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Defeating the Dark Lord
8) Complications
"Severus?"
The weight on Harry's shoulder lifted, just enough for him to turn and catch Severus under the arms as he slumped forward again. The dark lashes fluttered.
"He's - dead?" his voice was a pained rasp.
"He's dead." Harry confirmed, keeping his tone gentle.
Severus lifted his arm, gazing at the pale skin of his forearm, noting the absence of the Mark, the ugly outline of blistered flesh where it used to be. "Good..." His body was shaking; his eyes slid shut, breathing labored as he murmured, "Hurts... might be - you - saving me - this time..."
Harry stared at him, aghast. "What - no - Severus, you're not dying! You - you can't!"
Severus' lips turned up in a genuine, if weary, smile. "... Dark Lord - doesn't take no - for an answer..."
His hand lifted, slowly; the back of his fingers brushed Harry's cheek in a tender gesture, so very unlike the austere Potions Master.
"... proud of you..." the words were little more than a whisper.
"You're not dying." Harry was terrified, panicking, at the very thought. "You're not. I won't let you!"
On the verge of hysteria, he could feel tears filling his eyes.
"You can't die, Sev. You can't - I don't - I can't - You're not... you're not allowed to."
"...s'ry..."
"Severus..." Harry thought his heart would break. Suddenly filled with determination, he lifted Severus' eyelids with his thumbs, staring deep into the black eyes.
"This is my mind, remember? My rules. I'm not just letting you die!"
And with that he plunged into Severus' mind.
Downward he dove, through aching darkness, and landed in the Slytherin Common Room.
Where are you, Severus...
He stepped into a turn, emerged in the Great Hall. No Severus.
Another turn. Potions Classroom. No Severus.
Apparation after apparation, faster and faster until it felt like he was standing still and the scenes were changing before his eyes like an old-fashioned photo viewer.
Snape's Quarters.
Headmaster's Office.
Ravenclaw Tower.
Astronomy Tower.
The Kitchens.
Hagrid's Hut.
Harry halted, gasping for breath, brain kicking into overdrive.
Think! Think think think you idiot! What if he's not at Hogwarts? Where would he be? Where would he go?
And with a blinding flash, Harry remembered the park, and the young red-headed girl flying off the swings...
He apparated to the memory of that place and looked around wildly.
No Severus.
Dammit!
Hang on...
There was a street sign nearby, pointing off down a seedy lane. Harry moved toward it until he was at the right angle to read it.
Spinner's End.
Grinning in relief, he took off running down the street, only realising half way down that every house looked similarly run-down, and he had no idea which was Severus'.
"Point me Severus Snape!"
His wand spun in his hand, settling to point to a house on his left a bit further down.
Harry strode down the cobblestone street and through the gate, pausing only for a cursory knock before opening the door and entering.
He found a teenage Severus in the smallest bedroom, lying back on the bed, idly twirling his wand. Snape barely glanced at Harry before speaking.
"I thought I told you not to come here."
He drew his feet up, giving Harry enough room to sit on the end of the bed and lean back against the wall. "It's incredibly dangerous. We could end up trapped here - stuck inside my mind, inside your mind. In fact, I very specifically remember telling you, if I am hurt, don't play the hero and risk your life on the slim chance of rescuing me."
Harry grinned, feeling an odd sense of kinship to this dark-haired boy with all the memories of his older self. "I'm not. Risking my life, I mean. I know what I'm doing, Severus."
The teen arched an eyebrow. "You do? I guess miracles really do exist after all."
Harry rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Sev. We're going back. Back home - Hogwarts."
"You are. I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"Am not."
"Severus - "
"Look, Harry - I don't want to, okay? I'm - I'm fine here."
Harry snorted. "Fine, maybe, but happy? I don't think so. You can't just give up!"
Severus gazed at him soberly - it was a strangely world-weary look for the teen's face. "I spent the last eighteen years playing both sides in a very dangerous war. I'm tired, Harry. I'm - drained, and - and angry, and bitter, and cynical, and I'm not so sure that the mask I've put up isn't who I really am. What is there for me? Out there?"
"You can start anew: take a holiday, find out who you really are behind the facade. And you're going to be Headmaster, remember? You'll give up your lower level classes, and take on an apprentice, someone who loves Potions almost as much as you do, and I'll steal the Defence job out from under you, and we'll teach, Severus."
Harry laid a hand on Snape's knee. "We've both been through war: these kids haven't. They need to know what's out there, they need to know how to survive, how to fight. We can teach them that. They won't just fear you, Severus: they'll respect you."
Severus hesitated. "I don't know..."
"Please, Severus. For me?" Harry widened his eyes, puppy-dog style. "I'll even make sure you get on a Chocolate Frog card."
Snape chuckled. "Merlin forbid. Oh, very well, brat, I'll come back. But only because you asked so nicely."
Harry jumped up and held out a hand, heaving Severus off the bed. "Come on, then. Need I remind you you're dying? The sooner we get back, the sooner you can find help."
They strode for the door, two lanky raven-haired teenagers, and made it halfway down the street before the first spell came flying toward them. Harry felt a hand on his arm, jerking him to the side: teenage Snape was gone, and in his place was adult Severus. They broke into a run, dodging a barrage of spells, Snape's hand on his shoulder guiding him firmly.
"Now this is more like it!" Severus laughed aloud as they sidestepped a hex, and said between breaths, "They don't want us getting away..."
His face was alight with the thrill of the chase, eyes gleaming, adrenaline pumping through his veins; and as they ran he dropped his hand to pull his wand and fire back over his shoulder.
"Harry - listen - we need to lose them before we go back. Split up - use Mid-Step Apparation - no less than 10 different stops. Keep away from Hogwarts, it's too predictable - I'll meet you at Privet Drive. If I'm not back in ten minutes - " he hesitated, and then finished, " - you have my permission to come find me."
Harry nodded, signifying agreement and acceptance with a terse "Yes, sir,", and they sped up to a flat-out sprint.
Harry concentrated until his vision tunneled, the only sound his heartbeat; and between lifting his right foot and putting it down he apparated from Spinner's End to Ottery St Catchpole, maintaining his momentum. One step, two, three, and on the fourth he apparated again, this time to a part of London by Grimmauld Place. Amid the warnings and statistics about Mid-Step Apparation - only three people in the last thousand years had survived learning it - Severus had told him that it was somewhat akin to dancing - one-and-two-and-three-and-change - and in a situation like this, heart pounding in his ears like the beat of a drum, he could see the analogy clearly.
London to Cornwall to the wilds of Scotland to the coast of Ireland, down the coast in a series of three shorter trips, over to Cardiff and across to Brighton, down to Portsmouth, Bournemouth, up to Bristol, and finally to Privet Drive.
Severus appeared a scant minute later, barely breathing hard.
"Alright?"
Harry nodded, "No trouble."
Severus stepped closer and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Good. Hogwarts."
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