Chapters 181-190

An Interesting Find

It was not difficult to follow Hedwig. She flew only a few feet ahead of them, not very high, at an even, slow speed.

The going was easy. The most demanding aspect of their hike was to avoid getting the Invisibility Cloak snagged on the ubiquitous asphodels. Yet the only indication that they made any progress at all was how the archway with the Gate grew smaller and smaller behind them, until it disappeared into the blur of grey fog between plains and sky.

‘The wizards of Ancient Greece thought that owls were the messengers of Hades, the God of the Underworld,’ Severus said suddenly, startling Harry from his thoughts—uncomfortable thoughts about childhood in general, and his Mum and Severus in particular.

‘Oh?’ Harry tried not to wince. If he kept coming across like a dunderhead, how should he ever manage to win—wait a moment, since when did he care about having or not having Snape’s respect?

‘Yes,’ Severus snapped. ‘A fact which is, by the way, part of the curriculum of History of Magic at Hogwarts. Professor Binns covers Ancient Greece in the First Year.’

‘Right.’ Harry cleared his throat. ‘So that’s why we use owls as messenger birds? Interesting, that.’

Snape shook his head. ‘The historical reason for that is actually Ascalaphus—the real man, not the orchardist of Hades that mythology turned him into. He was a priest of Pallas Athene and his Animagus form was a screech-owl. He accompanied Greek armies into battle and then turned into his Animagus form to spy and to carry messages for his side. He was naturally much better at these tasks than ordinary owls. But of course that didn’t keep wizards from trying to imitate the Greeks, hoping they would find equal success with their common barn and screech owls. That is the grain of truth in the magical and the mundane legends about owls in antiquity.’

Harry snorted. ‘The way you tell the story, it’s actually interesting.’

He pondered that idea for a while as they walked. At last he glanced at the tall man striding along next to him ‘You actually like teaching, don’t you? We used to think that you hate it. And the students.—Well, except the Slytherins, maybe.’

The soft huff of Severus’ breathing told Harry that his companion was thinking about his comment.

After a while, the Invisibility Cloak tugged at Harry’s shoulders: Severus nodded. ‘Yes, contrary to your impression I do like teaching. I may not be the best teacher there is, and I am certainly not a very patient instructor…’

Their eyes met for a second and Harry caught the hint of grin curling up the corners of Severus’ thin mouth. ‘Teaching was certainly not what I originally aspired to. But I have come to enjoy it over the years.’

‘You certainly hid that well while I was at Hogwarts,’ Harry admitted frankly. ‘And what do you like about it?’

‘It may have escaped you, but while you attended Hogwarts I had other things on my mind than the joys of my profession.’

‘Good point.’

For several minutes they walked in silence. Then Snape inhaled contemplatively, long nostrils flaring. ‘What I like about teaching…a number of things, in fact. I love my subject—the subtle science and exact art of potion making. And it is rewarding to witness how at least some students develop an understanding of and an appreciation for this subject over the years. It is even quite satisfying to have a hand in preventing the Longbottoms and Crabbes of this world from blowing themselves up before they reach their OWLs.’ Severus smirked.

Harry chuckled. ‘Okay, I guess I can see that.—Hey, what’s Hedwig doing now?’

The white owl kept circling a spot not far ahead of them.

oooOooo

Severus narrowed his eyes and frowned. ‘But there’s nothing there…’

‘Oh yes, there is!’

Harry had been the youngest Seeker at Hogwarts in over a century for a reason. He quickly scanned the area next to the huge asphodel on which Hedwig perched precariously. In spite of its small size and its dark colour, which blended in with the grey shades of the surrounding vegetation, Harry’s sharp eyes glimpsed the floating black pebble almost instantly. And he would have reached for it just as quickly, if the reflexes of a master duellist hadn’t been more than a match for the agility of a Seeker. Severus grabbed Harry across the chest and dragged him backwards.

‘Was our recent conversation concerning the dangers of acting with foolish rashness only a hallucination? Wishful thinking on my part?’ he hissed.

Harry’s shoulders slumped. ‘Shite,’ he muttered. ‘Robards would have my head for that stunt. Sorry, sir.’

‘One more slip-up like that,’ Severus said in a silky voice, ‘and once we’re back in the land of the living I shall be absolutely delighted to ascertain that the Head of the Auror Office receives a full report of your exploits.’

‘Yes, sir,’ Harry said and winced. He could just about imagine Snape’s testimony so far. He’d have to count himself lucky if Robards didn’t assign him to the Auror Archives permanently as a result. He took a deep breath and followed Snape’s lead as they carefully advanced to where the small black stone floated barely a foot above the ground.

‘That’s definitely the Resurrection Stone,’ Harry said.

Snape shook his head. ‘No. It’s one half of the Resurrection Stone. Observe the sharp edges where the crack used to be.’

Harry’s stomach cramped. ‘Then where is the other half?’ he asked. ‘And where is Professor Dumbledore?’

oooOooo

Careful observation and an even more cautious examination of this half of the Resurrection Stone yielded no information. They only discovered that while they could touch it without dire consequences, they could not move it, remove it or destroy it.

No matter what they did, the stone remained where it was, floating serenely between asphodel and mint, a tiny black spot in a landscape of greys.