"Are you just hanging around girl's bathrooms now, Mr Sun?"
Harry looked up to see Severus leaning in the doorway of the girl's bathroom on the second floor with a smirk on his lips as he looked down his nose at Harry kneeling on the floor in front of the sinks lining one wall.
"It's not what you think." Harry replied, with a smirk.
"With you, Blake." Severus drawled. "It could be worse"
Harry barked a laugh and pulled himself to his feet.
"The Chamber of Secrets," Harry announced and waved his hand around. "The secret lair of Salazar Slytherin starts in a girl's bathroom. I'm not sure if that's smart or perverted."
Severus barked a laugh and gave the man a smirk.
"Open." Harry hissed, making Severus jump.
"You should warn someone before doing that!" Severus snapped as Harry grinned at him.
He turned back to the tunnel that had been revealed to them and frowned.
"What do you have in mind?" Severus questioned beside him.
"It's big enough down there as a staging point for bringing people into Hogwarts," Harry replied as he stepped towards the tunnel. "I'll have to look at the magic to see if I can make it easier to get in and out of there and whether the wards reach that far down."
Harry grabbed the edge of the tunnel and swung in with Severus yelling after him. Harry grinned as he slid down the slide and wondered about the sanity of Slytherin as he stumbled to his feet at the other end and looked around. It was just like he remembered, but then again, he doubted anyone else had been down here since Ry, Lockhart and Ginny were. He looked over his shoulder as Severus landed with a curse and smirked over at the other man.
"You are insane, you know that!" Severus snapped as he got to his feet with a disgusted look at the dirt on his robes.
Harry just laughed and limped off down the tunnel with Severus muttering under his breath behind him. The other man gasped as they stepped out into the main cavern and looked around with large eyes.
"He had a flare for drama, right?" Harry said as he looked around. "Must have run in the Slytherin line."
Severus's eyes locked on the skeleton of the basilisk and his whole face lit up. Harry patted his shoulder as the man went over to have a better look as Harry moved further into the room.
"Potter killed this thing?" Severus called, crouching down near the skeleton's head.
"Gives you a shiver doesn't it?" Harry called back as he stopped in front of the statue of Salazar Slytherin.
"That doesn't cover it," Severus said quietly. "I could use this in my potions."
"Go for it," Harry called over his shoulder. "I'm just going to look at the wards…oh, I may have to speak in parseltongue…just a warning."
Severus flashed him a smirk as Harry turned back to the statue. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing as Severus moved around quietly behind him and the slow drips of water the only noise around them. He slowly opened his mind to the magic in the cavern.
He frowned when he didn't find much magic and no dark magic tainted the cavern as he opened his eyes. He could feel the wards pulsing under his feet and knew that they lay very close to him. So, Slytherin had made his secret chamber within the wards. He frowned and felt further out but just touched on the charms and spells that you would expect from a cavern made underground.
"Was Slytherin a Dark Wizard?" Harry called to Severus.
"From reports he was," Severus replied. "But that was a long time ago."
"There is no dark magic here," Harry reported. "Nothing."
"Maybe he didn't want to give the Headmaster a headache," Severus said with a smirk. "Unlike someone else I know."
"Ah," Harry stuttered. "I did apologise to Albus after the last time."
Severus barked a laugh.
"I think the old man is getting used to it," Severus said as he worked on removing a rib from the basilisk.
"Maybe that's why there's no dark magic down here." Harry remarked, looking around. "The wards lay just under our feet so any use of the dark magic would have been picked up by the Headmaster of the school."
"You do know, that most people with dark magic don't throw it around like you." Severus remarked. "It could have just faded over the years as well."
"Maybe," Harry replied as he looked around. "The Dark Lord would have been too young to use dark magic when he was at school."
Harry kneeled down and felt the pulse of the wards under his palm and goose bumps came up on his arms with the feeling of static electricity nipping at his fingertips.
"Talking to the wards?" Severus called.
"Ha, ha" Harry replied as he moved back to Severus. "I'm going to take a walk around and see if there's another way into the chamber."
"Right," Severus replied, busy with taking the snake apart.
"Keep an ear out in case there are more of them around," Harry said with a smirk and Severus's hand stilled.
"There could be more?" Severus asked, his eyes glinting.
"Are you hoping for fleshy parts?" Harry laughed as he moved off.
