...
Drained and exhausted after the deadly encounter and their heated row, Severus sunk in a dining chair in his cramped little house, looking up at Lily. His deep black eyes searched hers. "Lily, I don't want to fight."
"Me neither, Sev," replied her, "but you need to know where I stand." There was no trace of anger left in her voice. She moved closer and stood in front of him. Her hand softly stroked his raven hair.
Severus knew Lily had a point. She always had. But he could not bring himself to accept it. I can't do this. She won't stand a chance against him. How can I let her fight, risking her life? And what about the initiation? That's where I had been before…my return? What are they planning now? What do they know about me? The prophecy? Thoughts raged and stormed in his weary mind. "Let me think about this," he finally muttered softly, "please."
Wanting nothing more than to feel her comforting touch, Severus reached for Lily and brought her into a tight embrace, burying his face onto her chest. The warmth from her body helped soothing his troubled mind. Severus felt his tensed-up shoulders had loosened their stinging strain just slightly. Smiling at him relaxing against her, Lily bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her dark-eyed wizard's forehead tenderly.
Still under the effect of Severus and Lily's Silencing Charms yet seeing where this could disastrously go, Harry jumped up from the couch and knocked over an empty wine glass on the table intentionally, sending the fragile object shattering loudly on the floor. The plan obviously worked, for Harry's presence was registered immediately and the two adults who looked merely three years older than him broke away.
Narrowing her eyes at Harry's obvious attempt, Lily flicked her wand. "Sorry, Harry. You were so quiet we forgot you were here."
Severus gave a loud chuckle. Smug smile crept onto his lips for a split second before it faded into a sombre thin line. "Potter, when you're done sulking like a baby, could you please sit down here? We need to talk." He gestured a chair opposite the dining table. Lily sat down beside Severus, looking at him curiously.
Yea.. I'll stop sulking when you two stop acting like Ron and Lavender! grumbled Harry inside. He couldn't help himself. "If that's about how I need to get used to you two… you know…, I'd rather not hear it, pr—sir." His renewed voice still hoarse, Harry rubbed his throat, glaring annoyingly at the man and the woman responsible for that double Silencing Charm.
"It's ever so refreshing to see your sense of priority, Potter," snarled Severus. "Here we are, just barely escaped from a lethal fight, looking at the possibility of being grounded for life in this excuse of a house, and your biggest concern is your mother giving me a… friendly hug," he smirked and continued, "no Potter, I have no wish to discuss with you my… private matters with your mother. I merely think it's time we lay our cards on the table and see how our knowledge combined, if you actually possess one, can bring about his downfall."
Seeing no reaction from Harry, Severus pushed on. "You can begin with what you had been doing in Dumbledore's office the whole time in your sixth year. Where were you when you skipped the seventh? Where had he sent you?" Severus tone was grave. He bore his gaze into Harry's. Instinctively, the Boy-Who-Fails-Occlumancy quickly looked away.
Suppressing the idea of walking over and shaking the stubbornness out of the young Gryffindor, Severus continued, "I have no wish to use Legilimency on you, Potter. I'd rather you share this information voluntarily, for you have to learn to trust me, as impossible as it may seem, if we are going to succeed in…ah… our mutual goal." Severus stopped himself from voicing protecting Lily aloud just in time. It was not rocket science to guess the woman in question's reaction to the statement. Another row with Lily on her needing no protection was obviously the last thing he needed.
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...
Harry gave a long sigh. He knew this talk was inevitable and crucial for their survival, yet a part of him still dreaded the idea of collaborating with the man he used to loath. Why can't I just work with Dumbledore, protested that part of his mind stubbornly.
But Harry had known the answer for some time. Dumbledore's priority lied in the greater good. The man would do what needed to be done in order to save the majority, even if that required…a few sacrifices. Yet Severus' main concern was placed solely on Lily's safety, which was precisely their mutual goal. Trying his best to brandish this solid reason at his bickering emotion, Harry took a deep breath, walked to the chair opposite them, and sat down.
"Right," he finally muttered, debating hotly in his mind whether he should tell Severus everything – the Horcruxes and the Hallows – or just what needed to be told. After all, Dumbledore chose not to tell him about the latter. Eventually, he met Severus piercing dark eyes and spoke, baiting to see how much he needed to reveal, "do you know anything about... 'Horcruxes'?" Lily looked plainly confused, yet the alarm shown in Severus' deep black eyes told Harry he had hit the point home.
