In the Lurking Darkness

~*~*~

Severus led the way down a dark, narrow staircase that was hidden behind one of his bookshelves. In one hand he gripped a torch so tightly that his already pale knuckles were pure white, while the other hand was used to steady himself against the wall. Harry stayed close and watched the exhausted man carefully incase he should stumble and fall.

After ten full minutes of walking the winding stairs, Harry finally asked where exactly they were going.

“Salazar Slytherin’s personal library,” Severus responded softly.

“Really?” Harry asked with excitement. “I never knew about this part of the dungeons.” Harry thought about the Marauders Map. He knew this was definitely not shown on it and wondered if anyone else knew of its existence.

“I believe the only other person who knows about it is Albus,” Severus said as though reading Harry’s thoughts. “I found it shortly after taking over the Potions class. I showed it to Albus. He suggested I stay out of it, incase I should ever be followed. We’ll have to be careful. There are many rooms and traps. I’m not sure I still remember which is the library. I haven’t been down here in years.”

After a few more minutes, they reached the bottom of the stairs. Stretched out before them was a long corridor with what Harry guessed to be 15 different doors. Severus utter a few protection spells before leading Harry through. Harry jumped as something flew passed him, too fast for him to identify it. He glanced around, but could see nothing.

“Stay close to me, Harry. This is a very dangerous passage,” Severus warned as he gently took Harry’s warm hand into his own cool one.

They walked steadily, but slowly passed the first several doors, all of which bore symbols and ancient writing. Severus stopped at one, looked at the markings on it, then shook his head and continued. At the fourth door he stopped at, he nodded and released Harry’s hand.

“I think this is it,” Severus whispered.

Harry was utterly shocked when Severus simply twisted the brass doorknob and the door swung open. There were no traps, no hideous monsters, nothing flew out to attack them. It seemed far too easy.

Harry held his breath as Severus held the torch high and stuck his head into the room. The silence of the hallway was almost deafening to him as he waited for danger to strike. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and hear the blood rushing in his ears.

“I think…” Severus’ voice drifted off as he took a careful step into the dark room. Just as he disappeared into the darkness, Harry again felt something brush passed his shoulder. He held his torch up, his eyes darting all around, but all he saw were the stone walls and silent doors.

“AHHH!” Harry screamed when a hand suddenly gripped his shoulder.

“Shh! You’ll wake the dead screaming like that!” Severus admonished softly.

“Well, don’t sneak up on me and I won’t have to scream!” Harry whispered, his free hand over his racing heart.

“Would you just get in here. I can’t tell if this is the right library and I need your torch.”

Harry took a deep, calming breath, then followed Severus back into the room. He had just gotten passed the door when it suddenly slammed shut, the sound echoing off the walls. He heard Severus gasp loudly as he looked at the door.

“There’s no knob!” Harry said in fear and shock. “There’s no bloody knob on the door!”

He turned to look to Severus for suggestions on how to open a door with no knob, and found the man shaking and panting. He rushed to his friend’s side.

“It’s alright, Severus. I’ll get us out,” he promised softly as he held Severus’ quaking form tightly.

After a few moments, Severus seemed to calm down, so Harry let him go and turned back to the door. He pulled out his wand and uttered an opening spell. Nothing happened. He tried an unlocking spell, but again, nothing happened. He felt himself starting to panic as spell after spell failed to accomplish anything.

Harry turned to ask Severus for help, but found that the older wizard had dropped to the floor, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees as he gently rocked back and forth. Harry sighed sadly, not knowing what to do to help. He looked around and found an old broken wooden chair and several scraps of empty parchment. He piled it all up, then used his torch to light it, creating a small warm fire in the center of the room. He sat across the fire and eyed Severus closely.

Severus sat staring into the small fire, shivering. Harry witnessed the immense fear flickering with the fire light in Severus' eyes.

"Tell me about your dream, Severus," he coaxed quietly, thinking this was as good a time as any to try to get the scared man to talk about what haunted his sleep. Severus remained quiet for so long, Harry began to think he wasn’t going to answer.

"It's always the same," Severus started slowly, his voice barely above a whisper. "I start out in a large, brightly lit room. There's hundreds of candles floating above my head. It reminds me of the Great Hall, only... darker."

Harry could see him struggling to find the right words, so he kept quiet and let the frightened man take his time.

"Not darker as in an absence of light, but... more sinister... evil. I'm the only one there at first. It's completely empty. No tables or chairs, only a raised dais at the front. In the middle of that sits a very ornate throne. It's blood red velvet with gold snakes for the legs and arm rests. The snakes are so detailed, that if you look closely you can even see the venom dripping from the gapping maws of the arm snakes.

"It's so silent, I can almost hear my own breaths echoing off the walls. Then gradually, like slowly turning up the volume on a Muggle stereo, voices start and a crowd fades in. Suddenly, I find myself surrounded by a hundred Death Eaters, all wearing their black robes and masks. They're laughing, talking and having fun, drinking champagne in crystal goblets from bottles that arrived on tables with them. No one seems to notice me. Or they just don't care.

