Fill The Void

Chapter 1

Severus Snape walked down the hallway at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, his black robes flaring behind him. The cold air rushed around him, but the thick teaching robes kept him warm even on the third floor, where no heat ever seemed to circulate from the downstairs fireplaces.

"Life is one big Circle, but if you get lost in the little circles you will never finish the maze." He remembered how he used to live by that quote. He didn't remember who gave him that quote but he remembered how it fit into his life as a spy and a person.

Severus smirked maliciously when he thought of the faces of those who might know he mused on such deep subjects that didn't revolve around death, pain or suffering. It's not often you meet a bastard who would rather see you fail than make it through all seven years at Hogwarts, but many students thought Professor Snape to be only a professor. Many didn't even consider that perhaps he had a life outside these walls. Maybe that's why none of them had considered he hated teaching snotty nosed brats who called themselves witches and wizards.

He hated teaching but only he and the faculty were ever aware of it. Many students thought he had placed himself in the wrong career, but none bothered considering he might have had no choice in his placement.

Severus mused back to when the Dark Mark graced his left forearm, but it had left him when the Dark Lord had fallen. Although he had gotten a new tattoo where the previous one had faded, he still couldn't believe he had gotten something so...un-Slytherin tattooed in replacement. He would let the faculty take their guesses but he knew it had to do with his ever growing respect for Harry Potter, the boy who lived. It reminded him of what Harry had sacrificed to save them all. To save him.

A single flower grew in a swirl of clouds and the word fragile was scripted along the flower stem. It was forever a silent reminder not forget what had happened only a few months ago. The memory of how he saw the Harry he knew die. Harry had come back as empty as the void he'd created to rid the world of the plague who had stolen the happiness from his world.

Flashback

Everyone was screaming. Smoke was everywhere. Where was Harry? Did anyone see Harry in all this mess?

Blood. So much blood. Was it his blood?

/Flashback

Harry had created a rift in time; a rift between all the worlds that held their world together. It had sucked all the ghosts of the world, and Voldemort (since he was not alive himself) into it. The Ministry of Magic had called it The Great Void. Harry nearly killed himself from the effort of casting such powerful magic. Severus didn't let anyone know he cared for Harry; he didn't want to get fired from the one place he considered home. The one place he was close to Harry.

'He would have died if it wasn't for me,' thought Severus. 'Wouldn't that be great? The Golden Boy dead! Instead, I get custody of my godson Draco Malfoy! Why Lucius named me godfather was beyond understanding. Yes, we were great friends and lovers before Narcissa, but why make me live with the carbon copy of himself, well at least physically.' After Draco's parent's died at the end of the war, Draco had moved into Severus' spare room.

Severus' life may of not have been much up until now but he had never had any loving parents or kind lovers. He didn't know how to trust, but he did know how to learn. Well Severus learned a few things. Like how to keep Draco's nightmares at bay and eventually, over the last few months, how to love Draco as a father should.

As the thoughtful man wandered through the hallways, he couldn't keep his mind off Harry Potter. He walked past the third floor bathroom and felt strong locking charms. The kind only Harry was strong enough to cast. Severus unlocked them easily because Harry always left a weak spot in all his complex shielding charms. One of the many quirks Severus had picked up about the boy when they had fought in the war together. The moment he stepped in the bathroom, however, he could smell blood. He saw a pale hand stretched out from one of the bathroom stalls and there was his Harry, still clutching his right arm close, blood seeping through his clothes and onto the floor.

"Oh God!" Harry whispered to himself, shaking back slightly, but violently, on the floor.

"Mr. Potter? What ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" screamed a red-faced Snape, trying very hard to not strangle what life was left out of the boy who lived and was currently dying on the girl's bathroom floor.

"Sir?" Harry whimpered, pulling himself tighter into a ball.

"Again, Mr. Potter, what are you doing?" Severus spat out, slightly more calm but trembling from the effort.

"Sir, I'm not doing anything against the rules," Harry answered piteously, cowering under the shadow of Snape's huge, black clad form.

