Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter along with Scholastic and whoever else. I only own my characters so DON'T SUE!!!
Six Feet and Fallingby Saerry Snape
Chapter 23 :: November 29, 1995 :: Hogwarts - Midnight
Albus Dumbledore and Stephen Outlaw were waiting outside the Hogwarts gate, its arching iron bars barred by the fierce countenance of two winged boars. The light from the full moon above them shot a beam of its white light down through the trees and made silver and golden fire of the ancient wizard and Muggle teenager's hair. Their eyes were shadowed but bright blue and pale green could be seen, piercing the dark night as they waited, both wondering if four people were going to return from a harsh venture.
"Is it time?"
Dumbledore looked down at Stephen as the fourteen-year-old asked that question in a quavering voice. He had not the courage his adopted sister did, but he had some courage. Perhaps – if he'd been a wizard – he'd have made a fine Gryffindor.
The old wizard placed a withered hand on the young boy's shoulder and said softly, "Not yet. We do not know how long it might have taken them to have succeeded…"
"Sir…what – what if they didn't?" Pale green eyes peered up at Dumbledore, worry flickering clearly in their depths, as Stephen spoke.
"Then it shall have been a great loss to the wizarding world. But – never fear, my boy. I have great faith in Severus, young Harry, and Poppy Pomfrey. They shall prevail."
Stephen nodded and relaxed slightly in the dark. Dumbledore smiled and turned back to watching the area before them where the portkey he had given Severus would return them.
Quite suddenly four figures appeared, three crouching beside the limp figure of the fourth. More moonlight filtered through the trees and both of the two standing beside the gate could make out the blood red highlights in the black hair.
"Poppy?" called Dumbledore. "Severus?"
"Headmaster," replied Severus' voice. "Albus…open the gate. Harry's been injured."
Dumbledore nodded (though none could see it in the dark) and turned to the gates, placing a withered hand against them and muttering the phrase that opened them. They swung open and Madame Pomfrey hurried through, her most well known charge floating in the air behind her. Severus followed, his arm about Sheyne shoulders, then about Stephen's as the boy attached himself to his guardian's other side. The two adopted siblings hands intertwined behind father and guardian's back and Dumbledore smiled as he stepped through the gates and they closed behind them.
* * *
As soon as they entered the entrance hall, they found a very worried looking Hermione standing there waiting for them. Her brown eyes widened as they fell on Harry and her hands moved to her mouth as Madame Pomfrey, her charge, and Dumbledore walked on past her to the infirmary.
"Oh God… Harry."
She then looked at Sheyne and asked, "Are you alright?"
Sheyne nodded slightly then closed her eyes and leaned her head against her father's side. Severus looked down at Hermione, his dark eyes studying her as she studied him and Sheyne.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
His voice was cool and level, not sharp and piercing as it generally was towards her. Hermione looked after Harry and Severus nodded slightly.
"I see. Come, Miss Granger. And might I ask where Mr. Weasley is? Surely he too is worried about Harry."
Hermione blinked at hearing the dark Potions Master refer to Harry by his first name then said softly, "Ron…Ron's not really Harry's friend anymore."
Obsidian eyes blinked.
"Really? How did this come about?"
"H-Harry told us. About him…well, I suppose you know, sir. And Ron – Ron said he should have been in Slytherin. I don't think he took it very well."
"I trust he didn't," said Severus, scorn lightly lacing his tone. "The Weasley temper has always come before their sense of wit. Don't bristle at me, girl – you know its true. Except for the girl Virginia, all of them have that slight accoutrement. Now come. Let us see what Poppy has to say."
With that he walked off – not stalked, walked – his arms still about Sheyne and Stephen's shoulders. Hermione trailed behind them, heart pounding in her ears with her fierce worry about Harry.
* * *
"Well, it seems I was correct in my first conception. Harry only has a scrape on the back of his head – a severe one, mind you, but nothing to worry about. He'll have a scar there for a while and maybe a bump but it will heal."
