Disclaimer - Not the ruler of Harry Potter. I'm too poor to own it.

A/N- I cannot ask for enough forgiveness. I didn't even realize that it had been a year since I last updated this story. It's not much, but then again, we are very close to the end now. I hope that for those who are still following this story, that you enjoy this chapter. Thank you to everyone who has left a review, or put this story on alert and favorites.

A big thank you to my beta debjunk for being an amazing beta.

*Warning: There will be some disturbing/dark scenes from now on. I will try to keep it at a minimum but there are somethings that just have to happen. You have been warned.

Previously:

"Harry, go ahead and try getting to the basement," Kingsley said. "I can handle this guy and see to Augustus too.

Harry nodded his head and quickly made his way back into the house. He tried making a plan of action to rescue the Snapes, but so far all he could think about was running in and attacking Rodolphus. It was clean (well, not really) and simple (well, as simple as fighting a hysterical Death Eater could be). If he could beat Tom Riddle, then he could take on Rodolphus - right? He dearly hoped that he could.

He wished he had been able to bring Hermione and Ron with him. Hermione would have had a plan within a minute, and he knew that Ron would cover his back without any problems.

Just as he was reaching the door to the basement he heard a blood curdling scream that made the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end.

Chapter 10

Hearing the hair-raising screams coming from the basement, Harry rushed to the room and failed to see that there weren't any stairs. His heart dropped to his stomach as the floor was suddenly pulled away from beneath him. The fall was short, but he hit several boxes that were skewed all over the floor.

"POTTER!"

Before he knew it, Harry was thrown against the wall with so much force he knew he'd broken a rib or two. He saw small flashes of light in front of his eyes from having the air knocked out of him. Dimly, he thought he now knew what it was like to have Grawp kick you across Scotland.

"Well, well, well, gentlemen, do stand up. Don't you see that we have a visitor?"

His vision focusing, Harry wasn't able to stop the gasp that escaped his mouth. The scene that greeted his eyes was almost something out of a horror film he once saw Dudley and Uncle Vernon watching. There was a puddle of blood in front of Tobias as the older man held a knife in his hand. Harry could see a trickle of blood oozing out from Tobias' left shoulder. The older man was white as a sheet and was shaking uncontrollably. One look at his eyes told the whole story; he was under the Imperius curse and was trying with all his will power to throw it off himself.

Forcing himself to look away, Harry saw Severus Snape pinned to the wall the same way he was. Just like his father, Severus was also trying to fight against the spell holding him to the wall. Desperation was evident in his eyes as he tried time and time again to free himself and help his father, but due to his injuries from the final battle and obvious new ones from Rodolphus, he was still very weak. The scars that had been left after Agustus had healed the man were a vivid red against the pale skin of the Potions master.

Harry knew that Rodolphus was a powerful wizard, but he hadn't thought that he was strong enough to be casting an Unforgivable curse at the same time as hold him and the younger Snape in place. But if fighting Voldemort had taught him anything, it was that everyone had a weakness. It was just a matter of figuring out what it was.

Hopefully, Kingsley would find them and help him, but he didn't want to take any chances and wait for the Auror to appear.

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His limbs felt like they were on fire; his heart pounded furiously against his ribcage and his head hurt like the worst of migraines. Tobias didn't know how long he was going to be able to keep fighting against the man who was trying to take away his will power. He had to get free, had to help Severus; he had to fulfil the promise he had made to his wife, Eileen, the day she had given birth to Severus. He simply had to protect his son from that mad man.

Even if he died, Tobias knew that as long as Severus was safe from all harm, he could go in peace.

"Now, what else should I make you do?" Rodolphus' voice said inside his head. "Hmmm... Yes, this will do. Stab your leg, you worthless scum."

He could feel his body trying to move without his consent. He was not going to let some psycho force him to continue to hurt himself. "No!" his mind screamed at the intruder. "Get out of my head!"

"Do you think you stand a chance against me, you filth?"

"You dare call me filth? When it's you who's attacking me, an old man, and my son who's hurt?"

"Shut up! Shut up and obey me! I'm your master now, you must obey me and do as I say. Stab your leg! Do it, dammit!"

"NO!"

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Severus watched in horror as blood began to fall from his father's nose. He knew Tobias wasn't going to be able to fight the Imperius much longer or else he might fall into a coma. Even if it pained him to admit it, Rodolphus was a strong wizard, not to the level he himself was, but enough to make it difficult for the normal witch and wizard to defeat him in a regular duel. It was unfortunately just their luck that Rodolphus never played by the rules.

Then, there was Potter. The idiot had simply ran into the room without looking around to make sure it was safe. Severus was positive that his father's screams had scared the boy enough that the only thing passing through that thick head was to save them. Typical Potter behaviour, not to mention typical Gryffindor idiocy. Only a Gryffindor would simply rush into danger without any form of plan.

How the boy had defeated Tom Riddle was beyond Severus' imagination. If they ever were to make it all alive, then he would ask the boy how he had done it. Right now, he had to figure out a way to break Rodolphus' concentration. The less the man was focused on forcing the Imperius on Tobias, the more it gave the older man a better chance to break the spell and try to take down Rodolphus.

Even though Tobias was older, Severus knew he still could take anyone on in a physical battle. With all the pub fights Tobias used to get into, it would be amazing if he had never learned how to fight and defend himself. He was positive that Tobias needed just a few second to be able to take their unwanted visitor out. His father had always hated people who dropped by without invitation.

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"Pathetic! Look at you, you can barely withstand my superior power." Rodolphus' voice, Tobias decided, was probably the most annoying thing he's ever heard. A feat he didn't think was possible considering all of the things he hated hearing while intoxicated. Even his wife, when she had had the courage to stand up to him, didn't sound as annoying as that psycho.

"Superior power?" he sneered. "Attacking someone who has no magic to fight back makes your power 'superior'? You're nothing but a coward."

Tobias' body seized up once again, as it fought against the control. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that both the boys had slid a couple of inches down from where they were being held. With a smirk that made Severus' look like an smile, he shouted, "COWARD!"

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Severus stared in awe as his father began to shout all sorts of profanity at the craze Death Eater. He had to give it to his old man, some of the words he was using, Severus had never even heard. A slight graze on his back brought him to attention that he was slowly slipping down from where he was being held against the wall. His father was a genius! Perhaps, Severus allowed a smile of admiration grace his features, he hadn't received all of his smarts from just his mother.

His father had figured out how to, at the very least, distract Rodolphus from both Potter and him. It was really simple when one thought about it. Even though Rodolphus had been imprisoned for almost two decades, he still had the ego the same size as Lucius Malfoy, that is, the size it was before the war started.

It only made sense that the head of the Lestrange house would be insulted if someone, especially a Muggle, had the nerve to try and prove that he was absolutely worth.

Taking his gaze away from his father, he looked to where Potter was. Severus was glad that for once, the boy had the brains to figure out what was happening. For everything to work out, they were going to need all the luck they could get. Receiving a nod of confirmation from the boy, Severus turned back to look at where both his father and Rodolphus stood.

The insults were working, but they still weren't enough to completely distract Lestrange. Dimly, Severus thought back to when his mother wished he and his father would bond more often. He was pretty sure insulting a Death Eater was not something she had had in mind as a means to bond.

Oh well, it was going to get the job done.

"I've seen Muggle-borns cast better hexes than you, Lestrange!" Severus sneered at his former colleague.

He honestly hoped their plan would work.