Chapter 17: Enemy of the Heir

Lily I

Friday, 29 April 1977

Lily came back to the common room, having once again failed to get Severus to open his door; the closest thing to a response she'd received was Snarky popping out and telling her to leave so that Severus could focus on his schoolwork. Remus was helping Peter with his Transfiguration essay at one of the tables.

"Is Marley upstairs?" Lily asked.

"She's still with Mary," Remus said, "but she shouldn't be long."

"Right." Lily made her way to the staircase.

"Wait, Lily."

Lily stopped as Remus caught up with her. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about what's going on between you and Snape," Remus said. "If you need any help-"

"If he doesn't want to talk to me, he won't want to talk to anyone," Lily said bitterly. "Except for Mary."

Remus nodded. "Still, if there's anything, let us know."

"Alright." Lily made her way up the steps and entered her dorm room, sitting down at the desk and staring at the black book off to the side. She didn't want to talk to Tom, but she didn't know who else to go to. Staring at the book for however long, Lily was brought out of her trance with the sound of the door opening. She turned to see Marlene walk in. "Oh, hey."

"Hi." Marlene sat down on Lily's bed. "I know that you and Snape-"

"Why is everyone talking about it?!" Lily asked, albeit more aggressively than she'd meant.

"... I'm the last person to suggest this… well, almost the last person…." Marlene didn't look like she wanted to continue. "... but maybe I should go see him?"

"He hates you as much as he hates James," Lily muttered.

"I know," Marlene said. "Maybe, he'll hate me enough to open the door?"

Lily shook her head. "He's busy."

"You're both hurting," Marlene said.

"Since when did you start liking him?"

"Since he saved Mary." Marlene was fiddling with her sleeves. "At this point, I'd take him over Sirius and James."

Lily was shocked. She knew that the two had crossed some serious lines, but she didn't realize how much this had affected Marlene.

"And I care about you and Mary," Marlene continued. "I was just too focused on how much I hated him that I ignored what you saw in him." She stood up. "I'm gonna go."

"... thank you," Lily said, still processing what was going on.

Without another word, Marlene was out the door, gently shutting it behind her.

Lily turned back to the black book and opened it, but before she could write anything, she heard a boy's voice beside her.

"Hello."

Lily almost jumped out of her seat. "Tom!" she hissed. "You frightened me!"

"I'm sorry."

"Well, be more gentle about it."

"Not for that. I'm sorry about what I said before." Tom's expression was slightly downcast. "Of course, you care for him."

Lily nodded, unsure of what to say. "That means a lot, coming from an enchanted book."

Tom gave her a crooked smile, almost like Severus's. "I feel I need to confess something to you."

"What is it?"

"... do you remember when you showed me that map?"

"Yes, why?" Lily didn't know where this was going, but something told her that she wouldn't like it.

"Let me show you." Tom gestured to the diary.

Lily looked back at the pages and froze, her eyes widening as she saw a perfect layout of the room they were in. She saw her name floating solitarily. "... Tom, what did you do…?!"

"I worked out the enchantments on the map and copied them," Tom said, a sense of pride in his voice. "I can see the entire castle and beyond now."

"... how could you do this?!" Lily asked, standing up. "I thought… I trusted you!"

Tom's already pale face paled even more, and his eyes widened. "... I know-"

"Why?"

"I wanted to understand it," Tom said, "so I made the changes to myself to figure out how it worked. I didn't fully understand what I had until recently."

Lily looked back down at the diary and watched as her name remained stationary. There was no doubt that she was upset, but to a degree, she understood why Tom would do this. He was just a diary, after all. "What can you see?"

"Everything," Tom said. "I could show you that Mary is still in the Hospital Wing." The image changed, and Lily watched as Mary's name appeared in a new room, along with Madam Pomfrey and the other petrified victims. "There's a limit; I can't see too far away from the castle. The farthest I can get is the Whomping Willow."

"What about Marlene?"

"Of course." The image changed, and Lily watched as Marlene's name descended a flight of steps and made her way to the fourth floor corridor. "She's approaching Severus as we speak."

"... alright." A thought popped into Lily's head. "What about the basilisk?"

"I believe that the basilisk is being controlled by someone," Tom said. "Its movements so far have been too restrained otherwise. When the time comes, I'll be able to see if anyone acts suspiciously."

"Who do you think it might be?"

"I thought it was Severus at first, but with these attacks, I'm not so sure. If I had to guess… perhaps Regulus Black?"

"Black?!" Everything was starting to make sense now. Black was a Slytherin Prefect, and had the perfect means of navigating the school without suspicion. He had also been in the Hospital Wing, and his behavior had been too suspicious for Lily to dismiss.

"That sounds about right, doesn't it?"

"... I suppose. But shouldn't we tell someone?"

"You need more proof."

"Can you at least show me where he is?"

"Of course."

Lily turned her attention back to the diary and watched as Marlene's name disappeared and was replaced by Regulus Black's. The Slytherin Prefect was currently pacing back and forth in his room. "What do you think he's pacing for?"

"I've no idea," Tom replied. "But he's been doing this ever since he came back from dinner."

"When was that?"

"6:47."

Lily checked the time. It was hard to believe Black had been pacing for nearly three hours. "Do you think he's nervous?"

"Perhaps. Or… wait. Wait…." Tom walked over to the diary and stared down at it, and Lily followed his eyes.

Black had left his dorm room and was currently making his way out of the Slytherin common room and to the staircase. Lily watched as he ascended to the fourth floor, where Severus and Marlene were… Severus and Marlene were walking to the staircase together! They had just reached the foot of the staircase when they ran into Black, and then-

Lily's blood went cold as Severus and Marlene both suddenly dropped down the stairs, passing Black by. Black soon turned around and headed down the staircase, and as he passed Severus and Marlene, they seemed to follow him closely by his sides.

