Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 106 Unbreakable Vow
Greyback's roar echoed ominously through the Forbidden Forest.

Three werewolves, forced by him, sprang from the bushes and approached Snape again. Among them, the traitor named Victor led the way, his yellow fangs gleaming coldly.

"Crouch down!" Hagrid's voice came from behind Snape.

He immediately ducked. The giant crossbow hummed with the vibrating bowstring, and a thick oak arrow whistled over his head, its shaft sinking deep into Victor's abdomen.

Victor let out a whimper and tried to dodge to the side, but the spell fired by Graybuck kept him from moving.

“Well done, Hagrid!” Snape shouted, rolling quickly to the side to dodge the second green beam of light fired by Greyback. At a time like this, standing still and spinning foolishly, hoping to Apparate away, was certainly not a wise choice.

The killing curse struck a beech tree behind him, causing the trunk to explode instantly, sending splinters flying everywhere.

“Run, little mouse!” Greyback laughed shrilly. “The more you run, the tastier you’ll be. Let’s see how fast a Hogwarts student can run!”

At that moment, a dark figure sprang up from the pile of fallen leaves, and Nagini's venomous fangs pierced precisely into the calf of the nearest werewolf.

Amidst screams, Snape seized the opportunity to unleash three Killing Curses, the green light tracing dangerous paths in the darkness.

Two enemies fell to the ground, but the third—the traitor named Victor—escaped the curse with a sliding knee.

"A snake?" Greyback raised his wand in surprise and uncertainty. "Avada Kedavra—"

Nagini slid quickly across the wet ground and lashed out at Graybuck's arm before he could react.

"Get out!" Graybury roared, swinging his arm and throwing Nagini aside, where she slammed into a tree trunk with a painful hiss.

Distracted by this, Greyback's spell went astray, and he then pointed his wand menacingly at Nagini.

Snape's heart tightened, and he unleashed the spell: "Sword of Despair!"

An invisible blade sliced ​​across Greyback's chest. The werewolf cried out in pain, but then his wounds miraculously closed up, stopping the bleeding.

"Aren't you a student at Hogwarts?" he said breathlessly. "Why don't you consider joining us? The Dark Lord can give you everything you want—power, status, knowledge..."

Snape merely squinted, his wand tip flashing with blinding green light. He didn't need anything from Tom; why would he, a perfectly decent person, become Tom's dog?
Greyback dodged with astonishing speed, his voice piercing as he said, "Look at you, so adept at using the Unforgivable Curse. Did Dumbledore know his student was like this?"

Snape simply anticipated Greyback's landing point and continued casting spells.

Suddenly, a soft popping sound came from the air. Dobby had returned with Dumbledore, along with Lyca Lupa, the werewolf girl who had left not long ago.

The green light illuminated Dumbledore's face. He looked at Snape in surprise, a complex emotion flashing in his blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles.

“Professor!” Snape called out.

Greyback dodged yet another Killing Curse, and upon seeing Dumbledore arrive, his expression changed drastically, and he turned and hid behind a tree. Victor, sensing something was wrong, tried to follow him away.

"Ava—" Snape quickly fired a spell at them, but immediately realized Dumbledore was there, so he changed his gesture, "Yugadiem Leviosa—"

Viktor first floated lightly into the air, then slammed into the ground, creating a crater in the mud.

With a soft thud, Graybuck ran away and disappeared without a trace.

Snape breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Nagini, the little snake slowly crawling towards him, seemingly injured.

He crouched down and let Nagini climb onto his arm, carefully examining her injuries.

“That snake…” Hagrid also noticed Nagini’s performance in the battle and looked at Snape with a puzzled expression.

“She is my friend,” Snape said quickly, stroking the snake’s head and whispering a healing spell.

Nagini let out a comfortable hiss and tucked back into his robe.

"Professor, you've finally arrived!" Snape then greeted Dumbledore warmly, as if he weren't the one who had just been frantically firing the Killing Curse. "We almost didn't get to see you."

