Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. But if I did, this is what I would tell them to do.

Authors Notes: Work has been stressful, blah, blah, blah... and it seems like forever since my last update. I had a few issues with the plot, but I've worked then out for now. Maybe. I'm still not completely sure where we are going, but I'm glad you folks are along for the ride. Thanks much for reviewing my story and for letting me know what you all think.

Thanks so much to my awesomely talented, amazingly busy beta, excessivelyperky.

The line at the end of this chapter about taking a spy to task for how they gather their info, was shamelessly lifted from her fic, The Birthday Present. I hope you all are following that fic as well.

Of course the scene at the end with Draco crying, "I can't do it," is from HBP.

Enjoy

Chapter 16

The Dark Mark and the Dragon

Harry wasn't sure where he had expected to turn up when he and Snape apparated with Draco, but was rather surprised to find himself in the Dursley's garden. It made sense, now he'd thought about it, not risking the noise of getting all of them out of the bedroom, down the steps and out of the house without waking anyone.

Also it was fortunate that they had apparated such a short distance, or Snape may have been significantly weakened transporting the three of them. As it was the man seemed to be making an effort to catch his breath and square his shoulders. He repositioned Draco in his arms, and eyed both young wizards for signs of splinching. Snape had landed them in the shadows of a huge tree in hopes concealing them from any Order members who happened to be in the area.

Harry looked at Snape with curiosity about their final destination. Just as he was deciding whether to reign in his inquisitiveness, he became aware of a green flash that lit the sky just to the front of the house. Snape noticed it at just the same instant. As the two looked overhead they were greeted by the image of an enormous green skull invading the night sky. A serpent's head protruded menacingly from its mouth.

With a swift gentle movement Snape set Draco down in the flower bed and cast a quick dissimulation charm that would make the boy blend with his surroundings.

"Come," he ordered Harry, casting the charm on himself and the boy as well urging him to follow.

They heard countless telltale pops of wizard apparation before they reached the front hedge. Snape had to grab Harry by both arms to keep the boy from rushing head long into the fray. He pulled him into a crouch near a hedge, the two blending seamlessly with its bushy greenness, and the surrounding terra cotta flower basins.

The wide street was filled with Dark wizards, their muggle counterparts shutting windows and putting out lights with panicky movements. Frantically they were securing their homes from the hell that had suddenly broken lose on their quiet street. Harry craned his neck to see the Dursley's doing the same thing. Uncle Vernon's eyes looked more angry than frightened as he quickly shut the living room drapes. And Aunt Petunia looked pale and slightly ill as she stared out at the street from Dudley's bedroom window.

"Should we grab some muggles from one of the houses?" one young Death Eater, Palini, asked a companion, who nodded in joyous agreement. "That is bound to make Potter come out and play."

Upon hearing this Harry struggled more desperately to free himself from Snape's unyielding grip. There were about thirty Death Eaters all told. And Snape noted they were comprised of veteran members along with newly marked apprentices.

The fact that taking muggles from there homes would not be allowed without a fight was made clear when the opposition came tearing up the street, wands drawn, from the general direction of the Figg residence. They were Order members, Aurors and a large number of Weasleys. Harry had a strong sense of deja vu from the decoy wedding earlier that day.

The real wedding had ended many hours ago. However, many of the Weasley clan had stayed behind for an extended family gathering with the bride and groom in the comfort and security of Mrs. Figg's gracious hospitality. Ron and Hermione had gotten away early and joined Harry at his relatives home. They had helped him to charm a receptacle for Nagini's memories, until he begged off and went to bed saying his scar hurt.

Bill and Fleur led the charge up Privet Drive, both had changed from dress wedding robes to every day wear. Fleur's petite legs matched those of her much taller husband stride for stride, her expression no less fierce than his scowling werewolf mutilated visage.

The newlyweds threw curses before they even reached the Death Eaters, and two D.E. were hit with blasting curses before the werewolf and the veela ever saw the white of their masks. Feet slapped the ground hard in the newlyweds wake. McGonagall, Tonks, Lupin and the Weasley twins made up the front line flanking the couple on either side. With two more pops Ron and Hermione were there as well, and the remaining forces caught up to the front line.

