Hallowed
Chapter Thirteen: To Save The Prince

A/N: Well, getting into the home stretch, lads. I'll say this about the last chapters. I had hoped to have posted some of these sooner, but I've been abroad for te last three weeks. Thankfully, I'll be able to post more frequently, seeing as I'm home again. Also, I normally don't do this, but I figure I should.

I've no issue with flames or criticism, but I make an exception when it comes to simple ignorance. There have been a few reviews that have suggested that I either have no idea of what I am doing or that I have not put effort into this; using only canon events. True, I've used canon events, but I've tweaked them for a more positive outcome. I'll say this very plainly though: If this is not to your satisfaction, then don't continue reading it, chaps. Simple as that. For those who enjoy it, then thanks for reading and by all means, I hope you find the rest as enjoyable. Forgive my being blunt, but it had to be said. Now, here is chapter 13.


The thought of simply seeking out Voldemort was unsettling due to the fact that there were still three horcruxes to destroy. The cup was still safely in his pocket but the diadem and snake were out of reach. Harry looked to the open path ahead that led into the open mouth of the bridge, but was torn from his thoughts instantly.

"Don't even give that a thought, Harry." He hadn't expected to hear Remus' voice, but as he turned to look back, it seemed Lupin had beaten McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley in speaking first. "Do what you have to do to end him, but be sure you are ready before you do."

"He's right, dear." Molly said as she looked out toward the forest as well. "Just empty words..." Harry could tell she was remaining strong of tone, but he wouldn't want to guess at what she was thinking. He knew for a few years now, that the Weasleys had practically accepted him as another one of their own, and he couldn't be more grateful. She was protective to the point of what some would call smothering, but Harry would have her no other way. Molly Weasley was a polar opposite of his relatives.

"Though the intent seems clear, no good will come of it." Professor McGonagall said this quietly as she released his shoulder. "He intends to kill all those who resist him in the coming hours.

"It's happened before; him going back on his word." Harry said as he remembered Pettigrew's fate. Voldemort had given him that hand and in the second Wormtail had hesitated, it had strangled him back at Malfoy Manor; that and what had happened with Helena Ravenclaw and the diadem.

"And you can be sure it will happen again. You know his mind, Potter; you've seen into it. He is capable of betrayal in its highest form."

"You're right." Harry conceded to that fact, but the tempting offer was still there. "I've got a diadem to find." He tore his eyes from the path ahead and moved back toward the castle's entrance hall. As he ascended the stone steps, he was aware of several eyes on him, and Harry had to count himself fortunate for having people that were willing to risk their lives for his safety. Of course, this battle was much bigger than that, but still. He didn't have much time to think on that as he crossed the castle's threshold, because Ron and Hermione met him. Both looked slightly flustered, but when they spotted him, their expressions changed.

"Harry!" Ron spoke first. "It doesn't really matter if we find the horcrux." He paused in this statement, and Harry had to wonder what he meant.

"What?"

"Doesn't matter if we find it if we don't have a way of destroying it." He finished, and Harry nodded in understanding. "So, we've been thinking…"

"Well, actually it was Ron's idea; it was completely brilliant." Hermione corrected quickly.

"You destroyed Tom Riddle's diary with a basilisk fang…" At this, Harry nodded again. "Well, we think we know where we might find one." Ron finished quickly.

"Right…" Harry rummaged in his mokeskin and pulled out the marauders' map quickly. "Then take this; that way you can find me when you get back. For now, I'm headed to the room of requirement."

Moving up the stairs, he knew that they weren't too far behind him. Ron and Hermione only had to go to the second floor, if he was ight in where they were going, but he moved past their destination and headed back for the seventh floor. He could hear Remus and Kingsley behind him as they made their way up to the third floor of the castle. Remus was discussing tactics with someone while Kingsley sent another lynx patronus off somewhere. Madam Pomfrey was the last to leave him as she headed back for the hospital wing on the fourth floor. Harry assumed that she was going to get any students that may still be in the ward out, but there was also a possibility that she was getting more medical supplies for the upcoming siege. After a few flights traveled in silence, Harry emerged onto the seventh floor and movedfor the blank stretch of wall that he knew hid the room he needed. When he found it, he thought hard and muttered under his breath.

