Chapter Sixteen

That this can scarce be right!

For a frozen minute, Harry could not think of anything beyond his realisation of his captor's identity. Thane was speaking, but for the moment, the words were merely a collection of unintelligible sounds to Harry. It was all he could do to comprehend that he was indeed in the hands of a Death Eater, which was bad enough by itself. But he knew precisely, far too intimately, just what this one was capable of, had done, and that made it incomparably worse.

The fear he had been fighting ever since the wand first nudged him outside the shop surged up at this sign of weakness. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself involuntarily. Thane's mouth began to form a curse at the sudden movement before he realised the intention, but Harry didn't notice the increase in his danger. He found himself wishing that he hadn't decided to wear his summer robes and no jumper, although somehow he didn't think that warmer clothes would have helped much.

It was several moments before he realised that Severus had been attempting to get his attention for some time. Presumably, he had been worried by the flood of panic threatening to overwhelm Harry's mind.

//Harry. Harry, what is it?// questioned the man, his urgency and anxiety plain as he attempted to get an answer.

//I…// He could not explain. But he could show. Without knowing how he did it, he allowed Severus access to his eyes, indicating Thane although he knew it wasn't necessary.

//Fuck.// The uncharacteristic curse was another indicator of the terror that he could feel was now shared by Severus, a match to Harry's own. Showing the man just whom they had to face had perhaps not been such a good idea, but he could not bring himself to care very much at that moment. Other worries clamoured for his attention, and were far more successful

//Harry, we're coming. It'll take us fifteen minutes or so to get there, though. Hold on. And… don't anger him.// Harry knew that Severus was trying to reassure him, and it even worked, a little. The knowledge that he was not alone after all, that the two men best equipped to help him were on their way, calmed him a little, staved off the flood for a while longer. However, the effect was not nearly as total as he could have wished.

//I'll try,// he said, unable to take offence at the caution after having failed to heed the last, and now being forced to regret that decision. Also, he could feel the care that prompted the admonition, and that helped too.

//Stay with me?// he asked before he could stop himself, pride less important for the moment than his need for support.

//Of course.// This time after the end of their exchange, the sense of Severus' presence did not immediately fade. Harry allowed himself to be slightly comforted by the feeling, and tried to pay some attention to Thane's words rather than concentrating on his predicament. He had to know what was going on.

"… before we take you to our Lord," Thane finished. Harry suddenly wished he'd been paying attention all along. From Severus' experience, he knew that there was possibly only one thing worse than being helpless in the hands of Death Eaters. That was being in their power without the faintest idea of what they had in mind, and so being unable to prepare yourself for it.

At least Thane didn't seem to require an answer, and Harry was thankful for that small mercy. Instead, the Death Eater seemed content to circle Harry, inspecting him in minute detail from a mere foot away. Harry felt almost physically violated by the searching gaze bestowed upon him, and had to fight not to shiver in loathing, or lash out in an instinctive response to such a look. The others in the circle were examining him too, but none in the intimate, almost proprietary way Thane was scrutinising him. Perhaps, after all, he didn't really want to know what the man had planned. He fixed his eyes on the ground, barely seeing the grass and patches of bare earth surrounding his feet, and hoped that Severus and the Headmaster would find the clearing soon.

He endured a good five minutes of skin-crawling inspection before the Death Eater moved again. He stepped closer to Harry and brushed his fringe out of his face with a casual hand before cupping the hand beneath his chin and lifting his face. Harry kept his eyes fixed over Thane's left shoulder so he didn't have to look into his eyes as the man wanted. He just managed, with an immense effort of will, to hold back his instinctive movement in response to the touch to a shiver and a twitch of his right hand.

He didn't know whether he'd been about to angrily shake the man's intruding hand off him, or to reach for the wand the Death Eaters had so far neglected to take from him and cast a hex, hopefully fatal. He reminded himself that either way, it would most probably have gotten him into serious – make that more serious – trouble, and served no real purpose. Well, apart from ridding the world of him, he thought, if he'd chosen the latter.

