Severus had to admit, Potter was acting quite adult like about the situation. He knew that Potter had instantly believed him to be a traitor when he'd Apparated and he'd expected to have to argue with the boy to get him to work with him.
Apparently Potter had worked through the situation rather quickly. What surprised him the most however, was Potter's obedience. He drank all of the potions that he was given quickly, as instructed, didn't ask useless questions, nor demand an explanation from him. It was with gratitude for all of these things that he turned to Potter before they left the dungeons and spoke one last time, trying to give the boy hope. It was the best he could do in the way of assurance because he refused to lie about the situation. But he hoped that it would be enough for Potter.
At any rate, it was already too late to go back now. The destroyed potions would give him away and the library was about to burn. But Severus knew that even if he could go back, he wouldn't. Potter needed to get out or he would die tonight and he just could not allow that. So he opened the dungeon door and slipped out into the hall, with one hand on his wand and the other pulling Potter along behind him.
Harry had about a million burning questions in his head when Snape showed up, but it didn't take long to realize that Snape was planning an escape for him. So he took his cue from Snape. When the Professor had turned to him before they left the dungeons and spoke in that low tone, Harry had known what Snape was doing for him. He was assuring him without lying. And Harry allowed it to work. He thought for a moment about how it was funny that mere hours before, he had been ready to curse Snape himself and now he was following the man, trusting him to get them both out alive.
But then maybe it wasn't so odd. He did have a history of being wrong about Snape after all. He was briefly surprised when Snape gently grasped his wrist and pulled him along silently behind him. If it had been any other situation, he may have balked at being led around like a child, but this situation was entirely different. This was Snape's element and Harry found reassurance in Snape's grasp, knowing that it was a way for Snape to be aware of his presence even when he wasn't looking. And it would allow Snape to place him if he needed to be in one spot or another. So without further thought about Snape and his reasons, Harry followed quietly and without question as Snape led him through hall after hall.
At each intersection, Snape would pull Harry behind him and creep forward to check that they were still alone. They had moved through many halls when they heard an explosion from somewhere far off in the house. Harry jumped and longed to ask what that was, but Snape seemed to take that as some sort of cue and moved Harry along faster. They carefully turned a corner and Harry saw a door up ahead that appeared to be the way out. They had one more hallway to cross and then they would be at the door. But Harry could hear yelling now. It seemed that whatever that explosion was had caught the Death Eaters off guard much more than it had Snape. Harry thought that that was reassuring.
Severus picked up the pace. He had hoped to be at the door when the explosion happened, but he was close at any rate. No plan always went perfectly. He congratulated himself though. The sound of the books rapidly combusting had been more alarming than he had dared to hope. It was almost a sure thing that the Dark Lord would be in that vicinity, trying to save his books.
And wonder of wonders! Potter was still following silently. Severus was relieved when the boy had only jumped a little at the sound of the explosion but hadn't asked questions. Perhaps Potter wasn't as foolish as he had thought. The door was straight ahead now and he was grateful that they had made it that far. So far, things were going good enough. Just one more hall to cross and the door would be feet away. Stopping at the corner and pulling Potter behind him, he peered around it.
Only years of practical experience stopped him from swearing at what he saw. Four Death Eaters were heading their way, no doubt under instructions to search out the cause of the explosion. Still, four was all right odds for him. There was no place to hide and staying in the building for any longer would only decrease their chances of escape, so slipping into the calm indifference that engulfed him in any battle, Severus motioned for Harry to stay back. Then he stepped out quickly, wand raised, and blasted a portion of the ceiling down in front of the approaching Death Eaters.
