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Chapter 8

"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book.

Books are well written or badly written. That is all."

- Oscar Wilde

Severus found the much-mangled and half-decomposed remains of James Potter several days later at the end of April. He was annoyed to discover himself capable of feeling guilty. He sent word to Remus as soon as it was possible to do so.

Remus and Sirius grieved for their friend by throwing themselves into their work. Sirius was back on duty, on the trail of the Death Eaters who had escaped from the final battle. Remus was already out of England in search for the last horcrux. He could not bring himself to tell Lily the news, so he sent a magical telegram through the wizarding community in Japan.

It was already early May when Lily Potter received the letter, and upon reading it, she went into a rage that terrified Harry because he had never seen it happen. Lily went on a destructive rampage around the house, while Harry took a crying Ellis by the hand out into the garden, casting a silencing charm in a bubble around them.

Harry was worried sick about his mother. He missed his father very much and wanted to be held and comforted, but he knew his mum was incapable of doing that at the moment. And he had to think of Ellis. So he shoved down his grief, and waited out the noises of chaos from inside their house. When it petered out, and he could no longer feel the shocks of magic in the air, Harry cautiously took down the silencing charm.

His brother had fallen asleep on his lap, exhausted after crying so much. Harry laid Ellis gently on a wooden bench that he transfigured into a bed of sorts. Ellis was now four years old, but he seldom spoke, because Lily was prone to long bouts of silence that neither of her sons wanted to break. Harry was the one who taught his little brother his letters, and do little spells with his Indian wand.

Trying to make as little noise as possible, Harry tiptoed inside, only to stop at the door in shock. His mother had collapsed in the living room, her eyes open but unseeing, glazed with grief, while small whimpers escaped from somewhere deep inside her.

But that wasn't what stopped Harry. Right beside his mother's trembling body, beside the broken mirror of her jewelry box, lay the smashed bits of shell of the python egg from India, and the melted slag of the giant Buddha's bronze bindhi.

"Mum, what have you done?" Harry whispered, his hand clutching his wand in fear.

From across the continents, Lord Voldemort woke up from slumber in an animalistic rage. None of his followers could appease him. Vincent Crabbe died under a stray curse, and the others scattered in self-preservation.

When the Dark Lord shouted inarticulately about Japan before disappearing, Severus Snape immediately went back to his quarters to contact Remus.

"It is time, wolf," he barked into the radio disguised as a picture frame, even as his mind considered and discarded plan after plan.

The wolf grunted in reply, "I need the location of the last one, snake. It is difficult to move inside Durmstrang without being seen."

"I will see what I can do," Severus murmured, wondering whether Karkaroff was still in the dungeons with them or he had escaped away already.

But first, he left his quarters and ignoring the scampering and panicking servants and fellow Death Eaters, he strove into Lucius Malfoy's room like he belonged there. The door was warded, but Severus opened it with a prepared magico-technical spell. The lush room was empty.

Severus headed for the chest by the bed. Another pre-planned spell and it was open. The book lay on the velvet lining, thrumming like it knew what he had in mind for it. Severus reached for it, but stopped when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Ah, Severus. You have surprised me, after all." Lucius stated calmly like it was an everyday occurrence to discover a traitor amidst them. "I see I have underestimated your instincts for self-preservation."

Severus had stood up, his back to the wooden chest. A couple of nasty hexes rose in his mind, but he bit them back. "It is always wise never to find oneself on the losing side, Lucius. You, of all, have taught me that." His voice was smooth and calm, like the surface of a lake hiding his fear in its murky bottom.

Lucius inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Then by all means, save the world, my dear serpent."

Severus tried to read the eyes of his old friend and mentor, but found Lucius as inscrutable as always. He set a quick Incendio to the book, and both of them watched as it twisted and thrashed on the floor, its pages turning red before turning black and disintegrating into ashes.

Before either of them could blink, Nagini had slithered into the room and swept Severus up in its thick coils. It wrapped itself around the potions instructor's body and neck, squeezing powerfully for a second, before it took a swift bite into his bony shoulder.

Lucius watched for a second calmly, before he issued a hex that stopped the giant snake, which immediately fell dead in long coils around Severus' feet.

Severus coughed on the floor, trying to get away from Nagini's corpse, and to still the flow of blood from its venomous bite, while he watched Lucius walk away, as composed as ever. Before he turned into the corridor, however, Lucius turned back to Severus, "Karkaroff has fled already, Severus. The last one is supposed to be in the bell."

How much does the bastard know? And how long has he known it? Severus dismissed the questions as soon as they entered his mind. Immediately after he regained the use of his vocal cords, he gave Remus the information. Then he apparated into Hogsmeade and collapsed just inside the Three Broomsticks.

Before he lost consciousness completely, a thought entered his mind: it was done.