Night hung heavy over the Forbidden Forest, the wind howling through the canopy.
Linus Alvin Bones stepped out of his dormitory and descended the stone steps into the dark, damp woods.
The air smelled of rain and earth.
A blue magical mark floated ahead in the gloom, guiding his steps.
Following the trail of light, it was not long before a tall silhouette emerged from the shadows of the trees.
Severus Snape.
His face was as grim as ever, his black cloak billowing in the night wind like the wings of a bat lurking in the shadows.
“Linus Bones,” Snape said in a low voice.
“It has been five years since we last spoke, yet you still haven’t provided the final proof.” “Proof?” Linus replied calmly.
“I assumed I had long since convinced you that everything I said was true.” “Indeed.” Snape’s eyes remained icy.
“However, the final piece of the puzzle is still missing.
Do not forget, you are bound by a magical contract as well.” Linus let out a soft sigh.
“If that is what it takes, then I shall let you see it with your own eyes.” With a flick of his fingers, the air tore open with a sharp crack, and both men vanished from the Forbidden Forest.
*** It was a memory from Linus’s sixth year at Hogwarts.
Snape had only recently taken up his teaching post back then, and his office reeked of bruised herbs and cured dragon hide.
Linus walked inside and laid a parchment scroll on the desk.
It was a magical contract.
Snape glanced down at it, a cold sneer cutting across his face.
“Mr.
Bones, are you making a fool of me?” The terms written on the parchment were crystal clear: once Snape signed his name, Linus would gain shared rights to all of his magical knowledge, including his refined charms and potion discoveries.
In short, everything Snape created would belong equally to Linus.
Given Snape’s pride, such a demand was nothing short of an insult.
“Professor, please don’t refuse just yet,” Linus said mildly.
“Hear me out first.
You might find it worth your while.” “Speak,” Snape replied coldly, “but do not waste my time.” Linus paused briefly to gather his thoughts, his voice dropping an octave.
“Ever since my parents passed away, I have been studying death.
I wanted to know if there was magic capable of bringing back the dead.
Regrettably, the answer is no—at least, not for wizards.” Snape frowned.
“Even the greatest alchemists cannot reshape life, let alone a soul.” “Precisely,” Linus agreed with a nod.
“Body and soul are two sides of death.
When the body breaks down or the soul is damaged, life ceases.
Yet a soul is almost indestructible—not even the Avada Kedavra curse can harm it.” He spoke in a measured, even tone, yet there was a chilling detachment in his voice.
“So I thought: if one could recast a physical body and recall the soul to it, perhaps the dead could truly return.” Snape’s breath hitched.
“Absurd.
No magic can replicate a perfect human body.” Linus smiled faintly.
“Alchemy cannot, but Muggle technology can.
Through genetic cloning, Muggles are already capable of duplicating living organisms.
The technology wasn’t mature back then, so I…
arranged for several of the sharpest Muggle scientists to collaborate, accelerating their progress.” Snape stared at him, his expression growing dark and intense.
“Even if that were true, what of the soul?” “That requires a legendary artifact,” Linus murmured softly.
“Aside from the Philosopher’s Stone, there are three Deathly Hallows—the Resurrection Stone, the Elder Wand, and the Invisibility Cloak.” “Nonsense.” Snape sneered.
“Those are children’s fairy tales.” “You are mistaken.
They exist.” Linus’s voice remained calm and absolute.
“The Elder Wand and the Invisibility Cloak are both in Dumbledore’s hands.
The Resurrection Stone is guarded by dark magic, beyond my reach for now.
But that is merely a matter of time.” Snape drew a deep breath.
“A fascinating tale, but what has any of it to do with me?” Linus leaned forward slightly.
“Professor, we both know the truth.
You deeply loved that green-eyed girl.
You know what she left behind, and you know the origin of the Invisibility Cloak.
So you ought to understand what I am implying.” Silence descended.
The air in the room practically froze.
Snape instinctively gripped his wand, his knuckles turning stark white.
That night, he ultimately stayed his hand.
The next day, he quietly visited the Muggle biotechnology firm Linus had mentioned—and found everything exactly as claimed.
The following morning, Snape signed the contract.
*** The memory dissolved, and the dark silhouette returned to the reality of the night.
Apparating together, the two wizards materialized before a ruined stone house.
The Gaunt Shack.
On the table inside lay a ring set with a heavy black stone.
It took the two of them half an hour of joint effort to dismantle the cursed traps Voldemort had left behind.
Once the last ward faded, Linus reached out and picked up the ring.
Snape’s gaze was instantly magnetized to it, his breathing turning ragged.
The stone set into the metal was the Resurrection Stone.
Seven years of hidden obsession and endless research flared up in a single instant.
His fingers reached out almost on their own, inches from touching the stone’s surface.
Linus caught his wrist, blocking him.
“Do you want to die?” Snape froze, forcing himself to pull back his hand.
“Forgive me…
I lost my focus for a moment.” “Understandable,” Linus said indifferently.
“You are hardly the first wizard to succumb to its temptation.” Leaving the shack, Linus turned back and waved his wand, resealing the ruins behind them.
Under the dark sky, he locked eyes with Snape.
“Severus, no one can ever know about this.” “I know how to keep a secret.” Linus’s tone abruptly turned frigid.
“No, you do not.
This ring will serve a far greater plan.
If you leak so much as a single word, I promise you—you will be reuniting with Lily in the underworld far sooner than you think.” A stifling wave of lethal intent rolled out, physical enough to make Snape’s body go rigid.
He took half a step back, the oppressive weight reminding him terrifyingly of Voldemort.
“I will swear an oath,” Snape said, his voice tight.
“Not a word shall leave my lips.” “Very good.” Their eyes met once more.
Magical tendrils flared between them as the binding oath took hold.
Linus turned and walked away into the darkness.
The moment he stepped clear of the trees, the heavy presence behind him dissolved into the night.
Yet as he reached the iron gates of the castle, he suddenly paused.
“Come out.” From deep within the shadow of the gateway, an unfamiliar magic signature slowly materialized.