Three Point Match, No Doubling

Eyes of green and eyes of blue followed Severus


Eyes of green and eyes of blue followed Severus’ to the
Slytherin table.  “It would seem
Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabbe, and Mr. Goyle are also missing from the meal,” the
Headmaster noted quietly.
 


“I’ll kill the little son-of-a-bitch.” 
Harry started in the direction of the Slytherin table, wand clenched
furiously in his hand, clearly ready to hex anyone who got in his way. 
Before he could reach his destination, he found himself grasped harshly,
wedged between the bodies of the Headmaster and the Potions Master, and ushered
quickly out of the Great Hall.  They
dragged him, all but kicking and screaming, into the first empty classroom.
 


Once inside, Snape turned on him furiously. 
“Are you daft, boy?  What
do you think you were doing?”
 


“I was finding out where Hermione is; someone has to know
something.”
 


“And you thought you would just rush into their midst and
force it out of them. You imbecile, these are Slytherins. 
You are Gryffindor.  You
would have accomplished nothing and possibly put Miss Granger in even more
danger than she probably is in already.”
 


Albus stood quietly in the corner of the room, eyes closed,
and mouth moving quickly in almost imperceptible tones. 
Severus and Harry watched until the old wizard opened his eyes and shook
his head sadly.  “If she is still on the castle grounds, she is being
protected by very powerful magic.  I
seriously doubt her own magic could repel my location spells.” 
Albus took a deep breath and pulled himself up, much like a general.
“So, we search for her the old-fashioned way.”
 


 “Severus, I
will return to the Great Hall and direct the other houses to their common rooms. 
Interrogate your Slytherins and find out if anyone, indeed, knows
anything.  I will speak to the rest
of the staff and have them begin a floor-by-floor search of the castle. 
Harry, you will go directly to my office and remain there until we
return.” 
 


Harry opened his mouth to protest, but took one look at the
men in the room and knew it was in vain.  He
paused at the doorway and turned round on Severus. 
“I swear, I’ll kill them if they’ve hurt her. 
She’s all I have left.”
 


“Sorry, boy, you’ll have to stand in line.” 
Black eyes glittered dangerously and Harry could see in them something he
had never seen before; fear. He didn’t have time to ponder it as Snape swept
past him and down the hallway. 
 


In the Great Hall, the houses were quickly dispatched to
their common rooms.  Snape was
waiting when the group of Slytherins entered. 
“You will all sit down, now.” He was met with curious glances, but
the room quickly quieted as all found a seat and waited. 
 


“Now, then, it appears there were several students absent
from this evening’s meal.  Several
members of your house and one Gryffindor have gone missing. 
I am not making any assumptions or accusations. 
I am going to my office, where I will call each one of you, one at a
time.  Upon the conclusion of your ‘meeting’ with me you are to
return to your house and remain there until a member of the staff returns. 
Understood?”  A mass of nodding heads met his appraisal.
 


Severus sat in his office, while child after child filed in
and filed out.  Their head of house
questioned each one quickly and efficiently. 
They were true Slytherins, protecting their own, as each one proclaimed
to have no knowledge of the whereabouts of the missing students. 
No interrogation or threats were effective and no leads turned up. 
Either no one knew anything, or they were being very, very careful.
 


Severus was furious and frustrated as he left his office
and quickly flew up the passageway.  So
lost in thought about Hermione, he literally tripped over the small, First Year
Slytherin, hiding in the shadows at the foot of the dungeon stairs. 
“Mr. Merrick, you were told to return to your dorms. 
That will be 20 points from Slytherin for disobeying your head of…..”
 


“Wait, Professor Snape, sir.”  The young boy was almost shaking in the face of Severus’
fury.  Still, he spoke up, “I
heard something, sir.  Some of the
older students, they were talking in the common room when I returned. 
I couldn’t hear everything, but they were talking about a mudblood and
a chamber.  That’s all I heard,
Professor.  I thought you should
know.”
 


Severus had backed the Merrick boy up against the stone
wall as he rattled out his information.  Now,
he towered over the boy.  After a
glance over his shoulder, he spoke in a low, hushed tone,  “Who were these students you overheard?’
 


