Albus had somehow managed to deposit them directly in the bushes lining the summerhouse. How he had been able to overcome the vast variety of magical protections, wards, and enchantments upon Malfoy Manor, Severus would dearly have loved to know, but at the moment, there was no time to wonder. What mattered was getting into that crypt and figuring out how to get into the Fortress without landing right in the laps of whatever guards the Dark Lord had left behind.

Lupin had the good sense to keep his mouth shut. They moved in silence, close together, low to the ground, around the summerhouse.

Severus had been on this estate many times before, even in the summerhouse itself, nestled in a copse of trees some distance from the main house. The perfect place for carrying on intrigues, Lucius had always joked. Severus himself had set up shop here several times, working on potions for the Dark Lord, even back when he'd been a willing participant. It was a good, quiet place to work and think.

But obviously some new feature had been added; Severus spied a small, stone structure hidden in a thick patch of shrubbery that had never been there before. Mosses hung from its side, and its stone looked very old and worn, not at all like the scrubbed, spotless stones of Malfoy Manor. Severus motioned Lupin behind him, and stepped toward it.

For the first time, Lupin spoke up. "You know, it has occurred to me that this could be a trap."

"You think so?"

"I don't know either way. What do you think?"

"About the fact that anyone with the Dark Mark can supposedly enter the Fortress of Shadows, even though I am a known traitor still bearing it? Yes, it could be a trap. But how would I have access to that information."

"Would they think you capable of administering Veritaserum on a student?"

"On a student, yes. Draco, no." And do NOT ask.

To Snape's intense relief, Lupin didn't. "So what's your conclusion?"

"Fifty-fifty chance. They would have to believe me willing not merely to betray them but to assault the Fortress directly, and in person for that information to be effective. It seems unlikely, but…the Dark Lord has set more complicated traps then that. However, we've little choice. I intend to proceed. You are welcome to turn back."

He looked challengingly over his shoulder at Lupin. Are you prepared to follow me into the snake den, werewolf?

He really should have expected the answer he got. "Harry is all I have left; I'll save him or die trying."

Snape snorted. Gryffindor theatrics. Perhaps you'd do me the favor of doing both. He took Lupin's arm. "Then let's see how this contraption works." Slowly, leading the un-Marked Lupin along, he stepped into the inky blackness of the crypt.

The crypt was not a crypt at all on the inside. They found themselves in a very dark tunnel, damp, cold, and musty, with dark power seeming to ooze from the walls like so much slime. Looking back over their shoulders, they found a dead end of stone. Well. That was simple enough. I doubt it will be so coming out. Severus jerked his head at Lupin. Let's go.

They drew their wands and started off into the dark. Lupin caught Snape's eye and motioned quietly around them, pulling his face into a grimace. Snape knew what he was trying to say: no guards.

This is looking less and less promising by the moment.

But they were here, and there was no choice but to proceed. Perhaps the Dark Lord's confidence would be to their advantage here. (Not likely, but perhaps.) After all, Severus worked as a spy against very long odds for a long time. Unlikely was a word he survived by.

Lupin suddenly froze, grabbing Snape's arm. Severus went instantly still, sensing what had already reached Lupin. The werewolf's nature might be more of a liability most times, especially with him weakening so close to the full moon, but the superior senses, Severus could live with. Lupin had felt the minute vibrations or heard the faint echoes of footsteps before any other human could have.

Including the ones currently approaching from somewhere in the darkness ahead. They had to get out of this corridor, and fast.

Scooting automatically to the wet, slimy wall, Severus began slinking as swiftly as he could ahead. Their only chance of avoiding a very vocal discovery was to find a hiding place ahead, even though the corridor was taking them toward the sounds. Severus could hear them now—but whoever it was, they were not making any attempt at stealth.

Perhaps overconfidence really was on Dumbledore's side tonight.

Judging by the echoes, the walkers ahead were somewhere around a corner, perhaps more than one corner. Severus sped up, trusting Lupin to keep pace, and searched the side walls frantically. They could hear voices now:

"Did he say Dumbledore was there as well?"

"What are they playing at?"

"I don't know, but the Dark Lord is going to deal with it. Dumbledore can't escape him forever."

"I'll sleep easier when the old codger's dead."

They were close. Snape exchanged glances with Lupin. Any ideas? Lupin mouthed.

Severus pressed himself back against the wall and—fell through it. A startled Lupin dove through behind him. They found themselves in another corridor, branching off from the one they'd been in. Severus frowned to himself. He couldn't imagine the Fortress of Shadows (a more apt title was never bestowed) having Rooms or Corridors of Requirement. He ran his mind back through where they had been, and suddenly recalled: when he had leaned against the corridor wall, his Mark had touched it.

