Snape was glad that he decided to leave Hogwarts for the weekend. Now that he was headmaster, he wanted nothing more than to be away from that insufferable castle. Snape hated those snot nosed children who attend the school. Amycus and Alecto could handle things for a weekend. Snape had no idea why the Dark Lord insisted that he be the headmaster after he killed Dumbledore. To the victor the spoils, perhaps? However, he never wanted to lead the school. He didn’t want to deal with the other things that came with it. Meetings with the minister, and the daily prophet was always following him. They always wanted their inane questions answered. The worst thing that Snape had to deal with were the imbeciles that called themselves Gryffindors. They were the worst and that is why he had to get away.

The house was cold and dark when he arrived, but after a few minutes of fussing, the house was just as he wanted. Snape had to set up the defenses around his house, before settling in. Now that he was done with that, he grabbed the most recent book of interest and a sneak o scope. He placed the sneak o scope on the table in front of him and began to read. The house was nowhere near any form of civilization, so Snape didn’t expect any intruders. It was; however, a routine that he had fallen into. Snape had been at the house for over an hour and everything was as quiet as it ever had been. He looked up from his book for one second when the defenses around his house suddenly failed.

The sneak o scope spun wildly on the table before a loud scream echoed through the house. Both were signs of the failed defenses. Snape threw the book down and came around to the back of the couch. He was facing the front door because he knew that would be the way that the intruders would come in. He held up his wand, not even concentrating on the front door. Simultaneously, both doors exploded off the hinges and Snape dropped to the floor to avoid the spells that were being cast. Even with all of the dust and lights from the spells, he was still sure that they had come through the front door. Once the spells stopped ricocheting throughout the house, Snape stood up.

He held his wand at the ready when he saw hooded figures sweep through the front door. That was the last thing he saw before a spell hit him in the back. He fell forward and hit his head violently on the table as he fell down.

When Snape woke up, he had no idea where he was. It took a full minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. A lantern, which provided barely any light, sat on a barrel in the far corner. This room looked vaguely familiar to Snape. The walls were made of stone, which were starting to tint green and black. It was cold in the room, which meant that he was underground. There was a set of stairs, which led upstairs and out of the room. Snape deduced that he was in the cellar of Malfoy Manor, the new headquarters of the Dark Lord. Snape silently cursed himself for not thinking that they would come through the back door. It was such a Gryffindor-ish move, and Snape couldn’t believe he had made it. By moving around slightly, Snape discovered a lot about the situtation. He was missing his wand, which had been expected. His arms were chained behind his back and he had a wicked headache any time he moved too fast. The chains around his wrists clanged together every time he moved. Snape stopped moving just in time to hear the soft click of footsteps coming towards him. He closed his eyes and feigned unconsciousness. The person sniffed like they had been crying.

“Severus.” A woman whispered softly and she knelt next to Snape. “Severus, I know you’re awake. I heard the chains rattle, so wake up you insolent leech.” She whispered the insult harshly.

“You are the least to talk, Lestrange.” Snape retorted as he rolled onto his back and opened his eyes. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. They dragged you down the stairs and left you here. You didn’t move for a long time. I was beginning to think they had killed you.” Bellatrix shuddered

“Do you know where we are?”

“We are in Malfoy Manor.”

So Snape was right, but something was wrong about this. They had taken the wandmaker Ollivander a while ago, and this is where they had been storing him. The Dark Lord must have moved him, without Snape’s knowledge. Snape was thinking about where they could have moved him, when Bellatrix sniffed again.

“Will you stop crying you….” but Snape couldn’t continue. Lestrange had broken into a full out sobbing fest. Snape let out a sigh of exasperation. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t believe that my Lord would think that I have spied against him. I have been loyal to him. I was still loyal when he disappeared. I just can’t believe it.” Bellatrix said between sobs.

Snape tried desperately not to roll his eyes. The wretched woman could claim all she wanted that she was the most loyal to the dark lord and that she was his favorite. The latter might be true, but Snape had stayed at Hogwarts as the Dark Lord’s spy. He had stayed there for over fifteen years. He was still there after the Dark Lord was vanquished by James Potter’s, all-mighty-like-his-father, spawn. Now Voldemort had turned to his inner circle to find the spy.

This meant trouble for Snape: the inner circle had a limited number of members. Bellatrix, her husband, Rodolphus, and Snape were the Dark Lord’s best lieutenants, which meant that they were the only ones in the inner circle. They were the closest to the Dark Lord, and they knew all of his plans. Snape was really worried, but he didn’t show it. Snape was the spy, but he would never tell that to Lord Voldemort. He was afraid of what would happen if Voldemort found out it was him. Snape was about to say something when he heard a door slam shut.

Someone was coming down the stairs. Lestrange scurried to the other side of the cellar. Snape closed his eyes and went limp.

“No…..NO!” Bellatrix screamed, but Snape didn’t open his eyes to see what was happening. There was a soft, muffled thump, which almost caused Snape to open his eyes.

“Ow…” someone growled. “Stop moving you crazy bitch.”

The door slammed shut and the room fell silent. Snape cautiously opened an eye. He saw that no one was down there with him, so he pushed himself into a sitting position. Anxiety slowly began to bubble in Snape’s chest, but that was short lived as logic began to take over.

“They have taken here upstairs for interrogation.” Snape thought over and over to himself.

After a few moments, Snape heard Lestrange scream in pain. They had started the questioning. Snape had participated in many of these “sessions”. The Dark Lord had Snape there for every interrogation because he was a more accomplished Legilimens then the Dark Lord. He watched people get tortured, then when Lord Voldemort didn’t get the answer that he wanted, he would ask Snape to find the true answer. It only took Snape thirty seconds though, because he knew who the real spy was. All he did was enter the target’s mind and then tell the Dark Lord that he was not the spy. During these interrogations, there were multiple forms of torture used, and the time that they lasted always changed, but Snape knew what was going to happen. He hoped that someone knew he was missing and was trying to find him.

It was a few days after Ron saved Harry from the frozen lake, and now they were down one Horcrux. They had both seen the doe and had told the story multiple times to Hermione, who was just as perplexed as both of them were. Now they were on the move, trying to find the other Horcruxes, but so far they were out of luck. Hermione came into the tent and took off the invisibility cloak, holding a copy of the Daily Prophet.

“Guys, Snape has been kidnapped.” Hermione announced.

“Seriously?” Ron exclaimed

“Yes. I heard a couple of witches talking about it. They said it was in the Prophet, so I had to grab a copy.”

Hermione handed the paper to Ron, who briefly skimmed over the copy, then handed it to Harry. Harry took the paper, and looked at the greasy-haired git, whose face covered the top half of the front page. Under the picture, the headline read “Headmaster Snape….Kidnapped?”. Harry went on to read the article.

“Professor Severus Snape, Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy, was forcefully taken from an undisclosed location. He left Hogwarts Saturday evening and never returned. He had told few professors of his would-be whereabouts, and when he didn’t return, they went to go and find him. When they arrived, both the front and back doors were blasted off the hinges and Headmaster Snape was nowhere to be found. Headmaster Snape, who was thought to be a loyal supporter of You-Know-Who, took the position of Headmaster after the death of Albus Dumbledore.”

He handed the newspaper back to Hermione. He didn’t have to read anymore of the article.

“Harry, do you know what this means?” Hermione asked

“That they greasy haired git is about to get what he deserves.” Ron spoke before Harry could.

“Ron!” Hermione yelled, infuriated at Ron

“Well, he’s right Hermione. That man hates me and my father with a burning passion. He treats me like dirt.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s not human. He made a mistake.” Hermione argued. “We should at least try to find out where he is.”

“Why?” Ron asked

“Because Dumbledore trusted him.” Hermione retorted forcefully.

“Well I’m glad Dumbledore trusted Snape.” Harry interjected. “Look at where it got him, Hermione. Dumbledore….is…..dead.” Silence filled the tent, while thoughts were running through everyone’s mind.

“And Snape killed him.” Harry continued. “I am sure that Snape became a full time member of the Dark Lord’s army. I’m going to finish what Dumbledore gave me. If you want, you can look for Snape.” he finished harshly.

Harry looked up at Hermione’s face and saw tears streaming from her eyes. Harry stormed out of the tent, angrily. He could not believe that he just did that! He didn’t like to see Hermione cry, and it was worse when Harry knew that he had caused it.

