Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 140 The Hurricane That Was Fanned

Before receiving Professor McGonagall's invitation to come to the underground docks covered with ivy curtains beneath the castle, Snape had been having a pretty good few days.

During this time, he successfully maintained a balance among his "friends"; moments before, he had once again coaxed and tricked Tom Riddle's diary into performing a treatment on Nagini, and the curse on her was being gradually removed.

Everything seemed to be going according to his plan. Or rather, that's what he thought.

During their conversation, Tom assumed that the enemy Snape had encountered before was himself, and hinted that he knew some secrets about that person. He suggested that Snape put aside his prejudices and take him to join Voldemort.

But when Snape asked for the specific reason, Tom did not provide a convincing explanation other than vaguely stating that his original self had had contact with that person.

“I’ve said it before, Tom,” Snape wrote on the page, “I am not pure-blood. That man will not truly accept me.”

“Trust me,” Tom replied, “that man will greatly appreciate your talent. He values ​​ability, not lineage.”

"Perhaps, but I need time to think about it," Snape finally wrote, then snapped the journal shut and tucked it into the inside pocket of his robe.

……

On Snape's way back to the castle, a tense voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Snape!"

Snape looked up and saw Professor McGonagall walking quickly toward him with an unusually serious expression.

"Professor?" Snape asked, puzzled.

“Finally found you.” Professor McGonagall didn’t even stop, but gestured for him to follow with her eyes. “Come with me, Professor Dumbledore has given instructions.”

Snape raised an eyebrow. He hadn't seen Professor Dumbledore on campus for the past few days; what could this sudden instruction be?

"Professor, could you please tell me—"

“Not now,” Professor McGonagall interrupted him, turning into a narrow corridor he had never noticed before.

They traversed several hidden corridors and eventually arrived at a place beneath the castle that Snape had never been before.

A stone wall covered in ivy blocked their path. Professor McGonagall waved her wand and chanted a complex incantation. The vines wriggled back as if alive, revealing a dark doorway.

A damp, cold wind rushed out from inside the door, revealing a downward stone staircase.

"What is this?" Snape asked.

“The secret docks of Hogwarts,” Professor McGonagall replied in a low voice, “built during the era of the Four Great Masters for evacuation in emergencies.”

Descending the stone steps, a spacious underground dock came into view, the surface of the Black Lake shimmering like tinfoil under the twinkling magical firelight.

A wooden boat that looked to be hundreds of years old was moored at the dock, and Professor Flitwick was directing a pile of fresh wood to deform and reshape it, repairing the damaged parts of the hull.

One after another, house-elves appeared out of thin air with a "pop," carrying buckets of drinks and wooden crates of various sizes across the gangplank into the cabin.

The whole scene was both busy and orderly, as if preparing for a large-scale voyage.

"What are you doing, Professor McGonagall?" Snape asked softly, his heart suddenly racing.

He noticed intricate protective runes engraved on the newly repaired marks on the side of the wooden boat. He couldn't recall ever seeing such a scene in the original story.

“Four days ago, Professor Dumbledore left the school.” Professor McGonagall stopped and turned to him. “Before he left, he told me that if he didn’t return within a week, I would have to organize all the Muggle-born students to leave Hogwarts.” She adjusted her glasses and added, looking directly into Snape’s eyes, “He said you could help me organize these students and let me take you away.”

"Evacuate? Why?" Snape heard his own voice was a little dry. "Where is Professor Dumbledore? What is he doing?"

Everything before him was completely contrary to what he knew and the direction he hoped to take. Things seemed to be developing in an unpredictable direction.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and shook her head.

“I don’t know,” she said. “He didn’t say, and I didn’t have time to ask.” She looked firmly at Snape. “But you know, when Albus Dumbledore decides to handle something personally…”

What was Dumbledore doing? Snape remained silent. He had always believed that, with his thorough understanding of the "plot," he could guide everything toward the best possible ending.

He has acquired the means to destroy Horcruxes, and has personally destroyed two, with another still in his possession; he has rescued Nagini and changed Barty's choice...

Later on, he no longer needed to rely on Dumbledore's seemingly intricate plan, which could easily fall apart if he wasn't careful.

A rosy and beautiful future should have been unfolding before him.

