Snape's plan was to walk as quickly as two badly injured wizards could in a direction he hoped was the correct one. Not the best of plans, but at the moment the only one. He knew the Occisor would easily escape the magical bonds as soon as it woke up, but he had hoped it would at least injure Malfoy in the process.

Snape glanced down at Harry who was struggling to keep his pace. Stupid boy, why had he jumped in front of the curse? His incessant desire to be the hero was becoming ridiculous.

Snape shot an annoyed look at Harry. But he couldn't quite seem to summon the normal vexation he had with the boy. Snape sighed. Why did he care what happened to Potter? He didn't want to admit it to anyone, let alone himself, but when he'd seen Harry there on the ground, seemingly dead, he felt strange. He felt…distraught! What was wrong with him? Severus Snape was not going to be sucked into the fan circle of the bloody Boy-Who-Lived! Soon he'd be growing a beard and offering everyone lemon drops!

Snape realized he was staring at the boy when the green eyes glanced up at him. He managed a sneer and quickly looked away.

He couldn't help but glance back. What would possess a boy, whom he had ridiculed since day one, to jump in front of a curse in order to save him, the most hated Professor at Hogwarts? Snape would've thought Potter would take any chance to be rid of him.

Why did the brat have to be so bloody noble? It was starting to make Snape feel, well, guilty. This was not good. In fact it was very, very bad. He looked at Harry again and felt a twinge of something he found rather horrifying.

Severus Snape found himself unable to deny the fact that he indeed cared about the boy.

How the hell did that happen?

Harry felt much better after drinking the potion from Snape, but his shoulders still ached quite a bit and he thought he might've landed on his ankle funny because he was developing a limp. This made him think of Moody, which only brought back bad memories, so he quickly pushed away the thought.

He started to feel a bit nervous like someone was watching him. He looked up at Snape who gave him a sneer an instant later and looked away. But not before Harry saw a look of slight confusion and even worry.

Harry turned back to focus on not tripping over any roots. Why had he jumped in front of Snape? It was an immediate reaction, but he couldn't help but think about how he felt when he saw Snape unaware of the coming curse. He was scared. He didn't want Snape to get hurt. And it wasn't just because he didn't want to be alone in this. He was scared of losing Snape for some reason he couldn't figure out. Why should he care about a man he should, in all rights, hate?

Harry glanced at Snape. He looked tired. Why was Snape helping him anyway. He hated Harry. But then why did he save him from the Occisor's poison? In fact, why had he been saving Harry since his first year at Hogwarts?

Harry was abruptly thrown from his thoughts when his scar started to burn. It had been a dull ache for awhile, but now it was growing strong and fast.

Harry immediately stopped walking. "Professor."

Snape looked back to see Harry grasping his forehead. "Professor, its Voldemort. I think we're walking straight to him."

Snape turned back and grabbed Harry by the arm, taking a few steps back the way they had come. But he immediately stopped.

Emerging from the forest stepped a dark shadow with gleaming red eyes.

'Why am I surprised,' thought Snape dryly. 'I'm with Potter so bad things are bound to happen.'

The Occisor leaped forward to attack.

Voldemort paced the basement of the worn down house. Most of the deatheaters were already there, waiting tensely for the boy and traitor to be found. No one dared make a sound for fear of the Dark Lord. He seemed to be split between maniacal pleasure and anger. He was twirling a corked vial around in his hand, staring at it with what could best be described as some kind of sick glee. But then he'd abruptly look up at the door and mutter curses at the lateness of his search party. Occasionally he'd throw a Crucio at one follower or another.

He continued to stare at the vial in his hands, smiling. "Soon Potter…so soon."