"I need a place to hide."

The wall shifted, and the doors formed so that he could push them open. When he did, he saw the familiar masses of collected contraband and the like that had been stowed away here over the decades. Letting the doors close lightly behind him, Harry stepped forward and tried to think. When he and Ginny had come here last year to chuck the Half-Blood Prince's book in a pile of rubbish, he had passed it; a statue with the ratty old tiara perched haphazardly on its brow. Looking over the large room's contents, Harry thought he saw something. Moving through the twisting man-made pathways through the piles of books, cages, statues, and the like, he found what looked to be a large cabinet. With a slight start, he realized that this had been what Draco Malfoy had been repairing or dealing with to get the Carrows and other death eaters into the castle for the assault on the Astronomy tower last year. It was the the twin to the vanishing cabinet that he himself had hidden in for a brief time in Borgin and Burke's shop after landing there by accident before his second year.

Turning past it, he saw a large collection of bottles that looked to once contain cooking sherry. Harry knew immediately that he was on the right track; he had learned that Professor Trelawney had left them here throughout the year since Umbridge had sacked her and Firenze had come to teach at the school. Hanging a left, he had to climb over a low hill that consisted of broken chairs, scorched furniture, and bent or warped shelves filled with all sorts of things. Kicking a cage that contained the skeleton of an animal in it to the side, Harry vaulted over the top of the pile and landed with a crash on the floor. The sounds echoed around the room, but he didn't pay it any mind. He knew he was getting closer.

"Come on… A bit further…" The words had barely left his mouth when he started to hear it; the sound of metal on glass that had led him to the previous horcrux. He had heard it when trying to destroy the locket in the woods with Ron, and in Bellatrix' vault at Gringotts. He used it as a means of narrowing down his choices in paths ahead. Turning to the right, he realized that he was getting further away from it, so he doubled back and took the left. When he reached another clearing in the masses of junk, he heard something that made him freeze; voices.

"Somewhere in here…"

"Got to be here…"

"Shut it, you two!" The third voice hissed, and Harry recognized it immediately. It was the angry whisper of Draco Malfoy. It was logical to assume that the other two were Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Harry darted behind another cabinet that looked to have a muggle vault door on it. He could still hear the screeching sound coming from the horcrux, but he had to pinpoint where it was coming from. As he turned his head from side to side, he noted that it sounded stronger from the right. Taking that path, he didn't miss the sound of footsteps coming toward him, and as he managed to spot the diadem in the distance, he was stopped by a hand gripping the back of the robes he wore.

"Potter!" Malfoy's shouting of his name didn't come as much of a surprise, but when Harry turned to face him, he didn't see the slytherin's wand on him.

"Draco." Harry said evenly while looking past Malfoy at Crabbe and Goyle, who were standing in their usual places flanking the blonde. Both still looked as much like gorillas as ever, but they both had their wands pointed at him, while Draco only had his in his hand. "Something you needed?"

"Answers." Draco looked back to his two cronies and motioned for them to lower their wands, but they didn't. Frowning in exasperation, he turned back to face Harry. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why give them back; our wands?"

"Why not?" He hadn't expected to have this conversation, but as he had thought about it at Shell Cottage, Harry knew what he had told Ron and Hermione had been true. "Didn't need them and wasn't going to snap them for spite, was i?" He didn't miss the look of surprise that had passed over Draco's face. Seizing this opportunity, Harry posed his own question. "Now it's my turn: When we were captured, you knew it was me. Why didn't you tell Bellatrix? Even with the stinging jinx, you knew and you certainly knew the others were Ron, Hermione, and Dean." Before Malfoy had a chance to answer however, Crabbe stepped forward and hissed in Draco's ear, but it was loud enough that Harry heard every word.

"Go on Draco, don't be a prat. Do him!"

