Co-Written with stormypup

Disclaimer: A large part of the first chapter is taken straight from chapter 25 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and belongs to J.K. Rowling, as does a good portion of chapter two. These have been modified by the authors to fit with the challenge. Chapter three onward was written solely by the authors using JKR's characters.

A/N: This was written for the Written for Wave XII of the Harry/Snape fqf fest. This fanfiction is a complete work (25 chapters in all) and shall be updated every Weekend between Friday and Sunday. I'd have to throw much love and many sugary sweets at my beta-reader, NSW, who put up with our horrible all-nighter grammar skills. Also, this is the start of the first chapter no longer based on canon directly so (crosses fingers)

I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last two chapters and because of that I am updating with two chapters tonight. Yup, that's right. You get chapters three and four! Three is really short compared to others as well which is the other reason why.

Chapter Four

His window was open to let the night air in. The gentle breeze drifted lazily into his tiny bedroom, ruffling the half-written pieces of parchment on his desk. Green eyes surveyed the room with desperation. There had to be something he had overlooked. Why else would he still be pacing this late at night? He hadn't anticipated the arrival of an owl around midnight. The minute bird fluttered into his room gracelessly. It only paused for a moment before dive bombing his head and then falling to the floor.

"Pig," Harry grunted, quickly scooping the owl off the floor. The tiny owl hooted loudly and then bit his finger. Harry yelped, letting go of the bird and it sped back off into the night. He watched it go, irritated. What was so important that Ron had to send him an owl tonight? Picking the letter up off the ground, he hurriedly opened it. There were two pages.

Harry,

How has your summer been so far, mate? It's crazy here. Fleur's family has shown up. Ginny's holed herself up in her room. She only comes out when Mum yells at her. I finally convinced Dad to let us come get you. Ginny jumped at the chance to help out. Wonder why. Frankly mate, she's gone a bit nutty without you. Don't tell her I told you that. I've been on the wrong end of her wand once this summer and she, well, you'll see tomorrow.

Hermione showed up yesterday and, she's gorgeous Harry, almost didn't recognize her at first. She hit me when I told her that and so did Ginny. Honestly, I don't understand girls at all. All I did was compliment her!

Harry grinned at the large jagged line followed by a switch in handwriting. It seemed Hermione had seen what Ron was writing and felt the need to chime in.

Harry, ignore Ron, we're coming to get you tomorrow at noon. It'll just be Ron, Ginny, and I since Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are…detained. You remember Gabrielle, Fleur's younger sister, correct? Well, it seems she is exactly like Fleur was when we first met her. I rather want to hex her false smile off her face. If not for my own piece of mind, but for Ginny's as well. But anyways, Harry, don't do anything rash between now and tomorrow. I know you want to run off and save the world, but for once, don't run away no matter how foul your relatives become. We're going to use a Portkey this time so be ready to answer the door.

Love,

Hermione and Ron

P.S.
Have you read the Prophet recently? I know you are as adverse to that piece of trash as I am, but sometimes they print something of value. I enclosed the particular piece I'm talking about. I certainly am finding it hard to believe.

Harry folded the letter, placed it on his desk, and focused his attention on the newspaper clipping. He had canceled his subscription to the prophet, once he realized that the paper had become something of a large collection of obituaries and articles asking where he was. But now, staring in horrified fascination at the fine parchment he was holding he realized that maybe canceling it hadn't been the smartest idea.

His heart jumped into his throat. Merlin, if Snape hadn't run before he would be now. Harry nursed the idea to fire call the address he was given, but if he did that, he'd have to from a secure location and the Dursley's fire wasn't connected to the floo and the Weasley's couldn't afford to have Harry sticking his head into an unknown fireplace. He grit his teeth as he stared at the picture. Like all wizarding photos it was moving, but this one was more blurry than usual. The caption read: Snape sighted in Irveness, photo taken by Georgina Laloc. Harry studied the grainy image uncertain of what to make of it. He knew instinctually that Snape was not stupid enough to wander into a fairly public setting. There was no doubt in his mind that this was a fake, but that still didn't quell his nausea.

For the first time he needed advice and there was no one he could go to. He ran a hand through his hair agitatedly; half tempted to burn the clipping before he even read it. But he had to know what it said, Hermione wasn't one to send him newspaper articles on a whim.

"Shit," he swore as he stared at the picture for another moment, before turning his attention on the actual article. It was shorter than he had anticipated not even two full paragraphs long.

Snape sighting, cause for alarm

Yesterday afternoon, a faithful prophet reader submitted this photo for our readers. It is a frightening warning for any of us who live in lower Scotland. For all of those who haven't been following the news, Severus Snape was accused two weeks ago of murdering the late Albus Dumbledore. Based on an anonymous eyewitness tip-off, the ex-professor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been accused of murder and Death Eater activity.


Up until a fortnight ago, there had been no leads that could tell us who had killed the headmaster. If anyone has seen Snape or heard anything else about this great travesty please owl Marina McKintle immediately.

