Summoned

Chapter 12: The Reason (part 2)

"Professor Dumbledore... Riddle said I'm like him. Strange likenesses, he said..."

"Did he, now?... And what do you think, Harry?"

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

July 14, 1995, late evening (cont.)

It took nearly two weeks before they found Severus.

Dumbledore had gone to the orphanage the night he was reported missing, and had had several words with Mrs. Cole, but he couldn't really say too much to her: after all, she had no idea she'd taken a wizard into her house.

What mostly concerned Dumbledore was that Severus had his wand. If he used it, Dumbledore knew the Ministry would track him down before Dumbledore could, and he didn't want to think about what would happen then.

But no one tracked the boy down that night, the next day, or the day after that. There was no report of him using magic. There were no sightings of him. No one in the area around the orphanage mentioned a boy running loose in their neighborhoods.

From immediate relief that Severus apparently hadn't used magic to escape from the orphanage, the fourth day brought Dumbledore a sense of growing panic.

Where was he? What had happened to him? Had someone ambushed him, taken him from the orphanage by force? If so, who would have been bothered?

He began to think more critically of Malfoy and his cronies. How had the boy known where Severus was going to be? The story about Abraxas didn't ring true: Dumbledore knew the older man.

The thought that sickened him, the fear that gripped his chest, wasn't logical but it seemed only too possible. Had Voldemort - Tom Riddle - heard of the boy, learned of the similarities between them, not only in their personal lives but in their temperaments, and somehow kidnapped - or lured - him from the orphanage?

It didn't make sense, and Dumbledore knew that: but like a waking nightmare, he kept seeing the imagined scene repeating in his head:

"I am Lord Voldemort, Severus. I am more like you than anyone you will ever know. I understand you like no one else ever will. Come..."

The search for Severus continued. By the end of the first week, Dumbledore surrendered to the fact that Severus had probably met with a bad end somewhere. He told Minerva about Severus' disappearance from the orphanage, but no one else.

Six days later, when Dumbledore sat dolefully in his office, having just returned from London where the trial was starting, the flames in his fireplace lashed upward and a voice said, "Uh, Professor, I wonder if ye could come down here? There's summat I think ye need to pick up here."

From scrawny and sallow, Severus had diminished to skeletal and pallid in the last two weeks. He was filthy, he was covered with dirt, there were dead leaves in his long, straggly hair, and his clothes were torn. The defiant look in his eyes, however, was undimmed.

As Dumbledore entered Hagrid's hut, Severus jumped up from the table where Hagrid had put out a bowl of stew for the boy, and he turned to face Dumbledore with all the brash insolence he could muster.

"I'm not bothering anyone!"

Hardly the first words Dumbledore would have expected. He glanced over the boy's shoulders at Hagrid. "What happened?" he asked the small giant.

"Heard summat out back. Went ter check it out. Caught me this 'un."

Severus was breathing heavily, and his eyes flicked between Dumbledore and the door, calculating the space between them: his Occlumency was useless.

"Come with me," Dumbledore ordered sternly. He reached forward to take the boy's arm, but at that moment, he broke away, dodged around them, and sprinted for the door.

Hagrid caught him easily, grabbed the back of his shirt, and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck. "Oh, no, ye don'! Dumbledore tells ye ter do summat, you do it, lad!"

Severus was struggling mightily, and for a moment, Dumbledore feared he might use the tactics he'd used when his mother had been arrested. He didn't want any scratching or punching.

"Severus!" he commanded. "Stop. Now! You are coming with me back to the castle." He held his wand in front of the boy as a threat. He had no intention of using it, but Severus didn't know that. "Hagrid, thank you."

He took the boy's hand and dragged him behind him as they returned up the hill to the castle. Severus struggled to get free twice: both times, Dumbledore silently aimed his wand and the struggling stopped.

The Slytherin House dormitory was deserted: Dumbledore released his grip on the boy when they got there. He put a Charm on the door to lock it, then faced Severus.

"What in the name of Merlin did you think you were doing?" he demanded. The boy just stared at him.

