Authors note-Sorry it took me a little longer. Holidays and all. I Have been writing a lot. Just got done with editing this one but i have the next two chapters written should hopefully be up soon.

Just for clarification. The Canon school year runs from September 1st- The end of June. I wanted the summer to have more time to play with. So, the school year ended at the end of May. The Department of Mysteries in cannon happened on June 18th but in this story, it will be May 27th. And the last day/ ride home on the train was the 29th. The full moon would be June 1st and Severus discovery/ Harry leaving Privet Drive would be the 5th. Sorry I just wanted to clarify this. I want to use an accurate 1996 moon calendar as part of the plot, and I also want to have a little longer for the main plot of this story. Mostly the dates won't matter but the months might come into play, and I don't want confusion. Thanks for reading please review.

Chapter 5-

Rescuing Severus

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk going over administrative paperwork. There had been a lot of backlog after Dolores Umbridge's short takeover of the school. Fawkes sang softly and Albus enjoyed a lemon drop as he worked to repeal all the 'Educational Decrees'.

Albus thought back to that morning when he had sat down with his heads of house to discuss this last school year. They all had so many concerns that he had begun to write a list unable to keep them all in mind. None of them could be overlooked. Filius was worried about how all the changes may have affected the score of students taking OWls and NEWTs He thought that Umbridge's reign of terror had disturbed the learning environment too much. He wondered if they shouldn't allow the students who were interested to retest.

Severus had mostly discouraged this idea. Saying that "If the students couldn't pass under a little pressure, their understanding of the material wasn't likely to change over the summer."

The others debated the topic for a while, but it was mostly left to be addressed later. Pomona had been concerned about the emotional impact of this last year may have on the students. Suggesting that they should bring in a mind healer for students to talk to.

Severus also scoffed at that. Reminding them they were in war times. Things were going to get worse before they got better. Although Albus had caught a significant glance between Severus and Minerva and decided he would inquire later.

Minerva mostly felt that student life had been disturbed too much. She was adamant that everything that Umbridge had done was repealed. Decree's rescinded, student activities reinstated, student's private lives once again private.

Albus fully agreed. Unfortunately, despite his improved standing with the wizarding world. Fudge still seemed to want to bury him under red tape. The word in the paper was that he was resigning so maybe he wasn't the one to be held responsible.

Severus only concern was that the Slytherins had been used by the woman. He was also angry that Potters group of friends had attacked them in Umbridge's office. And wanted to know what the consequences of their actions were going to be.

Eventually Severus agreed with everyone, that the six had already been through enough and additional punishment would not be in the best interest of anyone.

Albus sighed and stretched his back. Shaking out his stiff fingers he took note of the time. It was just after two in the morning. Tonks would be on guard at Privet drive, Kingsley would be on guard near number 12, and Mad-eye would be on guard somewhere on the Hogwarts grounds. Severus was currently at his first Death Eater meeting since the battle at the Ministry.

Albus worried about them all. Having to move the Granger girl so early into the summer was concerning. Severus having not been made aware that she was being watched was also all very concerning. This summer would be long. Albus just hoped they could get ahead a little before more attacks happened. He was keeping his people close to home for now. He didn't want to risk anyone's safety until he had a better idea of what Voldemort was planning. Sending Hagrid back to the giants or Remus back to the werewolves was near useless until they knew what was happening. Remus had returned from his last full moon four days ago with no new information. The pack he had spent it with wasn't interested in joining them or anyone it seemed. They were all older werewolves and mostly seemed content to remain hidden away in the woods.

He was thankful that the oldest Weasley boy had made some headway with the Goblins. While the Goblins would never openly side with wizards, especially in something they considered none of their business. They had agreed to deal with Bill on some order work. Helping to identify objects. As well as lending Bill out as needed for guard duty, setting wards and curse breaking. It wasn't perfect but it was better than anyone else He knew would have been able to do.

Albus' eyes shot up at the sight of a Patronus bounding into his office. It looked like a wolf, but it wasn't Remus's. The voice that came from the wolf had Albus on his feet immediately.