"…Horcrux-es?"Severus voice was parched. "More than… one?" Fragments of ancient memories came fitting together like a giant jigsaw puzzle solving itself in his mind. Suddenly everything made perfect sense: Voldemort's constant vague references on his immortality; Dumbledore's strange order on…Nagini. Severus's dark eyes glared wide open. Fear for the snake's life… The protective charm… Merlin…The snake was his Horcrux. Wait! THE BOY! The boy also needed to… die. The boy was a…Horcrux?
Severus stared at Harry, clearly startled at this new terrifying realization. The boy met his gaze, unwavering.
"You…," whispered Severus. His midnight eyes filled with raw barely-concealed emotion.
"Yes," came Harry's answer before the question. "I was one of them." His voice firm. Strong. No trace of fear or doubt in it. "That's why Professor Dumbledore had left that instruction to you the last. I needed to destroy other ones before I destroyed... myself."
Severus swallowed hard. He looked at the boy whom he had always dubbed James Potter Junior, and wondered how much courage the seventeen-year-old must have possessed… to march to his own death, knowing he was sent there by the man he trusted; knowing fully well he could have escaped; knowing all of his successes were to ensure his own demise. A strange unprecedented surge of respect flooded his heart. I did my biddings for Lily. He did it… for everyone else. For the first time in his life, Harry's embittered Potion Master began to understand what others had seen in the boy. Inside a splitting image of his arch enemy lied a brave young man whose virtuous heart mirrored that of his mother's, or even more.
Steadying himself, Severus breathed in this unfamiliar sensation, swallowed a lump of…odd emotion, and continued, "…how many? The Horcruxes."
"Seven," replied Harry, oblivious to Severus' prior thunder-struck realization. "But since, obviously, I was not born yet and I believed Bertha Jorkins is still alive so we can leave the snake out, it's down to five. The Diary, the Ring, the Locket, the Cup, and the Diadem."
"Cup...? Diadem…? Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's?" Severus looked astonished. "The Founder's items? But, those were gone…long gone… How? Where?"
Suppressing a smirk at the satisfaction of knowing better than the Professor who had scoffed at his intelligence the whole school years, Harry recounted the twisted tales of Tom Riddle he had witnessed in the Pensieve with Dumbledore.
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...
As the story unfolded, Severus' already deep black eyes grew darker and darker with horror. Having known for sometimes that Voldemort had taken a special interest in him because of his tormented background, he had never realized until now how close their stories had been. I might have been just like him. It was close. So close. If it hadn't been for her teaching me how to... love... That aching fruitless torture on my heart...had saved my soul.
Harry went on, detailing the locations of the Horcruxes and the reasons these items had lain there. The Diary at Malfoy Manor; Marvolo Gaunt's Ring burried in the Gaunt's shack; Slytherin's Locket presumably at 12 Grimmauld Place, Hufflepuff's Cup in the Lestrange's family vault; and Ravenclaw's Diadem in Hogwart's Room of Requirement.
As the tale of Tom Riddle's abhorrent quest for immortality came to an end, the room remained deep in silence save only the sound of rain splattering on the window pane. Dark clouds gathered up in the sky, blocking a mid day sun glare, dyeing the world in grey-tinge shadow. Harry stared at his Potion Master who appeared to be too lost in thoughts to register anything. His horror-struck tunnel-like eyes seemed to have aged decades in just a matter of minutes.
It was Lily who broke the deafening stillness. Anxiety and alarm rang clear in her voice. "I hate to ask. But would one of you mind telling me exactly what these horrible things are? What do we need to do?"
Severus tired eyes met Harry's. Gathering himself, he spoke slowly, "Horcrux... is the darkest twisted most-evil magic ever existed. They are… containers, Lily. Containers of his shattered souls. Trophies of his murders. These items render him immortal…for his soul was split... and separated. There is no way to rid him for good unless we are to destroy his Horcruxes first. A mere suicidal attempt, no doubt."
Severus rubbed his suddenly-aged face and let out a long sigh. His lower arms laid exhausted on the table. He closed his weary eyes.
A hand grabbed Severus' wrist firmly. "We'll make it. Together," assured the voice.
To his surprise, it was not Lily's... but the her son's.