Dumbledore waited for several seconds, then turned and crossed the room to the wardrobe. He tapped his wand on the handle before opening it. What should have been an empty space was filled with clean clothes. He pulled out a set and tossed them to the bed nearest the boy. From the top shelf, he grabbed a towel and soap and shampoo, then he closed the wardrobe, crossed back, and took Severus' arm in a harsh grip.

"Come!" He half-dragged the boy to the showers, got the water started, put the towel and toiletries on a ledge outside the stall, and stood there waiting. "Come along, I haven't got all day!"

Severus turned red but didn't move.

"If you think I'm letting you out of my sight, you'd better think again. Now, come on! Hurry up!"

Severus crossed his arms over his chest, backed himself against the wall across from the running water, and glared at the floor.

It didn't take more than a moment for Dumbledore to realize what was at stake: this wasn't Severus simply being difficult. This was a terrible wound that hadn't healed. And unless Dumbledore gave way on this one, there would be only more damage.

"I'll be in the dorm room," he conceded, his tone still sharp. "Do not betray my trust!"

Ten minutes later, a much cleaner boy returned to the room. The towel was wrapped around his waist, and he tossed the shampoo and soap onto one of the empty beds. Again, he waited for Dumbledore to turn away before he dressed.

Dumbledore heard the boy sit heavily on the bed and he turned. Severus' face was still red, but from the hot water and a good scouring this time. The clothes, which had fit him well enough two weeks ago, hung on him like the clothes on Hagrid's scarecrow. His long hair, damp and still looking greasy, hung haphazardly on either side of his face.

"Alright," he said. "Come along."

He waited for Severus to come on his own, but the boy just sat there, looking angry and sullen. Eventually, Dumbledore reached down and pulled the boy up, half-dragging him from the dorm. They climbed up from the dungeons and Dumbledore dragged him along until they got to the gargoyle protecting his office.

"Treacle!" The gargoyle slid aside and the staircase appeared. They took it up to his office and he closed and locked the door behind him, sat the boy on the bench in the antechamber, and glared at him.

"How did you get out of there?"

Severus shrugged and refused to meet his eyes.

"Where's your wand? And your books? And your trunk?"

Another shrug. "Hid them."

"Where?"

The boy finally looked up. "I'm not telling you!"

Dumbledore took a long breath: he was tired and he was running out of patience. "What do you think I should do with you, Severus?"

He saw the boy's face turn instantly so white that he realized he'd found another wound. It wasn't hard to imagine it's meaning. He sighed and sat in the chair facing Severus. The boy wouldn't look at him; whether he was aware of his own skills in Occlumency, Dumbledore didn't know. But he was effectively thwarting the Headmaster's attempt to understand him.

"Severus." He softened his tone and the boy responded. "How did you get back here?"

There was another shrug, but then the boy seemed to reconsider his answer. "I can read maps, you know!"

"Oh, I'm well aware of that. But that doesn't tell me how you managed to survive out there without using magic."

There was a glimmer, just the smallest flash, of pride in the boy's eyes. "Studied up. Knew what I could look for to eat. Knew what stuff was poisonous. Knew what stuff would make me sick. - I read all about herbs and plants and things."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Very clever, Severus. But what about shelter?"

He shrugged, but there was nothing in his eyes this time: whatever he'd managed to do or find to keep himself warm and dry, it wasn't apparently what he considered a great accomplishment.

"Well, at least you're here." He eyed the boy. "Would you like Madam Pomfrey to give you a look over?"

"I'm not sick!"

"Alright." He studied the boy for another minute, relief and anger warring inside him. He hadn't been in charge of a young person like this since... He pulled his mind away from that memory, and from the memory of his own father's incarceration in Azkaban.

How this little boggart managed to hit so many of his nerves was something he was beginning to wonder suspiciously about : Was Severus' Legilimency good enough that he was able to seek out Dumbledore's own wounded memories? Or were there simply a number of similarities between them that Dumbledore hadn't bothered to notice before?

"Well, for tonight, you'll return to the dorm room. I'll send some food down for you. You are not to leave, do you understand?" Severus nodded. "If you do, I will have to consider it a sign that you no longer wish to attend Hogwarts. Is that clear?"

