Author's Notes:

This story has re-edited and reloaded to fit new guidelines.

This story was beta by the still two legged Nakhash Mekashefah. We all wish her long health and happiness as long as it doesn't get in the way of her proofreading our stories.

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and Co. I own nothing.

THE HERO.

The cold December night air bit at Severus as soon as he Apparated into some unknown countryside. His Mark had begun to burn twenty minutes ago. He found it very strange that the Dark Lord would call another meeting of the Death Eaters only a week after they had last met.

Looking up the slope of a small hill, Severus could see several of his fellow Death Eaters gathering themselves around a small fire. As he made his way up the hill, the first person he met was Lucius Malfoy. "Ah, Severus, do we have a treat for you tonight," Malfoy said with a twisted smile.

"It's after two in the morning and below freezing out here, Lucius," Snape said with irritation in his voice.

"I guarantee you will find the discomfort well worth it, Severus. My son has brought the Dark Lord a very special gift, thanks to some Polyjuice Potion and one of Potter's hairs," Malfoy told him, as they took their places in the circle of Death Eaters surrounding the fire. Suddenly, the fire erupted into a large ball of green flame. Out of the flame, the Dark Lord appeared with Wormtail and Bellatrix at his side.

Everyone present quickly sank to one knee and bowed their heads in respect. "Rise, my children," Voldemort said as he still stood in the middle of the fire. "We have a unexpected guest joining us this evening," the Dark Lord announced. Wormtail then stepped forward and dropped a large burlap sack on the ground in front of his master. He tore open the sack revealing the body of a teenage girl. After she was removed completely from the sack, it became quite apparent to Severus who it was.

Hermione Granger lay gagged and bound, trembling on the ground at Voldemort's feet. The fear in her eyes was obvious to everyone. "I give you Hogwarts' Head Girl, courtesy of young Mr. Malfoy," Voldemort announced. "Will you convey my appreciation to your son, Lucius. It's a shame he can't join in the fun."

"He only wishes the serve you, my Lord. Unfortunately, he needs to be back at Malfoy Manor to establish his alibi," Lucius said as he bowed to Voldemort.

Severus studied the girl on the ground. As far as he could tell, she was unharmed with the exception of a few cuts and bruises. 'Foolish child, how could she have been so stupid as to end up like this?' Severus thought to himself. He had always considered her the most intelligent of Potter's group. This only goes to show that intelligence is no substitute for common sense. That was something Severus thought was in short supply amongst most Gryffindors. Now here lie McGonagall's pride and joy, nearly terrified to death, at the Dark Lord's feet.

"That senile old fool has disgraced Hogwarts once again by making this filthy Mudblood Head Girl. I plan to show Dumbledore my displeasure at his choice. Tomorrow is Christmas. The staff of Hogwarts will awake to see the mutilated corpse of this Mudblood donning Hogwarts' gates. I will personally owl her heart to the Headmaster, myself. They will soon learn that no Mudblood is safe from us. Not even in Hogwarts," Voldemort triumphantly stated.

Severus searched his mind for a solution to this dilemma. He could see no way of extracting the girl from this situation without revealing himself as a spy. The Headmaster had informed him about the prophecy with Potter. This girl would not be required to defeat the Dark Lord. He could just let it happen and preserve his place as a spy for the Order. She would be a sacrifice for the greater good.

"Severus, come forward," Voldemort ordered. He moved forward and knelt down on one knee in front of the Dark Lord. "Severus, Lucius tells me you're quite familiar with this Mudblood?" his master asked.

"Yes, my Lord. She has been a constant source of irritation for many years," he answered.

"That's good to hear, Severus, because I have selected you to be the first to take the Mudblood. When all my servants have each had their taste of this wretch, you will have the honor of taking her life," Voldemort told him.

"Thank you, my Lord," Severus said as he lowered his head in a bow. This was not something he was looking forward to. The thought of raping this girl thoroughly repulsed him. The only thing he could hope to do was to kill her while he took her. At least he would spare her the others.

"What do you have to say to your professor, Mudblood?" Voldemort asked as he stared down at her with his blood-red eyes. With a wave of his wand, the gag in her mouth disappeared. Severus suddenly became very anxious. He didn't know if the girl would choose to betray him in an attempt to save her own life. He stared into her large brown eyes as she stared back up into his. He could see that the fear in her eyes had been replaced by a look of utter sadness. "You may kill me but you will never defeat the Order and the side of light. We will all gladly sacrifice our lives to make sure you are destroyed," she bravely stated. With another wave of his wand, the Dark Lord made the gag reappear.

Severus was stunned by what she had said. It was apparent the girl understood all too well her and his situation. Her strength of character surprised him. Severus began to rethink her importance to the Order. It was true that Potter had to be the one to kill the Dark Lord. But was he capable of doing it without this girl by his side? He had always assumed that Potter's ability to survive encounters with the Dark Lord was due to sheer dumb luck. 'Maybe having this girl as a friend has something to do with it as well?' he thought.