But now, the powerful wizard, the old man who sheltered everyone from the storm, has disappeared; Professor McGonagall is preparing to evacuate the students. The future seems to have taken an unexpected turn.

“You just said ‘a week later,’” Snape said, “which means there are three days left.”

“These past few days,” Professor McGonagall said, “even my Patronus has been unable to contact him. This has never happened before. We need to be prepared to depart in three days.”

“No.” Snape raised his voice slightly, and the house-elves stopped what they were doing when they heard the noise. Professor Flitwick also turned his head in surprise.

"You don't want to leave?" Professor McGonagall frowned.

“No, I mean, we can’t just leave like this,” Snape said firmly, thinking he had to clean up the mess left by the old headmaster. “Professor Dumbledore will be back.”

“I hope so too, Severus.” Professor McGonagall’s expression softened slightly. This was the first time she had called Snape by his name. She quickened her pace and placed a hand on his shoulder. “But we must prepare for the worst. If he hasn’t—”

“Are we just going to wait here like this?” Snape interrupted her. “Are we going to flee Hogwarts like stray dogs in three days, placing all our hopes on Professor Dumbledore?”

As soon as he said it, he realized his mistake, and Professor McGonagall tightened her grip.

Her eyes widened, and Professor Flitwick put down his wand, staring at him in shock.

“I’m sorry, Professor,” Snape apologized immediately, trying to calm himself down. “I was a little agitated.”

“It’s alright,” Professor Flitwick said, his voice unusually calm as he approached. “We are all under tremendous pressure.”

“Severus,” Professor McGonagall nodded, taking a deep breath, “I understand how you feel. But as a teacher, my primary responsibility is to protect my students and to act according to Professor Dumbledore’s instructions.”

“We can’t just abandon him like this,” Snape insisted. “We have to go find him.”

“But we don’t know where he is,” Professor McGonagall said helplessly. “We’ve tried everything to contact him.”

"Have you tried asking them for help?" Snape asked, his gaze sweeping over the busy house-elves.

"what?"

Snape walked toward the nearest elf, who was wobbling along carrying a stack of books taller than himself, his eyes wide open.

"Hello, little elf. What's your name?" Snape knelt down and helped the little elf put the books on the ground.

"Knock knock, sir," the little elf answered in a shrill voice.

"Koko, I have a question for you. Can you sense where Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of this school, is right now?"

The little elf blinked his large, bulbous eyes, then closed them, his long ears twitching slightly. Half a minute later, he suddenly opened his eyes and nodded vigorously: "I can feel it! Koko can feel the headmaster!"

McGonagall and Professor Flitwick exchanged a look of surprise and delight: "House-elves...how could we have overlooked them..."

“Professor,” Snape turned to Professor McGonagall, “did you ask the house-elves to keep all of this a secret?”

“Of course,” Professor McGonagall nodded, “all the elves involved in the preparations were required to keep it a secret.”

Snape looked at Cobb again: "Cobb, can you take me to see Professor Dumbledore?"

The little elf looked hesitantly at Professor McGonagall, who nodded slightly.

“Yes, you can,” Koko said, extending her thin hand.

“Take me there.” Snape held out his hand.

Just as the elf's little hand was about to touch Snape, Professor McGonagall strode over and took the elf's other hand.

“Professor?” Snape looked up in surprise.

“I’ll go too,” she said, meeting Snape’s surprised gaze. “How can I let a student like you go on an adventure alone?”

Snape nodded.

The next second, the three disappeared from the underground dock.

This time, the apparition sensation felt unusually sluggish and unsettling, as if passing through a layer of viscous syrup.

As his feet touched the ground again, Snape instinctively drew his wand, picked up Cocoy, and rolled quickly to the side.

Professor McGonagall quickly moved from her spot and pointed her wand into the darkness.

The anticipated attack did not occur; only a deathly silence and a strange green light in the distance remained.

After a brief pause, Snape gently put the house-elf down, patted his head, and gestured for him to hide.

He cast a stunning spell at the green light, and as the red light pierced the darkness, he could make out the outlines of his surroundings. It was a huge cave with a black lake in the center, and the green light came from a small island in the middle of the lake.

Snape recognized the place. This was where Voldemort hid the Horcruxes in the Slytherin locket.

