Hello everyone! It's been a while, but here is the next part. It's fairly nice-about 2,000 words, all for your enjoyment.

I decided to extend this out to 5 parts. I've wrote a gigantic thing I thought I would cram into this, but my new ending for this part feels right. By the way, this chapter lapses over books 1-7 and takes place over a number of years. This may help when you are reading.

Oh, and I don't own Harry Potter at all, but the giant chucks of italics are straight from the books (American version). All of these are written and owned by J.K Rowling and publisher's.

The normal font is my work, and although I use HP characters, I do not own the series, movies, etc.

Part 4: Closing on the End

Then a blinding, jagged jet of white light flew through the air… Snape had dropped to his knees and his wand had flown out of his hand.

"Don't kill me!"

"That was not my intention."

Any sound of Dumbledore Apparating had been drowned by the sound of the wind in the branches. He stood before Snape with his robes whipping around him, and his face was illuminated from below in the light cast by his wand.

"Well, Severus? What message does Lord Voldemort have for me?"

"No—no message—I'm here on my own account!"

Snape was wringing his hands: He looked a little mad, with his straggling black hair flying around him.

"I—I come with a warning—no, a request—please—"

Dumbledore flicked his wand. Though leaves and branches still flew through the night air around them, silence fell on the spot where he and Snape faced each other.

"What request could a Death Eater make of me?"

"The—the prophecy…the prediction…Trelawney…"

"Ah, yes," said Dumbledore, "How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?"

"Everything—everything I heard!" said Snape. "That is why—it is for that reason—he thinks it means Lily Evans!"

"The prophecy did not refer to a woman," said Dumbledore. "It spoke of a boy born at the end of July—"

"You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son, he is doing to hunt her down — kill them all—"

"If she means so much to you," said Dumbledore, "surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?"

"I have—I have asked him—"

"You disgust me," said Dumbledore…contempt in his voice. Snape seemed to shrink a little. "You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child? They can die, as long as you have what you want?"

Snape said nothing, but merely looked up at Dumbledore.

"Hide them all, then," he croaked. "Keep her—them—safe. Please."

"And what will you give me in return, Severus?"

"In—in return?" Snape gaped at Dumbledore….but after a long moment he said, "Anything."


"I thought…you were going…to keep her…safe…"

"She and James put their faith in the wrong person," said Dumbledore. "Rather like you, Severus. Weren't you hoping that Lord Voldemort would spare her?"

Snape's breathing was shallow.

"Her boy survives," said Dumbledore.

With a tiny jerk of the head, Snape seemed to flick off an irksome fly.

"Her son lives. He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remember the shape and color of Lily Evans's eyes, I am sure?"

"DON'T!" bellowed Snape. "Gone…dead…"

"Is this remorse, Severus?"

"I wish…I wish I were dead…"

"And what use would that be to anyone?" said Dumbledore coldly. "If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear."

Snape seemed to peer through a haze of pain, and Dumbledore's words appeared to take a long time to reach him.

"What—what do you mean?"

"You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily's son."

"He does not need protection. The Dark Lord has gone—"

"The Dark Lord will return, and Harry Potter will be in terrible danger when he does."

There was a long pause, and slowly Snape regained control of himself, mastered his own breathing. At last he said, "Very well. Very well. But never—never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear…especially Potter's son…I want your word!"

"My word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of you?" Dumbledore sighed, looking down into Snape's ferocious, anguished face. "If you insist…"


The Great Hall was filled with the excited, mindless chatter of students. Severus could understand their excitement; it was nice to be back in the warmth and comfort of Hogwart's walls, but it would be lovely if they did not feel the need to screech like banshees.

His eyes swept up and down each table until he hit Gryffindors'. The Professor's glaze landed on a familiar head of unruly black hair.

Merlin, he is an exact clone of his father. He couldn't help but sneer at that unfortunate fact.

The boy turned to look up at the Teacher's Table, spotting the Potions Master. Severus kept back a gasp as he looked at the boy's eyes. Exactly like Lily's. He was so taken aback by it a huge wave of love and guilt coursed through him. The boy may have felt it too. He gripped that famous scar painfully and turned away to speak with one of the Weasley brothers.

Oh god…

The boy had the same knack as his father for getting into trouble. From one moment to the next, he had somehow bypassed dozens of enchantments created by professors, only to end up gaining the Sorcerer's Stone. Next, he was being called the Heir of Slytherin and killing basilisks, to being attacked by werewolves, and next year being entered into the Triwizard Tournament. The list continued on and on. It was tiring chasing after the boy all over the castle while trying to attend to all his other duties. The strain of it all was deflating him year by year. He found wrinkles he was positive he had never seen before and come to realize Madame Upput's Magical Hair Glosser's slogan "Never have a gray hair again!" was false compared to the multiple empty bottles of it stacked by his rubbish bin.

Although, even with everything he must do, he was still able to find joy in some activities. Often, when punishing Potter Jr., he often imagined he was punishing the boy's father. The look of anger on Harry's face was almost delicious.

Dumbledore was an interesting companion. The man's ideas were brilliant, but could be biased and the debates that ensued were not only challenging but invigorating.