The young Slytherin did not flinch now, even in the face of
the former Deatheater,  “I’m
sorry sir, I don’t know their names.”
 


“I don’t suppose that you could identify them by looks,
either,” Severus asked with a knowing smirk.
 


“No, sir, I don’t suppose that I could.” 
The child struggled to get his point across, while still upholding a
sense of honor to his house. “The Gryffindors aren’t all bad, sir. 
That muggle-born, Hermione, she was always nice to me. 
She even helped me once with my Charms work. 
And Potter, a parselmouth in Gryffindor. 
When I found that out, Sir, I was quite surprised. He must have had quite
an adventure in his second year.  I
wonder if he could open the chamber again, if it was needed?”  
 


 Severus nodded
his head in understanding and with a flourish of black, moved away from the
student.  “Very well, Mr. Merrick. 
Return to your common room at once.”
 


The boy took off at a run down the dark, stone corridor. 
He skidded to a stop and turned at the commanding voice. 
“Oh, and Mr. Merrick.”
 


“Yes, Sir?”
 


“Well done.”  Severus
allowed the boy a rare smile before turning to take the steps two at a time.
 


He entered Albus’ office to find the Headmaster waiting
and Harry pacing the floor impatiently.
 


Severus wasted not one second.  “They’ve taken her to the Chamber of Secrets.”
 


The weight of his words dropped almost audibly. 
Albus had ordered the chamber sealed following Harry’s second year. 
Together, the staff had focused their magic and warded the entrance. 
 


“That’s impossible.” 
Harry’s voice was quiet and strained now, and his face had gone a
ghastly gray color.
 


The headmaster’s face was drained of color as well. 
“Normally, I would agree with you, Harry. 
Severus, where did you get this information?”
 


Severus gave a half smile and shook his head. 
The boy had taken risks in coming to him and he would protect him. 
“I believe the source to be accurate,” was the only explanation.
 


Harry dropped heavily into a chair. 
He was speaking quietly, almto hto himself. 
“Impossible.  Malfoy
couldn’t break the wards on the entrance. 
We tried; Hermione, Ron, and I, we tried and they held.”  
 


Albus’ eyes widened in shock.  “What do you mean you tried?” 
The Headmaster’s face was a furious red now.  “Did you return to the Chamber after it was sealed? 
Harry, what were you thinking?”
 


Frightened eyes look through round-rimmed glasses. 
“We didn’t return.  We couldn’t.  We
just wanted to make sure it was sealed once and for all.”
 


Severus was on Harry in a flash, dragging him up by his
collar.  Harry’s feet dangled
several inches off the floor and he could feel the hot breath of the Potions
Master in his face.  “You complete
idiot.  You may not have broken the
wards, but you may have weakened them. Always playing with things you don’t
understand. If she dies, I swear I’ll….”
 


“Put him down, Snape.” 
A commanding voice floated through the Headmaster’s office. 
Harry’s feet hit the floor hard and he stumbled around, gaping, trying
to see the source.
 


A shimmering light appeared in the center of the room.  
Slowly, it took on a human shape and as the mists whirled, the figure of
a wizard appeared. 
 


Albus chuckled.  “Harry,
I would like you to meet Salazar Slytherin. 
Sal, this is Harry Potter.”
 


Sal very rarely allowed himself to be seen. 
The sight of him was imposing to say the least. 
He towered over Severus by several inches. Long, black hair and beard
covered a long, thin face.  Flowing
robes of dark green moved as the spirit floated across the room, coming to a
stop in front of the trembling young wizard. “I know who he is. 
I’ve been watching him run roughshod over this castle for the last
seven years.  Bending the rules, and
sneaking around.”  Sal’s face
suddenly broke out into a grin.  “Reminded
me quite a bit of myself, actually.”  Harry
turned up his lip in disgust at the observation.
 


With a deep, baritone laugh, the it oit of the House of
Slytherin turned and faced the Headmaster. 
“The boy did not weaken your wards, Albus.  There is another entrance to the chamber. 
Godric, the insufferable prat, was always watching the comings and goings
down there.  So, I created a second
entrance, from the back, to sneak in my ‘entertainment’.”
 


