71

"Crucio!"

Savage dodged, but too late. The curse struck her in her already injured ribs and radiated outward, seizing her lungs and heart and throat until even her screams were strangled to nothing. She tried to hold on to herself, to raise her wand, to crawl away, but the curse was too powerful. She thrashed in the snow, furious and agonized, until with a laugh Bellatrix lifted her wand.

But Bellatrix was not really amused. Savage could see the look on her face, the rage mixed with fear, and she knew the Death Eater woman was dreading the moment when her lord would return and find the chaos his Death Eaters had failed to subdue.

"In trouble now, aren't you, Bellatrix?" she rasped out, still shaking from the curse. Her only thought was to buy time, until she could find the wand she had lost while she had been twitching and screaming. Without a wand, she had no hope.

Bellatrix's eyes flashed. "When I present you to the Dark Lord -"

"You lost his prisoners," Savage interjected, still scanning the snow for any sign of her wand. "And how many Death Eaters have you lost tonight? How many Inferi?"

"The Inferi are expendable," Bellatrix said quickly, but Savage could hear the fear in her tone. "The Death Eaters were weak -"

"Like you?"

"I am his most loyal Death Eater," Bellatrix hissed. "The Dark Lord -"

"Is going to punish you." And then, in Bellatrix fashion, Savage laughed, a pained, wheezing laugh that sounded sinister even to her own ears. Yet she had caught sight of her wand - right at Bellatrix's feet. Of course.

"And you?" Bellatrix asked. "What do you think the Dark Lord will do to -"

Savage gave her no chance to finish her sentence. She lunged up out of the snow, catching Bellatrix totally off guard, and though another Cruciatus Curse struck her in the chest, Savage's momentum was such that she still slammed into the witch, taking her down and cutting the curse short.

But then it was a struggle not for Savage's wand, but for the wand in Bellatrix's hand, which the witch tried in vain to point at Savage as Savage, easily twice the size and probably three times the physical strength of Bellatrix, gripped her wrist and held it down.

Bellatrix was clearly not used to physical combat. Savage had expected, and was bracing herself for, a hit to the ribs that even Bellatrix must have noticed were already injured. But none was forthcoming. Instead, the smaller witch reached into her robes, and Savage had plenty of time to grab her other wrist before the knife could strike her.

Bellatrix shrieked, both her wrists pinned and Savage's weight holding her body down. Savage, not above using physical violence, head-butted the woman and watched in satisfaction as her head snapped back, her nose bleeding and her eyes dazed.

Yet at that moment, in the silver light of Savage's Patronus, she saw figures shuffling out of the mist - half a dozen of them, in various states of decay.

Bellatrix, twisting her head to look at them, laughed. Savage tried to wrest the wand from her hand, but Bellatrix held it fast. Then the Inferi were on them, grabbing Savage and dragging her off Bellatrix even as she struggled to reach for her wand, still lying in the snow.

But the Inferi yanked her away from it, their fingers tearing into her with brutal force, ripping her robes and hair as she kicked out. Her boot hit one of them in the knee, another in the gut, but there were too many, and she didn't have fire. Not without a wand. Her Patronus blasted into their midst, blinding, but in its pale light Savage saw that the Inferi all had their eyes closed.

That didn't stop them from reaching for her eyes, and for a horrifying second Savage thought they were going to gouge them out. Then red flames sparked to life all around them, engulfing them.

Savage couldn't see who had saved her. She threw herself at her wand, and in the same moment she heard Bellatrix scream, "Crucio!" But there were no subsequent screams. Whoever it was had dodged the Cruciatus Curse more successfully than Savage had.

Savage's fingers at last closed around her wand, and she brought it up just as another spell shot at Bellatrix, from a blur in the mist and snow - someone Disillusioned.

Bellatrix blocked the spell with ease, but found it less easy to block Savage's next spell. It cracked against her Shield Charm, filling the air with sparks. From that moment, the duel was vicious. Bellatrix was aiming to kill now, not just to toy, and both Savage and her Disillusioned ally were forced to dodge and duck their way through the snow around Bellatrix, though neither of them ever ceased firing spells of their own.

Bellatrix, beset on two sides, was moving like a dancer, spinning and laughing and hissing as she countered every spell. Ice, fire, blades, arrows, lightning, all slashed back and forth between the three duelists, never striking their targets. With another little cackle, Bellatrix conjured a snake, its massive coils unwinding as it landed in the snow.