"So self-mutilation isn't against the school rules?" asked Severus sarcastically in the most incredulous way he could muster.

"No Professor Snape, I'm afraid it's not," said a familiar voice behind him.

Draco Malfoy stepped resolutely into the girls' bathroom, followed by a pale faced Hermione Granger and shocked Ronald Weasley.

"What are you doing here Draco? And with these two," spat Severus viciously, looking at Hermione and Ron with the greatest contempt.

The three odd trio looked at each other and nodded. "An intervention, Uncle Sev. But lets get Harry cleaned up first."

HARRYSEVERUSHARRYSEVERUSHARRYSEVERUSHARRYSEVERUSHARRYSEVERUSHARRY

It was a strange sensation having Harry just standing there as they cleaned his cuts and washed the blood away. He didn't even seem to see them. Maybe he didn't really see anything just then. When they all sat down in Severus' private chambers, they were surprised when Harry nervously asked, "Where am I?"

He had a panicked look in his eye Severus didn't like.

"You're safe mate," Ron said reassuringly, patting him on the knee.

"We're only trying to help Harry," Hermione tried to explain, placing her hand on his back and rubbing what she hoped were comforting circles on his back.

Harry's eyes closed. "I don't want help." His voice quivered dangerously.

"Just calm down, Harry. We're not going to hurt you," Draco eased away from Harry as he said this. Hermione and Ron quickly pulled back their hands, taking Draco's unspoken suggestion.

"Too late."

None of them were quite sure who whispered it but Harry seemed to let go of something inside him. With raw power, Harry hit Hermione off her feet and into the coffee table. She was the one too close to him.

"Hermione!" screamed Draco and Ron. They pulled her away from the irate Harry and helped her out of the room.

"Potter, calm down," Severus yelled. He wasn't going to buy this pity party attention act for one second. But when his first and favorite tea set smashed into oblivion, Severus started to doubt Harry was really under control.

The entire room was trembling with the force of Harry's power.

"Potter?" he asked, more quietly this time. He berated himself for stooping down to use a student's first name, however he might feel for the student in question. "Harry?" No response. "Please Harry. Stop."

The trembling in the room ceased immediately and Harry was left on the ground, shaking. "Harry?" A vase exploded in shattered porcelain, covering the floor with sharp shards. Harry wasn't really calmed down. Severus could tell Harry was just forcing himself to keep all the anger bottled up.

Was it really anger though? Severus wasn't entirely sure.

He crept closer to Harry, who was rocking back and forth on the floor. Tears squeezed through his eyes, rolling down his cheeks. Something stirred and reminded him that this was the boy, no man, he loved.

When Severus got close enough to him, he reached out to rest his hand on Harry's shoulder, just enough to get his attention. As soon as he touched the boy, his giant mirror shattered over the piano, but Harry's reaction was unusually calm.

"Harry?" he asked, praying for some sort of positive response.

Wham!! There went his other tea set.

Quietly this time, in an almost a breathless whisper, Severus pleaded, "Please...Harry, please." He was crying too now, hoping Harry wasn't going to keep destroying himself inside.

Suddenly everything was breaking; potion vials exploded everywhere, spilling toxic potions all over the carpet.

'That's enough!' and Severus did something he knew wasn't just for Harry's own good. He kissed Harry Potter.

HARRYSEVERUSHARRYSEVERUSHARRYSEVERUSHARRYSEVERUSHARRYSEVERUSHARRY

The burning was going to consume me. Someone kept calling out my name.

I wanted to tell whoever it was to go away, but they kept calling. I wasn't sure where I was but the fire was here, in me. Someone was pleading but I couldn't comply.

Something warm touched my lips. Everything's gone. I can't remember, I couldn't remember who kissed me...

Harry continued to rock back and forth on the floor. He whispered, "My fault" over and over in his on the floor. He couldn't face the next day. He was unconscious before Severus even scooped him into his arms.

What do you think? Longer and changed is nice. My betas suggested making longer chapters (like many reviewers did too) and I decided they were totally right! I'll get to updating soon! More reviews won't make me more inspired, but might help me if you give good suggestions.

pilas14