"Voldemort knows about Snape. He's killing him. Get him out. Now!" Harry's voice was confident, but it sounded full of fear.

He must have had a vision. Albus had a bad feeling when Severus had contacted him earlier to say he was being summoned. He had been gone for hours. It was part of the reason he was still up so late.

Albus swished his wand and called forth his Patronus. He sent it to call in all the guards in case he needed back up. With a second swish. He sent a Patronus to the other members summoning them also to Hogwarts. If they had just lost their spy, an Order meeting would need to take place immediately.

Albus hoped he could get in and out of wherever Severus was quickly. Hopefully, the Order would be in his office when he returned. His message to the guards had been to call Fawkes if he had not returned to Hogwarts within fifteen minutes. They were to use Fawkes to follow him. He did not include where he was going or what was happening. Only that an Order member was hurt and in need of aid.

"Fawkes." Albus called.

The bird gracefully glided from its perch and landed on Albus' shoulder.

"Take me to Severus." Albus commanded.

In a flash of flame Albus and Fawkes disappeared.

Albus appeared in a dark room full of Death Eaters. He quickly spotted Severus in the middle of the ring. Voldemort saw him at once.

"How dare you?" Voldemort glared as he stood from his chair at the head of the room.

"Come to retrieve the body of your spy?" Voldemort hissed.

Albus heart pounded. He hoped He had not arrived too late. However, Voldemort's words had in fact confirmed Harry's Message. At least it had not been another false vision. Severus had been outed as a spy and he was in extreme danger. If not already dead.

The Death Eaters in the room continued to throw spells at Severus. Some had turned to Voldemort at his words. Others now had their eyes on Albus and were starting to move towards him.

Albus knew that he needed to get out quickly. He could duel a group of Death Eaters. But if it could be avoided it would be better. He just needed to get Severus to safety.

As Voldemort raised his wand. Albus cast a shield and more or less summoned Severus across the floor. He dropped to one knee next to Severus quickly.

"Hospital wing." Albus commanded Fawkes. And in another flash of flame they were gone. A killing curse being shot in their direction a seconds later.

Albus landed hard on the floor of the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Fawkes trilled and flew off Albus' shoulder and perched on one of the beds. With a wave of his wand Albus levitated Severus from the floor to the bed that Fawkes was perched on. He suspected that he may need his familiars' tears given how much blood was pooling under Severus.

"Poppy!" Albus shouted across the hospital wing.

Turning back to the bed Albus' breath caught in his throat at the sight of his unconscious employee, spy and friend. Severus hair was soaked in blood. He had several large cuts across his chest and a few on his face. His arm lay at an odd angle suggesting it was broken.

In a bustle of robes Albus was quickly joined by Poppy.

"Dear Merlin, what happened?" Poppy cried. Her wand swishing over Severus in intricate patterns for diagnostic spells and monitoring charms.

"Our spy has been found I'm afraid Poppy." Albus said gravely.

Poppy shot him a sharp look. Something that rang with shock and an ounce of 'I told you so'. Poppy was fully aware of Severus' position. She had been needed to patch Severus up several times in the last year since Voldemort's return. She had spat venom more than once at Albus after having to patch Severus up that the information wasn't worth it. That he was going to be killed. Maybe not even found out but some of his injuries had been serious even without the clear intent to kill.

Poppy summoned several vials of blood replenisher, pain potion and a sleeping potion.

"Prop his head up and get him to swallow these. I need to stop the bleeding." Poppy said as she handed Albus the vials.

Poppy waved her wand and vanished Severus clothes. She quickly covered him from the waist down in a light towel. She began incanting the spells to knit his skin back together. The wounds closed slowly but they were closing. When Poppy got to one on his upper arm it refused to close. A low growl of frustration left her throat.

"This wound isn't from a spell. Looks like a cursed blade. It's not closing Albus!" Poppy's voice rang with alarm.

"I'm not sure what to do with this. The wound needs to be closed. If it was the only wound, I could wrap it until it healed on its own but, He has lost too much blood as it is." Poppy's voice shook.