"Do you know the kind of potions I could make with those parts!?" Severus called after him.
Harry grinned as he moved towards one for the tunnels branching off from the main cavern and threw a light up into the air to see better as he worked his way through the passages.
xXx
Severus looked around when he heard a slight scuff but there was nothing there as the dripping of water played games with his head. The cavern was bloody creepy as he looked up at the blank eyes of Salazar Slytherin and he shivered. He'd noticed the marks on the floor of the cavern and Severus was sure that it had been used for duelling down here at some point and he wasn't sure if Blake had picked up on that.
The running water and dripping making him think he could hear whispers from the tunnels was putting him slightly on edge as he worked on the snake's skeleton before him. He would be able to sell a lot of this at the apothecary in Diagon Alley for a good price. Severus looked up again and frowned, Blake had been gone for a while now. He stood and looked around, wondering where the man could have wandered off too.
"Blake?" Severus called out, his voice echoing around the chamber.
'Where could the man have gotten to?' Severus thought as he looked around.
"Blake?" Severus called again.
Suddenly the man appeared with his silver sword in one hand and the cherry wand in the other and a slightly wild look in his eyes.
"Hey!" Blake panted. "You know how I said that you could have some fleshy ingredients?"
Severus's eyes widened and he pulled his wand as a rumbled started up under his feet and he swore.
"Get back towards the entrance!" Blake barked and Severus didn't argue. "Don't look it in the eyes!"
A large snake's head appeared further down the cavern and swung its head towards the two wizards and flicked its tongue out. Severus quickly looked away as Blake pushed him further back in the tunnel. A shimmering wall of whiteness appeared in front of them as the snake hissed and started to move towards them.
Blake grabbed his hand and he felt something run over his body, he shivered and his eyes widened as everything in the cavern suddenly had a soft glow around it.
"What did you do?' Severus hissed.
"You should be safe from its gaze now." Blake whispered, moving them slowly back as the snake moved towards them and Blake hissed something beside him making him shiver.
The snake paused before rearing up and Blake pushed him to the side as he went the other way as the snake lunged at them. Severus landed against the wall hard as the snake dived passed them. He quickly ducked behind one of the pillars, his heart beating a hundred miles an hour and he could hear Blake hissing something as the snake slid passed him. The beast was huge.
Severus tightened his grip on his wand and quickly moved after the snake, towards where he could hear Blake further along the cavern. He slid slightly on the wet floor and swore as he skittered towards another pillar as the snake's tail flicked out. It smashed into the pillar near him, sending chips of stone flying.
"Sectumsempra!" Severus hissed and slashed his wand down.
The white spell smashed into the snake and the sound it made shook the chamber. He hit the floor as the beast swung around with speed, he wouldn't think something so big would be have been capable of, as it crashed into the pillar next to him. Stone and dust rained down on his head as he ducked quickly.
Blake darted forward and slash at the snake's side with his sword and it swung its head towards the wizard, then Blake was moving out of Severus's sight again drawing the snake off. Severus quickly scrambled to his feet and darted down one of the side tunnels, the sounds of hissing and crashing coming from everywhere making it hard to pin point where the animal was.
Blake yell out from somewhere and headed in that direction but the tunnel split into three different directions before Severus and he swore. He quickly placed his wand in his hand and hissed the point me spell. It locked on Blake and pointed to his right and he ran forward.
A loud crash had the floor shaking and Severus paled and hoped the roof didn't come down on their heads as Blake yelled out something else that he couldn't work out, followed by another loud crash. He slid out of the tunnel just to duck a spell as it sailed over his head.
"Sorry!" Blake called.
Severus quickly sent a cutting spell at the snake and it howled, its head swinging in his direction and Severus ducked back into the tunnel, the snake on his heels.
"Severus!"
Severus panted as he ran, he could hear the basilisk behind him, but it was falling back as he ran and slipped through the tunnels until silence descended around him and he glanced over his shoulder. The beast was gone.
He placed his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath as he looked around with wide eyes. All he could hear was dripping water and his own breathing, he moved away from the wall and walked further down the tunnel as it started to widen into another small chamber. He looked around with wide eyes at the number of tunnels leading off this one.
He held his wand out again and did the point me spell but it just spun unable to pick up on Blake. Severus cursed since it looked like the spell got confused, like owls did sometimes, when trying to find Blake.