Severus took another look into the girl's eyes. A steady stream of tears rolled down her cheeks as she resigned herself to her fate. Severus knew those eyes would haunt him every moment to his dying day. He knew he could not bring himself to kill this girl. He realized that only left one option. Severus knew that this moment would one day come. He would have to sacrifice everything now if the girl was to survive.

Severus reached down and tightly grabbed hold of Granger's collar, roughly dragging her to a clear spot away from the fire. He reached into his robe pocket and withdrew a small vial with a golden liquid in it. He stared at the experimental potion for a second. He knew once he drank it, there was no going back. The fight against the Dark Lord would be someone else's problem. Part of him felt a sense of relief. He had fought this war for far too long, time to let the next generation take over the fight.

Popping off the cork with his thumb, he quickly drank the potion. Instantly, pain exploded through his body like fire. The incredible agony caused him to fall to one knee. Lucius came to his side to see if he was all right. "I hope that was to make the night more enjoyable," Lucius said with a smirk as he helped Severus back to his feet.

"It was," Severus answered in a hoarse voice. As the pain began to recede, he reached into his robe and removed a two-foot long Japanese ceremonial sword from a sheath on his belt; his wand was useless to him now. The razor-sharp blade shimmered green in the firelight. The blade's metal had been impregnated with a very powerful poison. One small cut would prove fatal.

"I realize you truly hate the girl, Severus, but you might want to hold up with that. Save it until after everyone has a go at her," Lucius said as he stared at the blade in his hand.

"This is not for her, Lucius. It's for you," Severus calmly said, then thrust the blade into Lucius's chest, right through his heart. Lucius simply gave him a surprised look while the life drained from his face. As death overtook him, Lucius fell backwards, sliding off the blade.

"TRAITOR!" the Dark Lord screamed from behind him. Before Severus could turn, he heard Voldemort shout, "Avada Kedavra." The curse struck him between the shoulder blades. Thanks to the potion, the deadly curse wasn't able to enter his body. But the release of energy still burnt his flesh. Severus quickly turned to face the Dark Lord. Voldemort had his arm outstretched with his wand pointing at him. The Dark wizard seemed to be shocked that someone other than Potter could survive the Killing Curse.

Not waiting for his enemy to come to his senses, Severus slashed down hard with his small sword. With one blow, he severed Voldemort's right arm at the elbow. As his wand, hand, and forearm fell to the ground, the Dark Lord let out an ear-piercing scream. Severus raised the sword over his head; he hoped to remove Voldemort from his body. That would not stop the Dark Lord, but it would make things very difficult for him in the near future. Just as he swung the sword at Voldemort's neck, Wormtail stepped in front of the blade with his silver hand held up. The sharp blade cut through it, removing all the fingers. Wormtail fell to the ground screaming in pain.

Before Severus could raise his sword again for another blow, Bellatrix stepped forward and shot a Stunning Hex at him, her wand only inches from his face. The curse temporarily blinded him and burnt the left side of his face. Staggering backwards a few steps, Severus felt a multitude of hexes striking him. As soon as his sight cleared, he could see that all of the Death Eaters had their wands drawn and were throwing curse after curse at him.

He could see Voldemort bent over with his left hand clasped to the bloody stump where his right elbow used to be. Ignoring the pain the hexes caused, he made his way forward again to strike at the Dark wizard. "MAGIC DOESN'T WORK. USE YOUR DAGGERS!" Bellatrix shouted at her fellow Death Eaters.

Walden Macnair was the first to pull his dagger and charge. Severus turned just in time to impale Macnair on his blade. With the last bit of life left in his body, Macnair was able to bury his dagger into Severus's shoulder. As Macnair felt to the ground dead, Severus reached up and pulled the dagger out of his flesh. His adrenalin level was so high that he barely registered any pain at all. A Large cracking sounds erupted next to him. When he looked to the spot where the Dark Lord had been, there was nothing there. Both Wormtail and Bellatrix had gone as well.

Severus turned to face the nine remaining Death Eaters. All had replaced their wands with daggers. It was Nott, the man he had known since childhood, who charged him next. Nott wasn't very graceful with his swipe at Severus. As soon as he overreached with his attack, Snape swung his sword, removing his long-time friend's head from his shoulders. Nott's body continued stumbling forward, spewing blood from the neck, covering Severus in gore. He pushed back on the body, letting it fall to the ground.

Severus faced his adversaries once again. Blood dripped from him and the blade of his sword. The remaining Death Eaters had bunched much closer together. Severus could see the fear in their faces. None of them were use to fighting without wands. "Let's all charge him at once. He can't beat all eight of us," Rodolphus Lestrange suggested.

