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"Let me explain. The happiest man on Earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is."
Albus Dumbledore - Harry potter and the Sorcerer Stone
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The Restriction Section - Hogwarts
A quiet morning in Hogwarts library, the sun rays crept into the ancient library, students spent the hours searching for information for Snape's assigned essay. The place smelt like a dust and musty sweetish scent of the books.. full with students and the sound of parchment paper waving about.
Snape entered the section during study hour, as he entered the sixth year Gryffindors and Slytherins who had that study hour under his surveillance, voices and side chats scaled down. He monitored them for a few minutes , hushed some of them here and there., and he walked into the restriction section , deciding to search for a way of using the Resurrection Stone in "a proper advanced way." The old classic way will bring them back as ghosts; he wanted them in flesh and without any damage to the body-
"Sir, there's Quidditch tomorrow, can I leave early?" Harry begged him.
Snape raised his head with a disgusted stare. "Then you must be aware that breaking a limb will not excuse you from failing nor being expelled, Potter."
Snape turned and strode away from Harry without dismissal. He couldn't think of someone to help , Madam Pince was not a helpful person , and in her years of work nothing extraordinary happened at all , he thought of one person who lived long enough to witness something big and mysterious like such a legend.
"Sir Nicolas! I require your assistance." The ghost roamed over the wooden shelves , with his head tottered over his neck back and forth.
"Do you know," Snape asked in his low, ponderous way, "Where I might find the Vault of Fear Legend?" Nearly Headless Nick said, "The entrance to the Vault has been kept secret for hundreds of years, but I saw one of the students entering through one of the books... there!" he pointed towards the Restricted Section.
"Have you seen which book was used?" Snape asked.
"Of course not, it was three hundred years ago!" Sir Nicholas left, off to wander around the library.
It's time to do something childish, Snape thought to himself.
The day dragged on, until finally Snape dismissed the students for the evening. He waited, watching with quiet impatience as they filed out before returning to the Restricted Section. He searched among the tomes, behind the shelves, He pulled a book from the shelf and stumbled backwards as a large balloon burst from the shelf- no doubt a Weasely prank. "They have earned themselves a whole year of detention "
He angrily grumbled. He placed the book back, strolling around the shelves. Every one of the books had leather, dark cases, all of them ancient enough to tear apart if not handled carefully.
As Snape turned to leave, he saw a small light sprinkling near one of the books on the last shelf near a window.
Carefully, the potion master casted a protective spell and went closer to the shelf, taking the nearest book near the magical light. He opened it, pointed his wand at the pages and whispered, "Reveal your secrets." 'The book opened very quickly dust flew everywhere as pages fluttered. A light flashed from the book, and under his feet a sacred mandala formed. He stepped back as the gate opened, revealing a stairway leading to the basement,'
"Lumos," he casted, moving down the stairs carefully and slowly. He found a large chamber with piles of books scattered about and a huge map of the dark Forbidden Forest. Snape looked at the treasure in awe, Lumos." Cautious in his decent, he found a large chamber filled with scattered piles of books, so rare that none knew their history, and an enormous map of the dark Forbidden Forest. He turned to see the stairs and bookcase still open, allowing him to remain through the night searching for his stray. Once he finally reached the basment , he found an open leather case , with some old stationary tools inside it , he carefully moved it with his wand , protecting his hands as it perhabs bewitched , He touched the case, and at once heard from the darkness the tread of feet and sinister whispers. Bright lit wand in hand, he turned his eyes and startled backwards by the presence of three unexpected people.
Tobias Snape, who's whispers became angry screams like those he'd directed to Snape's own mother; the second took the form of the Dark Lord, who loomed with a glare that chilled the blood; and worst yet... Lily Evans. "I died because of you! You are the reason I'm gone! I will never forgive you!" 'Severus reeled back from them and tried to escape before remembering the vault is secured with boggarts, so nothing will help but overcoming his fears.
He froze for a bit, although not real, but this still trigger his deep emotions , he raised his wand as the three boggarts kept screaming, and said " Ridiculous "
And they turned into three headed gramophone, and throw it away magically at the basement corner.
"Oh Severus! I see you have succeeded in finding the Vault of Fear, do tell me, how was the boggart?"" Sir Nicholas called from upstairs.
Snape ignored him with a heavy sigh. A teasing ghost is the last thing he wanted to worry about. Long hours passed as he combed through book after book, morning creeping with each sentence of dangerous information. Had these books once fallen into the hands of Tom Riddle?
"History, no I don't need that... Let's see this. Potions, not quite, alchemy... "He looked at the large Tome, written by Nicholas Flemmel. "That old fool never mentioned this book to me during our tea time."
He turned the pages of a large tome, written in an ancient language and old runes, he stopped at paragraph that says clearly, " the advanced usage of the resurrection stone -which not guaranteed the success- required to be used in front of the crossing gates between life and death "
"This is it!"
He took the Tome and the other large book with him, departing upstairs.
Snape barged into Dumbeldore's office, holding the large book aloft. "You never told me about this book, by one 'Nicholas Flemmel'. Why?"
"Don't be sensitive, Severus. Nicholas Flemmel can't remember all the books he published over the last 600 years. Do you expect me to do so in return?" Albus Dumbeldore took a sip of his tea carelessly.
Snape opened the book, with great care turning pages until he found the correct one. Trailing his finger below the runes, he said thoughtfully, "According to this, to use the stone correctly, I must work on this for a month. And I require a rare potion, one not found in your everyday garden."" He said with a silky baritone, moving his hand between the lines of the ancient language sentences.
Dumbeldore turned back to Severus, ""Work on it? Severus, you said this was for research! You know that this magic is fatal, who could possibly be worth this risk?"
Snape waved his wand and whispered "Expecto Patronum." He stood as a white whimsical deer emitted out of the wand and ran towards the window.
"Lily!" Dumbeldore's eyes filled with tears. "After all this time?"
"Always."