He and Lupin continued creeping swiftly through the inky darkness, Severus with his forearm dragging along the damp walls in search of hidden openings. What felt like an eternity passed, and they were no closer to locating the torch. Severus glanced over his shoulder and saw Lupin also beginning to look frustrated. He agreed; they were running out of time.

They had been attempting to make their way through without magic, but Severus decided that if Death Eaters were strolling through the halls chatting about battles going on, they must think themselves very secure indeed.

And no wonder, seeing as we have been wandering in the dark for an hour and haven't the faintest idea where the torch is or where we even happen to be.

Enough was enough. Severus drew his wand. "Reperio," he whispered, thinking of Lucius Malfoy. Surely if the Dark Lord had gone in person to chase after Dumbledore, he would leave either Malfoy or Bellatrix Lestrange in charge.

He was in luck: a ball of green light emerged from the wand and began floating ahead of them. He and Lupin hurried after it, ducking through walls that turned out to be corridors and up staircases so steep they seemed to defy the laws of physics. And always up.

Severus supposed it was to be expected that the Dark Lord would have that torch of his secreted at the very top of this bloody temple. Both of them were breathing heavily when they finally spotted light coming down from the top of one of the stairways. This is it, Severus mouthed at Lupin. He ended the Seek Spell, and they crept more slowly upward.

Voices were drifting through the doorway at the top. Severus recognized Lucius Malfoy's. "Place your wagers, gentlemen!"

"Two hours, Lucius."

"Four."

"You're mad, Goyle, look at him! He won't last three!"

Severus looked quickly at Lupin; he was now moving very stiffly, a look in his eyes even darker than what Severus had seen the day Fudge tried to take Potter. This look promised murder for the speakers in the room atop the stairs. Casting wagers on how long it would take a werewolf's cub to die…that lot would be lucky not to get their throats ripped out.

On the other hand, concentrating on more pressing matters, Severus had heard three voices speaking, and their jovial tones indicated the absence of the Dark Lord. Even on those rare occasions when he was in a good mood, the Dark Lord's followers never relaxed in his presence. So at least three people were up there, perhaps more. At least it's a safe assumption Bella isn't there. She'd be laughing loudest of all—probably.

Severus and Lupin were pressed against the walls as they gained the top of the stairs. Lupin's nostrils flared, no doubt employing the werewolf senses that were growing with the approaching full moon, and he raised a hand to Snape: four fingers. Four Death Eaters: Malfoy, Goyle, Rookwood from the sound of it, and a fourth who had not spoken. And there was no way of knowing how many more were in this dark temple beyond that chamber.

But the light streaming into the stairwell flickered faintly green; all that mattered was the torch. Even with Dumbledore's efforts, the odds of either of them making it back out of the Fortress alive were not exactly favorable. Severus braced himself, saw Lupin do the same, and peered into the room.

Just in time for Rookwood to look up. "OY!"

Snape and Lupin sprang through the doorway, already taking aim as the black-robed wizards leapt to their feet. "Petrificus Totalis!" Lupin yelled, sending Lucius toppling over.

"Avada Kedavra!" Severus removed Rookwood from the Dark Lord's ranks permanently.

Goyle dove for cover behind a stone bench, and the fourth Death Eater, Dolohov, vanished through a second doorway into the darkness. Damn!

But Lupin was keeping Goyle pinned down, and they had at least a few seconds until Dolohov brought reinforcements. Severus was facing a wide stone window, from which a cold, damp fog had drifted in, flickering green from a source of light behind him. Turning quickly, he headed for a raised section of floor where the green flame torch burned—with the apparition of a pallid, fever-wracked teenager lying just in front of it. From the look of things, Rookwood had been right: unless the torch was destroyed and the link to the Dark Lord severed, Harry Potter would not survive three more hours.

Blasting a chunk of stone from Goyle's bench shield, Lupin yelled, "Do it!"

Severus reached into his robes and pulled out the two vials. Uncorking the red one, he stepped past Potter's translucent form to stand directly in front of the torch. Raising the red vial, he intoned, "Flesh and blood of living and dead, of beast and man, of magic and mundane, mingle now with this blood spell and make it impure, let all bonds be severed, all links broken, let the dark chain be shattered!"