The boy pulled himself up and narrowed his eyes. "I won't leave here! I never wanted to, you're the one who said I had to go!"

It was amazing that in so few words the boy could convey so very much: longing, anger, fear. Dumbledore got up and turned to the enormous candy bowl he kept on the hutch next to the fireplace. He pulled out a handful of chocolate frogs and acid pops. He took Severus' right hand and poured the candy into it.

"That is for after dinner," he said curtly. "Now, go back to the dorm. I want to see you here at seven a.m.. I have to leave for London again tomorrow, and we'll review your schedule before I go."

Severus stood up, needing both hands to hold all the candy. "You - you aren't going to send me back?"

Dumbledore shook his head, but didn't bother to lighten his stern glare. "That would be counter-productive, wouldn't it? You'll just run away again. However, I paid them to keep you for the summer and I won't be getting that money back. So while you're here, you're going to earn your keep. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." There was a small, hopeful gleam in the boy's eyes.

"One more thing: where did you hide your books and wand and trunk?"

The boy looked down and didn't answer.

"Are they on the Hogwarts grounds?"

He nodded. Obviously, he didn't want to reveal his hiding place: for now, Dumbledore would let it go.

"Fine. You have my permission to retrieve them in the morning: be sure you have everything when you see me. Including all the library books! I don't want to have to answer to Miss Pince for them."

"Yes, sir." The boy looked up then. "Professor? I mean, Headmaster?"

Oh, he was trying the overly-polite gambit. Dumbledore remained unmoved - visibly, at least. "What is it?"

"Are you going to London because of - of that - what you told me about?"

"Yes."

Severus' eyes shifted quickly away. He opened his mouth, as if he were going to say something, then shut it and turned and left.

About an hour later, Dumbledore had finalized his plan: what to do with Severus Snape for the rest of the summer. For one thing, he would be set a handful of tasks to help Mr. Filch, the Caretaker. For another...

He checked the time and realized it was early enough, so he went to his fireplace and threw a handful of Floo powder into it.

"Hagrid," he called. "Could I pay you a visit?"

* * * July 15, 1995, morning

Dumbledore was only mildly surprised that he hadn't heard from Severus since last night's dinner. But he was surprised that, when he knocked on the door to his office, there was no response. He tapped the lock and the door opened.

"Severus?" He checked the bedchamber, then came back to the office. On the table was a hastily-scrawled note:

Gone to Hogsmeade/London to replenish supplies. Back tonight, dinner. S.

Wonderful! The idea of Severus out there unguarded, still not thinking properly, concerned him. What kind of supplies did he need badly enough to warrant leaving the grounds?

Dumbledore took a quick look around the office: everything was in place again, new labels were stuck to more than half the supplies that were in view. The cauldrons were spotlessly clean. The books were all neatly shelved. The Pensieve...

He moved closer: the two memories he'd left there for Severus were the only ones in there, now. He couldn't tell if Severus had looked at them, but it was obvious he'd taken all his own back with him.

And since they had no idea when Voldemort would Summon him again, it seemed to Albus that the Potions master was taking a terrible risk.

Three hours later, he was overseeing the admittedly amusing attempts of several wizards and witches from the Order to break through the newly-designed charms and wards around Hogwarts. Kingsley Shacklebolt, who could only come during his lunch break, had found himself on the bad side of a knee-reversing hex that Tonks had had far too much fun placing.

As the afternoon wore on, Dumbledore's concerns for Severus grew. He confided in Minerva and Orestes (who appeared at lunch and offered to "give it a go" and see if he could break through the protections) about the note he'd found. He didn't mention the Pensieve.

"He probably just felt a need to get away from this place for a few hours," Orestes opined. They stood next to the battlements on the Astronomy Tower, watching the so-far-unsuccessful attempts at breaking through to the castle. Orestes was munching cockroach clusters and Albus was sucking lemon pops.

Minerva, standing with them and eating nothing, shook her head. "Given a choice, Severus much prefers to stay on the grounds," she said. "He doesn't just go into town and shop like other people do."

