WARNING! Mention of death and suffering. Also, Dumbledore is following his "Greater Good" ideology, so he will not be painted in a very flattering light in this chapter. But it should be the only time we see him like that.

Enjoy!

His arm was burning from inside. He had been a fool. Of course, Tom would set protections. But he had wanted to see his sweet Ariana and talk to her. He wanted to apologize for what he had done all those years ago. And now he was paying the price. He had sent his message five minutes ago and Severus still wasn't by his side to help him counter the curse. He kept sending cooling charms to his arms to slow down the burning process, but it didn't seem to work very well. He needed the counter curse and Severus was the only one who knew enough of dark magic to help him.

When the door finally opened on the dour man, he let out a sight.

'Severus', pleaded Albus, showing his right hand 'the curse'.

Severus kneeled beside the headmaster and looked closely at the hand.

'How?'

'The ring', Albus showed the ring on the floor. He just had the time to destroy the Horcrux in it before the pain was too much to bear.

Severus focused on the ring for a few seconds, then turned to Albus.

'This is going to hurt', he said, before starting to repeat a counter-curse.

Albus Dumbledore felt a soothing cold encasing his arm from hand to shoulder, everywhere his flesh was burnt. But as the cold was battling the burning hot sensation, he started to feel like his arm was getting burnt by the cold. This feeling grew stronger and stronger until he had tears in his eyes and difficulty to breath. When the cold started to warm up again, he lifted his eyes and saw Severus starring at him.

'Maybe a cup of tea would be nice before we continue, Severus', said Albus, still tried to catch his breath.

Severus help Albus on his feet and charmed the teapot before sitting in one of the chairs. He gave him time to pull himself together before asking his questions.

'Albus, what happened?'

'I… I thought I could do it alone, but I can't. I have been a fool Severus. I realize now that if you didn't save my life, precious knowledge would have been lost forever', said Albus Dumbledore.

'I didn't save your life. The curse is still here, I can only slow it down. You only have a few months left Albus, maybe a year if we fight the curse regularly.'

'A year? That's not enough, I need more time! Harry needs me!' said the old man, slightly panicking. He wasn't afraid of death; he was afraid to not have the time to complete his self-appointed mission to destroy all of Tom's Horcruxes. And he still didn't know for sure how many there were, hidden in the world.

'Potter is gone, if what you said is true, he either ran away or he is dead. In both scenarios, he has proven that he cannot take care of this war for you, Albus. This mess is in our hands now', said Severus angrily. Why does the old man want so much for Potter to fight when he is only a child? Nearly a man, yes, but not yet!

'He is the only one who can kill Voldemort, Severus. He wouldn't have run away', said Albus.

'Then he is dead, and you will soon join him.'

'In that case… Someone needs to know. Severus, you need to know what Voldemort did to his soul. With your position of trust, maybe you will be able to find them.'

Severus was listening very carefully, feeling that this moment was important.

'Voldemort was once known as Tom Marvolo Riddle. When he was sixteen, he spilt his soul and created a Horcrux. It is a way to keep your soul anchored to this earth, preventing you from dying. This is why he was able to come back, Severus, he was never truly gone. It was the journal that possessed little Ginny Weasley and re-opened the Chamber of Secrets a few years ago. Harry destroyed it. He destroyed a part of Voldemort's soul. Because of Harry's connection to Voldemort, I started to suspect that he may have created others. I started to gather memories of his past and clues, to find them. I found another one tonight and destroyed it. I nearly died for that, and I realize now that I need to share this knowledge. But Severus, I still don't know how many Horcruxes he created. Tom is a collector; he chose items from his past to create his Horcruxes. Severus, I need you to get even closer to him a find out what the others are, and where they are hidden', Albus stopped there to drink another cup of tea and give time to Severus to absorb all this information.

'Albus, are you trying to say that He is immortal until he has even one left in this world?'