He raised the blood potion and smashed the entire vial through the green flames into the bowl of the torch. There was a cry of agony that sent him spinning around; the apparition of Harry Potter was flickering as the potion took effect, but the boy was writhing and screaming in pain. The racket had distracted Goyle long enough for Lupin to stun him, and the werewolf was visibly restraining himself from touching Potter.

Blood-red sparks were roaring from the green flames, and a streak of dazzling light emanated from each side—right where Potter and the Dark Lord's blood had been smeared. Then it seemed to ooze off the torch metal, and the green flames died for good as blood spattered to the floor. A splash of black potion sent the torch slumping toward the stones like a melting candle.

Snape let out the breath he'd been holding. It had worked. It had actually worked. Whatever came next, they had succeeded in what mattered—"Severus!"

At Lupin's horrified gasp, Severus turned and froze: no. No.

Something had gone wrong. Horribly, catastrophically wrong.

Lying upon the cold, damp stones of the Fortress of Shadows, the headquarters of the Dark Lord in this haven of black magic was Harry Potter—as real and solid as Lupin and Severus. His face was pasty and sweaty with fever, and he was moaning softly, obviously still violently ill even though the Dark Lord's ability to continue afflicting him from a distance had been neutralized. And the odds of even the two hale and healthy wizards in the room making it out of this place alive were slim!

Severus stared in disbelief. "Bloody hell. What now?" he muttered.

Lupin shook off his own shock and despair and tore his eyes from the boy. "Let's move, Severus. Dying here is no longer an option."

He was pocketing his wand and reaching toward the boy when an unearthly howl made them both freeze in surprise, then a gleeful voice from the entryway they had come by shrieked, "Expositum Bestia!"

A jet of white light—like moonlight—hit Lupin directly in the face and seemed to spread to surround his body. The man barely had time to cry, "NO!"before he shuddered and twisted out of human form.

Bellatrix Lestrange giggled, her wand in one hand and some kind of leather strap in the other. "Hope he enjoys his dinner!" she said to Snape, and ducked out of sight as he threw a frantic curse at her. Then he heard her grunting and struggling with something; whatever dark creature she had on that leash, it was at least keeping her occupied.

Severus turned around and froze where he was as the werewolf took shape. "Shit!" The creature was two feet from the helpless boy, already looking down at him. No hex worked on a werewolf; Severus knew that from experience. Even if he managed to throw himself in front of Potter, there would be no one left to take the boy to safety. In desperation, he grabbed the half-melted green flame torch and lunged forward, swinging it wildly.

The werewolf yelped in pain as the hard metal struck him in the face, but then he swiped at Severus, who barely had time to raise the torch to protect himself before he was flung into a wall. The torch clattered through the doorway, and from the sound of it, hit Bella and sent her crashing down the stairs. Snape was trying to clamber back to his feet, despairing, as the werewolf returned its attention to the defenseless Potter.

As it started back toward the boy, the mist drifting in from the forest seemed to swirl between the creature and its prey. Before Severus had a chance to gasp, the haze coalesced into the form of a woman with long hair, her arms stretched out from her sides like an ancient gatekeeper, barring the werewolf's path. The creature faltered, its growl changing to a yelp of surprise, and another figure appeared in the mist, kneeling beside the boy.

Snape swallowed hard at the sight of James and Lily Potter, trying to make objective sense of it all. Apparently, the effects of the Pillar of Storgé were much more lingering than he had realized. James touched Harry's face, and the boy's fitful moans died at once. Then, as Severus had been dreading, the shade turned and looked at him.

Why are you looking at me like that! he thought, trying to escape the feelings churning in his stomach by taking refuge in anger. Why can't you leave me in peace; what could you possibly want from me now?

It was a rhetorical question, of course. Severus knew precisely what James Potter wanted.

In the meantime, the werewolf was, astonishingly, backing away from the ghostly woman. He cowered from her outstretched hand, then the monster's form shrank back into a man's, and Lupin sagged to the ground, staring in shock at the shade before him. "Lily!"

Both shades smiled at him and vanished back into the mist. Snape crossed the floor and hurriedly assisted Lupin to his feet. "Come on. Lestrange will be back soon."

"What—was—that?" he groaned, peering out the window into the fog.

"Imprints from the Pillar of Storgé—come on, Lupin!"

The man staggered to his feet, turned back toward the dais—and froze, staring past Snape's shoulder with absolute disbelief on his face. "Oh my God!"

Bloody hell, NOW what! Severus turned as well, and felt his innards turn to mush. It was not possible. It was…not…possible!

It couldn't be possible!

But there it was.

