The Tunnel and the Portkey

Potter took his sweet time contacting him; on his fourth day of waiting at Spinner's End, Severus began to wonder if recruiting a wards specialist turned out to be too difficult a task. But an owl arrived, carrying a letter with Potter's home address (4 Angle Street - which seemed familiar for some reason), the time of meeting, and not a word more. With little to be thankful for, Severus was thankful for this brevity. He burned the letter and left his house.

Once outside, Severus cast a quick parting glance around his neighborhood. He almost dreaded lifting his head, for fear of another onslaught of agoraphobia. But the heavy clouds hung low, creating an illusion of the world being smaller. Just another cell, nothing more.

Absently, he scratched the door with his fingernail. A small flake of dry paint peeled from the wooden surface and fell on the ground. He didn't think he'd miss any of it: the peeling paint, the brick houses, or the graveyard with his parents' name on the tombstones. Still, for some reason he was delaying, making sure the windows were closed, the door locked – it somehow bothered him to leave the house in disarray, even though he was certain he wouldn't come back to it anytime soon.

o-o-o

It turned out that the address in Potter's letter seemed familiar to Severus for a good reason. 4 Angle Street used to be a drug store of questionable reputation; nothing special: merely a place to purchase some potions ingredients under-the-counter.

Angle Street looked different now. The stone sett paving was well swept and newly forged street lanterns had been placed along the side of the road. The dreary old drug store was gone, a new, cozy book shop replacing it.

The entrance to Potter's flat, it turned out, was inside: a windy staircase, hid at the very end of the bookshop. He confirmed with the shop owner, a tall curly-haired young bloke, that the staircase indeed led to Potter's residence. Severus looked around the shop, curious in spite of himself. The shop's name, "In Quarto", turned to to be more than just word-play: Severus noticed quite a few rare editions, including the magical version of Macbeth, which was different from the Muggle one in that it had the actual potion recipes included.

He ran his hand wistfully along the book spines on the "Contemporary Potion Science" shelf. The golden letters, impressed onto the leather-bound volumes, drew his gaze, and for a brief moment he nearly forgot why he was here. The smell of leather and parchment was in the air; the mild winter sun was streaming through the windows, gracing the books with its faint warmth.

Severus continued to browse. Then he turned his attention to the next shelf and shuddered in spite of himself. It seemed that the shop's inventory was updated continuously with most recent publications. "A Complete History of The Last Wizarding War: Now Fully Accurate" was a thick red volume; "All That You Need to Know About the Ministry of Magic" was a thin paperback brochure - presumably, a regular bloke didn't need to know a great deal; and finally, "The Reform of the Mind: New Ministry Programs", a small blue book authored by E. Wild herself.

Severus made a sour face and immediately felt the shop's owner's gaze on the back of his head. He turned around, shrugged and walked up the stairs, heading to Potter's flat.

o-o-o

Harry greeted him at the door with his usual cheery smile. Severus hoped he wouldn't have to endure it for much longer.

"Nice place, Potter," Severus said by way of greeting. "The books downstairs don't shrivel and die in your presence, I hope?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Harry muttered, leading the way inside. "Well, we're ready to go. I got us a team."

"A team," Severus spat, irritated that the entire endeavor was getting out of hand. "It's a job for two people. I don't need a team!" He stopped in his tracks when he saw Neville Longbottom at Potter's dining table. Longbottom gave him a small sullen nod that Severus didn't return. "Potter, for the love of everything that is holy, please tell me this isn't our wards expert."

"Ah, no, dear Severus, that would be me," the familiar elderly voice sounded as the door opened again. Severus turned around and stared down as Filius Flitwick made his entrance.

"Oh," Severus muttered, still staring at his former colleague and Professor. It hadn't occurred to him to consider Flitwick as potential candidate for this mission, although perhaps it should have. Flitwick's expertise was beyond reproach – the protective charms he'd set up around Hogwarts to hold Voldemort's advance held up admirably. And house differences aside, Flitwick cared deeply for his students – all of them.

