A/N: Wow. It's been awhile, hasn't it? Sorry about the long wait, my dear readers. Be forewarned that this chapter does have some heartbreaking moments towards the end. At least I found them heartbreaking while writing it. Wishing you and yours a very wonderful new year. Enjoy.

Beyond all Repair

Pulling his traveling cloak tighter around himself, Severus trudged through the heavy rain towards the tiny village tucked away from the world. His mind kept returning to the Cloud's parting words about the seductive nature of the Horcruxes he hunted. He had already proven in his timeline, and this one as well for that matter, that he had an unfortunate weakness concerning the Dark Arts. How would he combat them this time and not give in, as he had done before? Sighing heavily, he shook his head and cast away all thoughts. They weren't helping anyhow.

After his wife and unborn child's deaths, Severus had spent a year and a month planning out this exact journey he was on now. He knew the Horcruxes by heart, what they were and approximately where they could be found. He had poured over every bit of information the boy divulged during his St. Mungo's stay. He had studied the Dark objects relentlessly, obsessing to the point of madness after his family had been ripped away from him.

The first thoughts of this difficult path he would travel came two days after his family's deaths. His father had stayed with him to make sure that he wasn't alone. It was during a quiet moment that Tobias suggested Severus should try to get his mind off his terrible losses and handed him the first book he came across, which happened to be Severus's wife's journal of all things unbeknownst to Tobias. At first, Severus resisted, the pain in his chest overwhelming. However, as he continued to stare mindlessly at his wife's elegant cursive, he strangely felt slightly better, feeling her presence around him again. Slowly, he began to read her journal, letting her words fill him up with her overwhelming warmth. It wasn't long before he read the whole thing, desperate to find some way to bring her back in it.

Most of her writing was on her theory. But there were times, likely when she couldn't think of anything to add to her theory, where she wrote her thoughts about little meaningless events of her day that others would have overlooked. Then again, her research focused on how to influence meaningless moments in one's past and change those outcomes positively for the future, or as he liked to call it, her "overly-complicated, headache-inducing what-if' theory.

However, the feeling of completeness he felt after reading her journal faded soon after. Like an addict, he reread it and reread it night after night until her words were engrained in his very soul. It wasn't enough, though. In fact, he soon started to feel emptier after every reading of her journal, as it slowly became more apparent that his wife and child weren't coming back ever again. That they were truly gone.

After his fourth reading of her journal, his father commented that if there was a spell Tobias could cast to bring them back, he would do it in a heartbeat. At first, Severus was enraged at his father, but then the words started to sink in. A spell. And just like that, it clicked. The crucial part her research had overlooked.

For the next few weeks, he buried himself with learning everything he could about time and Time Turners. More than a few times, his father had to drag him away and force him to return to life. Though, Severus wouldn't remain away for far too long. He couldn't. Not when there was a chance to undo all of the pain he felt inside. A chance to make it right.

The letters soon started coming, then. The first letter was from his mother, who wished to see him. He denied her straight away, informing her that he wasn't ready to see her yet. The second letter was from Harry, who reiterated that whatever Severus needed, Harry would get him. He sent no reply back, having not known what to ask for other than his family. The third letter was from Luna Lovegood, who had, of course, expressed her condolences once again but also in her usual style left him with her brutal honesty of how the darkness had touched everyone's lives in some way, leaving behind scars that could have been prevented if only a few things had been done differently.

After Lovegood's letter, he stopped paying attention to the post, as Luna was right like always. If Dumbledore had not gone to the orphanage to retrieve the boy who would become the Dark Lord, there would have never been a Voldemort, as the boy never would have learned control. If he himself had come clean and told Harry that he had to act like a complete arse in order to maintain his cover, Harry might have trusted him and learned Occlumency, thereby preventing Sirius Black's death. So many things could have been prevented with just a few changes. Clearly, letting the many lies linger in the darkness hadn't worked, so forcing the terrible truths into the light this time was the answer. It had to be.

So, that was what Severus was doing, forcing the terrible truths into the light. He started with telling his past self of how manipulative and cold Dumbledore would become, giving himself the advantage he hadn't had until the very end when he couldn't even use it. Next, he went to Dumbledore, forcing the old man to see the brutal truth of what his actions had cost them all in the end. He'd admit that some of it was just to hurt Dumbledore and make him feel the pain he felt now, but it wasn't the only reason. He needed the old man to see the consequences of his meddling, to see the harm that he had done in order to keep him from doing it again. The destruction of the Horcruxes was another truth forced into the light, because he knew the Dark Lord's terrible secret since he had lived it all before. And then there was the final truth, the one he was still admittedly coming to terms with as it was one that he found himself wrestling against. But that would be much later . . . after he had succeeded in destroying every last Horcrux and destroyed the Dark Lord once and for all.