There were screams, but unfortunately, it hadn't crushed any of them. Now, three were behind the debris and one was before it. They hadn't had time to react before and Snape didn't give them time now. Before the other Death Eater could even raise his wand, Snape flicked his wand and the man flew back, snapping his neck when he hit the rubble of the ceiling. Then quickly casting a fog spell over the area, he grabbed Potter and hauled him across the hall, making sure to keep his body between Potter and the Death Eaters. They had still not gotten over the rubble pile, but they were casting spells from behind it. Snape ran fast, not bothering to dodge and for once, chance was on his side, as they made it to the other side without incident. The door was mere feet from them, but Snape didn't have time to bother with doorknobs. He blasted the door off its hinges and Harry and Snape tore through the opening.
Harry had seen Snape push out from the wall and meet the Death Eaters and he had been worried. But Snape had reacted extremely fast. When he saw what Snape's curse had done to the man, his blood had run cold, but he pushed that thought away. This was battle and the Death Eaters wouldn't spare them. He was glad that Snape was there though. He knew that he wouldn't have been able to deal out such harsh curses, even in battle. For some reason, it didn't seem unforgivable to Harry. Snape was acting to get them out alive and the fewer enemies left to chase them, the better their odds.
But he'd think about that later. Snape grabbed him and hauled him through the now blasted door. He could hear the Death Eaters back in the hall, yelling to get past the debris and screaming for the death of the traitor. If Harry had thought that Snape would allow them a second to catch their breaths, he soon found out that he was wrong. They blasted through the door and without stopping at all, Snape pulled Harry along, running full out now. The forest was looming up quickly before them. Harry's rib was beginning to ache again and his partially healed ankle was starting to scream in protest, but he knew there could be no stopping now.
They crashed into the forest running full out. Spells were flying over their head now from far back. Their motion and distance made it unlikely that the spells would hit them at any rate. Snape pulled Harry along, darting through the under growth of the forest more nimbly than Harry had expected out of the thin professor. Harry was keeping up because he had no choice. Snape was pulling him along with a death grip on his arm. Harry's breath was coming ragged now, but he was grateful for the grip that moved him. He had no doubt that if it wasn't for that, the temptation to rest would be too much for him.
They were running fast, but the Death Eaters were making good progress themselves. The spells were wild around them. The dense forest made it impossible to take aim. Unfortunately, Harry was paying too much attention to the spells hitting trees around them to see the log that Snape had just jumped and he stumbled over it. Only Snape's tight grip had stopped him from completely falling, but now the Death Eaters were catching up with them. Harry inhaled sharply. The slight fall had jarred his ankle and now he could only limp behind.
Severus nearly cursed when Potter stumbled, but he kept that all inside. What could he expect? That ankle had been broken and only a potion had been keeping it loosely together and dulling the pain. Unfortunately, with Potter limping, there was no way to outrun the Death Eaters now. He couldn't carry Potter, use his wand and outrun the Death Eaters following. He made his decision quickly. Pulling Potter forward, he yelled, "Keep running," and turned to face the Death Eaters.
Harry knew why Snape had decided to fight. For only a moment, Harry had the crazy urge to stand by his professor, but he let go of that thought. He had decided before to follow Snape's instructions and he himself saw the wisdom in Snape's decision. Harry had no wand and Snape could hold them off. He may even be able to stop them entirely and catch up. So Harry kept running. He was decidedly slower with the limp and the loss of the hand that had been forcing him to move faster past the pain, but he kept going anyway, trusting Snape to do all he could and hoping that it was enough.
Severus watched Potter continue and thanked every deity he had ever read about for small wonders like the boy's obedience. But there was little time to guess at Potter's chances of escape. Turning quickly, he stepped behind a tree and, taking careful aim, began firing off hexes. But the enemy soon found their own cover and began firing back. He had been lucky that his first spell had caught its target and the man was now lying on the forest floor, quite unable to move, most likely for a long time.
This was a battle of Death Eaters after all. The spells were all meant to hurt and while Snape tried to avoid using most of them in service to the Dark Lord, he was by no means unskilled in the darker arts. Indeed, he was quite talented. He had had much practice, between keeping up appearances and taking out the Dark Lord's servants with no one the wiser when given the opportunity. He did, after all, believe in being proactive. And if he caught a lone Death Eater on a dark night with no witnesses, and took matters of war into his own hands, well, no one was the wiser.
