The long and winding road to love

Chapter 24: The only one he ever feared





Hey... well…
first of all thanks for offering yourselves as betas´. I really appreciate it
but fortunately, I have found one. Her name is Sylvia Potter and I am most
thankful for her help.

Anyhow… I’ve written till chapter 28 and I am
having a lot of fun with this story. I hope that this chapter is of your
liking.

Well… here it
is; chapter 24… ENJOY! (and most important, review!)

 

Chapter 24: The
only one he ever feared

 

Oscar Wilde used to say that the truth is rarely pure and never
simple. I mentioned this statement before and its veracity makes my skin shiver,
what if the truth is never found? What if we die only understanding one side of
the story?

 

For Severus Snape, Hogwarts most feared potion’s master, telling
Albus Dumbledore that his new job was to find a way of killing him was not
easy. Perhaps because this old man with grey beard and matching long hair acted
like the father he never loved or may be this fatherly figure acted like the
parent his dad had never been.

 

The pure truth was, though complex as it may seem to the untrained
eye, that telling Albus Dumbledore that he was the main target of a group of
murderers that lusted his blood, was one of the hardest things he had ever
done. Moreover, he would have to mention the mirror incident in which he had
seen a dead Hermione and the way in which his wife had entered the game, a game
in which she had become, purposely or not, a vital piece in the chessboard of
power; the queen of a magical castle.

 

But his job was not an easy one. He respected the old man too much
and he owed him plenty. But he needed to do what needed to be done. He was the
perfect choice, after all, because of his cynical manner and cold attitudes. He
was, in fact, the only choice they had: few bad people turn good in a rotten
society.

 

As he reached the gargoyles that led to Dumbledore’s office, a
feeling of consternation filled his chest. How was he supposed to tell a man
like Dumbledore that his wife, a woman he shouldn’t love, had betrayed his
confidence and allowed herself to be touched by Draco Malfoy while he, the foolish
husband, stood chatting with Malfoy Senior in the other room? He hadn’t quite
figured that out just yet but something told him that the conversation he was
going to have with Dumbledore would not be a happy one.

 

He reached the oval office in which he had shared so many talks
with Hogwart’s Headmaster, peering inside as if to see if Dumbledore was there.
But until Albus´ fragile voice spoke from the very top of the stairs he had not
depicted his presence.

 

“Severus, my child, what brings you here?,”
he asked once he was seated behind his desk.

 

“I am afraid that the news I carry is not happy news,” he said
sitting down at the other side of the wooden desk in which Harry had once
deposited Godric Gryffindor´s sword, “I have spoken with Lucius and I am afraid
that he has plans to kill you, sir,” he said as coldly as he could without
looking straight into Dumbledore’s eyes but concentrating on the movements of
his hands whose fingers were drawing circles in the mahogany table.

 

“We all assumed that was a possibility, Severus,” he calmly said
with a wise smile plastered on his face, “you have little to worry. Now, what
did he exactly propose?,” he enquired pressing his
back on the leather chair.

 

“He did not specifically say how or when but he made it clear that
the only way for us, the Death Eaters, to annihilate you, sir, is through me,”
he sentenced still not looking into his eyes as if he were ashamed of what he
was saying. This time his eyes were focused on Hagrid’s hut whose chimnew
ew
expelled blue smoke.

 

“Severus, as I said, there is little for you to worry for now.
They will, sure enough, contact you in the following days and thus any decision
you make should be previously discussed with me. Is that clear?,” Dumbledore asked, leaning forward and depositing his
hand over Severus’.

 

“Yes, sir,” he answered, for the very first time looking into
Dumbledore’s direction.

 

“Now, Severus, would you be as kind as to pour us some tea? There
is something we need to talk about,” he proposed once again pressing his back
against the leather chair.

 

“Of course,” Severus answered standing up and pouring some tea and
boiling water into two blue cups, “Sugar?,” he asked
knowing the answered by heart.

 

“Yes, please. Two will be the perfect amount,” he sentenced with a
grin on his wrinkled face.

 

“Here you are, sir,” he said as formally as he could. Even though
it had been years sometimes he couldn’t help but call him “sir”, especially
when something troubled him, “what did you want to talk to me about?,” he asked
sitting down in the opposite chair.

 

“Well, dear boy, obviously something is troubling you and I would
appreciate to know what it is,” he simply answered having a sip of tea.

 

It was not ginger and mint but all the same the steamy infusion
was tasteful enough for Severus who had a large sip before answering
Dumbledore’s statement.

 

“Professor Dumbledore,” he said and then corrected himself at
Dumbledore’s frowning face said, “Albus, I am having trouble being honest with
you. Hermione, my wife, has become essential for Malfoy’s plan,” he explained
leaving the cup of tea on the desk. Dumbledore followed, doing the same.

 

“How is that so?,” he enquired.

 

“Sir, on my way to my chambers the other day I noticed a mirror
particularly similar to the one you used to protect Nicholas’ stone a few years
ago. I stood in front of it in order to understand its function but I was
troubled to see my wife hanging from the ceiling with a rope around her neck,”
he explained as cold as he could, but Dumbledore did not fail to notice his
trembling hands and his shaking lips.

 

Severus Snape, Hogwarts most feared Potion’s Master, was scared.

 

“That was a powerful way to prove your loyalty to us and your feelings
for your wife,” Dumbledore answered, but this time he was not smiling. His
manner was calm and tranquil but he was not relaxed mainly because in a war the
lives of many are at risk and he would hate for the mirrors´ prophesy to come
true.

 

“The mirror was quite poisonous too,” Severus said revealing his
injured leg, “She helped,”

 

“I see,” Dumbledore said, and then added, “Please Severus let me
know of anything else odd,”

 

“Of course, sir”, Severus replied knowing that he was already
keeping information away from Dumbledore, information which would probably
proved useful in the near future.

 

But he said nothing more and, shaking hands with the only one
Voldemort had ever feared, he left his chambers and went to his morning lesson
with the Slytherin and Gryffindor seventh years.

 

But what stroked Severus as odd was not the fact that Neville’s
cauldron was not melted but that Draco Malfoy was not sitting in his usual spot
like the teacher’s pet he had always been in Potion’s classes.

 

And he feared that daddy might have received the mail earlier that
day, with information of fundamental importance for their survival.