Disclaimer: Anything you may recognize belongs to either J.K. Rowling or Breaking Benjamin
A/N: From the strange interworkings of my mind... I really have no idea...
How it had gotten like this he really wasn't sure. He had been with Harry. Then he had been summoned. Now this. The end. And he didn't even get to say goodbye.
Oh, how he had misjudged that boy. His boy. He may have the looks of his father, but he was far from a replica. There was no arrogant bully in Harry Potter. He was possibly the most caring person Severus had ever met. He was far from arrogant, always second guessing himself. And he was definitely not spoiled. Severus would have liked to have given those muggles a taste of what they had been dishing out all those years on a poor defenseless child. Especially Petunia. Toward the end of her life, Lily had distressed over not being able to reason with her sister, and he did not like seeing his best friend in that state.
He had come to learn all these things about Harry, and more. It was through a second go at Occlumency lessons that they had grown closer. Harry had apologized profusely for the pensieve incident, and Severus had begrudging excepted. He had been worried at first that the lessons would be a continuation of what they had been in the boy's fifth year, Harry being horribly inadequate and unable to perform the simplest exercises.
He was very much wrong though. After Harry's seventeenth birthday, he had developed surprising magical abilities. It was rare, but some wizards didn't come into their full ability until they were of age. They were most often mistook for Squibs. He could now perform Occlumency with surprising ease, as well as wandless magic.
They had formed a bond and Harry had shown him even more startling abilities. He could heal with the skill of a level nine Mediwizard even though he had gone through no training whatsoever. According to Harry, he wasn't even performing spells, just focusing intent. This was unheard of. When he did use spells, they were immensely powerful. Severus could see the boy had been holding back during lessons, using only half his strength. At full force he could rival both Albus Dumbledore and the Dark Lord combined.
Their relationship had grown even more and Severus had fallen deeply in love. This boy, his boy, was truly an enigma. He was beautiful, but it was nothing compared to the beauty of his mind. He said things that had the potions master mesmerized. And he had a sense of humor. Sometimes he was witty and sarcastic, much like Severus himself, but Harry also had the most wonderful sense of childish wonder and playfulness that he loved most of all.
And the physical aspect of this he couldn't even put into words.
Now he would never see Harry's face again.
The Dark Lord was looming over him now, his skin glowing pale white in the awkward light of Riddle Manor. The ropes binding him cut in even deeper.
"Let this be a lesson to you all," Voldemort said to his surrounding Death Eaters. "To never go against the Dark Order, for traitors never live long." He bent down so he was nose to nose with Severus. "I wonder how your little lover is doing right now? As we speak my forces are attacking Hogwarts."
Severus strained even more roughly at his bindings, only succeeding in making them tighter. The Dark Lord laughed.
"And now as punishment for going against me you will listen to your lover die."
All at once, there was music playing. He knew it was only inside his head, as he recognized the spell that was used. It targeted a persons weaknesses. Severus always had a soft spot for music.
The guitars shouted in low notes and a voice sung, the words of Harry's fate being shouted through his head.
Here I stand
Helpless and left for dead
Severus broke down at this, tears streaming down his face. The Dark Lord laughed once more.
Meanwhile, Harry was perplexed. He had just been fighting for his life at Hogwarts and the last thought he could remember before being thrown into this blackness was 'Thank Gods Severus isn't here.'
Now it was black all around and it felt as though he was floating. Had he been ambushed from behind? He could have sworn… A voice suddenly sounded through the shadows. It was dark and ominous, embodying evil. And it brought back forgotten memories.
"Ah. Back again. Rest assured, you will not defeat my son this time."
The memories flowing through his heads where ones he hadn't known, but he recognized them as his just the same. He was not Harry Potter. Or rather, he was Harry Potter, but he was many others also. Most of all he was Auriel. A servant of the Lord, reincarnated every thousand years to defeat the Anti-Christ. Which happened to be Voldemort. And that voice. That was Satan.
All at once he felt something slam into him and he was battling for his life once more. Satan was tempting him with power and wealth, just as he always did. His eyes glowed orange, as if to captivate him and make him stay. And he might have given in this time, become a servant for evil. He could remember all his past lives and he was so weary. The only thing that kept him going was Severus.
Close your eyes
So many days go by
Easy to find what's wrong
Harder to find what's right
'Yes,' Severus thought. 'And I'm what's wrong.' He was never what Harry needed. The boy needed someone young, as vibrant and full of life as he was, not a cynical old potions master. The tears continued down his face.
He was over powering the arch demon now. His power waved out in one final burst and he was flying. His wings fanned out beside him, pumping powerfully. They were a dark silky black that reminded him of the night sky. And Severus's eyes. Satan was following him up, up through the depths of Hell in a strange sort of swirling motion, demons clawing at him trying to snag him and pull him back down. He powered on.
And I won't stay long
In this world so wrong
Say goodbye
As we dance with the Devil tonight
Don't you dare look at him in the eye
As we dance with the Devil tonight
Because Severus made the world wrong for his boy. He was like the Devil, tempting him with sins. And he wept more, for the agony that he couldn't be what the one he loved wanted. And the Dark Lord continued to laugh.
Harry managed to emerge back on Earth in front of Riddle Manor. He walked through the door and into the parlor. What he was greeted with made him shake with anger. In a circle of his followers, Voldemort had Severus tied up. There were tears running down the man's face and Voldemort was laughing at him. Something snapped inside Harry. The Anti-Christ dominated his lives, he never got to live them for himself. And God damn it, he had Severus, and he knew that in all his lives he had never loved anyone liked he loved Severus. With a cry of rage he ran across the room, pulling his sword out of its hilt.
Trembling
Crawling across my skin
Feeling your cold, dead eyes
Stealing the life of mine
And that's what Severus did. He stole Harry's life away from him. He was about to drop his eyes when he heard a scream. What he saw there were no words for. Harry was running full force at the Dark Lord, a golden sword in hand. His hair was streaming behind him and he was wearing what looked like light brown leather boots with golden armor covering his chest and forearms. And he had the most beautiful black wings imaginable. With one clean sweep he brought the sword down, severing the Dark Lord's head. The last word of that horrible song rung out in Severus's mind.
As we dance with the Devil tonight
The Death Eaters had fled quickly, for they knew what Harry was. He was something mentioned commonly in wizard lore. He was noble and good and kind. He was an avenging angel.
Harry turned to Severus and flicked his wrist. The bindings immediately came off and Severus rushed toward him, just in time to catch him as he fell, unconscious.
He lay in his lovers arms for minutes that felt like hours to Severus. He feared the worst. But finally Harry opened his eyes.
"Hello," he said softly, sleepily.
Severus stroked his hair softly. "You're… You're…" He couldn't seem to finish.
Harry nodded. "It's funny how things happen, isn't it?" The potions master had to smile.
He listened as Harry told him the story.
"So that's basically my life. Or lives I should say. What's wrong?" Severus's face had taken on a look of sad resignation.
"If you've had so many lives, you must have hundreds of people like me."
"I haven't lived that many lives, love. And no, I have never loved anyone but you. You will always be the only one."
Severus smiled a little. "But what about in your next life? I'll be nothing."
"I won't have anymore lives. The Anti-Christ is gone for good now, I vanquished him. This is my last life. And I get to keep the wings as my reward. Nifty, aren't they?"
Severus laughed slightly at this. He leaned down to kiss his angel softly, and Harry's wings came up to encircle him.