Severus dropped Macnair's dagger on the ground and reached into his breast pocket. He withdrew a small two-shot derringer and pointed it at the Death Eaters. A "POP, POP," rang out in the cold night air. Both Lestrange brothers fell dead in front of him. "It's amazing how effective these Muggle devices are when you no longer have a wand to protect yourself," Severus said with an evil smile on his face. "And now, there are only six of you left to deal with," he confidently stated.

Each of the six remaining quickly reached inside their robes to retrieve their wands. Seeing that Crabbe was being the slowest of the bunch, Severus stepped forward and slashed the big man across the chest with his sword. As Crabbe fell to the ground writhing in pain, the rest of the Death Eaters scattered, most running down the hill. With loud cracking sounds, the frightened Death Eaters Apparated away, even Crabbe was able to escape. Severus knew the big man would be dead before dawn without an antidote to the poison.

Turning around, Severus searched the hill with his eyes for any more Death Eaters. They had all fled, leaving him alone with his five victims and the girl. Severus dropped the empty derringer on the ground and picked Macnair's dagger back up. He slowly walked back over to Miss Granger. With every step, the pain from all the burns the hexes had inflicted on him settled into his flesh. His shoulder began to throb where he had been stabbed. The potion that had protected him from their curses was stealing his strength.

Leaning down next to her, Severus began to cut her bonds. She just stared up at him with a surprised look on her face. After removing her gag, he helped her sit up. "Are you injured, Miss Granger?" He asked with a hoarse voice.

"No, Professor," she answered, still looking at him in amazement. "How were you able to do that, sir? How could you survive all those hexes?" she asked as they both got to their feet.

"Potions, Miss Granger," Severus answered. "It is the most powerful form of magic there is. It can always beat foolish wand waving in the right hands."

"A potion that shields you from all magic. That's incredible," Hermione anxiously said.

"It would be if such a potion existed. The potion I used destroys all magic, inside and outside of whoever uses it. That is why I armed myself with Muggle weapons. I no longer have any magic to make use of a wand with," he informed her.

"How long does this potion last?" she asked, giving him a worried look.

"Forever," he simply answered. Severus walked over to where the Dark Lord had been when he attacked. Lying on the ground was Voldemort's arm with his wand still in his hand. He reached down and picked it up. Retrieving the torn burlap sack that Miss Granger had arrived in, he wrapped the gruesome trophy in it. He walked back over to Granger and handed it to her. "Take this to Dumbledore, he may be able to use it against the Dark Lord. Take my wand and Apparate right away. The Death Eaters may return soon with greater numbers. When you see the Headmaster, tell him that there is a secret compartment in my bedchamber on the east wall. The password to open it is 'infernal lemon drops'. Inside, he will find my personal journals. The names of all Death Eaters and the crimes that I know they've committed are in these journals. All of my personal work on potions is there as well."

"You're not coming back with me, Professor?" Hermione asked him with a sad look on her face.

"No, the potion is still destroying the magic within me. With all the wounds that I received, I'll not have the strength to survive. I will be lucky to see the morning sunrise," he told her.

"I'll go to and get help. I'll bring back Madam Pomfrey; she will help you survive this," Hermione said.

"No, Miss Granger, you will do nothing of the sort. You could return to find yourself facing another dozen Dark wizards. I will not have my sacrifice wasted," Severus angrily told her.

"I cannot leave you here to just die. You saved my life," Hermione said as tears came from her eyes.

"I chose this knowing the consequences, Miss Granger. I knew there was no turning back. Even if I were to somehow survive this, I wouldn't want to live. The potion will turn me into Muggle; I would easily prefer death to that," he told her.

"But the Order needs you, Professor. Even as a squib, you could be very useful," she pleadingly told him.

"I didn't say squib, Miss Granger. I said Muggle. There will not even be a trace of magic in me. Normal Muggle repelling charms will work on me. Hogwarts will seem like nothing but a pile of old ruins to me, now. I will be of no use to the Order. Besides, I'm tired of fighting this war. I've seen enough pain and death for several lifetimes. This world is your problem now, Miss Granger," Snape said as he reached up and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Take care, Miss Granger. Potter will need all the help he can get."

Leaning forward, Hermione rose up and kissed him on the lips. "What was that for?" Severus said in surprise at what she had just done.

"For being my Hero, Professor Snape," she said as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "Happy Christmas, Professor."

"Happy Christmas, Hermione," he replied. With a wave of his wand, she disappeared in front of him.

Severus turned from the spot where she had gone. He looked down at the body of Lucius Malfoy lying at his feet. Seeing that the Death Eater no longer had any use for his heavy winter fur cloak, Severus relieved him of it. He walked over to a large stone sticking out of the ground on the east side of the hill. He sat down on the stone and draped the heavy cloak over his shoulders. He knew he didn't have much strength left but he was determined to see the Christmas sunrise.

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So tell me what you think of this story.

Should I let Severus expire on that hillside or should I continue with this story a little longer?