Up ahead, Severus saw just a bit of light from a street lantern. He had made it to town finally. He continued walking, ignoring the ache in his legs and the cold in his bones. His eyes glanced back and forth at the buildings on either side of him before he finally found the one he had been looking for and stopped walking. He inhaled deeply, forcing the air into his lungs. He could have surely chosen another way than this one, but he had realized long back on his walk that he had become thirsty and hungry.

Pushing open the door to the village's pub, Severus walked into the Hanged Man and noticed the quiet chatter inside quickly die upon his entering. He glanced down at the floor, lowering his hood instantly before he continued towards the counter, where a man stood behind looking at him curiously. Once he had reached the bar, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a few coins, setting them on top of the counter.

"I don't suppose this will buy me a pint, will it?" Severus asked quietly, glancing at the barkeep.

The man chuckled softly. "Nah, but I'll see what I can do for you anyway." The barkeep shrugged. "After all, you look like a man who needs a good drink to warm up."

"Or two," Severus commented under his breath before he nodded his thanks. He glanced around the pub, noticing that everyone else was looking at him strangely. Though, that was how small towns operated. A stranger was always under scrutiny until he passed a test. His father had taught him that long ago in one of the pubs in Cokeworth. It had been before his father's disappearance. "I'm sorry, but am I intruding or something?" he asked, turning back towards the barkeep, who had set down his drink.

"No," the barkeep replied with a shrug. "Just we don't get a lot of folks out here in Little Hangleton. Most stay up in the city." He jerked his head in the general direction of Great Hangleton.

"Oh. Well, I was headed there actually." When the barkeep's eyes narrowed suspiciously, he added not missing a beat, "I know. It's strange. You see, my damn horse bolted with all this blasted rain back somewhere over that way. Must have been spooked by that old house." Severus jerked his head before he took a long swig from his glass. "I've been telling my wife for years that we should have just gotten rid of the damn horse, but you know how wives are." He heard the quiet laughs behind him. "I must've gotten turned around, though. I thought it was just a straight shot to the north of me. Guess I should've waited longer, but, well, the breeder said that he needed me to sign the papers or some such rubbish this week. Why he couldn't send them in the post, I'll never know."

"Breeder? What do you need a breeder for?" someone called out behind him.

Slowly, Severus swiveled around. "My wife thought before we had kids that we should get a puppy. Because, supposedly, raising a puppy and a baby are pretty similar," he joked, feeling the ache in his chest grow even bigger. It had been one of his wife's wishes for them to have a dog, but he had never gotten around to buying one before her death. He had mistakenly thought they had more time than what had been allowed.

"Awe," said one of the women in the pub. "How sweet. What sort of puppy is it?"

"Labrador. Little fluffy thing about this big." He gestured with his hands. "She saw him in the paper and fell in love. So, here I am, cold, wet, and thirsty."

"You didn't think to take a car?" someone towards the back asked.

He shrugged, though. "I would have, if I had a car. Wife's, well, she's a bit . . . unique, but I love her all the more for it."

"Seems like she's got you by the balls, lad," a man joked before he tossed back his drink.

"Isn't that what true love is all about, though?" Severus replied flatly. "Trusting a person wholeheartedly and accepting all their faults?" He caught several murmurs of agreement. "Anyway, I shouldn't be bothering any of you." He turned back, giving a faint smile to the barkeep. "Thanks for the drink." He stood up a moment later. "Which way did you say the city is again?"

"Up that way, but I'd wait until morn if I were you," the barkeeper replied, jerking his head towards the window that showed the heavy downpour and occasional flash of lightning outside. "Not to mention, you never know what sorts of things you'll run into in the dark. Particularly the ones over by the old Riddle manner."

Severus forced a chuckle and nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. Don't suppose you've got a hotel in the area, do you?"

"Not exactly, but I do have a spare room upstairs. But it's not free, lad."

"Wouldn't expect it to be." He then put down the rest of the Muggle money he had on him. "That's all I got, though. Sorry."

The barkeep only shrugged, though, taking his money. "Just go up those stairs. It'll be the first room on your left."

