"Neville, go find Minerva!" Severus shouted, as he followed Harry.
Neville hesitated, but then rushed off, in search of the Headmistress.
He met Hermione, Ron and McGonagall in the Entrance Hall, on their way out.
"NEVILLE!" they all exclaimed in surprise, "what are you doing here?"
"No time," Neville panted, "Lance…is a…Death Eater…after Harry…Greenhouses."
Three pairs of eyes opened wide, then the professors began to run. Neville took only a second longer to catch his breath before running after them.
Meanwhile, Severus reached the greenhouse just in time to see Lance point his wand at Harry.
"But…Ben…why?" Harry stammered.
"You killed our Master, Potter, and you will pay for that," Lance replied.
Severus could see Harry's defense instincts kicking in and he moved his hand slightly to silently summon his wand.
"Ah, ah, Potter," Lance said, summoning the wand to himself, "that's why I spent so much time with you this year. I got to know how you fight. Now, we are going to walk into the Forbidden Forest where the rest of the group is very excited about seeing you again."
Harry saw Snape appear over Lance's shoulder, but he managed to give no reaction at all.
"Who, Ben? MacNair?"
"Well, yes, but the leader of our little group is Rufus Scrimgeour, of course. He is a little mad, though, he seems to believe…"
Suddenly he felt the tip of a wand on the back of his neck and both wands were taken from his hand.
"Accio wand," Harry said, and the wand that had already been tossed to him flew neatly into his hand.
"Thanks," he flashed a grin at the man behind Lance.
"You're welcome," said a silky voice. Lance gasped.
"No…that can't be…"
"What can't be, Lance?" Snape queried.
Lance collapsed to his knees, face white.
"You are dead! We've all been laughing at Scrimgeour and drugging him up for believing you were alive!"
"Drugging him up?" Harry said, smirking.
Snape sneered. "I'm not dead, no, though it was a close call for a few days."
Hermione, Ron and McGonagall rushed in, followed closely by Neville. They stood panting.
Harry shook his head. "You four need to brush up on your Defense," he said, "rushing in like that!"
"Don't be daft, mate, we already saw Severus had him under control through the glass," Ron said.
"Shall we take him to the Ministry?"
"There are more Death Eaters in the Forest," Harry said, "Almost all the still missing ones, I would think. The important ones, anyway. So we must be careful not to alert them. Scrimgeour is among them, Lance says."
The Death Eater glared, but a quick Stunner from Harry hit him in the chest and he was out.
"How come we never heard that Lance was Death Eater?" Minerva asked.
"He was one of a special team," Severus said, "the equivalent of the Unspeakables. Not even the Inner Circle knew about them all. They were usually not marked on their arms either to prevent discovery."
"We need to act quickly now. Minerva, as Headmistress you control the wards. Tighten them."
"How are we going to catch them all?" Ron asked.
Harry sighed. "If only we had Polyjuice…"
"But we do," Severus said, "I carry a vial with me for emergencies. Have done that ever since we left. But what did you…." He smiled suddenly in understanding.
"Exactly," Harry grinned.
"See them yet?"
"No, not yet."
"Let me see!"
"HEY! Those are my best omnioculars! Give them back! I need them to spy!"
"Peeking at your neighbor's wife is not spying."
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is…"
"SHUT UP! Merlin, when did this Death Eater organization turn into Kindergarten?"
"Since you hmfpmmmh…."
"Why are you holding your hand over his mouth?"
"Because he was going to say something stupid."
"Like what?"
"HEY! GUYS! Look, there's Ben with the Potter brat. He looks like he's drugged up."
"Who, Ben?"
"No, you moron, the brat."
"Well with all the drugging up going on around here lately one can't be too sure. Ooooh I can't wait to see his face…"
The two had reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest without problems. The Death Eaters came out of their hiding places, grinning madly.
"Well, Mr Potter, seems you're not so heroic now, are you?"
Harry said nothing.
"How does it feel, being betrayed by one of your friends because of your own poor judgement? Now you will die, boy, but not after we've had our fun with you."
"Erm, Rufus? Don't you think it's better to just kill him quickly and get the hell out of here?"
"Shut up! You're ruining the moment. Don't you know all Dark Lords hold speeches to their victims before killing them?"
"YES, and that's what gets the Dark Lords killed in the end, remember?"
Harry raised his eyebrows.
"Erm, sorry for interrupting, guys," he raised his voice, "but, really, it's bad manners, you know, fighting in front of the victim."
"Not to mention dangerous," came the voice of Remus Lupin from behind.
"And totally pointless," Neville said from the other side.
"PETRIFICUS TOTALIS" said Hermione, showing common sense, and one of the Death Eaters fell to the ground.
