Harry Potter and the Touch of Innocence

Harry Potter and the Touch of Innocence
Chapter 4 - Saluto Anguis: Hail the Serpent

Sirius Black slipped a few Muggle coins into the pay phone and cautiously dialed a number. He knew it was risky to be in human form on the London streets, and even riskier to be using Muggle technology, but he had run out of time. Something dark had awoken, and Lupin needed to know about it.

'Pick up, Moony ...' he muttered to himself, gripping the phone between his chin and his shoulder.

The electronic beeping ceased for a moment, and there was silence.

'Stupid Muggles ...' he hissed, along with a few other spur-of-the-moment words. 'Can't rely on them to do any-'

'Sirius?' a weary voice on the other side of the line asked.

'Remus!' Maybe they weren't so unreliable after all.

'How did you get this number?'

Sirius grinned to himself. 'Dumbledore got it, actually. How did Dumbledore get it? Who knows?' He paused. 'I never thought about this before, but why do you have a Muggle telephone in your apartment?'

'It's my roommate's actually. She's doing a six month intensive course in Muggle Studies - she's an exchange student from Australia. It was ringing, so I picked it up.'

His grin widened. 'She?'

'Yes she, Sirius,' Lupin replied testily. 'Was there something you needed to tell me, or is Dumbledore now into prank calls?'

Sirius paused. 'Can you meet me at the station in half an hour?'

'Of course, Padfoot.' It sounded as though he was grinning. 'Just like old times, back in Hogwarts.'

'Just like old times,' Sirius agreed.

---

Harry took a deep breath. Suddenly, every pair of eyes in the room - including Crabbe's - was focused on him. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled.

'It's called the Casket of Sin,' he began - or at least he meant to. The sharp look of recognition from Dumbledore stopped him as suddenly as if his mouth had been stuffed full of cotton. Behind him, he could hear Snape's breathing stop. Unfortunately for him and the future generations of Hogwarts students that would be taking Potions, it started again after a few moments.

'Professor?' Harry asked tentatively.

'This is more serious than I thought,' Dumbledore mused, half to himself. His deep blue eyes were lost in thought. 'So Voldemort opened the Casket of Sin.'

Suddenly Ron was by Harry's side. 'How do you - how do you know?' he asked urgently.

'I think we'd all like to know that,' Lupin said quietly.

Harry's bottle green eyes were somber. 'She told me, Ron,' he said but his voice was barely more than a whisper. He immediately wished he hadn't said anything. Ron's face contorted in a collision of buried emotions.

Hermione, on the other hand, caught on almost immediately. 'The One Who Lives in Dreams!' she said excitedly. Harry nodded.

'You know - Headmaster - if Voldemort (- half the room cringed -) has indeed gotten his hands on the Casket ...' It was Snape. 'This changes everything. He can't be permitted to keep it. We must get it back from him.'

'What?' Sirius asked swiftly. Harry's head swiveled to stare at him - he hadn't realised his godfather had been in the room. 'What's the Casket?'

'No one knows for sure - not even Voldemort,' Dumbledore said heavily. 'It has been opened only twice before - and no one knows how it was stopped. Or, for that matter, where it was hidden.'

'Who opened it before?' Hermione asked. She was breathless; her eyes were shining.

'The first time, it was an accident,' Snape spoke up. His arms were crossed over his chest and his face was serious. 'The girl was ignorant and curious. It was a punishment. The second time however ... that was deliberate,' he finished curtly.

'Let me get this straight,' Sirius said. He strode to the center of the dungeon. 'There's this Casket. And it's evil. Voldemort has it - but no one knows a) what it does b) how it can be stopped or destroyed, or c) where it was hidden.'

'You forgot d) who created it, e) how Voldemort got his hands on it, and f) how we can get it back and save the world,' Snape snapped.

'Legend says that it was created by the gods as a punishment for man,' Dumbledore said. 'But that's a mix of magic and Muggle theory. Whatever truth is in that myth is so hopelessly entangled in it that we cannot possibly hope to single it out.'

Harry frowned. It sounded familiar ...

'There may be a book in the Restricted Section of the library on it,' Dumbledore said. 'If not, Minerva may have one - or there may be one in my office somewhere.' He swept out without another word.

Lupin stared after him. 'He's worried,' the werewolf noted.

