A/N: Many thanks as always, dear readers, for your wonderful reviews and comments! It has been a lovely vacation home with Mum, and we've gotten a lot of writing done. Alas, I return to DC on Thursday, and while my schedule may be a little hectic for the next week or so, I have multiple chapters of all my stories in the works, and will try to keep updating semi-regularly. Remember, my forum here on my author page, my Yahoo Group, my LJ, and of course, my email are at your service if you have questions or comments.

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Chapter Nine: Soul

Harry was standing at the window watching the snow starting to fall when Ginny came back in to the hospital wing. He looked over his shoulder at her. "Didn't have any luck with him?" She hadn't told him where she was going, but he'd guessed it. She shook her head, and he smiled wearily. "I rather doubted he'd change his mind, but thanks for trying."

"You shouldn't have said what you did, Harry," Ginny told him, coming up behind him.

Harry looked away from her. "There's a lot of things I shouldn't have said. Lot of things he shouldn't have said too. Dunno why I'm always the one having to restrain myself."

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?" Hermione exclaimed tearfully. "He's gone, and so is our best chance of getting the Horcrux out of you!"

That sort of reaction was pretty typical of Hermione, but the way the Order members in the room dropped their eyes told Harry that the odds of his surviving had probably dropped quite a bit. He felt a coldness inside him starting to grow. It must have shown on his face, because Remus came over to him and put an arm around his shoulders.

"We'll figure something out."

Harry closed his eyes and let himself lean against Remus, suddenly feeling very tired. "I know you'll try. I'll try too, but if it doesn't work, it could end a lot worse than here with you."

"Hey! Don't think like that!" Ron protested, but Harry turned to them all.

He didn't yell; he was just tired of being optimistic. "Look, let's face the facts: even with Snape here, it was a long shot that a second exorcism would work. Now…if it doesn't work, I probably won't survive it, but if I do, and the Horcrux is still there…then you know what you have to…"

"Harry, no!" Hermione cried, jumping up. "You know we can't—we can't even think about something like that!"

"You HAVE to!" Harry snapped, and she flinched, covering her mouth with her hands as tears spilled over them again. He felt his own eyes burning, and his throat was suddenly tight, making it difficult to talk. "Look, I just…it's been all Voldemort, all the time, all my life. Any one of those times, the past seven years, I could've died. Maybe even should've died, but for a lot of dumb luck." Someone stifled a sob; it was Professor McGonagall. "Maybe this is just…" he shrugged, turning away again so he wouldn't have to look at them, or they at him. His voice was betraying him to where he couldn't speak above a whisper.

"Maybe I've just finally run out of luck. Or maybe I just let it go."

To Snape's relief, the Weasley girl did not pursue him any further, nor did anyone else. In his mind, it was confirmation that he was neither wanted nor needed here, and that he'd been a fool to come at all.

Even the denizens of the portraits muttered amongst themselves as he passed. He ignored them, distracted by the anticipation—bordering on trepidation—that seized him as he approached the main doors. Of course, a man finally reaching out for his freedom would only naturally feel apprehensive about it. So he shoved the pangs of doubt aside and strode resolutely toward the door, out of Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix forever.

"So, Severus, storming out in a huff again, are we?"

He stopped in his tracks—and his heart nearly did so as well. That cheerful voice sent adrenaline erupting through his blood so violently that it was difficult to breathe. Turning—or rather lurching—to look around him, he realized that the source of the voice was one of the last portraits along the corridor. Its normal occupants had cleared out hastily, by the look of it, leaving the painted image of Albus Dumbledore leaning lazily against the frame.

"Really, my boy, I was so hurt that you never came to visit, I finally had to come seek you out."

Finding his voice, Severus choked out, "You're not supposed to be out here. The former Headmasters must always remain in the office."

Albus shrugged. "I spent my life breaking the traditions of what Hogwarts Headmasters are supposed to do. I don't see why I should stop after my death!" Severus began backing up, intending to reach the doors and get the hell out of Hogwarts and all the tricks it played. But just as had been the case in life, Albus's voice had a way of preventing his escape. "Why ever are you so hard on yourself?"

"I don't know what you mean," he muttered, like a sulky schoolboy.

