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They finished their dinner. "It's my treat," Filius said, stopping Severus from pulling out his wallet. "But I do need your assistance with the Muggle money, however."
Severus helped him sort the cost of the meals plus a generous tip. They caught a cab and had the driver drop them off a block from the Leaky Cauldron since the driver would not be able to see the building. They flooed back to Hogwarts and stepped out of the fireplace into Dumbledore's office.
Albus immediately put out his hand and said, "Let me see the pictures."
Filius took the envelope of pictures out of his coat's inner pocket and handed it to Dumbledore.
Severus turned and sneered, "If you find anything relevant, you will let me know, Headmaster." He flooed back to his quarters in the dungeon, pulled off his boots and sat down in his favorite recliner, happy that he didn't have to patrol tonight. If Mr. Creevey had managed to get a clear picture of his attacker before he was petrified then it would be up to Dumbledore to deal with it. He did not know what it would show, but he was certain it would not be any of his snakes.
Christmas was less than month away and he needed to start thinking about his Christmas shopping for Harry and Lily as well as Minerva, Pomona, Filius, and Remus. Filius would most likely enjoy gift certificates from both the restaurants they had eaten at this week. Pomona might enjoy a gift certificate to tour Kew Gardens or the Chelsea Psychic Gardens. Minerva might enjoy a new novel. She favored the Victorian era Muggle novels. Perhaps she might enjoy an American Muggle novel of the same era such as Gone With the Wind or Little Women. Remus loved to read so maybe he would get him a couple of Ian Fleming's James Bond books that he was an admirer of.
Harry, well he was growing so fast that he almost came up to Severus' shoulder now. He could probably use more clothes.
His floo sounded and he looked up to see Filius' head in the flames. "May I come through, Severus?"
"Certainly," Severus said.
Filius stepped out of the floo. "Albus looked at the pictures, but the one we were hoping to see is just a big blur. I can't tell what it is that Mr. Creevey saw at all."
"I am sure Albus will find a way to keep blaming it on Slytherin," he answered with a sigh. "Thanks for letting me know, Filius."
"No problem Severus," Filius replied stepping back into the floo. "See you at breakfast."
Severus shook his head and got up to ready for bed. The coming months were going to be even nerve-wracking if they didn't figure out what was attacking the students and on top of that he had to protect his snakes from Albus' headstrong, erroneous, and damaging views.
Everything remained quiet for the next few weeks. Most of the talk among the older students was about the Yule Ball to be held on December 19th and who was going with whom. He smiled as he recalled the Yule Balls when he was a student and how Potter asked Lily every year from 4th year up to go with him at least 50 times.
The peace and serenity was broken on December 18th when a second year Hufflepuff with the improbable name of Justin Finch-Fletchley along with the Gryffindor ghost, Sir Nicholas were found petrified on the fourth floor by Harry and Hermione when they came down from Ravenclaw Tower to go to the library. Both he and Justin normally would have been in Herbology, but all the outdoor classes had been canceled due to the blizzard currently raging.
Hermione gasped when she saw them and said, "Harry, what happened?"
"I don't know for sure, but it looks like the same thing happened to them as it did to Colin and Mrs. Norris."
"We need to find a professor," she said.
Harry thought for a moment and then called, "Blinky!"
Blinky popped in and then squealed as he saw the petrified Justin and Sir Nicholas.
"Blinky, I need you to get my dad out of class and bring him here. Okay?"
Blinky nodded mutely and then popped out again. A few minutes later, they heard footsteps running up the stairs and Severus appeared at the top of the staircase. He stopped short at seeing the petrified boy and ghost. He looked over at Harry and asked, "Are you two alright?"
Harry nodded. "We found them when we came down from our tower."
"Expecto Patronum," Severus said and when his Patronus, a black panther appeared, he told it to go to the Headmaster, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Sprout and tell them they were needed on the fourth floor near the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower.