Curses were flying swift and savage as Harry still struggled to free himself from Snape's powerful grip. The older wizard cast a silenco to keep the boy's swearing from being heard, and their position near the hedge and terra cotta planters covert. The Headmistress and Tonks were perhaps ten feet away and Harry was frantic to assist.

As Harry watched in horror, Palini made his way to the side and cast a transfixion curse that surely would have done the Headmistress harm had Draco Malfoy not chosen that moment to appear. The dissimulation charm canceled as he drew his wand.

"Protego," the blond boy shouted as he smoothly hurdled the hedge near Snape and Harry. His shield held true, causing Palini's transfixtion hex to dissipate in a flash of razor sharp sparks just inches away from McGonagall.

"Professor," the boy quipped with a nod, causing the Headmistress to severely arch an eyebrow, as the boy fell in to fight beside her

It was most likely shock at Draco's action that caused Snape to marginally loosen his grip on a Harry's quickly numbing arms. Upon breaking free several long strides found the boy facing off with the enormous blond Death Eater who had been there the night Dumbledore was killed.

The man to his right called him Groggier, and gave warning of Harry's incoming bludgeoning hex. Harry was able to cast a second before Snape appeared along side Groggier, and a silvery mace and chain came to bear on the big blonde's shoulder. Snape threw up a sovereignty block, the rounded edges of which where unfortunately not flared enough to protect Groggier. Harry wasted no time with a strong chain binding curse.

The Death Eater who had warned Groggier cast a rupturing hex, and its black knife-like tentacles sliced a menacing path towards Harry. Seemingly hapless, Snape moved forward slightly and the curse ricocheted uselessly off the front edge of his block. He canceled it immediately, but the hex had already faded. Snape turned toward Harry with a low growl, and furiously positioned himself between four Death Eaters before catching Harry's eye and silently ordering, blasting curse, into the boy's shocked consciousness. Momentarily caught of guard, Harry recovered quickly and cast a wandless detonation hex instead, which applied more force but less nerve damage.

As Snape flew through the air with the force of the hex, his arms and legs splayed wide enough to take out the four Death Eaters at his sides. As he continued to fly backwards he took out the six behind him as well. They landed in an untidy heap. Harry along with Hermione and Ron began to cast chain bindings. Ron was determined to chain Snape. And as Harry was surreptitiously canceling the bind for the second time the group almost didn't hear Palini's wicked cry.

"Avada Kedavra," the young Slytherin shouted, sending Bill Weasley plummeting to the ground in a bright flash of awful green light. High pitched shrieks of No and Bill could be heard then. Harry saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley side by side wielding wands their eyes fierce with anguish, as the twins began to fire hexes in a reckless, random fashion.

Snape almost gave himself away as he sped toward Bill Weasley with a look of ferocious concern that settled for a moment and was gone. Fleur, determined to make them all pay, cast an ominous Avada Kedavra of her own in Snape's direction as he approached. Before the curse could land Harry used a wandless summoning to throw one of Aunt Petunia's huge terra cotta flower basins at Snape's upper body and head. The curse pulverized the planter, leaving a fine spray of dirt, terra cotta dust and dissipating green light. Before another curse could be hurled Harry shouted.

"You effing Bastard," and fairly tackled Snape. "Throw me off and disapparate," Harry whispered frantically as they rolled around on the ground. "I'll catch up with you later."

Snape took the suggestion one step further. He apparated to the Dursley's back garden and shifted to his animagi form, a sleek, black Burmese cat. He made his way quickly to the front, and a high branch of the shade tree so he could view the battle from above. His disappearance was met with angry dismay and a re-energizing of the battle. Snape made short work of bringing the battle to a close as he used various mind techniques to create panic and confusion. The Death Eaters began to crash into each other and run. The suddenly clumsy Death Eaters were quickly bound by Aurors and Order Members, and gathered up for transport to Azkaban.

