Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling.

Dedicated to Tee.

The Houses Competition

Gryffindor

Defence Against the Dark Arts

Round 2- Fortune Favours The Bold

Drabble

Prompt: 10. [Spell] Avenseguim

Author's note: In this story, as in the sixth movie, when Dumbledore Apparates away from the Astronomy Tower, Severus as Headmaster can Apparate in and within Hogwarts grounds.

The first words are part of the words that Dumbledore speaks to Severus right before he brings the sword to the Forest of Dean, as per the memories Harry saw in the Prince's tale in DH book.

I took some liberties with the spell, since there is not much known about it.

365 Drabbles 294: Earring

Petra's challenge: You did what you had to do

Word count: 990

Betaed by Tiggs, Vee and Amanda

"No, I don't think so..."

Dumbledore's words rang through his head, and for the umpteenth time, Severus wanted to curse them. Dumbledore and his plans had ruled his life for so long, and yet, he was bound by oath and promises to do his bidding.

He'd accepted it all. He'd gone back to play pretend with the Dark Lord as a spy, had accepted to even kill the man, and how had he been repaid? With so little trust and a child as his assigned Order liaison! Severus had to put his trust in one Hermione Granger that he'd be absolved of his treason because Albus Dumbledore had said so?

The girl wasn't bad. She'd been most understanding and eager to help, but they both had secrets they couldn't tell the other. He couldn't say a word about Potter's imminent death, and she couldn't speak about their mission. Was there even any trust?

Severus clutched her flower earrings. Yes, somehow, there was. She'd been letting Phineas hear about their whereabouts all year.

He went to his quarters; it wouldn't do to be seen leaving the school. Who knew what the Carrows would do if they were aware there was no one to stop them?

The Forest of Dean was not a small place, and once again, Severus was thankful for the trust the girl had put in him by gifting him her earrings. Avenseguim could track anyone if they had something, anything, belonging to the person they wanted to track. It was a very useful spell, although Severus was grateful that Dumbledore and Newt Scamander had had the foresight to remove it from any textbooks or other books at the start of the war with Grindelwald.

It would have been a disaster for the current Death Eaters to know about it. And still, he (and Granger) knew it. It was the one thing Dumbledore hadn't shied away from sharing, except, of course, the killing Potter part he'd been told about last July.

Once inside his bedroom, Severus locked the door and searched for Dumbledore's geography books. Once he located the exact surroundings of the forest and placed a Disillusionment Charm on himself, Severus Apparated away. He had Gryffindor's sword clutched in one hand and the earrings in the other. There was no time to spare; Dumbledore was sure that by now, they would've found what they were looking for.

The night was dark when he arrived, no moon in sight: a good night to put his plan into action. He set the earrings on the ground.

"Avenseguim," Severus whispered, pointing his wand at them.

The earrings immediately rose in the air. Quickly, he grabbed one; he didn't feel like running through the forest during the middle of the night after them. The way the spell worked was that if someone enchanted an object, it would rush away from them to find and join the person it belonged to. However, if they enchanted a pair of objects and held onto one of them, the other would float in proximity and steadily guide the wizard or witch to the person they were looking for.

Severus followed it for a while until it stopped in front of some trees. He could see a tent between them. It seemed that Granger had keyed him into her wards. He didn't know how he felt about the extent of her trust. Severus deactivated the tracking spell and caught the earring mid-air as it fell to the ground.

Potter was on watch. 'Perfect,' he thought, 'a Gryffindor who'd do a brave thing to get the sword.'

Severus walked away, looking for a place to put the sword. As it was, he didn't have to search for long. An almost-frozen lake sat in front of him, not far from the campsite. He threw the sword into the lake and then completely froze it.

The next step: bring Potter to the lake.

"Expecto Patronum!" he murmured and watched as the white doe danced around him. "Go and lead Potter here."

The doe bowed in front of him and galloped in the tent's direction. As he'd expected, Severus soon saw the boy coming towards him. Foolish Gryffindor. He cancelled his Patronus and waited; he had to make sure the sword was taken.

Severus wanted to kill the boy himself in frustration when he noticed the boy failing to come up from the lake. He almost intervened, when the Weasley boy appeared out of nowhere and jumped in straight after Potter. Gryffindors.

At least his work was done. He walked quietly towards the tent. He didn't have much time, and he had some earrings to return. Avenseguim had done its job.

He frowned when she wasn't notified of his presence, not even a warning. Severus sighed; the witch was too trusting. He released the Disillusionment Charm.

"Miss Granger," he greeted her and saw her jump from her seat.

"Professor Snape," she whispered. "I see my earrings helped. Did you use Avenseguim?"

"Yes, I did," he replied and looked around the room. It was well maintained, but for whatever reason, he felt queasy about her sharing it with Weasley and Potter.

"You keyed me into your wards. Are you so certain of my allegiances? After what I did?"

The girl sighed and shook her head.

"You did what you had to do." She gave him a look he didn't quite understand. "I assume you brought us the sword?"

"Yes, and I also brought your earrings. If something happens to me and they fall into the wrong hands, no one can use Avenseguim or any other spell to find you."

She nodded and took them, brushing her fingers over his hand.

"Your friends should return soon. Be careful, Miss Granger."

"You too, Professor Snape."

Severus turned to leave. As he exited the tent, he heard her exclaim, "Friends?"

He didn't stop to contemplate, though, and Apparated away, back to his room at Hogwarts.