Flitwick looked up and gave Severus a sunny smile, the wrinkles on the aged face accentuating it.

"I have to say this, I'm so – so sorry for not having been in touch all this time," Flitwick said. "It's been a troubled year for all of us at Hogwarts, as you can imagine."

Severus managed a sour smile of his own. "I suppose, with the way things are, you have to watch who you're seen associating with."

Flitwick inclined his head. "Minerva and I have resolved to do nothing to draw any unwanted attention to ourselves. The last thing we want is for the Ministry to sack us and replace us with their pawns. We've learned to pick our battles wisely, I'm sad to say."

Severus nodded slowly, appreciating all too well the fine line his former colleagues had to walk on the daily basis. Definitely, paying him a social visit during his imprisonment would have been just one of those unwise things. "How long can you keep this up?" he mused, not really expecting an answer.

Flitwick lifted his head and met Severus' gaze without looking away. "Eleven years from now, there will be some very unusual children arriving to Hogwarts," he said with surprising gentleness. "Minerva and I are hoping that at least one of us will be there to meet them."

Severus sighed, uncertain what to say to that. He rarely knew how to respond to people wanting to indulge in confidences with him, so he left the last of Flitwick's statement without comment. Instead, Severus turned his attention to Potter.

"Potter, what are you standing around for? Do you have a map of the Malfoy manor? No, of course you don't. Get me a quill and parchment, then."

The aforementioned stationery was produced a moment later. Severus sat at the dining table and began to scribble a crude representation of their target. "This is the manor house. This here," he dotted a wide circle around the rectangle, "is where the anti-apparition boundary ends. Apparition charms or Portkeys will not work within this perimeter. Are you following me, Potter?" He drew a few lines aside to the circle.

"What's this supposed to be?" Harry asked.

"The woods. The Enchanted Grove, to be exact."

"Your trees suck. Sir."

"Pay attention, Potter, you can colour the trees in your spare time. Now, an underground tunnel is here," he drew a straight line, connecting the 'manor-house' to the 'trees'. "The tunnel leads to a location in the grove, just outside of the apparition boundary. The vault with Lucius' Portkey is here," he placed a small dot on the line.

"Are you sure about this Portkey?" Potter asked doubtfully.

Severus paid him no heed. "Now, the Ministry has wards on the manor and the grounds. Do you know how far those wards extend?"

Potter shook his head miserably. "No, I didn't ask. I assume the setup is standard: the wards would cover the manor-house only. Ah, also, there are guards, patrolling the perimeter of the manor. As far as I know, they only go inside the house a few times a day, just to check on the detainees..." Potter sighed. "Sorry, I don't know the exact details. I'm not exactly privy to this information, I just heard things here and there."

Severus nodded curtly and rose to his feet. "Can you think of anything else, Potter? Anything at all?"

"No. Sorry."

"Then this will have to do. Very well, Professor Flitwick and I will be on our way then."

"We're all going!" Potter shot back hotly, leaping to stand up as well. "Neville and I are coming with you."

"Potter, you'll only get underfoot," Severus said, his patience growing shorter by the minute. "Your involvement is not required. And please, explain to me, what on earth possessed you to believe that Longbottom would be a help?"

Across the table from him, Longbottom flushed and looked away.

"What's your bloody problem?" Potter all but shouted, coming face to face with Severus. "Why do you have to be such a miserable prick about everything? Can't you – just for two measly hours – forget how much you can't stand me, so that we can get things done?"

"Harry!" Flitwick made an attempt to interject, seeming shocked by Potter's outburst. Severus just snorted under his breath. He suspected it was a rather petty and – miserable – thing, but he couldn't help but be satisfied by having provoked this little tantrum of Potter's.

"Look, er, Professors," Longbottom spoke up for the first time. "It might be that you won't need us, but it doesn't hurt to have a spare wand or two. I mean, what if we're wrong and there are guards inside the manor? We'll have a better chance if we act together."

