Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 166 French Orthodoxy in England

Narcissa Malfoy wore a well-tailored Muggle dress, her blonde hair neatly tied up, her figure blending subtly into the dim light.

Just as Snape was about to walk over, a man in a flashy shirt with slicked-back hair approached with a wine glass in hand, leaning against Narcissa's table with what he thought was a charming smile on his face.

Snape approached silently, his footsteps barely making a sound.

“I’m waiting for someone,” Narcissa’s voice rang out coldly, tinged with disgust. “Please leave.”

The man seemed to have had a few drinks and was a bit oblivious to the situation, as if he wanted to say something more: "Don't be so cold, beautiful lady, it's no fun drinking alone."

Before he could finish speaking, Snape pulled out the chair opposite Narcissa and sat down casually. His chubby, unremarkable Muggle face was marred by a murky gaze as he stared at the wine glass on the table.

"Do you need any help?" he asked.

The man who had been trying to strike up a conversation was interrupted, paused for a moment, and then became somewhat annoyed. He turned around, sized up the unremarkable-looking, unassuming fat man, and defiantly raised his chin: "Hey! I said, brother, I was first..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw that the blonde beauty opposite him seemed to have been completely enraged by the fat man's recklessness. A hint of undisguised contempt flashed in her icy blue eyes, a deep loathing for the two strange Muggle men in front of her.

Narcissa's hand, hidden under the table, moved subtly, and a faint glimmer of light flashed by. Snape immediately felt a faint magical fluctuation pass over him and the man.

The man's anger vanished instantly, replaced by a blank and unfocused look. He shook his head, seemingly forgetting why he was standing there. He glanced at Narcissa's indifferent face, then at Snape's harmless yet somewhat annoying chubby face, a look of confusion and slight hesitation crossing his face.

Finally, without a word, he turned around, his expression dazed, and with slightly unsteady steps, pushed open the door and disappeared into the noise outside.

Snape also felt a slight heaviness in his head, but he simply shook his head to dispel the discomfort.

"What?" He looked at Narcissa and said sarcastically, "Is this how you welcome your old friend? Anyone who didn't know better would think the Malfoys couldn't wait to let Tom know they'd lost that precious diary."

Upon hearing the familiar tone, Narcissa froze instantly as she was about to wave her wand again, her eyes widening as she stared intently at the unfamiliar face before her.

“Severus?” she frowned and said in a low voice, “How did you get yourself into such a terrible state?”

“I didn’t come here to have a date with you, Narcissa,” Snape retorted expressionlessly, unconcerned by her assessment.

He drew his wand and flicked it lightly around the table. An invisible magical barrier immediately enveloped their small table, isolating this corner from the other sounds in the bar.

“Then speak,” Snape said, leaning forward slightly, “what important matter do you have to discuss with me here?”

“Severus,” Narcissa didn’t answer Snape’s question immediately, lowering her voice and speaking urgently, “where is the diary now?”

“The diary?” Snape leaned back in his chair, relaxed, and even picked up the ashtray on the table to look at it. “Oh, that,” he put the ashtray down, “it’s gone, we’ve already cleaned it up.”

Having said that, he watched Narcissa's expression change in an instant, a complex mix of immense fear, relief, and deeper worry.

"Destroyed?" Narcissa's voice was hoarse. It took her several seconds to regain her composure, but her knuckles gripping the glass were still white. "You've found... a way to destroy that thing?"

“Of course,” Snape’s tone remained calm. “There are plenty of ways.” He slowly drew a gleaming silver dagger from inside his clothes and gently placed it on the table. Even in the dim light, the blade still reflected a cold glint.

"This thing is really useful," he said meaningfully.

Narcissa's gaze fell on the silver dagger. After a moment, she raised her head, her eyes burning.

"How many of those things have you found?" she asked. "Have they all been dealt with?"

“Narcissa,” Snape’s relaxed expression vanished, replaced by a hint of impatience, “Stop asking me questions.”

"Why did you risk meeting me today? Let's get straight to the point."

