Chapter Ninety-Five
Time seemed to slow down. Severus and James stood on the pavement, staring dumbfoundedly toward the pub as the front doors burst open and people began running frantically outside, screaming incoherently in their fear. The two wizards briefly exchanged a look of understanding, their wands already aloft in their hands.
Without another moment of hesitation, expecting the worst, they charged into the pub. A frenzied fray of people met them, as Severus and James were the only people intent on getting in the pub. Severus's eyes searched desperately for Lily. He found her in the corner booth with Mary just as they had left them, only both women were standing, their wands at the ready.
A large number of Death Eaters, all clad in black robes and donning white masks, were terrorizing the crowd, subjecting helpless Muggles to the Cruciatus for mere fun, floating others up along the ceiling, all the while taunting and laughing maliciously.
Luckily, the Death Eaters hadn't yet spotted the two wizards and two witches. Severus quickly made his way toward Lily, getting to her being his first priority. James seemed to be thinking likewise. They met their women halfway into the pub.
"What do we do?" Mary asked in a high-pitched voice, clearly the least experienced in the Order.
"You should get to safety, both of you," Severus instructed them. "Get help."
With the frightened cries of the crowd, they weren't overheard.
Lily adamantly shook her head. "No, I'm staying and fighting. We need to do something now, Sev."
Severus glanced over his shoulder at the ensuing chaos and swore. "We can't wait another minute." Seeing two still bodies on the floor, one of them the pink-haired young woman, Severus's chest clenched. They were most likely dead.
"Mary, alert Dumbledore," James said roughly.
Severus and Lily turned away from their friends and began to charge toward the battle, hoping that Mary would listen. Thankfully, a loud pop issued forth a few seconds later, and James was joining them.
"She's going to get help," he stated, his voice rushed.
"Let's do this," Severus said, setting his jaw.
He aimed his wand at the closest Death Eater and Stunned him, which unfortunately alerted the Death Eater's comrades. Three of them briefly stopped torturing their victims and glared at the three teenagers coming toward them.
"Well, look who it is," growled one of the Death Eaters, a burly man.
Lily was lightning quick with her wand as she hit the large one's friend to his right with a Stinging Hex, knocking the man over in pain. James was ready, too, and pointed his wand directly at the big Death Eater, yelling, "Shut up, Rowle!"
Rowle merely laughed and blocked James's attempt.
"Pathetic," Rowle said, his face hidden behind the mask, but Severus was sure the man was jeering at them.
Severus growled, hoping the Muggles who had been in the middle of being tortured a moment ago would try to flee. It would be a mess trying to erase the memories of everyone there, but that wasn't Severus's concern right now.
He wasn't going to give in to the man's remarks. This was a serious fight in the middle of a Muggle pub. This attack was plainly showing that Voldemort was taking the next step, a large step in what he considered the right direction. No longer would only families go missing. Huger catastrophies were already in the mix, but Severus knew things would get far worse before this war was over.
Severus made a slashing motion with his wand, always ready to count on his trusty Sectumsempra. Rowle, taken aback in intense pain, howled, grabbing his upper arm as the blood gushed.
"Well, what are you idiots just standin' around for?!" he bellowed at the other Death Eaters. "Get them! Surely you lot can handle a couple of kids!"
James dashed toward two Death Eaters who didn't seem completely ready and were standing farther away, leaving Lily and Severus to deal with the seven who were closer. Hoping back up would arrive soon, Severus began fiercely duelling with two or three Death Eaters at a time, his skills from his previous life's experience coming into play.
Beside him, Lily fought valiantly. Had Severus not been so engaged in battle, he would have commended her. Sectumsempra seemed to be Severus's best chance at bringing Death Eaters to their knees in agony, but as the next few minutes passed, Severus realized he was losing ground. While the Muggles seemed to have cleared out of the place, that only meant that the Death Eaters could focus targeting two wizards and one witch who were opposing them.
Darting curses from every angle and blocking whatever came at him effectively, Severus was nonetheless tiring from the battle. He was too outnumbered to keep at this rate. He heard James shout something and then fall silent. Lily screamed, watching James collapse, and then came a despicable voice that Severus wished he would never have to hear again.
"Is the poor Mudblood sad that her little friend fell down?" asked a woman's voice in a mock-baby tone.
"Bellatrix," Severus breathed, his face turning in horror at the scene before him.
Scared for Lily's life, Severus had let down his guard, and he felt his wand flying out of his hand a second later, but he momentarily lost his resolve to fight. All around him, Death Eaters had their wands trained on him.
