Snape and Dumbledore appeared inside a very crowded room.
The place looked like a cross between a magical antique shop and a greenhouse.
Everywhere stood elegant cabinets filled with magical trinkets, bookshelves lined with gilt-edged volumes, racks displaying globes and astronomical instruments, and clusters of flourishing plants growing in bronze vessels.
Before them, an extremely fat old lady was fussing in front of a small jewel-encrusted mirror.
Holding a large powder puff, she dabbed rouge onto her already apple-red cheeks.
Madam Hepzibah Smith wore an elaborate ginger-colored wig and a bright pink gown with multiple layers of ruffles cascading around her, spreading across the floor like a melting ice cream cake.
Hokey was kneeling at her feet, carefully slipping a pair of tight satin shoes onto the woman's plump feet and fastening the straps for her.
"Tsk, tsk," Snape couldn't help but remark. "That young Tom really has quite the taste. Seems he truly doesn't want to work for his fortune anymore."
"How do I look?" Madam Hepzibah asked, turning her head this way and that to admire her reflection from every possible angle.
"Beautiful, Madam," squeaked Hokey.
"Magnificent, Madam," said Snape at the exact same time.
The words had barely left his mouth when he realized his mistake and hastily corrected himself. "No, I mean, magnificent, my dear."
Dumbledore shook his head and gave him a look full of weary disapproval.
"Professor," Snape whispered, glancing toward Dumbledore, "do you know what I think is the most beautiful thing about Madam Hepzibah?"
"What?" Dumbledore said, clearly trying to restrain himself. "Can you be quiet for once, Severus?"
"Of course, sir," Snape said instantly. "Her greatest beauty lies in the fact that she hasn't got many days left to live. She must be every young man's dream companion. Tom's ambitions are still far too small."
The doorbell jingled brightly, making both the old lady and the house-elf jump.
"Quickly, quickly, he's here, Hokey!" Madam Hepzibah exclaimed, her voice bubbling with excitement.
The house-elf dashed out of the room with a surprising burst of speed.
Moments later, she returned, followed by a tall young man.
Tom wore a sharply tailored black suit, his hair longer than when he had been at school, and his face even more handsome than before.
He stepped up to Madam Hepzibah, bent low, and brushed his lips lightly against her pudgy hand.
"I brought you flowers," Tom said gently, producing a bouquet of roses, their petals glistening with dewdrops.
Snape stood off to the side, staring at the affectionate scene with disbelief written across his face.
"Oh, oh, don't be so hasty!" Hepzibah cooed, pouting playfully. "Otherwise, I'll think you came only for my treasures!" She giggled like a young girl.
It took Snape quite some time to recover from the shock before he finally managed to speak again. "Tom will accomplish great things one day. You really shouldn't have let him go."
Meanwhile, amid Hepzibah's girlish laughter, Hokey brought over two stacked leather boxes.
The old lady extended her chubby, ball-like fingers and opened the top one.
Inside lay a small golden cup with two delicate handles, gleaming softly in the lamplight.
"What is that..." Dumbledore murmured, surprise in his voice.
Hepzibah and Tom quickly provided the answer.
"A badger," Tom muttered, greedily staring at the engraving on the cup. "This is..."
"Helga Hufflepuff's! You're quite the expert, clever boy!" Madam Hepzibah exclaimed, leaning toward him and pinching his hollow cheek. Her corset gave a loud creak. "Didn't I tell you I'm a distant descendant of Hufflepuff herself?"
Next, she proudly showed him another item she had bought from Borgin and Burkes, a small golden locket that gleamed with a luxurious serpentine S engraved upon it.
"The mark of Slytherin..." Tom whispered, his eyes glinting red as his knuckles whitened around the locket's chain.
"Yes! I paid a fortune for it," Hepzibah said proudly. "Borgin bought it off some shabby woman, she must have stolen it! She had no idea of its real worth... I'd wager Borgin didn't pay her more than a few Sickles!"
"It's time to go, Severus," Dumbledore said quietly.
He seized Snape's arm, and together they passed through a stretch of dark, shifting void, reappearing inside Dumbledore's office.
"It seems," Dumbledore said as he sat down, motioning for Snape to do the same, "that Tom not only took Slytherin's locket, but also Hufflepuff's cup."
"I suppose," Snape replied, "we now know what two of Tom's other Horcruxes are. Which means, Professor, that the relics of the Hogwarts Founders are down to one last piece."
As he said this, Snape's gaze drifted toward the glass case behind Dumbledore, where the Sword of Gryffindor lay quietly inside.
"Oh, I suspect he tried," Dumbledore said, noticing Snape's glance. "Years ago, Tom applied for the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
"Fortunately, I was already Headmaster by then. Just as you once refused Mulciber's plea for help, I told Tom directly that I did not wish to give him the position."
"He must have been furious," Snape said.
"Yes," Dumbledore replied. "He left with rage written across his face. The days when I could frighten him with a burning wardrobe and force him to repent are long past, but even now he still dares not raise his hand against me."
"You've certainly made an impression on him," Snape said, standing up. "Well, I'll be off then, Professor."
"Wait, Severus," Dumbledore called after him. He spoke slowly. "I've been meaning to ask... would you like to join the Order of the Phoenix?"
"The Order of the Phoenix?" Snape stopped in his tracks.
"It's a secret society," Dumbledore said earnestly, "founded by me. It's made up of people willing to stand against Voldemort. I think you'd get along with them quite well.
"If you're willing to join, I'll bring you along to the next meeting."
"All right," Snape said. "I look forward to it."
Joining the Order of the Phoenix now would make him something of a founding member, Snape thought.
That would make him the senior of quite a few of his classmates, wouldn't it?