And, from the Disillusioned figure neither Savage nor Bellatrix had managed to identify, there came an eerie, strangled hissing, unmistakably malicious.

Bellatrix was more startled than Savage, as if she thought that perhaps this was her lord, hissing at her from the mist. She was slow to react as the snake turned on her, striking out at her legs. Bellatrix stumbled backward, the fangs missing her by an inch, but Savage and her ally both struck as she fell, their spells meeting midair and slamming into Bellatrix's chest with enough force to rip a hole in it.

For a moment, Savage stood there panting, gazing down at the smoking body of Bellatrix Lestrange and ignoring the snake that had begun to slither over her corpse. Then she looked at her ally. No longer was she Disillusioned; Savage could see clearly that it was Ginny.

"You're a Parselmouth?"

Ginny shrugged. "I was possessed by a Parselmouth. It left… a mark." She pursed her lips in distaste, but added, "It's bloody useful. I don't know why Harry doesn't use it more."

"Harry… your husband."

"Yeah," she said, "my husband. C'mon, let's go find Lily."

Savage frowned at the girl, her head whirling with yet another mystery involving Prince and his teenaged charges, yet there was nothing to do but follow.

When he first opened his eyes, Severus thought he was dreaming. Lily's face, materializing out of the gloom, was just as he remembered it - young, beautiful, extraordinary - and it was several seconds before he recalled where he was, and how old he was, and all the things he had done.

When it finally washed over him, it came slowly, an inescapable tide of sorrow that gradually engulfed him, lingering painfully until at last it began to recede. The light of the Patronuses was too bright: a stag and a doe, shining side by side. The snow glittered all around them, and Severus closed his eyes.

No, this was not his Lily. He had not destroyed her, and he had never loved her, either. Merlin, but he was tired.

A furry little weight settled against his cheek, and he felt tiny claws prick his skin and a very cold nose nuzzle his eyebrow. He remembered, with a sharp stab of fear, how Fiend had fallen into the mist, to what he had assumed was her death. Relief far more powerful than his sorrow swept over him, and he tried to sit up, only to grunt as a thousand aches made themselves known.

"Are you hurt?" Lily asked.

Severus considered it, allowing his mind to fix on every ache and testing the severity of each pain. "Not seriously, I think. Are you?"

She shook her head. "Not seriously." She glanced away from him, back into the mist, with an anxious expression. In the distance, Severus thought he could see a red glow, but when he blinked a moment later it was gone, swallowed by the mist.

"Ginny and Savage are over there," she said, pointing in the direction of the glow. "They were fighting a Death Eater, but Ginny told me to run."

Severus tried to focus more intently on the mist where she had pointed, but there were no more lights. He tried again to sit up, and this time managed it, gritting his teeth against a howl of pain. "I suspect I would be useless in a duel, at the moment."

Lily looked back at him. "You should lie down."

He shook his head. "We can't stay here. Not indefinitely." He didn't mention that the longer he lay there, the more likely it was that he would pass out again. He wasn't sure how he had survived this long. He had been unconscious the moment he struck the ground, if not before, and his mouth had not been sealed. Why had the Dementors not Kissed him? Had his new Patronus managed to guard him even while he was unconscious? Or had Lily's Patronus been with him the whole time? Or was it Potter's?

But no. He had the distinct impression Lily had only just arrived, and Potter's Patronus would not have helped him. So then it must have been his own Patronus. But, whatever it was, it was nowhere to be seen. He felt a sudden urge to conjure it again, to know what form it had taken, mingled with the fear of actually seeing it. What was he now? How would it change him, to see it? He remembered the first time he had seen his doe Patronus. It had been after he turned spy for Dumbledore, after he had betrayed Lily. It had given him hope - hope that she would live, maybe even some dreadful little hope that they were meant to be together, someday, far in the future. The doe and stag before him seemed to mock him for that now. Yet still, it had been precious. It had given his life a sense of purpose; it had solidified this new identity, the Severus Snape who would fight for Lily no matter what.

He would still fight for her no matter what, but there was… more? Was that it? He had spent so much time feeling that there was less of him now, an emptiness he couldn't fill, but there was more. He just didn't know what any of it meant.