'Yes, Severus. And if you are correct about Harry and he is dead, then three Horcruxes have been destroyed to this day'.

'The connection!', said Severus, horrified by what the headmaster was telling him.

'Yes. Harry needs to die for Voldemort to be killed', said Albus with an overwhelming sadness in his voice.

'You raised him like a pig to be sent to the slaughterhouse… You- ', Severus was livid. This man, that he trusted, wanted to kill Lily's son and himself in the process, because of his Vow.

'Severus, get a grip! Harry means a lot to me. But if you are right and he is dead, there is nothing more we can do but find him and give him a proper burial. If he ran away, then we need to find him and bring him back to Hogwarts.'

Now Severus was raging inside, his fist closed and ready to push the old man in the face. Both of his masters were maniacs and murders. But he remembered Sebastian, the smile on his face when they discussed the use of the Quick Quote Quill on muggle paper. He was safer than ever. He needed to control his emotions and be the perfect spy. Only, his own interests didn't align with Dumbledore's anymore.

'So how do we destroy those Horcruxes?'

'This sword, behind you' Severus turned to see the sword of Gryffindor on the floor. 'Thanks to Harry, it is now imbued with Basilisk's blood. The venom also appears to work.'

'There is no other way?', asked Severus. A sword and Basilisk's venom couldn't be good. He needed something that wouldn't kill his brother.

'I theorized a few, but there is no way to be certain', answered Dumbledore. A silence filled the room before he continued. 'Severus, I need you to come with me tomorrow morning. We need to pay a visit to an old friend. You can sleep in your quarters here. Good night, my boy.' And with that, the exhausted old man felt asleep on his chair.

On his way down to the dungeons, Severus' mind was running in all directions. For one, he was sure that Dumbledore didn't realize the consequences when he chose to tell him. He forgot that he was loyal to Lily, and by extension to Harry, not to Dumbledore. By telling him his plan to kill the boy, Dumbledore definitively lost Severus. This was not just sending the boy into a fight he had no chance to win. This was premeditated murder. A huge difference in his opinion, even if the result was the same.

His problems now were many. But the most urgent one was to find a way to dislodge the Horcrux from Sebastian's scar and move it to another item. He couldn't let him die because he was hosting a part of the Dark Lord. In the meantime, he also had to decide what to tell the Dark Lord about this evening. If he knew that Harry Potter was his Horcrux, he may decide to keep the boy alive and that would eliminate a threat in case they were discovered. But he could also decide that Potter was more of a threat and… Well, it wouldn't really change anything in that scenario. But him knowing could place him in danger if the Dark Lord didn't want his secret known. Or he could keep Him informed on Dumbledore's progress.

Severus got into his bed that night, without even changing into his pajamas, and with a raging headache. This was just a bit too much for him.

When he woke up, his headache was gone but his problems were still without an answer. He called an elf to get something for his breakfast, before joining the headmaster in his office. On his way to the tower, he reminded himself several times that he was protecting his brother, who was secured in their bedroom and had an escape plan ready. The boy was happy and safe. As happy as a teenager who missed breakfast can be.

'Ah, Severus, my boy. You are right on time for my last cup of team. Do you want one?' asked Dumbledore with his usual grand-father smile.

'No, thank you. I am wondering what we will do this morning. I have to go back to my potions; the Dark Lord would not appreciate a delay in their preparation.'

'Ah, yes. Do not worry Severus, this shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.'

As Dumbledore finished his tea, Severus stood up. He couldn't afford to lose time, he only had until lunch to do this mission for Dumbledore, report to the Dark Lord and make it back home. Dumbledore stood from his armchair and gave his arm for Severus to take. With a sight, he took it and got whisked away.

They arrived in front of a cottage, lost in the fields. It was mid-July and farmers were tending to their fields, waiting for harvest. Dumbledore didn't wait and entered the house without knocking or announcing his presence.