“I hope…” Narcissa took a deep breath, as if making up her mind, and then said in a more solemn voice, “You can help me.”

Snape didn't reply, but just looked at her quietly, waiting for her to continue.

“I want you to take Regulus away secretly.” Narcissa moved closer to the table. “Take him to your side and protect him.”

Snape raised an eyebrow slightly, a mocking expression appearing on his disguised fat face.

“Did I hear that right, Narcissa?” he asked deliberately with an exaggerated tone of surprise. “You’re asking me,” he gestured to his bulky frame, “to take a loyal Death Eater to a safe haven where a bunch of Muggle-born students are hiding? Maybe you can’t hold your liquor as well as you think.”

Although he had guessed that something major must have happened on Regulus's side, it was not a wise choice to satisfy the Malfoys' demands without any cost.

A flicker of anger crossed Narcissa's face, but she quickly suppressed it. She glanced around warily again before turning back to her, lowering her voice to continue, "Regulus, he regrets it."

"Regret?" Snape feigned ignorance. "Shouldn't he still be at school, content to be a pure-blood Slytherin model student?"

“Ever since the Dark Lord…” Narcissa’s body visibly tensed when she mentioned the name, “…occupied the castle, the older students, especially those from pure-blood families, were encouraged, or rather required, to participate in some ‘practical activities’ with the Death Eaters.”

“Regulus naturally signed up excitedly.” She paused, her worry deepening. “But he’s too young, Severus.”

"The real world of Death Eaters on missions, the raw cruelty, torture, and killing, is completely different from the pure-blood honor he imagined in pursuit of power." "He was terrified of what others asked him to do, and he wanted to quit. The last time I saw him back in Grimmauld Place," Narcissa's eyes dimmed, "he was a completely different person, haggard, weak, and filled with fear, dreading the call of the next mission."

“Sigh,” she sighed helplessly, “you and I both know that joining the Death Eaters isn’t as simple as handing in your resignation to the Dark Lord. Here, there are only two paths: either serve for life or die.”

“Oh, I understand, of course,” Snape said. “And what about Orion and Walbug Black? What do they think?”

“My uncle and aunt are also very worried about Regulus,” Narcissa said softly, her fingers unconsciously tracing the rim of her glass. “They seem a little timid, a little hesitant. The Dark Lord’s actions are becoming increasingly…”

“They,” she suddenly said, her eyes lighting up as she looked hopefully at Snape, “could actually ‘disappear’ with Regulus, if you’re willing to accept them.”

"Wait!" Snape quickly raised his hand, gesturing for a stop. "Hold on, I haven't agreed to take Regulus away yet, let alone his parents."

“Narcissa,” he shook his head, as if contemplating a terrible scene, “I don’t want the whole ship to be woken up early in the morning by Mrs. Walbuga Black’s soul-piercing screams.”

“‘Mudblood, beast, slut, bastard, freak,’ believe me, after she utters these vile words, we’ll just tie her limbs and throw her off the boat.”

Narcissa was taken aback by Snape's sharp description, her face instantly turning red. She gave a dry laugh, a flash of annoyance in her eyes, before asking with some doubt, "Severus, how do you know so clearly that she would say that?"

"Do I need to see it with my own eyes?" Snape curled his lip, glanced at her, and said, "What new tricks can people like you come up with? It's nothing but the same old clichés about blood, filth, and lowliness. I could guess it with my eyes closed."

Narcissa's face darkened further at the bluntness of the words, and she could no longer suppress her anger. But looking at Snape's mocking face and remembering her situation of needing his help, she forced herself to suppress her temper.

“Severus,” Narcissa bit her lower lip, trying to soften her tone, “what would it take for you to take refuge in Regulus? What conditions do you need?”

Snape leaned back in his chair and looked at Narcissa again.

"Aren't you afraid, Narcissa?" he asked softly. "What if one day your master takes over our wrecked ship of exile, and your precious little brother is also dragged down with us?"

