The Beginning I

'They, those Death Eaters, came through some cabinet we hadn't seen in the Room of Requirement,' said Lily hastily, her voice laced with fear and hatred. 'We managed to make it out on time, but the castle is in turmoil, Sev. We need to go – and we need to go now!'

Together, they rushed their way back to the castle. 'Lily, I need you to tell me where Roy is,' said Severus between heavy breaths. 'I know where the Horcrux is, and I need him to help me find it.'

'Last thing I know he was still in the Great Hall,' said Lily as they reached the oaken doors, 'along with all the other students and teachers.'

Severus held Lily back before she swung open the doors. 'Wand up, shield up, and if you see the Dark Lord, contact me through your Deluminator right away. I doubt he's inside the castle now. He always lets others do the dirty work. Whatever the last Horcrux may be, I know that it's hidden somewhere in the Room of Requirement and I'm going to need Roy's Ravenclaw expertise on it. Lily – please, be careful.'

Lily swiftly wrapped her arms around Severus's waist and kissed him passionately. 'This is not the end, Sev. Go.'

Whatever peace the world outside still had to offer, once inside, chaos reigned. It appeared as if a bomb had gone off inside the Great Hall. Dust and debris filled the air. Students were screaming left and right, and curses flew around missing them by mere inches.

With his wand stretched out and his shield raised, Severus pushed his way into the Great Hall. He saw that Lily had started ushering students outside, and struggled, not knowing how to take control of the situation.

The day the battle of Hogwarts began during his first life, everything appeared to have been much more organised. Severus knew Harry and his friends had entered the castle somehow, and had requested all of the students to stand in formation inside the Great Hall. Some students had been missing among them then, who had, as he knows now, been hiding inside the Room of Requirement, ready to strike.

But there were different students now, and many of them weren't half as well prepared as Harry's friends has been. At the far end of the Great Hall he saw Professor McGonagall desperately trying to protect students from a Death Eater that was unbeknownst to him. He searched around frantically for a head full of golden curls amongst a sea of chaos, until he finally caught sight of Avery on the floor with his hands wrapped around Gilderoy's throat.

'Depulso!' Severus cried out. The charm punched Avery in his ribs and blasted him several feet away. He picked Gilderoy up by his shoulders, who was still gasping for breath. 'Follow me Roy!'

'Where are we heading, Severus?' asked Gilderoy as he ran after him out of the Great Hall. 'You got the sword out—'

'Stop asking questions and run!' Severus ordered.

It took forever to reach the seventh floor. Several of the staircases had been destroyed, causing them having to jump back and forth and take detours through several hidden passages.

The seventh floor was eerily quiet compared to the chaos down below. 'Care to tell me what we're doing here, Severus?' asked Gilderoy, still panting heavily.

'We need to find that diadem that belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw,' said Severus while walking his way up to the Room of Requirement. They passed the Headmaster's Office and he wandered if Umbridge was still there, hiding – or worse, under the influence of a curse.

Severus paced around three times in front of the entrance, mumbling to himself to open the door. 'Keep your wand ready, Roy,' he said as the door materialized. 'I doubt all the Death Eaters have left.'

Soundlessly they pushed their way through the door and shut it, causing it to blend back in with the wall. 'That's a lot of stuff,' Gilderoy whispered as he looked around the enormous room. 'Accio Ravenclaw's diadem – oh what, it was worth a try,' he said as he took note of Severus's sideway glance.

'Roy, could you name the traits that define a Ravenclaw for me?' asked Severus.

'Cleverness, wisdom and wit,' said Gilderoy. 'Highly competitive, too.'

For a split second, Severus was brought back to the year that Gilderoy had been the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher during Harry's second year. The year in which Harry had discovered he was a Parseltongue – and therefore a Horcrux. 'Roy, how would you recommend taking out your competition?'

'By outsmarting them, I suppose,' said Roy as the started walking through the narrow pathways, looking around.

