IMPORTANT!!! Author's Note: If you did not read the updated version of chapter 21, this is what I changed. Thanks go to Chrissie for pointing out my mistake!
"His parents were taken away from him when he was only six. His mother and father had taken him on a camping trip to southern Germany and Severus and his mother had been out one day hiking and had gotten lost in the late afternoon. That night, there was a full moon and they were attacked by a werewolf. She fended it off for as long as she could but by the time Severus' father had found them, the beast had finished her and was turning its attention back to Severus. His father got in its way, trying to protect the poor boy and died in the process. Fortunately for Severus, a local hunter had heard the screams and shot the animal before it could kill anything else."
Remus' eyes were wide with a mixture of pity and anguish. He had never thought that Severus' childhood was the happiest, but he had never imagined this. Memories of their school days flooded back into his mind. He had no idea that this was the real reason that Severus could not bring himself to accept him.
Sirius' eyes were cast downward onto the floor with an unreadable expression.
Eying the two men, she went on. "He was taken in by his father's mother, his only living relative. She was a vain and vindictive woman. She had hated Severus' mother and made sure that Severus knew about it. He was practically a prisoner living with her. She died when he was twelve and after discovering the truth behind his home life, Dumbledore took over custody of him, saving him from the orphanage. He seemed happier for a while but during his seventh year, he attempted suicide and would've succeeding had Lucius not found him and brought him to the hospital wing in time. He still hasn't told anyone why he had done that," she concluded.
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And with that said, on to chapter 22…
Chapter 22
Harry's blood froze. He stood stock-still. He desperately wanted to move but his legs didn't seem capable of any sort of mechanical motion.
Severus grabbed the boy's upper arm roughly, forcing him out of his trance. "Harry!"
This seemed to shake the teen out of his petrified state. His wide eyes immediately rose to meet the fathomless black orbs of his professor's. Snape's eyes didn't seem to portray any trepidation but Harry was sure that his eyes betrayed the strange terror that he was feeling. He recalled seeing Remus transform before him that night that he found his godfather but he hadn't been this frightened that night. Perhaps it was because he was with a band of wizards who all had their wands or it might have been that Remus wasn't hunting them. Whatever it had been, it was gone now and his heart beat at a terrifying rate.
"Move!" Severus commanded vehemently.
Obediently, Harry forced himself into a sense of awareness as the Potions Master thrust him in the opposite direction of the blood curdling howl.
Severus remained behind Harry's form to keep something between the child's frail body and the merciless jaws of the beast.
Caught off guard from the shove, the teen tripped over his feet, almost landing face first into the mud, but managed to catch himself with his hands half way down. Regaining his footing, he broke into an adrenalin-fueled sprint.
Before following after the boy, Severus chanced one last look behind him. Though he didn't see the werewolf, he knew that it couldn't be far behind: the beasts only howled when they had their prey's scent. With that last thought, Severus turned and ran after the young Gryffindor.
Harry's heart pounded against his chest. It felt like a prisoner trying to escape the bondage of a prison. If hadn't known that it was impossible, he would almost believe that at any moment, it would burst out of his ribcage.
Severus had caught up and was directly behind in Harry's footsteps. Every now and then, he would give the boy a shove to indicate if he should change directions. The woods were becoming quite dense and he knew that they had a better chance in the open air where they could run faster. A werewolf's agility and physique would only play against them here.
Another hair-raising howl kept up Harry's exhausting pace. His throat burned from breathing in the icy night air and the unmistakable ion taste of blood filled his mouth. He remembered this from running away from Dudley and his gang, though Dudley had never instilled such fear in him as this.
And, just when he thought that the state of their circumstances couldn't deteriorate any further, a bolt of lightning and corresponding crack of thunder broke the night's darkness, eclipsing the effect of the full moon and muting the sounds of his beating heart.
An oppressive rain fall followed the pyrotechnic display and began pelting the two with needlelike pricks.
Severus cursed as another ramification of the rain manifested itself. The ground was now dangerously slick and unstable, adding the threat of a mudslide to the count. It seemed as if the gods were bent on correcting their mistake from so many years ago. Every second brought the wolf-like monstrosity closer and escape further from their grasp. His grim thoughts were interrupted when he tripped over something reasonably large and quite solid.
He fell hard, letting out a pained grunt when he hit the ground. Propping himself up on his elbows, his eyes darted in every direction in search of the child. They finally came to rest on the heap which he assumed he had tripped over.
Harry was curled in a ball on the ground.
Fearing the worst, Severus impulsively made his way to the youth's side, gently but hurriedly shifting Harry's form so that he could see the boy's face. The look he received didn't convey any pain or physical discomfort, he noticed, letting a sigh of relief.
"Are you hurt?" Severus gasped in a rushed tone.
Harry shook his head and hastily pushed himself up. "No, I'm fine."
Severus made it to his feet first and helped Harry the rest of the way up, steadying the boy. He ardently observed his charge's first few strides to ensure that he really was fine. If it had come down to it, he would've carried him, but that would slow their progress considerably and he wasn't sure how long he would be capable of keeping that up.