"What are you doin' here?" Goyle spoke up this time; his voice a near growl as he lumbered forward. "Comin' back to Hogwarts."

"Looking for a diadem." Harry said offhandedly; knowing full well those two wouldn't know what that was. Sure enough, Crabbe turned his narrow eyes on Harry.

"What's a dydum?" He had clearly not heard the word properly, and Harry had to suppress a snort. It seemed he wasn't the only one.

"No time to explain." He went to turn his back on them so that he could take the necessary few steps to reach the statue with the diadem on it. He felt a wand tip in his back and stiffened.

"Not goin' anywhere, you are." Crabbe snapped, and Harry rounded on him while withdrawing his wand again.

"Bugger off." He addressed Crabbe first, and then turned to Malfoy who was just standing there. "This is where you make that choice you didn't get to last year." He saw Draco's eyes widen slightly. "I was there when Dumbledore died on the top of that tower. You said that you had to do it because he would kill you if you didn't, then the others barged in and robbed you of your chance." He ignored Crabbe and Goyle's stupid looks as he stepped forward toward Draco. "You can either do what these idiots and their master expect of you or you can choose to walk away and fight for something worth fighting for."

"Don't be stupid, Draco, do him!" Crabbe shouted as if they were all deaf, and Malfoy's eyes shifted to him for a moment. Harry was prepared to give up on him doing anything proactive, when Crabbe made up their minds for them. He stepped forward and attempted to use the torture curse.

"Crucio!"

Harry dodged the curse and pointed his wand at the taller slytherin before jerking it to the left and muttering "Confringo!" The knockback jinx caused an entire rickety pile of books, sneakoscopes, goblets, and chairs to fall down on Crabbe and Goyle while Malfoy leapt aside and managed to steer clear of it all. While the others swore and went to dig themselves out, Harry gave Draco a piercing look. "Choose wisely." He moved away from the slytherins and managed to get to the diadem before hearing Draco's question.

"What's the guarantee that you'll win this?"

"Dunno." Harry said as he pulled the diadem off of the statue and turned back. "Be greater with one more wand on our side." He looked over what used to be the beautiful trademark of Rowena Ravenclaw and then eyed Draco again. "You didn't want any part of what was going on in your own home, so imagine what will happen if he does win-" Before he could finish his thought, Harry heard something that sounded like a small explosion. Eyes searching the masses of rubbish, he saw towering gold and amber flames rushing toward them.

"Crabbe set the place on fire!" Malfoy shouted over the roaring of the flames as they came closer. He and Harry didn't have much time to think on it though; the fire came at them, and all they could do was run. It didn't matter how far off they were from the entrance. Harry could see the forms of chimera and dragons emerging from the flames; their heads lunging and destroying everything in their paths.

"That way!" Harry said as he cleared an aisle for them to run down. Everything behind them was either falling to the ground and destroying the way they came or it was being consumed by fire. Harry could feel the heat rising as he moved further into the piles of rubbish; sweat was forming at his brow and starting to run down his forehead. The smoke was thick in the air ahead and behind him to the point that he couldn't see two feet ahead of him. To his left, he could just make out the silver-blonde hair of Draco, who looked just as panicked as he felt. Harry had lost all sense of where he was in this maze of forgotten objects, and for all he knew, they were headed in the opposite direction of their intended exit.

"Over here!" Malfoy's shout drew his attention, and Harry looked to his left again. He saw a broom being thrust at him, and Harry instinctively tucked the diadem into his pocket and mounted it. Kicking off from the ground, he could tell that this broom was old, but it would do to get them out. Draco rose beside him, and the two searched through the smoke for the way out. Gripping the handles of their brooms, the two leaned forward and sped up so that they would keep a decent distance between themselves and the flames that were fast approaching. They moved past one particularly large pile of books, and they could see Crabbe climbing up to the top, but as he spotted them, he fired several spells, including the killing curse, and was knocked off balance. As he fell back into the flames, Malfoy turned his head away only to jerk it back around with a triumphant expression. "There, Potter!" He indicated a corner where, when Harry focused, he could see a shard of light coming in from the corridor outside.

