Severus Snape and the Reluctant Hero

Disclaimer: All characters in this story (except for Ravenna...Snape) belong to JKR, not me. This is my take on how our beloved Severus Snape came to be the way he is. Pre HBP but with elements from same. This is my version of year 6.

Chapter Fourteen

Retaliation

Several weeks passed by with increasing worry. Albus had received word that three Ministry of Magic employees had been found murdered, as well as several Muggle families in different locations through out England. Albus figured now that the Order was aware that Voldemort had been hiding out in his father's home he was trying to throw them off the trail of where he was now hiding. What Albus did not know is that Voldemort had taken over a house in Hogsmeade.

Remus had adequately recovered from his prolonged stay with Voldemort and had been settled into an apartment down the concealed corridor beyond the Potions classroom and the rooms attached to Severus's apartment had been cleaned and were now ready for Ravenna's return to the castle.

Albus had just taken his seat at the teacher's table in the Great Hall for dinner when the doors opened. The entire hall quieted as Severus walked swiftly down the center of the room, heading to the teacher's table. Albus stood and clapped his hands together once. "Severus, so glad to have you back." He said happily. Severus just bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement and took his seat. As he sat he glared at Moody who was sitting in his wife's seat. He then scanned the hall quickly, stopping momentarily to make direct eye contact with Harry. Harry stared back for a moment, then blinked and redirected his gaze to Ginny, who was looking at him intently.

"What was that about?" She whispered quietly in his ear, causing Ron to scowl.

"Nothing." Harry replied. He then turned back towards Bill who was telling them all about a particularly nasty curse he helped to break in Egypt.

As soon as dinner was finished Draco and Lucius walked swiftly from the Great Hall, Draco headed towards the dungeons, Lucius left through the main entrance. Albus smiled as he watched Lucius depart. "It would seem you shall be leaving shortly Severus." He said quietly. Severus just nodded in reply.

Severus remained seated as the hall cleared. When everyone was gone he rose and left through the door behind the table and headed straight to Albus's office. He had just reached the gargoyle when he felt the burning on his forearm. With a chuckle he gave the password and quickly walked up the spiral staircase. The office door was open and he paused at the threshold. Albus looked up from his desk and chuckled. "Judging by the look on your face, you have come to tell me you have been summoned." Severus just nodded his head in response. "Ravenna will be arriving here within the hour, once the corridors are clear Molly will escort her and the baby down to your apartment."

"I shall return as quickly as I can. I am going to tell him I am being watched closely and try to convey it will be difficult to report directly. He will probably send Luther to the castle as well."

"We shall be prepared. Try to find out what the attack is and when it will be."

"I will find out all I can and be back as quickly as possible."

"Severus. Do take care, your wife and daughter will be anxiously awaiting your return." Albus said with a smile.

Hogsmeade

Severus had borrowed one of Moody's invisibility cloaks and headed to the gate of the castle. Once he cleared the grounds he disapparated. He was surprised to find he had appeared in a back alley outside a rundown house. He knocked firmly on the door in front of him and waited impatiently for the door to open. As it did he opened the front of the cloak just enough for the person answering the door to see him. Quickly, the man stepped aside and allowed Severus to enter. "What is the meaning of this Snape?" McNair barked harshly.

"I have been summoned." Severus growled in reply.

"Of that, I am aware. I mean the cloak."

"I had to take precautions. I am being watched closely."

McNair nodded and gestured for Severus to follow. He scanned the house carefully as he followed. When McNair stopped and knocked on a closed door Severus quickly cleared him mind.

"Snape!" Voldemort hissed in delight as the door opened. "I am so pleased to see you have finally been released."

"Thank you my Lord. It is good to be back." Severus replied as he knelt.

"Do come in and tell me."

Severus rose and entered the room, sitting in the chair Voldemort had gestured to. "My Lord, the Ministry took me into custody for questioning regarding the incident involving Miss Hermione Granger in class. They are under the impression that the accident was a deliberate attempt on her life. When I informed them that I had nothing to do with it they did not believe me. They said that after a full investigation they found that some of the ingredients she used were mislabeled. It took Dumbledore quite some time to convince them that it was most likely carelessness on the part of a student."

