The silence of the corridors had plunged the Potions Master into a distant memory, one that harked back to the time when he was still a student himself.
The young Severus Snape, who must have been in his fifth year at that moment, moved stealthily through the corridors. Of course, no student was allowed to be outside the common rooms past curfew, so he had to be discreet. It wasn’t particularly his style to break the rules; he wouldn’t have done so under normal circumstances, but tonight he had taken on the mission of discovering what a certain person was doing after bedtime. The night before, he had followed her to a room but had nearly been caught by a professor and had to turn back. But tonight, he was determined to find out what she was up to…
He traversed the last corridor and hesitated for a moment in front of the door. Should he really open it? What if what she was doing was something that concerned only her? No… “She” was his friend; she didn’t hide anything from him, but deep down, he was a little worried… The young Slytherin pushed the door open; it was evidently not locked, yet he remained cautious.
Behind the door was a sparsely furnished room, or rather, it seemed to have been cleared out to serve purposes other than education. In the center of the room stood a young Alice, upright and strong, casting spell after spell, her gaze fixed on targets that must have come from a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. She seemed unwavering, immersed in her own world. Severus remained silent; a shiver ran through him…
Yes, “Alice” had changed since her return from vacation—physically, it was undeniable, and he had felt a shift in her personality. But there was something deeper that had changed.
“What are you doing here, Sev’?”
Somewhat lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t realized that the spells had stopped, giving way to silence.
“You… You should think about locking the door; the silencing charm on the walls is okey, but if you don’t cast a Collaporta, you’re going to get caught…” he recovered.
“Hmm… Indeed, I forgot… What a scatterbrain, haha…” She laughed softly, and Severus recognized his friend again; a more relaxed face suited her much better…
“I know very well that you’re not the brightest, but still, training this late…”
“That’s rich coming from someone who reads until all hours under his sheets…”
“How do you—?”
“People talk… Especially your dormmates…”
“So now you’re listening to snakes? Well, you’ll admit it’s quite different. Besides…” He glanced at the targets for a moment. “The spells you’re practicing… We never learned those.”
Alice turned toward the window for a moment.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” he pressed.
“As always, yes, but it can be useful, you know…”
“You’re going to get into trouble with that train of thought…”
“Leave me alone, Sev’; I’ll do what it takes to be an Auror.”
“An Auror? That’s your new obsession?”
“And so what? Does it bother you?”
“Don’t you think that might stand out on” He started with a little laugh and was cut off.
“All of them, Sev’; I’ll stop them all,” she declared.
She looked him straight in the eyes; Severus understood that it was a threat. Of course, he knew that neither of them was skilled with words, so he didn’t take it with the violence it might suggest, but deep down, that look had genuinely hurt him.
“I’m not a Death Eater, Alice.”
“If you’re not one yet, you will become one sooner or later with them.”
“You talk about my acquaintance as if I had a choice?”
“We always have a choice, Severus.”
He was about to respond, but Alice cut him off again, a cold and abrupt “Good night” to end the conversation. Severus left, and that night marked the beginning of a change in their relationship… A change that would tip certain scales in the life of the future Death Eater…
Why was he thinking about this particular moment? It dated back a long time, and their relationship, like many things, had evolved and changed. Perhaps it was because of Alice's threat? After all, it was the first time she had openly stated what she would do if he became a Death Eater, to him as well as to others. Yes, at that time, she had said that being his friend wouldn’t change the treatment she would give him.
As his memory faded, Severus realized he had headed toward the very same room he had left so bitter-hearted years ago. So much had happened since that day; things had changed…
He placed his hand on the door and lingered for a moment, feeling the vibrations through the wood, the ricochet of spells. It was Alice, training again like she used to do years ago. He hesitated at the threshold, feeling torn between two choices. The option to flee was no longer on the table, and his conversation with Dumbledore had confirmed that.
Earlier that morning, after expressing his disapproval of the young woman’s employment, he had suggested to the Headmaster that she be sent far away to rest in a quiet farm. To this, the old man had responded with laughter.
"Alice McGarden on a farm? Come now, Severus, you don’t even believe that yourself."
"It’s not about belief. It’s—" Severus was cut off by Dumbledore.
"Severus, forgive me, but I fail to understand why her being here bothers you so much. And don’t tell me it’s for her health. You’re intelligent enough to grasp why I’ve kept her here with us."
"Well, then I must be an utter fool because I don’t understand."
"Of course, sending her away to some safe place, away from all danger and effort, would certainly help her recover physically. But it would be at the expense of her mind. Imagine, from one day to the next, losing over ten years of your life. You wake up, and not only is your body deeply frail, but you also have to bear the weight of a decade's delay. I assure you, my dear Severus, isolating her in a little bubble will not help her readjust or reclaim her real life."
"Forgive me if I doubt your reasoning, but even the students have started to realize she doesn't belong here and that she should be locked up in a hospital instead."
"I allow you to disagree with me, but I will not allow you to be disrespectful to Miss McGarden's freedom."
"You find me cruel for wanting to confine her , yet I find you equally harsh for throwing her back into this world."
"I concede it is a bit harsh. But I give Miss McGarden the freedom to teach or not without any consequence. That way, she has all the time she needs to rest."
"In the end, you just want her here, no matter what effect it has on her, because she fits nicely into your plan..."
Dumbledore remained silent.
"It’s rather convenient she returned just when you can no longer fully watch over Potter."
"And you want her gone because you don’t want her to discover what you’ve become again…"
Severus furrowed his brow.
"Alice is a smart woman—maybe too smart for her own good. That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it? You could lie to her, hide what’s happening in your life, a few fibs here, some omissions there... It would be quite easy, and you’d have your friend back at your side. But you’re not doing it, and that’s what I don’t understand."
"I could also tell her the whole truth," Severus replied, turning his gaze back to the bearded man.
"You won’t. I know it, for several reasons, starting with the fact that—" Severus cut him off.
"I don’t need to hear it from someone else."
"I won’t send Alice away, Severus. I recommend you make a decision, whatever it may be, and talk to her. Tell her the truth, or keep her away from all of it—either way, I give you the choice. But do it soon."
Severus knew this was one of Dumbledore's infamous false choices. The man, with his decades of experience playing chess with people’s lives, knew precisely where to place his pieces, or how to make them move on their own without realizing it. Severus had a choice, in a sense, but both he and the Headmaster knew that one of the two options required far more courage than the other.