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Stripped of his clothes, Harry realized just how frighteningly thin his uncle was under the clothes he wore. Clothes that also served as armor to keep the entire world at bay. The man had a sparse form, compact with sinewy muscle but all too clearly bone showed through his thin, pasty white skin. Scars, both new and old, of magical and muggle origin, crisscrossed his skin.

Gods, Harry couldn't help the thought, why does he do this for those who will never thank him? Who will never realize just how much it takes from him? His uncle's words came back to him, words that told Harry that Snape's whole life had been a lie.

And then he noticed something strange about some of the marks. They looked almost…whole, like they weren't there at all but for a faint outline, "Sir? Why are some of these wounds healed so…completely? So differently from the others that you have?"

Severus' head lay in Albus' lap as the older man gently brushed the hair back, cleaning it with love and care. "Lily healed them."

"With magic?" he asked, truly puzzled. These deep wounds he saw were terrible. They punctured the skin deeply. Yet there were others as bad that were not as damaged. Even with healing magic, there should have been worse scarring than he saw-and it wasn't there.

"The same way you are, though she sealed them with love."

Harry gasped, startled by a thought, "It was because of you, wasn't it? She knew how to protect me because she protected you first. Don't you see? I can't kill him in love-I have to let him kill me. Sacrifice, my mother's love will protect me so that you can destroy him while he's occupied with me. That's what Giles' information from the shaman meant."

Severus looked at Harry, a glimmer of the man he really was showing in his eyes. "And how did you come to such an astonishing conclusion?" he asked. "Voldemort can touch you now, using your blood in the ritual to restore him to life destroyed that protection."

"But not totally," he insisted, weaving his love and concern into his uncle's skin the same way he'd built it into his mental shields. "There is no way that the hate inside of him could totally destroy the unconditional love my mother had for me. The love that allowed her to sacrifice her life to save my own. No, there is still some protection within me-and that is because you have given your love to me. You have never wavered in your devotion to me and to my mother. That has strengthened the protection about me because he could not predict that I would ever find out, that you would ever be free enough to love me. That I would find it in me to love you back, even if I have to learn to get past your bad behavior. You said ambient mages call magic to them-but they also project their magic. You've been weaving that protection around me ever since he returned."

"Is that possible, Headmaster?" Charlie asked, spellbound by the idea. "I mean, his mother's loving sacrifice protected him before. Could Professor Snape's living love protect him now?"

"It is an intriguing proposition worth looking into," he slowly admitted, intrigued despite himself. "But now, you must satisfy my curiosity, Severus. Why does Harry call you uncle?"

"Because he is my uncle," Harry answered for him, afraid that even now, Severus would deny the truth.

"No more pestering Severus for answers. He needs rest and care, not this interrogation. No matter how kind," Flitwick's cool voice announced his presence. His voice's tone was obviously disapproving of the way they handled his charge. "Now that Miss Rosenberg has been cared for, it is Severus' turn. Harry, you may stay because you are family but the rest of you need to leave for you would only distract and confuse my magic-especially the Slayers as their powers are kin to our own."

Albus lovingly patted Severus' head before he led them from the room. I will do whatever I can to make this up to you, my precious son, he thought as the door closed behind him. For the first time in ages, he could feel pure hatred coursing through his veins towards Voldemort-and towards himself. He had never once considered that the abuse had gone that far.

Entering the library with the solemn group, he walked over to where Giles stood with Minerva and Remus. After asking after Willow's health, he asked after the shaman's words. "Harry has come to some strange conclusions regarding it."

"Well, it would not be hard to do so, it is very strangely worded," he noted, going into his office to get the book for Albus. Without a word, he passed it over, watching the frown cross the Headmaster's face.

An act from the past bound two to one.

An act of the present shields the bonded in love.

A sacrifice for the future's good shall save all.

"How does this relate to us? It does not match the prophecy at all. It would seem to utterly contradict it," Minerva commented from her place over Albus' shoulder.

"It would help if I knew what that prophecy was," Giles retorted. "But did not James Potter save Severus' life, binding them together until the debt was paid?"

