Alia: I know it's not much but hey, I updated. I've got more direction with this story and I have one last chapter done for TTS then I'll concentrate on finishing L&DD and Second Chances. Sorry, it took so long but I wanted to update it around the same time I did the last installment of TTS.

TITLE: With Darkness Comes Anew

AUTHOR: Alia

STATUS/PART: 13

RATING: PG-13

PAIRING: Severus Snape / (I don't even know)

SPOILERS: up to book four

WARNINGS: angst, language

DISCLAIMER: I do not in anyway or fashion own HP, etc. It belongs to JKR. curses

SUMMARY: Leaving the Wizarding World after a devastating betrayal, Severus starts a road in life that will eventually rock his world.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yes, it's so late, thank god it doesn't have an expiration date but hey...I updated.

With Darkness Comes Anew 13

Severus shook his head in disbelief. /What the bloody hell is going on here! This shouldn't be possible./ The results certainly weren't what Lex had been expecting.

He frowned deeply. "Shit. So what does this mean for Potter?" He moved away from the table and sat on nearby stool to think.

Seeing the results of the test left Severus dumbfounded. /This is impossible. Harry's body, much less his magic, shouldn't be able to do or handle something like this./ Standing, Lex began pacing slowly.

/Alright. Let's see what I know so far. I can ask questions as I go. Potter gets a package that is supposedly from Gringotts containing a vial that looks a great deal like a pensive liquid. Pensive liquid/ Severus paused.

/Did it contain a memory? I don't think it was mentioned. And was it really pensive liquid? I seriously doubt that./ He rubbed his forehead as he continued pacing. /Hopefully they have a sample of anything that was left. I need to see what that potion really was. I'll have to speak to Granger about it later. Now what's next? The explosion from the liquid blows a hole larger than my fist into Potter's chest./

/Harry is brought to Hogwarts./ Lex shook his head, not even bothering to wonder why the younger wizard didn't go to St. Mungo's. There would have been nothing for them to do anyway. /Julius's spell, which is rather complicated anyway bloody way, doesn't work the first time. Caesar teaches Weasley and Granger the spell and it doesn't work when the three of them try it. Understandable because of the curse./

/Julius scans Harry and comes up with the curse. The curse? It's a vengeance curse./ And being a vengeance curse, Lex knew more about that curse than anyone, even Julius. It was actually a retribution curse in the beginning, but when evil wizards or witches with darker intentions used it things went to hell quickly.

Unknown to Julius, it actually wasn't an immortality curse. The immortality was usually used as part of the revenge as in Harry's case. Usually euthanasia was the cure before it went too far.

Severus's eyes narrowed. /And I have a strong feeling that Voldemort really did cast this curse on Potter./ There was no doubt in Severus's mind that the spell was on Harry. The problem was that something else had gone wrong.

/Something with that damn potion. It has to be./ Shaking his head, Lex continued with his thoughts. Everything else was inconsequential until...until he tried to heal Potter. /I don't believe I didn't notice it./ Severus had certainly been surprised.

It should have been rather simple to move the injuries from Potter's body to Weasley's. Severus was a Symbol and practically being tied to an Element made things incredibly easy. He shouldn't have had to struggle but it felt as if something had been fighting him. It had only happened for a tenth of a second but that was significant enough to catch his attention now that he looked back on the entire thing.

/Great. Just something else to this mystery. This is ridiculous. Now what about Potter's behavior the next morning/ The spell shouldn't have been moving so swiftly but it definitely was. Severus glanced at the paper that sat innocently on the lab table. /And I have a feeling what it is. Problem is that it makes no damn sense. What the fuck did that potion do? And was it even the potion/

It would take over a week for Potter's physical body to react in such a way, especially since it was fully healed. There was also something extremely foul about the way Harry reacted in the infirmary. His body was not supposed to lose control like that. It was supposed to be from Harry's own will. His body appeared to be under the control of another.