Fawkes trilled and landed on Poppy's shoulder and leaned over the wounded arm. He cried into the open bleeding, and it began to heal. Poppy let out a relieved sigh. Pheonix tears were truly magical. In a world of magic, it felt a little silly to think. However, nothing healed like the beautiful birds tears.

She ran a hand gently over the bird's bright feathers.

"Thank you, Fawkes. You have saved his life." Poppy whispered to the bird on her shoulder. It sang a soft and sad song and flew back to the head of the bed. His intelligent eyes watched as they worked.

Poppy began to wrap Severus' chest. The wounds were mostly closed but keeping them wrapped would hopefully keep them from opening. She would apply a scar cream in the morning once the wounds were healed. She moved on to his right arm. It was a nasty break but setting it and some Skele-gro should have it mostly healed by morning.

"Albus, would you start working on his face? The wounds are closed enough to apply some healing salve." Poppy spoke quietly.

Albus nodded and took the pot of healing salve from the table. He moved up the bed closer to Severus' head and brushed the bloody hair from his face. Albus felt a lump form in his chest. He had made many mistakes in his long life. He felt especially responsible for Severus. He had failed him as a student. He was too blinded by the world at war to take much notice of the building war within his own school. He had tried in recent years to speak of house unity. He knew he was once again failing. The Slytherins were once again slipping away. They were ostracized by the rest of the school. They were being forced into Voldemort's camp weather they agreed or not, out of self-preservation.

Albus gently rubbed the salve into the fresh scars on Severus' face.

"Poppy I must leave. I have called the Order." Albus said in a horse whisper.

Poppy nodded back as she finished setting Severus' arm.

"The potions in his system will keep him asleep until morning. I will alert you if anything changes. He will recover." Poppy said, meeting Albus's eyes.

Albus nodded. He placed his hand on Severus's and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Albus left the Hospital wing in a flurry of blood-stained robes.

Albus pushed open his door to chaos in his office. Without looking around at the many people talking in his office he made his way to his desk. He sat heavily in his seat and rested his head in his hands. He could see Severus' bloody body in his mind. He could have died. Should have died. If Harry hadn't sent the message he would have bled out within the next few minutes.

Albus pulled his hands away from his face and realized they were shaking and covered in blood. He looked down and saw that his light grey robes also had quite a lot of blood on them.

He looked up to the room around him. All the voices had gone silent and all eyes were waiting for him. He took his wand and cast a powerful cleaning charm over himself. It would have to do for now. Although he still felt like he was covered in Severus' blood.

"Albus what has happened?" Minerva's spoke from his side next to his desk.

Albus looked up into her eyes.

"It's Severus." Albus said in a near whisper.

Minerva covered her mouth as gasps of shock were heard through the room.

"Albus is he dead? We're you able to get to him in time?" Moody asked. His rough voice serious.

Albus nodded.

"I was able to get to him in time. He was bleeding out…." Albus voice cut out.

Clearing his throat and taking a deep breath. He steeled himself to be the leader of the light. There was no twinkle in his eye. Heated blue eyes met each member in his office.

"Severus was discovered as a spy. I am unaware of how this information was discovered. Lord Voldemort has long worked under the assumption that Severus was a double agent. With Me believing he was a spy for me, and that Voldemort was his true master. However, he was in fact a spy for the Order. I was alerted less than half an hour ago that Severus had been discovered and needed to be extracted." Albus informed the Order.

"How?" Kingsley asked from a corner that seemed to contain mostly the Aurors. Tonks, Mad-eye, and Kingsley. Coincidentally they were also the ones on guard duty tonight.

"That information needs to remain confidential for the time being I'm afraid." Albus said with a tone of finality. He had not widely shared Harry's connection to Voldemort or his visions. However, he caught sight of the Weasley twins shooting each other a knowing glance. He was relieved to see that the youngest Weasley children and Ms. Granger were not present. They would certainly have more questions about the vague answer.

"Will He Recover?" Molly asked, stepping away from the rest of her family. Her hands twisted slightly in her lap. Always the mother Albus thought.

