THE LOVER TELLS OF THE ROSE IN HIS HEART

ALL things uncomely and broken, all things worn out and old,
The cry of a child by the roadway, the creak of a lumbering cart,
The heavy steps of the ploughman, splashing the wintry mould,
Are wronging your image that blossoms a rose in the deeps of my heart.

The wrong of unshapely things is a wrong too great to be told;
I hunger to build them anew and sit on a green knoll apart,
With the earth and the sky and the water, re-made, like a casket of gold
For my dreams of your image that blossoms a rose in the deeps of my heart.

-William Butler Yeats


"Severus!" Dumbledore was still in his silly llama pajamas with a bright purple nightcap but his expression was anything but cheerful. In fact, he looked positively worried.

"Yes Headmaster?"

"Young Harry is missing. Have you seen him?" Beside the headmaster two equally worried faces peered hopefully up at him.

And Snape just sighed, a bittersweet smile tingeing his face. "He's gone Headmaster. It's ending."

The color drained from Dumbledore's face and suddenly he looked like the old man he really was. "But…"

"What happened to him? Was he kidnapped? How'd you know you great bit g-" Ron started to shout but Hermione was one step ahead of him and she silenced him.

"He's gone to fight him without us then?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes."

Outside the night sky was dark and they wondered if morning would ever come.

"What…what do we do?" Hermione asked and Snape remembered then that she was just a child and as afraid and confused as he was.

"We wait Miss Granger."

"But we can still catch up to him! We have to help him!" Ron exclaimed but Dumbledore just sighed and shook his head.

"He doesn't want us there Ron."

"And you're just going to let him get himself killed!"

Pain abruptly shot up Snape's arm in a thick rope from the tattoo that marred his skin. With a grimace he clamped his hand over it.

"It's started."

Silence fell between them, broken only by Snape's gasp of pain as the energy emitted from the dark mark became worse.

"Can we do anything for you Severus?" Dumbledore asked, concerned.

"No. The mark resists any other magic." he gritted out and felt the sweat bead up on his forehead. This was it. This was how he would die. He knew Potter had known the dark mark was tied to its creator. And with the death of the creator, the dark mark too would implode. Either way Snape had known what his life and death would be. They both had known that.

He refused to sit, even when the pain darkened his vision. With supreme effort of will he forced his legs to hold him steady and tried to watch the moon outside, waiting for any sign of sun.

He knew the others were watching him, knowing something was wrong, but he ignored them.

And then…the dark mark exploded inside him. His every cell screamed as it caught fire and he could feel everything inside him burning and writhing as it died. He could feel his brain shutting down, his lungs clamping closed, and his thoughts were swirling to an end as he thought This is it. But somehow Potter has won. It's over. But he couldn't regret it. Couldn't regret dying when they had won. With all his might he ripped whatever magic he had and sent it spinning to the wind, hoping it would land on a dark haired boy and help somehow. And his heart stopped.

A flash of gold and green hit him, warming what should have hated heat by now.

And his heart jumped and beat again.

He opened his eyes and saw that he was still standing, one hand on the wide stone window sill holding him up.

"Severus?" Dumbledore's voice was upset but not frantic. Had it really only been a few seconds that he had felt his death? It had seemed like an entire eternity to him.

Severus Snape turned. "He did it. Voldemort is gone." But he knew it wasn't over. Not until he knew if the boy was gone as well.

"Portus!" he left the children and the headmaster behind. And he hoped that there was room for one more miracle.


Author's Notes: Just one chapter left! So please review and let me know what you think so far!