Harry was so angry at Snape. Snape hated his dad, James; as well as his Godfather, Sirius. Now Snape had killed the closest person Harry had to a father, and he was done with it. Secretly, Harry wanted to go find Snape, not to rescue him. Harry wanted to kill Snape with his own two hands.

There were many tortured screams throughout the night, all of them jolted Snape awake. He knew that it was a bad idea to sleep down there, but since no one was there with him, he figured that it wouldn’t hurt to get some rest. Sunlight shone into Snape’s eyes, causing him to wake up. Seeing the sunlight caused Snape to question how long he had been there. Judging by how he felt, Snape figured he had been there for two to four days. He must have been knocked unconscious for quite a while because he had only been up one day. Snape had no idea what spell had hit him. He was about to go through the list of spells when he saw Bellatrix’s limp body fall down the stairs.

Snape waited until he heard the door slam shut, before moving toward Bellatrix. He had no idea if she was dead or not. There were few situations where The Dark Lord had killed someone, whom he did not wish to kill, during these “sessions.” Those people could normally withstand large amounts of pain and punishment. The only reason they died because they refused to give the Dark Lord the information he wanted, so he continued the torture beyond their ability to take it.

Bellatrix was one of those people, and Snape feared the worst. He rolled her onto her back, with his knees, and he could see that she was breathing. There were cuts all over her arms. Snape had noticed that just as she began to stir. He waited to ask questions until she opened her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Snape asked softly.

“Yes, I’m fine you git.” She replied harshly.

Yeah, she was definitely feeling like herself. Snape tried to hide a smile of relief. He was glad that Bellatrix was okay. He would feel terrible if she died because of him. She was a vile human being, but she was still a human. No one should have to be killed because one person won’t say anything. Snape figured that Lord Voldemort didn’t have the stomach to kill one of his most loyal followers. However, if he got angry enough it was a very real possibility.

“Dumbledore.” Snape thought. “I know that you are watching, please help me get through this without giving away my secret.”

“We are at the Malfoy’s.” Bellatrix told him.

“I figured.” Snape whispered under his breath

“My lord is really mad. He is doing the interrogation himself.”

Snape knew he was in trouble. Someone like Bellatrix or Yaxley usually did the questioning. If The Dark Lord was doing it, then he knew that someone in his inner circle was the spy.

“Bollocks.” Snape thought, “I’m screwed.”

The door opened, startling Snape. He got up as quickly and quitely as he could and went over to the place he had woken up. He was still suppose to be unconscious, and he was going to make it hard on the person who undid the chains. Someone picked Snape off the ground. He made himself as much of a dead weight as possible, making it hard on the person carrying him up the stairs. Snape could hear a door slam shut as he was thrown into a chair. His head hit the top of the chair, before his chin came to rest on his chest.

“He is still unconscious.” A soft, snake-like voiced pointed out. This voice could only belong to The Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort.

“He is.” A harder voice agreed. The voice was easily recognized as belonging to Lucius Malfoy. “I do not know why. The curse must of affected him more than anticipated .” He continued weakly.

“If it has killed him…”

“It hasn’t!” Malfoy screamed

“What did you say Lucius?” Voldemort asked fiercely

“It…it hasn’t” Malfoy sounded like a scolded puppy.

“He has been unconscious for almost four days.” Voldemort informed Malfoy. “Yaxley, can you please remind me how long Severus was supposed to be unconscious?”

“About three hours.” Yaxley, whose voice had a hard edge to it, answered strongly.

“Three hours Malfoy,….not three days!” Voldemort’s scream caused the room to shake slightly.

There was a moment of silence where no one dared to move. Snape could just imagine Voldemort coming close to Malfoy’s face.

“If he is dead, I swear….”Voldemort began to hiss, but he stopped as he heard a groan come from Snape’s mouth.

The groan was barely audible; it was just loud enough to let Voldemort know that Snape was still alive. After counting to three, Snape allowed his eyes to flutter open. He picked his head off of his chest and looked around wearily. Voldemort had Malfoy by the collar of his robes, while Yaxley and Dolohov stared at their Lord.

“Ah, Severus has woken up.” Voldemort whispered as he released Malfoy.

“My lord, where am I?”

“You are here, at Malfoy Manor. You were viciously attacked, but we rescued you.”

“If you rescued me, why am I restrained to this chair?”

“We wanted to make sure that you did not fall. Do you mind if we ask you some questions?”

Snape looked at Voldemort, thrown off by the kindness that The Dark Lord show to him. He knew the real reason he was there and he was not falling for this load of shite he was being fed.

“Of course, my Lord.” Snape said hesitantly. “Ask anything you please.”

“Did you know that we have a spy amongst our ranks?”

Voldemort had begun the interrogation.

“We have suspected that for months, my lord. If you are only just worrying about it now….”

“Do you think that the spy has been giving information to the Order?” Voldemort interrupted Snape.

“I believe so. How else would Potter and his silly little friends be two steps ahead of us, even in the beginning. Now if you think that I am the spy, let me remind you something.” Snape began to list off points, and he could see Voldemort get angrier with each new sentence Snape said. “I have done everything that you have asked. Before you disappeared, I brought you the prophecy that was foretold, which some other people could not do. I stayed at Hogwarts and stayed in the Order. I fed them false information after you returned. I believe I have done well by you. Even when you asked me to become the headmaster after I killed Albus Dumbledore.” Snape emphasized the last bit and gave a pointed look at Malfoy.

Malfoy looked like he was ready to kill Snape, but Voldemort held his hand up.

“Let him finish, Lucius.” Voldemort hissed.

“I stayed at that unbearable school because you asked me to. After you disappeared, I continued to stay faithful and waited for signs of your return. Unlike some, I continued to support you.” Snape flashed another pointed look at Malfoy

“Why you ungrateful little….” Malfoy growled, but Voldemort cut him off.

“That is enough Malfoy. He is only stating the facts. Now Severus, do you know who the spy is?” The Dark Lord’s eyes never left Snape’s

“My lord if I knew who was the spy, you would of already taken care of it.”

“Why do you continue to lie to me, Severus?” Voldemort hissed weakly, as if Snape was hurting him.

“I have not been lying to you. My lord deserves the truth and that is what I have given. Nothing less than the truth.”

It was silent for a few seconds, and the silence was heavy with anticipation. People were waiting to see what Voldemort would do next. Voldemort laughed, a soft laugh, and this surprised Snape.

“You never cease to amaze me, Severus. However, unless you give me evidence showing that you have been telling the truth….well you have seen what happens with people lie to me.”

“My lord, I have given you all the evidence that I need.” Snape told him, trying not to gulp in fear. Fear of what was coming next.

“Alright then.” Voldemort huffed as he looked at those around him.

He gave a sharp, curt nod and a few seconds later pain hit Snape in the back of the head, where Greyback had just hit him. Then the other death eaters came in closer, each man taking a swing at Severus. Some of them had punched Snape in the face and chest, while others had kicked him in the legs. Voldemort never assaulted Snape, but he was definitely enjoying the show.

“Move aside.” Voldemort hissed at his followers.

They moved aside and Snape braced himself for what was coming next.

“Crucio!” Voldemort yelled.

Pain reigned over Snape’s body, like he had been struck by lighting. He tried to scream as he convulsed, but no sound came out of his mouth. It was like someone had taken his voice away. The curse was held so long that the pain became too much; Snape thought he would pass out. When the curse was released, Snape lunged forward, but didn’t move off of the chair. Air began to return to his lungs as he gasped multiple times. It was like someone had tried to choke him to death.

“Why have you been spying against me, Severus?” Voldemort hissed.

“I have….done no such thing….my lord.” Snape whispered between gasps of air.

He was about to take one more gulp of air. He had just breathed in.

“Crucio.”

The air was trapped in Snape’s lungs as he convulsed once more. His lungs screamed for air, and the curse was quickly released. Snape had lost track of how many times the Cruciatus curse had been used on him, and how long he had been tortured for. One of his eyes was swollen, he could taste blood in his mouth, and his entire body was sore. Snape barely lasted five seconds before he passed out from the last curse.

Snape could feel himself being removed from the chair by Greyback and Dolohov. A door opened and he could feel himself flying through the air. The smell told him that he was back in the cellar when he crashed into the ground. He could hear a loud crack, which told him that his arm was broken. Snape didn’t hit any of the stairs on the way down. How was it that being tortured by Voldemort reminded him of Lilly and Hogwarts? There was a sound of the door being closed which sent Snape back to Hogwarts.

“Lily, how did you fare on Professor Slughorn’s exam?” Severus asked Lily.

