"Severus, my boy…" The Headmaster looked tired and ill. "Please, take a look—see if you can do anything about it…"
Snape glanced at Dumbledore's hand—blackened, as if charred—and slowly shook his head. He could halt the spread of the curse, but that was all, and he said as much.
"At least that…" Dumbledore murmured. "Imagine, I couldn't resist! I gave in to temptation!"
"What are you talking about?" Snape raised an eyebrow.
"You know what Horcruxes are, don't you?" the Headmaster asked. "Well… our old friend made several of them, and I found one. You know, as a child, he had a fondness for shiny trinkets he took from other children. As an adult, he surely replaced the toys with something far more serious…"
"So you…"
"I couldn't resist," Dumbledore said quietly, staring at his hand. "It was… calling to me. I put on the ring."
"What?"
"The Peverell ring, one of the Deathly Hallows, my boy," the Headmaster explained gently to the already greying Potions Master. "Tom was vain—he chose only the most valuable, the most… ah, never mind. Severus, please, I need to last a bit longer…"
"You will last as long as necessary," Snape promised, clenching his jaw. "I promise."
How many more promises can I make?! he screamed inwardly—and in that moment, he saw Harry Potter's cheeky grin flash before his mind's eye.
"You never promised me anything, sir!" said the vision insolently, biting into half a lemon without flinching. "Besides, we're doing great!"
"Tom surely made more than one Horcrux," Dumbledore continued. "I destroyed the first… What is it?"
"N-nothing. Just choked a bit," Snape replied, genuinely having coughed on his tea.
He was tempted to mention that Harry, with a casual flick of his wand, had already destroyed five Horcruxes—but that would mean revealing his own involvement, the basilisk, and more… so he kept silent.
"Tom was drawn to fame," Dumbledore went on, studying his fingers. "I'm sure he created Horcruxes from heirlooms or otherwise valuable artifacts. Here's the list, Severus, my boy—it's what's gone missing over the last thirty years…"
Very funny, Snape thought, but he leaned over the list with the Headmaster. The man clearly knew something—he had marked the Founders' relics with checkmarks right away.
"What else could it be?"
"He had a snake," Snape said, not for the first time. "I think it's quite possible he made a Horcrux out of it—he never parted with her!"
"Let it be… That brings us to six," said Dumbledore after a pause. "The most powerful number, but…"
"But?"
"Fate intervened," the Headmaster answered vaguely. "Thank you, my boy. Forgive the disturbance."
"Not at all," Snape shrugged, maintaining the reserved half-smile that made people recoil all the way to his chambers.
The professor hated Potter. Hated his cocky attitude, his Muggle jokes. Hated his manners! And hated the responsibility of watching over the boy to make sure he didn't break his neck too early—though truth be told, the boy was more likely to break someone else's…
He dreaded the thought of losing him.
*
"You look kind of gloomy, sir," said Harry.
"Headache," he snapped. "Don't chatter!"
Harry fell silent at once. He knew that when the professor was in that kind of mood, it was better not to push it — things would only get worse. He had things to do anyway...
"Masssster!"
A huge snake slithered onto Harry's lap. Although, to be fair, most of her body still lay on the floor — she didn't exactly fit on him.
"We found it! We found it!"
"What did you find?" he asked, not looking up from his math problems.
"Masster'sss sssnake!"
"No way!" Harry jumped up. "Did you hear that, sir?! Shen, where is it?"
"They're bringing it here, massster! Very, very closssse already!"
She smugly licked her lips. Ever since the basilisk had shown her favor, she considered herself higher in status than all the other snakes around — and could order them around. At least, that's what Harry gathered.
"Powerful... big! Allow me, massster, I will dessstroy it myssself!"
"Sure, go ahead," he replied. "But where are they bringing it? To Hogwarts?"
"To the Forbidden Foressst…"
"Cool!" said Harry. "Sir, let's go check it out? I mean, I could go alone, sure, but I feel a bit safer with you…"
"Let's go, Potter, what else can I do with you," Snape replied gloomily.
If Nagini had been found here, then the Dark Lord and his followers might be nearby as well. Leaving the boy unsupervised was out of the question.
"Just keep quiet..."