Turning sharply, they made a beeline for the still open doors that would lead them out into the corridor, and with each passing second, Harry could feel the flames reaching out to claim them. Already, he saw the talons of a dragon reaching out to catch the back of Draco's broom on fire. Pushing forward, they managed to clear the larger towering rows and columns of junk, but Harry felt a white-hot pain from his foot. Pulling it closer, he realized that the fire had already touched his heel and was trying to spread. He ignored it for the moment and managed to push the broom to its limit so that he was rocketing toward the doors. He could feel it vibrating in protest, but he managed to get close enough to the door to leap from the broom before it stopped working completely. Kicking it back into the fire, Harry rolled away from the doors as Draco flew out and used his wand to slam them shut. His broom crashing against the wall, Droco fell hard against it as well and slid to the floor, and neither of them spoke for several long moments as they took in what happened. After catching his breath, Draco was the first to break the silence.

"Crabbe and Goyle… They're-"

"Dead." Harry managed as he straightened up and pulled the diadem out of his pocket. "Would rather them not die that way, but-"

"Prats tried to kill us with fiend fire." Draco scoffed. "Suppose they deserved it if they were too thick to know they couldn't control it."

"Harry!" Harry turned quickly at the sound of his own name after resting his back against the still warm doors of the now destroyed room of requirement. Ron and Hermione were coming toward them; she had the destroyed cup and Ron had a fist-full of basilisk fangs wrapped in part of his robe sleeve that had been torn at some point. "Finally found you-" Ron paused as he looked over the two on the floor. "What the ruddy hell is he doing here?"

"Ease off, Weasley." Draco muttered as he stood up. "Helped him get out of there after Crabbe set the room on fire."

"It's fine, Ron." Harry said as he looked at his best friends. "I take it you destroyed the cup, then."

"Yes, I did down in the chamber." Hermione offered the cup with a mangled hole in the center of it for him to see. "Did you find the diadem?"

"Right here." Harry put the diadem on the ground at his feet and took the fang that Ron offered. "Once this one is gone, all we need is the last one."

"Still think it's the snake?" Ron asked as Harry brought the fang down on the diadem. He realized then that Harry wouldn't be able to answer them for a moment, however. At that point, he went rigid on the floor.

Harry could feel a sense of anger and very minute traces of dread as he wrapped long fingers around a wand that wasn't his. Looking down at it, he saw the swells in the wood and the narrow tip that indicated he was holding the Elder wand; his pale white fingers gripping it so tightly that his knuckles were almost translucent in the eerie light provided by the wands of his followers.. His heart seized up slightly, and it felt as though there was a hole where something should have been. Taking a moment to recover, he let out an involuntary sound; his voice shaking.

"My Lord…" One man nearest whispered quietly.

"Avada Kedavra!" The cold high voice rang out in the silence that followed the man's query, and a jet of green light enveloped him and sent the death eater crashing to the ground. Voldemort turned slowly to look toward his precious Nagini with an uncertain expression. "Come Nagini, I need to keep you safe…"

Harry could feel the slight jerk around his navel where Voldemort had disapparated, and he found himself looking back at Ron and Hermione with Draco barely meeting his eyes with an ashen expression on his face. Taking a few seconds to catch his breath and get his bearings, Harry finally muttered "It's the snake… She's the last one; the last horcrux." At this, the two looked Harry over, and Ron made a move to kneel down in front of him. At his next words, Hermione followed suit.

"Look inside him, Harry." They were maybe a foot from him, but Harry could see the anticipation in their expressions. "Find out where he is and we'll have the snake." With that, even Draco got closer to watch as Harry focused.

Harry closed his eyes tightly and willed his mid to be open to his foe's. He could see wooden floors and ceilings, stone walls, and boarded up windows. There were also pieces of chair legs and broken furniture scattered on the floor. He could see Lucius Malfoy standing by one of the boarded windows with a face as pale as his hair.