It was Severus’ turn to drop into a chair. 
“Oh, Sal,” he groaned, “Why didn’t you tell anyone? 
We needed that Chamber sealed.”
 


“No one knew of it but me. 
I still like to go down there from time to time and reminisce. 
I never imagined anyone would find their way in there. 
They have though.  This
evening, that silver haired demon and his imbecile cohorts came down there
lugging a bag between them.  Imagine
my surprise when they opened the top and a very naked little Gryffindor lioness
was dumped out.”
 


Severus was fairly furious at this report. 
“What the bloody hell are you doing here, Sal? 
You just left her there?  Left
her there with those animals?”
 


“Might I remind you, Severus, that those animals have
been under your guidance for the last six and a half years or so? 
What was I to do?  It’s not something that we ghosts advertise in abundance,
but our magic is very limited when it comes to dealing with mortals. 
I’m afraid I could do little more than come for help. 
I’m sorry.”
 


“Oh, so then this is my fault.  I should have guided them away from the darkness that their
own parents were feeding them.  I
should have reformed them and kept them honorable. 
Let’s not forget that I should paved their road to glory, made sure
they followed the straight and narrow, and polished their halos myself while
keeping up the appearance of being Voldemort’s lap dog. 
Oh, yes….”
 


Harry couldn’t keep quiet at Severus’ little tirade. 
“Oh, yes.  Oh, yes. 
Well, I don’t think anyone twisted your arm convincing you to take that
mark.  You put yourself in that
position, Snape.  As for you, you
miserable excuse for a spirit, are you daft? 
How could you keep that chamber entrance a secret? 
Speaking of the chamber, I have a bone to pick with you about a certain
basilisk….”
&;
;


“Oh, don’t start about that fucking basilisk.” 
Salazar was spoiling for a fight.  “I’ll
have you know I didn’t put…”
 


“Yeah, the basilisk.  
You know that creature that almost mmmmmpppppppfffffffffffffff………………”
 


Snape slapped a hand over Harry’s mouth.  
“You stay out of this, you little brat. 
This is between Sal and I.  You
have…”
 


“Enough!”  Albus
roared, furious at the childish display of the wizards in front of him. 
“If you three are finished with your temper tantrum, I believe there
are more important things which need to be addressed. 
A certain seventh year female thing to be precise.” 
Three properly chastised faces turned to him.  
“Now, Salazar, would you be so kind as to take us to the second chamber
entrance?”
 


They made their way quickly through the empty hallways. 
Salazar led them down into the dungeon and up to the door of the Potions
classroom.  Once inside, he floated
up to the fireplace and spoke the word, “Fellatio”. 
Salazar shrugged away the shocked looks. 
“I had to use something that would never be spoken of in this room.” 
The fireplace slid smoothly to one side, revealing a dark passageway.
 


Harry eyed the ghost suspiciously.  “Then how did Draco figure out the password? 
Obviously he had to…” He trailed off at the raised eyebrow of the
Potions Master.  “Oh, nevermind, I
don’t even want to imagine what the Slytherins do in here after hours.”
 


“I assure you, Mr. Potter, that if the Slytherins, or any
other students for that matter, are having illicit meetings in this room, it is
completely without my knowledge.  I
do have to sleep sometime.”
 


Harry opened his mouth and quickly snapped it back shut at
a warning look from the Headmaster.  Noeleseless
they all heard him mumble something to the effect of “I thought bats were
awake feeding all night,” as they stepped into the dark corridor behind the
fireplace.  Choosing to ignore
Harry, Severus fell in first behind the floating figure of Salazar Slytherin.
Their illuminated wands shone on the path that twisted and turned through the
bowels of the castle, ever sloping downward. 
The air steadily became cooler and soon they were trudging through
several inches of water.  Albus
whispered a silencing spell and the sound of their splashing footsteps was
instantly quieted. 
 


