Chapter 60

Malfoy Manor:

Severus was well aware of the doubting eyes that were boring into his back. He also knew as well as the others, if he said so himself, that his 'lumos' hardly reached half the intensity of even that whelp Potter's. And he knew with certainty what the others suspected; namely his being far from his usual form. The heaviness of his arms and the weight that seemed to have settled in his guts were all too clear an indicator of his physical fitness, or lack thereof. Molly had given him a few drops of a strengthening potion that would help him get through the day. However, despite the fact that there seemed to be almost no residues left of Voldemort's curse, the use of magic took far more strength from him than would have been the case, were he completely healthy.

However, all of this didn't really concern him. The fire of vengeance was burning brightly within his chest and the adrenaline in his blood would let him finish his mission today. Nobody would deny him his vengeance.

At the latest of their arrivals at the small forest in front of Malfoy Manor, he had given up trying to close his fingers around his wand; it took decidedly too much energy and attention. Shacklebolt had tied his wand to the palm of his hand with a small leather cord just before they had set off on their mission, making sure it wouldn't fall off. That he had less contact with it this way and therefore could not channel his magic that well didn't really matter to him either. He wasn't planning on offing Malfoy with a simple, painless 'Avada Kedavra'. No, the sadistic bastard would taste a bit of his own medicine.

Before leaving the house at Grimmaults place, Severus had made sure to hide one of the smaller cutting knifes from the kitchens up his sleeve. Malfoy would not be granted the mercy of a bloodless demise.

They walked along the narrow tunnel in silence with only the muted noise of their steps audible on the blunt alabaster floor. At least they didn't have to crawl through a messy dirt hole, something that didn't really surprise Snape. Black, however, had loudly commented about it. This hidden corridor was part of Malfoy Manor after all, a mansion that corresponded perfectly to Malfoy himself. It was a place where every bush was carefully trimmed and not one blade of grass was a millimetre out of place.

It was perfect, in a vain and arrogant way. Dirt or disorder didn't exist here; not even in a hidden passage, which was hardly ever used without a good reason. None of the Malfoys would stoop so low as to use this simple and plain passage. However, this did not mean that it wasn't regularly cleaned by the house elves' magic just in case their master might one day need it, however unlikely that may be. Snape wouldn't be overly surprised if Lucius stayed behind in an eventual escape just to punish the responsible house elf for his sloppiness if he found the tunnel not cleaned to his satisfaction.

"I still don't see why we need him here," Black grumbled behind him. "There are no turn-offs whatsoever where we could get lost. Since when does one need a guide in a perfectly straight tunnel?"

"Apart from the fact that you wouldn't have found the tunnel without me in the first place," hissed Snape at Black.

"We would have found it on our own if you had simply told us where to look for it. But no, you had to come with us at all costs and play the hero, Snape. How overly Gryffindor of you..."

"You have no bloody idea..."

"Bloody hell, be quiet you two!" Shacklebolt interrupted. "Or do you want them to hear us well in advance?"

"Sirius, will you quit attacking Severus," Remus said with a weary sigh in his voice. "He has as much a right to come along as you do. Probably even more so."

"All he will manage is getting himself killed and probably take one of us with him in the process. All just for some silly desire to seek revenge. Wake up, Snape. You did survive and you will be alright again. The world doesn't revolve around you. Justice will be served one way or the other. If you desire this so much, you can always testify at court and make sure they get the Dementor's kiss. There is no reason to put yourself in danger just to show off."

"Quiet, I said!" Shacklebolt hissed once more.

Sirius fell silent but continued to throw angry glares in Snape's direction. For a split second, Snape thought he saw something else in his eyes. Something that looked almost like uncertainty and concern. But that was impossible so he pushed the thought aside. Most probably, the mutt was only worried about him putting his Godson in danger. And indeed, the well being of the brat would not have bothered him at all if he hadn't known about the prophecy.

Still, the words about heroism and his desire to show off had hit with a vehemence of a punch in the guts. To hell with Black! He was no hero; during the torture sessions they had made sure he was painfully aware of that. He was cursed to stay second best for all his life. It was not his intention to save or defend anyone in some foolish, heroic gesture, thank you very much. He'd rather take Malfoy by surprise and finish him off. He was the stronger wizard of the two and knew more curses. This time, he had his wand to disarm and immobilize the Death Eater. After that he would take his time to take the other man apart, piece by painful piece, starting with his fingers and eyes and ending with his heart, which he would shove, still beating, down the other man's throat. Nobody would ever consider him a 'hero' after that. Maybe he would be sentenced to Azkaban, in hindsight of his past and the brutality he was still capable of, but that, too, didn't bother him much. The flame of vengeance in his heart, the only thing still warming his cold soul, would be nourished, and that was all that mattered.

"Remember. Albus' 'Ignore-me-spell' will fool any house elf but not a wizard or even You-know-who," Shacklebolt reminded them once they reached a white wooden wall, which cut off the tunnel in a dead end. "We have a time window of..." He glanced at his watch, "...twelve minutes until they realize that somebody has messed with their wards. After that, Bill will break the rest of the wards and Albus will put his own blocking spell over the estate. Nobody will be able to apparate away after that. Try to stay unnoticed until then.