The paper fell from his slackened hold, soundlessly falling to the ground.

Snape ran his fingers through his hair for the twentieth time that hour, oblivious to the greasy feel. Earlier he had gone out under the guise of polyjuice potion to get a copy of the Prophet and find out the latest news one.

It was disturbing, but not surprising, to see that apparently the whole wizarding world was out looking for him, but he was pleased to see that this 'sighting' of him was no where near his actual location. He was confused by the fact that the article said it was a tip-off from an anonymous source that claimed he'd murdered Dumbledore.

Either Potter didn't have the bollocks to turn him in himself, or else the brat was actually thinking of the big picture for once. Snape paced in a circle, trying to decide what the next course of action should be.

Snape's last meeting with Voldemort had gone well. The Dark Lord was feeling confident of victory with Dumbledore out of the way and now it was just a matter of time before he went after Potter directly. The boy was quickly running out of time to find the remaining horcrux and destroy them.

He knew where Potter's relatives lived and knew that should the need arise, he could contact the boy, but he also knew he was running out of time there. Potter only had to stay there until he came of age, which was soon. He either had to contact him now, or would have to wait to track the brat down should he need him.

"Damn it all, Albus," he growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. Coming to a decision he tore off the corner of a piece of parchment and grabbed a quill. He quickly scribbled, Roundstone, Ireland, on the piece of parchment.

He hurried to the other room to find the old owl he had bought years ago and kept in his safe house for emergencies. Snape tied the small bit of parchment to the owl's leg with instructions to take it to Potter.

Snape would lie in wait for Potter to turn up. He would watch him long enough to be sure he didn't bring the whole of the Ministry down on his head before approaching him. One way or another, he was about to find out if the boy was a daft as he believed him to be.

Once the owl was off, Snape went to Draco's room and pounded on the door before entering, not bothering to wait for permission.

"We're leaving," Snape said, scowling at Draco who was lounging on the bed reading a Quidditch book.

"Have they found us?" Draco asked, dropping the book and drawing his wand as he got to his feet.

Snape shook his head. "No, but I'm taking you someplace else for a few days," he said, looking around the nearly empty room. "I'll come for you when it's safe."

Draco's eyes widened. "You're going to leave me alone?" he asked, feeling panicked. "They'll kill me!"

"Nobody is going to kill you!" Snape snapped. "As long as you do nothing stupid, you'll be fine," he added. If things went well with Potter, Snape was going to try and get a message to Narcissa. Two weeks of living in close quarters with Draco was long enough for him to know that it's not something he wanted to do for much longer. If Snape could get Draco and Narcissa together, she could protect him, untying Snape's hands to deal with other matters. He wasn't going to mention it to Draco, just in case things went pear shaped.

"We leave in five minutes," Snape said, leaving the room. He needed to put together some meager supplies before they left.

The next morning found Harry waiting in the living room for Ron, Hermione and Ginny to arrive. The Dursley's had decided to go to church for their monthly visit and that left Harry free reign of the house for the day. He would rather have it that way as well. His departure would go by a lot smoother that way. Hedwig was already waiting in her cage, flapping her wings in irritation. Harry would have let her go already but something was holding him back. He couldn't say for sure what he was waiting for, but his feeling of restlessness from the night before hadn't left him. He had hoped the agitation would have gone away with the arrival of Ron and Hermione's letter, but if anything it increased.

He fingered the letter in his pocket impatiently. Harry glanced up at the clock on the mantel watching as the second hand slowly ticked its way around the face. It struck the hour with ten soft chimes. A loud thud sounded through the sitting room causing Harry to jump. Wand in hand, he turned towards the bay window and hesitantly approached it. He leapt back in shock as an owl, still disoriented from its collision, flew out of the immaculately pruned bush it had fallen in.

Harry hastily opened the window, letting the haggard owl in the house and stepped back as it crash landed on the floor. For a fraction of a second Harry was afraid it was dead, but then it hooted softly and held out its leg. The raven-haired teenager bent over and untied the letter and left it on the floor in favor of picking up the exhausted owl. It didn't put up as much of a fight as Harry thought it would as he carried it over to Hedwig's cage. He unlatched the metal cage and opened the door.

"Be nice Hedwig," said Harry, stroking his owl's white plumage. Hedwig looked at the other owl reproachfully, but then went about nudging it with her beak. Harry didn't close the cage again purposefully as a show of faith and as he expected Hedwig didn't immediately take off. Harry scooped the tiny piece of parchment off the floor and unfurled it.

"Roundstone, Ireland?" Harry read aloud the only words on the slip of paper. He turned it over in his hands as if expecting an explanation to suddenly appear. The writing was familiar, he noted. He sat down on the sofa heavily and ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. Green eye's swept over the two words multiple times like it were a puzzle that needed solving.