'Stun on sight, Severus' The order came, sharp. Dumbledore was not here for sharing pleasantries with the person living in the cottage. A sound of water came from the second floor. Severus watched as Dumbledore went upstairs, very silently, wand already in hand. If the headmaster was ready to stun someone in their bath, this was getting worse than Severus had imagined. There was a serious risk of drowning the poor man, or woman. Severus really hope that he wouldn't have to look at a naked corpse. A door opened, Severus could hear the Stunner and a big Splash, followed by a pregnant silence.

'Severus, come upstairs, now!' barked Dumbledore. With the years, Severus could tell that the headmaster was getting more relaxed in his assumption that he completely owned Severus. But even with the Vow and all the restrictions Severus had to live with, he still had some free-will, and he used it all to protect Sebastian. Not that the Vow was still valid. The moment Magic recognized Sebastian as a Snape instead of the Potter, the Vow was invalidated. But he was now responsible for the boy. He couldn't just leave him to fend for himself! So yes, he was stuck protecting him, but this time, it was his choice. And when Sebastian was an adult, he could let him go and not be in any danger.

Severus stopped musing when he arrived in the bathroom. He saw Dumbledore levitating the body of a man out of the tub and sit him on the toilet. Severus recognized him instantly; it was Horace Slughorn, his old potion teacher. What was happening?

'Now, Horace' said Dumbledore to the stunned man, 'I know that you will refuse my offer to come back to Hogwarts and without Harry, I don't know how to make you change your mind. But, you see, my dear friend. You have something that is crucial for the war. An information that I need. I am truly sorry my dear friend, but sacrifices must be made in order to win. And I cannot let our world fall into his hands! It must be done, Horace. I am sorry. Goodbye, my friend'.

Dumbledore then turned to Severus.

'Severus, I need you to retrieve a memory for me. You will have to force his mind to give it to you. I want to know about the conversation that happened between Horace and Tom Riddle concerning Horcruxes.'

'But Albus, it's going to shred his mind if we force it'. And looking at the man, Severus understood that it was exactly why he was here. Dumbledore didn't want to have that on his conscience. He was going to turn Horace Slughorn into something close to the state the poor Longbottom were. And it would hurt.

He looked at his old potion professor. He was condemned anyway. If not him, Dumbledore would find someone else to do his deed. At least, he could make it faster for Slughorn. Therefore, Severus kneeled on the wet floor and lock his eyes in the stunned, frightened ones in front of him.

May Merlin help them all to get out of those two monsters' hold on their community.

/

Drowned in his bath. It would be on the report the Aurors will fill when discovering Horace Slughorn in a few days. Severus was walking with a heavy heart. With what he had seen and done this past few hours, he wanted out of the war too. Unfortunately, if he could now change his identity, there was no running from the torture of the Dark Mark if he were to betray. He had to continue and hope for the best. Saving his little brother may now be his one and only redeeming act. Driven by his own self-preservation, yes, but that would hopefully still count when he will be on Death's doorstep.

He passed the door to the office his Lord was using this day. Out of energy, and hope, he fell on his knees and started to beg.

'Please, my Lord. Please, make it stop.'

'What should I stop, Severus?' asked Voldemort, frowning at the visibly shaken man.

'Master, Dumbledore, he… He called me last night. His hand was cursed with a Flesh Burner curse. I stopped the propagation but… My Lord, Dumbledore is dying, he knows it. I never thought…'

'This is all good news, Severus. Maybe I will not Crucio you for slowing down the process, if you continue with such good news'

'Alas, my Lord. Knowing that he is going to die, and that Potter is still at large, made him desperate. He gave me a mission to continue after his death. We went to meet Horace Slughorn. Dumbledore forced me, but if I had known I wouldn't have done it. Please, my Lord, have mercy.'

Severus knew that there were no lies he could have spin and that his last resort was to beg for his life. Voldemort had a dreadful feeling. First, the attack on one of his precious Horcrux by the Potter brat, and now Dumbledore going after his potion teacher, the one who told him about the Horcruxes to begin with.