The Death Eaters were moving forward. They had the benefit of cover fire. Dodging through the branches, Snape began his careful battle dance. He spun from tree to tree; firing out hexes one after the other. He saw another Death Eater slipping past him toward the path Potter had taken but before he could react, a slashing spell caught his shoulder and spun him around. He would have to deal with the other two Death Eaters first, and then he'd follow the other. The spell had ripped his shoulder open but it had also propelled him behind a tree, where he took cover. Thank Merlin for small wonders, he thought.
I am death. I am the instrument of my enemy's demise. He knew that his inner dialogue was rather corny but it had always helped in battle after he had been injured. It was with these thoughts that he rejoined the battle. Ignoring the pain and the blood, he side stepped and fired off a spell that hit his target, the nearest Death Eater, and made him crash to the ground, definitely out for the count. Snape didn't bother to aim again as he stepped behind another tree to avoid the other Death Eater's hexes. Darting out again, he fired off a volley of spells, hoping to keep the last Death Eater confused.
As he and the man fought with brutal spells that tore through the forest, Snape let a little of his attention wander to the yelling he heard off to his right. Stepping behind cover, he looked for the noise. What he saw made his blood run cold. The fourth Death Eater had Potter bound and over his shoulders, running back toward the mansion. Now he desperately needed to get out of this battle and stop the man from his progress back to the house. If he were allowed to return with Potter in tow, this would all have been a waste and Potter would be dead by nightfall.
And me too, he thought wryly. He would have to go back and at least attempt something. Leaving Potter to that fate at this point was out of the question. He had already committed to this objective and he would not give it up without a fight. And even if he did return alive but without Potter, there was a good chance, in his mind at least, that the Order would turn on him.
Stepping behind a tree, he steeled himself. The thing about duels was that the faster person didn't always win. They were sloppy and often missed their target. So stepping out, he pointed his wand and took the time to aim at his opponent. His aim was true and the other dropped to the ground, bloody and unconscious, just the way he liked his enemies. Unfortunately, the other's spell had hit his mark too. The man had used another slashing spell. It hit Severus' chest and he groaned with the impact.
Luckily, the other man was young and inexperienced. Snape had learned a long time ago that there was a time for show and a time for battle and the two rarely coincided. Slashing could hurt an opponent but it didn't take them out of the equation. He almost always chose spells that would keep his opponents from participating further. His robes were slashed horribly and blood was running down his chest, but he was still in the battle.
There was no time to deal with his injuries though. The sound of Potter's struggles were becoming fainter. There was no time for stealth. He took off in a mad sprint.
Harry had kept going when Snape ordered him to, but the going had been a lot rougher without Snape pulling him along. He worried that he didn't know which way to go, but he didn't make it very far before he was hit by a spell from behind and he was bound in glowing ropes. Struggling to turn over, he saw a Death Eater leering over him.
"You and the traitor will suffer for this boy," he said in a rough voice.
The masked man reached down, and with some difficulty, got Harry over his shoulder. The pain in Harry's ribs was making him struggle for breathe and being bound and over the man's shoulders was not helping. He tried struggling as much as he could but wisely kept enough energy to not pass out. The man tried to run back through the forest but only managed a halting stride as branches whipped Harry's face.
He could hear Snape's battle going on off to his right but he had trouble seeing it. He didn't want to distract Snape but thought it was better that he at least know that Harry had been captured, so he started yelling as loud as he could. The man carrying him made it past the battle and Harry realized that going any further would make Snape's job even harder if they continued, if Snape was still willing to rescue him that was.
With that thought in mind, he stepped up his effort to struggle and was rewarded with a nice fall to the ground. The wind was knocked out of him for a moment but he kept struggling, hoping to keep the Death Eater from making too much progress.