"I see." Voldemort said coldly as he glared at Lucius.

"I must also tell you that they are still watching me closely. I had to steal this cloak to insure I was not seen leaving the castle again."

"Are you suspect?" Voldemort asked cautiously.

"I can only assume so. Dumbledore's appointment of Alastor Moody to take my wife's job is a strong indication that the Ministry is watching the school closely."

"That old fool still thinks he will win." Voldemort sneered. "No matter, this is just a minor set back. You will report through Lucius or Luther. Since they both have children there I will use them to convey messages. Do not return here again."

"As you command, my Lord." Severus said as he stood.

"Take heart Snape. The time draws near. Your wife's death will soon be avenged."

"Thank you, my Lord." Severus said as he left the room. He then securely wrapped himself in the invisibility cloak and left. Since he knew he could not be seen he walked down the alley trying to get an idea of where he was. As he came to the end of the alley he was alarmed. Several blocks down he saw the Hog's Head Inn. Immediately he apparated to the Hogwarts gate and ran to the castle. Once inside the castle he headed directly for the Headmaster's office. He was relieved to find the gargoyle has already moved aside and the spiral staircase was clear. He ascended quickly and stopped just outside Albus's door.

"Come in, Severus." Albus said as he opened the door. As soon as Severus had entered and the door closed he dropped the cloak.

"How in the bloody hell did you know I was there? Can you see through solid objects and invisibility cloaks?" Severus barked.

"Severus, do watch your language. There are young ears about." Albus said with a smile. Severus stared at him for a moment before realization dawned on him.

"Where are they?"

"Upstairs, in my private study. Before you go, what did you learn?"

"The attack should come at any time now, but I do not know what it is. More importantly, they have taken up base in Hogsmeade." Albus nodded gravely.

"Were you able to convince him it is dangerous for you to be summoned?"

"I believe so, he said he will have Malfoy and Bloodworth communicate with me."

"Most excellent! Now, off with you. Your wife and daughter are waiting." Albus said as he guided Severus towards the staircase.

Severus ran up the stairs, anxious to see Ravenna. When he entered the study he paused. Remus was sitting next to her and they were both laughing. He remained standing in the doorway watching as Remus put his arm around her and kissed her. "What is going on here?" Severus said harshly.

"Severus." Remus said as he pulled his arm away and stood. "Congratulations to you both, you have a beautiful daughter." He concluded as he crossed the room to shake his hand.

Severus just glared at him for a moment before taking his hand. "Yes, she is. Thank you." He responded coolly.

"I cannot tell you how relieved I am to see that Ravenna is alive and well. I was convinced I had killed her."

Before Severus could respond Ravenna had crossed the room and greeted him with a quick but passionate kiss. When the kiss ended Severus looked again at Remus and relaxed when he saw him smiling widely.

"Remus, I am sorry for the way I treated you while you were at Riddle Manor."

"Think nothing of it. We all have our roles to play, don't we?"

"That we do." Severus said absently as he looked back down at his wife.

"If you will forgive me, it is getting late. I should be getting back down to my rooms." Remus said as he again shook Severus's hand and kissed Ravenna on the cheek.

They both watched as Remus left the room. Ravenna then wrapped her free arm around Severus's neck and pulled him in for another kiss. "You have nothing to be jealous of my love." She said as she looked directly into his eyes.

Severus just looked at her, astonished. "How on earth did you know?"

"I saw the look in your eyes."

"Am I that easy to read?"

"Only for me. You know I love you very much, don't you?"

"I do."

"And don't you ever forget that." She said as she lightly slapped him in the ribs.

"Come, we should get you both down to the dungeon before she wakes up." Severus said as he put his arm around her shoulder and nodded towards Lilly. Ravenna nodded and allowed herself to be guided towards the stairs. With a quick goodnight to Albus they quickly set off to Severus's apartment. Once inside they continued through to the rooms beyond.