As he spoke, he casually cast a Divine Strike Shadowless Spell on the unconscious Victor, but Dumbledore blocked it with a wave of his hand.

A rope flew from the tip of Dumbledore's staff and bound Victor securely.

“If I hadn’t come,” Dumbledore’s gaze fell on Snape, “I fear I would have seen no one else alive except you.”

“How could that be?” Snape said, pointing at Victor. “He’s still alive, I only used a levitation charm on him—”

“We must get to the camp quickly,” Rika interrupted their conversation anxiously. “My companions are still there!” Her voice trembled, and her amber eyes were filled with worry.

“Professor, take me with you,” Snape said to Dumbledore. He had never been to the werewolf camp in the Forbidden Forest before, so he couldn’t go alone.

“Hagrid, you and Dobby keep an eye on things.” Dumbledore nodded, then stretched out his arms. “Hold on tight.”

Snape and Rika each took one of Dumbledore's arms. After a suffocatingly tight feeling, they found themselves in a secluded clearing deep within the Forbidden Forest.

What came into view was a scene of devastation. The werewolf camp—once a settlement of a few simple tents and wooden huts—was now a ruin.

The tent was torn to shreds, and the ground was covered with bloodstains and signs of a struggle. Several bonfires were still burning, sending out wisps of smoke.

Several werewolf corpses lay on the ground in various contorted positions, and the air was filled with the stench of blood and a pungent, animalistic smell.

Lika let out a mournful howl that sounded inhuman, staggered forward, and knelt beside the nearest corpse. It was an elderly male werewolf, his chest ripped open, his eyes still open, frozen with the last of his terrors.

“Uncle Norton…” She knelt beside him, her trembling fingers stroking his pale cheek.

“No…no…” She walked toward another corpse, a young female werewolf, her golden hair stained dark red with blood, “Mara…”

Snape calmly surveyed his surroundings and counted—at least seven corpses, and several werewolves still breathing, all wounded to varying degrees.

He approached the nearest wounded man, an older male werewolf with a horrible laceration in his abdomen.

“Don’t move,” Snape said curtly, drawing his wand and beginning to cast a healing spell. “I’m sorry, child,” Dumbledore said, walking to Lyca and gently placing his hand on her shoulder. “This is no one’s suffering.”

“Why would they do this?” Rika looked up, her eyes burning with pure hatred. “We just wanted to live a quiet life! We’ve never hurt anyone…”

“Mara is dead, Norton is dead, Karl is dead…” Her voice choked with sobs, her hands clenched into fists, her nails digging deep into her palms.

"What's the use of crying?" Snape continued his treatment without looking up. "It's better to spend your time eliminating a few more enemies."

“What can I do?” Rika turned sharply to him and roared, “We don’t have wands, and as werewolves, we can’t control ourselves after we transform. We can’t even avenge ourselves…” Her voice trailed off.

Dumbledore sighed. "Violence will only lead to more violence, Lyca. Revenge is not the solution. You have people living who need your care."

Snape gave a soft snort but did not refute. He finished the quick treatment of the last wounded man, then stood up and dusted off his robes.

Today's experience reminded him of the time in Albania when he received a yellowed parchment and a necklace with a blood-red canine tooth from the old witch who experimented on werewolves.

Snape pulled a small bag from his pocket and took out a parchment and a necklace.

As soon as he took it out, Dumbledore looked at it keenly: "Severus, what is this? It has the aura of dark magic on it."

“I know it’s dark magic,” Snape nodded and answered calmly. “During the summer in the Albanian forest, I met an old witch. She used it to control werewolves. I saw her transform a werewolf into a wolf when it wasn’t a full moon.”

He briefly explained how he obtained these items.

“I also saw her use a strange song to control werewolves,” Snape said, waving the parchment in his hand. “Unfortunately, the parchment doesn’t record that song. But from what’s written on it, it’s a method that allows werewolves to transform when it’s not a full moon.”

