"Help me," Severus said to both Remus and Regulus. "We need to make enough Elixir to last out for Voldemort."

"Please," Regulus said. "Don't say his name."

"So, will you help me, then?"

"Yes."

"I'll help too." Remus grabbed his cane and started off the couch. Severus went to help him to his feet.

"You're going to sit," Severus said.

"I can still help. I'll do whatever you say," Remus said. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I always have."

Severus tried to ignore the chills that ran up his spine, but he continued to help Remus to the kitchen and sat him down at the table. He moved to the cubboard and pulled out his stock of bezoars. "Chop these in half, then grind them in the mortar. Keep them in their halves. I need to know how much goes for each batch."

Remus nodded.

"What should I do?" Regulus asked. His eyes were still red.

"Put the cauldron on to boil with water infused with fluxweed," Severus said.

"Fluxweed?"

"It's one of the main ingredients. It causes the change in the brain. That and the toxic substances, of course."

"The things on this list?" Remus asked, holding up the parchment.

"Yes."

"This could kill someone!"

Severus smiled. "Yes, it could. That's why the bezoar is so important."

Remus paused. "That makes sense."

"I'm shocked it took me so long." Severus sat across from Remus and began mixing the toxins.

"How long will this take?" Regulus asked.

"It needs to stew for an hour, then cool," Severus said. "However, there's still plenty left from when I used it earlier tonight. They can test with that. These will be done by that time."

They worked busily, until it was time for the Potion to stew, and then Severus was the only one who worked, stirring at just the right pace. Remus and Regulus sat at the table.

"So," Regulus said, "what happened when you took it, Sev?"

"Just a... memory."

"Oh. Of whom?"

Severus knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to get him to tell the truth. To say that it was the thought of sex with Remus. However, he lied. "From my childhood. When my mother was alive."

"Oh."

Remus smiled. "What do you think you would see, Regulus? A memory? Or an imaginary place?"

"Maybe a sort of... imaginary time. A time when we weren't all fucked up like we are. Maybe if there wasn't all this history, and we didn't take those paths. I started using like eight years ago. I was just a kid when Sirius introduced me to weed. What was I supposed to do? Sirius was my life then. Maybe if I had just been able to see what he was. Or maybe if he had been different."

"We can say what if all we'd like, but it won't change anything," Remus said. "What if I hadn't been bitten by that werewolf? How would my life have changed? Quite a bit, I'd assume."

Regulus shook his head. "I guess that's why I can't stop using. Like maybe each time I try something new, maybe it'll transport me to somewhere else."

Severus looked over his shoulder. "What's so wrong with where you are?"

He swallowed. "Nothing, I guess. Except I can't stop screwing up."

A thousand responses shot through Severus' mind, but in the end, he remained silent. He stirred the Potion again.

"They should be here anytime," Remus said. "It's just past an hour now."

Severus sighed. "Well, this batch of Elixir is nearly done. Can you smell it? It will need to cool, though. At full temperature, I don't know what could happen. And I'm not willing to make this man anymore angry than he already is."

Regulus nodded, wiping away tears due to the acidic smell. "I'm sorry, Sev. I'm sorry I got you into this."

"We'll fix this," Severus replied. "And we'll get out of here. The three of us."

Remus smiled for a moment, but stopped when there was a soft knocking at the door.

Regulus gasped. "It's him."

Severus did not react. He simply poured the Potion into a tall pewter vessel and corked it. He set it down before it could scald him. "Let them in, Regulus. It's time to end this."

Regulus stood, shaking, and walked into the living room. Severus heard the door open and few muffled words exchanged.

Macnair walked into the kitchen first, followed by Regulus, and then a stranger, surely the most handsome man Severus had ever seen. He was tall with dark features and hollowed cheeks and a strange reddish gleam to his dark eyes. He wore a black suit with a high collar and flowing black robes.

His strange eyes turned to Severus. "You must be this Snape my dear Regulus has been talking so much about."

"And you must be Voldemort," Severus replied. He tried to keep his voice steady, but it was shaking. He had no idea how to act to this handsome man that called Regulus his.

"I am," he replied. "Now, what is this you have to show me?"

Severus reached for the flask and held it out. "It's called Elixir."

Voldemort took the flask with long, delicate fingers. He opened it and sniffed the contents. He nodded. "Smells like it would eat away the skin."

"It's strong."

"Macnair, if you would," Voldemort said, holding out the flask. Macnair took it.

"You're not going to try it yourself?" Severus asked.

"I don't partake in these substances. I only take advantage of those who do. Right, Regulus?"

Regulus did not reply.

Voldemort reached out and touched Regulus' cheek with one finger. "Too difficult to speak now, love?"

"Yes, sir," Regulus said, his eyes moving back and forth between Severus and Voldemort.

Macnair, who had opened a green plastic bag, fixed himself a syringe of Elixir. "Ready, sir?"

Voldemort nodded. "Whenever, Macnair."

"He'll be knocked out," Severus said. "It knocks you out so you can enjoy your memory or fantasy without the real world coming in to bother you."

"Interesting."