"But if he needs supplies... Oh, look, Arthur Weasley's managed to breach the northeast corner, Albus." The old Healer turned to the Headmaster. "Half a Galleon," he announced, holding his hand out, palm up.

"Good thing I don't gamble often," Dumbledore muttered, handing over the money for his lost bet. But just as the coins left his fingers, he took a closer look, then grabbed one of the telescopes and focused it on the spot where Arthur stood. There was someone else there with him: Severus was strolling through the magical barrier as if there were no impediment at all.

"Ha! Arthur didn't break through, Severus did! That doesn't count, Orestes," Dumbledore gloated, holding his hand back out. "He wasn't one of the testers."

"He should have been," Orestes grumbled, and handed back the money. Tonks and Lupin, who were watching the western barriers, turned and grinned at the exchange.

"Excuse me," Dumbledore said. He turned to Minerva. "Let me know how it all goes."

He left without waiting for an answer. He hurried down the steps of the tower, through the corridors, down the winding staircase to the dungeons, and caught up with Severus just as he got to the door to his chambers.

"Nice trip?" he asked, startling the Potions master, who clearly hadn't realized he'd been followed.

He turned and lifted his eyebrow. "Profitable," he answered dryly, and unlocked his door.

"You should have told me you were leaving the grounds before you went."

Severus's arms were filled with brown-paper packages, and his shoulder satchel was bulging. He put everything on his desk, turned, relocked the door, took off his traveling cape, and started a fire in the fireplace.

"Your spells at the northeast corner are pathetic," he said, trying to change the subject. "Who set them? Lupin?"

"Why did you leave without telling me?"

Severus scowled. "I left you the note and the time I expected to return. If something had happened, you would have known where to look and when. It was sufficient. Last I checked, I was no longer a student in hiding here, having to clear every move I made with you!"

"Oh," Dumbledore murmured. "So - you took a look in the Pensieve."

Severus cleared his throat. "You can take it back. I won't be needing it any longer."

Dumbledore eyed him, tried a gentle incursion into his thoughts, and was rebuffed.

"As you see, my skills are returning," the man said tightly. "Now, I'm sure you're busy playing with your charms and spells - which I hope you intend to strengthen before the end of summer - so if you'll excuse me, I have work to do here."

When Severus turned his back, Albus pulled out his wand. It was an opportunity too good to pass up. If Severus' strength was returning, he'd know in a few seconds. After all, if Voldemort wanted to get him, he wouldn't give Severus any warning.

For a few seconds, Severus simply pulled out his purchases, setting them aside. Then, obviously realizing he was being watched, that Dumbledore hadn't taken the hint to leave, he turned.

"Legilimens!"

... "I have here six notes from your teachers, and it's only six weeks into term. Are you trying to get yourself expelled?"

"No, sir."

Dumbledore picked up each piece of parchment, glanced over it, then put it aside. "Victim: James Potter. Victim: James Potter. Victim - excuse me, victims, Sirius Black and James Potter. Victim: Sirius Black. Victim - hmmm. Lucius Malfoy." He looked over the tops of his spectacles. "I wouldn't think he'd be someone you'd want as an enemy."

Severus smirked. "I'm not someone he wants as one, either. Sadly, I've had to remind him of that."

Dumbledore just scowled. "Tell me, Severus, why so many unprovoked attacks on Potter and Black?"

Severus didn't bother responding.

"Or were they provoked?"

"If you're looking for a snitch," he said, his voice lowered, "go check the Quidditch pitch. You won't find one here."...

... "I'll pay you ten Galleons for a pint of Euphoria Draught," Malfoy whispered. "But you can't tell anyone you made it for me."

"Because I won't make it for you, Malfoy," he snapped back.

"Then how about some Veritaserum?"

"No."

"Why not? Look, I can make you pretty rich right now if you'll just help me out a bit. Think of all the ingredients you can buy without anyone ever knowing! I told him - I mean, I really need -"

"You told who what?" he snarled. He slammed the door to the Potions lab closed and backed Lucius against the wall. "What are you playing at with me, Malfoy?"

