Chapter Twenty-Five: And What a Dream it Was

Hogsmeade is in flames.

Bright orange fire eats away the wooden columns that keep up the century old houses. Once colourful shop windows now gape empty as the fights have burst all the glass into tiny pieces that now scrape under Harry's feet as he stumbles against the cool wall of the Hog's Head.

The pub is also burning. Angry red flames lick through the roof. Two wizards on broomsticks hover above, however, no matter how much effort they put into their spells, it doesn't seem enough.

Harry hears a cry in the distance, a few people shout and bellow for more men but the village is strangely quiet. It's almost eerie; if there's a battle, he would expect more noise. Spells and explosions, orders shouted and the unavoidable shrieks of pain.

"What's going on here?" he asks Severus, who's inspecting their surroundings equally confused. "Where's the battle?"

"At Hogwarts." He points at the bright flares coming from towards the castle's general direction. "That's what Albus said in his message, too. But where is he?"

There's worry in his voice but he looks calmer, cooler now as if the moment he let Harry go, he said goodbye to their shared dream, as well.

It's better like this, Harry tells himself. They cannot afford themselves to be distracted when there is a war going on, a final battle. He swallows, then looks around once more.

They hear a scream coming from their left and instinctively, Harry moves that way. Snape grabs his shoulder however, and motions for him to stay behind.

"I don't want to see any recklessness from you, am I understood?" Snape barks. "This will be different from any battle you've ever seen. This time the Death Eaters aren't just here to seek you out and capture you. The Dark Lord wants you dead."

"Just like you," Harry reminds him.

The scream comes again and Snape gives him one more look. "Wand at the ready. And forget the Disarming Charm. Stunning is the least, understand?"

Harry nods, then they are running down on cobblestone roads. Even if they would want their arrival to be a surprise, their shoes make enough of a racket to ruin it.

Still the woman standing in the middle of an abandoned street holding a wand turns around almost shocked to see them.

"Professor Snape? Potter!"

"Fawcett!" Snape cries. "What the hell are you doing here alone? Where's the rest of the Order?"

"We… we've got broken up."

Snape rolls his eyes and mumbles, "Of course, we run into the useless one…" and that's when the name clicks in Harry's mind. Snape had mentioned her when he retold the events of a mission once. She's the one who nearly shot the Headmaster with a spell.

"Have you seen Dumbledore?" Harry asks as they walk closer.

Harry notices a body not far away. The man's shirt is singed slightly. A spell must have crushed him against the wall. Harry eyes him for a moment, finds something familiar in him, but doesn't dare walk closer. He's not sure he's ready to see his first death of the night.

Fawcett must have followed his gaze, because she says, "I don't know who he was, but he started attacking me the moment he found me. I was scared. I stunned him. I don't know if… if…"

If he's dead, Harry finishes the thought in himself.

"He won't make trouble for a while anyway," Snape says merely glancing towards the body. "Albus, where is he?"

"Oh yes, this way." She points towards the end of the road they are in.

She leads the way, but Harry quickly catches up to her. "Hey, uhm, it's Fawcett, right?"

"Yeah," she nods tightly as they hurry along.

"Who else is here?"

"What do you mean?"

"The Weasleys? Are they here? In the village? What about the castle?"

"The castle still holds, though not for long. The Dark Lord has many tricks up his sleeve, some even surprised Dumbledore." She laughs. "Arthur and Molly are here, probably with the Professor just down the road. I don't know about the rest of them, sorry, Harry." She looks at him then asks, "And how was your stay in France?"

"What?"

Snape lets out a bark of laughter and when Harry glances at him surprised, he just smirks. "Oh yes, Potter, how was your stay in France? Never had the chance to ask. Was the Beauxbatons Academy to your liking?"

The humorous gleam in Snape's eyes brings the revelation at last. The seven places whispered at the start of their arrangement to find the spy lurking in the Order of Phoenix. Apparently France was one of them.

