Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys are enjoying this story. I'm having a blast writing it.

Chapter 2

The howling wind tore across the Welsh landscape, bending the tall grasses to the ground, and making violent ripples on the usually tranquil lake. The gray clouds moved swiftly overhead, causing shadows to race across the hills, promising rain at some not so distant time.

On the shore of the lake, a fire valiantly tried to survive, but the wind forced it out of existence almost as soon as it flickered into life. Two men huddled over the spluttering flames, trying in vain to coax the tiny fire to life. The taller of the men sat back on his heels, a scowl etched deeply on his lined face. His dark fathomless eyes gave voice to the hardness of his life.

Without expression, he murmured a warming spell over his cloak and the thick coal black robes beneath. He turned to the other man, and repeated the spell. The young man looked up. His youthful face was hard, and his grey eyes without spirit. It was obvious that this man had been forced to grow up far too soon.

"Thank you Severus." the blond man said quietly.

The older man merely nodded.

A crash of thunder echoed across the desolate landscape and the lightening lit the swiftly darkening sky for a split second. Night was well on his way, his cloak of darkness enveloping the world.

Without words, for words were not needed, the young man erected a small tent that tried to blow away with the wind, but several heavy stakes kept the dirty achromatic tent firmly on the ground.

"Thank you Draco." Severus said softly.

The other man nodded, and crawled into the tent and wrapped himself into his blankets. Severus joined him a few moments later, and soon the sounds of even breathing could be heard.

Through a haze of despair and the terrible knowledge of his oath, Severus heard someone speak his name very quietly,

"Severus."

The sound frightened Severus and he slowly and painfully turned to face his mentor, his father figure. Albus Dumbledore was pleading with him. As if from a great distance, Severus saw the horror on the Potter boy's face. He walked forward and pushed Draco out of the way. He had no choice but to follow through. For Draco's sake. Severus gazed for a moment at Albus, and knew the revulsion and hatred that he felt for himself were obvious on his face.

"Severus...please..."

With an internal scream of defiance Severus raised his wand and pointed it directly at Albus. In the Headmaster's blue eyes, Severus saw forgiveness and acceptance. Severus felt a sudden surge of resentment for the old man. Dumbledore had known that this was going to happen. And was going to let it happen.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Severus watched as the jet of green light shot from the end of his wand and hit Albus squarely in the chest. As if in slow motion, the light left the Headmaster's eyes and his body fell over the battlements and out of sight. A silent scream of agony rippled through his soul.

It was over...

Severus Snape sat bolt upright breathing heavily. It was the nightmare again. It was always the same one, and Severus knew that the guilt for his actions would linger forever. Next to him, Draco stirred, but Severus put a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, and he rolled over and pulled his blankets closer about his rail thin body. A fond light lit the older man's eyes for a moment. Draco was all he had left. Bitterness and anger surged through him. The damned Dark Lord had managed to take everything from him. And even now, he stole Severus' peace. The mark burned onto his forearm burned constantly, a reminder of his betrayal. A snort of sardonic amusement betrayed the irony of the situation. A double agent always betrays both sides. There was no way around it. And now, Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy were fugitives, hiding from the Dark Lord, and hiding from the Ministry. It was a bleak way to live. At least, he and Draco were going to accomplish something. They were going to destroy a Horcrux.

Severus had discovered the location of this particular one in the course of his research for the Dark Lord. He had revealed the information to Dumbledore, but the Headmaster had wanted Potter to take care of it. A sneer of real disgust crossed Severus' face. How he hated that boy. It was a wonder that he had managed to survive so many encounters with the Dark Lord. The child was a walking disaster almost as bad as Longbottom. Severus had very little faith in the Boy-Who-Lived. It was all a bunch of propaganda, and unless Potter grew up overnight, there was no hope for the wizarding world. With a nearly invisible sigh, Severus lay back and pulled his thick wool cloak about his shoulders. It was no use going over the past. It had already happened, and all that Severus could do was make the best of bad situation.

The morning came too quickly for one Draco Malfoy. The sun rose, but only a sickly pale light was able to penetrate the thick cloud layer and actually warm the earth. Draco was by nature, a rather lazy individual. He had always had everything. And that included sleeping until noon or later. But ever since the "incident" last year, he had been up at the crack of dawn. With a tired groan, Draco sat up, letting the blankets pool around his waist. It only took a quick glance to see that Severus was already awake. A tantalizing aroma drifted through the mostly closed tent flaps. Draco's eyes lit up. Coffee. Where Severus had found it, Draco didn't know, but the smell of richly bitter roasted coffee beans, did more to improve his mood then that night last year with Blaise... Draco rushed out of the tent and into the gloomy Welsh morning. Severus looked up and amusement sparked in his dark eyes for a split second.

"Draco. I see you smelled the coffee."

