-1A/N: Thank you Drama Queen04 and Cruciatus88 for their reviews. Special thanks to the Enchanted Cheesy Soybean, for all of his...uh...its reviews. And for having the greatest penname ever.

The Heir

Chapter 6

Snape's Worst Nightmare

"Did you see that scar?"

"Can you believe that he's fought real Dark wizards, and he's our age?"

"I bet Snape's got a few good cuts himself." The halls of Hogwarts rang with the praise for its new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Most could not believe that someone their age had fought real Dark wizards and lived to tell the tale.

"Harry's been doing that his whole life, though." It was Hermione, arguing with Ron over whether or not Holden was the most amazing wizard on the planet.

"Yeah, but Harry's never really been in the War. He's just kind of been thrown into battles and done the best he could. Holden has been on missions and stuff. I want to ask him about his battle with Snape. I bet Holden kicked his tail." Harry just sat in contemplative silence while they bickered. It was just like old times. After a minute of Hermione wondering what spells Holden had used and Ron just staring off into space dreamily, Harry spoke up.

"Why don't we go ask Holden about the battles he's been in." They all agreed and were joined on the way by Ginny and Gabrielle. They reached the DADA classroom to find Holden sitting in a chair by the fire, a pensieve by his side.

"Come in, come in. I was waiting for a few of my students to come ask me more questions." He was smiling his sick, twisted smile that reminded Harry so much of a young Tom Riddle. "Would you like any tea?" They all accepted, but when they drank, they automatically spit it out. Holden was laughing. "Ah, yes, I forgot. Brits do not take their tea like we do in the South. We drink it cold with as much sugar as is possible without making ourselves physically ill. Anyway, what would you like to know?"

"Well, we wanted to know about some of the battles you've been in." It was, surprisingly, Ron who spoke up.

"Particularly, the one with Snape, correct." They all nodded. "Well, I guessed those would be the questions, so I placed my memories in this pensieve. All of you gather round. Follow my lead." He placed a finger in the pensieve and a moment later, he was gone. They all followed suit, and Harry felt the now familiar sensation of falling. When they landed, they were outside a small church in a rural area.

"Welcome to Mississippi. We're only about a mile from my house. You can actually see Thomas' house from here." He pointed to a two story house in the middle of a small grove of trees. "And here I come." The Holden from the pensieve was walking up a small hill towards the church. Behind him were three others. One was Thomas. The older of the two others looked to be about nineteen or twenty. He was the definition of gangly, standing at about 6'4'', but without an ounce of muscle on him. The other looked even younger than Harry. He had shaggy brown hair that hung down in his eyes. He was stocky without being fat, but was nowhere near as big as Holden. "Cousins of mine. The skinny one is Eric. The shorter one is his brother Evan." They all looked scared to death, with the exception of Holden, who was walking casually.

They got to the church and sat at the door. The real Holden started walking up to the group and urged Harry and the others to follow. The Holden in the pensieve was putting charms on the patio outside the church that Hermione was explaining to them. "Those are to not only make the people behind them invisible, but impossible to detect." Holden nodded.

When the pensieve Holden finished he sat down beside the one named Evan and started talking to him casually. Evan looked like he was about to throw up, but Holden seemed almost bored. He was going on and on about a Quidditch game he had watched earlier that week. "I was trying to loosen him up. All three of them get so worked up." He chuckled as if it was just crazy to be scared before battle. "And here come the Death Eaters." The air was ringing with pops, and all around Harry there were people in skull masks. About fifty in all covered the churches parking lot. They did not even notice Holden and the others.

"When is this Snape feller gettin' here. Suppers gonna be cold."

"Hush up, Wilkes. He's got word from the Dark Lord."

"Well, I'm gettin' hungry."

"And don't say anything while Snape's here. We don't want him to think we're a bunch of hicks." The one named Wilkes shook his head and spit out a disgusting brown liquid. The Thomas in the pensieve was laughing.