"Fuck." Severus instantly remembered the look on Harry's face. The one that had cause his hackles to rise and strike out so viciously at the younger man. /But what is this/ He turned to look at the paper.

"Why do I have the worst feeling that this is something over even my head?" Lex snarled, his eyes totally black, as he walked over to another cauldron, searching for the latest results on his other experiments on Potter's health. All came up perfectly normal. Severus hated the fact that he couldn't really decipher what was going on.

/Merlin, what do I tell Harry/ thought Lex hopelessly.


Harry twiddled his thumbs as he looked around the room at the silent group of wizards and witches. It had been at least four hours since Severus had disappeared into the dungeons. And after some time, the sounds outside of the door quieted down. During the last few hours, he'd been regularly checking the strange medallion on his chest.

/Will he really be able to help me/ The fact that he was cursed frightened him but when Julius told him about what could be the final result of his curse, against his godfather's wishes but with Dumbledore's urging, had Madam Pomfrey running into the room with a calming potion.

At the moment, Fryer was grading a stack of papers that had a house elf bring him, muttering about the stupidity of his students' answers. Dumbledore was in deep thought as he carefully chewed another lemon drop. Sirius and Remus were in deep whispered conversation with each other and from Sirius's expression, whatever Remus was saying was not good.

The door opened and an exhausted Madam Pomfrey entered. She smiled weakly at Harry. "You appear to be doing rather well Mr. Potter?"

"How is Ron?" he asked softly, afraid that he'd ended his best friend's life. /I am so sorry Ron. Hermione will never forgive me./

"He's fine," she said, happy to give the young man good news. "He had some nerve damage and some blood loss but a couple of potions and some rest are making everything better." She walked over and began examining him. Harry knew better than to argue.

Poppy eyed the medallion. "Where is that man? Shouldn't he be back by now?" She straightened the blankets around Harry.

Without even looking up from his papers, Julius said, "He said a few hours. He won't be back until the medallion goes off." He wrote an Acceptable on a student's paper.

"Goes off? What does that mean?"

"It will start blinking."

"Like now?" asked Poppy as she eyed the medallion. Every few seconds, the diamond in the center would turn totally black.

The group of wizards around her jumped to their feet as Harry stared down at the slowly blinking diamond. "Professor Fryer?" asked the younger wizard, worry clear in his voice.

Black reached out a hand toward the diamond only to have it caught by Julius. "Don't. I don't know too much about this diamond but if it's from who I think it is, Potter and Lex are the only ones able to touch it." Seeing Sirius's frown, he continued saying, "If you touch it, it'll either destroy your hand somehow or kill you. And it won't be a pleasant death."

Dumbledore frowned and just wondered who and what Severus, or Lex, was involved in. Sirius was pulled back slightly by Remus as Pomfrey moved back herself. Harry stared at medallion and gently touched it.

When nothing happened except for the continuing blinking of the diamond, he sighed in relief. He turned to the Headmaster. "Shouldn't someone get Severus?"

Albus nodded. "Quite right my boy. Remus, do you mind?"

The DADA professor looked rather reluctant. "Are you sure I shouldn't stay, Albus?"

Julius answered as Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. It has to be you. I can't leave Potter's side in case he has another episode, Dumbledore needs to stay and help me, and Black would only upset him." Julius grimaced as he remember the last time Lex had really lost his temper.

Harry rolled his eyes and snorted silently as Fryer called him losing control of his body an 'episode.'

Remus nodded, his reluctance still there, and headed for the dungeons. A few minutes later, however, the werewolf stood in the middle of the empty lab. "Alex?"


"THIS SHOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE," whispered the Lady gently. Her eyes, totally white, looked at the information her brother's embodiment had discovered.

Alexander, the Dark Knight, nodded as he contemplated his sister, his opposite. "I KNOW. YET IT IS." He tried to keep his voice calm but knew she could feel his anger.

The two stood in the middle of a wild field filled with wild flowers. Trees stood powerfully in the distance. The sun stood high in the sky and the Lady of the Light soaked up it's rays happily.