"What's going on?!" Lily asked, panicking as Black took Severus and Marlene into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"... we need to follow!" Tom said. "Bring my diary with you!"

"But what about Professor McGonagall?"

"There's no time!" Tom said, his voice growing into one of dread. "Hurry, now!"

Lily grabbed the diary and ran out of her dorm room, down the steps, and out of the common room. Tom was close behind, his strides longer and more casual than Lily's own. It reminded her that she was never as fast a runner as Severus….

"You're it!" Lily shouted as she ran away from Severus.

It was a few weeks before the two of them would be on their way to Hogwarts, but there was still plenty of time for them to enjoy the freedom they currently had. To be honest, Lily was nervous about going, and the more she stopped to think about it, the more she realized she would miss Tuney. Which was exactly why she couldn't stop; she had to run it off.

"You won't catch me this time, Sev!" Lily called back, turning her head to find that Severus, despite the ten second head start he'd given her, had caught up almost immediately. She felt his hand push into her back, and she lost balance, her feet giving way as she crashed onto the grassy knoll. She felt something on her arm burn, and tears began welling up in her eyes as she curled up into a ball.

"Lily!" Severus was at her side, trying to roll her over and help her sit up. "Lily, are you-"

"Leave me alone!" Lily cried, pulling away from Severus and cradling her scraped arm. She remembered why she hated tag.

"Wait, let me see-"

"No!" Lily said, backing up even more.

Severus's expression was one of deep guilt, and his eyes were locked on Lily's injury. Almost immediately, he pulled off his oversized coat and tore off one of the sleeves with notable difficulty. Lily was too surprised by the gesture to react to him approaching her, wrapping the sleeve around her arm. "I'll get this nice and tight," he said, interlacing the two ends of the sleeve until they were well-knit together. "Are you alright?"

"... it's not fair," Lily mumbled, sniffing as she dried her eyes. "Why do you have to be faster?"

"I…." Severus hesitated to answer. "I'm just… I have tons of practice."

"You're like a German shepherd," Lily mumbled again.

"A what?"

"It's a dog breed," Lily said. "Don't you know that?"

"I'm faster; you know more about dogs. That sounds like a fair balance to me."

Lily's mouth curled into a smile as she sniffed again. "You didn't have to ruin your coat."

"It was already falling apart," Severus said dismissively. "I'd rather be missing a sleeve than…." His words trailed off.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," Severus said quickly. "How about we keep playing?"

"... I don't want to run anymore."

"You'll never catch me if you never try," Severus said, his voice gentle.

"Would you let me catch you?"

Severus shook his head.

"Why not?!"

"Because I believe in you." Severus gave her a crooked smile. "One of these days, you'll catch me."

"But you'll keep catching me," Lily argued.

"I won't chase you." Severus stood and helped Lily to her feet. "I'll keep running away until you catch me. And after that, we can start playing real tag." He quickly drew his hands away from hers and took off.

Lily grinned, the pain vanishing from her arm as she gave chase. She was quickly reminded of how much faster Severus was than she was….

… but that was no excuse to give up.

Lily and Tom sped down the corridor and down the staircase, all but leaping to the landing below with each descent, until they were on the second floor. As they reached the adjoining corridor, Tom suddenly said, "Stop!"

Lily froze and turned to Tom, who was currently looking at the wall. "What is it?"

"Something's here," Tom said quietly. "A message of some sort."

Lily took out her wand and waved it, lighting up the area. Her eyes widened as she saw what was written.

THEIR SKELETONS WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER

"... no," Lily gasped, turning to Tom. "Where are they?!"

"The bathroom!"

Lily followed Tom to the bathroom, but before she could enter, a sharp pain passed through her head. She found herself on her hands and knees, whimpering and hissing as she tried to crawl into the bathroom.

"Lily?!" Tom was kneeling beside her. "What's wrong?!"

Lily tried to answer, but all that came out was a hiss of pain. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she managed to stand up and enter the bathroom, only to find that one of the sinks was completely gone; in its place was a hole.

"... this is it…!" Tom whispered, his voice filled with an odd sense of awe and excitement. "They must have gone down there."

Lily turned to him. "You'll be with me?"

"Always," Tom said fervently.

Lily took a deep, shaky breath, nodded, and looked down the hole. She could tell that it curved slightly, almost resembling a slide, and she was confident that she could reach the bottom without serious injury. She took a step forward and plummeted into the dark, her back sliding along the smooth stonework….

Lily laughed as she reached the bottom of the slide and looked up to where Severus was still standing. "Come on!"

"Give me a minute!" Severus shot back, looking down at her.

"It's not that far!"

"I said wait!"

Lily stomped all the way up the steps to the top of the slide and sat behind Severus, causing the boy to instinctively jerk forward. His hands firmly gripped the frame of the slide before he could go any further, kicking his feet to stop himself from falling.

"Lily, wait!"

Lily wrapped her arms around Severus's chest and helped anchor him as he regained his spot at the top of the slide. "I'm right here, alright?"

"You promise?" Severus asked hesitantly, turning his head to meet her eye.

"Always."

Severus nodded, the nervousness still on his face as he turned to face forward. "On three?"

Lily nodded. "One… two… three!"

Lily helped push Severus off and down the slide, but hadn't quite realized how close she was to the edge. She quickly followed after him, crashing into him just as he was about to stand up. The two of them fell onto the ground in a heap, Severus taking the brunt of the fall with Lily on his back.

"... are you okay?" Lily asked sheepishly.