"That would fit in with the past act," she agreed, slowly, "Though nothing else fits."

"Let's map this out," Sirius suddenly suggested, tired of his own thoughts. "Place both the prophecy and the shaman's words side by side. If we could see them together may be we could figure it out."

Without a word, Albus transfigured a book into a chalkboard, both of the statements side by side. "Any suggestions?" he asked, opening the floor to all there.

"Well," Xander started hesitantly, "The fact that Professor Snape and Lily are siblings might be what the first line refers to. An act of their parents separated them and yet, they are united by blood."

"Severus and Lily aren't related," Minerva instantly denied but caught sight of Albus' suddenly grim face. "Are they?"

"Half-sibling actually," Sirius offhandedly told them, noting the looks of surprise. "What? I was her partner in charms when we did the genealogical spell to reveal the hidden families in our lives."

"You've known since our fourth year and refused to say anything?" Remus asked, appalled by the way Sirius dispensed this knowledge, as though it was no big deal. Which, to him, it may not have been.

"Remus, I was trying to suppress that knowledge-and I did a very good job of it until that terrible night of Harry's birth." He shuddered suddenly, remembering that night-and Lily's gut wrenching screams of agony-all to well.

"What happened?" Cordy asked, not really noticing the way he stared at her until the dead silence that greeted her question brought her gaze his way. "It might be important in figuring the connection out."

"I went to the Potter's home that night to inform Potter about an attack on his special forces, one of the few in existence, and found Black guarding Lily. She was at home because it was still early in her pregnancy but there was always the chance of an early birth. St Mungo's was on lockdown because of several Death Eater attacks in the area. Much to our mutual dismay, she had started to give birth. As a potions master, I had had to take several medi-healer classes in order to get my degree. I knew how to help her to a certain extent, though I was in no way a qualified medi-healer."

Severus stopped, coughing and breathing heavily for a few minutes before he found the energy to continue his tale. "When I entered, Lily's water had broken. Unfortunately, it seemed to be more blood than water, a very bad sign as I'm sure you can all imagine," he mildly said over the pained gasps of shock and horror. "I had Black run a hot bath for her, giving us a birthing pool in the hopes that it would help ease the pains in her body and make the birth that much easier. The both of us got her upstairs and into the water. It helped, at first. But there was more blood and more pain, with Sirius' help, I did a full examination of her and found the awful truth."

Again, he stopped, coughing furiously. Harry forced him over to a chair and rubbed his back worriedly. He didn't like seeing the flakes of blood emitting from Severus' mouth. But there was nothing he could do, they needed to know. Regaining his breath at last, Severus went on hoarsely, "Harry was not only pointed in the wrong direction, but had his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck too tightly. I could not safely turn him around-even using magic-without the risk of strangling him to death. There was only one option, but to perform a caesarean section on a witch is about as lethal as casting the killing curse."

His eyes closed as his shoulders shook under the strain. Gods, it hurt to think about that night. Harry stood at his side, his arm instantly wrapping about him for support. "I was out of any real options at that point. Lily said she trusted me to do what was right. She wanted me to do it-even if she died as a result. You must understand, I loved her and didn't know what else to do. She begged me, pleaded with me, to do this, to save her son. I gave into her pleas, though I was afraid of what would happen. I performed the operation-one which I was totally ill-equipped for-but managed to save them both."

Harry held his uncle, feeling the sobs tearing him silently. "Haven't we heard enough?" he harshly asked, anger dampening his voice. "He's told us enough, relived it enough for your own amusement. Leave him alone."

"The prophecy Mr. Giles found," Hermione softly interjected, flushed with realization. "It's not about Harry at all. It's about Professor Snape."

"I would hardly call it a prophecy," Giles protested, though he was intrigued by her words. Of them all, she seemed to have some kind of finger on the pulse of their dilemma.

