Author's Note: the chapter was briefly looked over by yours truly (who is renowned for her hatred of reviewing.) So read, review and look forward to seeing Son of the Morning wrapped up soon. Expect an edited version later.

"It was close, but that's way it is in war.

            You win or lose, live or die…

            And the difference is just an eyelash."

                        -    General Douglas MacArthur

Chapter Seven: Cleaning Up

[June, 1994]

There was a full moon out tonight, and it was set against a cloudless sky. A cool night was made cooler by a soft whisper of wind that was enough to cause robes to sway in the breeze, and bringing with it promise of changes. Spring was dying and soon summer would come, making the earth warmer and ripe. Change hung in the air, beckoning for attention but giving no clue to whether the difference would be good or bad. It simply killed time, and made the world hurtle towards a predetermined end that no one alive could prepare for. It sapped strength and resolve, making people little more then zombies who simply went through the motions until this new, and perhaps terrible reckoning appeared.

And in the middle of this invisible tempest, two men waited. They were outside a bar, waiting for last call, and the eventual exodus of its patrons. The taller of the two kept looking around, nervously and pacing in small, contained boxes of eight steps by eight. His fingers played over the row of buttons on his suit and it looked like he would have more comforted had he been allowed to mutter under his breath.

            "Were you always like this?"

            Snape stopped and turn, regarding Eoin who had spoken for the first time. "No. Why?"

            "I was just wondering how Erised could put up with you."

            "Quite simple." He replied. "She was an Angel."

            "Erised?" Eoin snorted, his voice lightly colored with emotion. "She wasn't an angel, you just remember her as one. None of them were. They were just men."

            "Men who wanted a normal life, a happy and a simple one."

            "There's no such thing as a normal life, Severus. No matter what you Aurors think. There's just life and that's all."

            "You didn't know them." Snape sighed, looking at the stars and wondering if they could see him now. "And I'm not an Auror."

            "You'd bleed navy." Eoin smiled softly, reaching his coat and pulling out a cigarette. He then looked up and admitted. "But no, I didn't know them as you did, dear Prodigal."           

            Snape was watching him and took the cigarette offered. "Why do you insist on bringing up the past? Isn't it enough that I grieve for my mistakes without you forcing them up to surface? Don't you think I know how black my sins are without you?"

            Eoin was quiet for a long time. "Remember friend, as you pass by- as you are now, so once was I."

Snape narrowed his eyes, but confusion only lasted for a second. He finally understood. Eoin, for all this intense loyalty to Voldemort and the Death Eaters, was no better then him. He was not the cool, powerful and unfeeling sentinel he appeared. He was a man who missed his home. Just like Snape. Gingerly, Snape found his voice again. "You regret it too then, don't you? Leaving Hecate and joining Voldemort."

Eoin bowed his head. "No, not fully. I'm proud of having served with dignity and earning the respect of the Dark Lord…but I am Kaga and Hecate is my home, more so then it would ever be any Auror's. You have the choice to ignore the pain of your absence from there…I don't, because of what I am." He shifted and suddenly looked very human. Snape felt a swell of pity but knew better then to comfort the fallen Angel. Again, the man spoke, pausing only to inhale the smoke as if it gave him some otherworldly strength. "But, at least I know Erised remains faithful…" He smiled. "And in some ways, that makes it better because at least I know some part of me is still there…some part of me is still loyal to my Creator."

"How is she?" Snape found himself asking, in a voice that seemed pleading and emotional. He gripped Eoin's arm. "Tell me what has become of her?"

"She is happy, my Prince." Eoin had paused but hesitated only for a moment. "She's married, and raising a son." He licked his lips and looked at Snape. "Everything that had happened, everything you did to her, every pain…it's forgotten. She's happy, free from you."

Snape looked away, pained for some reason but at the same time at peace. He nodded. Those who dead, were dead and cold and among them was Alexander Rouge.

Yes, all was right in the world.

"Here he comes." Eoin said suddenly, smashing his smoke under his boot heel and pulling his wand.

The man he was motioning towards was walking away from the bar, slightly leaning because of the excessive booze. Severus shook his head, pleasantly surprised. Having the head of the Coven drunken when he fought with him couldn't really hurt matters.

"Let's be done with this, then." Snape mused, pulling his wand and walking forward. He stepped into the light. "Alistair!"

Alistair stopped and turned, eyes darting from Eoin to Severus. It took a long time for the Coven Mage to find his voice. "Ah, I see Hecate's prodigals have come to make things right. Are we still holding fast to the idea of redemption?"

"Not redemption." Eoin whispered. "Only justice."

"Funny you should use the word justice, Creature. Two against one man…I can't say I like these odds." Alistair smiled, before looking behind Eoin and Severus. "Which is why you'll forgive me, if I invited some to even out the score."

Snape and Malone both turned to see a woman and another man exit the bar, hands raised in performance of a Coven charm. Both men were blasted from their feet, and forced to impact the hard, unforgiving cement.

"Okay," Eoin muttered to Snape. "You got to admit, that was a good entrance."

"Yeah, but not very original." He spat back. "I'd give them a five."

"Three Coven mages against two Hecate 'prodigals'" Eoin mused. "Hardly seems fair."

"They wouldn't surrender even if we offered though."

"So, plan B…let's just kill them."

Snape nodded. "I agree with that." He rolled over to his back, wand blazing followed close in suit by Eoin.