'Of course he is!' Snape said. 'Who wouldn't be? It's the Casket of Sin. You don't understand, do you? The last time it was opened it came this close to draining out all the magic in Britain.'

'Oh my ...' Hermione whispered.

Sirius frowned. 'How do you know so much?' he asked suspiciously.

'Unlike you, I have not been devoting my time to breaking out supposedly impenetrable wizard prisons and making fools people. I do my homework - which, as I remember, you never did.'

'I didn't need to,' Sirius snapped. 'I learned all my work from class. You were too busy teaching your classmates dark magic. Don't think I didn't notice.'

Snape narrowed his eyes. 'Dark magic? At least I knew some magic ...'

With a growl, Sirius was over in front of Snape, and was gripping him by the collar of his shirt. 'How dare you ...'

But Lupin was already pulling him off before he could begin swearing. 'We're all in the same boat, Sirius,' he said. 'We don't have that many allies. As annoying as he may be, Snape is on our side. Dumbledore trusts him. That's good enough for me.'

Sirius stared at Snape for a long moment before letting him go.

Snape rubbed the base of his neck. 'Thanks a lot, Lupin,' he said sarcastically.

'I was on your side!' Lupin objected.

Ron, who had been silent for the past few minutes, turned to Harry. 'Was - was she happy?'

Harry smiled as reassuringly as he could. 'She was happy.'

'That's ... good,' Ron said. Then, again, 'That's good.' The words seemed to lift a heavy burden from his mind. Harry, on the other hand, was still thinking. Where had he heard about the Casket of Sin?

'You'd better watch yourself,' Sirius was saying to Snape. 'Or we might just forget that we're supposed to report if you're in any danger ...'

'I wonder what Dumbledore would do to you if you did,' Snape retorted.

'Ooh, Severus,' Sirius mocked in as girly voice he could manage. 'Run to Dumbledore, quick!'

Lupin began to laugh, momentarily forgetting his role as peacemaker.

'Erm ... we do sort of have a crisis here,' Hermione interrupted somewhat timidly.

'Right.' Sirius resumed his characteristic pacing of the dungeon. 'Sorry. I was ... distracted.'

Lupin laughed even harder. 'Snape tends to do that to him ...'

Snape growled. 'Well, if none of you have anything better to do, I'll be leaving now.' He swept up his suitcase.

'Where're you going, Professor?' Crabbe asked. Everyone jumped - they had forgotten he was here.

'I have something to do,' Snape told him, but not without rolling his eyes skyward. 'Dumbledore's orders. I didn't really need any encouragement - anything to get away from those two.'

'Then who's going to teach Potions?' Ron said enthusiastically. 'Is Lupin coming back - or maybe Sirius-?'

'Don't be silly,' Hermione told him. 'Sirius is still a convicted murderer to most of Britain, remember?'

'Sorry,' apologized Ron. He tapped the side of his head. 'Memory like a sieve.'

'Can we please stay on track here?' Lupin asked worriedly.

'But I want to know who's taking-'

'I don't know that, Ron,' Lupin said exasperatedly. Then, after a pause, 'Maybe Imogen.'

'Your roommate?' Sirius demanded, suddenly grinning maniacally.

'Your roommate?' Snape's voice climbed an octave.

'Why do I even bother ...?' Lupin went to sit by himself in a corner. 'What's wrong with me having a roommate?'

'It's almost a pity Dumbledore's sent us off as well,' Sirius said. 'I really wanted to meet her.'

'I thought you had better sense than that.'

'Here's an idea,' Ron spoke up. 'How about we send a letter to Voldemort and tell him we surrender? If we're supposed to be saving the world, we're all dead.'

Silence.

'That really wasn't very funny, Ron,' Hermione told him.

'George has some scented pink stationary we could use - Ow! What the hell was that for, Herm?'

Snape snickered, then quickly moved to hide the expression by turning away. 'That's my cue to leave. Goodbye.' Before anyone could stop him, he had disappeared out the door.

'Well, finally,' Sirius muttered, staring after him. Lupin jabbed him in the back of his head with his wand.

'Don't be in such a hurry to celebrate,' he grated. 'We've got to go after him, remember?'

Sirius swore, much to the amazement of Harry, Ron and Hermione.

'At least I'm not going to be in direct contact with him,' he said. 'Or else what he-' he jerked his head in Ron's direction '- said won't be far from the truth. Nothing could convince me or Snape to stay in the same room without ripping each other's head off.'

