AN: I just want to take a moment to thank my beta reader Raisinous Fiend for such an outstanding job.
Into the Breech
Harry Potter watched as a quarter moon rose in the night sky; taking one last look around his small bedroom, he checked that his wand was in his pocket and headed out the door. Judging by the snoring he could hear coming from his uncle and cousin, he knew the Dursleys were fast asleep as he made his way downstairs and out the front door. Taking a deep breath at the edge of the wards he could feel tingling on his skin, he stepped outside them. Nobody here. Well, that would be too easy. Guess I'll take a walk to the park. He strolled slowly down the sleeping street, head down, eyes constantly looking for danger. Come on, you gits, I know you're here somewhere. Finally he saw movement; two black shrouded figures with wands at the ready approached from his left. Harry stood to his full height. "It's about time you showed up," he called out. "I thought I was going to have to flag you down."
The two Death Eaters seemed taken aback when they heard him speaking calmly; the taller one quickly came to his senses and demanded, "Are you looking forward to your death, boy, to walk so calmly to meet it?"
Harry laughed. "You don't have the authority to kill me, Lucius. Take me to see Tom; I have something I wish to give him."
"Very well, Potter, it is always amusing to see fools walk so readily to their doom. Take my arm and I will Apparate us there." Lucius Malfoy could sound imposing and condescending even in a firmly Muggle park. He held out his left arm, keeping the wand in his right hand trained on Harry.
Harry calmly walked over and placed his hand on the outstretched arm.
"What about the Muggles, do we still follow the plan?" asked the other Death Eater.
"Leave them be, we have what we came for." Having said that, Lucius Apparated away with Harry, leaving the other to follow.
They reappeared outside a dilapidated farmhouse with the scent of apple trees hanging in the breeze. Harry removed his hand and looked around. He could see no others around, but there were lights coming from the house. "He's in there, I suppose?" Harry questioned Malfoy.
"Yes, Potter, he is, now be a good dead boy and give me your wand. The Dark Lord will not see you if you're armed. Or I could just take it from you; either way I get my entertainment for the night." The haughty smile on Malfoy's face rubbed Harry the wrong way. He took his wand out of his pocket. "This wand? I don't think I want to give it to you." Before he finished speaking, Harry cast a stunning spell too fast for Lucius to dodge.
Harry looked down at the arrogant man he stunned and laughed lightly. He bound the unconscious man, pocketing the blonde's wand, and waited for the other Death Eater to arrive. Sure enough, only a couple of moments passed when he heard the tell-tale crack of Apparition. Before the second Death Eater even noticed Harry was there, he, too, was stunned and bound. Harry laughed again as he pocketed a second wand. "Never underestimate your opponent, you gits."
Making his way to the farmhouse, Harry firmed his resolve to end this war, tonight. He was tired and just wanted it all to stop: all the killing, all the fear; he just wanted peace. Harry was determined to do whatever necessary to find it.
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Severus stalked quickly through the hallway of the farmhouse the Dark Lord had been using as headquarters for his dark forces; the house was silent around him, leaving him to wonder why he had been called. The eerie silence continued into the old living room now converted into Voldemort's throne room. The Dark Lord sat on his throne, tapping his fingers on the arm; behind him, five masked Death Eaters spoke quietly while poring over a map. Severus approached, eyes downcast, till he reached his master's side; he kneeled before the creature, kissing the dusty hem of the expensive black robes.
"Severus, my faithful servant, rise, for I have need of your skill," hissed Voldemort.
Standing gracefully, Severus took a step back and replied, "As always, my Lord, you need only bid me and it will be done."
The hideous snakelike man held out a piece of parchment with lines of spidery print on it. "A list of potions you will brew me; they will be needed within the week."
Severus took the list and looked over it quickly. "My Lord, forgive me, but the Nocens Memoria alone takes a full week to brew, I would be unable to finish the others within that time frame."
"That is why I have sent Wormtail to your home to assist you. You will have him handle the mindless labor while you, my faithful Potions master, see to the delicate work that is your specialty."
Severus was not pleased at the thought of having that filthy rat in his house, but was well aware of the consequences of disagreeing with the Dark Lord. "My Lord has thought of everything…" he started, with a bow of servitude. His sentence was cut off when the door to the throne room was slammed open with such force that it put a hole in the plaster behind it.
