A/N: The rating's been taken down from M to T. There will not be a sexual scene or anything too gory in this story, I've decided. It will be saved for the sequel. I didn't feel intimacy appropriate thus far, and I'm sticking with my gut instinct. My M readers will hopefully not mind (what's left of you, anyway). All you T readers, welcome. You've joined at a good time as this is the second to last chapter, and the last one is more than halfway written.

This is 17/18. There will not be an epilogue as my mind is already reeling around a sequel.

Dedication: Severus-Fan

Enjoy

Chapter 17

"Fool," Severus mumbled to himself. He was standing there with her, a smile tugging at his corners. Severus watched helplessly as his younger self brushed a strand of her golden hair away from her face. She leaned into his touch. Young Severus put his hand on her cheek, letting his thumb brush over her pouty, pink lips.

"Severus," the girl in the pensieve purred, her voice trembling, her lips quivering beneath his touch, "I'll miss you so much when you 're gone. I wish you could stay and go to school here."

"You know my mother would never allow me to leave my school," Young Severus replied as he pulled her closer with his left hand.

"It's not like your private school could be that much better than ours," She said stubbornly.

Severus watched as his younger self said nothing. He then suddenly took her wrist and pulled her deeper into the forested area. Severus felt himself being pushed along by the magical boundaries. As the two walked in front of him, Seveurs watched the sunlight become more scarce. It was being filtered in by the tall oaks that were firmly rooted in the ground. Plants littered the floor.

The younger version of Seveurs stopped suddenly. He pushed his girlfriend against a tree trunk and smashed his lips against hers. Just as this happened, the memory changed. He was now in a dark clearing, the only light coming from his young self's wand and the moonlight. The wand was pointed at a still body on the ground. Both the past and present versions looked away briefly, knowing all too well what was on the ground. The scene before them was that of the young girl they had grown fond of, laying on the ground motionless. Her eyes were open, showing an eerie dullness in her previously blissful, emerald eyes. Her now dirtied blonde hair hung still around her face, hugging her deathly pale features.

Severus turned back around, remembering this memory all too well. His younger self bent down and fell to his knees, dropping his wand unceremoniously on the ground next to her body. He took one of his arms and slid it under her back and propped her up. She hung lifelessly in his arms. His head slumped against her chest, listening for a heartbeat that wasn't there.

After several moments of silence, Severus heard a sigh from behind him. Alarmed, he raised his wand and turned away from his memory. Who would dare to invade his private thoughts and memories? The answer came in the form of a sandy-haired Marauder.

"That's why you keep pushing Hermione away," Remus deduced astutely.

"Do not speak of things which you do know know or understand, wolf," Severus barked, glaring at the man before him.

"Oh, come now, Severus. I've been watching these memories just as you've been reliving them. I am not blind."

"Seeing is not the same as understanding," Severus countered. "Have you come to brag of your triumph over me? For if you have, your glory is short-lived."

Anger flashed in Remus' eyes; they obtained a yellow tint as his hair began to stand up straight. He looked angry, and though Severus wouldn't admit this, it scared him. He knew what an angered werewolf was like. Not only had he seen the ones who fought on the Dark Lord's side, but he had almost been killed by the one standing in front of him, when he fell into Black's little trap. If it wasn't for Potter suddenly growing a conscience, he would have to live with this nasty infliction for the rest of his life, or worse, he would be dead.

Though Severus' demeanor remained the same, he lowered his wand and let the werewolf know that he was not a threat. The full moon wasn't scheduled for at least another two weeks, Severus noted gladly.

"You're a bastard, Snape," Remus hissed out in a very Slytherin-like manner, though his eyes turned blue again, and his hair flattened a bit. "You don't care about her. If you did, you wouldn't be stewing in your memories, while she prepares for a war.

"You know, Snape, she came to me after her first day here and asked me what I thought about her building a friendship with you. I wished her good luck and laughed a little at the determination in her eyes. I watched for weeks as her eyes lit up when she saw you, then darken in denial when I told her she was falling in love.

"I remember the way she cried in my arms when you booted her aside like an old broomstick. I remember the way she'd stare out the window blankly and throw on an empty smile when Lily or James asked her if she was alright. I always knew what days you treated her well because she smiled during the lectures she gave to James and Sirius, and she always gave me an extra tight hug before kissing me on the cheek and skipping out the portrait hole, giving a wink to Lily." He paused here for a second, and Severus thought that he may have been done.

Then, he continued, "It was hard for me not to rip you apart those days that you felt she wasn't worthy. Hell, it was hard to not do it the days you thought she was," Remus remarked with a sarcastic huff of air. "It's hard being a rational best mate to the girl you fell in love with."

As the wolf's eyes dropped to the ground and his lips quivered before turning into a sad smile, it was difficult for Severus to replace the pity he felt for a vicious 'I knew it!' Severus felt himself being pulled out of the pensieve, and he found himself face to face with the wolf again. Only this time, he was in the room of requirement.

"I could always handle it, though, as long as she was happy in the end, but now it's different. She's leaving tonight, Snape, and you're going to pull your head out of your arse and make things right."

The wolf's eyes flashed with anger, and Seveurs knew this left no room for debate. Then, anger settled itself over Severus.

"Do not concern yourself with what I do," Severus sneered. "I opened myself up to the girl, and in return, she told me nothing. Then, she ran to you and told you everything. How is it that I'm supposed to trust her, when she hides things from me? I did not even know she was leaving, let alone why, until I overheard you two talking one evening."