"I spent the better part of the past forty years trying to convince you that you are not a hopeless stain upon the purity of mankind. Why do you continuously try to prove yourself a monster?"

"Perhaps because I am one!" he snapped, his half-forgotten anger smoldering more hotly.

"We both know that is not true."

Severus said in disgust, "You are a painting. You know nothing."

Albus chuckled. "You sound like a Muggle." Severus turned and tried to resume walking. "I know all that my living self knew, as you are well aware. In my case, I made certain that my portrait would know all the details of my life, not just those of running the school."

"Made yourself immortal, have you?"

"Someone has to keep an eye on you." Albus slipped across the hall to another portrait where he could watch Severus again. "You don't want to do this, Severus."

"Don't tell me what I want," he spat. "I am tired of you controlling my life."

For a portrait, that thing had Albus's expressions down perfectly, like that mild disappointment he always showed when Severus got obstinate with him. "I've never tried to control you, Severus, you know that."

"You did a bloody good job for not trying."

Dumbledore's voice hardened ever so slightly. "Every action you've taken, Severus, every choice you've made, has been your own! I may be guilty of cajoling and even bullying on occasion, but I have never controlled you. Control is a device of the cowardly and the tyrannical; I never desired it or attempted it over any man."

Severus slammed his fist into the wall. "Thank you for reminding me of your divinity. But unfortunately for all concerned, mere mortals such as myself have their breaking point, and I have reached mine. I am finished with the Order of the Phoenix, Albus, and I am finished with Harry bloody Potter."

He started again for the doors, but Albus called after him, "You have chosen the cowardly route, then?" Severus spun sharply toward him, furious heat rushing through his body. "I am not calling you a coward; you have never taken a cowardly action in your life. But even the bravest of men may one day turn to cowardice. Is this that day?"

"You've no right," Severus hissed.

How had the portrait magic managed to put so much power into this painted Dumbledore? None of the other headmasters' portraits seemed so…commanding. His blue eyes, just as in life, had gone from twinkling with innocent merriment to blazing with barely-contained power. Severus could not move.

"You know you are the one amongst the Order with the best knowledge and skill to destroy what is left of the Horcrux—the last remnant of Voldemort in this world, Severus. We have all been forced to stomach our displeasure for the sake of the war, and if you abandon them now—if you let the Horcrux grow unchecked and leave Harry here to die—then you will have become a coward."

Trembling, Severus turned away and stalked as fast as he could for the doors, but Dumbledore called after him. "And a murderer."

With a disgusted snort, Severus replied, "You speak as if I've never murdered anyone before. What's one more soul?"

"Two souls, Severus," Albus's voice echoed behind him as the doors swung closed. "Two souls."

The chaotic events of the morning had taken their toll, and Harry had fallen asleep. Remus sat watching him as Hermione paced and Alastor and Poppy tried to further the exorcism research. Then Poppy came to look at Harry. "What are you thinking?" Remus asked her.

"Well, the requirements for preparing the exorcism are straightforward," she said. "That won't be where we'll have trouble. Severus Snape was by far the most skilled of us at Mind Magic, the one most able to keep his own mind under control during the process. Now one of us must do it."

"Do you think my own methods of…control might be an edge?" Remus suggested. "It's not exactly Mind Magic…"

"But it is a powerful force you have battled," said Minerva, coming to join them with Alastor. "I confess we were thinking the same thing. Are you willing to try?"

Remus looked at her in surprise. "Of course I am!"

"Understand the risks, Lupin," Alastor warned. "The boy himself has nothing to lose, but you're risking your own mind if you try to muck around in his. If the exorcism fails, it could be the end of both of you."

Tonks swallowed hard, but Remus answered without hesitating. "I don't care about the risks to me; if there's the smallest chance I could save Harry, I will do it."

"We'll have to begin soon," said Poppy. "There are two weeks until the full moon, but I am not sure how long the Occlumency on Harry will hold. And every day closer to the full moon, the less strength you will have."

Remus nodded, reaching out to stroke Harry's hair. "Then let's get to work."

"We'll look into the preparations," said Minerva, motioning to Alastor and Poppy. "I think you will want to be the one who explains the plan to Harry when he wakes."

Ron, sitting on the opposite edge of Harry's bed, pulled a face. "Harry will not like it."