"My Lord, might-" Lucius began with a quavering voice. "Might it not be prudent… to call off the attack and… seek the b-boy yourself?"

"I do not need to seek the boy." Voldemort's anger clearly registered in his tone. "By the time the night is out, he will come to ME! Do you understand!" He waved the Elder wand absently, and a shining bubble moved beside him. The snake, Nagini, was inside it. When he turned again, he gripped Lucius' robes and shook him. "How can you live with yourself, Lucius…"

"I d-don't know…" The older Malfoy's eyes were wide and his face held fear and revulsion at the same time.

"Go and find Severus." His master hissed as he turned away again. "Bring him to me…"

"I know where he is…" Harry said as he reached back to use the door for support. "Hogsmeade… The Shrieking Shack."

"Let's go, then." Hermione extended her hand and helped him up as she stood. Ron rose with them as well, and the three looked back to the staircases that were shifting as people were still running through them. Without a word, they headed for the nearest one, with Draco on their heels. Ron and Hermione seemed to ignore him for the most part as they descended back into the lower floors of the castle, but when they reached the entrance hall finally, Harry turned and looked to the slytherin.

"Still want to make sure we win this?" With Draco's sharp nod, he motioned outside; there were already people attacking, giants stomping around, and swarms of dementors combing through the grounds ahead. "Then help them out there." Another nod left them standing there while Draco headed out into the fray ahead of them. Ron turned to Harry and gave him a quizzical look.

"So you've just accepted that he's on our side now?"

"Can't be picky with this, can we?" Harry managed as they emerged into the courtyard. He could already see that Neville and Seamus had succeeded in blowing up the bridge. This would mean that death eaters would have to take the longer and winding path from the grounds up to the castle. Stepping past the stone steps, all three of them watched as Madam Hooch, Oliver Wood, and Ginny pelted past them from above. The three split off and aimed heavy bombardment curses at the mounds of rock that were no doubt giants on the Dark Lord's side. Once the giants were distracted, Hermione led them down through the courtyard, but she stopped when she saw the werewolf, Greyback, kneeling over someone on the ground. Jabbing her wand forward as if it were a dagger, she whispered something that sent Greyback hurtling toward the opposite wall; he howled in pain as a nasty wound appeared in his abdomen. With a quick look down, Harry and Ron saw that Lavender Brown was shakily recovering and retrieving her wand from where it lay a few inches from her.

Reaching the winding path that led down to the rest of the grounds, Harry, Ron and Hermione navigated it quickly while keeping an eye out for anything coming up behind. There were enough death eaters ahead to keep them busy without a sneak attack. As they reached the places where Seamus had managed to hit the bridge in key points, they found some ways to cross over and make their journey a bit shorter. Some of the columns had folded and crisscrossed to form unstable bridges across the gap, and they were being taken full advantage of. Nearing the end, Harry could spot the whomping willow in the distance. It was fending off its share of enemies; good or bad that approached. Dementors, wizards, and even giants were being thumped by its heavy branches. As they reached a cluster of witches and wizards dueling however, the three used shield charms and the like to ward off stray curses. There were rare times when they would be more offensive and send varying spells flying to disarm, knock back, or stun their opponents.

"Harry…" Hermione called as they cleared the mass of duelists. "Look out!" There were what looked to be solid black clouds forming around them, and with a horrified shiver, Harry knew what they were. The air around them chilled more than it normally was in the bitter Scottish winter. The snow that had continued to fall seemed to grow thicker and harder; flakes feeling like icy points as they fell. A massive swarm of dementors was surrounding them, and Harry's thoughts immediately centered on the events of October 31st 1981. He could hear screams from his parents echoing and the white fog that always came with them. Vaguely, he could hear Hermione's shouting. "Your wand, Harry! Use your wand!"