"But it is. The first line has to do with Professor Snape's saving Harry and Lily's lives that night. He used both love and strong blood magic to do it. I would imagine that he even had to cross through the barrier of death to lead them back into life. Because of this one action, they were bonded and his continuing, devoted love shields Harry from Voldemort's worst attacks. Wouldn't he be fiercer, more violent to Harry if there was no other protection other than what Harry himself could muster up?" she asked Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Yes," Harry answered instead, slowly as though he was just realizing it. It was so obvious, he couldn't understand why he'd never seen it before. "Severus has been blocking the worst of his attacks all my life. How does the last line figure in? Or was I right about that?"

Severus didn't answer. His lax posture revealed that he slept peacefully against Harry. His grip tightened upon him. A fierce light in his green eyes as he recognized the trust placed in him by this one, seemingly simple gesture. "I am right, I know that I am. I am not the one capable of killing Voldemort. I have the power within me and the determination but not the strength of character or age to turn away from the darkness that would be released upon his death. Only Severus has that."

"So, how is he your uncle?" Ron asked. "And why didn't you live with him?"

Harry shrugged, "He's only told me that Lily's his sister. I didn't go to live with him because he was afraid of the free Death Eaters, he didn't think Voldemort was gone. To spy again, he couldn't risk raising me and he thought spying was the only way to assure my safety. And Headmaster Dumbledore didn't know. But you did, didn't you, Professor Flitwick?"

"No," Filius admitted, shaking his head. "Though the charm was cast in my class, Lily only turned in half of her family tree, claiming that her spell failed to reveal it all to her. I found it strange as Lily was the most gifted charms student I had ever had."

An explosion smashed against the shields and every flinched, jumping up. Severus and Harry remained in place while everyone looked out the windows. An eerie darkness hung across the sky, causing an early night to cover the land. In the center of green lit torches, a man shaped being stood, flanked by creatures of all descriptions and darkly robed beings whose faces were concealed behind masks.

Buffy whistled, "That's quite a large gathering of demons."

"To many for our small band to fight," Kendra agreed.

"You guys have a back-up cavalry waiting in the wings, right?" Xander asked, his voice only wavering slightly. His gaze never moved away from the sight before him. It was a frightening display of evil forces the kind of which one only saw in the movies. As much as he looked, he couldn't seem to take it all in, no matter how hard he tried.

This Voldemort meant business.

"I'm afraid it's just us until Moody can gather the faithful together and bring them here. I really wasn't expecting him to arrive with this many allies," Albus murmured. For the second time that day, shock was written on his face.

"Does anyone see Mayor Wilkins?" Giles anxiously asked. Though he tried, he could not see everyone in the gathering. It was frustrating because of all their troubles, the Mayor was the biggest one for them to resolve-he being able to become a real demon. Though they'd help fight Voldemort, there really was nothing they could do about his human followers.

Having met the man once because Severus was unable to, Minerva shook her head, noting the way that Giles sagged in relief. "Why?" she asked, more for the sake of occupying her mind that an earnest need to know.

"This eclipse means that Voldemort could cause his transformation-even if the Mayor has done nothing to prepare for it. He wishes to turn into a true demon," Giles explained. "I'm afraid that he could still bring it to pass without Wilkins being here. I can only imagine the deaths caused if he were to do so and bring him here."

"Why isn't he with them anyway? I thought he was an ally?" Ron asked, backing away. He'd seen more than enough to know that he wouldn't rest easy for some time, if he ever did.

"Severus saw him earlier," Harry shrugged, careful not to dislodge the sleeping man. Of all there, he knew just how badly his uncle needed to rest. "Perhaps he was able to talk some sense into him."

"Or may be he did us all a favor and killed him," Ron retorted, but there was no fire. In all honesty, if Snape had killed the man, that was one less worry for them to deal with. He could still hear Harry's words regarding the Mayor's intentions. If they didn't have to face a true demon, he'd be more than happy.

Though he glared at him, Harry could see the point being made. A very valid one, though he hated to admit it. "He could've done that too."

"Either way," Bill said, rather dismally for a Weasely, joining Ron and Charlie at the table. "It looks like they're setting up camp. So, what do we do now? Attack? Or do we retreat?"