Sheyne and Hermione heaved sighs at the same time and the bushy haired girl blushed furiously as Severus arched an eyebrow at her, tilting his head slightly. Then Madame Pomfrey turned from Harry's bed and, planting her hands on her hips, glared at Severus.
"Now, Severus Septimius Snape, you shall tell me what in Merlin's name happened in that corridor."
Severus looked at the mediwitch for a moment before he began to laugh, causing Hermione to stare at him in horror. This was the first time she had ever seen him laugh – really laugh.
"Ah, Poppy. In Merlin's name, indeed. Yes, Merlin's name indeed." He chuckled some more, confusing everyone else in the room except for a serenely smiling Dumbledore with his hands tucked in his sleeves.
"Well, Poppy, my dear old friend, it is a little known fact that the Snape's are descended from Merlin himself."
Sheyne gasped, "But…Voldemort said you didn't know!"
"Voldemort would say that. But he doesn't know that there is a rather large document in the secret library of Myrddin Manor that tells the entire line of the Snape family coming down from Merlin. I stumbled across it in my youth and found out about the connection then. At twelve, I found out I was the youngest of the last descendants of Merlin."
"Hold on," said Sheyne. "Youngest? You mean I have aunts and uncles?"
"Had," corrected Severus. "Your uncles, Septimius and Tiberius, were both raised to be Death Eaters by our father and were Kissed by the Dementor's along with him after their trial just before Voldemort's fall. I, on the other hand, was raised by our mother to follow the path to the Aurors. Of course, my father did not like that and cast me under Imperious to take me to Voldemort. By the next morning, I was Marked and as furious as a blood mad hippogriff. That was when I discovered that uncanny ability of ours to glow silver. So, I researched it in that same hidden library and discovered an ancient text written by Merlin himself. It catalogued that same ability (though why he would need to write down about his abilities, I dare not know) and listed some of the most powerful spells he had created."
Severus nodded towards Madame Pomfrey here and said, "That spell I used when they were about to kill us was one of them. It's somewhat like a much bigger version of the Killing Curse, except it takes someone of Merlin's bloodline to cast it. As all the spells on that text did."
"Unfortunately," he sighed, "Voldemort managed to get a hold of one page of the text which had been lost and he found that spell he tried to use on you, Sheyne, and Harry. It's supposed to bind the souls to the caster and allow him – or her – to control their thoughts and bodies. What that madman did not know – for the sheet he had did not say anything about it – was that only those with Merlin's blood could cast it."
He paused her and looked at Dumbledore thoughtfully.
"But…he did have Merlin's blood, didn't he? If he used the potion and spell combination I am thinking of for his resurrection he would have gotten some portion of Merlin's blood from Harry. Ah…so there was a double advantage to that."
"As I was saying, the spell he cast tried to bind Sheyne and Harry's wills to his own (his arm tightened reflexively about his daughter's shoulders here) but it failed. I believe that the blood he gained from Harry could not contain the power he wanted to use, limited as the blood was, and Sheyne and Harry's combined pure blood (with perhaps a little boost from Harry's Slytherin) also helped defeat him.
"So he's actually dead?" asked Hermione. She looked over at Harry then back at her professor. "But why does Harry still have his scar? Wouldn't it have…disappeared?"
Severus shook his head and reached over Sheyne's head to roll up his left sleeve. The Dark Mark leered at them up from under his skin and Hermione gave a little shudder.
"No, Miss Granger. That scar – as well as the Death Eater's Marks – will remain with us forever. They're bound to our souls…they're part of us."
Severus sighed and ran a hand over his face wearily. Beside him Stephen yawned and Dumbledore smiled, eyes twinkling behind his half-moon glasses.
"I believe it is time all of us are in bed. The whole of the castle is asleep but us."
"And Argus," said Madame Pomfrey. "Honestly, I don't see how that man does it."
Severus snorted and grinned at her good-naturedly as he quipped, "This from the Ravenclaw that wanted to stay up to all hours of the morning studying the Dark Arts with me so she could recognize them in the medical field."