"... I'm fine," Severus groaned. "You're heavy."

"And you're bony," Lily shot back as his elbow dug into her side….

Lily crashed into a massive pile of sharp, tiny bones, and she let out a cry as some of them scraped her legs. Cursing under her breath, she stood to her feet, turning to find Tom still beside her.

"Keep your eyes down," Tom said cautiously. "Just in case."

Fear settled in Lily's stomach as she obeyed, keeping her eyes locked on the ground.

"It can't kill me," Tom continued, "so I'll lead the way. Follow me now."

Lily kept her eyes on Tom's shoes as they moved through the winding corridor, making sure her wand was lit so that Tom could see. "What do you see?"

"Not sure… wait, there's some sort of opening up ahead. A chamber."

Lily soon found herself entering a flooded chamber with serpent-coiled stone pillars on either side, all lined up in two perfect rows. At the far end of the chamber was what looked like a statue, but it was hard to tell due to the flooding. She looked around desperate to find Severus and Marlene, and she held out her wand to scan for any signs of life.

"Tom, where are they?!" Lily asked in a panic. She opened the diary and saw an image appear.

Severus and Marlene were still on the fourth floor.

Lily heard a rumbling sound coming from behind, and she turned to find that the corridor they'd just traveled down was gone. She turned to Tom, who was looking in the same direction. "Tom, what's going on?! Why did you show me that Sev and Marley were down here?!"

"... because I wanted to." Tom's voice sent a cold wave through Lily, and she backed away as a smile began to form on his face.

Lily dropped the diary, its pages making a splatting sound on the wet stone floor. "... why?"

"Why?" Tom turned to her, taking a few steps forward. "To kill you."

Lily felt a sob escape her lips as she raised her wand at him. She cried out, "Depulso!" to drive him back, but the spell passed right through him. In less than a second, he'd advanced on her, standing an inch away from her face.

"You can't touch me, Lily," Tom said with a cold smile.

Suddenly, Lily felt something tighten around her wrist and squeeze hard, causing her to drop her wand. She looked down in horror at Tom's hand.

"But I can touch you."

Lily felt something hard strike her in the stomach, and she keeled over before something else struck her on the side of the head. She cried out as she fell to the hard stone floor, looking up at Tom's balled fist.

"I trusted you!" Lily cried out.

"You did," Tom said, and Lily realized he was holding her wand. "You are… a paradox. On the one hand, you are naturally predisposed to distrusting someone whom you've claimed to be your best friend, while, at the same time, you are so easy to trust those who mean to deceive you. It's almost as though you're destined to make poor life choices."

Lily's heart was racing. She was going to die. "Why are you doing this?" she whimpered, hearing how pathetic she sounded. "Why me?!"

"Because of Severus Snape."

"... what?"

"Your death… is nothing to me," Tom said coolly, his long fingers caressing Lily's wand. "It is a means to an end, for me to gain enough life so that when I kill your precious Severus, I can perfect my work. To recreate myself in my own image." He took another step toward Lily, causing her to shrink back.

"You won't win," Lily said, trying to convince herself that she would come out of this alive, despite the weariness that was settling in. "Someone will come find me!"

"I know," Tom said. "No doubt, Seer Severus Snape will have sensed your current state of peril. As I have said… it is Severus I want to kill."

"What has he ever done to you?!"

Tom smirked. "Well, it has more to do with the fact that he exists. He is a threat that must be eliminated."

"He's… what are you talking about?"

"Surely, you've heard Gilderoy Lockhart's braggadocious remarks on being the 'Half-Blood Prince', haven't you?"

Lily tried to think about what Tom was talking about.

"No?" Tom asked. "A half-blood born to Muggle and witch in the first month?"

Lily froze. Lockhart had been going on about a prophecy of some sort….

"Yes," Tom said with a mad smile. "The prophecy is real. And I've been taking steps to weaken Severus, so that even if he should face me, I will be victorious. Do you think it a coincidence that of all his dorm mates, Severus was the one chosen as Heir of Slytherin?"

"You did that?!"

"Through a servant, I instructed one to suggest the idea, and another to support it. To give them the illusion that others want what they themselves want is the ultimate form of control. Through a servant, I orchestrated attacks to draw Severus out, to test his rumored clairvoyance, to eventually have him arrested and imprisoned so that his will would be broken, so that when I orchestrated his release, he would have no means of resisting me." Tom walked over to the diary and picked it up, flipping through the pages. "And of course, the attacks…. I have to thank you for your assistance."

"I would never help you!" Lily spat back. A sudden wave of pain shot through her head, and she cried out. It vanished as soon as it began.

"You don't have any gaps in your memory?" Tom asked with false sympathy. "You don't remember those blinding headaches you would get whenever you passed Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?"

"You… it was you, wasn't it?! You opened the Chamber of Secrets! You framed Severus!"

"Yes," Tom said, "but not without your help." He took another step forward.

"You've been controlling me this whole time!" Lily was furious. "You made me treat Severus like rubbish! You made me warm up to James!"

Tom looked surprised, perhaps genuinely, and he began laughing hysterically. "You honestly think you needed my help with that?!" he asked between laughs. "My dear girl, I can't take all the credit for your horrible behavior!"

Lily knew she had already collapsed onto the floor, but she felt her legs give way and crash down once again.

"Everything," Tom said, regaining his composure, "everything leading up to that Valentine's Day, every criticism and dismissal, every betrayal made in the name of James Potter… that was you. All I did was bring certain things to your attention." He crouched down, looking her dead in the eye. "Because at the end of the day, you're the sort to forget a meeting in an Owlery that you agreed to attend. Because you're the sort to send a letter to a blind man and expect him to read it. Because all you are, and all you'll ever be, is a filthy little Mudblood."