Severus let out a resigned sigh. He suspected this type of argument could take hours, involve a great deal more screaming and still remain unresolved. He had no patience left for this sort of thing: he was eager to just get going. Besides – not that Severus would admit to it out loud – Lonbottom did have a valid point. There was no harm in having backup.

"Fine," Severus said. He grudgingly gave Longbottom a small nod and pointedly ignored Potter. "Come along then. Don't be a nuisance if you can help it."

o-o-o

They left Harry's flat together and took the spiraling staircase down to the book shop.

Snape walked first, while Flitwick and Neville followed him closely. Harry trailed behind, trying his best not to sulk too much over how badly everything was going already. He didn't mean to yell at Snape – if anything, he'd resolved to do his best and make peace with the man before they parted ways. But somehow, Snape continued to bring out the worst in him, as always.

They Apparated together to find themselves in the thick of the woods, formerly represented by the straight lines on Snape's drawing.

A bird screeched high above them, and a tree branch dropped on the ground. Startled, Harry looked around and searched for a hint of a path or a clearing, but found nothing of the sort.

Snape, however, seemed to know where he was going. Without a word to anyone he sped ahead. Passing Flitwick and Neville, Harry followed closely, which was no easy matter: Snape was tearing through the woods, forcing tree branches out of the way; they sprang back, smacking Harry heavily in the face. Harry had the distinct impression Snape was in no way bothered by that.

A few minutes later Snape stopped and lifted his hand in warning. Harry, Neville and Flitwick halted in their steps as well. They watched while Snape cast several spells to remove a complex network of charms and expose what was a rather large and fairly deep hole in the ground. The stone staircase led downwards, disappearing in the dark.

Harry made a move to go in first, but Snape, still saying nothing, shoved him aside unceremoniously and knelt by the staircase. Harry watched Snape's lips move while he cast some sort of nonverbal spell.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked.

"Testing the structural integrity of the bloody thing. Though, perhaps, your initial idea was better, Potter. Maybe you should run ahead of us all and see if the ceiling caves in on you." Snape's eyes sparked with malicious amusement.

Harry huffed indignantly. "You know, sir, I just have to ask. If you hate me so much – why did you even bother watching over me back in Hogwarts? Why not just let me bloody die?"

Slowly, Snape turned around and stared at Harry. Snape's lips twisted into an ugly sneer, revealing crooked teeth.

"I'm a misanthrope, Potter," Snape said evenly. "Keeping you alive is my small way of making the world worse."

There was less malice than usual in Snape's words this time, but somehow they stung more. Harry couldn't quite understand why. Maybe because there was a note of finality to them.

He bit his lip, careful not to let his face betray any emotion. Last thing he wanted was for Snape to make fun of him for being upset, on top of everything else.

"So," Harry mused, "I guess if everything goes well today, I won't see you again, ever?"

"Yes," Snape said.

"Fine," Harry muttered. "I think I can live with that."

o-o-o

The tunnel was narrow and they walked in a single file. Four Lumos lights swayed and shimmered in the dark.

Severus stopped when he reached the familiar niche in the tunnel wall. Potter, Flitwick and Longbottom came to a stop a few feet away from him and stared at him expectantly.

Severus located the vault without difficulty and rested his hand against the door of it.

"Well?" Potter asked. Severus barely looked in his direction. For a quick second irrational fear gripped him: that Lucius might have changed the password and hadn't let him know. Severus shook his head, casting those doubts away. No, Lucius wouldn't have. The password would work. The vault would open at his prompting - yes, just like that - and it certainly wouldn't be... empty.

Desperately and hurriedly Severus felt around the vault, exploring every irregularity of its walls, over and over again, even when it became abundantly clear that the coveted Portkey was not there.

"It's not here, is it?" Potter asked.

