Beyond the Shadows of the Night

Chapter Five: The Ayrin

Harry must have fallen asleep, because a rattle on the door made him jerk awake. Before him he could see ashes glowing faintly in a grate; otherwise, impenetrable darkness surrounded him. It took him a while to remember where he was and what had happened. Nervously, he peered in the general direction of where he presumed the door stood. Someone or something had bumped against it. He heard the doorknob being turned abruptly and the door opened, letting in a faint shimmer of moonlight that poured in through a window in the corridor. Harry could make out a tall shadow standing in silhouette against the bluish light.

"Luminosus," the shadow muttered and bright light flooded the room. The sudden brightness stung Harry´s eyes which were not adjusted to the light and he covered them with his hand. The person that had entered the room gave a small gasp of surprise and Harry removed his hand. The newcomer still stood in the door frame, and Harry jumped about a foot into the air.

It was Snape. But that wasn´t what gave Harry such alarm. Snape looked so horrible that Harry had barely recognised him.

His robes were torn and splattered with blood. Blood was oozing from countless scratches and cuts upon his face, of which the left side seemed to be bruised as it had turned a bluish violet. His hair, too, was encrusted with dried blood. But the most frightening thing about him were his eyes. They were blood-shot and seemed empty, pained, and haunted.

Harry had always thought that he wouldn´t care a jot if the worst thing imaginable happened to Snape. Now he found that he had been wrong. Despite his great dislike for Snape, he couldn´t help feeling sorry for him.

"Wh-what happened to you?" Harry spluttered.

"None of your business," Snape muttered wearily. In his current state, it seemed, he didn´t have the strength to force his usual venom into the words.

He made a step forward and swayed dangerously on the spot. Fearing that Snape might faint, Harry jumped up. "Sit down, will you?" he said anxiously, indicating the armchair.

Snape stumbled forward and was seized by a fit of coughing that shook his whole body and forced up more blood. He clasped the back of the armchair convulsively to steady himself. Harry was really beginning to get scared. What on earth had happened to Snape?

"I-I´ll go and fetch Madam Pomfrey, shall I?" he asked in a trembling voice.

"No!" Snape managed to choke out between hacking coughs. "Go to Dumbledore."

Harry dashed off. Within a few minutes, he stood in front of the entrance to Dumbledore´s office. Fortunately the password had not changed since the last time he had been there and Harry was able to climb the spiral staircase to the office. But as he climbed, a fear suddenly hit him. What if Dumbledore wasn´t in his office? It was the dead of night, and Harry had no idea where Dumbledore´s private chambers might be.

Out of breath, Harry arrived at the top of the stairs and knocked at the door. Nothing happened.

I don´t seem to have much luck with knocking at doors lately, he thought bitterly. With determination, he banged his fists against it, shouting "Professor Dumbledore!" at the top of his voice.

A few seconds later, he heard a key being turned in the lock and the door swung open to reveal Dumbledore. The headmaster was wearing a long, pink night-shirt and a pointed, white night-cap ending in a bobble. If the situation hadn´t been so serious, Harry would have had a hard time not laughing.

Dumbledore looked alarmed. "Harry! What is it?"

Harry was enormously relieved that he was no longer alone with the burden of the horribly mangled and nearly suffocating Snape. "Professor, it´s Snape! You´ve got to come!" Dumbledore didn´t ask any questions but followed Harry immediately.

When they arrived at Snape´s rooms, Snape´s coughing seemed to have abated. He sat slumped down in the armchair with his eyes closed, looking horribly ill. Dumbledore knelt at Snape´s side. "Severus," he said softly, "What happened?"

Harry could hear Snape´s uneven, ragged breathing. "Well," he said with an effort, his eyes still closed, "he found out."

"Who?" asked Dumbledore sharply.

"The Dark Lord." Snape opened his eyes, and tried to get up.

"Don´t, Severus," said Dumbledore, putting a hand on Snape´s shoulder to prevent him from doing so.

Snape shook his head. "I need to take a potion."

"I can give it to you."

"You wouldn´t find the right one." He made another effort to stand up, and getting to his feet, he stumbled across the room to the wardrobe where he took a vial from a drawer inside. When he opened the vial and took a gulp, Harry noticed that Snape´s hands were shaking. He couldn´t quite believe that this miserable-looking man was the cruel, sarcastic Potions teacher he saw every week.

Snape put the vial back into the wardrobe and went back to sit in the armchair, where Dumbledore was still kneeling. Now the headmaster continued his questioning. "I´m sorry, Severus, but you must tell me what happened. Where were you tonight?"

