Only a couple of months after the appearance in the Hog's Head, his nifty device alerted him Harry was endangering his life. Again.
"Infernal kid," thought Severus, before hopping on Mort and rushing out of Spinner's End. Mort led him straight to the Ministry of Magic, and there he went inside the Department of Mysteries.
'What is going on now?'
It seemed to be late at night and Severus realized there were six kids being chased by Death Eaters. He only recognized three of the kids and two of the Death Eaters: Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy, on one side, and Harry Potter and his two friends, on the other side.
He followed them and watched as they split: Harry and Hermione ran with a clumsy-looking kid, while the Weasley boy went the other way with two girls. Severus recognized one of the other girls as the Weasley who got stuck in the Chamber of Secrets with a basilisk.
His attention was back to Hermione, now blooming as a beautiful fifteen-year old. Then Severus recognized, with no small amount of alarm, that they were being chased by Antonin Dolohov. His insides twisted in fear.
Dolohov was one of the Dark Lord's oldest followers, dating back from the time Lord Voldemort still carried the name Tom Riddle. As faithful as vicious, Dolohov would not hesitate to kill any of the children.
Including Hermione.
Using Death's accoutrements, Severus came into the fray with the full intent to protect the youngsters, but was pleasantly surprised by Hermione Granger. She cast a Silence spell on Dolohov, as they went inside one of the rooms of the Department of Mysteries. It was a smart move.
Severus watched as Dolohov, seething with anger, used his wand and tried to cast an enchantment on Hermione despite his muteness. The personification of Death put himself between the girl and the spell, knowing full well it might be utterly useless.
'Oh,' was all he heard the teen whisper, before her body went limp right in the middle of the battlefield. Severus swooped in, still invisible, and covered her body with his own to prevent her from being hit by a stray spell.
Being this close to the girl came with an unexpected silver lining: Severus was able to admire her up and close. What a treat.
Her hair looked quite different from before, and Severus could tell her skin was soft even though he was not touching it. This hardly was a romantic situation, yet Severus could not help himself. He was a healthy 22-year-old er, immortal incarnation.
"Perhaps I have been lonely for too long," he thought.
The boys moved her, and Severus was not quite sure of what to do next as the fight went on. The last thing on his mind, though, was the job. So, naturally, that was when his watch indicated he had a client in ten minutes.
Severus snarled in anger, and assessed the situation. He still had ten minutes, the fighting was in full swing, and the device was hysterical by the amount of danger upon Harry. There was a good chance both instruments were aimed at the same person.
Then the fight went on to another room, one that had a huge structure with an old veil. Severus could hear the voices from beyond the drapery, and somehow, he was sure that the voices were coming from beyond the grave. It was eerie, even from Death itself.
All of a sudden, the Order of the Phoenix arrived at the scene. Severus watched his former allies (he was a member of the Order since the Dark Lord marked Lily) joined the battle. With relief, he saw them protect the teens and fight the Dark Lord's followers. Remus Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, Sirius Black and old Kingsley Shacklebolt were the ones who caught his attention.
There was a young woman, and Severus recognized her as new Order member by the name of Nymphadora Tonks. She helped get Hermione away from the fight. That brought Severus a bit of relief.
Then the arrow appeared and Severus knew that he was there to collect a soul from one of the Order's members. He saw Sirius fighting side by side with Harry and considered the boy protected enough for him to figure out who was his client. But the arrow pointed at them.
Two minutes now.
Then Bellatrix Lestrange happened. As annoying as Severus recalled her. She began taunting Sirius Black, and the disowned member of the most noble family responded in kind.
Suddenly, his alarm watch pointed at Sirius, and it was time to collect his soul. In a simultaneous series of actions, the deranged witch threw a red light from her wand, Severus stepped forward to collect the soul and at this time he became visible to Sirius. His former school colleague swore softly as he both got hit from Bellatrix's curse and realized Death's presence. Sirius fixated his eyes on Severus as he slowly fell in the portal hidden behind the veil.
It was safe to say that Severus felt no satisfaction in collecting the soul of one of his tormentors during his schooldays. It was even truer when he witnessed Harry's reaction. The poor kid lost it and ran after Bellatrix. The mad woman was laughing and chanting, 'I killed Sirius Black' with a singsong voice. Even Severus felt inclined to collect her soul. But he knew Satan was probably eagerly waiting for her arrival at his domains. Also, the mess such action would create with his fellow Incarnations was not worth the bother, no matter how much she deserved it.
