"What happened? Did Voldemort try to kill Professor Snape?" Harry asked.
He had been mysteriously brought to Lord Voldemort by Snape and "died" under the Dark Lord's Killing Curse after only a few words.
"I can't see anything more specific, but I think it has something to do with Horcruxes…" Dumbledore paused, then proceeded to explain how he had instructed Snape to kill Nagini the Serpent.
"What am I supposed to do, destroy the Horcrux and cast the Fire-Scorching Charm on it? I never learned that spell." Harry seemed at a loss. He had been told by Ivan, Sirius and the others how difficult Horcruxes were to deal with.
"No, using Dark Magic against Dark Magic is not a wise move." Dumbledore shook his head, then smiled and asked, "Remember how your mother fought the Killing Curse?"
"With…love?" Harry said uncertainly.
"Or the power of belief!" Dumbledore said slowly. "To protect you from your own doom, Lily sacrificed herself in a burst of courage that was beyond description, and with an ancient magic, she transfigured this supremely strong belief into power and hid it within you."
"If necessary, you may attempt to use similar powers against Horcruxes…" Dumbledore added.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir…" Harry's face was flushed, and he was unable to stop himself from retorting, as he did not even have a wand in his hand, let alone a powerful charm that could turn belief into power.
He couldn't possibly expect Nagini to explode if he tried to kill her, could he?
This is ridiculous…
"I'm sure you can do it, if you want to, and are determined enough…" Dumbledore said mysteriously, then urged Harry on before he could reply.
"Well, you should go back now, Harry. Back the way you came!"
The scene around them shook violently, and countless cracks appeared in the towering hall, as if it were about to collapse.
Harry ignored the questions filling his mind and shouted, "What about you, Professor Dumbledore? Aren't you coming back with me?"
"We are different. You are alive and there is hope, but I am dead and on a different path to a new and unknown adventure." Dumbledore smiled.
Harry wanted to say something, but stopped himself. If going forward was the way to the world of the dead, and going back meant returning to the land of the living, then did that mean that Dumbledore, who was stuck there, was in a life-or-death situation and had no choice?
"I am here because there is someone else I must wait for…" Dumbledore was becoming transparent, as if he were shrouded in a white mist, but his voice reached Harry's ears. "If he is willing to keep his promise, he will be here soon…"
Wait for someone… who? Before Harry could ask any more questions, the supporting pillars collapsed and Dumbledore disappeared from sight. Everything around him seemed to cave in, even the ground.
Harry had to turn quickly and run.
After running for some time, Harry found that there was nothing but white mist ahead of him.
What worried him more was that the ground was collapsing faster and faster, faster and faster than he could run. The ground was collapsing all around him, and in his desperation, he was falling into a bottomless pit…
After what seemed like an eternity, Harry felt something hit him hard against the back wall.
The pain woke Harry up quickly, but not before he saw a large, serpentine snake with its forked tongue sticking out of its mouth.
Harry was shocked by the intensity of the scene, but his groggy body prevented him from escaping.
At that moment, the sound of a sharp object cutting through the air could be heard, and the snake that had been wandering around him was instantly cut in half. Its foul-smelling blood splattered all over his robes and face.
Disgusting odours reached Harry's nostrils, but he was in no mood for them, grateful for his narrow escape.
Harry pushed himself up and looked around, seeing nothing but blood.
The vast basement was filled with snake bodies of various sizes, scarlet blood and gore, and Harry even saw a snake with only half its body left twisted hideously.
Snape, who had saved his life, was now lying near him, his body against the wall. He looked terrible, as if he had been bitten by a venomous snake during a fight.
Although Harry did not know the whole story, he could guess that Voldemort must have hidden Nagini in the basement, among the many serpents.
Using his knowledge of Nagini, he was able to quickly locate her in the dark, spacious basement.
This was not to say that Snape had bad eyesight, of course, but that he could only find Nagini by lying on his back as he was doing — the cunning snake was coiled around a towering trestle on the right, and it was creeping up the beam towards Snape's head.
Harry felt a chill run down his spine, and somehow found the strength to ignore the pain and jump to his feet, shouting, "Professor, look out up there!"
Snape reacted instantly, raising his head and swinging his wand with all his might. Invisible blades of magic flew out and hit Nagini with a metallic clang.
Nagini's cries of pain could be heard as her snake-like body, as thick as a child's waist, tumbled through the air and crashed to the ground. However, due to the uniqueness of the Horcrux, even after taking a direct hit from the Obscurus, there were no visible wounds on her massive body.
"Use Sharp Fire!" Harry warned.
"You think I don't know that? There's no way to use fire in here!" Snape snapped back angrily, and then his legs gave way and he almost fell to the ground. Black blood was seeping out of the holes in his right leg. He had been attacked by Nagini, who was hiding among the snakes, because he did not know this.
Fortunately, in order to deal with the snake, he had prepared a powerful antidote, which neutralized some of the venom.