"He will. Poppy has him in the hospital wing and he is stable. I hope to be able to speak to him in the morning. If we can establish where the information came from hopefully, we will be able to sure up any weak points." Albus said with a certain amount of steel in his voice. His eyes once again made a pass of the room. He was not using Legilimency, although part of him desperately wanted to. Severus had become somewhat of a son to him. He worried that someone among them had sold him out. Or worse that they had another Pettigrew situation. A spy amongst their ranks.

"What do you mean Albus? You suspect a spy?" Remus growled. He stepped forward. His hair was disheveled and the dark circles under his eyes spoke of his lack of sleep. He was grieving the loss of his mate, Albus knew. And the full moon had only just past a few nights ago.

"We've had one death and almost another in less than two weeks. Are you saying you think someone amongst us has betrayed us?" Remus low growling voice had a very primal edge to it.

Albus held up his hands in a placating manner.

"I'm not saying anything for sure Remus." Albus said looking the man straight in the eye.

"I admit the thought has crossed my mind. However, Severus's job was very dangerous and there are several ways that Voldemort may have gotten the information. He may also not have had any information and based his assumption on something that Severus said or did during the meeting. This was the first time he was called since the battle at the Ministry." Albus said in a calm tone.

To his relief Remus' shoulder slumped. He didn't need Remus losing control right now.

"What I can tell you is war is truly here. For the time being all guard details will be with partners. Everyone will be taking some additional dueling practice in the old dueling room on the third floor. Each of you will also carry a field potions first aid kit and I will be issuing emergency portkeys to each of you in the coming days. I know we are at war. I would however like to minimize casualties where we can." Albus said. He stated his plan with no room for argument. His voice wavered slightly and ended softly.

He saw nods around the room. Albus nodded back.

"Now are there any additional information or questions anyone would like to share?"

Albus scanned the room. The first hand to gently rise was Molly's. He could almost hear the question before it left her mouth.

"When will we be able to retrieve Harry, Headmaster?" Molly asked. Her voice held a lot of concern. He knew that the Weasleys had a special place for Harry amongst them. He suspected that perhaps young Harry would even end up part of the family one day.

"For the time being Harry needs to remain with his relatives. It is the safest location for him." Albus said firmly. He knew Harry wasn't happy there. His yearly request to be sent anywhere else made that point clear. He suspected bullying from the cousin to be the primary concern. His people had reported last summer that the cousin seemed to go out of his way to pick on the boy away from the house. However, he had to overlook his unhappiness in favor of his safety. The Burrow needed work on the wards before it would be safe enough. They also were waiting to learn who Grimmauld place now belonged to. Until then they couldn't consider it safe.

Albus caught the Weasley twins giving one another looks again at the back of the room. He hoped they were not planning another 'Rescue mission'.

"Bill if you would look into strengthening the wards around The Burrow, we can discuss moving Harry sooner." Albus said, turning to the oldest Weasley son who stood tall next to his father.

Bill nodded.

"Are there any other questions?"

"Are there any new orders at this time given what has happened?" Tonks asked.

Albus pondered for a moment.

"No, not as of yet. We may need to reconsider a few things in a day or two but for now there are no new missions."

Everyone nodded there understanding.

"Very well. If you are currently on guard or in the next rotation, please stay so that we might set up a new schedule." Albus said in a calm voice.

Kingsley, Alaster, Tonks, Bill, Minerva and Remus all remained as the rest left.

"I realize this shift is about half over, but I would like you to partner up and return to guard. I will have relief to you at ten. The shifts will now be twelve hours. A day and a night shift, ten to ten."

"I don't normally ask for reports in the middle of a shift, but I would like a brief update before you all head out."

"All was quiet. Some muggles on the street but nothing of note." Kingsley said in his deep voice.

"Good. Good. Keep an eye out. We don't know who may have inherited Grimmauld. We won't for a few weeks I suspect. If Sirius had a Will we may be in luck. If not, the house will likely fall into Bellatrix or Narcissa's hands." Albus said.