Once in a while he played with a dirty fun, but only with a few female prostitutes. Rarely, did it provide him with much satisfaction. He even was tempted to follow the advice of a few other professors who had some special student companions, but the only girl who caught his eye, he wouldn't dare touch. He knew she was not the type to be found of such interactions.

Speaking with the students of his house was another favorite past time of his. They were a proud group of young people who, if lead in the correct direction, had the talent to become respectful witches and wizards. Although some of their families were not the sort who Snape enjoyed to spend time with, he was willing to help shape the minds of their children.

One such boy was Draco, Lucius's son. He was a spitting image of his father, excluding his weak chin and watery blue eyes that obviously belonged to his mother. He was different from his father when personality came into question: Lucius was more of a follower, conservative, and traditional. Draco, however, had an original wit and was a leader, and appeared more liberal and understanding in more mannerisms.

Of course, there were moments when Snape would hear about Lucius…

"Look, I saw Voldemort come back!" Potter shouted. He tried to get out of bed again, but Mrs. Weasley forced him back. "I saw the Death Eaters! I can give you their names! Lucius Malfoy—"

Snape made a sudden movement, but…his eyes flew back to Fudge…


"I've warned you Snivellus," said Sirius, his face barely a foot away from Snape's. "I don't care if Dumbledore thinks you've reformed, I know better—"

"Oh, but why don't you tell him so?" whispered Snape. "Or are you afraid he might not take the advice of a man who has been hiding inside his mother's hour for six months very seriously?"

"Tell me, how is Lucius Malfoy these days? I expect he's delighted his lapdog's working at Hogwarts, isn't he?"

Snape kept himself from showing any facial expression to this. Sirius could never have known…could he?


But he never tried to seek him out, or speak with him. It had been years and the only communication he had with him was strictly polite letters regarding Draco or plans of the Dark Lord's.

Overall, teaching at Hogwarts was an enjoyable enough pastime. It was nice to have people fear and respect you, rather than punish you for your differences.

But of course, teaching was his side job, and the opinions of children rarely mattered in comparison with his actual mission. He had to be slyer than ever before—the Dark Lord did not like traitors.

Severus had a much better excuse than the other unloyal Death Eaters. He had become Dumbledore's pet, the one man Voldemort had yet to overpower. Dumbledore trusted Severus, yet Severus was loyal to the Dark Lord (or so it appeared). When suggested in this manner, Lord Voldemort could not overlook the importance the Hogwart's Potions Master was to him, now. Severus had his fair share of torture from Voldemort in order to make it appear how ruthless the old man was, but not enough to actually do much damage.

Voldemort could not have his best chess piece damaged before the match had even started.

Even with all of this, more was added to his plate. He agreed to take an Unbreakable Vow to protect Lucius's son. It angered him to see the boy be pushed to prove himself when it was only to make up for the shortcomings of his father.

At meetings held at the Malfoy Manor, Severus looked at Lucius's face, and only saw the shadow of a man he once knew. The Malfoy patriarch had the gaunt and unshaven cheeks, glazed eyes, and crumbling sanity of a starved man. The proud, strong Lucius was gone; he was replaced with a weak, undependable clone.

He could barely stand up against the simple pestering of his own wife, let alone the Dark Lord. He was allowing his teenage son to take his place in a world hostile to a grown man. Draco, full of the childish need to prove himself, lapped right out of Voldemort's hand. But Severus saw the true face of Draco—he was scared and was crumbling from all of the pressure. Severus decided to help protect him from the same fate as his father.

In the long, dark hallways of their home, Severus could sometimes hear Lucius and Narsissa whisper.

"He is too young. You must stop this madness, Lucius," she would urge him.

"No, he is a man. He can take care of himself." Lucius's voice had dimmed, as well, no longer commanding a presence. He words fell like dust, soft and worthless.

The only person Severus did not see much of was Potter. He was hiding out there, somewhere in the forests of Europe with his crew of Granger and Wesley, in search of Horcuxes.

Severus knew his mother would be proud of him. This proudness leaked onto Severus, who marveled at the fact the boy was still alive. He held hope to the belief Potter would kill Voldemort. For all of Potter's shortcomings, he had a fierce spirit of loyalty and courage that would help him destroy the man who killed his mother, Lily Evans.

But Severus was alone. He had no one, and although this fact was a reoccurring theme in his life, it was oddly depressing as war loomed over the Wizarding world. His parents had died long ago, he had no known siblings, and everyone was afraid to say a word near him in fear of the Dark Lord getting a whiff of it.

He had a feeling he would die soon. All had to die and when he set about his mission he knew he would likely not live to an old age. What saddened him was he knew no one would remember him fondly. No one loved him, and for anyone who had tried, he had thrown them into the rubbish bin. The whole bloody mess of things was his fault.

He was willing to die for his sins, but it was still a bleak ending.

Then, the battle arrived.


Major thanks to Yunak, Gelatolover, fuckyeahsnape, seeing-is-believing, DZAuthor AKA DZMom, Mel, and Callidora-Malfoy for sending me reviews. They give me inspiration every time I read them.

Everyone, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send reviews. I keep getting emails that all these awesome people have added this to their Story alerts and favorties, but I would love to know what you personally thing about this story.

Just take 2 minutes and tell what you think so far. I would appreciate it so much!

Big thanks to nuclear_glitter for editing.