When he came to much later, it was to the sound of a harsh crack followed by a fierce roar that spread out rapidly above him. He groaned quietly, his head rolling to his side as he slowly woke. Every single part of him hurt.

"Shh, Severus. You're all right," a familiar voice spoke near him.

He coughed then, groaning at the sharp pains that had resulted from his little movement. He could hear people near him. However, all he saw was darkness, though.

"What . . ." He sounded so frail, so weak.

"I'm afraid that's my doing, Headmaster," a second voice replied quietly.

The castle? How on Earth was it the castle's fault? He groaned again, trying to look toward where he had heard the voice. If the castle was showing its corporeal self to the others, then . . .

"I could not bear to see you mistreated once more," Hogwarts continued. "Especially not when we both know you are not the villain you are pretending to be."

It took a moment before he realized what that meant. "You . . . you told them?" He couldn't stop the coughing fit that took over a moment later. They knew? All of them?! That meant . . .

"There is another way, Headmaster. And if you were not willing to take it, then it is my duty given to me by the Founders to force it upon you. Which I have done."

Everything he had done this past year was for nothing now. He wouldn't be able to save anyone else secretly.

"Or witness anyone else you can't save die either, Headmaster," the castle replied bluntly. "You're welcome."

Somewhere near him, someone gave a soft laugh.

He failed to see what was amusing, though. Hogwarts had just ended his supply of information. He wouldn't be able to know what actions the Dark Lord was taking now. He wouldn't be able to relay that on either. He—

A wave of pain then erupted inside him, radiating from his Dark Mark.

He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from screaming, tasting the thick metallic liquid instantly. Well, that answered the question if the Dark Lord knew of his betrayal.

"Severus?" someone cried with an edge of panic to her voice.

"It is the Dark Lord," Hogwarts answered for him, as he was unable to. "He is being punished for his betrayal."

"Isn't there anything you can do?" another voice spoke up. Male this time, Severus recognized.

"I am doing something, but the Founders did not anticipate this type of situation, though, when they created me. So, my assistance is limited unfortunately, as I am having to adapt as we go." Hogwarts then paused for a moment before speaking again. "How wonderful. Our link appears to be damaged as well. It seems I am unable to take more than what I already am. Though, that might not have happened if someone here had not decided to jump out a window earlier."

The pain then subsided for a moment, allowing him to take gasping breaths. He should have known Hogwarts would bring that up. It had a tendency to use his sarcasm in tense situations.

"We need Poppy here. She should be able to—"

CRACK!

Severus felt the bright light envelope him instantly and finally saw everyone who was with him. Filius was standing at the window with Pomona next to him. Horace was sitting with his back against a wall near Severus, using a handkerchief to put pressure against his head wound. Minerva had Severus's head in her lap, comforting him as any mother would. And there to the side were Potter and Luna, standing next to the ethereal image of a woman.

"What was that?" he asked as the darkness surrounded them again.

"Lightning, sir," a voice answered quietly. It took a moment for Severus to realize that it had been Potter who had answered.

"There's a storm brewing out there," someone else explained. Slughorn, he decided shortly after. "Never seen the sky so black before, though."

"Hogwarts," Severus said before he started to cough violently again.

"Rest, Headmaster. We shall explain," the sentient castle replied kindly. "After you foolishly jumped out the window to flee, I erected a shield to prevent this and sent you back to them, as all of you are needed in order to achieve success. However, I clearly missed something and as a result, you became injured, Headmaster, and became trapped in this room with all of them. You may blame the Founders for not making me truly omnipotent."

There were soft chuckles around him.

"While you were unconscious, she told us the truth. That all of this is because of Dumbledore, sir," Harry continued. "That I was wrong about you like always."

Severus's eyes widened. Potter knew about Severus's feelings for Lily?

"I only relayed the pertinent details, Headmaster, so please cease in your dramatics," Hogwarts sighed with obvious eye rolling. "They know of the plan Albus Dumbledore coerced you into following. Nothing else, so breathe easy. Your secrets are still safe." Hogwarts then added bitterly, "Not that your secrets are truly shocking in the least to anyone who knows you."

The room then lit up again as thunder cracked outside. This time the room shook violently from the sheer force behind it.

"There's something out there. There! Did you see it, Filius? Right there!" Sprout called out, likely pointing toward something out the window.

"The Dark Lord," Severus coughed, groaning quietly. No doubt, the Dark Lord was converging his forces upon the castle now in hopes of capturing and killing Harry.

"Not likely in this wind, sir," Flitwick replied with a scoff of disbelief.

An explosion of light burst then once more, and Severus heard Flitwick and Sprout's gasps.

