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 Fifteen
Return of the Dementors
Severus ran quickly from the dungeons. As he entered the entry way to the castle he was immediately alarmed. Lying on the floor were several bodies. Poppy was working frantically over one of them. Spotting Minerva standing near the door he ran to her. "What's happened?"
"We are under attack. These Aurors were ambushed at the gate."
"How have they been able to get in? What about the protection charms on the castle walls?"
"It would seem that You-Know-Who has found a way to break the charms. The Ministry has been notified and the Order members in Hogsmeade are on their way."
"Where's Albus?"
"He's out there." Minerva said anxiously as she pointed out the door. Severus drew his wand and ran out of the castle and was distressed by what he saw. There were at least fifty robed and masked Death Eaters rapidly crossing the grounds, heading directly toward him. He was even more alarmed when he heard footsteps from behind. Spinning around he saw students, lead by Harry, running toward him.
"Potter, get back in the castle, NOW!" He shouted. Harry ignored him and ran past, followed closely by Ron, Hermione, Ginny and many other D.A. members. Severus remained standing at the entryway to the castle until he saw the curses flying towards the students below. He ran down the stairs, throwing curses back as he went. He had just caught up to Harry and the others when a curse passed right over his left shoulder. He quickly responded with a curse of his own and then grabbed Harry by the shoulder. "You must get back into the castle. The Dark Lord is likely to be out there."
"I can't let my friends die while I am hiding from him." Harry responded.
"You won't be hiding; you will be waiting until the time is right for all of this to end. We cannot risk you being injured or killed by one to these Death Eaters." Severus said almost pleading. Harry thought about it for a moment before nodding his head slightly.
Severus sighed in relief and then gasped in pain. He had been hit in the back by a curse that caused him to fall to his knees.
"Severus!" Harry shouted as he tried to help him up.
"Let me be! You must get back inside." He responded in a pain filled voice. "Weasley, Granger! Escort Potter back to the castle now! He shouted as he pushed himself up from the ground.
Hermione, Ron and Ginny came running to where Harry stood. Severus had just gotten to his feet. "Take him back now!" He growled at them as he spun around.
Ginny and Hermione each grabbed one of Harry's arms and pulled him back to the castle, Ron followed directly behind Harry.
Severus briefly looked over his shoulder to ensure Harry was returning to the castle, then turned back to the mêlée. He was relieved to see that members of The Order of the Phoenix were arriving through the main gate and were diverting the attention of the Death Eaters away from the students. Several yard ahead to his right he spotted two Death Eaters facing off against Neville Longbottom. He threw a curse at the masked attackers causing one to fall to the ground unconscious. Neville quickly dispatched the other. Severus ran quickly to Neville's side. "Get back to the castle, help has arrived." He barked as he shoved Neville in the direction of the castle. He then yanked the robe and mask off the downed man and quickly put them on. Now disguised he looked again around the grounds. He spotted Luther Bloodworth about twenty yards to his right, apparently trying to find another way into the castle. Quickly he gave chase, not noticing the air around him getting colder.
Ravenna paced anxiously around her room. She did not like the idea of hiding out while Severus and the others were risking their lives. She quickly called for Winky and asked her to watch after Lilly and then left her room, going farther down the concealed corridor to where Remus was staying. She knocked firmly on the closed door and waited impatiently for Remus to answer. When he did he was surprised to see her. "What's wrong?" He asked roughly.
"Severus was just called away; he said the castle is under attack."
"Then I have to get out there!" He said quickly as he went back into the room. "I am just going to change and I'll be right out."
"I'll be in my room." She responded quickly as she ran back down the hall. She quickly changed into her black pants, jacket and robe. She had just finished dressing when Remus entered the outer room.
"What do you think you are doing?" Remus said as she joined him.
"I am going with you." She responded firmly.
"You cannot risk being seen, they all think you are dead."
"No one will see me." She responded as she grabbed something from the hook behind the door.
"Ravenna…" Remus said and then huffed as he watched her wrap an invisibility cloak around herself. "I am not going to win this argument, am I?" He finished as he watched the door open.
They quickly ran down the corridor to the stairs that lead out of the dungeons. Once they had reached the main level of the castle they could hear the commotion outside. Remus paused at the entryway of the castle to dispense with a Death Eater who was trying to enter; Ravenna ran past them and headed quickly down the stairs. She spotted Harry being dragged towards the castle and two Death Eaters who were giving chase. She raised her wand and pointed it directly at them, knocking them both out cold. Harry and the others were still quite a ways away from the castle and more Death Eaters were rapidly approaching. Ravenna quickly ran down the stairs when she was hit by a stray curse that knocked her to the ground just beside the stairs.