Severus was walking her back to her dormitory after they had been studying in the library.

“I think I did really well, Sev. How about you?”

“I think that I did acceptably well. What did you say for the question between the bezoar and the healing potion?
“I put down that the healing potion was better because even though it had to be brewed, you could easily find the ingredients, whereas it can be hard to find a bezoar.”

“Wouldn’t a bezoar be better, since you can’t mess up with it like you can with a potion?” Lily never got a chance to answer.

“Snivellus.” A rough voice called. Severus looked up to the top of the flight of stairs and saw his tormentors, James Potter and his rag tag group, standing at the landing. “Why are you boring her with your stupid potions ideas. Potions is a complete joke, right Sirius.”

“Yeah, why don’t you go play with your chemistry set, those at least have bigger explosions.” Black added. The “Marauders” laughed at the comment.

“Come off it James.” Lily spoke harshly.

“Well I guess he isn’t boring you then. Is he helping you brew a potion that will allow your muggle sister to become a witch?” Potter responded

Lily nearly flew up the stairs, pulling out her wand and pointing it at James’ throat.

“Don’t you dare talk about my sister. She has nothing to do with this.”

Severus was standing beside Lily and watched as she shoved her wand point into James’s throat.

“Wait….I’m sorry.” James gulped.

Lily lowered her wand tentatively, but brought it right back up.

“Don’t listen to him, Lily.” Severus whispered as he saw a tear run down her face.

“Wait, Lily…..Did Snivellus….Is he trying to defend you?” James questioned

“That’s low. It’s like having a house elf defend you.” Sirius mocked as Severus moved between Lily and James.

“Take it back, Potter. She doesn’t need to be involved in this.”

The “Marauders” laughed.

“Why don’t you make him?” Sirius said.

“Potter, why are you always a coward? Are you afraid that I will beat you so badly that you will have to sick Wolf Boy here on me?” Severus asked confidently.

“Don’t call Remus wolf boy.” Sirius snapped

“Oh, I’ll stop when Potter takes back what he said.” Severus commented

“I want you to make me.” Potter crooned, as he lightly shoved Snape.

Severus lost his balance for a second, and recovered by shoving Potter to the ground hard.

“Take it back now!” Severus screamed

James Potter got off the ground so fast, it caught Severus off guard. All three Marauders pulled their wands out of their robes. Sirius pushed Severus once, and Sev was going to push back, until he saw the wands. Severus laughed a hearty laugh, which caused Potter to say.

“You think you’re funny? Look who’s defenseless now.”

“I think you are funny, Potter. Why do you have to fight me three on one? Have wolf boy and his pup put down the wands, and I will show you how a real man fights.” Severus growled as he pulled his wand out of his robes.

Potter turned around to talk to Lupin and Black. Severus contemplated hexing Potter, but he wasn’t a coward. Suddenly, Potter whirled around.

“Stupefy!” He yelled

The spell caught Severus right in the chest. He flew through the air and slammed into the wall. The portraits flinched as he hit the wall, his head bouncing off of it and his arm making an unnatural sound at contact. Severus crumpled to the floor as Lily let out a yelp. She came and knelt by him when she saw that he was not moving. James Potter and his friends laughed as they watched Lily try to rouse Severus. They were laughing so hard that they didn’t hear two teachers walking toward the staircase to investigate what was going on.

“What is going on here?” an older voice questioned as his gaze traveled from the Marauders to Lilly and an unconscious Severus Snape.

“Professor Dumbledore.” They all gasped, except Lily who was more concerned with the wellbeing of Severus than the arrival of the Headmaster.

“Minerva, Please take Mr. Snape up to the hospital wing. Boys, Ms. Evans, will you please come with me.” Dumbledore ordered

When Severus woke up three days later, he found Lily sitting by his bedside. She explained how the Headmaster had pulled all four of them into his office, where Lily explained that Severus was only standing up for her. The Marauders, natural liars that they were, denied everything that Lily said. They had even gone so far as to say that Severus attacked first. Dumbledore gave the Marauders two weeks worth of detention.

“Dumbledore should have expelled them.” Lily argued “Detention won’t stop them. They already live in detention for the most part.”

“It’s fine, Lilly.”

“What do you mean it’s fine, Sev? They broke your arm and gave you a concussion with one spell.”

“If Headmaster Dumbledore thinks that the punishment is sufficient, then I have to agree with him.”

Severus was glad that Lilly stuck up for him. However, he wasn’t okay with the Headmaster’s decision . He was just telling Lily that so she would stop being angry. Severus knew the torment would get worse, he just didn’t know that he would eventually lose a friend because of it.

“Harry, we need to-”

“We are not going to go save Snape.” Harry interrupted Hermione. “He’s a treacherous git that doesn’t deserve to be rescued.” This was the first time that Hermione had brought up this argument in the past week.

“How do we know that he’s not being tortured for spying against Him. He could be dead already.”

“Then let him die. If he really was captured, then let Volde….”

“ARGH.” Ron interjected.

“He-who-must-not-be-named, then. Let him kill Snape because the man doesn’t deserve to live anyways.”

“Harry, that’s horrible! Every person deserves to live, even those who have made mistakes. Snape made up for his mistake, he spied against the dark lord.”

“That doesn’t make a DIFFERENCE.” Harry yelled as he slammed his fist down on the table. “Once a death eater, always a death eater.”

“How can you say ‘if he’s been captured’? You saw it in the Prophet.”

“The Prophet is under the thing’s control along with the Ministry. Snape probably just joined his army full time. It would look bad on Hogwarts if they placed a death eater in control. He knows that and there is still a part of Tom Riddle in Him. He loves Hogwarts because it’s his home. Tom doesn’t want to destroy the school’s reputation. He told them to say that Snape was taken. Now both sides win.”

“What are you talking about Harry? None of that makes sense, also if we rescue Snape, maybe he could tell us where the other Horcruxes are.”

“I wouldn’t trust him to tell us anything.”

“But we have to do something.”

“No we don’t. He is the reason my parents are dead. After this war is over, if he still is missing, then we will go find him.”

“But…”

“No. That is the plan.”

Harry got up and stalked out of the tent. He couldn’t see how Hermione could see any good in such a vile man. Harry thought that Snape used to be good, but after that night on the tower and knowing that he gave the prophecy to Lord Voldemort…Well it banished all doubts. Harry would, however, keep true to his plan. They would go and find Snape after they had finished Voldemort.

When Snape came to, he was wet and the side of his face hurt. His left eye was swollen shut, and pain pounded through his broken right arm. Seeing as Snape was right handed, this would be bad if he had to fight his way out. The chair he was sitting in felt different. The back had been modified so that his lower and middle back were exposed, but his shoulder blades were still covered. With what vision Snape had left, he could see Malfoy, Dolohov, Yaxley, and the Carrows standing in a group, conversing with Voldemort. They were having a whispered argument, all worries of being punished for questioning their lord were gone for the moment, when Voldemort saw that Snape was awake.

“Ah, Severus, are you ready to answer my questions?”

“Carrows, what are you doing here? I thought I ordered you to stay at the school.” Snape growled, ignoring what Voldemort said.

“We were called here.” Amycus answered.

“You may be our boss, but we serve The Dark Lord.” Alecto added

“Well….” Snape began, but Voldemort interrupted, repeating his question

“Are you ready to answer my questions Severus?”

“I have been answering your questions, my lord. You just don’t seem to like my answers.”

Voldemort quietly laughed to himself as he walked closer to Snape. They stared eye to eye for a few seconds before Voldemort turned his back on Snape. Voldemort was about to walk away, but he turned around and lunged at Snape, the back of his hand making contact with Snape’s face. The white flash of sharp pain surprised the prisoned man.

“You disgust me Severus.” Voldemort growled. “How could a man like you, who has been the most loyal to me, be spying against me. Without me, you would be nothing and your name would not be feared at that school.”

“My lord, I have not been spying on you.” In a quiet voice, Snape defiantly whispered. “It was also just not you who helped create my name. I was feared long before I joined your ranks.” Snape was trying to keep the pain at bay. He would have to do a lot of pain management, if he wanted to survive.

“Why have you been spying on me?”

“I have done no such thing. Everything that I do has been to help you.”

“Lies!” Voldemort hissed as looked at someone behind Snape.

It was a second before pain registered in Snape’s back, and a loud crack of leather meeting flesh, resounded around the room. Snape breathed in violently as the belt hit his back.

“Now Severus, if you tell me the truth, we can end this quickly.”