Harry watches Snape as he answers, "Oh yeah, Madame Maxime was a wonderful host."

Up ahead, the door of the house opens and a group of dark shadows slip out into the night. Harry looks to see the tall frame of Albus Dumbledore but can't quiet recognise any of the silhouettes.

"The school?" Fawcett laughs next to Harry. "The Dark Lord searched for you all across France and you were hiding at Beauxbatons from the very beginning?"

Harry finds something strange in her voice, but as he would look at her, he catches a bright yellow flash of light in the corner of his eyes, then the next moment Fawcett is on the ground.

He pulls his wand immediately, however Snape grabs him and yanks him behind his body while he's pointing his black wand at her.

"Whose side are you really on, girl?"

Her wand has fallen out of her hand and she's crawling towards it, but Severus is quicker. He steps there and kicks it further away.

"I'm a member of the Order, Professor Snape! What are you doing?"

Snape points his wand at her and snarls. "The Dark Lord should not have known to look in France, Fawcett." She pales as she rolls onto her back. "I should have known. I saw you curse Dumbledore on the bridge, that wasn't an accident, you were simply stupid enough to try. The rumours about the Dark Lord leaving the country should have made me realize where your loyalties lie!"

"Don't!" she pleads. "You don't understand."

"I wouldn't understand?" Snape bellows with seething rage. "Me?!"

Harry notices the red spells swooshing their way at the very last moment. Wherever Fawcett has led them, Albus Dumbledore was far away. Instead, a group of Death Eaters were walking their way, wands raised.

He drags Snape down just in time. One of the spells fly by just where the man's head was mere seconds ago.

Snape flicks his wand and stuns Fawcett. "It's a trap! Go!" He cries, then pushes Harry away.

"You're joking, right?" Harry shouts angrily, too as he jerks his wridt. He's already sending Stunning Spells as he barks, "I'm not leaving you, Severus!"

Snape lets out an annoyed grunt but attacks instead of arguing.

The group of dark shadows flutter apart as almost all the Death Eaters jump into cover. One, a bulky large man, laughs at the others as he keeps approaching.

Harry seems to recognise the sound. No other human or animal makes his nape shiver like Fenrir Greyback does.

"Severus, long time no see," the man calls, voice sounding more like growling than human speech.

"Greyback. Still a biter, I see," Snape grunts next to Harry, then he whips his wand, sending a bright blue spell at the man.

Cooly, Fenrir just leans away. The werewolf behind him attempts the same, but he's not quick enough and Snape's spell hits him right in the shoulder. He collapses but his associates don't seem to care, they simply scurry past him.

Harry has no doubt that the hairy, robust men trailing after Greyback have all been bitten. The way they sniff into the pungent air that's bitter with the smell of smoke and burnt wood, their slow, careful motions like stalking, and their flashing yellow eyes make it painfully clear.

Fenrir's cruel cackle like a wolf's snarl in the night make even the walls shudder. "Don't tell me you brought us a gift. Fresh meat? Young and supple, too. Oh Severus, you shouldn't have…"

"I don't think your boss would be happy with you eating me," Harry shouts and it seems his voice is recognised right away, because several of the men freeze, even Greyback seems to slow down.

"Potter?" He cries, nearly in awe. "Is that really you?" His tone changes then, turns nearly giddy with excitement. "Quick, boys, get the Dark Lord! We will be greatly rewarded for this."

The moment the three werewolves turn around, Severus attacks. Harry too, sends a Stunning Spell out right away that knocks into one of them.

A purple spell like a beam of light crosses the narrow street and blasts into the cobble stone. The three men sent to fetch Voldemort stagger at the edge of bright blue flames the size of the shops on both sides.

Harry gasps too, but he can't allow himself to wonder about Severus' magic for long, as the werewolves attack with Fenrir in the lead.