Ravenna gasped softly. She had not remembered these rooms looking so like home.

"I hope you do not mind, I took the liberty of having our bed brought here. I thought you would be more comfortable." Severus said with a smile.

"You are such a love." She said as she kissed him again. "Let me put her down and I will show you how much I appreciate it." Ravenna gently placed Lilly into her bassinet and returned to Severus's side. Severus pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her passionately. After several moments he slowly pulled away.

"I am so sorry, my love. I should not have done that." He said quietly, still panting slightly.

"Don't be silly. Why shouldn't you have?" She responded breathlessly. He just shook his head wryly. "Don't tell me you don't want to make love to me."

"Of course I do, more than ever."

"Than what is stopping you?" She asked seductively.

"It has only been…"

"A month." She finished his sentence for him.

"Is that long enough?"

"It has been too long if you ask me."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Severus my love, you could never do that."

"If you are sure…"

"Quite." She responded as she pulled him to her for another kiss. Severus responded by holding her close for several moments before lifting her up and carrying her to the bed.

Ravenna woke several hours later to the sound of Lilly crying. She lifted her head from Severus's chest and gently rolled over.

"What's wrong?" Severus said groggily.

"Sounds like she is hungry. Go back to sleep, you have classes in a couple of hours." Ravenna responded as she got out of bed and took the baby from her bassinet. She started to head towards the sofa in the other room when Severus put his arm around her and guided her back to the bed.

"Stay here." He said quietly as he kissed her on the neck.

"But you need to rest."

"As do you, come back to bed. You can feed her and I can hold you." He said lovingly. She knew there was no sense in arguing with him. She slowly climbed back into the bed and leaned back against him as she put the baby to her breast.

Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place

Arthur had just returned from duty at the Ministry of Magic, tired and hungry. "Evening all, what's left to eat?" He said as he entered the kitchen.

"Meatballs." Molly responded.

"Molly! Where in the name of Merlin's beard have you been? I was worried about you." He said as he crossed the room to kiss his wife.

"I have been at Hogwarts, helping to take care of Remus."

"Dumbledore told us he had been freed. How is he?"

"He is coming along nicely. You don't look so good though." She said in a motherly voice. Arthur had appeared to have lost a great deal of weight.

"Things at the Ministry have been tough. Difficult to know who is who anymore. I think they may have even gotten to Fudge." Arthur said gravely.

"Yes, well. We can discuss that later. Tuck in now." She said as she steered him to the table.

Just as Arthur took a bite Shacklebolt came quickly into the room. "I have just received word from Moody that Death Eaters are gathering in force in Hogsmeade. We need to get there, NOW!"

Instantly the entire gathering stood and apparated to Hogsmeade, when they arrived they were stunned to find all was quiet. "I don't understand this." Kingsley said.

"Are you sure that Moody wasn't exaggerating again. He probably spotted a group of people standing around and jumped to the wrong conclusion." Someone said.

"Yeah, you know how suspicious he is of everything." Another shouted.

"Nevertheless…" Arthur said calmly "let's have a look around before we go back." Several of the gathering moaned but went ahead and searched the streets.

An hour later they all met up outside the Three Broomsticks. All found the village quiet and peaceful.

"Must have been another of Moody's false alarms." One of them commented.

"Perhaps." Arthur said worriedly. "Let's get back to Headquarters and contact Dumbledore." Seconds later the entire gathering disappeared.

When all were gone a lone hooded figure stepped out from the side of the tavern and laughed quietly.

Hogwarts, next morning

"Albus, I can assure you I was not in touch with anyone last night. After dinner I came back here, graded some papers and went to bed." Moody said in his gravelly voice.

"Than we have a bigger problem than I thought." Albus said absently. "Let's get to breakfast, shall we?"

Albus and Moody left the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom together and headed to the Great Hall. They were just entering the Great Hall when Luther Bloodworth entered the castle.

"You there, where can I find my children?" Luther called to them.

Albus and Moody both turned to face the voice that had called to them. "Good morning to you, Luther is it?" Albus said, Moody growled.

