Undiscovered by Alexis18

He put his hands up in what he hoped was a calming manner. Thompson could perhaps be talked down, at least until he could get the upper hand.

He couldn't help but be a little disgusted at the mans face. The right eye drooped, gravitating towards the mouth. Layers of skin were peeling off and the skin underneath was red and irritated. His hair, already wispy, was now brittle, burnt and greatly reduced; vaguely reminding Severus of Wormtail.

Thompson tilted the blade upwards forcing Severus to move with it, lest the knife slice him. Purely a power play.

"I spose' you hoped I died in that fire?"

It wasn't worth replying. Either he'd deny it, and they both knew he was lying, or he'd admit to it.

Severus's eyes darted to Potter as the boy went for his wand in the folds of his cloak.

Thompson, unfortunately, spotted it too. "STOP… one more move and I'll slit his throat. Right here right now "

As if too illustrate the point the bladed was pressed painfully into his neck where it broke the skin. Potter lowered his wand and then copied Severus in raising his hands.

"Better." Thompson relaxed ever so slightly, "You two… what a mess you made…"

He briefly wondered if he could summon his own wand wordlessly fast enough to free himself.

"Living down 'ere, it gets rather depressing. No light, no warmth, no… creature comforts of home." His gaze moved to Harry's and smirked.

He pushed Severus forward who couldn't help but stumble. "You see, I've been here before, to this door that is." He spoke with venom, a mockery of the grandfatherly tones he used before. "But never past, turns out all we needed was you" He paused for his own theatrics,

"the boy 'oo could speak to snakes"

Of all the monikers that Potter had been given…

"Well, and one other thing."

He moved his free hand to knock on the wooden door. Everyone's attention was fixed on the little snake who began uncoiling itself and yawning. As it moved away it revealed words that it had been previously lying on top of, burnt into the wood.

ASK ME FOR ENTRANCE, PAYMENT: A LIFE

Ahhh, he should've predicted this.

"Now then, I'm obviously not dying. The boy's gotta speak and I might keep him around for later….. So that leaves you, professor."

He turned to Harry and gestured to the door with his free hand. "Ask the snake to let us in." Harry didn't move and Thompson's expression morphed into something even more hideous.

"Now!"

Severus dectected a minute flinch but it was almost imperceptible. The boy made eye contact and refused to look away.

"Why? If your going to kill him anyway, why would I help you?"

Bluff. But, courage was courage, fake or not; perhaps the boy deserved a little credit. The stupid thing was, he knew Harry would not be content to let him die. Even though that was certainly the easiest exit. Let him die, apprehend Thompson, who would then have no leverage, then stroll right through and take the stone.

" 'Cause then you get to pick. You're no longer needed after you talk to that snake."

Bloody self-sacrificing Gryffindor if he….

Harry's mouth opened and the whispery echo's of parstletoungue filled him with dread. Indeed, the snake nodded and watched patiently; a small god content to watch the show.

"Harry you idiot!"

The only leverage they'd had just vanished.

The boy completely ignored him and boldly faced Thompson. "I pick me, kill me."

Thompson eyed the scene with amusement, "Dunno how you ever got 'im too be so loyal." Me neither, "Gonna be a shame to kill such a fine specimen but… a deals a deal and I am a man of my word."

He pushed Severus forwards hard into the ground and lunged at Harry – moving the blade towards the heart of the teen. Severus frantically reached for his wand. Every second he delayed was a possibility that… no.

The second his fingertips made contact with wood he fired with accuracy and without hesitation.

"Avada Kedavra"

A bubble of silence surrounded them where everyone was frozen in time.

The blade poised over Harry Potter's heart was a few centimeters deep before the momentum propelling it forward ran out and the force behind it disappeared.

The spell had taken on the role of death for a brief moment and whisked away the man who stood before it. Leaving behind a teenager and a man staring at a corpse.

The snake who watched hissed approvingly and the door swung open, forcing Harry and Severus out of their silence.

