Flames of War

Chapter Twenty-Five: Warm Hands, Cold Heart

That's enough, I cried

That's enough, I cried

That person alone

Was my…my smile –"Stone Roses"

July 23, Sunday, AFTERNOON, 2000

"Albus, I do not want to see you. Not until Harry returns." Severus's words were sharp and cold, directed at the man whose actions had allowed Harry to march toward his death.

"Harry has returned," Albus said, frowning as he gave Severus a serious look that said, step aside. "But he is not well. I believe that you deserve to hear the tale from me personally, as this situation is indeed my doing."

Deep down inside, Severus knew that the bulk of the results from this situation were not caused by Albus. However, this man had let Harry leave, and that was a grievous error on the Headmaster's part. The Potions Master could see the hurt in Albus's eyes, hear it in his voice. "What did he do?" his concerned; he didn't like what Albus's eyes suggested. They weren't twinkling, sparkling, or otherwise looking very hopeful at all.

"Severus…" Albus sighed. "Harry…has been hit with Blaise and Lucius's perfected curse."

The dark haired man's eyes widened. Perfected curse? "What…is he alright? Could Lupin—"

"I'm afraid not, Severus. The perfected curse cannot be done away with by Legilimency. His mind as been locked away from all except…"

"Except who? Who, so that I can kill the bloody bastard!" Severus was beside himself with grief. He wasn't holding himself back or processing his thoughts before speaking. The only thing running through his head was the idea that Harry was now a soulless corpse. Harry was practically…dead. Harry was…he was…

"Lucius Malfoy. The curse has made Harry Lucius's slave."

"H-how? How does the curse work? Can't we—"

"We are not quite sure how the curse works, and so there is no counterspell at the moment. I am personally working on one. We managed to salvage some information from their base of operations."

"Where is Lucius?" Severus asked, his expression darkening. He knew that the blond wasn't dead—he was much too crafty for that, too battle-hardened to be killed by Harry. "I will kill him."

"No need," Albus said, and Severus opened his mouth to say something in a rage, but the Headmaster held up his hand to silence him. "Harry has properly taken care of Lucius. The poor man was tortured almost to death. All that he mentions verbally are those "murderous eyes" of Harry's. Blaise was the individual who activated the spell. He, however, is dead. Draco killed him when Blaise cast the spell on Harry."

Severus clenched his fists. Draco killed Blaise, Harry was in worse shape than Ron had been in, and Ron himself was now awake. What was Severus to make of all of this? "Have you detained Harry?" Severus asked. "For if he is a slave of Lucius…" He hated to think of things this way, but truth be told, Harry was a fearsome opponent, even more so when he was emotional. He couldn't name a wizard in existence other than Dumbledore and Lucius would even think to take him on.

"Lucius Malfoy is not in the mental state to control anyone."

It seemed as though Albus wasn't taking this situation at all seriously. "He is a Death Eater, Albus, and I'll be damned if—"

"My sentiments exactly." There was then a small glimmer in the eyes of Albus Dumbledore, one that suggested he had somewhat of another plan.

Severus didn't like it, not one bit. Groaning, Severus asked, "What are you planning to do now, Albus?"

"We have the plans from Lucius's composition of the curse. It appears that Voldemort began the research but Lucius completed it. If someone is not found quickly to control Harry, he will die. That is why I am here."

Severus blinked, the gears in his mind grinding as he began to realize what the man implied. "Me? You want me to control Harry?"

"You must become the Master of the curse, Severus; that is what the curse was created for. I can transfer the effects of the curse to you with a bit of blood magic. However, I need your approval."

A pause, and Severus realized that he was shaking with rage. "Albus, you disgust me. How dare you put Harry into such a compromising position, and then expect me to help you follow it through to the end? How dare you put Harry in danger? You let him become this way. This is your fault!"

