Chapter Four; The Long Goodbye
Draco Malfoy sat down next to his father around the dining room where Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, and a group of other death eaters were seated. "As you all very well know we are here today to discuss the matter of Harry Snape." Voldemort began. "You see my friends, seventeen years ago a little baby boy was born. At that time he had been going by a different name, and that name is Harry Potter." He said.
"And it is that very name that the prophecy spoke of when it said that he would be the one to defeat me once and for all. So after I found this out a year later, I went to the Potter's cottage and I managed to destroy his biological father James Potter. However,.. due to his filthy mudblood mother's sacrifice I could not kill her or the very person that I had sought out to kill in the first place!" he spat. "A pathetic and helpless little infant!" he hollered angrily as everyone just simply looked at him while somebody coughed and Voldemort started looking around the room.
"Well four years later he was adopted by one of my old death eaters Severus Snape. He married Lily of course and had four more children and everyone went on living happily ever after. That is until just recently for those of you who have read the Daily Prophet. It turns out that Severus, being a failed excuse for a wizard and a human as he is destroyed Dumbledore like I destroyed his arch nemesis James Potter. A baptized church going man at that. However his only intention was not to please me, but to protect his son.
In the end though none of that is going to matter because in the end I'm going to be the one to kill Harry Snape just like I had intended to do sixteen years ago. From his perspective I guess you can say that I'm going to be doing him a favor since I will reunite him with his father, godfather, and headmaster. However if I am to kill him, I must use another wand. You see his wand and mine are what you might call twins since they came from the same phoenix feather.
We can do a little damage towards each other but we can't seriously injure or destroy one another." He explained.
"Let me do it for you my lord! Let me to be the one to kill the boy!" Bellatrix pleaded but he just simply turned over to look at her.
"No you foolish woman! Don't you remember the prophecy!? Neither one can live while the other one survives, so I must be the one to do it!" he hollered before he took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Listen Bellatrix, I very much appreciate your enthusiasm, but I just need a different wand to kill Harry Snape, not a different person." He told her. "Fortunately I have one in mind. However, it involves listening carefully to everything I tell you, every little detail." He said.
"But what about Harry's parents?" Draco asked him. "And his brothers and sisters." He finished as everyone turned to look at him with complete astonishment and bewilderment but Voldemort just simply sneered at him.
"Kill anyone else that gets in my way." He told him.
….
Harry went to go answer the doorbell as Ron and Hermione came up to it. "I did it." Hermione began. "I performed the memory charm on my parents. It's just easier if they forget that I ever existed." She said.
"Well I won't." Snape said as he started walking over to the door. "I wish you would let me talk you guys out of this. I mean I realize that you're adults now and legally there isn't anything I can do about it, but_ when I said in my letter that Harry and the rest of his brothers and sisters meant more to me than my own life, I meant every single one." He told them.
"But we're not his brother and his and sister." Ron pointed out with a shake of his head.
"Yeah, well try telling him that. Look Weasley I was just starting to get used to having you around. Just make sure that you'll come back home safe and sound alright?" Snape questioned him as he simply just nodded.
"I promise." He told him when suddenly Harry heard sobs and turned around to see Tobey and Eve standing behind him in tears.
"Please don't go Harry, we love you." Eve told him.
"And I love you guys too, but I'll be back. I promise." He said as Eve sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve. That's when Harry and his father tightly embraced each other.
"Good luck son, be careful." He told him.
"I will." Harry assured him before they broke the hug and Cowboy trotted over to them wagging his tail. "I'm sorry boy, you can't come with me this time." He began with a shake of his head before he reached down and scratched him behind the ears. "I love you, be a good dog." He told him while he placed his hand out in front of him. "Stay." He told him before he started to turn around and walk out the door before quickly shutting it behind him.
Cowboy instantly darted towards the door and started scratching on it with his paws while starting to whimper before he glanced up and saw his master start walking down the driveway with his friends. Cowboy let out a sharp bark as Harry stopped and looked back at him. "Goodbye." He said before miserably turning away from him as the tiny dog continued to bark until they were out of sight. Then he started to whimper again and laid down with his head down on top of his paws.
"Poor little Cowboy, Harry has never been away from him for more than a day." Lily said as she bent down and picked him up and kissed the top of his head. "Don't worry boy, he'll be back." She assured him as she took a deep breath and sighed heavily while continuing to stare out the door. "At least I hope so." She said softly while Tobey and Eve continued weeping silently while leaning up against their father as they all stared out the door together.