Severus walked over to Harry and stood by him and Hermione until Albus and Minerva appeared and then after a few more minutes, Professor Sprout came into view and gasped as she saw her frozen badger. "What happened?"
"Whatever has been striking at night is now striking during the day it appears," Severus answered.
"And where were you when this happened, Mr. Snape?" Albus demanded.
"I was in the Ravenclaw common room and several people can vouch for me including Professor Flitwick. Justin and my Herbology class was canceled due to all the snow," Harry replied calmly. He wasn't going to let that old fart accuse him of doing this.
"Don't be ridiculous, Albus!" Minerva snapped. "This is magic well beyond the capabilities of a second year."
"Whatever is doing this appears to be targeting Muggleborns," Professor Sprout pointed out. "Mr. Creevey is a Muggleborn and so is Justin."
"We should not stand here chitchatting. We should get Mr. Finch-Fletchley to the hospital and I suppose Sir Nicholas too," Severus said. "Classes will be out in 20 minutes and there is no point in feeding the rumor mill that has already sprung up."
"Quite right Severus," Minerva said as she and Pomona carefully levitated Justin and floated him towards the stairwell, leaving Severus to figure out how to get Sir Nicholas to the hospital.
He decided to use the Flabra, gust of wind, spell to get the petrified ghost down to the hospital wing. "Harry, Hermione, where are you headed now?"
"We were going to the library, Dad and then lunch after that."
"Alright," Severus nodded. "I will see you at lunch. Be alert, aware, and be safe."
"We will Dad," Harry promised before heading down the corridor to the library.
Severus continued steering Sir Nicholas to the hospital wing with the gust of wind spell. He had just gotten him through the hospital wing doors when the bell indicating classes were over rang loudly. "Where do you want me to put him, Poppy?"
Madam Pomfrey looked around and then pointed to an empty area beside the potion cabinet. "Here Severus, bring him over here."
Severus steered Sir Nicholas over to where she pointed and set him down. He looked over to the area where the curtains were drawn around the two beds where Mr. Creevey and now Mr. Finch-Fletchley lay.
Poppy followed his gaze and murmured, "I do hope someone finds out who or what is doing this very soon and stops them or it."
"I have the same sentiments as you Poppy," Severus replied then turned and strode out the doors.
Page ~*~*~*~*~* Break
Albus was sitting behind his desk, leaning back in his chair with his hands folded over his stomach, ruminating over the continuing problem of Harry Potter. He looked up at the Sorting Hat that sat on a high shelf of a bookcase by the side of his desk between sorting. "All these problems would have never occurred if you had just sorted Mr. Potter into Gryffindor."
"There are no problems, Headmaster except for whatever is inside your head," the Sorting Hat replied. "You know when you put me on that first time I considered putting you in Slytherin because of your cunning and ambition, but I decided that you being in Slytherin would only over activate those characteristics. Actually, I should have put you in Hufflepuff so you could have learned humility, kindness, and compassion."
"Dumbledore sat up straight at hearing this pronouncement. "How dare you! You have never addressed me before like this," Albus complained outraged.
"You know, Headmaster you are a bigger fool than even Godric was. I have sat here and listened to you while you have lied and plotted with those two fools James Potter and Sirius Black, and listened to you set up dangerous plans to test Mr. Snape, and I have had enough!" And with that declaration, the Sorting Hat disappeared, leaving Albus with his mouth hanging open unattractively.
It reappeared in Minerva's office and made itself comfortable on one of her shelves. It opened its mouth and laughed heartily, remembering Dumbledore's expression when told he had almost been sorted into Slytherin.
Page ~*~*~*~*~* Break
Severus kept an eye on the students that night. The Hufflepuff table was subdued due to the news that one of their members had been petrified earlier that day and the rest of the tables, even the Gryffindors were unusually quiet out of deference to the Hufflepuffs. He noticed immediately when he came into the hall that Dumbledore was not present for dinner this evening. He wondered if that had anything to do with the emergency meeting called by the Board of Governors.