He didn't even react. His body felt as if it was coming out of a deep freeze as he did nothing but stare ahead. The dementors were coming closer, and their rattling breath sounded like a harsh collective chorus as he could feel a clammy skeletal hand touch him…

The sound of rippling wind could be heard, and the entire area was illuminated by two silvery forms that came rushing toward the three. Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched as the white-blue animals simply stood on either side of them and pulsed with a fierce energy. On Hermione's right was a goat; its horns down as if it were prepared to charge. On Harry's left sat a tabby; its claws and teeth bared. Dementors fell back as waves of silvery light came off of the two patronus in thick waves. Only when the area had been cleared and the air warmed up slightly around them did the three look back. The patronus' owners stood with their backs to one another; Aberforth Dumbledore looking toward the lake and Minerva McGonagall's eyes on the burning quidditch pitch. All three nodding and mouthing their thanks, they made it to the whomping willow and Ron used one of its fallen branches to prod the knot on the trunk. Immediately, the branches stiffened and allowed them access to the path ahead. Once inside, Ron spoke first in a low vouce.

"So much for leaving Hogwarts untouched, eh?" He was moving ahead of Harry and Hermione now. "Give him time, and ha's already got giants and some death eaters in the grounds."

"Doesn't have much patience, does he, Ron?" Hermione muttered with Harry's nod. "As for the giants and dementors… well, can't really control them all that well, can we?"

"No, guess not." Ron agreed. "I mean, Grawp was… sensible… but even Hagrid couldn't control him."

"Speaking of, wonder where Hagrid is." Harry said as thy neared the incline that would lead them to the shack. They were still a ways off, but it was closer than they had been. "I heard he was having to run off into the mountains because of supporting me earlier in the year."

"Yeah." Ron nodded. "Hope he wasn't captured."

When they reached the entrance to the shack, Harry stopped them with a wave of is hand. H could hear voices from just beyond the tunnel's exit. Using his wand carefully, he lifted a heavy stone block and made sure to block them from view before gently placing it back on the threadbare rug. The voices they heard were not harsh whispers but calm conversing between two people.

"You have performed extraordinary magic with that wand, My Lord.," Snape's even tones met their ears. "In the last few hours alone…"

"No," Voldemort's objection almost sounded like a forced protest. "No. I am extraordinary, but the wand… resists me."

"There is no wand stronger." They could just see Snape and his master from the bit of an opening the block provided. "Ollivander himself has said it. When the boy comes, it will bring about his end. It answers to you and you only."

"Does it?" Voldemort's question resulted in Snape's raised eyebrows.

"My Lord?"

"The wand… Does it truly answer to me?" The serpentine man began to walk around Snape, and the former headmaster seemed almost nervous. "You're a clever man, Severus; surely you must know…" Stopping as he reached his original place in front of Snape, Voldemort casually held te wand in both hands. "The Elder wand cannot serve me properly because I am not its true owner. It belongs to the one who killed its former master;" He pointed the wand accusingly at the former potions master. "You killed Albus Dumbledore, Severus."

At these words, Snape's mouth opened just slightly as he stared at his master. Harry could almost sense the tension in the room, and he had a feeling he knew what was coming. Chancing a look back at Ron and Hermione, he saw that they too knew. Hermione had her hand over her mouth, and Ron was just staring forward with wide eyes; transfixed on the scene before them.

"You have been a good and faithful servant, Severus, but only I can live forever." With that, he used a disarming charm to pull Snape's wand away and knock him to the floor before turning to the snake in the shining bubble that was now dissipating. "Nagini, kill."

The snake lunged; once, twice, three times, and more. Each bite was met with a spasm-like reaction from her victim. After about seven strikes, she recoiled and joined her master while the man before them lay gripping the wounds he could reach. Harry could hear Voldemort whispering something about moving on, but he had a feeling it was in parseltongue; seeing as Ron and Hermione looked to him in startled confusion. Hearing the sudden disapparation of the Dark Lord, Harry blasted the stone out of the way and moved quickly out of the passage. He fumbled in his shirt to retrieve the mokeskin purse that held his desired object. Reaching into it, he wrapped his fingers around the large phial that had been left to him by Dumbledore. Upon reaching Snape however, he wasn't sure that would be enough. Wounds from Nagini were deep and already looking nasty from where the venom was sinking in, but that wasn't what drew his attentions to the man's face.

