Disclaimer:
Nothing that isn't my own original idea is mine and I can only dream of claiming it ;P
A/N
It's just something I came up with and just happened to write down right after reading HBP. I forgot about it and now that I've found it, I thought: "Why not?" and here is the result. I'll probably have to edit it at some point…maybe I'll find the time.
I admit I really don't want Severus to be a bad guy! I'll defend him to my last breath! (J.K. ROWLING PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME HATE YOU!) ;P Hopefully my devotion to SS is worth more than this lame fanfic… ;) Perhaps it would be to him. He seems to be so lonely most of the time… ;P
BTW: There's an arrow at the bottom and it's pointing (sort of, you need to move a little to the left) to a magical button I'd like you to press once you've finished reading… if you actually get there that is…;P
Why?
The last battle against Voldemort took place near a palace which the Dark Lord had set up for himself. Almost all of the Horcruxes had been destroyed, except Nagini – the Dark Lord's snake and the last Horcrux that nobody knew anything about.
Only the unexpected defection of the Half-Blood Prince, along with nearly half of Voldemort's forces, offered a chance to the Wizarding World. Upon receiving a sign from their Prince rouge Death Eaters started fighting against other Death Eaters. In the tumult that was created, Severus Snape himself killed his master's beloved snake. When the deed was done he called three times for the phoenix of Albus Dumbledore.
"Fawkes! Fawkes! Fawkes!"
To the Order's great astonishment, the magnificent bird answered the call of the Half-Blood Prince, even though it had never answered when the others had tried it after Dumbledore's death.
The phoenix was carrying Godric Gryffindor's sword. Harry immediately recognised it, but before his brain even fully registered this information, the Half-Blood Prince – the man whom Harry hated nearly as much as Voldemort himself – cast a spell on the sword, with a flick of his ebony wand and a murmur of strangely melodious words in a foreign tongue Godric Gryffindor's sword erupted in a flurry of flames – shards of metal exploded and would have injured many, if the Prince hadn't contained the explosion using wandless magic.
Onyx eyes met a pair of emerald ones and Harry understood.
The Dark Lord let out a shrill cry of fury. His wand was leveled at the Half-Blood Prince – his once most faithful servant, his chosen heir…
Without thinking twice, Harry pointed his wand at Voldemort and shouted two deadly words:
"Avada Kedavra!"
Lord Voldemort's face registered surprise in the eerie light of the Killing Curse as it sped towards him. The look of complete shock and utter horror remained forever engraved into the snake-like face of the most evil wizard of all time as Tom Riddle met his fate, dying at the hands of a boy who was no more than eighteen years old… The wizard's dead body sank to the ground and to everyone it seemed like it happened in slow motion. The light of Harry's curse was still visible as the dark form wavered and then fell to hit the ground with a deafening thud that echoed in the complete silence and stillness, which had settled over the battlefield.
But there was no time to stare at the corpse and there was no time to engrave it into ones memory because screams of agony tore through the field. Death Eaters wailed in pain, clutching at their left arms, vainly trying to remain standing as the pain only continued to get worse and forced them to their knees and lower until they were thrashing on the ground. Before long, the miracle of unconsciousness spared them.
Harry looked around in surprise and saw that he wasn't the only one. No Death Eater was standing. The death of their master must have caused this. Their souls' connection to the Dark Lord through the Dark Mark had to be the reason for their loss of consciousness. Aurors and Order members hurried to bind the collapsed Death Eaters, seizing the moment to capture all of them…
All of them, but one...
One Death Eater remained on his feet, untouched by the curse of the Dark Mark.
The Half-Blood Prince stood as still as a stone, staring fixedly at the dark, fallen form of Voldemort. He was entirely oblivious to everything around him. Neither had he heard his fellow Death Eaters screaming, nor had he seen them collapse onto the ground, convulsing. His disbelieving dark eyes never strayed from his former master.
