AN: This story is definitely non canon compliant; although there may be some parts from canon that I've slightly skewed in favour of my pairing of JKR's wonderful characters. You may recognise a few selected conversations taken from 'The Deathly Hallows' but it would be a pretty boring read if I quoted chapter headings and page numbers, I'll leave it up to you clever readers to see if you can spot the segments quoted (or perversely twisted for my pleasure)
Some chapters will be massively long as I wanted to keep as much of the school year together as I possibly could, while others will just be a few hundred words depending on the 'memory' viewed. The story is almost complete with just a few chapters remaining to finish off – we all know the ending, but how exactly did it all come about? That is the question that will be answered within these pages.
Prologue – 2nd May, 1998
'Stay with us, professor!' Hermione cried out, pressing another pad made out of one of Harry's shirts that Ron had pulled from the depths of her enchanted bag. The gaping wound left by the fangs of Voldemort's familiar, Nagini continued bleeding through the thick material despite the blood replenishing potion that Hermione had poured into the Slytherin Headmaster's mouth. She had muttered the Vulnera Sanentur spell repeated over the professor's prone body in an attempt to stem the flow of blood, but it was having little effect.
'What about Dittany?' Ron dug around in the bag and pulled out a vial of the healing liquid and passed it across to the frantic Hermione, while Harry kept watch for Death Eaters through the cracks in the timbers framing the dilapidated shack.
'Whatever you need to do, you'd better make it fast,' Harry murmured as he rubbed his fingers along the lightning bolt scar on his forehead denoting him as 'the boy who lived'. 'Voldemort looked a little too eager to try out that wand as soon as Nagini struck Snape.'
'I don't know what else to do!' Hermione sobbed as the Dittany failed to close the magical wound and Snape's breathing became more laboured with every passing second. 'The venom has entered his blood stream, as soon as it reaches his heart…' Hermione's voice trailed off as Snape's hand fluttered weakly at his side as he tried to speak.
'Harry…' Snape's silky tones were barely more than a ragged whisper, but it was loud enough for Harry to hear his name falling from the Potions Master's lips; Snape had always referred to him as 'Potter' in that familiar sneering tone that spoke volumes at how much he loathed every syllable. Harry gestured for Ron to keep watching for approaching Death Eaters and the dark haired boy crossed the length of the shack to kneel at his teacher's side. 'Harry…' Snape's hand fluttered to the inside pocket of his black teaching robe but he was too weak to do anything more. Snape coughed harshly and Hermione gently leant over to wipe the blood that trickled over his chin with every breath he took.
Can you hear me, professor? Harry stared into Snape's eyes and the professor nodded weakly, feeling relieved that the boy had paid attention to at least some of his teachings.
There is a Bezoar stone in the pocket of my robes, along with a small vial of anti-venom… Snape pushed the vision of the velvet pouch and tiny vial into Harry's mind and nodded weakly as Harry's fingers closed around the items in question. The Bezoar will help slow the progress of the poison a little, I have been unable to ascertain whether the anti-venom will be of use as it is completely untested.
'Hermione, Snape says that it might help slow the poison but he doesn't know whether the anti-dote will work.' Harry handed the Bezoar stone and vial over to Hermione, who held the vial up to the light as she studied the shimmering liquid held inside.
'Is this taken directly from Nagini herself?'
Tell Miss Granger that I managed to extract a little of the venom from an unfortunate victim after they had passed. I'm unclear of how well the stasis charm would have affected the potency. Snape struggled to push the last of his thoughts to Harry, feeling lightheaded and woozy from the blood loss.
'Hurry, Hermione…he doesn't have much longer!' Harry felt their connection start to drift and was surprised when Snape's eyes suddenly held a moment of clarity and one of the professor's lean hands stretched out to grasp at Harry's hand.
'Take them…' Snape murmured, gesturing to the tracks of silvery tears escaping from his obsidian eyes. 'I'm so sorry, Harry…I tried to protect you both…' Snape's legs and arms suddenly jerked and his body started to tremble with convulsions. Harry quickly rummaged in the side pockets of Snape's robe for a spare flask and used the tip of his wand to capture the silvery strands that were now flowing in a steady stream down Snape's gaunt cheekbones.
'Hermione! The potion!' Harry screamed at Hermione as soon as he had finished collecting the fragments of Snape's memories ready to be placed in a Pensieve for future viewing. Snape's mouth fell open in a silent scream of agony as his arms and legs jerked uncontrollably.
