It was inside the well they found it: the lamp.

It was not magical, but it was old and very, very ancient. Strange runes were carved into the sides with a delicacy that denoted care. It made Draco gasp.

"Gasp!"

Her voice, soft and feminine, echoed strangely around the obstacle of her hump. It made Harry cry out as well, and sent Severus running over to them, his handsome face alight with joy.

"A lamp! How delicious!" Snape cried. He enjoyed it especailly because he could see his handsome face reflected in the gleaming glass.

"It shall light my study," Harry intoned solemnly, thinking of the scholarly works he could do by its warm glow. Perhaps one day when he finished his treatise, people would look beyond his hideous deformity - and beyond his beloved sister's - and realize it was a passionate soul that animated his heartbreaking green eyes.

"No, never," Severus said, and wrenched it from his hands with a cruel laugh. "It will light the mirror room."

Draco and Harry exchanged a glance, horror blossoming in their eyes. They were forbidden to venture into the depths of the mirror room. Only Severus was handsome enough to survive it.

"Yes, the mirror room," Severus repeated, eyeing them slyly. "Now drink quickly, and complete your circuit of activities centering around the latrine. We are returning to the tower... and the mirror room will shortly have a new lamp."

Harry trailed after him with dismay, feeling Draco's cold hand nestled within his own. He wished with all his heart he could stop Severus, but he just didn't know how.

What could he do?

TO BE CONTINUED