"What do we have here?" Severus asked quietly as he crouched down beside what appeared to be a small shrub. "All I was told was that I had to help out."
"Punctual as ever, Severus," the female-sounding shrub whispered. "Disguise yourself. We're ambushing Order members."
Severus, with a small flick of his wand, shrank and became a trash can. He wondered whether he should notify the person across the street from him that eucalyptus trees were not common in Fairview Crescent, but eventually decided against it. This mission was being headed by Bellatrix, and he cared little as to whether she still had hers at the end of it. All he was to do was participate.
Hours passed, and the first rays of dawn began to caress the lightening sky. Severus, now used to these waiting games, was in a rather comfortable position and wasn't bothered by the amount of time he spent here (he had nothing better to do). However, there was a daffodil that kept shifting around in its flower bed, and a letter box that was beginning to snore. He wondered idly why he was forced to work with such amateurs.
In the end, his waiting was pointless. Just as the footsteps of about a dozen witches and wizards could be heard pounding on the pavestones, a garden gnome further down the street shimmered and began the transfiguration back into the form of a person. This wouldn't have been a problem if it had been half an hour ago while it was still dark, but the dim light meant that the attention of their targets was immediately caught.
Yells filled the air. The "garden gnome" was the first to fall to a spell - petrific totallus. The foolish witch or wizard who cast it would live to regret it when the Death Eater they could have killed would live to murder and terrorise countless more muggles and muggleborns. When would these damned self-righteous people learn that killing was the only way?
Of course, it wasn't like he really cared either way. Severus had long since ceased to feel that devotion to and admiration of the Dark Lord. But it was too late to back out now. He'd just have to endure and hope that the side he picked would win.
If not… well, he'd deal with that when it came to it. Right now, keeping himself alive and off the Death Eater's hit list was his first priority.
He launched himself out of hiding as spells and curses lit up the semi-dark street. Despite himself, he was impressed at how many Death Eaters Bellatrix had pulled together for this attack; it seemed every visible feature on the street was in the process of morphing into someone. It caused him to wonder exactly who they were attacking. He wouldn't have thought that anyone less than Dumbledore himself would have brought out supporters like Fenrir Greyback, who was now charging from around the corner. Of course, that scumbag was a werewolf; the dirty creature wouldn't have been able to disguise himself with magic.
There were the Festin brothers - Severus shuddered to be fighting beside them. They were brutal, and probably more into the Dark Arts than any other wizard Severus had ever met. It was rumoured that they had been hired by him personally.
Bellatrix, Malfoy, Karkroff, Goyle; the usual crowd. Of course, Severus couldn't see their faces, but he could tell from their build. And, of course, Bellatrix's insane screams as she threw herself into the fray.
But there were people he didn't recognise - in fact, he didn't even know enough Death Eaters to assign a name to every masked figure that fought here.
Severus stepped neatly out of his hiding place, ducking skilfully to avoid the flying body that shot past him. He heard it hit the wall behind him with a painful crack. Stupid Nott. He was too old for fighting now anyway; Severus doubted he'd survive that blow. He should have left it to his son.
The Prewett brothers were the first Order members Severus saw, fighting back-to-back like they always did. He fired a lazy spell at them, but he didn't expect it to hit. Almost every Death Eater who fought them fell or fled, and almost nobody landed a hit. It would be interesting seeing them up against Draraan and Kumitri Festin.
He flicked a sectumsempra at a cowering Order member that Bellatrix was playing with - bleeding to death would be less torturous than death by her. All around him people fought furiously, and he idly wondered why it was so different for him. A shield charm here and taking out a possible attacker there was all it took for him to remain unhurt; as though he was invisible to his enemies. He would say that nothing got past his guard except… he didn't have one. The spells just didn't hit him.
A flick of his wand and a brick wall collapsed, taking out two of the enemy and an ally. Ah well, it was just Mitchels. He had an ugly nose.
It shouldn't have come as a surprise when Black went twirling past him, firing a spell that almost hit him. He only just managed to duck in time. A sneer curved Severus' mouth; he should have known that the bastard would be here, trailing after the Prewetts just like he had in school. Perhaps it would be to his benefit if Severus participated in this fight more than he'd originally planned. He did have a score to settle, after all.
He stalked calmly off in the direction Black had disappeared in. Once again, he was in the heart of the fighting, but he barely had to put in any effort to remain untouched by spells. He caught sight of a head of dark hair - Potter. Of course; where Black was, the other was too.
He fired a spell in that direction, but missed. He only hoped it hit someone he didn't particularly like. Bellatrix, for instance.
Darting after Potter, he bumped into someone - a Death Eater. The thicko clearly didn't realise they were on the same side, and raised his wand. Severus blasted him out of his way without a second thought. Same side or not, he was on a mission, and he didn't have time for niceties. But in the second it took him to do that, he lost sight of Potter. Now he didn't have a clue where either of them were.