Hearing her name, Bellatrix removed her mask and faced Severus, smiling nastily. "Ah, Snape," she said in a falsely sweet voice. "Yes, we know all about you and your Mudblood lover. The Slytherin who turned traitor, thinking you could best us, did you? Well, it seems you're finally at an end. Say goodbye to your filthy wife, Snape."
"If you dare touch a hair on her head!" Severus threatened, making to charge toward Bellatrix, but Bellatrix simply laughed, watching as the hoast of Death Eaters closed in on Severus.
"Yes, I'm very afraid now," she mocked, pretending to pout.
"Severus, don't do anything stupid!" Lily warned, her voice cracking.
"That's good advice, even for a Mudblood," Bellatrix pointed out amusedly. She paused deliberately, seeming to be waiting for something.
Severus felt his stomach turn to ice and drop out of him.
"No... please..." he croaked, verging on desperation.
Bellatrix continued to smile, and then the unthinkable happened. Out of thin air, Lord Voldemort materialized, his once handsome face leering at Severus.
"It has been quite some time, Snape," Voldemort said in way of greeting. "When we last met, I'm afraid you left rather abruptly and rudely. A shame for you, really... or is it more of a shame for your Mudblood wife?"
Swallowing down disgust and fear, Severus said with more conviction than he probably felt, "Don't call her that."
Coming close to Severus, so close Severus could feel Voldemort's breath hot on his skin, Voldemort whispered, "But that is the truth. I speak nothing but the truth."
"You speak nothing but lies," Severus spat, feeling two Death Eaters grabbing hold of his arms. He knew he was seconds away from being magically bound.
"We shall see," Voldemort hissed, stepping away. He moved fluidly, then closed in on Lily like a snake going for the kill. He roughly grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to him, examining her like she was a piece of rubbish.
"What does trash taste like, Snape?" Voldemort asked. "I shall have to see if it's worth it."
Severus tried pulling away from those who were restraining him as he watched in horror and revulsion as Voldemort brought his thin lips down onto Lily's, kissing her, a twisted representation of sacred love. An inhuman noise came from Severus's throat, and before the Death Eaters could bind him, his adrenaline took over in full force and he pulled away from them, running at Voldemort and tackling him.
"Get your disgusting lips off her, you bastard!" Severus bellowed, trying in vain to pin the other man to the floor.
Stunned, Lily had dropped to the floor herself and watched the scene before her without being able to process what was happening. Voldemort had levitated himself out of Severus's grasp and was livid. His features twisted, aiming his wand at Severus, he hissed, "Avada-"
Severus gazed back at Lily, thinking this was the end. He didn't have a chance to say goodbye, but then a bright flash of dazzling white light came, knocking Voldemort and all his followers to the floor. Albus Dumbledore and many Order members Apparated into the room.
"This ends now, Tom," Dumbledore commanded.
Upon seeing Dumbledore, Voldemort stood tall and sneered at the older man. "You think your side truly has a choice, Dumbledore? Stop fooling yourselves. Submit to me now, and you shall be spared."
Dumbledore gazed back at Voldemort with steely eyes and determination. "I do not think that is an option, Tom, although I would kindly suggest the same for you and your lot. You can stop this now-"
"Never!" Voldemort bellowed, suddenly firing a jet of blue light at Dumbledore, who easily blocked it.
"Then I am afraid we pick up from where we left off," Dumbledore said in a calm voice, although there was a deadly quality to it.
The headmaster of Hogwarts shot a jet of fire at Voldemort, who fought it with water, putting it out. The two highly skilled wizards began facing off, giving Severus a chance to gain his footing and run toward Lily. The Order members where now fighting the Death Eaters, and the numbers were even. Unaware of who was fighting whom, Severus had only one goal in mind. He needed to get to Lily.
He saw Bellatrix duelling with Lily. Lily had taken Dumbledore's entrance to stand and retrieve her wand, but Severus knew Bellatrix was a fierce warrior. Lily was several years her junior, and bright and skilled witch or not, Lily wasn't a match for someone like Bellatrix. Severus wished he had his wand, and hoping against hope, he shouted, "Accio wand!"
Miraculously, Severus felt his wand fly into his palm a couple of seconds later. Whoever had taken it from him must have either dropped it or stuffed it loosely in their robe. Severus savagely hoped the Death Eater had been taken down.
He aimed his wand at Bellatrix and shot a nonveral Disarming Spell at her, his number one desire to render her defenseless. Caught off guard, Bellatrix's wand flew out of her hand, and she whipped her head around to glare at Severus.
"Snape!" she shouted angrily.
Severus slashed his wand through the air, his trademark beauty of a spell ripping open her forearm right at the Dark Mark. The witch fell to her knees in agony, and Lily stood over her, glowering at the other woman hatefully.