Having bound the unconscious Death Eaters easily, the others took note of the remaining one. Their eyes traveled warily between the dead Lord and his Prince.
The man cut a striking figure. Extremely tall, clad all in black apart from a floor-length cloak of rich green. Everyone immediately knew him to be Severus Snape, but it wasn't the greasy Potions Master they remembered. This man's hair was just as long and just as black, but it was clean and fell in waves around a pale, strangely handsome face. His skin was clear and fair – not sallow and sickly. His Roman nose seemed to be smaller or maybe it just fitted the man's face better giving it just the right amount of character – it wasn't nearly as crooked as the Potions Master's had been. As the Prince opened his mouth to take and then release a shuddering breath of the cool evening air, his straight, white teeth flashed brightly… quite unlike the yellow, crooked teeth of the Potions Master of Hogwarts.
The man's eyes were no longer dead, emotionless depths. Quite the contrary. The longer they studied him, the more feelings they could discern from the storm of emotions which only a will of pure iron could control. Shock and relief were foremost. Disbelief, grief, pain, confusion, doubt, fear, uncertainty… hope. All this could be read in the face of the Half-Blood Prince like in a book. A book of nothing but contrasts and puzzles.
Out of nowhere, Fawkes materialised at Snape's side. He hovered in the air for a moment, emitting sounds that seemed to show irritation. When it gained no response, the bird huffed and circled over the man's dark head before perching itself on his right shoulder. It cooed softly as its talons imbedded themselves in the thick material of Severus' cloak.
Whether it was the sound or the pain that the bird was causing that finally broke Snape out of his reverie it was impossible to tell, but the effect was instantaneous. Severus shook his head in an effort to clear it. For a moment his eyes focused on Voldemort's body and the sight gave him some clarity. He tore his gaze away from the Dark Lord and swept the battlefield with his ebony eyes.
A frown marred his high forehead as he saw the unconscious and bound Death Eaters. His confused gaze moved to his left forearm self-consciously, but he didn't let it linger there.
Absentmindedly, he lifted his left hand and stroked the phoenix on his shoulder. All the Aurors raised their wands, seeing any movement from him as a threat. Severus ignored them, searching the crowd for someone. At last his eyes locked with Moody's good and magical eye. Moody was the new head of the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic and the new leader of the Order of the Phoenix.
The Prince cleared his suddenly sore throat and swallowed, though his eyes never left Alastor's.
"There are prisoners in the lower dungeons of the palace. I can take you there. Some of them are undoubtedly in need of quick medical help." He informed the old Auror. He threw his wand onto the ground and shooed Fawkes away. The bird took off with an indignant huff and flew out of sight. "I am unarmed and I daresay I have already proven that you can trust me during this battle."
"Trust you? The only thing that you've proven is that you're a turncoat!" Moody told him nastily. Severus flinched involuntarily. "What makes you think we need your help getting into those dungeons? Voldemort's spells will have worn off now that he's dead. What do you say to that, Snape?" Moody sneered at the Death Eater as he made his way towards him, pushing through the crowd. When he came into the fore, he paused and studied the dark-haired man with a burning intensity that would have caused any lesser man to squirm. However, Severus Snape most certainly wasn't a lesser man, although he may have been called many things in his life.
The Prince stood tall and proud – arrogant, some may have perceived his behaviour as such, but what Mad-Eye saw was simple determination… a determination bordering on desperation, the battle-hardened Auror noted and the revelation gave him pause.
There was naught but sincerity in the proud man's eyes, or so it seemed. Moody knew only too well how proficient Snape was in the art of Occlumency. Then again, the pale man standing before him – for all his pride and dignity, for all his self-control and restraint – he was a wreck of a man: broken – the pieces held together with nothing but determination.
