Author's note: I owe you all a massive apology for the delay. Some of you have messaged me asking about this story as well as Hourglass. My life has sort of turned upside down with a whole load of stuff going on at the same time. My health hasn't been fantastic and battling a virus followed by very long hours at work (days and nights) and a busy social life – I didn't even know I had one!- made that writing for something as complicated as Nemesis was hard. Add to that the massive writer's block for this story and a serious problem has been created.
I am trying to break down my creative walls for this story and it took me all day to get this chapter up and running. I am less confident about Hourglass and those of you reading that will probably not find an update for that story for some time. It is not like me to put a story in hiatus but I think the inevitable has happened. I am stuck. I feel more compelled to write for Nemesis because it is part of a larger picture – one that I would like to see completed too.

I have already decided that I simply do not have the time or energy to take part in this year's NaNoWriMo. I've done it for two years straight but I just cannot manage it. I am in the middle of a Creative Writing Course – something I almost wish I hadn't done because of the lack of time. I even failed to complete one of the modules because my working hours were just unbearable.

Some of you may have noticed that I started writing for another fandom with regular updates. The advantage of that story is that it's straight forward. Nothing is ever straightforward in the Potter fandom and definitely not in Nemesis. A chapter for Nemesis can take anything from two hours to two days to complete.

I am doing the best I can for you, my friends, but my battery is only half full. I hope everyone's OK out there in the world. Lots of love, Cissy.

Chapter 16

The Phantom's Mask

"What the hell are you doing here?" Andromeda hissed and her hand shot down to her wand. She wasn't quick enough to draw it and Tonks' fingers closed around her mother's wrist.

"Listen to him," she said and looked from Severus Snape to her mother and back. "You have to listen to him."

"You do know whose side he's on, don't you?" Rosmerta asked wearily. She stood closest to Narcissa. "He's been siding with You-Know-Who for years and for all we know he's siding with the Cores now!"

"It appears my disguise is still as intact as it was before," Severus observed and Andromeda's eyes narrowed. "You haven't discovered the truth yet." His dark eyes found Tonks and he rephrased himself. "Or only one of you has."

"The truth?" Andromeda asked. "What on Earth are you talking about?"

"Snape switched sides many years ago," Tonks explained and her words drew a gasp from her mother's throat. "Before Harry was born even." She swallowed and looked at the Potions master. "Maybe it is best if you do the talking, Severus."

Severus Snape slowly walked across the Shrieking Shack. The burden he had carried for all these years had scarred him a way no person could ever understand. Underneath the façade of a spiteful and angry man hid the story of a boy frightened of his parents and tainted by the loss of the only person in the world he had ever loved. When he stopped pacing and finally allowed Andromeda to see his eyes she recognised the fragments of a broken soul. "Nymphadora speaks the truth. My allegiance has never been to the Dark Lord."

"But it was once, wasn't it?" Andromeda questioned. "Don't lie to me, Severus. I saw you together with Lucius Malfoy and the Lestrange brothers. You received your mark long before you even left Hogwarts. It was you and them who dragged Bellatrix into your madness."

"I made a mistake," Severus answered. The sudden defeat in his voice startled Andromeda. "It cost me everything I held most dear."

"Lily?" Andromeda asked and Severus' eyes snapped up. "This is all about Lily Evans?"

"It all comes back to Lily," Severus sighed. In the weak candle light his facial features finally displayed the hurt he had been forced to hide for all these years. "It was the choice I made that cost me her friendship and her loyalty. We were friends from the moment we started Hogwarts together but people change. I changed. The night I called her that god awful name I knew my world had fallen apart. I never thought she'd fall for Potter's charms. I believed she was better than that but people really do change."

Andromeda stared at the man she had seen walk around Hogwarts, following Lucius Malfoy and his friends around. She had despised Severus throughout her entre time in the castle and she had watched how Bellatrix fell for their lies and their deceit. She had tried talking to her sister but the thought of power and darkness lured Bellatrix into their trap. The pain of a broken heart after Andromeda was the only fuel she needed to fall into the darkest pits of hell and surround herself with evil. To this day Andromeda blamed herself. Now she realised that Severus blamed himself too.

