The Necromancer Amulet

Author's Notes: Thanks to Elysia Snape for encouragements and excellent beta-reading! Also thanks to Adred Lightfoot for tips on improving the dialogue.

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Chapter Nine - Newly Fallen Snow

The next couple of weeks passed quietly. Desperate not to arouse more suspicion of her past, Secessa tried her best to stay out of the way of Severus Snape. Whenever she met him in the corridors he looked at her guardedly and she would just incline her head politely and hurry on. Luckily, the Potions master did not seem to look for her company, either, but he would sometimes linger in the staff room while she was sitting working there, seemingly completely absorbed in his own work. She was relieved he had stopped speaking to her, and managed to keep her nervousness in check on a daily basis. Most of her evenings were spent in her office with heaps of essays to correct, and as the days got darker, Secessa longed to get out of the dreary castle.

Then, suddenly, the weather changed from fairly mild to freezing cold, and snow fell, loose and glittery. When Secessa stepped out of the main gate one day after dinner, the air glimmered as tiny specks of snow whirled around in a dance, beckoning her to join them. She had been to the owlery earlier, to check up on Odin, and after making sure he was warm and snug, she had been caught by a desperate urge to run around in the snow and forget her troubles for a while.

It was a fairly quiet December night. Since most students huddled together in their common rooms, the grounds were empty. Nevertheless, she carefully scanned the grounds for people before she moved up to a shaded area by the castle wall and transformed.

At once her sense of smell was enhanced and she eagerly breathed in the scent of snow, cold stone and pine, forgetting the temporary aches of her newly transfigured flesh. Her night-vision helped her to navigate easily across the grounds, and all her worries were forgotten as she joyfully embraced the simplicity of the fox. She trotted over to a little meadow on the western side of the large lake, and there she plunged headfirst into the snow, rolling around in its whiteness.

Later, she spent a good while running around the lake, examining the interesting, foreign scents that obviously originated from some very dangerous forest-living animals that had passed there during the day. She would hardly risk entering the forest without properly preparing herself, so in the end she made her way back towards the castle, chasing the odd hare as she went along.

Suddenly, Secessa-the-fox caught the scent of human and she dived down behind a shrub. Carefully peering though it, she saw where the smell came from. A black, hooded shape emerged from the forest crescent, and walked in long strides towards the castle. She recognised his gait - it was Severus Snape. He stopped for a while, as if sensing something, and then he continued onwards. Unconsciously checking that the wind was favourable, Secessa followed suit, closing up on the castle wall. When she found a shaded spot she transformed back, losing her sense of smell and her night vision. Her head was aching slightly, and her limbs were protesting, making her curse the fact that her transfiguration powers were stretched to the limit every time the changed shape. Listening to her own slightly strained breathing, she waited for her body to get used to its human form.

It was very dark, she realised, and brought out her wand and whispered, "Lumos", before she started walking, carefully obliterating her footprints behind her. A pale glow surrounded her as she turned the corner and the main gate came into view. It was closed and there was no sign of the Potions master. What is he up to? Is there another way in?

However, she did not have time to investigate, as she heard the scraping of a hoof coming from her left. When she turned, she saw Firenze, the second Divinations teacher, stand by a stone porch half-covered in snow some yards away from her, gazing towards the stars. She could make out a heavy-set wooden door that she had never noticed before in the darkness behind him. Probably leading to a corridor near his quarters, she decided.

"Mars is very bright tonight," he said loftily, not looking at her.

Peering at the sky, she noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

"Not that a human would notice, of course," he continued with a glance at her, "so immersed in the now that you always are."

Not really knowing what to say, she kept her silence. Firenze turned his gaze towards her, suddenly seeming a bit more concerned, "Danger is brooding, and has been for some time. Tonight's events are a continuation, and a beginning. You should go inside now, Secessa Laburova, for it is not safe to be outdoors."

