Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter's universe. This is a response to the Severitus Challenge. The rest is mine.

AN: Sorry for the long time it took to update, I've been busy with work and visiting a friend who's in hospital three hours from home so I didn't have time to write anything for a long time. I hope you understand. Thanks to all the reviewers!

This is a chapter for Dumbledore's lovers...

Chapter twelve: limitations of the Light

Severus was on his way to his chambers when he heard a noise coming from the potions classroom. Thinking it was a student in need of a detention, he ventured nearby and was completely disconcerted by the sight of the normally composed transfiguration professor throwing a tantrum. She was destroying chairs and tables alike with an enthusiasm totally unlike her. She didn't even notice him until he cleared his throat. She then stopped and looked up.

"Severus." She said with a hollow voice.

"Minerva. May I inquire to what you are doing to my classroom?"

"Imagining the piece of woods are the faces of muggles."

"I didn't think you had anything against muggles."

"I usually don't. But these… They were laughing, Severus! When I told them he was gone, probably dead, they laughed!"

"You're hysterical, Minerva. Calm down. To whom are you referring?"

"His relatives! Potter's aunt and uncle, and had their son been there I bet he'd have a good laugh too. I told Albus years ago not to leave him there, but did he listen to me?"

She was babbling again, he thought. Without a word he gave her some drops of Calming Draught, which she took gratefully. He then spoke in a smooth voice:

"You were telling me about Mr Potter's relatives."

"Yes. As his Head of House, it is my duty to inform personally the family of the children in my care, should anything happen to them, as you well know."

Severus nodded. As Head of the Slytherin House, he had the same obligations.

"I took great care delivering the news. I didn't want to upset them too much… You should have seen them! They were happy, Severus. When I told them their nephew probably wouldn't come back, they smiled, said they had never wanted him in the first place and that it was "good riddance"! When I left they were making plans to celebrate in the restaurant this very night."

"Maybe they were happy because of The Dark Lord's death. They were probably proud of Potter for dying a hero!"

"I didn't even tell them about that! All I got to tell was that he was missing and probably not coming back, they wouldn't hear anything more, calling it "freakishness"! Severus, they didn't care, as long as he was gone. I thought I'd curse them."

"Why didn't you?" I would have, he thought.

She gave him a long, suspicious look.

"And why do you care, Severus?"

"I was under the impression that Mr Potter was spoiled by his relatives. It appears I was wrong. I was simply trying to ascertain how wrong I was."

"Very. Now if you'll excuse me I have work to do."

With a wave of her wand, she put the classroom back in order, and left.

…………………………………………………….

The rat was in poor shape. His skin was so pale it looked grey, and he was coughing blood. His condition had worsened rapidly since the day he had found out from the Daily Prophet's front page that Harry Potter, and not Severus Snape, was missing. He had no choices left. He could die to protect a man he had once sworn to serve, and whose mark he bore. A man who had not once rewarded him for his loyalty, who ruled by fear and madness, and who was now completely harmless. Or he could save a child who had once spared his life when he had had every reason in the world to claim it, and live to see another day…

With great effort, he managed to grab a pen and write a few words with his trembling hands.

………………………………………………………

Severus sighed. He was about to break a promise he had made to himself years ago, to do something Albus had forbidden him to do ever again when he turned to the Light.

But what else could he do? Let his own flesh and blood be tortured and killed, do nothing while he waited for the corpse of his son to be found?

He knew the risks. To practise Dark Magic after so much time of depravation could immediately render him addictive to it again, and it had been difficult enough to break of his addiction the first time.

There was no other way. If there had been, he had no doubts that Albus would have tried it. Despite the things the Headmaster had said these past two days, Severus was intimately convinced that the old man wouldn't have let Harry down, if he had known of a way to find him.

There were some things the Light just couldn't do. Sometimes, you had to do something dark to accomplish something good, and if Albus couldn't see it, Severus could. That was why he had first turned to the Dark, when he understood that Light magic had its limitations. Too many limitations.

Light magic couldn't allow him to save his son.

These books could. He smiled at the irony. He had kept them on Dumbledore's advice, because to renounce something you weren't in contact with, something you didn't see everyday, wouldn't have assured he was able to resist if the opportunity presented itself. Out of sight, out of mind, he thought darkly. Albus wanted him to be able to stay in the vicinity of the books without being tempted, and it hadn't always been easy. But after all these years, he didn't even notice them most of the time. However, they were never out of his mind.

………………………………………………………….

Albus Dumbledore sat on his Headmaster's seat, deeply thinking. Severus' behaviour these past few months confused him, and so far he had failed at each attempt he made to make the man confess everything.

Harry and Severus had somehow gotten close, that much was clear. The man hid it well, but Albus could tell he was worried about Harry's disappearance, though as far as Albus could remember, he had never showed any concern about anyone else.

He had tried everything he knew. The Gryffindor approach, asking Severus directly, a few months ago, had only got him a glare and a spat "This is none of your business" from the Potions Master.

