The Eater Of Souls

Severus expected Lupin to be clever enough to come down to his office if he didn't find Potter in his dormitory. It was where they'd agreed to meet, so he should already be there again.

This time he listened to his footsteps as he walked down the stairs. And of course, there was nothing wrong about it now. But something else was wrong – it was much too cold down here, he could even see his own breath in the icy air.

As they moved along the corridor, the torches to his left and right lit up, casting an eerie glow onto the glossy dark walls. Severus reached out his left hand and let his fingers slide along the wall. Damp. It looked like a stalactite cave down here; that definitely wasn't normal either.

He was a little surprised that nothing seemed to change although he'd noticed that it was wrong. That thing had to be aware that he was up on its tricks by now, so perhaps it had lost interest in details. Or maybe it was just too busy with something else; Lupin, for example. Severus truly hoped not.

When they reached the corridor in front of his office, he realised that he'd obviously overestimated Lupin; he wasn't there.

"We'll wait here," he said, folded his arms and leaned back against the wall next to the door leading to his office.

"But you said we'd search for him," Harry said.

"He'll come down here sooner or later."

"What if he doesn't?"

"He will."

"What if he can't?"

"Stop it, Potter. Stop answering back to me all the time just for the sake of saying something."

"He might be in trouble. And he might need help."

"Oh yes? Then where would you suggest we started looking for him?" Severus asked. "In your six years as a student of this school, haven't you gotten even the slightest impression of how huge this castle is?"

"Yeah, I noticed that," Harry muttered. "But we still have to go back upstairs and try to find him."

"If we're going anywhere, we're going down to the lower dungeons. I'll send you back and then I'll search for him," Severus said while letting his gaze wander along the walls. The corridor looked narrower than usually and the ceiling seemed to be low enough for him to touch.

"Yeah, right, and then you'll just leave him here," Harry said and turned away from him. "I'll go find him now."

"You'll stay right here or I'll lock you up in my office," Severus said calmly, still contemplating his idea to forget about Lupin for the moment and try getting Potter back home instead.

"I bet you won't," Harry muttered and started walking back along the corridor.

"Potter! Come back here!"

He didn't, so Severus went after him and grabbed him by his arm to stop him. Harry whirled around and when their eyes met, Severus saw surprise, but much stronger than that – anger.

"Let go of me!" Harry yelled at him as he struggled to free himself from his relentless grip.

"Listen, I'm responsible for you and-"

"I never asked for that!" Harry shouted, glaring at him out of eyes glittering with fury. "Just leave me alone!"

The moment he said this, a powerful gust of wind suddenly raced through the corridor, blew out the torches on the walls, pushed Severus away from Harry and threw him to the ground. As suddenly as the wind had appeared, it was gone again, the torches lit up and the dungeons lay as quiet and peaceful as ever.

Splendid. That's the second time I ended up on the floor in just one night.

As Severus slowly got back to his feet, Harry just stood there motionless and stared at him in total disbelieve of what had just happened, or rather, what he had just done.

"I.... I didn't mean to..." he stammered. "Did I do that?"

Of course you did, you little idiot. Who else? Do you think I'd try to knock myself out?

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered quickly.

Severus was well aware that he wasn't sorry at all; he was convinced that if the boy had any control over what he was doing he'd probably have made him hit the wall. Hard

"Listen closely, Potter," Severus said quietly, dusting off his coat. "I didn't ask to be assigned as your personal babysitter either. But right now, I'm responsible for you. I take my responsibilities rather seriously, and I'll do what it takes to fulfil my duties. That means we have two options now: you can either do as I tell you, or I'll make you. It's your choice."

"But we can't leave Remus here."

"Lupin is none of your business. I'm responsible for him as I am for you, and I don't intend to leave him behind. Now though we'll go down to the lower dungeons and try to get you back to Hogwarts."

He watched Harry thinking about what he'd said, trying to make his decision.