They came up to a bend in the passage and at Sal’s
whispered command they put out the light of their wands.  They rounded the bend in the passageway and surveyed the
chamber from a shadowy corner. 
 


Snape took a step, wand raised and ready for battle, only
to be halted by Harry’s hand on his arm. 
Harry shook his head and indicated with his hands that he would move off
to the other side of the chamber.  At
Severus’ nod of acceptance, the young wizard cast an invisibility spell and
disappeared from sight.  More
gesturing between the Headmaster and Severus and the Potions Master was on his
way to the front, similarly cloaked against detection. 
This gave him a front and center view of the scene before him.
 


Hermione levitated about three feet off the floor of the
chamber, surrounded by Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy.  She was naked, bound, gagged and lay on her back. 
She was quiet, but her eyes darted around frantically. 
Several bruises were beginning to darken her face and blood ran from her
nose, down her cheek, and dripped to the floor below her.  
Severus struggled to detach himself from the sheer emotional fury that
was running through him. He could do her no good if he rushed in in a vengeful
rage.  He tightened his grip on his
wand and waited.
 


Malfoy was speaking in Latin and Severus recognized ancient
purification spells.  The blond
passed his wand slowly over Hermione’s body and then moved to each of the
other two Slytherins.  Finally, he
purified himself.  Draco jumped as
the figure of Salazar Slytherin shimmered into view. 
Quickly, he pulled out a silver blade and held it to Hermione’s throat. 
 


“Wait, boy,” Salazar spoke commandingly, “What are
you playing with in my chamber?”
 


Draco eyed the spirit suspiciously and as recognition lit
his eyes, a proud and malicious smile broke. 
“Salazar Slytherin.”  The
knife remained poised a hair's breadth from the witch’s jugular. 
“Oh, this is an honor, sir.  The
ceremony will be that much more perfect with the Founder present.”
 


“What ceremony is that? 
Explain your presence in my domain.”
 


“Tonight, sir, the darkness reawakens and soon we will
pave the road to domination once again.”
 


“So, this road begins with the bullying of an innocent
witch?”
 


“A mudblood, sir.  She
is a mudblood.  Surely she is not
innocent.  They continue to pollute
our race and they must be eradicated.  Her
life is the first of many to fall.  You
will be a witness and you will be proud.”
 


Salazar was becoming agitated with Malfoy’s erroneous
assumptions.  “Boy, I know what
you have been taught about me.  I
assure you the rumors of my prejudice have been greatly exaggerated.  The muggle-born witches and wizards are entitled to the same
rights as the purebloods.  Now, as
your founder, I order you to release her and remove yourself from my
presence.”
 


The knife began to tremble as the blue eyes darkened with
anger.  “Well, it would seem that
Slytherin is a fraud.  No matter,
then.  A lot of research and
preparation went into this ceremony, a lot of research into the spirit realm. 
You have no power over us, so just stand back and watch as she becomes
fodder for the Dark One.  Do not
interfere; be quiet and observe.  I
have learned the banishment spells in my studies. 
It will be an easy enough job to end your travels on this plane, this
plane and any other.  You will just
cease to be.”
 


Salazar dropped his head, defeated, and moved to the side. 
 


The air began to swell with magic as Draco began to move
his wand over Hermione’s body once again. 
The knife remained in place, perilously close to her throat.
 


Malfoy called out to the darkness, and the magic crackling
through the air was Dark Magic.  He
called to the spirit of his master, and the winds of magic began to swirl in the
center of the chamber.  It was
visible now, glittering with power, crackling with energy, a vortex of darkness.
 


“Nos offerre spiritus servi dare libenter.” 
**
 


Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward toward the swirling
tornado of evil power.  Crabbe
produced another silver blade, handed it to his friend, and nodded his head. 
Turning, he knelt with his back to Goyle. 
“Ego relinquo meus animo. Id sum illud quod definire meus, confirmare
meus, et concedere vesci.”** Swiftly, Goyle wrenched Crabbe’s head back and
brought the knife neatly across his throat. 
The cut was deep, and blood poured, pulsing, from the gash. 
 