"At a Dark Revel at Malfoy Manor," Snape replied, his voice still weak.

Dumbledore´s eyes widened. "A Dark Revel!" he exclaimed. "Why didn´t you tell me about it?"

"I didn´t want to worry you, Headmaster," Snape answered and passed a hand over his tired face. Taking a closer look at his hand, Harry noticed with a lurch of his stomach that there was also dried blood under his fingernails. Did that mean that Snape had scratched himself?

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "What nonsense, Severus," he said softly, as if he were speaking to a child. "You know you can always come to me."

For a few moments Snape didn´t reply. He merely stared into the empty grate, lost in thought. "They know, Headmaster," he finally said. "They know that I´ve been working with Potter." He cast a resigned look at Harry. "The Dark Lord has useful spies," he added bitterly.

Harry felt a twinge of guilt. This is my fault, he thought, remembering what had happened in the library. Whatever they´ve done to him, it´s my fault. I wasn´t careful enough.

"They set me a trap," Snape went on. "Lucius had made me believe the Dark Lord wouldn´t be present and reserved him for a nasty surprise at the end of the evening. I wasn´t prepared. The Dark Lord must have seen right through me."

Dumbledore looked genuinely worried, even more so than before if that were possible. "How did Voldemort react?"

Snape´s potion seemed to be showing some effect. He didn´t look quite as exhausted as before. "Well, take a nice long look at me and you´ll know," he said with a bitter smile.

"He set you under the Cruciatus Curse?"

Snape nodded mutely.

Harry felt his insides lurch. The Cruciatus Curse! How long did you have to suffer it to look as horrible as Snape did? he wondered. He remembered his own experience with the curse vividly. Even though the Cruciatus Curse Voldemort had set on him last year could only have lasted a few seconds, it had felt like an eternity -- an eternity of nothing but pain. And yet there hadn´t been any mark on him afterwards.

"What did he say?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes fixed on Snape with an unreadable expression.

"He gave me a serious warning," Snape elaborated, thoughtfully. "I think he never quite believed the story I was telling him about my behaviour towards Quirrell. He´s been suspicious since the day I came back. Tonight the Dark Lord as good as told me that if I make one more flaw, I will spend the rest of my life in the Insanity Ward of St Mungo´s."

Dumbledore drew in a sharp breath. "Be careful, Severus!"

"I´m trying to."

Dumbledore just looked at him for a moment, his eyes full of concern. "And now let me fix up your face," he said at length. "You can´t appear in front of your students like that tomorrow." He took out his wand and began to touch the bleeding cuts on Snape´s skin, murmuring some incantations. One after another, the cuts vanished.

"You had better get that bruise looked at by Madam Pomfrey," Dumbledore said once he was done with the cuts. "It looks bad."

"Yes, he´s good at kicking, the Dark Lord," Snape said with a crooked smile.

"I´ve got the impression you are already feeling better." Dumbledore smiled. "I suggest Harry and I leave you alone now so that you can rest."

Harry, who had been watching the scene from where he stood against the wall, slowly followed Dumbledore towards the door, when Snape suddenly called sharply, "Potter?"

Harry turned around, looking quizzically at Snape. "Yes?"

Snape had narrowed his eyes and was looking at him suspiciously. "What the devil were you doing in my bedroom?" he snapped. Obviously he had much recovered from his maltreatment, for his bad mood seemed firmly back in place.

With everything that had happened Harry had completely forgotten why he had come to Snape´s room in the first place. "I... wanted to talk to you, Professor," he replied.

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"When I came from Quidditch practice tonight," Harry said, "and the clock had just struck midnight, I heard a whispering in the Entrance Hall. The voice said something about the full moon and the powers of hell, I can´t recall everything. Anyway, Ron and Hermione didn´t hear anything at all, so we reckon that the voice was speaking in Parseltongue. You know that I can understand it." He looked quizzically at Dumbledore and Snape who were looking at each other with an odd expression. "I thought I´d better come straight to you, Professor," Harry added. "It might have something to do with the task."

"The sign!" Snape muttered, still staring at Dumbledore. "Do you think...?"

Dumbledore nodded slowly, a smile on his face. "Indeed! Who would have thought it." He then turned to Harry who was very puzzled indeed. "Harry, there´s something you don´t know yet. Last night Professor Snape made an extraordinary discovery. He found the ancient notes on how the Ayrin were created, the notes made by Salazar Slytherin himself. Not only did he record how these emeralds were created, he also mentioned to what purpose. They were intended to help Slytherin´s heir seize world domination. Slytherin also used some tricks to make sure they wouldn´t fall into the wrong hands. One of them, apparently, was that the signs leading to the hiding-place of the Ayrin could only be heard by a Parselmouth. Of course, Slytherin would never have dreamed that anyone but a descendant of his would be able to speak Parseltongue. The fact that you´ve heard these words tonight only proves my theory. Now the only thing you have to do is to remember the exact words."

