Scar Mates

SPELLBOUND

Upon their return to the dungeon rooms, Snape pointedly ignored Dumbledore's suggestion that they both have a brandy. Striding to the desk, his wand was out and the drawer already unlocked and open before he even reached it. Grabbing the box from within, he pivoted to return to where the Headmaster still stood.

Ignoring the outstretched hand, the old man stepped by him, saying, "Let's sit, shall we, Severus?"

Infuriating....dissembling....manipulative....

"Yes, I can see why you might feel that way just now. But I've been on my feet too long, so if we're to continue this, humor an old man and take a seat."

Now muttering invectives under this breath, Snape joined him by the fire, but did not sit. Instead he spilled the contents of the box into the Headmaster's lap. "I knew the moment you dangled that thing in front of me that she'd saddled me with some sort of Protection Charm. I've no doubt that you knew it too." He paused. "You were toying with me, Albus," he said icily.

"Toying with you? No, I was not, Severus. Considering the possibilities. Weighing the motives. Examining the alternatives. Well, yes, I stand guilty of those charges. But toying with you? It pains me to hear that you think I was. When have I ever toyed with you, Severus?"

Ah yes....toying with me....let me count the ways.

Dumbledore ignored him. "I withheld information until there was sufficient evidence to support it."

Snape still simmered, but the fire had been turned down considerably.

"Can you at least divulge where you got your amulet?" he asked.

"From Harry." Dumbledore replied simply.

"I guessed as much. And he simply walked into your office and handed it over?"

"Of course not. It was removed from him that night in the cottage at Mallaig. Poppy found it when she removed his clothing to examine him."

Snape sank into the chair opposite him. "I've shown you mine, Albus. Now let's have another look at yours."

The Headmaster reached into his robes and pulled out the smaller object, then taking the other from his lap, he spread them both out on the small table between them. Both men leaned in. Reaching out a finger, Snape prodded them so that the two stones lay side by side.

"They're absolutely identical, except for scale," he breathed.

Dumbledore nodded. "Similar to a parent-child amulet set. Many wizarding families have a set that is passed down from generation to generation. They're usually protective in nature, as you may have guessed."

"Hmmm....yes, but whatever possessed her to give such a thing to me, Albus? These would've come down through the Potter family. I can't imagine that James would've permitted such a thing."

"James?" the Headmaster asked dubiously. "I don't think these came from James' side of the family."

"But from where then? Lily's family would never have possessed such things."

Dumbledore sat back in his chair. "No, I suppose not," he said slowly.

Snape stared at the amulets a minute longer, then looked up to catch the Headmaster watching him intently. "Albus," he growled in warning. "This is not the time to make me dig. You've had the boy's amulet for years. Surely you must know something about it."

Dumbledore nodded. "I do. This is a first generation set, Severus. It was made for this generation. It has no history before Harry."

Snape was thunderstruck. "But if that were true, Albus, why would James agree to part with it? Lily would never have given it without his permission."

The Headmaster hesitated, then dealt the final blow. "They were not made for Harry and James, Severus. They were made for Harry and....you."

Severus Snape was speechless. He opened his mouth to speak, but could find no words.

Dumbledore took pity on him. "Everything that goes into the making of a set such as this is done to reflect the identity of the bearers." He paused to make sure that Snape was following him. "Consider the outward appearance. Gold was used to make the chain and the foundation of the globes. Now, gold is a statement that the bearers of the amulets are precious and highly valued by the maker, indeed even loved. Most amulet sets are not made of gold, but silver. But it was important to the maker of this set that the bearers know that they were treasured beyond wealth."

He fingered the chains, turning them over to display the craftsmanship. "Much painstaking work was required to achieve such a beautiful effect. Notice that the chains are actually plaits of finer cords. This strengthens the chain, but also foreshadows the bonding between the child and....the adult. And that is definitely what we have here, Severus, a child-adult set. The smaller amulet is exactly one-third the size of the larger, the same disproportion we see between a boy and a man."

Snape had found his voice. "She lied to me," he said, a trace of disbelief in his voice, "she lied about why she was giving it to me. She charmed the amulets so that I would be inclined to protect the boy?"

The Headmaster's eyes were calculating as he tried to decide how best to proceed. "It's not just a Protection amulet, Severus," he warned. "There's much more to it than that, I'm afraid."

Snape nodded. Nothing was ever simple with Lily.

Dumbledore plunged on. "Now, to further lock you in, if you have any doubts remaining that the amulet was intended for you, consider the gems." Sanpe leaned in once again, and the old man placed the larger globe in his hand. "The gems are ruby and onyx. Ruby is the mystical birthstone for July, Harry's birth month, and onyx," he paused, allowing Snape to complete the couplet.

"...is for December, my birth month."

The old man nodded. "Not the birthstones of either Lily or James, but....you."

