Hello everyone, I just wanted to write a quick note and say sorry it took so long with this chapter but over the holiday it was hard.

Another big Thank You to my Beta reader for doing such a wonderful job!

Please be kind and review

Walking down the halls of Hogwarts, Severus was hit with an intense feeling of unease that made him stop mid step in front of the large windows overlooking the courtyard. Taking deep breaths, Severus looked through the windows towards the courtyard and forest trying to ease the feeling before moving on. Frost had begun to make its way from the edges of the glass, and as he stood he could feel the cold seep into his robes. Instantly, his memory hit him and he gasped and dropped his books to the floor as his mind replayed the attack. His breath stopped in his chest as he realized why he felt so uneasy; before he realized it he was walking for the courtyard, then jogging, and finally sprinting down the road towards Hogsmeade. 'No, I can't be too late.' the Potions Master barked at himself as he continued to run. A blond-haired boy was just coming back from the holiday trip, his arms filled with purchases as he happily sucked on a treat. The child froze in fear as he witnessed Professor Snape barreling towards him. His face went white as he determined this was the Death Eater Severus – the one that instantly struck fear into the hearts of his victims before they died. Severus pulled the boy from the ground roughly, his onyx eyes wild. "Go back to Hogwarts! Tell the Headmaster that there is an attack, NOW!" Shoving the boy up the road, Severus didn't bother to see if he was obeyed; he just kept running. The roads were icy as he flew down them stumbling once or twice, his breath coming in gasps as he ran harder towards Hogsmeade. It seemed to take forever, but finally he arrived in the square, his wand out of his cloak; he looked around for the Death eaters but found none. 'I could be early…Please let me be early.' The mantra continued to roll over in his mind as he tried to calm his breath. He could see the students giving him strange looks but chose to ignore them, knowing that it hadn't been a dream but a vision from Voldemort. The urgency pressed at his heart, and Severus moved swooping down on the children, their eyes wide in horror as he approached. "Harry Potter…where is he?" he barked. When he didn't get a response he took another menacing step towards the children. "Harry Potter!"

"Honeydukes, I think," the child finally mumbled, looking ready to cry.

Severus nodded. "Go back to the castle…. Run as fast as you can!" he ordered. "Tell all the children to go with you!" he said running off in the direction of Honeydukes, his heart clenching in fear as he pushed faster towards the little shop. Turning the corner, Severus spotted Harry, Hermione, and Ron just like in his vision walking out of the shop their eyes on the treats in the bag rather than on the path before them. Sprinting the last few feet, time seemed to slow and stop as Severus watched the hooded figure pop out from the corner and raise his wand at the three. Severus was ready. "Avada Kedavra!" he screamed, knocking the Death Eater to the ground and startling Harry, Hermione, and Ron to fall to the ground. Harry looked around for the source of the killing curse and spied the Potions Master running towards them.

Harry asked, his voice trembling slightly as he faced the professor, "How did you…?" Ron was busy helping Hermione up.

"No time…Head back to the castle….Get as many students away as possible!" Severus ordered, his eyes searching the streets for more Death Eaters. "Go now!" he said, recognizing the dark figures now gathering. Running headlong towards them, Severus quickly placed himself between them and the children, who now were running away from the dark figures. The courtyard was in a frenzy as students began barreling towards Snape, blocking his ability to curse the oncoming Death Eaters. "You can't have them!" he yelled, raising his wand. Five Death Eaters stood watching impassively as Severus held his stand.

"So, you are a traitor!" One of them spat. "The Dark Lord will enjoy killing you!"

The students were behind Severus; as he stood against the Death Eaters Harry, Ron and Hermione had their wands pulled waiting. Severus knew he was outnumbered and in a dangerous spot, but he held firm to his position and hoped that the Order would come soon to help.

"Harry, take them and get to cover now!" Snape yelled keeping his eyes lined on the fight.

"He thinks that he can hold us. The traitor thinks he can kill us before we kill Potter." One of the death eaters laughed, taking a step forward. Severus moved quicker and threw a blasting curse at them. The line broke and Severus's reactions were instinctive as he began to battle. Ducking behind a nearby bench, Severus threw curses at his former dalliances, keeping them away from the kids. He could see Harry and his friends gathering all the students they could and forcing them into the Honeydukes and inwardly thanked whatever deity was listening. Suddenly, one of the Death Eaters moved, and Severus tensed and ducked the Crucio, but couldn't dodge the exploding curse that sent him flying into the wall. Dazed, Severus struggled to stand, his whole body in agony. "I will kill you before you hurt any children," Severus hissed throwing several curses back at the group in hopes to break their formation and keep them from gaining any distance.

Harry watched the struggle as Severus fought to hold off five Death Eaters from getting into the Honeydukes. Hermione and Ron stood with him as the kids passed through the secret corridor and into the school. "He's not going to be able to fend them off," Hermione whispered, watching the battle.

Severus sent several curses that knocked out some of the slower Death Eaters, as he dodged and weaved. Four Death Eaters stood, the fifth hit with a stunner and laying on the ground, cursing Severus with a vengeance as one managed to spin him sideways to the ground. "You were always a slow learner, Severus." One of the death eaters chuckled watching Severus gather himself and stand.