To Severus's surprise, the Dark Lord himself appeared in the fight. Severus checked his watch: surprisingly enough, no one else was scheduled to die on that battle. And at that moment, he understood the reason. Dumbledore and a bunch of Aurors arrived at the scene.
What ensued was one of the most thrilling duels the wizarding world had ever seen. Too bad the only wizard to witness it was Harry Potter, and the Dark Lord tried to possess him - to no avail.
Things only became exceedingly interesting when Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself, arrived just in time to see the Dark Lord right in front of him. Fewer times Severus had seen so pale a face in a living body that was not riddled/addled by illnesses.
His attention turned to an upcoming client, and he was reluctant to leave. However, Severus figured that, with Dumbledore by his side, Harry Potter was as safe as he could be. So he went back to his job.
o0o 0o0 o0o 0o0
Severus tried hard not to berate himself. In the end, there was nothing to it. But there he was, in the dead of night, in the hospital wing, watching over Hermione. She was peacefully asleep. It was dark and quiet, and very satisfying to Severus. He was relieved to see she was not in pain.
It was not a matter of mistrust of Madame Pomfrey's abilities. Merlin knew the school nurse was one of the most competent members of the staff. But Severus knew Dolohov, and his curses not only were vicious; they were mortal.
The nurse was fast asleep near her patient. Severus took off his Death cloak so he wouldn't make a sound in the empty infirmary. He sat beside the bed and inspected the potions at her bed table. There were at last a dozen. And as he feared, they were all prescribed to treat internal injuries.
'Curse you, Dolohov,' he thought hotly. Hermione had been extremely lucky.
Severus looked at her once more and found her big brown eyes fixed on him. He had his cloak off, so she could see him.
'I didn't mean to wake you,' he said in a low voice. 'Sorry about that.'
'It is all right,' she answered.
Severus saw that she was calm, and he asked, 'Do you feel better? Are the potions working?'
'Yes, they are, thanks for asking. Who are you?'
The question almost caught him off guard. 'My name is Severus. Professor Dumbledore asked for my assistance. I came here to inspect your potions. Now I will let you get back to sleep.'
'Do you have to go now?'
'You really shouldn't take your rest lightly. The curse you took was a powerful one, of lethal force. You are lucky.'
She smiled. 'Madame Pomfrey said the same thing. But she never mentioned you.'
A bit awkwardly, he admitted, 'I was not supposed to be here. So if you could just keep this between ourselves, I'd appreciate it. Or just the headmaster.'
'Harry said there is always a member of the Order watching over him.'
'Well, not only him,' he rectified. 'Now go back to sleep.'
'Will you be back to see me?'
'I will. But if I do it right, you won't see me.'
'Have you done this before?'
'Maybe. Now please sleep, Ms. Granger. You will feel better.'
'I will. Thank you, Severus.'
Severus surprised himself by tucking her in as a little girl. As soon as she closed her eyes, he put on his cloak and disappeared into thin air. But he was still there when suddenly Hermione sat on the bed, looking around for him.
o0o 0o0 o0o 0o0
'Well, aren't you going chew me off?'
They were in the Abode of Fate. Lachesis, the weaver, was busy weaving a thread of a huge tapestry. She never stopped her work. 'Why would I lecture you after your stupid actions?'
'I didn't plan to be seen,' replied him.
'Nor to fall for her, of course.'
Severus was chastised. 'Is it so obvious?'
'No, not really. But you are acting a lot like you did with Lily.' She kept on spinning her spindle by hand. 'Do I need to remind you the girl is a teenager? And that pursuing her is an actual crime?'
'I have no intention of pursuing her.'
Fate snorted. 'Of course not. You will follow her forever, pining after your doomed love, destined to be forever alone.'
His face turned sour. 'You know; many mortals have no idea how right they are to think that Fate is sarcastic.'
'Sorry about it. But surely you can see a pattern.'
'Does this pattern of yours appear clearly in your tapestry?'
Fate looked to the ceiling, where hung the huge tapestry of life. 'So you don't know what the threads and knots mean?'