In any case, he couldn't conjure the Patronus without a wand, whether he wanted to or not.

"Would you be so good as to Summon my wand?" he asked, after a moment's search failed to yield it.

Lily nodded, casting the spell nonverbally. It was a few seconds before his wand spun out of the mist, landing not in his own hand but in Lily's. She gazed at it for a moment, recognition and something like sadness in her eyes, before handing it over.

So she knew. She would have questioned it if she didn't, would have asked why his wand was so similar to that of the boy she had grown up with. But there was no surprise in her face, only a wary curiosity.

"Has there been any sign of Potter?" he asked, nodding at the stag.

"No," Lily said, frowning and looking around. "The stag saved me just now, but I haven't seen him. Maybe he sent it as a message?"

But the stag said nothing.

"Perhaps he only sent it to protect you," Severus said. "In which case, it seems likely that he is not alone. He must have had another Patronus to guard him."

Lily looked relieved. Severus found it curious that there was no trace of jealousy in his own heart, although he certainly was glad Potter wasn't with them. No doubt it was only a matter of time, but he would take whatever reprieve he could get.

He once again considered conjuring his own Patronus, but it felt too private to do so here. Instead, he tucked Fiend into his robes, feeling her little form shivering against him and running his hand over her back to warm her.

"Can we light a fire?" Lily asked, shivering.

The Patronuses were already revealing their location to anyone who cared to find it. Severus jabbed his wand at the snow between them and watched the flames unfurl.

In the firelight, Lily looked worse. The silver glow had lent her an ethereal aura, but, though the fire shone brightly in her hair, her face was now lined with red shadows, and the flickering light only made her shivering seem stronger. An illusion, no doubt, but she was clearly unwell.

He allowed himself to wonder, for the first time, what the Death Eaters might have done to her during her captivity. It was a grim thought, one he had avoided for most of the night, but now, with her seated in front of him gazing into the fire, he could no longer justify banishing the fear.

"How badly were you harmed?" he asked, trying to sound gentle, but sounding stilted even to his own ears.

She glanced up at him, and unexpectedly the hint of a smile twitched the corner of her mouth before her face settled back into lines of weariness. "The other Severus asked me that, too. Don't worry." The smile was wholly gone now. "It was much worse for him than for me."

Severus was glad to hear it. He trusted that his younger self could endure. But Lily, though she had strength - more than most people gave her credit for - would not have endured torture. Not without irrevocable damage. Still, he could see in her eyes that she had suffered, and he knew there was something she wasn't telling him.

She seemed to decide, a moment later, that she could tell him, because she said, "I'm pregnant."

Severus arched an eyebrow, but offered her no other sign of surprise. Inwardly, though, he was alarmed. Not only for her, although that was certainly at the forefront of his mind, but for all the couples that had been linked to her ring, as well. How long would it take the Ministry to realize what they had done?

"The ring lit up while they were torturing me," Lily said, her gaze once more on the fire. "One of them said… he said maybe that was why it happened. Because of the torture."

Severus's concern returned immediately, and wholly, to the girl sitting in front of him. He knew, just from the way she said it, that the thought was tormenting her. The idea that somehow, in some small way, the Death Eaters might be responsible for this - how long would it be, he wondered, before that thought faded from her mind? Would it ever?

"Perhaps," he said after a moment. "Perhaps they can take the credit. Or perhaps the Ministry can. I have no doubt they will try as well. They will say it is thanks to their law that so many parents have been gifted with children."

Lily's expression tightened.

"Or perhaps it would have happened regardless. It would have happened sometime, I have no doubt." He grimaced slightly, and she did as well, rather sheepishly.

"How the child was conceived hardly matters," he said, after a moment. "Or do you disagree?"

"No," she said. "And it's not that I - that I would love the baby any less. It's just…" Tears filled her eyes. "I hate them. I want them dead."

"I suspect many of them are, by now," he replied. "And more will follow. After everything they have done, the Ministry cannot be but harsh with them. Assuming they even make it to the Ministry." He and Savage had left more than one Death Eater bound and paralyzed in the snow. Not to mention Umbridge… He supposed it might be too much to hope for that she could have been Kissed.