He went to try the connection in the ring next but lost his concentration as the cavern shook slightly and he threw his hand out to the side of the tunnel to steady himself. He could hear a distant rumble to his right, so he ran in that direction. Blake skidded around the corner with his silver sword in his hand.
"Other way!" The man snapped.
Severus quickly ran the other way, Blake's heavy breathing behind him as they dashed back into the small chamber. Severus grabbed the man as he went to move past and pulled him to the side. The man yelped at the sudden move and dropped his sword which clattered to the stones as Severus pulled him around and pushed him up against the stone wall beside the tunnel.
Severus picked the sword up and held it in his hands and waited as Blake panted beside him. He could hear the snake as it moved towards them and Severus held the sword up waiting. The best stuck its nose out and Severus smashed the sword down on the beast's head slicing deep into its skull.
The beast hissed loudly and threw its head to the side, smashing it into the sides of the tunnel and throwing Severus off balance. Severus tumbled to the side as the sword just disappeared from his hands and Blake was rushing in front of him and thrusting the sword up into the beast's jaw and into its head.
Severus rolled out of the way as Blake cursed and stumbled to the side as the beast crashed down between them, shaking the ground. Severus panted and sat up covered in water, dirt and basilisk blood. Blake's head appeared over the top of the snake and grinned at him, blood dribbling down the side of his face and soaking into the collar of his dirty shirt.
"Right there, Snape?" Blake called.
Severus picked up a stone next to him and threw it at the man. Blake laughed and used the sword as a cane to move around the beast's head towards him.
"Hey," Blake said as he settled down next to Severus. "At least you have your fleshy ingredients now."
Severus snorted a laugh as he looked over at the other man, the slight glow to his sight making the man's skin shimmer slightly.
"I'll even let you keep the profits," Blake said with a wink.
Blake yelped in surprise when Severus tackled him to the ground.
xXx
Dracka's nose wrinkled up as a smell crept in to him while he'd been marking papers in his office. He set his pen down on his desk as the smell got stronger. He moved to his feet and across the room to his door. He carefully opened the door before peering into the hallway and held a sleeve over his nose as the smell curled around him.
He stepped into the hallway, hearing voices coming to his right and frowned. He walked towards the sounds, trying to breathe through his mouth. He could make out Blake and Severus's voices as he crept closer. Even the demon in him, which normally took notice at Blake's voice, had hid away from him.
"Are you sure there are no more?" Severus questioned from around the corner.
"Yes," Blake snapped back.
"Well," Severus drawled. "You didn't know that one was there!"
"For the last time, Severus." Blake snapped, making Dracka grin. "There was only the one!"
Dracka heard a sliding noise followed by Blake cursing and he smirked even more. Dracka peeked around the corner and could see Severus standing there in just his shirt and pants with his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at something in a disused girl's bathroom. The smell that rolled over to him made his nose wrinkle up even more and he noticed the dirt covering Severus and he frowned.
"Are you just going to stand there!?" Blake snapped and Severus smirked as he looked into the bathroom.
"Yes," Severus drawled drawing out the word, as he tapped a pale wand against his arm.
Dracka snickered and Severus looked over at him and the vampire could see the amusement on the man's dirty face as Blake swore at him. Severus stepped to the side as Blake's silver sword came flying from the bathroom and Dracka raised an eyebrow as he crept closer.
"How did I get stuck with doing this?" Blake snapped from the room.
"Because, Mr Sun." Severus purred. "You have a silver knife and were already covered in dirt and blood."
Dracka's curiosity kicked up a notch as he moved closer, that offensive smell getting worse.
"You're just as dirty as me!" Blake pointed out.
Severus held up the wand in his hand for Dracka to see and the man noticed that it was Blake's cherry wand.
"But I'm the one holding you to ransom," Severus smirked back. "And you were nice enough to give me your sword as well. Feel free to give me your other wand, Mr Sun."
"Smug bastard!" Blake cursed and Dracka heard something splat on the floor.
"What's he doing?" Dracka hissed from the safety of the side of the doorway.
Severus's smirked, as he looked into the room his face pale under the dirt.
"Cut the other way!" Severus snapped. "Have you not done this before, Blake?"
"Shut it!" Blake cursed. "You can still come in here and do this yourself!"
"I don't know, Blake." Severus said with a smirk. "It looks like you need the practise."