"There is a small noise from the dais. I look up and He's there, sitting like an Indian Snake Charmer, his legs tucked under him. He's staring at me, through me. I try to look away, but I can't."

As Harry watches him closely, Severus, tucked into a ball with his knees at his chest and his arms gripped around them so tightly that his knuckles are pure white, begins to get misty eyed again. The fear coming from Severus is almost tangible and makes the air around them feel chilled.

"He knows. He knows everything about me... even how much I despise Him. The crowd has become silent, and as I drag my eyes away from Him, I look at the Death Eaters around me. Their masks are shedding tears of blood because they know. They know He is going to kill me.

"He rises slowly and approaches me. I want to run, to hide, but my feet are frozen to the ground in fear. When He reaches out and touches my face, I'm repulsed and feel bile rise in my throat, but still I can't move. He kisses my cheek softly, making me choke on my screams.

"Suddenly, the dream shifts and I'm naked, standing in a small room. There's only one sconce lighting it so, its quite dim. I can see a stone slab, an alter, in the middle of the room. Then He is next to me. He raises a small lantern shaped as an hour-glass and says, 'This represents your life. When the flame burns out, so do you.'"

Severus shuddered at the memory of Voldemort's voice. Harry was quite certain that Severus no longer recognized his presence in the tiny room. He was so lost in the memory of the dream, that nothing else seemed to exist outside of it.

"He set the lamp aside and then I noticed there was a naked body, a person, on the table. I looked up into their face and saw... it was you," he said with a sob. Every time Severus blinked, more tears slipped down his cheeks.

"You looked at me with such pleading eyes, but when I reached out to you, I found that my arms were chained to the wall, and my feet were manacled to the floor. I couldn't move, I couldn't help you.

"I saw a flash and looked back at Him. He was holding a dagger that looked to be made of the purest gold. He smiled at me as He lowered it to you, but He didn't stab..." Severus' eyes became distant, almost dreamy as he recalled this part of the dream.

"He began trailing it over you, only cutting just deep enough to draw a faint line of blood. He moved it smoothly over your chest, almost a dance upon your fair skin. You were crying out in pain and I tried to look away, to close my eyes, but I couldn't. I had no control over anything.

"When He finally stopped and stepped away from you, I could see what He had done. The marks on your chest almost looked like... like a strange language, written very elegantly in deep red ink. I felt like I could almost read it.

"Then He stepped up to me, showing me the blade dripping blood, your blood. He wiped the blunt edge on my lips..." Severus shuddered again, his eyes flashing with pain. "I can still taste the copper.

"I cried out as He began cutting into my chest. It was like fire and ice skating over my skin. I could feel it burning down into my soul. I became weak as every cut drained more and more of me.

"As He backed away from me, I found my head and eyes free to move again. I looked down at my chest and saw that He had written something else there. It was the same strange looking language, but the words seemed different.

"He stared at me a moment, then kissed me again. He pointed at the lamp which was growing dim. He smiled at me as He said, 'Your time is running out. You will never complete the bond in time.' Then He just faded away. I looked at you and you reached out for me with tears in your eyes."

Severus began speaking very fast, the tears flowing freely now. "I screamed and tried to touch you, but I couldn't reach. You were too far away and the light was dying and I could feel myself dying with it, but I couldn't stop it, I couldn't fight it!"

Harry's own eyes were dripping as he took the sobbing man in his arms. He took several deep breaths to calm his racing heart and cleared his throat a little before trying to speak.

“It’s all right, Severus. We’ll fight him together. You’re not alone, never alone,” Harry vowed softly.

Harry gently rocked Severus in his arms, speaking softly and letting the man cry himself to sleep. After an hour or so, he slowly lowered them both to lay on the dusty floor, still holding Severus tight to his chest. His mind swirled with visions of Severus’ dream, the images bright and clear. It took what felt like hours for his mind to finally shut down and allow him to fall into a light doze.

~*~*~

Harry awoke to find his arms uncomfortably empty. He started to panic as he realized he had fallen asleep and wasn’t there to keep their small fire going, but as his eyes started to focus on his surroundings, he spotted a warm light coming from the far corner of the room.

“Severus?” he called out, not seeing the slim form.

He stood up and dusted himself off, then headed towards the source of the light. As he drew nearer, he spotted Severus standing to the side of a wall, his shadow from the light of a small lantern being cast away from Harry. He stood so still that at a glance he seemed more like a statue than a living human being.

“Severus?” he called again. The tall wizard never flinched or showed the slightest acknowledgement that he had even heard Harry. Harry looked quizzically at him, then turned to look at the piece of wall Severus was staring so intently at. As his eyes fell on the wall, his heart jumped into his throat, blocking his air flow.