[November 1, 1981]

The majestic Throne Room of Castle Ardennes was alive with members of the Dark Court, each one shouting over the others to get their opinions heard. The zealous, frightened and temperate were each clamoring for attention.  Occasionally, they would change languages from English to their native tongue as if they gained some comfort in something familiar in this unfamiliar and scary time. In a matter of 24 hours, all of them had lost their power. They had been kings, generals, and legends in their own time but then, suddenly because of a child, they had lost it all.

            "Are we going to let this child live?" Demanded Lestrange, his hand tightly over his wife's. "This Potter child has killed our lord!"

"Are you sure it was the child?" Cried another. "How can we be sure it wasn't Dumbledore…or the Prince who had betrayed him!"

"The Prince is now your lord, Crouch." Jacqueline Eames whispered from her place near the throne, finger the knives that rested on his hips. "Remember that before you challenge him."  

Barty Crouch Jr. met her eyes with a proud defiance. "My Lord is Voldemort!"

"He will betray us all!"

Galen McKenna stepped forward, pounding his fists on the desk for attention. "The Dark Prince has waged a war for the past eight years that has made us feared and respected. We were warriors under him, and were honored as such. Because he wasn't a war monger like Silas, you call him a traitor?"

"No, because he was an Auror!" Mrs. Lestrange whispered softly.

Jacqueline sighed heavily, and glanced to the other side of the Throne, where Eoin Malone was standing erect and silent. "Aren't you going to do something?" She demanded. "You are his guardian now."

"The Prince can fight his own battles." Malone said, shortly.

"Indeed I can."

The people parted like an ocean for him as he made his way to his newly inherited throne. Gold lines framed one of the dark eyes that met each person's face, causing some of the more craven followers to bow their heads in submission. Lucius Malfoy met his eyes for a second, and then stepped back, his hand finding Narcissa's and squeezing slightly. His old teacher, Imre smiled and bowed deeply in respect. Eoin's brother, Kiernan, folded his arms but never looked up and Eoin merely nodding to him like he would any equal. Jackie smiled broadly.

"There will be no revenge, no retribution." The Dark Prince said, despite the softness of his voice, it ranged eerily against the walls of Ardennes. A few of the Death Eaters stirred eagerly but no one spoke so he continued. "We will disperse, and wait. Without our lord, we are weak and cannot challenge both Hecate and Dumbledore's Order."

Lucius spoke first, never looking up. "So you would have us run and hide? Like roaches when the light appears?"

"And you would have us ABANDON our lord and master!" Crouch screamed, eyes bright with fury. For a moment, Severus felt a pity for the youth, such zeal for so much blood.

Didn't he see what Voldemort was? Didn't he see what he was becoming?

Snape shook his head, and stepped forward. He forced anger into his voice, and spoke coldly as he advanced on the child. "Do you really think our Master needs help from the pathetic likes of you? Do you think our Lord, who has conquered life and death, and has enslaved one of Hecate's greatest Princes to make him his own, would possibly need the help of a whelp like you? We must trust that the Dark Lord is waiting and biding his time."

"And what if we refuse?"

Another man entered and as the Dark Prince had, this figure walked with pride and purpose. He, however, made no attempt to hide his face. This was Alistair, the leader of the Coven and proof that somewhere, deep within the darkness, Voldemort still lived. Alistair had hated Snape ever since he had fallen from grace in Voldemort's eyes for losing the girl when Drucilla had killed the girl child months earlier. Alistair had always suspected that Severus was involved but never had the proof or the rank to openly challenge the Dark Prince. But now, he walked with the smugness that came from either a death wish or knowledge that could destroy the Prince.

Snape had a feeling of déjà vu. Against his wishes, his hand went to his jaw, rubbing then bruises from Eoin and Erskine's earlier mutiny. Cautiously and without moving his head, he glanced towards Raine and Eoin. Raine wasn't even looking up. Eoin looked as impassive as always.

Yes, this wasn't going to be a good thing.

"What if I refused?" Alistair continued. "What I take anyone who would follow me and search for our lord and master? What if I chose not to bow to you!"

The murmuring among the Death Eaters increased. A few dropped their hands to their wands but every eye on the room was on the two. Snape inhaled, and took this chance to sit down, leaning back and answering in a bored voice. "Are you going to?"

"I am, milord." The Coven mage nodded. "Voldemort is my king! I will not bow to you."

The Dark Prince nodded, thoughtfully. "Then, I am sorry."

The movement was quick and random but fierce with its brutality. The Prince pulled his wand, aimed it at Alistair and cried, "Crucio!"

Dark Prince loyalists all followed suit: Lucius, Jackie, Galen and others. Alistair screamed and crumbled under the force of so many of this deadly curse.

"I hear you can go insane if you're kept under this long enough." The Prince mused, pulling his wand back. He motioned for the others to stop. "I must admit I am curious to see it, but I can't kill you. My Lord needs you…for now." He looked up, eyes searching. "Anyone else want to question my leadership?"

"You fucking bastard!" Cried a voice that was shrill with righteous anger. Snape turned about face, half-expecting to see Crouch coming at him. But it was gray eyes, wild with rage that was charging to him. He stepped back, blocking the spell sent towards and slapping the wand out of his attacker's hand. Grabbing the arm, he pinned it behind the back and forced the assailant to the floor. Instinct and memory overtook him for a moment. He was under attack and had to defend himself.

"Master, no! Mercy!" Snape's head snapped up, in the same second he would have used to break the neck. Eoin had come forward, and was on his knees. His face was twisted with fear and dread and his voice was breaking, ignoring everyone else. "Master, please, I beg you, mercy!"

Snape was startled by Eoin's sudden influx of emotion but that was only until he looked down and saw the face of his attacker.

Kiernan Malone.