He worried himself more than a little when he noticed that he was able to think of killing Thane in so calm a manner, even though he was in all other respects far from composed.

"So this is the famous scar," said the man, lifting his other hand to trace it in a parody of intimacy. Harry repressed another shiver.

"So much trouble for such a… little… thing," Thane mused, his tone wondering and curious. His eyes rested on Harry's face searchingly.

"You are an innocent, are you not?" he said after a moment of contemplating Harry's expression, his reaction to the touch.

Harry said nothing, hoping his revulsion didn't show too plainly and get him killed, or worse.

"You don't wish to answer me? In that case you may wish to pay some attention to learning better control of your face. Not that you will have much time for such lessons in the future." He paused again, as if contemplating Harry's fate, seeming to find it a pleasant thought.

"It is a true pity I cannot do something about you," he said regretfully, thoughtfully, "but Lord Voldemort wished you to remain unharmed until he had seen you and dealt with you to his satisfaction." He turned away abruptly to face one of the other Death Eaters. Much to Harry's relief, the movement necessitated the removal of his hand from Harry's face. Harry relaxed a fraction as he moved away.

"How long until the Portkey activates?" the man snapped out, his impatience suddenly clear.

The Death Eater addressed consulted his watch. A corner of Harry's mind not occupied with plans, worries and 'what-if's found the idea of a Death Eater with a wristwatch rather strange. It was a very small part, and not terribly loud, and it subsided after a moment.

"Nine minutes, sir."

//Severus, you might want to hurry,// Harry said, his mental voice tense. He fervently hoped that it had been more than six minutes since Severus' estimate of when they would arrive. He most certainly did not want to meet Voldemort again just yet.

Never, he thought to himself. Never would be just fine.

//Just five minutes more,// Severus replied quickly, having overheard the exchange through the open link, and having expected the suggestion. //We're almost there. Albus is just attempting to find a way through their wards that won't alert them to our presence,// he explained, understanding Harry's need to know what was happening.

Of course they had put wards round the clearing, Harry thought. He should have expected it, and known that Dumbledore would be able to subvert them. Despite being told about the delay, he found himself reassured by the knowledge that Severus and the Headmaster were now so close. But there were still so many things to worry about.

Harry brought his mind back to his immediate situation just as Thane's attention returned to him. "I do not blame you for appearing frightened, boy," the man said, after a close look at Harry. He smiled unpleasantly, seemingly satisfied by what he saw in the boy's face.

"Our lord will make you wish most fervently that you had died with your parents. And then… then he will hand you over to me." Thane's expression became even more repellent. Harry shivered again, hugged himself a little tighter, and bit his tongue hard enough to get the faintest taste of blood.

"What, you have nothing to say, Harry?" Thane raised an eyebrow, his tone melodramatically surprised. "I had been told you were a formidable adversary, but I must confess I find myself rather disappointed. Considering my source, however, I suppose it is not surprising. Pettigrew is not the most… reliable of informants, although he is uniquely capable of finding a mere thirteen year old a challenging opponent."

Harry remained silent, refusing to let himself be baited despite the almost irresistible temptation. The coppery tang of blood in his mouth made him want to vomit, and he closed his eyes, trying to hold it back.

He just had to keep hold of his temper and his fear for a few more minutes, he reminded himself sternly. Then Severus and the Headmaster would be here, and he could let himself go of these necessary restraints.

And then Thane would pay for the touches and insinuations and insults, for what he had doubtless done to more innocents than Harry cared to think about. And most of all, he would pay for what he had done to Severus. The satisfaction and anticipation that accompanied Harry's knowledge of his approaching revenge almost drowned out his fear.

Thane was just gearing up for another speech when Harry felt a firmer mental contact.

