AN: This chapter is fairly intense, with mention and description of various atrocities committed by Death Eaters (including Severus Snape). You have been warned.

An expensive quill scratched across an equally expensive piece of parchment as Severus Snape made a list of all possible resources of information while sipping Minerva's endless supply of tea. "I can contact Rohrman later today to access Malfoy's books," he mumbled, his ink-stained fingers guiding the black quill.

Minerva refilled his cup. "What was that about Malfoy?"

"What? Oh, yes, more tea please, thank you...that's fine." He sipped and sighed. "Malfoy's books were seized by the Ministry after the Dark Lord fell. I need to see what he had on shaman magic, if anything. I have a contact at the Ministry who may be able to help."

"Why not try the Restricted Section first?"

Severus snorted. "Salazar Slytherin would never have allowed anything regarding shaman magic within these walls." He finished his tea in one gulp. "It would have destroyed the purity of our energy."

The Headmistress sighed. "I see the Slytherin notion of purity was an early development."

The line between his brows deepened as Severus frowned. "You Gryffindors harp on the notion of inter-House relations, yet yours is the most prejudiced." He stood and paced the room, his hands gesturing as he spoke. "Salazar Slytherin valued the purity of magic, not the purity of bloodlines. He couldn't give a tinker's damn how someone was born as long as they were a witch or a wizard. The only ones he excluded were shamans." He stopped to wipe a bit of dust from Albus's sleeping image. "Shaman magic is wildly unpredictable, and he saw no value in that which could not be harnessed to his own purposes. The fact that shamans were all born of Muggles was simply an unhappy coincidence."

The portrait opened its eyes. "That 'unhappy coincidence' has kept us completely in the dark as to the effects shaman magic has upon us. We may very well have been able to predict the outcome of our current situation had Salazar's paranoia not closed off all avenues of research."

Severus whirled on the former Headmaster. "Had your plotting and scheming not been so bloody blinded by Godrick Gryffindor's sense of his own importance, this wouldn't even be an issue."

"And had you not been so bloody blinded by Slytherin ambition, Tom Riddle would have never known of the prophesy. You set this entire chain of events in motion!"

Severus drew his wand. "You bastard-"

A thunderous concussion wave blasted through the castle, shaking Hogwarts to its very foundations. Minerva lost her balance and would have fallen had Severus not been fast enough to catch her.

The sleeping portraits of Headmasters and Headmistresses past awoke all at once and began chattering, trying to find out what had shuddered them from their dreams. The ensuing cacophony was abruptly silenced when a giant silver bear* bounded into the room.

"Severus, please come to the hospital ward immediately and bring the Headmistress with you. There was an explosion in the Infirmary, and I've been warded out." The creature vanished after delivering its message.

Minerva shot up at once. "That was Poppy. Something must have happened to Hermione.." Both the Headmistress and her Potions Professor headed for the stairs.

Left with Crookshanks and the resurging din of chattering portraits for company, Albus Dumbledore closed his eyes and covered them with his hands. "That bear has never brought glad tidings to this office."

The Headmistress turned to the granite sphinx. "Felrex, transport the two of us to the Infirmary immediately."

The stone beast shook her head, creating a delicate grinding sound. "I cannot, Headmistress. The one the girl brought forth has sealed the room against my magic."

"Then transport us just outside the door."

The stone beast smiled. "That I can do, Headmistress." The sphinx drew in a deep breath and blew on the three humans standing before her. "Now, blink." Severus closed his eyes in front of the sphinx and reopened them in front of the Infirmary door; Minerva silently materialized beside him.

Poppy greeted them tersely. "Minerva, Severus. I've not been able to break down whatever is blocking the door."

Drawing his wand, Severus started to dismantle the wards, but he frowned before casting his first spell. "This cannot be."

"Severus?"

