General DiSnaper: This is not an official part of Reive's
Ghosts / Unfinished
Games universe / timeline. All realities and characters within
J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter Universe belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and
Scholastic. "My" Professor Snape belongs mostly to Alan Rickman and
Warner Bros. crew.
What was Severus Snape, the Potions Master doing with the world? He didn't
want to know, he would have been quite content realising what he was doing
with himself and a few people that he seemed to care about. These people
were really few—his son, his wife and young mademoiselle Delacour, though
he preferred not to admit it to himself.
Severus Snape was sure that Gabriel was alive. If the boy had been
kidnapped, and not just murdered at place, it could mean only one thing:
Voldemort's sidekicks needed something from Hogwarts Potions Master, and
needed badly. Though the Dark Lord was very fond of tormenting people just
for the sake of it and has always considered that any demonstration of quick
penitence is useful for his followers, he rarely made such drastic steps
without clear reasons. Taming the future Death Eater was one thing,
questioning Snape's loyalty by endangering the life of his son—quite
another.
After Gabriel's abdication Professor Snape first accompanied his wife
back to Hogwarts to provide at least her security inside the Castle and
immediately after his conversation with Dumbledore and a short encounter
with mademoiselle Delacour hastily left Hogwarts, heading first to London,
then to Florence, and then wherever his way led him.
Being a person used to nightmarish realities of the Death Eater's
existence, Professor Snape nevertheless was not able to think about the
events in Florence without a shudder. He used Mademoiselle Delacour's newly
obtained scalding mark and some extra efforts to send her off to her hotel
room in a vortex of her bloodstained red silk and the whirlwind of advanced
black magic and made his appearance inside the ball premises, pretending to
be as astonished as everybody else by the infestation of snakes. And the
fact was, he was astonished. He hadn't seen anything like that before, and
he hadn't expected that the initiation would produce such an effect. Luckily
Fleur Delacour was unconscious when the Red Mark appeared in the sky,
raining enraged silver and black reptiles like jets of water. In fact, he
even helped to get rid of them, which was only natural given his Slytherin
background.
Severus Snape tended to label the whole affair with that Delacour girl a
complete disaster. And no one but he in his arrogance was the reason for all
that. He was the man who pushed her on the road to the Dark, and it was his
responsibility to face the consequences, however destructive they might
be.
When he saw her among the students of Beauxbatons, he immediately knew
that she was the one. She was the acme of wizarding world's gene pool
development, its highest peak, its glory and fame. No matter to which
unusual height of self-confidence mademoiselle's queenly character elevated
her (fully formed even in a person as young as she was in the times of the
Tri-Wizard Tournament), her self-esteem and upbringing were but a becoming
ornament to such a unique gem of all times, which she was. Mademoiselle
Delacour's heredity was preciously burdened by heavy layers of fair and
impeccable wizarding pedigree, some royal blood flew in her veins, and
besides, she was the only living Crystal Human Unicorn—a magical
phenomenon, described in some esoteric incunabula of Dark Tradition as the
only living being whose existence could effect the equilibrium of the
world's Good and Evil. Severus Snape, sitting in the Big Hall together with
all the Faculty from three schools and coolly watching Mademoiselle
Delacour strolling first to the Gryffindor table, then to her seat, and then
out of the Hall, after her name had been announced by the Goblet of Fire,
spotted the Crystal Unicorn at once. Immediately he did some quick albeit
calm thinking. He calculated. He took his time to watch her from the
shadows of the room during the Potter calamity, he contemplated her showing
her indignation in the same weighing way he beheld her eating, drinking,
speaking, holding her head, straightening her hair, and moving. He knew
that it was his predatory Transylvanian part; his bloodthirsty ancestor in
him, who was looking at that human wonder and meticulously planning his
attack. The treasure had to belong to him. And if he was destined to ruin
the treasure and the whole world along the way, what difference did it make?
Even if he was destined to ruin the world with the sacrilege, it was worth
it, because he wanted this treasure.
Like a treacherous predator of the dark Transylvanian woods Severus
Snape was watching Mademoiselle Delacour's every step from the distance and
from the dark, he was well aware of her amateurish and yet dangerous games
with the cute Hogwarts students, of her flourishing young femininity, of
her interest in older wizards like Bill Weasley, but all this was quite
commonplace. What really astonished him was her pride, which was as shining
and unparalleled as her beauty; it seemed to ask to be subdued. And he knew
that it was his destiny to subdue it. So he was biding his time, waiting
for the moment, when he could reach for the treasure and drag it to his
cave.
But Mademoiselle Delacour surprised him again.
***
"Who was seen near the carriage?" asked Severus Snape everyone starting
from his wife and to the genies, guarding the Closing Reception. They were
masked, they belonged to the Ball, and there were three of them. At least
this was something.
Besides, a few blond hairs were left on his wife's clothes after the
short fight she tried to give the abductor who threw her away from the
carriage. The Potions Master saved the hairs like the most precious
artifact, posing some really valuable ingredients for his Ultio ultionis
potions.
It took him two days to find the track of the blond masked man, who was
so reckless as to put his hand onto his wife and his son. He was afraid that
he knew the man and he was afraid that he would have to kill him, while he
was sick of ugliness and violence of the past few weeks.
The Potions Master's route led him out of Florence to the castle of
Montalto not so far from Siena, where he hoped to find the traces of the
abductors. From what he knew now it was clear that the kidnapping was an
initiative of malevolent Lucius Malfoy who stepped on the road of personal
vendetta and wanted to be useful for his master. During his short stop in
London Professor Snape had enough time to meet Draco Malfoy for a quick talk
and let his hand holding a small phial slip over Draco's drink. It was a
well-composed poison, designed to come to effect in a week's time, the old
Borgia recipe, modified according to the latest trends of alchemy. If
Severus Snape failed to find and rescue his son during this week, he would
start his personal war against them all. He knew that it was going to happen
sooner or later, and a small, weaker part of his mind was glad that he was
about to step on the direct path again, wherever this path could bring him
and whatever sacrifices were to be made.
The Potions Master approached the castle with extreme caution,
advancing from the nearest forest, where he Apparated straight after
finishing his investigation in Florence. The Montalto Castle used to be on the
list of Muggle attractions some time ago, but now it was clearly locked for
the Muggles in a very Hogwarts-like manner. No fast Italian cars were
running along the roads, no picturesque peasants were sowing and reaping the
harvest of the beautiful land in the vicinity, no windmills were spinning
their blades in the blue Tuscan air, not a single bird seemed to be
twittering at ease, and all this was very like… It was like Voldemort's
stronghold in Beinn Mheadhonach. Severus Snape felt a sudden touch of chill,
when he realized that Hogwarts and Beinn Mheadhonach have become very close
in impression over the last couple of war years. Even more chill made him
shiver when the extent of his readiness to sacrifice suddenly dawned on him
quite clearly. He was ready to sacrifice everything in order to make his
path straight and clear for himself. No one was going to influence him by
anything: neither by his son's life, nor by his own life or death. Or even
things that awaited him after them both.
Coming to this conclusion Severus Snape checked that his wand was close
at hand and stepped on the road, leading to the Castle—clearly seen from
inside and not trying to hide.
(II: 1-3)
| (Contents)
| (II: 7-9)