"Snape? You better take the lead since you know your way around best. We should locate You-know-who before the others storm the house."

Snape made a small, growling sound and pushed past the others. He leaned against the wooden wall, pushed it half way open with his shoulder and stepped onto the corridor behind it. Before the young woman on the painting guarding the entrance could recover from her surprise he put a spell on her, transforming her into an ordinary, unmoving muggle painting. The other paintings wouldn't register anything amiss for another twelve minutes, even if they were walking around right before their very painted noses. But this one had to be taken out because otherwise she would at least realize that the door had been opened.

Without a second glance at the portrait of the young maid, whose mouth was frozen in a surprised "oh", and without confirming that the others were following him, he started to stalk down the corridor with purposeful strides. He knew about only one fireplace in the house that was connected to the floo network, even if that was no guaranty that there were no others. He hadn't been here that often. The fireplace he was familiar with was situated in the library. He knew that Malfoy welcomed his guests in that room, and if they didn't find him or Voldemort there or somewhere on the way they could still sabotage the floo access. At least this would make sure Malfoy wouldn't be able to escape.

He knew the others wouldn't approve of him marching down the corridors without any caution or worry. They had even told him a couple of times to slow down, especially around the corners, but he had ignored them and stalked through the building as if he owned it. The house elves would not notice them and, as far as they knew, nobody except for Malfoy and Voldemort were here. And if, despite that information, they met someone else, then that foolish Auror and the Gryffindors would be able to handle him or her. If they happened to run across Malfoy or Voldemort, however, then he, Potter and the others would have found what they had come for and they would deal with them once and for all. Besides, the rest of the Order was keeping track of their progress by a magical mirror. They'd be here in a heartbeat, if needed. But Severus wouldn't permit anyone to take on Malfoy. The blond Death Eater was his. And so he was actively hoping that he would run across the other man.

Much to his dismay, although rather luckily for the others, they reached the library unperturbed.

No Voldemort, no Malfoy and not even a bloody house elf was to be seen.

But once they were standing in the middle of the large, voluminous library and Lupin was preparing to sabotage the gigantic fireplace, in which three adult men could easily stand upright, their luck was about to take a sudden turn.

"Remus will stay here and cast the delay-spell when time is up," said Kingsley. "The spell is too powerful to not be noticed if it is cast inside the house. We others continue on the search for You-know-who."

That's how far he got. All of a sudden, big, green flames erupted with a 'ush' inside the cold fireplace.

Before anybody could react, two hooded figures with white masks stepped out of it.

For a split second, both parties stared at one another in utter surprise, but then, all hell broke loose.

Somebody yelled and somebody else swore loudly, before the first curses started to fly. Severus had just narrowly defended himself against an "Incendio," as Black, dragging Potter with him by his sleeve, approached, pushing both of them behind the shelter of a high shelve.

"You two take cover here and don't get in our way. Understand? This here isn't your fight, and there is no reason at all to get yourselves in danger just yet."

Sirius whirled around when Lupin's cry of pain filled the room. The Werewolf was holding his wand in his left hand, his right dangling uselessly at his side. The hand holding the wand was pressed against a bloody wound on his right shoulder and in front of him, his adversary was regaining his footing and lifting his own wand for a new attack. The second Death Eater, who was duelling with Shacklebolt, didn't seem to notice anything around him and his opponent; much like the Auror himself.

Sirius stormed off and hit the Death Eater, who was just about to curse Lupin again, with a well-placed 'Stupor' in his left side. Potter looked as if he wanted to leap forward, too, in a foolish attempt to help them, but Severus instinctively put one arm around his waist and held him back. Even if he had rather died than admit it out loud, Black was right. This was not their fight and the others would get along just fine without them.

Severus had barely finished that thought and observed with disgust how Lupin sent a thumbs up and a smile towards Black, when, once more, the fireplace erupted in green flames. Two more Death Eaters stepped out of the fire, followed shortly by two others, who, by the look of their bulk, could only be Crabbe and Goyle.

Snape cursed under his breath. Apparently, Malfoy and Voldemort had invited some Death Eaters after all. If many more were coming, Black and the others would soon be overrun by them. Where the hell was the rest of the order, anyway? They should be all too aware of what was happening.

As if his thoughts were the signal, suddenly the high windows lining one wall of the library exploded in a myriad of glittering shards and several people on brooms zoomed into the room with wands at the ready, hexes on their lips.

Snape leaned back against the wall beside the bookshelf with a sigh of relief. He would have hated having to get involved in that fight to help the others; he wanted Malfoy, nothing else. But as he put his full weight against the wall behind him it suddenly gave way. Snape started to plunge through a rapidly opening, secret entrance, involuntarily pulling along Potter, whom he was still holding around the waist, with him. Then they tumbled down a steep stone stair. As he hit the stone floor hard, Snape felt a sharp pain in the back of his head before the world around him exploded into nothingness.

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Thanks to Persephone Lupin to take the time helping with the translation, even though she has so much t o do, besides her own life and family:-)

Also a big thank you to my wonderful Betas Slytherin's silver snake and Sadistra.

And last, but definitely not least; Thank you all who reviewed. You make my day.