Snape outstretched his hand and summoned Harry's invisibility cloak. He handled the soft material carefully before making it disappear from the room. He instantly felt the boy's anger increase, but Snape kept his cool. His dark eyes could see that the past months were torture for Harry also.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you, Snape," Harry hissed. The young Gryffindor waited for the older wizard to reply, but Snape didn't give one. His refusal to answer only infuriated Harry even more. "What? You think I won't?" snarled Harry. "I will, Snape! I'll make you pay for what you did. Oh, I will so make you pay!" Harry then swallowed back the lump in his throat. He couldn't cry, not now, not in front of Snape. "He trusted you, Snape! He trusted you, and how did you repay him? You murdered him! He begged you for his life, Snape, and YOU MURDERED HIM!" The words then echoed around the room before Snape responded.

"Yes," whispered Snape as he stood perfectly still in front of Harry.

"You…you…you don't even deny it?" Harry stuttered feeling his control slipping.

"Why should I, Potter? We both know it's true." Snape then sighed. "I deserve death, and we both know that also. However, it is not up to you to decide that, Potter. You are not my judge or even my jury. You are just a boy who has—"

Snape immediately fell to his feet as he felt the familiar pain race through his nerve endings. He clenched his teeth to keep himself under control so that he didn't hex the boy through the window. The gall of the boy to cast an Unforgivable on him made him even more remorseful for the deaths of Harry's parents. Harry's mother would have so ashamed of her son if she had been alive to see Harry now. However, Snape said nothing and waited for the boy to release him. The waiting didn't take long. He gasped in pain as he slowly got to his feet again.

"You don't know me, Snape, not anymore. I won't hesitate to kill you."

"I…believe you, Potter," Snape groaned as he leaned against the wooden desk. He then drew in shuddering breath before exhaling. "Learned a bit of Occlumency this summer, did we?"

"You'd be surprised what I learned, Snape," Harry snarled.

"Good to know you finally made use of that book I loaned you, Potter," Snape rasped. "However, you…still wear your emotions on your sleeves." He then drew in a shaky breath before groaning again. "Planning to cast the ultimate Unforgivable on me, are we? An eye for an eye?" asked Snape. When Harry didn't respond, he scoffed. "You…have to want it, Potter. You have to want…to kill me. Can you do that? Can you truly go against every one of your Gryffindor principles and cast it?"

"You did, so it can't be that hard," Harry retorted.

Snape scoffed before chuckling with short quick gasps. It had been so long before he had a chance to chuckle. The situation wasn't funny in the slightest. Oh, that he knew, but he was in too much pain to care. The months following June had made him less tolerant of pain.

"Ah, yes, but I'm a man who lost his heart long ago and is now nothing but a battered shell. You are not anything close to me, Potter. You embody nearly every trait of your mother's. While I believe you to be telling the truth that you would like nothing more than to kill me, and I would welcome my death openly, we both know that you cannot go through with it. You have too much of Lily in you."

Seconds later, a jet of light struck Snape in the chest again. It took all self-control not to cast a shield and prevent Harry's obvious hex. Snape slammed hard against the ground. He instantly felt his face connect with the cool stone floor and tasted the familiar metallic liquid. His dark eyes glanced towards the portrait of his mentor that hung on the wall behind Harry. Albus, however, only frowned and looked rather somber as he looked on from his portrait. Snape slowly got to his feet again before wiping the blood off his face.

"Don't ever talk about my mother liked you cared for her, MURDERER!"

"Kill me then. Kill me like I killed him, Potter." It was a calculated risk, which Snape knew but he needed Harry to understand that he was more than ready for his death. Dozens of emotions spread across the young man's face before anger and hatred settled behind the emerald eyes. Snape drew in a breath and waited. Somehow, knowing it would be Harry who killed him made him feel at peace with himself. It was probably because the last thing he'd see was Lily's eyes. There wasn't a better way to go.

"AVADA KED—" a loud shrill shriek then came from Fawkes, which made Harry drop his wand.

