Disclaimer: see prologue.

Chapter reread numerous times by my beta, Somigliana

Chapter 4: He Was Never Dead.

Severus never knew how Granger convinced the Order to search the Death Eaters' properties. Each of them was thoroughly investigated. Luckily, Bellatrix Lestrange's house was the first to be targeted. The female Death Eater was caught off guard and didn't have time to relocate Helga Hufflepuff's cup elsewhere. She herself managed to escape in the nick of time, before she was completely surrounded by a vengeful Potter, an irritated Shacklebolt – who still remembered how she'd hurt him in the Department of Mysteries, a very determined McGonagall, and a niece - Tonks - who dreamed of ridding her family tree of evil relatives. She had to run to the courtyard, slipping between two of her assailants, where she could Apparate to the Dark Lord's mansion, and inform him about the Order's attack on her house. She had had to leave the Dark Lord's Horcrux behind, a mistake for which she'd nearly paid with her life. It had already been a fortnight since she'd admitted her failure to the Dark Lord, and she hadn't shown any sign of recovery yet.

The Dark Lord himself had gone to Bellatrix's house after the Order left; he could only observe that the cup was missing. Potter had once more succeeded in thwarting his plans. What he didn't know was that Bellatrix's house-elf had been taken by the Aurors. The creature had been "interrogated" until he'd given the location of Voldemort's dwelling. Even Ron, who could be so ruthless sometimes, was horrified at the idea: to get a house-elf to spill his master's secrets, you'd have to torture the creature to death, which was what probably what had happened.

However, the information was useful, and they were going to use it. A plan was hatched to attack Voldemort and to get rid of him for good. Careful preparations were made to counter every known Intruder Charm, to take on Inferi and magical creatures. Everybody had to take part in intensive spells practice and duelling sessions until the attack, which was planned for June.

Hermione, against her logical mind, but in tow with her heart, told Severus everything about the Order's plans. They then hatched their own plan to further the Order's one. It was decided that Severus would dose or spray as many Death Eaters as possible with Sleeping Draught to diminish the resistance. He would also unlock the main door if he could manage it, and attack the building's defences from the inside five minutes before the Order's attack, which was planned for one a.m. Before they separated from each other at that last meeting before the battle, he asked her if she intended to take part in the action.

"Of course," she answered. "I can't let Harry down."

"I wish that you would remain behind," he pleaded.

"You know I can't. Would you remain behind if I asked you, Severus?"

"No."

"Be careful, and try to live," were her last words to him. A watery screen shielded her eyes.

"No, you be careful." He showed how important it was to him by hugging her briefly, before he left.

The next days were busy ones for Severus: he needed to brew large amounts of Sleeping Draught, and to retrieve his Horcrux. The brewing wasn't much trouble; he could do it at Spinner's End. He was, after all, living there alone now. Finding the faux Ravenclaw codex was another matter altogether. He took to wandering in the Dark Lord's mansion under the pretext of "socializing", as was fitting for a Death Eater of high rank. He happened to overhear a conversation between Wormtail and Merchbank, the guardian of the Dark Lord's safe. He hadn't known that his Master owned a magical safe which could only be opened by a password uttered in Parseltongue. The first solution to this problem - to open the safe - that occurred to Severus' mind was to fetch Potter; definitively not a practical solution. Then he blessed his Muggle heritage: he would use a tape recorder. It took him a few more days to find the opportunity to hide the Muggle device near the safe, and two days more of waiting for the Dark Lord to use his safe. At last, Severus had the password on tape; he tried it: it worked. He was now ready for the Order's attack.
On the evening of the twenty-first of June, Severus pretended that he wanted to have a stroll in the park after dinner. His aim was actually to place a few counter-spells on the enchantments that were defending the Dark Lord's property. He found that a bunch of Inferi had been set free, like guard dogs. He dodged them stealthily, but they prevented him from staying as long as he'd have liked in the park.

