A/N: Thanks for all the encouraging reviews! I love you guys! There was a little concern about our beloved Headmistress's anger at our boys when they broke into Hogwarts. Well...if you were a typical Gryffindor woman, wouldn't you be angry if someone broke into your office, nevermind it being done by a Slytherin and a troublemaking kid from your own house? And don't forget...she has no clue as to why the boys were there. Albus may have a big mouth, but he does know how to keep a secret...

Chapter 18- Reliance

The language of friendship is not words but meanings.- Henry David Thoreau

At 1:30, Severus walked into the kitchen to find Harry sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. Samantha was leaning against the stove, her arms crossed over her chest. He walked over and poured himself a cup of black coffee.

"The stasis charm is set," he said. He took a sip of his drink. "If we don't find the cup tonight, we have until Friday to do so." He gazed at Harry, who was trying to stifle a yawn. "Did you get some sleep, Harry?"

"A little," said Harry. "I don't sleep well when I'm nervous about something." He twirled his cup nervously on the table.

"It's amazing that you were coherent at all during some school years," said Severus, grinning. Harry smiled back at him briefly. Severus sobered at Harry's anxiousness, looking over the rim of his cup at Samantha. The three of them sat in silence. Harry stood and placed his empty cup in the sink. He touched his hand to his side, feeling for his dagger in its sheath as he turned to lean back on the edge of the counter. He crossed his arms over his chest, frowning slightly at the floor. Samantha walked over softly to him.

"Don't be so worried, James," she said softly. She tilted his chin up gently with her hand. "Severus will be with you the whole time." Harry chuckled.

"A few months ago, that would have worried me more," said Harry. He looked over to Severus, who grinned at him.

"I thought the same thing when she said that," said Severus. "How times have changed." He drank the last of his coffee, walking over and placing his cup next to Harry's in the sink. "But Sam's right. Just stick close to me and do exactly what I tell you, and everything should work out perfectly." He looked at his watch. "We should go soon."

Samantha pulled Harry into an embrace. "Be careful, both of you. Watch out for one another." She brushed the boy's cheek with her hand. She reached up and gave Severus a brief kiss. "I'll see you when you get back."

"I love you," said Severus softly. Samantha gave him a huge smile.

"I love you, too, Severus," she said. She walked with them to the hall and watched them walk out the front door, closing it behind them.

The August night was humid and warm, the mugginess making it uncomfortably hot. Severus and Harry walked quickly and quietly to the park, entering the familiar grove of trees. Severus tapped Harry on the head with his wand, casting a Disillusionment charm on him. Severus did the same to himself before addressing Harry.

"Stay close to me at all times," said Severus in a low tone. "If you do get separated, call me on your bracelet. Recast the disillusionment every so often so that it doesn't fade out. If things get unpleasant, get back here as soon as you can. Do you understand me?"

"What about you?" said Harry.

"Don't worry about me," said Severus. "Do exactly what I tell you, when I tell you. Leave your Gryffindor heroics here. They will get you and me both into more trouble than I care to deal with this evening. Grab my arm and we'll go." Harry sighed loudly, grabbing Severus's forearm. They disappeared from the park with a soft pop, reappearing in a pitch black alleyway. The rats skittered away from them as Severus crept silently to the edge of the building, glancing around the corner and looking left and right. He saw a few stragglers, but no one he recognized.

"Remember what I said," he whispered to Harry. "We're going to the back delivery door. Follow close and be absolutely silent." Severus stepped out into the main street of Knockturn Alley, carefully avoiding the small pools of light provided by a few shop lanterns that were still lit. He ducked down another dark alleyway, Harry right on his heels. He stopped before a filthy door. It was missing a pane of glass, the shards glinting in the faint moonlight. Severus drew his wand, whispering a detection spell at the doorknob. It glowed blue, then flashed red three times. Severus sighed softly.