He could feel the freezing rain stiffening his muscles and he could tell by Harry's frigged steps that he must also be feeling the same effects.
The rain was now coming down in torrents. It had become difficult to see and the two were forced to stop.
Harry, exhausted, collapsed to his knees. He instinctively brought himself as close as he could to the Potions Master's legs, gasping for breath.
Severus knelled down on one knee, allowing Harry to lean against him. He also wrapped one arm around the teen which was something that later he would deny afforded him almost as much comfort as the boy.
Harry managed to bring his breathing down to a rate that he could form a coherent sentence. "What now?" he exclaimed.
Severus shook his head. "I don't know, but we can't stay here," he replied loudly so that Harry could hear him over the deafening rain.
"I can't keep this up," Harry ascribed in protest.
Severus didn't respond. He knew that soon all of their strength would be expended. But he couldn't give up now after so many people had sacrificed everything for this boy. He had always managed to find the strength before and this time would be no different.
But something had caught his attention. There was a whisper of a sound that he could make out through the downpour. It almost sounded like an assembly of people, people that might be armed, or at the very least could provide shelter. He had once found salvation from a hunter. Perhaps this would save him again.
"Come on!" he urged, getting to his feet and pulling Harry up with him.
"Where are we going? We can't outrun a werewolf for much longer!" Harry shouted, the disparity evident on his voice.
"This is the third werewolf that I've encountered in my lifetime and I'm not dead yet," Severus countered.
But for the moment, Harry's will had been spent. "It's useless. We don't have anywhere to go," he tried to reason with the man.
"Better to face a werewolf here than your mother's temper in the afterlife," Severus retaliated with such finality on his tone that Harry gave up his argument and conceded to being drug behind in the wake of the man's brisk pace.
Harry struggled to keep up with Severus' long strides. His muscles ached and he hadn't had a chance to catch his breath. He didn't know where he was being led and might have asked if he didn't highly doubt that Snape knew himself.
Severus kept one hand tightly grasping one of Harry's wrists and the other was held above his brow in an attempt to keep the rain out of his eyes so he could see. The noise was getting louder and his hopes were beginning to lift a little.
Harry's own ears perked up when he also heard the noise. "What is it?" he asked, jogging a few paces to catch up to the man's side.
"It's what we're looking for," Severus answered.
Harry was clearly not satisfied with the answer but he could tell by his professor's tone that it was all the information that he had to share and at the moment Harry wasn't going to argue about anything. Snape had saved him before and he would have to put his faith in the man again.
Severus pushed onward through the storm. The noise was becoming louder but oddly, more blurred. He didn't have time to wonder about this, however, as he trudged forward.
A flash of lightning split the sky, lighting it up enough for the two to get an idea of their surroundings and Severus' heart fell as he saw the source of the noise that he had hoped would save them.
A violent torrent of rapids lay before them.
"Shit!" Severus cursed, seething at himself for allowing them to be cornered.
Harry clung onto a bit of the man's cloak to help support himself once he had stopped. His panicked eyes turned upward to his professor's. "What now?"
"I don't know," the Potions Master snapped in frustration. His head swung in every direction, looking for the inevitable jaws of death, but it appeared that, for the moment, they were safe.
Harry looked down nervously. Subconsciously, he pushed his body against Snape's. Over the past week, he had come to feel a since of safety when he was near the man.
Severus felt the boy lean into him and sensed the reasoning behind it. He would've found it impossible to believe that the spawn of Potter would ever look to him for refuge only a week before. He wrapped his free arm around Harry's shoulders in an attempt to reassure the child but he was uncertain as to how much good it would actually do.
Licking his lips, Severus tried to bring his mind out of its panicked state so that he could think. There was one option, but it was risky. Crossing the river would stop their scent trail for the beast, but the river looked large and the downpour only made the rapids even fiercer. He wasn't sure if either he or Harry was up to it and they could go in another direction which could possibly lead them straight into the devil's jaws.
Another blood curdling scream ended his indecision. The werewolf was too close for the possibility of making a run for it to be plausible. It had to be the river.
"Come on," he said, tugging Harry along behind him.
"The river?" he asked with fear evident in his voice.
"The wolf's too close to make a run for it on land. If we cross the river, it will lose our scent," the man explained, trying to displace the teen's misgivings.
Harry said nothing. The rain was beginning to die down a little and his visibility had improved somewhat.
Severus took the first step in the river, noting that even at this shallow depth how strong the current was. Despite any misgivings that he had about this, it seemed the only way. He waded out further, allowing Harry to step in the river.
Harry was shocked at the current's strength. He silently dreaded the middle of the river where it would undoubtedly be even stronger but pushed on. He knew that if Snape had chosen this path, it was the best way.
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Author's note: Very sorry that this took forever. I'm actually only halfway through the chapter but if I had left off where I wanted to, I might have received some death threats… Things have just gotten crazy. I'm going to graduate in 5 weeks, my brother is getting married in 2 weeks, my senior design project is due in 3 weeks along with my term paper. And between all of this and additional school work, I have to find a job… Anyway, hopefully I'll have some time to write more soon. Thanks for reviewing and being so patient. Let me know if you like where I'm going. Thanks!