"No," Severus confessed. He couldn't understand how it came to be missing - why would Lucius have removed it without telling him? The most reasonable explanation was that Lucius had given the Portkey to Narcissa or Draco - but if that were the case, why didn't they use it? All of those questions took mere seconds to materialize, but no answers to them were forthcoming.

"We should turn back," Potter said. "I'll buy a Portkey to Australia or North America. We'll return in a few more days..."

"We may not have a few more days!" Severus nearly shouted at him. He knew that Potter was making sense – a regrettable amount of it - but he couldn't accept the thought of turning back now. Not when they were so close to the Manor.

"Well, we won't do them any good without the Portkey," Potter felt the need to point out.

"It's possible that Draco has it," Severus persisted, all too aware that he was grasping for straws, but unwilling to give up on the rescue mission now that they'd come this far.

"If he does, why didn't he use it to escape?" Potter continued to argue.

"Why would they be trying to escape? As far as they know, they'll get out of this with a slap on the wrist. They certainly don't know they'll be de-aged..."

"And what if they don't have the Portkey? Then we risk getting noticed by the Ministry for no good reason. And we may not get a second chance with this."

Flitwick cleared his throat meaningfully.

"Well, isn't it fortunate that at least once of us has a backup plan not involving some Portkey that might or might not be where it's supposed to be... "

Severus turned to him.

"Yes?" he asked in an embarrassingly brittle voice, almost fearing to hope after so many things had already gone wrong.

"Minerva has an old family house near Inverness," Flitwick explained. "Once we're out of the tunnel, you and your students should Apparate there. It's won't be safe to stay there for any extended length of time, but it'll serve you well as a transfer point. Take money and valuables and try to get out of the country as soon as possible." He reached into the pocket of his robe to produce four wands, each with a small scrap of parchment tied to it. "Spare wands for your students, along with directions."

Severus hands nearly shook when he received those four wands. But before he could open his mouth and offer a word of thanks, Flitwick tugged on his sleeve.

"I see you like my backup plan. Well, good, let's keep moving then – we don't have all day."

o-o-o

It took them about a quarter of an hour to reach the point where the tunnel connected with the manor. The same type of steep stone staircase led upwards. Flitwick lifted his hand in warning, urging everyone to stop.

Severus could see Potter shifting on his feet impatiently, while Flitwick talked. He wouldn't be able to take down the Ministry's wards, Flitwick explained, but he could add his own spell to them, tricking the wards to accept Potter and Severus as authorized personnel. Potter likely did not understand the significance of this, although Severus did: they had little time afforded to them, ten minutes, perhaps less.

o-o-o

They got inside the manor house shortly, and lifted the trap door to the kitchen area. Severus led the way through the darkened hallways; Potter walked quickly to keep up. The old Malfoy home hadn't changed much – it hadn't been ransacked or damaged. Still, it looked desolate – as if with Narcissa and Lucius gone, some spark of life had left the old walls as well.

They found Draco and the others in the main sitting room. Draco was half-asleep on the couch, curled into himself and hugging one of the cushions much like a small child would be holding a stuffed toy. Goyle sat in one of the armchairs, staring vacantly ahead. Flint and Nott were attempting a game of chess, but by the looks of it, neither had the passion or the concentration for it.

The entrance Severus and Potter made together jerked everyone gathered out of their benumbed state. Nott and Flint stared at Severus and Potter, the game of chess instantly forgotten. Draco bolted upright, his eyes wide open in disbelief. Goyle rose to his feet and walked to Severus at once, much like a lost pup looking for a new owner.

"Draco," Severus asked. "Do you have your father's Portkey?"

Draco shook his head mutely, still seeming like he couldn't believe his own eyes.

"Very well. No matter. You've got to get out of here," Severus told him. "They want to de-age you."

That alone was enough. They followed him as he knew they would.

On their way out, Severus gave out the wands and instructions.

His former students nodded in silence, questions were saved for later. The entire affair took less than five minutes. Flitwick's spell seemed to hold – no Aurors burst in, no alarms went off.