Painted on the wall was a scene taken straight from Severus’ nightmare. It showed a dark haired man chained to a wall, carvings and blood dripping down his chest. His hand was stretched out, desperately trying to reach the hand of another man, who was strapped down to a stone slab. The second man, with dark hair and a lightning bolt on his forehead, had the same sort of markings on his chest.

The background of the picture was frightening. A dark, sinister looking snake with the head and arms of a human, stood surrounded by shadows. A dagger, dripping blood, could be seen in one scaly hand and a deadly, sharp-toothed grin gave a look that promised a painful death.

The walls surrounding them were covered with devices of torture; whips, chains, daggers, long pointy pins and the like glinted in the light from a single hourglass shaped lantern. A blaze filled the top portion of the lantern, but even as he stared at it, it seemed to grow dimmer, sinking down into the bottom.

Harry stepped closer to the painting, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the carvings on the men’s chests. His eyes unfocused for a moment and he thought he saw writing in the carvings. He stepped back again, still staring at the chest of the man chained to the wall. He stepped back further and further, but still he couldn’t see the writing a second time. He stared until his eyes lost focus again and suddenly, words jumped out at him like a Muggle 3-D poster.

He gasped at the words, then began reading allowed so Severus could hear.

"In the darkness lurks the creatures of hate and sorrow, greed and pain their only joy."

Harry felt as much as heard Severus’ gasp of surprise. He turned to look at him, watching his eyes flash with fear and wonder. He turned back and set his eyes on the man on the stone slab. Again he unfocused his eyes until the words cleared enough for him to read.

"Away from the shadows dwell the beings of love and comfort, their cheer and laughter the brightest star on the darkest night."

When he looked at Severus, Harry saw that the man had dropped his jaw in awe. Harry stepped forward to stand next to Severus and could feel the tremors radiating from him. He was about to put his arm around him, when Severus lifted a shaking hand to point at the hourglass lantern.

“And this?” he asked quietly.

Harry turned to look and spotted writing on the bottom of the glass that he hadn’t noticed before. He stepped back to read it.

"When darkness turns to light, and light gives comfort to dark, chasing the shadows away, and two hearts beat as one, the light of love shall defeat all evil."

Harry stepped up to Severus and placed his arm around his narrow waist, holding him close. They stared in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. They were so enchanted by the painting that they didn’t hear anything at the door until it swung wide, sending in a wide beam of light, and a voice called out to them.

“Severus? Harry?”

Severus jumped, pulling away from Harry and tripped over something on the floor which gave a metallic clang. He landed on his butt with a thud and a yelp. Harry turned to look in the doorway and saw a very concerned looking Albus Dumbledore.

“Don’t let the door close!” he yelled before checking on Severus, who sat blinking in confusion, not making any move to stand.

“Are you all right?” he asked, kneeling down next to him.

“Why is the sword of Godric Gryffindor down here?” Severus asked, ignoring Harry’s question.

Harry looked around and spotted the sword he had used against Voldemort’s pet snake in his second year at Hogwarts. Before he could say a word, there was a commotion at the door that attracted his attention.

Albus stood in the middle of the doorway, obviously trying to block someone from entering the little room. He could hear Albus telling someone to stay out, but couldn’t hear any other voices. Suddenly, there seemed to be a burst of flames and Albus ducked down out of the way. There was a flash of fiery wings and Fawkes, Albus’ phoenix, flew into the room and circled over their heads.

As they watched the large bird fly around, Harry noticed something shiny on the ceiling right above where Severus sat. When Fawkes settled himself on Severus’ lap, nuzzling his head under Severus’ chin, waiting to be petted by his shaking hands, Harry walked around in a tight circle, looking at the ceiling. With the light given off from the phoenix, he was able to make out a large oval sheet of metal attached to the roof.

Harry glanced around the room and spotted a small wooden crate, which he brought over and set down between Severus’ feet. With Severus and Fawkes watching from below, and Albus from the doorway, Harry stood up on the crate and reached for the sheet of metal. As soon as his fingertips brushed it’s surface, it let go and fell heavily into Harry’s hands.

He stepped off the crate and began to inspect it. He heard a gasp from Albus and saw out of the corner of his eye a look of utter shock of Severus’ face as he turned it over. It was a shield baring the crest of Salazar Slytherin.

“Wow!” Harry stated in awe.

“The shield of Salazar Slytherin,” Severus whispered with an air of deep respect and wonder.

“Amazing!” Albus said from the doorway. He started to come forward, then remembered he needed to keep the door open.

With Fawkes tucked under his arm, Severus stood and gazed at the large painted shield. Fawkes cried out, so Severus let him go. The bright red and orange feathers ruffled as he took flight, back out the door and away. Severus took the shield from Harry and began inspecting it closely as he moved toward the door.

Harry bent down to retrieved the sword that he had last seen in Albus’ office, and gave a final glance to the painting. It was darkened now, the lantern next to it dying out. It seemed to fade into the stone wall until it was no longer visible. Harry shook his head slightly with wonder, then turned to follow Severus and Albus out of the strange room and back up to Severus’ suites.

~*~*~