"Of course — so we don't get caught. Hey, how about we go through the dungeons? Where the basilisk lives? He slithers into the forest, right? There's a way out there, Shen knows it!"
"No, we're going the normal way!" Snape refused. "I've had enough of that basilisk... One encounter was more than enough!"
"Really?" said Harry, disappointed. "I actually liked him…"
"You like Merlin-knows-what in general! It was sheer idiocy to give Lovegood his scale…"
"Merlin's?"
"The basilisk's! The Headmaster practically sniffs her earrings, and he knows her father couldn't afford that kind of thing!"
"Oh, let him be," Harry snorted. "She won't tell the truth anyway. Let's go already, sir! I'll die of curiosity!"
"Now that's for sure," Snape snorted back. "Your curiosity is going to be the end of you one day!"
"You're one to talk, sir," Harry replied with dignity. "Who blew up the lab last week? Messing with basilisk venom out of curiosity, mind you! I'd like to point out, that most certainly wasn't me!"
The professor growled at him — but more out of habit than real anger.
"Let's go!"
At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, it was rather dim until Snape lit up a powerful Lumos. Now it became clear that a tangle of several dozen snakes of various sizes had coiled in the grass, all clustered around one massive cobra-like serpent.
"That her?" Harry asked briskly.
"The very same. Nagini..."
Snape stepped closer to make sure, and that was when the giant snake lunged at him like a released spring, aiming straight for his face.
Well, that's it then... he thought, realizing he wouldn't even have time to flinch—then hit the ground with a heavy thud.
"Are you hurt, sir?" Harry asked anxiously.
"W-what was that?" Snape stammered, watching as two enormous snakes locked in a deadly fight just inches away. Nagini was larger, but Shen was faster.
"A football tackle, sir," Harry replied, getting up and brushing himself off. "I didn't have time to grab my wand, but I could hit you in the knees to make sure that thing missed."
"There are advantages to Muggle upbringing…" the professor muttered, dusting himself off as well. "Thank you, Potter. Looks like you just saved my life."
"No big deal, sir," Harry said with dignity.
"This is becoming a family tradition, apparently," Snape couldn't resist saying with a smirk.
"Let's hope not," Harry chuckled. "I rather like you alive and well, so... maybe avoid diving in front of Avadas? I might not make it in time to block them with my forehead."
"Your jokes are in very poor taste, Potter," Snape grumbled. "And weren't you planning to watch the duel?"
"Yep…" Harry nodded and then yelled at the top of his lungs: "Go, Shen, sweetie! Don't let me down!"
The snakes were locked in a vicious struggle, coiling and uncoiling, hissing furiously, but neither could gain the upper hand. Finally, Shen twisted in an impossible way and sank her fangs into the base of Nagini's neck. Nagini thrashed violently for a moment, then went limp…
"Huh," Harry said. "And they claimed a Horcrux could only be destroyed by those three things. Shen, darling, you're awesome!"
"Th-th-thank you," she hissed, letting go of her prey. "A b-basilisk c-can sh-share venom if n-needed… You unders-stand?"
"I think so," Harry nodded. "You coated your fangs in his venom? You're one clever girl."
"Mas-s-ter, may I eat her?" she asked eagerly.
"Sir?" Harry turned to Snape. "She won't accidentally turn into a Horcrux herself if she has her for dinner, will she?"
"N-no… She shouldn't," Snape replied, still dazed.
"Cool, go ahead then," Harry told the snake. "Just… will you manage it?"
"I'll sh-share the meal with the others in gratit-t-tude for their help…" Shen licked her lips, and Nagini's body vanished beneath a writhing mass of serpents.
"Ugh!" Harry shuddered. "Let's go, sir. I think I saw a lantern flicker over there—it might be Hagrid… He's in for quite a surprise!"
"No doubt about that, Potter," Snape sighed heavily.
"So," Harry mused aloud as they walked back to the castle, "we're nearing the end, aren't we, sir? Nagini's down. Only the ring is still a mystery… We've found the rest, I think. Unless he's got something else stashed away somewhere..."
"Mm-hmm," Snape muttered darkly, deciding to keep quiet about the ring. "The Dark Lord was a powerful wizard, and making even one Horcrux is something few can manage. We've counted six at the very least. There could be more."
"But he had a thing for grandeur, sir," Harry reminded him. "And there aren't that many known relics, are there?"
