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There was a long pause, and slowly Snape regained control of himself, mastered his own breathingAt last he said, "Very wellBut never - never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear\a133especially Potter's son\a133I want your word!"
"My word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of you?" Dumbledore sighed, looking down into Snape's ferocious, anguished face"If you insist\a133"
The office dissolved but re-formed instantlySnape was pacing up and down in front of Dumbledore
" - mediocre, arrogant as his father, a determined rule-breaker, delighted to find himself famous, attention-seeking and impertinent - "
"You see what you expect to see, Severus," said Dumbledore, without raising his eyes from a copy of \iTransfiguration Today\i"Other teachers report that the boy is modest, likable, and reasonably talentedPersonally, I find him an engaging new omega watches child
Dumbledore turned a page, and said, without looking up, "Keep an eye on Quirrell, won't you?"
A whirl of color, and now everything darkened, and Snape and Dumbledore stood a little apart in the entrance hall, while the last stragglers from the Yule Ball passed them on their way to bed
"Well?" murmured Dumbledore
"Karkaroff's Mark is becoming darker tooHe is panicking, he fears retribution; you know how much help he gave the Ministry after the Dark Lord fell Snape looked sideways at Dumbledore's crooked-nosed profile"Karkaroff intends to flee if the Mark burns
"Does he?" said Dumbledore softly, as Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies came giggling in from the grounds"And are you tempted to join him?"
"No," said Snape, his black eyes on Fleur's and Roger's retreating figures"I am not such a coward
"No," agreed Dumbledore"You are a braver man by far than Igor KarkaroffYou know, I watch chanel j12 black with diamonds sometimes think we Sort too soon\a133"
He walked away, leaving Snape looking stricken\a133
And now Harry stood in the headmaster's office yet againIt was nighttime, and Dumbledore sagged sideways in the thronelike chair behind the desk, apparently semiconsciousHis right hand dangled over the side, blackened and burnedSnape was muttering incantations, pointing his wand at the wrist of the hand, while with his left hand he tipped a goblet full of thick golden potion down Dumbledore's throatAfter a moment or two, Dumbledore's eyelids fluttered and opened
"Why," said Snape, without preamble, "\iwhy\i did you put on that ring? It carries a curse, surely you realized thatWhy even touch it?"
Marvolo Gaunt's ring lay on the desk before DumbledoreIt was cracked; the sword of Gryffindor lay beside itSorely tempted\a133"
"Tempted by what?"
Dumbledore did not answer
"It is a miracle you gucci bags discount managed to return here!" Snape sounded furious"That ring carried a curse of extraordinary power, to contain it is all we can hope for; I have trapped the curse in one hand for the time being - "
Dumbledore raised his blackened, useless hand, and examined it with the expression of one being shown an interesting curio
"You have done very well, SeverusHow long do you think I have?"
Dumbledore's tone was conversational; he might have been asking for a weather forecastSnape hesitated, and then said, "I cannot tellThere is no halting such a spell foreverIt will spread eventually, it is the sort of curse that strengthens over timeThe news that he had less than a year to live seemed a matter of little or no concern to him
"I am fortunate, extremely fortunate, that I have you, Severus
"If you had only summoned me a little earlier, I might have been able to do more, buy you more time!" said louis vuitton beverly bag Snape furiouslyHe looked down at the broken ring and the sword"Did you think that breaking the ring would break the curse?"
"Something like that\a133I was delirious, no doubt\a133" said DumbledoreWith an effort he straightened himself in his chair"Well, really, this makes matters much more straightforward
Snape looked utterly perplexed
"I refer to the plan Lord Voldemort is revolving around meHis plan to have the poor Malfoy boy murder me
Snape sat down in the chair Harry had so often occupied, across the desk from DumbledoreHarry could tell that he wanted to say more on the subject of Dumbledore's cursed hand, but the other held it up in polite refusal to discuss the matter furtherScowling, Snape said, "The Dark Lord does not expect Draco to succeedThis is merely
punishment for Lucius's recent failuresSlow torture for Draco's parents, while they watch him fail and pay the fake d |