Summary: Apprehending rogue Death Eaters.

A/N: Thanks for reading everyone. A bit of angst in this one.

Chapter 10

Severus approached the office and knocked.

"Enter!"

Opening the door, he bowed his head slightly to the occupant.

"Auror Robards, thank you for working with me on an acceptable meeting time."

Robards stood and extended his hand. Severus looked down at it but sat in the chair in front of his desk. The other man sat.

"Thank you for meeting with me."

He slid a paper with several names on it.

"These are the Death Eaters who are still at large."

Severus picked up the parchment and read the names listed there.

Alecto Carrow

Amycus Carrow

Antonin Dolohov

Samuel Rookwood

George MacNair

He looked back at Robards.

"Samuel and George are the lesser evil of their brothers. The Carrows will be holed up together. I think the hardest person to track down and defeat will be Dolohov. He is deadly when cornered."

"Do you know where any of them may be hiding?"

Severus looked back down at the list. "I'm pretty sure I know where the Carrows would hide. As for Dolohov, Lucius Malfoy may know where to find him. I'll need to do some digging on Rookwood and MacNair."

"Malfoy is in Azkaban."

"I will visit him."

"Okay, good. Where are the Carrows?"

"Those two were garrulous and talked my ear off all of last year. They would always speak of a summer house hidden away in Ashdown Forest. They bragged that their wards were so secure that you could walk within an inch of the place and not know it was there."

"Can you find it?"

"One thing about the Carrows is that they're not that bright. They forgot that I had visited with the Dark Lord to offer them their Hogwarts positions. I can get us there whenever you want."

Robards stood. "Let me gather a couple of Aurors and we'll go now."

Severus stood. In a matter of minutes, three Aurors were in the office. Robards explained what they were doing and looked over at Severus for any pointers.

"The Carrows are ruthless and fully enjoy casting Unforgiveables. They will shoot death curses before anything else, so make sure you're not in their line of fire. They also are especially adept at Disillusionment charms. If we cannot infiltrate their location without them knowing, they may be impossible to find."

Everyone nodded their understanding.

"Everyone grab my arms. I will Side-Along us to their location."

Everyone got ready and grabbed onto Severus' arms. He spun around, and they appeared in a clearing.

"Powerful magic, Severus," Robards acknowledged.

He nodded.

"You cannot see it, but the summer house is about 50 yards ahead. We should Disillusion ourselves and sneak up to that large tree. We'll be right next to the house there. We'll move on from there."

Everyone Disillusioned themselves and Severus headed towards the tree. He waited for a few minutes, then whispered out to everyone.

"Names if you're here."

Everyone spoke their names softly.

"All right. I was able to witness the Dark Lord removing the wards. I'll take them down. You'll see a flash of light. Then we'll attack."

Everyone agreed, and Severus dismantled the wards. With a silent spell, the door slammed open, and he rushed in, assuming everyone was with him. Spells flew, but the Carrows were taken by surprise. Alecto rose and began flinging curses in the air at wherever she thought the spells were coming from. Amycus had stood as well but was flung to the ground by Severus' curse. It took no time at all to subdue Alecto and they were soon both wrapped in ropes, lying on the floor. Severus and the Aurors Disillusioned themselves.

"Good work, Severus," Robards told him.

Severus nodded as he looked at the pair on the floor. They snarled at him. Not wanting to hear their vitriol, he cast the Langlock spell to shut them up. They squirmed and moaned on the floor. Severus leaned down to them.

"This is for all the Unforgiveables you cast on children!" he growled. A hex flew from his wand and surrounded the two Death Eaters on the floor.

Robards pulled Severus away from the two.

"Easy, Severus. I appreciate your wanting to support the students, but we can't attack them when they're already apprehended. I'll be in touch about the others," he told him.

"I'll seek out Malfoy and get back with you," Severus replied.

He nodded at the Aurors and Disapparated away, leaving them to finish the job of taking the Carrows into custody.

ooo

Severus knocked on Hermione's door. He heard her calling out for him to enter, so he opened the door and walked in.

"Oh, Severus! It's nice to see you," she told him, flashing him a smile. "Have a seat."

She pointed to the sofa opposite her. He settled in.

"I just had an interesting encounter," he advised her.

"Oh?"

"I met with Gawain Robards, and we gathered a couple of Aurors and just captured Alecto and Amycus Carrow."

Hermione gasped. She got up and rushed over, sitting down beside him. She reached out and turned him toward her, examining him carefully.

"Were you hurt?"

He looked offended. "Of course I wasn't hurt! What do you take me for?"