"You never complained."
"That's because a certain Gryffindor threatened to tear my head off if I didn't help you," replied Severus. He then looked down at Sheyne and smiled. Madame Pomfrey caught where he was looking and smiled as well.
"Poor child. Come put her over here, Severus. I'm not letting the three of you go down to that freezing dungeon room of yours."
"It's not freezing!" defended Stephen.
"Shush, boy," scolded Madame Pomfrey. "You'll ruin Severus' reputation."
"What reputation?" scoffed the dark man as he picked up Sheyne and carried her over to the bed beside Harry's. Hermione watched in awe as he tucked the sleeping girl in and bent to kiss her forehead. Feeling as though she'd stumbled onto something secretive, she began to rise and leave the white plastered room. Madame Pomfrey's sharp tones stopped her.
"Hermione Granger. Get back here this instant. Do you honestly believe I was going to let you wander through these halls as well? Bed, child!" She pointed at one of the beds then whirled on Dumbledore as the old wizard chuckled. "And don't tempt me to keep you here as well, Albus!"
Dumbledore held up his hands in defense and said, "I dare not tempt you, Poppy. You have spent far too much time with Severus for me to tempt you."
"I greatly resent that remark, Albus," said Severus as he removed his outer robe and threw it over the end of one of the hospital beds. "Oh, and, Poppy?"
"Yes, Severus?" said Madame Pomfrey as Dumbledore made his exit and Hermione made her way over to the bed the mediwitch had indicated.
"Remind me to severely hex you for making me stay here without me being injured."
Madame Pomfrey smirked, a sly glint in her brown eyes. "As if you'd have left Harry here," said she in a low tone.
"A good point, my dear Ravenclaw. But still…'tis better to stay until my will and not yours."
"And why would that be, my good Slytherin?" quipped Madame Pomfrey as Severus climbed into the bed and punched the pillow.
"Because it wouldn't have wounded my very soft Slytherin pride!"
Madame Pomfrey laughed at that and was still laughing when she damped the lights with her wand and vanished into her own quarters just off the infirmary.
Myrddin – Merlin
A/N: Oh damn. I forgot. The "Don't shoot! I have a fork!" from Sheyne's t-shirt in whatever chapter it was comes from my good friend and fellow high school HP fanatic (we're the only one's I know of in the whole school who love it enough to write on it) Sarah a.k.a. Ravenclaw42! If one likes LoTR, you should go read her LoTR/HP ficlet "Let Others Follow". 'Tis very good. Oh, and Sarah. THREE TIMES? Good Lord, girl! *grin* Not that I can blame you! I wanna go see it again! Oh, and I found someone who's fav LoTR char is Sam too! My Buffy/Angel fanatic friend Shellie!
Chochang13 – Err…no rating change, I think. *looks at muses* Right you lot?
Atra: Why on earth would we need a rating change?
Saerwy: *shrug* Perhaps you should go look at that chapter again.
Atra: Which one was it?
Bryvend: Number 19.
Oh, and his question was about the Aurors. Of course, as they'd already gone, he couldn't ask it, now could he?
Oh, and DAMN! I forgot to kill Lucius (I reeeally want to kill that man)! *dark growl*
Bryvend: We can always kill him later…
Good point, Bryvi. We're only halfway through! *evil cackle* Heheheheh.
Atra: I hate it when she does that…
Saerwy: Why?
Atra: It hurts my ears.
Saerwy: YOUR ears? I'm the she-wolf here! I'm the one with the enhance hearing!
Bryvend: And I don't see her wincing, whiney boy.
Atra: *death glare's Bryvend* You'll pay for that!
Bryvend: *looks down at the shorter muse in amusement* Bring it on, short stuff.
Atra: GRAAAAA!!! *leaps at Bryvend and the two go down in a tumble of black robes, a demon and angel wing, and venomous curses*
*drops head into hands and moans along with Saerwy* NOT AGAIN!!!