“In addition,” Snape paused, then added, “Professor, I think you must have also noticed the wolfsbane potion mentioned in the Daily Prophet. It can keep werewolves conscious while they are in shapeshifting. Perhaps we can try to optimize it.”

“You mean…” Rika’s eyes lit up, and she almost lunged at Snape, “If this is true… control the shapeshifting… stay conscious while shapeshifting…”

“Don’t rush,” Snape took a step back and looked at her meaningfully. “Theoretically, yes. This would give you the ability to take revenge. However, this method is not perfect yet. If we want to go further, we may need to conduct more experiments, which means we need more werewolf volunteers.”

“Severus, this is not advisable.” Dumbledore frowned. “These survivors have already gone through too much. What they need is healing and shelter, not more suffering.”

“I do!” Lyca said eagerly before Snape could speak. “Please give us the parchment.”

“Professor, it seems Rika has made her choice.” Snape looked at Dumbledore. “Even if I don’t give it to her now, I believe she will come to me later.”

Dumbledore took off his glasses and rubbed his nose wearily.

“However, I can’t give this to you so easily, because it’s too dangerous.” Snape turned to Lyca and continued, “If it were to leak to the Mystic, it would be enough for him to build an army of werewolves.”

“I’m willing to do anything to get revenge!” Lika said.

“If you’re willing to do anything,” Snape said, “then I need you to swear an unbreakable oath. Professor Dumbledore can be a witness if he wishes.”

“Professor, please.” Lyca’s tears welled up again as she pointed at Mara’s body and choked out to Dumbledore, “She…she was once St. Mungo’s healer, but became a werewolf after being deliberately bitten by a patient.”

“Before coming here, she always locked herself in the basement during the full moon, afraid of hurting anyone. Greyback just killed her like that… I had no other choice…”

Dumbledore's gaze swept over the camp, Lyca, Snape, and finally landed on the scroll of parchment.

He remained silent for a long time, so long that Snape thought he would refuse.

Finally, he nodded heavily: "If this is a choice made voluntarily by both of you... although I don't agree with it, I can bear witness to it."

Lika breathed a sigh of relief, walked firmly to Snape, looked him in the eyes, and said, "I'm willing to make any vow for the sake of revenge."

Snape reached out and shook hands with Rika. He could feel her hand trembling slightly, but she held on tightly.

Dumbledore drew his wand, stepped forward, stood beside the two, and tapped the tip of his wand on their clasped hands.

Snape spoke.

"Lika Lupa, after obtaining the parchment and necklace about werewolf transformation, are you willing to keep the relevant knowledge strictly confidential and keep it only in your possession?"

“I do,” Lika answered without hesitation.

A thin, dazzling tongue of fire shot out from the wand, like a red-hot metal wire, and wrapped around their clasped hands.

"Are you willing to never stand against Severus Snape—that is, myself—at any time, and not to be his enemy?"

Dumbledore's wand trembled slightly, and Rika looked at him and nodded gently.

“I do,” Lika said.

A second tongue of fire burst from the wand and entwined with the first, forming a thin, glowing red chain.

Dumbledore's brow furrowed even more, but he did not remove his wand.

“And,” Snape said softly, his black eyes meeting Lyca’s amber ones as he carefully chose his words, “are you willing to do your utmost… to obey Severus Snape’s orders and carry out the proper tasks he assigns you, without involving any obvious or deliberate malice towards you?”

Rika's hand trembled in his, but she did not pull it away.

Dumbledore's gaze was sharp as he watched them, especially Snape, whose wand hovered between their clenched hands, as if considering whether the ritual should end there.

"I do," Rika finally said, taking a deep breath.

Their faces were glowing crimson in the light of the third tongue of fire. The flames spewed from the wands, intertwining with the first two, tightly coiling around their clasped hands like a rope, like a fire-breathing serpent.

The light gradually faded, and the vow was fulfilled.

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(End of this chapter)