Remus chuckled. "No, he won't. But I'll persuade him. There aren't many options left." Harry murmured in his sleep and turned his face toward Remus's hand, looking far younger than his seventeen years.

I'll try, James. Sirius, I'll try. As long as there's breath in my body, I will never stop trying to save him.

Ron took over sitting with Harry once Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey dragged Remus away to continue planning for the exorcism. Hermione came over and curled up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "You okay?" he asked her.

He felt her shake her head, and heard her breath hitching. She didn't say anything—it sounded like she couldn't—so he just put his arm around her. His mother came up and hugged them both from behind. Hermione sobbed once, then scrubbed at her face with her fist.

"I don't want him to die," she murmured.

Ron opened his mouth to say, "he won't," but then thought better of it. None of them could promise anything anymore, and the odds of Harry's survival were looking less and less. But the worst part, in Ron's mind at least, was not so much the prospect of Harry's physical death as the thought of what would become of him if his mind fell to the Horcrux first. To see that monster looking out through Harry's eyes and knowing that Harry was gone forever…having to kill him…

There was a faint noise from the bed in front of him, and Ron blinked. Harry had been lying perfectly still, but now his eyelids were fluttering, and he was tossing in his sleep. "Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione called.

The mediwitch hurried over, with Remus and McGonagall at her heels, and began muttering spells on Harry. "He's only dreaming."

"But…" Hermione bit her lip. "Didn't he take Dreamless Sleep Potion?"

Madam Pomfrey froze, and the rest of them exchanged glances. Ginny picked up the empty goblet and vial on the side table. "He did. I remember; Tonks had to remind him before he fell asleep again."

Professor McGonagall turned slowly from Madam Pomfrey to look down at Harry, whose dreams had not only overcome a powerful Potion but were clearly disturbed. "What does this mean?"

"The failure of the Occlumency?" Remus asked quietly.

Madam Pomfrey nodded grimly. "It's happening more quickly than we anticipated, probably due to Harry's emotional state. I can't tell you for certain how much time he has as himself, but we had better act as quickly as possible."

Hermione wrung her hands as Harry whimpered in his sleep. "Should we wake him up?"

"Dunno who you'd get at this point," said Moody from behind them.

Harry's nightmare grew worse even as they watched, debating what to do, and then he saved them the trouble by jerking away with a gasp that sent them all leaping backward. Looking at all their faces, Harry blinked, "What?"

"You all right?" Ron asked.

"Uh…yeah, nightmare, that's all," Harry muttered, rubbing his face. "Must've forgot to take…" He looked at the empty vial of Dreamless Sleep Potion and trailed off. "I did take it. But I was dreaming, why…"

Headmistress McGonagall exchanged glances with Madam Pomfrey and said, "The dreams overcoming the potion are only a symptom of a greater problem, Harry." Comprehension slowly dawned on Harry's face, and he closed his eyes.

"The Horcrux is getting stronger."

"It is. We cannot be sure that this would not have happened if Severus were still here," she added to the others. "He said from the beginning that the Occlumency would be a temporary solution at best."

Ron could see Harry watching the reactions of everyone else closely, and his friend was visibly forcing down his own anxiety. "Okay," Harry said. "Then I guess if we're going to try the exorcism again, we'd better get to it."

"Tonks, Lupin, let's get to work," said Moody. "We'll set you up in one of the private rooms."

"I'll need to raid the Potions stores, but I'm certain everything we need is stocked," said Madam Pomfrey.

"When's it going to be done?" Hermione asked anxiously, grabbing for Ron's hand.

Everyone looked at each other as if it had just occurred to them that they ought to be working on some sort of schedule. "It'll take at least a couple of hours to spell the room ready," said Tonks.

"Might go faster if we had those oldest Weasley boys," Moody suggested.

"I'll get them," said Mrs. Weasley. "And I'll let everyone else know where we stand."

"Assembling the herbs and potions shouldn't take more than three hours," said Madam Pomfrey. "I can also have Strengthening Potion made up for both of them in that time."

"Three hours, then?" said Professor McGonagall.

"Better make it four; some of the Purification Spells are a bit complicated," said Tonks.

"Right, then. Everyone get to it."

