Always For You. [Snape Romance] [Harry Potter]

Arc 1: Chapter 8: Conches Scatter

Arc 1: Immaterial Bonds
Chapter 8: Conches Scatter

SNAPE'S POINT OF VIEW

It had been two long months since Cassandra's departure. The castle felt empty without her there. Every day, I researched to see if there was some way to bring her back but there was nothing, as she said. I hope she is doing well. She always complained about how much she hated being there so no doubt she was unhappy to have returned.

I wouldn't admit it aloud, but it hurt somewhat that she hadn't sent any letters by owl. I assumed that she was too busy. She wouldn't throw away the moment we shared like that. I saw her face when she tried to leave... she was broken at the seams.

Typically, I would spend my time in the Dungeons preparing potions and marking the lamentable excuses of essays some of the students would come up with. Today, I decided to take a walk through the castle grounds for a change of scenery. Now the middle of December, the snow had piled up much higher than its earlier counterpart. However, it did this every year and was not anything out of the ordinary.

I wound up in the courtyard I had seen Cassandra sitting in after speaking to a student. I assume it was about the investigation. A drop of guilt befell me. I was unnecessarily cruel to her. She didn't deserve it. Pushing her away never amounted to anything good.

I sat down on the same bench as she had done. What would she be doing right now? Perhaps writing some new laws or reviewing trials? She had changed a lot since she came here. She likely was taking a new approach towards it all. Maybe she could be happy there.

That thought made my heart feel slightly weak but it was soon forced to consider other matters when an owl flew down to my side and dropped a piece of paper in my lap. For a moment, I thought it could be a Ministry owl but it left in such a hurry that it was impossible to tell.

Unwrapping the paper revealed a mess of writing but I recognised it even in its rushed form. It was Cassandra. This was not the type of letter I was expecting.

Crystal Lake. GW provider. Check storage. Mono.

My breathing went heavy. Had she figured out a way to do something? Was this way of telling me she needed my help? With not a moment to lose, I headed straight for my storeroom.

*****

If everything is to be believed as truth, she must be indicating something in here. The ingredients stored here were of my own private collection. They were extremely difficult to get ahold of which made them appealing prizes to any delinquents wanting to make advanced potions.

There were hundreds of ingredients that varied in colour, size, consistency and form. I looked once more at the note. "Crystal Lake. GW provider. Check storage. Mono." An idea struck my mind. Climbing the ladder to reach the higher shelves, a small container stood out to me. Inside, it contained a sample of Gillyweed that I had sampled from the Mediterranean Sea. It was purest when obtained directly from its natural place of growth, but there were other locations where it was artificially grown.

Now, if Cassandra was referring to Gillyweed, then there must be further hints through those artificial Gillyweed providers. To my fortune, my logbook had information on the providers for the ingredients that I purchased across the world. Turning to the appropriate page, only two companies were listed:

Crystal Lake
Maple Aquarius

There Crystal Lake was listed alongside Maple Aquarius. My experience from Maple Aquarius had been profoundly negative in the past which was why I decided to obtain my Gillyweed from the source. The last word of Cassandra's note was the most worrying. Mono. As in... monopoly? Was something going to happen to Crystal Lake that would leave Maple Aquarius as the sole Gillyweed provider? Cassandra must have anticipated something was going to happen and decided to warn me. This could be the way to get her back. She would be safe with me once again.