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Bound By The Moon by shadowycat [Reviews - 1]

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Lupin and Snape appeared on a rocky and steep mountain road facing a very deep chasm. A narrow drawbridge extended over the chasm and led to a huge and impressive fortress carved directly into the side of the mountain.

They exchanged satisfied glances. This certainly seemed to be the place they were searching for. They started across the drawbridge, trying not to look down the incredibly steep walls of the chasm towards a tiny ribbon of river at the bottom. Halfway across they felt an echo of the same shiver of magic they’d felt when the vampires invaded the pub.

Snape nodded at Lupin and looked a bit paler than usual. “It seems we’ve found Slytherin’s castle. The vampires appear to be in residence.”

Lupin agreed. “Yes, but the feeling is definitely weaker. They’re all asleep in their lairs at the moment. We’ll be okay until dark, Severus. Don’t worry.”

Snape nodded but didn’t reply, obviously remembering their last encounter with the vampires. He glanced up at the cold winter sun still high in the sky and then turned resolutely to face the fortress in the cliffside.

A set of shallow stone steps led up to an impressive looking pair of wooden doors. The stonework around the doors was carved in the form of serpents twisting over and around each other, forming intricate patterns and knots in the solid stone. They stared at the doors.

“Think we’ll be able to get in?” Lupin asked.

Snape shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

The Slytherin stepped forward and withdrew his wand. He muttered something to himself and passed his wand over the doors, checking for traps and wards. There didn’t appear to be any so he put his wand away and pushed open one of the doors.

The two wizards peered into a huge marble entry hall lit solely by wavering torches.

Lupin frowned suspiciously. “That was too easy.”

Snape considered. “Not necessarily, Lupin. With the vampires in residence any traps set by Slytherin would’ve been set off long ago, and the vampires themselves would be happy to have “prey” wander in on its own. After all, the fly has no trouble entering the spider’s web…leaving again is the problem.”

Lupin smiled sideways at Snape. “Let’s hope we’re better at leaving than the average fly then.”

“Agreed,” Snape said quietly as the two of them stepped into the entrance hall and looked carefully around.

The enormous hall was made entirely of black and green marble with many exiting hallways going deeper into the cliffside. There was an impressive sweeping staircase that ascended to the higher levels of the castle. Everything was silent and ill lit. Shadows and dust abounded. Obviously vampires were lousy housekeepers.

Lupin suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed. “How are we ever going to search this whole place in just a few hours, Severus? It’s massive.”

The Potions Master agreed. “We don’t have time for that. Fortunately it’s not necessary. We’ll just use a seeker spell. It’ll lead us to all the likely candidates very quickly.”

Lupin sighed and smiled wryly at Snape. “Let me guess…Charms, fifth year again? I must’ve been very distracted that year. I wish I could remember what her name was.”

Snape rolled his eyes and took out his wand. “Requiro parchment.” A small ball of golden light appeared and hovered off the tip of Snape’s wand. It turned in a lazy circle then began to float up the staircase. They followed.

Lupin frowned at Snape as they climbed. “Why look for parchment instead of books, Severus? Shouldn’t we narrow down the search as much as possible?”

Snape kept his eyes on the golden ball of light as he answered. “Your sole agenda may be to find that book on Lycanthropy, Lupin. However, that’s not my only goal. Slytherin’s papers would be of immense interest to me. I would not want to overlook a study or office in our haste to find the library.”

Lupin shrugged. “Well, if we have to, I guess we could split up for awhile. I don’t want to waste time though.”

“I assure you, Lupin, I have no desire to waste time either. A second encounter with Jenni and her followers is not something I long for, believe me.”

They peered into open rooms as they followed the light ball down a long corridor on the second floor. Most of the rooms were empty or filled with dustsheet-covered lumps. Nothing stirred and everything was lit only by smoky torches. The effect was tension charged and creepy.

Finally the ball hovered outside one of the only closed doors on the corridor. Snape put his hand on the knob, twisted, and pushed the door open. It was a bedroom, lavishly furnished in pieces crafted from heavy dark wood, oak or perhaps mahogany. The layers of dust in here were a bit lighter than in other places they’d been, as if the room had been occupied a bit more recently. Although clearly it no longer was.