There's five of them and it seems their orders are simple. Harry, they need alive, but Snape they would prefer motionless. Four of them attack the man straight away, while Harry gets Fenrir Greyback, himself.

He doesn't play around for even a second, though neither does Fenrir. Fangs, yellow and inhuman, flash in the light of spells as the wolf springs at Harry, who sends a Sectumsempra at him right away.

The spell cuts across Fenrir's shoulder, but he barely seems affected by the pain. He keeps coming at Harry, who's too late to realize, magic shields do very little against werewolves.

Next moment he feels a harsh blow across his face that smacks him right against the cool stone wall of an Apothecary. He needs a moment to clear his disoriented mind and he staggers. He catches the edge of a window frame, but his hand slips, and he cuts the middle of his palm.

"Don't tempt me, Potter," Fenrir growls behind him and Harry can detect the keen desire in his tone of voice. The smell of blood, it seems, doesn't just lure vampires.

Harry swallows, hand fisting around his wand. He's just about to turn, when a strong hand grips his neck. He feels nails scratching him, digging hard enough into his skin to draw blood then he is hurled back.

His Impedimenta bursts from his wand and hits Fenrir's chest with such force, the werewolf is knocked back several feet, while Harry flies back into the shopwindow, too, crushing through wood frame and glass planes. He slides on sharp shards for a few inches, but barely feels the pain as the realization downs on him that his wand is not in his hand anymore.

He shakes his head and grunting tries to get back up, as he looks around frantically for his only aid in the battle.

Greyback, like a monstrous shadow is upon him almost right away, roaring. Blood covers half his face and there's a nasty wound at his temple under his unkept grey hair.

He licks the blood from his lips and swallows it down then grunts darkly, "Maybe the Dark Lord wouldn't mind me taking a few bites after all…"

Glass shards screech under heavy boots, and Harry crawls back. His hand knocks into something and he grabs it unthinking.

He throws the vial of neon green potion at the werewolf's face, hoping against all odds that it holds him up until Harry finds his wand.

The moment the vial slips from his fingers he's turning around gaze searching. He finds it nearby, half way under a counter.

He doesn't wait and see the results of his attack; he doesn't need to. Greyback's loud scream is enough to know he might just have a few seconds.

He clambers there practically on all fours, and right when he feels the wood against his palm, he grasps it more firmly and turns around ready to cast.

However, his haste is needless. Fenrir stands in front of him clutching at his blind eyes. Acid green potion that seems almost luminescent in the dark has mixed with his blood. As it trickles down his face and arm, it seems to leave behind blistering wounds that turn rotten black within a few seconds.

Harry watches the scene with horror, wanting to help but he's not sure what to do, or what is even happening in the first place.

"Wolfsbane," Snape says from behind him.

Harry twirls around to look at the man instead of the agonizing wolf. There's a cut across Severus' cheek but it doesn't look too painful.

"The potion must have been some sort of sedative utilizing Aconite." He explains watching the whimpering Fenrir fall onto his knees in pain. "It's as good as acid to him. Come now, Harry," he urges, and holds his hand out. "We need to find Albus."

Harry looks at the werewolf one more time, and just as he would feel pity for the grunting, whining creature, he reminds himself, this is the man who bit Remus, who lay in wait to turn and infect or worse, kill helpless, innocent children.

He takes Severus' hand and carefully steps over the debris in the shop window of the Apothecary.

The men Severus has fought are lying around, some grunting, some motionless. There is one, near the purple flames who is slowly standing up. It seems he has realized that he's alone and can't run away, because he pulls out his wand and points it towards the sky.

"Fuck," Snape hisses.

If he conjures the Dark Mark someone ought to come and check it out.

They both point their wands at him, but Harry knows it's too late.

"MORTSMORD –"

The man can't finish the spell though. An enormous hand sweeps through the purple flames and catches him.

The next moment, a giant walks through the fire as if it was nothing but smoke. He waves the man around in his hand, then as if the werewolf was but a broken toy, he chucks the man against a stone wall. Limp, like a ragdoll, the werewolf tumbles onto the cobble street, now motionless.