“Yeah.” Snape thought. “You’ll probably kill me.”

Snape took a deep breath before speaking.

“If I had been lying to you, my lord, I would have told you the truth after all the pain you have put me through.”

“And that is where you are mistaken, Severus. Any normal human being would have told me the truth if they were in the situation that you are currently in. They would have told me after the first hit. You are different. You have been taught to lie under any circumstance, and you had a good teacher, no doubt. That’s why I think you are still lying to me. If you tell me the truth, then all of this pain and suffering will stop.”

“I HAVE BEEN TELLING YOU THE TRUTH! I don’t know why you don’t believe me.” Snape snapped.

This earned Snape another lick from the belt, and a memory surfaced in Snape’s mind.

A young boy was hiding between the corner and a dresser, hoping father wouldn’t find him.

Snape could hear Voldemort ask a question, but he didn’t give an answer. The belt cracked on his back once again.

The young boy was sitting on his mother’s lap, with her arms wrapped tightly around him. He was crying, for his dad had found him and proceeded to beat him with a belt. The boy was only five years old. It was the first time that Tobias Snape, in a drunken rage, had beaten his son, Severus, with a belt. It was the first time, but it definitely wouldn’t be the last time that this would happen.

Snape was so surprised by the memories that came to him, that he didn’t answer the next five questions. Each unanswered question earned Snape another hit from the belt. By then, the pain was getting so bad that Snape was afraid that he would bite off his tongue if he attempted to speak, so his silence continue. He had lost count of how many times he was hit after 35, but Snape knew it was close to triple that number. This whipping made Tobias Snape’s whipping look tame.

Snape could see that The Dark Lord was getting irate, so it was time to start messing with him. Snape knew it was a good way to get killed, but he also knew that The Dark Lord wouldn’t kill him. At least not yet. Not until he got the full truth out of Snape. The only problem was, in order for it to stop, there would be a lot more pain. Snape made tears come to his eyes, and found that it wasn’t very hard.

“Alright.” He cried out in pain. “Make it stop and I’ll tell you everything.”

Voldemort signaled Yaxley to stop.

“You will tell me everything that I want?” Voldemort asked skeptically

“Yes.” Snape had tears running down his face. “Anything to be let go.”

“I am glad that you have seen the light, Severus. You do know however, that what you tell me might not get you free.”

“Just make the pain stop.” Snape yelled in response.

“Alright. Have you or are you currently a spy?”

“Yes.”

“Who have you been spying against?”

“Albus Dumbledore.”

“Has Albus Dumbledore ever tried to turn you against me?”

“No.”

It was silent for a moment, which during this time, Snape prayed that Voldemort would buy his story. The chances were slim to none, but he hoped for a miracle.

“Have you ever spied against me for Dumbledore?”

“No.”

“I am tried of your lies, Severus.” Voldemort hissed while shaking his head.

“I have not…” But Snape couldn’t finish his sentence

His jaw had locked up because of a Cruciatus curse that Voldemort had casted. Then Malfoy casted it, followed by Yaxley, Dolohov, and Greyback. The pain in this torture session was ten time worse then in the last session. The pain of five curses was like being hit with eight tazer, 100 volts a piece. If Snape could talk, he would of begged for death. The pain was so bad that he could feel his life slowly slip away. However, the spells were released and he could feel life its retreat from his body. He felt groggy and disoriented, like he was about to pass out.

Someone stepped forward and pulled a vial out of their cloak. Snape’s head was thrown back, and whoever pulled the vial out of their pocket, forced a liquid down his throat. Snape tried to spit it back out, but only some would come out. Greyback and Dolohov undid Snape from the chair and dragged him down the stairs, leaving him by the wall where he lay unconscious a few seconds after the door slammed shut. Snape’s right hand moved on its own, showing signs of extensive nerve damage.

When Snape came to, he was in a world of pain. He could feel something sticky on his back, so he gently reached toward his back. Even at the slightest touch, Snape winced in pain. He could feel his back becoming raw, the scars would be there for the rest of his life. He pulled his hand away, and saw blood on his hand. Then Snape remembered that someone poured some sort of liquid down his throat. He wondered what it was, but was stopped when pain screamed up his right arm. Slowly lifting his arm up, Snape saw that it looked perfectly normal. However, when he gently ran his hand down it, he discovered that it was broken. He couldn’t tell how many breaks he had in it. Snape wondered what else was hurt, when a sob stopped all of his thoughts. Snape carefully rolled over, to see what was crying.

His back screamed in pain, but he made it onto his side. There was someone in the middle of the room. Snape figured it was Lestrange, so he rolled onto his stomach, and tried to stand up. His knees buckled and Snape caught himself by dropping to one knee. Snape gasped as pain shot up his back, and the crying stopped.

“Sev.” Someone called out.

There was only one person in the world who called him by that name.

“Lily.” Snape whispered in confusion.

He made his way toward Lily in a half walking, half falling fashion. The person lying in the middle of the room was indeed Lily. Snape dropped to his knees by her side.

“Sev.” She reached up and touched his face.

It all felt so real, but it couldn’t of been. Lily had been dead for fifteen years, this couldn’t of been real. Something in Snape’s brain said that this wasn’t right, but Snape didn’t pay attention. He was with the woman that he loved.

“Lily.” Snape grabbed her hand.

He could feel a liquid by his knee so he looked down. He was kneeling in a pool of blood that was coming from Lily’s back.

“What happened Lily?” Even though he knew something was wrong, he allowed his heart to take over. Lily was the only one that he ever loved, and he would be damned if he didn’t help her.

“He found us.”

“Who found you?”

“Voldemort. He found us and…..he killed James.” Lily had tears running down her eyes as she choked out the answer. “He tortured us and killed James.”

“What did he do to you?”

“I don’t know, Sev.”

“It’s alright.” He reassured as he picked Lily up and held her in his arms. “Everything will be fine, just hold on.” Snape whispered after he saw her take a short, shaky breath.

“Oh Sev.” Lily whispered as she reached up again.

“I’m sorry Lily.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“I was a fool. You were so good to me and you were my only friend. You didn’t care where I came from, and you were there for me.. I messed up and I never meant to call you that name. I was angry and I never should have been angry at you. I’m so sorry.”

Severus looked down at Lily and saw that her breaths were becoming further apart.

“That doesn’t matter anymore, Sev.” Lily winced in pain. “I need your help.”

“Anything Lily.”

“I need you to tell me what side you are on. Dumbledore told us that he had a spy but we weren’t sure that you were fully against Voldemort.”

“Why do you want to know that?”

“It was something that I always wanted to know, before I died.” Lily’s eyes started closing.

“You won’t die. You have to keep fighting.” Severus pleaded.

“Sev, I’m not afraid of dying. I just need to know.” Lily’s breathing began to slow down as well.

“I did.” Severus blurted out. “I did spy for Dumbledore against Voldemort.”

Sev could that Lily was about to die, and he felt so helpless because he couldn’t do anything to stop it. He had to tell Lily something that he had always meant to tell her. Something that he should of told her a long time ago.

“Lily, I love you.”

Lily’s eyes were about to close, so Sev grabbed her hand. He leaned down so that he could hear Lily’s whisper.

“I loved you too, Sev.”

Lily took her last breath and closed her eyes for a final time. Her hand slipped out of his and Severus’ eyes began to fill with tears. He didn’t hear the cellar door open.

“Come on Lily, wake up.”

Two men walked down the stairs and grabbed Snape under the armpits. They dragged Snape up the stairs while he was screaming Lily’s name. Another man took Lily’s body up to the main floor. Snape was thrown into a chair, and Lily’s body was taken into another room.

“What did you do to her?!” Snape yelled

“She got what was coming to her. The mud blood….”

“Don’t call her that!” Snape cut off Voldemort, and because he did so, he got punched in the face.

“The mud blood deserves to die. I heard what you told her.” Voldemort’s voice was calm.

“oh shit.” Snape thought, but he continued to stay angry at the Dark Lord. “What did you do to her?” Snape yelled again.

“Oh, is poor Snape crying over little Lily Potter?” Bellatrix cooed as she rounded the corner.

“What did you do to her?” He yelled at Bellatrix

“Who?” She asked calmly.

“Lily…Lily Evans. What did you do to her?”

Bellatrix pulled her wand out of her pocket and waved it in front of her face. Her appearance began to change, and where Bellatrix had been standing three seconds, Lily took her place. The abdomen of her shirt was soaked in blood.