Severus yelped and skipped to the side as a spell sailed out of the room and he bumped shoulders with Dracka beside the doorway, his hands on his knees as he chuckled softly.
"I didn't realise you liked poking dragons, Severus." Dracka hissed.
Severus looked up at him and grinned, dropping years from his face in that one moment.
"Is that Dracka I hear?" Blake yelled.
"We should run," Severus suggested and grabbed Dracka's arm.
"Severus?"
"Go," Severus hissed and pushed Dracka. "There is no way I'm being dragged into helping him."
"Severus! Dracka!"
xXx
Harry cursed as he cast the spell to clean up the rest of the basilisk blood from the girl's bathroom. He'd already placed all the parts away in containers and placed them in a trunk to be taken to Diagon Alley, which Severus could do since he knew the right prices and places to sell it all.
"Bloody, Slytherins." Harry swore as he looked around to make sure the cleaning charm had got everything.
Severus had left him to skin and cut up the damn basilisk, blaming it all on him for the beast. He had even tackled him and stole his wand, the bastard.
"Close," Harry hissed to the sinks and the entrance closed.
He was covered in blood and dirt and he was even thinking of using a cleaning charm over his body and put up with the itchy skin, it was that bad. He could deal with small cleaning charms but not a whole body one, the itching always drove him mad until he could wash it off.
With another curse he moved out of the room happy for the fact that it was past curfew, so none of the children would be walking around the hallways as he dismissed his sword and made his way to his rooms.
He wasn't surprised that Severus wasn't in the room and he was sure that he'd heard Dracka at some point as he moved into his bathroom and stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower.
The water turned an interesting shade of red-brown as he stuck his head under the water and washed himself off. The bathroom door closed loudly and he looked over wiping water out of his eyes to see Severus grinning at him, fully naked and looking interested.
"Room enough for two?" Severus asked as he stepped in.
Harry grabbed the man and Severus squeaked as he pushed him back into the tiles and held him there as the water ran over his back. Harry grabbed the man's wrists in one hand as he pinned him to the wall of the shower.
"And here I thought you were smart," Harry hissed and Severus's eyes widened.
Harry's grip around the man's wrists were like steel as he reached for Severus. Harry placed a foot in between his feet and nudged them and the other man moved his feet apart, his eyes guarded as Harry stepped between them.
"Blake?" Severus asked, unsure.
Harry tugged on Severus's wrists making him lower his head and he snaked a hand behind the man's head and pulled him down for a rough kiss.
"You owe me," Harry purred in the man's ear as he pulled back and kissed his neck.
"Will you take your wand in payment?" Severus purred back, trying to wiggle his hands free without any luck.
Harry chuckled and released the man's wrists.
"I'll think about it," Harry hissed.
Severus gave him a sly grin before turning Harry until he had his back to the tiles. He knelt down in front of the other man and gave him a smirk.
"Maybe this might help," Severus replied with a glint in his eye.
xXx
Missing scene due to rating.
xXx
Ry rolled his eyes at Ginny as Ron and Hermione hissed between each other in front of them. Ginny gave him a grin and mimed the two in front of them with her hands and he smirked as they made their way along the hallway. He glanced over at Neville and Luna behind them as the spoke quietly to each other.
"Why does your father want to meet with us?" Ginny asked softly beside him.
"I don't know," Ry replied. "He just called and said that he wanted us to meet him outside his classroom for some reason."
"You didn't ask him?" Ginny hissed.
"Well," Ry said and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's best if you don't ask him."
"Why?" Ginny asked.
"Two reasons," Ry pointed out. "He just gives you that look or he won't shut up."
Ron snorted.
"Ry!" Hermione hissed. "He's your father!"
"Come on, Hermione." Ry whined. "You take his classes, you know how he is when he gets going. He doesn't stop."
"Hmm," Hermione hummed as he lips thinned. "At least he knows what he's talking about."
Ry chuckled as his father came into sight leaning against the wall next to his classroom with Snape, the Headmaster and Draco Malfoy near him. Ry could tell he was tense for he was tapping his wand against his leg as he waited. He looked up and Ry gave him a grin.
"Hey Dad," Ry called.
Blake pushed away from the wall, his wand disappearing as he placed his cane on the ground and gave Ry a smile.
"Hey everyone," His father greeted as Ry and his friends came closer. "Headmaster, do you want to lead us to the first staging point?"