Lily had been reduced to tears, and she didn't even struggle when Tom set the diary in her hands and forced her to lie down.

"Now," Tom said, his eyes flashing a bloody red, "would you kindly go to sleep and die?"

At the last word, Lily's world went black.

Remus I

"Still, if there's anything, let us know."

"Alright." Lily made her way up the steps.

Remus turned his attention back to Peter. "Honestly, you ought to know this material by now."

"I know," Peter said meekly. "It's just… stressful."

"... I understand." Remus couldn't blame his friend for how he was performing in classes. "Is it alright with you if we continue this in the dorm?"

"If you want," Peter said. He started packing up his books and supplies.

The portrait hole opened up, and Marlene walked through. "Oh," Marlene said, surprised by Remus and Peter. "You're still up?"

"Friday," Remus replied.

"Right."

"How's Brandy doing?"

"She's alright," Marlene said with a sad smile. "I found her nuzzled under the covers."

Remus smiled at the image in his head. "No changes with…?"

Marlene shook her head. "The mandrakes won't be ready just yet. Even if they were, there's still… it might be safer for everyone to stay petrified until this is all over."

"That's one way to look at it," Remus said.

"Is Lily back?"

"She's upstairs," Peter answered.

"Any luck with Snape?"

Remus shook his head. "Doesn't seem like it."

"I better go up," Marlene said. "Night."

"Good night." Remus watched Marlene go up, and he turned back to Peter. "Ready?"

"Ready."

The two of them made it back into their dorm room, which felt noticeably emptier than before, despite how much time had passed since James and Sirius were attacked. And yet, as horrible as it sounded… Remus was almost at peace. As Peter sat down on his bed, Remus asked, "Can I ask you something personal?"

"What is it?"

"If you found out your friend was spying on you, how would you react?"

Peter's face seemed to pale at the question. "W-what do you mean?"

"James and Sirius were spying on the girls," Remus said. "Do you ever…?"

"What?"

"... do you think we made friends with the right people?"

"... well, we live with them," Peter answered. "Shouldn't we be friends with them?"

"Is it worth being their friends after graduation, though?" Remus sat down at his desk, resting one arm on the back of his chair. "You know about my feelings on some of their antics."

"Should you be asking this now that they're in the Hospital Wing?" Peter asked.

"When else would I? We've barely had time to talk alone."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Remus got up and opened it, only to find Marlene standing outside. "Hey," Marlene said.

"Hi."

"I'm going to visit Snape."

Remus froze.

"I'll try bothering him until he talks to Lily," Marlene said, as though that made any more sense.

"... right."

"... I know you have the map," Marlene said. "So… this will sound odd, but… could you keep an eye out? Just in case?"

Remus nodded reluctantly. "Alright…."

"... right. Thanks." Marlene gave Remus a small wave before heading down the stairs.

Remus shut the door, only to find that Peter already had the map opened. "Peter!"

"I overheard you," Peter said defensively. "Here, we can look together."

Remus sat down beside Peter and watched as Marlene's name descended to the fourth floor and made her way to Snape's room. "Who do you think it is?"

"Who?"

"Whoever's doing all of this. Whoever wrote that message on the wall."

"... well, I think Sniv- Snape's out of the picture."

"Drop the act," Remus said dejectedly.

"... it's probably not Snivellus," Peter said, somehow relieved. "Maybe… well, if we're talking about blood prejudice… what about Regulus?"

"Would he attack his own brother?" Remus asked.

"They didn't get on very well, right? It's possible."

"Maybe. Should we check on him?"

"Alright." Peter made the map focus on Regulus, only to find the Prefect pacing in his room. "When is his patrol supposed to be?"

"Tonight, but he asked for the night off," Remus said. "Here, can you hold it up so I can check on Marlene on the other side?"

"Sure."

As Peter held the back of the map up to Remus, the latter made the blank side show him Marlene's location. She has reached Snape, and it looked as though the two might be in conversation. He soon realized that he needed to enlarge the map itself to see more, so he pulled back so he could get a view of the staircase. So far, everything was alright.

Until Lily Evans appeared, walking side-by-side with Tom Riddle.

"Peter? Do you know who Tom Riddle is?"

"Who?"

"I just saw Lily…." Remus pulled the map out of Peter's hand and focused on Lily, showing the other boy as the two names on the map made their way to the second-floor corridor and stopped. "What's going on?"

Peter shrugged, although he looked worried.

The names began moving again, this time moving into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom in a similar jilted fashion… and then they vanished.

Remus's blood went cold. He sat up and grabbed his wand off his desk. "Peter, if I'm not back in an hour, go to McGonagall!"

"What?!"

"Nevermind, go to her now!" Remus hurried out the door, down the stairs, and out of the common room. Marlene was hopefully still with Snape. She needed to know Lily was missing.

Severus I

Again.

Severus blankly traced his finger through the air at the training dummy and watched as it levitated off the ground.

Good. Now back to your schoolwork.

Severus sat down in his chair and stared down at the parchment in front of him.

You have to keep yourself busy.

… I know.

Tomorrow, you can try speaking with Lily.

And say what?

Anything.

Even if she isn't mine?

She was never meant to be ours, and you know it.

… what if we were? What if we could have been better?

We were meant to be better. But I chose wrong. I'm sorry.

Why are you apologizing to me? I'm not the one you erased from existence.

There was an uncomfortable pause, and it took Severus a moment to realize that the professor wasn't going to respond. Ever since the two of them had determined that the professor's return to the past had erased everything in the future, there was an emptiness that seemed to fill the both of them. The professor would never get the forgiveness he sought, and as his return had interfered with his younger self's life path, changing him on a fundamental level, he could no longer say that he belonged to this world. For all he knew, he had hijacked someone else's life.

