Harry waited until McGonagall had left, and then he rushed to the fireplace. He grabbed a fistfull of floo powder, and prepared to throw it into the flames. He paused. Harry put the powder back, and quickly grabbed a quill and scribbled on the back of the note that Snape had left for him.

I'm sorry, Professor. I need to see Professor Snape. He never said goodbye, and if I can kill Voldemort, it will release him from the vow. I know you said not to do anything foolish, but I have to do what I can, or die trying. Thank you for trying to protect me.

He put the note on the back of the couch and then picked up the powder again. He threw it in the flames.

"Malfoy manor!" he called, and stepped through.

Minerva waited for a moment outside Severus' chambers and got a really bad feeling. She knew Harry Potter, and he had agreed to that plan way too easily. She turned back and re-entered, just in time to see Harry throw the powder into the fire and shout "Malfoy manor!"

"Stop!" she called out, but was too late. Harry Potter was gone. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and then glared at the flames. Obviously, she was going to follow that hair-brained Gryffindor.

Harry stepped through, and walked in on Snape bowing and scraping to Voldemort, and Harry burned with fury that such a thing should be happening. Snape was a proud man - justifiably so - and Harry could hardly imagine what it was doing to him to have to become a slave to such a man.

"Well, hello, Harry," Voldemort said, as soon as he stepped through. Snape's head snapped up and he cast a withering look at the boy, but didn't say anything. Harry drew his wand and cast a stunning spell. Voldemort easily blocked it. "Are you challenging me to a duel?"

"No, I'm going to kill you right now!" Harry screamed frantically. "You took my dad from me!"

"Calm yourself, Harry," Voldemort instructed, but it fell on deaf ears, as Harry continued to cast curses. The fire flared behind him.

"Tom Riddle, you overgrown child, grow up immediately!" Harry whirled and saw McGonagall step through, wand at the ready.

"Hello, Minerva," Voldemort said, nodding his head politely. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Harry," she whispered urgently, stepping close behind him. "You're a fool. A brave-hearted one, but a fool, nonetheless." Harry cast another stunner towards Voldemort, but missed.

"Severus," Voldemort said ildy.

"Yes, my lord?" he replied, still on his hands on knees.

"Rise." He did so. "Kill Harry." Severus blanched and glanced at Harry, then back at Voldemort. He drew his wand, breathing heavily.

"My lord, please - "

"Severus, much as it pains me, Harry must die. Why should I do it when I have a servant bound by a vow?" The tension was enough that a person could feel it. McGonagall stepped in front of Harry and raised her wand against Severus, prepared to follow through on her promise, but she hesitated.

"No," Severus said, throwing his wand at Voldemort's feet. "No, I refuse. I would rather die." And he did.

Severus' eyes rolled back in his head and he fell, limp, to the floor.

"No!" Harry screamed and rushed forward, past McGonagall, falling next to Severus' body. Voldemort drew his wand. McGonagall raised hers.

Two green lights flashed at the same time.

Voldemort fell backwards over the chair behind him. Harry slumped over Snape's body.

Minerva's scream of despair was the only sound that filled the room.

Harry woke in to a bright, white light. He squinted and looked around. It was King's Cross Station, but it all too bright. It wasn't like he remembered it. He was alone and he didn't know how he got there. He felt panic rising in his stomach.

He figured he was dead. He remembered Voldemort casting a killing curse at him, and he had just waited for it. He hadn't dodged or blocked or anything. He just sat there like a fool.

Speaking of sitting, there was a good bench over there. Harry sat down and thought about how pathetic he had been.

"I told you not to believe any lies you'd been told," a familiar voice drawled. Harry gasped and scrambled to his feet.

"You - you're alright!"

"Come, let's both sit," Snape said kindly, and they sat on the bench. Snape put his arm around Harry, who leaned into the touch. "Harry, you're dead. We're both dead."

"Really?" Harry asked. "It didn't hurt at all."

"I know, I was surprised by that too," Snape said. "But we're both dead. Thing is, you have a choice to make."

"What's that?"

"Your mother's sacrifice continues to protect you, and you can choose whether to go back to your body and live, or pass on to eternity," Snape explained. "The choice is yours. Not many get a choice like that."

"Is - is Voldemort - ?"

"Dead," Snape confirmed. "You would go back to a world free of him, if you choose that."

"And if I move on? What happens then?"

"Eternity," Severus answered.

"You mean, like, heaven and hell?"

"Yes, exactly that." Harry was quiet for a moment.

"And if I choose eternity, where will I go?" he whispered quietly.

"I can't tell you that," Snape whispered back. "But if it means anything to you, I haven't gone to hell. If I could make it in the end, I don't see why you wouldn't."

"You think I'd be able to go to heaven?"

"With all my heart," Snape assured him.

"I'm scared," Harry murmured, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"It's a scary choice," Snape replied. "It's alright to be scared."

"What should I choose?" Harry asked.

"That's up to you," Snape deflected. "I can't help you with this choice." They were silent for some time.

"What are you thinking?" Snape finally asked.

"I don't want to go back," Harry whispered. "But I feel I should."

"Why?"

"Because of McGonagall. What if she hates me for it?"

"She won't," Snape assured him. "She doesn't even know you have the choice. But if she did, she would want you to make the choice that makes you happy."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked.

"Because when I was her student, before she had any concept that I was her son, before I had any concept she was my mother, she always encouraged me to make the choices that made me happy. She encouraged your mother and me to be friends, and she encouraged my interest in potions." Harry nodded thoughtfully.

"If you're sure she wouldn't mind..." Harry's voice drifted off wistfully. "What about Hermione?"

"I'm sure Miss Granger will understand if you choose to move on as well," Snape said. "She's young. She'll mourne you, and she'll cry. She'll move on. She'll remember you fondly, and she'll grow to be happy. Unless...unless you like her..."

"No," Harry said, though it wasn't the usual sharp tone when a boy denies liking a girl. It was more thoughtful. "Perhaps I could someday, but not now."

"Harry, the choice is yours. Do what you think is best. No one will fault you for your choice." They fell into silence again, and Snape didn't push Harry. It felt like eternity.

"I've made my choice," Harry said abruptly.

"And?" Snape asked.

"Eternity," Harry said simply. King's Cross Station melted away, and Harry and Severus found themselves in an endless green field. Snape smiled at Harry, and Harry smiled back. They both had succeeded in the end.

And Harry James Potter, a perfectly ordinary boy, woke up in his cupboard under the stairs of Number Four Privet Drive.