Chapter 35
Severus sat on the sofa, slowly spinning the necklace around one finger while his other hand moved along Nagini's head. She was very displeased and was not pretending otherwise.
"Why do you need this thing?"
"It is not just a thing." He closed his fist around the black crystal attached to it, and dark miasma seeped between his fingers, followed by a soft crack.
"An artifact?" Nagini blinked, watching as black dust spilled from his palm and was swallowed by a tongue of flame a few seconds later.
"An artifact of trust. Useful if you want to make someone dependent on you, but dangerous to wear for too long: the wearer gradually becomes bound to whoever it is keyed to. The effect is subtle, but over time it works as well as any direct brainwashing."
"So she was mad because of that?"
"No. Madness is a Black family trait, a hereditary curse. You have seen it in Regulus too: those moments when he forgets himself and lets anger take over completely. That is what it looks like." He rose, lifted a slightly startled Nagini onto his shoulders, pulled a dark cloak over both of them, and headed for the door.
"Where are we going at this hour?"
"To finish something important." He snapped his fingers, turned off all the lights, and stepped outside, heading for the Leaky Cauldron.
Several wizards lurking in the side alleys detached themselves and began to follow at a distance.
"Severus."
"I know," he replied, keeping his pace and expression steady. "They aren't planning anything. They're watching. And they're not from the same group, they're keeping their distance from each other as much as from me. Interesting."
A few minutes later, he stepped into the pub and moved quickly into the crowd, leaving his own illusion sitting at the bar. The bartender noticed, said nothing, and watched Severus's back as he left. He also didn't fail to notice the Galleon that had appeared in front of the illusion, which then disappeared as quietly as it had arrived.
Once out among the Muggles, Severus cast a distraction charm and looked directly into the eyes of the man stepping out of a car across the street.
A slow smile formed.
By the time a dozen wizards came bursting out of the pub, there was no trace of him.
Yorkshire Dales National Park.
On a small hill ringed by open moorland, rivers, and low green hills, the air rippled, and Severus stepped out of the void.
"It is good to use space travel again. How are you? The first time tends to cause motion sickness."
"I am fine, though a warning would have been appreciated," Nagini said in a slightly swaying voice.
"I am sorry."
"It is nothing. Do you know who was following us?"
"Lucius almost certainly had people among them. The rest, I am less sure about. It may have something to do with the examination: that is the only thing out of the ordinary today, and Slughorn's reaction does suggest it reached people." He looked around and raised his gaze to the cliff above, where the cave entrance lay. "This spot will do. There is nobody anywhere near here."
"You still have not told me what you are going to do."
"Be reborn. Like a phoenix."
A pause.
"Did the basilisk hit you on the head?" Nagini pressed her tail against his forehead. "You do not seem to have a fever."
"Instead of making jokes, get ready to protect me until I finish."
She was quiet for a moment, and her unease came through their link clearly.
"Is it dangerous?"
"No. I have prepared thoroughly, including for things going wrong. Stop worrying."
"When you say that, I worry more."
"Do you not trust me?!"
"Stop it," Nagini said, poking his cheek with her tail.
"All right. But you have no reason to worry. I am as certain as I have ever been about anything. Worrying will only interfere." He stopped at the entrance to the cave. He raised his hand, and a barrier formed across the opening. "This will hold for an hour without any difficulty, even under sustained attacks from a dozen Masters. But I will add more." He looked at her. "An hour, no longer."
"I am sorry."
"Do not be," he said, and the warmth in it was completely genuine. He stroked her head once, stepped through the barrier, and began to descend.
As he went deeper, he continued setting small barriers and traps at intervals, until he reached the bottom: a vast cavern filled with turquoise crystals that suffused the space with a clean, almost singing light.
"I am sorry."
"Do not be," he said, and the warmth in it was completely genuine. He stroked her head once, stepped through the barrier, and began to descend.
As he went deeper, he continued setting small barriers and traps at intervals, until he reached the bottom: a vast cavern filled with turquoise crystals that suffused the space with a clean, almost singing light.
It is beautiful here. And it feels different.
Nothing surprising. These crystals hold top-quality magical energy, without any contamination.
What does that actually mean? Nagini looked around, puzzled. The magic here did not feel different to her.
Purity. Spells become almost twice as strong. The fact that they are simply sitting here is strange, though in this world they probably do not know what they are looking at, or there is no known method of extracting the energy. Either way, it works in our favor. I am completely confident now. He looked at her one last time. That's it. Stay here. Detain anyone who tries to get past, though it will be nearly impossible. But people surprise you.
Good luck.
"I genuinely will not need it. Everything is accounted for. But thank you all the same."
The moment Nagini had gone back up the tunnel, Severus closed the entrance and cast a Silencing Charm. He crouched on the floor and took out two vials: one glowing with golden light, the other dark green and radiating an aura that felt as though it could unpick the world at the seams. Then he took out the crystal from earlier.
All that is left now is whether my body can hold the full power of the dragon crystal long enough.
He took a slow breath, looked at the crystal, and swallowed it.
Even so, there was no such thing as complete certainty. He had prepared for nearly every possibility, but no plan survives contact with the unpredictable, and no plan can account for every edge case. A mistake too small to see on paper can ruin everything. So he did not relax. He waited, still and attentive, for the crystal to begin.
It did not take long. Within a minute his skin flushed red from head to foot, and a sound like a dragon's roar rose from somewhere inside his chest, deep enough to make the cave walls tremble.
Wounds began to open across his skin, bleeding freely. The edges blackened and began to peel. The powerful anesthetic he had taken beforehand kept the pain to a dull burn, steady enough that he could stay calm and observe what his body was doing.
This was the first stage: drain the crystal completely, absorb the energy it released into his core, and push every negative effect outward onto the body. All the preparation had led to this. All that was required of him now was to endure it to the very end.
The minutes stretched. He could not afford distraction. A lapse of attention at this stage could kill him.
Meanwhile, outside, the Muggles living near the cave were experiencing what felt like the end of the world. Dark clouds had covered miles of the sky in an instant. A violent wind had risen, followed by a thunderstorm. Such a sudden change could not go unnoticed by the Ministry's assigned patrol, and within ten minutes roughly thirty wizards in hooded cloaks had gathered near the cave entrance. In front of them stood a man in a battered leather coat, grey hair springing out in all directions, one eye completely artificial, currently spinning, now locked toward the cliff.
"Find whoever is throwing this much uncontrolled magic around and bring them to me! Obliviation team, considerable work may await you; be ready!" His voice was sharp and slightly rough. "Begin the search! And do not forget: constant vigilance!"
The wizards spread out in every direction. The commander touched his stiff magical eye, which had remained fixed on the cliff since his arrival, and bared his teeth.
"There you are."
In the cave, the air stank of burning and rot. Pieces of flesh lay around Severus on the floor, and he looked like a figure from a nightmare: blood-smeared, portions of flesh simply absent in places. He had drunk several dozen hemostatic and blood-replenishing potions beforehand: without them he would have died of blood loss within the first ten minutes.
And then, at last, he opened his eyes. No panic in them. He drew a slow breath, and in that same second vomited blood.
The worst is over. This is within the expected range. And now.
He extended a trembling hand, took the flask of dark green liquid, and without a moment's hesitation tipped it into his mouth. The cave filled with hissing and the smell of burnt flesh.
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