Severus picked up the quill with his left hand and dipped it in ink, before he got back to trying to form words. His right hand had been all but ruined from Valentine's Day; the bones had healed improperly, and the nerves didn't respond the way they were meant to. Madam Pomfrey was supposed to do something for the bones, but the nerve damage would take more time. And given that there were still attacks going on, the odds that he would receive treatment were low.

Before ink could touch parchment, there was a knock on the door. "I'm busy," Severus called out. He tried again, only to be interrupted by a violent, repetitive beating on the wooden door. Whomever it was, they sounded angry. Severus stood and marched over to the door, flinging it open. "What?!"

It was Marlene McKinnon.

McKinnon's eyes widened at the sight of Severus. "... Snape."

"McKinnon."

"Lily came to see you earlier."

"No need to worry," Severus said blankly. "I won't be bothering her in the future."

"I don't know what's going on with you," McKinnon said, her voice hardening, "but I think you've gone far enough."

Severus was confused for a moment. "Didn't you want me to leave Lily alone?"

"... that was before you saved Mary," McKinnon answered. "She needs someone."

"She's not my responsibility," Severus said, keeping his composure. Being rejected by someone he loved was its own pain, but forcing himself to reject someone he wanted to love was something else entirely.

"She is if she's your friend!"

"My friends don't join my enemies."

"She's done with James!"

"I'm not having this conversation with you," Severus said. His blood was beginning to boil. "I have enough on my plate as it is, so if you would kindly leave and let me work-"

"She loves you."

Severus was stopped in his tracks. He could tell that McKinnon meant it. "No," he replied, forcing the heat away in favor of a sickening cold. "She loves what I've done. She loves that I'm becoming someone she wants me to be. But she doesn't love me. How many parties do I have to plan with her? How many Mulcibers do I have to fight? How much does she want from me?!"

McKinnon didn't respond, despite her mouth opening, as though she had something to say if not for her hesitation.

"You don't know, do you?" Severus asked, not expecting an answer. "Let me tell you, then. She won't be satisfied until I work myself to exhaustion, despite what she may say. I might even have to get myself killed before she sees that she's asking too much."

"Don't be ridiculous!" McKinnon shot back. "She's been beside herself over… well, however you are! Just talk to her-"

"It's just words," Severus said, cutting McKinnon off. "She'll say she doesn't want anything else, but then she'll ask for more and more until I can't give her anything, and then when I decide I've had enough, she'll be done with me."

"She's not like that," McKinnon said. "I know you've been in Azkaban-"

"That." Severus shot a finger at McKinnon, causing her to step back. "That excuse. 'Don't listen to Snivellus, he's gone mad'. 'Poor Snivellus, he's not himself today'. Pity. I hate that."

"Get over yourself," McKinnon said, stepping forward and meeting Severus's eye. "You honestly think I pity you? I don't do pity. You won't get any of that from me."

Severus was stunned. After all this time, out of all the people he knew, it was Marlene bloody McKinnon who understood him. "Good," he said after a brief pause. "At least you know-"

A blinding pain shot through Severus's head and through his body. He let out a groan as he grabbed the door frame to steady himself, clutching his head as he let out a hiss.

"Snape?!" McKinnon seemed worried, despite her previous claim of not pitying him. "What's wrong?!"

"... attack," Severus groaned. The pain vanished almost immediately. "Basilisk!"

"What?!"

Severus hurried to the coat hanger to retrieve the scarf Lily had given him for Christmas. "Snarky!"

Pop. "Sir!"

"Prepare Corvisol!"

"Severus Snape is forbidden from-"

"Prepare fucking Corvisol NOW!"

"Very well, sir." Pop.

"Corvisol?" McKinnon asked with confusion. "What-"

"Shut up!" Severus hissed as he grabbed his money pouch and stuck it in his pocket. He passed her by and sprinted as fast as he could, but he could hear her following behind. As he was about to turn the corner and reach the staircase, he found Lupin descending from the third floor.

"Snape?!" Lupin approached, parchment in hand. "What's going on?!"

"Snape felt something," McKinnon said, having now caught up to them. "Basilisk, or something."

"Basilisk?!" Lupin looked down at the parchment, and Severus followed his eyes. "Look, did either of you see or hear Lily coming this way?"

"What are you talking about?" McKinnon asked.

The sound of Lily's name sent a wave of panic through Severus.

"She disappeared into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," Lupin said. "And there was someone with her. Do either of you know Tom Riddle?"

"... Tom Riddle?!"

Lily. It had always been Lily. Everything clicked into place. Her shaky health during the early part of the year, her change in attitude. All of it. Why hadn't he seen it before?!

Before anyone could say another word, Severus all but leapt down the staircase, assisting himself with flight as he charged toward the second floor. He reached the corridor adjoined to the bathroom, and his eyes locked on the writing on the wall.

HER SKELETON WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER

Another sharp pain shot through his head, and he stumbled into the bathroom as he let out another hiss of pain. There was an aching sensation in his stomach and the side of his head, dull and separate from this sudden attack. He forced his eyes open and found that he was, indeed, here… but the entrance was shut.

"No," Severus whimpered. "No, no, no, no…." He frantically searched each and every sink until he found the serpent, but it was no use. How could he open the entrance if he didn't know how to speak Parseltongue?! His chest tightened, his heart racing and his sweat going cold.

"Snape!" Lupin and McKinnon had caught up, their wands drawn. "What's going on?"

"He has her," Severus said, the despair in his voice betraying him. "It was Lily! She was being controlled by him!"

