The sun was setting as Harry's rescuers Apparated to a point behind a tall hedge surrounding a manor house set upon a hill. The great house had obviously once been grand, but was now quite dilapidated-looking. The flower beds in the front lawn were overgrown with weeds, several of the windows on the first and second floors had been broken, and tiles were missing from the hipped roof. The top portion of the double front doors was blocked by an enormous silky spider web.

There were eight of them-Severus, Minerva, Kingsley, Moody, Tonks, Bill Weasley, Fleur Delacour (whom Bill had tried to dissuade, but had been forced to admit that she was superb at dueling), and Arthur Weasley (who had absolutely insisted on coming: "Harry has saved Ginny's life, and mine, you know!").

Severus only hoped they would be enough. He had no illusions that any one of them, or even several of them together, could successfully take on Voldemort. The only wizard he knew capable of that was Albus Dumbledore, and if the Prophecy was correct, not even he could truly defeat the dark wizard. But Severus hoped that they could at least occupy Voldemort and his Death Eaters long enough for someone to locate and rescue Potter.

It was highly likely that not all eight of them would leave this house alive.

"Is it warded, do you think?" Kingsley asked in a low voice, indicating the manor.

Severus considered. "I don't know," he admitted. "He doesn't often use this place. He doesn't like to associate himself with the Riddle name. I've only been here once before. It wasn't warded then, but he's hiding Potter here now, so who knows?"

"Be better if we could have waited til dark," Mad-Eye Moody muttered, studying the long expanse of lawn between them and the house.

"Too risky," Minerva replied tersely. "Harry could be dead by then."

If he isn't already.

The thought hung unspoken in the air for a second before Kingsley said, "Everyone ready?"

They nodded, Disillusioned themselves, and crept through a break in the hedge towards the house. Moody shot a Silencing Charm towards the front doors before sliding the right one open. They all held their breath as he slipped in first, but there were no immediate repercussions, and the others followed him.

A long front hall ran the length of the house, a curving staircase rose to the upper floors on the right, and on both sides, wide arched doorways led to spacious rooms. Thick dust covered the furniture; there were moth-eaten holes in the rugs; and more spider webs decorated the chandeliers and stair rails.

There were no signs of life, and an eery silence filled the place.

Severus led the group to the back of the house, to another hall on the left-the room he had seen through Potter's eyes and had recognized as the Riddle House in Little Hangleton. It too was now abandoned, but there were signs that someone had been there. In sharp contrast to the rest of the place, this room was so clean it almost sparkled.

The Order members exchanged grim glances, and according to plan, they silently split into groups of two and parted to search the house. Looking back on it later, Severus could only thank their lucky stars that he and Minerva had headed immediately for a narrow door at one end of the room, past the dais. They might just as easily have chosen another direction and then it would have been too late.

But by great chance, they did move towards the door. Severus paid no attention to the throne-chair as they passed, but Minerva shot it a look of pure loathing.

They crept down a steep flight of stairs and into a dark underground cellar. They cast Lumos spells and saw moldy crates and boxes lining the walls, and then in one corner, a small form lying huddled on the ground.

"Severus!" Minerva hissed. They were kneeling at the boy's side in a flash.

"He's bleeding," Minerva whispered, rather unnecessarily as Severus could plainly see the ugly gashes on Potter's arms. "Is he alive?"

Severus nodded and waved his wand, attempting to heal the bloody cuts, but they wouldn't heal. He scowled. Some sort of cursed wounds then. Potter was obviously going to require some intensive care.

"We have to get out of here," he told Minerva.

She nodded. "Can you take Harry? I'll let the others know." Without waiting for an answer, she took off to find the rest of the group. Pausing at the doorway, she asked, "Can we Apparate out of here?"

"We'll find out," Severus replied.

Minerva nodded and was gone. Severus reached to gather Potter into his arms and discovered that he couldn't lift the boy. Potter was literally stuck to the floor.

Severus knew several spells that could cause this-from a simple Sticking Charm to much more complicated ones. He should be able to undo it, eventually at least. But just then he heard sharp cries from above and the unmistakable sounds of dueling.

His heart pounding furiously, Severus ran through incantations as quickly he could, only to have each one fail. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he struggled to breathe through the stifling air. Or perhaps it was fear clogging his throat. He rarely allowed himself to indulge in fear, but there was no time left before...

Bellatrix LeStrange, her pale face twisted with hate and her black hair in a tangled mass, burst down into the cellar, freezing in shock as she spied Severus kneeling over Harry Potter.

"What-" she shrieked.

He gave one last desperate wave of his wand, shouted the spell defiantly, and amazingly, it worked. Potter was free.

Severus snatched the boy into his arms, and spun, praying that there were no Apparition barriers. He caught a glimpse of Bellatrix raising her wand, and of Voldemort charging into the room, his red eyes blazing as he took in the sight of Severus Snape rescuing the Boy Who Was Fated to Match the Dark Lord.