"I'm not entirely sure how long it lasts, since I've only tested it successfully on myself."

Voldemort was silent, but motioned to Macnair who inserted needle into his vein.

He shrugged. "Nothing, sir."

"It takes a moment," Severus said. "It has to travel to the brain, and then it'll take effect."

Sure enough, a moment or two later, Macnair was slumped to the ground.

"Now we wait," Severus said. "Once he wakes he'll tell us about his experience."

"I don't like this idea of being out while it goes on. That doesn't seem natural. It's not truly a sort of high, is it?" Voldemort asked.

"It's a high," Severus replied. "The thoughts, the memories, they're more real than when you had them the first time. The tiny flaws disappear, it becomes a utopia."

Voldemort's eyes widened. "Utopia?"

"Whatever you wish. I think, the more you use, the more you can control, but I'm not certain."

"Still," Voldemort said, distracted. He didn't notice Regulus picking up Macnair's gun and slide it carefully down the back of his pants.

After some time of silence, Voldemort looked down at Macnair. He nudged him with the to of his expensive looking shoe. "He's alive, is he not?"

Severus placed a hand over Macnair's wrist. He nodded. "Oh, yes, he's alive. Just enjoying himself by the pace of his heartbeat. Either that or running a marathon."

Another twenty minutes passed when Macnair awoke. He stood and looked to Voldemort. "Sir, this stuff is amazing. It's like nothing I've ever had. They're right. It'll make more than anything we have currently."

"Really now." Voldemort looked to Severus and Regulus. "It looks like we'll have to take this from you. I'd say a cut of... forty-sixty?"

"I'd be making...?" Severus asked.

"The sixty, of course. You and my Regulus wouldn't even need to sell it. If you did, you could make seventy percent."

"We're not interested in selling it on the streets. We just want our money after Regulus' debts are paid."

Voldemort nodded. "That's right, my Regulus' debts. We could sell this at forty Galleons a dose. Fifty, even."

"If you sold it to Muggles, you could make even more. The magic is untraceable. They would just see something beyond their imagination, something that they would be willing to come back for more and more," Severus said.

"I don't waste my time with Muggles," Voldemort said.

"But your profit-"

"Money is not an object. I will not sell to Muggles. There's a reason I only sell magical drugs. So I don't have to interact with dirty Muggles."

"Look, I need the money," Severus said. "Regulus and I need the money."

Voldemort seemed to grow in height as his rage grew. "I will not sell to Muggles. I don't care if you were living on the street, I would not sell anything to Muggles."

"Fine," Severus said. "Then I want the seventy percent. Without selling it myself."

"It doesn't work like that. I have a set profit I need to make, which is thirty percent. My sellers get ten, and my backers get forty. It's a simple system."

"If you sold to Muggles, you could only make twenty percent and get more than you are at selling to wizards at thirty percent."

"Pureblood wizards are the only ones worth selling the secrets of magic," Voldemort said. "I would not waste my time, or my life, or lower my standards to sell to Muggles."

"Then perhaps we're at an impasse," Severus said.

"An impasse?"

He nodded. "I think it would be worth the while to market Elixir to Muggles, and you do not. Now as much as I would like to give you my entire stock and get a weekly check once Regulus' debts are paid, I don't think I can. The time it would take to sell to Muggles would be worth it to me to get my money's worth."

"We want this stuff, sir," Macnair hissed.

Voldemort forced a handsome smile. "Mr. Snape, I don't think you realize whom you're dealing with. I'm the most powerful man in the magical substance world. You don't cooperate with me, you won't find cooperation with anyone."

"But I wouldn't be in the world of magical substances, so what does it matter?" Severus asked through his gritted teeth.

"Because I need Elixir," Voldemort replied. "If you will not work with me on my terms, I'll have to take it on my terms."

Severus looked around the room at a shaking Regulus and Remus, who appeared to be soaking in all the words around him by the passive expression on his face. He was not sure what to do. Give in, or spend his time on the streets selling the thing he loathes?

Remus looked him in the eye. He nodded.

Severus nodded in return. He looked back to Voldemort. "You're not taking anything."

Voldemort's strange eyes flared. "You will give it to me! Macnair, take it from him!"

"Yes, sir!" Macnair reached for his gun. "What the-"

Regulus pulled the gun out and aimed it at Macnair. "Get back!"

Severus gasped. "Regulus!"

Voldemort stepped forward. "Regulus, my dear Regulus, you do not know what you're doing. You have never had to deal with the consequences of your actions. You pull that trigger, the consequences will come down on you faster than you could even conceive."

"I'm not yours!" Regulus said, this time turning the gun onto Voldemort. "And you don't own me. Once Severus and I sell Elixir, I'll pay you back and it won't matter. We can leave each other."

"You are mistaken," Voldemort said, unfazed by the gun in face. "You are mine. When you came to work for me, when you came to my bed, you became mine."

Severus, whose eyes had not left Regulus, felt his jaw drop. "You... no."

Regulus looked to Severus. "I'm so sorry."

Macnair jumped on Regulus, throwing him back against the wall. The gun went flying across the room.