"Who?" Lupin asked, but Severus didn't care to answer.

"We can't get in!" Severus said, running his fingers through his hair as he paced back and forth, his breath growing faster and tighter. "I don't know Parseltongue!"

McKinnon's eyes were starting to water, and Lupin had a look of dismay on his face.

"We… we can blow it up!" McKinnon said, taking Severus by the arm and pointing her wand at the sink. "Bombarda Maxima!"

A loud explosion filled the air, but the sink didn't move an inch. The three of them were thrown back by the force, Severus only just catching himself from falling on his back. He pulled himself back onto his feet as he saw the unbothered sink still standing.

"There has to be something!" Lupin said.

"You don't know any Parseltongue?!" McKinnon asked Severus desperately. "You're a Slytherin! You've had to have heard something!"

"It's hissing," Severus said, calming himself and collecting his thoughts before any more blue and green slipped from the bottles. "But I don't know-"

"You're a Seer, aren't you?!" McKinnon exclaimed. "Just start hissing and feel it out!"

Severus looked at the sink. Maybe that could work! He quickly approached and took a few deep breaths before he began hissing. He began with the standard hissing sound, but nothing came of it. The professor was compiling a selection of memories of when the Dark Lord spoke Parseltongue, each and every sound that had come out of his mouth. There were hissing sounds, but there were always slight fluctuations and inflections. He moved through each form of hissing quickly… but then one hiss felt right. He continued the pattern, locking the correct sequence into his mind….

And then the sink began to move.

Severus staggered back and quickly took the scarf in hand and tied it around his eyes, blinding himself.

"Snape," Lupin said, "we need to wait for Professor McGonagall!"

"No time," Severus said as the sound of the sink moving finally stopped. Before anyone could get a word in, he stepped forward and felt himself fall. His back began sliding down the stone wall as it leveled out, and he eventually sensed it would soon end. He prepared himself, allowing his feet to extend forward. He was thrown out of the tunnel, sticking the landing on something crunchy, most likely bones.

Severus was in the dark, but the basilisk wasn't around; he would have felt it if it was. As he moved his feet, the bones clattered together, sending echoes throughout the underground complex. The sound bounced off the walls, some sounding closer than others. He was almost thankful for going blind; Azkaban had taught him how to listen, how to distinguish close from far, how to find his plate without knocking the food on the floor, how to find his chamber pot without making a mess. Walking through these tunnels, free from Azkaban, was too simple. He kicked a few of the bones on the ground and let them bounce in front of them, helping him paint a picture of what was ahead. There was a winding corridor that ended, but it wasn't the end. There was a second door.

As Severus made his way through the dark, he heard Lupin and McKinnon close behind. If he wasn't in this situation, he would have cared more, but as it stood, he didn't. All that mattered was getting Lily to safety and killing the basilisk, and destroying the horcrux if possible.

"Snape!" McKinnon seemed to reach him first, with Lupin close behind. "Why didn't you wait?!"

"I have to reach the chamber," Severus said, not stopping. "Lily's in there."

"With a basilisk!" Lupin added. "How are you going to get past that?!"

"When I open the door," Severus said, "keep your eyes on the floor. If you hear slithering, or if I tell you to, shut your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to. When I tell you to open your eyes, get to Lily and get her out of there."

"What about you?!"

"I'll take care of the rest." Severus felt the wall before him before he even touched it, and he stopped. He began hissing the password to open it, and he heard the rumbling of stone once more. "Eyes down, now." He didn't wait for either Lupin or McKinnon to respond, instead making his way inside. As soon as he stepped foot within the threshold of the chamber, he felt an overwhelming dread.

"I've got you," Lupin said to McKinnon, for some reason.

Severus forced the fear away, bottling up the green as he moved farther into the chamber, replacing it with a cold rage.

"Ah, Severus Snape!" a familiar voice called out. "At last, we meet."

Severus felt his way through the chamber until he felt something warm before him. He crouched down and reached a hand out and felt someone. Peeking through the scarf, he found himself face-to-face with Lily, his hand on her collarbone. He put the scarf back over his eyes and called out, "Lupin! Get Lily out of here!" He snatched the diary from Lily's hold and stepped aside for Lupin to come and get her.

Suddenly, a violent force knocked Severus back, causing Lupin to let out a startled cry and McKinnon to scream. "You dare ignore me?!" Tom asked, fury erupting from him. A hissing sound followed, and Severus knew it was time.

"EYES SHUT!" Severus shouted.

"You can't be serious!" Lupin exclaimed.

"SHUT!" Severus regained his footing, diary in one hand, his other in his pocket to unlatch the money pouch. He dug into it and felt his fingers close around a round object.

There was a slithering sound that filled the chamber, and Tom snarled, "So, you're going to stand there and challenge the might of Salazar Slytherin? How very Gryffindor of you."

The slithering grew closer, but Severus couldn't act yet. Not yet….

Not yet….

Not yet….

Not yet….

Now.

"Sod Gryffindor." Severus drew his hand out of his pocket and called out, "Corvisol!"

A thunderous crowing erupted from Severus's hand, and it was followed by pain-filled, inhuman screams from up ahead. He heard something knock into one of the pillars before sliding down and going still. It was done. Severus pulled the scarf down from over his eyes and stared into the cold, dead eye of the basilisk. He had the diary at hand, and the basilisk's fangs were within reach. He rushed forward, determined to end it all.

"NO!" Tom roared, white-hot fury in his voice as he raised his wand.

Severus flicked his fingers through the air, and the wand flew out of Tom's hand. Now disarmed, Tom threw himself at Severus. The two of them crashed to the ground.

