Chapter 5

"—Snape!"

George reached over to over his twin's mouth, but it was too late. Snape, for that was who the man from the pile was, had heard them. He attempted to turn wildly, but was mostly trapped by the rubble surrounding him.

Growling, Harry silently cursed the two for creeping up. He hoped that Ron and Dean were still where they belonged, then grabbed Ginny's shoulder and pulled her down as he fell to the ground. Behind him, he heard the twins do the same thing. From here, nobody could see the Death Eaters, but with luck, the Death Eaters wouldn't find them.

They should've known that their luck had long run out.

"Show yourself!" a man barked, and Harry could instantly recognize Snape's voice. He hadn't been his pupil for six years for nothing.

There's no way to tell Snape's with us… Harry thought frantically. When it looks like everything is going to hell, its logical to side with Satan. But he was loyal to Dumbledore… Damn it, Damn it! There's no way to tell… but I can't endanger everyone else.

Snape had managed to free himself from the debris, and with each step he was coming closer and closer to the head of the stairs. Closer to everyone else, closer to the last resistance…

Suddenly getting an idea, Harry groped around on the ground till he clasped a large rock in his hand. Then he stood up as fast as he could. "Looking for someone?" he asked coolly.

All the color from Snape's face drained, and he looked at Harry as if he wasn't sure if he was real or not. He took a few cautious steps forward. "…Harry? Is it really you? Thank Merlin, I've been look—"

Wrapping his fingers as tightly around the rock as he could, Harry smashed his fist into the side of Snape head. He fell to ground, unconscious, as Harry examined his hand. It didn't hurt now, but he knew that in a minute it would smart like hell.

From the mouth of the tunnel a tentative voice rang out. "Harry… what are we going to do now?"

He just shook his head at Ginny's question. Of course he was supposed to know. He was the fearless leader. Without him, they didn't know what to do. The familiar burden of the safety of everyone around him fell heavier on his shoulders. Instead of speaking out loud, however, he just shook his head slowly.

Everyone had completely abandoned the cover of the tunnel, and Harry could see Ron and Dean coming up to join the rest of them in the open sunshine. He felt like he didn't have the energy to tell them off, and doubted any would listen.

George watched Harry eagerly. "Is Snape dead?"

Harry shook his head silently.

Cursing, George replied, "C'mon, it's the least you could've done!"

Fred smiled brightly up at Harry. "I vote that we take this opportunity so that Ginny can use the Bat-Bogey hex. Scare him out of any wits he's got left when he wakes up."

Not answering, Harry bent done to check Snape's pulse. It was still strong.

"Mate… shouldn't we check the other two Death Eaters? Check to make sure they're dead?"

Mentally cursing himself for not being able to think of it before Ron had to say it, Harry nodded curtly and cautiously approached the bodies still buried in the rubble. Taking the mask of the first one, it revealed a young man, with light brown hair. "New recruit…" he muttered to himself. Checking for sign of life in the man's neck, he found none. He shook his head to signal the others, and moved to the next man.

The other man's mask was almost off, so it was quick work to remove it, revealing an older man with black hair. Harry quickly checked for a pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief when there was none in this man too.

He hopped nimbly from the wreckage. "I've got no clues to who the first man was, but the other man is definitely MacNair. They're both dead."

Ginny snorted through her nose and said, "Good riddance." Harry couldn't help but agree.

Dean was standing the farthest away from Snape, and he looked from one person to another, his face the picture of confusion. "Why did you just knock out Snape? Wasn't he with Dumbledore? He was our professor…"

George rolled his eyes. "He was also a Death Eater."

Seeing Dean's eyes widen in alarm, Ron quickly filled in. "He worked for Dumbledore secretly though. So, now, there's no way to tell who he's with."

Harry was busy searching through Snape's robes, looking for any weapon. To his surprise, he was unarmed. "I guess we just wait till he wakes up, and see what he has to say."

They all sat in an eerie circle around Snape's unconscious form. In a few minutes, he started waking up; groaning and clutching the side of his head. Finally he sat up and opened his eyes.

To look straight into the eyes of the Boy-Who-Lived.

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First, I just want to say SORRY! to everyone! I haven't updated in a seriously long time, but don't hate me for it. I've got lots of ideas of where this is going too, so I should manage pretty consistent updates.

Thanks to all my reviewers, I hope some of you come back!

Thanks to: Ghost, Sploogal, JKIJ, HongMing, JessieRose, Fuschia Nicole, Anna, ahbahh, and Fairyangel24

You all had great guesses, but kudos to ahbahh and Fairyangel24, they both guessed right! hands cookies out all around

I promise to update within two weeks. Your reviews will motivate me to update faster! I've got a L/J story up now called Five Steps. It'd be smashing if any of you would read it!