'What does he know?' asked Voldemort with a calm voice, hiding the emotional storm inside of him. He was in danger.

'He knows what you have done to guaranty your immortality, that you have seven of them, and how to destroy them. I am sorry, my Lord, pl – '

'Crucio'

No. No, no, no. He knew something was wrong when he felt part of his soul move on the previous evening, he had thought that the Potter brat managed to take down the one he had and would be satisfied with that. But now, he had two enemies knowing his secret, knowing that he had several Horcruxes and hunting them down. Hunting HIM down. He couldn't let that happened. With a swift motion of his wand, he stopped the Cruciatus curse. He needed his potion master in good shape and this curse tended to make people hands shaky if used for too long.

There was no second in the room for a couple of minutes.

'I trust you, Severus. It may be a mistake, but I trust you. You wouldn't have come to me and reported this if you weren't loyal to me.' He took a long breath and continued. 'You are to report me anything about this new mission, any information Dumbledore finds.'

'Master, he also told me. The boy. He is one too. Dumbledore plans to kill the boy.'

'What? Impossible!'

'I didn't want to believe it either, Master, but Dumbledore seems convinced he is one of your… safeguards.'

Voldemort took the time to think things through. It was even better than everything he hoped for if even the old fool wanted him dead. Of course, that would mean that he would lose a piece of himself but… Unless… It would make him momentarily vulnerable but, with Potter and Dumbledore on his tracks, it was probably safer anyway. Yes, it was a sacrifice he was willing to make. He would find another way to achieve his goals.

'Go away.'

'Thank you, Master.' And Severus was gone. He rushed back to Cokeworth, light up the streetlamp, just in case he was to late and hurried down Spinner's End. He was only at the middle of the street when he saw a window being opened. Sebastian's head popped out and looked around. The moment he saw his brother, he let out a deep breath that he didn't realize he was holding until then and closed the window. Severus was nearly too late.

They didn't say a word about what happened the previous night, but when the brothers were safely behind their wards this night, questions came running from Sebastian.

'What happened? Why did you take so long to come back? I thought you were dead! And you have been off all day. Are you ok?'

Severus was a bit touched by Sebastian's concern for him. But the news was simply too awful to tell. How do you tell someone that they are hosting a piece of a monster's soul, and that another mad man, that he used to trust, now wanted him dead because of that? And that there was no known solution so far.

'You asked me to get out of the war, now stay out. The less you know the better. Let me deal with all of this.'

'But Sev- '

'I promised you I would do my very best to keep you safe. This is exactly what I am doing. If you really want to help, then keep yourself busy tomorrow. I need to do some research, possibly create a spell or something. I will need quiet and no interruption.' Severus said the last part looking intently to the teen. That was something that Sebastian was never good at.

'Fine.' He waited until they were both in their respective beds to continue. 'I read the Prophet this morning. I was bored.' Another silence. Severus was waiting for the rest but only a small sobbing sound came.

'Sebastian?'

'I am awful. People are disappearing, some are dying, and I am here. Hiding like a coward. Why couldn't I just do as I was told? I should have stayed with the Dursley. This is all because of me. And what will happen now that there's no one to kill Him? He will kill everyone and it's all because of me, I- '

'Sebastian, stop that. Now is not the time for regrets. You would have died if you had stayed.' Said Severus.

'But maybe I could have won. I could have at least tried!'

'Sebastian! The Dark Lord wants to kill you, now even Dumbledore wants to kill you. You wouldn't have made it. STOP – IT! You made the right choice. You just need to trust me and let me protect you.'

'I feel so guilty, I- '

'Do you know what I did today? I destroyed a man's mind, leaving him in no better state than a vegetable, and then I stage his death to look like an accident. Do you know who asked me to do that?'

'Vold- Sorry, the Dark Lord?' said Sebastian.