Every beat of Crabbe’s failing heart pumped out a spurt
of blood.  With every pulse, the
mass of magic began to take a shape.  As
the beat slowed, the coalescing magic took on a somewhat human form. 
As the dying wizard’s heart took its last beat, there was a bright
flash of light and the calling forth of the spirit was complete. 
The spirit of Voldemort floated in the center of the room. 
Serpentine eyes blazed a bright red as he spoke. 
“Well done, Draco.  Finish
it now.”
 


Draco was grinning proudly, basking in his Dark Lord’s
glory.  Goyle dropped the body of
his schoolmate on the ground unceremoniously and moved to join Draco. 
The silvery-blue eyes closed and he began to concentrate once more.
 


“Ligare hic spiritus vita impurus. Sua viti captus ab vis.”**
Voldemort moved to Draco’s side and place his hand on the breast of the
terrified witch.
 


Severus’ heart almost stopped in his chest. 
They were going to give Voldemort his life back, using Hermione as a
catalyst for a living form.  Before he could move, Salazar whipped into action. 
With a swoop, he crashed through Draco’s body. 
The force of the ghost tearing through his body startled the young wizard
and the knife clattered to the ground.
 


From the back of the chamber a voice cried out, “Stupefy.” 
From the side, one answered, “Petrificus totalus.” 
Draco and Goyle dropped to the floor. 
The spell was broken and the magic began to fail. 
Before anyone could move further, the spirit of Voldemort gave a pitiful
cry of “NO!” and began to fade from sight. 
 


levilevitation spell faltered with the binding of Draco
Malfoy.  Before Hermione could crash
to the ground, Severus reinforced the spell with his own wand and ran up the
aisle to her.  Harry was at her
side, untying her restraints as Severus removed the gag. 
Harry tried to pull Hermione to him, but she became feral in her
struggles.  She threw herself into
the aof tof the Potions Master.  Harry
looked first at Hermione, wrapped securely in Severus’ arms and then to the
face of the man that held her.  Dark
eyes were closed, but a small bit of wetness was at their corners. 
Without another thought to the others in the chamber, Severus sank to the
floor and cradled Hermione in his lap.
 


She was sobbing openly now, her face buried in the folds of
his robe.  Harry conjured up a
blanket, and covered her nakedness with it. 
Black eyes opened and met green as Severus inclined his head in thanks,
before turning his attention, once again, to the woman he held. 
Soothing words of comfort fell from his lips as he rocked her. 
She was shaking hysterically and clinging to him desperately.
 


Harry moved away from them, and turned on the frozen
figures of the Slytherins.  His wand
was tucked into his sleeve and he began his assault, physically, on Draco. 
Several well-placed kicks had a stream of blood pouring from the blond
wizard’s frozen mouth before the Headmaster could intercede. 
Albus stepped between Harry and Draco. 
“He is powerless now, Harry.”
 


“Then release him, so I can beat the living hell out of
him.  I’ll kill you, Malfoy,
I’ll kill you.”  Harry was
trembling with the effort of containing himself.
 


“You will do no such thing. 
These two will be moved up to the castle and the ministry will deal with
them. You will only find yourself in Azkaban sharing a cell with them if you
continue.  Now, move away before I
am forced to bind you as well.”
 


Harry walked to the far end of the chamber. 
Salazar moved with him, speaking quietly as the young wizard paced the
floor. 
 


Hermione had calmed down a bit and Severus had succeeded in
wrapping her up in the blanket.  He
stood now, holding her in his arms.  With
a nod from the Headmaster, he moved swiftly to the back of the chamber and
toward the passage to the potions classroom.
 


He ran through the castle corridors, pausing long enough to
tell a flustered Minerva McGonagall where Albus and Harry were. 
Minerva looked curiously at the girl Severus cradled with so much care. 
Hermione clung to him, resting her blood-crusted cheek against the wool
of his robes.  Her eyes were closed,
and she looked somewhat at peace in the arms of the Potions Master. 
Minerva filed away any questions for a later time and ran off to call the
staff and disembark for the Chamber of Secrets.
 