In a far corner there was a desk with scrolls stuffed into cubbyholes that was obviously attracting the seeker. Snape took a moment to look through what was there but found nothing of value.

Lupin stared around the room with interest. “Do you think this was Slytherin’s bedroom, Severus?”

Snape glanced at him and shrugged. “Hard to say unless he had monogrammed bed sheets. The papers are no help. I rather doubt it, though. It’s far too modest, and the furniture lacks his trademark serpents.”

Snape sent the seeker on its way again. They continued along in this fashion for some time, up and down on various levels, searching many a dead end, at least for Lupin. Snape seemed to find a scroll here or there to be worthy of his attention, pocketing several as they moved through the castle. Finally, after a couple of hours, they opened a door and struck gold. The large open chamber they’d found had floor to ceiling books settled neatly on ornate shelves. Chairs and tables were scattered about and there was a balcony running all around the room. In the middle of one wall was a massive green marble fireplace. But the thing that immediately got their attention and lifted their spirits high was a two story stain glass window that was the twin of the one in Slytherin’s library back at Hogwarts.

Lupin smiled in satisfaction. “Well, I guess we’ve found Salazar Slytherin’s library!”

“It would appear so,” agreed Snape.

They eagerly set about examining the books on the shelves. Lupin took the balcony and Snape examined the books below. After several hours of searching, they were still empty handed, and they found themselves running out of time.

Lupin joined Snape at a table on the main floor of the library. Both of them were liberally coated in dust. They’d found many fascinating books; Snape had added a couple of small ones to the scrolls he’d found earlier, but they had had no luck finding the book they needed.

“We’re almost out of time, Severus,” exclaimed Lupin in frustration. “We’ll have to come back, I guess.”

Snape frowned and looked thoughtfully around the room. “I’m beginning to think this isn’t the right library, Lupin.”

Lupin looked at him in surprise. “How many libraries would Slytherin have had? Look at that window. It’s exactly like the one at Hogwarts. This has to be Slytherin’s library.”

Snape nodded. “Oh, I agree. It’s Slytherin’s library all right, but perhaps it’s not his “private” library. We’ve forgotten a valuable clue, Lupin. The book we’re searching for was chained to its shelf. Look around. Do you see any books that are chained to their shelves?” Snape extended a hand and waved a finger about.

Lupin glanced around him and looked chagrined. “No. None at all. You’re right. It’s not the right room. Damn it! We’ve wasted all this time. It’ll be dark soon. We’ll have to come back.”

Snape frowned in annoyance. He hated to give up now; he felt they were close. Once more he activated the seeker. “Requiro book.”

“Won’t all the books in here confuse it?” Lupin wondered.

Snape shook his head. “They shouldn’t. It should ignore anything it’s already pointed out.” The seeker moved towards the door then veered abruptly to the side and hovered over the fireplace.

“Something wrong with it?” Lupin asked, puzzled at its odd behavior.

“There shouldn’t be. I performed the spell accurately,” said Snape a trifle testily. They advanced on the fireplace and examined it with care. Snape ran his hands over the intricate snake carvings that adorned the mantle and its supports. Slytherin had obviously been a little nuts on the subject of snakes. Considering the décor, it’s no wonder that vampires took over the place.

As he was carefully exploring the carvings, Snape felt something give under his fingertips, but nothing seemed to happen. He looked more closely taking careful note of a serpent whose head was at chest level on the right hand mantle support. He looked at the left column and found a duplicate in the same spot, although in general the carving was not exactly duplicated from one side to the other. He nodded in satisfaction. “Lupin, press the head of that serpent there on the left while I press its mate over here.”

Lupin nodded, and they depressed the heads in tandem. Very old mechanisms groaned to life, and the back of the fireplace dropped down into the floor, revealing a hidden chamber.

They bent down and entered through the newly exposed opening into a small round room. Around the room were a dozen marble bookstands, and chained to each stand was a leather bound book.




Bound By The Moon by shadowycat [Reviews - 1]

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