"This is going to take a minute," whispered Severus. "Keep a lookout while I work on these wards." Harry drew his wand, watching both directions of the alley while Severus began gently breaking the wards on the door. Severus had to try several spells before finding one that weakened the wards. It took him ten minutes to completely disarm the door. He cast the detection spell again at the doorknob. Nothing happened. He tapped Harry on the shoulder, making the boy jump slightly.

"We're in," whispered Severus. He cast Silencing charms on the door hinges and pushed the door open. He held it as Harry slipped inside and locked the door with a tap of his wand. He muttered a spell, lighting his wand with a dark light that gave off very little light, but it was enough to see shapes of the many objects in the shop.

"Start feeling for traces," said Severus. "You'll probably feel many, but try and follow the strongest one you can find." Harry stepped away from him, as Severus took a deep breath. He reached out his hand, his fingers tingling slightly from the various Dark traces he could feel from various items. He moved his hand over towards the other wall, which was strangely empty of any shelving. He frowned at the slight pulsing he felt in his hand as he moved closer. He pressed his hand to the wall. A sharp sting entered his fingers. He turned to look over his shoulder to where Harry was standing.

"I found something," he whispered. Harry quickly made his way next to Severus. Severus pressed his hand back to the wall, running it lightly over the wood paneling. Harry did the same, bending down in front of Severus.

"It's so strong," whispered Harry. He stopped his hand suddenly. "There's a weird spot here." Severus stepped back and knelt down next to him as Harry pressed his hand to the wall firmly. He gave a startled cry as a trapdoor opened beneath him. Severus grabbed his arm to keep him from falling. Harry reached up his other arm, clinging tightly to Severus.

"Well," panted Severus. "That's one way of finding it. Next time, we'll have to work on your desire to push strange walls that are suspicious, hm?" He pulled Harry up out of the hole. Harry was breathing rapidly and shaking slightly. Severus quickly cancelled the disillusionment, raising his lit wand to gaze worriedly at Harry's ashen face. He tapped his own head so that Harry could see him.

"Are you alright?" asked Severus. Harry swallowed thickly and nodded.

"Yeah," said Harry breathily. "Yeah, I'm okay." Severus nodded once. He shone his wand down into the hole, laying on his stomach to reach farther into the underground room. Harry knelt down next to him and gasped slightly at the sight of what lie on the floor.

"Indeed," said Severus softly. "They look to be some kind of strange hybrid of asps and boomslangs. Nice and poisonous." He moved his wand, lighting on a ladder that descended into the pit.

"How in the world are we supposed to get past all of them?" asked Harry. Severus sighed in annoyance.

"You're the Parseltongue," hissed Severus. "You tell me." He looked around them as Harry got on his stomach and began speaking to the snakes. He paused for a minute, then responded. Severus looked back at him when he sighed.

"They're not going to let us through," said Harry softly. "They said they were given very specific instructions from their master not to let anyone through, not even one of his followers. They seemed a little confused that I could talk to them, though. Apparently, Borgin keeps them fed with something. They asked me if I was going to feed them."

"Hm," said Severus as he lowered his wand back down the trapdoor. He gave it a small flick, making the light stronger. The snakes writhed angrily.

"They didn't like that much," said Harry. Severus stepped down onto the ladder, holding his wand so that he could see below him.

"We'll have to use their loathing of light to get through, then" said Severus softly. "Shine your wand at them so I can get down. Come down once I'm at the bottom." Harry did as he was told, shining his wand at the bottom of the ladder. Severus climbed down quickly, jumping down and lighting his wand brightly. Harry climbed down, standing behind Severus and lighting his own wand.

"Now what?" asked Harry shakily. He jumped backwards into Severus as a snake struck out at him. Severus wrapped an arm around him to keep him from falling.