Harry watched and exchanged a bemused look with Ron, who suspected he knew what his friend was thinking: they'd all practically forgotten about him. But that was okay with both of them; Moody, McGonagall, and the rest would be back to poking and prodding Harry soon enough.

So the Aurors went off to prepare the site of the exorcism, Pomfrey and McGonagall went off for supplies, and Mrs. Weasley went off to inform the rest of the concerned parties of their progress. Before any of them really knew what had happened, Ron and Harry were alone in the hospital wing with Hermione and Ginny.

"Were they all moving too fast to keep track of, or is my brain just slowing down?" Harry asked.

"Can't both be true?" Ron said. Harry cracked a grin. More seriously, Ron sat down on the edge of Harry's bed and said, "Y'know, you don't have to put on a brave face, mate."

Harry frowned, then shrugged. "What's to put on? I'm more worried about keeping my mind clear. Might slow the Horcrux down a bit." He smiled ruefully at them all. "It takes calm, that's all."

"Do you want to try and sleep again?" Hermione suggested.

With a sigh, Harry flopped backward onto the pillows. Ginny and Hermione came and sat on each side of the foot of the bed, making them look like gargoyles, in Ron's opinion. "Wouldn't mind it," Harry admitted, yawning. "I'm just a little worried that I won't wake up myself next time."

"What'd you dream of?" Ginny asked.

"Don't remember. Except that it wasn't good."

For the next couple of hours, Harry slept only lightly as the Order members came and went in their preparations for the exorcism. Something in his instincts simply didn't want to spend what might well be the last hours of his life asleep—if only he weren't feeling so ruddy tired. But he was too keenly aware that the odds of survival were not in his favor.

An exorcism was a dangerous ritual, for both the person being exorcised and the exorcist. That was bad enough, knowing that Remus was putting himself at risk, but Harry knew there would be no talking his parents' and Sirius's friend out of it. If I have to die, please let Remus live. The war's over, and he and Tonks can finally be together…he deserves to live.

Did Harry? He'd pondered that question quite a bit lately. The answer was always…inconclusive.

Although this was hardly the first time he'd gone into a situation where survival was unlikely, he found himself with far too much time on his hands to just sit around and think about life. The one he'd expected, the one he'd had, and the one he probably wouldn't have. He watched Ron and Hermione and Ginny a lot—well, whenever they weren't watching him, anyway. He thought about them a lot, all the things they'd done together. It made him smile. There were a lot of things he supposed he ought to tell them, but…somehow he knew it would only upset them.

No one seemed willing to face the possibility—okay, the likelihood—that Harry wouldn't survive. And that scared Harry. The only prospect that scared him more than dying was the prospect of some sort of half-living existence where his body still lived inhabited by a remnant of Voldemort because the people who loved him couldn't bring themselves to destroy it.

I never knew you could love anyone that much.

At another moment, it would have been a wonderful feeling. Right now, it was just scary. Harry tried to imagine how he would feel if it were Ron or Hermione or Sirius or Remus in this situation, and he had to admit, he wasn't sure if he would be able to kill a single one of them even if their minds were completely erased by evil.

But I don't want to exist that way. If it has to end, I just want it to end.

With that thought, he finally escaped his friends on the pretense of going to the bathroom, then slipped back into the private wing. He found the room that Tonks, Bill, Charlie, and Moody were working on, doing special spells to remove any magic that might interfere with the exorcism, and hesitated a few paces away from it until Tonks came out. She jumped.

"H-Harry…what're you doing here?"

He could almost see what she was thinking. "Don't worry, I'm still myself. I need to talk to Moody for a minute. Didn't want to risk going in yet, so…can he come out?" he asked cautiously, hoping it sounded like he was bringing a message or an idea to the old Auror.

Apparently, Tonks was convinced, because a moment later, she emerged from the room with Moody. Harry walked a few paces back down the hall so they were out of earshot. "Potter? What's the matter?" Moody asked, sounding suspicious—as always.

Harry took a deep breath. "Professor, I wanted to ask you…a favor, I guess." Moody frowned, and his glass eye spun a bit, making Harry suspect the old Auror was trying to Legilimize him. Harry forced himself to meet Moody's gaze. "If this goes…wrong…I mean if the exorcism doesn't work, but I survive, and the Horcrux…wins…I don't know if the others'll be able to…do what they need to do."