"Professor Dumbledore, I didn't recognize you." Luther said in a barely respectful tone.

"I believe you know where the Slytherin table is. You will most assuredly find them there. This way." Albus concluded as he gestured with his and for Luther to enter the Great Hall.

Luther nodded his head slightly and passed them, looking for his children.

Severus had watched the exchange from his seat at the end of the Great Hall. When Luther saw him he nodded his head and then located his children and sat with them. Severus nodded back and then continued to eat his breakfast.

Ginny had been watching Professor Snape with interest. She knew there was something going on with him and Harry, but no one would tell her what. "Harry, did you see Snape nod to that man over there?" She whispered in his ear.

"What man?" Harry said as he looked at her.

"Him, the one sitting with the Bloodworths." Harry turned to look toward the Slytherin table.

"Never seen him before." Harry said as he took another bite of his eggs.

"I'll bet you anything he is another Death Eater." She whispered back.

"Just let it go Ginny." Harry said quietly.

Ginny was just about to turn away when she saw the man turn around and stare directly at Harry's back. He then whispered something to Nicholas Bloodworth and Nicholas nodded. The look on the strange man's face scared her.

"Harry, I think he means to do you harm." She said quietly.

Harry turned around to look again at the man, who was glaring at him. Harry stared back until Luther turned around.

"Thanks for watching my back." Harry said as he looked back at Ginny. She smiled in response. Ron and Hermione, who were sitting opposite Harry, watched the exchange. Ron was scowling.

"What?" Harry said as he looked at Ron.

"Nothing." Ron said around a mouth full of toast. Hermione smiled.

"Harry?" Ginny said quietly.

"Huh?"

"Would you like to take a walk with me at lunch?" Ginny asked nervously.

"Where?"

"How about by the lake?" Harry looked at Ron before answering. Ron reluctantly nodded his head.

"Yeah, that would be great." He finally responded.

As they finished breakfast the students began heading to their classes. Ginny walked with Harry, Ron and Hermione as they left the Great Hall. She bid them good-bye as she headed towards Potions. Once she was gone Ron looked at Hermione.

"Harry" Hermione started "you do know that Ginny likes you, right?"

"Yeah, I like her too." Harry said quietly.

"No Harry, I mean she LIKES you."

Harry stared at her blankly for a moment. "But she has a boyfriend."

"Not anymore." Ron said happily.

"They broke up." Hermione added.

"Why?" Harry asked hopefully.

"I just told you, because she likes you."

"Really?"

"You know Harry, you really are thick sometimes." Ron said.

Remus sat bolt upright in the bed. He had been woken by a knock on his door. "Just a moment." he called as he rose from the bed put on his robe. He then crossed the room and opened the door.

"Breakfast love?" Tonks asked as she entered the room, tray of food in hands.

"What are you doing here?" Remus asked.

"I already told you, breakfast." She said with a smile as she placed the tray on the coffee table. "Sit down and eat while it's still hot."

Remus remained standing by the door, shaking his head wryly. When he didn't move, Tonks crossed the room to stand in front of him.

"You need to eat love." She said quietly as she wrapped her arm around his back and tried to guide him to the sofa. He responded by pulling her into a firm hug.

"I have missed you so." He whispered against her neck.

"Not as much as I have missed you. I was so worried." She said through a sob. He responded by holding her tighter against him.

Harry sat at the table with Ron and Hermione waiting for Ginny to arrive. When she finally did she tossed her bag on the bench and took a deep breath. "Sorry I'm late. Potions ran long." She said as she threw a few pieces of meat on a slice of bread.

"S'okay." Harry said as he watched Ginny make her sandwich.

"Ready?" She asked quietly as she wrapped her sandwich in a napkin and lifted her bag.

"Let's go." Harry said as he stood grabbing his own bag.

They walked quietly out onto the grounds. Ginny was just about to speak when Harry stopped walking.

"Harry, what's wrong?" She asked quietly.

"Hermione says you like me."

"She does?"

"Is that true?"

"That depends on how you feel about it." She said with a smile.