Standing, Snape realized that he could hardly breathe and guessed that some of his ribs were broken and pressing on his lungs; his whole body ached, and he could feel the blood trickling down his scalp. "I won't let you through…. So you can go back to the dark Lord and tell him to kiss my ass!" he yelled, preparing for another attack. Harry watched as this time the Death Eaters showed little mercy, hitting Snape with a Crucio so hard that it made the Potions Master's head bounce off the stone ground several times before they let it up.

Hermione whimpered, "We have to do something Harry…They are going to kill him!" Ron nodded in agreement.

Harry wanted to agree with them but another part knew that they could never hold out against the numbers, and Snape would be furious if they all were caught. "No, he's doing this so we can get the hell out of here…We need to go," he ordered.

Hermione and Ron stared at Harry with disbelief, but Harry knew it was the right decision. "Most of the students are gone through…. We have to get back and warn the others," he explained. "I don't want to leave him either … but do you really think that he would appreciate it if we were caught? He's doing this to ensure we can get back to safety," he barked. "We need to get to safety, then maybe he can too," he said pushing them towards the passage. Hermione hesitated briefly and then nodded, her face changing to determination as she hurried the rest of the students through the passage.

Ron helped the students to go and sent Hermione through to catch them on the other end. "I promise I'll go through with Harry," he said to appease her fear.

Harry stood at the window hearing the curses and the battle in his stomach as he watched Snape pick himself up from a particularly evil cutting curse. Standing stark against the snow, Severus hair whipped in the wind as his face began to pale; he could see the sweat on the Potions Master's face and knew that he wouldn't last too much longer. "Harry, the last student's through, let's go!" Ron called.

Hesitating, Harry felt like a coward as he turned away, got into the passage and closed the door behind Ron and him. As they crawled Harry promised that if Professor Snape survived he would destroy Voldemort for him.

Writhing on the frozen ground, Severus rode out the Cruciatus curse biting hard on his lip to prevent himself from screaming. His vision started to cloud over, and Snape blinked furiously to keep conscious. The curse released its hold, and Severus felt his eyes roll back in his head as he struggled to stop the tremors. As the Death eaters gathered around him Severus tried to steel himself for his death. After a moment, one of the Death eaters laughed. "No, we won't get the pleasure of killing you, Severus…that belongs to the Dark Lord." Recognizing the voice to be Lucius's, Severus sneered, trying to keep the fear from his face. Approaching footsteps alerted the Death Eaters that help had arrived so they quickly picked up Severus and held him between them, forcing him to be displayed to the approaching opposition. Severus tried to struggle, gasping for air, but was Crucioed. His last vision was of the approaching Order members and Albus looking horrified as they recognized him just before he was Apparated away.

Albus shook in anger, his blue eyes now a glacier as he searched Hogsmeade with the others. "They must have taken him back to Voldemort," Molly said breathlessly. "Where are all the children?" she asked, looking at the now deserted town.

Harry, Hermione and Ron were the last to climb out of the passage and into Professor McGonagall. "Thank heavens you're alright!" she exclaimed, looking around at the large group of children. "Is everyone with you?"

"Everyone except Snape…He was holding off the Death Eaters," Harry explained, "You need to send someone to help!"

Professor McGonagall nodded. "The Order is on their way with Albus…"

Harry nodded, trying to extinguish the feeling of cowardice that ran through his body as he thought about the fight. "He should be alright…" he said out loud, trying to convince himself. Minerva nodded and ushered the kids to the Great Hall to wait for news.

After about an hour the Order appeared looking haggard, their faces brightening slightly at the sight of the children. "How on Earth did you manage to get back?" Remus asked looking directly at Harry, already knowing the answer.

Harry blushed and said that they had taken a back way to the castle. "Where is Professor Snape? Did you manage to get there in time?" he asked, watching as their faces saddened. "You didn't get there in time…Is he dead?"

Remus took a seat beside Harry and the others. "When we got there Professor Snape was taken prisoner…I believe that they were taking him back to Voldemort for questioning," he said gently.

A shaggy black dog came up beside Harry, nudging his knee with his nose. "Hi," he said softly.

Dumbledore stepped forward, his eyes filled with pain. "I will make sure that if he comes back…" he announced, almost choking on the words, "…he will be cleared. He will be a hero." Then he turned swiftly and left the group.

Pain racked his body as he lay on the cell floor the Death Eaters had brought him to. Snapping his wand in front of him, they laughed as they threw him in and locked the door. Gathering himself, Severus crawled into one of the corners and tried hard to stop his body from shivering as his mind raced with the knowledge that it was going to be a long time before he died. His Dark Mark burned, instantly bringing him out of his thought; he knew that his time was up. 'Then I go down fighting…' he thought. After a few minutes the cell door opened and Severus was forced to stand and walk out of his cell.

Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing! I promise I am working my hardest to bring more chapters to you. Thanks again to my beta reader! Happy 2008