Moody's expression softened as much as it ever did as he realized what Harry was saying. "So, Potter?"

"If it comes to that," Harry went on. "Will you make sure…I mean, will you see to it that…" Bloody hell, man, spit it out! "Ifitdoesn'tworkIwantyoutokillme." His throat tightened, and he had to look down. "Please. I don't know if the others can, and even if they could, I don't think they'd ever forgive themselves. But I know you know…what things have to be done, sometimes."

Moody actually put a hand on his shoulder. "I think you've got a better fighting chance than you know, Potter. You're a good lad. You'd make a good Auror." Harry managed a weak grin, and Moody went on, "But, if it comes down to the worst…you've got my word." He glanced past Harry and raised his voice ever so slightly. "I'd ask the same if I were in your shoes."

Harry looked over his shoulder in alarm and saw Professor McGonagall standing in the hall, well within earshot. Her eyes were brimming, but Harry realized that she would also make sure his wish was carried out, if the Horcrux got control. That knowledge was a rush of relief he hadn't expected, and she saw it. "Come, Harry. Alastor has warding to finish, and Madam Pomfrey has some draughts that you should take."

Harry followed her down the hall, but cast a quick glance over his shoulder. Moody was watching him go, and nodded to him once before disappearing back into the room. Turning away, Harry swallowed hard, and Professor McGonagall put a hand on his shoulder as she led him back into the wing.

Strong odors were emanating from Madam Pomfrey's hospital wing laboratory, indicating potions being brewed. Professor McGonagall wrinkled her nose and muttered an Air Clearing Charm. Several bottles and goblets were already set out, and Remus was waiting for him. "Pull up a chair; misery loves company," he said, and Harry grinned. "Only the poisons ever taste good. Here," he handed Harry one of the goblets.

"What potions are they?" Hermione asked.

Remus shrugged. "Mostly generic pick-me-ups, 'health, wealth, strength,' that sort of thing. Bottoms up," he said to Harry, and quaffed his down, then pulled a comically disgusted face. "Blegh!"

Knowing Remus was trying to put him at ease, Harry did his best to laugh. "It's not as bad as Skele-grow." Hermione and Ron grinned. As they worked their way down the row of bottles, exchanging revolted looks, Harry asked, "What next?"

Sobering, the werewolf replied, "We wait until everything's ready, I suppose." His friends cringed, and Harry couldn't suppress a tremor that went through him. Remus hesitated, then held out one arm, and Harry moved closer to him, closing his eyes. "It will be all right," Remus said softly.

Without looking up, Harry murmured, "Thanks." Thanks for lying to me. "And I…you'll be careful, right? For yourself, I mean? I don't want…"

"Not to worry. I'll proceed with caution," Remus said, turning in his chair to hug Harry fully.

"That won't be enough, Lupin."

Hermione gasped. Harry and Remus turned in surprise, and half the people in the hospital wing jumped up. Ginny didn't make a sound as Professor McGonagall and the Aurors came out to confront the new arrival, and Remus's grip on Harry tightened.

It was Snape.

Lupin looks as if he expects me to attack the boy.

Severus stayed where he was and let them decide how to respond to him. Molly Weasley had a hand on her wand, but her husband stopped her, and turned to Minerva instead, as did many of the others. Interestingly, the only person apart from Ginevra Weasley who did not turn to Minerva for a cue was Potter himself.

The boy actually opened his mouth to speak, but then Minerva spoke up. "Well, Severus? Do enlighten us as to why Remus's caution and concern will not be sufficient to succeed in the exorcism."

I can never decide whether you took scolding lessons from Albus or not. Severus met her gaze steadily. "It is Lupin's concern for Potter—and the mutuality of it—that will be a danger in this case. The less emotional attachment the exorcist has toward the subject, the better. Objectivity and calm become increasingly necessary the more violent the magic becomes—and it is at that point that an exorcist who is overly attached will find it increasingly difficult to control his own mind."

Lupin moved closer behind Potter and gripped his shoulders more firmly, a look in his eyes that suggested he would see Severus resume guiding Potter in the exorcism over his dead body. And others were of Lupin's mind. "Are you volunteering to take over?" Ron Weasley sneered. "Until you get into a snit and storm off again, anyway?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth," muttered one of the Weasley twins.

