SeverusPhoenix: Well yeah, it's our job, you know, as christians, to believe that no one is beyond redemption. (though I'll have to do a proper exegesis to see if that goes for fictional characters too) ;-)
Dark jo awww thanks for the compliment
Bleudiablo I'm writing, I'm writing!
Sorry it took so long to update, but I was out of the country for a couple of days.
Arthur Weasley roared with laughter as Severus Snape threw his twin sons across the (thankfully padded) room after they'd tried to sneak up on him.
"You really should know better, boys," he snickered when the twins got up, chagrined.
"We thought we'd stand a fair chance…"
"If he didn't know we were coming."
Harry, who was training with Charlie and Bill, grinned at the twins indignation.
"Hey Harry," Charlie said, "Could we see you and Severus duel sometime? That should be quite a sight to see."
Dumbledore, who was sitting in on this session, nodded enthusiastically.
Harry looked at Severus, who shrugged and nodded.
"Fine. But you should know that the more we learn to go beyond the limit of spells, the more boring the duelling becomes; you simply can't see what we are doing anymore."
"Beyond spells?" Bill asked.
"Yes," Harry said, "Like this," and at that moment Bill started to float through the air.
"Instead of casting a spell, we simply think of what we want to do. You don't see anything, you don't hear anything."
"Like those Deatheaters at the Burrow," Fred said.
"You bested them without even lifting a finger."
Harry nodded. "We've been training since then, and Severus is progressing towards that now, too."
"Can we see?" Six pairs of eyes, seven when counting the headmaster, were turned to Harry and Severus.
They grinned and nodded.
"Very well, stand back."
The seven spectators sat along one wall, and Harry put up a shield in front of them so they wouldn't accidentally get hit.
"Just the spells, please, Harry, or you'll knock me out in the first ten seconds."
Harry nodded, and conjured up a shield when a hex suddenly came flying his way.
"Not bad," he commented, "try to think on what you wanted to accomplish with it, not the incantation."
Severus scowled. Within months, he had gone from teacher to student, and he wasn't always happy about it.
He glared at Harry, and the seven spectators suddenly howled with laughter as Harry's battle gear disappeared and he was left in his boxers and shirt.
Harry snorted. "Very good, Severus," he admitted, as his gear reappeared with a mere thought, "though I'm not sure about the combat value of this…"
Severus began to get the hang of it, though, through his frustration, and soon Harry was giggling like mad as he felt a tickling sensation all over his body. A very pale, hardly visible light sped towards him. Harry lowered all shields and let it through. The Sectumsempra slashed his shoulder and he started bleeding.
"Severus, when you wrote that spell you had the end result in mind. Do the same now. Don't think of the process, think of the end result. Again."
This time there was no indication at all until Harry's forehead showed a gash and blood began to run down his face.
As soon as it started, the blood stopped and both wounds were gone.
"Excellent, Sev. Now, let the fun begin for real, right?"
With a feral grin Harry dodged a curse the others couldn't see, but Severus suddenly dropped to his knees, arms around his chest, moaning.
He recovered quickly, and another intricate dance began. The spectators never saw any spells. No light, no incantations. They knew there were shields in place because of the small bursts of magical energy that flew through the room as a curse was deflected, but other then that, it did look remarkably like dancing.
Finally the two stopped, shook hands and turned to their public.
"See, it's quite boring to watch once we get to this level," Harry explained.
The twins shook their heads. "Not at all! But how come you seem to know what is coming? We didn't see a thing."
Severus wiped the sweat from his forehead. "We are mindlinked during duels. Usually it's for training purposes, but also because we are learning to 'see' this kind of magic. If you ever face an opponent who can do this, you need to get into their minds to predict their next move."
After the training, Dumbledore stayed behind.
"Harry, I would like to join this training program," he said.
Harry raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Sure." He said at the same moment that Severus let out a sharp "No."
Harry turned around. "Why on earth not?"
Severus sneered. "The six we are training now aren't nearly ready yet. Besides, he is too old."
