Discoveries
‘Why come here?’ Hermione asked later. ‘If you don’t believe in God? I’m sorry—’ Severus raised a disbelieving eyebrow, but didn’t comment.
‘I don’t mean to pry,’ she stated firmly. They were sitting in front of a small bistro with a splendid view of the square and the cathedral. ‘But this,’ she gestured, ‘this is so very unlike you—well, unlike the Severus Snape I’m used to, anyway, that—well, I keep wondering who you are.’
When he drew his wand and flicked it underneath the table to create a Muffliato screen, Hermione knew that whatever Severus’ reply would turn out to be, it wouldn’t be a comfortable answer. She creased her forehead. What was this all about? Showing her that she had no idea who he was? Or—she amended—that she only knew small parts of who he was?
‘Years ago my…masters determined that I ought to be able to accomplish cross-channel and cross-continental Apparition. While I had the determination, the concentration and the power to obey their wishes even then, I lacked practice.
‘Travel guides tend to include good pictures of famous cathedrals. And plain Muggle photographs are an excellent source for the visualization of your destination. Better than wizarding pictures, in fact, because movement distracts the focus of your mind.
‘It was pure chance that I ended up here.’
He shrugged. ‘I’m not in a position to say if it was chance or fate that I met Abbé Rigaud when I did. Or that he saw—that he noticed—’
Severus’ eyes grew so bleak that it was impossible for Hermione to distinguish between his pupils and his iris.
‘He listened to me when no one else would,’ Severus went on in a brittle voice. ‘He offered me the forgiveness of his God at a time when—’
He shook his head and changed the subject. ‘I thought you might enjoy the blue windows.—Blue is your favourite colour, isn’t it? You never wear it, because it doesn’t suit you. But you keep that blue vase on your window sill, and a blue bowl with potpourri on the other nightstand.’
Hermione nodded. She was surprised that he noticed such things. But of course Severus had been a spy for the better part of his adult life; it was probably second nature to him to be aware of such details.
‘Yes,’ she replied. She was acutely aware of the many things in his past she wasn’t ready to know about. It shamed her that she didn’t feel able to handle all of it, all of him. So Hermione did the next best thing: she let the topic go and followed his lead in this conversation. ‘The vase is actually a souvenir. From a holiday I spent in France with my parents.’
‘You sent a postcard to Minerva. The summer after the Chamber of Secrets was opened.’
‘It feels so strange,’ Hermione said in a small voice. ‘I remember that holiday. I really do. But it feels so distant…as if it never happened, or as if it happened to somebody else.’
oooOooo
Sunday morning Alina was in a state of hysterics.
The Slytherins had spent all of Saturday searching their House. They had discovered a many things—among them a trapdoor to a secret tunnel, a junk room that no one had ever noticed before, filled with all kinds of curious clutter, and what looked like a torture chamber, complete with shackles hanging from the walls and a real rack, but no Crookshanks.
Ciardha Vaisey was a smart young man. He knew when he was beat.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he told the dejected and exhausted Slytherins loitering in the common room. ‘There’s no choice. We need help. And we don’t need just any kind of help.
’We need the help of Gryffindor House.
‘The cat of Madam Snape spent most his years here at Hogwarts in Gryffindor House. It stands to reason that he either went there to hide, or that they know where he might be found.’
He turned to Alina and fixed her with a steely gaze. Alina shivered. She knew that he would be polite to her outside Slytherin House. But there would be hell to pay later. And she rather suspected her punishment would involve the newly discovered torture chamber.
‘Alina, you accompany me.’
‘Yes, sir,’ she whispered, her stomach queasy.
It would have been better if she had died in the debris of Dumbledore’s tomb.
oooOooo
The students of Gryffindor House devoted their Sunday morning to turning their House upside down—in vain.
Then Headgirl Ginny Weasley met with emissaries from Slytherin House on neutral ground (the Trophy Room).
‘I don’t think you need to worry about Professor Snape,’ she told Ciardha Vaisey. ‘I don’t think he even likes Crooks. However, I’d really hate for Hermione to come home to bad news about her pet.’
Ciardha just shook his head at the Gryffindor’s ignorance. ‘That cat is as much a Slytherin now as Madam Snape. We’d better find him. Or I fear Slytherin House will be in detention until Alina graduates.
‘We need to call all Houses. This is an unprecedented emergency.’
oooOooo
In the end it was a Hufflepuff who found Crookshanks.
Johannes Flamel (one of the would-be knights of Dumbledore’s Army) had missed the fun of an emergency meeting consisting of all four Houses because he’d been in detention with Filch. He simply appeared at tea time in the Great Hall, the big ginger tomcat in his arms.
‘OH MY GOD!’ Alina screamed and raced towards him. ‘CROOKS! Joe, wherever did you FIND him??? ’
Johannes, astounded to find himself at the centre of a rapidly growing crowd of students from all four Houses, shrugged.
‘I didn’t find him, precisely. He showed up in Filch’s office, and the old git threw a fit about a strange cat invading his quarters.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘He’s Miss—Madam Snape’s cat, isn’t he? How did he get out of Slytherin House?’