Harry had listened to this explanation with growing amazement. It was a stroke of luck that they had come by so much information. But now his face fell. He could by no means recall the exact words he had heard. "I´m sorry, Professor," he said miserably, "but I can´t remember. The only thing I know is that that voice mentioned the full-moon and the powers of hell and killing the unworthy. That´s all."

"Don´t worry, Harry," Dumbledore assured him with a smile. "We can give you a Memory Potion. Severus, do you have one at hand?"

Snape thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Good," said Dumbledore. "Would you kindly bring it here?"

Snape staggered out of the room and into the adjoining office. After a few moments he returned with a vial of blue, sparkling liquid.

"The Memory Potion will make you remember every detail you have perceived during the last twelve hours," Dumbledore explained. "Three drops should suffice, Severus," he added.

Snape took a spoon and trickled three drops of the blue liquid onto it. Then he handed the spoon to Harry. "Drink," he said tersely.

Obediently, Harry put the spoon in his mouth and swallowed. The potion burned in his throat like fire. For a moment his vision blurred, then it grew sharp and clear again, along with his mind. Nothing of his earlier drowsiness remained.

"Now, Harry," Dumbledore said, fixing him with his steely gaze, "tell us exactly what happened after you left the Quidditch pitch."

Of its own accord, Harry´s mind reeled back to the moment he stepped out of the gate to the Quidditch field. He could see everything with extreme sharpness, as if everything that he had seen had been observed with his natural, impaired eyesight and now he had got his glasses back. He started to describe what he witnessed.

"It is raining hard. The ground is slippery. I´m hurrying up the slope towards the castle with Ron and Hermione. We´re late because Oliver Wood has given me a talking-to. The other team members are already inside the castle. Oliver has stayed behind to clear up and to put the balls back into the trunk. We have entered the castle and are starting to walk up the stairs -- I hear a faint whispering. I can´t see anyone who might be saying those words, they seem to come from the walls all around. The words are: When the full moon joins Mars on the reddish tinged sky, Follow its beam where it crosses the sign. Once the clock has struck twelve, then behold! From the depths the powers of hell will unfold To help their true Master to thrive And kill those unworthy of life. I call Ron and Hermione. They haven´t heard the whispering. Ron is nervous, he wants to go away. Hermione thinks the words could have to do with the Ayrin. We agree that I should go straight to Professor Snape." Harry stopped. He felt the effect of the potion abate and leave a great weariness in its wake, as if the potion had drained him of a lot of energy. He looked up at Dumbledore and Snape. Dumbledore stared thoughtfully into space while Snape scribbled something at his desk.

At length, Dumbledore spoke. "The first step is now to find out when we have the next full-moon and whether there´s anything exceptional about Mars at that time. Maybe you could go to Professor Sinistra and ask her, Severus, if you feel strong enough. She should be awake."

"I´ll go." Snape nodded curtly and hurried out of the room.

Dumbledore turned to Harry. "It was a stroke of luck that you were inside the castle at the right time," he said. "A moment too late and we would have missed it. And who knows if we would ever have been able to find the Ayrin then. Now we have new hope."

"But Professor," said Harry, "do you understand the meaning of these hints? Because they make no real sense to me."

"Alas," sighed Dumbledore, "I fear I understand them no better than you do. They are a riddle. I hope Professor Snape can help us, he knows Slytherin House better than anyone else. Maybe he can make sense of it. If not..." Dumbledore didn´t continue his sentence, instead he was staring off into space again. Harry had a feeling that if they didn´t find the Ayrin, the consequences would be devastating. Dumbledore had rarely looked so worried. They remained silent for a few minutes, Harry shifting uneasily.

Finally they heard quick footsteps in the corridor outside. Snape was coming back. When he pushed open the door, a look of grim satisfaction was on his face. "Tomorrow," he said. "Tomorrow is the next full-moon and Mars is exceptionally bright. Sinistra said that Mars hasn´t been so bright in a decade, and won´t be again for another ten years."