Snape glanced at the phoenix and then to Dumbledore's portrait. His dead mentor only closed his somber blue eyes before glancing away. Snape went to open his mouth, but the sounds of struggling and footsteps ascending to the office quickly regained his attention. His dark eyes darted towards Harry. He had to do something about the boy.

Reacting on instinct, Snape threw a quick immobilizing spell at Harry and moved the boy to Dumbledore's throne-like chair behind the massive desk. As soon as the boy was in the chair, Snape summoned the Invisibility cloak. The silvery material reappeared around the boy and hid him effectively. No one would know there was a seventeen-year-old also in the room if he or she looked.

The door to the office didn't open a minute too soon. Snape had just finished readjusting his robes to give off the appearance that he hadn't just been on the floor. He had also casted a temporary glamour on his face. When a lumpy man in black robes yanked a semi-conscious dark-haired witch into the room, Snape's dark eyes narrowed on the two. His eyes then caught the deep black bruises and numerous lacerations to the woman's pale face, but he said nothing or did nothing that showed his extreme disapproval. Inside underneath his barriers, though, he was spitting fire.

"Caught this one shooting off her goddamn mouth, Snape," the man sneered before shaking her.

"I see," Snape responded quietly. His eyes locked on the witch. "Leave her with me, Amycus."

"My pleasure, Snape," Amycus said smirking. "Now you're gonna get it, my little minx." He then roughly pushed the witch away from him, which made her stumble before falling hard against the floor. The plump man chuckled loudly before casting a leering glance at her. "Save a piece of her for me, Severus. I have always liked my women fiery. It makes it more fun when you're breaking them in."

"Unless you wish to sing soprano, Amycus, I would leave if I were you," Snape hissed in his deadliest voice. He had long forgotten about Harry who sat looking on at the confusing scene.

"What the hell is the matter with you, Snape?" asked Amycus. "You weren't like this before."

Snape drew his long ebony wand and pointed it towards the man. His dark eyes were cold and ablaze with fire. His breathing was very controlled to the point that it looked like Snape wasn't breathing. He looked as frightening as ever.

"This is your last warning, Carrow. If I ever learn that you touched her again, I will make damn sure that the Dark Lord learns of your little girlfriend."

"Hey, now you wait here a minute, Snape—"

"No! She is not to be harmed."

"Why?" Amycus then groaned. "Oh, man, you got a thing for her, don't you? Jeez, Snape, she's one of those stupid Order members. She's likely to stab you in the back than love you." Within seconds, Snape's hand latched around Amycus's shoulders before slamming the man back against the glass cabinet. The glass instantly crackled and splintered out in various directions.

"SHE IS MINE, AMYCUS!" roared Snape. "I will not hesitate for a second to inform the Dark Lord about your unhealthy fascination with that Muggle girl of yours. I wonder how he'd take that."

"Fine, fine, jeez, she's yours already," Amycus replied before glaring at the witch. "Just know that the Dark Lord has plans for her."

"I am already aware of his plan since I am a part of it. Now, get out of here," Snape growled before roughly throwing Amycus towards the door.

Snape watched Amycus scramble to his feet before fleeing the office. Snape waited a few moments until he was sure that they were safe. He quickly enacted the wards around the office again before turning his attention to the badly beaten witch. He held a hand out to her and sighed when she refused to take it.

"Fine, Sinistra, be stubborn," Snape grumbled. He then walked towards his roaring fireplace before throwing in a handful of green Floo powder. "Infirmary," he called out. The matron of the Hospital Wing quickly came into view. She, however, was glaring daggers at him.

"What is it, Headmaster?" she said bitingly.

"I will be sending through Sinistra shortly, Madam. Please treat her before sending her back to the Welcoming Feast," Snape responded calmly.

"Fine, will that be all, Headmaster?" snapped Madam Pomfrey.

"Yes." The green flames quickly morphed into the familiar roaring orange counterpart again.