"Of course, Blake." The Headmaster replied with a smile.
The Headmaster led the way down the hallway as the students fell in behind him as Snape and his father walked at the back of the group. He glanced at his father before giving Ginny a smile and falling back to walk next to the man.
"What's happening?" Ry asked, his eyes flicking over to Snape briefly.
"We need to set up staging points," Blake said as they walked along. "So that our people can get to the school quickly if we are attacked. We'll need two people at each point to let everyone in. I'm going to key two of you to the wards and the port keys with the Headmaster's help. Shouldn't take too much time."
'Yep,' Ry thought. 'Way too much information.'
Ry saw Ginny look over her shoulder at them and he gave her a smile but she just turned around quickly while Snape snorted.
"This is the first one, Blake." Dumbledore announced as he stopped at a nondescript door on the second floor.
"Perfect," Blake cried and Ry rolled his eyes as his father stepped forward.
Blake placed his hand on the door and closed his eyes and Ry glanced over at Snape to see the amusement in the man. Severus caught his eye and Ry knew they were thinking the same thing as Severus gave him a smirk. His father was talking to the wards.
"Okay," Blake said, pushing open the door. "Ms Lovegood and Mr Longbottom could you please step into the doorway?"
Ry's two friends stepped forward, Neville looking around nervously as Luna just glazed around serenely. Once the two students stepped into the doorway, Blake lopped a leather cord around Neville's neck and another around Luna's with one pendant hanging from both cords
Blake stood back and pulled out his cherry wand and Neville's eyes widened as he looked at Blake. His father just grinned and pulled a leather bag out of his pocket and held it out.
"Both of you please hold the bag," Blake said and Luna took the bag in her hand.
Neville nervously touched the bag with his fingertips.
"It's not going to bite, Longbottom!" Snape snapped.
Neville jolted and grabbed the bag as Blake glared over his shoulder at the man and Ry sniggered as his father turned back to his friends.
"Okay, I'm going to key you to the wards." Blake said softly.
Ry could feel the magic around his father as he picked up the wards and placed his wand against the pendent that hung between Luna and Neville as the two of them held the leather bag.
"Headmaster," Blake said, not looking at the man. "Do I have permission to key Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom as well as the portkeys to the wards?"
"I give you permission," The Headmaster replied.
Blake tapped the pendent and it broke down the middle into two parts as Blake grabbed the leather bag from Luna and Neville hands.
"You won't be able to take those off unless I remove them or they run out of magic," Blake warned as Luna looked at the pendent. "So, I hope you like them."
Ry and Severus snorted then glanced at each other before looking away.
"Okay Headmaster," Blake said with a grin, ignoring the others. "Lead on."
Dumbledore gave the man an amused look before moving off down the hallway with Blake falling in beside the man.
"If he asks you to be keyed into the wards," Severus said softly beside him and Ry glanced over at the man. "Don't."
"What? Why?" Ry asked.
Severus sighed and when he looked at Ry again he could see something unreadable in the other man's eyes.
"You can't be keyed to the wards, Ry." Severus whispered to him as he kept an eye on Blake. "You have a more important job to do."
Ry paled and he felt a little faint at Snape's words. The man grabbed his shoulder and gave it a squeeze and Ry hated to admit it but it was moments like now that he could see what his father saw in the man. He nodded his head and Snape released his shoulder as they came to the staging point and Ron and Hermione stepped forward and his father quickly repeated what he had done before.
This time when they set off, Blake lead the way and stopped in front of a statue of a snake on the first floor and turned to Ry, with unreadable eyes.
"Ry could you say 'open' in Parselmouth please?" His father asked and Ry frowned.
"Can't you-Oi!" Ry cut off as Severus elbowed him and he glared up at the man.
"When you are ready, Ry." His father said in amusement, his green eyes shining.
Ry stepped forward and looked at the statue.
"Open," Ry said.
"In Parseltongue, Ry." His father said with a smirk and Ry blushed as Ron laughed.
Ry focused on the statue and tried to imagine that the thing was alive and that the eyes on the stone were slightly flickering with life.
"Open," Ry hissed and the stone snake swung outward to reveal the room beyond.
"Okay, Draco and Ms Weasley please step forward," Blake said and the two students stepped forward and Blake keyed them and a leather bag to the wards.