***

Harry had seen death before, but never had he been on the side of those inflicting it. A spell that had taken his mother, father and school mate used by an ally to protect him. A confused jumble of emotions he was too tired to deal with warred inside him. Now was not the time or place to deal with whatever moral conundrum had just been brought down.

Almost as soon as he decided to feel nothing, there was the flare of pain in his chest and the dagger clattered to the floor. Snape grabbed his shoulder and said something, it took a second for his brain to catch up.

"What? Oh yeah I'm fine."

Snape pointed his wand at the bleeding wound and muttered something he didn't hear again.

"Good, because we need to grab that stone and leave."

He moved into action, noticing only now that the door had been opened. They both stepped into the enormous cave held up by pillars of stone and lit from behind them with the brief patches os sky. In the middle was a pool of aqua blue water that glistened and sparkled. A walkway of obsidian stone stretched across the water leading to a risen platform slightly taller than a person. Floating above it, was a stone that reflected different shades of blue as it slowing rotated.

Harry gaped at the beauty of the scene, the spectacle it presented was nothing less than astonishing. He didn't tear his gaze away as he spoke,

"Do you think it's a trap?"

It all seemed too inviting, just waiting to devour someone stupid.

"No, actually I do not." He was too tired and weary to even be a little surprised that he was the one being cynical.

"The man who made this place, and the stone, lived in solitude and obsession. When he managed to create something that could break through anywards he was fearful of its power, and rightly so. He devised these tunnels as a way of weeding out those with ill intention figuring they would have neither the devotion nor intelligence he possessed."

Snape was silent and Harry struggled to figure out what that had to do with his original question. Neither of them had moved forward yet, or stopped staring at the smooth platform and the levitating stone.

"And we passed?"

"Exactly, we passed. He was not so much a man of trickery or humour."

"Sounds like you two should be friends." He had long learnt that his hold on his thoughts tended to slip when overtired.

"I shall take that as a compliment. Back to the point, I highly doubt he would have put all of this in place only to trap and kill those who had actually passed his test."

Harry still wasn't so sure but kept silent. Snape began to walk towards the stone and Harry trailed behind.

The Vincere Stone, like so many things in the magical world was not actually ostentatious; rather only a slightly glinting of the extraordinary magic it possessed. Harry thought that made it look more powerful than if it been bright purple and glowing.

As he placed one foot in front of the other on the metallic black path, he wondered why Snape had ever been stuck with this task in the first place. Why hadn't it been another member of Dumbledore's apparent club? like Remus or Mr Weasley? Not that Snape was nearly as bad as he had first thought. The man was clever, confident, quick as a whip and all round not bad company – when not at school. Though he'd rather cut off his tongue before admitting it out loud.

What would happen next? would Snape now go back to despising his every fibre? and would he have to return to the Dursley's? He really hoped that wouldn't be the case, he wasn't sure how long he could force himself to stay there. He would give into the temptation of running away sooner or later and then he'd be dead.

Perhaps this was an inappropriate time to dwell in his thoughts. They certainly weren't out of the woods yet.

Harry watched with bated breath as Snape fingertips reached for a smooth stone larger than a pebble and smaller than a fist. As Snape's fingers curled around it, light flared up around them. The water that encircled them had flames dance across their surface, an unusual and intense sight. It was as if the liquid were made of flammable oil rather than water yet it couldn't possibly be so.

Despite being magnificent, it was not dangerous. It seemed rather celebratory and Harry felt a grin take it's place on his face. In fact despite his many, many, pains, aches, sores, and fatigue he let out a small cheer.

"Woooo. We did it!"

Always the one to burst a bubble of fun, Snape stopped him. "Not quite Potter, we have to get out of here first."

The flames melted away and the cavern returned to its semi-lit state.

Well that seemed easy enough to Harry, "We have the stone, why don't you just break the wards on this place and apparate us out?"

Snape didn't even seemed to be using his snide tone as he corrected him. He must of felt a little joy at claiming the stone. "Think for once in your life. When I brought us here, I had eaten a decent meal, slept for more than three hours and was not sore and exhausted. All of this is a way of saying I was strong enough to apparate two people across a very large distance, a feat I am not currently capable of. "

"Can you apparate one?"