As a slim figure appeared in the shadow of the doorway, all the Death Eaters jumped to their feet, wands pointed at the intruder. "Who dares enter my presence in such an arrogant fashion?" demanded the still-seated Voldemort imperiously.
Severus watched with growing horror as the figure in the doorway walked forward into the torch-lit room and was revealed to be none other than the Gryffindor Golden Boy himself. "Hello, Tom, I heard you were planning on collecting me for my birthday; thought I would spare you the trouble," drawled the impertinent brat.
As Potter stood in the center of the room with his wand by his side, Severus quickly thought of and rejected a dozen different plans for getting them both out of this alive. He was furious that the Potter brat had so brazenly put them both in danger.
Rough hands seized the boy, restraining his arms; Harry made no move to pull away from the two Death Eaters holding him. Voldemort rose from his throne to circle his new captive. "Harry Potter," he hissed, "how kind of you to present yourself. You are quite correct; I was planning a little surprise for your sixteenth birthday. Your death."
"I know, Tom. I also know about your plans for St. Mungo's. Attacking the helpless, is that the best you can do?" Harry taunted. "You keep running from Dumbledore and he's twice your age; you couldn't kill me when I was an infant, or when I was eleven, and you failed again when I was fourteen! You are nothing but a fraud and a coward."
Red eyes flashed in anger. "Crucio!" shouted Voldemort, holding the curse even as Harry convulsed in the grip of his captors. "I wonder how long your insolence will last before you break."
Severus watched with horror-tinged admiration as the boy withstood the Cruciatus curse in silence. The brat had to have balls of solid steel to mouth off to the Dark Lord; it would take a foolhardy Gryffindor to call the snake a coward. But now was not the time for such thoughts. He had to worry about getting them both out alive and relatively sane.
Lifting the curse, Voldemort returned to his throne. "Tell me, Potter, where are you getting your information? Which of my Death Eaters has betrayed me?"
Harry drew a shaky breath and lifted his head; green eyes met red and held. "Fuck you, Tom," he growled.
"Come now, boy, give me a name and I'll grant you a quick death; continue to defy me, and I will not be so merciful," spat Voldemort in anger.
Severus flinched imperceptibly at the talk about spies; he knew the Dark Lord would soon tire of toying with the boy and use Legilimency to access the information he desired. One look in the brat's unprotected mind and the Dark Lord would discover his treachery and they would both die, painfully. Doing the only thing he could think of to salvage the situation and save the wretched boy, Severus drew his wand and cursed the masked form before him, shoving another into the Dark Lord. "Run, Potter," he shouted.
The Death Eater holding Harry's right arm fell to Snape's curse, the one on the left tumbled to his knees, head colliding with the hard wooden arm of Voldemort's throne. Harry flashed an incredulous look at Snape, but stood his ground. Voldemort snapped his fingers and Snape was bound at the wrists, wand falling to the floor before him. Snape the git once again endangered his own life to save Harry's; you had to admire that.
"Fool!" hissed Voldemort. "You threw away all I gave you, for what? The opportunity to play Dumbledore's tame Death Eater? The darkness I feel in you will never gain his trust. Tell me, Severus, why did you betray me?"
Knowing his pride was all that was left for him, Severus prepared to die, but not before he gave the monster that had ruled more than half his life a piece of his mind. "I was damned the instant I took your mark and betrayed my humanity. I turned away from you seventeen years ago; you are not worthy of my loyalty, nor my respect. I would rather serve a rabid, diseased dog than one such as you; however I highly doubt there is much distinction."
You had to admit Snape was gifted in the art of insult; Harry could not contain his laughter. "Well said, Professor, although the dog would probably smell better, don't you agree?"
"Indeed, Potter." Who knew the boy had such a morbid sense of humor.
Furious, Voldemort stood and kicked the unconscious Death Eater out of his path as he advanced on Harry, missing the subtle gesture of Harry's hand as he wordlessly freed Snape's bindings. "Before I deal with the traitor, Potter, I will silence your insolent mouth forever."
He cast a curse to boil the brat's blood in his veins only to narrowly dodge as his own curse rebound off a black shield that briefly flared around the boy. Ignoring the screams of the Death Eater behind him who ducked too slowly, Voldemort could only think of ending the life of the ever annoying boy who would not die. He began the incantation of the killing curse. "Avada…"
Before the monster could finish, Harry raised both hands and screamed, "Burn in hell, you miserable bastard!"