Dumbledore was wearing his penetrating gaze again. "That gives us one advantage and one disadvantage," he said. "The advantage is, we can act quickly and won´t lose time in the battle against Voldemort. The disadvantage is, however, that we have less than twenty-four hours to work out all the clues." He paused gravely. "Severus, you know Slytherin House best of all of us, and if anyone should be able to work out those clues, it´s you. I must ask you for your help again."

"Of course, Headmaster," Snape said politely.

Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you, Severus. And if all goes well, you and Harry will be able to find the Ayrin by midnight. I wish you luck."

Snape inclined his head as a sign of gratitude.

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "It´s been a long night and I suggest we all go to bed now. We might need our strength tomorrow. Especially young Harry." He smiled. "I believe you have a Quidditch match?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, Professor."

"Good night, Severus," Dumbledore called over his shoulder, ushering Harry out of the room.

"Good night, Headmaster."

~*~

Contrary to Dumbledore´s suggestion, Severus did not go to bed. The potion he had taken earlier was still having a wakening effect on him. Besides, he feared the nightmares he would certainly have after the night that had passed, as soon as sleep came over him. A strong Sleeping Potion could certainly procure dreamless sleep, but Severus was careful with them. They were addictive with regular use.

He would have liked someone to talk to now, but Cara, his pet crow, was probably fast asleep on a tree outside. So to occupy his mind and keep it from dwelling on the horrid experiences of the night, he took the notes he had made on Harry´s recollections and began to work them out.

He was used to this. In his days as a Death Eater, he had never been able to sleep after an attack or a Dark Revel. Or rather, he had tried to keep himself from sleeping with all his might. For in his sleep he was helplessly doomed to all those haunting visions that were capable of driving him to madness. Hence he had avoided sleep until the point of total exhaustion, plunging into his work with an obsession born of desperation. Often, he had passed two or three days without sleeping at all. Such abuse of his own body was beginning to show.

When he finally looked up from his work to glance at the clock, it was already four in the morning and a large part of the riddle was still a mystery to him. Just what was meant by the line: Follow its beam where it crosses the sign? It seemed to be the indication where the Ayrin was hidden. But which sign? The word `sign´ could mean anything. And was `beam´ referring to a beam of moonlight? The beams of the moon covered a pretty large area, even if it was reduced to Hogwarts. Sighing, Severus rubbed his stinging eyes. He probably needed to check every single room with so much as a crack through which moonlight could penetrate. It was going to be a hard task and time was working against them.

~*~

Apart from a quick visit he paid Madam Pomfrey because of his bruise, Severus spent the whole morning searching the rooms in the west wing of the castle for any special `signs´. As Sinistra had told him, the moon would rise in the west that night and so only those rooms that had any openings to the west were to be considered. It was a tedious business nonetheless. So far he had discovered eighteen tapestries bearing what could be called a `sign´, as well as thirty-four coats of arms and about sixty carvings in various walls, each and every one of them perfectly accessible to moonlight. And he hadn´t covered floors one, two, three or seven yet.

Aside from that, he had made two other interesting discoveries on the fourth and sixth floor. One was a chamber that was empty save for a large amount of laundry hung on a line for drying, including dozens of long underpants and a forget-me-not blue robe that looked suspiciously like Dumbledore´s. The other discovery was a large room full of chamber pots. Was that possibly the one Dumbledore was always telling of in such a wistful voice because he couldn´t find it anymore? Severus made a mental note to ask him some day.

He was just about to take a break and sit down in a cosy little room with light-green hangings and furniture made of ebony, when something tugged at the hem of his robes. It was one of the Hogwarts house-elves. It wore the usual tea towel, emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest and tied like a toga, and it was staring up at him with big, violet eyes.

"Please, Professor," it squeaked, "Professor Dumbledore sends Racy. You must come to his office immediately."

"Did the headmaster say what he wants to see me about?" Severus asked with a frown.

"No, Professor," said the house-elf. "He just says: Racy, find Professor Snape and tell him to come to my office. And that´s what Racy does. But there is a man in his office, Professor."

"A man? Who is it?" he asked. He suddenly felt an uneasiness he couldn´t explain.

"Racy knows not," the house-elf said. "Racy must go now and help preparing dinner." And in a flash, Racy was out the door.

Reluctantly, Severus dragged his feet towards Dumbledore´s office. What did Dumbledore want now? Severus was in a rather bad mood already. While he had to search dozens of rooms for peculiar signs, Potter was indulging in Quidditch. The brat should be busy saving the world and not playing games!

Five minutes later, Severus was standing before the door to Dumbledore´s office. Before he could knock, Dumbledore had already opened it.