Alastor had no idea what that determination stemmed from. To be perfectly honest, he found himself growing curious because the longer he scrutinised the tall man, the more certain he became that the Half-Blood Prince was perilously close to the edge. The only thing keeping him from falling over was that increasingly desperate determination…
"The dungeons are extensive. I know them well and I know where which prisoners are being held. With my help your rescue teams will be more efficient and they'll be able to reach everyone in time." The Prince spoke calmly, but was that Moody's imagination or had his voice wavered on the word "prisoners"?
The paramount question for Alastor was why Snape hadn't been affected by the Dark Lord's death like his fellow Death Eaters had been. There didn't seem to be any logical explanation for this.
Harry listened to the exchange while keeping his wand firmly trained on his former teacher. The crazy urge to kill him, which the teen had expected to overwhelm him once again, didn't come at all.
Perhaps it was the fact that Harry had never taken a life before this battle? Somehow, even during his fight against Death Eaters, Harry had avoided using any of the Unforgivables. His first Killing Curse and, at the same time, his first properly cast Unforgivable was the Avada Kedavra that had separated the last part of Voldemort's soul from his body. The shock of having killed someone – killed with his own hands – was slowly creeping up to engulf Harry. It didn't matter that that someone just so happened to be Voldemort, it was still a life…
No! Harry Potter most certainly didn't want to be responsible for another death. Even Snape's. Even if the man deserved it… but did he? Came the unbidden question.
If it hadn't been for the Half-Blood Prince the Light would have lost this battle. It would have been a true miracle, if they'd made it alive from the battlefield.
Did saving the whole Wizarding and Muggle World outweigh the man's guilt for betraying and murdering a mentor and friend, who also happened to be one of the most powerful wizards of all time? Could something like this even be measured?
Nonetheless, young Potter found himself lowering his wand, but only a fraction. The inner battle wasn't decided yet.
"Very well." Alastor conceded Snape's point. "But I warn you, Snape, if you try anything, if you so much as step one toe out of line, you will be getting the Kiss sooner than you can say Dementor!" Moody threatened him and was pleased to see a barely perceptible shudder run through Severus. Severus' only reply was a single nod.
Snape hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said that the dungeons were extensive. It took the rescue teams two hours to reach all the cells, even after Snape had given careful instructions and charmed detailed maps for each team.
The Prince's help had proved to be invaluable, not that Moody was willing to tell him that. The man was a Death Eater, a triple – or at best double – traitor and he was also Albus Dumbledore's murderer. The Auror didn't think that he could be held responsible for his actions if the man got too smug or sarcastic, or, Merlin forbid, arrogant. Moody knew better than to read Snape's current posture and gait as most of the others did, otherwise his temper might have been sorely tested.
Rigid shoulders, tense muscles, head held high, purposeful movements… all a pathetic act, one not even truly aimed to fool anyone, but to occupy a world-weary, despairing mind and perhaps to create an illusion for that same mind to entertain and focus on – to maintain his concentration and allow him to function properly.
Severus was surprisingly eager in offering his assistance. Truth be told, not only his guidance was proving useful. The dark, intimidating man effectively assisted medi-wizards as they helped prisoners. His vast knowledge of potions, spells and Dark Arts had very easily saved over a dozen lives.
"This is the last one." Snape announced at length when the rescue team he was with turned a corner and entered a long, dark corridor with five cell doors on the right-hand side and a stone wall on the left-hand side.
Aurors and medi-wizards divided into five groups and each one entered a cell, leaving Moody and Remus Lupin to guard the Prince.
Alastor's magical eye roamed the corridor and peered through the walls to see inside the five cells. Remus looked at the older man in anxious inquiry.
"They'll all live. Not as much damage as some of the others had." Alastor assured him at last. He turned his gnarled face to the werewolf with a grimace that probably passed as a smile for him. Remus took a relieved breath. He perked up when his keen werewolf senses registered movement on his left. Abruptly, he lifted his wand and directed its light there.
Lupin wasn't sure what he'd been expecting to see. Snape trying to slip away unnoticed? Snape preparing an assault on him in the oppressive darkness?