"I don't understand, but it wouldn't explain its appearance in my office." Severus heard Minerva say to Pomona and Filius.
Severus leaned over to Filius and asked, "What is Minerva talking about?"
"The Sorting Hat has now taken up residence in Minerva's office and refuses to go back to Albus' office and won't explain why."
"When even the Sorting Hat jumps ship; I think that is a definite vote of no confidence," Severus remarked.
"I agree," Filius said and then asked, "What are your thoughts on what happened to Mr. Finch-Fletchley?"
"I wish I knew," Severus replied. "Remus and I discussed what it might be and Harry has been doing some research on it also. The only thing all three of us came up with is either a Basilisk or a Cockatrice as both can petrify but according to what Remus said the only Basilisks in existence are in and around Greece because they were created by Herpo the Foul. A Cockatrice has not been seen for a century or more and may even be extinct."
"I recall that a Basilisk can live for thousands of years," Filius remarked.
"Yes. Remus said he thought there might be two or three left and said the Ministry used to keep track of them, but he doesn't know if they still do."
"So whatever is petrifying our students most likely isn't a Basilisk or Cockatrice.
"Not unless one or the other somehow got over to Britain and then to Hogwarts."
"I had thought of a Cockatrice because they can also petrify with their gaze, but as large as they are I couldn't envision one going about in the hall without being seen especially after Mr. Finch-Fletchly was petrified in broad daylight."
"The majority of the students were in class at that time though," Severus said. "But still, I cannot imagine either of these creatures as huge as they are being able to move quietly enough not to attract attention."
"True also," Filius replied.
"But then that leaves the even more depressing possibility that it might be a student doing it."
"I for one do not believe it's a student," Filius said stoutly. He then changed the subject from the depressing talk of petrified students and possible causes. "Are you and Lily going to be chaperones at the Yule Ball?"
Severus sighed. "Yes. I let Minerva talk me into it. I was rather looking forward to catching up on some of my reading."
"Come along now Severus," Filius teased. "I as usual will be conducting the orchestra and I promised Lily I play at least one slow song so she can have at least one dance with you."
Severus smiled and looked down the table at Lily who was sitting next to Remus and chatting with him. "Yes, she can be quite persuasive."
Minerva tapped on her goblet to get the student's attention. When all the students had stopped talking and were looking up at the head table, she said, "It has been decided with input from your heads of house that you will now be escorted to and from classes or to your common rooms by your professors. An elf is assigned to each house and should you miss dinner or want a snack before you retire, you may summon the elf and have them bring it. There will be no sneaking down to the kitchen late at night. A temporary earlier curfew has also been established for the entire student body." These were the ideas that the heads of house have come up with during their monthly meeting to keep the students safe.
There was a loud groan from the students especially the fifth, sixth, and seventh year students.
"You may grumble about this, but it is for your own safety that it's being done."
After the dessert had appeared and disappeared again, Severus led his snakes to Slytherin House while the rest of the heads took charge of their houses. Lily went with Filius to help him with the Ravenclaws while Remus helped Minerva with the Gryffindors and Hagrid went with Pomona to make sure she got her Hufflepuffs to their house safely.
Each house was equipped with individual libraries, but Ravenclaw and Slytherin had the best ones by far so they could do without the school library if worse came to worse. 'Irma would probably not mind less use of the library at all,' Severus reflected.
The professors found out the next morning that Albus had been suspended by the board for a month and Minerva was appointed temporary headmistress until his return after the Christmas holidays. Severus hoped he would reconsider his actions during his enforced holiday and change his course when he came back. He doubted this would happen, but there was always room for hope.
The Yule Ball was that evening. While more subdued than it had been in the past years; everybody still had a good time. The Great Hall was beautifully decorated with the usual 12 Christmas trees and huge wreaths hung on the walls. There was one large buffet table and smaller tables that would seat ten scattered around the hall. The orchestra, led by Filius, was positioned where the head table usually sat and the floor in front was cleared for dancing.
