware of the horcruxes, it would be foolish to spread their existence to any others. Best to simply allow Bones to believe that Harry was the sole, accidental, horcrux.
"And 'we' cannot kill Albus," Severus said after he informed them of all he knew regarding the cave. "Harry must be the one to do it."
Bones made an unhappy face, but it was Harry who shifted uncomfortably.
"What if you kill him and I disarm you?" Harry asked slowly, stretching his words out as he said them. "Wouldn't that work?"
Severus and Nymphadora shared a look, both pondering the same thing.
"I am uncertain," Severus told Harry carefully. "Some myths say it can only be passed through death, though Albus did gain it from a duel."
"It's a risk," Nymphadora said bluntly. She narrowed her eyes at Harry. "Why don't you want to do it?"
Harry picked at a wound on his wrist, one that Severus had continuously provided him with antibacterial potions to keep clean since he refused to heal it.
"If it goes sideways, I don't much fancy going to Azkaban again," Harry said to his hands. "So... I dunno. Do I want to kill him? Yeah. Do I want to get arrested for it later? Not fuckin really."
Severus had always desired for Harry to learn that his actions held consequences, though he would have preferred it to have been a simpler lesson.
No one seemed to have a reply for Harry, lost as they all were in their own thoughts, then Nymphadora gasped quietly and then chuckled.
"Oh, Harry," she leaned forward and smiled bright at Harry, "What if you have an airtight alibi? What if dozens of people would swear under Veritaserum that you were at school all day the day Dumbledore disappears?"
Severus realized her plan at the same time Bones seemed to, though Harry looked puzzled.
"How?" Harry asked.
Nymphadora suddenly shifted from her typical appearance to mimic Harry almost exactly.
"Oi, what are you lookin' at?" Nymphadora snapped at Harry as he gaped at her. "Fuckin' prat."
Harry smiled slowly as he looked Nymphadora over. "Fuckin brill," he said. "Tonks, you just became my favorite person, ever."
Nymphadora slowly morphed back to her own appearance while Bones smacked Harry lightly on the knee.
"We have an alibi for Harry established, a location, and the semblance of a plan," Severus said. He checked the time and was pleased to see that they had firmed it up in a matter of hours. "I hardly need to tell you both that if we fail, we will have to flee. Albus will not take this lightly."
Bones scoffed and twirled her wand between her fingers. "Then we don't fail," she said simply. "When are we doing this?"
"I will fetch you when it is time," Severus told her. "It is imperative that we do it before the meeting next week. I do not doubt that Albus will be ousted from Hogwarts once more and we will lose our ability to track his movements."
Bones and Harry got to their feet, both sporting amused looks.
"Sucks to be him," Harry quipped. "I got kicked out twice, he gets kicked out three times. Is that karma or irony?"
"Neither," Severus told him. "It is a bed Albus made years ago." He nodded towards the door. "Go, attend any afternoon classes you may have, Miss Bones. Harry, I would prefer if you would keep your cloak and wand on you at all times, when I get you, you must be prepared to leave immediately."
Harry nodded and followed Bones out of the office.
Severus slumped in his seat and fixed Nymphadora with an exasperated look.
"Dumbledore isn't going to be easy to kill," she said quietly. "You can trap him in that cave, you can give Harry an alibi, you can all three duel him to the best of your abilities, and-"
"And he will still evade us," Severus agreed. "Unless-"
"Unless he drinks the poison first," Nymphadora said, easily following Severus' train of thought. "But how do you time it just right? You need Dumbledore to be weakened by the poison, desperate to retrieve the fake locket, but not quite finished. It's tricky timing, Sev, down to the seconds really."
Severus nodded. He steepled his fingers together and tapped them against his chin in thought.
The solution was so neat, so simple, that Severus nearly laughed.
"Nymphadora, how would you like a job?" Severus asked her.
"I'm listening," she grinned.
Severus summoned a pair of his robes and boots from his quarters and handed them to her. "Congratulations, you have just been made Potions Master."
Nymphadora laughed as she looked over the clothing. "And what will you be doing?" she asked.
Severus smirked in a very self-satisfied way. "I? I will be camping, of course."
The plan came together without a hitch after that. Severus gave Nymphadora a quick rundown on how to proceed in his place while he was absent—
"Stay away from others as much as possible," he told her seriously. "Your cheer will give you away in an instant."
"And you're a hermit at heart," Nymphadora said teasingly.
"Quite so."
Severus obtained Harry's cloak from him and advised him to seek out Black or Nymphadora for any issues, and to absolutely refrain from sending him a patronus unless it was a life or death situation—
"Like most of my situations," Harry said with a rueful smile as he handed over his cloak.