"Sev!" Regulus shouted as Macnair punched him in the face.

Voldemort reached down and picked up the gun with his pallid fingers. He did not think, he simply aimed the gun at Severus and pulled the trigger.

"NO!" Remus shouted. He tried to stand, but stumbled as the his right leg seared with pain.

Severus fell the ground without grace. He fell in a heap, his eyes still open.

"SEVERUS!" Regulus screamed, pushing Macnair away. He ran to Severus' side. He grabbed his lover's hand. "Sev, please, please don't go. I love you, Sev, I do. I'm so sorry." He lay his head across Severus' unmoving chest and sobbed.

"We're not going to give it to you," Remus said through his tears. "You could kill us all, but you will not get Elixir."

Voldemort turned to Remus. "You saw what happened to your friend when he disregarded what I had to say. Do you wish to meet the same fate?"

"I would rather die for Severus' morals than live betraying him."

Regulus, still sobbing, pulled Severus' wand from his pocket. He pointed it at Voldemort and with all the hate inside of him, screamed, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Voldemort fell to the ground. Macnair stared at his body and then at Regulus who was now pointing the wand at him. Macnair fled from the apartment.

"Is he dead?" Remus said, looking at Voldemort. He touched his wrist and pulled away with disgust. "He's still alive. You knocked him out, that's for sure."

Regulus was not paying attention. "Severus, my god, he killed Severus."

Remus, trying to not accept that his old friend was dead, didn't look. He picked up the gun from the floor. He placed the gun against Voldemort's head and shot.

Regulus screamed. "What the hell are you doing? What did you do?"

"Doing what you could not," Remus said. He threw the gun. "I can't believe I... and Severus..."

"What do we do now?" Regulus asked. He was still clutching Severus' hand.

"We have to leave."

"Leave?"

Remus nodded. "We need to get out of here, Regulus. I just killed a man."

"You killed him in revenge! It wasn't your fault!"

"I knew what I was doing. I've been on the run before, from Sirius. Now I can simply be on the run from the police."

"He was a horrible man. The police would be pleased to see him gone!"

"We need to leave," Remus repeated.

Regulus did not bother to wipe away his tears. "What about Severus? What do we do with... his body?"

Remus thought and said slowly, as if the words were killing him, "We leave him here. The police will find him. Bellatrix will find him. They'll know."

"I've never faced a problem in my life, Remus. Bella was right, I always run away. What if I stayed this time? What would happen to me?"

"We'd both be put in prison."

"I can't leave. I can't leave him, Remus."

"There's nothing can be done for him now," Remus replied coldly. "That's what Severus would say of either of us. It would pain him, as it's doing to you now, but he would realize what needs to be done. And this needs to be done."

"What do we do, then? How will we make our money?"

Remus was already pocketing the parchment on the table. He picked up the pewter vessel. "We'll sell Elixir, Regulus. You know where to go. You know where they'll want it."

"Remus, how can you be so cold!" Regulus cried. "Severus is dead! He's dead! It's my fucking fault that he's dead and I can't do anything to bring him back."

"I know."

"Then how can you do this? How can you? You loved him too!"

"I did. I still do, as do you. But I can understand the reality of this situation. Regulus, we have to move. We have to leave now to get a head start. I can't go alone, not in my condition."

Regulus looked from Severus' dead eyes to Remus' serious ones. "All right, Remus. I'll come with you. Just let me... let me pack a few things."

"Quickly."

Regulus stood and hurried into the bedroom he shared with Severus. He threw some of his clothes into a suitcase and he dug through a dresser drawer. He pulled out an unframed phot of Severus. Severus hated that photo, given why it was under a pile in a crowded dresser drawer, but Regulus loved it. He stashed it into his suitcase.

"Regulus, hurry!"

He closed the suitcase and walked into the living room. "I'm ready, Remus."

Remus turned and looked at him. He gave Regulus a sad smile. "You could break my heart, Regulus."

"I think one broken heart is enough for this trip, don't you?"

"You're right. Let's go."

Regulus held up a hand. "One moment. He walked into the kitchen where Severus still lay. He knelt down next to him and kissed Severus' still warm cheek. "I love you, Sev. I never told you that, but I do. I'm so sorry. I know I said that a hundred times, but I mean it. I mean it, Sev. I love you."

There, like Regulus expected, was no reply.

"Come, Regulus," Remus said from the doorway in a softened voice. "It's time to leave."

Regulus picked up Severus' wand and placed it in his pocket. He stood and faced Remus. "Yes, it is. Where are we going?"

"Underground."

"I thought you didn't know the underground," Regulus said as they walked down the hall.

"Not the drugs, the werewolf underground," Remus clarified. "There are passages they take that others would not. We can take those passages until we get out of here. Until we get into America."

"America?"

"We can blend into the crowd easier that way. In New York City, perhaps."

"What about... what about Bella?"

Remus looked over his shoulder at Regulus. "When we get out of the country, you can write to her. Let her know that we're alive."

"That we're at least left," Regulus clarified.

"Yes, that."

"Remus?"

"Yes?"

"I don't know what to do."

"Just follow me."