"Ah, Severus!" he said. "We´ve been waiting for you." He stepped aside, and, with an inviting gesture, motioned for Severus to come in. As Severus did so, he saw the man the house-elf had mentioned. He was wearing a long black travelling-cloak and was sitting in one of the chairs before Dumbledore´s desk, with his back to the door. As Severus approached, he turned. Severus stopped dead. It was Sirius Black.

"What is he doing here?" Snape demanded in a low snarl, his narrowed eyes venomously fixed on Sirius who looked back at him with an insolent grin plastered across his face.

"He is here to help you and Harry in your task," Dumbledore replied gently.

Severus whirled around in fury. "He what?"

He could hear Dumbledore give an exasperated sigh. "We need all the help we can get in the fight against Voldemort, and Sirius is the only person I can spare at the moment." Dumbledore´s voice was still gentle but it had a serious undertone that would not be contradicted. Severus, however, did not care about that in his rage. How dare Dumbledore let Black take part in his business! Black of all people! It was enough that Severus had to work with Potter. But Lily hadn´t said anything about Black getting involved!

"I will not work with him!" Severus snapped, indicating Sirius with a jerk of his head.

"Yes, you will!" Dumbledore said and there was suddenly a sharp edge to his voice. "We had this discussion before, and I will not tolerate enmity between my supporters in the battle against Voldemort. If we don´t stand united against all evil, we will fall apart and evil will eventually triumph over good. Is that what you want, Severus? I thought you of all people knew how desperately we need help. I thought you would be the last to underestimate that evil. Are your petty grudges really worth the risk of failing?"

Severus remained silent. He stared furiously out of the window, lips pressed tightly together.

"I have made the two of you shake hands," Dumbledore continued after a pause. "I will do it again if necessary."

Severus´s fists were clenched so tightly that he could feel his fingernails digging painfully into his palms. He was still staring out the window in rage. At the edge of the Forbidden Forest he could see Hagrid´s cabin. He concentrated hard on the small, wooden house, mentally flinging all his hatred towards it. If he hadn´t done that, he might not have been able to keep himself from grabbing Sirius by the throat and throttling him.

At length, Dumbledore broke the awkward silence. "You may both go now," he said, not without giving each of them a final stern look. Both Sirius and Severus hastened to the door, glad to finally be released from Dumbledore´s watchful eyes and-- what was more important-- each other´s presence, so that they nearly collided in front of it. For a moment they looked daggers at each other, then squeezed through.

After Sirius had closed the door behind him, he turned to Severus. "You know, Snape," he said, "I´m not particularly charmed to work with you either. But I thought a massive git like you really isn´t worth all the effort of arguing with Dumbledore. Just don´t interpret my silence back in the office the wrong way."

Severus shot him a poisonous look. Then, without a word, he turned on his heel and stalked away.

~*~

Sirius was waiting in the room that had been prepared for him. It was on the seventh floor, right under the roof, situated in a part of the castle no one usually entered. Dumbledore had selected this room as it was still dangerous for Sirius to show himself in public. As long as Sirius stayed at Hogwarts he was safe, however.

The room was a bit draughty. Obviously all the rooms you could live undisturbed in were dilapidated. But still, it was neatly done with its green hangings and fluffy carpets, and Sirius was quite content with it. Apart from the fact that he detested green-- it reminded him of the Slytherins. But it was the thought that counted, after all.

A knock on the door woke him from his reverie. The house-elf he had instructed to bring Harry to him had returned with his godson.

"Sirius!" Harry cried and ran to him. "You´re here! Why didn´t you tell me?"

"I returned from my journey to Ireland only this morning. There was no time to let you know by owl, I was too busy recruiting followers for Dumbledore. Most of the centaurs have agreed to help, should it come to a great battle between us and Voldemort, and I believe I may also persuade some goblins and dwarves. But what about you? I see you´ve been playing Quidditch?" he said, looking at Harry´s Quidditch robes.

"Yes," said Harry, smiling broadly. "We just had the match against Ravenclaw. Gryffindor won by ten points."

"Congratulations!" Sirius smiled, patting him on the back. "If you go on like that, you´ll make Charlie Weasley jealous."

"Oh, Charlie´s far better than me," said Harry. "I saw him play last summer. No one can compete with him that easily."

"I´ve got some more good news for you," Sirius said mysteriously.

"Really?" said Harry curiously. "What is it?"

"Sit down." Sirius indicated the free space on the bed next to him. Harry obediently did as he was told, eyeing his godfather expectantly.

"I´m proud to inform you that you are allowed to spend a -- so far -- unlimited amount of time with me," he announced with an air as if Harry had won the first prize in a contest.