Dumbledore shook his head. "That may be true, Severus, but Harry is his own person; he makes his own decisions. I cannot stop him, just as you cannot; only advise him. His choice was his own, and I will not take responsibility for his choice. However, I must agree that I did not try my best to convince him." Dumbledore sighed. "And that is why I am resigning from my position as Headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Excuse me?" Severus must not have heard the man properly. Resign? From Hogwarts?

"I will be putting most of my energy into the countercurse for Harry, which will not leave much time for Hogwarts will it? I will be a very poor Headmaster this year if I do remain."

"To add insult to injury, Albus, you are now going to leave the one job that you can manage competently?"

"Now, now, Severus, I will work as hard as I can do break Harry's malady. In happy news, Severus, Ronald Weasley has gained consciousness."

"I know. He came to see me first thing…" Severus caught himself before he divulged all of his information. There was no logical reason to tell Albus everything; the man himself had a habit of withholding information for his own personal reasons.

Albus sent Severus a look that made the Professor feel like a lost puppy. "Severus. To transfer the spell's effect to your person is all that I can do for you and Harry. Will you agree to take it? It will be hard, baring Harry's presence while he's in that condition…"

Severus narrowed his eyes and hissed, "How much do you know?" The Headmaster—soon to be ex-Headmaster—was being a bit too considerate, and it was obvious to Severus that he knew something about the relationship between himself and Harry. He swore under his breath. How? How did Albus know so much about things that had nothing to do with him? Unless Harry ended up saying something utterly stupid—which didn't seem like a far-fetched notion, now that the Professor thought about it…

"Nothing," Albus replied, throwing his hands into the air in an innocent gesture. "I know only what your actions convey…"

Severus swore under his breath again. Confound it all if the man knew! "Please, Albus, do not be so modest about your uncanny talent for knowing the secrets floating around Hogwarts."

"I am not modest at all, Severus. I like to think of myself as rather flamboyant, actually." Albus smiled, then sighed deeply. "Being alive as long as I have, Severus—you tend to notice things that other don't. Or at least interpret things in a differently than others do."

Severus understood the silent message in that statement; he had been obvious, in all honesty, about his feelings for Harry—they were just surrounded by incompetent, oblivious fools who did not notice the way Albus had. The Potions Master sighed and said in quiet tones, "I apologize for my intolerable behavior."

Albus waved the apology away. "Considering Harry's present condition, it was well deserved. I can only apologize in turn for allowing him to go."

Severus laughed bitterly. "He would have gone anyway."

The Headmaster's expression turned serious. "You must prepare yourself to see him. The sight will nearly devastate you." His eyes shone with tears. "I have seen him myself. I watched Draco drown in Harry's eyes for hours—he almost passed up the opportunity to see Remus upon his return."

Severus cringed. "Is he…conscious?"

Albus nodded. "But lifeless. He will be nothing without…someone to command him. He is like a son to me, Severus, and even I could not tolerate watching him. I do not know how Draco did it."

"…Ron will be very angry."

"But Ron will have hope. After all, the boy just returned from a seven month absence of mind."

"Sirius will kill me."

"When has that ever concerned you, Severus?" The Headmaster teased. But his tone did not sound any lighter.

"It does not," Severus said coldly. "But I am painfully aware that Sirius is important to Harry."

Albus sighed again. "It will be hard, Severus, to maintain the task of watching Harry, especially after the school year begins—that is, if you remain a Professor here…"

I resigned… Severus prompted himself. "Who else could possibly do the job properly?" he mumbled. Albus smiled. "I will regret the decision tomorrow," he added. "I have the incredibly odd feeling that I am close to breaking, Albus. I have taken on too much. Voldemort, Lucius, and now Harry? I am calm now, Albus, but only because I am not aware of how extensive Harry's damage is. I do not think that I can take much more." He paused. "This, Albus…it might kill me."

The older man gazed at him sympathetically. "This is the end of it all for now, Severus. For our generation, I believe that this is the last time we must fight so hard."

Severus quirked an eyebrow. "Our generation?"

"Generations, forgive me," Albus revised. "It seems that I am not included in the ranks of the young."