Lily nodded, still looking anxious, still glancing periodically in the direction of the duel she had left behind. With great effort, Severus forced himself to his feet. Every inch of his body seemed to seize up with pain, but there was only minor dizziness, and after a moment he found his voice enough to say, "Let us see if we can help them."

"No need."

Severus turned to see the Dementors folding back, a silver tiger stalking through their midst and lunging at any that did not give way. Savage came behind, wounded and stumbling, but with an air of power that matched her Patronus. Ginny was close beside her, looking ready to try to catch her if she fell, despite the fact that Savage was twice her size.

Lily stood up. "Are you all right? Where's the Death Eater?"

"Dead," Savage said.

"It was Bellatrix," Ginny added, meeting Severus's gaze. "I'm glad you're all right."

Severus thought for a moment how surreal it was to hear a Weasley child say that, let alone this girl who had relentlessly fought against him during his tenure as Headmaster of Hogwarts. She had a knowing look in her eyes, as if she knew what he was thinking, and he wondered if it would ever stop surprising him that so many of the teenagers he had treated so miserably were capable of - well, of caring. About him.

Of forgiving him, he had to assume.

They helped Savage sit by the fire, and Severus, yet again, began to tend to her injuries. Ginny was examining the stag.

"Was there a message?" she asked.

"No. I think James just sent it to protect me," Lily said.

Ginny frowned. "I think it's Harry's." She stepped toward it, holding out her hand. The stag came forward without hesitation.

Savage blinked, looking as though she would like to question Ginny, but Severus drew her attention by stating the obvious. "You need a Healer."

Savage nodded, perhaps too weary to speak.

"We need to find the others," Ginny said. "My Patronus is out there looking - but Lily, if you could send yours again -"

"Wait," Severus said. His gaze was fixed above them, at the Dementors that hovered at a distance from their little circle of light. There was movement, a shifting in the shadows, as if something had disturbed them. They were folding back.

They were fleeing.

Through the breaking mist, beacons of silver light began to shine through, first one, then another, then too many to count, little sparks of silver that darted through the air.

Potter. Black. Alice Longbottom. Severus identified the Patronuses before he saw the approaching figures, but there they were. And Harry was with them.

Ginny and Lily both lit up, and both ran to meet their respective Potters. Alice went straight to the fire and collapsed beside it, exhausted, a poorly healed scar crossing her face.

"I saw your nephew," she said, "and Hermione Granger, a while ago. They were both alive, but we were separated."

Severus felt a surge of relief. Ginny, having heard, said, "My Patronus must be with them, then. There's no one else, is there?"

They all thought for a moment. In the chaos of everything that had happened, between Azkaban and this nightmare, it was hard to keep track of who had been with them when.

"There's no one else," Severus said finally.

"Should some of us go look for them?" Harry asked, glancing around as if hoping to see a signpost.

"We should stay together," Ginny said. "And Savage and Sna- and Prince are both in bad shape."

Everyone caught the slip. Black's face twisted into something unpleasant, but Severus was far more concerned with Savage, who was blinking at him in the same way she had blinked at Harry's Patronus. Her concussion was slowing her thoughts, but he could still see the pieces falling into place, and the suddenly sharp way her eyes focused on him.

Bizarrely, in the moment after realization swept over her face, he saw… disappointment?

He tried to fathom why she would be disappointed, of all things, but couldn't.

When it became clear that Savage wasn't going to immediately demand an explanation, Harry said, "We should try to find them. We can conjure stretchers for Prince and Savage -"

"I can walk," Severus said. "But I think a stretcher for Auror Savage would be wise."

He expected Savage to resist, but she said faintly, "Yes, it would be wise."

Concern stirred in him. He knew she was injured - indeed, it was astonishing she was still conscious, after the blow her head had taken - but he felt a sudden sharp worry that she wouldn't make it.

He shook the thought away. She would. He had treated her wounds as well as he could, and it would be good enough until she reached St. Mungo's.

Potter conjured a stretcher before he could, and Black levitated her onto it, taking at least some care not to jostle her. Severus forced himself to his feet again, ignoring the pain. They all looked at each other, then Harry looked at his stag and said, "Find them."

As the Dementors' mist swept over them, swallowing the sunlight his Fiendfyre had so tantalizingly revealed, Severus had one brief, magnificent moment of seeing his Patronus almost take a corporeal form. The wisps of silver spread out like wings, light shone out of two bright eyes, and sparks of white seemed so close to coalescing that it was actually painful when they didn't, when his Patronus faded into a pale veil between him and the Dementors.