The shade of James Potter must have imparted some strength into his ailing son, for a moment ago, Severus wouldn't have expected the boy to be able to lift a finger.

He was lifting his hand now, his eyes still glassy and bright with illness, but there was a weak smile on Harry Potter's face as he stroked the neck of a huge, black, bear-like dog. Standing over Potter, the animal looked thin and bedraggled, trailing a leather leash from a solid metal collar around its neck. But it nudged and licked the boy's hand as though it were his best friend.

Lupin started forward; Severus came to his senses and grabbed the man's arm. "Lupin. That's not Black. That cannot possibly be Black."

To his relief, the werewolf's brains hadn't been addled by Bella's spell or Lily Potter's shade. Lupin shuddered once and pulled out his wand, aiming at the dog. "Get away from him! Get away!"

The dog looked up and whined piteously, but when Lupin started menacingly toward it, it scurried away. The boy moaned in groggy protest, reaching after it. Severus kept his own wand trained on the animal (ignoring the niggling little thought that for an animal, it seemed to recognize wand threats rather well) as Lupin crossed the floor and swept Potter into his arms. "Where do we go from here?"

The dog barked once. As they watched, it ran to the second doorway, the one Dolohov had taken, then looked back at them and wagged its tail. Lupin hesitated and whispered, "Severus…" in a voice fairly shaking with hope.

Severus Snape, former Death Eater, was not in the business of hope. And even if he were, he would not be hoping for this. "Lupin, use your head. It's not— "

"It looks exactly like him!"

Potter wasn't helping; still stirring in the werewolf's arms and moaning, "Sirius…" Lupin's eyes filled.

"Black is dead, Lupin," Snape hissed savagely. "This could easily be a trick!" Damn it, man, come to your senses! Do you want the boy to survive this or not!

Lupin shook his head. "Fine. Then do we follow his—its—lead or not?"

"We—"

Feet were pounding up the stairs that Bellatrix had fallen down. The two of them looked at each other, then Lupin muttered, "Lead on, Snuffles," and headed for the second door. Snape followed, gritting his teeth.

The dog led them down yet another flight of stairs, steep and dark. Severus listened hard for any signs of pursuit behind or ambush ahead, not trusting Lupin to think clearly anymore. But the only sounds were their frantic steps and the dog's panting. That CANNOT be Black!

Off the narrow stairs, they were racing around a corner into a downward-sloping corridor when the dog suddenly turned and snapped its jaws at them. "What—" Lupin began, but the dog scurried up to the wall and whined softly.

It was then that they heard running footsteps again, in a branch of corridor very close. The dog had heard them first; his yellow eyes gleamed at them in the dark as they huddled low against the wall to let the searchers pass. The dog bared its teeth at Snape, a look that might almost be described as smug. No. NO. It is…not…Black!

Potter suddenly moaned, making both men and dog jump, and he strained in Lupin's arms. "Sirius…"

The dog sidled closer to Lupin, its eyes fixed on the boy, but Lupin put a hand on Potter's forehead and whispered, "Durmius." Potter went limp and silent, and the dog whined very softly before starting back down the corridor again, its head hangng.

As they walked, Lupin murmured, "Severus…Harry reported that Voldemort and the others were performing some kind of experimental spell on the veil in the Death Chamber."

Merlin's beard. He'd forgotten about that. What had this "test" involved? And how could Bellatrix…the dog had heard Lupin. It turned to the werewolf and let out an excited yip, wagging its tail.

Severus swore savagely under his breath, thinking, Merlin's bloody beard, does no one have the decency to STAY DEAD anymore! Lupin made a strangled noise, blinking rapidly.

"Keep your head, man," Snape muttered. The dog bared its teeth at him. They had come to a bare stretch of wall. The dog yipped again, this time at Snape, and nudged the wall with its nose. Snape glowered at it. "What is it you want?"

The dog growled, but walked over to Severus, reared up on its hind legs and very deliberately smacked his left arm with a paw. Then it stalked back over to the wall and nudged it again. Snape sighed. Even with all the spells and Dark Arts (and creativity) at the Death Eaters' disposal, it seemed a rather remote possibility that they would have taught this dog how to explain to Snape how to use his Dark Mark to open a hidden passage.

"Sirius!" Lupin choked out. The dog whined again, looking not at the werewolf, but at the unconscious boy in his arms. When it looked at Potter, its yellow eyes seemed almost human.

Cursing under his breath, Severus stormed over to the wall and pressed the Dark Mark against it. Another corridor appeared, with light at the end. "Let's go."