In the end he saw neither. Instead, he saw Severus with his back turned to him, arms outstretched, long-fingered hands touching the rough stones of the long, empty wall of the corridor. The man was paying no attention to the two men, nor did he appear in the least bit guarded against them. That was very uncharacteristic of Snape, whom Remus had always known to be a highly mistrusting and suspicious person. But Snape seemed quite disinterested in his guards and not at all disturbed by the fact that they were armed while he no longer had a wand on him.
"What do you think you're doing, Snape?" Moody growled suspiciously.
"There's another cell behind this wall…" Snape murmured distractedly, not pausing in his thorough examination of every inch of wall that was within his reach. Alastor moved over, squinting in the darkness, concentrating his normal eye on Snape and rolling his magical one to look through the wall in question.
"There's nothing there, just thick stones." Moody growled after a moment of fruitless effort.
"There are living quarters there." Snape said stubbornly. He took a step to the right and proceeded to examine the new fragment of wall before him. Alastor looked at the dark man as though he was out of his mind.
"Quarters? I thought you said there was a cell there?" Moody growled impatiently.
Remus looked between them with a frown. The werewolf was at a loss. He didn't know what to think anymore. Severus Snape had always been an enigma to him, now he appeared to be even more so.
Lupin felt the man's determination and the whirlwind of emotions coursing through him. The animal part in him reached out to the man as it instinctively recognised his fear and anxiety… The human part of Lupin was still trying to figure out what those feelings could mean. Was there really another cell there? If so, did it mean that whoever was inside was important to Severus in some way?
Footsteps reverberated through the dark corridor. Remus and Moody raised their wands higher and pointed them in the direction of the footsteps instead of keeping them trained on Snape.
Seeing this, Severus was dumbfounded. He'd turned to face the newcomers but his eyes never made it all the way to the impenetrable darkness once he noted two wands being redirected away from him. He openly gaped at the two wizards. Lupin was a whole separate case for himself – so trusting and easy – but Mad-Eye Moody? The man was the epitome of wariness and suspicion! Wasn't he the one who warned anyone who'd listen about constant vigilance?
"The only Death Eater still on the move is me." Severus sneered at the pair, though it curiously lacked its usual venom. "It's probably another rescue team come looking for you. Your team's taken a longer way and there've been more prisoners in this part of the dungeons."
Remus flinched when he heard Severus refer to himself as a death Eater.
"How do you know that your Death Eater friends haven't woken up yet?" Moody sneered in return.
"Because Le Fay over there still seems pretty unconscious to me, wouldn't you agree, Moody?" The Half-Blood Prince's lips curled in an ugly smile that rather resembled a grimace. He cocked his head to the side and Lupin and Mad-Eye saw a dark figure leaning against the wall in a half sitting position in an alcove that even Moody hadn't seen before.
"What the…?" The old Auror gasped.
"Some of these walls are magically protected – impenetrable even for your magical eye." Snape said sardonically, his gaze momentarily flicking back to the wall he'd been examining before he met Moody's eyes. "You didn't think Lord Voldemort and the Half-Blood Prince would leave the palace empty?"
The first name was said with contemptuous hatred; the latter poured out of his mouth like poison, for all the self-loathing and disgust in his voice and expression. In vain did Snape try covering his lapse with his customarily blank look – Alastor and Remus were left with no doubt as to the nature of Severus' true feelings.
The werewolf felt hope rising deep within his heart. Maybe Harry had been mistaken? Maybe Snape hadn't betrayed them and killed Dumbledore?
The Prince's sudden turning and the destruction of the last two Horcruxes had turned the tide of the battle and also the whole war. What could a man of such rank and position among Voldemort's supporters possibly gain by actively helping to the destruction of the empire the Dark Lord had been attempting to build? Especially since the man knew what accusations and what punishment he would be facing for his crimes.
It didn't make sense.
But did it make sense that all this could have been planned, that Dumbledore's death had been a means necessary to reach this end?
