The Redemption of Severus Snape

Part 30

"How thoughtful."

"Lemon drop?" said Albus.

"Yes, please."

"Shell we get straight to it then?"

"Yes, of course," replied Lindsay. Albus appeared in good humor and spoke pleasantly, but Lindsay had the feeling that he was anxious about something. He escorted her to a small table flanked by two chairs. A small silver tray lay on the table and was covered by a dark linen cloth.

"Please have a seat, Lin." She sat down and set her bag and violin case on the floor beside her. Albus looked pensive as he took the chair across from her. "I would like to expand on your earlier exploits with Stampy, if you don't mind?"

"I don't mind at all," replied Lindsay, but it was a lie; however, she trusted Albus and was willing to accommodate his wishes. He flicked his index finger and the dark linen cloth lifted off of the tray and settled on the table. The odor of putrefaction assaulted Lindsay's nose. The cloth had apparently been charmed to seal in odors. A dead toad graced the top of the tray. It had been dead at least a week. Large pockets of decay were visible on the carcass. Lindsay had dissected cadavers and was neither frightened nor sickened by death and decay; however, she was beginning to regret agreeing to Albus' request.

Albus studied her with his twinkling blue eyes; a pleasant smile graced his lips. He was a master of deception when the situation called for it. Despite his native dislike for dishonesty, it was occasionally necessary. Lindsay was trepidatious, and that made him hopeful.

"I did not harm this animal," began Albus. "I found it near the lake. It presumably died of natural causes. I want you to revive it, just like you did with Stampy." Albus made sure to appear excited and expectant. Lindsay's natural inclination to please others would make her feel too guilty to refuse his request.

Lindsay was wringing her hands nervously. She didn't want to touch the dead animal. "Well...uh...I don't know if I can, Albus. The body's in very bad condition."

"Do your best," replied Albus.

Lindsay avoided touching the carcass and instead placed her hands on either side of it. She closed her eyes and focused her consciousness on tracking the toad's disembodied spirit; some might call it the soul. Lindsay felt her mind gliding through an unfamiliar plane. It was different from where she'd found Stampy; his spirit was in a place that felt peaceful, yet more confused and less settled than this place. The toad's spirit was residing in a place that felt vast, and within this vastness existed such a feeling of contentment that Lindsay felt her mind drifting away from the toad's spirit in favor of basking in this feeling of profound serenity. She felt a strong and abrupt pull; not a physical feeling, but a mental one and she turned to follow it. She opened her eyes to a worried-looking Albus.

"You must focus, Lin," said Albus. His tone was stern. "You have a single path to follow. You will not stray from it. Now try again."

Once again Lindsay placed her hands on the tray and closed her eyes. She found this new plane easily, but finding the toad was more difficult than before. An immense crowd of entities gathered before her; their numbers seemed endless. She wanted to call them people yet many of them were not human, or hadn't been when they lived in corporeal form. She had the impression that they were trying to protect the toad by hiding it. The subterfuge annoyed Lindsay and she continued on. Every spirit in the huge crowd was talking at once. Lindsay interpreted it as speech, but it was more similar to thought.

After blundering about for what seemed like a lifetime, Lindsay found the toad. Its spirit felt peaceful. She attempted to communicate with it and was overwhelmed by its innocence. It had no comprehension of where it was; only that it was happy and safe from pain and harm and the hardships of trying to survive in a living physical world. She had the sense that she could force this poor creature back into its decayed body, but her conscience couldn't bear the thought of it. She noticed then that the crowd had become silent, and their masses had moved away from her. She finally understood what they'd been trying to tell her. Lindsay pulled her mind away from the toad's spirit.

"I'm sorry, Albus, I can' do it. I won't. It would be wrong." She expected Albus to be upset with her and rambled on to diffuse her nerves. "It was different with Stampy. He hadn't been dead for very long and wasn't settled in a new existence. And his body was healthy; his wounds were minor. This toad's been dead too long--"

"Relax, Lin," said Albus. He flicked his index finger and the cloth covered the toad carcass, sealing in the offensive odor of decay. He sat back in his chair looking relieved rather than angry. His eyes twinkled pleasantly.

Comprehension speeded across Lindsay's mind. "This was a test, wasn't it?"

"Yes, my dear, it was. And you performed brilliantly; far better than I would have."

Lindsay frowned, "That's not a very nice thing to say about yourself, Albus."

"We all have our weaknesses, and I'm all too aware of mine." He waved his hand and the little table with its toad-bearing tray disappeared. He moved Lindsay's chair closer and took hold of her hands in his. Physical contact made it easier for her to control her natural defenses. More Occlumency lessons were today's agenda. Albus held her hands, looked into her eyes, and began to gently probe her surface thoughts. Later in the same lesson, Albus would stand across the room and attempt to probe her mind. Her Occlumency skills were fair, but improving. Her control over her natural magical defenses, however, had greatly improved.

Albus thought it time to push her a little harder. He held her gaze and sent a mild stinging hex at her. Her Occlumency defenses faltered and a burst of blue light absorbed the hex. A swipe at the air with his hand was enough to dispel the energy that rushed at him.

Lindsay swayed a little and blinked a few times. "Sorry about that."

"Quite alright," replied Albus. "You're skills are improving rapidly."

"My defensive magic knocked Professor Snape off his feet, but you dispelled it with a wave of your hand. I couldn't hurt you if I tried, could I?"

Albus smiled mischievously and replied, "Not while I had my wits about me, no."

Lindsay stooped to pick up her belongings. "How did you know that my mind was drifting when I was looking for the toad?"

"Intuition," replied Albus.

"Intuition, huh?" repeated Lindsay incredulously. "There's much more to you than meets the eye, isn't there, Albus Dumbledore?"

"Possibly."

"Ah, a man of mystery."

"Quite," said Albus with a grin.

"I've got tickets for the symphony next Saturday. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is playing the Royal Albert Hall. Would you like to go?"

"I'd be delighted," replied Albus happily.