"Not again, Minerva," said Molly Weasley, stepping fiercely toward her with a wary eye on Severus. "He had his chance, and he's not to be trusted!"

"I'm not sure if we've got many options," said Moody reluctantly. "Snape's got a point. Lupin's the best suited of any of us, except for their relationship—no offense," he added to the werewolf and the boy. Lupin dropped his eyes, but Potter gazed from Moody to Snape and back again.

"If objectivity's what's needed, I'm not sure if Professor Snape is any better on that score," said Arthur Weasley. "Even if his feelings aren't the same as Remus's, I'd wager they're no less dangerous to Harry."

"True, but I didn't hear him volunteering anyway," said Granger. She folded her arms and fixed Severus with a cold gaze. "Is Harry right about you after all, Professor? Are you just back to offer advice while someone else takes all the risks so you can convince yourself you've been redeemed?"

So, even the Wise and Infinitely Charitable Miss Granger has her breaking point. He said nothing in reply to the girl, but Minerva glared at him. "I would like to know that as well, Severus. If you don't intend to be useful to us, I see no reason for your continued presence."

He withheld the urge to give a sarcastic bow. "In that case, I offer my apologies for my…precipitous departure," (there were loud snorts from several occupants of the room), "and am willing to perform the exorcism myself."

Minerva and Moody exchanged glances with each other, then with Lupin, who did not look prepared to release Potter into Snape's charge again. "I don't like it," said one of the elder Weasley brothers.

"This is the only chance we have," Molly Weasley said urgently. "I think it'd be safer giving Remus the job, even discounting his emotions and the Mind Magic, than putting Severus Snape in control of Harry again."

"No."

When Potter spoke up, everyone turned to him in surprise. The boy eyed Severus, then said to Minerva, "Let him do it."

"Harry?" Lupin looked hurt. "I don't understand…"

Severus smirked. "It's the risks, Lupin. The risks to the exorcist in the process, that is what concerns him. Both of our emotional biases being equal, Potter would rather have my mind in harm's way than yours." He narrowed his eyes at the boy. "He cannot deny it."

To his surprise, the boy didn't look the least bit troubled by his accusations. "Fine," he said mildly. "I won't." Giving Lupin one apologetic glance, Potter stepped away and waved a hand toward the private wing in a mocking invitation. "Shall we?"

"Is everything prepared, Alastor?" Minerva asked quietly, not taking her eyes off Severus.

"Well, yes, but I don't know about this…"

"We're running out of time!" Potter said. "You said it yourself; the Occlumency won't last forever. There's no point to stalling any longer; let's just do it!"

Minerva looked helplessly from Moody to Poppy, then to the others, and slowly nodded to Potter and Severus. Potter immediately headed for the private wing, and Severus calmly followed him. Granger and the two youngest Weasleys ran past him. "Harry, wait!"

Reluctantly, the boy paused. He seemed to want momentum alone to carry him through. Severus brushed around them and went to the indicated door. It had been warded against any magic not associated with the exorcism, he was glad to see, and the room appeared to have been properly arranged. Minerva and Moody joined him while Potter's friends, Lupin, and the Weasleys gathered to see Potter off.

"I would give my life to spare that child's, Severus," Minerva said quietly. "I have no choice but to trust you again." She looked hard into his eyes. "Do not make me wrong."

Severus met her gaze. "I will do all that I am able to do." He looked impatiently at Potter, who was having to pry himself out of Molly Weasley's arms. In an odd reversal of their usual interactions, Ronald Weasley was the distraught one, while Granger was surprisingly calm as she embraced the boy and whispered encouragement in his ear.

Then Potter embraced the Weasley girl in farewell and started to move away from them, but paused. "Ginny?" She came back to him. "I…I need to…I should've…" Flushing under the gazes of everyone else, Potter nonetheless rallied his courage and moved closer to the girl. Her eyes widened, then she responded in kind to the boy's hesitant kiss. Severus turned away in disgust, and when he looked back, they were embracing once more before stepping apart. He ran his gaze over everyone there in the corridor and finally said, "I should've done a lot of things."

Molly and Granger were both having to shelve their own feelings to console Ron Weasley, who appeared on the edge of a complete breakdown. Potter backed up toward Severus as though unwilling to look away from them, and finally turned to him.