"The alcoves for the guards move around the dungeons. It is impossible to know their location until it is time to change the guards – that's why the alcove appeared now. It wasn't there before. There should be twenty somewhere around here." Snape further explained without probing. "I did warn the teams to be extra cautious for a reason. I have no idea how strongly Voldemort's death affected those bearing his Dark Mark and to tell how long the effect will last is impossible with my limited knowledge of the curse."
Moody's mouth opened slightly as if he wanted to say something, but just then – true to Severus' word – another team arrived. This team contained Harry, Ron, Hermione and Tonks, as well as Minerva McGonagall and some Ministry Aurors and medi-wizards.
Moody accepted a report from the team leader and instructed the Aurors to go searching for the 20 unconscious Death Eaters who were supposed to be guarding the dungeons. The Order members and McGonagall stayed behind. Alastor turned to face Snape, wishing to ask the question which had been on his mind ever since Voldemort's death. Again he found the man examining the wall with great care.
"Why didn't it affect you at all? You have the Mark as well, I know, I've seen it. Why didn't Voldemort's death affect you?"
The others stared at the back of the Half-Blood Prince waiting to hear his reply. And wait they did, though there was no doubt that he'd heard the question as his hands stilled and he froze.
"I don't know." Came a barely audible whisper.
"Did you know something like this was going to happen once Voldemort was really killed? How much did you know about the connection the Dark Mark offered?" Moody pressed. Snape snorted inelegantly but still he kept his back to them.
"I've had the thing burned into my flesh and soul for a little over twenty years." He said bitterly. "Of course I would have wanted to know as much about it as possible." Severus sighed softly and leaned his forehead against the cold stone wall. "Albus had a theory as to what would happen when the connection was severed… We rather thought that all the Death Eaters would feel confused and lost because of their master's death itself and that the Mark might sting a little – like during a summons, we didn't think… there was no indication that there was so much of Voldemort's power in the Mark. It should have left a tangible trace, but there was nothing…" His voice trailed off.
"But you and Dumbledore analysed your Mark, not that of another Death Eater." Moody pointed out and looked at the back of the man's dark head thoughtfully. On the one hand, the man was being quite civil. After all, he was answering Moody's questions as best he could. On the other hand, though, he wouldn't even grant the Order the courtesy of facing them when he spoke.
"There was no need to. All the Dark Marks are the same." Snape shook his head.
"But you weren't affected by it like everyone else was." McGonagall insisted, speaking for the first time. Upon hearing her voice, Severus flinched. Although none of the members of the Order could see it, he squeezed his eyes shut and bit down on his lip.
"I don't know why." Severus said grimly.
"Yes you do." Said McGonagall, taking a step towards her old pupil and her once colleague. "That's what Albus meant when he said that in the end your allegiance would be proven beyond doubt. He said that the Mark was no more than a dark shadow as long as it was only burned into the flesh. The Dark Mark couldn't reach a soul that was capable of love and caring." With every word she took another step closer to Severus. "The Headmaster said that the Mark grew stronger through every evil committed as long as there was no remorse for those actions and there was no desire for penance." Minerva spoke softly. "You renounced the Mark and You-Know-Who and you fought against him. You willingly put your life at risk by spying on him and helping Albus. You repented of your sins." She was very close to him now, close enough to reach a hesitant hand to his shoulder, but the tall man recoiled from her… but not before she saw the tears in his anguished dark eyes. He turned away, leaving her to wonder and speculate. Tears rose in Minerva's eyes as well as she asked the only question that mattered to her. "He believed in you. Why, Severus? Why did you do it? How could you?" She demanded in a soft, trembling voice.
"Easily. It only took two words, didn't it?" Snape answered coldly.
"That's not what I asked…" McGonagall choked on her tears.