"Not with so few numbers," Albus protested, fearing what would happen if they ended up having to face them on their own. "Even if his forces are merely brute strength, they still outnumber us several times over. Until we know how to undo his eclipse, our fight would be hopeless. As for retreat, we can't let him have the Hellmouth."

"Well, we can't wait them out. Even if his forces turn on each other, we can't survive under these conditions for long," Charlie pointed out.

"We could buy some time," Fred and George chorused. "After all, hit and run is one of our specialties-just ask Sn…Professor Snape." They finished, mindful of Harry's feelings towards the potions professor.

"They will have spells against portkeys and apparation," Remus pointed out, "And wards that would be difficult-if not impossible-to evade. You would have to work like a muggle and risk getting caught, which would defeat the purpose."

"Not if they had a magic that worked outside of our understanding," Hermione slowly said.

"Both Severus and Miss Rosenberg are too injured and tired to be of use," Flitwick pointed out, somewhat harshly for him.

"I'm not talking about them," she responded, looking at Amy significantly. "Professor Snape said that your magic comes from a third source, that of direct Earth magic. She could use it to bypass their wards and defenses to get the twins in and out with little fuss."

"But I'd need a general map of their camp and some understanding of their positions. It would do us very little good to get in if we can't do anything," she protested, knowing that backing out was not an option any longer. If she left them alone and they lost, she'd become a slave to Voldemort when he found her.

And Amy did not deluded herself-he would hunt her down and find her. Not only was she friends with Harry and company, she was just to powerful to let escape his grasp.

"I can do that," Sirius volunteered, "Though I've little practice in timing the enemy's position and changes, I can observe them and mark the boundaries of their camp. I did that when I was an auror."

"I would offer to help but many of Voldemort's followers are former students of mine. They would notice me immediately," Minerva murmured, sighing. "Mr. Weasely's skills at chess could come in handy. Unfortunately, we do not have the time to teach him how to properly become an animagus."

"Couldn't you just change him into something else to blend in?" Xander asked.

"I wish it could be that easy but it is not, Mr. Harris. If I turned him into an animal, he would have the mind of an animal," she explained.

"Has no one here ever heard of a video camera?" Cordy asked, "We could just record them and watch them as they do their thing. We have the equipment here, you could just do some magic to it-or Amy could-so that it wouldn't be noticed. Then, we would have them under surveillance twenty-four/seven."

Bill stared at her, not sure what to make of her. He'd heard that she was far blunter than anyone he'd ever met-and he'd met quite a few people over the years. And from what he'd heard, they were right, "That could work. But do we have the time for such watching?"

"We'll have to make the time," Albus resignedly said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. His gaze rested momentarily upon Severus and Harry. It pained him to admit it, but he would need to send the potions master back out into the field quite soon. And he knew Harry would strongly object. "So, let's get to work."

"Would a time turner be of use?" Ron asked.

"Afraid not," Filius answered after a moment. It was a good idea, he just wished it would be practical to use it. But because there were those who would misuse the power of the turner, they had fail safe's placed in them. "A time turner's magic could totally ruin the end results or irrevocably alter events in ways that we cannot predict. Besides, we do not have the time to procure one."

"Just checking," Ron said, sounding like he'd expected that answer but was hoping for a different one anyway. "Headmaster, where are the students who wouldn't leave?" He'd heard that there had been a few to remain behind, but hadn't seen them.

"We were preparing survival/battle kits as Professor Snape taught us to on one of our outings," Draco announced, coming into the library with several kits. There seemed to be enough to last them all a couple of weeks. "Except for Dumbledore's Army, who are watching that bloody Council of yours, Mr. Giles. Parvati caught sight of them as we went to find the cafeteria. So, the aforementioned group went undercover to find out what they were doing with Voldemort. If I were you, I'd quit."

"I knew Travers was an untrustworthy fellow," Sirius muttered, standing back at last. Looking at Draco, he asked, "Are they protected?"

"I let them use the charms Professor Snape gave each of us Slytherins, even the Dark Lord can't break the protection on them."

"Are we under siege?" Crabbe asked, sitting on the floor near his Head of House. Though the man was unconscious, he still felt far safer to the Slytherins who gathered about him than anyone else in the room.