Secessa stood pondering this strange pronouncement for a short while, and then walked up to the porch and slipped through the door, leaving Firenze to his odd musings. He was obviously a bit mad.

She had never entered the castle through that door before and therefore found herself in a part of the building she had not yet explored. A sloping ramp led upwards towards a hazily lit room that she assumed was Firenze's. To her left was a staircase leading downwards, and to her right a corridor clattered with old furniture. Choosing the stair, she brushed off snow from her cloak as she descended down towards the dungeons.

The Hogwart's dungeons was a damp an eerie place, and she felt a shiver run down her spine as she slowly walked through arched corridors set in heavy stone. Soon, she lost her bearings due to the many twists and turns of her path, and after a while she was beginning to wonder whether using Firenze's entrance had been such a good idea.

She shuddered with cold in the damp surroundings, and raising her wand a little, she tried to send a bit more light down the dark pathways, but she did not see any sign of people, or of any staircases leading upwards. When she had come to what seemed to be her fifteenth junction she sighed audibly. She had been there before, a good half-hour ago, and she began despairing about finding a way out.

Just as she was about to step into one of the corridors a strong arm caught her around the neck from behind and she was effortlessly shoved into a corner. A tall black shape held her steady with one arm and used the other to point a wand between her eyes.

"What are you doing down here? Please do not waste my time, for I am in an especially foul mood today!" The quiet, sinister voice belonged to Professor Snape.

She was completely taken aback by his aggressiveness. Her heart beat a bit faster, but she tried to make her voice steady as she spoke.

"Please, release me. This is hardly appropriate."

He did not move, his gaze fixed on hers. She tried again. "I was lost and I took a wrong turn. That can hardly be illegal. I went down the wrong staircase, that's all." Her fear was slowly building now. Had she caught him doing something in secret, perhaps?

"Really."

He looked at her sternly and she looked back evenly at him, trying to calm herself. They had hardly spoken since her nightmare, and suspense seemed to hang in the air between them. They stared at each other for a couple of minutes and then Snape lowered his wand slowly. It seemed with great effort that he removed his arm from her throat and stood back.

"You are very lucky indeed that I found you," he said curtly. "This dungeon is enchanted with a spell that makes you lose your way. Follow me."

And with that, he muttered a few inaudible words and flicked his wand. The surrounding stones shimmered briefly, and then he walked right through one of the walls. She stared at it, unmoving. He stepped back through it, his eyes blazing.

"Well, do you want to get out of here or not?" he snarled. "I haven't got all night."

She quickly moved towards the wall and stepped through it. At the other side was another arched corridor, very alike the one she had just left. Snape appeared beside her and then walked through another wall. She followed

Actually, the walls that had seemed so solid seemed to now be made out of thin air and they were walking on some sort of path that only the Potions master could make out. Eventually they emerged at a staircase that led upwards. To her right, she recognised the corridor that led to the Slytherin common room. When she turned around she saw only a heavy-set stone wall and she inhaled sharply with surprise as she touched it with her hand and found it to be solid. Snape smiled thinly and walked before her up the stairs.

She finally seemed to regain her voice as they walked through the corridor by the Main Hall, a good space apart.

"How did you find me?"

"I was checking the castle defences." His voice was short.

"Why, has something happened?"

He paused, as if deciding something, and then continued. "I suppose you will hear about it soon enough. The Azkaban prison was taken by the Dark Lord tonight. We should be vigilant. There may be an attack on the school."

She put her hand over her mouth.

"Then we must remove the children. Surely, we cannot continue our lessons..."

"The Headmaster wishes everything to remain as normal as possible. I am sure he will give you directions as of what to do in the morning. But perhaps you could restrain yourself from leisure walks from now on."

They arrived at the staircase leading to her quarters.

"Here you are." It was a curtly pleasantry, verging on indifference. Seeming to want to get rid of her company very quickly, he turned around and walked away.

"Severus?"

He stopped dead with his back to her. She realised she had not used his first name before, and waited for a correction. It did not come.