Soon curses flew thick and fast, the surrounded Death Eaters putting up a good fight. Harry confused them by whipping out his wand as if he'd been waiting for the signal all along, but the true horror came when they realized Benjamin Lance was fighting…alongside Harry!
"Ben! Et tu, Brutu?" Rufus moaned.
Ben didn't reply, but sent a very powerful Stunner. Soon the Death Eaters were bound and gagged, and ready for delivery to the Aurors.
DAILY PROPHET
Death Eaters Apprehended at Hogwarts!
Yesterday afternoon, the majority of Death Eaters still at large were arrested after they attempted to assassinate Harry Potter, the Man Who Conquered, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Mr Potter escaped the attempt on his life unscathed, which is more then can be said for the Death Eaters.
Thanks to Mr Potter, the public can finally sleep soundly at night, knowing that the last of You Know Who's supporters are taken care of.
"Yet again, no praise for you, Severus," Harry said sadly, "no other then my own thanks. I owe you my life…again!"
"Ah, who's counting," Severus smiled, Polyjuice worn off. "Gah, I'm glad to be myself again, it was no fun being Lance, even if it was only for a little while."
"Still not ready to come out in the open, Severus?" Minerva asked.
He shook his head.
"No, Minerva. Maybe in time I'll be less frantic about people finding out, but for now…I have not only Death Eaters to fear, after all. There are still those on the side of the Light who would love to see me dead."
They sat in Harry's quarters, where Neville and Severus had spent the night. The others had joined them there for breakfast.
Ron had his arm in a sling due to a very nasty hex, but he would be fine in a few days. Hermione complained that it had already been difficult enough to keep him off his broom that very morning and wasn't sure if she could manage a few DAYS.
Severus smiled. "I have some plans, though. Finally. Brett will need someone to manage his affairs here, as he is not inclined to move back to England. So after Neville and I are done travelling, I will become his financial advisor. The Goblins couldn't care less if Severus Snape is alive or not and they're very good with secrets. It will be no problem."
He sighed. "Could I borrow an invisibility cloak? I'd like to go up to your office for a while, Minerva."
The witch smiled. "Of course. Just tell it 'Prepare for Lock Down' once you're in and no one will disturb you."
Harry's cloak covering his entire body, Severus made his way up to the office. He locked it down as Minerva had suggested before removing the cloak. He looked around and finally settled on the painting over the fireplace.
"Hello, my boy," the painted Dumbledore greeted him.
"Hello, father," he smiled, settling on the couch in front of the painting.
"Back already? It has only been a year, I thought you were going to stay away for two."
"Trouble. Benjamin Lance. Harry wrote about the project and mentioned his name. I recognized him as a Death Eater so Neville and I hurried over. It's taken care of now, the remaining Death Eaters have been caught."
"Ah, good. So you'll come back now?"
"Not yet. Next year. I'm not done travelling yet. I'm staying for a week before going back to America with Neville and our friend Brett. Who was born Ferdinand Nott. Perhaps you remember him."
"I do indeed. So the estate goes to him; I'm glad for it. And how have you been, my boy?" the painting's eyes twinkled merrily, "You look well."
"I am well, father. Or at least, on my way to being well." He hesitated. "I've been seeing someone to work through some issues. To find some peace of mind."
"I'm glad, Severus. You needed some help. Is that why you came up here to talk to me?"
Severus nodded. "I know it's not really you, but I figured it might help to say what I need to say to you instead of a slab of marble. Not to mention it would be distracting to see my own name on it."
"Of course, child."
"I love you, you know. I always have, and always will. But I have been so angry with you. I never allowed myself that, and I had to work through that these past months. You manipulated me into obeying you. You knew all my weak spots and you used them to make me do what you wanted me to do, knowing full well how little choice I had. I couldn't afford to be angry with you then. But I was, deep down inside. You did take way too much for granted. You wouldn't believe me when I said it before, but you did. Killing you…killing you nearly killed me, too. I love you, father, but you made me so mad."
The portrait nodded sadly, but did not reply.
Severus just sat there, staring at the fire, for a long while.
"It took me a while, but I have forgiven you now. I hope that means something to you…"
"It does, child, it does. I knew from the moment I asked you to kill me that you might not be able to forgive me. It means a lot to me that you do."
Severus sighed. "If only I had some way of letting you, the real you, know that."
"You will be able to tell me one day," the portrait said, "but I suspect, knowing me, that I keep an eye on you anyway, so I might already know. Have you forgiven yourself, as well, Severus?"
The potions master watched the flames lick the wood, and considered the question for a while before looking up at the portrait again. He smiled slightly.
"It's a long road yet, father, but I do think I'm getting there. I'm getting there."