He roamed through the crowd and caught sight of Lupin. Ah, that's probably why Greyback was here; the werewolf had tried to recruit him right after he left school. He'd failed, obviously, and since then Greyback had been trying incessantly to kill him ever since.
If Severus had his way, the werewolf would be too late. He made a beeline for him, but Lupin ducked behind a Death Eater, and when the masked man fell to Moody's curse, the shabby man was nowhere to be seen. Those Marauders were proving exceptionally adept at disappearing into thin air.
Severus stopped and scanned the melee. If those three were here, Pettigrew probably would be too - although maybe not; he was a bit more cowardly than his friends. But all the same, Severus wanted at least one of them dead by his hand tonight. Revenge might be a dish best served cold, but after all those years of bullying he'd endured he was not about to waste his chance to wipe one of them from the face of the earth.
Then there was a loud crack followed by two more. Severus smiled in satisfaction; the Order was fleeing. It was the sensible thing to do as they were outnumbered by more than three to one. And, of course, it was good for Severus because Potter and Black, like the Gryffindors they were, would be the last to run. All the more chance to take them down.
The ruffled head of black hair caught his attention once more; it was definitely Potter. For the first time that night, he broke into a run in his attempt to reach him before he disappeared.
There were so many people between them; too many to be sure of a hit if Severus threw a spell his way. All the same, he dogged his footsteps in the hopes of catching up to him.
Then he saw something very strange. Potter - the Gryffindor, the hero, the idiot who never turned his back from a fight - fled. He grabbed the sleeve of another Order member and disappeared down a side street, taking out the single Death Eater that was guarding the escape route. Curious, and still intent on killing Potter, Severus followed.
They darted down an alleyway and around a corner. Severus, despite his initial reaction to charge after him and kill them both, held back; he was a Slytherin after all. Instead he skulked around the corner. The conversation Potter and the other man were having could be easily heard.
"What do you think you're doing, giving the order to apparate?" that was James. His voice was hardly quiet, although Severus was willing to bet that if it wasn't for the two dozen Death Eaters twenty feet away that could hear them, he would be shouting.
"We have to get out," the other man replied. Severus didn't recognise the voice. "We're losing badly."
"And what about Lily?" James hissed. Severus' eyes widened; she was taking part in this battle? What were they thinking, sending her here? But it was the next words that caused Snape to feel as though the world had stopped spinning.
"She's over three month's pregnant! She can't apparate!"
Lily, pregnant? Snape didn't even have to wonder who the father was. It shouldn't have come as such a surprise; Potter was married to her after all. But somehow the news still made his head spin.
The two men were still talking though, and Severus fought away the shock in order to continue listening. "Well, get her out of here!" the other man was saying.
"Tell the rest not to apparate in the meantime!" James argued.
"I can't. The order's been given; most will have fled by now."
James swore. Severus didn't hear what he said next, but he must have cast a sonorous charm because the next thing James said was loud enough to be heard two suburbs over. "Order members," James boomed. "Stand your ground. Do not retreat. Do not apparate. These are official orders."
Then he said "quietus" and Severus knew it was time to leave; James would be returning to battle any moment now. The Slytherin no longer cared about killing his nemesis. All his thoughts were for the red-headed girl - the red-headed pregnant girl - that was in danger.
Before he was out of earshot, however, he heard the other man say to James, "Find her and get her out of here. And any deaths from this moment on are on your head."
Severus was gone before James turned the corner.
xXx
The surprise of the ambush had been lost - not that it had gone as planned from the start. But the Order members were beginning to group together and make a base at one end of the street. Once they wiped out the few Death Eaters behind them, they would have an easy escape route.
The only problem with this was that, as many Death Eaters as there were blocking their exit, there were even fewer of them. While only three or four of their bodies littered the streets, most people had apparated away. What had gone from a company of about twenty was down to less than ten.
It reassured Severus not at all to know that they were only staying for Lily. Every now and then he would see a glimpse of her red hair, but he had not yet come face to face with her. He'd hoped Potter would have gotten her out of here by now - war be damned; she was more important. But seeing as the rest of the Order were still fighting, it appeared she remained in danger.
Why couldn't Potter take her down one of the side streets? There were two of them, and while their was a company of Death Eaters between the Order and the closest one, the enemy was more scattered in the space between the one Potter had gone down earlier. (And since when had Severus started thinking of the Death Eaters as "the enemy"? They were Potter and Lily's enemy, not his.)
"Snape." That could only be Bellatrix. "Go guard the side street to the left."
"Manners, manners, Bellatrix," he said dryly. "I shan't do anything if you don't use the magic word." His tone was bored, but his heart was thumping so heavily he was surprised that it only appeared to be audible to him.