"That, Harry, is an excellent question," said Severus. "Let me think for a moment." He increased the light from his wand, gazing into the vast expanse of the room. The light glinted off something in the center of the room. Severus took a step closer, pulling Harry with him. The light glinted again, allowing Severus to see a brief flash of gold upon a raised dais. Severus heard a slight moan from Harry and whipped his head around.

"I'm such an idiot," said Harry. He began conjuring small balls of fire setting them close together on the floor. "Give me a minute and I'll make us a path." Severus swung his wand towards another snake that was creeping closer as Harry rapidly lined a narrow path around the ladder and began to move in front of Severus.

"Good thinking, Harry," said Severus, relieved. "It's nice to see that head of yours does indeed have an intelligent thought every now and then."

"Yeah, yeah," said Harry as he conjured fire on the steps of the dais. "Let's just get this thing and get out of here. Then you can heckle me all you want." Severus stepped lightly up the steps, directing his lit wand towards the chalice. He cast a detection charm on it, but it revealed nothing. He reached out hesitantly, raising his Occulmency walls as he lifted the cup from its resting place. He paused, listening carefully for any sign of a trap being tripped. He suddenly felt a wave of dizziness hit him hard. He shook his head to clear it. Harry groaned and stumbled slightly, raising a hand to his head. Severus reached out to catch him before he fell into a pile of snakes.

"Use your Occlumency, Harry," said Severus as he pulled Harry back down the path. "One foot in front of the other. Come on." Severus led Harry to the ladder, where he put the cup into Harry's hand. "Wait for me at the top. I've got to get rid of the fireballs so that Borgin won't know we were here. Go, quickly now." Harry climbed the ladder as quick as he could. Severus watched him until he was at the top before he ran back to the dais, vanishing the fire rapidly. He could feel the dizziness increase as he made his way back to the ladder. He stumbled against the ladder as he vanished the last fireball. He reached up for a rung and felt a blinding pain shoot through his leg. He looked down, only to see the snake be staked to the floor by a silver dagger. He looked up into Harry's frightened face. Harry reached down, holding out his hand for Severus.

"Come on," said Harry. Severus ground his teeth together as he put his weight his injured leg. He could already feel the venom making its way up his leg. He grabbed Harry's hand, letting Harry help him up. Severus sat on the floor of the shop, panting slightly. Harry reached his hand back down into the hidden room, summoning his blade back to him. He quickly closed the door as Severus tried to push himself back up. Harry pulled him up, putting an arm around Severus's waist and pulling an arm around his shoulders.

"I have to reset the wards," said Severus weakly. "Disillusion us and get outside. We need to get back to the 12 before I pass out." Harry moved them both quickly, recasting the charm as Severus pulled the door open. He shut the door and stood away from Harry, resetting the wards as best he could. Borgin was not so meticulous about his wards as Severus was about his own. He would never know the difference.

"Harry," whispered Severus as he fell forward onto his hands. Harry knelt down beside him, pulling him back up with surprising strength. Severus shook his head to clear the blackness that was clouding his vision. "Apparate directly in front of the house. No one will be up to notice us and I won't be able to walk from the park. In my bedside table, there's a vial of antidote. It's bright green in color. I'll need the whole vial. Get Sam to help you." Harry turned, disapparating them both. He practically dragged Severus up the front steps, pushing the door open so hard that it slammed against the wall. Samantha came running out of the kitchen.

"What happened?" she cried as she ran forward to help Harry. Severus has passed out, a heavy sheen of sweat on his forehead.

"He was bitten by a snake," said Harry as he removed Severus's limp arm from around his shoulders. "Get him to the bedroom. He said there's a potion in his room." Samantha flicked her wand at Severus, lifting his body off the floor as Harry ran up the stairs. Samantha followed him as fast as she could, her heart beating fast at the paleness of Severus's face. She laid him on the bed as Harry rifled through the many vials that Severus had stored in the table, lifting each one to the light. He handed one to Samantha.