The man huffed a little put off by the suggestion. "Yes but not very far, and besides, I'm not exactly about to leave you here and have Albus nagging at me for everyday in the foreseeable future."

"So you won't leave because Dumbledore wouldn't want you too?"

Snape considered for a moment. "I suppose."

Something about the Professor's answer disappointed him but he really didn't want to unpack that.

"Okay, so whats the plan?"

Snape produced a small leather pouch from the endless pockets in his robes, and placed the Vincere stone inside.

"We go find somewhere to rest and —"

"ACCIO POUCH"

A man Harry remembered vaguely as Mike stood at the wooden door pointing a wand at Snape, and he watched, horrified as the bag hurtled through the air and made it's way into the short man's hand. Behind him were several more of Thompson's pack.

Snape had his own wand out in a flash,

"Stupefy"

Mike dodged the red light only just and made and flashed a triumphant grin before sprinting away.

Harry aimed his wand at the stone wall, "Confringo". It crumbled and would have blocked the path of the fleeing group had it been seconds earlier.

"Expulso" "Petrificus Totalus" "Locomotor Mortis" Snape continued firing non-verbal spells but they were too late and they knew it.

They began sprinting, but the rocks now blocking their path slowed them down and they lost significant time. Snape stopped running and Harry came to a halt. Both stared into the dark abyss the thieves had disappeared into.

Oddly a dark silhouette moved towards them and as Harry squinted, he could make out the shape of a human. Perplexed he watched as the figure became bigger and bigger, at about ten meters away he could make out the shape of a face and astonishingly he recognised it as the mousy woman who'd bandaged him before. It was also becoming clear that she was running at top speed and hotly pursued.

"Catch!" she threw the leather bag at Harry, who thanked his seeker reflexes for diving to catch it in time. When he next looked up the people behind the women had arrived and he moved violently to the right as one of them tackled him for the stone.

Quickly he scanned the area for Snape who, right at Harry's shoulder, pulling him up. He thrust the pouch into the man's hands and took hold of his forearm "Get us out of here now!"

Snape quickly removed the stone from the pouch but not before somebody grabbed onto Harry's injured shoulder and wrenched it backwards. Something terrible clicked and he yelled in excruciating pain. Realising how little time he had, he managed to shake off the hand through clenched teeth and force of will.

The pulling vacuum of appration sucked him away, and sent him into a violent tail spin. It was akin to going down a water slide ten times faster, blindfolded and without gravity.

When he landed he gasped air as if he truly had been underwater. It had been the worst apparation he'd ever been subjected too and certainly hadn't helped his shoulder; which was now throbbing so hard it made him feel faint.

He collapsed onto whatever was beneath him, glad when it turned out to be soft and cold. He shut his eyes; though there was little light anyways, in an effort to regain some sort of control.

After a few moments, a repetitive sound from somewhere near began to calm him and his breathing fell in line with it. He quickly realised what the sound actually was. The ocean.

He moved his finger tip's slowly to confirm his suspicions that, yes, he was in-fact on a beach and lying on sand.

That was all he needed for the moment. The rest could wait.

He let himself drift with the noise of the waves crashing onto the sand bank and the cold breeze that ruffled his cloak and hair.

When at last his shoulder and the cut in his leg and even the wounds on his chest became a manageable pain, he opened an eye.

It was night, that was immediately obvious. The moon was visible hanging just above the water and was nearly full. It illuminated almost the whole beach and in it's white washed glow, Harry was even able to see the grains of sand his hand were buried in.

His next priority was to find Snape. He could not seem him from where he was lying so he made the monumental effort of sitting up. It was not until he turned around that he spotted the black lump that one might mistaken for a large rock. It's steady rise and fall however, told a different story.

He grew anxious as Snape did not instantly stand up and scold him for wasting his time in the sand.