Ry looked over at Snape but the man was frowning as he watched Blake. Ry moved back beside him and Severus looked down at him.
"Your father is as cunning as a Slytherin," Severus hissed at him.
"He's worse," Ry whispered back and the two men shared a smirk before they realised who they were agreeing with and turned away.
Blake had just managed to make sure that Ry was needed to open the access point so that Draco and Ginny could open the way into the castle. He had managed to outsmart the two of them in one move and neither could do anything about it.
"Okay," Blake called out as he closed the snake statue. "When the time comes, your pendent will get warm and you will have to get to your staging point as quickly as possible, both of you will be need to open the way. Ms Weasley and Draco your code word is Slytherin. Anyone coming through here with a portkey will need to say the codeword to pass over. Ms Lovegood and Mr Longbottom your code word is Ravenclaw and Hermione and Mr Weasley your codeword is Gryffindor.
"We will use these points as an evacuation point as well and a codeword will not be needed to pass over," Blake explained. "Ry you'll need to open the way here for Draco and Ms Weasley, everyone know what you are doing?"
"Yes, Dad."
"Yes, sir."
"Okay," Blake said with a smile. "Off you lot go then."
Ry grinned as they moved off down the hallway and he fell into step with Ginny.
"How cool does this look?" Ginny cried and held out the pendent for Ry to see.
Ry leaned forward and if his eyes strayed a little while he looked at the pendent, he blamed it on how the light from the windows shone off the metal of the pendent, or that's what he would say if Ron questioned him later.
xXx
Harry woke with a start as his phone rang, pulling him out of a very pleasant dream of whipped cream, chocolate and Severus Snape. He moved Severus's arm off him and groped around for his phone before snagging it up by the cord.
"Blake Sun," Harry whispered into the phone as Severus woke up beside him.
"Blake," A shaking voice said into the phone. "It's Conner Fritz."
"Conner?" Harry echoed and pulled himself into a sitting position. "What's wrong?"
Severus looked up at him with blinking black eyes and Harry placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We need you to come here." Conner said softly, his voice breaking. "It's bad."
Harry pulled himself out of the bed and started going through his drawers with one hand.
"What's happened?" Harry demanded.
"The muggle police contacted us," The man explained. "A small village near the town of Hamburg…he just killed them all."
Harry's stomach dropped at the words as his hands stilled with pulling a shirt on and looked over at Severus. The other man must have seen something in his face for he cursed and started dressing as well.
"I'm on my way, don't let anyone in there." Harry said softly. "I'll meet you at the Ministry?"
"Ja," Conner replied. "Thank you, Blake."
Harry ended the call then called Dracka.
"What the fuck?"
"Dracka!" Harry snapped, tightening his belt. "German Ministry just called, there has been a mass murder of a town."
Harry glanced over at Severus when the man swore.
"Severus and I are getting ready to leave now," Harry replied quickly as he grabbed his bag out of the cupboard. "I need you to stay here and call your Coven and the others to warn them."
"Alright, Blake." Dracka said softly. "Stay safe."
Harry hung up the phone and just looked at it until Severus wrapped his arms around him from behind. Harry leaned back against the man feeling shaky and sick to the stomach, this was not going to be pleasant.
xXx
Harry walked down the silent street, looking down at the bloody bodies that lay out around him, under the glow of the streetlights. Men, women and children with blank staring eyes. He could still taste the dark magic on the air and feel it puffing up like dust at his feet, the corruption of dark arts strong in the magic. He'd hoped that he would never have to see such a sight again and yet here he was.
He stopped walking at the crossroads and looked around. He stood alone after leaving Severus behind at the protection barrier that the Ministry had set up. The other man wasn't happy but he didn't want to burden the man with the nightmares. This was something he had to do alone.
A scraping noise had him turning and he faced a misty image of a woman, her throat ripped out staring at him blankly. Harry shivered but didn't step back as she floated closer.
"Make it end," Whispered across his mind. "Make it end."
Harry stepped forward and worked his way towards the middle of town, the misty forms floating around him, watching him. Harry wasn't sure if they were real or just a by-product of the dark magic as he walked. He shivered now and again as he walked through the forms as he moved towards the middle of the town and where the ritual had taken place. He could feel the pull.