“He found us, Sev.” Lily said. “Lord Voldemort gound us and…he killed James.” Lily whimpered and she waved her hand again, and she turned back into Bellatrix.

“Fuck.” Was the first word that came to Snape’s mind. “I just got tricked. Now he knows.” Snape’s face continued to show no emotion, but his mind had been flying at 1010 miles an hour. “I told you that it wasn’t right.” Snape could believe that he was tricked. He couldn’t of been stupider. Now it was time to give up the gig.

“Well. Now you know my secret. What are you going to do?”

“I have to ask you something Severus. Why?”

“Because you killed her!” Snape yelled. He couldn’t help it. His temper was exploding. “I asked you, no I begged you to spare her and you didn’t. You killed her.”

That was the last thing that Snape remembered clearly. Everything else was filled with lots of pain, but he was still alive. Snape woke up in the cellar. He was in so much pain, that he didn’t know if his mind would ever work correctly again. Snape thought about Lily and he realized that someone had to know. He placed his fingertip to his temple, and pulled out a memory strand. He found a vial in the cellar and placed the memory in it. He placed a stopper in it and put it in his robe pocket. He figured that if he died, someone would at least know his position.

He was in a lot of pain. Snape was still fuzzy, his mind going in and out of the fog. The arm that Snape had broken was swollen beyond movement. He could taste blood in his mouth and throat. His left eye was swollen shut and every part of his body hurt. Snape tried to sit up on the wall, his body screaming in pain as he did so.

“How much longer do I have?”

That was the last thought that Snape had before he passed out from pain.

“Hermione!” Ron yelled

“Shut up, Ron.” Harry screamed.

He couldn’t believe that they had been captured. The death eaters managed to find them somehow and Harry was really angry. Now, Hermione’s screams could be heard while she was being tortured. Ron kept yelling her name and Harry kept telling him to shut up, but nothing worked. Harry and Ron didn’t see a man come behind them and clamped a hand over their mouths.

“You both need to be quiet now.” The man snarled. The boys stopped struggling and the man continued. “Now, I’m going to let you go. Don’t scream.”

The hands came off of their mouths, and they turned around.

“Snape.” Harry gasped.

He was shocked by seeing the professor, who was hurt badly. There was blood all over his face. One of his eyes was swollen shut, his arm was swollen as well. One of his hands twitched constantly, and he was hunched over like his back was seriously hurt. Snape laid a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“What are you doing here, Potter?” Snape mumbled. Some of his words were incoherent.

“We were captured by the death eaters. Now Bellatrix Lestrange is torturing Hermione.”

“Where are we?”

“Malfoy Manor.” Ron replied. “You’re still alive.”

“Thank you for the obvious, Weasley. Do you know what happened?”

“I don’t know.” Harry answered Snape. “It was in the Prophet that you had disappeared.”

“When was that?”

“Almost three months ago.”

Hermione’s scream echoed in the cellar.

“Hermione!” Ron yelled again.

“Shut it Weasley.” Snape growled, but it didn’t work. “Can it!” Snape yelled, but it took a door slamming to get him to shut up.

Snape motioned them to move away from the door and he hid in the shadows as well. Peter Pettigrew, a loyal servant, came through the door.

“Petricaficus totalas.” Snape whispered.

Pettigrew went rigid and fell over. Snape snatched a wand out of his hands.

“Do either of you have a wand?” he questioned

“No, they took them from us.” Ron answered.

“Okay.” Snape mumbled to himself. “I want you two to stay behind me.”

Snape didn’t wait for anyone to protest as he stumbled towards the staircase.

“Are you okay, Professor?” Harry asked, his voice full of concern.

“How I am doing doesn’t concern you right now, Potter.”

“But, sir….”

“Unless you want Ms. Granger to die, Potter, I would suggest that we start moving.”

That caused Harry to fall silent, but he was still waiting to catch the professor if he fell. All three men made it to the top of the stairs.

“We have to wait.” Snape whispered, but Bellatrix unleashed a Cruciatus curse on Hermione, and Ron moved forward. Draco and Greyback noticed.

“Stupefy!” Draco bellowed, as he shot it at Ron, who managed to dodge the spell.

“Expelliarmus.” Snape whispered and the wand flew out of Draco’s hand.

Harry snatched the wand out of midair. Snape shot another spell at Greyback, who’s wand flew out of his hand as he was knocked unconscious. Ron caught the wand and then all hell broke loose. Harry was fighting Draco. Ron was fighting through all of the spells to pull Hermione, who was unconscious, to safety. Snape was fighting Yaxley, Lucius, and Bellatrix. There were a series of cracks, and Harry turned around as he caught another wand that Draco picked up.

Ron and Hermione were no where to be found, but Harry thought he heard Ron telling someone to take them to Shell Cottage. Harry turned back around and ducked. He was nearly blasted with a spell that was shot out of Yaxley’s wand. Draco was also not where to be found. Harry looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Snape locked in battle with Lucius and Bellatrix. Even though Harry didn’t like Snape, he was worried about him. He didn’t like seeing people hurt and Snape was badly hurt. Snape was so hurt in face that Harry was afraid that he would fall over and die in any moment. Harry dived behind the couch and Snape did the same.

“Potter.” he whispered as he dug into his robe pockets and he pulled a vial out of it. “Take this.” He said as he shoved it into Harry’s hands.

“What is this?” There was smoke everywhere and Harry had to shout over the spells that were still flying.

“It will explain everything. You will know when to look at it.”

Harry was surprised at the vial that Snape gave him. Harry was so confused. Snape hated him and the feeling was mutual, why would he give him this.

“Did you suffer brain damage, Professor?” Harry asked as he put the vial in the pouch around his neck. The bangs of the spells stopped.

“Let’s go Harry.” Snape growled softly.

Snape stood up quickly and shot a spell that barely missed Malfoy’s ear. Yaxley shot a spell and Snape just barely managed to get a protective spell up. Harry jumped out of cover and shot a spell at Yaxley, who managed to hit the deck before the spell took off his head. The full battle ensued again. It seemed that they had been fighting for a long time, but it could of only been minutes. Harry could see that Snape was almost out of energy. Snape threw a spell at Malfoy and Lestrange. The two shot at Spell at Snape then blocked the spell from Snape. Harry seemed to watch it in slow motion.

The spells that Malfoy and Lestrange cast seem to combine together. The two spells, red and blue, come together and formed purple. Snape stared at it in confusion and realized what was happening to late. Snape could not get his wand up fast enough and the combined spells blasted him in the chest. Harry watched in horror as Snape sailed through the air, smashed through a cabinet, and slid down the wall unconscious. Harry could only do one thing to help. He had to keep fighting. Harry quickly shot a spell at Yaxley’s leg. It hit it’s target and Yaxley fell forward, his face hitting the ground, knocking him out.

Now Harry had to fight Bellatrix and Malfoy. It seemed like they fed off of each other’s energy, and no one would fall. Harry was fighting for his life. He was barely dodging spells, and he was barely managing to shoot off his own spells. Harry dodged behind the couch in an attempt to catch his breath. There was a loud crack and what appeared next to Harry almost caused him to jump out of cover.

“Dobby.” He yelled in a whisper. “What are you doing here?”

“Dobby has come to help Harry potter.” He said softly in his high, squeaky voice.

“You took Ron and Hermione. Where did you take them?”

“To Bill Weasley’s shell cottage. Now Dobby has returned to help Harry Potter.”

“See Professor Snape over there.” Harry motioned to and unconscious Snape. “I want you to grab him and take him to the cottage. Tell Bill that he has to go to St. Mungos. Then come back and grab me.” Dobby nodded in agreement.

“Come out and play, Potter.” Bellatrix yelled. “Come out and fight to your death, unlike your parents. Come out and be the brave Gryffindor that you are.” She cackled

Harry stood up and shot a spell at Bellatrix. There were two quick snaps and Harry knew that Snape and Dobby were gone. Harry quickly shot a spell at Malfoy, then pointed his want at the Chandelier.

“Reducto.” He yelled and the spell hit the ceiling, causing the Chandelier to fall.

Harry fell behind the couch as Malfoy and Bellatrix dove out of the way. There was a snap and Dobby was right next to Harry.

“Let’s go now.”

The little elf grabbed Harry’s hand, and the disapparated out of Malfoy Manor. When they stopped moving, Harry opened his eyes. They were standing on a beach. The ocean was pounding the shore like the heart inside of Harry’s chest. Harry was on all fours, breathing and thanking God that he was not dead. Harry really thought that if Dobby had not come, he would have been dead.