Dumbledore glared at him. "I may be old, but I'm not feeble yet, young man!"
"I still say no," Severus maintained. He avoided Harry's curious gaze.
The headmaster got annoyed. "I want to learn this. I know my magic is strong enough, even though I am substantially older then the rest of your group."
Severus headed for the door. "No. That is my final answer."
The door wouldn't open.
"Let me out, Harry," Severus said menacingly.
"Not until you tell us the real reason you don't want Albus to join," Harry calmly stated.
The Potions Master looked ready to punch him, but finally he gave in.
"I'm scared," he admitted, "you know what it felt like when our cores grew, Harry. We both passed out. The rest of the group isn't nearly there yet, but Albus is. We were young and still adapting to magic, but Albus is much older, and I'm not talking physically but magically…I'm afraid he could get very seriously hurt."
Harry sighed. "Then why didn't you just say so, you stubborn…Anyway, I can see your point but it is still Albus' decision, not yours."
Severus lowered his eyes. A hand came to rest on his shoulder and he looked up into the headmasters eyes.
"Thank you for your concern, my boy, but if I'm to be any help to Harry and you when you will face Tom, I need to do this. Even if it is dangerous. Will you help me?"
Severus rubbed his eyes. "Fine. FINE. I'll help. Draco has been nagging me for over a week now too, anyway. But you have to understand its risks, father! And once the process starts, I can do nothing to stop it if anything goes wrong."
"I know, child. But the confrontation with Tom is very close, and I need to be able to help you and Harry."
"You can't help us at all if you're dead," Severus said bluntly.
Harry paled. "Is it that risky?"
Severus nodded. "It's a possibility, a much greater possibility then it was with you or me. Much greater then it will be when Draco goes through this. I don't want to lose you so soon after we've finally settled our differences," he said to the headmaster.
"I know, child. I don't want to leave you yet, but I want to do whatever it takes to see both you and Harry safely through the final battle. What good would it be if I live, only to lose you on the battlefield because I couldn't help you? I must know that I did anything possible to help you."
They could see the battle behind the Potions Masters eyes, but in the end he conceded.
"I understand. Just…not today. I want both you and Draco to rest, eat well and use as little magic as possible for the next three days. I will give you energy potions. And Harry and I will mindlink to you and Draco so we can guide you through the process. That should make it easier on both of you then it was for us."
Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you, my boy."
"Well, if you bloody insist on doing this I might as well try not to get you killed," Severus growled.
Three days later Draco and the headmaster were well rested, well fed and full of energy thanks to the potions Severus had forced down their throats.
Harry had prepared the Room of Requirement; it was completely padded and the floor was soft.
Severus, still reluctant, entered last.
Harry shook his head. "Severus, I was unprepared and I survived."
The worried frown did not disappear. "I never intended for you to be unprepared, I didn't expect you to progress that fast."
He turned to the two. "Are you ready?" Upon receiving two nods, he sighed.
"Very well."
Harry watched in fascination as Severus started to work with the two. He hoped fervently that everything would be alright. His mind was linked to Draco and he could see the excitement as Draco managed to reach his magical core.
He watched in awe as both Draco and Dumbledore were levitated into the air as he had been. He remembered the burning sensation and shuddered. They both screamed with pain and Harry was thankful that the mindlink did not allow pain to pass to him.
Finally it was over and they both dropped onto the thankfully soft floor, unconscious.
Dumbledore groaned. His head felt ready to explode. A hand held a potion in front of his lips and a cold voice told him to drink it.
Immediately he felt his headache subside and he looked around.
He was in his own quarters, which surprised him. The last he remembered he had been in the Room of Requirement.
His vision cleared and he saw Harry sitting next to his bed. Severus was setting the now empty potions vile on the nightstand.
"How…how long…"
"Nearly a week," Harry answered, patting his hand.
"Draco?"
"Fine. He woke up after a few hours. He's playing with his new powers now."
"Why did it take me so long?"
Severus turned and glared at him, eyes redrimmed with tiredness, face pale and lips pressed together.