The taste of the dark magic almost making him gag as the bodies piled up around him, until he came to a stone table still laid out from the ritual. He stopped before the woman's body, which had been tied down to the stone. Her blonde hair spread around her head and slowly waving in the slight breeze as her blue eyes stared at Harry blankly. She had been cut from throat to pelvis with her ribs cracked open and the cavern of her chest open to the air.
The cawing of crows the only sound around him as he stepped forward, the dark magic was thick on the ground here and he could feel it lapping at his ankles. He looked down at the woman on the stone table and flinched. The woman was missing her heart. Harry stepped back as a crow flew down and landed on the corpse and looked at him with beady black eyes as the first rays of sunlight reached out towards him.
"Take them," Harry said softly.
The crow tilted its head as it looked at him and cawed loudly, stirring the magic around them.
"Please," Harry begged.
Caw.
Harry let one knee touch the ground and placed his hands on either side of him as bowed his head.
Caw.
He heard a fluttering of wings around him and kept his head bowed and waited. A single black feather fell to the ground in front of him and Harry looked up at the dark-skinned man before him.
"Why?" The man croaked.
"They died in blood and dark magic." Harry said softly. "Please take them."
"What would you give us?" The man asked.
Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver cord twisted into the shape of a snake with shining black eyes. He held it out to the other man, who took it in his hand with his head cocked to the side as he studied it.
"Agreed," The man said softly and Harry bowed his head again.
"Thank you," Harry whispered.
He felt the wind swirl around him as cawing sounded out around the village as the crows descended on the misty forms, taking them on to the next life as the dark magic seeped into the earth at his feet.
Harry looked up at the flashing traffic lights as they flicked through their signals as silence descended once again. He slowly stood with the help of his cane, the village feeling lighter again despite the bodies. He turned away from the woman on the stone bench and moved back to the edge of the protection circle. Empty eyes watching his every step until he came to the edge of the circle and stopped.
"Blake?" Severus asked softly as he came up to the barrier.
"Hey," Harry said softly, his green eyes hollow.
"Hey," Severus replied, his eyes flicking over him in concern.
Harry tapped his cherry wand to the protection circle and it dropped.
"Can we move in?" Conner asked his face pale as he came up beside Severus.
"Yes," Harry said softly. "I hope you haven't had lunch."
Harry limped forward as the Ministry workers moved into the village. He didn't envy their task, it was going to be hard. Severus took his hand in his and stopped him.
"Blake?" Severus asked softly. "Are you okay?"
Harry rubbed his head
"Yeah," Harry said softly. "Come on, let's go home."
"They don't need us?" Severus asked, looking around.
"They can handle it," Harry said softly. "…Please."
Severus jolted at the word and nodded.
"Let's go home."
xXx
Severus watched Blake carefully as they walked up the lawn towards the castle. He was concerned. The man had barely said two words on the way back to the castle and seemed to be somewhere else. He looked up at the castle to see Dracka in the shadows waiting for them.
Blake didn't seem to see the vampire, which concerned him even more. He was prepared to enter the village but Blake had insisted and the Ministry workers had warned him that there were spirits and dark magic floating around, that's why the protection circle had been placed in the first place.
He reached out a hand and curled it around the other man's arm, stopping him. Blake looked up at him and gave him a small smile but his green eyes looked hollow and haunted.
"Hey," Severus said softly.
"Hey," Blake replied.
Severus brought the man's hand up and kissed his fingers, the ring he'd given him glinting in the sun.
"Is this our first date, Mr Snape?" Blake asked softly with a smile, but the joke fell short.
Severus smiled, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders at the weak joke.
"Hurry up you two!"
Severus gave the vampire the finger over his shoulder. Blake grinned wider as neither man looked away from the other.
"Are you okay?" Severus asked softly, his hand cupping the other man's face.
"No," Blake replied, his voice breaking on the word.
Severus took the man in a tight hug, rubbing his hands up and down the man's back. Blake held him tightly, his head buried in his chest.
"Hurry the fuck up!"
Blake snorted and pulled back, looking up at the vampire standing as close to the sunlight he could get.
"We better head up there," Blake said softly. "Before Dracka burns himself."
Blake stepped forward but Severus didn't release his arm. The man turned to him in question and Severus grinned.
"He could do with a couple of burn marks," Severus smirked.
Blake returned his smirk and gave Severus's shoulder a smack. He smiled briefly as they made their way up the front lawn of the castle and towards the vampire waiting for them.