Finding Severus

12. Close Encounter

He held onto the rails of the staircase for a minute or so and then he was fine. He knew then it was time to stop.

"What makes you think he would come here?"

Severus froze. Voices. He heard voices.

"I don't know. He might want to relive the glory of his handiwork," he rasped.

They were getting closer. He had no idea what direction they were coming from, but he had to get to a hiding place and fast. He chose the small area just before the main stairs. There was a door that lead into the trophy room if he needed to get further out of sight. The smart thing would have been to just disapparate, but then they would know that someone was there. Besides, he wanted to know who they were. He could already guess who they were talking about, and he was right.

"Snape would never come back here. He's too much of a coward."

Severus narrowed his eyes. It was apparent they did not know him in the least. Who were these men? There was no doubt that they were Death Eaters. Their voices sounded familiar to him. But which ones?

It wasn't long before they came into sight. Severus set his jaw hard. Jugson and Travers, two of the biggest cowards in Voldemort's inner circle. It was a wonder that the Aurors hadn't caught them already. Maybe they had more brain power than he had given them credit for. He watched as they walked inside the ruins of the castle, right through the front door. You would have thought they had never been taught to be cautious. If only he had repaired the door, he would have been more alert to their presence. There were still a few more things to do yet before that could happen.

"This is the stupidest idea you've had yet, Travers."

"I don't think so. The Minstry announced that they weren't going to start putting this place back together for another week or so. Maybe two."

Travers rolled his eyes. Was the man blind? "Look around. Somebody has already started putting it back together." He frowned. "Hmm. You may be right about somebody being here, but it probably ain't Snape."

They walked close to the main staircase and stopped. Severus held his breath. He wasn't afraid, he just didn't want to have to deal with them.

"And who do you suppose that would be?" Jugson asked.

"Potter." An evil grin spread across his lips. "Wouldn't it be grand if, after all this, we killed him anyway? He's not going to be expecting Death Eaters to re-enter this school. We'll catch him by surprise and he'll never know what hit him."

Severus balled his hands into fists, keeping a tight grip on Thea's wand. He knew Harry wasn't there, but hearing them talk about him like that made him angry. And in that moment, he had a realization. He had come to care for him after all this time. It was funny how it took someone threatening his life, after everything with Voldemort, to make him see it. All of the kindness Harry had shown him since then helped a lot too. It reminded him of Lily.

"Where do you think he would be?" Travers questioned.

"Wasn't he in Gryffindor? Let's start there."

They agreed and headed up the main staircase. The staircases were enchanted by magic, so they still moved. Severus waited until they were out of sight and breathed a sigh of relief. He had to get out now. He came out of his hiding spot, after casing the area to make sure they were really gone. He was about to disapparate when he heard a loud sound echo just a short distance away from him. His pulse quickened. Who could that be? He kept his wand drawn just in case it was an enemy.

*******

"He's definitely been here," Harry said when he and Thea materialized in the middle of the Great Hall. "It wasn't whole at all last time I was here."