“Is Harry Potter alright?”

“Yes, I’m all right.” Harry looked up, but quickly looked down. His scar split open and pain erupted. Harry stifled a groan of pain.

“Dobby is sorry Harry Potter. Mr. Weasley told me to wait till he came back from St. Mungos.”

“It’s fine, Dobby.” Harry moaned through his teeth. He stood up and together they began to walk toward a cottage in the distance. “How did you find us, Dobby?”

Dobby was explaining to Harry how Dobby found then, when Harry stopped. Something wasn’t right with Harry. His vision was going in and out of focus. He could feel the blood pounding in his ears. Harry’s chest and stomach hurt as well. He placed a hand where the pain was and it caused him to fall to his knees. He never got to see why he was feeling pain because his eyes closed unexpectedly, and he fell over. The ocean waves came up and hit Harry’s unconscious body. The sand being stained red with blood from a wound unknown to Harry.

A sharp, sudden pain caused Harry’s eyes to fly open as he gasped for air. He saw a flash of red hair as the air was being squeezed out of his lungs.

“Hermione.” Harry gasped as he put his glasses on his face. “Hermione, I can’t breathe.”

“Oh.” Hermione released the death squeeze that she had on his ribs. “Sorry, Harry.”

Harry raised himself up on his elbows slowly, when he heard steps somewhere outside of the room.

“What happened?” Harry asked as he looked around.

He was laying in a bed with no shirt on. His mid-section was wrapped in bandages, which is where the source of pain was. The room that he was laying in had bright blue walls and sunlight was beginning to creep through the windows.

“I don’t know. Dobby….” But she didn’t get to finish.

Ron appeared in the room and Lupin followed behind him, standing in front of Harry’s bed. Harry snatched the wand he took from Draco off the bed side table and pointed it at Lupin.

“Harry!” Hermione exclaimed.

“What did Professor R.J. Lupin say to me about my mother the day we were on the bridge while everyone else went to Hogsmead during my third year at Hogwarts?” Harry asked.

He had good reason for aiming his wand at Lupin. The last time they saw each other, Lupin nearly cursed Harry through a wall.

“What are you doing?” Hermione asked in shock, but Harry didn’t pay attention to her. He was concentrating on Lupin.

“What did he say?” Harry asked again.

“You mother was there for me at a time when no one else was. Not only was she a singularly gifted witch, she was an uncommonly kind one. She had a way of seeing the beauty in others, most especially when they couldn’t see it in themselves.”

That was what Harry was looking for, but he hesitated to put the wand down. Harry stared at Lupin for a few seconds then lowered his wand reluctantly. He placed the wand on the bedside table then fell back on the pillow in pain. Lupin ran forward.

“Easy Harry.” Lupin whispered as he helped Harry to sit against the pillows.

Now that Lupin was closer, Harry could see that something had changed. Lupin was paler and his scars were more distinct.

“He knows.” Harry said. It was a comment directed at Ron and Hermione.

“Who knows?” Lupin asked.

“Lord…” Harry began but Ron cut him off.

“I THOUGHT YOU WOULD OF LEARNED AFTER WHAT HAPPENED!”

“What happened?” Lupin questioned

“They found us and took us to Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix tortured Hermione. They threw me and Ron down in their dungeon. Snape was down there.”

“SNAPE!” Lupin exclaimed

“Yeah. He was there and he was badly hurt. He helped us escape, but he got really hurt during the battle. I think You-Know-Who tortured Snape for months. What happened after Dobby got me out?”

“We don’t really know. We heard a crack and we waited for you to come through the door, but it took you a long time. The door opened and Dobby was pulling you through the door. He said that you fell. So he set you down, and we saw a lot of blood…..you almost died, Harry. We had to do CPR on you. Dobby went to find Lupin….He saved you Harry.” Hermione informed Harry as tears ran down her face. Ron wrapped an arm around her and held her tight.

“You lost a lot of blood Harry.” Lupin continued. “The elf told me that you were hurt, so I went with him. I didn’t think that you were almost dead. I kept doing CPR and sewing the wound up. You were in bad shape there for awhile.”

“Who told Dobby to find you?”

“I did.” Hermione answered. “He was the only one who I could think of.”

“Harry, could you explain to me what happened to Professor Snape?”

“When we found him, he was really hurt. One of his arms seemed to be broken. An eye was swollen shut, his face was covered in blood, one of his hands kept twitching, and he was hunched over like an old man. When we got up stairs, he fought Bellatrix and Malfoy. The two of them shot a spell at the same time, and they combined and made on spell.”

“What do you mean they combined?”

“Two spells merged and became one. I don’t know how it happened, it just did.

There was a crack in the room. Bill and Dobby appeared.

“Harry Potter.” Dobby yelled and jumped on the bed in excitement. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine Dobby. How did you know where we were?”

“Dobby was helping a barman and the barman heard noises from a mirror he was holding. He told Dobby to go help. So Dobby left and found Harry Potter and his friends.”

“Did this man ever tell you his name?”

“The barman never told Dobby his name or what bar he owned.”

Well there went all chances of knowing the unknown barman. Harry would have enough time to dwell on that later. He turned toward Bill.

“How is Professor Snape?”

“They didn’t tell me much. They took him up to the spells damage ward. They think that he has a large amount of nerve damage, but that was all they told me. I tried to tell them as much as I could. Harry, tell me what happened?”

So Harry explained the story again. When he got to the part about the spells, Bill looked at Harry strangely. When Harry was done, Bill and Ron looked at him like he had gone mental, while Lupin and Hermione were deep in thought.

“Are you sure that’s what happened?” Bill questioned after a few seconds of silence.

“Yes, I’m sure that’s how it happened. Why would I lie about that?”

“No one is saying that you are lying, Harry.” Hermione said. “It’s just that something like that isn’t suppose to happen. I’ve never read anything about that.”

“Hermione, It’s dark magic. Does anyone, besides Death Eater, really know a lot about it?” He questioned

“Dumbledore and Mad-eye know more about the dark arts than anyone else I know.” Lupin answered. “They told me all about the dark arts and they told me about the magic the Death Eaters perform. Neither of them mentioned anything like that to me.”

“Did anyone really know everything about the dark arts?” Harry argued

“Dumbledore was one of the most informed people. He knew a lot about the subject.”

“See. Not even Dumbledore knew everything. Bill, I understand if you don’t believe me, but you have to tell the doctors. Dobby can go with you if he would like to.” Harry looked to Dobby for an answer.

“Dobby will go with master Weasley.” And within a minute, Dobby and Bill were gone.

Lupin sat down in a chair, placed his head in his hands, and let out a deep, heavy sigh.

“Are you okay, Professor?” Hermione questioned

“I messed up, Harry.” Lupin confessed

Harry wanted to say something along the lines of “Of course you messed up. You almost hexed me through a wall.”, but he stayed silent.

“What makes you think you messed up?” Ron asked

“I never should of had a child with Tonks. What if the child is like me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Were....his kind aren’t...” Hermione tried to explain to Ron, but Lupin cut in.

“It’s alright Hermione. My kind aren’t suppose to breed. When we do, our children become like us.”

What are you going to do?” Hermione questioned

Lupin sat in silence for a few seconds. He was about to answer, but Harry spoke first.

“You better not leave them.” Lupin looked away from Harry for a moment, like he actually thought about it for a second. “If you leave him and Tonks, then it’s like giving up on the memory of James and Sirius.”

“What else am I suppose to do, Harry?”

“You are suppose to stay and be with your family. James did it, even though he knew that he and Lily were being hunted down. He never left his wife and child. If you leave them, then you are nothing more than a coward.”

Harry looked to see if Lupin would reach for his wand because calling him a coward is what got Harry blasted with a hex last time they met.

“What am I suppose to do? My son can’t have a werewolf for a father.”

“You are going to do what you’re suppose to do. You are a Gryffindor and that means you have the courage to do what is right.” Harry yelled at Lupin.

Silence covered the room for what seemed like a long time.

“So what is next?” Lupin questioned, breaking the silence.

“We can’t tell you.” Harry retorted forcefully.

“Harry, I’m just trying to help. You know that if Sirius were here, he would want to help.”

“Yeah, but he would accept the fact that I couldn’t tell him because of Dumbledore’s orders.”

Harry snapped and an akward silence filled the room.

“Fine. I just want to know what you have to do next.”

Ron, Harry, and Hermione looked at each other. Harry turned to look at Lupin.