An involuntary grin appeared on Severus's face, remembering how Gilderoy had managed to outsmart the entire wizarding world by stealing other wizards' stories of success. 'The diadem contains a piece of the Dark Lord's soul,' he explained. 'That's why we need to find it, and fast!'

'A piece of his s—'

'—don't bother,' Severus interrupted quickly.

They turned several more corners until they stumbled upon a four-poster bed. With a pang, he remembered Lily going down on both knees for him as he leaned against that bed, so many moons ago, and hoped that nothing had happened to her with all those Death Eaters on the loose.

He also remembered that the Mirror of Erised had to be around here somewhere, but strayed away from temptation. 'Roy, have you found anything yet? Roy –'

'Is it this you're looking for?' said a girly voice from behind.

Within a flash, Severus turned around and held his wand up high. Bellatrix held Gilderoy in a full body-bind curse, unable to move anything apart from his eyes, which were filled with tears.

'This little Ravenclaw found it first,' Bellatrix giggled, and twirled the diadem around between her fingers as if it were a toy. 'Poor little thing was almost ready to try it on when I found him.'

'Let him go,' said Severus darkly.

Bellatrix started to cackle. 'That's not how it works, minster Snape. I'll exchange him – for the sword.'

'Not possible,' said Severus.

Bellatrix lowered her wand and held it against Gilderoy's chest. 'tell me, mister Snape – how exactly did you pull that sword out of the stone?'

'I'd rather not waste my time telling stories,' Severus sneered. He knew he had given the wrong answer as soon as the words came out. Gilderoy, although unable to scream, shook around like a ragdoll when struck by the Cruciatus Curse.

'Stop it!' said Severus. 'Just stop this madness!'

A sly grin formed on Bellatrix's face as she pulled her wand away from Gilderoy's chest. 'Care for the boy, don't you Snape?'

'There has been a time where I wouldn't have,' said Severus. 'Tell me, where is your master hiding?'

'The sword, boy!' Bellatrix snapped sharply. 'I haven't got all day!'

Wordlessly, Severus shot a jinx at her, missing her by a mere inch as she cocked her head nonchalantly aside. 'Hmm, I expected better from you,' said Bellatrix, sounding bored. 'Now what?'

Severus knew he needed to stall in order for Gilderoy to be released from the jinx that was cast on him, so he started telling Bellatrix the story on how he managed to get his hands on the sword. Though Bellatrix was trying hard to look uninterested, Severus could see a glimpse in her eyes that hadn't been there before. A glimpse of intrigue, and he used to his advantage.

As Bellatrix listened, Severus could see from the corners of his eyes that Gilderoy's limbs were moving again. He could only hope that Gilderoy would be smart enough to reach for the tiara while Severus attacked her simultaneously.

Severus watched as Gilderoy stretched out his arm, shaking badly from the aftermath of the Cruciatus curse. As soon as Bellatrix's eyes shifted from him to Gilderoy, ready to strike, when suddenly he felt as harsh blow hitting him between his shoulders, knocking him over. He could hear Bellatrix cackling with laughter as the sword, and his wand, slipped out of his hands. Ropes were wriggling around him and bound him until it got hard to breathe.

'Well done, Cissy,' said Bellatrix. She held up the tiara too high for Gilderoy to reach and shot the same rope-binding curse on him.

'Shame you let yourself be fooled by such a simple trick, mister Snape,' said Narcissa as she hovered over Severus. 'As my dear sister said – I expected better from you.'

Cursing himself over such a foolish mistake, he glared at Narcissa in a Lily-like fashion. 'Suppose you'll take us to see the man in charge then?' he snapped angrily. 'I expected better from you too, Cissy.'

Somewhere in the depths of Narcissa's pale blue eyes, Severus could see a hint of doubt. The same hint he had seen in her eyes many times before during their meetings with the Dark Lord in his first life. The reason she never took the Mark.