Two more minuted passed and distress outweighed his need to lie still. He began to crawl slowly, as if he were a toddler, to where the professor lay.

It took longer than he liked to admit but eventually he made it. Snape's face was paler than usual although that might've been from staying so long in sunless caves. His breathing was deep and steady which was the only thing stopping Harry from panicking.

"Um, Sir?"

When there was, predictably, no response he wasn't quite sure how to proceed. He decided he was willing to risk Snape's wrath and reached out – with his good arm – to gently shake the man.

"Sir….. Professor… are you okay?" Please let that be a yes.

There was nothing, absolutely no response. He felt on the verge of tears, the exhaustion and magnitude of it all were taking their toll. This should have been the end, they were supposed to be done! mission complete. Not stranded on a beach who-knows-where.

He couldn't do this, not alone, he needed Snape to wake up.

"Sir, please!"

A word, a movement, something!

When nothing happened the weight of the isolation began to crush Harry and he couldn't stop the sobs that wracked his body. They hurt, painfully so, but his crying went unheard and uncared for. Lost on the whispers of wind and the tides gentle rhythm.

Fatigue took over and he succumbed to the numb world of sleep.

When he next awoke it was still dark, whether a day had passed or it was still the same night he was unsure. He was grateful that at least the tide has not risen and washed them away.

He was so parched, he briefly wondered how he was ever going to be able to find water. Then he remembered he was a wizard.

"Augementi" He directed the stream into his mouth and swallowed greedily. If only the problem of food was solved that easily.

He reached over to the Snape's unmoving body and gently shook his shoulder,

"Sir?" It was worth a shot.

Harry jumped in shock as Snape did actually begin to stir. All at once Snape went rigid, then in one fluid moment, withdrew his wand and had it pointed at Harry's heart.

When he recognised the person he was aiming at, he went limp and fell back into the sand.

"Potter."

Harry instantly cheered up, despite being held at wand point seconds ago.

"Professor! Thank merlin you're awake. Are you okay?"

The question seemed a little redundant as Snape began to lift himself up onto his feet. He wobbled slightly but that was the only indication that anything was wrong.

"Fine."

Now that Snape was awake, they could surely get back to Hogwarts.

"What exactly happened sir? Where are we?"

Perhaps he should have waited a minute for Snape to fully wake up for the look he was receiving was downright murderous.

"Do you recall our discussion from before?"

He wasn't sure exactly which one Snape was referring to but he nodded anyway.

"I told you I could not apparate us away."

"But you did…?"

"Yes I managed to, however it took deal of energy and focus, more than I possessed at the time. I'm guessing I have been unconscious, I suppose that is because my magic and body needed to restore the energy I'd lost."

"Okay... So now you're back to normal now?"

Snape grumpily frowned, "No, I need a hot meal, ideally a few potions and perhaps I would even allow a once over by Pomfrey."

He laughed, an outright, overtired laugh. Snape stared at him in a way that made him realise his odd behaviour.

"You need everything I just listed as well it seems."

After he got a control of himself, he went for another question.

"Where did you say we where?"

"I didn't. You are lucky we made it too land, when I apparated us I knew I could not make it to Scotland or England. Instead I threw us as far as I could and then tried to direct us towards any land. If I had to suggest an idea of where we are, I would guess, Shetland Island. Technically part of Scotland, it is a small island between Iceland and Scotland."

"Cool…. Good to know. Now how do we get out of here?"

Snape began looking rather uncomfortable,

"We must do it the muggle way, or wait for me to regain more strength. Either way should try to find a town of some sort."

He found it amusing that Snape was so against the idea of travelling using muggle means. The idea of Snape on a plane was so funny he once again laughed a little inappropriately. He could just imagine the professor being checked by security.

He would not tell Snape the reason for his laughter of course, so he was forced to quit chuckling and say nothing. Earning him another concerned look.

"You really are delirious." Snape muttered, Harry couldn't even refute it.

The moonlight provided more than enough light to see by so as they walked, neither bothered to cast a lumos.