'No. Dumbledore. This is getting ugly out there and when I say that you wouldn't have made it, I mean it.' Severus was a bit rough with him, he knew it, but he just wasn't in a good disposition today.

'Dumbledore' whispered Sebastian. 'You said he wants me dead.'

'He wants Potter dead. Now, I understand that you feel guilty about your decision. It was selfish, but it was the good choice. I never said it was going to be easy, I said you were going to be safe. And I dedicate each of my day to that. And I will continue to do so until you leave this house for good.' He stopped for a minute, then continued. 'You are my blood. Not just my brother, you are me, my clone. We share exactly the same blood. Yes, I feel responsible for you now, but… You are also the best thing that happened in my life in the past decade. I need you here, with me, and safe.' The end sounded more like a plea to Sebastian.

He cried a lot that night. Over past life, his parents, his friends, Sirius and Remus. But also, for Severus. The man was so alone that his most hated student living with him ended up being a good thing in his life.

The day after, Sebastian kept Wormtail busy by making him clean the house. He felt a little like the Dursleys but then reminded himself that the man had a room, food at every meal and was not being push around all day by a small whale. After his discovery of the blank muggle journal, he couldn't wait to try his theory. His asked Severus to perform a few Doubling Charms on the original and spent the entire morning reading a Runes book out loud. He had to stop regularly to draw the runes himself on his copied book, but he was very pleased with the result.

As for Severus, the man was buried deep in the very books he had forbidden Sebastian to read. He was reviewing anything that he could think was powerful enough to rival a soul ritual like the one needed to create a Horcrux. This was far from a pleasant reading, but it was necessary.

They spent the following couple of days in the same fashion. Sebastian coping Rune's textbooks, send Wormtail to run silly errands and Severus buried in Dark Magic. During diner, Sebastian asked a question that had been on his mind all day.

'Sev? I don't understand why the book keeps referring to the "magical rune". What is it?'

'It's your personal rune. Like a signature, you would put this rune on official documents, it acts like an individual identification.'

But of course. That's what he needed to anchor to piece of soul to a random item. If they both answered to the same identification, they would happily merge! He just needed to find Voldemort's magical rune, which… was impossible. Dumbledore did mention that the man's birth name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. Maybe translating the name directly would be enough to create an anchor. It was worth a try in Severus' opinion.

'Can I take the Rune Dictionary for tonight?' asked Severus.

'Sure, I need to work on my muggle studies anyway. I haven't worked a lot on Chemistry, and it's really complicated.' Said Sebastian. He knew that his brother despised everything muggle. He only admitted once that they had one good thing to redeem themselves. The anonymity given by their number; exactly what Sebastian needed.

That night, in the silenced security of their shared bedroom, Severus looked at Sebastian.

'What? Do I have something on the nose?' asked Sebastian. Severus laughed a little before answering.

'No. I want you to remove the bandage that we keep on your scar. I may have found a solution to that problem.'

Seeing Severus so calm, his voice sweet and reassuring, Sebastian started to panic.

'Sev, what's happening?'

'What is happening is that you are getting too comfortable. Sev? Really?' said Severus with a gentle smile.

'I would say something rude but right now you are freaking me out. Why are you so nice? What is your solution exactly?' asked Sebastian, working himself into a panic.

'It may hurt. Actually, it will hurt. A lot. And I do not know what the result may be. We can only hope.'

'Then, let's wait until we know. I am okay with the bandage on my head.' Said Sebastian, not wanting to experience that kind of pain ever again.

'We cannot wait Sebastian, this scar is the reason why Dumbledore wants you dead, and it's what makes you a threat to the Dark Lord. Without it, we stand a good chance to keep you alive. Sebastian- ', Severus sighed as he saw the teen with a very closed expression. 'Seb?' That was enough to bring his attention back to the conversation. 'I only want to protect you. And right know, it means going through that pain again. I am sorry.'

Severus put the pain relief potion, cloths for the blood, and one of Sebastian's books on the nightstand. Only, this journal had runes engraved on the cover and Severus had changed to color to black instead of blue.