The boy swallowed and his grey eyes darted around the room. "Look," he said, whispering, "I've met him. I've talked with him. He's - well, he's - he's a lot like you, really. He - he was brilliant in potions, too, you know, when he was here. Look, come with me tomorrow night. I'll introduce you. " Lucius was sweating. "I - I told him I could get some Euphoria for him. And - and maybe some Veritaserum, too. He said he'd pay me - us, I mean..."

Severus pulled the door open, shoved Lucius out, and slammed the door in his face. He stared at the door, his eyes burning in his head, his hands fisted and shaking. He felt sick. He wanted to vomit.

"You are nothing like Voldemort!" Dumbledore had assured him. But Dumbledore never said how they were different.

And Lucius repeatedly taunted him, told him Voldemort was just like him... "Loved the Dark Arts when he was here, too. Favorite subject... Never got along with most people, but he always had a couple close friends, you know, like Mulciber's and Avery's fathers... They're with him, too. And ... potions..."

... He saw her sitting with Potter and Lupin at dinner. She looked up, but when he tried to meet her eyes she looked away. Malfoy nudged him, muttered something about her being a Mudblood, and his fist found Malfoy's nose before he could take a breath...

... "Oh, that was stupid, Snivellus! You are going to regret that!"

He rebuffed Dumbledore, his cry of, "No!" echoing in the room. And before Dumbledore could react, he saw Severus' wand swing upward, heard the first syllable, "Cru-" and dove sideways, hitting his ribs against the chair behind him as he rolled on the floor and came up with his own wand aimed.

"Protego!" he yelled instinctively, and the curse Severus had shot forth from his wand rebounded on the Potions master. He dropped to the floor, his wand rolling away, his body wracked in the pain of the Unforgivable Curse Dumbledore had meant only to protect himself from. Gasping, Albus called, "Finite!" and then grabbed Severus' wand from the floor.

As the agony left Severus' body, he pulled himself up and sank into the chair behind his table. Like Dumbledore, he was gasping for breath, and he kept his head lowered, not facing the Headmaster.

Once he felt Severus was recovered enough, Albus tossed the man's wand across the table to him. He took the chair nearby and sat in it, gaining his equilibrium while Severus recovered his.

It took a long time for Severus to move, and when he did it was just to barely raise his head. "I'm - I don't - Dumbledore, I'm - sorry."

He waited until Severus met his eyes. "What happened?" he asked quietly.

Severus looked stricken. "What - I tried to use the Cruci-"

"Not that," Dumbledore cut him off quickly. "Your memory. What happened there?"

Severus looked deathly pale. He turned away and shook his head. "Get out."

"No." He took a long breath and pocketed his wand. "That was part of it, wasn't it?" Albus asked. "Part of why you joined him." He waited, but there was no response. "You snuck out of Hogwarts to meet him?"

Finally, the man looked back. His eyes were rimmed with red, his lips blood colored, and his face was white. He cleared his throat. "I was not a Death Eater when I was here."

"But you joined because..."

Something snapped. Severus' face contorted and Dumbledore saw a terrible, uncaged fury in his eyes. "I joined him because I was like him! I was just like him! Tobias knew I was evil! Malfoy knew it! You knew it!

"But you lied to me, you told me I wasn't like him! You sent me to that same damned orphanage and said I was nothing like Riddle, and all the time you were thinking how much alike we were! You were thinking it, Dumbledore, you were always thinking it! You even showed it to me! 'I won't lose this one.'"

"Severus..."

"What was I, some sort of Transfiguration experiment to you? You thought you could save me? Turn me into something nice and decent? I am not nice and decent, Dumbledore, I never have been and I never will be!

"All the liars in the world told me the truth about myself and the one person I trusted to tell me the truth lied to me over and over again, year after bloody year! Why didn't you just leave me alone? Why didn't you just leave me in Azkaban? You think I wanted you to save me? You think I wanted to be saved?

"I. Am. Just. Like. Voldemort!"

For the first time in nearly a century, Dumbledore found himself sitting and staring with his mouth gaping in astonishment. He never gaped!

The hellish fury in Severus' face, in his entire body, was still raging, and despite himself, he reached into his pocket and closed his hand around his wand.