"The fewer people there are here, the better," Severus added as an explanation, deciding that since he didn't really have any means to make the boy do as he was told, it might be his best choice to try reasoning with him. "That being feeds on us; each of us provides it with emotions and memories, making it stronger every minute. The more time we waste, the more difficult it will become for any of us to get away from here again."

Trying to appeal to a Gryffindor's rationality – what a clever idea. Well, I could still just knock him out and drag him downstairs.

"Then you go, if you want to," Harry said and started walking away from him again. "I don't need anyone to look after me."

Severus watched him walking along the corridor and contemplated whether it was a good idea to provoke another of Potter's outbreaks of wandless magic; he decided that he wasn't going to chance it. Instead, he'd just run after him once again.

When he reached the next corner he could see the stairs leading up to the Entrance Hall. They looked at least twice as long as usual and on top of these stairs there was Potter, trying in vain to open the heavy wooden door blocking his way.

Harry turned around and shot him an angry glare.

"Unlock it," he said.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You locked that door because you didn't want me to go back and search for him. And you didn't want him to be able to follow us."

"And how would I have done that? That door doesn't even have a lock."

"Wandless magic?" Harry suggested.

Yes, of course, locking doors is what I trained years and years for... "It might be trying to keep us separated. Or it might be you who's causing this. I'm definitely not doing anything."

Harry slammed his fist against the door and then angrily kicked it several times with his left foot.

"Damaging school property will earn you not only at least a week of detention but also a lengthy talk with the headmaster."

Harry glared down at him angrily for a moment, then his features softened and he lazily started walking down the stairs again. "This isn't even Hogwarts, so I guess I couldn't be damaging school property."

Looks like the boy who lived finally has come to realise that he's not almighty, he's not invincible and he does not always know what to do.

Harry reached the bottom of the stairs, leaned back against the wall and lowered his eyes to the ground. "So what are we going to do now?" he asked quietly.

You're asking me what to do? You must be desperate. "We'll go down to the lower dungeons and send you back home."

"And then you'll find Remus."

"Exactly."

Harry looked up at him out of narrowed eyes. "I don't trust you," he then said.

"I know." Although you should, shouldn't you? I could have just left you with Malfoy after all... "But there are times when you don't have a choice. Look around – you're the one who's making the dungeons look like this, not me. It's playing with you, using you; your presence here poses a danger to everyone involved."

"And of course you're convinced that you'd be able to deal with that demon or whatever it is better than me, right?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I am."

"And what exactly makes you think so?"

"I'm older, I'm wiser and I finished my Occlumency lessons," Snape replied. "Come on," he added, then he started walking and motioned the boy to follow.

Harry did, even if only reluctantly and annoyingly slow. Severus didn't care. Potter had given in. For the first time ever he'd given in. He wasn't fool enough to believe that the boy had really come to his senses but at least for now he could finally concentrate on the real problem here instead of wasting his time discussing everything with the little brat.

And he'd definitely still have enough problems left once he got Potter back home. Lupin, for instance. Severus had no idea how he was supposed to find him. And he didn't really want to risk his life by trying to.

Well, then... why not really leave him here?

He could. Sure, Dumbledore wouldn't like it. But he could lie to him; the old man would believe whatever he told him. And once Potter was back at Hogwarts, there'd be no witness. No one would ever know what had really happened here.

Lupin was the last one, the only one of them still left. He hated that damn werewolf. And now he could get rid of him once and for all. Actually he could even kill him with his own hands and nobody would ever find out.

Severus felt a shiver running through him as he became aware of his own thoughts.

That's not me.

No, that couldn't be him. He wouldn't think something like that, let alone do it.

It was that demon. It was evil, pure evil. He'd felt it right from the start. It had been creeping up on him, coming closer all the time, and now it was slowly invading his mind.

It was really about time they all got out of this place.

As they reached the painting in front the entrance to the lower dungeons, Severus was surprised to find the wizard in the portrait not sitting in his usual place at his desk but slowly pacing up and down his study.

He'd just been about to simply give him the password and not pay attention to this when the wizard with the silvery grey hair became aware of their presence and turned around to face him.