While Alexander stood in his formal robes, the Lady was kneeling upon the ground in a simple white spaghetti string gown that flowed gently around her, hiding her legs, feet, and surrounding ground. At the hem of the dress were white sun bursts embroidered into the cloth. Her hair fell to the middle of her back and every few moments, a lock went astray before moving smoothly back into place.

The two had come to the field because it was often dangerous to be around mortals when they transformed. The amount of power was hazardous to them. If it hadn't been for strong spells placed on his apartment when Severus had become angered at Julius, he would have blown the building apart. /Thank Chaos for Zephyr./ thought Alexander.

"I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS WHAT THIS COULD MEAN?" It was whispered, yet their voices continued to ring with power. They usually toned it down but that atmosphere was somewhat comforting. It would be better if it was closer to nightfall for Alexander.

"I CAN THINK OF NOTHING, DARK KNIGHT. HE HAS TOO MUCH LIGHT IN HIM, YET HIS DARKNESS..."

"I CAN'T HELP BUT UNDERSTAND SEVERUS'S FEELINGS IN THIS MATTER. SOMETHING IS VERY FOUL ABOUT ALL OF THIS."

"THE POTION HOLDS THE KEY," said the Lady of the Light.

The Dark Knight nodded. "I HAVE NOTICED."

"AND YOUR INSTINCTS. WHAT YOU SAID WAS SEEN WHEN THE BOY LOOKED AT YOU." She hadn't enjoyed her brother's descriptions of the event and had winced when she was told what it made him do.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE DONE? I- SEVERUS CANNOT POSSIBLY CONTINUE AS WE PLANNED."

The Lady paused as she looked at her unhappy Knight. "LOOKING AT THE RESULTS, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. SO NOW YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS."

"HE WON'T LET THE BOY BE PUT DOWN LIKE SOME DOG."

The Lady nodded her head once. "THEN YOU HAVE ONE CHOICE." She pointed at the paper that she laid down on the grass.

The Knight frowned then his eyes widened. "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! THAT IS TOO DANGEROUS TO PERFORM ON A LIVING BREATHING CREATURE. ESPECIALLY A SENTIENT ONE!"

"THEN YOU MUST TRANSFORM HIM IN A DIFFERENT MANNER. YOU CANNOT SOLVE THIS ANY OTHER WAY WITHOUT A VERY SEVERE CHANGE. I CANNOT OFFER YOU ANSWERS, BROTHER," she said apologetically. "FOR I HAVE NONE MYSELF. BUT I BELIEVE YOU CAN FIND SOMETHING TO SAVE THIS CHILD. IF ANYONE CAN DO IT, IT IS YOU. IN THE MEANTIME..." She stood and walked over to him.

He smiled as she pressed a delicate kiss to his cheek. Chiara took a step back and bowed slightly. She now wore a pink sun dress. "The kids miss you and Emma's been a bit cranky without her daddy."

The Dark Knight's stoic face slowly disappeared and he smiled. His eyes quickly changed back to normal and a split second later, Severus stood before her in his shirt and jeans. "Tell them that's I'll see them soon. Unfortunately, I have to go back and break the news."

Chiara nodded sadly, and bent down. She picked up a large wildflower and gently coaxed the bee that had settled on it away. Severus eyed her and frowned. "Why don't you just banish it?"

"It's not polite, Lex," she replied playfully. He chuckled. "Because it's just a little harder to remove something that isn't really ours. Remember the time, my apartment flooded and I had to banish the water. It took a little more effort that it would have had I just called Sarah."

Lex frowned again before nodded as his face brightened slight with a ghost of an idea. "I think that you just gave me an idea. I'll have to see what I can do."

With a quick peck on her lips, Severus disappeared silently. Giggling, Chiara disappeared immediately after with a small flash of light.


"Lupin?"

"Agh!" cried Remus as he flung himself around to look at who was behind him. His eyes widened when he saw Severus, who wore an amuse look and had a piece of paper in his hand, appear from the shadows in the back of the lab.