“We’re taking the next step.”

They had finally done it. They found out what the remaining Horocruxes were. They managed to destroy all of them but the last two. After seeing Snape’s memories, Harry just wanted to give up. The people that Harry loved were really hurt of dead. Fred had died and Harry had to walk away. It was so hard to watch Mrs.Weasley cry over her dead son. Lupin, who was close to death, had to watch his wife, the mother of his child, die. No one knew how long Lupin had left to live. Now Harry had to walk to Voldemort and allow him to kill Harry, without Harry defending himself. Harry did just that. He played the role that he was given and allowed Voldemort to kill him. When Harry opened his eyes, he thought he would see the flash of green from the killing curse, but to his surprise, he didn’t see any.

A large white room is where Harry found himself lying. Pushing himself off the floor, Harry looked around, but could see nothing. It was dead silent, when a voice called his name. Harry turned around, quicker than someone could Apparate, and saw a familiar face with his arms wide open.

“Sirius!” Harry exclaimed with excitement, as he ran into his godfather’s arms.

Sirius wrapped his arms around Harry, laughing with excitement. He finally could see Harry again. Harry dreamed about what it would be like to see Sirius again, but this feeling was even better than a dream. The hug seemed to last forever, but it didn’t matter to Harry. He was with Sirius and that’s all that mattered.

“Harry, you’ve grown so much.” Sirius said as he clasped Harry’s face in his hands.

He could see the tears that were coming to Harry’s eyes. Harry was about to speak, when another voice stopped him.

“Harry.” The voice said.

Harry turned to his left and looked into a man’s clear blue eyes that were behind a pair of half moon spectacles.

“Professor Dumbledore.”

“I know that you must have alot of questions, but the answers will come in due time.”

“The answers should come now Albus.” A gruff voice snarled.

Harry turned around again and saw a man in a black cloak, but something was different. The man wasn’t as profound in appearence. He was a little transparent, almost like a ghost.

“Snape, what are you doing here?” Harry asked.

“Yeah you have questions to answer as well.” Lupin was standing right next to Harry

Lupin looked like Snape, but he had more color, making him more profound. Did that mean that Lupin was close to death?

“I don’t have to answer to you, werewolf.” Snape growled.

Sirius came and stood by Lupin, staring intensely at Snape. Harry had no idea what to do, but Dumbledore stepped forward.

“Let us all sit down so that Harry can have his questions answered.”

Everyone sat down, and looked to Harry. The only ones who didn’t look at him were Snape and Sirius, who were still eyeing each other.

“Boys, pay attention.” Dumbledore scolded, causing them to look away from each other and turn their attention to Harry.

“Professor, why didn’t you tell me everything that was going to happen?” Harry asked.

“I felt that if I told you, then you would not accept your fate. You would try to change certain events that had to happen, I am however proven wrong.”

“I don’t understand.”

“What don’t you understand, Harry?” Sirius questioned

“The horocruxes. We got all of them but two. We couldn’t even get to one.”

“You mean that you destroyed all but one.” Dumbledore corrected.

A look of confusion fell over Harry’s face.

“Let me explain.” Lupin started. “The night that Voldemort killed Lily and James, you stopped him from killing you. What happened was that because his soul was so unstable that what was left, latched itself on the only living thing there, which was you.”

“So....I’m a horocrux?” Harry questioned weakly.

“You are.” Dumbledore said. “That is why you had to give yourself up.”

There was a pop in the room, and Harry thought that he was the only one who heard it. He was however not the only one who heard it because others began to look around. When he looked at Lupin, he knew what happpened. Lupin’s appearence was much bolder, like Albus and Sirius.

“Remus, I’m very sorry.” Dumbledore whispered

Lupin was dead and now his son had no parents. He was much like Harry when he was that age.

“Harry...” Lupin looked at Harry. Their eyes met, and Harry knew what Lupin was about to say.

Harry spoke before Lupin could.

“I’ll be there for him. I’ll make sure that he knows what his parents died for.” Harry looked at Snape. “Professor, I know what your memories showed, but really who’s side were you on?”

“I’ve been on your side and I always will be.” Snape answered.

Harry wanted to cry with happiness, but he wasn’t going to do that in front of his professor. It was silent for a few seconds before Harry blurted out.

“You have to keep fighting, Professor.”

“What are you talking about Potter?”

“You have to stay alive. I need you to stay alive. You are the only thing I’ve got left that is a connection to any of my parents. I always tried my best in your class because I had a feeling that you would be important to me. I tried to make you happy, but you hated me because of my father. You both hated me and protected me. There were times that I didn’t know if you were playing me for a fool. You are important to me and I need you to stay alive.”

It was silent while a confused look came over Snape and Sirius’ face.

“Harry.” A woman’s voice called.

Harry sat confused, then he realized that the voice didn’t belong to anyone sitting in the circle.

Snape was the first to respond to the voice.

“Lily.” he whispered.

Harry turned around in the direction that Snape was looking. A man and a woman stood hand in hand, and smiles beamed across their face as Harry ran up to them.

 “Mom, Dad.” And before he could say anything else, his parents wrapped him in a hug.

Harry wished that this hug could of lasted forever. He had never hugged someone until he met Mrs.Weasley, and even though she felt like his surrogate mom, this hug just didn’t feel the same. He was now with his parents and he didn’t want this moment to end.

“Harry, We are so proud of you.” Lily said as she let go of Harry. “You did something that we could never do.

“But I didn’t defeat him. He’s still alive.”

“He is close to being defeated.” James said. “We couldn’t even get that close.

Lupin and Sirius stood up and walked over to Harry and James.

“Prongs?” Sirius questioned, unsure if this was really happening.

“Padfoot.” James responded.

A smile spread across Sirius’ face, and he wrapped his arms around James. James did the same thing and both men laughed, clapping each other on the back. To Harry, it seemed like they had just seen each other yesterday.

“Moony.” James said as he held out his hand after the hug between him and Padfoot was finished.

“Prongs.” Lupin responded, shaking his hand. A smile spread across Lupin’s face. It was the first time Harry had seen him smile in a long time.

Snape approached Lily, cautionsly. It was the first time that Snape had seen the real Lily Evans in twenty years, but he remembered everything about her like it was yesterday. Her eyes were a dazzling green, and her red hair was beautiful. Everything was the same about her. It was like they had just come to Hogwarts. The memories of sitting in class and out by the lake came flooding back to Snape.

“Lily.” Snape said again in shock

“Sev, you haven’t changed a bit.” Lily replied as she held her hand out and wiped a tear that was falling down Snape’s face. “Thank you so much for taking care of Harry. You...” Lily tried to continue but Snape cut her off.

“Lily, I’m so sorry for everything that happened between me and you. I never meant to say such mean things to you that day. I never wanted you to die. I tried everything to stop him. I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Lily pulled Snape close and hugged him tightly. “You did everything that I asked you to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“You are now Harry’s godfather.” Stunned silence filled the room. “I put it in my will that if Sirius had died or something happened where he couldn’t be there for Harry, you were suppose to care for him. I just wanted to make sure that Harry was safe and after Sirius died, you did that. You and Sirius were suppose to raise Harry.”

“So...I am Harry’s godfather?”

“Yes. I need you to fight. This is your second chance. You and Harry have so much in common. He needs someone to love him, and you need someone to love and to love you. You know that it is true, and you can both do that for each other. You will both need someone after the war is over.”

“Wait, Professor Dumbledore.” Harry said, still in a state of shock. “Correct me if I’m wrong, If a part of Voldemort latched onto me, then when he killed me he killed that part of him?”

“That is correct. Your soul is now all yours.”

“So then..that means I am still alive?”

“You have a choice, as does everyone here. You can either move on, or you can go back and finish what you started.” Dumbledore answered.

Harry thought about it and weighed his two options: He could either stay here with his family, or he could go back, kill Voldemort, be with Ron, Hermione, Teddy Lupin, and Snape. Harry knew what he had to do

“I have to go.” He turned to his parents. “I have to finish what I started. There are people who need me, and they need a better future. Only I can give it to them. I have to go.”

“Do you think that you are about to make the right decision?” Dumbledore asked.

“I think so.”

“Then we will be here waiting for you when the time is right.” James said

“Harry remember that we are always with you.” Lily whispered.

“Harry.” Sirius called, and Harry turned to look at him. “I know that you are probably scared, but listen to me. A lot of people say that you and he are alike. Remember that is not important, what is important is how you are different, and that is how you will beat him. I know that you can do this.”

