Hogwarts i am snape

Snape and Dumbledore found themselves in an incredibly crowded room.

The place looked like a strange mix between a magical antique shop and a plant greenhouse. It was filled with delicate display cases overflowing with magical artifacts, bookshelves crammed with gilt-edged tomes, shelves holding celestial globes and astrological instruments of all sizes, and many flourishing plants growing in copper pots.

In front of them, a very, very plump old lady was busy fussing over a small, jewel-encrusted mirror. She was using a large powder puff to apply rouge to her already apple-red cheeks.

Madam Hepzibah Smith wore an elaborate ginger wig and a flamboyant pink robe with so many layers that it fanned out around her, making her look like a melted ice cream cake.

Hokey, a house-elf, was kneeling at her feet, carefully helping the old lady squeeze her plump feet into tight satin slippers and buckle them up.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Snape couldn't help but sigh. "Tom certainly has a good appetite. Looks like he really doesn't want to work for anything anymore."

"How do I look?" Madam Hepzibah asked, turning her head to admire her reflection from every angle.

"Absolutely beautiful, ma'am," Hokey squeaked.

"Extremely wealthy, ma'am," Snape said almost at the same time as Hokey. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately realized his mistake and corrected himself, "No, it should be — Extremely wealthy, dear."

Dumbledore shook his head, giving him a disapproving look.

"Sir, do you know what Madam Hepzibah's most beautiful feature is?" Snape turned to Dumbledore and asked.

"What?" Dumbledore replied. "Can't you be quiet for a moment, Severus?"

"Alright, sir," Snape said without hesitation. "Her most beautiful feature is precisely that she doesn't have many days left to live. How many young men would dream of such a partner? Tom's ambition is still too small."

---

The doorbell jingled, and both the old lady and the house-elf jumped.

"Quick, quick, he's here, Hokey!" Hepzibah cried excitedly, her voice brimming with barely contained joy.

The house-elf darted out of the room with an agility that belied her age. A moment later, she returned, followed by a tall young man.

Tom was dressed in a sharp black suit, his hair a bit longer than it had been at school, making him look even more handsome than before. He walked over to Hepzibah, bent low, and lightly kissed her plump little hand.

"I brought you flowers," Tom said softly, conjuring a bouquet of roses, their petals still glistening with dewdrops.

Snape stood to the side, watching Tom and Madam Hepzibah's affectionate interaction with an expression of utter disbelief on his face.

"Oh, oh, don't be so eager, or I'll think you're only here for my treasures!" Hepzibah pouted and simpered, her coquettish manner like that of a young girl.

After a long moment, Snape seemed to snap out of his shock and regained the ability to speak: "Tom is bound to achieve great things in the future; you absolutely shouldn't have spared him back then."

Just then, amidst Madam Hepzibah's girlish giggles, Hokey brought out two leather boxes stacked one on top of the other. Madam Hepzibah extended her plump, spherical hand and opened the lid of the top box.

Inside was something that looked like a small golden cup with two delicate handles, its body shimmering with a soft golden light.

"Is this..." Dumbledore murmured softly, a hint of surprise in his voice.

Madam Hepzibah and Tom quickly clarified it for him.

"A badger," Tom muttered, staring greedily at the carvings on the golden cup. "This is..."

"Helga Hufflepuff's, you're very good, clever boy!" Madam Hepzibah said, leaning in to pinch Tom's hollowed cheek, her corsets creaking loudly. "Didn't I tell you I'm a distant descendant of Hufflepuff...?"

Next, she gleefully showed Tom a small golden locket she had bought from Borgin and Burkes. A magnificent, serpentine 'S' emblem shone on the locket.

"Slytherin's mark..." Tom whispered, staring at the serpentine emblem. His eyes glowed red, and his knuckles, gripping the locket's chain, turned white.

"That's right! I paid a fortune for this..." Hepzibah proudly boasted to Tom. "Burke got it from a shabby old woman, who probably stole it and didn't know its true value... I bet Burke barely paid her anything..."

---

"We should go, Severus," Dumbledore said softly. He took Snape's arm, and together they passed through a swirling black void, returning to his office.

"It seems Tom not only took Slytherin's locket but also Hufflepuff's cup," Dumbledore said, sitting down and motioning for Snape to do the same.

"I think," Snape said, "we now know what two of Tom's other Horcruxes are. This means there's only one heirloom left from the Hogwarts founders, Professor." As he spoke, his gaze drifted to the glass case behind Dumbledore, where Godric Gryffindor's sword lay quietly.

"Oh, I imagine he tried," Dumbledore noted Snape's glance. "Many years ago, Tom once tried to apply for the Defence Against the Dark Arts teaching position at Hogwarts. Thankfully, I was already headmaster then, and just like you refused Mulciber's plea for help, I simply told Tom I wouldn't give him a job."

"Then he must have been furious," Snape said.

"Indeed, he turned and left, his face a picture of rage," Dumbledore said. "Though the time for me to scare Tom with a burning wardrobe and force him into atonement has long passed, he still wouldn't dare lay a hand on me."

"Understood, you're formidable," Snape said, standing up. "I'll be heading back then, Professor."

"Wait, Severus," Dumbledore called out, slowly. "I've been meaning to ask you... would you be willing to join the Order of the Phoenix?"

"The Order of the Phoenix?" Snape stopped.

"It's a secret society," Dumbledore said earnestly. "I founded it, and it's filled with people willing to stand against Voldemort. I think you'd get along quite well with them. If you're willing to join, I'll bring you along to the next meeting."

"Alright," Snape said. "I look forward to it."

Joining the Order of the Phoenix now, Snape thought, would surely make him a founding member, wouldn't it? That would mean he'd become a senior to a whole bunch of his former classmates!

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