Although Harry would have sold his soul for a bed and a proper nights rest, the walk wasn't actually unpleasant.

Where they were, was actually quite beautiful. Tall trees bent backwards and forwards with the wind, the sea foam lapped at the shore and every now and then, Harry spotted tiny crabs burrow into the sand. It was freezing of course, but warmth charms and movement were enough to stop him getting too cold. He figured he should have probably been in a bit more pain from his injury's but a mixture of numbing potions and spells were keeping it at bay for now. He was rather content to stare at the moon and brilliant stars as they flashed in and out of existence.

He could hardly believe they'd done it, he wasn't even sure how long it had been, certainly not more than two weeks. Thoughts of actual reality seemed to taint the peacefulness of his location and he tried to steer away from them. Every time one came up he would start counting the stars until they were gone. He spoke out loud mostly to himself, almost forgetting he had company.

"I've never been to the beach before."

"Indeed?"

Why Snape was interested was anyones guess, but while they were stuck here, he felt no compulsion to stay quiet.

"I suppose there was the one time. When Hagrid came to deliver my Hogwarts letter. We stayed in a hut on this big rock, it wasn't a beach though, not like this."

Snape didn't respond and they both remained silent as they walked. Harry's eyelids began to droop and his legs felt like fragile sticks but he stayed focused ahead.

Surprisingly, it was Snape who broke the casual silence.

"When we return, you will not return to your relatives."

He grinned, for years he had begged Dumbledore, to hear it said so plainly….. well it seemed so simple, so matter-of-fact.

"However there is the small matter of where exactly you shall stay. There were certain protections in place that made it necessary for you to stay there, replicating these will not be easy."

His grin dimmed a bit, he knew this was the case.

"Can't I just stay at Hogwarts? " It was already his home in his head and it was surrounded by protections.

Snape shook his head. "No, there are times where the headmaster must leave and majority of the wards only exist for when school in session. It would not be unreasonable to expect the Dark Lord to amount an attack if he were to find out you were staying there." Snape stumbled, a clear sign to Harry that the man was losing strength. "That is also excluding several rules about students staying during summer."

He looked across at the waves, he had always known the answer would be no.

"You could stay with the Weasley's however –"

"No, It was bad enough when I only stayed for a few weeks, if I stay there all summer I'll almost definitely being putting them in danger."

He partly expected a sneer and a comment along the lines of 'How noble, we should nominate you for the Order of Merlin award'. Instead Snape looked like that was exactly the response he had expected,

"And the same goes for Ms Granger?"

"Yes."

And that was it, the end of his list. A longing for his parents twisted like the dagger that had nearly been planted in his heart. No home, no place to go, no safe haven, such thoughts had often entered his mind at the end of every school year. Plaguing his goodbyes and promises to catch up like a dementor.

He thought Snape had finished speaking, having ran out of options but the quiet baritone continued.

"There is the Order's headquarters and Black's " – as usual, the name said bitterly – " house, Grimmauld place. Unfortunately the ministry views it as uninhabited and if they were to find out you were staying there, you would become a ward of the ministry. A very undesirable outcome. More problematic is the fact that Albus would most certainly interfere as well."

All at once there had been glimmer of hope that was shredded in front of him. He had no idea that such a place even existed, and Sirius was living there? He truly was the only one without a home.

The next two minutes went by as he began counting again. It wasn't working very well.

Snape's voice only just loud enough to be heard over the waves.

"I may have an offer, it is not exactly what you would hope for, but it might make do for the time being at least."

Was Snape being indirect? the man who usually spoke with the bluntness of a rusted hammer?

"You may stay at…. Snape Manner. Its location is known only by myself, the wards across it are extensive and it unlikely anybody will suspect you are living there."

He hadn't even realised he'd stopped walking until Snape stopped too. Had Snape just…?

"You're inviting me? to your house?"

If he wasn't convinced Snape was a spy for the light he'd be sure this was a setup to take him to Voldemort.

"I do believe that it what I said."

He couldn't help it, he felt drunk on fatigue and stars, he quickly hugged Snape.

