Leaving the office, Grid headed straight for the Slytherin common room. The moment he reached his room and shut the door behind him, a smile replaced the sorrow that had been on his face.
"I haven't lost my talent for acting after all, damn! Even I almost believed my own words." — He touched his wand to his temple, and the young man's face tightened for a moment. "I didn't think I'd have a use for you again." — In the two hours before the meeting, he had managed to locate a fragment of Severus's personality, buried deep in his subconscious, and as he began drawing the wand away from his head, a grey wisp of light trailed after it. "Now what do I do with you…?" — he looked at it with a faint smile. "Destroy it, or hold onto it for now?" — It was precisely this fragment that had allowed Grid to play the role so convincingly: he had drawn on its emotions, which was why Slughorn had believed the Archmage so readily. "All right. I would have been lost without you, so live a while longer. I suspect you'll be of use to me again." — He raised his hand toward the fragment, closed his eyes, and began murmuring something inaudible. In the next instant a thin green barrier appeared around the wisp, and then the mage lowered it back into his mind. With a deep breath, the young man dropped onto the bed. That really is much easier.
After lying still with his eyes shut for a while, Grid rose and decided to put his time to use. The moment he tried to recall information about Salazar, an enormous volume of it surfaced in his mind at once, which pleased him considerably.
"The Greatest Dark Wizard" — an arrogant title. I'd have liked to see this Salazar faced with a real dark mage… Parselmouth… honestly, people have completely lost their minds if they consider that a mark of a dark wizard. How absurd. But it's not my place to judge these idiots. — He sighed deeply, shook his head, and dived back into the memories. Legilimency… not bad. A fairly rare ability — even in my world, Mind mages were not so common. Worth looking into later… — but before he could even finish the thought, information on the subject surfaced in his memory unbidden, and the man couldn't suppress a smile. Seems I wasn't the only one who thought to study it. And he gathered quite a lot of material. This will make things considerably easier. — He returned to studying everything relating to the founder of Hogwarts.
Over the following hour, the young man worked through all the available information on Salazar and committed it to memory. He found nothing of particular importance, which mildly disappointed him — though it didn't surprise him much. After all, who would keep such information somewhere students could access without difficulty.
I should discuss this with Slughorn. He likely knows more about Salazar than anyone. For now though, a nap is in order. After classes I can take a proper walk around Hogwarts and get better acquainted with the place. — Stifling a tired yawn, he quickly undressed and dropped into bed. The beds here really are something else.
The following day began with the Transfiguration examination, which he passed with Outstanding without much effort. Transformation magic was merely the foundation of magic in his own world, derived from Eternal Transformation — a far more complex discipline demanding both the knowledge and power of an Archmage. Grid naturally commanded that magic, but his weakened core did not yet permit even the most rudimentary applications of it.
Still, he had to give this world its due. Basic Transfiguration here was a step above the equivalent in his own world, and the sheer number of spells in this field was staggeringly large — enough to allow even third-rate wizards with poor control and imagination to make use of it.
During the examination, of course, Grid showed nothing beyond what Snape's memories had provided.
Finally leaving Minerva McGonagall's classroom under her slightly thoughtful gaze, he decided to begin with a stroll through the first floor — not idly, but in search of any hidden rooms. The castle had an extraordinarily long history, and the young man had no doubt there were many "interesting" places concealed within it.
There was nothing especially remarkable on this floor beyond the classrooms for Defence Against the Dark Arts, Muggle Studies and Transfiguration, along with a few staff offices, the Head of Gryffindor's office, and the lavatories. Grid already knew all of this, but walked through anyway, with a perception-enhancing charm quietly active.
Over the following hour, the mage examined every room and took the measure of each teacher — he still had two years in this place after all. But he was careful to behave as naturally as possible, keeping a Potions book in his hand and "barely paying attention to his surroundings." One of Severus's most beloved habits had been precisely this: reading such books while wandering — there had even been instances when he became so absorbed that he drifted aimlessly through the castle. Though in general Severus had preferred silence, finding some quiet room to tuck himself away and read undisturbed, hoping not to run into Potter and his group. One such refuge had been the out-of-order girls' lavatory on the first floor, haunted by the ghost of a girl named Myrtle, who had died in that very place.
And as the young man stood before the door marked "Out of Order" and reached to open it, he heard sobbing — which did not particularly surprise him.
Pushing the door open, Grid stepped inside at a measured pace and glanced around with mild interest at the rather peculiar arrangement of sinks around an enormous central pillar. The pillar stirred a flicker of suspicion in him, but he chose not to dwell on it for now and shifted his gaze toward the stalls — from which a ghost in Hogwarts student robes came flying out.