In the infirmary, the sound of the door being kicked open,
almost off its hinges, brought Poppy scurrying out of her office. 
One look at the bundle in Severus’ arms and she sprang into action.
 


“Lay her down here, Severus, and get my bag from my
desk.”
 


Hermione was placed gently on the bed but began to whimper
as Severus tried to free himself from her clinging fingers. 
“Hermione, love, I’m not going anywhere now. 
Lie back and let Poppy tend to you.”
 


“No, no, no, no.  I
can’t…  you can’t…. Don’t
let me go.”  Her head was
thrashing wildly from side to side.  Severus
struggled to hold her still in the bed, but she crawled wildly back into his
arms. She cried out, a stream of incoherent pleas. 
Finally, he gave up on her lying still aat, at, instead, on the bed,
holding her once again.
 


Poppy took in the sight and nodded once. 
She ran to her office, only to return after a moment with her bag and a
vial.  The vial was thrust into
Severus’ hand and Poppy indicated that he get her to drink it.  
Poppy set her bag down and began rummaging through it.
 


Severus’ long fingers uncorked the vial deftly, in one
hand.  “Drink this, Hermione.” 
The girl began to struggle again, shaking her head and trying to push
away the glass held against her lips.  Severus
freed his other hand and swept the tangled curls away from her face. 
He pinched her cheeks roughly,  “Look
at me, Hermione.  Look at ME!” 
His voice was angry and intimidating.  
Her eyes opened and she locked eyes with Severus. 
When he had her attention, he spoke more gently. 
“Trust me.  You’re safe.  You’re in the infirmary. 
Now, drink this, please.”
 


Hermione nodded slowly and opened her mouth. 
She grimaced as she swallowed, but drank the entire contents of the vial
in one gulp.  The vial was dropped
to the floor and Poppy gave Severus a dirty look at the tinkle of breaking
glass. Severus ignored her and wrapped Hermione securely in his arms once again. 
He could feel her body relaxing against him, the potion doing its work. 
When her breathing evened out, he stood, turned and laid her down on the
bed once again.  This time, she
didn’t fight,  and just watched him with mournful eyes. 
 


Severus bent over her, and spoke with his mouth close to
her ear.  “I have to go help them
move Malfoy and Goyle above ground.”  Her
mews of protest were weak now.  “Now,
now, the chamber must be sealed for good this time.  I will return.   Let
Poppy tend to your wounds.”  He
smoothed her wet, sweaty hair off of her forehead and placed a gentle kiss in
its place.  “I will be back,” he
murmured against her flesh.   Finally,
she nodded and Severus straightened up. 
 


Severus turned to the Mediwitch and his dark eyes dared her
to question him.  Poppy’s eyes
moved between Hermione and Severus several times, considering. 
Finally, her mouth stiffened into a sharp line and she swept past wiz wizard, her attention on her injured patient.
 


He paused long enough at the doorway to turn and look one
last time at the small figure lying in the bed.  He took in the bruises and the blood and felt his temper
flare once again.  Harry had the
right idea when he attacked Malfoy.  Albus
had been able to stop Harry, but he sincerely doubted the Headmaster would have
been able to stop him from killing the boy. 
It was lucky for Malfoy that he had been so preoccupied with Hermione. 
It was lucky she had needed him.  
The thought brought a sad smile to his face. 
He turned and made his way back to the bowels of the castle, whispering
words of thanks, to whatever Gods were listening, for her life.
 


 


 


 


  


 


**Translation
 


“Nos offerre spiritus servi dare libenter.”  
We offer the spirit of a servant willingly given.
 

”Ego relinquo meus animo. Id sum illud quod definire meus, confirmare
meus, et concedere vesci.” 
 I surrender my
soul. It is that which defines me, empowers me, and
allows me to live.
 

 
”Ligare hic spiritus vita impurus. Sua viti captus ab vis.”
Bind this spirit to the life of the impure. Hers is a life
taken by
force.
 


Many, many thanks go out to Krystina for her hard work
doing the Latin for this chapter.  Big
**hugs** to her!!!!!  And big hugs,
and a multitude of thanks,  as well,  to my beta for this tale,
Chrisiant