The professor was stunned. He could have sworn that no one but he was in the room and with his sensitive hearing, he would have definitely heard the potions master. Especially since he'd been in the room for a whole three minutes, wondering where Severus had gone. It was almost as if Severus had come through the walls but Remus knew that was impossible despite the numerous passages in Hogwarts.

"Did you want something, Lupin?" asked Lex coolly.

Swallowing harshly, Remus nodded. "Yes. Harry's- well the medallion has started the blinking that you mentioned. Dumbledore sent me to get you."

"And what a marvelous little errand boy you are, Lupin. Let's go." Lex hurried from the room, folding the paper in his hands and pocketing it. Remus ran to keep up with him, shaking his head.

"How long ago did it start?" asked the dark haired man as he walked swiftly down the corridors of Hogwarts.

Remus noticed the familiarity of the walk and smiled as he answered. "Just a few minutes ago, not counting the time I couldn't find you."

Ignoring the unasked question, Severus nodded. "Has Potter lost control again during the last few hours?"

"No. He's been fine, a little sleepy but he's fine."

"No one else has touched the medallion, right?" Lex hoped not. He didn't feel like replacing any missing limbs.

"Thankfully. Poppy and Sirius almost did, but Poppy didn't want to skew the results and Julius warned Sirius about the dangers."

"I see." He was a bit disappointed that Black hadn't touched it.

It didn't take the two of them long before they reached the infirmary. Poppy was checking out the sleeping Ronald Weasley as his wife sat beside him. The witches looked up at them in relief.

Poppy patted Hermione on the hand before motioning the men to follow her into Harry's room quickly. "Thank Merlin. I thought you would never get back here. Poor Harry is at his wits end. The child is quite nervous."

Lex rolled his eyes while Remus smiled. Apparently Poppy forgot that the 'child' was a grown man. /Worse than the Headmaster./ Severus stepped into the room and was surprised when Harry brightened at his appearance.

Julius and Dumbledore caught Harry's look as well. Both men looked curious although Albus had a deeper suspicion. /Harry can't possibly have a crush can he/ But thinking about it made a small smile appear on his face.

Sirius was too busy throwing mild glares Severus's way to notice his godson's reaction to the man's presence. "What are you waiting for? Check the ugly jewelry so we know what's wrong with Harry."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Black, you know what's wrong with him. He's cursed." /Damn if it was only that simple./

Julius frowned. "Lex, what did you find?" He didn't like the expression on his friend's face. It seemed a little ominous.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news?" asked Lex. All but Julius stiffened or paled in fear. Harry's eyes widened as he wondered what exactly that meant.

Julius glared at him. "I know you too well, Lex. Good news is just bad news too."

"Not really. I have an idea of what is wrong with Potter."

"And the bad news?" asked Harry nervously.

"Actually that was some of the bad news too. I won't totally know what is happening until you have another...attack." The Lady had told him that his instincts might have the answer. He was definitely going to follow that advice. "There was something...off about your results. All the regular tests that can be done by St. Mungo's, and some personal ones, showed that you were physically fine."

"But-," snapped Sirius impatiently.

"But the last test showed something...very different." He sighed with annoyance. "I can't give you any straight answers because I still need more information." Ignoring the various questions shooting at him, Lex turned to Harry. "Take off the medallion. I think that's enough for now."

Harry nodded but flinched when he touched the medallion. "Severus..." The beautiful green eyes looked at the potions master in horror.

The Symbol stilled as Harry eyes smoothly darkened. "Shit. Get back! Poppy, leave! NOW." The others scrambled away from the bed and a reluctant Madam Pomfrey left the room, locking the door behind her. Lex began issuing orders as the wizard with black eyes stood on his hospital bed. "Dumbledore, you, Lupin, and Black defend yourselves. Julius, get ready!"

The werewolf removed his robes as he carefully moved to Severus's side, never taking his eyes off the smirking wizard in front of him.