Severus could hear Potter struggling just out of sight. Running forward, he turned around a giant tree toward the noise and saw who he was sure must be Ian McGant, one of Voldemort's new recruits, dragging Potter across the forest floor. Apparently the boy had managed to throw himself off of his shoulder while bound and he had been unable to get him back up.
Snape didn't waste any time. His wand was raised before he ever came into view. He blasted the man into the nearest tree so hard that something snapped and the man fell to the ground in a position that no person alive should ever try to imitate.
Snape ran forward, knelt and undid the spell keeping Potter bound.
"Potter, can you stand?"
"I think so Professor," Harry replied, still quite short of breath. He was relieved beyond words that Snape had won his own battle and not left him.
Severus helped Potter up quickly, but it was obvious that the boy couldn't run. There was nothing for it then. He grabbed Potter as gently as he could, put him over his shoulder and took off running again. There wasn't much further to go and anyone following was too far behind to catch them now.
Severus was now bleeding quite badly and he was glad for Potter's weight on his injured shoulder stopping the flow of blood, even if the pressure hurt quite a lot. His chest was aching badly and he knew that he had to get them out of there quickly before he passed out from blood loss. In hindsight, he should have taken the time to heal himself since he was the mode of escape, but time was short and Potter was having trouble breathing. He could hear the boy's heartbeat in his ear, and it was irregular. His breaths were more like gasps of pain.
Severus didn't know if Potter had obtained any more injuries since they had begun their journey but he didn't want to chance that something was really wrong with the boy, so, without a pause, Severus began quietly chanting under his breath. It was difficult to carry Potter, make his way through a dense forest and chant a complicated spell all at once, but necessity and adrenaline seemed to give him the strength and concentration. As he chanted softly, he could hear Potter's breathing become slightly more even.
Harry winced in pain as Snape hauled him over his shoulder but he knew there was no other choice. Snape had tried to be gentle but one could only be so gentle when running through a forest for one's life. He knew that he couldn't stay conscious for much longer though.
The pain and shortness of breath was becoming too much for him. His head started to feel foggy and he was sinking into oblivion gratefully when his ears picked up a very light chanting. He might not have heard it at all if it weren't for the feeling of magic coiling around his chest. He was worried at first, but realized quickly that it was Snape's voice chanting quietly. His heartbeat began to pound in time with the tempo of the chanting and the sharp pain in his ribs became just a little duller.
As Snape kept running and chanting, the fog in Harry's mind began to clear just a little and the strangest feelings ran through his mind; feelings that were not his own. He couldn't understand the words of the chant but he thought that they were somehow translating in his brain, not in words but in ideas. He felt calm first. Then stronger feelings followed; promises of safety and of constancy. He had never felt so safe before. The whole situation seemed to disappear in his mind and was replaced with certain knowledge that he would never be left alone again; that there would always be someone there to watch over him. It felt so good after all the pain and fear that he didn't even think about the fact that the chanted thoughts were coming from Snape and allowed himself to just bask in them.
Severus was struggling now. Potter's weight bore down on him as though it were the weight of the world. His own head was starting to feel lighter, as though it were floating in a cloud, and he knew that he lost a lot of blood. All he wanted to do was lay down and sleep.
But he could hear distant yells. The rest of them were coming now. No doubt they had called in reinforcements. Perhaps the Dark Lord himself was on his way. That thought alone spurred him on. He was in no condition to stand against anyone and neither was Potter.
Just when he thought he'd never make it, he saw the clearing ahead from which he'd be able to Disapparate. He could only chant haltingly as he struggled to breath, but he kept it up because the tempo of the words helped to set the tempo of his flight.
Finally, painfully, he stumbled into the clearing. He ceased his spell so he could Apparate and felt the boy squirm in disappointment from the end of his healing chant. Gathering up what he was sure was very nearly the last of his strength, he turned and Disapparated. His last sight as he was being compressed in Apparation was of the Dark Lord's face as he broke through the tree line.