"I came to Dumbledore the night I learnt about the prophecy and the Dark Lord's wish to kill Lily's son," Severus said. "I begged him to help me and he swore that he would but he asked for a price in return. I would have given him everything but he solely asked for my loyalty. From that night onwards I told him everything about the Dark Lord. Every secret, every plan. But it wasn't enough to save Lily. The Dark Lord still killed her but he couldn't kill her son."

"You protected Harry over the years," Tonks continued and when Snape looked up she smiled. "Ginny told me what you told her not long after Harry died. She told me how you came to see her. How you were there the night that Bellatrix tortured her. How you helped her escape." She looked at Andromeda. "How you brought her to my mother's house."

"You helped her?" Andromeda asked and Severus nodded. The conflicting emotions in her chest came to a head and they just poured out. "But you killed Albus!"

"I had no choice," Severus answered solemnly. "We couldn't let Draco kill him and Albus knew he didn't have much time left." He looked at Andromeda and saw the questions in her eyes. "He attempted to destroy a Horcrux and as he did so, he put the ring on. It was poisoned. It was a slow working poison but there was no antidote. Within a year the poison would have reached his heart. His death would have been slow and painful. Albus knew there was only one thing he could do."

"He tried to save Draco from the burden of becoming a murderer," Andromeda said softly. "I remember Harry telling me that it looked like he wasn't ready, like he couldn't do it."

Severus looked at Narcissa. She lay on the floor, curled up into the foetal position. The blindfold was still firmly in place. A sad smile suddenly spread across his face. "The love of a mother is a powerful thing. Narcissa came to me when the Dark Lord gave Draco the task of killing Albus. She begged me to help her and we made the Unbreakable Vow. Bellatrix was our Binder. Narcissa was willing to defy the Dark Lord to save her only child."

"Just when you think you know someone," Rosmerta scoffed. "She is full of surprises, this one."

"She did what she felt she needed to do," Severus answered. "I told Albus about the Vow and he asked me not to let Draco kill him. What he asked of me was perhaps the greatest burden ever placed upon a man. He asked me to take his life when the time was right but not before he told me the story of the Horcruxes and the story of Harry. He made me swear to help him wherever I could but I could never disclose the truth. Harry had to find out for himself what he was, what he needed to do."

"Albus knew all along," Andromeda whispered. "He left that poor boy suffering for all those years even when he knew the truth?!" She shook her head. "He knew Harry would have to die and he let it happen?!"

"He had no choice, mum," Tonks said softly. "Albus didn't have a choice. The only way to destroy Voldemort was by destroying the piece of him that lived inside Harry. There was only one way that could ever be done and Albus knew it could only be done when the moment was right." She hesitated. "Things didn't go the way Albus planned when Hermione found her way to Bellatrix. Their allegiance changed the way Albus had predicted things to develop. The outcome changed."

Severus nodded. "I spoke to him for many nights in his office. His portrait was hidden from the other staff, especially the Death Eaters. I don't think even Minerva knew the extent of it. Albus had to lie to one of his oldest friends and I know it wasn't easy. Minerva thought she knew him when in fact I don't think anyone ever knew Albus Dumbledore at all."

"So what happened after Harry died? Why didn't you join the resistance?" Andromeda asked. "How did you find Ginny? How did she find you?"

"I went looking for her. I declared myself an ally to Bellatrix and she was eager to have me on her side. It meant that I was free to roam the land and I soon caught wind of the resistance that was rising everywhere. Students at Hogwarts talked." He paused. "Veritaserum is a very powerful tool."

"I'll make sure to note that down," Andromeda said.

"I found Ginny in London not long after the city had been divided into Quarters. She refused tp listen to me at first but I persuaded her eventually. I showed her the memories of Albus and Harry and she finally believed I was on her side. Since that night I helped her organise the resistance from inside Hogwarts. It was how she managed to make her way in and out, how students could join her and how she managed to break through the wards. I taught her the spells and the counter curses." Severus looked back at Narcissa's unconscious form on the floor. "One night she did not show at the agreed meeting time and I found her in Bellatrix's dungeon. I helped her escape and brought her to the only place I knew to be safe."