"That's also true..."
"Sir, I wonder... why did he get disembodied right when he tried to go after me, huh?"
Snape froze mid-step. A sudden realization struck him, and he didn't like it one bit.
"Creating even a single Horcrux is a complex act that tears the soul apart," he said quickly. "It requires a ritual, one that involves murder. But the Dark Lord couldn't kill you…"
"Riiight…" Potter said with interest. "Instead, he offed himself, yeah? So what?"
"I suspect that one of the yet-undiscovered Horcruxes… is you," Snape said in a dead voice. "The Killing Curse doesn't leave scars. But yours… it's unique. You don't know this, but Professor Quirrell… well… in a certain sense, carried a part of the Dark Lord within him."
"And that's why my head was splitting whenever he was around?" Harry caught on quickly. "Bloody hell! So what now? Let's say they find the Dark Lord himself… what happens to me? You're telling me that to finally destroy that bastard, I have to die?!"
"I'm afraid so…" the professor admitted.
"Yeah… not exactly loving that idea," Potter sighed. "Maybe they could just keep him in a zoo or lock him up in the Department of Mysteries? Let me live in peace… Although, damn, what if some psycho breaks him out? Ugh… You've really thrown a wrench in things, Professor!"
"I did?!"
"Well, it wasn't me," Harry replied coolly. "Alright… I'll sleep on it. Then we'll think more. No point panicking yet, is there?"
Snape felt miserably rotten inside. Shameful as it was to admit, he — a withdrawn, bitter man — had somehow grown attached to Potter. Not the boy he had imagined, son of James and Lily, but the real one: brash, smart (let's be honest), and sharp-witted. He had his own mind… but so what?
*
Days flew by unnoticed. Snape dutifully supplied Dumbledore with restorative potions, though they didn't seem to help much.
Regarding the Horcruxes, he'd read everything he could find — even swallowed his pride and contacted Black, who proved entirely useless. A complete idiot. But everything pointed to six being the limit. The Dark Lord had made them, and at the seventh… he'd lost his body. Maybe he'd lost his touch, maybe something else…
"Severus, come in, if you would," came the call, and Snape headed to the Headmaster's office. He loathed it with all his being, but he couldn't leave Hogwarts — he'd made too many promises, as old friend Lucius would have said. That man sure knew how to make oaths that were easy to weasel out of later.
Upon hearing the latest news, the professor was stunned: the Department of Mysteries, for once, hadn't sat on its hands — they'd managed to capture the few remaining followers of the Dark Lord and had even secured his new body, which was now to be thoroughly studied and ultimately destroyed.
"That's how it is," said Dumbledore. Snape's potions still kept him going, but the professor wouldn't give him more than another year. "You know, my boy, I am very tired…"
"If you're planning to name me as your successor, don't," Snape replied. He longed for freedom. "I won't appreciate it, and the students will be upset… Professor McGonagall will take your place, and I'll be happy to continue teaching advanced potions…"
"You're thinking of the future," Dumbledore smiled. "But the present still holds us tight. I'm talking about the Horcruxes, dear boy. Yes, yes, don't make that face — you've long since figured out that one of them is your precious Harry."
"I'd thank you not to call him that," Snape hissed, rising slightly before realizing it was pointless and slumping back into his seat. "No mistake?"
"Alas… this time, I would be glad to be wrong…"
"He is a Horcrux?"
"Exactly."
"Can I sit with you, sir?" — and a heavy head leans on your shoulder.
"Oh come on, so I made a mess, big deal! I'll clean it up in a flash!" — green eyes sparkle cheerfully from behind glasses.
"Books on biology and chemistry are over there, sir, and take the trolley too — don't think I don't know you! Terry and I'll grab the sci-fi!"
"...and only he, in battling the Dark Lord, can triumph!"
"Oh just say it — Harry will have to sacrifice himself!" Snape interrupted the Headmaster's impassioned speech. "Yeah, that's what I thought…"
"Severus!.."
He slammed the door, stormed to his rooms, and was just about to drink himself into oblivion when he spotted a note on the table:
"Don't you dare get drunk, sir! What if someone needs you right now?"
The note was strange, but suddenly, Snape didn't feel like drinking anymore.