"Take them…" His voice was almost a weak gurgle as he tried to keep the wound at his neck from bleeding. Severus raised his other bloodied hand to his temple. "Please…"

"Quick, give me something… a bottle, flask, anything!" Harry ordered. Hermione began digging in her pockets and retrieved a flask that more than likely had contained polyjuice potion in it at one time. With a tap of her wand, it was clean. Handing it to Harry, she and Ron watched as he held it to Snape's temple and collected the swirling misty memories.

"Take them to the pensieve…" Snape managed before letting his hand fall. As Harry was prepared to act however, he spoke again. "Look at me…" When green eyes met black, he managed. "You have your mother's eyes."

In that moment, Harry reacted. He pulled the stopper on the phial of phoenix tears and began applying them to Snape's wounds in small drops. The man's head had already dropped, but his breathing was still ragged. Going for the neck and chest wounds first, Harry saw the tears actually working as quickly as they had when Fawkes had saved him from the basilisk five years ago. While the wounds were not fully healing, they were expelling the venom and sealing the skin so that no more blood could be lost. Harry managed to get to the shoulder and torso wounds last, but he could already hear an improvement in his former professor's breathing. When he looked up again, Snape's eyes were on him; this time, they were wider and more alert. Not really knowing what to say, Harry rose from the floor and collected the half-empty phial of tears and the flask full of memories. When he placed them securely back in the mokeskin and secured it under his shirt, he settled on a question.

"Why did you say that about my mother?"

"Those will explain everything." Even and stronger than it had been before, Snape's voice held no malice as he managed to correct his sitting position. "Why did you bother to assist me?"

"I haven't figured that out for myself yet." Harry admitted. He didn't honestly know, but it had struck him oddly when Voldemort had turned on Snape like that and sent his snake after him. "He was right about the Elder wand."

"Not completely." Severus managed. "There are things he does not truly comprehend; things that might just bring about his downfall."

"So whose side are you on, then?" Ron asked as he found his voice again. "Back in first year, you stopped Quirrell from killing Harry during that match and then refereed the next just to make sure he didn't try it again. Third year, you kept Lupin from attacking us, but turned and didn't acknowledge what we said in Umbridge's office in fifth year-"

"How else do you think the Order wound up in the department of Mysteries?" Snape asked while keeping his tone calm. "There were no other order members within the castle; Dolores saw to that by orchestrating the attack on your head of house the night Hagrid was meant to be sacked."

"So you did tell them, then?" Hermione asked, though she sounded as if she already knew the answer. "If that's true, then why kill Professor Dumbledore that next year?"

"As I said, all your answers are in there." Snape pointed toward the place at Harry's chest where the mokeskin was hidden. "I knew you would return here tonight, and I knew you were with her when Minerva and I dueled in the castle earlier this evening."

"You say all the answers are here?" He motioned to the place where the flask was hidden. "Why can't you just tell me?"

"There are far more complicated things in those memories than I have time to explain." Snape answered evenly. "The pensieve is in Albus' office. Take them there; you will understand."

"And what will you do?" Ron asked warily as Snape managed to retrieve his wand and stand. "Not going to rejoin his ranks and attack the school, are you?"

"Knowing that one is easily discarded as if he were a piece of rubbish does not make one so inclined to return to their master, does it?" Snape asked with a slight coolness to his voice. "I shall do what I can to bolster your efforts, Potter; in time you will understand my position."

Harry nodded and turned for the passage that would lead them back out into Hogwarts' grounds. It was easier than trying to break out of the shack and double back through Hogsmeade. Once they had all entered the passage, Harry lit his wand and started down the narrow way toward the willow's trunk. He had half a mind to have Snape go ahead of him, but kept the urge to say it at bay. Snape hadn't summoned Voldemort, hadn't oved to strike him, or anything else since Harry had saved his life; he just hoped that this was the intention of those tears. Dumbledore's intentions were not exactly always so clear. Only when they reached the mouth of the tunnel did Snape step in front of him. Using his wand, he directed the same stick Ron had used earlier, and he prodded the knot to freeze the tree. Exiting, he motioned for the others to follow. The grounds were more empty, and there were no shouts or battle cries that could be heard. Instead, the air went still again, and Voldemort's whispers echoed loudly throughout the open skies.