"Do you understand what you did to me?" Severus rage, uncaged now, wasn't to be stopped. "Do you? You kept feeding me hope, Dumbledore! Hope! The cruelest thing you ever did was make me hope that I could deserve -"

He stopped so suddenly that Albus had no doubt what he was unable to say. "That you could deserve to be loved."

It was a damning testimony to the strength of Severus' wizarding powers that he was able to cast the Cruciatus Curse without using his wand, without even speaking. The power of his thoughts alone sent Dumbledore writhing on the floor, his body on fire, his hand struggling to grasp his wand, to repel the curse...

And then it ended. And as he tried to roll onto his back and get up, he heard a loud bang and he gasped and sat up and realized Severus had left the dungeon, the door slamming behind him.

He didn't particularly feel like going after him.

* * *

Remus spotted him crossing the grounds, heading toward the Whomping Willow. Although he was on the Tower with Minerva and Tonks and Orestes, none of them saw Snape, as they were all looking south, where Fred and George Weasley were giving the protections on that side their best tries. Laughter had been filling the air for nearly an hour as the twins had moved round and round the castle, trying every devious trick and charm they could come up with, and being caught in some deliciously humorous jinxes instead.

For a second, Remus almost mentioned the odd sight to the others, or at least to Orestes. But something told him to keep silent, and he did. He watched Snape go around the tree to the side where the knot on the trunk was, and because of the width of the Willow, Snape disappeared from sight. Presumably, he'd gone down the tunnel, but Remus couldn't imagine why.

Neither of the two times he'd known of that Snape had visited the Shack had been worth repeating.

For about five minutes longer, he waited. But Snape didn't reappear. He moved closer to McGonagall, touched her arm to pull her aside and whispered, "Where's Dumbledore?"

"Went to talk with Severus," she whispered back, her smile dying. "Why?"

Remus shook his head, then left her side and went to stand next to Tonks. "I've got to have a word with Dumbledore," he told her. "Try to keep everyone engaged if you can."

She turned away from the Weasley boys and her hair turned red. "Is something wrong?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

He headed first for Dumbledore's office, but was stymied at the gargoyle: he didn't have the day's password. He tried five types of candy, three famous wizards, and two funny jinxes, all to no avail. Sighing, he decided to check Snape's office, not sure if he wanted to find the Headmaster there or not.

He was there, and the door to the office was wide open. Dumbledore was sitting behind Severus' desk, where the Potions master should have been. His eyes were shut, his hands were folded in his lap, and for a moment, Remus feared that he had died.

"Dumbledore?"

The Headmaster opened his eyes, but it took him a few seconds to focus. "Remus. - What's wrong?"

He moved carefully into the room, wondering (not for the first time) if Severus had devised traps or hexes to catch anyone uninvited. "I'm thinking that should be my question. - Are you alright?"

Dumbledore pondered that, then gave Lupin a frighteningly honest look. And answer. "I don't really know, Remus. - Have you seen Severus?"

Remus stepped in a bit further. There were bags of things on the table, an odd assortment of newly-purchased jars of plant and animal parts, and two books.

"I think he's gone to the Shrieking Shack."

Dumbledore looked so old, Lupin felt a tremor of fear creep through his spine: what would they do without Dumbledore? The man was getting old: what would the Order do without him if something happened to him? If Severus Snape happened to him?

The Headmaster shook his head slowly, and stared at the collection of odds and ends on the table.

"Dumbledore, did he hurt you? You look terrible."

He stood shakily from the chair, waved off Remus' attempt to steady him, and clutched the edge of the desk for support. "I need some rest," he admitted, and Remus thought it probably took a lot for him to admit that. "Is Orestes still on the Tower?"

"Was when I left. Shall I have him come -"

"To my office," Dumbledore finished. He rounded the large desk, still clutching it as if he were unable to stand up without it, and finally let it go as he reached the door. "Yes, please have Orestes come to my office. Thank you, Remus."

Dumbledore moved off as if in a trance. Lupin followed him partway up and, just before he parted ways to go fetch the old Healer, he called, "What's the password?"

"Let's make it - maniacal," he called back.