Then Lily did something that stunned Severus. She bellowed, "Sectumsempra!" and Bellatrix's shoulder split open, bleeding profusely. She screamed in her extreme pain and glared daggers at Lily.
"You Mudblood bitch-" Bellatrix started to say, but Lily was ruthless. She mimicked her earlier motion, cutting Bellatrix right at the mouth, leaving the foul woman choking on her own blood.
Severus reached Lily and took her hand, ignoring the writhing woman on the floor. "Are you okay?" he demanded frantically.
"Y-yes," Lily panted. "Are you-"
Lily didn't have a chance to finish her sentence. Someone meaning nothing but harm for Lily had shot her in the back with a strong spell, something that Severus couldn't immediately identify. In less than a second, Lily crumpled to the floor. One moment, her vivid green eyes had been gazing into Severus's black ones, and the next moment, she was on the floor, her eyes staring ahead, but not registering a thing.
With a roar, Severus turned to face the Death Eater who had injured his beloved wife. Had the jet of light been green, Severus would have feared the worst, assuming Lily to be dead, but he knew that was not the case... not yet. He wished he could get her to safety, but people were in the middle of a full-on battle, jets of light flying in all directions.
Severus literally threw himself at the man, ripping off his mask. The Death Eater hadn't expected Severus to move so fast. Upon seeing the face under the mask, Severus realized why this man had potentially mortally wounded Lily. It was Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix's husband.
Pinning Lestrange to the floor, Severus held his hand roughly against the man's neck, jabbing his wand into Lestrange's Adam's Apple.
"Give me a reason, I beg you," Severus hissed, fully intent on killing the man.
Lestrange struggled, then choked out, "The Mudblood deserved it. What she did to my wife-"
"You know nothing about love, nothing!" Severus yelled at the man. "Don't even try to compare!"
Severus was beside himself in his misery. He needed to finish this. Suddenly, he felt a hand grabbing him by the shoulder.
"Severus, don't," said a calm voice.
"Get away from me, Longbottom," Severus growled, refusing to look up.
"Don't become a killer like him," Frank stressed. "You're better than that, Severus. Think of... of what Lily would want."
"Don't talk about Lily like she's- like she's-" Dead.
Severus couldn't bring himself to say the word. He wouldn't. Instead, with a feral growl, he cast a Full Body Bind on Lestrange and stood, kicking him hard in the gut, then stepped on his nose, breaking it.
Severus noticed a few Death Eaters down, and others had apparently Disapparated.
"Fools! Cowards! Bloody useless idiots!" Voldemort was crying at his followers in between shots with Dumbledore.
"Give up now, Tom!" demanded Dumbledore. "Your side is losing. How many more Death Eaters will the Ministry be claiming tonight?"
Dumbledore's words seemed to strike Voldemort, who glanced around quickly, noticing just how outnumbered his followers were. With a loud hiss, Voldemort turned in place, Disapparating, surrendering to the facts.
The two Death Eaters who remained in battle, seeing that their leader had abandoned them, seemed to lose their resolve and Disapparated as well.
Severus was at Lily's side, checking for a pulse. It was there, although weak, but steady. He sighed quietly in relief, but tenderly took her in his arms, the tears threatening just behind his eyes.
He didn't notice Mary as she helped James stand up. He didn't see Mad-Eye Moody preparing the bound Death Eaters for Azkaban. He didn't notice that Bellatrix had managed to escape. He didn't pay the least bit of attention to the Order members as they asked each other if they were all right. Severus certainly didn't expect Dumbledore to approach him.
"Severus," the headmaster uttered gently, placing an gnarled hand on the young man's shoulder, "is she-?"
"She's alive," Severus said softly, his shoulders slumped. He didn't care that Dumbledore was touching him. Without Lily, he felt he was nothing. "She needs help," he croaked.
"St. Mungo's, surely-" Dumbledore started to say, but Severus interrupted him harshly.
"No. Whatever Lestrange hit her with, it was Dark Magic. St. Mungo's will not be able to help her. I- I think... I know I can find a cure. I will need facilities-"
"You may bring her to Hogwarts," Dumbledore invited. "You will have access to whatever you need. She will have the privacy she needs there, as will you."
Despite their rocky past, Severus breathed, "Thank you."
Holding Lily in his arms, Severus stood. Had she been anyone else, he would have levitated her, but he wasn't going to let her go.
"I will take you. You are tired," Dumbledore said. "Just a moment..."
Dumbledore briefly stepped away, giving instructions to Mad-Eye and the other Aurors. James appeared no worse for the wear now, and Mary and he watched silently, Mary's eyes glassy, as Severus held Lily to his chest.
Dumbledore returned to him a moment later, and placing a hand on Severus's arm, they Disapparated to Hogwarts.