"Easily?" Remus picked up angrily. "Then why can't you even look at us? Turn around and tell us, tell the people who have been fool enough to trust you why you betrayed them?" Caught up in his fury, the werewolf reached the Prince in three strides and caught him firmly by the shoulders and turned him around, smashing his back against the wall. He froze in shock as he saw the man's pale, pain-filled face, damp with tears and twitching slightly as Snape tried to stop himself from openly weeping. The angry snarl died on Lupin's lips and he let go of the man's green cloak, backing away at the same time.
Severus' onyx eyes traveled over the group, visible only thanks to the many wands that had been lit, before he lowered his gaze to the ground, burying his face in his hands.
"I didn't have a choice." He said weakly. His chest rose and fell quickly as he couldn't control his breathing. "I'd given my word…"
"To Narcissa Malfoy!" Harry accused. "You'd made the Unbreakable Vow with her and you were trying to save your own skin, Snape!" Harry yelled angrily.
Deadly silence fell. No one dared to breathe. Seven pairs of eyes bored into the Prince, trying to make a hole in the top of his bowed head which he absolutely refused to lift. Slowly, the black head moved from side to side, negating Potter's words.
"If I'd ever been very intent on saving my skin, I would never have agreed to spy for Albus, Potter." Snape said slowly.
"You have no right to call him that, you murderer!"
Snape lifted his fathomless, black eyes and cast the teenager a curious look.
"He was my friend and mentor. He gave me permission to call him by his first name when I was sixteen, Potter." Severus tried to smirk at the startled, angry look on young Potter's face but he couldn't bring his lips to comply. "I had no choice because I'd given Albus my word, at the age of sixteen, that I would do anything he asked of me in order to bring Voldemort down." He let out a long shuddering breath. "I made the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa. She came to me one night in the summer, crying and almost hysterical as she fell to her knees in front of me and begged me to save her son from a mission he'd received from Voldemort. The Lestrange bitch was with her, all the time going on and on how I shouldn't be trusted." Snape paused to collect his thoughts. "That mission,Narcissa was certain, was only meant to claim Draco's life, in punishment for Lucius' failures. As the mission was given to a boy who would be placed at Hogwarts, I assumed that it had to involve another attempt on the life of the Boy-Who-Lived. I agreed to the Vow in order to prove my loyalty in front of Lestrange and, I won't deny it, to help a friend. Narcissa and Bellatrix were under the impression that I knew perfectly well what Draco was supposed to do. I told Dumbledore about the Vow and Draco immediately and he agreed that it was the best way to find out what the mission was. It also made it easier to gather information about Voldemort's past, if I wasn't suspected of treason among his oldest supporters."
"You… you helped Dumbledore find those memories?" Harry asked in surprise. No other member of the Order had known about it and here was Snape – the spy – not only telling them that he'd been aware of Dumbledore's attempt at recreating Voldemort's past, but that he'd been the one to help in the process.
"I was best placed for the task, though Albus was the one who actually collected most of the memories. I merely brought in stories or leads that had to be checked."
"How long did it take before you found out what the mission was?" Moody interrogated.
"A couple of months. Draco was very secretive and I could hardly ask Voldemort because that would have got me killed outright." Snape licked his dry lips before continuing. "I had no intention of going through with the Vow. Albus thought that we could somehow find a loophole. If Draco disappeared, then neither Narcissa nor Lucius would have to suffer the consequences of his failed mission and getting all three of them to safety wouldn't have been that big a problem. This way, neither Draco nor I would have needed to go through with the mission… But things didn't work out that way. They actually got even more complicated. Albus and I had countless arguments, but he was unrelenting." Severus said grimly. For some reason, he didn't say what exactly that complication had been. "We had no more hope of finding out about Voldemort's last Horcrux. The only chance we had was bringing someone so close to Voldemort that he would at least give a clue as to what or where the object was. To do that, the Half-Blood Prince had to regain the Dark Lord's favour and there were only two ways to do that: either I had to bring Potter to him, or I had to kill the one wizard he was afraid of..."
Silence fell and stretched and it looked like Snape was finished.