Severus shared a promised dance with Lily. He wore a navy blue dress robe and Lily wore a pale column of strapless golden silk and wore her hair upswept. She looked very beautiful indeed.
The professors made sure that everybody was back in their common rooms before midnight. The train would leave Hogsmeade tomorrow at eleven for the trip back to London. Everybody was going home this year; the only people left in the castle were going to be a few professors, Poppy and the two petrified boys.
Severus was up early to greet Matius who had come to get Keb and Isis and the gifts he bought for Harry and Lily. He knew Harry was planning to get up early and send Hedwig off to Witches Moon. He gave his gifts to Minerva, Filius, and Pomona, and Remus before breakfast. At ten-thirty Severus, Pomona, and Filius rode down in a carriage to Hogsmeade to make sure all the students got on the train safely. Once the train had pulled out of the station, headed for London, they rode back to the castle. They wished each other a Happy Christmas and went their separate ways. Filius would be spending Christmas with his brother and his family while Pomona was going to visit a Herbologist colleague and friend in Spain for the holidays. Minerva as temporary headmistress had to stay at Hogwarts so her family was coming from Inverness to spend Christmas at Hogwarts. Remus was staying simply because he did not want to be bothered by James and Sirius during the holidays.
Harry and Lily were waiting for Severus in his quarters when he returned. "Ready?"
They donned their coats, gloves and boots and flooed to the Dragon's Tale and then Severus apparated Harry to Witches Moon first, opened the gate and let Harry in, and then disapparated back to the inn to get Lily. It was snowing heavily and the wind was picking up. Tita was waiting in the entrance hall for them and had snacks and hot wassail waiting in the living room with a fire roaring in the fireplace. They removed their boots and winter outerwear and then took their things upstairs.
"This is so awesome!" Harry exclaimed kicking off his trainers and stretching out his feet in front of the fire as Severus handed him a cup of the hot wassail.
Severus was filling his cup with the hot wassail. Lily was still upstairs unpacking and putting her things away. The living room was decorated the same as it had been the previous year.
Harry eyed all the presents under the tree curiously then turned to his father. "Say, Dad…do you mind if I ask you something?"
"What is it you want to know?" Severus asked, looking up at Harry.
"Are you and mum going to stay just friends forever or are you going to make it more permanent?"
Severus choked on his wassail and spit half of it out. He set his cup down on the table.
Harry continued on with his explanation as if he didn't notice his father's reaction to his question. "I could tell from the way that you talked about mum's wand the night she came back through the Veil that you feel more than friendship for her and from what she's said to me; I'm pretty sure she feels the same way about you. I mean she was really frightened and worried about you when you, Aurors Moody, and Black went to retrieve the horcrux in that cave."
Severus did not quite know how to answer Harry's question. He definitely did want to ask Lily to marry him. He had made up his mind when Lily announced that she had been given a second chance that he was not to let it slip away from him again. "I have been thinking about it," he confessed. "Do you think you can keep your mother busy tomorrow while I go to Diagon Alley?"
"Sure Dad, I can ask mum to tell me about when you and she were kids and about Grandpa and Grandma Evans."
"Good," Severus replied as Lily walked into the room. Severus poured her a cup of the wassail and handed it to her.
"Thanks, Sev." She took a sip of it. "Delicious!" She picked up a plate and placed two of the small sandwiches Tita had made on them and added some sliced vegetables and dip to it.
"By the way Lily; I am going to Diagon Alley tomorrow so if there is anything you need, let me know. I forgot to restock some of my potion ingredients here. I should have done it earlier, but with everything that has been happening; it completely slipped my mind."
"I feel so sorry for Mr. and Mrs. Creevey and Mr. and Mrs. Finch-Fletchly. Imagine having your child petrified and unable to come home for Christmas," Lily said.