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…
"Surprise!," exclaimed a tall handsome man with black ruffled hair. His warm hazel eyes sparkled brightly behind a pair of round-rimmed glasses. Right hand holding a humongous bouquet of red roses, the other carrying a bottle of expensive Elf-made champagne, James Potter shouted into the Evans' living room where he had just apparated in, "Ready to say yes?"
No reply came. Muttering something about ruining a dramatic entrance, James raced upstairs, skipping two steps at a time, and banged on Lily's bedroom door. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty! It's noon already! Your Prince Charming awaits." He chuckled to himself, remembering the muggle fairy tales she had told him. "Or you want to me barge in and kiss you first?"
A sure angry protest he had expected did not come. The house remained as quiet as before. Frowning, James placed his ear onto her door. "Lily, are you in there?" No sound of movement was made. Slightly alarmed, James reached for the door handle. "I'm coming in, alright?" He slowly pushed the door open.
There was nothing out of ordinary. Bed was roughly made. Bathrobe discarded on the chair. Half-opened books still on the desk and clothes still in the closet. But the owner of the room was nowhere to be found.
A roar of laughter rang behind the baffled man. Sirius striking face appeared out of thin air, as he removed his best friend's Invisibility Cloak. "Aww Prongs, your bride-to-be got cold feet?" Ruffling James' carefully-styled tousled hair, Sirius crooned, "Maybe, Prongs, just maybe, she finally had an epiphany on how difficult it would be to spend the rest of her life cleaning after you!"
"That is not funny, Padfoot," replied James yet his smile betrayed the words. "Went for her soul-searching whatever, I guess. What needs to be searched, mate? I'm the only guy she has ever dated, and by Merlin I made sure of that! What more can she possibly want?"
"A mature husband?" suggested Sirius. His voice still filled with laughter.
"Oh come on, mate! I have matured," protested James.
"Yea… from a five year old," came another voice with a loud pop.
"Moony! Glad you could make it." James gave a heavy pat on the pale thin man with a light brown hair's shoulder. "Too bad the hostess was gone, mate. I thought we all ought to be here after she said yes. Where's Wormtail, then?"
"No idea. He said he needed to run some errands for this mother," replied Remus. "He still lives with her, you know." James grimaced at the thought. After graduating, he had long moved to a small home his parents had purchased for him in Godric's Hollow, obviously, with Sirius as a regular guest.
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...
The three friends marched together out of Lily's bedroom and pushed each other downstairs into the living area. Sirius eyed the bottle in James' hand suspiciously. He smirked, "Planning to get her drunk, Prongs?"
"Shut it, Padfoot. She wants me. No need for dutch courage. This is just to... celebrate." James looked slightly offended.
"Sorry, mate. That's not what I've heard," laughed Sirius before he snatched the bottle away. "Let's not waste this. I'm sure she won't mind us stealing some glasses." With that, he disappeared into Lily's kitchen.
Throwing the bouquet of roses carelessly on the table, James dropped heavily on the couch, yawned, and sprawled on as if it was his own home. Remus rolled his eyes at the lack of manner of the ever-so-boyish friend of his. "James, it's her—" He stopped abruptly as his eyes darted to something on the floor. His scarred pale face frowned in confusion, trying to make out what to think of the suspicious item.
Utterly confused at his friend's sudden change of expression, James followed Remus' gaze… and jumped up with alarm.
It was a blood-stained torn black cloak, almost completely hidden under the couch. Kneeling down and grabbing the bloodied cloth in his hand, James' stomach clenched, seized with gut-wrenching fear. Cold sweat seeped through his skin. He let out a terrifying whisper, "…Lily"; then roared at the top of his lungs, "LILY!"
Startled by the sheer fright in his best friend's voice, Sirius came running to the living room. James was frantically rubbing the dark red stain on the cloak, not knowing it was Severus'. "It's blood. Merlin! It's blood!" He looked up at his friends. Eyes wide with terror. Sirius rushed to his side and knelt down next to the shaken James. Panic rang clear in his voice. "Dark cloak...," Sirius swallowed, "…Death Eaters?"
James' brown eyes glared madly as if there were scorching with fiendfyre. "Merlin, NO! He took her! Snivellus! The Death Eater bastard lives around the corner!" His voice brimming with pure hatred and roaring rage. Hurtling the cloak with all his might at the wall, James bellowed at the top of his voice, "I'LL— KILL—HIM!"
…