"Snape, what's going on?!" Lupin called out with a panic.

"Get Lily out of here!" Severus shouted back as he tried to escape Tom's grasp. "Go!"

Lupin and McKinnon opened their eyes and saw what was happening. "What the-"

"GET LILY NOW!" Severus managed to free one of his arms, and he swung his fist at Tom's head.

For some reason, Tom didn't even bother to guard himself from the blow, as though he didn't expect it to do anything, which seemed to surprise him when Severus's fist did, in fact, make hard, bone-cracking contact. Tom screamed as he was knocked to the floor, grasping the ear Severus had just clouted.

Severus struggled to his feet and saw that Lupin and McKinnon had managed to grab Lily and carry her out, the tails of their cloaks disappearing through the threshold. He grabbed the diary, which he had dropped in the struggle, and hurried back to the basilisk, only to feel Tom crash into him once more, knocking him off his feet and toward the basilisk's open mouth. It wasn't a perfect scenario by any stretch of the imagination, but at this point, he couldn't risk wasting any more time.

Before Severus landed on the basilisk's fangs, he brought the diary in front of his belly, the spot where the fangs were most likely to puncture. He felt the pressure of the book on the fangs and felt a sudden give, and Tom let out a blood-curdling scream in the process. The two of them sank down even more, and Severus suddenly felt something sharp and stinging pierce his stomach. He groaned at the sudden sensation, panic setting in as the venom coursed through his blood.

Tom seemed to vanish, both in weight and in volume, and as Severus pulled himself off of the fangs, he saw that he was alone, lying beside a dead basilisk, with envenomed holes in his stomach.

Slow and shallow your breathing.

Severus did as instructed, inhaling and exhaling slowly and shallowly to keep his pulse down. He stuck his once-more broken hand into his money pouch to fish out some dittany of Crete he'd prepared for this occasion, but his fingers betrayed him. Everything was starting to grow heavy, his limbs included. Before darkness took him, he heard a bird's cry.

Lily II

Lily felt air rapidly re-enter her lungs, and she let out a gasp as she opened her eyes. She was being carried by someone out of the chamber, but….

"Lily!" a voice behind her cried out.

Lily was set down in the same area where she had entered from the bathroom, only to find Marlene and Remus kneeling beside her and looking down at her. "Marley…."

"You're safe now," Marlene said. "We're going to get you out, alright?"

"... I'm sorry," Lily said, shuddering. "I thought you and Sev were in danger. Tom tricked me-"

"We gathered as much," Remus said, cutting her off. "We saw his name, and when Snape saw it, he panicked."

Before Lily could ask for an explanation, she heard a bird's cry emanating from the tunnel leading up to the bathroom. Suddenly, a beautiful, vermillion bird swooped down and passed them, flying back where the three of them had just come from.

"Was that Dumbledore's phoenix?!" Lily asked in awe.

"Why would…?" Remus suddenly stood up and drew his wand. "Marlene, stay with Lily."

"No, I want to go too," Lily said, reaching for her own wand, only to find it was missing. "Tom," she said. "Tom still has my wand."

"Stay here," Remus said, and without another word, he ran back to the chamber.

"Lily, tell me exactly what happened," Marlene said.

Lily's throat constricted when she tried speaking. "At the start of term," she began, "there was a black book that belonged to Tom Riddle."

"I remember that," Marlene said, nodding.

"I thought it was just enchanted," Lily said, desperate to get it out of her system. "So, I started writing to it to keep track of my thoughts, and then it…. I started trusting it, and…. I opened the Chamber of Secrets."

"What?!"

"I didn't mean to!" Lily pleaded. "He tricked me, he's been manipulating me this entire year, and…." Despite trying not to, she started to cry.

"Shh," Marlene said, pulling Lily into a hug. "Lily, this isn't your fault."

"If I hadn't listened to him, none of this would have happened."

"I know you want to blame yourself for being taken advantage of," Marlene said softly. "But it won't get you through this."

"... I thought Tom might have made me treat Sev like rubbish," Lily said, not brave enough to meet Marlene's eye. "But he didn't. It was me."

"He's a manipulator."

"He wasn't wrong," Lily shot back. As she was about to continue, she heard two sets of footsteps approaching. She and Marlene turned their heads to find Remus and Severus approaching, Dumbledore's phoenix firmly perched on Severus's shoulder. "... Sev…."

"... you're alright…." Severus's eyes looked bloodshot and damp.

Lily hurried to her feet and approached Severus, and before he could react, she pushed herself into his chest and wrapped her arms around him. "It was me-"

"I know."

Lily froze. "... what?"

Severus pushed her away gently and looked her in the eye, his black and silver hair blocking his misshapen one. "It wasn't you. That book you had was a dark magical artifact."

"How did you figure that out?" Marlene asked.

"Why would anyone bring a book into an underground chamber unless there was some sort of reason?" Severus asked. "I saw the book and assumed it was dark."

Lily looked down, ashamed of her gullibility, but her breath caught. Severus's shirt was bloodied, and there were holes around his stomach. "Sev, you're hurt!" Lily cried out, resting her hand on his abdomen as she tried to pull back the fabric.

Severus caught her wrist and said, "I'm fine. Fawkes healed me."

"Oh…." Lily withdrew, feeling Severus's hand let go. She looked back up at him, seeing how ragged and tired he was. She moved her hand to brush the hair away from his eye, so he could see better… only to find that his eye was normal again. "What happened to your eye?!"

"Phoenix tears," Severus answered. "I can't believe I was waiting for Madam Pomfrey to get treatment. If I'd known how potent Fawkes was, I would have made a full recovery before…." He stopped himself from finishing his sentence. He turned to Fawkes and said, "Take them back up. I'll follow afterward."