As the last of the group made it into the tunnel, the trap door shutting behind them, Severus finally allowed himself to believe that it would all work out.

o-o-o

Harry was a long way from expressing any sort of respect for Snape, but even he had to admit that the trust of his former classmates in the head of their house was remarkable. Harry himself didn't know any adult he'd follow into the unknown just like that, without any questions asked.

Snape's sharp voice put an end to Harry's brief ruminations.

"All right," Snape said. "Pick up the pace, everyone."

They walked through the tunnel, Harry and Snape leading the way, while Flitwick brought up the rear. A good ten minutes or so into their walk, Harry stared ahead as he saw a small light moving towards them.

A small chill ran down his spine. Harry stopped abruptly. Snape, apparently seeing the exact same thing, did as well.

"Full stop, everyone. It's seems our way of escape has been cut off."

"Shit," Draco's voice said from somewhere behind them.

"We should head back," Goyle said uncertainly.

"Absolutely not." Snape's tone was cold and sharp, allowing no objections. "Our only hope is to charge them, throw them off balance and get out of here. All right, everyone, regroup. Flitwick, you will lead the way, charge them, do something – I don't care what. The rest of you, take advantage of the mayhem, get out of the tunnel and Apparate away. I will be watching your backs, in case we're being followed, which wouldn't surprise me. Everything clear?"

A few yes's followed his brief speech, and Snape turned his attention to Neville and Harry.

"Listen to me, you two," he spoke quietly. "When the time comes, you will charge, run and Apparate with the rest. Do not linger, you understand? If I see you turning around, dawdling, or getting under my feet in any way whatsoever to slow me down, I will finish you off myself. Have I made myself abundantly clear?"

Harry and Neville nodded together. For his part, Harry wasn't entirely certain it was an empty threat.

Flitwick extinguished his Lumos and sped ahead in complete darkness. The rest of the group gave him a few seconds worth head start before running after him.

Flitwick's height – or rather, lack thereof, turned out to be an advantage. He dodged an Auror's spell to cast one of his own, a modified Obscuro charm. Blinded, the Aurors stumbled backwards, casting spells at random. One of those spells glanced off Harry's shoulder, leaving a deep gash in it. Harry yelped out loud, but didn't stop. He just charged ahead, following the rest of the group.

The staircase was in sight, and Flitwick had already climbed to the top of it. His Protego deflected hexes and curses from the Aurors who were converging from the woods on their location. Without losing a moment, Flint, Goyle, Nott and Draco made it outside, Apparating away instantaneously. Neville hesitated briefly, but Harry pushed him ahead, knowing Snape was not too far behind them and would need a clear path. A second later, Neville was out too, and Apparated away.

o-o-o

Severus ran. The guards, chasing them through the tunnel, were gaining on him – on all of them. Without turning and never slowing down, he drew his wand back and blindly cast a few blasting charms at the pursuers. He must have gotten some of them, but not all. They were still gaining on him, about to overtake him, about to catch up with Potter, Longbottom – and the others. Severus couldn't tell whether they had made it out of the tunnel or not. A spell aimed at his back knocked him down.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion – him falling, the sounds of the footsteps behind him. His wand was still in his hand. Mere seconds left to him, no more than that, he aimed it at the ceiling of the tunnel and uttered the Blasting Curse.

The ceiling caved in. Rocks fell, tumbling toward him and the guards, the man-made avalanche trapping him with his pursuers and separating them from his former students. Another hostile spell slammed his body squarely into the ground. He barely felt the impact, blacking out a moment later.

o-o-o

Harry himself barely managed to make it halfway through the staircase, when he felt someone's hand on his injured shoulder, pulling him to turn him around. Instinctively Harry struck out and punched. He almost missed – it was a glancing blow at best, but the Auror who'd grabbed him let go of him instantly, stumbling back. There was some sort of noise behind him. Harry didn't stop. Snape was coming right behind him, Snape needed a clear path out of the narrow tunnel – that was the last thought on Harry's mind when he Apparated away.