'Wormtail will hear me', said Sebastian attempting to avoid the whole procedure.

'I have already reinforced the silencing ward. Try to relax.'

'Easy for you to say!' Sebastian took the potion and laid on the bed, he didn't want to do it but Severus' odd behavior what hinting that something important was at play. So far, trusting in ex-professor hadn't backfired so he decided to continue doing just that.

Once again, the knife went to the scar and the pain started to build up. The burning made Sebastian scream and hold the bed shits in his closed fists while screaming. When he finally lost consciousness, Severus was ready. The ghostly face of the Dark Lord started to appear, but the blank journal was already on top of the scar, ready to bond with the soul piece. The Horcrux felt a violent pull and was suddenly torn out of the warm body that carried him to far and attached to a cold item that was calling his name. It was colder, but it felt like home. The Horcrux stopped to fight and scream and finally rested within the pages of an empty muggle journal.

/

Miles away, Voldemort was enraged. He had felt it again. The old fool and the brat were hurting his Horcruxes again. They were killing him! The pain was unbearable but when he finally reached out to his other part, everything was black. He fought with all his rage, trying to see something, and then he felt something that frightened him more than he would ever admit. It was calm, and cold. Without waiting any longer, he fled back to his own body. This calm… There was only one thing in his opinion that could be so calm. It was death.

Dumbledore and Potter had destroyed three of his precious Horcruxes. He couldn't afford to lose anymore time. The ritual was not ready yet, and he was still researching another way to achieve immortality, but it was now his only priority. He couldn't take a chance.

/

The following morning, Sebastian woke up with a terrible headache. He immediate noticed that the sun was high in the sky. The fact that it was sunny was exceptional enough in Cokeworth to be noted, but Sebastian usually woke up when it was still just above the horizon.

Dizzy from his headache, he walked down the stairs and sat at the kitchen table. He was so pitiful that Severus served him a cup of coffee instead of his usual morning tea.

'I sent Wormtail in Knockturn Alley to get me some Norwegian Ridgeback's venom at Shyverwertch's shop. I don't know why I would use that, but I thought it would be nice to talk somewhere other than our bed at night.'

'I just appreciate not having to deal with him this morning. Merlin's beard, my head is killing me!' said Sebastian.

'I anticipated the headache, there is some pain relief potion in your coffee. Drink and you should feel better.'

'Thanks, Sev, you're the best.'

'I will make sure to remind you of that sentiment', answered Severus with his casual half-smile. Sebastian was starting to think that he was the only one alive that could get the older man to do that.

'So, hum… Did it work? The thing that you did?' asked Sebastian after his head was cleared of the pain.

Severus breathed slowly before starting.

'Yes, it did. What you had in that scar was one of the darkest magic there is. Even Necromancy is better than that kind of monstrosity. What you were hosting was the same thing that was in the journal that possessed the young Ginevra Weasley a few years ago. I took the same idea and moved it from your scar to a journal. I expect that you will not have the connection with the Dark Lord anymore. No more nightmares or false visions. You are free.' Said Severus.

'You mean… I had Voldem- Sorry, the Dark Lord, directly in my head, the whole time?'

'Yes.'

'Holy S- '

'Mind - Your - Language' said Severus, looking coldly at the teenager. He then served himself a cup of coffee and continued more warmly. 'The important thing is that you are free from the connection and safer than ever. And, as a bonus, you get to keep the ability to talk to snakes, thanks to my mother's blood. By the way… Happy birthday.'

Sebastian stayed stunned for half a minute before realizing that today was the 31st of July. It was his birthday! Well, not really.

'Sev, my birthday is on the 15th of August. You should know that; I am your little brother, after all!' said Sebastian with a full smile on his lips. Severus made a half-smile again.

Sure, he was not with his friends this year. But he was free from Voldemort for good. It was the best birthday ever!