Then the room faded and a few seconds later Severus was standing outside the Apparition wards at Hogwarts, holding Potter in his arms. Miraculously, all the other Order members were appearing too.

"How is he?" Arthur asked anxiously. But Severus only shook his head and rushed towards the castle. There would be time for talking later. Right now his top priority was seeing that Potter survived. Tonks and Bill Weasley were also asking questions, but Severus didn't even hear them. He was mentally running through the potions Potter was going to need and if he had them on hand.

Behind him, Minerva explained that they would know more about the boy's condition once they reached the infirmary and she and Severus could run some diagnostic spells.

They hurried inside the castle, but the others checked their flight as Severus headed not for the infirmary, but down towards the dungeons.

"Severus?" Kingsley questioned.

"Potter has cursed wounds. I need specialized equipment that's already in my quarters and there's not time to lug it all up to the infirmary," Severus threw over his shoulder, not breaking stride.

He called out the password to his rooms as they approached, and thought dimly that he would have to remember to change it now that half the Order knew. He carried Potter into his own bedroom and laid him carefully on the big four-poster bed. His skin crawled at the image, but his bedroom was connected to his private laboratory and it would be easier to work on the boy from here.

He pointed his wand at the clean white sheets and the top one ripped into pieces. "Minerva, help me bandage his arms. We can at least slow the bleeding."

She joined him beside the bed and they quickly wrapped Potter's arms in swathes of cloth. Red stains appeared through the snowy bandages. Severus cast another healing spell, a stronger one, and Minerva repeated it. They held their breath until it was obvious that the bleeding had stopped.

Severus wasn't fooled, though. Cursed wounds didn't heal that easily. The cuts would remain open and liable to start bleeding again for quite a while. It would take some strong, specialized potions and salves to fully heal them.

But they needed to know the rest of the boy's injuries before Severus could begin planning how to help him. He and Minerva waved their wands over Potter, running through diagnostic spells and communicating in brief half-sentences.

"After-effects of Cruciatus," she murmured. "How long, do you think?"

"Hours, mostly likely."

She blanched. "The Longbottoms. Could Harry be--?"

Severus jerked his head sharply. After all they had risked, Potter better not dare go insane on them.

"Severe blood loss," He told her.

"Blood-replenishing potion?"

Again Severus shook his head. "Not yet. Got to figure out what poison is in him. Blood-replenishers could cause a bad reaction."

Minerva stared into his eyes. "Do you think he'll make it, Severus?"

"I'll know more once I determine the poison." Severus turned to see the Order members crowded into the doorway behind him. Even worse, someone must have informed the rest of the Weasleys they were back, for Molly, the younger red-haired urchins, and Hermione Granger were all trying to push their way into the room too. It was all Severus could do not to scream, "GET OUT!" at them.

Minerva glanced at his face, then turned to the group and said firmly, "Severus needs some privacy to work, and Harry is in a weakened condition. He doesn't need to be exposed to lots of company now. I suggest everyone go up to the Great Hall and try to eat a little dinner. I'm going to see if I can contact Poppy. We could use her here, too."

"But we can't eat without knowing if Harry's going to be all right!" Ron Weasley exclaimed. "He is, isn't he?"

There was a desperate silence as Severus felt ten pairs of eyes boring into him.

He sighed. "He is suffering from after-effects of the Cruciatus curse. While the physical symptoms can be easily cured, he may be affected mentally. We will not know until he awakens. He is suffering from a serious loss of blood, but I can't give him any replenishers yet because he's also been poisoned and many blood-replenishers react badly with poisons."

"I'm going to take a sample of his blood, and analyze the poison in it. I'll have a better idea what to do next once I know what's in his system. Now, as time is critical, I need you to leave. At once!"

Most of the group filed out with solemn faces. But Molly, Arthur, the younger Weasleys, and Granger hesitated.

"I know time is important, but please, just a second," Molly said softly.

Severus wasn't sure why he did it, but he curtly motioned them inside even as he Summoned a glass vial, a cauldron, and several sealed packages from his storeroom. He filled the vial with Harry's blood and poured it into the cauldron, lit a fire under it and added the ingredients from the packages.

He tried not to pay attention to the others, but could not help watching from the corner of his eye.

Arthur didn't speak, but rested his hand on Potter's head before moving aside for his wife. Molly brushed his hair back and kissed him on the forehead. Ginny Weasley murmured something in Potter's ear, but Severus couldn't hear what she said. The three of them walked back to the door. Molly's eyes were bright with tears, and Arthur and Ginny Weasley looked drawn with pain.

Then Granger and the Weasley boy stepped close, one on each side of Potter. Granger kissed him on the cheek and said in a choked whisper, "Come back to us, Harry. We love you." Ron Weasley knelt and rested his head next to Potter's for a moment.

Then he and Granger left and Severus was alone with the boy.