And then Severus returned to the cliff outside the cave once more, a bag of supplies on his hip beneath the cloak, content to watch and wait for Albus' eventual arrival.
Albus arrived that night, nearly masked by the darkness. He spent hours outside the cave, waving his wand as he worked on the enchantments preventing his entrance.
Albus was leagues more powerful and skilled than Severus; Severus simply had the knowledge and inclination towards magic Albus found 'distasteful' to have gained such quick entry.
After nearly six hours, Albus apparated away.
He returned Friday morning, a look of determination etched over his look of exhaustion. Severus watched as he worked on the enchantments and felt a twinge of pity inside him.
Had Albus made mistakes in his youth? Absolutely.
Yet it only took a glance at Severus' arm to know that there were much worse mistakes Albus could have made.
Albus had grown and matured to be a wise wizard with a passion for protecting others and the skill to do so. Albus gave Severus a second chance when many others would not, and how did Severus plan to repay him?
By having his ward end his life.
Severus reflected on this as Albus worked on the enchantments throughout the day.
As disillusioned with Albus' methods as Severus grew to be, as much as their ultimate goals clashed, it was still no light thing to sit and plan out the murder of a man he once heavily respected and considered to be one of his greatest friends.
But in the end, Severus' guilt and his private anguish, could he pushed aside as he reframed the problem in his mind:
Albus' life or Harry's?
Severus doubted if Albus' name could be replaced with anyone or anything and not receive the same response.
Harry would live.
Was Albus a better wizard, a better person, than Harry? Yes.
Was Albus kinder, more empathetic, and less prone to atrocious sins than Harry was? Yes.
Severus would kill the angels themselves though to give Harry a chance at life.
Thankfully, his task was only Albus. Only Albus stood between Harry surviving the Dark Lord. Once Albus fell, the horcrux could be removed from Harry's mind and Harry could be the last wizard standing in their tightly entwined trio.
It was ruthless. It was pragmatic.
One life in exchange for Harry's was nothing. Regardless of Albus' own right to live his life.
When the sun began to set, Albus finally gained entry to the cave. Severus silently moved closer, curious to see if Albus would quickly discover the magic required to access the boat, or, if he would do as Severus planned on doing, and simply flew across the lake of inferi.
Albus did move immediately to the black boulder. He waved his wand around it and murmured to himself. Severus caught no faint whispered of Albus' words as he maintained a safe distance from the vigilant wizard, but he watched as Albus worked.
As the darkness of the night filled the cave and began to obstruct Severus' view, Albus cracked the entrapment. Albus cut his hand open with his wand and then wiped it across the boulder.
A ghostly boat materialized in the water beside him and, after nearly an hour of Albus testing the boat, and the water around it, with his wand, he carefully stepped inside of it.
Severus held his breath as Albus floated across the murky waters. He held his wand tightly, prepared to step in if Albus reached any trouble. After a fashion, Severus could see the little wooden boat bump harmlessly against the island.
Severus had to squint now to watch Albus. Albus circled the golden tower with the stone bowl emitting the green glow slowly. Severus saw him brandish his wand and wave it around for quite some time.
Then, abruptly, Albus got back in the boat and began his return to the exit.
Severus carefully returned to his position outside the cave and waited for Albus to apparate away.
Severus had been certain then, that the next time Albus came would be his last.
The next time Albus arrived, either he would never leave that cave, or Harry's life could never be saved.
***
Albus returned the very next morning, before the suns rays had even reached Severus' hiding spot. Severus saw the look of determination on Albus' face as he rolled up his sleeves and he knew-
Today was the day.
As soon as Albus was within the cave, Severus retreated to a safe distance and apparated back to Hogwarts- he had to find Harry and Bones quickly now.
Severus found the duo he needed in the sixth year boys dorm. They were seated on the floor, still in their night clothes, surrounded by their friends. Harry had his head spilled on Susan's lap and she ran her fingers carelessly through his hair while she chatted with Granger about their plans for the day.
They both perked up as Severus entered the room.
Severus looked at Harry as he spoke. "Get your cloak, your Susan, and follow me."
Harry stared in his eyes for a long moment while a smile slowly stretched across his face.
Severus turned to leave and recalled a remark Horace made in the staff lounge earlier that week.
"And for the love of God, if you stole Horace's stock of Felix Felicis, bring that as well."
Idiot boy.
Severus left and quickly sent a patronus to Nymphadora, informing her it was time to create an alibi for Harry.