"Professor," he said in a low voice and greeted him with a nod. "And the formerly invisible Gryffindor. I've been expecting you."

"You have?" Harry said.

"Of course I have," the wizard in the painting replied, stepping a little closer and looking at him out of narrowed eyes. "I knew someone had to show up sooner or later," he said slowly. "And it wasn't difficult to guess who it would be."

"How could you have known?" Harry asked.

The wizard in the painting turned away from him again and walked over to the window at the back of his study to look out into the painted night sky. "The stars look very different today," he whispered.

"Give it up, Potter; you won't get a straight answer from him. He's only here because we make him be," Severus said. "Anguis aeternus," he then said to the man in the portrait. "Let us through now and stop wasting our time."

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Professor," the wizard replied without turning around. "Of course you made me be here. But I'm still a little more than just a product of your imagination. I'm real, and I'm here, just like you. But unlike you, I'm free to leave whenever I desire to."

"Really?" Severus asked sceptically. "Then why would you linger here?"

"You do too, don't you?"

"Not by choice."

The man in the painting turned away from the window and slowly walked back across his study until he seemed to be standing right behind the canvas. "And you shouldn't," he whispered. "The passageway is closing. If you stay too long, you'll stay forever."

Severus looked at him out of narrowed eyes. "Tell me, Lord Macius: if you really are here, how did you get here?"

He smiled at him in return. "I didn't think it would be difficult for you to figure that out," he said. "You stepped through the painting and entered my world. Everything here is nothing but a shadow of what has once been, or what could once be. A book or a painting, your memories, your dreams – they're all glimpses of reality. And that's what it needs to create its own world."

"It?" Severus asked.

"You've seen it, you've looked it straight in the eye," the wizard with the silvery grey hair said. "And you know that it doesn't want you to leave."

Yes, that he knew; it was obvious enough.

"But what is that thing?" Harry asked quietly.

"You already know that, Mr. Potter," the man in the painting replied and slowly walked back across the room to look out of the window again. "You already know."

With that said the painting swung aside and uncovered the dark and narrow staircase leading down to the lower dungeons.

Severus stepped through the portrait hole into the darkness. He knew that this was all he was going to hear from Lord Macius; actually it had already been a much clearer and more elaborate statement than one could usually hope for when dealing with him.

Harry though wouldn't settle for what he'd been told. "What do you mean, I already know?" he asked. "Wouldn't ask if I did, would I?"

"A good question outranks an easy answer," the wizard in the painting replied, his voice sounding low and dull as the portrait was now facing the wall.

Harry shook his head. "What do you mean by that? Do you just not want to give me a clear answer or what?"

"Potter, come on now," Severus said.

Harry hesitated for a moment, then rolled his eyes at the painted wizard and stepped through the portrait hole as well.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked in a low voice as soon as he'd walked down the first few steps. "I mean, he's not quite normal, is he?"

"I don't know," Severus replied as he walked further down the narrow stairs. "He's always been like that."

The painting swung back into place and left them in complete darkness. For the first time ever, Severus would have appreciated Lupin being around; he couldn't deny that he was really good at conjuring those glowing lights. He'd tried it himself but since he hadn't been able to come up with anything useful he'd given up on it again quite soon. And despite being well aware what a tricky affair wandless magic was and that he was barely able to influence what he could and what he couldn't accomplish, it still bugged him that there was something Lupin could do better than him.

He definitely wasn't going to try that spell now and risk making a fool out of himself in front of Potter junior. Fortunately there were other ways to clear things up a little, even though maybe not as impressive.

"Amnisardis," Severus whispered and waved his hand towards the ground. There was a low humming sound and then the water on the damp stone stairs started to glow, sending a weak pulsating greenish light into the darkness.

Severus was pleased with himself; considering that it had been years since he'd last used that spell, it had worked out surprisingly well. It really wasn't the most useful of spells; there weren't many sensible reasons for making water glow in the dark.

The light was too weak to see the end of the stairs as they descended further down. Severus felt like it took them unusually long to reach the lower dungeons.