"Is that true?" Harry grinned, his eyes shining.

Sirius nodded.

"That´s fantastic!" Harry exclaimed. Then his face fell as he remembered. "But... I won´t have much time."

"Well," Sirius went on, "this morning Dumbledore told me everything that has happened during the last few weeks. About this task you have to fulfil with..." he made a wry face, "...Snape."

"Dumbledore´s told you about it?" Harry said, surprised. "But I thought it was top secret?"

"It is top secret," Sirius confirmed. "But obviously Dumbledore found it necessary to give you some more support-- no wonder, you just can´t trust Snape, can you?-- and so he asked me whether I wanted to help you. Of course I accepted immediately. I can´t leave you alone with that git, can I?"

"That´s wonderful, Sirius!" Harry cried. "I already feared that I had to spend the next weeks only with Snape. That would have been awful!"

"Don´t worry," said Sirius, and there was a glint in his eyes. "If that slimy git puts one toe out of line, then--" he finished the sentence by motioning with his hands as if washing them. "In my school-days I found that Snape is the ideal punching bag. The cursing was sometimes a bit bothersome, that´s true", he added. "But other than that..."

"You´ve beaten up Snape?" Harry asked, incredulously.

"Oh, yes. More than once." Sirius nodded. "The vicious, deceitful snake didn´t deserve anything better. All the time he was spying on us, trying to get us expelled."

Harry couldn´t help grinning at the image of Sirius beating up Snape. Then, unbidden, the memory of the night before came to his mind: the memory of the horribly mangled and broken Snape, and he instantly stopped grinning.

"Is something wrong?" Sirius asked. "You look a bit dejected."

"No," Harry said quickly, "I´m fine." He changed the subject before Sirius could say more. "So what are we going to do next? Has Dumbledore told you anything?"

Sirius frowned slightly at Harry´s answer but didn´t say anything about it. "Well, first you´ve got to find that emerald. Unfortunately, I´m not allowed to join you there. Dumbledore obviously thinks it wouldn´t be very wise for me to roam the school at night. Someone might see and recognise me. As soon as we´ve got the Ayrin, we´ll find out where Voldemort is located, which shouldn´t be too difficult-- Snape ought to know his own second home-- and then... we´ll fight Voldemort."

"How?"

"That´s Snape´s department, I´m afraid. I can´t tell you much about it."

"Does Snape already know about you?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yes, he knows," Sirius said with a smirk on his lips. "And he kicked up a nice row, too, the idiot! But in the end all his sulking was in vain. I bet he´s now in his dungeon, whining into his potions!"

~*~

Severus was, in fact, not whining into his potions. After he had snapped at Professor Vector and had taken fifty points off Gryffindor because he caught Neville Longbottom sneaking out of the school kitchen, his fury had diminished to a bearable degree and he had been able to pour over the notes he had made on the various signs he had come across that morning. They still didn´t make sense to him. There were so many of them, it was impossible to cover them all. Slytherin must have meant a particular sign. A sign that was obvious. Even the heir of Slytherin couldn´t split himself into several beings to observe sixty-eight different rooms. But Slytherin didn´t have a sign of his own unless you counted... the Slytherin House crest.

Severus clapped a hand to his forehead. All of a sudden it seemed the most obvious thing in the world. It had to be the Slytherin House crest. It was the only thing that made sense. Why hadn´t he realised it before? All those hours he had wasted searching those dratted rooms for signs!

But which crest? Several dungeons were adorned with tapestries that bore the coat of arms of Slytherin House.

Follow its beam where it crosses the sign...

Suddenly it hit him. The Slytherin common room! It was one of the few dungeons that had a window, and the window of the common room pointed westward. Severus hadn´t been in the common room often-- usually he only entered it in cases of emergency, such as when the basilisk had been on the loose three years before. Yet he knew that there was a large Slytherin crest carved into the stone right above the fireplace.

It was the only logical explanation.

Severus spat out the pieces of feather from his quill he had been biting off in excitement. He and Harry would be in the Slytherin common room tonight. It was their only chance. According to Sinistra, the next chance was in about a decade and the time they had to act was probably not more than a minute, a few seconds possibly-- no one knew which time-frame Slytherin thought of when he had said `once the clock has struck twelve´. Another generally unknown part of the business was what had to be done or if anything had to be done. But those problems he could worry about later. What was more important now was to inform Dumbledore, get Potter to the dungeons, and make sure no one saw them together, let alone in the Slytherin common room. His calculations would either work out, or their only chance would be wasted.