Hermione looked startled; Lupin's grey eyes twinkled with concealed mirth. Sirius noticed Hermione's expression, 'In a non literal sense, of course,' he added hastily, but in a tone that betrayed his real thoughts. 'C'mon, Lupin. We've got work to do.'

'Right.' Lupin followed Sirius out of the door - or would've if Harry hadn't spoken up.

'Pandora's Box,' he said, his eyes wide in realization.

'What?' Lupin asked, dragging Sirius back into the room.

'Pandora's Box,' Harry repeated.

When this repetition failed to gain understanding, he explained, 'Don't you see? The Casket of Sin - it's Pandora's Box. That's what was opened in the beginning of time.'

---

Dumbledore flicked a book open and ran his finger swiftly down the page. 'Here it is,' he proclaimed, and Harry, Hermione and Ron clustered around him.

'"One by one they will emerge. Slowly, at first, then faster. They seek only energy and power. They will not rest. Once Pandora's Box has been opened, they will not stop until they have consumed all."' There was silence as this sunk into the group.

Ron read aloud from another book. '"Zeus commanded his crippled son Hephaestus to model a girl from clay. He made Athene breathe life into her and instruct her in the womanly arts of fine sewing and cooking; Hermes the quick-witted taught her guile, deception and a false charm, and Aphrodite showed her how to be desirable to all men. Other goddesses robed her in a dress of silver and placed a garland on flowers on her hair. The girl was brought before Zeus. 'Take this casket,' he said, passing her a box of burnished copper. 'It is yours, but though you must always keep it by you, you must never in any circumstances open it. Do not ask me why, but be happy that the gods have given you all that any woman could desire.'"

Hermione stared at him breathlessly. 'What happened next?'

'"'Now we must find a husband who will love you as you should be loved,' Zeus went on, 'and I know just the man. Epimetheus is handsome and young and will give you a good life down on earth.'"

'Who's Epimetheus?' Harry asked.

'Prometheus's brother,' Dumbledore explained. 'According to the myths, Prometheus first gave man fire and was deeply punished for it. This, it seems, was Zeus's plan to ruin him finally.'

Ron went on. '"When they were married, Epimetheus took the box away from Pandora and locked it safely away. At first Pandora was so happy with her new life that she forgot all about the box, but as time went on she wondered about it more and more often. 'Why can't we have just one small glimpse inside?" she asked him every day.'

Harry whistled. Dumbledore nodded conceedingly. 'Foolish girl,' he said.

'"One day, when Epimetheus was sleeping soundly, Pandora crept into his room and put the casket on a table. For a moment she hesitated, fear overcoming her curiosity. It was only for a moment, however, and then she lifted the lid."

Hermione choked - she had been so engrossed in the story she had forgotten to breathe.

'"As she did so there was the rushing sound of great wind, and Pandora stepped back in horror. Out of the box flew all evils which have troubled us since that moment. Desperately Pandora tried to close the lid, but it was too late. The box's contents were scattered far and wide in the world. "'

'Wait a minute,' Harry said. 'Does it say anything else about what was inside the box?'

Ron scanned the page momentarily. 'Nope,' he concluded. 'Nothing else. "... all the evils which have troubled us since this moment." That's it.'

'As indefinite as it may be,' Dumbledore said, 'it's all the information we have here and now. However - I think you'll agree with me when I say Voldemort certainly has the Casket.'

Harry nodded. Arandelle had told him that much.

'Professor Snape has gone to spy on Voldemort - and he knows that he must steal it back.' Dumbledore's aged voice was deadly serious. 'I must ask you to not reveal this information to anyone else.'

'Of course,' Hermione said, barely concealing her excitement.

'How come Snape knows so much about the box?' Ron demanded.

Dumbledore smiled, in spite of his bluntness. 'Snape knows things about the Dark Lord that we can only imagine. Which is what, I might add, makes him such a powerful ally.'

Ron opened his mouth to protest but Harry, thinking on his feet, elbowed him in the ribs. Dumbledore continued, 'If Professor Snape is still in shape, he'll be in Voldemort's inner circles within a week - or at least, he'll have access to them. Then Lupin can sneak in and get the box. Is that clear?'

'Like crystal, Professor,' Harry replied.