Once they'd left the stairs behind, he turned left and walked along the narrow corridor, Harry following him closely. It was even colder down here and deadly silent, but at least here there were torches on the walls.

They'd just walked past a small and dark side corridor when Severus felt Harry's hand on his arm, holding him back. He whirled around and was just about to tell the kid to keep his hands off him, but Potter looked straight into his eyes and then quietly nodded towards the side corridor they'd just passed. Then Severus heard the footsteps too; far away, faint but insistent.

Malfoy. It was the first thing that came to his mind. He'd expected Malfoy and Thesdale to follow him sooner or later and by now he'd wasted enough time in this fake castle, giving them a good chance to catch up with him. If Malfoy really was here, that meant trouble.

Severus glanced around and his eyes fell on two crossed swords, mounted atop a large metal shield on the opposite wall. Without making a sound, he crossed the hallway and carefully took one of the swords from the wall. It was an old sword but it should still be good enough to... well, it was better than nothing.

With the sword in his hand he walked back to Harry and motioned him to stay where he was. Harry wanted to object but Severus shook his head and mouthed the words "Wait here" to him, giving him a look that made clear he meant it. If that was Malfoy, it would already be a problem without Potter running straight into his arms. The time for playing tricks on his old friend was probably over now, especially with Potter around; he'd have to take the straight way now.

He threw one last glance at Harry to make sure he did as he'd been told and then slowly started walking along the dark corridor.

There were no torches here, so all the light he had was that coming from the hallway behind him. He could still hear the footsteps, but he couldn't make out where the sound came from or where it was moving. The sound was soft and faint, as if it was coming from the floor above him. The problem with that was that there were a few feet of solid stone between here and the dungeons above through which it was impossible to hear anything at all, let alone footsteps.

Holding the sword's handle tightly in his right hand he stopped walking and stood listening, trying to make out where the sound was coming from.

Me and an old sword against Malfoy and Thesdale. That's a really, really stupid idea.

He closed his eyes for a second and concentrated only on what he heard.

One. That's only one person. It's coming from above... It can't be. Must be the echo down here, it's playing tricks on me...

Quietly, he walked on. He'd already moved too far down the corridor for the light from the hallway to reach him, it was almost completely dark here.

Suddenly the sound of the footsteps changed; louder, closer, clearer; right behind him.

Raising the sword he whirled around. Someone was standing right in front of him. Severus aimed straight at his chest. Just before he hit him, he let the sword drop from his hand; it fell to the ground with a loud clatter and the other man jumped backwards.

It was Lupin.

Close. Severus could feel his heart racing. Too close.

"What's wrong with you!" Severus yelled at him. "I could have killed you, damn it!"

Lupin looked a bit shaken and just stared at him for a second. "Well, glad you didn't," he then said. "Must be my lucky day."

Severus shook his head at him and picked the sword up from the ground. "A word of advice, Lupin," he said in a more quiet voice. "If you want to live – don't sneak up on me." Then he started slowly walking back along the corridor.

"I'll remember that," Lupin replied and followed him. "And trust me, it wasn't my intention."

"Did you get lost or what were you doing there?" Severus asked.

"What do you mean, what was I...," he let his voice trail off and glanced around. "Well," he said slowly. "I've got to admit that I have no idea. I can't even tell how I got here..."

They'd only made it halfway back down the corridor when they met Harry, coming towards them and carrying along the second sword.

"I thought I told you to wait," Severus hissed.

"Yeah, but I heard-" Harry started to explain, but he didn't get any further.

"Give me that," Severus interrupted him and took the sword from his hand. "That's not a toy," he muttered and walked past him back to the hall.

"Harry," Lupin greeted him. "Here you are. I'm glad I finally found you, I've been looking for you all over."

"Yeah," Harry said. He was still standing in the middle of the corridor and staring after Snape. "I was just trying to help..." he muttered.

"I know," Lupin replied and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Don't take it personally, it seems he's under a little too much stress. I suppose we all are. Come on now."

They followed Snape back to the hall where he'd just put the swords back on the wall where they belonged.