Black flames flew from his fingertips and engulfed the creature before him; he could feel Voldemort's power surge trying to overcome the flames. Harry poured more power into the magical flames; sheer willpower fueled the fire.
Severus watched as the black fire surrounded the Dark Lord; he could feel the magic in the air, smell burning flesh, but could feel no heat from the inferno before him. With no time to ponder the strange turn of fate, Severus disarmed and stunned one of the remaining Death Eaters. Looking around he saw the other bringing his wand to bear on Potter; moving swiftly to the boy's side, Severus cast a shielding charm just in time to deflect a bone breaking curse. The Death Eater ducked the reflected curse only to hit the stunner Severus threw at him. Severus glanced around quickly; seeing no immediate threat, he turned and watched the Potter boy begin to sweat and sway as he sustained the flames surrounding the Dark Lord. The black fire hid the Dark Lord from view, but Severus could still hear his screams. Not knowing what else to do, he laid a hand on the boy's shoulder in silent support.
Harry was grateful for the steadying hand as he poured even more power into the flames. Harry shuddered as, finally, the screams died out; he felt Voldemort's power flare briefly then die. He lowered his hands and the flames retreated, revealing nothing more than a pile of grey ash. He drew a shaky breath as he stared at the remains of the creature that had killed his parents and shadowed his entire life. Harry turned to Snape. "Good riddance," he whispered, and fainted into the man's arms.
Harry awoke one sense at a time. First came the feeling of a hard wooden floor beneath him, then the lingering scent of burning flesh, next someone speaking to him. Opening his eyes to a torch-lit space, Harry felt the speaker hold a vial to his mouth. "Drink, Potter," said the man. "This will help you regain your strength." Since regaining his strength seemed a reasonable thing to do, Harry drank the vile-tasting substance. He closed his eyes again; soon he could feel the potion running through his veins and replenishing his energy. As he lay there, flashes of the last hour ran through his mind, causing him to open his eyes once again. This time he recognized who had been speaking to him. "Snape, is he still dead?"
"Yes, Mr. Potter, you somehow managed to kill the Dark Lord, and unless someone is capable of reanimating a pile of ash, I think it is safe to say that he will stay that way." The fact that Snape was able to sound snide even when offering reassurance helped Harry realize that his victory was real after all. Harry sat up and looked around, noting that there were five stunned and bound Death Eaters lying on the floor. He remembered that once again Snape had saved his life. The young man raised his eyes to meet his professor's. "Thanks for saving my life once again, sir," he whispered.
It was for the first time since the nightmare began that Severus looked into Harry's eyes. This was no boy; something had changed Potter since he had last seen him. "What happened to the Golden Boy, Potter?" Severus was nonplussed when those Avada Kedavra green eyes darkened and turned away.
"He died with Sirius; he wasn't strong enough to do what was needed." Severus carefully looked over the boy − no, young man − before him, noticing the changes for the first time. Potter was taller, a little broader; his hair had gone from short, disordered and messy to a fall of shoulder-length silk; it even seemed darker, and the ridiculous glasses were gone. The shape of his face seemed different; the stamp of James Potter did not appear as strongly anymore. The biggest change, however, was that the last shred of innocence that Potter had steadfastly held onto, even with all he had seen, was now absent from his eyes. "I see," said Severus after a while. "Tell me, Potter, what's left now?"
"I don't know," came the broken whisper. Severus stood from where he had been kneeling by the young man's side. I was correct, he mused. The Potter brat did get interesting. He is no longer Albus' Golden Boy; what changed him so in such a short time? He could prove worth allying with. For now, I will watch him, and see if he lives up to his potential. Now I just need to remember not to bait him. "Mr. Potter, are you feeling up to Apparating? We should not remain here any longer; more Death Eaters could show up at anytime."
"Where would you suggest we go?" Harry was still feeling sluggish from the strain of killing Voldemort. He was having trouble making decisions right now, and he trusted Snape to get him somewhere safe.
"I believe, Mr. Potter, that we should return to Hogwarts."
Severus took careful note of the coordinates of the farmhouse; now that the Dark Lord was dead it was possible for the Ministry to send some Aurors to pick up the incapacitated Death Eaters. With one last look around, Severus Snape took hold of Harry Potter's shoulder and Apparated them into Hogsmeade.