Angelica's Sorrow

CHAPTER FIVE

Severus stepped into his office, closing and warding the entrance after him. He crossed the room to his desk and noted the pile of books sitting in the middle of his blotter. There were five slim volumes waiting for his perusal. He sat down and picked up the top volume. The leather was still supple, but it had to be at least a thousand years old. Salazar must have used a preserving spell on the diaries to keep them from being affected by time. There should be nothing left but dusty mold if they had been in the bowels of the dungeons all this time. They were in almost pristine condition. Severus took his wand and placed a revealing spell on the book. Yes, a preserving spell and something else. What was it? Severus modified the revealing spell and dropped the book in shock. Albus should have warned him! He needed to get the books back to the pensieve room immediately.

Severus strode to the fireplace, threw in some powder and yelled, \"Headmaster!\"

\"Yes, Severus. What is it?\" Albus\' head turned slowly in the flames to look at him.

\"Why did you take the books from the pensieve room? How long have they been out of the room?\"

\"I took them from the room this morning. Why?\"

\"What do you mean, why? You know why! I can\'t believe you removed them. I will need to study them down there, not here.\"

\"Calm down and explain. I don\'t know what you\'re talking about.\"

\"The erasing and the compulsion spell. I need to get them back immediately. Tell me how to get to the pensieve room.\"

\"Strange, I only found a preserving spell. Perhaps they activated when they were removed. Has there been any damage?\"

\"I haven\'t opened them yet so there shouldn\'t be. Please, tell me you didn\'t open them except in the presence of the pensieve.\"

\"No, I did not feel they should be made available to all and sundry. I left them in the room where I found them.\"

\"Merlin\'s robe, I\'m just thankful I checked before I opened one.\"

\"Once again your suspicious nature has prevented a disastrous outcome. I will meet you by the second entrance to the Chamber. I do not feel like sliding today.\" Albus actually had the nerve to chuckle. \"I will need to bring Minerva with me as it will take both of us to open the entrance.\"

\"Understood. I will bring the diaries.\"

Severus turned back to his desk and picked up the five slender books, shuddering with the thought of what would have happened if he had just opened the book instead of checking for spells. All of the entries would have been erased, forever.


Severus met Minerva and Albus at the entrance to Salazar\'s private chamber. They proceeded him into the rooms and went straight to the bedroom and stood in front of a life sized portrait of Salazar. Salazar\'s likeness looked down at them and raised his right eyebrow.

\"To what do I owe the dubious pleasure of your company again today, Albus?\"

\"We need to access the Chamber, Salazar.\"

\"Why?\"

\"To try and save four lives.\"

\"Why not use the regular entrance in the girls\' bathroom?\"

\"My bones are getting too brittle to slide down the shoot and Harry is not here to open it.\"

\"Well, since there\'s really nothing I can do at this point to stop you ... \"

\"Headmaster, may we please dispense with this delay?\" Severus ground out.

\"Who is this rude person?\" Salazar asked.

\"This is Severus Snape. He is the Potions Master.\"

\"Why does he have my diaries? They should not have been removed.\"

\"We are aware of that, Salazar. That is why we need access, to return them.\"

\"Headmaster!\" Severus was quickly nearing the end of his patience.

\"Yes, Severus. Minerva, if you please.\" Dumbledore motioned for Minerva to stand next to him.

Albus and Minerva together began to weave a complicated spell around the portrait of Salazar. It took both of them, as the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress, to open this portal to the Chamber of Secrets. Dumbledore had discovered the second entrance while exploring the vast Chamber. He and Minerva had decided not to permanately seal this entrance, only that it would take two people to open it if the need arose. Salazar\'s portrait opened and the entrance to the Chamber was revealed. They contined their spell and the various locks shot open.

\"Albus, if there\'s nothing else I would like to return to my classroom. There is still a lot of damage that I need to repair.\"

\"Of course, my dear.\" Minerva turned and headed out of the bedroom. She turned and said. \"Be careful down there you two.\"

Albus smiled at her, \"Don\'t worry, all will be well.\"

He opened the door and stepped through with Snape close behind. Albus waited for Severus to pass him in the small hall. He then closed and placed a ward on the door behind them.

\"Wouldn\'t do for anyone to follow us.\"

They were smothered in darkness. Albus flicked his wand and torches along either side of the corridor flared to life.

\"Please, lead on Headmaster.\"

The delay was chaffing and Snape\'s desire to open the books was gaining ground. He didn\'t know how much longer he could contain himself.

\"The spell to open the diaries grows stronger.\"

\"This way.\"

If Snape hadn\'t been so focused on not opening the books, he would have enjoyed looking around. This was his first time in the Chamber and was not privy to any of the secrets. He knew that knowledge of the Chamber was dangerous and would have been difficult to conceal from the Dark Lord, but he had still been angry when the Chamber had been explored without him.

\"Albus, will it be possible for me to remain down here while I study the books? I don\'t want to go through that each time I need access.\"

\"I hadn\'t given the matter much thought. We can connect a fireplace to the floo in my office, but it wouldn\'t be possible to connect it to the whole system. That would give unauthorized access. You could use my office to come and go as you need. I still want you to attend meals. I will not allow you to neglect your health again.\"

\"Fine. You do realize that the whole procedure will need to be done wherever the pensieve is located, don\'t you? We will not be able to use the hospital wing.\"

\"That has occurred to me. I haven\'t quite given in to senility yet.\"

They continued their trek through the corridors during their conversations until Albus stopped in front of a dark oak door.

\"This is the pensieve room. I do want to warn you that there is still a \"residue\" of what has occurred within.\"

\"What do you mean.\"

Albus reflected how to describe the force in the room. \"I had wanted to explain after you read the diaries, but that is not possible. I believe it is the memories of the person that were lost from the pensieve. It is not a ghost, more of a presence in the room. An unhappy presence.\"

\"I understand.\"

With that Albus waved his wand and removed the ward covering the door, preceeding Severus into the room. At their entrance the torches on the walls ignited. The room was immense and the flickering torchlight cast numerous shadows.

Severus immediatly felt what the Headmaster had been trying to tell him. There was sorrow in the room. Just enough to brush his feelings. Not overwhelming, but there.

Albus lead him farther into the room where the pensieve glowed from the giant hole in the floor. The enormous rim was approximately waist high and in looking over, Severus saw how deep it ran.

\"Merlin\'s robe, Albus. It\'s unbelieveable.\"

\"Yes, I know. There is a desk and chair over here that you may use. I had them moved down here when I was reading the diaries.\"

\"I have to ask. Why are you having me do this? You have read the diaries. You know what to do.\"

\"I don\'t have the strength right now. It has taken a great deal out of me to maintain Hogwarts while it repairs itself. The healing process is not over yet and it still drains me. I do not think we can wait until the castle is whole and I regain my strength. If you find that you can do this, it will also drain you in the process. That is why I cannot allow you to grow weak from neglect.\"

Severus nodded his head. \"I will do my best.\"

He headed over to the desk while Abus took care of connecting the massive fireplace to the floo in his own office. Snape glanced over the desk shaking his head at the \"necessary\" candy dish in stasis on the desk. Some things never changed. He placed the diaries on the blotter and pulled the chair under him as he sat down. Now, he could begin.