He glanced over at the two owls. It seemed Hedwig was attempting futilely to get the bird to drink some water. The owl was non-descript and didn't help him any. He couldn't remember ever seeing it before. Frustrated, he crumpled the note in his fist and tossed it to the ground. Bloody lot of good it did him, now the ominous tension was becoming oppressive and he felt like he was about to be squeezed through a keyhole. It was a sickening feeling that he usually only ever associated with Apparation, but he wasn't going anywhere.

A loud rap at the door shattered the atmosphere and caused gooseflesh to rise on his skin. His heart missed a beat and his breathing hitched in his throat. He tensed waiting for...something.

"Harry?" An anxious voice called through the oak front door. He cast a glance at the parchment before going to the door. Hermione wouldn't wait patiently forever, not knowing the way his home life was. She would jump to all sorts of conclusions.

His hand was on the gold painted door knob when it struck him why the handwriting had been familiar.

"Shit," Harry swore viciously and wrenched open the door, revealing three nervous faces.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Ginny asked, stepping forward. She peered up in his face with a worried expression and Harry felt ill.

"Ginny, I'm sorry," said Harry even as he took a large step backwards away from her. He had to close his eyes to block out the hurt he saw in her eyes.

"Harry, what are you talking about?"

"Yeah mate, you gone wonky on us? We're here to spring you from this place." Ron chimed in with an easy grin.

"Guys, I can't come with you," Harry began already feeling like a heel. If he had a choice, he'd go with them, but as it was, he didn't think he did. Notes like that weren't sent by chance. They were sent for a purpose and while it had taken him a while to figure it out, he now knew what it was asking of him.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, confusion evident on her face.

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I have things I need to do."

"You can't miss Bill and Fleur's wedding!" Ron cried in shock.

Harry just stared at him. He could just about see the cogs turning in Ron's head. It was fascinating in a weird way. He waited patiently for whatever conclusion the hot tempered red-head was going to come to.

"This doesn't have anything to do with Dumbledore's death, does it?" Harry shrugged uncomfortably and Ron's eyes bulged. "And you're not taking us?!"

"I can't," Harry stated simply earning more than one annoyed expression.

"Harry James Potter, you are not leaving us behind," Hermione threatened, reaching forward as if to grab him, but it was too late. Harry had already Apparated away.

Snape sat on the front porch, rocking slowly in the old rocker. He had been watching the road to his house carefully, watching for any sign of Potter or the Aurors. He wasn't sure which one he was expecting more, but he was prepared for both.

His current appearance was that of a very bent old woman. The house he was sitting in front of had been empty for months, and he was using it as a cover to keep watch on his own little hideaway. If Potter came alone, he would watch him for a time before approaching him. If he brought people with him, he would Apparate away and join Draco.

Snape had been sitting on the porch for nearly two hours when he saw Potter walking up the path. He had his wand out and was glancing warily around. Snape tensed as Harry approached his location, but Harry just gave him a feeble smile and continued on his way.

"Foolish boy," Snape murmured once he had passed.

Harry wasn't entirely sure where he was heading. He had been vigilantly repeating the address Snape had handed him at the end of the school year and still no house had appeared. Unless Snape was leading him on, which right now seemed more and more possible. Had he been foolish to believe that anything Snape had said was the truth?

He sighed and was just about to Apparate out of there when a house appeared on the hill before him. He pulled up short his eyes widening in surprise. All right, perhaps he'd been a bit rash in thinking that Snape would just randomly hand him an address for no reason. But now that he was here, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go up the path to the house. But no, he'd come too far now to just back down, plus he didn't fancy walking back down the hill past that creepy old woman again. The only consolation he had was that Snape had more information than he had. Information that he needed.

With that thought firmly in mind, he straightened his shoulders and started up the path.

Snape could tell when the house came into view for Harry. He practically tripped over his own feet. Merlin, if Snape had been setting a Death Eater trap, the boy would be captured before he could blink he was paying so little attention to what was going on behind him.

Savior of the wizarding world indeed, Snape thought with a bit of a sneer. He grabbed the cane that was resting next to his chair and got to his feet. Keeping his eyes on Harry, he hobbled his way up the street.

When he reached the path up the hill to the house, he kept on walking, keeping watch on Harry from the corner of his eye, curious as to his next move.

Harry had reached the door when he felt as if someone was watching him. He glanced around and noticed the old woman from the house down the street. He couldn't tell if she had seen that he was looking at her.

As she passed the path, she stumbled, her cane flying out of her hands. The elderly woman fell to the ground and let out a painful cry.

Harry, despite initial misgivings, went over the old lady's side with little hesitation. He wanted to kick himself for it, but he couldn't just leave her there and not check to see if she was all right.

He crouched down beside her. "Are you all right, ma'am?"

"Oh please, can you help me up?" she asked, voice trembling. "My grandson warned me not to take my walks anymore," her breath hitched at the end of the sentence.

Looking reluctant and very uncomfortable, Harry helped the old woman to her feet. She stumbled, falling heavily into him and tightened her grip. She Apparated with him before he could do anything to stop her.

A/N: Please Review!