The Weasley family and friends who surrounded Bill's body all seemed to be making a low deep throated moaning sound that had somehow become an impromptu sort of chant that they swayed to lightly. Snape noticed Potter moving to its cadence as well as tears streamed down the boy's face. The Weasley's circled little Fleur, whose muffled cries could be heard above it all, as she buried her face in the folds of Bill's tear soaked robes. Every once in a while her tiny fist would pound on his broad chest with and anguished, Oh no.

Malfoy seemed moved by the scene as well, as he stood to the side with McGonagall.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy?" McGonagall intoned at one point.

"I was wondering if I might speak with you Professor," he began carefully. "It has been a rather difficult year."

"Rather," she agreed lightly, but just then said no more. From his position in the tree Snape was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of pride.

Hours later, after the Aurors had quarantined the block and altered the Muggle's memories, Snape was waiting for Potter in the boy's room, and tried to piece together his feelings about the night. He was certainly proud of Draco; there was no denying that. And he believed there was yet time for the boy to find the path back. Draco had in fact committed far fewer transgressions than Severus himself had during the four month period when the Headmaster had sent him away, after Severus had angrily threatened to join the Dark Lord in earnest.

Albus had been quick to point out in the months after Severus returned that he had never truly been a servant of Voldemort.

"You were simply fulfilling your duties for a time without the comfort of my support, child," the Headmaster would insist..

The irony was not lost on Severus that his chief complaint had been the Headmaster offered him no comfort or support. It was true however, that Severus never stopped passing on information. Though there were four bleak months when the Albus refused to speak with him personally.

"It was a rather stern and hazardous lesson, Headmaster," Severus had observed. Although, he was yet too apprehensive to out and out complain.

"So it was," the Headmaster agreed. "So it was."

Severus still marveled that Albus could forgive the awful things he had done and continued to do, when Severus could never forgive himself. The Headmaster insisted that it would be cruel indeed to request Severus gather intelligence for the Light and then take him to task for how he obtained it. Severus later realized that Albus pushing him away in those early days was the only thing that gave him the strength to begin the work that he had been destined to do for so long. He could not have begun this despicable task under the gentle knowing gaze of his mentor.

Potter's task was going to be less burdened in some ways. Severus had insisted long before the boy had come to Hogwarts that the Headmaster was wrong about needing to understand the Darkness to fight for the Light. Albus had countered that there were many degrees of Darkness, and since Harry's greatest gift would be love he would have to experience hate. Severus admitted that he had schooled the boy too thoroughly, and certainly too willingly in this subject. As had the boy's relatives, though Albus probably wasn't aware to what degree.

Snape was lost in these musings when the boy finally returned to his room and he and Potter exchanged a significant look. Just before Potter turned away, Snape saw in his mind an image of Draco weeping while looking at his reflection in a mirror and sobbing the words "I can't do it." A feminine voice was urging him not to cry and suddenly Potter's image joined Draco in the mirror, looking on in shocked concern. The memory began to fade as Potter broke eye contact with Snape, but not before Severus saw Draco turning in anger in the memory. The toilet floor suddenly filled with blood after a partially uttered Crucio and a high pitched Sectumsempra. The last thing Snape saw before Potter turned away was an image of himself harshly ordering the shaken boy to wait while he rushed Draco to the hospital wing.

Snape wondered briefly if it was this memory that had allowed Potter to attack the Dark Lord's mind as he had.

"Come," Snape said finally and this time the boy took his arm without complaint.

Harry was again confused by the distance they had apparated. This time they had gone down the block to Mrs. Figg's garden and they stood in front of her shed.

"In," Snape ordered, propelling the boy forward with a gentle shove. "Dobby!" the man called a trifle anxiously as they reached the far wall of the small garden shed.

"Yes Master Severus," the tiny elf squeaked as he popped into existence among the muggle gardening implements.

"Please take us through," Snape requested the elf, collecting ever more confused looks from Potter by the moment.

Hope you enjoyed it. Please don't forget to review.

This chapter has been altered slightly. I added that Severus is an animagus, and a brief conversation between Snape and Albus.