But there was Hermione's otter, sliding though the air toward him, and there was Hermione, running full tilt and slipping on the snow so that she crashed into him in a flurry of limbs.

Neither of them had mouths at the moment, or maybe they would have kissed. Instead, Hermione hugged him, and he hugged her back, all the terror of the past few minutes - the past few hours - fading away for a few seconds as the relief washed through him.

It was several minutes before Hermione let him get up again, and when she did he realized she was crying, although whether in relief or distress was hard to tell. She sniffled, looking around. The Dementors surrounded them as thickly as ever, but at least they were together.

Severus considered trying the Fiendfyre again, but how could he be sure none of his friends or allies were flying in the mist? He hadn't had a choice, after Barty, Jr. had cast it, but to do so now…

Still, they needed to do something. To find the others - Alice, at least, was still alive - and to get out of here, back to safety. The Dark Lord had been gone for hours, but how long would he stay gone? How long before he returned here, and discovered what they had done?

Severus felt a chill as he considered it. And what would the Dark Lord do then?

Even as he was contemplating it, he saw movement in the air around them. So close in the wake of his thoughts, it felt ominous, as if at any moment the Dark Lord might glide out of the mist, and he and Hermione both stepped closer together, wands raised.

But it wasn't the Dark Lord. The Dementors swept backward, and Severus sensed only anger from them, anger and frustration. Out of the receding mist, a Patronus, much brighter than either his or Hermione's, manifested.

Hermione restored her mouth, and said in clear excitement, "That's Ginny's!"

Severus nudged her arm and pointed at his own face, silently requesting her to restore it, knowing she would do it right. With a smile, she waved her wand, and he drew in a deep breath of air.

"Any message?" he asked the horse.

In answer, it tossed its head and turned away, glancing over its shoulder at them.

With a glance at each other, Hermione and Severus began to follow. Severus could see the happiness in Hermione's face. They had no way of knowing how many of their friends had survived, but just knowing one had made it was a relief.

And, now that Severus considered it, it had to be more than one. Ginny wouldn't have sent her Patronus and left herself unprotected.

Feeling encouraged, both by that knowledge and by the bright horse prancing through the air in front of them, Severus had to make an effort to stay on his guard. There could still be threats - Death Eaters, Inferi - and he couldn't give in to his hope just yet.

Still, the sight of the Dementors pulling farther and farther back cheered him, and he almost thought he could see the yellow glow of sunlight peeking through the mist high above. Despite his best efforts, hope was beginning to fill him up.

And then, through the mist, they saw it: silver light shining through in shafts, the shadows growing ever thinner until he could make out Patronuses, not one or two but several, two stags and a doe, a wolf, a tiger, countless hummingbirds. And Severus had not been mistaken; there was sunlight beginning to shine through.

Hermione let out a sound that was more a sob than anything. "Harry! Ginny!"

Then they were all embracing, and unexpectedly Ginny grabbed his arm and dragged him into it, too. He couldn't help grinning a little.

"Thanks for the Patronus," he said.

Ginny grimaced. "Least I could do, after you fell off my broom."

"Who else -" Hermione began.

"Everyone." Ginny broke the hug and gestured behind her. And, though Severus hadn't known exactly who their rescue party consisted of, he could well imagine that this was everyone - his older self looking battered but relieved, Alice Longbottom with her mouth restored and a scar running through it, Savage on a stretcher, Black and Potter looking disappointed he had survived, and Lily, smiling at him, looking far less distressed than when he had left her.

Severus was amazed. Everyone, Ginny had said. They had all survived. After the slaughter in Azkaban, he had been bracing himself for the same terrible casualties here. But they had all made it. Even Fiend.

"Now that you have finished reuniting," his older self said, "I suggest we leave."

"Which way?" Harry asked.

Severus had no idea where they were, and he could see none of the others did, either. "Let's use the Patronuses," he said. "We can push the Dementors back. Maybe we can get a better look."

They gathered together, facing outward, in a circle around Savage's stretcher. Her tiger was now above them, while the other Patronuses ranged around the humans, prepared to charge.

"On three?" Potter asked, as if this was some kind of game.

It was Black who answered. "One… two… three!"