'I've already given it to him!' Hermione yelled back crossly, 'I've used a whole bottle of Dittany, given him more blood replenishing potion than his body could have handled and he's swallowed the Bezoar and the anti-venom potion. The venom's hit his central nervous system and we've just got to wait for the anti-venom to do its job; he'll either fall into a deep sleep within a few minutes or…' Hermione swallowed hard and shook her head instead of finishing her sentence. Harry nodded solemnly and gazed at the silvery liquid contained in the flask.
'What do you think he meant – 'he tried to protect us both?' Harry wondered as Hermione swapped the thick pad she had pressed against Snape's neck for a clean one.
'I don't know, Harry,' Hermione murmured in response as she carefully watched Snape's chest, timing the rise and fall of every breath and heaving a sigh when they finally appeared to even themselves out. 'I think the antidote's working, he's sleeping now.'
'Good,' Harry nodded as Hermione started fastening the many buttons on Snape's frock coat and smoothing his teaching robes around his body. 'What are you doing that for?'
'You've got a Dark Lord to defeat and I've got to get Professor Snape to St Mungo's.' Hermione replied simply, 'Ron will want to check on his family and I'm in no hurry to face Bellatrix again in a hurry. I'll be better placed with the Healers anyway, I can give them a hand with anyone else Madam Pomfrey's sent over from the castle.' Harry thought it over for a few minutes before he and Ron agreed with Hermione's decision; neither one of them wanted to see their friend back in the position she was in at Malfoy Manor when all they could do was listen to her cries of agony at the business end of Bellatrix's wand.
The trio said their goodbyes and both young men watched as Hermione carefully wrapped her arms around Snape's body before disapparating with a small pop. Harry and Ron then gingerly retraced their steps back along the tunnel to the Whomping Willow, before covering themselves with the Invisibility Cloak and hurrying back up to the castle.
'You have fought valiantly,' Harry and Ron stopped in their tracks as the sound of Voldemort's voice echoed through the night air, and Harry realised that he wasn't the only one to hear the cold voice as Ron started trembling at his side. 'You have sustained heavy losses, every drop of magical blood spilled is a terrible waste.'
'Tosser,' Ron mumbled at Harry's side, trying desperately to shake off the feeling that a hundred Dementors were sucking away at his soul.
'Harry Potter…You have allowed your friends to sacrifice themselves in your stead…Meet me in the Forbidden Forest and prove to me that you are not the coward that my followers say that you are.' Voldemort's voice lowered to an almost seductive purr and Ron shivered again as he almost felt the Dark Lord's icy fingers trailing down his spine.
'Don't listen to him, Harry,' Ron urged, yanking Harry's arm to get him moving toward the castle once again. 'He's just trying to goad you into fighting.'
'Yeah…' Harry pretended to agree with Ron, but felt that Voldemort was giving him little choice in the matter. Despite Dumbledore insisting that everything would work out for 'the greater good', only Harry alone had heard the tail end of Voldemort's final words – I shall punish every last man, woman and child who has tried to conceal you from me…One hour.
When the boys finally reached the castle, they decided to split up at the main entrance; Ron to seek out his family and Harry to use Dumbledore's Pensieve. Harry pulled open the door to the Great Hall and what he saw inside made him tug at Ron's sleeve to try and turn him away.
'Ron, mate…why don't you come up to Dumbledore's office with me and we'll take a look at what Snape's memories have to say about the greasy git.' Ron frowned at Harry's choice of words, knowing that Hermione would slap them both around the head for using that particular phrase to describe the potions professor. 'Come on, Ron…what do you say?' Harry's voice held a pleading note as he continued trying to turn Ron away from the Great Hall and the red haired young Weasley finally realised why Harry didn't want to venture further into the room as Ron's gaze caught side of another red headed boy – only this one wasn't saying a word.
'Oh no, not Fred!' Ron pushed past Harry to run over to where a line of still figures were laid out down the middle of the hall. George was lying across the body of his fallen twin, and Molly was sobbing as her hands were brushing the hair tenderly from Fred's brow; his skin nearly translucent as his colour faded. Harry bit back a cry of anguish as he swivelled on his feet and rushed back out into the entrance hall, and racing down the stone steps desperately gulping down lungful's of the cool night air. Faces of the dead were burnt into his memory; Fred, Colin Creevy, Lavender Brown, Remus, Tonks…Harry swiped his hand across his face, barely aware of the angry tears that were falling from his eyes as he ran past Hagrid's burning hut before entering the Forbidden Forest.
'Don't worry, Voldemort…I'm coming for you now.'