"I call dibs on Ty." Thomas said, indicating the large Death Eater named Wilkes who appeared to have a liberal amount of tobacco in his bottom lip. A few moments passed with the Mississippian Death Eaters waiting in a large circle. They were having casual conversations about everything from Quidditch to hunting. The one called Ty was talking about seeing a big Chimera on his property. Hermione snorted.

"Do they really believe that there's a Chimera here?"

"Yes, because there are Chimeras here. I have seen a few myself. No one outside of Mississippi believes they are here. They just think that we are a bunch of ignorant hicks that enjoy making up stories to make ourselves seem more important. That is why you do not see it mentioned in your books on magical creatures."

"But-" Holden merely gave her a look that told her she was not going to prove him wrong, and she got quiet.

"And here comes Snape." A man with greasy black hair was walking up the hill that Holden and his unit had come up. He had three Death Eaters flanking him.

"Mr. Snape. It is an honor to meet the Dark Lord's most beloved follower." The one that had told Ty Wilkes to keep his mouth shut was speaking in his courtly accent. "My name is Stringer. Now, if you would be kind enough to tell us of what it is the Dark Lord needs."

Snape and the three Death Eaters flanking him moved to the center of the group. He turned to look at all the Death Eaters in turn. "I think you all know why I am here. There is one that is breaking up the Dark Lord's plans. One that is a large thorn in the side of the Dark Lord. He must be annihilated. You know of whom I speak."

"And what are we supposed to do? Don't you know if we coulda' killed him we woulda'? He's a pain in our side, too!" It was the one named Ty Wilkes. From somewhere to his right, someone muttered "Crucio!" and he fell to the cement, twitching and writhing.

"You must forgive my brother Mr. Snape. He is young and does not know when to hold his tongue." The Death Eater that spoke had wild eyes beneath his mask, though he spoke in a normal voice.

"Mr. Jeremiah Wilkes, I presume." The Death Eater nodded.. " The Dark Lord considers you one of his favorite followers. I understand you hold the record for Muggles killed?"

"The count stands at 987. Destroyed every one of those Muggle department stores within a 100 mile radius. Of course, I enjoy torture more than killing." This was already obvious to the entire group, and they shifted uncomfortably.

"Don't we all. You may release your brother." He followed the command a little reluctantly. "How could someone enjoy torturing their brother this much?" Harry wondered silently. He shuddered at the thought.

"The Dark Lord has asked me to present you with this assignment. Kill the Heir. Use all of the Death Eaters at your command. Do whatever it takes. That is all." The Heir? Harry had been sure they were talking about him. What was he the Heir to? And then it hit him- Dumbledore. He was the heir to the work Dumbledore had started.

Before Harry had time to finish his thoughts, pensieve Holden and pensieve Thomas had jumped out from their hiding spot. Their two compatriots followed suit quickly. "Kill them now," yelled Snape. His voice held no fear, but his face was wide with shock. None of the Death Eaters heeded his command, however. Ty jumped off the ground, where he had been nursing his wounds, and started to run but was caught from behind by his brother, who looked livid. Many of the more intelligent Death Eaters decided to Disapparate rather than run. Only about twenty remained, and most of them seemed like they were just too scared to move. Jeremiah Wilkes, however, immediately stepped forward.

"Crucio!" His voice rang out against the stunned silence. He hit Holden square in the chest. Nothing happened. "Crucio! Crucio! Crucio! Why won't it work?" The Holden laughed.

"I am much too powerful for you, Wilkes." The other three took this as cue to start the battle. They started firing off curses at every Death Eater in sight. Thomas started with a simple "Expelliarmus", then followed with Binding Jinxes. The two brothers Eric and Evan were firing off jinxes in tandem, mainly Binding, adding anti-Apparition charms. Harry was impressed; they were using simple but effective spells against the Death Eaters, and were doing well. Then he saw Holden. Holden was muttering some incantation under his breath with his wand pointed to the sky. He seemed to crackle with energy. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning stuck the ground in front of Snape. He and his entourage were thrown high into the air. When they landed, only Snape was alive.