Albus and Tonks met Moody, Kingsley, Elfhias and Hestia at the gate. Kingsley informed Albus that reinforcements were on the way. Then they all headed towards the group of Death Eaters that were rapidly crossing the grounds toward the castle. It did not take long for the battle to ensue. Moody was the first to go down, followed quickly by Hestia. Tonks quickly checked to see if there was anything she could do for them, but she found they were both dead. Taking a deep breath she rejoined the battle. She had been steadily fighting her way through, immobilizing several Death Eaters when she took a moment to look ahead to the castle. She had spotted Lupin come into view in the doorway. She watched for a moment more as he began to duel and was horrified to see him fall to the floor. "Remus!" She shouted as she ran towards the castle. She had made it about halfway to the castle when she fell to the ground – dead.
Bill Weasley dropped to his knees beside Tonks, followed by his brothers Fred and George. "She's dead." He said quietly. Before he had even had a chance to stand he too had been killed, along with Fred. George spun around and threw a curse at the Death Eaters who were approaching. He was almost completely surrounded when several of them fell to the ground.
Fred breathed a sigh of relief when he came face to face with Luna Lovegood, Terry Boots and Seamus Finnegan. "Quick, they're after Harry!" Seamus shouted. Immediately they all headed toward the castle.
Dozens of Aurors began apparating and were flooding through the Hogwarts gate. Quickly the ground was littered with the bodies of students and Death Eaters. Severus finally caught up to Bloodworth and grabbed him by the back of his robes. Luther spun around and pointed his wand at the masked Severus. When he saw the mask he lowered his wand.
Severus slowly removed the mask from his face and lowered his hood. "Where are you going?" He asked harshly. "The way in is this way."
Luther glared at him for a moment. "I was ordered to find another way in." He barked back and continued in the direction he had been going.
Severus raised his wand at Luther and hit him with a stunning spell. Luther fell to the ground face first, then rolled over quickly and pointed his wand at Severus.
"I knew you were a traitor!" He shouted as he attempted to hit Severus with a curse. Severus quickly blocked the curse. Luther leapt to his feet and the duel began. Luther was becoming increasingly desperate. He was loosing ground against Severus, and beginning to fear for his life.
"You shall pay for what you have done to my wife." Severus shouted as Luther attempted to run. Pointing his wand directly at Luther he thought 'levicorpus'. Instantly Luther was hanging upside down in midair.
"Let me down!" He yelled as Severus approached.
"Not until you have gotten a taste of your own medicine." Severus growled maliciously. 'Sectumsempra' he thought as he waived his wand back and forth, causing great gashes to appear across Luther's back.
Luther let out a great scream of pain as the gashes opened. "She's still alive, isn't she?"
Severus just smiled as he watched the blood flowing freely towards the ground. He was just about to release Luther from the spell when he let out a terrified scream. Severus spun around to see Dementors closing rapidly on him. He attempted to conjure a patronus when Luther hit him in the back with a curse, causing his wand to fly out of his hand. Before Severus had a chance to call for his wand, a Dementor was right in front of him. The last thing Severus heard before he received the Dementors kiss was Ravenna's voice yelling his name.
Ravenna regained consciousness slowly, and was in a great deal of pain. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She sat up quickly as she heard the sounds of the battle. She stood and wrapped the cloak more securely around herself. It only took her a moment to scan the grounds and locate Harry. Alarmed, she raised her wand and shot several curses at the Death Eaters who were following quickly behind Harry and his friends. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw them fall, and several Order members gaining ground on them. She climbed the stairs so she could get a better view of what was happening. She had just reached the top step when she heard a scream off to the right. Looking in that direction she was horrified to see Severus facing off against Luther, and several Dementors rapidly closing in on them. She was momentarily distracted by a curse just missing her to the left. She looked back towards Severus again just in time to see a Dementor swoop down upon him. "SEVERUS!" she yelled as she watched the Dementor closed in on her husband. Quickly she shed her invisibility cloak, tucking it into her robe, and began running as quickly as she could down the stairs intent on saving her husband. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" she yelled and watched a great silver gryffin erupt from the end of her wand. It flew swiftly towards Severus, but was too late. She watched in horror as the Dementor administered its terrible kiss on Severus. For several seconds time seemed to stop, then Severus fell to the ground as the Dementor released him and moved in on Luther. Ravenna fell to her knees, unable to believe what she had just witnessed.