He hadn't expected Dumbledore to track him down to this place. Could it be that he had already drunk the poison from that stone basin? If so, that would be good news, since even Kreacher could survive the effects of the poison.

"Fluorescent," Professor McGonagall murmured, and a bright light shone from the tip of her wand.

The light illuminated a rock not far away, against which Dumbledore leaned, his eyes closed and his face deathly pale. Beside him, a strange man held a small boy in his arms, also unconscious.

"Albus!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, running towards Professor Dumbledore.

They rushed toward Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall immediately began to check on the headmaster's condition while casting a series of healing spells.

“He’s still alive,” she said, her voice filled with relief, “but he’s very weak and I don’t know why he can’t wake up.”

Snape, on the other hand, cautiously pointed his wand at the two strangers, quickly checking them for wands or any magical items.

The man was in his early thirties, dressed in a regular Muggle shirt and jeans; the boy looked no more than ten, wearing a T-shirt with a cartoon print. There were no signs of wand use on their palms or fingertips.

“They might be Muggles who got caught up in this,” he whispered, casting a healing spell on the two boys. The boy stirred slightly but didn’t wake up.

“We have to leave immediately; this place doesn’t look safe.” Professor McGonagall used magic to scan her surroundings. “No one else is alive.” She used magic to help Dumbledore and the two Muggles to their feet and summoned a house-elf, “Koko, come here!”

Snape's gaze, however, shifted to the eerie green light in the center of the lake.

In his memory, there should be a stone basin filled with emerald green poison there; one must drink the poison to retrieve the locket. If Dumbledore has already found this place, then…

“Wait,” Snape stopped the house-elf. “Koko, look over there. Can you go to the island in the middle of the lake and see if there’s a stone basin there, and what’s in it?”

“What?” Professor McGonagall frowned. “Severus, perhaps we should leave here immediately.”

“But we should be more concerned with whether Professor Dumbledore’s purpose in coming here has been achieved.” Snape shook his head and looked at the house-elf. “Thank you, Koko.”

The little elf looked fearfully at the dark lake surface, but still nodded bravely and disappeared with a snap.

A few seconds later, he reappeared at Snape's feet.

“There’s a stone basin there, sir,” the elf reported, “on a black base. There’s a little bit of green water in it that glows. Nothing else.”

"Only a shallow layer?" Snape pressed.

“Yes, sir, very few,” Koko said confidently.

Upon hearing the elf's reply, a complex mix of emotions welled up in Snape's heart.

If Dumbledore drank the liquid from the stone basin, it should have automatically refilled. Unless, while Voldemort chose this cave as the hiding place for the Horcrux, it hadn't yet met the conditions for official activation.

Now that Dumbledore has tracked him down here, Voldemort will certainly not place the locket here again. What was supposed to be a sure thing—a Horcrux he thought he could obtain simply by waiting—has vanished right before his eyes.

But if he didn't drink the poison, why did Dumbledore fall into a coma? And who were those two Muggles?

As for Regulus, perhaps we can only hope he has good luck.

“Severus?” Professor McGonagall urged anxiously.

Snape cast a spell at the gloomy lake, but apart from the splash, no infernal emerged from it.

“Let’s leave,” he said to the elf. “Go straight to the principal’s office. QQ?”

The little elf nodded and stretched out his hands.

Snape and Professor McGonagall simultaneously used the Levitation Charm to levitate Dumbledore and the two Muggles, took their hands, and then took the elf's hand with their other hand.

With a soft pop, they left the gloomy cave.

Professor McGonagall finally breathed a sigh of relief when they were surrounded by the familiar principal's office.

She carefully conjured a wooden bed, laid a soft feather mattress on it, and gently placed Dumbledore on it.

Then, she strode toward the window, raising her wand as she did so. Three silver cats sprang from the tip of the wand, each with spectacle-shaped markings around its eyes.

The three guardian spirits nimbly leaped out of the window and flew off in different directions, scattering silver light across the night sky.

“Ms. Pomfrey and the others will be here soon,” Professor McGonagall said, her voice weary but relieved. “He’ll be alright. Thank you, Severus.”

“It’s alright.” Snape nodded, settled the Muggles, looked at Professor Dumbledore, and couldn’t help but sigh. His thoughts had drifted far away. The whereabouts of the locket were now unknown; what should he do next?
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(End of this chapter)