Title: A Battle For Love
Author: dem bones
Genres: Adventure/Angst
Summary: Severus Snape is spared from death and witnesses the final moments of the Battle of Hogwarts.
Warnings: Contains Character Death.
A/N: Written for Rosa Clearwater's 'The Battle of Hogwarts Competition.'
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter...I think that much would be obvious from the fact this is a fanfiction site where no profit is gained in writing fanworks.
During the final battle, the Order of the Phoenix had accumulated many allies. While Voldemort had the aid of the Ministry, the werewolves, the dementors, the goblins and the Giants, the Order of the Phoenix had the vampires, the veela, the faeries, the professors and the elves.
After the Slytherins had been taken to the Common Room upon the orders of Professor McGonagall, Professor Slughorn had scouted the battle grounds for dead bodies.
The Medical Ward was phenominal.
Prancing around, Professor Slughorn had stumbled on one of the roots of the whomping willow. It was plant that was grown there to lead directly to the Shrieking Shack, the purpose of the shack for an old student of his. With a nagging feeling, Professor Slughorn made his way to the shrieking shack.
Outside the door, Slughorn could hear murmuring from the other side. He opened the door.
His eyes widened in horror as Severus fell to the ground after being mauled by Voldemort's snake.
Stricken with fear at the piercing ruby gaze of Lord Voldemort, Slughorn was relieved that the Dark Lord decided to spare his life once again.
Running towards the body of Severus Snape, Professor Slughorn quickly rummaged through the pockets of his robes for a draught of the living death potion and was startled as a hand grazed his shoulder.
Professor Slughorn turned to see the emerald gaze of the boy who lived.
"Professor?"
Finally Professor Slughorn managed to find the potion and tried to force Snape to drink the potion.
Snape tried to push the vial away.
"Snape" Harry growled.
Snape turned to look at Harry helplessly.
Slughorn administered the potion.
"Harry, you are aware that it's unsafe for the three of you to be wandering around the battlefield all by yourselves."
"Is he going to be all right, Professor?" Harry asked grudgingly.
"Yes, the draught of living death should sustain his vitals til the vein in his jugular can be repaired."
"Professor why did you give Professor Snape, a draught of living death?" Hermione asked.
"It's the only potion that could be used as a last resort. There are times in which wizards and witches gain mortal injuries. With the draught of the living death, a wizard or a witch's body can be placed in stasis. During this point, the human body ceases to function and because most mortal injuries are from ruptured veins as long as the heart is not pumping any blood, Professor Snape won't be losing any blood."
"So he'll live then. As long as he lives then I can still be the one to kill him."
"Harry!"
"She's right, Harry. You have other things to worry about now then revenge against Snape."
HP
Meanwhile in the medi-ward, the body of Severus Snape was being dragged in a conjured stretcher by Professor Slughorn.
"Why, that body you're carrying..." Pomfrey's eyes widened in horror and she was stunned speechless.
"Please try your best to heal him, he may be our enemy but it's cold and heartless to leave a man to die."
All throughout the night as more people began to die eventually Professor Snape opened his eyes to greet Madam Pomfrey.
"Finally up I see."
"Where's Potter?" Snape stood up in a panic.
"And what's your hurry? Awfully keen on the boy's death aren't you?"
"You got it all wrong, I must speak with Mr Potter."
"SEVERUS SNAPE, I have just finished repairing ruptured arteries along your neck from a horrendous snake bite, along with 12 vials of blood replenisher potion and have given you an antidote to fight off a deadly snake poison, you are in no condition to be pursuing the boy."
"You don't understand, I have vital information to give him that's essential in order to defeat the dark lord."
"Yeah and what is it? Let me guess you want to give up the boy to die."
Snape was stunned speechless, face pale and deadly white.
"That's exactly what he has to do, the boy has a part of his soul. If he doesn't die, the dark lord will never be destroyed."
Suddenly there was a sharp crash and a rustle.
Madam Pomfrey and Snape turned towards the noise.
"Wait Harry!"
Snape turned sharply to see Miss Granger and Mr Weasley running towards him.
"I sure hope that your words don't cause Mr Potter to do anything too rash."
The old headmaster gritted his teeth.
HP
Going over his thoughts, Snape sincerely hoped that Dumbledore had been correct because Madam Pomfrey's words had haunted him.
He sincerely hoped that the boy would make it in one piece.
It was with this worry that Snape managed to convince Madam Pomfrey that he was able to leave the medi-ward.
"Where's my wand?"
"Is there any reason you'd like to brandish your wand besides to attempt to kill us all."
"And why would I do that?" Snape snarled. "I didn't kill Dumbledore out of some sick need to please the Dark Lord. The headmaster told me to kill him. He was suffering from a dark curse that would have ended his life eventually."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Do you still have that necklace?"
"It was Lily's. I found it that one day that James had brought you in for questioning. He got you injured pretty badly, didn't he?"
Snape flushed. "Lily gave me that necklace a week before we broke up our friendship. I never told her after all these years I had still kept it."
Poppy gave Snape his wand.