"Yes."

"Thank you."

There was a pause. He looked back at her with a stony face.

"Not at all. But do try to stay out of the dungeons. I am not your personal caretaker." And within the blink of an eye, he had disappeared around the corner and out of sight. Secessa looked after him thoughtfully, thinking about what he had just said about the Azkaban prison. He had seemed concerned, actually. Very concerned.

*

"Do come in, Severus."

Severus opened the door to the Headmaster's office and entered. Dumbledore was still at his desk, his pensieve by his side. A small shape was revolving in it, but Severus could not make out what it was.

"The dungeon defences have been checked and reinforced."

"Excellent, thank you Severus." Dumbledore was still looking at the pensieve, pondering.

"I also found Professor Laburova down in the dungeons."

The Headmaster looked up, surprised and amused.

"Really? And what was she doing down there?"

Severus snorted.

"She claimed to have lost her way."

"A very plausible explanation. I remember doing the very same thing when I first arrived here," Dumbledore said benignly. "After all, there is nothing down there but rats. She would not go there on purpose, I think."

"Still, I feel I must again remind you of my earlier concerns considering Professor Laburova," Severus said with intensity. "Her connections with Death Eaters..."

"A situation explained when she first arrived here, if I remember correctly. She was telling the truth then, which is why I fear no threat from her."

"Still, the correct questions might not have been asked. She obviously harbours secrets. Her workings in Necromancy, for instance. And she has an odd curse-scar on her hand, as I have informed you of before. She seems to have dealt with several kinds of dark magic."

His anger was building since he was already in a bad mood.

"She also claims to be our ally. Something rare these days if I may say so." Dumbledore's voice was calm, as always.

"Still, the fact that the Dark Lord is sending more Death Eaters to Russia is worrying. Laburova seems to have some knowledge of what is going on, but she refuses to tell us. I do not see the sense in pampering her any further. Surely, another little questioning session would be advantageous for the Order?" Severus had calmed down slightly, and was speaking softly and determinably.

The Headmaster looked at him with concern in his eyes. "I am afraid you underestimate the fear Professor Laburova seems to be harbouring. I have seen it, but only because she lets me see it. The day the Dark Mark was conjured, she was ready to leave. I do not think she will react well to threats. In fact, I believe the only way to make her confide in us is to make her trust us. But that may take some time."

"The world is at stake," Severus said curtly. "We do not have that time. Whatever goes on in Russia, it is happening outside my domains. There is no other way of finding out what is going on, but from," he quickly corrected his previous slip, "Professor Laburova."

"We all carry secrets, Severus, to be revealed at some point, I am sure. We just have to be patient."

Severus became silent at the mention of his own affairs, raging inwardly. Dumbledore seemed oblivious as he sat back, fingertips together.

"I merely thought, Headmaster, that she should at least share confidences with you...."

"Which I am certain that she will do, when she is ready. Until then, I hope that you set your suspicions aside and make her feel comfortable here."

They looked at each other in silence, Dumbledore calmly and Severus with his eyes blazing somewhat. He swallowed, accepting defeat.

"Well, Headmaster, as long as you are aware of my concerns."

"I am, Severus, very well. And now perhaps both of us should get some sleep. It has been a long day."

There was nothing more he could do. Severus inclined his head slightly, and then turned on his heel and walked towards the door in long strides, but when he came to the door, he stopped.

"I will, of course, continue to monitor her movements."

"Yes of course, as long as you feel that it is needed." The little glint in the Headmaster's eye did not escape him. "Good night, Severus."

Severus tried to bury his annoyance. One day or the other, he was going to find out about Secessa Laburova's mysterious dealings in the Dark Arts. After all, it was only a matter of time.

"Headmaster."

The door closed quietly behind him as he left. Dumbledore looked at the door for a while, smiled to himself, and then returned to his pensieve.

Author notes: There are more chapters waiting to be read! Thanks for reading and please review!