Harry slowed his desperate pace as he grew closer to the heart of the Forbidden Forest, he slowed his breathing realising that his harsh pants were almost echoing in the dense undergrowth. His fingers closed around the tiny stone that had been enclosed in the Golden Snitch that Dumbledore had left to him in his will and Harry raised it to his lips, whispering quietly – I am ready to die.
'Hello, Harry.' Harry opened his eyes and stifled a choked sob at the sight of his godfather, Sirius, standing in front of him dressed in the same velvet waistcoat and black trousers as he was wearing the day he fell through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries.
'Sirius…' Harry stretched out a hand, and saw Sirius do the same; to his great surprise he hit solid matter instead of the insubstantial mist that he had been expecting when faced with a spectre.
'Oh my boy…' Sirius pulled Harry into a hug and pressed his chin to the top of Harry's head. 'I am so proud of you, Harry. You've kept your head and I'm only sorry that I couldn't keep up to my end of the bargain.'
'I've missed you, Sirius.' Harry murmured as he breathed in the comforting scent that always surrounded his godfather; Ogden's Finest Firewhisky, good cigars and just the hint of wet dog fur.
'I mustn't be selfish, there's a few more people that want to say hello.' Sirius reluctantly released Harry from his embrace, but kept one arm flung over the younger man's shoulders not wanting to give up all contact just yet. Harry saw the familiar lean frame of his favourite werewolf taking form and saw that Remus looked as if he had just stepped out of the defence classroom, his tweed suit jacket with patched elbows and a faded cream shirt with dark brown tie – the very outfit he had been wearing when he and Harry had first met on the train back to Hogwarts; although his hair wasn't as thin and there weren't half as many scars peppering his lean frame.
'You've done well, Harry…glad to see my practical lessons are finally being put to good use.' Remus quipped lightly and Harry forced a smile to his face as he shook his friend's hand.
'Remus…I…Your son…' Harry felt immense guilt over the fact that little Teddy had lost not only his father, but his mother as well all in the space of a single evening. 'I never wanted anyone to die for me…'
'Hush Harry,' Remus held up a hand to stop Harry's words and a soft smile crossed the werewolf's face. 'Teddy will grow up hearing that his parent's died doing something they believed in with all their hearts. I hope that you will become the Godfather that Sirius wished he could be for you.' Remus exchanged a soft glance with his fellow Marauder and patted Harry on the shoulder. 'All will be well, Harry.'
'You've been so very brave, darling.' A soft feminine voice floated out from behind Remus and Harry's breath caught in the back of his throat and he choked back a sob.
'Mum?' Harry ran toward Lily and she caught him in her arms as she dropped a tender kiss directly over the scar on his forehead. 'Oh mum…'
'My brave, brave boy…' Lily bent her head slightly to rest her cheek against Harry's unkempt hair, and breathing the scent of her son deep into her lungs.
'Almost there now, son…hold on just a little while longer.' The mellow tones of James reached Harry's ears just a few seconds before the man himself came into view. To Harry it was like looking at an older version of himself; round wire framed spectacles and a shock of untidy dark brown hair.
'Dad…' Harry smiled over at his father and missed the look that Sirius exchanged with Lily over the top of Harry's head.
'Harry…mate…' Sirius started to step forward but James held out a hand in an unspoken plea.
'Not yet, Sirius…please, just a few moments more.'
'Dad? Sirius? What's going on?' Harry picked up on the tension in the air surrounding the adults and Lily wiped a tear from her eye as she looked at her almost full grown son.
'James, we can't wait any longer; we all agreed what had to happen!' Remus stepped forward and shot a look of warning over at James, daring him to interrupt and James gave him a faint nod of agreement; knowing that he couldn't hang on to the dream any longer.
'Would someone please tell me what's going on?' Harry kept his voice low, but everyone in the clearing could hear the note of frustration that would have been a definite shout if they weren't trying to hide their presence. 'It's just that I've got to face the Darkest of all evil in just a few minutes and I'd rather not hang around listening to your petty squabbles all evening!' There was just a hint of sarcasm seeping through Harry's tone and Lily rubbed her son's shoulder, thinking that he had never acted more like his father than he had in that moment.
'Harry, think carefully…Did Severus give you his memories after Nagini struck him?' Remus waited rather impatiently for Harry to answer, and the foursome heaved a sigh of relief when Harry nodded.
'But I didn't get a chance to view them before Voldemort called me out here.' Harry added and Lily exchanged a frantic look with Sirius before the adults huddled together and started talking at the same time.
'What do we do now?' Lily asked Remus before Sirius interrupted with a scornful remark.
