Chapter 51. The Sword of Gryffindor
Going down into the crowded hall and heading toward the fireplaces, Severus noticed a familiar figure with a long beard hurrying in his direction, without noticing him yet.
"Headmaster!" Severus waved with a smile, and Dumbledore looked over in surprise and quickly came to him.
"Severus, my boy, as soon as I received your letter I came at once. Is everything all right?" he asked anxiously, looking him over from head to toe.
"Thank you, I have been released. Someone fabricated the charges, and after a conversation with Mr. Harold, where I explained everything to him, he quickly resolved all my problems and even decided to help with my business."
"Help? I see. I am glad to hear it," Dumbledore nodded with a warm smile. "Then my interference in this matter is not required. I am happy everything turned out so well."
"Headmaster, how about coming over to my place for a cup of tea? After all, because of me you had to drop everything and rush over here."
"I would be delighted, my boy, but I cannot. There is too much work."
"That is a pity, but the doors of my little shop are always open to you on weekends if you want to drop by for tea. I rarely leave it at that time."
"Of course, I will be sure to visit you one of these days," Dumbledore nodded, his expression unchanged. "Then I will be going. Good day, Severus."
"And to you, Headmaster. have a good day." Severus waved, smiling mysteriously, and as soon as Dumbledore vanished into the fireplace, his smile grew even wider. Rarely does everything go this smoothly.
He did not linger long at the Ministry of Magic and, using the fireplace again, moved to Diagon Alley. Then he slipped into a side alley, pulled on his cloak, and disappeared.
In a gloomy cave lit by a single, weak glow that looked like a tiny Lumos, a small figure stood wrapped in dark garments, with only a pair of green eyes visible. In its hands it held a large, pointed, rather battered hat, with three indentations that imitated a mouth and eyes.
".I demand that you return me to the Headmaster's office!" an annoyed voice rang out from the headwear.
The little figure ignored the complaint, as if it were waiting for someone.
A few seconds later another person appeared in the cave, and at the sight of him a flicker of relief flashed in the creature's eyes.
"Master, I managed to get it!"
"Well done." Walking up, Severus patted the delighted house-elf on the head and shifted his gaze to the hat.
"Who are you, and why did you kidnap me?! I know nothing, and even if I did, I would not tell you a thing!"
"You are more talkative than I expected," Severus smiled, which, of course, was impossible to see since the cloak completely hid his face. "I need to ask you a few questions. Answer them, and I will leave you here and inform Albus where you are."
"Hm. fine."
"Good. Then tell me where the Sword of Gryffindor is."
"What do you need it for?" it asked sharply, pulling its scowling face into place.
"I am fond of fencing, and I need a worthy sword."
"I will not tell you, do not even ask. You can burn me right here on the spot, but I will not betray my creator!"
At the Sorting Hat's confident words, Severus could not hold back a smile.
"All right then." A small fireball flared in his hand.
"Wait! Why resort to such extremes?! Let us talk this out!"
"Fine. Honestly, I am not in the mood for games with you. I am a bit tired today." Taking a golden pocket watch from under his cloak, he turned it in front of the Sorting Hat's eyes.
"That is. how did you get that?!" it exclaimed in shock, instantly recognizing the watch.
"Your master gave it to me, and he allowed me to take the sword. But that soul shard did not know where Godric put it, or how long he lived at all, so he told me to ask you and gave me this watch, saying you would understand at once that I am not lying if I show it to you."
As soon as Severus finished, the hat fell silent for almost a minute, then sighed.
"It is real. but I still cannot give it to you, because the sword is inside me, and my creator laid spells so that only a true Gryffindor, in danger and in need of help, would be able to pull it out."
"Hm." Severus turned the hat over, looked inside, and did not see a bottom, only pitch darkness. "I promised that old man I would not harm you. Looks like this will not be an easy task. I will have to break those spells without touching the weave of charms and runes that makes you what you are." Stroking his chin thoughtfully, he stared straight at the hat, racking his brains for a solution.
Seeing Severus's gloomy expression, the house-elf tried not to breathe at all, so as not to accidentally break his concentration, but the hat had no such tact.
"Hey! How long are you going to stare at me?"
"I am thinking: if you have a mind of your own, will mind magic affect you?" A few seconds later he shook his head. "No, that is unlikely to work. I will have to carry you back. I cannot just leave you here."
"So you do have a conscience after all?" the hat drawled in surprise.
"Or maybe I should leave you here?"
"I was joking!"
With a snort, Severus left the cave with the hat, cast a Notice-Me-Not Charm, and then a light gust of wind rose around the three of them, slowly lifting them upward.
"You can fly using magic?!"