Harry nearly fell into Sirius’ arms as they embraced, for what Harry knew would be the last time for a very long time.

“Thank you very much Harry. I know that I have left my son in capable hands.” Lupin stuck his hand out. Harry shook it as he spoke.

“I will treat him like he is my brother.”

“I know you will.” Lupin said as he gave Harry a hug.

“Snape.” James called. “I want to apologize for everything that I put you through at school. You don’t have to accept it. If I were you, I wouldn’t accept it. I just want you to know, that I’m sorry Sniv……I’m sorry, Severus.”

Snape glared at his enemy, James Potter, in silence. He had been hit with so much stuff in the past ten minutes, Snape had no idea how to handle it all. Lilly just gave him custody of her son, and now James Potter was apologizing for bullying him in school. Snape wasn’t sure if he could forgive James, but he had to let Harry know that he didn’t hate him because of his dad.

“Potter.” Snape called, sticking his hand out.

James walked forward and gripped Snape’s hand tight. After a few seconds, they released hands and Snape turned to Lily.

“I’ll take care of Harry.” Snape whispered

Lily wrapped his arms around his neck and gave him a big hug.

“Thank you, Sev.” She whispered back.

Snape wished that the hug would never end, but all good things have to end at some point. Lily let go and turned to watch Harry.

“I’m going to keep fighting Harry. I’ll see you when the war is over.”

Snape looked at Lily.

“I love you.” he mouthed.

“I love you too. Goodbye Sev.” she mouthed in response

“Goodbye Lily.” he mouthed before disappearing with a soft crack.

Dumbledore placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“Harry, I hope that you know that I am proud of you. You are a better man than I ever was. Everything will be fine in the end.”

“Thank you, Professor.” Harry turned to his parents. “Mom, Dad, I have to do this.”

“We know you do.” Lily responded

“We will be waiting for you.” James continued.

“We are so proud of you Harry. You have know idea.” Lily grabbed her son and gave him a tight hug. “I love you so much.” She whispered as she let go of him.

Tears came to Harry’s eyes and he gave hugs and said final goodbyes to the ones that he loved.

“This is not the last time we will see each other, you know that Harry.” Sirius said

“I know. Now I have to go and finish the war.”

“Goodbye Harry.” They all sang in unison.

Harry choked out, “Goodbye.” and with one loud crack, Harry was left alone. There was a bright light and Harry could hear again, but he kept his eyes closed. The smell of dirt filled his nostrils, telling him one thing. He made it back.

The world had just changed for the better. Voldemort had been vanquished, and all of the people were celebrating this great accomplishment. But every war has consequences. Families had become smaller in the matter of a day. Harry was not celebrating though. He felt it was wrong to celebrate. Everyone seemed to celebrate when something good happened, but did they realize that people had to die for this. Dumbledore would tell him that they were celebrating the sacrifice of those who died. That thought made him smile. Maybe he did have something to celebrate. Harry walked forward into the headmasters office, with Ron and Hermione.

The portraits around the room had erupted with cheering, but that didn’t matter to Harry as he approached Dumbledore’s portrait. The cheering stopped.

“Thank you so much Professor.”

“It is not you who should be thanking me. It is I, who should be thanking you. You have saved the wizarding world from what would have been an unfortunate fate.”

Harry laid the elder wand down on the desk that Dumbledore normally sat behind.

“This wand has a long, bloody, history and it should stop with me. I don’t want it and it should stay with it’s rightful owner.”

“Are you sure mate?” Ron asked. “That is a might....ow, what was that for?” Ron asked after Hermione elbowed him in the ribs.

“It’s Harry’s decision, Ron.”

“Alright, Alright.”

Harry turned to the portrait of Dumbledore.

“What do you think, Professor?”

“I think that is a wise choice. A choice that I could not make.”

“I just have to do one thing.” Harry told him as he pulled his broken wand out of the pouch around his neck. “Repraro.” He whispered as he pointed the elder wand at the wand on the table.

There was a snap and the wand that was Harry’s own was fixed. He laid the elder wand down on the desk and picked up his own wand, which felt warm in his hands. Harry looked up at Dumbledore and was about to say something when a loud crack caused everyone to jump.

“Harry Potter.” A loud squeaky voice called as Harry turned to the source of the noise.

“What is it Dobby?”

Dobby was mumbling something incoherent and quick.

“Dobby slow down and tell me what happened.” Fear rose in his chest as Dobby gasped

“Professor Snape.....” Dobby whispered.

“What about Professor Snape?” Fear was now sitting his Harry’s throat. He didn’t know what would happen if Snape died. He didn’t know if he could handle it.

“Professor Snape is awake.”

“Take me to him.”

Harry hadn’t told Ron and Hermione what happened and he wasn’t ready to talk about it. He didn’t like leaving them in a state of confusion, but Harry wanted to sort out things between himself and Snape. Taking Dobby’s arm, he was gone from the office. When he felt like his insides were being thrown into a bludger, he found that he was standing a white room and Dobby wasn’t with him.

“What are you doing here, Potter?” Snape growled.

“Dobby told me you were awake. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

“Is he dead?”

“Yes and he’s not coming back this time. He hurt you badly.”

“I know. I can feel the nerve damage.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Harry thought that maybe Snape didn’t remember what happened with Lily, but Snape looked up at him.

“What’s wrong Harry?” He asked, almost fatherly.

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just glad that you are okay.” Harry confessed. “I think that Mom led me to get caught. We....I mean I, didn’t want to come and rescue you until after we defeated Voldemort. I think she wanted us to stick together.”

“I agree.”

Another uncomfortable silence filled the room.

“I plan on keeping my promise to Lily. If you want, you may come and live with me.”

“It’s going to take a lot of getting use to.” Harry said while laughing.

He remembered that Lily said that this was their second chance, and he was going to take it.

“I couldn’t of said it better myself.” Snape said with a smile.

This surprised Harry. He had never seen Snape smile before. If Snape acted this way, maybe living with him wouldn’t be so bad.

“I would love to live with you, sir.”

Smiles crept over their faces. The war was over and both men now felt like they had someone to count on and someone who was family.

Harry and his family were standing on platform 9 ¾, James and Albus were loading their trunks on the scarlet red train. It would be Albus’ first time going to Hogwarts. Severus came along because Harry had asked him to, and he was happy to come. Ginny and Lily were helping James get his trunk on the train. Albus already had his stuff on, but he would not board the train yet.

“Dad, what if I’m in Slytherin?”

Both Severus and Harry knew that he was really scared about being in Slytherin.

“Listen to me, Albus Severus.” Harry dropped down in front of him. “You were named after two of the greatest Headmaster that Hogwarts has ever seen.” Harry had now dropped his voice to a whisper. “One of them was in Slytherin. He is the bravest man that I know, and he’s standing right behind me.” Harry motioned to Snape.

“Grandpa, You were in Slytherin?”

Severus, who had been watching Ginny help James onto the train while Harry was talking to Albus, looked down at him.

“I was, Albus.”

Albus seemed a little bit calmer, but Harry would still see that his son was scared.

“But Dad, what if I am in Slytherin?” He asked again

“Then Slytherin will have gained a great student. The sorting hat will take into account your choice. It did for me.”

“Really.” Albus said with amazement.

Harry had never told any of his children this.

“Yeah.”

“Alright, I love you dad.”

Albus gave Harry a fleeting hug, and James quickly rushed over to Harry, to give him a hug. They both hurried onto the train, as it slowly began to pull away. Albus waved bye to Harry, and he waved back. The train was now out of the station, and Harry stood frozen. He was thinking about the life that he had after the war. Severus was there for anything that Harry needed. Now he had a beautiful wife, and three lovely children. Harry knew that he wouldn’t have any of it, if Severus had not become his guardian after the war.

“You know that everything will be alright.” Severus reminded him.

“I know, Dad.”

Severus placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder. Everything that happened after the war, happened because Severus kept Lily’s promise, and Harry was thankful for that. They had gone through some rough times.

It took Severus a long time to recover, he walked with a cane due to the nerve damage. Harry had been there for him. Snape had been there for Harry as well. Harry felt after the war that he had no purpose in life, but Severus showed him that he had everything to live for. Severus was the father that he never had. He wasn’t like Sirius, who treated Harry as a brother. He was more like Lily. He loved Harry unconditionally, just like any father would. They both found a family.

Harry looked at Severus’ arm and realized one important thing: neither of the marks that they possessed had pained them in nineteen years, which meant all was well.