"Do you think you could explain what you mean by saying that you don't know how you got here?" Severus asked as he turned around to face them.

"I'm not sure," Lupin replied. "I went up to Gryffindor tower. Harry wasn't there so I wanted to look for him in some other places. Then I got lost."

"You got lost," Severus repeated.

"Everything was different and wrong," Lupin explained. "I walked along a corridor on the second floor, turned around the corner and found myself in a corridor on the fourth floor. When I turned back around, I didn't get back to where I came from but ended up somewhere completely different. I was actually just walking out of a classroom on the first floor when I found myself standing right in front of you."

Severus nodded. "We've got the book, and we've got Mr. Potter here, so let's move on before things start getting even more complicated."

"You're talking about Malfoy showing up here," Lupin said.

"For example," Severus replied and started walking, Lupin and Harry following him.

They walked in silence and soon reached the door to the storeroom. Severus tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Anyone good in unlocking doors?" he asked.

"Afraid no," Lupin replied.

"Very well," Severus replied. "We'll kick it in then."

"It's here," Harry suddenly whispered and both men turned their attention away from the wooden door blocking their way.

There it was indeed, standing only a few steps away from them. Severus wasn't too surprised that it had once again decided to take on the appearance of his father; that thing was obviously quite fond of him.

Snape and Lupin both reached out for Harry and pulled him backwards by his shoulders to make him stand behind them.

"So this is where we meet again," it said in a soft and silky voice that Severus knew sounded so much like his own.

"Yes, again," Severus said. "And again you're hiding behind a mask. Why don't you show your true face for a change."

"My true face? I have a million faces."

It smiled coldly, its black eyes glittering. Then suddenly its appearance began to change. The person standing in front of them seamlessly transformed into Sirius Black. Then, only a moment later, it was a pale little boy in ragged clothes with blood running down his forehead. Then a Dementor, Harry's mother, and his father. A tall blond man, Dumbledore, a person hidden under a black hooded robe, an old woman with white hair. Finally it turned back into the tall man with the piercing black eyes.

"Impressive," Lupin said, trying to sound not impressed at all. "But we've seen that before. Who are you?"

"Every child knows me; there's not one little boy, not one little girl that hasn't looked straight into my eyes at least once. And you too remember me well, each of you knows who I am. Man's conviction that he can understand everything if he can only call it by its name gave me many different ones. Some called me Ahriman, others Charun or Belial. Some may just call me the Master of Dread, the Demon of Chaos or the Bogeyman. I have a million names and I have none, and it doesn't even matter."

"Now that you finally introduced yourself," Severus said, "let me reword the question: what are you?"

"It's beyond your grasp to understand what I am. I'm eternal and immortal, I'm fear and I'm pain. I'm darkness, I'm shadow, I'm night. I'm the eater of souls and the devourer of worlds. I am and I shall always be."

"If you're so almighty, why are you wasting your time playing these silly little games? Locking doors, moving around corridors, turning off the lights?"

"Unlike you, I don't fear the ever moving sands of time. It means nothing to me; I'm counting no age. I've been here before time was. You can't even begin to understand the extent of my eternity; it's a million times more than anything you can imagine, and a million times more than that."

Snape and Lupin threw each other a sceptical look.

"That thing is even more annoying than the book," Lupin said.

"And yet not even half as useful," Severus replied.

"A waste of time, I'd say."

"I have to agree. Speaking about the book..." Severus said and pulled the book out of his coat's pocket. It didn't escape him that the demon's eyes followed his every move and seemed to be glued to the book; he'd already expected him to be rather interested in it. "I'm actually a bit surprised that we still have it. That it didn't simply disappear, burst into flames or something similar."

"You're right," Lupin said softly, cocked his head to the side and threw Snape's father an inquisitive look. "I suppose if it could, it would already have destroyed it. The book warned us more than once; it warned us of coming here in the first place, and it warned us of our host's presence. It told us that this place might not be what we think it is, and I suppose it might even show us the way out."