"You can speak to phoenixes?" Remus asked incredulously.

"It's not that hard," Severus said dryly. "They can understand human speech."

Fawkes hopped onto Remus's shoulder.

"Hold onto Lily and McKinnon," Severus said.

"What about you?" Lily asked.

"I need a minute."

"Alright. Don't take too long." Lily and Marlene approached Remus and wrapped around him, and before she could process what was happening, she found herself gliding through the tunnel and up and out of the Chamber of Secrets below. Soon enough, they were back in the bathroom, and had only just landed as Professor McGonagall stormed in, her wand drawn and trained on whoever might be a threat.

"Miss Evans!" McGonagall said, rushing over to her. "My goodness, what are you three doing here?! Mr. Pettigrew told me… my dear, has someone hit you?!"

Lily's voice caught once more, despite wanting to tell McGonagall what had happened.

"All three of you, come with me this instant," McGonagall said sternly.

"Snape's still down in the Chamber," Remus quickly said.

"What- why on God's green earth would he be down there for?!"

"He said he needed a minute," Marlene explained.

"Well, how is he supposed to get up here?" McGonagall asked.

Almost on queue, there was the sound of fabric whooshing through the air, and Lily and the others turned to face the entrance to the tunnel, only to find Severus standing before them.

"How did you get up here?!" Lily asked with confusion and shock.

"... I can fly."

"... oh." With all the chaos going on, Lily seemed to forget some fairly consequential things about Severus.

"Here's your wand, by the way," Remus said, handing Lily her wand back.

Lily took it and put it in her robe pocket.

"Right," McGonagall said impatiently. "All four of you, come with me."

McGonagall led the four of them to Dumbledore's office, only to find Peter sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk. With a wave of her wand, McGonagall brought Peter out of his seat and moved the chairs away. She sat down at the desk, gesturing for the five of them to stand before her.

"Within the course of an hour," McGonagall began, "four of you have not only broken curfew, but have somehow also found yourselves in the Chamber of Secrets. Do any of you care to explain to me what's going on?!"

Severus was the first to speak. "Lily discovered the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and tried to stop the attacks once and for all. When we learned of this, we decided to go in and save her from her own recklessness."

Lily turned to Severus. While he was right, the way he explained it hurt to hear. "I thought you were in danger."

"And you almost died because of it," Severus said, turning back to her. "Anyway, we managed to kill the basilisk."

"... you what?!" McGonagall's eyes widened, and Lily couldn't help her own surprise as well.

"You killed a basilisk?!" Lily asked. "How?!"

"One moment. Snarky?"

Pop. "Sir?"

"Can you bring Corvisol here?"

"Of course, sir." Pop. Pop. "Corvisol is here, sir." There was a round stone in Snarky's hand.

"Prepare it for us, but lower the volume and duration."

Snarky did as he was told, and his fingertips glowed as he traced the stone. "Done, sir."

"Let me see it." Severus took the stone from Snarky and said, "Corvisol." The stone erupted with the sound of a cock's crow, which seemed to go on for a good half-minute before silencing. Severus looked back at McGonagall and simply said, "It wasn't hard."

McGonagall sat silently, frozen with disbelief, but she finally said, "... this matter is beyond my jurisdiction. I will inform the headmaster of what's transpired, and he will decide the best course of action once he returns.

"Mr. Snape, I'm afraid your curfew violation is more severe than the others. To prevent the Ministry from interfering with you, I'm afraid you will need to be confined to your room until Dumbledore himself permits you to leave. To ensure this, I will have to seal the door."

"Professor, wait," Lily exclaimed, "he saved the entire school!"

"I am aware," McGonagall said, her voice hardening, "but the Ministry won't see the situation as you do. For his own wellbeing, I'm afraid my decision is final."

"Can I at least escort him back to his room?" Lily asked.

"... very well," McGonagall said. "You are all dismissed."

The five of them left the office, and Lily turned to face Marlene, Remus, and Peter. "I'll see you back in the common room."

"Don't be too long," Marlene said, giving her a hug. She and the two Gryffindor boys headed down the corridor to the portrait.

Lily walked with Severus down the staircase, glancing at him every so often. He looked exhausted, and yet there was an odd sense of peace in his eyes. "... how do you feel?" she asked.

"Tired," Severus said.

"I imagine…. Sev-"

"Not now," Severus said. "I just want to catch up on my essays."

"How much do you have left?"

"All of them. My hand didn't write properly, but now that it's healed, I should be fit to complete them. I need a month."

"A month?!" Lily stopped Severus as they turned down the fourth-floor corridor. "Can't you have Dumbledore waive them?"

"I don't quit," Severus said back.

"... I just want to talk about-"

"Lily," Severus said, a sort of pressure in his voice, "let me do my work in peace."

"... one month," Lily said, hoping Severus would take it as a sign that they would talk after that point.

Severus stared back, clearly thinking about it. Finally, albeit reluctantly, he said, "... one month. The 29th."

"Promise?"

Severus nodded. "Can we continue?"

"Alright." Lily walked with Severus to his door, and as he opened it, she quickly added, "Good night."

Severus turned back once more and nodded. "Good night, Lily."

As the door shut, Lily stood in place for a moment to process everything that had happened tonight. Tom had betrayed her, even tried to kill her, and if Severus hadn't arrived, she would be dead. Despite how cold he appeared to be, she couldn't ignore what she'd seen in his eyes when she'd first woken up.

Pure pain.

Lily forced herself to walk away from Severus's door, and each step helped settle her emotions. She promised him one month. And unlike the promises she made before, she was going to keep this one, if only to prove to him that she could.