"Yes and until we are better aware of their movements and positions, there is nothing we can do but wait," Remus told them. "We can't risk using Harry's connection to Voldemort to find out what's going on. And any use of our magical items would be noticed, so extra care must be taken to avoid trouble."

"We could go in and let you know what's going on," Pansy offered, her voice barely wavering with fear. It was there for all to see but she never let it enter in her voice, knowing that she could not allow herself to doubt. "With the exception of Draco, none of our parents know were we stand on the subject of Voldemort. We could tell them that Professor Snape was trying to keep us out of his reach so that the Headmaster would never suspect us should anything happen. I know that my parents want me to join."

"I could never ask you to do such a thing," Albus protested.

"You aren't," Millicent softly said, her voice completely at odds with her tough looks. "We're offering-and show our support to Professor Snape. He has done so much for us. Taught us so much, leading us out of the dark paths our parents want us to walk along-it's time for us to return the favor. It's up to us to make Slytherin a house that fights beside Gryffindor, even if our actions are never acknowledged openly."

"Slytherin should not be the house of shame," Goyle added. "It is time for change."

"Are you sure this is what you wish to do?" Severus quietly asked, his hand gently reaching out to touch each of his children-each who seemed strengthened by that touch. His hand lingered on Draco, wishing to impart a measure of his strength into the one who would be left behind his friends and allies. "Do you realize the toll it will place upon your very souls? This step towards the dark will forever follow after you, clouding all that you do and all that you are perceived as?"

"Being in Slytherin has already marked us as the children of evil," Blaise shrugged. "We might as well change things for those who follow after us. After all, not all Slytherins are evil, just ask the Headmaster."

Albus laughed, "How is it that I can never hide it from at least one Slytherin? Every year, one from my old house figures it out. I would suspect Severus told you, but he isn't the kind to give away such secrets."

"You were in Slytherin?" Ron asked as his family stared at Albus in open-mouthed shock.

"Of course," Albus jovially replied. "Do you mean to tell me that not one of you suspected anything? Dear, dear, with all the Machiavellian schemes I've put into play over the years, one would've thought that someone would have figured it out."

"Takes a Slytherin to know one, old man," Severus wryly said.

"True, true," Albus chuckled. "Still, it is rather disappointing."

Charlie shook himself, "Interesting as this is, let's get to work. I don't think Voldemort is going to be patient with us for much longer."

And with that sober reminder hanging in the air of the room, the Slytherins stood and left the library, looking at their beloved Head of House for what might be the last time. Draco watched them go. As much as he wished to stand with his classmates, to be with them in their time of need, he could not.

His place was now here.

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The siege had been no more than a day strong before enough information started to come in for the twins to begin harassing Voldemort's army. They began small, just tiny annoyances that could be easily written off as accidents or weather troubles. The last thing they needed was for Voldemort to get so angry that he attacked them before they were ready for him.

Dumbledore's Army worked as messengers between the spies in the camp and those in the school. It had to be carefully timed so that the young Slytherins wouldn't get caught betraying their own parents and Voldemort. Hard work but it helped draw the students together. Parvati had brought them news earlier that the Council had left.

Unfortunately, they still had no idea why the Watcher's Council had for being among his followers anyway, though Giles feared it had something to do with the deaths of the potentials all across the US. But as it was only a theory, they did not dare to build upon it. They couldn't afford to build a strategy based on speculation about what happened. Not knowing the truth was eating away at them and he was doing his best to find out what happened.

Willow and Severus finally healed enough to wake up half-way through the afternoon on the second day. To be more precise, they remained conscious for more than a few moments at a time. In Severus' case, he forced himself-contrary to Flitwick's advice-to stay awake and to get involved with the proceedings.

Willow watched him, tempted to just knock him out, to force him to rest. She couldn't bring herself to do it, though. It wouldn't be fair to him and would only make him angry with her, something they could not afford right now. More than ever before, she needed his guidance.