For one moment, the look in the boy's eyes shook Severus: he was terrified. Almost despairing. But then Potter's mask of resolve slipped firmly back into place, and he walked past Snape into the room. Severus nodded once to Minerva, then closed the door behind them.

The room was lit only by candles, which made the light flicker throughout, and Severus could feel the pulse of magic from the Purifications and Enhancing and Sight Spells already put in place. Well, that lot knew how to prepare the rite properly at least. Potter looked a little disoriented.

"There is more magic within this room than you have ever been exposed to at one time. Living spells are affecting us both," Severus informed him.

Potter nodded, rubbing his forehead. "What now?" Severus gestured to the center of the carefully-etched pentacle in the stone floor and the herbs and oils laid out for the ritual. Potter recognized what to do with most of them and began preparing the little fires on each of the points.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Snape asked, curiosity getting the better of him. "Are you especially eager to die?"

The boy did not look up from tying the herb bundles. "Am I going to die?"

"You may. We both may, as you well know. Answer the question."

Potter shrugged and finally looked at him. "Die or live, I just want this over with. There's no point putting it off; I can't really live with that thing hanging over my head. For better or worse, at least it'll be done. For everyone, and we can all get on with…whatever comes next." A bundle trembled in his hands as he put it into place.

In spite of himself, Severus felt a rush of what he could only describe as admiration. For all his obnoxiousness and faults, Potter was not one to retreat from approaching bad news. Not unlike the exorcist here, Severus had to admit: Potter would prefer the worst of news to having to wait for it.

"Immediately before we begin, I am going to begin lowering the Occlumency barrier," he told Potter. The boy blinked. "It may have been responsible for whatever was 'missing,' as described during the Seeing."

"Another part of my soul," Harry mused. "I guess that makes sense. That door could have given the Horcrux a way in just as it gave me a way out."

"Possibly. It may also make the foreign soul easier to identify. There." Severus and Potter arranged the last of the magical herbs and oils, and knelt facing each other in the pentacle's center. Within the center had been etched a circle, wherein the exorcist and the subject would be confined at the focus of every spell and charm in the room, along with the magics of their own bodies. "Are you ready?"

The boy's green eyes looked very large in the dim, flickering candlelight, but he nodded without hesitation and placed his palms over Snape's. "Ready," he breathed. The fumes of the burning herbs was already growing powerful.

"Then let us begin."

Severus looked through Potter's eyes into his mind to seek out the weakening barrier between the two souls, the two identities. It was definitely close to failing, for it collapsed almost as soon as Snape's own magic touched it.

He blinked. Potter, already falling into the grip of the spells and the herbs, could not have retreated from Severus even if he'd wished to, but Severus saw the change in his face, the red flickering deep within his eyes. The smell of the herbs was making the boy disoriented, and he began breathing faster and more shallowly in alarm.

"Relax," Severus ordered, his own voice sounding strange to himself. Potter swayed and let out a faint groan as the red glow in his eyes seemed to wax and wane and the spells upon them both grew more focused. It would not be long. Severus caught his shoulders. "Potter! Focus!"

"Ah," the boy gasped, sagging forward. Severus stifled an oath and held onto him as his pulse began to echo loudly in his ears. Was this merely the intense power of the exorcising magic or was something already going wrong? He had no idea, but Potter's nearness to collapse did not seem a good sign.

"Potter!" he shouted, his voice swallowed up by thick smoke that billowed into both of their faces.

All at once, the boy's head snapped up, his eyes directly on Severus, a fiery blend of green and red, his jaw clenched in a grimace of pain or exertion, then the smoke went from gray to black and swallowed them both up.

He was back in the black place he had seen before, only now, something was very different. He could see the figures of those who inhabited Potter's soul still moving around him, but…he was alone.

Potter was nowhere in sight.

To be continued…

Coming Soon: Ever gotten lost in somebody else's soul—literally? Well, Severus has, and it means trouble. Time runs short, and two lives and two souls now hang in the balance in Chapter Ten: Heart.

PLEASE don't forget to review! I'm going back to Stress Central Law School, I need my review fix!

Oh, and, uh...one more announcement. My birthday is next week, January 19th. I'm turning the big quarter-century. You all know what I want for a present (see above if you aren't certain.)