"You have fought valiantly, but in vain." The whispers, amplified, surrounded them and Harry could just make out people near the destroyed bridge stopping in their tracks. "I do not wish this; every drop of magical blood spilt is a terrible waste. I therefore command my forces to retreat." Harry, Snape, Ron, and Hermione stopped mid-stride at these words. "In their absence, dispose of your dead with dignity. Harry Potter, I now speak directly to you." Harry looked up sharply as if to see Voldemort standing just ahead of him, but he knew the man was nowhere near. "On this night, you have allowed your friends and family to die for you. There is no greater dishonor." Tension built as Harry heard that people had died. He didn't want to think of the Weasleys or anyone else losing life because of him. "I suggest that you join me in the forbidden forest and confront your fate. If you do not do this, I will kill every man, woman, and child who attempts to conceal you from me."

When traces of the whispers faded away, Harry looked back toward the forest but was stopped by a stiff hand on his shoulder. Its grip was hard but steady. Preparing to break away from it, Harry managed to turn and look the former headmaster in the eye. Snape wore a hardened expression that brokered no further arguments; it had been one Harry, Ron, and Hermione had seen many times before when he had taught potions.

"Don't even think about it, Potter." His tone was stern, and Harry found himself stopping in his fruitless struggle for a second. "You do not know the stakes if you rush in and fail now. Go to the castle and to the pensieve. Only then will you be truly prepared."

With that, the four moved up the path that the trio had taken earlier, and they made their way to the now abandoned courtyard. Where there had been people dueling earlier, there was only scarred and cracked stone. They could all see where giants had bombarded the castle and where a few of they had been killed in the process. When they made it to the courtyard, there was a sudden rush of air, and as all of them looked up, Ginny, Oliver, and Madam Hooch came in for a landing. The former two managed a smooth one, while the flying instructor's broom spun out of control and sent her headlong into the stone steps. Before she hit the ground however, Snape had pulled his wand out and waved it carefully.

"Aresto momentum!"

Oliver and Ginny, who had stopped and stared at Snape now had their wands trained on him. He didn't seem to care as he directed his wand toward the ground gently. With it, the former quidditch referee managed a safe enough landing onto the stone steps. No one had time to notice in her descent, but when she stood, they all saw the deep gashes to the side of her face and neck that looked to be barely tended to. In Harry's opinion, it seemed that one or more of the giants had managed to take a wild swing and land a hit. Once Rolanda's eyes focused, she took a firm grip on her wand and trained it on Snape as well.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you where you stand;" Her voice was almost gravely due to rage. "Aside from what you've just prevented."

"Suffice it to say that things are more complicated than any of you realize." Snape managed while lowering his own wand. "Potter, to the pensieve; Granger, Wood, Weasleys, to the great hall. No doubt everyone else is there already." He motioned for them to move on ahead before facing the older witch again. "I knew you survived the encounter with those two death eaters at Grimmauld Place, that you made it back into the castle, and that you were in Minerva's office with Potter's owl." He managed with a slightly quieter tone. "In fact, I hoped as much due to the fact that there were things you could learn as an unregistered animagus that most didn't have the opportunity to."

"So you just expect people to trust you with that bit of information?" She retorted. Harry could still hear their conversation as he entered the castle. "After you killed Dumbledore and opened up this school to death eaters, Severus? I assumed you were wiser than that."

"Of course I don't." Snape muttered. "As I told Potter, there are events that are too complicated to explain currently. I must see to it that Potter realizes just what he is meant to do before he does something that could cost us all the war." With that last, Snape entered the castle and headed for the headmaster's office. He joined Harry on the stairs and guided him swiftly away from the soft din of noise that was coming from the great hall.