'Bloody hell, trust Snivellus to cock everything up at the last moment!'
'Perhaps Harry doesn't need to know…' James looked wistfully over at Harry and Lily shook her head emphatically.
'No! He needs to know everything in order for it to work…We all agreed it was the only way forward, please James…' Lily had tears in her eyes and James felt his heart clench at the sight of the shimmering emerald pools.
'Alright, Lils…Remus, do you think you could?' James gestured over to Harry, feeling unable to tell his son in person what was expected of him when he faced Voldemort. Remus pressed his hand gently to James' shoulder and the group turned around to face Harry.
'This would have worked out far better had you viewed Severus' memories…but never mind that now; it will become clearer as we go along. Harry, we're going to ask you to do something in a short while; think carefully before you agree.' Remus glanced over to see James leaning heavily against Sirius as the other man tried to offer what comfort he could.
'Tell me what I have to do…' Harry squared his shoulders and faced his family for what might be the very last time.
'Dumbledore hasn't been completely honest with you, Harry…there's another Horcrux.' Remus said slowly and saw the horrified understanding dawning in Harry's eyes – eyes that held wisdom beyond his years.
'As I said when I opened the stone – I am ready to die.' Harry repeated firmly, and each one of the Marauder's felt immense pride in the fact that they had each had a hand in helping the young boy become a man.
'You must let snake face cast the first blow…Do not resist, let yourself fall.' Sirius stepped forward and looked directly into Harry's eyes. 'It goes against everything we've ever taught you, Harry; but let Voldemort strike you down; trust in us, everything will be alright.'
'Albus will be waiting for you, and he will offer you a choice.' Lily took over the instructing, stepping close to her son's side and grasping his hand firmly. 'Listen to me carefully, darling…Whatever he says, do not get on the train!'
'Train? What train?' Harry's brow wrinkled in confusion, first they told him to let Voldemort defeat him and now his Mum was wittering on about a train – what kind of spirit guides were they? James gently nudged Lily aside and stood shoulder to shoulder with the younger man.
'Harry, you'll be sent to a sort of waiting room when you first pass over. You are usually met by a family member to guide you through your first few moments; we're all here so Albus volunteered to be your 'conductor' – but he will try and get you to move on to a higher plane of existence, hence the train taking you on. It doesn't have to be that way though, listen to what he has to say but don't take the train; we'll pull you back here as soon as we can…You won't die, but the important thing is that Voldemort has to believe that he has defeated you completely. Do you understand son, Voldemort has to think he has won.'
'I understand.' Harry vowed, and James relaxed slightly as he nodded in agreement.
'If I don't get to tell you later, I am very proud to have been your father, Harry – if only for a little while.' James turned away quickly and made his way back to stand next to Sirius and Harry could see his dad leaning heavily against his godfather.
'You won't be able to see us again until we reach the 'in between', Harry, but we're never more than a heartbeat away from you.' Lily ran her fingers over Harry's cheek and smiled faintly at the rasp of bristles against her fingertips. 'Always remember that I love you very much, as does your father.'
'I love you too, mum.' Harry murmured in response and Lily's eyes held a wealth of sadness that even the loving embrace from her lost son couldn't lift.
'It's time.' Remus called out softly and held out his hand to Harry. 'Give me the stone, Harry; you won't be needing it now.' Harry's fingers tightened momentarily around the stone before he reluctantly passed it across, watching as Remus tucked it carefully within one of the pockets of his waistcoat. Harry smiled tremulously at his family as they slowly faded from view, Lily remaining solid for the longest.
'Forgive me, Harry…' Lily whispered as she faded from sight, and the last thing Harry saw was the tracks of silvery tears streaming down her face as she disappeared.
Harry walked slowly to the meeting point, despite being completely alone he could almost feel the shoulders rubbing against his arm with every step and he felt his courage rising as he stepped into the clearing.
'I knew you wouldn't disappoint me,' Voldemort was the first to spot the new arrival and almost floated over to welcome Harry. 'The boy who lived.'
'Not for much longer!' Bellatrix cackled and her laughter cut off abruptly when Voldemort turned around to hiss at her. Bellatrix lowered her head in servitude and Voldemort was appeased. He turned slowly back to face Harry, his wand tapping against the palm of his skeletal hand.
'Your hour was almost over, Mr Potter…I fear my loyal subjects are doomed to disappointment; they were rather looking forward to tasting a few of your friends.' Voldemort looked around his Death Eaters, and his followers immediately began to laugh quietly, almost on cue. 'Still…there's no reason why we should all be disappointed is there?' Almost too quickly to be seen by the naked eye, Voldemort raised his wand and without Harry even hearing the spell – it was over.
