A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews! James Birdsong, I'm happy you enjoyed the two chapters :)

When Snape had finally finished probing Mr. Ollivander's mind, unsurprisingly finding nothing the Dark Lord did not already know, removed the Silencing Charm on the door and let himself out, he felt an almost physical pain in his chest at having to leave Miss Lovegood behind. Regardless of her assurances that she understood why he could not free her, he still felt as if he was letting her down by not taking her with him. What if Bellatrix tortured her to insanity like she had done with Longbottom's parents? How would he live with the guilt of not saving her while there was still time? He had already failed to protect Lily; would Miss Lovegood be the second of his friends to share her fate?

With such destructive thoughts plaguing his mind, he considered it a heroic achievement indeed that he was able to push them all away before reporting to the Dark Lord, as only thereafter was he allowed to Apparate back to Hogwarts where he could continue his self-blaming in peace.

Looking back at the months that followed, he had no recollection of how he had managed to survive the time without driving himself crazy with worry. Not an hour would pass without him sparing a thought for his friend and how she was coping in that cold dark cellar. His head was constantly filled with half-formed plans for reckless rescue missions that he knew would never come to fruition. At the Dark Lord's meetings he listened carefully to every word that might provide as much as a hint of the girls' fate, but she was never mentioned. He supposed that was a good thing; if something had happened to her, someone was bound to let it slip.

Finally, towards the end of the Easter holidays, the Dark Lord called an emergency meeting. Glancing around at his comrades as he took his customary seat on his master's right, Snape instantly noticed that Bellatrix seemed much more subdued than usual, while Lucius looked like he had received a severe beating. Narcissa and Draco, huddling on either side of him, were both ashen-faced and the terror that radiated off them was almost palpable. Wormtail's seat was conspicuously empty.

The explanation to all of Snape's observations was not long in coming. The Dark Lord seemed to be practically itching to belittle Bellatrix and the Malfoy clan in front of the entire room, and as such wasted no time in doing so as soon as the meeting got underway. That was how Snape learned about the capturing of Potter and company, and their subsequent escape from the Manor together with all the other prisoners. Despite his dislike of the boy, he felt nothing but gratefulness towards him now. Not only did the latest news mean that he was obviously still not dead, which was a pleasant surprise, but also that, thanks to him, Miss Lovegood was now no longer in danger. It was as if a weight Snape did not even know he had been carrying in his chest for the past several months suddenly dissolved, and he was finally able to breathe freely again. Sitting right next to the Dark Lord, however, he only allowed himself a moment of happiness before shielding his mind once more, as his master could turn towards him at any moment and finding him inwardly celebrating Potter's escape would probably cause him to question Snape's loyalty. Or sanity. Or both.

Unbelievable as it was, the good news did not end there. As the meeting drew on, even the mystery of Wormtail's absence was ultimately explained, and Snape could hardly believe his ears when he discovered that Potter had somehow managed to make the annoying little man strangle himself with his own silver hand. Once again he had to be careful to keep his mind blank, as if he had not been under the Dark Lord's watchful eye, he would have surely rejoiced at the news. Pettigrew had been a coward and a traitor, which in itself was enough to make Snape despise him with all his being, but he had also had a hand in Lily's demise just as much as Snape himself had, and for that not even death was punishment enough. Snape hoped that he had, at the very least, died painfully.

Even if he had not found out about Miss Lovegood's escape at the Death Eaters' meeting, he would have done so a few days later when an unfamiliar owl knocked on his window, delivering a message bearing only three words written in block letters: I'M SAFE NOW. Though there was no signature and the handwriting told him nothing, he knew immediately who it was from, and he smiled that his friend had been thoughtful enough to let him know he could stop worrying. He received no other letters from her in the following weeks, however, and he often wondered where she was. Hogwarts felt lonely without her, but he gladly exchanged the loneliness for the knowledge that she was out of danger. Not that he would not have welcomed a trip to the Room of Requirement to help him spice up the uneventful time at the school. Ever since Miss Lovegood disappeared at Christmas and Miss Weasley never returned after Easter, Dumbledore's Army had practically ceased to operate. Longbottom, its unofficial leader, had taken to hiding somewhere in the castle and avoided being found regardless of the Carrows' best efforts, and the remaining members seemed unable to come up with anything worth mentioning on their own. Despite his considering the DA to be a menace that made it so much harder for him to keep all students out of harm's way, he could not help but take his hat off to Longbottom and the dramatic change he had undergone since the Boggart showed his biggest fear to be his Potions Professor. He seemed unafraid of anything now, whether it was punishment or accepting the responsibilities of a leader. His grandmother ought to be proud of him.

However, as tranquil as that year's spring at Hogwarts seemed to the occupants of the castle without the DA to cause mischief, Snape was well aware that it was merely an illusion, the eye of the storm. In the outside world key events had been set in motion, as after someone had broken into Bellatrix's vault, the Dark Lord became more paranoid than ever and started preparing openly for war. Now wielding Dumbledore's wand, which he had unashamedly stolen from the dead man's tomb after discovering it to be the wand he had been after all along, he apparently felt he had finally gained the edge that would help him subjugate the wizarding world once and for all.