All dignity gone, Draco scrambled for the tin mug that his godfather was holding out to him. With an audible sigh of ecstasy, Draco took his first sip. The flavor burst on his tongue, and despite the boiling heat of the liquid, he let it linger in his mouth until he could resist the need to swallow no longer.

After the initial few sips, Draco turned a curious eye to his guardian.

"Why the coffee Severus?"

The older man set down his own mug and laced his slender fingers together.

"Today we should reach the resting place of the Horcrux." a gleam of anticipation lit his eyes. "If all goes according to plan, we should have it destroyed by nightfall."

Draco felt his stomach clench in nervousness. This was the ultimate act of betrayal. In one fell swoop, he would be defying his father and the Dark Lord that he had been raised to revere.

Swallowing hard, he nodded.

"What's the plan?"

Severus nodded in approval, affection glimmering in the depths of his eyes.

"We will come upon the cave about mid afternoon." He gestured vaguely with his hand toward the hills. "Then we will of course have to dismantle the protections. I do not know what those will be, so we must be on our guard." Severus took another sip of the coffee, now nearly cold, as he thought. "The Horcrux is an ornamental dagger. According to my research, it is about the length of my hand from wrist to the tip of my index finger. The blade is magically hardened gold, and the hilt is emerald etched with Celtic runes."

Draco listened intently as his godfather explained how the dagger would be destroyed. He stayed thoughtfully silent as they struck the tent and gathered their scanty belongings.

Draco had always been loyal to his father. Even after his botched mission to assassinate Dumbledore, he had remained faithful. But, spending so many weeks with Severus, who's own allegiances were somewhat foggy, had altered his perceptions. It was only very recently that the young Malfoy heir had made the tentative decision that perhaps maiming and slaughtering muggles wasn't the best sort of politics. Their self appointed mission to destroy the remaining Horcruxes, was a bit extreme for Draco. He was still enjoying his seat on the fence, but wanting to make his godfather happy, Draco went along with the plan. Besides, where else could he go? His father would kill him for his failure to kill the Headmaster and the Ministry would send him straight to Azkaban for the attempted murder of the Headmaster. So really Draco was stuck.

His silence lasted well into the day. The wind had died down during the night, to be replaced with tiny drops of rain that stung his face. The hills were looming very close by the time Severus allowed them to stop for a few moments. Draco's stomach growled a little, but he had learned to ignore it. It had been a long time since he had eaten a midday meal. If he imagined hard enough, Draco could almost smell roast chicken dripping with rich broth, creamy potatoes smothered in butter and gravy, carrots with crystallized brown sugar, and apple pie with smooth sweet vanilla ice cream that melted on the tongue. Draco shook his head to clear the images. It would do no good to dwell on it. He stretched, reveling in the cracks that his back made. Severus rolled his eyes in disgust, and stood. Draco followed his lead and together the two men resumed their journey.

Just as the sun was touching the hills, Draco and Severus reached the cave. Severus carefully cast a revealing spell, hoping to uncover any traps. Nothing. With extreme caution, and his wand raised, Severus stepped into the dank cave. When nothing immediately attacked him, he motioned for Draco to join him. Draco murmured lumos under his breath and a dim light illuminated the cave.

The walls seemed to have been fortified with thick stone blocks, that were damp and mildewing with age. Severus wrinkled his nose. Well, that accounted for the smell. They had only gone a few feet into the cave, when with a groan and a crash, the entrance to the cave disappeared. Next to Severus, Draco jumped and swore loudly in disgruntlement. Severus motioned for the boy to be quiet, but it was too late.
There was a sound of stone grinding against stone, and in the dim light of Draco's spell, Severus saw a wave of gravel and small stones rushing toward them from the passageway. This time Severus was the one to let out a rather vile word. He yanked the frozen Draco to the side and pressed himself and his godson against the wall. The wave of rock fragments rushed past, quickly filling the small space. Severus knew that if they did not hurry, they would be buried alive beneath several tons of gravel. So, using a quick spell for traction, he ran up the piles of rock, pulling Draco behind him. They dove through what was left of the passageway entrance, and crawled as fast as possible through the tunnel that was rapidly filling up with crushed rock. With a gasp, the two men burst free of the tunnel and rock.

After some extensive coughing, Severus straightened up and surveyed the room they were in. It had obviously been someone's home log ago, for there was a threadbare rug on the ground that disintegrated into dust when Draco stepped on it, a bed in one corner, and an ancient oil lamp sitting on a rickety table in the center of the room.

"Don't touch anything!" Severus commanded softly. He was quite certain that there were at least several booby traps scattered around the room.

Draco rolled his eyes, as if to say "duh", but obediently put his hands into the pockets of his grungy cargo pants.

With a silent understanding, Draco started at one end of the room, and Severus the other. Severus walked slowly, studying the walls for any runes. It was a pity that he had forgotten the floor. Without realizing it, he stepped on a rune, etched deeply into the hard soil of the ground. As soon as his booted foot came into contact with the symbol, a section of the wall moved aside. From the newly revealed darkness, came the enticing aroma of food. Severus could almost taste the smoked salmon, dry white wine, and baby peas on his tongue. Without really thinking, he stepped into the darkness, ignoring Draco's shouts. All he could concentrate on was the smell of food.