Harry blinked slowly as his eyes adjusted to the brilliant white walls that surrounded him on all sides. It didn't much look like your average train station; more of a large, empty ticket hall. Rising up on rather shaky legs, Harry stood still for a moment to restore his senses. It was completely silent in the cavernous space and when he felt as if his stomach wouldn't empty out all over the pristine flooring, Harry turned around slowly to explore his surroundings.
'Harry, you brave wonderful man.' Dumbledore's quietly voiced sentiment coming from behind Harry sent the young man whirling around to see the beaming former Headmaster restored to his former glory, resplendent in shimmering midnight blue dress robes. 'Words cannot express how proud I am of you…Let us take a walk together and you can ask me anything you wish.' Harry strolled at the Headmaster's side as they left the 'ticket hall' and made their way out to the station platform.
'Did you know that I was the seventh Horcrux?' Harry asked quietly and Dumbledore sighed gently as they walked along.
'I had my suspicions but did not know for certain until Voldemort rose again during your first year at Hogwarts. There is still one left …but I think Godric will ensure that Mr Longbottom has everything he requires to take care of the problem.'
'The snake,' Harry murmured and Dumbledore hummed in agreement. 'Nagini's the last one? You're certain of that?'
'Most definitely, Harry…Nagini holds the last pieces of Voldemort's shattered soul, once she is destroyed he becomes a mere mortal just like the rest of us; capable of being destroyed with a simple Unforgivable.' Dumbledore paused when a large timetable appeared out of nowhere and Harry could hear the distant sound of an old fashion train whistle blowing. 'Hmm…Where to go next?' Dumbledore ran one of his ringed fingers across the faint markings of the timetable and glanced over to Harry. 'I rather relish the idea of taking a trip to visit Merlin in the days at Camelot; care to join me, Mr Potter?' The train whistle blew again and Harry shook his head.
'I can't…I haven't finished what I came here to do.' Dumbledore sighed regretfully as he glanced wistfully at the approaching train and then back over at Harry. He really wanted to see if Merlin was the great wizard that he was reported to be, but knew that Harry deserved to know the complete truth, once and for all.
'Do you remember the sorting hat wanting to place you in Slytherin when you first arrived at Hogwarts?' The Headmaster asked and Harry nodded.
'Yes, I remember saying that I really wanted to be in Gryffindor under my breath and how the hat thought it was funny.'
'That's because the hat recognised your magical core, the sorting hat is not just used for putting students in their correct houses, Harry – it can also recognise bloodlines going back centuries.' Dumbledore said enigmatically as he lifted the hem of his robe free of the step of the train. 'Ask your mother about the day she married your father…you may find that it's something completely different from what you may have already heard.' Dumbledore smiled congenially down at Harry as the train started pulling out of the station down invisible tracks. 'I do hope that we will meet again, Harry Potter; but not for many a year I trust.' Dumbledore waved down from the top of the step before disappearing into the single carriage. Harry blinked once, and the train was gone leaving the station in eerie silence once again.
'It's almost time for you to go back, Harry.' Lily's warm voice echoed through the chamber, and Harry was surprised to see himself back in the ticket hall; only this time it seemed a lot smaller and there was a stone plinth in the middle of the room with a slim basin revolving slowly in the centre.
'Do you still have the memories in your pocket?' Remus stepped into view, and held out his hand expectantly. 'I warn you that it's a little different from viewing a normal pensieve…the whole room becomes the viewing platform but you won't actually be aware that you are looking at a memory or that you are even part of it.'
'Nice going on making things complicated, Moony!' Sirius snorted and casually flicked his hair back over his shoulder as he strolled over to the plinth. 'What Remus is trying to say is that you won't know that once the memories start playing you pretty much become unaware of everything around you; you're not an active player or viewer but you will remember everything that your 'consciousness' has seen.' Sirius glanced over at Lily and raised his eyebrow. 'Or not…Oh bloody hell, let's just tip the thing in and see what happens!'
Harry passed the vial over to Remus and looked around the room for James. 'Where's Dad?' Lily looked a little uncomfortable at her son's question.
'Your dad's decided to sit this part of it out, he finds it difficult to remember some of the things that happened back when we were all at Hogwarts.' Lily held out her hand for Harry to hold onto. 'Don't worry, darling…he's not far away and you'll see him again very soon.'
'Everyone ready?' Remus asked, pausing with the vial hovering over the basin. 'Here we go then…'