Almost immediately he released and stared very very far away from the intimidating man's gaze. He started walking again hoping to rid himself of the embarrassment.

"I take that as a yes?"

He didn't trust himself to speak without mucking it up somehow so settled on nodding vigorously.

"It's an imperfect solution – we must convince Dumbledore that you are still with the Dursley's which will take some coercion on their part. If it were ever to be known you resided there we'd both be dead by the end of the day."

He was happy to hear his own voice sounded normal when he replyed. "It's okay, we can mange that. You're in quite the business of deceiving old all powerful wizards aren't you?"

"I suppose so." He figured he was getting slightly better at reading the man and heard a slimmer of amusement in Snape's voice. Or maybe he just heard what he hoped.

The sea breeze ruffled his hair and pulled it away from his scar, in a brief moment he saw Snape's eye's flicker to it.

Something in him felt lighter, and freer. He nearly out paced Snape, an accomplishment which most thought impossible. Unburdened with the idea of returning to the Dursley's be was beginning to feel like his life was his own. Now if only they could make it to his new residence.

It only took two hours before they managed to spot a small group of lights up ahead.

"Village?" Snape paused, "Almost certainly."

A small unsealed road was their next turnoff, hopefully leading them to the twinkling lights.

For whatever reason, the last stretch of distance felt longer and more uncomfortable than the beach they walked. His wounds were beginning to burn and cause pain again and he was getting to the point that the moss on the edge of the road would make a good pillow.

Finally they joined up to a main road and then it was a only a few minutes before they approached the village.

It had quaint cobblestone paths and warm light spilling from windows. A small tavern with a scratched brown sign beckoned them and he and Snape mutually moved towards it.

Opening the door was like entering a dragon's stomach. Heat warmed him to his core and the substantial light was a welcome change. Snape gave no indication that he enjoyed the pubs interior but Harry was sure he was not alone.

It was almost deserted, two men with tumbleweed beards and a round faced lady sat by the bar. The bartender was polishing some scuffed glasses with a rag that had seen better days.

" 'ullo, you two look like you've had a go of it." He looked them both up and down before deciding a course of action, "Let me fix ye a bez." The accent was a strange mix of Scottish and Norwegian.

"No thank you actually. We wish only to know if you have a room we might stay in?"

"Alrighty, it's free bucky in the morning and the rooms got two beds and a view of the town square, 22 Pounds it'll cost ya."

"Thank you." Harry saw Snape's wand covertly move beside him and Snape pulled out the correct amount.

The man smiled and handed them a copper key. They both went to move but the bar keep laid a hand on Snape's shoulder to stop him. He leaned in close,

"Don't worry about Eirik, Christian and Fiona over there. The boy's are sloshed and she's a pretty burd. They won't be givin' you trouble."

Harry just nodded and Snape said nothing. In such close quarters the man's gaze quickly caught on something on Harry's shirt.

"Are you right son? looks like you're bleedin' a bit."

" Uhh… fine just fell over and scratched myself.."

"Well holla' if you need. Your rooms upstairs, first one on the left." The bar keep moved aside to allow them through.

"Thanks."

With the last obstruction between him and a good bed gone, Harry moved quickly in Snape's footsteps. Entering the room, he found a bed and fell onto it.

Snape didn't move much from the doorway and Harry peered curiously at him.

"Professor? aren't you sleeping." "Absolutely, but I'm checking the room has no enchantments and casting our own protections first."

Oh, that made sense.

"Sir, can you really conjure up muggle money like that? Wouldn't poor wizards just move into the muggle world and make money that way then?"

Snape frowned at him as he concentrated on doing magic that made Harry feel a small tingle.

"No, I did not 'conjure money' I exchanged galleons for scottish pounds. A handy spell but the rates are extremely poor, I lost a few galleons in the process."

And just like that he was done, done withe questions, answers and walking. His bed was all he needed and he drifted off into sleep before Snape had even finished his incantations. So close to Hogwarts and the promise of never returning to the Dursley's.