~*~

It was half past eleven when Harry quietly slipped into Severus´s office. He had brought his Invisibility Cloak, and whether he wanted to or not, Severus had to give him credit for that. He had never thought Potter would be so far-sighted. What luck James had bequeathed the cloak to Harry! Thus the risk of Harry being seen walking around the Slytherin quarters was taken care of. For once the late Potter was useful for something!

"So what do we do now?" Harry asked, clutching at the Invisibility Cloak.

"We are going to the Slytherin common room," Severus said with a frown at Harry as he wrinkled the cloak. "And stop maltreating that. We still need it."

Harry glowered and stopped playing with the cloth.

"I hope you are aware of the danger you are putting yourself in," Severus continued, fixing Harry with a stern gaze. "I need not tell you that we have to proceed with the utmost care and should anyone see us, our lives are as good as lost."

"I thought I was down for Voldemort´s killing spree anyway," Harry shrugged.

"But I am not," Severus snapped, glaring. "You seem to handle both our lives fairly carelessly."

"Ah," Harry said with an air of surprise, "so your life is in my hands, is it?"

Severus couldn´t believe his ears. Was this unbearable brat threatening him?

He advanced on Harry and came to a standstill a few feet in front of him, towering over him. Pure poison flew from his eyes. "Was that a threat?" he said in his most dangerous whisper.

Harry snorted. "You should know that I would never put anyone´s life at risk," he said. "Not even yours."

"I suppose I should be grateful for that," Severus said with heavy sarcasm. Angrily, he strode towards the door. "Are you ready?"

Harry nodded.

"Then put on your Invisibility Cloak."

~*~

Once Harry had done so, he and Snape sneaked out of the office and into the corridor. It was very dark. The torches had all been extinguished and so the corridors were illuminated only by the pale bars of moonlight that trickled through sporadic windows. Snape was preceding Harry as noiselessly as a shadow. He did have a lot of practice in prowling the school at night after all. Harry remembered that whenever he had been out after curfew, Snape had been sure to turn up around the next corner.

He tried to follow Snape as silently as possible under his Invisibility Cloak. Once he tripped over a protruding flagstone and nearly fell to the ground, but he caught himself in time. He didn´t want to contemplate what a racket he would have made, had he really fallen.

Snape stopped at a patch of bare stone wall. "Pure blood," he muttered and the wall parted, leaving a broad opening.

Those Slytherins really weren´t very imaginative as far as passwords were concerned, Harry thought. Back in his second year, when he had entered the Slytherin common room disguised as Goyle, it had been the same one. Either they were really careless and were still using the same one or they were so fond of the word `pure-blood´ that they used it again. The latter was probably the case. Harry could well imagine them having some sort of list of passwords they went through each year: 1. pure blood, 2. evil overlord, 3. Voldie rules!, 4. start at the top again and continue ad nauseum!

Harry stepped through the opening after Snape. The room hadn´t changed at all since the last time he had been there. The greenish, now extinguished lamps were still hanging from the ceiling and the carved chairs-- only visible as shapeless shadows-- were standing in front of the large, empty fireplace. One could hardly see anything as there was but one small, round, stained-glass window right beneath the ceiling. The glass displayed a winding, green serpent on a background of dark-blue, and the moonlight that fell through it cast an amplified version of that picture on the wall opposite.

Harry heard Snape mutter an incantation, and a soft clicking sound told him that the doors to the dormitories were magically locked. Harry felt a bit more secure. At least no one would burst in while they were lying in wait for something extraordinary to happen.

Harry cast a look at the clock on the mantelpiece. It was ten to midnight. There was still some time. He went over to one of the carved chairs that stood in a corner and sat down. It was rather uncomfortable.

Snape, in the meantime, had begun to examine the fireplace. He was tracing his fingers along the carvings above the mantelpiece. They depicted a large, winding serpent, surrounded by a circle of runes. The Slytherins had to be really fond of snakes. Either that or they detested blank walls, because it seemed that wherever they could find a bare patch of wall, they buried it beneath heaps of carved, painted or embroidered serpents. Even the window, the only source of light for this room, was occupied by a snake.

Harry was getting drowsy. He watched the hands of the clock ticking away and nearing midnight. If something didn´t happen soon, he would fall asleep and miss everything!

The projection of the green serpent on the dark-blue background was slowly wandering across the wall in front of Harry. It was almost right above the fireplace, and it seemed odd how it matched the carving in the stone in form and size. The two snakes were displayed in exactly the same position and the round form of the blue background fit exactly into the circle of runes in the stone. In a few minutes, the projection would cover the carving. In a few minutes...

