Chapter 45. The Strange Door
At Dumbledore's offer, Severus's eye twitched, and another old man's words echoed in his mind:
"Alan, we are the Order of the Dark God Abaddon. Join us! Our God calls to you, kneel and accept his will!"
The memory made him shudder. How much he had suffered back then from those cultists who chased him for five years because of the dark flame.
"Severus?"
"Ahem. sorry. I remembered something unpleasant," he said after clearing his throat a few times, then smiled apologetically and continued. "But I will have to refuse your offer."
"May I ask why?" Dumbledore asked, frowning slightly.
"I already told you my dream. If I join this foolish war, there is a good chance I will simply be killed, and it does not interest me. After Hogwarts, I will leave the country immediately and begin my journey. Nothing is holding me here."
Dumbledore sighed and fell silent for a few seconds. Then he spoke more seriously:
"I will not force you. But be careful: I am not the only one who wants to pull you to our side, and they will not be as understanding as I am."
"I understand. Do not worry, Headmaster. I can handle myself. I have a plan," Severus answered confidently, drawing a smile from Dumbledore.
"Glad to hear it, my boy. Then I can worry less about you. But if you ever need help, you can always come to me."
"Thank you. And if you need potions, you can come to me as well, and I will tell my worker to prepare them for you. But right now we only have enough for a little over a month." Severus pulled out his notebook, flipped through quickly, nodded thoughtfully, and looked back up. "Will ten a day be enough? I cannot provide more than that. I am also willing to give you a discount. As for artifacts, I cannot help you there: making a single one takes an enormous amount of time."
"Do not worry, Severus. Our Order does not have that many people, ten will be enough. As for those artifacts. Mr. Macmillan already told me about them," Dumbledore added, a brief embarrassment flickering across his face.
Terrible actor, old man, Severus thought blandly, but did not say it aloud.
"Headmaster, I also have one request."
"Go on, Severus. If it is within my power, I will try to help," Dumbledore said, returning to his kindly-grandfather expression.
"I would like to take a house-elf for household work. Do not worry, I will not mistreat them. I just need an assistant I can leave routine daily matters to."
"Of course. I will speak with Minerva, and tomorrow you will be able to choose an elf. But you know."
"I have been told it costs a thousand Galleons," Severus said. A pouch with the exact sum appeared in his hand, but Dumbledore shook his head.
"I do not handle those matters. Give it to Minerva tomorrow."
"I understand. Thank you, Headmaster."
"You are welcome, my boy, you are welcome. But I also have a question." His gaze dropped to the area of Severus's chest. "Your snake, you understand who she is, do not you?"
With a warm smile, Severus touched the right side of his chest. A moment later, Nagini's head slipped out from under his collar, eyes narrowed in displeasure as she looked at Dumbledore.
"Her name is Nagini. I think you already know that."
A flicker of surprise crossed Dumbledore's eyes.
"Severus. you know?"
"No, I do not speak Parseltongue," he shook his head, stroking her crown. "We have the same bond you have with Fawkes, so I understand her."
"I see."
"Headmaster, will you answer a question of mine?"
"Of course. Ask, my boy."
"Why does she not like you? Did you know each other in the past?"
Dumbledore sighed deeply, sorrowfully lowering his eyes. He stepped to a bookshelf and, turning his back to Severus, said:
"It was during the war. Back then. I promised a young woman I would help bring her friend back alive, he had gone over to the dark side, but. I could not. He died." Turning back, he looked at Nagini, who had not moved and continued staring at him. "If you are asking. then she must have already lost her memory?"
"I managed to stop it. But everything up to the moment she left Hogwarts cannot be restored," Severus said, and shock spread over Dumbledore's face.
"Severus. you stopped the effects of that dreadful curse?!"
"With some difficulty. I also want to help her become human again."
"That will be very hard. such a curse cannot be removed. When I was young, I tried to solve it too, but I failed, as you can see."
"Headmaster, will you share your research with me?" Severus asked with interest, ignoring a trace of embarrassment that flickered across Dumbledore's face.
"Of course. But I cannot remember where it is kept. Come tomorrow, if I find it, I will give it to you. And I will have to help you with the contract with the elf anyway."
"I understand. Then I will go. I have classes tomorrow."
"Of course, my boy. Good night. And if you ever have questions, you can always come here and ask them over a cup of tea." Dumbledore's benevolent smile returned.
Returning the smile, Severus left the office and headed for the stairs.
He lied. I am sure. maybe.
He did, but not entirely. He is hard to read. But about studying your curse, he did not lie. I am sure of that.
"So he is a good person?"
Smiling gently, Severus tapped her on the nose.
Naive little thing. He is a terrible man. And if someone offered me a choice, fight him or fight that pale-faced one, I would pick the second.
"He is that strong?" Nagini hissed, disbelieving. In all the time they had known each other, Severus had never retreated; he had always been confident. Those words knocked her sideways.
I am not afraid of him. If we have to fight to the death, I will kill him, maybe with some difficulty. I do not know his fighting style, or what hidden trump cards that century-old man has. But I would rather avoid it. The fewer people who know my strength, the calmer we will live, right? He smiled and winked at her. She flushed slightly and, as usual, started poking him in the side with her tail.
Walking along the eighth floor and nearing the staircase, the young man suddenly froze and turned toward a completely empty wall, frowning.
What is that magical density? Like someone used illusion magic here. or maybe concealment. For a moment, white light washed over his body. When he opened his eyes, enormous transparent doors appeared before him, stirring mild curiosity. Hm. There should be some specific mechanism to open them.
"Severus, why are you frozen, staring at an empty wall?" Nagini asked, puzzled.
There is a door here. He sent her the image. But fine. I will deal with it tomorrow. It is late.
"Since when has that ever stopped you?"
I would love to try to get through them today, but it is dangerous. I need to study them properly first, not charge in blindly. No idea what might be behind them.
"Wow. So you decided to be careful for once. Snow is definitely going to fall today!"
Stop being snarky. I have always been careful, he snorted, flicking her on the crown.
"Want me to remind you about the adventure in the basilisk's lair?" she purred, rubbing her forehead irritably, earning a second flick. "Hey!"
Everything was under control.
"I remember exactly what kind of contr." But seeing his hand coming again, Nagini decided not to finish, her snout still wearing a triumphant grin.
"Fine. Let us go to the dormitory. We need an early night, tomorrow will be a lot of work," he said, casting one last glance at the empty wall. Then he looked at a strange painting on the opposite side, where a man dressed as a bard was teaching trolls to dance ballet, and headed toward the staircase ten meters ahead, around the corner.
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