'Of course not.'
'Good,' she said, turning back to the spinning. 'Keep it that way.'
Severus was about to retort something acid and scathing, but his watch flashed, indicating a client coming soon. 'I must go now.'
'Thanks for stopping by. It was nice.'
Severus grunted and left. Much as time, death awaits no man.
o0o 0o0 o0o 0o0
'It was nice of you to visit before we meet in a professional way.'
Severus looked around Dumbledore's office, recognizing a familiar air around him. He frowned. There was death in there.
'Are you dying?'
'As a matter of fact, yes. Aurora says I have a year at best.'
'How-'
'Let's not dwell on that, for all that could be done has been. I heard you appeared to Miss Granger a while ago.'
'Do not change the subject. You say Aurora is taking care of you? Aurora Sinistra?'
'Professor Sinistra has been my Potions Mistress for more than a decade. She is a very competent member of the Hogwarts staff.'
'Did you know she is also a Death Eater?'
'Oh, yes, of course. She is also a spy of the Order of the Phoenix. And a good one at that, too.'
'Really? How do you reckon so?'
'She came to me looking for a way to defeat Lord Voldemort. She wanted to quit his service and tell me all about his plans and his associates, before she died.'
'She must have been suicidal!' said Severus. 'No one quits the Dark Lord and survives to tell the tale.'
'Most true, yes, she was quite suicidal. You must remember how Lord Voldemort treats unmarried, unattached women.'
Severus pressed his lips, recalling with disgust the sheer amount of depravation and indignity that lady Death Eaters were subjected. No wonder they had so few or that some rushed into ill-matched marriages.
'And that was her motivation for being a spy?'
'That on the top of the murder of her Muggleborn fiancé. She is driven by revenge. And a desire to stop Voldemort.'
'I wish, for the sake of all of you, that she is good at the job. The Dark Lord will not hesitate to use her against you if her cover is blown.'
'I am well aware of that,' said the headmaster. 'But I've been meaning to tell you about a delightful conversation I had some time ago with Miss Granger. She told me you visited her in the hospital wing.'
'That much is true.'
'I wondered why you haven't made her forget that encounter. Or why you talked to her without your -' he hesitated, 'garb.'
'Since I became Death, I lost all my wizarding powers. I wish I could make her forget that night but alas I cannot. I also happened to be out of uniform at that time, that's why she could see me.'
'She seems to be under the impression that you are a super-secret spy for the Order of the Phoenix. I haven't had the heart to tell her the truth. And it is ironic.'
'Ironic?,' repeated Severus.
'Well, after all, you are a sort of spy for the Order, are you not? I had plans for you, my boy. I planned on offering you a teaching position here at Hogwarts. Professor Slughorn always had great hopes in your Potions skills. He even took you to that exclusive club of his.'
'And that was how you also could keep me around for the spying thing. But alas I was dead. So you recruited Miss Sinistra for the job.'
'She is a woman of great valor, not to mention courage. For I sense things are coming to an end. And I must tell you about my suspicions before it's too late. Do you have some time to spare?'
Actually, Severus did have the time, but he wished he didn't. Dumbledore told him about the horcruxes the Dark Lord made and how he suspected Harry Potter himself was one of them. So, Dumbledore wanted the boy alive and safe until the time was right to conquer the evil sorcerer.
That was enough to make Severus almost fly off the handle. He felt used, and did not hesitate to say so. He was so irate he actually screamed at the old man for using both him and the boy, with no respect for his office. Severus left Hogwarts in a fit, and went back to Spinner's End, intent on cooling off. The petulance of the old coot!
Severus's heart was determined to never set foot on that school ever again. Using the boy like that was totally inhumane. It was Lily's son! The whole affair felt somewhat sacrilegious to him. How dared Dumbledore make schemes with a child like that? That old coot's soul was one that he would like to collect personally.
As it happens, his wish came true. A few months later, Severus went back to Hogwarts, this time on a mission. He had a client there. The client's name was Albus Percival Wulfric Dumbledore.
There was no time nor need for words. At the top of the Astronomy Tower, Severus personally collected the headmaster's soul, before he was hit by a Killing Spell right in the chest. The personification of Death took his time to look at the person who had cast the spell.
Aurora Sinistra.