"I'm trusting you with this wand and it seems your genuinely interested in protecting the boy's wellbeing. So I'm counting on you to make sure the boy stays alive through this battle."
HP
After leaving the Castle, Snape had found his way into the forest where Hagrid had been captured by death eaters.
All of them were surrounding Harry Potter and the dark lord looked at him with glee.
"Harry, noooooooooooooo!" Hagrid shouted out in panic.
"Avada Kedavra."
Harry Potter fell to the ground.
Narcissa was to make sure he was dead.
The Dark Lord was satisfied with her answer.
Snape looked at the dead body of Harry Potter in horror as the death eaters began to leave.
Hagrid scooped the boy in his hands sobbing over his death.
His lungs began to constrict and Snape could feel himself sufficating. The horror of the entire world being ruled by the Dark Lord was minor in comparison to a boy who had to die due to the fate placed on his shoulders.
His mind was long past dealing with it, it was in the common life of a death eater to witness murder. It was easy to separate the emotions he had felt from the murder committed.
To Snape it was the only way he could cope. On his fingers he couldn't count how many people he had known who had died at the hands of Voldemort but for some reason he couldn't stop thinking about the significanced of what Harry Potter's death had meant to him.
He realized a small part of him couldn't cope with it because the boy had made him feel hope.
The son of his worst enemy had somehow found a way into his heart and had brightened his life before prematurely confronting death and...
IT WAS ALL OF HIS FAULT.
HP
Hagrid turned and looked at him in horror.
"Stay back. I will stun you if you try to get any closer."
"It's alright." Snape said and Hagrid hugged the boy closer.
Drawing nearer, Snape began to rub small circles across Hagrid's back.
"Are you crying, Snape?"
"Tell me about him." Snape said trying to hold back his tears.
"He was a good boy!" Hagrid said with a sad smile. "I remember visiting him, it doesn't seem that long ago when he was staying in that shack with those mean Dursleys."
As Hagrid held Harry's body close to him, the two headed back to the Castle of Hogwarts running into Ron and Hermione.
"What happened to-" Ron started to ask before he turned to Hermione who began to sob clearly upset and then the tears began to pour down his face.
"He's dead isn't he?"
"That would be correct, Mr Weasley. 5 points to Gryffindor."
Ron was stunned at the emotion in the potions professor's voice.
Harry was placed in the front of the school when Neville Longbottom began to walk up to Voldemort.
"Upset that I offed your hero."
Neville pulled the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat.
"He was more than a hero, he was one of my friends." Neville said about to try to sever the head of Nagini.
"Stupefy." A deatheater said stunning Neville.
The sorting hat was taken from Neville's hands.
"Incendio."
The sorting hat began to burn and was placed on his head.
"Expelliarmus."
A shot of red light came from the right and Voldemort barely dodged it.
"So I see you made it from death and back again." Voldemort said with an evil grin.
Snape sighed. "The boy confronts his death and upon realising he lives confronts his own murderer, it's so typical of Potter to do something like this."
Ron however could see the relief on his face and somehow it made his heart warm.
"Let's finish this once and for all." Harry said.
"You don't stand a chance against me. I wield the power of the Elder Wand."
"Unfortunately you're wrong."
Voldemort frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
"I seen you try to off Snape over in the shrieking shack, you thought that he was the owner of the Elder wand didn't you?"
Voldemort snarled.
"Impressed with my intelligence? Let me fill you in. While destroying all seven of your horcruxes, I ran into Draco Malfoy. As you know upon killing someone, the ownership of the wand can be transferred to someone else but you can also get ownership of a wand in another fashion."
"And how might that be?"
"Normally upon stunning a witch or a wizard, the power of the wand is given to the other witch or wizard. In this sense, the witch or wizard can use the wand as if the original witch or wizard had used it because when you stun a witch or wizard they are defenceless to use any magic to protect their wand from other witch's or wizard's. The elder wand works the same way except that it isn't powered by a witch's or wizard's magical core and it will only respond to the witch or wizard who won it through battle. Two days ago I stunned Draco Malfoy."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"I am the owner of the elder wand."
Voldemort gave the elder wand to one of his servants.
"This won't do." He muttered.
"My Lord, we managed to obtain Bellatrix's wand."
The Dark Lord swiped the wand from his servant's hands and brought it to his lips to kiss the fine wood.
Harry could tell that Voldemort had loved Bellatrix at one time.
"Let us duel to a battle of winners and losers. If you lose the whole world will pay for your mistakes."
"I'm certain that won't happen."
"Expelliarmus."
"Avada Kedavra."
The red light had missed touching the green light that exited Bellatrix's wand by a fraction of a centimetre.
Harry Potter was hit with a green light and fell to his death.
Life had given him a second chance and he had blew it.
At the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Snape reach out to cradle his body.
"Don't die. Please don't die."
"I-I'm sorry." He tried to say but he couldn't speak.
"Please open your eyes."
Harry tried to open his eyes but his eyelids wouldn't budge.
"Listen to me, you've got to get up."
Unfortunately try as Harry might, the boy couldn't hear what the potions professor had said.
Snape cried throughout the whole night holding on the boy's warm hand until it turned cold.
Harry Potter was no more.