"You can't, right?" Severus asked and made a step towards the demon, holding the book up in front of its eyes. "This is what you want, but you can't take it from us. As almighty as you are, this little book will always be your invincible counterpart."

For a while they stared at each other out of equally cold black eyes without saying a word, seemingly oblivious of anyone else's presence. Then Snape's father turned away from him to look at Lupin.

"Only silver can slash the werewolf's flesh," he whispered, his eyes glittering. "Your time will come, Remus Lupin. Sooner than you think."

As suddenly as the demon had turned up, it disappeared again, but its words still hung menacingly in the frosty air of the dungeons.

Harry was the first to speak again. "What do you think he meant by that?" he asked quietly.

Severus noticed that Lupin had gone rather pale upon hearing about his impending death and probably hadn't even listened to Potter.

"Nothing," Severus said, directing his reply more at Lupin himself than at Potter. "It's simply trying to scare us. I'd more likely believe in all the nonsense Trelawney keeps predicting than pay heed to a word that demon says."

"Yeah. It's just another one of its little games," Lupin agreed without sounding entirely convinced. "However, I think we were just about to kick in a door."

"Why did it leave so suddenly?" Severus said to himself and started turning some pages in the book.

"Maybe it just grew tired of us," Lupin replied while he tried once more to open the door to the storeroom.

"Or maybe..." Severus said softly, letting his voice trail off as he examined the latest addition to their little book. It was a drawing of two hooded figures standing in front of the doors of Hogwarts castle; obvious enough. "Maybe it found itself a new toy. Malfoy's here."

"Great," Lupin muttered.

A moment later a loud crashing sound echoed through the dungeons. Severus looked up from the book and saw that Lupin had kicked the door out of its hinges.

"We've got no time to waste, do we?" Lupin said and stepped into the room.

The storeroom looked exactly like they'd left it, the painting was still there and even the rune stones were still laying on the floor.

"Good," Severus said while taking a look around. "You two go now, I'll wait for Malfoy."

"Why?" Lupin asked.

"Because if Potter managed to escape, that's what he'd expect me to do."

"So you're going to tell him that Harry somehow slipped through your fingers yet again?" Lupin asked. "He won't buy that, and you know it. Even if he did, I bet someone else probably wouldn't be very happy about your performance here."

"I've dealt with him a couple of times before. And I don't intend him to find out about it anyway."

"Why risk it? If we leave and take the book with us, Malfoy will never get away from here again, and You-Know-Who will never even know you were here."

"He might find another way out. I can't rely on that."

Lupin shook his head at him. "And then what? Assuming that painting leads back to Hogwarts, do you want to take him there?"

"Yes," Severus replied. "That's exactly where I want him. And then I want him locked up in a deep dark dungeon to never see the light of day again."

"But he's not worth the risk!" Lupin said. "He's a convicted Death Eater, everyone knows that. He's nothing."

"You have no idea how much influence he has. You don't know what you're talking about."

Severus was beginning to lose his patience with him. It was his decision to make and he wasn't going to discuss it. Especially not with Lupin.

"This whole discussion is useless; we don't even know if it works," Severus said. "Now go. If it leads back to Hogwarts, I need someone there waiting and ready to knock Malfoy out as soon as he gets there."

Lupin looked at him thoughtfully. "I still think it's stupid."

"You're free to think that."

"Fine. There's obviously no way of reasoning you out of this, but I'd at least like to suggest staying as well. Just in case Malfoy won't fall for your story."

"It would only make things more complicated. And we can't let Potter go alone anyway," Severus said and held the book out to him.

Lupin hesitated but then took it. "Just make sure you come back. Minerva's going to kill me if you don't," he said as he walked over to the painting. "Although that's probably something you'd like to see."

He stepped into the circle of rune stones, opened the book, turned some pages and then looked up again. "What actually tells us that this is the way back now?" he asked. "The book doesn't say anything at all."

"I for one don't have any better ideas," Severus replied.

"Last time it warned us, right?" Harry said. "So I guess if it says nothing, that's a good sign."

See, Potter? Think before you speak and even you might come up with something halfway intelligent from time to time.

