Hogwarts i am snape

"Alastor, if you would be so kind as to stand guard at the door," Dumbledore murmured to Moody.

Moody merely nodded, leaning on his walking stick as he took up a position in the corridor, his magical eye sweeping the surroundings with vigilance.

Dumbledore stood before the cell door and, with a soft flick of his wand, the iron gate swung open without a sound.

As he and Snape stepped across the threshold, the door seemed to be nudged by an unseen hand, closing gently behind them. The noises from outside were instantly muffled, cut off completely.

A profound silence settled over the cell, broken only by the faintest whisper of breathing from a shadowed corner.

In that dimly lit nook, a tiny figure was huddled, limp and utterly devoid of life. It was Hokey, looking as though all spirit had left her.

The house-elf was so small she could have easily slipped through the gaps in the cell's iron bars. But clearly, in her current state, she lacked the will or the strength to do so.

Dumbledore approached Hokey, bending down to observe her closely for a moment.

He raised his wand and gently tapped it towards Hokey. A pale green mist, like a whisper of spring, drifted from the tip of his wand, enveloping Hokey softly.

Within this ethereal shroud, Hokey's shrivelled form seemed to plump slightly, regaining a flicker of vitality.

Her thin, bony fingers twitched a few times, and her long eyelashes fluttered, as if she were struggling to open her eyes.

Before the house-elf could fully awaken, Dumbledore cast another charm upon her. A faint golden light mingled with the green mist.

Hokey slowly opened her eyes, revealing two large, brown orbs, much like quidditch snitches.

Her eyes were clouded with sorrow, and two streams of tears welled up and spilled over, tracing clean paths down her grimy cheeks.

"Mistress…" Hokey whispered weakly, "I'm so sorry… Mistress… Hokey did not mean to…"

She tried to pull herself towards Dumbledore, but her body was too frail, the last of her strength insufficient for such an effort.

"Stay right where you are, Hokey," Dumbledore said kindly, making a quiet gesture to Snape. "I don't blame you; I know it was not your intention.

"It has been a long time since I last saw you. My days have been quite disarrayed without your care, so I wished to come and see you."

"I know you've had a difficult time here too," Dumbledore's voice softened to a gentle murmur. "I still miss the days when you looked after me."

"Mistress…" Hokey's scrawny chest heaved violently, as if she could barely catch her breath. "Hokey misses you too…"

Another wave of mist, rich with the essence of life, enveloped the little elf, and her breathing gradually steadied.

"Hokey," Dumbledore said, looking into the house-elf's eyes, "do you recall the day Tom Riddle came to visit us?"

"I remember, Mistress," Hokey replied softly. "He brought you a bouquet of roses. He was always so handsome and polite; he made you happy."

"And then what happened?" Dumbledore pressed.

"Then…" Hokey's voice filled with renewed remorse and fear, her body trembling slightly. "I'm so sorry, Mistress! Hokey thought it was sugar! Hokey did not mean to…"

"Oh, it's quite alright, Hokey," Dumbledore reassured her in a gentle tone. "I forgive you. Now, I need to see your memories. Can you look into my eyes and open your mind to me?"

"Yes, Mistress," the house-elf whispered. "Hokey is willing to serve you."

With a supreme effort, Hokey lifted her head, her tear-filled eyes gazing longingly into Dumbledore's.

Dumbledore's keen blue eyes, magnified by his half-moon spectacles, studied Hokey intently.

After a moment, he placed his wand against the house-elf's temple, carefully drawing out a silvery-blue wisp, something neither gas nor liquid.

Then, Dumbledore produced a slender-necked crystal phial from within his robes, using his wand to guide the silver thread of memory, extracted from Hokey's mind, into the bottle.

Having completed this task, the little elf slowly closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep, the expression on her face appearing far more peaceful.

Dumbledore straightened up, carefully tucking the crystal phial into an inner pocket of his robes, and turned to leave.

Snape glanced at Dumbledore, then back at the sleeping Hokey. "Professor, since she is not the one responsible, should we not find a way to free Hokey from Azkaban?"

Dumbledore turned, his gaze fixed on Snape with a peculiar expression. "Severus, though you are so remarkably young, I confess I never imagined you would be so naive and innocent as to pose such a question. Are you truly serious?"

Though he seemed less than pleased with Snape's query, Dumbledore patiently explained, "If the number of souls departing does not match, the Dementors will surely notice. Furthermore, at a time such as this, seeking to clear her name might very well alert Tom.

"At the very least, Hokey will believe she has received her master's forgiveness, wouldn't you say?"

Ah, indeed, Dumbledore's words to him were quite different from those he would later offer to Harry.

While his suspicions were confirmed, Snape couldn't help but feel a retort bubbling up inside him regarding Dumbledore's assessment of him as "young, naive, and innocent."

"Yes, I see, Professor. For the greater good, some sacrifices are, regrettably, inevitable."

Dumbledore's steps towards the cell door seemed to falter ever so slightly before resuming their normal pace, and he stepped across the threshold, exiting the cell.

Snape felt a surge of satisfaction. He mused that, setting aside other considerations, at least with his own students, so long as they avoided fundamental transgressions, the Headmaster's temperament was rather agreeable.

However, Snape still resolved to find a suitable time to assure the Headmaster that he was "Dumbledore's man through and through." Otherwise, playing with fire could be rather worrying.

The trio made their way towards the prison exit.

All the while, Moody's wand moved ceaselessly, erasing their traces, lest the Ministry of Magic officials conducting later inspections discover anything amiss.

Before boarding the small boat, Snape recalled the Dementor he had vanquished.

"Professor, the Dementor my Patronus destroyed earlier, is that of no consequence?"

"Dementors are non-beings," Moody answered Snape's question on Dumbledore's behalf. "They are perpetually breeding; no one truly comprehends their exact numbers, not even the Dementors themselves.

"Now, it's time to return. If we tarry any longer, the Aurors bringing dinner will arrive."

The small boat slowly pulled away from Azkaban, sailing into the distance.

Upon reaching the shore, Moody, with a string of dazed attackers in tow, headed deeper inland.

Dumbledore, meanwhile, took Snape, and they Disapparated back to the Headmaster's office.

The swirling, shimmering Pensieve was already waiting for them upon the desk.