"Because, you bloody old fool, I had already WARNED you it was dangerous! We nearly lost you and it was two days before we were even certain you hadn't reduced yourself to a Squib! So will you shut up and get some rest?"
With that he stalked out of the room.
Harry sighed and smiled at Dumbledore's surprised and hurt face.
"He has been here, by your side, for the whole week, not sleeping and not eating unless we forced food down his throat. I think he blames himself in some ways for not insisting more or not helping you more. Ridiculous, but you know him."
Dumbledore nodded.
"Did it at least work?"
Harry shrugged. "Look inside, find your magical core."
He saw the Headmaster's eyes glaze over in concentration and when he heard the amazed sigh, he knew it had in fact, worked.
"Get some more sleep," Harry said, "you need to rest up and then the four of us will start training for real."
"Any news…of Tom?"
"Gathering forces, as we suspected. Dark creatures. More Death Eaters left then we thought, a lot of them foreigners. It will not be long before he will strike full strength for one last time. It'll come down to all or nothing all too soon I fear."
Severus walked back in, carrying a tray of food and set it on the bedside table. Harry got up.
"I promised Draco to mock duel with him. Glad you are doing better, sir. See you soon!"
He left the room.
Severus rubbed his eyes. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I'm sorry."
Dumbledore held out a hand. "Come here, child."
He pulled the tired man to sit next to him on the bed and let him rest his head against his shoulder.
"Thank you for taking care of me, Severus. Do you understand why I had to do this?"
The head nodded, eyes closed.
"You took care of me when I was going through withdrawal, when you still hated me. You took care of me this week. I want to make sure that when the time comes and Tom strikes, I can take care of you."
"I know," he heard him mumble, "was just 'fraid you got hurt…" he trailed off, sleep overtaking him.
Dumbledore chuckled, and waved his hand, removing shoes, covering him with a quilt and summoning the tray of food. He was famished. It surprised him how easy these actions were now. Training would be very interesting. Smiling at the sleeping man leaning against him, he started to eat the house elves' delicious cooking.
When Harry came back two hours later, he found them both in peaceful slumber.
Two days later Dumbledore was ready to start training. Severus had slept for most of those two days as well, and the four entered the training room expectantly. Draco had already done some training, and Dumbledore, because of his long experience, had much less trouble keeping his newfound powers under control.
Before long, the four could work together in perfect harmony. Harry undoubtedly was the strongest, but the other three were close behind.
"Do you think this is the power Voldemort knows not?" Harry asked Dumbledore one evening, while he let food appear on his plate with only a thought.
Dumbledore smiled.
"Your powers? No, however impressive they are, however mighty we have become, I think that the power Voldemort knows not has more to do with the fact that we are doing this together."
Upon seeing their confused faces, he went on.
"Don't you see, Harry? The four of us are working together, enjoying each others company. We care for each other. Would you have believed that when you were in school? Did you ever think that it was possible that one day, the four of us would share a dinner as friends?"
Harry smiled in understanding. "No, I never would have thought it possible," he admitted.
"My guess is, that this is the power Tom doesn't understand. He has no friends. He never had any friends. He does not love, or care for anyone but himself. He knows you are powerful, Harry, that is no secret to him. But he doesn't understand that people can call a truce," he looked at Draco, "make friends out of enemies, or forgive an offence against them," he said, smiling at the potions master and receiving a smile in return.
"I'm scared," Harry admitted, "even with Sev's help and this new power and you…I'm scared to go up against Voldemort, and scared I might lose you or any of the other people I love in battle."
Severus nodded. "There's no shame in that, Harry. It would be very strange if you weren't at least a bit nervous. I'm scared too. But it has to be done. And although the Prophecy says it has to be you who kills him, we will be right behind you and help you as much as we can."
Harry stared at his plate.
"It's near, isn't it?"
Draco uncharacteristically patted his shoulder.
"Yes, Harry. But you know, we're like the four musketeers now. All for one and one for all and all that. What?" he said indignantly upon receiving three surprised glances, "I have read muggle books!"