"He asked you to go through with the Vow and finish what you'd both been working to achieve." Remus said quietly. It wasn't a question. The werewolf felt ice drop to the bottom of his stomach. How could someone make such a demand of a person whom they considered a friend?
Severus nodded but didn't lift his eyes from the dark stone floor of the corridor. Tears glistened on his dark eyelashes and he tried to blink them away.
"I don't think that was the only reason why he ordered me to do it." He whispered brokenly.
"Why is that?" Remus asked gently.
Severus remained silent.
"Severus?"
"Voldemort found out about…" Severus swallowed hard. He took a deep breath and tried again. "He found out about the Vow and he… was most… displeased that I'd lied about knowing of his plans."
"He punished you?" Lupin said sympathetically, imagining what agony the Dark Lord must have put Snape through for his lie.
"Naturally, but that was to be expected. There was hardly a Death Eater gathering when he didn't punish his followers. Every death Eater has a resistance to the Cruciatus that is higher than the record one written down in history books." Snape said, but Remus realised that he was trying to avoid the real problem.
"What did he do then?"
Severus met Lupin's light brown eyes reluctantly.
"He found a way to get to me that I thought only Dumbledore knew existed. I don't know how he found out…" He trailed off.
"Found out about what?" McGonagall asked cautiously. Somehow she knew that she wouldn't like the answer to her question.
"He found out that I had a family, which I've kept secret from everyone but Albus. The secrecy had been for my wife's safety as much as for my own and I count it as a miracle that Voldemort had never realised who my wife really is." Severus said gravely.
Seven faces held similar expressions of shock and disbelief as they stared at the Half-Blood Prince.
Understanding dawned on Moody's gnarled face.
"He wouldn't have killed them. He used them as leverage to make sure you did everything he wanted and to assure your loyalty instead."
"Yes, but it wasn't enough that he found out about them and that he knew where they were. In fear that I might move them, he brought them here."
"Here, being that wall you've been trying to get at ever since we arrived?" It was more statement than question as Mad-Eye appreciated the position Snape had been in fully. "He brought them here and Albus had another reason for choosing his own death over yours. Your failure to act upon the Vow would have brought death to you, your family, the three Malfoys and it would have made it impossible to find the last Horcrux."
"Dumbledore was already dying from the poison he'd taken when we were in the cave to destroy the locket." Harry said quietly. He would never have thought that he could feel sorry for his hated Potions Master and DADA teacher, but that's how he was feeling now. The thought of Snape having a family didn't seem as insane as it would have normally – not when the man looked so entirely human – open and vulnerable, insecure and unsure of himself like any one of them could be.
"Are you sure this is where they are?" Moody asked of the tall, dark-haired man.
"Yes." Severus said simply as he turned to examine the wall again.
"Um… Severus, how do you know that…" Remus began uncertainly.
"They're alive!" Severus snapped. "I had too much power among the Death Eaters for him to harm them." The others exchanged meaningful glances behind his turned back but Snape seemed to know what they were thinking. "You don't think I would have left them there without any form of assurance and contact? I would have known if something happened to them."
It took a whole hour for Snape and the Order to break the enchantments on the wall, but at last their efforts paid off. A single door materialised before their eyes.
They stepped back, leaving the path open for the Half-Blood Prince.
The tall, dark man opened the door carefully, his richly green cloak sweeping the floor behind him as he walked inside.
He'd been right. These were living quarters, not a normal cell. Moody, Minerva, Tonks and Lupin followed him in. The three teenagers: Harry, Ron and Hermione were hot on their heels. They walked through what looked to be a small sitting room with an assortment of books lining a row of shelves. There was no fireplace there, but it was quite warm in the room. The furnishings were quite elegant – it seemed that Voldemort had treated his Prince's family with respect and care.