The dark-haired man said frankly, "No. You are not. You taught me, Albus."

The Headmaster stood and shook his head. Then he frowned. "Did you want to see him?

Severus shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "…I don't know."

"Come; I will take you to him. No one has visited him since I left—it will be deserted."

July, 23, Sunday, AFTERNOON, 2000

Severus did not like hospitals. They were the one thing that he had seen from both the muggle and wizarding worlds that were almost exactly the same. All the white—all the silence, the sadness. The feeling that you would probably pass away into the white that surrounded you. He was standing behind the door to Harry's room.

"Are you going to go in?" Albus asked.

Severus could feel, for the first time in decades, his stomach churning. He did not have a good feeling about this. "I do not want to."

But Albus insisted. "You may not have a moment alone with him like this, not after words gets out with Harry's condition."

"Is he sleeping?"

"He cannot sleep unless the Master of the curse commands it. He cannot do anything…"

"He's just…there?"

"…yes."

Severus wanted to turn away, to leave, but something in Albus's voice seemed to hint that there was something to be gained from completing this task, and as much as he did not want to trust in Albus at that moment…he had no choice. "I have to. I have to go." Those were Harry's last words. For the first time since Lucius had betrayed him, tears sprung to his eyes. He pushed the door open and entered to keep the Headmaster from seeing him. A resounding click echoed behind him. There Harry was, on a hospital bed much like the one that had been prepared for Ron at Hogwarts. As Severus approached the bed, he could feel his strength leaving him. He grasped he guardrails beside the bed, gripping them tightly. He could barely hold himself up when he saw Harry's open distant eyes.

"Harry?" he whispered. There was no answer.

"This is all that I can give." Those were Severus's last words to Harry, followed by a small, resounding kiss that the Potions Master felt on his lips even as he stood there. His vision grew blurry as tears swelled in his eyes. He managed to hold himself back, but this entire scene was just so wrong to him, and he had lied—that kiss had only been a part of what he could have given to Harry, but Severus hadn't and had been so stubborn and had missed his chance. And now, Harry was like this…

Severus blinked the tears away, but they replaced themselves. For a moment, his heart and mind melded together, and he could see himself in his younger years—in perfect clarity, despite the tears that had blurred his vision just moments ago. He saw himself beaten and tortured, lying in a pool of blood that belonged to none save himself, Lucius towering over him. That was the last time he had even cried—in the rain, in the pool of blood with Lucius there whispering sweet nothings in his ears despite being the one who had tortured him.

"Harry…" he called. Still no response. "Harry!" Severus raised his voice, to jar the memory from his mind as though forgetting about the past would force the boy in front of him to answer. But there was still no reply; only blank, green eyes that seemed like a bottomless pit. They were open, but they saw nothing.

Not even Severus.

"'Severus Snape'," the Potions Master recited bitterly, "'sleep without nightmares tonight'." He paused. "How am I supposed to do that, Harry?" he asked the open air. "How am I supposed to sleep soundly while you suffer? You always think you know everything. Don't you know that you are dreadful at setting things right, Harry? Dreadful…" The green eyes were aimed at the ceiling, not at Severus, and it began to frustrate the Professor. "I will take care of you," he said, "because it is the only thing I have left to do with my pathetic existence. I have nothing left to live for. The War is over. You told me that I would survive it. I have. And to what end, Harry? So that I can continue living as a hermit who teaches children?" he laid his head on Harry's hand; it was warm. "Harry, you are all I have left to live for…you are the only one who needs me. I am sorry that I failed you."

I am sorry, Harry.

So, so sorry…

This rain that hides my tears away, this rain that turns the world to gray

Thos happy memories of you and I are slashed in the night

Fading so fast, as I watch them helplessly

All my tears have began to overflow –"It's Too Late"

I love Severus Snape, and it pains me to see him going through this, honestly, but I think that this was a nice, emotionally charged chapter. Let me know what you all thought, please!