//Harry, we're here.// Harry suppressed a sigh of relief at Severus' long-anticipated statement. //Do you still have your wand?//

//Yes,// he replied, holding himself back from reaching for it automatically at the knowledge of what was to come.

//Albus will restrain the other Death Eaters,// Severus informed him curtly. //I'll take Thane. Don't do anything for the moment. Just be ready, because he might be protected.// There was a momentary hesitation, then a quiet, //It will be all right, Harry.//

//Okay.// Harry didn't start arguing about not being allowed to take part in his own rescue. He understood that any aggressive action from him before the Death Eaters were dealt with would only ruin his chances of getting out unharmed. An unoccupied part of his brain wondered if Severus' thought processes were beginning to affect his, or if he was just starting to grow up. He wasn't sure if either of those would be a good thing.

//I know,// he added, and he almost believed it.

//Ready?// Severus' question wrenched him once more back into reality, and his immediate problems.

//Yes.// Harry slipped his hand surreptitiously into his pocket, curling it around his wand. He felt the comforting weight of the length of holly in his hand, and relaxed a fraction.

//Right.// A hint of anticipation flavoured Severus' tone a mere second before all hell broke loose. At least, that was what it seemed like to Harry, who was taken almost as much by surprise as the others in the clearing despite the warning.

The entire circle of Death Eaters dropped unconscious to the ground without even enough time to make a noise. Harry gaped at this demonstration of Dumbledore's power and skill, barely noticing that an object slipped from the hand of the one Thane had questioned earlier, and vanished perhaps half a minute after it hit the ground. A streak of silver sparks flew towards Thane, who flicked his wand up just in time to deflect it; he promptly cast a shielding charm around himself and reached for Harry. Harry moved instinctively, dropping to the ground and rolling away just before the man could grab him.

There was a rustle among the bushes surrounding the clearing. Thane spun away to face the source of the sound. A few seconds later, Severus stepped apparently from the air, Harry's Cloak dropping away from him. Harry pulled himself to his feet now that Thane's attention was distracted. He wondered why Severus hadn't kept it on, used the advantage it would have given him.

"Snape," Thane said, unmistakeable relief colouring his voice.

"Yes," Severus replied coolly, stepping over a fallen body.

"Help me."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." The professor was halfway to Thane now, and the Death Eater's attention was completely fixed on him, consternation clear.

"What do you mean? Help me to take the boy and we will be our Lord's most favoured servants," he said slowly and clearly, as if attempting to explain the obvious to an idiot.

"No," Severus said simply, in a quiet voice that cut through the sounds of near-silent breathing and the rustle of leaves that were the only other noises in the clearing.

Thane's eyes widened. "You're…"

"Yes.

The Death Eater's mouth opened and closed, seemingly completely dumbfounded by this revelation, forgetful of his now perilous situation. Almost involuntarily, Harry found himself moving stealthily behind Thane, taking advantage of his distraction. With a rock he'd encountered during his scramble across the ground, he cracked the Death Eater sharply over the head.

Thane collapsed in a heap at Harry's feet, and Severus blinked at him now that the Death Eater's body no longer obscured his view. "Well, that was… unique," he said dryly.

"Mm." Harry's attention was fixed on the unconscious man at his feet, his face announcing that he was deep in contemplation.

"Harry? What are you thinking?" Worry crept back into Severus' expression as he felt Harry close off the link between them.

Harry drew his wand from his pocket. "That I have to do something. After what he did to you… what he would have done to me." He paused for a long moment, steeling himself. He licked his lips nervously.

"Avada…" he forced out through a suddenly dry mouth, feeling magic build and tense inside him.

"Harry, don't! Please…" That word, from Severus, almost shocked him out of the necessary concentration.

"Harry!" That was Dumbledore's voice, but he didn't let it distract him either.

"… Kedavra," he finished, feeling the magic coil through his body and spurt out through his wand.

The all too well-known flash of green light drowned the sunlight that flooded the clearing.

Harry tumbled to the ground almost atop the body of the first man he had ever killed.