As for Hogwarts, the only instructions Snape had received were to capture Potter alive were he foolish enough to show his face inside the castle. After his miraculous escape from Malfoy Manor and his break-in into Gringotts (for who else could have been responsible?), Snape was inclined to believe that this was exactly the kind of foolish thing Potter would do. Perhaps the Dark Lord had eventually come to the same conclusion, as one day in early May Snape was given additional instructions to station one of the Carrows in the Ravenclaw common room. As was typical of him, the Dark Lord did not bother with an explanation, so Snape simply did as he was told but remained on patrol in the corridors just in case.

Sure enough, as evening came, he suddenly felt his Dark Mark burn, which could only mean one thing: Potter was at Hogwarts. Immediately, he made haste towards Ravenclaw Tower, for he knew the call to have come from Alecto whom he had positioned there. Before he was even two floors up, however, he heard hurried footsteps coming in his direction, so he hid behind a suit of armour and waited, wanting to catch whoever it was by surprise. Soon enough, Minerva McGonagall came into his line of vision, which he found decidedly suspicious, as it was not her turn to patrol the corridors that night. Certain she had to know something, he stepped out of his hiding place and blocked her way, intending to interrogate her as to Potter's whereabouts, even to use Legilimency on her if need be. If the boy was indeed in the castle, he wanted to be there, to protect him until the last moment, as – perhaps paradoxically – both the Dark Lord and Dumbledore had instructed.

Unfortunately, Minerva chose that very moment to finally stand up to him. She attacked him without warning in the middle of a sentence, and if he had not been trained the way he was (courtesy of James Potter, among others), she would have surely caught him off guard. As it was, he managed to put up a swift Shield Charm, but still the spells kept raining down on him and he found it increasingly difficult to keep up without hurting her. He had always suspected her of being a formidable opponent but, having never duelled her, he could see only now that she was even better than he had anticipated. Therefore, when, a few minutes into the fight, she actually joined forces with the other Heads of Houses, he knew it was pointless to keep resisting, so he ran into the nearest classroom and jumped out of the window into the cool night air. Making use of the flying spell the Dark Lord had recently taught him, he slowly ascended until he was level with the window to the Headmaster's office; unlocking it, he squeezed himself through and landed gracefully on the floor.

"Going for an unorthodox entrance, Severus?" chuckled Dumbledore from his portrait in way of a greeting.

"Skip the jesting, Dumbledore," growled Snape, standing up. "The situation is serious. Potter is most likely in the castle, which means the Dark Lord will not take long to storm the gates. Somebody should warn the staff to start preparing for battle."

Dumbledore sighed, though whether with relief or sadness, Snape could not tell.

"Ah, so the moment has come at last. The clever boy! I gave him so few clues, and yet he has worked it all out. That is ... truly admirable."

Noticing Snape staring at him uncomprehendingly, he smiled in apology, then, to Snape's relief, swiftly switched to a more business-like tone.

"Don't mind my ramblings. Harry will need some time now to search the school. Try to hold off Voldemort as long as you can. Don't worry about the castle. Hogwarts can defend itself until the staff are alerted. But knowing Voldemort, he will not miss the opportunity to let his presence be known, so I would not be concerned about a stealth attack."

Snape nodded. "And after the battle starts? Anything particular you wish me to do?"

"Keep an eye on Voldemort. When you see that he has called the snake to stay by his side, seek out Harry and tell him what ... we have agreed on."

Snape made an involuntary grimace; now that the moment had come to do as he had promised, his resolve was even weaker than before. After all, telling Potter to go and commit suicide was almost the same as murdering him himself. He felt like it was Dumbledore all over again; it had to be done but it would be his conscience that would be burdened by it. On the other hand, if he backed out now, the Dark Lord would ultimately go on a killing spree and many more lives would be lost than just Potter's. Yes. That was the angle he had to retain. One life in exchange for many more.

Repeating this several times in his head, he finally brought himself to ask, "And then? Should I help Potter get to the Dark Lord?"

"I don't think that will be necessary. Simply tell him what you need to and then leave him be. He and Voldemort will find each other in the end. In the meantime, protect the children as much as you can. Hit a Death Eater or two from behind if you have a chance to do so undetected. Survive."

Snape gave him a wry smile. "I shall do my best."

Dumbledore frowned then, as if Snape's reaction had made him remember something.

"How is my old wand performing for Voldemort, by the way? Has he mentioned it at all?"

Although Snape could not see how the question was related to anything they had discussed before, knowing time was of the essence he did not inquire further and simply tried to answer as accurately as he could.

"Not that I remember, no. The wand has not refused to work for him, if that is what you mean."

"But he has not performed any – ah – extraordinary magic with it?"

"Whether we like it or not, the Dark Lord is an exceptional wizard. All magic he performs is extraordinary."

"That is undoubtedly so. Perhaps I'm merely seeing trouble where there is none. But I recommend that you be on your guard all the same."

Snape snorted. "Even more so than usual, you mean?"

"Even more so."

"Well, if, for any reason, the Dark Lord chooses to dispose of me, there is not much I can do about it, surely you realise that. I can never hope to defeat him in a duel, no matter which wand he uses."

He said it offhandedly, as if the idea of dying did not trouble him in the least, but inwardly something about Dumbledore's warning disconcerted him. And his feeling of trepidation only increased as, just before he left the office through the window again, he glanced over his shoulder and noticed Dumbledore looking at him with undisguised sadness, as if he suspected they were to never see each other again.