"I'm not sure if Sirius ever updated his Will after he escaped Azkaban. His parents were still around when he was imprisoned but at that time, everything in his possession was to pass to Harry." Remus spoke firmly.

Albus gave him a curious look. Albus was one of the few who knew that Sirius and Remus had been a couple. However, he didn't know for sure if they had rekindled their relationship after Sirius' long stay in Azkaban. Another regret he would take to the grave. He would have guessed that Grimmauld and most of Sirius' possessions would have passed to Remus. Although Harry also made sense. He knew that both men loved the boy like he was their own son. Whether Harry knew this Albus was unsure.

"Possibly. We will have to wait and see. We can't take the chance on what we think, or hope is in a Will we cannot yet verify. I can't imagine the Will would be read earlier then late summer. Old families historically had long wait times." Albus said in a thoughtful manner.

The other's nodded.

"Alaster how were things on the grounds this evening? Anything to report?" Albus asked turning his attention to his old friend.

"No, all was quiet until everyone showed up for the meeting." Mad-eye responded in his gruff voice.

Albus nodded again. Things had been quiet around the school today. At least until Harry's Patronus came charging in. Albus wondered if anything else unusual had happened at number four that evening. He hoped he could talk to Amelia about Harry's warning. Hopefully they wouldn't try and drag him before the Wizengamot again.

"Tonks? Anything to report." Albus turned to you the young woman with bright pink hair. As did the others in the room.

"I never saw anything. I got there around ten and the house was already quiet. I was doing a patrol of the neighborhood when I got your message, and I went to Arabella's and Floo'd here."

"Boy had a shiner yesterday. Imagine he got it fighting with the cousin. Saw them at it last summer." Alaster tossed in.

Remus face paled as he turned more fully to Tonks. His pup was hurt? He knew that Harry's cousin bullied him. However Remus and Sirius suspected that the Aunt and Uncle also abused him. They had tried last summer and again at Christmas to get him to talk but he would always avoid questions. He mostly would say that he didn't like it there. Then he would pull a smile and say he was glad to be with them. That they should enjoy their time together.

"Harry was hurt? How badly?" Remus asked, with a slight growl. His jaw clenched.

"Just the black eye. I couldn't see anything else from my position. I only caught a glance at him." Mad-eye said sympathetically

"Albus, please don't leave Harry there longer then you must. I know that I can't take him full time but the wards on the cabin are strong. He could come stay with me. Then he could go to The Burrow for a few days around the moon." Remus pleaded.

Albus heart broke. In a different reality He would have been raised by them. Had Sirius not gone to Azkaban He would have had custody, and no doubt Remus would have been right there with him to raise Harry.

Albus thought about their current situation. It could be possible but not right away.

"I will keep it in mind Remus. For now, like I told Molly, Harry needs to remain at his relatives. I know its hard. I know Harry doesn't want to be there. I just want to keep him safe and for the time being the safest option is behind the blood wards at Privet Drive."

Remus' head dropped and he shook it slightly. Then nodded. He knew there wasn't anything he could really do. He unfortunately had no legal claim on Harry.

"Alright. Remus how about you join Tonks at Privet Drive, Minerva you can patrol the grounds with Alaster and Bill you join Kingsley at Grimmauld. It's now almost five. We haven't had anyone on patrol for about three hours. Please send your Patronus immediately if anything happens.

With a round of nods they all left.

Albus sat quietly at his desk and thought about the long day. He should rest now but he felt he should be in the hospital wing with Severus. He wanted to first clean up. The cleaning charm had done some of the work, but he could still smell the coppery smell of blood on himself.

Once he was clean and in fresh robes Dumbledore popped a lemon drop in his mouth and made his way to the hospital wing.

Albus transfigured the hard chair next to Severus's bed into an overstuffed purple armchair and took a seat. He hoped Severus would be able to fill him in when he woke up. Poppy had said he had lost a lot of blood and had a large bump on the back of his head. There was a chance that he would not remember everything that had happened. Albus slightly hoped that maybe he would have forgotten some of the torture Voldemort and the Death Eaters put him through but only time would tell.