Yes, I do also," Severus replied. "I don't know what Albus is going to do about their scores as Mr. Creevey will have missed the greater part of the school year by the time the Mandrake Restorative Draught is ready and Mr. Finch-Fletchly will have missed half of it." Severus shook his head. "Perhaps Hogwarts will be willing to pay for tutors for them so they can get caught up over the summer holiday."
"I would think that would be only fair, Sev."
Before they had lunch in the Conservatory; Severus, Lily, and Harry went into the library to say hello to Tiberius and Audra's portraits. They visited for a bit with Audra asking Harry how he was doing in Ravenclaw. After Lily and Harry had left, Severus posed a question to his grandfather. "Do we have any books written about Lord Slytherin? I mean books that were written in his time and not any modern books that usually feature him as a hater of Muggleborns and Muggles. The children in my house do not know much about him except for the bad things they have heard about him from others and I would like them to know the real Salazar."
"I believe there are two, but they are in very fragile condition," Tiberius said.
"Are they too fragile for me to make a copy of?"
"You should be able to copy them; I just do not want them removed from the library."
"No, I do not want them ruined either," Severus agreed.
"You will find them both in the biographical section," Tiberius said.
Severus quickly located the books and carefully removed them from the shelves. He grimaced when he saw their fragile condition, but made copies of both books. He thanked his grandfather and took the books upstairs.
He went to his lab to check his stores to if he really did need anything from Slug & Jiggers. He would have to stop there anyway to maintain his fiction of needing potion ingredients. His true plan was to visit his Gringotts vaults. When he was a teenager, his mum had told him about the Prince wedding set that included both an engagement and wedding ring that Prince brides' had worn and handed down to their sons or daughters for centuries. She had never told him where it was because having been disowned; she had only seen it on her mother's hand.
Severus knew Zort kept an up-to-date ledger on what each vault contained and could probably tell him where it was easily. He could also ask his grandmother since it must have gone back into the vault on her death, but he didn't want to take a chance Lily might overhear him so he decided asking Zort would be the best option.
Severus was up early and had breakfast so he could and get to Gringotts early. Since the bank was open 24/7, he could have gone at midnight if he had chosen. He left a note for Lily and Harry letting them know he had gone to Diagon Alley and would see them shortly. He flooed to the Leakey Cauldron, deciding since it was a fairly nice day to walk to Gringotts. He passed through the doors and stepped up to the first available Goblin and requested to see his account manager, Zort.
Zort was summoned and when he appeared they first exchanged the ancient greeting taught to Severus by Eileen and then went into Zort's office. He sat down behind his desk and Severus in a chair in front of the desk. "How may I help you today, Professor Snape?"
"Zort, can you tell me in which vault the Prince betrothal and wedding set resides?"
"I can have that information for you if you will give me a moment," Zort replied as he summoned a self-updating ledger that listed all the transactions of the Prince vaults. He searched through the ledger which listed all the withdrawals and deposits of money, jewelry and other items stored in the Prince vaults. "Yes, here it is. The ring set was brought in by your grandfather's lawyer, Reginald Winchester on October 11, 1974 …" Severus knew his grandparents had died within a month of one another during his fourth year at Hogwarts. Tiberius had died on September 9, 1974 and Audra on October 10, 1974. "And they were placed with other jewelry in Vault 754. There is also the Heir's ring which rightfully belongs to you."
"Really? My mum never mentioned an Heir's ring, but maybe my grandfather never wore it so she never saw it."
Zort frowned. "It should have been given to you by your previous account manager when you came in after we sent you the notice of your inheritance."
"Well, I think Groden was getting up there in years and might have forgotten."
"That is possible as he was advised to retire by our manager shortly after that and I was appointed in his place. Would you like to go to your vault and retrieve them now?"
"Yes."