Suddenly, Harry's body was in motion. "Crucio!" he cried as he threw his bare hands in Lex and Julian's direction.

The dark mage threw up a shield, allowing the spell to dissipate against the shield. Harry, however, was already aiming for the other occupants of the room.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" He roared, throwing the curse at the Headmaster.

Albus swiftly jumped out of the way. The curse hit the wall just as Harry threw a cutting curse in Remus and Sirius's directions. Sirius was hit in the arm and shoulder. Remus managed to partially block the curse with his own shield, preventing any harm.

Severus made a movement to bind Harry when the black eyes turned in his direction. A circle of fire surrounded him and Julius. With a smirk, he turned to Dumbledore. "EXPELLIARMUS!" Albus instantly lost his wand before he had time to move.

Lex and Julius blinked then looked at each other, Julius in shocked, Severus more curious. "Huh," said Severus. "I didn't see that coming." He raised his hand out only for the blaze of fire to rise and an individual flame flicked out at his hand viciously. Lex pulled it back to avoid having his hand burnt to a crisp. "Very interesting. It's been a while since I've seen that kind of boundary curse. Would make a nice ward."

"Lex, as nice as it is, and believe me when I say I'm interested, could you-," he motioned his hands wildly toward the other three wizards in the room who were running for their lives from the massive amount of dark curses coming their way.

Severus smirked and raised his hand, instantly destorying the curse holding them in place. Another wave of the hand and three impenetrable shield fell over Dumbledore, Lupin, and Black, preventing them from being harmed by Harry's body.

"NO!" Harry screamed in rage as the dark eyes glared at Severus hatefully.

The potions master stiffened as the familiar feeling overcame him. The unsettling feeling caused the hair on the back of his neck to rise and for his body to tense, ready to fight. The look Potter was throwing at him changed for a moment just as it had before. The black eyes shone with fear and utter helplessness, but again, it wasn't Harry Potter looking at him. It was... /So damn familiar why is it...NO./ The medallion had caught Severus's eyes.

The metal around the medallion was no longer green but a deep onyx color. The diamond that had been flashing black was now glowing red.

Lex was enraged at what he finally figured out. "I don't believe it! It's not fucking possible!" A sharp hand movement had Harry lying back on the bed, restrained by magical means.

Severus began pacing back and forth furiously while a howling, cursing Harry Potter was strapped to the bed like a mad man. "RELEASE ME! LET ME GO YOU BASTARD! DAMN YOU SNAPE. LET ME GO! AHHHHH!"

Everyone flinched but Lex ignored them all as he continued to seethe in anger, muttering under his breath. "But it makes sense doesn't it? It shouldn't! Such a thing is against the rules but apparently is happening. I don't believe this. Who could it be? Who would so fucking stupid and arrogant to pull something and with this one. Shit and it still doesn't answer everything! What the HELL!" Severus snarled in anger.

Everyone flinched again, including Harry Potter, who had finally returned to his previous mental state. Severus stopped him muttering as he turned to the younger wizard. Harry looked exhausted, but Severus decided not to pay too much attention to it. "Poppy!"

The school's healer rushed into the room, eyes filled with concern. Lex pointed toward the weary looking wizard on the bed. "Check him." Severus quickly removed the restraints that he put on Harry.

"Alex, what was that?" asked Albus, somewhat shaken at seeing Harry like that.

Lex glared at the floor, his arms crossed over his chest. "That is what is wrong with Potter." Before Albus could question his remark, Severus asked, "The potion he received. Was there any left after the explosion?"

Albus frowned. "I'll have to ask Shacklebolt. It was his team that went to the Burrow after Harry was brought here."

"As soon as you find that it the better. I need to confirm my suspicions." Severus looked at Harry. The young wizard met his gaze. "Let's hope that I'm wrong."

"And if you are?" asked Julius.

Severus didn't say anything, but his eyes spoke volumes.

TBC

Alia:...Review.