Oh, Chartres cathedral! What a perfect destination!
I visited there in high school when on the exchange program. It was the first cathedral I ever visited, and I shall never forget the feeling of amazement!
They are working on restoring the windows at the moment. I think they will be done in 2011/2012 … can’t wait to see it again then, all bright like at the time it was built.
I loved your story… so far. But Severus Snape in a church? Oh my, quite OOC, but OK, he needed someone to talk to, so I drop the topic.
BUt this punishment for Alina is rather brutal. And for what? That a half-Keazle cat disappeared for two days? C’mooooon…. And Ginny was standing there and watching? What happened to your characters? They were sooo perfect! Especially Snape, and now this chatedral, or church, or whatever…
Ok, I’ll read on, just wanted to tell my thoughts.
Thank you for spending time with my story. Thank you even more for taking the time to leave a comment! I’m glad you enjoy it so far.
Why shouldn’t Snape visit a church? And where in canon does it say he wouldn’t? 😉
Re: Alina’s punishment – I’d be shocked if you didn’t think it harsh!
However … even at “Muggle” boarding schools traditions of hazing and punishment among students are incredibly cruel and harsh in real life. JKR chose to ignore that part of public school tradition; I decided against that. The shock and revulsion you (hopefully) feel are quite intentional.
Please feel free to offer your thoughts any time, I’m always curious about what my readers think. Even if I don’t agree with them. 😉
Oh, don’t get me wrong! Of course it is not impossible for him to go a place like a church, I just feel like it’s wierd.
And as for Alina, yes, I felt shock. That was oh, ‘harsh’ is not the right word. But the most shocking thing was that Ginny was standing there and watching, without a word.
So I was relieved when she told the whole thing to Hermione.
And that part with McGonagoll, and keep your stupid cup, LOL 😀 Loved that.
That’s fine, really. 🙂 I am trying to portray Severus as a character with unexpected depths, after all.
I have read your story on fanfiction.net a while back but I really like this version better. it gives a lot more… structure? character? feeling? to the story.. I am unable to describe the exact thing.. but still.
Good work all around..
I am thrilled that you’re enjoying the way I present my story here! And what a wonderful compliment that you came back to read it again. w00t
I love Chartres Cathedral. I wrote a paper on it for Art History class and found that the Masons built many esoteric features into it. When I actually was fortunate enough to visit it in person, it had a spiritual effect on me. I visited many other cathedrals in France that trip, and none of them made me feel the way that one did.
I’m so glad Severus took Hermione there. Still not sure why he would, but your Severus seems full of surprises. I’m sure, given time, he will grow to love her as much as she does him. He is well on his way already.
Great story.
Chartres is amazing. 🙂
Re: Severus – in canon he always struck me as a man of many (surprising) secrets. So I enjoyed giving him a few more in my story!
I have never seen the Chatres Cathedral, but I have seen other cathedrals and can imagine the feeling this one can give you. Loved the pictures.
So, Alina is a Necromancer, whatever that is. I hope I don’t need more information than you give within this story. (I don’t know the books you refer there.)
That punishment was really harsh and unusual, but I can see this within the HP universe, even if it was never described. The HP universe has a lot of really cruel customs. I remember how shocked I was at the outcome of the Triwizard tournament. I think this fits with the feeling the House of Slytherin gave me as portrayed in the books.
What is a half kneazel? You just need to know cats to know they can vanish for days without anyone finding them. The castle is big and Crookshanks had years to explore the thing. It seems the students don’t know cats very well 😉 . But I can imagine how desperate poor Alina was when she noticed the cat was missing. From there on everything just spun out of control. I just hope that this incident plus the bell incident didn’t cost Alina her Slytherin friends. She needs friends in school and not just friends in other houses or among the staff.
Necromancers (the manifestation of Sauron in Dol Guldur was called a Necromancer, too) are wizards with a special affinity for the dead, to put it simply. They can talk to the dead or control zombies … depends on the interpretation, really. I was fascinated with the world-building in the “Abhorsen” books, and in conjunction with some HP death magic (like the Veil), it seemed to me an interesting AU angle to explore.
Re: the punishment, yes, yes, yes, exactly! This is one of the scenes that usually leaves readers totally shocked. But based on what I know about “normal” hazing in Muggle British public schools, I think Slytherin must have been ten times worse. And isn’t it how those things usually go? Good intentions all around and suddenly you’re sitting in a handbasket and it’s getting awfully hot and the air smells of sulphur …
Kneazles: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Kneazle
(I think they show that JKR doesn’t really know cats, because they are like that and do all that stuff without any magic, thank you very much. 😉 )
Beautiful. As is the rest of this novel, but this was so unexpected! Looking forward to the whole unchartered territory ahead of our newlyweds.
20 years? It’s high time I saw Chartres again, and took my son (it’s ridiculously near my usual place).
And I’ll go on minding my h’s 😉
Thank you for reading! And oh, Chartres … you’re lucky to live so close. I’ve been wanting to visit again for years … the windows are supposed to be better than ever after the restoration. But unfortunately I live really, really far away. *sigh*
I’m glad you’re enjoying the story! *hearts*