"It's that one," said Harry. Samantha tilted Severus's head back, pouring the potion into his mouth. She rubbed his throat with her fingers, helping Severus swallow the antidote. She took off his shoes, tossing them to the end of the bed. She groaned as she cut his trouser leg.

"He's going to kill me for that," said Samantha as she inspected the bite mark. The two holes were purple and swollen. Harry stood silently next to Samantha, watching Severus's chest rise and fall with his breathing.

"Is he going to be ok?" asked Harry worriedly. Samantha cast a healing charm on the wound, watching as the bruising faded away.

"Yes, he'll be fine," said Samantha. "We got him the antidote in time. His leg will probably be sore. Not that he'll say anything about it." She brushed Severus's damp hair away from his flushed face, feeling his cheek with the back of her hand. Severus's eyes flickered open. He looked around, spotting Harry over Samantha's shoulder. He gave him a small smile.

"Well done," said Severus weakly. He groaned, cradling his left arm to his chest. Harry gasped and ran from the room. Samantha rubbed Severus's other arm as Harry returned.

"Sorry," said Harry. "I kinda forgot I had the cup with me." Severus chuckled a little.

"Amazing that you could forget something like that," said Severus softly. He coughed a little. Samantha immediately conjured a goblet of water, helping Severus sit up and take a few sips. He took the goblet from her, setting it on the table.

"So I take it you did get the cup?" asked Samantha. Severus smiled at her.

"We did," he said. "Thanks to Harry, we got through a room full of angry, venomous snakes and returned relatively unscathed. I doubt Borgin will notice that the cup is gone."

"Well, that's good news," said Samantha as she turned to Harry. Harry ran a hand through his hair, exhaling loudly.

"You scared me for a while there," said Harry. "I didn't think we were going to make it." Severus waved a hand at him.

"I've experienced far more deadly and painful poisons in my time, Harry," said Severus. "A little snake venom is nothing." Harry smiled, shaking his head.

"Well, I'm going back to bed," said Harry. "I'm a little worn out. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Harry," said Samantha softly. Harry walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind him. Severus stared at the door as Samantha turned back to look at him.

"He was practically frantic when he got here," said Samantha gently as she helped Severus take off his dagger sheath. "He stood right behind me holding his breath as I gave you the antidote." Severus frowned a little at her.

"He is too dependent on me," said Severus. "If something bad happens, he will useless to any of us."

"It's only natural for him to be this way, Severus," said Samantha as she sat on the bed next to him. "The boy has lost every single adult figure who has ever shown him a hint of kindness and guidance. He's been thrown into a situation he has no idea how to handle, and is grasping at anything that will keep him sane. If that thing is you, you have to let him rely on you."

Severus shook his head. "I don't know if I can do that, Sam. This Horcrux hunting is stressful enough without adding unnecessary mollycoddling on top of that."

"Severus, you don't have to mollycoddle him," said Samantha with a smirk. "You simply have to enable him to find his own strength. You've already been doing that. You can't keep him from becoming attached to you. You spend too much time together for that to happen, even if you were a complete bastard to him from now on."

"I don't know about that, Sam," said Severus, grinning. "I did a pretty good job at making him hate me for the past six years. I imagine I could get him to return to that place rather quickly." Samantha smirked at him.

"But I know you, Severus," she said teasingly. "You wouldn't do that to him. I think you're becoming just as attached to him as he is to you." Severus scoffed at her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, my dear Samantha," said Severus, avoiding her gaze. She grinned at him, pulling back the covers on the bed.

"Whatever you say, Severus," said Samantha. "You can delude yourself all you want, but I know better." She waved her wand, turning off the lights as she got underneath the covers. Severus stood up slowly, testing his injured leg. There was just a dull ache, as if he had run for a long time without stretching first. He removed his shirt and his belt, throwing both on the floor. He lay back down, pulling Samantha into his arms. He ran a hand through her curly hair, thinking back over the night's events and pondering Samantha's words. It was a long time before he fell into a dreamless sleep.