"OK," Andromeda said slowly and looked around the room. "We haven't got much time and we definitely haven't got much power left. Most of the resistance has now either given up or is dead. The attack on Hogsmeade has left us vulnerable and although we have Narcissa, it doesn't mean we are in control."

"I can get you back inside the castle," Severus said and he pointed at the hatch through which he had appeared. "I know it's a Core stronghold but there are places I can hide you without them ever finding out."

"Hermione has Narcissa's wand. We don't know how this possible power shift is affecting anyone," Rosmerta said. "We've been hearing stories about the Deathly Hallows. Are you familiar with the Elder Wand?"

Severus' eyes widened. "Who told you about the Hallows?"

"You know the story?" Tonks asked and the dark Potions master nodded.

"Three items presumed to make the one who holds them the Master of Death. The Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility," Severus answered. "Albus spoke of them quite often. It remains a mystery why no one ever discovered that he in fact owned all three items at one point."

Andromeda felt her heart skip a beat. "Albus Dumbledore owned the Deathly Hallows?"

Severus nodded. "I couldn't tell a single soul. He made me make the Unbreakable Vow the night he received the Stone. He told me about the wand and the cloak. It was only then that I realised how Potter managed to make his way around the castle for all those years without being seen."

"Harry had the Cloak of Invisibility." Tonks shook her head in disbelief. "I overheard him and Hermione talk a couple of years ago but I never really thought anything of it until now. They were whispering about how they could get away with stuff without the teachers noticing." Her eyes found those of Severus. "Did he know?"

Severus shook his head. "I doubt he ever found out."

"What about the wand?" Andromeda whispered. "Did Albus own the wand?"

"Until the very last moment," Severus said softly and his black eyes pierced into Andromeda's brown. His gaze was so intense that it made Andromeda feel uncomfortable. "You know what wand lore says about how a wand can be claimed or won in battle, do you not?"

"A wand only changes allegiance if it is won by another person in battle," Andromeda said. "The Elder Wand is no different." Her eyes narrowed. "You killed Dumbledore that night on the Astronomy Tower."

Severus nodded. "But I wasn't the one to disarm him."

Andromeda glanced at Narcissa. Suddenly she looked at her sister differently although she could not explain why. Beyond the cold mask of hatred she suddenly recognised the broken soul of a mother who had fought to protect her child. That part of Narcissa had long since faded and she had continued to fall apart under the reign of the Cores. "It was Draco. Draco disarmed Dumbledore that night on the Astronomy Tower…"

"So unless anyone has disarmed Draco since them in a battle, the wand answers to him," Severus finished her sentence.

The realisation that they had discovered what had happened to the Elder Wand lingered in the room for a little while. The candle light flickered, creating ghostly shadows on the walls. Andromeda looked at Severus like she saw him for the very first time. He wasn't the sad little boy he'd been in Hogwarts. He was a man who carried the burden of his guilt in silence. A man who had risked everything for what he now knew was right, even if he had been too late to realise it. He knew he could not bring back all that he had lost but he could try and be better than he had been before.

"Where's Draco?" Tons whispered and her eyes fixed on Narcissa. She contemplated waking her up and asking her but she knew that it would only put them in even more danger. "I haven't seen him for weeks. He didn't show up during the last few battles and I don't think anyone has ever seen him in Robur Castle. Wherever he is, he was never with his mother."

"He's at Hogwarts," Severus answered and Tonks eyes snapped back at him. "Narcissa knew. She ordered him to stay there."

Andromeda chewed her lip. "Do you think she knew? About the Elder Wand?"

Severus shook his head. "Impossible."

"With them three, nothing is impossible." Andromeda's voice was cold and distant. "I know that now."