Snape was still incredulous. "But why, Albus? Whatever possessed her to do such a thing? Surely she should have chosen James or herself." As soon as he said the words, the reason for her choice was suddenly clear to him. "Because," he said, answering his own question slowly, "she knew that both she and James were in grave danger. Her intention was to create a bond with a third protector in the event that the primary ones were incapacitated." He looked sick at heart.

Dumbledore agreed. "Most likely, that is probably what compelled her. And despite the path that you had chosen, she had met with you on two occasions since your taking the Dark Mark, and on both accounts had found evidence that you still loved her. She knew her own heart, of course, in that matter. I have no doubt that she deeply loved James, but as I told you before, falling in love does not mean one stops loving those who have come before."

The Potions Master was still struggling to take it all in. "Even if she knew that I still loved her, why would she think that as a Death Eater I would ever be in a position to protect him?"

"She believed that love would find a way. And perhaps she thought if Voldemort was truly a threat to the boy, who better to protect her son than one of the trusted inner circle, who would have knowledge of schemes and plans to harm him. Was she wrong in this?" he asked softly.

"No," Snape said dully. "But she was right for the wrong reasons. Even without the amulet, and the more obvious fact of my defection, I would have tried to protect him because he was Lily's son. How could she have not known this?"

"Think of it as insurance, Severus. A mother would not take chances. Perhaps she felt it would be asking too much of you. He is James' son, after all."

Snape was ready to move on. "So the basic component is a Protection Charm?"

"That is a component, yes. And for most European amulets, that is the extent of it, fashioned of symbolic metal and gems, then charmed with a spoken spell. That is the usual tradition with the family sets that are passed down in Europe. This set, however, is of another ilk altogether."

Of course. Lily would never do anything in the ordinary way.

The Headmaster continued to instruct. "Most European amulets are flat. You see that this set is not. They are spherical, in fact, because they contain something."

Snape braced himself. He knew what was coming. He was a Potions Master, after all. "I should have recognized it. This is a Gau, isn't it?" he asked, distressed. "A Tibetan amulet?"

"Yes," Dumbledore confirmed. "That's exactly what it is. The contents vary depending on the desired effect. The maker combines the ingredients outside the amulet. This one contains prehnite and pyrite, both which strengthen the life force and enhance communication between the bearers. There are also more of the tiny gemstones we see on the exterior, and of course, there are personal elements included as well, obtained from both the bearers and the maker. All of this is mixed together with softened beeswax, and then pressed into the cavity of the amulet. Once the amulet is closed, the clasps are set. That summarizes the physical construction of the amulet." He paused before moving on to the more magical elements. "As you said, I have had Harry's amulet for some time. Several months ago, I took the liberty of asking Nicolas to have a look at it. He was able to tell me a great deal about its actual properties without disturbing the seal itself."

In the middle of this explanation, Snape had stood and gone for a brandy. Setting one in front of the Headmaster, he returned to the fire, and paced impatiently until the old man finished. "How nice of you to try and sugarcoat that alarming piece of information with such a charming discourse on amulet-making, Albus." He glowered at the man. "What 'personal concerns' are contained within this amulet, may I ask?"

Dumbledore was prepared for the question. "It is hair from both you and Harry. It was not hard to collect corroborative evidence, as both of you reside here in the castle."

Snape decided to forgo the protest. "And what of the maker? What of herself did Lily contribute?"

"Blood, Severus. We were able to confirm that also, as Harry is a blood relative."

Snape felt a chill, then shuddered. He had stopped pacing, rooted to the spot. "Blood?" he repeated in question. "She used her own blood in a Protection Charm?"

The Headmaster was looking at him sympathetically as he answered. "No, not a Protection Charm, Severus. A binding spell."

"A binding spell? Oh dear Merlin. I swear, Albus, if I could have her back for just one instant I'd strangle her on the spot. A blood spell," he repeated in disbelief. "It's Dark Magic, Albus. Where did she ever learn such a thing? I can't believe this. They're all but unbreakable." He threw himself into the chair opposite Dumbledore, abandoning his brandy to the table top. "She used Dark Magic to bind me to the boy," he said, as if trying to make himself believe it by repeating the fact.

As he continued to slowly shake his head, the Headmaster reached over and claimed the abandoned brandy for himself. "Not Dark Magic, really. Rather Deep Magic. Deep Magic came long before. It's elemental magic at its oldest and purest. Dark Magic is, in reality, a perversion of Deep Magic. It is the intention of the wizard, or witch in this case, that makes the distinction. It is true, we did underestimate Lily. She had an interest in the practice of Deep Magic even while here at Hogwart's. I am not surprised that she pursued it after leaving. She was a resourceful young woman, Severus, and probably one of the most intelligent and powerful witches of her generation, just as young Miss Granger will no doubt turn out to be in her own."