"A person who isn't impenetrable. You were lying on the floor of the Shrieking Shack not too long ago, half dead."

He arched a brow at her.

"Look, I know you are a formidable wizard. Probably the most powerful wizard alive today. But things happen. Did you get struck by any spells?"

"No, we were all Disillusioned so the idiots couldn't figure out where we were. No one was hurt… except the Carrows."

She squeezed his arm. "That's good, Severus. I'm glad you weren't injured."

"It was odd, Hermione. Breaking into their hideaway… I felt like I was finally able to do what I wanted to do all last year. They were so awful to the students, and I couldn't say or do anything except try to give the students detentions myself to keep them safe."

"I'm sure you did everything you could."

He turned and grimaced at her. "I did, but it was never enough. They threw Unforgiveables… at children! First and second-years. And I had to look pleased because if I didn't, it would have gotten back to the Dark Lord, and I would be punished… possibly killed. Then what would have happened to the students? The Carrows and whoever was my replacement would be even worse."

He looked away, frowning intensely. Hermione reached out and placed her hand over his.

"I can't imagine how you did all that. You sheltered everyone that you could."

"It didn't feel like it."

"Tell me how it felt," Hermione urged.

He was silent for a bit before finally speaking."I've never felt so useless in my life. For every student I sent to Hagrid for detention four others were with the Carrows, being Crucio'd."

He began breathing heavily, unable to stop the flood of memories and the feelings that came with them.

"And when the students looked at me… they tried not to look at me–but when they did… The hate and vitriol in their eyes." He put his head into his hands. "I deserved all of it."

Hermione inched closer to him.

"Severus?"

He didn't acknowledge her. "I thought I'd dealt with all of this," he remarked bitterly.

She budged over right next to him and put her arm around him. "Let it out. It will help you feel better."

"How do you know?"

"I've done it myself. I still struggle, but overall I feel better."

"But I already mourned all of this. I already…"

"Severus," Hermione said as she rubbed his back. "It takes more than one session to get over such trauma. Look at everything you've had to deal with and for how long? It sounds like you've worked to get beyond it, but years of pain can't be overcome in a day."

He stood. "You don't understand. Dumbledore…"

"Dumbledore what?"

"I need to go."

Hermione stood with him. "If you feel you need to, go ahead, but you have a confidant in me. I won't tell a soul about anything you say to me. It may help to verbalize it."

He looked at her, his face twisted in grief. "Hermione, I can't…"

She reached up and squeezed his shoulder. "It's all right. Go. If you want to talk later, I'm here."

He regarded her carefully. All he wanted to do was scream, but he didn't want her to see his weakness. … But she was looking at him with understanding and grace.

"I don't want you to see me in this state, Hermione."

She nodded. "I understand. I will be here if you need me."

Her willingness to let it go made him break. He turned from her to hide the tears that suddenly were falling down his face.

"So many I couldn't help… so many I couldn't save!" He took a deep breath. "And the Dark Lord… He'd stare at me, rifling through my thoughts, making sure I was loyal. I fought so hard that he didn't see anything. I buried my conversations with Dumbledore the deepest, but really, there was so much I just had to hide. I was sure he'd see it all, and I would be dead."

"You were amazing, Severus. I don't think anyone else could have done what you did."

"One night, I was coming back from a meeting with him, and I ran into Chloe Harris. She'd been Crucio'd for not casting an Unforgiveable in Defense class. A second-year Crucio'd! And they'd held it so long, she could barely walk down the hall. I picked her up and brought her to my lab. I gave her a restorative draught and brought her to the Hufflepuff Common Room, making sure she got in safely." He turned and looked at Hermione. "A second-year student. That is what I had to fight against all year. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to Crucio those two bastards… or better yet Avada them and be done with it."

Suddenly, he felt arms circling him. Hermione was hugging him–tightly. His arms tentatively came up and surrounded her, then he fell into her and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"I can't imagine having to do that day in and day out. I'm so sorry you had to endure that."

Severus fought to compose himself. Hermione's arms stayed around him, and she rubbed his back. Finally, he felt he could withdraw from hiding his face on her shoulder. He looked at her, feeling his cheeks pinking.

"Thank you. I do feel better having gotten that out, but it makes no sense. I shouldn't be feeling like this."

"Why do you say that?"

"Dumbledore…"

"You said that earlier. What about him?"

Severus sighed and looked off into the distance. "I received a letter from him when I was recuperating. He'd written how none of this was my fault."

"That was good of him to do… finally."