"Is he with us?" Harry asks confused, though they are both backing away.

The giant is as tall as the houses around them with shoulders massive and arms thick like a tree trunk each.

As he steps, the cobbles rattle and the old shops shudder where they stand.

The giant lets out an angry roar then grabs a chimney and hurls it towards Harry and Severus.

"Doubtful!" Snape cries as he drags Harry into cover.

The blackened bricks of the chimney fly by them like heavy missiles and the giant roars up again, frustrated.

They run out of cover and Snape shoots a few spells blindly behind them, but they do nothing to hold up the creature. His thick skin is all but impervious to magic.

The giant tears off a wooden shutter from a window and throws it at them. Harry is pushed in an alley just in time, but Snape is knocked off his feet. He splays out on the ground and Harry grabs for him right away, dragging him just behind the corner, into safety.

He's about to Apparate to any other point of the small town, when he hears the scream again. High pitched and frightened, nearly distorted incomprehensible by panic it cuts across the night sharp like a knife.

"MOOOM!"

They look at each other, then down the road.

No matter the bright orange light of the flames, Harry recognises that brand of hair colour right away.

"Ginny?!" He shouts, momentarily even forgetting about the giant just around the corner and storms down the street, where the girl is kneeling over a lump body, which must belong to Mrs. Weasley.

Harry doesn't dare contemplate the worst, even if Ginny's sharp cry suggests it.

"Harry? Oh, Harry!" She sobs when Harry drops to his knees next to her. "I don't know what happened to her! She was looking for one of the Order members, Fawcett, I think… I found her like this… I don't know… Oh Harry, what if she's… if she's…"

Severus is there on the other side of Mrs. Weasley, too, casting spells over her body right away.

"She's alive," he says after a moment, but when he looks up, Harry understands that she doesn't have long.

Ginny must comprehend the dark shadow in Snape's eyes, too, because she breaks out in low sobs. "Professor do something, please!"

Snape doesn't even regard her with an answer, instead he starts casting.

There doesn't seem to be an injury on Molly's body, at least the little scars and cuts don't seem dangerous enough to put her in this state. She must have been cursed, but with what is a mystery and Severus does not have much time to figure it out.

The cobblestone street rattles under the steps of the giant looking for them. Above the tall houses, Harry can see his big head looking, gaze searching for them.

Fear glints in Ginny's eyes as she looks up, too, first at the giant, then towards the opposite end of the narrow road.

"What?" Harry asks.

"Fawcett," she says. "She must be somewhere here, too, if…" her haze drifts to the giant again.

"She was a traitor, Ginny. She's probably the one who did this to your mom."

"What!?"

"We met her when we got here. We thought she'll lead us to Professor Dumbledore, but instead she took us to Fenrir."

Ginny bristles at the name, but her eyes glint with hatred. "That bitch. If I run into her again…"

"You won't. Sev- Snape took care of her."

The man looks up at the mention of his name and their eyes meet for a moment over Molly Weasley's motionless body. It doesn't take longer then two seconds, and Snape's attention is back on the unconscious woman, but Harry can't look away.

Something in the pit of his belly stirs, cold vines twisting and twirling. This is real life, where the man he loves is not Severus, but Professor Snape. He feels the bubble he used to live in the past few months now pops at last.

What they have shared was nothing but a dream, a joint hallucination. This is reality and their worlds couldn't be farther away.

Snape notices it too, feels it, how surreal their relationship, their love is out here in the real world.

"Mist -khm… Mister Potter, this might take a little longer than I assumed. I hope you are ready to fight a giant."

He doesn't look up, avoids Harry's gaze altogether, and something breaks in him deep down.

Up ahead, the ginormous creature reaches the corner. He looks down the street right at them, and Harry feels Ginny pull closer.

Then, the giant roars and lights flicker around them.