"It is not difficult, really, if you can command wind magic."
"Godric thought long and hard about something like that, but he could not bring it to life," the hat said, praise clear in its voice as it gazed around, fascinated, from a bird's-eye view.
It had been hundreds of years since the artifact last left the walls of Hogwarts. All that time it had only gathered dust on a little shelf in the Headmaster's office, able to stretch itself only once a year, sifting through the memories of incoming first-years, learning many new things and enjoying the beauty of the outside world. Then it would be locked up again in the Headmaster's office for another year, easing its boredom by chatting with the portraits and Albus himself.
"I see, so that counts as praise?"
"Of course. Godric was the most brilliant wizard of his time!"
"I see." Severus nodded with a smile and, after a few seconds scanning the surroundings, suddenly frowned. "What is that over there?"
Looking in the direction Severus was pointing, the hat saw. James Potter, racing away in terror from huge lizards.
"Oh! He needs help!"
"Help, you say. He is from Gryffindor, right?"
"Huh? Yes."
"And would you call him a true Gryffindor?"
"I. why are you asking?" Sensing something was wrong, the hat spoke cautiously, and the next instant it felt that nothing was holding it anymore.
"Then help him. Let us hope he turns out to be one."
"Nooooooo!" the artifact shrieked in horror, inwardly cursing Severus's smirk as his hood lifted slightly.
At the same time, on the ground, James was fending off lizards the size of a car. A moment later surprise flashed across his face when he heard a shriek. Looking up, he saw a hat falling toward him.
Several of the monsters also noticed the screaming object in the sky and rushed toward it.
"Accio hat!" James shouted, and the Sorting Hat flew straight into his hand. "You are. what are you doing here?!" Recognizing what he had summoned, he froze in shock.
"You shameless bastard! How could you throw me down here?!" But as it saw the approaching monsters, if it had been human it would definitely have gone pale. "Run!"
"Bombarda!" Potter shouted through gritted teeth, blasting one of the creatures away with an explosion, then quickly resumed his flight.
The monster itself was left with no real wounds, except for a couple of scratches, but such an action from its prey only enraged it even more.
"Young man, how did you end up in this place?" the hat finally asked in surprise once it calmed down.
"I do not know myself. I arranged to meet my friends, and then suddenly I found myself here, and these monsters started chasing me."
"It was definitely him. He lied that he was going to take me back and was planning exactly this from the very beginning!"
"Who is he?" James asked, catching sight of a puddle out of the corner of his eye. He stopped short and pointed his wand at it. "Aguamenti!" At once several jets of water as thick as a small post burst from the puddle and flung three of the lizards aside.
"Young man, run, quickly, they are gaining on us!"
"That is hard. I have already been running from them for about an hour, I am almost spent." James answered with a strained smile, continuing to retreat, though his speed dropped a bit.
"Put your hand inside me!"
"Huh? What for?"
"I will not allow a student of the school founded by my creator to die. Even if I have to give that fellow the sword!"
"Oh! Right!" James abruptly sped up, getting as far away from the monsters as he could, then swung his wand again, knocking them back.
"Hurry!"
"Right now." Shoving his wand up his sleeve, he thrust his hand into the hat and, feeling a hilt, sharply pulled out a silver sword. Its handle was set with rubies, and on the blade was engraved "Godric Gryffindor."
"Excellent, now show them!" the hat said in anticipation, but instead of the expected slaughter, Potter did not budge and only examined the sword with interest. "They are about to catch up with us!"
"Not a bad sword," James said with a smile, and right before the artifact's shocked gaze the space around them began to distort. A few seconds later it saw again the outlines of that very cave, and then, looking up, the hat was struck dumb. It was no longer Potter holding it, but that same cloaked wizard.
"Y. you. What was that?!"
"Illusion magic plus mind magic. A wonderful combination."
"How.? It all felt so real."
"A true illusion affects not only the visual function of the body, but also smell, touch, taste, hearing, and even subtler senses. And if you add mind magic, you can make any person truly believe in the illusion, no matter how absurd it is. And the sword, I must say, is not bad at all, many times better than the junk in the shops, as they say in the Muggle world." Taking a turquoise board from his money bag, Severus turned it into a scabbard and sheathed the sword. "Thank you for such a valuable gift," he said, waving it in front of the hat with a smile.
"Hmph! Now that you have it, leave me alone!" it grumbled resentfully.
"Of course. I already sent a letter to Dumbledore. He will be here soon." Placing the hat on a small rock and setting a letter beside it, Severus raised a barrier around it. "I am off. Give Albus my regards." He waved with a smile and disappeared, and the house-elf vanished after him, leaving the artifact to grumble in annoyance all alone.
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