Snape watched in irritation as the old man finished his brandy. He was curious, however. "How did she do it, Albus, imbue a Gau with a binding spell?"

The Headmaster reverted to his instructive tone. "Once the amulets were closed, she used a uniquely designed spell. As the spell is incanted, the amulets are smoked using a candle that contains elements of the matrix within, in this case the hair and blood. The spell binds the matrix inside the amulets together physically, even as the bearers are bound magically. The presence of the blood of the maker enables the spell to bind the bearers over long distance, even if they are separated from the amulets themselves. In the final moments of the incantation, the actual words of the spell are inscribed on the metal of the amulets." The words were barely out of his mouth before the Potions Master grabbed up the larger amulet to inspect the back of it. Dumbledore chuckled. "Really, Severus. She would not make it that easy. It's there, no doubt, but it will take some work on our part to make it visible." He paused, then added, "It's not unbreakable, you know. Nicolas told me it would be very difficult, but not impossible."

Something perplexing had just occurred to Snape. "Albus, if it's true that distance and possession do not affect the binding, why did I not feel the child until he came to Hogwart's?"

There was satisfaction in the old man's eyes. "Harry was then under the protection of another powerful blood spell, Severus, the blood bond conferred upon him by his mother's death, and continued by living under the protection of a blood relative." He stopped, then decided to give an answer to the question that he knew the other man would soon ask. "There is the question, Severus, of why the two of you now feel pain when in close proximity. Remember that the binding spell of the amulets was a powerful mixing of love--Lily's love for Harry and her love for you. This microcosm of power lay around the child's neck when Voldemort cast the killing curse on the boy. The power of the Avada Kedavra mingled with the sacrifice of the mother and the power of the amulets. The product of that explosive impact was, as we know, the downfall of Lord Voldemort, and a child who bears a curse scar. But it also produced, I believe, a distortion in the binding spell that links the two of you now through the scars which you both received from Voldemort. He himself was responsible for the distortion. Rather circular reasoning, I'm afraid, but that is what is at the root of this pathological connection The more important connection, the protective binding that Lily intended, still remains, you cannot deny it."

The Potions Master sighed. "No, I cannot. It remains, just as she intended. The distortion is not her fault. She could never have foreseen it."

"If it were possible," the old man chided, "to leave the power of the amulets intact, and yet remove the distortion, I would choose that path. However," he continued as Snape jerked up his head, "I do not believe that to be possible. We will have to undo it altogether." They remained silent for a moment. "You yourself have told me that you would pledge yourself to protect the boy, even without this compulsion to do so."

Snape nodded stiffly. "I made a promise to Lily....and to you. And whatever you may think, I was not compelled in either case."

Dumbledore gestured to the larger amulet. "I would like to have it for now. It may help Nicolas to have them both, in trying to reveal the inscriptions."

Snape pushed it toward him. "If possible, when it is undone, I should like to have it returned to me." Ignoring the faint surprise on the Headmaster's face, he asked, "I don't suppose it can be forced in any way? Would just unsealing it help to undo the spell?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, in fact, Nicolas assures me that great harm might befall the opener if done in that manner. Lily knew what she was about." He pursed his lips, thinking. "It's rather like when you have a great knot in your shoelace. You can force it by breaking the lace, in which case the lace is ruined, and sometimes the shoe as well. Or you can sit down and pull over a light and examine the knot. Once you've studied all the twists and loops, you can begin to carefully pick it out, damaging neither the lace nor the shoe. Such is the case here." He gave a small smile. "That was Nicolas' metaphor, not mine. I wish I'd thought of it, actually."

***

They had a quiet dinner, the two of them, a celebration of sorts. Although the problem of the connection had not yet been solved, the root of it had been exposed. As they talked and laughed, enjoying the verbal abuse they sometimes heaped upon each other, Dumbledore couldn't help but be pleased by his Potions Master's comportment in the whole matter.

They had moved back to the fire, sitting down for a game of chess before saying goodnight. The Headmaster had just about decided that the other man had fallen asleep while considering a move, when he spoke.

"I suppose there is no more need to continue with the Pensieve, now that we have our answer."

Dumbledore considered before asking gently, "What is left, Severus?"

For a moment there was no answer. Snape sat forward to take the old man's rook with his bishop. "Godric's Hollow, and the day after."

The Headmaster based his reply on the fact that the younger man had uncharacteristically opened himself up to be checkmated in five moves. "Severus, checkmate in five moves. Do you want to continue?"

Snape's eyes flickered rapidly over the board, then he sat back in his chair in disgust. "No," he groused.

"Severus." The man used his name gently once again. Knowing that tone of voice, the man looked over at him reluctantly.

"Severus, I would like to see that memory. As we've both learned, so much can be lost in the mere telling of it. And I think, after seeing it, it may prove to be time to tell you the truth about Harry."

Time indeed.