"Get away from the windows!" Flitwick shouted, pulling Sprout quickly behind him.

Just as the small Charms professor had shouted that, the window they had just vacated a second earlier shattered and sent glass and other things hurtling into the room.

Severus felt Minerva instantly shield his body with her own. A loud whoosh then erupted followed by things slamming hard onto the stone floor and bouncing violently about the room. He could hear screaming, such terrible screaming.

He then felt pressure suddenly start to build in his ears. He clenched and unclenched his teeth trying to pop them before he felt the pressure change dramatically. More windows nearby shattered, adding more dangerous pieces of glass to the air. He then heard a terrible roaring noise followed by things slamming hard against the castle's walls. What on Earth was happening?

A yelp above him caused him to try to move to see what was going on. As his head turned to the side, he caught someone flying through the air toward the broken window. It wasn't until another flash of lightning a millisecond later that he saw who it was.

Potter! Severus stretched his arm out instantly toward the young man flying toward the broken window. No!

"Harry!" Severus yelled, his eyes meeting the boy's green. A bluish light suddenly erupted from his hand then, and he watched as it surrounded the boy before Harry flew back and slammed into him. Instinctively, Severus's arms wrapped tighter around the boy, and his eyes closed. The boy was safe.

A feeling of weightlessness washed over him for a moment before it vanished again. The overpowering stench of blood filled his nostrils soon after. And then all the sound rushed into his ears at once with a fury. Screams and cries of fear were all around him. He could feel everyone's terror suffocating him inside as their emotions were so powerful right then.

"Allow me, Headmaster," a gentle voice spoke near his ear.

When a hand lightly rested against his shoulder, his hypersensitivity to everything started to lessen. The cries and screams from the others became whispers and whimpers. As it became easier to think, he realized what Hogwarts was doing.

Slowly, he lifted his head up and glanced down at the young man he was holding. He could see Harry's confusion mixed with shock. But the boy was safe, and that was all that mattered.

"Is everyone all right?" Minerva spoke a moment later, slowly getting to her feet and minding the broken glass. A light from outside provided just enough to allow them to see the room.

"Yeah," they replied, glancing around the destroyed room.

"Oh . . . my . . ." gasped Slughorn as he glanced out one of the broken windows of the classroom.

"It's . . . it's just gone," cried Sprout, covering her mouth and staring out the window horrified. "All of it. Just gone."

"What do you mean, it's gone? What's—Oh my Lord . . ." It was Minerva's turn to gasp then.

Severus looked toward Hogwarts' corporeal self and saw the remorseful look.

"I was unable to erect the shields in time, Headmaster," Hogwarts replied quietly. "I could not prevent the castle from a direct hit."

"Direct hit from what?" Harry asked quietly, slowly getting to his feet to go to the window likely. Severus grabbed the young man's arm, though, watching Minerva gently guide Luna from the window when she too headed toward it. "Sir?"

"It's nothing a young man of your age needs to see, Mister Potter. Trust me," Minerva softly answered with a quiet sigh. The others turned away from the windows as well, still horrified.

"The castle?" Severus inquired.

"Intact for the most part, Headmaster." The ghostly woman's eyes darted back and forth as more information was gathered. "Massive damage to the Great Hall and Headmaster's office. I . . . I cannot . . ." Hogwarts' voice trailed off for a moment. "Storm debris has cut off the Hospital Wing from the rest of the castle. And—I am sorry, Headmaster." She blinked and gently pressed a hand to her head. "The link is worse now than before."

"Your energy must come from something in the office," Severus said with a shake of his head, limping toward the door with his hand still on Harry's wrist to prevent the boy from looking out the window. "We cannot stay here, though." He glanced toward the other Heads of Houses. "The students should have been gathered in their common rooms at the time. We need to search each one extensively and help those we can."

"Agreed," McGonagall replied with a nod, following him toward the door.

"Not to be a downer, but first we need to get out of this room," Slughorn reminded. "And magic did very little good earlier."

"I'm afraid that was my doing," Hogwarts admitted quietly. "Whenever the castle or its inhabitants are threatened, I am programmed to lock it down, which includes erecting a dampening shield to prevent all magic. In this case, though, my damaged link with the Headmaster is preventing me from cancelling the shield."

"Then, we do it the Muggle way," Severus answered.

"Meaning?' Slughorn replied puzzled.

Sprout grinned widely in response and pushed up her sleeves. "Well, now, this shouldn't be much different from pulling out Mandrakes, don't you think, Filius?"