Severus followed where the man was pointing before he nodded and headed off towards the rickety old stairs. It would have been much easier to have just snuck into the Gaunt shack obviously, but he didn't want to risk anyone seeing him and asking questions. All it took was one person seeing him and relaying it back to the Dark Lord, and all would be lost again. No. It was easier this way. Staying above the pub would offer him an alibi later. Not to mention, it gave him a place to lay his head down for a bit. Which is what he did for a few hours as he waited for the drunks to get drunker and more obnoxious than before.

The shack of Gaunt. There was no telling what sort of obstacles he would run into there. Harry hadn't had any real details, since it had been Dumbledore who had actually retrieved the ring. However, Severus could imagine what sorts of horrors Voldemort would have left behind to protect the Horcrux.

"Not so tough now, are ya, Snape?" a gruff voice from the past hissed in his mind as a memory suddenly flashed behind his eyes. "Uh-huh. Move and I'll paint the walls with her blood. Got it?"

He inhaled sharply. Not this. Anything but this . . It took every last bit of strength in him to push the heartbreaking memory away. Once it was gone, he found himself sitting with his back against the wall, shaking horribly. His hands came up and covered his face as he exhaled loudly. Why now? Why had that terrible thought appeared now of all times? He needed to think happy thoughts . . . or at the very least no-so-emotionally charged thoughts.

Regaining control of himself after a few minutes, Severus slowly pushed himself up off the floor to stand. He didn't have time to be sitting and wallowing in his grief. He had a mission to do. One that would erase all the pain and blood that had been shed over the years.

Hearing the rowdy drunks downstairs, he knew it was time. He locked the door and propped a chair underneath the doorknob, too, for good measure before he headed towards the window. The storm hadn't let up any, which he supposed was good news for him. It'd provide him with the necessary cover to pull this off.

He pulled his traveling cloak further around him and opened the window. There was no one in the streets, but then again all of Little Hangleton was probably at the pub like all other small towns. He knew he couldn't Apparate so close to a large Muggle population, so he'd have to do this the hard way. He certainly had a lot of practice climbing out of windows in his youth. With a slight nod, he then proceeded to climb out the window, minding the metal that he knew was slippery from the rain. The exact second he felt himself start to slip, he regretted his decision to stay there and not just slip inside the shack and destroy the Horcrux. Luck, however, was on his side and allowed him to catch himself. He hopped back down onto the ground a moment later and then quickly ran off towards the shack.

As he approached the rundown shack, he grimaced. The place was clear fodder for nightmares. He slipped inside silently, taking a moment to regain his bearings before carefully walking around and searching for the ring.

"You seem shocked to see us, Snape. Doesn't he, Roddy?" the gruff voice in his mind suddenly said once more, as the memory returned.

"What's the matter, hmm? Cat got your tongue?" mocked another male voice. "Here. Let me loosen that for you. Crucio!"

"SEVERUS!" His wife's distant scream echoing in his mind.

"Silencio, bitch!"

"Let her go! Your conflict is with me. Not her."

"Eh, he makes a valid point. Maybe we should let the little whore go."

"On the other hand . . ." A loud and sickening sound then filled the air.

Severus shook once more, trapped in the never-ending nightmare from his past. The smell, the terrible smell of blood, filled his nostrils. Even though he knew it was only a memory, he felt sick yet again. Just like he had before that terrible day.

"No . . ." he whispered with a shaky breath. Playing tricks on him, his mind showed him his wife's body as she lay in their bed with a knife protruding out of her chest.

"So long, traitor!" the male voices mocked as the two men faded away.

His eyes remained glued to his wife, helpless as he watched the blood pour out of her wounds. The tears stung once more.

"No . . ." he cried.

"Shh," she whispered, holding his eyes. "Don't . . . cry, love." She drew in a rattling breath, the blood clearly filling in her lungs as she coughed and sputtered for a moment. "It's . . . all right."

His eyes closed as she, too, faded. It was the Horcrux. It had to be. It knew he was there. Why he was there. With anger and hatred in his heart, he clenched his jaw, his resolve returning instantly. It wouldn't win this time.

Like a mad man, he searched every nook and cranny in that house of horrors before he finally found it. The moment he saw it, he angrily drew a vial from his pocket and uncorked it. He then proceeded to pour the liquid over the ugly, black ring. As it hissed and shook and melted, he watched it dissolve. His eyes remained trained on it even after the black darkness of Riddle's dark soul screeched its freedom and disappeared. Destroyed beyond all magical repair . . . check.