Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World Chapter 41 - 37. Return to Hogwarts

Chapter 37: Return to Hogwarts

Outside at last, Severus tilted his face toward the sky and smiled, tired and genuine. Dark clouds still covered it, but they were retreating, pulling back by degrees and letting the moonlight through.

"Are you certain you are all right?" Nagini asked, the anxiety clear in her voice. She had shrunk back to her normal size and slipped under his cloak.

"Completely. I could honestly say I have never felt better." He paused. "Thank you."

"It is. all right."

A mont later, a light gust of wind lifted his hood.

"Ti to go ho."

"Sev. Your head."

"Hm?" He raised an eyebrow, conjured a small mirror from water, and looked at his reflection in genuine puzzlent.

"One strand of hair has gone grey!" Nagini muttered, flicking her tail just above the centre of his forehead, fairly sure he was about to make a joke of it.

"Is that what you are worried about. I am honestly surprised the whole lot did not go grey. One strand is nothing." He snapped his fingers and it returned to black. "In so cases, after rituals like that, people grow horns. Hiding those is a considerably bigger problem."

"Ah. Your eyes look a little brighter, and your skin. wait. Horns?!"

"There was one docunted case. He had to wear a large hat for the rest of his life and file them down regularly."

For a mont Nagini pictured Severus’s usual composed expression under a large pair of branching horns. She could not contain it and laughed, at which point he flicked her tail and the laughter stopped imdiately.

"That is enough. Ho. I still need to understand exactly what the ritual has changed."

"I would have liked to see you with horns, though." She caught sight of his raised finger and closed her eyes quickly, bracing herself. What ca instead was his hand, stroking her head gently.

"I am sorry. I made you worry, and made you do things you did not want to do. I will not let that happen again." How selfish of . Feeling her worry makes feel more real sohow. And when was the last ti anyone worried about like that?

"It is all right. I am just glad I could help you. You have already done so much for , and I still have no way of paying any of it back."

"If you keep saying things like that, you will get another flick."

"I am telling you what is in my heart, and you—"

With a playful smile, Severus turned toward her as she poked her head out, and kissed the top of it. Her eyes went wide. She froze completely.

"Thank you."

"W-what are you d-doing?! I-I."

"Expressing gratitude," he said calmly, and winked, and she practically overflowed with embarrassnt, retreating back under his robe as fast as she could.

He did not press it further. He glanced back at the cave one last ti, checked the surrounding area, and disappeared.

The following day, or rather six hours after he had returned, Lucius appeared with congratulations and a newspaper. On page two, in the Young Talents section, there was a photograph of him receiving his badge from a Ministry employee. How anyone had managed to take it, he genuinely could not work out.

John Macmillan ca shortly after, on behalf of the family, bringing a small gift: an artefact that sharpened concentration. He had not co for that alone. He also collected two cubes and introduced Severus to his sister, who had apparently decided at the last mont to co along.

Once they had gone, Severus was finally able to turn his attention to setting up the shop-house. He settled on the interior and arranged for workers to begin the following day. He also spoke with Tom, the landlord of the Leaky Cauldron, who helped him locate a suitable manager for a modest fee.

The hire was Shafiqi Karner, a half-blood whose late father had left him buried under substantial debt. Severus did not make that decision lightly: Karner only signed a one-year contract after an interview conducted with Legilincy.

The rest of the day was not restful. Soone new arrived every half hour with a proposal, and not just small shopkeepers: the representatives of genuine powers in the field ca too. Even the Ministry appeared, offering him a position in the supply departnt straight after graduation and pressing a letter of recomndation into his hands.

The demand for him was not purely about skill. If a na like his was attached to an organisation, they could use him as an advertisent, and that would draw further clients.

Fa had its other side. He attracted the attention of those who operated at the margins of legality. The Death Eaters ca again, this ti through Lucius. After them ca groups he did not recognise: the Dark Broomsticks, the Grey Wizards, a handful of smaller gangs, and several establishnts from Knockturn Alley. He sent them all away politely, and most promised to return, giving him ti to think it over. He took that at face value and promised to visit each of them that evening in a more private setting, after putting tracking charms on every one of them.

Around ten o’clock in the evening he finally returned ho, where Nagini was waiting, visibly tense.

"What happened? I heard explosions from outside but did not dare go out. I was afraid soone would recognise from my colouring." She was already looking him over for injuries.

"Nothing to worry about. I went to collect ingredients. The shop will be opening soon and I need a stock of potions brewed in advance." He crouched and held out his hand; she climbed onto it imdiately and settled at his neck. "Are we going back to Hogwarts?"

"What else would I do? I still need to explore the castle. Now that I am considerably stronger, I should be able to sense other places like the Chamber. There are a great many legends about Hogwarts: a room that can produce anything you need, Helga Hufflepuff’s hidden garden and her cup, a ntion I found of Rowena Ravenclaw’s secret library where she spent evenings with her students, though the password and location died with her. Probably fiction, but worth investigating. Of all of them, though, what interests most is Godric Gryffindor’s legacy."

"What did he leave behind?"

"The Sword of Gryffindor. The finest work the goblins ever produced, and they want it back to this day." He smiled. "Though I would not say no to Excalibur, or Gram, or Durandal, or Muramasa." He went on listing them with quiet enjoynt, nas from books he had read across a lifeti. He turned off the lights and cut the flow of magic to the rooms.

Outside, at that sa mont, a crowd of excited wizards was running toward four separate fires. Many tried to break through and help, but it was useless. The fla would not allow it: it repelled spells and water had no effect whatsoever.

Others watched from a distance, simply wondering who had managed to anger those particular people. Many in the crowd knew exactly who owned those buildings and were not especially surprised. Gang warfare was common in tis like these, when the Ministry was directing every available resource against Voldemort and smaller criminal operations were largely ignored unless they beca impossible to overlook.

Among the observers, grim-faced Aurors moved through the streets, dealing with the aftermath. And in the middle of all of it, with Nagini casting a deeply suspicious look at the entirely indifferent Severus, the man responsible for all of this chaos stepped into one of the public fireplaces, went to Hogsade, and from there walked with her on foot toward the castle.

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