'The Dark Lord will be pleased, Cissy,' said Bellatrix as she rolled up her sleeve. With the tip of her wand she touched the faint red mark on her arm, which started to glow hot within seconds. 'Now he knows we're coming.'

In a feeble attempt to connect with Narcissa, Severus attempted to use Legimilency on her, but the attempt was in vain. Her Occlumency shield was raised up high and too strongly to be penetrated. He watched her pick up the Sword of Gryffindor, along with his wand, off the floor and cast a levitation charm on him.

'Roy,' Severus thought as they were levitated out of the Room of Requirement. 'Don't speak. Just think about the words you wish to respond with.'

'What's happening Severus?' Gilderoy's voice sounded shaky, even in his mind.

'We're being taken to see the Dark Lord,' Severus responded as calmly as he could. 'From this point on, I need you to do as I say. Exactly when I say it.'

'How can you be so certain, knowing what to do?' asked Gilderoy.

'I can't be,' Severus responded. 'But it's all I can do.'

He could hear the doors of the Room of Requirement close behind them and disappear back into the wall as he floated in front of Narcissa, still unable to move.

'There you are Avery!' Bellatrix squealed. 'Took you long enough.'

'Sorry about that, madam Lestrange,' Avery responded politely. 'I brought Umbridge with me.'

Umbridge. Severus tried to crane his neck as far as his body physically allowed him to in a desperate attempt to meet her eyes. He knew she had to be under the influence of the Imperius curse and hoped that he could enter her mind to make her snap out of it.

'I think it's time to set the Dementors on the castle, don't you think?' Avery added. 'People are fighting down there, but –'

'But what?' snapped Bellatrix. 'Are we losing?'

'We will if we don't act now,' said Avery. 'Umbridge here is the only person the Dementors will answer to. We'll need her.'

'Dispose of her when you're done,' Bellatrix spat. 'Otherwise she'll run to the Ministry first thing. Cissy, we need to leave. The Dark Lord doesn't like to be kept waiting.'

'Yes, we'll go,' said Narcissa coldly.

Avery jabbed Severus with his wand as he passed him, followed closely by Umbridge, who looked as if she had already encountered far too many Dementors for one lifetime. 'They're on a witch-hunt for that little Mudblood wife of yours,' said Avery mockingly. 'Better prepare yourself for that windowed life, Snape.'

They had turned the corner before Severus was able to connect with her. Cursing Avery under his breath, he decided to give in to the situation and looked back up to the ceiling. 'Where exactly are you taking us?' he asked.

'To the Dark Lord,' said Narcissa, 'but you knew that already.'

'Yes, but where?' said Severus. 'Surely you're dragging us off to our inevitable death. Can a man at least take comfort in knowing what his final resting place will be?'

A sly smile formed on Narcissa's face. 'Nice try, mister Snape. But as a fellow Slytherin, I know how to recognise a silver tongue when I hear one.'

'How are you going to take us down?' asked Gilderoy. 'The whole castle is in turmoil down there.'

'Cissy's rather an expert on Disillusionment charms,' said Bellatrix. 'We'll sneak past.'

Narcissa did indeed render them all invisible once they hit the Grand Staircase. People could be heard duelling a few floors down and spells were bouncing off the walls, causing large chunks of rock from the staircases to crumble.

The cold winter air hit them in the face as they made it outside through the main entrance. The stars were no longer visible in the night sky. Instead, a thick mist moved through the air like black brushstrokes on a dark canvas, making its way towards the castle. The Dementors had been summoned. Umbridge most likely had been left to die.

Grateful that the Young Order knew how to defend themselves against Dementors, Severus continued to look up until they had reached the edge of the castle's grounds, when he suddenly noticed a tiny ball of light heading his way. Upon closer inspection he noticed that the Patronus had the shape of a goldfish, and was swimming silently through the air until it stopped amongst the branches of a tree. The Whomping Willow tree.

As Severus felt himself being lowered to the ground, the goldfish vanished behind the branches, followed by the unmistakable squeak of a rat.