"I'll just read the incantation we used when we got here then," Lupin said and began searching for the right page at the beginning of the book.

"Lupin," Severus said and he looked up again. "I'm not sure, but there are some things that would indicate that time there runs slower than it does here. So even though it might take me some time here-"

"Don't worry," Lupin said. "We'll be ready."

Severus nodded and then Lupin began to read the incantation. He tossed him the book and a moment later Snape and Harry witnessed him being drawn into the painting.

"Mr. Potter," Severus said, gave him the book and Harry walked over to where Lupin had been standing only a moment ago.

Harry was just about to start reading the incantation but then paused. "You'd better hurry," he said. "The guy in the portrait, he said the passage was closing."

"Stop wasting time then," Severus replied.

And as if on call, the demon appeared again, this time in the form of Sirius Black, standing between them and facing Potter.

"Harry, don't," he said and slowly moved towards him. "Don't leave me here to die."

Harry made a step backwards, away from him. The moment his left foot touched the floor outside the rune circle, long thin vines that seemed to consist entirely of stone shot out of the wall next to him and wrapped themselves tightly around his leg. Harry tried to free himself but he didn't have a chance. He reached down and tried to remove the stony vines from his leg but they were just too strong.

Severus noticed that the vines didn't reach inside the circle, neither did they pull the boy outside. "Potter, don't move any further. Stay inside the circle," he said. It was only a guess, but he hoped he was right.

Black turned to him. He looked angry. Severus sneered at him.

"You can't touch the book, and you can't enter the circle, right?" Severus asked.

"I think it's about time I got rid of you once and for all," the demon whispered.

"What do you want to do? Kill me? I don't think you can," Severus said.

"But I can make you wish you were dead," he hissed.

"You need me."

"I want the boy."

"He's out of your reach already."

"Give me the boy, and you're free to leave."

"You don't want him," Severus replied. "You'd tire of him very soon."

"I need one," Black said through gritted teeth. "I've been waiting for too long."

"I know," Severus said softly. "One of us is what you need. You can only concentrate on one. But you need one who can give you much more than that kid. All the time you focused on him, you barely even noticed me. I assure you, I have a lot more to offer than just a psychopathic father and a dead cat."

Black looked at him out of narrowed eyes. Severus glanced past him at Harry, their eyes met and the boy nodded.

Severus knew that now he'd have to drop his defences. He would allow that demon a glimpse of what he'd been hiding; just enough to keep him interested and make him forget about Potter for a moment.

He was a little surprised that he actually found it difficult; keeping his guard up at all times by now seemed to come naturally to him.

He could sense the demon; he could feel its presence inside his mind. It was searching, rummaging among his memories and trying to find anything it wasn't supposed to find.

Severus saw the stony vines beginning to crumble and then fall down to the floor in pieces, setting Harry free, allowing him to pull his foot away and back inside the circle.

"Potter, go," he said. "Leave the book right there."

Harry hesitated.

"Now," Severus said.

The demon turned away from him to see what was going on and as soon as Severus felt his presence retreating from his mind, he concentrated on blocking him out again. It was easy, just like slamming a door shut in his face. And that was definitely going to be the last that demon saw of him; it would have to find itself a new victim.

Severus heard Harry whispering the incantation, the demon turned away from the boy and back around to face him. Then it went pitch black around him.

It was cold. He couldn't see a thing but he felt that he was falling. Fast. He knew that it was only a matter of seconds before he'd hit the ground.

It can't kill me.

He couldn't see the earth below him but he could feel it coming closer.

It can't kill me.

Then he suddenly felt the ground under him. He was lying on his back; it was cold and silent all around.

I'm still alive. I knew it.

-

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Author's Note: I'm sorry that it's taken me so long, unfortunately I barely had any time for writing lately. At least it's a really long chapter ;)

Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews, it makes me happy that you enjoyed the story so far and I hope you're still reading and enjoyed this chapter as well.

Oh, and just in case someone thought it sounded familiar: the line 'the stars look very different today' was borrowed from David Bowie's 'Space Oddity'.