Remus didn't back down. "I don't blame her for not telling you about her past, even if she could. You're cruel and insensitive to her. Besids that, telling you would compromise not only her mission, but all of our lives. That includes yours."

Severus didn't like that response. Lupin's eyes relayed honesty, but it did nothing to quench his desire to know what was happening. She was here on some sort of mission. He had gathered that much on his own, but he did not know for who or why. Something that Lupin said spiked his interest, though. Telling him would jeopordize his life. That meant it probably had something to do with him. Had she been using him, or was she there to save him?

"Go do the right thing, Snape," Lupin said, jolting him out of his thoughts.

Severus shrunk down and procketed the pensieve, exiting the room. The walk to his common room was reflexive and without thought. He entered his dormitory and was automatically greeted with a hurried "Oy, get dressed!" from a fellow seventh year Deatheater who was in full robes and clutching his mask. Severus didn't realize that he was to participate in this raid until a boy with the last name Parkinson filled him in, while dragging him through a secret passage that led to the Hogwarts exterior. From there, he knew they would walk beyond the gates, find a hidden spot to take off their cloaks, put on their masks, and disapparate.

Since Severus didn't know the location, he was left to close his eyes and hold onto Parkinson's forearm. Severus landed on his feet, ignoring the slight queezy feeling he had in his stomach. He was immediately pulled away by someone who was probably in the inner circle.

Looking around behind his mark and hood, he found himself in a house that looked as thought it had been abandoned for quite some time now. Yellowed wallpaper was hanging off the walls, and all the lights were smashed. The television that sat broken on the floor told him that ironically enough, this appeared to be a Muggle's home.

"Bow before your master," The Deatheater said before roughly pushing Snape inside the room. He walked back outside and shut the door. Through the paper thin walls, the last thing Severus heard was a warding charm. Severus panicked slightly as he got onto one knee and lowered his head.

"Do not worry, Severus," A voice hissed in an unhuman pitch. It was the Dark Lord. Severus could feel him penetrating his mind, and Severus hurriedly pushed thoughts of Hermione away, only leaving angry ones in their wake. "You're a bright young boy, Severus, and I know you understand why I had to keep this raid from you. Someone mentioned that you've had thoughts of betrayal, but I can see that this is not the case. Trevors will be punished."

Seveurs stayed kneeling, knowing better than to think he would be dismissed so soon.

"But, I do wonder what your relationship with Miss Granger is," The Dark Lord mused to himself, still searching Severus' mind. "I can see your potential to be a valuable asset, young Snape, but it would serve you well to remember that betrayal is equivalent to death. If I hear that you jeopordize my capture of Miss Granger in any way, you will die just as she will. Do you understand, boy?"

"Yes, Master." Snape replied, his eyes immediately hitting the ground again once he felt the Dark Lord leave his mind.

"Good. Now, go prepare for the raid. Lestrange has probably already begun filling in the others."

Severus felt the ward on the room shift, and he was transported to outside the house. The moon in the sky was in the same position it was in at Hogwarts, and that told Severus that they were indeed near Hogsmeade.

Severus paid little attention to the male Lestrange's battle plan, knowing that he would simply be responsible for warding houses while more experienced Deatheaters were inside killing wizards and witches who were unwilling to join. Later, once Dumbledore arrived, he would be engaged in battling any teachers and students who were recruited to help the light side.

Severus was surprised at how quickly the initial part of the raid was passing. Usually, he enjoyed the powerful feeling he got when someone pleaded for their life, and he crushed their hope with a green beam of light. Tonight, Severus felt disgusted with himself for each house he warded, each wizard he killed, each step he took closer to the central battle that was raging on.

"This is it," Someone beside him said with a twisted glee in their voice.

Before Severus had a chance to respond, he ducked out of the way of a rogue curse. He immediately noticed the wild black hair of Potter afterward and had his first real feeling of pleasure that night. Flicking his wand, he sent a stunner. Potter's glasses caught the moonlight, as he noticed the spell hurdling toward him. He easily deflected it and wordlessly countered it. Severus narrowly missed it by throwing up a shield.

This marked the beginning of a duel between the two. They dodged and threw curses at each other for the better part of an hour when Severus saw the bushy brown hair that could only mean Hermione. Beside her, Severus could make out Albus Dumbledore.

Severus didn't know what to do, but the onslaught of emotions including fear, anger, paranoia, guilt, and worst of all love, caused him to need to do something.

Severus jumped, rolling on the ground between a Deatheater and his Potion's professor dueling. He crawled past two bodies before getting up.

"Coward!" Potter bellowed from a distance, but Severus ignored him. His priority was Hermione.

Luckily, as fate would have it, he found Lupin, who had just knocked down an older Deatheater and was now looking for his next opponent.

"Duel me," Severus quietly demanded, throwing a harmless hex at the Marauder.

Lupin, recognizing the voice, understood and followed suite. "What are you going to do, Snape?"

"I don't know," Severus hissed in reply, keeping the duel going.

They were inching closer to Hermione, Dumbledore, and the Dark Lord, and Snape realized it was now or never. He had to do something. Something… something… anything!

"I apologize for this, Lupin," Severus said, genuinely meaning it. Before Lupin could reply, Snape jumped next to him.

With lightning speed, Severus' reflexes jumped into overdrive as he stunned Lupin and sent ancient magic barreling toward Hermione. The spell hit her square in the chest and looked like it came from Lupin.

And just like that, she was gone.

A/N: I had to end it right there and cut some things out because the chapter was just getting too long. Some loose ends will be tied up next chapter, but most will be left for the sequel. Why? You'll see...

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