They broke into a jog, smelling dap, rotting vegetation ahead instead of mold and stone. "Sirius," whispered Lupin as he shifted Potter. "We have to find the mountain."

The dog actually nodded, wagging his tail, and ran ahead, darting past the end of the corridor into a broad entryway, with dark boles of trees visible without. But then there was a shout of female laughter, followed by a gleeful shriek of, "Crucio!"

Lupin swore furiously, pulling quickly to the side of the corridor with Potter as the dog howled piteously and collapsed. Jeers and Bellatrix Lestrange's shrieks of laughter echoed in the stone walls, eventually dying down to the point where the dog's whimpers made Lupin press his face into the boy's hair. "What's this, doggy?" Bella cooed. "Trying to get out again? Oohhh, did your friends not trust you to lead them? Did they leave you all alone? Poor little thing! Crucio!"

As the howling filled the corridor again, Snape caught Lupin's eyes and moved in front of them, his wand ready. The only chance they had was to get past Bella and her lackeys into the Forest where the shadows might shield them long enough to make their escape to the mountain. Assuming they were headed in the mountain's direction. And hope the dog is able to follow so Lupin doesn't have a coronary.

At the moment, the werewolf was standing behind Severus with a frantic expression, his gaze darting from the entryway where the dog was to the unconscious teenager in his arms. He knew what it might come down to. But Snape braced himself and saw Lupin do the same. When the Cruciatus Curse was shouted a third time, and the dog's howls and Death Eaters' laughter filled the air, Snape struck.

Leaping into the corridor, he launched curses at every black robe he saw, buying Lupin an opening to sprint across the entryway with Potter. The werewolf gained the trees just as Bellatrix and Dolohov recovered and counter-attacked, forcing Snape to back off his own scramble for the exit. The dog lay whimpering on the stones. "How did you get here?" Dolohov sneered.

"A little bird told me," Snape replied.

"Dumbledore's little bird. So that's what the Auror attack was about. Stupefy! And Dumbledore risking himself to draw the Dark Lord from here. Tut-tut. Crucio! He won't be pleased with you, Severus."

As the effort of dodging and shielding against their combined efforts began to wear him down, Snape gritted his teeth. All that mattered was Lupin getting to the mountain with Potter—although they probably had less than twenty-four hours before the full moon. Severus suspected that for himself, this was it, as a curse caught him in the side and threw him to the ground, his wand rolling toward the exit.

Bellatrix squealed like a schoolwitch in Honeydukes and started toward him. "Our master's rage over this disaster may be blunted quite a bit when we present you to him! You've been a very bad boy, Sev—AAUUUGH!"

The dog had been weakly crawling to its feet while Dolohov and Bellatrix concentrated on dueling Snape, but as Bellatrix moved in for the coup de grâce, it gathered itself and leapt directly onto her, snarling savagely. She toppled over, screaming, as Dolohov jumped back in surprise and tried to hex the dog without hitting her, and Severus seized his chance. He staggered to his feet and lunged for the exit, grabbing his wand as he went, then ran for all he was worth into the trees.

"Severus!" hissed a voice, and he found Lupin waiting with Potter in his arms.

"You should have gone, you fool!" he said furiously, grabbing the werewolf by the arm and pulling him along.

"Wait!" Lupin said frantically, looking back at the Fortress entrance. "What about Sirius!" The dog's savage barks and snarls could still be heard, along with Bellatrix's screams and Dolohov's apparently-ineffective curses.

"There's no time!" Snape hissed, pulling at him again. Lupin still faltered, so Severus yanked as hard as he could, forcing the man to look at him. "We can't wait for him!" He glanced over his shoulder, and felt a rush of real, honest relief, and some funny little twinge that might have been hope: above the black canopy, he could just see the silver glow of a mountain, rising beyond the forest's edge, a long-but-not-impossible walk away. He looked back at Lupin, who was still staring at the pyramid slope of the Fortress of Shadows.

"Lupin, are you prepared to sacrifice Potter for Black, assuming that is in fact him?" Lupin recoiled, mute horror on his face. Severus seized that weapon and drove it home. "We have no time for this! The boy or the dog, Lupin! Choose now!"

The man's face crumpled, and he looked back once more at the entry, visibly willing the dog to come bounding out now. But then, with a stifled groan of actual pain, he turned away, shifted Potter's limp form in his arms, and broke into a run through the trees. Snape kept pace with him in spite of the pain in his side from Dolohov's jinx, and they dashed away from from the Fortress into the silence of the Forest of Shadows, the only sound coming from their pounding feet and Lupin's ragged, stifled sobs.