Prologue
If you recognize any thing, I may not own it, or it may simply belong to the Muse of Cliché's
Redirection of the Light
PaladinGrey
"Before the final battle, I realized that he was nothing but a photo negative of the man he was destined to kill. I also realized what a tool I had become for the so called light. After the final battle, I walked away from the man and the world that I had once loved."
The Diary of Hermonie J. Granger Vol 7.
The storm clouds had parted as a figure approached the once sacred alter of the druids. A black cloak obscured his features from view. The moon shown down on Stonehenge as the wind carried with it a long forgotten song. The black cloaked figure bowed before he made his way to the center. He drew a wand from his cloak as he heard a popping sound beyond the edges. A stern old relic witch made her way to him. Her graying black hair was pulled back into a bun behind her head. Square framed glasses sat upon her weary face.
"Severus," she said as the man pulled down the hood of his cloak. Greasy sheets of black hair hung on either side of his sallow face. A long nose separated dark eyes from a dead grimace. While younger than the witch, both time and fate had not been kind to him.
"Thank you for coming, Minerva. We don't have much time if we want to reset all of this and put destiny back on track." His smooth normally emotionless voice held traces for fear and anxiety in it as his eyes darted all around. Minerva looked at him and lowered her head, pity in her voice, "I'm afraid we don't. They will have followed me."
Severus pulled out a simple silver dagger. It was ancient with a rune and phoenix carved into the blade. It lay in the same hand as his wand, both of them softly glowing in the moon light. Minerva flicked her wand at him as his cloak rested behind his shoulders. His left shoulder was the only remnant of his arm. An arm he lost in a duel with the man he considered a son. They both heard a loud pop as their names were called. Minerva took the dagger and stood over the central alter. She tucked her wand away before holding her right hand palm up over the alter. Severus put his hand palm down above hers. He nodded at her as he put the dagger between their palms. They both grunted as they grasped the dagger and felt it bite into them. Their blood mixed and poured onto the alter. Severus released the dagger and drew the rune found on its blade. The blood glowed before an orange light spilled from it. Minerva swore she heard phoenix song.
"Severus Snape, for service to Lord Voldermort and the betrayal of the light, I punish you." The voice was calm, completely devoid of emotion. It had come from a seventeen year old wizard. His face was stone cold with messy black hair surrounding it. His mouth was a thin line. His eyes held in them a sickly green glow. They registered Minerva. He turned his wand on her, "We trusted you, but I see now that you've sided with him. The Headmaster feared you would turn. It makes me sick to think I once considered you a mother as well as my professor and head of house. You cannot be forgiven for your actions."
"Well now, Mr. Potter, are we not the perfect toy soldier that Dumbledore always wanted? It sickens me to know that Lilly's son was turned into such a tool for that old fool. While I held no respect for your father, I did regard your mother with some ounce of respect. I see that you do not."
There was a venom in Severus's voice as the spoke to the supposed champion of the light. Minerva felt weak as the rune started to pulse and expand over the whole alter. She looked at the man she once considered a son to her and felt dizzy with anger. She had had enough of the turn coat war she had forced to fight, "Harry James Potter, none of your actions are sanctioned by the light. You do only what is deemed right by a man who only sees things in the terms of what he can tolerate and control, and what he cannot. If I die this very night, I'll smile to see Albus Dumbledore walk the road to hell his intentions paved."
"Very well," he said before bowing his head, "Avada Kadavera."
A rush of light shot towards Minerva who stood with her arms outstretched in acceptance of the killing curse. The orange light rose up from the alter and swallowed it. The green light, the very same color as its caster's eyes, took the form of man. The orange light started to expand and take the shape of a phoenix. It lowered its head and wrapped its wings around the green energy. A blinding flash of light erupted from the alter. When Minerva regained her sight, she saw a cloaked figure standing atop the alter with the dagger in his hands. The figure wore a deep red cloak with a golden phoenix outlining the hood and edges of it.
"I do not know what dark magic this is, but Dumbledore and I will find a way to vanish it, by Merlin's name," Harry said as he pointed wand at the cloaked figure. The figure flicked his wrist, "Do shut up, Merlin has wanted little to do with this realm since he left it."
Harry was slammed by a fiery burst of energy into the nearest stone slab. A crack was heard as he went sliding down it. Minerva gasped in surprise while Severus chuckled darkly. He stepped closer to the alter, "Phoenix Mage, we have summoned you because we wish for things to be set differently. The wizard you just disabled is the champion of this world. He is also a tool for a wizard named Albus Dumbledore."
The figure let out a low growl, "I'm getting a sense that this Dumbledore is one reason why this world has been set wrong. It does not feel right. It is too late to change anything."
"Then what can you do," cried Minerva as she stumbled from exhaustion.
"You do not grasp the scope of power you have summoned. It is now too late, but that does not mean that yesterday could not become today. You think to linear, even for someone who possesses magic. You'll understand."
The figured stepped down and held a hand over Minerva. A fiery glow surrounded her before she passed out, a silvery orb rising from her and into the Phoenix Mage's hand. He studied it for a moment before tucking it into his cloak. He turned to Severus, "I have to undo this world in order to remake it. Your memories will serve to map out the future. Do you have any questions?"
Severus nodded, "Two. What is the source of your power, and will we know you in our past?"
"In every dimension there exists mention of a great force, a fiery wing that burns away the false and wicked. We are forever linked to the phoenix. It is both the symbol and the ultimate source of our power. When all is finished, we return into infinity. This is a power so great and terrible that gods tremble, and only seven dare to confront."
A cold wind blew, making Severus shrug into his cloak for warmth. He looked back at the Phoenix Mage, "You will not know who I am, but you will recall this life as though it was some tragic dream."
Severus Snape collapsed into the orange light. An orb of silvery memory formed over him before landing in the Phoenix Mage's hand. The Phoenix Mage looked up and out stretched his arm. The orange light poured from his body as a haunting yet bittersweet song filled the arm. Time, space, and existence became undone, burned away by a fiery specter of a large raptor.
Five years ago in the past of a future now undone, three people dream of a large fiery raptor, its wings consuming a dark bleak world. Fear grips their very souls and then, it is replaced with a faint hope and sense of benediction. At Spinner's End, Severus Snape wakes from the hour long slumber he indulged in, he is deeply troubled, more troubled than he dares to admit. In Bas Manor, Minerva MacGonagall sits before a fireplace, deeply troubled by the scenes she sees replayed in its flames. On Privet Drive, Harry Potter wakes in the smallest bedroom with a sick feeling washing over him that has nothing to do with the recent return of Lord Voldermort.