He turned to Minerva, oblivious to her hand on his arm. "These wards are mine; they have my signature." He shrugged off his robes and frock coat, banishing them back to his rooms. "You two will need to step back. These are my old Death Eater wards, and they won't take kindly to being dismantled."

It took only minutes to unlock the Infirmary's entrance, the three adults dodging stray hexes each time a layer was brought down. When the last layer fell and the doors finally opened, the three of them were treated to a scene of devastation.

Beds were strewn everywhere, their mattresses laying askew. Potion bottles had shattered where they sat, their contents sprayed like multicolored blood droplets all over the room. Glass shards were imbedded in the walls, and every flat surface was covered in the ruined shreds of students' medical records.

In the middle of the room stood a tall, thin, black-cloaked man, peering down at the disheveled figure of an unconscious young woman. His head was covered in a hood, and an ornate silver mask disguised his features. He looked up at the sound of footsteps.

"Ah, Severus, we meet again."

A chill swept down the dark wizard's spine. He knew this voice, knew it intimately, but he could not place it. "Greetings, brother. I feel that we have met before, and not just at the Dark Lord's table."

The masked figure answered with a wicked chuckle. "You know me well, though you have forgotten me. That will be quite sufficient, ladies," the man said, pointing his wand at the Mediwitch and Headmistress. "This girl belongs to me and no one else."

Severus froze. "That wand is identical to mine." He stared at the figure. "And my Death Eater robes and mask." He advanced on the cloaked man, snarling. "Where did you obtain these unholy things?"

The Death Eater pulled back his hood and removed the intricate silver piece hiding his face. "They are mine."

Severus Snape was staring at a mirror image of himself. He drew his own wand. "Polyjuice. I demand you tell me your identity before I Crucio it out of you."

The cloaked figure raised his wand and banished the two women to the Mediwitch's office, locking and warding the door behind them. "I am so familiar with Crucio that it tickles."

Severus pointed his wand at the intruder's throat. "Last chance."

"Have you become such a fool in the time you've had a Gryffindor heart that you do not recognize your own Slytherin one?" The man stepped forward, interceding himself between Severus and Hermione. "I am the Death Eater, Severus, the one who witnessed everything you did. Every violent death, every screaming rape, every child's neck you snapped in mercy, I was there. I remember it all, the humans butchered like cattle for potions the Dark Lord craved, the tortured cries of the young boys he gave Lucius as reward, and the little piles of Rapture you inhaled to keep your cock soft. I remember all of it."

The Death Eater circled Severus. "I remember how you wept tears of guilt for Lily, and I remember how you wept tears of shame as you took yourself in hand with Miss Granger's name on your lips. I remember your anger at her for unknowingly tempting you, and your rage at yourself for being tempted. How you so wanted to bury your cock in her virgin cunt and make her scream in ecstasy. I remember it all, Severus, every damning thought." He looked down at Hermione. "And that desire burns within me still."

The cloaked man moved fast, too fast, and Severus only grabbed air. "Your reflexes are slow, brother. Lack of terror does that to a man," the Death Eater smirked. He stepped backwards over Hermione, never keeping his eyes off Severus, and scooped the unconscious girl into his arms. "Unfortunately, you were bound by the rules of this school not to lay a hand on her." He glanced down at Hermione with maddened, lust-filled eyes. "Fortunately, I was never bound by such laws."

The Death Eater glared Severus in the eye. "She is mine, and mine alone; you are unworthy of her."

"I will not allow you to abduct a student from the premises."

"How fortunate for me, then, that she has graduated," the Death Eater snarled. "The shaman spell Albus so graciously allowed her to use called forth the version of you that loved her, so a choice must be made. Either reintegrate me into your consciousness and suffer the consequences, or live in peace while Miss Granger is in the hands of the Death Eater you once were."

Severus could only stare in shock as his doppelganger vanished, taking Miss Granger with him.

*AN: Bears are often associated with protection and healing. Given how protective Poppy Pomfrey is with her patients, a bear seemed the logical choice for her Patronus.