"You again…" — she pushed up her glasses and wiped her tears, regarding the young man with a touch of pity. "Have they been giving you trouble again?"
"Something like that."
"You could bring them here — I'd give them something to think about and they'd never dare show their faces again!"
"Perhaps another time. I'd rather you told me about yourself. Have you noticed anything strange here?"
"Strange?" — she stroked her chin and shook her head. "Hardly anyone comes here apart from you." — she replied, circling around Grid.
"I see… And how did you die? Hogwarts is supposed to have rather strict rules."
Myrtle looked at "Snape" with mild surprise. He had never brought up this subject before — he was generally very quiet, and when he came, he would simply shut himself in a stall and read, as if trying to distance himself from reality, much as she once had.
"I… no one has ever asked me that before. And I don't remember much myself…" — she lowered her eyes sadly and continued. "During a celebration, someone upset me… I quarrelled with a girl and ran in here. Then I heard a kind of hissing, and a pair of enormous eyes looked at me, and that was all."
"Enormous eyes, you say… what were the pupils like?" — He pointed his finger forward and conjured a small eye in the air — vertical pupil, yellow sclera — never taking his gaze off the ghost, whose face contorted, caught between fear and horror. "I see." — Salazar, you deranged lunatic… keeping your pet in this place. But I suppose I should thank you. The skin, the teeth, the venom, the eyes — what a generous gift. And the blood of a Basilisk, and its heart… — the young man could not stop the corners of his mouth from curling upward. …I may well have a very interesting potion ready before I even leave Hogwarts.
"Th-those eyes… I… I…"
"I understand. Thank you for answering my question." — Grid had a genuine good opinion of this ghost. She was, in a sense, the second friend Severus had ever had after Lily — the one who had always tried to support him through his darkest moments.
"THINK YOU CAN HIDE IN HERE, DO YOU, SNIVELLUS?!"
The door to the girls' lavatory crashed into the wall with a loud bang.
"Stupefy!" — three voices rang out simultaneously, and three white beams shot into the lavatory and struck Grid squarely in the back. He was thrown forward slightly but held his ground, and a dangerous gleam flickered in his eyes.
"Snape! You cowardly bastards! Not only did you strike him from behind, there are three of you!" — the girl cried out furiously, and in the next moment water began pouring from the toilets, the sinks and the taps.
"Get lost, you wailing little pest — we just have a few questions for him." — James ignored the water and looked at Grid's back with an eager sneer. "Well? How does it feel when someone sneaks up on you?! You humiliated me in front of Lily! Today you're really going to—!"
"And?" — At that calm, indifferent voice, all three boys froze in astonishment, staring wide-eyed as Snape slowly turned to face them.
"Silencio!" — Another bright beam shot from behind Potter and struck the Archmage in the chest.
"Nice one, Sirius. And now — Expelliarmus!" — The wand from Grid's sleeve flew straight to the feet of the three wizards. "So what will you say now?"
"Not bad — quick work," — Snape said with a slight smile and a nod, which only made the would-be attackers' faces twist further. "And what comes next?"
"We'll hang you naked from the ceiling of the Great Hall—"
"Oh… interesting, interesting. Go on."
"But first we'll beat you bloody. What will you do without your wand?"
"I won't allow it! If you don't stop, I'll go and fetch Professor McGonagall and she will deal with you!" — Myrtle stepped in front of the Marauders and cried out furiously.
She herself had once been on the receiving end of cruelty, and she simply could not stand by and watch someone try to do the same to the only person she considered a friend.
"No need. I can handle this myself. You've already helped enough." — He raised his palm toward the three and whispered: "Aguamenti."
In the next instant the water from the toilets, sinks and taps surged upward into powerful jets, crashing into the Marauders' hands and knocking their wands free. Then several streams as thick as a grown man's arm slammed into their stomachs and hurled them into the walls.
"Myrtle, tell everyone exactly what happened here — everything, except what I was asking you about."
"What?" — The girl hadn't even fully recovered from what she had just witnessed when she saw Grid's face go suddenly, sharply pale — and he dropped straight down onto the wet floor.
"STOP THIS AT ONCE—!"
Stupefy — a spell used to stun an opponent or moving object and knock them off their feet.
Silencio (from Latin silens — "silent") — a silencing charm.
Expelliarmus — a disarming spell that causes whatever an opponent is holding to fly out of their hand.