Harry looked at her for a moment before answering. "Well, at first I saw you only as my best friend's sister." Ginny dropped her head. "But lately" he continued as he lifted her chin with his finger "I have seen you as a wonderful girl." He concluded with a smile.

"Really!" She said disbelievingly.

"Really." He said and then kissed her.

They continued to walk, hand in hand, around the lake until the end of lunch. When they got back to the castle Harry kissed her again then headed towards the dungeons for Potions class.

Ron and Hermione were already in the classroom when Harry arrived. He was late. "So nice of you to join us Mr. Potter. See me after class." Severus said in his cold, silky voice. Draco sniggered as Harry shook his head and took his seat.

Potions class had been difficult and Harry again got a zero for his potion. When class was over Ron and Hermione waited just outside the classroom door while Harry went to Severus's desk.

"In my office." Severus said coolly.

Harry followed and did not speak until Severus had closed the office door.

"I am sorry I was late, sir." Harry said quietly.

"Don't you mean Severus? We are alone here." Severus said with a small smile.

"Are you okay? I have been worried about you."

"I am fine Harry, just a minor mix up. How have you been?"

Harry just shrugged. Severus so wanted to share with Harry that Ravenna was alive and well but knew he could not.

"You have been keeping yourself out of trouble?"

"Yes."

"Then why were you late to class?" Harry blushed. "Does it have anything to do with Miss Weasley?" Severus said with a smile.

"Yeah." Harry responded with a smile.

Severus stepped around his desk and put his arm around Harry's shoulder. "Don't let this get in the way of what you need to do. Remember to prepare yourself every night, and don't allow yourself to be alone. There are several Death Eaters here in the castle. You must be cautious."

"I will be. And I am glad you are back." Harry said as he wrapped his arm around Severus's back.

"Off to dinner with you." Severus said as he gently nudged Harry towards the door.

As the days passed the atmosphere in the castle became tenser. End of term exams were rapidly approaching. In addition there were more false reports of increased Death Eater activities. The Ministry and the Order were having difficulty keeping up.

Severus was becoming increasingly concerned about Harry. He had noticed not less than ten Death Eaters in the castle daily. He also knew he was being deliberately left out of what was going on. Several times he had attempted to get information from Lucius in the Slytherin common room and was told there is nothing to share with him.

After dinner Severus had returned to his apartment and was surprised to find Ravenna waiting for him. "What are you doing in here?" He asked as he approached her for a kiss.

"I was waiting for you." She said seductively.

Severus smiled widely. "You don't know how happy that makes me." He whispered against her neck. After several moments she pulled away from him.

"Come on." She said as she pulled him by the wrist to her rooms beyond his apartment. Severus followed willingly.

Once they were settled in and had changed for bed Severus spoke again. "It would seem that things are going well between Harry and Ginny Weasley."

"What are you talking about?" Ravenna said curiously.

"I cannot believe I have forgotten to tell you. Harry has a girlfriend."

"Really, that's wonderful." She replied happily, then she frowned.

"I know love, I want to tell him too." He said as he pulled her into an embrace.

"Do you think we will ever be able to tell him?" She said sadly.

Severus did not know how to answer. He knew well they could not tell anyone she was alive as long as the Dark Lord was.

They quietly readied themselves for bed and Severus held her close. Their lovemaking was interrupted by pounding on Severus's apartment door. He quickly rose and slipped on his dressing gown.

Ravenna was sitting up in the bed when he entered the room. He quickly changed from hisdressing gownto his clothes as he explained the school was under attack.

Ravenna jumped from the bed and began to dress as well.

"What do you think you are doing?" Severus said abruptly.

"I'm coming with you."

"Absolutely not! You need to stay here with Lilly."

"Severus, please." She pleaded.

"Please Rae, stay here and keep her safe. I love you." He said as he kissed her briefly. He then kissed his daughter on the forehead and left. Ravenna stared at the door Severus had just passed through.

A/N: Sorry for the 'cliffie' (as my daughter likes to call them). The next chapter has been very difficult for me to write and I had to re-write it several times to get it right...