Severus couldn't help but smile faintly. Leave it to Sprout to lighten the mood. "There seems to be enough of a gap to pry the door open. We need—"

"Something like this, sir?" Luna offered, holding up a sturdy board.

"Precisely, Miss Lovegood." He grabbed the board and watched Sprout and Slughorn grab more pieces. They each slid their pieces into the gap and used their combined strength to pry open the door. However, when they found a giant pile of rubble on the other side, their hope diminished slightly.

"Hi-ho. Hi-ho," said Sprout, glancing at McGonagall.

"Off to work we go," Flitwick replied with a shake of his head.

They then all set off, removing pieces of debris from the entryway. Harry and Luna took the smaller pieces with Flitwick, as Sprout, Slughorn, and McGonagall grabbed the bigger pieces.

It was mad to think how just a few hours earlier Flitwick and McGonagall had been locked in a fierce duel with Severus with hatred in their eyes. But there they all were. Working together again.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Harry asked when they had cleared more than half of the pile. "A storm like that just after Voldemort learned of my being here?"

"It wasn't him, Mister Potter," Slughorn replied quietly. "He was never much good at protective spells or ones that altered the weather. In fact," he gave a quiet laugh "he once nearly drowned when he had miscalculated the strength of his casting and had caused a flood in his dorm. I had saved him, but had I known what I do now, I wouldn't have."

"Horace!"

"No, Minerva. If ever there was a reason to use a Time Turner and kill someone, it was Tom Riddle," Slughorn replied bitterly. "A brilliant boy. Truly brilliant. I thought he'd be my crown jewel, but instead he was my greatest failure."

"We all have students like that, Horace," McGonagall quietly replied. "Ones we couldn't save." Her eyes met Severus's briefly before she looked away.

He couldn't stop the words from falling from his lips. "Your regret does me little good now, Minerva, seeing as how decades have passed since."

"I know," she responded softly.

"Not to interrupt," Harry cut in, his eyes downcast with his hands in his pockets, "but I think we can all get out now."

Severus glanced at the pile and agreed with the young man's assessment. The hole was big enough for all of them now. He tossed aside the broken off chunk of stone and wiped his hands off.

"I'll go first," Flitwick offered, starting to climb. The smaller pieces rolled down the side as he did this. As soon as he reached the top, he disappeared from sight with a gasp and shifting of the pile.

"Filius?!" Sprout shouted, her eyes darting back and forth as she searched for any movement from the opposite side of the pile. The others looked on.

"Here," squeaked Flitwick from the other side. "I just slipped. Stick to the left side."

Severus heard the collective sigh all around him. He then watched Sprout climb the tall pile next, sticking to the left side, and disappear a moment later.

"Okay!" she shouted from the other side.

One by one, they climbed the pile to get to the other side. Harry was second to last with Severus following close behind him. The moment he slid down the other side and saw the corridor, he felt his mood plummet. Certain parts of the ceiling had collapsed along with parts of the walls. But the most startling thing was the gaping hole where part of the castle had been ripped open and allowed full view onto the grounds.

"Are those," Harry's voice trembled "bodies down there?"

Not answering him, Severus gently steered the young man away from the hole and toward the inner parts of the castle. He knew he didn't need to tell the others to check on their students.

"Let's go, Potter," Severus said quietly.

"Wait. Sir, shouldn't I go with them to help?" Harry argued instantly, stopping and looking at him in clear confusion as the others including Luna headed further into the castle.

He should have known the boy's bleeding heart would take over.

"No, Potter—"

"Why?" Harry demanded, his outrage quickly taking over. "I mean, if that storm did this much damage, maybe it killed Voldemort."

Severus couldn't help but flinch at Potter's use of the Dark Lord's name.

"The Headmaster is tasked with protecting you from all harm, Death Eater or otherwise. As such that requires you to remain at his side at all times with no whining until we know the true extent of the situation. Do you understand?" Hogwarts spoke before Severus had the chance.

Harry blinked for a few moments before he nodded slowly.

"Good," Hogwarts replied, glancing at Severus. "After you, Headmaster."

Severus nodded and continued. After a few minutes of walking, he could tell by how quiet the boy was that Harry was trying to work something out. Normally, he wouldn't have cared much that the boy was being quiet for once. But he couldn't ignore it this time.

"Speak your mind, Potter," Severus finally said with a sigh.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth, sir? That you were on our side?"

Hogwarts gave a loud snort behind them instantly.

"Because I do not answer to you, Potter," he said. "Everyone else may, but they don't see what I do." At seeing the confused look, he continued. "Which is a child thrust into an adult world without any preparation or chance at having a proper childhood." He waited for Harry to say something, but the boy remained silent. Good. Silence it was.