Notifying Orestes of Dumbledore's need involved, by default, notifying McGonagall as well. She announced that she would be going with Orestes, and Remus didn't bother to argue with her. He shot Tonks another quick look, and then went back down the tower, but this time, he left the castle altogether.

The tunnel was dark and damp, and he used his wand, as usual, to navigate the trail, avoiding the occasional rock or downward-growing root. There had been little change, though, in the year or so since he'd last been in here.

Eventually, the tunnel began to climb upward, and then he was in the shack, the dust still coiling around in the room from where Severus had passed.

"Nox," he whispered, and eliminated the light from his wand in favor of the grey light streaming through the mostly-boarded windows. He crept silently up the stairs to the bedroom, remembering to avoid the one particular step that creaked quite loudly.

He needn't have worried. There was so much noise coming from the bedroom that he could have announced himself with a trumpet fanfare and not been noticed.

Severus Snape, his cape lying on the four-poster bed in the corner, his wand in his hand, had conjured numerous items which he was busily slamming against walls and windows, loud, unintelligible cries accompanying every destruction. He looked utterly and completely deranged! Maniacal, in fact. His greasy-looking hair was flying, some of it plastered across his too-white face, his eyes gleaming insanely.

He had rolled up his sleeves and as he threw the next object - another large jar of - well, Lupin couldn't tell what was in it - the tell-tale Mark on his left forearm pulsed and darkened.

Severus was shouting invectives against someone: he guessed Dumbledore by some of the names. At least a dozen smashed jars lay on the floor, their ingredients drizzling down the walls and what was left of the boarded up windows, slithering along the floor boards that were warped with age.

And Remus realized he was in a very dangerous situation. As he stood in the doorway, Severus not yet noticing him, it occurred to him that the smartest thing for him to do would be to get out, now, and go tell Dumbledore what he'd seen.

But there was something inside him, something inside the human part of his werewolf heart, that kept him glued to his spot. He spent another few seconds listening to Severus curse Dumbledore with names Remus would never have thought to ascribe to the Headmaster. Then, as he grabbed another jar from thin air, Severus turned and saw him.

"Take it easy," Lupin said quietly, holding his hands up. "I'm not a threat. Look." He opened his coat and carefully removed his wand, then put it on the floor at his feet, his eyes unblinking, holding Severus' gaze. "I'm unarmed. I'm not here to hurt you."

He knew the soft tones that sometimes worked to calm his own wolfish heart, not for long, but often for long enough that the person in danger could make an escape. But he had no intention of escaping.

Severus' eyes were dark, soulless holes, his face was contorted into a mask of unimaginable pain and fury. He held a large jar with something slimy moving in it over his head. But he didn't throw it. He didn't move.

Remus swallowed, his mouth dry. He looked at Snape's arm, then lowered one of his hands and pointed to the Mark. "Looks like you need to go," he said quietly.

The jar flew over Lupin's head and he ducked: the glass shattered and the contents slid down the wall behind him. Snape hadn't been aiming to harm him: if he had, he would not have missed. He looked back and saw Severus' wand leveled at his chest.

"The Order is sending envoys to the Giants," Remus said slowly. "We're trying to win them over. We already know You-Know-Who sent an agent to talk to them before he got his body back."

Severus was trembling, his face twisting with too many separate emotions for Remus to keep track of: but something akin to astonishment was one of them.

"Two people are on their way to find the Giants and talk with them. - Now, go!"

He waited, and still Severus stood there, his eyes slowly regaining a semblance of sanity. He lowered his wand, still glaring at Remus without blinking. Then, slowly, as if waking from a dream, he glanced around himself, at the mess in the decrepit, dusty room, at Lupin, at his own arm. He rolled his sleeves back down and opened his mouth as if to say something: nothing came out.

Seconds later, he had summoned a different black cape, one with a high, pointed hood, and a silver mask, the sight of which make Lupin's stomach turn over.

And then Snape raced past him, down the stairs, and back into the tunnel.

Remus waited a couple more minutes, then went and looked through a crack out the window. He saw something he wasn't sure anyone had ever seen before: Severus Snape flew away, without a broom.