Severus strode across the room, paying no heed to the furniture and decorations. He opened the door on the opposite side and walked in, the others stopping on the threshold. It was a bedroom – a child's bedroom, judging by the few toys scattered on the floor – but the child itself was not there. Snape entered the next room – another bedroom – empty as well. With a growing feeling of dread, Severus approached the last room…
"Daddy!" A tiny black-haired boy cried happily jumping off the large four-poster bed he'd been sitting on and in the process he disentangled himself from the protective embrace of a teenage girl with equally black hair and an older woman with long, auburn locks.
"Nathan!" Severus called his son's name just as the boy's little arms wrapping themselves tightly around his legs like they never wanted to let go. Snape pressed his son's dark head against him and bowed over him, planting a hard kiss in his hair. He then scooped the boy up and wrapped him up in a strong embrace which Nathan eagerly returned, snaking his slender arms around Severus' neck and winding his legs around his ribs. "It's okay now. Everything's going to be fine now and I won't have to leave you again." Severus whispered soothingly into the boy's ear. Tremors shook Nathan's small frame as he started crying.
Meanwhile, the dark-haired girl and the light-haired woman had risen from the bed and walked up to Severus.
"Julie." The Prince smiled warmly at his daughter. He felt his eyes burn slightly as he saw the tears of relief and happiness welling up in Julie's dark eyes. The girl looked to be sixteen and she was very beautiful, made even more so by the gentle smile that brightened her face just before she embraced her father.
Julie loosened her hold on Severus and out of the corner of her eye she saw her mother standing close by, her blue eyes locked with her husband's ebony pair in a way that suggested that she was completely unaware of anything but him. The sixteen-year-old stepped out of the embrace but not before she kissed her father's cheek. She pried her brother from Severus' arms, ignoring his protests, which, in truth, did cease the moment the boy saw the way his parents were looking at each other.
"He really is gone this time, isn't he?" Vivian Dumbledore-Snape asked of her husband. She was Albus Dumbledore's granddaughter – one that the whole of the Wizarding World had thought dead for the past twenty years. Her parents had been killed by Death Eaters and she'd been fifteen at the time.
It happened during the summer holidays when Vivian was away from Hogwarts and staying with her parents. The whole house had been ruined, no more than a pile of ash and debris… The chances of anyone having survived that raid…
But here she stood. Here stood Vivian Dumbledore in the arms of Severus Snape –Death Eater, Half-Blood Prince and Albus Dumbledore's murderer.
Minerva and Alastor stared at her in disbelief, their eyes widened in shock.
"Albus said she was dead…" McGonagall brought a trembling hand to her mouth to hold back a sob. She'd known Vivian throughout her childhood, just as Moody had.
There was no mistaking that sky-blue pair of twinkling eyes, either. Even Harry was reminded strongly of the Headmaster when he looked at the woman who obviously had to be Snape's wife.
"Professor, who is she?" Hermione asked, ever being the one to ask questions.
Minerva found herself unable to answer but Mad-Eye came to her aid.
"She is Vivian Dumbledore, Albus' granddaughter." The old Auror muttered, still trying to overcome his shock.
"She's who?" Tonks and Ron choked simultaneously.
If the Order hadn't believed Snape's story before, they most certainly did now that he was literally holding evidence of his innocence in his hands.
"Yes, he really is gone this time, Vivian." Severus whispered the assurance against his wife's neck where he'd buried his face after giving his wife a long, loving kiss. Vivian drew him closer to her and kissed his jaw and neck closing her eyes to revel in the feel of holding and being held by her husband again after their long separation.
"Grandfather would have been happy." Severus shuddered upon the mention of Albus Dumbledore and Vivian took his face in both hands, forcing him to look into her sky-blue eyes. "It was his choice and the only way, Severus. I could never hold what you did against you. It takes bravery to do the right thing. If Grandfather could see you now, I'm sure he would be as proud of you as I am." She kissed him tenderly. "After all, death is but another adventure and he'd had the chance to live over three times as long as you have."
THE END
KONIEC
FIN