They went to the track area where a cart was already waiting for them. They got in and Zort steered it expertly. "Vault 754," he called as they pulled up in front of it. Severus got out and waited while Zort ran a finger down the row of locks and watched as they seemed to melt away at the touch of his finger. The door swung open and Severus swept inside. He poked around until he found a green, velvet box inside a safe he put his hand against to open. He picked it up and opened it. Inside sat a gold ring with a square cut emerald surrounded by ten diamonds plus another gold ring with diamonds set around the entire band. It was beautiful and like all Goblin made jewelry it would automatically adjust to Lily's finger size.
Another brown, velvet box sat beside it. Severus opened it this time to find the Heir's ring. He studied it closely. On it was a shield that was half blue which stood for truth and loyalty and the other half was purple which stood for royal majesty, sovereignty, and justice. On the blue side of the crest there was an open book which stood for manifestation and on the purple side was a lightning bolt that stood for swiftness and power. Over the top of the shield was an eagle with it wings outstretched which signified protection. Over it was a ribbon with the family's motto on it, Eruditio Decerno Libertas which translated as Knowledge Is Freedom. He slid it on the fourth finger of his right hand and it automatically shrunk to fit his finger.
He put both boxes in his pocket and left the vault. He waited while Zort closed and relocked the door and then returned to the main floor. Severus got out of the cart and thanked Zort for his excellent service. As he walked back down to the Leakey Cauldron he thought about what he would need to do if Lily accepted his proposal. He would need to add her name on his account and she could decide if she wanted to retain her vaults separately or combine them with his. Harry's name had been automatically added to his account when Gringotts had received notification of his adoption from WCS.
When Severus arrived back at Witches Moon, he could hear Lily's laughter coming from the Conservatory. He went upstairs to his bedroom and put the ring boxes in his dresser drawer and then went back downstairs.
Lily and Harry were bent over a photo album and Lily was explaining about the pictures while Harry was laughing. They looked up as Severus walked into the room. Harry grinned and said, "Hi, Dad! Mum was just telling me about how Grandpa Evans would always dress in a costume to hand out Halloween treats."
Severus glanced down at the photo of Mr. Evans dressed up as Frankenstein they were looking at. He chuckled in remembrance. "I recall he about scared the pants off me in that costume when I came to the door. He looked as if he had stepped out of the movie."
"Dad was always one for insisting that his costumes look as authentic as possible," Lily explained. "He used to drive mum crazy around Halloween."
"They sound like they were really interesting people," Harry commented. "I wish I could have known them."
Lily pulled Harry to her and gave him a kiss. "Me too."
After lunch, Severus went upstairs to wrap Lily's ring. He did all of his wrapping by magic or had someone at the store wrap them as he had never mastered wrapping a gift the Muggle way especially a small items. His presents always turned out looking a mess.
On Christmas Eve as usual, Harry was allowed to open one gift before he went to bed. He chose a box wrapped with silver paper and blue ribbons and a bow. He opened it to find a sweatshirt with the Ravenclaw House crest on it. Lily had gotten the idea when she had seen a Muggle boy wearing a sweatshirt with his favorite football club logo on it.
"Mum, this is fantastic! Everybody will want one when they see it," Harry exclaimed holding the shirt up in front of him.
"A good idea Lily," Severus said. "I think I will invest in sweatshirts for my house to better promote house unity."
Harry said goodnight to him mum and dad and went upstairs, taking his new sweatshirt with him.
"Would you like to open a present, Lily?" Severus asked.
"Yes!" Lily laughed. "You know how I love opening Christmas presents, Sev."
He took a small wrapped box out of his pocket and handed it to her. "I suggest you open this one."
"Okay, if you insist." Lily tore off the paper to find a white box, pulled off the lid and found the green velvet box inside. She opened it and gasped as she saw the rings inside.
Severus dropped to one knee, took her hand and said, "Lily, you have been my very best friend since we were nine and now would you do me the honor of becoming my wife, my partner, and my lover?"
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If you want to read ahead by 20 chapters from her you can visit my Patre-on.
{P} {A} {T} {R} {E} {O} {N}
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