The Ravenclaw one, investigating on pretty much Harry and Severus related, told him next to nothing. The only thing he did learn, while talking with Remus, was the way Harry reacted after he saw Snape's pensieved memory. But he knew for a fact that Severus would never have forgiven Harry for looking into his Pensieve unless something else occurred. The man could be quite resentful sometimes, and he was forcefully protective of his intimacy.

He hadn't even tried the Hufflepuff approach, never having quite the heart of that house, but even the Slytherin way hadn't prove useful. Telling Severus that he couldn't afford to look for Harry because he was an orphan and that next to nobody cared about whether he lived or died had been a low blow, to make Severus admit once and for all that he DID care for the boy, and hopefully to explain why.

There had been a second when he thought he had managed, and that Severus would tell him. In that second, he saw the fury in the teacher's eyes, the need to scream at him to find Harry asap. But he never did.

Albus was getting frustrated, and not only about his friend's refusal to cooperate. He had assigned every Order member (save Severus) to the search of Harry Potter, but they were getting nowhere. They just didn't know where to look. All potential Death Eater were being chased, but so far none had been captured, and with their Dark Mark gone there wouldn't be a valid excuse to interrogate them under Veritasérum, which was under controlled use. Of course, the Order didn't care whether or not it was approved by the Ministry. Once they would find a former Death Eater, they would interrogate him, then use Obliviate on him.

He knew they had time, though. Severus was right, and the remaining Death Eaters wouldn't just kill the boy outright. They would make him pay their master's downfall. But the more they waited to rescue him, the more the risks of finding him insane increased. Harry was strong, and had always been. The success in this mission showed it perfectly. He had managed to vanquish the most feared Dark Lord in the century at the end of sixteen, and without even becoming a murderer. Albus was very proud of him, and hoped against hope that he would have the chance to tell him so one day… Still, even the strongest minds had been known to break under a prolonged use of the Cruciatus curse. He remembered Alice Longbottom, Neville's mother, from when she was at school, and she was anything but weak-minded…

An owl suddenly hooted near his window, and dropped a letter on his desk. It was just a little piece of paper, folded up in two, with a name scrawled on top of it. Apparently it was addressed to Remus, though the handwriting wasn't clear. Albus sighed. Remus was in Grimmauld Place and since the owls who had never been in there couldn't find it, every letter addressed to the werewolf were sent to Hogwarts. He would have to drop by later…

Or he could just go now. Anyway he had too much on his mind, and wasn't getting any work done. Nodding to himself, he threw a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace and called "Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!".

He immediately found himself in front of Remus, who was apparently reading some book on the sofa. Albus had a new pang of guilt when he saw the state the werewolf was in. He wasn't in any better shape than the following day of a full moon, though the next one wasn't due for two other weeks. He raised his head, and smiled upon seeing the Headmaster.

" Albus! I didn't expect you. Do you have any news?"

"Unfortunately no, my boy. But I received an owl for you, and thought I'd drop by to see how you were doing."

"I'm fine, thank you."

"You don't really seem fine, dear boy."

"It's just… First Sirius and then Harry…"

"I know, my boy. I know. But Harry isn't lost yet."

He didn't even believe himself, so he wasn't surprised when Remus appeared sceptical.

"So, what about this letter?" asked the werewolf, trying to sound enthusiastic.

Albus decided to humour him. After all, there was nothing he could say that would make Remus feel better right now, and whatever was in this letter was more likely to hold the man's attention. He gave the letter to him, and raised an eyebrow when the werewolf paled, then carefully smelled the letter, and snarled.

"Remus? What's the matter?"

"Wormtail." Remus snarled viciously.

Hope began to make its way into Albus' heart, and by the time Remus finally spoke, it was tearing him apart.

"Harry… He's in the orphanage where Riddle grew up… It's abandoned now, so Voldemort used it as a symbolic place to hold his Death Eater's meeting… You know where it is?"

"I do. I went there myself to introduce him to the wizarding world… How very fitting that it is also the place where he has been kicked out of it. Order meeting in half an hour. We have to get there as soon as possible! Contact everyone. I'll take care of the Portkey, since no one else know the location."

Remus simply nodded, still a little shocked by the fact that Wormtail had decided to help them. Of course, he knew it was only because the Wizard's debt he owed Harry was killing him. A rat only cared about saving his own skin… And the last other Marauder had always been a rat, even before he became an Animagus.

……………………………………………………….

Flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood,

I take you pain and your peril

You who now stands in Danger's Wood,

I choose your fate and prove my will

May the blood of the father help secure his son

May his love make possible the curse he calls upon…

To be continued...

Please review! Oh, and I'd like to open an inter-house competition. Four questions to answer at the end of each chapter, ten points per correct answer to your house (don't forget to mention your house in the review!):

1: Whatis Snape's incantation designed to do?

2:What side effects will it have?

3: Will the Order get to the abandonned orphanage in time?

4: What will become of Tom Riddle?