Draco followed his godfather, wand held out before him in an offensive position. He wasn't sure what it was that had enchanted Severus, but he was going to be there to rescue him. About halfway down the tunnel, Draco could smell rotting meat. Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust. Uneasiness welled up inside of him. Why would he be smelling rotting meat unless...there was something carnivorous at the end of this tunnel... Draco burst into a stumbling run. He had to get to Severus before whatever was on the other end did.

Draco burst into the chamber at the end of the tunnel, knocking over his godfather. Draco rolled off Severus and was about to stand, when a large taloned foot appeared in front of him.

He looked up fearfully.

"Shit." he swore.

A large gryffin was staring down at him, hunger glinting in it's large unblinking eyes. At some point, the beast must've been impressively beautiful, but long years of captivity had dulled it's once golden coat to a murky brown, and any intelligence had long since been destroyed by insane hunger. It's long tail twitched in anticipation.

Draco was wide eyed in horror. There was no way out of this. It was a well known fact that gryffins were immune to magic. There was only one way to kill a gryffin. Draco looked desperately to Severus for help, but the older man was unconscious, blood trickling from a nasty cut on his forehead. With shaking hands, Draco very slowly drew his wand from beneath him. At the movement, the gryffin screamed in anger and reared up on it's strong hind legs. Draco rolled quickly out of the way of the deadly talons and came up holding his wand. He looked around desperately for something to transfigure, while the gryffin charged him. Dodging out of the way, Draco pointed his wand at the rucksack next to Severus' limp form and shouted the spell. With a shimmer, the rucksack was replaced by a long silver spear. He dove for the weapon, just as the starving creature reached out for him. A talon caught in Draco's side, and he screamed as white hot agony coursed through him. Trying to ignore the hot blood dripping down his side, Draco grabbed the spear, rolled to face his attacker, and stabbed upward. The spear entered the gryffin just below the breastbone. An ear shattering squeal burst from the creature as it sank to it's haunches, the silver spear protruding from it's chest. Draco weakly backed away, his strength leaving him along with his blood. He watched as the light finally left the gryffin's eyes and the body slumped to the ground. Draco crept painfully over to Severus, and with a whispered spell, woke the older man.

With a groan, Severus opened his eyes.

"Draco?"

"Severus." Draco managed to grunt before he passed out.

Severus watched in horror as his godson crumpled into a boneless heap. He saw the blood staining the ground and Draco's side and the dead gryffin. He suddenly understood what had happened. Severus tore off Draco's shirt, and winced at the gaping wound in the boy's side. The blood had clotted along the gash that spanned fully half of Draco's abdomen so the older man was unable to see the extent of the damage. Worry tightening in his chest, Severus gently cleaned the wound. Once it was revealed, Severus heaved a sigh of relief. It was not as bad as it had seemed at first. The Potions Master gathered his strength, and murmured a healing spell. A pale blue light covered the wound, and slowly, ever so slowly, it closed, leaving a long harsh scar behind.

Severus brushed a calming hand across Draco's forehead, and stood. He had a Horcrux to destroy.

He discovered the dagger in a decaying wooden box at the far end of the chamber. With trepidation he opened the box, half expecting some Dark curse to emerge. Nothing did. The dagger lay wrapped in a crumbling piece of parchment, the gold of the blade glimmering through the ragged paper. With trembling fingers, Severus drew the dagger out of the box. He carefully unwrapped the parchment and set it aside. This was the tricky part. There was a special spell that would remove the dagger's magical powers, and make it possible for Severus to melt it down.

He set the dagger on the earthen floor, and gently pressed his wand against the blade.

"Trasmetta questa alimentazione di nuovo alla terra da dove é venuto." he intoned, focusing all of his energy on the Horcrux before him.

The dagger began to shake and smoke as Severus poured all of his energy into the Horcrux. A sickly yellow light exploded from the small weapon and disappeared into the floors and walls. The spell was finished, and the dagger was ready to be melted.

Wearily, Severus pointed his wand at the dagger once more, this time for a simple spell.

"Incendio" he whispered.

The dagger burst into flame, the metal glowing red hot for several moments before losing it's shape and becoming a gold puddle. With a sigh, the former Death Eater raised his foot and brought it down hard on the emerald hilt. It shattered, and the pieces of the stone disintegrated into nothingness.

It was done, and hundreds of miles away, Harry Potter passed out in the middle of a bite of shepherd's pie, as Voldemort's rage echoed in his head.

Review please! Let me know what you think!

And the spell that Severus used was in Italian.
"Send this power back to the earth from whence it came"
(I used an internet translator, so I'm sure the Italian isn't right.)