"Quickly, there's Potter!" Someone yelled to Ravenna's left. She jumped to her feet and charged after several Death Eaters that were approaching Harry. With a wave of her hand she knocked three of them to the ground.
Hermione and Ginny, still dragging Harry along, were almost to the stairs to the castle when they stopped. Harry yelled "Ron!" Hermione released Harry's arm and spun around just in time to see Ron fall to the ground. She ran to him, dropped to her knees and rolled him onto his back.
"Ron, please wake up." She cried as she continued to shake him. With tears in her eyes she looked back to Ginny and Harry. "He's dead." She whispered.
Ginny stared blankly at Ron for a moment before she turned to Harry. Harry pulled her close as she began to cry. For several more moments they all remained where they stood, until Harry heard footsteps rapidly approaching. He released Ginny and reached for his wand. Ginny, seeing him draw his wand, drew hers as well.
"Hurry, all of you. Into the castle." Ravenna shouted as she gained ground on them.
"Professor Gryffin!" Hermione shouted as she stood.
"Ravenna!" Harry shouted as he ran towards her. He came to a halt directly in front of her and stared. "Is it really you?" He asked breathlessly.
"Yes, it's me." She said as she pulled him in for a hug. "Now, let's go." She released him and pulled him back towards the castle. They had only gone a few steps when they saw Ginny and Hermione being held by Death Eaters.
"Let them go!" Harry shouted as he raised his wand.
"Harry, get back. Let me take care of this." Ravenna said as she pulled him behind her. She then drew her wand and pointed it directly at the Death Eater restraining Ginny. Before she had a chance to throw a curse she fell to the ground.
Harry watched as Ravenna fell and then raised his wand again. Before he could do anything the wand flew from his hand.
"So good to see you again Harry." Voldemort hissed from directly behind him. Harry spun quickly to face him. He took a step back away from Voldemort and tripped over Ravenna, falling hard to the ground.
As Harry fell to the ground, Hermione and Ginny began struggling against their captors. Ginny had managed to escape and was running toward Harry when someone from behind her yelled 'Incarcerous'. She fell to the ground – completely bound – just out of Harry's reach. Harry started to crawl towards her when Hermione's screams caused him to stop. He looked towards her, watching in horror as she was being hit repeatedly by Cruciatus curses. "STOP!" He yelled as he climbed to his feet. Voldemort raised his hand toward the Death Eaters who were torturing Hermione. She fell to the ground, sobbing quietly.
Ravenna struggled frantically, trying to free herself from the Petrificus Totalus curse she had been hit with. Concentrating deeply she thought to herself 'Finite Incantatem'. Cautiously, she turned her head slightly in Voldemort's direction just in time to feel Harry trip over her. It took everything she had to keep from crying out as he fell over her. She continued to watch Voldemort; to be sure he hadn't noticed she had freed herself. Sure he hadn't noticed, she rolled her head in the opposite direction in time to see the Death Eaters nearest Hermione raising their wands. When Harry stood she knew she had to step in. Quickly she leapt to her feet and pointed her wand directly at Voldemort.
"Madam Snape." He hissed with disgust. "You have a nasty habit of returning from the dead."
"As do you." She growled back. "I will not allow you to harm Harry."
"You foolish girl, there is nothing you can do to prevent it." He responded maliciously as he pointed his wand directly at her. "Crucio!"
"Protego!" She responded as she jumped back, shoving Harry roughly to the ground. Voldemort laughed. Ravenna had fallen over Ginny. Before she could recover she found herself levitating several feet above the ground. She again pointed her wand at Voldemort. With a causal flick of his wand hers went flying. Voldemort left her hanging there for several moments before speaking again. Ravenna watched the grounds in horror as the Dementors began to swoop down on the assorted students, Aurors and Order members, administering their dreaded kisses at will. She then looked back towards Harry who was still lying on the ground. Voldemort then laughed at her and flicked his wand several more times. Ravenna was badly battered and barely conscious.
A/N: Wondering what will happen next? I'll bet this is not what you were expecting...(gotta remember, I am both Griffindor and Slytherin).