Harry was suddenly wide-awake. In a few minutes it would be midnight, and all this certainly wasn´t a coincidence.

"Potter, where are you?" Snape hissed to the wall at the other end of the room.

"I´m here," Harry whispered, taking off the Invisibility Cloak and laying it beside him. "Professor," he went on, "do you see that serpent above the fireplace? Do you think it´s got something to do with the Ayrin?"

Snape turned around. "Very astute, Potter," he said with an ironic undertone, but there was also something like grudgingly given appreciation in his voice. "Pay attention."

Somewhere deep inside the castle a clock started to chime. Harry counted the heavy strokes.

Nine...ten...eleven...twelve!

He had been right. With the last stroke, the projection from the window covered the stone carving as if the two pictures had never been separated. Harry held his breath. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Snape standing motionless a few feet away from him. There was an almost unbearable tension in the air. The seconds seemed to trickle away in slow motion. Something had to happen or the moment would pass!

"Professor, we´ve got to do something!" he whispered urgently.

"Then kindly tell me what!" Snape hissed back angrily.

Harry got up from his chair and stood before the fireplace. Maybe he could talk to the snake up on the stone, as he had talked to the snakes that were guarding the Chamber of Secrets? He had to try.

Concentrating hard upon the shimmering green snake on the wall and pretending it was real, he said, "Open."

"What?" said Snape, baffled.

It hadn´t worked.

Harry concentrated still harder, imagining the green light to be enamelled skin, the eyes to flash viciously...

"Open," he said again. And this time it wasn´t the word he heard but a low hiss.

Suddenly, the snake seemed to glow. Bright green light was radiating from it, illuminating the room. Then a scraping, grinding noise followed, like stone being dragged over stone, and suddenly the whole fireplace seemed to move. The sound set Harry´s teeth on edge. Beside him, Snape was casting worried looks at the doors to the dormitories. The noise was loud enough to wake the dead.

Harry saw that the fireplace was slowly turning around. Grate, mantelpiece and the carvings above it were disappearing into the wall and some kind of hollow was appearing in their place. Harry stood there with his mouth hanging open and watched as the niche came completely into sight. It was occupied by an enormous statue of a cobra in striking position, its head raised threateningly, the sides of its neck spread like a shield, and its mouth baring foot-long, needle-sharp fangs. While its bulbous right eye flashed with a green shimmer, there seemed to be no left eye.

Harry was still standing motionlessly, awe-struck by the monumental serpent, when Snape called him. He was standing next to it, inspecting its one green eye which was some inches above his head.

Coming to a halt next to Snape, Harry, too, peered at the eye. It was a glittering, multi-faceted emerald, in which the moonlight reflected so strongly that it almost seemed as if the emerald were a source of light itself. Come to think of it-- it didn´t look at all like a normal emerald. Something appeared to move inside it. The emerald seemed strangely alive...

"Is that...?" Harry began in awe and pointed at the eye.

"The Ayrin," Snape finished. "Take it. You are the only one who can touch it."

Harry stretched out his arm but couldn´t reach the Ayrin. It was fastened too high above him. He was just about to move one of the chairs in front of the stone serpent so that he could climb onto it when he heard a rattle from the direction of the dormitories. He froze. Someone was trying to open the door.

Harry looked at Snape in horror. Of course, someone had been bound to hear the racket the disappearing fireplace had been making. And it wouldn´t take long until the Slytherins had figured out how to break the locking charm Snape had set on the doors. What if they burst in and saw them? Everything would have been in vain!

Snape yanked the chair out of Harry´s hand and placed it before the serpent. "Up!" he spat.

Harry woke from his petrifaction, and in a feverish haste, he climbed onto the chair. He seized the emerald and pulled. With a jerk that nearly made him fall backwards off the chair, he ripped the emerald out of the stone.

As soon as the Ayrin had been removed from the stone serpent, the wall began to turn around again with the same horrible racket as before. The fireplace was sliding back into place. Harry quickly jumped down from the chair and took it with him into the middle of the common room. He didn´t want to spend the rest of his life imprisoned in a hiding-place inside a stone wall.

The knocking and hammering on the door had grown stronger, and muffled voices had begun to shout. Harry felt himself seized roughly by the arm and dragged through the door into the corridor. Snape was pulling him mercilessly through the maze of corridors, Harry stumbling after him, the Ayrin clutched firmly in his hand. Only then did he realise with a jolt that he had forgotten his Invisibility Cloak in the Slytherin common room...