Bellatrix bristled. "This is a battle, Snape," she hissed, "and I am your commander. You will obey me!"
"And it's your first command, isn't it?" Snape asked, examining his wand for scratches and ignoring her order. "The Dark Lord would not be pleased if you failed to keep your men under control. In fact, I doubt he'd trust you with such an… honour, again."
The light was not much better than it had been earlier; although it seemed like hours had passed, they'd only been fighting for fifteen minutes at the most. It was still dawn, and it was a gloomy morning. All the same, Severus saw her pale at the implied threat.
"If you disobey you will be killed," she whispered, although her voice wasn't nearly as menacing as his.
"Not if I think that you are sending me to my death to satisfy a personal grudge you have against me," Snape commented.
"What grudge?" Bellatrix said angrily.
"The one you bear because I am more favoured by the Dark Lord than you." It wasn't entirely true - Severus had no idea who was higher in his eyes. But it did the trick. Bellatrix turned purple with rage and her mouth opened and shut like a fish. Before she could speak, however, Severus continued. "Perhaps you should spare me the trouble of explaining myself to our Lord and just tell me why you are sending me there. I assure you, I will be more than happy to cooperate if I think your reasoning is good."
She looked absolutely livid at how Severus was acting, and it appeared for a moment as though she wasn't going to answer. But after a few seconds of deliberation, she snapped out, "We're going to rush the Order and we don't want any escaping."
"See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" he mocked, rising to his feet. A jet of green light flew past his head and he didn't so much as flinch. "I'll go and take my position."
She nodded curtly, showing much more self control than he was aware she had. He'd half expected to be killed as he walked away.
He was in no such luck.
His thoughts were whirring. Now Bellatrix had placed him in the perfect position to allow Lily to escape, but he had no way of communicating to her that that was his intention. Instead she'd see him and think he was just another Death Eater.
And that was even assuming she managed to sneak past in the first place.
He did not have to wait long for the Death Eaters to execute their plan. Within half a minute of waiting, he heard the cries that signalled the rush had begun. He kept his eyes peeled, and it was a good thing he did - he may have missed the two figures sneaking past him. They were under a disillusionment charm, but it was lighter now and he saw the air shimmer.
"Petrific totallus!"
His spell was so strong that it worked on both of them, which he'd never had happen before. Then again, he'd never cast it on two people holding hands before. He rapped them both over the head and muttered the counter-charm to the disillusionment spell they were under.
And who should he see first but Potter and Lily?
His immediate first reaction was to kill Potter. But then he remembered that Lily was standing right next to him, and probably wouldn't take it too kindly. To kill Potter would mean certain death for him, because she would avenge her husband and Severus would never bring himself to raise a wand against her.
His second reaction would have been to free them, and have Lily escape. But then Potter would probably kill him.
So instead he glared directly at Potter, ignoring Lily completely. He jabbed him with a wand.
"Look who's helpless now," he jeered quietly. "Isn't this a turn of events?"
He had forgotten that he was wearing a mask, and he slipped it off. If James still had control of his features, Severus would have enjoyed the expression of fear that would have crossed them. Instead he had to make do with the glint in his eye.
"Should I hang you upside down?" he asked sneeringly. "Display your underwear for the public to see? Or should I just turn you over to Bellatrix? I hear she wants to play with you a bit, after you escaped her last June. I'm sure she'd be thrilled to do the honours."
He was quiet for a moment, as though contemplating whether or not he should do it. When he spoke again, however, his voice had lost all mockery. It was low, hurried and businesslike.
"But I won't," he said. "Instead I'm going to let you free. You're going to run away home where you can be safe and warm and out of the hands of the nasty Death Eaters. And I'll obliviate myself. And then," he added, his voice dark, "the debt I owe you is cancelled. You saved my life and I saved yours. It's finished. I won't know it, but you will. You'll know I won't owe you a thing. Got it?"
The question on the end was rather unnecessary seeing as Potter couldn't answer. With a flick of his wand, he lifted the charm. They both stumbled, and just stood there looking at him in a confused manner.
"Go," he ordered. James nodded and pulled Lily after him. She took one step, and then turned back. Snape glared. "Get out of here!" he hissed. She opened her mouth, but James tugged on her arm again, and she was forced to turn away.
After they had disappeared from sight, Severus leaned back against the wall. He knew what would happen now. He couldn't let Voldemort, and anyone else who might try to read his mind, know what had happened. He might be adept at Occlumency, but he wasn't that good yet.
He pointed his wand towards his chest and whispered "obliviate".
The spell wasn't meant to be cast on one's own self. It threw him backwards into the wall and his head hit it with a crack. Blackness engulfed him.
Later, he'd be found by a Death Eater, who'd assume he was attacked. Lily and James would both reach safety and live to fight another day. And Severus would remember nothing. Ever.