His next action was to retrieve the codex from the Dark Lord's safe. He used the old radio cassette recorder that he'd inherited from his father to open the door. The Horcrux was simply placed on a shelf, with just a Warning Spell on it. Severus undid the spell, took the book, and slipped it in his pocket. It was time for the third part of the plan.

He strolled in the mansion's corridors, discreetly spraying the Death Eaters that he met with Sleeping Draught. He counted thirty out of the usual fifty that were constantly present there. That should make the Order's attack very much easier.

Finally, he Disillusioned himself before going back into the park, where he opened the gate slightly. The onslaught was scheduled in five minutes.

The rest of the night went by in a blur. The Order's attack was swift and almost brutal. They were a bit detained by the Inferi, but a strong fire sent at them by Moody had them turned to ashes within ten minutes. It was time enough though to raise the alarm and for Voldemort to summon more Death Eaters. If it hadn't been for Severus' treason, the Order would have been quickly outnumbered. In the meantime, Severus wasn't idle, and attacked as many of his "co-workers" as he could without betraying himself. Jets of light were flying around him, giving a multi-coloured shine to the night. Smoke was rising from everywhere in the building. It was difficult to distinguish friend from foe.

"Ouch," somebody said after bumping into his Disillusioned form. He recognized the small stature of Alecto. She soon fell to the floor, unconscious. Severus then surveyed the scene unfolding in front of him. He saw Emmeline Vance's brother taunting Amycus, sending red and purple jets of light at the Death Eater, his face screaming for revenge upon his sister's murder. He heard insults being hurled through the room, cries of "Murderer", "Bastard", or "Filth" brushed against his ears.

Suddenly, he spotted Hermione. She was battling with Bellatrix Lestrange.

"The Mudblood doesn't know how to play. Don't you know the Dark Lord's rules? Filth like you will be eradicated from our world." She slashed at Hermione with a white spell that had her falling backwards. The young woman didn't waste time to get back on her knees, intending to stand up, but the mad woman clearly had the upper hand. She probably would have killed the young woman on the spot, had the rumour that Harry Potter was facing the Dark Lord at the other side of the vast room not reached them. It seemed as if everyone was holding their breath all of a sudden. This, however, lasted only a few seconds, and soon, Bellatrix resumed her duel. "It's a pity I don't have time to torture you, Mudblood. Maybe if you're still alive at the end…" Hermione wisely kept her mouth shut, but the female Death Eater seemed like she didn't need to be egged on to go on taunting her. She was hardly even deterred by the inhuman howl of her Master when Harry sliced Nagini with a well placed Sectumsempra. Hermione was on her knees now, cradling her bleeding wand hand. Bellatrix raised her wand and pointed it directly at Hermione. "I'll kill you now, filthy Mudblood. Avada Kedavra."

Severus didn't think twice - he threw himself on the path of Bellatrix's curse. The green light cancelled his Disillusionment charm. Both women gasped at the sight of his unmoving body. Rage invaded Hermione, and Bellatrix found herself being brutally thrown against the wall. At the same moment, general panic seized the Death Eaters' ranks at high speed: the unthinkable had happened - Harry Potter had destroyed their Lord. Yes, destroyed was the right word: the boy had cast an enhanced form of the Reducto spell on his Nemesis, and what was left of the tyrant was rather … gory. How Harry managed to take on the Dark Lord had been lost on Hermione, Severus and Bellatrix, the last two being unconscious.

Many Death Eaters tried to flee, but to no avail. The Ministry had turned up, and the Aurors were efficiently rounding up those who were trying to escape. Very soon, elation and joy replaced battle and curses.

Hermione took no notice of the situation, she was sobbing on Severus' body. "No … no … why? Please, Severus, don't leave me." She was so lost in her grief that she didn't see him blink. But she felt him breathe. She looked at his face and saw him watching her, wonderment in his eyes. It couldn't be! She'd seen him take the Killing Curse! Or she thought that he'd taken the Killing Curse. But it was impossible to escape that curse. Her head began to spin, and her logical mind came to the only possible conclusion: he must have been protected by something, an object that he was carrying in his pocket perhaps, and that must have intercepted the curse. In fact, he had never been dead.