---

Snape took a deep breath. The walls of the fortress were huge and he was sure that every square inch of the place was covered with some sort of hex - most likely leading to a graphic and very painful death. The wrought iron gates - more for decoration that keeping anyone out - were huge and foreboding. There was a huge coat of arms on the gate, featuring a very large and realistic snake. With an ironic sense of impending doom, Snape stepped up to it.

The snake writhed, seeming to chase its own tail. Then it moved forward, out of the emblem, it's black face rearing up at Snape. 'Password?' it hissed with malice.

Praying that Dumbledore's sources had been right, he said, 'Saluto Anguis.'

'Caput Anguis,' the serpent replied before returning to its post on the coat of arms. Slowly and surely the gates swung open. Feeling as if he was walking into hell itself, Snape proceeded forward. But he'd hardly taken more than a few steps before a voice from behind stopped him.

'Well, well, well.' The voice was feminine and distinctly amused. 'Severus Snape.'

He stopped dead, his eyes narrow in recognition. Putting on a brave face, he turned around.

'Caetes!' he said with fake joviality. 'It's been a while.'

'Too long, Severus,' Caetes said, tossing her blood red hair into the suddenly cold wind. 'Too long.'

'How are Lues and Inopia?' he asked.

'They're fine,' Caetes replied without emotion. Her eyes burned the same colour as her hair. 'See for yourself.'

He whirled around, coming face to face with the three sisters of death. Lues had sickly green eyes and grey hair while Inopia was the tallest of the three, with hair as black as emptiness and hungry grey eyes. All three were dressed in wispy black robes.

'Where have you been, Severus?' Lues asked, draping her arms around him and licking the side of his face. He shuddered involuntarily.

Inopia stared at him with suspicion. 'Yes, where have you been?' she asked scathingly.

'I noticed you weren't the first to return into the Dark Lord's service,' Snape replied.

'At least we returned,' she snarled before flouncing away.

'We all went into hiding when he was defeated,' Snape continued, trying to ignore Lues's advances. 'None of us were keen to get caught by that nosy, big headed Minister.' He made no move to apologize to Fudge, even in his mind. The Minister of Magic had it coming to him anyway.

'He'll be pleased to see you,' Caetes said. 'Come.'

All too eager, Snape made his way across the dying garden to the front door of the mansion. A different snake was engraved into the wood on the door.

'Caput Anguis,' it said and the door opened.

The main hall was massive - visually bigger than the entire building had been from the outside. A gothic spiral staircase rose from the floor, which had been tiled alternating black and white. The colours were poorly chosen but somehow appropriate. Demon sculptures decorated the staircase at intervals and violent paintings lined the walls where peeling wallpaper had given up. Ancient swords were hung from the chandelier in the middle of the building (and lit most of it), and they glowed a weak yellow. All in all, the design were very effective - for a mausoleum.

'You'll be staying on the third floor,' Lues told him while playing absent-mindedly with his hair.

'Great,' he said, squinting at his surroundings. 'Is it normally this dark in here? I'm having trouble-'

'Not always,' Caetes answered. 'In daytime it's horrible - the sun shines through the skylight up there.' She pointed to the glass dome at the very top of the mansion.

'But we stay in our rooms with the vampires when it's too bright,' Lues continued her sister's words. 'Sunlight is for birds,' she added with distaste.'

'Absolutely,' Snape said, looking like a person who'd never said "absolutely" in his entire life. 'Err ... did someone get my bag?'

'I'll go see to it right away,' Caetes replied and disappeared into another room. Lues looked at him gleefully - she'd finally gotten him to herself.

'Caetes is so boring nowadays ...' the sister of disease drawled. Grabbing the front of his robes, she pinned him to a wall and began to tear off the rest of his clothes.

'Uhh ... Lues?' Snape said, looking extremely uncomfortable. He tried to push her away. 'Can we do this some other time?'

'It's been so long, though, Severus,' she complained, throwing his shirt to the ground. He shivered as cold air rushed over his bare chest.

'Let him go, Lues,' a new voice commanded with authority. 'Go find yourself other amusements. This one is mine.'

Snape stiffened slightly at the sound, clenching his fists to his sides. And as Lues backed away unwillingly, he saw her face for the first time in years.

'Libitina,' he said in a shaking voice.

'Hello, Severus,' his former love greeted him with a cold smile.