Severus gave a small smirk. "Yes, about time. But the thing is, he didn't just write the words. He imbued a spell into them that once I'd read them, it washed over me and gave me peace. It was an amazing feeling, and I've been relatively fine since then."

"Hmmm," Hermione muttered. She thought for a few minutes. "Well, this is a bit more detailed, isn't it? It's specific. Maybe the spell doesn't delve down into the nitty gritty of some things."

"But shouldn't it?"

She nodded. "Yes, it should. Have you really examined these feelings before?"

Severus closed his eyes and shook his head. "I buried most of the feelings of that year under many layers of Occlumency."

"Perhaps the spell couldn't affect your feelings on it if it was hidden behind your shields."

He turned to her and arched his brow. "Maybe that's it."

"What if you fully dropped your Occlumency shields and read his letter again?"

"That's a good idea. I will do so." His eyes searched her face. He couldn't quite describe the feeling of gratitude he was feeling for her. "Thank you, Hermione."

"Happy to help." She hesitated for a moment. "You may think about talking to Counselor Barton if after reading his letter you're still feeling bad. I know several students who say he's helpful."

"I'll think about it. It will depend on how I feel."

She nodded. "If you want to talk again, my door is always open."

He looked at her gratefully. "Thank you, Hermione."

Severus left her quarters and headed down to his own. This would be a challenge. He hadn't dropped his Occlumency fully since… well-since he had pledged to be a spy. Even when the Dark Lord was not around, he kept his walls up somewhat. It was part of the role he played on a daily basis.

Perhaps he could leave those walls behind for good?

Maybe. He'd have to see how that felt.

Approaching his door, he tapped it with his wand and opened it up, entering into his sitting room. He passed through it and went to his bedroom, opening the small drawer in his bedside table. The letter was buried under his journal. He fished it out and opened it up, looking down at the words, but not yet reading them.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, slowly removing the layers of his Occlumency. There weren't many right now, but there were several layers that shielded him from the memories of what he'd gone through that last year.

It had been unbearable. The faculty had treated him like a monster, the students had avoided him, and when they did interact with him, looked at him as though he was a pariah. His only recourse so he didn't fall apart daily was to Occlude completely during that time.

He mulled that over. Occluding so heavily for such a long length of time could be harmful. He was lucky he hadn't gotten to a place where his emotions were incapable of coming back to him. Thankfully, it was only for a year. Had he needed to Occlude like that for years on end-he was fearful to think of how he'd be right now.

Shaking his head, he concentrated on his mind. One by one, he peeled back the layers until he was bare.

A chill ran through him. He felt naked although he was fully clothed. He crossed his arms and hugged himself, breathing heavily. It took some time for him to feel like he wasn't about to crawl out of his skin. Fear gripped him that someone would find out his deepest secrets. He sighed. Most of his deepest secrets had been blasted all over The Prophet at the end of the war.

"I don't need to hide anymore," he ground out to himself.

He spent another few minutes just listening to his breathing and calming his nerves. Finally, he felt like he could move forward. He unfolded the letter from Albus and read it again. He came to the spell and read it aloud.

"Therefore, I want you to know this: Severus Snape–You are not at fault for anything, including my death."

The spell washed over him again. He felt rejuvenated. Understanding filled him once again, and he was calm and clear-headed about all that had happened, especially that last year. The guilt at not being able to help lessened into sadness that he only could do so much. The feeling of being responsible dissolved. He'd done all he could. He needn't beat himself up for it. He sighed in relief and opened his eyes.

He examined his feelings. He felt good. He also felt that he could keep those Occlumency shields completely down. The feeling of being overwhelmed had completely disappeared.

"Marvelous spell, Albus. Thank you."

ooo

The next morning at breakfast Severus was chatting with Jonathan when Hermione came in and settled next to him.

"Good morning!" she greeted.

Both men told her good morning. Severus looked at her.

"I did what we discussed," he said softly.

"And?" she asked eagerly.

He smirked at her. "It worked. Thank you for suggesting it. I feel one hundred percent better."

She smiled at him, and he felt a small flutter in his chest.

"I'm glad, Severus. You deserve to be happy."

He regarded her carefully. "I do, don't I?"

Jonathan butted in at that point. "What are you two whispering about?"

Severus turned to him. "If we wanted you to know, we'd be speaking louder."

Jonathan put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, keep your secrets, geez."

Hermione laughed. "Don't be offended, Jonathan. It's just a private matter. We'd rather not discuss it with anyone."

"So, you're not planning on ostracizing me forever and going off on your own?"

"I doubt we could get rid of you even if we desired to do so," Severus muttered.

"Glad you figured that out."