"We have to get out of here," Rosmerta said as she glanced out of the window. "It won't be long before they'll come looking for us here and we stand no chance if we find them." She walked over to Andromeda. "We find Draco and see if we can disarm him." She then looked at Severus. "Was Dumbledore buried with his wand?"

"Yes," Severus answered. "His tomb is in the Black Lake."

"So we know what to do," Rosmerta concluded and she flicked her wand. Narcissa's body slowly rose up into the air and she started for the hatch. "We have to go, now!"

Tonks grabbed Archibald's frame before they all made their way down the hatch and into the tunnel that led back to the castle. Severus went ahead and Andromeda saw how the grounds had changed. Where the grass had once been green it was now dry and dead. There were no trees or bushes. The grounds were barren, void of any form of life. The castle had once been beautiful and imposing but it looked like something from a horror movie now. She felt a shiver creep down her spine as she followed Severus towards the building.

He led them through what had once been the oak front doors. They were now made out of thick, black metal. They closed behind them with a loud bang that echoed around the castle. Torches illuminated what was left of the Entrance Hall. Across the walls Andromeda recognised the Three Cores logo. Bellatrix, Hermione and Narcissa had left their mark. Hogwarts wasn't what it was. It had just become another stronghold in their army.

"Down here," Severus said and he guided them down a spiral staircase. Rosmerta and Tonks had to physically hold Narcissa to bring her body down and when they reached the dark corridor Tonks realised they were standing not too far from what once been the old Potions classroom.

"Where to now?" she asked and used her wand to light the way.

Severus led them to what looked like a stone wall and a dead end at the end of the corridor but he tapped the wall with his wand and just like the wall at the back of the Leaky Cauldron had once down, it started to move aside and revealed a large, open space. It was brightly lit by a fire burning in the fireplaces. Arm chairs stood around it and a door in the back of the room led to a second space. There was a large bookcase and a comfortable leather sofa not too far from it.

"You've been holding out on us," Andromeda said as she turned around to look at Severus. She smiled in appreciation.

"Ginny and the other students used this place whenever they felt like they needed to. No one knows its here," Severus answered. "You can stay here for as long as you need." His dark eyes fell on Narcissa. "What are we going to do with her?"

"Did you say Draco's in the castle?" Andromeda asked and he nodded. "Then I think we'll use her to make sure he comes to see me. Tomorrow at nightfall. I'm sure we can think of some way to send him a message."

"What you need now is rest," Severus said and looked at the three witches. They all looked tired. They had dark rings around their eyes and they were pale. He stepped towards Narcissa and scooped her up in his arms like one would a child. "I'll deal with Narcissa for now. There are dungeons a little further down this corridor. I'll wake her, give her some water and something to eat and will send word to Draco that his mother has been captured by the resistance."

Andromeda watched him leave with her sister and the wall slowly changed into a door. She didn't have to close it. It closed itself. She then turned around to Rosmerta and Tonks and shook her head. "What the hell just happened?"

"We found an ally," Tonks answered. "A strong one. Severus is on our side, mum."

"All those years I hated him for all the wrong reasons."

"He didn't want you to like him. If you had, he wouldn't have been able to do what he needed to do for Albus," Tonks said and wrapped her arms around her mother's tired frame. "You need to try and get some sleep. Preferably more than two hours. You look like you're about to fall apart."

"I am so tired," Andromeda admitted. "I don't know if I can keep doing this."

"You can," Tonks whispered. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow is a brand new day and we can start over."

As Andromeda walked across the cosy room to the door she'd seen when she walked in she felt the weight of the world pressuring down on her shoulders. She knew they were coming closer to gaining the Elder Wand. Gaining the Elder Wand meant being able to face Hermione. But she was tired. Her body was weak and bruised and her willpower was fading. She knew she had to get herself through this but every day things became harder.

Andromeda found that behind the door three single beds stood lined up against the wall. She fell down onto the comfortable mattress and stared up at the ceiling. How had it come to this? How had the world changed into this madness? How did her heart still beat for Hermione? How was it even possible she still loved her?

Did she still love her?