"That one on the left was McNair. The one on the right was Rodolphus Lestrange. I think you have heard of them. The other one, the one in the middle, was a wizard named Art Collsworm. From Ireland." Harry watched, horrified, as Holden casually cast Avada Kedavra, the Killing Curse, at all the live Death Eaters that the others had not already rounded up. He walked toward Snape, who was sprawled on the ground, bleeding. Snape saw Holden coming, and smiled.

"Sectumsempra!" A large gash appeared on Holden's shirt. Holden fell to his knees, blood gushing everywhere. He was paling quickly. "Just as I thought. You used a protection charm. A very powerful protection charm- but you only protected yourself against the Cruciatus Curse, which seems to be a favorite here in Mississippi." Snape mustered all of his energy and stood over Holden's bleeding form. "But you never expected another of the Dark curses." He smiled cruelly. Then Holden smiled his sinister smile. He drew his wand across his chest, and the bleeding stopped. He raised his wand to Snape

"Crucio!" Snape then fell to his knees, then could not even hold himself up on like that, and started writhing on the ground, screaming and flailing. "You are right. We are partial to the Cruciatus Curse around here." He was smiling coldly. Harry shivered at the sight. He looked over to see Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had their mouths open slightly. Gabrielle was holding on to the back of the real Holden's cloak, covering her eyes. They had had little experience in battle, so the sight of seeing so many dead and one being tortured, even though they were evil people, was almost too much for them to take. There were silent tears streaming down Ginny's face.

Thomas in the pensieve seemed horrified at what he was seeing. "Holden, that's enough." Holden ignored him. His face was contorted in his sick smile. "I said that's ENOUGH!" Harry was shocked at the normally goofy Thomas' anger. Power radiated off his roommate. Holden merely looked at him. Thomas sighed and raised his wand and muttered sadly "Expelliarmus." Holden's wand flew into his hand. Snape took a great shuddering breath, and disappeared with a small pop.

"What do you think you are doing!" yelled Holden. "You just let the Dark Lord's most faithful follower get away!"

"Holden, you can't just torture someone without reason! You-" But Thomas' words faded as Harry and the others found themselves in Holden's office.

"Not so excited about war, are we now?" No one said anything. Thomas was pacing again, looking at them calculatingly. "You see what you have to be willing to do to be a good soldier." Hermione and Ginny were crying, and Ron was shaking all over. Holden looked irate. "You three are supposed to be members of The Order of the Phoenix! You must get accustomed to seeing those spells used all the time from now on! You cannot break down like this on the battlefield!" Gabrielle, who Harry, and obviously Holden, had forgotten was there, cried a great, shuddering sob. A strange emotion- could it have been pity?- crossed his face. "I am so sorry Gabrielle. I should not have reacted like that. You have not been through all I have, nor should you have to." He, to Harry's amazement, placed a loving arm around Gabrielle. She smiled at the touch. "You should go to bed before curfew. Oh, and Harry." Harry stopped just short of the door. "Your training starts Saturday at 6:00. Right after supper. Goodnight, all."

The five walked silently towards Gryffindor Tower, all looking gloomy. Finally Ginny spoke up. "You know what was the worst about all that?" No one answered her question. "I actually enjoyed watching him do that to Snape. Somewhere deep inside of me, it seemed- I don't know- fitting. And that scares the crap out of me."

Harry shuddered. He had had almost the exact same thought, and the others must have too, because they were nodding, with the exception of Gabrielle, who was still smiling slightly. In his darkest regions, he felt like Snape deserved what he got. He shuddered again. He did not want to go down that road. He did not want to become what he saw in that pensieve.

Okay, I have done my part. I wrote the darn thing. Now, you, the reader, must do your part and review. I have watched you read this story (yes I am omnipotent. Deal with it. I even saw you that time...well, I won't embarrass you like that on the Internet. But I was there.), and I will know if you don't review. So click the button and type something. I'm not picky. Tell me my story sucks. Tell me you think I'm ugly. Tell me I misspelled "I." I don't care. Just click that little button and spend all of fifteen seconds reviewing.