Chapter 108: Dastardly Dealing
My Thanks To All My Readers And Reviewers-S.S.
The Hogshead Inn, Hogsmead Village, Wizarding World...
Eyes of obsidian flared via rage and contempt as the all too familiar old fool came rather swiftly into view. The dour potions master resisted the urge to hex him indefinitely as the two of them stood amid the elements. The twinkling blue eyes of the elder wizard had unnerved Snape to no end. If he had to make the comparison, he would rather have been in the despot's throne room and awaiting another round of torment than standing before Albus Dumbledore and out in the open. The smug old bastard had it in his mind that he'd won, an annoying sentiment if ever there was one, but Snape had not been in the least surprised. Aged or not, the old fool was and always had been a Gryffindor. The Potions Master resisted the urge to hex him once more as he stood in relative silence aside form his expression.
"So have you given any thought to what we've previously discussed?" asked Dumbledore still smug in his thinking.
"As a matter of fact I have." replied Snape in a bored tone.
"Well Severus, don't keep me in suspense, the term is almost here." replied Dumbledore.
"My decision is in no way in accordance to your smugness old man." replied Snape rather bitterly. "But if I must give up the girl in a bid to keep the idiotic boy safe, so be it."
"I am glad that you saw reason." said Dumbledore ever more smug.
Snape simply bit his tongue before he took off for anywhere other than being in the presence of the smug old fool.
"If there is nothing else." he said in his usual expressionless tone. "I shall like to be on my way."
Dumbledore nodded as he watched Snape disappear into thin air.
"You will see in the long run Severus...that this was for the best." he said more so to himself than anything. "As the only way forward would prove to be most difficult not only for you but for Miss Granger as well."
Dumbledore took his leave after stealing a glance at his blackened hand as he felt the effects of the curse continuing to run it's course through his already aged body. He had not been long for either world and would make this upcoming term count. While his methods proved to leave a lot to be desired, he only wished to ensure that there was nothing that would hold Severus Snape back when the time came to do what must be done.
Not only had the turning of the tide of war depended upon it, the very survival of not only the boy Harry Potter, but also the wizarding and Muggle worlds. Thinking ahead to the fast approaching future, Dumbledore saw his way to returning to Hogwarts Castle in preparation for his final year not only as Headmaster, but his final year of life.
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Unknown Location, Unknown World...
Severus Snape had done his best to quell the rage building inside him as he crash landed in the wake of his overwhelming emotions getting the better of him. He had been along way from his home in Spinner's End and even further from Hogwarts Castle as he touched down and tumbled to the ground as the agony of what he must do became all the more apparent. While he was well aware of the darkness that resided inside him from the moment he'd been born, he was having a rather difficult time sifting through it as the bombarding clashes of memories from his misspent youth and his time with Hermione Granger being his wife came flooding him in waves.
There was so much to be done, so much to protect, so much to loose.
It was a wonder that they had even survived this long, but it was something to look back on at least. He had made quite a few bargains most of which had been with the old fool himself and of course there was the unbreakable vow that would possibly end up killing him if he had not saw his way to ending the old fool himself. He could feel the pressure from the shifting magic keeping him in line as his knees buckled and caused him to collapse once again.
The time was drawing near, the inevitable conclusion to the upcoming year, he could feel it as sure as he believed Dumbledore had felt it when they stood together for their meeting. Snape closed his eyes to quell his mind and get a hold of his wayward thoughts even as he had come to the conclusion that the up coming year would be the one to change all of their lives some for the better and a good deal for the worst.
{"When the time comes, will you Severus Snape do the deed The Dark Lord has asked of Draco?"} the hissing echo of Bellatrix LeStrange's voice in his mind.
{"We both know The Dark Lord has sent the Malfoy boy to murder me."} The echo of Dumbledore's voice had not been far behind. {"When the time comes, you are to do it Severus."}
{"And what of my soul?"} asked Snape in his memory of the old man sitting before him with a hand as black as soot.
The images shifted and once more he'd been privy to his time with his young wife.
{"Severus."} she had said with a smile filed across her lovely young face. {"I love you, no matter what happens..."}
She'd been the only light amid the sea of dark thoughts as Snape found himself struggling to get back to his feet. It had been so long since he'd felt so helpless in terms of the direction his own life had taken and even longer since he knew what if was like to lose something. Looking back on his foolish ventures as a lad, Snape had come to the conclusion that in the end he had not lost Lilly Evans the night she'd been killed by The Dark Lord as she had never truly been his to lose, but Hermione Granger had been another matter. She'd been his wife in every sense of the word and just the thought of what was to come and her possible reaction to it made him sick to his stomach, but he knew despite all his attempts to block it otherwise, he would hurt her more than anyone she'd ever known. It was his nature after all and even Dumbledore had known it, which was the real reason why he was chosen to be her husband to begin with.
{"No matter what happens..."} Hermione's voice echoed in the dour man's weary mind. {"I love you..."}
"No." replied Snape feeling his resolve strengthen as what he had to do became all the more clear, there was no future for them not in this world or the other...he had done what he was suppose to do and saw her through the marriage law trials and that time was over, he would do what must be done for all of their sakes no matter the cost. "You won't."