“What happened at the Ministry of Magic that night has already spread.” Narcissa seemed to have prepared her answer, meeting Snape’s gaze. “Arthur Weasley, who was on duty that night, was said to have been so frightened by the sight that he fell seriously ill and is still recovering at home.”

“Moreover,” she gave Snape a meaningful look, “those who know the inside story have secretly changed their description of you people from ‘rebellious monsters’ and ‘lawless thugs’ to ‘exiles of Hogwarts.’ The wind is always shifting.”

“Hahaha,” Snape couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “Narcissa, your Malfoy family is from France, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Narcissa replied, puzzled. “In the 11th century, the first member of the Malfoy family, Armand Malfoy, came to England with William the Conqueror’s Normandy conquest army.”

“Severus,” Narcissa stopped dwelling on this pointless topic, “I have some news that you’ll find interesting.” She gritted her teeth and threw out another, more significant piece of information, “Not long ago, the Lestrange family seems to have completely lost the Dark Lord’s favor and trust due to the failure of some extremely important mission—I don’t know exactly what it was.”

“And after that,” she paused, observing Snape’s reaction, and continued, “Lucius, my husband, was ‘fortunate’ to have gained almost all of the Dark Lord’s trust and the tasks he assigned to him.”

When Narcissa said this, there was no sense of honor on her face, only deep worry.

“The Dark Lord says he needs to borrow our family’s vault in Gringotts,” she said. “He didn’t specify what it would be for, but he asked us to be ready to receive whatever he wants to store.” She stared intently at Snape. “I think this information should be very valuable to you?”

Snape sat up straight.

Voldemort was using the Malfoy family's treasury to store something? A guess immediately formed in his mind. Tom seemed to still intend to hide one of his Horcruxes in Gringotts, "the safest place in the world."

“If that’s the case,” he said slowly, “plus the diary he gave to Lucius… tsk tsk, two in total. Your Malfoy family’s ‘honor’ is truly unmatched, Narcissa.”

Narcissa understood the implication in his words.

“If the diary were still in our hands,” she forced a smile, “but…” She didn’t finish her sentence.

Narcissa didn't finish her sentence, but Snape understood her subtext: if the diary hadn't been lost, they might have been able to cautiously maintain their position thanks to these two "honors," but now that the diary was missing and the vault was to be requisitioned to store another important item, the Malfoy family was sitting on a powder keg that could explode at any moment.

“What a pity,” Snape continued for her. “Even if the diary weren’t in your hands, as long as it hadn’t been completely destroyed, perhaps you wouldn’t be acting this way now? Instead, you would be trying to get its whereabouts out of me so you can curry favor with your master and atone for your sins?”

Narcissa fell silent. She lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes concealing the emotions within.

But silence itself is an answer.

“Good.” Snape tapped his fingers lightly on the table, breaking the silence. “That’s enough information. Now tell me, how do we get young master Regulus to come with me? Also, when would be a convenient time to take me to visit the Malfoy family’s vault?”

“The item hasn’t been put in yet.” Narcissa’s eyes flashed with wariness and hesitation. “The Dark Lord only asked us to be prepared. We have no idea when to put it in or what to put in.” She tentatively asked, “Or, perhaps we could wait until the item is actually put in, and we’re sure it’s the last one… before we go?”

"Let's leave it at that for now." Snape pondered for a moment, then nodded.

“Okay.” Narcissa breathed a sigh of relief. “Then, let’s meet at this time tomorrow in that dead-end alley next to this bar. I’ll bring Regulus with me.”

　Thank you to Amanen, Pig Can Fly, Reading Travels, Plate Armor Spirit Master, and Starry Night for the monthly tickets.

　　------

　　JK Rowling and the Live Chat, Bloomsbury.com, July 30, 2007 (2.00-3.00pm BST):
　　Hayleyhaha: Why did Regulus have a change of heart?
　　JK Rowling: He was not prepared for the reality of life as a Death Eater. It was Voldemort's attempted murder of Kreacher that really turned him.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)