"Why are you pushing yourself so hard?" she finally asked after another day had passed and he had yet to settle down despite everyone's attempt to get him to do so. "I mean, I know that you've got some really bad night terrors and wish to avoid them for as long as possible, but this isn't the way. If you intend to stand beside Harry, you can't break yourself before the battle even begins."

"I shall be fine, Miss Rosenberg," he acidly retorted, ignoring her concern.

"No, you won't. You won't be able to shield Harry, deflect incoming spells, and piggy-back that killing curse of Voldie's back upon him if you don't rest," she snapped.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me, Professor Snape-so don't play dumb with me. The role does not suit you. The battle has been yielded into your hands by Harry himself-but only Voldie can kill himself because he meddled with powers that weren't his own. Harry's giving you the battle, he's sacrificing his place to you and that's something Voldie can't understand. He won't expect that move at all, that Harry does not want the power he would gain by destroying him. By yielding the field to you, he's giving you that choice. So, meet my resolve face-and go to sleep. I won't give you the choice to go under your own power again."

Severus believed her. He'd seen that expression before. Very miffed-but relieved to be under direct orders-he stalked into Giles' office where a bed waited for him. Taking off his shoes, he lay back and stared up at the ceiling for a while, aware of every ache in his body.

"Thanks," Harry grateful said, voice quiet in the stillness that had followed in the wake of his exit. "I couldn't get him to rest no matter what I said."

"Try ordering him," she said, rather dryly for her. "He seems to respond well to that."

"How did you know all of that? No matter what we've theorized, we never came up with that."

"I'm not quite," she slowly admitted, her fingers idly tracing along the dragon pendant around her neck. "It just sounded convoluted enough to be right. As much as we'd like to think that magic is a simple matter of waving a wand around and uttering a spell, it isn't. Magic is far more complicated and ritualistic than that."

Harry yawned, blushing at her amused look. "Sorry, I haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Go to sleep, Harry. The battle now may rest in Professor Snape's hands but you still have an important role to play in it. You have to make sure that Voldie keeps his eyes on you. There is not point in letting Severus have the fight if Voldie knows about the switch. It's the surprise that has to trap him, much like his defeat."

"Can Uncle Severus really deflect the killing curse?" he asked, feeling an odd thrill at saying the name. He liked it so much, he called him uncle every chance he got. "And if he can, why don't they teach how to do it in defense class? Or is it something only an ambient-or a dark-wizard can do?"

Willow sighed, her hand dropping the play with the loose threads of her shirt. "I don't know how he'll do it. I only know that he will be able to, Harry."

Nodding his head, though he was pretty sure she knew more than she was saying, Harry left her alone. Kneeling down, he grasped his uncle's hand, resting his head on the mattress beside the warm body. "I hope you don't die. I really need some family. Sirius is great-but he just can't help me," he whispered, falling asleep.

Severus removed his hand from Harry's grasp and placed it on his head. "Nice to know, my boy," he quietly replied. Exerting just a little magic, he raised the boy off the floor and onto the bed beside him. Harry rested his head against his beating heart, lulled deeper into sleep by the steady sound of it. "I do love you, Harry."

"Do you have any idea how disturbingly human you look?" James asked, staring down at them, an unreadable look in his eyes.

"Potter, I'm tired. I really cannot deal with your inane self right now. So, if you've nothing imperative to share with me about the coming battle, go away." He stared up at the man, willing his eyes to remain open and focused, though it took all his strength to do so.

James rested a hand on each of their heads, "I trust you, Severus. I really wish things had been different between us all. Don't mess this up and leave him alone, Snape. I mean it. If you do, I'll kick your arse back into life. Got it?"

"Only you could disguise a threat under the guise of loving concern, Potter. Be assured that I am far to attached to my life and to Harry to let Voldemort win," he said, glaring up at him.

"Just so that we understand each other," he replied before allowing himself to fade away.

Severus waited a beat, still feeling James' hand on his head. Resulting in the disturbing thought that the man may still be there with them, his exhaustion eventually got the better of him and he drifted off to sleep, a final thought in his mind directed towards Lily. There are times, my demented sister, when I understand why you married that man.

End, Part 21