"The Only Way"
By: JnnLuvsU
Disclaimer: They aren't mine. Wish they were. Then I could write more and not have to work. Oh, the life!
Author's Notes: Okay, I lied. I wrote another HP story after i promised I wouldn't. This wouldn't leave me alone though. Takes place just before the final battle in book seven. Basically everything stays the same, only it went a little easier. Nagini didn't kill Snape and was killed with little effort, the tiara thing of Ravenclaw's wasn't in the school. After killing Nagini, Harry rushes to the school to speak to Snape, who is still headmaster. Kept that the same. Couldn't help myself. Couldn't you just see a Hogwarts where Snape is headmaster. LOL. Additional Notes at end.
Summary: What if Harry knew he was a horcrux?
WARNING: Dark themes. Dark Harry (Not evil, just, you know, dark.)
"The Only Way"
by JnnLuvsU
"What are you doing up here, Potter?" Severus hissed, "The castle is not safe for you now. I thought you, Granger, and Weasley were hunting for horcruxes."
Harry nodded, "We have time." He withdrew his wand from his robes, "I want you to have this."
Severus stared at the hand holding the wand out, "What's the meaning of this, Potter?"
"Just take it." Harry paced the astronomy tower, "We know there are six horcruxes, right?"
Snape held Harry's wand loosely in his grip, wondering where this conversation was going, "Yes."
Harry nodded, "The diary, the necklace, the cup, the tiara thing, and the snake. Those are all taken care of. The sixth one. That's the one that was giving us problems."
Severus was in shock, "You've killed Nagini," he whispered, "but that must mean that...the Dark Lord...he's going to know now."
Harry nodded, "He's on his way here, now. With his army. But we still have a little time. What I have to tell you is of upmost importance."
Severus was torn between running to defend the school and listening to what Potter had to say. He decided to give Potter a little more time. "I'm listening."
Harry smiled, "Have you ever considered suicide, Severus," he whispered, pulling another item out of his robes. He knew Severus would know what it was. He'd had a muggle father after all. "I have, you know."
Severus eyed the contraption in Harry's hand, fear gripping his heart as he realized where this was going. He looked into Harry's eyes, "There has to be another way."
Harry grinned, "I knew you'd figure it out. Hermione still hasn't. But you haven't answered my question. Have you ever considered suicide?"
Severus nodded, "Many times. Your mother helped me hold on for a long time. And then Dumbledore needed me. And then there you were, and I knew I had to protect you, if for nothing else, then for her."
"I was nine the first time I considered it," he admitted. "My Uncle hated guns, but, well, there are other ways. I was 10 the first time I attempted. Didn't cut deep enough." He looked into Snape's eyes, "Part of me has always known that I would take my own life. Even if I had lived through this war, Harry Potter would have died. The fame would have killed me. I'd have killed myself in a few year's time, anyway."
Severus shook his head, "Why are you telling me this?"
Harry gave him a long look, "Because I know that you are the one that wants this war over the most. And that you wouldn't stop me. Because you know I'm right."
Severus closed his eyes in horror, "There is no other way?"
Harry gave him a soft smile, walking until he was standing just in front of his former professor, "I tried. I've cried, I've screamed. There is no other way. I've known for some time. Since I first learned of the horcruxes, there was no doubt in my mind that I had to be one of them. After all, Dumbledore told me my very first year that Volemort had inadvertently passed a part of his soul into me when he tried to kill me. It wasn't intentional, but he knew it. That's why he's so confident he will win. Because even if I killed him, part of him would live within me. And he's looking forward to that. He doesn't think the 17 year old would have the guts to kill himself. I'm going to prove him wrong."
Severus nodded, "I don't like this..."
Harry covered Snape's lips with his finger, gripping the hand that held Harry's wand. "The prophecy says that one of us will have to kill the other. Use my wand. You deserve the honor of doing this." He stepped back and raised the gun in his hand to his temple, "As soon as I pull this trigger, he will be mortal. Please don't let them get my body. That's the only thing I ask of you."
Severus nodded, part of him wondering why he was just standing there. He should be stopping this. He should be protecting Lily's son, just as he'd done for years. He refused to take his eyes from Harry's. If Harry was insistent on doing this, the least Snape could do is make it to where he wasn't so alone. "I'll miss you, you insolent Gryffindor."
A smile flitted across Harry's face, "I love you, too, Professor," he mocked, and squeezed the trigger.
The End.
Okay, don't hate me for killing Harry. This is the only way this made sense to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Harry survived the war, but the fact is he shouldn't have. He was a horcrux. He had to be destroyed in order for Voldemort to truly die. I didn't like the way this was glossed over in the book by having him come back to life. And I didn't like the fact that Snape got killed, so I had to fix that, too.